Extracts from Mediaeval Literature
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Extracts from Mediaeval Literature’
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Extracts from Mediaeval Literature’
King Edmund Ironside’s courageous defence of his crown against the invading Danes was undermined by treachery at home.
When King Ethelred ‘the Unready’ (i.e. lack-counsel) died in 1016, his son Edmund inherited not only the English crown, but the threat of losing it to the warlike Cnut, King of Denmark. That legacy Edmund might have coped with, for he deserved the nickname ‘Ironside’ for his courage in battle. Unfortunately, he had also inherited his father’s advisers.
The invading Danes fought so fiercely that Edmund Ironside, the young English king, threw all caution to the wind.
In 1016, Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, attempted to build a North Sea empire that encompassed the British Isles. In a bruising series of battles, Cnut had learnt that Edmund, the young English king, was a steely warrior worthy of respect, and that English nobleman Edric, who had defected to Edmund’s side, could not be trusted. Both lessons were confirmed on October 18th that year.
Edmund Ironside, King of England, and Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, fought hand-to-hand for one of European history’s richest purses.
In 1016, King Cnut of Denmark led a series of bruising attacks on King Edmund of England, hoping to add the English crown to the crowns of Denmark and Norway. Six times Edmund and Cnut had met in battle, and at the sixth attempt Cnut had captured the crown jewels. But whereas Edmund’s warrior-courage had earned Cnut’s abiding respect, the English nobles were anxious only to save their own skins.
Edric’s treason handed the crown of England to Cnut the Great, but Cnut was not so poor a judge of character as to believe that a traitor could be trusted.
Henry of Huntingdon has told us how in the autumn of 1016, King Cnut of Denmark and Norway finally managed to subdue the English King, Edmund, thanks to repeated betrayals by Edmund’s treacherous counsellor, ealdorman Edric. Edmund agreed to be known henceforth as King of Wessex only, leaving Cnut as the more powerful King of Mercia, but the two warriors nevertheless cherished great mutual respect.
Two monks vying for the abbot’s chair at one of England’s prestigious monasteries each promised King William Rufus handsome rewards for his favour.
William II Rufus became King of England following the death of his father William the Conqueror in 1087. Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, prevailed on the Norman barons to crown William instead of his brother Robert, and thereafter kept William on a short leash. The death of his mentor in 1089 marked a sharp decline in William’s character, but memories of better days remained.
Snorro Sturluson records some of the miracles attributed to Olaf II, King of Norway, after Englishman Bishop Grimkell declared him a saint.
King Olaf II Haraldsson (?995-1030) ruled Norway from 1015 to 1028. A year after Olaf died in the Battle of Stiklestad on July 29th, 1030, Grimkell, English-born Bishop of Nidaros (Trondheim), glorified him as a saint. Here, Snorro Sturluson records some of the miracles that were reported at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, St Olaf’s shrine, where building began in 1070.