Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/66

52 ravages. All the forces that could be levied against the Danes were defeated as soon as raised. They sacked whole counties, it being impossible to oppose them; till at last finding nothing more to plunder in that part, they put to sea again, and landed in Kent. The inhabitants, by endeavouring to make some resistance, only increased the fury of their enemies, who treated them with the utmost barbarity; and to complete their misfortunes, a fleet, equipped by Ethelred to engage them at sea, was rendered useless by the dissensions and unskilfulness of the commanders. In this melancholy situation, England would have irretrievably perished, if the Danes by a lucky and unexpected accident had not been called to the assistance of Richard II., Duke of Normandy, whom the King of France would have dispossessed of his dominions. Ethelred took this opportunity to go and ravage Cumberland, but for what reason is unknown. After that, he returned to London, where he kept his usual residence.

The quiet which England now enjoyed was but the lull of the tempest. Having been successful in their errand in France, the Danes quickly returned, landed in Cornwall, and entered Wessex, which suffered terribly from their presence. They afterwards made themselves masters of Exeter.

In this extremity, Ethelred, who had no resolution, agreed at last to pay the Danes thirty thousand pounds; and this sum, which in those days was very considerable, was levied by a tax called Danegeld, that is, Danish money, or money for the Danes; and for the payment of it, every hide of land was taxed at twelve pence. A hide of land is such a quantity of land as may be ploughed with one plough in a year.

The Danes, satisfied with this arrangement, made peace, and many returned to their own country, whilst others remained in the island; and such was the awe they were held in by the people, that, in speaking of them, they invariably styled them the Lord-Danes.

From this custom there is little doubt but the word "lurdane," signifying a rich, idle man, had its origin. It is to be met with in writers as late as the reign of Elizabeth, and is still used in some parts of England.

Ethelred, who had grown weary of the contest with his powerful enemies, in which he displayed neither courage nor dignity, hit on an expedient for ridding the island of their presence, which he put into execution shortly after his second marriage, in A.D. 1002, with Emma, the sister of Richard II., Duke of Normandy, styled by some writers, on account of her rare loveliness, the Pearl of Normandy.

As might be expected from a weak prince, bis project was a cruel one, being neither more nor less than the massacre of all the Danes residing in England. To carry out this barbarous as well as useless policy, a vast conspiracy was entered into; and on the 13th of November, St. Brice's day, 1002, all the invaders were put to death, with circumstances of the most shocking barbarity.

The sister of Sweyn was not spared. Her name was Gunilda, and she is said to have been married to a noble Dane settled in England, named Paleng. Being a Christian, she had exerted all her influence with her brother to bring about the peace. Her children were first murdered in her presence, and their unhappy mother afterwards slain.

Sweyn received the news of this massacre from some Danes, who succeeded in getting on board a vessel ready to sail for Denmark. Their relation of the cruelties of the English to those of his nation would have been sufficient to arouse him; but when informed of his sister's barbarous murder, he was seized with all the rage that such a crime was likely to excite in a vindictive nature. He solemnly swore he would never rest till he had revenged the atrocious outrage. It was not, therefore, with intent to plunder that he made a second expedition into England, but to destroy the whole country with fire and sword. However, as he did not doubt but Ethelred would take precautions to oppose his entrance, he would not sail without securing a place where he might safely land his troops. Cornwall was then governed by Earl Hugh, placed in that important trust by the influence of the queen, in full confidence that, as her countryman, her husband might rely on his devotion and fidelity.

To this man Sweyn secretly despatched an emissary, with the offer of a great reward, provided he would assist him in his enterprise. The traitor yielded to the temptation, and allowed not only the fleet of the invader to enter his ports, but the Danes to land without offering the least opposition.

After debarking his forces on the island, Sweyn marched his forces to Exeter, and as the first fruits of his vengeance, not only massacred the inhabitants, but after plundering the city, laid it in ashes. Wherever the furious monarch led his army, the same cruelties were repeated; submission was useless, for he knew not the meaning of the word mercy.

Sweyn afterwards took several other places, which he plundered and burnt, and then retired to Denmark, to pass the winter.

Early the next year, however, he returned, landing, it is supposed, at Yarmouth, and took the city of Norwich, which he burned to the ground. Ulfkytel, the governor of the East Angles, gave him an immense sum of money to induce him to spare that part of the country from any further ravages. Regardless of his promises, the invader had no sooner received the tribute than he attacked Thetford, and destroyed it; which breach of faith so incensed Ulfkytel, that he collected as many troops as possible, and posted himself between the invaders and the fleet, in the hope of cutting them off. The Danish king marched back to give him battle, and the English were beaten, after a severe contest. The Danes were afterwards driven from England by the famine.

At the termination of the scarcity another expedition of the enemy landed at Sandwich, in Kent, and Ethelred levied an army to oppose them; on hearing which, the Danes retreated to the Isle of Thanet, well knowing that the English, who served at their own expense, would soon disperse. The event proved that their calculation was a just one; tired of waiting for an enemy who refused to come from their stronghold, the soldiers of Ethelred quickly melted away, and the unlucky king only procured a peace upon the payment of £36,000.

Ethelred, on their departure, gave one of his daughters in marriage to Edric, surnamed Streon, whom he had lately created Duke of Mercia; but his new son-in-law, instead of assisting him, as he had a right to expect, leagued with the Danes, and betrayed the kingdom on every occasion. The following year after the treaty, the Danish king demanded a similar sum of £36,000, pretending that it was a yearly tribute which the English had agreed to pay. Ethelred,