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Software Testing
 Software Testing
A Craftsman’s Approach
Fifth Edition

Paul C. Jorgensen and Byron DeVries

Fifth edition published [2021]
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
and by CRC Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
[First edition published by CRC Press 1995]
[Fourth edition published by CRC Press 2014]
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
The right of Paul C. Jorgensen and Byron DeVries to be identified as author[/s] of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
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ISBN: 978-0-367-35849-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-76762-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-16844-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Garamond
by SPi Global, India
To Carol, Kirsten, and Katia; Angela, Bryce, and Wesley
Contents

Preface........................................................................................................................xix
Authors.......................................................................................................................xxi

PART I A Mathematical Context

1 A Perspective on Testing............................................................................. 3
1.1 Basic Definitions.......................................................................................... 3
1.2 Test Cases..................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Insights from a Venn Diagram..................................................................... 5
1.4 Identifying Test Cases.................................................................................. 7
1.4.1 Specification-based Testing.............................................................. 7
1.4.2 Code-based Testing........................................................................... 8
1.4.3 The Specification-based versus Code-based Debate....................... 9
1.5 Fault Taxonomies....................................................................................... 10
1.6 Levels of Testing......................................................................................... 12
Exercises.............................................................................................................. 13
References............................................................................................................ 14
2 Examples................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Structural Elements of Pseudo-code and Java........................................... 15
2.2 The Triangle Problem................................................................................ 19
2.2.1 Problem Statement......................................................................... 19
2.2.2 Discussion....................................................................................... 20
2.2.3 Java Implementation....................................................................... 20
2.3 The NextDate Function.............................................................................. 21
2.3.1 Problem Statement......................................................................... 21
2.3.2 Discussion....................................................................................... 21
2.3.3 Java Implementation....................................................................... 22
2.4 The Foodies-Wish-List Online Shopping Application............................... 24
2.4.1 Problem Statement......................................................................... 25
2.4.2 Discussion....................................................................................... 25
2.5 The Garage Door Controller...................................................................... 29
2.6 Examples in Exercises................................................................................ 30
2.6.1 The Quadrilateral Program............................................................ 30

vii
viii ◾ Contents

2.6.2 The NextWeek Function................................................................. 31

2.6.3 The Windshield Wiper Controller.................................................. 31
Exercises.............................................................................................................. 31
References............................................................................................................ 32
3 Discrete Math for Testers.......................................................................... 33
3.1 Set Theory.................................................................................................. 33
3.1.1 Set Membership.............................................................................. 34
3.1.2 Set Definition.................................................................................. 34
3.1.3 The Empty Set................................................................................ 35
3.1.4 Venn Diagrams................................................................................ 35
3.1.5 Set Operations................................................................................ 36
3.1.6 Set Relations................................................................................... 37
3.1.7 Set Partitions................................................................................... 38
3.1.8 Set Identities................................................................................... 39
3.2 Functions.................................................................................................... 39
3.2.1 Domain and Range......................................................................... 40
3.2.2 Function Types............................................................................... 40
3.2.3 Function Composition.................................................................... 41
3.3 Relations..................................................................................................... 42
3.3.1 Relations among Sets...................................................................... 42
3.3.2 Relations on a Single Set................................................................ 44
3.4 Propositional Logic.................................................................................... 45
3.4.1 Logical Operators........................................................................... 46
3.4.2 Logical Expressions........................................................................ 47
3.4.3 Logical Equivalence........................................................................ 47
3.4.4 Probability Theory.......................................................................... 48
Exercises.............................................................................................................. 50
Reference............................................................................................................. 51
4 Graph Theory for Testers.......................................................................... 53
4.1 Graphs........................................................................................................ 53
4.1.1 Degree of a Node........................................................................... 54
4.1.2 Incidence Matrices.......................................................................... 54
4.1.3 Adjacency Matrices......................................................................... 55
4.1.4 Paths................................................................................................ 56
4.1.5 Connectedness................................................................................ 57
4.1.6 Condensation Graphs..................................................................... 57
4.1.7 Cyclomatic Number........................................................................ 58
4.2 Directed Graphs......................................................................................... 58
4.2.1 Indegrees and Outdegrees............................................................. 59
4.2.2 Types of Nodes............................................................................... 60
4.2.3 Adjacency Matrix of a Directed Graph.......................................... 60
4.2.4 Paths and Semipaths...................................................................... 61
4.2.5 Reachability Matrix......................................................................... 62
4.2.6 n-Connectedness............................................................................. 63
4.2.7 Strong Components........................................................................ 63
 Contents ◾ ix

4.3 Graphs for Testing..................................................................................... 64

4.3.1 Program Graphs............................................................................. 64
4.3.2 Finite State Machines...................................................................... 66
4.3.3 Petri Nets......................................................................................... 67
4.3.4 Event-Driven Petri Nets.................................................................. 70
4.3.5 Statecharts....................................................................................... 73
Exercises.............................................................................................................. 75
Reference............................................................................................................. 75

PART II Unit Testing

5 Boundary Value Testing............................................................................ 79
5.1 Normal Boundary Value Testing................................................................ 80
5.1.1 Generalizing Boundary Value Analysis.......................................... 81
5.1.2 Limitations of Boundary Value Analysis........................................ 82
5.2 Robust Boundary Value Testing................................................................. 82
5.3 Worst Case Boundary Value Testing.......................................................... 83
5.4 Special Value Testing.................................................................................. 85
5.5 Examples.................................................................................................... 85
5.5.1 Test Cases for the Triangle Problem.............................................. 85
5.5.2 Test Cases for the NextDate Function............................................ 85
5.6 Random Testing.......................................................................................... 92
5.7 Guidelines for Boundary Value Testing..................................................... 93
Exercises.............................................................................................................. 95
6 Equivalence Class Testing......................................................................... 97
6.1 Equivalence Classes................................................................................... 97
6.2 Traditional Equivalence Class Testing....................................................... 98
6.3 Improved Equivalence Class Testing......................................................... 99
6.3.1 Weak Normal Equivalence Class Testing..................................... 100
6.3.2 Strong Normal Equivalence Class Testing.................................... 100
6.3.3 Weak Robust Equivalence Class Testing...................................... 101
6.3.4 Strong Robust Equivalence Class Testing.................................... 102
6.4 Equivalence Class Test Cases for the Triangle Problem.......................... 103
6.5 Equivalence Class Test Cases for the NextDate Function....................... 104
6.6 Equivalence Class Test Cases for the completeOrder Method................ 108
6.7 “Edge Testing”.......................................................................................... 110
6.8 Reflections on Invalid Classes................................................................. 111
6.9 Guidelines and Observations................................................................... 111
Exercises............................................................................................................ 112
References.......................................................................................................... 113
7 Decision Table-Based Testing.................................................................. 115
7.1 Decision Tables........................................................................................ 115
7.2 Decision Table Techniques...................................................................... 116
7.3 Test Cases for the Triangle Problem........................................................ 120
x ◾ Contents

