We are told that Canute continued his preparations for a descent upon England; still, it may be doubted whether he actually had serious hope of conquering the country at that time. Then suddenly there occurred in England a series of events that placed the fate of Ethelred in Canute's hands.
The saga that relates the exploits of the Jomvikings tells somewhat explicitly of an English attack on two corps of "thingmen," as the Danish mercenaries were called in Northern speech, the corps in London and Slesswick.[92] The latter locality has not been identified, but it seems hardly necessary to seek it far north of the Thames—the saga locates it north of London. It is asserted that the massacre was planned by Ulfketel, and that in Slesswick it was thoroughly carried out: from this we may infer that the place was in East Anglia, or Ulfkellsland, as the scalds called it. The garrisons, we are told, were located by Sweyn; this is doubtless an error,—the corps were probably divisions of the viking forces in Ethelred's service. No doubt there were other similar corps, for Thurkil was apparently connected with neither of the two.
Canute was out of the country and no hostile force was in sight. There could then be small need of retaining the thingmen who were furthermore a source of expense, perhaps of danger. As in 1002, it was determined to fall upon them and slay them. If it is true that Thurkil's men were originally quartered in East Anglia,[93] we can readily understand why Ulfketel might take the lead in such an undertaking. In London, where resistance had been so persistent and successful, the mercenaries must have been regarded with strong aversion. It was planned to strike during the Yule festivities when the vikings would probably not be in the best possible state of vigour and sobriety. In London armed men were smuggled into the stronghold in waggons that were ostensibly laden with merchandise for the midwinter market. But the corps was warned in time by a woman who wished to save her lover Thord. Eilif, who was in command here, escaped to Denmark. In Slesswick, the plan succeeded, none escaping; among the fallen was the chief, Heming, the brother of Thurkil the Tall. The attack is thought to have been made some time during the early part of January, 1015.[94]
It is evident that something of a serious nature occurred in England in those days, and while some of the details in the saga tale are probably fictitious, in substance the account is perhaps correct. Heming disappears from the English sources, while Eilif is prominent in English politics for another decade. Most significant of all, a few weeks later Thurkil appears in Denmark to urge upon Canute the desirability of an immediate attack on England. He now had another brother to avenge. Thurkil's desertion of the English cause must have done much to stimulate Danish ambition. Help was secured from Olaf of Sweden. Eric, the Norse earl, was also summoned to the host. Great preparations must have gone forward in Denmark, for all writers agree that Canute's fleet, when it finally sailed, was immense in the number of ships. Thurkil's position in Denmark appears to have been a trifle uncertain at first. Canute could hardly be expected to give cordial greeting to a man who had recently sent him out of England in full flight; but after some discussion the two were reconciled, and Thurkil joined the expedition.[95]
In all the North there was none more famous for successful leadership in warfare than Earl Eric of Norway. He had fought in the battles of Hjörunga Bay and Swald; in both these encounters the highest honours were his. It is, therefore, not strange that Canute was anxious to have his assistance. Eric was no longer young and had no direct interest in the proposed venture; still, when the mandate came, he showed no reluctance, so far as we know. He called together the magnates of the realm and arranged for a division of his earldom between his brother Sweyn and his young son Hakon.[96] It need not be assumed that Eric at this time made a final surrender of his own rights; most likely it was the administration during the period of his absence only that was provided for in this way.
As Hakon was yet but a youth, Eric gave him a guardian in his kinsman, the famous Thronder chief, Einar Thongshaker. In his day, Einar was the best archer in Norway; hence his nickname, the one who makes the bow-thong tremble. He, too, had fought at Swald, but on King Olaf's ship; twice did his arrow seek Eric's life; the third time he drew the bow it was struck by a hostile shaft, and broke. "What broke?" asked the King. "Norway from your hands," replied the confident archer.[97] After Eric and his brother had become rulers in Norway, they made peace with Einar, married him to their sister, the generous Bergljot, and endowed him greatly with lands and influence. Of the three men to whom Norway was now committed, he was clearly the ablest, if not of the greatest consequence.
Turning again to England, we find a situation developing that was anything but promising. Some time during the first half of the year, a gemot was summoned to meet at Oxford, near the border of the Danelaw. Evidently an attempt was to be made in the direction of a closer union between the North and the South. Among others who attended were two Scandinavian nobles from the Seven Boroughs, Sigeferth and Morcar. So far as names show the nationality of the bearers, they might be either Angles or Northmen; but the name of their father, Arngrim, is unmistakably Norse. During the sessions of the gemot, the brothers were accused of treason and slain in the house of Eadric, the Mercian earl.[98] The result was a riot; the followers of the murdered men called for revenge, but were repulsed and driven into the tower of Saint Frideswide's Church, which the English promptly burned. Such a violation of the right of sanctuary could not be overlooked even in those impassioned times; and only through penance on the part of the luckless King was the stain removed.[99]
The sources are at one in laying the blame for this trouble on Earl Eadric. William of Malmesbury says that he desired the wealth of the two Danes, and we find that Ethelred actually did exact forfeiture. But it may also be that Eadric was endeavouring to extend and consolidate his Mercian earldom; to do this he would have to devise some method to deprive the Seven Boroughs of their peculiarly independent position in the Danelaw or Danish Mercia. Whatever his purpose, he seems to have had the approval of the ill-counselled King.
Sigeferth's widow, Aldgyth, was taken as a prisoner to Malmesbury, where Edmund, Ethelred's virile son, saw her and was attracted by her. But Ethelred objected to his son's matrimonial plans; the reasons are not recorded, but one of them, at least, can be readily inferred: callous of heart as the old King doubtless was, he probably did not enjoy the thought of having in his household as daughter-in-law a woman who could not help but be a constant reminder of a deed that was treacherous, stupid, and criminal. Passion, however, was strong in Edmund Ironside; he married the widow in spite of his father's veto; more than that, he demanded her slain husband's forfeited official position. Ethelred again refused, whereupon the Prince proceeded to the Danish strongholds and took possession.[100]