Canute the Great: The Bloodshedding Prince Who Became the Unifying King

By Jaden Babbitt, Guest Writer

An ancient prince of Denmark went into battle with his father, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Northumbria, against the English King Æthelred of Wessex, known to posterity as Æthelred the Unready. This prince found himself in charge of the hostages. With his world overflowing with malicious violence, the prince did not feel pity for inflicting permanent punishments on the hostages by cutting off their hands, ears, and noses; soldiers were turned into monstrous creatures in a moment. Yet, someone who could destroy could also unify. The Old Norse word “knut” meaning “knot”, when two things are tied together, was the suitable Scandinavian name given to this ancient prince who was destined to entwine kingdoms together.

In 1013, after over a decade of intermittent raiding and fighting, King Sweyn and his son Canute successfully overthrew the English king of Wessex and sent him into exile. Yet the new king had little time to enjoy his victory as he passed away on February 3, 1014, after ruling only a few weeks. His death, at about fifty years of age, was quite jarring and shifted the fragile dynastic situation. Canute became the new king while his brother, Harald II, received the throne of Denmark. Æthelred, however, sought to use Sweyn’s death to reclaim his throne. When Canute received word of Æthelred’s vengeance, he purposefully regrouped back in Denmark. Æthelred the Unready believed that young Canute had fled and abandoned his conquest. The former king laid waste to the land with the Kingdom of Lindsey (Northern Lincolnshire on modern maps) taking the brunt of the blow for having supported Sweyn during his invasion; a number of Englishmen and women of Scandinavian descent lived there and had already submitted to him. It helped that Sweyn had betrothed Canute to a daughter of English nobility, Ælfgifu of Northampton.

In Denmark, Ælfgifu became with child and gave birth to Harold Harefoot, Canute’s firstborn son. After a year of contrivance and growing his legions, Canute returned to England in the Summer of 1015 to vanquish Æthelred. Another year of battles would ensue, yet Æthelred’s death in April of 1016 altered the situation irrevocably. He left his second wife, Emma of Normandy, now a widow with two young sons, yet it was his oldest son and heir, Edmund Ironside, who claimed the throne and became the new face of the English army. Canute’s and Edmund’s regiments clashed at the Battle of Assandun; historians debate whether it took place in northern Essex or southeast Essex. Canute left the true fighting to his men — mostly mercenaries — for this particular battle. Edmund was bested and forced to sign a treaty officially stating that he had dominion only over Wessex while Canute ruled over the rest of England. Wessex did not stay out of Canute’s jurisdiction for long. What little gppd fortune Edmund had left after the treaty completely dried up as he joined his father in death in the Fall of 1016. Canute was officially the King of England.

King Canute wasted no time and demanded the hand of Emma, Æthelred’s widow, and they were wed in the Summer of 1017. While he married for political reasons, Canute would find Emma to be an ideal mate who helped him navigate kingship and brought key political connections from her family in Normandy. Yet other members of her family proved troublesome. To ensure he would have no future unwelcome challenges to his throne, Canute had her young children—the Æthelings (royal children), Edward and Alfred, as well as the children of Edmund Ironside—exiled to the Continent. Harthacnut, the only son of Emma and Canute, would be declared heir over the rest of Canute’s sons, and they had one more child, a daughter named Gunhild or Gunhilda, who would grow up to marry Henry III, the Holy Roman Emperor.

The term “old age” in the 11th century applied to men older than their mid-thirties. King Canute’s immediate family seemed to be cursed, for not many lived to be over fifty years old. Canute’s brother, the King of Denmark, died of unknown causes, and Canute was crowned the King of the English and the Danes by 1019. Although his empire expanded, he as less lucky in his heirs. His sons would not live beyond early adulthood. Queen Emma was not affected by the curse, for she was bound to Canute through marriage, not blood, and lived to be about sixty-eight years old. The three-part account of Sweyn Forkbeard’s invasion, Canute’s reign, and what became of Emma after her second husband’s death is known as the Encomium Emmæ Reginae. The account honors Emma, stating, "May our Lord Jesus Christ preserve you, O Queen, who excel all those of your sex in the amiability of your way of life."

While Denmark was not entirely Christian, King Canute embraced the identity of a Christian ruler and cultivated connections with European monarchs and the Pope. It behooved him to exhibit his new status as a Christian which led to him traveling south to Rome, where he witnessed the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II. Upon his return to Northern Europe, he expanded Scandinavian trade, supported churches, aided monasteries and attempted to create better conditions for merchants and pilgrims travelling to Rome. Having witnessed the power of European rulers, he understood the possibilities of power, and reinvented his royal title to King Canute of all England, Denmark, Norway, and some of Sweden.

Canute’s years of stable rule ended with his death in 1035, leaving an uneasy plethora of eager heirs. Harthacnut was crowned King of Denmark, while his older half-brother, Harold Harefoot, became king of England. Yet, the bloodline of Wessex still lived—their half-siblings, Edward and Alfred, had been living in safety at the court of Normandy with their mother’s family. The two sons of Queen Emma and Æthelred did return to England the same year of Harold’s regal installation. Alfred was captured by Earl Godwin for Harold and blinded, eventually dying from his wounds. Edward would never forgive his brother’s murderer, which would cause deep political rifts in the future. Harold’s reign in England only lasted five years, for he too died of a sudden illness in 1040, and his half-brother, Harthacnut became the new King of England and Denmark like his father, but would die after barely two years. It would be Edward, the son of Canute’s old enemy who would inherit his throne and hold onto it for decades.

Canute the Great was a young prince born into a world of violence and greed for power. His strengths lay in battle and political strategy. He was violent when necessary and conciliatory when practical. Although he won his throne with blood, he ruled as a true king, setting an example for the next generation of a blended culture of Danish, Anglo-Saxon, and Christian. Canute’s wives both maintained royal status after their marriages to Canute ended, and his children went on to become or marry great rulers.

Further Reading and Works Cited

1. Brain, Jessica. “King Cnut the Great.” Historic UK: The History and Heritage Accommodation Guide.https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Cnut-The-Great/Accessed Mar. 2025.

2. “Canute the Great Summary.” Edited by Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica,

www.britannica.com/summary/CanuteI#:~:text=Canute%20proved%20an%20effective%20ruler, the%20restoration%20of%20Ethelred’s%20dynasty. Accessed Mar. 2025.

3. Encomium Emmae Reginae, trans by Alistair Campbell (1949). Complete book At Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.185337/page/n1

4. Henriksen, Louise Kæmpe. “Cnut the Great.” Vikingeskibs Museet,

www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-age-people/historical-characters/cnut-the-great-of-denmark-england-and-norway. Accessed Mar. 2025.

5. Unknown. “Harthacnute.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harthacnut. Accessed Mar. 2025.

6. Various. “Emma of Normandy.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_of_Normandy.

Accessed Mar. 2025.

7. Various. “Harold Harefoot.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Harefoot. Accessed Mar. 2025.

8. Various. Oxford English Dictionary

9. Various. “1013-1036.” The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.