can disprove that which any one would charge to him; be he liable in his tongue; unless he make him compensation with his "wēr."

OF GEMOTS

And let the hundred-“gemōt” be attended as it was before fixed; and thrice in the year let a "burh-gemōt” be held; and twice, a shire-"gemōt"; and let there be present the bishop of the shire and the "ealdorman," and there both expound the law of God as the secular law.

OF "BORHS"

And let every man so order that he have a "borh"; and let the "borh" then bring and hold him to every justice; and if any one then do wrong and run away, let the "borh" bear that which he ought to bear. But if it be a thief, and if he can get hold of him within twelve months; let him deliver him up to justice, and let be rendered to him what he before had paid.

OF "TIHT-BYSIG" PERSONS

And he who is "tyht-bysig," and is untrue to the people, and has shunned these "gemōts" thrice; then let there be chosen from the "gemōt" those who shall ride to him, and then let him yet find a "borh" if he can: but if he cannot, let them seize him as they can, whether alive or dead; and take all that he owns; and let the accuser be paid an “angylde" for his "ceap-gild": and let the lord moreover take half, half the hundred; and if either a kinsman or a stranger refuse the riding, let him pay to the king a hundred and twenty shillings and let a notorious thief seek whatever he may seek, or he who is found plotting against his lord, so that they never seek life; unless the king will grant them salvation of life.

OF MONEY AND MEASURES

And let one money pass thoughout the king's dominion; and that let no man refuse: and let one measure and one weight pass; such as is observed at London and at Winchester; and let the wey of wool go for CXXX. pence; and let no man sell it cheaper; and if any one sell it cheaper, either publicly or privately, let each pay XL. shillings to the king, both him who sells it, and him who buys it.

This then is what I will: that every man be under "borh," both within the "burhs," and without the "burhs"; and let witness be appointed to every "burh" and to every hundred.

To every "burh," let there be chosen XXXIII. as witness. To small "burhs," and in every hundred, XII.; unless ye desire more.

And let every man, with their witness, buy and sell every of the chattels that he may buy or sell, either in a "burh" or in a wapentake; and let every of them, when he is first chosen as witness, give the oath that he never, neither for money, nor for love, nor for fear, will deny any of those things of which he was witness, nor declare any other thing in witness, save that alone which he saw or heard: and of such sworn men, let there be at every bargain two or three as witness.

CHAPTER VI

THE DANES IN ENGLAND

37. The Danish Invasions

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The Danish invasions of England extended from 787 through three centuries. During this period there was no decade free from harrying and slaughter. Ireland and Scotland did not escape the ravagers, but England had to bear the brunt of the struggle. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us of the first coming of the Danes in 787, and then marks the progress of the Danish power until this culminated in the reign of Canute. The selections given, from the Chronicle and from ASSER'S Life of Alfred, note but a few of the salient points in the history of the establishment of the Danish power. The works cited should be consulted for details.

A. 787. This year king Bertric took to wife Eadburga, king Offa's daughter; and in his day first came three ships of Northmen, out of Hæretha-land [Denmark]. And then the reve rode to the place, and would have driven them to the king's town, because he knew not who they were: and they there slew him. These were the first ships of Danishmen which sought the land of the English nation.

A. 855. This year the heathen men, for the first time, remained over winter in Sheppey:...

A. 878. This year, during midwinter, after twelfth night, the army stole away to Chippenham, and overran the land of the West-Saxons, and sat down there; and many of the people they drove beyond sea, and of the remainder the greater part they subdued and forced to obey them, except king Alfred: and he, with a small band, with difficulty retreated to the woods and to the fastnesses of the moors. And the same winter the brother of Hingwar and of Halfdene came with twenty-three ships to Devonshire in Wessex; and he was there slain, and with him eight hundred and forty

