"House of Knýtlinga The Danish House of Knýtlinga (English: ""House of Cnut's Descendants"") was a ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave his name to this dynasty. Other notable members were Cnut's father Sweyn Forkbeard, grandfather Harald Bluetooth, and sons Harthacnut, Harold Harefoot, and Svein Knutsson. It has also been called the House of Canute, the House of Denmark, the House of Gorm, or the Jelling dynasty. In 1018 AD the House of Knýtlinga brought the crowns of Denmark and England together under a personal union. At the"
"in England a letter saying he was abroad to avert an unspecified ""danger"", and he only returned to quell incipient rebellions. One Danish chronicle states that the Danes had previously deposed Harald in favour of Cnut, then brought back Harald because of Cnut's frequent absences, until Cnut finally became king permanently after his brother's death. King Olaf of Norway and King Anund Jacob of Sweden, seeing the combined Anglo-Danish kingdom as a threat – Cnut's father Sweyn had asserted power over both their countries – took advantage of Cnut's being in England to attack Denmark in 1025 or 1026, and"
"1024 Cnut had offered to let Olaf govern Norway as his vassal; but after Helgeå, he set about undermining his unpopular rule with bribes, and in 1028 set out with 50 ships to subjugate Norway. A large contingent of Danish ships joined him, and Olaf withdrew into the Oslo Fjord while Cnut sailed along the coast, landing at various points and receiving oaths of allegiance from the local chieftains. Finally at Nidaros, now Trondheim, he was acclaimed king at the Eyrathing, and in a few months Olaf fled to Sweden. In 1030, Olaf attempted to return, but the people of"
"in southeastern Uppland, where a river appears to have been called ""Helgå"" in the Middle Ages. According to that hypothesis, the site fits the topographical details of Snorri's account much better than eastern Scaniae. Thus, the results of the war are not clear either in the sources. It is obvious however that the Swedish-Norwegian attack failed, since Cnut remained master of his realm and was able to make a pilgrimage to Rome in 1027. On his way back to Denmark he dictated a letter, saying that he intended to make peace and treaty with the peoples and nations which had"
"also minted asserting he ruled Ireland, and Swedish history at this early date is very uncertain. In addition to Sweden, of which he or the person who wrote the heading to his letter claimed he was king, Cnut received tribute from the Wends and was allied with the Poles; in 1022, together with Godwin and Ulf Jarl, he took a fleet east into the Baltic to confirm his overlordship of the coastal areas that the Danish kings dominated from the Jomsborg. Immediately after his return from Rome, Cnut led an army into Scotland and made vassals of Malcolm, the High"
"king"" based on Svein. Svein Knutsson is also mentioned as Sveinn Alfífuson (matronym) and under the epithet ""óforsynjukonungr"" (""unforeseen king""). In Norwegian, his name is ""Svein Knutsson""; in Danish, ""Svend Knudsen"". Many variations of the name are used, including Sven and Sweyn, from the Anglo-Saxon Swegen. He was the second ruler of Norway by this name, after his grandfather Sweyn Forkbeard. In 1029 Håkon Eiriksson, Cnut's vassal ruler of Norway, was lost at sea and Olaf Haraldsson, who had been deposed as king of Norway by Cnut, tried to recapture the kingdom, but he was defeated and killed at the"
"standing force of 40 ships, funded by national taxation. In 1025 Cnut led an Anglo-Danish fleet to campaign against his enemies in Scandinavia, and in 1028 he conquered Norway with a force including 50 English ships. The standing fleet was in time reduced to 16 ships, but increased again after Cnut's son Harthacnut brought a fleet from Denmark to claim the throne in 1040. The early years of Edward the Confessor's reign saw a series of large naval operations under the king's own command, including in 1045 the deployment at Sandwich of a particularly big fleet to guard against an"
"a Danish controlled area of the Baltic coastline. Her two sons were to figure prominently in the empire which their father built in northern Europe, though not without opposition. After his conquest of England in 1016, Cnut married Emma of Normandy, the widow of King Æthelred. It was then regarded as acceptable to put aside one wife and take another, a practice which might be described as ""serial monogamy"". The status of Cnut's two 'marriages' and their social context in England and Scandinavia has been discussed recently by Timothy Bolton. Emma's sons, Edward and Ælfred by Æthelred and Harthacnut by"
"Svein Knutsson Svein Knutsson (Old Norse: ""Sveinn Knútsson"") c. 1016–1035, was the son of Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, Norway, and England, and his first wife Ælfgifu of Northampton, a Mercian noblewoman. In 1017 Cnut married Emma of Normandy, but there is no evidence that Ælfgifu was repudiated, and in 1030 Cnut sent her and Svein as regents to rule Norway. However, their rule was considered oppressive by the Norwegians, and they were expelled in 1034. They imposed new taxes and harsh laws that made them unpopular. In William Shakespeare's ""Macbeth"", there is a character called ""Sweno, the Norways'"
"Harald's son Cnut the Great barely maintained the link between the two countries, which completely broke up during the reign of his son Hardecanute. A final attempt by the Norwegians under Harald Hardrada to reconquer England failed, but did pave the way for William the Conqueror's takeover in 1066. Following the death of Canute the Great, Denmark and England were left divided and despite some attempts (see below) were never reunited. The history of Christianity in Denmark overlaps with that of the Viking Age. Various petty kingdoms existed throughout the area now known as Denmark for many years. Between c."
