The Danes at Exeter, being now cut off from all hope of relief, asked
for terms, and the king granted them their lives on condition of their
promising to leave Wessex and not to return. This promise they swore by
their most solemn oaths to observe, and marching northward passed out
of Wessex and settled near Gloucester. Some of the Saxons thought that
the king had been wrong in granting such easy terms, but he pointed out
to the ealdormen who remonstrated with him that there were many other
and larger bands of Danes in Mercia and Anglia, and that had he
massacred the band at Exeter--and this he could not have done without
the loss of many men, as assuredly the Danes would have fought
desperately for their lives--the news of their slaughter would have
brought upon him fresh invasions from all sides.
By this time all resistance to the Danes in Mercia had ceased. Again
and again King Burhred had bought them off, but this only brought fresh
hordes down upon him, and at last, finding the struggle hopeless, he
had gone as a pilgrim to Rome, where he had died. The Danes acted in
Mercia as they had done in Northumbria. They did not care, themselves,
to settle down for any length of time, and therefore appointed a weak
Saxon thane, Ceolwulf, as the King of Mercia. He ruled cruelly and
extorted large revenues from the land-owners, and robbed the
monasteries, which had escaped destruction, of their treasures.
The Danes suffered him to pursue this course until he had amassed great
wealth, when they swooped down upon him, robbed him of all he
possessed, and took away the nominal kingship he had held. As there was
now but little fresh scope for plundering in England many of the Danes
both in Anglia and Mercia settled down in the cities and on the lands
which they had taken from the Saxons.
The Danes who had gone from Exeter were now joined by another band
which had landed in South Wales. The latter, finding but small plunder
was to be obtained among the mountains of that country, moved to
Gloucester, and joining the band there proposed a fresh invasion of
Wessex. The Danes, in spite of the oaths they had sworn to Alfred, and
the hostages they had left in his hands, agreed to the proposal; and
early in the spring of 878 the bands, swollen by reinforcements from
Mercia, marched into Wiltshire and captured the royal castle of
Chippenham on the Avon. From this point they spread over the country
and destroyed everything with fire and sword. A general panic seized
the inhabitants. The better class, with the bishops, priests, and
monks, made for the sea-coasts and thence crossed to France, taking
with them all their portable goods, with the relics, precious stones,
and ornaments of the churches and monasteries.
Another party of Danes in twenty-three ships had landed in Devonshire.
Here the ealdorman Adda had constructed a castle similar to that which
Edmund had built. It was fortified by nature on three sides and had a
strong rampart of earth on another. The Danes tried to starve out the
defenders of the fort; but the Saxons held out for a long time,
although sorely pressed by want of water. At last they sallied out one
morning at daybreak and fell upon the Danes and utterly defeated them,
only a few stragglers regaining their ships.
A thousand Danes are said to have been slain at Kynwith; but this was
an isolated success; in all other parts of the kingdom panic appeared
to have taken possession of the West Saxons. Those who could not leave
the country retired to the woods, and thence, when the Danes had passed
by, leaving ruin and desolation behind them, they sallied out and again
began to till the ground as best they could. Thus for a time the West
Saxons, formerly so valiant and determined, sank to the condition of
serfs; for when all resistance ceased the Danes were well pleased to
see the ground tilled, as otherwise they would speedily have run short
of stores.
At the commencement of the invasion Edmund had marched out with his
band and had inflicted heavy blows upon parties of plunderers; but he
soon perceived that the struggle was hopeless. He therefore returned to
Sherborne, and collecting such goods as he required and a good store of
provisions he marched to the place where the ship had been hidden. No
wandering band of Danes had passed that way, and the bushes with which
she had been covered were undisturbed. These were soon removed and a
passage three feet deep, and wide enough for the ship to pass through,
was dug from the deep hole in which she was lying to the river.
