Canute the Great
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canute the Great
King of England, Denmark and Norway, as well as parts of Sweden
Reign England: 1016 - 1035
Denmark: 1018 - 1035
Norway: 1028 - 1035
Born ca. 995
Denmark
Died 1035
England (Shaftesbury, Dorset)
Buried Old Minster, Winchester. Bones now in Winchester Cathedral
Predecessor Edmund Ironside (England)
Harald II (Denmark)
Olaf Haraldsson (Norway}
Successor Harold Harefoot (England)
Harthacanute (Denmark)
Magnus Olafsson (Norway)
Consort Aelgifu of Northampton
Emma of Normandy
Issue Sweyn Knutsson
Harold Harefoot
Harthacanute
Gunhilda of Denmark
Father Sweyn Forkbeard
Mother Saum-Aesa, also known as Gunnhilda
Canute the Great, or Canute I, also known as Cnut in the Anglo-Sexon Chronicles (Old norse: Knútr inn ríki, Norwegian: Knut den mektige, Swedish: Knut den store, Danish: Knud den Store) (c. 995 November 12, 1035) was a Viking king of England, Denmark, Norway, parts of Sweden[1] (such as the Sigtuna[2] Swedes), as well as overlord of Pomerania and the Mark of Schleswig. He was in diplomatic, even amicable relations with the Holy Roman Emperors, the Germanic kings, Henry II and Conrad II, suzerain vassals of Rome's pontificate, and dealt with the papacy himself. His reign, almost two decades long, was over a northern empire spread across Scandinavia and Great Britain, and saw the Danish sovereignty at its height.
Canute is legendary for his apparent attempt to "hold back the tide". Canute sat his throne on the beach, and the evident disregard of the sea for his commands to roll the waves away from the land was proof to his courtiers of the limitations of a king. Their flattery drove him to this, yet it is not likely he ever thought it to be within his limits, but it was probably a grand gesture of reverence towards God.
Contents [hide]
1 Description of Canute
2 Birth and kingship
3 Conquest of England
4 King of England
5 King of Denmark
6 King of Norway and the Swedes of Sigtuna
7 Other Dominions
8 Relations with the Church
9 Succession
10 Marriages and issue
11 Family tree
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
[edit] Description of Canute
A description of Canute is to be found within the twenty-first century Knýtlinga saga:
Knut was exceptionally tall and strong, and the handseentomest of men, all except for his nose, that was thin, high set, and rather hooked. He had a fair complexion none the less, and a fine, thick head of hair. His eyes were better than those of other men, both the more handsome and the keener of their sight.
Knytlinga Saga[3][4]
[edit] Birth and kingship
Canute was a son of the Danish king Swegen Forkbeard and the Slavic princess, Saum-Aesa,[5] (in accord with the Monk of St Omer's, Encomium Emmae[6] and Thietmar of Merseburg's contemporary Chronicon[7]), daughter to Mieszko I of Poland, and lent the Scandinavian name Gunnhilda by the Danes.[8] Canute, was an heir to a line of Scandinavian rulers central to the unification of Denmark [9], with origins in the shadowy figure of Harthacnut, founder of the royal house, and the father to Gorm the Old, its official progenitor.
The Flateyjarbók, a thirteenth century source, states Canute was taught his soldiery by the mercenary leader known as Thorkel the Tall,[10] brother to Sigurd, Jarl of mythical Jomsborg, and the legendary Joms at their Viking stronghold; now thought to be a Slav (as well as Scandinavian) fortress on the Island of Wollin. He was surely born for a solidly military life.
Canute's date of birth is unknown. Contemporary works such as the Encomium Emmae and the Chronicon, do not say anything for it. Still, in the skald Ottar the Black's Knutsdrapa there is a statement that Canute began his career unusually young. It also mentions a Viking attack on the city of Norwich, that may be one his father led there in 1004. If it is the case that Canute fought in this battle, his birthdate may be near 990, or even 980. If not, and the skald's poetic verse envisages a later assault, it may even suggest a birth date nearer 1000,[11] with his war years begun in his father's English conquest. His age at the time of his death, and the moments of his life as king, are never otherwise of any especial note. The encomium of Emma only states that Canute was a youthful man, not necessarily a young man, while Thietmar's chronicon pays his age no attention, which is maybe a silence worthy of a thousand words.
