Treaty of Ribe an impossible task of raising 100,000 silver marks to redeem his country. Denmark had effectively been dissolved and the country was left without a king between 1332 and 1340. In 1340, King Valdemar IV of Denmark began a more-than-twenty-year-long struggle to reclaim his father's kingdom. Although eventually succeeding in regaining control of Zealand, Funen, Jutland, and the Scanian lands, he failed to obtain control of Schleswig, whose ducal House of Estridsen managed to continue its virtual independence. To gain influence over the province, Valdemar married Helvig of Schleswig, the only daughter of Duke Eric II of Schleswig. In 1372, he
Nordic round churches are only accessible by narrow passages and served the local people as a refuge against pirate raids. The other three Danish round churches are located in Jutland and on the islands of Funen and Zealand. They are united by their lack of strengthened outer walls. They have vaulted roofs which are supported by four central pillars and are referred to as "Absalon Round churches". The name derives from the archbishop Absalon of Lund, a member of the Zealand noble and ecclesiastical family of Hvide. All three structures have the same floor plan, which derives from the former round church of