A Flatpack History of Sweden

73. A Letter From Beyond the Grave

First up in this action and intrigue-packed episode is a story that took Scandinavia by storm in the early 1400s. Margareta receives a letter from someone long gone and the revelations threaten to tear apart her Kingdom. A strange man arrives at court but doesn't exactly receive a warm welcome. The same applies to Margareta's men sent to deal with the situation on Gotland, with the leader of this group having a particularly singable name!

 

A special thanks to our voice actor Jerry, from the Presidencies of the United States podcast. When he isn't busy voicing German egg salesmen, he's covering the lives and politics of the presidents of the United States! Check him out wherever you get your podcasts, as well as on Twitter, Facebook and his website! 

74. Much Ado About a Wedding

Queen Margareta and King Erik are taking some time off from fighting German knights and reducing the property ownership of the nobility to attend to some personal matters, because it is time for King Erik to get married! After some scouting around for suitable wives, the choice falls on an English Princess, Filippa. We delve deep into the marriage negotiations, preparations and practicalities around this royal marriage of the ages. This includes how many squirrels were needed for the wedding dress and how much beer the English wedding guests brought with them (spoiler: a lot). 

75. Slesvig Town vs Holstein United

The story of the Kalmar Union continues, as political intrigue engulfs the religious world when Sweden needs a new archbishop... There's also a lot of fighting on the battlefield as we cover a disaster for both the Teutonic Knights over in Poland and also for our friend Father Abraham down in Holstein. And then, we see the surprise departure of a significant figure in the story so far... 

TT 1. The Battle of Grunwald

Do not adjust your podcast player, this is a new style of episode! We are introducing an episode called Tangent Time, because we have finally snapped and gone off on a long tangent about something only vaguely related to the main narrative... 

We cover the pivotal Battle of Grunwald (or Battle of Tannenberg) between the Teutonic Knights and the forces of Poland and Lithuania. We mentioned this briefly in the latest regular episode (number 75) but felt that the story deserved the full Flatpack treatment. It is Jogaila and Vytautas versus Ulrich von Jungingen and it is going to be momentous! 

We suggest listening to episode 75 first, but it isn't mandatory!

76. The Beaver King’s War

Following Margareta's departure from the story, King Erik is now ruling Sweden and the rest of the Kalmar Union on his own. He has plenty of meetings dealing with the fall out of Margareta's death and it starts off really well for him. However, things will soon go from bad to worse in the war with Holstein over Slesvig and Erik will land himself in trouble that will only spiral from here. He earns a new nickname and at the same time his wife Queen Filippa gets some new land and responsibilities. 

77. Erik on Tour

Knowing he has a competent Queen back home, Erik can afford to go on a long road trip! He's heading off to Jerusalem, but on the way he wants to get some help with Slesvig from his cousin, the Holy Roman Empire strongman Sigismund. He's also in the market for a marriage alliance and more than happy to invite himself to some parties along the way, so he's got a busy journey ahead of him! 

78. Filippa in Charge

Last time we saw King Erik head out on a trip across Europe, looking for marriage alliances and help with Slesvig, before spending some quality time in Jerusalem. Whilst he is away, Queen Filippa takes the reins in Scandinavia. For almost two years she rules the Kalmar Union, introducing new coins and travels a lot around the realm. 

We have also had the pleasure recently of featuring on the great Presidencies of the United States podcast, in a special episode rating the life and career of Attorney General Caesar A Rodney! Check out the episode here and follow Jerry and Presidencies on Facebook and Twitter.

79. The Hansa Finally Snap

This time we focus on King Erik's disastrous war with Holstein over Slesvig, as things take a turn for the worse when the Hansa join in. Queen Filippa helps out with the war effort and tries to get the discontented Swedes on side, before an unfortunate event means she is unable to help as the situation deteriorates...

We then end the episode with a look at archery in naval combat and what life might have been like for your average Hansa merchant sailing the Baltic sea.  

S8. Diego’s Pet Project

After some excellent listener feedback, we're righting a wrong and focusing on animals throughout Swedish history. We start by looking at the lives of animals during the current period of the podcast, investigating what pigs, sheep, horses, dogs and other animals were up to in the medieval period. We then look at some famous royal horses and examine an English dog scandal with a bit of a Swedish twist! 

Note: This episode was originally released on 30th April 2023 but due to an editing error it is now being republished. 

80. The Engelbrekt Rebellion

We're back with the chronological narrative and things start piling up for King Erik. He clearly didn't listen to this episode's Swedish Phrase of the Week... Without Queen Filippa keeping an eye on Swedish public opinion, discontent spills over into outright rebellion, led by a man so good they named him twice, Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. But is it possible to rebel against a King of three realms and what should the rebellion's plan be called? We discuss all this and more!