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On the shores
of Sandwich...

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...a man walks in silence.

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His name is Knut,

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a Viking prince
born into a line of kings

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who have ruled Denmark
for more than half a century.

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A few days earlier, he believed
he could rely on a pact

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his father had forged with
the English nobility.

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An agreement that he thought
would make him King of England.

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But the lords
turned their backs on him.

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And today, it is their sons
who will pay the price.

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Many of these hostages may have
been young men

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not much older than him.

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In many ways, that highlights
the ruthlessness

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Knut was wishing to demonstrate
in this particular action.

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He is only 20 years old,
but Knut does not tremble.

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With a single gesture, he orders
the hostages to be mutilated.

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Noses.

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Ears.

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Hands.

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Just enough for England
to understand.

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He's not killing them.

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He wants these people to go back
and send the message,

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“Don't underestimate me.”

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In his eyes burns a cold fury.

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He swears he will return.

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And this time, he will take England.

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On the shores of the Roskilde Fjord,

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Knut watches
the longships approaching.

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On board stands his brother, Harald.

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As always, a single glance is
enough to spark a furious race.

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Not for the thrill of
the game, but out of defiance.

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Between the two brothers,
everything already seems written.

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It is not Knut
but Harald who will wear the crown.

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Knut is the second son,

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and I think that's important
in understanding the man

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and understanding his ambitions.

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He can be Prince Harry
to Prince William.

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As long as Harald stays alive,

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Knut is not really going to be in
a substantial position of power

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in Denmark.

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So there was a lot to play for.

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And that probably explains
some of the jockeying

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and competitiveness we often see
amongst heirs in this period.

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Ideally located
at the crossroads of the North Sea

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and the Baltic Sea,
the Kingdom of Denmark

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is one of the most powerful
and feared realms in Scandinavia.

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Its coastline, scattered with
islands and carved out by fjords,

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shelters natural harbours where
hundreds of merchant ships converge.

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Like in Roskilde, the capital.

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The merchants' stalls overflow with
the riches from the East and West...

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...amber, furs,

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weapons... and slaves.

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For Knut,
who has never left his homeland,

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these treasures are a call
to adventure.

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The kings of the Danes
could be split into two categories -

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kings of the land
and kings of the sea.

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Those who stay in the country
and govern it,

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and the younger sons,
often chose the sea,

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setting out for adventure in
England, West Francia or elsewhere.

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It seems Knut was raised with that
very purpose in mind -

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to conquer, to wage war,
to amass wealth abroad,

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and then return home to carve out
his own share of power,

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by force or by strategy.

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Knut’s thirst for power
comes from an extraordinary lineage.

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A grandfather, Harald Bluetooth,
who, for the first time,

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united the kingdom
under a single crown.

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And a father, Sweyn Forkbeard,

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a feared Viking warlord who has
ruled Denmark for over 20 years.

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A lineage forged in blood
and betrayal.

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Harald Bluetooth
was a long-ruling

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and highly successful king,

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and therefore his son Sweyn was
chomping at the bit

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because it was, of course,
in the interest of Sweyn

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to gain as much power and authority
as possible as quickly as possible.

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And it's in Harald's interest
to prevent him doing so,

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because only one can be king
at the same time.

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And it ends up in battle.

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Again,
we don't know where the battle was,

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but we do know that Harald is
injured

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and he retreats to his allies
in the Baltic where he dies.

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Sweyn has seized power
through the murder of his father.

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This is not a strong beginning.

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This is a weak and wobbly start.

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It is in a world where
loyalty hangs by a thread,

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and power is won by the sword
that Knut comes of age.

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A ruthless world that, one morning,
comes knocking at his door.

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King Sweyn summoned him to his hall.

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Knut does not yet know it, but his
father has made his decision.

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Within weeks,
they will march on England.

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The 11th century was
a major target for the Vikings.

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It's wealthy, it's organised,
it's bureaucratic.

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The English have produced
a money-making machine.

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Trade is going well.

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There are large amounts of gold and
silver lying around, and it's close.

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This time, it is no mere raid.

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Sweyn is aiming for the entire
kingdom...

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and above all the crown of England.

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And so, one way of solving
the problem

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of only having one Danish kingdom
you can give to your sons and heirs

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is to conquer another kingdom
and to offer prospects to Knut.

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So at the back of his mind,
probably, is that he'd like to have

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and control England himself,
but if he takes England,

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England can then be Knut's.

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Knut is stunned.

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To conquer England?

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Never before had a Viking
dared to imagine it.

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For the first time in his life,
Knut glimpses a spark of hope,

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the chance to break free
from his place as the younger son

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and finally forge his own destiny.

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In his palace, King Aethelred
hastily gathers his counsellors.

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They confirm what many feared -

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a massive fleet is assembling
in Denmark.

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There is no longer any doubt.

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The Vikings are coming back.

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It's very likely that
Aethelred would have known

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about Sweyn's invasion project.

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I think with the amount of traffic
across the North Sea

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during the late Viking Age,

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rumours that something was afoot
would be very likely

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to reach the English court
at this time.

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The nobles know it.
They cannot now rely on Aethelred.

