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51-497: He was an ancestor of the Valdemarian kings ( Valdemarerne ) and of their subsequent royal line. Canute Lavard was the father of King Valdemar I of Denmark ( Valdemar den Store ) and grandfather of King Valdemar II of Denmark ( Valdemar Sejr ). Canute was the only legitimate son of King Eric I of Denmark (died 1103) and Boedil Thurgotsdatter , but as a minor he was bypassed in the election of 1104. He grew up in close contact with

102-457: A German knight who carried Valdemar to safety on his horse. From that time on, King Valdemar II focused his efforts on domestic affairs. One of the changes he instituted was the feudal system, where he gave properties to men with the understanding that they owed him service in return. This increased the power of the noble families ( højadelen ) and gave rise to the lesser nobles ( lavadelen' ), who controlled most of Denmark. Free peasants lost

153-519: A bridge of the Elbe and fortified a forward post in Harburg upon Elbe . In 1209 Otto IV persuaded Valdemar II to withdraw into the north of the Elbe, urged Burkhard to resign and expelled Prince-Archbishop Valdemar. In 1210, Innocent III made Gerhard I, Count of Oldenburg - Wildeshausen Bremen's new Prince-Archbishop. In 1211 Duke Bernard III of the younger Duchy of Saxony escorted his brother-in-law Valdemar,

204-622: A new chapel at St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted. During medieval times a chapel ( Knut Lavards Kapel ) was erected on the site where he died but it disappeared after the Reformation . The ruins were rediscovered in 1883. In 1902 a memorial in the form of a 4-metre crucifix was erected near the site of the death of Canute Lavard. After the death of Canute Lavard, the Obotrite lands were partitioned between Pribislav and Niklot (1090–1160), both chiefs of

255-580: A sister of Ferdinand, Count of Flanders , with whom she stayed until her marriage. Queen Berengária was beautiful, but so hard-hearted that she was generally hated by the Danes until her early death, in childbirth, in 1221. Valdemar's two wives played a prominent role in Danish ballads and myths – Dagmar as the soft, pious, and popular ideal wife, and Berengária as the beautiful and haughty woman. With his first wife, Dagmar of Bohemia , whom he wed in 1205, Valdamar had

306-595: A vassal of the Holy Roman Empire . He seems to have been the first member of the Danish royal family who was attracted by the knightly ideals and habits of medieval Germany, indicated by his changing his title to Duke of Schleswig ( Hertug af Slesvig ). His appearance made him a popular man and a possible successor of his uncle, but he also acquired mighty enemies among the Danish princes and magnates, who apparently questioned his loyalty and feared his bond with Emperor Lothair III , who had recognized him as sovereign over

357-635: The Elbe , to Duke Valdemar. In November 1202, Duke Valdemar's elder brother, King Canute VI, unexpectedly died childless. Duke Valdemar was subsequently proclaimed king at the Jutland Assembly ( landsting ). The nearby Holy Roman Empire was torn by civil war due to having two rivals contesting for its throne, Otto IV , House of Guelf , and King Philip , House of Hohenstaufen . Valdemar II allied himself with Otto IV against Phillip. In 1203 Valdemar invaded and conquered Lybeck and Holstein , adding them to

408-821: The Hohenstaufens – a fleet of 35 ships and harried the coasts of Denmark, claiming the Danish throne for himself based on the fact that he was the son of King Canute V. In 1193, King Canute VI captured him. Bishop Valdemar stayed in captivity in Nordborg (1193–1198) and then in the tower at Søborg Castle on Zealand until 1206. He was later released upon the initiative of Dagmar of Bohemia (the wife of Duke Valdemar) and Pope Innocent III , after swearing to never interfere again in Danish affairs. Young Valdemar faced another threat from Count Adolf III of Holstein . Adolf tried to stir up other German counts to take southern Jutland from Denmark, and to assist Bishop Valdemar's plot to take

459-667: The Norwegian succession led to the second Bagler War, temporarily settling the issue and making the Norwegian king owe allegiance to Denmark. He faced disputes with the papacy over the appointment of the Prince-Archbishop of Bremen and the Bishop of Schleswig . Valdemar's military campaigns included conflicts in northern Germany and the establishment of Danish rule in Estonia in 1219. His reign saw

