Sweyn Estrithsson

Sweyn Estrithsson (d. 1074), king of Denmark (1047-74). Overshadowed by his rival Harold Hardrada, king of Norway, Sweyn nevertheless posed a significant threat to the rulers of England. The son of Cnut's sister Estrith and Jarl Ulf Sweyn's existence as a possible heir to the childless Edward the Confessor made him a consistent element in the tangled northern politics of the age. After the death of Harold Hardrada at Stamford Bridge in September 1066 and the subsequent Norman conquest of England, Sweyn came to the forefront of English politics. In 1069 he sent a huge fleet which sacked York, inflicting a rare defeat on the Normans. William, however, came to terms, more or less buying him off, and Sweyn's death on 28 April 1074 signals a virtual end to any revival of Cnut's Anglo-Danish kingdom