When the last barrier was cut the water poured in, and the Saxons had
the satisfaction of seeing the vessel rise gradually until the water in
the dock was level with that in the river. Then she was taken out into
the stream, the stores and fittings placed aboard, and she was poled
down to the mouth of the river. Egbert had gone before and had already
engaged fifteen sturdy sailors to go with them. The Danes had not yet
reached the sea-coast from the interior, and there was therefore no
difficulty in obtaining the various equipments necessary. In a week her
masts were up and her sails in position.
The Dragon, as she was called, excited great admiration at the port,
all saying that she was the finest and largest ship that had ever been
seen there. While her fitting out had been going on she was hove up on
shore and received several coats of paint. Edmund was loath to start on
his voyage without again seeing the king, but no one knew where Alfred
now was, he, on finding the struggle hopeless, having retired to the
fastnesses of Somerset to await the time when the Saxons should be
driven by oppression again to take up arms.
At last all was ready, and the Dragon put out to sea. She was provided
with oars as well as sails, but these were only to be used when in
pursuit, or when flying from a superior enemy. As soon as she had been
long enough at sea to enable the band again to recover from the effects
of sickness the oars were got out and the men practised in their use.
As in the models from which she had been built, she rowed two banks of
oars, the one worked by men upon deck, the others through small
port-holes. The latter could only be used when the weather was fine;
when the sea was high they were closed up and fastened. The lower-deck
oars were each rowed by one man, while the upper bank, which were
longer and heavier, had each two men to work it.
Before starting Edmund had increased the strength of his band to ninety
men, that number being required for the oars, of which the Dragon had
fifteen on each bank on each side. At first there was terrible
splashing and confusion, but in time the men learned to row in order,
and in three weeks after putting to sea the oars worked well in time
together, and the Dragon, with her ninety rowers, moved through the
water at a great rate of speed.
During this time she had never been far from land keeping but a short
distance from the port from which she had sailed, as Edmund did not
wish to fall in with the Danes until his crew were able to maneuver her
with the best effect. When, at last, satisfied that all knew their duty
he returned to port, took in a fresh supply of provisions, and then
sailed away again in search of the enemy. He coasted along the shore of
Hampshire and Sussex without seeing a foe, and then sailing round Kent
entered the mouth of the Thames. The Dragon kept on her way until she
reached the point where the river begins to narrow, and there the sails
were furled and the anchor thrown overboard to wait for Danish galleys
coming down the river.
On the third day after they had anchored they perceived four black
specks in the distance, and these the sailors soon declared to be
Danish craft. They were rowing rapidly, having ten oars on either side,
and at their mast-heads floated the Danish Raven. The anchor was got
up, and as the Danes approached, the Golden Dragon, the standard of
Wessex, was run up to the mast-head, the sails were hoisted, the oars
got out, and the vessel advanced to meet the approaching Danes.
These for a moment stopped rowing in astonishment at seeing so large a
ship bearing the Saxon flag. Then they at once began to scatter in
different directions; but the Dragon, impelled both by the wind and her
sixty oars, rapidly overtook them. When close alongside the galley
nearest to them the men on the upper deck, at an order from Edmund, ran
in their oars, and seizing their bows poured a volley of arrows into
the galley, killing most of the rowers. Then the Dragon was steered
alongside, and the Saxons, sword in hand, leaped down into the galley.
Most of the Danes were cut down at once; the rest plunged into the
water and swam for their lives. Leaving the deserted galley behind, the
Dragon continued the pursuit of the others, and overtook and captured
another as easily as she had done the first.
The other two boats reached the shore before they were overtaken, and
those on board leaping out fled. The Saxons took possession of the
deserted galleys. They found them, as they expected, stored full of
plunder of all kinds--rich wearing apparel, drinking goblets, massive
vessels of gold and silver which had been torn from some desecrated
altar, rich ornaments and jewels and other articles. These were at once
removed to the Dragon. Fire was applied to the boats, and they were
soon a mass of flames. Then the Dragon directed her course to the two
galleys she had first captured. These were also rifled of their
contents and burned. The Saxons were delighted at the success which had
attended their first adventure.
"We shall have rougher work next time," Egbert said. "The Danes who
escaped will carry news to London, and we shall be having a whole fleet
down to attack us in a few days."
