Dano–German War (1226–1227)
| Dano–German War (1226–1227) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battle of Bornhöved (1227), illustrated in the 14th century | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Denmark Brunswick-Lüneburg |
Holstein Lübeck Saxony Bremen Schwerin Hamburg | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Valdemar II Otto I (POW)[2] |
Adolf VI Henry I Albrecht I | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown, but probably a couple thousand | Unknown, but probably a couple thousand | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Heavy[3] | Unknown | ||||||||
The Dano–German War (1226–1227), was an attempt by Valdemar II of Denmark to reconquer his lost German territories, which he had lost after the negotiations of his release from captivity by Henry I, Count of Schwerin. The war was shortlived though, and there was only one major battle, the Battle of Bornhöved (1227). Valdemar was aided by his nephew Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg against a coalition of multiple German states, consisting of Holstein, Lübeck, Saxony, Schwerin, Bremen and Hamburg.[4]
Background
In 1223 The danish King Valdemar II of Denmark was captured by Henry I, Count of Schwerin after tensions between them, since the Danish king had a few years before that, taken half the land of count Henry and given it to loyal supporters, Through his grandsons inheritance, as well as allegedly, seduced or raped his wife.[5]
the captivity was in interest of several notable Baltic players, most notably Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, but also Hermann von Salza and of course it was amazing for all the German dukes and princes who had previously been subjugated by Valdemar, or some who felt they would be soon.
but the captivity was also in great distaste of Pope Honorius III who was on extremely good terms with the danish realm and king, a trend between popes that had been active for a long time, ever since the establishment of the danish archiepiscopal see in Lund in 1103, since the danish kings had more of less become loyal allies to the papacy[6] the captivity was in interest of the different parties for varying reasons.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor had in 1214 been forced to cede all territories above the Elbe river to Valdemar II of Denmark, because He needed valdemar to stay neutral in imperial affairs at that point, most notably his crowning as king of the romans in Aachen in 1215,[5] but it was also because valdemar had stopped supporting his previous ally Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor - political rival to Frederick - right before the Battle of Bouvines and he weakened ottos military capacity signifanctly by preventing his vassals in northern germany from going to the battle as they were occupied with defending themselves against Valdemar. the loss at the battle weakened otto both politaclly and militarily and Frederick as a thanks, issued the golden bull.[7] Another reason, though more minor, is that Frederick wished to embark on a joint crusade with the Danish king, of course frederick being the lead of it. He also wished to bring denmark back in the empire, as it had been previously until Cnut VI's refusal of subjugation from Frederick Barbarossa
Hermann von Salza tried several different times to interfere with the negotiations, and for one sole reason: He wanted Valdemar to go on a crusade to the holy land. Valdemar had already a few years prior taken the cross and swore he would embark on a crusade to the holy land when the next general crusade would happen. He would embark with 100 ships, and winter in Spain and spend two whole years in the holy land. Valdemar agreed to this, but when the danish magnates met at the river elbe to buy the kings freedom in 1224 but flatly refused the promises made by Valdemar to go on a crusade, as well as the other terms negotiated, and left angrily, without a deal having been struck. the danish magnates instead began negotiating with Henry directly, without the intervention of the emperor of Hermann.[8]
The reaction from Pope Honorius III could best be described as pure outrage. The pope had long had great plans for Valdemar, he wanted, alike with Hermann and Frederick himself, for Valdemar to go on a massive crusade with Frederick to take back the holy land. however in general, the many disputes with Frederick made Honorious greatly appreciate his northern ally. immediately when Valdemar was caught Pope Honorious wrote many letters to Henry warning him and trying to convince him to free Valdemar, even going as far as warning him if he did not immediately free Valdemar and his son, Henry would be excommunicated[9] Honorious numerous attempts of freeing Valdemar ultimately however, did not work.
the negotiations were long, and Valdemar's nephew, Albert of Orlamünde, with the help of Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg - whom the nobles of Denmark had already declared temporary regent of Denmark until Valdemar returned - in 1225 tried to settle the problem with military force, but he was defeated in Möln in 1225, Albert was taken prisoner, and the nobles only remove Valdemar by negotiations now. The defeat also started a desertion of the german possessions away from the danish crown, the exiled schauenmbergs returned to Holstein, and only Rendsburg in Holstein stayed in Danish hands[10].
