EDWARD THE ELDER AND DUNSTAN.
Settlement of the Danes--Edward the Elder and his
Cousin--Reconquest of the Danelagh--Edward becomes King of
all England--Conspiracy of Alfred against Athelstan--Wars in
Northumbria--The Death of Edwin--The Battle of Brunanburgh--The
Power of Athelstan--Edwin's Wars with the Danes--Their
Submission to Edmund--Rebellion and Reconquest--The Conquest of
Cumberland--Death of Edmund--Final Conquest of Northumberland--The
Rise of Dunstan--His Banishment--Edgar's Rebellion--His Accession
to the Throne--Wars with the Welsh--Dunstan Archbishop of
Canterbury--His Ecclesiastical Policy--The Reign of Edward the
Martyr--Dunstan's Struggles with the Opposition--Death of the King.
By this time the settlement of the Danes in England was complete, and
exhausting though the process had been by which it was accomplished,
in the end it strengthened the nation through the infusion of a new
and more vigorous element. Practically speaking, they occupied, as we
have seen, the whole of the district north of the Thames, but in some
parts the new colonists must have been exceedingly few in numbers. The
Danish population lay thickest round what were called the "five Danish
boroughs," _i.e._ Lincoln, Derby, Leicester, Stamford, and Nottingham.
After the first storm of their fury was spent, the Danes mixed readily
with the English population, and became converts to Christianity. The
fusion was easy, because the language and customs of the two races were
very similar. The title, _Earl,_ which at this period is introduced
into our language, is of Danish origin; so are the local divisions of
Yorkshire, known as _Ridings_ and _Wapentakes_; so also the names of
towns ending in "by" and "holm."
Both parties were weary of war--of mutually destroying each other--and
a brief repose was welcome. To the new settlers the retreat of their
piratical countrymen was as acceptable as to the English; for the hordes
who invaded the island with no other object than obtaining plunder cared
very little whose possessions they ravaged; and the consequence was that
the Danes suffered at times as much as the earlier possessors of the soil.
Alfred was succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder, who had not long
obtained possession of the crown before a civil war broke out, which
ultimately strengthened the English as a nation. Alfred's elder brother,
Ethelred, left two sons, the eldest of whom, Ethelwald, having arrived
at man's estate, claimed the throne, on the plea that his grandfather,
Ethelwulf, had no right to make a will leaving the succession to his
three sons, according to their seniority, to the exclusion of their
issue--a claim which in these days would undoubtedly be looked upon as
valid, but was worthless when the monarchy was elective. A numerous party
supported his pretensions, and Edward was compelled to draw the sword to
maintain himself in his inheritance.
Defeated in his first attempt, the pretender fled to the Danes, who
received him hospitably, and, seeing the use which such an instrument
might be made of in their hands, at once proclaimed him King of
Northumbria.
In this crisis Edward proved himself worthy of his illustrious father,
and acted with a promptitude and decision which ultimately secured to
him his crown. Immediately after the battle of Wimborne, in which he had
defeated his rival, he marched against him and his new allies, his army
increasing daily. The Danes, unable to resist the overwhelming forces
led against them, dismissed the pretender from amongst them, and ceded
several strongholds as the price of peace.
In 910 the war between the two races broke out once more, and lasted,
with brief intermission, for ten years; when the Danes, finding they
were losing ground, sued for peace. Those who inhabited Mercia were
the first to submit; the East Anglians followed their example, and the
Northumbrians were the last.
Edward was materially assisted in these struggles by his warlike sister
Ethelflæd, the widow of the Alderman of Mercia, who, despite her sex,
appears to have delighted in arms. Aided by her brother's troops, she
attacked the Welsh, who had sided with the Danes, and obliged them to
pay tribute to her. Nothing, indeed, is more remarkable in the history
of this time than the ease and rapidity with which Edward and his sister
reconquered the Danelagh, as the district inhabited by the Danes was
called. The reason of this prompt submission was that the two warriors,
as we may fairly call them, were not content with merely winning battles,
but took care to fortify and garrison the towns that fell into their
hands. At the time of her death, in 918, the Lady of the Mercians had
reconquered the country as far north as York, and was actually treating
for the surrender of that city. She had, moreover, built a strong
fortress at Chester, which held down the turbulent Welsh. On her death,
however, Edward took the administration of Mercia into his own hands,
instead of leaving it to be governed by a separate alderman. This is an
important step in the consolidation of the kingdom.
