View source for Margaret I of Denmark

{{Short description|Scandinavian queen regnant, founder of the Kalmar Union (1353–1412)}}
{{other people||Margaret of Denmark (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Margaret I
| image        = Margaret of Denmark, Norway & Sweden (1389) effigy 2010 (2).jpg
| caption      = 1423 [[effigy]] on Margaret's tomb<br /> in [[Roskilde Cathedral]], Denmark
| succession   = [[List of Danish monarchs|Queen of Denmark]]
| reign        = 10 August 1387 – 28 October 1412<br />(also regent for her co-sovereign [[Erik of Pomerania|Erik]])
| coronation   = 
| predecessor  = [[Olaf II of Denmark|Olaf II]]
| successor    = [[Erik of Pomerania]] (as sole sovereign)
| regent =  Erik of Pomerania (from 1396)
| reg-type = Co-sovereign
| succession1  = [[Queen of Norway]]
| reign1       = 2 February 1388 – 28 October 1412<br />(also regent for her co-sovereign [[Erik of Pomerania|Erik]])
| coronation1  = 
| predecessor1 = [[Olaf IV of Norway|Olaf IV]]
| successor1   = [[Erik of Pomerania]] (as sole sovereign)
| regent1 =  Erik of Pomerania (from 1389)
| reg-type1 = Co-sovereign
| succession2  = [[Queen of Sweden]]
| reign2       = 24 February 1389 – 28 October 1412<br />(also regent for her co-sovereign [[Erik of Pomerania|Erik]])
| coronation2  = 
| predecessor2 = [[Albert of Sweden|Albert]]
| successor2   = [[Erik of Pomerania]] (as sole sovereign)
| regent2 =  Erik of Pomerania (from 1396)
| reg-type2 = Co-sovereign
| succession3  = Regent of Denmark
| reign3       = 3 May 1376 – 3 August 1387
| reign-type3  = Regency
| regent3 = [[Olaf II of Denmark|Olaf II]]
| reg-type3 = Monarch
| succession4  = [[Queen consort of Norway]]
| reign4       = 9 April 1363 – 11 September 1380
| reign-type4  = Tenure
| succession5  = [[Queen consort of Sweden]]
| reign5       = 9 April 1363 – 15 February 1364
| reign-type5  = Tenure
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Haakon VI]]|1363|1380|end=died}}
| issue        = [[Olaf II of Denmark]]
| house        = [[House of Estridsen|Estridsen]]
| father       = [[Valdemar IV of Denmark]]
| mother       = [[Helvig of Schleswig]]
| birth_date   = March 1353<ref name="colliers386">''[[Collier's Encyclopedia]]''. 1986 edition. p. 386</ref>
| birth_place  = [[Søborg Castle]], Denmark
| death_date   = 28 October 1412 (aged 59)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Commire|first1=Anne|title=Women in World History, Volume 10|date=2000|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|isbn=0-7876-4069-7|page=234|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT0OAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>
| death_place  = Ship in the harbor of [[Flensburg]], [[Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig]], Denmark
| place of burial = [[Roskilde Cathedral]], Zealand, Denmark
}}
'''Margaret I''' ({{langx|da|Margrete Valdemarsdatter}}; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was [[Queen regnant of Denmark]], [[List of Norwegian monarchs|Norway]], and [[List of Swedish monarchs|Sweden]] (which included [[Finland]]) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the [[Kalmar Union]] that joined the [[Scandinavia]]n kingdoms together for over a century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bagge|first=Sverre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFJNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Cross and Scepter: The Rise of the Scandinavian Kingdoms from the Vikings to the Reformation|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-5010-5|page=155}}</ref>{{sfn|Jacobsen|p=1}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Earenfight|first1=Theresa|title=Queenship in Medieval Europe|date=2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781137303929|page=238|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GD4dBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA238}}</ref> She had been [[queen consort of Norway]] from 1363 to 1380 and [[List of Swedish royal consorts|of Sweden]] from 1363 to 1364 by marriage to [[Haakon VI]]. Margaret was known as a wise, energetic and capable leader, who governed with "farsighted tact and caution",{{sfn|Derry|2000|p=74}} earning the nickname "[[Semiramis]] of the North".{{sfn|Magill|2012|p=627}} Also known famously and derisively as "King Breechless", one of several derogatory nicknames once thought to have been invented by her rival [[Albert, King of Sweden]],<ref>Margareta Skantze in ''Drottning Margaretas historia'' {{ISBN|978-91-978681-1-2}} p. 202</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Goodrich|first1=Samuel Griswold|title=The Second Book of History: Including the Modern History of Europe, Africa, and Asia ... : Designed as a Sequel to the First Book of History|date=1852|publisher=Jenks, Hickling & Swan|page=154|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7kXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA154}}</ref> she was also called "Lady King" by her subjects, widely used in recognition of her capabilities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williamson|first1=David|title=Debrett's Kings and Queens of Europe|date=1988|publisher=Salem House|isbn=9780881623642|page=106}}</ref>{{sfn|White|2010|pp=1, 39}}{{sfn|Derry|2000|pp=72}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hooper Gottlieb|first1=Agnes|title=1,000 years, 1,000 people: ranking the men and women who shaped the millennium|date=1998|publisher=Kodansha International|isbn=9781568362533|page=[https://archive.org/details/1000years1000peo00gott/page/221 221]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/1000years1000peo00gott/page/221}}</ref> [[Knut Gjerset]] calls her "the first great ruling queen in European history".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gjerset |first1=Knut |title=History of the Norwegian People. Two Volumes. Vol.II |date=1915 |publisher=The MacMillan Company |page=35 |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofnorwegi02gjeruoft/historyofnorwegi02gjeruoft_djvu.txt}}</ref>

