Abel of Denmark

• Preferred Name: Abel of Denmark^{[1] [2] [3]}
  
• Alternate Name: Abel Valdemarsson
  
• Gender: M
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: King
  
• Death: 29 JUN 1252 in Eiderstedt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany at LATI: N4.3333 LONG: E0.75 with note: As written in the Sources tagged
  
• Occupation: King of Denmark1250 til 1252 in Denmark at LATI: N6 LONG: E0 with note: As written in the Sources shown
  
• Birth: 25 APR 1218 in Roskilde, Sjælland, Denmark at LATI: N5.6419 LONG: E2.0879 with note: As written in the Sources tagged
  
• Religion: Roman Catholicism
  
• FSID: GCMD-GN9
  
• Burial: 1252 in Slesvig Cathedral, Slesvig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany at LATI: N4.5136 LONG: E0.569 with note: As written in the Sources tagged
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Abel of Holstein (1218 – 29 June 1252) was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II Sejr by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I.
  
  As Duke of Schleswig, Abel came into conflict with his brother, King Eric IV Plogpennig, whose murder in 1250 he was suspected of orchestrating. Upon taking an oath to clear himself of the allegations, he was elected king. After a short reign, he was killed during a military expedition in Frisia.
  
  Abel's reign was the shortest of any Danish monarch since the 9th century. He founded a line of dukes of Schleswig - the "Abel family" - which ruled the Duchy of Schleswig until 1375.
  
  In 1232, at the election of his elder brother Eric as their father King Valdemar II's coruler and heir, Abel was chosen to succeed Eric in his position as Duke of Schleswig.
  
  In 1237 he married Mechtilde of Holstein, a daughter of Adolf IV of Holstein (1205-1261). As Count Adolf withdrew to a Franciscan friary the same year, Abel spent several years acting as regent for his under age brothers-in-law, John I of Holstein-Kiel (1229–1263) and Gerhard I, Count of Holstein-Itzehoe (1232–1290).
  
  At the death of Valdemar II in 1241, Duke Abel's brother Eric acceded to the throne of Denmark as Eric IV. The following years Duke Abel fought against his brother, trying to gain independence for the Duchy of Schleswig. He raided north as far as Randers, ravaging Eric's supporters and then moved into Funen. Eric struck back a year later surprising Abel's garrison at Schleswig, forcing Abel's young daughter Sophie to flee "without so much as a pair of shoes for her feet."
  
  The fighting continued until Abel's sister Sophie of Denmark (ca 1217-1247), wife of John I, Margrave of Brandenburg (c. 1213-1266) brokered a truce between Duke Abel and King Eric that held until 1250 when Eric was murdered while a guest at Duke Abel's residence at Schleswig.
  
  Eric IV was slain by Abel's chamberlain, Lage Gudmundsen (ca. 1195–1252) and others; the king's headless body dumped into the Schlei. Even though Abel and twenty-four noblemen swore an official oath ("dual dozen's oath", in Danish "dobbelt tolvter-ed") that the Duke had no part in the killing, it was widely believed that King Eric was murdered at his brother's bidding. "Abel by name, Cain by his deeds" (Danish, "Abel af navn, Kain af gavn"), or so people said.
  
  After clearing himself of the allegations taking the oath, Abel was proclaimed King of Denmark at the Viborg Assembly (Danish: landsting) on 1 November 1250. Abel only ruled for a year and a half. King Abel received word that the peasants in Frisia, led by Sicko Sjaerdema of Friesland, refused to pay the tax levy. Abel raised an army to punish them. At the age of 33, he was killed by a wheelwright named Henner on Husum Bridge near Eiderstedt on 29 June 1252.
  
  At the time, Abel's half-grown son Valdemar (1238–1257) was held for ransom by the Archbishop of Cologne, and so Abel's youngest brother Christopher I, was crowned King on Christmas Day 1252 in Lund Cathedral.
  
