Cnut the Great and the North Sea Empire

In the eleventh century, England was part of a vast maritime empire stretching from the Orkneys to the Baltic. This episode explores how Cnut, son of the Danish conqueror Sweyn Forkbeard, ruled England after 1016. We look at his conquest, his marriage to Emma of Normandy, his division of the kingdom into four earldoms, and his pilgrimage to Rome in 1027. We also confront the legend of his 'canute and the waves' — a story that tells us more about medieval kingship than about Cnut himself. How did a Viking king become one of medieval Europe's most effective rulers? #CnutTheGreat #NorthSeaEmpire #VikingEngland #SweynForkbeard #EmmaOfNormandy #Earldoms #CanuteAndTheWaves #ThorkellTheTall #EdmundIronside #EadricStreona #BattleOfAssandun #VikingAge #MedievalEngland #AngloSaxonEngland #DanishConquest #History #FexingoHistory #MedievalKings Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo