The following is a list of jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland).

First jarls/dukes

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Ruler Born Reign Ruling part Consort Death Notes
Olaf I Hunger
 
c.1050
Son of Sweyn II of Denmark
1080 – 18 August 1095 Duchy of Schleswig Ingegerd of Norway
c.1070
one child
18 August 1095
aged 44-45
Jarl (earl) of Jutland, since 1086 king of Denmark.
Direct rule by Denmark (1095-1115)
Canute I Lavard
 
12 March 1096
Son of Eric I of Denmark and Boedil Thurgotsdatter
1115 – 7 January 1131 Duchy of Schleswig Ingeborg of Kiev
1116
four children
7 January 1131
Ringsted
aged 34
Titled dux Daciae[1] (i.e. Duke of Denmark)
Magnus I   c.1106
First son of Prince Henry of Denmark and Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter
7 January 1131 – 4 June 1134 Duchy of Schleswig Richeza of Poland
c.1127
two children
4 June 1134
Battle of Fotevik
aged 27-28
Also King of Sweden.
Direct rule by Denmark (1134-1150)
Valdemar I   14 January 1131
Schleswig
Son of Canute I Lavard and Ingeborg of Kiev
1150–1157

1173 – 12 May 1182[2]
Duchy of Schleswig Sophia of Minsk
c.1144
Viborg Cathedral
eight children
12 May 1182
Vordingborg
aged 51
At least between 1152 and 1154, he was titled dux Daciae[3] (i.e. Duke of Denmark), possibly referring to exclusive possession of the duchy of Schleswig, opposing to the shared dominion in Denmark.
Canute II c.1110
Third son of Prince Henry of Denmark and Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter
1157 – 12 March 1162 Duchy of Schleswig Unmarried 12 March 1162
aged 51-52
Boris c.1110
Fourth son of Prince Henry of Denmark and Ingrid Ragnvaldsdotter
12 March 1162 – 1167 Duchy of Schleswig 1167
aged 56-57
Christopher   1150
Illegitimate son of Valdemar I
1167 – 1173 Duchy of Schleswig Unmarried 1173
aged 22-23
Direct rule by Denmark (1173-1183)
Valdemar II the Victorious
 
9 May 1170
Ribe
Son of Valdemar I and Sophia of Minsk
1183–1232 Duchy of Schleswig Dagmar of Bohemia
1205
one son

Berengaria of Portugal
1214
four children
28 March 1241
Vordingborg
aged 70
Titled dux slesvicensis[4] (i.e. Sleswickian duke), represented by the regent Bishop Valdemar Knudsen (1182–1193), Valdemar II became Danish king in 1202. He associated his elder children to the government.
Valdemar (III) the Young
 
c.1209
Son of Valdemar II and Dagmar of Bohemia
1209–1218 Eleanor of Portugal
24 June 1229
Ribe Cathedral
one child
28 November 1231
Refsnæs, near Kalundborg
aged 21-22
Eric (I) Ploughpenny
 
c.1216
First son of Valdemar II and Berengaria of Portugal
1218–1232 Jutta of Saxony
17 November 1239
six children
9 August 1250
near Gottorf Castle
aged 33-34
Abel
 
c.1218
Second son of Valdemar II and Berengaria of Portugal
1232 – 29 June 1252 Duchy of Schleswig Matilda of Holstein
25 April 1237
Schleswig Cathedral
four children
29 June 1252
Eiderstedt
aged 33-34
Supported by the counts of Holstein, he became the first ruler of what can be considered a semi-independent Schleswig. Also king of Denmark from 1250.
Valdemar III c.1238
First son of Abel and Matilda of Holstein
29 June 1252 – 1257 Duchy of Schleswig Unmarried c.1257
aged 18-19
Eric I
 
c.1242
Second son of Abel and Matilda of Holstein
1257[5] – 27 May 1272 Duchy of Schleswig Margaret of Rugen
1259 or 1260
three children
27 May 1272
aged 29-30
Brothers of Valdemar III, divided their inheritance.
Abel 1252
Third son of Abel and Matilda of Holstein
1257 – 2 April 1279 Duchy of Schleswig
(at Langeland)
A daughter of Gunzelin III, Count of Schwerin
no children
2 April 1279
aged 26-27
Langeland reabsorbed in Schleswig
Valdemar IV c.1265
First son of Eric I and Margaret of Rugen
27 May 1272[6] – 7 July 1312 Duchy of Schleswig Elisabeth of Saxe-Lauenburg
1287
one child

