and Northmen and others, and also the king of the ATHELSTAN. ATHELSTAN, the eldest, and perhaps the natural, son of Edward, succeeded him, and shewed great vigour and ability in contending with the Anglo-Danes and their confederates, to whom he gave a signal overthrow at Brunanburg. He also protected his young nephew Louis, the son of Charles the Simple, and assisted in placing him on the throne of France. He added many valuable provisions to the laws promulgated by Alfred, like him was liberal to monasteries, and favoured both literature and commerce. He was never married, and was succeeded by his half-brother Edmund, in the year 940. A.D. 925. Athelstan gives his sister in marriage to Sihtric of Northumbria ‘. A.D. 926. "Sihtric perished", and King Athelstan obtained the kingdom of the Northumbrians. And he ruled all the kings who were in this island: first, Huwal, king of the West-Welsh (Cornwall); and Constantine, king of the Scots; and Uwen, king of the Gwentian people (on the lower course of the Severn); and Ealdred, son of Ealdulf of Bamborough: and they confirmed the peace by pledge and by oaths, at the place which is called Eamot, on the 4th of the ides of July (July 12); and they renounced all idolatry, and after that submitted to him in peace." Sihtric had long reigned in Dublin, but was driven from thence about A.D. 920. " His two sons, Anlaf and Guthferth (Godfrey), sought refuge with the Scots, but soon retired to the Ostmen in Ireland.' A.D. 929. Anlaf Cuaran (Anlaf of the Sandal), son of Sihtric, becomes the leader of the Northmen of Waterford. A.D. 933. "This year Edwin the atheling [the halfbrother of Athelstan] was drowned at sea "." Scotland ravaged by Athelstan with a fleet and army. He also imposes a tribute on Wales. A.D. 937. Anlaf Cuaran, with an army of Northmen from Ireland, and Constantine III., king of the Scots (his father-in-law), land at the mouth of the Humber. They are defeated by Athelstan and Edmund the atheling, at Brunanburg". "Five youthful kings and seven earls were laid in slumber by the sword, and of their army countless shipmen and Scots. The West Saxons onward throughout the day, in bands, pursued the footsteps of the loathed nations. Carnage greater has not been in this island, of people slain by the edge of the sword, since from the east hither came the Angles and Saxons." A.D. 939. Athelstan ravages Cornwall, and conquers the isles of Scilly". A.D. 940. Athelstan dies at Gloucester, Oct. 27, and is buried at Malmesbury. Edmund the atheling, his halfbrother, succeeds. EDMUND I. THE short reign of Edmund was almost entirely occupied in an attempt to reduce the Anglo-Danes to something like real submission to the Saxon monarchs. ▾ Some writers, as Simeon of Durham, charge Athelstan with his murder; but this earlier notice leaves the matter doubtful. This tribute is stated in the North Welsh Code as three score and three pounds in money, when the king of Aberfraw received his land from the king of London, beside dogs, hawks, and horses. The site of this celebrated battle has not been ascertained. The isles are visible from St. Buryan, near the Land's End, and Athelstan is said to have rebuilt the church, in performance of a vow, in token of his victory. He was killed in his own court in the year 946, in the 25th year of his age. His two sons, Edwy and Edgar, being minors, he was succeeded by his brother Edred. A.D. 941. The Northumbrians choose Anlaf of Ireland (Anlaf Cuaran) for their king. a Edmund re-captures the Five Burghs from the Danes. A.D. 943. Anlafb captures Tamworth in Mercia. He is besieged in Leicester by Edmund, but escapes. Anlaf submits to King Edmund, is baptized, and is "royally gifted" by him. Regnold of York also submits, and is baptized, near the close of the year. A.D. 944. Northumbria entirely subdued, and Anlaf Cuaran expelled. Dublin captured from the Northmen by the Irish. A.D. 945. Cumberland ravaged by Edmund, and granted to Malcolm, king of the Scots, "on the condition that he should be his fellow-worker, as well by sea as by land." The Northmen retake Dublin. A.D. 946. King Edmund is killed in his own hall by Liofa, an outlaw, at Puckle-church, (in Gloucestershire, not far from Bristol,) May 26. His brother Edred succeeds. EDRED. EDRED, the son of Edward I., was more successful than Edmund had been, and, though they more than once rose against him, he finally reduced the Anglo These were Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stamford, and