Magnus IV of Sweden
Encyclopedia
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden
(1319-1364), including Finland
, as Magnus VII King of Norway
(1318-1355), including Iceland
and Greenland
, and also ruled Scania
(1332-1360). He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek (English equivalent: Magnus the Caresser). Referring to Magnus Eriksson as Magnus II is inaccurate. The Swedish Royal Court officially lists three Swedish kings before him by the name.
and Ingeborg
, a daughter of Haakon V of Norway
. Magnus was elected king of Sweden on 8 July 1319, and acclaimed as hereditary king of Norway
at the thing
of Haugathing in Tønsberg
in August the same year. Under the regencies of his grandmother, Helwig of Holstein, and his mother, Ingeborg of Norway
, the countries were ruled by Knut Jonsson and Erling Vidkunsson
.
Magnus was declared to have come of age at 15 in 1331. This caused resistance in Norway, where a statute from 1302 made clear that kings came of age at the age of 20, and a rising by Erling Vidkunsson and other Norwegian nobles ensued. In 1333, the rebels submitted to king Magnus.
In 1332 the king of Denmark, Christopher II
, died as a "king without a country" after he and his older brother and predecessor had pawned Denmark piece by piece. King Magnus took advantage of his neighbour's distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a huge amount of silver, and thus became ruler also of Skåneland
.
On 21 July 1336 Magnus was crowned king of both Norway and Sweden in Stockholm
. This caused further resentment in Norway, where the nobles and magnates wished a separate Norwegian coronation. A second rising by members of the high nobility of Norway ensued in 1338.
In 1336 he married Blanche of Namur
, daughter of Count Jean of Namur
and Marie of Artois, a descendant of Louis VIII of France
.
The wedding took place in October or early November 1335, possibly at Bohus castle. As a wedding gift Blanche received the province of Tunsberg
in Norway and Lödöse
in Sweden as fiefs. They had two sons, Eric and Haakon, plus at least three daughters who died in infancy and were buried at Ås Abbey
.
Opposition to Magnus' rule in Norway led to a settlement between the king and the Norwegian nobility at Varberg
on 15 August 1343. In violation of the Norwegian laws on royal inheritance, Magnus' younger son Haakon
would become king of Norway, with Magnus as regent
during his minority. Later the same year, it was declared that Magnus' older son, Eric
would become king of Sweden on Magnus' death. Thus, the union between Norway and Sweden would be severed. This occurred when Haakon came of age in 1355.
Because of the raise in taxation to pay for the acquisition of the Scanian province, some Swedish nobles supported by the Church attempted to oust Magnus, setting up his elder son Erik Magnusson as king (Eric XII of Sweden
), but Eric died supposedly of the plague
in 1359, with his wife Beatrix of Bavaria
, daughter of Louis IV of Bavaria and their two sons.
between Sweden and Novgorod (represented by Grand Prince Yury of Moscow
) at Nöteborg (Orekhov) where Lake Ladoga
empties into the Neva River
. The treaty delineated spheres of influence among the Finns and Karelians and was supposed to be an "eternal peace", but Magnus' relations with Russia were not so peaceful. In 1337, religious strife between Orthodox Karelians and the Swedes led to a Swedish attack on the town of Korela (Keksholm, Priozersk) and Viborg
(Viipuri in Finnish, Vyborg in Russian), in which the Novgorodian and Ladogan merchants there were slaughtered. A Swedish commander named Sten also captured the fortress at Orekhov. Negotiations with the Novgorodian mayor (Posadnik
) Fedor were inconclusive and the Swedes attacked Karelians around Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega
before a peace was concluded in 1339 along the old terms of the 1323 treaty. In this treaty, the Swedes claimed that Sten and others acted on their own without the consent of the king.
for a second time. The Novgorodians retook the fortress in 1349 after a seven month siege, and Magnus fell back, in large part due to the ravages of the plague farther West. While he spent much of 1351 trying to drum up support for further crusading action among the German cities in the Baltic States, he never returned to attack Novgorod.
conquered Scania
in 1360. He went on to conquer Gotland
in 1361. On 27 July 1361, outside the city of Visby
, the main city of Gotland, the final battle took place. It ended in a complete victory for Valdemar. Magnus had warned the inhabitants of Visby in a letter and started to gather troops to reconquer Scania. Valdemar went home to Denmark again in August and took a lot of plunder with him. Either in late 1361 or early 1362 the inhabitants of Visby raised themselves against the few Danish that Valdemar left behind and killed them.