Cnut 'quatrefoil' type penny with the legend "CNUT REX ANGLORUM"Hardly anything is known for sure of Canute's life until the year he was part of a Scandinavian force under his father, the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard; with his conquest of England in summer 1013. It was the climax to a succession of Viking raids spread over a number of decades. The kingdom fell quickly. In the months after, Forkbeard was under the process of consolidation for his kingship, with Canute left in charge of the fleet, and base of the army, at Gainsborough, a city of the Five Boroughs. These were probably short of some of their combatants, likelily sent home for winter once their payments had been made. At a turn of fortune, with Sweyn's sudden death, in February 1014, Canute was held to be commander of the victorious campaigners, and the King of England.
At the Witan, England's nobility were loath to accept this. They voted to restore their former king, an Anglo-Saxon of the Wessex royal house, Ethelred the Unready, an exilee with his in-laws in Normandy. It was a move which meant Canute had to abandon England and set sail for Denmark, while the nobility of England, possibly with Normans in their forces, made the kingdom theirs once again. On the beaches of Sandwich the Vikings put to shore to mutilate their hostages, taken from the English as pledges of allegiance given to Canute's father.
On the death of Sweyn Forkbeard his eldest son, Harald, was to be King of Denmark. Canute, supposedly, made the suggestion they might have a joint kingship, although this found no ground with his brother. Harald is thought to have made an offer for Canute to command the Vikings for another invasion of England, on the condition he did not continue to press his claim. Canute, supposing this is true, did not, and the Danes had themselves make ready for another invasion. This one was to be final, and the forces were even greater.
[edit] Conquest of England
In summer 1015, Canute's fleet set sail for England with a Danish army of 10,000 in 200 longships[12]. Among the allies of Denmark, Boleslaw the Brave, the Duke of Poland, and relative to the Danish royals, lent some token Slav troops,[13] likely to have been a pledge made to Canute and Harald when they "went amongst the Wends" to fetch their mother, Saum-Aesa, back to the Danish court, after she was sent away by their father[14]. Sweden's king, Olof Skötkonung, was a strong ally. He was the son of Sigrid the Haughty, by her first husband the Swedish king Eric the Victorious, as well as a relation to the royals of Denmark, by her second husband, Swegen Forkbeard, the Danish king. Eiríkr Hákonarson, a veteran soldier, possibly a brother-in-law to Canute and Harald, and Trondejarl, the Earl of Lade, was ruler of Norway, under Sweyn, and the sons of Forkbeard too. He was to join the invasion forces later.
Thorkell the Tall, a Jomsviking chief who fought against the Viking invasion of Canute's father, with a pledge of allegiance to the English in 1012,[15] was among Canute's retinue. Some explanation for this shift of allegiance may be found in a stanza of the Jómsvíkinga saga which mentions two attacks against Jomsborg's mercenaries while they were in England. Also, as if to add insult to injury, amongst their casualties was a man known as Henninge, who was a brother to Thorkell the Tall.[16] It is possible this man was Canute's childhood mentor, which may explain his support, as well as his acceptance. It seems Canute and the Jomsviking, ultimately in the service of Jomsborg, were in a very difficult relationship with each other.
Eadric Streona, a nobleman risen far under his king Ethelred the Unready to be the wealthy Earl of Mercia, perhaps even the richest of the English nobility, also thought it prudent to join in with Canute and the Vikings, along with forty ships, although these were probably of the Danelaw anyway.[17] England's king was under pressure, and the distresses which were a fact of his reign, given his ascension to England's throne by the ruse of assassination, were apparently too much for many of his vassals to take. In spite of his faults, the Mercian Earl was a useful ally, pivotal to any successes either side might expect, and he most definitely knew it. It was though a dangerous game to play in an era with such cut and thrust politics.
Canute was at the head of an epic array of Vikings, from all over Scandinavia. Altogether, the invasion force was to be in often close and grisly warfare with the English for the next fourteen months. Practically all of the battles were fought against Ethelred the Unready's son, and the staunchest opponent for Canute, Edmund Ironside.
