No sooner did Edmund find himself outside the mansion than he separated
himself from the Danes, and following the sea-shore, set out on his
return to the Dragon. The tide was out, and although the night was dark
he had no difficulty in finding his way along the shore, keeping close
to the margin of the waves. When he approached the headland he was
forced to take to the land, as the waves beat against the foot of the
rock. Guided by the stars he made his way across the cape and came down
on to the shore of the bay.
A light was burning on the poop of the Dragon, and his hail was at once
answered. A few minutes later a boat touched the shore beside him, and
he was soon on board the ship, and at once held council with Egbert and
Siegbert, to whom he related all that had happened. He learned from
them that his two wounded comrades had been brought down to the beach
that evening by the country people, and had told them how narrow an
escape they had had of death at the hands of the enraged peasants.
After a discussion of all the different plans upon which they might
act, it was determined that the attempt to rescue Freda should be made
at once, as they considered it certain that Sweyn with a large portion
of his band would set out at daybreak to take vengeance upon the
natives.
The plan decided upon was that they should proceed along the shore, and
that if the Danish galleys, being undermanned, did not put out in
pursuit, they should sail in and attack them. The Danes were indeed
greatly superior in force, for they had counted the ships, the smallest
of which would carry a hundred men. Still in the absence of a portion
of their crews, and from the effects of surprise, they thought that
success was possible.
The next morning sail was hoisted, and the Dragon made her way along
the coast. The hour was later than that at which she had shown herself
on the previous day. She sailed on until within two miles of the town,
and then suddenly turned her head seaward, as if she had only then
perceived the Danish vessels. The instant she did so a great bustle was
observed among them. Many boats were seen pushing off from shore
crowded with men, oars were got out, and sails loosed.
"From the number of men who are crowding on board," Egbert said, "I
believe that Sweyn cannot have started in pursuit of the natives; in
that case we shall have a hard fight of it."
"So much the better," Siegbert exclaimed. "I should consider our task
was half accomplished if we rescued Freda without punishing Sweyn. Let
them come," he said, shaking his battle-axe at the galleys. "Though my
leg is stiff my arms are not, as Sweyn shall learn if I meet him."
The Dragon's oars were now put out and the galley-slaves began to row,
the Saxons concealing themselves behind the bulwarks. In a few minutes
the whole of the Danish galleys were unmoored and started in the
pursuit of the supposed Italian vessel. The breeze was light, but
somewhat helped the Dragon. Four of the Northmen vessels were large
ships with sails, and these speedily fell behind, but the others with
their oars gained slowly on the Dragon.
Edmund saw with satisfaction that the two galleys of Sweyn, which he at
once recognized, were somewhat faster than their consorts, and the
slaves were made to row as hard as they could in order to prolong the
chase as much as possible, by which means Sweyn's galleys would be the
further separated from the others.
After the pursuit had been continued for some miles Sweyn's galleys
were but a few hundred yards in the rear, and were nearly a quarter of
a mile ahead of those of their comrades, which had gained but little
upon the Dragon since the chase began. Edmund ordered the men to cease
rowing, as if despairing of escape. The Genoese took their station on
the poop, and as Sweyn's galley came rushing up they shouted to it that
they would surrender if promised their lives. The Northmen answered
with a shout of triumph and derision, and dashed alongside.
Sweyn's own galley was slightly in advance of the others. Edmund
ordered the oars to be pulled in as the Northmen came up, so as to
allow them to come alongside. Not a word was spoken on board the Dragon
till the Danes, leaving their oars, swarmed up the side headed by Sweyn
himself. Then Edmund gave a shout, the Saxons leaped to their feet, and
raising their battle-cry fell upon the astonished Danes.
Those who had climbed up were instantly cut down or hurled back into
their own galley, and the Saxons leaping down, a tremendous fight
ensued. Edmund with Siegbert and half his crew boarded the Dane close
to the poop, and so cut the Northmen off from that part of the vessel,
while Egbert with the rest boarded farther forward. The Danes would
have been speedily overpowered had not the second galley arrived upon
the spot; and these, seeing the combat which was raging, at once leaped
upon Sweyn's galley. With this accession of force, although numbers of
the Danes had fallen in the first attack, they still outnumbered the
Saxons.
Sweyn, heading his men, made a desperate effort to drive back Edmund's
party. His men, however, fought less bravely than usual. Their
astonishment at finding the ship which they had regarded as an easy
prize manned by Saxons was overwhelming, and the sight of Siegbert,
whom many of them knew, in the front rank of their enemies added to
their confusion.
Sweyn himself, as he recognized Edmund, at once made at him, and,
wielding a heavy axe in his left hand, strove to cut him down; and
Edmund, strong and skilful as he was, had great difficulty in parrying
the blows which the Northman rained upon him. The combat, however, was
decided by Siegbert, who hurled his javelin at Sweyn, the weapon
passing completely through his body.
