Canute's mind may have been swollen into temporary presumption. He may in the frenzies of vanity have fancied, like an Alexander, that he was scarcely a mortal. But his mind was too powerful to continue the slave of his conceit. The more he gazed on nature, the more he felt the adorable Being who governed him, as well as his people; the more he was humbled with the conviction of his individual insignificance. To communicate his solemn sensations, with all their impressions, to his adulating friends, he ordered the chair of his dignity to be placed on the sea-beach. His courtiers formed around him; the tide was undulating to the shore, and Canute seated himself before it. 'Ocean, the island on which I sit is mine, and thou art a part of my dominion. None of my subjects dare to resist my orders; I therefore command thee, that thou ascend not my coasts, nor presume to wet the borders of my robes."

"Let

In vain the mandate issued. He was not the master whom the waters reverenced; and in contempt of his authority every wave drew nearer to his feet, till the general elevation of the ocean covered his legs with its billows. It was then that he expressed the noble sentiment, which was impressing his mind. every dweller upon the earth confess that the power of kings is frivolous and vain. HE only is the Great Supreme, let HIM only be honoured with the name of Majesty, whose nod, whose everlasting laws, the heavens, the earth, and sea, with all their hosts, obey." In conformity to this sublime feeling, Canute would never afterwards wear his crown."

Among the kingly qualities in which Canute strove to excel, his liberality was distinguished. Masters of the tributes of seve ral kingdoms, his resources were equal to the munificence of his heart. His journey from Flanders to Rome was a stream of expensive generosity. Whoever approached him was fed and cherished without a request. Canute's presents in general had three objects; charity, literature, and public services.

The literature of his age was in the hands of two very different bodies of men; the clergy and the scallds. Both have extolled his liberality. Of the scallds who attended him, the names and verses of many have survived to us. Sighvatr, Ottar the Swarthy, Thordr Kolbeinson, and Thorarin Loftunga, are among those whose historical poems or panegyrics have been much cited by Snorre in his northern history.

y I have stated this incident from Matt. West. p. 409; Hen. Hunt. 364; Rad. Dic. 469; Higden and Brompton.

2 Knytlinga Saga, 145.

a Ibid. 144, 145. Encomium Emmæ, 173.

b For his donations to the church, see Matt. West. 404, 405, 409; Encom. Emmæ, 173; and others. In mentioning his resources from his kingdoms, the Knytlinga Saga gives to our country the praise of that superior affluence which it seems, in every age, to have displayed: "inter omnes septentrionales terras, opum ac thesaurorum Anglia facile sit ditissima," p. 146.

In the second volume passim. Sighvatr was the son of Thordr, a scalld. Snorre, 45.

Thorarin was celebrated for the richness and celerity of his muse. He gave a striking specimen of this faculty. He had made a short poem on Canute, and went to recite it in his presence. On approaching the throne, he received a salute, and respectfully inquired if he might repeat what he had composed. The king was at table at the close of a repast; but a crowd of petitioners were occupying their sovereign's ear by a statement of their grievances. The impatient poet may have thought them unusually loquacious: he bore the tedious querulousness of injury with less patience than the king, and at last, presuming on his general favour with the great, exclaimed, "Let me request again, sire, that you would listen to my song; it will not consume much of your time, for it is very short." The king, angry at the petulant urgency of the solicitation, answered, with a stern look, "Are you not ashamed to do what none but yourself has dared to write a short poem upon me! Unless by to-morrow's dinner you produce above thirty strophes, on the same subject, your head shall be the penalty." The poet retired-not with alarm, for his genius disdained that, but with some mortification at the public rebuke. He invoked his Scandinavian Muses his mind became fluent; verses crowded on it; and before the allotted time, he stood before the king with the exacted poem, and received fifty marks of pure silver as his reward.d

As private anecdotes best display the real character, another may be permitted; and perhaps it will be most picturesque to give it in the words of the recording eye-witness. It occurred upon Canute's journey to Rome, at St. Ömer's.

