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Complete  in  3G  Paris,  Stiper-roi/al  8vo,  price  Zs.  eac/t. 

THE    COMPREHEI^SIVE 

HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND; 

CIVIL    AND    MILITARY, 
RELIGIOUS,    INTELLECTUAL,   AND   SOCIAL, 

PROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO 

THE    SUPPRESSION    OF    THE    SEPOY    REVOLT. 

BY 

CHARLES  MACFARLANE,    ax»  the    Rev.  THOMAS  THOMSON, 

Al'THOR  OF  "ouft  INDIAN  EAIPIRE,"   "TRAVELS  IN  AUTHOR  OF  "HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND,"  SUPPLEMENT  TO 

TURKEY,"  ETC.,   ETC.  "LIYE3  OF  EMINENT  SCOTSMEN,"  ETC.,  ETC. 

THE  WHOLE  REVISED  AND  EDITED  BY  THE  REV.  THOMAS  THOMSON. 
ILLUSTRATED    BY    ABOVE    ELEVEN    HUNDRED    ENGRAVINGS. 


The  liistoiy  of  a  country  is  not  exclusively  impressed  upon  its  battle-fields.  These,  indeed, 
are  the  great  landmark.s  that  first  arrest  the  eye,  and  over  which  the  popular  feeling  is  most 
delighted  to  linger.  The  deliverance  of  a  land  from  thraldom,  and  the  heroic  deeds  through 
whicli  a  small  nation  lias  become  a  great  one,  are,  certainly,  of  paramount  importance,  and 
should  therefore  be  duly  commemorated.  But  the  adaptation  of  a  people  for  these  achieve- 
ments, although  a  silent  and  unobtrusive,  has  also  been  a  most  essential  process  ;  and  its 
record  is  to  be  traced,  not  upon  the  heaving  surface,  but  in  that  under-current  of  progress  by 
which  the  people  liave  been  borne  forward — by  which  they  have  been  taught  the  full  value 
of  national  freedom,  and  the  best  modes  of  securing  it.  But  here  some  one  else  than  the 
successful  soldier  has  been  at  work,  and  something  else  than  mere  military  training.  The 
wise  and  the  good,  who  carried  on  that  improvement,  and  made  each  generation  better  than 
the  preceding,  are  a  country's  veritable  heroes; — the  progi'ess  of  that  improvement  is  its 
I'eal  history. 

But  while  these  arc  truths  so  obvious  that  it  seems  almost  impossible  to  overlook  them, 
history,  as  it  has  hitherto  been  written,  has  been  too  exclusively  devoted  to  military  achieve- 
ments and  political  movements,  without  reference  to  that  moral  and  intellectual  progress  by 
which  a  country  emerges  from  barbarism  into  civilization,  and  its  people  become  intelligent, 
happy,  and  free.  This  defect  in  historical  writing  has  often  been  felt,  and,  on  two  occasions, 
attempts  have  been  made  to  produce  histories  of  our  own  country  as  they  ought  to  be  written. 
The  first  of  these  was  Dr.  Henry's  well-known  voluminous  but  unfinished  work  ;  the  other 
the  Pictorial  Hisiori/  of  England,  which  was  an  improvement  on  the  plan  of  Henry.  In  the 
present  Work  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  improve  upon  both  :  and  the  piau  which  has 
been  followed  for  that  pui'pose  we  shall  now  proceed  to  specifv. 


In  tlie  CoMrREHENsiVK  History  op  England,  wliile  due  preponderance  has  been  allowed 
to  the  Civil  and  Military  annals,  constituting,  as  they  do,  the  most  distinct  and  important 
part  of  the  narr.itive,  special  attention  liixs  boon  given  to  present  a  History  of  the  People  op 
England,  as  well  as  of  England  itself — of  the  state  of  Religion  and  the  progress  of  Social 
Refinement,  as  well  as  of  Conquest  and  Political  Aggrandizement.  More  particularly,  the 
following  subjects  have  been  grouped  together  in  two  sections,  and  suitably  detailed  at  each 
important  period  or  epoch  of  the  History.  The  first  of  these  treats  of  the  State  of  Religion  ; 
the  second  embraces  the  Industrial  Condition  of  the  People  and  their  Agricultural  and  Mer- 
cantile Progress — the  Dress,  Distinctive  Habits  and  Customs,  and  the  General  Aspect  of 
Society  at  each  step  of  ti-ansition — the  Progress  of  Literature,  Science,  and  the  Fine  Arts; 
and  notices  of  those  individuals  by  whose  unobtrusive  labours  the  several  departments  of 
Art,  Science,  and  Literature  were  improved,  and  their  influence  extended  over  the  com- 
munity at  large. 

In  treating  of  these  subjects,  care  has  been  taken  neither  to  be  too  abstruse  nor  yet  too 
prolix.  Instead,  therefore,  of  entering  into  a  minute  record  of  each  custom,  art,  and  science, 
and  thus  encumbering  the  general  narrative  with  disquisitions  by  which  the  reader's  patience 
might  be  too  severely  tried,  the  principal  points  have  been  selected  and  introduced,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  strength,  distinctness,  and  continuity  to  the  History,  as  a  Record  of  the 
Religious,  Intellectual,  and  Social  Progress  of  English  Society. 

The  Civil  and  Military  section  is  an  abridgment  from  the  Pictorial  History  of  England, 
by  the  author  of  that  section,  Charles  Macfarlane,  Esq.,  and  was  abridged  in  order  to  adajst 
the  Work  to  the  popular  taste,  as  well  as  means  of  purchase;  this  portion  has  undergone  a 
careful  revision  by  the  Editor  of  the  Comprehensive  History,  in  the  course  of  which  many 
emendations  have  been  introduced.  Of  the  chapters  on  Religion,  some  are  abridged  from 
the  Flclorial  History  with  important  alterations,  while  others  are  specially  written  for  this 
Work.  Besides  adding  the  chapters  on  the  History  of  Society,  above  adverted  to,  and  the 
chapters  on  Pieligion  just  noticed,  the  Editor  has  brought  down  the  History  from  the  year 
184o  to  the  Suppression  of  the  Sepoy  Revolt.  Numerous  Illustrative  Notes  have  been 
appended  from  the  works  of  Bruce,  Giles,  Turner,  Palgi'ave,  Kemble,  Lappenberg,  Pauli, 
Hallam,  Guizot,  Carlyle,  Macaulay,  Bancroft,  and  other  eminent  historical  writers.  With 
these  alterations  and  extensive  additions,  the  Comprehensive  History  op  England  forms 
essentially  a  new  production. 

The  ILLUSTRATIVE  ENGRAVINGS,  above  Eleven  Hundred  in  numher,  have  been 
carefully  prepared,  with  a  view  to  the  real  elucidation  of  the  History,  and  not  simply  to 
decorate  its  pages;  though  while  aiming  chiefly  at  the  former,  the  latter  result  has  not  been 
overlooked.  They  comprise  examples  of  the  interesting  Relics  of  periods  long  antei'ior  to  any 
written  record  of  the  country — Illustrations  of  the  Dwellings,  the  Shipping,  the  Armour, 
Dress,  Manners  and  Customs,  and  Utensils  of  our  Ancestors  at  various  periods;  Views  of 
Historical  Sites,  Buildings,  and  Monuments;  Maps  and  Plans  of  Battles,  Battle-fields, 
Forts,  Towns,  (fee. ;  Portraits  and  Statues  of  Illustrious  Persons;  and  also  Engravings  on 
Steel,  consisting  of  a  Frontispiece  and  Vignette  Title  to  each  volume,  representing  important 
Historical  Incidents,  and  views  of  some  remarkable  localities. 

With  these  explanations,  the  Publishers  trust  that  they  have  succeeded  in  presenting  a 
more  interesting  and  Complete  GENERAL  and  FAMILY  HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND 
than  has  yet  been  attempted. 

*.u*  The  Work  is  completed  in  3G  Parts,  2s.  each,  forming  four  handsome  Volumes, 
Euper-royal  8vo. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


From  the  Kev.  John  M.  Charlton,  M.A.,  President  of 
tlm  }\''esteni  College,  Fhjmoutk, 

T  HAVE  read  Avith  much  interest  considerable  portions 
of  Messrs.  Blackie  tS:  Son's  CoMrKEHENSiVE  Histuiiy 
OP  England,  and  juds'"S  from  wliat  I  have  seen,  I  feel 
myself  warranted  to  speak  of  it  in  very  high  terms,  it 
is  really  what  ita  title  professes — comprehensive.  AVIiile 
the  materials  are  presented  in  a  style  which  cannot  but 
liold  the  attention  of  the  reader,  and  while  party  ques- 
tions are  discussed  on  the  whole  with  much  impartiality 
and  fairness,  information  is  largely  afforded  respecting 
the  manners  and  customs  of  Society,  and  the  progress  of 
civilization,  in  the  different  periods  of  timctlirough  whicli 
the  History  extends.  It  is  impossible,  perliaps,  to  name  a 
work  on  English  History  so  exactly  adapted,  as  this  is, 
to  the  wants  of  the  more  intelligent  class  of  young  men, 
to  whom  the  beautiful  engravings,  with  which  it  is  pro- 
fusely illustrated,  will  invest  it  with  an  additional  charm. 

JOHN  M.  CHARLTON,  M.A. 

January,  1860. 


From  tJie  Rev.  P.  Holmes,  D.D.,  F.R.A.S.,  Tfcad  Mas- 
ter of  the  Mannamead  School,  Pbjmotdh. 

I  HAVE  great  pleasure  in  expressing  a  liighly  favour- 
able opinion  of  the  CoMruEHENaivE  History  of  Eno- 
LAND.  now  issuing  from  the  press  of  Messrs.  Blackie  «& 
Son,  Glasgow.  I  have  examined  the  first  three  Volumes 
with  some  attention,  and  I  hardly  know  whom  more  to 
commend — the  Author  or  the  Publishers;  they  have  vied 
with  one  another  in  producing  a  work  worthy  of  the  sub- 
ject. The  Author,  in  addition  to  the  merit  of  a  clear 
and  agreeable  style,  has  adopted  that  very  intelligent 
mode  of  treating  our  History,  which  is  well  carried  out 
ill  the  well-known  Pictorial  Sistor;/  of  Fug  hi  ml,  wherein 
the  reader  has  a  record  of  the  nation's  progress  in  its 
civil,  social,  political,  and  religious  aspects;  -while  the 
Publishers  have,  in  a  most  liberal  degree,  contributed 
not  only  beautiful  print  and  excellent  paper,  but  the  best 


resources  of  pictorial  art — events,  costumes,  places.  &c., 
being  admirahly  illustrated  in  a  rich  treasure  of  well-exe. 

cuted  btetl  and  wood  engravings. 

PETER  HOLMES,  D.D  ,  F.K.A.S. 

March  27th,  ISGO. 


From  KonERT  Ross,  Esq.,  Lecturer  on  English  Tlistoi-y  at 
St.  Mar}fs  Hall  and  the  Training  College,  Cheltenham. 

I  HAVE  read  carefully  the  more  important  parts  of  the 
iSuxon  History,  testing  llio  narrative  as  I  went  along  by 
the  iiglit  of  our  best  modern  writers  on  that  period,  and 
have  satisfied  myself  that  your  CoMi-JtEMENsivE  JIisxoRY 
OP  England  may  be  recommended  as  very  superior  to 
anything  yet  offered  to  the  public  ■within  the  same  limits 
and  at  tlie  same  price. 

The  Chapter  on  the  History  of  Saxon  Society  is  ex- 
cellent; the  Annotations  are  extensive  and  judiciously 
made,  from  late  and  good  authorities. 

More  fully  to  test  your  Comprehensive  History  of 
England,  I  have  gauged  it  along  with  the  Histories  of 
Hume  and  Lingard,  and  obtained  the  following  result. 
Taking  at  a  venture  one  of  the  more  important  reigns  in 
the  Middle  Age  period,  I  find,  in  respect  to  mere  quan- 
tity, the  three  Histories  stand  thus: — 

liLACKiE's  Comprehensive  History,  .  3-i 
Hume's  History,  ....  31 
Lingard's  History,       .         .         ,         .30 

And  in  respect  to  leading  facts,  or  classes  of  facts  ; — 

Comprehensive  History,  .  .  .103 
Lingard's  History,       .  .         .         .75 

Hume's  History,        .         .         .         .         G8 

These  results  do  not  include  any  part  of  the  Sections 
on  Religious  and  Social  History. 

Not  the  least  important  feature  is  the  number  of  neat 
district  Maps  and  Pictorial  Illustrations,  the  latter  of 
which,  in  nearly  every  case,  serve  the  purpose  of  vivify- 
ing the  Text,  which  is  the  true  function  of  illustrations 
in  works  of  instruction. 

ROBERT  ROSS. 


OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 


Tlie  Globe. — "The  arrangement  is  clear  and  judi- 
cious, the  style  graphic  and  vivid,  the  narrative  resem- 
bling the  hard  outlined  established  histories  only  as  a 
living  breathing  form  resembles  the  skeleton  it  covers. 
When  completed,  the  volumes  promise  to  form  a  Work 
as  useful  to  the  student  as  agreeable  to  the  reader." 

Court  Circular. — "-It  deserves  the  encouragement 
both  of  the  press  and  the  public.  Absence  of  prejudice 
and  thorough  intelligence  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
periods  pre-eminently  distinguish  the  publication.  It 
will  rise,  therefore,  and  deservedly,  to  as  high  a  reputation 
for  its  ability  as  a  work  of  intellect,  as  it  will  achieve 
extensive  popularity  for  its  marvellous  combination  of 
embellishment,  research,  and  economy." 

Economist. — "  The  illustrations  arc  well  chosen  and 
cleverly  exccuteil,  and  the  Work  altogether  promises  to 
be  a  valuable  addition  to  tlie  'Family  library.'  " 

News  of  the  World.— "The  illustrations  of  the 
text  are  supplied  with  a  judgment  that  takes  account 
of  what  readers  are  likely  to  require,  and  rejects  the 
trivial  and  uninteresting.  Altogetlier,  an  illustrated  idea 
of  the  varied  times  and  manners  is  conveyed  in  this  ele- 


gant publication,  whicli  will  secure  the  admiration  of 

all  classes  of  the  people We  should  say  that  this 

is  likely  to  be  one  of  the  most  popular  versions  of  our 
national  history." 

Educational  Times. — "Wc  have  much  pleasure 
in  directing  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  tlie  Compre- 
hensive History  of  Exr.LANn.  It  is  styled  'compre- 
hensive,' because  it  considers  tlie  history  of  Old  England 
under^t'c  aspects,  characterized  as  civil,  militarily  religions, 
intellectual,  and  social.  It  is  plain  that  men's  attention 
is  only  just  now  beginning  to  consider  the  importance  of 
socirt/ questions  as  inseparable  from  a  nation's  happiness." 

Wesleyan  Times.  —  "Stricter  attention  is  be- 
stowed oil  tho  moral  and  intellectual  progress  of  the 
nation  than  by  any  previous  historian,  not  excepting  Dr. 
Henry,  or  even  tlie  writers  of  the  Pictorial  ili^tunj  of 
Eiighiiid.'^ 

The  Patriot, — "  The  Work  is  written  with  accu- 
racy; it  is  liberal  in  its  tone,  and  the  religious  portion 
of  it  is  treated  in  a  thoughtful  and  reverent  spirit.  It 
is  a  Work  which,  when  completed,  wc  ehall  be  glad  to 
place  in  the  hands  of  our  children." 


2000040 


Th,e  ]Sra. — '*  The  illustrations  are  numerous  and 
v:\rii'ii,  ami  nevt-r  before  did  history  come  before  us  so 
stronj;ly  as  real  life.  In  its  usual  div  form  it  consisto  of 
little  but  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  kiii;;s,  mid  tlie  misfor- 
tunes of  the  threat  aud  pood.  Combined  with  these 
jiaiiiful  details,  we  Iiave  now  the  social  and  relipnuM  life 
of  the  period  placed  ck'Jirly  belore  us,  end  we  can  believe 
at  last  ia  the  flesh  and  blood  life  of  our  lon^-departed 
ancestors.  We  commend  this  deli;.,'htful  serial  to  the 
public,  confidently  believing  that  no  one  wlio  purchases 
it  will  be  disai>pointed  in  the  result." 

Jolm  Bull. — "  We  regard  this  publication  as  by  far 
the  must  beautiful,  cheap,  and  really  'comprehensive' 
history  of  the  n:itiun  which  has  ever  yet  appeared." 

Civil  Service  Gazette.  — "  An  admirable  re- 
cord, not  only  of  military  and  political  events,  but  of 
moral  and  intelleetual  prop-ess,  thus  eomprisinf,^  in  fact, 
a  real  History  of  Kngland.  .  .  .  Of  the  illustrative 
enj^raviugs  it  is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly.  They 
are  exceedingly  numerous,  and,  for  the  most  part,  sueh 
as  really  elucidate  the  narrative,  aud  are  not  merely  de- 
coiative  of  the  hook." 

Britisll  Standard. — "  The  spirit  which  pervades 
the  narrative  is  enlightened  and  liberal,  while  the  judg- 
ment which  guides  it  is  sound  and  vigorous.  Society 
is  viewed  on  all  sides,  and  its  interior  penetrated  by  an 
astute  and  sagacious  intellect,  as  far  perhaps  as  it  is 
possible.  The  History  when  finished  will  do  credit  to 
the  age,  afid  be  incomparably  the  best  history  of  Eng- 
land, of  its  class,  in  our  language.  To  say  all  in  one 
word,  the  CoMPREirEXSiVE  Histoky  of  England  is 
worthy  of  the  Imperial  Gazi'tfeer,  the  Imjyenal  Atlas,  and 
the  Imperial  Dictioiiary^  by  the  same  publishers;  and  it 
is  impossible  to  give  it  higher  praise." 

Morning  Herald. — ""W'e  can  unhesitatingly  de- 
clare that  this  history  is  without  a  rival,  for  accuracy 
of  statement,  comprehensiveness  of  matter,  soundness 
of  philosophy,  elevation  of  religious  and  moral  senti- 
ment, and  elegance  of  diction.  "We  have  been  through- 
out the  perusal  charmed  by  the  easy  elegance  of  the  style 
— the  very  acme  of  historical  narrative.  AVe  do  not 
know  any  work  deserving  the  name  of  history  that 
carries  such  a  charm  in  the  musical  cadence  of  its  sen- 
tences. This  ought  emphaticiilly  to  he  entitled  the 
*  Family  History  of  England.'" 

The  Era  [second  ?wticc), — "  Tliis  admirable  work 
has  now  extended  to  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  with  un- 
diminished vigour  and  value.  It  is  comprehensive  in 
the  real  sense  of  that  term,  embracing  every  point  of  the 
national  character,  as  developed  through  centuries  of 
progress  in  arts  and  arms,  in  religion,  intellect,  and 
social  habits;  and  we  feel  sure  that  a  popular  dispersion 
of  this  history  will  greatly  tend  to  a  general  apprecia- 
tion of  the  glories  and  grandtjur  of  Old  England." 

The  Freeman.  — "  Those  who  are  acquainted 
with  their  [Messrs.  Blackie's]  admirable  Imperial  Dic- 
tionary will  scarcely  need  any  recommendation  of  ours 
to  become  possessed  of  this  Work  also.  It  is  in  truth  a 
most  excellent,  and  in  its  way,  incomparable  history. 
As  in  the  Imperial  Dictionarij,  the  illustrations  form  a 
epecial  and  peculiar  feature,  unrivalled  in  any  similar 
publication.  They  are  just  what  is  wanted,  nothing 
superfluous,  nothing  lacking.  We  tliink  ourselves  jus- 
tified in  expecting  that  the  CoMruEHENSiVE  History  or 
England  will  be  as  nearly  perfect  as  such  a  work  can  be."    j 


Aberdeen  Free  Press,  —  "The  Work  is  one 
of  permanent  interest  and  value;  a  Work,  indeed,  that, 
after  a  pretty  leisurely  examination,  we  have  no  hesi- 
tati(tn  in  pronouncing  to  he  of  a  character  that  must 
at  once  connnend  it  to  all  who  wish  to  learn,  not  only  of 
how  our  forefathers  quarrelled  and  fought,  and  killed 
each  other,  but  of  huw  tliey  lived,  and  thought,  and 
acted  in  their  daily  life." 

Clerical  Journal. — "  All  the  advantages  of  the 
Pirtorial  Jlistori/  of  Eiujlaml  are  jiossessed  by  th:it 
before  us,  with  those  improvements  and  additions  which 
the  lapse  of  twenty  years  has  suggested," 

Eastern  Counties  Herald. — "  The  narrative 
is  very  clear  and  forcible,  yet  it  has  a  notable  fulness 
withal,  which  somehow  or  other  makes  the  historical 
narrative  as  it  were  a  series  of  real  tableaux  vivana. 
The  illustrations  of  castles  and  historic  scenes  are  also 
delightful  little  episodes  in  the  march  of  the  history." 

Brighton  Gazette. — '*  We  admire  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  History.  It  is  not  a  mere  narrative  of  the 
battles  and  great  occurrences  which  have  ever  been  re- 
garded as  the  landmarks  of  history,  but  it  also  traces 
through  all  tlieir  phases  of  development,  the  moral,  in- 
telleetual, social,  and  spiritual  progress  of  the  people,  in 
their  development  from  a  condition  of  barbarism  to  the 
refinements  of  civilized  life." 

