Albert II of Mecklenburg
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Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on the shores of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. He reigned as the head of the House of Mecklenburg
House of Mecklenburg
The House of Mecklenburg is a North German dynasty of West Slavic origin that ruled until 1918.- Origins :Niklot was a lord of the Wendish tribe of Obotrites. When the Holy Roman Empire expanded eastwards, notably to the coast of Baltic in 13th century, a portion of Obotrite lords allied with...
, his princely seat located in Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
beginning in the 1350s.
Albrecht was born in Schwerin as the second (but eldest surviving) son of Duke Henry II of Mecklenburg
Henry II of Mecklenburg
Henry II, Duke of Mecklenburg, nicknamed the Lion was regent of Mecklenburg from 1287 to 1298, co-regent from 1298 to 1302 and alone again from 1302 to 1329.- Life :...
(c. 1266-1329), lord of Stargard (Stari Gard), of the old Vendic princely clan of the Obotrites
Obotrites
The Obotrites , also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany . For decades they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against Germanic Saxons and Slavic...
, and his second wife Princess Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg
Saxe-Wittenberg
The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. As the precursor of the Saxon Electorate, the Ascanian Wittenberg dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity.-Ascanian...
(d. 1327), of the princely Ascanian House.
Duke Albert succeeded his father as reigning Prince (or Lord) of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
in 1329. He was also keenly interested in obtaining some power in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, e.g. fiefs
Fiefs
Fiefs may refer to:* Fiefdom* Fiefs, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France...
or income. The Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
elevated Mecklenburg to the status of a Duchy
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
on 1 July 1347, through which Albrecht (together with his younger brother John
John I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard
John I, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Stargard] , was from 1344 to 1352 Duke of Mecklenburg and from 1352 to 1392 Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard.- Family :...
) became the first Duke of Mecklenburg.
On 10 April 1336, Albert married a kinswoman, the Scandinavian heiress Euphemia of Sweden
Euphemia of Sweden
Eufemia Ericsdotter of Sweden was a Swedish princess, spouse of Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg, Duchess Consort of Mecklenburg, heiress of Sweden and of Norway, mother of king Albert of Sweden.- Biography :Her father was Eric of Sweden Eufemia Ericsdotter of Sweden (1317–1370) was a Swedish...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Her father was Eric of Sweden
Eric, Duke of Södermanland
Eric Magnusson was a Swedish prince, Duke of Svealand, Södermanland, Dalsland, Västergötland, Värmland and North Halland and heir to the throne of Sweden. He was the father of King Magnus who became king of both Norway and Sweden.-Background:...
, Duke of Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
and Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
, her mother Princess Ingeborg of Norway
Ingeborg of Norway
Ingeborg of Norway , was a Norwegian and by marriage Swedish princess and royal duchess with a position in the regency governments in Norway and Sweden...
, the heiress and the only legitimate daughter of King Haakon V of Norway
Haakon V of Norway
Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.-Biography:Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Haakon was descended from king Saint Olav and is considered to have been the last Norwegian king in the Fairhair...
. Through this marriage, Albert gained standing in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
by means of his wife's hereditary estates and ancestral connections. These enabled him to participate in the internal politics of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Albert acquired the nickname "The Fox of Mecklenburg" from the Swedes to evoke his scheming and avarice.
Albert arranged for his eldest son, the future Henry III of Mecklenburg
Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg
Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg was Duke of Mecklenburg from 1379 until his death.- Life :Henry was the first son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and his wife Euphemia of Sweden, the sister of King Magnus II of Sweden....
, to marry Ingeborg
Ingeborg of Denmark, Duchess of Mecklenburg
Ingeborg of Denmark was the eldest surviving daughter of Valdemar IV of Denmark and his wife Helvig of Schleswig. By marriage she was Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, although she died before her husband's succeed her father-in-law...
, the eldest daughter and potential heiress of King Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
. Prince Henry married her sometime around 1362, and their infant son was soon offered unsuccessfully as heir to the kingdom of Denmark in competition with Waldemar's youngest daughter, Queen Margaret of Norway, the future ruler of the Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
.
