Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg
Queen of Denmark
Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg (c. 1300 – before 1340) was the regent of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg during the minority of her son from 1321 until 1330. She was by two consecutive marriages, duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg and queen of Denmark by marriage (1330–1331) to Eric Christoffersen, son of Christopher II of Denmark.
Life
A member of the House of Schauenburg, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry I, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, and Heilwig of Bronckhorst. Her first husband was John II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, whom she married in c. 1315. Elizabeth gave birth to a son who succeeded her husband as Albert IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, but she ruled the duchy as regent due to his minority.
In 1330, Duchess Elizabeth married Eric, junior king of Denmark, the son of her brother Gerhard's enemy, King Christopher II of Denmark. The couple had no children and the marriage was dissolved the next year. Her former husband died in war with Holstein in 1332.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg” is queen of Denmark. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Elizabeth, Holstein-Rendsburg and Queen, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “queen of Denmark” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4946401. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1300, 1340, 1321 and 1330.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg primary sources, Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg archive and Elizabeth research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.