Erik IV (Denmark)

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Erik IV. Plovpenning (= plow pfennig) (* 1216 ; † August 10, 1250 near Missunde ) was a son of the Danish king Waldemar II and his wife Berengaria of Portugal . From 1232 he was co-king of his father in Denmark and from 1241 sole king, much to the annoyance of his two brothers Abel and Christoffer I , who demanded participation in power. In addition, Erik was Duke of Schleswig from 1216–1232.

Conflicts

This led to protracted wars over many years, with Abel, Duke in Schleswig , receiving support from his Holstein brothers-in-law. In 1244, on the occasion of a planned crusade against Estonia , a settlement was made, but it was short-lived.

To finance these battles, Erik levied a tax on every plow in 1249, from which he got his nickname. That seemed a fair tax, as the number of plows in the country was in constant proportion to the land being worked. So it was actually an area-related property tax that was based on the number of plows. Everyone could pay the small amount, but the rough way of collecting them caused resentment, so that in 1249 the king even had to flee from angry farmers in Skåne .

He was also in conflict with the Church in Denmark. He had to get a letter from the Pope in order to force the bishops to appoint the priests he had designated to his churches. On the other hand, he began to build a monastery in Roskilde at his own expense for the Franciscans . But war and unrest prevented him from completing his work.

Fresco depicting the murder of Erik Plovpenning in St. Bendts Church

death

In 1250 he managed to conquer most of Abel's South Jutian duchy, and he met with Abel for a settlement. After this meeting he was murdered on August 10, 1250 near Missunde at the behest of his brother . Tradition has it that his head was cut off in a boat and his body sunk in the loop . The body found was buried in Schleswig . In 1258 his remains were transferred to St. Bendts Church in Ringsted , where he is buried. Frescoes depicting scenes from his life and death can be seen above his grave.

Because of his loyalty to Rome, which made him the papal favorite for the German imperial throne in 1239, and his assassination, he was revered as a martyr and saint , but not canonized . His feast day is August 10th.

progeny

From his marriage to Jutta von Sachsen he had the following daughters:

Others

Theodor Fontane mentions the murder of Erik IV in his account The Schleswig-Holstein War in 1864 . He gives the day - like some other sources - August 9th. But the murder happened on the day of Saint Lawrence of Rome .

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Missunde . In: Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon 1894–1896, Volume 11, p. 936.
  2. ↑ kirchensite.de
  3. ↑ Ekkart Sauser:  Erich (Erik) Plovpenning, King of Denmark. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 21, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-110-3 , Sp. 376.  ( Article / beginning of article in the Internet archive )
  4. ↑ missunde.hhm.de
predecessor Office successor
Waldemar II. King of Denmark
1241–1250 		Abel
Waldemar the boy Schleswig Arms.svg
Duke of Schleswig
1216–1232 		Abel
personal data
SURNAME Erik IV.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eric IV.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Denmark
DATE OF BIRTH 1216
DATE OF DEATH August 10, 1250
Place of death at Missunde