7.4 Test Cases for the NextDate Function..................................................... 121

7.4.1 First Try......................................................................................... 121
7.4.2 Second Try.................................................................................... 122
7.4.3 Third Try....................................................................................... 124
7.5 Cause and Effect Graphing...................................................................... 127
7.6 Guidelines and Observations................................................................... 128
Exercises............................................................................................................ 128
References.......................................................................................................... 129
8 Code-Based Testing................................................................................. 131
8.1 Program Graphs....................................................................................... 131
8.2 DD-Paths.................................................................................................. 132
8.3 Code Coverage Metrics............................................................................ 135
8.3.1 Program Graph-Based Coverage Metrics..................................... 135
8.3.2 E. F. Miller’s Coverage Metrics...................................................... 136
8.3.2.1 Statement Testing.......................................................... 137
8.3.2.2 DD-Path Testing............................................................ 137
8.3.2.3 Simple Loop Coverage.................................................. 138
8.3.2.4 Predicate Outcome Testing........................................... 138
8.3.2.5 Dependent Pairs of DD-Paths....................................... 138
8.3.2.6 Complex Loop Coverage............................................... 138
8.3.2.7 Multiple Condition Coverage........................................ 139
8.3.2.8 “Statistically Significant” Coverage................................ 140
8.3.2.9 All Possible Paths Coverage.......................................... 140
8.3.3 A Closer Look at Compound Conditions..................................... 140
8.3.3.1 Boolean Expression (per Chilenski)............................. 140
8.3.3.2 Condition (per Chilenski)............................................. 141
8.3.3.3 Coupled Conditions (per Chilenski)............................. 141
8.3.3.4 Masking Conditions (per Chilenski)............................. 141
8.3.3.5 Modified Condition Decision Coverage........................ 142
8.3.4 Examples....................................................................................... 143
8.3.4.1 Condition with Two Simple Conditions........................ 143
8.3.4.2 Example: Compound Condition from NextDate.......... 143
8.3.4.3 Test Coverage Analyzers............................................... 150
8.3.4.4 Java Code for Tests in Table 8.8.................................... 151
8.3.4.5 Junit Test Results........................................................... 155
8.3.4.6 Capabilities of Selected Code Coverage Tools.............. 156
8.4 Basis Path Testing.................................................................................... 156
8.4.1 McCabe’s Basis Path Method........................................................ 157
8.4.2 Observations on McCabe’s Basis Path Method............................ 160
8.4.3 Essential Complexity.................................................................... 160
8.5 Guidelines and Observations................................................................... 163
Exercises............................................................................................................ 163
References.......................................................................................................... 164
 Contents ◾ xi

9 Testing Object-Oriented Software........................................................... 165

9.1 Unit Testing Frameworks......................................................................... 165
9.1.1 Common Unit Testing Frameworks.............................................. 166
9.1.2 JUnit Examples............................................................................. 166
9.2 Mock Objects and Automated Object Mocking...................................... 169
9.3 Dataflow Testing...................................................................................... 171
9.3.1 Define/Use Testing Definition...................................................... 171
9.3.2 Define/Use Testing Metrics.......................................................... 173
9.3.3 Define/Use Testing Example........................................................ 174
9.4 Object-Oriented Complexity Metrics....................................................... 181
9.4.1 WMC—Weighted Methods per Class............................................ 181
9.4.2 DIT—Depth of Inheritance Tree.................................................. 182
9.4.3 NOC—Number of Child Classes................................................... 182
9.4.4 CBO—Coupling Between Classes................................................ 182
9.4.5 RFC—Response for Class............................................................. 182
9.4.6 LCOM—Lack of Cohesion on Methods........................................ 182
9.5 Issues in Testing Object-Oriented Software............................................ 183
9.5.1 Implications of Composition and Encapsulation......................... 183
9.5.2 Implications of Inheritance.......................................................... 183
9.5.3 Implications of Polymorphism..................................................... 185
9.6 Slice-Based Testing................................................................................... 190
9.6.1 Example........................................................................................ 192
9.6.2 Style and Technique..................................................................... 197
9.6.3 Slice Splicing................................................................................. 197
9.6.4 Program Slicing Tools................................................................... 198
Exercises............................................................................................................ 198
References.......................................................................................................... 199
10 Retrospective on Unit Testing................................................................. 201
10.1 The Test Method Pendulum..................................................................... 202
10.2 Traversing the Pendulum......................................................................... 204
10.2.1 Program Graph-Based Testing..................................................... 204
10.2.2 Basis Path Testing......................................................................... 204
10.2.3 Dataflow Testing........................................................................... 206
10.2.4 Slice-Based Testing....................................................................... 209
10.2.5 Boundary Value Testing................................................................ 210
10.2.6 Equivalence Class Testing............................................................. 210
10.2.7 Decision Table Testing.................................................................. 211
10.3 Insurance Premium Case Study............................................................... 213
10.4 Specification-Based Testing..................................................................... 214
10.4.1 Code-Based Testing...................................................................... 218
10.4.1.1 Path-based Testing......................................................... 219
10.4.1.2 Dataflow Testing............................................................ 221
10.4.1.3 Slice Testing................................................................... 221
10.5 Guidelines................................................................................................ 221
Exercises............................................................................................................ 223
References.......................................................................................................... 223
xii ◾ Contents

PART III Beyond Unit Testing

11 Life Cycle-Based Testing.......................................................................... 227
11.1 Traditional Waterfall Testing.................................................................... 227
11.1.1 Waterfall Testing........................................................................... 229
11.1.2 Pros and Cons of the Waterfall Model......................................... 229
11.2 Testing in Iterative Lifecycles................................................................... 230
11.2.1 Waterfall Spin-Offs........................................................................ 230
11.2.2 Specification-Based Life Cycle Models......................................... 232
11.3 Agile Testing............................................................................................. 234
11.3.1 About User Stories........................................................................ 234
11.3.1.1 Behavior-Driven Development...................................... 235
11.3.1.2 Use Cases....................................................................... 241
11.3.2 Extreme Programming.................................................................. 242
11.3.3 Scrum............................................................................................ 242
11.3.4 Test-Driven Development............................................................. 243
11.3.5 Agile Model-Driven Development................................................ 245
11.3.6 Model-Driven Agile Development................................................ 245
11.4 Remaining Questions............................................................................... 246
11.4.1 Specification or Code Based?....................................................... 246
11.4.2 Configuration Management?......................................................... 246
11.4.3 Granularity?................................................................................... 248
11.5 Pros, cons, and Open Questions of TDD................................................ 248
11.6 Retrospective on MDD vs. TDD............................................................... 249
References.......................................................................................................... 251
12 Integration Testing.................................................................................. 253
12.1 Decomposition-Based Integration........................................................... 253
12.1.1 Top-down Integration................................................................... 256
12.1.2 Bottom-up Integration.................................................................. 258
12.1.3 Sandwich Integration................................................................... 258
12.1.4 Pros and Cons............................................................................... 259
12.2 Call Graph-Based Integration.................................................................. 260
12.2.1 Pairwise Integration..................................................................... 261
12.2.2 Neighborhood Integration............................................................ 262
12.2.3 Pros and Cons............................................................................... 264
12.3 Path-Based Integration............................................................................ 265
12.3.1 New and Extended Concepts....................................................... 265
12.3.2 MM-Path Complexity.................................................................... 268
12.3.3 Pros and Cons............................................................................... 268
12.4 Example: Procedural integrationNextDate.............................................. 269
12.4.1 Decomposition-Based Integration................................................ 269
12.4.2 Call Graph-Based Integration....................................................... 270
12.4.3 Integration Based on MM-Paths................................................... 272
12.4.4 Observations and Recommendations........................................... 275
12.5 Example: O-O integrationNextDate......................................................... 275
12.6 Model-Based Integration Testing............................................................. 280
12.6.1 Message Communication.............................................................. 281
 Contents ◾ xiii

