Re: Prince & Jarl

[Lena A Löfström <lal@algonet.se>]

Wops! Sune......... there you are very wrong!!!

Valdemar IV Atterdag (1320?-1375) was king of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.
His name is sometimes spelled Waldemar. He was called atterdag, which
means again day, because he reunited Denmark after one hundred years of
internal conflict and decline. 
Valdemar spent most of his early life at the court of Ludwig IV, ruler
of the German-based Holy Roman Empire. Meanwhile, Count Gerhard of
Holstein and other nobles, who were mainly Germans, gained control over
most of Denmark's royal lands and castles in return for loans. When
Valdemar's father, Christopher II, died in 1332, the nobles refused to
recognize anyone as king. They ruled harshly, and chaos grew. In 1340, a
Danish soldier assassinated Count Gerhard. Hoping a king might restore
order, some of the nobles asked Valdemar to return. 

Valdemar regained control over Danish territory by paying off the
crown's debts to some nobles and conquering others. In 1346, he raised
money by selling his claim to Estonia, which the Danes had partially
conquered in the 1200's. Even though the plague struck Denmark in 1349,
Valdemar continued to rebuild the kingdom and strengthen the monarchy. 

In 1360, Valdemar took back Skane (Scania) and other lands at the
southern tip of what is now Sweden. The lands had been sold to Sweden in
1332 by one of the nobles then running Denmark. In 1361, Valdemar seized
the Swedish island of Gotland. Alarmed by Valdemar's growing strength,
Sweden and powerful German cities, such as Lubeck, attacked in the
1360's. Denmark lost some profitable trading rights but remained strong
and united. 

Best regards
Lena
 



Sinclair wrote:
> 
> Small problem.  Denmark never had a King named Waldemar.
> Prime European Source: Royal Danish Embassy Washington D.C. USA.
> 
> Sinclair
> 


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