Valdemar I of Denmark

Valdemar was the son of Canute Lavard, Duke of Schleswig, the chivalrous and popular eldest son of King Eric I of Denmark. Valdemar's father was murdered by King Magnus I of Sweden days before the birth of Valdemar; his mother, Ingeborg of Kiev, daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, named him after her grandfather, Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev.

Valdemar was raised at Ringsted in the court of Danish nobleman Asser Rig of Fjenneslev (ca. 1080–1151). Asser was a member of the Hvide noble family and had been raised together with Valdemar's father Canute Lavard. Valdemar was raised together with Asser's sons, including Absalon (c. 1128–1201) who would become an Archbishop and Esbern Snare (1127–1204) who was a royal chancellor and crusader. Esbern and Absalon had a close relationship and formed an alliance with Valdemar.[2][3][4][5]

In 1146, when Valdemar was fifteen years old, King Eric III of Denmark abdicated and a civil war erupted. Valdemar was a possible contender to the throne. The other pretenders to the throne were: Sweyn III Grathe, the son of King Eric II of Denmark and Canute V, the son of Magnus I of Sweden both of which declared themselves as kings of Denmark in 1146. The civil war lasted the better part of ten years. In 1154, Valdemar joined with Canute and was recognized as co-king along with Canute. In July 1157, a temporary compromise was struck in which the three agreed to divide the country among themselves as co-regents in shifting alliances.

Canute was killed at the Bloodfeast of Roskilde in August 1157. Sweyn was defeated by Valdemar in the Battle of Grathe Heath (Slaget på Grathe Hede) on 23 October 1157. Sweyn 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.[6][7]

In 1158, Absalon was elected bishop of Roskilde, and King Valdemar made him his chief advisor. The king reorganized and rebuilt war-torn Denmark. He built Sønderborg Castle as a fortified fortress, constructed on an islet in the Als Strait (Als Sund) that later was connected to Als Island.[8][9]

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 had reached into Pomerania. In 1175, King Valdemar built Vordingborg Castle as a defensive fortress and as a base from which to launch raids against the German coast.[10]

Valdemar married Sophia of Minsk (c. 1141–1198), the daughter of Richeza of Poland, dowager queen of Sweden, from her marriage to Prince Volodar of Minsk. She was the half-sister of King Canute V of Denmark. Valdemar and Sophia had the following children:

• Sophia of (1159–1208), married Siegfried III, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde.
• Canute VI of Denmark (1163–1202)
• Maria (born c.1165), became a nun at Roskilde (1188).
• Margaret (c.1167 - c.1205), became a nun at Roskilde (1188).
• Valdemar II of Denmark (1170–1241)
• Ingeborg (1174–1237), married King Philip II of France.
• Helena (c.1176 – 1233), married William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
• Richeza (c.1178 – 1220), married King Eric X of Sweden.
• Walburgis (d. 1177), married Bogusław I, Duke of Pomerania.

After Valdemar's death, Sophia married Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia.

Valdemar also had a son, Christopher (c. 1150–1173), with his lover, Tove. Christopher was duke of Jutland from c. 1170 until his death.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Valdemar I..

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