1 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:17,440 This is a story of conquest, betrayal and courage. 2 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,760 The story of a son of a Viking sovereign 3 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:25,720 forged in the shadow of battle. 4 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:30,920 A man destined for nothing, yet fated to build an empire. 5 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,680 He was larger than life in his lifetime, 6 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,000 and as somebody who had wide-ranging achievements that surprised 7 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:41,280 even many of his contemporaries. 8 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,840 The story of a man who became ruler of three kingdoms. 9 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,440 A Viking who became an emperor. 10 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,320 He's one of the great medieval success stories. 11 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,680 What he does, we have no word for. It's completely new. 12 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,400 This is the legend of Knut, 13 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,640 Emperor of the North Sea. 14 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,880 As his men raise their cups in celebration... 15 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,800 ...Knut has every reason to rejoice. 16 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,880 In just a few weeks, he has subdued Wessex, 17 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,560 the political and economic heart of the kingdom. 18 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,800 He has won over Eadric Streona, 19 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,480 once the chief adviser of King Aethelred. 20 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,760 And in the north, he has laid a trap for Earl Uhtred 21 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,440 before entrusting his lands to his loyal ally, 22 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,800 the Norwegian Erik of Lade. 23 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,680 Now a large part of the kingdom lies under his control. 24 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,560 And yet the young Dane does not savour his victory. 25 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,360 One man, still resists him. 26 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,320 A man who has rallied the English army to his cause... 27 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,040 Edmund Ironside, son of King Aethelred. 28 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:09,600 Edmund's sudden success as a military leader, 29 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,520 throws a real spanner in the works for Knut. 30 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,160 Nobody knew quite what to expect of him, 31 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,920 but his nickname Ironside is very much contemporary, 32 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:19,800 and he proves himself very quickly 33 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,240 to be a highly capable military commander 34 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:27,080 and willing to take the kind of risks his father was very wary of. 35 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,440 And so this makes what looks like a fait accompli, perhaps, 36 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:33,440 an almost inevitable conquest by Knut, 37 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,120 suddenly come in to question. 38 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:39,880 Knut must put an end to this swiftly 39 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:41,880 before Edmund grows too powerful. 40 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:45,680 So he gives the order: 41 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,200 Tomorrow, they break camp. 42 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,160 Their destination, London. 43 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,920 King Aethelred is now little more than a shadow of his former self. 44 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,200 At his side stand his son Edmund, hastily returned from campaign, 45 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,280 and his second wife, Emma of Normandy, 46 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:23,240 accompanied by her two younger sons, Edward and Alfred. 47 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:29,240 Queen Emma stands beside the dying King Aethelred. 48 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,480 She is determined to see her own faction prevail 49 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,280 and to promote the cause of Edward. 50 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,000 But as he is only ten years old, the chances of success are slim. 51 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,680 I think we can only imagine the difficulties of the situation 52 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:42,960 for Emma at this time. 53 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,200 Her position and her prestige is reliant on being 54 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,080 the widow of King Aethelred, 55 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,720 but her sons by King Aethelred, or the younger son of the king, 56 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:58,400 and obviously Edward Ironside's seniority within the family 57 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,360 is putting him at a greatly advantageous situation. 58 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,360 After 37 years of an inglorious reign, 59 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,520 King Aethelred is no more. 60 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,400 His body is carried to the Old St Paul's Cathedral, 61 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,800 where he is granted all due honours. 62 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,200 And yet, even in his final moments, 63 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,880 he had fled from battle, leaving his people alone to face their fate. 64 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,320 London has been very loyal to Aethelred. 65 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:36,840 Aethelred is buried there as the first English monarch to be buried 66 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,160 in London at Old St Paul's. 67 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:41,960 But there's no doubt then, that once Aethelred is gone, 68 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:43,640 that Edmund is their king. 69 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,760 They've probably had enough of inaction that enough of them 70 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,120 are willing to roll the dice for one last time 71 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:58,200 in support of a ruler who looks like they're ready to save the kingdom. 72 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:02,440 Before the assembled nobles, 73 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,880 Edmund seizes the crown and claims the throne. 74 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,920 The nobility immediately bows, 75 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,520 recognising in this 25-year-old warrior 76 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,360 the qualities needed to succeed King Aethelred. 77 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,200 Emma understands then that her future, and that of her children, 78 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,160 has grown darker. 79 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,640 She's now in a very difficult scenario, 80 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,360 because her sons have definitively lost out 81 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,360 in terms of the succession to Edmund and her worst fears, 82 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,480 in a sense, risk being materialised. 83 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,080 Edmund's on the throne. He's now married. 84 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,040 He doubtless will soon be having children who he'll want to line up 85 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:45,480 for the succession. 86 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,080 But for Edmund, 87 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,680 the recognition of the London nobility is only the first step. 88 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,760 To be crowned, he must first reconquer the entire kingdom. 89 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:17,920 In the south of England, Knut has dropped anchor. 90 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,720 A few days earlier, his informants had brought him news: 91 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:26,680 Aethelred is dead, 92 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,480 and his son has claimed the throne. 93 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,920 Without hesitation, Knut summons all the abbots, earls and nobles 94 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:38,120 of the regions under his control - 95 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,920 the very same men who, two years earlier, had denied him the crown. 