King Canute the Great

On October 18, 1016, the Danes under Canute the Great defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Assandun. An excerpt from the article:

"Canute or Cnut the Great was born circa 985 to 995 AD and was the son of King Sweyn Forkbeard. Canute’s reign and deeds were told of in Norse poetry, and was portrayed as a fierce Viking warrior; in the Knýtlinga Saga, Canute was “exceptionally tall and strong, and the recognised of men, all except for his nose, that was thin, high set and rather hooked. He had a fair complexion nonetheless, and a fine thick head of hair. His eyes were better than those of other men, both the more handsome and keener of their sight.” Canute’s successes as a ruler and conqueror gave the Danes an important link to the maritime region of Britain and Ireland.

Canute supported his father’s campaign against King Ethelred II the Redeless, upon success Sweyn established himself on the English throne. Upon his father’s death in 1014, Ethelred returned to England and Canute was forced to flee to Denmark. Canute gathered his troops in Denmark and returned to England in 1015, managing to conquer nearly the entire country except for London. Upon the death of Ethelred II in 1016, the people of London chose his son Edmund Ironside as King, but the Witan elected Canute to replace the previous ineffectual king. The Witan was the term used to describe the council of Anglo-Saxon Kings; they included aldermen, thanes and bishops to discuss royal grants of land, taxation, law, defence, foreign policy and church matters. This decision led Edmund and Canute into various skirmishes; Canute defeated him at the Battle of Assandun, and this resulted in a treaty being drawn partitioning the country between the two men, the settlement would hold until the death of one the participants involved in which case all the lands would revert to the survivor. Edmund died only a month later On November 30, 1016, AD, and Canute became the King of England upon his coronation at Christmas in London. On the way to Rome for his coronation, Canute wrote a letter for his subjects, (this letter only exists in two-twelfth century Latin versions), proclaiming himself “King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and some of the Swedes.”

Silver penny of Canute the Great
Silver penny of Canute the Great

During his early reign, Canute was a harsh leader and resorted to executions and exile to maintain his precarious position as King of the North Sea Empire. Canute engineered the murder of Edmund Ironside’s brother, chased Edmund’s children out of England and into safe Hungary and had many of his prominent English rivals killed. After a few years when his rule became more stable, he adopted a less harsh policy and allowed more Saxons into positions of power.

Considered a conciliatory gesture, Canute repudiated his wife Elgiva and married Ethelred’s widow, Emma of Normandy. Canute became King of Denmark in 1019 and King of Norway in 1028 making him the ruler of a massive empire surrounding the North Sea. Canute converted to Christianity and was an avid protector of the Church; he promoted leaders of the English Church and was acknowledged by the Pope as the first Viking to becoming a Christian King. Embarking on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1027 Canute displayed reverence and humility and upon his return to England, he promised his Saxon subjects that he would rule with mercy and justice. Canute was remembered in medieval texts as a wise, successful and adept King, although this may have been due to his generous treatment of the Church who was the keepers of historical records at the time. He is portrayed as a religious and piteous man despite his sinful relationship with two wives and his harsh treatment of Christian opponents."