King Cnut of Norway

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 Denmark in the past, thinking it weak while Cnut was busy ruling England. Olaf had also conquered the Orkney Islands off Great Britain's northern coast, so he was a little too close for comfort. Not only did Cnut return to Denmark and drive Olaf back, he decided it was time to teach Olaf a larger lesson.

In 1028, Cnut sailed with 50 ships to Norway. Olaf was unprepared and "outgunned" because Cnut had prepared his way by bribing many of the Norwegian nobles for their support. 12th-century historian John of Worcester (previously mentioned here) says Cnut learned that Norwegian nobles were not content with Olaf's reign, so he sent them gold and silver to gain their loyalty.

Part of Cnut's plan relied on Haakon Ericsson, one-time governor of Norway until he was pushed out by Olaf, in the same Battle of Nesjar that made Olaf King of Norway. Hakon fled to England and was befriended by Cnut; Haakon's mother was said to be a sister of Svein Forkbeard, making the two men cousins. Cnut made him Earl of Worcester.

Cnut's army with the support of the Norwegian nobles very handily took over Norway. Olaf was driven to exile in the Kievan Rus. Cnut was declared King of Norway, and Haakon Ericsson was made his lieutenant there, managing Norway in Cnut's absence (which was frequent). (Unfortunately, Haakon died in a shipwreck in late 1029 or early 1030, between the Orkneys and the Scottish mainland.)

Olaf saw Haakon's absence as a reason to return to Norway with an army, including some Swedes. It did not go well for him: at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, his own people killed him.

Cnut now left Norway in the hands of his first wife, Ælfgifu of Northampton and Cnut's son by her, Svein Knutsson. This era experienced heavy taxation and a rebellion that led to the return of Olaf's dynasty.

You know, it's been almost an entire week about Cnut, and yet Olaf keeps weaving in and out of the story. I think it's time to look at Olaf, his bad decisions, how he became a saint, and how his illegitimate son eventually became king of Norway. We'll start that journey next time.

Cnut's Battles

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 Denmark by his brother, Harald II, and in England by the witenagemot, which elected for the return of Æthelred the Unready, who had been driven out by Svein the previous year. If Cnut wanted a kingdom, he was going to have to fight for one, which is exactly what he did.

He landed in southeast England in September 1015 with 10,000 men from all over Scandinavia. The Encomium Emmae Reginae ("Encomium of Queen Emma"), an 11th century encomium of Emma of Normandy (written about 30 years later) described this grand appearance:

...so many kinds of shields, that you could have believed that troops of all nations were present. ... Gold shone on the prows, silver also flashed on the variously shaped ships. ... For who could look upon the lions of the foe, terrible with the brightness of gold, who upon the men of metal, menacing with golden face, ... who upon the bulls on the ships threatening death, their horns shining with gold, without feeling any fear for the king of such a force? Furthermore, in this great expedition there was present no slave, no man freed from slavery, no low-born man, no man weakened by age; for all were noble, all strong with the might of mature age, all sufficiently fit for any type of fighting, all of such great fleetness, that they scorned the speed of horsemen.

Wessex quickly capitulated in the face of this army. Some nobles resident in England joined Cnut. Æthelred's son, Edmund Ironside, was Cnut's chief opposition, but was unable to halt Cnut's advances northward and westward. When Æthelred died on 23 April 1016, Edmund was safe behind the walls of London, whose citizens chose him to succeed his father. The witenagemot, however, seeing the way the wind was blowing, gathered in Southampton and voted to offer the kingship to Cnut. Edmund left London for Wessex to rally that part of the country, getting out before Cnut's forces could complete a siege of the city. Edmund managed to return to London and drive the siege away, but when he went back to Wessex for fresh troops, the Danes once again besieged London.

On 18 October 1016, a series of battles took place with each side alternately having the upper hand. Finally, however, Edmund's brother-in-law, who had joined Cnut upon the Dane's first arrival in England and had since gone back to supporting Edmund, deserted Edmund and removed himself and his forces from the Battle of Assandun, leading to an English defeat.

The two leaders met to negotiate terms. Cnut would take all of England north of the Thames, excepting London. London and everything south of the Thames was for Edmund to keep. Upon Edmund's death, the south of England would also become Cnut's domain. As it turned out, that would happen sooner than expected. Although the two probably never met face-to-face as the above illustration shows, Edmund had been wounded in battle. He died mere weeks after the truce was drawn up. Was it the result of his wounds, or was it murder? Let's talk about that tomorrow.

Cnut of Denmark

The Danish Prince Cnut (also spelled Canute) put together what was called the North Sea Empire: England, Denmark, and Norway. This was a remarkable accomplishment for the early 11th century.