  After Abel's death, Queen Mechtilde entered a convent but subsequently bypassed her vows there to marry Swedish statesman Birger Jarl in 1261. Birger was an enemy of Abel's, and not long before Abel's death Birger had started up a military vendetta against him which was only called off when the Danish king died.
  
  Most people at the time viewed Abel's sudden death as God's judgment on him for the murder of his brother. As Abel's body lay in Schleswig Cathedral, the monks heard strange sounds in the church at night. They said they were too afraid to go into the church after that. They believed that Abel's unholy ghost walked abroad at night. Consequently, the king's body was taken outside the church and stuffed into a soggy grave near Gottorp Castle outside Schleswig. Someone rammed a wooden stake through Abel's chest to make sure he remained in his grave. It was said long after that the king's ghost found no peace and from time to time there were reports of "Abel's wild hunt" where a black faced man on a white horse and glowing hounds hunted across the moors and forest of Schleswig.
  
  Abel's descendants — the "Abel Family" — ruled South Jutland until 1375, often in co-operation with their relatives in Holstein, and they created a permanent problem for the Danish government. Their rule meant the eventual separation of Frisia, Holstein, and most of Schleswig from the rest of Denmark. His great-grandson succeeded briefly as Valdemar III before being deposed, but Abel's descendants would return to the throne with the descendants of his great-granddaughter Helvig of Schleswig, who married Valdemar IV. And even though the line of Helvig died out with Christopher III, his successor Christian I was a descendant of Abel's through his daughter Sophie, so with the exception of Christopher I through Valdemar IV, all subsequent Danish monarchs have been Abel's cognatic descendant.
  
  Marriage and issue:
  With his wife, Matilda of Holstein (ca. 1220 or 1225 – 1288) whom he married on 25 April 1237;
  
  Valdemar III (1238–1257); Duke of Schleswig 1254–1257
  Sophie (born 1240, d. aft. 1284), married Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg. Their descendant was Christian I of Denmark.
  Eric I (c. 1241 – 27 May 1272); Duke of Schleswig 1260–1272
  Abel (1252–1279)