96 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:51,640 If you're a leading magnate, 97 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,080 you also don't want to back the wrong horse. 98 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,600 The results of that can be catastrophic. 99 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,320 So you are also having to make a calculation 100 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:01,120 as to who do I think is going to win. 101 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,520 And if I think Knut's chances are notably better, 102 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,080 even if I might prefer Edmund, I do better to support Knut. 103 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,880 And so it's very likely that some of the support is highly pragmatic 104 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,360 and it's people who simply want to survive. 105 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:17,400 Now Knut, in his turn, 106 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,680 is recognised as the legitimate king of the realm. 107 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,320 England, more divided than ever, has two monarchs. 108 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,160 The young Dane understands what it means. 109 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,080 From this moment on, between Edmund and him, 110 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:34,480 it will be a fight to the death. 111 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,200 The fleet glides slowly over the grey waters of the Thames. 112 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,280 In the distance, Knut sees the thick walls of London take shape. 113 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,240 He has come to confront his rival on his own ground. 114 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,240 But taking the city will be no easy task. 115 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:09,280 For in a century of Viking raids, London has never been taken. 116 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,960 At the time, London was defended by Roman walls 117 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:16,840 that had been regularly maintained, 118 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,800 and the problem was that the means available to attack fortified cities 119 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:22,600 were extremely limited. 120 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:25,920 London was as hard a nut to crack. 121 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,040 It is not a place that Knut is able to very easily take, 122 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,600 even with a substantial military force. 123 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:36,760 From the ramparts, 124 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,480 Edmund watches the hundreds of ships gathering at the city's gates. 125 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,440 Yet the young king remains confident. 126 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:55,240 Across the river stands an obstacle long considered impassable: 127 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,160 London Bridge. 128 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,960 A massive fortified structure linking the city to the stronghold 129 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,200 of Southwark on the opposite bank. 130 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,160 And this means that Danes going up the Thames past London 131 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,280 are having things thrown or poured on them as they go past. 132 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,840 I mean, one imagines rocks, one imagines boiling oil, 133 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,160 whatever there is that could possibly upset the Danes 134 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,440 going past underneath to damage their ships or kill the men. 135 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,520 To surround the city, Knut has no choice. 136 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,280 He must take the bridge at any cost. 137 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,720 But forcing a passage would mean devastating losses. 138 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:46,040 So the young Dane comes up with a stroke of genius. 139 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:48,960 If his ships cannot pass under the bridge, 140 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:52,480 they will go round it. 141 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,160 So here is the city, here is the river, 142 00:10:58,320 --> 00:10:59,440 and here is the bridge. 143 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,600 And they dig on their side, the southern side. 144 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,240 They dig a trench down here around the bridgehead where 145 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:06,800 the bridge meets the land. 146 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,440 And they dig another trench here, and they dig another trench here. 147 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,280 And as far as an arrow can fly. 148 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:13,280 And that's where they then dig the trenches outside. 149 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,280 Because the idea is then what can the English do 150 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,920 apart from watch this trench go around them and rejoin the Thames? 151 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,640 And these trenches don't have to be very deep because 152 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:23,080 they've got flat bottom boats, 153 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,560 and they've got hundreds of men sitting around. 154 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:32,760 Day and night, the Danes dig relentlessly. 155 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:39,360 From Southwark, English sentries can only look on 156 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,240 as the enemy advances inexorably. 157 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,480 And then, in the course of what, a couple of days, 158 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:49,880 200 boats go upstream. 159 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:51,800 And the English can't stop them at all. 160 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,040 All they can do is watch from the other bank and be cross. 161 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,760 It's absolutely pure Knut. 162 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,960 There is minimum effort, maximum damage to the other guy. 163 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,600 Knut sets up his camp on a strip of sand, 164 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,440 safely beyond the reach of English archers. 165 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,480 And they sit staring at the city, making lots of noise, 166 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,520 sharpening weapons, feasting. 167 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:22,520 But they're sitting there just reminding the English inhabitants 168 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:25,600 who are locked inside their walled city 169 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,400 that this is the army just outside. 170 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:30,640 The idea is terror. 171 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,880 Terror for this heartland of Aethelred and Edmund's support, 172 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,120 rather than sort of shimmying up ladders and waving swords. 173 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:44,400 Inside the besieged city, 174 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:47,400 bread now sells for its weight in gold, 175 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:52,600 while the clergy call for prayer. 176 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,360 But no one is under any illusions. 177 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,440 In this duel between Edmund and Knut, time is working against them. 178 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,160 If Knut has indeed managed to cut off supplies to the south of London, 179 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,600 and if he holds part of the walls to the north and west that still leaves 180 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,560 only very limited opportunities to enter or leave the city, 181 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,440 inevitably, sending messengers becomes more difficult, 182 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,240 and food shortages are likely to arise sooner or later. 183 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,240 At a place like London would probably not have more than enough 184 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,880 food stores available to last more than a few weeks really, at most. 185 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:33,160 Because London has a population by this period of more than 10,000. 186 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,120 Plus, there are the defenders of London, potentially another army, 187 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,640 actually a real army itself, in addition to the local population. 