There was something like a general rising in 921, but it was easily
suppressed, and soon the various states of England and Scotland submitted
in succession. The kings of the Welsh submitted in 922; they were
followed by the king of the Scots, by Northumbria and Strathclyde. So
Edward became lord of all England. The Danish invasion had indirectly
helped towards this end, for by it several of the lines of under-kings
had been exterminated. The kings of England from this time forward
regarded themselves as emperors, and showed their independence of the
Emperor of Germany by assuming the titles of _Imperator_ and _Basileus_.
Edward did not do so as far as we know, probably because he had no time,
for in the year which followed his great success he died (925).
Edward was a great man; in statecraft and war certainly his father's
equal. He was held in high regard on the Continent; five of his daughters
married foreign princes, of whom Otho afterwards became Emperor of
Germany. But in learning and in purity of life he compares indifferently
with Alfred, and it has been thought that Athelstan, who succeeded him,
was illegitimate.
Concerning Athelstan's mother, the chronicler, William of Malmesbury,
relates that she was the daughter of a shepherd, and, whilst watching
her father's flock, fell asleep in the fields, and had an extraordinary
dream. She dreamt that a globe of light, resembling the moon, shone out
from her body, and that all England was illuminated by it. This she
related to Edward's nurse, who was so struck by it that she adopted her,
gave her a good education, and purposely threw her in the way of the
king, by whom she had three children.
On the death of Edward, the Mercians and West Saxons chose Athelstan
for king, to the secret discontent of many of the nobility and clergy.
Concerning this conspiracy, which was headed by a member of the royal
house, named Alfred, William of Malmesbury tells a story which, even
though we find it repeated several times in old English history, can
hardly be accepted as genuine.
Alfred, he says, had even taken private measures to seize Athelstan
at Winchester, and put out his eyes. The plot being discovered, he
was apprehended by the king's order, but would confess nothing; he
obstinately persisted in protesting his innocence, and offered to purge
himself by oath in the presence of the Pope, an ordeal looked upon in
that age as infallible in discovering the truth, since he who was rash
or wicked enough to forswear himself was certain, according to the
superstition of the time, to meet with a signal punishment. Athelstan
agreed to this, and sent him to Rome, to take the oath before Pope John.
Shortly after the arrival of the accused in Rome, word was sent that
Alfred, having sworn to his innocence before the Pope, suddenly fell
into a fainting fit, which, lasting three days, ended with his life; and
that the Pope, convinced by his death that he had committed perjury,
had ordered his body to remain in the English college till the king's
pleasure should be known; upon which Athelstan, pleased with being thus
rid of his enemy, consented he should have Christian burial. His lands
were, however, confiscated, and given to Malmesbury monastery, and the
king had inserted in the grant an account of the whole conspiracy, "to
testify to the world that he dedicated to God what was His own."
The death of Edward, and the troubles which succeeded, affording the
Danes, as they imagined, a favourable opportunity to revolt, they had
begun to take such measures as obliged Athelstan to march into their
country; but as they had not yet drawn their forces together, they were
so surprised by the arrival of the king on their frontiers, that, without
endeavouring to defend themselves, they returned to their allegiance; and
Sithric of Northumberland sued for peace upon whatever terms the king
might be pleased to impose. Athelstan being desirous to live in peace
with the Danes, in order that he might have time to establish himself on
the throne, not only pardoned his revolt, but gave him his sister Edith
in marriage, on condition that he would receive baptism.