Albert's brother-in-law King Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden , including Finland, as Magnus VII King of Norway , including Iceland and Greenland, and also ruled Scania . He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek...
was drawn into grave difficulties beginning in the 1350s. Mighty nobles attempted to curb the concentration of royal power in Sweden and set up Magnus's own elder son Eric
Eric XII of Sweden
Eric "XII" of Sweden was a rival king of Sweden of his father Magnus IV from 1356 to his death in 1359. He was married to Beatrix of Bavaria, daughter of Louis IV of Bavaria....
as a rival king. After young Eric's death, Albert's second son and namesake Albert became the next puppet claimant of the noble party in Sweden.
Duke Albert was deeply involved in trying to make his son king in Sweden, but himself the real power behind the throne. The younger Albert deposed his uncle Magnus IV from the Swedish throne and ascended it as King Albert of Sweden.
Already in Albert's and Euphemia's lifetime it was recognized that her genealogical position would become a pivotal point for many future claims to the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n thrones.
When his first wife died, Duke Albert married a second time to countess Adelheid of Hohenstein, daughter of count Ulrich of Hohenstein. That marriage apparently was childless.
Duke Albert had five surviving children born of the marriage with Euphemia: his sons Henry
Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg
Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg was Duke of Mecklenburg from 1379 until his death.- Life :Henry was the first son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and his wife Euphemia of Sweden, the sister of King Magnus II of Sweden....
, Albert
Albert of Sweden
Albert was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412.-Background:...
and Magnus
Magnus I, Duke of Mecklenburg
Magnus I, Duke of Mecklenburg was Duke of Mecklenburg from 1383 until his death. Magnus was the third son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and his wife Euphemia, the sister of the King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden...
and daughters Ingeborg and Anna. For more details on their issue, see the genealogical section in Euphemia of Sweden.
On the basis of his own ancestry, Albert felt himself entitled to assert political standing in Sweden as a descendant and heir of two women whom legends tied to Swedish royal houses as daughters of kings:
- Albert's father's paternal great-grandmother, a Scandinavian noblewoman named Christina, who was the wife of Henry Borwin II of Mecklenburg, was claimed at least by later tradition to have been a daughter of King Sverker II of SwedenSverker II of SwedenSverker II was King of Sweden from 1196 to 1208.-Biography:...
. Swedish sources attest, however, that Sverker II had a son John and a daughter Helena, who married a Swedish nobleman. No further children are documented in sources close to Sweden of that time. Christina was the mother of John I of Mecklenburg, whose son was Henry I of Mecklenburg.
- Albert's father's maternal grandmother, a Scandinavian noblewoman named Marianna, the first wife of Duke Barnim I of Pomerania (d 1278), lord of Wolgast, was claimed to have been a daughter of King Eric X of SwedenEric X of SwedenEric "X" of Sweden, Swedish: Erik Knutsson; Old Norse: Eiríkr Knútsson was the King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as Eric the Survivor when he became King, he was the only remaining son of King Canute I of Sweden and his queen of an undetermined name, who probably was Cecilia...
and his wife Richeza of Denmark. Sources of the time are scarce, however, and there is not much attestation of marriages, fates and precise names of the daughters of Eric X. Marianna gave birth to an only surviving child, e daughter named Anastasia, who became the wife of Henry I of Mecklenburg and mother of Henry II.
The Sverker dynasty had long been extinct, having lost the throne ultimately to Eric XI of Sweden
Eric XI of Sweden
Eric "XI" of Sweden, or Eric the Lisp and Lame Swedish: Erik Eriksson läspe och halte; Old Norse: Eiríkr Eiríksson was king of Sweden in 1222–1229 and 1234–1250.-Background:...
. The male line dynasty of Eric]] X was also now extinct, and his other daughters had been sidestepped by Birger Jarl
Birger jarl
, or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...
, the husband of his (possibly youngest) daughter Ingeborg
Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden
Ingeborg Eriksdotter , was a Swedish Princess and Duchess, daughter of king Eric X of Sweden, eldest sibling of king Eric XI of Sweden, wife of Birger Jarl and mother of king Valdemar I of Sweden.- Biography :...
, who took care to secure the kingship to his own sons. Duke Albert helped to embellish and disseminate the legends of his foremothers' Swedish royal connections and used them as pretexts for his own royal aspirations.