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United Kingdom - Viking Kings
Early Kings - The Vikings
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Guthfrith (or Guthred) (Old Norse Guðroðr) (died 24 August 895) was the king of Northumbria from circa 883 until his death.
The first known king of Viking York, Halfdan , was expelled in 877. In c. 883, Symeon of Durham's History of the Kings simply states, "Guthred, from a slave, was made king", but his History of the Church of Durham gives a longer account. Here he writes that after Halfdan was driven out:
During this time the [Viking] army, and such of the inhabitants as survived, being without a king, were insecure; whereupon the blessed Cuthbert himself appeared in a vision to abbot Eadred [of the monastery at Carlisle ]...[and] addressed him in the following words:-"Go to the army of the Danes," he said, "and announce to them that you are come as my messenger; and ask where you can find a lad named Guthred, the son of Hardacnut, whom they sold to a widow. Having found him, and paid the widow the price of his liberty, let him be brought forward before the whole aforesaid army; and my will and pleasure is, that he be elected and appointed king at Oswiesdune, (that is, Oswin's hill), and let the bracelet be placed upon his right arm.
Æthelweard the historian, whose tenth-century Chronicon is a more reliable source for this period than the later works of Symeon, records that in 895:
Obiit et Guthfrid, rex Northhymbriorum, in natalitis sancti Bartholomæi apostoli; cuius mausoleatur Euoraca corpus in urbe in basilica summa.
There also died Guthfrith. king of the Northumbrians, on the feast of the apostle St Bartholomew [24 August]; his body is entombed in the city of York in the chief church.
It is not clear whether Guthfrith was a Christian, but his relations with the community of Saint Cuthbert, which was a major force in the former Bernicia , and which had lain outside the influence of Halfdan, whose authority was limited to the former Deira -approximately Yorkshire -were good. He granted much land between the River Tyne and the River Wear to the community. This had once belong to the Wearmouth-Jarrow monastery, and formed the core the lands of the church of Durham. Other lands, at the mouth of the River Tees , Guthred allowed Eadred to purchase for the church.
Symeon recounts that Guthred faced a large invasion by the Scots, which was defeated with the aid of Saint Cuthbert.
Guthred died on 24 August 895 (or perhaps 894) and was buried at York Minster.
King Harald Bluetooth lived in Denmark between 910-940 AD, and was the son of Gorm.
Born 911; died 1 November, 985 or 986. He was the son of King Gorm the Old of Denmark and of Thyra, daughter of a noblemen of Schleswig (Sunderjylland) who is supposed to have been kindly disposed towards Christianity. His mother must have implanted in the child's soul the first germs of faith which his father , a devout servant of Wotan, did his utmost to destroy. The latter's invasion of Friesland in 934 involved him in war with the German King, Henry I. Having been vanquished, he was forced to restore the churches which he had demolished as well as to grant toleration to his Christian subjects, and he died one year later, bequeathing his throne to Harold. Bishop Unni of Bremen, accompanied by Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Corvey, preached the gospel in Jutland (Jylland) and the Danish isles, and soon won the confidence of the young ruler, although he did not succeed in persuading him to receive baptism . Harold sought to shut the Germans out of his kingdom by strengthening the "Danawirk"-a series of ramparts and fortifications that existed until the latter half of the nineteenth century; moreover, as absolute quiet prevailed throughout the interior, he was even able to turn his thoughts to foreign enterprises. Again and again he came to the help of Richard the Fearless of Normandy (in the years 945 and 963), while his son conquered Semland and, after the assassination of King Harold Graafeld of Norway , he also managed to force the people of that country into temporary subjection to himself. Meanwhile the new religion had become more and more deeply rooted among the Danes. Even a few members of the nobility (such as Frode, Viceroy of Jutland) embraced the faith and soon episcopal sees were established (Schleswig, Ribe , Aarhus). However the prominent part the Germans had in these achievements as well as the lofty idea of the Roman Empire then prevailing led Otto I , the Great, to require Harold to recognize him as "advocatus", or lord protector of the Danish