The Danes, however, were by no means content even with these successes. Olaf Tryggvesson, king of Norway, and Swegen Forkbeard,[1] king of Denmark, fell upon England. The era of mere plundering16 expeditions and of scattered17 colonisation had ceased; the era of political conquest had now begun. They had determined18 upon the complete subjugation19 of all England. In 994 Olaf and Swegen attacked London with 94 ships, but were put to flight by a gallant20 resistance of the townsmen, who did "more harm and evil than ever they weened that any burghers could do them." Thence the host sailed away to Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire, burning and slaying21 all along the coast as they went. ?thelred and his witan bought them off again, with the immense tribute of sixteen thousand pounds. The host accepted the terms, but settled down for the winter at Southampton—a sufficient indication of their intentions—within easy reach of Winchester itself; and there "they fed from all the West Saxons' land." ?thelred was alarmed, and sent to Olaf, who consented to meet him at Andover. There the king received him "with great worship," and gifted him with kinglike gifts, and sent him away with a promise never again to attack England. Olaf kept his word, and returned no more. But still Swegen remained, and went on pillaging22 Devonshire and Cornwall, wending into Tamar mouth as far as Lidford, where his men "burnt and slew23 all that they found." Thence they betook themselves to the Frome, and so up into Dorset, and again to Wight. In 999, on the eve of doomsday as men then thought, they sailed up Thames and Medway, and attacked Rochester. The men of Kent stoutly24 fought them, but, as usual, without assistance from other shires; and the Danes took horses, and rode over the land, almost ruining all the West Kentings. The king and his witan resolved to send against them a land fyrd and a ship fyrd or raw levy25. But the spirit of the West Saxons was broken, and though the craft were gathered together, yet in the end, as the Chronicle plaintively26 puts it, "neither ship fyrd nor land fyrd wrought27 anything save toil28 for the folk, and the emboldening29 of their foes30."
So, year after year, the endless invasion dragged on its course, and everywhere each shire of Wessex fought for itself against such enemies as happened to attack it. At last, in the year 1002, ?thelred once more bought off the fleet, this time with 24,000 pounds; and some of the Danes obtained leave to settle down in Wessex. But on St. Brice's day, the king treacherously31 gave orders that all Danes in the immediate32 English territory should be massacred. The West Saxons rose on the appointed night, and slew every one of them, including Gunhild, the sister of King Swegen, and a Christian33 convert. It was a foolhardy attempt. Swegen fell at once upon Wessex, and marched up and down the whole country, for two years. He burnt Wilton and Sarum, and then sailed round to Norwich, where Ulfkytel, of East Anglia, gave him "the hardest hand-play" that he had ever known in England. A year of famine intervened; but in 1006 Swegen returned again, harrying34 and burning Sandwich. All autumn the West Saxon fyrd waited for the enemy, but in the end "it came to naught35 more than it had oft erst done." The host took up quarters in Wight, marched across Hants and Berks to Reading, and burned Wallingford. Thence they returned with their booty to the fleet, by the very walls of the royal city. "There might the Winchester folk behold36 an insolent37 host and fearless wend past their gate to sea." The king himself had fled into Shropshire. The tone of utter despair with which the Chronicle narrates38 all these events is the best measure of the national degradation39. "There was so muckle awe40 of the host," says the annalist, "that no man could think how man could drive them from this earth or hold this earth against them; for that they had cruelly marked each shire of Wessex with burning and with harrying." The English had sunk into hopeless misery41, and were only waiting for a strong rule to rescue them from their misery.
The strong rule came at last. Thorkell, a Danish jarl, marched all through Wessex, and for three years more his host pillaged everywhere in the South. In 1011, they killed ?lfheah, the archbishop of Canterbury, at Greenwich. When the country was wholly weakened, Swegen turned southward once more, this time with all Northumbria and Mercia at his back. In 1013 he sailed round to Humber mouth, and thence up the Trent, to Gainsborough. "Then Earl Uhtred and all Northumbrians soon bowed to him, and all the folk in Lindsey; and sithence the folk of the Five Burgs, and shortly after, all the host by north of Watling-street; and men gave him hostages of each shire." Swegen at once led the united army into England, leaving his son Cnut in Denalagu with the ships and hostages. He marched to Oxford42, which received him; then to the royal city of Winchester, which made no resistance. At London ?thelred was waiting; and for a time the town held out. So Swegen marched westward43, and took Bath. There, the thegns of the Welsh-kin1 counties—Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall—bowed to him and gave him hostages. "When he had thus fared, he went north to his ships, and all the folk held him then as full king." London itself gave way. ?thelred fled to Wight, and thence to Normandy. He had married Ymma, the daughter of Richard the Fearless; and he now took refuge with her brother, Richard the Good.
Next year Swegen died, and the West Saxon witan sent back for ?thelred. No lord was dearer to them, they said, than their lord by kin. But the host had already chosen Cnut; and the host had a stronger claim than the witan. For two years ?thelred carried on a desultory44 war with the intruders, and then died, leaving it undecided. His son Eadmund, nicknamed Ironside, continued the contest for a few months; but in the autumn of 1016 he died—poisoned, the English said, by Cnut—and Cnut succeeded to undisputed sway. He at once assumed Wessex as his own peculiar45 dominion12, and the political history of the English ends for two centuries. Their social life went on, of course, as ever; but it was the life of a people in strict subjection to foreign rulers—Danish, Norman, or Angevin. The story of the next twenty-five years at least belongs to the chronicles of Scandinavian Britain.
