was but ten years of age when he attained the crown. He began with ill omens, and Dunstan's curse appears to have constantly haunted his recollection. His want of firmness and resolution has been ascribed to an incident that happened in his youth. The tears of affection which, in the amiableness of his disposition, he shed for the assassination of the martyred Edward, was construed by the stern Elfrida into a reproach against herself. In the heat of indignation she seized a waxen candle which was near, and beat the terrified infant with a dreadful severity, which left him almost lifeless. The anguish he suffered he never could forget; and it is even affirmed, that during the remainder of his life he could not endure the presence of a light. By his pusillanimity and want of success he lost his character as a king, and the vices of the man did not redeem the defects of the sovereign. He neglected his Norman queen; and while his subjects at large suffered from his injustice, his nearest kindred dreaded his violence and rapacity. The writers of the times have painted Ethelred as a tall handsome man, elegant in manners, beautiful in countenance, and of a prepossessing figure and address. Malmesbury sarcastically observes, that he would have made a fine sleeping portrait; a pretty ornament for a lady's cabinet, though unfit to preside in a council. However deficient in the qualities essential to a great monarch, his incapacity has perhaps been exaggerated. Much of it arose from the untoward situation in which he was placed. His efforts were paralysed by the treachery of his officers; he trusted and was betrayed. Had he possessed less confidence in them, and more courage and energy in himself, many of the disasters that left a stain on his memory, and brought his country under the yoke of a foreign master, might have been prevented. His subjects would have fought better had he been their general as well as their king.

Edmund Eronside.

SUCCEEDED TO THE THRONE A. D. 1016.

-DIED EOD. ANN.

EDMUND, the eldest son and successor of Ethelred, succeeded his father in 1016. He received the name of Ironside from his hardy valour. Had he obtained the crown earlier, he possessed courage and abilities sufficient to have prevented his country from sinking into those calamities, but not to raise it from that abyss of misery into which it had already fallen. At the time of his accession he appears to have been in London; and the citizens, together with such of the Witan as were assembled there, forthwith accepted him as their lawful king. In better times he might have wielded the sceptre with dignity to himself and prosperity to his people; but it was his misfortune that he took the helm in a stormy season; and, before his character and talents could operate to assuage the tempest, he was assaulted with the hostilities of a rival perhaps greater than himself. The versatility of Anglo-Saxons in accommodating themselves to political circumstances is curious, and a lamentable proof of their degeneracy. But a little while since, they had recalled Ethelred from France, and outlawed the Danes for ever; now they again declared that they withdrew all allegiance from the

children of Ethelred; they accepted Canute as king, and took the oatb of fidelity to him; and Canute, on his part, promised that he would govern according to law human and divine. No feeling of personal dislike could exist towards Edmund Ironside, who, on all occasions, is mentioned with praise. With his father's opportunities, at the head of a tranquil, prosperous, and united people, he might have foiled the abilities of Canute. But he assumed the crown amidst a race of disorderly, uncivilized, exhausted, and factious subjects, half of whose territory was in actual possession of the enemy. He had no interval of respite to recruit his strength or reform his country; and he was basely cut off in the full career of his exertions. In elevating a foreigner to the throne, to the exclusion of their native prince, the convention at Southampton acted irregularly, and gave evidence of that treachery and discontent of which Ethelred constantly complained, and their proceedings show that new ideas of monarchical government were beginning to creep in. The assembly considered themselves as competent to alter the succession, to set aside the ancient line, and transfer the crown to another dynasty, demanding at the same time a promise from the new sovereign, that he would rule according to law and justice. As usual on contested successions, the question of the royal title was referred to the sword. The first important struggle between Edmund and Canute was for the possession of London. The Thames was covered with the Danish fleet, and the siege was carried on for a long time in vain, sometimes by a part of Canute's forces, and sometimes by the whole. London was, in those days, defended on the south by a wall, which extended along the river; on the south bank, the Danes erected a strong military work, and they drew up their ships on the west side of the bridge, so as to interrupt all access to the city. But Edmund possessed all the qualifications of a resolute and vigilant chief. He made a vigorous resistance, and when his presence was required elsewhere, the bravery of the citizens repelled the efforts of the besiegers. While London was thus beleaguered with a hostile fleet, Edmund fought two battles in the country,-one at Pen, in Dorsetshire, the other and more celebrated one at Scearston or Sherston, in Gloucestershire. The latter took place about mid-summer, and was fought with determined obstinacy on both sides. Edmund selected his bravest soldiers for the first line of attack, and placed the rest as auxiliary bodies; then noticing many of them, individually, he appealed to their patriotism and their courage with that force of eloquence which rouses men to mighty deeds. He conjured them to remember their country, their beloved families and paternal habitations; for all these they were to fight,-for all these they would conquer. To rescue or lose for ever those dear objects of their attachment would be the alternative of that day's struggle. He represented to them their country overrun, their kindred massacred, and the insolence of oppression everywhere triumphant. In the height of the enthusiasm which his address had created, he commanded the trumpets to sound, and the charge of battle to begin. Boldly they rushed against the invaders, and were nobly led by their heroic king. He quitted his royal station to mingle in the foremost ranks of the combat; and, while his sword strewed the plain with slaughter, his active mind watched with eagerness every movement of the enemy. He endeavoured to blend the

