Cnut The Great ~ King of England, Denmark and Norway: Life, Death and Burial

Cnut the Great had fought for most of his life. He had become King of England, king of Denmark King of Norway, and ruled parts of Sweden. He was only around forty five when he died. But in those 45 years he became the most powerful ruler in Western Europe, second only to the Holy Roman Emperor. He also became only one of only two kings in English history to ever be called GREAT and has even been said to be the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history. A Viking. A warrior. Cnut came from a long line of great Scandinavian rulers going all the way back to Sigurd Snake in the Eye and Ragnar Lothbrook. His father was the mighty Sweyn Forkeard. On the 12 of November 1035, Cnut died in in Shaftesbury in Dorset England. His body was taken to the Old Minster Church in Winchester England where Alfred the Great had originally been buried. There his body would finally be laid to rest. But When William the Conqueror conquered England the Old Minster church was torn down to make way for a new Cathedral. In 1158 the bodies of 8 kings including Cut and his wife Emma and two bishops were exhumed and their remains were placed in mortuary chests in the new cathedral. In 1642, over 600 years after Cnut the great was laid to rest, 6 of the 10 mortuary chests were smashed by Oliver cromwell's troops. Some of the bones were taken out and used to throw through the stained glass windows of Winchester cathedral. What bones were left were carefully gathered and placed back in the the chests that remained.