Daily Medieval

Estrid Svensdatter, daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard and sister of Cnut , was born c.990 and lived at least until 1057. We do not know about her...

It may well have been news of the wholesale slaughter of Danes  in 1002 that was ordered by King Æthelred that motivated Sweyn Forkbeard t...

It must have been a shock when Thorkell the Tall , a leader and warrior of the early 12th-century Danish invasion of England, changed his st...

The Danish raid on Canterbury in 1011 included a leader named Thorkell the Tall. He was an important enough man that his name was recorded o...

Edmund, son of Æthelred the Unready  and his first wife Ælfgifu of York, was likely born between 990 and 993, one of several siblings. He wa...

After Edmund of East Anglia began to be treated as a saint , he became an important focal point for Christians in East Anglia, and embraced...

After Edith of Wilton died (c.984), her canonization was a slow process, taking 13 years (slow for the time; canonization these days in the...

Godwin, Earl of Wessex (c.1001 - 15 April 1053) had played his cards carefully, supporting whomever was in power. Although English, he rose ...

Æthelred the Unready had several children by two wives. His seventh son (and first by his second wife, Emma of Normandy ), was named Edward...

Olaf Haraldsson (c.995 - 29 July 1030) started out the son of a petty king in a Norway district but rose to become King of Norway by uniting...

Olaf Haraldsson was the son of a petty king of Vestfold (a district in eastern Norway), Harald Grenske, and Åsta Gudbrandsdatter, who we le...

King Cnut of England and Denmark saw a chance to expand his rule to more of Scandinavia. King Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway had hassled Denma...

The death of Svein Forkbeard in 1014 made his youngest son into King Harald II of Denmark. He had been left as regent when his Svein and Har...

Once Cnut was firmly established as king, he set about ensuring his power. He first executed or drove away (if they were wise) potential ri...

After over a year of fighting for control of England, Cnut of Denmark and Edmund Ironside made an agreement: Edmund would have London and e...

Svein Forkbeard was King of Denmark and King of England, but when he died in 1014, his son Cnut (c.990 - 1035) was denied succeeding him in...

The Danish Prince Cnut (also spelled Canute) put together what was called the North Sea Empire: England, Denmark, and Norway. This was a rem...

So...Sandwich. Most people just think about the food item that shares its name, but it has had more history than that, and not just as a Cin...

Emma of Normandy (c.984 - 6 March 1052) was queen of England, Denmark, and Normandy. As the daughter of Richard the Fearless of Normandy, sh...

Duncan I was king of Scotland from 1034 until he was killed on 14 August 1040 by Macbeth. Peter O'Toole as Duncan, portrayed as an ...