Legend says Thorkell helped raise the young Cnut, taking him on raids and teaching him warfare. The Encomium Emmae Reginae ("Encomium of Queen Emma"), about Emma of Normandy, tells us he was a great leader and warrior.
Landing with an army on the shores of Sandwich in the south-east in 1009, he began a progress through southern England either destroying or getting paid off. Canterbury initially gave them 3000 pounds of silver, which assuaged the Danes and sent them to London for their next attacks.
London's defenses and people were too much, and the Danes failed to defeat the city, so they returned to Canterbury. Canterbury was besieged for two weeks. It finally fell due to treachery by Ælfmaer, Abbot of St Augustine's, who (according to William of Malmesbury and others) let the Danes into the city. (Cnut made him Bishop of Sherborne I 1023.) Canterbury Cathedral was burned, and the archbishop of Canterbury, Ælfheah, was captured for ransom. Te Danes demanded an additional 3000 pounds of silver to let the captives go.
Ælfheah refused to be ransomed, and over seven months took the opportunity to speak to his captors and persuade many of them to convert to Christianity. On 19 April, during a feast in which the Danes got very drunk, they decided to kill Ælfheah.
Thorkell tried to save the archbishop. He begged the Danes to let Ælfheah live, offering them all that he possessed except his ship. The crowd would not be stopped. Ælfheah was pelted with stones and bones and finally beheaded by one impatient man.
More attacks across souther England produced a total of 48,000 pounds of silver, but Thorkell and men loyal to him split from the other Danes. Thorkell and 45 ships defected and offered themselves to King Æthelred as mercenaries.
This would mean that Thorkell would ultimately wind up on the other side of a battle with his own king and the son of that king, Cnut, whom Thorkell helped raise. I'll tell you how that went tomorrow.