188 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,760 So it certainly would have threatened considerable hardship. 189 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,760 Edmund senses the trap closing in around him. 190 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,520 If he stays, he risks losing the initiative. 191 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:59,080 So, under cover of night, accompanied by his most loyal men, 192 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:00,760 he flees the city. 193 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:07,600 The young king knows he still has one card left to play: 194 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,320 his reputation as a war leader. 195 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,600 For Knut, Edmond's military resistance ends up 196 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:18,360 being a real thorn in the side, 197 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,240 because Edmonds is willing to offer battle. 198 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,960 What he's showing is that actually Knut is not undefeatable, 199 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,280 and that actually there's potentially a military solution 200 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:28,520 to these problems. 201 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,360 With Edmund, a new wave of hope spreads across England. 202 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,400 From all corners of Wessex, thousands of men take up arms 203 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:43,960 and rally under his banner. 204 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,680 After decades of humiliation and defeat, 205 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,200 England finally begins to rise again. 206 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,480 In the Danish camp, bad news keeps piling up. 207 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,120 For weeks, Knut has been besieging London in vain, 208 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000 while boredom spreads like poison among his army. 209 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,560 There is a real risk with sieges that your army becomes stationary, 210 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,240 it loses momentum. It loses focus. 211 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,920 Things like epidemic can break out much more easily 212 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:44,840 when you're stationary as a military force. 213 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,720 So there's all sorts of reasons 214 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:50,000 why it's actually potentially quite risky to embark on a lengthy siege 215 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,360 when you have alternative means of achieving what you wished to get. 216 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,000 Even worse, 217 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,240 part of Wessex has fallen back into Edmund's hands. 218 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:08,040 If he does not want to see his alliances unravel one by one, 219 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,120 Knut has no choice. 220 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:15,160 He must lift the siege and face Edmund once and for all. 221 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,360 Edmund has won his gamble. 222 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,000 He has gathered the loyal forces of the south beneath his banner. 223 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,600 He believes this army can carry him back to victory, 224 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,960 especially now that his scouts report Knut's army is getting close. 225 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,600 So he deploys his men along the hillside, 226 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,280 an ideal position to repel an attack. 227 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:13,200 Penselwood is a symbolically, crucially important, political place 228 00:17:13,360 --> 00:17:16,320 within the West Saxon kingdom. 229 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,320 This was the place where Alfred the Great had gathered his armies 230 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,280 against the Danes during his victory in 878, 231 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,480 and perhaps Edward Ironside 232 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,880 had hoped to draw on a little bit of that magic 233 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:36,040 when he gathered his forces to fight against Knut in 1016. 234 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,200 At the head of an army numbered in the thousands, 235 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:45,120 Knut advances toward the English lines. 236 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,040 For the first time, the two kings face each other on the battlefield. 237 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:59,400 Each aware that the fate of the kingdom may be decided here. 238 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:05,240 For Edmund and Knut, England represents everything. 239 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,360 Neither have any other prospects. 240 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:09,560 Knut's only kingdom and kingship 241 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:11,840 is going to be in England at that moment. 242 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,240 No other prospects immediately in Denmark, as he has discovered. 243 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,760 For Edmund, his entire dynastic line hinges upon this. 244 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:25,000 He's seen his father fail to prevent external conquest. 245 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,200 He's determined to prevent that repeating itself. 246 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,760 Edmund rallies his men. 247 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,760 No grand speeches, only a call to defend their homes, 248 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,200 their families and their land. 249 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,160 The majority of those fighting are not professional soldiers. 250 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,280 They'll be members of the lower aristocracy, probably the majority, 251 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:54,240 and maybe some wealthy peasants. 252 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,440 These are individuals who are not highly trained. 253 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,280 The English defensive line braces itself, 254 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,600 ready to absorb the shock of the assault. 255 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,040 Though Edmund has the advantage of ground, 256 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,080 Knut knows his men are far more battle-hardened. 257 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,680 So he gives the order to attack. 258 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:23,160 With a roar, the two armies crash together. 259 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:32,680 It's a straightforward land army style of fighting 260 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,200 without apparently cavalry support. 261 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:39,320 It's far more likely to be two giant blobs hitting each other at speed. 262 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,680 The Vikings slam into the English shield wall with full force. 263 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,800 Shield against shield, axe against sword. 264 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:59,440 Combat between Saxons and Vikings at this time 265 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,760 is very much about the press of the shield wall. 266 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,520 The idea of large infantry formations with overlapping shields, 267 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,200 with, one man protecting his neighbour. 268 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:15,440 Knut watches the battle. 269 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,680 Inspired by Edmund's leadership, the English fight with a ferocity 270 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:22,480 he has never seen before. 271 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,360 What was meant to be an easy victory turns into a disaster. 272 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,520 The Viking line breaks and flees, 273 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:35,720 leaving their dead behind. 274 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,520 Edmund, despite all predictions, wins. 275 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:44,080 This isn't meant to happen. 276 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:46,400 The Danish invading forces are vast. 277 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,720 I think his father died. 278 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,240 He was elevated by that act. 279 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,440 Finally, he can start ordering people around in a way he couldn't 280 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:56,080 when his father was alive. 