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Canute the Great

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and
before (including Roman Britain); Monarchs of Great Britain

                           Canute the Great
      King of England, Denmark, Norway, as well as some of Sweden
   Reign       England: 1016 - November 12, 1035
               Denmark: 1018 - November 12, 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
   Father      Sweyn Forkbeard
   Mother      Saum-Aesa, or Gunnhilda

   Canute I, or Canute the Great, also known in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
   as Cnut ( Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki, Norwegian: Knut den mektige,
   Swedish: Knut den store, English: also Knut, Danish: Knud den Store)
   (ca. 995 – November 12, 1035) was a Viking king of England, Denmark,
   Norway, of some of Sweden (such as the Sigtuna Swedes), as well as
   overlord of Pomerania, and the Mark of Schleswig. He was in treaty with
   the Holy Roman Emperors, the German kings, Henry II and Conrad II, the
   vassals of the pontificate, and, in relations with the papacy. His rule
   was over a northern empire which saw Danish sovereignty at its height.

Description of Cnut

   Here is a description of Cnut's physical appearance. It is an excerpt
   from the Knytlinga Saga of the 13th century:

          Knutr was exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of
          men, all exept for his nose, which 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.
          (Dual, and , sources)

Birth and Kingship

   Canute was a son of the Danish king Swegen Forkbeard and his queen,
   Saum-Aesa, lent her Scandinavian name Gunnhilda by the Danes, whom, in
   accord with the Monk of St Omer's, Encomium Emmae, and, Thietmar of
   Merseburg's contemporary Chronicon, was a Slavic princess, daughter to
   the first Duke of Poland. Cnut, as an heir to a line of Scandinavian
   rulers central to unification of Denmark, with its origins in the
   obscure Harthacnut, founder of the royal house and father to Gorm the
   Old, its official progenitor, was born for a solidly military life. It
   is verily written, in the Flatayarbok, a thirteenth century source,
   with some certainty, that as a youth Cnut was brought up in the company
   of a chieftain known as Thorkel the Tall, brother to Sigurd, Jarl of
   mythical Jomsborg, and the legendary Joms, at their Viking stronghold,
   now thought to be a Slavic fortress on the Island of Wollin.

   Canute's date of birth is an unknown, as covergage of his life, such as
   contemporary works known as the Encomium Emmae and the Chronicon, give
   it no mention. Still, in the skald Ottar the Black's Knutsdrapa there
   is a statement that Cnut began his career unusually young, while it
   mentions an attack on Norwich also, which might be one his father lead,
   in 1004. If it is the case that Cnut 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 date nearer 1000
   to be the one of his birth, 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 mention. The
   encomium of Emma only states that Cnut was rather youthful, while
   Thietmar seems to think it of no importance, which is information of
   sorts.
   "CNUT REX ANGLORUM" ......QUATREFOIL
   "CNUT REX ANGLORUM" ......QUATREFOIL

   Concisely, hardly anything is known for sure of Cnut's life... that is,
   until the year he was with a Scandinavian force under his father, the
   Danish king Swegen Forkbeard, for his invasion of England, in August,
   1013. It was the crux of many Viking raids over past decades, with
   centuries of their territorial involvement in England, particulary with
   the peoples of Denmark in the Danelaw, and the English kingdom fell
   easily under the pressure of a conquest.

   Over winter, Cnut's father was in the process of consolidation for the
   Danish claim of the Anglo-Saxons, while he was left the charge of the
   army, and base of the fleet, at Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire, which
   was probably down a considerable number, likely to have been sent home
   for winter once the payments for their services were made. Any support
   for the conquest was at the cost of silver and gold. Fortuitously, upon
   the sudden death of Swegen, in February, 1014, Canute was held by the
   Vikings to be their commander, a warlord, and King of England.

   At the Witan, England's nobility refused to accept Cnut's claim, and
   restored the Englishman and former king, Ethelred the Unready, in exile
   with his in-laws in Normandy. It was an act which meant the English
   kingdom, possibly with Norman knights in its forces, had made Canute
   abandon his kingship, and sail back to Denmark with the remnants of the
   invasion, with it held in contempt of the rights of conquest. On the
   beaches of Sandwich, the Danes mutilated their hostages, taken from the
   English as pledges of allegiance given to Forkbeard.

