CANUTE THE GREAT, 995-1035,
AND THE RISE OF
DANISH IMPERIALISM DURING THE VIKING AGE
BY
LAURENCE MARCELLUS LARSON
CHAPTER I. THE HERITAGE OF CANUTE THE GREAT
CHAPTER II. THE CONQUEST OF ENGLAND—1003-1013
CHAPTER III. THE ENGLISH REACTION AND THE NORSE
REVOLT—1014-1016
CHAPTER IV. THE STRUGGLE WITH EDMUND IRONSIDE—1016
CHAPTER V. THE RULE OF THE DANES IN ENGLAND—1017-1020
CHAPTER VI.THE BEGINNINGS OF EMPIRE—1019-1025
CHAPTER VII. CANUTE AND THE ENGLISH CHURCH—1017-1026
CHAPTER VIII. THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS
CHAPTER IX. CANUTE AND THE NORWEGIAN
CONSPIRACY—1023-1026
CHAPTER X. THE BATTLE OF HOLY RIVER AND THE PILGRIMAGE
TO ROME—1026-1027
CHAPTER XI. THE CONQUEST OF NORWAY—1028-1030
CHAPTER XII. THE EMPIRE OF THE NORTH
CHAPTER XIII. NORTHERN
CULTURE IN THE DAYS OF CANUTE
CHAPTER XIV. THE LAST YEARS—1031-1035
CHAPTER XV. THE COLLAPSE OF THE EMPIRE—1035-1042
CHAPTER I
THE HERITAGE OF CANUTE THE GREAT
Among the many gigantic though somewhat shadowy
personalities of the viking age, two stand forth with undisputed pre-eminence:
Rolf the founder of Normandy and Canute the Emperor of the North. Both were
sea-kings; each represents the culmination and the close of a great migratory
movement,—Rolf of the earlier viking period, Canute of its later and more
restricted phase. The early history of each is uncertain and obscure; both come
suddenly forth upon the stage of action, eager and trained for conquest. Rolf
is said to have been the outlawed son of a Norse earl; Canute was the younger
son of a Danish king: neither had the promise of sovereignty or of landed
inheritance. Still, in the end, both became rulers of important states—the
pirate became a constructive statesman. The work of Rolf as founder of Normandy
was perhaps the more enduring; but far more brilliant was the career of Canute.
Few great conquerors have had a less promising future.
In the early years of the eleventh century, he seems to have been serving a
military apprenticeship in a viking fraternity on the Pomeranian coast,
preparatory, no doubt, to the profession of a sea-king, the usual career of
Northern princes who were not seniors in birth. His only tangible inheritance
seems to have been the prestige of royal blood which meant so much when the
chief called for recruits.
But it was not the will of the Norns that Canute should live and die a common pirate, like his grand-uncle Canute,
for instance, who fought and fell in Ireland: his heritage was to be greater
than what had fallen to any of his dynasty, more than the throne of his
ancestors, which was also to be his. In a vague way he inherited the widening
ambitions of the Northern peoples who were once more engaged in a fierce attack
on the West. To him fell also the ancient claim of the Danish kingdom to the
hegemony of the North. But more specifically Canute inherited the extensive
plans, the restless dreams, the imperialistic policy, and the ancient feuds of
the Knytling dynasty. Canute's career is the history of Danish imperialism carried
to a swift realisation. What had proved a task too
great for his forbears Canute in a great measure achieved. In England and in
Norway, in Sleswick and in Wendland, he carried the plans of his dynasty to a
successful issue. It will, therefore, be necessary to sketch with some care the
background of Canute's career and to trace to their origins the threads of
policy that Canute took up and wove into the web of empire. Some of these can
be followed back at least three generations to the reign of Gorm in the
beginning of the tenth century.
In that century Denmark was easily the greatest power
in the North. From the Scanian frontiers to the confines of modern Sleswick it
extended over "belts" and islands, closing completely the entrance to
the Baltic. There were Danish outposts on the Slavic shores of modern Prussia;
the larger part of Norway came for some years to be a vassal state under the
great earl, Hakon the Bad; the Wick, which comprised the shores of the great
inlet that is now known as the Christiania Firth, was regarded as a component
part of the Danish monarchy, though in fact the obedience rendered anywhere in
Norway was very slight.
In the legendary age a famous dynasty known as the
Shieldings appears to have ruled over Danes and Jutes. The family took its name
from a mythical ancestor, King Shield, whose coming to the Daneland is told in
the opening lines of the Old English epic Beowulf. The Shieldings were worthy
descendants of their splendid progenitor: they possessed in full measure the
royal virtues of valour, courage, and munificent
hospitality. How far their exploits are to be regarded as historic is a problem
that does not concern us at present; though it seems likely that the Danish foreworld is not without its historic realities.
Whether the kings of Denmark in the tenth century were
of Shielding ancestry is a matter of doubt; the probabilities are that they
sprang from a different stem. The century opened with Gorm the Aged, the
great-grandfather of Canute, on the throne of Shield, ruling all the
traditional regions of Denmark,—Scania, the Isles, and Jutland—but apparently
residing at Jelling near the south-east corner of the peninsula, not far from
the Saxon frontier. Tradition remembers him as a tall and stately man, but a dull
and indolent king, wanting in all the elements of greatness. In this case,
however, tradition is not to be trusted. Though we have little real knowledge
of Danish history in Gorm's day, it is evident that his reign was a notable
one. At the close of the ninth century, the monarchy seems to have faced
dissolution; the sources tell of rebellious vassals, of a rival kingdom in
South Jutland, of German interference in other parts of the Jutish peninsula.
Gorm's great task and achievement were to reunite the realm and to secure the
old frontiers.
Though legend has not dealt kindly with the King
himself, it has honoured the memory of his masterful
Queen. Thyra was clearly a superior woman. Her nationality is unknown, but it
seems likely that she was of Danish blood, the daughter of an earl in the
Holstein country. To this day she is known as Thyra Daneboot (Danes' defence)—a term that first appears on the
memorial stone that her husband raised at Jelling soon after her death. In
those days Henry the Fowler ruled in Germany and showed hostile designs on
Jutland. In 934, he attacked the viking chiefs in South Jutland and reduced
their state to the position of a vassal realm. Apparently he also encouraged
them to seek compensation in Gorm's kingdom. To protect the peninsula from
these dangers a wall was built across its neck between the Schley inlet and the Treene River. This was the celebrated Danework, fragments of which can still be seen. In this
undertaking the Queen was evidently the moving force and spirit. Three years,
it is said, were required to complete Thyra's great fortification. The material
character of the Queen's achievement doubtless did much to preserve a fame that
was highly deserved; at the same time, it may have suggested comparisons that
were not to the advantage of her less fortunate consort. The Danework, however, proved only a temporary frontier; a
century later Thyra's great descendant Canute pushed the boundary to the Eider
River and the border problem found a fairly permanent solution.
In the Shielding age, the favourite seat of royalty was at Lethra (Leire) in Zealand, at the head of Roeskild Firth. Here, no doubt, was located the famous hall
Heorot, of which we read in Beowulf. There were also king's garths elsewhere;
the one at Jelling has already been mentioned as the residence of Gorm and
Thyra. After the Queen's death her husband raised at Jelling, after heathen
fashion, a high mound in her honour, on the top of
which a rock was placed with a brief runic inscription:
Gorm the king raised this stone in memory of Thyra his
wife, Denmark's defence.
The runologist Ludvig Wimmer believes that the
inscription on the older Jelling stone dates from the period 935-940; a later
date is scarcely probable. The Queen evidently did not long survive the famous
"defence."
A generation later, perhaps about the year 980, Harold
Bluetooth, Gorm's son and successor, raised another mound at Jelling, this one,
apparently, in honour of his father. The two mounds
stand about two hundred feet apart; at present each is about sixty feet high,
though the original height must have been considerably greater. Midway between
them the King placed a large rock as a monument to both his parents, which in
addition to its runic dedication bears a peculiar blending of Christian symbols
and heathen ornamentation. The inscription is also more elaborate than that on
the lesser stone:
Harold the king ordered this memorial to be raised in honour of Gorm his father and Thyra his mother, the Harold
who won all Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christians.
In one sense the larger stone is King Harold's own
memorial. It is to be observed that the inscription credits the King with three
notable achievements: the unification of Denmark, the conquest of Norway, and
the introduction of Christianity. The allusion to the winning of Denmark
doubtless refers to the suppression of revolts, perhaps more specifically to
the annihilation of the viking realm and dynasty south of the Danework (about 950). In his attitude toward his southern
neighbours Harold continued the policy of Gorm and Thyra: wars for defence rather than for territorial conquest.
It is said that King Harold became a Christian (about
960) as the result of a successful appeal to the judgment of God by a zealous
clerk named Poppo. The heated iron (or iron gauntlet, as Saxo has it) was
carried the required distance, but Poppo's hand sustained no injury. Whatever
be the truth about Poppo's ordeal, it seems evident [Pg 8]that some such test
was actually made, as the earliest account of it, that of Widukind of Corvey,
was written not more than a decade after the event. The importance of the
ordeal is manifest: up to this time the faith had made but small headway in the
Northern countries. With the conversion of a king, however, a new situation was
created: Christianity still had to continue its warfare against the old gods,
but signs of victory were multiplying. One of the first fruits of Harold
Bluetooth's conversion was the Church of the Holy Trinity, built at Roeskild by royal command,—a church that long held an honoured place in the Danish establishment. In various ways
the history of this church closely touches that of the dynasty itself: here the
bones of the founder were laid; here, too, his ungrateful son Sweyn found quiet
for his restless spirit; and it was in this church where Harold's grandson,
Canute the Great, stained and violated sanctuary by ordering the murder of Ulf,
his sister's husband.
In the wider activities of the tenth century, Harold
Bluetooth played a large and important part. About the time he accepted
Christianity, he visited the Slavic regions on the south Baltic coasts and
established his authority over the lands about the mouth of the Oder River.
Here he founded the stronghold of Jomburg, the earls and garrisons of which
played an important part in Northern history for more than two generations. The
object of this expansion into Wendland was no doubt principally to secure the
Slavic trade which was of considerable importance and which had interested the
Danes for more than two centuries. As the Wendish tribes had practically no
cities or recognised markets, the new establishment
on the banks of the Oder soon grew to be of great commercial as well as of
military importance.
During the same period Harold's attention was turned
to Norway where a difficult situation had arisen. Harold Fairhair,
the founder of the Norse monarchy, left the sovereignty to his son Eric (later
named Bloodax); but the jealousies of Eric's many
brothers combined with his own cruel régime soon called forth a reaction in favour of a younger brother, Hakon the Good, whose youth
had been spent under Christian influences at the English court. King Hakon was
an excellent ruler, but the raids of his nephews, the sons of Eric, caused a
great deal of confusion. The young exiles finally found a friend in Harold
Bluetooth who even adopted one of them, Harold Grayfell,
as his own son.
The fostering of Harold Grayfell had important consequences continuing for two generations till the invasion of
Norway by Canute the Great. With a force largely recruited in Denmark, the sons
of Eric attacked Norway and came upon King Hakon on the island of Stord where a
battle was fought in which the King fell (961). But the men who had slain their
royal kinsman found it difficult to secure recognition as kings: the result of
the battle was that Norway was broken up into a number of petty kingdoms and
earldoms, each aiming at practical independence.
A few years later there appeared at the Danish court a
young, handsome, talented chief, the famous Earl Hakon whose father, Sigurd,
earl in the Throndelaw, the sons of Eric had
treacherously slain. The King of Denmark had finally discovered that his
foster-son was anything but an obedient vassal, and doubtless rejoiced in an
opportunity to interfere in Norwegian affairs. Harold Grayfell was lured down into Jutland and slain. With a large fleet the Danish King then
proceeded to Norway. The whole country submitted: the southern shores from the
Naze eastward were added to the Danish crown; the Throndelaw and the regions to the north were apparently granted to Earl Hakon in full
sovereignty; the rest was created into an earldom which he was to govern as
vassal of the King of Denmark.
A decade passed without serious difficulties between
vassal and overlord, when events on the German border brought demands on the
earl's fidelity to which the proud Norseman would not submit. It seems probable
that King Harold in a vague way had recognised the
overlordship of the Emperor; at any rate, in 973, when the great Otto was
celebrating his last Easter at Quedlingburg, the
Danish King sent embassies and gifts. A few weeks later the Emperor died and
almost immediately war broke out between Danes and Saxons.
Hostilities soon ceased, but the terms of peace are
said to have included a promise on Harold's part to introduce the Christian
faith among his Norwegian subjects. Earl Hakon had come to assist his overlord;
he was known to be a zealous heathen; but King Harold seized him and forced him
to receive baptism. The earl felt the humiliation keenly and as soon as he had
left Denmark he repudiated the Danish connection and for a number of years
ruled in Norway as an independent sovereign. King Harold made an attempt to
restore his power but with small success. However, the claim to Norway was not
surrendered; it was successfully revived by Harold's son Sweyn and later still
by his grandson Canute.
Earl Hakon's revolt probably dates from 974 or 975;
King Harold's raid along the Norse coasts must have followed within the next
few years. The succeeding decade is memorable for two notable expeditions, the
one directed against King Eric of Sweden, the second against Hakon of Norway.
In neither of these ventures was Harold directly interested; both were
undertaken by the vikings of Jom, though probably
with the Danish King's approval and support. The Jomvikings were in the service
of Denmark and the defeat that they suffered in both instances had important
results for future history. The exact dates cannot be determined; but the battles
must have been fought during the period 980-986.
In those days the command at Jomburg was held by
Styrbjörn, a nephew of the Swedish King. Harold Bluetooth is said to have given
him the earl's title and his daughter Thyra to wife; but this did not satisfy
the ambitious prince, whose desire was to succeed his uncle in Sweden. Having
induced his father-in-law to permit an expedition, he sailed to Uppland with a strong force. The battle was joined on the
banks of the Fyris River where King Eric won a complete victory. From that day
he was known as Eric the Victorious.
Styrbjörn fell in the battle and Sigvaldi, the son of
a Scanian earl, succeeded to the command at Jomburg. In some way he was induced
to attack the Norwegian earl. Late in the year the fleet from the Oder stole
northwards along the Norse coast hoping to catch the earl unawares. But Hakon's
son Eric had learned what the vikings were planning and a strong fleet
carefully hid in Hjörunga Bay lay ready to welcome
the invader.
The encounter at Hjörunga Bay is one of the most famous battles in Old Norse history. During the fight,
says the saga, Earl Hakon landed and sacrificed his young son Erling to the
gods. The divine powers promptly responded: a terrific hailstorm that struck
the Danes in their faces helped to turn the tide of battle, and soon Sigvaldi
was in swift flight southwards.
As to the date of the battle we have no certain
knowledge; but Munch places it, for apparently good reasons, in 986. Saxo is
probably correct in surmising that the expedition was inspired by King Harold.
As to the significance of the two defeats of the Jomvikings, there can be but
one opinion: northward expansion of Danish power had received a decisive check;
Danish ambition must find other fields.
The closing years of Harold's life were embittered by
rebellious movements in which his son Sweyn took a leading part. It is not
possible from the conflicting accounts that have come down to us to determine
just why the Danes showed such restlessness at this time. It has been thought
that the revolts represented a heathen reaction against the new faith, or a
nationalistic protest against German influences; these factors may have entered
in, but it is more likely that a general dissatisfaction with Harold's rule
caused by the ill success of his operations against Germans, Swedes, and
Norwegians was at the bottom of the hostilities. The virile personality of the
young prince was doubtless also a factor. To later writers his conduct recalled
the career of Absalom; but in this instance disobedience and rebellion had the
victory. Forces were collected on both sides; battles were fought both on land
and on sea. Finally during a truce, the aged King was wounded by an arrow,
shot, according to saga, from the bow of Toki, the foster-father of Sweyn.
Faithful Henchmen carried the dying King across the sea to Jomburg where he expired
on All Saints' Day (November 1), probably in 986, the year of the defeat at Hjörunga Bay. His remains were carried to Roeskild and interred in the Church of the Holy Trinity.
Of Harold's family not much is known. According to
Adam of Bremen his queen was named Gunhild, a name that points to Scandinavian
ancestry. Saxo speaks of a Queen Gyrith, the sister of Styrbjörn. On a
runic monument at Sönder Vissing, not far from the
garth at Jelling, we read that
Tova raised this memorial,
Mistiwi's daughter,
In memory of her mother,
Harold the Good
Gorm's son's wife.
Tova might be a Danish name, but Mistiwi seems clearly Slavic. It may be that Harold was thrice married; it is
also possible that Tova in baptism received the name Gunhild. Gyrith was most
likely the wife of his old age. The question is important as it concerns the
ancestry of Canute the Great. If Tova was Canute's grandmother (as she probably
was) three of his grandparents were of Slavic blood.
Of Harold's children four are known to history. His
daughter Thyra has already been mentioned as the wife of the ill-fated
Styrbjörn. Another daughter, Gunhild, was the wife of an Anglo-Danish chief,
the ealdorman Pallig. Two sons are also mentioned, Sweyn and Hakon. Of these
Sweyn, as the successor to the kingship, is the more important.
The accession of Sweyn Forkbeard to the Danish throne
marks an era in the history of Denmark. Harold Bluetooth had not been a weak
king: he had enlarged his territories; he had promoted the cause of the
Christian faith; he had striven for order and organised life. But his efforts in this direction had brought him into collision with a
set of forces that believed in the old order of things. In Harold's old age the
Danish viking spirit had awakened to new life; soon the dragons were sailing
the seas as of old. With a king of the Shielding type now in the high-seat at Roeskild, these lawless though energetic elements found not
only further freedom but royal favour and leadership.
It would seem that the time had come to wipe away the
stain that had come upon the Danish arms at Hjörunga Bay; but no immediate move was made in that direction. Earl Hakon was still too
strong, and for a decade longer he enjoyed undisputed possession of the
Norwegian sovereignty. Sweyn did not forget the claims of his dynasty, but he
bided his time. Furthermore, this same decade saw larger plans developing at
the Danish court. Norway was indeed desirable, but as a field of wider
activities it gave no great promise. Such a field, however, seemed to be in
sight: the British Isles with their numerous kingdoms, their large Scandinavian
colonies, and their consequent lack of unifying interests seemed to offer
opportunities that the restless Dane could not afford to neglect.
The three Scandinavian kingdoms did not comprise the
entire North: in many respects, greater Scandinavia was fully as important as
the home lands. It is not necessary for present purposes to follow the eastward
stream of colonisation that transformed the Slavic
East and laid the foundations of the Russian monarchy. The southward movement
of the Danes into the regions about the mouth of the Oder will be discussed
more in detail later. The story of Sweyn and Canute is far more concerned with colonising movements and colonial foundations in the West.
Without the preparatory work of two centuries, Canute's conquest of the
Anglo-Saxon kingdom would have been impossible.
The same generation that saw the consolidation of the
Norse tribes into the Norwegian kingdom also saw the colonisation of the Faroe Islands and Iceland. A century later Norsemen were building homes
on the bleak shores of Greenland. Less than a generation later, in the year
1000, Vineland was reached by Leif the Lucky. Earlier still, perhaps a century
or more before the Icelandic migration, the Northmen had begun to occupy parts
of the British Isles. The ships that first sought and reached North Britain
probably sailed from two folklands (or shires) in
Southwestern Norway, Hordaland and Rogaland, the territories about the modern
ports of Bergen and Stavanger. Due west from the former city lie the Shetland
Islands; in the same direction from Stavanger are the Orkneys. It has been
conjectured that the earliest Scandinavian settlements in these parts were made
on the shores of Pentland Firth, on the Orkneys and on the coast of
Caithness. Thence the journey went along the north-western coast of Scotland to
the Hebrides group, across the narrow straits to Ireland, and down to the Isle
of Man.
The Emerald Isle attracted the sea-kings and the
period of pillage was soon followed by an age of settlement. The earliest Norse
colony in Ireland seems to have been founded about 826, on the banks of the
Liffey, where the city of Dublin grew up a little later, and for centuries
remained the centre of Norse power and influence on
the island. Other settlements were established at various points on the east
coast, notably at Wicklow, Wexford, and Waterford, which names show clearly
their Norse origin. About 860 a stronghold was built at Cork.
Toward the close of the eighth century the vikings
appeared in large numbers on the coasts of Northern England. Two generations
later they had destroyed three of the four English kingdoms and were organising the Danelaw on their ruins. Still later Rolf
appeared with his host of Northmen in the Seine Valley and founded the Norman
duchy.
It must not be assumed that in these colonies the
population was exclusively Scandinavian. The native elements persisted and
seem, as a rule, to have lived on fairly good terms with the invaders. It is
likely that wherever these energetic Northerners settled they became the
dominant social force; but no feeling of contempt or aloofness appears to have
been felt on either side after the races had learned to know each other.
Intermarriage was frequent, not only between Dane and Angle, but between Celt
and Norseman as well. In time the alien was wholly absorbed into the native
population; but in the process the victorious element underwent a profound
transformation which extended to social conventions as well as to race.
The largest of these colonies was the Danelaw, a
series of Danish and Norse settlements extending from the Thames to the north
of England. According to an English writer of the twelfth century, it comprised
York and fourteen shires to the south. The area controlled was evidently
considerably larger than the region actually settled; and in some of the shires
the Scandinavian population was probably not numerous. Five cities in the
Danelaw enjoyed a peculiar pre-eminence. These were Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby,
Leicester, and Stamford. It has been conjectured that these were garrison towns
held and organised with a view to securing the
obedience of the surrounding country. If this be correct, we should infer that
the population beyond the walls was largely Anglian. The Five Boroughs seem to
have had a common organisation of a republican type:
they formed "the first federation of boroughs known in this island, and in
fact the earliest federation of towns known outside of Italy." Part of the
Danelaw must have contained a large Scandinavian element, especially the shires
of Lincoln and York. There were also Danish and Norwegian settlements in
England outside the Danelaw in its narrower sense: in the north-western shires
and in the Severn Valley, perhaps as high up as Worcestershire.
Danish power in England seems to have centered about
the ancient city of York. It would be more nearly correct to speak of
Northumbria in the ninth and tenth centuries as a Norse than as a Danish
colony; but the Angles made no such distinction. The population must also have
contained a large English element. A native ecclesiastic who wrote toward the
close of the tenth century speaks with enthusiasm of the wealth and grandeur of
York.
The city rejoices in a multitude of inhabitants; not
fewer than 30,000 men and women (children and youths not counted) are numbered
in this city. It is also filled with the riches of merchants who come from
everywhere, especially from the Danish nation.
In some respects the Danelaw is the most important
fact in the history of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy: it was the rock on which Old
English nationality foundered. By the middle of the tenth century, Saxon
England was practically confined to the country south of the Thames River and
the western half of the Midlands, a comparatively small area surrounded by
Scandinavian and Celtic settlements. If this fact is fully appreciated, there
should be little difficulty in understanding the loss of English national
freedom in the days of Sweyn and Canute. The English kings did, indeed,
exercise some sort of suzerain authority over most of the neighbouring colonies, but this authority was probably never so complete as historians would
have us believe.
It is worth noting that the scribe whom we have quoted
above speaks of the Danes, not as pirates but as merchants. The tenth century
was, on the whole, so far as piratical expeditions are concerned, an age of
peace in the North. The word viking is old in the mediæval dialects, and Scandinavian pirates doubtless visited the shores of Christian
Europe at a very early date. But the great viking age was the ninth century,
when the field of piratical operations covered nearly half of Europe and
extended from Iceland to Byzantium. The movement culminated in the last quarter
of the century and was followed by a constructive period of nearly one hundred
years, when society was being reorganised or built
anew in the conquered lands. The Icelandic republic was taking form. The Norman
duchy was being organised. The Northmen in the
Danelaw were being forced into political relations with the Saxon kings. Trade
began to follow new routes and find new harbours. The
older Scandinavian cities acquired an added fame and importance, while new
towns were being founded both in the home lands and in the western islands.
This lull in the activities of the sea-kings gave the
western rulers an opportunity to regain much that had been lost. In England the
expansion of Wessex which had begun in the days of Alfred was continued under
his successors, until in Edgar's day one lord was recognised from the Channel to the Forth. But with Edgar died both majesty and peace.
About 980 the viking spirit was reawakened in the North. The raven banner
reappeared in the western seas, and soon the annals of the West began to
recount their direful tales. Among all the chiefs of this new age, one stands
forth pre-eminent, Sweyn with the Forked Beard, whose remarkable achievement it
was to enlist all this lawless energy for a definite purpose, the conquest of
Wessex.
In 979 Ethelred the Ill-counselled was crowned king of
England and began his long disastrous reign. If we may trust the Abingdon
chronicler, who, as a monk, should be truthful, England was duly warned of the
sorrows to come. For "in that same year blood-red clouds resembling fire
were frequently seen; usually they appeared at midnight hanging like moving
pillars painted upon the sky." The King was a mere boy of ten summers;
later writers could tell us that signs of degeneracy were discovered in the
prince as early as the day of his baptism. On some of his contemporaries,
however, he seems to have made a favourable impression. We cannot depend much on the praises of a Norse scald who sang in
the King's presence; but perhaps we can trust the English writer who describes
him as a youth of "elegant manners, handsome features, and comely
appearance."
That Ethelred proved an incompetent king is beyond
dispute. Still, it is doubtful whether any ruler with capabilities less than
those of an Alfred could have saved England in the early years of the eleventh
century. For Ethelred had succeeded to a perilous inheritance. In the new
territorial additions to Wessex there were two chief elements, neither of which
was distinctly pro-Saxon: the Dane or the half-Danish colonist was naturally
hostile to the Saxon régime; his Anglian neighbour recalled the former independence
of his region as Mercia, East Anglia, or Northumbria, and was weak in his
loyalty to the southern dynasty. The spirit of particularism asserted itself
repeatedly, for it seems unlikely that the many revolts in the tenth century
were Danish uprisings merely.
It seems possible that Ethelred's government might
have been able to maintain itself after a fashion and perhaps would have
satisfied the demands of the age, had it not been that vast hostile forces were
just then released in the North. These attacked Wessex from two directions:
fleets from the Irish Sea ravaged the Southwest; vikings from the East entered
the Channel and plundered the southern shores. It is likely that in the
advance-guard of the renewed piracy, Sweyn Forkbeard was a prominent leader. We
have seen that during the last years of Harold's reign, there were trouble and
ill-feeling between father and son. These years, it seems, the undutiful prince
spent in exile and piratical raids. As the Baltic would scarcely be a safe
refuge under the circumstances, we may assume that those seven years were spent
in the West.
In the second year of Ethelred's reign the incursions
began: "the great chief Behemoth rose against him with all his companions
and engines of war." In that year Chester was plundered by the
Norsemen; Thanet and Southampton were devastated by the Danes. The troubles at
Chester are of slight significance; they were doubtless merely the continuation
of desultory warfare in the upper Irish Sea. But the attack on Southampton, the
port of the capital city of Winchester, was ominous: though clearly a private undertaking
it was significant in revealing the weakness of English resistance. The vikings
probably wintered among their countrymen on the shores of the Irish Sea, for
South-western England was again visited and harried during the two succeeding
years.
For a few years (983-986) there was a lull in the operations against England. The energies of the North were employed
elsewhere: this was evidently the period of Styrbjörn's invasion of Sweden and
Sigvaldi's attack on Norway with the desperate battles of Fyris River and Hjörunga Bay. But, in 986, viking ships in great numbers
appeared in the Irish Sea. Two years later a fleet visited Devon and
entered Bristol Channel. It is probable that Norman ships took part in this
raid; at any rate the Danes sold English plunder in Normandy.
The fight at Maldon was a crushing defeat for the
English and consternation ruled in the councils of the irresolute King. Siric,
the Archbishop of Canterbury, and two ealdormen were sent as an embassy
to the viking camp to sue for peace. A treaty was agreed to which seems to
imply that the host was to be permitted to remain in East Anglia for an
undefined time. The vikings promised to defend England against any other
piratical bands, thus virtually becoming mercenaries for the time being. In
return Ethelred agreed to pay a heavy tribute and to furnish provisions
"the while that they remain among us." Thus began the Danegeld
which seems to have developed into a permanent tax in the reign of Canute.
The next year King Ethelred collected a fleet in the
Thames in the hope of entrapping his new allies; but treason was abroad in
England and the plan failed. The following year the pirates appeared in the
Humber country; here, too, the English defence melted
away. After relating the flight of the Anglian leaders, Florence of Worcester
adds significantly, "because they were Danes on the paternal
side."
The next year (994) King Sweyn of Denmark joined the
fleet of Olaf and his associates and new purposes began to appear. Instead of
seeking promiscuous plunder, the invaders attempted to reduce cities and
strongholds. Once more the English sued for peace on the basis of tribute.
Sweyn evidently returned to Denmark where his presence seems to have been
sorely needed. For two years England enjoyed comparative peace. The energies of
the North found other employment: we read of raids on the Welsh coast and of
piratical expeditions into Saxony; interesting events also occurred in the home
lands. To these years belong the revolt of the Norsemen against Earl Hakon, and
perhaps also the invasion of Denmark by Eric the Victorious.
Thirty years of power had developed tyrannical
passions in the Norwegian Earl. According to the sagas he was cruel,
treacherous, and licentious. Every year he became more overbearing and
despotic; every year added to the total of discontent. Here was Sweyn
Forkbeard's opportunity; but he had other irons in the fire, and the
opportunity fell to another. About 995 a pretender to the Norse throne arrived
from the West,—Olaf Trygvesson, the great-grandson of Harold Fairhair.
Our earliest reliable information as to Olaf's career
comes from English sources; they tell of his operations in Britain in 991 and
994 and the circumstances indicate that the intervening years were also spent
on these islands. While in England he was attracted to the Christian faith, a fact that evidently came to be known to the English, for, in the
negotiations of 994, particular attention was paid to the princely chieftain.
An embassy was sent to him with Bishop Alphege as leading member, and the outcome
was that Olaf came to visit King Ethelred at Andover, where he was formally
admitted to the Christian communion, Ethelred acting as godfather.
At Andover, Olaf promised never to come again to
England "with unpeace"; the Chronicler adds
that he kept his word. With the coming of spring he set out for Norway and
never again saw England as friend or foe. We do not know what induced him at
this time to take up the fight with Hakon the Bad; but doubtless it was in
large measure due to urging on the part of the Church. For Olaf the Viking had
become a zealous believer; when he landed in Norway he came provided with
priests and all the other necessaries of Christian worship. It is not necessary
to tell the story of the Earl's downfall,—how he was hounded into a pig-sty where he died at the hands of a thrall. Olaf was soon
universally recognised as king and proceeded at once
to carry out his great and difficult purpose: to christianise a strong and stubborn people (995).
As to the second event, the invasion of Sweyn's
dominions by the King of Sweden, we cannot be so [Pg 30]sure, as most of the
accounts that have come down to us are late and difficult to harmonise. Historians agree that, some time toward the
close of his reign, King Eric sought revenge for the assistance that the Danish
King had given his nephew Styrbjörn in his attempt to seize the Swedish throne.
The invasion must have come after Sweyn's accession (986?) and before Eric's
death, the date of which is variously given as 993, 995, 996. If Eric was
still ruling in 994 when Sweyn was absent in England, it is extremely probable
that he made use of a splendid opportunity to seize the lands of his enemy.
This would explain Sweyn's readiness to accept Ethelred's terms in the winter
of 994-995.
After the death of King Eric, new interests and new
plans began to germinate in the fertile mind of Sweyn the Viking. Late
in life the Swedish King seems to have married a young Swedish woman who is
known to history as Sigrid the Haughty. Sigrid belonged to a family of great
wealth and prominence; her father Tosti was a famous viking who had harvested
his treasures on an alien shore. Eric had not long been dead before wooers in
plenty came to seek the hand of the rich dowager. So importunate did they
become that the Queen to get rid of them is said to have set fire to the house
where two of them slept. Olaf Trygvesson was acceptable, but he imposed an
impossible condition: Sigrid must become a Christian. When she finally refused
to surrender her faith, the King is said to have stricken her in the face with
his gauntlet. The proud Queen never forgave him.
Soon afterwards Sigrid married Sweyn Forkbeard who had
dismissed his earlier consort, Queen Gunhild, probably to make room for the
Swedish dowager. We do not know what motives prompted this act, but it was no
doubt urged by state-craft. In this way the wily Dane cemented an alliance with
a neighbouring state which had but recently been
hostile.
The divorced Queen was a Polish princess of an eminent
Slavic family; she was the sister of Boleslav Chrobri,
the mighty Polish duke who later assumed the royal title. When Gunhild retired
to her native Poland, she may have taken with her a small boy who can at
that time scarcely have been more than two or three years old, perhaps even
younger. The boy was Canute, the King's younger son, though the one who finally
succeeded to all his father's power and policies. The only information that we
have of Canute's childhood comes from late and not very reliable sources: it is
merely this, that he was not brought up at the Danish court, but was fostered
by Thurkil the Tall, one of the chiefs at Jomburg and brother of Earl
Sigvaldi. The probabilities favour the accuracy
of this report. It was customary in those days to place boys with
foster-fathers; prominent nobles or even plain franklins received princes into
their households and regarded the charge as an honoured trust. Perhaps, too, a royal child would be safer among the warriors of Jomburg
than at the court of a stepmother who had employed such drastic means to get
rid of undesirable wooers. The character of his early impressions and
instruction can readily be imagined: Canute was trained for warfare.
When the young prince became king of England Thurkil
was exalted to a position next to that of the ruler himself. After the old
chief's death, Canute seems to have heaped high honours on Thurkil's son Harold in Denmark. We cannot be sure, but it seems likely that
this favour is to be ascribed, in part, at least, to
Canute's affection for his foster-father and his foster-brother.
In those same years another important marriage was
formed in Sweyn's household: the fugitive Eric, the son of Earl Hakon whose
power was now wielded by the viking Olaf, had come to Denmark, where Sweyn
Forkbeard received him kindly and gave him his daughter Gytha in marriage. Thus
there was formed a hostile alliance against King Olaf with its directing centre at the Danish court. In addition to his own
resources and those of his stepson in Sweden, Sweyn could now count on the
assistance of the dissatisfied elements in Norway who looked to Eric as their
natural leader.
It was not long before a pretext was found for an
attack. Thyra, Sweyn's sister, the widow of Styrbjörn, had been married to Mieczislav, the Duke of Poland. In 992, she was widowed the
second time. After a few years, perhaps in 998, Olaf Trygvesson made her queen
of Norway. Later events would indicate that this marriage, which Olaf seems to
have contracted without consulting the bride's brother, was part of a plan to
unite against Sweyn all the forces that were presumably hostile,—Poles,
Jomvikings, and Norsemen.
The saga writers, keenly alive to the influence of
human passion on the affairs of men, emphasise Sigrid's hatred for Olaf and Thyra's anxiety to secure certain possessions of
hers in Wendland as important causes of the war that followed. Each is said to
have egged her husband to the venture, though little urging can have been
needed in either case. In the summer of 1000, a large and splendid Norwegian
fleet appeared in the Baltic. In his negotiations with Poles and Jomvikings,
Olaf was apparently successful: Sigvaldi joined the expedition and Slavic ships
were added to the Norse armament. Halldor the Unchristian tells us that these
took part in the battle that followed: "The Wendish ships spread over the
bay, and the thin beaks gaped with iron mouths upon the warriors."
Sweyn's opportunity had come and it was not permitted
to pass. He mustered the Danish forces and sent messages to his stepson in
Sweden and to his son-in-law Eric. Sigvaldi was also in the alliance. Plans
were made to ambush the Norse King on his way northward. The confederates
gathered their forces in the harbour of Swald, a
river mouth on the Pomeranian coast a little to the west of the isle of Rügen.
Sigvaldi's part was to feign friendship for Olaf and to lead him into the
prepared trap. The plan was successfully carried out. A small part of King
Olaf's fleet was lured into the harbour and attacked
from all sides. The fight was severe but numbers prevailed. Olaf's own
ship, the famous Long Serpent, was boarded by Eric Hakonsson's men, and the King in the face of sure capture leaped into the Baltic.
The victors had agreed to divide up Norway and the
agreement was carried out. Most of the coast lands from the Naze northwards
were given to Earl Eric. The southern shores, the land from the Naze eastwards,
fell to King Sweyn. Seven shires in the Throndhjem country and a single shire in the extreme Southeast were assigned to the
Swedish King; but only the last-mentioned shire was joined directly to Sweden;
the northern regions were given as a fief to Eric's younger brother Sweyn who
had married the Swede-king's daughter. Similarly Sweyn Forkbeard enfeoffed his
son-in-law Eric, but the larger part he kept as his own direct possession.
The battle of Swald was of great importance to the
policies of the Knytlings. The rival Norse kingdom
was destroyed. Once more the Danish King had almost complete control of both
shores of the waterways leading into the Baltic. Danish hegemony in the
North was a recognised fact. But all of Norway was
not yet a Danish possession—that ambition was not realised before the reign of Canute. And England was still unconquered.
CHAPTER II. THE CONQUEST OF ENGLAND—1003-1013
During the five years of rivalry between Olaf and
Sweyn (995-1000), England had enjoyed comparative peace. Incursions, indeed,
began again in 997; but these were clearly of the earlier type, not invasions
like the movements led by Olaf and Sweyn. Who the leaders were at this time we
do not know; but the Northern kings were in those years giving and taking in
marriage and busily plotting each other's destruction, so we conclude that the
undertakings continued to be of the private sort, led, perhaps, by Norse chiefs
who had found life in Norway uncongenial after King Olaf had begun to persecute
the heathen worshippers.
The English had now come to realise the importance of the upper Irish Sea as a rendezvous for all forms of
piratical bands; and the need of aggressive warfare at this point was clearly
seen. Accordingly, in the year 1000, Ethelred collected a fleet and an army and
harried the Norse settlements[Pg 38] in Cumberland and on the Isle of Man. The
time was opportune for a movement of this sort, as no reinforcements from the
North could be expected that year. The expedition, however, accomplished
nothing of importance; for the fleet that Ethelred had hoped to intercept did
not return to the western waters but sailed to Normandy. Ethelred was angry
with Duke Richard of Normandy for sheltering his enemies, and proceeded to
attack his duchy with his usual ill success.
Nevertheless, the hostilities terminated favourably for Ethelred, as the Norman duke offered his
beaten enemy not only peace, but alliance. Recent events in the North may have
caused Richard to reflect. The diplomacy of Sweyn, culminating in the partition
of Norway, had made Denmark a state of great importance. Sweyn's designs on
England were probably suspected; at any rate, Normandy for the moment seemed
willing to support England. In early spring, 1002, the bond was further
strengthened by a marriage between Ethelred and Duke Richard's sister Emma, who
later married her husband's enemy, the Danish Canute. That same year England
was once more rid of the enemy through the payment of Danegeld.
The prospects for continued peace in England were
probably better in 1002 than in any other year since the accession of
Ethelred. But toward the end of the year, all that gold and diplomacy had built
up was ruined by a royal order, the stupidity of which was equalled only by its criminality. On Saint Brice's Day (November 13), the English rose,
not to battle but to murder. It had been planned on that date to rid the
country of all its Danish inhabitants. How extensive the territory was that was
thus stained with blood, we are not informed; but such an order could not have
been carried out in the Danelaw. In justification of his act, Ethelred pleaded
that he had heard of a Danish conspiracy, directed not only against his own
life, but against the lives of the English nobility as well.
It is likely that, when England bought peace earlier
in the year, a number of the vikings remained in the land, intending, perhaps,
to settle permanently; such arrangements were by no means unusual. The massacre
of Saint Brice's may, therefore, have had for its object the extermination of
the raiders that came in 1001. But these were not the only ones slain: among
the victims were Gunhild, King Sweyn's sister, and her husband, the ealdorman
Pallig. It is probable that Pallig, though a Saxon official, was a Dane
living among the Danes in some Scandinavian settlement in South-western
England. We are told that Ethelred had treated him well, had given
him lands and honours; but he did not remain faithful
to his lord; only the year before, when the vikings were in Devon, he joined
them with a number of ships. Pallig no doubt deserved the punishment of a
traitor, but it would have been politic in his case to show mercy. If he was,
as has been conjectured from the form of his name, connected with the family of
Palna Toki, the famous Danish archer and legendary organiser of the Jomburg fraternity, he was bound to Sweyn by double ties, for Palna Toki
was Sweyn's reputed foster-father.
Sweyn Forkbeard at once prepared to take revenge for
the death of his kinsfolk. The next year (1003), his sails were seen from the
cliffs of the Channel shore. But before proceeding to the attack, he seems to
have visited his Norman friend, Duke Richard the Good. For some reason,
displeasure, perhaps, at the shedding of noble Scandinavian blood on Saint
Brice's Day, the duke was ready to repudiate his alliance with his English brother-in-law. The two worthies reached the agreement that Normandy
should be an open market for English plunder and a refuge for the sick and
wounded in the Danish host. Evidently Sweyn was planning an extended
campaign.
Having thus secured himself against attacks from the
rear, Sweyn proceeded to Exeter, which was delivered into his hands by its
faithless Norman commander Hugo. In the surrender of Exeter, we should
probably see the first fruit of the new Danish-Norman understanding. From this
city the Danes carried destruction into the southern shires. The following year
(1004), East Anglia was made to suffer. Ulfketel, the earl of the region, was
not prepared to fight and made peace with Sweyn; but the Danes did not long
observe the truce. After they had treacherously attacked Thetford, the earl
gathered his forces and tried to intercept Sweyn's marauding bands on their way
back to the ships; but though the East Anglians fought furiously, the Danes escaped. The opposition that Sweyn met in the
half-Danish East Anglia seems to have checked his operations. The next year he
left the land.
The forces of evil seemed finally to have spent their
strength, for the years 1007 and 1008 were on the whole comparatively peaceful.
Those same years show considerable energy on the part of the English: in
the Pentecostal season, May, 1008, the King met his "wise men" at
Eanham, and a long legislative enactment saw the light. It was hoped that
by extensive and thorough-going reforms the national vigour might be restored. Among other things provisions were made for an extensive
naval establishment, based on a contribution that grew into the ship money of
later fame. A large number of ships were actually assembled; but the
treacherous spirit and the jealous conduct of some of the English nobles soon
ruined the efficiency of the fleet; the new navy went to pieces at a moment
when its service was most sorely needed. For in that year, 1009, a most
formidable enemy appeared in the Channel: the vikings of Jom had left their stronghold on the Oder and were soon to re-establish themselves
on the Thames.
For about two decades Sigvaldi ruled at Jomburg; but
after the battle of Swald he disappears from the sagas: all that we learn is
that he was slain on some expedition to England. Perhaps he was one of the
victims of Saint Brice's (1002); or he may have perished in one of the later
raids. His death must, however, be dated earlier than 1009; for in that year
his brother Thurkil came to England, we are told, to take revenge for a slain
brother.
Thurkil's fleet appeared at Sandwich in July.
Associated with the tall Dane was a short, thick-set Norwegian, Olaf the Stout,
a young viking of royal blood who later won renown as the missionary King of
Norway and fell in war against Canute the Great. In August came a second fleet,
under the leadership of Eglaf and Heming, Thurkil's brother. The fleets joined
at Thanet; this time nearly all the southern counties had to suffer. The host
wintered on the lower Thames and during the winter months plundered the valley
up as far as Oxford. Ethelred tried to cut off its retreat but failed.
During the Lenten weeks the vikings refitted their
ships, and on April 9, 1010, they set sail for East Anglia. Ulfketel was still
in control of that region and had made preparations to meet the invader. On May
5, the Danes met the native levies at Ringmere in the southern part of Norfolk.
The fight was sharp, with final victory for the sea-kings. The English sources
attribute the outcome to the treasonable behaviour of
Thurkil Mareshead, who was evidently a Dane in Ulfketel's service. The Norse
scalds ascribe the result to the valour of Olaf the
Stout, who here won the "sword-moot" for the seventh time.
During the remaining months of the year and all
through the following summer, the vikings rode almost unresisted through
Southern England, plundering everywhere. Finally the King and the "wise
men" began to negotiate for peace on the usual basis. But so often had Danegelds been levied that it was becoming difficult to
collect the money and the payment was not so prompt as the vikings desired. In
their anger they laid siege to Canterbury, and, after a close investment of
twenty days, by the assistance of an English priest were enabled to seize the
city. Many important citizens were held for ransom, among them the Archbishop
Alphege, who remained a prisoner for nearly six months. His confinement cannot
have been severe; the Prelate was interested in the spiritual welfare of the
Scandinavian pirates, and seems to have begun a mission among his keepers. But
he forbade the payment of a ransom, and after a drunken orgy the exasperated
Danes proceeded to pelt him to death with the bones of their feast. Thrym, a Dane
whom he had confirmed the day before, gave him the mercy stroke.