church, and even as "Lord Paramount". It is easy to understand why the indignant king of the Danes replied to this demand with a declaration of war , and why the "emperor" sought to force his "vassal" into subjection. The devastating expeditions, which were pushed as far as the Lÿmfjord, enabled the emperor to beat down all opposition (972), and to compel Harold not only to conclude peace but to accept baptism. Henceforth paganism steadily lost ground. The Bishopric of Odense was established at Fünen (Fyen) in 980; the sacrificial grove at Lethra (on Zealand), which, until then, had been from time to time the scene of many human sacrifices , was deserted. King Harold removed his royal residence to Roeskilde and erected there a wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity . Later (in the eleventh century) it was replaced by a basilica which in turn was soon torn down. Since about the year 1200 its site has been occupied by the Gothic cathedral (dedicated to St. Lucius), the burial place of the kings of Denmark . Christian houses of worship were also built in many other places during Harold's reign; in these German and Danish priests preached the gospel of the crucified and risen Saviour . There is no doubt that Harold professed Christianity at that time: it is also true that he contributed to its spread. But his moral conduct in many respects distinctly violated the Divine commandments. Consequently many people looked on the plots that were directed against the sovereignty and life of the ageing prince by his own son (Svend) as a punishment from Heaven . Although baptized , the latter joined forces with Palnatoke, the most powerful chieftain on Fünen, who was leader of the heathen party. The fortunes of war varied for a time, but finally Harold was slain on 1 November, 985 or 986. His remains were buried in the cathedral at Roeskilde, where his bones are still preserved, walled up in one of the pillars of the choir.
Sweyn I Forkbeard According to the chronicles of John of Wallingford , Sweyn was involved in raids against England during 1002-1005, 1006-1007, and 1009-1012, to revenge the St. Brice's Day massacre of England's Danish inhabitants in November 1002. Historians have considered the massacre as similar to a large-scale ethnic cleansing of the Danes in England orchestrated by Æthelred the Unready . Sweyn was believed to have had a personal interest in the atrocities due to his sister Gunhilde being amongst the victims.
According to Simon Keynes, in "Swein Forkbeard" (The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England ed. Michael Lapidge), Sweyn was active in Wessex and East Anglia in 1003-1004, but a 1005 famine forced him to return home.
Sweyn and the Jomsvikings at the funeral ale of his father Harald Bluetooth
Some scholars have argued that Sweyn's participation may have been prompted by his state of impoverishment after having been forced to pay a hefty ransom. He needed revenue from the raids. He acquired massive sums of Danegeld through the raids. In 1013, he is reported to have personally led his forces in a full-scale invasion.
The contemporary Peterborough Chronicle (also called the Laud Manuscript), one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, states, "before the month of August came king Sweyn with his fleet to Sandwich . He went very quickly about East Anglia into the Humber's mouth, and so upward along the Trent till he came to Gainsborough . Earl Uchtred and all Northumbria quickly bowed to him, as did all the people of Lindsey , then the people of the Five Boroughs . He was given hostages from each shire . When he understood that all the people had submitted to him, he bade that his force should be provisioned and horsed; he went south with the main part of the invasion force, while some of the invasion force, as well as the hostages, were with his son Cnut. After he came over Watling Street, they went to Oxford , and the town-dwellers soon bowed to him, and gave hostages. From there they went to Winchester, and the people did the same, then eastward to London ."
But the Londoners put up a strong resistance, because King Æthelred and Thorkell the Tall, a Viking leader who had defected to Æthelred, were in the city, and held their ground against him. Sweyn then went west to Bath, where the western thanes submitted to him and gave hostages. The Londoners followed suit, fearing Sweyn's revenge if they resisted any longer. King Æthelred sent his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy, and retreated to the Isle of Wight, and then followed them into exile. On Christmas Day 1013 Sweyn was declared king of England.
