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Canute

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Monarch

The Resume

    (circa 990-November 12, 1035)
    Born in Denmark
    King of England (1016-35), Denmark (1018-35) and Norway (1028-35)

Why he might be annoying:

    His name is also written as 'Cnut,' which could produce some unfortunate typos by those of us with a tendency to transpose letters.
    His early life is so obscure that guesses at his birth year stretch over a decade (985-995).
    He spent his first year as King of England killing off any nobles who seemed like a potential threat.
    He had one wife in the north of England, Aelfgifu of Northampton, and one in south England, Emma of Normandy.
    The most famous event of his reign -- unsuccessfully ordering the tides to stop as a rebuke to the flattery of his courtiers -- probably never happened, since the story was first recorded a century later.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was described in a Danish saga as 'exceptionally tall and strong, and the handsomest of men.'
    He restored economic prosperity to England by ending Viking raids. (It probably helped that many of the raiders were under his command.)
    He restored churches and monasteries that had been plundered by the Vikings.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 98 Votes: 52.04% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 54 Votes: 59.26% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 72 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 242 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 40 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 85 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 32 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 25 Votes: 52.00% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 48 Votes: 64.58% Annoying