Seven weeks afterwards Guthorn, accompanied by thirty of his noblest
warriors, entered Alfred's camp, which was pitched at Aller, a place
not far from Athelney. An altar was erected and a solemn service
performed, and Guthorn and his companions were all baptized, Alfred
himself becoming sponsor for Guthorn, whose name was changed to
Athelstan. The Danes remained for twelve days in the Saxon camp. For
the first eight they wore, in accordance with the custom of the times,
the chrismal, a white linen cloth put on the head when the rite of
baptism was performed; on the eighth day the solemn ceremony known as
the chrism, the loosing or removal of the cloths, took place at
Wedmore. This was performed by the Ealdorman Ethelnoth.
During these twelve days many conferences were held between Alfred and
Athelstan as to the future of the two kingdoms. While the Danes were
still in the camp a witenagemot or Saxon parliament was held at
Wedmore. At this Athelstan and many of the nobles and inhabitants of
East Anglia were present, and the boundary of the two kingdoms was
settled. It was to commence at the mouth of the Thames, to run along
the river Lea to its source, and at Bedford turn to the right along the
Ouse as far as Watling Street. According to this arrangement a
considerable portion of the kingdom of Mercia fell to Alfred's share.
The treaty comprehended various rules for the conduct of commerce, and
courts were instituted for the trial of disputes and crimes. The Danes
did not at once leave Mercia, but for a considerable time lay in camp
at Cirencester; but all who refused to become Christians were ordered
to depart beyond the seas, and the Danes gradually withdrew within
their boundary.
Guthorn's conversion, although no doubt brought about at the moment by
his admiration of the clemency of Alfred, had probably been for some
time projected by him. Mingling as his people did in East Anglia with
the Christian Saxons there, he must have had opportunities for learning
the nature of their tenets, and of contrasting its mild and beneficent
teaching with the savage worship of the pagan gods. By far the greater
proportion of his people followed their king's example; but the wilder
spirits quitted the country, and under their renowned leader Hasting
sailed to harry the shores of France. The departure of the more
turbulent portion of his followers rendered it more easy for the Danish
king to carry his plans into effect.
After the holding of the witan Edmund and Egbert at once left the army
with their followers, and for some months the young ealdorman devoted
himself to the work of restoring the shattered homes of his people,
aiding them with loans from the plunder he had gained on the seas,
Alfred having at once repaid him the sums which he had lent at
Athelney. As so many of his followers had also brought home money after
their voyage, the work of rebuilding and restoration went on rapidly,
and in a few months the marks left of the ravages by the Danes had been
well-nigh effaced.
Flocks and herds again grazed in the pastures, herds of swine roamed in
the woods, the fields were cultivated, and the houses rebuilt. In no
part of Wessex was prosperity so speedily re-established as in the
district round Sherborne governed by Edmund. The Dragon was thoroughly
overhauled and repaired, for none could say how soon fresh fleets of
the Northmen might make their appearance upon the southern shores of
England. It was not long, indeed, before the Northmen reappeared, a
great fleet sailing up the Thames at the beginning of the winter. It
ascended as high as Fulham, where a great camp was formed. Seeing that
the Saxons and East Anglians would unite against them did they advance
further, the Danes remained quietly in their encampment during the
winter, and in the spring again took ship and sailed for France.
For the next two years England enjoyed comparative quiet, the Danes
turning their attention to France and Holland, sailing up the Maas,
Scheldt, Somme, and Seine. Spreading from these rivers they carried
fire and sword over a great extent of country. The Franks resisted
bravely, and in two pitched battles defeated their invaders with great
loss. The struggle going on across the Channel was watched with great
interest by the Saxons, who at first hoped to see the Danes completely
crushed by the Franks.
The ease, however, with which the Northmen moved from point to point in
their ships gave them such immense advantage that their defeats at
Hasle and Saucourt in no way checked their depredations. Appearing
suddenly off the coast, or penetrating into the interior by a river,
their hordes would land, ravage the country, slay all who opposed them,
and carry off the women and children captives, and would then take to
their ships again before the leaders of the Franks could assemble an
army.
Alfred spent this time of repose in restoring as far as possible the
loss and damage which his kingdom had suffered. Many wise laws were
passed, churches were rebuilt, and order restored; great numbers of the
monks and wealthier people who had fled to France in the days of the
Danish supremacy now returned to England, which was for the time freer
from danger than the land in which they had sought refuge; and many
Franks from the districts exposed to the Danish ravages came over and
settled in England.
