Eric of Pomerania

A caricature of the king, the only contemporary likeness of him in existence

Eric of Pomerania, Erik af Pommern, Erik VII (Danish title), Erik av Pommern (Eirik III) (Norwegian title) Erik av Pommern (Eric XIII) (Swedish title) or Eryk Pomorski (Polish title), was adopted by Margaret I of Denmark and became the hereditary king of Norway (1389 – 1440), elected king of Denmark (1412 – 1439), and of Sweden and the Kalmar Union (1396 – 1439).

He was born in 1382 in Rügenwalde (Darłowo) in Pomerania (Pomorze). Initially named Boguslav, he was the son of Vratislav of Pomerania and Mary of Mecklenburg, the only surviving granddaughter of Waldemar Atterdag of Denmark and also a descendant of Magnus I of Sweden and Haakon V of Norway. Eric's maternal grandfather was Duke Henry of Mecklenburg, who was rival to Queen Margaret in regard to Danish succession in 1375.

In 1406 King Eric married Philippa, daughter of Henry IV of England and Mary de Bohun.

Because of his relationship to the Danish royal house he was chosen as heir by his grandmother's sister Margaret bringing him up to be her successor. At the creation of the Kalmar union 1397 he was crowned as king of the three realms but as long as Margaret lived he was in reality a crown prince with the name of a king.

From contemporary sources King Eric appears an intelligent, visionary, energetic and a firm character. That he was also a charming and well-speaking man of the world was shown by a great European tour of the 1420s. The reverse of his character seems to have been his hot temper, his lack of diplomatic sense and an obstinacy that bordered mulishness. Those are some of the explanations why this king who was inheriting perhaps the greatest power that any Danish ruler has received was able to lose everything.

Almost the whole of Eric's sole rule was affected by his long-standing conflict with the Holstein counts. He tried to regain South Jutland (Schleswig) which Margaret had been winning but he chose a policy of warfare instead of negotiations. The result was a devastating war that did not only end without conquests but even let him lose the South Jutlandic areas that he had already got. During this war he showed much energy and steadiness but also a remarkable lack of adroitness. A German Imperial verdict of 1424 recognising him as the legal ruler of South Jutland was ignored by the Holsteiners. The long war was a strain on the Danish economy as well as on the unity of the North.

Perhaps his most far-ranging act was the introduction of the Sound Dues (Øresundtolden) 1429 which was to last until 1857. By this he secured a large stable income for his kingdom that made it relative rich and which made the town of Elsinore flowering. It showed his interest of Danish trade and naval power but of course also permanently challenged the other Baltic powers especially the Hanseatic cities against which he also fought. Another important event was that he definitely made Copenhagen a royal possession 1417. This was its final access of becoming the capital of Denmark.

During the 1430s the policy of the king fell apart. The farmers and mine workers of Sweden began a national and a social rebellion 1434 which was soon used by the Swedish nobility in order to weaken the power of the king. He had to yield to the demands of both the Holsteiners and the Hanseatic League and when at last also Danish noblemen began opposing his rule he quite simply left Denmark 1439 and settled at his castle Visborg in Gotland (now Gotland County in Sweden), apparently a kind of a "royal strike" which at last led to his deposition.

One of the seals of Eric VII, 1398 symbolising; top left: Denmark, top right: Kalmar Union, bottom left: Sweden, bottom right: Pommerania, centre: Norway. The four quarters are divided by the cross of the Dannebrog

In 1440 Eric, having been deposed in all his kingdoms, was succeeded by his nephew, Christopher of Bavaria, who had been chosen to the thrones. At the time when he was deposed as king in Sweden and Denmark, he was offered to rule as a Norwegian king only. It was the hereditary Kingdom of Norway and until 1459, successions of others in Norway could be said to have been illegal. It is said he refused the offer by saying it is better to be a pirate chieftain on Gotland than being the king of Norway.

Christopher, his successor, died in 1448, long before Eric himself.

The next monarch (reigning from 1448 to 1481) was Eric's kinsman, Christian I of Denmark, who was son of Eric's earlier rival Count Theodoric of Oldenburg. To him Eric handed over Gotland in return for the permission to leave for Pomerania.

From 1449 to 1459, Eric ruled the Duchy of Stolp (part of the Duchy of Pomerania) as Eric I.

He died in 1459 at Rügenwald Castle in Pomerania, and was buried in Rügenwalde (now Darłowo, Poland).

He is also thought to have been the only foreign ruler in Scandinavia of partial Slavic heritage.