Encouraged by his success in the war against Sweden, Christian IV decided to get involved in the developing conflict in the Holy Roman Empire. He was convinced that a military genius like him would be able to save his Protestant coreligionists from the Catholic threat.

Christian IV of Denmark wanted to prove that he was a proper king. So he started a war against Sweden to win glory and, hopefully, reestablish the Kalmar Union.

When John III died, his son Sigismund took over as king of Sweden. Sigismund was already king of Poland, so he already had some relevant experience. Still, there were two problems: Sigismund was a Catholic, and his uncle Karl really wanted the crown.

As soon as the war with Denmark was over, Sweden got itself involved in a new conflict with Russia. The war started because king John refused to give up his wife or Estonia to the Russians. He also refused to accept the Reformation.

In 1568, Erik XIV of Sweden had never felt better. He had recovered from his temporary madness, he had chased off an invading Danish army and he had married the woman he loved. The future looked bright. At least if you weren’t looking too closely.

In the spring of 1567, Erik XIV had a bit of a breakdown. The war was going poorly, and his spies and his trusted advisor Jöran Persson were feeding him information about a conspiracy among the nobility. The king decided that something needed to be done.

The Nordic Seven Years’ War lasted (spoiler!) seven years. The war ended when the combatants ran out of steam and money. There was no clear winner. There were, however, plenty of clear losers.

In the early 1560s, two inexperienced but ambitious monarchs had succeeded their fathers on the Danish and Swedish thrones. They happened to be cousins, but that didn’t stop them from spoiling for a fight over Scandinavian supremacy.

Gustav Vasa fought to establish his family as the ruling dynasty of Sweden, and to make the House of Vasa respected as equals among other European royal houses. That was often an uphill battle, and sometimes Gustav’s efforts were even undermined by members of his own family.

We interrupt our regular programming for a special episode about the surprise abdication of Queen Margaret II of Denmark.