those of a savage, in the end he proved a good ruler. The late King's two infant sons he sent to his halfbrother Olaf, King of the Swedes, praying him to put them to death. The Swede however placed them unhurt under the care of the King of the Hungarians. Towards the people in general Cnut showed nothing of this cruel and suspicious temper, his aim being to win their trust and to rule as an English King. He gathered about him a standing force of from 3,000 to 6,000 paid soldiers, Danes, Englishmen, and recruits from all parts of Northern Europe; but we never hear of his employing these Housecarls-household troops, as we should now say-for purposes of oppression. Besides being King of England and Denmark, he also won Norway and part of Sweden; but he spent most of his time in England, which he liked better than his other dominions. He divided the country into four great governments or Earldoms-Wessex, Mercia, East-Anglia, and Northumberland. This last Earldom now extended only from the Humber to the Tweed, as Lothian, that part of the old Northumbrian kingdom which lay beyond the Tweed, was held by the King of Scots, and so grew into part of Scotland. Besides the great Earls, who wielded well-nigh royal power, there were many lesser earls, subordinate governors of one or more shires; and the original fourfold division was not strictly adhered to. Thus Northumberland was sometimes split in two, and rather later on, the southern part, which answered to the ancient Deira, began to be distinguished as Yorkshire, while the northern part, as far as the Tweed, alone retained the name of Northumberland. Of Cnut's Earls, the most notable was an Englishman, Godwin, on whom the King bestowed the hand of a Danishwoman of high rank-Gytha, sister of Cnut's brother-in-law Ulf- and the Earldom of Wessex. Cnut died at Shaftesbury in 1035. Not long after his accession, he had married Emma of Normandy, T D the widow of King Æthelred, and by her had one son, Harthacnut. 2. Story of Cnut and the Waves.-Of the legends about Cnut, the most famous is that which records how he one day, during the height of his power, ordered a seat to be placed for him on the sea-shore, and bade the rising tide respect him as its lord, nor dare to wet him. The waves, regardless of the royal command, soon dashed over his feet, and the King leaped back, saying, "Let all the dwellers on earth know that the power of Kings is vain and worthless, nor is there any worthy of the name of King but He whose will heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws." Thenceforth he never wore his crown, but placed it on an image of our Lord on the Cross. 3. Harold I., 1035–1040.-Harthacnut succeeded his father in Denmark, but in England his friends, Earl Godwin and the West-Saxons, could only obtain for him the rule of the country south of Thames. North of that river the kingdom was given to Cnut's illegitimate son Harold. During this divided reign, the Ætheling Alfred, younger son of Æthelred and Emma, came over from Normandy, probably hoping for a chance of the kingdom. He was seized by Harold's men and carried off to Ely, where, his eyes being put out, he died soon after. Earl Godwin was always suspected of having betrayed the Ætheling; but the accounts are so confused, that it is hard to judge. In the next year, 1037, Harold was made ruler over the whole country, his fellow-King having never yet left Denmark. 4. Harthacnut, 1040-1042.-On Harold's death in 1040, Harthacnut was called to the throne, but his government was so bad that the nation soon rued its choice. He enraged his subjects by the heavy taxes he imposed for the payment of his fleet, and disgusted them by having the dead body of his half-brother Harold dug up and cast into a fen. The London Danes buried the corpse again in their own buryingground, the memory of which is still preserved in the name of the church of St. Clement Danes. In 1042 Harthacnut died suddenly at a marriage-feast at Lambeth. By his death England and Denmark became separated. CHAPTER VII. FROM EDWARD TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST. Edward the Confessor; the favourites; Earl Godwin; his banishment, return, and death; Earl Harold (1) -the Northern Earldoms (2)-death of Edward; Westminster; Harold named as successor (3)-Harold II.; Duke William of Normandy (4)—invasion of Harold Hardrada and Tostig; battle of Stamford Bridge (5)-the Norman invasion; battle of Hastings; fall of Harold (6)—election of the Etheling Edgar; coronation of William (7). 1. House of Cerdic. Eadward or Edward, surnamed the Confessor or Saint, 1042-1066. -The old Royal line was now restored, Edward, the elder son of Æthelred and Emma, being elected to the throne. Unluckily, the new King, brought up in Normandy from boyhood, was no better than a foreigner. The Normans indeed were Scandinavians by descent; but their manners, ideas, and language were French, and the English commonly called them "Frenchmen." Edward's chief desire was to bring over to England his foreign friends, and to load them with honours, offices, and estates. A Norman monk, Robert of Jumièges, whose influence was described as being such "that if he were to say a black crow was white, the King would believe him rather than his own |