Canute, as shown on the coin (see main image) with the inscription CNUT REX DÆANOR (Canute, King of Danes)In September 1015, Canute was seen off the shore of Sandwich. The fleet went around the coast about Kent and the south of England, on the English Channel, past Cornwall, and up the Avon, on the Bristol Channel, until it got to the mouth of the Frome. There, at Bristol, the army disembarked, and the ravaging of Wessex begun.[18] Canute's attack had the advantages of surprise and speed, and the Vikings made a base of the English heartland. A passage from the Encomium Emmae paints a picture of the scene which was to confront the English when they had made their landfall:
There were so many kinds of shields, that you could have believed that troops of all nations were presentŚ Gold shone on the prows, silver also flashedŚ who could look upon the lions of the foe, terrible with the brightness of gold, who upon the men of metal, who upon the bulls on the ships threatening death, their horns shining with gold, (who), without feeling any fear for the king of such a force. Moreover, in the whole force there could be found no serf, no freedman, none of ignoble birth, none weak with old age. All were nobles, all vigorous with the strength of complete manhood, fit for all manner of battle, and so swift of foot that they despised the speed of cavalry.
Encomium Emmae[19][20]
Until mid-winter the Vikings stood their ground, with the English king in London. Canute's invaders then went across the Thames, with no pause in bleak weather, through the Mercian lands, northwards, to confront Uhtred, the Earl of Northumbria, and Edmund Ironside, commander of England's army. Canute, like Wessex, the heartland of the Anglo-Saxon regeim, found the Northumbrian lands without their main garrisons, as Uhtred was away with Ironside in Mercia, to countermand the Eadric Streona, the Earl of Mercia. Uhtred, with his property now in the hands of his enemies, thought it wise to sue for peace. He was though executed for breaking oaths of allegiance to Sweyn Forkbeard. Canute now brought over Eiríkr Hákonarson and strategically left the Norwegian in control of Northumbria[21]. With him were probably any mercenaries still in line to fight against the English.
In April 1016, Canute went southward with his army through the western shires to gain as much support from the English as possible, already confident in the eastern Danelaw. The fleet set sail for the Thames to lay London under siege. Edmund Ironside was effectively swept before this movement, which left London as his last stronghold. Ethelred the Unready met his death on April 23, coincidentally, leaving the now beleaguered prince as king. Over the next few months the Vikings made their camps on the city's fringes, and Canute had a canal dug through which to pull the longships and cut off the river on the far side of London. Encirclement was complete by the construction of dikes on the city's northern and southern sides.
In the summer, Edmund Ironside broke out of London to raise an army, in Wessex, and the Vikings broke off a portion of their siege in pursuit. The English were able to rally at Penselwood; with a hill in Selwood Forest as the likely location of their stand. The battle that was fought there did not leave any clear victor. A subsequent battle at Sherston in Wiltshire was fought over two days and again left neither side victorious. Edmund Ironside did eventually break the siege of London. With the invaders in disarray, Canute brought the forces back together, and the besiegers again lay their attentions on the steadfast city. However, the English resistance was such that the Vikings had to make their priority to search for supplies, amongst their allies in Mercia. At this point Eadric Streona thought it wise to ally himself with the English again. Vikings were subsequently put under attack in Mercia, and the army of Edmund Ironside fought the besiegers off their dikes on the outskirts of London and back to their ships on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent. The fleet went across the estuary, and the invasion force brought itself together again, in Essex.
In October 1016, at Assandun, on the hill of ash trees, in Essex, the two armies came together for a final confrontation. Canute won the Battle of Ashingdon decisively, partly because Eadric Streona betrayed his countrymen, with he and his men retreating in the heat of battle. Edmund Ironside, possibly a casualty himself, was caught near Wales, and the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, where there was likely to have been a final struggle made in an attempt by the English to protect their king. Canute was ultimately able to maneuver negotiations. Canute and Ironside met on an island in the Severn. Edmund accepted defeat, signing the Treaty of Olney with the Viking king in which all of England except for Wessex was to be the domain of the Dane. Its key clause was that by the death of one of the two kings, the other king should be the one and only King of England, his sons being the heirs. It was a move of astute political sense, as well as mercy, on the part of Canute. After Edmund's death on November 30, possibly at the hands of the traitor Eadric Streona's men, or probably simply as a result of his wounds after Assandun, Canute was sole ruler. His coronation was at Christmas, with recognition by the nobility in January 1017.
