Eric III Lamb (, – 27 August 1146) was

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...

from 1137 until 1146. He was the grandson of Eric I and the nephew of Eric II, whom he succeeded on the throne. He

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other soci ...

in 1146, and was the only Danish monarch to do so voluntarily, until

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

, 878 years later in 2024. His succession led to a period of

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between

Sweyn III Sweyn III GratheFor the significance of the epithet, see (; – 23 October 1157) was the king of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I. In 1157, the three agreed to a tripartition of ...

, Canute V, and Valdemar I.

Biography

Eric was born on

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. His mother was Ragnhild, the daughter of King Eric I, and his father was the nobleman

Hakon Sunnivasson Hakon Sunnivasson (, "from Jutland") () was a Danish nobleman and the father of King Eric III of Denmark. Biography Hakon was the son of a Danish nobleman. His mother, Sunniva, was the daughter of a daughter of Norwegian King Magnus the Good. Ha ...

, a great-grandson of King

Magnus the Good Magnus Olafsson (; Norwegian and Danish: ''Magnus Olavsson''; – 25 October 1047), better known as Magnus the Good (; Norwegian and Danish: ''Magnus den gode''), was King of Norway from 1035 and King of Denmark from 1042 until his death in ...

of Norway and Denmark. Eric was the nephew of

Eric II of Denmark Eric II the Memorable (; – 18 September 1137) was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. Eric was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1095 to 1103. Eric the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niels of Denmark, and ...

; he fought for Eric II at the decisive

Battle of Fotevik Battle of Fotevik () was fought between forces of King Niels of Denmark and his son Magnus Nielsen, against those of Erik Emune on 4 June 1134 at the bay of Fotevik in Skåne. At his death, King Eric I of Denmark had two known sons who w ...

in 1134,Stefan Pajung
Erik Lam ca. 1100-1147

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

, 20 January 2010, archived fro
the original
on 7 August 2011. and succeeded him to the throne when he was murdered in 1137. Not much is known of Eric's kingship; there is much disagreement among contemporary chroniclers about his personality, and he is portrayed both as a passive and irresolute man, but also as an eager and brave fighter. Eric had to fight for his kingship against his cousin Olaf Haraldsen, sometimes called ''Olaf II''. Olaf established a power base in

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

in 1139 and tried to usurp the throne from there, but Eric defeated and killed him in 1141 near

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

. During the Danish Civil Wars, the

Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...

raided the Danish coasts and inlets without much Danish resistance. Eric supported

Magnus the Blind Magnus Sigurdsson ( – 12 November 1139), also known as Magnus the Blind and Magnus IV, was King of Norway from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the civil war era in Norway, which lasted until ...

and

Sigurd Slembe Sigurd Magnusson Slembe (or Slembedjakn) (died 12 November 1139) was a Norwegian pretender to the throne. He was the subject of '' Sigurd Slembe'', the historical drama written by the Norwegian playwright Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1862. Biogr ...

in the Norwegian civil war. He worked to aggrandize the church, especially St. Canute's Abbey in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, and had a close relationship with bishop Eskil of Roskilde. In 1143, he married

Lutgard of Salzwedel Lutgard of Salzwedel or ''Liutgard/Luitgard of Stade'', (b. , murdered 1152) was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Eric III. Life Lutgard was born to Richardis, Countess of Sponheim-Lavanttal, and Count Rudolf I of Stade and Ditmarsh (d. ...

, daughter of

Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark Rudolf I (died 7 December 1124), Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade, son of Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Oda of Werl, daughter of Herman III, Count of Werl, and Richenza of Swabia. Rudolf was the brother of his pred ...

. Eric and Lutgard were married by Rudolf's son Hartwig, then Provost of

Bremen Cathedral Bremen Cathedral (), named after St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the umbrella organization Evangelical Church in Germany. It ...

, in 1143 or 1144. In 1146 Eric abdicated for unknown reasons. He was the only Danish monarch in history to do so until

in 2024. He entered St. Canute's Abbey, where he died on 27 August 1146 and was buried in the cloister. His abdication has been explained as being rooted either in his realization of his inability to govern, or in an illness which ultimately killed him.

Legacy

His nickname "Lam" means "lamb". This is taken either to reference the

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

as he was seen as a pious man, and to describe his mildhearted and generous nature; or to indicate a weak and soft king.

Carl Frederik Bricka Carl Frederik Bricka (10 July 1845 – 23 August 1903) was a Danish archivist, historian and biographer. Biography Carl Bricka was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father, Frederik Vilhelm Theodor Bricka (1809–79), was a medical doctor. H ...

, ''Dansk Biografisk Lexikon'', vol. IV lemens - Eynden 1890
pp.541-542
He married

in 1144, which indicated an increasing

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

influence on Denmark. He and Lutgard had no children, though Eric fathered a son,

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

, out of wedlock. After Eric died, Lutgard married Herman II of Winzenburg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eric 02 Of Denmark House of Estridsen 1120s births 1146 deaths Year of birth uncertain Burials at St. Canute's Cathedral Monarchs who abdicated 12th-century kings of Denmark