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PODCAST

The Scandinavian History Podcast

Mikael Shainkman

A chronological journey through the history of Scandinavia from the last ice age to the dawn of the space age. Geographically, we cover the five modern Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland—as well as a few other bits and pieces here and there where it‘s relevant. Visit the SHP shop: bit.ly/podshpshop Make a donation: patreon.com/scandinavianhistory

history

All Episodes

47:12

085 The Emperor's War

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/05/24

Encouraged by his success in the war against Sweden, Christian IV decided to get involved in the developing conflict in the Holy Roman Empire. He was convinced that a military genius like him would be able to save his Protestant coreligionists from the Catholic threat.

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33:49

084 The Kalmar War

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/05/10

Christian IV of Denmark wanted to prove that he was a proper king. So he started a war against Sweden to win glory and, hopefully, reestablish the Kalmar Union.

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32:13

083 Worst Uncle Ever

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/04/26

When John III died, his son Sigismund took over as king of Sweden. Sigismund was already king of Poland, so he already had some relevant experience. Still, there were two problems: Sigismund was a Catholic, and his uncle Karl really wanted the crown.

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31:21

082 Catholic Comeback

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/04/12

As soon as the war with Denmark was over, Sweden got itself involved in a new conflict with Russia. The war started because king John refused to give up his wife or Estonia to the Russians. He also refused to accept the Reformation.

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30:29

081 Coup d'État

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/03/29

In 1568, Erik XIV of Sweden had never felt better. He had recovered from his temporary madness, he had chased off an invading Danish army and he had married the woman he loved. The future looked bright. At least if you weren’t looking too closely.

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32:47

080 Murder Madness

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/03/15

In the spring of 1567, Erik XIV had a bit of a breakdown. The war was going poorly, and his spies and his trusted advisor Jöran Persson were feeding him information about a conspiracy among the nobility. The king decided that something needed to be done.

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36:13

079 Seven Years of War

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/03/01

The Nordic Seven Years’ War lasted (spoiler!) seven years. The war ended when the combatants ran out of steam and money. There was no clear winner. There were, however, plenty of clear losers.

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30:45

078 Kings, Cousins, Rivals

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/02/16

In the early 1560s, two inexperienced but ambitious monarchs had succeeded their fathers on the Danish and Swedish thrones. They happened to be cousins, but that didn’t stop them from spoiling for a fight over Scandinavian supremacy.

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34:03

077 New Kids on the Block

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/02/02

Gustav Vasa fought to establish his family as the ruling dynasty of Sweden, and to make the House of Vasa respected as equals among other European royal houses. That was often an uphill battle, and sometimes Gustav’s efforts were even undermined by members of his own family.

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21:31

Special Episode: Margrexit

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/01/19

We interrupt our regular programming for a special episode about the surprise abdication of Queen Margaret II of Denmark.

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33:25

076 The Greatest Rebellion

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2024/01/05

Gustav Vasa was the Swedish king who had to deal with the largest number of peasant rebellions. In the 1540s, he was also faced with the largest peasant rebellion of all time–at least in Scandinavia. He handled it like he always did, with skillful diplomacy, shrewd politics and overwhelming, brute force.

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32:54

075 Thunder and Bells

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/12/15

Even though the Lutheran Reformation was relatively moderate in Sweden to begin with, Gustav Vasa’s religious and financial reforms still provoked a number of rebellions with fanciful names throughout the country.

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32:36

074 Sweden under New Management

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/12/01

Unlike his Danish counterpart, Gustav Vasa wasn’t particularly interested in the Lutheran Reformation. At least not to begin with. But when he realized he could solve his money problems by confiscating Church property, Lutheranism started to sound much more interesting to the heavily indebted king of Sweden.

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37:36

073 Reformation

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/09/29

When Christian III became king of Denmark, he implemented the Lutheran Reformation in his new kingdom. He fired all the Catholic bishops, replaced them with Lutherans and confiscated Church property, making the Crown immensely rich and powerful. The process was surprisingly undramatic. In Denmark. In Norway and Iceland, there was plenty of drama.

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34:57

072 The Count’s Feud

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/09/15

In the 1530s, Denmark was plagued by a civil war brought on by a combination of rivaling claimants for the crown, and a growing rift between Catholics and Protestants. Ex-king Christian was still causing trouble, and Frederick I wasn’t secure on his throne. When he died, the fighting only intensified.

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33:47

071 Breaking Up

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/09/01

The coronation in Stockholm had only just ended when another rebellion broke out, threatening Christian II’s Swedish crown. The business with the bloodbath had turned many in the Swedish nobility against the king, but regular people joined the uprising because he also raised taxes and forbade them from carrying weapons.

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29:19

070 Bloodbath

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/08/18

In November 1520, Christian II was crowned king of Sweden. He celebrated this momentous event with a string of feasts and festivities that went on for days. But when it turned out that archbishop Gustav Trolle wasn’t willing to turn the other cheek, things got a bit out of hand.

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37:33

069 The Final Showdown

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/08/04

Christian II wasn’t going to stop until he had conquered Sweden and re-established the Kalmar Union. Two years in a row, he equipped a fleet and paid for an expensive army of foreign mercenaries, and both times the Swedes fought them off. Even though the nobles grumbled at home and he was seriously strapped for cash, Christian made a third attempt. This time over land.

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41:28

A Special Crossover Jubilee Episode

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/07/21

It's been 500 years since the Kalmar Union collapsed and Sweden became an independent kingdom again. The Scandinavian History Podcast marks the occasion with this Special Crossover Jubilee Episode together with A Flatpack History of Sweden.

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33:37

068 The Sixth King

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2023/07/07

Christian may have become king after his father John, but when he refused to give up his mistress, both the Danish nobles and his wife’s family started to send him barely veiled threats. Threats Christian chose to ignore.

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127 results

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