in civility, and that their government could now rest secure on its laws
and civil institutions, and was not wholly sustained by the abilities
of the sovereign. Richard, after a long reign of fifty-four years, was
succeeded by his son, of the same name, in the year 996,[****] which
was eighty-five years after the first establishment of the Normans
in France. This was the duke who gave his sister Emma in marriage to
Ethelred, king of England, and who thereby formed connections with a
country which his posterity was so soon after destined to subdue.

[*** Order. Vitalis, p. 459. Grl. Geinet, lib. iv.
cup. 1.]

[**** Order. Vitalis, p. 459.]

The Danes had been established during a longer period in England than in
France; and though the similarity of their original language to that of
the Saxons invited them to a more early coalition with the natives,
they had hitherto found so little example of civilized manners among
the English, that they retained all their ancient ferocity, and valued
themselves only on their national character of military bravery. The
recent, as well as more ancient achievements of their countrymen
tended to support this idea; and the English princes particularly
Athelstan and Edgar, sensible of that superiority had been accustomed
to keep in pay bodies of Danish troops, who were quartered about the
country, and committed many violences upon the inhabitants. These
mercenaries had attained to such a height of luxury, according to the
old English writers,[*] that they combed their hair once a day, bathed
themselves once a week, changed their clothes frequently; and by all
these arts of effeminacy, as well as by their military character, had
rendered themselves so agreeable to the fair sex, that they debauched
the wives and daughters of the English, and dishonored many families.
But what most provoked the inhabitants was, that instead of defending
them against invaders, they were ever ready to betray them to the
foreign Danes, and to associate themselves with all straggling parties
of that nation.

The animosity between the inhabitants of English and Danish race, had,
from these repeated injuries, risen to a great height, when Ethelred,
from a policy incident to weak princes embraced the cruel resolution of
massacring the latter throughout all his dominions.[**] [4]

[* Wallingford, p. 547.]

[** See note D, at the end of the volume.]

{1002.}Secret orders were despatch