Harthacnut

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Harthacnut
King of Denmark and England
Penny struck in Harthacnut's name
Reign	1035 - 8 June 1042 (Denmark) 17 March 1040 – 8 June 1042 (England)
Predecessor	Cnut the Great (Denmark) Harold Harefoot (England)
Successor	Magnus I (Denmark) Edward the Confessor (England)
Issue
William Cnut (alleged illegitimate son)
Father	Cnut the Great
Mother	Emma of Normandy
Born	1018, England
Died	8 June 1042, England
Burial	Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England

Harthacnut (Cnut the Hardy, sometimes Harthacanute, Hardicanute, Hardecanute, Hörthaknútr; Danish: Hardeknud) (1018 – 8 June 1042) was a Danish King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 as well as King of England from 1040 to 1042. He was the only son of Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy.

He succeeded to the throne of Denmark in 1035, reigning as Cnut III, yet a war against Magnus I of Norway meant he could not secure his claim to the throne of England. Consequently, it was agreed that his elder illegitimate half-brother Harold Harefoot was to be regent there.

Harold took the English crown for himself in 1037 — Harthacnut being "forsaken because he was too long in Denmark"^[1] — and the Queen-mother, Emma, who had previously been resident at Winchester with some of her son's housecarls, was made to flee to Bruges, in Flanders. Harthacnut settled his difficulties in Scandinavia through a treaty he had made with Magnus in 1038 or 1039. This stated that they agreed that if one of them were to die without an heir the other should be his successor. Harthacnut then began to prepare for an invasion of England, and the deposition of Harold from the kingship. Harold, however, died on 17 March 1040, before any conquest could occur. Harthacnut was then invited to England, and the landing at Sandwich on 17 June 1040, "seven days before Midsummer"^[1], with a fleet of 62 warships was a peaceful one. He did though, with apparent scorn, command Harold's body to be taken from its tomb and cast in a fen with the animals.

A meeting between Magnus and Harthacnut. Illustration by Halfdan Egedius

Harthacnut was a harsh and unpopular ruler: to pay for his fleet, he severely increased the rate of taxation, and in 1041 the people of Worcester killed two of Harthacnut's housecarls who had been collecting the tax, prompting an attack by Harthacnut in which the city was burned. The story of Lady Godiva riding naked through the streets of Coventry to persuade the local earl to lower taxes may come from the reign of Harthacnut. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives a dismal assessment of him: "He never accomplished anything kingly for as long as he ruled." It also says that in 1041 Harthacnut broke a pledge and betrayed Earl Eadwulf of Northumbria, who was under his safe conduct.

In 1041, Harthacnut invited his half-brother Edward the Confessor (his mother Emma's son by Æthelred the Unready) back from exile in Normandy to become a member of his household, and probably made Edward his heir. Harthacnut was unmarried and had no known children. It is rumoured he fathered an illegitimate son, William Cnut. On 8 June 1042, he died at Lambeth — he "died as he stood at his drink, and he suddenly fell to the earth with an awful convulsion; and those who were close by took hold of him, and he spoke no word afterwards…"^[1] He was buried at Winchester, his father's place of rest, and his mother's, on her death. Edward assumed the throne on Harthacnut's death, restoring the Saxon royal line of Wessex.

Ancestry

References

v • d • e   English monarchs   Kingdom of the English 886–1066 Alfred the Great · Edward the Elder · Ælfweard · Athelstan the Glorious1 · Edmund the Magnificent1 · Eadred1 · Eadwig the Fair1 · Edgar the Peaceable1 · Edward the Martyr · Æthelred the Unready · Sweyn Forkbeard · Edmund Ironside · Cnut1 · Harold Harefoot · Harthacnut · Edward the Confessor · Harold Godwinson · Edgar the Ætheling Kingdom of England 1066–1649 William I · William II · Henry I · Stephen · Matilda · Henry II2 · Henry the Young King · Richard I · John2 · Henry III2 · Edward I2 · Edward II2 · Edward III2 · Richard II2 · Henry IV2 · Henry V2 · Henry VI2 · Edward IV2 · Edward V2 · Richard III2 · Henry VII2 · Henry VIII2 · Edward VI2 · Jane2 · Mary I2 with Philip2 · Elizabeth I2 · James I3 · Charles I3 Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1659 Oliver Cromwell4 · Richard Cromwell4 Kingdom of England 1660–1707 Charles II3  · James II3  · William III and Mary II3  · Anne3 1Overlord of Britain. 2Also ruler of Ireland. 3Also ruler of Scotland. 4Lord Protector. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.