- 6 hours ago
Knut- The Viking Emperor (2026) Season 1 Episode 1
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:21On the shores of Sandwich,
00:26a man walks in silence.
00:31His name is Knut, a Viking prince born into a line of kings who have ruled Denmark for
00:39more than half a century.
00:46A few days earlier, he believed he could rely on a pact his father had forged with the English
00:52nobility, an agreement that he thought would make him king of England.
01:02But the lords turned their backs on him.
01:10And today, it is their sons who will pay the price.
01:21Many of these hostages may have been young men not much older than him.
01:26In many ways, that highlights the ruthlessness Knut was wishing to demonstrate in this particular
01:35action.
01:38He is only 20 years old, but Knut does not tremble.
01:46With a single gesture, he orders the hostages to be mutilated.
01:52Noses, ears, hands, just enough for England to understand.
02:05He is not killing them.
02:07He wants these people to go back and send the message, don't underestimate me.
02:12In his eyes burns a cold fury.
02:16He swears he will return.
02:19And this time, he will take England.
02:23And this time, he will take England.
02:38The New York Times
02:3910.
02:3918 al 13.
02:3918 al 13.
02:4019 al 13.
03:09Transcription by CastingWords
03:20Transcription by CastingWords
03:41Not for the thrill of the game, but out of defiance.
03:46Between the two brothers, everything already seems written.
03:56It is not Canute, but Harold, who will wear the crown.
04:03Canute is the second son, and I think that's important in understanding the man and understanding
04:10his ambitions, because he can be Prince Harry to Prince William.
04:14As long as Harold stays alive, Canute is not really going to be in a substantial position
04:19of power in Denmark.
04:22So there was a lot to play for, and that probably explains some of the kinds of jockeying and
04:27competitiveness we often see amongst heirs in this period.
04:35Ideally located at the crossroads of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, the Kingdom of Denmark
04:41is one of the most powerful and feared realms in Scandinavia.
04:48Its coastline, scattered with islands and carved out by fjords, shelters natural harbors where
04:54hundreds of merchant ships converge.
05:03Like in Roskilde, the capital, the merchant's stores overflow with riches from the east and west.
05:15Amber, furs, weapons, and slaves.
05:24For Canute, who has never left his homeland, these treasures are a call to adventure.
05:31The kings of the Danes could be divided into two main categories, kings of the land and kings
05:36of the sea.
05:37Those who stay in the country and govern it, and the younger sons often chose the sea,
05:42setting out for adventure in England, in West Francia, or elsewhere.
05:49It seems Canute was raised with that very purpose in mind, to conquer, to wage war, to amass wealth
05:56abroad, and then return home to carve out his own share of power, by force or by strategy.
06:06Canute's thirst for power comes from an extraordinary lineage.
06:10Her grandfather, Harold Bluetooth, who, for the first time, united the kingdom under a single crown.
06:18And a father, Svein Forkbeard, a feared Viking warlord who has ruled Denmark for more than 20 years.
06:26A lineage forged in blood and betrayal.
06:30Harold Bluetooth was a long-ruling and highly successful king, and therefore his son, Svein,
06:36was chomping at the bit, because it's, of course, in the interest of Svein to gain as much power
06:41and authority as possible, as quickly as possible, and it's in Harold's interest to prevent him
06:45doing so, because only one can be king at the same times.
06:50And he ends up in battle.
06:52Again, we don't know where the battle was, but we do know that Harold is injured, and he
06:57retreats to his allies in the Baltic, where he dies.
07:01Svein has seized power through the murder of his father.
07:04This is not a strong beginning.
07:07This is a weak and wobbly start.
07:12It is in a world where loyalty hangs by a thread, and power is won by the sword, that
07:18Pnut comes of age.
07:25A ruthless world, that one morning comes knocking at his door.
07:32King Svein summoned him to his hall.
07:37Pnut does not yet know it, but his father has made his decision.
07:43Within weeks, they will march on England.
07:49The 11th century was a major target for the Vikings.
07:53It's wealthy.
07:54It's organised.
07:56It's bureaucratic.
07:57The English have produced a money-making machine.
08:01Trade is going well.
08:03There are large amounts of gold and silver lying around, and it's close.
08:10This time, it is no mere raid.
08:16Svein is aiming for the entire kingdom, and above all, the crown of England.
08:23And so, one way of solving the problem of only having one Danish kingdom that you can give
08:28to your son and son heirs is to conquer another kingdom, and to offer prospects to Pnut.
08:33So, at the back of his mind probably is that he'd like to have and control England himself,
08:38but if he takes England, England can then be Pnut.
08:45Pnut is stunned to conquer England.
08:48Never before had a Viking dared to imagine it.
08:56For the first time in his life, Pnut glimpses a spark of hope.
09:02The chance to break free from his place as the younger son,
09:06and finally forge his own destiny.
09:23In his palace, King Æthelred hastily gathers his counsellors.
09:28They confirm what many feared.
09:31A massive fleet is assembling in Denmark.
09:35There is no longer any doubt.
09:38The Vikings are coming back.
09:43It's very likely that Æthelred would have known about Sven's invasion project.
