Ipse uero post fratris excessum a seculo diuinitus sibi prouiso promotus imperio regum se domino obsequiis mancipabat fidelibus, ut eius protegente auxilio tam a terrestrium quam et ab aeriorum hostium muniretur incursibus. Famelicos fouebat et pauperes, nudos uestiebat et algentes, orphanis et uiduis clementer succurrebat, peregrinos et egentes misericordię stipendiis sustentabat.

Ordinis religiosi uiros quosdam ut dominos quosdam ut patres honorabat, ministeriorumque spiritualium sacraria regalium munerum donis adornabat. Sanctas sanctorum dei ecclesias diurni cursus sacratum ordinem auditurus assiduus frequentabat, et, quę ibi capaci percepisset auditu, preciosi pectoris armario recondebat. Ad quę eum diuinus incitabat spiritus, ut in seculum seculi permaneret memoria eius.

After the passing of his brother, Canute was raised to royal authority through divine providence. He bound himself in faithful service to the Lord of kings, so that by God’s protecting help he might be defended against enemies both earthly and unseen.

He cared for the hungry and the poor, clothed the naked and the cold, showed generous compassion to orphans and widows, and supported travelers and the needy with merciful provision. Men of religious life he honored — some as lords, others as fathers — and he adorned the sacred treasuries of divine worship with gifts from the royal treasury.

He was a constant and devoted presence in the holy churches of God, attending daily to the sacred offices of worship. Whatever he absorbed there with attentive hearing, he stored away in the treasury of his noble heart. To all these works the Spirit of God urged him onward, so that his memory might endure forever.