Not yet a town.
By the mid-1100s at the latest a settlement of traders and fishermen had grown up round St Johannis at the inner end of the Flensburg Fjord, in the Husbyharde of Angeln; the parish of St Marien followed further west on the shore in 1170 and St Nikolai about 1200 (de.wikipedia). A legend makes Knud Lavard order a knight called Fleno to build a castle here. The name Flensburg is first written in 1248 and the town law is of 1284.
Who holds it
- Name
- Duke Valdemar, as lord of South Jutland
- Title
- lord
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
Duke Valdemar, as lord of South Jutland
How things stand that morning
A cluster of fishing and trading settlements in the duke's South Jutland.
Charter
None; town law of 1284.
Council
None in 1200.
Walls and castle
None known for 1200.
Trade and crafts
Fishing (herring) and coastal trade.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: de.wikipedia, from the town's histories.
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.