09:49I think with the amount of traffic across the North Sea during the late Viking Age,
09:56rumours that something was afoot would be very likely to reach the English court at this time.
10:05The nobles know it, they can no longer rely on Æthelred.
10:11Rarely in the kingdom's history has a king faced such open doubt.
10:18For over 20 years, men from the Northmen have ravaged his lands.
10:24And for over 20 years Æthelred has failed to stop them.
10:30And of course, paying tribute has almost become the default solution.
10:35Whenever a fleet appeared, Æthelred seemed to offer greater and greater sums.
10:41He is often portrayed as the archetypal weak king,
10:44a ruler who preferred to pay off his enemies rather than fight them.
10:49Paying his adversaries to get rid of them.
10:58Ever heavier tributes have drained the kingdom.
11:03His subjects are weary of a king unable to put an end to this infernal spiral.
11:09But this time, Æthelred believes the outcome may be different.
11:15He has secured a powerful new ally.
11:19The Dane Æthorjald the Tall.
11:22One of the most feared Viking leaders of his age, and above all.
11:29A sworn enemy of Svein Falkbeard.
11:37Æthorjald the Tall is the greatest worry for the Danish kingship.
11:42Is a member of the elite of eastern Denmark, so the southern tip of Sweden.
11:48This is an area that Knut's dynasty have pushed aggressively into.
11:52And he's seen his power and his wealth and his privilege being eroded.
11:56And he's not happy.
11:59Four years earlier, in 1009, Æthorjald had fled Denmark with 45 ships.
12:07For three years, he ravaged England, leaving death and chaos in his wake.
12:16To stop him, Æthelred once again chose to pay.
12:23But this time, there was a condition.
12:34At this point in 1013, Æthorjald had signed up with Æthelred the Unready.
12:39He was taking Æthelred's money, providing protection.
12:43He pays them to be his private bodyguard.
12:46If you've got one of the largest and scariest Viking armies,
12:49and you pay it to work for you, sitting in England,
12:53frightening off other Vikings, well, this is a brilliant idea.
12:57And so the strategy here, really, is to set a thief to catch a thief,
13:02to use a Viking to stop future Vikings.
13:04And that's his hope, really, is that Æthorjald and his formidable army
13:08will be able to stop people like Swain.
13:16Æthorjald and Æthorjald struck a pact.
13:20In exchange for a generous tribute,
13:23the Dane would place his men and his 45 ships at the king's disposal.
13:29Swain and Cnut would now face not only Æthorjald's army,
13:33but a seasoned Viking force hardened by years of raiding.
13:49Swain learns of the alliance between Æthorjald and Æthorjald
13:52and immediately understands that time is running out.
13:57He knew that his old rival's loyalty belonged to no one but himself.
14:05Behind this alliance of convenience,
14:08Æthorjald is pursuing only one cause, his own.
14:14Æthorjald clearly poses a threat to Swain and Cnut
14:17because he's shown just how weak the English regime now is,
14:21and he's come within a whisker of conquering England himself.
14:25So it may well be that he himself is harbouring ambitions,
14:28that at some point he might just move from being the leading general
14:33to being the ruler of England.
14:35And so, for Swain,
14:37it's a matter of trying to take England before Æthorjald does the same.
14:44At the start of spring,
14:46Swain issues a great call to arms across Scandinavia.
14:55Each noble is ordered to provide men, weapons,
14:59provisions, and to join the gathering fleet.
15:06This is the first time that a king of Scandinavia
15:11has called for such a campaign,
15:14and he's drawing in people from all across Scandinavia.
15:18It's an invasion, it's not raiding,
15:21and that's the key difference.
15:23On foot and on horseback,
15:26thousands of Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes
15:29converge on Roskilde.
15:35Soon they are joined by hundreds of fortune seekers.
15:43Within a few weeks,
15:45several thousand men and more than a hundred ships
15:48gather under the king's banner.
15:52So we are looking at a scale of attack
15:54which is certainly very different
15:56to those England had traditionally seen
15:59in the earlier Viking ages.
16:00So this is a very, very large army
16:02that can rival any of the English armies.
16:08Canute watches the constant movement on the docks
16:11and the forest of masts
16:13stretching across the horizon.
16:18He could feel it.
16:22Everything in his life had led to this moment.
16:27From a very young age,
16:29Canute would have been trained up to be a warrior.
16:32So crucial to his upbringing
16:33would have been learning those skills of war,
16:36honing them through things like hunting,
16:38but also alongside that,
16:40learning the tricks of the trade at court,
16:42where also politics was an important consideration,
16:45where making deals,
16:46where hard-nosed realpolitik
16:48was also something to be learned
16:49at a very young age.
16:53Setting aside their rivalry,
16:55Harold greets his brother one last time.
16:59Their father had entrusted him
17:01with the Regency of Denmark,
17:02confirming his status as the rightful heir.
17:08Canute has no choice.
17:11If he ever wished to rule,
17:14he would have to carve out his own kingdom.
17:25At dawn,
17:27the Armada weighs anchor
17:28and turns west.
17:31On board,
17:32father and son
17:33share the same dream,
17:35to conquer one of the richest kingdoms
17:37in the west.
17:39The task is immense,
17:42and Svein expects Canute
17:44to stand by his side.
