Canute (Civ6)/Civilopedia

Canute – also known as Cnut, Knut, Knud, and various other variants depending on the historian – would at times serve as king of Denmark, Norway, England, and even bits of Sweden. All of that when the borders were somewhat fluid, of course. He was a power in the shifting fortunes of northern Europe in the 11th Century AD, treated with deference by both the Emperor and the Pope.
No one is quite sure when and where he was born exactly, but it is certain that he was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard, the King of Denmark, for Canute accompanied the old warrior during the 1013 invasion of England. Left behind in Lincolnshire in charge of the fleet, he took up with Aelfgifu, who would bear him two sons. Sweyn was accepted as king of England but died in 1014 and the Brits brought back Aethelred to be their king. Within the year, Canute returned to challenge Aethelred’s son for the throne. By the end of November 1016 it was all over, and Canute ruled the whole of England. He then spent most of the rest of his life (dying in 1035) dealing with threats to his Danish crown, usually using English troops to do so.