Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is Episode 341, King

Canute of England. This show is ad-free due to members support, and as a way of thanking

members for keeping the show independent, I offer members only content, including extra

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Thank you very much to Camden, Amy, and Emily for signing up already.

Canute made a lot of smart moves in a very short amount of time. He outlawed much of the

corruption that have plagued the courts of Athered. He scrubbed his new kingdom of the

loyalists to Edmund Dyernside. He granted important lands to his key followers. He executed

the main claimant to the throne, Edwig, and of course, he executed Edrick Strayona.

After all, smart moves. But few moves were smarter than Marion King Athered's widow,

Queen Emma of Normandy.

Now Emma was half Danish herself. Her mother was a Danish noblewoman named Gunar, and that

should come as no surprise because the House of Normandy has deep roots with Scandinavia

reaching back as far as the Scandinavian Viking, Rolo. And the records indicate that Emma

was proud of that Scandinavian heritage. And this gave her cultural common ground with

her new husband, Canute. Moreover, it was likely that Emma could speak Canute's native

tongue, and all of these things could make or break the foundation for a good political

marriage. So things were looking good. But that was just the start. Emma's homeland,

the Duchy of Normandy, had been a thorn in England's side for generations. And Emma's

two sons by Athered held claims to the English throne, and they had a close relationship

with their uncle, Duke Richard II of Normandy. And that meant that Normandy was a serious

...