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Rarely in the kingdom’s history has
a king faced such open doubt.

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For over 20 years, men from
the Northmen have ravaged his lands.

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And for over 20 years,
Aethelred has failed to stop them.

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And of course,
paying tribute

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has almost become
the default solution.

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Whenever a fleet appeared,

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Aethelred seemed to offer greater
and greater sums.

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He is often portrayed
as the archetypal weak king,

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a ruler who preferred to pay off his
enemies rather than fight them.

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Ever-heavier tributes have
drained the kingdom.

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His subjects are weary of a king
unable to put an end

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to this infernal spiral.

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But this time, Aethelred believes
the outcome may be different.

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He has secured a powerful new
ally...

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...the Dane, Thorkell the Tall,

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one of the most feared Viking
leaders of his age,

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and, above all...

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...a sworn enemy of Sweyn Forkbeard.

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Thorkell the Tall is the greatest
worry for the Danish kingship.

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He's a member of the elite
of eastern Denmark,

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so the southern tip of Sweden.

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This is an area that Knut's dynasty
has pushed aggressively into.

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And he has seen his power
and his wealth

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and his privilege being eroded,
and he's not happy.

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Four years earlier, in 1009,

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Thorkell had fled Denmark
with 45 ships.

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For three years, he ravaged England,

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leaving death and chaos in his wake.

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To stop him, Aethelred once again
chose to pay.

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But this time there was a condition.

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At this point in 1013,

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Thorkell had signed up with
Aethelred the Unready.

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He was taking Aethelred's money,
providing protection.

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He pays them
to be his private bodyguard.

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If you've got one of the largest
and scariest Viking armies

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and you pay it to work for you,

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sitting in England, frightening
off other Vikings,

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well, this is a brilliant idea!

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So the strategy here really is
to set a thief to catch a thief,

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to use a Viking
to stop future Vikings.

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And that's his hope, really, is that
Thorkell and his formidable army

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will be able to stop people
like Sweyn.

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Aethelred
and Thorkell struck a pact.

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In exchange for a generous tribute,

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the Dane would place his men
and his 45 ships

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at the King’s disposal.

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Sweyn and Knut would now face not
only Aethelred’s army,

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but a seasoned Viking force
hardened by years of raiding.

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Sweyn learns of the alliance
between Aethelred and Thorkell

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and immediately understands
that time is running out.

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He knew that his old rival’s loyalty
belonged to no-one but himself.

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Behind this alliance of convenience,

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Thorkell is pursuing only one cause
- his own.

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Thorkell clearly poses a threat
to Sweyn and Knut,

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because he's shown just how weak
the English regime now is,

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and he's come within a whisker
of conquering England himself.

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So it may well be that he himself is
harbouring ambitions

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that at some point he might just
move from being the leading general

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to being the ruler of England.

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And so for Sweyn, it's a matter of
trying to take England

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before Thorkell does the same.

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00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,960
At the start of spring,
Sweyn issues a great call to arms

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across Scandinavia.

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Each noble is ordered to provide
men, weapons, provisions,

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and to join the gathering fleet.

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This is the first time
that a king of Scandinavia

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has called for such a campaign,

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and he's drawing in people
from all across Scandinavia.

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It's an invasion, it's not raiding.
And that's the key difference.

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On foot and on horseback,

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thousands of Danes, Norwegians
and Swedes converge on Roskilde.

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00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,680
Soon they are joined by hundreds
of fortune-seekers.

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Within a few weeks,
several thousand men

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00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,320
and more than a hundred ships
gather under the King's banner.

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00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:54,640
So we are looking at
a scale of attack

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which is certainly very different to
those England had traditionally seen

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00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:00,520
in the earlier Viking ages.

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00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:02,400
So this is a very, very large army

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00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,080
that can rival any of
the English armies.

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00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,280
Knut watches the
constant movement on the docks

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00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,960
and the forest of masts
stretching across the horizon.

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00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:20,520
He could feel it.

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00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,280
Everything in his life had led to
this moment.

205
00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:28,960
From a very young age,

206
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,920
Knut would have been trained up
to be a warrior.

207
00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,680
So, crucial to his upbringing
would have been

208
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,520
learning those skills of war, honing
them through things like hunting,

209
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,960
but also alongside that, learning
the tricks of the trade at court,

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00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,000
where also politics was an important
consideration,

211
00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,160
where making deals
where hard-nosed realpolitik

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00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,040
was also something to be learned
at a very young age.

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00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:55,160
Setting aside their rivalry,

214
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,360
Harald greets his brother
one last time.

215
00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,800
Their father had entrusted him
with the regency of Denmark,

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00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,040
confirming his status
as the rightful heir.

217
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:14,120
Knut has no choice.
If he ever wished to rule,

218
00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,480
he would have to carve out
his own kingdom.

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00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,240
At dawn, the armada weighs anchor
and turns west.

220
00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:33,920
Onboard, father and son share
the same dream -

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00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,240
to conquer one of the richest
kingdoms in the West.

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00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,040
The task is immense,

223
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:46,040
and Sweyn expects Knut to stand
by his side.