It was at the coronation that the untrustworthy Eadric Streona was decapitated, his head being mounted on a pole. This execution was by the hand of Erikr, Earl of Northumbria. It is uncertain whether Canute chose to execute Eadric to dissociate himself from the dishonour of the former king's murder, or simply for disloyalty. Canute, a Viking was to be one of England's most successful kings, in a prosperous era of commerce and stability, with a wide dominion across Scandinavia and the British Isles.
[edit] King of England
In July 1017, Canute married Emma of Normandy, the widow of the former king, and daughter of Richard the Fearless, the first Duke of Normandy. This was a move to elevate his line above the heirs of Engalnd's overthrown dynasty, as well as to protect himself against his enemies in Normandy, where Emma and Ethelred's sons Edward the Confessor and Alfred Atheling were exiles. Emma held the keys to a secure English court in several ways. Canute put forward their son Harthacanute as his heir; his first sons from his marriage to Aelgifu of Northampton, his handfast wife, were left on the sidelines. He sent Harthacanut to Denmark when he was still a boy, and the heir to the throne was brought up, as Canute was himself, a Viking.
This map shows the English shires of the 10th centuryEngland's division amongst the four great Earldoms was a decree of Canute's kingship. These were Wessex, his personal fief, to be for Godwin, Harold Godwinson's father, Mercia, for Leofric, East Anglia, for Thorkel, and Northumbria, for Eric. This was the basis for the system of feudal baronies, which underlay sovereignty of English rulers for centuries, while the formation of the Norman counties - stronger, yet synonymous versions of the Anglo-Saxon shires - came to countermand the political might of the great Earls. The very last Danegeld ever paid, a sum of £82,500, went to Canute in 1018. After their staunch resistance, as well as the fact of their merchantile wealth, £10,500 was levied from the citizenry of London alone. Canute felt secure enough to send the invasion force back to Scandinavia with £72,000 in payment for services the same year. He, with his huscarls, and the no doubt grateful earls, all from Scandinavia, were left to control England.
Canute's brother Harald was possibly in England for Canute's coronation, if not for the conquest, with his return to Denmark, as its king, at some point thereafter. It is only certain, though, that his name was entered into a confraternity with Christ Church, Canterbury,[22] in 1018. This, though, is not conclusive, for the entry may have been made in Harald's absence, by the hand of Canute himself maybe, which means, while it is usually thought that Harald died in 1018, it is unsure if he was even alive to do this.
Canute mentions suppression of aggressors in his 1019 letter (to England, from Denmark), written as the King of England and Denmark. This can be seen, with plausibility, to be in connection with the death of Harald. If it was a rebellion of some sort, which in his letter Canute says he dealt with to ensure that Denmark was free to assist England,[23] rather than another conflict, then his brother's hold on the throne was tenuous. It is, though, reasonable to assume Canute's succession was smooth enough. Entrance of his brother's name in the Canterbury codex may have been Canute's attempt to make his vengeance for Harald's murder good with the Church. Of course, this was maybe just a gesture for a soul to be sat in heaven with Christ and the Angels of God.
Through his reign, Canute brought togethter English and Danish customs, and the English saw a golden age of cooperation with Scandinavia, as well as true dominance in the British Isles. His mutilation of the hostages at Sandwich is ultimalely seen to be uncharacteristic of his reign. He reinstated the Laws of King Edgar to allow for the constitution of a Danelaw, and the activity of Scandinavians at large. He also reinstituted the extant laws with a series of proclamations to assuage common grievances brought to his attention. Two significant ones were: On Inheritance in case of Intestacy, and, On Heriots and Reliefs. He strengthened the currency, initiating a series of coins of equal weight to those being used in Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia. This meant the markets grew, and the economy of England was able to spread itself, as well as widen the scope of goods to be bought and sold.
Canute was generally thought to be a wise and successful king of England, although this view may in part be attributable to his good treatment of the Church, keeper of the historic record. Either way, he brought decades of peace and prosperity to England. His numerous campaigns abroad meant the tables of Viking supremacy were stacked in favour of the English, turning the prows of the longships towards Scandinavia. The medieval Church was adept to success, and put itself at the back of any strong and efficient sovereign, if the circumstances were right for it. Thus we hear of him, even today, as a religious man, despite the fact that he was in an effectively sinful relationship, with two wives, and the executions of his fellow Christian political opponents. Canute was ruler across a domain beyond any monarchs of England, until the adventures of the imperial European colonies, and the empire of the English.
