Eiríkur I was the first Prince of Finland. He was born the son of King Domnhall II of Iceland, the "True Lion of the North". He was the youngest child, and was married to Bonne de la Marck, daughter of the Duke of Saxony. Under the marriage agreement, their children would belong to the Saxon ducal House of La Marck rather than the House of Sturlungur.
Having defeated the Scandinavian defenders at Åbo (Turku), the king of Novgorod received word from the King of Örebo, Valdemar, who was willing to offer the peace deal favored by Prince Boris to Novgorod: the majority of Finland would be annexed by Novogorod proper, and the remainder (along the coast where most Swedish immigrants live) would be formed as the Principality of Finland, which would be a Novgorodian puppet. Seeking to balance the mostly-Catholic nature of the Swedish residents with the Orthodox desires of the Prince, they invited Catholic nations to submit potential nobles to serve as Prince of Finland. In 1439, it was decided that Eirikur and his wife Bonne would become Prince and Princess of Finland, on the condition that their son and heir Adolph marry an Orthodox woman.
Eirikur was allowed a certain freedom to govern his realm. He became known as "the Fearsome", and was well-known in both the East and West, for his temper and ferocious appearance accentuated by his large beard and a constant scowl. He often visited other courts, although was mistrusted by the Princely House of Novgorod (later the Russian royal family).
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