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00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,720
The role that Sweyn wants for Knut

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00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,400
is as a junior partner.

226
00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,760
It's very handy to have a member
of your family

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who's able to provide some
leadership within the Danish army.

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00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,640
But Sweyn also knows that
his son still has much to prove.

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00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,160
His first lesson will be to earn
the loyalty of his men.

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00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:16,320
At the heart of
any Viking expedition

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00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:21,880
lies the ability to reward
followers.

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00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,040
And obviously, if a leader is
able to distribute wealth, gold

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00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,560
and precious metals, it
tends to secure his men's loyalty.

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00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,320
The second essential factor is
prestige,

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00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:40,040
delivering victory and leading
successful military operations.

236
00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,760
Within days, the fleet
will reach the English coast.

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00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,440
There, the young prince
is about to shed his former self

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00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,680
and embrace his destiny

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00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,200
as a warrior, a Viking,
a war leader.

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00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,880
Once again, Aethelred prepares to
face the fury of the Northmen.

241
00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:17,920
All his hopes now rest on Thorkell.

242
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:24,240
He orders him to deploy his fleet
at Greenwich, along the Thames,

243
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,600
hoping to lure Knut
and Sweyn into a trap.

244
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:36,160
But one question torments him.
Could he truly be trusted?

245
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,240
Aethelred knew his own fleet would
be powerless to stop the Danes.

246
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:46,600
Yet just five years earlier, that
same fleet had seemed invincible.

247
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,720
Aethelred had,
amongst his attempts

248
00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:54,960
to face down the Viking threat,

249
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:58,120
sought to reinforce
England's naval capabilities.

250
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,360
And he raises a very, very large
navy

251
00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,840
with the prospect of preventing
future invasion.

252
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,800
Shipyards across the
kingdom had been mobilised.

253
00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:14,560
Within months, an armada of
300 brand-new ships

254
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:16,400
gathers along the southern
coast of England.

255
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,360
Never before had an English king
achieved such a feat.

256
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,040
Everything
seems to be going well,

257
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,280
since 300 ships are more than the
Danes seem capable of assembling

258
00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:34,480
at that time.
But there's a major problem -

259
00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:37,480
the leadership within
the Anglo-Saxon forces.

260
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,000
Aethelred entrusts
command of the fleet

261
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,120
to two close nobles of his inner
circle -

262
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,760
Wulfnoth and Beorhtric.

263
00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,880
But one evening,
a quarrel broke out.

264
00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,120
The two men accuse
each other of treason.

265
00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:08,040
In a fit of rage,
Wulfnoth seizes twenty ships...

266
00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,320
...and rebels.

267
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,520
And so he takes a portion of
the English fleet off with him.

268
00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:18,800
The rest goes to try to chase them,

269
00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:20,760
and then a storm dashes them
entirely.

270
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,400
Many of the ships sink.

271
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,480
The survivors who manage to reach
the beach are slaughtered,

272
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,160
and the ships are set on fire
to Wulfnoth's initiative.

273
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,880
A single dispute was
enough to set the fleet ablaze...

274
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,080
...along with the last hopes of
the English people.

275
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,640
The irony is that
in 1009, shortly afterwards,

276
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,440
Thorkell the Tall arrived
at Sandwich with barely 50 ships,

277
00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:00,440
a relatively small force,
and he meets no resistance at all.

278
00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,840
And so what was, in essence,
a very good strategic plan

279
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,240
is completely undermined due
to divisions within the English camp

280
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,920
rather than any battle being
offered with the Vikings.

281
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,480
After ten days at sea,

282
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,560
the fleet finally reaches
the English coast.

283
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,840
The island has more than
12,000 kilometres of coastline,

284
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,320
countless possible landing points
for the Vikings.

285
00:22:34,120 --> 00:22:36,360
The geography of
the English coastline

286
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:41,920
contributed enormously to
the success of Viking raids,

287
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,200
because Vikings could move
very rapidly around the coastline.

288
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,880
And so consequently
it's virtually impossible to defend.

289
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:55,080
So it is unfortunately perfect
for Scandinavian attack.

290
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:05,120
An unfamiliar landscape,
and yet strangely familiar.

291
00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,080
He remembers the evenings of
his childhood,

292
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:14,400
lulled by tales of raids
and battles.

293
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,840
And one name keeps coming back...

294
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,560
Sandwich, an English town,

295
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:22,920
invaded many times.

296
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,160
Among the entry points
into England,

297
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,600
the port of Sandwich is extremely
important,

298
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,120
as it allows ships to be
sheltered quite easily.

299
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,440
It also offers easy access to
the mouth of the Thames.

300
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,560
It is difficult to secure
for defenders

301
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,760
and easy to access for attackers.

302
00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:45,280
An ideal place to launch
an invasion.

303
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:53,840
Knut leaps from the ship

304
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,320
and for the first time sets foot on
the soil of the Kingdom of England.

305
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,360
What does he feel?
Excitement?

306
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,920
Rage?

307
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,480
He probably has no time to wonder.

308
00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,760
On the beach, English soldiers
are trying to stand in their way.

