Canute the Great? |
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Canute I the Great |
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| Reign | November 30, 1016 - November 12, 1035 |
| Born | 995 Denmark |
| Died | November 12, 1035 Shaftesbury, Dorset |
| Buried | Winchester Cathedral |
| Married | Ælgifu Emma |
| Parents | Sweyn I Gunhilda |
Canute (or Cnut) II, or Canute the Great (Danish: Knud den Store, Norwegian: Knut den Store) (994/995 – November 12, 1035) was king of England, Denmark and Norway and governor or overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania. He was the son of sea-king Sweyn Forkbeard who was an avid supporter of the old faith and reputedly a member of the Jomsvikings. Canute's mother was Gunhild (formerly Swiatoslawa daughter of Mieszko I of Poland).
Canute was reared by a mother whose own mother had been abducted from a religious house and married to the first Duke of Poland, Mieszko, who later adopted Christianity for political reasons. This along with his fathers stout beliefs was probably the foundation of Canute's pragmatic relation to religion which would later greatly influence both Denmark and Britain.
Accompanying his father on his successful invasion of England in August 1013, Canute was proclaimed king by the Danish fleet on Sweyn's death the following February, but returned to Denmark (April 1014) on the restoration of the defeated king Ethelred the Unready by the Witenagemot of English nobles.
Invading England once more (August 1015), Canute fought a series of inconclusive conflicts with the English led by Ethelred and (from April 1016) by Ethelred's son, Edmund II of England until his crushing victory (October 1016) at the Battle of Assandun (probably either Ashingdon or Ashdon (known as Ascenduná in the Little Domesday Book of 1086), both in Essex, England). Meeting on an island in the river Severn, Canute and Edmund agreed to divide the kingdom, but Edmund's death (November 1016) left Canute as sole ruler, leading to his acclamation as king by the Witenagemot in January 1017. Canute solidified his new position as supreme ruler by marrying Ethelred's widow, Emma of Normandy, daughter of Richard the Fearless, duke of Normandy. In doing so, he strengthened political and commercial ties between England and Normandy while establishing his intentions to rule in a Christian fashion, as Emma was very devout.
As king of England, Canute combined English and Danish institutions and personnel. His mutilation in April 1014 of the hostages taken by his father in pledge of English loyalty is remembered above all as being uncharacteristic of his rule. His codification (c.1020) of England's laws overlaid an element of uniformity on Saxon tradition.
By dividing the country (1017) after the Danish fashion into the four great earldoms of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria, he instituted the system of territorial lordships which would underlie English government for centuries. The very last Danegeld ever to be paid, a sum of £82,500, was paid to Canute in 1018. He felt secure enough to send the invasion fleet back to Denmark with a payment of £72,000 that same year.
In order to associate his line with the overthrown English dynasty and to insure himself against attack from Normandy (place of exile of Ethelred's sons Edward and Alfred), Canute married (July 1017) Ethelred's widow Emma of Normandy, later designating their son Harthacanute as heir in preference to Harold, his (illegitimate?) son by Aelgifu of Northampton, a concubine.
In 1018 (or 1019) Canute succeeded his elder brother Harold II as king of Denmark, and appointed his brother-in-law Ulf Jarl 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 convinced the freemen to elect Harthacanute king, since they were miscontent with Canute's absenteeism. This was a ruse from Ulf since his role as the caretaker of Harthacanute would make him the ruler of Denmark.
When Canute learnt of what had happened in 1026, he returned to Denmark and with Ulf Jarl's help, he defeated the Swedes and the Norwegians at the Battle of Helgeå. This service, did not, however, make Canute forgive Ulf for his coup. At a banquet in Roskilde, the two brothers-in-law were playing chess and started arguing with each other. The next day, the Christmas of 1026, Canute had one of his Housecarls kill Ulf Jarl in the church of Trinity. The accounts of the two brothers and Ulf's death are contradictory.
In 1028, Canute conquered Norway with a fleet of fifty ships from England: his attempt to govern Norway through Aelgifu and his other son by her, Sweyn, ended in rebellion and the restoration of the former Norwegian dynasty under Magnus I.
Silver coin coined for Canute the GreatConrad II, Holy Roman Emperor was friendly with Canute and had his young son Henry married to Canute's daughter Cunigunde (Gunhilda). The emperor gave Canute the Mark of Schleswig and Pomerania to govern. The latter was probably the fief of Canute, since Boleslaus I of Poland sent his army to help Canute conquer England.
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. 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.
He 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, his point being that even a king's powers have limits. Unfortunately, this legend is sometimes misunderstood to mean that he believed himself so powerful that the natural elements would obey him, and that his failure to command the tides only made him look foolish. It is quite possible that the legend is simply pro-Canute propaganda.
Canute died in 1035, at Shaftesbury in Dorset, and was buried at Winchester. 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.
| Preceded by: Harold II |
King of Denmark 1014–1035 |
Succeeded by: Harthacanute |
| Preceded by: Edmund II |
King of England 1016–1035 |
Succeeded by: Harold I |
| Preceded by: Olaf the Stout |
King of Norway 1028–1035 |
Succeeded by: Magnus the Noble |