For the first nine or ten years of his reign, Canute remained in England, only occasionally going over to Denmark to see that all was going on well there. He spent this time in bringing back the English nation to obedience to their own laws, the old laws of Edgar, for the first time insisting that, as parts of the same nation, Dane and Englishman were alike before the law and that no difference should be made between them. He repaired throughout England the churches and monasteries that had been injured or destroyed by the wars of his father and himself, and at all places where he had fought he erected churches in which prayers should be offered for those who had been slain. A very splendid monastery was built by him at the town since called Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, at the place where lay the remains of Edmund, slain by the Danes in 870, who was called King Edmund the Martyr; parts of this monastery, at one time the richest in England, remain to this day. It was little dreamed by Canute that at this monastery the nobles of England would in aftertimes meet to consider how they might wring their country’s liberties from an English king. It was at Bury St Edmunds that Magna Charta was drawn up and signed by the barons in 1214.42 Besides these benefactions, his queen, Emma, suggested to him that he should bestow rich alms on Winchester, the old capital of the English, where was one of the finest cathedrals. Here he gave so largely that the quantity of precious stones and valuable metals dazzled the eyes of strangers. Emma seems to have thought that if her husband gave his money in alms he would be the less likely to go on foreign expeditions; but all the time Canute was planning immense undertakings to extend his power in the North of Europe. He grew tired of the peace that was so grateful to his subjects; but on this occasion, instead of bringing fresh incursions of foreigners into England, he designed to add Sweden and Norway by English arms to his possessions in England and Denmark. He thought the time a good one for his design, for the fame of his splendour and good government had spread far and wide, and even from Norway a great number of powerful men had gathered to him, leaving their country on various pretended errands. To every one Canute gave magnificent presents, and the pomp and splendour of his Court and the multitude of his adherents impressed all who came. Peace was so well established in his realm that no man dared break it; even toward each other the people kept faith and good friendship. King Olaf, or, as it is better to call him, St Olaf, though he did not get that name till after his death, was not altogether loved in Norway, though the country had submitted to him with joy at the first. The people found his rule harsh, and many of them would have been willing enough to put the young Earl Hakon back in his place, or even Canute himself. This came to Canute’s ears, and he instantly equipped ambassadors in the most splendid way, and sent them in the spring of 1025 with his letters and seal to Norway. Olaf was ill at ease when he heard it, for he knew that it was with no friendly purpose to him that the envoys were sent. For a long time he refused to see them, and when they came before him and presented their letters he was even more ill-pleased. Canute’s message was that he considered all Norway as his property, and that if Olaf desired still to retain his crown he must submit to him, become his vassal, and receive back his kingdom as a fief from him, paying him “scat” or dues.
At this Olaf answered furiously to the messengers: “I have heard,” he said, “in old stories that Gorm the Old, first king of Denmark, ruled but over a few people, and in Denmark alone, but the kings who succeeded him thought that too little. Now it is come so far that King Canute, who rules over England and Denmark, and the most part of Scotland as well, claims also my paternal heritage, and then perhaps will promise some moderation after that. Does he wish to rule over all the countries of the North? Will he eat up all the kail in England? He may do so if he likes, and make a desert of the country, before I kneel to him, or pay him any kind of service. And now ye may tell him these my words: I will defend Norway with sword and battle-axe as long as life is given me, and I will pay scat and tribute to no man for my kingdom.”
The messengers were by no means pleased to take this message back to King Canute. When they told him the reply of Olaf and that he would by no means come and pay scat to him, or lay his head between his knees in sign of subjection, Canute replied: “King Olaf the Thick guesses wrong if he thinks I shall eat up all the kail in England. I will soon let him see that there is something else under my ribs than kail; and cold kail it shall prove for him.”
Soon after that, in 1026, Canute went over to Denmark to see what Olaf was about, and to try to detach the King of Sweden from Olaf’s side; but this he failed to do, for the King of Sweden feared that Canute, if he were successful against Olaf, would turn next against him and swallow him up also; so as soon as Canute had returned to England the King of the Swedes and the King of Norway made a meeting together, and swore to support each other against Canute, both of them meanwhile collecting what forces they could and agreeing to lie in wait for the King of England. By the winter of 1027 Olaf had got a good fleet together, and for himself he had built a very large ship with a bison’s head gilded all over standing out from the bow. He called his vessel the Bison. He sailed eastward with a mighty force, keeping close to land, and everywhere inquiring whether anything had been seen of Canute, but all he could hear was that he was fitting out a levy in England, and getting together a great fleet, over which Earl Hakon was second in command. Many of Olaf’s people got tired of waiting when they heard that Canute had not yet come, and returned home, but the best of his warriors remained with him, and with these he sailed south to Denmark, giving out that he intended to conquer the country. Here the King of the Swedes met him with his army, and together they made fearful ravages in the land, treating the people with great severity, and dragging them bound and wounded to the ships. Many of the people, feeling themselves unable to withstand the united force of the two kings, agreed to submit to them; but the others were wasted with fire and sword. It was joyful tidings for them when they heard that Canute and his fleet had really sailed and were on their way to their help.