Based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Sweyn began to organize his vast new kingdom, but he died there on 3 February 1014, having ruled England unopposed for only five weeks. His embalmed body was returned to Denmark, to be buried in the church he built in Roskilde. He was succeeded as King of Denmark by his elder son, Harald II, but the Danish fleet proclaimed his younger son Cnut king. In England, the councillors had sent for Æthelred, who upon his return from exile in Normandy in the spring of 1014 managed to drive Cnut out of England. But Cnut returned and became King of England in 1016, while also ruling Denmark, Norway, parts of Sweden, Pomerania , and Schleswig .
His son Cnut and grandsons Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut ruled England for 26 years. After Harthacnut's death, the English throne reverted to the House of Wessex. Sweyn's descendents through his daughter Estrid continue to rule Denmark to this day. One of his descendants, Margaret of Denmark , married James III of Scotland, introducing Sweyn's bloodline into the Scottish Royal blood line. After James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne in 1603, Sweyn's ancestry was introduced into the English royal bloodline as well. Therefore, from 1603 on, all English and British monarchs are descended from King Sweyn of England, among others.
1037-1040 AD - Harold I Harefoot Reigned 1037-40 AD. Although King Canute left England to Hardicanute, his son by Emma of Normandy, the throne was seized by his half-brother Harold Harefoot, Canute's son by either his mistress or his first wife (It is not clear which), Elgifu of Northampton. Harold had been born around 1012. He was said to have acquired the name Harefoot for his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship.
Harold apparently had an illegitimate son, Elfwine, who was later to become a monk.
Canute had intended to divide his dominions between his three sons. He left Norway to his eldest son, Sweyn, and Denmark to Harold. On Canute's death, Harold promptly took possession of his father's treasure and received the support of Earl Leofric of Mercia and the majority of the Danes. The great council, or Witangemot, meeting at Oxford, confirmed Harold as King, but Ethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to crown him.
Queen Emma of Normandy, who had the support of the nobles of Wessex and particularly Earl Godwine, an extremely powerful nobleman who was married to Canute's sister, managed to retain control of Wessex, where Emma acted as regent in the absence of Hardicanute, who himself remained in Denmark. Emma made vigorous attempts to unseat Harold in favour of her son.
On hearing the news of Canute's death, the sons of Ethelred the Redeless, Edward and Alfred, in exile in Normandy, gathered a fleet and sailed for England. On approaching Southampton, the elder of these, Edward, found the town up in arms against him, unwilling to accept any son of the weak and hated Ethelred. Edward had little choice but to return to Normandy.
Harold's reign was short and brutish. Godwine, accepting the situation, switched sides and deserted Emma of Normandy. Alfred the Atheling, while on a visit to his mother in England, was conducted to Guildford by Earl Godwine and his followers dispersed. There he was seized and brutally blinded on the orders of Harold. The trauma of his injuries lead to an agonizing death.
Emma was forced into exile, taking refuge in Flanders and was joined there by Hardicanute. Together they began to make plans for an invasion of England, having gathered a fleet of sixty warships. The early death of Harold on 17th March, 1040 at Oxford, made it possible for his half-brother Hardicanute to enter England peacefully.
Harald Harefoot was buried at Westminster, but his body was subsequently exhumed by his half-brother, Hardicanute, and treated with much indignity, it was beheaded and thrown into a fen bordering the Thames. It was later recovered by fishermen and reburied in the churchyard of St Clement Danes.
1040-1042 - Hardicanute - King of Denmark, the son of King Canute and Emma of Normandy Reigned 1040-42 AD spent his childhood in Denmark, where he was sent by his father.
He succeeded his detested half-brother Harold I to the throne of England in 1040. He had succeeded to the throne of Denmark in 1035, where he reigned as Canute III , but his involvement in a war against King Magnus I of Norway resulted in his not being able to secure his claim to the throne of England. Consequently his illegitimate half-brother Harold Harefoot was appointed regent there. Harald promptly betrayed his brother and took the throne for himself.