The youngest daughter of [[Valdemar IV of Denmark]], Margaret was born at [[Søborg Castle]]. She was a practical, patient administrator and diplomat,{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=702}} albeit one of high aspirations and a strong will, who intended to unite [[Scandinavia]] forever into one single entity with the strength to resist and compete against the might of the [[Hanseatic League]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kuiper|first1=Kathleen|title=The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time|date=2009|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=9781615300105|page=53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3gVvaAUcnq0C&pg=PA53}}</ref> In 1363, aged ten, Margaret married Haakon VI. In 1370, they had a son, [[Olaf II of Denmark|Olaf]].{{sfn|Derry|2000|p=71}} Following the deaths of her husband and son, Margaret was proclaimed queen of the Scandinavian kingdoms. She was ultimately succeeded by a grandnephew, [[Erik of Pomerania]]. Although Erik came of age in 1401, Margaret continued for the remaining 11 years of her life to be sole ruler in all but name. Her regency marked the beginning of a [[Dano-Norwegian union]] which was to last for more than four centuries.{{sfn|Derry|2000}}

Some Norwegian and Swedish historians have criticized Margaret for favouring Denmark and being too autocratic, though she is generally thought to have been highly regarded in Norway and respected in Denmark and Sweden. She was painted in a negative light in contemporary religious chronicles, as she had no qualms suppressing the Church to promote royal power.{{sfn|Otte|1874|pp=183–184}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Larsen |first1=Karen |title=History of Norway |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400875795 |pages=212 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vhfWCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{sfn|Magill|2012|p=628}} Margaret is known in Denmark as ''Margrethe I'' to distinguish her from [[Margrethe II]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Chelminski|first=Rudolph|title=Margrethe of Denmark – 'Best damn queen there is'|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|date=28 January 1972|publisher=Time Inc|page=68|volume=72|number=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA68}}</ref>

==Early years and marriage==
[[File:Waldemar IV Otherday of Denmark, Jesus of Nazareth & Haelwig of Denmark c 1375.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Margaret's parents, King [[Valdemar IV of Denmark|Valdemar IV]] (left) and Queen [[Helvig of Schleswig|Helvig]] (right), {{circa}} 1375.]]
Margaret was born in March 1353 as the sixth and youngest child of King [[Valdemar IV]] and Queen [[Helvig of Schleswig|Helvig]] of Denmark.<ref name="colliers386"/>{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=12}} She was born in the prison of [[Søborg Castle]], where her father had already confined her mother.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hare|first1=Augustus J. C.|title=Sketches in Holland and Scandinavia|date=2005|publisher=Cosimo, Inc.|isbn=9781596053434|page=74|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EGTbHr0p6dQC&pg=PA74}}</ref> She was baptised in [[Roskilde]] and in 1359, at the age of six, engaged to the 18-year-old King [[Haakon VI]], the youngest son of the Swedish-Norwegian king [[Magnus IV of Sweden|Magnus IV & VII]].{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=12}} As part of the marriage contract, it is presumed that a treaty was signed ensuring Magnus the assistance of King Valdemar in a dispute with his second son, [[Erik "XII" of Sweden]], who in 1356 held dominion over Southern Sweden.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=12}} Margaret's marriage was thus a part of the Nordic power struggle. There was dissatisfaction with this in some circles, and the political activist [[Bridget of Sweden]] described the agreement in a letter to the Pope as "children playing with dolls".{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=12}} The goal of the marriage for King Valdemar was regaining [[Scania]], which since 1332 had been mortgaged to Sweden.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=13}} Per contemporary sources, the marriage contract contained an agreement to give [[Kärnan|Helsingborg Castle]] back to Denmark, but that was not enough for Valdemar, who in June 1359 took a large army across [[Øresund]] and soon occupied Scania.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=13}} The attack was ostensibly to support Magnus against Erik, but in June 1359, Erik died. As a result, the balance of power changed, and all agreements between Magnus and Valdemar were terminated, including the marriage contract between Margaret and Haakon.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=13}}

