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80 A History of Sweden
petitors from the North German Hanse towns, espe-
cially from Liibeck. These competitors sailed past
Gothland and carried on direct trade with Russia.
Waldemar’s Punishment. But Waldemar was not to
go unpunished for plundering a city of the Hanseatic
League. The league was now at the height of its
power. Seventy-seven of its cities from the shores ol
the Netherlands to the Livonian coasts formed an
offensive league against Denmark and allied them-
selves with some German princes. Waldemar was help-
less, for the League controlled the sea, and dearly
bought was the peace that followed.
Deposition of Magnus Ericsson. The lords blamed
the poor king for all Sweden’s disasters, even the Black
Death. This was held, forsooth, as a judgment of
Heaven for the sins of the king. They offered the crown
to a German prince, Albert of Mecklenburg. A long
civil war followed, which ended in 1371 with the rec-
ognition of Albert as king of Sweden. Magnus was
compelled to leave the kingdom. He spent his last
years with his son, King Hakan of Norway. They were
not many. He perished in a shipwreck. The last act
in the drama of the Folkungs was ended.
G. SAINT BIRGITTA
Her Early Life. On Finsta estate in eastern Uppland
there was born, about 1300, a child who was to be-
come the first person of European fame from Sweden,
St. Birgitta. Her father was a wise and powerful
lord, lawman of Uppland. The mother belonged to the
Folkung family. Both parents were deeply pious, and
she herself, even as a child, prayed fervently to Christ
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