Knut Långe ("the Tall"), also known as Canute II, was King of Sweden from 1229 until his death in 1234. He was the father of Holmger Knutsson, a later pretender for the Swedish throne. Both father and son were members of the House of Folkung. He is often identified with Knut Holmgersson, a relative of King Erik Eriksson.
Family
Not much is certain about his background. An unreliable, late fourteenth century source calls him "Knut Joansson", If these identifications are correct, Knut would be the great-grandson of Saint Erik. A few historians have instead suggested that the late source might be correct and that Knut's father was Jon Jarl.
Knut had the sons Holmger Knutsson (d. 1248) and Philip Knutsson (d. 1251), who both died in Folkung uprisings against Birger Jarl.
Biography
In 1220, Knut donated land to two Dominican friars at Sko in Uppland. They left after a while, and the land instead formed the nucleus of the Sko Abbey for Cistercian nuns. According to a 16th-century source, he was eventually buried there.
Knut Långe was probably a member of the council that ruled Sweden from 1222 to 1229, during the minority of King Erik Eriksson. In 1229 or 1230, Erik was overthrown after the Battle of Olustra in Södermanland. Knut's exact involvement in the rising is unclear: he might have participated, or been a compromise candidate. He was recognized in 1231 at the latest, but his time in office was short. The sources contradict each other on the matter of Erik's return: the Lund annals claim that Erik returned before the death of Knut in 1232, Erik's Chronicle claims that he returned following the death of Knut and after renewed fighting.