ST. CANUTUS, or KNUT, the fourth of that name, king of Denmark, was
natural son of Swein III., whose great uncle Canutus had reigned in
England. Swein having no lawful issue, took care of the education of
Canutus, who being endowed with excellent qualities both of mind and
body, answered perfectly well the care of his preceptors and governors.
It is hard to say, whether he excelled more in courage, or in conduct
and skill in war; but his singular piety perfectly eclipsed all his
other endowments. He scoured the seas of pirates, and subdued several
neighboring provinces which infested Denmark with their incursions. The
kingdom of Denmark was elective till the year 1660; wherefore, when
Swein died, many pitched upon our saint, whose eminent virtues best
qualified him for the throne; but the majority, fearing his martial
spirit, preferred his eldest natural brother Harald, the seventh king of
that name, who, for his stupidity and vices, was commonly called the
Slothful. Canutus retired into Sweden to king Halstan, who received him
with the greatest marks of kindness and esteem; but the king could never
induce him to undertake any expedition against Denmark; on the contrary,
the Christian hero employed all his power and interest in the service of
his country. Harald dying after two years' reign, Canutus was called to
succeed him.
Denmark had received the Christian faith long before; some say in 826,
but wanted a zealous hand at the helm, to put the finishing stroke to
that good work. St. Canutus seems to have been pitched upon by
providence for this purpose. He began his reign by a successful war
against the troublesome barbarous enemies of the state, and by planting
the faith in the conquered provinces of Courland, Samogitia, and
Livonia. Amidst the glory of his victories, he humbly prostrated himself
at the foot of the crucifix, laying there his diadem, and offering
himself and his kingdom to the King of kings. After having provided for
its peace and safety, and enlarged its territories, he married Eltha, or
Alice, daughter of Robert, earl of Flanders, by whom he had a pious son,
St. Charles, surnamed the Good, afterwards also earl of Flanders. His
next concern was to reform abuses at home. For this purpose, he enacted
severe, but necessary laws, for the strict administration of justice,
and repressed the violence and tyranny of the great, without respect of
persons. He countenanced and honored holy men, granted many privileges
and immunities to the clergy, to enhance the people's esteem of them;
and omitted nothing to convince them of their obligation to provide for
their subsistence by the payment of tithes. His charity and tenderness
towards his subjects made him study by all possible ways to ease them of
their burdens, and make them a happy people. He showed a royal
magnificence in building and adorning churches, and gave the crown which
he wore, of exceeding great value, to the church of Roschild, in
Zealand, his capital city, and the place of his residence, where the
kings of Denmark are yet buried. He chastised his body with fasting,
discipline, and hair-cloths. Prayer was his assiduous exercise. When
William the Conqueror had made himself master of England, Canutus sent
forces to assist the vanquished; but these troops finding no one willing
to {180} join them, were easily defeated in the year 1069. Some time
after, being invited by the conquered English, he raised an army to
invade this island, and expel the Normans; but through the treacherous
practices of his brother Olas, or Olaus, was obliged to wait so long on
the coast, that his troops deserted him. The pious king, having always
in view the service of God, and judging this a proper occasion to induce
his people to pay tithes to their pastors, he proposed to them either to
pay a heavy fine, by way of punishment for their desertion, or submit to
the law of tithes for the pastors of the church. Their aversion to the
latter made them choose the tax, to the great mortification of the king,
who, hoping they would change their resolution, ordered it to be levied
with rigor. But they, being incensed at the severity of the collectors,
rebelled. St. Canutus retired for safety into the isle of Fionia, and
was hindered from joining his loyal troops by the treachery of Blanco,
an officer, who, to deceive him, assured his majesty that the rebels
were returned to their duty. The king went to the church of St. Alban,
the martyr, to perform his devotions, and return God thanks for that
happy event. This the rebels being informed of by Blanco, they
surrounded the church with him at their head. In the mean time the holy
king, perceiving the danger that threatened his life, confessed his sins
at the foot of the altar, with great tranquillity and resignation, and
received the holy communion. His guards defended the church doors, and
Blanco was slain by them. The rebels threw in bricks and stones, through
the windows, by which they beat down the shrines of certain relics of
St. Alban and St. Oswald, which St. Canutus had brought over from
England. The saint, stretching out his arms before the altar, fervently
recommended his soul into the hands of his Creator: in which posture he
was wounded with a javelin, darted through the window, and fell a victim
to Christ. His brother Benedict, and seventeen others, were slain with
him, on the 10th of July, 1086, as AElnoth, a contemporary author,
testifies, who has specified the date of all the events with the utmost
exactness. His wicked brother Olas succeeded him in the kingdom. God
punished the people during eight years and three months of his reign
with a dreadful famine, and other calamities; and attested the sanctity
of the martyr, by many miraculous cures of the sick at his tomb. For
which reason his relics were taken up out of their obscure sepulchre,
and honorably entombed towards the end of the reign of Olas. His
successor, Eric III., a most religious prince, restored piety and
religion, with equal courage and success, and sent ambassadors to Rome,
with proofs of the miracles performed, and obtained from the pope a
declaration authorizing the veneration of St. Canutus, the proto-martyr
of Denmark. Upon this occasion a most solemn translation of his relics,
which were put in a most costly shrine, was performed, at which AElnoth,
our historian, was present. He adds, that the first preachers of the
faith in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, were English priests; that the
Danes then zealously embraced the Christian religion, but that the
Swedes still continued more obstinate, among whom Eschil, an Englishman,
received the crown of martyrdom, while he was preaching Christ to
certain savage tribes.