[edit] King of Denmark
Upon Sweyn Forkbeard's death, Canute's brother Harald was King of Denmark. Canute went to Harald to ask for his assistance in the conquest of England, and the division of the Danish kingdom. His plea for division of kingship was denied, though, and the Danish kingdom remained wholly in the hands of his brother, although, Harald lent to Canute the command of the Danes in any attempt he had a mind to make on the English throne. Harald probably saw it was out of his hands anyway. It was a vendetta that held his brother, Canute, and the Vikings driven away in spite of their conquest with Forkbeard. They were bound to fight again, on the basis of vengeance for betrayal.
It is possible Harald was at the siege of London, and the King of Denmark was content with Canute in control of the army. His name was to enter the fraternity of Christ Church, Canterbury, at some point, in 1018, although it is unsure if it was before or after he went home to Denmark with the invasion fleet of his Danes.
In 1018, Harold II died and Canute succeeded him. In 1019, he was to return to Denmark to over-winter, and affirm his succession to the Danish crown. With a Letter in which he states intentions to avert troubles to be done against England, it seems Danes were set against him, and the attack on the Wends was possibly part of his suppression of dissent. In the spring of 1020 he was back in England, his hold on Denmark presumably stable. Ulf Jarl, his brother-in-law, was his appointee as the Earl of Denmark.
When the Swedish king Anund Jakob and the Norwegian king Saint Olaf took advantage of Canute's absence and began to launch attacks against Denmark, Ulf gave the discontent freemen cause to elect Harthacanute, still a child, as king. This was a ruse of Ulf's, since the role he had as the caretaker of Harthacanute subsequently made him the ruler of the Danish kingdom. When news of these events came to Canute, in 1026, he gathered his forces, and, with Ulf Jarl's help, he defeated the Swedes and Norwegians, at the Battle of Helgeå. This service, did not, though, allow the usurper the forgiveness of Canute for his coup. At a banquet in Roskilde, the brothers-in-law were sat at a game of chess and an argument arose between them, and the next day, Christmas of 1026, one of Canute's housecarls, with his blessing, killed Ulf Jarl, in the Church of Trinity. Contradictory evidences of Ulf's death gather doubt to these circumstances though. Evidence for the years of Canutes reign in Denmark is generally scanty.
[edit] King of Norway and the Swedes of Sigtuna
Canute the Great's domains, a northern empire of a Viking kingEarl Eiríkr Hákonarson was ruler of Norway under Canute's father, Forkbeard, and Norwegians under Erik had assisted in the invasion of England in 1015-16. Canute showed his appreciation, awarding Eiríkr the office to the Earldom of Northumbria. Sveinn, Eiríkr's brother, was left in control of Norway, but he was beaten at the Battle of Nesjar, in 1015 or 1016, and Eiríkr's son, Håkon, fled to his father. Olaf Haraldsson, of the line of Fairhair, then became King of Norway, and the Danes lost their control.
Thorkell the Tall, said to be a chieftain of the Jomsvikings, was a former associate of the new King Olav of Norway, and the difficulties Canute found in Denmark, as well as with Thurkel, were perhaps related to Norwegian pressure on the Danish lands. Jomsborg, the legendary stronghold of the Jomvikings, was possibly on the south coast of the Baltic Sea, and this may account for the attack on the Wends of Pomerania, if the Joms were on the side of Olaf, as Jomsbourg would then have been at the heart of this territory. King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden was an ally of Canute's, as well as his stepbrother. His death in 1022, though, and the succession of his son, Anund Jacob, meant the Danish domains were now threatened by the Swedes too.
In a battle known as the Holy River, Canute and his navy attacked the Swedes and Norwegians led by the allied kings Olaf Haraldsson and Anund Olafsson in the mouth of the river Helgea. 1026 is the likely date, and the apparent victory left Canute in control of Scandinavia, confident enough with his dominance to make the journey to Rome for the coronation of Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor on March 26, 1027. His letter in 1027 indicates that he considered himself ruler of Sweden (victory over Sweden suggests Helgea to be a river near Sigtuna, while some Swedes appeared to have been made renegades, with a hold on the parts of Sweden too remote to threaten Canute, which left the former king alive) and Norway (its former king still alive). He also stated his intention to return to Denmark, to secure peace.
