In 1272 died Eric, duke of Sleswic—an event which again disturbed the tranquillity of the country. He left two sons, Valdemar and Eric, both minors. To the guardianship a claim was put in by the king, and another by the counts of Holstein. Both parties flew to arms, and at first the counts had the advantage; but seeing the royal forces augmented, they consented to resign the trust into the royal hands, on the condition of his investing the eldest with the duchy when arrived at the due age. Eric now celebrated his marriage with Agnes of Brandenburg; and he had also the satisfaction to see the convocation of a general council, (that of Lyons, 1274,) destined to remove the interdict from his kingdom. He was, however, enjoined not merely to receive the primate into his friendship, but to pay him 15,000 marks by way of indemnification. This may appear a large sum, and it has been censured by historians. They forget, however, to tell us that during the long absence of the archbishop, he had been receiving the revenues of the see—an amount many times greater than the indemnification. The following year (1275), a national council held at Lund finished the work of reconciling the king with the church. [Sidenote: 1280 to 1286.] But if Eric was thus at peace with his spiritual, he was often in disputes with his temporal, barons, on whose rights he was always ready to encroach. Notwithstanding his treaty with the counts of Holstein, he endeavoured to evade the investiture of Sleswic in favour of Valdemar. Both parties, however, were equally to blame; for when Valdemar was invested, he claimed other domains in Frisia, on the plea that they belonged to his paternal uncle. When this was refused, he leagued himself with the enemies of Denmark: the plot was discovered, and he was imprisoned while at Eric’s court. But his detention was of short duration; and at the intercession of his allies, he was enlarged, after subscribing some conditions which more clearly established the authority of the crown over the fief. Still, if one enemy was vanquished, others remained, and to some of them, or rather to his own vices, the king fell a victim. To the count of Halland he had been oppressive: he had deprived him of his domains, and if report were true, dishonoured the wife during the husband’s absence. Revenge was sworn, and the oath was kept. One night, after hunting, he was murdered asleep at a rural village in Jutland. The king’s chamberlain was privy to the design: it was he who guided the assassins (all in masks) to the bed. They subsequently fled to Norway, by the king of which they were protected against the vengeance of Eric’s family.