During the closing days of the archbishop's life, an
assembly of the magnates in London had succeeded in raising the tribute agreed
upon, 48,000 pounds. Not merely were the invaders bought off,—they were induced
to enter Ethelred's service as mercenaries; there must have been reasons
why it would be inadvisable to return to Jomburg. The English King now had an
army of some four thousand or perhaps five thousand men, a splendid force of
professional warriors led by the renowned viking Thurkil the Tall. According to
William of Malmesbury, they were quartered in East Anglia, which seems
plausible, as Wessex must have been thoroughly pillaged by 1012.
When the year 1013 opened, there were reasons to hope
that the miseries of England were past. For a whole generation the sea-kings
had infested the Channel and the Irish Sea, scourging the shores of Southern
Britain almost every year. Large sums of money had been paid out in the form of
Danegeld, 137,000 pounds silver, but to little purpose: the enemy returned each
year as voracious as ever. Now, however, the pirate had undertaken to defend
the land. The presence of Danish mercenaries was doubtless an inconvenience,
but this would be temporary only. It was to be expected that, as in the days of
Alfred, the enemy would settle down as an occupant of the soil, and in time
become a subject instead of a mercenary soldier.
But just at this moment, an invasion of a far more
serious nature was being prepared in Denmark. In the councils of Roeskild Sweyn Forkbeard was asking his henchmen what they
thought of renewing the attack on England. The question suggested the answer:
to the King's delight favourable replies came
from all. It is said that Sweyn consulted his son Canute with the rest; and the
eager youth strongly urged the undertaking. This is the earliest act on
Canute's part that any historian has recorded. In 1012, he was perhaps
seventeen years old; he had reached the age when a Scandinavian prince should
have entered upon an active career. His great rival of years to come, Olaf the
Stout, who can have been only two years older than Canute, had already sailed
the dragon for six or seven years. It is likely that the young Dane had also
experienced the thrills of viking life, but on this matter the sagas are
silent. But it is easy to see why Canute should favour the proposed venture: as a younger son he could not hope for the Danish crown.
The conquest of England might mean not only fame and plundered wealth, but
perhaps a realm to govern as well.
The considerations that moved the King to renew the
attempts at conquest were no doubt various; but the deciding factor was
evidently the defection of Thurkil and the Jomvikings. An ecclesiastic who
later wrote a eulogy on Queen Emma and her family discusses the situation in
this wise:
Thurkil, they said, the chief of your forces, O King,
departed with your permission that he might take revenge for a brother who had
been slain there, and led with him a large part of your host. Now that he rejoices in victory and in the possession of the southern part of the
country, he prefers to remain there as an exile and a friend of the English
whom he has conquered by your hand, to returning with the host in submission to
you and ascribing the victory to yourself. And now we are defrauded of our
companions and of forty ships which he sailed to England laden with the best
warriors of Denmark.
So the advice was to seize, the English kingdom as
well as the Danish deserter. No great difficulty was anticipated, as Thurkil's
men would probably soon desert to the old standards.
The customs of the Northmen demanded that an
undertaking of this order should first be approved by the public assembly, and
the Encomiast tells us that Sweyn at once proceeded to summon the freemen.
Couriers were sent in every direction, and at the proper time the men appeared,
each with his weapons as the law required. When the heralds announced the
nature of the proposed undertaking—not a mere raid with plunder in view but the
conquest of an important nation—the host gave immediate approval.
In many respects the time was exceedingly favourable for the contemplated venture. A large part of
England was disposed to be friendly; the remainder was weak from continued
pillage. Denmark was strong and aggressive, eager to follow the leadership of
her warlike king. Sweyn's older son, Harold, had now reached manhood,
and could with comparative safety be left in control of the kingdom. Denmark's
neighbours in the North were friendly: Sweyn's vassal and son-in-law controlled
the larger part of Norway; his stepson, Olaf, ruled in Sweden. Nor was anything
to be feared from the old enemies to the south. The restless vikings of Jom were in England. The lord of Poland was engaged in a
life-and-death struggle with the Empire. The Saxon dynasty, which had naturally
had Northern interests, no longer dominated Germany; a Bavarian, Henry II., now
sat on the throne of the Ottos. In the very year of Sweyn's invasion of
England, the German King journeyed to Italy to settle one of the numberless
disputes that the Roman see was involved in during the tenth and eleventh
centuries. He remained in Italy till the next year (1014), when the victorious
Pope rewarded him with the imperial crown.
Something in the form of a regency was provided for
the Danish realm during Sweyn's absence. Harold seems to have received royal
authority without the royal title. Associated with him were a few trusted
magnates who were to give "sage advice," but also, it seems, to watch
over the interests of the absent monarch. A part of the host was left in
Denmark; but the greater part of the available forces evidently accompanied the
King to England.
About midsummer (1013), the fleet was ready to sail.
The Encomiast, who had evidently seen Danish ships, gives a glowing description
of the armament, which apart from rhetorical exaggeration probably gives a
fairly accurate picture of an eleventh-century viking fleet of the more
pretentious type. He notes particularly the ornamentation along the sides of
the ships, bright and varied in colours; the vanes at
the tops of the masts in the forms of birds or of dragons with fiery nostrils;
and the figureheads at the prows: carved figures of men, red with gold or white
with silver, or of bulls with necks erect, or of dolphins, centaurs, or other
beasts. The royal ship was, of course, splendid above all the rest.
The customary route of the Danish vikings followed the
Frisian coast to the south-eastern part of England, the shires of Kent and
Sussex. Ordinarily, the fleets would continue the journey down the Channel,
plundering the shore lands and sending out larger parties to harry the
interior. Sweyn had developed a different plan: Wessex was to be attacked from
the old Danelaw. Following the ancient route, his ships appeared at Sandwich on
the Kentish coast early in August. Sandwich was at this time a place of considerable
importance, being the chief port in Southern England. Here Sweyn and Canute
remained for a few days, but soon the fleet turned swiftly northwards up the
eastern coast to the Humber. Sweyn entered and sailed up this river till
he came to the mouth of the Trent, which stream he ascended as far as
Gainsborough. Here his men disembarked and preparations were made for the war.
Sweyn had evidently counted on a friendly reception in
the Scandinavian settlements of the Danelaw, and he was not disappointed.
Recruits appeared and his forces increased materially. Uhtred, the earl of
Northumbria, who was probably of Norse ancestry, soon found it to his advantage
to do homage to the invader. Sweyn's lordship was also accepted by "the
folk of Lindsey, and afterwards by the folk in the Five Boroughs, and very soon
by all the host north of Watling Street, and hostages were given by every shire."
In addition to hostages, Sweyn demanded horses and provisions for the host.
The summer was probably past before Sweyn was ready to
proceed against Ethelred. But finally, some time in September or a little
later, having concluded all the necessary preliminaries, he gave the ships and
the hostages into the keeping of his son Canute, and led his mounted army
southward across the Midlands with Winchester, the residence city of the
English kings, as the objective point. So long as he was still within the
Danelaw, Sweyn permitted no pillaging; but "as soon as he had crossed Watling
Street, he worked as great evil as a hostile force was able." The Thames
was crossed at Oxford, which city promptly submitted and gave hostages.
Winchester, too, seems to have yielded without a struggle. From the capital
Sweyn proceeded eastward to London, where he met the first effective
resistance.
In London was King Ethelred supported by Thurkil the
Tall and his viking bands. It seems that Olaf the Stout had entered the English
service with Thurkil the year before, and did valiant service in defence of the city; the story given by Snorre of the
destruction of London Bridge apparently belongs to the siege of 1013 rather
than to that of 1009. Sweyn approached the city from the south, seized
Southwark, and tried to enter London by way of the bridge, which the Danes had
taken and fortified. It is said that Olaf the Stout undertook to destroy the
bridge. He covered his ships with wattle-work of various sorts, willow roots,
supple trees, and other things that might be twisted or woven; and thus
protected from missiles that might be hurled down from above, the ships passed
up the stream to the bridge, the supports of which Olaf and his men proceeded
to pull down. The whole structure crashed into the river and with it went a
large number of Sweyn's men, who drowned, says the Chronicler,
"because they neglected the bridge."
Sweyn soon realised that a
continued siege would be useless: the season was advancing; the resistance of
the citizens was too stubborn and strong. For the fourth time the heroic men of
London had the satisfaction of seeing a Danish force break camp and depart with
a defeated purpose: the first time in 991; then again in 994 when Sweyn and
Olaf Trygvesson laid siege to it; the third time in 1009, when Thurkil the Tall
and Olaf the Stout were the besiegers; now once more in 1013. The feeling that
the city was impregnable was doubtless a factor in the stubborn determination
with which the townsmen repelled the repeated attacks of the Danish invaders,
though at this time the skill and valour of the
viking mercenaries were an important part of the resistance.
Leaving London unconquered, Sweyn marched up the
Thames Valley to Wallingford, where he crossed to the south bank, and continued
his progress westward to Bath. Nowhere, it seems, did he meet any mentionable
opposition. To Bath came the magnates of the south-western shires led by Ethelmer who was apparently ealdorman of Devon; they took
the oaths that the conqueror prescribed and gave the required hostages. From
Bath, Sweyn returned to his camp at Gainsborough; it was time to prepare for
winter. Tribute and provisions were demanded and doubtless collected, and the
host went into winter quarters on the banks of the Trent. "And all the
nation had him [Sweyn] for full king; and later the borough-men of
London submitted to him and gave hostages; for they feared that he would
destroy them."
The submission of London probably did not come before
Ethelred's cowardly behaviour had ruined the hopes of
the patriots: he had fled the land. Earlier in the year (in August, according
to one authority) Queen Emma, accompanied by the abbot of Peterborough, had
crossed the Channel, and sought the court of her brother, the Norman duke.
Whether she went to seek military aid or merely a refuge cannot be determined;
but the early departure and the fact that she was not accompanied by her
children would indicate that her purpose was to enlist her brother's interest
in Ethelred's cause. Assistance, however, was not forthcoming; but Emma
remained in Richard's duchy and a little later was joined by her two sons,
Edward and Alfred, who came accompanied by two English ecclesiastics. Ethelred,
meanwhile, continued some weeks longer with Thurkil's fleet; but toward the
close of December we find him on the Isle of Wight, where he celebrated
Christmas. In January, he joined his family in Normandy. Duke Richard gave him
an honourable reception; but as he was having serious
trouble with another brother-in-law, Count Odo of Chartres, he was probably
unable to give much material assistance to the fugitive from England.
Ethelred's flight must have left Thurkil and the
Jomvikings in a somewhat embarrassing position. They had undertaken to serve
the King and defend his country; but now Ethelred had deserted the kingdom, and
his subjects had accepted the rule of the invader. In January, however, the sea
is an unpleasant highway, so there was nothing for the tall chief to do but to
remain faithful and insist on the terms of the contract. While Sweyn was
calling for silver and supplies to be brought to Gainsborough, Thurkil seems to
have been issuing similar demands from Greenwich. No doubt his men were also
able to eke out their winter supplies by occasional plundering: "they
harried the land as often as they wished."
Then suddenly an event occurred that created an
entirely new situation. On February 3, 1014, scarcely a month after Ethelred's
departure from Wight, the Danish conqueror died. As to his manner of death, the
Chronicle has nothing to say; but later historians appear to be better
informed. The Encomiast, who was indeed Sweyn's contemporary, gives an account
of a very edifying death: when Sweyn felt that the end of all things was
approaching, he called Canute to his side and impressed upon him the necessity
of following and supporting the Christian faith. The Anglo-Norman
historians have an even more wonderful story to relate: in the midst of a
throng of his henchmen and courtiers, the mighty viking fell, pierced by
the dart of Saint Edmund. Sweyn alone saw the saint; he screamed for help; at
the close of the day he expired. It seems that a dispute was on at the time
over a contribution that King Sweyn had levied on the monks who guarded Saint
Edmund's shrine. The suddenness of the King's death was therefore easily
explained: the offended saint slew him.
If it is difficult to credit the legend that traces
the King's death to an act of impiety, it is also hard to believe that he died
in the odour of sanctity. Sweyn was a Christian, but
his religion was of the passive type. He is said to have built a few churches,
and he also appears to have promoted missionary efforts to some extent; but
the Church evidently regarded him as rather lukewarm in his religious
professions. The see of Hamburg-Bremen, which was charged with the conversion
of the Northern peoples, did not find him an active friend; though in this case
his hostility may have been due to his dislike for all things that were called
German.
Sweyn's virtues were of the viking type: he was a
lover of action, of conquest, and of the sea. At times he was fierce, cruel,
and vindictive; but these passions were tempered by cunning, shrewdness, and a
love for diplomatic methods that were not common among the sea-kings. He seems
to have formed alliances readily, and appears even to have attracted his
opponents. His career, too, was that of a viking. Twice he was taken by the
Jomvikings, but his faithful subjects promptly ransomed him. Once the King of
Sweden, Eric the Victorious, conquered his kingdom and sent him into temporary
exile. Twice as a king he led incursions into England in which he gained only
the sea-king's reward of plunder and tribute. But in time fortune veered about;
his third expedition to Britain was eminently successful, and when Sweyn died,
he was king not only of Denmark but also of England, and overlord of the larger
part of Norway besides.
As to his personality, we have only the slight
information implied in his nickname. Forkbeard means the divided beard. But the
evident popularity that he enjoyed both in the host and in the nation would
indicate that he possessed an attractive personality. That Sweyn appreciated
the loyalty of his men is evident from the runic monument that he raised to his housecarle Skartha who had
shared in the English warfare.
By his first-wife, the Polish princess who was renamed
Gunhild, Sweyn had several children, of whom history makes prominent mention of
three: Harold, Canute, and Gytha, who was married to Earl Eric of Norway. In
the Hyde Register there is mention of another daughter, Santslaue, "sister of King Canute," who may
have been born of the same marriage, as her name is evidently Slavic. His
second wife, Sigrid the Haughty, seems to have had daughters only. Of these
only one appears prominently in the annals of the time—Estrid, the wife of Ulf
the Earl, the mother of a long line of Danish kings.
At the time of his death Sweyn is thought to have been
about fifty-four years old and had ruled Denmark nearly thirty years. His body
was taken to York for interment, but it did not remain there long. The English
did not cherish Sweyn's memory, and seemed determined to find and dishonour his remains. Certain women—English women, it
appears—rescued the corpse and brought it to Roeskild some time during the following summer (1014), where it was interred in the
Church of the Holy Trinity, which also sheltered the bones of Sweyn's father
whom he had wronged so bitterly thirty years before.
CHAPTER III
. THE ENGLISH REACTION AND THE NORSE REVOLT 1014-1016
The death of Sweyn was the signal for important
movements throughout the entire North. Forces that had been held in rein by his
mighty personality were once more free to act. In Denmark, his older son Harold
succeeded at once to the full kingship. Three years later a national ruler
re-established the Norwegian throne. But in England the results were most
immediate and most evident: the national spirit rose with a bound and for three
years more the struggle with the invader continued.
The host at Gainsborough promptly recognised the leadership of Canute and proclaimed him king. This, however, gave him no
valid claim to the Saxon crown; England was, in theory at least, an elective
monarchy, and not till the assembly of the magnates had accepted him could he
rightfully claim the royal title. The Danish pretender was young and untried—he
was probably not yet twenty years old. He must, however, have had some
training in matters of government as well as in warfare: that his great father
trusted him is evident from the fact that he left him in charge of the camp and
fleet at Gainsborough, when Sweyn set out on his march into Wessex. Doubtless
the Danes surmised that the youthful chief possessed abilities of a rare sort;
but the English evidently regarded him as a mere boy whose pretensions did not
deserve serious attention.
During the winter months of 1014, the most prominent
leader among the English was evidently Thurkil, the master of the mercenary
forces. It seems safe to infer that he had much to do with the events of those
months, though we have nothing recorded. In some way the English lords were
called into session; at this meeting preparations were made to recall the
fugitive Ethelred. No lord could be dearer to them than their native ruler, the
magnates are reported to have said; but they added significantly, "if he would
deal more justly with them than formerly." The lords who attended this
gemot were probably the local leaders south of the Thames; that the chiefs of
the Danelaw were in attendance is very unlikely.
Ethelred, however, was not willing to leave Normandy
immediately. He first sent an embassy to England under the nominal leadership
of his son Edward; these men were to negotiate further, and probably study the
sentiment of the nation. Edward was a mere boy, ten or eleven years old
at the highest; but his presence was important as evidence of the King's
intentions. The Prince brought friendly greetings and fair promises: Ethelred
would be a kind and devoted king; all the requests of the magnates should be
granted; the past should be forgiven and forgotten. The English on their part
pledged absolute loyalty; and, to emphasise the
covenant, the assembly outlawed all Danish claimants. Sweyn had died in the
early part of February; the negotiations were probably carried on in March;
Ethelred returned to England some time during Lent, most likely in April, as
the Lenten season closed on the 25th of that month.
The moment to strike had surely come. Canute was in
England with a good army, but his forces doubtless had decreased in numbers
since the landing in the previous August, and further shrinkage was inevitable.
On the other hand, recruiting would be found difficult. The inevitable break-up
of Sweyn's empire in the North would mean that the invader would be deprived of
resources that were necessary to the success of the venture. Nor could
assistance be expected from the Scandinavian colonies on the western shores of
Britain or about the Irish Sea. In the very days when the reaction was being
planned in England, Celts and Norsemen were mustering their forces for a great
trial of strength on Irish soil. On Good Friday (April 23), the battle of
Clontarf was fought on the shores of Dublin Bay. The Norsemen
suffered an overwhelming defeat, the significance of which, for English
history, lies in the fact that the viking forces of the West had now been put
on the defensive. Raids like those of the early years of Ethelred's reign were
now a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, Canute had not been idle. For aggressive
movements the winter season was, of course, not favourable;
but preparations seem to have been made looking toward offensive operations
immediately after Easter. The men of Lindsey, Danish colonists no doubt, had
promised horses and were apparently to share in a joint expedition. But before
Canute's arrangements had all been made, Ethelred appeared in the north country
with a formidable host, and Canute was compelled to retire to his ships. The
men of Lincoln were made to suffer for their readiness to join in Canute's
plans: Ethelred marched his men into the Lindsey region, and pillage began.
It was hardly an English army that Ethelred brought up
to the Trent in May, 1014. Englishmen no doubt served in it; but its chief
strength was probably the mercenary contingent under Thurkil's command, which,
as we have seen, had wintered at Greenwich. It was fortunate for Ethelred that
an organised force was at hand on his return
and ready for warfare. Its service, however, was expensive: that year another
Danegeld of 21,000 pounds was levied to pay Thurkil and his vikings for their
assistance in driving Canute out of the land.
But Thurkil was not the only great chief of the viking
type that assisted in expelling the Danes: Olaf the Stout once more appears in
Ethelred's service. It will be recalled that, in the siege of London the autumn
before, he assisted vigorously in its defence. He
seems to have left the English service shortly afterwards to assist in warfare
on French soil. Duke Richard of Normandy was engaged in a controversy with his
brother-in-law, Count Odo of Chartres, on the matter of his sister's dowry. In
the warfare that ensued, Olaf, serving on the Norman side, ravaged the northern
coast of Brittany and took the castle of Dol. This must have occurred late in
the year 1013 or during the winter of 1013-1014. When, on the mediation of King
Robert, peace was made between the warring brethren, Olaf returned to Rouen,
where he was received with signal honours. It was
probably on this occasion that the mighty Sea-king, on the urgent request of
Archbishop Robert, accepted the Christian faith and received baptism. It is
stated that many of his men were baptised at the same
time.
In Rouen, Olaf evidently met the fugitive Ethelred; for when the King returned to England, Olaf accompanied him.
Instead of coming as a returning exile, Ethelred appeared in his kingdom with
ships and men. The Norse poets, who later sang in King Olaf's hall, magnified
his viking exploits far beyond their real importance. In their view, Olaf was
Ethelred's chief support. Snorre quotes the following lines from Ottar the
Swart:
Thou broughtst to land and landedst,
King Ethelred, O Landward,
Strengthened by might! That folk-friend
Such wise of thee availèd.
Hard was the meeting soothly,
When Edmund's son thou broughtest
Back to his land made peaceful,
Which erst that kin-stem rulèd.[88]
The emergency was too great for Canute. With the
generalship of experienced warriors like Thurkil and Olaf, supported by the
resources of a roused people, he could not be expected to cope. Presently, he
determined to flee the country. His men embarked, and the hostages given to his
father (some of them at least) were also brought on board. The fleet sailed
down the east coast to Sandwich, where an act of barbarity was committed for
which there can be little justification. The hostages were mutilated—their hands,
ears, and noses were cut off—and landed. The men were personal pledges
given to Sweyn, but not to his son. Canute, however, probably looked at the
matter in a different light; to him they may have seemed a pledge given to the
dynasty; terror must be stricken into the hearts of the oath-breakers. After
disposing of the hostages, the young King continued his journey to Denmark.
What Canute's plans were when he arrived in his native
land we do not know. According to the Encomiast, he assured his surprised
brother that he had returned, not because of fear, but for love of his brother,
whose advice and assistance he bespoke. But he requested more than this:
Harold, he thought, ought to share Denmark with him; the two kings should then
proceed with the conquest of England; when that was accomplished, there might
be a new division of territory on the basis of a kingdom for each. He proposed
to spend the succeeding winter in preparation for the joint attack.
The proposal to share the rule of Denmark evidently
did not appeal to King Harold; he is represented as stoutly rejecting it.
Denmark was his, given to him by his father before he left for England. He
would assist Canute to win a kingdom in Britain, but not a foot should he have
of Denmark. Realising the futility of insisting,
Canute promised to maintain silence as to his supposed hereditary rights to
Danish soil. He put his trust in God, the good monk adds; and the
Encomiast was perhaps not the only one who regarded Harold's early death as a
providential event.
The problem of Norway was one that the brothers must
have discussed, though we do not know what disposition they made of the Danish
rights there. In addition to the overlordship over at least a part of Eric's
earldom, Sweyn had had direct royal authority over the southern shores, though
it is not believed that he exercised this authority very rigidly. There is a
single circumstance that suggests that Norway was assigned to Canute: when the
young prince called on his brother-in-law, Earl Eric, to assist him in England,
the Norse ruler seems to have obeyed the summons without question.
During the course of the year, the two brothers united
in certain acts of a filial nature, one of which is worthy of particular
notice. Together they proceeded to the Slavic coast, Poland most likely, where
their mother, Queen Gunhild, was still in exile. After twenty years, she was
restored to her honours at the Danish court. Sigrid
the Haughty had evidently taken leave of earthly things; for peace and
good-will continued between the Swedish and Danish courts, an impossible condition with Sigrid in retirement and her old rival in the high-seat. That
same year the brothers gave Christian burial to the remains of their father
Sweyn.
We are told that Canute continued his preparations for
a descent upon England; still, it may be doubted whether he actually had
serious hope of conquering the country at that time. Then suddenly there
occurred in England a series of events that placed the fate of Ethelred in
Canute's hands.
The saga that relates the exploits of the Jomvikings
tells somewhat explicitly of an English attack on two corps of "thingmen," as the Danish mercenaries were called in
Northern speech, the corps in London and Slesswick.
The latter locality has not been identified, but it seems hardly necessary to
seek it far north of the Thames—the saga locates it north of London. It is
asserted that the massacre was planned by Ulfketel, and that in Slesswick it was thoroughly carried out: from this we may
infer that the place was in East Anglia, or Ulfkellsland,
as the scalds called it. The garrisons, we are told, were located by Sweyn;
this is doubtless an error,—the corps were probably divisions of the viking
forces in Ethelred's service. No doubt there were other similar corps, for
Thurkil was apparently connected with neither of the two.
Canute was out of the country and no hostile force was
in sight. There could then be small need of retaining the thingmen who were furthermore a source of expense, perhaps of danger. As in 1002, it was
determined to fall upon them and slay them. If it is true that Thurkil's men
were originally quartered in East Anglia, we can readily understand why
Ulfketel might take the lead in such an undertaking. In London, where
resistance had been so persistent and successful, the mercenaries must have
been regarded with strong aversion. It was planned to strike during the Yule
festivities when the vikings would probably not be in the best possible state
of vigour and sobriety. In London armed men were
smuggled into the stronghold in waggons that were
ostensibly laden with merchandise for the midwinter market. But the corps was
warned in time by a woman who wished to save her lover Thord. Eilif, who was in
command here, escaped to Denmark. In Slesswick, the
plan succeeded, none escaping; among the fallen was the chief, Heming, the
brother of Thurkil the Tall. The attack is thought to have been made some time
during the early part of January, 1015.
It is evident that something of a serious nature
occurred in England in those days, and while some of the details in the saga
tale are probably fictitious, in substance the account is perhaps correct. Heming disappears from the English sources, while Eilif is
prominent in English politics for another decade. Most significant of all, a
few weeks later Thurkil appears in Denmark to urge upon Canute the desirability
of an immediate attack on England. He now had another brother to avenge.
Thurkil's desertion of the English cause must have done much to stimulate
Danish ambition. Help was secured from Olaf of Sweden. Eric, the Norse earl,
was also summoned to the host. Great preparations must have gone forward in
Denmark, for all writers agree that Canute's fleet, when it finally sailed, was
immense in the number of ships. Thurkil's position in Denmark appears to have
been a trifle uncertain at first. Canute could hardly be expected to give
cordial greeting to a man who had recently sent him out of England in full
flight; but after some discussion the two were reconciled, and Thurkil joined
the expedition.
In all the North there was none more famous for
successful leadership in warfare than Earl Eric of Norway. He had fought in the
battles of Hjörunga Bay and Swald; in both these
encounters the highest honours were his. It is,
therefore, not strange that Canute was anxious to have his assistance. Eric was
no longer young and had no direct interest in the proposed venture; still, when
the mandate came, he showed no reluctance, so far as we know. He called together
the magnates of the realm and arranged for a division of his earldom
between his brother Sweyn and his young son Hakon. It need not be assumed
that Eric at this time made a final surrender of his own rights; most likely it
was the administration during the period of his absence only that was provided
for in this way.
As Hakon was yet but a youth, Eric gave him a guardian
in his kinsman, the famous Thronder chief, Einar Thongshaker. In his day, Einar
was the best archer in Norway; hence his nickname, the one who makes the
bow-thong tremble. He, too, had fought at Swald, but on King Olaf's ship; twice
did his arrow seek Eric's life; the third time he drew the bow it was struck by
a hostile shaft, and broke. "What broke?" asked the King.
"Norway from your hands," replied the confident archer. After
Eric and his brother had become rulers in Norway, they made peace with Einar,
married him to their sister, the generous Bergljot, and endowed him greatly
with lands and influence. Of the three men to whom Norway was now committed, he
was clearly the ablest, if not of the greatest consequence.
Turning again to England, we find a situation
developing that was anything but promising. Some time during the first half of
the year, a gemot was summoned to meet at Oxford, near the border of the
Danelaw. Evidently an attempt was to be made in the direction of a
closer union between the North and the South. Among others who attended were
two Scandinavian nobles from the Seven Boroughs, Sigeferth and Morcar. So far
as names show the nationality of the bearers, they might be either Angles or
Northmen; but the name of their father, Arngrim, is unmistakably Norse. During
the sessions of the gemot, the brothers were accused of treason and slain in
the house of Eadric, the Mercian earl. The result was a riot; the followers
of the murdered men called for revenge, but were repulsed and driven into the
tower of Saint Frideswide's Church, which the English promptly burned. Such a
violation of the right of sanctuary could not be overlooked even in those
impassioned times; and only through penance on the part of the luckless King
was the stain removed.
The sources are at one in laying the blame for this
trouble on Earl Eadric. William of Malmesbury says that he desired the wealth
of the two Danes, and we find that Ethelred actually did exact forfeiture. But
it may also be that Eadric was endeavouring to extend
and consolidate his Mercian earldom; to do this he would have to devise some
method to deprive the Seven Boroughs of their peculiarly independent position
in the Danelaw or Danish Mercia. Whatever his purpose, he seems to have
had the approval of the ill-counselled King.
Sigeferth's widow, Aldgyth, was taken as a prisoner to
Malmesbury, where Edmund, Ethelred's virile son, saw her and was attracted by
her. But Ethelred objected to his son's matrimonial plans; the reasons are not
recorded, but one of them, at least, can be readily inferred: callous of heart
as the old King doubtless was, he probably did not enjoy the thought of having
in his household as daughter-in-law a woman who could not help but be a
constant reminder of a deed that was treacherous, stupid, and criminal.
Passion, however, was strong in Edmund Ironside; he married the widow in spite
of his father's veto; more than that, he demanded her slain husband's forfeited
official position. Ethelred again refused, whereupon the Prince proceeded to
the Danish strongholds and took possession.
Edmund's act was that of a rebel; but in the Danelaw
it was probably regarded in large part as proper vengeance. Thus fuel was added
to the old fire that burned in the hearts of Dane and Saxon. The spirit of
rebellion, so general in the kingdom, had now appeared in the royal family
itself. Most significant of all, the Prince had probably thwarted a great
ambition: how much of Mercia was under Eadric's control at this time we do not
know; but a man of the ealdorman's type could scarcely be satisfied with
anything less than the whole. And here was the King's son actually governing
the strongholds of the earldom. Would he not in time supplant the low-born
Eadric? We have in these transactions the most plausible explanation of
Eadric's treachery a little later, when Canute was again in the land.
It was late in the summer,—some time between August
15th and September 8th, according to Florence of Worcester,—when Edmund
appeared as claimant in the Danelaw. Those very same weeks must have seen the
departure of Canute's fleet from Denmark. The expedition that now arrived in
England was a most formidable one; statements vary as to the number of
ships and we know nothing as to the strength of the host; but it seems
likely that twenty thousand men is not an extreme estimate. The entire North
assisted in its make-up, though it may be that the Norse contingent under Earl
Eric did not arrive till later in the year. The distance to the earl's
garth in the Thronder country was long; the Norwegian chiefs lived scattered
and apart; a large force could, therefore, not be collected in haste.
Again the Encomiast seizes the opportunity to describe a Northern fleet. He mentions particularly the gleaming weapons of
the warriors on board; the flaming shields that hung along the gunwales; the
figureheads bright with silver and gold—figures of lions, of men with
threatening faces, of fiery dragons, and of bulls with gilded horns. And he
asks who could look upon such an armament and not fear the King at whose
bidding it came. The warriors, too, were carefully selected:
Moreover, in the whole force there could be found no
serf, no freedman, none of ignoble birth, none weak with old age. All were
nobles, all vigorous with the strength of complete manhood, fit for all manner
of battle, and so swift on foot that they despised the fleetness of
cavalry.
There is evidently some exaggeration here; the
numerous "nobles" were probably plain freemen; still, it is clear
that Canute led a valiant, well-equipped host.
But Canute was not the only adventurer who sailed in
quest of kingship in 1015. While the youthful Prince was mustering his fleet in
the straits of Denmark, Olaf the Stout was in Britain preparing to sail for
Norway on a similar errand—to win a crown. But here all similarity ceases; two
merchant ships and fewer than two hundred men made up the force that began the
Norse revolt. Still, Olaf Haroldsson, too, was successful and bore the
crown of Norway till he fell in war with Canute in 1030.
After the expulsion of the Danes from England the year
before, Olaf seems to have returned to piracy; there is some evidence that he
took part in an expedition of this sort along the coasts of Gaul as far as
Aquitaine. On his return he seems to have visited Normandy, where he may have
learned of Canute's intentions and preparations. The probability is strong that
he was also informed of the part that Eric was to have in the venture, for he
seems carefully to have timed his departure so as to reach Norway just after
the earl had left the country to join Canute. He first sailed to England,
stayed for a time in Northumberland, where he made the necessary preparations,
and thence proceeded to the west coast of Norway.
Fortune smiled on the bold adventurer. Soon after he
had landed he learned that Hakon was in the neighbourhood and set out to capture him. In this he was successful: Olaf's ships were
merchant ships, and the young unsuspecting earl rowed into a sound where the
enemy was waiting for him and passed in between the supposed merchant vessels.
Olaf had stretched a rope from ship to ship, and when the earl's boat was
directly between them, Olaf's men pulled the rope till Hakon's boat capsized.
The young chief and a few of his followers were saved. Olaf gave him quarter on condition that he should leave Norway, surrender his rights to
sovereignty, and swear never more to fight against his stout opponent. Hakon
took the required oaths and was permitted to depart. He hastened to England and
reported the matter to his uncle Canute. But the English campaign had only
fairly begun, so Canute was in no position to interfere. Hakon remained long
with Canute, and in time was invested with an English earldom.
Meanwhile, the Danish fleet had arrived at Sandwich;
but from Kent, Canute did not sail north to his former friends in the Humber
lands; he reverted to the old viking practices of harrying the Southwest,
Dorset, Wilts and Somerset. Whether this was his original plan cannot be
known: it may be that the news of Edmund's activity in the Danelaw was to some
extent responsible for this move. It was now autumn of the year 1015; but if
England hoped that the host would soon follow viking customs and retire into
winter quarters, the country was doomed to bitter disappointment; for the enemy
now had a leader who saw no need of rest, who struck in winter as well as in
summer.
Canute also differed from earlier chiefs in his ideas
of conduct on the battle-field. The viking band, as a development of the
Teutonic comitatus, was naturally inspired with its ideas of honour and valour. When
the challenge to combat had been accepted, it was the duty of the warrior to
conquer or perish with his leader; and it was the chief's duty to set an honourable example for his men. It was this spirit that
animated King Olaf Trygvesson at Swald when his men urged the feasibility of
flight before the battle had really begun. "Strike the sails," he
commanded. "My men shall not think of flight; never have I fled from
combat."
The young Dane brought no such ideas to the campaign
that he was now on the point of beginning. Being by race more a Slav than a
Dane, it may be that he did not readily acquire Germanic ideas. His training
with the Jomvikings, perhaps in his early youth, at least now in his British
camp, where veterans from Jom were numerous and
Thurkil the Tall was the chief warrior, ran counter to such notions. The
Jomvikings would retreat, sometimes they would even take to flight, as we infer
from a runic inscription that reads like a rebuke for cowardly retreat.
To add to the difficulties of England,
Ethelred was stricken with an illness that ended his life a few months later.
The hope of England now lay in the rebellious Edmund, who was still in the
North country. He and Eadric were both gathering forces in Mercia; but when
they joined disagreements seem to have arisen; for soon the Earl again played
the traitor, deserted the Etheling, and with
"forty ships" repaired to Canute and joined his host.
In the language of the day, the term "ship"
did not necessarily refer to an actual sea-going craft; it was often used as a
rude form of reckoning military forces, somewhat less than one hundred men,
perhaps. It has been thought that Eadric's deserters were the remnant of
Ethelred's Danish mercenary force; but it is unlikely that so many vikings
still remained in the English service. The chances are that they were
Mercians, possibly Danish Mercians. Wessex now gave up the fight, accepted
Canute as king, and provided horses for the invading army.
It must have been about Christmas time when Eadric
marched his men down into the South to join the Danes. A few days later the
restless Prince, with Eadric in his train, started northward, crossed the
Thames at Cricklade in Wiltshire, and proceeded toward the Warwick country.
Edmund had apparently come south to meet him, but the militia were an unwilling
band. They suddenly became sticklers for legal form and regularity, and refused
to go on without the presence of the King and the aid of London. As neither was
forthcoming, the English dispersed. Once more the summons went abroad, and once
more the men insisted that the King must be in personal command: let him come
with what forces he could muster. Ethelred came, but the hand of death was upon
him. Evidently the old King had neither courage nor strength. Whispers of
treason came to him: "that they who should be a help to him intended to
betray him"; and he suddenly deserted the army and returned to the
fastness of London.
The second attempt at resistance having failed, Edmund
left the South to its fate, and rode into Northumbria to seek Earl Uhtred. No
better evidence can be found of the chaos that existed in England at the
time. The Saxon South accepts the invader, while a prince of the house of
Alfred is looking for aid in the half-Scandinavian regions beyond the Humber
that had once so readily submitted to Sweyn Forkbeard. What agreements and
promises were made are not known; but soon we have the strange spectacle of
Edmund and his new ally harrying English lands, the Mercian counties of
Stafford, Salop, and Chester. Doubtless the plan was to punish Eadric, but it
was a plan that did not lead to a united England.
The punishment of the deserters was probably
incidental; evidently the allies were on the march southward to check Canute.
Here was an opportunity for the young Dane to show some generalship, and the
opportunity was improved. Turning eastward into Bucks, he marched his army in a
northeasterly direction toward the Fenlands, and thence northward through
Lincoln and Nottingham toward York. When Earl Uhtred learned of this attack on
his territories, he hastened back to Northumbria. But he was not in position to
fight, and, therefore,
driven by necessity, he submitted, and all Northumbria
with him, and gave hostages. Nevertheless, on the advice of Eadric, he was
slain, and with him Thurkil, the son of Nafna. And
after that the king made Eric earl of Northumbria with all the rights that
Uhtred had.
The Chronicler seems to believe that Uhtred was slain
soon after his submission, and it could not have been very much later. Simeon
of Durham tells us that the Earl was slain by an enemy named Thurbrand; but it seems clear that Canute approved the
act and perhaps desired it. It is extremely probable that Uhtred was removed to
make room for Eric. When young Hakon arrived as a fugitive, Eric doubtless realised that his Norwegian earldom was slipping away. All
through the fall and winter Olaf had been travelling along the shores and up
through the dales; wherever it was practicable he had summoned the peasantry to
public assemblies and presented his case. His appeal was to national Norse
pride and to the people's sense of loyalty to Harold Fairhair's dynasty. Almost everywhere the appeal was successful.
But the men who loved the old order were not willing
to yield without a struggle. While Canute was making his winter campaign from
the Channel to York, both parties were active in Norway, Sweyn and Einar in the Throndelaw, Olaf in the South. All through Lent the
fleets were gathering. Finally on Palm Sunday, March 25, 1016, the dragons
encountered each other at the Nesses, near the mouth of the Christiania Firth.
Neither force was great, though that of Sweyn and Einar was considerably larger
than the pretender's host. It has been estimated that Olaf had fewer
than 2000 men, his opponents nearly twice as many. At the Nesses for the first
time the cross figured prominently in Norwegian warfare: golden, red, or blue
crosses adorned the shining shields of the kingsmen.
After mass had been sung and the men had breakfasted, Olaf sailed out and made
the attack. The outcome was long uncertain, but finally victory was with the
King.
From the Nesses Einar and Sweyn fled to Sweden. Here
they were offered assistance and were planning an expedition against King Olaf
for the following year, when Earl Sweyn suddenly died. As there was no one in
Norway around whom the dissatisfied elements could rally, all attempts to
dislodge the new King were given up for the time. Some of the defeated chiefs
may have sought refuge with Canute; at any rate the news of the Nesses could
not have been long in reaching the York country. As Eric had come to England at
Canute's request, the Prince doubtless felt that he owed his brother-in-law
some compensation. Furthermore, with the Norse earl in control at York, Canute
could feel more secure as to Northumbrian loyalty. There thus existed in the
spring of 1016 a double reason for removing Uhtred.
Another Northumbrian magnate, Thurkil the son of Nafna, is mentioned as sharing the strong earl's fate. Who
Thurkil was is not known; but it is clear that he must have been a noble
of considerable prominence, as he would otherwise hardly be known to a
chronicler in Southern England. His name gives evidence of Northern blood; but
thus far his identity has been a mystery, and the following attempt at
identification can claim plausibility only. King Olaf Trygvesson had a younger
half-brother who was known to the scalds as Thurkil Nefja or "Nosy." In the expedition to Wendland in 1000, he commanded the
Short Serpent. At Swald he fought on King Olaf's own ship, and was the last to
leap overboard when Eric and his men boarded and seized it. Of him sang Hallfred Troublous-scald:
Strong-souled Thurkil
Saw the Crane and the Dragons
Two float empty
(Gladly had he grappled),
Ere the arm-ring wearer,
Mighty in warfare,
Leaped into the sea, seeking
Life by swimming.
The inference is that he actually escaped, and it
seems possible that we find him again in England after sixteen years. As all
the rulers of the North had conspired against Olaf, he would be compelled to
seek refuge in other lands, preferably in one of the Scandinavian
colonies in the West. But for Thurkil now to serve loyally and peaceably under
the man who drove his brother to death and seized his kingdom might be
difficult; and he may therefore have been sacrificed to Eric's security. The
statement that his father's name was Nafna presents a
difficulty; but the Chronicler may not have been thoroughly informed on the
subject of Norse nicknames and may have mistaken the by-name for the name of
his father.
After the submission of Northumbria, Canute returned
to the South. This time he carefully avoided the Danelaw; evidently he wished
that his friends in Danish Mercia should suffer no provocation to rise against
him; the route, therefore, lay through the West. The campaign was swiftly
carried through, for by Easter (April 1), Canute was again with his ships.
Wessex and Northumbria were now both pacified. In the Midlands there can have
been but little active hostility. London alone showed the old determination to
resist; here were Ethelred and Edmund with a number of the English magnates.
Canute immediately began preparations for a last descent upon the stubborn
city; but before his dragons had actually left harbour,
England had lost her king.
April 23, 1016, Ethelred died. To say anything in real
praise of the unfortunate King is impossible. The patriotic monk who chronicled
the sad events of this doleful period can only say that "he kept
his realm with great trouble and suffering the while that he lived."
Any striking abilities Ethelred cannot have possessed. He was easily influenced
for evil—perhaps he was faithless. But to lay all the blame for the downfall of
England tipon the incapable king would be missing the
point. The Old English monarchy was, after all, a frail kingdom. The success of
Edgar in reducing the Scandinavian colonies to unquestioned obedience was
probably due in large part to his sterling qualities as king; but in still
greater measure, perhaps, to the fact that, during his reign, the viking spirit
was at its lowest ebb: consequently the stream of reinforcements having ceased
to flow across the North Sea, the Anglo-Danes were forced to yield. But now the
situation was totally different. In the early years of the eleventh century
only statesmanship of the highest order could have saved the dynasty; but
England had neither statesmen nor statesmanship in Ethelred's day.
CHAPTER IV
. THE STRUGGLE WITH EDMUND IRONSIDE—1016
The Old English kingship was elective: on the death of
a ruler, the great lords and the high officials of the Church, the
"witan" or wise, would meet in formal assembly to select a successor.
Usually the nearest male heir of the house of Alfred would be chosen; but
circumstances might dictate a different selection, and in such cases the
"wise men" seem to have possessed plenary powers. In the spring of
1016, however, a free choice was impossible; nearly the whole kingdom was
pledged to the invader. In his camp were the Saxon hostages; and the great Dane
had shown on an earlier occasion that he could be cruel when he thought a
pledge was broken.
During the winter months the Danish fleet had
apparently been moored at the old viking rendezvous, the Isle of Wight, or in
some neighbouring harbour.
In April, Canute was back from his march to York and was getting his ships in
readiness for further operations, when the death of Ethelred checked his
movements. With remarkable promptness the notables (perhaps those of
Southern England only) came together at some point unknown, awarded the
kingship to Canute, and proscribed all the descendants of Ethelred. This done,
they adjourned to Southampton to give their pledges of loyalty. It was a body
of great respectability that thus gathered to pay homage, containing, as it
did, both laymen and churchmen, lords, bishops, and abbots. The election must
have been held some time about the close of the month, for by the seventh of
May, Canute was at Greenwich with his fleet.
In London, too, an assembly had met and a king had
been chosen. Edmund was in the city when his father died. The chiefs present,
"all the witan who were in London and the citizens of London," as the
Chronicler carefully puts it, at once proclaimed Edmund king. Thus both the
peace party and the war party had acted. It is clear, however, that neither of
these elections could lay any claim to legality; neither assembly could pretend
to represent the entire kingdom; between the death of Ethelred in April and the
accession of Canute at the following Christmas, England had no lawful ruler.
Canute at once proceeded to the siege of London. His
plan was to isolate the city completely, to block the Thames both above and
below the town, and to prevent all intercourse with the country to the north.
To accomplish this investment, a canal was dug around London Bridge wide
enough to permit the long but narrow viking ships to pass into the stream west
of the city. On the north side a ditch was dug enclosing the entire town,
"so that no man could come either in or out." Vigorous efforts
were made from time to time to storm the fortifications, "every morning
the lady on the Thames bank sees the sword dyed in blood"; but the
townsmen held their own. The siege continued through the month of May and
perhaps till late in June, when it seems to have been interrupted by
disquieting news from the West.