281 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:59,360 And he's maybe just very good at PR. 282 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,120 Edmund crosses the battlefield as a hero. 283 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:16,360 For the first time in a long while, England dares to hope again. 284 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,840 So a comparative victory at Penselwood in 1016 285 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,160 shows that he is not seen as the loser. 286 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:29,080 And military victory at this time is about being seen as successful. 287 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:33,120 As long as you'll see as successful, people are willing to support you, 288 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:38,880 and evidently Edmund has enough people supporting him at this time. 289 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,040 Knut fully grasps the scale of the disaster. 290 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,000 Many of his men have fallen, 291 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:56,440 while countless others tend to their wounds. 292 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,360 He knows that another defeat could be fatal. 293 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,760 There must be people around him, Englishmen around Knut, 294 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,320 who are suddenly thinking, 295 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,520 "Oh, whoops, have I gone to the wrong side? 296 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:13,680 What's happening?" 297 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,720 This is a situation in which people are sort of making their mind up 298 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,200 almost by the day. 299 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:20,760 And Knut stands a very serious risk of his forces 300 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,360 draining away from him. 301 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,520 But Knut refuses to admit defeat. 302 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:32,280 Instead, he changes strategy. 303 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,400 From now on, he will wage a war of attrition - 304 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,480 a slow and calculated war of pressure and raids. 305 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,400 He is a true strategist. 306 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,400 He takes no unnecessary risks. 307 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,080 He is, in many ways, representative of what a Viking truly was. 308 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:55,040 Not the operatic caricature, but a man who knows he is outnumbered, 309 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,960 far from home, and must be extremely cautious before attacking. 310 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:01,440 Otherwise, he risks losing both his life 311 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,920 and everything he's come to achieve. 312 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,160 Edmund has gathered the finest 313 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,640 of the southern English nobility around him. 314 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,480 His recent victory has restored confidence 315 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,640 and brought the wavering lords back into line. 316 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:25,960 Milord. 317 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,120 Chief among them is Eadric Streona, 318 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:38,280 who, after betraying Edmund for Knut, has once again switched sides. 319 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,880 Why Edmund would have trusted him is a very good question. 320 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,680 I suspect, frankly, that he didn't. But Edmund needed support. 321 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:51,240 This is one of those moments 322 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,880 where people are lining up behind different backers. 323 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,080 Eadric is one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. 324 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:58,720 Edmund cannot say no to him. 325 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,560 He doesn't like him, almost certainly because he's been part 326 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:03,320 of different factions in the past. 327 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:08,320 But Edmund needs every man he can get if he's going to defeat Knut, 328 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:10,240 who also has Thorkel on his side. 329 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,280 But I suspect in the long term, Edmund's plan is to defeat Knut 330 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,040 with Eadric and then get rid of Eadric. 331 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,240 But the Danes remain elusive. 332 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,720 Their ships move along the coasts of Essex and Kent, 333 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:36,600 striking wherever they can. 334 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:40,800 Burning villages. 335 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:48,400 Slaughtering the inhabitants and seizing everything of value. 336 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,640 Knut is probably nervous at this point. 337 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,920 I mean, he is dancing around a bit. He is raiding. 338 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,000 That will certainly help pay and feed his troops. 339 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,480 So you might suspect that Knut is biding his time and wondering 340 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,160 what's going to happen next. 341 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,160 A deadly game of cat and mouse, 342 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,280 in which Knut always seems one step ahead. 343 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:20,080 This sort of string of battles is where they focus their attention. 344 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,520 This is the exciting car chase of the film, as it were, 345 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,520 where they're moving around. 346 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,680 And it is, it is nail biting stuff. 347 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,400 A game where every move counts. 348 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:39,120 A few days before the battle of Sherston, 349 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,000 Knut quietly succeeds in winning over 350 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:46,040 part of the lesser English nobility 351 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,880 who had, until then, remained loyal to Edmund. 352 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,640 So, at Sherston, some deal has been made. 353 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,680 Some almighty great payment or promise has been made. 354 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,320 It's psychologically devastating 355 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,640 because he's been turned against by these high ranking Englishmen. 356 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,600 And what's more shocking than that is almost all of them 357 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,640 that we can trace of these collaborators, these traitors, 358 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,320 is related to the English royal family. 359 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,520 This is where the power drains away from him. 360 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,280 This is where he gets that sinking sensation 361 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,960 and the sand just runs through his fingers. 362 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,600 But at last, fortune turns in favour of the English king. 363 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,000 His scouts locate Knut's forces inland, 364 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,640 just a few miles from the coast near Ashington. 365 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,880 For Edmund, this is the moment to strike. 366 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,840 As long as the Viking army is cut off from its ships, 367 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:52,560 it remains vulnerable. 368 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:57,440 But above all, a few weeks earlier, during the battle of Sherston, 369 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,960 Edmund has seen a number of his soldiers turn against him. 370 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:04,560 Medieval battles are high-risk affairs. 371 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,320 It's not, you know, for no reason that many commanders 372 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:09,720 actually avoid open battles. 