“Let all men know how empty and powerless is the power of kings, for there is none worth of the name but God, whom heaven, earth, and sea obey.”
—Cnut the Great
Video Above: ‘History Time’ – King Cnut’s Letter to the English People (1019 A.D.) / Primary Source In 1016 after the conclusion of a successful invasion, Cnut of Denmark became the new king of England. This letter, which survives only in the York Gospels, is addressed to Earl Thorkell, regent in England during Cnut’s absence in his Danish kingdom. Parts of the letter have been subjected to Archbishop Wulfstan of York’s intervention. The letter refers to the 1018 settlement at Oxford to observe Edgar’s law and essentially promises good lordship in return for fealty.
