History of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Vol. 2 (of 2)

by S. A. Dunham

|1035 to 1040.|

By his father’s death, Harda-Canute, the heir of Denmark, was equally so of England; and he was preparing to pass over into that kingdom when intelligence reached him of Harald’s usurpation. But that usurpation was not sudden, or complete; and had he hastened with a few thousand followers to claim the crown, he would have triumphed. But he had little energy of character; and while he remained irresolute, the period favourable for his hopes passed away. Fortunately Harald’s reign was short; and in 1040 he was called by the English themselves to ascend the throne. On his arrival he committed an act of impotent vengeance against the memory of his brother, whose bones he caused to be disinterred, and cast into the Thames. They were, however, reburied.

|1040 to 1042.|

In his government of England, Harda-Canute seems to have committed only one reprehensible act, and for that he had provocation. A tax being levied for the support of the Danish soldiery, was condemned by the English, and at Worcester resisted, by the murder of the two collectors. To vindicate his authority, he resorted to severe measures. The ringleaders were executed, the city pillaged and partly burnt. In other respects he was not unpopular. His kindness to the family of Ethelred did him great honour. To Emma he confided a share in the administration; and to prince Edward, the youngest son of Ethelred, afterwards named the Confessor, whom he recalled from Normandy, he gave a splendid establishment. As he died without issue (the result probably of his intemperance), with him ended the Danish dynasty in England.

|1035 to 1042.|

Of Harda-Canute’s government in Denmark we have few records. He was negligent and intemperate; and his father’s memory, more than his own qualities, secured him on the throne. His transactions with Norway deserve especial consideration. On the death of Canute the Great, as we have just related, the sceptre of that kingdom devolved on Sweyn, who had for some years held the government. But his administration was disliked; he and his mother were equally unpopular; and his father had scarcely been dead a year, when both were expelled from the country by the ascendancy of Magnus the Good, bastard son of St. Olaf.[^[137]] Sweyn took refuge with his nearest brother in Denmark, and died the same year (1036). If the Danish king was feeble, he was not without ambition. He knew that he should succeed to the English throne; and as, after that event, he should be the sole heir of Canute’s extensive empire, he urged his claim to the crown of Norway. Finding Magnus too powerful for him, he met that prince, and concluded a treaty singular in its nature, and in its results important. If either king died without issue, the other was to inherit his dominions. This convention was guaranteed by the chief nobles and prelates of the two countries. Harda-Canute, as we have just related, did die without issue, and the throne of Denmark accordingly fell to

MAGNUS.

1042–1047.

|1042 to 1044.|

On the arrival of this prince in Denmark, he was received with open arms. He was the son of a saint, with whose miracles the North resounded; and his own virtues (much less questionable than his father’s) justified the expectation of a happy reign. To few princes, indeed, can history accord more virtues than to Magnus; yet he was not deficient in the active duties of his station. The Jomsberg pirates who had revolted, and whose ferocity was the dread of the North, he speedily reduced, and their capital he laid in ashes. This was a service both to the Danes and the Norwegians for which they could not be too grateful. But the former, influenced by fickleness or by attachment to their old line of kings, or by mortification at receiving a sovereign from a country which they had twice conquered, soon cast their eyes on Sweyn, son of Jarl Ulfo and of Estrida, sister of Canute the Great. After his father’s murder[^[138]], this prince sought refuge at the court of the Swedish king. As he approached man’s estate, he grew weary of inactivity, and having something to hope from the generosity of Magnus, he repaired to that monarch in Norway. He did not ask for any portion of Canute’s vast possessions: he wanted employment merely under so generous a monarch; and his request was immediately granted. His talents, his lofty mien, his deportment, and, above all, his skilful flattery, won the confidence of the Norwegian, who made him first minister, and next his lieutenant in Denmark. There was much imprudence in confiding to one so ambitious and so nearly connected with the throne a trust of this nature; but judging of other men’s hearts by his own, Magnus thought that such a trust would for ever bind Sweyn to his interests, and be agreeable to the Danes. On the relics of St. Olaf the young prince swore fidelity to the monarch, and was well received by the people. To deepen this favourable sentiment was his constant care; and by his affability, his attention to his duties, and his liberalities, he completely succeeded. When secure of their affection, he openly revolted. Magnus assembled an armament, proceeded to Denmark, defeated and expelled the usurper, who again sought refuge at the Swedish court.