Gradually the greater part of England acknowledged the rule of Alfred.
The kingdom of Kent was again united to that of Wessex; while Mercia,
which extended across the centre of England from Anglia to Wales, was
governed for Alfred by Ethelred the Ealdorman, who was the head of the
powerful family of the Hwiccas, and had received the hand of Alfred's
daughter Ethelfleda. He ruled Mercia according to its own laws and
customs, which differed materially from those of the West Saxons, and
which prevented a more perfect union of the two kingdoms until William
the Conqueror welded the whole country into a single whole. But
Ethelred acknowledged the supremacy of Alfred, consulted him upon all
occasions of importance, and issued all his edicts and orders in the
king's name. He was ably assisted by Werfrith, the Bishop of Worcester.
The energy and activity of these leaders enabled Mercia to keep abreast
of Wessex in the onward progress which Alfred laboured so indefatigably
to promote.
Edmund, when not occupied with the affairs of his earldom, spent much
of his time with the king, who saw in him a spirit of intelligence and
activity which resembled his own. Edmund was, however, of a less
studious disposition than his royal master; and though he so far
improved his education as to be able to read and write well, Alfred
could not persuade him to undertake the study of Latin, being, as he
said, well content to master some of the learning of that people by
means of the king's translations.
At the end of another two years of peace Edmund was again called upon
to take up arms. Although the Danes attempted no fresh invasion some of
their ships hung around the English coast, capturing vessels,
interfering with trade, and committing other acts of piracy.
Great complaints were made by the inhabitants of the seaports to
Alfred. The king at once begged Edmund to fit out the Dragon, and
collecting a few other smaller ships he took his place on Edmund's ship
and sailed in search of the Danes. After some search they came upon the
four large ships of the Northmen which had been a scourge to the coast.
The Saxons at once engaged them, and a desperate fight took place. The
Dragon was laid alongside the largest of the Danish vessels; and the
king, with Edmund and Egbert by his side, leapt on to the deck of the
Danish vessel, followed by the crew of the Dragon. The Danish ship was
crowded with men who fought desperately, but the discipline even more
than the courage of Edmund's crew secured for them the victory. For a
time each fought for himself; and although inspired by the presence of
the king they were able to gain no advantage, being much out-numbered
by the Northmen.
Edmund, seeing this, sounded on his horn the signal with which in
battle he ordered the men to form their wedge. The signal was instantly
obeyed. The Saxons were all fighting with boarding-pikes against the
Northmen's swords and axes, for they had become used to these weapons
and preferred them to any other.
The instant Edmund's horn was heard, each man desisted from fighting
and rushed to their leader, around whom they instantly formed in their
accustomed order. The Danes, astonished at the sudden cessation of the
battle, and understanding nothing of the meaning of the signal or of
the swift movement of the Saxons, for a minute lowered their weapons in
surprise.
Before they again rushed forward the formation was complete, and in a
close body with levelled spears the Saxons advanced, Egbert as usual
leading the way, with Edmund and the king in the centre.
In vain the Danes strove to resist the onset; in spite of their
superior numbers they were driven back step by step until crowded in a
close mass at one end.
Still the Saxon line of spears pressed on. Many of the Danes leapt into
the sea, others were pushed over or run through, and in a few minutes
not a Northman remained alive in the captured vessel.
In the meantime the battle was raging in other parts. Two of the small
vessels were engaged with one of the Danes at close quarters, while the
other ships hung around the remaining Danish vessels and kept up
volleys of arrows and javelins upon them.
The Dragon at once went to the assistance of the two Saxon ships, whose
crews were almost overpowered by the Northmen. Laying the ship
alongside, Edmund boarded the Danes. The Northmen rushed back from the
decks of the Saxon ship to defend their own vessel; and the Saxons,
regaining courage, at once rallied and followed them. The combat was
short but desperate. Attacked on three sides, the Danes were speedily
overcome and were slaughtered to a man.
An attack was next made upon the two remaining vessels. These resisted
for some time, but they were overwhelmed by the missiles from the Saxon
flotilla; and the greater portion of their crews being killed or
wounded, their commanders prayed for mercy, which was granted them by
Alfred; and with the four captured vessels the fleet returned to
England.
