Erich I. (Schleswig)

Erik Abelsøn's seal (front and back) with the Schleswig lions

Erich I (* around 1242 ; † May 27, 1272 ) was the second son of King Abel of Denmark and Mechthild of Holstein , daughter of Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg and Holstein . From 1260 he was Duke of Schleswig .

Duke of Schleswig

After the death of his father, his older brother Waldemar III. after a dispute with the Danish King Christoffer, he was finally Duke of Schleswig.

After the death of his brother, Erich I followed him and was enfeoffed with the duchy in 1260, but continued the war for Denmark and Schleswig. In 1261 he won the battle on the Lohheide and captured the royal cousin Erich V of Denmark and his mother . He secured Schleswig as a hereditary fiefdom for his line. In addition, his younger brother Abel was enfeoffed with Langeland. He was supported by the Princes of Rügen and Counts of Holstein, but nevertheless gradually lost his land to the crown, except for the southernmost part. At times he was even chased to Holstein.

Around 1260 he married Margarete von Rügen (* 1247, † 1272), daughter of Prince Jaromar II of Rügen , with whom he had the following children:

• Margarete († after 1313)
  • ∞ either around 1285 Helmhold III. , Count of Schwerin-Boizenburg († 1299)?
  • ∞ or ...
• Waldemar IV. , Duke of Schleswig (* around 1265, † 1312)
• Erik (Eriksen) "Langbein", from 1295 Herr von Langeland , (* 1272; † 1310) ∞ (1295) Sophie von Querfurt -Rosenburg († 1325), daughter of Burchard VII. Von Querfurt, called von Rosenburg (1297), († after November 12, 1306) and Jutta von Sachsen (* before 1226, † after 1250)

In 1268 he acquired Gottorf Castle from Bundo, Bishop of Schleswig (1265–1282), († 1282) and began to develop it into a ducal castle.

See also

• Family table of the Danish kings

Web links

• Thorsten Dahl: The Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein ( Memento from July 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

predecessor	Office	successor
Waldemar III.	Duke of Schleswig 1260–1272	Waldemar IV.