Glasgow  Herald.  —  "The  author  writes  in  a 
plain  and  perspicuous  style,  carrying  us  pleasantly  down 
the  current  of  history,  instructing  us  as  he  goes.  He 
makes  judicious  use  of  ample  materials  prepared  to  his 
hand  by  former  annalists  and  historians,  and  has,  in 
addition,  studied  with  great  care,  and  used  with  much 
discernment,  the  state  papers  which  have  recently  been 
made  accessible,  and  by  means  of  which,  history,  as 
hitherto  read,  has  been  illustrated  and  corrected  in  many 
essential  points." 

Royal   Leamington   Spa    Courier. — "  In  a 

word,  tlie  publication,  when  completed,  will  form  a  his- 
tory of  our  native  laml,  which,  in  point  of  the  extent 
and  richness  of  its  illustrations  —  the  superiority  and 
fidelity  of  its  text  —  the  beauty  of  its  exterior  embel- 
lishments— and  the  moderation  of  its  cost — has  never 
been  equalled  by  any  similar  work  issued  from  the  press. 
We  can  therefore  heartily  recommend  it  to  the  favour- 
able consideration  of  the  public." 

Liverpool  Mail.  —  "The  spirit  in  which  it  is 
undertaken,  and  the  yet  greater  spirit  with  which  it  is 
being  brought  out,  are  significant  marking  points  in  that 
march  of  intellectual  progress  of  which  we  hear  so  much 
but  unfortunately  see  so  little." 

Pljnnouth  Journal. — "  Narratives  of  legislation, 
battles  won  and  lost,  and  persecutions  inflicted  and  suf- 
fered, constitute  the  staple  intelligence  of  most  of  the 
histories  wliich  the  public,  and  especially  the  yoiyig, 
have  hitherto  had  access  to.  In  this,  we  have  the"^ro- 
gress  of  intellectual  advancement  exhibited,  and  the  im- 
jirovement  of  the  people,  in  a  social  aspect,  displayed 
in  a  measure  suited  to  a  period  in  which  the  conquests 
of  man's  intellect  have  exceeded  far  and  away  the  mighti- 
est achievements  of  his  physical  prowess." 

London  "Weekly  Dispatch. — "  The  matter  is 
admirably  airanged.  and  tlie  infoimation  very  compen- 
dious. ...  It  bids  fair  to  he  the  best  history  of  our 
native  country  for  the  general  reader  yet  issued." 


ELACKIE   AND   SON:    LONDON,    EDINBURGH,    AND   GLASGOW. 


I'NINO?:  FFlNKy  ANT)  CIITRF  .mSTICE  (iASCOlftW,, 


N.  s]J»seow.  "EmirmrRGH  *  . 


^1 


T©Ii«  I, 


r  F\o  HI    H  u  jJ  o  s:  i\  F  o  (^  D     ra  i^  i  D  G  r. . 


■:i.)  nr  Ttf  ;,ri  ii-r  ¥ 


1  N  B  ij  a  ^T  H ,   &c    1,  o  :•;  D  o  N . 


THE 


COMPREHEFSIVE 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND; 


CIVIL   AND    MILITARY, 


RELIGIOUS,   INTELLECTUAL,   AND  SOCIAL, 


FROM  THE   EARLIEST   PERTOD  TO 


THE    SUPPRESSION    OF    THE  SEPOY    REVOLT 


CHARLES  MACFARLANE,      and  the      Rev.  THOMAS  THOMSON, 

AUTHOR  OF  "our  INDIAN  EMHRE,"   "TRAVELS  IN  AUTHOR  OF  "HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND,"  SUPPLEMENT  TO 

TURKEV,"  ET^.,   ETC.  "LIVES  OF  EMINENT  SCOTSMEN,"  ETC.,  ETC. 

THE  WHOLE  REVISED  AND  EDITED  BY  THE  REV.  THOMAS  THOMSON. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    ABOVE    ONE    THOUSAND    ENGRAVINGS. 


DIVISION     I. 


LONDON: 

BLACKIE   AND    SON,    PATERNOSTER    ROW; 
AND  GLASGOW  AND  EDINBURGH. 


GLASGOW  : 
,  »I.AeKIE  AND  CO., 
VlLLAFiEIJ). 


THE 


COMPREIIENSIYE 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


INTEODUCTION. 


ENGLAND    BEFORE   THE    ROMAN    INVASION. 

Claims  of  the  fabulous  part  of  British  history  to  our  attention — Its  commencement— Samotlies,  the  first  sovereign 
of  Britain,  and  his  four  successors — Albion  conquers  the  island — Marriage  of  liis  giants  with  the  Danaides — 
Arrival  of  Brutus  and  tlie  Trojans — Their  conquest  of  Britain — Successors  of  Brutus — The  reigns  of  Ebranc, 
Bladiid,  Lear,  and  Cordelia — Bremins  declared  lo  iiave  been  a  Briton — Laws  of  C,)ueen  Mertia — Eoinantic  his- 
tory of  King  Elidure — Reigns  of  llely  and  Lud — Tliey  are  succeeded  by  Cassivellaunus — Causes  of  the  remote 
antiquity  claimed  in  the  fabulous  history  of  Britain — Power  of  the  Druids — Influence  of  the  sovereigns — Evi- 
dences of  a  su])erior  race  having  lived  among  the  Britons — Mercliandise  of  the  Britons — Tlieir  tin — Resort  of 
Phoenician  traders  to  the  Tin  Islands — The  secret  of  these  islands  carefully  concealed — People  of  the  Cassi- 
terides— Remissness  of  the  Britons  in  navigation— Their  measure  of  civilization,  as  attested  by  buried  remains 
of  weapons,  tools,  utensils,  &c. — Account  of  funeral  depositories  and  their  contents — Beacon  stations,  Druidical 
structures,  and  fortresses  of  the  Britons— Tlieir  sailing  vessels— Tlieir  ornaments. 


N  commenciug  the  history  of  a 
country,  the  mythic  or  fabulous 
portion  of  it  is  coramonlj'  treated 
by  modern  writers  as  a  ravel- 
led skein,  wherein  truth  is  so 
mingled  with  error,  as  to  defy 
extrication.  But  in  the  legendary 
records  of  our  land,  ho  wever  garbled 
'  y  by  the  allegories  of  early  fabulists  and 
bards,  and  llie  accidents  of  oral  tradition, 
we  may  discover  traces  of  the  origin  of  the 
'  people,  and  tlie  cliauges  that  operated  upon 
their  habits  and  character  up  to  the  period  at  which 
these  become  associated  with  authentic  history. 
The  fabulous  lustory  of  Britain  continued  to  be  an 
article  of  faith  during  tlie  time  of  the  Plautage- 
nets,  and  it  supplied  Edward  1.  with  arguments 
for  his  aggressions  upon  Scotland,  and  the  com- 
meuceraent  of  the  longest  and  most  impoi-tant 
W5^i-lare  in  which  England  was  ever  engaged. 
]  t  continued  to  be  received  in  the  Elizabethan 
age,  and  was  studied  as  veritable  historic  truth 
by  the  brightest  intellects  which  this  country  has 
produced.  Even  at  a  still  later  pei;iod,  also,  the 
same  pen  that  wrote  Paradise  Lust  did  not  tlis- 
daiu  to  illustrate  those  shadowy  ages  in  which  a 
Vol.  I. 


Trojan  rule  was  established  in  England.  With 
these  reflections  we  are  justified  in  glancing  at 
those  early  legends  upon  which  Milton  employed 
his  learning,  and  from  which  Shakspeare  himself 
derived  some  of  his  happiest  illustrations. 

The  collectors  of  these  earliest  traditions  who 
first  adventured  upon  a  written  history  of  Eng- 
land, after  alluding  to  the  people  by  whom  Eng- 
land was  inhabited  before  the  Deluge — and  about 
the  records  of  whom  tliey  modestly  profess  their 
ignorance  —  are  contented  to  begin  as  late  as 
200  years  after  that  memorable  event.  It  was 
then  that  Samothes  or  Dis,  who  was  either  the 
fourth  or  the  si.\th  son  of  Japheth,  planted  Gaul 
and  Britain  with  the  Celtic  race,  and  from  him 
the  island  was  originally  called  Samothea.  This 
Samothes  is  also  alleged,  npon  the  authority  ot 
Berosus,  to  liave  taught  his  people  the  arts  of  go- 
vernment and  the  use  of  letters.  After  him  suc- 
ceeded Magus,  who  w;is  not  only  a  learned  scholar, 
but  a  mighty  magician ;  Sarron,  a  founder  of 
schools  and  colleges ;  Druis,  the  originator  of  the 
order  of  Druids ;  and  Bardiis,  the  father  of  the 
Bards.  In  this  way,  four  great  stages  of  imj^rove- 
nieut  are  comprised  within  four  short  genera- 
tions, and  impersonated  in  as  many  names :  it  was, 


2 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


))erliaps,  a  desperate  attempt  to  comprise  within  a 
brief  intelligible  sketch  whole  centuries  of  general 
progress,  about  which  no  recortl  existed  beyond 
(he  foct  that  such  changes  had  actually  occurred. 
It  was  necessary  for  the  earliest  writers  of  the 
records  of  these  four  reigns  to  give  them  a  his- 
toric a.'speot,  and,  therefore,  they  quote  Berosus 
for  their  authority.  But  where  is  this  record  of 
Berosiis  ?  It  was  evidently  nothing  better  than 
a  historic  forgery,  in  the  absence  of  authentic 
documents;  and,  while  it  sufficed  for  present  in- 
quiry, it  only  enveloped  truth  in  deeper  dai-kness, 
and  increased  the  difficulties  of  research. 

Having  thus  peopled  the  island  with  a  Celtic 
race,  and  described  those  institutions  by  which 
the  people  were  distinguished,  a  change  occurred, 
under  which  the  ancient  name  of  Samothea,  that 
was  first  affixed  to  Britain,  was  to  pass  away, 
and  be  superseded  by  that  of  Albion.  This  was 
in  consequence  of  an  arrival  of  hostile  strangers, 
who  landed  in  Britain  during  the  reign  of  Bardus, 
and  became  mastei-s  of  the  island.  These  victo- 
rious invaders,  who  have  been  described  as  giants, 
were  under  the  command  of  Albion,  the  son  of 
Neptune;  and  on  winning  possession  of  the  coun- 
try, they  commemorated  the  valour  and  good  for- 
tune of  their  chief  by  giving  his  name  to  the 
island  at  lai'ge.  But  the  career  of  Albion  was 
brief;  for  Hercules,  the  destroyer  of  giants,  was 
abroad,  and  the  gigantic  sons  of  Neptune  were 
his  especial  enemies.  Bergion,  King  of  Ireland 
and  the  Oi-kneys,  having  been  assailed  by  this 
formidable  wanderer,  Albion,  his  brother,  has- 
tened to  his  assistance ;  but  in  an  engagement 
that  followed,  the  two  brethren  fell,  with  the 
greater  part  of  their  army.  In  this  story,  Her- 
cules, instead  of  going  forth  alone  with  his  club 
and  lion's  skin,  is  at  the  head  of  a  host,  and 
makes  war  in  regular  fashion,  and  with  the  ordi- 
nary weapons,  while  the  provocations  that  have 
moved  him  are  such  as  any  ancient  chief  would 
liave  made  the  ground  of  a  warlike  euterjirise. 
The  whole  narrative,  indeed,  is  evidently  nothing 
more  than  that  of  a  liostile  invasion  which  was 
made  upon  Britain  at  a  very  early  period,  while 
the  rude  chroniclers  who  first  reduced  the  report 
to  writing,  invested  the  successful  assailant  with 
the  well-known  classical  name  of  Hercules,  to 
give  additional  interest  to  the  story. 

The  success  of  this  story  of  Hercules  upon  the 
credulous  minds  of  the  British  nobles  and  priests 
of  the  eai'ly  ages,  was  not  lost  sight  of;  and  the 
next  arrival  of  strangers  into  the  island  was  alle- 
gorized in  the  same  spirit  of  classical  license.  It 
was  the  old  Greek  story  of  Danaus  and  his  daugh- 
ters, naturalized  into  the  annals  of  England.  This 
Danaus,  whom  our  early  writers  by  mistake  call 
Dioclesian,  King  of  Syria,  had  fifty  daughters, 
wliom  as  many  of  his  nephews  sought  in  marriage. 


and  that,  too,  at  the  sword's  point.  Com|iel!ed 
to  submit,  but  still  resolved  that  his  nephews 
should  not  profit  by  his  submission,  he  gave  a 
sword  to  each  of  his  daughtera,  with  which  she 
was  to  murder  her  husband  on  the  wedding 
night.  With  this  they  all  complied,  except  one, 
who  saved  her  husband,  Lyncseus;  and,  in  requital 
of  their  barbarity,  this  young  prince  caused  the 
forty-nine  faithless  brides  to  be  put  on  board  a 
ship,  and  set  adrift  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves. 
The  vessel  was  borne  by  the  winds  to  Britain, 
and  the  giants,  whom  the  death  of  Albion  had 
set  free  to  follow  their  own  devices,  were  so  de- 
lighted with  the  arrival  of  these  congenial  spirits, 
that  they  took  thera  in  marriage,  and  became 
fathers  of  an  oflspring  more  gigantic  and  tyran- 
nical than  themselves.  In  this  way,  it  may  be, 
the  arrival  of  a  foreign  female  influence,  and  the 
origin  of  an  unpopular  aristocracy  iu  Britain, 
were  embodied  under  the  guise  of  the  old  Greek 
story. 

In  such  a  fashion  as  this,  the  mythic  history 
of  England  is  carried  onward  through  the  earliest 
periods  of  antiquity  to  the  era  of  the  Trojan  war. 
It  is  well  known  how  eagerly  this  event  was  laid 
hold  of  Ijy  the  Roman  poets  and  historians,  to  ag- 
grandize the  origin  of  their  countrymen,  as  well 
as  that  of  their  noblest  families.  But  in  spite  of 
these  fables,  by  which  historic  truth  was  so  much 
obscured,  we  also  know  how  greatly  a  Pelasgic, 
if  not  a  Trojan  ancestry  belonged  to  the  founders 
of  Rome.  The  idea  of  such  an  honoured  deriva- 
tion was  not  confined  exclusively  to  the  Romans; 
the  Britains  also  claimed  a  similar  paternity,  and 
Geofirey  of  Monmouth,  who  was  its  chief  recorder 
and  advocate,  continued  to  be  copied  by  his  suc- 
cessors until  the  beginning  of  the  seventeentli 
century.  It  was  only  then  that  they  dismissed 
it  indignantly  as  a  pious  fraud,  without  inquiring 
as  to  what  particles  of  truth  it  may  have  con- 
tained, or  even  what  important  change  or  era  iu 
our  ancient  history  it  may  have  obscurely  sym- 
bolized. 

The  commencement  of  the  strange  story,  by 
which  a  Trojan  ancestry  is  secured  for  the  an- 
cient Britons,  is  thus  told  by  Giovani  Villani,  a 
Florentine,  in  his  Universal  History,  as  quoted  by 
Holinshed :  "  Sylvius,  the  son  of  yEneas  by  his 
wife  Lavinia,  fell  iu  love  with  a  niece  of  his 
mother,  the  same  Lavinia;  and  by  her  he  had  a 
son,  of  whom  she  died  iu  travail,  and  therefore 
he  was  called  Brutus;  who  after,  as  he  grew  in 
some  stature,  and  hunting  in  a  fore.st,  slew  his 
father  at  unawares;  and  thereupon,  for  fear  of  his 
grandfather,  Sylvius  Posthumus,  he  fled  the  coun- 
try, and  with  a  retinue  of  such  as  followed  him, 
passing  tlirough  diverse  seas,  at  length  he  arrived 
iu  the  isle  of  Biitain." 

Such  is  the  earlier  portion  of  the  tale,  embel- 


BEFORE   THE    ROMAN    INVASION. 


lished  with  many  a  strange  pireumstance,  partly 
of  tlie  classical,  and  partly  of  the  chivalrous  agea. 
On  arriving  in  Albion  (not  yet  called  Britain)  the 
roving  Trojan  had  been  directed  in  his  choice  by 
a  dream,  in  which  Diana  had  delivered  to  him  an 
oracle  in  Greek,  afterwards  rendered  into  Latin, 
and  finally  translated  by  Milton  into  English,  to 
the  following  effect : — 

"  Brutus,  far  to  the  west,  in  the  ocean  wide, 
Beyond  the  realm  of  Gaul,  a  land  there  lioj; 
Begirt  it  lies,  where  giants  dwelt  of  old; 
Now  void,  it  fits  thy  people;  thither  bend 
ITiy  course — there  slialt  thou  find  a  lasting  seat, 
There  to  thy  sons  another  Troy  shall  rise; 
And  kings  be  bom  of  thee,  whose  dreaded  might 
^hall  awe  the  world,  and  conquer  nations  bold." 

On  landing,  Brutus  found  the  promised  island 
wasted  of  its  ancient  inhabitants;  none  now  dwelt 
in  it  except  a  remnant  of  those  giants,  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Danaides,  whose  ferocious  rule 
had  been  so  sanguinary,  that  they  are  termed 
"  devils  "  in  the  ancient  legends.  The  strangers 
on  commencing  their  exploration,  had  roused  the 
Titanic  brood,  who  sallied  out  from  their  caves 
and  dens  to  give  the  intruders  battle;  but  it  fared 
with  them  as  it  has  done  with  every  other  people 
who  have  exceeded  the  standard  mea.sui'e  of 
humanity,  for  they  were  quickly  put  to  the  rout, 
and  cut  down  with  ease  by  their  puny  antago- 
nists. One  of  the  strongest  of  these  giants,  called 
Gogmagog,  who  was  twelve  cubits  high,  having 
been  preserved  alive,  either  as  a  specimen  or  a 
trophy,  Corineus,  a  gallant  chanipiou  of  the  Tro- 
jans, longed  to  wrestle  a  fall  with  him;  but  at  the 
outset  was  encountered  with  such  a  hug,  that 
three  of  his  ribs  were  broken.  Nothing  daunted, 
however,  by  this  unpromising  embrace,  he  heaved 
the  giant  up  bj*  main  force  upon  his  shoulders, 
carried  him  to  the  next  high  rock,  and  there 
hurled  him  into  the  sea.  That  part  of  the  cliffs 
of  Dover  from  which  the  unfortunate  Gogmagog 
was  thus  thrown,  as  Milton  writes,  "has  been 
called  ever  since  Laugocmagog,  which  is  to  say, 
the  Giant's  Leaji."  To  reward  him  for  his  valour, 
Brutus  bestowed  upon  Corineus  the  whole  county 
of  Cornwall.  These  events,  which  are  stated 
to  have  taken  place  about  the  time  that  Eli  the 
high-priest  governed  Israel,  betoken  the  monk- 
ish origin  of  this  part  of  the  legend,  and  show  how 
its  author  must  have  thought  of  the  occupation 
of  Canaan  by  the  Israelites,  and  the  destruction 
of  the  gigantic  race  of  Anak.  On  becoming  un- 
disputed lord  of  the  island,  Brutus  erected  his 
capital  city  of  Troia  Nova,  afterwards  called 
Trinovautum,  and  now  London;  parted  Britain 
among  his  three  sons,  and,  after  a  reign  of  twenty- 
four  years,  died  in  ])eace. 