   On the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, the King of Denmark was Cnut’s older
   brother Harald. Cnut supposedly made the suggestion of joint rulership,
   although this found no ground with Harald. In due kind, Harald was to
   offer Cnut the command of the Danes for their second conquest of
   England, on the condition he laid off on his claim to the Danish
   kingdom. Canute, with acceptance of this proposition, kept silent,
   ready for the moment to present itself when he could settle his scores
   with the nobles, and sit once again as ruler over the Kingdom of
   England.

Conquest of England

   Canute's fleet set off for England, in summer, 1015, with a Danish army
   of 10,000 men, along with support from the allies of Denmark. Boleslaw
   the Brave, the Duke of Poland, and Cnut's uncle, lent some token Slav
   troops, likely to have been a pledge made while Cnut and his brother
   Harald went to fetch their mother home, in winter, 1014, since their
   father sent her away from the Danish court. Olof Skötkonung, King of
   Sweden, was a strong ally, as son of Sigrid the Haughty, by her first
   husband, Sweden's progenal king Eric the Victorious, and, by her second
   husband, Swegen Forkbeard, the step-brother of Cnut. Eiríkr Hákonarson,
   Cnut's brother-in-law, as well as, Trondejarl, the Earl of Lade, and
   ruler of Norway, under Swegen, and the sons of Forkbeard too, as within
   the liege and lord alliance, was left with the campaign reserves in
   Denmark. He was to join Canute once the invasion began, while there
   were possibly still men to gather, with their probable dispersal, in
   winter, 1013.

   Thorkell the High, who fought with Ethelred, in 1013, after his
   alliance to the English, in 1012, as a Joms chief, also was with Cnut,
   along with his Joms. An explanation for this particular Jomsviking's,
   as well as Jomsborg's, shift of allegiance, may be found in a stanza of
   the Jomsvikingsaga with a statement that two attacks were launched
   against the Viking mercenaries while they were in England, maybe at
   Ethelred's command. And to add insult to injury, amongst their dead
   soldiers was a chieftain of the Jomvikings known as Henninge, who was
   also a brother to Thorkell the Tall. Likewise, if it is true that
   Cnut's childhood mentor was indeed this man, here may be the reason for
   Cnut's acceptance of the allegiance after an opposition against his
   father's previous expedition. Cnut and the Jomsviking, ultimately in
   the service of Jomsborg, were in a difficult relationship, which was
   apparent until , in 1023, Thurkil the High eventually falls out of
   historical note.

   Eadric Streona, a nobleman risen far to be the wealthy Earl of Mercia
   under his king, Ethelred, also thought it prudent to join in Cnut's
   invasion, with forty ships, though these were probably of the Danelaw
   anyway. England's king was clearly at a wits end, and the distresses
   which were a fact of his reign, as a man risen to sovereignty through
   assassination, were too much for many to put up with. In spite of his
   faults, the Mercian Earl was a strong ally to be had, pivotal to any
   successes which the English might hope to make, and he probably knew
   it.

   With these, and his brother Harald's aid, Cnut was at the head of an
   epic array of Vikings, from all over Scandinavia. Altogether, the
   invasion force, to be in fourteen months of often close and grisly
   warfare under Cnut, with most of the battles against Ethelred's son,
   Edmund Ironside, was more formidable than any seen since the
   Anglo-Saxon's black days under Alfred the Great. The same royal house
   of Wessex that stood against the tide of Vikings then, stood against it
   still, although now the might of Cnut was to prove too great for the
   English.

   Here is a passage out of the Encomium Emmae which paints a good picture
   of the scence which was to confront the English as Cnut and his
   Vikings, whom, as the author writes, had 200 ships, made landfall:

          There were so many kinds of shields, that you could have
          believed that troops of all nations were present... Gold shone
          on the prows (of their ships), silver also flashed... 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
          vigourous with the strength of complete manhood, fit for all
          manner of battle, and so swift of foot that they despised the
          speed of cavalry. (Dual, and , sources).