"If they are in anything like reasonable numbers we will fight them; if
not, we can run. We have seen to-day how much faster we are than the
Danish boats; and though I shall be in favour of fighting if we have a
fair chance of success, it would be folly to risk the success of our
enterprise by contending against overwhelming numbers at the outset,
seeing that we shall be able to pick up so many prizes round the coast."
"We can beat a score of them," Egbert grumbled. "I am in favour of
fighting the Danes whenever we see them."
"When there is a hope of success, Egbert, yes; but you know even the
finest bull can be pulled down by a pack of dogs. The Dragon is a
splendid ship, and does credit alike to King Alfred's first advice, to
the plans of the Italian shipbuilders, and to the workmanship and
design of the shipwright of Exeter, and I hope she will long remain to
be a scourge to the Danes at sea as they have been a scourge to the
Saxons on shore; and it is because I hope she is going to do such good
service to England that I would be careful of her. You must remember,
too, that many of the Danish galleys are far larger than those we had
to do with to-day. We are not going to gobble them all up as a pike
swallows minnows."
The Dragon had now anchored again, and four days elapsed before any
Danish galleys were seen. At the end of that time six large Danish
war-ships were perceived in the distance. Edmund and Egbert from the
top of the lofty poop watched them coming.
"They row thirty oars each side," Egbert said, "and are crowded with
men. What say you, Edmund, shall we stop and fight them, or shall the
Dragon spread her wings?"
"We have the advantage of height," Edmund said, "and from our bow and
stern castles can shoot down into them; but if they lie alongside and
board us their numbers will give them an immense advantage. I should
think that we might run down one or two of them. The Dragon is much
more strongly built than these galleys of the Danes, and if when they
close round us we have the oars lashed on both sides as when we are
rowing, it will be next to impossible for them to get alongside except
at the stern and bow, which are far too high for them to climb."
"Very well," Egbert said, "if you are ready to fight, you may be sure I
am."
The anchor was got up and the oars manned, and the Dragon quietly
advanced towards the Danish boats. The men were instructed to row
slowly, and it was not until within a hundred yards of the leading
galley that the order was given to row hard.
The men strained at the tough oars, and the Dragon leapt ahead to meet
the foe. Her bow was pointed as if she would have passed close by the
side of the Danish galley, which was crowded with men. When close to
her, however, the helmsman pushed the tiller across and the Dragon
swept straight down upon her. A shout of dismay rose from the Danes, a
hasty volley of arrows and darts was hurled at the Dragon, and the
helmsman strove to avoid the collision, but in vain. The Dragon struck
her on the beam, the frail craft broke up like an egg-shell under the
blow, and sank almost instantly under the bows of the Dragon.
Without heeding the men struggling thickly in the water, the Dragon
continued her course. Warned by the fate of the first boat, the next
endeavoured to avoid her path. Her commander shouted orders. The rowers
on one side backed while those on the other pulled, but she was not
quite quick enough. The Dragon struck her a few feet from the stern,
cutting her in two.
The other galleys now closed in alongside. The Saxons hastily fastened
their oars as they had been rowing and then betook themselves to their
posts, those with spears and swords to the sides to prevent the enemy
from climbing up, the archers to the lofty castles at either end. The
Danes had the greatest difficulty in getting alongside, the oars
keeping the galleys at a distance. For some time the combat was
conducted entirely by the archers on both sides, the Danes suffering
much the most heavily, as the Saxons were protected by the bulwarks,
while from their lofty positions they were enabled to fire down into
the galleys.
At last one of the Danish vessels rowed straight at the broadside of
the Dragon, and breaking her way through the oars her bow reached the
side. Then the Danes strove to leap on board, but the Saxons pursued
the tactics which had succeeded so well on land, and forming in a close
mass where the Danish vessel touched the Dragon, opposed a thick hedge
of spears to those who strove to board her.
