King+Cnut


 * King Cnut of Denmark **

toc Cnut was a Danish king who throughout his life also ruled England, Norway, parts of Sweden and had connections with Germany. He had a large throne to fill after the death of his father Swegen Forkbeard; however his nickname //Cnut the Great// reveals his success in continuing the trend of great Danish kings. Cnut’s reign was characterised by his large kingdom, his achievement of re-taking England for the Vikings for the first time in thirty-five years, as well as his Christian rule. The triumph of the Vikings was short lived however, as upon his death his kingdoms were lost through his children and England was restored to the Anglo-Saxons, ending his short but dominant rule.

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=Prior to Reign:= Cnut’s date of birth is unknown due to the dispute over whether he was the son of King Swegen Forkbeard’s first or second wife; he lived from either 990 or 999 to 12th November 1035. The basis of his reign was formed as a result of his father’s conquest of England in 1013. After Swegen defeated England’s king Aethelred in 1014, his sudden death weeks later brought about Aethelred’s return and the expulsion of Cnut and the Vikings from England. This defeat, as well as Swegen’s loss of Norway prior to the conquest in 1013, left Cnut with a sudden loss of power and influence, and contributed to his determination to rebuild the Danish Empire.

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=The Second Conquest:= In 1015 Cnut returned to England with severe intensity. The //Lithsmen’s Song// reveals his determination with the line “the touch of nature which brings the fury of the Northman” and “Knut gave the word, he bade us make a stand; he held a shield among us when we fought by London strand”. Cnut’s marriage into an allegiance with the North through Aelfgifu of Northampton aided his successful conquest. He then became king of England as a truce with Aethelred’s son Edmund was broken after Edmund’s sudden and suspicious death. Cnut then wed his second wife Emma, Aethelred’s widow, bringing the second conquest to an end with a long awaited victory for the Vikings.

= Ruler-ship := Through his just and fair qualities as king, Cnut quickly won England over by proving strong and intelligent, bringing peace and being supportive of the church, with the latter playing a probable part in English acceptance of the Scandinavian as their king. His Christian rule enabled him to continue to build and influence his Danish empire. The famous account of Cnut trying to stop a wave reflects his religious rule, as he stated “Let the world know that the power of kings is empty and worthless, and there is no king worthy of the name save Him by whose will heaven, earth, and sea obey eternal laws”. He then removed his crown and hung it on a crucifix, never wearing it again, adding “the King of Kings was more worthy of it than he”. Cnut continued to build his empire through a pilgrimage to Rome in 1027 where he attended the coronation of German emperor Conrad II with whom he arranged a marriage between his daughter Gunnhild and Henry III, creating a blood alliance between the Vikings and Germany.



= = =Death and Loss:= After King Swegen’s loss of allegiance to Norway in 1013, Cnut did not rule it until 1030<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. However, Cnut’s rule, which was the “pinnacle of Viking achievement”<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, was short and upon his death his kingdoms were lost in the hands of his children. His sons Swegen, Harthacnut and Harold each ruled the three kingdoms. However, Swegen’s loss of Norway in 1034<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and Gunnhild, Harold and Harthacnut’s sudden deaths within the next eight years<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> returned the English throne to the Anglo-Saxons, ultimately reducing the Viking rule almost entirely to the Danish lands.

=Immediate Family Tree:=



<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> W. G. Collingwood, //Early Britain: Scandinavian Britain// (London, 1908), 155; T. Bolton, //The Empire of Cnut the Great: Conquest and Consolidation of Power in Northern Europe in the Early Eleventh Century// (The Netherlands, 2009), 9. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> I. Howard, //Swein Forkbeard’s Invasions and the Danish Conquest of England 991-1017// (UK, 2003), 100. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> M.K. Lawson, //Cnut: The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century// (England, 1993), 19. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Ibid, 101. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Ibid, 19. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Collingwood (1908), 157, taken from Corpus Poeticum Boreale ii., 106-108. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Ibid. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Howard (2003), 137. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Collingwood (1908), 155; Howard (2003), 140; K. Henshall, //Folly and Fortune in Early British History: From Caesar to the Normans// (UK, 2008), 141. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Howard (2003), 141. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Collingwood (1908), 158. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> W.C. Jordan, //Europe in the High Middle Ages// (England, 2001), 50; Henshall (2008), 142. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Henshall (2008), 142, taken from Henry of Huntingdon //History of the English// VI, 17, 366-9. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Lawson (1993), 134, taken from Goscelin //Translatio Sancte Mildrethe Virginis,// VI, ed. Rollason, 163. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Lawson (1993), 109. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Collingwood (1908), 159. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Lawson (1993), 101. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Henshall (2008), 143. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Lawson (1993), 102. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Ibid 109; Henshall (2008), 144.

=References:=

Secondary Sources:

Bolton, T., //The Empire of Cnut the Great: Conquest and Consolidation of Power in Northern Europe in the Early Eleventh Century// (The Netherlands, 2009), 9.

Collingwood, W.G., //Early Britain: Scandinavian Britain// (London, 1908), 157.

Henshall, K., //Folly and Fortune in Early British History: From Caesar to the Normans// (UK, 2008), 2.

Howard, I., //Swein Forkbeard’s Invasions and the Danish Conquest of England 991-1017// (UK, 2003), 100.

Jordan, W.C., //Europe in the High Middle Ages// (England, 2001), 50

Lawson, M.K., //Cnut: The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century// (England, 1993), 104.

Primary Sources:

Henry of Huntingdon, //History of the English// VI, 17, pp. 366-9, cited in Henshall, K., //Folly and Fortune in Early British History: From Caesar to the Normans// (UK, 2008).

Goscelin, //Translatio Sancte Mildrethe Virginis,// VI, ed. Rollason, 163, cited in Lawson, M.K., //Cnut: The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century// (England, 1993), 134.

Corpus Poeticum Boreale //The Lithsmen’s Song,// II, 106-8, cited in Collingwood, W.G., //Early Britain: Scandinavian Britain// (London, 1908), 157.

Images Used:

Royal Family History. n.d. King Cnut (Canute) (1016 – 1035). http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=canute (Accessed September 12, 2011).

Akkora – Quality articles by quality people. n.d. Top 10 Most Misunderstood Figures in History. http://akorra.com/2010/03/04/top-10-most-misunderstood-figures-in-history/ (Accessed September 12, 2011).