Our beloved kingdom, which, at its height, stretched from the Humber to the Forth and from the east to the west coast, in these days, began to change markedly. Even I, a prominent lord, had little insight into the changes until I decided to make a thorough inspection of the estates granted to me by King Ricsige. To my astonishment, I came upon one settlement after another of Northmen, until I had surpassed a score. The Saxon villages had no complaints about their new neighbours since the peaceful interchange of trade helped everyone prosper. Far from tensions based on tribal differences, there were many cases, like my own, of intermarriage. All was well until I came to a place called Flasby—I give the name in our tongue—where the impact of my visit was much less positive.
Aware of my desc