309
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,680
For the young Dane,
it is a baptism of fire

310
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,320
and perhaps his first chance
to prove himself.

311
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,320
All of these great
Scandinavian leaders are warriors;

312
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,320
and lead troops into battle,
and clearly are battle-hardened

313
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,640
and known for this fact. That is
a big part of their reputation.

314
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,040
At the same time,

315
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,280
they are almost certainly
not normally

316
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:42,800
in the front line of the fray.

317
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,600
So as a Scandinavian leader,
you need the respect of your men,

318
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:48,880
you need to be known as
a formidable warrior,

319
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,360
but you also need to not be silly
and ridiculous

320
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,400
and take unnecessary risks.

321
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,040
And Knut is an excellent example.

322
00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,280
We rarely see him fighting,
except when he knows he will win,

323
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:01,960
which is quite wise of him.

324
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:08,920
The English troops are
quickly defeated.

325
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,800
The Vikings set up camp
for the night.

326
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:23,520
Around the fire, Sweyn and Knut
ponder their next move.

327
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,680
England is divided into several
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...

328
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,560
Mercia to the west...

329
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,640
Northumbria to the north...

330
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:37,720
East Anglia to the east...

331
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,440
And Wessex,
the centre of power, to the south.

332
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,760
That is where Thorkell
deployed his fleet to defend London.

333
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,360
Sweyn knows that attacking head-on
would be suicidal.

334
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,480
Thorkell is very
frightening for Sweyn,

335
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:05,600
presumably because he is slightly
scared that he might either not win

336
00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,520
or damage an enormous part of
the Danish royal forces.

337
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,800
If we add to
this the fortifications

338
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:12,480
of the city of London,

339
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,040
then yes, it clearly becomes
very difficult for Sweyn.

340
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,160
He could go straight for it,
but that would involve a real risk.

341
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,080
Avoiding Thorkell is therefore
the logical choice.

342
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,640
At first light, Sweyn
and Knut weigh anchor.

343
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,600
They sail north, and at the mouth
of the Thames they turn away,

344
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,000
leaving London behind.

345
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:40,840
They head toward the Danelaw,

346
00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,760
a vast territory stretching
from East Anglia to Northumbria,

347
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,360
where Viking influence runs deep.

348
00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:55,560
Danelaw is a term
which is used to refer to

349
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,240
the areas in England

350
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:03,200
which were settled by Scandinavian
settlers from the early Viking Age.

351
00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,400
It does mean to say that there was
a significant Scandinavian,

352
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:09,840
particularly Danish, influence.

353
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,960
These people are both
simultaneously

354
00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:14,920
Scandinavian and English.

355
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:19,160
They don't see themselves,
I think, as allied to either party.

356
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,280
Sometimes they work with the Danes,
sometimes with the English,

357
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,000
but they see themselves as a unit
in themselves.

358
00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,360
I think that's what attracts
Sweyn Forkbeard.

359
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:32,520
He recognises the Danelaw
as somewhere that looks like home,

360
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,320
and he knows how to rule that area.

361
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,160
He knows how to control this.

362
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,840
Sweyn and Knut are taking a gamble.

363
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,360
If there is one place in England
ready to welcome them, it's there.

364
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,720
Here, resentment toward King
Aethelred runs strong,

365
00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:01,760
a resentment born of a past neither
Sweyn nor Knut has forgotten.

366
00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,920
As England buckles
under Danish attacks

367
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,280
and the ever-growing
weight of tribute,

368
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,680
the nobility grows restless.

369
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,320
Determined to regain control,

370
00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,200
Aethelred makes a drastic decision.

371
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,680
In November of the year 1002,

372
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,520
he sends messengers
across the kingdom.

373
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,560
On St Brice’s Day,
the 13th of November,

374
00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:01,160
armed men slip silently through
the sleeping streets of towns

375
00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,560
and villages across the Danelaw.

376
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,240
The Brice's Day massacre becomes
one of those very storied events

377
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,960
of Aethelred's reign,
and it's the first real sign

378
00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:19,040
that panic is starting to grip
Aethelred’s court.

379
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,520
The logical, perhaps more sensible,
measured responses have failed.

380
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,080
And so he starts looking to
more extreme measures.

381
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,560
And what he fastens upon is
the idea that the Danes

382
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,440
who are resident in his kingdom, the
Scandinavians resident his kingdom,

383
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,520
are plotting against him.
And so he decides to kill them all.

384
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:41,760
In York, the Danes are hunted down

385
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,200
and enter into a church
where they seek refuge.

386
00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:58,440
But outside, torches arc through
the air toward the sacred building.

387
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:08,640
The St Brice's Day Massacre is
quite a stain on the reputation

388
00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:10,600
of King Aethelred,

389
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,600
because whatever the scale of the
St Bryce's Day massacre,

390
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,600
it had an impact across the world

391
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,800
connected with the Danes.

392
00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,720
It must have been in the back of
the minds of some of the Vikings

393
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,440
who were present in England
in Sweyn's army.

394
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:31,000
Aethelred believed
he was securing his kingdom.

395
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,120
Instead,
he unleashed a terrible storm.

