Sweden
Obverse: Crowned head facing left, Margaret / 1389–1396 + 1412, Reverse: View of Kalmar Slott, Edge: Stamped SPORRONG and 0478 • 2000
bronze, 40.0 mm, 42.64 g.
Medal designed by Kari Rolfsen (born October 12, 1938, in Oslo; died December 8, 2020, in Oslo), a Norwegian illustrator, printmaker, painter, and sculptor, from the series “Sweden and Its Rulers Over 1,000 Years,” depicting Margaret I (Danish: Margrete I; born 1353 at Søborg Castle, died October 28, 1412, in Flensburg) —ruler of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and founder of the Scandinavian union known as the Kalmar Union (1397–1523). Margaret I, a Danish princess and the mother of a Danish king, never held the title of Queen of Denmark, as women were not permitted to inherit the throne in Denmark; female succession was not recognized. Instead, as the wife of King Haakon VI of Norway, she bore the title of Queen of Norway, and from 1375 also the title of Queen of Sweden, because her husband laid claim to the Swedish throne, although he did not succeed in securing it. She played a pivotal role in the historiography of all the Scandinavian nations. She is considered one of the most important political figures of the Middle Ages and one of the greatest women in world history. Her life’s goal, which she achieved, was to unite all the Northern European states under her family’s rule. After her death, her great-grandson, Eric VII, inherited a vast empire, but he was unable to hold onto the throne.
