Eric IV, also known as Eric Ploughpenny or Eric Plowpenny ( da, Erik Plovpenning), ( – 10 August 1250) was king of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

from 1241 until his death in 1250. His reign was marked by conflict and civil wars against his brothers.

Early life

Eric was the son of

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

and brother of King

Abel of Denmark Abel Valdemarsen (1218 – 29 June 1252) was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to kings Eric IV and Chr ...

and King Christopher I of Denmark. He was born ca. 1216 as the second legitimate son of King Valdemar II by his second wife Berengária of Portugal. In 1218, when his older half-brother

Valdemar the Young Valdemar the Young () ( – 28 November 1231) was a Junior King of Denmark from 1215 until his death. Valdemar was the eldest son and co-ruler of King Valdemar II of Denmark by his first wife, Dagmar of Bohemia. He did not outlive his father s ...

was crowned king as their father's co-ruler and designated heir, he was created

Duke of Schleswig The following is a list of jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland). First jarls/dukes Houses of Estridsen and Schauenburg (1080–1460) House of Oldenburg In 1864, following the Second Sch ...

. After the premature death of Valdemar in 1231, Eric was crowned king at

Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepi ...

30 May 1232 as his father's co-ruler and heir. Subsequently, he ceded the Duchy of Schleswig to his younger brother

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

. When his father died in 1241, he ascended to the throne.

Rule

His rule was marked by bitter conflicts, especially against his brother, Duke Abel of Schleswig who seems to have wanted an independent position and who was supported by the counts of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. Eric also fought the Scanian peasants, who rebelled because of his hard taxes, among other things, on ploughs. The number of ploughs a man owned was used as a measure of his wealth. This gave the king the epithet "plough-penny" (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Plovpenning''). Eric had only been king for about a year when he first came into conflict with his brother, Duke Abel of Schleswig, in 1242. The conflict lasted for two years before the brothers agreed on a truce in 1244 and made plans for a joint crusade to

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. At the same time Eric faced trouble from the religious orders who insisted that they were immune from taxes that Eric might assess. Eric wanted the church lands taxed as any other land holder would be. The Pope sent a nuncio to negotiate between the king and the bishops at

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

in 1245.

Excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

was threatened for anyone, great or small who trespassed upon the ancient rights and privileges of the church. It was a clear warning to Eric that the church would not tolerate his continued insistence at assessing church property for tax purposes. Infuriated, in 1249 King Eric directed his rage at Niels Stigsen, Bishop of the

Diocese of Roskilde The Diocese of Roskilde ( da, Roskildes Stift) is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. The seat of the Bishop is Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde. History The Diocese of Roskilde was formed in 1922 when the Diocese of Zeala ...

who fled Denmark the same year. Eric confiscated the bishopric's properties in

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, including the emerging city of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. In spite of intervention from

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

who advocated the reinstatement of the bishop and the return of the properties to the diocese, the dispute could not be resolved. Niels Stigsen died in 1249 at

Clairvaux Abbey Clairvaux Abbey (, ; la, Clara Vallis) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by St. Bernard, is now in ruins; the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was ...

. The properties were not restored to the diocese until after the death of King Eric in 1250. The conflict between King Eric and his brothers had broken out again in 1246. The conflict started when Eric invaded

in an attempt to restore his father's control of the county. Duke Abel of Schleswig, married to a daughter of Adolf IV, Count of Holstein and former guardian of his brothers-in-law, the two young counts of Holstein John I and Gerhard I, forced King Eric to abandon his conquest. The following year, Abel and the Holsteiners stormed into

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

and

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

, burning and pillaging as far north as

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

. Abel was supported by the Hanseatic League city of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, as well as by his brothers Christopher, Lord of Lolland and Falster and Canute, Duke of Blekinge. King Eric retaliated immediately, reconquering the city of

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It ...

and occupying Abel's patrimonial city of

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,300 (1 January 2022), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Arreskov Castle (''Arreskov Slot'') on

, as well as taking Christopher and Canute prisoners. A truce was arranged by Eric's sister Sophie of Denmark (ca 1217–1247) who was the wife of Johann I, Margrave of Brandenburg (c. 1213–1266). The terms of the accord left Eric in firm control of all of Denmark. In 1249 the peasants in

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

rose in rebellion against the plow tax. The king restored order with help from

, but the church, Duke Abel, and the German counts in southern Jutland were pushed into an erstwhile alliance against the king.

Regicide

Erik raised an army and sailed to

to secure his base there in 1249. On his way home in 1250 he took his army to Holstein to prevent the capture of the border fortress of

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

and to teach the German counts who was still king. His brother, Duke Abel of Schleswig offered him hospitality at his house at

Gottorp Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...

in Schleswig. That evening as the king gambled with one of the German knights, the duke's chamberlain and a group of other men rushed in and took the king prisoner. They bound him and dragged him out of the duke's house and down to a boat and rowed out into the Schlien. They were followed out onto the water by a second boat. When King Erik heard the voice of his sworn enemy, Lave Gudmundsen (ca. 1195–1252), he realized he was to be killed. One of the captors was paid to deliver the king's death blow with an ax. Erik was beheaded and his body dumped into the Schlien. The next morning two fishermen dragged the king's headless body up in their net. They carried the body to the Dominican Abbey in Schleswig; his body was later transferred to St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted in 1257. Eric's brother Abel was sworn in as the successor king. Abel contended he had nothing to do with the murder. Within a year and a half, Abel himself was killed. He was succeeded as king of Denmark by his younger brother Christopher.

Marriage and issue

Eric was married on 17 November 1239 with

Jutta of Saxony Jutta of Saxony (c. 1223 – before 2 February 1267) was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Eric IV of Denmark. She was the daughter of Albert I, Duke of Saxony. She married king Erik in 1239, and became junior queen consort, since her husband ...

daughter of

Albert I, Duke of Saxony Albert I (; c. 1175 – 7 October 1260) was a Duke of Saxony, Angria, and Westphalia; Lord of Nordalbingia; Count of Anhalt; and Prince-elector and Archmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire. Even though his grandfather Albert the Bear had held the Sax ...

(c. 1175–1260). They were the parents of: *Canute, died young. *Christopher, died young. * Sophia (1241–1286), married to King Valdemar of Sweden. Their descendants included

Christian I of Denmark Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within Den ...

. * Ingeborg (1244–1287), married to King

Magnus VI of Norway Magnus Haakonsson ( non, Magnús Hákonarson, no, Magnus Håkonsson, label= Modern Norwegian; 1 (or 3) May 1238 – 9 May 1280) was King of Norway (as Magnus VI) from 1263 to 1280 (junior king from 1257). One of his greatest achievements was the ...

. * Jutta (1246–1284), Abbess of St. Agnes' Priory, Roskilde. * Agnes (1249–1288/95), Abbess of St. Agnes' Priory, Roskilde; reputedly married to Eric Longbone, Lord of Langeland.

References

Other Sources

* * Bain, Robert Nisbet (1905) ''Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900'' (Cambridge: University Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eric 04 Of Denmark 1216 births 1250 deaths House of Estridsen 13th-century murdered monarchs Danish murder victims People murdered in Denmark Deaths by decapitation Burials at St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted Medieval child rulers 13th-century kings of Denmark