But in the latter part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the portion upon which our tale is based, the year invariably opens with the Nativity—­hence this reckoning has been used in the text, and the Christmas day in chapter 3 begins a new year.

v Now Banbury.

vi Death of St. Edmund.

There are two stories (or more) concerning the Danish invasion in which the saintly Edmund met his death; the first, alluded to in the song of the Etheling (chapter 11), tells how Ragnar Lodbrog, a great sea king, invaded England, but his fleet being shattered by a storm, fell into the hands of Ella, King of Northumbria, who threw him into a pit full of toads and serpents, where he perished, singing his death song to the last, and calling upon his sons to avenge his fate.  Those sons were Hinguar and Hubba.  They invaded East Anglia after they had avenged their father upon Ella, and King Edmund fought against them, but was taken prisoner.  They offered him his life and throne if he would forsake Christianity, and reign under them.  But he steadfastly refused, whereupon they put him to death after the manner described in the tale in the case of Bertric, while he called steadfastly upon Christ until his latest breath.

The other tale, given at length by Roger Wendover, tells that Ragnar Lodbrog, with only his hawk in his hand, was driven by a storm to the coast of East Anglia, that King Edmund made him his huntsman, but the former huntsman, Beorn, slew him through jealousy; that King Edmund put Beorn bound in the boat which had brought Lodbrog over, and sent him adrift to perish at sea.  But the storm in turn blew him to Denmark, where he told the sons of the man he had slain that Edmund had murdered their father.  Hence they came to avenge him.  The remainder of the tale agrees with the former narrative, and is the only portion which certainly possesses historical truth.

St. Edmund has been much venerated in the eastern counties, and his shrine at Edmundsbury was greatly reverenced.  The tale of the death of Sweyn, given in chapter 18, is a proof of this feeling, in which perhaps the legend partly originated.

vii The Rista Oern.

This punishment was usual among the Northmen, and was called “at rista oern,” from the supposed resemblance of the victim to the figure of an eagle.  The operation was generally performed by the chief himself.  It is thus described by Snorre: 

“Ad speciem aquilae dorsum ita ei laniabat, ut adacto ad spinam gladio, costisque omnibus ad lumbos usque a tergo divisis, pulmones extraheret.”—­Snorre, p. 108.

viii First appearance of Edmund.

The first mention of Edmund in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the commander of the English forces is A.D. 1015, where he was joined with Edric in the command, as related in the text, chapter 18.  The date of his birth is uncertain, but the comparison of authorities appeared to the author to justify the ascription of the character and actions, with which he is credited in the tale, to the English hero who first taught his generation to assert their equality with the fierce Danish invaders.