870

Florence

Huntingdon

Simeon

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 Chris-
tians, 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.

The above-named army of pagans passed through Mercia into EastAnglia, and there wintered at Thetford.

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 871.

Essays

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 together, 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

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, Hinguar 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

to

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

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.

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
At that moment the
him since.
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.

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
as we shall relate. The first year
there for such need*
that he was made archbishop, there was so great a mortality,
that of all the monks whom he found there within, no more
than five monks survived. Then for the* . . . he (com-
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.

.)

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

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 cast ashore in Denmark, and brought 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 East-Anglia, by whose orders he had

been put to death."

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 glori-
ous triumph he adorns those whom he torments here under
the name of suffering, that the saying may be fulfilled, He
is not crowned except he strive lawfully,
[II TIM. ii, 5].
Now king Eadmund devoutly
undertook the government of

power,

the East-Angles, and held it with the right hand of
always adoring and glorifying Almighty God for all his good
things which he had enjoyed.

In the same year Ceolnoth,
archbishop of Canterbury,
went the way of all flesh, and
was buried peaceably in that
same city.
whom the venerable
Ethelred succeeded.

Το

The same year in which the illustrious king and martyr entered through the crown of martyrdom into the joys of heavenly felicity, Ceolnoth archbishop of the city of Dover, went the way of all flesh, and was buried by the clerks in the same city.

BROMPTON. When king Edmund was slain, his brother Edwold dreading the pleasures of the world seeing that a hard lot had fallen on himself and his brother, retired to the monastery of Carnelia in Dorsetshire near a clear well, which saint Augustine had formerly brought out of the earth by prayer to baptize the people in, and there he led a hermit's life on only bread and

water.

MATT. WESTM. In the same
year died
Weremund bishop of
Dommoc [DUNWICH], after whom
that see was transferred to Helm-
ham, and, in the place of two bis-
hops, one of whom had his see at
Dommoc, and the other at Helm-
ham, one bishop was ordained, by
name Wilred, who had for his
successors, in the same place, the
following. Athulf, Elfric, Theo-
dred, Æthelstan, Algar, Alwin,
Elfric, another Elfric, Stigand,
Æthelm, and Herstan.