Valdemar III (1314–1364) was

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

from 1326 to 1329, while he was underage; he was also Duke of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

as Valdemar V in 1325–26 and from 1330 to 1364. He was a rival king set up against the unsuccessful Christopher II and was widely opposed by his subjects. His term was ended when he abdicated. Sometimes the earlier King

Valdemar the Young Valdemar the Young () ( – 28 November 1231) was a Junior King of Denmark from 1215 until his death. Valdemar was the eldest son and co-ruler of King Valdemar II of Denmark by his first wife, Dagmar of Bohemia. He did not outlive his father so ...

(c. 1209–1231) is also referred to as Valdemar III.

Biography

Valdemar's father was Duke Eric II of Schleswig and his mother was

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, daughter of Henry I of Rendsborg. When his distant kinsman and the head of the rival royal branch

Christopher II of Denmark Christopher II (; 29 September 1276 – 2 August 1332) was King of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was a younger son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total ...

was exiled from his kingdom, Holsteiner and Danish high nobles got to choose a new king. Their choice fell to 11-year-old Duke Valdemar V of Schleswig, who was the head of the branch descended from King

Abel of Denmark 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 kings Eric IV and ...

. Due to his young age, his maternal uncle, the mighty Count Gerhard of Rendsborg (

Gerhard III Gerhard III of Holstein-Rendsburg ( – 1 April 1340), sometimes called Gerhard the Great, and in Denmark also known as ''Count Gert'' or ''den kullede greve'' ("the bald count"), was a German prince from the Schauenburg family who ruled Hol ...

of Holstein) who also was the biggest pawnbroker of mortgaged Denmark, was appointed as the Regent and guardian ( or ). Valdemar's ascension promissory was at least as strict as Christopher's had been. There were some new stipulations, such as all royal castles in Scania should be demolished, and all nobles received the right to fortify their homesteads. The most important agreement, however, was the so-called '' Constitutio Valdemariana'', which promised that in the future, the same person could never be both ruler of Slesvig and Denmark simultaneously. Valdemar accordingly gave up his patrimony, Schleswig, and

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

it to his uncle and guardian, whereby the first Holsteinian became a Duke: Gerhard, Duke of Jutland (or

Southern Jutland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nørr ...

or Schleswig). Denmark was now held totally by certain nobles, in practice. That was not popular among the peasants. A portion of the nobles were foreigners, and many set up new taxes. In 1328, peasants in

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

rose in rebellion, though it was quelled, and a rebellion in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

followed in 1329; the Jutland rebellion had more success, but was also quelled in the end. Finally, count Gerhard gave up in the name of his king, and in 1329 Christopher II was allowed to return to the throne. Valdemar became again Duke of Schleswig. In 1340, he gave his only sister Helvig of Schleswig to marriage with

Valdemar IV Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...

, the new king of Denmark. During the rest of his rule he led a changeable policy towards Denmark by which war alternated with co-operation. Valdemar died in 1364. He was married to Richardis of Schwerin (died 1384), daughter of Count Günzelin VI of Schwerin-Wittenburg. They had two sons, Valdemar (1338–1360) and

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(1342–1375). Henry succeeded as Duke of Schleswig when his father died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdemar 03 Of Denmark House of Estridsen Valdemar 05 Rulers deposed as children Medieval child rulers 1314 births 1364 deaths 14th-century monarchs of Denmark