nes
now in his power he might have brought upon England a fresh invasion of
Northmen, who, next to plunder, loved revenge, and who might come over
in great hosts to avenge the slaughter of their countrymen. Moved,
then, by motives of policy as well as by compassion, he granted the
terms they asked, and hostages having been sent in from the camp he
ordered provisions to be supplied to the Danes.

The same night a messenger of rank came in from Guthorn saying that he
intended to embrace Christianity. The news filled Alfred and the Saxons
with joy. The king, a sincere and devoted Christian, had fought as much
for his religion as for his kingdom, and his joy at the prospect of
Guthorn's conversion, which would as a matter of course be followed by
that of his subjects, was deep and sincere.

To the Saxons generally the temporal consequence of the conversion had
no doubt greater weight than the spiritual. The conversion of Guthorn
and the Danes would be a pledge far more binding than any oaths of
alliance between the two kingdoms. Guthorn and his followers would be
viewed with hostility by their countrymen, whose hatred of Christianity
was intense, and East Anglia would, therefore, naturally seek the close
alliance and assistance of its Christian neighbour.

Great were the rejoicings in the Saxon camp that night. Seldom, indeed,
has a victory had so great and decisive an effect upon the future of a
nation as that of Ethandune. Had the Saxons been crushed, the
domination of the Danes in England would have been finally settled.
Christianity would have been stamped out, and with it civilization, and
the island would have made a backward step into paganism and barbarism
which might have delayed her progress for centuries.

The victory established the freedom of Wessex, converted East Anglia
into a settled and Christian country, and enabled King Alfred to frame
the wise laws and statutes and to establish on a firm basis the
institutions which raised Saxon England vastly in the scale of
civilization, and have in no small degree affected the whole course of
life of the English people.

CHAPTER XII: FOUR YEARS OF PEACE

Seven weeks afterwards Guthorn, accompanied by thirty of his noblest
warriors, entered Alfred's camp, which was pitched at Aller, a place
not far from Athelney. An altar was erected and a solemn service
performed, and Guthorn and his companions were all baptized, Alfred
himself becoming sponsor for Guth