Cnut pursued a far more active foreign policy than any ruler of England had done previously. In 1026 and 1028, Cnut returned to Scandinavia to restore Danish control of Norway, which had been lost to Olaf Haraldsson (St Olaf) after Svein Forkbeard’s death. By 1030, the Swedish king and the earls of Orkney recognised Cnut as overlord making him, at least nominally, the ruler of almost the whole Scandinavian world. Little is known about Cnut’s relations with Wales and Ireland: it is possible that he allied with the Dublin Vikings to pillage Wales in 1030. Lothian was lost to the Scots following the Northumbrian defeat at the Battle of Carham in 1016. A peace of sorts was patched up through the diplomacy of Queen Emma and Duke Richard, but it did not last. Cnut invaded Scotland in 1031, and though he did not recover Lothian he accepted the submission of three Scottish rulers named in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as King Malcolm II, Maelbeth (probably Macbeth, then the mormaer of Moray), and the unidentified Iehmarc, who was probably a Gaelic-Norse ruler from the Hebrides.
Cnut was arguably the greatest of all the Viking kings but, though he won power as a Viking, he ruled as a Christian European king. In England he assiduously performed those duties most expected of a Christian king, making laws and supporting the church through donations and privileges. In 1027, Cnut made a pilgrimage to Rome to attend the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II. As well as demonstrating his piety, this helped establish Cnut as a figure of European stature. Cnut cultivated friendly relations with Conrad, whose empire bordered Denmark in the south. The two rulers eventually arranged a diplomatic marriage: Cnut’s daughter Gunnhild married Conrad’s son, the future Emperor Henry III. As part of the agreement, Conrad recognised the River Eider as Denmark’s southern border.
Impressive though it was, Cnut’s empire lacked any institutional unity and it did not survive his death in 1035. Cnut’s intention was that Svein Alfivason, his elder son by Ælfigifu, would rule Norway. Around 1030, Cnut made Svein king of Norway with his mother as regent, but Ælfgifu quickly made herself unpopular by her efforts to centralise power. Around the time of Cnut’s death, the Norwegians rebelled and invited Magnus the Good (r. 1035 – 47), Olaf Haraldsson’s son, to become king. Svein fled with his mother to Denmark, where he died early in 1036. Cnut intended that Harthacnut, his son by Emma, would inherit both England and Denmark, but his accession was opposed in England and instead Harold Harefoot, Cnut’s second son by Ælfgifu, became king. Queen Emma was forced into exile in Flanders. Only after Harold died, at Oxford, in March 1040, was Harthacnut able to succeed to the English throne. Harthacnut was unmarried, childless and in poor health. While drinking heavily at a wedding feast in London, Harthacnut suffered a stroke and died on 8 June 1042. With him, Cnut’s dynasty came to an end. By an agreement reached in 1036, the Norwegian king Magnus the Good was accepted as king in Denmark, but the English chose the exiled Edward the Confessor (r. 1042 – 66), so restoring the Wessex dynasty.
Edward’s reign was peaceful but his marriage was childless and, as he grew older and his health began to fail, the problem of the succession became acute. This set the stage for the final acts of England’s Viking Age. By the time Edward died on 4 or 5 January 1066 at his new palace at Westminster – London had now become England’s most important political centre as well as its main commercial centre – three leading claimants to the throne had emerged: Harold Godwinson, the powerful Anglo-Danish earl of Wessex; William duke of Normandy; and Harald Hardrada (r. 1046 – 66), the king of Norway. There was also Edgar the Atheling, Edward the Exile’s son: as a member of the Wessex dynasty he had the strongest hereditary claim but he was only fourteen and lacked any influential supporters at court. Harold had no royal blood but he had for many years dominated the English court and he had a proven record as a soldier, having led several successful campaigns against the Welsh.
