Erik Johansson Vasa
Erik Johansson Vasa | |
|---|---|
 Erik Johansson Vasa as portrayed by Lorens Pasch the Younger in 1782 (likeness is dubious) | |
| Born | c. 1470 Örbyhus |
| Died | 8 November 1520 Stockholm |
| Noble family | House of Vasa |
| Spouse(s) | Cecilia Månsdotter Eka |
| Father | Johan Kristiernsson Vasa |
| Mother | Birgitta Gustafsdotter Sture |
Erik Johansson Vasa (c. 1470 – 8 November 1520) was a Swedish noble and the Lord of Rydboholm Castle in Roslagen. His son would rule as King Gustav I of Sweden from 1523–1560. [1][2]
Biography[edit]
He was born around the year 1470 to Johan Kristiernsson Vasa and Birgitta Gustafsdotter Sture in a village named Örby in the province of Uppland, Sweden. He was one of four children from Johan and Birgitta. His father Johan was a first cousin of Knut Tordsson (Bonde), father of King Charles VIII of Sweden. His mother Birgitta was a sister of Sten Sture the Elder.
Erik Johansson Vasa was a faithful adherent of the Stures, a powerful and influential family in Sweden from the late 15th century to the early 16th century, and was notorious for his irritable and arbitrary temper. He assisted the Stures in fighting against the Danes, who controlled most of Sweden during the early 16th century. When the Danes, led by King Christian II of Denmark, conquered Sweden and seized the capital city Stockholm in 1520, several members of the Sture party were executed in the Stockholm Bloodbath in November of that year. Among those executed was Erik Johansson Vasa on 8 November 1520.[3][4]
His first son, Gustav Eriksson Vasa, had escaped from Denmark some time before this event, and survived. He became King Gustav I of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560 and founder of the House of Vasa. His reign marked the final secession of Sweden from the Danish dominated Kalmar Union which had dated from 1397.
Personal life[edit]
He married Cecilia Månsdotter Eka (c. 1476–1523) and had eight children with her. All of their children were born in either Orkesta or Rydboholm Castle in the present-day county of Stockholm. Their children were:
- Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560) would become King Gustav I of Sweden in 1523.[5]
- Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa (1497 – 31 December 1536)
- Johan Eriksson (b. 1499, d. young)
- Magnus Eriksson (1501–1529)
- Anna Eriksdotter (1503–1545), nun at Vadstena Abbey
- Birgitta Eriksdotter (b. 1505, d. young)
- Marta Eriksdotter (1507–1523)
- Emerentia Eriksdotter (1507–1523)
See also[edit]
References and Notes[edit]
- ^ "Erik Johansson (Vasa)". Historiesajten. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Rydboholm". Stöd slottsguiden. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ Hans Gillingstam. "Sture (yngre ätten), släkt". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Stockholms blodbad 1520". Historiesajten. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ Gustav's gravestone gives his year of birth as 1485, but according to his son Charles IX he was born in 1488, while his nephew Per Brahe gave 1495 as his year of birth, and historian Erik Göransson Tegel the year 1490. Brahe and Tegel agree, however, that Gustav was born on Ascension Thursday and on 12 May, and these dates coincided in 1491 and 1496.
Other sources[edit]
- Ahnlund, Nils. Gustav Adolf the Great. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1940.