396
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,360
Now, who can say whether the people
of the Danelaw

397
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,640
will remain loyal to him?

398
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:51,040
Sweyn and Knut’s ships sail up
the estuary of the River Humber.

399
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,960
They then enter the calm waters
of the River Trent.

400
00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,200
On deck, Knut remains watchful.

401
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:05,000
He scans the riverbanks,
alert to the slightest movement.

402
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,960
He has not forgotten
the tales of the elders.

403
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:14,840
Venturing deep into the English
countryside is never without danger.

404
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:18,280
Since the 9th century,

405
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,240
the Anglo-Saxons have established
a network of fortifications

406
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,640
known as the burhs, which were
a kind of fortified strongholds.

407
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:27,000
Some were old restored
Roman fortresses;

408
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,600
others were exceptional
natural sites, headlands or cliffs

409
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,960
that were walled off to create
a fortified point

410
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,440
that was difficult to seize.

411
00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,800
Their purpose was to protect
merchants, shelter populations,

412
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,240
and, above all, to create a
defensive mesh across the territory.

413
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,280
When you look at the map of these
burhs, it gives the impression

414
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,480
of a tight mesh, designed to
prevent any Viking army

415
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,800
from slipping through the net.

416
00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,720
The fleet
reaches Gainsborough,

417
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,160
a small, fortified town
south of York.

418
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,400
Sweyn orders the landing.

419
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:15,160
For Knut, who is experiencing
his first military campaign,

420
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,080
everything seems too easy.

421
00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:23,280
Since leaving the North Sea,
nothing has stood in their way.

422
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,360
No traps, no ambushes.

423
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:30,520
This is an area of England which
is often been distant

424
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,680
from royal control and power,

425
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,960
naturally suspicious of English
monarchs at the best of time.

426
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:39,400
That means that when Knut
and Sweyn land at Gainsborough,

427
00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:42,520
they’re rapidly able to gain
the support of the local population,

428
00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:44,360
and they almost certainly know
that in advance.

429
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,680
It's no accident that, instead of
attacking the South of England,

430
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:49,360
the heartlands of the English
kingdom,

431
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:53,840
they go to precisely where there is
the chink in Aethelred's armour.

432
00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:59,680
A group of horsemen
approaches the camp.

433
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:05,560
At their head rides the powerful
Uhtred of Northumbria.

434
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,600
He comes to request
an audience with Sweyn.

435
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:18,440
Knut watches him in silence.

436
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,240
Here stands the enemy
he expected to fight.

437
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:28,320
But Uhtred has not come for battle.

438
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,760
Instead, he offers his
submission,

439
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,840
that of Lindsey
and the Five Boroughs.

440
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,480
To Knut, raised in the Viking
code of honour,

441
00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:42,200
this surrender without battle
or glory

442
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:44,640
speaks volumes about his adversary.

443
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:49,880
What we have to realise
at this time

444
00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:51,600
is that the idea of English unity

445
00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,520
is only a relatively
recent construction

446
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,680
of the tenth century.

447
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,800
And for Uhtred it was probably
his interests

448
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,040
to submit to a Danish lord

449
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:10,320
rather than a distant English king
in the south of the island.

450
00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:13,920
It seems he was caught
off guard,

451
00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:18,160
that he is defending his own
interests in an unstable situation.

452
00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:22,680
Separated from the main Anglo-Saxon
army, he knows no help is coming.

453
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:25,160
For him, it becomes a matter of
realpolitik.

454
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:27,240
If he does not submit,
he knows he will die.

455
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,920
Thus he becomes Sweyn’s ally,
at least in the short term.

456
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,800
As a pledge of good faith,
Uhtred does not come alone.

457
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:40,080
He brings with him the sons
of the Great Northern families

458
00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:42,240
sent to serve as hostages...

459
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,680
...young men barely older than Knut
himself.

460
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:54,440
And yet everything separates them.

461
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,520
On one side, the young conqueror.

462
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:01,920
On the other, an unarmed youth,

463
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,040
handed over as collateral
for an oath.

464
00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,840
If you come to an agreement
with anybody in politics

465
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:11,320
in this period, you take a hostage,

466
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:13,400
to make sure the man is going to do
what he's going to do.

467
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:17,680
And those hostages are then
a token of their seriousness.

468
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,640
They have to be very high-ranking
individuals,

469
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:21,920
and they are your collateral.

470
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:24,440
And this is saying,
"We're not going to leave them

471
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,400
tied up to a radiator
with handcuffs on.

472
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,000
We will treat them with honour,
with dignity.

473
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:34,600
But if anything should happen,
then it's the end of your son here."

474
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:37,640
You know,
this is a very practical guarantee,

475
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:42,760
but it's also playing on this idea
of honour as well.

476
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:48,520
Without spilling
a drop of blood,

477
00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:52,200
Sweyn and Knut seize control of
Northern England.

478
00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,840
But for Sweyn,
this is only the beginning.

479
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,040
What he wants is the crown.

480
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:08,880
The Northern nobility gathers
and proclaims Sweyn King of England,

481
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,560
rejecting Aethelred.

