Author: Joe

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Valdemar was born in 1131. His father was Canute Lavard, the only legitimate son of Eric I Evergood. Canute was very popular and was the first Duke of Schleswig, but was killed by his cousin Magnus I of Sweden shortly before Valdemar was born. Magnus was the son of King Niels of Denmark. Valdemar was raised with Absalon who became a lifelong friend.

Eric I had two illegitimate children, Eric II the Memorable and Ragnhilde who became the mother of Eric III Lamb. When Eric III (Valdemar’s cousin) abdicated in 1146 a civil war broke out with three claimants to the throne: Valdemar, Sweyn III Grathe (son of Eric II) and Canute V (son of Magnus I of Sweden, grandson of Niels).

The civil war lasted about 10 years and was devastating to Denmark. In 1157 the three claimants decided to settle the conflict by dividing the country among themselves. Sweyn hosted a banquet at Roskilde where he attempted to kill Canute, Valdemar and Absalon. Canute was killed, but Valdemar and Absalon escaped. This is often referred to as the “Bloodfeast of Roskilde.”

After making his escape, Valdemar fled to Jutland with Sweyn in pursuit. They met at the Battle of Grathe Heath (23 October 1157) which Valdemar won and Sweyn was killed.

Now that Valdemar was the undisputed ruler of Denmark, the first priority was to restore order and peace to the kingdom. Valdemar’s friend and advisor Absalon became the Bishop of Roskilde in 1158. Together they made war on the Wends, who had been raiding Denmark from Pomerania and the island of Ruegen. In 1168 the Wends capital of Arkona (on Ruegen) fell and the Wends became Christian and submitted to Denmark. Thus Denmark’s influence was extended into Pomerania.

Valdemar married to Sophia of Minsk, who was a half-sister of Canute V. They had nine children including Canute VI and Valdemar II the Victorius.

Valdemar died in 1182.

Sweyn was the son of Harald I Bluetooth and was born in April 963. It is believed that Sweyn’s mother was Harald’s first wife Gunhild. Sweyn became king of Denmark around 986 after rebelling against his father. It is possible that Harald was forced into exile and then died shortly afterward in 986 or 987. Sweyn remained king until his death in 1014.

Sweyn is probably best known for his expeditions against Norway and England. Harald Bluetooth had controlled parts of Norway, but his foothold had been lost in the 970s. Olaf I Tryggvason was king of Norway at this point, and Sweyn formed an alliance with the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung to pursue their mutual interests in acquiring parts of Norway. Sweyn and Olof and their allies attacked Olaf’s fleet as he was traveling to  (or from, it’s not clear) Pomerania near the island of Svolder. Olaf’s fleet was badly outnumbered and all of his ships were captured or destroyed and Olaf himself jumped overboard rather than be captured by his enemies. The location of “Svolder” has been lost to time, but it’s believed to have been in the western Baltic Sea.

The victorious allies partitioned Norway between themselves. The area along the southern coast of Norway came under direct Danish control, but the rest of Sweyn’s share was governed by the Jarl of Lade as a fiefdom from Sweyn.

Sweyn’s expeditions against England are probably better known. Without getting bogged down with a lot of details, Sweyn had led, or organized, several raiding expeditions against England, beginning in 1002. Supposedly the first raid was motivated by the St. Brice’s Day massacre of Danes ordered by the English King Æthelred in 1002. Sweyn’s sister and brother-in-law were among the victims of the massacre.

In 1013 Sweyn led a much larger force and invaded England with the goal of deposing Æthelred and taking control of the kingdom. The only significant resistance that the Danish forces encountered was in London, but as the surrounding areas submitted to Sweyn, eventually London also surrendered. Æthelred and his sons went into exile and on Christmas Day 1013 Sweyn became King of England.

Sadly for Sweyn, his reign over England lasted only 5 weeks. He died on February 13, 1014 at his base in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.