An agreement was finally reached on the 17th of November 1225. The eider river would function as the border between Schleswig and Holstein, and Valdemar would give up all territory south of this border, including Rendsberg, only Rügen and Fehmern could be kept by the danish king. The danes also promised to not help Albert of Örlamunde. The danish king was also to pay a sum of 44,000 silver marks in three parts until 1227. The cities of Lübeck and Hamburg as well as all other German traders from Holstein were gonna be allowed to trade in Denmark, as had hitherto been the case[10]
Valdemar was finally released on 25 December 1225, and his son followed on the 19th of april 1226 after having paid an additional 18.000 silver marks and 100 richly equipped horses. Naturally, king Valdemar was not willingly to give up his precious Baltic possessions that easily. He asked for Honorious to free him from his promises, on the basis that they had been made unwillingly and under severe pressure,[11] so in 1226 it was time for war.
War
Valdemar's initial opponents in the war were Adolf IV of Holstein and Henry I, Count of Schwerin however they couldnt expect a lot of imperial support, other than the Duchy of saxony which would join later. Not even Brandenburg supported them, which should maybe be taken as a sign of valdemars diplomacy: since he had taken advantage of the young margrave's relationship to their brother in law Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who obviously was valdemars nephew aswell. In exchange for their loyalty he had given up land in Pomerania.[12]
In the autumn of 1226, the Danish king Valdemar II crossed the Eider River in an attempt to reclaim his lost territories. He advanced into Holstein and seized Ditmarschen in 1227. However, the tides of war soon turned. On July 22, 1227, the Danish royal army supported by troops led by another of the king’s nephews, Otto of Lüneburg suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a coalition of German forces at the Battle of Bornhöved. The Valdemar II managed to escape, while Otto was taken prisoner. The battlefield, strewn with thousands of bodies, marked the collapse of the Danish "empire".[13]
Aftermath
After the defeat at Bornhöved, King Valdemar abandoned his larger military ambitions to reclaim the North German territories and instead adopted a more peaceful, consolidation-focused policy. Lack of resources and support from the Danish Church and aristocracy prevented further wars.[14]
References
- ^ Olesen, Jens (2010). The Norwegian domination and the Norse world c. 1100 - c.1400. Trondheim: Tapir academic press. p. 285. ISBN 978-82-519-2563-1.
- ^ Nielsen, Tobias kjersgaard (2023). Gregory IX (1227-1241) power and authority. Amsterdam: Amsterdam university press. p. 197. ISBN 9789048554607.
- ^ Nielsen, Tobias kjersgaard (2023). Gregory IX (1227-1241) power and authority. Amsterdam: Amsterdam university press. p. 197. ISBN 9789048554607.
- ^ Olesen, Jens (2010). The Norwegian domination and the Norse world c. 1100 - c.1400. Trondheim: Tapir academic press. p. 285. ISBN 978-82-519-2563-1.
- ^ a b Jensen, Kurt Villads. the crusades: history and memory. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols. p. 79. ISBN 978-2-503-58786-8.
- ^ Nielsen, Tobias Kjersgaard (2023). Gregory IX (1227-1241) Power and authority. Amsterdam: Tapir academic press. p. 192. ISBN 978-82-519-2563-1.
- ^ Jensen, Kurt Villads; Salonen, Kirsi (2023). Scandinavia in the middle ages 900-1550 - between two oceans. London: Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 9780367558697.
- ^ Jensen, Kurt Villads (2021). the crusades: history and memory. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols. p. 90. ISBN 978-2-503-58786-8.
- ^ Jensen, Kurt Villads (2021). the crusades: history and memory. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols. p. 87. ISBN 978-2-503-58786-8.
- ^ a b Olesen, Jens (2010). The Norwegian domination and the Norse world c. 1100 - c.1400. Trondheim: Tapir academic press. p. 284. ISBN 9788251925631.
- ^ Jensen, Kurt Villads (2021). the crusades: history and memory. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols. p. 91. ISBN 978-2-503-58786-8.
- ^ Heine, N. G (1941). Østersøproblemer omkring 1200. Aarhus university. p. 62.
- ^ Nielsen, Tobias kjersgaard (2023). Gregory IX (1227-1241) power and authority. Amsterdam: Amsterdam university press. p. 197. ISBN 9789048554607.
- ^ Olesen, Jens (2010). The Norwegian domination and the Norse world c. 1100 - c.1400. Trondheim: Tapir academic press. p. 285. ISBN 978-82-519-2563-1.