"issue. The existence of Gunhild of Wenden and Sigrid the Haughty is disputed, some details of their lives can be exchanged to each other or associated to another figures. House of Knýtlinga The Danish House of Knýtlinga (English: ""House of Cnut's Descendants"") was a ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave his name to this dynasty. Other notable members were Cnut's father Sweyn Forkbeard, grandfather Harald Bluetooth, and sons Harthacnut, Harold Harefoot, and Svein Knutsson. It has also been called the House of Canute, the House of Denmark,"
"on Ulf's part since his role as Harthacnut's guardian would make him the ruler of Denmark. When Cnut learnt what had happened, he returned to Denmark and fought naval engagement against the Swedish and Norwegian forces at the Battle of the Helgeå. The victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia. The ""Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"", which instead places the battle a year earlier in 1025, names the leaders of the Swedes as Ulf and Eglaf, usually identified with Ulf Jarl and his brother Eilaf. Saxo likewise would have Ulf fighting Cnut at Helgeå. However ""Saga of Olaf the Holy"" in"
"quickly grew to become the largest settlement in Scandinavia and remained so until its eventual destruction in the later half of the 11th century. From around 800 AD, the Danes began a long era of well-organised raids across the coasts and rivers of Europe. Some of the raids were followed by a gradual succession of Danish settlers and during this epoch, large areas outside Scandinavia were settled by the Danes, including the Danelaw in England and countryside and newly established towns in Ireland, the Netherlands and northern France. In the early 11th century, King Cnut the Great (died 1035) ruled"
"England. When the attackers were finally bought off and dispersed in 1012, Thorkell entered Æthelred's service with 45 ships. When the King of Denmark Swein Forkbeard conquered England in 1013, the fleet remained loyal to Æthelred after the rest of the kingdom had submitted to the invader. Swein's death in 1014 led to Æthelred's brief return to power, but in 1015-16 England was again conquered by Swein's son Cnut, whose invasion force had been joined by 40 ship-loads of Danish mercenaries who defected from Æthelred's service. Having secured the throne, Cnut dismissed the bulk of his fleet, but maintained a"
"with two wives, and the harsh treatment he dealt his fellow Christian opponents. Under his reign, Cnut brought together the English and Danish kingdoms, and the Scandinavic and Saxon peoples saw a period of dominance across Scandinavia, as well as within the British Isles. His campaigns abroad meant the tables of Viking supremacy were stacked in favour of the English, turning the prows of the longships towards Scandinavia. He reinstated the Laws of King Edgar to allow for the constitution of a Danelaw, and for the activity of Scandinavians at large. He also reinstituted the extant laws with a series"
"were joined by Ulf Jarl, Cnut's Danish regent, and his brother. Cnut took Olaf's fleet by surprise and took the battle to the Swedish fleet at the Battle of the Helgeå. The precise outcome is disputed, but Cnut came out best; Olaf fled and the threat to Denmark was dispelled. In 1027, Cnut travelled to Rome, partly to expiate his sin for having Jarl Ulf killed the previous Christmas, partly to attend the coronation of Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor and to demonstrate his importance as a ruler. He secured relaxation of tolls levied on pilgrims journeying to Rome"
"Canterbury, an occasion seen by Harthacnut's biographer, Ian Howard, as recognition of his position as Cnut's heir in England. In the 1020s Denmark was threatened by Norway and Sweden, and in 1026 Cnut decided to strengthen its defences by bringing over his eight-year-old son to be the future king under a council headed by his brother-in-law, Earl Ulf. However, Ulf alienated Cnut by getting the Danish provinces to acknowledge Harthacnut as king without reference to Cnut's overall authority and by failing to take vigorous measures to meet Norwegian and Swedish invasions, instead waiting for Cnut's assistance. In 1027, Cnut arrived"