The dissensions in the north being appeased, he returned to Wessex,
where he soon afterwards heard of the death of Sithric, who left two
sons, Anlaff and Godfrid, by a former marriage. Athelstan, instead of
disbanding his army, instantly retraced his march, and the two princes
avoided falling into his hands only by a hasty flight, which gave him
an opportunity of making himself master of all Northumbria, except the
castle of York, which alone held out against him.
Although he had taken the precaution of placing garrisons in most of
the cities, the conqueror was far from feeling himself secure in his
new possessions. The sons of Sithric were still at liberty, as well as
Reginald, another Danish prince, who had fled with them. It was not
known what had become of the latter. Anlaff had fled to Ireland, whilst
his brother, Godfrid, had found an asylum with the King of Scotland,
Constantine, whom Athelstan immediately summoned to deliver him into his
hands. Constantine being perfectly aware that he was not in a position to
refuse anything to the victor at the head of a powerful army, promised
to deliver the prince into his hands; but whilst he was preparing for
his journey, Godfrid made his escape, either through the negligence or
connivance of Constantine, who, however, met Athelstan, accompanied
by Owen, King of Cumberland. Athelstan admitted Constantine's excuses
for the Danish prince's escape, but, if English historians are to be
credited, obliged both the kings to do homage for their kingdoms.
[Illustration: ETHELWULF'S RING.]
Before Athelstan quitted the north, Godfrid made an attempt upon York, by
means of the castle, where he had still some friends; but failing in the
attempt, he surrendered himself to the King of England, who received him
kindly, and allowed him a handsome pension; but in a few days he wearied
of that way of life and escaped to sea, where he lived the life of a
pirate.
For the next few years Athelstan was occupied in wars against the Welsh,
whom he drove back behind the Wye, and caused to pay tribute. The western
Welsh also gave him trouble; Athelstan therefore expelled those who
inhabited Exeter, and extended the boundaries of his kingdom as far as
the Parret.
In 933 Athelstan lost his brother Edwin, who was apparently drowned
at sea. William of Malmesbury, however, relates the following story
concerning his death:--
One of those fawning flatterers who are the curse of courts persuaded the
king that his brother Edwin had connived at the conspiracy of Alfred.
This accusation Athelstan unhappily gave ear to, and affected to believe
the charge, whether he did or not. The prince was arrested by his
unnatural brother, who, fearing to put him to death publicly, had him
conveyed on board a vessel without sails or rudder, which he ordered
to be let drift away to sea. Edwin, to avoid perishing by hunger, cast
himself into the waves, and was drowned.
No sooner was the object of his terror removed for ever, than remorse
seized upon the murderer, who, to quiet his conscience, founded the Abbey
of Middleton, in Dorsetshire, where masses were daily offered for the
repose of the victim's soul, and Athelstan did penance for seven years.
Edwin's accuser had not reason long to rejoice at the success of his
malicious calumnies; for one day, as he waited at table with the king's
cup, one of his feet slipping, he would have fallen, had he not, by the
nimbleness of the other leg, recovered himself. Whereupon he jokingly
said, "See how one brother helps another!" which silly jest cost him
his life; as Athelstan, who overheard it, and considered it as a covert
reproach addressed to himself, ordered him to be immediately executed;
and thus, says the old chronicler, revenged his brother's death by that
of his false accuser.
The whole story, however, is a mass of contradictions, and is demolished
by Professor Freeman, who points out that tales about people being
exposed in boats are very numerous; that the story about brother helping
brother is related again in the history of Earl Godwin; and, further,
that the story evidently belongs to the first years of the reign, whereas
we know from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that Edwin died in 933, and that
it is improbable that Athelstan would have been doing penance at the time
when he was winning his greatest victories.
