Olav IV of Norway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olav IV Haakonsson (1370 - August 23, 1387) was king of Denmark as Oluf III (1376–1387) and king of Norway as Olav IV (1380–1387). He was also King of Sweden (in opposition to Albert of Mecklenburg) from 1385 until 1387.

Olav was son of Haakon VI of Norway and Margaret of Denmark. Haakon was son of King Magnus II of Sweden and Margaret daughter of King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark. After Olav, no Norwegian king was to be born on Norwegian soil for more than 550 years, until prince Harald was born in 1937. His death was also the end of the male line of the Folkung dynasty in Sweden.

Olav inherited the Danish throne through his mother and the Norwegian throne from his father. He was formally elected as King of Sweden in 1385, although he was just a teenager and his mother was probably the acting regent. Following his premature death in 1387, his mother Margaret was able to unite the three Scandinavian kingdoms in personal union under one crown, by the Kalmar Union in 1389.


Preceded by:
Valdemar IV Atterdag
King of Denmark
1376–1387
Succeeded by:
Margaret I
Preceded by:
Haakon VI Magnusson
King of Norway
1380–1387