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The war between the son's of Valdemar the Victorious continued as the last surviving legitimate son of the great king, was crowned King of Denmark.
King Christoffer's reign was defined by constant conflicts with his brother Abel's descendants and the bishop, who supported them. Christoffer (King of Denmark 1252-1259) When King Abel was killed in a battle with tax resistant peasants, his younger brother Christoffer was elected King of Denmark. Next in line for the throne after Abel’s death was actually Abel’s son Valdemar, but to Christoffer’s luck, Valdemar was being held prisoner in Cologne, which is why Christoffer was chosen as king in 1252. Christoffer of course wanted the Danish crown to be passed down to his sons instead of the descendants of Abel claiming it. He pushed to have his brother, former king Eric Plovpenning sanctified. Since Abel was accused of killing Erik, sanctification would surely prove Abel guilty and exclude his descendant from the throne. One of Christoffer’s greatest opponents was a very prominent archbishop named Jacob Erlandsen. Christoffer was already unpopular with the church because he demanded that the church to should pay taxes. An action that was previously unheard off. Archbishop Erlandsen was part of the Hvide clan, who had been great supporters of Abel during his reign and thought the throne rightfully belonged to Abel’s descendants. Bishop Erlandsen refused to pay taxes imposed by Christoffer and refused to crown Christoffer’s son Erik as co-ruler and heir to the throne. Erlandsen also threatened any bishop, who recognized Christoffer's son as heir to the throne or helped the king in any way, with excommunication. The feud culminated when Erlandsen had Christoffer excommunicated from the church and Christoffer in return had the Bishop arrested. Not only did Christoffer arrest the bishop but also humiliated him by parading him through the country in secular clothes and a foolish hat. The proud Archbishop was then chained and thrown in jail. In 1259, about the same time as the Archbishop Erlandsen was thrown in jail, Christoffer went to communion in Ribe Cathedral where he, legend has it, died at the altar after drinking poisoned communion wine. No proof that he was or was not poisoned has ever been presented. That Erlandsen had tried to excommunicate Christoffer from the church didn’t have much influence and the king was buried by the altar in Ribe Cathedral. Christoffer’s son Erik was only 10-years-old when his father died and even though he was too you to rule on his own he was anointed King. Queen Margaret was appointed by the Danish court to rule the country in Erik’s place until he became of age. Sources: www.kingsofdenmark.dk www.kongehuset.dk www.kongernesjelling.dk
The copyright of the article The Danish Monarchy 1252-1259 in Scandinavian History is owned by Julie Refnov Mortensen. Permission to republish The Danish Monarchy 1252-1259 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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