On the approach of the fleet, or at least before the
investment had become complete, Edmund left London. We are told that his
departure was secret, which is probable, as it was surely to his interest to
keep Canute in the dark as to his whereabouts. We do not know who directed the defence of London during his absence; a year or two later,
Thietmar, the bishop of Merseburg, introduced into his Chronicle a confused
account of these events, in which Queen Emma is made to play an important part
in the resistance of 1016. It may be that the Queen had returned with
Ethelred, but it is doubtful. When Canute heard that his enemies were mustering
in the Southwest, he seems to have detached a part of his force and sent
it westward to look for Edmund. At Penselwood, near
Gillingham in Dorset, the Danes came upon the Saxon forces. Edmund's success in
raising the West had not been great; but, "trusting in the help of
God," he gave battle and won a victory. It is likely that the affair
at Penselwood was little more than a skirmish, for it
seems to have made small difference in the relative positions of the contending
forces. But it gave Edmund what he sorely needed—the prestige of success. A
month later, battle was again joined at Sherstone, a little farther to the
north near Malmesbury in the upper part of Wiltshire.
The encounter at Sherstone was a genuine battle
fiercely fought, one that lived long in the memories of Englishmen. It occurred
after the feast of Saint John, probably in the early days of July. The earlier
sources do not mention Canute in connection with this fight; with Eric he was
apparently continuing the siege of London. The western campaign was evidently
in Thurkil's hands; the sources also mention three prominent Englishmen,
Eadric, Almar Darling, and Algar, as fighting on the Danish side. The Encomiast,
who speaks of a Danish victory at Sherstone, gives the entire credit to
Thurkil, whom he naively describes as a fervent believer "continuously
sending up silent prayers to God for victory."
Sherstone was at best a drawn battle, neither
side claiming a victory. The Anglo-Norman historians, true to their habit of
looking for some traitor on whom to blame the outcome, could not overlook
Eadric; he is said to have picked up the head of a soldier who bore some
resemblance to Edmund and thus to have deceived the Saxons into believing that
their leader was dead. The tale is obviously mythical; if Henry of
Huntingdon is to be trusted, the trick was played again later in the year at Ashington.
After the encounter at Sherstone, Thurkil seems to
have joined Canute before London; but his whole force did not return with him.
Eadric once more had shifted his allegiance; he had made peace with Edmund and
had joined him against the invader. Whatever his motives may have been, there
can be no dispute as to the importance of his new move. Edmund's army was
strengthened, as was doubtless his prestige in the Midlands. For the third time
he had an army at his command, gathered, it seems, from the region north of the
Thames. With this host he marched to the relief of London. On the appearance of
this force, Canute found himself in a difficult situation: to maintain a siege
and fight a vigorous foeman at the same time, required forces greater than
those at the Dane's command. Prudence was Canute's greatest virtue, and he
promptly raised the siege and withdrew to his ships. Edmund seems to
have come up with his forces to Brentford, just as the Danes were busy crossing
to the south bank. The enemy fled; but many of the English were drowned
"because of their own heedlessness, as they rushed ahead of the main force
to get at the booty." Evidently the whole Danish force had not left
London, as the fight at Brentford was two days after the city had been
relieved.
With the relief of London, the English seem to have
considered their duty done, and soon Edmund found himself once more without an
army. It may, of course, be that the apparent lack of patriotism was due
to the necessities of the harvest season, which must have arrived by this time.
The tireless Edmund next made a visit to Wessex to raise the militia there.
While he was seeking recruits, the Danes returned to London, resumed the siege,
and attacked the city furiously by land and sea, but as usual failed to take
it.
The supply of provisions was probably running low in
the Danish camp, for we next hear of a pillaging expedition into Mercia.
Ordinarily that region was spared; but Eadric's defection had made it hostile
territory and, furthermore, it was probably the only neighbouring section that had not been drained to the limit. Whether the entire army took
part in the foray is uncertain; but the probabilities are that it was the raid
mentioned by the Encomiast as undertaken by Eric with Canute's permission. Part
of the host may have remained on the Isle of Sheppey in the mouth of the
Medway, where a camp appears to have been established.
The fleet sailed north to the Orwell in Suffolk, and
thence the host proceeded westward into Mercia, "slaying and burning
whatever they came across, as is their wont." As the crops had just
been garnered, the raiders did not return empty-handed. Laden with plunder they
began the return to the Medway, the footmen in the ships, the horsemen by land,
driving the plundered flocks before them.
With the forces of the enemy thus divided, Edmund's
opportunity had come. With his fourth army, collected from "all
parts of England," he crossed the Thames at Brentford and dashed after the
Danes, who, encumbered with booty, were hurrying eastward through Kent. At
Otford, in the western part of Kent, Edmund came up with the raiders and slew a
number of them; but much fighting there could not have been, as the Danes were
apparently unwilling to make a stand and hurried on to Sheppey. If Edmund had
been free to make use of the advantage that was his, it seems that he might
have destroyed a considerable part of the Danish host; but at Aylesford he was
evidently detained by a quarrel with Eadric and the raiders escaped.
Canute's position in the autumn of 1016 must have been
exceedingly difficult and serious, even critical. After a year of continuous
warfare—marches, battles, sieges—he seemed as far as ever from successful
conquest. Edmund had, indeed, won no great victories; still, he had been able
to relieve London, to stay the current of Danish successes, to infuse
hope and patriotic fervour into the hearts of the
discouraged English. But too much must not be inferred from the fact that
Canute, too, had been only moderately successful on the battlefield; he was
one of those commanders, who are not attracted by great battles. In two
respects he possessed a decided advantage: he had a splendid army that did not
desert; he had a great fleet to which he could retire when too hotly pursued.
In the autumn of 1016, Edmund had come with a strong force to the lower Thames;
the enemy, however, was out of reach on the Isle of Sheppey. It was not to be
expected that Canute would long lie idle; but operations in the direction of
London were impossible in the presence of Edmund's army. Canute accordingly
embarked his men, crossed the estuary once more, and proceeded to devastate
East Anglia.
Edmund started in pursuit, and on the 18th (or 19th)
of October he came upon the Danes at Ashington in Essex, as they were on their
way back to their ships. There seem to have been divided counsels among the
English as to the advisability of making an attack, Eadric in particular
advising against it. But Edmund was determined to strike, and about the
middle of the afternoon the battle began. The English had the advantage of
numbers; but there was a traitor in camp: Eadric sulked and refused to order
his forces of men from Hereford into battle. The fight continued till
nightfall, and did not cease entirely even then. Darkness finally put an end to
the carnage, and the Angles fled from the field.
It is said that Canute was not eager to fight; but the
feeling in his army must have been different. The banner of the invaders was
the ancient Raven Banner, the raven being Woden's own
bird. It is said of this banner that it was made of plain white silk and bore
no image of any sort; but, when battle began, Woden's bird appeared upon its folds, its behaviour indicating the outcome. In the presence of victory it showed great activity in
bill and wings and feet; when defeat was imminent, it hung its head and did not
move. We are told that it was reported in Canute's army that the raven had
appeared and showed unusual excitement. Perhaps of even greater importance
was military skill and experienced generalship. The tactics employed seem to
have been such as the Northmen frequently used: at the critical moment, the
Danes pretended to retreat; but when the lines of the pursuing English were
broken, they closed up the ranks and cut the Saxon advance in pieces. During
the night, the Danes encamped on the battle-field; the next day they buried
their fallen comrades and removed all articles of value from the bodies of
their Saxon adversaries, the corpses being left to the wolf and the raven.
The English aristocracy suffered heavily at
Ashington. The sources mention six magnates among the slain: Godwin the
ealdorman of Lindsey; an ealdorman Alfric whose locality is unknown; Ulfketel,
ealdorman of East Anglia; Ethelwerd, son of an
earlier East Anglian ealdorman; also the bishop of Dorchester and the abbot of
Ramsey. It is a noteworthy fact that nearly all these are from Eastern
England; so far as we know not one of them came from below the Thames. It may
be true that all England was represented in Edmund's host at Ashington; but we
are tempted to conclude that perhaps the army was chiefly composed of East Anglians summoned by the doughty Earl Ulfketel.
By far the most prominent of all the slain was this
same Earl, the ruler of Saint Edmund's kingdom. Ulfketel is said to have been
Edmund's brother-in-law. As his name is unmistakably Norse, it is more than
likely that his ancestry was Scandinavian. In his earldom he appears to have
been practically sovereign. So impressed were the Norse scalds with the power
and importance of the Earl that they spoke of East Anglia as Ulfkelsland. The sagas accuse him of having instigated
the slaughter of the thingmen, especially of
having destroyed Heming's corps at Slesswick. Thurkil
is naturally mentioned as his banesman.
Eadric's behaviour at
Ashington furnishes an interesting but difficult problem. To the Saxon and
Norman historians it was the basest treachery, premeditated flight at the
critical moment. Still, after the battle he appears in the councils of the
English in apparently good standing, even as a leader. From the guarded
statements of the Encomiast, we should infer that Eadric had advised against
the battle, that his counsel had been rejected, that he therefore had remained
neutral and that he had withdrawn his forces before the battle was joined.
From Ashington Edmund fled westward to the Severn
Valley; Canute returned to the siege of London. Once more Edmund tried to
gather an army, this time, however, with small success; England was exhausted;
her leaders lay on the field of Ashington. Soon the Danes, too, appeared in
Gloucestershire. Some sort of a council must have been called to deliberate on
the state of the country, and the decision was reached to seek peace on the
basis of a divided kingdom. Eadric seems particularly to have urged this solution.
Edmund reluctantly consented, and ambassadors were sent to Canute's camp to
offer terms of peace.
It seems at first sight rather surprising that Canute
should at this time be willing even to negotiate; apparently he had Edmund in
his power, and England showed no disposition to continue the war. Still,
the situation in his own host was doubtless an argument for peace. After more
than a year of continued warfare, his forces must have decreased appreciably in
numbers. Recruiting was difficult, especially must it have been so on the eve
of winter. Without a strong force he could do little in a hostile country. The
campaign had been strenuous even for the vikings, and the Danes are represented
as thoroughly tired of the war. Canute therefore accepted the offer of the
English, with the added condition that Danegeld should be levied for the support
of his army in Edmund's kingdom as well as in his own.
On some little island near Deerhurst in Gloucestershire,[136] the two chiefs met and reached an agreement which put
an end to the devastating war and pillage that had cursed England for more than
a generation. It was agreed that Edmund should have Wessex and Canute Mercia
and Northumbria; or, in a general way, that the Thames should be the dividing
line between the two kingdoms. As to the disposition of East Anglia and Essex
there is some doubt: Florence holds that these territories with the city of
London were assigned to Edmund. So far as London is concerned, this seems to be
erroneous: Canute took immediate possession of the city and made
preparations to spend the winter there, which seems a strange proceeding if the
place was not to be his. The kingdom of England was thus dissolved. There is no
good evidence that Canute understood his position to be that of a vassal king;
he had without doubt complete sovereignty in his own domains. On the other
hand, the fact that Edmund agreed to levy Danegeld in his own kingdom of Wessex
looks suspiciously like the recognition of Canute as overlord of the southern
kingdom.
The compact of Olney, says Florence of Worcester, was
one of "peace, friendship, and brotherhood." Other writers state that
the two kings agreed to become sworn brothers and that the survivor should
inherit the realm of the other brother. We cannot affirm that such a
covenant was actually made, as the authority is not of the best. There is,
however, nothing improbable in the statement; the custom was not unusual in the
North. Twenty years later, Canute's son, Harthacanute,
entered into a similar relationship with his rival, King Magnus of Norway, who
had been making war on Denmark. In Snorre's language,
it was agreed that the kings should take the oath of
brotherhood and should maintain peace as long as both were on earth; and
that if one of them died sonless, the survivor should inherit his realm and
subjects. Twelve men, the most eminent of each kingdom, took the oath with the
kings that this agreement should be kept as long as any of them lived.
It is possible that some such qualification in favour of male heirs was also inserted in the Severn
covenant; still, the whole matter would have been of slight importance had the
magnates on Edmund's death been in position to insist on the ancient principle
and practice of election. Witnesses similar to those mentioned in the later
instance there seem to have been at Deerhurst; for,
after the death of Edmund, Canute summoned those to testify before the
assembly, "who had been witnesses between him and Edmund" when the
agreement was made, as to the details of the treaty.
The reign of Edmund as king of Wessex was destined to
be brief. The covenant of Deerhurst was probably made
in the early days of November (it could scarcely have been earlier, as the
battle of Ashington was fought on October 18) and by the close of the month
(November 30) he was dead. Florence of Worcester tells us that he died in
London, which is improbable, as it seems strange that he should have ventured
into the stronghold of his late enemy. Other writers give Oxford as the
place, which also seems unlikely, if Eadric, who apparently resided at
Oxford, had played the traitor's part at Ashington. It seems clear that
these writers have placed Edmund's death at Oxford because they believed that
Eadric was in some way the author of it.
For so opportunely did the end come, that the
suggestion of foul play was inevitable, and coarse tales were invented to
account for the manner of death. There is, however, not the least hint in any
contemporary source that Canute was in any way guilty of his rival's untimely
decease. The simple-minded Encomiast again sees an illustration of Providential
mercy:
But God, remembering his teaching of olden time, that
a kingdom divided against itself cannot long endure, very soon afterwards led
Edmund's spirit forth from the body, having compassion on the realm of the
English, lest if, perchance, both should continue among the living, neither
should reign securely, and the kingdom be daily annihilated by renewed
contention.
It is difficult to form a just estimate of Edmund
Ironside, as our information is neither extensive nor varied. It is possible
that he was born of a connection that the Church had not blessed; at
least such seems to have been the belief when William of Malmesbury wrote.
A late writer tells us that his mother was the daughter of Earl Thoretus; an earl by such a name actually did flourish
in the closing decade of the tenth century; he was one of the chiefs to whom
Ethelred entrusted his fleet in 992. From his name we should judge that he was
of Norse ancestry. There can be no doubt as to Edmund's bravery on the
battle-field; perhaps he was also in possession of some talent in the way of
generalship. But on the whole, his military exploits have been exaggerated: we
know them chiefly from an ecclesiastic who was doubtless honest, but warmly
patriotic and strongly partisan; it was natural for him to magnify skirmishes
into battles. Edmund was the victor in several important engagements, but in no
great battle. There was no heavy fighting at Penselwood;
Sherstone was at best a drawn battle; Brentford and Otford seem to have been
partly successful attacks on the rear of a retreating foe; Ashington was a
decisive defeat. We cannot tell what sort of a king he might have become but
the glimpses that we get of his character are not reassuring. We get sight of
him first about 1006 when he sought to come into possession of an
estate in Somerset: "and the monastic household dared not refuse
him." His rebellious behaviour in the
Danelaw, his raid into English Mercia, give little promise of future
statesmanship. Edmund Ironside was an English viking, passionate, brave,
impulsive, but unruly and uncontrollable.
When the year closed there was no question who should
be the future ruler of England. Fate had been kind to Canute; still, the
outcome must be ascribed chiefly to the persistent activity of the invader. But
while the name of the young King is necessarily made prominent in the
narrative, we should not forget that he was surrounded and assisted by a group
of captains who probably had no superiors in Europe at the time. There was the
tall and stately Thurkil with the experience of more than thirty years as a viking
chief; the resourceful Eric with a brilliant record as a successful general;
the impetuous and volcanic Ulf; doubtless also Ulf's brother, Eglaf the Jomviking. These were the men who helped most to win the
land for the Danish dynasty; they also formed Canute's chief reliance in the
critical years following the conquest.
The gain in Britain was, however, in a measure
counterbalanced by the loss of Norway in the same year, though in this Canute
was not directly interested at the time. After the battle of the Nesses, King
Olaf sailed north to Nidaros (Throndhjem) where he now received unquestioned allegiance. He rebuilt the city and made
it the capital of his kingdom. The ruined Church of Saint Clemens, the patron
saint of all seafaring men, was raised again and became in a sense the mother
church of Norse Christianity. Without delay he began his great work as
legislator, organiser, and missionary, a work of
enduring qualities. But Canute did not forget that in this way his dynasty was
robbed of one of its earliest possessions outside the Dane-lands. A clash
between the great rivals was inevitable. For the present, however, Olaf's
throne was safe; there was much to do before Canute could seriously think of
proceeding against his virile opponent, and more than a decade passed before
the young King of England could summon his chiefs and magnates into solemn
imperial councils in the new capital of Nidaros.
CHAPTER V
.
THE RULE OF THE DANES IN ENGLAND—1017-1020
For eight months after the death of Ethelred there was
no king of England. Neither Edmund nor Canute had an incontestable claim to the
royal title, as neither had been chosen by a properly constituted national
assembly. There is some evidence that Edmund was crowned, perhaps in May,
1016; but even consecration could hardly remove the defect in the elective
title. And after the agreement of Olney, there was, for a few weeks, no English
kingdom. But, in December, it was possible once more to reunite the distracted
land. In the North of England there was no vacant kingship; only Wessex and
East Anglia needed a ruler. As the latter region possessed a strong
Scandinavian element that might be depended upon to declare for Canute, the
only doubtful factor in the situation was the attitude of the nobility
south of the Thames. Wessex, however, had more than once showed a desire to
give up the struggle: the old spirit of independence was apparently crushed.
London, the great rallying point of the national party, was in Canute's hands.
Beyond the Thames were the camps of the dreaded host that had come from the
North the year before. The Danish fleet still sailed the British seas. No
trusted leader appeared to take up the fight for the house of Alfred; Ethelred's
many sons seem nearly all to have perished, and only children or princes of
doubtful ability remained as possible candidates for the kingship. In addition
there was no doubt a feeling that England should be one realm. The accession of
Canute was therefore inevitable.
The Dane evidently realised the strength of his position. There was consequently little need of hasty
action; it was clearly best to observe constitutional forms and to give the
representatives of the nation ample time to act. It was a Northern as well as a
Saxon custom to celebrate the Yule-tide with elaborate and extended
festivities; and there was every reason why Canute and his warriors in London
should plan to make this year's celebration a memorable event. To these
festivities, Canute evidently invited the magnates of England; for we learn
that a midwinter gemot was held in London, at which the Danish pretender
received universal recognition as king of all England.
To say that this assembly elected a king would be
incorrect; Canute gave the lords no opportunity co make an election. In a
shrewd fashion he brought out the real or pretended fact that in the agreement
of Deerhurst it was stipulated that the survivor
should possess both crowns. Those who had witnessed the treaty were called on
to state what had been said in the conference concerning Edmund's sons and
brothers; whether any of them might be permitted to rule in England if Edmund
should die first. They testified that they had sure knowledge that no authority
was left to Edmund's brothers, and that Canute was to have the guardianship of
Edmund's young sons until they were of sufficient age to claim the kingship.
Florence of Worcester believes that the witnesses were bribed by Canute and
perjured themselves grossly; but the probabilities are, that their statement
was accurate. Canute's object in submitting the problem of the succession in
the South to the witan seems to have been, not exactly to secure his own election,
but rather to obtain the highest possible sanction for the agreement with
Edmund.
To the Northern mind the expedient adopted was both
legal and proper. We know very little about the constitutional framework and
principles of the Scandinavian monarchies at this period; but, so far as we can
discern, the elective principle played an incidental part only; the succession
was in fact hereditary. To the Anglo-Saxons the whole must have
resolved itself into finding some legal form for surrender and submission.
Oaths were taken and loyalty was pledged. Once more the Saxon began to enjoy real
peace and security. At the same time, all the rejoicing can scarcely have been
genuine; for English pride had received a wound that for some years refused to
heal. It must also be said that the opening years of the new reign were not of
such a character as to win the affections of unwilling subjects.
The task that the young monarch undertook in the early
months of 1017 was one of peculiar difficulty. It must be remembered that his
only right was that of the sword. Important, too, is the fact that at the time
England was his only kingdom. As a landless prince, he had crossed the sea,
landless except for possible rights in Norway; had led with him a host of
adventurers most of whom were probably heathen; had wrested large areas from
the native line of English Kings; and now he was in possession of the entire
kingdom.
Something of a like nature occurred in 1066, when
William of Normandy conquered England; but there are also notable differences.
William was the lord of a vigorous duchy across the narrow Channel, in which he
had a storehouse of energy that was always at his disposal. Young Canute had no
such advantages. Before he was definitely recognised as king in the Danelaw, he had no territorial possessions from which to recruit
and provision his armies. Not till 1019 did he unite the crowns of
England and Denmark.
Historians generally have appeared to believe that in
governing his English kingdom, Canute pursued a conscious and well-defined
course of action, a line of political purposes originating early in his reign.
He is credited with the purpose of making England the central kingdom of an
Anglo-Scandinavian empire, of governing this kingdom with the aid of Englishmen
in preference to that of his own countrymen, of aiming to rule England as a
king of the Saxon type. It is true chat before the close of his reign Canute
made large use of native chiefs in the administration of the monarchy; but such
was not the case in the earlier years. There were no prospects of empire in
1017 and 1018: his brother Harold still ruled in Denmark; the Norsemen were
still loyal to the vigorous Olaf. And at no time did the kingdoms that he added
later consider themselves as standing in a vassal relation to the English
state. In Canute's initial years, we find no striving after good government, no
dreams of imperial power. During these years his chief purpose was to secure
the permanence and the stability of his new title and throne.
Nor should we expect any clear and definite policy in
the rule of a king who was still inexperienced in dealing with the English
constitution. At the time of his accession, Canute is thought to have been
twenty-one or twenty-two years old. Younger he could scarcely have
been, nor is it likely that he was very much older. Ottar the Swart in the
Canute's Praise is emphatic on the point that Canute was unusually young for a
successful conqueror: "Thou wast of no great age
when thou didst put forth in thy ship; never younger king set out from
home." As Ottar's other patron, Olaf the Stout, was only twelve when
he began his career as a viking, we should hardly expect the poet to call
attention to Canute's youth if he had already reached manhood when he
accompanied his father to England. The probabilities favour 995 as the year of his birth; if the date be correct he would be about
seventeen in 1012, when the invasion was being planned, nineteen at the death
of his father in 1014; and twenty-one (or twenty-two, as it was late in the
year) when he became king of all England. But whatever his age, he was young in
training for government. So far as we know, he could have had but little
experience as a ruler before the autumn of 1016, when the battle of Ashington
secured his position in England. His training had been for the career of a
viking, a training that promised little for the future.
It seems, therefore, a safe assumption that in shaping
his policy the King's decision would be influenced to a large degree by
the advice of trusted counsellors. In the first year of Canute's reign, there
stood about the throne three prominent leaders, three military chiefs, to whom
in great measure the King owed his crown. There was the sly and jealous Eadric
the Mercian, a man with varied experience in many fields, but for obvious
reasons he did not enjoy the royal confidence. Closer to the King stood Eric,
for fifteen years earl and viceroy in Norway, now the ruler of Northumbria.
Eric was a man of a nobler character than was common among men of the viking
type; but he can have known very little of English affairs, and for this
reason, perhaps, Canute passed his kinsman by and gave his confidence to the
lordly viking, Thurkil the Tall. For a stay of nearly ten years in England as
viking invader, as chief of Ethelred's mercenaries, and as Canute's chief
assistant in his campaign against the English, had surely given Thurkil a wide
acquaintance among the magnates of the land and considerable insight into
English affairs.
Whatever the reason for the King's choice, we seem to
have evidence sufficient to allow the conclusion that for some years Thurkil
held a position in the kingdom second only to that of the King himself.
Wherever his name appears in Canute's charters among the earls who witness
royal grants, it holds first place. In a royal proclamation that was issued in
1020, he seems to act on the King's behalf in the general administration of justice, whenever royal interference should become necessary:
Should any one prove so rash, clerk or layman, Dane or
Angle, as to violate the laws of the Church or the rights of my kingship or any
secular statute, and refuse to do penance according to the instruction of my
bishops, or to desist from his evil, then I request Thurkil the Earl, yea, even
command him, to bend the offender to right, if he is able to do so.
In case the Earl is unable to manage the business
alone, Canute promises to assist. There is something in this procedure that
reminds one of the later Norman official, the justiciar, who was chief of the
administrative forces when the King was in England and governed as the King's
lieutenant when the ruler was abroad. That Thurkil's dignity was not a new
creation at the time of the proclamation is evident from the preamble, in which
Canute sends "greetings to his archbishops and bishops and Thurkil earl
and all his earls and all his subjects." The language of the preamble also
suggests that Thurkil may have acted as the King's deputy during Canute's
absence in Denmark. It is further to be noted that of all the magnates he alone
is mentioned by name. In the account of the dedication of the church at
Ashington later in the same year, Thurkil is again given prominent mention. In
this instance general reference is made to a number of important officials, but Earl Thurkil and Archbishop Wulfstan are the only ones that the
Chronicler mentions by name. It is evident that the English, too, were
impressed by the eminence of the tall earl.
The first and the most difficult problem that Canute
and Thurkil had to solve was how to establish the throne among an unfriendly
people; for the conquered Saxons cannot have regarded the Danish usurper with
much affection. It is generally believed that Canute took up his residence in
the old capital city of Winchester, though we do not know at what time this
came to be the recognised residential town. It may be
true, as is so often asserted, that Canute continued, even after other lands
had been added to his dominions, to make England his home from personal choice;
but it may also be true that he believed his presence necessary to hold Wessex
in subjection. The revolutionary movements that came to the surface during the
first few years of his reign had probably much to do with determining Canute's
policies in these directions. It is a fact of great significance that during
the first decade of his rule in England he was absent from the island twice
only, so far as we know, and then during the winter months, when the chances of
a successful uprising were most remote.
Like the later William, Canute had his chiefs and
followers to reward, and the process of payment could not be long delayed. The
rewards took the form of actual wages, paid from new levies of Danegeld;
confiscated lands, of which we do not hear very much, though seizure of land
was doubtless not unknown, as it was not a Scandinavian custom to respect the
property of an enemy; also official positions, especially the earl's office and
dignity, which was reserved for the chiefs who had given the most effective
aid. The payment of Danegeld was an old story in English history and the end
was not yet. When we consider the really vast tribute that was levied from time
to time and the great value of the precious metals in the Middle Ages, it
becomes clear that many of the vikings who operated in England must have become
relatively wealthy men. A large number evidently served in successive hosts and
expeditions. A Swedish runic monument found in Uppland (the region north of Stockholm) relates that one Ulf shared three times in the
distribution of Danegeld:
But Ulf has in England thrice taken "geld,"
the first time Tosti paid him, then Thurkil, and then Canute paid.
Ulf was evidently one of the vikings who composed
Thurkil's invading force and finally passed with their chief into Canute's
service.
The earl's office was ancient in Scandinavia and
counted very desirable. It did not quite correspond to that of the English
ealdorman, as it usually implied a larger administrative area, a greater
independence, and a higher social rank for the official thus honoured. The office was not new in England; for more than
a century it had flourished in the Danelaw. In Ethelred's time such magnates as
Uhtred in Northumbria and Ulfketel in East Anglia were earls rather than
ealdormen.
The first recorded act of the new sovereign was the
division of the kingdom into four great earldoms. Much has been made of this
act in the past; the importance of the measure has been over-rated; the purpose
of the King has been misunderstood. The act has been characterised as the culmination of a certain tendency in English constitutional development;
as the expression of self-distrust on the part of the monarch; and much more.
It seems, however, that Canute at this time did little more than to recognise the status quo. England was during the later
years of Ethelred's reign virtually divided into four great
jurisdictions, three of which, Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia, were
governed by the King's sons-in-law, Uhtred, Eadric, and Ulfketel. How much
authority was assigned to each cannot be determined; but practically the earls
must have enjoyed a large measure of independence. In the fight against the
Danes, Uhtred seems to have taken but small part; Ulfketel comes into
prominence only when East Anglia is directly attacked.
This arrangement, which was not accidental but
historic, Canute had accepted before the reputed provincial division of 1017.
Eadric had long been a power in parts of Mercia; any attempt to dislodge him at
so early a moment would have been exceedingly impolitic. Eric was already earl
of Northumbria, having succeeded the unfortunate Uhtred, perhaps in the spring
of 1016. It is only natural that Canute should reserve the rule of Wessex to
himself, at least for a time. Provision naturally had to be made for Thurkil;
and as the earl of East Anglia had fallen at Ashington, it was convenient to
fill the vacancy and honour the old viking at the
same time.
It seems never to have been Canute's policy to keep
England permanently divided into four great provinces; what evidence we have
points to a wholly different purpose. During the first decade of the
new reign, fifteen earls appear in the charters as witnesses or otherwise.
Three of these may, however, have been visiting magnates from elsewhere in the
King's dominions, and in one instance we may have a scribal error. There
remain, then, the names of eleven lords who seem to have enjoyed the earl's dignity
during this period. Of these eleven names, seven are Scandinavian and four
Anglo-Saxon; but of the latter group only one appears with any decided
permanence.
Thurkil, while he was still in England, headed the
list. Thurkil was a Dane of noble birth, the son of Harold who was earl in
Scania. He was a typical viking, tall, strong, and valorous, and must have been
a masterly man, one in whom warriors readily recognised the qualities of chieftainship. He had part in the ill-fated expedition that
ended in the crushing defeat of Hjörunga Bay. He also
fought at Swald, where he is said to have served on the ship of his former
enemy, Eric the Earl. In 1009 he transferred his activities to England and
from that year he remained almost continuously on the island till his death
about fifteen years later.
The old viking had several claims on the King's
gratitude. Had he not deserted Ethelred at such an opportune moment, Canute
might never have won the English crown. The statement of the sagas that Thurkil
was Canute's foster-father has been referred to elsewhere. The
foster-relationship, if the sagas are correct, would not only help to explain
how Thurkil came to hold such eminent positions in Canute's English and Danish
kingdoms, but may also account for the confidence that Canute reposed in Thurkil's
son Harold, who may have been the King's foster-brother. The battles of
Sherstone and Ashington no doubt also had a share in securing pre-eminence for
the tall pirate. Sherstone, says the Encomiast, gained for Thurkil a large
share of the fatherland.He is prominently mentioned as one of those most
eager to fight at Ashington, especially after it was reported that the raven
had appeared with proper gestures on the Danish banner.
In his old age Thurkil married an Englishwoman, Edith,
probably one of Ethelred's daughters, the widow of Earl Eadric. He ruled
as English earl from 1017 to 1021. After Canute's return from Denmark in 1020,
some misunderstanding seems to have arisen between him and the old war-chief;
for toward the close of the next year Thurkil was exiled. The cause for this is
not known; perhaps Canute feared his growing influence, especially
after his marriage to the former King's daughter. A reconciliation was brought
about a year later; but for some reason the King preferred to leave him as his
lieutenant in Denmark, and he was never restored to his English dignities.
Eric, Earl of Northumbria, governed this region from
1016 to 1023. He seems to have been Earl Hakon's oldest son, and is said to
have been of bastard birth, the son of a low-born woman, who had attracted the
Earl in his younger years. He grew up to be extremely handsome and clever, but
never enjoyed his father's good-will. The circumstances of Eric's
promotion to the Northern earldom have been discussed in an earlier chapter. As
the Scandinavian colonies north of the Humber were Norwegian rather than Danish,
the appointment of a Norse ruler was doubtless a popular act.
Eadric was allowed to continue as governor of Mercia.
Whether all the old Mercian region made one earldom is uncertain; most likely
it did not extend to the western limits, as several smaller earldoms appear to
have been located along the Welsh border. For one year only was Eadric the
Grasper permitted to enjoy his dignities; at the first opportunity Canute
deprived him not only of honours but of life.
Eglaf, Thurkil's old companion in arms, seems to have
been given territories to rule in the lower Severn Valley. Eglaf was one
of the leaders in the great expedition of 1009. He was evidently one of
those who entered Ethelred's service when peace was made; but during the
closing years of the conflict, he was doubtless fighting for Canute. He was
consequently one of the chiefs who might claim a particular reward. He was also
of high lineage, the son of a powerful Danish chief, Thorgils Sprakaleg, and the brother of Ulf, who was married to
Canute's sister Estrid.
In the Worcester country an Earl Hakon was placed in
control. He was evidently Eric's son and Canute's nephew, the young Hakon whom
King Olaf drove out of Norway in the autumn of 1015. The youthful earl (he was
probably not more than twenty years old in 1017, perhaps even younger) is
described as an exceedingly handsome man with "hair that was long and fair
like silk"; but warfare was evidently not to his taste. For a decade
or more he remained in Canute's service in England. In 1026, hostilities broke
out between Norway and Denmark; the result was the final expulsion of King Olaf
and the restoration of Hakon to his Norse vice-royalty. Soon afterwards he
perished in shipwreck.
Godwin is the first English earl of importance to
appear among Canute's magnates. From 1019 to the close of the reign his name
appears in almost every charter, and invariably as earl or with some
corresponding title. The fact that Godwin found it possible to be present so
frequently when grants were to be witnessed would indicate that he
could not have been located far away from the local court; perhaps he was
closely attached to it. Though his ancestry is a matter of doubt, he was
probably not connected with the Old English aristocracy. This defect Canute
remedied by giving him a noble Danish woman of his own household for wife.
Godwin was consequently closely associated with the new dynasty.
Of the remaining magnates, Ethelwerd,
Leofwine, Godric, Ulf, and Ranig, little is really known. Ethelwerd seems to have had some authority in the extreme Southwest. Ranig's earldom was
the modern shire of Hereford. There is nothing to indicate what territories
were controlled by Godric and Ulf. Leofwine probably succeeded to Eadric's
position as chief ruler in Mercia. In the list we should probably include
Eadulf Cudel who seems to have succeeded to some power north of the Tees after
the murder of his brother Uhtred but whether he was under the lordship of
Eric or held directly from Canute cannot be known.
These were the men with whom Canute shared his
authority during the first ten years of his reign. It will be seen that the
more important places in the local government were given to Danes and Northmen.
So far as we know, only two of Ethelred's ealdormen were retained in
their offices; of these the one soon suffered exile, while the other
appears to have played but a small part in the councils of Canute. Two
appointments were made from the native population, those of Godwin and
Leofwine. In the case of Godwin it is to be observed that he was bound to the
new dynasty by the noble ties of marriage. As to Leofwine's ancestry we are not
informed; but there are indications that some of his forefathers may have been
Northmen.
The more prominent of Canute's earls were drawn from
three illustrious families in the North, one Norwegian and two Danish.
Thurkil's descent from the Scanian earls has already been noted. Eric and his
son Hakon represented the lordly race of Earl Hakon the Bad. A great Danish
chief, Thorgils Sprakaleg, had two sons who bore the
earl's title in England, Ulf and Eglaf, a son-in-law, Godwin, and a few years
later a nephew, Siward the Strong, the lord of Northumbria. Two of these earls
were married to sisters of Canute: Eric to Gytha, and Ulf to Estrid. Godwin was
married to Canute's kinswoman. Hakon was the King's nephew. Thurkil was his
reputed foster-father. It seems that Canute at first had in mind to
establish in England a new aristocracy of Scandinavian origin, bound to the
throne by the noble ties of kinship and marriage. To this aristocracy the North
contributed noble and vigorous blood.
In the King's household, so far as we can learn
anything about it, we find the same preference for men of Northern ancestry.
Ordinarily, the thegns who witnessed royal grants may be taken to have been
warriors or officials connected with the royal court. The signatures of more
than half of these show names that are unmistakably Scandinavian. Usually, the
Northmen sign before their Saxon fellows. The Old Norse language was probably
used to a large extent at court; at least we know that the scalds who sang in
praise of the "greatest king under heaven" composed their lays in
Canute's native language.
The year 1017, which witnessed the exaltation of the
foreigners into English officialdom, also beheld a series of executions that
still further weakened the English by removing their natural leaders. Most of
these are associated with a Christmas gemot, when Canute was celebrating the
first anniversary of his rule as king of England. Of the victims the most
famous was Eadric, the Earl of Mercia. For ten years he had been a power in his
region, though at no time does it appear that his word of honour or his pledge of loyalty could have had any value.
In all the English sources he is represented as endowed with the instincts of
treason, though the Encomiast, is careful to apply no term stronger than
turncoat. At the same time, it is clear that Eadric the Grasper was a man of
real abilities; in spite of the fact that he held allegiance lightly, he seems
to have retained his influence to the last. He was, says one writer,
a man of low origin, one whom the tongue had brought
riches and rank, clever in wit, pleasant in speech, but surpassing all men of
the time in envy, perfidy, crime, and cruelty.
The murder of Eadric was directly in line with
Canute's policy of building up a new Scandinavian aristocracy, devoted to
himself, and endowed with large local authority. The new order could not be
built on such men as Eadric; by his marriage to Ethelred's daughter he was too
closely connected with the old order of things. Furthermore, a man who found it
so easy to be disloyal could not safely be entrusted with such great
territorial authority as the earlship of Mercia. There had been in this same
year extensive plotting among the survivors of the Anglian nobility, and it is
likely that Eadric was involved in this. It is also related that the Earl was
not satisfied with the Kig's reward, which may mean that he
objected to having independent earldoms carved out of Western Mercia. At any
rate, Canute was not reluctant to remove him. Eric appears to have acted as
executioner; and the career of the Grasper came to a sudden end. The murder, so
far as we can see, was popular; among the men of power Eadric can have had few
friends or perhaps none at all.
Three other lords are mentioned as having suffered
death on the same occasion: Northman, the son of Leofwine, and two lords from
the Southwest. There can be little doubt that these men were convicted of
treacherous plotting and that the punishment was regarded as merited. It is a
remarkable fact that Northman's death did not alienate his family from the new
dynasty: his father Leofwine succeeded to Eadric's dignities and his brother
Leofric to Northman's own place of influence; "and the king afterwards
held him very dear."
Some of these executions should probably be placed in
connection with certain measures taken against the former dynasty. Here again
we have anxious care to secure the new throne. Six sons appear to have been
born to Ethelred before his marriage to the Norman Emma; but of these only two
or at most three seem to have survived their father. After Edmund
Ironside's death, Edwy alone remained; he is said to have been Edmund's
full brother and a youth of promise. Evidently Canute intended to spare his
life, but ordered him to go into exile. But the Etheling secretly returned to England and hid for a time in Tavistock monastery. He was
evidently discovered, and Canute procured his death. As Tavistock is in
Devonshire, the execution of the two magnates from the Southwest may readily be
explained on the supposition that they were plotting in Edwy's favour.
The London assembly seems to have assumed that certain
rights were reserved to the infant sons of Edmund, but that the guardianship of
the children had been given to Canute. They were scarcely a problem in 1017;
still, it was necessary to make them permanently harmless. It will be
remembered that Edmund married Sigeferth's widow some time in the year 1015,
perhaps in early summer. It is, therefore, extremely doubtful whether the two
boys, Edward and Edmund, were both the sons of the unfortunate Aldgyth; if they
were they must have been twins, or the younger must have been born a posthumous
child, some time in 1017, the year of their banishment. But if
Florence's account is trustworthy, the status of the two was discussed at the
Christmas gemot following Edmund's death in 1016.
To slay the children of a "brother" who had
committed them to his care and protection must have seemed to Canute a rude and
perhaps risky procedure; it was therefore thought best to send them out of the
land. Accordingly the ethelings were sent to the
"king of the Slavs," who was instructed to remove them from the
land of the living. This particular king was evidently Canute's maternal uncle,
the mighty Boleslav, duke and later king of Poland. Boleslav took pity on the
poor children and failed to dispose of them as requested. In 1025, he was
succeeded by his son Mieczislav, who entered into
close relations with King Stephen of Hungary. It was probably some time
after 1025, therefore, that the ethelings were
transferred to the Hungarian court, where they grew to manhood. After forty
years of exile, one of them returned to England, but died soon after he had
landed.
It seems to have been Canute's purpose finally to
destroy the house of Alfred to the last male descendant. The two most dangerous
heirs were, however, beyond his reach: the sons of Ethelred and Emma
were safe with their mother in Normandy. There was close friendship between the
lords of Rouen and the rulers of the North; still, Duke Richard could not be
expected to ignore the claims of his own kinsmen. So long as the ethelings remained in Normandy, there would always be
danger of a Norman invasion combined with a Saxon revolt in the interest of the
fugitive princes, Alfred and Edward.
Canute was a resourceful king: these princes, too,
could be rendered comparatively harmless. If their mother Emma should be
restored to her old position as reigning queen of England, her Norman relatives
might find it inconvenient to support an English uprising. This seems to be the
true motive for Canute's seemingly unnatural marriage. Historians have seen in
it a hope and an attempt to conciliate the English people, as in this way the
new King would become identified with the former dynasty. But such a theory
does scant justice to the moral sense of the Anglo-Saxons. Furthermore, neither
Ethelred nor Emma had ever enjoyed real popularity. There is no doubt that a
princess of the blood royal could have been found for a consort, if the prime
consideration had been to contract a popular marriage. It seems rather that in
this matter Canute acted in defiance of English public sentiment and for the
express purpose of averting a real danger from beyond the Channel. Apparently,
Emma took kindly to Canute's plans, for she is said to have stipulated
that if sons were born to them, they should be preferred to Canute's older
children; thus by inference the rights of her sons in Normandy were
abandoned.
Earlier in his career, Canute had formed an irregular
connection with an English or Anglo-Danish woman of noble birth, Elgiva, the
daughter of Elfhelm, who at one time ruled in Deira as ealdorman. Her mother's
name is given as Ulfrun, a name that is Scandinavian
in both its component parts.The family was evidently not strictly loyal to
the Saxon line, for in 1006, just after Sweyn's return to Denmark, Elfhelm was
slain and his two sons blinded by royal orders. Elgiva must have had
relatives at Northampton, for the Chronicler knows her as the woman from
Northampton. She was a woman of great force of character, ambitious and
aggressive, though not always tactful, as appears from her later career in
Norway. She was never Canute's wife; but, in the eleventh century, vague ideas
ruled concerning the marriage relation, even among Christians. Her acquaintance
with Canute doubtless began in 1013, when he was left in charge of the camp and
fleet at Gainsborough. Two sons she bore to him, Harold Harefoot and Sweyn. On Emma's return to England, Elgiva seems to have been sent
with her children to Denmark. We find her later taking an active part in the
politics of Wendland, Norway, and probably of England.
The Queen, who now came back from Normandy to marry
her husband's old enemy, was also a masterful woman. If heredity can be stated
in arithmetical terms, she was more than half Danish, as her mother Gunnor was
clearly a Danish, woman while her father had a non-Danish mother and also
inherited some non-Danish blood on the paternal side. She was evidently
beautiful, gifted, and attractive: her flattering Encomiast describes her as of
great beauty and wisdom. But the finer instincts that we commonly associate
with womanhood cannot have been highly developed in her case; what we seem to
find is love of life, a delight in power, and an overpowering ambition to rule.
At the time of her second marriage she was a mature woman; it is not likely
that she was less than thirty years old, perhaps she was nearer forty. At all
events, she must have been several years older than Canute. Two children were
born to this marriage: Harthacanute, who ruled
briefly in Denmark and England after the death of his father and of his
half-brother Harold; and Gunhild, who was married to the Emperor Henry III.
Emma lived to a ripe old age and died in 1052, fifty years after her first
marriage.
The wedding was celebrated in July, 1017, the brin unbroken peace between England and
Normandy. When trouble finally arose after the accession of Robert the Devil,
Canute was strong enough to dispense with further alliances.
One of the chief necessities was some form of a
standing army, a force that the King could depend upon in case of invasion or
revolt. Much reliance could obviously not be placed on the old military system;
nor could the army of conquest be retained indefinitely. In 1018, or perhaps
late in the preceding year, steps were taken to dismiss the Scandinavian
host. It has been conjectured that this was done out of consideration for
the Saxon race; the presence of the conquerors was an insult to the English people.
It had clearly become necessary to disband the viking forces, but for other
reasons. A viking host was in its nature an army of conquest, not of
occupation, except when the warriors were permitted to seize the land, which
was evidently not Canute's intention. In a land of peace, as Canute intended
England to be, such a host could not nourish. It should also be remembered that
a large part was composed of borrowed troops furnished by the rulers of
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; these could not be kept indefinitely. Another
Danegeld was levied, 82,500 pounds in all, to pay off the host; and
most of the Northmen departed, to the evident satisfaction of all concerned.
