Editing Skövde (section)

===Pre-16th century===
Skövde's patron saint, [[Helena of Skövde|Saint Elin (also known as Saint Helena)]], lived in the 12th century. According to legend, she was murdered on the way to a church consecration. She was canonized on 30 July 1164 by [[Pope Alexander III]] and [[Stefan (archbishop of Uppsala)|Archbishop Stefan]] of Sweden. During the Middle Ages, people made pilgrimages to Elin's grave, and this contributed to the city's development and growth.<ref>''Skövde kommun's website, [https://archive.today/20130418140234/http://www.skovde.se/Kultur/Museer--Konst/Stadsmuseum/Information-in-English/The-history-of-Skovde/]''</ref>

During the Middle Ages Skövde was a successful city, the economy thriving and Skövde eventually developed into a city of significant importance. Adjacent to the city were three churches: The City Church, The Elin Chapel directly south of the city, and Holy Birgitta's Chapel in the north. The city was at this time probably not especially great in area or population, rather its greatness lay in that it was once home to the Patron Saint of the Diocese, St. Elin. The pilgrims travelled here to visit the Saint's origin and burial place, and the commerce around the pilgrims came to be an important prerequisite for Skövde's development in the ensuing century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Linde|first=Gunnar|title=Det äldsta Skövde och Sankta Elin|year=1956|publisher=Skövdeortens Hembygds-och Fornminnesförenings}}</ref>

The exact year when Skövde got its town charter is unknown, but it can be assumed to be sometime around the year 1400 when the city was mentioned in a tax roll. At the beginning of the 16th century, [[Gustav I of Sweden|King Gustav Vasa]] confirmed the town's charter in a letter.<ref name="vastsverige.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.vastsverige.com/skovde/artiklar/Sevardheter/Historia/ |title=Skövde - Skövdes historia |access-date=2013-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130195923/http://www.vastsverige.com/skovde/artiklar/Sevardheter/Historia/ |archive-date=2012-11-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>