   In September, 1015, Cnut was seen off shore of Sandwich again, and the
   fleet went around on the coast about Kent until it came upon the mouth
   of the Frome, where it put to land and began the occupation of Wessex.
   Cnut had his army gather supplies and made a base of the English
   heartland, with his fleet at his back.

   Until mid-winter the Vikings stood their ground, with Ethelred held up
   in London. Cnut'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. Cnut found these lands without their main garrisons, as
   Uhtred was away with Ironside in Mercia to countermand the properties
   of Eadric Streona. Northumbria fell, while at Uhtred's return to sue
   for peace, for breaking oaths pledged to Sweyn Forkbeard two years
   earlier, Canute was to execute its Earl, which left Ironside alone.
   Cnut brought over Eiríkr Hákonarson and strategically put the Norwegian
   in control of Northumbria, while he had his army made stronger with the
   reserves.

   In April, 1016, Cnut made his way south through the western shires to
   gather as much support from the English as possible, already confident
   in the eastern Danelaw, and the Scandinavian fleet came up the Thames
   to lay London under siege. Edmund Ironside was effectively swept before
   this onslaught, which left London as his last resort, while it was also
   the refuge of his father. Ethelred's death on April the 23rd meant he
   was England's king, after his official election by the nobles, and the
   townsfolk. Over the next couple of months the Vikings were to surround
   the city and dug a canal through which to pull their ships to the
   western side of London, from the east, and cut off the supply lines of
   the river. Encirclement was complete by the construction of dikes on
   the city's north and south sides. Attacks on the walls too were
   frequent, although London could not be beaten unless it was to
   surrender the keys for its gates.

   In the summer Ethelred's heir broke out of London to raise an army in
   the Wessex countryside, and the Vikings broke off a portion of the
   siege in pursuit, under Canute's leadership. Edmund Ironside's forces
   were now caught on the last reaches of their kingdom, practically in a
   corner with the sea at their backs. Like the resistance of Alfred the
   Great against the Vikings in his day, the English were to rally at
   Penselwood, with a hill in the Selwood as the likely location of their
   stand. The battle which was fought did not leave any clear victor while
   another fought at Sherston in Wiltshire was again over with no side in
   clear advantage. Cnut's invasion force purportedly brought each of the
   battles to their end with retreats, although it is likely it was simply
   darkness which meant the blood shed could not continue.

   Edmund Ironside did eventually end the siege of London, with the
   Scandinavians in disarray, although Cnut was able to get his forces
   back together in Wessex and the attack was brought to bear on the city
   again. London was still not beaten though, and the invaders had to make
   their way north into Mercia and get more supplies. At which point
   Eadric Streona thought it wise to ally himself with the English again.
   Cnut's men were subsequently put under attack in Kent, and the army of
   Edmund Ironside sent the Vikings back, on to the Isle of Sheppy. These
   men went north too, and the invasion force was all together again in
   Essex with Cnut at its head, along with Thorkell the High. Here, in
   October, at Assandun, on the hill of ash trees, the two armies came
   together for one last assault. A decisive victory in the Battle of
   Ashingdon, which saw Eadric Streona again betray his countrymen with
   his ungainly retreat amidst the carnage, along with his men, meant the
   Viking army won the domination of England.

   Edmund Ironside, probably suffering and fatally wounded, was caught in
   retreat half way across the country, near Wales and the Forest of Dean,
   where there was likely to have been a final struggle made in an attempt
   by the English to protect their king. Cnut was ultimately able to force
   them into peace talks, on the terms which he set, or none.

   Cnut and Ironside met on an island in the Severn, which left King
   Edmund only to accept defeat and sign a treaty with Canute in which all
   of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Canute, and when
   one of the kings should die, the other king would be the one and only
   king of England; his sons being the heir to the throne. It was a move
   of astute political sense, as well as mercy, on the part of the Viking
   leader. After Edmund's death, possibly murder, by the hand of the
   traitor Eadric Streona's men, probably by the afflictions of war, on
   November the 30th, in 1016, Canute ruled the whole kingdom. Canute was
   recognised by the nobility as the sole king in January 1017, yet his
   coronation was at Christmas.