The dismissal of one host was followed by the
immediate reorganisation of another. Far more
important than the departure of the fleet is the fact that the crews of forty
ships remained in the royal service: this would mean a force of between three
thousand and four thousand men. But the North knew no continuous body of warriors
except the military households of chiefs and kings; such a household was now to
be organised, but one that was far greater and more
splendid than any organisation of the sort known in
Scandinavia. According to Sveno's history, Canute had
it proclaimed that only those would be admitted to his new guard who were
provided with two-edged swords having hilts inlaid with gold. Sveno also tells us that the wealthy warriors made such
haste to procure properly ornamented weapons that the sound of the swordsmith's
hammer was heard all through the land. In this way, the King succeeded in
giving his personal guard an aristocratic stamp.
The guard of housecarles or
"thingmen," as they were called in the
North, was organised as a guild or military
fraternity, of which the King ranked as a member, though naturally a most
important one. In many respects its rules remind us of the regulations
enforced in the Jomburg brotherhood, though its organisation was probably merely typical of the viking fraternities of the age. The purpose
of the guild laws, as reported by Sveno and Saxo, was
to promote a spirit of fellowship among the members, to secure order in the
guard, and to inculcate proper behaviour in the royal
garth. When the housecarles were invited to the
King's tables, they were seated according to their eminence in warfare,
priority of service, or nobility of birth. To be removed to a lower place was
counted a disgrace. In addition to daily fare and entertainment, the warriors
received wages which were paid monthly, we are told. The bond of service was
not permanent, but could be dissolved on New Year's Day only. All quarrels were
decided in an assembly of the housecarles in the
presence of the King. Members guilty of minor offences, such as failing to care
properly for the horse of a fellow guardsman, were assigned lower places at the
royal tables. If any one was thrice convicted of such misdeeds, he was given
the last and lowest place, where no one was to communicate with him in any way,
except that the feasters might throw bones at him if they were so disposed.
Whoever should slay a comrade should lose his head or go into exile. Treason
was punished by death and the confiscation of the criminal's property.
These laws were put into writing several generations
after the guard was formed, and it is not likely that all existed from
the very beginning. There is, however, nothing in the rules that might not have
applied in Canute's own day. It is said that the King himself was the first who
seriously violated the guard-laws, in that he slew a housecarle in a moment of anger. Repentance came swiftly; the guard was assembled;
kneeling the King confessed his guilt and requested punishment. But the laws
gave the King the power of judgment in such cases, and so it must be in this
instance as in others. Forty marks was the customary fine, but in this case the
King levied nine times that amount and added nine marks as a gift of honour. This fine of 369 marks was divided into three
parts: one to go to the heirs of the deceased; one to the guard; and one to the
King. But Canute gave his share to the Church and the poor.
Though the housecarles are
presumed to have possessed horses, the guard was in no sense a cavalry force.
Horses were for use on the march, for swift passage from place to place, not
for charging on the field. The housecarles were
heavily armed, as we know from the description of a ship that Earl Godwin
presented to Harthacanute as a peace offering a few
years after Canute's death. Eighty warriors, housecarles no doubt, seeing that it was a royal ship, manned the dragon,
of whom each one had on each arm a golden arm-ring
weighing sixteen ounces, a triple corselet, on the head a helmet in part
overlaid with gold; each was girded with a sword that was golden-hilted and
bore a Danish ax inlaid with silver and gold hanging from the left shoulder;
the left hand held the shield with gilded boss and rivets; in the right hand
lay the spear that the Angles call the œtgar.
It is not to be supposed that the whole guard was
always at the court—it was distributed in the strong places throughout the
kingdom, especially no doubt in the South. It seems likely that individual housecarles might have homes of their own; at any
rate, many of them in time came into possession of English lands as we know
from Domesday. No doubt Anglo-Saxon warriors were enrolled in the guard,
but in its earlier years, at least, the greater number must have been of
Scandinavian ancestry. In the province of Uppland,
Sweden, a runic monument has been found that was raised by two sons in memory
of their father, who "sat out west in thinglith." As thinglith was the Old Norse name for Canute's
corps of housecarles, we have here contemporary mention of a Swede who served in the guard. Another stone from the same
province records the fact that Ali who raised it "collected tribute for
Canute in England." Housecarles were
sometimes employed as tax collectors, and it seems probable that Ali, too, was
a member of the great corps. It is likely that housecarles are also alluded to in the following Scanian inscription:
Sweyn and Thurgot raised
this monument in memory of Manna and Sweyn. God help their souls well. But they
lie buried in London.
The sagas are evidently correct in stating that the
force of housecarles "had been chosen from many
lands, though chiefly from those of the Danish [Old Norse] tongue."
So long had the wealth of England been regarded as
legitimate plunder, that the Scandinavian pirates found it difficult to realise that raids in South Britain were things of the
past. They now had to reckon, not merely with a sluggish and disorganised militia, but with a strong force of
professional warriors in the service and pay of a capable and determined king.
In the year 1018, says the German chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg,
the crews of thirty viking ships have been slain in
England, thanks be to God, by the son of Sweyn, the king of the English; and
he, who earlier with his father brought invasion and long-continued destruction
upon the land, is now its sole defender.
This seems to have been the first and last attempt at
piracy in England during the reign of Canute. So far as his dominions extended,
viking practices were outlawed. The check that the movement received in 1018
was the beginning of a rapid decline in its strength, and before the close of
Canute's reign, the profession of the sea-king was practically destroyed.
The Welsh, too, seem to have found it hard to repress
their old habits of raiding the English frontier. It was probably this fact
that induced Canute to establish so many earldoms in the Southwest,
particularly in the Severn Valley. A few years after the signal defeat of the
viking fleet, apparently in 1022, Eglaf, one of the earls on the Welsh border,
harried the lands of Southwestern Wales. As the sources nowhere intimate
that Canute ever planned to conquer Wales, and as this was evidently the year of
Canute's absence in the Baltic lands, the conclusion must be that this
expedition was of a punitive character. The Angles and Saxons were soon to
learn that the new régime meant a security for the property as well as the
persons of loyal and peaceful citizens, such as they had not enjoyed for more
than a generation.
CHAPTER VI
.
THE BEGINNINGS OF EMPIRE—1019-1025
The first three or four years of Canute's government
in England can have given but little promise of the beneficent rule that was to
follow. To the conquered Saxon they must have been a season of great sorrow. On
the throne of Alfred sat an alien king who had done nothing as yet to merit the
affectionate regard of his subjects. In the shire courts ruled the chiefs of
the dreaded Danish host, chiefs who had probably harried those same shires at
an earlier date. A heavy tax had been collected to pay the forces of the enemy,
but a large part of those forces still remained. The land was at peace; but the
calm was the calm of exhaustion. The young King had shown vigour and decision; thus far, however, his efforts had been directed toward dynastic
security rather than the welfare of his English subjects.
But with Canute's return from Denmark in 1020 begins
the second period in the history of the reign. After that date, it seems that
more intelligent efforts were made to reconcile the Saxons to foreign
rule. For one thing, Canute must have come to appreciate the wonderful power of
the Church; for an attempt was made to enlist its forces on the side of the new
monarchy. Perhaps he had also come to understand that repression could not
continue indefinitely.
This change in policy seems to be the outgrowth
principally of the new situation created by Canute's accession to the Danish
throne. Harold, his older brother, king of Denmark, appears to have died in
1018. Little is known of Harold; he died young and evidently left no
heirs. For a year there seems to have been no recognised king in Denmark, as Canute did not leave England before 1019. In that year he
sailed to the Baltic to claim the throne in person, taking with him nine ships,
fewer than one thousand men; the rest of the new force of housecarles was doubtless left in Britain as a matter of security. Thurkil, Earl of East
Anglia, seems to have been left behind as English viceroy.
Various reasons may be assigned for this delay in
securing the ancestral crown. Harold died in the year when Canute was reorganising the military forces of the realm; before his
great corps of housecarles was complete, it would not
have been safe to leave the country. Perhaps the King also felt that he must
take some steps to reconcile the two racial elements of his kingdom. He may
have concluded that with two kingdoms to govern it would be impossible to
give undivided attention to English affairs and movements. To prevent rebellion
in his absence, it might be well to remove, so far as possible, all forms of
hostility; we read, therefore, of a great meeting of the magnates, both Danes
and Angles, at Oxford in 1018, where the matter of legislation was evidently
the principal subject. At this assembly, it was agreed to accept Edgar's laws
as the laws for the whole land. It is significant that the comparatively
large body of law that was enacted in Ethelred's day was ignored or rejected.
The chief reason for this may have been that Canute was not yet willing to
enforce the rigid enactments against heathen practices that were such a
distinctive feature of Ethelred's legislation. There can be small doubt that in
the Scandinavian settlements and particularly in the alien host heathendom
still lingered to some extent.
The delay was also due, perhaps, in large part to a
serious trouble with Scotland. The term Northumbria is variously used; but in
its widest application it embraced territories extending from the Humber to the
Forth. The northern part of this kingdom, the section between the Tweed and the
Forth, was known as Lothian; on this region the kings of Scotland had long cast
covetous eyes. In 1006, while the vikings were distressing England, King
Malcolm invaded Lothian, crossed the Tweed, and laid siege to Durham.
The aged Earl Waltheof made practically no attempt at resistance; but his young
son Uhtred placed himself at the head of the Northumbrian levies and drove the
invader back into Scotland. Uhtred succeeded to his father's earldom and
was apparently recognised as lord throughout the
entire ancient realm. While Uhtred lived and ruled, the neighbours to the north
seem to have kept the peace; but in 1016, as we have seen, the great warrior
was slain, probably at Canute's instigation and his earldom was assigned to
Eric. Whatever Canute's intentions may have been, it seems likely that the new
Earl did not come into immediate and undisputed control of the entire earldom;
for we find that in the regions north of Yorkshire, the old kingdom of
Bernicia, Uhtred's brother, Eadulf Cudel, "a very sluggish and timid
man," sought to maintain the hereditary rights of the family.
Two years after Uhtred's death, Malcolm the son of
Kenneth reappeared in Lothian at the head of a large force gathered from the
western kingdom of Strathclyde as well as from his own Scotia. The
Northumbrians had had ample warning of troubles to come: for thirty nights a
comet had blazed in the sky; and after the passage of another period of thirty
days, the enemy appeared. An army gathered mainly from the Durham
country met the Scotch forces at Carham on the Tweed,
near Coldstream, but was almost completely destroyed. There is no record
of any further resistance; and when Malcolm returned to the Highlands he was
lord of Lothian, Eadulf having surrendered his rights to all of Northumbria
beyond the Tweed.
Canute apparently acquiesced in this settlement. So
far as we know, he made no effort to assist his subjects in the North, or to
redeem the lost territory. We cannot be sure of the reason for this inactivity;
but the general situation on the island appears to offer a satisfactory
explanation. It will be remembered that 1018 was the year when Canute disbanded
his Scandinavian army. As we are told that the bishop of Durham, who died in
1019, took leave of earth a few days after he had heard the news of the great
defeat, it seems likely that the battle of Carham was fought late in the year 1018, and after the host had departed for Denmark.
Canute, therefore, probably had no available army that he could trust; to call
out his new subjects would have been a hazardous experiment. There is also the
additional fact that the sluggish Eadulf was in all probability regarded as a
rebel, whom Canute was not anxious to assist.
As to the terms of the surrender of Lothian, nothing
definite is known. Our only authority in the matter puts the entire blame on
Eadulf, [and apparently would have us believe that Malcolm merely
stepped into the earl's position as vassal of Eric or Canute. If such were the
case, Canute could hardly have been left in ignorance about the cession, and he
may have cherished certain pretensions to overlordship, which Macolm evidently
did not regard very seriously. In one way the cession of Lothian was a great
loss to England; on the other hand, it added an Anglian element to the
Caledonian kingdom, which in time became the controlling factor, and prepared
the northern state for the union of the kingdoms that came centuries
afterwards.
The following year, Canute was finally in position to
make the deferred journey to Denmark. The Danish situation must have had its
difficulties. In a proclamation issued on his return, the King alludes to
these, though in somewhat ambiguous terms:
Then I was informed that there threatened us a danger
that was greater than was well pleasing to us; and then I myself with the men
who went with me departed for Denmark, whence came to you the greatest danger;
and that I have with God's help forestalled, so that henceforth no unpeace shall come to you from that country, so long as you
stand by me as the law commands, and my life lasts.
Most probably, the difficulty alluded to was some
trouble about the succession. There may have been a party in Denmark to
whom the thought of calling a king from England was not pleasant; or it may be
that a conservative faction was hoping for a ruler of the old faith. Any form
of invasion from Denmark at this time, when the nation was even kingless, is
almost beyond the possible. But no doubt there had been a likelihood that
Canute would have to call on his English subjects for military and financial
support in the effort to secure his hereditary rights in the North.
Canute chose to spend the winter in Denmark, as during
the winter season there was least likelihood of successful plots and uprisings.
As early as possible in the spring of 1020, he returned to England. Evidently
certain rebellious movements had made some headway during his absence, for
Canute immediately summoned the lords to meet in formal assembly at the Easter
festival. The plotting was apparently localised in
the south-western shires, as we infer from the fact that the gemot sat in an
unusual place, Cirencester in the Severn country. Its chief act seems to have
been the banishment of Ethelwerd, earl in the Devon
country, and of a mysterious pretender whom the Chronicler calls Edwy, king of
churls. It seems natural to associate the destinies of these two men and
to conclude that some sort of conspiracy in the pretender's favour had been hatching, but we have no definite information.
It was probably at this gathering that Canute
issued his proclamation to the English nation; at least there seems to be no
doubt that it was given in 1020. It is a remarkable document, a message to a
restless people, an apology for the absence in Denmark, and a promise of future
good government. It hints darkly at what may have been the disturbances in the
Southwest and the measures taken at Cirencester in the following terms:
Now I did not spare my treasures while unpeace was threatening to come upon you; with the help of
God I have warded this off by the use of my treasures.
In a measure the Proclamation of 1020 contains the
announcement of a new governmental policy in England, one that recognises the English subjects as citizens who may be
trusted with some share in the administration of the realm, and not merely as
conquered provincials whose rebellious instincts can be kept down by a
continuous policy of coercion only. There was, it is true, little need of
coercion after 1020; the natural leaders of the native population were gone.
But the importance of the union with Denmark with respect to politics in
England must not be overlooked: it removed what fear had remained as to the
stability of Canute's conquered throne. At the first indication of an uprising,
it would be possible to throw a Danish force on the British coast, which,
combined with the King's loyal partisans in England, could probably
stifle the rebellion in a brief campaign.
The purpose to make larger use of the native energies
is indirectly shown in the command to the local functionaries that they heed
and follow the advice of the bishops in the administration of justice:
And I make known to you that I will be a kind lord and
loyal to the rights of the Church and to right secular law.
And also my ealdormen I command that they help the
bishops to the rights of the Church and to the rights of my kingship and to the
behoof of all the people. And I also command my reeves, by my friendship and by
all that they own, and by their own lives, that they everywhere govern my
people justly and give right judgments by the witness of the shire bishop, and
do such mercy therein as the shire bishop thinks right and the community can
allow.
The significance of this appears when we remember that
the local prelates were probably English to a man.
There is, however, no evidence for the belief so
frequently expressed, that Canute by this time, or even earlier, had concluded
to dispense with his Scandinavian officials, and to rule England with the help
of Englishmen only. In the Proclamation the King speaks of Danes and
Angles, not of Angles and Danes. Among the thegns who witnessed his charters,
Danes and Saxons continue to appear in but slightly changed ratio till the
close of the reign. The alien guard was not dismissed. Local government continued
in the hands of Norse and Danish earls. Time came when these disappeared from
their respective earldoms, but for reasons that show no conscious purpose of
removal because of nationality or race. As the field of his operations widened,
as the vision of empire began to take on the forms of reality, Canute found it
necessary to use his trusted chiefs in other places and in other capacities.
Consequently the employment of native Englishmen in official positions became
more common as the years passed.
The following year about Martinsmas (November 11, 1021), came the first real break in Canute's political system:
Thurkil the Tall, who stood second to the King only in all England, was
outlawed. Florence of Worcester adds that his wife was exiled with him.
The reason for this act is not clear; but we may perhaps associate it with a
lingering dislike for the old dynasty. If Edith was actually Ethelred's
daughter, Thurkil's marriage may have been a source of irritation or even
supposed danger to Canute and possibly also to the lady's stepmother, the
callous Queen Emma.
It is also possible that the King in this case simply
yielded to pressure from the native element, particularly from the Church.
Thurkil's prominence in the kingdom can hardly have been a source of pleasure
to the men who recalled the part that he had played in the kingdom at various
times. In the Proclamation he is entrusted with the task of enforcing the laws
against heathen and heretical practices. But to assign such a duty to the man
who was in such a great measure responsible for the martyrdom of Saint Alphege
must have seemed a travesty upon justice to the good churchmen of the time. The
conjecture that the banishment of the Earl was not wholly the result of royal disfavour receives some support from the fact that, a few
months later, Canute and Thurkil were reconciled, and the old Earl was given a
position in Denmark analogous to the one that he had held in England.
Canute still found him useful, but not in the western kingdom. At the same
time, the shrewd King seems not to have felt absolutely sure of the Earl's
loyalty, for we read that he brought Thurkil's son with him to England,
evidently as a hostage.
In 1023 another great name disappears from the
documents: Earl Eric is mentioned no more. Later stories that he, too,
suffered exile are not to be believed. Eric seems to have died in possession of
all his Northumbrian dignities and of the King's favour at a comparatively advanced age; for the warrior who showed such signal bravery
at Hjörunga Bay nearly forty years before could not
have been young. In all probability he had passed the sixtieth milestone of
life, which was almost unusual among the viking chiefs of the period. We are
told that in his last year he contemplated a visit to Rome which was probably
never made. Most reliable is the story that he died from the effects of
primitive surgery. Just as he was about to set out on the Roman journey, it was
found necessary for him to have his uvula treated. The surgeon cut too deep and
a hemorrhage resulted from which the Earl died. That the story is old is
clear, for some of the accounts have the additional information that the leech
acted on the suggestion of one who can be none other than Canute. This part of
the story is probably mythical.
The spirit of chivalry was not strong in the viking; but, so far as it existed, it found its best representative in
Eric, the son of Hakon the Bad. He was great as a warrior, great as a leader in
the onslaught. He possessed in full measure the courage that made the viking
such a marvellous fighter; the joy of the conflict he
seems to have shared with the rest. But when the fight was over and the foeman
was vanquished, nobler qualities ruled the man; he could then be merciful and
large of soul. As a statesman, on the other hand, he seems to have been less
successful; in Norway he permitted the aristocracy to exercise local authority
to a greater extent than the welfare of Norse society could allow. As to his
rule in Northumbria we know nothing.
The next year we have the closing record of still
another Scandinavian earl in England: Eglaf signs a grant for the last time in
1024. Doubtless some trouble had arisen between him and the King, for two
years later he appears to be acting the part of a rebel. Still later, he is
said to have joined the Varangian guard of Scandinavian warriors at Byzantium,
where he closed his restless career in the service of the Greek Emperor.
There still remained Norse and Danish earls in
England, such as Ranig and Hakon; but the men who were most intimately
associated in the English mind with conquest and cruel subjection were
apparently out of the land before the third decade of the century had
finished half its course. It is probable that Hakon succeeded his father in the
Northumbrian earldom, as Leofwine of Mercia seems to be in possession of
Hakon's earldom in Worcestershire in 1023, the year when Hakon's father
presumably died.
After the banishment of Thurkil, we should expect to
find Eric, while he still lived, as the ranking earl in the kingdom and the
chief adviser to the King. But Eric's earldom was in the extreme north; his
subjects were largely Norwegian immigrants and their descendants, as yet,
perhaps, but imperfectly Anglicised; he was himself
an alien and his circle of ideas scarcely touched the field of Saxon politics.
He could, therefore, be of small assistance in governing the kingdom as a
whole. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether Canute really felt the need of a
grand vizier at this time. An excellent assistant, however, he seems to have
found in the Saxon Godwin. It has been thought that Godwin's exalted position
of first subject in the realm belongs to a date as early as 1020. But this
is mere conjecture. It is evident that his influence with Canute grew with the
passage of time; still, it is likely that historians have projected his
greatness too far back into his career.
A position analogous to that of the tall earl he could
not have held before the closing years of the reign. If Canute left any one in
charge of the kingdom during his absences after 1020, it could not have been
Godwin. When the fleet sailed against the Slavs on the south Baltic shores in
1022, Godwin appears to have accompanied the host. Tradition tells us that he
fought valiantly in the Swedish campaign of 1026. A Norse runic monument
records his presence in some expedition to Norway, presumably that of 1028.
Canute did not employ English forces to a large extent in any of his foreign
wars, possibly because he was distrustful of them: only fifty English ships
made part of that vast armada that overawed the Norwegians in 1028. Canute's
probable reluctance about arming the Saxons after the battle of Carham and the consequent loss of Lothian has already been
referred to. The presence of Godwin as a chief in Canute's host may, therefore,
be taken as a mark of peculiar confidence on the King's part.
Godwin was never without his rival. In the Midlands
Leofwine and after him his son Leofric were developing a power that was some
day to prove a dangerous barrier to the ambitions of the southern Earl and his
many sons. The family of Leofwine had certain advantages in the race for power
that made for stability and assured possession of power once gained: it was
older as a member of the aristocracy; it seems to have had Anglo-Danish connections, presumably Danish ancestry; it was apparently controlled by a
spirit of prudence that urged the acceptance of de-facto rule. But in the
matter of aggressive abilities and statesmanlike ideas the Mercians were far
inferior to their Saxon rivals; the son and grandsons of Leofwine never
attained the height of influence and power that was reached by Godwin and his
son Harold.
While these changes were going on in England, an
important advance had been made in the direction of empire. In his message from
Rome to the English people (1027) Canute claims the kingship of England,
Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden. The copies of the document that have come
down to us are, however, not contemporary, and it is not likely that the
sweeping claim of the salutation was found in the original. For at no time was
Canute lord of any Swedish territory as the term was understood and the frontier
drawn in the eleventh century. It has been pointed out that in this case we
probably have a scribal error of Swedes for Slavs. As King of Denmark,
Canute inherited pretensions to considerable stretches of the south Baltic
shore lands, and consequently could claim to rule a part of the Slavic lands.
Early in his reign he made an expedition to these regions, of which we have
faint echoes in both English and Scandinavian sources.
From the Elbe eastward along the Baltic
shores, at least as far as the Vistula, where the Lithuanian settlements appear
to have begun, Slavic tribes were evidently in full possession all through
the viking age. There was, however, no consolidated Slavic power, no organised Slavic state. The dominions of Bohemia and Poland
were developing but neither had full control of the coast lands. The non-Slavic
peoples who were interested in this region were the Danes and the Germans. The
eastward expansion of Germany across and beyond the Elbe had begun; but in
Canute's day Teutonic control of Wendish territories was very slight.
We find the Danes in Wendland as early as the age of
Charlemagne, when they were in possession of a strong and important city called
Reric, the exact location of which is not known. The Danish interest
appears to have been wholly a commercial one: horses, cattle, game, fish, mead,
timber products, spices, and hemp are mentioned as important articles of the
southern trade. There was also, we may infer, something of a market for
Danish products. At all times, the intercourse seems to have been peaceful;
Danes and Wends appear to have lived side by side on the best of terms. The
Germans, on the other hand, were not regarded with much favour by their Slavic neighbours. The feeling of hostility and hatred that
the Wend cherished was reciprocated on the German side; the German mind
scarcely thought of the Slav as within the pale of humanity.
The most famous of all Danish settlements in these
regions was Jom, a stronghold near the mouth of the
Oder, sometimes called Jumne, Jumneta,
or Julin. In the eleventh century Jom was a great
city as cities went in those days, though it was probably not equal to its
reputation. The good Master Adam, who has helped us to so much information
regarding Northern lands and conditions in his century, speaks of the city in
the following terms:
It is verily the greatest city in Europe. It is
inhabited by Slavs and other peoples, Greeks and barbarians. For even the
Saxons who have settled there are permitted to live with the rest in the
enjoyment of the same rights; though, indeed, only so long as they refrain from
public profession of their Christian faith. For all the inhabitants are still
chained to the errors of heathen idolatry. In other respects, especially as to
manners and hospitality, a more obliging and honourable people cannot be found.
The city was located on the east side of the island of
Wollin, where the village of Wollin has since been built. For its time it
enjoyed a very favourable location. Built on an
island, it was fairly safe from land attacks, while its position some distance
from the sea secured it from the common forms of piracy. Back into
the land ran the great river highway, the Oder, while a few miles to the north
lay the Baltic with its long coast line to the east, the west, and the north.
To secure Danish influence in the city, Harold
Bluetooth built the famous fortress of Jomburg and garrisoned it with a
carefully chosen band of warriors, later known as the Jomvikings. According to
saga, Palna Toki, the viking who is reputed to have slain King Harold, was the
founder and chief of the brotherhood; but the castle probably existed before
Toki became prominent in the garrison, if he ever was a member. The fortress
was located north of Jom near the modern village of
Wollin, where abundant archæological evidence has
definitely identified the site. The harbour or
bay that served as such has since filled with the rubbish of time; but in the
tenth century it is reported to have had a capacity of three hundred dragons.
The existence of a military guild at Jomburg seems
well attested. Only men of undoubted bravery between the ages of eighteen and
fifty years were admitted to membership; and, in the admission, neither kinship
nor friendship nor considerations of exalted birth should be taken into
account. As members of the brotherhood, all the Jomvikings assumed the duties
of mutual support and the revenge of a fallen comrade. Strict
discipline was enjoined in the fortress; absence for more than three days at a time
was forbidden; no women were to be admitted to the castle. There was to be no
toleration of quarrelsome behaviour; plunder, the
fruitful source of contention, was to be distributed by lot. In all disputes
the chief was the judge.
It seems evident that the chief of these vikings was
something more than the captain of a garrison; he bore the earl's title and as
such must have had territorial authority in and about the city. Supported by
the Jomvikings he soon began to assert an independence far beyond what the
Danish kings had intended that he should possess. However, till the death of
Harold Bluetooth, the brotherhood appears to have been fairly loyal to their
suzerain; it was to Jomburg that the aged King fled when his son rebelled against
him; it was there that he died after the traitor's arrow had given him the
fatal wound. The rebel Sweyn was not immediately recognised by the Earl at Jom; the vikings are said to have
defied him, to have captured him and carried him off. Only on the promises of
marriage to Gunhild, the sister of Earl Sigvaldi's wife, and of the payment of
a huge ransom, was he permitted to return to his throne. The saga story has
probably a great measure of truth in it. Sweyn seems to have been determined on
the destruction of the fraternity, and most likely had some success;
for toward the close of his reign, we find the Jomvikings no longer terrorising the Baltic shores, but plundering the western
isles.
In 1021, toward the close of the year, we read of the
exile of Thurkil the Tall, who will be remembered as an old Jomviking,
the brother of Earl Sigvaldi, and the leader in the descent of these vikings
upon England in 1009. We do not know where the exile sought a new home, but one
is tempted to conjecture that he probably returned to the old haunts at the
mouth of the Oder. It is an interesting fact that a few months later Canute
found it advisable to make a journey to that same region.
In the entry for 1022, the Chronicler writes that
"in this year King Canute fared out with his ships to Wiht,"
or, as one manuscript has it, to "Wihtland."
Apparently, the movement, whatever it was, did not interest the scribe; far
more important in his eyes was the news that Archbishop Ethelnoth,
when in Rome to receive the pallium, was invited to say mass in the papal
presence, and was afterwards permitted to converse with the Holy Father.
Historians have thought with the monk that the journey with the fleet can have
had but little importance, that it was merely a mobilisation of the navy at the Isle of Wight, perhaps for the purpose of display.
It was the Danish historian Steenstrup who first
suggested that Wiht or Wihtland probably did not mean Wight in this case, but the old Witland that we read of in the writings of Alfred: Wulfstan the wide-farer
informed the royal student that "the Vistula is a mighty stream and
separates Witland from Wendland and Witland belongs to the Esthonians." Evidently the Angles understood Witland to be the
regions of modern Prussia east of the Vistula. That Canute's expedition
actually went eastward seems extremely probable for we read that the next year
he returned from Denmark and had become reconciled with Earl Thurkil.
There were Danish colonies at the mouths of the Oder,
the Vistula, and the Düna; all these, no doubt,
submitted to the conqueror from England. The expedition probably first went to Jom in Wendland; thence eastward to the Prussian regions of Witland and the still more distant Semland, a region near the Kurisches Haff that is reported to have been conquered by one of Harold Bluetooth's
sons. Canute's possessions thus extended along the Baltic shores from
Jutland almost to the eastern limits of modern Germany; he may also have had
possessions farther up the eastern coast of the sea. It is not likely that
these possessions were anything more than a series of stations and
settlements; but these would serve as centres of
influence from which Danish power would penetrate into the interior to the
protection of Danish trade and commerce.
Later English writers have a story to tell of this
expedition, especially of the valorous part that was played by the Earl Godwin.
In the expedition against the Vandals, Godwin, without first informing the
King, made a night attack on the enemy and put them to rout. When Canute
prepared to make an attack early in the morning, he missed the English and
feared that they had fled or deserted. But when he came upon the enemy's camp
and found nothing there but bloody corpses and plunder, light dawned on the King,
and he ever afterward held the English in high esteem.
Jomburg apparently retained its old pre-eminence as
the centre of Danish control on the southern shore.
The King's brother-in-law, Ulf, seems to have been left in control, probably
with the title of earl. But after the death of Thurkil, who had been left as
viceroy of Denmark, Ulf was apparently transferred to that country and Canute's
son Sweyn, under the guidance of his mother Elgiva, was appointed the King's
lieutenant in Wendland.
The extension of Danish influence among the Wends
brought Denmark into closer contact and relations with the Empire. Two years
after Canute's expedition to the Slavic lands, Henry the Saint passed to his
reward, and Conrad the Salic succeeded to the imperial dignities. On the death
of Henry II. the great Polish Duke Boleslav hastened to assume the regal title,
and evidently planned to renounce the imperial suzerainty. This policy of
hostility to the Empire was continued by his son and successor, Mieczislav, who also may have hoped to interest his cousin
King Canute in the welfare of the new kingdom.
Conrad also felt the need of a close alliance with the
Danish conqueror, and called upon Archbishop Unwan of
Hamburg-Bremen for assistance as a mediator. Unwan was Canute's friend and succeeded in bringing about the desired understanding.
Possibly the price of the alliance may have appealed to Canute as much as the
Archbishop's arguments; for Conrad bought the friendship of his Northern
neighbour with the Mark of Sleswick to the Eider River.
The exact date of this alliance is a matter of doubt,
but the probabilities appear to favour 1025, when the
Emperor Conrad was in Saxony. Some historians believe that the mark was not
ceded at this time but ten years later, when Canute's daughter Gunhild was
betrothed to Conrad's son Henry, as Adam of Bremen seems to associate
these two events. But Adam's chronology is confused on these matters.
Canute's friendship was surely more difficult to purchase in 1025 when his star
was rapidly ascending than in 1035 when his empire had begun to collapse. While
we cannot be sure, it seems extremely likely that the boundary of Denmark was
extended to the Eider in 1025.
CHAPTER VII
. CANUTE AND THE ENGLISH CHURCH—1017-1026
The English Church enjoyed Canute's favour from the very beginning: the King was a Christian;
furthermore, he no doubt saw in the Church a mighty force that should not be antagonised. At the same time, there is no evidence of any
close union between church and monarchy before 1020; and even then it was more
like an entente cordiale than an open aggressive alliance, as it later came to
be. Canute was a Christian, but he was also a shrewd statesman and a consummate
politician. The religious situation among his Danish supporters in England as
well as the general religious and political conditions in the North probably
made it inexpedient, perhaps impossible, to accede to the full demands of the
Church without danger to his ambitions and probable ruin to his imperialistic
plans.
When the eleventh century opened, the North was still
largely heathen. Missionaries had been at work for nearly two centuries—ever
since Saint Ansgar entered the Scandinavian mission field in the days
of Louis the Pious—and the faith had found considerable foothold in Denmark,
especially on the Jutish peninsula. Canute's father Sweyn had been baptised; but other indications of his Christian faith are
difficult to find. His queen, Sigrid the Haughty, was almost violent in her
devotion to the old gods. Sweden remained overwhelmingly heathen for some years
yet, while the progress of the Church in Norway depended on royal mandates
supported by the sword and the firebrand. Only five years before the death of
Canute, Norse heathendom won its last notable victory, when Saint Olaf fell
before the onslaught of the yeomanry at Stiklestead (1030).
The army that conquered England for Canute was no
doubt also largely heathen. It seems, therefore, safe to assume that during the
early years of the new reign, the worship of the Anse-gods was carried on in
various places on English soil; surely in the Danish camps, perhaps also in
some of the Danish settlements. This situation compelled the Christian King to
be at least tolerant. Soon there began to appear at the English court prominent
exiles from Norway, hot-headed chiefs, whose sense of independence had been
outraged by the zealous missionary activities of Olaf the Stout. Canute
had not been lord of England more than six or seven years before the Norwegian
problem began to take on unusual interest. Before long the missionary
King found his throne completely undermined by streams of British gold. The
exiles who sought refuge at Winchester and the men who bore the bribe-money
back to Norway were scarcely enthusiastic for the faith that frowned on piracy;
consequently it continued to be necessary for Canute to play the rôle of the tolerant, broad-minded monarch, who, while
holding firmly to his own faith, was unwilling to interfere with the religious
rites of others. In his later ecclesiastical legislation, Canute gave the
Church all the enactments that it might wish for; but it is a significant fact
that these laws did not come before the Northern question had been settled
according to Canute's desires and his viceroy was ruling in Norway. Edgar's
laws, which were re-enacted in 1018, at the Oxford assembly, deal with the
matter of Christianity in general terms only. The more explicit and extensive
Church legislation of Ethelred's day was set aside and apparently remained a
dead letter until it was in large measure re-enacted as a part of Canute's
great church law late in the reign.
The early surroundings of the King had not been such
as to develop in him the uncompromising zeal that characterised the typical Christian monarch in mediæval times. We
do not know when he was baptised; it may have been in
childhood, and it must have been before the conquest of England, as the
Christian name Lambert, which was added in baptism to the heathen name
by which we know him, would suggest that the rite was administered by a German
ecclesiastic. It is believed that he was confirmed by Ethelnoth the Good, the English churchman who later became Archbishop of Canterbury.
We do not know when the rite of confirmation was administered, but the
probabilities point to the winter months of 1015-1016; for during these months
Canute was several times in South-western England where Ethelnoth lived at the time.
The subjection of England to an alien, half-heathen
aristocracy must have caused many difficulties to the English Church. How the
problems were met we do not know. The Mediæval Church, however, was usually to be found on the side of power: the Church loved
order and believed in supporting good and efficient government whenever
circumstances would permit it. Soon after the meeting at Oxford, apparently in
1019, Archbishop Lifing made a journey to Rome; we
may conjecture that he went to seek counsel and to obtain instructions as to
what attitude the English clergy should assume toward the new powers, but we do
not know. It is clear, however, that the subject was seriously discussed at the
papal court, for the archbishop brought back a letter to Canute exhorting him
to practise the virtues of Christian kingship. It
must have nattered the young Dane to receive this, for he refers to it in his
Proclamation:
I have taken to heart the written words and verbal
messages that Archbishop Lifing brought me from the
pope from Rome, that I should everywhere extol the praise of God, put away
injustice, and promote full security and peace, so far as God should give me
strength.
That same year the venerable Primate died, and Ethelnoth the Good was appointed to succeed him as
Archbishop of Canterbury. The choice was evidently the King's own and the
two men seem to have laboured together in singular
harmony. But though Ethelnoth was primate, the
dominant influence at court seems to have been that of an abbot in Devonshire.
When Abbot Lifing was yet only a monk at Winchester,he seems to have attracted the King's attention; at any rate, we are
told by the historian of Malmesbury that he became an intimate friend of Canute
and exerted great influence with him. It may have been this friendship
that secured to Lifing the abbacy of Tavistock,
perhaps in 1024, in which year he witnessed charters for the first time as
abbot.
Lifing's advance to power was rapid. Two years after his first appearance in the
documents as abbot, we find that he had been elevated to the episcopal office,
having probably been advanced to the see of Crediton. The Devonshire
country had been the centre of a persistent
anti-Danish movement, it appears, and it was surely a prudent move to place a
strong partisan of the new order in control of the Church in the southwestern
shires. In the same year, the King further honoured him with landed estates in Hampshire. This must have been just prior to the
Holy River campaign in Sweden, on which expedition the bishop probably
accompanied his royal master (William of Malmesbury tells us that he frequently
went to Denmark with Canute); at all events, when Canute without first
returning to England made his journey to Rome, in the early months of 1027, the bishop of Crediton was an important member of
the King's retinue. It was Bishop Lifing who was sent
back to England with Canute's famous message to the English Church and people,
the King himself going on to Denmark. William of Malmesbury describes him as a
violent, wilful, and ambitious prelate; when he died
(in 1046) the earth took proper notice and trembled throughout all
England.
The year 1020 was one of great significance for
English history in the reign of Canute. In that year he returned to England as
Danish king; in that same year he issued his Proclamation to his Anglian
subjects and announced his new governmental policy; the same year saw the
appointment of a new and friendly primate of the Anglican Church; in that year,
too, began a series of benefactions and other semi-religious acts that made
Canute's name dear to the English churchmen and secured him the favour of monastic chroniclers. These took various forms:
new foundations were established and many of the older ones received increased
endowments; monasteries that had been defiled or destroyed in the Danish raids
were repaired or rebuilt; the fields where the Lord of Hosts had given the
victory to Canute's armies were adorned with churches where masses were said
for the souls of the slain; saints were honoured;
pilgrimages were made; heathen practices were outlawed.
The series properly begins with the consecration of
the church on Ashington field in 1020. The church itself was apparently a
modest structure, but the dedication ceremonies were elaborate. As the primacy
was evidently vacant at the time, Archbishop Lifing having died about mid-year (June 12), the venerable Wulfstan of the
northern province was called on to officiate. With him were numerous
ecclesiastics, bishops, abbots, and monks. King Canute and Earl Thurkil also
graced the occasion with their presence. It is interesting to note that
the office of chapel priest at Ashington was given to a clerk of Danish blood,
the later prelate Stigand, one of the few Danes who
have held ecclesiastical offices in England. Stigand for a time sat on the episcopal throne in the cathedrals of Winchester and
Canterbury. Doubtless a Dane could perform the offices on this particular field
with a blither spirit than a native Englishman. If the intention was to impress
the English Church, Canute clearly succeeded. Though details are wanting, it is
understood that similar foundations soon graced the other fields where Canute
had fought and won.
In that same year, apparently, monks were substituted
for secular clerks as guardians of Saint Edmund's shrine. Grievously had the
Danes sinned against the holy East Anglian King. Five generations earlier he
had suffered ignominious martyrdom at the hands of the vikings. The
saint had again suffered outrage in the closing months of King Sweyn's life by
what seemed to be petty persecution of the priests who served at his sacred
shrine. As we have already seen, the King's sudden death while the matter of
tribute was still unsettled gave rise to the legend that Saint Edmund struck
down the Dane "in like manner as the holy Mercurius slew the nithing Julian."
It was charged that the priests of the holy place led
disorderly lives, and on the advice of the neighbouring bishop, Elfwine of Elmham,
it was determined to eject them. Earl Thurkil's consent was asked and received.
Monks to the number of twenty were brought from Saint Benet Hulme and Ely. The same year a new church was begun, that the relics of the martyr might have
a more suitable home. The monks naturally organised themselves into a monastic community, which seems to have enjoyed full immunity
from the very beginning: a trench was run around Saint Edmund's chapel on the
edge of which all tax-gathering was to stop. In addition it is said that the
Lady Emma pledged an annual gift of tour thousand eels from Lakenheath,
though this was probably a later contribution. The brethren of the monastery
also claimed that Canute granted them extensive jurisdiction over the manors
that belonged to the new foundation. It is evident that large
endowments were given and Canute in this way became in a sense the founder of
one of the most important sanctuaries of mediæval England.
William of Malmesbury tells us that Canute disliked
the English saints, but the evidence indicates the contrary. The only instance
of ill-will recorded is in the case of Saint Edith, King Edgar's holy daughter.
Saint Edith rested at Wilton, where there was a religious house for women that
had enjoyed her patronage. Canute expressed a doubt as to the sanctity of a
daughter of the immoral Edgar and ordered the shrine to be opened. The offended
princess arose, we are told, and struck the impious King in the face.
Canute acknowledged his error and did penance. There may be some truth in the
story so far as it relates to the King's hostility or incredulity, for Saint
Edith was the sister of Canute's old enemy, King Ethelred.
It may have been the vigorous argument of Saint Edith,
or genuine piety, or political considerations that wrought the change, but it
is clear that Canute soon developed a profound respect for the saints that
rested in England. He caused the relics of Saint Wistan to be translated from Repingdon to a more suitable home in the honoured abbey of Evesham. The remains of Saint Felix
were brought back to Ramsey in the face of strong opposition from the jealous
monks of Ely. On one of his northern journeys the King turned
aside to Durham to adore the bones of the mighty Saint Cuthbert. Five miles did
the King walk with bare feet to the Durham sepulchre,
and after showing proper respect and veneration, he concluded his visit with a
royal gift of lands, two manors, we are told, with all their belongings.
Toward the close of his reign, by legislative act, he gave the strenuous
Dunstan a place on the calendar of English saints.
By far the most famous act of homage of this sort was
the translation of Saint Alphege from London to Canterbury in 1023, famous not
because of its peculiar importance, but because certain literary monks saw fit
to write long accounts of it. This, too, was an act of expiation: so far as the
sins of Canute's people were concerned the case of Bishop Alphege was much like
that of the martyred King Edmund. Alphege was from Western England and became a
monk at Deerhurst in Gloucestershire. He was for a
time abbot of Bath and later bishop of Winchester. It was he who confirmed Olaf
Trygvesson and thus indirectly began the work that resulted in the conversion
of Norway. As Archbishop of Canterbury he seems to have taken a pastoral
interest in the Danish besiegers, for which he was rewarded with indignities
and death. His bones had been laid at rest at Saint Paul's in London; but
Canterbury was naturally anxious to have her first martyred bishop in
her own house, while London, on the other hand, is said to have watched over
the sacred remains with a jealous care that bore the marks of avarice rather
than of veneration.
We are told that Canute earlier had formed the purpose
of translating the relics and that certain calamities had recalled the
intention to his mind. He suggested the project to Archbishop Ethelnoth, who doubted the feasibility of the venture.
According to the highly-coloured report of the monk
Osbern who claims to have his information from an eye-witness, the King and the
Archbishop secretly removed the body from its resting-place and gave it to a
monk who bore it to the Thames where the King's ship lay ready to receive it.
The attention of the Londoners was diverted to other parts of the city by
feigned excitement at the farther gates, for which the King's housecarles were responsible. Meanwhile, the royal ship,
with Canute himself at the rudder, was conveying the remains to Southwark,
where they were given into the keeping of the Archbishop and his companions,
who bore them joyfully on to Rochester. Here the party was joined by Queen Emma
and the five-year-old princeling Harthacanute accompanied by a strong force of housecarles. The
translation was effected in June and occupied seven days.
The Dane's interest in the Church also expressed
itself in frequent and important endowments. While it is not always possible to
verify these grants, there can be little doubt that the monastic records are
usually correct on the points of possession and donors, though the extant
charters are frequently forgeries produced at a time when titles were called
into question. In some of these gifts, too, we see clearly a desire to atone
for past wrongs. Canterbury, which had suffered heavy losses at the hands of Thurkil
and his wild comrades, was assured of its liberties and immunities early in the
reign. Another act of expiation was the visit and gift to Glastonbury, the
famous monastery that had received the bones of Edmund Ironside. A century
after Canute's time Edmund's grave was covered with a "pall of rich
materials, embroidered with figures of peacocks." Legend ascribes the gift
to Canute, and may in this case be trustworthy. With the King at Edmund's grave
stood Archbishop Ethelnoth, who was at one time a
monk at Glastonbury. The visit seems to have been made in 1026, perhaps on
the eve of Canute's expedition against the Norwegians and Swedes.
Perhaps Canute's most famous gift was the golden cross at Winchester. Some time in the early years of his reign,
apparently in 1019, probably just before his visit to Denmark, he gave to the
New Minster a "magnificent golden cross, richly ornamented with precious
stones"; in addition to this, "two large images of gold and silver,
and sundry relics of the saints." It seems to have been a gorgeous
present, one that was keenly appreciated by the recipients, and the history of
which was long recounted. The gift was apparently accompanied by a donation of
valuable lands.
