Canute the Great
A Danish king in England
Tekst/illustrasjoner:
Øyvind Olsholt/Clipart.com
Filosofiske spørsmål:
Øyvind Olsholt
Sist oppdatert: 20. januar 2004
Canute
the Great ("Canute" is the English name for the Scandinavian
name "Knut") was ruler over Denmark and England from 1016
to 1035. During all these years under the Danish king there was
relative peace and prosperity in England.
The Anglo-Saxon descendants
of Alfred the Great (king of England from 878-899) ruled until the
year 1016 when the Dane Canute, with the help of his father Sweyn
Forkbeard, took over power in England. This overtaking started with
the battle of Assandun in 1016 where Canute defeated Edmund Ironside
who was then the king.
(Historical note: Edmund Ironside was the son of Ethelred
the Unready. Ethelred was the son of Edgar who in turn was the great
grandson of Alfred the Great. So when Edmund Ironside was defeated
by Canute, it marked the end of Alfred's realm and the beginning
of a Danish dynasty. By the way, Edgar, grandfather of Edmund, was
the first ruler ever to be crowned king of all England, Danes included.)
After the battle Canute and Edmund got together on an island in
the river Severn where they decided that Edmund was to keep control
over Southern and Western England while Canute was to be in charge
of Mercia and Northumberland (Northern England). But just a few
weeks after this meeting Edmund died under mysterious circumstances.
It is unclear whether Canute had anything to do with his death,
but anyway the result was that Canute later that year (1016) was
crowned king of all England (and thereby excluded all the sons of
Ethelred and Edmund).
So far Canute had acted much like a true Viking: he had stranded
on the shore of a foreign
coast, fought the natives
and then conquered.
Now, after he had become king, he changed his style completely.
He married Ethelreds widow
Emma and sent his army back to Denmark. Then he started to rebuild
the country that he himself had contributed to ravage.
He began enforcing
the law and strengthen the courts
and he was also generous towards the churches and the monasteries.
He made the people respect the holy
days and in return the Church helped him execute
his many laws and commands.
Canute had been a heathen
when he first came to England, but he had quickly converted to Christianity.
In 1027 he also made a pilgrimage
to Rome where he witnessed the coronation
of Emperor
Conrad. Canute died in 1035. He was buried in the old Cathedral
of Winchester.
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