196 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

chap. about a month : He was murdered at Oxford byIn. two of his chamberlains, accomplices of Edric ,who thereby made way for the succession ofCanute the Dane to the crown of England.

CANUTE.

T'hE English, who had been unable to defendtheir country, and maintain their independency,under so active and brave a prince as Edmond,could, after his death, expect nothing but totalsubjection from Canute , who , active and bravehimself, and at the head of a great force, wasready to take advantage of the minority of Edwinand Edward, the two sons of Edmond. Yetthis conqueror, who was commonly so littlescrupulous, showed himself anxious to cover hisinjustice under plausible pretences : Before heseized the dominions of the English princes, hesummoned a general assembly of the states,in order to fix the succession of the king-dom. He here suborned some nobles to depose,that, in the treaty of Glocester , it had beenverbally agreed , either to name Canute, in caseof Edmond’s death , successor to his dominions ,or tutor to his children (for historians vary inthis particular): And that evidence, supported bythe great power os Canute , determined the statesimmediately to put the Danish monarch in possestionof the government. Canute, jealous of the twoprinces, but sensible that he should render himselfextremely odious , if he ordered them to be