BOOK IV. in To protect his empire from their assaults, he caused ships to be built against them on the rivers which, from Gaul and Germany, disembogue their waters into the Northern Ocean, 30 In every harbour, and at the mouth of every stream which it was possible for them to ascend, he established stations and garrisons to preserve the endangered country. Kept off by his active genius, they seldom molested the peace of his dominions. His son Louis attempted the policy of converting the north; he invited all such vikingr as approached his coast to accept of the sacred baptism. As he was careful that the initiated should leave his court laden with presents, it is not surprising that they came in haste to be baptised. A surly exclamation of a converted chieftain revealed the sincerity of the new Christians and the utility of the project. At one paschal solemnity, the pretended penitents were so numerous, that white dresses could not be procured for all the pagans; some linen of the clergy was cut up and sewed together, and a garment thus made was given to a northern leader. The son of Odin frowned with disdain. "This is the twentieth time that I have come to be washed, and I have hitherto always received the best white dresses; this vile apparel is fit only for a herdsman; if I can have no better garment, I disclaim your Christianity." 99 31 29 The monk of St. Gall has transmitted to us this incident in his work, de Reb. Car. Magn. ii. p. 130. 30 Eginhard, p. 8. Meyer, in his Annals of Flanders, mentions that the emperor stayed some time at Ghent, on account of the ships which he had ordered to be built there against the Northmen. 31 Sax. Gall. p. 134. III. THE civil wars of the children of Louis favoured CHAP. the subsequent aggressions of the vikingr. 32. The Frankish princes sent an embassy, in 847, to the king of the Northmen, to desire peace, and to announce their union.33. But such an embassy was as useless as it would have been to have petitioned any single wind not to blow. Every habitable district was a nursery of pirates; and to obtain the forbearance of one leader, was to ensure a rich harvest for the rest. This effect seems to have been experienced; for in this same year we read of their attacks on Brittany, Aquitain, and Bourdeaux, as well as on Dorestadt and the Batavian island. In Aquitain they ravaged successfully; "because," says Ademar, "the chiefs were destroying each other in their warfare, and because the people had no fleet to protect their coasts." The list of districts which they afflicted is very copious. They also attacked Spain near Cadiz, fought three battles with the Moors, and, when Abderrahman provided a fleet to oppose them, they left the country, full of plunder. 35 Of all the sea-kings and vikingr who roamed the ocean in the ninth century, the man whose life and death had the most disastrous effects on England was Ragnar Lodbrog, whose quida, or death-song, has been long venerated for its antiquity, and celebrated for its genius. 36 The learned of the North 32 See Chron. Fontanell. and the Ann. Bertinin. and Frag. Hist. Brit. in Bouquet's Recueil, v.7. 33 Miroi ap. Deplom. vol. i. p. 23. 34 See 1 Langb. 534. 35 Mariana. But as 36 The most complete edition for the use of the English reader of the Lodbrokar Quida is that edited by Johnstone in 1782. his English translation is not a literal one, a more exact version is IV. 38 BOOK have usually quoted it as his own composition, although one would ascribe it to his wife, who was also a famous scalld or poetess. It is one of the most ancient pieces of Northern literature; expresses exactly the manners of those times; and, compared with the other histories and traditions that have been preserved concerning him, will be found to contain the most simple, probable, and consistent incidents. As his death, the approach of which it ends with intimating, was the cause of that disastrous invasion which shook Alfred from his throne, it merits the consideration of the English reader, in those parts which concern the British Islands. RAGNAR is not mentioned by name in the Saxon annalists; because, while they commemorate the invasions of the Northmen during his life, they seldom notice the commander. But the Frankish chronicles expressly mention him in that aggression in 845, in which he even penetrated as far up the Seine as Paris. He began by ravaging the isles of the sea; thence proceeded to Rouen, and finding no effective resistance, he left his ships, and his warriors spread over the country. Invited onward by the general consternation, they ad attempted of the passages quoted in the text. Mr. C. C. Rafn has, in 1826, published an elegant edition of it at Copenhagen, with a Danish and a French translation, with many notes and remarks; but has secluded them from general use out of Denmark, by expressing them in its vernacular language. He calls it "Krakas Mal:" or, the Song of Kraka. Some MS. so entitle it. He suggests that although Ragnar and his companions may have sung the twenty-three first stanzas, Kraka, his queen and widow may have added the six last. Skule Thorlacius wishes to take the composition of it from both Ragnar and Kraka; and to give it to Bragi the son of Boddi. Antiq. Boreal. p. 70. 37 As Wormius, Bartholin, Stephanius, and others. It was not uncommon in the north for their kings to celebrate their own actions. 38 So Torfæus intimates. 39 vanced to Paris on Easter-Eve. The next day they entered the city, and found it deserted by its inhabitants. They destroyed the monastery of St. Germains, when a present from the king of seven thousand pounds induced them to desist from their ravages. The attacks of his son Biorn, in 843, are also recorded. 40 His name of Lothbroc occurs in our chroniclers at his death; but they were ignorant of his true history, which is stated in none of our old documents, except in the ancient Anglo-Norman poem of Denis Pyramis." His death, as justly stated in the Icelandic remains, happened in Northumbria. In opposition to his 39 Chron. Fontanel.; 7 Bouq. p. 41.; Chron. Vezel. p.271.; Mirac. Racher. p. 361.; and Aimonius, p. 350. Pet. Olaus, 1 Langb. 109. See also Ann. Bertin, and Amm. Mirac, S. Germ. 40 Frag. Hist. Brit. 7 Bouq. p. 46. The chronicles which mention Biorn's expeditions are very numerous. See Pontop. Gest. Dan. 41 It is so extraordinary to find this in an Anglo-Norman rhimer's work, that I quote the passage in the original, as it has never been observed or printed before. He is here called Lothbroc, and his three sons, Yngar, Hulbe, and Berin, for Inguar, Ubba, and Beorn. Cil Lothebroc e ses treis fiz Ne se put d'els ja garder. Den. Pyr. MSS. Domit. xi. p. 12. CHAP. III. IV. BOOK wife Aslauga's counsel he built two ships of a size which the North had never beheld before; he filled them with soldiers, and sailed along the Scottish coast to England, which he selected to be the theatre of his exertions. 42 The triumphs of these royal pirates had been obtained by the celerity of their retreats, as well as the vigour of their attacks. It was not their competency to overcome the force which any country could embody against them, that made them so successful; but their ability in their light ships of attacking before it could be collected, or of eluding it when too formidable. These spacious ships tended to deprive Ragnar of this advantage and thereby produced his fate. Too large for the ignorant navigation of that period, these vessels were soon wrecked on the English shore. Thrown on the coast of enemies, without means of return, Ragnar had no choice but to dare his fortune, which his pride also counselled. He moved forward as soon as he got to the shore, to plunder and ravage, either disdaining to recollect that his small band would soon be confronted by superior strength, or hoping to deter any hostility by the boldness of his measures. ELLA, at that time, was king of Deira, and with the force of his kingdom marched up to the fearless vikingr; a fierce, though unequal conflict ensued. Ragnar, clothed in the garments which he had received from his beloved Aslauga, at their parting, four times pierced the ranks of Ella, but his friends fell one by one around him, and he at last was taken prisoner alive. ELLA obeyed the impulse of barbarian resent 42 2 Langb. 227. Torfæus, Hist. Norv. |