For in the year 937 Athelstan was engaged in war against a formidable
combination, and won immortal renown. The Danes by this time had formed
settlements in Ireland as well as England, and we are told that one of
their kings, named Anlaff, whom some think to be identical with Anlaff,
the son of Sithric, others a different person, arrived from Ireland
with many ships, and was joined by Owen of Cumberland, and Constantine,
the king of the Scots. According to a late, and not very trustworthy,
account of the campaign, it would appear that it was arranged so secretly
that Anlaff entered the Humber with a fleet of six hundred sail, and
invaded Northumbria before Athelstan had any intelligence of his landing;
and with such forces, and the assistance of the Danes settled there,
he easily became master of several small ill-guarded towns. But the
fortified places that were well garrisoned by the English stopped his
progress, and gave Athelstan time to draw his army together. He used such
expedition, that he surprised the two confederate princes upon their
march towards Bernicia. It had been agreed that this small kingdom, if
conquered, should be apportioned to the King of Scotland; but the prompt
measures of Athelstan, by surprising the invaders, totally defeated their
plans.
[Illustration: ANLAFF ENTERING THE HUMBER. (_See p._ 48.)]
This much is certain; that a great battle was fought at Brunanburgh,
probably near Beverley in Yorkshire, an account of which is preserved
in the famous song of the battle of Brunanburgh, in the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle. In this battle Athelstan's brother Edmund distinguished
himself, and the slaughter was immense.
Of the enemy, five Danish kings, seven earls, and the son of the King
of Scots were slain; but Anlaff and Constantine made good their escape.
Various stories have gathered round this campaign, in one of which
Olaf is represented as going into the English camp in the guise of a
minstrel just before the battle, to discover what he could concerning the
resources of the enemy, which is evidently a duplicate of the tale told
concerning Alfred.
Three years afterwards Athelstan died, after a brief but glorious
reign. The marriage connections between his sisters and foreign princes
had caused his influence throughout western Europe to be very great;
for instance, we find that it was through his influence that Louis
d'Outremer, the son of Charles the Simple, was restored to the throne
of the Franks. He was also a benefactor of religious foundations,
particularly of the abbey of Malmesbury. Further, he was a lawgiver of
considerable originality, and added a number of excellent statutes to
those of his grandfather. His ordinances are particularly directed to
the enforcement of the system of mutual assurance and association, which
forms a distinctive feature of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence.
Athelstan was succeeded by his brother, who had covered himself with so
much renown at the battle of Brunanburgh.
Edmund was only eighteen years of age when, in A.D. 940, he succeeded
to the crown of his brother, whose activity and vigour had secured to
England for a few years before his death a profound repose. The Welsh
paid their tribute with the utmost regularity; the Danes, who had so
frequently experienced his prowess, desired no better than to remain at
peace; and the unfortunate Anlaff, who, after the defeat of his hopes,
had once more retired to Ireland during the reign of his conqueror, did
not renew his attempts.
No sooner was it known, however, that Athelstan was dead, and a mere
youth upon the throne, than the Danes prepared to revolt. Several years
of fighting followed, but the accounts are so conflicting that it is
almost impossible to harmonise them. According to one version, Anlaff,
who was informed of all that passed, deemed that the time was come for
the prosecution of his claims, and entered into a treaty with Olaf, King
of Norway, for assistance, which being liberally granted, he once more
appeared in his father's kingdom of Northumbria, and obtained possession
of York, the inhabitants opening the gates to him.
This example being followed by most of the neighbouring towns, the
long-exiled prince soon found himself in a position to carry the war into
Mercia, where his countrymen received him as a deliverer, and by their
united efforts many strong places were recovered which Edward had taken
from them.
Edmund, though both young and inexperienced, appears to have inherited
the courage of his race. The success of the enemy, instead of depressing
him, rendered him more eager for battle; he marched at once to the north,
and Anlaff, with equal confidence, advanced to meet him.
A battle was fought between these rival princes near Chester, in which
success was so equally balanced, that it was impossible to say on which
side it preponderated. Then, according to the chronicler Simeon, the
Archbishops of York and Canterbury, to avoid any further effusion of
blood, prevailed upon the parties to make peace. Anlaff was permitted to
retain possession of the kingdom of Northumbria, and the whole country
north of Watling Street.
