Horik II.

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The church in Ripen , built under Horik II , later became a cathedral and still exists today.

Horik II. (Also Hårik , Haarik or Erik ) (* around 840 , † after 870 ) was a Danish Viking and between 854/57 and 870/73 king in Jutland and Schleswig . The Germanized form of the name Erich II should not be confused with Erich II of Denmark († 1137), Erich II of Schleswig († 1325) or other Lower Saxon, Mecklenburg and Pomeranian bearers of this name .

Horik II was probably a son of Horik I and grandson of Gudfreds .

Nickname

Horik II is also passed down as Erik Barn (that is, "Erich, the child") or as Horik den Yngre (that is, "Horik the Younger"). He was nicknamed "the child" because he came to the throne as the only surviving child of his clan after the fratricidal and civil wars that followed Gudfred's death. The nickname "the younger" was used to distinguish it from its predecessor Horik I ("the older"). The nickname "the Mighty", which has also been handed down from time to time, indicates that Horik II was not dependent on the kings ruling on Zealand and in Skåne. It is possible that Horik himself had subjugated Zealand and Skåne after King Sigurd Ragnarsson's death.

Vikings

During Horik's reign there were protracted battles with other Danish kings and rival heirs to the throne as well as numerous raids by Danish Vikings in England and the Frankish Empire. The extent to which Horik or inferior rivals to the throne were directly involved in these Viking attacks has been passed down differently.

Until 857 Horik II had to fight back against the Viking leader Rörik von Dorestad , who invaded Jutland with the support of the Frankish Carolingian emperor Lothar I and his son Lothar II and also strived for power. Horik first had to leave Haithabu to Rörik and retreat to the rest of South Jutland, but was able to regain Haithabu shortly afterwards when (other) Danish Vikings conquered Dorestadt in return. Saxo Grammaticus ' Gesta Danorum exaggerated Horik's fight as a defense against a Frankish-Carolingian spread over all of Schleswig and Jutland.

Persecutor and promoter of Christianity

Horik II's predecessor Horik I had initially expelled the Christian missionaries, destroyed their first church in Haithabu (Schleswig) and burned down their mission center in Hamburg, but then allowed them to rebuild the church in Haithabu. Horik II was also initially seen as an opponent of the Christianization of Denmark and as a persecutor of the Christians, who had the recently reopened church in Haithabu closed again. The Holy Ansgar but should it have at least insofar converted that he open the church in Haithabu back to 860 and even allowed him to Ripen to build a second church. (According to other sources, Horik I had already given permission to build the church in Ripen.) The permission to build a third church in Aarhus is occasionally attributed to Horik II, although it was probably only built under his successor Frotho .

It is controversial whether the assertion handed down by Ansgar's successor Rimbert in the Vita Ansgari that Horik II himself became a Christian in 858 is true. He is said to have sent gifts to Pope Nicholas I , but apparently never complied with his request to convert.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Horik II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eric II .; Erik II .; Erik Barn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish Viking King (857–870)
DATE OF BIRTH around 840
DATE OF DEATH after 870