Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had compelled Canute's father to acknowledge him as overlord, and in 1184 Barbarossa sends a messenger to Canute requiring him to acknowledge the emperor as his liege.

Canute fails to respond, so the emperor sends a second messenger threatening the emperor's wrath if Canute fails to acknowledge his liege lord.

Bishop Absalon replies to the messenger on behalf of Canute.

"Canute is as free a king as the emperor.

He has as much right to Denmark as the emperor has to the Holy Roman Empire, and so the emperor should expect no allegiance from this place."

The emperor flies into a rage when he receives Canute's reply, but because of troubles farther south, orders his vassal, Bogislaw I, Duke of Pomerania, to invade Denmark.

Bogislaw, recognizing a great opportunity, quickly gathers a great number of ships.

The first notice of the pending invasion comes from Chief Jaromar of Rügen, who sails to Zealand to give warning.

The king is in Jutland, and so it is left to Bishop Absalon to order every available ship from Zealand, Funen and Skåne to meet him in six days.

Absalon sails for Rügen with his fleet and waits for Bogislaw to appear.

When the enemy fails to materialize, Absalon sends out scouts to bring word of the Pomeranian fleet’s arrival.

He orders his men to go ashore so he can celebrate mass on Second Easter Day.

In the middle of services, one of the scouts runs into the church shouting that the enemy had been sighted through the fog.

The Danish fleet weighs anchor and sails through the fog toward the Pomeranians.

Bugislaw's fleet sees nothing of the Danes until they are close enough to hear their war cries.

Panicing, the Pomeranians attempt to row away, but they are in such close quarters that the ships cannot turn.

The men begin jumping from ship to ship, causing eight of them to founder.

The Danes throw themselves onto the ships to plunder them when Absalon shouts that they should leave the goods and go after the ships; few comply.

With just seven ships, Absalon routs the entire Pomeranian fleet, capturing thirty-five enemy ships.

Absalon sends Bogislaw's own great tent to Canute, who is still in Jutland.

With Bogislaw's defeat, the emperor abandons, for a time, his attempts to rule Denmark.