Canute (Vinland Saga)

Canute
Vinland Saga character
Canute, as drawn by Makoto Yukimura
First appearance	Vinland Saga chapter 21: "Valhalla"
Created by	Makoto Yukimura
Voiced by	Japanese Kensho Ono English Jessie James Grelle (Crunchyroll dub), Griffin Burns (Netflix dub)

Canute (Japanese: クヌート, Hepburn: Kunūto) is a character from the manga series Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura. Canute is the 17-year-old prince of the Danes. He is initially portrayed as timid and feminine, and he is unable to function without his retainer, Ragnar. These traits, along with his strong Christianity, earn him the mockery of the Vikings with whom he works. After Ragnar's death and the toll of experiencing warfare, however, he has a sharp reversal of personality, becomes strong, kingly, and openly hostile towards religion, and in his Messiah complex, develops an ambition to create utopia on Earth before God's return. Towards this end, he plots to overthrow his father Sweyn and brother Harald while also razing anything he deems unfit for, or resistant to, his paradise.

Canute is based on the historical King Canute the Great, the most prominent Danish ruler of England. Yukimura created him to be the foil of the protagonist Thorfinn, who also wishes for a utopia, but their ideals contradict each other. The character's design was also changed to fit the Western setting of the series from an androgynous style to a more masculine style. His voice actor in Japanese is Kensho Ono, while Jessie James Grelle voices him in the Crunchyroll dub and Griffin Burns in the Netflix dubs.

Critical response to Canute's character has been positive due to his early character arc from a scared man to a charismatic ruler, showing he has the power to overthrow his father as the next king. His characterization in the next story arc as the new ruler was the subject of positive responses as well as analysis of how Yukimura pays homage to the real Canute the Great in several scenes from the series.