   It was at the coronation that Cnut saw to the decapitation of the
   untrustworthy Eadric Streona, and the head was put on a pole for all to
   see. This execution was by the hand of his Earl of Northumbria, Erikr.
   If it was in reaction to the dishonour of murder against the former
   king, or simply disloyalty, that lead Cnut to this man's execution, it
   is unsure. He was now King of England though, and the throne could be
   kept only under a ruler who was seen by the people as just, even
   ruthlessly, as well as liberal to their cause. Trechery was the main
   threat which put Cnut's life in peril. Him as the Viking whom was to be
   one of England's most successful kings, with a wide unity across
   Scandinavia and the North Atlantic.

   In July 1017, to associate his line with the overthrown English
   dynasty, as well as to protect himself against his aggressors in
   Normandy, where Ethelred's sons Edward the Confessor and Alfred
   Atheling were in exile, Emma of Normandy, daughter of Richard the
   Fearless, Duke of Normandy, was married to Canute. She was Ethelred's
   widow, and held the keys to a secure English court in more ways than
   one. Cnut duly proclaimed their son Harthacanute as his heir, while his
   first sons with Aelgifu of Northampton were left on the sidelines. He
   sent Harthacnut to Denmark while he was still a boy, and the heir to
   the throne was brought up, like he was himself, as a soldier of the
   Vikings.

King of England

   Cnut's first act in the country, in 1017, was to officially divide it
   into the four great earldoms of Wessex, his personal fief, Mercia, to
   be given to Leofric after its previous Earl's death, Northumbria, for
   Eric, and East Anglia, for Thorkel. This was to be the basis for the
   system of feudal baronnies which were to underlie English sovereignty
   for centuries, while the very last Danegeld ever paid, a sum of
   £82,500, went to Canute, in 1018, a significant proportion of which was
   levied from the citizenry of London alone. He felt secure enough to
   send the invasion fleet back to Denmark with £72,000 that same year.

   Cnut's brother Harald was maybe in England for his coronation, if not
   for the conquest, while it may be he went back to Denmark, as king, at
   some point thereafter. It is though, only sure that his name was to
   enter a confraternity with Christ Church, Canterbury, in 1018. This
   though, is not conclusive, as the entry may have been made for him, by
   the hand of Cnut himself even, which means it is unsure if he was dead
   or alive at the time. Nevertheless, it is usually thought that Harald's
   life was at its end, in 1018.

   Cnut mentions the suppression of troubles in his 1019 Letter, written
   as the King of England, and Denmark, which can be seen, with some
   plausibility, in connection to the death of Harald. If it was a
   rebellion, which Cnut his Letter says he put down to ensure that
   Denmark was free to assist England, then his brother's hold on the
   throne was tenuous, although there is no reason to think there was not
   a smooth enough succession, by the standards of the time. Harald's name
   in the Caterbury codex may have been Cnut's ritual to make his vengence
   for a murder good with the Church.

   As King of England, Canute combined English and Danish institutions and
   personnel. His mutilation of the hostages taken by his father in pledge
   of English loyalty is remembered above all as being uncharacteristic of
   his rule.

   Canute reinstated the laws passed under King Edgar. However, he
   reformed the existing laws and initiated a new series of laws and
   proclamations. Two significant ones were On Heriots and Reliefs, and
   Inheritance in Case of Intestacy. He strengthened the coinage system,
   and initiated a series of new coins which would be of equal weight as
   those being used in Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia. This
   greatly improved the trade of England, whose economy was in turmoil
   following years of social disorder.

   Canute is generally regarded as a wise and successful king of England,
   although this view may in part be attributable to his good treatment of
   the church, which controlled the history writers of the day. However,
   he brought England more than two decades of peace and prosperity. The
   medieval church loved order and believed in supporting good and
   efficient government, whenever the circumstances allowed it. Thus we
   see him described even today as a religious man, despite the fact that
   he lived openly in what was effectively a bigamous relationship, and
   despite his responsibility for many political murders.

