Editing Kalmar Union

{{Short description|Personal union in Scandinavia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Kalmar Union
| native_name            = ''Kalmarunionen''
| common_name            = Kalmar Union
| era                    = Late Middle Ages
| status                 = State union
| status_text            = [[Personal union]]
| year_start             = 1397
| year_end               = 1523
| event_start            = Inception
| date_start             = 17 June
| event1                 = [[Engelbrekt rebellion]]
| date_event1            = 1434–1436
| event2                 = [[Stockholm Bloodbath]]
| date_event2            = November 1520
| event3                 = [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] elected as<br />King of Sweden
| date_event3            = 1523
| event_end              = [[Denmark-Norway]] was established.
| p1                     = History of Denmark#Middle Ages{{!}}Kingdom of Denmark
| flag_p1                = State Banner of Denmark (14th Century).svg
| p2                     = Kingdom of Norway (872–1397){{!}}Kingdom of Norway
| flag_p2                = Royal Banner of Norway (14th Century).svg
| p3                     = History of Sweden (800–1521)#Middle Ages{{!}}Kingdom of Sweden
| flag_p3                = Royal Banner of Sweden (14th Century).svg
| s1                     = Denmark–Norway
| flag_s1                = Royal Standard of Denmark (1731–1819).svg
| s2                     = History of Sweden (1523–1611){{!}}Kingdom of Sweden
| flag_s2                = Flag of Sweden (1562–1650).svg
| image_coat             = 
| symbol_type            = 
| image_map              = Kalmar Union ca. 1400.svg
| image_map_caption      = The Kalmar Union, {{circa|1400}}
| coordinates            = {{coord|55|40|N|12|34|E|type:country_source:kolossus-ukwiki|display=title,inline}}
| common_languages       = {{plainlist|
* Official use: [[Middle Danish]], [[Old Swedish]], [[Middle Norwegian]], [[Renaissance Latin]]
* Also spoken: [[Middle Icelandic]], [[Faroese language#Old Faroese|Old Faroese]], [[Norn language|Norn]], [[Greenlandic Norse]], [[Middle Low German]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]], [[Sami languages|Sami]], [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]], [[Karelian language|Karelian]]
}}
| capital                = {{plainlist|
*None (''[[de jure]]'')
*[[Copenhagen]] (''[[de facto]]'')}}{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}
| religion               = 
| government_type        = [[Personal union]]
| title_leader           = [[List of Kalmar Union monarchs|Monarch]]
| leader1                = [[Eric of Pomerania]] (first)
| year_leader1           = 1397–1442{{smallsup|a}}
| leader2                = [[Christian II of Denmark|Christian II]] (last)
| year_leader2           = 1513–23{{smallsup|b}}
| currency               = [[Mark (money)|Mark]], [[Örtug]], [[Norwegian penning]], [[Swedish penning]]
| legislature            = ''[[Riksråd]]'' and ''Herredag''<br />(one in each kingdom)
| footnote_a             = Margaret I ruled Denmark 1387–1412, Norway 1388–1389, and Sweden 1389–1412
| footnote_b             = Christian II ruled Denmark and Norway 1513–1523; Sweden 1520–1521
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 2839386
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
}}
{{Scandinavia|History}}

The '''Kalmar Union'''{{efn|[[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and {{langx|sv|Kalmarunionen}}; {{langx|fi|Kalmarin unioni}}; {{langx|is|Kalmarsambandið}}; {{langx|la|Unio Calmariensis}}}} was a [[personal union]]<!-- Election of Christian II as king was 1513 in Denmark and Norway, 1520 in Sweden --> in [[Scandinavia]], agreed at [[Kalmar]] in [[Sweden]] as designed by Queen [[Margaret I of Denmark|Margaret]] of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gustafsson |first=Harald |date=September 2006 |title=A STATE THAT FAILED?: On the Union of Kalmar, Especially its Dissolution |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03468750600930720 |journal=Scandinavian Journal of History |language=en |volume=31 |issue=3–4 |pages=205–220 |doi=10.1080/03468750600930720 |issn=0346-8755|url-access=subscription }}</ref> it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of [[Denmark]], [[Sweden]] (then including much of present-day [[Finland]]), and [[Norway]], together with [[List of possessions of Norway#Former dependencies and homelands|Norway's overseas colonies]]{{efn|Norway retained none of its prior possessions, but Christian I pledged the [[Northern Isles]] to [[Scotland]] as insurance for his daughter's dowry in 1468; the dowry was not paid, and the islands transferred to perpetual Scottish sovereignty in 1470. After the Union's dissolution, all remaining overseas possessions Norway brought into the Union became property of the Danish monarch, who retained ownership following the transfer of the Kingdom of Norway from the Danish crown to Swedish crown (discussed in further detail below) after the [[Napoleonic Wars]].}} (then including [[Iceland]], [[Greenland]],{{efn|Nominal possession: Norway claimed suzerainty over the island prior to the Union's formation, but it had long since ceased exercising any administrative control over the European settlements there. No direct contact took place between Greenland and the Kalmar Union during the latter's existence.}} the [[Faroe Islands]], and the [[Northern Isles]] of [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]]).

