Editing Erik XIV (section)

==Rule==
Erik learned of his father's death as he was on the point of embarking for England to press his suit for the hand of Queen Elizabeth I. Back in Stockholm he summoned a [[Riksdag]], which met at [[Arboga]] on 15 April 1561. There he adopted the royal propositions known as the "Arboga articles", considerably curtailing the authority of the royal dukes, his half-brothers John and [[Charles IX of Sweden|Charles]], in their respective provinces.{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=738}} He was crowned as Erik XIV, but was not necessarily the 14th king of Sweden named Erik. He and his brother Charles adopted regnal numbers according to [[Johannes Magnus]]'s partly fictitious [[Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus|history of Sweden]]. There had, however, been at least six earlier Swedish kings with the name of Erik, as well as pretenders about whom very little is known.<ref>Almgren, H. Löwgren, A och Bergström, B. (2007) Alla Tiders Historia Gleerups Utbildning AB p. 117.</ref>

From the start of his reign, Erik was in opposition to the [[Swedish nobility]]. He chose as a close adviser [[Jöran Persson]] (1530–68), who had narrowly escaped execution under Erik's father. Persson was also opposed to the nobility and a determined opponent of Erik's half-brother, later John III of Sweden (1537–92). John was the [[Duke of Finland]] and was married to a Polish princess, against Erik's wishes, which made him friendly with Poland. John pursued an expansionist policy in Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia), in breach of the Arboga articles, which led to contention between the brothers. In 1563, John was seized by an army sent to Finland, and tried for [[high treason]] by Erik's order.{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=738}}

Unlike his father, who had been satisfied with ruling an independent state, Erik tried to expand his influence in the [[Baltic region]] and in [[Estonia]], beginning the process that resulted in Sweden becoming a great power in the 17th century. This expansionism resulted in a clash with his cousin, [[Frederick II of Denmark-Norway]] (1534–88). Most of Erik XIV's reign was then dominated by the [[Livonian War]] and the [[Scandinavian Seven Years' War]] against [[Denmark-Norway]] (1563–70), during which he successfully repelled most Danish-Norwegian attempts at conquest, but was unable to keep his own acquisitions.[[File:Eric XIV of Sweden grave 2013.jpg|thumb|294x294px|Erik's sarcophagus in [[Västerås Cathedral]]]]From 1563 onwards, his insanity became pronounced; his rule became even more arbitrary and marked by violence. His suspicion of the nobility led him to suspicions of the [[Sture]] family, then headed by [[Svante Stensson Sture]], the brother-in-law of Erik's father. King Erik first acted against the family in 1566, accusing Svante's son [[Nils Svantesson Sture|Nils]] of treason, but commuted the sentence and instead sent Nils to [[Lorraine]], supposedly to arrange a marriage with Princess [[Renata of Lorraine]]. However, Erik had determined to marry his mistress [[Karin Månsdotter]] and in 1567, on Nils's return and suspicious of high treason, he killed several members of the family in the so-called [[Sture Murders]], Erik himself stabbing [[Nils Svantesson Sture]].{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=738}} The king probably thought of the killing as an execution rather than murder.<ref>Dahlström, G och Swahn, J-Ö (red). (1984) Bra Böckers Lexikon Bra Böcker AB. Book nr 7. p. 76</ref>