Canute and the Waves: A Misunderstood Story
Canute the Great (985/95 to 1035) was the most successful ruler of the Anglo Saxon period. At the height of his power he was King of England, Denmark, Norway, parts of Sweden, and overlord of Scotland. He put an end to Viking attacks on Britain and paid off the standing army, thus abolishing the enormous taxes which had been used to pay them. He reinstated the rules of King Edgar, an earlier, well-respected English king, and attended the coronation in Rome of the Emperor Conrad II, resulting in his reputation as a true partner to Europe. His achievements all but forgotten, Canute is now mainly known for a single misinterpreted story: Canute and the Waves. //

“But the sea carried on rising as usual without any reverence for his person, and soaked his feet and legs. Then he moving away said: “All the inhabitants of the world should know that the power of kings is vain and trivial, and that none is worthy of the name of king but He whose command the heaven, earth and sea obey by eternal laws”. //

The story is intended to illustrate his piety – a prominent feature in his kingship,” he says. “He knows his power is nothing besides that of God.”
(Westcott, Katheryn. “Is King Canute Misunderstood?” BBC News, May 2011.)