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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

34:17

054 Abandoning Greenland

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/12/02

For hundreds of years, the descendants of the colonists Erik the Red had tricked to come with him to Greenland thrived on their chilly (but not particularly verdant) outpost in the North Atlantic. But in the second half of the 14th century things changed.

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39:10

053 The Great Death

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/11/18

Life in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages wasn’t always great, and in the summer of 1349 it took a sharp turn for the worse. For a lot of people it also ended abruptly in considerable agony. The reason was that the Plague had arrived. The ramifications would be felt for generations to come.

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30:18

052 Saint Bridget

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/11/04

After her husband’s death, the aristocratic Bridget Birgersdotter started to have visions where Jesus, Mary and various saints and prophets unloaded on the rich and powerful. Despite making many influential enemies this way, Bridget was canonized after her death and is today one of the six patron saints of Europe.

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34:49

051 One King, Two Crowns

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/10/14

Magnus Eriksson became king of two kingdoms when he was only three years old. He peaked as a toddler, ruling over Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Sweden and Finland. But it was all downhill from there. Through a combination of unruly aristocrats, foreign invasions and the Plague Magnus Eriksson eventually lost everything.

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27:04

050 Lock and Law

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/09/23

The Swedish usurper king Magnus Birgersson won the acceptance of the Church and the aristocracy by granting them tax exemptions and other privileges. Paradoxically, he’s also remembered as a friend of the common man for trying to limit greedy noblemen’s ability to abuse peasants. He had three sons, and to say that they didn’t get along would be an understatement.

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36:09

049 The Jarl and the King

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/09/02

Even though he never became king, Jarl Birger Magnusson dominated Swedish political life (and the actual king) for many years. He led a crusade, gave women the right to inherit and founded the city of Stockholm. Maybe.

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37:19

048 A New Dawn

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/08/12

After years of decay and foreign control over Denmark, a new king was elected in 1340. Valdemar IV had his mind set on regaining control over the kingdom–no matter what. And he didn’t let German aristocrats, peasant rebellions or the Plague stand in the way of achieving his goal. For his efforts, he was given the nickname Valdemar Dawn.

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27:47

047 The End of Denmark?

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/07/22

As the descendants of Valdemar the Victorious fought each other, Denmark descended deeper into decay. To raise money, the king pawned off bits of the kingdom to German aristocrats, gradually losing control over the country.

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33:21

046 Chaos and Decay

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/07/01

The years following the murder of Erik Plowpenny saw bitter fighting between the Danish kings, who kept getting killed, and the Church and the nobility. The once mighty kingdom was fast losing its position as the leading power in Scandinavia, and no one seemed able to stop the decay.

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32:28

045 Law Mender and Sons

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/06/17

King Magnus Law Mender is famous for having established one unified law code for all of Norway. Except cities and towns, which had their own laws. And Iceland, obviously. His sons focused more on fighting Denmark and trying to produce legitimate male heirs.

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33:28

044 Peak Norway

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/06/03

Haakon Haakonsson was king of Norway for a very long time. 46 years to be exact. His long reign is considered the zenith of medieval Norway: he put an end to the Norwegian civil war by defeating his father-in-law, he built multi-story stone buildings, had fashionable fiction translated and expanded Norway to its largest size ever when he took control over Iceland and Greenland.

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36:04

043 Commonwealth in Crisis

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/05/20

Fighting among the richest and most powerful clans in Iceland weakened the Commonwealth and opened the door for a Norwegian takeover. In the end, Iceland lost its independence and wouldn’t regain it until 1944.

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33:25

042 Swedish Finland

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/05/06

Through the second and third crusades (that definitely did happen), Sweden took control over Finland, making it a part of Scandinavia from a political, religious, economic, and cultural–if not geographical–perspective.

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29:59

041 The Crusade That Maybe Never Was

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/04/22

In the 1150s, king Erik and bishop Henrik went on the First Swedish Crusade to Finland. Maybe. The mission was a success and Finland was won for Christ and for the Swedish crown. Maybe. Erik and Henrik were both rewarded with sainthoods, but only after they met their rather grisly deaths.

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32:20

040 V for Valdemar

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/04/08

The Golden Age of the Valdemars continued with the reign of a second king called Valdemar. During a crusade in the Baltic region, he established Danish control over Estonia and brought back the flag still used by the Danes today.

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30:36

039 Denmark Rises

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/03/25

The reign of King Valdemar, the sole surviving king of the Danish civil war, is seen as the beginning of a Golden Age in Danish medieval history. Valdemar was aided by his foster-brother and BFF Absalon, who was both the king’s trusted advisor and Archbishop of Lund. Together, this dynamic duo spread Christianity and Danish control along the shores of the Baltic Sea.

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38:35

038 Birkebeiner and Bagler

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/03/11

The Norwegian civil war eventually produced two rival parties. Traditionally, the Birkebeiner have been seen as the party of the poor and the downtrodden and the Bagler as the party of the nobility and the Church. But they were just as much—if not more—regional elite groupings fighting for the supremacy of their own region within the kingdom.

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31:48

037 The Blind, the Loud and the Hunchback

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/02/25

Soon after Sigurd the Crusader died in 1130, a civil war that was to plague medieval Norway for over a century kicked off. A long line of pretenders with colorful nicknames fought each other for the Norwegian throne.

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28:44

036 The Crusader and the Homebody

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/02/11

When Magnus Barefoot was killed in Ireland, his three sons Sigurd, Eystein and Olav took over as co-kings of Norway. According to an already well-established pattern this should have led to a bloody civil war, but to everyone’s surprise the brothers kept the peace. Of course it helped that Olav died young and Sigurd set off on an epic voyage that lasted for years.

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28:25

035 The Pretenders

The Scandinavian History Podcast ·

2022/01/28

The early Middle Ages were a time when a lot of people wanted to be king. The 12th century was basically one long cavalcade of pretenders who barely managed to claw their way to the top before someone else knocked them down, ready to take their place. And at least half of them were called Erik.

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134 results

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