Cnut/Canute, the infamous Viking king who had an empire which contained England, Norway, Denmark and large parts of Sweden. Aethelred II died in April of 1016 resulting in Aethelred's son, Edmund, having to defend the city of London from the invading Cnut. Edmund succeeded in doing so and was pronounced King of the Londoners, but the witan, (council), met at Southampton soon after and decided that Cnut should replace Edmund as king.

There was a great deal of uncertainty within Anglo-Saxon politics at this time, as can be imagined due to the council declaring Cnut as the reigning monarch whilst there was still a king on the throne. Edmund was determined to keep his land and this led to inevitable war between the two, it was in these battles that Edmund earnt the nickname "Ironside". Edmund the Ironside defeated the Vikings at a major engagement in the city of Oxford but Edmund was eventually routed at the Ashingdon engagement. This led to a treaty being signed between the two warring kings which allowed Edmund to control Wessex whilst Cnut was to rule over Mercia and Northumbria; essentially splitting England into two factions. Edmund passed away in November of 1016 resulting in Wessex being transferred over to Cnut and Cnut therefore becoming King of All England. Below are some examples of his English coinage.

Above is a silver shortcross penny of King Cnut which was minted between the years 1029 and 1036. It is so called due to the limbs of the cross on the reverse terminating at the circle rather than extending to the edge of the coin. 

The obverse legend starts at 12 O'clock reading:

"+CNV.    .TRECX"

The obverse features a portrait much like the first picture with the enrobed bust facing left, diademed with a sceptre in front.

The reverse legend also starts at 12 O'clock:

"+ADA.ONHVNTED:"

This tells us that Ada was the moneyer who minted this penny at Huntingdon mint, i.e. Ada On Hunted.

--------------------------------------






Above is another Cnut Shortcross penny. This time the mint is Stamford and the moneyer is Thurstan.

The obverse legend starts at 12 O'clock reading:

"+CNVT    .RECX"

The reverse legend also starts at 12 O'clock:

"+DVSTANONSTANFOR:"  with the "O" and "R" of "STANFOR" being ligated.


--------------------------------------




Another penny, same type as the aforementioned two. This one was minted by Swartinc at Lincoln, this can be deduced from the reverse legend reading:

"+SPERTINCONLIN" with the "NC" being ligated and the P essentially being a W.


Cnut's shortcross types are very nice examples of the coinage being produced at the time with their simple, yet striking, design. They are one of my favourite Early Medieval designs on a coinage due to their remarkable simplicity.

Click here to return to the blog homepage.

-