Jutland and Funen had great men who held many farms, built stone churches, led their districts' ships in the levy and spoke at the assemblies, but the sources for the years around 1200 name almost none of them.
Saxo's history ends in 1185, and the surviving charters of Canute VI are witnessed mostly by churchmen and by the Zealand-based Hvide kindred at court (dkz). The one Jutland landholding kin that can be traced is a Hvide branch: Peder Vognsen, bishop of Aarhus since 1191, son of Ingegerd of Pedersborg and a cousin's son of Archbishop Absalon, owned much land on Zealand and in Jutland, including four churches, and used it to endow his cathedral chapter (DBL); his brother Skjalm Vognsen follows him as bishop in 1204. Both are churchmen (Church map).
The king's land book of about 1231 lists 'brethren' in groups of three great men spread over the kingdom, perhaps a brotherhood of the king's household (lex.dk): later evidence. Any name the campaign gives a Jutland or Funen magnate for 1200 is his own.
Who he is
- Name
- not pinned: no lay magnate of Jutland or Funen is named for 1 January 1200 in the sources used
- Title
- landholding great men and their kindreds
- Confidence
- low
DBL (Valdemar 2. Sejr, Knud 6., Peder Vognsen); lex.dk Kong Valdemars Jordebog
Overlord
the king (in South Jutland, the duke)
What it holds
- their own farms and churches, scattered through the herreder (not mapped)
How it was acquired
By inheritance and royal service.
How things stand that morning
Not pinned. No rising or feud of Jutland or Funen magnates is recorded for the winter of 1199-1200.
Wealth
Farms, cattle and horses; the export trade through Ribe. No figures.
Military
They led their districts' ships and men in the levy (leding); no names or numbers for 1199-1200.
Where the sources disagree
- The brief asks for the great men and kindreds of Jutland and Funen; the sources used are silent on lay names for 1200.
Evidence: A gap in the evidence, not an absence of great men.
On the map: Nothing drawn.
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
- Dansk Biografisk Leksikon: Peder Vognsen
- Dansk Biografisk Leksikon: Knud 6.
- Den Store Danske (lex.dk): Kong Valdemars Jordebog
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.