Who Was the Greatest Viking King of All Time?

In many previous blog posts, I mentioned some Viking kings but I always call them "one of the greatest Viking kings". But in this blog post, I can proudly state the name of the Greatest Viking King of all time for all he had achieved in his reign. 

His name was Canute. He was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn Forkbeard King of Denmark. This made him become the grandchild of Harald Bluetooth who united Denmark under one single banner. And the parents of Harald Bluetooth (great-grand-parents of Canute) were King Gorm the Old and Thyra the Queen who built the Danevirke fort to protect their kingdom from external forces. 

However, like many other royal families, this royal family had "civil wars". King Harald Bluetooth decided to baptize and converted himself to Christianity. Meanwhile, his son, Sweyn Forkbeard Haraldsson, was true pagan in blood. Sweyn never accepted Christianity and this hatred gradually piled up into a civil war. And what had to come finally came. Sweyn overthrew his father and became the king of Denmark.

The baptism of Harald Bluetooth

The vision of Sweyn Forkbeard extended beyond the land of Denmark. After overthrowing King Æthelred the Unready, Sweyn became the king of England. 

But within a year, death suddenly came and found Sweyn. 

After the death of the father. Harald became the king of Denmark while Canute took over the throne in England. Within a short period of time, Harald died leaving the throne for Canute. This made Canute become the King of both Denmark and England. 

The reigning period of Canute in England was the longest period, compared with other Viking kings in England. He ruled over England for two decades. After the death of this great king, his son Harthacnut, sometimes referred as Canute III, took over Canute's legacy. But according to the historians, no other king could ever overshadow the power and what Canute had brought to his kingdom. 

Portrait of Canute