Sweyn III GratheFor the significance of the epithet, see (; – 23 October 1157) was the

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 ...

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 Denmark. Sweyn attempted to kill his rivals at the peace banquet, and was subsequently defeated by Valdemar I at the

Battle of Grathe Heath The Battle of Grathe Heath was fought in 1157 between the Denmark, Danish armies of Valdemar I of Denmark, Valdemar I and his rival for the Danish throne, Sweyn III of Denmark, Sweyn III. Valdemar's forces won the battle, and Sweyn III of Denma ...

and killed.

Early life

Sweyn was the illegitimate son of King Erik II the Memorable and the concubine Thunna. Sweyn travelled with Eric II to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in the mid-1130s, when his father fought King Niels to win the Danish throne. When Eric II died in 1137, he was succeeded by Eric III, and Sweyn was sent to the court of

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (; ; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in t ...

. Here he befriended Conrad's nephew

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

. Sweyn travelled to Denmark, where he and his cousin

Valdemar Waldemar, Valdemar, Valdimar, or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame". The name is considered the equivalent of the Latvian name Valdemārs, the Estonian name ...

sought to

canonize Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

Sweyn's uncle and Valdemar's father

Canute Lavard Saint Knud, also known as Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord; 12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a ...

in 1146, under protest from Archbishop

Eskil of Lund Eskil was a 12th-century Archbishop of Lund, in Skåne, Denmark (now in Sweden). He was one of the most capable and prominent princes of the Church in Scandinavia. A man of profound piety, he was always zealous for the welfare of the church, and ...

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 ...

. At the

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

of Eric III in 1146, Sweyn was elected king by the

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s on

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

while Canute V was crowned by their counterparts in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

.Svend 3. Grathe
at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi

Civil war

For the next years, Sweyn fought a

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 ...

against Canute for the kingship of Denmark, supported by Valdemar. Canute was supported by Archbishop Eskil, but Sweyn moved to secure Eskil's loyalty by granting the

Archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Reformation in Denmark, Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Ch ...

land holdings in Scania and

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

. Sweyn subsequently defeated Canute on Zealand, to confine him to Jutland. In 1147, Sweyn and Canute united to support the

Wendish Crusade The Wendish Crusade () was a military campaign in 1147, one of the Northern Crusades, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs (or "Wends"). The Wends were made up of the Slavic ...

. As Sweyn engaged 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 ...

in naval battle, he received little support from Canute, and lost his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

. The civil war was soon re-ignited. After several battles, Sweyn conquered

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 ...

and parts of Jutland, and set Valdemar up as

Duke of Schleswig The following is a list of earl, jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland). First jarls/dukes House of Estridsen (1080–1375) House of Schauenburg (1325-1459) Under domain of Oldenburg In ...

. Sweyn then campaigned with Etheler von Dithmarschen against

Adolf II of Holstein Adolf II of Holstein ( – 6 July 1164) was the Count of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1130 until his death, though he was briefly out of Holstein from 1137 until 1142. He succeeded his father Adolf I under the regency of his mother, Hildew ...

, a supporter of Canute. Sweyn succeeded in banishing Canute in 1150, and Canute's re-entry with German troops in 1151 was also repulsed. Both Canute and Sweyn sought the support of Conrad III of Germany. In 1152, Frederick I was crowned

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

, and he brokered a deal in

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

later that year. The deal made Sweyn "premier king", with Canute eligible to receive a substantial portion of Denmark, and Valdemar keeping the Duchy of Schleswig. However, Sweyn only granted Canute small holdings, breaking the agreement, and Sweyn's position in Denmark was further undermined by his alleged tyrant manners and his pro-

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 ...

behaviour.

Tripartition

In 1154, Sweyn was overthrown by an alliance between Canute and Valdemar, who was crowned Canute's co-ruler as Valdemar I. Eskil and the majority of Sweyn's other supporters deserted him, and he went into exile in Germany. Sweyn spent three years seeking support for a reconquest, and returned to Denmark in 1157 with the support of German duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

. This prompted the Danish magnates to force through a tripartition of the kingdom into Jutland, Zealand, and Scania. Sweyn chose first, and was made the ruler of Scania. At the peace banquet in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

on 9 August 1157, Sweyn planned on killing his two co-rulers, and succeeded in having Canute killed. The incident became known as the ''Bloodfeast of Roskilde''. Valdemar escaped to Jutland, and on 23 October 1157, Sweyn and his army faced and met him at the

, which gave him his nickname ''Grathe''. Sweyn's army was defeated, and he was killed by

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s who caught him when his

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

was sucked into a

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

while he fled from the battle.

Marriage and issue

In 1152, Sweyn married Adela of Meissen, daughter of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, and Luitgard of Ravenstein. They had a short-lived son, possibly named Eric, and a daughter, Luitgard, who married

Berthold I of Istria Berthold III ( – 14 December 1188), a member of the Bavarian House of Andechs, was Margrave of Istria (as Berthold I) from 1173 until his death. He was the son of Count Berthold II of Andechs, ruler over Dießen in Bavaria, Plassenburg in Fr ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweyn 03 Of Denmark Monarchs killed in action House of Estridsen Christians of the Wendish Crusade 12th-century births 1157 deaths Burials at Viborg Cathedral Illegitimate children of Danish monarchs 12th-century kings of Denmark Royal reburials Sons of kings