• m. 25 APR 1237 in Holsten, Germany

1. Sophie Of Denmark, b. 1240 in Roskilde, Denmark     d. AFT 1284 in Sweden

1. Title: da.wikipedia Abel af Danmark
   Author: Abel Konge af Danmark og de Venders Kroning 1. november 1250 Regerede 1250-1252 Forgænger Erik Plovpenning Regent Abel Efterfølger Christoffer 1. Ægtefælle Mechtilde af Holsten Børn Valdemar 3. af Slesvig Sophie af Danmark Erik Abelsen Abel Abelsen Hus Jellingdynastiet Far Valdemar Sejr Mor Berengária af Portugal Født ?[1] Død 29. juni 1252 Hvilested Slesvig Domkirke
   Publication: Name: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_af_Danmark;
   Note: Abel (1218 – 29. juni 1252) var hertug af Slesvig fra 1232 til 1252 og konge af Danmark fra 1250 til 1252. Han var søn af Valdemar Sejr og hans anden hustru Berengária af Portugal og bror til kongerne Erik Plovpenning og Christoffer 1. Som hertug af Slesvig kom Abel i strid med sin bror Erik Plovpenning, hvis drab i 1250 Abel var mistænkt for at stå bag. Efter at have renset sig for beskyldningerne ved at aflægge en ed, blev Abel hyldet som konge. Efter en kort regeringstid faldt han under et felttog mod friserne i 1252. Med kun godt 1½ år har Abel en af de korteste regeringstider blandt de danske konger. Han var stamfader til en sidelinje af kongehuset, Abelslægten, der var hertuger af Sønderjylland, til den uddøde i 1375. Opvækst: I 1232 blev Abels storebror Erik valgt til at være deres far Valdemar Sejrs medkonge og arving. Ved den lejlighed blev Abel udnævnt til af efterfølge Erik som hertug af Slesvig. Ægteskab: I 1237 giftede Abel sig med Mechthilde, datter af grev Adolf 4. af Holsten. Da Adolf 4. trak sig tilbage til et franciskansk kloster samme år, var Abel i flere år formynder for sine mindreårige svogre Johan og Gerhard. På grund af Mechthildes afstamning bidrog ægteskabet til stor holstensk indflydelse på Abels og den senere Abelslægts sønderjyske hertugdømme. Hertug af Slesvig: Ved Valdemar Sejrs død i 1241 blev Abels bror, Erik, konge efter deres far. I de følgende år lå Abel i strid med sin storebror for at opnå større uafhængighed for sit sønderjyske hertugdømme. Det var anledningen til en mangeårig borgerkrig, hvorunder blandt andet Randers blev afbrændt af Abels tropper. Stridighederne fortsatte indtil Abel og Eriks søster Markgrevinde Sophie af Brandenburg forhandlede en skrøbelig våbenhvile på plads. Konge af Danmark: I 1250 blev kong Erik dræbt under et besøg hos Abel og hans lig smidt i Slien. Abel blev af de fleste betragtet som ansvarlig for mordet, men det lykkedes ham at få 24 riddere til at sværge på sin uskyld ved Landstinget i Viborg, den såkaldte "dobbelte tylvter-ed", hvorefter han blev kåret til konge den 1. november 1250. Død og tronfølge: Efter en regeringstid på bare 1½ år blev Abel dræbt den 29. juni 1252 ved Husum Bro ud for halvøen Ejdersted under en ekspedition mod friserne for at gennemtvinge skattekrav.