The Danes fought desperately. Several notable leaders, hearing that a
great Saxon ship had appeared on the Thames, had come down to capture
her, and leading their followers, strove desperately to cut their way
to the deck of the Dragon. Taking advantage of the strife, the other
galleys repeated the maneuver which had succeeded, and each in turn ran
their stem through the Saxon oars, and reached the side of the Dragon.
In this position, however, they had the immense disadvantage that only
a few men at once could strive to board, while the Saxons were able to
oppose all their strength at these four points.
For a time the Saxons repulsed every effort, but as the lashings of the
oars gave way under the pressure of the Danish ships, these drifted
alongside, and they were thus able to attack along the whole length of
the bulwarks between the castles. The Saxons were now hard put to it,
but their superior height still enabled them to keep the Danes in check.
All this time the five vessels had been drifting down the river
together. Presently, when the conflict was hottest, the chief of the
sailors made his way to Edmund.
"If we get up the sails we may be able to draw out from the galleys."
"Do so," Edmund said, "and at once, for we are hardly pressed; they are
four to one against us."
The sailors at once sprang to the halliards, and soon the great sail
rose on the mast. Almost instantly the Dragon began to glide away from
the galleys. The Danes with ropes endeavoured to lash themselves to her
sides, but these were severed as fast as thrown, and in two or three
minutes the Dragon had drawn herself clear of them. The Danes betook
themselves to their oars, but many of these had been broken between the
vessels, and rowing their utmost they could only just keep up with the
Dragon, for the wind was blowing freely. Fully half the oars of the
Dragon were broken, but the rest were soon manned, and she then rapidly
drew away from her pursuers.
"I am not going to run further," Edmund said. "Now that we have once
shaken them off, let us turn and meet them again."
As the vessel's head was brought up into the wind the Danes ceased
rowing. The fate which had befallen their two galleys at the
commencement of the fight was still before them. They had lost great
numbers of men in the attempt to board from the Saxon pikes and arrows,
and their desire to renew the fight vanished when they saw that the
Saxons were equally ready. Therefore, as the Dragon approached them,
they sheered off on either side of her and rowed for the mouth of the
Medway.
The Saxons did not pursue. They had lost eight men killed, and
seventeen wounded by the Danish arrows, and were well content to be
quit of their opponents, upon whom they had inflicted a severe blow, as
each of the galleys sunk had contained fully a hundred and fifty men,
and great numbers of the Danes on board the other ships had fallen.
They now left the Thames and sailed to Sandwich. The town had been
shortly before burned by the Danes, but these had left, and some of the
inhabitants had returned. Here the Dragon waited for a week, by the end
of which time the traces of the conflict had been obliterated, and new
oars made. Edmund found no difficulty in filling up the vacancies
caused in the fight, as many of the young Saxons were burning to avenge
the sufferings which the Danes had inflicted, and could have obtained
several times the number he required had there been room for them. He
was therefore enabled to pick out sturdy fellows accustomed to the sea.
When the Dragon again set sail her head was laid to the northward, as
Edmund intended to cruise off East Anglia, from whose shores fleets
were constantly crossing and recrossing to Denmark.
They picked up several prizes at the mouths of the eastern rivers,
scarcely having to strike a blow, so surprised were the Danes at the
appearances of the great Saxon galley. Whenever the Danes surrendered
without resistance Edmund gave them quarter and landed them in small
boats on the shore; their ships, after being emptied of the booty they
contained, were burned. When off Yarmouth, where they had captured four
Danish vessels sailing out unsuspicious of danger, the wind veered
round to the north-east and began to blow very strongly.
The long line of sandbanks off the coast broke somewhat the violence of
the sea, and the Dragon rode all night to her anchors; but in the
morning the wind continued to rise. The sea became more and more
violent, and the anchors began to drag. Edmund and Egbert, after a
consultation, agreed that their only chance of saving the vessel was to
enter the river. The tide was running in, but the sea was so heavy on
the bar of the river that the efforts of the crew at the oars barely
sufficed to keep her on her course. At length, however, she made her
way safely between the posts which marked the entrance, and rowing up
until they passed a turn, and were sheltered from the force of the
gale, they again anchored.
