Cnut The Great - Relations With The Church

Relations With The Church

Cnut's actions as a Viking conqueror had made him uneasy with the Church. He was already a Christian before he was king – being named Lambert at his baptism – although the Christianization of Scandinavia was not at all complete in his day. His ruthless treatment of the overthrown dynasty, as well as his open relationship with a concubine—Ælfgifu of Northampton, his handfast wife, whom he kept as his northern queen when he wed Emma of Normandy, confusingly also Ælfgifu in Old English, who was kept in the south, with an estate in Exeter— was a bone of contention, to say the least. It was important for him to reconcile himself with his churchmen, and he made considerable efforts to do so. In this effort Cnut repaired all the English churches and monasteries that were victims of the Viking love for plunder, and refilled their coffers. He also built new churches and was an earnest patron of monastic communities. His homeland of Denmark was a Christian nation on the rise, and the desire to enhance the religion still fresh. As an example, the first stone church recorded to have been built in Scandinavia, was in Roskilde c. 1027, and its patron was Cnut's sister Estrid.

It is hard to conclude if Cnut's attitude towards the Church came out of deep religious devotion, or merely as a means to reinforce his regime's hold on the people. There is evidence of a respect for the Viking religion in his praise poetry, which he was happy enough for his skalds to embellish in Norse mythology, while other Viking leaders were insistent on the rigid observation of the Christian line, like St Olaf. We see too the desire for a respectable Christian nationhood within Europe. In 1018, some sources suggest he was at Canterbury on the return of its Archbishop Lyfing from Rome, to receive letters of exhortation from the Pope. If this chronology is correct, he probably went from Canturbury to the Witan at Oxford, with Archbishop Wulfstan of York in attendance to record the event.

Cnut's ecumenical gifts were widespread and often exuberant. Commonly land was given, exemption from taxes, as well as relics. Christ Church was probably given rights at the important port of Sandwich as well as tax exemption, with confirmation in the placement of their charters on the altar, while it got the relics of St Ælfheah, which was at the displeasure of the people of London. Another see in the king's favour was Winchester, second only to the Canturbury see in terms of its wealth. New Minster's Liber Vitae records Cnut as a benefactor of the monastery, and the Winchester Cross, with 500 marks of silver and 30 marks of gold in, as well as relics of various saints was given to it. Old Minster was the recipient of a shrine for the relics of St Birinus and the probable confirmation of its privileges. The monastery at Evesham, with its Abbot Ælfweard purportedly a relative of the king through Ælfgifu the Lady (probably Ælfgifu of Northampton, rather than Queen Emma, also known as Ælfgifu), got the relics of St Wigstan. Cnut's generosity towards his subjects, a thing his skalds called destroying treasure, was of course popular with the English. Still, it is important to remember not all Englishmen were in his favour, and the burden of taxation was widely felt. His attitude towards London's see was clearly not benign. The monasteries at Ely and Glastonbury were apparently not on good terms either. Other gifts were also given to his neighbours. Among these were a gift to Chartres, of which its bishop wrote, "When we saw the gift that you sent us, we were amazed at your knowledge as well as your faith ... since you, whom we had heard to be a pagan prince, we now know to be not only a Christian, but also a most generous donor to God's churches and servants". He is known to have sent a psalter and sacramentary made in Peterborough, famous for its illustrations, to Cologne, and a book written in gold, among other gifts, to William the Great of Aquitaine. This golden book was apparently to support Aquitanian claims of St Martial, patron saint of Aquitaine, as an apostle. Of some consequnce, its recipient was an avid artisan, scholar, and devout Christian, and the Abbey of Saint-Martial was a great library and scriptorium, second only to the one at Cluny. It is probable that Cnut's gifts were well beyond anything we can now prove.

Cnut’s journey to Rome in 1027 is another sign of his dedication to the Christian religion. It may be that he went to attend Emperor Conrad II’s coronation in order to improve relations between the two powers, yet he had made a vow previously to seek the favour of St Peter, the keeper of the keys to the heavenly kingdom. While in Rome, Cnut made an agreement with the Pope to reduce the fees paid by the English archbishops to receive their pallium. He also arranged that travelers from his realm should pay reduced or no tolls, and that they should be safeguarded on their way to and from Rome. Some evidence exists for a second journey in 1030.