Hardicanute eventually came to an agreement with Magnus, through a treaty of either 1038 or 1039, tby the terms of which if either he or Magnus were to die without an heir, his opponent should become his successor. Harald's death on on 17th March, 1040 while Hardicanute was planning an invasion, made it possible for him to peacefully ascend the English throne. Hardicanute landed at Sandwich on 17 June, 1040, seven days before Midsummer, with a fleet of 62 warships.
His was an even less appealing character than his brother's. Those who expected a return to the just rule of Canute were to be sadly disappointed. His first act on arriving in his new kingdom was to have his half-brother's body disinterred, beheaded and slung into a marsh, causing outrage amongst churchmen. Hardicanute could be brutal and savagely revengeful.
He was said to have hated his paternal half-brother, Harold, for the murder of his other, maternal half-brother, Alfred, at which he had felt great sorrow. Determined to thoroughly avenge this deed Hardicanute had Earl Godwine put on trial, Godwine managed to extricate himself , was acquitted and managed to retain his extensive estates. Extremely wealthy, he bought the friendship of the new King with expensive gift of a magnificently adorned ship. The King invited his other half-brother, Edward, back to England, whom he treated with much kindness and named as his heir.
Hardicanute proceeded to make himself thoroughly unpopular by exacting high taxes. The citizens of Worcester rose against the crushing level of taxation, and in savage retribution, he burned their city to the ground. He further sullied his reputation by resorting to having the northern Jarl Edwulf murdered. A contemporary stated that he never did anything worthy of a King throughout his entire reign.
Hardicanute never married and had no children. After a two year reign, he died during a riotous drinking bout at Clapham, in celebration of the marriage of the daughter of one of his thanes, Osgod Clapa. In the midst of the revelries, Hardicanute suffered a seizure and fell to the ground. He died a few days later on 8th June, 1042. He was succeeded by his Saxon half-brother, Edward, later to become known as Edward the Confessor and the old Saxon line was restored. Hardicanute was buried at Winchester Cathedral.
The first known king of Viking York, Halfdan , was expelled in 877. In c. 883, Symeon of Durham's History of the Kings simply states, "Guthred, from a slave, was made king", but his History of the Church of Durham gives a longer account. Here he writes that after Halfdan was driven out:
During this time the [Viking] army, and such of the inhabitants as survived, being without a king, were insecure; whereupon the blessed Cuthbert himself appeared in a vision to abbot Eadred [of the monastery at Carlisle ]...[and] addressed him in the following words:-"Go to the army of the Danes," he said, "and announce to them that you are come as my messenger; and ask where you can find a lad named Guthred, the son of Hardacnut, whom they sold to a widow. Having found him, and paid the widow the price of his liberty, let him be brought forward before the whole aforesaid army; and my will and pleasure is, that he be elected and appointed king at Oswiesdune, (that is, Oswin's hill), and let the bracelet be placed upon his right arm.
Æthelweard the historian, whose tenth-century Chronicon is a more reliable source for this period than the later works of Symeon, records that in 895:
Obiit et Guthfrid, rex Northhymbriorum, in natalitis sancti Bartholomæi apostoli; cuius mausoleatur Euoraca corpus in urbe in basilica summa.
There also died Guthfrith. king of the Northumbrians, on the feast of the apostle St Bartholomew [24 August]; his body is entombed in the city of York in the chief church.
It is not clear whether Guthfrith was a Christian, but his relations with the community of Saint Cuthbert, which was a major force in the former Bernicia , and which had lain outside the influence of Halfdan, whose authority was limited to the former Deira -approximately Yorkshire -were good. He granted much land between the River Tyne and the River Wear to the community. This had once belong to the Wearmouth-Jarrow monastery, and formed the core the lands of the church of Durham. Other lands, at the mouth of the River Tees , Guthred allowed Eadred to purchase for the church.