In 1363, members of the Swedish Council of Aristocracy, led by Bo Jonsson Grip, arrived in the court of Mecklenburg
. They had been banished from the country after a revolt against king Magnus Eriksson. At the nobles' request, Albert of Mecklenburg
launched an invasion of Sweden supported by several German
dukes and counts. Several Hanseatic
cities and dukes in Northern Germany expressed support of the new king. Stockholm
and Kalmar
, with large Hanseatic populations, and also welcomed the intervention. Albert was proclaimed King of Sweden and crowned on 18 February 1364. Magnus found refuge with his younger son in Norway, where he drowned in a shipwreck in Bømlafjorden
in 1374. He had retained his sovereignty over Iceland
until his death.
intervened and Magnus himself does not seem to have been able to resist the internal opposition. He was regarded a weak king and criticised for giving favourites too much power.
Magnus' young favourite courtier was Bengt Algotsson
, whom he elevated to Duke of Finland
and Halland
, as well as Viceroy of the province of Scania
. Because homosexuality
was a mortal sin and vehemently scorned at that time, rumours about the king's alleged love relationship with Algotsson, and other erotic escapades, were spread by his enemies, particularly by some noblemen who referred to mystical visions of St. Bridget
(Birgitta). The allegations earned Magnus the epithet of Magnus the Caresser and caused him a lot of harm, but there is no factual basis for them in historical sources.
In a bit of propagandist retaliations against Magnus, the Russians drew up an allegedly autobiographic account known as the Testament of Magnus (Rukopisanie Magnusha) which has been inserted into the Russian Sofia First Chronicle
, composed in Novgorod, which claimed that Magnus in fact, did not drown at sea, but saw the errors of his ways and converted to Orthodoxy, becoming a monk in a Novgorodian monastery in Karelia
. The account is apocryphal.
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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....
(1319-1364), including Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, as Magnus VII King of 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...
(1318-1355), including Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, and also ruled Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
(1332-1360). He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek (English equivalent: Magnus the Caresser). Referring to Magnus Eriksson as Magnus II is inaccurate. The Swedish Royal Court officially lists three Swedish kings before him by the name.
Biography
Magnus was the son of Duke Erik Magnusson of SwedenEric, 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:...
and Ingeborg
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...
, a daughter of 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...
. Magnus was elected king of Sweden on 8 July 1319, and acclaimed as hereditary king of Norway
Hereditary Kingdom of Norway
The Kingdom of Norway as a unified realm was initiated by King Harald Fairhair in 9th century. His efforts in unifying the petty kingdoms of Norway, resulted in the first known Norwegian central government...
at the thing
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
of Haugathing in Tønsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....
in August the same year. Under the regencies of his grandmother, Helwig of Holstein, and his mother, 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 countries were ruled by Knut Jonsson and Erling Vidkunsson
Erling Vidkunsson
Erling Vidkunsson was Lord High Justiciar of Norway, Lord of Bjarkoy and Giske and the Norwegian regent. Erling received the position of drottsete of the country and was probably the most important and wealthy Norwegian noble of his era. Erling Vidkunsson was born into a noble family of Bjarkøy...
.
Magnus was declared to have come of age at 15 in 1331. This caused resistance in Norway, where a statute from 1302 made clear that kings came of age at the age of 20, and a rising by Erling Vidkunsson and other Norwegian nobles ensued. In 1333, the rebels submitted to king Magnus.
In 1332 the king of Denmark, Christopher II
Christopher II of Denmark
Christopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
, died as a "king without a country" after he and his older brother and predecessor had pawned Denmark piece by piece. King Magnus took advantage of his neighbour's distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a huge amount of silver, and thus became ruler also of Skåneland
Skåneland
Skåneland or Skånelandene are terms used in historical contexts in Scandinavia to describe the area on the southern and south-western part of the Scandinavian peninsula, which under the Treaty of Roskilde was transferred from Denmark to Sweden. It corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge,...
.
On 21 July 1336 Magnus was crowned king of both Norway and Sweden in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. This caused further resentment in Norway, where the nobles and magnates wished a separate Norwegian coronation. A second rising by members of the high nobility of Norway ensued in 1338.
In 1336 he married Blanche of Namur
Blanka of Namur
Blanche of Namur was queen-consort of Sweden and Norway, as the spouse of King Magnus Eriksson. She was the eldest daughter of John I, Marquis of Namur and Marie of Artois.-Marriage:...
, daughter of Count Jean of Namur
Namur (province)
Namur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur...
and Marie of Artois, a descendant of Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
.