This did not result in the withdrawal of Valdemar from Scania; [[Valdemar Atterdag's invasion of Gotland|he instead continued his conquests]] on the island of [[Gotland]] in the [[Baltic Sea]].{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=13}} [[Visby]], which was populated by Germans, was the main town on the island and was the key to domination of the Baltic Sea.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=13}} On 27 July 1361 a battle was fought between a well-equipped Danish army and an array of local Gotland peasants. The Danes won the battle and took Visby, while the Germans did not take part.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=13}} King Magnus and the [[Hanseatic League]] could not disregard this provocation, and a trade embargo against Denmark was immediately enacted, with agreement about necessary military action.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=15}} At the same time, negotiations opened between King Magnus and [[Henry II, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg|Henry of Holstein]] about a marriage between Haakon and the latter's sister Elizabeth.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=15}} On 17 December 1362, a ship left with Elizabeth bound for Sweden.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=15}} A storm, however, diverted her to the Danish island [[Bornholm]], where the [[archbishop of Lund]] declared the wedding a violation of church law because Haakon had already been engaged to Margaret.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=15}} The Swedish and Hanseatic armies also ultimately withdrew from their siege of [[Helsingborg]].{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=15}} Following this, a truce was concluded. The Hanseatic States and King Magnus abandoned the war,{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=16}} and the previous engagement of the now 10-year-old Margaret and King Haakon became relevant again. The wedding was held in Copenhagen on 9 April 1363.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=16}}
[[File:Diplomatarium Norvegicum I 409.jpg|thumb|right|A page from a letter in which Margaret informs her husband King Haakon VI of her and her people's sorrowful condition at [[Akershus Fortress]], asking him to provide a means of sustenance, and conveying various news. Dated 18 October, {{circa}} 1370.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/middelalder/diplom_vise_tekst.prl?b=410|title=Margaret's letter to Haakon VI|publisher=Dokumentasjonsprosjektet|language=no}}</ref>]]
The marriage of Haakon and Margaret was an alliance, and Margaret likely remained in Denmark for some time after the wedding,{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=16}} but ultimately was taken to Akershus in Oslo Fjord where she was raised by [[Märta Ulfsdotter|Merete Ulvsdatter]].{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=17}} Merete Ulvsdatter was a distinguished noblewoman and daughter of [[Bridget of Sweden]], as well as the wife of Knut Algotsson, who was one of King Magnus's faithful followers.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=17}} Margaret was brought up with Merete's daughter [[Ingegerd Knutsdotter|Ingegerd]],{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=17}} who likely instructed her in matters of religion and monarchy.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=17}} Merete's daughters, Ingegerd and Catherine, became her closest female friends, with Margaret later showing favoritism to Ingegerd, who became an abbess, as well as her monastery. It is also likely, though, that her promotion of the Bridgettines was also out of piety and political interest to help the process of integration.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Duggan|first1=Anne J.|title=Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference Held at King's College London, April 1995|date=1997|publisher=Boydell Press|isbn=9780851158815
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8uJVS6cBOrgC&pg=PA61}}</ref>{{sfn|Higgins|1885|page=[https://archive.org/details/womeneuropeinfi00unkngoog/page/n17 8]}} Her academic studies were probably limited, but it is assumed that in addition to reading and writing she also was instructed in statecraft.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=17}} She displayed an early talent for ruling and appears to have held real power.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Nagle|editor-first1=Jeanne|title=Top 101 Remarkable Women|date=2014|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing|isbn=9781622751273|page=134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CIKKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT134}}</ref>

In the years after Margaret's wedding Scandinavia saw a series of major political upheavals. A few months after her wedding, her only brother, [[Christopher, Duke of Lolland]], died, leaving her father without an obvious male heir.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=19}} In 1364 the Swedish nobles deposed Margaret's husband and father-in-law from the Swedish throne and elected [[Albert, King of Sweden|Albert of Mecklenburg]] as king of Sweden.{{sfn|Etting|2009|p=17}}

==Regency ==
Her first act after her father's death in 1375 was to procure the election of her infant son [[Olaf IV of Norway|Olaf]] as king of Denmark, despite the claims of her elder sister [[Ingeborg of Denmark, Duchess of Mecklenburg|Ingeborg]]'s husband [[Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg]], and their son [[Albert IV, Duke of Mecklenburg|Albert]]. Margaret insisted that Olaf be proclaimed rightful heir of Sweden, among his other titles. He was too young to rule in his own right, and Margaret proved herself a competent and shrewd ruler in the years that followed. On the death of Haakon in 1380, Olaf succeeded him as King of Norway. Olaf died suddenly in 1387, aged 16, and Margaret, who had ruled both kingdoms in his name, was chosen Regent of Norway and Denmark in the following year. She had already proven her keen statesmanship by recovering possession of [[Schleswig]] from the [[Holstein]]-Rendsburg Counts. The Counts had held it for more than a generation and received it back as a fief by the [[Treaty of Nyborg (1386)|Compact of Nyborg in 1386]],{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=702}} but under such stringent conditions that the Danish Crown received all the advantages of the arrangement. By this compact, the often rebellious [[Jutes|Jutish]] nobility lost the support they had previously enjoyed in Schleswig and Holstein. Margaret, free from fear of domestic sedition, could now give her undivided attention to [[Sweden]], where mutinous nobles, led by Birger (son of Bridget and brother of Martha),{{sfn|Magill|2012|p=627}} were already in arms against their unpopular King [[Albert of Sweden|Albert]]. Several of the powerful nobles wrote to Margaret that if she would help rid Sweden of Albert, she would become their regent. She quickly gathered an army and invaded Sweden.
[[File:King_Albrecht_begs_Queen_Margaret_for_Mercy.png|thumb|right|King Albert begs Queen Margaret for mercy, as imagined in 1589. [[Royal Library, Denmark|The Royal Library]], Denmark.]]
At a conference held at [[Dalaborg]] Castle in March 1388, the Swedes were compelled to accept all of Margaret's conditions, elected her "Sovereign Lady and Ruler", and committed themselves to accept any king she chose to appoint. Albert, who had called her "King Pantsless" returned from Mecklenburg with an army of mercenaries. On 24 February 1389, the decisive battle took place at either Aasle or Falan near [[Falköping]]. General {{ill|Henrik Parow|sv}}, the Mecklenburger commander of Margaret's forces, was killed in battle, but he managed to win it for her.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Daniel Scott|first1=Franklin|title=Sweden, the Nation's History|date=1988|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=9780809314898|page=82|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qv8zxie3A18C&pg=PA82}}</ref> Margaret was now the omnipotent mistress of three kingdoms.{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=702}}

