Alfgar the Dane or the Second Chronicle of Aescendune<br />A Tale of the Days of Edmund Ironside, A. D. Crake [best romance books of all time TXT] 📗

Bertric, 1006.

Ethelgiva, 1064 m. Alfgar.

Cuthbert, 1034.

Bertha, 1050 m. Herstan.

Edgitha, 990.

ii Curse of Dunstan.

"In the year of our Lord's incarnation 979, Ethelred, son of Edgar and Elfrida, obtaining the kingdom, occupied, rather than governed it, for thirty-seven years. The career of his life is said to have been cruel in the beginning, wretched in the middle, and disgraceful in the end. Thus, in the murder to which he gave his concurrence he was cruel, base in his flight and effeminacy, miserable in his death.

"The nobility being assembled by the contrivance of his mother, and the day being appointed for Dunstan, in right of his see, to crown him, he, though he might be ill-affected to them, forebore to resist, being a prelate of mature age well versed in secular matters. But, when placing the crown on his head, he could not refrain from giving vent, with a loud voice, to that prophetic spirit which he so deeply imbibed. 'Since,' said he, 'thou hast aspired to the kingdom by the death of thy brother, hear the word of God. Thus saith the Lord God: The sin of thy abandoned mother, and of the accomplices of her base design, shall not be washed out but by much blood of the wretched inhabitants; and such evils shall come upon the English nation as they have never suffered from the time they came to England until then.' Nor was it long after, that is in his third year, that seven piratical vessels came to Southampton, a port near Winchester, and having ravaged the coast fled back to the sea. This I think right to mention, because many reports are circulated among the English concerning these vessels."--William of Malmesbury, English Chronicle, Bohn's Edition, pp.

165-166.

iii See "First Chronicle of Aescendune."

iv Chronology of Father Cuthbert.

The Christian era did not come in use until about the year 532, when it was first introduced in the code of canon law compiled by Dionysius Exiguus, and, even then, the year of the world was still frequently used, as in some cases in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. When at length the Christian computation became universal, some began the year with the Incarnation (Christmas), others with the Annunciation; a custom not wholly abolished in England till 1752, when the "New Style," or Gregorian Calendar, was introduced.

But in the latter part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the portion upon which our tale is based, the year invariably opens with the Nativity--hence this reckoning has been used in the text, and the Christmas day in chapter 3 begins a new year.

v Now Banbury.

vi Death of St. Edmund.

There are two stories (or more) concerning the Danish invasion in which the saintly Edmund met his death; the first, alluded to in the song of the Etheling (chapter 11), tells how Ragnar Lodbrog, a great sea king, invaded England, but his fleet being shattered by a storm, fell into the hands of Ella, King of Northumbria, who threw him into a pit full of toads and serpents, where he perished, singing his death song to the last, and calling upon his sons to avenge his fate. Those sons were Hinguar and Hubba. They invaded East Anglia after they had avenged their father upon Ella, and King Edmund fought against them, but was taken prisoner. They offered him his life and throne if he would forsake Christianity, and reign under them. But he steadfastly refused, whereupon they put him to death after the manner described in the tale in the case of Bertric, while he called steadfastly upon Christ until his latest breath.

The other tale, given at length by Roger Wendover, tells that Ragnar Lodbrog, with only his hawk in his hand, was driven by a storm to the coast of East Anglia, that King Edmund made him his huntsman, but the former huntsman, Beorn, slew him through jealousy; that King Edmund put Beorn bound in the boat which had brought Lodbrog over, and sent him adrift to perish at sea. But the storm in turn blew him to Denmark, where he told the sons of the man he had slain that Edmund had murdered their father. Hence they came to avenge him. The remainder of the tale agrees with the former narrative, and is the only portion which certainly possesses historical truth.

St. Edmund has been much venerated in the eastern counties, and his shrine at Edmundsbury was greatly reverenced. The tale of the death of Sweyn, given in chapter 18, is a proof of this feeling, in which perhaps the legend partly originated.

vii The Rista Oern.

This punishment was usual among the Northmen, and was called "at rista oern," from the supposed resemblance of the victim to the figure of an eagle. The operation was generally performed by the chief himself. It is thus described by Snorre:

"Ad speciem aquilae dorsum ita ei laniabat, ut adacto ad spinam gladio, costisque omnibus ad lumbos usque a tergo divisis, pulmones extraheret."--Snorre, p. 108.

viii First appearance of Edmund.

The first mention of Edmund in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the commander of the English forces is A.D. 1015, where he was joined with Edric in the command, as related in the text, chapter 18. The date of his birth is uncertain, but the comparison of authorities appeared to the author to justify the ascription of the character and actions, with which he is credited in the tale, to the English hero who first taught his generation to assert their equality with the fierce Danish invaders.

ix The appellations Wiltshire and Berkshire are of course of later date.

x The early name of Abingdon.

Johnson, the compiler of the famous collection of English canons, is of opinion that Cloveshoo, where the famous provincial council was held A.D. 803, is identical with Abingdon, and that the town lost its ancient name simply owing to the growing notoriety of the famous abbey; for "no one," says he, "can doubt that the name Abingdon was taken from the abbey." The first memorial, he adds, in which he finds the name Abingdon, is in the Chronicle wherein the burial of Bishop Sidesman, A.D. 977, in St. Mary's Minster, "which is at Abingdon," is mentioned, who was honourably buried on the north side of that fane in St. Paul's Chapel.

