Eric II Valdemarsøn (c. 1290 – 12 March 1325) was

Duke of Schleswig The following is a list of earl, jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland). First jarls/dukes House of Estridsen (1080–1375) House of Schauenburg (1325-1459) Under domain of Oldenburg In ...

from 1312 until his death in 1325. He was the only son of Valdemar IV, Duke of Schleswig.

Early life

Eric was born c. 1290 as the only legitimate son of Duke Valdemar IV of Schleswig in his first marriage with Elisabeth of Saxe-Lauenburg, a daughter of

John I, Duke of Saxony John I (1249 – 30 July 1285) ruled as duke of Saxony from 1260 until 1282. John was the elder son of Duke Albert I of Saxony and his third wife Helen, a daughter of Otto the Child. John and his younger brother Albert II jointly ruled th ...

. Already during the lifetime of Valdemar IV, he acted as his father's coruler and used the title of duke.

Duke of Schleswig

At the death of Valdemar IV in the spring of 1312, he immediately succeeded his father as Duke of Schleswig. Shortly afterwards, he participated in the expedition of his feudal overlord, King

Eric VI of Denmark Eric VI Menved (1274 – 13 November 1319) was King of Denmark (1286–1319). A son of King Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg, he became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered on 22 November by unknown assailants. On account of his ...

, to

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. During this expedition, on 30 June in the camp outside

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow (river ...

, he was formally installed as Duke. As Duke, he claimed the

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

after his deceased uncle, Eric Longbone, Lord of Langeland. These and other disputes with King Eric, were settled at the settlement in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

on 9 August 1313, in which Eric renounced his claims to Langeland but received the Crown lands of the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been div ...

. When King

died in 1319, Duke Eric was briefly candidate to the vacant throne of Denmark. Ultimately, Eric VI's brother,

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, was elected King. However, part of the price Christopher had to pay to accede to the throne, was to accept the right of Duke Eric to the fief of Langeland.

Death

Duke Eric died on 12 March 1325. He was buried in the Schleswig Cathedral.

Marriage and issue

In 1313 Eric married Adelaide of Holstein-Rendsburg, a daughter of Henry I, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg. * Valdemar III (1314–1364),

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 Is ...

1326–1329,

as Valdemar V 1325–1326 and 1330–1364. *

Helvig of Schleswig Helvig of Schleswig (also erroneously Hedwig; 1320–1374) was the queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Valdemar IV. She was the mother of Queen Margaret I of Denmark. Life Helvig was the daughter of Eric II, Duke of Schleswig, and Adelaid ...

(d. 1374), married Valdemar IV, King of Denmark

Ancestry

References

Biography
in ''

Dansk Biografisk Leksikon ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'' (usually abbreviated DBL; title of first edition written ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon'') is a Danish biographical dictionary that has been published in three editions. The first edition, ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon, til ...

'' 1. ed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eric 02 Of Schleswig Dukes of Schleswig House of Estridsen 1325 deaths 1280s births