Canute the Great, 995 (circa)-1035, and the Rise of Danish Imperialism during the Viking Age. Laurence Marcellus Larson
Florence of Worcester, Chronicon, i., 160–161.
[65] Ibid., 160–163. Snorre, Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 14. Storm in his translation of Snorre (Christiania, 1900) locates Ringmere in East Wretham, Norfolk, (p. 239).
[66] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1011. Florence of Worcester, Chronicon, i., 163–165.
[67] Gesta Regum, i., 207.
[68] Encomium Emmæ, i., c. 3.
[69] Encomium Emmæ, i., c. 2.
[70] Encomium Emmæ, i., c. 3.
[71] Encomium Emmæ, i., c. 4.
[72] Ibid., i., c. 5.
[73] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1013.
[74] Snorre, Saga of Saint Olaf, cc. 12–13. The story in the saga has the appearance of genuineness and is based on the contemporary verses of Ottar the Swart. Snorre's chronology, however, is much confused.
[75] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1013.
[76] William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum, i., 209.
[77] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 1013.
[78] Encomium Emmæ, i., c. 5; see also Saxo, Gesta, 342.
[79] Memorials of Saint Edmund's Abbey, i., 34 ff.
[80] Adamus, Gesta, ii., c. 39.
[81] Wimmer, De danske Runemindesmærker, I., ii., 117.
[82] Liber Vitæ, 58. Steenstrup suggests that the name may be Slavic and calls attention to the Slavic form Svantoslava (Venderne og de Danske, 64–65).
[83] Encomium Emmæ, ii., c. 3. The rescue and removal of Sweyn's remains by English women is asserted by the contemporary German chronicler Thietmar (Chronicon, vii., c. 26).
CHAPTER III
THE ENGLISH REACTION AND THE NORSE REVOLT 1014–1016
The death of Sweyn was the signal for important movements throughout the entire North. Forces that had been held in rein by his mighty personality were once more free to act. In Denmark, his older son Harold succeeded at once to the full kingship. Three years later a national ruler re-established the Norwegian throne. But in England the results were most immediate and most evident: the national spirit rose with a bound and for three years more the struggle with the invader continued.
The host at Gainsborough promptly recognised the leadership of Canute and proclaimed him king. This, however, gave him no valid claim to the Saxon crown; England was, in theory at least, an elective monarchy, and not till the assembly of the magnates had accepted him could he rightfully claim the royal title. The Danish pretender was young and untried—he was probably not yet twenty years old. He must, however, have had some training in matters of government as well as in warfare: that his great father trusted him is evident from the fact that he left him in charge of the camp and fleet at Gainsborough, when Sweyn set out on his march into Wessex. Doubtless the Danes surmised that the youthful chief possessed abilities of a rare sort; but the English evidently regarded him as a mere boy whose pretensions did not deserve serious attention.
During the winter months of 1014, the most prominent leader among the English was evidently Thurkil, the master of the mercenary forces. It seems safe to infer that he had much to do with the events of those months, though we have nothing recorded. In some way the English lords were called into session; at this meeting preparations were made to recall the fugitive Ethelred. No lord could be dearer to them than their native ruler, the magnates are reported to have said; but they added significantly, "if he would deal more justly with them than formerly."[84] The lords who attended this gemot were probably the local leaders south of the Thames; that the chiefs of the Danelaw were in attendance is very unlikely.
Ethelred, however, was not willing to leave Normandy immediately. He first sent an embassy to England under the nominal leadership of his son Edward; these men were to negotiate further, and probably study the sentiment of the nation. Edward was a mere boy, ten or eleven years old at the highest; but his presence was important as evidence of the King's intentions. The Prince brought friendly greetings and fair promises: Ethelred would be a kind and devoted king; all the requests of the magnates should be granted; the past should be forgiven and forgotten. The English on their part pledged absolute loyalty; and, to emphasise the covenant, the assembly outlawed all Danish claimants. Sweyn had died in the early part of February; the negotiations were probably carried on in March; Ethelred returned to England some time during Lent, most likely in April, as the Lenten season closed on the 25th of that month.
The moment to strike had surely come. Canute was in England with a good army, but his forces doubtless had decreased in numbers since the landing in the previous August, and further shrinkage was inevitable. On the other hand, recruiting would be found difficult. The inevitable break-up of Sweyn's empire in the North would mean that the invader would be deprived of resources that were necessary to the success of the venture. Nor could assistance be expected from the Scandinavian colonies on the western shores of Britain or about the Irish Sea. In the very days when the reaction was being planned in England, Celts and Norsemen were mustering their forces for a great trial of strength on Irish soil. On Good Friday (April 23), the battle of Clontarf was fought on the shores of Dublin Bay.[85] The Norsemen suffered an overwhelming defeat, the significance of which, for English history, lies in the fact that the viking forces of the West had now been put on the defensive. Raids like those of the early years of Ethelred's reign were now a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, Canute had not been idle. For aggressive movements the winter season was, of course, not favourable; but preparations seem to have been made looking toward offensive operations immediately after Easter. The men of Lindsey, Danish colonists no doubt, had promised horses and were apparently to share in a joint expedition. But before Canute's arrangements had all been made, Ethelred appeared