King of Denmark

   Upon Sweyn Forkbeard's death, Cnut's brother Harald was King of
   Denmark. Cnut 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
   Cnut the command of the Danes in any attempt he had a mind to make on
   the English throne.

   It is possible Harald was at the siege of London, although as the King
   of Denmark, with Cnut in control of the invasion. He was to enter the
   faternity of Christ Church, Canterbury, after which he sailed back to
   Denmark, in 1018, with the fleet of his Danes.

   In 1018 Harold II died and the Kingdom of Denmark was Canute's. His
   sailing back home in 1019 to over-winter was to affirm his succession
   as the King of Denmark. 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 assumedly 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 attacked Denmark, Ulf gave the
   freemen cause to elect Harthacanute king, discontent with Canute, in
   England. This was a ruse of Ulf's, since the role the earl had as the
   caretaker of Harthacanute subsequently made him the holder of Denmark's
   kingly reigns. When Canute learnt of this, in 1026, he returned to
   Denmark and, with Ulf Jarl's help, he defeated the fleet of Swedes and
   Norwegians at the Battle of Helgeå. This service, did not, though,
   allow Ulf the forgiveness of Canute for his coup. At a banquet in
   Roskilde, the two brothers-in-law were playing chess and started a row
   with each other. The next day, the Christmas of 1026, one of Cnut's
   housecarls, with his blessing, killed Ulf Jarl, in the Church of
   Trinity. Contradictory evidences of Ulf's death gather doubt to this
   though.

King of Norway and the Swedes of Sigtuna

   Canute the Great's domains, a northern empire of a Viking king
   Canute the Great's domains, a northern empire of a Viking king

   Earl Eiríkr Hákonarson was ruler of Norway under Cnut's father,
   Forkbeard, and the invasion of England in 1015-16 was with the
   assistance of Norwegians under Erik. Cnut showed his appreciation,
   awarding Eiríkr the office to the Earldom of Northumbria. Sveinn,
   Eiríkr's brother, was left in control of Norway, although he was beaten
   at the Battle of Nesjar, in 1015 or 1016, and the son of Eiríkr, Håkon,
   fled to his father. Of the line of Fairhair, Olaf Haraldsson was then
   King of Norway, and the Danes lost their control.

   Thorkell the Tall, said to be a chieftan of the Jomsvikings, was a
   former associate of the now King Olav of Norway, and the difficulties
   Cnut found, in Denmark, as well as with Thurkel, were maybe to do with
   Norwegian pressure on the Danish lands. Jomsborg, the legendary
   stronghold of the Jomvikings, was possibly on the south coast of the
   Baltic Sea, which, if the Joms were on the side of Olaf, may account
   for the attack on the Wends of Pomerania, as Jomsbourg was, maybe, at
   the heart of this territory. King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden was an ally
   of Cnut's, as well as his step-brother. His death, in 1022, though, and
   the succession of his son, Anund Jacob, meant the Danish domains were
   now under threat of the Swedes too.

   In a battle known as the Holy River, with an alliance between the kings
   Olaf Haraldsson and Anund Olafsson, the Swedes and Norwegians were
   attacked in the mouth of a river Helgea by the navy of Cnut. 1026 is
   the likely date, and the apparent victory left Cnut in control of
   Scandinavia, confident enough with his dominance to make the journey to
   Rome, and the coronation of Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor, on March
   26, 1027. 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 Cnut, which left the former king alive) and Norway
   (it's former king still alive), with his Letter, in 1027. 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 falay their wives for
   sorcery. Cnut was crowned king, his office, now, “King of all England
   and Denmark, and the Norwegians, and some of the Swedes”. He trusted
   the Earldom of Lade to the former line of earls, in Håkon Eiriksson,
   with Earl Eiríkr Hákonarson probably dead at this date, although 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.

   Cnut's attempt to rule Norway through Aelgifu of Northampton and his
   second son by her, Sweyn, was to be put to an end, with his death, in
   rebellion, and the restoration of the former Norwegian dynasty under
   Olaf's son Magnus the Good.