[2] Da Abel blev dræbt opholdt hans ældste og halvvoksne søn Valdemar sig i Frankrig. Han skyndte sig hjem for at overtage kronen, men arresteredes af ærkebiskoppen af Køln, Konrad Lotharssøn af Ahr-Hochstaden. Her blev han holdt som fange, indtil de schauenburgske grever af Holsten betalte løsepengene for ham i 1253. Da han kom til Danmark, var Abels lillebror Christoffer imidlertid blevet valgt til konge. Hermed var grunden lagt for en strid mellem den ældre og yngre linje af kongehuset, der kom til at vare i flere årtier. Christoffer blev kronet i Lund Domkirke juledag 1252. Efter Abels død gik hans enke Dronning Mechthilde i kloster, men forlod det senere igen. I 1261 giftede hun sig på ny, denne gang med Birger Jarl af Sverige. Eftermæle: På grund af brodermordet blev følgende vers digtet om ham: Abel af navn, Kain af gavn. [3] Legenden fortæller, at han spøger i Slesvig Domkirke, hvorfor man tog hans lig op og sænkede det i et mosehul i skoven ved Gottorp. For en sikkerheds skyld rammede man en pæl gennem hans brystkasse. I skoven står der i dag (dog ikke på det originale sted) en mindesten med indskriften Abels Grab 1252 (Abels grav 1252). Det oprindelige gravsted skal endnu i 1700-tallet have været markeret ved en pæl [4]. Ægteskab og børn: Abel blev gift den 25. april 1237 med Mechtilde af Holsten. De fik fire børn: Valdemar 3. (1238–1257); Hertug af Slesvig 1254–1257 Sophie (født 1240, død efter 1284), gift med Bernhard 1., Fyrste af Anhalt-Bernburg Erik 1. (c. 1241–1272); Hertug af Slesvig 1260–1272 Abel (1252–1279); Herre af Langeland Noter: 1. Fødselsår ukendt. - Palle Lauring, Danske konger og dronninger. Aschehoug, 2005, s. 94. ISBN 87-11-22285-9 2. Kürstein, s. 17 3. Tore Skeie: Alv Erlingsson (s. 82), forlaget Spartacus, Oslo 2009, ISBN 978-82-430-0478-8 4. Karin Kryger: Danske Kongegrave 1, Museum Tusculanums Forlag, København 2014, s. 337. Litteratur: Abel i Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (1. udgave, bind 1, 1887), forfattet af A.D. Jørgensen Aksel E. Christensen: Kongemagt og Aristokrati. Epoker i middelalderlig dansk statsopfattelse indtil unionstiden; Akademisk Forlag, 1976; ISBN 87-500-1663-6 Kr. Erslev: "Erik Plovpennings Strid med Abel. Studier over ægte og uægte Kilder til Danmarks Historie" (Historisk Tidsskrift, Bd. 6, rk. 2; 1889) Kai Hørby: "Velstands krise og tusind baghold. 1250-1400"; Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, Bd. 5; 1989; ISBN 87-89068-07-6 Poul Kürstein: "Træk af Gøs herredernes historie" (i: Poul Kürstein: Nørre og Sønder Gøs Herred. Slesvigske egne og byer; Flensborg 1969) Hans Olrik: "Bidrag til belysning af Valdemarssönnernes tidsalder" (Historisk Tidsskrift, Bd. 6, rk. 6; 1895) Johannes Steenstrup: "Valdemar Sejrs Død og de ved Tronskiftet vedtagne Ændringer i Landets Styrelse" (Historisk Tidsskrift, Bd. 10, rk. 3; 1934) Eksterne henvisninger: Abel af Danmark på gravsted.dk Commons-logo.svg Wikimedia Commons har flere filer relateret til Abel af Danmark Denne side blev senest ændret den 31. oktober 2020 kl. 04:24.
   
