Eric IV of Denmark

Eric IV ( – 10 August 1250), also known as Eric Ploughpenny or Eric Plowpenny, was King of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. His reign was marked by conflict and civil wars against his brothers. Early life Eric was the son of Valdemar II of Denmark and brother of King Abel of Denmark and King Christopher I of Denmark. He was born ca. 1216 as the second legitimate son of King Valdemar II by his second wife Berengária of Portugal. In 1218, when his older half-brother Valdemar the Young was crowned king as their father's co-ruler and designated heir, he was created Duke of Schleswig. After the premature death of Valdemar in 1231, Eric was crowned king at Lund Cathedral 30 May 1232 as his father's co-ruler and heir. Subsequently, he ceded the Duchy of Schleswig to his younger brother Abel. When his father died in 1241, he ascended to the throne. Rule His rule was marked by bitter conflicts, especially against his brother, Duke Abel of Schleswig who seems to have wanted an independent position and who was supported by the counts of Holstein. Eric also fought the Scanian peasants, who rebelled because of his hard taxes on ploughs, among other things. The number of ploughs a man owned was used as a measure of his wealth. This gave the king the epithet "plough-penny" (Danish: Plovpenning).