Cnut the Great: 1016-1035 AD | History of the monarchs of Britain

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Cnut the Great: 1016-1035

Cnut was a son of the Svein Forkbeard. On the death of Forkbeard, in February 1014AD, Cnut was declared king by the Danish army in England.

The English nobles didn't accept his rule, and recalled Aethelred from Normandy. Aethelred raised an army against Cnut, who subsequently fled to Denmark.

Æthelred finally died in London in 1016AD, and was buried at old St Paul's Cathedral. He was succeeded briefly by his son, Edmund Ironside.

Edmund was crowned in London, and accepted by those gathered as the rightful heir. However, many of the country's nobles had renounced his line, and instead made their peace with Cnut, declaring him king at a counsel held in Southampton.

Cnut returned with his army and brought them to London, where they arrived in May and laid siege. Edmund was able to escape the attacking army, and withdrew with his forces to Wessex, where he received the submission of the western Saxon nobles. Subsequently, Edmund returned to London, where he broke the siege and drove the Danes back to their ships.

A number of successful engagements followed, during which Edmund performed brilliantly, earning his nickname of "Ironside". However, on October 18th, Edmund met Cnut's forces at the Battle of Ashingdon in Essex, where he was decisively defeated (partly due to treachery). Edmund survived, and fled with his army to Gloucester, pursued by the Danish forces. Finally, Edmund invited Cnut to decide the matter in single combat, but the Norse king declined, citing Edmund's great size and strength as an unfair advantage. Instead, the kings agreed to divide the kingdom, with Edmund governing Wessex, London and East Anglia, and Cnut the rest of the lands north of the Thames. It was further agreed that in the event that either king should die, their territories would revert to the survivor.

Edmund died on 30 November, within weeks of the agreement. Cnut was crowned king of all England on Christmas day.

Cnut went on to become one of England's most successful kings. He consolidated his rule by banishing or executing all rival claimants to the throne, including Aethelred's and Edmund Ironside's sons. He used his army to secure England from the threat of Viking incursions and to secure his grip over the English nobles and their lands.

Cnut consolidated his rule to the extent that he was able to order the bulk of his army to return to Norway, retaining 40 ships and their crews for the defence of his English realm. This standing army was financed by the "heregeld", a tax raised through the system introduced by Aethelred to gather Danegeld.

Cnut divided England into four administrative provinces (Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria). The offials that he appointed to oversee these regions were known as "earls". Although these earls were initially appointed from amongst his followers, the Norse rule of the regions was shortlived, and power eventually reverted to the families of the existing English aristocracy.

Under his reign, Cnut united much of England and the Scandinavian kingdoms, bringing about an age of prosperity for the English. He has often been remembered as a wise and fair king, but this may largely be due to the influence of the church, to whom he was alawys a good friend. In 1027AD, he attended the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome - a pilgrimage that brought prestige and enhanced his repuation at home and abroad.

Cnut died in 1035 at Shaftesbury Abbey. He was buried in Winchester, the English capital.