The Northumbrians had not reason long to rejoice at the restoration of
Anlaff, which they had so ardently desired; for this prince, having
contracted a large debt with the King of Norway for the troops he had
lent him, was anxious to pay it; and to this end laid heavy taxes on the
people, by which he forfeited their affection. The inhabitants of the
ancient kingdom of Deira were the first that revolted, and having sent
for Reginald, his brother Godfrid's son, crowned him king at York.
Reginald was no sooner on the throne, than he armed against his uncle,
who was also preparing to dispossess him. The quarrel between these
two kings incited Edmund to march towards the north at the head of an
army, to appease the troubles there, being apprehensive they might give
occasion to the foreign Danes to return into England. He arrived upon
the borders of Northumbria, when the uncle and nephew, wholly intent
upon their private quarrel, thought of nothing less than repulsing
the English. He probably might with ease have made himself master of
that kingdom; but he was contented with procuring peace between the
two kings, in such a manner that Reginald was to keep the crown he had
lately received; but at the same time, Edmund obliged them both to swear
allegiance to him, and be baptised, himself standing godfather.
This forced peace did not last long, and Edmund had hardly returned into
Wessex, when the two Danish princes took up arms to free themselves from
his yoke, having engaged the Mercian Danes and the King of Cumberland
to espouse their quarrel. Whereupon Edmund immediately marched into
Mercia, and before the Danes there could be joined by the Northumbrians,
took from them the five boroughs, _i.e._ Leicester, Stamford, Derby,
Nottingham, and Lincoln; and then, advancing with the same expedition
towards Northumbria, he surprised the two kings before they had drawn
their forces together. This sudden attack threw the Northumbrians into
such disorder, that their rulers, fearing to fall into the hands of
Edmund, believed it their only refuge to abandon the island, where they
could not possibly remain in safety, so closely were they pursued; and
as their flight deprived the Danes of all hope of withstanding Edmund,
they threw down their arms, and gave him allegiance. According to other
accounts, the attack upon the Mercian Danes is placed earlier in the
reign.
Before he returned to Wessex, Edmund resolved to punish the King of
Cumberland, who, without cause, had taken part with the Danes; and he
easily subdued that petty kingdom, whose forces bore no proportion to his
own, and presented it to the King of Scotland, in order to attach him to
his interest, and prevent him from again assisting the Northumbrians;
reserving, however, the sovereignty of it, and obliging that king to do
him homage, and appear at the court of England at the time of the solemn
festivals, if summoned.
Edmund was not wholly employed in military affairs; and some of his
laws still exist which demonstrate how desirous he was of the people's
welfare and happiness. Having observed that pecuniary punishments were
not sufficient to put a stop to robberies, which were generally committed
by people who had nothing to lose, he ordered that, in gangs of robbers,
the oldest of them should be condemned to be hanged.
Probably this prince would have rendered his people happy, had his
reign been longer; but a fatal accident robbed him of his life. On
May 26th, 946, as he was solemnising a festival at Pucklechurch, in
Gloucestershire, Liofa, a notorious robber, though banished the kingdom
for his crimes, had the effrontery to enter and seat himself at one of
the tables in the hall where the king was at dinner. Edmund, enraged at
his insolence, commanded him to be apprehended; but perceiving he was
drawing his dagger to defend himself, leaped up in fury, and, catching
hold of him by the hair, threw him on the ground. Liofa stabbed him in
the breast with his dagger, and the King immediately expired upon the
body of his murderer. Thus died Edmund in 946, in the twenty-fourth year
of his age, and the sixth of his reign. By Elgiva, his wife, he had
two sons, Edwy and Edgar, who did not succeed him, on account of their
minority; Edred, his brother, being placed on the throne by the unanimous
election of the Witena-gemot. His glorious deeds had deservedly gained
for Edmund the title of "Magnificent."
Edred was a mere youth when he succeeded to the crown, a circumstance
which the Northumbrians were not slow to take advantage of, and instantly
attempted to throw off their allegiance; but after a variety of contests
they were ultimately subdued, and Earl Oswulf appointed to govern them.