The oars were all lashed out firmly to keep any boats from approaching
her sides. Bales of goods with which her hold was filled were brought
on deck, and piled high along the bulwarks so as to afford a shelter
from missiles. Even as they entered the harbour numbers of Danes had
assembled at the point; for the capture and destruction of their ships
had of course been seen, and the crews set ashore had spread the news
that the strange vessel was a Saxon. The Norfolk bank being somewhat
higher than the Suffolk, the boat was anchored rather nearer to the
latter, as it was from the town of Yarmouth that an attack was
anticipated.
As soon as the anchors were let go the Danes began to fire their
arrows; but so powerful was the gale that the greater part of them were
swept far away. As the day went on the numbers of Danes on the bank
increased largely, and vast numbers of arrows were discharged at the
Dragon. The crew kept under shelter, and although she was often struck
no damage was done.
In the afternoon a fleet of galleys was seen coming down the river. The
Danes possessed a large number of these boats at Yarmouth, and in these
they navigated the inland waters far into the interior. The wind had
shifted until it was blowing nearly due east, and Edmund and Egbert had
agreed upon the best course to be pursued. In case of attack they could
hardly hope finally to beat off the assault of a large fleet of
galleys, and would besides be exposed to attack by boats laden with
combustibles. Therefore as soon as the galleys were seen approaching
the oars were unlashed, the great sail hoisted, and at her best speed
the Dragon advanced up the river to meet her foes. The Danes gave a
shout of alarm as the vessel advanced to meet them with the water
surging in a white wave from her bows, and the greater part of them
hurried towards one bank or the other to escape the shock. Some, slower
in movement or stouter in heart, awaited the attack, while from all a
storm of missiles was poured upon the advancing boat.
Heedless of these she continued her way. Her sharp bow crashed right
through the side of the Danish boats, and having destroyed seven of
them on her way she passed through the flotilla and continued her
course. The dragon waved triumphantly from her mast as she passed under
the walls of Yarmouth. These were crowded with Danes, who vainly
showered arrows and javelins as she flew past, with the fleets of
galleys rowing in her wake. A few minutes and she was out on the broad
sheet of water beyond. The Danish galleys paused at the entrance. In so
wild a storm they would have had difficulty in keeping their boats
straight, while the great galley with her sails and oars would be able
to maneuver freely, and could strike and run them down one by one.
"What is that pile of buildings on the rising knoll of ground some
three miles away?" Edmund asked.
"It is Bamborough Castle," Egbert replied, "a Roman stronghold of
immense strength."
"Let us run up thither," Edmund said. "If, as is likely enough, it is
unoccupied, we will land there and take possession. Are the walls
complete?"
"Assuredly they are," Egbert said. "They are of marvellous strength,
such as we cannot build in our days. They run in a great semicircle
from the edge of the water round the crest of the knoll and down again
to the water. There is but one gateway in the wall on the land side,
and this we can block up. We need not fear an attack from the land, for
between the river and the castle there are wide swamps; so that unless
they row up and attack us from the water we are safe."
"I think that they will not do that," Edmund said, "after the taste
which the Dragon has given them of her quality. At any rate I think we
are safe till the storm abates."
By this time, running rapidly before the wind, the Dragon was
approaching the great Roman fort, whose massive walls struck Edmund
with astonishment. No one was to be seen moving about in the space
inclosed by them. The sail was lowered and the vessel brought to the
bank. The anchors were taken ashore and she was soon solidly moored.
Then the crew leapt on to the land and ascended the bank to the great
level inclosure.
The walls were, as Egbert had said, intact--and indeed, except on the
side facing the river, remained almost unbroken to the present day. An
hour's labour sufficed to block the gateway, where a pair of massive
doors were in position, for the place had been defended by the Saxons
against the Danes at their first landing on the coast. A few men were
placed as sentries on the walls, and, feeling now perfectly safe from
any attack on the land side, Edmund and his followers returned on board
the Dragon for the night.