"Sweyn Forkbeard returned to invade England with a large army, and Æthelred fled to Normandy, leading Sweyn to take the English throne. Sweyn died within a year however, and so Æthelred returned, but in 1016 another Norse army invaded, this time under the control of the Danish King Cnut son of Sweyn Forkbeard. After defeating Anglo–Saxon forces at the Battle of Assandun, Cnut became king of England, subsequently ruling over both the Danish and English kingdoms. Following Cnut's death in 1035, the two kingdoms were once more declared independent and remained so apart from a short period from 1040 to"
"height of its power, in the years 1028–1030, the House reigned over Denmark, England and Norway. After the death of Cnut the Great's heirs within a decade of his own death and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the legacy of the Knýtlinga was largely lost to history. The House of Knýtlinga ruled the Kingdom of England from 1013 to 1014 and from 1016 to 1042. In 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard, already the king of Denmark and of Norway, overthrew King Æthelred the Unready of the House of Wessex. Sweyn had first invaded England in 1003 to avenge the death"
"Denmark"", and his mother Queen Emma, previously resident at Winchester with some of her son's housecarls, was made to flee to Bruges in Flanders, under pressure from supporters of Cnut's other son, after Svein, by Ælfgifu of Northampton: Harold Harefoot — regent in England 1035–37 — who went on to claim the English throne in 1037, reigning until his death in 1040. Eventual peace in Scandinavia left Harthacnut free to claim the throne himself in 1040 and to regain for his mother her place. He brought the crowns of Denmark and England together again until his death in 1042. Denmark"
"the river for the navy of King Cnut, which was commanded by Danish earl Ulf Jarl. Cnut's navy was massive; his own ship is said to have been 80 metres long. The Swedish and the Norwegian kings ordered a large dam be made of peat and lumber on the river. When the Danish navy sailed in, the water was released and a great many Danes and Englishmen drowned in the deluge. However, the main strength of Cnut's fleet lay outside the river harbour. After the ships in the harbour were destroyed, the rest of the fleet gathered together from all"
"river Helgea, probably in 1026, and the apparent victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia. Ulf the usurper's realignment and participation in the battle did not, in the end, earn him Cnut's forgiveness. Some sources state that the brothers-in-law were playing chess at a banquet in Roskilde when an argument arose between them, and the next day, Christmas 1026, one of Cnut's housecarls killed the jarl with his blessing, in Trinity Church, the predecessor to Roskilde Cathedral. His enemies in Scandinavia subdued, and apparently at his leisure, Cnut was able to accept an invitation to witness the accession"
"Cnut the Great. A skaldic tradition describes the bridge's destruction in 1014 by Æthelred's ally Olaf, to divide the Danish forces who held both the walled City of London and Southwark. The earliest contemporary written reference to a Saxon bridge is c.1016 when chroniclers mention how Cnut's ships bypassed the crossing, during his war to regain the throne from Edmund Ironside (see Battle of Brentford (1016)). Following the Norman conquest in 1066, King William I rebuilt the bridge. The London tornado of 1091 destroyed it, also damaging St Mary-le-Bow. It was repaired or replaced by King William II, destroyed by"
"the Good). Cnut the Great died in the same year and his sons lacked his capacity. When the last of them, Harthacnut, died in 1042, Magnus inherited Denmark as well. Anund Jacob's policy of maintaining a Nordic power balance can be seen in the agenda shift that followed. Anund Jacob kept Cnut's nephew Sweyn Estridsen as a protegé and supported his pretensions to the Danish throne. As related by both Snorri and Adam of Bremen, Sweyn made repeated attempts to establish his authority in Denmark but was repeatedly defeated by King Magnus. After every defeat, he found refuge with Anund"
"in Denmark in 1023, with an exchange of sons for fosterage and Thorkell becoming Cnut's regent in Denmark, suggests that Thorkell had won them with an armed force. However, it was left to another of Cnut's earls, Siward, to protect his earldom of Northumbria by consolidating English power in Scotland; at his death in 1055 he, not the king, was overlord of all the territory that the Kingdom of Strathclyde had annexed early the previous century. The Danes had more reason to grumble about Cnut's absences than the English; he reigned primarily from England, leaving regents in charge in Denmark."
