Scandinavian-Britain

Il8SCANDINAVIAN BRITAINcounties were Saxon, and must be cleared of theintruders ;in these Anglian districts all were aliens toWessex, and there was no question of driving out theDanes if they would live peaceably and own Eadward'srule.He was now master of four out of the FiveBoroughs. His sister, the Lady of the Mercians, wasdead, and he took her province into his own hands,carrying out her work. In 920 he built a fort at"Manchester in Northumbria," and in 921 anotherat Bakewell in Derbyshire, where (asthe WinchesterChronicle asserts) he received the adhesion of allthe rulers of the north, except those of the Orkneysand Hebrides. It is not stated that they appearedbefore him in person and gave their kingdoms into hishands; "they chose him for father and for lord."It was before the days of feudalism, though this wastwisted by mediaeval lawyers into the performance offeudal homagewith all it involved. The northernstates saw that he was the dominant power, graduallyadvancing toward them, and they hastened to forestall. his attack and to court his assistance. With Ragnvaldof York and "all those who dwelt in Northumbria,as well English as Danes and Northmen and others,"the jarl of Lincoln must have come in or sent hisenvoys, if he had not done so earlier. There is noword of fighting in Lincolnshire, but the independenceof the Five Boroughs was now,a thing of the past.