Origin of the name Canute
CANUTE, 995?-1035, king of England, Norway,
and Denmark. The younger son of Sweyn of Denmark. The name also appears as Cnut or Knut.
King Canute lived in an age when it was traditional for people to pay homage to the monarch, and his followers
worshipped him and would say "Oh great majesty, the very sea obeys your mighty command". He got so tired of this sort
of thing that he commanded that his king's court be moved to the beach and he would prove that the sea did not obey his commands.
He commanded "Go back, sea!" and the tide continued coming in as expected and Canute put it to his courtiers that
the sea was not obeying him and that although he was king he was just a man.