and drowned many of them. This year Plegmund was chosen of God and of all the people to be archbishop of Canterbury.
A. 891 This year the army went eastward; and king Arnulf, with the East-Franks and Saxons and Bavarians, fought against that part which was mounted before the ships came up, and put them to flight. And three Scots came to king Alfred in a boat without any oars from Ireland, whence they had stolen away, because they desired for the love of God to be in a state of pilgrimage, they recked not where. The boat in which they came was made of two hides and a half; and they took with them provisions sufficient for seven days; and then about the seventh day they came on shore in Cornwall, and soon after went to king Alfred. Thus they were named: Dubslane, and Macbeth, and Maelinmun. And Swinney, the best teacher among the Scots, died.
A. 892. And that same year after Easter, about Rogation week or before, the star appeared which in Latin is called cometa; some men say in English that it is a hairy star, because a long radiance streams from it, sometimes on the one side, and sometimes on each side.
A. 893. In this year the great army, about which we formerly spoke,[1] came again from the eastern kingdom westward to Boulogne, and there was shipped; so that they came over in one passage, horses and all; and they came to land at Limne-mouth with two hundred and fifty ships. This port is in the eastern part of Kent, at the east end of the great wood which we call Andred; the wood is in length from east to west one hundred and twenty miles, or longer, and thirty miles broad: the river of which we before spoke flows out of the weald. On this river they towed up their ships as far as the weald, four miles from the outward harbour, and there stormed a fortress: within the fortress a few churls were stationed, and it was in part only constructed Then soon after that Hasten with eighty ships landed at the mouth of the Thames, and wrought himself a fortress at Milton; and the other army did the like at Appledore.
A. 894. In this year, that was about a twelve-month after these had wrought the fortress in the eastern district, the North-humbrians and the East-Angles had given oaths to
- ↑ See back at A.D. 891.
