Somewhat interesting: he seems to have been a rather rougher and more pragmatic character than the guy who famously demonstrated to his lackies that not even a king could command the tides.

Originally a minor Viking prince, he fought Aethelred the Unready to a standstill, agreeing to take half the kingdom. Soon after the deal Aethelred was dead, and Cnut grabbed the lot, marrying Aethelred's widow (apparently keeping his previous wife on hand as a courtesan).

Trow struggles a bit to put a positive gloss on Cnut, helpfully pointing out that when he cut off the ears, noses and hands of hostages and dumped them on shore, previous generations of Vikings might have tortured them to death by blood eagle instead.

Another incident was with the powerful thegn Streona who switched sides between Cnut and Aethelred several times. When Streona demanded his latest fee, Cnut asked one of his vassals to "pay this man what we owe him", at which he promptly sliced Streona's head off with a battleaxe. (According to the Encomium Emmae, there are other accounts too).

While apparently Cnut was a tall blond man with a long, thin, hooked nose; somehow I can't help envisaging him as looking just like Robert de Niro in Goodfellas.

Cnut's mother was Polish, and there seem to have been a few Poles amongst his court and army.

However, despite some good incidents, the author struggles to pad things out to book length. The primary sources are brief, and the archaeological record sparse; leaving a lot of space for period background and speculation. Some of the writing is a little disjointed too.

It's interesting to compare Cnut with his successor-but-two William the Bastard. While William and Cnut were both invaders of England, capable generals and administrators; William has to be seen as a more important figure since he made permanent changes to the English scene: Cnut was happy to maintain existing institutions as far as possible. Cnut seems to have been the ultimate pragmatist: brutal when necessary, merciful when mercy was useful; calculating that fairish laws, payable taxes and public piety were the most practical way to get things done.

Still, a complex and fascinating character, at least when observed from a safe distance.

What I'm Watching
Saw Iranian exile autobiography Persepolis on DVD. Animation not bad: presumably based on the comic, but brought things nicely to live, with some interesting framing and zooming.

Couldn't really get into the story itself. Couldn't really cope with the juxtaposition between war, imprisonment and mass execution; and the trivial relationship woes of the protagonist. Might have worked better in the original comic, where you've got more time to breathe between the switches.

Museums
Saw the Renaissance Faces exhibition at the National Gallery. Moderately crowded but was able to get tickets for immediate entry. It's a bit of a miscellany: half of the exhibition is just stuff they've carted downstairs, but there are some interesting things from other collections. Liked the portrait of a painter's son, holding up his own childish sketch. There's also an interesting portrait of a middle-aged man holding a flower in celebration of his marriage, looking like the least romantically minded man ever. Also liked the charcoal sketches and Vertumnus.

Some good content there, but not unmissable.

Slideshow, review, review, review.

What I'm Watching 2
Saw Burn After Reading at the cinema. I have mixed opinions on Coen Brothers films, but liked this one a lot. It's a black comedy about a group of people caught up in events as a CIA analyst loses a disc with some notes on his memoirs.

The movie mimics the style of spy thrillers: feet marching down corridors, satellite-zooms down to Langley, hovering helicopters and Washington landmarks always in the background; but the storyline stays pretty much kitchen-sink, with adultery and a bit of blackmail. The characters are mostly unsympathetic, though Frances McDormand as the aspirational gym employee Linda Litzke is quite nice. I thought Tilda Swinton did an absolutely superb job, but the rest of the cast do well too.

This time, I liked the sudden ending. Unlike 'No Country for Old Men', this one seemed to wrap things up neatly without tedious filling in of the obvious.

Well worth seeing.

IMDB. Times, Guardian, Guardian reviews.

Web
Economics. Naked Capitalism on shipping again.

Comics. Blotchmen. Black Freighter reconstructed. Watchmen sketches.

Pics. South Pole of Saturn.

Articles. Reviled firms most responsible. Charlie Brooker: Be nicer to celebs. Transkids.