Don’t Ever Coup a King Before Christmas: The Nyköping Banquet

Kings tend to be a sensitive lot. This could be due to their royal upbringing or the inevitable mild to severe narcissism that develops along their way to being ensconced in purple velvety kinghood. It may also arise from the simple fact that just about everyone who is not a king would love to be in their position no matter the cost to the king, his kingly life, or even the lives of his entire royal family. Power can be quite a drug.  ​

The hunger for power is a high risk/high reward venture, though, and can have consequences. As the wise Omar said in that hit 2000's show The Wire, “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Two Swedes learned this lesson the hard way on December 11th, 1317. 

The beautiful Nyköping castle. Well worth a visit even if you’re not a student of history.

Our macabre tale begins when a man with the very regal name of Birger Magnusson became King of Sweden in 1290. Only 10 years old at the time, his reign lasted until 1318. He had two similarly royal brothers: Eric Magnusson, the Duke of Södermanland and Valdemar Magnusson, the Duke of Finland. Both were covetous of their brother’s position. ​

The three brothers’ relationship is a complex tale of politics, intrigue, and shifting alliances that could easily fill a book, not just a silly blog. Most important for our tale is that, in 1306, his two Ducal brothers staged a little coup. They captured King Birger and his wife and temporarily imprisoned both of them in the dungeons of Nyköping Castle. And you thought your siblings were horrible… 

Nyköping castle grounds. Imagine what it must have looked like in the 14th century.

The coup and subsequent shenanigans resulted in other royals intervening in order to quell this Swedish mischief. Namely, the Kings of both Denmark and Norway eventually settled the matter in 1310 by splitting Sweden between the three brothers. Birger remained “King”, but in name only. All was well again, or so it seemed.  ​

Seven years after the split, Birger invited both Eric and Valdemar to an early Christmas celebration with him and his wife at Nyköping Castle. This olive branch must have been unexpected, even shocking, but probably felt like a legitimate opportunity to reconcile the brothers’ long-fractured relationship. Therefore, both agreed to attend the party. If we know anything about Swedes, they can’t resist a good banquet, and are very skilled at them, especially around the holidays. We’ll do a post on Julbords (i.e., Christmas tables) at some point, but back to the tale.    

Nyköping Castle is not a huge place. Therefore, it probably did not seem suspicious that, when the dukes arrived at the castle, their retinues of troops were asked to lodge in the town of Nyköping and not in the castle with their Dukes. Can you see where this is going? 

This is supposedly where the brothers starved to death...

After the celebratory banquet, which lasted from the evening of the 10th until the early morning hours of the 11th, the two dukes were captured. King Birger had them placed in the same dungeon that formerly housed both him and his wife. Unlike his own time in the dungeon, this was never intended to be a temporary captivity. Legend has it that King Birger, in an overly dramatic yet still kingly move, threw the keys to the dungeon into the nearby Nyköping river. The king then cut off all their food, leaving his brothers to slowly starve to death over Christmas. Signed documents reveal that both of them were alive as of January 18th, so this must have been a long, torturous death for both of them. ​
​
Birger’s plan didn’t lead to peace, though. He was ousted later that same year and driven into exile. He shuffled off his mortal coil quite far from Nyköping (i.e., Denmark) in 1320. One wonders if he felt any guilt – or even an occasional pang of regret – from such ill treatment of his kin. Perhaps he felt justified? We may never know. 

Regardless, as you’re eating your lovely Christmas dinner this year – even if it comes from a microwave – you might let your thoughts linger a moment on the memory of those two Dukes, Valdemar and Eric, whose brother allowed them to starve to death over the holidays. Your own family probably isn’t that bad, so this may make you feel at least a little thankful for what you have.  Merry Christmas. 

Visiting 
As you can see, much of Nyköping castle is still standing today, and it makes for an extremely fun visit. We’ve been there twice, always in the winter, and the castle grounds are breathtakingly beautiful in snow.  

Only a 90-minute drive from Stockholm, it is a worthwhile day trip. You might also visit the local museum which has an excellent gift shop with reproductions of medieval glassware for sale. Save some time to wander around the town as well, especially by the river in the evening. 

Isn’t Sweden lovely? We didn’t stage this shot. It’s in town just a short walk from the castle.