Canute also showed an interest in the monastery of
Saint Benet Hulme, to which three manors were given. It is claimed that he
granted certain immunities to the church of Saint Mary Devon in Exeter, but the
evidence is not trustworthy.The great abbey of Evesham was not forgotten:
the blessed Wistan was given a black chasuble and other ornaments, probably at
the time of his translation. It may be that in making this gift the King
wished to show his appreciation of the abbot as well as to honour the saint: Abbot Elf ward is said to have been Canute's cousin; if such was the
case he must have been the son of the ill-starred Pallig.
Gifts there also were of a more personal character,
gifts to various ecclesiastics, monks, and priests whom the King wished to honour; especially may we mention the grants to
Bishop Burhwold and to Bishop Lifing.
But such donations were not numerous; Canute seems to have preferred to honour foundations, probably because in mediæval times the institution was of greater consequence than the individual.
The gifts enumerated were made during the first half
of the reign. Grants were made in the second period as well: Abingdon claims to
have enjoyed his favour; the Old Minster at
Winchester was endowed with lands and adorned with specimens of the goldsmith's
art; a considerable gift of lands was made to York cathedral; but
these seem to reveal a different spirit and purpose in the giver. Before his
career closed the great Dane became an ardent Christian; but in his earlier
years, the politician left little room to the churchman: the Church was a
factor merely, though a great factor, in the political situation. Other kings
have gloried in new foundations as monuments to religious zeal; Canute selected
the long-established, the widely-influential shrines and houses and gave his favour chiefly to them. In return he doubtless expected the favour of Saints Cuthbert, Alphege, Edmund, Felix,
and Dunstan, and the support of Canterbury, Evesham, Winchester, and the other
great institutions that he endowed. It is to be noted that nearly all
the institutions that shared the royal bounty were located in the Anglo-Saxon
South where Canute especially needed to build up a personal following. The
exceptions were York, Durham, and Coventry where the faithful rejoiced in an
arm of Saint Augustine, a relic of peculiar value that Canute is said to have
bestowed on the city.
Whatever his motives were, it is clear that Canute
showed an interest in matters ecclesiastical far beyond what the Church might
reasonably expect from a king whose training had scarcely been positively
Christian, and who still kept in close touch with the non-Christian influences
that dominated so much of the North. Still, one desire remained unsatisfied:
thus far the King had done nothing to make the Christian faith compulsory in
England. The Proclamation of 1020 looks in that direction; but it contains no
decree of the desired sort. It is a peculiar document, remarkable more for what
it omits than for what it actually contains. God's laws, by which the rules of
the Church are doubtless meant, are not to be violated; but the important task
of bringing the violators to justice is committed to the old pirate, Thurkil
the Tall, whose appreciation of Christian virtues and divine commandments
cannot have been of the keenest. Certain characteristically
heathen sins are to be avoided: among the things forbidden is to consort with
witches and sorceresses.But the only crime of this nature for which the
document prescribes a specific penalty is that of marrying a nun or any other
woman who has taken sacred vows:
And if any one has done so, let him be an outlaw
before God and excommunicated from all Christendom, and let him forfeit all his
possessions to the king, unless he quickly desist from sin and do deep penance
before God.
It is evident, however, that Canute believed that the
process of education in the church from Sunday to Sunday would eventually solve
the problem of heathenism in England; for he closes his Proclamation with an
exhortation to all his subjects to attend faithfully the divine services:
And further still we admonish all men to keep the
Sunday festival with all their might and observe it from Saturday's noon to
Monday's dawning; and let no man be so bold as to buy or sell or to seek any
court on that holy day.
And let all men, poor and rich, seek their church and
ask forgiveness for their sins and earnestly keep every ordained fast and
gladly honour the saints, as the mass priest shall
bid us,
that we may all be able and permitted, through the
mercy of the everlasting God and the intercession of His saints, to share the
joys of the heavenly kingdom and dwell with Him who liveth and reigneth forever without end. Amen.
CHAPTER VIII
. THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS
The question what attitude to assume toward the organised English Church may have caused Canute some
embarrassment; but the English problem was simple compared with the religious
complications that the young King had to face in the North. England was
Christian, at least officially, while Scandinavia was still largely heathen;
though every day saw the camps of Christendom pitched a little farther toward
the Arctic. In all the Northern kingdoms missionaries were at work planting the
seeds of the new faith. By the close of the millennium Christianity had made
great progress in the Danish kingdom; it was firmly rooted in Jutland and had
found a foothold on the islands and in Scania. Among the Norwegians the new
worship had also made some progress; but in Sweden the darkness of heathendom
still hung heavy and low.
Norse Christianity doubtless filtered in with the
viking raids: with the plunder of the Catholic South and West, the sea-kings
also appropriated many of the forms and ideas of Western civilisation,
[and it is not to be supposed that the fields of religious thought were
neglected or overlooked. King Hakon the Good became a Christian at the court of
his foster-father, Ethelstan, the grandson of
Alfred. The sons of Eric Bloodax were also baptised in England, where their father had found an
exile's refuge.Olaf Trygvesson found his faith and his mission while
fighting as viking in England. Olaf the Saint received baptism in Rouen on his
return from a raid as viking mercenary. Thus Norway had been in close touch
with the new faith for nearly a century; and yet, Christianity had made but
little actual progress. During the reign of Canute the Danish Church reached
the stage of effective organisation, while in Norway
the religious activities were still of the missionary type.
The forces of the Anse-gods were in retreat all along
the religious frontier; but it is not to be supposed that they were
panic-stricken. To their zeal for the ancestral worship was added a love for
the conflict which inspired the faithful to contest every inch of the Christian
advance. The challenge of Thor has a sort of historic reality in it: in
a sense the issue of religion was settled in the North by wager of battle. In
his admiration for strength and force, many a Northman seemed willing to follow
the lead of the stronger cult.
The Anse-faith of the viking age seems to have been a
development of an ancient form of heaven worship or possibly of sun worship,
traces of which have been found in the North from the days of the stone
age. In time the deity came to be viewed from various angles, and each
particular aspect was individualised and made the
object of separate worship. Thus, apparently, arose the three great divinities,
Thor, Woden, and Frey. Thor is the god of strength,
the mighty defender of gods and men. His name (O. Eng. Thunor), his flaming
beard, the crash of his hammer-stroke show that the Thor-conception was closely
associated with early notions of thunder and lightning. Similarly, the name of Woden associates his divinity with the untamed forces
of nature, the fury of the tempest, the wrath of the storm. He is, therefore,
the god of the battle rush, the divine force that inspires the athletic frenzy
of the berserk. Thor is armed with a hammer, Woden with a spear. Thor rides in a cart drawn by rams; Woden's mount is a swift eight-footed horse. But Woden is more than a mere god of conflict; he is wise and cunning and knows the
mysteries of the world. Frey is the god of fruitfulness, the sun-god as giver
of life and growth. He should be worshipped by tillers of the soil.
In the course of time, new deities were admitted to
the Scandinavian pantheon; some of these were no doubt developed from older
conceptions; others were evidently introduced from neighbouring cults. Gradually the old, rude beliefs came to be overlaid with myths, a series
of strange tales, bold, strong, and weird. Recent scholars have held that many
of these were borrowed from the bulging storehouse of Christian faith and
legend—the result of intellectual contact between the old races and the Norse
immigrant on the Western Islands.[ But even where this borrowing can be
clearly traced, the modifying touches of the Norse imagination are clearly in
evidence.
The Northern peoples also developed a system of ethics
of which we have a remarkable statement in the Eddic poem, the "Song of the High One." While of a lower character than
that associated with Christianity, it was, when we consider the soil from which
it sprang, a remarkable growth. Candour, honesty,
courage, strength, fidelity, and hospitality were enjoined and emphasised. The Northman was impressed with the
fact that all things seem perishable; but he hoped that the fame of a good life
would continue after death.
Cattle die, kinsmen die,
Finally dies one-self;
But never shall perish the fame of him
Who has won a good renown.
Cattle die, kinsmen die,
Finally dies one-self;
But one thing I know that always remains,
Judgment passed on the dead.
But the duties toward the hostile and the weak, that
Christianity strove to inculcate, the Northman did not appreciate: slavery was
common; weak and unwelcome children were often exposed at birth; revenge was a
sacred duty.
It is not the intention to enter upon a full
discussion of Old Northern faith and morals: in the conversion of a people that
had reached the particular stage of culture that the Norsemen occupied in the
eleventh century, neither is of prime importance. It is doubtful whether the
vikings were much interested in the intricacies of dogma, be it heathen or
Christian. It also seems unlikely that Christian morals as practised at the time could have proved very attractive. In the life of Saint Olaf, for
instance, there was little that we should regard as saintly, but much that was
cruel, sinful, and coarse. The Celtic Church, with which the Norwegians
first came into close contact, seems to have put a somewhat liberal
construction on the ten commandments. The forms of worship, however, were of
the first importance: in the gorgeous ritual of the mediæval Church the heathen could not fail to see a tangible excellence that his own
rude worship did not possess.
The Anse-faith knew no priesthood: the various local
officials were charged with the duty of performing the ancient rites, though
some evidently had peculiar responsibilities in this matter. In the family the
father had certain sacerdotal duties. The gods were worshipped in temples,
though not exclusively so; sacred groves and fountains were also used for such
purposes. Frequently, also, the great hall of a chief was dedicated to the gods
and used for sacrificial feasts.
Most famous of all the Old Scandinavian sanctuaries
was that at Upsala in Eastern Sweden, built, we are told, by the god Frey
himself. It was a large wooden structure, highly ornamented with gold. Within
were rude images of the three major divinities, Thor, Woden,
and Frey, with Thor's image in the chief place. Near the temple there grew,
according to the account in Adam's chronicle, an exceedingly large tree that
always kept its verdure, in winter as well as in summer. There was also a
fountain where the victims were sometimes drowned; if the corpse did not
reappear, the favour of the gods was assured.
In the sacred grove about the sanctuary, the sacrificial victims were
hung—horses, dogs, and other beasts, frequently also human beings. The corpses
were not removed but permitted to hang from the trees. Adam reports that an eye-witness
once counted seventy-two such sacrificial victims.
Every ninth year the entire Swedish nation was
summoned to sacrifice at Upsala. The feast was celebrated shortly before the
vernal equinox and continued nine days. At least one human being was sacrificed
each day. Great multitudes were in attendance—king and people all sent their
offerings to Upsala. It seems, however, that Christians were released from the
duty of attendance on the payment of money. It is clear that the gathering
had a national as well as a religious significance. Elaborate festivities were
combined with the sacrifices.
Three times in the year did the Northmen gather in
this manner to feast and to invoke the gods: at Yule-tide in January, at the
vernal equinox, and late in the autumn. Of these gatherings the sagas speak
somewhat explicitly and seem to give reliable information.
It was the old way, when a sacrifice was to be, that
all the franklins should come to the place where the temple was, and carry
thither the victuals that they wished to have as long as the feast lasted. All
were to have a drinking together, and there were also slaughtered all
kinds of cattle and also horses.
And all the blood that came thereof was then called
sortilege-blood, and sortilege-bowls those wherein the blood stood, and
sortilege-twigs that were made like a sprinkler. With this blood were all the
altars to be sprinkled withal, and also the walls of the temple without and
within, and also sprinkled on the people, but the meat was seethed for the
entertainment of the people.
There had to be fires in the midst of the floor of the
temple, and kettles over them, and the toasts were carried across the fire.
And he that made the feast or was chief had to make a
sign over the toast and the sanctified meat.
First must come Woden's toast: that was drunk to victory and power of the king; and then Niard's toast; and Frey's toast for good seasons and peace.
It was many men's wont to drink Brage's toast after
that.
Men also would drink a toast to their kinsmen that had
been laid in their barrows, and that was called the memory toast.
This description applies more especially to the great
Yule-festivities, but its more prominent features, the gathering, the
sacrificial slaughter, the blood-sprinkling, the toasts, and the feasting, were
evidently common usages, though places and occasions probably developed
varieties of customary worship. On the same occasions, the will of the
gods was ascertained by the casting of lot or other processes of sortilege.
Vows were pledged and oaths were registered.
A ring of two-ounce weight or more must lie on the
altar in every head temple. This ring every godë (temple-official) must carry in his hand to any law-moot that he himself was to
preside over, and he must first redden it in the blood of the sacrificial beast
which he sacrificed there himself.
In the myth Ragnarok the
Sibyl has told of the end of all things, even of the divinities; how the
twilight shall settle down upon the life of the Anses;
how their strength shall wither and age steal upon them; and how at last Swart,
the lord of the fire-world, shall come to the attack wrapped in flames.
Swart from the south comes
With flaming sword;
Bright from his blade
The sun is blazing.
Stagger the stony peaks,
Stumble the giants;
Heroes fare Helward
And heaven yawns.
It is an awful picture that the prophetess unrolls for
us of all the personified forces of destruction mustering to do battle against
the gods. The forces of evil win, for weakness has stolen upon the
world in the "twilight" preceding the final conflict: "an age of
lust, of ax and sword, and of crashing shields, of wind and wolf ere the world
crumbles." Then comes the end of all things:
Swart is the sun,
Earth sinks in the ocean,
The shining stars
Are quenched in the sky.
Smoke and steam
Encircle the Ash-tree,
Flame-tongues lick
The lofty heaven.
The prophecy of destruction as well as an expressed
hope of future regeneration shows quite clearly the result of Christian
influence on thought and imagery. The poem must consequently have been produced
after the North had come under the spell of Western culture, some time,
perhaps, in the tenth century. Less than a century later the "twilight of
the gods" had set in.
The union of the Anglo-Saxon to the Danish crown could
not fail to affect missionary operations in the North. It would seem at first
sight as if the work would be strengthened and hastened, for now the Christianising energies of Britain would be added to those
of Germany. As a matter of fact the situation became more complex and
difficult: the union brought out the question whether the primacy of
the new church should belong to Hamburg-Bremen or to Canterbury. It seems that
Canute at one time held out hopes to Archbishop Ethelnoth of rising to metropolitan authority of the Danish as well as of the English
nation. Such an arrangement would seem natural and highly desirable: the empire
that Canute ruled from Winchester could be more readily held together if its
ecclesiastical concerns were all directed from the cathedral at Canterbury.
These new plans with respect to the young Danish
Church apparently date from the years immediately following Canute's return to
England as Danish king (1020). His new interest in English ecclesiastical
matters has been discussed elsewhere. In 1022, Ethelnoth consecrated three bishops for Danish sees: Gerbrand for Zealand (Roeskild); Reginbert for Funen (Odense); and Bernhard for
the Scanian lands. The sources also state that many other English bishops
were sent to Denmark from England, but no names are given. It is to be noted
that the names given above are not Anglo-Saxon but German. It has therefore
been thought that these bishops were from Flanders or Lorraine, in which
regions there was an ecclesiastical movement of some importance in the days of Canute.
Of these three the most important was doubtless Gerbrand, whose cathedral was located at Roeskild,
the royal residential city. At this time Unwan was
archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. Unwan was an aggressive
and ambitious prelate; it was not with pleasure that he learned of the new
bishops from the West; without the North as its mission-field, Bremen would be
a sorry province. Bishop Gerbrand on his journey to his new parish,—he was
probably sailing along the German coast according to custom,—was captured and
brought before Archbishop Unwan who forced him to do
proper homage. Apparently the German Prelate made a favourable impression on Bishop Gerbrand for through his influence the Archbishop induced
Canute to agree that future bishops should be consecrated at Bremen.[
Tradition is doubtless correct in ascribing to Canute
considerable activity in the endowment of churches. The statement that he
established monasteries in Denmark is probably an error; if he attempted to do
so, his efforts failed; some time still had to pass before the viking
could find contentment in the cloister. Danish monasticism dates from the
closing years of the century, when twelve monks from Evesham on the Avon came
on request of King Eric to found a monastery at Odense. It seems likely that the
payment of Peter's pence dates from this reign. As to the amount of this tax
nothing is known; but it is probable that the sum was a very modest
one, as the Danes in England seem to have been specially favoured in this matter, the tax in the Danelaw being half as large as in the rest of
England.
Across the Sound in Scania, the introduction of
Christianity was a slower process. We learn that in Sweyn's time an Englishman, Godebald, was appointed bishop there, and that he
occasionally preached in the neighbouring sections of
Sweden and Norway. The results were evidently meagre, but it is
significant that the preacher came from England.
The Norwegian Church is in a peculiar sense a daughter
of the English Church. The first serious attempt at mission work in Norway was
made about the middle of the tenth century, when King Hakon built a few
churches and sent for English priests to officiate in them. One of these
apparently bore the episcopal title, Sigfrid, a monk of Glastonbury. The
yeomanry gathered and slew the missionaries and the work came to nought.
When Olaf Trygvesson seized the kingship (995), he
came accompanied by English priests. Among these was Bishop Sigurd, who was
probably a Northumbrian of Norse ancestry, and evidently a man of strength and
discretion. After the battle of Swald he seems to have continuedhis labours in Sweden. English missionaries also came with Olaf
the Stout.
He was accompanied by a number of priests and bishops
from England through whose doctrine and instruction he prepared his heart for
God, and to whose guidance he entrusted the people who were subject to him.
Among these were men who were famous for learning and virtue, namely Sigfrid, Grimkell, Rudolf, and Bernhard.
It is to be observed once more that none of these
bears an Anglo-Saxon name: Sigfrid and Grimkell were
doubtless natives of the Danelaw, of Norse blood, but English in culture and
faith; Bernhard may have been a German from the country of the lower Rhine;
Rudolf is said to have been a kinsman of Edward the Confessor; as his name is
Norman, we shall have to conclude that he was a relative of Queen Emma,
Edward's mother. Late in life he received from the Confessor an important
appointment as abbot of Abingdon (1050). So long as King Olaf lived Grimkell seems to have held the office of chief bishop.
These were the men who laid the foundation of the
Norwegian Church; later missionaries from Britain continued the work along the
earlier lines. The result was that the new Church came largely to be organised according to English models. Its ceremonial came
to reflect Old English practices. [Pg 194]Its terminology was formed according
to Anglo-Saxon analogies. Characteristic of both the English and the Norse
Church was an extensive use of the vernacular. And many remarkable parallels
have been found in the church legislation of King Ethelred and the
ecclesiastical laws attributed to Saint Olaf.
It would seem most fitting that a church so intimately
connected with English Christianity should pass under the metropolitan
jurisdiction of the see at Canterbury, and such may have been Saint Olaf's
original intention. But the establishment of Danish power at Winchester, the
appointment of Canute's friend Ethelnoth to the
primacy, and Canute's designs on the Norwegian throne made such an arrangement
impractical. There was consequently nothing to do but to enter into relations
with the see of Bremen. Adam tells us that Olaf sent an embassy headed by
Bishop Grimkell
with gifts to our archbishop and bearing the request
that he receive these [English] bishops favourably and send others of his own consecration that the rude Norwegian people
might be strengthened in the Christian faith.
It is difficult to appreciate the tremendous social
changes that the introduction of Christianity worked among the Northmen of the
eleventh century. There was so much that was new in Christian practice that the
adjustment was a difficult matter. The rigid observance of the seventh day; the
numerous holidays; the frequent fasts and the long abstentions of Lent; the
duties of confession and penance; the support of a new social class, the
priests; all these things the unwilling convert found exceedingly irksome. In
addition to this, there were certain prohibitions that also worked hardships:
marriage within certain degrees of kinship; the exposure of children (except
such as were born with deformities, who might be exposed after baptism); the
eating of horseflesh, and other honoured Northern
customs. Much that was heathen could not be rooted out. The churches were
frequently built near the old sanctuaries and the new worship unavoidably came
to be associated in many minds with much that was heathen.
While Canute was organising the Church in Denmark, Olaf was striving to reshape Norwegian society and
uproot the old faith. With force and fair words he won many for the new
order, but many more refused to receive baptism. Ten years passed with growing
discontent; so long as the nation was still heathen in morals and view of life,
resistance was inevitable. Finally the partisans of the old rites and practices
turned to Canute, the great Christian King. And he who should have been a
defender of the faith heard their complaints with unfeigned joy.
CHAPTER IX
. CANUTE AND THE NORWEGIAN CONSPIRACY—1023-1026
The sons of Earl Hakon, Eric and Sweyn, who ruled
Norway for fifteen years after the fall of Olaf Trygvesson, were not aggressive
rulers. They were not of the blood royal, they were vassals of alien kings,
both seem by nature to have been of an easy-going disposition; hence they were
not able to command obedience to the extent that a strong monarchy demanded. As
a result, the Norwegian aristocracy arrogated to itself a great measure of
independence. The peasantry resumed their old habits and practices; in many
places the old worship was wholly restored, including the sacrificial
festivals. The Earls were Christians, but did not interfere.
Of a different type was King Olaf Haroldsson. He was
determined and forceful, equipped with a vigorous intellect and a will that
could brook no opposition. Though his policies extended far beyond the
religious field, his chief anxiety was to make Norway a Christian kingdom. His
zeal was that of the convert, the passion of the devotee; but it was
more than that: it was the purpose of the far-seeing statesman. In his viking
adventures he had become acquainted with the advantages of the European political
system. He wished to introduce this into his own kingdom, to Europeanise Norway. This was the great king-thought for
which Saint Olaf lived and fell. But at the basis of the European system lay
Christianity. In his proselyting endeavours, he met
opposition from the very beginning; but for a time he was able to overcome all
resistance. However, the spirit of rebellion was silenced only; after five
years of missionary effort, King Olaf found that Christian progress was
apparent rather than real. He also found that the devotees of the old worship
were still determined and that a group of chiefs were organising an opposition that might overturn his throne.
The opposition was of two sorts: on the one hand the
Christian was opposed by the partisan of the old gods; on the other hand Olaf's
strong kingship was disliked by the chiefs who recalled the freedom that they
had enjoyed in the days of the two earls. Distances were great in Norway;
travel was difficult; the ocean was the best highway. But with sail and oar it
took time to reach the settlements on the long coast line, and the King soon
learned that promises to renounce the Anses were
easily forgotten or broken. Then followed crop failures in the far North: it
was clear that Frey was angry and wished to punish the apostacy of his
people.
In the aristocratic opposition five chieftains bear
special prominence. At Soli on the wide plains of Jæderen in South-western Norway, not far from the modern city of Stavanger, lived
Erling, the son of Skjalg. Erling had sailed with King Olaf to Wendland, but
had had no part in the fight at Swald. Later the Earls found it advisable to
make peace with the Soli family and gave Erling Skjalgsson a magnificent fief in the South-west. From the Naze to the Sogn Firth his was
the ruling influence. Of all the Norwegian magnates Erling was unquestionably
the most powerful; and though both Earl Eric and King Olaf had looked askance
at his power, he maintained his position for a quarter of a century. Five
active sons and a spirited daughter grew up in Erling's house. The lord of Soli
never was an ideal subject; but after his nephew Asbjörn slew one of King
Olaf's servants in the royal presence during the Easter festivities, a quarrel
broke out that had fatal consequences.
The island of Giski some
distance north of Cape Stadt was the ancestral seat of the famous Arnung family, which for several generations held a
prominent place in the councils of Norway. According to tradition the family
was founded by one Finnvid who was found in an eagle's nest, and hence was
known as Finnvid Found. The family took its name from Arne, a prominent
chief in Saint Olaf's day and a good friend of the King. Seven sons and a
daughter were born to Arne and his good wife Thora. The oldest of the sons
married the only daughter of the mighty Erling. Arne's daughter became the wife
of another prominent lord and enemy of Olaf, Harek of Tjotta. For a time all the sons of Arne supported the
King and Kalf alone finally joined his enemies. Olvi of Egg, a wealthy Thronder, was found to have continued the old sacrificial
practices in secret, and on the King's orders was slain. Kalf Arnesson married
his widow, and from that day his loyalty was shaken.
Far to the north lived two chiefs who were also
counted among the King's opponents: Harek of Tjotta and Thor the Dog. Thor was the ill-fated Asbjörn's
uncle and the brother-in-law of the slain Olvi. He
lived on the Bark-isle beyond the Arctic Circle and was easily the most
powerful man in those regions. Harek lived on
the isle of Tjotta, a little to the south of the
Polar Circle. He seems to have had something of a monopoly of the Finnish trade
and from this and other sources amassed great wealth. In the Norse nobility few
stood higher than Harek: he counted among his kinsmen
the reigning King as well as his predecessors the Earls. In the rebellion
that finally cost King Olaf his life, Thor and Harek were prominent leaders.
In the Throndelaw, some
distance south of Nidaros, dwelt Einar Thongshaker. Einar, the strongest and
most athletic Norseman of his day, the archer who could pierce a damp ox-hide
with a blunt shaft, was also a man of great personal influence. Married to Earl
Eric's sister, he was naturally in sympathy with the dynastic claims of the
Earl's family. For some years after the defeat at the Nesses, he had lived in
exile in Sweden; but finally he was reconciled to King Olaf and was permitted
to return.
It does not appear that any of these leaders had any
enthusiasm for the old faith; Erling Skjalgsson and
Einar Thongshaker seem to have been zealous Christians. But among their kinsmen
were many who clung to the worship of Woden and Thor.
Wherever the King found heathen rites celebrated in open or secret, harsh
measures were employed—loss of property, of limb, and even of life. Thus the
chiefs saw many a kinsman dishonoured or dead, and to
their disinclination to obey the royal mandate was joined the motive of private
revenge. Soon dissatisfaction was rife everywhere, and over the North Sea fled
yearly a band of exiles who had resisted the royal will.
Among those who went west was Einar Thongshaker, though he went ostensibly as a pilgrim, not as a plotter. Soon after his
return from Sweden he found it advisable to seek expiation at Rome for earlier
sins, and in 1022 or 1023 he left for the Eternal City. It seems probable that
his brother-in-law Eric joined him in this expedition or planned to do so, for
the sagas persist in connecting Eric's death, which must have occurred about
1023, with a pilgrimage to Rome, at least projected and perhaps carried out. In
England Einar is said to have visited young Earl Hakon, possibly in his earldom
in the Severn Valley; he also had an interview with Canute "and was given
great gifts." Einar's visit was probably just after Canute's return
from his expedition to the Slavic lands. Whether the pilgrimage was more than a
mere pretext we do not know, though it probably was made in good faith. After
his return to Norway he was not active in King Olaf's service, though he showed
no open hostility.
Many magnates or sons of prominent franklins had fared
to Canute on various errands; but all who came to King Canute were given their
hands full of wealth. There one could see greater splendour than elsewhere, both as to the multitude of people in daily attendance and in
the other arrangements on the manors that he possessed and occupied. Canute the
Mighty gathered tribute from the lands that were the richest in the
North; but in the same measure as he had more to receive than other kings, he
also gave much more than any other king....
But many of those who came from Norway lamented the
loss of their liberties and hinted to Earl Hakon and some to the King himself,
that the men of Norway were now surely ready to renew their allegiance to King
Canute and the Earl, and to receive their old liberties from them. These
speeches suited the Earl's mind, and he suggested to Canute that Olaf be called
on to surrender the kingdom to them, or to agree to divide it.
Snorre attributes Canute's delay in claiming the Norse
kingship to a difference between himself and his cousin, Earl Hakon, as to who
should possess and rule the country. It is evident, however, that before 1023
Canute was hardly in a position to press a claim of such a doubtful character.
But in that year the situation was more favourable:
he was in uncontested possession of the English and Danish crowns; he had
successfully fought and subdued the Slavs to the south of Denmark; his prestige
was consequently greater than ever before. That year, the subject of Norse
conquest must have been discussed quite seriously at Winchester, for as soon as
the winter was past, an embassy was on its way to King Olaf's court to demand
the kingdom of Norway for Canute.
Among the various regions that composed the Norwegian
realm, two enjoyed a peculiar prominence: the Wick and the Throndelaw. The Throndelaw was a
group of "folks" or shires about the Throndhjem Firth, a region that had developed considerable solidarity and in one sense was
reckoned as the heart of the kingdom. Here was for some time the capital of the
nation, as it has remained in ecclesiastical matters to this day, at least
nominally. The Wick was the country that bordered on the great "Bay"
in the extreme south. It was this region that first came into contact with
European civilisation and where culture and
Christianity had perhaps taken firmest root. In a sense the Wick was disputed
territory: it had earlier been under Danish overlordship, and a part of it had
also for a brief period been subject to Sweden; national feeling was therefore
not strong on these shores. For this reason, perhaps, King Olaf had established
a royal residence at Tunsberg near the mouth of the
Firth on the western shore. Here the King held his court in the winter of
1024-1025; it was here that he received the English embassy.
It was a splendid company that Canute sent to Norway,
but Olaf was not pleased with their errand. For several days he kept them
waiting before he was willing to grant them an audience.
But when they were permitted to speak with him they
brought into his presence Canute's writ and recited their message, that Canute
claims all of Norway as his possession and asserts that his ancestors
have possessed the realm before him; but whereas King Canute offers peace to
all lands, he will not fare to Norway with war shields if another choice is
possible. But if King Olaf Haroldsson wishes to rule Norway, let him fare to
King Canute and receive the land from him as a fief and become his man and pay
such tribute as the earls had earlier paid.
Such a proposal was an insult to the Norse nation, and
it is not likely that Canute expected a favourable reply. But in its apparent moderation, in its appeal to historic rights, the
demand served well the intended purpose: to extort a challenge that would make
hostilities unavoidable and make Olaf appear as the aggressor. King Olaf's
anger did not permit a diplomatic reply:
"I have heard tell in olden story that Gorm the
Dane-king was an excellent ruler, but he ruled Denmark only; but the Dane-kings
who have come since his day do not seem to have been satisfied with that. It
has come to this now that Canute rules Denmark and England and in addition has
subjected a large part of Scotland. Now he challenges my inheritance. He
should, however, learn to be moderate in his avarice,—or does he plan to govern
all the Northlands alone? Or does he intend to eat alone all the cabbage in
England? He will be able to accomplish that before I shall pay him tribute or
do him any sort of homage. Now you shall tell him these my words, that I will
defend Norway with point and edge as long as life days are granted me;
but never shall I pay tribute for my kingdom to any man."
Such is Snorre's account. The speeches are doubtless
the historian's own; but they reveal a keen insight into the shrewd diplomacy
of Canute and the impetuous methods of Olaf. The ambassadors soon prepared to
retire, little pleased with the outcome. It is reported that in conversation
with Sighvat the Scald they expressed their surprise
at the Norse King's rashness. The lord of England was gentle and forgiving.
Only recently two kings came from north in Scotland,
from Fife, and he laid aside his wrath and let them keep all the lands that
they had earlier possessed and gave them great gifts of friendship in addition.
The poet later put his reply into verse:
Able kings have carried
Their heads to Canute, coming
From Fife in the far north
(Fair was the purchase of peace).
Olaf has never sold
(Oft has the stout one conquered)
Here in the whole world
His head to any man.[
There could be no question about unpeace after Olaf's defiance had been repeated to Canute. It is said that Norsemen
looked on cabbage eaters as naturally stupid; hence the taunt, if
given, had a sharp point. The great King is said to have remarked that Olaf
should find something besides cabbage within his ribs. That summer two of
Erling's sons, Aslak and Skjalg, appeared at the English court. "And King
Canute gave the brothers large revenues."
During the succeeding summer (1025) King Olaf remained
in the South. Rumour had it that Canute was coming
from England with a powerful host, and the Norwegian King made preparations to
meet him. The chiefs were summoned to the Wick and seem to have appeared with
their retainers in large numbers. Olaf's spies were everywhere on the lookout
for the English fleet. Merchant ships were eagerly sought for news. But Canute
was not yet ready to fight and did not appear before autumn. He spent the
winter in Denmark but mainly for precautionary purposes; hostile activities
were evidently to be postponed to a more favourable time.
That same autumn Olaf approached the King of Sweden on
the subject of an alliance against the ambitious King of Denmark. The young
Anund Jacob, King Olaf's brother-in-law and admirer, was now on the Swedish
throne. It was easy to convince the youthful King that his realm would not long
be left in peace should Canute succeed in adding Norway to his dominions. An
alliance was accordingly concluded: the king who should first need
assistance should have the other's help. A conference was also arranged for, as
more definite plans would have to be agreed upon. That year King Olaf prepared
to winter at Sarpsborg, just across the firth from Tunsberg.
King Anund made a winter journey into Gautland toward
the Norse frontier, and tarried there for some months. During his stay there,
envoys appeared from Canute with gifts and fair words. Anund was assured of
peace and security if he would renounce his alliance with the Norsemen. But
this embassy also had to return with unsatisfactory reports: Anund intended to
be faithful to his pledge; no friendship for Denmark was to be looked for in
Sweden.
Spring came (1026) and developments were looked for;
but the unexpected happened: Canute returned to England, leaving his young son Harthacanute, a boy of eight or nine years, as regent in
Denmark under the guardianship of Ulf, Canute's brother-in-law, who seems to
have succeeded Thurkil the Tall as viceroy in Denmark. The allied kings now
proceeded to hold their projected conference at Kingscrag,
near the south-east corner of Olaf's kingdom. In this conference a new
agreement seems to have been reached; the defensive alliance was apparently
changed to an [offensive one and an attack on Canute's Danish
possessions was planned.
Why Canute failed to attack Norway in the autumn of
1025, or in the following spring, is not known. It seems, however, a fairly
safe conjecture that he felt unprepared to meet the allied forces. He evidently
preferred to wait until the spirit of disaffection and rebellion had spread
more widely in Norway; for thus far only the great house of Soli had openly
espoused the pretender's cause; most of the dissatisfied lords were in King
Olaf's host. Doubtless he also hoped that by diplomatic means or otherwise dissension
might be sown between the confederated kings, and their alliance dissolved.
Gold was the power that Canute depended upon to
prepare rebellion in Norway. That the Danish King employed bribery in these
years to a large extent is a well-attested fact. Florence of Worcester who
wrote three generations later recounts how gold was distributed among the
Norwegian chiefs in the hope that they would permit Canute to rule over them,
though Florence is clearly misinformed when he tells us that the Norsemen had
renounced their allegiance to King Olaf because of his simplicity and gentleness.Olaf was a saint when the scribe at Worcester wrote his history; but he was not
a saint of the ideal sort, and hence Florence is led into error. Richard of Cirencester, too, has heard of these proceedings and the
"great supply of gold and silver that was sent to the magnates of that
country." Both writers represent the Norsemen as eager for the
bribes. The sagas, of course, give fuller details. The result was that King
Olaf's forces to some extent were made up of men whose loyalty had been undermined,
who were in the pay of the enemy. The following year (1027), the year when the
most Christian monarch made his pilgrimage to the tomb of Peter, seems to have
seen the greatest activity in this direction; out the probabilities are that
large sums of Danegeld had found their way to Norway also in the earlier two or
three years.
CHAPTER X
. THE BATTLE OF HOLY RIVER AND THE PILGRIMAGE TO
ROME—1026-1027
One of the notable results of the expedition to the
South Baltic in 1022 was that a reconciliation was effected with Thurkil the
Tall. "And he gave Denmark into the keeping of Thurkil and his son; and
the King brought Thurkil's son with him to England." The son who was
thus made regent was probably Sweyn; it was scarcely Harthacanute,
as this Prince was present at the translation of Saint Alphege from London to
Canterbury that same year (1023); of Canute's other son, Harold Harefoot, we hear nothing until after the King's death. The
hostage that Canute took with him to England may have been Harold who played an
important part in Northern history two decades later. Thurkil cannot have lived
long after his promotion to the vice-royalty, for three years later (1026), we
find Harthacanute representing royal authority in
Denmark with Earl Ulf as guardian and actual wielder of power. This
change in the regency we may, perhaps, ascribe to the activities of Queen Emma,
one of whose chief purposes in life was to disinherit her husband's
illegitimate offspring.
The next few months seem to have witnessed a
revolution in Denmark: Earl Ulf appears to have summoned a national assembly at
Viborg, an old sanctuary in the north central part of Jutland, where he
announced that it was Canute's desire to have his young eight-year-old son
chosen and proclaimed King of Denmark. With evident success he argued that the
ancient kingdom, which always had had a ruler within its borders, was poorly
served by the present arrangement of subjection to an absentee-king. He also
called attention to the threatened invasion from the allied kingdoms of Norway
and Sweden. The sagas assert that Queen Emma had plotted with Earl Ulf to
secure the royal name for her son and that she had even forged a document to
support the move. The assembly assented and Harthacanute was proclaimed King.
There are suggestions that Ulf at this time was in
communication with the allied monarchs and that he had even encouraged them to
invade the Danish territories. Evidence is wanting, but it is clear that Ulf's
activities in 1026 were not of the proper sort. The Earl was an ambitious
and turbulent man, closely connected with both the Danish and the
Swedish dynasties. He was a man of the type that finds service difficult; it is
clear that Canute suspected him of treason.
After Canute's departure for England the Northern
kings had their conference at Kingscrag where a
closer alliance was formed and offensive operations were probably determined
upon. Soon afterwards King Olaf was on his way to his northern capital to raise
the host for a grand effort. It seems that the chiefs quite generally obeyed
the summons; of the leaders in the northern shires Einar Thongshaker alone
remained at home on his estates. A considerable fleet gathered at the
rendezvous at the mouth of Throndhjem Firth; as it
sailed southward there were constant additions, till it finally counted 480
ships. The royal flagship was the Bison, a longship that had been built the
winter before, the prow of which bore the head of a bison adorned with gold.
On the journey southward, King Olaf learned that
Canute was still in England, but that he was making preparations for a grand
attack. He also learned that Erling Skjalgsson was
now with his sons in the enemy's service. But no one knew when the English host
might be expected; time passed and the Norsemen began to tire of inaction.
Accordingly King Olaf dismissed the least effective part of his forces and with
the remainder, sixty large and well-manned ships, sailed for the coast of
Zealand, expecting later to join the Swedish armament that had gathered
on the Scanian coast.
Meanwhile, Canute had hastened his preparations. One
of his Scanian subjects, Hakon of Stangeby, had, when
the plans of the enemy had become evident, hastened to England to warn his
King. It is said that Canute rewarded him with an estate in Scania for his
loyalty and promptness. It was a mighty fleet that sailed from southern
England that summer; Canute led the expedition in person with Earl Hakon
apparently as second in command. Snorre reports that Canute's ship had one
hundred and twenty oars, while that of the Earl had eighty. Both ships were
provided with golden figureheads; but their sails were counted particularly
splendid with their stripes of blue and red and green.
Earl Ulf had by this time come to realise that Denmark could not afford to ignore the Lord of England. There was
evidently much dissatisfaction with the Earl's régime, for we find that the
Danes in large numbers accepted the invaders. Ulf and Harthacanute soon retreated to Jutland, and left the islands and Scania to the enemy.
The situation that Canute found when he sailed into
the Lime Firth was perhaps not wholly a surprise; he must have known something
about what his deputy had been plotting and doing. That he was angry is
evident; that his wrath was feared is also clear. Harthacanute was advised to submit; he knelt before his father and obtained forgiveness, as
the King realised that no responsibility could lodge
with a witless boy. Ulf also tried to make terms with the offended monarch, but
was merely told to collect his forces and join in the defence of the kingdom; later he might propose terms.
Such is Snorre's account; it may be inaccurate in
details, but the main fact that Earl Ulf was faithless to his trust seems to be
correctly stated. Elsewhere, too, Ulf is accused of opposition to his King:
Saxo charges him with treason; and an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
tells us that Canute went east to fight Ulf and Eglaf. There has been some
dispute as to the identity of these chiefs, but unless evidence to the contrary
is forthcoming, we shall have to conclude that they were the two brothers who
were earls in England in the early days of Canute as English king. Shortly
before this (1024), Eglaf's name disappears from the
English sources. The Chronicler was evidently not informed as to the situation
in the North; but he knew that the two brothers were among the opponents of the
King and recorded what he knew.
Meanwhile, Olaf was on the shores of Zealand with his
longships. Saxo relates that one day while he was addressing the Danes
at a public assembly with a view to winning them to his own allegiance, spies
rushed up and reported that they had seen several ships approaching. An aged
Dane assured the King that the ships were merchantmen only; but when sails in
growing numbers began to cross the horizon, he added that they were merchantmen
who had come to buy Denmark with iron.
From the Lime Firth, Canute must have sailed his fleet
southeastward to the upper entrance of the Sound; at any rate, King Olaf soon
discovered that the homeward route had been effectually blocked. There was now
nothing to do but to continue the journey eastward and to form a junction with
King Anund's fleet which was harrying the Scanian coast. Canute must have
followed in hot pursuit, for before the enemies could form a junction he seems
to have found and defeated a part of the Swedish fleet at Stangeberg.
A little later, he came up with the combined strength of the allied Kings near
the mouth of Holy River.
Holy River is a short stream in the eastern part of
Scania that serves as the outlet of a group of lakes not far inland. Between
these lakes and the sea the forest was heavy enough to conceal any activities
inland. When the Kings learned that the Danish fleet was approaching, they took
counsel and decided to draw up their ships in battle order east of the
river mouth, but to act on the defensive. King Anund was to remain in charge of
the fleet while King Olaf, who is reputed to have been something of a military
engineer, went inland to prepare a trap for the enemy. Where the river left the
lakes he is said to have built a temporary dam of trees and turf, and he also
improved the outlets of some of the smaller lakes, so as to increase the water
masses behind the dam. Many days the work continued under Olaf's direction.
Then came the message that Canute had arrived and the Norsemen hastened to
their ships.
It was late in the afternoon when Anund's spies
finally caught sight of the great armament approaching from the west.
Swift-footed couriers at once left for the lakes to inform Olaf, who
immediately prepared to break the dam, at the same time filling the course with
large trees. Canute saw the enemy drawn up in line and ready for the fight; but
it was then too late to proceed to the attack; moreover, the enemy had the
advantage of a carefully chosen position. The Dane therefore refused battle
that day. Finding the harbour at the river mouth
empty, he sailed into it with as many ships as could be accommodated; the
remainder were left just outside.
At dawn the next morning, a large part of Canute's
forces was found to have landed; some were conversing, others seeking
amusement. Then without the least warning the waters came down in torrents, dashing the floating trees against the ships. The ships were injured and
the waters overflowed the river banks, drowning the men who had gone on land
and also many who were still on the ships. Those who were able to do so cut the
ropes and allowed their ships to drift, each in its own direction. The great dragon
that Canute himself commanded was among these; it was not easily managed by the
oars alone and drifted out toward the hostile fleet. But when the allies recognised the ship, they immediately surrounded it; but it
was not easily attacked, for the ship was high like a castle and had a number
of men on board, who were carefully chosen, thoroughly armed, and very
reliable. It was not long before Earl Ulf came up alongside with his ships and
men and the battle was now joined in earnest. Canute's forces now came up from
all sides. Then the Kings Olaf and Anund realised that they had now won as much as fate had allowed them for this time; so they
ordered a retreat, withdrew from Canute's fleet, and separated from the
fight.
In its disorganised condition Canute's host could make no effective pursuit. The Danes and English
had suffered heavy losses, while those of the Swedes and Norsemen were slight;
still their combined forces were yet inferior to those of Canute. It was,
therefore, agreed to avoid further battle. Eastward the course continued, the
intention being to stop for the night in the harbour of Barwick on the coast of Bleking. However, a large part of the
Swedish fleet did not enter the harbour, but
continued the journey eastward and northward; nor were the sails lowered before
the chiefs had reached their respective homes.
Early the following morning, King Anund ordered the
signal to be sounded for a council of the remaining chiefs. The entire army
landed and the assembly proceeded to discuss the situation. King Anund
announced that of 420 ships that had joined him in the preceding summer only
120 were now in the harbour. These with the sixty
Norwegian ships did not make a force sufficient for successful operations
against Canute. The Swedish King therefore proposed to Olaf that he should
spend the winter in Sweden, and in the spring, perhaps, they might be able to
renew hostilities. Olaf demurred: the former viking could not surrender his
purposes so readily; it would still be possible, he argued, to defeat Canute as
his large fleet would soon be compelled to scatter in search of provisions, his
eastern coasts having been too recently harried to afford much in the way of
supplies. But the outcome was that Olaf left his ships in Sweden and returned
to Norway overland.
Canute kept informed as to the situation in the
enemies' fleet and army but did not attempt pursuit. It would seem that a great
opportunity was thus permitted to slip past; but the King probably did not so
regard it. To fight the Swedes was not a part of his present plan; his
hope was to detach King Anund from his more vigorous ally. When he learned that
the hostile fleet was about to dissolve, he returned to Zealand and blocked the
Sound, hoping, no doubt, to intercept the Norwegian King on his return
northward. As we have seen, however, Olaf appreciated the danger and refused to
risk an ambush. That same season saw him on the march through south-western
Sweden to his manors on the shores of the great Firth. On his arrival in his
own land, he dismissed the larger part of his host; only a small body of
trusted men including several prominent magnates remained with him at
Sarpsborg, where he prepared to spend the winter.