373 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,960 But if you've got your back to the wall, as Edmund does, 374 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:15,280 they're often also high risk, high gain. 375 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,680 If he wins outright a major victory against Knut, 376 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,440 that's his best bet for expelling Knut completely from the kingdom. 377 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,880 Knut listens to his commanders. 378 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,960 Among them is the fearsome Thorkel the Tall, 379 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,880 the veteran warrior who has pledged himself 380 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,960 to Knut's cause against Edmund. 381 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,560 But can Knut really trust him? 382 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,280 For behind this display of loyalty, 383 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,960 no one has forgotten his former alliance with Aethelred. 384 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:03,840 And being seen to be a part of the conquest in England, 385 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,200 engaging in battle against Edmund is very important to him, 386 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:12,040 because it means that he is showing his loyalty to his new master, 387 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,280 and he's also then lining himself up 388 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,360 for a share of the spoils of victory. 389 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:18,600 I don't think he's doing it meekly. 390 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,160 He's showing his worth and he's saying, you need me. 391 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,200 Look at me. Look how glorious. What a great war leader I am. 392 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:29,400 He's out there and he's proud of his role, as one would expect, 393 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:31,840 of somebody who's possibly pushing 50 394 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,520 and has been a warlord all his life. 395 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,560 And Knut is a boy by comparison. 396 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:40,840 Knut senses that what is about to unfold 397 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,600 is no ordinary battle. 398 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:47,880 He knows his future will be decided here, in mud and blood. 399 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,040 His thoughts drift back over the past two years: 400 00:28:56,200 --> 00:29:00,360 his first steps on this land, in the shadow of his father. 401 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,560 Two broken oaths, two humiliations he has never forgotten. 402 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,880 But those trials have forged him. 403 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,360 He is no longer merely the son of the great Sven. 404 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,720 He is Knut the Conqueror. 405 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,040 And for the first time, he knows it: 406 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:24,920 England will be his. 407 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:29,320 Here we are at the final battle. 408 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:31,840 We know that both leaders are present. 409 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:33,520 There is no doubt about that, 410 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,280 and both appear to be organising their battle formations. 411 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:38,160 The only certainty our sources provide 412 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:39,720 is the violence of the fighting. 413 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,000 It is a battle that lasts a considerable time, 414 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,040 with both sides fighting with great determination and courage. 415 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,000 For the King! For the kingdom! 416 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:52,680 In a surge of bravery, 417 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,480 Edmund charges into the heart of the melee, 418 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,000 cutting through enemy ranks like fire through dry grass. 419 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:12,480 Across the front line, Knut rallies his men, 420 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,920 urging them to fight to the very last drop of blood. 421 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:19,640 If the Vikings have an edge at this point, 422 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,760 it could be because these are all crews of warriors, 423 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,840 row together and sail together, 424 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,080 and act as a body with a kind of . 425 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,960 In the heart of the melee, Edmund turns toward his flank. 426 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,760 On the ridge above, Eadric stands motionless, 427 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:43,280 staring back at him. 428 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,560 In that instant, Edmund understands. 429 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,880 In a final act of betrayal, Eadric withdraws 430 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,000 and abandons the king to his fate. 431 00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:58,720 Edmund is stunned. 432 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,400 He realises that victory is slipping from his grasp. 433 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:07,640 Some suggest that Eadric was already on Knut's side, 434 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,760 but pretended to support Edmund, 435 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,760 and that when the battle begins to turn in favour of the Anglo-Saxons, 436 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:15,400 he abandons the field. 437 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:20,560 Others sources, including Encomium Emma Reginae, 438 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,520 suggest a withdrawal even before the battle begins, 439 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,440 based on a straightforward argument: the Danes are too strong. 440 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,520 If we fight, we'll lose and die for nothing. 441 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:30,520 Better to withdraw and negotiate. 442 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,280 Rather than risk his life, 443 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:40,840 Edmund chooses to flee the battlefield, 444 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,640 leaving his great army behind, defeated. 445 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,040 The flower of the English nobility was killed. 446 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,920 You get the feeling this is the battle to end them all. 447 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,880 And this is where Edmund's forces are in retreat. 448 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:06,680 And they describe it as a massacre. 449 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:08,720 This is what the Danes are - what we would say - 450 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,240 mopping up the English as they flee. 451 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:13,400 So there's not only this clash in the sand, 452 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,280 and there's probably also a chasing of the English forces 453 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:18,600 and killing them on the hoof as they're leaving. 454 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,560 Knut has won the battle, but at what cost? 455 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:36,200 Facing an enemy who stubbornly refuses to bend the knee, 456 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,880 perhaps it is time to change strategy. 457 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,760 Knut gazes out over the waters of the Severn, 458 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,120 a natural frontier between the lands under his control 459 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,800 and those that still remain loyal to Edmund. 460 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,680 It is here that Eadric Streona, more elusive than ever, 461 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:11,440 has arranged a meeting. 462 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:16,680 Edmund has arrived. 463 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,760 On the bank, Edmund is already waiting. 464 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,560 The negotiations take place at Eadric's initiative. 465 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:32,560 He appears to have pushed both sides toward discussion. 466 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:35,040 Edmund wanted to continue fighting. 467 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:36,880 Knut could've done so as well, 468 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,240 but did not necessarily stand to gain from it. 469 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,040 There seems to be more of a sense 470 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,080 that they fought one another to a stand still. 