Valdemar IV Atterdag (1320?-1375) was king of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. His name is sometimes spelled Waldemar. He was called atterdag, which means return of day, because he reunited Denmark after one hundred years of internal conflict and decline.
Valdemar spent most of his early life at the court of Ludwig IV, ruler of the German-based Holy Roman Empire. Meanwhile, Count Gerhard of Holstein and other nobles, who were mainly Germans, gained control over most of Denmark’s royal lands and castles in return for loans. When Valdemar’s father, Christopher II, died in 1332, the nobles refused to recognize anyone as king. They ruled harshly, and chaos grew. In 1340, a Danish soldier assassinated Count Gerhard. Hoping a king might restore order, some of the nobles asked Valdemar to return.
Valdemar regained control over Danish territory by paying off the crown’s debts to some nobles and conquering others. In 1346, he raised money by selling his claim to Estonia, which the Danes had partially conquered in the 1200’s. Even though the plague struck Denmark in 1349, Valdemar continued to rebuild the kingdom and strengthen the monarchy.
In 1360, Valdemar took back Skåne and other lands at the southern tip of what is now Sweden. The lands had been sold to Sweden in 1332 by one of the nobles then running Denmark. In 1361, Valdemar seized the Swedish island of Gotland. Alarmed by Valdemar’s growing strength, Sweden and powerful German cities, such as Lübeck, attacked in the 1360’s. Denmark lost some profitable trading rights but remained strong and united. Valdemar died on Oct. 24, 1375.