Of this campaign we have, broadly speaking, but one
detailed account,—the one given in the sagas. As these are far from
contemporary, doubts have been cast upon the story, but in the main it seems
reliable. That there was a battle at Holy River we know from the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, which states that Canute was defeated at that place by Ulf and Eglaf
supported by a large force of Swedes. As to the strategic device of King Olaf,
we cannot be so sure; but the account in the sagas reveals a topographical knowledge
so specific as to argue strongly for the belief that the authors must have had
access to reliable sources. There is also a question as to the date of the
battle: Snorre seems to place it in 1027; the Old English Chronicle has
it in 1025. The battle seems to have been fought some time in September, 1026.
It evidently occurred before Canute made his pilgrimage to Rome, where we find
him at Easter, 1027.
Though Canute suffered a defeat at Holy River, the
outcome gave no advantage to his enemies. The Swedes were discouraged and tired
of a conflict which, after all, did not seem to concern them. King Olaf was
discredited: a King who had abandoned his ships was not in position to claim a
victory. From that day he found disloyalty everywhere. The pretender had only
to appear on the Norwegian coasts with ships and men to secure the enthusiastic
allegiance of the rebellious Norsemen.
Canute was not prepared, however, to move against Olaf
at this time. Autumn was coming on, a season that was far too short for naval
operations. And soon a tragedy was enacted at the Danish court, the
consequences of which probably caused a complete rearrangement of Canute's
immediate plans. The day before Michaelmas the King proceeded to Roeskild, where Earl Ulf had prepared an elaborate
entertainment for him and his train. According to the sagas Ulf was aggressive,
vigorous, and brave; but he was also tactless and careless in speech, and
possessed a temper that was not easily controlled. The festivities did not seem
to please the King—he was moody and silent. In the evening Ulf suggested a game of chess, hoping, no doubt, that the play would help to restore the
royal good humour.
But as they were playing at chess, King Canute and
Earl Ulf, the King made a wrong move and the Earl took one of his knights. The
King moved his opponent's chessman back and told him to make another play; this
angered the Earl; he overturned the chessboard, rose, and left the table. Then
said the King, "Are you running away now, timid Wolf!" The Earl
turned in the doorway and replied, "Farther you would have run at Holy
River, if you had been able. You did not then call Ulf timid, when I rushed up
to help you, when the Swedes were threshing you and your men like dogs."
With that the Earl left the room and went to sleep.
It is not likely, however, that the Earl's rest was
wholly undisturbed that night, for in the morning he was found to have sought
sanctuary in Holy Trinity Church. Nor did sleep appease the King's anger; while
he was dressing the next morning, he ordered his shoe-swain to go at once and
slay Ulf. But the servant dared not strike him within the sacred precincts.
Then the King called Ivar White, one of his guardsmen, a Norseman who is said
to have been Earl Eric's nephew, and sent him with similar orders. Ivar
soon returned to the King with a bloody sword as evidence that his sister's
husband was no more.
Tales of chess games that have resulted
seriously for at least one of the players appear elsewhere in mediæval literature; hence it would not be safe to accept
this account without question. Still, there is nothing improbable about the
tale; the insult that Ulf offered was evidently seized upon by the King as a
pretext for ridding himself of a man whom he believed to be a traitor. An
independent English tradition credits Canute with a passion for the game: the
historian of Ramsey tells us that Bishop Ethelric once found him
"relieving the wearisomeness of the long night with games of dice and
chess." Nor is there any reason to doubt that Ulf was actually
assassinated at the time; his name disappears from the sources.
A life had been taken in God's own house; blood had
been shed before the very altar; even though the King had ordered it, the
Church could not overlook the crime. The priests immediately closed the church;
but on the King's command, it was again opened and mass was said as before. It
is recorded that large possessions were added to the church when services were
resumed. To his sister the widowed Estrid, the King also owed satisfaction; we
are told that she, too, received large landed estates. But her young son Sweyn,
who was at this time scarcely more than eight years old, she prudently seems to
have removed from her brother's kingdom; for twelve years the future
King of Denmark was a guest at the Swedish court.
It seems that the scene of his recent guilt had small
attraction for Canute after that fateful Michaelmas season. He is said to have
left the city and to have taken up his abode on his longship. But not many
months later we find him on a pilgrimage to the capital of Christendom. The
journey must have been planned during the autumn of 1026; it was actually
undertaken during the early months of the following year; apparently the
pilgrims arrived in Rome toward the end of March.
We cannot be sure what induced King Canute to make
this journey at this particular time. In his message to the English people he
says that he went to seek forgiveness for his sins; but this pious phrase is
almost a rhetorical necessity in mediæval documents
and must not be regarded too seriously. Nor can we trust the statement that the
King had earlier vowed to make such a pilgrimage, but had hitherto been
prevented by business of state; for the year 1027 had surely but little to
offer in the way of leisure and peace. The motive must be sought in the
political situation that had developed in the North in the year of the Holy
River campaign, and in the strained relations that must have arisen between the
King and the Church.
No doubt the eyes of the Christian world looked
approvingly on the persistent efforts that Olaf [of Norway, who was canonised four years later, was making to extirpate
heathendom in the North. Especially must the English priesthood have looked
with pride and pleasure on the vigorous growth of the Norse daughter Church.
But here comes the Christian King of England with hostile forces to interfere
in behalf of King Olaf's enemies. Canute probably protested that he would carry
on the work; but it is clear that an absent monarch with wide imperial
interests could scarcely hope to carry out successfully a policy that implied
revolution both socially and religiously. His hand had also been raised against
the Christian ruler of Sweden, which was yet a heathen land, against a prince
in whom the Church doubtless reposed confidence and hope. Perhaps worst of all,
Canute's hand was red with the blood of his sister's husband, his support at
Holy River, whose life had been taken in violation of the right of sanctuary
and sacred peace. The mediæval Church was a sensitive
organism and offences of this sort were not easily atoned for. It was time to
pray at Saint Peter's tomb. It is also likely that Canute hoped to gain certain
political advantages from the journey: in a strife with the Northern powers it
would be well to have the Emperor a passive if not an active ally; and this was
the year of the imperial coronation.
Norse tradition remembers Canute's pilgrimage as that
of a penitent: "he took staff and scrip, as did all the men who travelled
with him, and journeyed southward to Rome; and the Emperor himself came
out to meet him and he accompanied him all the way to the Roman
city." Sighvat the Scald, who was both
Canute's and Olaf's friend, also mentions the pilgrim's staff in his reference
to the royal pilgrimage. Still, it is not to be thought that gold was
overlooked in preparing for the journey: the saga adds that "King Canute
had many horses with him laden with gold and silver," and that alms were
distributed with a free hand.
The Encomiast, who saw the King in the monastery of
Saint Bertin in the Flemish city of Saint-Omer, also gives us a picture, though
one that is clearly exaggerated, of a penitent who is seeking forgiveness and
reconciliation. With humble mien the royal pilgrim entered the holy precincts;
his eyes cast down and streaming with tears, he implored the suffrages of the
saints; beating his breast and heaving sighs, he passed from altar to altar,
kissed the sacred stones, and left large gifts upon each, even upon the
smallest. In addition alms were distributed among the needy.
The route followed was the old one from Denmark
south-westward along the German coast to Flanders, whence the journey went
southward through Lorraine and the Rhone country. It seems to have been
Canute's intention to visit King Rudolf of Burgundy on the way; but he was
found to have departed on a similar journey to the Eternal City. The progress
was one that was doubtless long remembered in the monasteries along the route.
Important institutions at some distance from the chosen route seem also to have
been remembered in a substantial way; it may have been on this occasion that a
gift was sent to the monastic foundation at Chartres, of which we have grateful
acknowledgment in the Epistles of Bishop Fulbert; and another to the
church at Cologne, a costly psalter and sacramentary which some time later
found their way back to England.
On Easter Day (March 26), King Canute assisted at the
imperial coronation ceremony; on that day King Conrad and Queen Gisela received
the imperial crowns in the Church of the Holy Apostles. The assembly was
large and splendid and the visiting sovereigns held places of conspicuous honour. When the Emperor at the close of the ceremony left
the Church, Canute and Rudolf walked beside him. It was a day of great
rejoicingamong Conrad's German followers, ending, as was customary,
with a fight between them and their Roman hosts.
On the 6th of April, a great synod met at the Lateran
to consider various weighty matters and to settle certain important
controversies. It may have been at this meeting, though preliminary
negotiations must have prepared the matter to some extent, that King Canute or
his spokesman stated the complaints of the English Church. For one thing he
urged that the price extorted from the English archbishops for the pallium was
too high. The Pope promised to reduce the charges on condition that Peter's
pence be regularly paid. Apparently the curia urged reform in church dues
generally, for a little later Canute sent his English subjects a sharp reminder
on this point. The Pope also agreed to exempt the English school at Rome from
the customary tribute. On the whole it seems, however, that the more
substantial results of the negotiations remained with the Roman curia.
The English King had another set of grievances which
seem to have been discussed in the same synod, but which particularly
interested the ruler of Burgundy. English and Danish pilgrims, he asserted,
were not given fair and considerate treatment on their journeys to Rome: they
were afflicted with unjust tolls and with overcharges at the inns; evidently
Canute also felt that the highways should be made safer and justice more accessible to those who travelled on holy errands. In the matter of undue
charges, the Burgundians appear to have been especially guilty. The
reasonableness of Canute's request was apparent to the synod, and it was
decreed that the treatment of pilgrims should be liberal and just:
and all the princes have engaged by their edict, that
my men, whether merchants or other travellers for
objects of devotion, should go and return in security and peace, without any
constraint of barriers or tolls.
From Rome, Canute hurried back to Denmark, following
the same route, it seems, as on the journey south. Soon after his return he
sent a message to the English clergy and people, advising them as to his
absence and doings in Italy. From the use of the phrase, "here in the
East" in speaking of the Scandinavian difficulties, it seems likely that
the message was composed in Denmark or somewhere on the route not far from that
kingdom. It was carried to England by Bishop Lifing of Crediton. In this document Canute also recounts the honours bestowed upon him in Italy; especially does he recall the presents of Emperor
Conrad: "divers costly gifts, as well in golden and silver vessels
as in mantles and vestments exceedingly precious."
The document also asks that the lawful church-dues be
regularly paid,—Peter's pence, plough alms, church scot,
and tithes of the increase of animals and of farm products. This admonition was
later enacted into law. At the same time he forbids his sheriffs and other
officials to do injustice to any one, rich or poor, either in the hope of
winning the royal favour or to gain wealth for the
King. He has no need of wealth that has been unjustly acquired. But this lofty
assertion of principle looks somewhat strange in the light of the fact that the
King was in those very days engaged in bribing a nation.
There can be no doubt that the visit to the Eternal
City was of considerable importance for the future career of the Anglo-Danish
King. Doubtless Rome began to realise what a power
was this young monarch who up to this time had probably been regarded as little
better than a barbarian, one of those dreaded pirates who had so long and so
often terrorised the Italian shores. Here he was next
to the Emperor the most redoubtable Christian ruler in Europe. Probably Canute
returned to the North with the Pope's approval of his plans for empire in
Scandinavia,—tacit if not expressed. John XIX. was a Pope whose ideal of a
church was one that was efficiently administered and he may have seen in Canute
a ruler of his own spirit.
CHAPTER XI
.THE CONQUEST OF NORWAY—1028-1030
Canute was still in the Eternal City on the 6th of
April, but it is not likely that he remained in the South much later than that
date. With the opening of spring, hostilities might be renewed in Scandinavia
at any moment. That Canute expected a renewal of the war is clear from the
language of his message to Britain:
I therefore wish it to be made known to you that,
returning by the same way that I departed, I am going to Denmark, for the
purpose of settling, with the counsel of all the Danes, firm and lasting peace
with those nations, which, had it been in their power, would have deprived us
of our life and kingdom....
After affairs had been thus composed, he expected to
return to England.
His plans, however, must have suffered a change. So
far as we know, warlike operations were not resumed that year; and yet, if any
overtures for peace were made, they can scarcely have been successful.
Some time later in the year Canute set sail for England; but with his great
purpose unfulfilled: for he had promised in his "Charter" to return
to Britain when he had "made peace with the nations around us, and
regulated and tranquillised all our kingdom here in
the East." Not till next year did he return to the attack on King Olaf
Haroldsson. Hostile movements across the Scottish border seem to have been
responsible for the postponement of the projected conquest. It is told in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that as soon as Canute had returned from Rome he departed
for Scotland; "and the King of Scots submitted to him and also two other
kings, Mælbeathe and Jehmarc."
Malcolm, the son of Kenneth, was at this time ruler of
Scotia, a kingdom composed chiefly of the region between the Forth and the
river Spey, with various outlying dependencies. We do not know what called
forth hostilities between Malcolm and Canute at this time; but it is possible
that the inciting force may have been the Norwegian King, as difficulties in
Britain might lead Canute to abandon his Norse pretensions. As overlord of the
Orkneys and probably also of the neighbouring Scotch
coast lands, King Olaf naturally would be drawn into diplomatic relations with
the kings of Scone. The Chronicle gives the year of the expedition to Scotland
as 1031; but it also places it in the year of Canute's pilgrimage, which we
know to have been made in 1027.
Malcolm rendered some sort of homage in 1027, but for
what territories we do not know. That he became Canute's vassal for all his
possessions is unlikely; he had already for a decade been the man of the
English King for Lothian; and the probabilities are that the homage of 1027 was
merely the renewal of the agreements entered into after the battle of Carham in 1018. With the Northern war still unfinished,
Canute cannot have been in position to exact severe terms. Furthermore, the
acquisition of the Norwegian crown would bring to Canute important possessions
to the north and north-west of Malcolm's kingdom and place him in a more favourable position for conquest at some future time.
Whether Malcolm realised it or not, further victories
for Canute in Scandinavia would mean serious dangers for the Scottish realms.
The identity of the other two kings, Mælbeathe and Jehmarc, is a
matter of conjecture. Mælbeathe was probably Macbeth,
who as earl ruled the country about Moray Firth, the Macbeth whom we know from
Shakespeare's tragedy. Skene believes that Jehmarc,
too, must have ruled in the extreme north or north-west, the region that was
under Norse influence. But the language of the Chronicle need not mean that
these kings were both from Scotland; Munch's conjecture that Jehmarc was Eagmargach, the
Celtic King of Dublin after the Irish victory at Clontarf, is at east plausible. That Canute counted Irishmen among his subjects appears
from a stanza by Ottar the Swart:
Let us so greet the King of the Danes,
Of Irish, English, and Island-dwellers,
That his praise as far as the pillared heaven
May travel widely through all the earth.
If Munch's identification is correct, it reveals a
purpose of combining all the Scandinavian West with the older kingdoms, a
policy that must have seemed both rational and practical. The homage of Malcolm
and Macbeth seems to be mentioned by Sighvat though
here again the chronology is defective, the submission of the kings "from
far north in Fife" being dated before 1026.
In the meantime Norway was not forgotten. During the
year 1027, while Canute was absent in Rome or busied with North British
affairs, his emissaries were at work in Norway still further undermining the
tottering loyalty of the Norwegian chiefs. No attempt was made at secrecy—it
was bribery open and unblushing. Says Sighvat the
Scald:
Jealous foes of King Olaf
Tempt us with open purses;
Gold for the life of the lordly
Ruler is loudly offered.
The poet was a Christian and seems to have taken grim
satisfaction in the teachings of the new faith regarding future punishment:
Men who sell for molten
Metal the gentle ruler
In swart Hell (they deserve it)
Shall suffer the keenest torture.
The activities of the Danish envoys appear to have
extended to all parts of the country, though it seems likely that their success
was greatest in the West and South-west where they enjoyed the protection and
assistance of the mighty nobleman Erling Skjalgsson,
who thus added dishonour to stubborn and unpatriotic wilfulness. After Holy River Canute apparently dismissed
his fleet for the winter, in part at least, and Erling returned to his estates
at Soli.
With Erling Canute's envoys came north and brought
much wealth with them. They fared widely during the winter, paying out the
money that Canute had promised for support in the autumn before; but they also
gave money to others and thus bought their friendship for Canute; and Erling
supported them in all this.
Evidence of this activity appears in a remarkable find
of English coins to the number of 1500 near Eikunda-sound,
not far from Soli. The treasure [was brought to light in 1836; most of
the coins bear the effigies of Ethelred and Canute; all are from Canute's reign
or earlier. The next year (1028) Canute sailed his fleet into Eikunda-sound and remained there for some time; but there
seems no reason why English money should be secreted on that occasion. More
probably the treasure was part of the bribe money; the fact that it was hidden
would indicate that Canute's agents found the business somewhat dangerous after
all
Gold alone does not account for Saint Olaf's downfall.
There were other reasons for the defection of the aristocracy, but these have
been discussed in an earlier chapter: there was dissatisfaction with the new
faith; there was dissatisfaction with a régime that enjoined a firm peace
everywhere, that aimed at equal justice for all without respect to birth or
station, and that enforced severe and unusual punishments; there was also the
memory of the days of the earls, when the hand of government was light and the
old ways were respected.
In 1028, Canute was ready to strike. Soon the news
spread that a vast armament was approaching Norway. "With fifty ships of
English thegns," the King sailed along the Low German shores to the
western mouth of the Lime Firth. Among the chiefs who accompanied him from
England were the two earls, Hakon and Godwin. One of Godwin's men found
his death in Norway, as we learn from a runic monument raised by one Arnstein
over the grave of his son Bjor, "who found his death in Godwin's host in
the days when Canute sailed [back] to England."
The ships that the King brought from England were
doubtless large and well-manned: Canute's housecarles may have made up a considerable part of the crews. At the Lime Firth an immense
Danish fleet was waiting: according to the sagas 1440 ships made up the fleet
that sailed up to the Norwegian capital Nidaros. Twelve great hundreds is
evidently merely a round number used to indicate unusual size; but that the
armament was immense is evident from the ease with which it accomplished its
work. So far as we know, the awe-stricken Norsemen made no resistance. In
addition to the English and Danish ships, there were evidently not a few that
were manned by the housecarles of disaffected
Norwegian chiefs.
Olaf was informed of Canute's intentions and did what
he could to meet the invasion. Men were dispatched to Sweden to bring home the
ships that had been abandoned there nearly two years before. This was a
difficult undertaking, for the Danes kept close guard over the passages leading
out of the Baltic. Part of the fleet the Norsemen burned; with the rest they
were able to steal through the Sound after Canute had begun his advance toward
Norway. King Olaf also summoned the host, but there came
Few folk and little dragons.
What a disgrace that landsmen
Leave our lord royal
Unsupported. (For money
Men desert their duties.)
What forces the Norwegians were able to collect sailed
up into Oslo Firth, where King Olaf prudently remained till Canute had again
departed from the land.
The northward progress of Canute's armament is told in
a poem by Thorarin Praise-tongue, who had composed an
earlier lay to the King's honour. "The lord
of the ocean" sailed from the Lime Firth with a vast fleet. Canute seems
to have cut across the strait to the southwestern part of Norway, where the
"war-trained men of Agdir saw in terror the
advance of the hero," for Canute's dragon gleamed with steel and gold.
"The swart ships glide past Lister" and soon fill Eikunda-sound.
And so the journey goes on past the Hornel-mount and the promontory of Stadt,
till the "sea-falcons glide into the Nid River."
At important points Canute landed and summoned the
franklins to formal assemblies. The summons were generally obeyed: the
franklins swore allegiance to the new King and gave the required hostages.
Wherever there was occasion to do so, the King appointed new local
officials from the elements whose loyalty he believed he could trust. He spent
some time in Eikunda-sound where Erling Skjalgsson joined him with a large force. The old alliance
was renewed and Erling received promise of all the region between the great
headlands of Stadt and the Naze, with a little additional territory to the east
of the latter point. This was more than the lord of Soli had ever controlled
before. The terms have not been recorded, but Canute was always liberal in his
promises.
When Nidaros was reached, the eight shires of the Throndelaw were summoned to meet in a grand assembly, the
Ere-thing, which met on the river sands at the mouth of the Nid.
As Throndhjem was counted the most important region
of the kingdom, the Ere-thing throughout the middle ages enjoyed a prominence
of its own as the assembly that accepted and proclaimed the Norwegian kings.
Here then, Canute was formally proclaimed the true King of Norway, and the
customary homage was rendered.
There was no need of going beyond Nidaros. Thor the
Dog, Harek of Tjotta, and
other great lords from the farther North were present at the Ere-thing and took
the oaths of allegiance. Thor came in Canute's fleet; Harek joined the King at Nidaros. On these two chiefs the King depended for support
in the Arctic regions. In return for their allegiance they received
enlarged franchises and privileges, among other things the monopoly of the
trade with the Finnish tribes.
The conclusions of the Ere-thing concerned Norway
alone. A little later a larger assembly was called, a joint meeting of the
chiefs of Norway and of the invading army—magnates from England, Denmark, and
Norway; possibly the warriors, too, had some voice in this assembly. Here then,
in the far North on the sands of Nidaros, was held the first and only imperial
assembly, so far as our information goes, that Canute ever summoned. It was
called to discuss and decide matters of interest common to all the three realms—especially
was it to hear the imperial will, the new imperial policy.
Canute was yet a young man—he had not advanced far
into the thirties—but prudence, perhaps also wisdom, had developed with the
years. He realised that his own person was really the
only bond that held his realms together; but he also understood that direct
rule was impracticable. The Norse movement was essentially a revolt from Olaf,
not a popular demand for union with Denmark. Among the Danes, too, there was
opposition to what smacked of alien rule, as is shown by the readiness with
which the magnates had received the revolutionary plans of Earl Ulf. No doubt
it was with reluctance that Canute announced a system of vassal earls and
kings; however, no other solution can have seemed possible.
To his nephew Hakon he gave the vice-royalty of Norway
with the earl's title and dignity. Whether the entire kingdom was to be
included in Hakon's realm may be doubted; Southern Norway, the Wick, which was
as yet unconquered, was an old possession of the dynasty of Gorm and may have
been excepted. "Next he led his son Harthacanute to his own high-seat and gave him the kings-name with the government of the
Danish realms." As Harthacanute was still
but a child a guardian must be found, and for this position Canute seems to
have chosen Harold, the son of Thurkil the Tall, his own foster-brother,
if tradition can be trusted. Harold at this time was apparently in charge at
Jomburg, where he had probably stood in a similar relation to Canute's older son
Sweyn who was located there. It is significant that the only one who is awarded
the royal title is Harthacanute, the youngest of the
King's three sons; but he was also the only one who was of legitimate birth.
There can be little doubt that Canute intended to make Harthacanute the heir to all his realms. Of these arrangements Thorarin Praise-tongue sings in his lay:
Then gave the wise
Wielder of Jutland
Norway to Hakon
His sister's son.
And to his own son
(I say it) the old dark
Halls of the ocean,
Hoary Denmark.
Among the Norwegian chiefs who thus far had remained
neutral was Einar Thongshaker, the archer of Swald. But now that the Ere-thing
had acted and had renounced its allegiance to Olaf, Einar promptly appeared and
took the required oaths. King Canute felt the need of binding the proud magnate
closely to the new order of things, and along with gifts and increased feudal
income went the flattering phrases that next to those who bore princely titles
Einar should be the chiefest in the kingdom, and that
he or his son Eindrid seemed, after all, most suited
to bear the rule in Norway, "were it not for Earl Hakon."
There remained the formality of taking hostages, sons,
brothers, or near kinsmen of the chiefs, "or the men who seemed dearest to
them and best fitted." The fleet then returned to the South. It was a
leisurely sail, we are told, with frequent landings and conferences with the
yeomanry, especially, no doubt, in the shires where no assemblies had been
summoned on the northward journey. When King Olaf heard of Canute's return, he
moved farther up the Oslo Firth and into one of its arms, the Drammen Firth.
Here he apparently left his ships while he and his men withdrew some
distance into the interior. King Canute did not pursue him. He sailed along the
south shores to the Oslo Firth and up to Sarpsborg, where an assembly of the
freemen accepted him as King. From Sarpsborg he returned to Denmark, where he
seems to have spent the winter. Not till the following year did he care to risk
a return to England; but at that time his Norse rival was treading the path of
exile across the Baltic (1029).
While Canute was being hailed as King at Sarpsborg,
Olaf was in hiding two or three days' march distant, probably in the
Ring-realm. When he learned of the enemy's departure, he promptly returned to Tunsberg and tried to resume his sway. The situation was
desperate, but he wished to make a last appeal to the Norsemen's feeling of
loyalty to Harold's dynasty. And now another fleet sailed up the western
shores, this time the King's own. Only thirteen ships steered out of Tunsberg harbour and few joined
later. The season was the beginning of winter, a most unfavourable time for aggressive operations. When King Olaf had rounded the Naze, he learned
that his old enemy, Erling Skjalgsson, had been
levying forces in considerable numbers. Olaf managed, however, to intercept
Erling's ship and overpowered the old chief after a furious struggle.
"Face to face shall eagles fight; will you give quarter?" Erling is
reported to have said when Olaf remarked on his bravery. The King was
disposed to reconciliation; but during the parley one of his men stepped up and
clove the rebel's head. "Unhappy man," cried the King, "there
you struck Norway out of my hand!" But the overzealous housecarle was forgiven.
The news of Erling's death fired the whole coast. The
magnates realised at once that retreat was now
impossible: they must maintain the cause of Canute. Nowhere could King Olaf
land, everywhere the yeomanry called for revenge. From the south came the sons
of the murdered man in vigorous pursuit; in the north Earl Hakon was mustering
the Thronder-folk. Finally King Olaf was forced into one of the long inlets
that cut into the western coast. Here he was trapped; flight alone was
possible; but before him lay wild mountain regions, one of the wildest routes
in Norway. It was midwinter, but the crossing was successful, though the
sufferings and difficulties must have been great. Exile was now the only
choice; the journey continued to the Swedish border and thence across that
kingdom and the Baltic Sea to Russia.
When Canute returned to England, Norway was apparently
loyal, peaceful, and obedient. So far as we know, he never again visited the
North.
The rule of Earl Hakon was brief: a year and a half at
most. Of the character of his government we have no information; but
the good-natured, easy-going son of Earl Eric was not a man to antagonise the Norwegian aristocracy. His lack of
aggressive energies was thoroughly appreciated at Winchester: it is difficult
to determine whether Canute's attitude toward his nephew is to be ascribed to
bad faith or lack of faith; at all events, the King seems anxiously to have
sought a pretext to remove him.
Among the noble families of Thronde-land,
perhaps none ranked higher than the house of the Arnungs.
Arne Armodsson was a mighty chief and, while he
lived, a good friend of King Olaf. Of his five surviving sons four were
faithful to the King till he fell at Stiklestead. As
we have noted elsewhere, the family also had connections with Olaf's enemies:
Arne's daughter was the wife of Harek; his son Kalf
was married to the widow of Olvi who had been
executed at the King's orders for practising heathen
rites; somewhat later Olvi's son Thorir was slain for
treason (1027?). When Olaf left Norway, Kalf deserted him and not long
afterwards made peace with Earl Hakon and became his man. The sagas attribute
this step to the influence of his wife Sigrid and her brother, Thor the Dog. Sigrid
is represented as a woman of the legendary type, possessed of a demon of
revenge. She had lost much: a husband for his fidelity to the old gods; a son
for suspected treason; another in an effort to take vengeance for his brother.
To this motive was added that of ambition,[ which was, perhaps, that
which chiefly determined Kalf's actions. Canute seems to have been anxious to
secure the active support of this influential noble and probably had expressed
a desire for an interview; for in the spring following the conquest (1029),
Kalf prepared his ship and sailed to England.
It must have been clear to Canute that continued peace
in the North was not to be hoped for. That King Olaf Haroldsson, who had begun
his career as a viking while he was yet a mere boy and who was still young,
strong, and virile, would be content with permanent exile was unthinkable.
Canute must further have realised that his power in
Norway had no secure foundation: bribery could not be employed forever;
heathendom was a broken reed. His representative was weak, or, as Canute is
said to have put it, too "conscientious"; in a crisis he was not to
be trusted. Einar Thongshaker was of doubtful loyalty and furthermore had
nearly passed the limits of active life. But here was Kalf, young and
influential, wealthy and strong.
Canute therefore proposed to Kalf that if Olaf should
reappear in Norway he was to raise the militia and lead the host against him.
He thus became, in a way, Canute's personal, though unofficial, representative
in the kingdom, with a higher title in prospect:
I will then give you the earl's dignity and let you
govern Norway; but my kinsman Hakon shall fare back to me; and for that
he is best suited, as he is so conscientious that I scarcely believe he would
do as much as hurl a single shaft against King Olaf, if they were to meet.
Kalf listened joyfully; Canute's speech appealed to
him; "and now he began to yearn for the earlship." An agreement was
made, and soon Kalf's ship, laden with gifts, was again sailing eastward over
the North Sea. Bjarne the Poet recalls these gifts and promises in a praise-lay
of which we have fragments:
The lord of London made promise
Of lands ere you left the westlands
(Since there has come postponement):
Slight was not your distinction.
A few months later the vice-royalty was vacant. Soon
after Kalf's return to Norway, Hakon sailed to England; Canute had apparently
sent for him. The sources are neither clear nor wholly agreed on this matter;
but practically all place the journey in some relation to Hakon's betrothal to
Gunhild, Canute's niece, the daughter of his sister Gunhild and a Slavic
prince, Witigern. It was late in the year before
Hakon was ready to return—sometime after Martinsmas (November 11th); says Florence of Worcester. His ship never reached Norway; it went down in a tempest in the Pentland Firth, probably
in January, 1030.
The English sources have it that Canute in fact exiled
Hakon, though formally he sent him on a personal mission; but the chroniclers
are evidently in error in this matter. When these writers speak of outlawry,
they mean exile from England; and Hakon was no longer an English resident.
Still, it is extremely probable that Hakon had been deprived of his ancestral
dignities, that he had been transferred to a new field. Two possibilities
appear to fit into the situation: the Earl may have been transferred to the
north-western islands or to Jomburg. The Norwegian dependencies along the
Scottish shores, the Orkneys and other possessions, passed to Canute when he
assumed the Norwegian crown. The fact that Hakon's ship went under on the
shores of the Orkneys may indicate that he had an errand in those waters, that
Canute had created a new jurisdiction for his easy-going nephew.
Still more is to be said for the alternative
possibility. Canute had clearly decided to supersede Hakon in Norway. He had
already, it seems, selected his illegitimate son Sweyn for the Norse
governorship. The promotion of Sweyn would create a vacancy in Jomburg; perhaps
Hakon was intended as Sweyn's successor at that post. At any rate, the King was
planning a marriage between the Earl and a kinswoman of his own who was of the
Slavic aristocracy, a marriage that would secure for the Earl a certain
support among the Wendish nobility. The prospective bride was probably in
Wendland with her kinsmen at the time; at any rate she was not on the ship that
went down in the Swelchie of Pentland Firth; for a
few years later we find Gunhild the widow of one whose history is closely
associated with Jomburg, Harold, the son of Thurkil the Tall, the Harold who in
1030 was administering Danish affairs in the name of Harthacanute.
Florence tells us that in 1044, Gunhild was exiled from England with her two
sons, Thurkil and Heming. Two fierce brothers, it will be recalled, led
the Jomvikings into England in 1009,—Thurkil and Heming. No doubt the exiled
boys were Harold's sons, named in honour of their
stately grandfather and his valiant brother.
Once more Norway was without a ruler. The news of
Hakon's death was not long in reaching the Throndelaw,
and the leaders of the various factions seem to have taken prompt measures to
provide a satisfactory régime. Einar Thongshaker, mindful of Canute's earlier
promises, got out his ship and repaired to England. As usual the diplomatic
King was prodigal with promises and professions of friendship: Einar should
have the highest place in the Norse aristocracy, a larger income, and whatever honours the King could give except the earl's
authority,—that had been assigned to Sweyn, and messengers had already been dispatched to Jomburg with instructions to the young prince to assume
control at Nidaros.
The old warrior cannot have been pleased. It is likely
that his loyalty received a violent shock. Knowing that an attempt would be
made to restore Olaf to the throne, he apparently decided to assume his
customary neutral attitude; at any rate, he would not fight under Kalf
Arnesson's banner. So he lingered in England till the trouble was over and
Sweyn was in charge of the kingdom.
Kalf did not go to England; he was busy carrying out
his promises to Canute. For hardly had the merchant ships brought rumours of Earl Hakon's death, before Olaf's partisans took
measures to restore their legitimate King. Some of the chiefs set out for
Russia; and when midsummer came, King Olaf's banner was advancing toward the
Norwegian capital. Kalf was prepared to meet him. As it was not known what
route Olaf might choose to take or in what region he would set up his standard,
the forces of the yeomanry were divided, the southern magnates under the
leadership of the sons of Erling undertaking to meet the King if he should
appear in the south-east, while the northern host under Kalf, Harek, and Thor the Dog was preparing to hold the Throndelaw.
The host that gathered to oppose the returned exile
was wholly Norse: no Dane or Englishman seems to have fought for Canute at Stiklestead, The only alien who is prominently mentioned in
this connection is Bishop Sigurd, a Danish ecclesiastic who had served
as Hakon's court bishop and was a violent partisan of Canute. All the western
coast as far as to the Arctic seems to have been represented in the army of the
franklins, which is said to have numbered 14,400, four times the number that
fought for the returned King.
Still, the disparity of forces was not so great after
all. Most of the kingsmen were superb warriors, and
all were animated with enthusiasm for Olaf's cause. It was otherwise in the
host of the yeomanry; many had small desire to fight for King Canute, and among
the chiefs there was an evident reluctance to lead. Kalf had, therefore, no
difficulty in securing authority to command—it was almost thrust upon him.
The battle was joined at Stiklestead farm, about forty miles north-east of the modern Throndhjem.
The summer night is short in the Northlands and the long morning gave
opportunity for careful preparation. At noon the armies met and the battle
began. For more than two hours it raged, King Olaf fighting heroically among
his men. Leading an attack on the hostile standard, he came into a hand-to-hand
conflict with the chiefs of the yeomanry and fell wounded in three places.
Saint Olaf's day is celebrated on July 29th, and it is
generally held that the battle was fought on that date. Some historians have
thought that it was really fought a month later on the last day of
August. Sighvat was that year on a pilgrimage to
Rome, and was consequently not an eye-witness; but his lines composed after his
return are, nevertheless, one of the chief sources used by the saga-men. The
poet alludes to an eclipse of the sun on the day of the battle:
They call it a great wonder
That the sun would not,
Though the sky was cloudless,
Shine warm upon the men.
Such an eclipse, total in that very region at the hour
assigned to the climax of the fight, actually occurred on August 31st. It is
generally held, however, that the eclipse came to be associated with the battle
later when the search for miracles had begun.
The reaction was successfully met, but without any
assistance from Canute. Sweyn had prepared a large force of Danes, commanded it
seems by Earl Harold, and had hastened northward; but had only reached the Wick
when the battle of Stiklestead was fought. It seems
strange at first thought that no English fleet was sent to assist Kalf and his
associates. It is not likely that Canute depended much on the fidelity of the
Northmen—he understood human nature better than most rulers of his time; nor
had he any means of knowing how widely the revolt would spread when the
former King should issue his appeal. The key to his seeming inactivity must be
sought in the international situation of the time: England was just then
threatened with an invasion from the south, a danger that demanded a
concentration of military resources on the shores of the Channel.
The accounts that have come down to us of the
relations of England and Normandy during the latter half of Canute's reign are
confused and contradictory; but a few facts are tolerably clear. Some time
after the murder of Ulf (1026), Canute gave the widowed Estrid in marriage to
Robert the Duke of Normandy (1027-1035). It may be that on his return from
Rome in the spring of 1027 Canute had a conference with Robert, who had
succeeded to the ducal throne in the previous February. But whether such a meeting
occurred or not, Robert had serious trouble before him in Normandy and no doubt
was eager for an alliance with the great King of the North. The marriage must
have taken place in 1027 or 1028; a later date seems improbable. The father of
William Bastard is not famous for conjugal fidelity and may not have been
strongly attracted by the Danish widow; at any rate, he soon repudiated her,
perhaps to Estrid's great relief, as Duke Robert the Devil seems not to have
borne his nickname in vain. The characteristics of the Duke that most impressed
his contemporaries were a ferocious disposition and rude, untamed
strength.
It is likely, however, that the break with Canute is
to be ascribed not so much to domestic infelicity as to new political
ambitions; at the court of Rouen were the two sons of King Ethelred, Edward and
Alfred, who had grown to manhood in Normandy. It apparently became Robert's
ambition to place these princes on English thrones, which he could not hope to
accomplish without war. An embassy was sent to Canute (perhaps in 1029),
somewhat similar to the one that Canute had sent to Norway a few years before,
bearing a similar errand and equipped with similar arguments. Evidently the
Norman ambassadors did not receive kind treatment at the English court. Their
report stirred the Duke to great wrath; he ordered a fleet to be prepared for
an invasion of England. Most likely that was the time, too, of the Duchess
Estrid's disgrace.
The expedition sailed, but a storm sent, as William of
Jumièges believes, by an overruling Providence, "who had determined that
Edward should some day gain the crown without the shedding of blood,"
drove the fleet in a westerly direction past the peninsula of Cotentin to the
shores of Jersey. Robert was disappointed, but the fleet was not prepared in
vain: instead of attacking England, the Duke proceeded against Brittany and
forced his enemy Duke Alain to seek [Pg 255]peace through the mediation of the
Church at Rouen.
These events must have occurred after Canute's return
from the North,—in the years 1029 and 1030. No other period seems possible; it
is not likely that the threatened hostilities could have been later than 1030,
for in 1031 a new King, Henry I., ascended the French throne and Robert the
Devil became involved in the resulting civil war.
If our chronology is correct, the summer of 1030 saw
the Northern Empire threatened from two directions; in Norway it took the form
of revolt; in Normandy that of threatened invasion. In both instances
legitimate claimants aimed to dislodge a usurper. The danger from the South was
by far the greater; Olaf's harsh rule had not yet been forgotten by the
Norsemen, nor had they yet experienced the rigours of
alien rule. England was quiet and apparently contented; but what effect the
pretensions of the Ethelings would have on the
populace no one could know. We may be sure that Canute was ready for the
invader; but so long as the Norwegian troubles were still unsettled, he wisely
limited himself to defensive operations.
It is also related, though not by any contemporary
writer, that Canute was dangerously ill at the time of the Norman
trouble, and that he at one time expressed a willingness to divide the English
kingdom with the Ethelings.Whether he was ill
or not, such an offer does not necessitate the inference either of despair or
of fear for the outcome. The offer if made was doubtless a diplomatic one, on
par with the promises to the Norwegian rebels, made for the purpose of gaining
time, perhaps, until Norway was once more pacified.
But fortune had not deserted the great Dane. When
autumn came in 1030, the war clouds had passed and the northern skies were
clear and cheerful. Canute's Norwegian rival had gone to his reward; his Norman
rival was absorbed in other interests. Without question Canute was now Emperor
of the North.
CHAPTER XII
. THE EMPIRE OF THE NORTH
When the eleventh century began its fourth decade,
Canute was, with the single exception of the Emperor, the most imposing ruler
in Latin Christendom. Less than twenty years earlier he had been a landless
pirate striving to dislodge an ancient and honoured dynasty; now he was the lord of four important realms and the overlord of other
kingdoms. Though technically Canute was counted among the kings, his position
among his fellow-monarchs was truly imperial. Apparently he held in his hands
the destinies of two great regions; the British Isles and the Scandinavian
peninsulas. His fleet all but controlled two important seas, the North and the
Baltic. He had built an empire.
It was a weak structure, founded too largely on the
military and diplomatic achievements of a single man; but the King was young—in
the ordinary course of nature he should have lived to rule at least thirty
years longer—and with careful diplomatic effort, of which he was a master, he
might be expected to accomplish great things in the way of consolidating his
dominions. But instead of thirty years, the fates had counted out less
than half a dozen. In this period he was able to do almost nothing to strengthen
the bonds of empire. Canute's power did not long remain at its zenith—the
decline began almost immediately. In this there is nothing strange; the marvel
is in the fact that such an empire was actually built.
Of Canute's many dominions, the kingdoms of Denmark,
England, and Norway had fairly distinct boundaries. Lothian might be in
question between England and Scotland; the Norwegian kings had claimed certain
territories across the Scandinavian watershed, Jemteland,
a Norse colony in Swedish possession; but otherwise the limits were tolerably
definite. The fourth division, the Slavic lands on the southern rim of the
Baltic, was a more indefinite area. Its limits are unknown; perhaps it should
be called a sphere of influence rather than a province. There were, however,
certain evident nuclei; the regions about the lower course of the Oder with
Jomburg as the chief city were doubtless the more important part; in addition
there was Semland in the extreme east of modern
Prussia, Witland a trifle farther west where the
Vistula empties into the sea; and doubtless some of the intervening
territories. There are indications that Danish settlements had also been
planted in the region of the modern city of Riga; but as to their probable
relation to Canute's empire the sources are silent.
In addition to England, Canute possessed important
territories elsewhere in the British archipelago. The King of Scotland was his
vassal, at least for a part of his dominions; and we have seen that at least
one other Scottish king, probably from the extreme north of the island, had
done homage to Canute. It has also been shown that the Norse-Irish kingdom of
Dublin should, perhaps, be counted among his vassal states. As King of Norway,
Canute was lord of the Shetlands and the Orkneys, perhaps also the Hebrides,
and other Norse colonies on the west shores of Scotland. The Faroes were not
wholly subject and the Icelandic republic still maintained its independence;
but the straggling settlements in far-off Greenland seem to have acknowledged
their dependence on the Norwegian crown.
Any definite imperial policy Canute seems never to
have developed. In his own day the various units were nominally ruled by earls
or sub-kings, usually chosen from the King's own immediate family; but the real
power was often in the hands of some trusted chief whom the King associated
with the lord who bore the title. If time had been granted, some form of
feudalism might have developed out of this arrangement; but it had few feudal
characteristics in Canute's own day. It was evidently Canute's intention to
continue the scheme of one king for the entire group of dominions, for at the
imperial assembly at Nidaros, he placed Harthacanute in the high-seat and gave him the administration of Denmark, which was, after
all, the central kingdom. The Encomiast bears further testimony as to Canute's
intention when he tells us that all England had taken an oath to accept Harthacanute as king. It seems that Canute, to secure
the succession to his legitimate son, had adopted the Capetian expedient of
associating the heir with himself in the kingship while he was still living.
So long as obedience, especially in matters of
military assistance, was duly rendered, few difficulties were likely to arise
between the supreme lord of Winchester and his subordinates in Nidaros, Roeskild, or Jomburg. As the union was personal, each
kingdom retained its own laws and its own system of assemblies, though this
must have been true to a less extent in the Slavic possessions, as these seem
to have been regarded almost as a Danish dependency. When the reign closed, Harthacanute was governing Denmark; Sweyn assisted by his
mother Elgiva had charge of Norway, though at that moment the Norwegian rebels
were in actual control. Canute ruled England himself, not because it was
regarded as the chief or central kingdom, but more likely because it could
not with safety be entrusted to any one else.
So far as the Empire had any capital, that distinction
appears to have belonged to the ancient city of Winchester. Here in the heart
of Wessex was the seat of English government, the royal and imperial residence.
We naturally think of Canute's household as an English court; but it is
difficult to determine what racial influences were in actual control. Nor do we
know what was the official language in Canute's royal garth; but the
probabilities are that both Old English and Old Norse were in constant use. The housecarles who guarded the royal person and
interests were in large part of Scandinavian birth or blood. The Norse poets
who sang praise-lays in the royal hall at Winchester sang in their native
dialects. Of the King's thegns who witnessed Canute's land grants, as a rule
about one half bear Scandinavian names; there can be little doubt that most of
these were resident at court, at all events those whose names appear in more
than one document.
