Eric XII of Sweden

Erik XII. (* 1339, † June 21, 1359 ) was from 1357 to 1359 King of Sweden with his father Magnus II Eriksson and Lord of Skåne.

He was the son of Magnus II Eriksson and the grandson of Duke Erik Magnusson of Södermanland. His mother was Blanche of Namur. 1343 he was with his brother Håkon VI. together determined heir to the throne. At the age of five he was designated on December 6, 1344 to the king. On October 17, 1356, he proclaimed himself king. He married Beatrix, daughter of Emperor Louis IV from his second marriage with Margaret of Holland.

The favorite of his father Bengt Algotsson crack 1355 the possessions of the Archbishop of Lund in itself, as this was in Rome to receive the pallium. This was contrary to the Church's prohibition of reducing church assets. The Swedish nobility suspected that Bengt Algotsson had taken place with the approval of the king. He allied himself with Erik and Magnus ' brother Albrecht of Mecklenburg. Dissatisfaction Erik, who had hoped the Swedish royal crown, was fueled by the Council's aristocracy. He took the title of king, and in 1356 he placed himself at the head of a rebellion against his father. In a comparison of 1357 there was an administrative division of the kingdom between father and son. Erik received while Finland and the Danish territories except North Halland by Bengt Algotsson.

Erik died two years later and shortly after his pregnant widow. A contemporary pamphlet accused the mother Blanche to have poisoned him and his wife, which was not well justified. But the rumor came up in the Icelandic annals. He died without heirs.