510-640: The Trøndelag Assembly and revolted. The uprising spread over several regions in Norway. In 1216, Valdemar II and his Danish troops ravaged the County of Stade and conquered Hamburg . Two years later Valdemar II and Gerhard I allied to expel Henry V and Otto IV from the Prince-Archbishopric. Prince-Archbishop Valdemar finally resigned and entered into a monastery. Valdemar supported Emperor Frederick II and

561-719: The Wends who were raiding the Danish coasts. They occupied Pomerania and the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea and were a definite threat to the Danes in the Baltic as the Wends outnumbered the Danes more than two to one. So the Danes soon began raiding the Wendish coasts in turn; this culminated in the conquest of Rügen, which was used as another base to raid and later conquer more Wendish territory. Danish influence had therefore reached both Pomerania and

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612-496: The "Canute Garden" ( Kanuti aed ) in the town. Canute Lavard married Ingeborg of Kiev , daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev and his wife Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden . They had four children: Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I Knudsen (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( Danish : Valdemar den Store ), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw

663-464: The Battle of Dysiaa , where Valdemar crushed them, and after this they once more paid taxes. But even though the entire peasant force surrendered, they still refused to pay tithes, so instead Valdemar had them bring generous gifts and donations to the church. They would pay no tithes but they would pay nonetheless, the only point he conceded were the governors, who were replaced by Scanians. This concession to

714-416: The Danes back. Attendants rushed forward to raise his arms once again and the Danes surged forward again. At the height of the battle Bishop Sunsen prayed for a sign and it came in the form of a red cloth with a white cross which drifted down from the sky just as the Danes began to fall back. A voice was heard to say "When this banner is raised on high, you shall be victorious!" The Danes surged forward and won

765-500: The Danish camp from all sides. Confusion reigned and things looked bad for Valdemar's crusade. Luckily for him, Vitslav of Rügen gathered his men in a second camp and attacked the Estonians from the rear. During the Battle of Lindanise , the legend says that whenever Bishop Sunesen raised his arms the Danes surged forward and when his arms grew tired and he let them fall the Estonians turned

816-775: The Danish ships also carrying cavalry. In 1175, King Valdemar built Vordingborg Castle as a defensive fortress and as a base from which to launch further raids against the German coast. In 1180, as unrest spread throughout the rich province of Scania , the people demanded that Valdemar replace the "foreign" governors from Jutland , and instead install nobility from one of the ' Skåneland ' provinces who traditionally ruled them. They also completely refused to pay church tithes . When Valdemar refused their demands, they rose up, saying they would pay neither taxes nor church tithes. Their numbers were so large that Valdemar not only gathered his own levies but also levies from Blekinge . The armies met at

867-440: The Danish throne. With the bishop again in prison, Duke Valdemar went after Count Adolph, and with his own troop levies, he marched south and captured Adolph's new fortress at Rendsburg . He defeated and captured the count at the Battle of Stellau in 1201, and imprisoned him in a cell next to Bishop Valdemar. Two years later, due to an illness, Count Adolph was able to buy his way out of prison by ceding all of Schleswig , north of

918-567: The Danish troops under the command of Albert II of Orlamünde at Mölln in 1225. To secure his release Valdemar had to acknowledge the break away territories in Germany, pay 44,000 silver marks, and sign a promise not to seek revenge on Count Henry. Valdemar immediately appealed to Pope Honorius III to have his oath declared void, a request granted by the Pope. Honorius III excused Valdemar from his forced oath, and he immediately set about trying to restore

969-403: The German territories. Valdemar concluded a treaty with his nephew Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and headed south to take back what he thought were his lands by right, but his luck deserted him. A series of Danish defeats culminating in the Battle of Bornhöved on 22 July 1227 cemented the loss of Denmark's north German territories. Valdemar himself was saved only by the chivalrous acts of

1020-524: The Obotrite confederacy , both being raided routinely by the Danes. Around the year 1170, a smaller contingent of the Danish fleet (headed by Valdemar and Absalon) ventured past the mouth of the Oder, where they were ambushed by a Wendish army and fleet under Casimir , at the Julin bridge (modern-day Wolin ) hoping to end Danish raiding. But the Danes outsmarted the Wends and smashed their army and fleet, primarily due to