17:46The role that Svein wants for Canute
17:51is as a junior partner.
17:53It's very handy to have
17:55a member of your family
17:56who's able to provide some leadership
17:59within the Danish army.
18:01But Svein also knows
18:03that his son still has much to prove.
18:06His first lesson
18:07will be to earn the loyalty of his men.
18:16At the heart of any Viking expedition
18:18lies the ability to reward followers.
18:21And obviously,
18:22if a leader is able to distribute wealth,
18:25gold,
18:25and precious metals,
18:27it tends to secure his men's loyalty.
18:33The second essential factor
18:34is prestige,
18:36delivering victory,
18:37and being able to lead
18:38military operations successfully.
18:43Within days,
18:44the fleet will reach the English coast.
18:48There,
18:49the young prince
18:49is about to shed his former self
18:52and embrace his destiny
18:54as a warrior,
18:56a Viking,
18:57a war leader.
19:04The End
19:09Once again,
19:10Æthelred prepares to face
19:12the fury of the Northmen.
19:15All his hopes
19:16now rest on Thorkil.
19:19He orders him
19:20to deploy his fleet
19:21at Greenwich
19:22along the Thames,
19:24hoping to lure Canute
19:25and Svein
19:26into a trap.
19:31But one question
19:33torments him.
19:33Could he really be trusted?
19:37Æthelred knew
19:38his own fleet
19:39would be powerless
19:39to stop the Danes.
19:41Yet just five years earlier,
19:44that same fleet
19:45had seemed invincible.
19:50Æthelred had,
19:51amongst his attempts
19:52to face down
19:54the Viking threat,
19:55sought to reinforce
19:56England's naval capabilities.
19:57And he raises
19:58a very, very large navy
20:00with the prospect
20:01of preventing
20:02future invasion.
20:06Shipyards across the kingdom
20:08had been mobilized.
20:10Within months,
20:11an armada
20:12of 300 brand new ships
20:14gathers along
20:15the southern coast
20:15of England.
20:20Never before
20:22had an English king
20:23achieved such a feat.
20:27Everything seems
20:28to be going well,
20:28since 300 ships
20:30are more than
20:30the Danes
20:31seem capable
20:32of assembling
20:32at that time.
20:33But there's
20:34a major problem,
20:35the leadership
20:35within the
20:36Anglo-Saxon forces.
20:39Æthelred entrusts
20:41command of the fleet
20:41to two close nobles
20:43of his inner circle,
20:45Wolfnod
20:47and Beatrice.
20:52But one evening,
20:54a quarrel broke out.
20:56The two men
20:57accuse each other
20:58of treason.
21:02In a fit of rage,
21:05Wolfnod
21:05seizes 20 ships
21:09and rebels.
21:13And so he takes
21:14a portion of the
21:15English fleet
21:15off with him,
21:16the rest goes
21:17to try to chase them,
21:18and then a storm
21:19dashes them entirely.
21:21Many of the ships
21:22sink.
21:23The survivors
21:24who manage
21:24to reach the beach
21:25are slaughtered,
21:26and the ships
21:27are set on fire
21:28to Wolfnod's initiative.
21:32A single dispute
21:34was enough
21:34to set the royal fleet
21:36ablaze.
21:38along with
21:39the last hopes
21:40of the English people.
21:48The irony is
21:50that in 1009,
21:51shortly afterwards,
21:53Thorkell the Tall
21:53arrived at Sandwich
21:55with barely 50 ships,
21:56a relatively small force,
21:58and he meets
21:58no resistance at all.
22:00And so,
22:01what was,
22:01in essence,
22:02a very good strategic plan
22:03is completely undermined
22:05due to divisions
22:06within the English camp
22:07rather than any battle
22:09being offered
22:09with the Vikings.
22:16After 10 days at sea,
22:18the fleet finally reaches
22:20the English coast.
22:22The island has more than
22:2412,000 kilometers
22:25of coastline,
22:26countless possible landing points
22:29for the Vikings.
22:34Geography of the English coastline
22:36contributed enormously
22:38to the success
22:39of Viking raids
22:41because Vikings
22:43could move very rapidly
22:44around the coastline.
22:46And so, consequently,
22:47it's virtually impossible
22:49to defend,
22:49so it is,
22:51unfortunately,
22:52perfect for
22:53Scandinavian attack.
23:00An unfamiliar landscape,
23:02and yet strangely familiar.
23:07He remembers the evenings
23:09of his childhood,
23:11lulled by tales of raids
23:12and battles.
23:14And one name
23:16keeps coming back.
23:18Sandwich,
23:19an English town
23:21invaded many times.
23:26Among the entry points
23:28into England,
23:29the port of Sandwich
23:30is extremely important
23:31as it allows ships
23:32to be sheltered
23:33quite easily.
23:34It also offers
23:35easy access
23:36to the mouth
23:37of the Thames.
23:38It is difficult
23:39to secure for defenders
23:40and easy to access
23:41for attackers.
23:42An ideal place
23:43to launch an invasion.
23:51Canute leaps
23:52from the ship
23:53and for the first time
23:55sets foot
23:55on the soil
23:56of the Kingdom
23:57of England.
24:00What does he feel?
