Heinrich (Schleswig)

Heinrich (around 1342; † August 1375 ) was Duke of Schleswig or Sønderjylland from 1364 to 1375 .

Live and act

Heinrich was the younger son of Duke Waldemar V. Erichssohn von Schleswig, who was named Waldemar III. was a minor king of Denmark from June 7, 1326 to February 23, 1330. His older brother Hereditary Duke Waldemar (* around 1338; † 1360) had appeared as a co-winner in several documents since 1353, but Heinrich took over this role from 1360.

Duke Heinrich inherited only parts of the Duchy of Schleswig in 1364, as the southern area was pledged to the Counts of Holstein in Schauenburg . Other parts were granted to his mother, Richarda Günzel's daughter from Schwerin-Wittenburg († 1384) as Wittum or Leibgedinge for their care in widowhood. Thus Heinrich ruled only a small part of his duchy and was often in financial difficulties. In 1367 he even had to pledge the island of Langeland to the Danish noble Panter family. He was also sandwiched between the strong Danish King Waldemar IV. Christofferssohn Atterdag in the north and Count Heinrich II (* 1317; † 1384) and Nikolaus (* 1320; † 1397) of Holstein-Rendsburg in the south. Therefore he tried to mediate between the warring parties or got caught between the fronts. In June 1374 he finally handed over all of his mortgage bonds to the king.

His grave is in the church of the city of Sorö on the main Danish island of Zealand.

family

Heinrich married Kunigunde in 1370 († around 1386), whose family could not yet be identified. They did not father any children, so the Schleswig dynasty died out with him.

Literature / sources

• Dansk biografisk leksikon, Vol. 10, Copenhagen 1936
• Diplomatarium Danicum III, 9, No. 375 (Pfandbriefe 1374), Copenhagen 1982
• Otto Brandt : History of Schleswig-Holstein. Kiel 1989.
• Hans J. Runge: Niehuus in the late medieval regional history ; in: Yearbook of the Heimatverein Schleswigsche Geest 2003, Husum 2002
• HV Gregersen: Slesvig og Holsten indtil 1830 , Copenhagen 1981

predecessor	Office	successor
Waldemar V.	Duke of Schleswig 1364-1375	Heinrich II. And Nicholas