Magnus II of Sweden

   

Sigillum ad causas for Magnus II of Sweden
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Sigillum ad causas for Magnus II of Sweden

Magnus II Ericson, Magnus VII of Norway, (1316 - 1377), King of Sweden, Norway and Terra Scania, son of the duke Eric. Magnus was in line for the succession of the Norwegian throne when at age three he was preemptively elected king of Sweden in 1319. While he was still a minor, the countries were ruled by Knut Jonsson in Sweden and Erling Vidkunsson in Norway.

In 1332 when the king of Denmark Christopher II died as a "king without a country" after he had pawned Denmark piece by piece, king Magnus took advantage of his neigbour's distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a huge amount of silver, and thus also became king of Terra Scania and the ruler of a union of three countries.

In 1336 he married Blanche of Namur, daughter of Count Jean Dampierre of Namur and Marie DŽArtois, who descended from Louis VIII of France. In 1343 their son Haakon was designated at an early age to succeed his father to the Norwegian throne as Haakon VI, even though Magnus remained as effective ruler for some time. Some nobles attempted to oust Magnus from power by setting his elder son Eric as rival king (Eric XII of Sweden), but he died prematurely. King Valdemar IV of Denmark conquered Terra Scania back in 1360. In 1363 Magnus was deposed from the Swedish throne for the final time and sought refuge with his younger son in Norway, where he subsequently drowned in 1377.

See also: Unions of Sweden


Preceded by:
Birger
King of Sweden Succeeded by:
Albert
Haakon V King of Norway Haakon VI




da:Magnus Eriksson Smek fi:Maunu Eerikinpoika sv:Magnus Eriksson av Sverige

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