The last-mentioned personage, who was an Englishman, appears to have
acted with no less vigour than prudence, erecting many strongholds, and
placing efficient garrisons within them, to keep the natives of the
newly-conquered province in subjection. These methods were so efficacious
that Northumbria remained, for a long time tranquil, and the descendants
of Oswulf were earls there for quite a hundred years.
The young king, perfectly master of his own kingdom, and respected by the
Scots, had now time to direct his attention to religious affairs, and
during his brief reign contributed largely to churches and monasteries.
To this course of action he was led by the powerful influence of Dunstan,
one of the most remarkable personages in old English history, and the
first of those great ecclesiastical statesmen who have played a leading
part in the annals of Britain.
Dunstan was born in the year 925, and being of aristocratic family,
rapidly obtained advancement in the Church. By the age of eighteen he had
become abbot of Glastonbury, and from the first proved an extremely able
administrator, restoring the discipline of the monastery, and rebuilding
the great church. His personal character appears to have been morbid and
eccentric, but the stories told concerning him come for the most part
from his enemies, and it is extremely difficult to know what to make of
them. He had been an old playmate of Edred's, and the weak and sickly
king was entirely in his hands. Dunstan by no means confined his activity
to ecclesiastical matters, but took an active part in the war against the
Northumbrian Danes. It was probably on his advice that the country was
bestowed as an earldom on Oswulf. His object here, as elsewhere, was to
allow the smaller kingdoms to maintain their individuality, their own
laws and customs, subject to the leadership of Wessex. Such a policy was
naturally not popular in Wessex, and when Edred, "the Chosen," as he was
called, died in 955, Dunstan was doomed to a period of eclipse.
[Illustration: DUNSTAN REBUKING EDWY IN THE PRESENCE OF ELGIVA. (_See p._
52.)]
In 955 the Witena-gemot chose Edwy, the son of Edmund, for their king,
and within a short while Dunstan was banished from the kingdom. As to the
facts of his fall very little is accurately known; indeed, the annals
of the time are so completely under the influence of party spirit,
that it is impossible to make out what is true and what is false. The
partisans of Dunstan represent Edwy as being exceedingly depraved. About
the time of his election he married Ælfgifu, or Elgiva, as the Latin
form of the name was written. It appears that she was within the degrees
prohibited by the church of Rome, and Dunstan's party not only tried to
prevent the marriage, but afterwards spoke of the queen as if she were
Edwy's mistress. According to a well-known story, Edwy on the day of his
coronation retired from the feast at which all the notabilities of the
realm were present to enjoy the society of his bride. Dunstan, angry at
what he considered a slight upon the company, rushed into the apartment
and dragged the king from her. Such conduct is quite possible in the case
of an overbearing man like the abbot, and fully explains any dislike that
the king and queen may have entertained towards him. His fall took place
about 956; and, as far as we can gather, it was effected through his
enemies at Glastonbury, who were angry at the zeal with which he pushed
his reforms.
[Illustration: EDGAR THE PEACEABLE BEING ROWED DOWN THE DEE BY EIGHT
TRIBUTARY PRINCES. (_See p._ 54.)]
Edwy's triumph was, however, exceedingly brief. In the year 957 all
England north of the Thames rebelled against him, and chose Edgar,
his brother, to be their king. Dunstan, who probably was by no means
unacquainted with what was going on, was immediately recalled, and in a
very short space of time made Bishop of Rochester and of London. In the
following year the Archbishop of Canterbury compelled Edwy to put away
his wife, and in 959 Edwy died. There is a story that the unhappy Ælfgifu
was branded on the forehead, and banished to Ireland; from which place
of exile when she ventured to return, she was seized by her priestly
persecutor and hamstrung, of which outrage she died at Gloucester. This
repellent tale, however, rests on indifferent authority, and can be at
once rejected.
Edwy dying without issue, his brother Edgar was elected as his successor,
and thus united the two kingdoms once more. He was known as the
"Peaceable," and the kingdom enjoyed under him a tranquillity to which
it had long been unaccustomed. Acting with wise foresight he kept up a
large fleet, so that the Danes were not able to land, and we read that he
punished malefactors with great severity.
