| Abel | |
|---|---|
 Abel depicted on the Kronborg Tapestries atKronborg Castle | |
| King of Denmark andthe Wends | |
| Reign | 1 November 1250 – 29 June 1252 |
| Coronation | 1 November 1250 |
| Predecessor | Eric IV |
| Successor | Christopher I |
| Born | 1218 |
| Died | 29 June 1252 (aged 33–34) Eiderstedt |
| Burial | Schleswig Cathedral, moved toGottorf Castle |
| Spouse | Matilda of Holstein |
| Issue Detail | Valdemar III, Duke of Schleswig Eric I, Duke of Schleswig Abel, Lord of Langeland |
| House | Estridsen |
| Father | Valdemar II of Denmark |
| Mother | Berengaria of Portugal |
Abel Valdemarsen (c. 1218 – 29 June 1252) wasDuke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 andKing of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son ofValdemar II by his second wife,Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to kingsEric IV andChristopher I.[1]
As Duke of Schleswig, Abel came into conflict with his brother, King Eric IV, whose murder in 1250 he was suspected of orchestrating. Upon taking an oath to clear himself of the allegations, he was elected king. After a short reign, he was killed during a military expedition inFrisia.
Abel's reign was the shortest of any Danish monarch since the 9th century. He founded a line of dukes of Schleswig - the "Abel family" - which ruled the Duchy of Schleswig until 1375.[2]
In 1232, at the election of his elder brotherEric as their father,King Valdemar II's co-ruler and heir, Abel was chosen to succeed Eric in his position asDuke of Schleswig.
In 1237 he marriedMatilda of Holstein, a daughter of Adolf IV of Holstein (1205-1261). As Count Adolf withdrew to a Franciscan friary the same year, Abel spent several years acting as regent for his under age brothers-in-law,John I of Holstein-Kiel (1229–1263) andGerhard I, Count of Holstein-Itzehoe (1232–1290).[3]
In early 1241, Abel commanded a Crusaderand invaded the Orthodox Novgorod, yet was to suspend the campaign because of his father, Valdemar II's, death.
At the death of Valdemar II in 1241, Duke Abel's brother Eric acceded to the throne of Denmark as Eric IV. In the following years, Duke Abel fought against his brother, trying to gain independence for the Duchy of Schleswig. He raided north as far asRanders, ravaging Eric's supporters, and then moved intoFunen. Eric struck back a year later, surprising Abel's garrison atSchleswig, forcing Abel's young daughter Sophie to flee "without so much as a pair of shoes for her feet."[4]
The fighting continued until Abel's sister Sophie of Denmark (c. 1217–1247), wife of John I, Margrave of Brandenburg (c. 1213–1266) brokered a truce between Duke Abel and King Eric that held until 1250 when Eric was murdered while a guest at Duke Abel's residence at Schleswig.
Eric IV was slain by Abel's chamberlain, Lage Gudmundsen (ca. 1195–1252), and others; the king's headless body dumped into theSchlei.Even though Abel and twenty-four noblemen swore an official oath ("dual dozen's oath", inDanish "dobbelt tylvter-ed") that the Duke had no part in the killing, it was widely believed that King Eric was murdered at his brother's bidding. "Abel by name,Cain by his deeds" (Danish, "Abel af navn, Kain af gavn"), or so people said.[5]
After clearing himself of the allegations taking the oath, Abel was proclaimed King of Denmark at theViborg Assembly (Danish: landsting) on 1 November 1250. Abel only ruled for a year and a half. King Abel received word that the peasants inFrisia, led bySicko Sjaerdema of Friesland, refused to pay the tax levy. Abel raised an army to punish them. At 33, he was killed by a wheelwright named Henner on Husum Bridge nearEiderstedt on 29 June 1252.
At the time, Abel's half-grown son Valdemar (1238–1257) was held for ransom by theArchbishop of Cologne. So, Abel's youngest brotherChristopher I was crowned King on Christmas Day 1252 inLund Cathedral.[6]
After Abel's death, Queen Matilda entered a convent but subsequently bypassed her vows there to marry Swedish statesmanBirger Jarl in 1261.[7] Birger was an enemy of Abel's, and not long before Abel's death, Birger had started up a military vendetta against him which was only called off when the Danish king died.[8]
Most people at the time viewed Abel's sudden death as God's judgment on him for the murder of his brother. As Abel's body lay inSchleswig Cathedral, the monks heard strange sounds in the church at night. They said they were too afraid to go into the church after that. They believed that Abel's unholy ghost walked abroad at night. Consequently, the king's body was taken outside the church and stuffed into a soggy grave nearGottorp Castle outside Schleswig. Someone rammed a wooden stake through Abel's chest to make sure he remained in his grave. It was said long after that the king's ghost found no peace, and from time to time, there were reports of "Abel's wild hunt" where a black-faced man on a white horse and glowing hounds hunted across the moors and forest of Schleswig.[9]
Abel's descendants — the "Abel Family" — ruled South Jutland until 1375, often in co-operation with their relatives inHolstein. They created a permanent problem for the Danish government. Their rule meant the eventual separation of Frisia, Holstein, and most of Schleswig from the rest of Denmark. His great-grandson succeeded briefly asValdemar III before being deposed. However, Abel's descendants would return to the throne with his great-granddaughterHelvig of Schleswig, who marriedValdemar IV. Even though the line of Helvig died out withChristopher III, his successorChristian I was a descendant of Abel's through his daughter Sophie. Except for Christopher I through Valdemar IV, all subsequent Danish monarchs have been Abel's cognatic descendants.
With his wife,Matilda of Holstein (ca. 1220 or 1225 – 1288) whom he married on 25 April 1237;
Abel, King of Denmark Born: 1218 Died: 29 June 1252 | ||
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| Preceded by | Duke of Schleswig 1232–1252 | Succeeded by |
| King of Denmark Duke of Estonia 1250–1252 | Succeeded by | |
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