User:Tomlesss/Canute

Canute (クヌート) is a major character in Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura. Canute is a 17-year-old prince of the Danes. He is initially portrayed as timid and womanly, with a bishōnen appearance and an inability to function without his retainer Ragnar. These traits, along with his strong Christianity, earn him the mockery of the Vikings with whom he works. After Ragnar's death, however, he has a sharp reversal of personality, becomes strong and kingly, and develops an ambition to create utopia on Earth before God's return. Towards this end, he plots to overthrow his father Sweyn Forkbeard and take the crown of the Danes. Canute is based on the historical King Canute the Great, the most prominent Danish ruler of England.

Creation

 * Canute is based off the historical Cnut the Great, the second son of Sweyn Forkbeard and the first ruler of the North Sea Empire following the consolidation of power in England, Norway, and Denmark. Unlike his real counterpart, Canute is the younger son of Sweyn while Harald is the elder, which is to enforce Sweyn's preference for Harald as his successor and disdain for Canute.


 * Yukimura elected to depict Canute as a form of dandere, being timid and feminine to contrast with Thorfinn. Yukimura was often told by his editors not to draw Canute with a beard as they claimed it would not make the series popular as a result of ruining the bishonen archetype he represented. He rejected that idea, claiming that every man had a beard in that era. Canute's father, Sweyn, mentions he looked like Canute at his age. Yukimura elaborates on this by saying that Canute's appearance may have become more similar to his father had he not changed.

Casting

 * Canute is voiced in Japanese by Kenshō Ono, while Josh Grelle dubs him in the Sentai Filmworks dub, and Griffin Burns dubs him in the Netflix version.

Characterization and themes

 * While not mentioned in the series thus far, Yukimura has stated that his Canute does indeed marry Ælfgifu of Northampton and Emma of Normandy in the series, as well as having children.

Appearances

 * Canute first appears as the young, timid son of Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard and under the care of his retainer Ragnar. Originally being escorted through England by Thorkell by orders of King Sweyn, Canute and Ragnar are captured by the Viking mercenaries led by Askeladd, and Thorfinn is later appointed as Canute's guard as Askeladd decides to ransom Canute back to Sweyn. As the group traverses through England, they are continually hunted by Thorkell and his men. Askeladd eventually realizes Canute's potential as heir to Denmark, and that Ragnar's influence on Canute prevents him from achieving his full potential. Askeladd has Ragnar killed, and a heartbroken Canute briefly gives up on life, believing that nobody cares about him. Following a battle with Thorkell, Canute meets an alchoholic priest named Willibald, who convinces Canute that love is discrimination and does not exist in life, with only death being the true form of love. Canute then aspires to create utopia before God's return and to take the throne from Sweyn, who is revealed to have purposefully sent Canute into England as a method of getting him killed so Canute's elder brother Harald can be crowned as ruler of Denmark without question. Canute returns to Denmark with Askeladd and Thorfinn, where Askeladd kills Sweyn and Canute is crowned King of England, though not before Canute kills Askeladd in retribution for his murder of Sweyn. In response for Thorfinn attacking Canute after Askeladd's death, Canute exiles Thorfinn and sends him into slavery.


 * A year following the previous events, Canute has completely reversed his personality and become more cold and calculating in his desire to rule Denmark and England, going so far to poison Harald in order to solidify his hold on Denmark, which is later absorbed into Canute's domains following Harald's death. During his invasion of England, Canute eventually gets many English earls, such as Eadric, to betray his primary rival for the throne Æthelred II in favour of him. Canute eventually comes to an agreement with Aethelred's successor Edmund II for split control over England, but Edmund mysteriously dies months later, leaving Canute as the undisputed ruler of England once he exiles Edmund's children, though both Æthelred and Edmund are heavily implied to have been killed on Canute's behalf. As this happens, Canute slowly becomes corrupted by the power of the Danish crown, which worsens when he becomes King of England, and begins to see hallucinations of his decapitated father's head; internally revealing Canute's guilt over killing Harald, his uncertainty about being sovereign of both Denmark and England, and his ambition of being emperor of the North Sea Empire.


 * Canute decides to launch an assault and take over Ketil's farm, a large farm on Jutland, in order to increase wealth and appease the English, but also to enforce Canute's ascenion to England and Denmark. Canute and his advisor, Wulf, debate whether or not taking over the farm is wise, but after Ketil's (who had come to Jelling to recognize Canute's succession and pay respects to Harald) sons Thorgil and Olmar murder Canute's guards and cause a disruption, Canute elects to invade. After assualting the farm, Canute meets with Thorfinn, and Thorfinn convinces Canute that he is not alone in wanting to build a better world. Touched, and realizing how much the power of the crown had influenced him, Canute and Thorfinn make ammends and Canute returns to Denmark, deciding to reduce the size of his military in order to lower taxes; consequently increasing his popularity with England and allowing him to assert his control over both Denmark and England.

Reception

 * Canute's development into a far more calculating and ruthless individual was welcomed, with fans and critics praising his change in personality. Joseph Brogan of Sportskeeda, calling it "greatly deepening Canute’s character throughout the latter two acts of the episode. What is especially intriguing is Canute’s ever-more frequent conversations with his deceased father, showing how the young King is slowly becoming what he once despised," as well as "[giving] fans fantastic insight into exactly how power-hungry and ruthless Canute has become, to the point where he bonds with the father he once criticized. Sweyn’s constant appearances before Canute also emphasize how much he has changed since season 1, becoming essentially a completely different person in the contemporary series."


 * Similarly, critics praised the contrast between Canute and Thorfinn's quests for revenge during the second season, with Jesse Lab of The Escapist praising it with "Revenge didn’t necessarily consume Canute in the same way it did Askeladd and Thorfinn, as he had a purpose beyond simply seeking vengeance. However, his desire for revenge did turn him from a meek and mild pacifist to a cold king willing to use underhanded tactics to secure his pathway to the throne."