On this day in History: coronation of Cnut the Great as King of England at St Paul’s Cathedral in 6 January 1017.
“In this year King Cnut succeeded to all the kingdom of England, and divided it in four, to himself Wessex, and Thorkell East Anglia, and Eadric Mercia, and Eric Northumbria. (…) And King Cnut drove out the atheling Eadwig and Eadwig king of the ceorls. And then before I August the king ordered to be fetched to him the widow of the other king, Æthelred, Richard’s daughter, to be his wife.”*
Historian Bartlett (2017: pp 162-165) presents us a study regarding Cnut’s kingship how he wisely aligned it with social expectations of his days. As we see below:
“Much was expected from a king of the times, though he got much back in return. The ideal king was required to deal our justice equitably (as defined by the law) but firmly. He should be a conqueror in battle for if he were not then he had forfeited the favour of God. He should be a protector of the rights of men and most particularly the Church. In return, the Church would encourage the king's subjects to be loyal to their true lord. If he did his job well, then a king might expect the ultimate reward of an entry into Heaven and a glorious life eternal.
(…) The position of a king in those far-off times has been well-described by a modern historian discussing a near-contemporary ruler in Edward the Confessor. He wrote:
The kingdom was the king's private estate; it was his to manage; and everyone directly under his power or protection owed him tribute. Such a theory was both permissive and restrictive. On the one hand it allowed the king a plenitude of power; the kingdom was his to exploit; and on the other it restrained his arbitrary action by investing him with all the duties of a good lord and, especially, of a good king: his dominions were a trust; he must be a father and protector to his men and, as God's vicar, must exhibit the Christian virtues in the management of his estate. [The king] knew - and sometimes was reminded - that after his death he would have to render to God an account of his stewardship.
It is possibly significant that there is no contemporary reference to a coronation ceremony for Cnut. But later accounts suggest that Cnut was duly crowned in London in the Church of st Pauls, in the same building where the late King Æthelred was buried.”
It’s noteworthy to add, in Lawson’s words, that “as late Anglo-Saxon rulers were often required to give undertakings of this sort at their coronations, Cnut was possibly crowned and anointed at this time”.
Furthermore, “John [of Worcester, chronicler] says that held a meeting at London, and asked the witnesses of his agreement to Edmund whether the latter’s brothers and sons were entitled to succeed him.” (LAWSON, 2011: p.82)
This is highlighted by Bartlett (2017; p.165) as we see next: “Edmund’s children were passed over and denied any claim to the crown. His two sons were after all no more than babes in arms.”
However, it is Lawson who is far richer in details when saying that the said witnesses told Cnut that “Edmund left no claim to his brothers and had wanted Cnut to support and protect his sons until they were old enough to rule, and they also swore that they wished to elect Cnut king, humbly obey him, and pay tribute to his army.” (2017: p.82)
As confirmed by Bartlet, who points that:
“Whilst the crown passed by election rather than automatically going to the eldest son of the late king, it was also normally given to an Ætheling of the Anglo-Saxon royal bloodline and Cnut was assuredly not qualified on those grounds. So this was essentially a right to rule proved by conquest, by sword, spear and axe, rather than the dictates of existing law.
Cnut was nevertheless probably formally crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lyfing. The lack of a contemporary mention of this means that we cannot be certain of our facts here but it is highly likely that Cnut would want a coronation ceremony as part of the process of publicly legitimising his rule. Formal acceptance by the Church was an important part of establishing Cnut’s legitimacy.”
In this unspoken treaty accorded between the Church and the Crown, we see that Cnut’s reign was ready to start.
Bibliography:
*The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (1017-1035).
BARTLETT. W.B. King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England.
LAWSON, M. K. Cnut: England’s Viking King. 1016-1035.
