The King Who Became a Pirate

When you think of a convergence between a king and a pirate, you wouldn't be surprised to find he was the descendant of the Vikings. Eric VII had been king of Denmark since he was seven years old, and that realm eventually included Norway and Sweden, too. He was an unpopular ruler, waging ill-conceived wars and levying taxes, until the Swedes began rebelling and the nobles wanted to overthrow him. And he didn't even have an heir. Matters came to a head in 1438.  

With the walls closing in, Erik saw that his fate was sealed. He decided to leave the country with the royal treasure chest, a few of the crown jewels, the royal regalia and the country’s historical flag. He knew where he was going: to join the pirates.

The pirates in question were sea-worn men who for years had created fear and havoc among the merchants and noblemen of Sweden, Denmark and the German towns known as the Hanseatic League. The pirates’ enemies — the nobility who were once King Erik’s friends — were the same people with whom he now found himself at odds. So naturally, his enemies’ enemies became his friends.

As he stood proud and unrepentant on that ship, the Dannebrog banner in hand, plowing through Oresund toward the pirate’s nest on the isle of Gotland, the Danish nobles were on his trail. And while he cursed the powers that be and readied himself for piracy, the nobles made a deal with his sister, Catharina, offering her son, Christoffer of Bayern, the Danish throne. They simultaneously started a rumor that King Erik was directly involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the Royal Council. According to a diary from the noble lady Anne Krabbe, found in the Royal Danish Library’s “New Royal Collections” and written in uneven handwriting, the nobles told a tale of Erik striking a deal with the rebel farmers of the time, supposedly telling them to kill their lords, so that Erik could return and claim his throne.

Read the story of King Erik VII of Denmark and his turn to piracy at Narratively. -via Damn Interesting

(Image credit:  Darya Malikova)


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