Sweyn fell on the deck with a crash.
The Northmen, dispirited at the fall of their leader, hesitated, and as
the Saxons sprang upon them turned and fled into the other galley. The
door of the poop opened and Freda flew into her father's arms.
"Quick, Siegbert, to the Dragon!" Edmund cried, and shouted orders to
his men. "There is not a moment to be lost. The other galleys are just
upon us!"
The Saxons rushed back to the Dragon; the oars were thrust out again,
and the vessel got under weigh just as the other Danish galleys arrived
on the spot. While some of the Saxons poured volleys of arrows and
javelins into the Northmen, the others at Edmund's order leaped down
and double-banked the oars. The increase of power was soon manifest,
and the Dragon began to draw away from the Danes. Gradually their
galleys fell back out of bow-shot, and after continuing the chase for
some little time longer they abandoned it as hopeless and lay upon
their oars to rest.
A shout of triumph rose from the Saxons, and then Edmund, who had
hitherto been fully occupied with the command of the vessel, turned to
Freda, who was still standing by her father.
"I have been a long time in fulfilling my promise, Freda," he said;
"but as your father will tell you I have done my best. Thank God, who
has given me success at last!"
"I never doubted that you would come, Edmund," she said, "and the
knowledge has enabled me to stand firm against both the entreaties and
threats of Sweyn. How can I thank you for all you have done for me?"
"I have spoken to your father, Freda; and he has promised me your hand
if you, indeed, are willing to bestow it. I promised to come for you if
you would wait, nearly five years ago, and I have never thought of any
other woman."
"I have waited for you, Edmund," she said simply, "and would never have
wed another had you not come. You are my hero, and methinks I have
loved you ever since the day when you boarded our ship off the mouth of
the Humber."
"Take her, Edmund," Siegbert said; "you have nobly won her, and there
is no one to whom I could be so well content to intrust her. I now join
your hands in token of betrothal."
The crew of the Dragon, who had been watching the scene, raised a shout
of gladness as they saw Siegbert place Freda's hand in that of Edmund.
They had guessed that their lord must have an affection for this Danish
maiden in whose pursuit they had come so far, and were delighted at the
happy issue of the expedition.
"I trust, Freda," Edmund said to her after a while, "that you have
thought of the talk we had about religion, and that you will forsake
the barbarous gods of your people and become a Christian, as so many of
your people have done in England, and that you will be wedded to me not
in the rude way of the Danes, but in a Christian church."
"I have thought much of it," she said, "and have come to think that
your God of peace must be better than the gods of war; but I would fain
know more of Him before I desert the religion of my fathers."
"That shall you," Edmund said. "With your father's permission I will
place you for a short time in a convent in Rome, and one of the Saxon
monks shall teach you the tenets of our faith. It will be but for a
short time, dear; and while you are there we will try and capture some
of Hasting's galleys, filled with plunder, for my men have come far,
and I would fain that they returned with an ample booty."
Freda and Siegbert agreed to the plan, and the latter said, "I too will
tarry in Rome while you are away, Edmund. I could fight against Sweyn,
for it was in a private quarrel, but I cannot war against my
countrymen. I too will talk with your Saxon monks, and hear about this
new religion of yours, for I think that as I have no others to love or
care for I shall return to England with you, and, if you will have me,
take up my abode in your English home so as to be near you and my
daughter."
The Dragon returned to Rome. There Edmund procured lodgings for
Siegbert and Freda, and the Saxon monks gladly arranged to visit them
and instruct them in the doctrines of Christianity. The Dragon sailed
again for the coast of Sicily and was absent a month, during which time
she captured a number of Danish galleys, most of which were laden with
rich booty. Then she returned to Rome. A few days later a solemn
service was held, at which Freda and Siegbert were baptized as
Christians, and after this was done a marriage service was held, and
Edmund and Freda married with the rites of the Christian Church. The
pope himself was present at the services and bestowed his blessing upon
the newly married couple, the novelty of the occasion drawing a vast
crowd of spectators.
A few days later the Dragon again put to sea, and after a speedy voyage
with favourable weather arrived in England without further adventure.
Edmund's arrival at home was the occasion of great rejoicings. The news
of the share which the Dragon and her crew had taken in the defence of
Paris had reached England, but none knew what had become of her from
that time, and when months had passed without tidings of her being
received it was generally supposed that she must have been lost.
Her return laden with rich booty excited the greatest enthusiasm, and
the king himself journeyed to Sherborne to welcome Edmund on his
arrival there.
"So this is the reason," he said smiling, when Edmund presented Freda
to him, "why you were ever so insensible to the attractions to our
Saxon maidens! Truly the reason is a fair one and fully excuses you,
and right glad am I to welcome your bonnie bride to our shores."
