The reign of Edmund as king of Wessex was destined to be brief. The covenant of Deerhurst was probably made in the early days of November (it could scarcely have been earlier, as the battle of Ashington was fought on October 18) and by the close of the month (November 30) he was dead. Florence of Worcester tells us that he died in London, which is improbable, as it seems strange that he should have ventured into the stronghold of his late enemy. Other writers give Oxford as the place, which also seems unlikely, if Eadric, who apparently resided at Oxford,[140] had played the traitor's part at Ashington. It seems clear that these writers have placed Edmund's death at Oxford because they believed that Eadric was in some way the author of it.[141]
For so opportunely did the end come, that the suggestion of foul play was inevitable, and coarse tales were invented to account for the manner of death. There is, however, not the least hint in any contemporary source that Canute was in any way guilty of his rival's untimely decease. The simple-minded Encomiast again sees an illustration of Providential mercy:
But God, remembering his teaching of olden time, that a kingdom divided against itself cannot long endure, very soon afterwards led Edmund's spirit forth from the body, having compassion on the realm of the English, lest if, perchance, both should continue among the living, neither should reign securely, and the kingdom be daily annihilated by renewed contention.[142]
It is difficult to form a just estimate of Edmund Ironside, as our information is neither extensive nor varied. It is possible that he was born of a connection that the Church had not blessed; at least such seems to have been the belief when William of Malmesbury wrote.[143] A late writer tells us that his mother was the daughter of Earl Thoretus[144]; an earl by such a name actually did flourish in the closing decade of the tenth century; he was one of the chiefs to whom Ethelred entrusted his fleet in 992. From his name we should judge that he was of Norse ancestry. There can be no doubt as to Edmund's bravery on the battle-field; perhaps he was also in possession of some talent in the way of generalship. But on the whole, his military exploits have been exaggerated: we know them chiefly from an ecclesiastic who was doubtless honest, but warmly patriotic and strongly partisan; it was natural for him to magnify skirmishes into battles. Edmund was the victor in several important engagements, but in no great battle. There was no heavy fighting at Penselwood; Sherstone was at best a drawn battle; Brentford and Otford seem to have been partly successful attacks on the rear of a retreating foe; Ashington was a decisive defeat. We cannot tell what sort of a king he might have become but the glimpses that we get of his character are not reassuring. We get sight of him first about 1006 when he sought to come into possession of an estate in Somerset: "and the monastic household dared not refuse him."[145] His rebellious behaviour in the Danelaw, his raid into English Mercia, give little promise of future statesmanship. Edmund Ironside was an English viking, passionate, brave, impulsive, but unruly and uncontrollable.
When the year closed there was no question who should be the future ruler of England. Fate had been kind to Canute; still, the outcome must be ascribed chiefly to the persistent activity of the invader. But while the name of the young King is necessarily made prominent in the narrative, we should not forget that he was surrounded and assisted by a group of captains who probably had no superiors in Europe at the time. There was the tall and stately Thurkil with the experience of more than thirty years as a viking chief; the resourceful Eric with a brilliant record as a successful general; the impetuous and volcanic Ulf; doubtless also Ulf's brother, Eglaf the Jomviking. These were the men who helped most to win the land for the Danish dynasty; they also formed Canute's chief reliance in the critical years following the conquest.
The gain in Britain was, however, in a measure counterbalanced by the loss of Norway in the same year, though in this Canute was not directly interested at the time. After the battle of the Nesses, King Olaf sailed north to Nidaros (Throndhjem) where he now received unquestioned allegiance. He rebuilt the city and made it the capital of his kingdom. The ruined Church of Saint Clemens, the patron saint of all seafaring men, was raised again and became in a sense the mother church of Norse Christianity. Without delay he began his great work as legislator, organiser, and missionary, a work of enduring qualities. But Canute did not forget that in this way his dynasty was robbed of one of its earliest possessions outside the Dane-lands. A clash between the great rivals was inevitable. For the present, however, Olaf's throne was safe; there was much to do before Canute could seriously think of proceeding against his virile opponent, and more than a decade passed before the young King of England could summon his chiefs and magnates into solemn imperial councils in the new capital of Nidaros.
Viking raids in England 980-1016