After the death of King Canute in 1035, Anglo Saxon history falls into a bit of an odd tranche. The North Sea Empire was really the creation of a single man who was in some ways unique: a strong personality, no imminent rivals, and the ability to manage multiple groups to his benefit (so for example, Canute's ending of the Viking raids). Had Canute lived longer, or perhaps had a single strong heir, things might have been different.
To be fair, the collapse had already started prior to his death. His designated heir in Norway, Swein was first forced to leave the-then capital in 1033 and Norway itself in 1035 and Magnus Olafsson (Magnus the Good) returned. Swein died shortly after his return.
His heir in Denmark, Hardecanute (or Harthacnut), was forced to remain in Denmark for three years in fear of a potential invasion by the now-restored Magnus. The Anglo-Saxon council, the witan, decided that a regent in place of King Hardecanute was in order and so Harald Harefoot was named as regent. But the decision was not totally supported, and so Harald became King with the support of Earl Leofric of the Northern half of England North of the Thames; Earl Godwin held the south in the name of Hardecanute supporting the claims of Emma of Normandy, Canute's second wife and mother of Edward and Alfred from her previous marriage to Anglo-Saxon King Æthelred. in 1037 A.D., Godwin was forced to concde and Harald crowned as king.
It was also during this time that Alfred and Edward returned from their exile in Normandy. It is unclear if the return was a visit to their mother or an attempted uprising; in either case it was not successful, and perhaps showed that the ascendancy of the Anglo-Danish nobility was fully in support of the house of Canute and against the house of Wessex. Alfred was captured by Earl Godwin and given to supporters of King Harald, who transported him to the city of Ely. During this transfer, Alfred was blinded and then died soon thereafter. This death created a rift between Edward and Godwine, a rift that would continue to blossom in the years ahead.
Hardecanute had not taken this lying down and was apparently preparing an invasion until hearing from his mother, Emma, that his half-brother was in ill health in 1039 A.D. In 1040 A.D. Harald Harefoot died and Hardecanute became King of Anglo-Saxon England.
Hardecanute arrived as a potential invader in 1040 A.D. (taking no chances although he expected to become king); the crews had to be bought off (again) with a Danegeld of 21,000 lbs of silver and gold. Apparently as one of his first acts (and horrified, at least publicly, at the death of Alfred), he put Harald on trial, exhumed his body, and then had it beheaded. Queen Emma also demanded that Godwine be brought to trial: arguing he was forced to follow orders of Harald, he escaped punishment (along, as it turns out, with a healthy bribe to the King in the form of a ship).
Hardecanute, upon his arrival, attempted to rule as he had in Denmark: autocratically. This did not work well with the evolved Anglo-Saxon way of kingship, where the king consulted the witan and the great nobles of the realm. He was equally unpopular by the fact that he increased taxes to support a fleet to protect other parts of his realm, including destroying the town of Worcester after townsfolks killed two of his tax collectors.
Apparently he, too, could see his death coming, and so in 1041 A.D., perhaps under the influence of his mother Emma, invited his exiled half brother Edward back, most likely as his heir.
In an interesting side note, Hardecanute's death was somewhat spectacular. In 1042 A.D., while at the wedding of his standard bearer, the King "Consumed great amounts of alcohol" and, as drinking to health of the bride, "died as he stood at his drink, and suddenly fell to the earth with an awful convulsion; and those close by took hold of him, and he spoke no word afterwards". Likely, it seems, a stroke.
The House Of Wessex had returned.
Works cited:
Brooke, Christopher: From Alfred to Henry III 871-1272. Norton Library: USA, 1961.
Trevelyan, G.M.: History of England Volume 1: From the Earliest Times to the Reformation. Anchor Books: USA, 1953
Enjoying this series TB, "townsfolk killed two of his tax collectors".....the IRS should take note of that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nylon12.
DeleteThe more I read, the more the differences in the two laws, Anglo-Saxon and Danes, stand out. They guarded all their differences very closely - including taxation rates. And taxation was not near the given that it is currently.
This is a time period I know nothing about, so it's very interesting to read. Hard to remember, though, when the kings change fairly frequently.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it is largely new to me as well. It does not feel so much a period of history as it feels like the dying embers of the previous act with King Canute, although that seems to be by happenstance: had either Harald or Hardecanute survived longer they may have had more of an impact. Certainly it does not appear there was any Anglo-Saxon reaction to them as Kings inherently, so they could have had longer rules without issue (although the Viking Age was still in effect, so that might have moved the needle again).
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