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At the end of
September Valdemar felt that he was powerful enough to face Sweyn's army, and on 23 October the two armies met at Grathe Heath. The battle was short, but vicious. Sweyn failed to locate Valdemar's main force, and was suddenly attacked with such force that he fled his army. He blundered
439:, Sweyn ordered his men to kill the two other kings. Canute was slain, but Valdemar, though wounded, managed to turn over some great candlesticks and escape in the following fire and confusion. He fled out in the darkness and managed to return to Jutland.
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Valdemar, having outlived all his rival pretenders, became the sole King of
Denmark, and purged all of Sweyn's allies. He reorganized and rebuilt war-torn Denmark. In 1892
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The nobles of
Denmark were getting worried about the growing German influence. Valdemar, having at first joined Sweyn, who had made him duke of
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into the swampy areas at one end of the Hauge Lake, and lost his weapons and armour. Shortly afterwards, he was captured and killed with an
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The three contenders agreed to share power, so that
Valdemar would rule Jutland, Canute would rule the islands of Zealand and
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People flocked to
Valdemar's banner when Sweyn's treachery was revealed, and he gathered a great host. Sweyn landed at
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After his death, Sweyn was nicknamed Grathe, after the place where he lost both his crown and his life.
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The battle of Grathe (Grey) Heath on 23 October 1157 marked the end of a civil war between Sweyn III,
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stream), but his fleet was destroyed by a combination of force and guile. Sweyn marched upon
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had abdicated in 1146, Sweyn III, son of Eric Emune, was declared king of
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397:. Canute lost and appealed to the German king (later emperor),
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put up a memorial stone cross at the site of the battle.
546:
Peacemaking in the Middle Ages; Principles and
Practice
601:. Springer International Publishing AG. p. 60.
549:. England: Manchester University Press. p. 16.
575:"What happened in our Denmark on October 23, 1157?"
382:, while Canute, son of King Magnus, became king of
136:(entire force of Zealand and east Denmark mustered)
415:Both Canute and Sweyn were hailed as kings at the
393:In 1152, a battle was fought at Gedebæk, close to
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459:and Valdemar retreated to the other side of the
595:Bregnsbo, Michael; Jensen, Kurt (8 June 2022).
486:The Sven Grathe-cros, a monument by Thor Lange.
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471:, according to tradition, by angry peasants.
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151:entire force slain, captured or scattered
16:1157 final battle of the Danish Civil War
354:. Valdemar's forces won the battle, and
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41:Monument at Grathe hede, by J.Th Hansen
598:The Rise and Fall of the Danish Empire
390:, where he managed to raise an army.
350:and his rival for the Danish throne,
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435:on 9 August 1157. But, according to
358:was slain while attempting to flee.
573:Schwarz, Gunter (23 October 2018).
14:
543:Benham, J. E. M (15 June 2021).
463:River and tore down the bridge.
188:Military engagements during the
342:was fought in 1157 between the
331:The Battle of Grathe Heath, by
1:
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666:Battles of the Middle Ages
311:The Bloodfeast of Roskilde
656:Battles involving Denmark
248:Clashes between 1139-1143
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140:
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45:
34:
26:
515:56.2679750°N 9.3412111°E
207:Battle of Jellinge Heath
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340:Battle of Grathe Heath
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316:Battle of Grathe Heath
306:The Danish SmĂĄland War
101:Commanders and leaders
22:Battle of Grathe Heath
676:Valdemar I of Denmark
520:56.2679750; 9.3412111
485:
451:(at the mouth of the
399:Frederic I Barbarossa
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141:Casualties and losses
625:Hougaard, Marianne.
232:Siege of Haraldsborg
227:Battle of Onsild Bro
202:Battles of 1131-1134
93:Forces of Valdemar I
511: /
419:in Viborg in 1154.
372:Eric III of Denmark
291:Battle of the Eider
281:Battle of Slangerup
264:Battle of Glumstrup
259:Battle of Bydinge Ă…
222:Battle of Rynebjerg
96:Forces of Sweyn III
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336:
275:Battles of 1147-57
269:Battle of Tjutebro
212:Siege of Schleswig
74:Valdemar I victory
671:Conflicts in 1157
627:"Grathe Monument"
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286:Battle of TĂĄstrup
254:Battle of Landora
242:Battle of Fotevik
237:Battle of Værebro
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217:Battle of Sejerø
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53:23 October 1157
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632:13 September
630:. Retrieved
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580:13 September
578:. Retrieved
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506:9°20′28.36″E
503:56°16′4.71″N
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88:Belligerents
518: /
76:End of the
650:Categories
530:References
492:Thor Lange
443:The battle
362:Background
348:Valdemar I
346:armies of
134:~4000-5000
107:Valdemar I
478:Aftermath
423:Treachery
417:Landsting
410:Schleswig
403:Merseburg
356:Sweyn III
352:Sweyn III
112:Sweyn III
65:, Denmark
433:Roskilde
368:Canute V
126:Strength
58:Location
27:Part of
457:Randers
388:Germany
384:Jutland
376:Zealand
118:†
605:
553:
461:GudenĂĄ
453:DjursĂĄ
395:Viborg
380:Scania
344:Danish
114:
71:Result
449:GrenĂĄ
429:Funen
149:~4000
146:minor
131:~2000
634:2022
603:ISBN
582:2022
551:ISBN
378:and
338:The
50:Date
469:axe
652::
617:^
565:^
636:.
611:.
584:.
559:.
180:e
173:t
166:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