471 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,320 Neither can one overpower the other, 472 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:48,360 and they've realised it at this point. 473 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:51,920 The meeting takes place 474 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:54,400 on a small island lost in the middle of the river. 475 00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,920 On both sides, armies stand ready, 476 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,920 poised to surge forward at the slightest signal. 477 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:09,080 Obviously, an island is the best place 478 00:34:09,240 --> 00:34:11,000 to have any form of negotiation like this, 479 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,240 because both kings are coming with an army. 480 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,000 Even if they strip that army down, they're going to come with enough 481 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:19,320 forces to really have a very ugly incident, as it were. 482 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,440 For the first time, 483 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,040 Knut and Edmund face one another within sword's reach. 484 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:32,000 Time itself seems suspended between them. 485 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:40,720 Knut knows that everything could still tip either way. 486 00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:45,680 As a gesture of good faith, he salutes his adversary. 487 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,840 One of the things about scouting first is respect for the enemy. 488 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,720 If you respect your enemy, and even if you slightly fear your enemy 489 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:00,200 then the fact you've defeated him glorifies you as well as him. 490 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:03,880 So one imagines that is also part of Knut's makeup, as it were. 491 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:07,400 When he meets Edmund, he meets him as a fellow warrior 492 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:09,840 who he's got an enormous amount of respect for. 493 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,200 Negotiations begin. 494 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:20,000 Each man seeks compromise, without losing face. 495 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:27,640 Gradually, mistrust fades 496 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,320 and a strange complicity settles between the two rivals. 497 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,880 Both saw, I think, almost a reflection of themselves: 498 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:43,240 someone young, ambitious, militarily capable, 499 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,400 and that may well have fed into, in the end, 500 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:47,920 a willingness to strike an agreement. 501 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,680 The two men divide the kingdom. 502 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:52,560 Edmund is offered the North. 503 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:56,480 Knut takes the South, a logical division in light of his ancestry. 504 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,280 The two men thus become co-kings of the England, 505 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:01,360 effectively bringing the war to an end. 506 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,680 Most of our sources agree that both armies 507 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:05,760 are extremely satisfied with the outcome, 508 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,320 having been severely tested by a year and a half of campaigning. 509 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,400 For Knut, this victory is not the one he had hoped for. 510 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,520 He sought to conquer an entire kingdom. 511 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,800 Instead, he must settle for half of it. 512 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:30,160 But fate has one final, cruel twist in store. 513 00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:51,760 A few weeks after signing a peace treaty with Knut, 514 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,240 Edmund - young king and tireless warrior - 515 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:59,080 dies suddenly at the age of 26. 516 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:03,840 Whether from a sudden illness or the result of a plot remains uncertain. 517 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,360 There is, however, a villain who perfectly fits the archetype: 518 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,720 the ultimate traitor, Eadric. 519 00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,960 He is said to have bribed or persuaded men to kill King Edmund 520 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,120 while he was in the privy - 521 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:27,240 allegedly striking from below, either with a hook or a dagger. 522 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,800 These are conceivable, if horrible, horrible ways to die, 523 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:36,880 and also horrible ways to have to kill somebody if you're an assassin, 524 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,320 climbing up a toilet, it's probably not the best way to go. 525 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:46,920 Edmund's body is laid to rest at Glastonbury Abbey, 526 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:49,160 beside his grandfather, King Edgar. 527 00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:58,680 For Knut, Edmund's disappearance is a blessing. 528 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:03,760 It's almost too good to be true. 529 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,080 Edmund's death is one of those suspicious deaths for which 530 00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:19,840 a conspiratorial interpretation offers a convenient explanation. 531 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:22,960 Who benefits from it? Knut does. 532 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,640 By the end of 1016, he becomes sole king. 533 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:30,320 Many medieval historians 534 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:33,000 were inclined to apply this line of reasoning. 535 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,960 In other words, Knut may have arranged Edmund's death. 536 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:46,320 It's perhaps just most likely that Edmund Ironside had wounds. 537 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:48,760 I mean, people often overlook that. 538 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:50,760 But after the division of the kingdom, 539 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:52,880 a few months later, Edmund is dead. 540 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:56,320 This is exactly what you'd expect from some nasty gangrenous cuts. 541 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:07,720 In St Paul's Church, 542 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:11,320 the Archbishop of Canterbury crowns Knut King of England. 543 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:19,640 From this moment on, nothing escapes him. 544 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:25,680 The Dane is ready to assert his authority and rule without rival. 545 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:33,160 But conquering a kingdom is one thing, holding it is another. 546 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:53,160 Aethelred and Edmund are dead, 547 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,280 yet for Knut, one final threat remains. 548 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:02,800 He must silence those who, one day, 549 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:05,480 might challenge the legitimacy of his reign, 550 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:08,440 beginning with Edmund's two young sons. 551 00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:15,760 They are heirs presumptive - 552 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,760 sons of a king, entirely legitimate claimants to power, 553 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:20,480 provided they come of age. 554 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:29,360 Any of those English athelings are a potential rallying point 555 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:31,880 for some of the noblemen. 556 00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:34,520 And there's always a possibility that, you know, 557 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:36,560 as those young men get older, 558 00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:39,080 that they could become a flashpoint 559 00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:41,120 for a rebellion against Knut. 560 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:46,520 Faced with the children, Knut hesitates. 561 00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:51,720 Eliminating them would be tempting, but politically dangerous. 