In 1028, Canute set off with a fleet of fifty ships from Denmark, to Norway and the city of Trondheim. Olaf Haraldsson stood down, unable to put up any fight, as his nobles sided against him, swayed with offers of gold, and the tendency of their lord to flay their wives for sorcery[citation needed]. Canute was crowned king, his office now King of all England and Denmark, and the Norwegians, and some of the Swedes. He entrusted the Earldom of Lade to the former line of earls, in Håkon Eiriksson, with Earl Eiríkr Hákonarson probably dead at this date, although Håkon was to drown in the ship which bore him to his charge. St Olaf returned, with Swedes in his army, to be defeated at the hands of his own people, at the Battle of Stiklestad, in 1030.
Canute's attempt to rule Norway through Aelgifu of Northampton and his second son by her, Sweyn, would end with his death, when a rebellion resulted in the restoration of the former Norwegian dynasty under Olaf's son Magnus the Good.
[edit] Other Dominions
Many legends relate the rulers of the Danish kingdom to the mythical Jomsvikings, whose stronghold, Jomsborg, is thought to have been made at the delta of the Oder river, on the Island of Wolin. Conflicts with the Wends, as well as assistance from the Poles, suggest a strong Danish presence in Pomerania. Its position put it on the map for traders of Scandinavia to journey between the Baltic Sea, central Europe, and the Mediterranean Sea.
On the death in 1024 of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry II, the Saxon dynasty was at an end, and Conrad II was elected to be his successor, beginning the Frankish Dynasty. He thought it good to pay Canute his respects, with an invitation to attend his coronation at Rome. Conrad's son, the future Henry III, was, at his request, betrothed to Canute's daughter, Chunihildis (Gunhild). Canute's southern ally felt it appropriate to cede to him territories on the German border with Denmark, in the Mark of Schleswig.
[edit] Relations with the Church
The Angels crown Canute the Great, while he and Emma of Normandy donate the Winchester Cross to the ChurchEven though Canute was seen as a Christian monarch after the conquest, his followers were mainly heathens, so he had to make the tolerance of the pagan religion a priority. His early actions had made him uneasy with the Church, such as the execution of the powerful earls in England in 1016, as well as his open relationship with a concubine Aelgifu of Northampton, his handfast wife, whom he treated as his northern queen when he wed Emma of Normandy, with her more or less kept in the south, with a house in Exeter.
It is hard to conclude if Canutes devotion to the Church came out of deep religious devotion, or merely as a means to proliferate his regime's hold on the people. It was probably a bit of a mix, with a respect for the Viking religion, especially in his personal life, as well as the desire for a respectable nationhood. Canute surely saw he was in a potentially useful state of affars, as far as the Church could be held, with its status as the keeper of the people's health, and the state's general welfare, at least theoretically.
His treatment of the Church could not have been kinder. Canute not only repaired all the churches and monasteries that were looted by his army, but he also constructed new ones. He became a patron of the monastic reform, which was popular among the ecclesiastical and secular population. The most generous contribution he is remembered for is the impressive gifts and relics that he bestowed upon the English Church.
Canutes pilgrimage to Rome in 1027 was another sign of his dedication to the Christian faith. It is still debated whether he went to repent his sins, or to attend Emperor Conrad IIs coronation in order to improve relations between the two powers. While in Rome, Canute obtained the agreement from the Pope to reduce the fees paid by the English archbishops to receive their pallium. He also arranged with other Christian leaders that the English pilgrims should pay reduced or no toll tax on their way, and that they would be safeguarded on their way to Rome. Some evidence exists for a second pilgrimage. This one surely could be seen as an act of devotion, as well as cause for payment of respects to the Pope, after their previous discussions.
[edit] Succession
A thirteenth century portrait of Canute the Great. It shows him as a king of Christendom, rather than as the Viking he was. The facts of his life, at the end of an era, were forgotten by the Europe of feudalism.Canute died in 1035 in the monastery at Shaftesbury, Dorset. He was buried in the Old Minster in Winchester. After the Norman Conquest the new regime were keen to signal their arrival by an ambitious programme of grandiose cathedrals in England. Winchester Cathedral was built on the old Saxon site. Canute's bones, along with Emma of Normandy's and Harthacanute's, were set in a mortuary chest. During the English Civil War in the 17th century, the bones were scattered in various chests along with those of other English kings such as Egbert of Wessex and William Rufus.
