Sweyn I

king of Denmark and England
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Also known as: Svein Tjugeskjegg, Svend Tveskaeg, Sweyn Forkbeard
Quick Facts
Byname:
Sweyn Forkbeard
Danish:
Svend Tveskaeg
Norwegian:
Svein Tjugeskjegg, or Tviskjegg
Died:
February 3, 1014, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England
Title / Office:
king (987-1014), Denmark
king (1013-1014), England
Notable Family Members:
father Harald I
son Canute I

Sweyn I (died February 3, 1014, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England) was the king of Denmark (c. 987–1014), a leading Viking warrior and the father of Canute I the Great, king of Denmark and England. Sweyn formed an imposing Danish North Sea empire, establishing control in Norway in 1000 and conquering England in 1013, shortly before his death.

The son of the Danish king Harald Bluetooth (Blåtand), Sweyn rebelled in 987 against his father, who fled to Wendland (in Germany). Sweyn began feuding with Olaf I after the latter’s accession to the Norwegian throne in 995, and he allied with the Swedish king Olaf Skötkonung and with the Norwegian Erik, the earl of Lade. The three allies defeated Olaf I in the Battle of Svolder about 1000, with Sweyn becoming virtual ruler of Norway, although nominally sharing sovereignty with his allies. Sweyn then turned again to England, leading apparently punitive expeditions in 1003 and 1004 in retaliation for the St. Brice’s Day massacre of Danes in England on November 13, 1002.

Sweyn did not again return to England until 1013, when he led a highly successful campaign and was accepted as king throughout the country, forcing Ethelred II into exile; but he died less than a year later. Although Norway returned (1014–16) to Norwegian rule under the leadership of Olaf II Haraldsson, Sweyn’s Anglo-Danish empire continued under his son and grandson until 1042.

Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.
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This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.