Eric V of Denmark has tried to…
1286 CE
Eric V of Denmark has tried to enforce his power over the church and nobility.
Eric in the 1270s had attacked Småland.
His conflict with the church was brought to a satisfying result with the help of the pope.
He had so offended the nobles throughout Denmark by 1282 that he was forced to accept a charter (Danish: håndfæstning—a kind of a Danish Magna Carta) which limits his authority and guarantees the ancient rights and customs that preserve the power of the nobles.
Legend has it that several nobles swore an oath that they would murder Eric in revenge for personal slights or policies the king enforced that they didn't like.
Chief among the conspirators is Marshal (Danish: marsk) Stig Andersen Hvide and Jacob Nielsen, Count of Halland.
They pay Rane Jonsen, one of the king's companions, to keep them informed as to the king's activities, in order to fulfill their oath.
November 1286 finds the king at Viborg, in central Jutland.
After a long day's hunt in the countryside led by Rane Jonsen, the king and a few attendants cannot find their way back to the king's farm at Viborg.
Rane suggests that they take shelter for the night of November 22, 1286, in the church barn in the village of Finderup.
The assassins, dressed as Franciscan monks, are kept informed as to the kings' whereabouts and wait for everyone to settle down for the night.
Once the king falls asleep, they rush from their hiding places and stab and hack the king to death.
Tradition has it that he received fifty-six stab wounds.