The 1016 Invasion of England

Photo: Ashingdon hill, a possible site of the Battle of Assandun. Others argue the battle occoured at Ashdon.

In 1014, the Danish King, Sweyn Forkbeard successfully conquered England, becoming the first of the House of Denmark to rule England. Unfortunately for him, he died a mere five weeks later, and the throne instead went to the House of Wessex, and Æthelred the Unready. Æthelred was King before Sweyn, but had fled to Normandy after the conquest. His epithet of ‘The Unready’ is not how we would consider it, instead, it’s a pun, based on his name. It comes from the old English word ‘unraed’ which means ‘poorly-advised’. Meanwhile, Æthelred means ‘well-advised’.

But back to the invasion. Æthelred died around the 23rd of April, 1016, and on May 9th, the Danish prince Cnut (also known as Canute) landed at Greenwich. In Southampton, Cnut was declared the King, while in London, Edmund was backed. Cnut was able to reach London, and began to siege it. However, the English, led by King Edmund Ironside, met with the Danes at the Battle of Brentford. While the precise date of the Battle isn’t known, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle comments on the English Victory, saying:

“Then collected he [Edmund] his force the third time, and went to London, all by north of the Thames, and so out through Clayhanger, and relieved the citizens, driving the enemy to their ships. It was within two nights after that the king went over at Brentford; where he fought with the enemy, and put them to flight: but there many of the English were drowned, from their own carelessness; who went before the main army with a design to plunder.”

During the Battle of Otford, another English victory, Eadric Streona, Ealdorman of Mercia, defected to the English after supporting Cnut since his landing. However, at the Battle of Assandun (October 18th), he left the battle, letting the Danes break through the English lines, securing them a decisive victory. During the fight, Bishop Eadnoth of Dorchester was killed whilst performing mass, according to the Liber Eliensis chronicle. Historians wonder if it was all a ruse by Eadric to join Edmund again, or if he was someone who only looked out for himself, siding with whoever seemed most likely to win.

In the resulting peace talks, Cnut got to control all of England, with Edmund controlling only Wessex. However, a clause in their deal meant that the other would get their land if they died first, with any heirs then inheriting both to stop rival claims. Luckily for Cnut, Edmund would die on the 30th of November, letting Cnut inherit Wessex. He promptly exiled Edmund’s two children to Sweden where they were to be executed, however, fate meant they ended up in either Kiev or Poland, before ending up in Hungary, where the two would live for most of their lives.

Back in England, Cnut was crowned by Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1017. As for Eadric, he was executed around Christmas Day of 1017. According to the Encomium Emmae this was because he hadn’t been faithful to Edmund and was deceitful. It was likely Cnut wanted to avoid the possibility of him betraying him should another ruler try to claim the English Throne.

Cnut was King from 1016-35, and was a rather successful monarch. The house ruled England until 1042, where with the death of Harthacnut, the throne was given to Edward the Confessor, one of Æthelred’s other sons.

Sources:
Encyclopedia Britannica – Edmund II
M. K. Lawson – Cnut, England’s Viking King
Liber Eliensis
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
Encomium Emmae
Knýtlinga saga