Stockholm, then almost entirely a German city, still held out. Fear of Margaret induced both the Mecklenburg princes and the [[Wends|Wendish]] towns to hasten to its assistance; and the Baltic and the North Sea speedily swarmed with the privateers of the [[Victual Brothers]]. The [[Hanseatic League]] intervened, and under the Compact of Lindholm (1395), Margaret released Albert on his promise to pay 60,000 marks within three years. Meanwhile, the Hansa were to hold Stockholm as surety. Albert failed to pay his ransom within the stipulated time, and the Hansa surrendered Stockholm to Margaret in September 1398 in exchange for commercial privileges.

===Erik of Pomerania===
[[File:Kalmarischeunion 1397 (Palácio da Pena).png|thumb|upright|An allegory of the inception of the [[Kalmar Union]]: Queen Margaret crowning [[Erik of Pomerania]] king of Norway, as depicted in a stained-glass window at [[Pena Palace]], [[Portugal]].]]
It had been understood that Margaret should, at the first convenient opportunity, provide the three kingdoms with a king who was to be a kinsman of all the three old dynasties, although in Norway it was specified that she would continue ruling alongside the new king, while in Sweden, the nobles assured Margaret that they were content to do without a king throughout her lifetime, which they hoped would be long.{{sfn|White|2010|p=56}} In 1389 she proclaimed her great-nephew, Bogislav, who changed his name to [[Erik of Pomerania]] (grandson of Henry of Mecklenburg), king of Norway, having adopted him and his sister [[Catherine of Pomerania-Stolp|Catherine]]. In 1396, homage was rendered to him in Denmark and Sweden, while Margaret once again assumed the regency during his minority.

===Union of Kalmar===
On 20 July, Margaret capitalized on the general rejoicing by publishing the famous Treaty of Kalmar, "a masterly document that sealed the union of Norway, Sweden and Denmark".{{sfn|White|2010|p=56}} The date she chose was no coincidence – it was the Feast Day of [[Margaret the Virgin|St. Margaret of Antioch]], who like the Lady King herself, was cast off by her father and thrown into prison.{{sfn|White|2010|p=57}} The treaty proposed "everlasting union", which reflected her dearest ambition, that "all three realms should exist together in harmony and love, and whatever befalleth one, war and rumors of war, or the onslaught of foreigners, that shall be for all three, and each kingdom shall help the others in all fealty ...and hereafter the Nordic realms shall have one king, and not several."{{sfn|White|2010|p=57}}<ref name="article 4-2020">[https://narratively.com/the-king-who-became-a-pirate/ "The King Who Became a Pirate"], story by Anja Klemp Vilgaard, illustrations by Darya Malikova, edited by Shawna Kenney, April 20, 2020, narratively.com.</ref>

Well aware of regional pride and prejudice, Margaret played a careful strategy, assuring her subjects that each state would be governed according to the laws and customs of each, no new laws would be introduced without the consent of the subjects, officials from governors to soldiers would be recruited from the native populations, thus showing her subjects that they would enjoy every benefit of union without any threat to national identity.{{sfn|White|2010|pp=57-58}} To weld the united kingdoms still more closely together, Margaret summoned a congress of the three [[Rigsraadet|Councils of the Realm]] to [[Kalmar]] in June 1397, and on [[Trinity Sunday]], 17 June, Erik was crowned king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Act of Union resulting from this was never completed. Scholars continue to debate the reasons, but the Union existed ''de facto'' through the early 16th century reign of King [[Christian II of Denmark|Christian II]], and the union of Denmark and Norway continued until 1814.{{sfn|Magill|2012|p=627}}

A few years after the [[Kalmar Union]], the 18-year-old Erik was declared of age and homage was rendered to him in all his three kingdoms, although Margaret was the effective ruler of Scandinavia throughout her lifetime.<ref name="article 4-2020"/>

===Kalmar Union and royal policy===
[[File:Kalmar Union ca. 1400.svg|thumb|right|220px|The geographical extent of the Kalmar Union in {{circa}} 1400]]
So long as the union was insecure, Margaret had tolerated the presence of the [[Riksråd]], but their influence was minor and the Royal authority remained supreme. The offices of High Constable and Earl Marshal were left vacant; the [[Danehof]] fell into ruin, and "the great Queen, an ideal despot",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yust|first1=Walter|last2=University of Chicago|title=Encyclopædia Britannica: A New Survey of Universal Knowledge, Volume 14|date=1950|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|page=876}}</ref> ruled through her court officials, who served as a superior kind of clerk. In any event, law and order were well maintained and the licence of the nobility was sternly repressed. The kingdoms of Sweden and Norway were treated as integral parts of the Danish State, and national aspirations were frowned upon or checked, though Norway, being more loyal, was treated more indulgently than Sweden.

