The life and legend of king Magnus Eriksson

Michael Nordberg has written the definitive book on Scandinavian king Magnus Eriksson and his time, the 14th century. Unfortunately, his book "I kung Magnus tid" is only available in Swedish.

Magnus Eriksson is the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history (1319-1364), being elected king at Mora stenar outside Uppsala already at the age of three. Magnus was also king of Norway and Scania. At least on paper, his realm included Iceland and Greenland, making it the largest kingdom in Europe - and probably the sparsest populated! King Magnus' times were tumultuous, with a crusade against the Russians, conflicts with Sweden's very own prophetess Saint Bridget, the bubonic plague and attacks by pirates and German mercenaries (known as "birds of prey"). On the positive side, the 14th century saw the definitive end of thraldom in Sweden and Norway, with a young king Magnus signing the decree to manumit the last remaining thralls.

After being expelled from Sweden in 1364, Magnus found refuge in Norway, where he drowned in a dramatic shipwreck ten years later. The strangest legend concerning the event claims that Magnus Eriksson didn't die, but somehow survived the shipwreck, travelled to Russia and became an Orthodox monk as penance for the "crusade" against Novgorod! An even stranger legend about the king has arisen in modern times in the United States. It's known as...the Kensington rune stone.

All things considered, I would say that Magnus Eriksson was one of the better kings in Swedish history, certainly considering the problems he was up against. Nordberg seems to agree with this assessment. Neither he nor his colleague Dick Harrison (another historian who has written on Magnus Eriksson) are very fond of Saint Bridget, however. This could be controversial, since Bridget has been elevated to "the patron saint of Europe" by the Roman Catholic Church. She is also seen as one of the Church's greatest mystics. By contrast, our Swedish historians consider her a scheming politician with very little grasp of actual politics or military affairs!

"I kung Magnus tid" isn't as well-written as Harrison's book on Magnus' great-grandfather Birger jarl, but I will nevertheless bestow five stars upon it. For the sake of our gracious king, naturally!