Valdemar I gave his foster brother Absalon the harbour village of Havn on the Øresund with the land belonging to it, and from about 1167 Absalon built a ring-walled castle on a holm offshore against Wendish pirates.
Urban III confirmed the gift in 1186, naming the castle, the town and nearby villages, and fixed that all of it would pass to the see of Roskilde when Absalon died. On 1 January 1200 Havn is a small, busy herring and trading town with an old archbishop as its private lord and the see of Roskilde as its heir.
Who holds it
- Name
- Absalon
- Title
- Lord of Havn, holding it in person (he is archbishop of Lund)
- Since
- royal gift of Valdemar I (1157 in one account, 1167 in others); confirmed by the pope in 1186
- Confidence
- high
Absalon holds Havn as his own property, not as archbishop. Urban III's letter of 1186 confirmed the king's gift and laid down that on Absalon's death castle and town go to the bishopric of Roskilde. The bishop of Roskilde on 1 January 1200 is his kinsman Peder Sunesen (bishop since 1191), who is building the new brick cathedral at Roskilde in the French manner and becomes royal chancellor about 1201.
What it holds
- The castle on Slotsholmen (then Strandholmen), begun about 1167, with two square towers and a ring wall
- The town of Havn, between today's Town Hall Square and Gammeltorv-Nytorv
- Villages named in the 1186 papal letter, among them Solbjerg, Valby, and a farm in Brønshøj held under the manor of Utterslev
- The landing places of the Øresund herring fishery by the town (the dues are not pinned for 1200; the town law of 1254 taxes seasonal fishermen)
How it was acquired
Royal gift of Valdemar I to Absalon, confirmed by Urban III in 1186 with reversion to Roskilde; repeated in Absalon's will of 1201.
How things stand that morning
Held by Absalon in person and in peace. The castle guards the Sound crossing and the herring grounds; the town is still small.
Wealth
Herring: Havn grew up as a landing and trading place of the great Øresund herring fishery. A harbour and market on the Sound, and rents from the villages named in 1186.
Threats
- Absalon's age: the reversion to Roskilde in 1201 will make the town a prize between bishop and crown
- Wendish piracy, much reduced since the Danish conquests on the south Baltic coast
Advocates and rivals
No advocate. The crown gave the town and will want it back: after the see inherits it in 1201, kings and bishops of Roskilde dispute Copenhagen for two centuries (Christopher I occupies it briefly in 1259; Erik of Pomerania takes it in 1416).
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 21 March 1201Absalon dies at Sorø. Under the 1186 papal letter and his will, castle and town pass to the bishop of Roskilde, Peder Sunesen.Depends on: Absalon's natural death and the crown accepting the reversion. Stopped by: A king seizing Havn, as Christopher I briefly did in 1259; nothing points to it under Knud VI.
Places of note
- Absalon's castle: Ring-walled castle on Slotsholmen, begun about 1167
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 1186 papal letter is the backbone (Lex, Ingeniøren, local-history works quoting it). Its full list of villages was not read here; Solbjerg, Valby and a farm in Brønshøj are cited from it. The date of the gift varies between accounts (1157 or 1167). The extent of the land belonging to the castle is not pinned.
On the map: Modern Copenhagen municipality also takes in the north of Amager, which is not attested as Absalon's; the castle's land in 1200 is not pinned.
Primary sources for Denmark
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Danish annals of Lund, Ryd and other houses (12th and 13th centuries; Lund continued to 1307, Ryd to 1288). Short dated entries from Lund, the archbishop's seat, and from Ryd in Schleswig. Read online
- Annals of Stade, by Albert of Stade, Albert of Stade (about 1240 to 1256). A world chronicle written at Stade in the 1240s from older Stade and Bremen annals. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Helmold of Bosau, Helmold of Bosau (about 1167 to 1172). Background only. Read online
- The Icelandic annals to 1578 (compiled from the late 13th century onward from older notes). Year-by-year notices that fix Icelandic chronology. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- Deeds of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus (about 1185 to 1208). Saxo was writing at Lund in 1200 under Absalon, who died in March 1201, and his last books are an insider's history of Valdemar I and Knud VI to 1185: the Wendish wars, the taking of Rügen, the submission of Pomerania in 1185, the Danish fleet, Absalon's power and the Danish quarrel with the Empire. Read online
- Short history of the kings of Denmark; The Law of the Retainers, Sven Aggesen (about 1185 to 1188). A short Latin history of the Danish kings to Knud VI's Pomeranian victory of 1185, with the Lex castrensis, Sven's version of the law of the royal household. Read online
11 more in the sources library for Scandinavia.
Sources and studies
- København: historie (lex.dk)
- Københavns Slot (lex.dk)
- Absalon's Castle (en.wikipedia)
- Helten der grundlagde København (Ingeniøren)
- Brønshøj (lex.dk)
- Fra landsby til storby (Frederiksberg Stadsarkiv)
- Claus M. Smidt, Christiansborg Slot / Københavns Slot (Historisk Tidsskrift)
- The early history of Copenhagen (medieval.eu)
- Ancient Diocese of Roskilde (en.wikipedia)
- Peder Sunesen (lex.dk)
- Absalon (en.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.