by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Eric III, King of Denmark reigned from 1137 until he abdicated in 1146. He was the only Danish monarch to abdicate voluntarily, until 878 years later in 2024, when Queen Margrethe II of Denmark abdicated in favor of her son, King Frederik X of Denmark. Eric III was born circa 1120, probably on Funen, the third-largest island in Denmark. He was the son of Danish noble Haakon Sunnivasson, a great-grandson of Magnus the Good, King of Denmark and Norway, and Ragnhild of Denmark, the daughter of King Eric I of Denmark. Therefore, Eric III was the grandson of King Eric I of Denmark and the nephew of King Eric II of Denmark, whom he succeeded.

In 1143, Eric III married Lutgard of Salzwedel, daughter of Rudolf I, Margrave of the Northern Marsh. Lutgard’s brother Hartwig, Count of Stade and Archbishop of Bremen, married the couple at Bremen Cathedral in Bremen, now in Germany. Lutgard had been previously married to her uncle Friedrich II, Count of Sommerschenburg, with whom she had four children. Lutgard and her uncle Friedrich were forced to divorce on the grounds of a prohibited degree of relation.

Lutgard and Eric III had no children. As Queen of Denmark, Lutgard was criticized for promiscuous behavior and for influencing Eric III to waste money. Lutgard was accused of adultery and exiled. After Eric III’s death, Lutgard married a third time to the widower Herman II, Count of Winzenburg-Northeim, and they had three daughters. The local nobles and clergy hated Herman II because he was violent and wanted to seize their territories. On the night of January 29, 1152, local knights murdered Herman II and his wife Lutgard, who was pregnant.

At this time in Danish history, there were no succession laws. The Danish nobles elected the King of Denmark. However, might and murder often came into play. In 1131, the future King Eric II’s half-brother Cnut Lavard, Duke of Schleswig, later canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, was killed by their cousin Magnus, the son of King Niels of Denmark. Magnus saw Cnut Lavard as a rival to the Danish throne. The murder of Cnut Lavard started several years of civil war between King Niels and his son Magnus against Cnut Lavard’s illegitimate half-brother, the future Eric II, King of Denmark.

The civil war between the family members culminated on June 4, 1134, when the two sides fought the Battle of Fodevig near Lund in Scania, now in Sweden. The future King Eric III fought on the side of his uncle, the future King Eric II. The battle was a decisive victory for the next King of Denmark, Eric II. His cousin Magnus was killed in battle, and his uncle King Niels fled to Schleswig, where the citizens avenged Cnut Lavard, their beloved Duke of Schleswig, by murdering Niels on June 25, 1134. In Scania, at a thing, an assembly of nobles, Eric II was proclaimed King of Denmark.

Portrait of Eric III’s uncle, Eric II, King of Denmark, erected at his burial site, Ribe Cathedral in 1576; Credit – Wikipedia

The future Eric III was a member of the court of his uncle, King Eric II, and was known as Eric Haakonson before he became King of Denmark. To secure and keep power, Eric II treated his enemies cruelly, even his illegitimate half-brother Harald Kesja, whom Eric II saw as a threat. In 1135, Eric II had Harald Kesja and eight of his sons beheaded. The Roskilde Chronicle describes King Eric II as a “rex tyrannus” – a tyrannical king – who spread terror wherever he went.

On September 18, 1137, in Umehoved, Denmark, a thing, an assembly of nobles, was held, and the future King Eric III was present. A local nobleman, Sorte Plov (link in Danish), asked permission to approach King Eric II. Sorte Plov carried a spear with a piece of wood over the tip. After determining that Eric II had no armor under his clothing, Sorte Plov removed the wood from the spear’s tip and stabbed Eric II in revenge for the execution of a relative. Eric II’s nephew, the future King Eric III, stepped forward with his mace, ready to protect his uncle. However, Sorte Plov explained to Eric that he could be King of Denmark by saying, “Put away your mace, young Eric. A juicy piece of meat has fallen in your bowl!” Sorte Plov escaped with his life, and Eric II, King of Denmark was succeeded by his nephew, the son of his sister Ragnhild and Haakon Sunnivason, Eric III, King of Denmark.

King Eric III’s reign was mostly peaceful. Olaf Haraldsson, the only surviving son of Eric II’s half-brother Harald Kesja, claimed the throne in 1139, but Eric III was able to defeat and kill him in 1143. Eric III was the first Danish king strongly influenced by German culture. He had spent his childhood surrounded by German knights and adopted their ideals of chivalry.

In 1146, Eric III became seriously ill and abdicated. Sweyn Grathe, an illegitimate son of Eric II, King of Denmark, was elected king by the nobles in Zealand, and Cnut Magnusson, the son of Magnus the Strong, was elected king by the nobles in Jutland, resulting in another civil war.

On August 27, 1146, 26-year-old Eric III, King of Denmark, died at Saint Canute’s Abbey in Odense, Denmark, where he was buried. St. Canute’s Abbey forms the core structure of the present St. Canute’s Cathedral.

A 2015 study suggested that King Eric III may have died of Brugada syndrome, a genetic disorder in which the electrical activity in the heart is abnormal. It increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death. The study showed that perhaps up to fourteen Danish kings who suddenly died at a relatively young age without being ill possibly died of Brugada Syndrome.

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Works Cited

• Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003). Konge af Danmark (ca. 1120-1146). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Lam
• Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2010). Luitgard af Salzwedel. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luitgard_af_Salzwedel
• Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Eric II, King of Denmark [Review of Eric II, King of Denmark]. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/eric-ii-king-of-denmark/
• Wenande, Christian. (2015). Mystery of Danish king’s deaths fosters new theory – The Copenhagen Post. The Copenhagen Post. https://cphpost.dk/2015-10-16/general/mystery-of-danish-king-deaths-fosters-new-theory/
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Eric III of Denmark. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
• Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Lutgard of Salzwedel. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.