duty of commander with the gallant bearing of the soldier. On the first day of the conflict, fortune seemed equally poised,—both armies fought with unprevailing courage, until mutual fatigue compelled them to separate. In the morning the carnage was renewed. In the thickest of the battle Edmund forced his way to Canute, and struck at him vehemently with his sword. The shield of the Dane saved him from the blow; but it was given with such strength that it divided the shield, and cut the neck of the horse below it. Canute was but slightly wounded; and a crowd of Danes having rushed on Edmund, he was compelled to retire after committing great slaughter. The defeat of the enemy seemed now inevitable, but for the treachery of Edric who had joined the banner of Canute. He had struck off the head of one Osmer, whose countenance resembled that of the English king; and, fixing it on his spear, he carried it through the ranks exclaiming aloud, "Fly, ye men of Dorset and Devons: fly and save yourselves. Behold the head of your sovereign !" The Anglo-Saxons gazed in terror and dismay; for the king was not then visible, having plunged into the centre of the Danish host. The report of the infamous Edric was believed, and panic began to spread its withering blight through the whole army. At this juncture Edmund re-appeared, but his presence was now unavailing. In vain he threw off his helmet, and gaining an eminence, exposed his disarmed head to rally his flying troops. The fatal spirit had taken possession; its alarms could not be counteracted; and all the bravery and skill of Edmund could only sustain the combat till night interposed. The victory was yet undecided, but Canute had no inclination to renew the attempt. He left the contested field at midnight, and marched soon afterwards to London to his shipping.1 It seems probable that had Canute trusted to strength instead of artifice, Edmund would have cleared the land of the troublesome Danes. But he employed intrigue, and the perfidious Edric was the instrument. Pleading his early connection and near relationship with the king-he had married Edmund's sister-he solicited and obtained a reconciliation. It seems strange, and was peculiarly unfortunate, that Edmund should have placed any trust in so notorious a traitor. Yet he not only received him on his oath of fidelity, but allowed him to marshal his forces amongst the ranks of the English, and even gave him a considerable command in the army. Meantime Edmund followed Canute to London, and raised the siege of the city. A conflict soon followed between them at Brentford, in which both parties claimed a triumph. Baffled before the walls of London, Canute avenged himself on Mercia, whose towns, as usual, were committed to the flames; and he withdrew up the Medway. Edmund again engaged the spoilers at Otford in Kent, and drove them to Sheppey. A vigorous pursuit might have destroyed all Canute's hopes; but the evil star of Edric again interposed. Eager to decide the fate of the harassed kingdom in one general engagement, Edmund assembled all the strength of England, and at Assandun, or Assington, in the north of Essex, the two armies met. Edmund arranged his troops into three divisions, and, riding round every rank, he roused them by his impressive exhortations to remember their own valour and their former victories. He entreated them

Chron. Sax. 148, 149.-Flor. 385.-Kny tlinga Saga, 130.

