Canute the Saint of Denmark

Canute II "the Saint" (1040 - 1086) was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086.

The son of Sweyn II Estridsson, Canute succeeded his brother Harald III. King Canute II wanted to establish a strong royal authority on the basis of a strong church. When he tried to force peasants from Jutland to participate in a raid against England, the peasants led an uprising that culminated with his slaying inside the wooden Church of St. Alban's in Odense, along with his brother Benedict and 17 of their followers. In 1101 he was canonised as a saint, and in 1300 he and his brother were interred in the new Saint Canute's Cathedral.

Preceded by: Harald III

List of Danish monarchs

Succeeded by: Olaf I