Esbern Snare

Esbern Snare (1127–1204), also known as Esbern the Resolute, was a høvding, or chieftain, royal chancellor and crusader. His family were members of the powerful Hvide clan. In 1192, during the Crusades and after the fall of Jerusalem, he led a small group of Danish soldiers to the Holy Land. Upon his return, he had the Church of Our Lady, Kalundborg built.

Early life Born in 1127, was the daughter of and Princess Cecilia Knutsdatter. He was the grandson of Skjalm Hvide and great-grandson of Canute IV of Denmark (c. 1042 – 10 July 1086), the first Danish king (1080–1086) to be canonized.

His family lived in Fjenneslev, Zealand. Valdemar I of Denmark was his foster brother. (Valdemar is also said to have been the foster son of Skjalm Hvide (Esbern's grandfather).) He also had a daughter who married Anders Knudsen Grosøn of Tersløsegaard manor in Sorø.

Esbern gave a farm, Ovre (Aworthe), located in Hvidovre to Sorø Abbey around 1170, and it was later passed on to Absalon. Esbern acquired the farm, , sometime before his death. B.S. Ingemann wrote a poem about Sæbygård and its inhabitants, which is published in his novel, Valdemar Victory.

Career From "the most powerful family of magnates in the realm", Esbern was a royal chancellor and a høvding (chieftain). He and his brother Absalon had a close relationship, or alliance, with Valdemar.

After the fall of Jerusalem, Pope Innocent III and others asked King Canute VI and the Danes to join the crusade, stating that it would be right for crusaders to die for Christ, as he died for them. This was not well received by the Danes. In 1192, during the Crusades, he led a small group of Danish soldiers to the Holy Land. Art historian R.A. Stalley called the architectural style an "emphatic image of militant Christianity". Esbern is considered the founder of the town of Kalundborg.

Death In 1204, he died at when he broke his neck on a millstone after falling down a staircase. and a later related poem Kalundborg Church by John Greenleaf Whittier. B.S. Ingemann wrote a poem about Sæbygård and its inhabitants, which is published in his novel, Valdemar Victory.