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95-431: The work consists of three sections. The first two contain passages from Cnut 's two law codes ( I Cnut and II Cnut ), occasionally with amendments by the compiler to suit contemporary circumstances. The last section has material excerpted from the laws of Ine , Alfred , and Edgar ( II Edgar ), as well as unofficial legal tracts associated with Wulfstan, Archbishop of York , like Geþyncðu . The selection shows that

190-503: A Christian king, Cnut says he went to Rome to repent for his sins, to pray for redemption and the security of his subjects, and to negotiate with the Pope for a reduction in the costs of the pallium for English archbishops, and for a resolution to the competition between the archdioceses of Canterbury and Hamburg-Bremen for superiority over the Danish dioceses. He also sought to improve

285-540: A Polish princess as Cnut's mother, whom they call Gunhild and a daughter of Burislav , the king of Vindland . Since in the Norse sagas the king of Vindland is always Burislav, this is reconcilable with the assumption that her father was Mieszko (not his son Bolesław ). Adam of Bremen in Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum is unique in equating Cnut's mother (for whom he also produced no name) with

380-513: A Wendish encampment. His hold on the Danish throne presumably stable, Cnut was back in England in 1020. He appointed Ulf Jarl , the husband of his sister Estrid Svendsdatter , as regent of Denmark, further entrusting him with his young son by Queen Emma, Harthacnut , whom he had designated the heir of his kingdom. The banishment of Thorkell the Tall in 1021 may be seen in relation to the attack on

475-736: A banquet in Roskilde when an argument arose between them, and the next day, Christmas 1026, one of Cnut's housecarls killed the jarl with his blessing, in Trinity Church, the predecessor to Roskilde Cathedral . His enemies in Scandinavia subdued, and apparently at his leisure, Cnut was able to accept an invitation to witness the accession in Rome of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II . He left his affairs in

570-565: A battle known as the Battle of the Helgeå , Cnut and his men fought the Norwegians and Swedes at the mouth of the river Helgeå, probably in 1026, and the apparent victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia. Ulf the usurper's realignment and participation in the battle did not, in the end, earn him Cnut's forgiveness. Some sources state that the brothers-in-law were playing chess at

665-560: A daughter of Mieszko I of Poland . Norse sources of the High Middle Ages , most prominently Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson , also give a Polish princess as Cnut's mother, whom they call Gunhild , a daughter of Burislav , the king of Vindland . Since in the Norse sagas the king of Vindland is always Burislav , this is reconcilable with the assumption that her father was Mieszko (not his son Bolesław ). Adam of Bremen in Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum

760-409: A fair complexion and a fine, thick head of hair. His eyes were better than those of other men, being both more handsome and keener-sighted. Hardly anything is known for sure of Cnut's life until the year he was part of a Scandinavian force under his father, King Sweyn, in his invasion of England in summer 1013. Cnut was likely part of his father's 1003 and 1004 campaigns in England, although the evidence

855-464: A faithfull observer of God's rights and just secular law. (He exhorts his ealdormen to assist the bishops in the maintenance of) God's rights ... and the benefit of the people. If anyone, ecclesiastic or layman, Dane or Englishman, is so presumptuous as to defy God's law and my royal authority or the secular laws, and he will not make amends and desist according to the direction of my bishops, I then pray, and also command, Earl Thurkil, if he can, to cause

950-540: A large fleet with which to launch another invasion. Among the allies of Denmark was Bolesław I the Brave , the duke of Poland (later crowned king) and a relative to the Danish royal house. He lent some Polish troops, likely to have been a pledge made to Cnut and his brother Harald when, in the winter, they "went amongst the Wends " to fetch their mother back to the Danish court. She had been sent away by their father after

1045-609: A subsequent battle at Sherston , in Wiltshire , which was fought over two days but left neither side victorious. Edmund was able to temporarily relieve London, driving the enemy away and defeating them after crossing the Thames at Brentford . Suffering heavy losses, he withdrew to Wessex to gather fresh troops, and the Danes again brought London under siege, but after another unsuccessful assault they withdrew into Kent under attack by

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1140-644: A while in Scotland. Adam also suggests that Sweyn in his youth lived among heathens, and only achieved success as a ruler after accepting Christianity. Harald Bluetooth had already established a foothold in Norway, controlling Viken in c.  970 . He may have lost control over his Norwegian claims following his defeat against a German army in 974. Sweyn built an alliance with Swedish king Olof Skötkonung and Eirik Hákonarson , Jarl of Lade , against Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason . The Kings' sagas ascribe