At the end of that time, however, there was a slight reaction. Cnut and his sons had bound the kingdom roughly into one; and the death of Harthacnut left an opportunity for the return of a descendant of ?lfred. But the English choice fell upon one who was practically a foreigner. Eadward, son of ?thelred by Ymma of Normandy, had lived in his mother's country during the greater part of his life. Recalled by Earl Godwine and the witan, he came back to England a Norman, rather than an Englishman. The administration remained really in the hands of Godwine himself, and of the Danish or Danicised aristocracy. But Mercia and Northumbria still stood apart from Wessex, and once procured47 the exile of Godwine himself. The great earl returned, however, and at his death passed on his power to his son Harold, a Danicised Englishman of great rough ability, such as suited the hard times on which he was cast. Harold employed the lifetime of Eadward, who was childless, in preparing for his own succession. The king died in 1066, and Harold was quietly chosen at once by the witan. He was the last Englishman who ever sat upon the throne of England.
The remaining story belongs chiefly to the annals of Norman Britain. Harold was assailed48 at once from either side. On the north, his brother Tostig, whom he had expelled from Northumbria, led against him his namesake, Harold Hardrada, king of Norway. On the south, William of Normandy, Eadward's cousin, claimed the right to present himself to the English electors. Eadward's death, in fact, had broken up the temporary status, and left England once more a prey49 to barbaric Scandinavians from Denmark, or civilised Scandinavians from Normandy. The English themselves had no organisation50 which could withstand either, and no national unity46 to promote such organisation in future. Harold of Norway came first, landing in the old Danish stronghold of Northumbria; and the English Harold hurried northward51 to meet him, with his little body of house-carls, aided by a large fyrd which he had hastily collected to use against William. At Stamford-bridge he overthrew52 the invaders53 with great slaughter54, Harold Hardrada and Tostig being amongst the slain55. Meanwhile, William had crossed to Pevensey, and was ravaging56 the coast. Harold hurried southward, and met him at Senlac, near Hastings. After a hard day's fight, the Normans were successful, and Harold fell. But even yet the English could not agree among themselves. In this crisis of the national fate, the local jealousies57 burnt up as fiercely as ever. While William was marching upon London, the witan were quarrelling and intriguing58 in the city over the succession. "Archbishop Ealdred and the townsmen of London would have Eadgar Child,"—a grandson of Eadmund Ironside—"for king, as was his right by kin." But Eadwine and Morkere, the representatives of the great Mercian family of Leofric, had hopes that they might turn William's invasion to their own good, and secure their independence in the north by allowing Wessex to fall unassisted into his hands. After much shuffling59, Eadgar was at last chosen for king. "But as it ever should have been the forwarder, so was it ever, from day to day, slower and worse." No resistance was organised. In the midst of all this turmoil60, the Peterborough Chronicler is engaged in narrating61 the petty affairs of his own abbey, and the question which arose through the application made to Eadgar for his consent to the appointment of an abbot. In such a spirit did the English meet an invasion from the stoutest62 and best organised soldiery in Europe. William marched on without let or hindrance63, and on his way, the Lady—the Confessor's widow—surrendered the royal city of Winchester into his hands. The duke reached the Thames, burnt Southwark, and then made a détour to cross the river at Wallingford, whence he proceeded into Hertfordshire, thus cutting off Eadwine and Morkere in London from their earldoms. The Mercian and Northumbrian leaders being determined to hold their own at all hazards, retreated northward; and the English resistance crumbled64 into pieces. Eadgar, the rival king, with Ealdred, the archbishop, and all the chief men of London, came out to meet William, and "bowed to him for need." The Chronicler can only say that it was very foolish they had not done so before. A people so helpless, so utterly65 anarchic, so incapable66 of united action, deserved to undergo a severe training from the hard taskmasters of Romance civilisation67. The nation remained, but it remained as a conquered race, to be drilled in the stern school of the conquerors68. For awhile, it is true, William governed England like an English king; but the constant rebellion and faithlessness of his new subjects drove him soon to severer measures; and the great insurrection of 1068, with its results, put the whole country at his feet in a very different sense from the battle of Senlac. For a hundred and fifty years, the English people remained a mere race of chapmen and serfs; and the English language died down meanwhile into a servile dialect. When the native stock emerges again into the full light of history, by the absorption of the Norman conquerors in the reign of John, it reappears with all the super-added culture and organisation of the Romance nationalities. The Conquest was an inevitable69 step in the work of severing70 England from the barbarous North, and binding71 it once more in bonds of union with the civilised South. It was the necessary undoing72 of the Danish conquest; more still, it was an inevitable step in the process whereby England itself was to begin its unified73 existence by the final breaking down of the barriers which divided Wessex from Mercia, and Mercia from Northumbria.
[1] See Mr. York-Powell's "Scandinavian Britain."
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1
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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2
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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3
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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4
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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5
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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6
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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7
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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pillaged
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| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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10
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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11
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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12
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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13
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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14
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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15
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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17
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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18
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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19
subjugation
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| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
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20
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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21
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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22
pillaging
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| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 ) | |
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23
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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24
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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25
levy
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| n.征收税或其他款项，征收额 | |
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26
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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27
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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28
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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29
emboldening
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| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的现在分词 ) | |
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30
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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31
treacherously
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| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
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32
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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33
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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34
harrying
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| v.使苦恼( harry的现在分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰 | |
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35
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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36
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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37
insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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38
narrates
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| v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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39
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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40
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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41
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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42
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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43
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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44
desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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45
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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46
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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47
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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48
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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49
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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50
organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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51
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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52
overthrew
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| overthrow的过去式 | |
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53
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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54
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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55
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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56
ravaging
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| 毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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57
jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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58
intriguing
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| adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心 | |
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59
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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60
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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61
narrating
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| v.故事( narrate的现在分词 ) | |
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62
stoutest
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| 粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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63
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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64
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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65
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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66
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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67
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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68
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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69
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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70
severing
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂 | |
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71
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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72
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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73
unified
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| (unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的 | |
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