Editing Norway (section)

==== Kalmar Union ====
{{Main article|Kalmar Union}}
{{Main article|First Swedish–Norwegian union}}
Upon the death of King [[Haakon V of Norway|Haakon V]] in 1319, [[Magnus Eriksson]], at just three years old, inherited the throne as King Magnus VII. A simultaneous movement to make Magnus King of Sweden proved successful (he was a grandson of King [[Magnus III of Sweden|Magnus Ladulås]] of Sweden), and both the kings of Sweden and of Denmark were elected to the throne by their respective nobles. Thus Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus VII.<ref name=larsen>[[#Larsen|Larsen]], p. 192.</ref>

In 1349, the [[Black Death]] killed between 50% and 60% of Norway's population<ref>{{Cite journal|pmid = 2197762|year = 1990|last1 = Oeding|first1 = P|title = The black death in Norway|journal = Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening|volume = 110|issue = 17|pages = 2204–08}}</ref> and led to a period of social and economic decline.<ref name=enc>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/67758/Black-Death |title=Black Death (pandemic) |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=23 July 2011 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718214050/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/67758/Black-Death |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the death rate was comparable with the rest of Europe, economic recovery took much longer because of the small, scattered population.<ref name="enc"/> Even before the plague, the population was only about 500,000.<ref name=end>[[#Larsen|Larsen]], pp. 202–03.</ref> After the plague, many farms lay idle while the population slowly increased.<ref name="enc"/> However, the few surviving farms' tenants found their bargaining positions with their landlords greatly strengthened.<ref name=enc/>

[[File:Union of Kalmar (1500).svg|thumb|The [[Kalmar Union]], {{circa|1500}}]]

King Magnus VII ruled Norway until 1350, when his son, Haakon, was placed on the throne as [[Haakon VI of Norway|Haakon VI]].<ref name=autogenerated3>[[#Larsen|Larsen]], p. 195</ref> In 1363, Haakon married [[Margaret I of Denmark|Margaret]], daughter of King [[Valdemar IV of Denmark]].<ref name="enc"/> Upon the death of Haakon in 1379, his 10-year-old son [[Olaf II of Denmark|Olaf IV]] acceded to the throne.<ref name="enc"/> As Olaf had already been elected to the throne of Denmark in 1376,<ref name="enc"/> Denmark and Norway entered a [[personal union]].<ref name=autogenerated2>[[#Larsen|Larsen]], p. 197</ref> Olaf's mother and Haakon's widow, Queen Margaret, managed the foreign affairs of Denmark and Norway during Olaf's minority.<ref name="enc"/>

Margaret was on the verge of achieving a union of Sweden with Denmark and Norway when Olaf IV suddenly died.<ref name="enc"/> Denmark made Margaret temporary ruler on the death of Olaf. On 2 February 1388, Norway followed suit and crowned Margaret.<ref name=enc/> Queen Margaret knew that her power would be more secure if she were able to find a king to rule in her place. She settled on [[Eric of Pomerania]], grandson of her sister. Thus at an all-Scandinavian meeting held at Kalmar, Erik of Pomerania was crowned king of all three Scandinavian countries, bringing the thrones of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under the control of Queen Margaret when the country entered into the [[Kalmar Union]].