trymen, tended to fupport this idea; and the English princes, particularly Athelftan and Edgar, fenfible of that fuperiority, had been accustomed to keep in pay bodies of Danish troops, who were quartered about the country, and committed many violences upon the inhabitants. These mercenaries had attained to fuch a height of luxury, according to the old English writers", that they combed their hair once a day, bathed themselves once a week, changed their cloaths frequently; and by all these arts of effeminacy, as well as by their military character, had rendered themselves fo agreeable to the fair fex, that they debauched the wives and daughters of the English, and had dishonoured many families. But what most provoked the inhabitants, was, that, instead of defending them against invaders, they were ever ready to betray them to the foreign Danes, and to affociate themselves with all the ftraggling parties of that nation. The animofity between the inhabitants of English and Danish race, had, from these repeated injuries, rifen to a great height; when Ethelred, from a policy incident to weak princes, embraced the cruel resolution of maffacring the latter throughout all his dominions". Secret orders were dispatched to commence the execution every where on the fame day; and the festival m Wallingford, p. 547 We are n Almost all the antient hiftorians fpeak of this maffacre of the Danes as if it had been univerfal, and as if every individual of that nation throughout England had been put to death. But the Danes were almoft the fole inhabitants in the kingdoms of Northumberland and Eaft-Anglia, and were very numerous in Mercia. This reprefentation therefore of the matter is abfolutely impoffible. Great refiftance must have been made, and violent wars enfued; which was not the cafe. This account given by Wallingford, though he stands single, must be admitted as the only true one. told, that the name Lurdane, lord Dane, for an idle lazy fellow, who lives at other' people's expence, came from the conduct of the Danes, who were put to death. But the English princes had been entirely maders for feveral generations; and on'y fupported a military corps of that nation. It feems probable, therefore, that it was these Danes only that were put to death. X VOL. I. of 1 CHAP. 1003. of St. Brice, which fell on a Sunday, the day on which theDanes ufually bathed themselves, was chofen for that purpose. It is needless to repeat the accounts tranfmitted of the barba rity of this maffacre: The rage of the populace, excited by fo many injuries, fanctified by authority, and stimulated by example, distinguished not between innocence and guilt, spared neither sex nor age, and was not fatiated without the tortures, as well as death, of the unhappy victims. Even Gunilda,. fifter to the King of Denmark, who had married Earl Paling, and had embraced Chriftianity, was, from the advice of Edric, earl of Wilts, feized and condemned to death by Ethelred, after feeing her husband and children. butchered before her face. This unhappy princefs foretold, in the agonies of despair, that her murder would. foon be avenged by the total ruin of the English nation'.. NEVER was prophecy better fulfilled; and never did barbarous policy prove more fatal to the actors. Sweyn and his Danes, who wanted but a pretence. to invade the English, appeared off the western coaft, and threatened to take full revenge. for the flaughter of their countrymen. Exeter fell firft into their hands, from the negligence or treachery of earl Hugh, a Norman, who had been made governor by the intereft of Queen Emma. They began to spread their devastations over the country; when the English, fenfible of what outrages they muft now expect from their barbarous and offended enemy, affembled more early and in greater numbers, than ufual, and • W. Malm. p. 64. H. Hunt. p. 360. Hovedën, p. 429: bas Rieval. p. 362. Brompton, p. 885. Math. Weft. p. 200. W.Malm. p. 69. F. 429. Sim. Dun. p. 165. Higden, p. 271. Ab. Ypod. Neuft. p. 427. 