Empire of the North Sea

In 1016, having won the battle of Assandun , Knud became king of England. In 1018, he inherited Denmark from his brother Harald. King Knud lived in it until 1020, and then from 1022 to 1023. In 1026 in Sweden, he won the battle on the Helga River . In 1028, using an English fleet of 50 ships, he captured Norway. However, the attempt to give her under the authority of his unofficial wife Elfgif Northampton and their common son Sven Knutsson at first was unsuccessful. In 1030, Olaf II tried to resist him, but in the battle of Styclastadir , Olaf was killed. In 1033, riots broke out in the central part of the country, Elfgifu and Sven fled to southern Norway, and in 1035 the country was headed by the son of Olaf II Magnus the Noble .

England

Knud the Great was the youngest son of Danish King Sven the Greatbeard . When his father died on February 3, 1014 during the invasion of England, Knud, remaining command of the fleet on the Trent River, was recognized by the Danes. However, the invasion failed: the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Lindsay , who promised to supply horses for a tactical raid, were not ready, so the British managed to return King Ethelred , whom they had previously sent into exile, after he agreed to govern the country less harshly. ^[2]

Knut's brother Harald became king of Denmark, but with the help of Eric from Norway, Knud assembled a new fleet for the invasion and returned to England in the summer of 1015. The British at that time were weakened by intrigue among the king, his sons and other nobles. For four months, one of Ethelred's sons, who controlled Wessex , the historical heart of the kingdom, promised to be loyal to Knud. Even before the decisive battle for London began, Ethelred died on April 23, 1016. The Londoners chose his son Edmund as their king, while most of the nobles gathered in Southampton and swore allegiance to Knud. Knud besieged London , but was forced to leave to replenish his supplies; however, pursuing the Danes who raided Wessex , Edmund himself was defeated at the battle of Assandun . He and Knud entered into an agreement under which Edmund retained Wessex and recognized Knud’s right to rule all of England north of the Thames . But on November 30, 1016, Edmund, in turn, died, leaving Knud king of England. ^[3]

In the summer of 1017, Knud consolidated his power by marrying Ethelred's widow, Emma , although he had previously married an English noblewoman, Elfgif of Northampton . In 1018, he paid with his fleet (especially money from London) and was fully recognized as king of England. ^[four]