Eirik (Magnusson) King of Norway (1268 - 1299)

Born 1268 in Tønsberg, Vestfold, Norway

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Dunkeld) Queen consort of Norway — married 31 Aug 1281 in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

Husband of Isabel (Brus) Bruce — married 1293 in Bergen, Norge

Died 15 Jul 1299 at about age 31 in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

Biography

Eirik Magnusson was the eldest son of Magnus Lagabøte and took the crown when his father died in 1280. When Eric was a little boy, he received head injuries in a riding accident, and many believe this is why he was unfit to rule the country. This was exploited by people with great power ambitions. Among those who served as his guardians, was his mother, the Danish princess Ingeborg, and the baron Audun Hugleiksson. This led to the policy under Eirik's reign that was somewhat harder than it had been under Magnus Lagabøte. Under his reign the church lost many privileges. The controversy led to power growth for upper class and the archbishop Jon Raude, who had to flee the country. This battle lasted until the archbishop died in 1282. Eric has since been nicknamed "priest hate", a name that is completely unfounded. Firstly he stood outside this conflict with the church, and secondly, he showed that as an adult he had great sympathy with the clerics and had a good relationship with the pope. His foreign led guardianship led to war against both Denmark and the Hanseatic League. Conflict with the Hanseatic League centered initially on the German merchant privileges in Norwegian cities. Some German merchant ships were hijacked, with the result that the Hanseatic sites and Denmark joined forces in a trade blockade that prevented grain imports to Norway. It all ended when the Norwegians had to give up, pay damages and increase the privileges of the German merchants. The outcome of the battle was thus a financial crisis unparalleled in the kingdom earlier history. The dispute with Denmark lasted throughout Eric's reign. Duke Hakon , who was Eric's younger brother, took over as king after Eric's death in 1299. Eirik was married to a daughter of the Scottish king Alexander III, it was their daughter Margaret who was in 1289 recognized as Scottish queen ("girl from Norway"), but died on the journey in 1290. Eirik demanded Scotland's throne as his daughter's heir and later a sizeable compensation, but without result. He was also married to Isabel Bruce , granddaughter of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce , and had with her ​​a daughter Ingeborg, who later married with Duke Valdemar of Sweden.

Under Eirik Magnusson Norway's coat of arms received its current design. Also, his predecessors had used lion motif, but by Eirik government accession in 1280 he gave the lion crown and ax in his front paws, for a relationship with St. Olaf .

Sources

• Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson Vol. IV p. 595

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• http://www.dokpro.uio.no/umk/myntherr/em.html