Did England Have A Viking King? Valhalla’s Canute & Edmund True Story

Vikings: Valhalla focused on the conflict between Vikings and English royals, and by the end of season 1, England had a Viking king thanks to Canute – but did England really have a Viking king? Created by Michael Hirst, Vikings premiered on the History Channel in 2013, and even though it was originally planned to be a miniseries, the audience was captivated by the stories of Ragnar, Lagertha, Rollo, and more. Vikings came to an end in 2020 after six seasons and many battles, but six seasons weren’t enough to tell the most exciting stories from the Viking Age.

As a result, a sequel series to Vikings, titled Vikings: Valhalla, was announced in 2019, and while the main series covered the first years of the Viking Age, the sequel series will cover the final years. Set over a century after the events of Vikings, Valhalla follows Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) as they go on a journey that takes them across oceans and battlefields, from Kattegat to England, to the pagan temple in Uppsala and more. All this with the conflict between Vikings and English royals – pagans vs Christians – as the backdrop, which also brought other interesting, historical characters into the mix.

A key character in Vikings: Valhalla season 1 was Canute (Bradley Freegard), a Christian Viking and the king of Denmark who led the attack on England to avenge the Vikings killed at the St. Brice’s Day massacre a year prior. The attack on England was a success thanks to Leif’s plan to destroy the London Bridge, and it led to the invasion of England, with Canute taking over the throne, which was already occupied by king Edmund (Louis Davison), son of King Aethelred II (Bosco Hogan). Canute and Edmund ended up reigning over England together until Edmund’s death, but the real story of England, its Viking king, and the fate of Edmund happened differently.

England had four Viking kings between 1013 and 1042, the most notable one being Canute the Great. Canute was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard and was king of England from 1016, king of Denmark from 1018, and king of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. According to the Peterborough Chronicle manuscript, Canute arrived in England in 1015, and Wessex, ruled by the dynasty of Æthelred, submitted to him. Canute later took over Northumbria while Edmund Ironside remained in London, behind its walls, and was elected king after Æthelred’s death. After sieges, ravages, and more, Canute met with Edmund in 1016 to negotiate terms of peace. They made an agreement in which all of England north of the Thames was to be the domain of Canute, while the south (along with London) would be kept by Edmund, and the throne of England would pass to Canute after Edmund’s death – conveniently enough, within weeks of the rearrangement, Edmund died, and Canute was crowned as king of all of England.

As for Edmund Ironside, he did his best to defend England from the Danes but he was eventually defeated by Canute and the above-mentioned deal was made between them. In Vikings: Valhalla, Edmund was killed by Godwin (David Oakes), but in real life, the circumstances around his death remain a mystery. Henry Huntingdon said Edmund was stabbed multiple times while defecating, Geoffrey Gaimar told the same story but with a crossbow as the weapon, but it’s also believed that he died of wounds received in battle or of some disease, though it’s also very possible he was murdered. Both in real-life and in Vikings: Valhalla, the throne was left for Canute and Canute only after Edmund’s death, but given the changes that the series has already made, it’s to be seen what Canute will do next as king of England.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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