He then retired, and some days afterwards
was murdered by the King's orders. This anecdote is corroborated
(so far as the chess is concerned) by a passage in the anonymous
history of the monastery of Ramsey, composed probably about the
time of Henry I, where we are told, that Bishop Etheric coming
one night at a late hour on urgent business to King Canute,
found the monarch and his courtiers amusing themselves at the
games of dice and chess.
In the year 1157 the Kingdom of Denmark was divided between three
Monarchs: Svend, Valdemar, and Canute the Fifth. This took place
after many years of contest, between Svend on the one hand, and
Valdemar and Canute on the other. Each King was to rule over a
third of the realm, and each swore before the altar to preserve
the contract inviolate. But it did not last long. Canute asked his
brother monarchs to spend a few days of festivity with him at
Roskilde. Svend came with a crowd of soldiers. One evening
Valdemar sat at the chess board where the battle waxed warm.
His adversary was a nobleman, and Canute sat by Valdemar's side
watching the game. All at once, Canute observing some suspicious
consultations between Svend and one of his Captains, and feeling
a presentiment of evil, threw his arms round Valdemar's neck and
kissed him.
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