Athelstan, and Canute held their Courts, and directed their policies.

It was during the reign of Athelstan that the redoubtable Guy, Earl of
Warwick, returning to England in the garb of a palmer from a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land, found the Danes besieging Winchester in great force,
and King Athelstan unable to find a champion willing to meet the Danish
giant, Colbrand, in order to decide the issue by single combat. The
Earl, retaining his disguise as a palmer, begged the king to let him
appear as the English champion.

[Illustration: THE CITY BRIDGE]

This singular combat, which was to decide the fate of the city,
commenced by Guy breaking his spear on the giant's shield, and the Dane
cutting the head off the Earl's horse. Guy then fought on foot, and,
beating the club out of his opponent's hand, cut off his arm. So the
duel waged until night, when the Dane, faint from loss of blood, fell
to the ground, and his head was cut off by the English champion. Having
settled the affair to the honour of his country and his own
satisfaction, the Earl made himself known to the King, under an oath of
secrecy, and returned thanks in the cathedral for his victory. He then
retired to a hermitage beside the Avon, and passed the remainder of his
life in the cave which still bears his name, and probably contains his
bones.

Several modern antiquaries are very sceptical about the whole story, and
labour hard to prove that Guy was a mythical figure, and his deeds
nothing but legendary lore. There is always some truth in these old
legends, in spite of the frills and embellishments added by the later
chroniclers, and the history of our land would be poor reading indeed if