William’s candidature was based on his claim that King Edward had promised him the throne after his death. This is not impossible. Edward had formed a friendship with William when he was in exile in Normandy and he was known for his pro-Norman sympathies. However, the English did not share their king’s tastes. Edward had invited a number of Norman nobles to settle in England, but their high-handed arrogance had soon made them unpopular. Harald Hardrada had inherited his claim from his predecessor Magnus the Good (who had inherited his claim through his agreement with Harthacnut). In a career that had taken him across most of the Viking world, Harald had more than earned his reputation for being the greatest warrior of his day, but, like William, he had no supporters in England.
Harold Godwinson had the advantage over his rivals of being present while Edward lay on his deathbed. With no factions at court pushing for William, Edgar or Harald, Edward had little choice when he nominated Harold as his successor a few hours before he died. Harold may have been the king the English wanted but they were under no illusions that this settled the matter. A comet that appeared on 24 April was not seen as a good omen. Both Harald and William began to gather forces to invade England and make good their claims on the throne. Both men had earned formidable military reputations: Harald was described as ‘the thunderbolt of the north’ by Adam of Bremen, because of his prowess in war, while William was already being called ‘the Conqueror’ for his many victories. Harold mobilised his forces in late spring and waited, not knowing who would strike first. Unexpectedly, the first invasion came from Harold’s younger brother Tostig, who had been exiled to Flanders in 1065 for misgoverning his earldom of Northumbria. With an army and sixty ships provided by Count Baldwin of Flanders, Tostig raided along the south coast from the Isle of Wight to Kent before sailing north to Northumbria, where he was defeated by local forces. Fleeing to Scotland, Tostig transferred his allegiance to Harald Hardrada.
The winds through the summer of 1066 blew persistently from the north. These held William’s fleet in port but carried Harald’s fleet of 300 ships south from Nidaros (now Trondheim) to Shetland and Orkney and along the British coast to Tynemouth, where it was joined by Tostig’s Flemish fleet. Tostig’s presence added some much-needed credibility to Harald’s claim to the throne. From Tynemouth, Harald continued south into the Humber, finally landing on 16 September at Ricall on the River Ouse, 9 miles south of York. Leaving his teenage son Olaf and jarl Paul of Orkney to guard the ships, Harald set off for York on 20 September but was confronted at the village of Fulford Gate by an English army under earls Edwin and Morcar. Harald defeated them, inflicting heavy casualties on the English. Why the earls chose to fight when they could have awaited reinforcements behind the walls of York remains a mystery. York surrendered immediately and agreed to give hostages, and provide supplies and men to support Harald’s bid for the throne. While he awaited the promised support, Harald withdrew to Stamford Bridge, on the River Derwent about 7 miles east of York.
Harold, who had been warned of Harald’s approach as soon as his fleet had appeared off the English coast, was already marching north with his army. On 24 September Harold reached Tadcaster just 10 miles south-west of York. The next day, he marched his army straight through York and on to Stamford Bridge where he caught Harald’s army completely by surprise. The weather was warm for the time of year and the Norwegians, including King Harald, had left their armour with the ships at Riccall, 13 miles away. The English slaughtered the Norwegians on the west side of the river but a single brave Norwegian axeman made a stand on the bridge, killing everyone who approached and buying time for the rest of the army on the east bank to form a shield wall. The English crossed only after a warrior climbed under the bridge and speared the axeman from below. The battle raged for hours but their lack of armour put the Norwegians at a fatal disadvantage and their shield wall gradually began to give way. King Harald was killed by an arrow in the throat and Tostig also became a casualty. Late in the day reinforcements arrived from the Norwegian ships and briefly halted the English advance. They had run all the way to Stamford Bridge in full armour and were so exhausted that their stand was short-lived. The Norwegians fled back towards Ricall with the English in hot pursuit: many of the Norwegians drowned trying to cross the river. The English paid a high price for their victory but Harald’s army was all but annihilated. When, after the battle, King Harold allowed Olaf and jarl Paul to leave with the survivors, they needed only twenty of the 300 ships that had transported their late comrades. The scale of Harald’s defeat was such that it took Norway a generation to recover.