24:02Excitement?
24:04Rage?
24:06He probably
24:07has no time
24:07to wonder.
24:09On the beach,
24:10English soldiers
24:11are trying
24:11to stand
24:12in their way.
24:16For the young Dane,
24:17it is a baptism
24:19of fire
24:19and perhaps
24:20his first chance
24:21to prove himself.
24:26All of these
24:27great Scandinavian leaders
24:29are warriors
24:30and lead troops
24:31into battle
24:31and clearly
24:32are battle-hardened
24:33and known
24:33for this fact
24:34and that is
24:35an essential part
24:35of their reputation.
24:37At the same time,
24:39they are almost
24:39certainly not normally
24:41in the front line
24:42of the fray.
24:42So, as a Scandinavian leader,
24:44you need to have
24:45the respect
24:45of your men,
24:46you need to be known
24:47to be a formidable warrior,
24:49but you also need
24:50to not be silly
24:51and ridiculous
24:52and take unnecessary risks.
24:54And Knut
24:55is an excellent example.
24:57We rarely see him fighting,
24:58except when he knows
24:59he will win,
25:00which is quite wise of him.
25:05the English troops
25:07are quickly defeated.
25:12The Vikings set up
25:13camp for the night.
25:18Around the fire,
25:20Svein and Knut
25:21ponder their next move.
25:25England is divided
25:26into several
25:27anglo-saxon kingdoms.
25:29Mercia to the west,
25:32Northumbria
25:33to the north,
25:36East Anglia
25:37to the east,
25:39and Wessex,
25:41the centre of power,
25:42to the south.
25:45That is where Thorkell
25:47deployed his fleet
25:48to defend London.
25:53Svein knows
25:54that attacking head-on
25:55would be suicidal.
25:59Thorkell is
26:00very frightening for Svein,
26:02presumably because
26:03he's slightly scared
26:04that he might
26:04either not win
26:05or damage
26:06an enormous part
26:07of the Danish royal forces.
26:08If we add to this
26:10the fortifications
26:11of the city of London,
26:12then yes,
26:13it clearly becomes
26:13very difficult for Svein.
26:15He could go straight forward,
26:17but that would involve
26:18a real risk,
26:19avoiding fighting
26:19Thorkell
26:20is therefore
26:20the logical choice.
26:23At first light,
26:25Svein and Knut
26:26weigh anchor.
26:29They sail north,
26:31and at the mouth
26:32of the Thames
26:32they turn away,
26:35leaving London behind.
26:38They head
26:40toward the Danelaw,
26:42a vast territory
26:43stretching from
26:44East Anglia
26:45to Northumbria,
26:46where Viking influence
26:48runs deep.
26:51Danelaw is a term
26:53which is used
26:54to refer to the areas
26:56in England
26:57which were settled
26:58by Scandinavian settlers
27:01from the early
27:02Viking age.
27:03It does mean to say
27:04that there was
27:05a significant
27:06Scandinavian,
27:07particularly Danish,
27:09influence.
27:09these people are
27:11both simultaneously
27:13Scandinavian and English.
27:15They don't see themselves,
27:16I think,
27:17as allied to either party.
27:19Sometimes they work
27:20with the Danes,
27:20sometimes they work
27:21with the English,
27:22but they see themselves
27:23as a unit in themselves.
27:25And I think that's
27:26what attracts
27:27Svein Fortbeard.
27:28He recognises
27:29the Danelaw
27:30as somewhere
27:31that looks like home,
27:32and he knows
27:33how to rule that area.
27:35He knows
27:36how to control this.
27:40Svein and Knut
27:41are taking a gamble.
27:43If there is one place
27:45in England
27:45ready to welcome them,
27:46it's there.
27:50Here, resentment
27:52towards King Æthelred
27:53runs strong.
27:56A resentment
27:57born of a past
27:58neither Svein
27:59nor Knut
28:00has forgotten.
28:22As England buckles
28:24under Danish attacks
28:25and the ever-growing
28:26weight of tribute,
28:28the nobility
28:29grows restless
28:34Determined
28:35to regain control,
28:36Æthelred
28:37makes a drastic decision.
28:40In November
28:41of the year
28:421002,
28:43he sends messengers
28:44across the kingdom.
28:53On St. Bryce's Day,
28:55the 13th of November,
28:57armed men
28:58slip silently
28:59through the sleeping
29:00streets of towns
29:01and villages
29:01across the Danelaw.
29:07The St. Bryce's Day Massacre
29:10becomes one of those
29:11very storied events
29:13of Æthelred's reign.
29:14And it's the first real sign
29:16that panic is starting
29:18to grip Æthelred's court,
29:19that the logical,
29:21perhaps more sensible,
29:22measured responses
29:23have failed.
29:24and so he starts looking
29:26to more extreme measures.
29:27And what he fastens upon
29:29is the idea
29:30that the Danes
29:31who are resident
29:32in his kingdom,
29:33the Scandinavians
29:33resident in his kingdom,
29:34are plotting against him.
29:35And so he decides
29:36to kill them all.
29:39In York,
29:40the Danes
29:41are hunted down
29:42and enter into a church
29:43where they seek refuge.
29:52But outside,
29:54torches arc through the air
29:56towards the sacred building.
