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.
Eric, often known as Eric of Pomerania, ruled over the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439. He was initially co-ruler with his great-aunt Margaret I until her death in 1412. Eric is known as Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396–1439) and has been called Eric XIII as King of Sweden. Eric was ultimately deposed from all three kingdoms of the union, but in 1449 he inherited one of the partitions of the Duchy of Pomerania and ruled it as duke until his death in 1459. Eric of Pomerania was a pejorative intended to point out that he did not belong in Scandinavia.
Christian I was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig and count of Holstein. He was the first king of the House of Oldenburg.
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.
Charles VIII, contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden and king of Norway (1449–1450).
Dorothea of Brandenburg was a Hohenzollern princess who became a Scandinavian queen by marriage under the Kalmar Union. She was Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden from her marriage to King Christopher III in 1445 until Christopher died in 1448. As the wife of King Christian I, Dorothea was Queen of Denmark from their marriage in 1449 and Queen of Norway from 1450 until Christian's death in 1481. She was also Queen of Sweden during Christian's reign in that kingdom from 1457 to 1464. She served as interim regent during the interregnum in 1448, and as regent in the absence of her second spouse during his reign. She was the mother of two future kings of Denmark: John and Frederick I.
The Engelbrekt rebellion (Engelbrektsupproret) was an uprising during 1434–1436 led by Swedish miner and nobleman Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson and directed against Eric of Pomerania, the king of the Kalmar Union. The uprising, with its center in Dalarna and Bergslagen, spread throughout Svealand and Götaland. The rebellion caused erosion within the unity of the Kalmar Union, leading to the temporary expulsion of Danish forces from Sweden.
The Fief of Viborg (1320–1534) was for two centuries a late medieval fief in the southeastern border of Finland and the entire Swedish realm. It was held by its chatelain, a fief-appointed feudal lord.
Arvid Birgersson, Lord of Bergkvara was a Swedish magnate and politician in the last decades of Middle Ages. He was justiciar of Östergötland and then of Tiohärad, as well as a Lord High Councillor of Sweden, and once a candidate for Regent. His family coat of arms depict a headless troll whereby some have retrospectively called him Arvid Trolle.
Christina Abrahamsdotter (1432–1492) was a Finnish woman, royal mistress and briefly queen of Sweden as the third wife of King Charles VIII.
Jöns Bengtsson (Oxenstierna), in Latin known as Johannes Benedicti de Salista, was a Swedish clergyman, canon law scholar and statesman, Archbishop of Uppsala (1448–1467). He was Regent of Sweden, under the Kalmar Union, in 1457, shared with Erik Axelsson (Tott), and alone 1465–1466.
Magdalena of Sweden was a Swedish princess. She was the daughter of Charles VIII of Sweden and his first queen consort, Catherine of Bjurum. In 1468–1470, her spouse Ivar Axelsson (Tott) was the promised successor of her father as regent.
Stegeborg Castle is a ruined castle in St Anna parish, Söderköping, Östergötland, located on an island in a narrow sound at the bay of Slätbaken.
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.