Eric III of Denmark

Eric III Lamb (c. 1120–1146) was the son of Ragnhild, a daughter of Eric I. He fought for his uncle Eric II at Fotevik in 1134 and took the throne after his murder in 1137. His cousin Olaf Haraldsen seized Scania in 1139, but Eric defeated and slew him near Helsingborg in 1141.

Wendish raids went largely unanswered under him, while he richly favoured the Church, especially Odense's St Canute's Abbey. In 1146 he became the first Danish king to abdicate voluntarily, retiring to the abbey, where he died.