30:03The St. Bryce's Day Massacre
30:05is quite a stain
30:07on the reputation
30:08of King Æthelred
30:10because whatever the scale
30:12of the St. Bryce's Day Massacre,
30:14it had an impact
30:16across the world
30:17connected with the Danes.
30:19It must have been
30:20in the back of the minds
30:21of some of the Vikings
30:23who were present in England
30:24in Sven's army.
30:27Æthelred believed
30:28he was securing his kingdom.
30:31Instead,
30:32he unleashed
30:32a terrible storm.
30:36Now,
30:37who can say
30:37whether the people
30:38of the Danelaw
30:39will remain loyal to him?
30:46Sven and Knut's ships
30:47sail up the estuary
30:49of the river Humber.
30:51They then enter
30:52the calm waters
30:53of the river Trent.
30:57On deck,
30:59Knut remains watchful.
31:01He scans the river banks,
31:03alert to the slightest movement.
31:06He has not forgotten
31:07the tales of the elders.
31:10Venturing deep
31:11into the English countryside
31:12is never without danger.
31:16Since the 9th century,
31:18the Anglo-Saxons
31:19have established
31:20a network of fortifications
31:21known as the Burrs,
31:22which were a kind
31:23of fortified stronghold.
31:24Some were old,
31:25restored Roman fortresses.
31:27Others were exceptional
31:28natural sites,
31:29headlands or cliffs
31:30that were walled off
31:31to create a fortified point
31:33that was difficult to seize.
31:36Their purpose
31:37was to protect merchants,
31:39shelter populations,
31:40and above all,
31:41to create a defensive mesh
31:43across the territory.
31:45When you look at the map
31:46of these Burrs,
31:47it really gives the impression
31:48of a tight mesh
31:49designed to prevent
31:50any Viking army
31:51from slipping
31:52through the net.
31:57The fleet reaches Gainsborough,
32:00a small fortified town
32:01south of York.
32:06Zvein orders the landing.
32:11For Knut,
32:12who is experiencing
32:13his first military campaign,
32:15everything seems too easy.
32:19Since leaving the North Sea,
32:21nothing has stood in their way.
32:23No traps,
32:24no ambushes.
32:27This is an area
32:28of England
32:29which has often been distant
32:30from royal control
32:32and power,
32:32which is naturally suspicious
32:34of English monarchs
32:35at the best of time.
32:35And that means that
32:36when Knut and Swain
32:38land at Gainsborough,
32:39they're rapidly able
32:40to gain the support
32:41of the local population.
32:42And they almost certainly
32:43know that in advance.
32:44It's no accident
32:45that they,
32:45instead of attacking
32:46the south of England,
32:47the heartlands
32:48of the English kingdom,
32:49they go to precisely
32:50where there's the chink
32:52in Æthelred's armor.
32:56A group of horsemen
32:58approaches the camp.
33:01At their head
33:02rides the powerful
33:03Uhtred of Northumbria.
33:06He comes to request
33:08an audience with Zvein.
33:16Knut watches him
33:17in silence.
33:21Here stands the enemy
33:22he expected to fight.
33:25But Uhtred has not come
33:26for battle.
33:28Instead,
33:29he offers his submission,
33:31that of Lince
33:32and the five boroughs.
33:35To Knut,
33:37raised in the Viking code
33:38of honor,
33:39this surrender
33:40without battle
33:41or glory
33:41speaks volumes
33:43about his adversary.
33:46What we have to
33:48realize at this time
33:49is that the idea
33:50of English unity
33:52is only a relatively
33:54recent construction
33:56of the 10th century.
33:59And for Uhtred,
34:00it was probably
34:01his interests
34:02to submit
34:04to a Danish lord
34:05rather than
34:06a distant
34:07English king
34:08in the south
34:09of the island.
34:12It seems
34:12he was caught
34:13off guard,
34:14that he's defending
34:15his own interests
34:16in an unstable situation.
34:18Separated from
34:19the main
34:19Anglo-Saxon army,
34:20he knows no help
34:22is coming.
34:23For him,
34:23it becomes a matter
34:24of real politic.
34:25If he does not submit,
34:26he knows he will die.
34:27Thus,
34:27he becomes Zvein's ally,
34:29at least in the short term.
34:32As a pledge of good faith,
34:34Uhtred does not come alone.
34:36He brings with him
34:38the sons of the great
34:39northern families
34:40sent to serve as hostages.
34:45Young men,
34:46barely older than
34:47Knut himself.
34:49And yet,
34:51everything separates them.
34:55On one side,
34:56the young conqueror.
34:59On the other,
35:00an unarmed youth,
35:02handed over
35:03as collateral
35:04for an oath.
35:06If you come to an agreement
35:07with anybody
35:09in politics
35:09in this period,
35:10you try to take a hostage
35:11to make sure
35:12the man is going to do
35:12what he's going to do.
35:13And those hostages
35:15are then
35:16a token
35:16of their seriousness.
35:18They have to be
35:18very high-ranking individuals
35:20and they are
35:21your collateral.
35:22And this is saying,
35:23well,
35:23we're not going to leave
35:24them tied up
35:25to a radiator
35:25with handcuffs on.
