Canute the Great

King Canute - or Cnut in the spelling we should probably be seeking to avoid - is still one of the most misunderstood monarchs in English history.  And yet he should be seen as one of our greatest rulers, even if he was not, of course, English himself, but the last conqueror before William.  Schools now tend to cover him too briefly as part of the monarchical timeline before the Conquest, but the British Museum Vikings exhibition may be in the process of resurrecting his reputation.  The Guardian saw fit to write a brief and positive note on one of England's greatest kings here, and perhaps it is time that he was restored to a more prominent position in school curriculums?  Here's to Canute the Great.