men of his army: and there was taken the war-flag which they called the RAVEN. After this, at Easter king Alfred with a small band constructed a fortress at Athelney; and from this fortress, with that part of the men of Somerset which was nearest to it, from time to time they fought against the army. Then in the seventh week after Easter he rode to Brixton, on the east side of Selwood; and there came to meet him all the men of Somerset, and the men of Wiltshire, and that portion of the men of Hampshire which was on this side of the sea; and they were joyful at his presence. On the following day he went from that station to Iglea [Iley], and on the day after this to Heddington, and there fought against the whole army, put them to flight, and pursued them as far as their fortress: and there he sat down fourteen days. And then the army delivered to him hostages, with many oaths, that they would leave his kingdom, and also promised him that their king should receive baptism: and this they accordingly fulfilled. And about three weeks after this king Gothrun came to him, with some thirty men who were of the most distinguished in the army, at Aller, which is near Athelney: and the king was his godfather at baptism; and his chrism-loosing was at Wedmore: and he was twelve days with the king; and he greatly honoured him and his companions with gifts.

(Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, for years given, ed. cited.)

38. Alfred at Athelney

Asser

ASSER, a monk of St. David's, afterward Bishop of Sherborne, was an adviser and intimate of King Alfred. He wrote a Life of the king, which, though containing few facts not also to be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, is of interest and value. The following selection graphically describes the period of discouragement which formed the prelude to the victories of the greatest of the early English kings, as well as the battle in which the power of the Danes was overthrown.

The same year, after Easter, king Alfred, with a few followers, made for himself a stronghold in a place called Athelney, and from thence sallied with his vassals and the nobles of Somersetshire, to make frequent assaults upon the pagans. Also, in the seventh week after Easter, he rode to the stone of Egbert, which is in the eastern part of the wood which is called Selwood, which means in Latin Silva Magna, the Great Wood, but in British Coit-mawr. Here he was met by all the neighbouring folk of Somersetshire, and Wiltshire, and Hampshire, who had not, for fear of the pagans, fled

beyond the sea; and when they saw the king alive after such great tribulation, they received him, as he deserved, with joy and acclamations, and encamped there for one night. When the following day dawned, the king struck his camp, and went to Okely, where he encamped for one night. The next morning he removed to Edington, and there fought bravely and perseveringly against all the army of the pagans, whom, with the divine help, he defeated with great slaughter, and pursued them flying to their fortification. Immediately he slew all the men, and carried off all the booty that he could find without the fortress, which he immediately laid siege to with all his army; and when he had been there fourteen days, the pagans, driven by famine, cold, fear, and last of all by despair, asked for peace, on the condition that they should give the king as many hostages as he pleased, but should receive none of him in return, in which form they had never before made a treaty with any one. The king, hearing that, took pity on them, and received such hostages as he chose; after which the pagans swore, moreover, that they would immediately leave the kingdom; and their king, Gothrin, promised to embrace Christianity, and receive baptism at king Alfred's hands. All of which articles he and his men fulfilled as they had promised. For after seven weeks Gothrun, king of the pagans, with thirty men chosen from the army, came to Alfred at a place called Aller, near Athelney, and there king Alfred, receiving him as his son by adoption, raised him up from the holy laver of baptism on the eighth day, at a royal villa named Wedmore, where the holy chrism was poured upon him. After his baptism he remained twelve nights with the king, who, with all his nobles, gave him many fine houses.

(Asser's Annals of the Reign of Alfred the Great, ed. J. A. Giles, in Six Old English Chronicles, London, 1872.)

39. Alfred and Guthrum's Peace

From the Laws of King Alfred

After the defeat of Guthrum and the Danes in 878, a peace was sworn between the rival forces. This was recorded in the treaty of Chippenham - sometimes incorrectly called the Peace of Wedmore. By this treaty, England was divided between Alfred and Guthrum, and laws were provided for the government of the respective portions.

This is the peace that king Alfred, and king Guthrum, and the "witan" of all the English nation, and all the people that are in East-Anglia, have all ordained and with oaths con