Symeon recounts that Guthred faced a large invasion by the Scots, which was defeated with the aid of Saint Cuthbert.
Guthred died on 24 August 895 (or perhaps 894) and was buried at York Minster.
King Harald Bluetooth lived in Denmark between 910-940 AD, and was the son of Gorm.
Born 911; died 1 November, 985 or 986. He was the son of King Gorm the Old of Denmark and of Thyra, daughter of a noblemen of Schleswig (Sunderjylland) who is supposed to have been kindly disposed towards Christianity. His mother must have implanted in the child's soul the first germs of faith which his father , a devout servant of Wotan, did his utmost to destroy. The latter's invasion of Friesland in 934 involved him in war with the German King, Henry I. Having been vanquished, he was forced to restore the churches which he had demolished as well as to grant toleration to his Christian subjects, and he died one year later, bequeathing his throne to Harold. Bishop Unni of Bremen, accompanied by Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Corvey, preached the gospel in Jutland (Jylland) and the Danish isles, and soon won the confidence of the young ruler, although he did not succeed in persuading him to receive baptism . Harold sought to shut the Germans out of his kingdom by strengthening the "Danawirk"-a series of ramparts and fortifications that existed until the latter half of the nineteenth century; moreover, as absolute quiet prevailed throughout the interior, he was even able to turn his thoughts to foreign enterprises. Again and again he came to the help of Richard the Fearless of Normandy (in the years 945 and 963), while his son conquered Semland and, after the assassination of King Harold Graafeld of Norway , he also managed to force the people of that country into temporary subjection to himself. Meanwhile the new religion had become more and more deeply rooted among the Danes. Even a few members of the nobility (such as Frode, Viceroy of Jutland) embraced the faith and soon episcopal sees were established (Schleswig, Ribe , Aarhus). However the prominent part the Germans had in these achievements as well as the lofty idea of the Roman Empire then prevailing led Otto I , the Great, to require Harold to recognize him as "advocatus", or lord protector of the Danish church, and even as "Lord Paramount". It is easy to understand why the indignant king of the Danes replied to this demand with a declaration of war , and why the "emperor" sought to force his "vassal" into subjection. The devastating expeditions, which were pushed as far as the Lÿmfjord, enabled the emperor to beat down all opposition (972), and to compel Harold not only to conclude peace but to accept baptism. Henceforth paganism steadily lost ground. The Bishopric of Odense was established at Fünen (Fyen) in 980; the sacrificial grove at Lethra (on Zealand), which, until then, had been from time to time the scene of many human sacrifices , was deserted. King Harold removed his royal residence to Roeskilde and erected there a wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity . Later (in the eleventh century) it was replaced by a basilica which in turn was soon torn down. Since about the year 1200 its site has been occupied by the Gothic cathedral (dedicated to St. Lucius), the burial place of the kings of Denmark . Christian houses of worship were also built in many other places during Harold's reign; in these German and Danish priests preached the gospel of the crucified and risen Saviour . There is no doubt that Harold professed Christianity at that time: it is also true that he contributed to its spread. But his moral conduct in many respects distinctly violated the Divine commandments. Consequently many people looked on the plots that were directed against the sovereignty and life of the ageing prince by his own son (Svend) as a punishment from Heaven . Although baptized , the latter joined forces with Palnatoke, the most powerful chieftain on Fünen, who was leader of the heathen party. The fortunes of war varied for a time, but finally Harold was slain on 1 November, 985 or 986. His remains were buried in the cathedral at Roeskilde, where his bones are still preserved, walled up in one of the pillars of the choir.
Sweyn I Forkbeard According to the chronicles of John of Wallingford , Sweyn was involved in raids against England during 1002-1005, 1006-1007, and 1009-1012, to revenge the St. Brice's Day massacre of England's Danish inhabitants in November 1002. Historians have considered the massacre as similar to a large-scale ethnic cleansing of the Danes in England orchestrated by Æthelred the Unready . Sweyn was believed to have had a personal interest in the atrocities due to his sister Gunhilde being amongst the victims.
