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- BIOGRAPHY
Erik V-VII 'Klipping', king of Denmark, was born in Lolland in 1249, the son of Christoffer I, king of Denmark, and Margarete Tczewsko-Lubiszewska, daughter of Sambor II of Pomorze Gdanskie, duke of Tczew and Mechtild von Mecklenburg. His father died in 1259, and until 1264 he ruled under the auspices of his mother, the queen dowager. During this period he was a prisoner in Holstein in 1261-62 after a military defeat, and afterwards he was for some years brought up in Brandenburg.
On 11 November 1273 Erik married Agnes von Brandenburg, the daughter of Johann I, Markgraf von Brandenburg and Jutta of Saxony. Johann I had been married to Erik's aunt Sophie of Denmark, daughter of Erik's grandfather Valdemar II Sejr, king of Denmark. Erik and Agnes had seven children between 1274 and 1283, of whom four would have progeny, their sons Erik and Christoffer, and daughters Richeza and Margarete.
The continuous rivalry between Erik and his supporters on one side, and the kin of former King Abel on the other, led the Queen Dowager Margarete to write to the Pope around 1262 or 1263, asking him to allow women to inherit the Danish throne, which would have made it possible for one of Erik's sisters to become reigning queen of Denmark in the event of the young king's death. The Pope apparently agreed, but the issue did not arise, as Erik was succeeded by his son Erik VI, named after his uncle Erik IV 'Plovpenning' ('Ploughpenny').
Erik V tried to enforce his power over the Church and the nobility. His conflict with the Church was brought to a satisfying result, but in 1282 he was forced by the nobility to accept a charter (a 'handfastening' - a kind of a Danish Magna Carta) which limited his authority.
Erik was assassinated on 22 November 1286, and a number of the nation's most powerful nobleman, led by Marsk Stig Andersen Hvide, were outlawed by the Danish court. Whether or not they were actually involved with the murder, which took place in a small village near Viborg called Finderup, is still being questioned; the king's death meant that they lost almost all the power and influence that the 1282 charter had given them, since a new king would not be bound by the same agreement. The murder of Erik 'Klipping', who was stabbed to death in his sleep, is a Middle Ages murder mystery which has never been solved. Some historians have tried to point to the duke of South Jutland, but no proof has been found.
The king's epithet 'Klipping' or 'Glipping' is supposed to mean a medieval coin that has become 'clipped' or cut in order to indicate devaluation. An explanation popular once - that Erik was often blinking ('glippe' in Danish) - seems now to have lost currency.
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