562 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,320 It seemed to me too controversial to kill an atheling, 563 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:58,880 to kill somebody who might inherit the throne one day. 564 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:01,400 In Scandinavia, I'm certain it would have been done in ten minutes, 565 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:03,120 but he sends them out to Sweden, 566 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:06,000 whether they're meant to be murdered there or just forgotten, 567 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:07,760 they continue to survive. 568 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:14,800 But the most serious threat does not come from England; 569 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:17,200 it comes from the Continent. 570 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,960 Edward and Alfred, the sons of Aethelred and Emma, 571 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,600 have found refuge with their uncle Richard II, 572 00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:30,280 the powerful Duke of Normandy. 573 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:35,000 And Knut has no way of reaching them. 574 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:42,480 Worse still, Edward, only 14 years old, 575 00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:45,360 could one day lay claim to the throne of England. 576 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:51,400 The Normans are very power hungry, extremely ambitious, 577 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:56,560 very power hungry, and they have now got sitting in that court, in exile, 578 00:41:56,720 --> 00:42:01,680 these heirs which give them a method of ruling England. 579 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:06,560 Knut is worried that the Norman Conquest is going to happen in 1016, 580 00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:08,320 not 1066. 581 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:10,520 He's worried that they're going to try and sweep in 582 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:13,840 and take control of some part of England for the wealth, 583 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:16,000 and they're going to use one of these little boys 584 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:17,440 as an excuse for doing it. 585 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:22,840 The Norman threat cannot be ignored. 586 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:27,160 So Knut devises a plan - 587 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:32,680 one whose cornerstone is none other than the widow of his former enemy: 588 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:36,440 Emma of Normandy. 589 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:45,200 There's a lot of good reasons for him to marry Emma of Normandy. 590 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:47,440 She's the English queen. 591 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:51,960 But she also represents an alliance with Normandy. 592 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:56,360 And that also means that the Duke of Normandy, Richard II, 593 00:42:56,520 --> 00:43:01,800 is much less likely to support his nephews 594 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:05,560 as a flashpoint for rebellion against Knut. 595 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:10,200 Once you've married Emma, 596 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:13,120 she's now not just part of Aethelred's establishment, 597 00:43:13,280 --> 00:43:15,000 she's part of Knut's establishment. 598 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:16,920 And they will not move against 599 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,080 a powerful member of their own dynasty. 600 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:25,160 The plan seems perfect, with one complication: 601 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:30,800 persuading Emma to marry the man responsible for her downfall. 602 00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:37,840 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that Knut fetched Emma, to be wed. 603 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:41,600 Of course, if we read the word fetched, it kind of indicates 604 00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:46,000 that Knut has some kind of power in this situation. 605 00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:48,920 And quite possibly, she does have no choice. 606 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,360 But Emma tells her own story. 607 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:56,520 She tells that Knut sends men to woo her to persuade her 608 00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:58,760 to become his queen, 609 00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:01,680 so she tells it as kind of a love story. 610 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:06,520 He has everything, and now he needs the perfect imperial spouse. 611 00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:12,040 For Emma, the temptation is immense. 612 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:16,160 To accept, would be to regain her status as queen. 613 00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,640 But it would also mean abandoning her two sons in exile. 614 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:32,080 She quickly decides as part of that marriage negotiation, 615 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:37,760 that's what's most important to her, is not supporting Edward and Alfred, 616 00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:41,960 but having a son with Knut and seeing that son on the throne. 617 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:46,320 It is a poisoned chalice for her, in a sense, 618 00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:49,280 because up to this point, she's worked so tirelessly 619 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,160 to try to secure the succession of her two sons with Aethelred, 620 00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:54,040 and she has to decide what she loses 621 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:56,200 and how best to maintain her power and influence, 622 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:01,200 and she ultimately opts for her own prospects over those of her sons 623 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:03,440 and her sons never forgive her. 624 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:07,840 Before marrying Emma, 625 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:10,640 Knut must settle one final matter: 626 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:14,040 to inform his first wife, Aelfgifu of Northampton, 627 00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:16,760 married according to Scandinavian custom, 628 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:19,400 that she will never be queen of England. 629 00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:24,920 He must have just sat down with her and said: 630 00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:26,480 "Look, I'm terribly sorry, darling. 631 00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:28,880 You know, I'll give you X amount a year. 632 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,360 Keep the children, but you and me are done, 633 00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,160 because I got to get married again." 634 00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:36,800 And he hasn't broken any religious or social or moral code 635 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:38,560 by setting aside Aelfgifu, 636 00:45:38,720 --> 00:45:41,120 all that happened is life changed, the world changed. 637 00:45:41,280 --> 00:45:42,600 She became irrelevant. 638 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:45,080 And that marriage in that union became irrelevant. 639 00:45:45,240 --> 00:45:47,520 And so he can set her off and say: 640 00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:49,800 "Emma, come here. Now we're going to be married". 641 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:55,000 Knut and Emma pass through the doors of St Paul's. 642 00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:01,640 Ironically, it is here that Aethelred lies buried, 643 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:06,480 an impotent witness to his widow's remarriage to his greatest enemy. 644 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:12,560 This is, above all, a political union. 645 00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:18,080 Emma regains her influence while Knut secures a partner 646 00:46:18,240 --> 00:46:20,560 who knows the English court intimately. 647 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:29,840 Emma has been married to an English king for a long time. 648 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,000 She knows how it works. She knows what to do. 649 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:34,680 She knows which way to hold a knife and fork, as it were. 650 00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:40,000 And she understands what it was like to come in as an outsider 651 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:42,640 into the English political system. 652 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:45,800 So she has that experience to pass on to Knut, 653 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:48,440 and they seem to work very closely together. 