After  Brutus  succeeded  a  line  of  kings  as  long, 
and  withal  as  shadowy,  perhaps,  as  those  which 
passed  before  the  bewildered  eye  of  Macbeth  in 


the  cave  of  Ileealo.  These  different  sovereigns 
love  and  hate,  make  peace  and  war,  build  cities 
and  subdue  jirovinccs,  in  the  usual  fashion  of 
ancient  history,  until  their  very  names  as  well  as 
deeds  are  confounded  with  each  other;  but  amidst 
the  throng,  who  might  otherwise  have  passed  into 
utter  oblivion,  are  some  whom  accident,  strangely 
enough,  has  exalted  into  full  immortality.  Of 
these,  Ebranc,  the  fifth  King  of  Britain  after  Bru- 
tus, was  the  first  of  British  sovereigns  who  in- 
vaded Franco,  where  he  seems  to  have  been  as 
successful  as  Edward  III.  more  than  2(100  years 
afterwaixis;  he  also  built  Mount  Agned,  or  the 
Castle  of  the  Maidens,  round  which  Edinburgh 
was  to  grow  in  future  years.  The  fourth  in  suc- 
cession to  him  was  Bladud,  who  had  the  singular 
merit  of  discovering  the  medicinal  virtues  of  the 
hot  springs  of  Bath,  and  of  founding  that  famous 
city,  which  was  originally  called  Caerbad.  The 
end  of  this  king,  which  was  truly  dolorous,  sup- 
plied, in  future  ages,  an  inijiortaut  chapter  to 
Johnson's  Rassekts.  "This  Bladud,"  says  Holiu- 
shed,  "took  such  pleasure  in  artificial  [jractices 
and  magic,  that  he  taught  the  art  throughout  all 
his  realm.  And  to  show  his  cunning  in  other 
points,  upon  a  presumptuous  pleasure  which  he 
had  therein,  he  took  U])0U  him  to  fly  in  the  air; 
but  he  fell  upon  the  temple  of  Apollo,  which  stood 
in  the  city  of  Troynovant,  and  there  was  torn  iu 
jjieces,  after  he  had  ruled  the  Britons  by  the 
space  of  twenty  years."  [Here  we  find  a  temple 
of  A])ollo  iu  Loudon  before  Rome  itself  was 
founded  !  ] 

Bladuil  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Lear — and. 
what  a  name  to  Britisli  memory  and  British  feel- 
ing !  It  seems  as  if  King  Lear  had  died  but  yes- 
terday; and  that  our  own  eyes  had  seen  him,  first 
as  an  arrogant  sovereign,  and  unreasonable  exact- 
ing father,  and  afterwards  as  a  discrowned  king, 
wandering  helpless  and  unattended  upon  the 
heath,  with  his  white  locks  beaten  by  the  tem- 
pest, aud  streaming  iu  the  wind.  The  whole  stoiy 
of  his  dotage,  in  which  his  daughters  dujied  him 
with  a  show  of  fulsome  and  fl:itleriiig  affection, 
and  the  manner  iu  which  they  stripped  him  of 
the  last  relics  of  his  royalty,  aud  cast  him  loose 
into  the  world,  were  presented  to  Shakspeare  iu 
all  the  bald,  dry,  circumstantial  narrative  of  the 
legendary  scroll — and  with  a  touch  he  lighted  its 
letters  into  living  fire,  and  made  it  a  tale  that 
shall  live  for  ever.  According  to  the  original 
story,  however,  the  old  king  left  the  land  in  which 
he  had  no  longer  a  hovel  to  shelter  him,  and 
betook  himself  to  Fi-ance,  of  winch  his  rejected 
Cordelia  was  queen.  Aud  then  it  was  that  she 
showed  the  full  meaning  of  that  sinqile  reply  for 
which  he  had  disinherited  her,  when  she  s;iid  to 
him,  after  her  sisters  had  done  speaking :  "  Father, 
my  love  towards  you  is  as  my  d\ity  bids;  what 


4 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


slioulil  a  father  seek,  what  can  a  ohiKI  jiromiso 
more?  Tliey  wlio  preteiul  beyouJ  this,  flatter." 
For,  with  the  permission  of  her  husband  slie  raisei  1 
an  army,  passed  over  to  Enrjland,  and  replaced 
Lear  upon  the  throne.  This  close  is  different 
from  that  of  Shakspeare;  but  heart-rending  as  is 
that  of  the  poet,  it  would  have  been  the  best  after 
all,  compared  with  the  sequel  as  it  e.xists  ia  the 
original  history.  For  we  are  there  informed,  that 
after  the  death  of  Lear,  Cordelia,  now  a  widow, 
succeeded  to  the  sovereignty  of  England,  where 
she  ruled  in  peace,  until  two  sons  of  her  unnatural 
sisters,  having  now  grown  to  man's  estate,  con- 
ceived themselves  defrauded  of  their  inheritance, 
and  made  war  against  her.  She  was  defeateil, 
deposed,  and  imprisoned;  "wherewith,"  we  are 
told,  "  she  took  such  grief,  being  a  woman  of  a 
manly  courage,  and  despairing  to  recover  liberty, 
there  she  slew  herself,  when  she  had  reigned  the 
term  of  five  years."  The  two  victors,  who  were 
the  veritable  children  of  such  mothers  as  Goneril 
and  Regan,  after  having  parted  the  island  be- 
tween them,  soon  quarrelled  about  their  share  of 
the  spoil,  and  Margan,  the  elder,  in  a  battle  that 
ensued  in  Wales,  was  slain  by  Cuuedag,  his  cousin, 
who  became  sole  sovereign  of  Britain. 

Wo  now  pass  over  an  interval  during  which 
Rome  was  built,  reigned  over  by  its  seven  kings, 
and  finally  changed  into  a  republic.  We  might 
well  wonder  what  Bi-itain  could  have  to  do  with 
such  remote  events ;  but  so  it  was ;  for  Brennus 
and  his  formidable  troops  were  not  Gauls,  as  the 
Roman  historians  have  erroneously  reported,  but 
true-born  Britons.  This  Brennus,  it  appears,  ac- 
cording to  British  chroniclers,  was  the  younger 
son  of  Dunwallo  Molmutius;  and  being  discoa- 
tented  with  his  inheritance,  which  comprised  the 
whole  of  England  north  of  the  Ilumber,  he  m.ade 
war  upon  his  elder  brother,  Belinus,  to  obtain  the 
sovereignty  of  the  whole  realm.  But  being  de- 
feated, he  afterwards  joined  his  forces  to  those  of 
his  brother,  overran  Gaul  and  part  of  Italy,  and 
finally  ap]>roached  the  gates  of  Rome.  Having 
thus  settled  the  most  essential  part  of  the  story, 
which  was  to  convert  the  Gaulish  invaders  into 
Britons,  the  narrative  falls  into  the  track  of  the 
Roman  writers,  in  the  capture  of  the  city  and  the 
final  defeat  of  Brennus  by  Caiuillus.  This  was 
surely  enough  to  console  the  wounded  pride  of 
the  Britons  for  the  subsequent  conquest  of  their 
isl.and  by  the  Romans!  Tlieir  countrymen  had 
been  a  civilized  people  when  their  proud  enemies 
had  been  mere  barbarians ;  and  had  entered  as 
masters  the  city  gates  of  the  world's  metropolis, 
and  compelled  it  to  purchase  their  forbearance. 
At  this  point,  however,  Milton  shows  his  incre- 
dulity, and  professes  himself  unable  to  reconcile 
the  different  parts  of  the  story,  so  that  he  dis- 
misses it  with  this  brief  statement :  "Thus  much 


is  more  generally  believed,  th.at  both  this  Bren- 
nus, and  another  famous  captain,  Britoniarus, 
whom  the  epitomist  Florus  and  others  mention, 
were  not  Gauls  but  Britons;  the  name  of  the  first 
in  that  tongue  siguifying  a  king,  and  of  the  other, 
a  gre.at  Briton." 

After  this  feat  of  the  sacking  of  Rome,  we  havo 
another  long  arr.ay  of  kings,  of  whom  the  early 
annalists  had  by  this  time  begun  to  grow  weary, 
for  their  deeds  are  very  briefly  recorded.  During 
this  course,  also,  if  these  early  legends  are  to  be 
believed,  Euglaud  must  already  have  been  over- 
spread with  those  stately  cities  which  the  Romans 
had  afterwards  the  credit  of  founding,  and  been 
governed  by  those  wise  laws  which  are  usually 
referred  to  a  Saxon  origin.  Thus  the  ISIereian 
law,  which  has  usually  been  attributed  to  Alfred 
the  Gre.at,  is  represented  to  have  been  actually 
devised  and  formulated  by  Mertia,  wife  of  King 
Guithelin  or  Guiutoliii;  but  here  Milton,  who 
admits  the  fiict  of  such  an  early  origin  of  tho 
Mercian  law,  while  he  scorns  the  thought  of  a 
female  legislator,  thus  gets  out  of  the  difllculty : 
"  In  the  minority  of  her  son,  she  [Mertia]  had  the 
rule,  and  then,  as  may  be  supposed,  brought  forth 
these  laws,  not  herself,  for  laws  are  masculine 
births,  but  by  the  advice  of  her  s.agest  counsel- 
lors;  and  therein  she  might  do  virtuously,  since 
it  befell  her  to  sujiply  the  non.age  of  her  son  :  else 
nothing  more  awry  from  the  law  of  God  and 
nature,  than  that  a  woman  should  give  laws  to 
men."  Among  the  kings  who  followed,  was 
Elidure,  whose  fate  as  a  sovereign  was  a  rarity 
in  royal  annals ;  for  he  wa.s  thrice  deposed,  au<l 
as  often  replaced  on  his  throne.  He  was  also  a 
very  par.agon  of  justice  and  generosity,  as  may 
be  learned  from  the  following  romantic  incident. 
His  elder  brother,  Archigallo,  who  had  reigned 
oppressively,  having  been  disjilaced,  and  himself 
advanced  in  his  room,  it  happened  that  one  day, 
after  having  reigned  five  years,  Elidure,  while 
hunting  in  a  forest,  met  his  deposed  brother,  now 
an  impoverished  w.anderer,  and  meanly  attended, 
after  he  had  vainly  roamed  about  through  the 
different  courts  of  Europe  in  search  of  aid  to 
replace  him  in  his  kingdom.  The  forlorn  Archi- 
g.allo  w-as  recognized ;  but  Elidure,  instead  of 
sweeping  such  a  dangerous  I'ival  from  his  p.ath, 
as  the  kings  of  that  period  would  have  done 
without  scruple,  took  him  privately  to  the  city 
Alclud,  and  hid  him  in  his  own  bed-chamber.  He 
then  feigned  himself  to  be  grievously  sick ;  and, 
as  if  unable  to  endure  a  crowd,  he  summoned  his 
nobles  one  by  one  to  his  bedside,  th.at  he  might 
consult  with  them  about  the  afl'airs  of  his  king- 
dom. The  nobles  singly  repaired  to  him,  and 
then  the  apparently  dying  Elidure  prevailed  upon 
them  to  swear  allegiance  to  Archig.allo.  Ha">'ing 
in  this  w.ay  obtained  the  consent  of  the  whole 


BEFOEE  THE   ROMAN   INVASION. 


iiobility,  the  dying  kiug  quickly  got  well  again, 
siimmoued  a  council  to  meet  liim  at  York,  aud 
there  so  handled  the  matter,  that  Archigallo  was 
received  by  the  commons  as  he  had  been  by  the 
lords;  after  which,  Eliduro,  with  his  own  bauds, 
placed  the  ro_val  crown  upon  his  brother's  head, 
aud  was  the  first  to  liail  him  as  king.  Penetrated 
to  the  heart's  core  by  such  a  wondrous  instance 
of  justice,  generosity,  aud  brotherly  lov-e,  the  now 
restored  wanderer  became  one  of  the  best  of  kings, 
and  dying  childless  after  a  reign  of  ten  years, 
was  succeeded  ouce  more  by  Elidure. 

We  now  gladly  rush  to  the  close  of  this  array 
of  shadows  and  phantoms,  and  hasten  into  the 
dawn  which  begins  with  the  period  of  Caesar's 
Cassivellaunus.  The  father  of  this  last-men- 
tioned kiug  was  Eli  or  Hely,  who  reigned  forty 
yeai's,  and  the  most  distinguished  event  of  whose 
reign  is  thus  specified  by  Holiushed,  on  tlie  au- 
thority of  the  old  British  historians: — "Marry, 
this  is  uot  to  be  forgotten,  that  of  the  aforesaid 
Hely,  the  last  of  the  said  thirty-three  kings,  the 
Isle  of  Ely  took  the  name,  because  that  he  most 
commonly  did  there  inhabit,  building  in  the  same 
a  goodly  palace,  aud  making  great  reparations 
of  the  sluices,  ditches,  aud  causeways  aliout  that 
isle,  for  conveyance  away  of  the  water,  that  else 
would  sore  have  eudomaged  the  country."  Nine- 
teen years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Romans,  Hely 
ivas  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  Lud,  who  is 
described  in  higli  terms  as  a  jolly  feaster,  war- 
rior, legislator,  and  reformer  of  abuses,  and  also 
a  great  builder,  repairing  many  of  the  old  towns 
and  stately  edifices  that  had  gone  to  decay.  He 
also  enlarged  the  city  of  Troynovant,  and  sur- 
rounded it  with  a  strong  wall  of  stone,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  it  thenceforth  obtained  the  name 
of  Lud-town,  or  London.  Among  those  ai'chiteo- 
tural  undertakings  with  which  he  aggrandized 
the  capital,  are  particularly  meutioued  Lud's 
Gate,  afterwards  called  Ludgate ;  the  palace  in 
its  neighbourhood,  afterwards  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don's palace ;  aud  a  temple,  which  subsequently 
became  St.  Paul's  Church.  Such  were  but  a  few 
of  his  many  undertakings,  which  are  recorded  by 
the  old  British  historians  with  careful  circum- 
stantiality aud  most  praiseworthy  gravity. 

On  the  death  of  Lud,  whose  two  sons  were 
still  minors,  Cassivellaunus,  his  brother,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  royal  power.  And  now  it  is  that 
the  old  British  annalists,  feeling  themselves  ham- 
pered between  the  Commentaries  of  Cajsar  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  fanciful  traditions  of  the 
country  on  the  other,  proceed  in  their  course 
with  unwonted  caution.  On  this  account  they 
are  unable  precisely  to  determine  whether  Cassi- 
vellaunus was  raised  to  the  throne,  or  merely 
a]ipointed  regent.  By  their  statement,  however, 
his  administration  was  so  just  and  able  that  he 


was  worthy  of  the  esteem  of  the  Britons,  who  set 
aside  the  claims  of  his  nephow.s,  and  recognized 
him  as  their  only  king.  Ciussivellaunus  acted  a 
generous  part  towards  these  orphans,  by  invest- 
ing the  elder  with  the  sovereignty  of  London  and 
Kent,  and  the  younger  with  that  of  Cornwall. 
And  hero  the  iSfuse  of  ancient  British  history 
abruptly  retires,  like  onodctected  in  fal.sehood,  aud 
gives  pl.ace  to  a  more  crcilible  witness,  after  hav- 
ing fabled  for  the  long  course  of  lOuS  years.  And 
here  alsoJIilton,  who  had  followed  the  narrative, 
frequently  in  doubt,  and  sometimes  in  utter  dis- 
belief, thus  welcomes  the  appi-oachiug  change: — 
"By  this  time,  like  one  who  had  set  out  on  Iiis 
way  by  night,  and  travelled  through  a  region  of 
smooth  or  idle  dreams,  our  history  now  arrives 
on  the  confiues,  where  daylight  aud  truth  meet 
us  with  a  clear  dawn,  representing  to  our  view, 
thongh  at  a  far  distance,  true  colours  and  shapes. 
For  albeit  Ctcsar,  whose  authority  we  are  now 
first  to  follow,  wanted  not  who  ta.xed  him  of  mis- 
reporting  in  his  Commentaries,  yea,  in  his  Civil 
Wars  against  Pompeif,  much  more  may  we  think 
in  the  British  affairs,  of  whose  little  skill  in  writ- 
ing he  did  not  easily  hope  to  be  contradicted;  yet 
now,  in  such  variety  of  good  authors,  we  hardly 
can  miss  from  one  hand  or  other  to  be  sufficiently 
iufoi"med  as  of  things  passed  so  long  ago." 

In  the  foregoing  history  of  Britain,  which  we 
have  so  briefly  passed  over,  the  first  thouglit  that 
strikes  us  is  the  long  series  of  kings,  whose  cha- 
racters and  deeds  are  as  confidently  sketched  as 
if  they  had  been  men  of  yesterday ;  and  the  ex- 
tended ))eriod  of  time  which  they  necessarily 
occupy,  stopping  short  only  within  a  brief  dis- 
tance of  the  Deluge  itself  But  this  difficulty  is 
easily  got  rid  of,  when  we  remember  the  nature 
of  that  government  which  prevailed  among  the 
Celtic  people.  Among  them  a  king  was  but 
the  chieftain  of  his  own  tribe,  and  not  of  the 
nation  at  large;  ami,  therefore,  sometimes  not 
less  than  a  dozen  of  sovereigns  might  have  been 
found  reigning  in  Bi'itain  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  Nothing  was  more  natural  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, than  to  mistake  these  reijidi  for  sole  kings 
of  the  whole  country,  and  to  arrange  their  his- 
tories into  successive  periods,  instead  of  making 
them  contemporaneous.  Such  has  been  the  case 
in  the  early  annals  of  many  other  countries 
where  this  patriarchal  system  of  government 
])revailed;  and  the  great  perjjlexity  of  antiqua- 
ries and  historians,  in  such  instances,  has  been 
occasioned  by  a  long  course  of  life  and  action,  to 
which  the  earliest  antiquity  could  afford  no  room. 

By  keeping,  then,  the  fact  in  mind,  that  our 
island  was  divided  into  many  families  and  septs, 
each  of  which  had  its  own  rnler,  several  kings 
may  be  comprised  within  a  single  generation,  and 
a  whole  century  condensed  into  a  few  years.     lu 


fi 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


tliis  way,  the  mytliic  history  of  Britain  before 
the  Roniau  invasion  can  be  reduced,  in  point  of 
time,  within  a  very  reasonable  compass,  and  the 
wonderful  achievements,  stripped  of  their  poeti- 
cal embellishments,  may  become  sober  realities. 
And  keeping  in  mind  the  evidence  of  a  mixed 
population  set  forth  by  these  writers,  corrobo- 
rated, moreover,  by  the  veritable  authore  who 
succeeded  them,  it  is  to  be  conceived  that  there 
existed  within  the  compass  of  the  island  many 
peoples — not  a  community :  some  in  a  degree  of 
civilization  approaching  that  of  the  nations  of 
antiquity;  others,  and  by  far  the  greater  number, 
in  a  rude  and  barbarous  state.  The  Druid  priest- 
hood, indeed,  who  were  likewise  the  lawgivers,  by 
their  superior  knowledge,  as  well  as  through  the 
superstitious  deference  of  their  votaries,  main- 
tained a  community  of  power  in  all  aftairs,  civil 
and  religious;  but  in  other  respects  we  see  no  evi- 
dences of  that  combination  of  classes  which  con- 
stitutes a  nation.  In  most  parts  of  the  island 
the  king  or  military  chief  of  a  tribe,  and  his  prin- 
cipal warriors,  usurped  the  lion's  share  in  the 
resources  of  his  dominion ;  while  the  herd,  the 
tiller  of  the  soil,  and  the  hunter,  stood  in  much 
the  same  relation  as  that  of  an  Irish  kerne  of  the 
fifteenth  century  to  his  feudal  superior.  On  parts 
of  the  coast,  however,  communities  of  a  more 
settled  and  more  uniform  character  were  held 
together  by  the  mutual  interest  of  traffic,  and  the 
benefits  ensuing  from  an  intercourse  with  stran- 
gers from  the  opposite  shores,  as  in  the  instance 
of  the  Trinobantine  mart  of  London,  which  is 
described  by  Tacitus  (a.d.  62)  as  a  place  most 
renowned  for  the  concourse  of  merchants,  and 
for  its  stores  of  goods.  The  period  quoted  is  only 
nineteen  yeai-s  after  the  Romans  had  got  posses- 
sion of  South  Britain,  and  were  still  struggling 
to  maintain  it,  and  therefore  not  likely  to  have 
had  a  part  in  the  establishment  of  this  early  seat 
of  British  commerce.  Allowing  for  this,  and 
taking  a  broad  view  of  the  fabulous  relations, 
we  may  observe  the  gi'owth  of  a  population  fed 
by  the  incursions  of  wandering  and  adventurous 
bands,  who  flowed  on  these  shores  in  successive 
waves  of  population.  Striving  for  a  footing  in 
the  land,  the  conquerors  or  colonists  still  brought 
in  an  accession  of  strength  or  diversity  of  charac- 
ter, such  as,  by  a  view  of  subsequent  annals,  we 
observe  to  have  been  infused  down  to  the  period 
of  the  Norman  conquest.  Hence,  it  may  be  con- 
ceived, was  derived  that  spirit  of  enterprise  which 
has  obtained  for  the  British  race  such  a  wide 
geographical  extension,  and  so  potent  a  predo- 
minance. The  original  colonists,  a  branch  of 
the  Celtic  family,  to  whom,  as  the  descendants  of 
Japheth,  were  given  the  isles  of  the  Gentiles,  were 
replenished  by  successive  offshoots  of  the  same 
prolific  stock,  carrying  with  them  such  modifi- 


cations of  character  as  had  been  induced  by  the 
influences  of  climate  and  situation,  and  the  na- 
ture of  their  resources.  Hence,  whatever  features 
of  barbarism  may  appear  in  our  first  view  of  the 
Britons,  as  they  are  delineated  by  the  authen- 
ticated writers  of  antiquity,  these  may  be  looked 
upon  rather  as  proper  to  a  condition  declined 
from  early  civilization,  than  as  the  signs  of  a 
primitive  state.  If,  for  instance,  they  were  iu- 
capable  of  steering  their  wicker,  hide-covered 
vessels  any  distance  beyond  that  of  a  mere  coast- 
ing voyage,  or,  at  the  furthest,  to  the  neighbouring 
islands,  they  must  have,  then,  been  in  a  worse 
condition  than  when  they  first  efieoted  a  landing 
on  these  shores; — and  if  they  be  found  dwelling 
in  holes  and  caves,  or  in  miserable  huts  of  daub 
and  wattle,  and  we  contrast  with  sucli  mean 
fiibrics  the  colossal  and  symmetrical  structures 
of  Stonehenge,  Avebury,  and  other  similar  monu- 
ments, whose  vast  relics  seem  the  production  of 
a  race  of  giants  and  sorcerers — these  must  appear, 
in  such  a  point  of  view,  the  vestiges  of  a  vastly 
superior  age,  or  the  memorials  of  a  race  elevated 
fai'  above  those  who  surrounded  them. 

But  respecting  these  considerations  there  is 
but  slight  footing  even  for  speculation ;  for  the 
few  authentic  authors  of  antiquity  who  tre.at  of 
the  Celtic  Britons,  evidently  do  so  upon  very  par- 
tial information.  That  Britain  had  become  the 
seat  of  several  tribes  differing  greatly  in  many 
respects,  and  bringing  with  them  the  character- 
istics of  their  race,  is  evident  in  the  observations 
of  authors  of  the  period,  especially  those  of  Taci- 
tus, who,  in  his  Life  of  Agricola,  thus  writes  :— 
"  Now  what  manner  of  men  the  first  inhabitants 
of  Britain  were,  foreignly  brought  in,  or  born  in 
the  land  as  among  a  barbarous  people,  it  is  not 
certainly  known.  Their  complexions  are  differ- 
ent, and  thence  may  some  conjectures  be  taken; 
for  the  red  hair  of  the  dwellers  in  Caledonia,  and 
mighty  limbs,  import  a  German  descent.  The 
coloured  countenances  of  the  Silures,'  and  hair 
most  commonly  curled,  and  site  against  Spain, 
seem  to  induce  that  the  old  Spaniards  passed  the 
sea  and  possessed  those  places.  The  nearest  to 
Fi-ance  likewise  resemble  the  French,  either  be- 
cause they  retain  of  the  race  from  which  they  de- 
scended, or  that  in  countries  abutting  together, 
the  same  aspects  of  the  heavens  do  yield  the  same 
complexions  of  bodies.  But,  generally,  it  is  most 
likely  the  French,  being  the  nearest,  did  people 
the  laud."-  Diodorus  Siculus,  whose  Bibliothecai 
HistoriccE  is  considered  to  have  been  written 
shortly  after  the  death  of  Julius  Caisar,  places 
the  Britons  somewhat  on  a  parallel  with  the 

■  The  inhabitants  of  South  Wales  (Deheubarth).  The  qualifi- 
cation appears  here  to  mean  naturally  swart  or  dark,  and  not 
the  artificial  appearance  produced  by  dyeing  the  skin,  said  to 
have  been  practised  by  the  Britons.  ^  Grenewey's  Trans. 


