A description of Canute's physical appearance is of record in the thirteenth century ''Knýtlinga saga'':
Birth and kingship
Canute was a son of the Danish king Swegen Forkbeard and the Slavic princess (in accord with the Monk of St Omer's, ''Encomium Emmae''[3] and Thietmar of Merseburg's contemporary ''Chronicon''[4]), Saum-Aesa,[5] daughter to Mieszko I of Poland. Sigrid was given the Scandinavian name Gunnhilda by the Danes.[6] Canute, as an heir to a line of Scandinavian rulers central to unification of Denmark,[7] was born for a solidly military life. His origins lay in the obscure Harthacnut, founder of the royal house and father to Gorm the Old, its official progenitor. It is written in the ''Flateyjarbók'', a thirteenth century source, that as a youth Canute was brought up in the company of a chieftain known as Thorkel the Tall,[8] brother to Sigurd, Jarl of mythical Jomsborg, and the legendary Joms at their Viking stronghold, now thought to be a Slav fortress on the Island of Wollin.
Canute's date of birth is unknown. Contemporary works such as the ''Encomium Emmae'' and the ''Chronicon'', do not record a date. However, in the skald Ottar the Black's ''Knutsdrapa'' there is a statement that Canute began his career unusually young, and it also mentions an attack on Norwich, which might be one his father led 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,[9] with his war years begun in his father's English conquest. His age at the time of his death, and the key dates of his life as king, are never of any especial mention. The encomium of Emma only states that Canute was a youthful man, while Thietmar's chronicon pays its date no attention.
Cnut 'quatrefoil' type penny with the legend "CNUT REX ANGLORUM"
Hardly anything is known for sure of Canute's life until August 1013, the year he was part of a Scandinavian force under his father, the Danish king Swegen Forkbeard, which attempted to invade England. It was the climax of the Viking raids which had taken place over a number of decades. The English kingdom fell easily.
Over winter Canute's father was in the process of consolidating the Danish claim on the English kingdom, while Canute was left in charge of the army and base of the fleet at Gainsborough, a city of the Five Boroughs. The army was probably short of mercenaries, who are likely to have been sent home for winter once they had been paid. Upon Swegan's sudden death in February 1014, Canute was held by the Vikings to be their commander and King of England.
At the Witan, England's nobility refused to accept the claims of Canute and the Vikings. They voted to restore their former king, an Anglo-Saxon of the Wessex royal house, Ethelred the Unready, who was in exile with his in-laws in Normandy. It was an act which meant the English, possibly with Normans in their forces, made Canute abandon England and sail back to Denmark with the remnants of his forces. On the beaches of Sandwich the Vikings mutilated 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, became King of Denmark. Canute supposedly made the suggestion that they might have a joint rule, although this found no ground with his brother. Harald is thought to have made an offer for Canute to command the Vikings for a second invasion of England, on the condition he abandoned his claim on the Danish kingdom. Canute apparently accepted this role.
Conquest of England
Canute's fleet set sail for England in the summer of 1015 with a Danish army of 10,000 men,[5] along with support from the allies of Denmark. Boleslaw the Brave, the Duke of Poland and relative to the Danish royals, lent some token Slav troops,[11] likely to have been a pledge made to Canute and Harald when they went to fetch their mother back to the Danish court in the winter of 1014. Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden, was a strong ally. He was the son of Sigrid the Haughty by her first husband the Swedish king Eric the Victorious; also he was a relation to the royalty of Denmark through Sigrid's second husband, the Danish king Swegen Forkbeard. Eiríkr Hákonarson, Canute's brother-in-law, and Trondejarl the Earl of Lade and ruler of Norway under Swegen, and the sons of Forkbeard, (ref. the liege and lord alliance), were in support with the campaign reserves. They were to join Canute once the invasion had begun. Thorkell the High, who actually fought against the Viking invasion under Canute's father with a pledge of allegiance to the English, in 1012, as a Joms chief,[12] was with the fleet, and the Joms too. Some explanation for this particular Jomsviking's, as well as Jomsborg's, shift of allegiance, may be found in a stanza of the ''Jómsvíkinga saga'' with a statement that two attacks were launched against the Viking mercenaries while they were in England, maybe at Ethelred's command. Also, as if to add insult to injury, amongst their dead soldiers was a chieftain of the Jomvikings known as Henninge, who was a brother to Thorkell the Tall.[13] If it is true that Canute's childhood mentor was indeed this man, here may be the reason for his acceptance of this man's support, after an opposition against his father's previous expedition. Canute and the Jomsviking, ultimately in the service of Jomsborg, were in a very difficult relationship with each other. This was probably more or less understood, as a matter of verse. Ultimately, in 1023,[14] Thurkil the High eventually falls out of historical note. Eadric Streona, a nobleman risen far under Ethelred, his king, to be the wealthy Earl of Mercia, maybe even the richest of the English nobility, also thought it prudent to join in with Canute, and the Vikings, with forty ships in tow, although these were probably of the Danelaw.[13] England's king was under pressure, and the distresses which were a fact of his reign, as a man risen to sovereignty through assassination, were apparently too much for many to put up with. In spite of his faults, the Mercian Earl was a useful ally, pivotal to any successes either side might hope for, and he knew it. It was though a dangerous game to play in an era with such merciless rulers.
