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- Knud Lavard, meaning "Canute the Lord,", (c. 1090 - 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince and Earl, later Duke of Schleswig. He was married to Ingeborg, daughter of Mstislav of Kiev.
They had four children:
1. Valdemar I of Denmark.
2. Margaret, married to Stig Hvitaledr.
3. Christina (b. 1118), married in 1133 to Magnus IV of Norway.
4. Catherine, married circa 1159 to Pribislav Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg.
Knud was the only legitimate son of Eric I of Denmark and Bodil Thorgunnasdatter 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 Knud's recognition by the emperor. On January 7, 1131, Knud was trapped in the forest of Haraldsted near Ringsted in Zealand and murdered. Some sources attribute the murder to Magnus, some to Niels himself. The murder provoked a civil war that intermittently lasted until 1157, ending only with the triumph of Knud's posthumous son Valdemar I. The fate of Knud and his son's victory formed the perfect background for his canonisation in 1170, which was requested by his son Valdemar. His feast day is celebrated on the day of his death, January 7.
Knud Lavard is the ancestor of the "Valdemarian" kings and of their subsequent royal line. He was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position leading to the historical double position of South Jutland.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 21 July 2015.
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1096 - 1131 (35 år)
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