A Flatpack History of Sweden

81. More Uproar in Store

Engelbrekt really does mean business. His revolt is continuing to grow after peace talks with King Erik don't really come to much. Engelbrekt storms around Sweden, lighting the fires of rebellion, but will some personal disputes get in the way for the rebel leader? What does end in this episode though is the war with Holstein over Schleswig, so at least the King can be happy with that, can't he? 

82. Splits in the Revolt

The revolt that is tearing Sweden apart is starting to split apart, just like Engelbrekt's head. There are now two distinct groups, with the high nobility being led by Karl Knutsson Bonde, with Erik Puke taking up Engelbrekt's cause of wanting lower taxes for the peasants. Forget about King Erik, the real dispute is internally within the rebellion!

We also hear about the wonderful life journey of a man who went from from young nobleman, to murderer, to fugitive, to pirate, back to being nobleman again, and then councillor and a lawman. Exhausting stuff!

TT 2. A Journey for the Ages

When Venetian merchant Pietro Querini left Crete for Flanders in 1432, little did he know that his voyage would take him much further afield. We follow the unfortunate Venetian as he and his crew struggle their way through poor shipbuilding, storms, starvation and desolate environments. The story also includes a guest appearance by one of our favourite characters in the main narrative so far! 

Querini also manages to capture the culinary imagination of his fellow Italians on his return... 

83. KKB Tidies Up

Erik Puke is dead and with his death the peasant revolt he led dies down. The Swedish council meets in Strängnäs to try and solve the "peasant problem" once and for all, putting a number of restrictions on those they looked down on. But will this just mean that the nobility will start fighting amongst themselves about who gets to take advantage of the situation?

We then cover a brilliant Danish insult as King Erik gets into more trouble, this time with politicians from Sweden's neighbour. 

You can find Roberto's Tsar Power on Twitter here, as well as The History of Saqartvelo Georgia.

S9. A Cross-over Kalmar Union Special

It’s time for a surprise special episode, on a Friday no less!

We’re so happy to have teamed up with Mikael from The Scandinavian History Podcast. We’ve both spent so much time recently talking about the Kalmar Union and so we thought that we would mark the 500^th anniversary of Sweden leaving the Union (spoilers!) by looking into a crystal ball to see what might have happened had the Union survived any longer than it did. Was the collapse of the Kalmar Union even a good thing anyway?

Check out Mikael’s podcast The Scandinavian History Podcast wherever you get your podcasts and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

84. A Swede’s Home is his Castle

To arms, all guards to the battlements! 

Castles have become increasingly important over the last century or so in our story and it is time we look into them in a bit more detail. How were castles built, what purpose did they serve and who worked and lived in them? We look into castles and fortresses in medieval Sweden and focus on a few examples to get a bit more colour on these unique locations in the storyline. 

85. Finally, a King Chris

King Kristoffer is on the throne! Of Denmark at least... There will be some wrangling with the council first, before he can ascend the throne of Sweden and the Kalmar Union can once again be under the rule of one monarch.

We dedicate an entire episode to the reign of Chris' namesake king, looking at who he was, what he did, and if the introduction of a new law code is really as boring as it may sound at first.

86. A Trip to Medieval Östergötland

We're on the road again! We thought we had maybe neglected Östergötland a little, considering its importance to the story of Sweden, so during the summer we headed south and went on a bit of a trip. 

We visited Linköping castle and cathedral, Vadstena Abbey and the island of Visingsö with its castles and woods. Taking our microphone for a ride, we look at these historical places and the important roles they've played in the story so far.

A special thanks to everyone at the Vadstena Abbey and Monastery Museum for showing us around their great museum and even more thanks to Linn for singing for us during the visit! 

As always you can check out our website www.aflatpackhistoryofsweden.com and find us on Facebook and Twitter (X). 

87. Norway in the Middle

It is time for our longest episode for over two years! Sorry if you like the shorter stories, there is too much madness with KKB to cover this time around.

After the sad, untimely death of King Chris, the Swedes and the Danes disagree about who should be King of the Kalmar Union. There isn't even really any unanimous decision within Sweden either... As always, Norway is the odd one out and has to deal with the power hungry ambitions of the two main candidates... Let's get going! 

88. Pirates Gonna Pirate

Whilst Kings Kristian and KKB battled it out for the control of Sweden and Norway in the last episode, one Norwegian nobleman was busy playing an interesting in Norwegian society at the time.

We look at the life of Olav Nilsson Skanke and his indefatigable wife Elise, how their actions fit into the grand story of the Kalmar Union and why their relationship with the Hansa in particular was something to remember! It's a blockbuster ride, so strap in...