Battle of Cruden Bay

Last updated

The Battle of Cruden Bay is said to have occurred in the summer of 1012 in the North East of Scotland, between Scottish forces led by King Malcolm II, and Norwegians and Danes led by, among others, the teenage son of King Sweyn Forkbeard, who was later to become King Cnut the Great of England. [1]

The 1000th anniversary of the Battle was marked in 2012, [2] but there are several reasons why such a battle is unlikely to have taken place. Most importantly, the 'battle' is not mentioned by any medieval source: more than 500 years passed before it received its first mention in book 11 of John Bellenden's The History and Chronicles of Scotland (1536). [3] Bellenden claimed to have produced a translation of the Latin text of Hector Boece's Chronica Gentis Scotorum (1527), [4] but he added so much material to Boece's already not very reliable text that his Chronicles has been considered an independent new work. [5]

Bellenden fabricated most events surrounding the 'final' confrontation between King Malcolm of Scotland and King Sweyn of Norway in Book 11, chapters 17 and 18 of the Chronicles. Included in his additional material was a brief mention of a battle in Cruden Bay. In fact, he got almost every verifiable detail wrong: for example, he confused Sweyn Forkbeard (de jure king of Norway) with Sweyn Haakonsson (de facto king of Norway), and believed that Canute was King Sweyn Haakonson's brother. He also claimed that King Malcolm dedicated a chapel to St Olave in memory of the post-battle agreement with Canute. St Olave (Olaf II of Norway)) died in 1030, 18 years after the supposed battle of Cruden Bay. Olave was venerated as a saint in Nidaros, Norway, the year following his death, but he was not officially recognised as a saint until 1164. Malcolm died in 1034, one hundred and thirty years before Olave’s canonisation.

A battle in Cruden Bay would have made no military sense for the Danes. In the summer of 1012, either Sweyn Forkbeard or Canute’s foster-father, Thorkell the Tall, led a Danish army that attacked and took Canterbury before collecting Danegeld of 48,000 pounds silver from the English, and in the month of December the following year Sweyn Forkbeard was made king of England. [6] Whether the 1012 invasion was commanded by Sweyn or Thorkell, heavy fighting and disruption in England mean that it is unlikely that Canute's (foster-)father would have allowed Canute to weaken efforts to consolidate their military gains by taking an invasion force to Scotland.

Allegedly, the village of Cruden Bay's name is derived from the Gaelic Croch Dain [7] or Croivdan, [8] meaning 'Slaughter of the Danes'. The etymology originates in John Bellenden's work and neither 'croiv' nor 'croch' is recorded as having that translated meaning in Scottish Gaelic dictionaries. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweyn Forkbeard</span> King of Denmark (r. 986–1014), Norway (986–95, 1000–14) and England (1013–14)

Sweyn Forkbeard was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1013/14. He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great, and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cnut</span> 11th-century King of Denmark, Norway, and England

Cnut, also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Ironside</span> King of England in 1016

Edmund Ironside was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by a war he had inherited from his father; his cognomen "Ironside" was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut.

Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish kings of that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hector Boece</span> Scottish philosopher and historian (1465–1536)

Hector Boece, known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and the first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorkell the Tall</span> Prominent Viking mercenary

Thorkell the Tall, also known as Thorkell the High in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was a prominent member of the Jomsviking order and a notable lord. He was a son of the Scanian chieftain Strut-Harald, and a brother of Jarl Sigvaldi, Hemingr and Tófa. Thorkell was the chief commander of the Jomsvikings and the legendary stronghold Jomsborg, on the Island of Wollin. He is also credited as having received the young Cnut the Great into his care and taken Cnut on raids. The Encomium Emmae, a document aimed at the movers and shakers of the Anglo-Scandinavian court in the early 1040s, describes Thorkell as a great war leader and warrior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruden Bay</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cruden Bay is a small village in Scotland, on the north coast of the Bay of Cruden in Aberdeenshire, 26 miles (42 km) north of Aberdeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eadric Streona</span> Anglo-Saxon noble

Eadric Streona was Ealdorman of Mercia from 1007 until he was killed by King Cnut. Eadric was given the epithet "Streona" in Hemming's Cartulary because he appropriated church land and funds for himself. Eadric became infamous in the Middle Ages because of his traitorous actions during the Danish re-conquest of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haakon Ericsson</span> Earl of Lade and governor of Norway

Haakon Ericsson was the last Earl of Lade and governor of Norway from 1012 to 1015 and again from 1028 to 1029 as a vassal under Danish King Knut the Great.

