Vikings Valhalla: What Really Happened To Cnut's Wife After He Married Emma Of Normandy
Vikings: Valhalla saw King Canute of Denmark marry Emma of Normandy, but he was still married to Queen Alfgevu - but what happened to her?
Vikings: Season 1 of Valhalla saw King Canute of Denmark marry Emma of Normandy, but Canute was already married to Queen Alfgevu - which is what happened to her in real life after Canute married Emma. One of the most popular historical dramas in recent years is Vikings, created by Michael Hearst, which premiered on The History Channel in 2013. Although originally planned to be a miniseries, Vikings quickly caught the audience's attention and lasted from six Seasons, ending December 2020. However, there are more stories from the Viking Age to be told, and so a spin-off was announced in 2019.
Titled Vikings: Valhalla, the series takes place more than a century after the events of the Vikings, so none of the surviving characters from the main series feature in it, and instead introduces a new generation of warriors and enemies. Vikings: Valhalla follows Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) as they embark on a journey that takes them across oceans and battlefields, with the conflict between Vikings and English (Pagans) royals versus Christians. as background. After a struggle between Freydis and Olaf Haraldsson (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), Leif joins the crew of King Canute (Bradley Freegard) to invade England, and thus viewers also learn about Canute and his plans.
The event that set off the Vikings: Valhalla is the massacre of St. Bryce's Day, the purpose of the attack on England is to avenge the Vikings who were killed, but Canute also had other plans. After destroying the London Bridge and taking control of England, Canute decided to share the throne with Edmund (Louis Davison), so he became king of both Denmark and England. Canute becomes engaged to Emma and after receiving a message about an attack on Denmark by the Wends, he quickly marries Emma before joining the fight. While he is away, his other wife, Queen Alphgifu (Polyanna Macintosh), arrives in England to claim her status as queen, and after attempting to manipulate Canute's father, Swain Forkbeard (Soren Bellmark), Emma, ends up being the one who was sent. She returns to Denmark without her children and her fleet.
Just like most of the characters in Vikings: Valhalla, Ælfgifu is based on a real person, and her story has been altered to fit the series. Alfgevu of Northampton was born into a noble family based in the Midlands (Mercia), which came under suspicion during the invasion of England by Forkbeard. To seal their loyalty, Forkbeard married Canute to Ælfgifu, and they had two sons: Sweyn Knutsson and Harold Harefoot. Canute married Emma of Normandy in 1016 after his conquest of England, and, as at Valhalla, he was still married to Alvegevaux. At the time, it was acceptable to disqualify one wife and marry another if the first marriage was through a non-Christian and pagan rite of "handfasting" and for reasons of political advantage, so his marriage to Emma was valid. However, it is not known how Canute's marriage to Emma affected Alfjifu's standing as his first wife, but there is no evidence to suggest that she was divorced.
After Olaf's defeat (and death) at the hands of Canute's forces, Alfgevu and Sweyn is sent to rule Norway, but their rule was so cruel that the Norwegians rebelled against them, and were driven out after about five years. After Canute died in 1035, Alphgifu was determined to make her son Harold the next king of England and was able to secure the throne for him. There are no records of Ælfgifu's activities after 1036, and it is not known when and how she died. Given the lack of information and details on Ælfgifu, it's no surprise that Vikings: Valhalla has added so much to fleshing out the character, and we should see what else she does in Seasons 2 and 3 now that her fleet has been taken and brought back to Denmark.
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