The North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, 1016 - 1035 (Illustration)

Illustration

by Simeon Netchev
published on 22 May 2023

The North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, 1016 - 1035 — A map illustrating the rise and extent of the North Sea Empire under the rule of Cnut the Great (aka Canute, Cnut Cyning, or Knútr Inn Ríki) as a personal union of England, Denmark, and Norway between 1016 and 1035 CE. One of only two English kings to bear the title of “Great,” Cnut was the son of King Sven, the Dane, Forkbeard, and grandson of Harald Bluetooth. During his short reign, King Cnut ruled England as the center of a North Sea Empire that included most of Scandinavia and Ireland and claimed vassalage from as far away as Scotland and Pomerania. After more than two centuries of Viking raids and Cnut’s early years of aggressive conquest, his rule is considered one of the most stable and prosperous of the early medieval period. After his death at 40 from an unknown illness (both his sons died without leaving heirs in just a few years,) a period of messy political instability disintegrated Cnut’s North Sea Empire and, in 1066, made England a target for another foreign appetite - this time from Normandy across the English Channel.

About the Author

Simeon is a freelance visual designer with a deep interest in the human side of history. He believes that every image should be an interaction, a commentary, and a narrative, and every map should lead on an exciting journey of exploration and discovery.

License & Copyright

Uploaded by Simeon Netchev, published on 22 May 2023. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Netchev, S. (2023, May 22). The North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, 1016 - 1035. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17441/the-north-sea-empire-of-cnut-the-great-1016---1035/

Chicago Style

Netchev, Simeon. "The North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, 1016 - 1035." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified May 22, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17441/the-north-sea-empire-of-cnut-the-great-1016---1035/.

MLA Style

Netchev, Simeon. "The North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, 1016 - 1035." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 22 May 2023. Web. 19 Apr 2024.