CANUTE, Laward, Saint, Martyr. - B. in 1096, d. in 1131; son of the Danish king Erik Ejegod, he fought the Wends before and after his appointment as count or duke (according to the German usage) of Schleswig, which took place in 1125. His ability and energy in government earned him, in 1129, imperial recognition as protector of the Wends. On 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 advance claims to the crown of Denmark, had him barbarously murdered on 7 Jan. 1131. The flourishing of miracles at his tomb caused him to be considered a martyr. Canonized in 1169, he was declared patron of Zealand. Already in certain ancient necrologies and later in the Roman Martyrology this Saint was confused with the homonymous martyr, Canute IV; in this way this canonized Saint does not appear in the Martyrology.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: Acta SS. Ianuarii, I, Paris 1863, pp. 390-401; H. Obrik, Knud Lavards Liv of Gaerning, Copenhagen 1888; M. G. Gertz, Vitae sanctorum danorum, ibid. 1908-12, pp. 169-347, 446-49; A. Otto, s. v. in DHG, XI (1949), 815-17.

Pier Fausto Palumbo

@incollection{ec3_canuto_laward_santo_martire, author = {Palumbo, Pier Fausto}, title = {Canuto, laward, santo, martire}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {III}, pages = {650}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/canuto-laward-santo-martire} }

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Canute, Laward, Saint, Martyr

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