Eric XIV of Sweden

Eric XIV (Swedish: Erik XIV; 13 December 1533 – 26 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1568. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–35). He was also ruler of Estonia, after its conquest by Sweden in 1561.

While he has been regarded as intelligent and artistically skilled, as well as politically ambitious, early in his reign he showed signs of mental instability, a condition that eventually led to insanity. Some scholars claim that his illness began early during his reign, while others believe that it first manifested with the Sture Murders.

Eric, having been deposed and imprisoned, was most likely murdered. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that he probably died of arsenic poisoning.

Early years

Eric XIV was born at Tre Kronor castle, at 9 o'clock on the morning of 13 December 1533. Before the age of two, he lost his mother. In 1536, his father, Gustav Vasa, married Margaret Leijonhufvud (1516–51), a Swedish noblewoman.

August Strindberg Repertory Theatre

The August Strindberg Repertory Theatre is the resident company at the Gene Frankel Theatre.

2012–13 Season

The August Strindberg Repertory Theatre became the resident company at the Gene Frankel Theatre in New York City's East Village when it transferred its first production, Strindberg's Playing with Fire (co-produced by the Negro Ensemble Company), there in June 2012 after an initial run at the New School's theater in the West Village.Playing with Fire received three Audelco Award nominations, for Outstanding Ensemble Performance, Best Revival and Best Costume Design. The cast consisted of Nathan James, Tocarra Cash, Elizabeth Flax, Jolie Garrett, Jaleesa Capri and James Edward Becton.

Its second production was a double bill of Casper's Fat Tuesday and The Stronger, and its third Easter.Casper's Fat Tuesday was co-produced by the Pink Pig Ballet and was an English-language premiere, translated by Jonathan Howard. In The Stronger Dina Rosenmeier played "Mrs. X" and Albert Bendix "Mr. Y". The Easter cast consisted of Chudney Sykes, Nathan James, DeSean Stokes, Carol Carter, Ley Smith, and Jolie Garrett. All first-season productions were directed by the company's artistic director, Robert Greer.

Sweden

Coordinates: 62°N 15°E / 62°N 15°E / 62; 15

Sweden (ⁱ/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsvæːrjə]  listen ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish:  Konungariket Sverige ), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of over 9.8 million. Sweden consequently has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54/sq mi), with the highest concentration in the southern half of the country. Approximately 85% of the population lives in urban areas. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the geographical area of Fennoscandia.

Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, beginning with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union.

Å, Sweden

Å is a small village and a parish in Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden. It has a population of about 200.

There are also at least 12 other places in Sweden called Å, most of them only a farm or a few houses. Å is pronounced "Aw", or phonetically [o:].

Å, which means stream or small river, is a contender for the title of shortest place-name in the world — although other places named Å as well as Ö and Y can make the same claim. As a consequence, many tourists have ventured to the village for the sole purpose of either taking photos of or stealing the place-name sign.

The parish of Å is rich in ancient remains, of which the oldest date from the Stone Age.

Coordinates: 58°29′47″N 16°30′06″E / 58.49638°N 16.50166°E / 58.49638; 16.50166

Name of Sweden

The name of Sweden (Swedish Sverige [ˈsvær.jə]  listen ) is ultimately derived from the ethnonym of the Swedes. The English name was loaned from Dutch in the 17th century to refer to Sweden as an emerging great power. Before Sweden's imperial expansion, Early Modern English used Swedeland.

The Old English name of Sweden was Sweoland or Sweorice, land or realm of the Sweonas, The Germanic tribes of the Sviar (Old Norse Svíþjóð). The name of the Sviar itself is derived from a Proto-Norse *Swihoniz, presumably a self-designation containing the Germanic reflexive *swe- "one's own, self".

Sweden

The modern English name Sweden is exceptional in being loaned from Dutch. Before the gradual introduction of Sweden in the 17th century, English used Swedeland.

It is based on Middle Dutch Zweden, the Dutch name of Sweden, and in origin the dative plural of Zwede "Swede". It has been in use in English from about 1600, first recorded in Scottish Swethin, Swadne. Country names based on a dative plural in -n became productive in German and Dutch in the 15th century; compare German Italien "Italy", Spanien "Spain", Rumänien "Romania", Ungarn "Hungary".