12.6.2 Pairwise Integration..................................................................... 282

12.6.3 FSM/M Path Integration............................................................... 286
12.6.4 Scenario 1: Normal Account Creation.......................................... 286
Exercises............................................................................................................ 287
References.......................................................................................................... 289
13 System Testing........................................................................................ 291
13.1 Threads..................................................................................................... 291
13.1.1 Thread Possibilities....................................................................... 292
13.1.2 Thread Definitions........................................................................ 293
13.2 Identifying Threads in Single-Processor Applications............................ 294
13.2.1 User Stories/Use Cases................................................................. 294
13.2.2 How Many Use Cases?.................................................................. 295
13.2.2.1 Incidence with Input Events and Messages................. 297
13.2.2.2 Incidence with Output Actions and Messages............. 300
13.2.2.3 Incidence with Classes.................................................. 300
13.2.3 Threads in Finite State Machines................................................. 301
13.2.3.1 Paths in a Finite State Machine..................................... 301
13.2.3.2 How Many Paths?.......................................................... 303
13.2.4 Atomic System Functions............................................................. 305
13.3 Identifying Threads in Systems of Systems............................................. 305
13.3.1 Dialogues...................................................................................... 305
13.3.2 Communicating FSMs................................................................... 307
13.3.3 Dialogues as Sequences of ASFs.................................................. 309
13.4 System Level Test Cases........................................................................... 309
13.4.1 An Industrial Test Execution System............................................ 310
13.4.2 Use Cases to Test Cases................................................................ 311
13.4.3 Finite State Machine Paths to Test Cases..................................... 312
13.4.4 Dialogue Scenarios to Test Cases................................................. 313
13.4.5 Communicating Finite State Machines to Test Cases................... 313
13.5 Coverage Metrics for System Testing....................................................... 314
13.5.1 Use Case-Based Test Coverage..................................................... 315
13.5.2 Model-Based Test Coverage......................................................... 318
13.6 Long Versus Short Test Cases.................................................................. 320
13.6.1 Supplemental Approaches to System Testing.............................. 324
13.6.2 Operational Profiles...................................................................... 324
13.6.2.1 Risk-Based Testing........................................................ 327
13.7 Non-functional System Testing................................................................ 332
13.7.1 Stress Testing Strategies............................................................... 332
13.7.1.1 Compression.................................................................. 333
13.7.1.2 Replication..................................................................... 333
13.7.2 Mathematical Approaches............................................................ 334
13.7.2.1 Queueing Theory.......................................................... 334
13.7.2.2 Reliability Models.......................................................... 334
13.7.2.3 Monte Carlo Testing...................................................... 335
Exercises............................................................................................................ 335
References.......................................................................................................... 336
xiv ◾ Contents

14 Model-Based Testing............................................................................... 337

14.1 Testing Based on Models......................................................................... 337
14.2 Appropriate Models................................................................................. 338
14.2.1 Peterson’s Lattice.......................................................................... 338
14.2.2 Expressive Capabilities of Mainline Models................................ 340
14.2.3 Modeling Issues............................................................................ 340
14.2.4 Making Appropriate Choices........................................................ 342
14.3 Commercial Tool Support for Model-Based Testing............................... 342
14.3.1 TestOptimal................................................................................... 342
14.3.2 Conformiq..................................................................................... 343
14.3.3 Verified Systems International GmbH.......................................... 346
Exercises............................................................................................................ 349
References.......................................................................................................... 351
15 Software Complexity............................................................................... 353
15.1 Unit Level Complexity.............................................................................. 354
15.1.1 Cyclomatic Complexity................................................................. 354
15.1.1.1 “Cattle Pens” and Cyclomatic Complexity.................... 355
15.1.1.2 Node Outdegrees and Cyclomatic Complexity............. 356
15.1.1.3 Decisional Complexity.................................................. 357
15.1.2 Computational Complexity........................................................... 358
15.1.2.1 Halstead’s Metrics.......................................................... 358
15.1.2.2 Example: Day of Week with Zeller’s Congruence........ 359
15.2 Integration Level Complexity................................................................... 361
15.2.1 Integration Level Cyclomatic Complexity.................................... 362
15.2.2 Message Traffic Complexity......................................................... 363
15.3 Software Complexity Example................................................................. 364
15.4 Object-Oriented Complexity.................................................................... 366
15.4.1 WMC—Weighted Methods per Class............................................ 366
15.4.2 DIT—Depth of Inheritance Tree.................................................. 367
15.4.3 NOC—Number of Child Classes................................................... 367
15.4.4 CBO—Coupling between Classes................................................ 367
15.4.5 RFC—Response for Class............................................................. 367
15.4.6 LCOM—Lack of Cohesion on Methods........................................ 367
15.5 System Level Complexity......................................................................... 367
15.5.1 Cyclomatic Complexity of Source Code....................................... 368
15.5.2 Complexity of Specification Models............................................. 368
15.5.3 Use Case Complexity.................................................................... 368
15.5.4 UML Complexity........................................................................... 369
Exercise.............................................................................................................. 369
References.......................................................................................................... 372
16 Testing Systems of Systems.................................................................... 373
16.1 Characteristics of Systems of Systems..................................................... 374
16.2 Sample Systems of Systems..................................................................... 375
16.2.1 The Garage Door Controller (Directed)....................................... 375
Other documents randomly have
different content
How far his character, as given in the text, agrees with that which
Alban Butler has drawn from that immense heap of rubbish, the Acta
Sanctorum, may also be seen in the Appendix.[259]
 CHAP. IV.

MARITIME EXPEDITIONS OF THE NORTHMEN DURING THE PAGAN TIMES.

SECTION I.
IN ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND IRELAND.

EARLY EXPEDITIONS OF THE NORTHMEN TO THE COASTS OF THE ROMAN

PROVINCES.—CAUSES WHICH LED TO THEM.—POVERTY OF THE SOIL,
FAMINE, COURAGE.—DOMESTIC PIRACY.—TRIBES OF PIRATES.—INVASION OF
ENGLAND BY THE SAXONS AND DANES.—AUTHORITY OF SAXO GRAMMATICUS.
—DEPREDATIONS IN ENGLAND PRIOR TO THE REIGN OF ATHELSTANE.—
VICTORY OF THAT MONARCH.—RAVAGES OF THE NORTHMEN IN FRANCE.—
HASTINGS.—ROLLO THE GREATEST OF THE SCANDINAVIAN PIRATES.—HIS
CONQUEST OF NORMANDY, OF WHICH HE WAS THE FIRST DUKE.—THE
NORTHMEN IN IRELAND.—EARLY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE IRISH AND
THE NORTH OF EUROPE.—FIRST RAVAGES OF THE NORTHMEN.—THEIR
ALARMING PROGRESS IN THAT ISLAND.—VICTORY OBTAINED OVER THEM BY
KING BRIAN.—THEIR SUBSEQUENT DEPREDATIONS AND DECLINE.