The union was not quite continuous; there were several short interruptions. Legally, the countries remained separate [[sovereign state]]s, but their domestic and foreign policies were directed by a common monarch. [[Gustav Vasa]]'s election as King of Sweden on 6 June 1523, and his triumphant [[Conquest of Stockholm|entry into Stockholm]] 11 days later, marked Sweden's final secession from the Kalmar Union.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sampson |first=Anastacia |title=Swedish Monarchy – Gustav Vasa |url=https://www.sweden.org.za/swedish-monarchy-gustav-vasa.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814170402/https://www.sweden.org.za/swedish-monarchy-gustav-vasa.html |archive-date=14 August 2018 |access-date=1 August 2018 |publisher=sweden.org.za o}}</ref> The Danish king formally renounced his claim to Sweden in 1524 at the [[Treaty of Malmö]].

== History ==

=== Inception ===
The union was the work of Scandinavian aristocracy who sought to counter the influence of the [[Hanseatic League]], a northern German trade league centered around the Baltic and North Seas. Denmark in particular was in a [[Danish-Hanseatic Rivalry|power struggle with the League]] and had recently suffered a humiliating defeat in the [[Danish-Hanseatic War (1361-1370)]] that allowed the League to become even more powerful. On the personal level, the union was achieved by Queen [[Margaret I of Denmark]] (1353–1412). She was a daughter of King [[Valdemar IV of Denmark]] and had married King [[Haakon VI of Norway]] and Sweden, who was the son of King [[Magnus IV of Sweden]], Norway and [[Scania]]. Margaret succeeded in having her and Haakon's son [[Olaf II of Denmark|Olaf]] recognized as heir to the throne of Denmark. In 1376, Olaf inherited the crown of Denmark from his maternal grandfather as King Olaf II, with his mother as guardian; when Haakon VI died in 1380, Olaf also inherited the crown of Norway.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The History of Iceland|last = Karlsson|first = Gunnar|year = 2000|page = 102}}</ref>

Margaret became regent of Denmark and Norway when Olaf died in 1387, leaving her without an heir.<ref name="BritannicaMargaret">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-I|title=Margaret I {{!}} queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden|language=en|access-date=5 June 2017|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> She adopted her great-nephew [[Eric of Pomerania]] the same year.<ref name="BritannicaErik">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-VII|title=Erik VII {{!}} king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden|language=en|access-date=5 June 2017|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> In 1388, Swedish nobles called upon her help against King [[Albert, King of Sweden|Albert]].<ref name="BritannicaSwedenCodeOfLaw">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sweden/Code-of-law|title=Sweden – Code of law {{!}} history – geography|language=en|access-date=5 June 2017|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> After Margaret defeated Albert in 1389, her heir Eric was proclaimed King of Norway.<ref name="BritannicaMargaret" /> Eric was subsequently elected King of Denmark and Sweden in 1396 under the banner of the [[House of Griffin]].<ref name="BritannicaMargaret" /> His coronation was held in [[Kalmar]] on 17 June 1397.<ref name="BritannicaKalmarUnion">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kalmar-Union|title=Kalmar Union {{!}} Scandinavian history|language=en|access-date=5 June 2017|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

One main impetus for the union's formation was to block German expansion northward into the [[Baltic region]]. The main reason for its failure to survive was the perpetual struggle between the monarch, who wanted a strong unified state, and the Swedish and Danish nobility, which did not.<ref>For a somewhat different view see {{Cite book |title=Politics and reformations: communities, polities, nations, and empires essays in honor of Thomas A. Brady, Jr |date=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-16173-3 |series=Studies in Medieval and Reformation traditions |location=Leiden |pages=471–472 |chapter=The Union Of Calmar —Nordic Great Power Or Northern German Outpost?}}</ref>

