The Blida deployed in battle...

Today we had a club game revolving around the aftermath of Nyköpings gästabud (Nykoping banquet) in 1317. The Swedish king Birger Magnusson had for the past 15 years been in conflict with his brothers Erik and Valdemar. The two brothers had imprissoned their elder brother the King in 1306, an event known as the Håtunaleken (Håtunagames), they forced the King to grant them fifedomes for them self to release him, wich they did as soon as they got what they wanted.

For about 10 years the 3 brothers lived more or less in peace, in December 1317 the king invited his two brothers to the Nyköping castle for a celebration, as the brothers got drunk and fell asleep the kingBirger let his soldiers arest Erik and Valdemar throwoing them in to the castle dungeons, there they after a couple of month died of the cold temperature and starvation.

When Erik and Valdemars allied got the word of their shamefull death they gathered their forced and a rebellion started to set aside King Birger. The King fled with his wife and son Prince Magnus to the well defended Stegeborg castle.

In april 1318 the rebells started a siege of the Stegeborg castle, King Birger sent his son Prince Magnus to Denmark to ask for troops from the Kings wifes brother, the king of Denmark.Prince magnus returned from Denamrk with Danish troops during the summer of 1318 to relife his father and mother that was besiged in the castle...

700-years later I set up a game depicting the battle when the Danish reinforcement arrives...

We was usin the Lion Rampant rules with 4 players on each side commanding a 12 point force (2-3 units)

Below you will find a bunch of pictures from the game.I wont give you a full AAR, sorry, but a short recap after the pictures... 

 

The rebells attacked the Castle with their Blida (Trebuchet) and also foot troops that tried to cross the river with boars and to re-build the broken bridge.

As the rebell started their attack Prince magnus arrived with the danish troops from behind catcing the rebells in between him and his father at the castle. The rebells divided their forces to protect the Blida as well as engage the new threat and also try to capture the castle.

It turned out to become an intense game that a long time looked to favour the King, but as so often playing Lion Rampant, it ain´t over untill the fat lady sings...

King Birger managed to hold the castle but the Danish reinforcement force was utterly defeated as Prince Magnus was slain in a Chalange leaving the Danes without a propper leader.

The outcome was as the real History, King Birger and his wife fled from the castle to the Island Gotland and further to Denmark, never to return to Sweden. Prince Magnus continued to defent the Stegeborg Castle untill August 1318 when the castle was captured. Prince Magnus was taken and imprissoned in  Stockholm untill his execution in October 1320.

In 1319 Magnus Eriksson (son to Erik one of the two brother murdered at Nyköping banquet) was elected King at the age of 3. King Magnus ruled Sweden untill 1364, almost 45 years, the longest time a King ruled Sweden untill just some month ago when our present day Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf broke his record of reign.