That the expeditions of the Northmen were not confined to the

shores of the Baltic, long before the period which is usually assigned
to them, is evident from the whole course of the later Roman
history. During the domination of the empire in Gaul and Britain, the
local governors, whatever their zeal, were unable to prevent the
depredations which the maritime inhabitants of Friesland and Jutland
made on the more southern coasts. The Saxons and Franks were
among the earliest pirates of the north. In the third century we find
them on the coast of Gaul; in the fourth and fifth, they were no less
troublesome on that of Britain. Even from the time of Cæsar, the
tribes on the maritime coast, from the mouths of the Rhine to the
Baltic Sea, were beginning to learn the piratical life. Their position
was highly favourable to such pursuits. Located in the vicinity of
rivers, friths, and bays, where the soil is unproductive, their wants
must have led them to regions where Nature was more lavish of her
gifts. This was more especially the case of the people on the sandy
shores of Friesland and the Baltic; and, in those regions, they
become pirates, just as the Arabs become robbers,—from necessity.
But other causes were also at work, and probably at a period still
earlier. Amidst the endless migrations of the barbarous tribes who
occupied central and northern Europe, the impulse must have been
extended to more distant shores. When, for instance, Asiatic Scythia
sent forth her swarms to conquer and to colonise, the original
inhabitants either bent their necks to the new yoke, or escaped from
it by retiring farther to the west. Those of Scandinavia were
compelled to look for settlements in the south; and this object could
only be obtained by means of ships. There is reason to believe that
these emigrations, or maritime expeditions, came to our own islands
before the birth of Christ; this, indeed, is expressly affirmed by Bede,
who mentions the first arrival of the Picts in these islands. They
came, he informs us, from Scythia; and, sailing round the southern
coast of Britain, landed on that of Ireland, where the Scots were
then settled. As there was not room for both people, the new
comers, in conformity with the advice of the Scots, proceeded to the
opposite shores, viz., those of Galloway and Argyle. This could not
have been a solitary immigration into these islands; the Scots
themselves were a conquering and a new tribe when the Picts
arrived. If this is true of the western, it is still more so of the
eastern, coasts of England and Scotland, especially of the latter.
Danish expeditions, before our Saviour’s birth, are frequently
mentioned by Saxo; and, absurd as his chronology often is, we think
that there is some foundation for his statement, corroborated as it is
by that of Bede. But we must not lose sight of the fact, that the two
writers are speaking of events in themselves dissimilar. Bede alludes
to the emigration of whole tribes, Saxo to piratical expeditions.[260]
 That at a barbarous period, when agriculture was little
understood, and in barren countries, where the greatest industry
was unavailing, there must have been many seasons of famine,
would be admitted, if it were not supported by the positive
testimony of history. When they arrived, the younger and more
vigorous class of the people naturally betook themselves to more
southern regions. He that once visited those regions, would be in no
hurry to return. The long duration of winter, the uncertainty of an
early spring, the coldness and humidity of the atmosphere, which
often prevented the fruits of the earth from arriving at maturity,
must have appeared to striking disadvantage when contrasted with
the greater regularity of seasons in the south. Nor was this the
worst. The north was covered with endless forests, or with extensive
fens, or with bleak mountains, where industry might labour in vain;
in the south, nature produced, with small labour, what was
necessary for the support of man. Since, in the former, wars
between one tribe and another were of so frequent occurrence, the
condition of the people must have been dreadful; they must have
been often thinned by famine. Hence the expatriations, whether
voluntary or compulsory, of which we read so much in the ancient
history of the north. One of the earliest on record is that which took
place under Snio, a prince of Jutland. A sore famine arriving, he
published an edict, that, to economise the grain, none should be
used in the brewing of beer. But this law was ineffectual; the people
were too fond of indulging in the beverage to be thus forced; and a
national Thing was convoked to devise the means of public safety.
That a law was passed for the destruction of the old, the very
young, and those unable to carry arms, or to cultivate the ground, is
affirmed by several writers; but the statement is incredible. There is
greater truth in another,—that banishment was substituted, and lots
were cast to determine the individuals. Sweden furnishes us with a
second instance, though not so ancient as the preceding. We have
already seen that, during the pressure of a famine, Olaf Trætelia was
sacrificed to the gods.[261] The remedy, however, was unavailing; the
scourge became still greater, and the people removed into Norway.
Two centuries after this period, one third of the Danes, says Peter
Olaf, were thus driven into exile; and they selected Prussia, Carelia,
Samogitia, and other shores of the Baltic, as their future abodes.
This evil was more ancient than we usually suppose. We find laws,
permitting the exposure of infants where the parents were unable to
support them, before Christianity was known to the Franks, or
Bavarians, or Swabians, or any other of the Germanic tribes. Where
no temporary law was made for the expatriation of a certain number
of the people, the more adventurous would often retire of their own
accord. The Scandinavians were no strangers to the sea; from their
childhood they were accustomed to fish in their bays, gulfs, mouths
of rivers, and other parts of their coasts. This exercise made them
familiar with the management of small vessels, and led them to
regard the watery element as no less friendly than land. As they
became inured to the business, and extended their voyages, they
learned where particular species of fish were most abundant. It is
probable that at a very early period all the coasts of the Baltic were
thus visited.[262]
These circumstances combined will explain the superior dexterity
of the Scandinavians and other Baltic nations in the management of
vessels. If want of subsistence led them to the deep, whether
through expatriation, or the hope of successful fishing, other causes
made them pirates. It was easier to take a vessel well laden with
that useful commodity than to catch it; and when, in these practices,
the crew of one hostile tribe met the crew of another, a battle was
sure to follow. By degrees, vessels for piracy alone were equipped;
nor were the objects of plunder confined to fish: the houses near the
sea-coasts had other articles of food, other commodities, which
would enrich the pirate’s home. The dangers attending a profession
where the crews were necessarily armed, were not likely to damp
the spirit of adventure. Courage was a part of the Northman’s
religion; death in battle was a good, since it introduced him at once
to the enjoyments of Odin’s hall,—enjoyments far exceeding
whatever this world could furnish. Piracy, then, was the necessary
result of the Scandinavian’s position; and it must have been
practised more anciently than most historians admit. Tacitus tells us
that in his time the Suiones were formidable by their fleets.
Navigation, indeed, could not be in its infancy, when such colonies