1235-517: Is not firm. The 1013 invasion was the climax to a succession of Viking raids spread over a number of decades. Following their landing in the Humber , the kingdom fell to the Vikings quickly, and near the end of the year King Æthelred fled to Normandy , leaving Sweyn Forkbeard in possession of England. In the winter, Sweyn was in the process of consolidating his kingship, with Cnut left in charge of

1330-475: Is only certain, though, that there was an entry of his name, alongside Cnut's, in confraternity with Christ Church, Canterbury , in 1018. This is not conclusive, though, for the entry may have been made in Harald's absence, perhaps by the hand of Cnut himself, which means that, while it is usually thought that Harald died in 1018, it is unsure whether he was still alive at this point. Entry of his brother's name in

1425-409: Is popularly invoked in the context of the legend of King Canute and the tide . Cnut was a son of the Danish prince Sweyn Forkbeard , who was the son and heir to King Harald Bluetooth and thus came from a line of Scandinavian rulers central to the unification of Denmark. Neither the place nor the date of his birth are known. Harthacnut I was the semi-legendary founder of the Danish royal house at

1520-567: Is the fact that Cnut and the King of Burgundy went alongside the emperor in the imperial procession and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him on the same pedestal. Cnut and the emperor, in accord with various sources, took to one another's company like brothers, for they were of a similar age. Conrad gave Cnut lands in the Mark of Schleswig – the land-bridge between the Scandinavian kingdoms and

1615-523: Is unique in equating Cnut's mother (for whom he also produces no name) with the former queen of Sweden , wife of Eric the Victorious and by this marriage mother of Olof Skötkonung . To complicate the matter, Heimskringla and other sagas also have Sweyn marrying Eric's widow, but she is distinctly another person in these texts, named Sigrid the Haughty , whom Sweyn only marries after Gunhild ,

1710-638: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ) states: before the month of August came king Sweyn with his fleet to Sandwich . He went very quickly about East Anglia into the Humber 's mouth, and so upward along the Trent till he came to Gainsborough . Earl Uchtred and all Northumbria quickly bowed to him, as did all the people of the Kingdom of Lindsey , then the people of the Five Boroughs . He

1805-598: The Flateyjarbók is correct that this man was Cnut's childhood mentor, it explains his acceptance of his allegiance – with Jomvikings ultimately in the service of Jomsborg . The 40 ships Eadric came with, often thought to be of the Danelaw , were probably Thorkell's. Early in 1016, the Vikings crossed the Thames and harried Warwickshire , while Edmund Ironside's attempts at opposition seem to have come to nothing –

1900-538: The Danelaw , while Sweyn had few personal connections to Germany. Sweyn's preference for the English church may also have had a political motive, because German bishops were an integral part of the state. It has been suggested that Sweyn was seeking to pre-empt any diminution of his independence by German leaders. This may have been a reason for Adam of Bremen's apparent hostility in his accounts of Sweyn; by accentuating English ecclesiastical influence in his kingdom, Sweyn

1995-497: The Duchy of Normandy . In July 1017, Cnut wed Queen Emma, the widow of Æthelred and daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy . In 1018, having collected a Danegeld amounting to the colossal sum of £72,000 levied nationwide, with an additional £10,500 extracted from London, Cnut paid off his army and sent most of them home. He retained 40 ships and their crews as a standing force in England. An annual tax called heregeld (army payment)

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2090-571: The Earl of Northumbria and together they harried Staffordshire , Shropshire and Cheshire in western Mercia, possibly targeting the estates of Eadric Streona. Cnut's occupation of Northumbria meant Uhtred returned home to submit himself to Cnut, who seems to have sent a Northumbrian rival, Thurbrand the Hold , to massacre Uhtred and his retinue. Eiríkr Hákonarson , most likely with another force of Scandinavians, came to support Cnut at this point, and

2185-482: The Encomium Emmae is known) with a reference to the force Cnut led in his English conquest of 1015–16. Here ( see below ) it says all the Vikings were of "mature age" under Cnut "the king". A description of Cnut appears in the 13th century Icelandic Knýtlinga saga : Knut was exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of men, all except for his nose, that was thin, high-set, and rather hooked. He had

2280-523: The Isle of Wight , and then followed them into exile. Based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire , Sweyn began to organise his vast new kingdom, but he died there on 3 February 1014, having ruled England for only five weeks. Sweyn's cause of death is unknown. Some theorise that he was killed, whereas other sources say he died after falling off a horse. His embalmed body was returned to Denmark for burial in

