Funen has no duke and no great lay lord on record for 1200: the king rules it through his castle and his officers, beside the bishop of Odense and the Benedictine monks of St Canute (Church map).
The king's stronghold is the new castle at Nyborg on the Great Belt, built in the late 1100s as a ring wall with round corner towers, a hall (palatium) along the west wall and a strong tower in the east wall (lex.dk); a town is only beginning beside it about 1200. Odense, the old gathering place of all Funen and the seat of its landsting, holds the shrine of the royal saint Canute IV, canonised in 1100-01, and kings often stayed there (danmarkshistorien). Langeland, raided by the Wends in the 1100s (its people fled to the refuge forts of Borrebjerg and Guldborg), has had peace since the Valdemars broke the Wendish raiders (lex.dk); its later royal castle of Tranekær is of the 1200s.
Who held Langeland, Ærø and Samsø on 1 January 1200 is not pinned: Langeland's Tranekær and Ærø were later held by the dukes of South Jutland, and most small islands of the Belts appear as royal hunting islands in the land book of 1231.
Who he is
- Name
- Canute VI
- Title
- king of the Danes and the Wends
- Since
- 1182
- Born
- about 1163
- Family
- see The king in North Jutland and the realm record (dkz)
- Confidence
- medium
lex.dk Nyborg Slot and Langeland; danmarkshistorien Odense and Nyborg; Trap Danmark Odenses historie
What it holds
- Nyborg castle on the Great Belt (late 1100s), with the young settlement beside it
- the king's rights in Odense (royal stays, market dues) beside the bishop's and the monks'
- the royal estates (kongelev) on Funen, run by bryder and ombudsmænd (not named for 1200)
- the levy (leding) of Funen
- Langeland (holder in 1200 not pinned; the Langeland landsting later met at Rudkøbing)
- Ærø (holder in 1200 not pinned; later the duke's)
- Samsø (holder in 1200 not pinned)
- the small islands of the Little Belt and the South Funen archipelago (royal hunting islands in the 1231 island list; in 1200 not pinned)
How it was acquired
With the kingship.
Allies and rivals
The bishop of Odense and the monks of St Canute (Church map). No lay rival on Funen is known.
How things stand that morning
Quiet. The keeper of Nyborg and the king's officers on Funen are not named for that winter.
Wealth
The royal estates of Funen, a rich farming island; the market dues of Odense; the Great Belt crossing to Zealand by Nyborg (the Korsør ferry is not dated). No figures.
Military
Nyborg castle; the Funen leding ships. The Wendish raids that once emptied the coasts are over.
Threats
- none pressing; Wendish raids on the islands belong to the 1100s
Places of note
- Nyborg castle: the king's castle on the Great Belt, late 1100s
- Odense: St Canute's shrine; the landsting of Funen
- Rudkøbing: later seat of the Langeland landsting
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Nyborg castle's date is archaeological ('late 1100s'); no royal officer on Funen is named for 1200; the holders of Langeland, Ærø and Samsø are known only from later evidence.
On the map: Only the castle is drawn. Funen and the islands are the king's realm; the king's estates there are not mapped for 1200.
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
- Den Store Danske (lex.dk): Nyborg Slot
- Danmarkshistorien (lex.dk): Nyborg
- Danmarkshistorien (lex.dk): Odense
- Trap Danmark (lex.dk): Odenses historie
- Den Store Danske (lex.dk): Langeland
- Den Store Danske (lex.dk): Kong Valdemars Jordebog
- Den Store Danske (lex.dk): landsting
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.