He was born about 990, the son of King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark, and his mother is alternately given as Świętosława, a daughter of the founder of the Polish state, or Gunhild, a daughter of Burislav from Scandinavian sagas. A third chronicle claims Cnut's mother was an unnamed former queen of Sweden.

The 13th-century Icelandic Knýtlinga saga describes him:

Knut was exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of men, all except for his nose, that was thin, high-set, and rather hooked. He had a fair complexion and a fine, thick head of hair. His eyes were better than those of other men, being both more handsome and keener-sighted.

Nothing definitive about his youth is known until 1013, when his father invaded England and ousted Æthelred the Unready. Svein married Cnut to Ælfgifu of Northampton. Svein died a few months after the conquest, on 3 February 1014. Back in Denmark, Svein was succeeded by Harald II (Cnut's brother). The Danes in England chose Cnut as the new king, but the native English nobility gathered the witenagemot and elected to have Æthelred return, which he did.

Æthelred's army drove Cnut out of England handily, but Cnut left a lot of bodies in his wake as he departed from Sandwich. Cnut's brother offered him an army to try to take back England, so long as Cnut had no designs on the kingdom of Denmark itself.

By the summer of 1015 Cnut had assembled mercenaries from all over Scandinavia, numbering perhaps 10,000 in 200 ships. They landed first at Sandwich, and then began a series of bloody battles in a conflict that lasted more than a year.

I'll tell you more next time.

We Hardly Knew Ye...

Queen Elizabeth II of England recently passed a milestone, becoming the longest-reigning monarch of England. I am not certain of the "longest reign" candidates from other countries, but there is well-documented evidence of those who reigned the shortest.

Of course we know about Harold Godwinson, whose nine months and nine days was cut short by William the Conqueror in 1066. Sad for him, but his reign—albeit filled with warfare—was more leisurely than some. With Harold's death, technically he was succeeded by Edgar II, but after one month and 25 days, he relinquished his claim to William.

Empress Matilda was a claimant for the English throne during the Anarchy (discussed here, here, here, and here). She reigned less than nine months in 1141.

King Edmund Ironside (died 1016) ruled Wessex in England for seven months. and seven days King Lulach of the Scots  "beat" him in 1057 by reigning five days fewer, while the Scottish Duncan II lasted less than six months. King Hildebrand of the Lombards was just under seven months, in 744. Dafydd ap Gruffyd lasted for six months and 11 days.

Alexios IV Angelus, who ran afoul of the European 4th Crusaders who helped him to his throne, managed five months and 26 days. But his father, Isaac II Angelus, lasted less than five months. Their usurper, Alexios V Doukas, lasted even less: two months and a week.

Charles II of Hungary was murdered after one month and 24 days, in 1386.

Svein Forkbeard usurped the throne from Æthelred II, but held it only one month and nine days; it went back to Æthelred on Svein's death in 1014.

Then there was the Year of the Four Emperors (in Rome), but that was in the first century CE, and a little too early for a blog with "medieval" in its name. (But, for the record, they were just post-Nero: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian.)

If you didn't know how short your reign was, would it matter? King John I of France and Navarre reigned five days. He was the heir of Louis X; John died on 20 November 1316, aged five days!

But... what if John I actually didn't die after five days? I will have a story for you tomorrow about that.

Mother and Wife of Kings

Ælfgifu on the Bayeaux Tapestry

Ælfgifu of Northampton was once mentioned here as the wife of King Cnut. When King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark invaded England, the English capitulated quickly, and Svein married his son Cnut to a Mercian noblewoman, Ælfgifu.* Their first child was Svein Knutsson, the future King of Norway.

Svein Forkbeard died in 1014, and our old friend Æthelred the Unready moved in, forcing Cnut to flee to Denmark. While there, Cnut and Ælfgifu had another child who would grow up to be Harold Harefoot (King of England from 1035-1040, and mentioned here).

In 1016, Cnut re-conquered England, and then cemented his power base there by putting Ælfgifu aside and marrying the widow of Æthelred, Emma of Normandy. This doesn't mean that his first wife was completely removed from power: he sent her to Norway with young Svein where she apparently ruled while acting as regent for their son. This period in Norway is remembered for heavy taxes and shortages.

Back in England, Cnut's death in 1035 created a conflict. Cnut and Emma had a son, Harthacnut, who was next in line. Ælfgifu wanted the throne for her son Harold, and probably made a lot of the decisions during his five-year reign. Harold died in March of 1040 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Harthacnut at the time was preparing to launch an attack on England; he was able to just step in, take the throne, and have Harold's body dug up and thrown into a swamp. (Loyal followers later found it and buried it again.)

After 1040, the woman married to one king and mother to two more fails to show up in any records.

*She was called "Ælfgifu of Northampton" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to distinguish her from other Ælfgifus, such as those of Exeter, York, and Shaftesbury; it was a popular name!