1071-505: The Obotrites. Some sources consider the death of Canute to be a murder committed by Magnus, while others attribute it to Niels himself. In any case. the death provoked a civil war that continued intermittently until 1157, ending only with the triumph of Canute's posthumous son Valdemar I . The fate of Canute and his son's victory formed the background for his canonisation in 1170, at the request of King Valdemar. His feast day ( Knutsdagen )

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1122-618: The Scanians, that a Jute rules in Jutland and Rugian in Rügen, was then optimized for the rest of the Danish realm. This assisted immensely with keeping the peace within the kingdom, and the later extended realm . Valdemar married Sophia of Minsk ( c.  1141 –1198), the daughter of Richeza of Poland , dowager queen of Sweden, from her marriage to Prince Volodar of Minsk . She was the half-sister of King Canute V of Denmark . Valdemar and Sophia had

1173-561: The adoption of a feudal system in Denmark and the creation of the Code of Jutland , which served as Denmark's legal code until 1683. He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophia of Polotsk . When his father died, young Valdemar was only twelve years old. He was named duke of Southern Jutland ( Latin : dux slesvicensis . ) His regent was Bishop Valdemar Knudsen , the illegitimate son of King Canute V of Denmark . Bishop Valdemar

1224-475: The army eastward. Once assembled, the fleet numbered 1500 ships. When the army landed in Estonia , near modern-day Tallinn , the chiefs of the Estonians sat down with the Danes and agreed to acknowledge the Danish king as their overlord. A few of them allowed themselves to be baptized which seemed to be a good sign. Three days later on 15 June 1219 while the Danes were attending mass, thousands of Estonians broke into

1275-514: The battle. At the end of the day thousands of Estonians lay dead on the field, and Estonia was added to the Danish realm. Estonians were forcibly baptised as Christians, but according to an in depth study of the Liber Census Daniæ by the historian Edgar Sachs, the Estonians quite voluntarily converted to the Christian faith. Valdemar ordered the construction of a great fortress at Reval , near

1326-643: The better part of ten years. In 1154, Valdemar joined with Canute and was recognized as co-king along with Canute. In July 1157, a temporary compromise was struck in which the three agreed to divide the country among themselves as co-regents in shifting alliances. Canute was killed at the Bloodfeast of Roskilde in August 1157. Sweyn was defeated by Valdemar in the Battle of Grathe Heath ( Slaget på Grathe Hede ) on 23 October 1157. Sweyn

1377-412: The daughter of Karl von Rise, and not the "beautiful flower", Berengaria of Portugal ( Bengerd ). In other words, she predicted Berengaria's sons' fight over the throne would bring trouble to Denmark. After Dagmar's death, in order to build good relations with Flanders , Valdemar married Berengária of Portugal in 1214. She was the orphan daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce of Aragon , and

1428-453: The deposed Bishop Valdemar. In 1214 King Valdemar appointed Bishop Nicholas I as Chancellor of Denmark , succeeding the late Peder Sunesen  [ Wikidata ] , Bishop of Roskilde . In the same year Valdemar II invaded with Danish troops the prince-archiepiscopal territory south of the Elbe and conquered Stade . In August Prince-Archbishop Valdemar reconquered the city only to lose it soon after again to Valdemar II, who now built

1479-494: The following children: After Valdemar's death, Sophia married Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia . Valdemar II Valdemar II Valdemarsen (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious ( Danish : Valdemar Sejr ), was King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. In 1207, Valdemar invaded and conquered Lybeck and Holstein , expanding the Danish territories. His involvement in

1530-486: The following children: With his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal , whom he wed in 1214, he had the following children: Valdemar enjoys a central position in Danish history because of his position as "the king of Dannebrog " and as a legislator. To posterity, the civil wars and dissolution that followed his death made him appear to be the last king of a golden age. Since 1912, June 15 has officially been called Valdemarsdag ( Valdemar's Day ). The date now belongs to

1581-567: The group of 33 Danish annual Flag Days where Dannebrog is raised in celebration. The 1997 film Eye of the Eagle was about a fictional story about Valdemar the Young. His father Valdemar was played by Lars Lohmann . The Estonian capital Tallinn has a park at Toompea called the Danish King's Garden where the Danish flag Dannebrog was born according to prevailing legends. Every year on 15 June,

