Canute (Cnut) II "The Great" SVENSSON King of England

   General Notes:

Canute had been King of Denmark for three years when he came to the English throne and thereafter he ruled the two countries. Here is a case of a poacher turned gamekeeper. He was regarded as a conqueror by the English people and he settled Danish nobles on English land but he did bring order to a people thoroughly demoralised by 30 years of war. He married Emma the widow of King Ethelred and they had a son Hardicanute. He also had a common law wife Elfgifa and their son was Harold. In 1017 he divided England into four provinces each having a se ate ruler. He respected the English church and assisted in restoring it's authority. He made several expeditions to Scandinavia which showed how secure and confident he felt in leaving his new Kingdom. In 1027 he went to Rome for the coronation of Conrad, the Holy Roman Emperor, and used the visit as would a modern diplomat to secure trade benefits, and obtain advantages for the English Church and the noblemen. His chief advisors were Godwin Earl of Wessex and Leofric Earl of Mercia. Canute gave a sense of security to the ordinary man and generally brought order to the country. He died at Shaftesbury on Wednesday November 12th 1035. During his reign, the title "Earl" replaced the Anglo-Saxon "Ealdorman".

   Marriage Information:

Canute married Emma DE NORMANDIE Princess of England, daughter of Richard I "Sans Peur" DE NORMANDIE Count of Normandy and Gunnora D' ARQUES Duchess of Normandy, on 2 Jul 1017. (Emma DE NORMANDIE Princess of England was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France, died on 6 Mar 1051-1052 in Winchester Buckley, Hampshire, England and was buried in Cathedral Winchester, London, Middlesex, England.)

   Marriage Information:

Canute also married Aelgifu of Northampton.