"A gripping and revelatory biography of Britain's Danish conqueror." Simon Sebag Montefiore,
The WeekYales invaluable English Monarchs series receives an impressive addition with this life of Cnut, the Danish warlord who conquered England in the first half of the 11th century. Bolton, a Stockholm-based scholar, restores Cnuts image by drawing on a full range of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon sources.
Tony Barber, Financial Times
How did Cnut win this power and how did he use it? Timothy Bolton is a formidable scholar who endeavours to answer these questions.Lawrence James, The Times, 11th February 2017
It is evident that Timothy Bolton masters the English written sources of the period to perfection. We get a finely tuned history of the means and ways in which Cnut wielded power through the machinery of government, carried out by the personnel in the English church. It is also apparent that Bolton has a fine ear for the complexities of utilising the few, limited and late written sources from Scandinavia it is an invaluable introduction for cultural historians and archaeologists to what a proper political historian fostered in the English tradition can wring out of source material.Karen Schousbe,
Medieval HistoriesTimothy Boltons book is a timely reminder that seas connect as much as they separate, and that even a thousand years ago it was common to hear different languages on English streets... It is pleasing to see an early medieval king given the same attention as his successors.Lesley Abrams,
TLSBolton has made an exhaustive study of the available sources, both texts and artefacts. His narrative has the virtues of a well-told story.Dr. Nicholas Orme,
Church TimesThis is a very readable and serviceable overview of the reign of Cnut, and a useful recapitulation, at a reasonable price, of many aspects of Boltons important original study Barbara Yorke,
The English Historical Review"Smart, pithy,scholarly biography of one of England's least-understood but most intriguingkings. Another excellent volume in the authoritative Yale Monarchs series."Dan Jones, author of
The Plantagenetsand
The Wars of The Roses"Through judicious use of Northern sources Timothy Bolton gives us a Cnut firmly rooted in Scandinavia, and a nuanced portrait of an English monarch and Scandinavian ruler active on a European stage."Pauline Stafford, author of
Queen Emma and Queen Edith"Drawing on a range of rich resources fromOld Norse sagas and poetry to charters, chronicles and laws from England, Timothy Bolton presents a fresh and engaging account of the compelling figure of Cnut in all his diverse glory."Rory Naismith, Kings College London, author of
Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England"In this stimulating and timely study, Timothy Bolton illuminates a king and an age of supreme importance. Cnut's forging of an Anglo-Scandinavian Empire and England's place within it are explored in original and thought-provoking ways - fresh evidence is put forward and well-known material considered anew. Bolton is a confident guide through the tangled thicket of sources that surround Cnut, handling English and Scandinavian texts with insight and sensitivity." Martin J. Ryan, co-author of
The Anglo-Saxon World