Meet the Middle Ages
BackQueen Margareta
Queen Margareta (1353-1412) is the most powerful woman we know of during the Middle Ages. She ruled the largest kingdom in Europe, the united kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Margareta was born in 1353. She was the daughter of the Danish King, Valdemar Atterdag and his wife Helvig. At the tender age of six, she was engaged to Haakon, aged 19. Haakon was the son of the Swedish King, Magnus Eriksson and was already King of Norway. In 1363, at the age of ten, Margareta was married to 23-year-old Haakon. Maragreta ´s and Håkon ´s parents had arranged the marriage in order to strengthen the bond between their countries. However, Margareta continued to live at home with her parents. She was brought up to be a queen by Märta, who was a daughter of St. Birgitta.
In 1364, when the nobility rose in a rebellion against King Magnus and King Haakon, Haakon and Margareta had to flee from Sweden to Norway. Now, Albrekt of Mecklenburg became the King of Sweden. When Margareta was 16 years old, she became Lady of the Manor at Akershus Castle in Oslo. She has written about her hard and troublesome life there. She had to use worn-out sheets and clothes which had been mended. She was not able to entertain the nobility in style- there were not enough jugs and bowls to go round. In this impoverished castle, Margareta gave birth to her son Olaf in 1370.
In 1380, Margareta suffered a heavy loss - her husband Haakon suddenly died. At the age of 27, Margareta was a widow. Her son Olaf became King of both Norway and Denmark. Since he was very young, Margareta was, in reality, the ruler.
Margareta wanted to rule Sweden as well. When she was in the middle of negotiations with the Swedish nobility about a rebellion against King Albrekt, she once again suffered a loss. Her son Olaf suddenly died at the Castle of Falsterbohus in Skåne. She acted quickly to get a new heir, adopting her niece ´s son Bogislav, who lived in Pommern. He came to Sweden at the age of six, and his name was changed to Erik.
In 1388, the Swedish nobility elected Margareta their "authorised Lady and rightful Master". An army was mobilised which defeated Albrekt ´s troops at the Battle of Falköping in 1389. Margareta now became the ruler of the three Nordic Kingdoms. Erik became the King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
In 1397, Margareta was at the peak of her career. In the huge Nicolai-church in Kalmar, Erik was crowned King over the three Nordic kingdoms. Margareta had established a Union between Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The countries promised to help and support each other always. Margareta was in reality the ruler of this huge realm. At this time, she might have been the mightiest person in Europe.
Margareta continued to rule her countries with a firm hand. In 1412 she died from the plague, 59 years old. She became ill during a visit to Flensburg and died on board one of her ships in the harbour. She was buried in Roskilde Cathedral.