Blekinge is the rocky, wooded coast between Scania and the Swedish land of Möre, ending at the Brömsebäck brook.
It belongs to the diocese of Lund and the Scanian law and is ruled by the king's officers through its herreder (later Lister, Bräkne, Medelstad and Östra). Its people live by fishing, cattle and the forest; the sea road from Scania to Kalmar and Gotland runs along its skerries. No lord, castle or town of note is attested for 1200: the towns of Sölvesborg and Ronneby and the royal castles of Blekinge are later (dates not pinned in the sources read).
Who he is
- Name
- Canute VI (Knud VI)
- Title
- king of the Danes and of the Wends
- Since
- sole king since 12 May 1182
- Born
- 1162 or about 1163
- Family
- see Denmark
- Confidence
- medium
DBL Knud 6.; en.wikipedia Canute VI
What it holds
- the herreder of Blekinge with their courts and levy
- royal rights on the coast and skerries
- crown estates (not pinned for 1200)
How it was acquired
Danish since the 11th century (Wulfstan, about 890, still counted it as Swedish).
Allies and rivals
The Swedish land of Möre across the Brömsebäck and Värend to the north, friendly under Sverker II.
How things stand that morning
The king's, quiet. No officer is named.
Wealth
Fish, timber, cattle; the coastal sea road.
Military
No castle attested for 1200; the Blekinge ship districts of the levy.
Threats
- raiders from the eastern Baltic (none recorded for 1199)
Places of note
- Ronneby: later the chief town; a trading place by the river mouth (not a chartered town in 1200)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Blekinge's Danish allegiance is certain; nothing specific is recorded for 1200 in the sources read.
On the map: The outline follows the later province and shares its northern vertices with the Swedish researcher's Värend and Möre lines (sws); the forest frontier with Småland in 1200 is drawn on the later line, ending at the Brömsebäck.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.