Cnut the Great: Biography, Facts and Career

Cnut ( kə-NYOOT; Old Norse: Knútr; c. 995 – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians. As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His later accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut sought to keep this power base by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. In 1031, Malcolm II of Scotland also submitted to him, though Anglo-Norse influence over Scotland was weak and ultimately did not last to the time of Cnut's death. Dominion of England lent the Danes an important link to the maritime zone between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, where Cnut, like his father before him, had a strong interest and wielded much influence among the Norse–Gaels. Cnut's possession...

Quick facts about Cnut the Great

• Full name: Cnut the Great
• Born: 0994-01-01
• Nationality: Kingdom of Denmark
• Known as: Royal
• Wikidata ID: Q134128

More British Royal Family

• Gia Long
• Ismail II
• Hákon Sigurðsson
• Otto of Greece
• Floris V, Count of Holland
• Ludwig II of Bavaria

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.