Cnut, also known as Canute, the grandson of Harold Bluetooth, was the first Dane to be crowned King of England in 1016.
He was a practising Christian and his laws seemed to show him expressing his strong beliefs relating to marriage and adultery.
One of these laws stated that a widow could only remarry a year after the death of her husband.
But one of his most interesting was a law that ordered an adultress to have her nose and her ears cut off, ensuring she remained celebate for eternity.
But then of course, the king does not have to follow his own laws, does he? He had a recognised English mistress, called Aelfgifu, with whom he had two sons – Harald and Svein. Altogether with his wife Emma and his many mistresses, he had three sons, a daughter and countless illegitimate children.
The life of a king, eh?
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Travel Trales 
January 30, 2013 at 10:39 am
The more things change, the more they stay the same…