Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Cnut

Cnut

1 9.9
King who ruled England, Denmark, and Norway in the early 11th century
  • proper noun
  • /knut/
: Cnut
  • The silver penny from the reign of Cnut (1018-35) is a valuable artifact of early medieval history.
  • King Cnut

Examples

  • Later Scandinavian kings and jarls maintained such bodyguards, called hirdmenn/hirthmen; numbers ranged from just 60 men for a jarl to as many as several thousand for a wealthy and powerful king such as Cnut the Great.

    Blog text (15)

  • Cnut the Great ruled over Cnut, England, and Norway in the early 11th century.

  • During his reign, Cnut established a powerful North Sea empire that influenced European politics.

Synonyms

Canute
vsCnut
1 9.9

A king of Denmark, Norway and England in the early 1000s

emphasizes creating a wider North Sea empire rather than focusing on England alone
Knut
vsCnut
1 9.9

King of Denmark, Norway and England in the early 1000s who ruled all England after 1016

highlights a larger imperial rule across the North Sea beyond England only
Canute the Great
vsCnut
8.9

King of England, Denmark, and Norway who ruled in the early 1000s

focuses on building a North Sea empire across regions, not only uniting kingdoms

Surface Forms

Cnut main

Etymology

Cnut comes from the old Norse name Knútr, which means 'knot' and is the same root as the English word knot. Think of a knot tying things together — this helps remember Cnut as a king who 'tied' several kingdoms into one North Sea empire.