Knut the Mighty—His appearance—His liberality—His battles in England—Besieges London—His numerous expeditions—The successors of Knut.
Knut the Mighty (1014–1035), or the Great, is, with Charlemagne, one of the greatest geniuses of that epoch; he ruled his three kingdoms with great ability, and died young (at thirty-seven). The appearance of this great and powerful king is thus described:—
“Knut was very tall and strong, and a very handsome man, except that his nose was thin, prominent, low, and somewhat crooked; he had a fair complexion, with fair and long hair; he had finer and keener eyes than any man. He was liberal, a great warrior, very valiant and victorious, a man of great luck, in everything connected with power. He was not very wise, neither were King Svein, Harald, nor Gorm” (Knytlinga Saga, c. 20).
“King Knut was the most liberal of kings in the Northern lands; for it is truly said that he surpassed other kings no less in the property he gave in friendly gifts every year than in taking much more in taxes and dues from three great lands than any other king who ruled one realm; and moreover England is richest in movable property of all the Northern lands” (Knytlinga Saga, c. 19).
King Knut sent messengers to Olaf the Stout (Olaf Haraldson) of Norway to claim obedience from him.
“Sigvat went to the messengers of Knut, and asked for news. They told him what he desired, their talk with King Olaf, and the result of their errand. They said, ‘The king had taken the matter angrily; and we do not know in whom he trust when he refuses to become the man of Knut, and go to him; that would be best, for Knut is so mild, that never do the chiefs do so much against him that he does not forgive at once, when they come to him and yield to him. It was only a short time ago that two kings north from Fifi (Fife) in Scotland came to him, and he forgot his wrath and gave them all the lands they had owned before, and also great friendly gifts’” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 140).
“Knut fought many battles in England against the sons of Æthelred, King of the English, and they were defeated by each other in turns. He came to England during the summer when Æthelred died, and then married Queen Emma; their children were Harald, Hordaknut, and Gunnhild. Knut made an agreement with Edmund, that each of them should have half of England. In the same month Heidrek Strjona slew Edmund, and thereafter King Knut drove away all the sons of Æthelred” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 24).
“A long time after this Knut was at a feast with Thorkel the High, saw Ulfhild, and thought Thorkel had cheated him in the sharing of the women (taken the finer one), and therefore had him slain. Knut and Edmund fought some battles against each other, after which both the Danes and the English asked them to come to terms, and this they did; the one who lived longer was to have the land of the other. One month afterwards Edmund was slain by his foster-father Alrek Strjona, and then Knut got the whole of England, and ruled it for twenty-four winters”[[421]] (Jomsvikinga Saga, c. 52).
“That summer the sons of King Æthelred went from England to Ruda (Rouen) in Valland,[[422]] to their uncles, when Olaf Haraldsson came from viking expeditions in the west; they were all in Normandy that winter, and entered into an agreement that Olaf should have Northumberland if they got England from the Danes. In the autumn Olaf sent his foster-father Hrani to England to get men there, and the sons of Æthelred sent with him tokens to their friends and kinsmen, and Olaf gave him much loose property wherewith to win men over. Hrani stayed during the winter in England, and obtained the confidence of many powerful men, among them those who preferred having their countrymen to rule over them; but the power of the Danes in England had then become so great, that all the people were subject to them” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 25).
“In the spring Olaf and the sons of King Æthelred went to England, and arrived at a place called Jungufurda, where they went on shore. There were many who had promised to help them; they took the town with great slaughter. When the men of Knut became aware of this, they gathered such a numerous host that the sons of Æthelred could not resist them, and they saw it was best to return to Rouen; but Olaf parted with them and would not go to Valland. He sailed northwards along England all the way to Northumberland; he landed in the harbour called Valdi, and there he defeated the townspeople and traders, and got a great deal of property” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 26).