John Bellenden or Ballantyne of Moray was a Scottish writer of the 16th century.

Svein Knutsson was the son of Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, Norway, and England, and his first wife Ælfgifu of Northampton, a Mercian noblewoman. In 1017 Cnut married Emma of Normandy, but there is no evidence that Ælfgifu was repudiated, and in 1030 Cnut sent her and Svein as regents to rule Norway. However, their rule was considered oppressive by the Norwegians. They imposed new taxes and harsh laws that made them unpopular and they were expelled in 1034.

Gunhilda of Wenden was a Polish princess, daughter of Mieszko I of Poland according to Chronicles of Thietmar of Merserburg, Adam von Bremen and Acta Cnutonis regis princess and Danish Viking Age queen consort, the supposed spouse of 10th-century King Sweyn I of Denmark. The sources about the wife or wives of Sweyn are contradictory, and historians have debated whether she is the Polish Świętosława given another name in Norse sources.

Events from the 1010s in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Barry</span> Legendary battle in 1010 AD

The Battle of Barry is a legendary battle in which the Scots, purportedly led by Malcolm II, defeated a Danish invasion force in 1010 AD. Its supposed site in Carnoustie, Angus can be seen in early Ordnance Survey maps. The history of the event relies heavily on tradition and it is considered to be apocryphal. The battle was named for the Parish of Barry, rather than the village, and was formerly thought to have taken place at the mouth of the Lochty burn, in the vicinity of the area that is now occupied by Carnoustie High Street. While the battle is not historically authentic, its romantic appeal continues to capture the popular imagination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sea Empire</span> 1013–1042 empire in Northwest Europe

The North Sea Empire, also known as the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire, was the personal union of the kingdoms of England, Denmark and Norway for most of the period between 1013 and 1042 towards the end of the Viking Age. This ephemeral Norse-ruled empire was a thalassocracy, its components only connected by and dependent upon the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Knýtlinga</span> Ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England

The Danish House of Knýtlinga was a ruling royal house in Middle Age Scandinavia and England. Its most famous king was Cnut the Great, who gave his name to this dynasty. Other notable members were Cnut's father Sweyn Forkbeard, grandfather Harald Bluetooth, and sons Harthacnut, Harold Harefoot, and Svein Knutsson. It has also been called the House of Canute, the House of Denmark, the House of Gorm, or the Jelling dynasty.

Cnut the Great has been depicted in a number of fictional works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cnut's invasion of England</span> 1016 Danish conquest of England

In the autumn of 1016, the Danish prince Cnut the Great (Canute), supported by Eiríkr Hákonarson, successfully invaded England. Cnut's father, Sweyn Forkbeard, had previously conquered and briefly ruled England for less than five weeks.

Events from the 11th century in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cnut's invasion of Norway</span> Invasion of Norway by Cnut the Great in 1029

Cnut's Invasion of Norway or Cnut's Conquest of Norway, was an invasion and subjugation of the Kingdom of Norway by the king of Denmark and England, Canute the Great between 1028 and 1029. The invasion was a success and did not encounter much resistance. Olaf Haraldson would flee to the Kievan Rus', and Cnut would be crowned king of Norway.

References

  1. ↑ John Bellenden The History and Chronicles of Scotland, vol. 2, Book 11, chapters 17-18 (Edinburgh, 1821)
  2. ↑ "Cruden Viking battle remembered". BBC. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Bellenden, John (trans.) (1821). "The History and Chronicles of Scotland".
  4. ↑ "Scotorum historiæ a prima gentis origine : Cum aliarum & rerum & gentium illustratione non vulgari : præmissa epistola nuncupatoria, tabellisque; amplissimis & non pœnitenda Isagoge quæ ab huius tergo explicabuntur diffusius". 1526.
  5. ↑ Harikae, R. (2010). "John Bellenden's Chronicles of Scotland".
  6. ↑ Garmonsway, G (1963). Cnut and his Empire. London: H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd. p. 6.
  7. ↑ A Brief History of Cruden Parish Church crudenchurch.org.uk, accessed 14 October 2008
  8. ↑ John Bellenden The History and Chronicles of Scotland, vol. 2, (Edinburgh, 1821) p. 249.
  9. ↑ "Am Faclair Beag - An English - Scottish Gaelic dictionary" . Retrieved 25 November 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.