as that of the Picts undertook voyages so long and hazardous. It
could not be in its infancy during the third century, when Caransius
was nominated by the Roman authorities of Gaul to protect, at the
head of a powerful fleet, the coasts daily menaced by the
barbarians.[263]
That domestic piracy—viz., piracy confined to their own coast—
distinguished the Scandinavians long before their expeditions into
the south, is undoubted. First, they had to struggle with the hostile
races who had preceded them in the north,—whom on their arrival
they had to dislodge, and who for so many ages preserved a
vindictive remembrance of the outrage. The Goth and the Finn must
have been enemies from the beginning; and both must have been
equally hostile to the Vends, a Slavonic tribe of Pomerania, much
addicted to piracy. Position, no less than race, made tribes hereditary
enemies. The Frisons and the Saxons were rivals, and therefore
enemies; so were the Swedes and the Danes; so were the Scanians
and Norwegians. Their fleets watched the coasts of each other,
ready to fight it whenever the opportunity was presented. Thus,
while the Norwegians were delighted in making predatory irruptions
into Quenaland, which was inhabited by Finns, the Vends were
harassing the Danes, and the Jutes the Saxons. In the fifth century—
how long before we have not individual instances to select—the
Vends were powerful enough to infuse terror into the whole of
Denmark. Ismar, their king, ravaged Fionia, defeated king Sivar, and
took prince Jarmeric captive. In the sixth century, a Slavonian fleet
was defeated by Halfdan, king of Scania. Saxo is full of maritime
contests between the two people; and though his chronology is
wrong, the facts themselves are indisputable. In general, the Vends
exceeded the Scandinavians in ferocity. Both had great advantages
for maritime adventures. Lithuania, Esthonia, and Livonia were as
well provided with timber as Norway or Sweden; and each country
had a multitude of natural bays and creeks, where refuge could be
sought when the tempest was severe, or when an enemy appeared
too formidable to be resisted.[264]
But the coasts of the Roman provinces offered the greatest
inducements to piracy. They were Saxons and Franks whom
Caransius had chiefly to oppose. In the following century, they were
more formidable to the local governors. “In the beginning of the
fourth century,” says Turner, in his valuable history of the Anglo-
Saxons, “the Saxons were not alone on the ocean; other states, both
to the south and north of their own locality, were moving in concert
with them, whose nominal distinctions were lost in the Saxon name.
This addition of strength multiplied the Saxon fleets, gave new terror
to their hostility, and recruited their losses with perpetual population.
The league extended. Their depredations increased their population,
affluence, and celebrity; and these results extended their power.
What emulation, policy, or rapacity may have first prompted, success
and fear made more universal. They who would not have been
tempted to unite, dreaded the wrath of those whose proffered
alliance they refused: and at length most of the nations north of the
Rhine assumed the name, strengthened the association, and fought
to augment the predominance of the Saxons. Towards the south,
between the Elbe and the Rhine, the Chauci seem to have led the
way. The Frisii, urged by kindred passion and a convenient position,
willingly followed. The precise date of the accession of others is not
so clear; but in some period of their power, the Chamavi, and at last
the Batavi, the Toxandri, and Morini, were in their alliance. North of
their territorial position the Cimbri, the Jutes, the Angles, and others
not so discernible, added their numbers to the formidable league;
which lasted until their expedition to Britain, and then began to
dissolve. Without detaining the reader by a detail of the modern
chorography answering to the position of these tribes, it may be
sufficient to state, concisely, that the progress and leagues of the
Saxon states enlarged gradually from the Elbe to the Weser; from
the Weser they reached to the Ems; and, still augmenting, they
diffused themselves to the Rhine with varying latitude, as the
Franks, many of whose allies they seduced, quitting that region, and
abandoning their exploits on the ocean, marched upon Gaul. The
extension of this new confederation was favoured by the change of
policy and position adopted by the Franks. As this people stood
foremost to the Roman vengeance, they experienced its effects.
They had many distressing wars to maintain, which in time
compelled them to abandon maritime expeditions, and to
consolidate their strength for their continental conflicts. Their
ultimate successes made this warfare the most popular among them.
Hence, the nearer we approach the period of the invasion of
England, we find the Franks less and less united with the Saxons on
the ocean, and even wars begin to be frequent between the rival
friends. As the former moved onward, to the conquests of Belgium
and Gaul, the Saxons appear to have been the only nation, under
whose name the vessels of piracy were navigated. Saxons were the
enemies every where execrated, though under this title several
nations fought. Some of the tribes on the maritime coast, who had
composed the league of the Franks, abandoned it, to share the
easier warfare and ampler booty of the Saxons. At last this
successful people diffused themselves into the interior of Germany
so victoriously, that the vast tracts of country embraced by the Elbe,
the Sala, and the Rhine, became subjected to their power, in
addition to their ancient territory from the Elbe to the Eyder. An old
Belgic chronicle, in rhyme, makes Neder Sassen, Lower Saxony, to
have been confined by the Scheid and the Meuse; but this is a larger
extent than others admit.”[265]
In contemplating the piratical expeditions or maritime conquests
of the Northmen, during the pagan age, greater clearness will be
attained by classing them under the head of each country visited by
those people.
1. Britain. The Jutes and the Angles were the most prominent
allies of the Saxons. The league was joined by other people of the
north,—by adventurous Danes no less than Slavonic Pomeranians. At
the head of maritime forces so numerous and so powerful, the
Saxons became dreadful scourges to Gaul and Britain. “In the latter
country, their depredations were rendered more secure by the
frequent irruptions of the Picts and Scots into the northern counties,
who, like them, were joined in a confederation. Had the Saxons or
the Picts been left to their own efforts, the Roman governors would
not have been so much pressed by the pirates as they were from the
fourth century downwards. In a similar combination of hostilities,
Nectaridus, the commander of the Saxon shore, was slain, and the
general of the island, Fullo-faudes, perished in an ambush. Several
officers were sent by the Roman emperors to succeed them; but
their exertions being inadequate to the necessity, Theodosius, an
experienced and successful leader, was appointed by Valentinian in
their room. The Picts and the co-operating tribes attacked from the
north, while the Saxons and their allies assaulted the maritime
coasts. Theodosius, from Richborough, marched towards London,
and dividing his army into battalions, correspondent to the positions
of the enemies, he attacked the robbers encumbered with their
plunder. The bands that were carrying away the manacled
inhabitants and their cattle, he destroyed, and regained the spoil; of
this he distributed a small share among his wearied soldiers; the
residue he restored to its owners, and entered the city, wondering at
