Ireland

[Imran Siddiqui]

Brits

What a good lot they were!

Huzzah to Cromwell.... what?

[our_man]

Originally posted by molly bloom



Uh, Brian also had help from Vikings too- from Hlymrekur - Limerick and Vedra Fjord - Waterford.



Battle of Clontarf- 1014 a.d. . A few years after this date, King Cnut married the widow of King Aethelred and became king of a united England, as well as of Denmark, Norway and southern Sweden.

At least in name. But how powerful actually was the King's writ? Are you expecting me to believe that he was able to manage such a large realm at this point in history?

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by our_man


At least in name. But how powerful actually was the King's writ? Are you expecting me to believe that he was able to manage such a large realm at this point in history?

I forgot to mention he also had a nominal overlordship of Scotland too...

When the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome, Cnut made pilgrimage to Rome and was treated as an equal of the Emperor.

Cnut's letter to his English kingdom from Rome:

"Be it known to you, therefore, that returning by the same way that I went, I am now going to Denmark, through the advice of all the Danes, to make peace and firm treaty with those nations who were desirous, had it been possible, to deprive me both of life and sovereignty; this, however, they were not able to perform; God, who by his kindness preserves me in my kingdom and in my honour, and destroys the power of all my adversaries, bringing their strength to nought. Moreover, when I have established peace with the surrounding nations, and put all our sovereignty here in the east in tranquil order, so that there shall be no fear of war or enmity on any side, I intend coming to England as early in the summer as I shall be able to get my fleet prepared."

http://www.stephen.j.murray.btinternet.co.uk/cnut.htm

Cnut's reign in England was indeed a good one for the realm- it enjoyed peace and prosperity:

"It was so successful that contemporaries found little to say about it."

Sir Frank Stenton, 'Anglo-Saxon England'

As was usual for such a large disparate group of territories, its unity did not survive the death of Cnut.

[our_man]

Ah, King Cnut is Danish, I see. Well what we have in this circumstance was a foreign king who obtained the throne of England by marriage. Obviously the English leadership wasn't up to much if they had to give it to a foreigner. I consider that to be different to indigineous kings such as Alfred and Boru.

I assume the Vikings that aided Boru had sworn fealty to him?

[Last Conformist]

Free allies, if memory serves.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by our_man
Ah, King Cnut is Danish, I see. Well what we have in this circumstance was a foreign king who obtained the throne of England by marriage. Obviously the English leadership wasn't up to much if they had to give it to a foreigner.

Hmm.

That's a tad parochial. A little like saying the Irish had to wait for the Norsemen to show them how to build decent sized cities...

King Edmund of the English died in 1016, and Cnut was accepted as king. Cnut was one of the most powerful figures in early mediaeval European history.

Danes had been living in the Danelaw in England from the late ninth century- like the Norsemen in Ireland.

[our_man]

Originally posted by molly bloom
Danes had been living in the Danelaw in England from the late ninth century- like the Norsemen in Ireland.

... the difference being we did not end up accepting a Viking as our king.

My point is why did the English accept Cnut? Was it due to the fact that they were exhausted from their war against the Danes, and saw this as a way for them to acheive peace, or was their another reason?

[Peter Triggs]

Originally posted by Asher
Northern Ireland should join Canada.

Are you stark raving bonkers?

One of the main stumbling blocks to the re-unification of Ireland is the fact that all the current residents of Northern Ireland have the right to move to Great Britain. Since the Protestants can't get along with the Catholics, were they to become a minority in a united Ireland, many of them would likely take up this option.

But no one in their right mind (even if they're deaf as a stone) would want to live next door to the Rev Ian Paisley. It's a case of NIMBY: those lunatic Orangemen can parade around in their silly bowler hat uniforms in NI but not on the mainland.

Hmm, actually maybe there are places in the States that could absorb the better part of a million fundy Protestant bigots but I don't think Canada is big enough for them.