The Union lost territory when [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]] were [[pledge (law)|pledged]] by [[Christian I of Denmark|Christian I]], in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the [[dowry]] of his daughter [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret]], betrothed to [[James III of Scotland]] in 1468.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-5010-5|pages=260–268|language=en}}</ref> The money was never paid, so in 1472 the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] annexed the islands.<ref>Nicolson (1972) p. 45</ref>

=== Internal conflict ===
Diverging interests (especially the [[Swedish nobility]]'s dissatisfaction with the dominant role played by Denmark and [[Holstein]]) gave rise to a conflict that hampered the union in several intervals starting in the 1430s. The [[Engelbrekt rebellion]], which started in 1434, led to the overthrow of King Erik (in Denmark and Sweden in 1439, as well as Norway in 1442).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-5010-5|pages=251–259|language=en}}</ref> The aristocracy sided with the rebels.<ref name=":0" />

King Erik's foreign policy, in particular his conflict with the Hanseatic League, necessitated greater taxation and complicated exports of iron, which in turn may have precipitated the rebellion.<ref name=":0" /> Discontent with the nature of Erik's regime has also been cited as a motivating factor for the rebellion.<ref name=":0" /> Erik also lacked a standing army and had limited tax revenues.<ref name=":0" />

The death of [[Christopher of Bavaria]] (who had no heirs) in 1448 ended a period in which the three Scandinavian kingdoms were uninterruptedly united for a lengthy period.<ref name=":0" /> [[Charles VIII of Sweden|Karl Knutsson Bonde]] ruled as king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465, and 1467–1470) and Norway (1449-1450). [[Christian I of Denmark|Christian of Oldenburg]] was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). Karl and Christian fought over control of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, leading Christian to seize Sweden from him from 1457 to 1464 before a rebellion led Karl to become king of Sweden again.<ref name=":0" /> When Karl died in 1470, Christian tried to become king of Sweden again, but was defeated by [[Sten Sture the Elder]] in the 1471 [[battle of Brunkeberg]] outside Stockholm.<ref name=":0" />

After Karl's death, Sweden was mostly ruled by a series of "protectors of the realm" (''[[Reichsverweser#Sweden|riksföreståndare]]''), with the Danish kings attempting to assert control. First of these protectors was Sten Sture, who kept Sweden under his control until 1497, when the Swedish nobility deposed him. A peasant rebellion led Sture to become regent of Sweden again in 1501. After his death, Sweden was ruled by [[Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden)|Svante Nilsson]] (1504–1512) and then Svante's son [[Sten Sture the Younger]] (1512–1520).<ref name=":0" /> Sten Sture the Younger was killed in the 1520 Battle of Bogesund when the Danish king [[Christian II of Denmark|Christian II]] invaded Sweden with a large army.<ref name=":0" /> Subsequently, Christian II was crowned King of Sweden, and supporters of Sten Sture were executed en masse in the [[Stockholm Bloodbath]].<ref name=":0" />

==== Swedish War of Liberation ====
After the Stockholm Bloodbath, [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] (whose father, [[Erik Johansson Vasa|Erik Johansson]], was executed) travelled to [[Dalarna]], where he organized a [[Swedish War of Liberation|rebellion]] against Christian II.<ref name=":0" /> Vasa made an alliance with Lübeck and successfully conquered most of Sweden.<ref name=":0" /> He was elected King of Sweden in 1523, effectively ending the Kalmar Union.<ref name=":0" /> After the [[Northern Seven Years' War]], the [[Treaty of Stettin (1570)]] saw [[Frederick II of Denmark|Frederick II]] renounce all claims to Sweden.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bain |first=Robert Nisbet |author-link=Robert Nisbet Bain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dPQwweeMSvMC |title=Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1960 |date=1905 |publisher=Adegi Graphics LLC |isbn=978-0-543-93900-5 |pages=83 |language=en}}</ref>

===End and aftermath===
One of the union's last structures remained until 1536/1537, when the [[Danish Privy Council]], in the aftermath of the [[Count's Feud]], unilaterally declared Norway a [[Traditional districts of Denmark|Danish province]]. This did not happen. Instead, Norway became a hereditary kingdom in a [[real union]] with Denmark.<ref>{{cite book |last=Moseng |first=Ole Georg |year=2003 |title=Norges historie 1537–1814 |publisher=Universietsforlaget AS |page=27 |isbn=978-82-15-00102-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nordstrom |first=Byron |year=2000 |title=Scandinavia since 1500 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota]] Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/scandinaviasince0000nord/page/147 147] |isbn=0-8166-2098-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/scandinaviasince0000nord/page/147 }}</ref> Norway remained part of the realm of [[Denmark–Norway]] under the [[House of Oldenburg|Oldenburg dynasty]] for nearly three centuries, until it was [[Norway in 1814|transferred to Sweden]] in 1814. The ensuing [[union between Sweden and Norway]] lasted until 1905, when prince [[Carl of Denmark]], a grandson of both the [[Christian IX of Denmark|incumbent king of Denmark]] and the [[Charles XV of Sweden|late king of Sweden]], was elected king of Norway.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Jubilee |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752591,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813201519/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752591,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 August 2009 |magazine=Time |page=1 |date=8 December 1930 |access-date=17 December 2008}}</ref>