Sweyn had eight children by his two wives. Harald II Svendsen and Canute the Great both became kings of Denmark. His daughter Estrid Svendsdatter was the mother of King Sweyn II Estridsson.

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After the unexpected death of Christopher of Bavaria in 1448, there was some question about who should succeed him. The Danish crown was an elective monarchy, although the nearest male heir was customarily chosen. Christopher was the last direct descendant of Valdemar IV, so there were no obvious choices as the nearest male relative.

With many possible candidates, the Council of the Realm first offered the throne to Duke Adolphus of Schleswig (or Slesvig) because the most prominent lord in the Danish kingdom, but because he was childless he declined and suggested his nephew Count Christian of Oldenburg. The Council offered the throne to Christian under a number of conditions: Christian had to promise to obey the accession promissory of Valdemar III, which states that no one could be both the king of Denmark and the duke of Schleswig, that he would rule as a just king and that he would marry Dorothea of Brandenburg, the widow of his predecessor Christopher III.

 

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Harald was the son of Gorm the Old and his wife Thyra. Harald became King of Denmark when his father died in 958 or so. While Gorm is usually credited with being the first king of Denmark, it is unclear how much territory he actually controlled and his kingdom may only have consisted of the Jutland peninsula. Harald consolidated his control over Jutland and Zealand, plus portions of what is now Norway and Sweden.

Harald introduced Christianity to Denmark after his own baptism around 960. He erected the rune stones at Jelling which included this inscription about Harald:

“King Harald bade these memorials to be made after Gorm, his father, and Thyra, his mother. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity.”

Harald is also known for building ring forts in at least five locations within Denmark, including Aarhus. With relative quiet within his realm, Harald was always interested in foreign adventures. Following the assassination of his nephew King Harald Greycloak of Norway in 970, Harald became king of Norway, though he left most of the management of Norway to his vassal Haakon Sigurdsson.

Harald was married three times. His son and heir Sweyn Forkbeard was born around 960 and is believed to be the son of Harald’s first wife Gunhild. Sweyn rebelled against his father during the last years before Harald’s death. It is not clear how Harald died, but some sources claim that Sweyn deposed his father before his death.

As an aside, the Bluetooth wireless technology was named after Harald Bluetooth in 1997. Apparently the inventors felt that Bluetooth would unite wireless devices in the same manner that Harald had united Denmark.

Gorm the Old is the first historically recognized King of Denmark. He ruled from approximately 936 until his death in 958 or 959. He ruled from Jelling in the Jutland peninsula. Gorm is considered the founder of the Danish monarchy, though it is unclear if he governed all of what is now Denmark.

Gorm was supposedly the son of the Danish King Harthacnut, who is considered “semi-legendary.” There is not a lot of evidence for the existence of Harthacnut, and much of what exists is contradictory.

Gorm married Thyra, whose history before her marriage to Gorm is not well established. Thyra is credited with completing the “Dannevirke” defensive line that runs across what is now Schleswig. This was to provide some protection against the Saxon tribes to the south of the kingdom.

Gorm and Thyra had three sons: Toke, Knut and Harald. All three of the sons were Vikings. Knut was killed while attacking Dublin. Harald is better known as Harald I Bluetooth and he became king after Gorm died.

Besides founding the current monarchy, Gorm is perhaps best remembered for the rune stones that he and Harald erected at Jelling. In addition, there are burial mounds at Jelling which are associated with Gorm.

 

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Christopher is probably better known as Christopher of Bavaria. He was born in 1416 and died in 1448. He was elected King of Denmark in 1439 after his uncle Eric VII (or Eric of Pomerania) was deposed.

Christopher’s claim to the Danish throne was through his mother Catherine, who was the sister of Eric VII. Through his father (John Count Palatine of Neumarkt), Christopher was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Christopher was also elected as King of Sweden (1441) and Norway (1442), so he was one of the Kalmar Union kings.

Christopher married Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430 -1495) in Copenhagen in 1445. They had no children. Christopher died unexpectedly in Helsingborg in 1448.