Canute, DYK Fact #600

[Ebudae]

I have been watching Blood of the Vikings on YouTube. I had seen this BBC documentary series on TV in 2001 but had all but forgotten about it until recently – when the presenter of the series Julian Richards appeared as an expert on the BBC Four programme “It’s Only A Theory”.

Canute is mentioned in the fourth part, “Rulers”, of Blood of the Vikings. Did you know? Canute the Great (c 995–1035) was King of England (1016–35), Denmark (1018–35) and Norway (1028–35), as well as parts of Sweden (1026–30). His grandfather Harald Bluetooth had converted to Christianity, and he himself was a Christian.

The episode also mentions the story about Canute telling the tide to go back – with a twist. “We all know the story,” says Julian, “but where did it come from?” Well, did you know?

It’s first mentioned in the Historia Anglorum, a 12^th-century mixture of history and moral fables. This tells us that Canute gave orders for his throne to be placed on the seashore as the tide was coming in, and that the king commanded the water not to rise and wet his clothes or feet. The tide obviously ignored the king’s commands. But what came next in the story isn’t often mentioned. Canute is actually making a point – that no matter what his courtiers may think, he’s just a man.

Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven and earth and sea obey.

The full story, then, puts rather a different slant on it. Perhaps we’ve had it wrong all these years, and it was really written to show how pious a Christian Canute was. We’ve no way of knowing whether this happened – it may simply be a moral tale – but it’s interesting to note how we’d sooner believe in the arrogance of our kings than in their piety.

[JaneFairfax]

So, Canute the Great was also Canute the Humble and Pious.

[Ebudae]

Yes indeed!

[BarnabyRudge]

Did you know? Sweyn Forkbeard was the father of Canute and son of Bluetooth.

[5cots1ass]

Did ye know? Scotland has also been invaded by Vikings, particularly Vikings from Norway. Some Scots are even prouder to have Viking blood than to be Scottish!

[shyvera]

Did you know? The Knot (Calidris canutus) derives its name from Canute.

[Sylvia]

I have just read about Canute in the glossary at the end of Chapter 11, “History of mankind”, under the section THE HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT in Volume 2, “The human world”, of the Reader’s Digest Library of Modern Knowledge. Did you know? “Canute managed to keep both his Danish and Saxon subjects at peace by his skilful use of traditional law. He also introduced a new system of taxation – Heregeld – to maintain his army and court.”