Abel, King of Denmark

Abel Valdemarsen was born around 1218, son of Valdemar II and Berengaria of Portugal, and became Duke of Schleswig in 1232. His relationship with his older brother, King Eric IV, soured into open conflict, and when Eric was murdered in 1250, suspicion fell directly on Abel. He took an oath denying involvement, cleared himself by medieval standards, and was elected king that same year. His reign proved the shortest of any Danish monarch since the 9th century: in 1252, barely two years in, he was killed during a military expedition in Frisia. The duchy passed to his descendants, who ruled Schles…