BEFORE  THE  ROMAN   INVASION. 


UomPilc  warriors.  After  deacribiug  the  j)osition 
;iud  beariiif^  of  the  island — "  Further,"  he  con- 
tinues, "they  say  that  its  original  tribes  inhabit 
Britain,  in  their  u.sages  still  ]ireserving  the  jiri- 
mitive  modes  of  liio ;  fur  in  their  war  they  use 
chariots,  as  the  ancient  Greek  heroes  are  reported 
to  have  done  iu  the  Trojan  war." 

The  people  of  the  Cape  of  Cornwall  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  same  author  as  "  singularly 
partial  to  strangers;  and,  from  their  intercourse 


with  foreign  merchants,  civilined  in  their  habits." 
"These  people,"  he  continues,  with  i-eference  to 
their  tratlic,  "obtain  the  tin  by  skilfully  wurkiug 
the  soil  which  produces  it.  This,  being  rocky, 
has  eaithy  interstices,  in  which  working  the  ore, 
and  then  fusing,  they  reduce  to  metal,  and  when 
they  have  formed  it  into  cubical  shaiies,  they  con- 
vey it  to  a  certain  island,  lying  olf  Britain,  u.-imed 
Ictis ;  for  at  the  low  tides,  the  intervening  space 
being  laid   dry,  they  cari-y  thither  in  waggons 


=»*fe-r: 


Thk  Land's  End,  Cuknu'all.—Ui.iwh  Jioia  nature  .in.i  on  wood,  by  J.  S.  Prout. 


the  tin  iu  great  abundance."  But  previous  to 
that  era  this  production,  so  valuable  before  the 
art  of  tempering  iron  was  discovered,  iiad  at- 
tracted the  Phffinicians  to  our  shores.  A  history 
of  early  Britain  would  be  incomplete  without  a 
fuller  notice  of  the  subject.  This  trade  of  the 
Phcenicians  may  be  considered  the  beginning  of 
that  British  commerce  which  has  outlived  its 
ancient  teachers,  extinguished  every  successive 
i-ivalry,  and  secured  a  main  ]iart  of  the  wide 
world's  traffic,  in  all  its  niuuberless  departments, 
up  to  the  present  day. 

It  is  now  generally  allowed,  that  what  the 
Greeks  termed  chalciis,  although  translated  brass, 
was  not  the  metal  commonly  known  under  that 
name.  It  was  rather  that  composition  of  copper 
and  tin  which  we  denominate  bronze.  It  was 
with  this  bronze  that  the  Greeks  and  Pkomans 
composed  tlieir  statues,  and  many  of  their  im- 
jilements  and  ornaments;  and  of  this  also  the 
Carthaginians,  and  even  the  early  Homeric  he- 
roes, fashioned  their  swords  and  spears,  as  well  as 
their  defensive  armour.  Tin  was  likewise  used, 
as  is  supposed,  by  the  Tyrians,  in  i)roducing  the 
rich  purple  dye  for  whicli  they  were  famous,  and 
was  known  to  the  Israelites,  before  the  Babylon- 
ish captivity,  uniler  the  name  bedil.  But  going 
atill  further  back,  we  find  that  brass  (that  is, 


bi-onzc)  was  not  only  an  imjjortant  material  iu 
the  construction  of  Solomon's  temple,  but  a 
metal  precious  as  gold,  with  which  the  Isi'aelites, 
who  must  have  obtained  it  from  the  Egyptians, 
adorned  their  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness.  In 
the  former  instance,  we  learn  from  the  Sacred 
Writings  that  the  artificer  employed  by  Solomon 
in  the  decoration  of  the  temple  was  Hiram,  a 
native  of  Tyre,  one  of  the  cities  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians, the  early  traders  in  tin.  Here  we  trace 
the  use  of  bronze  up  to  the  Mosaic  period,  and 
consequently  of  tin  also,  without  which  bronze 
cannot  be  made.  And  where  was  this  tin  ob- 
tained i  At  such  early  jjeriods  it  Wiis  only  to 
be  found  iu  two  countries — Spain  and  Britain. 
These  were,  then,  the  valued  sources  from  which 
the  nations  of  earliest  antiquity  derived  a  metal 
that  ministered  so  largely  to  their  wealth,  their 
luxury,  and  convenience.  And  these  countries, 
jierhaps,  were  that  mysterious  Tarshish,  lying 
somewhere  beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  from 
which  such  precious  shijimonts  returned,  and 
whose  locality  our  biblical  eommeutatoi's  and  able 
hydrographers  liave  so  long  endeavoured  to  dis- 
cover. 

In  such  an  important  fact,  it  matters  little 
whether  the  hidden  treasures  of  Spain  or  of  Bri- 
tain had  tlie  honour  of  the  first  discovery.     It  is 


8 


niSTORY   OF   ENGLAND. 


sufricieiit  for  us  to  know  iliat  1h;it.  portion  of  tlie 
British  territory  culled  the  Scilly  Islands  was 
known  to  the  Carthaginians  ajjes  before  the  Chris- 
tian era.  This  is  pretty  distinctly  iutim.ated  in 
the  account  given  to  us  by  Festus  Avienus  of 
the  voyage  of  Ilamilco,  an  ancient  Cartliagiuian 
navigator.  In  this  voyage,  we  are  told,  Ilamilco 
reached  the  islands  of  the  CEstryninides  within 
less  than  four  months  after  lie  had  set  sail  from 
Carthage,  and  from  the  description  of  Avienus  we 
are  compelled  to  conclude  that  these  CEstryuiuides 
could  be  no  other  than  our  Scilly  Islands.  They 
were,  he  tells  us,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Albion 
and  of  Irelaud,  and  within  two  days'  sail  of  the 
latter,  which  he  terras  the  Sacred  Island.  He  de- 
scribes those  islands  as  abounding  in  tin  and  lead, 
and  inhabited  Viy  a  bold,  active,  trafficking  people, 
who,  having  no  timber  for  the  building  of  ships, 
made  adventurous  voyages  in  boats  made  of  hides. 
These  islands,  also,  he  intimates,  were  not  iirst 
discovered  by  Ilamilco,  but  had  previously  been 
visited  for  tralUc  by  the  jieople  of  Tartessus  and 
Cartli.nge.  They  were  afterwai-ds  explored  with 
such  industry,  that  their  tin  was  at  length  ex- 
hausted, and  nothing  apparently  remains  of  it 
except  the  traces  of  the  ancient  mines;  but  Corn- 
vi'all  was  not  far  off  as  a  field  for  fresh  opera- 
tions. It  was  probably  this  peninsula  which  af- 
terwards obtained  the  name  of  Cassiteros  (from 
the  Greek  woi'd  cassitcron,  signifying  tin),  while 
the  Scilly  Isles,  described  as  ten  in  number,  of 
which  only  one  was  uninhabited,  were  called  Cas- 
siterides,  or  the  Tin  Iskinds.  Under  this  name 
tliey  are  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  the  father  of 
history,  nearly  500  years  before  the  Cliristian 
era,  although  their  geographical  position  he  was 
unable  to  discover. 

The  causes  of  this  ignorance  in  so  important  a 
matter  it  is  not  difficult  to  explain.  In  their 
knowle<lge  of  these  Tin  Islands  the  Carthaginians 
possessed  a  treasure  which  they  were  resolved  to 
monopolize,  and  hence  their  jjarticular  locality 
was  carefully  concealed  from  all  the  world,  and 
especially  from  their  formidable  and  enterjirisiug 
rivals,  the  Eomaus,  who  were  anxious  to  leai-n 
the  secret.  The  latter,  tlierefore,  lay  ou  the 
watch,  and  were  ready  to  give  chase,  while  the 
former  studied  to  out-manoeuvre  or  out-sail  them. 
At  length,  as  we  are  informed  by  Strabo,  a  ship 
of  Carthage  having  set  out  on  a  voyage  to  the 
Cassiterides  for  tin,  the  captain  of  a  Koman  gal- 
ley, who  had  been  appointed  to  observe  him, 
followed  in  close  pursuit.  The  Carthaginian 
tried  e\ery  expedient  to  elude  his  adversary,  but 
being  closely  jjressed,  and  finding  esca])e  impos- 
sible, he  ran  his  vessel  aground,  and  thus  sacri- 
ficed both  ship  and  cargo.  His  fidelity  in  thus 
concealing  the  I'oute  to  the  Tin  Islands  was  so 
liighly  appreciated  by  his  countrymen,  that  on 


returning  linnie  he  was  reiiaid,  to  the  full  value 
of  his  loss,  out  of  the  public  treasury. 

But  cunning  although  the  Carthaginians  were, 
it  was  impossible  that  such  a  profitable  route, 
pursued  for  centurie.'i,  could  always  remain  ex- 
clusively their  own.  The  Greek  colonists  of  Mar- 
seilles had  turned  their  .attention  to  the  subject; 
and  from  their  superior  intelligence  and  nautical 
skill,  they  were  at  length  enabled  to  discover  the 
whereabouts  of  this  rich  terra  incognita.  Accor- 
dingly we  are  told,  that  only  a  century  after  the 
time  of  Herodotus,  Pytheas,  a  Marseillais  navi- 
gator, was  the  first  of  his  countrymen  who  pene- 
trated into  the  British  seas.  This  enterprise  ap- 
pears to  have  been  so  successfully  followed,  that 
the  secret  of  the  Cassiterides  was  at  length  laid 
open  to  the  Roman  colonies  on  the  south  coast  of 
Gaul;  and  thus,  even  before  the  arrival  of  Julius 
Cassar,  a  brisk  trade  in  tin  had  been  carried  on 
between  them  and  the  people  of  the  Scilly  Islands 
and  Cornwall.  The  effects  of  this  traffic  were 
exhibited  in  the  superior '  comfort  and  civiliza- 
tion of  those  parts  of  the  British  coast  which  the 
strangers  visited.  Diodorus  informs  us  that  the 
Britons  inhabiting  the  Land's  End  (Bolerium) 
were  much  more  civilized  than  the  rest  of  their 
countrymen,  in  consequence  of  their  traffic  with 
the  foreigners.  Such  was  also  the  case  with  the 
natives  of  the  Ciissiterides,  although  they  are 
pictured  of  a  somewhat  strange  appearance,  not 
imlike  that  of  figures  upon  some  of  the  earlier 
Etruscan  vases.  According  to  Strabo,  they  wore 
comfortable  dresses,  and  these  also  of  cloth,  while 
most  of  their  inland  countrymen  had  notliing 
but  their  own  painted  skins.  He  tells  us  that 
they  wore  long  black  cloaks,  which  reached  to 
iheir  ankles,  and  were  girded  about  the  waist ; 
that  they  walked  about  with  staves  in  their 
hands,  and  that  their  long  beards  gave  them  the 
appearance  of  goats.  He  is  careful  especially  to 
mention  the  lead  and  tin  mines  with  which  these 
islands  abounded,  and  their  traffic  with  foreign 
traders  in  these  metals  and  skins,  in  return  fur 
bronze  articles,  earthenware,  and  salt. 

It  might  be  asked  why  Kome  herself,  who  had 
been  so  solicitous  to  discover  these  wealthy  mines, 
was  afterwards  contented  to  purchase  theh-  trea- 
sures at  second  hand  from  her  own  tributaries? 
But  the  Romans  were  no  navigators,  and  cared 
little  for  commerce,  unless  it  was  brought  to  their 
doors;  and  as  for  wealth  in  general,  they  regarded 
every  country  as  their  storehouse,  which  they 
could  empty  at  their  own  good  pleasure.  'While 
the  sword  could  procure  tin  at  any  time,  they 
would  neither  condescend  to  sail  in  quest  of  it, 
nor  labom-  in  digging  it ;  and  hence,  until  they 
conquered  Britain,  they  regarded  its  people  as 
"  toto  orbe  divisos." 

And  why,  it  might  also  be  asked,  were  the  Bri- 


BEFOKE   THE   UOMAN   INVASION. 


9 


tous  themselves  so  remiss  iu  improving  to  tlie  full 
those  advantages  of  intercourse  with  I'oreiguers, 
which  they  had  eujoj-ed  for  so  many  centuries? 
Tliey  had  been  visited  successively  by  tlie  most 
enterprising  and  civilized  of  the  nations,  and  yet 
had  leai'ued  comparatively  so  little!  It  may  be 
answered  that  civilization  had  eutei-eU,  but  had 
not  pervaded  tlie  land.  Even  the  most  important, 
and  yet  most  obvious  step  in  advance  which  the 
Britons  might  have  been  expected  to  adopt — that 
of  constructing  good  barks  for  themselves,  mo- 
delled from  those  of  the  strangers,  and  thus  carry- 
ing on  such  a  gainful  tnide  on  their  own  account 
— appears  incomjjrehensible.  This  discrepancy, 
however,  is  to  some  extent  met  by  the  statement 
of  Festus  Avienus,  that  tlie  islands  frequented  by 
the  Phceuician  mariners  did  not  produce  wood  for 
the  construction  of  ships.  Further,  the  peculiar 
genius  and  circumstances  of  the  people  may  be 
taken  into  account — the  influence  of  superstition 
under  the  rule  of  the  Druids  so  similar  to  that 
of  the  Egyptian  priesthood.  The  ancient  Egyp- 
tians had  the  same  commercial  temptations,  and 
the  ability  to  build  ships;  but  it  appeai-s  from 


Stone  Celts  and  Arrow  Hi-;.\ds. — Prawn  by  J.  W.  Atcher, 
from  examples  in  the  British  Mujseuiii. 

Herodotus  that  they  abstained,  from  a  loathing 
of  the  sea,  looking  ujion  it  as  the  domain  of  the 
abhorred  Typhon.  The  Britons  evidently  did 
not  possess  those  national  qu.alities  that  are  need- 
ful for  patient  and  enduring  sailors.  It  was  not 
imtil  the  Saxon  and  the  Dane  had  become  settled 
inhabitants,  that  the  "meteor  flag  of  England" 
was  to  float  in  undis])uted  ascendency. 
Vol.  I.  , 


Where  tradition  and  history  arc  both  insufli- 
cient  to  enlighten  our  inquiries  into  the  origin 
and  condition  of  our  early  jiopulation,  we  have 
buried  beneath  the  soil,  .a  liistory  which  a  high 
state  of  intellectual  cultivation  enables  tlio  in- 
quirer to  discover;  and  to  read  in  obscure  caverns 
—the  places  of  sepulture — a  lesson  on  the  condi- 
tion of  those  eai-ly  tribes,  whose  record  we  might 
otherwise  have  abandoned  in  despair. 

In  the  endeavour  to  comprehend  the  bearing 
of  those  vestiges  upon  our  pre-historic  era,  a 
ehissification  has  been  adojitcd,  by  which  the  im- 
plements, weapons,  &c.,  found  in  baiTows  and 
excavations,  are  arranged  under  the  Stone,  the 
Bronze,  and  the  Iron  periods.  This  formula,  how- 
ever convenient,  is  not  foundeil  upon  such  sufli- 
cieut  authority  tlict  it  can  be  adojited  as  an  ar- 
bitrary rule,  and  instead  of  jieriuds,  it  is  more 
prudent  to  say  conditions;  for,  with  regard  to  the 
use  of  the  materials  of  bronze  and  stone,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  one  appertained  to  the  great,  and 
the  other  to  the  lowly,  in  the  same  way  that  the 
rich  man  of  the  present  day  eats  his  fish  with  a 
silver  fork,  and  the  poor  man  with  an  implement 
of  Sheffield  hardware.  In  ad- 
verting to  the  stone  condition  of 
the  Celtic  Britons,  we  find  a 
great  variety  of  weapons  and 
implements,  along  with  the 
buried  remains,  aa  the  things 
moat  valued  by  the  departed,  or 
adapted  to  his  u.se  in  a  future  state.  Among 
these  the  stone  hammer  appears  in  a  variety  of 
form.=i,  from  that  of  a  i-ude  stone  to  those  in 
which  it  has  been  f:ishioued  into  a  shapc^ly  and 
convenient  instrument,  such  as  is  represented 
in  the  accompanying  cut,  No.  8.  In  Nos.  1,  2, 
3,  we  see  implements  in  their  original  handles 
of  deer's  horn,  one  a  rude  fl.-ike  of  flint  the  other 
two  chisel -shaped,  and  suitable  for  flaying  the 
carcasses  of  animals,  &c.  No.  4  is  a  large  flake  of 
flint,  found  in  a  tumulus  at  Alfrlston,  in  Sussex, 
which  has  been  chipped  into  an  imperfect  sha))e. 
Nos.  6  and  C  are  composed  of  a  hard  greenish 
flint,  symmetrically  formed  and  finely  polished, 
but  of  a  shape  unsuitcd  ior  handles.  In  No.  0 
we  observe  a  stone  with  a  flexur<i  in  the  siiles,  by 
which  it  could  bo  held  by  a  pliable  handle  bent 
round  it,  and  tied  at  the  junction,  like  No.  1 1,  a 
stone  hammer  used  b}'  the  natives  of  Northern 
Australia.  In  No.  7  tlie  stone  imi)lement  is 
jierforated  for  the  insertion  of  a  handle,  like 
No.  10,  a  stone  hammer  froin  Western  Australia, 
in  which  a  wooden  handle  is  inserted,  and  fui-- 
ther  secured  by  a  cement  of  native  gum;  but  in 
No.  8  the  sides  of  the  stone  are  scooped  as  well 
as  ])ierced,  for  the  purpo-se  of  binding  the  handle 
with  thongs  or  oziei's.  There  are  likewise  found 
a  variety  of  javelin  head.'!,  Nos.   12,  13,  16,  and 


10 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


nnow  lifads,  Nos.  14,  15,  17,  18,  of  (lint,  for  w;ir 
or  the  chase,  nnd  which,  iu  dexterous  li:mds,  may 
have  served  to  knock  down  the  deer  or  beaver, 
but  are  scarcely  of  suflicient  deadliness  for  the 
capture  of  the  urus  or  inounlain  bull,  or  the  wolf 
and  boar  of  the  great  British  forests.  Nos.  19 
and  20  are  the  flint  pile  and  knock  of  a  Pata- 
gouian  arrow,  the  former  showing  the  manner  in 
which  the  pile  is  bound  to  the  shaft  with  veget- 
able fibre,  probably  resembling  the  mode  of  at- 
tachment employed  by  the  ancient  Britons.  In 
the  British  tumuli  are  likewise  found  flint  knives 
and  daggers,  and  weapons  of  bone  and  horn. 
Of  this  description  were  the  lances  or  harpoons 
which  have  been  found  alongside  the  relics  of 
stranded  whales,  pins  and  bodkins  of  bone  and 
wood,  with  a  variety  of  oi-naraeuts,  such  as  beads, 
bits  of  amber,  &e.;  the  drinking  cup  of  the  de- 
parted Briton;  and,  where  cremation  has  been 
jjractised,  the  funeral  urn,  containing  the  ashes 
of  the  deceased,  wrapped  in  a  linen  cloth,  and 
secured  by  a  ])in  of  bone,  wood,  or  bronze. 
Articles  of  bronze  found  in  British  barrows 


seven  and  a  half  of  copper.'  Among  these  are 
found  a  variety  of  the  hatchet-shaped  instruments 
commonly  denominated  celts.  In  tlie  accompany- 
ing cut  is  represented  a  selection  of  those  instru- 
ments, some  of  which  are  speculatively  adapted 
to  handles,  together  with  the  representation  of 
an  Assvrian  sap]ier  and  miner  employed  in  re- 
ducing the  wall  of  a  beleaguered  city  by  means  of 
an  instrument  precisely  similar  to  the  British  celt, 
No.  1,  ■nhich  is  shaped  for  the  longitudinal  inser- 
tion of  a  handle.  Moulds  for  casting  these  im- 
plements, as  well  as  swords  and  spear  heads,  have 


.^ 


V„^^^ 


MoDLD  FOR  Castino  Cfl.Ts  AKD  RiNOs,  found  Hear  Walliiigton, 
Noi-lliuiiibtTlaud,  now  in  tlie  ijritish  Museum. 

been  found  both  iu  Britain  and  Ireland—  in  some 
instances  together  with  lumps  of  metal  .ind  quan- 
tities of  cinders  —and  hence  it  is  concluded  that 
the  Britons  were  in  the  practice  of  casting  their 
own  tools  and  weapons. 

