The Scandinavian History Podcast

041 The Crusade That Maybe Never Was

In the 1150s, king Erik and bishop Henrik went on the First Swedish Crusade to Finland. Maybe. The mission was a success and Finland was won for Christ and for the Swedish crown. Maybe. Erik and Henrik were both rewarded with sainthoods, but only after they met their rather grisly deaths.

042 Swedish Finland

Through the second and third crusades (that definitely did happen), Sweden took control over Finland, making it a part of Scandinavia from a political, religious, economic, and cultural–if not geographical–perspective.

043 Commonwealth in Crisis

Fighting among the richest and most powerful clans in Iceland weakened the Commonwealth and opened the door for a Norwegian takeover. In the end, Iceland lost its independence and wouldn’t regain it until 1944.

044 Peak Norway

Haakon Haakonsson was king of Norway for a very long time. 46 years to be exact. His long reign is considered the zenith of medieval Norway: he put an end to the Norwegian civil war by defeating his father-in-law, he built multi-story stone buildings, had fashionable fiction translated and expanded Norway to its largest size ever when he took control over Iceland and Greenland.

045 Law Mender and Sons

King Magnus Law Mender is famous for having established one unified law code for all of Norway. Except cities and towns, which had their own laws. And Iceland, obviously. His sons focused more on fighting Denmark and trying to produce legitimate male heirs.

046 Chaos and Decay

The years following the murder of Erik Plowpenny saw bitter fighting between the Danish kings, who kept getting killed, and the Church and the nobility. The once mighty kingdom was fast losing its position as the leading power in Scandinavia, and no one seemed able to stop the decay.

047 The End of Denmark?

As the descendants of Valdemar the Victorious fought each other, Denmark descended deeper into decay. To raise money, the king pawned off bits of the kingdom to German aristocrats, gradually losing control over the country.

048 A New Dawn

After years of decay and foreign control over Denmark, a new king was elected in 1340. Valdemar IV had his mind set on regaining control over the kingdom–no matter what. And he didn’t let German aristocrats, peasant rebellions or the Plague stand in the way of achieving his goal. For his efforts, he was given the nickname Valdemar Dawn.