Cnut the Great
Also known as Canute, Canute II Sveynsson, King of England and Denmark, Cnut, Canute, the Dane, Canute the Dane
Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians.
AI overview
Cnut the Great was a medieval king who ruled England, Denmark, and Norway simultaneously from the early 11th century until 1035, creating what historians call the North Sea Empire by uniting these three kingdoms under his control. He matters historically because his reign represented a rare moment of political consolidation across Scandinavia and England, significantly influencing the political landscape of Northern Europe during the medieval period.
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Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- Germany
- Active from
- 1712-01-24
- Active to
- 1786-08-17
Works in European collections
36 objects attributed to Cnut the Great, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~44 min read
Article
27 sectionsContents
- Birth and kingship
- Conquest of England
- Landing in Wessex
- Advance into the North
- Siege of London
- London captured by treaty
- King of England
- Consolidation and Danegeld
- Affairs to the East
- Statesmanship
- King of Denmark
- Journey to Rome
- King of Norway and part of Sweden
- Influence in the western sea-ways
- Relations with the Church
- Death and succession
- Bones at Winchester
- Marriages and children
- Family tree
- Cnut's ''skalds''
- The story of Cnut and the waves
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians.
As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His later accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut sought to keep this power base by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. In 1031, Malcolm II of Scotland also submitted to him, though Anglo-Norse influence over Scotland was weak and ultimately did not last by the time of Cnut's death.