While Philippa was a competent ruler in Sweden, her husband Erik’s main concern was usually the border conflicts between Denmark and the dukedom Schleswig-Holstein. It was a protracted conflict and in August 1423 Erik traveled…
Turku, Finland/Sweden, 1643: Inside the town hall of Turku, the air felt thick with the weight of impending decisions. The large, dimly lit room was dominated by heavy wooden beams and rough stone walls, casting…
Philippa, the youngest of six siblings, was born on July 4th 1394, as the daughter of English nobleman and member of the royal family Henry Bolingbroke, and Mary de Bohun. Mary died shortly after the…
Meet Philippa: An English Princess who became a Scandinavian Queen. As a young girl, she saw her father take the crown of England as king Henry IV. At 12 years old, she married Erik, the…
In the previous post, we examinated the origins of this gruesome profession. Now let’s take a look at the social status of those who became executioners. Once someone agreed to take on this role, he…
In this theme, previously posted on my instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/tookstalesofthenorth/), we explore one of the most marginalized and despised proffessions of history – the executioners. The name of this theme is because this was the…
In the last post, we saw the Norwegian princess Ingeborg Håkonsdatter being the leader of the rebellion to free her husband, duke Erik, from his imprisonment. After Erik’s death in 1318, she claimed the Swedish…
In the last post, I wrote about the complicated relationships between Norway, Denmark and Sweden in the early 14th century, where the young Norweigan princess Ingeborg Håkonsdatter found herself in the midst of political turmoil.…
Ingeborg Håkonsdatter (or Ingebjørg) was a Norwegian princess, born in 1301. She was the only child of king Håkon V (Magnusson) and queen Eufemia of Rügen. She would play a vital role in Nordic history…
In the first part of Ingegerd Olofsdotter’s story, we learned about her life as a Swedish princess, and her broken betrothal to the Norwegian king, Olav. We left the story with Ingegerd’s departure from Sweden,…