Fehmarn, once Slav (Wagrian) and a raiders' base, belongs to the Danish church of Odense since 1022 and appears in the Danish king's Census Book before 1230 with villages of the new settlement.
From about 1200 settlers come from Holstein, Dithmarschen, Frisia, Lower Saxony and Denmark, and the first churches (Burg, Petersdorf, Landkirchen, Bannesdorf) are built between 1200 and 1250. On 1 January 1200 the island is taken here as Danish crown ground, but whether the king, the duke of Schleswig or a royal officer holds it is not pinned, and the Holstein counts' claim through Wagria is possible.
Who he is
- Name
- Canute VI (presumed; no holder pinned for 1200)
- Title
- king of the Danes
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- about 1163
- Family
- see Denmark
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Fehmarn; Rhineland map Denmark ('Fehmarn's lord is not pinned')
What it holds
- the island of Fehmarn
How it was acquired
Not pinned (Danish by the Census Book, before 1230).
Allies and rivals
Holstein across the Fehmarn Sound.
How things stand that morning
Danish (not pinned); settlement beginning.
Wealth
Grain, fishing, the Fehmarn Belt crossing.
Threats
- Adolf III of Holstein across the sound
Where the sources disagree
- The brief counts Fehmarn as Danish; de.wikipedia Fehmarn gives no Danish secular lord before the Census Book, and the Rhineland map leaves its lord not pinned.
Evidence: Only general statements; no record of 1200.
On the map: The whole island.
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.