35:27We will treat them
35:28with honour,
35:29with dignity.
35:29But if anything
35:30should happen,
35:31then it's the end
35:33of your son here.
35:34You know,
35:35this is a very
35:36practical guarantee,
35:37but it's also
35:39playing on this idea
35:40of honour
35:41as well.
35:45without spilling
35:47a drop of blood,
35:48Zvein and Canute
35:49seize control
35:50of northern England.
35:56But for Zvein,
35:58this is only
35:59the beginning.
36:00What he wants
36:01is the crown.
36:03The northern nobility
36:05gathers
36:06and proclaims
36:07Zvein king of England,
36:09rejecting Aethelred.
36:13but the rest
36:14of the realm
36:15still has
36:15to be persuaded
36:16to accept
36:17such a dramatic
36:18change of allegiance.
36:21And what better way
36:23to seal that bond
36:24than marriage?
36:29A union
36:30between Canute
36:31and a young
36:32noble woman
36:32from a powerful
36:33Anglo-Danish lineage
36:35could ease tension
36:36and seal alliance.
36:39Her name
36:40is Elgifu
36:41from Northampton.
36:46Elgifu
36:46Northampton
36:47is the woman
36:48that Sven Fortbeard
36:49looks at the political
36:50landscape of the north
36:51and says,
36:52that one.
36:53She's the one
36:54that's going to marry
36:55my son
36:55because she's the one
36:56who can help us
36:57control this region.
36:58She's the heiress
36:59to this old
37:00political machinery.
37:01She is the daughter
37:03of Alfhelm
37:04who had been
37:05a alderman,
37:06so the leading man
37:07in the southern part
37:08of Northumbria.
37:09But he had been
37:10murdered in
37:11Ethelred's court
37:12in 1006
37:13in a purge.
37:14But that family
37:16nonetheless remains
37:17important and very
37:18alienated from
37:19Ethelred.
37:20And so,
37:21in a sense,
37:22she can be a
37:22lightning rod
37:23for channeling
37:24that descent
37:24towards support
37:25for Svein and Canute.
37:27And so for Canute
37:28coming in with Svein,
37:29perhaps also at the
37:30back of his mind,
37:32the prospect may be
37:33of becoming
37:33an eventual king
37:34of England
37:35or an under-king
37:36of England
37:36under his father.
37:37She is the perfect
37:38match to make
37:40in that moment.
37:45Canute knows
37:46exactly what Svein
37:47expects of him.
37:49Without hesitation,
37:50he leads this
37:51perfect stranger
37:52to the altar.
37:58and under his
37:59father's watchful eye,
38:01he takes Elgifu
38:03as his wife.
38:07The young prince
38:08understands that
38:09his destiny
38:10is now lying here.
38:12The path is set.
38:14Canute will not
38:15look back.
38:22At the end of summer,
38:24Svein orders
38:25his army to prepare.
38:28Supplies,
38:29reinforcements,
38:32horses.
38:35To his seasoned warriors
38:37are added the levies
38:38raised in the Danelaw.
38:42Before departing,
38:43he entrusts his son
38:44with the reigns
38:45of the conquered territory.
38:48Canute might have
38:49preferred to march
38:50to war,
38:51but instead,
38:53another trial awaits him.
38:55In his father's absence,
38:57he must guard the fleet,
38:59watch over the hostages,
39:02and raise the funds
39:03needed to sustain the war.
39:08Sons are expected
39:09to be trained up
39:10in kingship
39:11and to learn
39:11the trips of the trade
39:12as soon as possible.
39:14And one of the best ways
39:15to do this
39:15for someone like Svein,
39:16to ensure his sons
39:17that experience,
39:18is to allow them
39:19an element of rule
39:20while he's still alive.
39:21So we're seeing him
39:22potentially setting up
39:24Canute as his underking,
39:26his representative
39:27in England.
39:28And the sense of responsibility
39:29that this new conquest,
39:30this new land,
39:31this new world,
39:32as it were,
39:33that they've struck into
39:34is now his to control.
39:36It must be overwhelming,
39:37but simultaneously,
39:39simultaneously,
39:40steps up to the plate.
39:42Is it a mark of trust
39:43being placed in him?
39:45Partly, perhaps.
39:46But what always strikes me
39:48is that Canute
39:49still does not fight.
39:50He's not on the front lines
39:52learning how to lead an army.
39:53He really gives the impression
39:55of being kept safe
39:56in reserve by his father.
39:57In a way,
39:58he's already being shaped
39:59into an administrator
40:00who's learning governance,
40:02which is, in fact,
40:03rather wise.
40:06For the young Viking,
40:07the moment of truth
40:08has come.
40:11Canute watches his father
40:13disappear in the distance.
40:20Now alone,
40:22he must prove himself
40:24worthy of the task.
40:26More than anything,
40:28he must ensure his father
40:30will be proud of him.
40:36Swain's long column of troops
40:38stretches southward,
40:40towards the heart of the kingdom.
40:44But instead of heading for London,
40:46where Ethelred awaits,
40:48Swain leads his men west,
40:52towards Oxford.
40:56Swain's decision to attack Oxford
40:58rather than London
41:00almost certainly
41:01is suggestive
41:02of serious strategic calculation.
