King Ethelred the Unready, 979–1016; fresh Danish raids.Unready, the pirates came back more determined than before. Sweyn, King of Denmark, came in person, and his son Canute; and this time the Danes intended a thorough and wholesale conquest. This time Wessex fell also; even Canterbury was sacked, and its archbishop pelted to death with beef-bones after dinner. The ‘wise men’ of unwise Ethelred were as useless as the House of Commons would be to-day if there were a big invasion. They talked, but did nothing. A country in such a plight wants a man to lead it to war; not thirty ‘wise men’ or six hundred members of Parliament, with a sprinkling of traitors among them, to discuss how to make peace. Ethelred’s ‘wise men’ could only recommend him to buy off the Danes with hard cash called ‘Danegold’ or ‘Danegeld’. The ‘Dane-geld.’The Danes pocketed the silver pennies, laughed, and came back for more. When for a moment there arose a hero, Ethelred’s son Edmund Ironside, he fought in one year, as Alfred had fought, six pitched battles and almost beat Canute. King Canute, 1016–1035.Then he agreed to divide the island with Canute, and was murdered in the next year (1017). Canute ruled England until his death in 1035. He ruled Denmark and Norway also, and was in fact a sort of Northern Emperor.
What ‘Dane-geld’ means.
To call upon a neighbour and to say:—
‘We invaded you last night—we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.’
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!