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Entering the monasteries, where he was received with great honour, he walked humbly, he fixed his eyes on the ground with wonderful reverence; and pouring out (if I may say so) rivers of tears, he implored the aid of the saints. But when the moment came of presenting his gifts upon the altar, how often did he impress the pavement with his kisses! how often did he strike his venerable breast! what sighs! what prayers that he might not be found unworthy of the mercy of the Supreme! At length his attendants stretched forth his munificent oblation, which the king himself placed on the altar. But why do I say the altar, when I remember that I myself saw him go round every part of the monasteries, and pass no altar, however small, on which he did not leave a present, and which he did not salute? Then came the poor, and were all separately relieved. These and other bounties of the lord Canute, I your slave! Oh, St. Omer, St. Ber

Koytlinga Saga, 146, 147. Snorre mentions this shortly, p. 297. The poet afterwards, in his Tugdrapa, sung the present. See the stanza in Knytl. p. 147. His short poem was of the kind which Snorre says, "we call Flok." The longer was of the sort called Drapa. Snorre, p. 297. He gives a long specimen of the Drapa, p. 298, 299, and a specimen of the Flok, p. 303.

tin, myself beheld in your monasteries; for which do you pray that such a king may live in the heavenly habitations, as your servants, the canons and monks, are daily petitioning."

This incident is inserted, because it affords a striking contrast to some actions of Canute's earlier life. A Dunstan might have acted such a scene for its theatrical effect. But in the proud master of so many conquered kingdoms, the emotions must have been those of his mind and heart.

Canute has himself described his journey to Rome in a public document, addressed to all the orders of the English nation: he says, he went for the redemption of his sins, and the welfare of his subjects; that he had projected it before, but had been hindered by business and other impediments. He adds:

"Be it known to you, that there was a great assembly of nobles at the Easter solemnity, with the lord the pope John, and Conrad the emperor. There were all the princes of the people, from Mount Gargano to the sea, who all received me with dignity, and honoured me with valuable presents. I was particularly honoured with various gifts and costly presents from the emperor, as well with gold and silver vessels, as with very rich apparel. I spake with the emperor, the pope, and the princes, on the necessities of my English and Danish subjects, that a more equal law, and better safeguard might be granted to them in their journeys to Rome; that they might not be hindered at so many fortified passages, nor oppressed by such unjust exactions. The emperor assented, and Rodolph, the king, who rules most of the passages, and all the princes established, that my subjects, whether merchants or travellers from piety might go and return without detention or exaction.

"I also complained before the pope, and expressed myself highly displeased that such an immensity of money should be extorted from my archbishops when they came to Rome for the pall. It was declared that this should not happen again."

Canute, after mentioning that these concessions were ratified by oaths before four archbishops, twenty bishops, and an innumerable multitude of dukes and nobles, exclaims: "Therefore, I return my liberal thanks to Almighty God, that all things which I

• Encomium Emmæ, 173.

This letter of Canute's is in Flor. Wig. 394–397; Ingulf, 59-61; and Malmsb. p. 74, 75. Its substance is stated in Matt. West. 407, and elsewhere.

8 He was the fourth emperor after Otho the Great.

h In Florence he is called Rodulph; so in Malmsb. 74. But in Ingulf, both in Gale's edition, p. 60, and that of Frankfort, p. 893, he is named Robert. The difference is not merely verbal. Rodulph was the king of Burgundy; and Robert, the son and successor of Hugh Capet, was the King of France. But as the clausuræ, or fortified passages, of which Canute speaks, were probably those of the Alps, which Rodulph commanded; and as Robert died in 1030, and Canute's journey is usually placed in 1031, there can be no doubt that Rodulph is the right reading.

desired, I have prosperously achieved as I had contemplated, and have fulfilled all my wishes."

In the subsequent paragraphs of his public letter, he alludes nobly to his former conduct. In viewing his past actions with sentiments of regret, and in publicly confessing that he intends an amendment, he displays a greatness of mind which kings of such successful ambition have seldom reached. Canute is an instance, rarely paralleled, of a character improved by prosperity. His worst actions were in his days of peril. When the full glory of established and multiplied power shone around him, his heart became humble, pious, and ennobled. Educated among vikingr, his first misconduct may be referred to his tuition. His latter feelings were the produce of his improved intellect and magnanimity.

