Canute Lavard
Saint Knud, also known as Canute Lavard (12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position leading towards the historical double position of Southern Jutland. He was killed by his cousin Magnus the Strong (c. 1106 – 1134), who saw him as a rival to the Danish throne. Canute Lavard was canonized in 1170.
He was an ancestor of the Valdemarian kings (Valdemarerne) and of their subsequent royal line. Canute Lavard was the father of King Valdemar I of Denmark (Valdemar den Store) and grandfather of King Valdemar II of Denmark (Valdemar Sejr).
Patron saint of Zealand; Denmark
In the Martyrology
- January 7 Saint Canute Lavard, martyr of Denmark