2375-617: The Norse–Gaels . Cnut's possession of England's dioceses and the continental Diocese of Denmark – with a claim laid upon it by the Holy Roman Empire 's Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen – was a source of great prestige and leverage within the Catholic Church and among the magnates of Christendom (gaining notable concessions such as one on the price of the pallium of his bishops, though they still had to travel to obtain

2470-577: The North Sea Empire by historians. As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe . His later accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut sought to keep this power base by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia , Cnut claimed

2565-718: The Wends . With the death of Olof Skötkonung in 1022, and the succession to the Swedish throne of his son Anund Jacob bringing Sweden into alliance with Norway, there was cause for a demonstration of Danish strength in the Baltic. Jomsborg , the legendary stronghold of the Jomsvikings (thought to be on an island off the coast of Pomerania ), was probably the target of Cnut's expedition. Successful, after this clear display of Cnut's intentions to dominate Scandinavian affairs, it seems that Thorkell reconciled with Cnut in 1023. When

2660-576: The Canterbury codex may have been Cnut's attempt to make his vengeance for Harald's murder good with the Church. This may have been just a gesture for a soul to be under the protection of God. There is evidence Cnut was in battle with "pirates" in 1018, with his destruction of the crews of thirty ships, although it is unknown if this was off the English or Danish shores. He himself mentions troubles in his 1019 letter (to England, from Denmark), written as

2755-630: The Confessor (reigned 1042–1066). Sweyn's daughter, Estrid Svendsdatter , was the mother of King Sweyn II of Denmark . Her descendants continue to reign in Denmark to this day. The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg and the Encomium Emmae report Cnut's mother as having been Świętosława , a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland . Norse sources of the High Middle Ages , most prominently Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson , also give

2850-406: The Danes. It was at some time after Erik left for England, and on the death of Svein while retreating to Sweden, maybe intent on returning to Norway with reinforcements, that Erik's son Hakon went to join his father and support Cnut in England, too. Cnut's brother Harald may have been at Cnut's coronation, in 1016, returning to Denmark as its king, with part of the fleet, at some point thereafter. It

2945-399: The Danish crown, stating his intention to avert attacks against England in a letter in 1019 ( see above ). It seems there were Danes in opposition to him, and an attack he carried out on the Wends of Pomerania may have had something to do with this. In this expedition, at least one of Cnut's Englishmen, Godwin, apparently won the king's trust after a night-time raid he personally led against

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3040-509: The Emperor agreed and likewise King Robert who governs most of these same toll gates. And all the magnates confirmed by edict that my people, both merchants, and the others who travel to make their devotions, might go to Rome and return without being afflicted by barriers and toll collectors, in firm peace and secure in a just law. "Robert" in Cnut's text is probably a clerical error for Rudolph ,

3135-483: The English, turning the prows of the longships towards Scandinavia. He reinstated the Laws of King Edgar to allow for the constitution of a Danelaw , and for the activity of Scandinavians at large. Cnut reinstituted the extant laws with a series of proclamations to assuage common grievances brought to his attention, including: On Inheritance in case of Intestacy , and On Heriots and Reliefs . He also strengthened

3230-529: The English, with a battle fought at Otford . At this point Eadric Streona went over to King Edmund, and Cnut set sail northwards across the Thames estuary to Essex , and went from the landing of the ships up the River Orwell to ravage Mercia. On 18 October 1016, the Danes were engaged by Edmund's army as they retired towards their ships, leading to the Battle of Assandun , fought at either Ashingdon , in south-east, or Ashdon , in north-west Essex . In

3325-434: The Haughty and Gunhild ). But since Adam is the only source to equate the identity of Cnut's and Olof Skötkonung's mother, this is often seen as an error on Adam's part, and it is often assumed that Sweyn had two wives, the first being Cnut's mother, and the second being the former Queen of Sweden. Cnut's brother Harald was the younger of the two brothers, according to Encomium Emmae. Sweyn had seven children with Sigrid

3420-453: The King of England and Denmark. These events can be seen, with plausibility, to be in connection with the death of Harald. Cnut says he dealt with dissenters to ensure Denmark was free to assist England: King Cnut greets in friendship his archbishop and his diocesan bishops and Earl Thurkil and all his earls ... ecclesiastic and lay, in England ... I inform you that I will be a gracious lord and

3515-516: The Norwegian king Olaf Haraldsson and Anund Jakob took advantage of Cnut's commitment to England and began to launch attacks against Denmark, Ulf gave the Danish freemen cause to accept Harthacnut , still a child, as king. This ruse resulted in Ulf ruling the kingdom as regent . Upon news of these events, Cnut set sail for Denmark to restore himself and to deal with Ulf, who then got back in line. In