"to have an influence in northern Europe. Likewise, King Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, had Danish ancestors. Two Vikings even ascended to the throne of England, with Sweyn Forkbeard claiming the English throne in 1013–1014 and his son Cnut the Great becoming king of England 1016–1035. Geographically, a Viking Age may be assigned to not only Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden), but also territories under North Germanic dominance, mainly the Danelaw, including Scandinavian York, the administrative centre of the remains of the Kingdom of Northumbria, parts of Mercia, and East Anglia. Viking navigators opened the"
"Wessex. Between 1019 and 1023 he accompanied Cnut on an expedition to Denmark, where he distinguished himself, and shortly afterwards married Gytha, the sister of the Danish earl, Ulf, who was married to Cnut's sister, Estrid. On 12 November 1035, Cnut died. His kingdoms were divided among three rival rulers. Harold Harefoot, Cnut's illegitimate son with Ælfgifu of Northampton, seized the throne of England. Harthacnut, Cnut's legitimate son with Emma of Normandy, reigned in Denmark. Norway rebelled under Magnus the Noble. In 1035, the throne of England was reportedly claimed by Alfred Ætheling, younger son of Emma of Normandy and"
"turf close to the estuary. When Cnut's fleet approached, the levee was torn down and the rushing water and floating logs created disorder in the Danish fleet. However, many Danish ships were soon ready to confront the Swedes and Norwegians. In the face of the superior enemy, Anund Jacob and Olaf withdrew. Olaf later sneaked back to Norway with his entourage via Småland and Västergötland. The actual circumstances of the Battle of Helgeå are debated among historians due to conflicting sources. The near-contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle asserts, under the year 1025 (error for 1026): ""This year King Cnut went to Denmark"
"Magnus, and an army was gathered in Sweden, headed by Einar and Kalf, to place Magnus on the Norwegian throne. Magnus was proclaimed king in 1035, at 11 years of age, and the pretender to the Norwegian throne King Svein son of Canute the Great of Denmark the and his mother, Queen Elfgifu of Mercia fled; Svein died shortly after. At first Magnus sought revenge against his father's enemies, but on Sigvatr's advice he stopped doing so, which is why he became known as ""good"" or ""noble"". Another son of Cnut, Harthacnut, was on the throne of Denmark and wanted"
"I of Norway, the son of the former King of Norway, Olaf, invaded in 1035, they were forced to flee to Harthacnut's court. Harthacnut was a close ally of Svein, but he did not feel his resources were great enough to launch an invasion of Norway, and the half-brothers looked for help from their father, but instead they received news of his death in November 1035. In 1035, Harthacnut succeeded his father on the throne of Denmark as Cnut III. He was unable to come to England in view of the situation in Denmark, and it was agreed that Svein's"
"his country to reunite with Norway, while Magnus initiated a campaign against Denmark around 1040. However, the noblemen of both countries brought the two kings together at the Göta älv, the border between their kingdoms. They made peace and agreed that the first of them to die would be succeeded by the other. In 1042 Harthacnut died while in England, and Magnus also became King of Denmark, in spite of a claim by Cnut's nephew Sweyn Estridsen, whom Harthacnut had left in control of Denmark when he went to England, and who had some support. As part of consolidating his"
"and Gyrid. Harald had a son named Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn succeeded his father as king and married Gunhild (Świętosława of Poland). They had a son named Cnut the Great. Sweyn also ruled England in his lifetime and established the Danish Empire. When Sweyn died, his elder son Harald Svendsen became the King of Denmark, while England's former king, Ethelred, reclaimed the throne. Following Harald's death, his brother Cnut the Great became king, re-established the Danish North Sea Empire. He married Emma of Normandy with whom he had a son named Harthacnut. When Cnut died (and after the brothers of Harthacnut"
"the Danes, the Irish, the English and the Islanders""; presumably Norway is omitted because Cnut had not yet come to power there. By the early 11th century, England had been Christian for centuries; the Danelaw was in transition from paganism to Christianity, but the Scandinavian countries were still predominantly pagan. Cnut's father, Sweyn, had initially been pagan but in later life had been basically Christian. In England, Cnut assiduously promoted the interests of the church, and this brought him acceptance from the Christian rulers of Europe that no other Scandinavian king had previously been accorded. In Norway, in contrast, he"