

ENGLAND. 



1 tlu 



Muiyr. 

 A. D. AST. 



.:ir reigned sixteen yearn, nml was succeeded by 

 son Edward, w hoin he had by his first wife, the 

 daughter of Earl Ordmer. Elfridn opposed, with all 

 hi r might, the succession of this prince, ami endeavour- 

 ed to oht.iin the crown for her own son Ethclred. But 

 .uliitily anointrd and crowned Edward at 

 Kinc-to:i. when the whole kingdom immediately sub- 

 mitted to bin authority. The disputes between the 

 monk . .-iinl the secular clergy were again revived. Upon 

 the death of 1'dgar, tne new order of' monks was ex- 

 pelled by the Duke of Mercia from all the monasteries 

 within his jurisdiction; while they were protected and 

 iraged by other nobles of equal power. This gave 

 rise to a \iolent controversy, which became the sub- 

 ject of discu-sion in several synods. These synods 

 were composed partly of ecclesiastical members, and 

 partly of lay nobility; and Dunstan, who had acquired 

 by his austerities, the favour of the populace, overcame 

 every obstacle, by the pretended miracles which he 

 wrought in favour of the monks. At one meeting, find- 

 ing the majority of votes iigainst him, he hastily rose, 

 and gravely said, that he had just received a revelation 

 from heaven in support of his cause ; at another time, 

 a voice issued from the crucifix, declaring that the 

 establishment of the new order of monks was founded 

 upon the will of heaven; and at a third synod, the hall 

 in which they were assembled, sunk of a sudden, and 

 many were killed or bruised by the fall. It was ob- 

 served, however, that Dunstan had prevented the king 

 from appearing that day at the meeting ; and that the 

 beam upon which his own chair stood, was the only 

 one that did not sink. But notwithstanding this dis- 

 covery, the imposture was received and believed as an 

 interposition of Providence in behalf of the monks. 



Edward, whose innocence and simplicity rendered 

 him incapable of suspicion, favoured and supported the 

 cause of Dunstan; but his untimely death, and the 

 consequent irruption of the Danes, put an end for a time 

 to these monkish controversies. Though Elfrida had 

 always shewn herself hostile to the cause of Edward, 

 yet he continued to treat her with great respect, and 

 expressed a warm affection for her son Ethelred. But 

 the Queen, who, with every exterior accomplishment, 

 possessed a heart deformed by every vice, waited only 

 for an opportunity to wrest the sceptre from the hand 

 of her sovereign. This opjiortunity was soon afforded 

 her. Edward, when hunting, being led near Cort'e- 

 castle, where she resided, paid her a visit unattended 

 by any of his retinue. After he had mounted his horse, 

 The king he asked for some drink ; but while he was holding the 

 munlerol cup to his head, a servant of Elfrida stabbed him be- 

 by Klfrida. n ; n J. Finding himself wounded, he put spurs to his 

 horse, but soon becoming faint by the loss of blood, 

 he fell from the saddle, and, his foot being entangled in 

 A. D. 979. the stirrup, was dragged along till he expired. He was 

 traced by the blood, and his servants interred him pri- 

 vately at Wareham. The amiable life and tragical death 

 of this prince, procured him the appellation of Martyr. 

 Elfrida attempted to expiate her guilt, by building 

 monasteries, and performing many penam cs .- but, with 

 all her hypocrisy, she could ne\er recover the good opi- 

 nion of the public. Her son reaped the fruit of her 

 crime ; and Ethelred, at the age of eleven, was irn- 

 EiiuJied'i mediately raised to the throne. But this prince never 

 ""P 1 - displayed, during along reign, either courage or capaci- 

 ty for the government of such a kingdom. 



The Danes, who, since the time of Alfred, had been 

 o\erawed by the warlike characters of his successors, 

 aud had been repelled in every attempt at invasion, 



soon began to dicover, by some partial descents which 

 they had made by way of trial, that the kingdom was 

 under very different management, and that they might 

 i -cMime their depredations with impunity. A considcr- 

 able armament accordingly landed in Essex, and, hav- 

 ing defeated and slain the Duke of that county, spread 

 their devastations over all the neighbouring provinces. 

 l-'.thclrcd. Mhoe conduct acquired for him the surname 

 of { nreudy, instead of attempting to re|x-l them l>\ force, 

 with the advice of some of his degenerate and coward- 

 ly nobles, stipulated with them to leave the kingdom, 

 upon the payment of I.. H>,oro. They soon, however, 

 became sensible of their folly, and determined to collect 

 a fleet capable, of meeting the enemy. The following 

 yiartlic Dalies again made their appearance; and it 

 was resolved by Kthelred and his council, to -urround 

 and destroy the Danish Heel while in harbour. This 

 plan,huwc\er. was rendered unsuccessful, by the treach- 

 ery of Alfric, Duke of Mercia, whose repeated perfidy 

 brought many calamities upon his country, and whose 

 name is infamous in the .unc.ls of that age. Heini- 

 ed the enemy of their danger, and e\en d. , cried to 

 their standard. Hut such was the weakness of the Eng- 

 lish court, that it was found necessary again to entrust 

 this nobleman with his former government. 



The Danes now began to feel their superiority ; and 

 the divisions among the nobility, and the weakness of 

 the king, encouraged them to continue their incursions. 

 In 993, Sweyn, king of Denmark, and Olave. king of 

 Norway, sailed up the Humber with a considerable 

 force, and spread their ravages all around. The army 

 which was assembled to oppose them, was deserted in 

 battle by their leaders, Ferna, Frithegest, and Godwin, 

 who were all of Danish extraction, and offered an easy 

 victory to the invaders. Encouraged by this success, 

 and inspired with contempt for such an enemy, they 

 penetrated into the heart of the kingdom, and were stop- 

 ped in their depredations only by another compromise. 

 Ethtlred promised them subsistence and tribute, if they 

 would leave the kingdom. The sum of L. 16,000 was 

 immediately paid, and they soon after departed. A 

 short respite was the only consequence of this compro- 

 mise. The Danes again appeared, and laid waste, with 

 fire and sword, the whole southern coast, from the Se- 

 vern to the Thames. The miseries which the English 

 now suffered, reduced them almost to despair ; and they 

 had again recourse to the expedient of buying tranquil- 

 lity with money. But the invaders rose in their 

 terms, and demanded L. 24.000, to which they had 

 the meanness to submit. Kthelred saw that there was 

 no end to these submissions, and bethought himself of 

 other expedient-- to roist these merciless ravagers. He 

 entered into an alliance with Richard Duke of Norman- 

 dy, by receiving Emma, the sister of that prince, in 

 marriage ; and lie farther endeavoured to secure the 

 peace of the kingdom, by getting rid of his Danish sub- 

 jects. Many of these had been employed as mercena- 

 ries by his predecessors ; but, instead of defending the 

 inhabitants against their invaders, they generally took 

 part with their countrymen, and assisted in their depre- 

 dations. They had also rendered themselves most ol>- 

 noxious to the English, by their violence and licenti- 

 ousness ; and the animosity which suh-istcd between 

 the two nations was at its height, when Ethelred formed 

 the bloody and impolitic purpose of massacring all the 

 Danish troops throughout his dominions. The festival 

 of St Brice (Nov. 13. 1002) was fixed for the execu- 

 tion of this design, and secret orders were dispatched 

 to commence it every where on the same day. The 



History. 



England in- 

 vaded by 

 the l)ne 



The king 

 marries the 

 princess of 

 Nimiiandy. 



A. D. 1001. 