41:04While Ethelred's regime
41:06has shown itself
41:06to be toothless
41:07in many respects,
41:09not very successful
41:10on the battlefield,
41:11it remains capable
41:12of deploying armies
41:14of a large scale,
41:16and it still has the forces
41:17of Thorkell the Tall
41:19at Greenwich.
41:19If Swain had rushed
41:21his campaign
41:22and gone for that,
41:23then potentially
41:24this might have been
41:25game over for Swain
41:27too early,
41:28and it made sense
41:30to essentially
41:31take the pieces
41:32of the playing board
41:34first of all
41:35before going
41:36to London.
41:43In early autumn,
41:44the invading army
41:45crosses Watling Street.
41:50This ancient Roman road
41:52runs across England
41:53from east to west
41:54and marks a symbolic frontier
41:56between the Danelaw
41:58and the southern lands,
41:59still loyal to Ethelred.
42:05Swain's orders are clear.
42:07Beyond this line,
42:09there will be no mercy.
42:14From farm to farm,
42:16village to village,
42:19his army unleashes
42:20its full destructive force.
42:25There's no Geneva Convention,
42:27so the objective is obviously
42:29to put pressure on the enemy,
42:30to scare them.
42:31Men loot, kill,
42:33and burn as they please.
42:36It's a phrase frequently used
42:38to describe Viking armies.
42:39Psychological warfare
42:40is nothing new.
42:41It exists in every conflict,
42:42in every era.
42:43And for civilian populations,
42:45it has always meant
42:46the same thing
42:46throughout history.
42:48Raiding the countryside,
42:49seizing resources,
42:50living off the land,
42:51and killing a few people
42:52in a particularly dramatic way
42:54are all part of
42:55the usual practices.
42:59After a few days,
43:01Swain and his men
43:02reach Oxford.
43:04The troops take position
43:06before the fortified town.
43:11The city gates
43:13slowly open.
43:16A man steps forward
43:18and speaks a few words.
43:21The city surrenders
43:23without a fight.
43:28The inhabitants of Oxford
43:29had already suffered greatly
43:31over the previous decade.
43:33Resisting now
43:34would mean
43:34a second full-scale plundering
43:36or another round
43:37of mass destruction.
43:39Clearly,
43:39not everyone is eager
43:40to turn their city
43:41into another Stalingrad.
43:42Surrendering is the logical choice
43:44if it spares lives
43:45and avoids crushing tribute.
43:51Swain and his men
43:52enter the city
43:53after a victory
43:54won without
43:55a single sword stroke.
43:59The strategy of fear
44:01worked.
44:04The local nobility
44:06submits.
44:10But for Swain,
44:13it is not enough.
44:17Swain,
44:19Falkbeard,
44:19is trying to terrorise
44:21the south of England.
44:22He has to subdue that part.
44:24He's got to do this
44:24with big public displays.
44:26The lords of each region
44:28must essentially
44:29kneel before him
44:31in public.
44:32He needs Wessex
44:34to be seen
44:35to be beaten
44:35and to be under the heel
44:37of the Danish oppressor.
44:44In the days that followed,
44:46the southern cities
44:47fell one after another.
44:50Exeter,
44:53Winchester,
44:54all surrendered
44:55without resistance.
44:58In London,
45:00Ethelred remains
45:01barricaded in his palace.
45:04More cut off
45:06from his people
45:06than ever,
45:07he watches helplessly
45:09as his kingdom
45:10collapses.
45:13Ethelred's passivity
45:14has really dammed
45:16the reputation
45:17of Ethelred.
45:19The 12th century
45:20William of Malmesbury
45:21referred to him
45:22as being lazy,
45:23essentially,
45:24and not getting
45:26out of bed.
45:27But I think
45:28we also have
45:29to remember
45:29that he had
45:31to rely
45:32on regional
45:33governors
45:34to raise
45:35forces.
45:36And his commanders,
45:38his aldermen,
45:39are just unwilling
45:40to act on his behalf
45:42while he's in London.
45:43So it's something
45:43of a difficult
45:45situation
45:46for Ethelred
45:47at this time.
45:52As autumn begins,
45:54the noose
45:54tightens around
45:55Ethelred.
45:59From the ramparts,
46:00he observes
46:01Svein's troops
46:02across the river.
46:06He knows
46:07his survival
46:08may depend
46:08on what happens
46:09here and now.
46:12Losing the city,
46:13the last stronghold
46:14of resistance
46:15against the Danes,
46:16would mean
46:16losing the crown.
46:22Beyond the walls,
46:23Svein knows
46:24the confrontation
46:25will be harsh.
46:27For more than
46:28a century,
46:29London has remained
46:30unconquered.
46:35London benefits
46:36from its Roman walls
46:37that survived
46:38throughout the Middle Ages
46:39and were extensively
46:40restored for defense.
46:42It is the nerve center
46:43of Ethelred's defense.
46:45This is where he resides,
46:46likely with his
46:47household troops.
46:49Thorkell is there
46:50as well,
46:51probably with his fleet.
46:52And then there's London,
46:54large, wealthy, powerful.
