The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by widowed Queen Margaret of Norway and Sweden. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, together with Norway's overseas colonies.
Gustav I, commonly known as Gustav Vasa, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (Riksföreståndare) from 1521, during the ongoing Swedish War of Liberation against King Christian II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Gustav rose to lead the Swedish War of Liberation following the Stockholm Bloodbath, where his father was executed. Gustav's election as king on 6 June 1523 and his triumphant entry into Stockholm eleven days later marked Sweden's final secession from the Kalmar Union.
Sten Sture the Younger, was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union.
Sten Sture the Elder was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470–1497 and 1501–1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist forces during the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471, he weakened the Kalmar Union considerably and became the effective ruler of Sweden as Lord Regent for most of his remaining life.
Kettil Karlsson (Vasa) (c. 1433 – 11 August 1465) was a Swedish clergyman, diplomat, military leader and statesman during the Kalmar Union era. He was a member of the house of Vasa. At age 25, he was elected Bishop of Linköping. He rebelled against King Christian I in 1463, was Captain General (rikshövitsman) and de facto regent of Sweden from February to August 1464, stepping down during the brief return of King Charles Canutesson from exile. After falling out with King Charles, Kettil Karlsson was subsequently elected Lord Protector and Regent (riksföreståndare) of Sweden from 26 December 1464 to his death.
Sture was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud', but later became a surname. Particularly famous are the three regents from these families who ruled Sweden in succession during the fifty-year period between 1470 and 1520, namely:
Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna of Fogelvik was a Swedish noblewoman. She was married to the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, and led the Swedish resistance against Christian II of Denmark after the death of her spouse. In her own lifetime she was simply referred to as Fru Kristina, but she has become known in history as Kristina Gyllenstierna because of the house of nobility to which she belonged.
Jakob Ulvsson was Archbishop of Uppsala, Primate of the Roman Catholic Church of Sweden 1469–1515 and the founder of Uppsala University in 1477.
Bernt Notke was a late Gothic artist from the Baltic region. He has been described as one of the foremost artists of his time in northern Europe.
Lady Ingeborg Åkesdotter Tott or 'Ingeborg Aagesdotter of the Thott', in her lifetime called Ingeborg Åkesdotter or simply Fru Ingeborg, was a Swedish noble, the consort of the Swedish regent Sten Sture the elder. She was the fiefholder of Häme in Finland. She functioned as the de facto queen consort of Sweden for over three decades and participated in state affairs during the reign of her spouse.
Knut Jönsson Posse was a Swedish general in Sweden and Finland remembered for the Vyborg Bang (1495) and for his surprise attack on the Danish Army at the Battle of Brunkeberg (1471).
Nils Bosson Sture (1426–1494) was a Swedish noble and supporter of Sten Sture to be King of Sweden. He is famous for his flanking movement to surprise King Christian I of Denmark's army at the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471. He died as a politician in the Swedish government in Stockholm, a proud man.
The Dano-Swedish War was the first conflict between Denmark and Sweden. The Danes invaded Sweden by sea, but were defeated early at the Battle of Brunkeberg, in which King Christian I of Denmark was wounded by a cannonball. The Danish invasion was repelled, and the Swedes were independent from the Kalmar Union.
Battle of Brännkyrka took place on 27 July 1518 in Sweden, during a Swedish uprising against the Danish dominance in Kalmar Union, between Danish forces and Swedish rebel troops. The battle resulted in decisive Swedish victory.
The Dano-Swedish War from 1501 to 1512 was a military conflict between Denmark and Sweden within the Kalmar Union.
The Battle of Haraker was fought on 17 April 1464 at the village of Haraker, Västmanland, approximately 20 kilometers north of the city of Västerås in Sweden. The Swedish separatist army, under the command of the Bishop of Linköping, Kettil Karlsson, defeated King Christian I's Danish army.
Ture Turesson (Bielke) (1425–1489/90) was a Swedish statesman and military commander and a prominent leader of the unionist party during the Kalmar Union period. He was a Privy Councillor and Castellan of Axvall Castle during the reign of separatist King Charles Canutesson, before defecting to the unionist side in 1452, spending several years in exile in Denmark. He was appointed Lord High Constable of Sweden, Castellan of Stockholm and Kalmar and Captain-General during the reign of King Christian I, and commanded the unionist forces during several major battles during the turbulent 1460s, before surrendering to Sten Sture the Elder's separatists in 1472. During his later years he was Lawspeaker of the province of Öland.
Saint George and the Dragon is a late medieval wooden sculpture depicting the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, located in Storkyrkan in Stockholm, Sweden. It is attributed to Bernt Notke and was commissioned by the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder. It was inaugurated in 1489. It has been described as an artistic high point in the artistic production of Bernt Notke.
The Viborg Bang, as it is traditionally called in Swedish historiography, was a possibly legendary explosion which occurred at Viborg Castle in November 1495. It occurred during an assault on the castle by forces of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and is supposed to have had a crushing effect upon the morale of the besiegers, causing the attack to fail.
