Godwin, however, proclaimed him king, and attempted to establish his authority, and to make Emma a sort of regent, to govern in his name until he could be brought home.

The Danish chieftains, on the other hand, elected and proclaimed one of Canute's older sons, whose name was Harold;[2] and they succeeded in carrying a large part of the country in his favor.

Godwin then summoned Emma to join him in the west with such forces as she could command, and both parties prepared for war.
Then ensued one of those scenes of terror and suffering which war, and sometimes the mere fear of war, brings often in its train.

It was expected that the first outbreak of hostilities would be in the interior of England, near the banks of the Thames, and the inhabitants of the whole region were seized with apprehensions and fears, which spread rapidly, increased by the influence of sympathy, and excited more and more every day by a thousand groundless rumors, until the whole region was thrown into a state of uncontrollable panic and confusion.

The inhabitants abandoned their dwellings, and fled in dismay into the eastern part of the island, to seek refuge among the fens and marshes of Lincolnshire, and of the other counties around.
Here, as has been already stated in a previous chapter when describing the Abbey of Croyland, were a great many monasteries, and convents, and hermitages, and other religious establishments, filled with monks and nuns.