Sigvat the skald, who was sometimes with Olaf in Norway and sometimes with Canute in England, made this ballad about the sailing of Canute the Great:
Sigvat was a great skald, but though he was sometimes in Canute’s service he still loved Olaf the best. On one occasion he and another skald, named Berse, were at Canute’s Court together, and the King gave a gold ring to Sigvat, but to Berse (whose name means a “bear-cub”) he gave two gold rings, much larger and weightier than Sigvat’s, besides an inlaid sword. Sigvat made this song about it:
When Sigvat came back to Norway and presented himself before Olaf, who some time before had made him his marshal, the King was about to sit down to table. Sigvat saluted him, but Olaf only looked at him, and said not a word. Then Sigvat and those who were standing by saw that Olaf knew well that Sigvat had been in England and had been received by King Canute. As the old proverb says, “Many are the ears of a king.” The King said to Sigvat the skald: “I do not know if thou art my marshal or if thou hast become one of Canute’s followers.” Then Sigvat answered the King in verse, telling him that Canute had invited him to stay with him, but that he preferred to be at home with Olaf. After that King Olaf gave Sigvat the same seat close to himself that he had had before, and the skald was in as high favour as ever with the King.
Things went on for some time in this way, Canute passing backward and forward between England and Denmark, and ever gathering more ships for the final struggle with Olaf and the Swedish King. He himself had a dragon ship, said to have had sixty banks of rowers, and the head gilt all over. Earl Hakon had another dragon ship of forty banks, with a gilt figure-head. The sails of both were in stripes of blue, red, and green, and the vessels were painted from above the water-line, and all that belonged to their equipment was most splendid. They had a vast number of men sailing in the ships. On the other side the Kings of Norway and Sweden set out also, but as soon as it was noised that Canute the Old was on the seas no one thought of going into the service of these two kings. When the Kings heard that Canute was coming against them they held a council as to what they should do. They were then lying with their fleet in the Helga River, in the south of Sweden, and Canute was coming straight upon them with a war-force one-half greater than that of both of them put together. King Olaf, who was very skilful in making plans, went with his people up the country into the forest. The river flowed out of a lake in the forest, and he set his men to cut down trees and dam up the lake where the river emerged with logs and turf, at the same time turning all the surrounding streams into the lake, so that it rose very high. All along the river-bed they laid large logs of timber. Then they waited till they got tidings from the Swedish King (who had moved his fleet into concealment round the cliffs not far from the mouth of the river) that King Canute’s ships were close at hand. Canute arrived with his fleet toward the close of day, and seeing the harbour empty, he went into it with as many ships as he could, the larger vessels lying outside in the open water. In the morning, when it was light, a great part of his men went on shore, some to amuse themselves, some to converse with sailors from the other ships. They observed nothing until the water of the river began to rise, and then came rushing down in a flood, carrying huge trees in its course, which drove in among the ships, damaging all they struck. Olaf had broken up his dam and let loose the whole body of water from the lake. In a few moments the whole of the low country was under water, and the men on shore were all swept away and drowned. Those on board cut their cables, and were swept out before the stream and scattered here and there. The great dragon ship which Canute was in was borne forward by the flood, and because of her size she was unwieldy, and they could not prevent her from driving in amongst the Norwegian and Swedish ships, whose crews immediately tried to board her, but her height was so great and she was so well defended that she was not easy to attack. Seeing that Canute’s ships were gradually collecting again, and finding that little more was to be gained by an uneven fight, King Olaf stood off and out to sea, and, observing that Canute did not follow, sailed away eastward toward Sweden. Many of the Swedish crew were so home-sick that they made for home, until the Swedish King had few followers left, and Olaf was much perplexed what to do. Finally he determined to send his ships eastward to the care of the King of Sweden, and he himself with the bulk of his army set out to march on foot across Sweden and so back to Norway, carrying their goods as best they might on pack-horses. Some of the men were old and did not like this plan. One of them, Harek of Throtta, who was aged and heavy, and who had been on shipboard all his life, said to the King that it was evident he could not go, nor had he any desire to leave his ship with other men. The King replied: “Come with us, Harek, and we will carry thee when thou art tired of walking.” But Harek waited until the King’s party had set off, and then he slipped down to his own ship, took down its flag and mast and sail, and covered all the upper part of the vessel with some grey canvas, and put only two or three men sitting fore and aft where they could be seen, while the others sat down low in the vessel. In this way he made it appear that it was only a merchant ship, and not a war-vessel, and so it slipped past Canute’s fleet without attack. As soon as they were well beyond Canute’s fleet they sprang up, hoisted the sails and flag and tore off the coverings, and then Canute’s men saw that they had let a war-ship escape them. Some of them thought it might even have been Olaf himself, but Canute said he was too prudent to sail with a single ship through the Danish fleet, and that more likely it was Harek’s ship, or some one like him. Then his men suspected that he had come to a friendly understanding with Harek to let him pass safely, and it became known that they were on good terms after that. Harek went his way, and never stopped till he came safe home to his own house in Halogaland. As he was sailing he sang this ditty:
