Turning the Tide

King Canute enacted a memorable demonstration of the limits of government power.

1016-1035

King Cnut (Canute) 1016-1035

Introduction

This famous story is regarded as a fable by many but it is a very early one, being already established only a century or so after the time of King Canute (Cnut), who reigned from 1016 to 1035. It is important to be clear that Canute was not trying to prove he could ‘turn back the tides’. He was trying to prove that he couldn’t.

by Henry of Huntingdon ?1088-?1157

Translated from the Latin

AT the high-point of his reign, King Canute ordered his throne to be set upon the seashore as the tide was coming in, and then addressed the rising waters.

‘You and the land on which my throne is standing are subject to me. No one has ever defied my royal commands and gone unpunished. I command you, then, do not rise on my land, nor dare to splash either limb or robe of your lord!’

The sea however continued its customary rise, disdainfully splashing his feet and legs.

‘Let all the world’ he said, skipping backwards, ‘know that the power of kings is a vain and trifling thing. No king is worthy of that title except that King whose commands heaven, earth and sea obey, according to eternal laws.’

After this, Canute never again wore his crown upon his head, but set it upon an icon of the Lord’s crucifixion, in praise of God the Great King.

by Henry of Huntingdon ?1088-?1157

Translated from the Latin

From ‘Historia Anglorum: The History of the English People’ by Henry of Huntingdon. Follow this link for the Latin and also for a different translation, by Diana Greenway.

For a very different attitude to the sovereignty of Creation, see Xerxes Scourges the Hellespont.

Précis

In the early 11th century, King Canute placed his throne on the beach, and commanded the rising tide not to invade his realm. When it took no notice, Canute drew the moral that a king’s power is not as great as some think. Thereafter, he left his crown hanging on an icon of Jesus Christ, as the only true King.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What command did the King give to the incoming tide?

Suggestion

Not to continue rising on his territory.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Canute gave the sea a command. ‘Do not splash me’ he said. It did.