Eric Christoffersen (c. 1307 – c. 1332) ( da, Erik Christoffersen) was king of Denmark from 1321 until his death, jointly with his father, King Christopher II. He was a member of the House of Estridsen. In Danish, he is sometimes called "Erik, elected king." Eric was the eldest son of King Christopher II and

Euphemia of Pomerania Euphemia of Pomerania (1285 – 26 July 1330) was Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Christopher II. She was the daughter of Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania, and his second spouse, Margarete of Rügen. Euphemia wed Christopher in 1300. The ma ...

. In 1321, he was elected king and crowned alongside his father as his junior co-ruler on 15 August 1324. In 1325, his father asked him to halt the Counts of Holstein and their allies, but was deserted by his troops, taken prisoner and confined in Haderslev Castle. His father was forced to abdicate and go into exile, while the 12-year-old Duke Valdemar of

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, Nør ...

was made king of Denmark under the regent, Count

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.Danmarks Historie II www.perbenny.dk After a period of chaos in the "magnates’ republic" of Denmark, King Christopher was restored as a puppet monarch in 1329 through the help of his half-brother Count John III. Eric was released in 1330, on the condition he married

Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg (c. 1300 – before 1340) was the regent of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg during the minority of her son from 1321 until 1330. She was by two consecutive marriages, duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg and queen of Denmark by mar ...

, dowager duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg and sister of his father's enemy, Count Gerhard III, by whom he had no children. The marriage was dissolved the next year as war again erupted between his father and Count John III and his brother-in-law Gerhard III. Huitfeldt, Arild. Danmarks Riges Krønike He predeceased his father, fighting in the battles, which subsequently broke out between his father and Holstein. On 30 November 1331, Eric was defeated at the battle at

Danevirke The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...

, but managed to escape to

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, where he died of his battle wounds, a few months afterward, either in late 1331 or early 1332. Eric was buried at

Sorø Abbey Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand. After Denmark became Lutheran in 1536, the abbey was confiscated by the Crown. The ab ...

, later his remains were transported to the St. Bendt's Church. Upon his father's death in the same year, Denmark ceased being a formal kingdom, and for the next eight years it was subdued by various mortgagees to German military rule. His younger brother would later regain Denmark from the Holsteiners and succeed as

Valdemar IV of Denmark 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 ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eric Christoffersen of Denmark House of Estridsen Heirs apparent who never acceded 1305 births 1332 deaths Burials at St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted 14th-century monarchs of Denmark