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Valdemar I of Denmark
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Waldemar I (Waldemar the Great) (wäl'dəmär), 1131-82, king of Denmark (1157-82). In 1147, Waldemar, Sweyn III, and Canute (son of Magnus the Strong and grandson of King Niels) each claimed the Danish throne. After a war Waldemar received Jutland as his share of Danish territory. When Canute was assassinated (probably on Sweyn's orders), Waldemar conducted a campaign against King Sweyn, whom he defeated (1157) in a great battle near Viborg. Although now supreme in Denmark, Waldemar found his country overrun by the Wends. With Henry the Lion of Saxony and Albert the Bear of Brandenburg he subjugated the Wends and forced them to accept Christianity. He became the vassal of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I in order to gain German support, but was later powerful enough to free himself from that control. Waldemar codified the laws and gained Norwegian territory. The marriages of his daughters to the sons of Frederick I, Eric X of Sweden, and Philip II of France increased his prestige. Archbishop Absalon was his adviser in ecclesiastical, political, and military affairs. Waldemar was succeeded by his son, Canute VI (reigned 1182-1202).
Dictionary:
Wal·de·mar I (wôl'də-mär', väl'-)  or Val·de·mar I
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Danish king (1157-1182) who extended his realm and gained recognition for the hereditary rule of his family.
| Wikipedia: Valdemar I of Denmark |
| Valdemar the Great | |
|---|---|
| King of Denmark | |
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| Reign | 1157–1182 |
| Born | 14 January 1131 |
| Died | 12 May 1182[aged 51] |
| Buried | Skt. Bendts Church, Ringsted |
| Predecessor | Sweyn III |
| Successor | Canute VI |
| Consort | Sofia of Minsk |
| Father | Canute Lavard |
| Mother | Ingeborg, daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev |
Valdemar I of Denmark (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182.
He was the son of Canute Lavard, a chivalrous and popular Danish prince, who was the eldest son of Eric I of Denmark. Valdemar's father was murdered days before his birth; his mother, Ingeborg, daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev, named him after her grandfather, Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev.
As an heir to the throne, and with his rivals quickly gaining power, he was raised in the court of Asser Rig of Fjenneslev, together with Asser's sons, Absalon and Esbern Snare, who would become his trusted friends and ministers.
When Valdemar was sixteen years old, King Erik III abdicated and a civil war erupted. The pretenders to the throne were: Sweyn III Grathe, son of Eric II Emune; Canute (Knud V Magnussen), son of Prince Magnus who was the son of King Niels; and Valdemar himself (he was holding Jutland, at least southern Jutland, as his possession). The civil war lasted the better part of ten years.
In 1157 King Sweyn hosted a great banquet for Canute, Absalon and Valdemar during which he planned to dispose of all his rivals. King Canute was killed, but Absalon and Valdemar escaped. Valdemar returned to Jutland. Sweyn quickly launched an invasion, only to be defeated by Valdemar at Grathe Hede. He 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 Valdemar made him his chief friend and advisor. He reorganized and rebuilt war-torn Denmark. At Absalon's instigation he declared war upon the Wends who were raiding the Danish coasts. They inhabited Pomerania and the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. In 1168 the Wendish capital, Arkona, was taken, and the Wends became Christians and subject to Danish suzerainty. Danish influence reached into Pomerania.
Valdemar's reign saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its zenith under his second son Valdemar.
Marriage and children
Valdemar married Sofia of Minsk (c. 1141–1198), half-sister of Canute V of Denmark and daughter of Dowager Queen Rikissa of Sweden from her marriage with Volodar of Minsk (Vladimir or Volodar Glebovich of the Rurikids, died 1167), ruling Prince of Principality of Minsk, and they had the following children:
- Sophie, (1159 –1208), married Siegfried III, Count of Orlamünde
- King Canute VI of Denmark (1163–1202)
- Maria, nun at Roskilde (born c. 1165)
- Margareta, nun at Roskilde (born c. 1167)
- King Valdemar II of Denmark (1170–1241)
- Ingeborg (1175–1236), married King Philip II of France
- Helen (c.1177-1233), married William of Lüneburg
- Rikissa of Denmark (c. 1180-1220), married King Eric X of Sweden
His widow Sofia married then Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia.
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Valdemar the Great
House of Estridsen
Born: 1131 Died: 1182 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Eric Lamb |
King of Denmark 1146–1182 with Sweyn Grathe (1146–1157) & Canute V (1146–1157) |
Succeeded by Canute VI |
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