3610-423: The Scandinavian world at his arrival home: Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( Old Norse : Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg [ˈswɛinː ˈhɑrˌɑldsˌson ˈtjuːɣoˌskeɡː] ; Danish : Svend Tveskæg ; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1013/14. He

3705-468: The Slavic princess who bore Cnut, has died. Different theories regarding the number and ancestry of Sweyn's wives (or wife) have been advanced (see Sigrid the Haughty and Gunhild ). But since Adam is the only source to equate the identity of Cnut's and Olof Skötkonung's mother, this is often seen as an error on Adam's part, and it is often assumed that Sweyn had two wives, the first being Cnut's mother, and

3800-445: The Tall led a Viking invasion into England. Simon Keynes regards it as uncertain whether Sweyn supported these invasions, but "whatever the case, he was quick to exploit the disruption caused by the activities of Thorkell's army". Sweyn acquired massive sums of Danegeld through the raids. In 1013, he is reported to have personally led his forces in a full-scale invasion of England. The medieval Peterborough Chronicle (part of

3895-400: The Victorious of Sweden, whom Adam wrote ruled Denmark until his death in 994 or 995. Sørensen (2001) argues that Adam's depiction of Sweyn may be overly negative, as seen through an "unsympathetic and intolerant eye". Adam's account is thus not seen as entirely reliable; the claimed 14 years' exile of Sweyn to Scotland does not seem to agree with Sweyn's building churches in Denmark throughout

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3990-760: The account of the Heimskringla , Sweyn regained direct control of Viken district . King Olaf of Sweden received four districts in Trondheim as well as Møre , Romsdal and Rånrike (the Fagrskinna , by contrast, says that the Swedish part consisted of Oppland and a part of Trondheim). He gave these to his son in law, Jarl Svein Hákonarson , to hold as a vassal. The rest of Norway was ruled by Eirik Hákonarson as King Svein's vassal. The Jarls Eirik and Svein proved strong, competent rulers, and their reign

4085-577: The beginning of the 10th century, and his son, Gorm the Old , became the first in the official line (the "Old" in his name indicates this). Harald Bluetooth, Gorm's son and Cnut's grandfather, was the Danish king at the time of the Christianization of Denmark ; he became one of the first Scandinavian kings to accept Christianity . The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg and the Encomium Emmae report Cnut's mother as having been Świętosława ,

4180-549: The causes of the alliance to Olaf Tryggvason's ill-fated marriage proposal to Sigrid the Haughty and his problematic marriage to Thyri , sister of Sweyn Forkbeard. According to the sagas, Sigrid pushed Sweyn into war with Olaf because Olaf had slapped her. The allies attacked and defeated king Olaf in the western Baltic Sea when he was sailing home from an expedition, in the Battle of Svolder , fought in September 999 or 1000. The victors divided Norway among them. According to

4275-555: The chronicler says the English army disbanded because the king and the citizenry of London were not present. The mid-winter assault by Cnut devastated its way northwards across eastern Mercia . Another summons of the army brought the Englishmen together, and they were met this time by the king, although "it came to nothing as so often before", and Æthelred returned to London with fears of betrayal. Edmund then went north to join Uhtred

4370-754: The church he had built. Tradition locates this church in Roskilde , but it is more plausible that it was actually located in Lund in Scania (now part of Sweden). Sweyn's elder son, Harald II , succeeded him as King of Denmark, while his younger son, Cnut , was proclaimed King of England by the people of the Danelaw. However, the English nobility sent for Æthelred, who upon his return from exile in Normandy in early 1014 managed to drive Cnut out of England. Cnut soon returned and became king of all England in 1016, following

4465-514: The city of Norwich , in 1003–04, after the St. Brice's Day massacre of Danes by the English, in 1002. If Cnut indeed accompanied this expedition, his birthdate may be near 990, or even 980. If not, and if the skald's poetic verse references another assault, such as Sweyn's conquest of England in 1013–14, it may even suggest a birth date nearer 1000. There is a passage of the Encomiast (as the author of

4560-489: The conditions for pilgrims, as well as merchants, on the road to Rome. In his own words: ... I spoke with the Emperor himself and the Lord Pope and the princes there about the needs of all people of my entire realm, both English and Danes, that a juster law and securer peace might be granted to them on the road to Rome and that they should not be straitened by so many barriers along the road, and harassed by unjust tolls; and

