derived from the wolf—Death of Edgar—Elfric's sketch of his character—Changes wrought by Edgar

p. 233 CHAPTER XXIX. EDWARD THE MARTYR. Dunstan still triumphant—Is opposed by the dowager-queen Elfrida—Her attempts to place her son, Ethelred, upon the throne, frustrated by Dunstan—Contest between the monks and the secular clergy—The Benedictine monks driven out of Mercia—The Synod of Winchester—Dunstan's pretended miracle doubted—The council of Calne—William of Malmesbury's description of the assembly—Dunstan's threat—Falling in of that portion of the floor on which Dunstan's opponents stood—Reasons for supposing that the floor was undermined by the command of Dunstan—Death of his enemies, and triumph of the archbishop—Edward's visit to Corfe Castle—He is stabbed in the back while pledging his stepmother, Elfrida, at the gate—His dreadful death—Character of Elfrida p. 238 CHAPTER XXX. ETHELRED THE UNREADY. Elfrida still opposed by Dunstan—Ethelred crowned by the archbishop of Canterbury—His malediction at the coronation—Dislike of the Saxons to Ethelred—Dunstan's power on the wane—Insurrection of the Danes—The Danish pirates again ravage England—Courageous reply of the Saxon governor of Essex—Single combat between the Saxon governor, and one of the sea-kings—Cowardly conduct of Ethelred—He pays tribute, and makes peace with the Danes—Alfric the Mercian governor, turns traitor, and joins the Danes with his Saxon ships—The Saxon army again commanded by the Danes, and defeated—Olaf, the Norwegian, and Swein, king of Denmark, invade and take formal possession of England—Ethelred again exhausts his exchequer, to purchase peace—Swein's second invasion of England—Cruel massacre of the Danes by the Saxons—Murder of Gunhilda, the sister of Swein, king of Denmark—Swein prepares to revenge the death of his countrymen—Description of his soldiers—Splendour of his ships—His magical banner described—His landing in England—Alfric again betrays the Saxons—Destruction of Norwich—Ethelred once more purchases peace of the Danes—-Ælfeg, archbishop of Canterbury, made prisoner by the sea-kings—He refuses to pay a ransom—Is summoned to appear before the sea-kings while they are feasting, and beaten to death by the bones of the oxen the pirates had feasted upon—Ethelred lays an oppressive tax upon the land—He raises a large fleet—Is again betrayed by his commanders—Sixteen counties are given up to the Danes—Ethelred deserted by his subjects—Escapes to the Isle of Wight, and from thence to Normandy—Swein, king of Denmark, becomes the monarch of England—Death of Swein—His son Canute claims the crown—Is opposed by Edmund Ironside—Canute's cruelty to the Saxon hostages—Miserable state of England at this period, as described by a Saxon bishop p. 249 CHAPTER XXXI. EDMUND, SURNAMED IRONSIDE. Courageous character of Edmund Ironside—His gallant defence of London—His prowess at the battle of Scearston—Obstinacy of the combat which is only terminated by the approach of night—Renewal of the battle in the morning—Narrow escape of Canute, the Dane, from the two-handed sword of Edmund Ironside—Conduct of the traitor Edric—Retreat of the Danes—Battles fought by Edmund the Saxon—Ulfr, a Danish chief, lost in a wood—Meets with Godwin the cowherd, and is conducted to the Danish camp—Treaty between Canute the Dane and Edmund Ironside—The kingdom divided between the Danes and Saxons—Suspicious circumstances attending the death of Edmund—Despondency of the Saxons p. 254 CHAPTER XXXII. CANUTE THE DANE. Coronation of Canute the Dane—His treaty with the Saxon nobles—He banishes the relations of Ethelred, and the children of Edmund—Fate of Edmund's children—Canute's marriage with Emma, the dowager-queen of the Saxons—Death of the traitor, Edric—Canute visits Denmark—Death of Ulfr, the patron of Godwin the cowherd—Canute invades Norway—Habits of the Norwegian pirates—Canute erects a monument to Ælfeg, the murdered archbishop of Canterbury—Carries off the dead body of the bishop from London—Night scene on the Thames—Kills one of his soldiers—His penance—Establishes the tax of Peter's-pence—Picturesque description of Canute rebuking his courtiers—His theatrical display, and vanity—His pilgrimage to Rome—Canute's letter—His death p. 264 CHAPTER XXXIII. REIGNS OF HAROLD HAREFOOT AND HARDICANUTE. Sketch of Canute's reputed sons—The succession disputed—Rise of earl Godwin—Refusal of the archbishop to crown Harold Harefoot—Harold crowns himself, and bids defiance to the church—Conduct of Emma of Normandy—Her letter to her son Alfred—He lands in England, with a train of Norman followers—His reception by earl Godwin—Massacre of the Normans at Guildford—Death of Alfred, the son of Ethelred—Emma banished from England—Her residence at Bruges—Hardicanute prepares to invade England—Death of Harold Harefoot—Accession of Hardicanute—Disinters the body of Harold—Summons earl Godwin to answer for the death of Alfred—Godwin's defence—Penalty paid by earl Godwin—Character of Hardicanute—His Huscarls—The inhabitants of Worcester refuse to pay the tax, called Dane-geld—They abandon the city—Reckless conduct of Hardicanute—He invites Edward, the son of Ethelred, to England—Hardicanute, the last of the sea-kings, dies drunk at a marriage-feast in Lambeth p. 272