Canute lays Claim to Norway
For the first nine or ten years of his reign, Canute remained in
England, only occasionally going over to Denmark to see that all was
going on well there. He spent this time in bringing back the English
nation to obedience to their own laws, the old laws of Edgar, for
the first time insisting that, as parts of the same nation, Dane and
Englishman were alike before the law and that no difference should be
made between them. He repaired throughout England the churches and
monasteries that had been injured or destroyed by the wars of his
father and himself, and at all places where he had fought he erected
churches in which prayers should be offered for those who had been
slain. A very splendid monastery was built by him at the town since
called Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, at the place where lay the remains
of Edmund, slain by the Danes in 870, who was called King Edmund the
Martyr; parts of this monastery, at one time the richest in England,
remain to this day. It was little dreamed by Canute that at this
monastery the nobles of England would in aftertimes meet to consider
how they might wring their country’s liberties from an English king.
It was at Bury St Edmunds that Magna Charta was drawn up and signed by
the barons in 1214.[42] Besides these benefactions, his queen, Emma,
suggested to him that he should bestow rich alms on Winchester, the old
capital of the English, where was one of the finest cathedrals. Here
he gave so largely that the quantity of precious stones and valuable
metals dazzled the eyes of strangers. Emma seems to have thought that
if her husband gave his money in alms he would be the less likely
to go on foreign expeditions; but all the time Canute was planning
immense undertakings to extend his power in the North of Europe. He
grew tired of the peace that was so grateful to his subjects; but on
this occasion, instead of bringing fresh incursions of foreigners into
England, he designed to add Sweden and Norway by English arms to his
possessions in England and Denmark. He thought the time a good one
for his design, for the fame of his splendour and good government had
spread far and wide, and even from Norway a great number of powerful
men had gathered to him, leaving their country on various pretended
errands. To every one Canute gave magnificent presents, and the pomp
and splendour of his Court and the multitude of his adherents impressed
all who came. Peace was so well established in his realm that no man
dared break it; even toward each other the people kept faith and good
friendship. King Olaf, or, as it is better to call him, St Olaf, though
he did not get that name till after his death, was not altogether loved
in Norway, though the country had submitted to him with joy at the
first. The people found his rule harsh, and many of them would have
been willing enough to put the young Earl Hakon back in his place,
or even Canute himself. This came to Canute’s ears, and he instantly
equipped ambassadors in the most splendid way, and sent them in the
spring of 1025 with his letters and seal to Norway. Olaf was ill at
ease when he heard it, for he knew that it was with no friendly purpose
to him that the envoys were sent. For a long time he refused to see
them, and when they came before him and presented their letters he was
even more ill-pleased. Canute’s message was that he considered all
Norway as his property, and that if Olaf desired still to retain his
crown he must submit to him, become his vassal, and receive back his
kingdom as a fief from him, paying him “scat” or dues.
At this Olaf answered furiously to the messengers: “I have heard,”
he said, “in old stories that Gorm the Old, first king of Denmark,
ruled but over a few people, and in Denmark alone, but the kings who
succeeded him thought that too little. Now it is come so far that
King Canute, who rules over England and Denmark, and the most part of
Scotland as well, claims also my paternal heritage, and then perhaps
will promise some moderation after that. Does he wish to rule over all
the countries of the North? Will he eat up all the kail in England?
He may do so if he likes, and make a desert of the country, before I
kneel to him, or pay him any kind of service. And now ye may tell him
these my words: I will defend Norway with sword and battle-axe as long
as life is given me, and I will pay scat and tribute to no man for my
kingdom.”
The messengers were by no means pleased to take this message back to
King Canute. When they told him the reply of Olaf and that he would by
no means come and pay scat to him, or lay his head between his knees in
sign of subjection, Canute replied: “King Olaf the Thick guesses wrong
if he thinks I shall eat up all the kail in England. I will soon let
him see that there is something else under my ribs than kail; and cold
kail it shall prove for him.”