4655-697: The continent – as a token of their treaty of friendship. Centuries of conflict in this area between the Danes and the Germans led to the construction of the Danevirke , from Schleswig, on the Schlei , an inlet of the Baltic Sea , to the North Sea . Cnut's visit to Rome was a triumph. In the verse of Knútsdrápa , Sigvatr Þórðarson praises Cnut, his king, as being "dear to the Emperor, close to Peter". In

4750-493: The crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. In 1031, Malcolm II of Scotland also submitted to him, though Anglo-Norse influence over Scotland was weak and ultimately did not last by the time of Cnut's death. Dominion of England lent the Danes an important link to the maritime zone between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland , where Cnut, like his father before him, had a strong interest and wielded much influence among

4845-459: The currency, initiating a series of coins of equal weight to those being used in Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia. He issued the Law codes of Cnut known now as I Cnut and II Cnut, though these seem primarily to have been produced by Wulfstan of York . In his royal court, there were both Englishmen and Scandinavians. Harald II died in 1018, and Cnut went to Denmark to affirm his succession to

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4940-460: The days of Christendom, a king seen to be in favour with God could expect to be ruler over a happy kingdom. He was surely in a stronger position, not only with the Church and the people, but also in the alliance with his southern rivals he was able to conclude his conflicts with his rivals in the north. His letter not only tells his countrymen of his achievements in Rome, but also of his ambitions within

5035-401: The death of the Swedish king Eric the Victorious in 995, and his marriage to Sigrid the Haughty , the Swedish queen mother . This wedlock formed a strong alliance between the successor to the throne of Sweden, Olof Skötkonung , and the rulers of Denmark, his in-laws. Swedes were certainly among the allies in the English conquest. Another in-law to the Danish royal house, Eiríkr Hákonarson ,

5130-466: The deaths of Æthelred and his son Edmund Ironside ; he succeeded his brother as King of Denmark in 1019 and eventually also ruled Norway, parts of Sweden, Pomerania and Schleswig . Cnut and his sons, Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut , ruled England over a combined 26-year period (1016–1042). After Harthacnut's death, the English throne reverted to the House of Wessex under Æthelred's younger son Edward

5225-573: The ensuing struggle, Eadric Streona, whose return to the English side had perhaps only been a ruse, withdrew his forces from the fray, bringing about a decisive English defeat. Edmund fled westwards, and Cnut pursued him into Gloucestershire , with another battle probably fought near the Forest of Dean , for Edmund had an alliance with some of the Welsh. On an island near Deerhurst , Cnut and Edmund, who had been wounded, met to negotiate terms of peace. It

5320-416: The establishment of an earldom under Godwin , an Englishman from a powerful Sussex family. In general, after initial reliance on his Scandinavian followers in the first years of his reign, Cnut allowed those Anglo-Saxon families of the existing English nobility who had earned his trust to assume rulership of his Earldoms. At the Battle of Nesjar , in 1016, Olaf Haraldsson won the kingdom of Norway from

5415-467: The evil-doer to do right. And if he cannot, then it is my will that with the power of us both he shall destroy him in the land or drive him out of the land, whether he be of high or low rank. And it is my will that all the nation, ecclesiastical and lay, shall steadfastly observe Edgar's laws, which all men have chosen and sworn at Oxford. Since I did not spare my money, as long as hostility was threatening you, I with God's help have put an end to it. Then I

5510-545: The fact that he was in an arguably sinful relationship, with two wives, and the harsh treatment he dealt his fellow Christian opponents. Under his reign, Cnut brought together the English and Danish kingdoms, and the Scandinavic and Saxon peoples saw a period of dominance across Scandinavia , as well as within the British Isles . His campaigns abroad meant the tables of Viking supremacy were stacked in favour of

5605-756: The first Danish king of the English after a long effort. Historiographical sources on Sweyn's life include the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (where his name is rendered as Swegen ), Adam of Bremen 's 11th-century Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg , and Snorri Sturluson 's 13th-century Heimskringla . Conflicting accounts of Sweyn's later life also appear in the Encomium Emmae Reginae , an 11th-century Latin encomium in honour of his son king Cnut's queen Emma of Normandy , along with Chronicon ex chronicis by Florence of Worcester , another 11th-century author. According to Adam of Bremen , Sweyn

