FOREWORD

TOWARD the close of the eighth century, there appeared in the waters of Western Europe the strange dragon fleets of the Northmen, the "heathen", or the Vikings, as they called themselves, and for more than two hundred years the shores of the West and the Southwest lived in constant dread of pillage and piracy. The viking invasions have always been of interest to the student of the Middle Ages; but only recently have historians begun to fathom the full significance of the movement. The British Isles were preeminently the field of viking activities. English historians, however, have usually found nothing in the invasions but two successive waves of destruction. As an eminent writer has tersely stated it,—the Dane contributed nothing to English civilization, for he had nothing to contribute.

On the other hand, Scandinavian students, who naturally took great pride in the valorous deeds of their ancestors, once viewed the western lands chiefly as a field that offered unusual opportunities for the development of the dormant energies of the Northern race. That Christian civilisation could not fail to react on the heathen mind was clearly seen; but this phase of the problem was not emphasized; the importance of western influences was minimized.

Serious study of the viking age in its broader aspects began about fifty years ago with the researches of Gudbrand Vigfusson, a young Icelandic scholar, much of whose work was carried on in England. Vigfusson's work was parallelled by the far more thorough researches of the eminent Norwegian philologist, Sophus Bugge. These investigators both came to the same general conclusion: that Old Norse culture, especially on the literary side, shows permeating traces of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon elements; that the Eddic literature was not an entirely native product, but was largely built up in the viking colonies in Britain from borrowed materials.

Some years earlier, the Danish antiquarian, J. J. A. Worsaae, had begun to study the "memorials" of Norse and Danish occupation in Britain, and had found that the islands in places were overlaid with traces of Scandinavian conquest in the form of place names. Later Worsaae's countryman, Dr. J. C. H. R. Steenstrup, carried the research into the institutional field, and showed in his masterly work, Normannerne (1876­1882), that the institutional development among the Anglo-Saxons in the tenth and eleventh centuries was largely a matter of adapting and assimilating Scandinavian elements.

Studies that embodied such differing viewpoints could not fail to call forth much discussion, some of which went to the point of bitterness. Recently there has been a reaction from the extreme position assumed by Professor Bugge and his followers; but quite generally Norse scholars are coming to take the position that both Sophus Bugge and Johannes Steenstrup have been correct in their main contentions; the most prominent representative of this view is Professor Alexander Bugge. Where two vigorous peoples representing differing types or different stages of civilisation come into more than temporary contact, the reciprocal influences will of necessity be continued and profound.

The viking movement had, therefore, its aspects of growth and development as well as of destruction. The best representative of the age and the movement, when considered from both these view­points, is Canute the Great, King of England, Denmark, and Norway. Canute began as a pirate and developed into a statesman. He was carried to victory by the very forces that had so long subsisted on devastation; when the victory was achieved, they discovered, perhaps to their amazement, that their favourite occupation was gone. Canute had inherited the imperialistic ambitions of his dynasty, and piracy and empire are mutually exclusive terms.

It is scarcely necessary to say anything further in justification of a biographical study of such an eminent leader, one of the few men whom the world has called "the Great." But to write a true biography of any great secular character of mediaeval times is a difficult, often impossible, task. The great men of modern times have revealed their inner selves in their confidential letters; their kinsmen, friends, and intimate associates have left their appreciations in the form of addresses or memoirs. Materials of such a character are not abundant in the mediaeval sources. But this fact need not deter us from the attempt. It is at least possible to trace the public career of the subject chosen, to measure his influence on the events of his day, and to determine the importance of his work for future ages. And occasionally the sources may permit a glimpse into the private life of the subject which will help us to understand him as a man.

The present study has presented many difficulties. Canute lived in an age when there was but little writing done in the North, though the granite of the runic monument possesses the virtue of durability. There is an occasional mention of Canute in the Continental chronicles of the time; but the chief contemporary sources are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Encomium Emmce, and the praise lays of the Norse and Icelandic scalds. The Chronicle was written by a patriotic Englishman who naturally regarded the Danes with a strong aversion. The Encomium, on the other hand, seems to be the product of an alien clerk, whose chief purpose was to glorify his patroness, Queen Emma, and her family. The lays of the scalds are largely made up of flattering phrases, though among them are woven in allusions to historic facts that are of great value.

The Anglo-Norman historians and the later monastic annalists in England have not very much to add to our information about Canute; but in their accounts they are likely to go to the other extreme from the Chronicle. Too often the monkish writers measured excellence by the value of gifts to churches and monasteries, and Canute had learned the value of donations properly timed and placed.

Adam of Bremen wrote a generation later than Canute's day, but, as he got his information from Canute's kinsmen at the Danish court, his notices of Northern affairs are generally reliable. There is no Danish history before the close of the twelfth century, when Saxo wrote the Acts of the Danes. It is evident that Saxo had access to a mass of sources both written and of the saga type. The world is grateful to the Danish clerk for preserving so much of this material; but sound, critical treatment (of which Saxo was probably incapable) would have enhanced the value of his work.

The twelfth century is also the age of the sagas. These are of uneven merit and most of them are of slight value for present purposes. However, the sources on which these are in a measure based, the fragments of contemporary verse that are extant and much that has not survived, have been woven into a history, the equal of which for artistic treatment, critical standards, and true historical spirit will be difficult to find in any other medieval literature. Wherever possible, therefore, reference has been made in this study to Snorre's Kings' Sagas, commonly known as "Heims­kringla", in preference to other saga sources.

In the materials afforded by archaeology, the Northern countries are peculiarly rich, though, for the purposes of this study, these have their only value on the side of culture. An exception must be made of the runic monuments (which need not necessarily be classed with archaeological materials), as these often assist in building up the narrative. More important, perhaps, is the fact that these inscriptions frequently help us to settle disputed points and to determine the accuracy of accounts that are not contemporary.

One of the chief problems has been where to begin the narrative. To begin in the conventional way with childhood, education, and the rest is not practicable when the place and the year of birth are unknown and the forms and influences of early training are matters of inference and conjecture. At the same time it was found impossible to separate the man from his time, from the great activities that were going on in the lands about the North Sea, and from the purposes of the dynasty that he belonged to. Before it is possible to give an intelligent account of how Canute led the viking movement to successful conquest, some account must be given of the movement itself. The first chapter and a part of the second consequently have to deal with matters introductory to and preparatory for Canute's personal career, which began in 1012.

In the writing of proper names the author has planned to use modern forms whenever such exist; he has therefore written Canute, though his preference is for the original form Cnut. King Ethelred's by-name, "Redeless," has been translated "Ill-counselled," which is slightly nearer the original meaning than "unready" ; " uncounselled" would scarcely come nearer, as the original seems rather to imply inability to distinguish good from bad counsel.

In the preparation of the study assistance has been received from many sources; especially is the author under obligation to the libraries of the Universities of Illinois, Chicago, Wisconsin, and Iowa, and of Harvard University; he is also indebted to his colleagues Dean E. B. Greene, Professor G. S. Ford, and Professor G. T. Flom, of the University of Illinois, for assistance in the form of critical reading of the manuscript.