The murder at Haraldsted

The 7th of January 1131 Canute Lavard (Knut/Knud Lavard meaning ‘Lord’ i.e. ‘breadgiver’) was murdered in Haraldsted in Zealand by his cousin Magnus the Strong, the son of King Niels the Elder. The assassination of Canute led to many years of civil war culminating at the Battle at Fotevik 1134 where Magnus was slain and Niels fled.

After his death, his posthumous born son Valdemar I the Great gained the throne and managed to canonize his father in 1169. As a Danish prince and son of the beloved Eric I (Ejegod) and the nephew of Canute IV the Saint, Canute Lavard is the second and last saint to be proclaimed in Denmark. Canute Lavard is regarded to be the ancestor of the Valdemar kings and the first border prince and duke who was both a Danish- and a German vassal.

Shortly after Canute Lavard’s death Canute's Guilds (Knutsgillen) were created in Schleswig (Slesvig) and other parts of the Danish realm, as well as in Sweden and in Estonia. There is some discussion whether they merged with older Canute's Guilds to the memory of the first St. Canute in some instances. The insignia for the individual Canute's Guilds are indeed more destinctedly depicting a king. Furthermore, there are references to both a small and a large Canute's Guild in Lund.

St. Canute's day (Knutsdagen) was originally celebrated in memory of Canute's death, the 7th of January. In the 17th century this day was moved, in Sweden and Finland, to the 13th of January where the focus instead shifted to the first St. Canute, Canute Lavard's uncle Canute IV the Saint.