His chief war was with the Welsh, who refused to pay tribute, and it was
completely successful. William of Malmesbury tells us that Edgar, in
order to free the country from the wolves which infested it, commuted
the tribute of the Welsh into three hundred wolves' heads, and granted
a pardon to criminals on condition that each one within a given time
brought in a certain number. In three years, he continues, the tribute
was remitted because no more wolves were to be found; a statement which
it is impossible to believe, as wolves were plentiful in England and
Wales for many a year afterwards. He also broke up Northumberland into
the old divisions of Bernicia and Deira, and granted Lothian to Kenneth,
King of the Scots, to be held by him in homage. It was after this that
the Scottish kings came to live in the south of their kingdom, and made
Edinburgh its capital.
For some reason Edgar was not crowned until he had reigned thirteen
years. Shortly after the ceremony he visited Chester, and it is
said--though the incident is possibly of a legendary character--that he
was rowed on the Dee from the city to the minster of St. John by his
eight vassal kings, Kenneth of Scotland, Malcolm of Cumberland, Maccus of
the Isles, and five Welsh princes.
Edgar continued to give Dunstan fresh marks of esteem, and his regard for
him was strengthened by the miracles attributed to him. After the death
of Athelm, who held the see of Canterbury, Odo, by birth a Dane, was made
archbishop; and to him succeeded Elfsige, who died as he was going to
Rome for his pall, in the beginning of Edgar's reign. Brithelm, Bishop
of Bath, was elected to the vacant see; but Edgar, being desirous of
making Dunstan archbishop, called a general council, where he represented
Brithelm as unqualified for so great a station; whereupon he was ordered
to return to his old diocese, and Dunstan was chosen in his place. This
election not being perfectly canonical, it was deemed necessary that
Dunstan should go to Rome, on pretence of receiving his pall, and at the
same time justify these proceedings. The Pope, who was perfectly aware
how extensive the influence of Dunstan was at the court of England, and
who was gratified by the zeal with which he had espoused the interest
of the Church of Rome and of the monks, readily confirmed his election,
constituting him at the same time his legate in England, with most
extensive powers.
In justification of this remarkable man's favourite project of removing
the secular clergy from their benefices and supplying their places by
the monks, it is enough to say that the former, as a body, had become
fearfully corrupt; that luxury, gluttony, avarice, and lust reigned
amongst them. Dunstan caused a council of the Church to be held, at which
Edgar assisted in person, and made a remarkable oration, which is both
curious and interesting as a picture of the corruptions of the clergy of
the time, and his subserviency to the views of Dunstan. This harangue,
which was most probably written by Dunstan himself, had the desired
effect. The three bishops, Dunstan, Ethelwald of Winchester, and Oswald
of York, expelled the secular priests, and gave their benefices to the
monks, the objects of the king's and archbishop's favour. In many cases,
however, expulsion was unnecessary, so depopulated were all the livings
through the Danish massacres; and though the celibacy of the clergy which
Dunstan enforced was not altogether a step in the right direction, there
can be no doubt that the times called for drastic remedies. Nor was the
restoration of monasticism the only reform that Dunstan had at heart.
"He was," says Bishop Stubbs, "the prime minister, perhaps the inspirer
of the consolidating policy of Edgar; he restored through the monastic
revival the intercourse between the English church and that of France,
and established a more intimate communication with the Apostolic See;
in so doing he did what could be done to restore piety and learning.
Under his influence the Mercian bishoprics again lift up their heads:
the archbishops henceforth go to Rome for their palls: the Frank writers
begin to record the lives of the English saints."
The monks were bound in gratitude to make a suitable return for the
service Edgar had done them; and, accordingly, their historians have
endeavoured, by their excessive commendations, to make him pass for a
real saint. But whether from want of attention, or some other reason,
they have related some particulars of his life which certainly do not
tend to sustain that idea of him. If, indeed, his political actions are
only considered, it must be confessed he was a great prince; but a great
king and a great saint are two very different characters.