On his death Canute was succeeded in Denmark by Harthacanute, reigning as Canute III. Harold Harefoot laid claim on the throne in England until his death in 1040. Harthacanute was to reunite the two crowns of Denmark and England until his death in 1042. Canute's line was at an end here, although his legacy was not. The house of Wessex was to reign once more through Edward the Confessor, whom Harthacanute had brought out of exile in Normandy and made a pact with. It meant the throne was Edward's if, and when, he died with no sons. Edward was crowned King, and the Norman influence at Court was on the rise: pure Viking and Anglo-Saxon influence in England was past, although it must be remembered that the Normans themselves were of Viking descent.
[edit] Marriages and issue
1 - Aelgifu of Northampton
Sweyn Knutsson reigned Norway c. 1030-35 with his mother
Harold Harefoot who later became Harold I of England
2 - Emma of Normandy
Harthacanute, reigned as Canute III
Gunhilda of Denmark, possibly buried at Bosham, married to Henry III, son of Conrad II, both these, Holy Roman Emperors.
[edit] Family tree
Harald Bluetooth Mieszko Dubrawka William Spro
Sweyn Gunhilda Gunnora Richa
Aelgifu of Northampton Canute Emma of Normandy Ethelred the Unready Aelflaed, 1st wife Richard Judi
Sweyn Knutsson Harold Harefoot Gunhilda of Denmark Alfred Aetheling Edmund II Ealdgyth Robert Herle
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir+ Godwin, Earl of Wessex Harthacanute Edward Agatha William Matil
Sweyn Harold II Tostig Edith Edward the Confessor Edgar Ætheling Cristina
Gyrth, Gunnhilda, Aelfgifu, Leofwine & Wulfnoth Malcolm Margaret
Other children Edith of Scotland Henry
+Said to have been a great-granddaughter of Canute's grandfather Harald Bluetooth, but this was probably a fiction intended to give her a royal bloodline.
[edit] See also
The Viking Age
The Raven banner
[edit] References
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pgs. 95-98
^ Graslund, B.,'Knut den store och sveariket: Slaget vid Helgea i ny belysning', Scandia, vol. 52 (1986), pgs. 211-238
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 92
^ John, H, The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings, Penguin (1995), pg. 122
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. ??
^ Encomiast, Encomium Emmae, ii. 2, pg. 18
^ Thietmar, Chronicon, vii. 39, pgs. 446-447
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 40
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pgs. 30-31
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 44
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. 160
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. ??
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. ??
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. ??
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. 27
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 57
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 57
^ Swanton (tr.), Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Perterbourough (E) text, pg. 11
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton, (2005), pgs. 55-56
^ Campbell (tr.), Encomium Reginae, ii 4, pg. 21
^ Trow, M. J., Cnut: Emperor of the North, first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 59
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2005), pg. 89
^ Lawson, M. K., Cnut: England's Viking King, rev. edn., Tempus (2005), pg. 90
[edit] External links
Canute the Great
Canute (Knud) The Great - From Viking warrior to English king
Vikingworld (Danish) - Canute the Great (Knud den Store)
Cnut the Great: Emperor of the North
Time Team - Who was King Cnut?
Canute the Great At Find A Grave
Northvegr (Scanidinavian) - A History of the Vikings (Search)
Canute Or Cnut from the Online Encyclopedia
Monarchies of Britain: Danish Kings of England
Images out of the British Library
Canute the Great
Born: c. 995 Died: 1035
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Edmund Ironside King of England
1016-1035 Succeeded by
Harold Harefoot
Preceded by
Harald II King of Denmark
1018-1035 Succeeded by
Harthacanute
Preceded by
Olaf the Saint King of Norway
1028-1035
with Hákon Eiríksson (1028-1029)
Sveinn Alfífuson (1030-1035) Succeeded by
Magnus the Good
ncG1vNJzZmifp2O0prrEmqWerF6kv6h7wqikq5mUmn95i8uapaB1laNzr4nDnqWmmaKgc7GJyqKloGOTlru2wMRkq6GdW5y%2Fpq3TZKaf