Cnut ( non, Knútr, la, Cnvt) was a Norse

King of Northumbria Northumbria, a kingdom of Angles, in what is now northern England and south-east Scotland, was initially divided into two kingdoms: Bernicia and Deira. The two were first united by king Æthelfrith around the year 604, and except for occasional ...

. Numismatic evidence suggests he ruled from around 900 until 905, succeeding Siefredus.

Discovery

Silver penny of Cnut (YORYM 2000 594) obverse

In 1840 a hoard of over 8,000 items (known as the

Cuerdale Hoard The Cuerdale Hoard is a hoard of more than 8,600 items, including silver coins, English and Carolingian jewellery, hacksilver and ingots. It was discovered on 15 May 1840 on the southern bank of a bend of the River Ribble, in an area called Cu ...

) was found in Cuerdale,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England. Around 3,000

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n silver coins bearing the inscription (King Cnut) were found as part of this hoard, indicating the existence of a previously unknown

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. A number of different inscriptions appeared on the reverses of these coins, including the inscription (King Alfred), indicating Cnut must have been contemporary with Alfred the Great. The name of another previously-unknown king, Siefredus, also appears on coins found in the Cuerdale Hoard. The sequence of coin issues indicates that Cnut ruled after Siefredus, from around 900 until 905. It also suggests Siefredus succeeded Guthfrith and ruled from about 895 until 900. The names of both Cnut and Siefredus appear on some coins, perhaps indicating they were co-rulers for a period of time.

Identity

It is difficult to establish Cnut's identity or identify any biographical details since he is not mentioned in any contemporary source. The historian Alfred Smyth has proposed that Cnut may be identifiable with a Cnut who is mentioned in

Norse saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Pl ...

s of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This Cnut is said to be a Danish king active in Northumbria. It has also been suggested that Cnut may be another name for Guthfrith, ruler of Northumbria from 883 to 895, for whom no coins exist. Another suggestion put forward by Cannon and Hargreaves is that Cnut is identical to Siefredus. Cannon and Hargreaves, pp. 64–65

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Sources

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External links

* {{short description, 10th-century Norse King of Northumbria Monarchs of Jorvik 10th-century English monarchs