Of  the  funeral  depositories  in  which  these  arti- 
cles are  discovered,  the  stone  cist  appears  to  have 
been  the  earliest.  This  is  made  evident,  by  the 
series  of  subsequent  interments  in  the  mounds 


Bronze  Celts.— Drawi:  by  J.  T>'.  Archer,  from  esamples  in 
the  British  Museum.- 1,  Brome  Celt;  2,  3,  6,  7,  Bronze  Celts 
with  handles  speculatively  adapted ;  4,5,  Ditto,  ^  .irious ; 
8,  Figure  using  Celt,  from  Niniroud  Sculptures. 

have  been  subjected  to  analysis,  and  found  to  con- 
tain, in  the  instance  of  a  spear  head,  one  part  of 
tin  to  six  parts  of  copper;  in  a,u  axe  head,  one  of 
tin  to  ten  of  copper;  aud  in  a  knife,  one  of  tin  to 


Cist  containino  a  Skeleton.— From  the  Aichajologia. 

beneath  which  the  cist  is  found.   The  accompany- 
ing cut  represents  a  cist  found  under  such  an  ac- 

1  Meyric's  Original  InhabUants,  and  Phil.  Trails,  for  1796 


BEFORE  THE   ROMAN    INVASION. 


11 


cumulaliou,  near  Driffiekl,  in  the  East  Riding  of 
Yorkshire.    This  rude  sarcophagus  was  reached 
after  the  removal  of  the  remains  of  superincum- 
bent interments.  It  was  found  sunk  in  the  ground, 
till  the  upperedges  of  the  sides,  which  were  formed 
of  four  slabs  of  sandstone,  came  on  a  level  with 
the  natural  surface,  and  was  paved  witli  small 
irregular  pieces  of  the  same  kind  of  stone.     Tlie 
dimensions  were,  on  the  north  side  three  feet  nine 
inches,  on  the  south  four  feet  two  inches,  on  the 
east  two  feet  five  inches,  and  on  the  west  two 
feet  eleven  inches.     It  was  two  feet  six  inches  in 
depth.     On  the  floor  lay  a  skeleton  of  large  size, 
the  thigh  bones  measuring  nineteen  inches.     It 
was  placed,  as   is  common  in  cist  burial,  with 
the  knees  drawn  up,  and  lying  on  the  left  side, 
the  arms  bent,  and  the  palms  of  the  hands  to- 
gether ;  the  bones  of  the  right  arm  were  laid  in 
a  very  singular  and  beautiful  armlet.  No.  4,  made 
of  some  large  animal's  bone,  about  six  inches  long, 
and  the  extremities  (which  were  a  little  broader 
than  the  middle),  neatly  squared.     In  this  were 
two  perforations,  about  half  an  inch  from  each 
end,  through  which  were  bronze  pins  or  rivets, 
with  gold  heads,  most  probably  to  attacli  it  to  a 
piece  of  leather,  which  had  passed  round  the  arm, 
and  been  fastened  by  a  small  bronze  buckle,  that 
was  found  underneath  the  bones.     Immediately 
behind  the  vertebraj,  as  if  it  had  fallen  fi-om  the 
waist,  was  a  small  bronze  dagger  in  a  wooden 
sheath,  having  a  handle  of  the  same,  No.  2;  round 
the  neck  were  three  large  amber  beads  of  conical 
form,  No.  1,  having  the  under  side  flat,  and  which 
were  pierced  by  two  holes,  running  upwards  in  a 
slanting  direction,  until  they  met  at  the  centre. 
At  the  lower  end  of  the  vault,  between  the  extre- 
mity of  the  spine  and  the  feet,  was  a  highly  orna- 
mented drinking  cup,  No.  5,  completely  covered 
with  rows  of  marks  and  indentations,  each  row 
being  divided  by  ridges  or  bands.     About   the 
centre  of  the  pavement,  in  front  of  the  body,  was 
the  upper  part  of  a  hawk's  head  and  beak,  No.  3. 
A  mass  of  what  seemed  to  be  linen  cloth  lay  under 
the  entire  length  of  the  skeleton.'     In  some  in- 
stances it  is  observed  that  bodies  were  inclosed 
in  wooden  coffins,  composed  of  planks  rivetted  to- 
gether with  bronze,  or  of  a  length  cut  from  the 
stem  of  a  tree,  and  hollowed  out  for  their  recep- 
tion.    In  the  soutliern  parts  of  tlie  country  the 
burial  repositories  are  barrows  or  tumuli;  in  the 
north,  piled-up  heaps  of  stones,   called   caii-ns. 
The  former  are  mounds  of  a  diversity  of  shapes, 
some  extending  to  the  great  length  of  400  feet. 
On  being  opened  some  of  these  large  tumuli  were 
found  to  contain  but  few  bones,  and  are  supposed 
to  have  been  dedicated  to  great  chiefs;  others  are 
conical  or  bell-shaped,  which  latter,  fi-om  contain- 

*  Arcluxologia,  vol.  xxxiv. 


ing  trinkets  and  articles  of  female  use,  are  taken 
to  have  been  appropriated  to  women  of  high  rank. 


Trinkets  and  Articles  of  the  Toilet,  fruiDd  in  Koi-rowa  on 
tlie  Wiltshire  Downs. — From  Hoaies  Ancient  Wiltshire. — 
Nos.  I,  2,  Pins;  3,  4,  Gold  Ear-rings;  5,  6,  Bends;  7,  8,  Gold 
Beads;  9,  Ornament  of  amborset  in  gold,  to  be  worn  suspended 
— All  actual  size. 

A  classification  of  the  various  shapes  and  desti- 
nations of  these  mounds  has  been  attem])ted, 
but  the  formula  is  not  entirely  satisfectory.  A 
cromlech  on  the  plain  of  L' Ancresse,  in  the  Island 
of  Guernsey,  i.s  described"  as  a  vault  formed  of 
vertical  single  stones,  or  shafts,  in  close  lateral 
approximation,  or  actual  contact,  supporting  a 
roof  of  large  transverse  blocks,  the  flatter  sui-face 
of  which,  as  of  the  shafts,  is  turned  toward  the 
interior.  The  area  is  usually  of  a  long  triangular 
shape,  having  the  apex  directed  toward  the  east; 
the  capstones  lie  from  north  to  south.  The  east- 
ern narrow  end  of  the  cromlech  is  prolonged  into 
a  contracted  avenue,  rarely  more  than  three  feet 
high.  The  difficulty  of  conveying  the  dead  by 
the  depressed  passage  into  the  penetralia,  is  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  bones  only,  burned  or 
otherwise,  were  conveyed  there.  The  western 
end  is  closed  like  the  sides.  This  large  cromlech 
is  forty-five  feet  in  length,  by  fifteen  feet  wide, 
and  nearly  eight  feet  in  height  within  the  area  at 
the  western  end.    This  space  is  covered  by  five 

2  Arcliaologia,  vol.  xxjcv. 


12 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


larger  find  two  smaller  blocks  of  granite.     The 
western  is  computed  to  weigh  about  thirt^  tous; 


Articles  of  Jewellkry,*  foimil  in  barrows  on  llie  "U'iltshire 
Dow-ns. — From  Hoare's  Ancient  Wiltshire. 

it  is  nearly  seventeen  feet  long,  ten  and  a  half 
■wide,  by  four  and  a  half  in  thickness.  The  second 
is  sixteen  feet  long,  the  third  again 
smaller,  and  so  they  gradually  di- 
minish to  the  seventh.  The  crom- 
lech contains  two  layers  or  burial 
floors,  on  which  were  human  bones, 
m-ns  of  coarse  red  and  black  cLay, 
amulets  and  be.ads,  pins,  &c.,  the 
layers  being  separated  by  flat  frag- 
ments of  granite;  the  iirst  stratum 
lay  on  a  rude  pavement,  placed  on 
the  natural  soil.  The  remains  were 
disposed  in  the  following  remark- 
able manner: — Unburued  bones 
covered  either  end  of  the  floor,  the 
middle  third  being  allotted  to 
those  which  had  been  submitted 
to  the  action  of  fire.  The  urns  in  this  part 
were  of  remarkably  rude  shape  and  material. 


The  bones  were  heaped  together  cor.fusedly,  and 
each  heap  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  small  flat 
pebbles.  The  urns  were  near  or  within  the  rings. 
Some  heaps  consisted,  as  it  were,  of  parents'  and 
children's  ashes  mingled  together,  for  within  the 
same  ring  of  pebbles  were  the  bones  of  indi- 
viduals of  all  ages.  In  this  cromlech  was  an 
abundance  of  the  bones  of  very  young  children. 
I  The  next  stratum  contained  on!y  burned  bones, 
I  among  which  were  interspersed  the  tusks  of 
i  boars.  Be  it  remarked,  that  in  no  instance  was 
I  the  um  found  to  contain  the  ashes  of  the  dead, 
but  had,  no  doubt,  been  filled  with  food  or  liquor. 
I  Four  flat  discs,  from  si.K  to  twelve  inches  in  dia- 
raeter,and  one  inch  in  t  hiekness,  were  found  formed 
of  the  same  ware  as  the  urns,  and  doubtless  they 
served  as  lids  to  some  which  had  broad  flat  edges. 
As  these  liils  are  furnished  with  central  handles, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  urns  were  visited  and 
replenished  from  time  to  time.  About  150  urns 
— some  whole — were  removed  fi-om  this  vault. 
When  these  repositories  had  become  filled  by 
successive  deposits,  it  is  found  that  additions  were 
made  of  collateral  cists,  to  supply  room  for  further 
interments.  The  custom  of  cremation  and  urn 
burial  appeal's,  by  the  independent  style  of  many 
vessels  containing  burned  funeral  remains,  to  have 
prevailed  before  the  intercourse  of  the  Romans 
with  Britain.  A  very  large  and  fine  series  of 
sepulcliral  urns,  discovered  by  Sir  Richard  Colt 
Hoare,  Bart.,  attest  the  variety  of  pattern  used  in 
the  formation  of  these  ves-sels ;  one  in  particular 


^^SlSi 


^^^^^ 


7^^ 


iNTERIOn   OF   A   CroMLECH   O^  TTR   PlMN  OP   L'ANCRESSE,    UUtlRNSEY. 

From  the  Archaiologia. 

which  was  found  in  a  tumulus  neav  Stonehenge, 
is  of  entii'ely  unique  pattern,  and  from  this  pecu- 


*  No.  1,  Ornaments  of  bronze  plated  with  gold,  to  be  worn  sus- 
pended— full  size;  2,  Necklace — half  size;  3,  Glain  NeidjT,  or 
Adder-stone — full  size;  4,  Tweezers. — The  Glain  Neidyr  was 
found  in  a  bell-shaped  barrow — for  reasons  adverted  to  in  the 
text,  supposed  to  have  been  reserved  for  women  of  consequence. 
The  Gemmas  Anguinre,  or  Glain,  were  sacred  to  the  Dniid 
order;  and  the  fact  of  this  specimen  having  been  found  in  a 
baiTOw  of  the  kind  conject\ired  to  have  been  set  apai-t  for  the 
interaient  of  women,  con'oborates  in  some  measm-e  the  conjec- 
ture, founded  upon   some  ancient  \vriter3,  that  females  were 


likewise  initiated  into  the  Dniid  rites  and  mysteries.  These 
insignia  are  small  glass  amidets,  commonly  about  as  wide  as 
our  finger-rings,  but  much  tldcker,  of  a  gi-een  colour  usuaUy, 
though  some  of  them  are  blue,  as  in  the  present  specimen,  and 
others  curiously  waved,  with  blue,  red,  and  white.  Mr.  Owen 
(Owen's  D'ict.y,  says  they  were  wora  by  the  different  orders  of 
Bards,  each  having  its  appropriate  colour.  The  blue  ones  be- 
longed to  the  presiding  Bards,  the  white  to  the  Dnuds,  the 
green  to  the  Ovates,  and  the  tliree  coloui-s  blended  to  the  dis- 
ciples. 


BEFORE   THE   ROMAN    INVASION. 


13 


liaritv,  as  well  as  on  account  of  its  large  size — fif- 
teen inches  in  diameter  at  the  top,  and  twenty-two 
inches  in  height — it  is  distinguished  as  the  Stone- 
hense  Urn,  and  contained  an  iuternieut  of  burned 


Celtic  FuNEHAt.  Drns.— From  Sir  R,  Colt  Hoare's 
Audeut  Wiltshire. 

hones.  It  forms  the  largest  figure  in  the  accom- 
panying wood-cut.  The  vessels  on  either  side  are  f 
richly  ornamented  drinking 
cup,  found  with  a  skeleton 
(primary  deposit;,  in  a  bar- 
row at  Amesbury  Downs, 
andasmall  urn  inverted  over 
an  interment  of  burnt  bones. 
Other  kinds  of  vessels  dis- 
covered, two  examples  of 
which  are  here  represented, 
are  supposed  to  have  been 
used  as  incense  cups.  They 
are  about  three  inches  in 
diameter,  one  of  them  is 
studded  overwith  projecting 
knobs,  which  seem  to  have  been  first  made  in  the 
form  of  glass  stoppers  to  a  bottle,  and  afterwards 
inserted    into    circular  — ,— 


a  ditch,  for  the  security  of  themselves  Hud  cattle 
against  the  incursion  of  their  enemies;"  and 
Strabo  corroborates  this  in  the  following  words: 
— "The  forests  of  the  Britons  are  their  cities; 
for  when  they  h.-ive  inclosed  a  very  large  circuit 
with  felled  trees,  they  build  within  it  houses  for 
themselves,  and  hovels  for  their  cattle.  These 
buildings  are  very  slight,  and  not  designed  for 
permanence." 

It  is  conjectured  that  these  notices  refer  only 
to  the  winter  habitations  of  the  Britons,  and  that 
the  circumvallated  hills  called  British  cainijs,  were 
in  summer  the  residences  and  sanctuaries  of  the 
Celtic  rural  populations.  These  are  the  caer  of 
the  WeLsh  and  the  Gaelic  dn.n.  A  lengthy  range 
of  these  intrenched  hills  appears  on  the  downs  of 
the  Sussex  coast,  and  interspersed  with  them  are 
a  series  of  hills  which  present  a  smaller  surface 
at  the  top,  and  their  site  so  chosen  that  where  one 
occurs  between  two  of  the  larger  hills,  the  next  in 
succession  is  situated  on  a  spur  of  the  downs,  at 
an  angle  with  the  preceding  one,  so  as  to  be 
visible  clear  of  the  chain  of  hills  to  the  next 
eminence  of  a  similar  kind.  These  are  surmised 
to  have  been  adapted  as  beacons,  for  spreading 


holes  in  the  cup,  which 
appear  to  have  been  pre- 
viously drilled  for  receiv- 
ing them.  Between  these 
gi-ape  -  like  protuber  - 
ances  are  other  perfora- 
tions which  remain  open. 
This  curious  vessel  was 
found  in  a  tumulus  near 
Heytesbury. 

The  dwellings  of  the 
dead  have  proved  more 
permanent  than  those 
once  approjiriated  to  the 
living.      "What    they," 

the  Britons,  "call  a  town,"  Coesar  says,  "  is  a  tract 
of  woody  countiy,  surrounded  by  a  vallum  and 


JIOl'NT  Caburn  Beacon,  near  Lewes,  Sus-sex. — Drawu  from  uatuic  aud  uu  wood, 
by  U.  G.  Hine. 

an  alarm  in  case  of  invasion,  or  for  the  rites  and 
observances  of  fire  worship.  The  Herefordshire 
Beacon,  one  of  the  Malvern  Hills,  is  a  conspicuous 
example,  being  surrounded  by  a  triple  rampart; 
and  with  others  of  a  similar  kind,  bears  a  striking 
analogy  to  the  presumed  original  form  of  the 
great  tower  of  Babel,  of  which,  perhaps,  its  con- 
struction was  a  tradition,  and  its  purpose  a  similar 
temple  of  Belus,  for  the  adoration  of  the  sun  and 
fire,  its  type  and  symbol.  We  have  the  authority 
of  Cfesar  for  the  skill  of  the  Britons  in  the  art 
of  castrametation:  and  he  instances  the  capital  of 
C'tissivellaunus,  which  he  describes  as  "admirably 
defended,  both  by  nature  and  art."  A  Celtic 
stronghold  in  Cornwall,  called  Chun  Castle,  may 
be  cited  as  a  remarkable  specimen  of  this  kiml 
of  fortified  habitation.  It  is  girt  about  by  two 
circular  walls,  each  separated  by  a  space  of  thirty 
feet;  the  wails  are  of  the  kind  of  masonry  callcl 
Cyclopean,  being  constructed  of  granite  masses  of 


Incense  Vessels. — From 
Hoaro's  Ancient  Wiltshii-e. 


14. 


niSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


vai'ious  forms  and  sizes,  some  of  which  ai-e  five 
or  six  feet  long,  fitted  together  without  cement, 
so  artificial!)'  as  to  offer  an  equal  external  surface. 
The  outer  w;dl  was  surrounded  by  a  ditch  nine- 
teen feet  wide.  A  portion  of  the  wall  is  ten  feet 
high,  and  about  five  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  sur- 
mised by  Borlase  that  the  inner  wall  must  have 
been  at  least  fifteen  feet  high,  in  consideration 
of  its  bulk,  which  is  full  twelve  feet  in  thickness. 
This  stronghold  has  only  one  entrance,  which 
is  towards  the  south-west;  and  it  attests  great 
proficiency  in  the  art  of  defence.  This  open- 
ing is  si.K  feet  wide  in  the  narrowest  part,  and 
sixteen  where  the  walls  diverge  and  are  rounded 
off  on  either  side.  There  are  also  indications 
of  steps  up  to  the  level  of  the  area  within  the 
castle;  and  the  remains  of  a  wall,  which  crossed 
the  terrace  from  the  outer  wall,  divided  the  en- 
trance into  two  parts  at  its  widest  end.  The 
inner  waU  of  the  castle  comprehends  an  ai'ea  of 
175  feet  north  and  south,  by  180  feet  east  and 
west.  No  indication  of  buildings  appears  in  the 
centre,  but  all  round  the  inner  side  of  the  wall 
are  the  bases  of  circular  inclosures,  which  appear 
to  have  been  the  chambers  or  habitable  pai'ts  of 
the  castle,  similarly  disposed  to  those  in  the  walls 
of  the  Saxon  castle  at  Coningsburgh  in  Yorkshire, 
and  the  subsequent  early  Norman  castles.  These 
chambers  are  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in 
diameter,  but  on  the  northern  side  there  is  a  larger 
apartment,  measuring  thirty  feet  by  twenty-six.' 
Other  vestiges  of  Celtic  castles  of  a  similar  kind 
exist  in  Coi-nwall  and  Wales.  The  remains  found 
within  these  inclosures  throw  but  little  light 
upon  the  habits  of  their  ancient  occupants;  deer 
horns,  heaps  of  bones,  and  the  quern  or  hand-mill, 


Ancient  Qoehn,  from  an  example  in  the  EritlsU  Museum. 

for  grinding  meal,  only  attest  the  pursuit  of  the 
hunter,  and  the  produce  of  agi-iculture,  by  which 
the  lords  of  those  ancient  strongholds  employed 
the  time  which  was  not  engrossed  in  the  more 
stirring  affairs  of  defence  and  warlike  aggression. 
The  observation  of  these  vestiges  serves  to 
prepare  us  for  the  contemplation  of  the  more 
august  remains  connected  with  the  faith  of  our 
early  progenitors,  among  which  the  monuments 
of  Stonehenge  and  Avebury  are  conspicuous. 
The  symbolism  of  the  sun  and  the  serpent,  it  is 
conjectured,  was  betokened  in  their  mystic  order 

1  Anhaologiv,  vol.  xxii.  p.  300. 


and  disposition,  as  well  as  in  the  kindred  monu- 
ment of  Carnac  in  Brittany,  in  which  laud  many 
of  the  tribes  of  Britain  found  a  retreat  on  the 
departm-e  of  the  Romans,  and  the  inroad  of  Hen- 
gist  and  Horsa — the  Teutonic  Castor  and  Pollux. 
The  dolmen  or  quoit — the  witch  stone  of  the 
scared  rustic — is  conceived  to  have  been  the 
Druid  altar  on  which  the  human  offering  was 
immolated,  when  the  Vates  took  their  prediction 
from  the  convulsion  of  the  limb.^,  and  the  parti- 
cular direction  in  which  the  blood  of  the  victim 
flowed.  Whatever  may  have  been  its  purpose,  the 
dolmen  abounds  in  Armorica,  as  here,  and  is  to 
be  found  in  most  parts  of  the  Old  World.  In  the 
ship  temples  of  Ireland,  the  tradition  of  the  ark 
is  thought  to  have  been  symbolized.  The  hare 
stone^  is  associated  with  the  patriarchal  boundary 
and  memorial  stones,  and  may  be  relics  of  a  tribe 
who  reached  this  island  at  a  period  prior  to  the 
Celtic  inroad,  and  among  whom  there  shone  a  ray 
from  the  dawning  of  the  light  now  spi-ead  over 
the  world  in  the  books  of  Moses.  But  while  in- 
dulging in  many  a  surmise  conjured  up  by  the 
evidence  of  those  monuments,  whose  interpre- 
tation lies  buried  in  the  depth  of  ages,  we  are 
awakened  by  the  question  of  by  what  means  of 
transport  those  ancient  tribes  made  their  way  to 
the  shores  of  Britain. 