Alfred remained three days at Sherborne and then left Edmund to
administer the affairs of his earldom, for which a substitute had been
provided in his absence. The large plunder which the Dragon had brought
home had enriched all who had sailed in her, and greatly added to the
prosperity which prevailed in Edmund's district.
He found that in his absence Alfred had introduced many changes. The
administration of justice was no longer in the hands of the ealdormen,
judges having been appointed who journeyed through the land and
administered justice. Edmund highly approved of the change, for
although in most cases the ealdormen had acted to the best of their
powers they had a great deal of other business to do; besides, their
decisions necessarily aggrieved one party or the other and sometimes
caused feuds and bad feelings, and were always liable to be suspected
of being tinged with partiality; whereas the judges being strangers in
the district would give their decisions without bias or favour.
Freda had, as was the custom, taken a new name in baptism, but at
Edmund's request her name had only been changed to the Christian one of
Elfrida, and Edmund to the end of his life continued to call her by her
old name. She speedily became as popular in the earldom as was her
husband.
Siegbert, who had been christened Harold, took kindly to his new life.
Between him and Egbert a great friendship had sprung up, and Edmund
built for their joint use a house close to his own.
In 884 Alfred heard that the Danes of East Anglia were in
correspondence with their countrymen at home and in France, and that
there was danger that the peace of England would be disturbed. The
thanes were therefore bidden to prepare for another struggle, to gather
sufficient arms in readiness for all the able-bodied men in their
district, and to call out their contingents from time to time to
practise in the use of arms.
The ealdormen whose seats of government bordered on the sea were
ordered to construct ships of war, so that any Danish armament might be
met at sea. Edmund was appointed to command this fleet, and was
instructed to visit the various ports to superintend the construction
of the ships, and when they were completed to exercise their crews in
naval maneuvers.
The winter of 884 was spent by Edmund in the performance of these
duties. The Dragon was again fitted out, and in her he cruised from
port to port. Freda, who was passionately fond of the sea, accompanied
him, as did Siegbert and Egbert. It was not until May in 885 that the
threatened invasion took place. Then the news came to the king that the
Danes had landed in large numbers near Rochester and had laid siege to
the town. The king instantly summoned his fighting array, and in a few
days moved at the head of a large army towards Kent. Rochester was
defending itself valiantly. The Danes erected a great tower opposite to
the principal gate, and overwhelming the defenders on the walls with
their missiles endeavoured to force their way in by battering down the
gate.
The inhabitants, however, piled great masses of stone behind it, and
even when the gate was battered in the Danes, with all their efforts,
were unable to force an entrance. The Saxon army advanced with such
celerity that the Danes had received no news of their coming until they
were close at hand. Then one of their foraging parties arrived with the
intelligence that a great Saxon army was upon them. The Danes were
seized with a sudden panic, and fled precipitately to their ships,
leaving behind them the horses they had brought from France, their
stores, and all the prisoners and spoil they had gathered in their
incursions in the neighbourhood of Rochester. Seeing how well the
Saxons were prepared for resistance the greater portion of the Danes
crossed to France, but sixteen of their vessels entered the Stour and
joined their allies of East Anglia.
Alfred ordered his fleet to assemble in the Medway, and in a fortnight
the vessels from all the southern ports arrived. They were filled with
fighting men, and sailed to attack the Danes in the Stour, after which
the force was to land and to inflict a severe punishment upon East
Anglia. On hearing of the gathering of the Saxon fleet Athelstan sent
across to France and begged the Danes to come to his assistance, but
none of their vessels had arrived when the Saxon fleet reached the
mouth of the Stour.
The fighting force on board the Danish ships had been largely
reinforced by their countrymen of East Anglia, and in a close body they
rowed out to give battle to the Saxons. A desperate fight ensued, but
after a struggle, which continued for many hours, the Danes were
completely defeated, the whole of their vessels were captured, and all
on board put to the sword.
On the following day the army landed and ravaged the surrounding
country and returned to the ships with much booty. As they sailed out
of the river they saw a vast fleet of the enemy approaching. Athelstan
had assembled his ships from all the ports of East Anglia, and had been
joined by a large reinforcement of his countrymen from France. The
Saxons were greatly outnumbered, but a portion of the fleet fought with
great bravery. Some of the ships, however, being manned with
newly-collected crews unaccustomed to naval war, lost heart, and made
but a poor resistance.
Alfred was on board the Dragon, which sank several of the Danish
galleys, and with some of her consorts continued the fight until
nightfall, beating off every attempt of the Danes to board them. Seeing
that several of the ships had been captured, that others had taken to
flight, and that there was no longer a hope of victory, Alfred gave the
signal, and the Dragon and her remaining consorts fought their way
through the Danish fleet and made their escape.