482
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:17,000
But the rest of the realm still has
to be persuaded to accept

483
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,720
such a dramatic change of
allegiance.

484
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:26,040
And what better way to seal
that bond than marriage?

485
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:31,720
A union between Knut and a young
noble woman

486
00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:34,640
from a powerful Anglo-Danish lineage

487
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:37,840
could ease tension
and seal alliance.

488
00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:42,920
Her name is Elgifu, from
Northampton.

489
00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:49,360
Elgifu of Northampton
is the woman that Sweyn Forkbeard

490
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:52,360
looks at the political landscape
of the North and says,

491
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:55,320
"That one! She's the one
that's going to marry my son

492
00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,600
because she's the one who can
help us control this region.

493
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,360
She's the heiress to this old
political machinery."

494
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,680
She is the daughter of
Althelm, who had been an ealdorman,

495
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,800
so the leading man
in the southern part of Northumbria.

496
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:13,600
But he had been murdered
in Aethelred's court in 1006

497
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:14,800
in a purge.

498
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:17,960
But that family nonetheless
remains important

499
00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,400
and very alienated from Aethelred.

500
00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,200
And so, in a sense, she can be
a lightning rod

501
00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:27,360
for channelling that dissent towards
support for Sweyn and Knut.

502
00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:29,400
And so for Knut,
coming in with Sweyn,

503
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:31,520
perhaps also at the back of
his mind,

504
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:34,920
the prospect maybe of becoming
an eventual king of England

505
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:37,200
or an under king of England
under his father.

506
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:41,280
She is the perfect match to make
in that moment.

507
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:49,400
Knut knows exactly
what Sweyn expects of him.

508
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:53,680
Without hesitation, he leads this
perfect stranger to the altar.

509
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:03,840
And under his father's watchful eye,
he takes Elgifu as his wife.

510
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:12,840
The young prince understands
that his destiny is now lying here.

511
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,840
The path is set.
Knut will not look back.

512
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,600
At the end of summer,
Sweyn orders his army to prepare...

513
00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:32,240
...supplies, reinforcements, horses.

514
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:39,640
To his seasoned warriors are added
the levies raised in the Danelaw.

515
00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:45,440
Before departing, he entrusts
his son with the reins

516
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,040
of the conquered territory.

517
00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:52,280
Knut might have preferred to march
to war.

518
00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:55,680
But instead,
another trial awaits him.

519
00:38:55,840 --> 00:39:00,040
In his father's absence,
he must guard the fleet,

520
00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,480
watch over the hostages...

521
00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,880
and raise the funds needed
to sustain the war.

522
00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:10,840
Sons are expected to be
trained up in kingship

523
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,800
and to learn the tricks of the trade
as soon as possible.

524
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,320
And one of the best ways to do
this for someone like Sweyn,

525
00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:17,920
to ensure his sons that experience,

526
00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,440
is to allow them an element of rule
while he's still alive.

527
00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:26,240
So we're seeing him potentially
setting up Knut as his under king,

528
00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:27,920
his representative in England.

529
00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:30,280
And the sense of responsibility
that this new conquest,

530
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:33,080
this new land, this new world,
as it were,

531
00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:36,680
that they've struck into,
is now his to control.

532
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:40,080
It must be overwhelming.
But simultaneously, simultaneously,

533
00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:41,880
steps up to the plate.

534
00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,880
Is it a mark of trust
being placed in him?

535
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:46,560
Partly, perhaps.

536
00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:50,680
But what always strikes me
is that Knut still does not fight.

537
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:53,920
He's not on the front lines
learning how to lead an army.

538
00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:56,200
He really gives the impression of
being kept safe in reserve

539
00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,080
by his father.

540
00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:00,800
In a way, he is already being
shaped into an administrator

541
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:04,560
who's learning governance,
which is, in fact, rather wise.

542
00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:11,880
For the young Viking,
the moment of truth has come.

543
00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:15,280
Knut watches his father
disappear in the distance.

544
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:25,240
Now alone, he must prove himself
worthy of the task.

545
00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:31,520
More than anything, he must ensure
his father will be proud of him.

546
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,520
Sweyn’s long column of troops
stretches southward,

547
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,160
towards the heart of the kingdom.

548
00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:48,400
But instead of heading for London
where Aethelred awaits,

549
00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:53,240
Sweyn leads his men west,
towards Oxford.

550
00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,760
Sweyn's decision to attack Oxford
rather than London

551
00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:04,720
almost certainly is suggestive
of serious strategic calculation.

552
00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:09,400
While Aethelred's regime has shown
itself to be toothless in many ways,

553
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:11,520
not very successful
on the battlefield,

554
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,160
it remains capable of deploying
armies of a large scale

555
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:20,120
and it still has the forces
of Thorkell the Tall at Greenwich.

556
00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:23,840
If Sweyn had rushed his campaign
and gone for that,

557
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:29,160
then potentially this might have
been game over for Sweyn too early.

558
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:33,920
And it made sense to essentially
take the pieces on the playing board

559
00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:38,360
first of all,
before going to London.

560
00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,600
In early autumn,
the invading army

561
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:47,240
crosses Watling Street.

