Danish King Knut V (1146—1157), Son of Magnus, Son of Niels, in the Old Islandic “Knýtlinga Saga” and in Its Danish and West European Sources

Abstract

The story of the Danish king Knut Magnusson (1146—1157) is covered in the Old Icelandic “Knýtlinga saga” of the mid-13th century and is based on a number of sources used by its author, Óláfr Þórðarson, nicknamed the White Skald. The comparison of Óláfr’s text with the chronicles of Helmold of Bosau and Saxo Grammaticus, as well as with the Danish annals, makes it possible to reveal errors and inaccuracies in the work of the Icelandic author. At the same time, consideration of the aggregate material of the listed sources against the background of indirect information contained not only in the “Knýtlinga saga” but also in a large number of other Icelandic sagas makes it possible to clarify some historical circumstances that were not reflected in Helmold’s and Saxo’s texts but were laconically recorded by the Danish annals, namely — for what purpose and to which prince Knut went to Rus’ in 1151 or 1152.