1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040
Robert I (Robert Le Diable, or Robert Le Magnifique), duke of Normandy, dies at Nicaea in July while returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Castile's Sancho the Great (Sancho III Garcés of Navarre) dies October 18 at age 43 (approximate) after ruling Navarre for 35 years, Castile for 5, León for 1. The realms of Sancho Garcés el Mayor are divided among his four sons, and he is succeeded in Castile by his second son, who will reign until 1065 as Ferdinand I. Ferdinand's sister Urraca is married to Bermudo II, who becomes king of León (but see 1037). Sancho has transferred some Castilian territory to Pamplona (Navarre); his eldest son inherits Navarre and will reign until 1054 as García III (or IV), but Sancho's sons will engage in fratricidal wars.
England's Canute I dies at Shaftesbury November 12 at age 39 (approximate) after 19 years as king of England, 16 as king (Knut Sveinsson) of Denmark, and 7 as king of Norway. Legend will have it that when his fawning courtiers persuaded him that he could do anything he had his throne moved to the seashore and commanded the tides to stand still in order to demonstrate that his powers were limited. Leofric, the Anglo-Saxon earl of Mercia, supports the claim of Canute's illegitimate son Harold Harefoot against that of Canute's legitimate son Hardecanute, who is preoccupied with affairs in Denmark but whose cause is supported by his mother, Emma (daughter of Richard I, duke of Normandy), and Harold Godwine, earl of Wessex. Harold Harefoot also has the support of Londoners and the eastern thanes. He is appointed regent, but Canute's four sons will be unable to control England, and Norway breaks away from Denmark.
