Editing Harthacnut (section)

=== 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}}