AND EDUCATION IN DENMARK. 213 
and painful journey through Germany, the two preachers arrived in 
Jutland, their ungenial destination. There, Ansgard energetically 
prosecuted his appointed enterprize: there, also, he was supported 
by Harald the Hapless, who caused the pagan temples to. be over- 
thrown, and their idols to be destroyed. But, enraged by witness- 
ing these outrages on their religion, two young princes attacked 
Harald, and once more drove him from his kingdom. No longer 
finding encouragement in Denmark, Ansgard passed into Sweden, 
where the aged king, a descendent of Regner Lodbroc’s, had mani- 
fested intentions favourable to Christianity. As the good monk was 
travelling, he fell into the hands of robbers who plundered him of 
the presents he was carrying to the king, and also of about forty 
volumes of books, which formed, in these days, no inconsiderable 
treasure. Ansgard remained a year and a half in Sweden, and en- 
joyed the satisfaction of seeing a church consecrated to the worship 
of the true God, in a heathen country. 
This zealous ecclesiastic composed a life of Saint Villehad ; and, 
in all its features, his work resembles the holy legends which other 
zealots so abundantly produced. He wrote another book which 
might, even now-a-days, prove highly important in furnishing ma- 
terials for histories of the Northern nations. This was a journal of 
his journey through Germany, Denmark and Sweden. It is cer- 
tain that this record of Ansgard’s adventures is deposited in the 
library of the Vatican, but the utmost researches hitherto instituted 
for its recovery have been unsuccessful. 
The germs of religious instruction sown in the North, by Ebbo 
and Ansgard, took effect only in some isolated places, and produced 
few results. In the year pccccyxxi1, the territories of Harald 
Blaatand were invaded by Otho the Great, who assented to discon- 
tinue his aggression on the condition of Harald’s submitting to be 
baptized. But the example of this prince was not extensively fol- 
lowed by his people. Existing asa nation of soldiers, ever occupied 
with war and piracy, they had little leisure to listen to the sermons 
of missionaries, and still less to reflect on their doctrines. More- 
over, the new religion thus preached to them, the humble and peace- 
ful religion of Christ, was not of a nature likely to win their atten. 
tion. How could the law of mutual reconciliation be comprehended 
by men who regarded revenge as a pleasure and a duty: how could 
the law of justice be understood by herds of corsairs who spent their 
lives in plundering foreign coasts: how could the law of humanit 
be recognized by ferocious myrmidons, who caused the blood of man 
to stream upon their altars, as a sacrifice for deprecating misfortune 