According to Simon Keynes, in "Swein Forkbeard" (The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England ed. Michael Lapidge), Sweyn was active in Wessex and East Anglia in 1003-1004, but a 1005 famine forced him to return home.
Sweyn and the Jomsvikings at the funeral ale of his father Harald Bluetooth
Some scholars have argued that Sweyn's participation may have been prompted by his state of impoverishment after having been forced to pay a hefty ransom. He needed revenue from the raids. He acquired massive sums of Danegeld through the raids. In 1013, he is reported to have personally led his forces in a full-scale invasion.
The contemporary Peterborough Chronicle (also called the Laud Manuscript), one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, states, "before the month of August came king Sweyn with his fleet to Sandwich . He went very quickly about East Anglia into the Humber's mouth, and so upward along the Trent till he came to Gainsborough . Earl Uchtred and all Northumbria quickly bowed to him, as did all the people of Lindsey , then the people of the Five Boroughs . He was given hostages from each shire . When he understood that all the people had submitted to him, he bade that his force should be provisioned and horsed; he went south with the main part of the invasion force, while some of the invasion force, as well as the hostages, were with his son Cnut. After he came over Watling Street, they went to Oxford , and the town-dwellers soon bowed to him, and gave hostages. From there they went to Winchester, and the people did the same, then eastward to London ."
But the Londoners put up a strong resistance, because King Æthelred and Thorkell the Tall, a Viking leader who had defected to Æthelred, were in the city, and held their ground against him. Sweyn then went west to Bath, where the western thanes submitted to him and gave hostages. The Londoners followed suit, fearing Sweyn's revenge if they resisted any longer. King Æthelred sent his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy, and retreated to the Isle of Wight, and then followed them into exile. On Christmas Day 1013 Sweyn was declared king of England.
Based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Sweyn began to organize his vast new kingdom, but he died there on 3 February 1014, having ruled England unopposed for only five weeks. His embalmed body was returned to Denmark, to be buried in the church he built in Roskilde. He was succeeded as King of Denmark by his elder son, Harald II, but the Danish fleet proclaimed his younger son Cnut king. In England, the councillors had sent for Æthelred, who upon his return from exile in Normandy in the spring of 1014 managed to drive Cnut out of England. But Cnut returned and became King of England in 1016, while also ruling Denmark, Norway, parts of Sweden, Pomerania , and Schleswig .
His son Cnut and grandsons Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut ruled England for 26 years. After Harthacnut's death, the English throne reverted to the House of Wessex. Sweyn's descendents through his daughter Estrid continue to rule Denmark to this day. One of his descendants, Margaret of Denmark , married James III of Scotland, introducing Sweyn's bloodline into the Scottish Royal blood line. After James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne in 1603, Sweyn's ancestry was introduced into the English royal bloodline as well. Therefore, from 1603 on, all English and British monarchs are descended from King Sweyn of England, among others.
1037-1040 AD - Harold I Harefoot Reigned 1037-40 AD. Although King Canute left England to Hardicanute, his son by Emma of Normandy, the throne was seized by his half-brother Harold Harefoot, Canute's son by either his mistress or his first wife (It is not clear which), Elgifu of Northampton. Harold had been born around 1012. He was said to have acquired the name Harefoot for his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship.
Harold apparently had an illegitimate son, Elfwine, who was later to become a monk.
Canute had intended to divide his dominions between his three sons. He left Norway to his eldest son, Sweyn, and Denmark to Harold. On Canute's death, Harold promptly took possession of his father's treasure and received the support of Earl Leofric of Mercia and the majority of the Danes. The great council, or Witangemot, meeting at Oxford, confirmed Harold as King, but Ethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to crown him.
