Chapter 62: Canute's Way

Canute rejects Eadric's tribute as an insult, reminding him he is the King and has come in person to crush the rebellion. When Eadric's son declares Ethelred of Wessex their true ruler, Canute notes Eadric has already betrayed that king by trying to buy his way out of battle for the sake of territory. Gunnar privately thinks the prince cruel while Floki chuckles. Canute argues that two kings can only breed chaos, so one must die, and brands Ethelred a coward who deserted his people and throne in the last war. He asks whether entrusting England to such a man would not be foolish.

Pressed on whether he is asking for betrayal, Canute counters that Eadric has already betrayed Ethelred and now he merely wishes to employ his talents: to assassinate the King, a task Eadric's long service surely equips him to manage. Eadric is aghast at surrendering his honor, yet Canute reminds him that bringing Ethelred's head buys Mercia its safety. Eadric loudly refuses, and Canute wryly praises his backbone.

Canute leads him outside to a great pyre, which is lit as a signal. Answering smoke rises from several distant points, and when Eadric asks its meaning Canute explains it shows how swiftly Mercia could be set ablaze should Eadric choose to fight him. Eadric collapses. In April 1016 Ethelred the Second dies of an alleged illness and is succeeded by his son Edmund, who wars on Canute before also dying of an illness that November, barely seven months later. Thorkell, drinking with Asgeir, scoffs at the transparent talk of illness and notes that Sweyn's decade-long conquest was settled within three years of his death. The council recognizes Canute, who is crowned King of England in 1017 after his rivals' mysterious deaths. Eadric of Mercia betrays him soon after and is executed in December 1017.

Canute dismisses Eadric's bribe and demands he assassinate Ethelred in exchange for peace in Mercia, which Eadric refuses. Canute intimidates him with a signal-fire demonstration proving he could burn all of Mercia at will. Ethelred the Second dies of an alleged illness in April 1016, and his successor Edmund dies the same suspicious way that November. Canute is crowned King of England in 1017, and Eadric, having betrayed him, is executed that December.

The sixty-second chapter appears in Volume 9 and was adapted in Episode 29. The epigraph comes from Canute, who reasons that a land cannot hold two kings and one must fall, capturing the ruthless political logic that carries him to the throne.