Other continental domains

   On the death of his father, Henry II, in 1024, with an eye to end
   previously tense relations, the Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II, was
   friendly with Canute. Conrad's son, Henry, to be, Henry III, was, at
   his request, bound in a betrothal with Canute's daughter, Chunihildis
   (Gunhild). Cnut's southern ally felt it appropriate to cede to him
   princedoms on the German border with Denmark, in the Mark of Schleswig.

   Pomerania was probably already a fief of Canute's, since Boleslaus I of
   Poland sent his army to help Canute conquer England. Many legends also
   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.

Relations with the Church

   The Angels crown Canute the Great, while he and Emma of Normandy donate
   the Winchester Cross to the Church
   The Angels crown Canute the Great, while he and Emma of Normandy donate
   the Winchester Cross to the Church

   It is hard to conclude if Canute’s devotion to the Church came out of
   deep religious devotion or merely as a means to consolidate and
   increase his political power. Even though Canute was accepted as a
   Christian monarch after the conquest, the army he led to England was
   largely heathen, so he had to accept the tolerance of the pagan
   religion. His early actions 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, who he
   treated as his northern queen.

   However, his treatment of the Church could not have been more sincere.
   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.

   Canute’s pilgrimage to Rome in 1027 was another sign of his dedicated
   devotion to the Christian faith. It is still debated whether he went to
   repent his sins, or to attend Emperor Conrad II’s 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.

Succession

   Canute died in 1035, at Shaftesbury in Dorset, and was buried in the
   Old Minster in Winchester. When the current Winchester Cathedral was
   built on the site of the Saxon minster, Canute's bones were moved to a
   mortuary chest. During the English Civil War of the 17th century, the
   bones were spilled out and are now 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 took power in England, however, ruling
   until his death (1040), whereupon the two crowns were again briefly
   reunited under Harthacanute.

Marriages and issue

     * 1 - Aelgifu of Northampton
          + Sweyn Knutsson reigned Norway ca. 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.

Family-tree

                              Harald Bluetooth


   Mieszko

   Dubrawka

   William

   Sprota






























   Sweyn

   Gunhilda



   Gunnora

   Richard














































                           Aelgifu of Northampton

   Canute

   Emma of Normandy

   Ethelred the Unready

   Aelflaed, 1st wife



   Richard

   Judith


























































                               Sweyn Knutsson

   Harold Harefoot


   Gunhilda of Denmark


   Alfred Aetheling

   Edmund II

   Ealdgyth

   Robert

   Herleva











































                           Gytha Thorkelsdóttir+

   Godwin, Earl of Wessex

   Harthacanute










   Edward

   Agatha

   William

   Matilda













































































                                    Sweyn

   Harold

   Tostig


   Edith

   Edward

   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.

Popular Culture

   Canute is perhaps best remembered for the legend of how he commanded
   the waves to go back. According to the legend, he grew tired of
   flattery from his courtiers. When one such flatterer gushed that the
   king could even command the obedience of the sea, Canute proved him
   wrong by practical demonstration (at Southampton or Bosham; other
   sources say these events took place near his palace at Westminster), to
   demonstrate that even a king's powers have limits. Having demonstrably
   failed to command the waves he removed his crown, refusing to wear it
   again, claiming that there was no true king except Jesus.
   Man standing in the street in celebration of May Day 1920.
   Man standing in the street in celebration of May Day 1920.

   Sanding the streets of Knutsford is generally thought to have made its
   appearance in Cnut's reign. There is a peculiar custom of "sanding the
   streets" in the small British town of Knutsford. This custom is to
   decorate the streets with coloured sands in patterns and pictures, that
   continues to this day. Specifically it is held now to celebrate May
   Day.

   Tradition has it that King Canute, while he forded the River Lily,
   threw sand from his shoes into the path of a wedding party. The custom
   can be traced to the late 1600s. Queen Victoria, in her journal of 1832
   recorded: "we arrived at Knutsford, where we were most civilly
   received, the streets being sanded in shapes, which is peculiar to this
   town".

In literature

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canute_the_Great"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
