Sweyn has proven himself to be a…
February 1014 CE
Sweyn has proven himself to be a general greater than any other Viking leader of his generation, but the situation in England changes suddenly on February 3, 1014, when he dies.
His older son Harold is chosen by the Danes to succeed him as king in Denmark.
The crews of the Danish ships in the Trent that had supported Sweyn immediately swear their allegiance to Sweyn's younger son Cnut, but leading English noblemen send a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne.
He is required to declare his loyalty to them, to bring in reforms regarding everything that they dislike and to forgive all that had been said and done against him in his previous reign.
The terms of this agreement are of great constitutional interest in early English history as they are the first recorded pact between a King and his subjects and are also widely regarded as showing that many English noblemen had submitted to Sweyn simply because of their distrust of Æthelred.