Page "Ælfheah of Canterbury" Paragraph 7

Ælfheah was the first Archbishop of Canterbury to die a violent death.

A contemporary report tells that Thorkell the Tall attempted to save Ælfheah from the mob about to kill him by offering them everything he owned except for his ship, in exchange for Ælfheah's life ; Thorkell's presence is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, however.

Some sources record that the final blow, with the back of an axe, was delivered as an act of kindness by a Christian convert known as " Thrum.

" Ælfheah was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

In 1023 his body was moved by King Cnut to Canterbury, with great ceremony.

Thorkell the Tall was appalled at the brutality of his fellow raiders, and switched sides to the English king Æthelred the Unready following Ælfheah's death.