On the other hand, some learned antiquarians have maintained the opposite opinion, that the name Abingdon existed even prior to the foundation of the monastery; thus the Rev. Joseph Stevenson, in his edition of the "Chronicle of the Abbey of Abingdon," says-- "Abingdon derives its name, not, as might at first sight be supposed, from the abbey there founded--Abbey dune or Abbots dune: philology forbids it. The place was so called from Abba, one of the early colonists of Berkshire."

xi Bishops of Dorchester.

There appears to have been much uncertainty concerning the succession of the bishops of this important see, owing, perhaps, to the confusion caused by its having been the seat of two totally distinct jurisdictions--the one over Wessex, the other over great part of Mercia.

The names of the bishops in the narrative are taken from a list kindly furnished by the Rev. W. Macfarlane, the present vicar of the Abbey Church, whose indefatigable efforts have restored to the ancient fane much of the glory of its ancient days.

According to this list, Ednoth was bishop from 1006 to 1016, when he was slain by the Danes as recorded in the text; and Ethelm succeeding, ruled the see till A.D. 1034, through the comparatively happy days of Canute.

xii End of the Campaign of 1006.

The following extract from the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" gives the further history of the campaign very concisely:

"Then went the Danes to Wallingford, and that all burned, and were then one day in Cholsey: and they went then along Ashdown to Cuckamsley hill, and there abode, as a daring boast; for it had been often said, if they should reach Cuckamsley hill, that they would never again get to the sea: then they went homewards another way. Then were forces assembled at Kennet, and they there joined battle: and they soon put that band to flight, and afterwards brought their booty to the sea. But there might the Winchester men see an army daring and fearless, as they went by their gates towards the sea, and fetched themselves food and treasures over fifty miles from thence. Then had the king gone over Thames into Shropshire, and there took up his abode during the midwinter's tide. Then became the dread of the army so great, that no man could think or discover how they could be driven out of the land, or this land maintained against them; for they had every shire in Wessex sadly marked by burning and by plundering. Then the king began earnestly with the witan to consider what might seem most advisable to them all, so that this land might be saved, before it was utterly destroyed. Then the king and his witan decreed, for the behoof of the whole nation, though it was hateful to them all, that they needs must pay tribute to the Danish army. Then the king sent to the army, and directed it to be made known to them that he would that there should be a truce between them, and that tribute should be paid, and food given them. And then all that they accepted, and then were they victualled from throughout the English nation."-- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bohn's Edition.

xiii This is copied almost verbatim from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

xiv The account is taken almost verbatim from Florence of Worcester.

xv Children of Ethelred.

By his two wives--(1) Aelfleda--(2) Emma, Ethelred had fourteen children, of whom only four or five have been mentioned in this narrative, or are of importance to the student--Edmund Ironside and his brother Edwy (chapter 25), by Aelfleda, and Alfred and Edward by Emma--the last well known in history as Edward the Confessor, and introduced in Chapter XIX. of this tale. The following genealogical table from Edgar to the children of Edmund may be of use. It will be remembered that the lineage of the present royal house passes through the last-named son of Edmund Ironside to Egbert:

Edgar

Edward the Martyr, d. 979.

Ethelred the Unready, d. 1016.

Edmund Ironside, 1016.

Edmund.

Edward, who became the great-grandfather of Henry the Second.

Edwy.

Elgitha.

Alfred, 1036.

Edward the Confessor, 1066.

xvi Sceorstan.

Antiquarians differ much about the site of this famous battle. Sharp thinks it was near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, and Thorpe, in his notes to "Florence of Worcester," says--"May not Chimney be the spot, a hamlet in Oxfordshire, in the parish of Bampton-in-the-Bush, near the edge of Gloucestershire, the name of Chimney being merely a translation, introduced after the Norman Conquest, of Sceorstan, which may probably have owed its origin to a Saxon house or hall, conspicuous for having a chimney when that luxury was of rare occurrence?" Others say that Sceorstan was not in Anglo-Saxon "a chimney," but "a graven stone," and make the site that of a boundary stone, still separating the four counties of Oxford, Gloucester, Worcester, and Warwick, near Chipping Norton. Bosworth says it is Sherston in Wilts.

xvii Single Combat between Edmund and Canute.

The following account is from Roger of Wendover:

"A few days after this lamentable battle (Assingdun), in which so many nobles fell, King Edmund pursued Canute, who was now committing ravages in Gloucestershire. The said kings therefore came together to fight at a place called Deerhurst, Edmund with his men being on the west side of the river Severn, and Canute with his men on the east, both preparing themselves manfully for battle. When both armies were now on the point of engaging, the wicked Earl Edric called together the chiefs and addressed them as follows: 'Nobles and warriors, why do we foolishly so often hazard our lives in battle for our kings, when not even our deaths secure to them the kingdom, or put an end to their covetousness? My counsel then is, that they alone should fight who alone are contending for the kingdom; for what must be the lust of dominion, when England, which formerly sufficed for eight kings, is not now enough for two? Let them, therefore, either come to terms, or fight alone for the kingdom.' This speech pleased them all; and the determination of the chiefs being communicated to the kings, received their approbation. There is a small island called Olney, in the mouth of that river. Thither the kings, clad in splendid armour, crossed over, and commenced a single combat in the presence of the people. Parrying the thrust of the spear as well by their own skill as by the interposition of their strong shields, they fought long and fiercely hand to hand, his valour protecting Edmund, and his good fortune Canute. The swords rung on their helmets, and sparks of fire flew from their collision. The stout heart of Edmund was kindled by the act of fighting, and as his blood grew warm his strength augmented; he raised his right hand, brandished his sword, and redoubled his blows