On reaching port Alfred begged Edmund to continue for a while with the
Dragon, to cruise along the coasts and to stop the depredations of the
Danes; and for some weeks the Dragon kept the seas. She met with
considerable success, capturing many Danish galleys. Some of these
contained rich spoil, which had been gathered in France, for cruising
in the seas off Dover Edmund intercepted many of the Danish vessels on
their homeward way from raids up the Seine, Garonne, and other French
rivers.
One day in the excitement of a long pursuit of a Danish galley, which
finally succeeded in making her escape, Edmund had paid less attention
than usual to the weather, and, on giving up the chase as hopeless,
perceived that the sky had become greatly overcast, while the wind was
rising rapidly.
"We are in for a storm from the north, Egbert," he said, "and we must
make for the mouth of the Thames for shelter."
The sails were lowered, and the Dragon's head turned west. Before two
hours had passed the sea had risen so greatly that it was no longer
possible to row.
"What had we best do?" Edmund asked the chief of the sailors. "Think
you that we can make Dover and shelter under the cliffs there?"
"I fear that we cannot do so," the sailor replied, "for there are
terrible sands and shallows off the Kentish coast between the mouth of
the Thames and Dover, and the wind blows so strongly that we can do
nought but run before it."
"Then let us do so," Edmund replied; "anything is better than being
tossed at the mercy of the waves."
A sail was hoisted, and the Dragon flew along before the wind. The
storm increased in fury, and for some hours the vessel ran before it.
She was but a short distance from the French coast, and as the wind
veered round more to the west her danger became great.
"I fear we shall be cast ashore," Edmund said to the sailor.
"Fortunately," the man answered, "we are but a mile or two from the
mouth of the Seine, and there we can run in and take shelter."
It was an anxious time until they reached the mouth of the river, for
they were continually drifting nearer and nearer to the coast. However,
they cleared the point in safety, and, turning her head, ran up the
river and soon anchored under the walls of Havre. As she came to an
anchor armed men were seen crowding the walls.
"They take us for Danes," Egbert said. "We had best hoist the Dragon,
and they will then know that we are a Saxon ship."
Soon after the flag was hoisted the gates of the town were seen to
open, and an officer and some men issued out. These launched a boat and
rowed out to the ship. The officer mounted to the deck. He was
evidently in considerable fear, but as he saw the Saxons standing about
unarmed he was reassured. "Is this really a Saxon ship," he asked, "as
its flag testifies?"
"It is so," Edmund replied; "it is my vessel, and I am an ealdorman of
King Alfred. We have been chasing the Danish pirates, but this storm
having arisen, we were blown down the French coast and forced to seek
shelter here."
"The governor bids you welcome," the officer said, "and bade me invite
you to land."
"That will I gladly; the more so since my ship has suffered some damage
in the gale, her bulwarks having been partly shattered; and it will
need a stay of a few days here to repair her for sea. Will you tell the
governor that in a short time I will land with my kinsman Egbert and
accept his hospitality?"
An hour later Edmund and Egbert landed and were at once conducted to
the governor, who welcomed them cordially.
They found there many whom they had known at the court of King Alfred.
The wealthier men, the bishops and thanes, had for the most part
journeyed to Paris or to other towns in the interior to escape the
dreaded Northmen; but there were many detained at Havre from want of
funds to journey farther.
"It is a sad pity," the governor said as they talked over the troubled
state of Western Europe, "that your English king and our Frankish
monarch did not make common cause against these sea robbers. They are
the enemies of mankind. Not only do they ravage all our coasts, but
they have entered the Mediterranean, and have plundered and ravaged the
coasts of Provence and Italy, laying towns under ransom, burning and
destroying."
"I would that I could meet some of their ships on their way back from
Italy," Edmund said. "I warrant that we should obtain a rare booty,
with gems of art such as would delight King Alfred, but are thrown away
on these barbarians; but I agree with you that 'tis shameful that the
coasts of all Europe should be overrun with these pirates."
"Yes," the governor replied, "if every country in Christendom would
unite against their common foe, and send a quota of ships and men, we
would drive the Black Raven from the seas, and might even land on the
Danish shores and give them a taste of the suffering they have
inflicted elsewhere. As it is, all seem paralysed. Local efforts are
made to resist them; but their numbers are too great to be thus
withstood. I wonder that the pope does not call Christendom to arms
against these pagan robbers, who not only destroy towns and villages,
but level to the ground the holy shrines, and slay the ministers of God
on the altars."