In 1396, according to Grethe Jacobsen, she issued an ordinance that one should to a higher degree than hitherto respect and enforce peace towards church (''pax dei''), houses, farms, legal assemblies, workers in the fields – and women, expressed in the word "kvindefred". Jacobsen believes that as punishment for rape was normally not associated with the other forms for upholding peace in the tradition of pax dei, this may be an expression of Margrete's perception of women as being particularly vulnerable in times of unrest, and for her own interpretation of the ruler as protector of ''personae miserabiles'', which included maidens and widows. Another testament was her dispositions of 1411 through which she distributed the sum of 500 marcs among the women who had been 'violated and debased' during the wars between Sweden and Denmark 1388–1389.{{sfn|Jacobsen|pp=9-10}}
[[File:Royal Arms of Margaret I of Denmark.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Margaret's Royal Arms combined the arms of the three kingdoms, according to the [[Nationalmuseum]].]]
Margaret recovered for the Crown all the landed property that had been alienated in the troubled times before the reign of Valdemar IV. This so-called ''reduktion'', or land-recovery, was carried out with the utmost rigour, and hundreds of estates fell into the hands of the crown. She also reformed the Danish currency, substituting good silver coins for the old and worthless copper tokens, to the great advantage both of herself and of the state. She always had large sums of money at her disposal, and much of it was given to charity.

According to Thomas Kingston Derry, Margaret tried to provide the union with a sound economic basis. In the process, each of her measures (recovery of crown lands from nobility and the church, new taxes and new coins) hurt the interests of powerful classes, but she prevented them from having leadership by making little use of separate councils of her three kingdoms, relying on a body of civil and ecclesiastical officials she chose with great skills instead. She placed Danes in Swedish and Norwegian bishoprics, while royal estates and castles were managed by [[castellan]]s and bailiffs of foreign extraction. While this has been criticized as promoting Danes at the expense of Swedish and Norwegian people, Derry opines that considering she employed more Germans in her native Denmark than elsewhere, she was mainly interested in securing a loyal and efficient administration.{{sfn|Derry|2000|pp=73-74}}
[[File:Dronning Margareta PI XIX 2.jpg|thumb|right|Seal of Margaret, in known use 1381–1409.]]
She travelled much, in her later years is said to have spent more time in Sweden than in Denmark. She encouraged intermarriages among the nobility of three realms. Her piety is well-known, and she gave strong backing to the canonisation of [[Bridget of Sweden|St.Brigitta]], helped to make [[Vadstena]] into a strong cultural centre and encouraged the spread of "Brigittine language", which led to many Swedish expressions coming into use among Danes and Norwegians.{{sfn|Derry|2000|p=74}}

In contrast with the foreign policy of her venturesome father, Margaret's was circumspect and unswervingly neutral in the [[Hundred Years' War|bloody war between France and England]] as well as other European conflicts.{{sfn|Magill|2012|p=627}} However, she spared no pains to recover lost Danish territory. She purchased the island of [[Gotland]] from its actual possessors, [[Albert, King of Sweden|Albert of Mecklenburg]] and the [[Livonian Order]], and the greater part of Schleswig was regained in the same way.

In 1402 Margaret entered into negotiations with King [[Henry IV of England]] about the possibility of a double-wedding alliance between [[England]] and the Nordic Union. The proposal was for King Erik to marry Henry's daughter [[Philippa of England|Philippa]], and for Henry's son, the Prince of Wales and future [[Henry V of England]], to marry Erik's sister [[Catherine of Pomerania, Countess Palatine of Neumarkt|Catherine]]. According to Marc Shell, Margaret's vision was that one day, two unions would unite to recreate [[Cnut the Great]]'s [[North Sea Empire|Empire of the North]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shell|first1=Marc|title=Islandology: Geography, Rhetoric, Politics|date=2014|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804786294|page=131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxBXBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA131}}</ref> The English side wanted these weddings to seal an offensive alliance that could have led the Nordic kingdoms to become involved in the [[Hundred Years' War]] against [[France]]. Margaret followed a consistent policy of not becoming involved in binding alliances and foreign wars, and therefore rejected the English proposals. However, although there was no double wedding, Erik married the 13-year-old Philippa, daughter of Henry IV of England and [[Mary de Bohun]], at [[Lund]] on 26 October 1406, sealing a purely defensive alliance. For Erik's sister Catherine, a wedding was arranged with [[John, Count Palatine of Neumarkt]]. Margaret thus acquired a South German ally, who could be useful as a counterweight to the North German Princes and cities.