654 00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:52,160 So they end up becoming this real power couple, if you will, 655 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,280 of the 1020s, 1030s 656 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,480 who dominate English and Northern European politics. 657 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,240 A few months later, Emma gives birth to a son... 658 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:13,960 ...Harthacnut. 659 00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:19,640 The child becomes the first cornerstone of a dynasty 660 00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:23,960 Knut hopes to place at the head of the kingdom for centuries to come. 661 00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:44,600 Knut spends most of his time in Winchester, 662 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:46,280 the capital of Wessex. 663 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:53,640 The city houses the royal treasury, the archives, 664 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:56,520 the mint, 665 00:47:58,760 --> 00:48:00,920 as well as the most powerful monasteries 666 00:48:01,080 --> 00:48:03,280 and religious institutions of the realm: 667 00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:08,160 churchmen whom the young king must win to his cause. 668 00:48:09,920 --> 00:48:11,000 Welcome! 669 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:13,680 For a Christian England, 670 00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:17,000 no power can endure without the support of the clergy. 671 00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:24,400 And from among them, Knut chooses his eminence Wulfstan, 672 00:48:24,560 --> 00:48:28,040 the austere and formidable Archbishop of York. 673 00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:36,960 For Knut, Wulfstan is the key player, alongside Emma, 674 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:40,560 in solidifying his control of the regime 675 00:48:40,720 --> 00:48:43,040 and remodelling himself in the traditions, 676 00:48:43,200 --> 00:48:44,600 local traditions of monarchy. 677 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:47,920 It seems quite clear that Knut follows Wulfstan's advice almost 678 00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:50,320 to the letter in order to become a king of the English, 679 00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:53,200 indeed, a better king than the English themselves. 680 00:48:53,360 --> 00:48:55,720 He integrates himself immediately into the kingdom. 681 00:48:55,880 --> 00:48:58,120 He writes in Old English, he communicates in Old English. 682 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:01,040 He adopts all the titles and regalia, and appears to have 683 00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:03,520 been more popular than many of the previous English kings, 684 00:49:03,680 --> 00:49:07,160 particularly because of his policies notably his extraordinary generosity 685 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:09,440 toward the Church and the monasteries. 686 00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:15,400 With Wulfstan at his side, 687 00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:18,560 Knut begins to learn the subtleties of the English court. 688 00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:25,400 And gradually exchanges his Viking garb for that of an English king. 689 00:49:27,400 --> 00:49:29,120 Yet behind appearances, 690 00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:32,160 the young Dane has not forgotten where he comes from, 691 00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:37,040 or to whom he owes his victory. 692 00:49:41,360 --> 00:49:43,600 These allies he must now reward. 693 00:49:46,720 --> 00:49:50,600 East Anglia in the east is granted to Thorkel the Tall. 694 00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:58,120 Northumbria in the north is entrusted to Erik of Lade. 695 00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:03,360 Mercia in the west remains in the hands 696 00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:05,600 of the notorious Eadric Streona. 697 00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:14,000 For himself, Knut keeps Wessex, the historic heart of power. 698 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:17,760 He cannot rule simply through terror, 699 00:50:17,920 --> 00:50:20,520 so he needs to bring some of the English onside. 700 00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:21,840 At the same time, 701 00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:24,680 he needs to reward some of his Scandinavian men with them. 702 00:50:24,840 --> 00:50:26,920 And with these two imperatives are somewhat at odds, 703 00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:29,400 because if he does too much of one, it threatens the other. 704 00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:31,800 Then Knut is waiting for people to step out of line, 705 00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:33,480 and as they step out of line, 706 00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:36,000 he gets rid of them and then he sprinkles in 707 00:50:36,160 --> 00:50:38,200 Scandinavians who are loyal to him. 708 00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:41,720 That's how you do it. You do it carefully, slowly, 709 00:50:41,880 --> 00:50:45,680 trying to keep as much of the existing machine as possible. 710 00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,520 But putting your guys, putting your Scandinavians 711 00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:52,880 into just the right place so that they have control. 712 00:50:58,640 --> 00:51:01,000 Eadric Streona has every reason 713 00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:03,000 to believe himself untouchable. 714 00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:10,000 He survived the deaths of Aethelred and Edmund alike, 715 00:51:10,160 --> 00:51:14,520 shifting loyalties time and again to stand with the stronger side. 716 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:18,160 And now he wants more from the young Dane 717 00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:20,040 he helped place upon the throne. 718 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:22,440 England is yours. I have done... 719 00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:23,760 Without him, 720 00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,120 perhaps Edmund would still be sitting there. 721 00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:34,120 Eadric is said to have killed Edmund Ironside, 722 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:35,760 then demanded his reward. 723 00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:37,560 Knut is supposed to have replied: 724 00:51:37,720 --> 00:51:39,520 "Ah, you have taken the head of my sworn brother? 725 00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:42,120 Very well. I shall give you what I owe you, the loss of your own." 726 00:51:42,280 --> 00:51:44,640 And Erik strikes him with an axe, settling the matter. 727 00:51:48,480 --> 00:51:50,080 Here, we are dealing with a Knut 728 00:51:50,240 --> 00:51:52,400 who may appear extremely calculating politically, 729 00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:55,480 but also with a ruler who understands the cost of betrayal. 730 00:51:55,640 --> 00:51:57,200 Betrayal may happen. 731 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:01,200 But when it happens repeatedly, it proves that a man cannot be trusted. 732 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:03,520 Knut's reasoning is, in a way, defensible: 733 00:52:03,680 --> 00:52:06,480 if someone was unable to remain loyal to his rightful king, 734 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:09,200 why should he now be considered reliable? 735 00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:14,480 Eadric's head is mounted on a spike... 736 00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:16,960 Hey! Cease this foolishness at once! 737 00:52:17,120 --> 00:52:21,360 ...and displayed for all to see on Tower Hill outside London. 738 00:52:23,080 --> 00:52:26,360 A dishonourable fate reserved for traitors. 739 00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:31,880 Later Anglo-Norman chroniclers tell a story that this was done 740 00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:35,560 very justly by the Tower of London, essentially, 741 00:52:35,720 --> 00:52:39,840 what becomes a later royal execution site. 742 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:46,000 This is an indication that Knut is willing to act in a ruthless fashion 743 00:52:46,160 --> 00:52:48,360 when the circumstances suits. 744 00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:55,280 In barely two years, Knut has pacified England. 745 00:52:57,400 --> 00:52:59,480 He has ended the Viking raids... 746 00:53:02,240 --> 00:53:04,040 ...rewarded his allies... 747 00:53:06,600 --> 00:53:08,760 ...and eliminated his enemies. 748 00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:15,280 But in a world where nothing is ever secure, 749 00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:19,360 where power rests upon fragile balances, 750 00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:23,120 the winds are about to change. 751 00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:27,360 And already, across the North Sea, 752 00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:32,880 a new challenger is already rising, still little known, 753 00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:38,440 but destined to become one of the greatest threats to his reign. 754 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:59,120 Subtitles by Sky Access Services