The southern Danish islands face the Wendish coast across the Fehmarn Belt and the Gedser channel.
They were the front line of the Wendish raids until the Danish conquests of the 1160s; at the end of the 12th century fortifications were raised on a peninsula on the Guldborgsund against the Wends, the beginning of Nykøbing castle. Much of both islands is crown land, as King Valdemar's Census Book (about 1231) shows; the king's officers on the islands in 1200 are not named in our sources. Only the parts south of the sheet's edge are drawn.
Who he is
- Name
- Canute VI
- Title
- king of the Danes and the Wends
- Since
- sole king 1182
- Born
- about 1163
- Family
- see Denmark (Rhineland map)
- Confidence
- medium
en.wikipedia Canute VI, Nykøbing Falster; Rhineland map Denmark
What it holds
- royal estates on Lolland and Falster
- the fortification on the Guldborgsund (Nykøbing)
- the crossing points to the Wendish coast and Fehmarn
How it was acquired
Old Danish land.
Allies and rivals
See Denmark.
How things stand that morning
Royal; no fighting known on the islands that winter. The islands are the Danish base for the overlordship over Rügen, Pomerania and Mecklenburg.
Wealth
Grain, crown estates, herring.
Military
The Guldborgsund fortification; the levy and ships of the islands.
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.
- 12 November 1202 (after this year)Canute VI dies; Valdemar II succeeds.
Places of note
- Nykøbing: fortification against the Wends on the Guldborgsund
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The royal character of the islands rests on the Census Book of about 1231 (general knowledge); the date of the Nykøbing works is only 'end of the 12th century' (en.wikipedia).
On the map: Cut at the sheet's top edge (54.9 N).
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.