House of Denmark

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

House of Denmark

The House of Denmark refers to the Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
kings of England, who ruled England from 1013 to 1014 and 1016 to 1042.

In 1013 Sweyn Forkbeard, already the king of Denmark

List of Danish monarchs

This is a list of Denmark monarchs, that is, the Kings and Queens regnant of Denmark. This includes:* The Kingdom of Denmark ** Personal union of Denmark and Norway ...
and of Norway, overthrew King Ethelred the Unready

Ethelred the Unready

Ethelred II , also known as ?thelred II, Aethelred II, Ethelred the Unready, ?thelred the Unready and Aethelred the Unready , was Kingdom of England ....
of the House of Wessex

House of Wessex

The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, refers to the family that ruled a monarchy in southwest England known as Wessex. This House was in power from the 6th century under Cerdic of Wessex to the unification of the Heptarchy....
. Sweyn had first invaded England in 1003 to avenge the death of his sister Gunhilde

Gunhilde

Gunhilde or Gunnhild, died 13 November 1002, was the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Norway. According to a "well-recorded" tradition, she was a hostage in England when she was killed in the St....
and many other Danes in the St. Brice's Day massacre

St. Brice's Day massacre

The St. Brice's Day massacre was the killing of possibly many Danes in the Kingdom of England, as ordered by the English king Ethelred the Unready....
, which had been ordered by Ethelred in 1002.

Sweyn died in 1014 and Ethelred was restored.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'House of Denmark'

Start a new discussion about 'House of Denmark'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The House of Denmark refers to the Danish

Denmark

List of Danish monarchs

Ethelred the Unready

House of Wessex

Gunhilde

St. Brice's Day massacre

Canute the Great

Canute the Great, also known as Cnut in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, or Knut was a Viking king of England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden ....
, invaded England. After Ethelred died in April 1016, his son Edmund Ironside

Edmund Ironside

Edmund Ironside or Eadmund , surnamed "Ironside" for his efforts to fend off the Denmark invasion led by Canute the Great, was Kingdom of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016....
briefly became king, but was forced to surrender half of England to Canute. After Edmund died in October that same year, Canute became king of all England.

Although Canute was already married to Ælfgifu of Northampton, he married Ethelred's widow, Emma of Normandy

Emma of Normandy

Emma , was daughter of Richard I of Normandy, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of the Kingdom of England twice, by successive marriages: initially as the second wife to Ethelred the Unready of England ; and then to Canute the Great of Denmark ....
. He ruled until his death in 1035. After his death another of Ethelred's sons, Alfred Aetheling, tried to retake the English throne, but he was betrayed and captured by Godwin, Earl of Wessex

Godwin, Earl of Wessex

Godwin of Wessex, also known as Godwine, Goodwin, Godwyn or Goodwyn was one of the most powerful lords in Kingdom of England under the Denmark king Canute the Great and his successors....
, who supported Canute's son, Harold Harefoot

Harold Harefoot

Harold Harefoot was King of England from 1035 to 1040. His cognomen "Harefoot" was for his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship. He was the son of Canute the Great, King of England, Denmark, Norway, and some of the Kingdom of Sweden, through his handfast wife ?lfgifu of Northampton....
. Alfred was blinded, and died soon after.

Harold ruled until 1040, although his mother Ælfgifu may have ruled during part of his reign. Harold initially shared England with his half brother Harthacanute

Harthacanute

Harthacanute was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 as well as King of England from 1040 to 1042. He came from Northmannia according to Adam of Bremen and was the only son of Canute the Great and Emma of Normandy....
, the son of Canute and Emma. Harold ruled in Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands....
and Northumbria

Northumbria

Northumbria is primarily the name of both a medieval petty kingdom of the Angles people, in what is now north east England and southern Scotland, and of the earldom which succeeded it when a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom became England....
, and Harthacanute ruled in Wessex

Wessex

West Saxon redirects here. For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex .Wessex , from the Old English Westseaxe , was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of the English state in the 9th century, under the Wessex dynasty....
. However Harthacanute was also king of Denmark (as Canute III), and spent most of his time there, so that Harold was effectively sole ruler of England.

Harthacanute succeeded Harold as king of England (he is sometimes also known as Canute II). He died two years later, and his half brother Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor

Saint Edward the Confessor , son of Ethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was the penultimate Anglo-Saxons List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of England and the last of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 until his death....
became king. Edward was the son of Ethelred and Emma, and so with his succession to the throne the House of Wessex was restored.

England after the House of Denmark

Edward the Confessor ruled until 1066. His brother in law, Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson also known as Harold II, was the last Anglo-Saxons King of Kingdom of England before the Norman Conquest of England. Harold reigned from 5 January 1066, until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October of that same year, fighting the Normans invaders, led by William I of England....
— the son of Alfred's betrayer — became king, provoking the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 AD with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William I of England, Duke of Normandy , and his victory at the Battle of Hastings....
in the same year. Harold II was the last Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
king to rule over England.

In 1085–86 King Canute IV of Denmark

Canute IV of Denmark

Canute IV , also known as Canute the Saint and Canute the Holy , was List of Danish monarchs of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought the English throne, attempted to strengthen the Danish monarchy, and devoutedly supported the Roman Catholic Church....
planned one last Danish invasion of England, but he was assassinated by Danish rebels before he could carry it out. This was the last time the Vikings attempted to attack Western Europe, and Canute's death is regarded as the end of the Viking age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries....
.

List of Danish kings of England

Sweyn Forkbeard, 1013–1014 (also king of Denmark 986/7–1014 and Norway 999–1014)
Canute
Canute the Great

Canute the Great, also known as Cnut in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, or Knut was a Viking king of England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden ....
, 1016–1035 (also king of Denmark 1018–1035 and Norway 1028–1035)
Harold Harefoot
Harold Harefoot

Harold Harefoot was King of England from 1035 to 1040. His cognomen "Harefoot" was for his speed, and the skill of his huntsmanship. He was the son of Canute the Great, King of England, Denmark, Norway, and some of the Kingdom of Sweden, through his handfast wife ?lfgifu of Northampton....
, 1035–1040
Harthacanute
Harthacanute

Harthacanute was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 as well as King of England from 1040 to 1042. He came from Northmannia according to Adam of Bremen and was the only son of Canute the Great and Emma of Normandy....
, 1040–1042 (also king of Denmark 1035–1042)