Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church, and had designs on the English throne.

[2] In May 1085, Canute wrote a letter of donation to Lund Cathedral, which was under construction, granting it large tracts of land in Scania, Zealand, and Amager.

However, Canute kept his universal royal rights to pardon the outlaws, impose fines on subjects who failed to answer his leding call to war, and demand transportation for his retinue.

[6] His reign was marked by vigorous attempts to increase royal power in Denmark, by stifling the nobles and keeping them to the word of the law.

In 1085, with the support of his father-in-law, Count Robert, and Olaf III of Norway, Canute planned an invasion of England and called his fleet in leding at the Limfjord.

[2] The fleet never set sail, as Canute was preoccupied in Schleswig by the potential threat of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor with whom both Denmark and Flanders were on unfriendly terms.

Under the reign of Olaf, Denmark suffered from crop failure, which was seen as divine retribution for the sacrilegious killing of Canute.

In Sweden and Finland he is historically, however, partially associated with St. Knut's Day, which in reality was celebrated in the memory of the death of his nephew, Canute Lavard.

[14] Among the evidence for the saints cult in Denmark he was depicted in Næstved Church with a beautiful statue and a screen with images illustrating his life, dating to the 15th century.

The reign of Canute has been interpreted differently through the times; from a violent king who tyrannized his subjects, to a strict but fair ruler who devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church and fought for justice without regard to his own person.

[1] The cause of the rebellion which killed Canute is unknown, but has been speculated as originating in fines issued to the peasants breaking the leding of 1085 as specified in the Chronicon Roskildense, or as a result of his vigorous tithe policy.

[3] The document of his donation to Lund Cathedral was the oldest comprehensive text from Denmark, and provided broad insights into Danish post-Viking Age society.

[6] The donation might have had the aim of establishing the Danish Archdiocese of Lund according to Sweyn II Estridsson's wishes,[2] which was finally achieved in 1104.

[2] According to Niels Lund, Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Copenhagen, Canute's abortive invasion of England "marked the end of the Viking Age.