Derby, the inhabitants of which, "by need constrained, had ere while a long time dwelt in captive chains to heathen men." b Probably the son of Godfrey the brother of Sihtric, and consequently cousin of Anlaf Cuaran, with whom he has been confounded by many writers. See Todd's "Wars of the Gael." c It had been not long before seized by the Northmen. It was ruled as a separate principality by the Scottish heir-apparent, and was not re-annexed to England till the time of Edward I. Danes to subjection. He then gave himself up mainly to a religious course of life, and entrusted the direction of public affairs to the celebrated Dunstan a. He died in 955, and was succeeded by his nephew Edwy. A.D. 946. Edred crowned, Sunday, August 16. The Northumbrians revolt, but are defeated by Edred; "and the Scots gave him oaths, that they would that he would." A.D. 947. “King Edred came to Taddenesscylf, (Tanshelf, near Pontefract,) and there Wulstan the archbishop [of York] and all the Northumbrian witan plighted their troth to the king; and within a little while they belied all, both pledge and all oaths." A.D. 948. The Northumbrians choose Eric, a Dane, for their king. Edred ravages their country, and the great minster at Ripon, built by Wilfrid, is burnt. The Northumbrians abandon Eric, and submit. "King Howel the Good, son of Cadel, the chief and glory of all the Britons, diede." A.D. 949. Anlaf Cuaran comes to Northumbria, and is received as king. A.D. 952. Wulstan, archbishop of York, imprisoned, "because he had been oft accused to the king f." d Dunstan, one of the most prominent names in Anglo-Saxon history, was born of noble parents in Wessex, about 920. He became a recluse in Glastonbury whilst still a youth, but was brought to the court by his uncle, Athelm, archbishop of Canterbury. Gaining the favour of King Edmund, he was made by that prince abbot of Glastonbury. Dunstan, though abbot, remained at court, became, in effect, the prime minister of Edmund, Edred, and Edgar, and eventually archbishop of Canterbury. He devoted himself zealously to ecclesiastical and monastic reforms, and hence he has been described in very unfavourable colours by many modern writers. He was canonized shortly after his death in 988. His skill in music and mechanics was remarkable, but his monkish biographers have so exaggerated these and other matters concerning him, as to produce the very contrary effect to that intended. • Chronicle of the Princes of Wales. He was released in 954, and retired to Oundle (the monastery founded by Wilfrid), where he died, in 955 or 956. H The Northumbrians expel Anlaf Cuaran, who returns to Ireland, and recall Eric. A.D. 954. The Northumbrians again expel Eric, and submit to King Edred ". A.D. 955. King Edred dies at Frome, Nov. 23, and is buried at Winchester. Edwy, his brother's son, succeeds. EDWY. THE chief events of the short, unhappy reign of Edwy were the banishment of Dunstan, his uncle's minister, and the revolt of the Mercian and Northumbrian provinces. His marriage with Elgiva, who was "too nearly related" to him, called down the censures of the Church; and he died in 958, or 959, before he had attained his 19th year. A.D. 955. Edwy is crowned at Kingston by archbishop Odo. A.D. 956. The abbot DUNSTAN is banished. A.D. 957. The Mercians and Northumbrians choose Edgar for their king. He recalls Dunstan, and soon after makes him bishop of Worcester. A.D. 958. "This year archbishop Odo separated King Edwy and Elgiva, because they were too nearly related." "Odo the Good," archbishop of Canterbury, dies, June 2. A.D. 958 or 959. Edwy dies, Oct. 1, and is buried at Winchester. His brother Edgar succeeds. From this time, Simeon of Durham remarks, there were no more kings in Northumbria; its rulers, though nearly independent, only had the title of duke, or count, or earl. Such was the title among his contemporaries of one whom comparatively recent writers describe as a monster. He appears only to have carried out the recognised rule in separating Edwy and Elgiva; and though Osbern ascribes the death of the princess to him, Eadmer says that it was the act of the Mercian partisans of Edgar. Odo was the son of a Danish chief, and had been banished from his home in boyhood for frequenting a Christian church. Some canons of his and a synodical epistle, which remain to us, have been pronounced grave and pious compositions, very creditable to his memory." |