It was the policy of Canute to induce men to leave King Olaf the Saint by the promise of advancement and by bestowing on them splendid gifts. He drew such large revenues from England and Denmark that he was able to make these presents without difficulty, and thus great numbers of the nobles were drawn away from Olaf and secretly joined Canute. This made Olaf suspicious even of his best friends, and sometimes his suspicions proved to be true. There is a story of one Thorer, of whom the King thought highly, and who had entertained him to a magnificent feast, who had, in spite of all, taken gifts from Canute. One day the King was speaking of this Thorer to his follower Dag, and he praised him much; but Dag made short replies. Olaf asked him why he did not answer; and Dag replied: “If the King must needs know, I find Thorer too greedy of money.” “Is he a thief, or a robber?” asked the King. “I think that he is neither,” said Dag. “What then is the matter with him?” asked Olaf. “To win money he is a traitor to his sovereign,” said Dag; “he has taken money from King Canute the Great to betray thee.” “What proof hast thou of this?” demanded the King. Dag replied: “He has upon his right arm, above his elbow, a thick gold ring, which Canute gave him, but which he lets no man see.” Olaf was very wroth at that, and the next time Thorer passed him, in seeing that the wants of his guests were attended to, the King held out his hand to him, and when he had placed his hand in the King’s, the King felt it toward the elbow. Thorer said: “Take care, for I have a boil on my elbow.” The King said: “Let me see the boil. Do you not know that I am a physician?” Then Thorer saw that it was no use to conceal the ring, and he took it off and laid it on the table. Olaf asked if he had received that ring from King Canute, and Thorer could not deny it. Then the King was so wroth that he would listen to no one, but ordered Thorer to be killed on the spot. That act of Olaf’s made him very unpopular in the uplands.
Meanwhile Olaf heard that Canute the Great was advancing with a mighty host which was growing greater every day. Men were flocking to him, and Olaf could not tell on whom to depend. His ships, too, which he had left behind in Sweden, could not get out past Canute’s fleet to come to his assistance; they had to wait until Canute had gone north to Norway, and then the best of them managed to steer round the Sound and join Olaf, and the rest were burned. King Canute made a march with his host through Norway, holding a “Thing” in each place he came to, and proclaiming Earl Hakon his governor-in-chief, and his son Hardacanute King of Denmark. The great landowners, or bondes, gave him hostages in token of their fidelity, and the skalds combined to sing his praises and celebrate his journeys in song. So that without striking a blow Norway gradually fell from the hands of Olaf into the hands of Canute.
The next winter Earl Hakon followed Canute to England, but he was lost in a storm on his way back; he had gone over to celebrate his marriage to Gunhild, a niece of King Canute. He had been so much beloved in Norway that Olaf had seen that it was impossible to stand before him, for the King’s followers lost no opportunity of falling away from him and placing themselves under the rule of Earl Hakon. The people considered that Olaf had been too severe in his rule, although they had to confess that he was just; but when he tried to abolish all plundering and marauding, and punished all who disobeyed with death, the chiefs turned against him, though this was a good law, and one much needed to preserve peace and prosperity in the countries.
Olaf thought it wiser to withdraw for a time, and he went east to Russia, where he was well received, and there he remained until he heard of Earl Hakon’s death. Then he returned and gathered his forces together, and they met their foes at the famous battle of Stiklestad, on 29 July, 1030, on the day of the great eclipse, fighting in the dark for the most part of the day; there Olaf fell, at the age of thirty-five years, with three wounds which Thorstein and Thorer Hund and Kalf gave him; and the greater portion of his forces fell around him. After he was gone and his severities were forgotten the people canonized him as a saint, and he who during his lifetime was called Olaf the Thick was called St Olaf thenceforth.
King Canute never went again to Norway; he occupied the latter years of his reign by quiet and good government in England, the country he had made his home. He was a man who had dreamed a great dream, the union in one vast sovereignty of Northern Europe, justly and peaceably ruled, and in part his dream came true; but as soon as his strong hand was withdrawn his empire fell to pieces of itself. His sons, Harald and Hardacanute (Harthacnut), in England and Denmark, and Sweyn, in Norway, had none of the great qualities of their father, and his kingdom parted asunder in their hands. The popular idea of Canute’s invincible power took shape in a story, well known to every one, that he one day caused his kingly seat to be placed on the sea-shore and commanded the waves to come no farther. When the water, in spite of his command, came up frothing round his feet he pointed to it, bidding his flattering followers mark that though they had protested there was nothing that he could not do, the waves and winds were beyond his authority: and he bade them refrain from such flatteries, and from giving to him praise which was due to the Creator of the universe alone.
Canute died at Shaftesbury, and was buried at Winchester, in 1035.