Eric VI of Denmark

Eric VI Menved (1274 - 1319), king of the Denmark of 1286 with 1319.

Eric VI, born in 1274, is the oldest son of Eric V of Denmark Glipping and Agnes de Brandebourg. He is designated as heir to the throne since 1276.

He becomes king on November 26th, 1286 after the assassination of his father under the regency of his mother and his cousin Valdemar IV duke of Schleswig. In May 1287 Danehof of Nyborg banishes the murderers of its father who take refuge near the king Eric II of Norway which claimed the payment of the payment of the dowry of his/her Ingeborg mother a girl of the king Eric IV of Denmark Plovpenning.

Eric V is crowned the December 25th 1287 with Lund. The outlaws with the support of their Norwegian ally are established in the Danish fortresses of the Kattegat from where they narguent the royal authority. A truce is signed with Norway in 1295, it is renewed in 1305 and one agreement is finally concluded into 1309 which gives the septentrional Halland in stronghold to king de Norvège.

In 1289 after the death of Jens Dros archbishop of Lund of 1280 to 1289, Jens Grand is elected against the will of the king. This last suspects it of having dependant part with its enemies and the murderers of his father of which several are bound to him by family ties. A violent one conflict starts with the archbishop.

In 1294 he imprisons the prelate with Soeborg. This last flees and takes refuge after Pope Boniface VIII which condemns the king to a fine of 49.000 marks in 1297. The latter is reduced to March 10.000 in 1303 after the tender of Eric and the nomination of the Isarnus legate who will occupy the seat of Lund of 1302 with 1310.

In spite of his interior difficulties king Eric intervenes in Sweden between 1306 and 1310 by supporting his brother-in-law Birger of Sweden against his younger brothers Eric Magnússon and Valdemar.

He also endeavors to restore Danish supremacy in Germany of north while being pressed on his other brother-in-law Nicolas II of Werle which delivers to him Rostock in 1300. Finally in 1304 Albert Ier of the Holy roman Empire all the countries located at the north of Elde give up to him, Rostock is put officially under its protection in 1307 and one ten princes of the south of the Baltic coast recognizes its suzerainty in 1314.

The resources of the kingdom were unable to finance the related spending with this expansionist policy and the king was obliged to engage with various praetors of the whole provinces the Scanie, Lolland, Falster and other strongholds still. It must also increase the taxes and in 1313 the peasants of the Jutland raise themselves.

In this extremely degraded situation king Eric Menved dies the November 13rd 1319. He is buried in the church St Bendt with Ringsted. He had married in 1296 Ingeborg a girl of the king Magnus III of Sweden from which he had 15 dead children with the birth or in low age.

Sources

Scandinavian People with the Middle Ages. Lucien Musset PUF (1951)

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