The valour which the Saxons had shown in these two sea-fights, and the
strength of the army with which Alfred had so speedily marched to the
relief of Rochester, greatly impressed the enemy, and although Rollo
came across from Normandy to the assistance of Athelstan, the Danes
concluded that it was better to leave the Saxons to themselves.
Alfred in the following spring again assembled his army and laid siege
to London, which was still in the possession of the Danes. Athelstan
did not venture to march to its assistance, and the town, which had
long been in the Northmen's hands, was captured. The greater portion of
the city was burned in the siege. Alfred ordered it to be rebuilt,
invited its former inhabitants to return, and offered privileges to all
who would take up their abode there. The walls were rebuilt, and the
city placed in a position of defence. Alfred then handed it over to
Ethelred, the ealdorman of Mercia.
Peace was now made with Athelstan, and for some years remained
unbroken. In 893 a Danish fleet of 250 ships sailed across from
Boulogne and landed in the Weald of Kent, which was then covered with a
great forest, and there wintered, while the viking Hasting with eighty
ships sailed up the Thames and built a strong fort at Milton.
Alfred stationed his army in a strong position half-way between the
forest and the Danish camp at Milton, so that he could attack either
army when they moved out of their stronghold. The Danes for many months
remained in the forest, issuing out occasionally to plunder in the open
country of Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire, but they met with a stout
resistance from the Saxons who had remained in the towns and country.
After Easter, having collected a considerable amount of spoil, and
finding the resistance ever increasing, the Danes moved northwards from
their forest, intending to march into Essex. The king's forces at once
set off to intercept them, and overtook them at Farnham, where the
Northmen were completely defeated. All their booty was recaptured, with
their horses and stores. Those who escaped fled across the Thames and
took refuge on an island in the Colne. The Saxons besieged them there;
but when the Danes were about to surrender from want of provisions the
news arrived that the Northmen of Northumbria and East Anglia, with 240
ships, had landed suddenly in Devonshire, and had laid siege to Exeter.
The siege of the island was at once raised, and King Alfred marched
against the new arrivals, and advancing with great speed fell upon them
and defeated them. Then hastily returning he came to London and, joined
by a strong force from Mercia, marched against Milton, where Hasting
had been joined by the great number of the Danes who had formed the
army in the Weald. Hasting himself was away, but his army marched out
to meet the Saxons.
A great battle was fought, but the Danes could not resist the ardour of
their assailants. Their army was routed and their fortress stormed. All
the booty within it fell into the hands of the victors, together with
the wives and families of the Danes, among whom were the wife and two
sons of Hasting. The Danish fleet also was captured, and was burned or
taken to London. Another great fleet of the East Angles and
Northumbrians sailed up the Thames, and landing, the Northmen marched
across to the Severn, but were defeated and destroyed by Ethelred of
Mercia.
Exeter was again invested by a Danish fleet, and again saved by Alfred.
The Danes, as they retired along the south coast, landed near
Chichester, where they suffered a heavy defeat from the South Saxons.
In the following year a fresh fleet sailed up the Thames and thence up
the Lea, where they constructed a fortress twenty miles above London.
Alfred caused two fortresses to be erected on the Lea below them, with
vast balks of timber entirely obstructing the river. The Danes, finding
their retreat cut off, abandoned their ships and marched across England
to Cwatbridge on the Severn. Their fleet fell into the hands of the
Londoners, who burned and broke up all the smaller ships and carried
the rest down to London. The Danes were so disconcerted by the many and
severe defeats which had befallen them that they now abandoned the idea
of again conquering England, and taking ship, sailed for France.
Four years later, in 901, King Alfred died, having reigned twenty-nine
years and six months. During his reign England had made immense
advances in civilization, and in spite of the devastation wrought by
the Danish occupation of Wessex during the early years of his reign,
and the efforts required afterwards to oppose them, the wealth and
prosperity of the country vastly increased during his reign. Abbeys and
monasteries had multiplied, public buildings been erected, towns
rebuilt and beautified, and learning had made great advances. The laws
of the country had been codified and regulated, the administration of
justice placed on a firm basis. The kingly authority had greatly
increased, and the great ealdormen were no longer semi-independent
nobles, but officers of the crown. Serfdom, although not entirely
abolished, had been mitigated and regulated. Arts and manufactures had
made great progress.
Edmund and Freda survived King Alfred many years, and their district
continued to be one of the most prosperous and well-ruled in the
kingdom. Their descendants continued to hold the office of ealdorman
until the invasion by William the Conqueror, and the holder of the
office at that time fell, with numbers of his followers, at the battle
of Hastings. For very many years after that event the prow of the
Dragon was kept in the great hall of Sherborne as a memorial of the
valiant deeds performed against the Danes by Ealdorman Edmund.