of Cnut and Emma of Normandy. He portrays Harold as lacking in chivalry, courtesy, and honour. While Harthacnut was "...a noble knight and stalwart of body, and he greatly loved knighthood and all virtues." He praises Harthacnut for his generosity with food and drink, claiming that his table was open "...for all who wished to come to his court to be richly served with royal dishes". He concludes by portraying Harthacnut as a loyal son for accepting his mother, Emma, back to court. Contradictory account of his death There is a contradictory account of Harthacnut's death featured in the Morkinskinna (13th century). According to this account, Magnus I of Norway (reigned 1034–1047) visited the court of Harthacnut in Denmark, received with all official honours. The two monarchs then argued on a matter of etiquette, on whether the host or the guest should drink first, each man offering the honour to the other. The two eventually agreed that the host should drink first. Then Álfífa (Ælfgifu of Northampton) entered the royal hall, welcoming Magnus. She poured a drink for him. But the guest offered the drink to Harthacnut. He drank from the drinking horn and fell dead, poisoned. Álfífa had thus intended to poison Magnus, but accidentally killed Harthacnut instead. She fled to escape punishment. The tale is probably fictional in origin, though consistent with the villainous depiction of Ælfgifu in this work. A nearly identical story appears in the Egils saga, though the three protagonists are different, with Egill Skallagrímsson as the intended victim, with Bárðr of Atley and Gunnhild, Mother of Kings as the would-be poisoners. References Notes Citations Sources Based primarily on Einarsson's 1984 edition. Further reading DeVries, Kelly, The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066 (2003). Boydell & Brewer Ltd, Douglas, David Charles, William The Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England (1964). University of California Press. Gillingham, John, The introduction of chivalry into England. Essay included in Law and Government in Medieval England and Normandy: Essays in Honour of Sir James Holt (1994), pages 31–56. Cambridge University Press, Howard, Ian, Harold II: a Throne-Worthy King. Essay included in King Harold II and the Bayeux Tapestry (2005), pages 35–52. Boydell Press, . Rushton, Alan R., Royal Maladies: Inherited Diseases in the Royal Houses of Europe (2008). Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford, External links 1010s births 1042 deaths 11th-century English monarchs 11th-century kings of Denmark Anglo-Norse monarchs Burials at Winchester