Anastasia of Schwerin
1306
no children
7 July 1312
aged 46-47
Children of Eric I, divided their inheritance in 1293.
Eric Long-Legs 1272
Second son of Eric I and Margaret of Rugen
1293 – 1310 Duchy of Schleswig
(at Langeland)
Sophia of Querfurt-Rosenberg
no children
1310
aged 37-38
Langeland reabsorbed in Schleswig
Eric II c.1290
Son of Valdemar IV and Elisabeth of Saxe-Lauenburg
7 July 1312 – 12 March 1325 Duchy of Schleswig Adelaide of Holstein-Rendsburg
1313
two children
12 March 1325
aged 34-35
Regency of Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1325-1326) Under regency of their uncle, divided their inheritance. In 1326, Valdemar became king of Denmark, while his regent maed himself the Duke of Schleswig. In 1330 Valdemar returned to his position as Duke. In 1340 Helvig married the King of Denmark.
Valdemar V
 
c.1314
Son of Eric II and Adelaide of Holstein-Rendsburg
12 March 1325 – 1326

1330–1364
Duchy of Schleswig
(at 3/4 of Schleswig)
Richardis of Schwerin
c.1329?
two children
c.1364
Helvig
 
1320
Daughter of Eric II and Adelaide of Holstein-Rendsburg
12 March 1325 – 1374 Duchy of Schleswig
(at 1/4 of Schleswig)
Valdemar IV of Denmark
1340
Sønderborg Castle
six children
1374
Esrum Abbey
aged 37-38
3/4 Schleswig briefly annexed to Schauenburg control (1326-1330); 1/4 Schleswig to Denmark
Henry I c.1342
Son of Valdemar V and Richardis of Schwerin
1364 – August 1375 Duchy of Schleswig
(at 3/4 Schleswig)
Kunigunde
no children
August 1375
aged 32-33
Ruler Born Reign Ruling part Consort Death Notes
Gerhard I the Great
 
1292
Son of Henry I, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg and Heilwig of Bronckhorst
1326 – 1330 Duchy of Schleswig Sophia of Werle
1315
four children
1 April 1340
Randers
aged 47-48
Profited from his regency to decome Duke of Schleswig. Eventually abdicated in 1330.
Schleswig returned to Estridsen domain (1330-75)
Henry II of Iron
 
1317
First son of Gerhard I and Sophia of Werle
August 1375 – 1384 Duchy of Schleswig Matilda of Lippe
one child

Ingeborg of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
before 1374
four children
1384 Nicholas and Henry ruled jointly as sons of Gerhard III. In 1375 they inherited the Duchy of Schleswig from the House of Estridsen. In 1384, with the death of his brother, Nicholas associated his nephews (Gerhard and Albert, sons of Henry) to power. In 1386 he abdicated of Schleswig to his older nephew Gerhard, who assumed alone this lands.
Nicholas I
 
1321
Second son of Gerhard I and Sophia of Werle
August 1375 – 1386 8 May 1397 Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg
1354
one child
Gerhard II
 
1367
Son of Henry I and Ingeborg of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
1386 – 5 August 1404 Duchy of Schleswig Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg
1390
six children
5 August 1404
Dithmarschen
aged 36-37
After the abdication of Nicholas in Schleswig, Gerhard took over the duchy, and assumed Holstein-Rendsburg only after the former's death in 1397.
Regency of Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Henry III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg and Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück (1404–1413) Died without descendants. Passed the land to his brothers.
Henry II 1397
First son of Gerhard II and Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg
5 August 1404 – 28 May 1427 Duchy of Schleswig Unmarried 28 May 1427
Flensburg
aged 29-30
Adolph
 
1401
Second son of Gerhard II and Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg
28 May 1427 – 4 December 1459 Duchy of Schleswig Matilda
before 1433
no children

Margareta of Mansfeld
1433
no children
4 December 1459
Bad Segeberg
aged 57-58
Sons of Gerhard II, ruled jointly in Holstein-Rendsburg. As Gerhard also wanted to rule in Schleswig he claimed (unsuccessfully) this duchy for himself against his brother. Adolph was the mightiest vassal of Danish crown at his time, gaining royal Danish recognition in 1440. After Adolph's death his patrimony is annexed by Denmark.
Gerhard III
 
1404
Third son of Gerhard II and Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg
28 May 1427 – 24 July 1433 Agnes of Baden
2 June 1432
Baden
ten children
24 July 1433
Emmerich am Rhein
aged 28-29
Rendsburg and Schleswig were annexed to Denmark; with the Rendsburg patrimony the Danish formed the Duchy of Holstein

Under domain of Oldenburg

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In 1459, after the annexation of both Schleswig and Holstein, Christian I of Denmark created two separate states: the Duchy of Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, to be ruled by two different branches of the House of Oldenburg over the next few centuries. In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein became an occupied territory of the German Confederation and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Esben Albrectsen, "Das Abel-Geschlecht und die Schauenburger als Herzöge von Schleswig", Marion Hartwig and Frauke Witte (trls.), in: Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [De slevigske hertuger; German], Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 52–71, here p. 52. ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
  2. ^ Second rule not as Duke, but as King ruling over Schleswig.
  3. ^ "Albrectsen 2008 p. 52"
  4. ^ "Albrectsen 2008 p. 52"
  5. ^ Christopher I of Denmark recognised him as ruler only in 1260.
  6. ^ Eric V of Denmark recognised him as ruler only in 1283.