Valdemar II of Denmark

Valdemar II (9 May 1170 or 28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror (Valdemar Sejr), 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. Sejr means victory in Danish.

Background

He was the second son of King Valdemar I and Sophia Valadarsdattir, a daughter of Richeza of Poland, and a West Russian Prince. When Valdemar's father died, young Valdemar was only twelve years old. He was named Duke of Southern Jutland (Latin: dux slesvicensis, literally Sleswickian duke), represented by the regent Bishop Valdemar Knudsen (1182–1193).

Bishop Valdemar was an ambitious man and disguised his own ambitions as young Valdemar's. When in 1192 Bishop Valdemar was named Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, his plot to overthrow King Canute VI with the help of German nobility and sit on Denmark's throne himself was revealed.

Duke Valdemar realized the threat Bishop Valdemar presented. He invited the archbishop to meet him in Aabenraa in 1192. Then the bishop fled to Swedish Norway to avoid arrest. The following year Bishop Valdemar organised - supported by the Hohenstaufens - a fleet of 35 ships and harried the coasts of Denmark, claiming the Danish throne for himself. In 1193 King Canute VI of Denmark captured him. Bishop Valdemar stayed in captivity in Nordborg (1193–1198) and then in the tower at Søborg Castle on Zealand until 1206. Bishop Valdemar was released upon the initiative of the Danish Queen Dagmar and Pope Innocent III and after swearing, never to interfere again in Danish affairs.

Denmark

Denmark (ⁱ/ˈdɛnmɑːrk/; Danish: Danmark [ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊]), officially the Kingdom of Denmark is a country in Northern Europe. The southernmost of the Nordic countries, it is southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark is part of Scandinavia, together with Sweden and Norway. It is a sovereign state that comprises Denmark and two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper has an area of 42,924 square kilometres (16,573 sq mi), and a population of 5,707,251 in January 2016. The country consists of a peninsula – Jutland – and an archipelago of 443 named islands, of which around 70 are inhabited. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate.

Ø, Denmark

Coordinates: 56°27′32″N 9°37′57″E / 56.45889°N 9.63250°E / 56.45889; 9.63250

Ø is a piece of land in the valley of the Nørreå in the eastern part of Jutland, Denmark. Its name means island (ø in the Danish language) and probably comes from the island-like approach to this piece of land, although it is completely landlocked and surrounded by meadows.

Ø is famous among lexicographers for the extreme brevity of its name: the single letter Øand for the people there.

See also

Sources

Danish sites

Danmark (islet)

Danmark (English: Denmark) is an islet located near Sandvika in the Municipality of Bærum, Norway.

Whilst the original meaning is not exactly verified, the name of the islet reflects Norwegians' (friendly) joking with the relatively small geographical size of Denmark proper. Alike Denmark, this islet is flat, small, and located oversea south of Bærum. The name predates 1814, when the personal union known as Denmark–Norway was dissolved. In a sale of land in the 1780s, it was mentioned that the sale included 'a little island called Denmark' (Danish: en lille ø kaldet Danmark).

References

Literature

External links

Coordinates: 59°53′26″N 10°32′00″E / 59.8906°N 10.5334°E / 59.8906; 10.5334