its sudden deliverance, with the glories of an ovation. Lessoned by
experience, and instructed by the confessions of the captives and
deserters, he combated this mixture of enemies, with well-combined
artifice and unexpected attacks. To recall those who in the
confusion, from fear or from cowardice, had abandoned their ranks
or their allegiance, he proclaimed an amnesty; and to complete the
benefit he had begun, he prosecuted the war with vigour in the
north of Britain. He prevented, by judicious movements, the
meditated attack; and hence the Orkneys became the scene of his
triumphs. The Saxons, strong in their numbers and intrepidity,
sustained several naval encounters before they yielded to his genius.
They ceased at last to molest the tranquillity of Britain; and the
addition of a deserved surname, Saxonicus, proclaimed the service
of Theodosius. He added the province of Valentia to Roman Britain,
restored the deserted garrisons, and coerced the unruly borderers by
judicious stations, and a vigilant defence. The Saxon confederation
might be defeated, but was not subdued. Such was its power, that
they were now bold enough to defy the Roman armies by land, and
invaded the regions on the Rhine with a formidable force. The
imperial general was unable to repulse them; a reinforcement
encouraged him. The Saxons declined a battle, and sued for an
amicable accommodation. It was granted. A number of the youth fit
for war were given to the Romans to augment their armies; the rest
were to retire unmolested. The Romans were not ashamed to
confess their dread of the invaders, by a perfidious violation of the
treaty. They attacked the retreating Saxons from an ambush; and,
after a brave resistance, the unguarded barbarians were slain or
made prisoners. It is to the disgrace of literature that the national
historian of the day has presumed, while he records, to apologise for
the ignominious fraud. Such an action might dishonourably gain a
temporary advantage, but it could only exasperate the Saxon nation.
The loss was soon repaired in the natural progress of population,
and before many years elapsed, they renewed their depredations,
and defeated Maximus. At the close of the fourth century they
exercised the activity and resources of Stilicho. The unequal struggle
is commemorated by the encomiastical poet, whose genius gilds,
with a departing ray, the darkening hemisphere of Rome. After his
death the Saxons commenced new irruptions. They supported the
Armorici in their rebellion, awed the Gothic Euric, began to war with
the Franks, and, extending the theatre of their spoil, made Belgium,
Gaul, Italy, and Germany tremble at their presence.” It must be
remembered that under the word Saxons many tribes were included,
—those of Denmark as well as those of Holstein.[266]
408. The settlement of the Saxons, the Angles, and the
Jutes—all comprehended within the geographical limits
of Denmark—in Great Britain, has been recorded in two historical
volumes of the Cyclopædia.[267] Thus, in 446, Hengest laid the
foundation of the kingdom of Kent, which, under eighteen successive
kings, subsisted to the close of the eighth century. In 477, Ella,
another Saxon chief, called a smaller one, that of Sussex, into
existence. Of this state the names of the two first princes only have
descended to posterity. In 519, the more powerful kingdom of
Wessex was founded by Cerdic, and its princes were destined to
unite the other states into one monarchy within three centuries after
its establishment. By Ida, the kingdom of Bernicia was founded in
547; By Ella, that of Deira, in 560. These states, being united in 644,
formed the important kingdom of Northumberland, which subsisted,
with some interruptions, until it was finally annexed, by Athelstane,
to the Saxon monarchy. Mercia, founded, in 586, by Crida; East
Anglia, by Uffa; and Essex, by Eswin; were all ultimately absorbed in
the rising sphere of Wessex. All these royal chiefs boasted of their
descent from Odin; all were of Scandinavian origin; all spoke the
same language, and followed the same piratical profession. That
hordes of obscure adventurers—mere sea kings—should thus subdue
a great country, has been matter of surprise to many writers. But we
should remember that, at the period in question, England was not a
monarchy,—that, like the north, it was subject to many kings, and
that the conquest occupied a century and a half.[268]
That during this period the Danes, if not the Norwegians, were
brought into relation with the kings of Scotland, is asserted by Saxo.
Frode III., according to that historian, gave his daughter Ulvilda in
marriage to Thubar king of the Scots. Frode reigned in the fourth
century, not, as Saxo assures us, early in the first. Whether Hamlet
of Jutland, and other Danish princes, were really in Scotland, cannot
be proved; but there is nothing improbable in the relation. That
country, like England and the north, was divided among many chiefs,
who assumed the regal title; and that their domains should escape
the depredations which so afflicted the southern part of the island, is
not to be credited. Beyond all doubt, Scotland was visited by piratical
bands as early, at least, as England. Nor must we forget that the
Saxon kingdom of Bernicia comprehended, besides the north of
England from the Tees to the Tweed, all the east and centre of
Scotland from the latter river to the Frith of Forth. At what period
the inhabitants north of that Frith were first molested by the Danes
and Norwegians would be a vain inquiry; we may only infer that it
was much earlier than is generally supposed.[269]
 As the inhabitants of the Danish islands and of Norway had no
share in the spoils of England, they were not bound to respect the
coasts after their kindred had established the kingdoms of the
polyarchy. Their ravages, indeed, were experienced by the English
chiefs before Northumbria became a kingdom. Offa of Mercia, whose
domains were invaded by them, had the valour to defeat, and the
generosity to pardon, his foes. It has, however, been contended that
we find no satisfactory account of the Danes being here in such
numbers as to command the notice of history, before the eighth
century. In this case, the authority of Saxo is rejected as unworthy
of credit. “Some documents for his history Saxo may have derived
from poems of the ancient Scalds, from inscriptions on stones and
rocks, from an inspection (yet how imperfect!) of the Icelandic
authors, and from the narrations of his friend. We may even grant to
him, that such men as he enumerates, such actions as he so
eloquently describes, and such poems as he so diffusely translates,
once appeared; but the chronology and succession into which he
arranges them are unquestionably false. The boasted fountains of
the history of the ancient Scandinavians, their memorial stones and
funeral runæ, the inscribed rings of their shields, the woven figures
of their tapestry, their storied walls, their lettered seats and beds,
their narrative wood, their re-collected poetry, and their inherited
traditions, may have given to history the names of many warriors,
and have transmitted to posterity the fame of many battles: but no
dates accompanied the memorials; even the geography of the
incidents was very rarely noted. Hence, however numerous may
have been the preserved memoranda, their arrangement and
appropriation were left to the mercy of literary fancy or of national
conceit. Saxo unfortunately emulated the fame of Livy, instead of
becoming the Pausanias of Scandinavia; and instead of patiently
compiling and recording his materials in the humble style or form in
which he found them, which would have been an invaluable present