Other nationalities, too, were represented at
Winchester. In the enrolment of housecarles, the King
asked for strength, valour, wealth, and aristocratic
birth; not, it seems, for Danish or English ancestry. The bishops that Canute
sent from England to Denmark appear to have been Flemings or Lotharingians. William who in a later reign became bishop
of Roeskild is said to have come to Denmark as
Canute's private secretary or chancellor; but William is neither a
Northern nor a Saxon but a Norman name. And thus with Dane and Angle, Norman
and Norseman, Swede and Saxon, Celt and German thronging the royal garth the
court at Winchester must have borne an appearance that was distinctly
non-English. As at other courts, men came and went; and the stories of the splendours at Winchester were given wide currency. The
dissatisfied Norsemen who sought refuge in England found at Canute's court
greater magnificence than in any other place, both as
to the number in daily attendance and as to the furnishings and equipments of the palaces that he owned and occupied.
Sighvat the Scald, who had seen Rouen and visited Rome, was so deeply impressed with
the glories of Canute's capital that in his praise-lay he introduced the
refrain:
Canute was under heaven
The most glorious King.
There seems also to have been a notable Slavic element
in Canute's retinue. Attention has been called to the King's Slavic ancestry:
the Slavic strain was evidently both broader and deeper than the Danish. One of
the King's sisters bore a Slavic name, Santslave;
another sister, Gunhild, married a Slavic "king," Wyrtgeorn or Witigern, who
may have been the Wrytsleof who witnessed an English
land grant in 1026; possibly he was visiting his English kinsfolk at the
time. Among the chiefs of the imperial guard was one Godescalc,
the son of a Slavic prince, though Danish on the maternal side; he, too,
married into the Danish royal family.
The affairs of each separate kingdom were evidently
directed from the national capitals and administered largely by native
functionaries. At the same time, it seems to have been Canute's policy to
locate Danish officials in all his principal dominions, at least in the higher
offices. The appointment of Danes to places of importance in England has been
noted in an earlier chapter. With the subjection of Norway, a number of Danes
received official appointments in that kingdom. A leading cause of the Norwegian
revolt in 1034-1035 was the prominence given to aliens in the councils of the
regent Sweyn: "Danish men had in those days much authority in Norway, but
that was liked ill by the men of the land." On the other hand, no
Englishman seems to have received official responsibilities in the North except in the Church; and it may be doubted whether Canute sent many
Anglian prelates to his realms in the east: the bishops that we have record of
seem to have been Normans, Flemings, or clerks from the Danelaw. When a court
bishop was to be found for the household of Earl Hakon, the choice fell upon
Sigurd, a Dane and a violent friend of Danish rule.
Of Canute's diplomacy the sources afford us only an
occasional glimpse; but the information that we have indicates that he entered
into diplomatic relations with almost every ruler of importance in Northern and
Western Europe. The King of Scotland became his vassal. The sagas tell of an
embassy to Sweden in the years preceding the attack on Norway. During the same
period Canute's cousin, the King of Poland, apparently sought his alliance
against the Germans. With the Emperor he maintained the closest relations. The
Norman dukes were bound to the Danish dynasty by the noble ties of marriage. On
his visit to Rome the English King came into personal contact with the King of
Burgundy and His Holiness the Pope. Even to distant Aquitaine did the mighty
monarch send his ambassadors with messages of good-will in the form of
substantial presents. In a panegyric on William the Great, the Duke of
Aquitaine, Adémar of Chabannes writes that every year
embassies came to the Duke's court with precious gifts from the kings of Spain,
France, and Navarre, "and also from Canute, King of the Danes and
the Angles"; and the chronicler adds that the messengers brought even more
costly presents away. On one occasion "the King of that country
[England] sent a manuscript written with letters of gold along with other
gifts." As this statement seems to have been written in 1028, and as
the author emphasises the fact that this beautiful
codex had arrived "recently," it seems probable that this embassy
should be associated with Canute's pilgrimage to Rome the year before. It is
not strange that Canute should wish to honour a
prince like William; and it is only natural that he should wish to placate a
people who had suffered so much, as the Aquitanians had, from the raids and inroads of his former associates and his allies, the
vikings and the Normans.
With respect to his immediate neighbours, Canute's
policy was usually absorption or close friendship. What he felt he could add to
his dominions, he added; where this was not possible, he sought peace and
alliance. His diplomacy must have concerned itself especially with three
states: Normandy, Sweden, and the Empire. As to his relations with Sweden after
the encounter at Holy River, history is silent; but war was evidently [avoided.Canute probably regarded any effort to extend his territories eastward
as an unwise move, so long as the disappointed Norwegian chiefs continued to
show signs of unrest and rebellion.
With Normandy he lived in continuous peace for more
than a decade, until Robert the Devil took up the cause of the exiled princes.
That Canute feared a move in this direction seems evident; and as Queen Emma's
influence at Rouen was probably weakened by the death of Richard the Good
(1027), it was no doubt in the hope of strengthening his position at the ducal
court that Canute sought the title of duchess for his widowed sister. As we
have seen, his success was only temporary, and for a time war seemed imminent.
But the confused situation in the French kingdom at this time proved Canute's
salvation. In the civil war that followed the accession of Henry I. to the
French throne in 1031, Robert of Normandy took a leading part on the King's
side; and it was largely due to his efforts that Henry finally overcame his
enemies. Meanwhile, the sons of Ethelred and Emma had to wait several
years before another opportunity appeared with sufficient promise to tempt the
exiles back across the Channel. For soon after the French King was safely
enthroned, famine came upon Normandy, an affliction that led Robert the Devil
to think of a visit to the grave of Christ. The journey was undertaken but on
the return the Duke died in Asia Minor (1035). His successor was
William who finally conquered England; but William was a child and Canute had
no longer any fears from that direction. A few months after Robert's death the
King of England also closed his earthly career. Had Robert survived Canute, it
is likely that some of the results of Hastings might have come thirty years
earlier than they did.
After 1019, when Canute ascended the Danish throne,
the attitude and plans of the Emperor became an important factor in Northern
diplomacy. The Empire was a dangerous neighbour; the Ottos had apparently been
ambitious to extend their authority throughout the entire Jutish peninsula. But
during Canute's reign neither power could afford to offend the other; and the
Danes were therefore able to keep continued peace along the southern borders of
the kingdom. At one time, when the Emperor found himself in serious
difficulties, Canute was able to drive a hard bargain and exchange his
friendship for a strip of imperial territory.
It is not likely that the German kings looked with
much favour on Danish expansion at the mouths of the
Vistula and the Oder, but they were not in position to prevent it. In 1022,
when Canute made his expedition to Wendland, the Emperor Henry II. was absent
in Italy, striving, as usual, to reduce disorder. Two years later he died,
and Conrad of Franconia was chosen King of the Germans. His election
was the signal for uprisings and plots almost along the whole length of the
border, in Poland, in Lorraine, and in Lombardy. Boleslav, King of the
Poles, died in the following year (1025), but his successor continued the
policy of hostility to the Germans and seems to have sought the alliance of his
cousin Canute against the Teutonic foes. Conrad, too, sought Canute's
friendship and was able to outbid his Polish rival. It was agreed that there
should be perpetual peace between Conrad and Canute, and to cement the good
understanding and secure its continuance in years to come, Canute's little daughter
Gunhild, who could not yet have been more than five or six years old, was
betrothed to Conrad's son Henry, who was, perhaps, three years older. The
covenant was kept, and Henry received his bride about ten years later (1036),
after the death of Canute. The bridegroom was the mighty Emperor Henry III.,
though he did not attain to the imperial dignity before the death of Conrad in
1039. Gunhild was crowned Queen of Germany and as a part of the ceremony
received the more honoured German name Kunigund; but
she never became empress, as she died in 1038.
In return for his friendship, Canute received the mark
of Sleswick, a strip of land between the Schley and the Eider, that Henry the
Fowler had taken from the Danes a century before. Thus the Eider once
more became the boundary of the Danish kingdom. But apart from territorial
acquisitions, Canute was doubtless glad to conclude the treaty, as he was just
then planning the conquest of Norway. The negotiations with Conrad were
probably concluded in the year 1025 or 1026, though more likely in the former
year.
Perhaps at the same time the German King invited his
ally to participate in his coronation as Emperor; for in 1027 Canute journeyed
to Rome to witness the great event. There can be little doubt that on this
occasion the pledges were renewed. But even in the absence of formal treaties
there was small occasion for Conrad to make trouble for his neighbour to the
north. The years following his coronation in Rome saw four serious revolts in
Germany; not till 1033 was real order restored in Conrad's kingdom.
There was another power that Canute could not afford
to antagonise or even ignore: no mediæval monarch could long flourish if he overlooked the needs of the Church. During
the first years of his English kingship, Canute does not seem to have sought to
conciliate the clergy; but after a few years he apparently adopted a new policy
and strove to ally himself with the priesthood. It was as king of England that
he first succeeded in forming such an alliance; in his other kingdoms, the
ecclesiastical problem assumed a somewhat different form.
With the head of Christendom, Canute's relations seem
to have been cordial throughout his entire reign. It was the papacy that made
the first move to establish such relations: in 1019 Archbishop Lifing brought a message back from Rome replete with good
advice which seems to have nattered the young Dane. The pilgrimage to Rome
doubtless strengthened the bond; especially must the King's later efforts to
see that the proper church dues were collected have pleased the Popes of that
period. For the papacy had fallen low in that age: the Pope whom Canute visited
was only a layman up to the day of his election to the sacred office; his
successor Benedict is said to have been a mere boy when he was elevated to the
papal dignity, though authorities differ as to his age. There was, therefore,
little likelihood of any conflict so long as the Peter's pence were regularly
transported to Rome. A new papacy was to come; but Hildebrand had not quite
reached manhood when Canute went to his rest.
Canute's ecclesiastical policy in England, at least
during the closing years of his reign, seems to have aimed at greater control
than had been the case earlier. The friendship and active good-will of the
Church could best be secured by carefully choosing the rulers of the Church. As
a Christian court, the royal household at Winchester had in its
employment a regular staff of priests, nine of whom are mentioned in the
documents. Canute honoured his priests; he seems to
have invited them to seats in the national assembly; he called them in to
witness grants of land. Finally, he honoured several
of them still further by appointing them to episcopal office: at least three of
Canute's clerks received such appointments before the reign closed. His
successor inherited his policy and several more of Canute's chapel clerks were honoured in Edward's time. The policy was not new: even in
Carolingian times the royal chapel had been used as a training school for
future prelates, and there are traces of a similar practice in England long
before Canute's time. But so far as the Dane was concerned, the plan was
probably original: we cannot suppose him to have been very well informed as to
precedents more than two centuries old.
In Norway the problem was how to christianise and organise the land, and Canute had no great part
in either. The Danish Church, however, was growing in strength and developing
under conditions that might produce great difficulties: it was the daughter of
the German Church; it was governed by an alien prelate.
The primacy of the Northern churches belonged to the
see of Bremen, the church from which the earliest missionaries had gone forth
into Denmark and Sweden. While this primacy was in a way recognised, in practice, the Northern kings in the early
years of the eleventh century paid small regard to the claims of the
archbishop. The two Olafs depended mainly on England and the neighbouring parts of the Continent for priests and
prelates; and Canute, as King of England, seems to have planned to make the Danish
Church, too, dependent on the see of Canterbury. At this time Unwan was Archbishop of Bremen; for sixteen years he ruled
his province with a resolute hand and for the most part with strength and
wisdom.
Unwan was displeased when he learned that Canute was sending bishops from England to
Denmark; we have already seen how he managed to make a prisoner and even a
partisan of Gerbrand, who, like Unwan himself, was
doubtless a German. This must have been in 1022 or 1023, more likely in the
former year. Aided by Gerbrand, who acted as mediator, Unwan was able to make Canute recognise his primacy. Adam
of Bremen mentions great gifts that Unwan sent to
Canute, but these were probably not the determining consideration. In
1022, Canute was fighting the Slavs and adding territory that would naturally
belong to the mission fields of Bremen, and it would hardly be wise to make an
enemy of one whose historic rights had been admitted by earlier Danish kings.
Till Unwan's death in 1029, the King and the
Archbishop were fast friends. Unwan served as
mediator between Canute and the Emperor when the alliance was formed in
1025 (?) and otherwise served the Danish King. It seems probable that a
personal acquaintance was formed, for Adam tells us that Unwan rebuilt Hamburg and spent considerable time there, "whither he also
invited the very glorious King Canute ... to confer with him."
The entente that was thus formed seems also to have
affected mission operations in Norway. It is likely that Unwan demanded that King Olaf should no longer be allowed to recruit his
ecclesiastical forces in England; for soon after the date that we have assumed
as that of the new treaty, Bishop Grimkell appeared
as King Olaf's ambassador at Unwan's court. The
Bishop, who was evidently a Northman from the Danelaw, brought the customary
gifts and the prayer that Unwan would accept the
Anglian clerks and prelates then in Norway as of his province and that he would
further increase the clerical forces of the kingdom. Thus in the years
1022-1023, the rights of Hamburg-Bremen were recognised everywhere.
Unwan was succeeded in the province by Libentius, the
nephew of an earlier Libentius who had held the
metropolitan office in Bremen before Unwan's day. He
was of Italian blood and therefore not likely to be burdened with German
sympathies. Before everything else, says the good Master Adam, he entered into
friendly relations with the King of the Danes. But during Libentius' as well as Unwan's primacy Canute seems to have selected the bishops for his Danish as well as for
his English sees.
During the closing years of his life, Canute's policy
was completely identified with that of the mediæval Church as regards his attitude toward heathen and un-Christian practices. So
long as the Norwegian problem was unsettled, the King dared not take a decided
stand against the old faith, as he was too much dependent on heathen or
semi-heathen assistance against King Olaf. But after the conquest there was no
reason for further delay, and the English Church got its desired legislation.
In two comparatively long enactments, one ecclesiastical and one secular, all
the old and important church laws were re-enacted and various new provisions
added. Archbishop Dunstan was canonised and
given May 13th as his mass day. Added protection was given to churches and
to the ministers of the altar: outlawry was to be the punishment for slaying a
priest. It was carefully explained that the privileges of the priesthood
were due to the exalted character of the divine office; for
great is the exorcism and glorious the consecration
that cast out devils and put them to flight whenever baptism is celebrated or
the host is consecrated; and holy angels are present to watch over the
sacred act and through the power of God to assist the priests so long as they
worthily serve Christ.
Sundays and other church holidays were to be properly
kept; and no commercial transactions were to be tolerated on Sundays, nor were
the public courts to hold sessions on those days except in cases of extreme
necessity. Due attention was to be given to the seasons when the Church
prescribed fasting; but it was explicitly stated that except in the case of
penitents, no fasting was to be required between Easter and Pentecost, or from
Christmas to the close of the week following Epiphany, the joyous period
of the Northern Yule-tide.
It seems clear that enactments of this sort would be
necessary only in regions where there might still be a considerable number of
recent converts with whom the observance of Christian rites and customs had not
yet become a habit. It may be, therefore, that these laws were particularly
intended for certain parts of the Danelaw. Perhaps it was the need of improving
the religious conditions in the Danish settlements that inspired the royal
demand for general instruction in the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
And we order every Christian to learn at least so much
that he can understand clearly the teachings of the true faith, and to
learn thoroughly the Pater Noster and the Credo.
Some attention is also paid to ecclesiastical finance.
Fines were provided for neglect in the payment of church dues; part of these
were to be paid to the bishop. The Anglo-Saxons were in the habit of making
contributions for church lights at the feast of the Purification (Candlemas,
February 2d), at Easter Eve, and on All Saints' day (November 1st). A fortnight
after Easter plough alms were to be paid. A tithe of young beasts was due at
Pentecost. Peter's pence were contributed on Saint Peter's day (August 1st). A
tithe of the harvested crops was due at All Saints' day. The last tax of the
year was the church scot which was paid at Martinsmas (November 11th). All these contributions are
specifically mentioned and urged in Canute's laws for the English Church.
The second part of Canute's legislation, the secular
laws, is a document of considerable length, of which only a comparatively small
part is copied from the earlier "dooms." It deals with a variety of
subjects, several of which may be classed as religious rather than secular. A
very important act was the definition and prohibition of heathendom and heathen
practices.
Heathendom is the worship of idols, namely the worship
of heathen gods, and the sun or moon, fire or flood, fountains or rocks or
forest trees of any sort; also to practise witchcraft or to commit murders in any manner, whether in sacrifices or in
auguries, or to busy oneself with any such delusion.
As it is not customary to forbid what is never
performed, we have in this enactment evidence for a persisting heathendom on
English soil. In the Scandinavian colonies pagan practices were probably hard
to uproot; at the same time, it is not likely that the old faith was a force
that needed to be considered any longer.
The matter of Christian marriage is dealt with in both
the secular and the ecclesiastical laws. It was difficult to enforce the
regulations of the Church on this subject and particularly among the vikings,
whose ideas as to the binding force of marriage were exceedingly vague.
Canute forbade clandestine marriages; to the old law that a man should have but
one wife he added the important provision that "she should be his legally
espoused wife." He also gave the protection of the state to widows
and virgins who preferred to remain unmarried.
Other important enactments deal with matters of
finance, especially with the King's share in the fines assessed in the courts,
his income from his estates, and coinage and counterfeiting; there are
also important laws that look toward the security of persons and of property.
The principle of equality before the law is distinctly stated: the magnates
were to have no unusual privileges in the courts of justice.
Many a powerful man will, if he can and may, defend
his man in whatever way it seems to him the more easy to defend him, whether as
freeman or as theow (serf). But we will not suffer that injustice.
With the legislation of Canute, the development of Old
English law comes to a close. Various tracts or customals of considerable importance were composed in the eleventh century, some of which
may have been put into form after the close of Canute's reign; but of these we
know neither the authors nor the date. The "Laws of Edward" that the
Norman kings swore to maintain were in reality the laws of Canute; for when the
Anglo-Norman lawyers of the early twelfth century began to investigate the
subject of Old English law, they found its most satisfactory statement in the
legislation of the mighty Dane. In the Quadripartitus these laws occupy the most prominent place; while the compilations that
Liebermann has called the Instituta Cnuti and the Consiliatio Cnuti are scarcely more than translations of Canute's
legislation for church and state.[
So great was the Danish King's reputation as a
lawmaker in the twelfth century that he was even credited with enactments and
institutional experiments with which he never had any connection. Toward the
close of that century an official of the royal forest, as it seems, drew up an
elaborate law for the King's hunting preserves which he tried to give currency
and authority by ascribing it to Canute. The Dane was not indifferent to
the chase, but he did not find it necessary to make it the subject of extensive
legislation. In his secular laws the subject is disposed of in a single
sentence: "And let every man forego my hunting, wherever I wish to have it
free from trespass, under penalty of the full fine."
In the so-called "Laws of Edward the
Confessor" it is stated that the murdrum fine originated in the reign of
Canute. It is well-known that William the Conqueror found it necessary to take
special measures for the protection of his Normans from assassination at the
hands of Englishmen who were seeking vengeance; he decreed, therefore, that the
hundred where the murder of a Norman was committed should see that the criminal
was given proper punishment or pay a heavy fine in case of default. The twelfth-century
lawyer who drew up the "Laws of Edward" evidently believed
that in this matter William was following a precedent from Danish times.
But though it seems that Canute was obliged to legislate for the protection of
his Danish officials and subjects in Norway, there is no good evidence for any
corresponding decree in England.
A similar conclusion has been reached as to Canute's
responsibility for the institution known as frankpledge. Tithing and surety,
two Old English institutions which were the roots of the later frankpledge, are
mentioned in the laws of Canute; but they were still distinct. The tithing,
normally a group of ten, was charged chiefly with the duty of assisting in the
pursuit of criminals; not until its members had been pledged to a duty of
mutual suretyship, each being held responsible in certain respects for the behaviour of all his associates in the group, did the
tithing develop into the pledge.
In Canute's empire there were at least two
institutional systems, those of England and of the North. In some respects both
had attained a high development. The question how far these systems influenced
each other as the result of the union is a difficult one: the union of the
crowns was of short duration and the institutional changes that seem to
indicate borrowing may be due in large part to earlier contact through the
Danelaw. With the Northmen came a new conception of personal honour and a new term for criminality of the most dishonourable type, the nithing name. Norse rules were introduced into court procedure. Administrative areas
came to bear Norse appellations, as the wapentake in the Danelaw generally and
the riding in Yorkshire. These facts, however, belong in large measure to
the earlier development, though it doubtless continued through the reign of
Canute and longer.
But though Scandinavian ideas of law had long
flourished on English soil, it was not till Canute's day that they were
formally accepted as a part of the Anglo-Saxon legal system. In penal
legislation a new spirit appeared: there was less mercy and punishments became
more severe—exile, mutilation, and forfeiture of life more common. If the
ordeal should convict a man of a second offence, the penalty might be the loss
of the hands or the feet, or of both. Still further mutilation was decreed if
the criminal should continue to commit grave offences; "but let the soul
be spared." The same penalties were not always provided for both
sexes: a faithless husband might have to pay the ancient money fine for
man-slaughter; a sinning wife was to suffer the loss of all her property and
her ears and nose. Certain institutions of Scandinavian origin
took on a peculiar form during Canute's reign: for instance, the guard of housecarles in its English and later Danish form, and the
office of staller or the King's spokesman at the popular assemblies, which
office seems to have been introduced into England in Canute's day.
It is still more difficult to determine what results
the union had for the institutional development of Denmark. On only one point
have we clear evidence: Canute was the first Danish King to begin a systematic
coinage of money. Coins were stricken in Denmark before his day, but there was
no organised system of mints. Canute supplied this
need, using the English pattern. He brought moneyers from his western kingdom
and located them in the chief cities of Denmark; coins have come down to us
that were stricken by these moneyers in the cities of Roeskild,
Ringsted, Odense, Heathby (Sleswick), and Lund.
On the other hand, Canute's Norwegian legislation
shows clear traces of Anglo-Saxon influence. Of his three kingdoms, Norway,
doubtless, had the least efficient constitution. In Norway there was much
liberty, but also much disorder; emphasis was placed on personal rights,
especially on those of the aristocracy; but such emphasis is too frequently
subversive of good government. The Dane was a believer in strong, orderly
administration: it was his purpose to introduce European principles
into the Norse constitution. Had he been personally in control he might have
succeeded but his deputies at Nidaros were unequal to the task; discontent and
rebellion were the result.
For the laws that the new regents proclaimed in
Norway, the Norsemen were inclined to lay all blame on Sweyn's mother, Elgiva
(Alfiva, the Northmen called her), Canute's mistress of olden time. But there
can be little doubt that in this matter she and her son merely carried out the
King's instructions. The laws fall into three classes: revenue legislation,
police and military ordinances, and a new definition of penalties.
A new tax that apparently affected the entire
population was the demand that at Christmas time every hearth should contribute
certain "gifts": a measure of malt, the leg of a full-grown ox, and
as much unspun flax as could be held between the thumb and the middle finger.
This reminds one somewhat of the English ferm, a
contribution that was due from the various counties. It was also enacted that
the franklins should assist in erecting buildings on the royal estates, and
that merchants and fishermen and all who sailed to Iceland should pay certain
dues to the King.
A law that was clearly aimed at the ancient practice
of blood feud provided that murder should entail the loss of lands as well as
of personal property; also that the King alone should take inheritance
after an outlaw. In those same years Canute decreed in England that whoever
committed a deed of outlawry should forfeit his lands to the King. The new
Norse laws also forbade any subject to leave the land without permission, on
pain of outlawry. Parallel to this is the English law that ordered forfeiture
for leaving one's lord, with the difference that in Norway the King himself was
the lord. It was also decreed that the testimony of a Dane should outweigh that
of ten Norsemen, the purpose of which was clearly to secure the lives of Danish
officials and soldiers.
It was further provided that every male above the age
of five years should be counted one of seven to equip a soldier. It may be that
this provision was suggested by the Old English custom of grouping five hides
of land (originally the lands of five households) for similar purposes. Snorre
believes that these laws were Danish in origin; but it is more likely that they
grew out of Canute's experience with Anglo-Saxon custom and the principles of
Continental feudalism, though it is possible that some of them had been
introduced into Denmark earlier in the reign and came to Norway from the
southern kingdom.
CHAPTER XIII
. NORTHERN CULTURE IN THE DAYS OF CANUTE
To present an adequate discussion of the state of
culture among Canute's subjects in the space of a single chapter would be
impossible. So far as the western realm is concerned it would also be
unnecessary, as the subject of Anglo-Saxon culture is an old study and
discussions in English are readily accessible. This chapter will therefore be
chiefly concerned with the civilisation of the
Northern lands, and especially with the great transformations that came with
the viking age and were becoming most evident toward its close.
The two controlling types of civilisation in the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire, the English and the Norse, were both
fundamentally Germanic; but English culture had for centuries been permeated
with Christian thought, while in the North the ideals of heathendom were still
a force to be taken into account. It is difficult to characterise Northern society in the earlier decades of the eleventh century: all the
various regions were not in the same stage of development; all were not subject
to the same modifying influences. But it was a growing organism,
showing change in almost every fibre. Scandinavian civilisation was gradually approaching the European type.
There is danger that we may place the Northman on a too high plane of culture;
but the error is more frequently on the other side. Measured by the
standards of his own age, the Northman was not a barbarian. He had great energy
of mind and much intellectual curiosity. He sailed everywhere and frequently
included European ideas in his plunder or merchandise.
The population throughout Scandinavia was
overwhelmingly rural; cities were few and insignificant, when we consider the
number of houses and inhabitants, though it appears that the urban element was
rapidly developing in the eleventh century. As early as the ninth century we
find mention of Birca, an island city in Lake Maelar in eastern Sweden; of Heathby near the modern city of
Sleswick on the southern border of Denmark; and of Skiringshall in southern Norway. These and other cities evidently originated in the
need of definite market places. Roads were poor in the middle ages and the sea
was often a dangerous highway; commerce was therefore largely limited to the
more favourable seasons of the year, and hence the importance of periodic markets. These were often held in
connection with the great sacrificial festivals and it is therefore not strange
that the earlier cities grew up on or near the sites of the ancient sanctuaries.
In such localities grew up Odense on the island of
Funen, Wisby on the island of Gotland, and Skiringshall on the great Bay. Nidaros (Throndhjem) is said
to have been founded by the first King Olaf, but its great importance dates
from the canonisation of Saint Olaf whose bones were
buried there. Kingscrag (Konungahelle)
at the mouth of the Gaut River, and Tunsberg on the
western shore of Folden Bay seem to have had their origin as landing places for
merchants and vikings. On the other hand, Sarpsborg across the inlet from Tunsberg evidently grew up around a stronghold established
in the days of Saint Olaf. Urban developments can also be traced in the western
colonies: old cities in England, especially in the Danelaw, passed into the
control of the Northmen; new cities rose on the shores of the Irish Sea.
This commercial movement began to gather strength
during the quiet decades of the tenth century but it must have progressed
rapidly during the peaceful reign of Canute. From Novgorod in Russia to Bristol
and Limerick in the British Isles the ships of the North sailed every
summer laden with the products of all Northern Europe: furs from Norway and
Russia; the teeth of the walrus from the Arctic waters; cured fish from the
Scandinavian seas; honey from the Baltic shores; Norwegian hawks for the English
sportsmen; and numerous other products. In return for these the Northmen
received the luxuries of the South, especially wine, wheat, and silk; but
numerous thralls were also imported, particularly from the Celtic lands.
These foreign products were chiefly consumed in the
homes of the Scandinavian aristocracy. In material comforts the Northmen were
probably not far behind the corresponding classes elsewhere in Europe. When the
god Righ came to the chieftain's house,
Then the housewife thought of her arms,
Smoothened her linen, pleated her sleeves.
Broad was her headgear, a brooch on her breast;
She wore trailing sashes and a blue-dyed sark.
When her son was born, "she swaddled him in
silk"; and when her daughter-in-law came to the hall as a bride, "she
walked under the veil of fine linen." The sudden consciousness of
rare finery was not limited to the women; rich and highly coloured clothing also delighted the men.
The influence of alien culture was also shown in the
entertainment provided for the visiting god:
Then took Mother a markèd cover
Of bleached linen and laid upon the board.
Next she laid out the thinnest loaves
Of wheaten flour on the white cover.
She set the table with silver-mounted dishes
Heaped with roasted birds and ham.
The wine brightened the mounted beakers.
They drank and talked till the day was done.
"The Lay of Righ"
was composed, it is believed, in the days of Canute's grandfather; but the civilisation that it describes was not new; even a century
earlier the ruling classes in the North had reached a high stage of culture, as
we know from the large number of articles indicating a refined and cultivated
taste that were found when the Oseberg ship was discovered and excavated a few
years ago.
As in early Saxon times before the clergy had monopolised learning, the higher forms of cultured life saw
their finest fruitage in the halls of kings and chiefs. The old Scandinavian
house was a wooden structure of rectangular shape, its length being
considerably greater than the width. In its general lines it doubtless bore
close resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon dwelling of the same period. In
the number and arrangement of the rooms the individual houses showed some,
though not great, variety; but a large living-room seems to have been
characteristic of all. In the middle of this room a long trough lined with
stones was sunk into the floor; this served as fireplace, the smoke finding its
way out through an opening in the roof. On either side of this long fireplace
ran a row of pillars that served to support the roof; these also gave
opportunities for the carver's art. Between the pillars and the wall stood the
benches where the feasters sat with portable tables before them. The walls were
ornamented with shields and weapons and with the trophies of the chase. At the
middle of the long north wall, facing the entrance door on the opposite side,
stood the high-seat of the lord of the hall. The size and splendour of the room would depend on the wealth and importance of the owner: some of the
larger halls were planned for the entertainment of several hundred guests and
henchmen.
There were many other buildings besides the hall, the
number depending on the needs of the estate. The king's garth probably differed
very little from those of the wealthier chiefs. In England, too, even as late
as the year 1000, the palace architecture must have been of the same modest
type. In his homily on Saint Thomas, Alfric (who wrote his sermons in
the decade of Canute's birth) tells the story of how the Apostle went to India
to build a palace for a king, and, by the way, used the money for building
churches:
Then he examined the grounds where it was to be builded.
And Thomas went about measuring the place with a
yardstick,
And said that he would build the hall first of all
At the east end of the grounds, and the other
buildings
Behind the hall: bath house and kitchen
And winterhouse and
summerhouse and winsome bowers,—
Twelve houses altogether with good arches—
But such it is not customary to build in England
And therefore we do not mention them
particularly.
During the reign of Canute, however, there must have
been material advancement in the direction of greater magnificence in the royal
garth. The sagas testify to a splendour at Winchester
that was greater than what was to be seen anywhere else.
The men of the viking age usually associated the royal
hall with the thought of elaborate festivities. The greatest moment in such an
occasion was when the scald rose to sing the praises and recite the exploits of
his host. It has been thought that the activities of the court poet show Celtic
influence, and it may be that the scald had learned freely from
the bard; but the institution itself is most probably of native origin. Like
the Irish singer his chief theme was praise; but we need not suppose that the
scald confined himself wholly to contemporary themes: the gleeman in Beowulf
sang of the great hero that sat beside the King; but he also told the tales of
the Volsungs and the still older story of creation; before the onslaught at Stiklestead one of Saint Olaf's scalds recited the ancient Bjarkamál, the Old Norse version of Beowulf's last fight.
The holy King seems to have enjoyed the inspiriting strains of heathen heroism;
he thanked the poet, as did all the host.
Old Norse poetry had its beginnings in the ninth
century; but its greater bulk belongs to the tenth and eleventh. It begins with
a wonderful series of mythical poems, most of them belonging to the period of
lull in the viking activities (900-980). The series culminates in the Sibyl's
Prophecy (Voluspá), one of the grandest monuments of mediæval literary art and thought. It tells the story of
the creation, the destruction, the regeneration of the world in heathen terms
with heathen gods, giants, and demons as the actors. But it contains
unmistakable Christian elements and the poet must have had some acquaintance
with the faith that ruled in the Western Islands. The poem seems to have been
composed a generation or two before the days of Canute; but it was doubtless
widely current during the years of his kingship. That the later scalds
knew and appreciated the poem is evident from the fact that it was quoted by
Christian poets in the following century. No doubt it was an important
number in their repertoire of song and story, and perhaps we may believe that
it was gladly heard by Canute and his henchmen in the royal hall at Winchester.
The four decades that the Norns allotted to Canute (995?-1035) are a notable period in the history of Northern
literature: it was the grand age of Old Norse poetry. The advance of
Christianity had made the myths impossible as poetic materials, but new themes
were found in the deeds and virtues of the old Teutonic heroes and of the
mighty war lords of the viking age. The saga materials of the heroic age, the
stories of Helgi and Sigrun, of Sigurd and Brunhild, of Gudrun's grief and
Attila's fury, had long been treasured by the Northern peoples. Just when each
individual tale was cast into the form that has come down to us is impossible
to say; the probabilities are, however, that a considerable number of the
heroic lays were composed in the age of Canute.
When we come to the court poetry we are on firmer
ground: unlike the other poems, the dirges and praise-lays are not anonymous
and their dates can be determined with some definiteness. The scald found the
age great with possibilities. Those were the days of Hakon and Erik, of Sweyn
and Canute, of Erling and Thurkil,—men who typified in their warlike
activities the deified valour of the old faith. It
was also a period of famous battles: Swald, Ringmere, Clontarf, Ashington, and Stiklestead, to mention only the more prominent. About
twenty scalds are known to have sung at the courts of the viking princes, but
the compositions of some of them have been wholly lost or exist in mere
fragments only. In the reign of Canute three poets stood especially high in the
royal favour: Thorarin Praise-tongue, Ottar the Swart, and Sighvat the
Scald.
The three were all Icelanders and were of a roving
disposition as the scalds usually were. They all visited Canute's court,
presumably at Winchester. Sighvat came to England on
the return from a trading journey to Rouen in 1027, it seems, just after the
King's return from his Roman pilgrimage, which the poet alludes to in his
Stretch Song. Ottar seems to have visited Winchester the same year: his poem,
the Canute's Praise, closes with a reference to the Holy River campaign in
1026. Thorarin Praise-tongue had his opportunity to
flatter the King a year or two later, most likely in 1029: his Stretch Song
deals with the conquest of Norway in 1028.
Canute appears to have attached considerable
importance to the literary activities of these Icelanders. When he learned that Thorarin had composed a short poem on himself, he
became very angry and ordered him to have a complete lay ready for the
following day; otherwise he should hang for his presumption in composing a
short poem on King Canute. Thorarin added a refrain
and eked the poem out with a few additional stanzas. The refrain, "Canute
guards the land as the lord of Greekland [God] the
kingdom of heaven," evidently pleased the King. The poet was forgiven and
the poem rewarded with fifty marks of silver. Thorarin's poem came to be known as the Head Ransom.
It is said that when Ottar came to the King's hall he
asked permission to recite a poem, which the King granted.
And the poem was delivered to a great gathering at the
next day's moot, and the King praised it, and took a Russian cap off his head,
broidered with gold and with gold knobs to it, and bade the chamberlain fill it
with silver and give it to the poet. He did so and reached it over men's
shoulders, for there was a crowd, and the heaped-up silver tumbled out of the
hood on the moot-stage. He was going to pick it up, but the King told him to
let it be. "The poor shall have it, thou shaft not lose by it."
Of the court poets of the time Sighvat was easily the chief. Canute recognised his
importance and was anxious to enroll him among his henchmen. But Sighvat, who had already sworn fidelity to King Olaf,
excused himself with the remark that one lord at a time was sufficient.
Canute did not press the matter but permitted the poet to depart with a golden
arm-ring as the reward for his poem, the Stretch Song, whose ringing refrain,
"Canute is the mightiest King under heaven," is high praise from one
who had travelled so widely and had probably visited all the more important
courts in northern and western Europe.
Did Canute also patronise Anglo-Saxon literature? We do not know, but the chances are that he did not, as
during his reign very little was produced in the Old English idiom that could
possibly appeal to him. The Anglo-Saxon spirit was crushed; and out of the
consciousness of failure and humiliation can come no inspiration for literary
effort. Even that fierce patriot, Archbishop Wulfstan, accepted the conquest
and came down from York to assist at the dedication of the church at Ashington
where Saxon rule had perished. After the appearance of the splendid poem that
tells the story of Byrhtnoth's death at Maldon in
991, the voice of Anglo-Saxon poetry is almost silent for nearly two centuries.
Early in the eleventh century Saxon prose, too, entered upon its decline.
Alfric's best work was done before the close of the tenth century; he seems to
have written his last important work, a pastoral letter, just before the
accession of Canute to the English throne. In the English cloisters the
monks were still at work and valuable manuscripts were produced; but
Canute can hardly have taken much interest in grammars, glossaries, Biblical
paraphrases, and pastoral letters. It seems evident that he did nothing to
encourage the monastic annalist: the entries for Canute's reign in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are extremely meagre and disappointing; it seems probable
that they were not written till after the King's death. The disappearance of
Old English literature, both prose and poetic, dates from a time more than half
a century earlier than the Norman conquest,—from the time when the Danish hosts
filled the homes of Wessex with gloom and horror. The coming of the Normans did
not put an end to literary production in the speech of the conquered English:
it prevented its revival.
It is not to be inferred, however, from this lack of
literary originality and productiveness, that the age had lost all appreciation
of the poet's art. Two of the greatest monuments of Old English culture, the
so-called Vercelli Book and the Exeter Codex, were apparently produced during
the earlier decades of the eleventh century, possibly as late as the accession
of Canute. In these manuscripts the Anglo-Saxon scribes have preserved to us
some of the earliest literary productions of the English race. The Vercelli
Book takes us back in the writings of Cynewulf to the eighth century; the
Exeter manuscript looks back even farther and introduces us to the singers of
heathen or semi-heathen times. Canute may not have shared the
enthusiasm of the scribes for the Old English past; but he seems to have
appreciated the work of a skilled copyist. In those days the exchange of
presents was an essential part of diplomatic negotiations; and good manuscripts
made very acceptable presents. Mention has already been made of the beautiful
codex, written with golden letters, that made a part of the gift that Canute is
said to have sent to Duke William of Aquitaine. As the Duke was renowned as a
patron of the literary art, there can be no doubt that the present was properly
appreciated. It will be remembered that Canute's gift to the church at Cologne
was also in the form of manuscripts.
One of the most important contributions of the West to
Northern civilisation was the written book. Writing
was not a new art in the Scandinavian lands; but neither the symbols nor the
materials in use were such as did service in the Christian lands. The men of
the North wrote on wood and stone; they used characters that had to be chiseled
into the tablet to be inscribed. These symbols were called runes; and graven
into granite the runic inscriptions have defied the gnawing tooth of time. The
large number of runic monuments that have come down to us would indicate that
the art of writing was widely known, though it also seems likely that it was
the peculiar possession of the "rune-masters," men of some education
who knew the runes and were skilled in the art of inscribing.
The runes were of divine origin and were taught
mankind by Woden himself. The term "run,"
which probably means "secret," reveals the attitude of the Germanic
mind toward this ancient alphabet: thoughts were hidden in the graven lines,
but that was not all: the characters were invested with magical properties.
Graven on the sword hilt they were runes of victory; on the back of the hand,
runes of love; on the palm, runes of help; the sailor cut sea runes into the
rudder blade; the leech traced runes on "the bark and on the stock of a
tree whose branches lean eastward." There were also ale runes, speech
runes, and mind runes, which "thou shalt know if thou wilt be wiser than
all other men."
The runic alphabet was originally a common Germanic
possession; but among the Scandinavian peoples alone did its use become
extensive and long-continued. Some of the Northern inscriptions are of a very
early date, the earliest going back, perhaps, to the fourth century or possibly
to the third. They are of necessity terse and brief; but to the student of
culture and civilisation they give some valuable
information. These runes reveal a time when all the Northern tribes spoke the
same language and were one people, though clearly not organised into a single state. The inscriptions also show the rise of dialects and
the development of these into idioms, though this is a growth of the
later centuries. Doubtless the changes in language bear some relation to a
parallel political development, a grouping of tribes into states, until in the
tenth century three dynasties claimed kingship in the North. In that century
the monuments begin to have great value for narrative history. Members of the
Knytling dynasty are mentioned on several important stones, as earlier pages of
this volume have shown.
The runes that were in use in the tenth and eleventh
centuries are the younger series, an alphabet of sixteen characters selected
and developed from the older series of twenty-four. As the number of elementary
sounds in the language was greater than the number of letters, several of the
runes were used to represent more than one sound, a fact that has made reading
and interpretation somewhat difficult. The runes were used especially for
monumental purposes: a large number of the many hundred extant mediæval inscriptions (Sweden alone has more than fifteen
hundred) are epitaphs recording the death of some friend or kinsman. But
the runes were also found useful for other purposes. They were used in making
calendars; articles of value very often bore the owner's name in runic
characters; in early Christian times we find runic characters traced on church
bells and baptismal fonts; in later centuries attempts were even made to write
books in the runic alphabet. Wherever Northmen settled in the middle ages,
inscriptions of this type are still to be found; some of the most interesting
Scandinavian monuments were raised on the British Isles; even classic Piræus once had its runic inscription.
Sometimes the scribe did more than chisel the letters.
Like the Christian monk who illumined his manuscript with elaborate initials
and more or less successful miniatures, the rune-master would also try his hand
at ornamentation. In the earlier middle ages, Northern art, if the term may be
used, was usually a barbaric representation of animal forms, real and
imaginary, the serpent and the dragon being favourite subjects. But in the western colonies the vikings were introduced to a new form
of ornamentation, the Celtic style, which was based on the curving line or a
combination of curved interlocking lines that seemed not to have been drawn in
accordance with any law of regularity or symmetry, but traced sinuously in and
out as the fancy of the artist might direct. This form was adopted by the
Norse colonists and soon found its way to the mother lands. In the North it
suffered an important modification: the Norse artists added an element of their
own; the old motives were not entirely abandoned for the winding body of the
serpent or the dragon readily fitted into the new combinations. It was this
modified form of Irish ornamentation that ruled among the Northmen in the days
of Canute and later. It appears wherever decoration was desired: on
runic monuments, on articles of personal adornment, and even on the painted
walls of the early Scandinavian churches.
While these early efforts at pictorial representation
are frequently associated with runic inscriptions and incidental to them, such
is not always the case. The Northern countries possess a number of
"pictured rocks," on which the picture is the chief and often the
only matter of importance. As many of these belong to the heathen period, the
themes are often mythological or suggestive of warfare: the coming of the
fallen warrior to Walhalla on the Tjängvide Stone; viking ships on the Stenkyrka Stone. The
comparatively new sport of hawking is represented on a stone at Alstad in
Southern Norway. Themes from the heroic age seem to have attained an early
popularity: especially do we find frequent pictorial allusions to the story of
Wayland Smith and the adventures of the wonderful Sigfried. With Christianity
came a wealth of new subjects that could be used in artistic efforts. One of
Canute's contemporaries, the Norwegian woman Gunvor, raised (about 1050) a
memorial rock bearing a series of pictures from the story of Christ's
nativity. The work rarely shows much originality on the part of
the artist, though frequently a surprising skill is displayed—surprising when
the time and materials are taken into consideration. Many of the pictures are
clearly copied from Western, perhaps Anglo-Saxon originals; in some instances
the workman was evidently reproducing the embroidered figures on imported
tapestries. The Sigfried pictures on the Ramsund rock
in Southern Sweden seem to be of this type. But even though the art of the
viking age does not testify to much creative imagination, it serves to prove
that the men whom we think of as mere pirates were not wholly wanting in æsthetic sense.
Evidence of a cultivated taste is also seen in the
large number of rich and elegant articles of personal adornment in the form of
rings, necklaces, brooches, and the like that have come to light from time to
time. It was long thought that these all represented plunder or purchase from
other lands; but recent opinion seems inclined to regard the larger part of
them as articles of native manufacture. If this be correct, they reveal
considerable skill in the finer industrial arts and also suggest that certain
forms of industry must have formed an important factor in the economic life of
the people.
The archæologist has
unearthed many varieties of jewelry, but the written sources tell chiefly of rings, doubtless because of their ancient use for monetary purposes.
Even in the days of Canute, the ring, especially the large arm-ring, was
commonly used in rewarding the kingsmen. Saint Olaf
once stroked the arm of a henchman above the elbow to determine whether Canute
had bribed him. Canute's officials procured the allegiance of Björn, Saint
Olaf's spokesman, for English silver and two heavy gold rings. Canute's
ring gift to Sighvat has been noted elsewhere; Bersi,
the poet's companion, received "a mark or more and a keen
sword."
