Treaty of Heiligen
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Heiligen was signed at Heiligen in 811
between the Danish
King Hemming and Charlemagne
. Based on the terms of the accord, the southern boundary of Denmark was established at the Eider River
. Moreover, the treaty confirmed the peace established by both signatories in 810
.
Since the days of King Offa
the Eider river had been the border between the settlement area of the Angles
and Saxons
. After Charlemagne had subjected
the Duchy of Saxony
to his rule, Hemming's predecessor and uncle Gudfred
took the chance, crossed the Eider and campaigned the southern lands, which Charles had left to the allied Obotrites. The king however was killed by his retinue in 808 and Hemming, to assure his rule against his rivaling cousins, sought peace with the Franks. His and the Emperor's negotiators met on an island of the Eider in present-day Rendsburg
and defined the limits of their spheres of influence.
Though in the following decades several quarrels occurred in the border area and the German King Henry I conquered Danish Hedeby
at the Danevirke
in 934, the border was confirmed by Canute the Great
and King Conrad II
in 1025 at the betrothal of their children Gunhilda
and Henry III
. For centuries the Eider marked the border between the (South Jutland
) Duchy of Schleswig and Holstein
in the Holy Roman Empire
resp. the German Confederation
. The Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein was ruled by one duke and was not to be split up, the duke had become King of Denmark as well. In the Second Schleswig War of 1864 Prussian
and Austrian
troops crossed the river and annexed Schleswig.
811
Year 811 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :...
between the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
King Hemming and Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. Based on the terms of the accord, the southern boundary of Denmark was established at the Eider River
Eider River
The Eider is the longest river of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Baltic Sea, but flows to the west, ending in the North Sea...
. Moreover, the treaty confirmed the peace established by both signatories in 810
810
Year 810 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* October 1 – A man with a sword makes an attempt on emperor Nicephorus I's life...
.
Since the days of King Offa
Offa of Angel
Offa was the 4th-great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia, and was reputed to be a great-grandson of Woden, English god of war and poetry and creator of Middle-Earth, the realm of man. Offa was the son of Wermund, and the father of Angeltheow...
the Eider river had been the border between the settlement area of the Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
and Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
. After Charlemagne had subjected
Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of disaffected tribesmen was crushed. In all, eighteen battles were fought in what is now northwestern Germany...
the Duchy of Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
to his rule, Hemming's predecessor and uncle Gudfred
Gudfred
King Gudfred was a Danish king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick , Gøtrik , Gudrød , and Godofredus .-Biography:King Gudfred appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the...
took the chance, crossed the Eider and campaigned the southern lands, which Charles had left to the allied Obotrites. The king however was killed by his retinue in 808 and Hemming, to assure his rule against his rivaling cousins, sought peace with the Franks. His and the Emperor's negotiators met on an island of the Eider in present-day Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
and defined the limits of their spheres of influence.
Though in the following decades several quarrels occurred in the border area and the German King Henry I conquered Danish Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
at the Danevirke
Danevirke
The Danevirke The Danevirke The Danevirke (modern Danish spelling: Dannevirke; in Old Norse Danavirki ; in German Danewerk ; is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany). This important linear defensive earthwork was constructed across the neck of the Cimbrian...
in 934, the border was confirmed by Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
and King Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
in 1025 at the betrothal of their children Gunhilda
Gunhilda of Denmark
Gunhilda of Denmark was the first spouse of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor.-Biography:Gunhilda was a daughter of Canute the Great and Emma of Normandy. Her maternal grandparents were Richard I of Normandy and his second wife Gunnora, Duchess of Normandy.She was a sister of Harthacanute. She was a...
and Henry III
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry III , called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors...
. For centuries the Eider marked the border between the (South Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
) Duchy of Schleswig and Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
resp. the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
. The Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein was ruled by one duke and was not to be split up, the duke had become King of Denmark as well. In the Second Schleswig War of 1864 Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
troops crossed the river and annexed Schleswig.