Valdemar Birgersson (1239 – 26 December 1302), also Waldemar, was

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

from 1250 to 1275.

Biography

Valdemar was the son of the Swedish princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter and

Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...

, from the

House of Bjälbo The House of Bjälbo, also known as the House of Folkung ( or ), was a Swedish family that produced several medieval bishops, jarls and kings of Sweden. It also provided three kings of Norway and one king of Denmark in the 14th century. Na ...

. When Ingeborg's brother King

Erik Eriksson Erik Eriksson (; 1216 – 2 February 1250), sometimes known as Erik XI or with the epithet the Lisp and Lame (), was King of Sweden from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250. Being the last ruler of the House of Erik, he stood in the shado ...

died in 1250, though a child, Valdemar was elected king and crowned the following year in the cathedral at

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

. During the first sixteen years of Valdemar's reign, it was Birger Jarl who was the real ruler. Birger Jarl had been the de facto ruler of Sweden from 1248, before the reign of Valdemar, even under King Erik Eriksson. Valdemar's mother and King Erik Eriksson were children of King

Erik Knutsson Erik Knutsson (; – 10 April 1216), sometimes known as Eric X, was King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. Also known as ''Erik the Survivor'' (), he was, at his accession to the throne, the only remaining son of King Knut Eriksson and his queen ...

and Rikissa of Denmark. After Birger's death in 1266 Valdemar eventually came into conflict with his younger brother Magnus Birgersson (later known as Magnus Ladulås), Duke of Södermanland, over taxation and personal matters. In 1260, Valdemar married Sophia, the eldest daughter of King

Eric IV of Denmark Eric IV ( – 10 August 1250), also known as Eric Ploughpenny or Eric Plowpenny (), was King of Denmark 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 Val ...

and

Jutta of Saxony Jutta of Saxony ( 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 w ...

. Valdemar also had a relationship with his sister-in-law Jutta. In 1272, Princess Jutta visited Sweden and became Valdemar's mistress. The affair resulted in a child born in 1273. The following year, Jutta was placed in a convent and Valdemar was forced to make a pilgrimage to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to ask for the absolution of the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. Valdemar was deposed by his brother Magnus after the

Battle of Hova The Battle of Hova () was fought in Hova, Sweden on 14 June 1275 between peasants commanded by King Valdemar of Sweden and Danish cavalry commanded by Duke Magnus and his brother Erik The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, ...

Tiveden Tiveden is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge in Sweden, throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers; historically a hiding place for outlaws. In historic times it, along with Tylöskog and Kolmården, formed the border b ...

on 14 June 1275. Magnus was supported by his brother Eric Birgersson, Duke of Småland, and King

Eric V of Denmark Eric V Klipping (1249 – 22 November 1286) was King of Denmark from 1259 to 1286. After his father Christopher I died, his mother Margaret Sambiria ruled Denmark in his name until 1266, proving to be a competent regent. Between 1261 and 1262, ...

, who provided Danish soldiers. Magnus was elected King of Sweden at the

Stones of Mora In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

. In 1277, Sophia separated from her spouse and returned to Denmark. That year, Valdemar managed to regain provinces in

Götaland Götaland (; also '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep wo ...

in the southern part of the kingdom and was called the Duke of Götaland. However, Magnus regained them about 1278. In 1288 Valdemar was imprisoned by King Magnus in Nyköping Castle (''Nyköpingshus'') and lived openly with mistresses, possibly new wives, in comfortable confinement.

Family

Valdemar married Sofia of Denmark (died 1286) in 1260 and they separated in 1277. After their separation, Valdemar is said to have married multiple times. He had six children: #

Ingeborg Ingeborg is a Germanic feminine given name, mostly used in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, derived from Old Norse ''Ingiborg, Ingibjǫrg'', combining the theonym ''Ing'' with the element ''borg'' "stronghold, protection". Ingebjørg is the No ...

, Countess of Holstein; spouse of Gerhard II, Count of Holstein-Plön. #

Erik The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

(12721330), ''

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

'' of Sweden and Norway # Marina (); spouse of Rudolf II, Lord of Diepholz (married 1285) # Rikissa (; died c. 1292); spouse of Przemysł II of Poland # Katarina (died 1283) # Margareta,

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

at Skänninge convent.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdemar I of Sweden 1239 births 1302 deaths 13th-century Swedish monarchs Medieval child monarchs Christians of the Second Swedish Crusade 14th-century Swedish people House of Bjälbo Roman Catholic monarchs