The point of the legend is not that Canute had delusions of grandeur, but the opposite.

FORBES: The "True" Legend of Canute

Icelandic chess sagas tell tales of slaughter, including that of King Canute's opponent.

ECONOMIST: From the archive: Great chess bore | The

Proto-Supply Sider (who, among other things, generously cut oppressive tariffs) King Canute achieved mythic status by ordering the tide to cease rising.

FORBES: The Business Cycle Throws The GOP A Curveball

Lamarck stands there in stone, like King Canute trying to roll back the tide, the tide, in this case, of an Anglo-Saxon version of events.

BBC: Part Three - France and the World

But Canute did not think he could stop the incoming tide.

ECONOMIST: Letters