It  has  been  inferred,  from  some  passages  in 
C'eesar,  that  the  Britons  were  in  possession  of  a 
navy.  In  one  of  these  passages  he  states  that  his 
enemies,  the  Veneti  of  Western  Gaul,  having  taken 
into  alliance  other  neighbom-ing  tribes,  sent  for 
aid  from  Britain,  which  lay  directly  over  against 
their  coast;  but  while  it  is  not  stated  that  the  aid 
thus  sought  was  of  shipping,  no  other  account 
indicates  that  such  was  the  case ;  and  we  find 
no  remains  of  vessels,  but  those  of  the  simplest 
and  most  rude  description,  to  inform  us  of  the 
attainments  of  the  Britons  in  the  naval  art. 
The  canoes  that  still  continue  to  be  dug  up  from 
the  alluvial  beds  of  our  rivers,  and  the  antiseptic 
depths  of  our  mosses,  both  in  England  and  Scot- 
land, are  of  the  rudest  description.  They  are 
made  of  the  entire  trunk  of  a  tree,  and  have  been 
pai'tly  hollowed  bj'  fire,  and  partly  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  stave  adze,  while  the  outside  exhibits 
no  trace  of  ornament,  and  very  little  even  of  close 
lopping  and  smoothness.  Of  the  canoes  thus  dis- 
covei-ed,  the  length  of  the  smallest  varies  from 
seven  to  eleven  feet,  and,  like  those  of  the  Indians, 
they  have  been  impelled  by  paddles.  One  of  the 
largest,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  measures 
thirty-five  feet  four  inches  in  length,  one  foot  ten 
inches  in  depth,  and  four  feet  six  inches  in  width 

-  Hoar  or  hare  stones,  signifying  border  or  boundary  stones, 
the  nuien  hir  or  mennie  gv:yr  of  Wales ;  men  Uars  in  Armorica,  a 
boxmd-stone. — A  Letter  by  the  late  William  Hamper,  F.S.A., 
Arch(fotogia,  vol.  xxvi. 


BEFORE  THE  ROMAN   INVASION. 


1; 


at  tlie  centre.  Another  ves.'^el  of  similar  chai-ac- 
ter  is  described  by  Sir  Jolm  Clarl<  as  having  been 
exhumed  in  tlie  Uarse  of  Fallcirk,  in  May,  172G. 
It  measm'ed  thirty-sis  feet  in  length,  and  four  in 
extreme  breadth,  and  was  finely  smoothed  and 
polished,  both  inside  and  outside,  having  the  usual 
pointed  stem  and  square  stern.  It  was  in  such 
vessels  as  these  that  the  ruder  Britons  cai-ried  on 
their  coastiug  and  river  navigation;  and  in  these 
also  they  fished  with  hooks  of  bone,  and  even 
ventured  to  attack  the  whales  tliat  happened  to 
get  stranded  on  their  coasts  or  in  their  estuaries. 
As  such  vessels  were  evidently  not  intended  for 
adventurous  voyages,  they  requii-ed  little  labour 
or  ingenuity  of  construction,  beyond  the  mere 
hollowing  of  a  pine,  to  render  it  more  buoyant 
upon  the  waters.  The  cii'cumstance  of  locality, 
or  the  genius  of  a  different  tribe,  may  have  ]iro- 


Welsh  Fisherman  of  the  Pbhsent  Day  with  Coracle. 
duoed  the  variety  of  canoes  of  lighter  but  more 
fragile  materials.  These  were  the  barks  of  ozier, 
covered  with  the  skins  of  animals, 
which  were  of  more  ample  stowage 
and  lighter  draught,  but  which  also 
required  a  greater  degree  of  skill  to 
manage,  as  well  as  to  construct  them. 
The  Britons,  at  the  arrival  of  the 
Romans,  were  famed  for  their  in- 
genuity in  basket-worlv,  and  this 
they  had  turned  to  the  purposes  of 
navigation,  when  they  substituted 
for  the  clumsy  log  a  large  floating  basket.  In 
such,  we  are  told,  they  could  make  a  six  days' 
voyage,  and  maintain  a  close  connection  with 
Ireland.  These  vessels,  upon  a  small  scale,  and 
for  the  purposes  of  fishing  and  river  naviga- 
tion, are  still  used  in  Wales  uuder  the  name  of 
cwrwgyl,  or  coracles ;  and  are  so  light  and  por- 
table that,  on  leaving  the  stream,  the  fisherman 
commonly  carries  off  his  boat  on  his  back. 

At  the  period  of  Coesar's  invasion  a  gr^at 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  transition  of  the 
expoi-t  trade  of  the  Britons,  from  the  western  to 
the  southera  shores  of  the  island;  and  an  exten- 


sive intercoui-se  with  the  Gauls,  together  with  the 
intermixture  of  Germauic  tribes,  had  greatly  as- 
similated the  manners  and  resources  of  tlio  in- 
habitants of  South  Britain  to  those  of  the  opposite 
coasts.  Their  land  produced  grain  in  abundance, 
and  they  possessed  numerous  flocks  and  herds ; 
whereas  the  people  of  the  interior,  according  to 
Coesar,  grew  no  grain,  but  lived  on  the  milk  and 
flesh  of  their  cattle.  The  inland  people,  living 
among  their  forests  and  marshes,  and  in  the 
course  of  intestine  wai's  of  tribe  against  tribe,  had 
lapsed  into  a  state  calculated  to  develope  only  the 
ruder  energies ;  and  the  more  northern  parts  of 
the  island  were  yet  lower  in  the  scale,  jjrocuriug 
a  sustenance  from  the  milk  of  their  flocks,  and 
wild  fruits,  and  whatsoever  they  could  procure  in 
hunting ;  but  when  these  resources  failed,  they 
eked  out  a  sustenance  by  devouring  roots  and 
leaves,  and  in  extremit}'  they  had  recourse  to  a 
certain  composition,  by  which,  it  is  said,  when 
they  had  eaten  about  the  quantity  of  a  bean,  their 
spirits  were  so  admirably  supported,  that  they  no 
longer  felt  hunger  or  thirst.' 

In  addition  to  the  abundance  of  fuel  possessed 
by  the  Britons  in  their  vast  forests,  they  ap])ear 
to  have  been  acquainted  with  the  use  of  coal, 
quantities  of  which  have  been  found  in  Bi-itish 
deposits.  According  to  Strabo,  they  had  in  use 
cups,  and  other  vessels  of  glass,  probably  im- 
ported. Many  articles,  fashioned  in  gold  and 
silver  of  great  purity,  have  been  found,  which 
attest  the  possession  and  appreciation  of  those 
metals.  A  fine  specimen  in  gold  was  discovered 
in  a  cairn  at  ]Mold,  in  Flintshire.  It  is  a  gold 
breastplate  or  gorget,  embossed  with  a  fig-ured 
pattern  in   various    degrees    of  relief.      It  was 


Remains  of  British  Ureastplate  or  Gorget,  found  at  Srold,  and  now  in 
the  British  Museum. 


found,  with  bones  of  the  former  owner,  as  it 
had  been  worn,  with  remnants  of  coarse  clotli  or 
serge,  amber  beads,  and  pieces  of  copper,  upon 
which  the  gold  had  been  probably  fastened.  Its 
extreme  length  is  three  feet  seven  inches,  being 
made  apparently  to  pass  under  the  arms,  and  meet 
in  the  centre  of  the  back,  and  its  width  in  front, 
wliei'e  it  is  shaped  to  fit  the  neck,  eight  inches. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  specimens  of  early  Bri- 
tish life  that  have  survived  the  wreck  of  eighteen 
centuries,  and  which  a  growing  .spirit  of  inquiry, 


^  Xi][>ldlin.  in  Sa'n. 


16 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


tiiiil  gi-eater  diligence  in  exploration,  are  continu- 
ally enriching  with  many  mid  valuable  additions. 
It  is  by  such  antiquarian  researches,  be  it  re- 
membered, however  lightly  they  may  be  esteemed, 
that  the  conditions  of  a  race  who  have  departed 
are  made  accessible  to  the  world.  The  buildings 
which  constitute  the  homes  of  a  people,  and  the 
household  utensils  that  minister  to  the  comforts 
of  daily  life,  have  passed  away;  the  costume  by 
which  one  nation  is  distinguished  from  another, 
and  the  personal  ornaments  by  which  the  differ- 
ent ranks  of  the  same  people  are  indicated,  have 
been  more  perishable  still ;  even  the  weapons  that 
were  forged  for  the  violence  of  mortal  hatred,  and 
the  endurance  of  hereditary  feuds,  have  become 
so  dimmed  and  deformed  by  the  rust  of  ages  that 
their  original  uses  ai-e  sometimes  matter  of  ques- 
tion. But,  even  in  the  relics  of  a  barbarous 
people,  this  utter  decay  seldom  extends  to  the 
shrines  of  their  devotion  and  the  dwellings  of 
the  dead.  The  tomb  and  the  temple — the  sacred 
repose  of  death,  and  the  cheering  promise  of  im- 
mcrlality — excite  a  stronger  solicitude  than  even 
that  which  suffices  for  the  erection  of  raratiartsand 


jialaces,  and  are  manifested  in  gi-ander  and  more 
enduring  memorials.  And  hence  it  is  that  in  every 
country  they  have  survived  the  monuments  of 
active  every-day  life,  and  still  remain,  not  only  in 
all  their  original  solemn  silence,  but  with  much 
of  their  primitive  entireness.  It  is  in  these  mau- 
soleums of  bui-ied  ages  that  we  are  often  left  to 
read  the  history  of  a  people  who  have  passed  away ; 
and  it  is  in  this  manner  that  we  are  obliged  to 
study  the  modes  of  life  and  condition  of  character 
that  prevailed  among  the  early  Britons.  Their 
own  legends,  fis  we  have  already  seen,  are  of  little 
avail  to  guide  us;  the  more  consistent  accounts 
that  were  reduced  to  writing,  and  embodied  in 
classical  history,  were  the  testimonies  of  their 
enemies,  and  therefore  to  be  received  with  sus- 
picion, and  only  in  part.  But  in  the  cii-cle  of 
stones  and  its  crumbling  altars — in  the  barrow  and 
its  fimeral  urns — we  learn,  as  from  safe  though 
very  limited  resources,  how  our  earliest  ancestors 
may  have  lived,  and  worshipped,  and  warred, 
and  died,  before  the  destroying  enemy  had  ar- 
rived among  them,  or  the  doom  of  extinction  been 
carried  into  eflect. 


BOOK   I. 


BRITISH    AND   ROMAN    PERIOD.— 504    YEARS. 

FROM  B.C.  55  TO  A.D.  449. 


CHAPTER   I.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 


INVASION    BY    JULIUS    CESAR. B.C.  55— A.D.  43. 

Early  iuhabitanfcs  of  Britain — Motives  of  Julius  Cojsar  for  invailiiig  it — Gallaut  resistance  of  the  natives — (Jresnr's 
second  invasion — His  successes  and  progress — Submission  of  the  Britons,  and  its  terms — Means  of  resistance 
possessed  by  the  Britons — Their  war-chariots,  cavalry  and  infantry,  weapons — Superior  discipline  and  appoint- 
ments of  the  Koman  legions. 


II E  conqucsta  of  Julius  Ciesnr 
in  Gaul  brought  him  withiu 
sight  of  the  coast  of  Britain ; 
aufl,  having  established  the  Ro- 
m.au  authority  in  the  nearest 
countries  on  the  Continent, 
which  are  now  called  France  and 
Belgium,  it  was  almost  as  natural 
for  him  to  aim  at  the  possession  of 
our  island,  as  for  the  masters  of  Italy  to 
vade  Sicily,  or  the  conquerors  of  India  the 
contiguous  island  of  Ceylon.  The  disjunction  of 
Britain  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  the  stormy 
but  naiTOw  sea  that  flows  between  it  and  the  main, 
were  circumstances  just  sufficient  to  give  a  bold 
and  I'omantic  character  to  the  enterprise,  without 
being  real  barriers  to  a  skilful  and  oom-ageous 
general.  But  there  were  other  motives  to  impel 
Cfesar.  Britain,  or  the  far  greater  part  of  it,  was 
inhabited  by  a  people  of  the  same  race,  language, 
and  religion  as  the  Gauls ;  and  during  his  recent 
and  most  arduous  campaigns,  the  islanders  had  as- 
sisted their  neighbours  and  kindred  of  the  Conti- 
nent, sending  important  aid  more  particularly  to 
the  Veneti,  who  occupied  Vannes  in  Bretagne, 
and  to  other  people  of  Western  Gaul  who  lived 
near  the  sea-coast.  Coesar,  indeed,  says  himself 
that  in  all  his  wars  with  the  Gauls  the  enemies 
of  tlie  Republic  had  always  received  assistance 
ti'om  Britain,  and  that  this  fact  made  him  resolve 
to  pass  over  into  the  island.  This  island,  more- 
over, seems  to  have  liad  the  cliaracter  of  a  sort  of 
Holy  Land  among  tlie  Celtic  nations,  and  to  have 
been  considered  the  great  centre  and  stronghold 
of  the  Druids,  the  revered  priesthood  of  an  iron 
superstition,  that  bound  men,  and  tribes,  and  na- 
tions together,  and  inflamed  them  far  more  than 
Vol.  I. 


patriotism  against  the  Roman  conquerors.  With 
I'espect  to  Druidism,  Britain  perhaps  stood  in  the 
same  relation  to  Gaul  that  the  Island  of  Blona  or 
Anglesey  bore  to  Britain;  and  when  the  Romans 
had  established  themselves  iu  Gaul,  the\'  had  the 
same  motives  for  attacking  our  island  that  they 
had,  a  century  later,  when  they  had  fixed  tliem- 
selves  in  Britain,  for  falling  upon  Anglesey,  as 
the  centre  of  the  Druids  .and  of  British  union, 
and  the  source  of  the  reamining  national  resist- 
aace. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  views  of  personal  ambition 
from  which  Coesar  principally  acted,  the  Romans 
really  had  the  best  of  all  pleas  for  their  wars 
with  the  Gauls,  who  had  been  their  constant 
enemies  for  centuries,  and  originally  their  assail- 
ants. Tlieir  possession  of  Italy,  indeed,  could  not 
be  considered  as  secure  until  they  had  subdued, 
or  at  least  impressed  with  a  sufficient  dread  of 
their  arms,  the  fierce  and  restless  nations  both 
of  Gaul  and  Germany,  some  of  whom— down  al- 
most to  the  age  of  Csesar — had  not  ceased  occa- 
sionally to  break  through  the  barrier  of  the  Alps, 
and  to  cany  fire  and  sword  into  the  home  ter- 
ritories of  the  Republic.  These,  and  the  other 
Northern  barbarians,  as  they  were  called,  had  had 
their  eye  upon  the  cultivated  fields  of  the  Italic 
peninsula  ever  since  tlie  irruption  of  Bellovesus, 
in  the  time  of  the  elder  Tarquin ;  and  the  war 
the  Gauls  were  now  cari'yiug  on  with  Caesar  was 
ouly  a  part  of  the  long  contest,  which  did  not  ter- 
minate till  the  Empire  was  overpowered  at  Last 
by  its  natural  enemies,  nearly  five  centuries  after- 
wards. In  the  meantime,  it  was  the  turn  of  the 
Gauls  to  find  the  Roman  valour,  in  its  highest 
condition  of  discipline  and  efficiency,  irresistible; 
3 


18 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaut, 


aud  the  Britons,  as  the  active  allies  of  the  Gauls, 
could  not  expect  to  escape  sharing  iu  their  chas- 
tisement. 

According  to  a  curious  passage  in  Suetonius,  it 
was  reported  that  Cicsar  w.os  tempted  to  invade 
Britain  by  the  hopes  of  finding  pearls.'  Such  an 
inducement  seems  scarcely  of  sufficient  import- 
ance, although  we  know  that  pearls  were  veiy 
highly  esteemed  by  the  ancients;  and  Pliny,  the 
naturalist,  tells  us  that  Csesai-  offered  or  dedi 
c.ated  a  breastplate  to  Venus,  ornamented  with 
pearls,  which  he  pretended  to  have  found  in  Bri- 
tain. But  Cresar  might  be  tempted  by  other  real 
and  more  valuable  productions,  and  he  could  not 
be  ignorant  of  the  e.xistence  of  the  British  lead  and 
tin  which  the  Phceuicians  h.ad  imported  into  the 
Mediterranean  ages  before  his  time,  and  iu  which 
the  Phocajan  colony  of  Massilia  or  Marseilles  was 
actually  carrying  on  a  trade.  Coesar  himself,  in- 
deed, says  nothing  of  this ;  but  within  a  few  miles 
of  our  coasts,  and  among  a  people  with  whom  the 
British  had  constant  intercourse,  he  must  have 
acquired  more  information  than  appears  respect- 
ing the  nataral  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  mine- 
ral and  other  productions  of  the  island.     From 


Jlt-ius  C/Esar. — From  a  marble  in  the  British  Museiuii. 

evident  reasons,  indeed,  the  Gauls  in  general 
might  not  be  very  communicative  on  these  sub- 
jects; but  among  that  people  Cassar  had  allies  and 
some  steady  friends,  who  must  have  been  able 
and  ready  to  satisfy  all  his  inquiries.  His  sub- 
servient instrument,  Comius,  who  will  pi-esently 
appear  upon  the  scene,  must  have  possessed  much 
of  the  information  required.  His  love  of  conquest 
and  glory  alone  might  have  been  sufficient  incen- 
tive to  Ca;sar,  but  a  recent  and  philosophic  writer 
assigns  other  probable  motives  for  his  expeditions 
into  Britain — such  as  his  desire  of  dazzling  his 
countrymen,  and  of  seeming  to  be  absorbed  by 
objects  remote  from  internal  ambition,  by  expedi- 


I  Vit.  JuL  Cics.  c.  xlvii. 


tions  against  a  new  world,  or  of  furnisliiug  him- 
self with  a  pretence  for  prolonging  his  provincial 
command,  and  keeping  up  an  army  devoted  to 
him,  till  the  time  should  an-ive  for  the  execution 
of  his  projects  against  liberty  at  Eome.' 

Whatever  were  his  motives,  iu  the  year  B.C. 
55,  Cajsar  resolveii  to  cross  the  British  Chan- 
nel, not,  as  he  has  himself  told  us,  to  make  then 
a  conquest,  for  which  the  season  was  too  far 
advanced,  but  iu  order  mei-ely  to  take  a  view  of 
the  island,  learn  the  nature  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  survey  the  coasts,  harbours,  and  landiug- 
jilaces.  He  says  that  the  Gauls  were  ignorant  of 
all  these  things;  that  few  of  them,  except  mer- 
chants, ever  visited  the  island  ;  and  that  the 
merchants  themselves  only  knew  the  sea-coasts 
ojiposite  to  Gaul.  Having  called  together  the 
merchants  from  all  parts  of  Gaul,  he  ques- 
tioned them  concerning  the  size  of  the  island, 
the  power  and  customs  of  its  inhabitants,  their 
mode  of  warfare,  and  the  harbours  they  had  ca- 
pable of  receiving  large  ships.  He  adds,  that  on 
none  of  these  points  could  they  give  liiin  informa- 
tion; but,  on  this  public  occasion,  the  silence  of 
the  traders  probably  proceeded  rather  from  un- 
willingness and  caution  than  ignorance,  while  it 
is  equally  ]u-obable  that  the  conqueror  received 
a  little  more  information  than  he  avows.  He 
says,  however,  that  for  these  reasons  he  thought 
it  expedient,  before  he  embarked  himself,  to 
despatch  C.  Volusenus,  with  a  single  galley,  to 
obtain  some  knowledge  of  these  things,  com- 
raandiug  him,  as  soon  as  he  had  obtained  this 
necessary  knowledge,  to  return  to  head-quarters 
with  all  haste.  He  then  himself  marched  with 
his  whole  army  into  the  territory  of  the  Morini, 
a  nation  or  tribe  of  the  Gauls,  who  inhabited  the 
sea-coast  between  Calais  and  Boulogne — "  because 
thence  was  the  shortest  passage  into  Britain." 
Here  he  collected  many  ships  from  the  neigh- 
bouring ports. 

Meanwhile  many  of  the  British  states,  having 
been  warned  of  Coesar's  premeditated  expedition, 
by  the  merchants  that  resorted  to  their  island, 
sent  over  ambassadors  to  him,  with  an  ofler  of 
hostages  and  submission  to  the  Koman  authority. 
He  received  these  ambassadors  most  kiudly,  aud, 
exhorting  them  to  continue  iu  the  same  jDacific 
intentions,  sent  them  back  to  their  own  country, 
despatching  with  them  Comius,  a  Gaul  whom  he 
had  made  King  of  the  Atrebatians,  a  Belgic  nation 
then  settled  in  Artois.  Csesai-'s  choice  of  this  en- 
voy was  well  directed.  The  Belgce,  at  a  compara- 
tively recent  period,  had  colonized,  and  they  still 
occupied  all  the  south-eastern  coasts  of  Britain ; 
and  these  colonists,  much  more  civilized  than  the 
rest  of  the  islanders,  no  doubt  held  frequent  com- 

2  Sii-  James  Mackintosh,  fJist,  Eng. 


B.C.  55 — A.D.  43.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


19 


tnercial  and  friendly  intercourse  witli  the  Atre- 
batiaus  in  Artois,  and  the  rest  of  the  Belgic  stock 
settled  in  other  places.'  C«sar  himself  says,  not 
only  that  Comius  was  a  man  in  whose  virtue, 
■wisdom,  and  fidelity  he  placed  great  confidence, 
but  one  "  whose  authority  in  the  island  of  Britain 
was  very  considerable."  He  therefore  charged 
Comius  to  visit  as  many  of  the  British  states  as 
he  could,  and  persuade  thorn  to  enter  into  an  al- 
liance with  the  Romans,  informing  them,  at  the 
same  time,  that  C;i;sar  intended  to  visit  the  island 
in  person  as  soon  as  possible. 

C.  Volusenus  appears  to  have  done  little  ser- 
vice with  his  galley.    He  took  a  view  of  the  Bri- 


Ulo  Straits  of  Dover, 
GAUL  &  BR,ITAIX. 


