Their seruants tooke in hand to haue reuenged the death of their maisters, but were beaten backe, wherevpon they fled into the steeple of saint Friswids church, and kept the same, till fire was set vpon the place, and so they were burned to death.  The wife of Sigeferd was taken, & sent to Malmsburie, being a woman of high fame and great worthinesse, wherevpon the kings eldest sonne named Edmund, tooke occasion vpon pretense of other businesse to go thither, and there to see hir, with whome he fell so far in loue, [Sidenote:  Edmund the kings eldest sonne marrieth the widow of Sigeferd.] that he tooke and maried hir.  That doone, he required to haue hir husbands lands and possessions, which were an earles liuing, and lay in Northumberland.  And when the king refused to graunt his request, he went thither, and seized the same possessions and lands into his hands, without hauing anie commission so to doo, finding the farmers and tenants there readie to receiue him for their lord.

[Sidenote:  Cnute returneth into England.] Whilest these things were a dooing, Cnute hauing made his prouision of ships and men, with all necessarie furniture (as before ye haue heard) for his returne into England, set forward with full purpose, either to recouer the realme out of Egelreds hands, or to die [Sidenote:  Encomium Emmae.] in the quarrell.  Herevpon he landed at Sandwich, and first earle Turkill obteined licence to go against the Englishmen that were assembled to resist the Danes, and finding them at a place called Scorastan, he gaue them the ouerthrow, got a great bootie, and returned therewith to the ships.  After this, Edrike gouernor of Norwaie made a rode likewise into an other part of the countrie, & with a rich spoile, and manie prisoners, returned vnto the nauie.  After this iournie atchiued thus by Edrike, Cnute commanded that they should not waste the countrie anie more, but gaue order to prepare all things readie to besiege London:  but before he attempted that [Sidenote:  Wil.  Malm. Hen.  Hunt. Matth.  West. Sim.  Dun.] enterprise, as others write, he marched foorth into Kent, or rather sailing round about that countrie, tooke his iournie westward, & came to Fromundham, and after departing from thence, wasted Dorsetshire, Summersetshire, & Wiltshire.

[Sidenote:  King Egelred sicke. Matth.  West.] King Egelred in this meane time lay sicke at Cossam; and his sonne Edmund had got togither a mightie hoast, howbeit yer he came to ioine battell with his enimies, he was aduertised, that earle Edrike went about to betraie him, and therefore he withdrew with the armie [Sidenote:  Edrike de Streona fleeth to the Danes. Simon Dun.] into a place of suertie.  But Edrike to make his tratorous purpose manifest to the whole world, fled to the enimies with fortie of the kings ships, fraught with Danish souldiers.  Herevpon, all the west [Sidenote:  The west countrie] countrie submitted it selfe vnto Cnute, who receiued