Soon after that, in 1026, Canute went over to Denmark to see what Olaf
was about, and to try to detach the King of Sweden from Olaf’s side;
but this he failed to do, for the King of Sweden feared that Canute,
if he were successful against Olaf, would turn next against him and
swallow him up also; so as soon as Canute had returned to England the
King of the Swedes and the King of Norway made a meeting together, and
swore to support each other against Canute, both of them meanwhile
collecting what forces they could and agreeing to lie in wait for
the King of England. By the winter of 1027 Olaf had got a good fleet
together, and for himself he had built a very large ship with a bison’s
head gilded all over standing out from the bow. He called his vessel
the _Bison_. He sailed eastward with a mighty force, keeping close
to land, and everywhere inquiring whether anything had been seen of
Canute, but all he could hear was that he was fitting out a levy in
England, and getting together a great fleet, over which Earl Hakon was
second in command. Many of Olaf’s people got tired of waiting when
they heard that Canute had not yet come, and returned home, but the
best of his warriors remained with him, and with these he sailed south
to Denmark, giving out that he intended to conquer the country. Here
the King of the Swedes met him with his army, and together they made
fearful ravages in the land, treating the people with great severity,
and dragging them bound and wounded to the ships. Many of the people,
feeling themselves unable to withstand the united force of the two
kings, agreed to submit to them; but the others were wasted with fire
and sword. It was joyful tidings for them when they heard that Canute
and his fleet had really sailed and were on their way to their help.
Sigvat the skald, who was sometimes with Olaf in Norway and sometimes
with Canute in England, made this ballad about the sailing of Canute
the Great:
“‘Canute is on the sea
The news is told,
And the Norsemen bold
Repeat it with great glee.
It runs from mouth to mouth--
‘On a lucky day
We came away
From Throndhiem to the south.’
Canute is on the land;
Side by side
His long-ships ride
Along the yellow strand.
Where waves wash the green banks,
Mast to mast,
All bound fast,
His great fleet lies in ranks.”
Sigvat was a great skald, but though he was sometimes in Canute’s
service he still loved Olaf the best. On one occasion he and another
skald, named Berse, were at Canute’s Court together, and the King gave
a gold ring to Sigvat, but to Berse (whose name means a “bear-cub”) he
gave two gold rings, much larger and weightier than Sigvat’s, besides
an inlaid sword. Sigvat made this song about it:
“When we came o’er the wave, you cub, when we came o’er the wave,
To me one ring, to thee two rings, the mighty Canute gave;
One mark to me,
Four marks to thee,
A sword, too, fine and brave.
Now God knows well,
And skalds can tell,
What justice here would crave.”
When Sigvat came back to Norway and presented himself before Olaf, who
some time before had made him his marshal, the King was about to sit
down to table. Sigvat saluted him, but Olaf only looked at him, and
said not a word. Then Sigvat and those who were standing by saw that
Olaf knew well that Sigvat had been in England and had been received by
King Canute. As the old proverb says, “Many are the ears of a king.”
The King said to Sigvat the skald: “I do not know if thou art my
marshal or if thou hast become one of Canute’s followers.” Then Sigvat
answered the King in verse, telling him that Canute had invited him to
stay with him, but that he preferred to be at home with Olaf. After
that King Olaf gave Sigvat the same seat close to himself that he had
had before, and the skald was in as high favour as ever with the King.
Things went on for some time in this way, Canute passing backward and
forward between England and Denmark, and ever gathering more ships for
the final struggle with Olaf and the Swedish King. He himself had a
dragon ship, said to have had sixty banks of rowers, and the head gilt
all over. Earl Hakon had another dragon ship of forty banks, with a
gilt figure-head. The sails of both were in stripes of blue, red, and
green, and the vessels were painted from above the water-line, and
all that belonged to their equipment was most splendid. They had a
vast number of men sailing in the ships. On the other side the Kings
of Norway and Sweden set out also, but as soon as it was noised that
Canute the Old was on the seas no one thought of going into the service
of these two kings. When the Kings heard that Canute was coming against
them they held a council as to what they should do. They were then
lying with their fleet in the Helga River, in the south of Sweden,
and Canute was coming straight upon them with a war-force one-half
greater than that of both of them put together. King Olaf, who was very
skilful in making plans, went with his people up the country into the
forest. The river flowed out of a lake in the forest, and he set his
men to cut down trees and dam up the lake where the river emerged with
logs and turf, at the same time turning all the surrounding streams
into the lake, so that it rose very high. All along the river-bed they
laid large logs of timber. Then they waited till they got tidings from
the Swedish King (who had moved his fleet into concealment round the
cliffs not far from the mouth of the river) that King Canute’s ships
were close at hand. Canute arrived with his fleet toward the close of
day, and seeing the harbour empty, he went into it with as many ships
as he could, the larger vessels lying outside in the open water. In
the morning, when it was light, a great part of his men went on shore,
some to amuse themselves, some to converse with sailors from the other
ships. They observed nothing until the water of the river began to
rise, and then came rushing down in a flood, carrying huge trees in
its course, which drove in among the ships, damaging all they struck.