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1632-517: The island of Lyø near Funen . Count Henry demanded that Denmark surrender the land conquered in Holstein 20 years ago and become a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor . Danish envoys refused these terms and Denmark declared war. While Valdemar sat in prison, most of the German territories tore themselves away from Denmark. Danish armies were dispatched to hold them in line. The war ended in defeat of

1683-467: The king of Denmark. In 1207, a majority of Bremian capitulars again elected Bishop Valdemar as prince-archbishop, while a minority, led by the capitular provost Burkhard, Count of Stumpenhausen fled for Hamburg , being the seat of a Bremian subchapter with regional competence and delegating for episcopal elections two participants to the main Bremian chapter. The German King Philip recognised Valdemar as

1734-474: The legitimate prince-archbishop of Bremen, because thus the prince-archbishopric would become his ally against Valdemar II. Valdemar II and the fled capitulars protested to Pope Innocent III , who first wanted to research the case. When Bishop Valdemar left Rome for Bremen against Pope Innocent's order to wait his decision, he banished Valdemar by an anathema and in 1208 finally dismissed him as Bishop of Schleswig . In 1208, Burkhard, Count of Stumpenhausen,

1785-549: The noble family of Hvide , who were later on to be among his most eager supporters. In 1115, his uncle, King Niels of Denmark , placed him in charge of the Duchy of Schleswig ( jarl af Sønderjylland ) in order to put an end to the attacks of the Slavic Obotrites . During the next fifteen years, he fulfilled his duty of establishing peace in the border area so well that he was titled Duke of Holstein ( Hertug af Holsten ) and became

1836-580: The papally dismissed Prince-Archbishop, into the city of Bremen, de facto regaining the See and enjoying the sudden support of Otto IV, who meanwhile fell out with Innocent over Sicily . As a reaction Valdemar II recaptured Stade, while in 1213 Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine , conquered it for Prince-Archbishop Valdemar. In 1213 Valdemar instituted a war tax in Norway , and the peasants murdered Valdemar's tax collector at

1887-518: The rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zenith under his son King Valdemar II . Valdemar was the son of Canute Lavard , Duke of Schleswig , the chivalrous and popular eldest son of King Eric I of Denmark . Valdemar's father was murdered by King Magnus I of Sweden days before the birth of Valdemar; his mother, Ingeborg of Kiev , daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden , named him after her grandfather, Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev. Valdemar

1938-527: The site of the battle. Eventually a city grew around the hilltop castle which is still called Tallinn , "Danish-castle/town" in the Estonian language . The red banner with a white cross ( Dannebrog ) has been the national flag of the Danes since 1219. Dannebrog is Europe's oldest flag design still in modern use. In 1223, King Valdemar and his eldest son, prince Valdemar , were abducted by Count Henry I of Schwerin ( Heinrich der Schwarze ), while hunting on

1989-465: The south, He built Sønderborg Castle as a fortified fortress, constructed on an islet in the Als Strait that later was connected to Als Island . He reinvented Viking raiding tactics of old to deal with the Wends to the south, which was now optimized for heavy cavalry; this use of amphibious assault was further improved upon by his successor Canute VI . At Absalon's instigation, he declared war upon

2040-416: The territories controlled by Denmark. In 1204 he attempted to influence the outcome of the Norwegian succession by leading a Danish fleet and army to Viken in Norway in support of Erling Steinvegg , the pretender to the Norwegian throne. This resulted in the second Bagler War which lasted until 1208. The question of the Norwegian succession was temporarily settled and the Norwegian king owed allegiance to

2091-599: The traditional rights and privileges they had enjoyed since the Viking era. King Valdemar II spent the remainder of his life putting together a code of laws for Jutland , Zealand , and Skåne . These codes were used as Denmark's legal code until 1683. This was a significant change from the local law-making at the regional assemblies ( landting ), which had been a long-standing tradition. Several methods of determining guilt or innocence were outlawed, including trial by ordeal and trial by combat. The Code of Jutland ( Jyske Lov )