to us, he has shaped them into a most confused, unwarranted, and
fabulous chronology. The whole of his first eight books, all his history
anteceding Ragnar Lodbrog, can as little claim the attention of the
historian, as the British, history of Jeffry, or the Swedish history of
Johannes Magnus. It is indeed superfluous, if we recollect the
Roman history, to argue against a work which pretends to give to
Denmark a throned existence, a regular government, and a tissue of
orderly and splendid history for twenty-four royal accessions before
the birth of Christ. Saxo, on whose history many others were
formerly built, refers to the Icelandic writers; but this only increases
our depreciation of his narratives, for they are at irreconcileable
variance with all his history before the ninth century.”[270] Yet we are
far from subscribing, in its most rigorous sense, to this unfavourable
character. Saxo’s chronology we condemn as much as any writer;
but we do not think that his facts, however distorted by tradition,
are not, for the most part, founded in truth. That the authority of
Snorro is superior to Saxo’s we readily admit,—superior, we mean, as
to chronology; for that the latter must have been better acquainted
with the actions of the Danes themselves few will be so rash as to
deny. Yet even Snorro assures us that Ivar Vidfadme, a prince of the
seventh century, conquered a fifth part of England.[271] By this
expression Northumbria is usually understood; and there is nothing
improbable in the opinion that the kingdom of Bernicia—that portion
of Northumbria north of the Tweed—was overrun by this prince.[272]
793 to 868. The alleged depredations of Ragnar Lodbrog in
Northumbria, to which we have slightly alluded in the
first chapter of this volume[273] have in them so much of the
romantic that we can place little dependence on them. There is but
one circumstance that can be made to lend them even the
appearance of probability. About the period of Ragnar’s death, a
formidable body of Danes descended on the island of Lindisfarne,
plundered the church which contained the shrine of St. Cuthbert,
massacred the ecclesiastics, defiled the altars, and consumed the
building by fire. The lay inhabitants of the island were not more
fortunate; the men were massacred, the women were forced, the
children tossed on the points of the Danish lances. In the following
year (794) the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow were visited
with the same fate. During full seventy years,—that is, to the period
when the weak brother of Alfred allowed the centre of England to be
overrun, and when Alfred himself, by his flight, left the whole
kingdom to their mercy,—their depredations on the eastern coast,
from the Frith of Forth to the Humber, were, however desultory,
however interrupted, most harassing and most destructive. The
Saxon kings of Northumbria, we are told, were too much occupied in
private feuds to have either time or means for defending the country
against the invaders,—if, indeed, there were any Saxon kings at this
time,—if the Danes were not the actual sovereigns of the province.
It is certain that all the historians of Denmark (who are confirmed by
the Icelandic chronicles) speak of such a dynasty, and assure us that
the sons of Ragnar Lodbrog were its kings. We see no reason to
dispute this statement. There is, however, a sad confusion in the
chronology. If Ragnar died in 794, and his sons avenged him in little
more than a year afterwards, they could not be at the head of the
armament which, in 866, appeared off the coast. Probably they and
their successors reigned from the close of the eighth to the tenth
century, and the confederated armament of 866 was one on a larger
scale, and headed by other leaders. What confirms this inference is
the fact that at this time Harald Harfager was subduing the petty
kings of Norway; and that many of them, preferring freedom to the
despotism of a master, left the country with their bravest warriors.
During this period, all the churches and monasteries of the province
were destroyed. In 828, the Danish power in Northumberland must
have been great, or they would not have been powerful, enough to
defeat Egbert, the conqueror of so many Saxon kingdoms, and the
founder of the English monarchy. After the year 866, when, as we
believe, there were many Norwegians in England, new atrocities
were committed,—atrocities which threw all former ones into the
shade. The monastery of Tynemouth, which had been restored, was
soon in flames; that of Lindisfarne shared the same fate; yet the
monks were so fortunate as to escape with the relics of St. Cuthbert.
From the smoking ruins of Lindisfarne, Halfdan, one of the chiefs,
hastened to the monastery of Coldingham. “According to Matthew of
Westminster and succeeding writers, the nuns of Coldingham nobly
redeemed the reputation of their establishment from the stain which
had covered it in the time of St. Cuthbert. The monastery was now,
as in the former case, governed by an abbess, named Ebba; who, if
the historian be credible, deserves the honours of canonisation
somewhat better than her predecessor. Hearing that it was the
custom of the barbarians first to violate, and then to destroy, virgins
consecrated to God, she assembled the sister-hood in the chapter
house, and exhorted them to save their chastity at the expense of
their beauty. With a knife she dreadfully disfigured her countenance;
and her example was followed on the spot by all the nuns. The
Danes soon forced their gates; but turned with horror from their
embraces, and quickly consumed both them and their nunnery.
Though the monk of Westminster lived so long after the time, he
might follow some better guide than tradition—some record now
lost; nor is the fact itself either improbable or unparalleled. The
same noble conduct is related of the nuns of Ecija, during the
Mohammedan invasion of Spain. During seven years similar
depredations followed throughout most of Northumbria. Wherever
the Danes penetrated, ecclesiastics were massacred, churches and
monasteries were levelled with the ground; the whole country, in
fact, became a Danish province, governed by princes of the royal
house of that kingdom. Great as was the evil produced by these
merciless pagans; though the monks, as an order, were almost
wholly annihilated, and civilisation was destroyed, yet the invasion
itself led to the conversion of the invaders. Resolved to remain in the
country which they had conquered, to cultivate the lands which they
had divided among themselves, they were compelled to enter into
relations of amity with the inhabitants, from whose example, or by
whose persuasion, they soon embraced the faith of Christ. That the
Danish princes were soon no less devout than their Saxon brothers
appears from the splendid donation of all the country between the
Wear and the Tyne, made by Guthred to the cathedral of St.
Cuthbert, now transferred to Chester-le-Street.” Out of evil comes
good,—a proof of God’s particular providence.[274]
868 to 876. But the atrocities of the Northmen at this period are
most graphically described by the abbot Ingulf. After
the destruction of Bardney, the pirates hastened to the monastery of
Croyland. “It was midnight: the abbot Theodore and his monks had
risen to matins when the enemy drew near: the younger brethren
the abbot immediately commanded to seek a place of refuge, with
their papers, relics, and jewels; while he himself, accompanied by
the more aged monks, and some children, awaited whatever fate
might be reserved for them. Perhaps he hoped that the grey locks of
some, and the infancy of others, might awaken pity even in pagans.
But they forgot, says Ingulf, the old verse,
“Nulla fides pictasque viris qui castra sequuntur.”

