DENMARK. 



^°jy^ to pay the debts which his brother or himself had con- 

 tracted. This conduct irritated and inflamed the no- 

 bility, and a civil war, which continued the whole of 

 his reign, ensued. His situation was rendered still more 

 distressing and perilous, by the death of Eric, Duke of 

 Sleswick, of whose son, being under age, Christopher 

 claimed the guardianship : his claim was opposed by 

 the Earl of Holstein, maternal uncle to the young prince: 

 a war ensued between them, but Christopher was de- 

 feated in a battle near Gottorp. His defeat encouraged 

 the rebellion of his subjects ; who issued a solemn de- 

 cree, that he, as well as his eldest son Eric, had for- 

 feited the crown, and soon afterwards proclaimed the 

 young Duke of Sleswick King of Denmark. This ar- 

 rangement, however, was soon set aside ; the new sore- 

 reign returned to his own duchy ; his maternal uncle 

 took possession of Jutland and the island of Funen ; 

 the other islands in the Baltic were divided among the 

 discontented nobles; and Schonen, Hallund, and Blek- 

 ingen, were reconquered by Sweden. The only part 

 of the Danish dominions, which continued to recog- 

 nise Christopher, was the province of Zealand, to which, 

 after bis defeat near Gottorp, he returned from Meck- 

 lenburgh, whither he had fled, and where he soon af- 

 terwards died. 



On his death, the young Duke of Sleswick again 

 claimed the crown of Denmark. His claim was at 

 first admitted, till the assassination of his maternal un- 

 cle, who, in fact, exercised the regal power. Soon 

 after this event, the nation, discontented and exaspe- 

 rated at the ascendency which the House of Holstein 

 had gained, invited Valdemar, the youngest son of 

 Christopher, to the throne; Eric, the oldest, havino- 

 died before his father. This prince was assisted by the 

 Emperor of Germany in the recovery of his hereditary 

 dominions ; and in a treaty of peace, which was con- 

 cluded between him and the Duke of SlesAvick, by which 

 the latter renounced the crown, but kept the duchy as 

 a hereditary fief; and, by a treaty with the king of Swe- 

 den, the provinces which had been wrested from Den- 

 mark during the reign of Christopher the Second, were 

 restored. So far, the reign of this prince was prospe- 

 rous ; but the scene soon changed. The Hanse Towns, 

 grown rich and powerful by commerce, declared war 

 against him, and carried their ravages into the very 

 heart of Denmark. Being assisted by some of the 

 neighbouring powers, they compelled Valdemar to con- 

 clude a peace on their own conditions. As soon as 

 peace was restored, he applied himself to regulate the 

 internal state of his kingdom ; but, before he had re- 

 duced his plans into practice, he died in the year 1378. 

 This prince had two daughters ; the oldest was married 

 to a Duke of Meeklenburgh, and had a son, who, on 

 the death of his grandfather, assumed the title of kin"- 

 of Denmark. The second daughter, Margaret, was 

 married to Haquin, king of Norway, and had a son, 

 called Olaus. This son, the states of Denmark chose 

 to be their king ; and, on the death of Haquin, he also 

 succeeded to the throne of Norway, and to the preten- 

 sions which his father had to the kingdom of Sweden. 

 When Olaus ascended the throne of Denmark, he was 

 only ten years of age ; the states therefore declared 

 Margaret regent during his minority ; and, on his death, 

 seven years afterwards, they chose her for their sove- 

 reign. Before, however, the states of Denmark agreed 

 to elect Olaus, in preference to the son of the oldest 

 , daughter of Valdemar, and subsequently to fix Marga- 

 ret on the throne, they took care to extend and secure 

 their laws, liberties, and privileges. The senate of 

 5 



623 



Norway followed the example of the states of Denmark, History, 

 botli in the election of this princess> and in fixing the '"-"V— * 

 terms on which they agreed to choose her as their sove- 

 reign. They also decreed, that the sceptre should 

 pass to Eric, the nephew of Margaret, at that period 

 an infant of five years old. Being thus securely fixed 

 on the thrones of Denmark and Sweden, this princess, 

 who was endowed with a most ambitious spirit, and 

 with talents and enterprize amply sufficient to attain 

 and secure whatever her ambition prompted her to de- 

 sire, turned her thoughts towards Sweden. This king- 

 dom was a prey to domestic convulsions. The right of 

 succession to the crown undoubtedly belonged to her 

 husband Haquin, as son of the last king, and to his 

 heirs ; but to the exclusion of them, Albert the Se- 

 cond, Duke of Mecklenburg, had been elected king. 

 This prince, seated on a tin-one to which he had no 

 title, had not policy sufficient to establish himself in it, 

 by acts of justice, or even of clemency ; on the con- Albert W. 

 trary, he rendered his authority unstable by his oppres- attempts to 

 sion and tyranny. Margaret did not fail to take ad- g a >n the 

 vantage of this state of things ; she encouraged and ex- crown of 

 tended the divisions which had taken place between Swederu 

 him and his subjects. The clergy of Sweden were en- 

 tirely in her interest, and the mass of the people were 

 won by her generosity. She did not, however, trust 

 to these circumstances alone; she formed a love in- 

 trigue with one of the Swedish nobility, and by this 

 means gained many of them over to her party. Thus-, 

 supported by the clergy and a great portion of the no- 

 bility and the people, the chance of Albert in oppo- 

 sing her seemed desperate. He resolved, hoAvever, to 

 attempt it : a great part of the Swedish army still ad- 

 hered to him ; and he received assistance from Henry 

 of Mecklenburg, and other German princes, who were 

 jealous and afraid of Margaret's elevation to the throne 

 of Sweden. The Swedish malcontents, in the mean 

 time, had put most of the fortresses into her posses- 

 sion, and made her a formal offer of the crown. This 

 6he accepted, on the condition that it should be made 

 hereditary ; to which condition, after some delay and 

 hesitation, the malcontents acceded. Of all the pro- 

 vinces of Sweden, Margaret depended most on Dale- 

 carlia ; the inhabitants of which, Avarlike and intrepid, 

 had come forth almost unanimously in her favour ; and, 

 in order to supply her Avith resources to carry on the 

 contest Avith Albert, they put her in possession of the 

 copper mines, notAvithstanding they had been mort- 

 gaged to the princes of Holstein. Albert still had 

 hopes, that though the malcontents had offered the 

 crown to his riA r al, the Swedish senate would not go 

 so far ; he could not expect that they Avould support 

 him ; all he looked for, and reckoned upon, Avas their 

 neutrality. In this, hoAvever, he was disappointed ; 

 perceiving that the voice of the nation Avas decidedly 

 for Margaret, they ratified the treaty which she had 

 concluded Avith the deputies of the malcontents, and 

 acknoAvledged her queen of Sweden, Denmark, and 

 Norway. Albert noAV determined to appeal to arms : 

 and, collecting a numerous body of troops, he prepared 

 to take the field. Nor was Margaret idle ; she march- 

 ed a large army, composed of Danes and NorAvegians, 

 under the command of four generals, to join the disaf- 

 fected Swedes. As soon as the junction took place, Battle of 

 they advanced against Albert, and came up with him Farfcupiijg, 

 at Falkoping, where an obstinate and furious battle Avas 

 fought. Victory Avas for a long time doubtful ; but the 

 good fortune of Margaret at last prevailed, and the ar- 

 my of Albert Avas almost entirely cut to pieces. As 