Northern industrial art of the later heathen age found
its best and highest expression in the shipbuilder's trade. Merchant ships as
well as ships for warfare were built, but the builder's pride was the ship that
the King sailed when he sought the enemy. The ships that bore Canute's warriors
to England were no doubt mainly of the so-called long ship type, a form that
was developed during the second half of the tenth century. The long ship was
built on the same general plan as the dragon ship of the century before, of
which type we have a remarkably well-preserved example in the ship that was
found in a burial-mound at Gokstad near Sandefjord in
Southern Norway. The Gokstad ship is nearly eighty
feet long from stem to stern, and a little less than one fourth as wide. The
builders of the long ship increased the length of the dragon, but did
not increase the width proportionally. Oak timbers and iron rivets were the materials
used. It is likely that by the close of the viking age the shipbuilder's art was
as highly developed in the North as anywhere else in Christian Europe.
The long ship was built with pointed prow and stern.
The gunwales generally ran parallel to the water line, but in the prow the
timbers curved sharply upward to join the stern, which projected above the body
of the ship and frequently terminated in some carved image like those described
by the Encomiast. The stern was built in much the same fashion. The ribs
were supported and held in place by strong cross-beams, which also served as
supports for the deck. In the fore-end the deck was high; here stood the
stem-men, the best warriors on board. From a similarly raised deck in the
stern, the chief directed the movements of the ship and the men when battle was
joined. But in the middle portion of the ship the deck was low; here the
oarsmen sat, each on a chest containing his clothes and other belongings. The
number of pairs of oars would usually indicate the size of the ship; fifteen or
twenty pairs were the rule; but larger ships were sometimes built: the Long
Serpent had thirty-four pairs. A rudder or "steering board" was
fastened to the after-part of the vessel, on the side that has since been known
as starboard.
The long ship was also equipped with a mast and a
sail. The mast was planted amidships, but in such a way that it could be
lowered when not in use. The sails were generally made of coarse woollen stuff; they often bore stripes, blue, red, or
green, and such striped sails were counted highly ornamental. The ship was
painted and the gunwales frequently hung with shields, alternately yellow and
red. An awning was provided to protect the vessel from rain and sunshine.
The average long ship had, perhaps, eighty or ninety men on board, the oarsmen
included. The number varied, of course, with the size of the ship: The Long
Serpent is said to have had a crew of three hundred men.
In culture the later viking age was emphatically one
of transition. The movement that transformed Northern into European civilisation culminated in the reign of Canute and was no
doubt given great impetus by the fact of his imperial authority in the
Christian West. The seeds of the new culture had been gathered long before and
in many lands: the German, the Frank, the Celt, and the Saxon had all
contributed to the new fruit-age. But in the North as elsewhere in the middle
ages, the mightiest of all the transforming forces was the mediæval Church. In one sense the poetic activities of the tenth century had made the
transition to Christian worship easier than in other lands: the author of the
Sibyl's Prophecy had, unintentionally, no doubt, bridged the gap between the
contending faiths. The intelligent Northmen found in the teachings of
Christianity conceptions very similar to those in the great poem, only in a
different historical setting. In the outward symbolism, too, the Northman found
similarities that made the step easier: he had already learned to pour water
over the new-born infant; in the cross of Christ he may have seen a
modification of Thor's hammer; the Christian tree of life reminded him of the
ash Yggdrasil that symbolised the unity of the
worlds; the Yule festival of midwinter tide was readily identified with the
Christian celebration of the Nativity on December 25th. Too much importance
must not be assigned to these considerations, but they doubtless had their
effect.
But even the Church was not able to make its conquest
of the North complete. The Scandinavian peoples never entirely severed their
connection with the historic past. The bridge that was built by the Sibyl's
Prophecy was never demolished. The poet purged the old mythology of
much that was revolting and absurd and thus made the old divinities and the old
cosmic ideas attractive and more easily acceptable. Even when the new cult
became compulsory and even fashionable, it was hard for the Northman to desert
his gods. Hallfred Troublousscald,
who flourished in the years of Canute's childhood, gives expression to this
feeling in one of his poems:
'Tis heavy to cherish hatred
For Frigg's divine husband
Now that Christ has our worship,
For the scald delighted in Woden.
But Olaf Trygvesson has commanded that the old faith
be renounced and men have obeyed, though unwillingly:
Cast to the winds all men have
The kindred of mighty Woden;
Forced to renounce Njord's children
I kneel to Christ in worship.
After several verses of regretful and half-hearted
renunciation the scald continues:
I will call upon Christ with love words
(I can bear the Son's wrath no longer;
He rules the earth in glory)
And God the Father in prayer.
The gods continued to live in the popular imagination
as great heroic figures that had flourished in the earlier ages of the
race. Much that belonged to the worship of the Anses was carried over into the Christian life. The Scandinavian Christians on the
Isle of Man evidently found nothing incongruous in placing heathen
ornamentations on the cross of Christ. Sometimes the attributes of the
ancestral divinities were transferred to the Christian saints. The red beard
with which Christian artists soon provided the strong and virile Saint Olaf was
probably suggested by the flaming beard of the hammering Thor.
CHAPTER XIV
. THE LAST YEARS—1031-1035
After the passing of the Norman war-cloud and the
failure of the Norse reaction in 1030, Canute almost disappears from the stage
of English history. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which gives us so much
information on his earlier career in England has but little to tell of his
activities as king; for the closing years of the reign the summaries are
particularly meagre. Evidently the entries for this reign were written from
memory some years after the death of the great King; and the scribe recalled
but little. It is also likely that the closing years in Britain were peaceful
and quiet, such as do not give the annalist much to record. Of the larger
European movements, of the Norse secession, of movements on the Danish border,
and of the renewed compact with the Emperor, the cloister was probably not well
informed.
As the Chronicler thinks back upon the passing of a
King who was still in his best and strongest years, there comes to him
the memory of certain strange natural phenomena which suddenly take on meaning.
In 1033, two years before the King's death, "appeared the wild fire,"
such as none could remember the like of. There could be no doubt as to the
interpretation: it was an omen giving warnings of great changes to come, the
end of alien rule, even as a fiery heaven announced its imminence in the days of
the boy Ethelred.
Later writers report that during the last years of his
life Canute was afflicted with a long and severe illness, and it has been
inferred that this may account for the uneventful character of this period.
There may be an element of truth in this, but he was not too ill to take an
active interest in political affairs. His legislation evidently belongs to one
of these years. In one of the manuscripts of Canute's code he is spoken of as
King of Angles, Danes and Norwegians, a title that he could not claim before
1028. As he did not return from his expedition to Norway before the following
year, the earliest possible date for the enactment of Canute's laws is
Christmas, 1029. For they were drawn up at a meeting of the national
assembly "at the holy midwinter tide in Winchester."
There are reasons for believing, however, that the
laws are of a still later date. Little need there was, it would seem, for
extensive ecclesiastical legislation in those years when paganism was in full retreat and Christianity had become fashionable even among the
vikings. Some condition must have arisen that made it necessary for the King to
take a positive stand on the side of the English Church. Such a condition may
have grown out of the canonisation of Saint Olaf in
1031. He was the first native saint of the North and the young Scandinavian
Church hailed him with a joy that was ominous for those who had pursued him to
the grave. It may have been in the hope of checking the spread of the new cult
in England that the witenagemot, the same that ratified Canute's legislation, canonised the imperious Archbishop who had governed the
English Church two generations earlier. The method of canonisation was probably new; but the nobles and prelates of England were surely as
competent to act in such a matter as the youthful church at Nidaros.
Canute showed an interest in the welfare of the Church
to the last months of his life. It was apparently in this period that he
initiated the policy of advancing his own chapel priests to episcopal
appointments: in 1032 Elfwine became Bishop of
Winchester; the following year Duduc, another chapel
priest, was promoted in the same manner. The church of York was remembered
with a large gift of lands to Archbishop Alfric. Gifts to some of the
larger monasteries are also recorded for these same years: to
Sherburne, Winchester, Abingdon, and Croyland.
These usually took the form of land, though ornaments and articles intended for
use in the church service were also given. Abingdon received lands and bells
and a case of gold and silver for the relics of "the most glorious martyr
Vincent of Spain" whose resting place was in this church. It is worth
noting that Abbot Siward who ruled at Abingdon during the last few years of the
reign bore a Danish name.
Canute's last recorded gift was to the Old Minster at
Winchester in 1035, the year of his death. This comprised a landed estate, a
bier for the relics of Saint Brice, a large image, two bells, and a silver
candlestick with six branches. It may be that he had premonitions of
coming death, for in this abbey he chose to be buried.
We do not know what efforts Canute may have made to
improve the material conditions in his Anglo-Saxon kingdom, but it appears that
such undertakings were not wholly wanting. The King showed great favour to the religious establishments in the Fenlands and
was evidently impressed with the difficulty of travel from abbey to
abbey. An attempt was made to remedy this:
and that same road through the marshes between Ramsey
and the borough that is called King's Delf he caused to be improved that the
danger of passing through the great swamps might be avoided.
Matthew Paris, our authority for this statement, wrote
nearly two centuries after Canute's day, but it is likely that he is reporting
a correct tradition; if the work had been done at the instance of one of the
later kings, it is not probable that it would have been associated with the
name of the Danish ruler.
The Norwegian sources have little to say of Canute
after the battle of Stiklestead; but they follow the
troubles of the Norse regency in some detail. It was thought best, when Sweyn
was sent to Norway, to give him the royal title; but as he was a mere youth,
the actual power was in the hands of his mother, Elgiva, who was probably associated
with Earl Harold of Jomburg, Harthacanute's minister
and guardian in Denmark, who seems to have acted as Canute's personal
representative in his eastern kingdoms. Mention has already been made of
the opposition that soon arose to the Danish régime. It was not long before the
dissatisfied elements formed an alliance with the partisans of the old dynasty
who were assiduously disseminating the belief that the fallen Olaf was
a saint.
All through the winter that followed the King's
martyrdom stories were current of miracles performed by the holy relics: wounds
had been healed and blindness removed by accidental contact with the royal
blood. At the same time much ill-feeling developed against Bishop Sigurd who
had shown such a partisan spirit on the eve of the tragedy at Stiklestead. Sigurd was a Dane who had served as chaplain
at the English court and had therefore a double reason for preferring
Canute. Under the regency he had continued as chief of the Norwegian Church,
but soon the murmur became so loud that the zealous prelate had to withdraw to
England.
Einar Thongshaker now came forward to lead the
opposition to the regents. He was the first of the chiefs to express his belief
in Olaf's sanctity and many were ready to follow his lead. Bishop Grimkell, who since Olaf's flight in 1029 had remained in
comparative quiet in the Uplands, was asked to come and investigate the current rumours of miraculous phenomena. The Bishop responded
very promptly. On the way he visited Einar, by whom he was gladly welcomed.
Later the prelate appeared at Nidaros and began extended investigations into
the matter of the reported wonders. Einar was next summoned to conduct the
negotiations with the regency. The plans of the national faction seem
to have been carefully laid; it was probably not accidental that the city suddenly
was thronged by incoming Norsemen.
Having secured permission from King Sweyn to act in
the matter, Einar and Grimkell, followed by the
multitude, proceeded to the spot where Olaf's remains were said to have been
buried. According to the legend that Snorre in part follows, the coffin was
found to have risen toward the surface and looked new as if recently planed. No
change was observed in the remains except that the hair and nails showed
considerable growth; the cheeks were red as those of one who had just fallen
asleep. But the Queen-mother was not easily convinced:
"Very slowly do bodies decay in sand; it would
have been otherwise if he had lain in mould."
Then the Bishop took a pair of shears and clipped off a part of the King's hair
and beard,—he wore a long moustache, as custom was in those days. Then said the
Bishop to the King and Alfiva: "Now is the King's hair and beard as long
as when he died; but it has grown as much as you see I have cut off." Then
replied Alfiva: "I believe hair to be sacred if it is not consumed in
fire; often have we seen whole and uninjured the hair of men who have lain in
the earth longer than this man." So the Bishop placed fire in a censer,
blessed it, and added the incense. Then he laid Olaf's hair in the fire. But
when the incense was consumed, the Bishop took the hair from the fire, and it
was wholly unburnt. The Bishop showed it to the King and the other
chiefs. Then Alfiva requested them to place the hair in unblessed fire; but
Einar Tremblethong spoke up, bade her keep silence,
and used many hard words. Then by the Bishop's decision, the King's consent,
and the judgment of the entire assembly, it was decreed that King Olaf was in
truth a holy man.
Whatever the procedure employed, there can be no doubt
that King Olaf was canonised in the summer of 1031
(August 3d is the date given) by popular act; nor can it be doubted that Elgiva
resisted the act—she must have seen that the canonisation meant her own and her son's undoing. For she must surely have realised that political considerations were an important
element in the devotion of the Norsemen to their new patron.
There was later a tradition among the monks of Nidaros
that Canute at one time planned to establish a monastery in the northern
capital. If such an attempt was made, it evidently failed; but it would
not be strange if the King should try to establish an institution where loyalty
to the empire might be nursed and which might assist in uprooting nationalistic
tendencies. If the attempt was made, it was probably soon after the canonisation, when it became important to divert attention
from the new cult.
For the worship of Saint Olaf spread with astonishing rapidity not only through Norway but through the entire North
and even farther. The Church had saints in great number; but here was one from
the very midst of the Scandinavian people. Moreover, Saint Olaf was a saint
whom the men of the day could appreciate: he was of their own type, with the
strength of Thor and the wisdom of Woden; they had
seen him and felt the edge of his ax. So all along the shores that Olaf the
Stout had plundered in his earlier heathen days churches arose dedicated to the
virile saint of the North.
There were other difficulties, too, that the regents
had to contend with. Hunger stalked over the land. The Norwegian people had
always been accustomed to hold their kings responsible for the state of the
harvest; they were to secure the favour of the gods;
a failure of crops meant that this duty had been shirked. The feeling lingered
for some time after the disappearance of heathendom. Sweyn was only a youth and
was not held responsible; the blame fell upon the hated Queen-mother and the
hard years of her rule were known as the "Alfiva-time." The general
discontent is expressed in a contemporary fragment attributed to Sighvat:
Alfiva's time our sons will
Long remember; then ate we
Food more fit for oxen,
Shavings the fare of he-goats.
It was not thus when the noble
Olaf governed the Norsemen;
Then could we all boast of
Corn-filled barns and houses.
And Thorarin Praise-tongue
in the Shrine-song addressed to Sweyn the son of Canute urges the young regent
to seek the favour of the new saint, "the mighty
pillar of the book-language":
Pray thou to Olaf that he grant thee
(He is a man of God) all his land rights;
For he can win from God himself
Peace to men and good harvests.
In 1033, a revolt broke out in Norway in the interest
of one Trygve, a pretended son of Olaf Trygvesson and an English mother. The
attempt failed; the Norse chiefs had other plans. In Russia was Magnus, the
illegitimate son of the holy King, now about nine or ten years old; him had the
chiefs determined upon as their future leader. Early the next year an embassy
was sent to Russia led by the two magnates Einar and Kalf. Here oaths were
sworn and plans were laid, and in the following spring (1035) Magnus Olafsson
appeared in Norway as the foster son of Kalf who had led his father's banesmen at Stiklestead.
From the moment when Magnus set foot on his native
soil Norway was lost to the empire. Sweyn was farther south in his
kingdom when news came of revolt in the Throndelaw.
He promptly summoned the yeomanry, but feeling that their devotion to him was a
matter of grave doubt, he gave up his plans of resistance and fled to his
brother Harthacanute in Denmark, where he died less
than a year later. His mother Elgiva evidently withdrew to England, where
the death of Canute the following November doubtless gave her another
opportunity to play the politician.
So far as we know, Canute made no effort to dislodge
Magnus. It may be true that he was ill; or perhaps the power of the Church
restrained him: Magnus was the son of a saint; would not the martyred King
enlist the powers of heaven on the side of his son? But it was probably want of
time and not lack of interest and purpose that prevented reconquest. There is
an indication that Canute was preparing for important movements: at
Whitsuntide, 1035, while the imperial court was at Bamberg, he was renewing his
friendship with the Emperor and arranging for the marriage of his daughter
Gunhild to the future Henry III. Perhaps we should see in this a purpose
to secure the southern frontier in anticipation of renewed hostilities in the
North.
But whatever may have been Canute's plans, they were
never carried out—the hand of death came in between. On Wednesday, November 12,
1035, the great Dane saw the last of earth at Shaftesbury, an old town
on the Dorset border, a day's journey from the capital. The remains were
brought to Winchester and interred in the Old Minster, an ancient abbey
dedicated to the chief of the Apostles, which Canute had remembered so
liberally earlier in the year.
We have already noted the tradition reported by both
Norse and English writers that his death was preceded by a long and serious
illness; one of the sagas states that the fatal disease was jaundice.
There would be nothing incredible in this, but the evidence is not of the best.
The fact that death came to him not in the residential city but in the neighbouring town of Shaftesbury seems to indicate that he
was at the time making one of his regular progresses through the country, as
seems to have been his custom. In that case the illness could hardly have
been a protracted one.
It is likely, however, that Canute was not physically
robust; he died in the prime of manhood, having scarcely passed the fortieth
year; and he seems not to have transmitted much virility to his children. Three
sons and a daughter were born to him, but within seven years of his own death
they had all joined him in the grave. Sweyn, who seems to have been the oldest,
died a few months after his father, perhaps in the early part of 1036.
Gunhild followed in 1038; Harold in 1040; and Harthacanute in 1042. With Harthacanute passed away the last male
representative of the Knytling family; after a few years the crown of Denmark
passed to the descendants of Canute's sister Estrid, to the son of the murdered
Ulf.
None of Canute's children seems to have attained a
real maturity: Harold and Harthacanute probably
reached their twenty-fourth year; Sweyn died at the age of perhaps twenty-two;
Gunhild could not have been more than eighteen when she laid down the earthly
crown. There is no reason for thinking that any of them was degenerate with the
exception of Harold Harefoot, and in his case we have
hostile testimony only; at the same time, they were all surely lacking in
bodily strength and vigour.
Nor is there any reason for thinking that these
weaknesses were maternal inheritances, for the women that Canute consorted with
were evidently strong and vigorous and both of them survived him. We know
little of the concubine Elgiva except that she was proud and imperious, on fire
with ambition for herself and her sons. Emma was a woman of a similar type.
Canute apparently found it inconvenient to have the two in the same kingdom,
and when the mistress returned to England after the Norse revolt, we seem to see
her hand in the consequent intrigues. Queen Emma survived her husband more than
sixteen years; "on March 14, died the Old Lady, the mother
of King Edward and Harthacanute, named Imme, and her
body lies in the Old Minster with King Canute." At the time of her
death she must have been in the neighbourhood of
seventy years of age.
Of Canute's personality we know nothing. The portraits
on his coins, if such rude drawings can be called portraits, give us no idea of
his personal appearance. Nor is the picture in the Liber Vitæ likely to be more than an idealistic representation. Idealistic, too, no doubt,
is the description of Canute in the Knytlingasaga,
composed two centuries or more after his time:
Canute the King was large of build and very strong, a
most handsome man in every respect except that his nose was thin and slightly
aquiline with a high ridge. He was fair in complexion, had an abundance of fair
hair, and eyes that surpassed those of most men both as to beauty and keenness
of vision.
The writer adds that he was liberal in dealing with
men, brave in fight, favoured of fortune, but not
wise. Except for the details as to the nose, which give the reader the feeling
that the writer may, after all, have had some authentic source of information
at his disposal, this picture would describe almost any one of the heroic figures
of the time.
On his own contemporaries Canute made a profound
impression which succeeding generations have shared. In Britain he was called
the Great; in Scandinavia the Rich, the Mighty or the Powerful. The extent of
his possessions, the splendour of his court, the size
of his navy, his intimate relations with Pope and Emperor—all these things gave
him a position and a prestige that was unheard of in the Northlands. And it was
indeed a marvellous achievement for a pirate chief
from a nation just emerging from heathendom to gather into his power the realms
and territories that made up the Knytling empire.
To analyse a character such
as that of Canute is a difficult task, as character analysis always must be.
There was so much that was derived from a heathen time and ancestry, and also
so much that had been acquired by contact with Christian culture and
influences, that the result could be only a strange composite out of which
traits and characteristics, often contradictory and hostile, would come to the
surface as occasion would suggest. Canute was a Christian, probably baptised in his youth by some German ecclesiastic, as the
Christian name Lambert, which in harmony with custom was added to the one that
he already possessed, seems distinctly German. But the new name was evidently
not much employed, except, perhaps, on occasions when the King wished to emphasise his Christian character. He seems to have entered
into some sort of fraternal relations with the monks of Bremen: in the
book of our brotherhood, says Adam the monk, he is named Lambert, King of the
Danes.
The historians of Old English times, both Saxon and
Norman, were ecclesiastics and saw the reign of Canute from their peculiar
view-point. To them the mighty Dane was the great Christian King, the founder
of monasteries, the giver of costly gifts and valuable endowments to the houses
of God. To the undisputed traits of Christian liberality, they added those of
piety and humility, and told stories of the visit to the monks of Ely and of
Canute's vain attempt to stem the tides and compel their obedience. The former
is probably a true story; there is no reason why the King, who seems to have
taken great interest in the abbeys of the Fenlands, should not have visited the
cloisters of Ely, and he may have been attracted by the chants of the monks,
which is more doubtful. But the tale of how Canute had to demonstrate his
powerlessness before his admiring courtiers is a myth too patent to need
discussion. There was nothing of the Oriental spirit in the Northern
courts.
That Canute was religious cannot be denied. Nor should
we doubt that he was truly and honestly so, as religion passed among the rulers
of the age. The time demanded defence and
support of the priesthood, and this Canute granted, at least toward the close
of his life. Perhaps in real piety, too, he was the equal of his contemporaries
whom the Church has declared holy: Saint Stephen of Hungary, Saint Henry of
Germany, and Saint Olaf of Norway. Still, it becomes evident as we follow his
career that at no period of his life, unless it be in the closing years of
which we know so little, did Canute permit consideration for the Church or the
Christian faith to control his actions or determine his policies. The moving
passion of Canute's life was not a fiery zeal for the exaltation of the Church,
but a yearning for personal power and imperial honours.
In the Northern sources written by laymen, especially
in the verses of the wandering scalds, we get a somewhat different picture of
Canute from that which has been painted in the English cloisters. Little
emphasis is here placed on Canute's fidelity to the new faith; here we have the
conqueror, the diplomat, the politician whose goal is success, be the means
what they may. The wholesale bribery that he employed to the ruin of Saint
Olaf, the making and breaking of promises to the Norwegian chiefs, and the treatment
of his sister's family suggest a sense of honour that
was not delicate, a passion for truth that was not keen. In his preference for
devious ways, in the deliberate use that he made of the lower passions of men,
he shows a characteristic that is not Northern. All was not honest
frankness in the Scandinavian lands; but the pirates and their successors, as a
rule, did not prefer bribery and falsehood to open battle and honest fight.
Slavic ancestry, Christian culture, Anglo-Saxon ideas,
and the responsibilities of a great monarchy did much to develop and modify a
character which was fundamentally as much Slavic as Scandinavian. Still, deep
in his strong soul lay unconquered the fierce passions that ruled the viking
age—pitiless cruelty, craving for revenge, consuming hatred, and lust for
power. As a rule he seems to have been humane and merciful; he believed in
orderly government, in security for his subjects; but when an obstacle appeared
in the path of his ambitions, he had little scruple as to the means to be
employed in removing it. The mutilation of the hostages at Sandwich, the
slaughter and outlawry of earls and ethelings in the
early years of his rule in England, the assassination of Ulf in Roeskild church suggest a spirit that could be terrible
when roused. Something can be said for Canute in all these instances: Ulf was
probably a traitor; the hostages represented broken pledges; the ethelings were a menace to his rule. But why was the
traitor permitted to live until he had helped the King in his sorest straits;
and what was to be gained by the mutilation of innocent Englishmen; and was
there no other way to make infants harmless than to decree their secret death
in a foreign land?
Canute possessed in full measure the Scandinavian
power of adaptation, the quality that made the Northmen such a force in
Normandy and Naples. He grasped the ideals of mediæval Christianity, he appreciated the value of the new order of things, and
undertook to introduce it among the Northern peoples. But he did not permit the
new circumstances and ideals to control him; only so long as they served his
purpose or did not hinder him in the pursuit of that purpose did he bow to
them. When other means promised to be more effective, he chose accordingly.
The empire that he founded did not survive him; it had
begun to crumble in his own day; the English crown was soon lost to the Danish
dynasty. It would appear, therefore, as if the conqueror accomplished nothing
that was permanent. But the achievements of genius cannot be measured in such
terms only: the great movement that culminated in the subjection of Britain was
of vast importance for the North; it opened up new fields for Western
influences; it brought the North into touch with Christian culture; it rebuilt
Scandinavian civilisation. These are the more
enduring results of the reign and the preceding expeditions to the West. At the
same time, Canute's reign minimised the influence
that was working northward from the German outposts. The connection with
England was soon interrupted; but while it endured the leavening process made
rapid spread and the Northern countries were enabled to absorb into
their culture much that has remained a native possession.
To England Canute brought the blessings of good
government. For nearly twenty years England had peace. Troubles there were on
the Scotch and Welsh borders; but these were of slight importance compared with
the earlier ravages of the vikings. It is true, indeed, that the Danish
conquest paved the way for the later invasion by the Normans; but this was a
result that Canute had not intended. It was not a part of his plan to have the
sons of his consort educated in Normandy; at the same time, he was not in position
to take such steps in their case as he may have wished, for they were the sons
of his own Queen.
In his early years Canute was a viking; when he died
the viking age had practically come to its close. Various influences
contributed to this result: the new creed with its new conceptions of human
duty; new interests and wider fields of ambition in the home lands; and the
imperial position of Canute. We do not know that Canute at any time issued any
decree against the practice of piracy; but he gained the same end by indirect
means. The viking chiefs evidently entered his service in large numbers either
in the English guard or in the government of the eastern domains. Furthermore,
as the dominant ruler of the northern shores, as the ally of the Emperor and
the friend of the Norman duke, he was able to close fairly effectually
the Baltic, the North, and the Irish Seas together with the English Channel to
viking fleets; and the raven was thus forced to fly for its prey to the distant
shores beyond Brittany. Piracy continued in a desultory way throughout the
eleventh century; but it showed little vigour after
Canute's accession to the Danish kingship.
CHAPTER XV.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE EMPIRE—1035-1042
King Canute was dead, but the great king-thought that
he lived for, the policy of his dynasty, their ambition to unite the Northern
peoples in the old and new homes under one sceptre persisted after his death. Historians have generally believed that Canute had realised the impossibility of keeping long united the three
crowns that he wore in his declining years, and had made preparation for a
division of the empire among his three sons. In the year of his death one son
is found in England, one in Denmark, and one in Norway; hence it is believed
that like Charlemagne before him he had executed some sort of a partition, so
as to secure something for each of the three. Such a conclusion, however, lacks
the support of documentary authority and is based on a mistaken view of the
situation in the empire in 1035.
We should remember in the first place that when Harthacanute and Sweyn received the royal title (in
1028 and 1030), Canute cannot have been more than thirty-five years old, and at
that age rulers are not in the habit of transferring their dominions to mere
boys. In the second place, these two sons were sent to the North, not to
exercise an independent sovereignty, but to represent the royal authority that
resided at Winchester. Finally, there is no evidence that Canute at any time
intended to leave England or any other kingdom to his son Harold. The
probabilities are that he hoped to make the empire a permanent creation;
perhaps he expected it to become in time wholly Scandinavian, as it already was
to a large extent, except in the comparatively small area of Wessex.
Canute's policy is revealed in the act at Nidaros,
discussed in an earlier chapter, when in the presence of lords from all his
realms, he led Harthacanute to the high seat and thus
proclaimed him a king of his own rank. That Denmark was intended for the young
King is undisputed. England was to be added later. The Encomiast tells as that
when Harthacanute had grown up (evidently toward the
close of Canute's reign) all England was bound by oath to the sovereignty of Harthacanute. The early promise that Canute made to
Queen Emma was apparently to be kept. Most likely, the loyalty that Godwin and
other West Saxon magnates showed to the King's legitimate heir is to be
explained, not by assuming a pro-Danish sentiment, but by this oath,
surely taken in England, perhaps earlier at Nidaros.
The situation in Norway, however, made it difficult to
carry out Canute's wishes. On the high seat in the Throndelaw sat Magnus the son of Saint Olaf. To be the son of a saint was a great asset in
the middle ages; in addition Magnus had certain native qualities of the kingly
type and soon developed into a great warrior. Knowing that war was inevitable,
Magnus began hostilities and carried the warfare into Danish waters. It
was this difficulty that prevented Harthacanute from
appearing promptly in England in the winter of 1035-1036, when Harold Harefoot was planning to seize the throne.
After the flight of her son Sweyn in the summer of
1035, Elgiva is almost lost to history. Apparently she retired to England,
where she played the part of Queen-mother during the reign of her son Harold:
in a will of Bishop Alfric we find the testator giving two marks of gold to
King Harold and one mark to my lady. As we do not find that the King had
either wife or children the presumption is that the lady was his mother, the
woman from Northampton.
We may then conjecture that the struggle for the
English crown in the winter following Canute's death was at bottom a fight
between the two women who bore Canute's children, each with a son to
place in the high seat, each with a party devoted to her cause, each with a
section of the country ready to follow her lead. Elgiva had her strength in the
Danelaw; there were her kinsmen, and there her family had once been prominent.
Queen Emma was strongest in the south; on her side were Earl Godwin and the housecarles.
The sources that relate the events of these months are
anything but satisfactory and their statements are sometimes vague or
ambiguous. But it is clear that soon after the throne became vacant (thirteen
days, if the Chronicler is accurate) a meeting of the "wise men"
was held at Oxford, the border city where Danes and Saxons had so frequently
met in common assembly. At this meeting, as the Chronicle has it, the northern
magnates led by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and supported by the Danes in London,
"chose Harold to hold all England, him and his brother Harthacanute who was in Denmark." To this arrangement Godwin opposed all his influence
and eloquence; but though he was supported by the lords of Wessex, "he was
able to accomplish nothing." It was finally agreed that Queen Emma and the
royal guard should continue to hold Wessex for Harthacanute.
The north was evidently turned over to Harold.
The decision reached at Oxford has been variously
interpreted. At first glance it looks as if the kingdom was again divided along
the line of the Thames valley. The statement of the Chronicler that Harold
"was full King over all England" seems not to have been strictly
contemporary but written after the King had seized the whole. What was done at
Oxford was probably to establish an under-kingship of the sort that Canute had
provided for Norway and Denmark. The overlordship of Harthacanute may have been recognised, but the administration was
divided. This did not necessarily mean to the Scandinavian mind that the realm
was divided; in the history of the North various forms of joint kingship are
quite common.
For one year this arrangement was permitted to stand;
but in 1037, Harold was taken to king over all England—the nation forsook Harthacanute because he tarried too long in Denmark.
Emma was driven from the land, perhaps to satisfy the jealousy of her rival
Elgiva. The cause for the revolution of 1037 is unknown; but we may conjecture
that intrigue was at work on both sides. Possibly the appearance of Emma's son
Alfred in England the year before may have roused a sense of fear in the
English mind and may have hastened the movement.
Sorrows now began to fall heavily upon England. In
1039, the Welsh made inroads and slew several of the Mercian lords. A
"great wind" scattered destruction over the land. A remarkable
mortality appeared among the bishops, four dying in 1038 and one more in 1039.
The following year died Harold, whose unkingly and
un-Christian behaviour was no doubt regarded as the
cause of these calamities. He died at Oxford and was buried at Westminster. The
same year Harthacanute joined his mother at Bruges,
whither she had fled when exiled from England.
It was neither listless choice nor lack of kinglike
interest that had detained Harthacanute in Denmark;
it was the danger that threatened from Norway. Hostilities seem to have begun
in the spring of 1036 and to have continued for about two years. The war was
finally closed with an agreement at the Brenn-isles near the mouth of the Gaut
River in south-western Sweden. According to this the two young kings became
sworn brothers, and it was stipulated that if the one should die leaving no
heirs, the other should succeed him. It was not so much of a treaty on the
part of the kings as of the chief men of the kingdoms, as both peoples were
evidently tiring of the warfare.
Perhaps that which most of all determined the Danes to
seek peace was the news that Harold had seized the government of all England
the previous year. This must have happened late in the year, as the
Chronicler tells us that Queen Emma was driven out of England "without
pity toward the stormy winter." In Norway there was no party that still favoured the Knytlings; the
situation in England looked more favourable.
Evidently Harthacanute's counsellors had concluded
that his inherited rights in Britain should be claimed and defended.
Harthacanute came to Bruges with a small force only; but it was probably the plan to
use Flanders as a base from which to descend upon England. Nothing seems to
have been done in 1039, however, except, perhaps, to prepare for a campaign in
the coming spring. But for this there was no need: before the winter was past,
Harold lay dead at Oxford. History knows little about the fleet-footed Prince;
but from what has been recorded we get the impression of a violent, ambitious
youth, one to whom power was sweet and revenge sweeter. So far as we know,
government in his day was poor both in state and church. Oxford, it seems, was
his residential city.
After Harold's death messengers came from England to
Bruges to summon Harthacanute. The succession was
evidently not settled without some negotiations, for Harthacanute must have waited two months or more before he left Flanders. No doubt the
chiefs who had placed his half-brother on the throne were unwilling to submit
without guarantees; their behaviour had not been such
as to render their future secure. Just before midsummer Harthacanute finally arrived in England with sixty ships;
he was crowned probably on June 18th. For two years he ruled the country
but "he did nothing kinglike." Partly as a punishment, perhaps,
he made England pay for the expedition that he had just fitted out, and
consequently forfeited what favour he had at the very
beginning.
Harthacanute is described as a sickly youth, and a Norman historian assures us that
on account of his ill-health he kept God before his mind and reflected much on
the brevity of human life. He seems to have been of a kindly disposition,
as appears from his dealings with his half-brother Edward. His sudden death at
a henchman's wedding is not to be attributed to excesses but to the ailment
from which he suffered. But the drunken laugh of the bystanders indicates
that the world did not fully appreciate that with Harthacanute perished the dynasty of Gorm.
Three men now stood forth as possible candidates for
the throne of Alfred: Magnus the Good, now King of Denmark and Norway, Harthacanute's heir by oath and adoption; Sweyn, the son of
Canute's sister Estrid, his nearest male relative and the ranking member of the
Danish house, a prince who was probably an Englishman by birth, and
whose aunt was the wife of Earl Godwin; and Edward, later known as the
Confessor, who strangely enough represented what national feeling there might
be in England, though of such feeling he himself was probably guiltless. It may
be remarked in passing that all these candidates were sons of men whom Canute
had deeply wronged, men whom he had deprived of life or hounded to death.
There is no good evidence that Edward was ever
formally elected King of England. Harthacanute died
at Lambeth, only a few miles from London. "And before the King was buried
all the folk chose Edward to be King in London," says one manuscript of
the Chronicle. If this be true, there could have been no regular meeting of the
magnates. The circumstances seem to have been somewhat in the nature of a
revolution headed no doubt by the anti-Danish faction in London.
That Edward was enabled to retain the crown was due
largely, we are told, to the efforts of Canute's two old friends, Earl Godwin
and Bishop Lifing. The situation was anything
but simple. The election of Magnus would restore Canute's empire, but it might
also mean English and Danish revolts. To elect Sweyn would mean war with
Magnus, Sweyn claiming Denmark and Magnus England. At the time the Danish
claimant was making most trouble, for Sweyn seems to have arrived in England
soon after Edward was proclaimed. All that he secured, however, was the promise
that he should be regarded as Edward's successor. It was doubtless well
known among the English lords that the new King was inclined to, and probably
pledged to a celibate life. We do not know whether Englishmen were at this time
informed of the ethelings in Hungary. To most men it
must have seemed likely that Alfred's line would expire with Edward; under the
circumstances Sweyn was the likeliest heir.
With the accession of Edward, the Empire of the North
was definitely dissolved. Fundamentally it was based on the union of England
and Denmark, a union that was now repudiated. Still, the hope of restoring it
lingered for nearly half a century. Three times the kings of the North made
plans to reconquer England, but in each instance circumstances made successful
operations impossible. After the death of Magnus in 1047, the three old
dynasties once more controlled their respective kingdoms, though in the case of
both Denmark and Norway the direct lines had perished. The Danish high seat
alone remained to the Knytlings, now represented by
Sweyn, the son of Estrid and the violent Ulf for whose tragic death the nation
had now atoned.
APPENDICES
I.—CANUTE'S PROCLAMATION OF 1020
1. Canute the King sends friendly greetings to his
archbishops and suffragan bishops and to Thurkil the Earl and all his earls and
to all his subjects in England, nobles and freemen, clerks and laymen.
2. And I make known to you that I will be a kind lord
and loyal to the rights of the Church and to right secular law.
3. I have taken to heart the word and the writing that
Archbishop Lifing brought from Rome from the Pope,
that I should everywhere extol the praise of God, put away injustice, and
promote full security and peace by the strength that God should give me.
4. Now I did not spare my treasures while unpeace was threatening to come upon you; with the help of
God I have warded this off by the use of my treasures.
5. Then I was informed that there threatened us a
danger that was greater than was well pleasing to us; and then I myself with
the men who went with me departed for Denmark, whence came to you the greatest
danger; and that I have with God's help forestalled, so that henceforth no unpeace shall come to you from that country, so
long as you stand by me as the law commands, and my life lasts.
6. Now I give thanks to God Almighty for His aid and
His mercy in that I have averted the great evil that threatened us; so that
from thence we need fear no evil, but may hope for full aid and deliverance if
need be.
7. Now I will that we all humbly thank Almighty God
for the mercy that He has done to our help.
8. Now I command my archbishops and all my suffragan
bishops that they take due care as to the rights of the Church, each one in the
district that is committed to him; and also my ealdormen I command, that they
help the bishops to the rights of the Church and to the rights of my kingship
and to the behoof of all the people.
9. Should any one prove so rash, clerk or layman, Dane
or Angle, as to violate the laws of the Church or the rights of my kingship, or
any secular statute, and refuse to do penance according to the instruction of
my bishops, or to desist from his evil, then I request Thurkil the Earl, yea,
even command him, to bend the offender to right, if he is able to do so.
10. If he is not able, then will I that he with the
strength of us both destroy him in the land or drive him out of the land, be he
of high rank or low.
11. And I also command my reeves, by my friendship and
by all that they own and by their own lives, that they everywhere govern my
people justly and give right judgments by the witness of the shire bishop and
do such mercy therein as the shire bishop thinks right and the community can
allow.
12. And if any one harbour a
thief or hinder the pursuit, he shall be liable to punishment equal to
that of the thief, unless he shall clear himself before me with full purgation.
13. And I will that all the people, clerks and laymen,
hold fast the laws of Edgar which all men have chosen and sworn to at Oxford;
14. for all the bishopssay that the Church demands a deep atonement for the breaking of oaths and pledges.
15. And they further teach us that we should with all
our might and strength fervently seek, love, and worship the eternal merciful
God and shun all unrighteousness, that is, slaying of kinsmen and murder,
perjury, familiarity with witches and sorceresses, and adultery and incest.
16. And further, we command in the name of Almighty
God and of all His saints, that no man be so bold as to marry a nun or a
consecrated woman;
17. and if any one has done so, let him be an outlaw
before God and excommunicated from all Christendom, and let him forfeit all his
possessions to the King, unless he quickly desist from sin and do deep penance
before God.
18. And further still we admonish all men to keep the
Sunday festival with all their might and observe it from Saturday's noon to
Monday's dawning; and let no man be so bold as to buy or sell or to seek any
court on that holy day.
19. And let all men, poor and rich, seek their church
and ask forgiveness for their sins and earnestly keep every ordained fast and
gladly honour the saints, as the mass priest shall
bid us,
20. that we may all be able and permitted, through the mercy of the everlasting God and the intercession of His saints, to
share the joys of the heavenly kingdom and dwell with Him who liveth and reigneth for ever
without end. Amen.
II.—CANUTE'S CHARTER OF 1027
Canute, King of all England and Denmark and of the
Norwegians and of part of the Slavic peoples, to Ethelnoth the Metropolitan and Alfric of York, and to all bishops and primates, and to
the whole nation of the English, both nobles and freemen, wishes health.
I make known to you that I have lately been to Rome,
to pray for the redemption of my sins, and for the prosperity of the kingdoms
and peoples subject to my rule. This journey I had long ago vowed to God,
though, through affairs of state and other impediments, I had hitherto been
unable to perform it; but now I humbly return thanks to God Almighty for having
in my life granted to me to yearn after the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul,
and every sacred place within and without the city of Rome, which I could learn
of, and according to my desire, personally to venerate and adore. And this I
have executed chiefly because I had learned from wise men that the holy apostle
Peter had received from the Lord the great power of binding and loosing, and
was key-bearer of the celestial kingdom; and I, therefore, deemed it
extremely useful to desire his patronage before God.
Be it now known to you, that there was a great
assembly of nobles at the Easter celebration, with the Lord Pope John, and the
Emperor Conrad, to wit, all the princes of the nations from Mount Gargano to
the nearest sea, who all received me honourably, and honoured me with magnificent presents. But I have been
chiefly honoured by the Emperor with divers costly
gifts, as well in golden and silver vessels as in mantles and vestments
exceedingly precious.
I have therefore spoken with the Emperor and the Lord
Pope, and the princes who were there, concerning the wants of all my people,
both Angles and Danes, that a more equitable law and greater security might be
granted to them in their journeys to Rome, and that they might not be hindered
by so many barriers, nor harassed by unjust tolls; and the Emperor and King
Rudolf, who has the greater number of those barriers in his dominions, have
agreed to my demands; and all the princes have engaged by their edict, that my
men, whether merchants or other travellers for
objects of devotion, should go and return in security and peace, without any
constraint of barriers or tolls.
I then complained to the Lord Pope, and said that it
greatly displeased me, that from my archbishops such immense sums of money were
exacted, when, according to usage, they visited the apostolic see to receive
the pall; and it was agreed that such exactions should not thenceforth be made.
And all that I have demanded for the benefit of my people from the Lord Pope,
from the Emperor, from King Rudolf, and from the other princes, through whose
territories our way lies to Rome, they have freely granted, and also
confirmed their cessions by oath, with the witness of four archbishops and
twenty bishops, and an innumerable multitude of dukes and nobles, who were
present.
I therefore render great thanks to God Almighty that I
have successfully accomplished all that I desired, as I had proposed in my
mind, and satisfied to the utmost the wishes of my people. Now then, be it
known to you, that I have vowed, as a suppliant, from henceforth to justify in
all things my whole life to God, and to rule the kingdoms and peoples subjected
to me justly and piously, to maintain equal justice among all; and if, through
the intemperance of my youth, or through negligence, I have done aught hitherto
contrary to what is just, I intend with the aid of God to amend all.
I therefore conjure and enjoin my counsellors, to whom
I have intrusted the counsels of the kingdom, that
from henceforth they in no wise, neither through fear of me nor favour to any powerful person, consent to, or suffer to
increase any injustice in my whole kingdom; I enjoin also all sheriffs and
reeves of my entire kingdom, as they would enjoy my friendship or their own
security, that they use no unjust violence to any man, either rich or poor, but
that every one, both noble and freeman, enjoy just law, from which let them in
no way swerve, neither for equal favour, nor for any
powerful person, nor for the sake of collecting money for me, for I have no
need that money should be collected for me by iniquitous exactions.
I, therefore, wish it to be made known to you, that,
returning by the same way that I departed, I am going to Denmark, for the
purpose of settling, with the counsel of all the Danes, firm and
lasting peace with those nations, which, had it been in their power, would have
deprived us of our life and kingdoms; but were unable, God having deprived them
of strength, who in His loving-kindness preserves us in our kingdoms and honour, and renders naught the power of our enemies. Having
made peace with the nations round us, and regulated and tranquillised all our kingdom here in the East, so that on no side we may have to fear war or
enmities, I propose this summer, as soon as I can have a number of ships ready,
to proceed to England; but I have sent this letter beforehand, that all the
people of my kingdom may rejoice at my prosperity; for, as you yourselves know,
I have never shrunk from labouring, nor will I shrink
therefrom, for the necessary benefit of all my people.
I therefore conjure all my bishops and ealdormen, by
the fealty which they owe to me and to God, so to order that, before I come to
England, the debts of all, which we owe according to the old law, be paid; to
wit, plough-alms, and a tithe of animals brought forth during the year, and the
pence which ye owe to Saint Peter at Rome, both from the cities and villages;
and in the middle of August, a tithe of fruits, and at the feast of Saint
Martin, the first-fruits of things sown, to the church of the parish, in which
each one dwells, which is in English called church-scot. If, when I come, these
and others are not paid, he who is in fault shall be punished by the royal
power severely and without any remission. Farewell.
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