Scandinavian-Britain

THE KINGDOM OF YORK 14!as Yric ;Eadred ravaged their countryand burnedSt. Wilfrith's minster at Ripon, then marched away,but his rearguard being cut up at Chesterford, hereturned, and was received as king, "Hyryc" beingexpelled in ; 949 Anlaf Cwiran (Olaf Cuaran) came toNorthumberland; in 952 Yric supplanted him asking, and was expelled in 954.Later authors do not improve matters by trying tosimplify the story, which ended with the death ofEirik in an attempt to regain his throne, and theappointment of Oswulf of Bamborough, a representativeof the old line of Bernician Angles, as jarl orealdorman of Northumbria. Olaf Cuaran went backto Dublin, where, on his expulsion from York in 945,he had seized the power after driving out Blakari.It was perhaps before this that St. Cathroe (see hislife in The Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, ed. Skene,p. 1 1 6) was escorted by King Domhnall of Cumbriato Leeds, and thence went to York to visit the king,whose name isgiven as Erichius, and his Irish wife, arelative of the saint. As Eirik had no Irish wife, butOlaf Cuaran and his predecessor Olaf were marriedto Irish ladies, King Olaf and not Eirik is no doubtintended. The story of Egil Skallagrimsson's visitto King Eirik Blodox at York is not impossible,though romantic in character, and though the poemattributed to the skald on this occasion, Hofudlausn^contains the end-rhymes which are thoughtto mark verse of a later date. These incidents givecolour to the meagre records of the Viking court, atwhich so many races and interests must have met.