562
00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:55,280
This ancient Roman road runs
across England from east to west

563
00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,200
and marks a symbolic frontier
between the Danelaw

564
00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:01,360
and the Southern lands
still loyal to Aethelred.

565
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:10,280
Sweyn’s orders are clear. Beyond
this line, there will be no mercy.

566
00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,200
From farm to farm,
village to village...

567
00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:23,320
...his army unleashes
its full destructive force.

568
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:27,440
There's no Geneva Convention,

569
00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:31,280
so the objective is to put pressure
on the enemy, to scare them.

570
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:34,360
Men loot, kill and burn
as they please.

571
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:39,520
It’s a phrase frequently used
to describe Viking armies.

572
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:42,720
Psychological warfare is nothing new
- it exists in every conflict,

573
00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:45,280
in every era.
And for civilian populations,

574
00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:48,080
it has always meant the same thing
throughout history.

575
00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:51,200
Raiding the countryside, seizing
resources, living off the land,

576
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:53,680
and killing a few people
in a particularly dramatic way

577
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:56,480
are all part of the usual practices.

578
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,880
After a few days,
Sweyn and his men reach Oxford.

579
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:09,680
The troops take position
before the fortified town.

580
00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:15,080
The city gates slowly open.

581
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,040
A man steps forward
and speaks a few words.

582
00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:24,520
“The city surrenders
without a fight."

583
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:30,760
The inhabitants of
Oxford had already suffered greatly

584
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:32,840
over the previous decade.

585
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,200
Resisting now would mean
a second full-scale plundering

586
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:38,760
or another round of mass
destruction.

587
00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:40,600
Clearly, not everyone is eager
to turn their city

588
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:42,720
into another Stalingrad.

589
00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:45,720
Surrendering is the logical choice
if it spares lives

590
00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:47,640
and avoids crushing tribute.

591
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:53,080
Sweyn and his men
enter the city

592
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:57,880
after a victory won
without a single sword stroke.

593
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:03,200
The strategy of fear worked.

594
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:07,960
The local nobility submits.

595
00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:15,240
But for Sweyn, it is not enough.

596
00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:22,240
Sweyn Forkbeard is trying
to terrorise the South of England.

597
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:23,960
He has to subdue that part.

598
00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:26,640
And he's got to do this with big
public displays.

599
00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:31,480
The lords of each region must
kneel before him in public.

600
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,720
He needs Wessex to be
seen to be beaten

601
00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:39,000
and to be to be under the heel
of the Danish oppressor.

602
00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:46,320
In the days that followed,

603
00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:50,320
the Southern cities fell
one after another.

604
00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:51,480
Exeter.

605
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:54,280
Winchester.

606
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,720
All surrendered without resistance.

607
00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:03,560
In London, Aethelred remains
barricaded in his palace...

608
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:07,680
more cut off from his people
than ever.

609
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:11,520
He watches helplessly
as his kingdom collapses.

610
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,320
Aethelred's passivity
has really damned

611
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:18,720
the reputation of Aethelred.

612
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:23,880
The 12th-C William of Malmesbury
referred to him as being lazy,

613
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:27,240
essentially, not getting out of bed.

614
00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:29,080
But I think we also have to remember

615
00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:32,480
that he had to rely on

616
00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:36,400
regional governors to raise forces

617
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:41,920
and his commanders, his aldermen,
are unwilling to act on his behalf

618
00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:43,160
while he's in London.

619
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:45,400
So it's something of a difficult
situation

620
00:45:46,240 --> 00:45:48,320
for Aethelred at this time.

621
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:56,200
As autumn begins,
the noose tightens around Aethelred.

622
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:03,360
From the ramparts, he observes
Sweyn's troops across the river.

623
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:10,840
He knows his survival may depend on
what happens here and now.

624
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:16,040
Losing the city, the last stronghold
of resistance against the Danes

625
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:18,440
would mean losing the crown.

626
00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:26,600
Beyond the walls, Sweyn knows
the confrontation will be harsh.

627
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,960
For more than a century,
London has remained unconquered.

628
00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:38,160
London benefits from its
Roman walls that survived

629
00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:41,360
throughout the Middle Ages and were
extensively restored for defence.

630
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:45,320
It is the nerve centre of
Aethelred's defence.

631
00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:49,720
This is where he resides,
likely with his household troops.

632
00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:52,520
Thorkell is there as well,
probably with his fleet.

633
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:55,880
And then there's London -
large, wealthy, powerful.

634
00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:00,160
The inhabitants do not seem inclined
to surrender to the first newcomer.

635
00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:05,440
Sweyn knows a frontal
assault would be doomed to fail.

636
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:09,120
So, to bypass the English defences,

637
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:11,880
he orders his men
to ford the Thames.

638
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:21,120
It's possible that they tried
to cross the river

639
00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:24,880
to the west of London at low tide,

640
00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:27,880
but you have to know the river
in order to do this.

641
00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:33,160
The manoeuvre turns into
a disaster.

642
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:35,960
Hundreds of men are swept away
by the current

643
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:38,240
and the river's tumultuous waters.