==Death==
[[File:Roskilde Dom07.jpg|thumb|330px|Margaret's elaborate tomb, near subsequent royal sarcophagi in [[Roskilde Cathedral]], Denmark.]]
In 1412, Margaret tried to recover [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]], and thus entered a war with Holstein. Before that she had managed the recovery of Finland and Gotland. While winning the war, Margaret died suddenly on board her ship in [[Flensburg]] Harbor.{{sfn|Derry|2000|p=73}}

In October 1412, she set sail from Seeland in her ship. She attended several debates, which reportedly had brought matters to a state of promising forwardness. On retiring to her vessel though, with the intention of leaving the port, "she was seized with sudden and violent illness". Margaret apparently foresaw the end of her life, as she ordered thirty seven marks to be paid to the nearby monastery of Campen for a perpetual mass for her soul. Beyond this, there is no discussion in the historical record regarding her demise. She died on the night of 28 October 1412, the vigil of [[St. Simon]] and [[St. Jude]].{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=702}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wakefield|first1=Andrew|title=Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (1353–1412). 2005|url=http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/margaretden.html|website=Prof. Pavlac's Women's History Resource Site|access-date=9 September 2016|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408063232/http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/margaretden.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Possible scenarios that have been suggested include plague, shock from the death of [[Abraham Brodersson]] (whom 18th-century authors have alleged was the father of a daughter Margareta had, while 19th-century authors have blamed the story on a mistranslation),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smollett|first1=Tobias George|title=The Critical Review, Or, Annals of Literature, Volume 12|date=1762|publisher=W. Simpkin and R. Marshall|page=170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3_wvAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA170}}</ref>{{sfn|White|2010|p=210}} or poisoning by Erik.<ref>{{cite book|last=Higgins|first=Sophia Elizabeth|title=Women of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries|volume=1|publisher=Hurst and Blackett|date=1885|location=Oxford University|page=[https://archive.org/details/womeneuropeinfi00unkngoog/page/n78 69]|url=https://archive.org/details/womeneuropeinfi00unkngoog|quote=The event gave rise to many conjectures..}}</ref>

Her [[sarcophagus]], made by the Lübeck sculptor Johannes Junge in 1423, is situated behind the high altar in [[Roskilde Cathedral]], near [[Copenhagen]]. She had left property to the cathedral on the condition that [[Roman Mass|Masses]] for her soul would be said regularly in the future. This was discontinued in 1536 during the [[Protestant Reformation]], though a special bell is still rung twice daily in commemoration.

==Appearance and personality==
[[File:Margarethe von daenemark.jpg|thumb|180px|Bust of Margaret from her own time.]]
She has been described as a beautiful woman with dark hair, dark eyes, an intimidating gaze and the aura of absolute authority.{{sfn|White|2010|p=40}} She was highly energetic well into her old age, autocratic and indomitable,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Henry Smith|title=The Historians' History of the World: A Comprehensive Narrative of the Rise and Development of Nations as Recorded by Over Two Thousand of the Great Writers of All Ages, Volume 6|date=1907|publisher=Hooper & Jackson, Limited}}</ref> at the same time also described as wise, just, tactful, and kind.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Durant|first1=Will|title=The Reformation: The Story of Civilization|date=7 Jun 2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451647631|page=156|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWa7JBDirUYC&pg=PT156}}</ref>{{sfn|White|2010|p=40}} Hudson Strode writes "Margaret, who, like St. Bridget, possessed the masculine quality of indomitability, was undoubtedly the strongest. No male public official ever worked harder at his job. She used her constructive ability, her diplomacy, and her force of will to make the Union a success and to maintain the royal prerogative."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Strode|first1=Hudson|title=Sweden: Model for a World|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.52770|date=1949|publisher=Harcourt, Brace|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.52770/page/n154 130]}}</ref>

==Ambiguities concerning titles==
[[File:Dronning Margareta PI XVIII 2.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Margaret's Norwegian seal, from a document dated 6 March 1388, [[Akershus]]. The inscription reads: '[... MA]RGARETA : DEI : GRATIA : REGINA : NORVEGIE : ET : SV[ECIE ...].' This translates as 'Margaret, [[by the Grace of God]], Queen of Norway and Sweden' with the remainder of the sentence lost to damage.]]
In Denmark Margaret was called "sovereign lady and lord and guardian of the entire kingdom of Denmark" (Norway and Sweden later bestowed on her similar titles). This special, double-gendered title bestowed upon the holder the power and authority of a man (lord), of a woman (sovereign lady) and of the gender-neutral guardian. Later, when Erik was elected King of Norway in 1392, she renounced this title in Norway, and in 1396, when he was crowned as King of Denmark and Sweden, she stopped the use of this title altogether, although she continued as Regent.{{sfn|Jacobsen|pp=7–9}}