The wedding took place in October or early November 1335, possibly at Bohus castle. As a wedding gift Blanche received the province of Tunsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....
in Norway and Lödöse
Lödöse
Lödöse is a locality situated in Lilla Edet Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,265 inhabitants in 2005...
in Sweden as fiefs. They had two sons, Eric and Haakon, plus at least three daughters who died in infancy and were buried at Ås Abbey
Ås Abbey
Ås Abbey was a Cistercian monastery situated near the mouth of the River Viskan into the Kattegat in Halland, formerly part of Denmark but now in Sweden, near the present hamlet of Åskloster about 14 km north of Varberg, in Varberg Municipality....
.
Opposition to Magnus' rule in Norway led to a settlement between the king and the Norwegian nobility at Varberg
Varberg
Varberg is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 26,041 inhabitants in 2005.Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their 'typical west coast' sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wide sandy beaches to rocky terrain that continues north into...
on 15 August 1343. In violation of the Norwegian laws on royal inheritance, Magnus' younger son Haakon
Haakon VI of Norway
Haakon VI of Norway was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden from 1362 until 1364, when he was deposed by Albert of Mecklenburg in Sweden.-Background:...
would become king of Norway, with Magnus as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
during his minority. Later the same year, it was declared that Magnus' older 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....
would become king of Sweden on Magnus' death. Thus, the union between Norway and Sweden would be severed. This occurred when Haakon came of age in 1355.
Because of the raise in taxation to pay for the acquisition of the Scanian province, some Swedish nobles supported by the Church attempted to oust Magnus, setting up his elder son Erik Magnusson as king (Eric XII of Sweden
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....
), but Eric died supposedly of the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
in 1359, with his wife Beatrix of Bavaria
Beatrix of Bavaria
Beatrice of Bavaria ; Swedish: Beatrix ; was Queen of Sweden by marriage to King Eric XII, who co-ruled with his father, King Magnus IV....
, daughter of Louis IV of Bavaria and their two sons.
The Peace of Nöteborg
On 12 August 1323, Magnus concluded the first treatyTreaty of Nöteborg
Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as Treaty of Oreshek , is a conventional name for the peace treaty that was signed at Orekhovets on August 12, 1323. It was the first settlement between Sweden and Novgorod Republic regulating their border...
between Sweden and Novgorod (represented by Grand Prince Yury of Moscow
Yury of Moscow
Yuriy Danilovich, also known as Georgiy Danilovich was Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir ....
) at Nöteborg (Orekhov) where Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world.-Geography:...
empties into the Neva River
Neva River
The Neva is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length , it is the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge .The Neva is the only river flowing from Lake...
. The treaty delineated spheres of influence among the Finns and Karelians and was supposed to be an "eternal peace", but Magnus' relations with Russia were not so peaceful. In 1337, religious strife between Orthodox Karelians and the Swedes led to a Swedish attack on the town of Korela (Keksholm, Priozersk) and Viborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
(Viipuri in Finnish, Vyborg in Russian), in which the Novgorodian and Ladogan merchants there were slaughtered. A Swedish commander named Sten also captured the fortress at Orekhov. Negotiations with the Novgorodian mayor (Posadnik
Posadnik
Posadnik was the mayor in some East Slavic cities or towns. Most notably, the posadnik was the mayor of Novgorod and Pskov...
) Fedor were inconclusive and the Swedes attacked Karelians around Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega
Lake Onega
Lake Onega is a lake in the north-west European part of Russia, located on the territory of Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and is the second largest lake in Europe after Lake Ladoga...
before a peace was concluded in 1339 along the old terms of the 1323 treaty. In this treaty, the Swedes claimed that Sten and others acted on their own without the consent of the king.
Crusade against Novgorod
Relations were quiet between Sweden and Novgorod until 1348, when Magnus led a crusade against Novgorod, marching up the Neva, forcibly converting the tribes along that river, and briefly capturing the fortress of OrekhovOrekhov
Orekhov or Orekhova is a last name shared by the following people:*Aleksandr Orekhov , Russian football player*Artyom Orekhov , Russian football player*Lev Orekhov Russian painter...
for a second time. The Novgorodians retook the fortress in 1349 after a seven month siege, and Magnus fell back, in large part due to the ravages of the plague farther West. While he spent much of 1351 trying to drum up support for further crusading action among the German cities in the Baltic States, he never returned to attack Novgorod.
