Here in this year King Cnut came with his raiding-army of 160 ships, and Ealdorman Eadric with him, over the Thames into Mercia at Cricklade, and then turned into Warwickshire, during the midwinter festival, and raided and burned and killed all that they came to.
Then the aetheling Edmund began to gather an army; then when the army was assembled, nothing would suit them but that the king were there and that they have the help of the garrison from London. Then they left off the campaign and each man took himself home. Then after the festival,the army was ordered again, on full penalty, that each man who was fit should go forth; then the king in London was sent to, and asked that he come to join the army with the help which he could gather. Then when they all came together, it did not achieve any more than it often did before. Then when it was made known to the king that one who should have been of help to him wanted to betray him, [he] left the army and turned back to London.
Then the aetheling Edmund rode to Northumbria to Earl Uhtred, and everybody supposed that they wanted to assemble an army against King Cnut; then they travelled into Staffordshire and into Shrewsbury and to Chester and they raided on their [own] side and Cnut on his; and turned himself then out through Buckinghamshire into Bedfordshire, and from there to Huntingdonshire, along the fen to Stamford, and then into Lincolnshire, from there to Nottinghamshire, and so to Northumbria towards York. Then when Uhtred learned this, he left off his raiding and hastened northwards, and then of necessity submitted, and all the Northumbrians with him; and he gave hostages - and nevertheless he was killed, and Thurcytel, Nafena's son, with him. And then after that, King Cnut set Eric as earl in Northumbria just as Uhtred was, and afterwards turned himself southwards another way, wholly to the west. And all the raiding-army then came to the ships before Easter, and the aetheling Edmund turned to London to his father; and then, after Easter, the king Cnut turned towards London with all his ships.
Then it happened that, before the ships came, the king Aethelred passed away. He ended his days on St George's Day, after great toil and difficulties in his life. And then, after his end, all the councillors who were in London, and the garrison chose Edmund for king, and he resolutely defended his kingdom for as long as his time was.
Then at the Rogation Days the [Danish] ships came to Greenwich, and within a little while turned to London; and then dug a great ditch on the south side and dragged their ships to the west side of the bridge, and afterwards bedyked the town around so that no one could get in or out, and regularly attacked the town, but they resolutely withstood them. King Edmund had gone out then before that, and then rode into Wessex, and all the people submitted to him; and quickly after that he fought against the raiding-army at Penselwood near Gillingham, and he fought another fight after midsummer at Sherston, and there a great slaughter fell on either side, and the raiding-armies themselves broke off the fight. And Ealdorman Eadric and Aelfmeer Darling were helping the raiding-army against King Edmund. And then for the 3rd time he gathered an army, and travelled to London and rescued the garrison and drove the raiding-army to the ships. And then it was two days later that the king turned over at Brentford, and fought against the raiding-army and put them to flight; and there many of the English people were drowned through their own carelessness when they travelled in front of the army and wanted to seize loot. And after that the king turned to Wessex and assembled his army. Then the raiding-army immediately turned to London and besieged the town, and attacked it strongly both by water and by land, but the Almighty God rescued it.
After that the raiding-army turned away from London with their ships into the Orwell, and there went inland and travelled into Mercia, and killed and burned whatsoever they came across, as was their custom, and provided themselves with supplies, and they drove both the ships and their herds to the Medway. Then for the 4th time King Edmund assembled the entire English nation and travelled over the Thames at Brentford, and travelled into Kent, and the raiding-army fled before him with their horses into Sheppey, and the king killed as many of them as he could overtake. And Ealdorman Eadric then turned to join the king at Aylesford. There was no more unwise decision than this was. The raiding-army turned back up into Essex and travelled into Mercia and did for all that it travelled over.
Then, when the king learned that the raiding-army was inland, he assembled the entire the English nation for the 5th time and travelled behind them and overtook them in Essex at the hill which is called Ashingdon, and there resolutely joined battle.Then Ealdorman Eadric did as he so often did before, first started the flight -with the Magonsaete - and thus betrayed his royal lord and the whole nation. There Cnut had the victory and won himself all England. There was killed Eadnoth, and Abbot Wulfsige, and Ealdorman Aelfric, and Ealdorman Godwine, Ulfcytel from East Anglia, and Aethelweard, son of Ealdorman Aethelsige, and all the chief men in the English race.
Then after this fight King Cnut turned inland with his raiding-army to Gloucestershire, where he heard tell that Edmund the king was. Then Ealdorman Eadric and the councillors who were there advised that the kings make a pact between them; and they granted hostages between them, and the kings came together at Ola's Island, and there affirmed their friendship, both with pledge and with oath, and set the payment for the raiding-army; and with this pact they parted, and King Edmund succeeded to Wessex and Cnut to Mercia.
Then the raiding-army turned to the ships with the things they had seized, and the inhabitants of London made a truce with the raiding-army and bought peace from them; and the raiding-army brought their ships to London, and took winter-quarters for themselves in there.
Then, on St Andrew's Day, Edmund the king passed away, and is buried with his grandfather Edgar in Glastonbury.
Entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 1016. Makes any problems we have this year seem fairly low-key...
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