Be it also known to all, that I have vowed to Almighty God, to govern my life henceforward by rectitude, to rule my kingdoms and people justly, and piously to observe equal judgment everywhere; and if, through the intemperance and negligence of my youth, Ihave done what was not just, I will endeavour hereafter, by God's help, entirely to amend it. Therefore I beseech and command all my conciliarii, to whom I have confided the councils of my kingdom, that they in no shape suffer or consent to any injustice throughout my realm, neither from fear of me, nor from favour to any person of power; I command all the sheriffs and governors of all my realm, as they value my friendship or their own safety, that they impose unjust violence on no man, whether rich or poor; but that the noble and their inferiors, the wealthy and the needy, may enjoy their property justly. This enjoyment must not be infringed in any manner, neither in behalf of the king, nor any other man of power, nor on the pretext of collecting money for me, because there is no necessity that money should be obtained for me by unjust exaction."

After alluding to some enemies whom he had pacified, and mentioning that he was returning to Denmark, whence, as soon in the summer as he could procure shipping, he proposed to visit England; he continues:

"I have sent this letter first, that all my people may rejoice in my prosperity, because, as you yourselves know, I have never forborne to apply myself and my labour, nor will I ever forbear to devote either, to the necessary utility of all my people."

These patriotic sentiments, from a royal pen, are highly valuable. Such kings give new splendour to their thrones, and secure to themselves that perpetuity of fame which mortality so covets.

CHAPTER XII.

The Reign of Harold the First, surnamed Harefoot.

CANUTE, at his death, left three sons, Svein, Harold, and Hardicanute. In his life he had placed Svein over Norway,b 1035. and he wished that Harold would rule in England, and Hardicanute in Denmark. At the council which met at Oxford to elect a new sovereign, the opinions were divided. The chiefs of Danish descent and connections chose Harold; the West Saxons headed by Earl Godwin, preferred his brother Hardicanute, because his mother, Emma, had been the wife of Ethelred, and was a favourite with the Anglo-Saxons. The children of Ethelred who were in Normandy were also remembered; but the Danish dynasty was not yet unpopular, and Harold, by force or influence, obtained a portion of the kingdom, and seized the treasures which Emma possessed from the gift of Canute.c Harold, at first, reigned at London, and north of the Thames; and Hardicanute in the west of England.

The murder of Alfred, one of the sons of Emma by Ethelred, lies heavy on the memory both of Harold and Godwin."

He died at Shaftesbury, the 12th of November, 1034. MS. Tib. B. 1. b Snorre, Saga Olafi Helga, p. 383. Florence calls his mother Northamtunensis Alfgivæ filiæ Alfhelmi Ducis, p. 398. Snorre names her Alfifo dottor Alfrims Jarls.

Flor. Wig. 398. MS. Sax. Chron. Tib. B. 1. It is said of Harold, that he was not Canute's son, but a cobbler's. The tale is, that his mother having given no children to Canute, pretended pregnancy, and introduced first Svein and afterwards Harold, as her own children. As Snorre does not mention it of Svein, it is probable that in both cases the rumour was the offspring of malignant competition. The author of Enc. Em., though he believes it, adduces only the plurimorum assertio for it, which is a better description of a rumour than of a fact. Florence states it as a res in dubio.

d I state this from the Encomium Emmæ. The author addresses his account to the mother herself, by whose orders he wrote it. (See his prologue.) He apologizes to her for his brevity on Alfred's sufferings, and says," Possent enim multa dici si non tuo parceremus dolori," p. 175. Considering, however, that he wrote to the youth's mother, he is sometimes horribly particular, for he describes part of their progress of operation. Malmsbury says, the deed took place between Harold's death and Hardicanute's election, p. 77; but this cannot prevail against the contemporary above cited, strengthened as it is as to its occurrence under Harold, by Flor. 399; Matt. West. 410; and Hoveden, 438. Two of these make 600 men to have perished. The printed Saxon Chronicle has nothing of it. The MS. Tib. B. 1, give a long account of it. It thus mentions the fate of the companions: "bir gereɲan he todraf i rume mirlice orrloh rume hi man pich feo realde, rume hɲeoplice ac pealde, rume hi man bende, rume hi man blende, rume hame lode, rume

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