Canute << kuh NOOT or kuh NYOOT >> (994?-1035), also spelled Cnut, became king of England in 1016. That year, he completed the Danish conquest of England that his father, Sweyn Forkbeard, had begun. Canute divided England into military districts ruled by earls. In 1019, he succeeded his brother as king of Denmark. He acquired Norway in 1028, thus uniting a great Scandinavian empire that centered around the North Sea. In England, Canute ruled wisely and enjoyed strong support from the church. His code of laws restored and enforced Anglo-Saxon customs. He was the first Norse ruler to be accepted as a civilized Christian king. He died on Nov. 12, 1035.
