Valdemar I of Denmark

Valdemar I Knudsen (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zenith under his son King Valdemar II. Childhood Valdemar was the son of Canute Lavard, Duke of Schleswig, the chivalrous and popular eldest son of King Eric I of Denmark. Valdemar's father was murdered by King Magnus I of Sweden days before the birth of Valdemar; his mother, Ingeborg of Kiev, daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden, named him after her grandfather, Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev. Valdemar was raised at Ringsted in the court of Danish nobleman Asser Rig of Fjenneslev (–1151). Asser was a member of the Hvide noble family and had been raised together with Valdemar's father Canute Lavard. Valdemar was raised together with Asser's sons, including Absalon (–1201), who would become an archbishop and go to battle with Valdemar, and Esbern Snare (1127–1204), who was a royal chancellor and crusader. Esbern and Absalon had a close relationship and formed an alliance with Valdemar. Struggle for the throne In 1146, when Valdemar was fifteen years old, King Eric III of Denmark abdicated and a civil war erupted. Valdemar was a possible contender to the throne. The other pretenders to the throne were: Sweyn III Grathe, the son of King Eric II of Denmark, and Canute V, the son of Magnus I of Sweden, both of whom declared themselves King of Denmark in 1146. The civil war lasted the better part of ten years. In 1154, Valdemar joined with Canute and was recognized as co-king along with Canute. In July 1157, a temporary compromise was struck in which the three agreed to divide the country among themselves as co-regents in shifting alliances.