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warned and then joined the Danes, and that their
attack though fruitless was not wholly disastrous to
them. We hear no more of this Ælfric, whose ship
was captured ; and we hear no more of jarl Thord of
York, whose place was shortly afterwards filled by
Waltheof I. as ruler of Bernicia, and by Ælfhelm in
Deira.
In 993 the coast from Bamborough to Lindsey was
ravaged : the "English" leaders, two of whom bore
Danish names, deserted their levies, and the Vikings
had a free course. Next year Olaf Tryggvason,
no longer the mercenary of Wessex, joined forces
with Svein, king of Denmark, to conquer England.
On September 8, 994, they attacked London, but
were repulsed ; they ravaged the shores of the
Thames, and Canterbury was saved only by the payment
of 90 pounds of silver and 400 ounces of gold.
Then they plundered Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire,
and were bought off at Southampton by a payment
of £16,000 levied on all England, and a regular
stipend to be paid by Wessex alone. After the conclusion
of the treaty Olaf Tryggvason was brought by
bishop Ælfheah and our chronicler Æthelwerd to
Andover, where he was confirmed in the presence of
King Æthelred. According to his saga he had been
baptised by a hermit on the "Syllingar," perhaps the
Scilly Islands, or possibly (as a famous abbot and
a great cloister are mentioned) one of the island
monasteries of Ireland; the geography of the sagas,
when it relates to Britain, is often defective, while the
incidents may contain a true tradition. At Andover,
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