5700-634: The fleet and the base of the army at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire . On the death of Sweyn Forkbeard after a few months as king, on Candlemas (Sunday 3 February 1014), Harald succeeded him as King of Denmark, while the Vikings and the people of the Danelaw immediately elected Cnut as king in England. However, the English nobility took a different view, and the Witenagemot recalled Æthelred from Normandy . The restored king swiftly led an army against Cnut, who fled with his army to Denmark, along

5795-480: The former queen of Sweden , wife of Eric the Victorious and by this marriage mother of Olof Skötkonung . To complicate the matter, Heimskringla and other sagas also have Sweyn marrying Eric's widow, but she is distinctly another person in these texts, named Sigrid the Haughty , whom Sweyn married only after Gunhild, the Slavic princess who bore Cnut, had died. Different theories regarding the number and ancestry of Sweyn's wives (or wife) have been advanced (see Sigrid

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5890-409: The great dangers which were approaching us that we need fear no danger to us from there; but we may reckon on full help and deliverance if we need it. Cnut was generally remembered as 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. Accordingly, he is considered, even today, as a religious man despite

5985-495: The island of Wollin , off the coast of Pomerania . His date of birth, like his mother's name, is unknown. Contemporary works such as the Chronicon and the Encomium Emmae , do not mention this. Even so, in a Knútsdrápa by the skald Óttarr svarti , there is a statement that Cnut was "of no great age" when he first went to war. It also mentions a battle identifiable with Sweyn Forkbeard's invasion of England and attack on

6080-603: The last ruler of an independent Kingdom of Burgundy . Hence, the solemn word of the Pope, the Emperor and Rudolph was given with the witness of four archbishops, twenty bishops, and "innumerable multitudes of dukes and nobles", suggesting it was before the ceremonies were completed. Cnut without doubt threw himself into his role with zest. His image as a just Christian king, statesman and diplomat and crusader against unjustness, seems rooted in reality, as well as one he sought to project. A good illustration of his status within Europe

6175-429: The main motivation for the raids was more likely the prospect of revenue. At the outset of the invasions, Sweyn negotiated an agreement with Duke Richard II of Normandy whereby the Danes gained permission to sell their spoils of war in Normandy. Sweyn campaigned in Wessex and East Anglia in 1003–1004, but a famine forced him to return to Denmark in 1005. Further raids took place in 1006–1007, and in 1009–1012 Thorkell

6270-422: The mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father and seized the throne. Harald was driven into exile and died shortly afterwards in November 986 or 987. Adam of Bremen depicted Sweyn as a rebellious pagan who persecuted Christians, betrayed his father and expelled German bishops from Scania and Zealand . According to Adam, Sweyn was sent into exile by his father's German friends and deposed in favour of king Eric

6365-441: The might of mature age, all sufficiently fit for any type of fighting, all of such great fleetness, that they scorned the speed of horsemen. Wessex , long ruled by the dynasty of Alfred and Æthelred, submitted to Cnut late in 1015, as it had to his father two years earlier. At this point Eadric Streona , the Ealdorman of Mercia , deserted Æthelred together with 40 ships and their crews and joined forces with Cnut. Another defector

6460-414: The mouth of the Frome , and harried in Dorset and Wiltshire and Somerset ", beginning a campaign of an intensity not seen since the days of Alfred the Great . A passage from Queen Emma's Encomium provides a picture of Cnut's fleet: [T]here were there so many kinds of shields, that you could have believed that troops of all nations were present. ... Gold shone on the prows, silver also flashed on

6555-471: The need for a new critical edition. Cnut the Great Cnut ( / k ə ˈ nj uː t / ; Old Norse : Knútr Old Norse pronunciation: [ˈknuːtr] ; c.  990 – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great , was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as

6650-431: The north and went from Denmark to the coronation at Easter 1027, which would have been of considerable prestige for rulers of Europe in the Middle Ages . On the return journey he wrote his letter of 1027, like his letter of 1019, informing his subjects in England of his intentions from abroad and proclaiming himself "king of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes". Consistent with his role as

6745-478: The pallium, as well as on the tolls his people had to pay on the way to Rome ). After his 1026 victory against Norway and Sweden, and on his way back from Rome where he attended the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor , Cnut deemed himself "King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes" in a letter written for the benefit of his subjects. Medieval historian Norman Cantor called him "the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history". He

6840-636: The people did the same, then eastward to London . But the Londoners put up a strong resistance, because King Æthelred and Thorkell the Tall , a Viking leader who had defected to Æthelred, personally held their ground against him in London itself. Sweyn then went west to Bath , where the western thanes submitted to him and gave hostages. The Londoners then followed suit, fearing Sweyn's revenge if they resisted any longer. King Æthelred sent his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy, and himself spent Christmas on