Canute was therefore 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. Most of the battles were fought against Ethelread the Unready's son, 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 west of England, until it came upon the mouth of the Frome. There the army disembarked and the occupation of Wessex was begun.[16] Canute had his men gathered supplies and made a base in the English heartland, with his ships in support.
A passage from the ''Encomium Emmae'' paints a picture of the scene which was to confront the English, when Canute and his Vikings with 200 longships made their landfall:
Until mid-winter the Vikings stood their ground, with Ethelred held up 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 found these lands without their main garrisons, as Uhtred was away with Ironside in Mercia to countermand the properties of Eadric Streona. Northumbria fell, and when Uhtred returned to sue for peace, Canute executed the Earl for breaking oaths pledged to Sweyn Forkbeard two years earlier, which left Ironside alone. Canute brought over Eiríkr Hákonarson and strategically put the Norwegian in control of Northumbria,[17] while he strengthened his army with the reserves.
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 Viking fleet set sail for the Thames to lay London under siege. Edmund Ironside was effectively swept before this onslaught, which left London as his last stonghold. Ethelred the Unready died on April 23, though, leaving Edmund as king. Over the next couple of months the attackers made their camps on the city's fringes, and dug a canal through which to pull their ships and cut off the supply line of the Thames. Encirclement was made complete by the construction of dikes on the city's northern and southern sides. Also forays on the walls were frequent.
In the summer Edmund broke out of London to raise an army in Wessex, and the Vikings broke off a portion of their siege in pursuit. The English rallied 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 end the siege of London. With the Scandinavians in disarray, Canute brought the forces back together in Wessex and the besiegers again focused their attentions on London. However, the English resistance was such that the invaders had to make their way north into Mercia to search for more supplies.
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 forced the besiegers of London back to their ships on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. The fleet went north and the invasion force reassembled in Essex. Here in October at Assandun, on the hill of ash trees, the two armies came together for one final confrontation. Canute won the Battle of Ashingdon decisively, partly because the Earl of Mercia betrayed his countrymen when he and his men retreated in the heat of battle.
Edmund Ironside, probably wounded, was caught 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. Canute was ultimately able to force Edmund into peace talks.
Canute and Ironside met on an island in the Severn. Edmund accepted defeat, signing a treaty with the Viking king in which all of England, except for Wessex was to be controlled by the Scandinavians. Its key clause was that when one of the two kings should die, the other king would 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, 1016, possibly at the hands of the traitor Eadric Streona's men, or more probably as a result of his wounds, Canute ruled the whole kingdom. His coronation was at Christmas, with recognition by the nobility in January 1017.
It was at the coronation that the untrustworthy Eadric Streona was recapitated, 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. It was not possible for the Crown to be seen to tolerate treachery. Canute was to be one of England's most successful kings, ultimately achieving a wide unity across Scandinavia and the North Atlantic.
