Ringsted in the middle of Zealand is where the island's assembly (landsting) meets and where the Valdemar kings bury their dead.
Canute Lavard, the father of Valdemar I, was murdered nearby in 1131; his body lies in St Bendt's, the church of the Benedictine abbey, consecrated in 1170 at the great feast at which Lavard was raised as a saint and the boy Canute was anointed co-king on 25 June 1170 (DBL; en.wikipedia). Valdemar I was buried here in 1182, and Canute VI will be in 1202. A market grows round the church and the assembly site; it is not a chartered town in 1200.
Who holds it
- Name
- Canute VI (Knud VI)
- Title
- king of the Danes, lord of the royal estate and the assembly place
- Since
- 1182
- Born
- 1162 or about 1163
- Family
- see Denmark
- Confidence
- high
DBL Knud 6.
Lord in 1200
The king (royal estate and assembly place); the Benedictines of St Bendt's hold the church and their own land (Church map).
Overlord
the king
How things stand that morning
Royal and peaceful.
Wealth
The assembly, the pilgrims, the royal estate.
Charter
None in 1200.
Council
None; the assembly is the island's, not the town's.
Communities
The Benedictine monks of St Bendt's, pilgrims to St Canute Lavard, the king's officers.
Fairs and markets
The assembly and the saint's feasts bring gatherings; a fair is not pinned for 1200.
Trade and crafts
Market for central Zealand.
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.
- after this year: November 1202Canute VI is buried in St Bendt's (DBL).Depends on: his death on 12 November 1202 Stopped by: nothing
Places of note
- St Bendt's church: royal burial church, consecrated 1170
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Assembly, abbey and royal burials are attested; the town's size and institutions in 1200 are not.
On the map: The assembly place and its near land.
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.