Includes bibliographical references (pages 284-286) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Prelude: a viking saga -- England: the long road to conquest (991-1002) -- Sweyn Forkbeard: from raider to king (1002-1014) -- Cnut of Denmark: the prince without a land (1014-1015) -- Ironsides: battle to the death (1015-1016) -- King of England: victory and kingship (1016-1018) -- King of Denmark: the years of consolidation (1018-1027) -- Emperor of the north: the years of greatness (1027-1034) -- Cnut the Great: a life assessed (1035).
Summary:
The Viking Conquest of England in 1016 - a far tougher and brutal campaign than the Norman Conquest exactly half a century later - saw two great warriors, the Danish prince Cnut and his equally ruthless English opponent King Edmund Ironside fight an epic campaign. Cnut sailed in 200 longboats landing first in September 1015 on the Wessex coast with 10,000 soldiers and the two forces fought each other to the point of exhaustion for the next 14 months. It was a war of terrifying violence that scarred much of England, from the Humber to Cornwall. It saw an epic siege of the great walls of London and bruising set-piece battles at Penselwood, Otford, and the conclusive Danish victory at Assandun on 18 October 1016. Edmund's death soon after finally resolved a brutal, bloody conflict and ended with Cnut crowned king of England on Christmas day that year. This book tells the extraordinary story of Cnut the Great's life.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.