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2142-632: The western Wends . Both Niels and his son, Magnus the Strong , seem to have been alarmed at Canute's being recognized by the Emperor. On 7 January 1131, Canute was trapped in the Haraldsted Forest ( Haraldsted Skov ) near Ringsted in Zealand and murdered by Magnus. Ringsted Abbey , one of the earliest Benedictine houses in Denmark, became the initial resting place of Canute Lavard, which in 1157 were moved to

2193-508: Was a royal chancellor and crusader. Esbern and Absalon had a close relationship and formed an alliance with Valdemar. In 1146, when Valdemar was fifteen years old, King Eric III of Denmark abdicated and a civil war erupted. Valdemar was a possible contender to the throne. The other pretenders to the throne were: Sweyn III Grathe , the son of King Eric II of Denmark , and Canute V , the son of Magnus I of Sweden , both of whom declared themselves King of Denmark in 1146. The civil war lasted

2244-526: Was an ambitious man and disguised his own ambitions as young Valdemar's. When Bishop Valdemar was named archbishop of Bremen in 1192, his plot to overthrow King Canute VI of Denmark (elder brother of Duke Valdemar) with the help of the German nobility and place himself on Denmark's throne, was revealed. Duke Valdemar realized the threat Bishop Valdemar represented. He thus invited him to Aabenraa in 1192. The bishop then fled to Norway to avoid arrest. The following year, Bishop Valdemar organised – supported by

2295-475: Was approved at the meeting of the nobility at Vordingborg Castle in 1241, just prior to Valdemar's death there. Valdemar was buried next to his first wife, Queen Dagmar , at Ringsted in Zealand. Before his first marriage, Valdemar had been betrothed to Rixa of Bavaria , daughter of the Duke of Saxony . When that arrangement failed, he married first Dagmar of Bohemia , also known as Margaret of Bohemia, in 1205. She

2346-452: Was elected by the fled capitulars in Hamburg as rival prince-archbishop and Valdemar II, usurping imperial power, invested Burkhard with the regalia – with effect only in the prince-archiepiscopal and diocesan territory north of the Elbe. In 1209 Innocent III finally consented the consecration of Bishop Nicholas I of Schleswig , a close confidant and consultant of King Valdemar, as successor of

2397-460: Was killed during flight, supposedly by a group of peasants who stumbled upon him as he was fleeing from the battlefield. Valdemar, having outlived all his rival pretenders, became the sole king of Denmark. In 1158, Absalon was elected bishop of Roskilde , and King Valdemar made him his chief advisor. The king reorganized and rebuilt war-torn Denmark. He strengthened the Dannevirke fortifications to

2448-516: Was originally celebrated on the day of his death, 7 January, but when the end of Christmas was moved to a week later in Sweden, Finland, and (parts of) Norway in the late 17th century, the feast day moved with it, and is now celebrated on 13 January. The Canute Guild in Tallinn , Estonia was named in commemoration of Canute Lavard. The guild later gave its name to the "Canute Street" ( Kanuti tänav ) and to

2499-466: Was raised at Ringsted in the court of Danish nobleman Asser Rig of Fjenneslev ( c.  1080 –1151). Asser was a member of the Hvide noble family and had been raised together with Valdemar's father Canute Lavard. Valdemar was raised together with Asser's sons, including Absalon ( c.  1128 –1201), who would become an archbishop and go to battle with Valdemar, and Esbern Snare (1127–1204), who

2550-507: Was rewarded with the emperor acknowledging Denmark rule of Schleswig and Holstein , all of the Wendish lands and Pomerania . The Livonian Knights , who had been attempting to Christianize the peoples of the eastern Baltic, were (by 1219) being hard pressed and turned to Valdemar for help. Pope Honorius III elevated Valdemar's invasion of Estonia into a crusade. Valdemar raised an army and called all of Denmark's ships to gather to transport

2601-511: Was the daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia by his first wife, Adelaide of Meissen , and soon became popular with the Danes. By this marriage, Valdemar had a son, Valdemar the Young , whom he elevated as co-king at Schleswig in 1218. Valdemar the Young was accidentally shot while hunting at Refsnæs in North Jutland in 1231. Queen Dagmar died in childbirth in 1212. Old folk ballads say that on her death bed, she begged Valdemar to marry Kirsten,

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