According to historian Sverre Bagge, the Kalmar Union was unstable for several reasons:<ref name=":1" />

* The power of national aristocracies.
* The varied effects of the Kalmar Union's foreign policy on the three kingdoms. For example, attempted expansions into Northern Germany may have served Danish interests, but was costly to Swedes who had to pay higher taxes and were unable to export iron to the Hanseatic League.
* Geography complicated control of the union in the event of rebellion.
* The large territorial size of the union complicated control.
* Denmark was not strong enough to force Norway and Sweden to stay within the union.

==Gallery==
The Kalmar Union monarchs were:
<gallery>
File:Margaret of Denmark, Norway & Sweden (1389) effigy 2010 (2).jpg|Queen Margaret
File:Erik I, 1382-1459, hertig av Pommern konung av Danmark Norge och Sverige - Nationalmuseum - 15058.tif|King Eric
File:Christopher of Bavaria crop.jpg|King Christopher
File:Christian I of Denmark, Norway & Sweden 1440s.jpg|King Christian I
File:John II of Sweden sculpture c 1530 (photo 2009).jpg|King John ("Hans")
File:ChristianII of denmark.jpg|King Christian II
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of Kalmar Union monarchs]]
* [[:File:Slaegtstavle til Kalmar2.gif|Scandinavian royal lineage chart for the time around the founding of the Kalmar Union]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |title=Danmark-Norge. 1: Fællesskabet bliver til / af Esben Albrectsen |date=1997 |publisher=Univ.Forl |isbn=978-87-500-3496-4 |editor-last=Albrectsen |editor-first=Esben |location=Oslo}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carlsson |first=Gottfrid |title=Medeltidens nordiska unionstanke |date=1945 |publisher=Geber |language=sv}}
* {{Cite book |last=Christensen |first=Aksel Erhardt |title=Kalmarunionen og nordisk politik 1319-1439 |date=1980 |publisher=Gyldendal |isbn=978-87-00-51833-9 |location=København}}
* {{Cite book |last=Enemark |first=Poul |title=Fra Kalmarbrev til Stockholms blodbad: den nordiske trestatsunions epoke 1397-1521 |date=1979 |publisher=Nordisk ministerråd : Gyldendal |isbn=978-87-01-80611-4 |series=Temahæfter i Nordens historie |location=København}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gustafsson |first=Harald |date=20 October 2017 |title=The Forgotten Union: Scandinavian dynastic and territorial politics in the 14th century and the Norwegian-Swedish connection |journal=Scandinavian Journal of History |language=en |volume=42 |issue=5 |pages=560–582 |doi=10.1080/03468755.2017.1374028 |issn=0346-8755}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harrison |first=Dick |author-link=Dick Harrison |title=Kalmarunionen: en nordisk stormakt föds |date=2020 |publisher=Historiska media |isbn=978-91-7789-167-3 |location=Lund}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Cambridge history of Scandinavia |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47299-9 |editor-last=Helle |editor-first=Knut |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |oclc=ocm53893623 |editor-last2=Kouri |editor-first2=E. I. |editor-last3=Olesen |editor-first3=Jens E.}}
* {{Cite book |title=Politics and reformations: communities, polities, nations, and empires essays in honor of Thomas A. Brady, Jr |date=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-16173-3 |series=Studies in Medieval and Reformation traditions |location=Leiden}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kirby |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qqsAgAAQBAJ |title=Northern Europe in the Early Modern Period: The Baltic World 1492-1772 |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-90214-0 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Larsson |first=Lars-Olof |title=Kalmarunionens tid: från drottning Margareta till Kristian II |date=2003 |publisher=Prisma |isbn=978-91-518-4217-2 |edition=2. uppl |location=Stockholm}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Michael |title=The early Vasas: a history of Sweden, 1523-1611 |date=1986 |publisher=Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-521-31182-3 |location=Cambridge}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Kalmar Union}}
* [http://www.tacitus.nu/historical-atlas/scandinavia/union.htm The Kalmar Union] – Maps of the Kalmar Union

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