2. Title: en.wikipedia Abel, King of Denmark
   Author: Abel King of Denmark Reign 1 November 1250 – 29 June 1252 Coronation 1 November 1250 Predecessor Eric IV Successor Christopher I Born 1218 Died 29 June 1252 (aged 33–34) Eiderstedt Burial Schleswig Cathedral, moved to Gottorf Castle Spouse Matilda of Holstein Issue Detail Valdemar III, Duke of Schleswig Eric I, Duke of Schleswig Abel, Lord of Langeland House Estridsen Father Valdemar II of Denmark Mother Berengaria of Portugal Religion Roman Catholicism
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel,_King_of_Denmark;
   Note: Abel Valdemarsen (1218 – 29 June 1252) was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I.[1] As Duke of Schleswig, Abel came into conflict with his brother, King Eric IV, whose murder in 1250 he was suspected of orchestrating. Upon taking an oath to clear himself of the allegations, he was elected king. After a short reign, he was killed during a military expedition in Frisia. Abel's reign was the shortest of any Danish monarch since the 9th century. He founded a line of dukes of Schleswig - the "Abel family" - which ruled the Duchy of Schleswig until 1375. [2] Early life: In 1232, at the election of his elder brother Eric as their father King Valdemar II's coruler and heir, Abel was chosen to succeed Eric in his position as Duke of Schleswig. In 1237 he married Matilda of Holstein, a daughter of Adolf IV of Holstein (1205-1261). As Count Adolf withdrew to a Franciscan friary the same year, Abel spent several years acting as regent for his under age brothers-in-law, John I of Holstein-Kiel (1229–1263) and Gerhard I, Count of Holstein-Itzehoe (1232–1290). [3] Duke of Schleswig: At the death of Valdemar II in 1241, Duke Abel's brother Eric acceded to the throne of Denmark as Eric IV. The following years Duke Abel fought against his brother, trying to gain independence for the Duchy of Schleswig. He raided north as far as Randers, ravaging Eric's supporters and then moved into Funen. Eric struck back a year later surprising Abel's garrison at Schleswig, forcing Abel's young daughter Sophie to flee "without so much as a pair of shoes for her feet." [4] The fighting continued until Abel's sister Sophie of Denmark (ca 1217-1247), wife of John I, Margrave of Brandenburg (c. 1213-1266) brokered a truce between Duke Abel and King Eric that held until 1250 when Eric was murdered while a guest at Duke Abel's residence at Schleswig. King: Eric IV was slain by Abel's chamberlain, Lage Gudmundsen (ca. 1195–1252) and others; the king's headless body dumped into the Schlei. Even though Abel and twenty-four noblemen swore an official oath ("dual dozen's oath", in Danish "dobbelt tolvter-ed") that the Duke had no part in the killing, it was widely believed that King Eric was murdered at his brother's bidding. "Abel by name, Cain by his deeds" (Danish, "Abel af navn, Kain af gavn"), or so people said. [5] Death: After clearing himself of the allegations taking the oath, Abel was proclaimed King of Denmark at the Viborg Assembly (Danish: landsting) on 1 November 1250. Abel only ruled for a year and a half. King Abel received word that the peasants in Frisia, led by Sicko Sjaerdema of Friesland, refused to pay the tax levy. Abel raised an army to punish them. At the age of 33, he was killed by a wheelwright named Henner on Husum Bridge near Eiderstedt on 29 June 1252. At the time, Abel's half-grown son Valdemar (1238–1257) was held for ransom by the Archbishop of Cologne, and so Abel's youngest brother Christopher I, was crowned King on Christmas Day 1252 in Lund Cathedral. [6] After Abel's death, Queen Matilda entered a convent but subsequently bypassed her vows there to marry Swedish statesman Birger Jarl in 1261.[7] Birger was an enemy of Abel's, and not long before Abel's death Birger had started up a military vendetta against him which was only called off when the Danish king died.[8] Legacy: Most people at the time viewed Abel's sudden death as God's judgment on him for the murder of his brother. As Abel's body lay in Schleswig Cathedral, the monks heard strange sounds in the church at night. They said they were too afraid to go into the church after that. They believed that Abel's unholy ghost walked abroad at night. Consequently, the king's body was taken outside the church and stuffed into a soggy grave near Gottorp Castle outside Schleswig. Someone rammed a wooden stake through Abel's chest to make sure he remained in his grave. It was said long after that the king's ghost found no peace and from time to time there were reports of "Abel's wild hunt" where a black faced man on a white horse and glowing hounds hunted across the moors and forest of Schleswig.[9] Abel's descendants — the "Abel Family" — ruled South Jutland until 1375, often in co-operation with their relatives in Holstein, and they created a permanent problem for the Danish government. Their rule meant the eventual separation of Frisia, Holstein, and most of Schleswig from the rest of Denmark. His great-grandson succeeded briefly as Valdemar III before being deposed, but Abel's descendants would return to the throne with the descendants of his great-granddaughter Helvig of Schleswig, who married Valdemar IV. And even though the line of Helvig died out with Christopher III, his successor Christian I was a descendant of Abel's through his daughter Sophie, so with the exception of Christopher I through Valdemar IV, all subsequent Danish monarchs have been Abel's cognatic descendant. Marriage and issue: With his wife, Matilda of Holstein (ca. 1220 or 1225 – 1288) whom he married on 25 April 1237; Valdemar III (1238–1257); Duke of Schleswig 1254–1257 Sophie (born 1240, d. aft. 1284), married Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg. Their descendant was Christian I of Denmark. Eric I (c. 1241 – 27 May 1272); Duke of Schleswig 1260–1272 Abel (1252–1279) References: 1. Hartley, Mick The Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Dated September 29, 2007. Retrieved 14 Feb. 2008 2. "Abel, 1219-52, Konge". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018. 3. "Mechtilde (Mathilde), Dronning, –1288". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018. 4. "King Abel". danmarkskonger. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2018. 5. "Gudmundsen, Lage, –o.1252, Ridder". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018. 6. "Valdemar (III), Hertug af Sønderjylland, –1257". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018. 7. "Birger Magnusson". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2018. 8. Dr. Ulf Sundberg in Medeltidens svenska krig ISBN 9189660110 pp. 78-79 9. Huitfeldt, Arild. Danmarks Riges Krønike This page was last edited on 2 May 2021, at 14:11 (UTC).
   
3. Title: Abel of Denmark, "Find A Grave Index"
   Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2DJ-Z11R : 21 July 2020), Abel of Denmark, 1252; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2DJ-Z11R;