In the year 885 the Danes again invaded England and laid siege to Rochester, but fled to their ships on the approach of Alfred.  They were pursued by the Saxon king and defeated with great slaughter, sixteen Danish vessels being destroyed and their crews put to the sword.  Nor had Guthrun Athelstan, the ex-viking, been true to his engagements.  He had allowed two additional settlements of Danes on the East Anglian coasts, and had even assisted Alfred’s enemies.  Their defeat, however, induced him to live peaceably in East Anglia until he died in 890.  These successes of Alfred secured peace with the Danes for eight more years, during which he pursued his various schemes for the improvement of his people, and in preparations for future wars.  He had put his kingdom in a state of defence, and now turned his attention to legislation,—­the supremest labor of an enlightened monarch.

The laws of Alfred wear a close resemblance to those which Moses gave to the Hebrews, and moreover are pervaded with Christian ideas.  His aim seems to have been to recognize in his jurisprudence the supreme obedience which is due to the laws of God.  In all the laws of the converted Teutonic nations, from Charlemagne down, we notice the influence of the Christian clergy in modifying the severity of the old Pagan codes.  Alfred did not aim to be an original legislator, like Moses or Solon, but selected from the Mosaic code, and also from the laws of Ethelbert, Ina, Offa, and other Saxon princes, those regulations which he considered best adapted to the circumstances of the people whom he governed.  He recognized more completely than any of his predecessors the rights of property, and attached great sanctity to oaths.  Whoever violated his pledge was sentenced to imprisonment.  He raised the dignity of ealdormen and bishops to that of the highest rank.  He made treason against the royal authority the gravest offence known to the laws, and all were deemed traitors who should presume to draw the sword in the king’s house.  He made new provisions for personal security, and severely punished theft and robbery of every kind, especially of the property of the Church.  He bestowed freedom on slaves after six years of service.  Some think he instituted trial by jury.  Like Theodosius and Charlemagne, he gave peculiar privileges to the clergy as a counterpoise to the lawlessness of nobles.

One of the peculiarities of his legislation was compensation for crime,—­seen alike in the Mosaic dispensation and in the old customs of the Germanic nations in their native forests.  On conviction, the culprit was compelled to pay a sum of money to the relatives of the injured, and another sum to the community at large.  This compensation varied according to the rank of the injured party,—­and rank was determined by wealth.  The owner of two hydes of land was ranked above a ceorl, or simple farmer, while the owner of twelve hydes was a royal thane.  In the compensation for crime the gradation was curious: