The key to the Limfjord.
Aalborg grew up in the late 900s at the mouth of the Østerå and struck coins in the early 1000s. When the Limfjord's western mouth silted up and closed around 1100, all traffic into and out of the fjord had to pass Aalborg on the east, and the town came to control the whole Limfjord trade, living above all on the rich herring fishery of the fjord (danmarkshistorien; Trap). It has two main churches: St Budolfi, rebuilt in dressed stone around the mid-1100s, and Vor Frue, built just after 1100, which served both as a parish church and as the church of a nunnery (Benedictine or Augustinian).
From about 1200 the town grew into one of the largest in Denmark (Trap).
Who holds it
- Name
- King Canute VI (his officer not named)
- Title
- town lord
- Since
- 1182
- Confidence
- medium
danmarkshistorien and Trap Danmark (Aalborg)
Lord in 1200
The king, who probably had a royal farm in the town from early on (Trap, undated); the royal mill (Gammel Mølle), listed in the 1231 land book, existed from about 1200 at the latest. The town lies in the diocese of Børglum (Church map).
How things stand that morning
The king's town at the gate of the Limfjord, at peace and growing.
Charter
Unknown: the earliest known privileges are of 1342.
Council
None known for 1200. A St Canute's guild existed in the 1200s (Trap), date of origin not known.
Communities
Danish townsmen and fishermen.
Fairs and markets
Not pinned for 1200.
Walls and castle
None known for 1200. Aalborghus is of about 1300 or later; the oldest excavated quay is of 1249-50.
Trade and crafts
Limfjord herring; the Limfjord passage trade; corn and cattle of Himmerland and Vendsyssel.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Trap Danmark is good on the churches and the fjord; the town's officers in 1200 are not named.
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.