| Revision as of 09:18, 24 February 2002 editDavid Parker (talk | contribs)970 editsm Distinguished from other Canutes← Previous edit | Revision as of 15:51, 25 February 2002 edit undo66.47.62.78 (talk) *corrected to DenmarkNext edit → | ||
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| ] (or Cnut) I, or Canute the Great (Danish <i>Knud den Store</i>) (994/995-1035), king of ], ] and ], was the son of king ] (Sweyn Forkbeard) of Denmark and his queen Gunhild (formerly Swiatoslawa, daughter of ] of Poland). | ] (or Cnut) I, or Canute the Great (Danish <i>Knud den Store</i>) (994/995-1035), king of ], ] and ], was the son of king ] (Sweyn Forkbeard) of Denmark and his queen Gunhild (formerly Swiatoslawa, daughter of ] of Poland). | ||
| Accompanying his father's 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 |
Accompanying his father's 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 ] by the ] 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) his son, ] until his crushing victory (October 1016) at Assandun (Ashingdon, Essex). 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. | Invading England once more (August 1015), Canute fought a series of inconclusive conflicts with the English led by Ethelred and (from April 1016) his son, ] until his crushing victory (October 1016) at Assandun (Ashingdon, Essex). 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. | ||
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| 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. | 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 ], ], ] and ], he instituted the system of territorial lordships which would underlie English government for centuries. In 1018 he felt secure enough to send the invasion fleet back to |
By dividing the country (1017) after the Danish fashion into the four great earldoms of ], ], ] and ], he instituted the system of territorial lordships which would underlie English government for centuries. In 1018 he felt secure enough to send the invasion fleet back to Denmark with a payment of £72,000. | ||
| 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 ] and Alfred, Canute married (July 1017) Ethelred's widow ], later designating their son ] as heir in preference to ], his illegitimate son by ] (earlier Ethelred's first wife). | 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 ] and Alfred, Canute married (July 1017) Ethelred's widow ], later designating their son ] as heir in preference to ], his illegitimate son by ] (earlier Ethelred's first wife). | ||
Revision as of 15:51, 25 February 2002
Canute (or Cnut) I, or Canute the Great (Danish Knud den Store) (994/995-1035), king of England, Denmark and Norway, was the son of king Sweyn I (Sweyn Forkbeard) of Denmark and his queen Gunhild (formerly Swiatoslawa, daughter of Mieszko I of Poland).
Accompanying his father's 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) his son, Edmund Ironside until his crushing victory (October 1016) at Assandun (Ashingdon, Essex). 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.
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. In 1018 he felt secure enough to send the invasion fleet back to Denmark with a payment of £72,000.
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 Algifu of Northampton (earlier Ethelred's first wife).
In 1018 (or 1019) Canute succeeded his elder brother Harold II as king of Denmark, and in 1028 he conquered Norway with a fleet of fifty ships from England: his attempt to govern Norway through Algifu and Harold ended, however, in rebellion and the restoration of the former Norwegian dynasty under Magnus I.
On his death in November 1035, Canute was succeeded in Denmark by Harthacanute, reigning as Canute II: Harold took power in England, however, ruling until his death (1040), whereupon the two crowns were again briefly reunited under Harthacanute.