6 January 1017

Canute is crowned king of England.

Speaking of Edward the Confessor, this is another skein in the thread of 11th-century history that led to William the Conqueror taking over England in 1066. Canute came to England from Denmark in 1013 and inherited the kingdom on the death of Edmund Ironside. He ruled until his death in 1035. He eventually ruled Denmark and Norway as well, making England part of a nifty little Scandinavian empire that did not outlast his death. Canute is known as a pretty good king, despite being bloodthirsty early on (he was a Viking, after all; and yes, I know they get a bad rep in history books, but they were still pretty rapacious). He's probably most famous (not on these shores, of course, because we spit on any history that's not ours, and a lot that is ours, as well) for ordering the tide to come in. He did it to show that he wasn't omnipotent, but we just hear that he ordered the tide to obey him. Such is the legend. So give it up for King Canute!