CANUTO, LAWARD, SANTO, MARTIRE

CANUTE LAWARD, Saint and Martyr. — Born in 1096, died in 1131; son of the Danish king Erik Ejedog, he fought the Wends both before and after his appointment as count or duke (according to the Germanic usage) of Schleswig in 1125. His skill and energy in governance earned him, in 1129, imperial recognition as protector of the Wends. Upon the death of Queen Margaret Fredkulla, he lost all support at the Danish court; and King Nils and his son Magnus, fearing that he might lay claim to the crown of Denmark, had him barbarously assassinated on 7 January 1131. The flowering of miracles at his tomb led to his being regarded as a martyr. Canonized in 1169, he was declared patron of Sjælland. Already in some ancient necrologies and later in the Roman Martyrology this Saint was confused with the homonymous martyr, Canute IV; thus this canonized Saint does not appear in the Martyrology.