Canute Lavard

Canute Lavard (meaning "Canute the Lord," Danish: Knud Lavard) (c. 1090 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince and Earl, later Duke of Schleswig.

Canute was the only legitimate son of Eric I of Denmark and as a minor he was bypassed in the election of 1104. He grew up in close contact with the noble Zealander family of Hvide, who were later on to be among his most eager supporters. In 1115, his uncle, King Niels, made him Earl of South Jutland (Schleswig) in order to put an end to the attacks of the Slavic Obodrits. During the next fifteen years, he fulfilled his duty, so well establishing peace in the border area that he was elected "King of the Obodrits" and became a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire.

He seems to have been the first member of the Danish royal family who was attracted by the knightly ideals and habits of medieval Germany, indicated by his changing his title to "duke." His appearance made him a popular man and a possible successor of his uncle but he also acquired mighty enemies among the Danish princes and magnates who apparently questioned his loyalty and feared his bond with the Emperor, Lothair III, who had recognized him as sovereign over the western Wends. Whether these suspicions were just or not is impossible to say.

Both Niels' and his son, Magnus the Strong, seem to have been alarmed by Canute's recognition by the emperor. On 7 January 1131, Canute was trapped in the forest of Haraldsted near Ringsted in Zealand and murdered. Some sources attribute the murder to Magnus, some to Neils himself. The murder provoked a civil war that intermittently lasted until 1157, ending only with the triumph of Canute’s posthumous son Valdemar I. The fate of Canute and his son’s victory formed the perfect background for his canonisation in 1170, which was requested by the same Valdemar. His feast day is celebrated on the day of his death, January 7.

Canute Lavard is the ancestor of the "Valdemarian" kings and of their subsequent royal line. He was the first Duke of Schleswig (Slesvig) and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position leafing towards the historical double position of South Jutland.

Canute Lavard was married to Ingeborg, daughter of Mstislav of Kiev. They had four children:

Valdemar I of Denmark
Margaret, married Stig Hvitaledr
Christina (b. 1118), married (1133) Magnus IV of Norway
Catherine, married (c. 1159) Pribislav Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg

References

Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.