Page:A School History of England (1911).djvu/48

   And Canute ruled England righteously. He turned Christian, he rebuilt the abbeys and churches which his ancestors had burned, he kept a strong little army of English or Danish soldiers about his person, and he kept order and peace. His sons, however, were good for nothing; and in 1042 Edward, the younger son of Ethelred, was recalled from ‘Normandy’, whither he had been sent to be out of Canute’s way, and ruled Eneland as king till 1066.

Now, as we approach the end of the Saxon period of our history, let us take a look at our foreign neighbours.

Those who will be important to us are four in number.

1. Denmark and Norway; except in the reign of Canute, these were always hostile.

2. Scotland, once Pict-land, the district north of the Forth and Clyde. Celtic ‘Scots’ from Ireland had con- 