Cnut, King of England 1016-35; King of Denmark 1018-35; King of Norway 1028-35

b. 995; d. Shaftesbury 12 Nov 1035

Cnut, or Canute, was the first Danish King of all England. He assumed the throne at the age of 23, having campaigned successfully and ruthlessly for his father Sweyn. His first months as king were marked by single-mindedness in establishing his authority: potential rivals such as Eadwig, brother of Edmund Ironside were killed; he demanded the loyalty of all bishops and ealdormen; and he raised an enormous tribute from his new subjects to pay off the Danish fleet. But within two years he set about proving to his Anglo-Saxon subjects that he would govern them according to the laws of his illustrious predecessor King Edgar, part of which was to treat the Witan of England with respect. Cnut's marriage to Aethelred's widow Emma of Normandy in July 1017 can also be seen as a reconciliatory gesture.

Cnut divided the kingdom into four earldoms. Having kept Wessex, the cornerstone of Anglo-Saxon power for himself, East Anglia was given to Thorkel, Northumbria to Eric and Mercia to Eadric. But Eadric's position was short-lived because in December 1017 Cnut had him killed, knowing his double-dealing had done much to weaken Aethelred and Edmund.

Having secured his rule in England, Cnut felt able to return to Denmark in 1019 to establish his supremacy there following the death of his brother Harold. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles record that Cnut went at least twice more to Scandinavia. In 1026 he was defeated in a naval battle at the Holy River in Denmark by the forces of Sweden and Norway, and in 1028 Cnut successfully fought King Olaf of Norway and established his overlordship of that country, including its dominions Shetland, the Orkneys, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. However, unlike his son and successor Harthacnut, Cnut was careful not to use his English subjects just as a means of financing his Scandinavia ambitions.

In 1027 Cnut visited Rome to attend the coronation of Emperor Conrad II. No previous English king had made such a trip and it signals the confidence Cnut possessed in his kingship, and in his wider position in Christendom. At his death Cnut had restored the morale and dignity of Anglo-Saxon England after the battering it had taken in the years of Aethelred's reign. He had built on the laws of his predecessors, respected their traditions and brought peace after years of war and the threat of invasion. Even the most famous story of his rule, that of him trying to turn the tides, suggests he was demonstrating not his arrogance, but the limitations of kingly authority.

Cnut had three sons: Harthacnut by his wife Emma, and Sweyn and Harold "Harefoot" by his English mistress Aelfgifu. When he died at Shaftesbury on 12 November 1035, Cnut had not chosen a successor and this led to years of uncertainty and turmoil.

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Recommended reading

The Reign of Cnut
Rumble, Alexander R. (ed.) — Paperback £30.00 —