Editing Harthacnut (section)

== Reign ==
=== Harold and Denmark ===
In 1035, Harthacnut succeeded his father on the [[Monarchy of Denmark|throne of Denmark]] as Cnut III.<ref name="kongehuset" /> He was unable to come to England in view of the situation in Denmark, and it was agreed that Svein's full brother, Harold Harefoot, should act as regent, with Emma holding Wessex on Harthacnut's behalf. In 1037, Harold was generally accepted as king, Harthacnut being, in the words of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', "forsaken because he was too long in Denmark",{{sfn|Swanton|2000|p=160}} while Emma fled to [[Bruges]], in [[Flanders]]. In 1039, Harthacnut sailed with ten ships to meet his mother in [[Bruges]] but delayed an invasion as it was clear Harold was sick and would soon die, which he did in March 1040. Envoys soon crossed the channel to offer Harthacnut the throne.

While the general outline of events following Cnut's death is clear, the details are obscure, and historians give differing interpretations. The historian M. K. Lawson states that it is unclear whether Harthacnut was to have England as well as Denmark, but it was probably a reflection of a formal arrangement that mints south of the Thames produced silver pennies in his name, while those to the north were almost all Harold's. There might have been a division of the kingdom if Harthacnut had appeared straight away. He probably stayed in Denmark because of the threat from Magnus of Norway, but they eventually made a treaty by which if either died without an heir, his kingdom would go to the other, and this may have freed Harthacnut to pursue his claim to England.{{sfn|Lawson|2004}}

According to Ian Howard, Harthacnut agreed to help Svein recover Norway and planned an invasion in 1036. Svein died shortly before it was to set out, but Harthacnut proceeded anyway. War was avoided by the treaty between Harthacnut and Magnus, which Harthacnut agreed to because he had no plausible candidate to rule Norway after Svein's death, and he was in any case temperamentally inclined to avoid campaigns and wars. Howard dates the treaty to 1036,{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=58–61}} whereas other historians date it to 1039 and believe it freed Harthacnut to launch an invasion of England.{{sfn|Bricka|1893|pp=91–92}}{{sfn|Lund|2017}}

Exiled in Bruges, Emma plotted to gain the English throne for her son. She sponsored the ''Encomium Emmae Reginae'', which eulogised her and attacked Harold, especially for arranging the murder of [[Alfred Aetheling|Alfred Atheling]] (the younger of Emma's two sons by Æthelred) in 1036. The work describes Harthacnut's horror at hearing of his half brother's murder, and in Howard's view, was probably influential in finally persuading the cautious Harthacnut to invade England. According to a later edition of the ''Encomium'', the English took the initiative in communicating with Harthacnut in 1039, possibly when they became aware that Harold had not long to live.{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=105–107}}

=== Return to England ===
{{Further|Government in Anglo-Saxon England}}
[[File:Silver penny of Harthacnut (YORYM 2000 687) obverse.jpg|thumb|Silver penny of Harthacnut]]

Harthacnut travelled to England with his mother. The landing at [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]] on 17 June 1040, "seven days before [[Midsummer]]",{{sfnm|1a1=Swanton|1y=2000|1p=161|2a1=Howard|2y=2008|2p=109}} was a peaceful one, though he had a fleet of 62 warships. Even though he had been invited to take the throne, he was taking no chances and came as a conqueror with an invasion force.{{sfn|Howard|2008|p=109}} The crews had to be rewarded for their service, and to pay them, he levied a geld of more than 21,000 pounds, a huge sum of money that made him unpopular, although it was only a quarter of the amount his father had raised in similar circumstances in 1017–1018.{{sfn|Howard|2008|p=117}}

Harthacnut had been horrified by Harold's murder of Alfred, and his mother demanded vengeance. With the approval of Harold's former councillors, his body was disinterred from its place of honour at Westminster and publicly beheaded. It was disposed of in a sewer, but then retrieved and thrown in the Thames, from which London shipmen rescued it and had it buried in a churchyard.{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=111–112}} [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex|Godwin]], the powerful earl of [[Wessex]], had been complicit in the crime as he had handed over Alfred to Harold, and Queen Emma charged him in a trial before Harthacnut and members of his council. The king allowed Godwin to escape punishment by bringing witnesses that he had acted on Harold's orders, but Godwin then gave Harthacnut a ship so richly decorated that it amounted to the [[Weregild|wergild]] that Godwin would have had to pay if he had been found guilty.{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=112–117}} [[Lyfing of Winchester|Bishop Lyfing of Worcester]] was also charged with complicity in the crime and deprived of his see, but in 1041 he made his peace with Harthacnut and was restored to his position.{{sfn|Lawson|2004}}

The English had become used to the king ruling in council, with the advice of his chief men, but Harthacnut had ruled autocratically in Denmark, and he was not willing to change, particularly as he did not fully trust the leading earls. At first he was successful intimidating his subjects, though less so later in his short reign. He doubled the size of the English fleet from sixteen to thirty-two ships, partly so that he had a force capable of dealing with trouble elsewhere in his empire,{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=118–119}} and to pay for it he severely increased the rate of taxation.{{sfn|Lund|2017}} The increase coincided with a poor harvest, causing severe hardship. In 1041, two of his tax gatherers were so harsh in dealing with people in and around [[Worcester, England|Worcester]] that they rioted and killed the tax gatherers. Harthacnut reacted by imposing a then-legal but very unpopular punishment known as "harrying". He ordered his earls to burn the town and kill the population. Few people were killed, as the people of Worcester had fled in advance of their arrival.{{sfn|Lawson|2004}}{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=119–120}} Although the city was burnt and plundered, citizens of Worcester who had taken refuge on an island in the [[River Severn]] fought successfully against Harthacnut's troops, and won the right to return to their homes without further punishment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=Robin |title=Britain after Rome : the fall and rise, 400–1070 |date=2011 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=978-0-140-14823-7 |pages=251–252}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=John of Worcester |title=Chronicon ex chronicis |url=https://www.bsswebsite.me.uk/History/JohnofWorcester/Chronicle_John2.html |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-date=18 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182523/https://www.bsswebsite.me.uk/History/JohnofWorcester/Chronicle_John2.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The earl of [[Kingdom of Northumbria|Northumbria]] was [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria|Siward]], but Earl [[Eadwulf IV of Bamburgh|Eadwulf]] of [[Rulers of Bamburgh|Bamburgh]] ruled the northern part in semi-independence, a situation which did not please the autocratic Harthacnut. In 1041, Earl Eadwulf gave offence to the king for an unknown reason but then sought reconciliation. Harthacnut promised him safe conduct but then colluded in his murder by Siward, who became earl of the whole of Northumbria. The crime was widely condemned, and the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' described it as "a betrayal" and the king as an "oath-breaker".{{sfn|Lawson|2004}}{{sfn|Howard|2008|pp=120–121}}

Harthacnut was generous to the church. Very few contemporary documents survive, but a royal charter of his transferred land to Bishop [[Ælfwine of Winchester]], and he made several grants to [[Ramsey Abbey]]. The 12th century ''Ramsey Chronicle'' speaks well of his generosity and of his character.{{sfn|Lawson|2004}}