But he was prepared for any event,—to live or fall with his
establishment. Having taken an affectionate leave of about thirty
junior monks, he and his devoted companions returned to the
church, finished the matins, and celebrated mass. They had just
communicated when the pagans arrived, forced the gates, and
rushed into the cloisters. The silence which they found might have
induced them to believe the monastery was utterly forsaken, had not
the distant chaunting of the monks fallen on their ears. They
hastened to the church and burst into the choir; one chieftain
instantly seized the abbot by the hair with his left hand, while the
right severed the head from the body. The officiating clergy shared
the same fate at nearly the same moment: the children and the
aged monks were tortured for the purpose of discovering whither
the treasures had been conveyed; but as the former were unable,
and the latter unwilling, to disclose the secret, their sufferings were
soon terminated by death. Of all these helpless inmates, one only
was saved,—a boy ten years old, whose innocence made an
impression on one of the chieftains. He had fled to the refectory with
the sub-prior, whom he saw murdered, and whose fate he begged to
share; but the chieftain tore the cowl from his head, threw a Danish
cloak over him, and commanded him to follow him. The three
succeeding days were passed in plunder,—in minutely examining
every corner or crevice where treasure might be buried. The shrine
of St. Guthlake was overthrown; the marble monuments around it,
containing the mortal remains of saints and benefactors to the
house, were opened, in search of rings, chalices, and other precious
effects which the Saxons entombed with the bodies of the great; the
bones were thrown on the ground, and the sculpture defaced. On
the fourth day the extensive pile was on fire. Medeshamstede, or
Peterborough, also an abbey of royal foundation, was next visited.
Its noble library, its numerous treasures, which there had not been
time to remove, its magnificent architecture, rendered it one of the
proudest monastic establishments in the island. Within its gates
many of the neighbouring inhabitants had placed their most valuable
effects, and thither many had fled for protection. For a while the
edifice made a noble stand; but a stone thrown by an unknown
hand having mortally wounded the brother of Ubbo, the Danish king,
the barbarian and his followers made a more desperate attack,
forced the gates, and commenced the massacre. With his own hand
Ubbo sacrificed the hoary abbot and eighty-three monks to the
shade of his brother; while the strangers fell under the hands of his
followers. The booty was immense; but the value was trifling
compared with that of the MS. treasures which were consumed with
the monastery. The conflagration continued a fortnight. While it
raged, the monks who had fled from Croyland returned to their
former abode, sat themselves down amidst the smoking ruins, and
wept. So overcome were they by the melancholy sight, that some
time elapsed before they proceeded to bury the scorched bodies of
their brethren. Having performed this sad office, and elected another
abbot, they were solicited to perform the last duties to the monks of
Medeshamstede. With sorrowful hearts they deposited the bones of
the abbot and the eighty-three monks in the same grave, over which
Godric, their superior, raised a monument, engraven with the history
of this sad tragedy. From Medeshamstede the pirates, exulting in
their success, hastened to the Isle of Ely, to inflict the same fate on
the flourishing convent which had been founded by the piety of St.
Edilthryda. Its cloisters were inhabited by the noblest ladies of
England. Some fled; but the greater number preferred the death
which they knew awaited them. The place was taken; the nuns were
ravished and slaughtered; and the holy pile was reduced to ashes.
That such atrocities could be committed would be incredible were
they not too well attested to admit of scepticism.[275]
870 to 924. The struggles of Alfred with the ferocious Northmen
have been detailed in more than one volume
connected with the present.[276] During this period, there was a
Danish monarchy in Northumbria, which, as we have already
observed, had been probably founded by the sons of Ragnar
Lodbrog. That monarchy subsisted in the reign of Edmund, the son
of Alfred; and, it was in full vigour on the accession of Athelstane. So
powerful, indeed, was Sigtrug, king of that province, that Athelstane,
to insure his friendship, conferred on him the hand of his sister. The
condition of this marriage was that Sigtrug should embrace
Christianity, and become the vassal of Athelstane. In five years,
however, the restless barbarian put away his wife, and relapsed into
idolatry. To punish the insult, Athelstane invaded Northumbria; but
Sigtrug died before his arrival; and the two sons of Sigtrug, Anlaf
and Godfrey, fled,—the former into Ireland, the latter into Scotland;
and Athelstane annexed Northumbria to his English crown.[277]
924 to 934. That Athelstane should so immediately raise the
power of the Saxon kingdom, as not only to defeat the
Danes and Northmen, but to subjugate a province which had always
been hostile to it, shows what may be effected by the energies of a
single mind. Not satisfied with expelling the enemy from
Northumbria, he pursued them into Scotland, far north of the
boundary which had hitherto arrested the progress of English
victory: his fleets penetrated into Caithness, ravaging the coast as
they proceeded. And he is believed, at this period, to have located a
multitude of English colonists in the southern provinces of Scotland,
and thus to have laid the foundation of the present lowland
population. But Northumbria was too recent a conquest, and too
dissimilar from the rest of the monarchy, to remain secure. The
chiefs of Denmark and Norway, who had so long regarded England
as a kind of inheritance, armed in greater numbers than before, to
check the rising power of Athelstane. They were joined by all the
noted sea kings of the age; by many of the jarls or kings who had
settlements in Ireland and Scotland; by the king of the Scots, and by
several Welsh chiefs. Never, we are told, had so formidable an
armament menaced England as that which, in 934, entered the
Humber. It consisted of 615 ships, headed by Anlaf, whom
Constantine of Scotland had induced to make the attempt. Anlaf,
who, on his father’s death, had obtained for himself a principality in
Ireland, had a reputation for skill and valour equalled by none of his
countrymen. Of the two thanes whom Athelstane had placed over
Northumbria, one was defeated and slain; the other, after the battle,
fled to acquaint the English monarch with the defeat. He prepared
for the contest with courage; and, to gain time until his forces were
collected, entered into negotiations. When his army was completed,
he hastened into the north, and was in presence of the pirates
before they knew he had left the Saxon provinces. If any faith is to
be placed in either Saxon or Norwegian writers, Anlaf, assuming the
disguise of a harper, penetrated to the tent of Athelstane, and
entertained that monarch with his art. His object, we are told, was
to ascertain the position of the tent previous to a nocturnal attack,
which had been determined by the confederate chiefs. But this
incident, no less than the recognition of Anlaf by one of the Saxon
outposts, is too romantic to be easily credited. What appears to be
certain is, that Athelstane removed his tent to another part of the
field; and that the bishop of Sherburn, who encamped in the place
which he had abandoned, was slain before the morning’s dawn. In
the night there was a skirmish, which caused much effusion of
blood, and was advantageous to neither party. When day arrived,
the celebrated battle of Brunanburgh was fought. That town has
escaped the researches of antiquaries; and all that can be
conjectured is, that it was in some place north of the Humber. That
the struggle was a desperate one might be inferred alike from the
character of the combatants, and from the magnitude of the
interests involved. Victory declared for Athelstane; Constantine of
Scotland was nearly taken, and his son killed; the Cumbrians and
Britons and Irish were destroyed, or put to flight, and the bravest
warriors of the north remained on the field. This splendid advantage
raised England in the esteem of all Europe, and impressed the
Northmen with a salutary terror.[278]
934. The intercourse between Athelstane and Eric of the
Bloody Axe we have before mentioned.[279] We have
also related in what manner Sweyn of Denmark[280] defeated
Ethelred II., and eventually became king of England. The history of
that monarch brings down that of the Scandinavian expeditions to
the year 1014.
400 to 840. 2. France. The devastations of the Saxons and the
Jutes on the coasts of Gaul commenced as early as
those on the coast of Britain. We read of them in the third and every
succeeding century, until France was too strong to be assailed with
impunity,—until piracy was extinguished in the north of Europe. In
the fifth century, the pirates besieged Orleans, and formed many
settlements on the western coast. About the middle of the sixth,
Hamlet of Jutland is said to have fought the Franks in person, and to
have been defeated. The period, however, of Hamlet, is purely
conjectural; and his descent on the coast is equally so. But that the
Normans were there is affirmed by the contemporary Gregory of
Tours, who describes their ravages with much interest. Under the
Carlovingians, the piratical armaments were more powerful than at
any preceding time. In 795, the Danes ravaged Friesland; from 800,
the coasts of Flanders and France were infested; nor could the
genius and vast resources of Charlemagne punish their audacity. On
witnessing their fugitive depredations, he is said to have predicted
the trouble which they would cause his successors. Such a prediction
required no supernatural discernment; but it proves that the
monarch had formed a correct estimate of northern piracy. For the
greater part of a century, however, they did not appear in any
overwhelming numbers on the French coast. The forces of the
Northmen were too much scattered over the deep, in England,
Ireland, the Orkneys, and the Baltic, to admit of any considerable
concentration at a given point. Their efforts, however destructive,
were desultory, and might have been easily repelled, had there been
any wisdom or any vigour in the government. But the sons of the