46:56The inhabitants do not
46:57seem at all inclined
46:57to surrender
46:58to the first newcomer.
47:01Svein knows
47:02a frontal assault
47:03would be doomed
47:04to fail.
47:05So, to bypass
47:07the English defenses,
47:08he orders his men
47:10to forge the Thames.
47:19It's possible
47:20that they tried
47:20to cross the river
47:22to the west
47:23of London
47:24at low tide,
47:25but you have to know
47:26the river
47:26in order to do this.
47:30The maneuver
47:31turns into a disaster.
47:33Hundreds of men
47:34are swept away
47:35by the current
47:36and the river's
47:36tumultuous waters.
47:42The likelihood
47:43that many men drowned
47:45while trying to do this
47:46would have been
47:47likely to cause
47:49Svein to think
47:51about changing
47:52the direction
47:53of his campaign.
47:57Svein is forced
47:58to face the truth.
48:00To persist
48:01would cost
48:02countless warriors
48:03and endanger
48:04the entire campaign.
48:09The siege of London
48:10ultimately
48:11is going to fail.
48:12London is just
48:13too tough
48:14a nut to crack
48:15in Svein's time.
48:16So, Svein pulls out
48:18and he heads
48:19to the west.
48:24If he cannot
48:25force London
48:26to yield,
48:27Svein may try
48:28to isolate it
48:29from the rest
48:30of the kingdom.
48:32To do that,
48:33he must seize
48:34the last key
48:35stronghold
48:36of Wessex,
48:37Bath.
48:40This city,
48:41where Æthelred's
48:42father was crowned,
48:43enjoys near-imperial
48:45prestige
48:46and is home
48:47to one of the
48:47kingdom's most
48:48influential noble
48:49families.
48:51This,
48:51if you're going to
48:52crack an easier nut
48:54and you're going to
48:54make an enormous
48:55political splash,
48:56do it with these people.
48:58They're related to the
48:59kingship,
48:59they're long related
49:00to the kingship,
49:00and that is a huge
49:02money-making area
49:03for Anglo-Saxon
49:04England.
49:05If you can break
49:06the west,
49:07maybe you don't
49:08have to break London.
49:09Maybe London
49:09will fall on its own.
49:13By the end of
49:141013,
49:16the nobles of Bath,
49:17weary of Æthelred's
49:18chaotic rule,
49:19rally to the Dane.
49:23Soon,
49:23the rest of the
49:24kingdom follows.
49:28Æthelred will have
49:29seen it sitting in
49:30London as the lights
49:32going out one after
49:33another across the
49:34entire country as they
49:36just stopped talking
49:37to him.
49:37And when you've got
49:38nothing left except
49:39the city of London,
49:40then I think you leave.
49:43Abandoned by all,
49:45Æthelred,
49:46the last king of a
49:47five-century-old
49:48dynasty,
49:49flees toward Normandy.
49:57And there,
49:58he can remain king
49:59in exile,
50:00awaiting his moment
50:01to reappear.
50:02So he's kind of a bit
50:03like the free French
50:04government in London
50:05in World War II,
50:06if you will.
50:07He's potentially there
50:09in Normandy as the,
50:11to his mind,
50:11genuine English king
50:14and the real government
50:15waiting for an
50:16opportunity to step
50:18back into those shoes.
50:27Aboard the ship
50:28carrying him into
50:29exile,
50:31Æthelred watches
50:32the English coastline
50:33fade into the mist.
50:36His defeat
50:38tastes of betrayal.
50:43His people
50:45did not raise their
50:46weapons to defend him.
50:48The nobles
50:49abandoned him
50:50for a king
50:50from the north.
50:51But Æthelred
50:53is not broken.
50:54He swears
50:55he will return,
50:57whatever the cost.
51:12In Lincoln,
51:13Canute awaits
51:14his father.
51:17The man he finds
51:18is no longer
51:19only king of Denmark.
51:21He is now
51:22king of England.
51:25Before him
51:26stands a transformed
51:27son,
51:29seasoned and hardened
51:31by the demands
51:31of power.
51:34It's a new world.
51:36It's the conquest
51:37of somewhere
51:37for him to rule.
51:38Harold would now
51:39have Denmark,
51:40he will have England,
51:41and he is the second
51:43son,
51:43and he's got
51:44the conquest.
51:45But what a conquest.
51:46There is far more
51:48money there
51:49in England
51:49than there will
51:50ever be in Denmark.
51:51And that wealth
51:53will be used
51:54by his dynasty
51:55to push
51:56its ambitions
51:58far into
51:59Scandinavia
52:00to rule
52:00what,
52:01we have to use
52:02the modern word,
52:03empire.
52:04If he ever dreamed
52:05of being an emperor,
52:07he did so
52:08on the day
52:10they conquered
52:10southern England.
52:14Together,
52:15Thane and Canute
52:16have achieved
52:17the unthinkable,
52:19seizing the richest
52:20kingdom in the
52:21western world.
52:22For the young prince,
52:24the future now
52:24seems set.
52:26But history
52:27is far from finish
52:28with him.
52:29England will soon
52:30slip from their grasp,
52:32and Canute will be
52:33forced to face
52:34a new enemy,
52:36far more formidable
52:37than any before.
Comments