Miracle and Mandate: A Case Study of Sanctification at the Intersection of Ritual and Law

Taking the sanctification c. 1100 of King Knud IV of Denmark as a case study, this article explores contrasting and overlapping ways sainthood could be made, used, and contested before the emergence of a papally controlled, juridified canonisation process. Arguing that St Knud’s martyrdom was established at the intersection of miracle (local ritual ordeal) and mandate (papal authorisation), the article analyses the use of sacred fire for making truth in a critical religio-political context; discusses the importance of the ordeal vis-à-vis formal papal recognition in the building of Knud’s cult; and reflects at how both certifying acts were received, remembered, or imagined later on when papal canonisation procedures were firmly established.