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A History of Northumberland: General History of the County
A History of Northumberland General History of the County Author:John Hodgson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 113 CHAPTER IV. DANISH PERIOD. The earliest invasion of England by a Danish force is assigned by our annalists to the year 787, and is thus described by E... more »thelward, who, on this occasion, supplies, in his own peculiar style, several particulars which are omitted by other historians:— " During the reign of the most pious Byrhtric, king of the West Saxons, the people spreading abroad in innocency, gave their labour in calm tranquillity to cultivate the furrows of their neglected fields ; and the burden-bearing oxen submitted their necks to the yoke with pleasure. A sudden invasion of the Danes took place, with a small fleet of only three ships ; this was their first descent. When the news arrived, the King's-reeve happened to be staying at Dorchester. He immediately mounted his horse and rode to the port with only a few attendants, supposing the strangers to be traders and not plunderers : then issuing his commands, he ordered them to be taken to the king's town ; but they slew both himself and his followers ; and the reeve's name was Beaduheard." The Saxon Chronicle speaks of the arrival of " three ships of the Northmen from Hseretha-land," and describes the slaughter of the reeve and his men, but without mentioning his name or the locality of the transaction, further than that it occurred within the territory of the West Saxon King. Gaimar calls the invaders Danes, " from the country of Gwenelinge " or ' Wellinge." " After the death of the reeve," he says, " they overran the land, and did much evil in the country, although they had only three ships. Then returning home, they assembled their friends, and endeavoured to persuade them to invade Britain and take it from the English, for, said they, it is our rightful heritage, which many of our progenitors have enjoyed,...« less