Edgar died in 975, in the thirty-second year of his age. He was
afterwards canonised, and miracles are said to have been worked at his
shrine.
He left two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Edward, was the son
of Elfleda, surnamed "The Fair," and he was supported by Dunstan; his
opponent, who had a large following, was his half-brother Ethelred,
the son of Edgar's second wife, Elfrida. The Archbishop, however, in
the Witena-gemot promptly and bravely took Edward by the hand, led him
towards the church, attended by the other bishops and a crowd of people,
and anointed the young prince king, without regarding the opposition of
the party against him. The nobles deplored their falling once more under
the government of that imperious prelate; but, seeing the people ready to
support him, they were compelled to submit.
Edward was but fourteen years old when he began to reign under the
guardianship of Dunstan, who immediately took all the power into his
hands; and, as soon as he was fixed in the regency, exerted every
possible means to maintain the monks in possession of the benefices they
had acquired in the last reign, and made use of the king's authority
to that end. But he met with more opposition than he contemplated, for
as the king was but a minor, the orders given in his name were not
so readily complied with. Dunstan assembled several councils about
this affair; but most probably all his endeavours would have proved
ineffectual, if, by means of several miracles, which were never wanting
when requisite, he had not brought the people to believe that Heaven
interposed on his behalf.
In one of these councils held at Winchester, the majority being against
the monks, they would have infallibly lost their cause, if, on a sudden,
a crucifix that hung aloft in the room had not pronounced these words
with an audible voice: "It shall not be done; it shall not be done. You
have decided the matter well hitherto, and would be to blame to change."
Astonished at this oracle, the most obstinate immediately voted for
the monks. It is likely that this trick was accomplished by a skilled
ventriloquist.
The dispute between the regular and secular clergy gave rise to keen
contentions in the kingdom, many of the nobility bitterly resenting the
induction of the monks into the benefices. At last a synod was called at
Calne, at which Archbishop Dunstan presided. The assembly had not long
been met before the floor of the apartment gave way--the only portion
which remained intact being the beams which supported the chair of the
primate, whose preservation was regarded as a miracle by the common
people and the party who acted with him. After such a manifestation of
the divine will, for such it was considered, all further opposition
ceased; the principal opponents of the measure having perished. A shrewd
suspicion has been entertained that Dunstan knew beforehand what was
about to occur, even if he had not secretly prepared the catastrophe,
seeing that he had warned the king not to be present at the meeting.
The most remarkable circumstance attending Edward was his death, which
took place on the 18th of March, 978, after a reign of three years. He
had been hunting in the neighbourhood of Corfe Castle, the residence
of his step-mother Elfrida, and resolved to pay her a visit. The queen
hastened to receive him, and pressed him earnestly to alight; this the
prince, who most probably had good reasons to suspect her feelings
towards him, declined, observing that he had merely time to accept a
draught of wine. In the act of drinking it, he was stabbed in the back
by an assassin whom Elfrida had bribed to commit the crime which was to
elevate her son Ethelred to the throne.
[Illustration: ASSASSINATION OF EDWARD THE MARTYR. (_See p._ 56.)]
Finding himself wounded, the youthful monarch set spurs to his horse and
fled; but, fainting from loss of blood, fell, and perished miserably. The
parties sent after him by the murderess easily traced the route he had
taken by the track of blood. The body was brought back to Corfe Castle
and thrown into a well, where it was afterwards found, and removed first
to Wareham and afterwards to Shaftesbury, where it was interred in a
church founded by King Alfred.
Shortly after his death the monks spread the report that miracles were
worked at his tomb; the blind were said to have received their sight, the
lame to have recovered the use of their limbs. Elfrida, to atone for her
crime, founded two convents, to one of which, at Andover, she retired,
and passed the rest of her days in penitence. Edward was canonised by the
Roman Church, and is generally known as St. Edward the Martyr.
[Illustration: CRUCIFIXION OF ST. PETER AND MARTYRDOM OF OTHER SAINTS.
(_From Harleian MSS._ 603.)]