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leaders. At length, by the grace of Almighty God, the blowing of the storm ceased, the hearts of the wicked were appeased: they asked peace and a truce from the Christians, as if they prayed to Christ himself to be merciful to them:

Ruler, check the boisterous wave,
And as thou rulest heaven above,
Cause the earth to be at peace

And bind it fast in love.

Peace was made between the kings and the pagans, and they parted one from the other, like sheep from the goats.

In the same year Edmund, the most blessed and glorious king of the East-Angles, as is read in his Passion, was martyred by the pagan king Inguar, in the Second Indiction, 12 Calends of Dec. [Nov. 20] being Sunday.

When therefore all the forces
of the English were collected,
and Hinguar saw his men
besieged and unequal in
strength, with the cunning
of a fox, and soothing words,
he obtained a truce from the
English, and returning to
York, remained there cruelly

one year.†

In the year of our Lord's
Incarnation 870, which was
the 5th of king Adelred, St

Eadmund went to heaven.
For the aforesaid army of king
Hinguar coming through
Mercia to Thetford, remained
there the winter, and wrought
dreadful destruction on that

wretched people. But king Eadmund, choosing to die rather than to see the desolation of his people, was taken by them, and shot by the arrows of those wicked men through his body, when it had been fastened to a tree. But the mercy of God can be certainly ascribed to this year. wrought many signal miracles

CH RTERS IN 870. No charters

There is one, of ETHELRED king of Wessex [vol. II, p. 97] without a date which therefore may belong to either of the years 867, 8, 9, 870 or

Essays

871.

In the year 869, which was the 21st of Elfred's life, the aforesaid army again went

to the nation of the Northumbrians, and there remained a year raving and raging, slaying and destroying numbers

of men and women.

BROMPTON." This year the city of Alclud, once so famous, and lying at the western end of the famous wall, was destroyed by the Danes.

In the following year, whilst the rays of the sun were lighting the climes of the world, and the 870th year from our Lord's incarnation was come, then dawned the day, on which king Elfred

was in his 21st year. But the enormous multitude of the Danes, and, if I may so speak, their troops of legions, were gathered toge ther, so that they seemed to be many thousands, and as if they had increased from a thousand to 20 myriads. They then went through Mercia to the East-Angles, and boldly wintered in the city of Theodford. But king Eadmund, at that time, reigned over all the kingdoms of the East-Angles; a holy and just man, as the end of his blessed life proved. That same year the aforesaid king fought fiercely and manfully with his men against the army. But, because the merciful God foreknew that he was to arrive at the crown of mar

over his body.

6

Saron Chronicle

Ethelwerd

THE INVASION OF EAST ANGLIA,
ACCORDING TO BROMPTON, AROSE
FROM THE FOLLOWING STORY:
"There was a man of royal birth
in the kingdom of Denmark, named
Lodbroc, who had two sons, Hin-
guar and Hubba. This man embarked
one day with his hawk in a small
boat, to catch ducks and other wild
fowls on the adjoining sea coasts and
islands. A terrible storm at length
arose, by which Lodbroc was carried
away. and tossed for several days

At that same time they came to and burned and beat it down, slew abbot and monks, and all that place, which before was full rich, they reduced to nothing.

Medeshamstede,

And the same year died archbishop Ceolnoth.

Asser

over every part of the Ocean. After
numberless perils, he was cast ashore
on the coast of Norfolk, near the
village of Redham. Here he was
found having his hawk alone for his
companion, and presented to king
Edmund. That monarch, struck with
the manly beauty of his form, re-
tained him at his court, and heard
from his own mouth the recital of
his adventures. He was then asso-
ciated with Berne the king's hunts-
man, and indulged in all the plea-
sures of the chase, for in the exercise
both of hunting and hawking he was
remarkably graceful, and succeeded
in capturing both birds and beasts
according as he had a mind. This,
however, produced jealousy in the
mind of Berne the huntsman, who
one day, as they went out together
hunting, set upon Lodbroc unawares,
and having foully slain him, buried
his body in the thickets of the forest.

In the same year Ceolnoth,
archbishop of Canterbury,
went the way of all flesh, and
was buried peaceably in his
own city.

870

But Lodbroc was the master of a
small dog of the harrier species,
which he had nourished from its
birth, and which loved him much.
When Berne the huntsman returned
home with the other hounds, this
little dog remained alone with its
master's body. In the morning the
king asked what had become of
Lodbroc; to which Berne replied,
that he had parted from him yester-
day in the wood, and had not seen
him since. At that moment the
harrier entered the hall, and went
round, wagging its tail, and fawning
on the whole company, and especi-
When he had
ally on the king.
eaten his fill, he again left the hall :
this occurred repeatedly, until some
one at last followed the dog to see
where he went, and, having found
the body of the murdered Lodbroc,
came and told the story to the king.