6935-400: The same period, including the churches in Lund and Roskilde . According to Adam, Sweyn was punished by God for leading the uprising which led to king Harald's death, and had to spend fourteen years abroad (i.e. 986–1000). The historicity of this exile, or its duration, is uncertain. Adam writes that Sweyn was shunned by all those with whom he sought refuge, but was finally allowed to live for

7030-469: The second being the former Queen of Sweden. Cnut's brother Harald was the younger of the two brothers according to Encomium Emmae . Some hint of Cnut's childhood can be found in the Flateyjarbók , a 13th-century Icelandic source that says he was taught his soldiery by the chieftain Thorkell the Tall , brother to Sigurd , Jarl of Jomsborg , and the legendary Jomsvikings , at their stronghold on

7125-522: The traditional heartland of the English monarchy. Part of the Danish army besieged London, constructing dikes on the northern and southern flanks and a channel dug across the banks of the Thames to the south of the city, enabling their longships to cut off communications up-river. There was a battle fought at Penselwood in Somerset – with a hill in Selwood Forest as the likely location – and

7220-766: The translator took particular interest in (secular) Danelaw . The Instituta may be compared to the Consiliatio Cnuti , which offers a near-complete Latin translation of Cnut's legislation. The text is preserved in Rochester Cathedral Library A. 3. 5 (the Textus Roffensis ) and six later manuscripts dating from the 12th and early 13th centuries, including: The standard edition is still that of Felix Liebermann in his monumental Gesetze der Angelsachsen . More recently, Bruce O'Brien has criticised Liebermann's work and suggested

7315-447: The unification of England. The officials responsible for these provinces were designated earls , a title of Scandinavian origin already in localised use in England, which now everywhere replaced that of ealdorman. Wessex was initially kept under Cnut's personal control, while Northumbria went to Erik of Hlathir , East Anglia to Thorkell the Tall , and Mercia remained in the hands of Eadric Streona . This initial distribution of power

7410-481: The variously shaped ships. ... For who could look upon the lions of the foe, terrible with the brightness of gold, who upon the men of metal, menacing with golden face, ... who upon the bulls on the ships threatening death, their horns shining with gold, without feeling any fear for the king of such a force? Furthermore, in this great expedition, there was present no slave, no man freed from slavery, no low-born man, no man weakened by age; for all were noble, all strong with

7505-469: The veteran Norwegian jarl was put in charge of Northumbria. Prince Edmund remained in London, still unsubdued behind its walls , and was elected king after the death of Æthelred on 23 April 1016. Cnut returned southward, and the Danish army evidently divided, some dealing with Edmund, who had broken out of London before Cnut's encirclement of the city was complete, and had gone to gather an army in Wessex ,

7600-487: The way mutilating the hostages they had taken and abandoning them on the beach at Sandwich in Kent . Cnut went to Harald and supposedly made the suggestion they might have a joint kingship, although this found no favour with his brother. Harald is thought to have offered Cnut command of his forces for another invasion of England, on the condition he did not continue to press his claim. In any case, Cnut succeeded in assembling

7695-540: Was Thorkell the Tall , a Jomsviking chief who had fought against the Viking invasion of Sweyn Forkbeard , with a pledge of allegiance to the English in 1012 – some explanation for this shift of allegiance may be found in a stanza of the Jómsvíkinga saga that mentions two attacks against Jomsborg's mercenaries while they were in England, with a man known as Henninge, a brother of Thorkell, among their casualties. If

7790-523: Was Cnut's sister. Bernicia , the northern part of Northumbria, was theoretically part of Erik and Siward's earldom, but throughout Cnut's reign it effectively remained under the control of the English dynasty based at Bamburgh , which had dominated the area at least since the early 10th century. They served as junior Earls of Bernicia under the titular authority of the Earl of Northumbria. By the 1030s Cnut's direct administration of Wessex had come to an end, with

7885-477: Was agreed that all of England north of the Thames was to be the domain of the Danish prince, while all to the south was kept by the English king, along with London. Accession to the reign of the entire realm was set to pass to Cnut upon Edmund's death. Edmund died on 30 November, within weeks of the arrangement. Some sources claim Edmund was murdered, although the circumstances of his death are unknown. The West Saxons now accepted Cnut as king of all of England, and he

7980-400: Was collected through the same system Æthelred had instituted in 1012 to reward Scandinavians in his service. Cnut built on the existing English trend for multiple shires to be grouped together under a single ealdorman , thus dividing the country into four large administrative units whose geographical extent was based on the largest and most durable of the separate kingdoms that had preceded

