HeroFamous
Canute and the tide
The sea came in anyway, just as he said it would.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- City street with a plaque
- Legend from
- 12th-century chronicle legend
- Tone
- Light-hearted
A king commands the tide to stop, to prove that it won't.
The famous tale says King Canute set his throne by the sea and ordered the tide not to wet him. When it did, he showed his courtiers that only God had real power. On Canute Road in Southampton a sign reads: Near this spot AD 1028 Canute reproved his courtiers. Bosham in Sussex and Westminster also claim the event. The story first appears in Henry of Huntingdon in the 12th century, and historians treat it as legend. It is often misremembered as a story of royal arrogance, when it was meant to show humility.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.