King of England
In July 1017, Canute married Emma of Normandy, daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy. This was a move to associate his line with the overthrown English dynasty, as well as to protect himself against his enemies in Normandy, where Ethelred's sons Edward the Confessor and Alfred Atheling were in exile. Emma, Ethelred's widow, held the keys to a secure English court in several ways. Canute proclaimed their son Harthacanute as his heir, while his first sons in a marriage with Aelgifu of Northampton, his handfast wife, 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, as Canute was himself, a soldier of the Vikings.
Also in 1017, Canute officially decreed the dividing of England into its four great earldoms: 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 became the basis for the system of feudal baronies which underlay English sovereignty for centuries.
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.
Canute's brother Harald was possibly in England for Canute's coronation, if not for the conquest, and he may have gone back to Denmark, as king, at some point thereafter. It is only certain, though, that his name was entered into a confraternity with Christ Church, Canterbury,[18] in 1018. This though, is not conclusive, as the entry may have been made for him, by the hand of Canute himself even, which means it is unsure if he was dead or alive at the time. It is usually thought that Harald died sometime in 1018.
Canute 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 had been a rebellion, which Canute says in his letter he put down to ensure that Denmark was free to assist England,[19] 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 at least. Harald's name in the Canterbury codex may even have been Canute's attempt to make his vengeance for a murder good with the Church, or just to ensure his brothers seat in heaven.
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 as uncharacteristic of his rule. He reinstated the laws passed under King Edgar which allowed for the existence of a Danelaw, and the activity of Scandinavians at large. He also reformed the extant laws with a series of proclamations to assuage common grievances brought to his attention. Two significant ones were: 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 greatly improved the market and the English economy, which was unstable following years of disorder.
Canute is generally regarded as a wise and successful king of England, although this view may in part be attributed to his good treatment of the Church, which controlled the historic record. He nevertheless brought England more than two decades of peace and prosperity. The mediaeval church loved order, supporting good and efficient sovereignty 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, 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 faternity 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.
King of Norway and the Swedes of Sigtuna
Canute the Great's domains, a northern empire of a Viking king
Earl 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 step-brother. 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 . 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.
Other continental domains
On the death in 1024 of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry II, his son Conrad II sought friendship with Canute, with an eye to ending previously tense relations. 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 principalities 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
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, whom 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
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, 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 grandoise 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 ended with his eldest son Swegen's death after the rebellion of the Norwegians. The old English monarchy of Wessex was to reign once more through Edward the Confessor, whom Harthacanute brought back out of exile in Normandy. He gave Edward the right of succession if he died with no sons. When Edward became King the Normans became more influential at Court: pure Viking and Anglo-Saxon influence in England declined, although it must be remembered that the Normans themselves were of Viking descent.
Man sanding the street in celebration of May Day 1920.
★ There is a peculiar custom of "sanding the streets" in the British town of Knutsford that is generally thought to have made its appearance in Canute's reign and continues to this day. Tradition has it that King Canute threw sand from his shoes into the path of a wedding party upon fording the River Lily. Followers of this custom continue to decorate the streets with coloured sands in patterns and pictures. 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". Today the custom generally celebrates May Day.
★ The song "Can-Utility and the Coastliners," from the 1972Genesis album ''Foxtrot'', references the legend of King Canute and his command of the sea.
1. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pgs. 95-98 2. Graslund, B.,'Knut den store och sveariket: Slaget vid Helgea i ny belysning', ''Scandia'', vol. 52 (1986), pgs. 211-238 3. Encomiast, ''Encomium Emmae'', ii. 2, pg. 18 4. Thietmar, ''Chronicon'', vii. 39, pgs. 446-447 5. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. ?? 6. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 40 7. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pgs. 30-31 8. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 44 9. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. 160 10. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. ?? 11. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Temous (2004), pg. ?? 12. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. 27 13. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 57 14. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Tempus (2004), pg. 92 15. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 57 16. Swanton (tr.), Anglo-SaxonChronicle, Perterbourough (E) text, pg. 1150 17. Trow, M. J., ''Cnut: Emperor of the North'', first edn., Sutton (2005), pg. 59 18. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Tempus (2005), pg. 89 19. Lawson, M. K., ''Cnut: England's Viking King'', rev. edn., Tempus (2005), pg. 90
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