8075-560: Was composed primarily of mercenaries. The invasion force was to engage in often close and grisly warfare with the English for the next fourteen months. Practically all of the battles were fought against the eldest son of Æthelred, Edmund Ironside . According to the Peterborough Chronicle manuscript, one of the major witnesses of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , early in September 1015 "[Cnut] came into Sandwich, and straightway sailed around Kent to Wessex , until he came to

8170-511: Was crowned by Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury , in London in 1017. Cnut ruled England for nearly two decades. The protection he lent against Viking raiders – many of them under his command – restored the prosperity that had been increasingly impaired since the resumption of Viking attacks in the 980s . In turn, the English helped him to establish control over the majority of Scandinavia , too. Under his rule, England did not experience serious external attacks. As Danish King of England, Cnut

8265-676: Was effectively spurning the Archbishop of Bremen. The " Chronicle of John of Wallingford " (c. 1225–1250) records Sweyn's involvement in raids against England during 1002–1005, 1006–1007 and 1009–1012. According to Ashley (1998), Sweyn's invasion was partly motivated by the St. Brice's Day Massacre in November 1002, where Danes in England were massacred under orders from Æthelred the Unready , in which Sweyn's sister and brother-in-law are said to have been killed, but Lund (2001) argues that

8360-456: Was given hostages from each shire . When he understood that all the people had submitted to him, he bade that his force should be provisioned and horsed; he went south with the main part of the invasion force, while some of the invasion force, as well as the hostages, were with his son Cnut. After he came over Watling Street , they went to Oxford , and the town-dwellers soon bowed to him, and gave hostages. From there they went to Winchester , and

8455-410: Was informed that greater danger was approaching us than we liked at all; and then I went myself with the men who accompanied me to Denmark, from where the greatest injury had come to us, and with God's help I have made it so that never henceforth shall hostility reach you from there as long as you support me rightly and my life lasts. Now I thank Almighty God for his help and his mercy, that I have settled

8550-475: Was prosperous. Most sources say that they adopted Christianity but allowed the people religious freedom, leading to a backlash against Christianity which undid much of Olaf Tryggvason 's missionary work. Sweyn apparently recruited priests and bishops from England, in preference to the Archbishopric of Bremen . In part, this reflected the fact that there were numerous Christian priests of Danish origin in

8645-434: Was quick to eliminate any prospective challenge from the survivors of the mighty Wessex dynasty. The first year of his reign was marked by the executions of a number of English noblemen whom he considered suspect. Æthelred 's son Eadwig Ætheling fled from England but was killed on Cnut's orders. Edmund Ironside's sons likewise fled abroad. Æthelred's sons by Emma of Normandy went under the protection of their relatives in

8740-547: Was short-lived. The chronically treacherous Eadric was executed within a year of Cnut's accession. Mercia passed to one of the leading families of the region, probably first to Leofwine , ealdorman of the Hwicce under Æthelred, but certainly soon to his son Leofric . In 1021, Thorkel also fell from favour and was outlawed. Following his death in the 1020s, Erik of Hlathir was succeeded as Earl of Northumbria by Siward , whose grandmother, Estrid (married to Úlfr Thorgilsson ),

8835-464: Was the earl of Lade and the co-ruler of Norway with his brother Sweyn Haakonsson – Norway having been under Danish sovereignty since the Battle of Svolder , in 999. Eiríkr's participation in the invasion left his son Hakon to rule Norway, with Sweyn. In the summer of 1015, Cnut's fleet set sail for England with a Danish army of perhaps 10,000 in 200 longships. Cnut was at the head of an array of Vikings from all over Scandinavia . The invading army

8930-465: Was the father of King Harald II of Denmark , King Cnut the Great , and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter . In the mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father, Harald Bluetooth , and seized the throne. Harald was driven into exile and died shortly afterwards in November 986 or 987. In 1000, with the allegiance of Eric , Earl of Lade , Sweyn ruled most of Norway . In 1013, shortly before his death, he became

9025-470: Was the son of Harald Bluetooth and a woman named "Gunhild". When Harald converted to Christianity, Sweyn was baptised "Otto" (in honour of German king Otto I ). Sweyn married the widow of Erik, king of Sweden , named "Gunhild" in some sources, or identified as an unnamed sister of Boleslaus, ruler of Poland . Historian Ian Howard describes Sweyn as "a competent military commander, politician and diplomat" who made "a formidable and successful king." In

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