Canute V of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Canute V of Denmark ( – 9 August 1157) was a Swedish prince and King of Denmark from 1146 to 1157, as co-regent in shifting alliances with his Sweyn III
Sweyn III of Denmark
Sweyn III Grathe was the King of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I. In 1157, the three agreed a tripartition of Denmark...
and Valdemar I
Valdemar I of Denmark
Valdemar I of Denmark , also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182.-Biography:...
. Canute was killed at the so-called Bloodfeast of Roskilde in 1157. Nothing certain is known about his person and character.
Biography
Canute was born around 1129, the son of King NielsNiels of Denmark
Niels of Denmark was King of Denmark from 1104 to 1134, following his brother Eric Evergood, and is presumed to have been the youngest son of king Sweyn II Estridson. Niels actively supported the canonization of Canute IV the Holy, and his secular rule was supported by the clergy...
' son Magnus I of Sweden
Magnus I of Sweden
Magnus I of Sweden, son of Nicholas , later called Magnus the Strong , was a Danish duke who ruled Gothenland in southern Sweden from 1125 to 1130...
. After the abdication of Eric III
Eric III of Denmark
Eric III Lamb was the King of Denmark from 1137 until 1146. He was the grandson of Eric I of Denmark and the nephew of Eric II of Denmark, whom he succeeded on the throne. He abdicated in 1146, as the first and only Danish monarch to do so. His succession led to a period of civil war between...
in 1146, the magnates of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
declared Canute king, while the magnates of Zealand and Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
crowned Sweyn III
Sweyn III of Denmark
Sweyn III Grathe was the King of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I. In 1157, the three agreed a tripartition of Denmark...
, the nephew of Canute Lavard
Canute Lavard
Canute Lavard was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position leafing towards the historical double position of Southern Jutland...
who Magnus had killed in 1131.
In the following years, Canute tried in vain to defeat Sweyn III on Zealand for complete control over Denmark. In 1147, Canute and Sweyn united to undertake the Wendish Crusade
Wendish Crusade
The Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
, which however ended in the re-ignition of their strife. Sweyn and his cousin Duke Valdemar, the son of Canute Lavard, defeated Canute in Jutland in 1150, and Canute fled to his father-in-law Sverker I of Sweden
Sverker I of Sweden
Sverker I or Sverker the Elder was King of Sweden from about 1130 till his death.-Biography:Sverker was a mighty landowner from Östergötland...
. Canute attempted a number of reconquests, all of them unsuccessful, and turned to Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
for help. The resulting compromise of 1152, which was supported by Valdemar, made Canute the inferior co-regent of Sweyn. However, Sweyn decided not to effectuate the deal
Canute now formed an alliance with Valdemar and Sverker, whose daughter Helena of Sweden
Helena of Sweden
Helena Sverkersdotter of Sweden, , was a medieval Swedish princess and Danish queen, Queen consort of King Canute V of Denmark.-Biography:Helena, or Elin as she was also called, was born daughter of King Sverker I of Sweden...
Canute was to marry. Sweyn fled Denmark in 1154, and Canute struck a deal with Valdemar, making him his co-ruler under the name Valdemar I
Valdemar I of Denmark
Valdemar I of Denmark , also known as Valdemar the Great, was King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182.-Biography:...
. Canute was an inferior king to Valdemar, and after Sweyn's re-entry into Denmark, a final compromise was struck in 1157, under pressure from the Danish magnates. Sweyn, Canute, and Valdemar were set up as co-rulers, with Canute ruling Zealand. During the peace banquet in Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
on August 9, 1157, later known as the Bloodfeast of Roskilde, Sweyn attempted to kill both Canute and Valdemar. Canute was allegedly killed by one of Sweyn's warriors.
Canute's half-sister Sofia of Minsk
Sofia of Minsk
Sophia of Minsk was a Danish mediaeval queen consort as the spouse of King Valdemar I of Denmark, and later a landgravine of Thuringia.-Biography:...
married Valdemar, who avenged him the same year by killing Sweyn at the Battle of Grathe Heath
Battle of Grathe Heath
The Battle of Grathe Heath was fought in 1157 between the Danish armies of Valdemar I and his rival for the Danish throne, Sweyn III. Valdemar's forces won the battle, and Sweyn III was slain while attempting to flee.-Background to the battle:...
to win Denmark for himself.
Issue
Not more than a year before his death, Canute married Helena of SwedenHelena of Sweden
Helena Sverkersdotter of Sweden, , was a medieval Swedish princess and Danish queen, Queen consort of King Canute V of Denmark.-Biography:Helena, or Elin as she was also called, was born daughter of King Sverker I of Sweden...
, but they had no children. Canute fathered a number of children out of wedlock:
- Saint Niels of AarhusAarhusAarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
(died 1180); he lived as monk - Knud
- ValdemarValdemar of Denmark (bishop)Valdemar Knudsen was a Danish clergyman and statesman. His mother gave birth to him as the posthumous illegitimate son of Canute V of Denmark...
; he was Bishop of Schleswig and Prince-Archbishop of Bremen - Brigitte (or Jutta); she married Bernhard, Count of AnhaltBernhard, Count of AnhaltBernhard, Count of Anhalt was a German prince of the House of Ascania, Count of Anhalt and Ballenstedt, and Lord of Bernburg through his paternal inheritance...
- Hildegard; she married Jaromar I, Prince of RugiaJaromar I, Prince of Rügen-Background:Jaromar was a Ranish nobleman, who was a native of the island of Rügen. Jaromar rose to be ruler of the Principality of Rügen as result of the Danish conquest of Rügen in 1168...
- Ingerd; she married Casimir II, Duke of PomeraniaCasimir II, Duke of PomeraniaCasimir II was the duke of Pomerania-Demmin from 1187 until his death. He was succeeded by Wartislaw III, Casimir's son with princess Ingardis of Denmark....
- Another daughter; she married Bogislaw III of Schlawe