Valdemar the Young ( – 28 November 1231) was King of Denmark from 1218 until his death.

Valdemar was the eldest son and co-ruler of Valdemar II of Denmark

Valdemar II of Denmark

Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...

 by his first wife, Dagmar of Bohemia. He did not outlive his father so was never a sole monarch. He is sometimes referred to as Valdemar III for example his tombstone reads in "Valdemar the Third, King of Denmark, son of Valdemar the Second". Although Valdemar III is more commonly used to denote a later king, Valdemar of Schleswig

Valdemar III of Denmark

Valdemar III of Denmark was a king of Denmark from 1326 to 1329 briefly when underage, as well as in 1325–26 and from 1330 to 1364 Duke of Schleswig as Valdemar V. He was a rival king set up against the unsuccessful Christopher II and was widely opposed by his many subjects. His term was ended...

.

Early life

Valdemar was born in 1209. He was the eldest child from his father's first marriage. His mother, Queen Dagmar, died in childbirth in 1212, leaving her husband a widower with a young son; she had been very popular among the Danish people due to her piety and kindness to the common people.

King Valdemar remarried two years later to Berengaria of Portugal

Berengária of Portugal

Berengaria of Portugal , was a Portuguese infanta, later Queen consort of Denmark. She was the fifth daughter of Portuguese King Sancho I and Dulce of Aragon. She married Danish King Valdemar II and was the mother of Danish kings Eric IV, Abel and Christopher I.-Background:Berengaria was the...

. From this marriage Valdemar the Young gained four half-siblings: Sophie, Eric

Eric IV of Denmark

Eric IV, also known as Eric Ploughpenny , was king of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. He was the son of King Valdemar II of Denmark by his wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to King Abel and King Christopher I.-Early life:...

, Abel

Abel of Denmark

Abel of Denmark 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, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I....

 and Christopher

Christopher I of Denmark

Christopher I was King of Denmark between 1252 and 1259. He was the son of Valdemar II of Denmark by his wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal. He succeeded his brothers Eric IV Plovpenning and Abel of Denmark on the throne. Christopher was elected King upon the death of his older brother Abel in...

. . His new stepmother, a beautiful and haughty woman, unpopular and scorned by the Danish people, was a great contrast to Valdemar's mother Dagmar. Berengaria died in childbirth herself in 1221, King Valdemar did not remarry.

The Junior King

At a meeting of the Danish magnates, which King Valdemar arranged at Samsø

Samsø

Samsø is a Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 4,300 inhabitants called Samsingers and is 114 km² in area. Due to its central location, the island was used during the Viking Age as a meeting place...

 in 1215, everyone agreed to swear an oath to Valdemar the Young, and shortly after he was elected co-king of Denmark at Viborg landsting, a practice originally practised by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Capetian dynasty

Capetian dynasty

The Capetian dynasty , also known as the House of France, is the largest and oldest European royal house, consisting of the descendants of King Hugh Capet of France in the male line. Hugh Capet himself was a cognatic descendant of the Carolingians and the Merovingians, earlier rulers of France...

 and later in many of European monarchies. Valdemar's Duchy of Schleswig passed to his younger brother Eric.

During a great feast in Schleswig

Schleswig

Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...

 in the summer of 1218, with 15 bishops and 3 dukes present, Valdemar was anointed and crowned junior King of Denmark. He took part with his father in the unlucky hunt on the island of Lyø

Lyø

Lyø is a Danish island south of Funen. The island covers an area of and has 140 inhabitants. The island can be reached by ferry from Faaborg and Avernakø....

 in 1223, where both kings were taken prisoner by Henry I of Schwerin

Schwerin

Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...

 and Valdemar was imprisoned until the Easter of 1226. Count Henry demanded that Denmark surrender the land conquered in Holstein 20 years ago and become a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 for father and son to be released. Danish envoys refused these terms and Denmark declared war. While the kings were in prison, most of the German territories tore themselves away from Denmark. Danish armies were dispatched to hold them in line. The war ended in defeat of the Danish troops under the command of Albert of Orlamünde

Orlamünde

Orlamünde is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Saale and Orla, 17 km south of Jena. It was the centre of a county, often united to Weimar, in the Early Middle Ages....

 at Mölln

Molln

Molln is a municipality in the district of Kirchdorf an der Krems in Upper Austria, Austria.-References:...

 in 1225. To secure their releases Valdemar II had to acknowledge the break away territories in Germany, pay 44,000 silver marks, sign a promise not to seek revenge on Count Henry and send his son Erik to prison instead.

On 24 June 1229, the young king married Eleanor of Portugal, daughter of Afonso II of Portugal

Afonso II of Portugal

Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...

, at Ribe

Ribe

Ribe , the oldest extant Danish town, is in southwest Jutland and has a population of 8,192 . Until 1 January 2007, it was the seat of both the surrounding municipality, and county...

. The match had been arranged by Bishop Gunner of Viborg

Ancient Diocese of Viborg

The former Roman Catholic diocese of Viborg, in Denmark existed from 1065 to the Protestant Reformation. It was created from the Diocese of Ribe.-History:...

 who the couple loved like a father. They had been married for two years when Queen Eleanor died in childbirth on 28 August 1231. The child was short-lived.

On the 28 November 1231, Valdemar the Young was accidentally shot while hunting at Refsnæs, near Kalundborg

Kalundborg

Kalundborg is a city with a population of 16,434 in Kalundborg municipality in Denmark and the site of its municipal council. Kalundborg is on the main island Zealand, with Copenhagen, but opposite on the far western edge....

. He died the same day. Valdemar was praised for his mildness and kindness towards everyone and was very popular; the Latin elegi, which a cleric authored, when the kings were captured, mentions him in the best words of praise. It was a tremendous grief to the country, when he was killed. He was buried at St. Bendt's Church

St. Bendt's Church

St. Bendt's is a church in Ringsted, Denmark, which was originally part of a Benedictine monastery that burnt down in the 18th century. Built in the Romanesque style, it is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia, dating back to about 1170 when it replaced a travertine church from about 1080. It is...

, Ringsted

Ringsted

Ringsted, a city in Ringsted municipality, is in the middle of the Danish island of Zealand. The municipal population is about 31,000 and the city population is 21,151 .Ringsted is approximately 60 km from Copenhagen.-Modern hotspot:...

 beside his wife, Queen Eleanor. His father then made his younger half-brother Eric co-king. King Valdemar II died ten years later and was succeeded by Eric.

Ancestry