Queen Emma of Normandy, who had the support of the nobles of Wessex and particularly Earl Godwine, an extremely powerful nobleman who was married to Canute's sister, managed to retain control of Wessex, where Emma acted as regent in the absence of Hardicanute, who himself remained in Denmark. Emma made vigorous attempts to unseat Harold in favour of her son.
On hearing the news of Canute's death, the sons of Ethelred the Redeless, Edward and Alfred, in exile in Normandy, gathered a fleet and sailed for England. On approaching Southampton, the elder of these, Edward, found the town up in arms against him, unwilling to accept any son of the weak and hated Ethelred. Edward had little choice but to return to Normandy.
Harold's reign was short and brutish. Godwine, accepting the situation, switched sides and deserted Emma of Normandy. Alfred the Atheling, while on a visit to his mother in England, was conducted to Guildford by Earl Godwine and his followers dispersed. There he was seized and brutally blinded on the orders of Harold. The trauma of his injuries lead to an agonizing death.
Emma was forced into exile, taking refuge in Flanders and was joined there by Hardicanute. Together they began to make plans for an invasion of England, having gathered a fleet of sixty warships. The early death of Harold on 17th March, 1040 at Oxford, made it possible for his half-brother Hardicanute to enter England peacefully.
Harald Harefoot was buried at Westminster, but his body was subsequently exhumed by his half-brother, Hardicanute, and treated with much indignity, it was beheaded and thrown into a fen bordering the Thames. It was later recovered by fishermen and reburied in the churchyard of St Clement Danes.
1040-1042 - Hardicanute - King of Denmark, the son of King Canute and Emma of Normandy Reigned 1040-42 AD spent his childhood in Denmark, where he was sent by his father.
He succeeded his detested half-brother Harold I to the throne of England in 1040. He had succeeded to the throne of Denmark in 1035, where he reigned as Canute III , but his involvement in a war against King Magnus I of Norway resulted in his not being able to secure his claim to the throne of England. Consequently his illegitimate half-brother Harold Harefoot was appointed regent there. Harald promptly betrayed his brother and took the throne for himself.
Hardicanute eventually came to an agreement with Magnus, through a treaty of either 1038 or 1039, tby the terms of which if either he or Magnus were to die without an heir, his opponent should become his successor. Harald's death on on 17th March, 1040 while Hardicanute was planning an invasion, made it possible for him to peacefully ascend the English throne. Hardicanute landed at Sandwich on 17 June, 1040, seven days before Midsummer, with a fleet of 62 warships.
His was an even less appealing character than his brother's. Those who expected a return to the just rule of Canute were to be sadly disappointed. His first act on arriving in his new kingdom was to have his half-brother's body disinterred, beheaded and slung into a marsh, causing outrage amongst churchmen. Hardicanute could be brutal and savagely revengeful.
He was said to have hated his paternal half-brother, Harold, for the murder of his other, maternal half-brother, Alfred, at which he had felt great sorrow. Determined to thoroughly avenge this deed Hardicanute had Earl Godwine put on trial, Godwine managed to extricate himself , was acquitted and managed to retain his extensive estates. Extremely wealthy, he bought the friendship of the new King with expensive gift of a magnificently adorned ship. The King invited his other half-brother, Edward, back to England, whom he treated with much kindness and named as his heir.
Hardicanute proceeded to make himself thoroughly unpopular by exacting high taxes. The citizens of Worcester rose against the crushing level of taxation, and in savage retribution, he burned their city to the ground. He further sullied his reputation by resorting to having the northern Jarl Edwulf murdered. A contemporary stated that he never did anything worthy of a King throughout his entire reign.
Hardicanute never married and had no children. After a two year reign, he died during a riotous drinking bout at Clapham, in celebration of the marriage of the daughter of one of his thanes, Osgod Clapa. In the midst of the revelries, Hardicanute suffered a seizure and fell to the ground. He died a few days later on 8th June, 1042. He was succeeded by his Saxon half-brother, Edward, later to become known as Edward the Confessor and the old Saxon line was restored. Hardicanute was buried at Winchester Cathedral.
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