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Cnut the Great
King of England, Denmark, Norway and a part of Sweden
Reign England 1016-12 November 1035
Denmark 1018-12 November 1035
Norway 1028-1035
Part of Sweden 1028-12 November 1035
Born ca. 985, 995
Birthplace Denmark
Died 1035
Place of death Shaftesbury, Dorset, England
Buried Old Minster, Winchester, England. Bones now in Winchester Cathedral, England
Predecessor Edmund Ironside (England)
Harald II (Denmark)
Olaf the Stout (Norway}
Anund Jacob (Part of Sweden)
Successor Harold Harefoot (England)
Harthacanute (Denmark)
Magnus I (Norway)
Anund Jacob (Part of Sweden)
Consort Ælfgifu
Father Sweyn I
Medieval impression: Edmund Ironside (left) and Cnut (right)
Canute on a coin minted during his reign
Canute's realm

Canute (or Cnut the Great) [1] (ca. 995–12 November 1035) was a Viking King of England, Denmark, Norway, part of Sweden and governor or overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania. Danish influence in the North Sea region was never greater than in his time. He had treaties with the Holy Roman Emperors, Henry II and Conrad II and good relations with the popes of his time.

Canute was the only man to be King of England, Denmark and Norway. He also ruled part of Sweden.[2][3]

Conquest of England

In the summer of 1015, Canute's fleet set sail for England with a Danish army of perhaps 10,000 in 200 longships.[4] Cnut was at the head of an array of Vikings from all over Scandinavia. The invasion force was to be in often close and grisly warfare with the English for the next fourteen months. Practically all of the battles were fought against Aethelred's son, Edmund Ironside.

After ascending the throne in 1016, Canute executed many of Edmund's followers, to make his crown safe.


Canute, a Christian, had two wives. His first wife, or perhaps concubine, was called Ælfgifu. She was a handfast wife, meaning the marriage was made by joining hands, not by a church ceremony. This was legal at that time. She became his northern queen.

His second wife was Emma of Normandy, who was also called Ælfgifu in Old English. Their wedding was a Christian wedding. She was kept in the south, with an estate in Exeter.

Both wives bore sons who became kings of England. Canute kept the Church sweet with many gifts.


Canute and the waves

There is a story that Canute sat on his throne ordering the sea to turn back. We do not know whether this really happened. It seems to come from Henry of Huntington (c. 1088 – c. 1154).[5]


  1. Old Norse: Knútr inn ríki, Danish: Knud den Store, Norwegian: Knut den mektige, Swedish: Knut den store
  2. Jones, Gwyn 1984. A history of the Vikings. 2nd ed, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285139-X
  3. Lawson M.K. 2004. Cnut: England's Viking King. 2nd ed, Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2964-7
  4. Trow M.J. 2005. Cnut: Emperor of the North. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 0-7509-3387-9
  5. Henry of Huntingdon 1853. The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon, comprising The History of England, from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the accession of Henry II. English translation by T.A.M. Forester; London: Bohn.

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