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The Kalmar Union
A fresco in Bregninge Church in West Zealand from around 1375 depicts a ship being attacked by devils, whilst the sailors call to St Nicholas for help.
In 1397, the Kalmar Union created a constitutional basis for the
union of the three states when Erik of Pomerania (Erik VII), one of Margrete’s relatives, was made king of all Scandinavia. Norway remained under Danish rule until 1814, but the alliance with Sweden never gained the same permanence since the Swedes made repeated attempts to break away from the Danish predominance.
The first Swedish fight for independence was the uprising of 1434-1436; after that, the Swedish rådsstyre (ruling council) alternated between self rule and subservience to the Danish Crown throughout the 15th century.
Christian II’s brutal attempt to pacify Swedish resistance at the Massacre of Stockholm in 1520, where more than 80 union opponents were executed, had the exactly opposite effect.
Under the leadership of Gustav Vasa (Gustav I), a new Swedish uprising finally led to the dissolution of the Union, and Sweden became a new north European kingdom in keen competition with Denmark-Norway.
Bjørn Poulsen, Gyldendal Leksikon