1 Chron. Sax. p. 133. H.Hunt, p. 360. Hoveden, made: made an appearance of vigorous resistance. But all these preparations were fruftrated by the treachery of duke Alfric, who was intrufted with the command, and who, feigning fickness, refused to lead the army against the Danes till it was difpirited, and at last dissipated, by his fatal misconduct. Alfric foon after died; and Edric, a greater traitor than he, who had married the King's daughter, and had acquired a total ascendant over him, fucceeded Alfric in the government of Mercia, and in the command of the English armies. A great famine, proceeding partly from the bad feafons, partly from the decay of agriculture, added to all the other miseries of the inhabitants'. The country, wafted by the Danes, harraffed by the fruitless expeditions of its own forces, was reduced to the utmost desolation; and at last submitted to the infamy of purchasing a precarious peace from the enemy, by the payment of 30,000 pounds ". THE English endeavoured to employ this interval in making preparations against the return of the Danes, which they had reason foon to expect. A law was made, ordering the proprietors of eight hydes of land to provide themselves of a horfeman and a compleat fuit of armour; and thofe of 310 hydes to equip a ship for the defence of the coaft*. When this navy was affembled, which muft have confifted of near eight hun • Chron. Sax. p. 133. H. Hunt. p. 360. Hoveden, p. 429. Burgo, p. 33. Sim. Dun. p. 165. Brompton, p. 885. p. 63. Hoveden, p. 430. Chron. Mail. p. 154. W. Malm. p. 63. H. Hunt. p. 360. Chron. St. Petri de ↑ Chron. Sax. p. 133. " Chron. Sax. p. 136. p. 63. H. Hunt. p. 360. Hoveden, p. 430. Higden, p. 272. * Chron. Sax. p. 136. H. Hunt. p. 360. Hoveden, p. 430. Sim. Dun. p. 166. Brompton, p. 887. Math. Weft. p. 198. Flor. Wigorn. p. 61z. CHAP. III. 1007. CHAP. dred veffèls', all hopes of its fuccefs were disappointed by the factions, animofities, and diffentions of the nobility. Edric had impelled his brother Brightric to advance an accufation of treafon against Wolfnoth, governor of Suffex, the father of the famous earl Godwin; and that nobleman, well acquainted with the malevolence as well as power of his enemy, found no other means of safety but in deferting with twenty fhips to the Danes. Brightric purfued him with a fleet of eighty fail ; but his ships being shattered in a tempeft, and ftranded on the coast, he was fuddenly attacked by Wolfnoth, and all his veffels burnt and deftroyed.. The imbecility of the King was little capable of repairing this miscarriage:: The treachery of Edric fruftrated every plan of future defence: And the English navy, difconcerted, difcouraged, and divided, was at last scattered into its feveral harbours ". . It is impoffible, or would be tedious, to relate particularly all the miferies to which the English were thenceforth expofed.. We hear of nothing but the facking and burning of towns; the devastations of the open country; the appearance of the enemy in every quarter of the kingdom; their cruel diligence in discovering any corner which had not been ranfacked by their former violence. The broken and disjointed narration of the antient historians is here well adapted to the nature of the war, which was conducted by fuch fudden inroads, as would have been dangerous even to an united and well governed king v There were 243,600 hydes in England. Confequently the fhips equipped must be 785. The cavalry was 30,450 ́men. z Chron. Sax. p. 137. W. Malm. p. 63. Hoveden, p. 430. Sim. Dun. p. 166. Brompton, p. 887. dom, dom, but proved fatal, where nothing but a general confternation, and mutual diffidence and diffention prevailed. The governors of one province refused to march to the affistance of another, and were at last terrified from affembling their forces for the defence of their own province. General councils were fummoned; but either no refolution was taken, or none was executed. And the only expedient, in which the English agreed, was the bafe and imprudent one, of buying anew a peace. of the Danes by the payment of 48,000 pounds. THIS measure did not bring them even that short interval of repofe which they had expected from it. The Danes, neglecting all engagements, continued their devastations and hoftilities; levied a new contribution of 8000 pounds from the county of Kent alone; murdered the archbishop of Canterbury, who had refused to countenance this exaction"; and the English nobility found no other refource than that of fubmitting every where to the Danish monarch,. fwearing allegiance to him, and delivering him hoftages for their good behaviour'. Ethelred, equally afraid of the violence of the enemy, and the treachery of his own subjects, fled into Normandy, whither he had fent before him Queen Emma, and her two fons, Alfred and Edward. Richard received his unhappy guests with a generofity which does honour to his memory. THE King had not been above fix weeks in Normandy, when He heard of the death of Sweyn, who expired at Gainsborough, III. 1011. LOL3. 1014: |