'Entihiltyiyii2fs. 


tish  coast,  as  far  as  was  possible  for  one  who  had 
resolved  not  to  quit  his  vessel  or  trust  himself 
into  the  hands  of  the  natives,  and  on  the  fifth  day 
of  his  expedition  returned  to  head-quarters.  With 
such  information  as  he  had,  Cassar  embarked  the 

^  "  It  is  almost  impossible,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  ascertain 
how  far  the  Belgian  settlements  extended  inland  in  Britain ; 
though  there  are  strong  reasons  for  supposing  that  they  covered 
a  largo  portion  of  the  south  of  England.  Tlie  narr.ative  of 
Ctesar  woxild  lead  us  to  infer  that  the  Britons  with  whom  he 
came  iu  contact  were  not  of  two  distinct  racee.  He  must,  there- 
fore, aa  is  evident  from  his  own  account,  have  fonglit  against  the 
Belgian  settlers,  and  have  had  nothmg  to  do  with  the  more  an- 
cient Celtic  population.  The  Belga3  were  at  that  time,  as  they 
are  at  present,  a  busy,  commercial  people ;  and  had  spread,  even 
in  the  time  of  Caisar,  as  far  as  the  Seine,  towards  the  west  of 
France.  If  this  view  of  the  extent  of  the  Belgian  settlements  in 
Britain  be  correct,  it  removes  a  great  deal  of  the  difiiculty  which 
surrounds  the  story  of  the  Britons  having  been  extelTninated  in 
after  ages  by  the  Saxons.  It  is  not  likely  that  military  invaders 
liJte  the  Saxons,  would  either  slay  all  the  pcx-^ants  of  the  coun- 
tiy,  nr  drive  them  into  Wales;  and  it  is  morally  certain  that  so 
poor  a  country  as  Wales  would  sufler  fi-oni  famine,  botli  then 
and  now,  from  the  sudden  influx  of  100,000  foreiguei-s.     The 


infantry  of  two  legions,  making  about  1 2,000  men, 
on  board  eighty  transports,  and  sot  sail  from  Poi-- 
tusltius,  or  Witsand,  between  Calais  and  Boulogne. 
The  cavalry,  embarked  iu  eighteen  other  trans- 
ports, were  detained  by  contrary  winds  at  a  port 
about  eight  miles  off,  but  Ca;sar  left  orders  for 
them  to  follow  as  soon  as  the  weiitlier  permitted. 
This  force,  however,  as  will  be  seen,  could  never 
make  itself  available  ;  and  hence,  mainly,  arose 
the  revei-ses  of  the  campaign. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  a  moi-uing  in  autumn  (Hal- 
ley  the  astronomer,  in  a  paper  in  the  Philosophi- 
cal Transactions,  has  almost  demonstrated  that 
it  must  have  been  on  the  2Gth  of  August),  Caesar 
reached  the  British  coast,  near  Dover,  at  about 
the  worst  possible  point  to  effect  a  landing  iu 
face  of  an  enemy ;  and  the  Britons  were  not  dis- 
posed to  be  friends.  The  submission  they  had 
offered  through  their  ambassadors  was  intended 
only  to  prevent  or  retard  invasion  ;  and  seeing  it 
fail  of  either  of  these  effects,  on  the  return  of 
their  ambassadors  with  Comius,  as  Cresar's  en- 
voy, they  made  that  prince  a  prisoner,  loaded 
him  with  chains,  prepared  for  their  defence  as 
well  as  the  shortness  of  time  would  permit ;  and 
when  the  Romans  looked  from  their  ships  to  the 
steep  white  cliffs  above  them,  they  saw  them 
covered  all  over  by  the  armed  Britons.  Finding 
that  this  was  not  a  convenient  landing-place, 
Cresar  resolved  to  lie  by  till  the  third  hour  after 
noon,  in  order,  he  says,  to  wait  the  arrival  of  the 
rest  of  his  fleet.  Some  laggard  vessels  appear  to 
have  come  up,  but  the  eighteen  transports  bear- 
ing the  cavalry  were  nowhere  seen.  Caesar,  how- 
ever, favoured  by  both  wind  and  tide,  proceeded 
at  the  appointed  hour,  and  sailing  about  seven 
miles  further  along  the  coast,  prepared  to  land 
his  forces  on  an  open,  flat  shore,  which  presents 
itself  between  Walmer  Castle  and  Sandwich." 
The  Britons  on  the  cliffs,  perceiving  his  design, 
followed  his  motions,  and  sending  their  cavalry 
and  war-chariots  before,  marched  rapidly  on  with 
their  main  force,  to  oppose  his  landing  anywhere. 
Ctesar  confesses  that  the  opposition  of  the  natives 


Saxons  would  be  more  likely  to  retain  the  original  British  poim- 
latiou  as  servants  to  till  their  grounds;  and  if  tli.at  population 
were  of  Belgian  or  German  descent,  as  were  the  Saxons  them- 
selves, their  amalgamation  with  a  kindred  race  would  be  sjieedy 
and  comideto.  But  it  is,  as  yet,  uncei-t.oin  how  far  the  Celts 
themselves  were  originally  of  German  descent  also." — Giles*  //i»- 
(ory  of  the  Anciait  Bi-itons,  vol.i.p..*17.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
isl.ands  of  North-Westem  Europe  shoiUd  liave  presented  in 
Cxsar's  time  what  we  find  in  thos'e  of  Eastern  Asia  at  this  day — 
many  tribes  divided  generally  into  two  different  races,  the  one 
inhabiting  the  interior  .and  mountainous  parts,  short  in  stature, 
averse  to  the  sea,  and  addicted  to  hunting;  the  other  rangetl  along 
the  shores,  tall,  and  addicted  to  navigation,  commerce,  and 
.agii  culture. — Ed. 

*  Horsley  (lii-if.  Rom.''  shows  that  C.t'sar  must  have  proceeded 
to  the  north  of  the  South  Foreland,  iu  which  case  the  landing 
must  have  been  effected  between  Walmer  Castle  and  Sandwich. 
Others,  with  less  reason,  think  he  sailed  southwanl  from  the 
South  Forehand,  and  landed  on  the  flats  of  Romney  JIaivh. 


20 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militart'. 


was  a  hold  one,  and  that  the  difliculties  he  had 
to  encounter  were  very  great,  on  many  accounts; 
but  superior  skill  and  discipline,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  some  military  engines  on  board  the  war- 
galleys,  to  which  the  British  were  unaccustomed, 
and  which  projected  missiles  of  various  kinds,  at 
last  triumphed  over  them,  and  ho  disembarked 
his  two  legions.  We  must  not  omit  the  act  of 
the  standard-bearer  of  the  teuth  legion,  wliich 
has  been  thought  deserving  of  particular  com- 
memoration by  his  general.  While  the  Koman 
soldiei's  were  hesitating  to  leave  the  ships —  chiefly 
deterred,  according  to  Cajsar's  account,  by  the 
depth  of  the  water — this  officer,  having  first 
solemnly  besought  the  gods  that  what  he  was 
about  to  do  might  prove  fortunate  for  the  legion, 
and  then  exclaiming,  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Follow 
me,  my  fellow-soldiers,  unless  you  will  give  up 
your  eagle  to  the  enemj' ! — I,  at  least,  will  do  my 


.^- 


Dover  Cliffs.— From  Tiimei-'s  England  aud  Wales. 

duty  to  the  Republic  aud  to  our  general ! "  leaped 
iuto  the  sea  as  he  spoke,  and  dashed  with  his 
ensign  among  the  enemy's  ranks.  The  men  in- 
stantly followed  their  heroic  leader ;  and  the  sol- 
diers in  the  other  ships,  excited  by  the  example, 
also  crowded  forward  along  with  them.  The  two 
armies  were  for  some  time  mixed  in  combat ;  but 
at  length  the  Britons  withdrew  in  disorder  from 
the  well-contested  beach.  As  their  cavalry,  how- 
ever, was  not  yet  arrived,  the  Romans  could  not 
pursue  them,  or  advance  iuto  the  island,  and  thus 
render  the  victory  complete. 

The  native  maritime  tribes,  thus  defeated, 
sought  the  advantages  of  a  hollow  peace.  They 
despatched  ambassadors  to  Caesar,  offering  hos- 
tages, and  an  entire  submission.  They  liberated 
Comius,  and  restored  him  to  his  employer,  throw- 


ing the  blame  of  the  harsh  treatment  his  envoy 
had  met  with  upon  the  multitude  or  common 
people,  and  entreating  Caisar  to  excuse  a  fault 
which  proceeded  solely  from  the  popular  igno- 
rance. The  conqueror,  after  reproaching  them 
for  sending  of  their  own  accord  ambassadors  into 
Gaul  to  sue  for  peace,  and  then  making  war 
upon  him,  without  any  reason,  forgave  them  their 
oU'euces,  and  ordered  them  to  send  in  a  certain 
number  of  hostages,  as  security  for  their  good 
behaviour  in  future.  Some  of  these  hostages 
were  presented  immediately,  and  the  Britons  pro- 
mised to  deliver  the  rest,  who  lived  at  a  distance, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  The  native  forces 
then  seemed  entirely  disbanded,  and  the  several 
chiefs  came  to  Csesar's  camp  to  offer  allegiance, 
and  negotiate  or  intrigue  for  their  own  separate 
interests. 

On  the  day  that  this  peace  was  concluded, 
aud  not  before,  the 
unlucky  transports 
with  the  Roman  ca- 
valry were  enabled 
to  quit  their  port  on 
the  coast  of  Gaul. 
They  stood  across  the 
channel  with  a  gentle 
gale;  but  when  they 
neared  the  British 
coast,  and  were  even 
within  view  of  Cte- 
sar's  camp,  they  were 
dispersed  by  a  tem- 
pest, and  were  finally 
obliged  to  return  to 
the  port  where  they 
had  been  so  long  de- 
tained. That  very 
night,  Ctesar  says,  it 
happened  to  be  full 
moon,  when  the  tides 
always  rise  highest 
— "a  fact  at  that  time  wholly  unknown  to  the 
Romans'' — and  the  galleys  which  he  had  with 
him,  aud  which  were  hauled  up  on  the  beach, 
wei-e  filled  with  the  rising  waters,  while  his 
heavier  transports,  that  lay  at  anchor  in  the  road- 
stead, were  either  dashed  to  pieces,  or  rendered 
altogether  unfit  for  sailing.  This  disaster  spread 
a  general  consternation  through  the  camp;  for,  as 
every  legionary  knew,  there  were  no  other  vessels 
to  carry  back  the  troops,  nor  any  materials  with 
the  army  to  reijair  the  ships  that  were  disabled ; 


i  1,1  : 


llH!  Ill 


^  The  operations  of  the  Roman  troops  had  hitherto  been  almost 
confined  to  the  Mediterranean,  wliere  there  is  no  perceptible 
tide.  Tet  during  their  stay  on  tlie  coast  of  Gaxil,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  Channel,  they  ought  to  have  become  acqnainted 
with  these  phenomena.  Probably  they  had  never  attended  to 
the  irrej^iilanties  of  a  spring-tide. 


B.C.  53 — A.D.  43.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


21 


ami,  as  it  had  been  from  the  bcsiuuiug  C:csar'.s 
design  not  to  winter  in  Britain,  but  in  Gaul,  lie 
was  wholly  unprovided  with  corn  and  provisions 
to  feed  bis  troops.  Suetonius  says,  that  during 
the  nine  years  Coesar  held  the  military  command 
in  Gaul,  amidst  a  most  brilliant  series  of  succes- 
ses, he  experienced  only  three  signal  disasters; 
and  he  counts  the  almost  entire  destruotiou  of  his 
fleet  by  a  storm  in  Britain,  as  one  of  the  three. 

Nor  were  the  invaded  people  slow  in  perceiv- 
ing the  extent  of  Ca3sar'.s  calamity,  and  devising 
means  to  profit  by  it.     They  plainly  saw  he  was 
in  want  of  cavalry,  provisions,  and  ships;  a  close 
inspection  showed  that  his  troops  were  not  so 
numerous  as  they  had  fancied,  and  probably  fa- 
miliarized them  in  some  measure  to  their  warlike 
weapons  and  demeanour;  and  they  confidently 
hoped  that,  by  defeating  this  force,  or  surround- 
ing and  cutting  off  their  retreat,  and  starving 
them,  they  should  pi-event  all  future  invasions. 
The  chiefs  in  the  camp  having  previously  held 
secret  consultations  among  themselves,  retired. 
by  degrees,  from  the  Romaus,  and  began  to  di-aw 
the  islanders  together.     Cresar  says,  that  though 
he  was  not  fully  apprised  of  their  designs,  he 
partly  guessed  them,  from  their  delay  in  sending 
in  the  hostages  promised  from  a  distance,  and 
from  other  circumstances;    and  instantly   took 
measures  to  provide  for  the  worst.     He  sot  part 
of  his  army  to  repair  his  shattered  fleet,  using 
the  materials  of  the  vessels  most  injured  to  patch 
up  the  rest;  and  as  the  soldiers  wrought  with 
an  indefatigability  suiting  the  dangerous  urgency 
of  the  ease,  he  had  soon  a  number  of  vessels  fit 
for  sea.     He  then  sent  to  G.a\d  for  other  mate- 
rials wanting,  and  probably  for  some  provisions 
also.    Another  portion  of  his  troops  he  employed 
in  foraging  parties,  to  bring  into  tlie  camp  what 
corn  they  could  collect  in  the  adjacent  country. 
This  supply  could  not  have  been  great,  for  the 
natives  had  everywhere  gathered  in  their  har- 
vest, except  in  one  field ;  and  there,  by  lying  in 
ambush,  the  Britons  made  a  bold  and  bloody  at- 
tack, which  had  well  nigh  proved  fatal  to  the  in- 
vaders.    As  one  of  the  two  legions  that  formed 
the  expedition  were   cutting  down  the  corn  in 
that  field,  Caesar,  who  was  in  his  fortified  camp^ 
suddenly  saw  a  gre.^t  cloud  of  dust  in  that  direc- 
tion.   He  rushed  to  the  spot  with  two  cohorts, 
leaving  orders  for  all  the  other  soldiers  of  the 
legion  to  follow  as  soon  as  possible.     His  arrival 
was  very   opportune,  for  he  found  the  legion, 
which  had  been  surjirised  in  the  corn-field,  and 
which  had   suil'ered  considerable  loss,  now  sur- 
rounded and  pressed  on  all  sides  by  the  cavalry 
and  war-chariots  of  the  British,  who  had  been 
concealed  in  the  neighbouring  woods.     Ho  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  otf  the  engaged  legion,  Avith 
which  he  withdrew  to  his  intrenched  camp,  de- 


clining a  general  engagement  for  the  present. 
Heavy  rains  that  followed  confined  the  lloraaus 
for  some  days  within  their  intrenchments.  l\tcaii- 
while  the  British  force  of  horse  and  foot  wiu?  in- 
creased from  all  sides,  and  they  gradually  drew 
round  the  intrenchments.  Cresar,  anticipating 
their  attack,  marshalled  his  legions  outside  of  the 
camp,  and,  at  the  proper  moment,  fell  upon  the 
islanders,  who,  he  says,  not  being  able  to  sustain 
the  shock,  were  soon  put  to  flight.  In  this  vic- 
tory he  attaches  great  importance  to  a  body  of 
thirty  horse,  which  Oomius,  the  Atrebatian,  had 
brought  over  from  Gaul.  The  Romaus  pursued 
the  fugitives  as  far  as  their  strength  would  per- 
mit ;  they  slaughtered  many  of  them,  set  fire  to 
some  houses  and  villages,  and  then  returned 
again  to  the  protection  of  their  camp.  On  the 
same  day  the  Britons  again  sued  for  peace,  and 
C;esar,  being  anxious  to  return  to  Gaul  as  quickly 
.as  possible,  "  because  the  equinox  was  apjiroach- 
ing,  and  his  ships  were  leaky,"  granted  it  to  them, 
on  no  harder  condition  than  that  of  doubling  the 
number  of  hostages  they  had  ])romised  .after  their 
first  defeat.  He  did  not  even  w^it  for  the  hos- 
tages, but  a  fair  wind  springing  up,  he  set  sail 
at  midnight,  and  arrived  safely  in  Gaul.  Even- 
tually only  two  of  the  British  states  sent  their 
hostages ;  and  this  breach  of  treaty  gave  the  Ro- 
m.an  commander  a  ground  of  complaint  by  which 
to  justify  his  second  invasion. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  (b.c.  54) 
Ctusar  again  embarked  at  the  same  Portus  Itius 
for  Britain.  This  time  peculiar  attention  had 
been  paid  to  the  build  and  equipment  of  his  fleet : 
he  had  800  vessels  of  all  classes,  and  these  carried 
five  legions  and  2000  cavalry — an  invading  force 
in  all  not  short  of  32,000  men.'  At  the  appro.ach 
of  this  formidable  armament  the  natives  retired 
in  dismay  from  the  coast,  and  Ciesar  disembarked, 
without  opposition,  at  "that  part  of  the  island 
which  he  had  marked  out  the  preceding  summer 
as  being  the  most  convenient  landing-place." 
This  was  probably  somewhere  on  the  same  flat, 
between  Walmer  Castle  and  Sandwich,  where  he 
had  landed  the  year  before.  Having  received 
intelligence  as  to  the  direction  in  which  the 
Britons  had  retired,  he  set  out  about  miilnight 
in  quest  of  them,  leaving  ten  cohorts,  with  300 
horse,  behind  him  on  the  coast,  to  guai-d  his  camp 
and  fleet.  After  a  hurried  night-march,  he  came 
in  sight  of  the  islanders,  wlio  were  well  posted 
on  some  rising  grounds  behind  a  river — probablj' 
the  Stour,  near  Canterbury.  The  confederate 
army  gallantly  disiiuted  the  p.assage  of  the  river 
with  their  cavalry  and  chariots;  but  being  re- 
pulsed by  the  Roman  horse,  they  retreated  to- 

'  lu  tliis  calculation  .an  allowance  of  500  ia  made  for  sicknosfl, 
casualties,  and  deficiencies.  At  this  period  the  iiifuntr)*  of  a 
legion,  when  complete,  amounted  to  0100  men. 


22 


HISTORY  OP  ENGLAND. 
/ 


[Civil  akd  Military. 


wfii'ds  the  woods,  to  a  place  strongly  fortified 
botli  by  nature  and  art,  and  whicli  C'Msar  judged 
had  been  stieugthened  before,  on  occasion  of 
some  internal  native  war ;  "for  all  the  avenues 
■were  secured  by  strong  barricades  of  felled  trees 
laid  upon  one  another."  This  stronghold  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  at  or  near  to  the  spot  where 
the  city  of  Canterbury  now  stands.  Strong  as 
it  was,  the  soldiers  of  the  seventh  legion  (the 
force  that  had  suffered  so  much  the  preceding 
campaign  in  tlie  corn-field)  carried  it,  by  means 
of  a  mound  of  earth  they  cast  up  in  front  of  it ; 
and  then  they  drove  the  British  from  the  cover 
of  the  wood.  The  evening  closed  on  their  retreat, 
in  which  they  must  have  suffered  little  loss ;  for 
Cresar,  fearful  of  following  them  through  a  coim- 
try  with  which  he  was  unacquainted,  strictly 
forbade  all  pursuit,  and  employed  his  men  in 
fortifying  theu'  camp  for  the  night.  The  Roman 
eagles  were  scarcely  displayed  the  following 
morning,  and  the  trumpets  had  hardly  sounded 
the  advance,  when  a  party  of  horse  brought  in- 
telligence from  the  coast  that  nearly  all  the  fleet 
had  been  driven  on  shore  and  wrecked  during 
the  night.     Cresar  flew  to  the  sea-shore,  whither, 


RoM^x  Galley,  from  the  model  presented  by  Lord  Anson  to  Green 
wicli  Hospital. — 1,  Side  Elevation;  2.  Plan;  3,  Midship  Section 
i.  Elevation  of  Stem  ;  5,  Elevation  of  Stern. 


lie  was  followed  by  the  legions  in  full  retreat. 
The  misfortune  had  not  been  exaggerated :  forty 
of  his  shijjs  were  irretrievably  lost,  and  the  rest 
so  damaged  that  they  seemed  scarcely  capable  of 
repair.  With  his  characteristic  activity,  he  set 
all  the  carpenters  of  the  army  to  work,  wrote  for 
more  artisans  from  Gaul,  and  ordered  the  legions 
stationed  on  that  coast  to  build  as  many  new 
ships  as  they  could.  Apprehensive  alike  of  tiie 
storms  of  the  ocean  and  of  the  fierce  attack  of 
the  natives,  Ctesar  ordered  that  all  his  ships 
should  be  drawn  ujj  on  dry  land,  and  inclosed 


within  his  fortified  camp.  Although  the  ancient 
galleys  were  small  and  light  compared  to  our 
modern  men-of-war,  and  the  transports  and  ten- 
ders of  his  fleet  in  all  probability  little  more  than 
sloops  and  barges,  this  was  a  laborious  operation, 
and  occupied  the  soldiers  ten  days  and  nights. 
Having  thus  secured  his  fleet,  he  set  ofl'  in  pur- 
suit of  the  enemy,  who  had  made  a  good  use  of 
his  absence,  by  increasing  their  army,  and  ap- 
pointing one  chief  to  the  supreme  command  of  it. 
The  choice  of  the  confederated  states  fell  upon 
Cassivellaunus  (his  Celtic  name  was  perhaps  Cas- 
wallon),  whose  territories  were  divided  from  the 
maritime  states  of  the  river  Thames,  at  a  point 
which  was  between  seventy  and  eighty  miles 
from  Caesar's  camp  on  the  Kentish  coast.  This 
prince  had  hitherto  been  engaged  in  almost  con- 
stant wars  with  his  neighbours,  whose  afi'ection 
to  him  must  have  therefore  been  of  recent  date, 
and  of  somewhat  doubtful  continuance ;  but  he 
had  a  reputation  for  skill  and  bravery,  and  the 
dread  of  the  Romans  made  the  Britons  forget 
their  quarrels  for  a  time,  unite  themselves  under 
his  command,  and  intrust  him  with  the  whole  eon- 
duct  of  the  war.  Ciesar  found  him  well  posted  at  or 
near  to  the  scene  of  the  last  battle.  Cassi- 
vellaunus did  not  wait  to  be  attacked, 
but  charged  the  Roman  cavalry  with  his 
horse,  supported  by  his  chariots.  Cassar 
says  that  he  constantly  repelled  these 
charges,  and  drove  the  Britons  to  their 
woods  and  hills ;  but  that,  after  making 
great  slaughter,  venturing  to  continue  the 
pursuit  too  far,  he  lost  some  men.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  British  retreated 
far;  and  some  time  after  these  skirmishes 
they  gave  the  Romans  a  serious  check. 
Sallying  unexpectedly  from  the  wood, 
they  fell  upon  the  soldiers,  who  were  era. 
ployed,  as  usual,  in  fortifying  the  ctanp  or 
station  for  the  night,  and  cut  up  the  ad- 
vanced guard.  Ctesar  sent  two  cohorts  to 
their  aid,  but  the  Britons  charged  these 
in  separate  parties,  broke  through  them 
routed  them,  and  then  retired  without 
loss.  A  military  tribune  was  slain  ;  and, 
but  for  the  timely  ai-rival  of  some  fresh 
cohorts,  the  conflict  would  have  been  very  dis- 
astrous. Even  as  it  was,  and  though  Coesar 
covers  the  fact  by  a  somewhat  confused  narra- 
tive, it  should  appear  that  a  good  part  of  his  army 
was  beaten  on  this  occasion.  He  says  that  from 
this  action,  of  which  the  whole  Roman  army 
were  spectators,  it  was  evident  that  his  heavy- 
armed  legions  were  not  a  fit  match  for  the  active 
and  light-armed  Britons,  who  always  fought  in 
detachments,  with  a  body  of  reserve  in  their  rear, 
which  advanced  fresh  supplies  when  needed,  and 
covered  and  protected  the  forces  when  in  retreat; 


ac,  55 — A.D.  43.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


23 


tliat  even  his  cavalry  could  uot  engage  without 
great  ilauger,  it  being  the  custom  of  the  Britons 
to  counterfeit  a  retreat,  until  they  had  drawn 
the  Roman  horse  a  considerable  way  from  the 
legions,  when,  suddenly  leaping  from  their  cha- 
riots, they  charged  them  on  foot,  and,  by  this  un- 
equal manner  of  fighting,  rendered  it  equally 
dangerous  to  pursue  or  retire. 