She only styled herself Queen of Denmark in 1375, usually referring to herself as "Margaret, by the grace of God, daughter of Valdemar King of Denmark" and "Denmark's rightful heir" when referring to her position in Denmark. Her title in Denmark was derived from her father King [[Valdemar IV of Denmark]]. Others simply referred to her as the "Lady Queen", without specifying what she was queen of, but not so [[Pope]] [[Boniface IX]], who in his letter on 9 September 1390 styled her "our beloved daughter in Christ, Margaret, most excellent queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway". ("''Carissime in Christo filie Margarete Dacie Suecie et Norwegie regine illustri''".)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lange|first1=Christian Christoph Andreas|last2=Unger|first2=Carl Rikard|last3=Huitfeldt-Kaas|first3=Henrik Jørgen|last4=Storm|first4=Gustav|last5=Bugge|first5=Alexander|last6=Brinchmann|first6=Christopher|last7=Kolsrud|first7=Nils Oluf|title=Diplomatarium Norvegicum, Volume 5|date=1861|publisher=P.T. Malling|page=[https://archive.org/details/diplomatariumno01kolsgoog/page/n310 251]|url=https://archive.org/details/diplomatariumno01kolsgoog}}</ref>

When she married [[Haakon VI of Norway]] in 1363, he was co-King of Sweden, making Margaret queen consort, and despite being deposed, they never relinquished the title. From 24 February 1389<ref name="colliers386"/> to 28 October 1412, she was Queen of [[Denmark]], [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]] and founder of the [[Kalmar Union]], which united the [[Scandinavia]]n countries for over a century. She acted as [[queen regnant]] of Denmark, although in those days it was not the Danish custom for a woman to reign.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schnith|first=Karl Rudolf|title=Frauen des Mittelalters in Lebensbildern|publisher=Styria|year=1997|page=396|isbn=3-222-12467-1|language=de}}</ref>

==Reputation and legacy==
[[File:Margareta, 1353-1412, drottning av Danmark Norge och Sverige - Nationalmuseum - 15053.tif|thumb|right|Imaginary portrait of Margaret in coronation robes, posthumous, by an unknown artist and date, currently housed in [[Nationalmuseum]].]]
[[Elise Otté|E.C. Otte]] writes in 1874, that "[i]f Margaret could have been certain of being followed on the throne by rulers as able and just as she had been, this Act of the Union of Calmar might have worked for the good of the three kingdoms. For it was quite true, as the Queen said, that each one alone was a poor weak state, open to danger from every side, but that the three united would make a monarchy, strong enough to defy the attacks and schemes of the Hanse traders and all foes from the side of Germany, and would keep the Baltic clear of danger from foreigners. However no ruler came after Queen Margaret equal to her, as there had been none before her to be compared to her."{{sfn|Otte|1874|p=180}}

According to [[Steinar Imsen|Imsen]], her political genius has never been contested, but her motives have always been the target of much debate. During the first half of the nineteenth century, she was usually depicted as an idealist who fought to counterbalance the German influence. After the [[Second Schleswig War|defeat]] of Denmark by the Prussians in 1864, the image of Margaret the nationalist prevailed. Later she was increasingly regarded as a Machiavellist who primarily fought for her power and dynastic interests.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schaus|first1=Margaret|title=Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia|date=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780415969444|page=510|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDhOv6hgN2IC&pg=PA510}}</ref>
[[File:Roskilde Drottning Margareta Anne-Marie Carl-Nielsen 02.JPG|thumb|left|Equestrian statue in [[Roskilde]] in eastern Denmark]]
In Sweden, such a republican (opposed to monarchy) as [[Vilhelm Moberg]] lauded Margaret as adverse to warfare and called her the greatest monarch the [[Nordic countries]] ever had.<ref>{{cite book|last=Petersson|first=Erik|author-link=:sv:Erik Petersson (författare)|year=2023|url=http://libris.kb.se/bib/l2cvjpqlj5l9j5k9|access-date=9 December 2024|title=Drottning Margaretas dröm|trans-title=Queen Margaret's Dream|page=274|isbn=9789127176645}}</ref> Professor {{ill|Kjell Kumlien|de||sv}} wrote in 1949:

<blockquote>She made reality of political plans and aspirations which had previously been tried without nearly as much success by both Swedish and Danish kings. The reason why she succeeded must be sought in no small part in her own eminent political talent, distinguished by strength and endurance as well as flexible and winning negotiating skill. In an uncanny way, her person and deeds are united in the deeply felt communality of the Nordic kingdoms ...{{sfn|Petersson|2023|p=322}}</blockquote>
[[File:Erik af Pommern og Margrete 1. - kongehyldningsmonumentet i Viborg.jpg|thumb|Statue of Margaret and Erik in [[Viborg, Denmark|Viborg]], Denmark.]]
In ''The Middle Ages: Dictionary of World Biography'', Volume 2, McFadden opines that "Margaret's achievement at a time when all Scandinavia was being threatened by German cultural and economic domination was to unite the kingdoms and not only hold back the Germans but also regain lands lost to the south. At the time of her death, the Scandinavian Union was by far the most powerful force in the Baltic; it was also the second largest accumulation of European territory under a single sovereign."{{sfn|Magill|2012|p=62}}