Olaf had broken up his dam and let loose the whole body of water from
the lake. In a few moments the whole of the low country was under
water, and the men on shore were all swept away and drowned. Those
on board cut their cables, and were swept out before the stream and
scattered here and there. The great dragon ship which Canute was in was
borne forward by the flood, and because of her size she was unwieldy,
and they could not prevent her from driving in amongst the Norwegian
and Swedish ships, whose crews immediately tried to board her, but her
height was so great and she was so well defended that she was not easy
to attack. Seeing that Canute’s ships were gradually collecting again,
and finding that little more was to be gained by an uneven fight, King
Olaf stood off and out to sea, and, observing that Canute did not
follow, sailed away eastward toward Sweden. Many of the Swedish crew
were so home-sick that they made for home, until the Swedish King had
few followers left, and Olaf was much perplexed what to do. Finally
he determined to send his ships eastward to the care of the King of
Sweden, and he himself with the bulk of his army set out to march on
foot across Sweden and so back to Norway, carrying their goods as best
they might on pack-horses. Some of the men were old and did not like
this plan. One of them, Harek of Throtta, who was aged and heavy, and
who had been on shipboard all his life, said to the King that it was
evident he could not go, nor had he any desire to leave his ship with
other men. The King replied: “Come with us, Harek, and we will carry
thee when thou art tired of walking.” But Harek waited until the
King’s party had set off, and then he slipped down to his own ship,
took down its flag and mast and sail, and covered all the upper part
of the vessel with some grey canvas, and put only two or three men
sitting fore and aft where they could be seen, while the others sat
down low in the vessel. In this way he made it appear that it was only
a merchant ship, and not a war-vessel, and so it slipped past Canute’s
fleet without attack. As soon as they were well beyond Canute’s fleet
they sprang up, hoisted the sails and flag and tore off the coverings,
and then Canute’s men saw that they had let a war-ship escape them.
Some of them thought it might even have been Olaf himself, but Canute
said he was too prudent to sail with a single ship through the Danish
fleet, and that more likely it was Harek’s ship, or some one like him.
Then his men suspected that he had come to a friendly understanding
with Harek to let him pass safely, and it became known that they were
on good terms after that. Harek went his way, and never stopped till
he came safe home to his own house in Halogaland. As he was sailing he
sang this ditty:
“The widows of Lund may smile through their tears,
The Danish girls may raise their jeers,
They may laugh or smile,
But outside their isle
Old Harek still to his North land steers.”
It was the policy of Canute to induce men to leave King Olaf the Saint
by the promise of advancement and by bestowing on them splendid gifts.
He drew such large revenues from England and Denmark that he was able
to make these presents without difficulty, and thus great numbers of
the nobles were drawn away from Olaf and secretly joined Canute.
This made Olaf suspicious even of his best friends, and sometimes his
suspicions proved to be true. There is a story of one Thorer, of whom
the King thought highly, and who had entertained him to a magnificent
feast, who had, in spite of all, taken gifts from Canute. One day the
King was speaking of this Thorer to his follower Dag, and he praised
him much; but Dag made short replies. Olaf asked him why he did not
answer; and Dag replied: “If the King must needs know, I find Thorer
too greedy of money.” “Is he a thief, or a robber?” asked the King.
