With the morning’s dawn Sweyn’s men rose and armed themselves, to march into the town; and the Dublin men lined either side of the way from the city gate to the trenches. Not being on their guard, Sweyn and his men fell into them, and the Dublin people ran, some to the gates to close them, and some to the pits to kill the men who had fallen there. It was difficult to offer any defence, and Sweyn perished miserably with all who accompanied him. This is the end of Sweyn’s history, and after him few men gave themselves up to marauding, as was the custom in the old days. Sweyn would often raid a village and burn six or more homesteads in a morning, so that the inhabitants fled wherever he came. An Icelander named Eric, who went about with Sweyn and plundered with him, used to sing this ditty when they went out together: “Half a dozen homesteads burning, Half a dozen households plundered; This was Sweyn’s work of a morning-- Wild his work, his vengeance cruel; Every man who wanted fuel Warmed him with his flaming homestead.” Sweyn died between 1160–1165. Chronology A.D. 787 First appearance of the Norse in Northumbria 795 First plunderings of the Norse in Ireland 795 Irish monks in Iceland 822 Halfdan the Black, King of Norway (_d._ 860) 832 The Norse appear in Kent 847 First coming of the Danes to Ireland 853 Olaf the White, King of the Norse in Dublin 867 Ælla King of Northumbria 871 Alfred the Great, King of England (_d._ 901) 872 Harald Fairhair, King of Norway (_d._ 933) 875 The Danes are subdued by Alfred, and Guthrum is baptized 878 Harald Fairhair raids in the Orkneys and makes Ragnvald earl. During Harald’s reign Iceland is peopled from Norway 890 Rolf Ganger, son of Ragnvald, Earl of More and Orkney, plunders in Normandy 900 Torf-Einar in Orkney. Harald Fairhair’s second expedition to the West 901 Edward the Elder, King of England (_d._ 925) 902 The foreigners are expelled from Dublin 917 Niall Glundubh (Black knee), King of Ireland, slain at battle of Kilmashog 924 Edward the Elder is chosen as “Father and Lord” by the Scots, Northumbria, and Strathclyde 925 Athelstan succeeds (_d._ 940) 933 Eric Bloodaxe, King of Norway 934 Hakon the Good returns to Norway and is crowned king 935 Eric Bloodaxe leaves Norway and gets a kingdom in England 937 Battle of Brunanburh 939 Murtough of the Leather Cloaks makes a warlike circuit in Ireland 941 Olaf Cuaran (of the Sandal) chosen King of Northumbria 942 The Danes desert Dublin and flee across sea 944 Olaf Cuaran expelled from Northumbria 949 Olaf Cuaran returns; expelled a second time in 952 960 Battle of Stord, and death of King Hakon the Good 963 Olaf Trygveson born in exile. Norway ruled by the sons of Eric Bloodaxe