Eric II of Norway

Eirik Magnusson (Old Norse: Eiríkr Magnússon) (1268 – 15 July 1299) was the King of Norway from 1273/80 until 1299.

Background

He was the eldest surviving son of King Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg Eriksdatter, daughter of King Eric IV of Denmark. Eric descended from St. Olav, King Olav II of Norway, being the first after Magnus the Good of that saint's descendants to ascend that throne (i.e, the descendants of St. Olav returned to kingship of Norway). He became junior king in 1273 and started ruling alone after 1280.

Eirik married princess Margaret of Scotland, daughter of King Alexander III of Scotland in 1281. Margaret died two years later in labour, giving birth to Margaret, Maid of Norway, who became queen of Scotland in 1286 until her death in 1290. Her death sparked off the disputed succession which led to the Wars of Scottish Independence.^[1]

Eirik later married Isabel Bruce, sister of King Robert I of Scotland. Their marriage did not produce a surviving male heir, though it did produce a daughter, Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway, who married Valdemar Magnusson of Sweden, Duke of Finland, in 1312. Ingeborg Eriksdotter was styled Duchess of Öland.^[2]

Reign

Eirik received the nickname "Priest Hater" from his unsuccessful relations with the church. He is normally counted a weak and inoffensive man who was mostly guided by his councillors. Probably because of his claim on his maternal heritage he supported the Danish outlaw Stig Andersen Hvide, who ravaged the Danish coasts for some years after the regicide of King Erik V.

As Eirik died without sons, he was succeeded by his brother, Haakon V of Norway. He was buried in the old cathedral of Bergen, which was demolished in 1531. Its site is marked by a memorial, in present-day Bergenhus Fortress.^[3][4]

Ancestry

References