to protect the kingdom from foreign avarice, and to punish by a new defeat the enemies whom they had already conquered. Canute brought his forces gradually into the field, and, when the hostile array stood fronting each other, Edmund ordered a general and impetuous attack. His vigour and skill again promised a decisive victory, when Edric, the secret ally of Canute, deserted him in the very crisis of success, and fled from the field with the men of Radnor and all the battalions under his command. This treachery was the harbinger of total defeat. The charge of Canute on the weakened and exposed Anglo-Saxons was resistless. The valour of Edmund was forgotten. Flight and destruction overspread the plain. A few, jealous of their glory and anxious to give a rallying point to the rest, fought desperately amidst surrounding enemies, and were all cut off except one man. In this disastrous conflict nearly the whole of the ancient and valuable nobility of England perished. The betrayed Edmund disdained yielding to despair. He had still resources, and attempted new efforts to deliver his oppressed and afflicted country. He retired to Gloucester, and such was his activity and eloquence that a fresh army was on foot before Canute overtook him. His martial spirit was unconquerable, and never did his magnanimity appear greater than on the present occasion. He could not endure that the best blood of his subjects should be so lavished for his personal advantage. Stepping forward, he challenged Canute to single combat, expressing his pity that so many lives should be put in jeopardy to satisfy their ambition. Malmesbury says, Canute declined the challenge; but Brompton, Huntingdon, Matthew of Westminster, and other writers, declare that he accepted the proposal. The isle of Olney was the appointed place of meeting, around which the two armies assembled. The kings received each other's spears upon their shields. Their swords were drawn, and the combat became close. Their dexterity was equal, their courage emulous, and, for a long time, the duel was obstinately maintained. At last the strength of Canute began to fail before the impetuous Edmund. "Bravest of youths"-he exclaimed, as he felt his powers giving way—" why should ever ambition covet each other's life? Let us be brothers, and divide the kingdom for which we contend." This proposal the respective armies hailed with gladness; and if the generous prudence of Edmund yielded, it must have been in compliance with the clamorous wishes of his subjects. England was henceforth to be shared between the two monarchs, Canute being assigned the north, and Edmund the south. The princely competitors exchanged arms and garments, the money for the fleet was agreed upon and the armies separated. It is a suspicious fact, that Edric, always ready and alert to act against his natural sovereign, was at the head of the council, by whom the partition of the kingdom was negotiated. The brave Edmund did not long survive this pacification, he was assassinated within one month after at Oxford. The circumstances attending this barbarous deed are variously given, but there seems little doubt that Edric was the perpetrator. Malmesbury mentions that the villain seduced two of his chamberlains to wound him at a most private moment

In this battle fell the ealdormen Alfric, Godwin, Ulfketel, and Ethelward.-Chron, Sax. 150.-Flor. 618.

Westm. 205.-Hunt. 208.-Malmesbury, p. 72, and the Encomium Emma, p. 169, affirm that Canute declined this duel. The Saxon chronicle is silent respecting it.

with an iron hook, but he states this to be only a rumour.

Other au

His

thorities speak with less reserve both as to the king's violent death, and its avowed author. The northern accounts expressly state that Edric was corrupted by Canute to commit the murder, which took place in the night after the feast of St Andrew, in the year 1016. premature fate was greatly lamented by his people, who now beheld their throne exclusively occupied by those foreigners who had so long been their oppressors.

Canute.

SUCCEEDED TO THE THRONE of England, a. d. 1017.—died a. d. 1035.

CANUTE, from his warlike abilities, surnamed the Brave; from his renown and empire, the Great; from his liberality, the Rich; and from his devotion the Pious; obtained on Edmund's death the sovereignty of all England, at the early age of twenty. On the death of his father Sweyn, at Gainsborough, the Danish soldiers in England had appointed him their king. He was shortly after outlawed, but the fortune of war and the treachery of faction enabled him to triumph over his rival. The murder of Ironside sealed the conquest of the English; for if they had found it impossible, under him, to maintain their liberty and independence, it was not likely after his death they could resist the yoke of the Danes led by so able a general at the head of so powerful a force. Canute was chosen king without opposition, but his measures to secure the crown were sanguinary and tyrannical. His first policy was directed against the children of Ethelred and Edmund, who might become trou-. blesome competitors. He was anxious, however, to cover his injustice with the appearance of law; and before seizing their part of the dominions, he summoned a general assembly of the states, in order to fix the succession of the kingdom. He here appealed to those who had been witnesses of the convention between him and Edmund, as to the terms of that agreement. They all loudly testified that Edmund had not intended in that compact to reserve any right of succession to his brothers; and as to his own children, that it was his wish that Canute should be their tutor or guardian during their infancy. This evidence was false, but it was extorted partly by force and partly for the purpose of conciliating the favour of the monarch. Canute went farther; he urged the assembly to take the oath of fealty to him, to which they consented, and immediately acknowledged him king. On his part he gave them his pledge of peace and protection. All old enmities were to be buried in oblivion. Full amnesty was granted for all that had been said or done. Ethelred's descendants were outlawed and for ever exIcluded from the throne. Still the pretensions of these native princes were sufficiently strong to excite the jealousy and apprehension of Canute; and here he was tempted to a repetition of those crimes which in all countries have stained the annals of despotism. One of the scallds or poets of his court has left it on record that he slew or banished all the sons of Ethelred. The Saxon chronicler assures us that he deter

Ingul. 57. Hist. Ram. 434.-Malm. 40.

Knytlinga Saga, 140.