[[Vilhelm Moberg]] calls Margaret "Scandinavia's greatest ruler".{{sfn|Lunde|2020|p=21}} Henrik O. Lunde writes that she was "the most far-sighted ruler in Scandinavia in the pre-Vasa period". Lunde remarks that the reason she united Scandinavia was that she wanted to end the continual warfare between Scandinavian states.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lunde |first1=Henrik O. |title=A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Decline of Sweden as a Military Superpower |date=10 January 2020 |publisher=Casemate |isbn=978-1-61200-243-9 |page=21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CqBZBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |language=en}}</ref> [[Thomas Heebøll-Holm]] writes that she created the third Danish empire, which was preceded by those of [[Cnut the Great]] and [[Valdemar I]].<ref>{{cite contribution |editor-last1=Strootman |editor-first1=Rolf |editor-last2=van den Eijnde |editor-first2=Floris |editor-last3=van Wijk |editor-first3=Roy |last=Heebøll-Holm|first=Thomas |contribution=Medieval Denmark as a Maritime Empire |title=Empires of the Sea: Maritime Power Networks in World History |date=7 October 2019 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-40767-1 |pages=194,195 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AP1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA194 |language=en}}</ref>

The 2021 film ''[[Margrete: Queen of the North]]'' (Danish: {{lang|da|Margrete den Første}}) tells the story of her reign, especially the creation of the Nordic Union army and how she dealt with the [[False Olaf]].<ref>[https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/margrete-queen-of-the-north-movie-review-2021 "Review: ''Margrete: Queen of the North''"] by Peter Sobczynski, 17 December 2021, [[RogerEbert.com]]</ref>

==Family tree==
{{tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | |Erik|y|Ingeborg| |Erik=[[Erik Magnusson (duke)|Erik, Duke of Södermanland]]|Ingeborg=[[Ingeborg of Norway]]}}
{{tree chart | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart |Blanche|y|Magnus| | | |Valdemar|y|Helvig| | |Euphemia|y|Albert| |Valdemar='''[[Valdemar IV of Denmark]]'''|Helvig= [[Helvig of Schleswig]]|Magnus='''[[Magnus Eriksson|Magnus IV of Sweden and VII of Norway]]'''|Blanche=[[Blanche of Namur]]|Euphemia=[[Euphemia of Sweden]]|Albert=[[Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg]]}}
{{tree chart | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |,|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart |Erik| |Haakon|y|Margaret| |Christopher| |Ingeborg|y|Henry| |Albert| |Haakon='''[[Haakon VI|Haakon VI of Norway]]'''|Margaret=[[Margaret I of Denmark]]|Christopher=[[Christopher, Duke of Lolland]]|Ingeborg=[[Ingeborg of Denmark, Duchess of Mecklenburg|Ingeborg of Denmark]]|Henry=[[Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg]]|Albert='''[[Albert, King of Sweden]]'''|Erik='''[[Erik XII of Sweden]]'''}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | |Olav| | | |Wartislaw|y|Maria| |Albert| |Olav='''[[Olaf II of Denmark|Olaf II of Denmark and IV of Norway]]'''|Wartislaw=[[Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania]]|Maria=[[Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|Maria of Mecklenburg]]|Albert=[[Albert IV, Duke of Mecklenburg]]}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | |, |-|^|-|.|}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | |Erik| |Catherine|Erik='''[[Erik of Pomerania]]'''|Catherine=[[Catherine of Pomerania]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Margaret, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden|volume=17|last= Bain |first= Robert Nisbet |author-link= Robert Nisbet Bain| page = 702 }}
*{{citation
  | last = Etting
  | first = Vivian
  | year = 2009
  | title = Margrete den første
  | publisher = Nordisk Forlag A/S
  | isbn = 978-8702071771
}}.
* {{citation
 | last=Magill
 | first=Frank N.
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBHSc2hTfeUC
 | title=The Middle Ages: Dictionary of World Biography, volume 2
 | year=2012
 | publisher=Routledge
 | isbn=978-1136593130
}}.
* {{citation
 | last1=Jacobsen
 | first1=Grethe
 | title=Less Favored – More Favored: Queenship and the Special Case of Margrete of Denmark, 1353–1412
 |url=http://www.kb.dk/export/sites/kb_dk/da/nb/publikationer/fundogforskning-online/pdf/A16A_Jacobsen-ENG.pdf
}}.
* {{citation
 | last1=Otte
 | first1=E.C.
 | title=Scandinavian History
 | year=1874
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YCqAPgoRJ2UC
}}.
* {{citation
 | last1=White
 | first1=Richard
 | title=These Stones Bear Witness
 | year=2010
 |publisher=AuthorHouse
 |isbn=978-1452017198
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FguaTeZYkv4C
}}.{{self-published source|date=February 2020}}
* {{citation
 | last=Derry
 | first=Thomas Kingston
 | title=A History of Scandinavia
 | location=Minneapolis
 | publisher=University of Minnesota Press
 | year=2000
 | isbn=978-0816637997
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDh5z2_K_S0C
}}.

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Etting|first=Vivian|year=2004|url=https://brill.com/view/title/8536|title=Queen Margrete I (1353–1412) and the Founding of the Nordic Union|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9047404798|ref=none}}
* Lindkvist, Thomas. {{SKBL}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Margaret I of Denmark}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Margaret (Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)|display=Margaret. Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden|year=1905|ref=none}}

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{{S-hou|[[House of Estridsen]]||March 1353|28 October|1412|name=Margaret}}
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{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Norwegian royal consorts|Queen consort of Norway]]|years=1363–1380}}
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{{S-ttl|title=[[List of Swedish royal consorts|Queen consort of Sweden]]|years=1363–1364}}
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