period of trial for England, and foreshadowed Danish and Norwegian attacks not less dangerous to the security and freedom of Englishmen than those captained by Ingwar and Guthrum in the ninth century.
The position of England about the year 990, when Aethelred attained his majority, might seem at first sight less vulnerable than in Alfred's day. The land was no longer split into rival kingdoms; it had fortresses and ships and the confidence born of former victories. But this impression of unity and strength is misleading. In reality, the West Saxon dynasty had not succeeded in assimilating its conquests further north than the river Welland. In the "Five Boroughs" and in Yorkshire, and still more beyond the Tees, it was from every point of view extremely weak. There is no evidence for example that Edgar, for all his popularity, ever shewed his face in these parts, or that he had estates there bringing in any appreciable revenue, or that he appointed any reeves. Jarls of Danish descent ruled, quite uncontrolled, the half-Danish population in accordance with Danish laws and customs, and only gave their allegiance to the king because they were left alone. Even the Church had failed to reassert itself among the "holds" and "socmen." The sees of York, Lincoln and Leicester were still, as it were, only appendages of Worcester and Dorchester, rarely visited by their bishops, badly endowed and honeycombed with heathen practices only thinly veiled. Nor beyond the Welland had any attempt been made to found any monasteries of the reformed pattern. Little reliance then could be placed on the patriotism of these regions, for should Danish invaders once more get a foothold in the country, the chief land-owners would have much in common with the enemy, and might easily be enticed into joining them.
At the same time it must be remembered that the Scandinavian lands had made in the last century even greater strides towards consolidation than England. Norway under Harold Fairhair (850-933) and his descendants had ceased to be a mere collection of warring chieftaincies, while Denmark under Harold Bluetooth (950-986) had grown into a fairly compact state, and imposed its sway on its neighbours. As stated in the runic inscription on the Jellinge Stone, the famous monument in Jutland which Harold erected in honour of his parents, Gorm and Thyra, he had won all Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christians." He had made the "Wick" and the south of Norway a component part of his realm; he had planted Danish outposts in Pomerania and Prussia, he had founded the great stronghold of Jómsborg in Wendland, and he had forced Hákon the Bad to hold northern Norway and the Throndlaw as his vassal. More than this, by his successes he had awakened again the old viking spirit, and set the dragon ships as of old sailing the seas in search of adventure. His closing years were not so successful as his prime. In 975 Hákon had revolted, and in 986 the old king was himself slain fighting against his son Svein, who had thrown Christianity. His death, however, did not make the Danish power
