The resources of the royal power
The financial conditions for state power were expanded and changed during the 13th century. Land ownership was an important financial prerequisite for kings and other great men at the earliest. Uppsala fate was the estate complex that came with the royal office. This included the villagers, who during the 1000s and 1100s were support points for the royal power. The king’s right to a guest, ie maintenance during their travels, and the lead was relieved by the end of the 13th century of permanent taxes, which rested on the land that was not saved. These standing taxes, however, were insufficient for the needs of the state power, and during the Middle Ages there were also a series of extraordinary taxes, which often also burdened the earth of salvation.
Maintaining peace in the kingdom was regarded as one of the king’s most important tasks. Shares of fines therefore became an important source of income for the royal power, as well as an important means of power against the great men. The royal power and the church exerted a great influence, partly in competition with each other, over the judiciary. A national laws currently in force are known from the Birger Jarl time (see edsöreslagstiftning). During the 13th century and the beginning of the 13th century, the provincial laws were added and by the middle of the 13th century the national and city laws were valid. Behind the legislation lay the royal power and partly also the church. A more aristocrat-friendly version of the national team was added in 1442. (See landscape law, national team, Kristofers national team and city law.)
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Conflicts of faith and opposition
The early 1300s were characterized by continued struggles within the ruling dynasty. When Magnus Ladulås died in 1290, his son Birger was already elected king, and a guardianship consisting of great men under the leadership of Marshal Torgils Knutsson held power until 1302. Then a power struggle broke out between the king and his brothers, the dukes Erik and Valdemar, who captured the king in Håtunaleken 1306. After King Birger’s release in 1310 the kingdom was temporarily divided between the brothers. The king, however, in Nyköping’s guest ban in 1317 imprisoned and killed his brothers but was himself expelled after a rebellion.
In 1319, Duke Eric’s three-year-old son Magnus was elected Swedish king; by inheritance on his mother he also became Norwegian king that year. In connection with the election, the so-called freedom letter was issued, in which the chiefs, as guardians, set limits on the king’s personal exercise of power, including guarantees against arbitrary taxation and prohibition against using foreigners in the council and the county administration. Magnus Eriksson probably reached the age of 1331, and his reign came to be characterized by state financial problems and conflicts with the Swedish Council aristocracy. Skåne and Blekinge were acquired in 1332 through a costly mortgage redemption, and around 1350 an expansive policy resumed east towards Novgorod. This stifled finances. Extra taxes were levied, the church privileges were revoked and loans were taken against the security of the Crown’s land and income. The situation was made worse by the death of the poet and the subsequent agricultural crisis. The contradictions between council and royal power were accentuated. One of the most eloquent aristocratic opponents against the king was Saint Birgitta. Rebellion broke out in 1356, and the kingdom was divided for a time between the king and his eldest son Erik, who died already in 1359. To this came foreign political adversaries: in 1360 the Scanian landscapes were lost to Denmark and the following year also Gotland. The domestic contradictions led to Magnus Eriksson being deposed, and a Swedish main man group made sure that Albrekt of Mecklenburg was elected Swedish king in 1363–64. Allegedly, however, in 1371, a royal declaration was in favor of the aristocracy. During his reign, however, a large number of German noblemen were also used in the county administration. Large parts of the country’s resources were controlled by the nobility, both the old Swedish and the immigrant German. A storm such as Bo Jonsson (Grip) during this time could build up a significant economic and power political position. When Albrekt sought to assert the status of the kingdom, this led to a new aristocratic uprising.
The first stage of the Union era
The Swedish chiefs were supported by the Danish-Norwegian regent Margareta, and Albrekt was defeated at Falköping in 1389. In practice, the three countries were linked together under a regent, but with Denmark as the leading power. The unity between the kingdoms was emphasized by several members of the three national councils when Margareta’s young relative Erik of Pomerania was crowned in Kalmar in 1397. The Union idea was a political reality during the rest of the Middle Ages, although the Union rarely worked in practice (see also the Kalmar Union). The Swedish parliament passed through Kalmar assurances about its position as the leading political force in Sweden. Margaretas and Erik of Pomerania’s time are characterized by settlements with the former empire; inter alia a reduction of salvation goods was carried out, which, however, mainly affected the lower salvation and church institutions. Newly introduced, burdensome taxes and stricter administration for the peasants led to dissatisfaction, as did King Erik’s policy to a large extent to make use of foreign bailiffs, who forced Swedish salvation from the salaried county administration. All in all, this led to the widespread Engelbrekts rebellion 1434–36, and the end result was that Erik was deposed and expelled.
Population 2012
According to countryaah, the population of Sweden in 2012 was 9,764,839, ranking number 90 in the world. The population growth rate was 0.790% yearly, and the population density was 23.7972 people per km2.