Greenland
In 1355 Magnus sent a ship (or ships) to Greenland to inspect its Western and Eastern Settlements. Sailors found settlements entirely Norse and Christian. The Greenland carrier (Groenlands Knorr) made the Greenland run at intervals till 1369, when she sank and was apparently not replaced.Later years
King Valdemar IV of DenmarkValdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
conquered Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
in 1360. He went on to conquer Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
in 1361. On 27 July 1361, outside the city of Visby
Visby
-See also:* Battle of Visby* Gotland University College* List of governors of Gotland County-External links:* - Visby*...
, the main city of Gotland, the final battle took place. It ended in a complete victory for Valdemar. Magnus had warned the inhabitants of Visby in a letter and started to gather troops to reconquer Scania. Valdemar went home to Denmark again in August and took a lot of plunder with him. Either in late 1361 or early 1362 the inhabitants of Visby raised themselves against the few Danish that Valdemar left behind and killed them.
In 1363, members of the Swedish Council of Aristocracy, led by Bo Jonsson Grip, arrived in the court of Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. They had been banished from the country after a revolt against king Magnus Eriksson. At the nobles' request, Albert of Mecklenburg
Albert of Sweden
Albert was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412.-Background:...
launched an invasion of Sweden supported by several German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
dukes and counts. Several Hanseatic
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
cities and dukes in Northern Germany expressed support of the new king. Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
, with large Hanseatic populations, and also welcomed the intervention. Albert was proclaimed King of Sweden and crowned on 18 February 1364. Magnus found refuge with his younger son in Norway, where he drowned in a shipwreck in Bømlafjorden
Bømlafjorden
Bømlafjorden is a fjord in Hordaland, Norway, and the outer-most part of the Hardangerfjord. The Bømlafjord Tunnel crosses under Bømlafjorden....
in 1374. He had retained his sovereignty over Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
until his death.
Evaluation of his reign
In spite of his many formal expansions his rule was considered a period of decrease both to the Swedish royal power and to Sweden as a whole. Foreign nations like Denmark (after its recovery in 1340) and MecklenburgMecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
intervened and Magnus himself does not seem to have been able to resist the internal opposition. He was regarded a weak king and criticised for giving favourites too much power.
Magnus' young favourite courtier was Bengt Algotsson
Benedict, Duke of Halland
Duke Benedict of Halland and Finland , aka Bengt Algotsson, was a medieval Swedish lord, and royal favourite.He was born to a family who descended from Svantepolk of Skarsholm and his wife Benedikta Sunadotter...
, whom he elevated to Duke of Finland
Duke of Finland
Duke of Finland was an occasional medieval title granted as a tertiogeniture to the relatives of the King of Sweden between the 13th and 16th centuries. It included a duchy along with the feudal customs, and often meant a veritably independent principality...
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:...
, as well as Viceroy of the province of Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
. Because homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
was a mortal sin and vehemently scorned at that time, rumours about the king's alleged love relationship with Algotsson, and other erotic escapades, were spread by his enemies, particularly by some noblemen who referred to mystical visions of St. Bridget
Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373; also Birgitta of Vadstena, Saint Birgitta , was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years...
(Birgitta). The allegations earned Magnus the epithet of Magnus the Caresser and caused him a lot of harm, but there is no factual basis for them in historical sources.
In a bit of propagandist retaliations against Magnus, the Russians drew up an allegedly autobiographic account known as the Testament of Magnus (Rukopisanie Magnusha) which has been inserted into the Russian Sofia First Chronicle
Sofia First Chronicle
The Sofia First Chronicle is a Russian chronicle associated with the St. Sophia Cathedral, Novgorod, Russia. Its copies exist in two versions: Early Redaction , which ends by 1418 and Later Redaction , with sporadic additions up to 1471, and up to 1508 in one of the copies.Together with the...
, composed in Novgorod, which claimed that Magnus in fact, did not drown at sea, but saw the errors of his ways and converted to Orthodoxy, becoming a monk in a Novgorodian monastery in Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
. The account is apocryphal.
Ancestry
Literature
- Mikael Nordberg, I kung Magnus tid (In the Times of King Magnus) ISBN 91-1-952122-7
- Bernd-Ulrich HergemöllerBernd-Ulrich HergemöllerBernd-Ulrich Hergemöller is a German historian specializing in the Middle Ages and the author of several books on LGBT history and medieval European history....
, Magnus versus Birgitta : der Kampf der heiligen Birgitta von Schweden gegen König Magnus Eriksson, Hamburg 2003 (German)
See also
- Unions of Sweden
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