King Eric V of Denmark
King Eric V never had a strong hold on his throne. He was just ten years old when he took the throne after the murder of his father. Until he was old enough to rule on his own, he ruled under the auspices of his mother Queen Dowager Margaret Sambiria. She had to fight powerful enemies in order to ensure that her son would remain in power.
Chief Jarimar II raised an army and invaded Zealand as a challenge to the Queen in 1259, the year of her husband’s death. She was defeated and Chief Jarimar II would also pillage Copenhagen later that same year. He meant to continue his campaign but instead met his end after incurring the wrath of a farmer’s wife, which caused his army to flee towards home. Other rebellions and attacks on the throne led to the Queen having to cede other territories and holdings, but despite this her son still remained on the throne as he entered adulthood.
The death of King Eric V remains a bit of a mystery. There are rumors of a group of nobles willing to do whatever it took to make the King pay for slights against them or policy decisions they disagreed with. Marshal Stig Anderson Hvide and Jacob Nielsen were among the chief conspirators and they paid one of the King’s closest companions to keep them informed of his whereabouts so that they might seek their revenge.
After a long hunt on November 22, 1286, King Eric V and his men took shelter in a church barn in Finderup. A group of assassins dressed up at Franciscan monks and attacked the King as he slept. They hacked him to pieces and the bloody corpse was found the following morning. It is still not clear who was responsible but the court blamed Marshal Stig Anderson Hvide and Count Jacob Nielsen. Both men were outlawed, forcing Stig to turn to piracy.