644
00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:45,400
The likelihood that
many men drowned

645
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,480
while trying to do this would have
been likely to cause Sweyn

646
00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:54,240
to think about changing
the direction of his campaign.

647
00:47:57,640 --> 00:47:59,960
Sweyn is forced to face the truth.

648
00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:02,800
To persist would cost
countless warriors

649
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:05,440
and endanger the entire campaign.

650
00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:12,200
The siege of London
ultimately is going to fail.

651
00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:16,320
London is just too tough a nut
to crack in Sweyn's time.

652
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:19,640
So Sweyn pulls out
and he heads to the West.

653
00:48:24,920 --> 00:48:27,480
If he cannot force London
to yield,

654
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:30,800
Sweyn may try to isolate it
from the rest of the kingdom.

655
00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:34,360
To do that, he must seize

656
00:48:34,520 --> 00:48:38,840
the last key stronghold of Wessex -
Bath.

657
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:43,760
This city, where Aethelred's father
was crowned,

658
00:48:43,920 --> 00:48:46,160
enjoys near-imperial prestige

659
00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:50,200
and is home to one of the kingdom's
most influential noble families.

660
00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:53,800
This, if you're going to crack
an easier nut

661
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:56,560
and you're going to make
an enormous political splash,

662
00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:59,480
do it with these people.
They're related to the kingship,

663
00:48:59,640 --> 00:49:00,680
they’re long related to
the kingship,

664
00:49:00,840 --> 00:49:04,920
and that is a huge money-making
area for Anglo-Saxon England.

665
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:08,480
If you can break the West, maybe
you don't have to break London.

666
00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:10,640
Maybe London will fall on its own.

667
00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:15,360
By the end of 1013,

668
00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:19,680
the nobles of Bath, weary of
Aethelred's chaotic rule,

669
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:21,720
rally to the Dane.

670
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:25,840
Soon,
the rest of the kingdom follows.

671
00:49:28,400 --> 00:49:30,720
Aethelred will have seen it
sitting in London

672
00:49:30,880 --> 00:49:35,240
as the lights going out one after
another across the entire country,

673
00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:37,640
as they just stopped talking to him.

674
00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:40,320
And when you've got nothing
left except the city of London,

675
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:41,600
then I think you leave.

676
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:45,360
Abandoned by all,

677
00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:49,600
Aethelred, the last king of
a five century-old dynasty,

678
00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:51,760
flees toward Normandy.

679
00:49:57,440 --> 00:50:00,040
And there he can remain,
king in exile,

680
00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:02,080
awaiting his moment to reappear.

681
00:50:02,240 --> 00:50:05,480
So he is kind of a bit like
the Free French government in London

682
00:50:05,640 --> 00:50:06,840
in World War Two, if you will.

683
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:11,760
He's potentially there
in Normandy as the, to his mind,

684
00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:15,880
genuine English king
and the real government,

685
00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:20,320
waiting for an opportunity
to step back into those shoes.

686
00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,480
Aboard the ship
carrying him into exile,

687
00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:35,000
Aethelred watches the English
coastline fade into the mist.

688
00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:40,320
His defeat tastes of betrayal.

689
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:48,000
His people did not raise
their weapons to defend him.

690
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:52,040
The nobles abandoned him
for a king from the North.

691
00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:54,160
But Aethelred is not broken.

692
00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:58,320
He swears he will return,
whatever the cost.

693
00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:15,920
In Lincoln,
Knut awaits his father.

694
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:21,600
The man he finds is no longer
only King of Denmark.

695
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:24,520
He is now King of England.

696
00:51:24,680 --> 00:51:26,480
Before him stands a transformed son,

697
00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:32,640
seasoned and hardened by the demands
of power.

698
00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:36,120
It's a new world.

699
00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:38,160
It's the conquest of somewhere
for him to rule.

700
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:41,680
Harald would now have Denmark,
he will have England,

701
00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:44,960
and he is the second son,
and he's got the conquest.

702
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:46,720
But what a conquest.

703
00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:48,800
There is far more money there
in England

704
00:51:49,720 --> 00:51:51,600
than there will ever be in Denmark.

705
00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:57,640
And that wealth will be used
by his dynasty to push its ambitions

706
00:51:57,800 --> 00:52:00,040
far into Scandinavia,

707
00:52:00,200 --> 00:52:04,080
to rule... we have to use
the modern word "empire".

708
00:52:04,240 --> 00:52:07,720
If he ever dreamed of being
an emperor,

709
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:11,480
he did so on the day
they conquered Southern England.

710
00:52:14,880 --> 00:52:18,800
Together, Sweyn and Knut
have achieved the unthinkable -

711
00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:22,080
seizing the richest kingdom
in the Western world.

712
00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:26,280
For the young prince,
the future now seems set.

713
00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:29,560
But history is far from finished
with him.

714
00:52:29,720 --> 00:52:32,440
England will soon slip
from their grasp,

715
00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:34,640
and Knut will be forced to face
a new enemy,

716
00:52:36,240 --> 00:52:39,920
far more formidable than any before.

717
00:52:56,560 --> 00:52:59,120
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