In the same year, a fresh host, one division of which was commanded by Thurkill or Thurcytel, one of the most formidable of the Danish sea kings, made its appearance In 1010, the English were again defeated at the battle of Ipswich, and the country was in a condition of absolute collapse. Mercia and Wessex itself were overrun. The cause of Æthelred looked so hopeless, that Eadric the Gainer thought it time to change sides, and after the capture of Canterbury and the death of the Archbishop St. Alphege, the Witan was collected under Eadric, without the participation of the King, and a further large tribute paid, while by some arrangement, probably the cession of East Anglia, Thurkill was drawn to the English side. This step of Thurkill seems to have opened Swegen’s eyes at once to the inutility of single invasions, and to the possibility of himself effecting some similar arrangement. He felt confident of the support of Northumbria and Mercia against Wessex. He therefore moved his fleet to the Humber, and advanced to York. He had not miscalculated. The whole of the Danelagu joined him, and with this assistance, leaving his son Cnut behind him in command of the fleet in the Humber, he advanced into Wessex. His success was constant. Oxford was taken, and the royal town of Winchester. At Bath the Danish conqueror received the submission of the Thegns of the West. London, which we find constantly rising in importance, alone held out, nor was it till Æthelred deserted the city that it surrendered. But then, there being no longer any opposition, Swegen was, in fact, King of England. Æthelred sought and obtained an asylum in Normandy, till recalled by Swegen’s death the following year. [Sidenote: Restoration of Æthelred. 1014.]