“I think that he is neither,” said Dag. “What then is the matter with
him?” asked Olaf. “To win money he is a traitor to his sovereign,” said
Dag; “he has taken money from King Canute the Great to betray thee.”
“What proof hast thou of this?” demanded the King. Dag replied: “He has
upon his right arm, above his elbow, a thick gold ring, which Canute
gave him, but which he lets no man see.” Olaf was very wroth at that,
and the next time Thorer passed him, in seeing that the wants of his
guests were attended to, the King held out his hand to him, and when he
had placed his hand in the King’s, the King felt it toward the elbow.
Thorer said: “Take care, for I have a boil on my elbow.” The King said:
“Let me see the boil. Do you not know that I am a physician?” Then
Thorer saw that it was no use to conceal the ring, and he took it off
and laid it on the table. Olaf asked if he had received that ring from
King Canute, and Thorer could not deny it. Then the King was so wroth
that he would listen to no one, but ordered Thorer to be killed on the
spot. That act of Olaf’s made him very unpopular in the uplands.
Meanwhile Olaf heard that Canute the Great was advancing with a mighty
host which was growing greater every day. Men were flocking to him,
and Olaf could not tell on whom to depend. His ships, too, which he
had left behind in Sweden, could not get out past Canute’s fleet to
come to his assistance; they had to wait until Canute had gone north to
Norway, and then the best of them managed to steer round the Sound and
join Olaf, and the rest were burned. King Canute made a march with his
host through Norway, holding a “Thing” in each place he came to, and
proclaiming Earl Hakon his governor-in-chief, and his son Hardacanute
King of Denmark. The great landowners, or _bondes_, gave him hostages
in token of their fidelity, and the skalds combined to sing his praises
and celebrate his journeys in song. So that without striking a blow
Norway gradually fell from the hands of Olaf into the hands of Canute.
The next winter Earl Hakon followed Canute to England, but he was lost
in a storm on his way back; he had gone over to celebrate his marriage
to Gunhild, a niece of King Canute. He had been so much beloved in
Norway that Olaf had seen that it was impossible to stand before him,
for the King’s followers lost no opportunity of falling away from
him and placing themselves under the rule of Earl Hakon. The people
considered that Olaf had been too severe in his rule, although they
had to confess that he was just; but when he tried to abolish all
plundering and marauding, and punished all who disobeyed with death,
the chiefs turned against him, though this was a good law, and one much
needed to preserve peace and prosperity in the countries.
Olaf thought it wiser to withdraw for a time, and he went east to
Russia, where he was well received, and there he remained until he
heard of Earl Hakon’s death. Then he returned and gathered his forces
together, and they met their foes at the famous battle of Stiklestad,
on 29 July, 1030, on the day of the great eclipse, fighting in the
dark for the most part of the day; there Olaf fell, at the age of
thirty-five years, with three wounds which Thorstein and Thorer Hund
and Kalf gave him; and the greater portion of his forces fell around
him. After he was gone and his severities were forgotten the people
canonized him as a saint, and he who during his lifetime was called
Olaf the Thick was called St Olaf thenceforth.
King Canute never went again to Norway; he occupied the latter years of
his reign by quiet and good government in England, the country he had
made his home. He was a man who had dreamed a great dream, the union in
one vast sovereignty of Northern Europe, justly and peaceably ruled,
and in part his dream came true; but as soon as his strong hand was
withdrawn his empire fell to pieces of itself. His sons, Harald and
Hardacanute (Harthacnut), in England and Denmark, and Sweyn, in Norway,
had none of the great qualities of their father, and his kingdom parted
asunder in their hands. The popular idea of Canute’s invincible power
took shape in a story, well known to every one, that he one day caused
his kingly seat to be placed on the sea-shore and commanded the waves
to come no farther. When the water, in spite of his command, came
up frothing round his feet he pointed to it, bidding his flattering
followers mark that though they had protested there was nothing that he
could not do, the waves and winds were beyond his authority: and he
bade them refrain from such flatteries, and from giving to him praise
which was due to the Creator of the universe alone.
Canute died at Shaftesbury, and was buried at Winchester, in 1035.