Asser Rig (c. 1078–1151) was a jarl and

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

from

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, a son of Skjalm Hvide (before 1045 – c. 1113) and ''Signe Asbjørnsdatter'' (c. 1050 – c. 1096). They are sometimes referred to as ''Asser Rig Skjalmsen Hvide''.

Siblings

Asser's siblings were (children of Skjalm and Signe) ''Margrethe Skjalmsdatter Hvide (1073–1162); Cecilie Skjalmsdatter Hvide (c. 1084 – 1161); Toke Skjalmsen Hvide (1085–1145); Sune Skjalmsen Hvide (c. 1086 – c. 1140) ; and Ebbe Skjalmsen Hvide af Knardrup (c. 1090 – 1151).''Hvideslægten ''("Hvide family")'', Ebbe Skjalmsen
by Roskildes Historie, roskildehistorie.dk.

Life

Asser married

Inger Eriksdotter Inger Eriksdotter (also Inga, Inge) (ca. 1100–1157) was the wife of Asser Rig, tribal chief of Zealand (Sjælland) in today's Denmark. Inger's father is said to have been :sv:Erik jarl, Earl Eric. Her mother was Princess Cecilia Knutsdatter (d ...

(c. 1100–1157), the daughter of Eric, the Jarl of Falster, and

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Cecilia Knutsdatter, a daughter of King Canute IV of Denmark (c. 1042 – 10 July 1086), the first Danish king (1080–1086) to be

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

, recognized by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Patron Saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

in 1101. Asser and Inger settled to live in Fjenneslev,

, where they erected the Fjenneslev Church (''Fjenneslev Kirke'') in

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in east Denmark with a population of 8,433 (2025).

. They gave birth to

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of De ...

(c. 1128–1201), who became a powerful warrior leader and main advisor to Danish kings, and also Bishop of Roskilde and later

Archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Reformation in Denmark, Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Ch ...

. The other two children of Asser and Inger were Esbern Snare (c. 1127–1204) and ''Ingefred Assersdatter'' (c. 1130-1160).

Activities of Asser Rig's son Absalon

A period of warfare and Danish expansion was led by Archbishop

and the Kings Valdemar I and Valdemar II. In this era, the Danes were also being threatened by the

Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...

who were making raids across the Danish border and by sea. Among other things,

was responsible for Valdemar I winning the over 10 years long Danish civil war. After Valdemar I, Absalon helped his successor, King

Canute VI Canute VI (; c. 1163 – 12 November 1202) was King of Denmark from 1182 to 1202. Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man. Background Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I and Sophia of Polots ...

. Later, Valdemar II led a Danish expedition across the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

River to invade

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asser Rig Tribal chiefs in Europe 12th-century Danish nobility 11th-century Danish people 11th-century landowners 1070s births 1151 deaths Year of birth uncertain