Archbishop Ceolnoth also
died that same year, and is
buried in the city of Can-
terbury.

1

Then went Æthered and Ælf-
red his brother, and took
Æthelred bishop of Wiltshire, and appointed him archbishop of
Canterbury, because formerly he had been a monk of the
same minster of Canterbury. All so soon as he came to
Canterbury, and he was stablished in his archbishopric, he
then thought how he might expel the clerks who (were) there
within, whom the archbishop Ceolnoth had (before) placed
there for such need* as we shall relate. The first year
that he was made archbishop, there was so great a mortality,
that of all the monks whom he found there within, no more
he (com-
than five monks survived. Then for the* .
manded) his chaplains, and also some priests of his vills, that
they should help the few monks who there survived to do
Christ's service, because he could not so readily find monks
who might of themselves do the service; and for this reason
he commanded that the priests, the while, until God should
give peace in this land, should help the monks.
In that same time was this land much distressed by frequent
battles, and hence the archbishop could not there effect it,
for there was warfare and sorrow all his time over England;
and hence the clerks remained with the monks. Nor was
there ever a time that monks were not there within, and they
ever had lordship over the priests. Again the archbishop
Ceolnoth thought and also said to those who were with him,
'All so soon as God shall give peace in this land, either
these priests shall be monks, or from elsewhere I will place
within the minster as many monks as may do the service of
themselves: for God knows that I.

A. 871.

Here the army came to
Reading in Wessex.

.)

In the year of our Lord's
incarnation 871, which was
the twenty-third of king
Alfred's life, the pagan army,
of hateful memory, left the
East-Angles, and entering

*The MS. is imperfect in these places.

After one year therefore the army of the barbarians abovementioned set out for Reading, and the principal object of the impious crew was to attack the West-Saxons; and

871

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tyrdom, he there fell gloriously. Of his passion I would fain insert some particulars into our history, that the sons of men may know and perceive how terrible is Christ the son of God in the counsels of men, and with what glorious triumph he adorns those whom he torments here under cast ashore in Denmark, and brought the name of suffering, that the saying may be fulfilled, He

The affair was now diligently enquired into, and when the truth was at last discovered, the huntsman was exposed on the sea without oars in the boat which had belonged to to Lodbroc. In a few days he was

before the sons of Lodbroc, who putting him to the torture, demanded of him what had become of their father, to whom they knew the boat belonged. To this Berne replied, that their father Lodbroc had fallen into the hands of Edmund king of

is not crowned except he strive lawfully,

[II TIM. ii, 5]. Now king Eadmund devoutly undertook the government of

the East-Angles, and held it with the right hand of power, East-Anglia, by whose orders he had always adoring and glorifying Almighty God for all his good

been put to death."

things which he had enjoyed.

Edelwlf, meeting 2 consuls
of the army at Engla-feld,
fought and conquered them,
and slew one consul named

Sidrac.

Simeon

the West-Saxons, came to the royal city called At Reading, situated on the South bank of the river Thames, in the district which is now called Berkshire by the inhabitants of that country.

On the third day from that on
which these enemies of the
English came, their earls with
a great multitude gallopped
along the side of that river,
and carried off a great quan-
tity of booty.

Some of them tried to make a
rampart between the river
Thames and Kennet: but
their design, and the work of
the Danes was dissipated by
the help of the English, that
the words of the scholastic
poet might be fulfilled :
Though deck'd in Tyrian robes
He shall not shun his fate;
The gems that wreathe his brow
Draw down the people's hate.
&c. &c.

And when those plunderers were setting manfully to their work, suddenly Ethelwlf the vigorous duke of Berkshire came down upon them, surrounded by his squadrons and armed in triple mail. Seeing the multitude of the barbarians, the leader of the Christians said to his men, "Their army is numerous, but yet we may treat them with contempt; for though they attack us with the advantage of more men, yet our commander, Christ, is braver than they." The Christians then meet the Danes, trusting in the protection of the Christian name: the aforesaid duke exhorts his men especially to resist their adversaries, being posted with his legions at a place called Englafeld. Here they fought a fierce battle, in which many fell wounded or were killed on both sides. There fell a prince of the Danes with a great multitude of his army; the others escaped by flight; and the Christians gained the palm of victory and were masters

And after 4 days, king Edel-
red and his brother with
many folk came to Reding
and fought with the army;
and many fell on both sides,
and the Dacians [DANES]

were victorious.

of the place of death. These things having thus happened, when 4 days from that time had elapsed, the powerful king Ethelred, and his brother Elfred, having assembled large armies, as is the power and the excellence of kings, came to Reding, desiring either to live gloriously in their kingdom, or to die in battle for Christ. And when king Ethelred, powerful in arms, had arrived with his beloved brother at the gate of the fortress, slaying and