The  next  day  the  Britons  only  showed  small 
bodies  on  the  hills  at  some  distance  from  the  Ro- 
man camp.  This  made  Caesar  believe  they  were 
less  willing  to  skirmish  with  his  cavalry;  but  no 
sooner  had  he  sent  out  all  his  caealrij  to  forage, 
supported  by  tlirec  legions  (between  horse  and  foot 
this  foraging  party  comprised  considerably  more 
than  half  the  forces  he  had  with  him),  than  the 
Britons  fell  upon  them  on  all  sides,  and  even 
charged  up  to  the  solid  and  impene- 
trable legions.  The  latter  bold  step 
was  the  cause  of  their  ruin:  tlie  supe- 
rior arms,  the  defensive  armour,  and 
the  perfect  discipline  of  those  masses, 
rendered  tlie  contest  too  unequal ; 
the  British  warriors  were  repulsed — 
thrown  off  like  waves  from  a  mighty 
rock — confusion  ensued,  and  CiBsar's 
cavalry  and  infantry,  charging  toge- 
ther, uttex-ly  broke  the  confederate 
ai-my.  The  conqueror  informs  us  that 
after  this  defeat  the  auxiliary  troops, 
which  had  repaired  from  all  parts  to 
Cassivellauuus'  standard,  returned  se- 
verally to  their  own  homes  ;  and  that 
duriug  the  rest  of  the  campaign  the 
enemy  never  again  appeared  against 
tlie  Romans  with  their  whole  force.  ifPil] 

These  severe  contests  had  not  brough  t 
Caesar  far  into  the  interior  of  the  island ; 
but  now  he  followed  up  Cassivellaunus, 
wdio  retired,  for  the  defence  of  his  own 
kingdom,  beyond  the  Thames.  March- 
ing through  Kent  and  a  part  of  Surrey, 
or  the  beautiful  country  which  now 
bears  those  names,  the  Romans  reached 
the  riglit  bank  of  the  Thames,  at  Co- 
way  Stakes,  near  Chertsey,'  in  Surrey,  st.vrk.- 
wherethe  river  was  considered  fordable. 
The  passage,  however,  was  not  undisputed.  Cas- 
sivellaunus had  drawn  up  his  troops  in  great 
numbers  on  tlie  opposite  bank ;  he  had  likewise 
fortified  that  bank  witli  sharp  stakes,  and  driven 
similar  stakes  into  the  bed  of  the  river,  yet  so  as 

*  This  point,  like  most  of  the  other  localities  mentioned  liy 
Ccesar,  h.T3  been  the  subject  of  dispvite.  Wo  venture  to  tix  it 
where  we  do  on  the  autliority  of  Camden,  and  3Ir.  Gale,  a  writer 
in  the  Archn^ologia^  vol.  i.  p.  1S3. 

2  Stako  tlrawn  from  the  bed  of  the  Thames  at  Coway  Stakes, 
presumed  to  be  one  of  those  planted  by  Cassivellauinis ;  now  in 
tho  British  Mtlseum.  A  number  of  similar  stakes  still  reniala 
in  the  bed  of  the  river. 


to  be  concealed  or  covered  liy  the  water.  Of  these 
things  Coc.'iar  says  he  w!is  informed  by  prisoners 
and  deserters.  It  should  ajijiear  that  he  over- 
came the  obstacles  raised  at  the  ford  with  great 
ease ;  he  sent  tlie  horse  into  the  river  before,  or- 
dering the  foot  to  follow  close  behind  them,  which 
they  did  with  such  rapidity  that,  though  nothing 
but  tlieir  heads  appeared  above  water,  they  were 
]ireseutly  on  the  opposite  bank,  where  the  enemy 
could  not  stand  tlieir  charge,  but  fled. 

The  rest  of  liis  army  having  disbanded,  Cassi- 
vellaunus now  retained  no  other  force  than  4000 
war-chariots,  with  which  he  harassed  tho  Romans, 
always  keeping  at  a  distance  from  their  main 
body,  and  retiring,  wlien  attacked,  to  woods  and 
inaccessible  places ;  whither  also  he  caused  such 
of  the  inhabitants  as  lay  on  Ctesar's  line  of  march 
to  withdraw  with  their  cattle  and  provisions. 
Being  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  country,  and 
all  tlie  roads  and  defiles,  lie  continued  to  fall  upon 
detached  parties;  and  the  Romans  were  never 
safe,  or  masters  of  any  ground,  except  in  tho 
space  covered  by  their  intrenched  camii  or  their 
legions.  On  account  of  these  frequent  surprises, 
Cresar  would  not  permit  his  horse  to  forage  at 
any  distance  from  the  legions,  or  to  ]jillage  and 
destroy  the  country,  unless  where  the  foot  was 
close  at  hand  to  support  them. 

The  fatal  want  of  union  among  the  petty  states 
into  which  the  island  was  frittered,  and  the  hatred 
some  of  them  entertained  against  tlieir  former 
enemy,  Cassivellaunus,  now  began  to  appear,  and 
to  disconcert  all  that  chief's  measures  for  resist- 
ance. The  Trinobantes,  who  dwelt  in  Esse.x  and 
iMiddlesex,  and  who  formed  one  of  the  most 
powerful  states  in  those  parts,  sent  ambassadors 
to  Ciesai-,  Of  this  state  was  Mandubratius,  who 
had  tied  into  Gaul  to  Caisar,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
fate  of  his  father,  Imanuentius,  who  had  held  the 
sovereignty  of  the  state,  and  wliom  Cassivellauuus 
had  defeated  and  put  to  death.  The  ambassadors 
entreated  Ci"esar  to  restore  their  prince,  who  was 
then  a  guest  in  the  Roman  camp,  to  defend  him 
and  them  against  the  fiii-y  of  Cassivellaunus, 
promising,  on  these  conditions,  obedience  and 
entire  submission  in  the  name  of  .all  the  Trino- 
bantes. Csesar  demanded  forty  hostages,  and  a. 
supply  of  corn  for  his  army.  The  general  does  uot 
confess  it,  but  it  is  very  probable  that,  thi-ough 
the  wise  measures  of  Cassivellaunus,  the  Romans 
were  at  tliis  time  sorely  distressed  by  want  or 
provisions.  The  Trinobantes  delivered  both  tho 
corn  and  the  hostages,  and  Ctesar  restored  to  them 
their  prince.  Immediately  upon  this,  other  tribes, 
whom  Csesar  designates  the  Cenimagni,  Segon- 
tiaci,  Ancalites,  Bibroci,  and  Ca.ssi,  also  .sent  in 
their  submission.  Some  of  these  people  informed 
Ca;sar  that  he  was  not  far  from  the  capital  of 
Cassivellauuus,  which  was  situated  amidst  woods 


24- 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


rClVIL  AND  SrrUTART, 


and  marshes,  and  whither  multitudes  of  tlie  Bri- 
tisli  had  retired  with  tlieir  cattle,  as  to  a  place  of 
safety.'  Tliis  town  is  supposed  to  have  been 
near  to  the  site  of  St.  Alban'.i,  and  on  the  spot 
where  the  flourishing  Roman  colony  of  Verula- 
mium  arose  many  years  after.  Though  called  a 
town  and  a  capital,  it  appears  from  Ctesar  to  have 
been  nothing  but  a  thick  wood  or  labyrinth,  with 
clusters  of  houses  or  villages  scattered  about  it; 
the  whole  being  surrounded  by  a  ditcli  and  a 
rampart,  the  latter  made  of  iniul  or  felled  trees, 
or  probably  of  both  materials  mised. 

Ca3sar  soon  appeared  with  his  legions  before 
the  capital  of  Cassivellaunus ;  and  he  says,  that 
though  the  place  seemed  very  strong  both  by  art 
and  nature,  he  resolved  to  attack  it  in  two  seve- 
ral points.  He  was  once  more  successful;  the  Bri- 
tons fled  to  another  wood,  after  a  short  stand,  and 
the  Romans  took  many  prisoners  and  vast  num- 
bers of  cattle.  Though  thus  defeated  in  the  in- 
land districts,  Cassivellaunus  still  hoped  to  redeem 
the  fortunes  of  his  country  by  a  bold  and  well- 
conceived  blow,  to  Vje  struck  on  the  sea-coast. 
While  the  events  related  were  passing  beyond 
the  Thames,  he  despatched  messengers  to  the  four 
princes  or  kings  of  Cautium  (Kent),  to  instruct 
them  to  draw  all  their  forces  together,  and  attack 
the  camp  and  ships  of  the  Romans  by  surprise. 
The  Kentish  Britons  obeyed  their  instructions ; 
but,  according  to  Csesar,  the  Romans,  sallying 
from  their  intreuchraents,  made  a  great  slaughter 
of  their  troops,  took  one  of  the  princes  jsrisoner, 
and  returned  in  safety  to  the  camp.  At  the  news 
of  this  reverse,  the  brave  Cassivellaunus  lost 
heart ;  he  sent  ambassadors  to  sue  for  peace,  and 
availed  himself  of  the  mediation  of  Comius,  the 
King  of  the  Atrebatians,  with  whom,  at  one  time 
or  other,  he  appears  to  have  had  friendly  rela- 
tions. The  Roman  general,  as  we  have  noticed, 
states  that  the  authority  or  influence  of  Comius 
in  the  island  was  very  considerable.  It  would  be 
curious  to  see  how  he  exercised  it  in  favour  of  his 
Roman  patron ;  but  here  we  are  left  in  the  dark. 

*  "  If  we  may  implicitly  tnist  the  report  of  Citsar,  a  British 
city  in  his  time  dilFered  widely  from  wliat  we  undei-stand  by 
tliat  term.  A  spot  difficidt  of  access,  from  the  trees  that  filled 
it,  siuTouiideJ  with  a  rampart  and  ditch,  and  which  offered  a 
refuge  from  the  sudden  incursions  of  an  enemy,  could  be  digni- 
fied by  the  name  of  an  oppidum,  and  form  the  metropolis  of 
CassiveUaunus.  Such,  also,  among  the  Sclavonians,  were  the 
vici,  encircled  by  an  ahbulU  of  timber,  or  .at  most  a  paling, 
proper  to  repel  not  only  an  unexpected  attack,  but  even  capalle 
of  resisting  for  a  time  the  onset  of  practised  forces  :  such  in  our 
own  time  have  been  fomid  the  stockades  of  the  Burmese,  and 
the  pah  of  the  New  Zealander ;  and  if  our  skilful  engineers  h.ave 
experienced  no  contemptible  resistance,  and  the  lives  of  many 
brave  and  disciplined  men  have  been  sacrificed  in  their  reduc- 
tion, we  m.ay  admit  that  even  the  oppida  of  Cassivellaunus,  or 
Caratac,  or  Galgacus,  might,  as  fortresses,  have  serious  claims  to 
the  attention  ofa  Roman  commander."  *'lt  is,  however,  scarcely 
possible  tluat  Caisar  and  Strabo  can  be  strictly  accurate  in  their 
i-eports,  or  tliat  tliere  wore  from  the  firet  only  such  towns  in  Bri. 


C;ics.ar  turned  a  ready  ear  to  the  overtures  of  Cas- 
sivellaunus, and  granted  him  peace  on  such  easy 
conditions,  that  some  writers  have  been  induced 
to  believe  he  was  heartily  tired  of  the  harassing 
war.  For  himself,  he  only  says  that  he  was  iu  a 
hurry  to  return  to  Gaul,  on  account  of  the  fre- 
quent insurrections  in  that  country.  He  merely 
demanded  hostages,  appointed  a  yearly  tribute 
(the  amount  of  which  is  nowhere  named,  and 
which  was  probably  never  paid),  and  charged 
Cassivellaunus  to  respect  Mandubratius  and  the 
Trinobantes.  Having  received  the  hostages,  he 
led  his  troops  back  to  the  Kentish  coast,  and, 
crowding  them  into  his  ships  as  closely  and 
quickly  as  he  could,  he  set  sail  by  night  for  Gaul, 
fearing,  he  says,  the  equinoctial  storms,  which 
were  now  at  hand.  He  tells  us  he  had  many  pri- 
soners ;  but  he  certainly  did  not  erect  a  fort,  or 
le.ave  a  single  cohort  behind  him,  to  secure  the 
grounil  he  had  gained  iu  the  island.- 

Tacitus,  writing  150  years  later,  says  distiuelh', 
that  even  Julius  Coesar,  the  fii-st  who  entered 
Britain  with  an  army,  although  he  struck  terror 
into  the  islanders  by  a  successful  battle,  could 
only  maintain  himself  on  the  sea-coast — that  he 
was  a  discoverer  rather  than  a  conqueror. 

We  have  dwelt  more  particularly  on  these 
campaigns,  as  we  have  the  accomplished  general's 
own  account  to  guide  us  ;  and  as  many  of  his  de- 
tails may  be  applied  to  explain  the  other  Roman 
wars  which  followed,  when  there  was  no  Ciiesar 
to  describe  in  the  closet  his  exploits  in  the  field. 
The  sequel,  indeed,  when  we  must  follow  profes- 
sional historians,  who  were  never  even  iu  Britain, 
is  comparatively  uninteresting  and  monotonous. 
We  shall,  therefore,  set  down  the  great  results, 
without  embarrassing  the  reader  with  unneces- 
sary details ;  but  at  this  point  it  will  be  well  to 
pause,  in  order  to  offer  a  few  general  remarks, 
which  will  equally  elucidate  the  past  and  future 
campaigns  of  the  Romans  iu  our  island. 

The  contest  which  had  thus  taken  place  between 
the  British  bands  and  the  famed  Roman  lesions, 


tain  as  these  authora  have  described.  It  is  not  consonant  to  ex- 
perience that  a  thickly-peopled  and  peaceful  country  should  long 
be  without  cities.  A  commercial  people  always  have  some  settled 
stations  for  the  collection  and  interchange  of  commodities,  -and 
fixed  establishments  for  tlie  regulation  of  trade,  Caesar  himself 
tells  us  that  the  buildings  of  the  Britons  were  veiy  nmuerous, 
and  th.at  they  bore  a  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Gaxils,  whose 
cities  were  assuredly  considerable.  Moreover,  a  race  so  conver- 
sant with  the  man.agement  of  horses  as  to  use  aimed  ch.*vi"iot3 
for  artillery,  are  not  likely  to  have  been  witliout  an  extensive 
system  of  roads,  aud  where  there  are  ro<ads  towns  wiU  not  long 
be  wanting.  Hence  when,  less  than  eighty  years  after  the  re- 
turn of  tiio  Romans  to  Britain,  and  scarcely  forty  after  the 
complete  subjugation  of  the  island  by  Agricola,  Ptolemy  tells  us 
of  at  least  fifty-six  cities  in  existence  here,  we  m.ay  reasonably 
conclude  that  they  were  not  all  duo  to  the  eiforts  of  Roman 
civiliz.ation." — Kembles  Saxons  in  England,  vol.  i.  pp.  264-5. 

"  For  the  preceiling  part  of  our  naiTative,  see  Cwsar  de  Bdlo 
Galileo,  from  book  iv.  ch.  xviii.  to  book  v.  ch.  sis.  (inclusive). 


B.C.  55 — a.D.  43.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


at  .1  period  when  the  disoipliue  of  those  corps 
was  most  perfect,  and  when  they  were  commauded 
by  the  greatest  of  their  generals,  was  certainly 
very  unequal ;  but  less  so  (even  without  taking 
into  account  the  superiority  of  numbers  and  other 
advantages,  all  on  the  side  of  the  invaded)  than 
is  geuei'ally  imagined  and  represented.  A  brief 
examination  of  the  arts  and  jiracticjs  of  war  of 
the  two  contending  parties  may  serve  to  e.Kjjlaiu, 
in  a  great  measure,  what  is  past,  and  render  more 
intelligible  the  events  which  are  to  ensue.  The 
fii'st  striking  result  of  such  an  examination  is  a 
suspicion,  and,  indeed,  a  proof,  tkit  the  Brituus 
were  much  farther  advanced  in  civilization  than 
the  savage  tribes  to  which  it  has  been  the  fashion 
to  compare  them.  Were  this  not  the  case,  the 
somewhat  unsuccessful  employment  against  them 
of  so  large  .an  anny  as  that  of  C;i;sar,  would  be  dis- 
graceful to  the  Eom.an  name.  Their  war-chariots, 
which  sevei-al  times  produced  tremendous  eti'ects 
on  the  Komaus,  and  the  use  of  which  seems  at 
that  time  to  have  been  peculiar  to  the  Britons, 
would  of  themselves  pi'ove  .a  high  degree  of  mecha- 
nical skill,  and  an  acquaintance  with  several  arts. 
These  cars  were  of  various  forms  and  sizes,  some 
being  rude,  and  others  of  curious  and  even  ele- 
gant workmanship.  Those  most  commonly  in 
use,  and  called  esseda  or  essedce  by  the  Romans, 
were  made  to  contain  each  a  charioteer  for  driv- 
ing, and  one,  two,  or  more  warrioi-s  for  fighting. 
They  were  at  once  strong  and  light ;  the  extre- 
mity of  their  axles  and  other  salient  points  were 
armed  with  scythes  and  hooks,  for  cutting  and 
tearing  whatever  fell  in  their  way,  as  they  were 
driven  rapidly  along.  The  horses  attached  to 
them  were  perfect  in  training,  and  so  well  in  hand 
fciiat  they  could  be  driven  at  speed  over  the  rough- 
est countrv,  and  even  through  the  woods,  which 
then  abounded  in  all  directions.  The  Romans 
were  no  less  astonished  at  the  dexterity  o."  the 
charioteers  than  at  the  numl-er  of  the  chariots. 
The  way  in  which  the  Britons  brought  the  cha- 
riots into  action  w;xs  this:  at  the  beginning  of  a 
battle  they  drove  about  the  flanks  of  the  enemy, 
throwing  darts  from  the  cai-s ;  and,  according  to 
Caesar,  the  very  dread  of  the  horses,  and  the  noise 
of  the  rapid  wheels,  often  broke  the  ranks  of  his 
legions.  Wlien  they  had  succeeded  in  making  an 
impression,  and  iiad  winded  in  among  the  Roman 
cavalry,  the  warriors  leaped  from  the  chariots, 
.and  fought  on  foot.  In  the  meantime  the  drivers 
retired  with  the  chariots  a  little  from  the  combat, 
taking  up  such  a  position  as  to  favour  the  retreat 
of  the  warriors  in  case  of  their  being  overmatched. 
"In  this  manner,"  says  Cajs.ar,  '•  they  perform  the 
part  both  of  rapid  cavalry  and  of  steady  infantry; 
and,  by  constant  exercise  and  use,  they  have  ar- 
rived at  such  expertuess,  th.at  they  can  stop  their 
horses  when  .at  full  speed,  in  the  most  steep  and 
V'OL.  I. 


dillicult  places,  tui-u  them  which  way  they  pleiwe, 
run  .'dong  the  carriage-pole,  rest  ou  the  liarness, 
and  throw  themselves  back  into  their  chariots 
with  incredible  dexterity." 

For  a  long  time  the  veteran  legions  of  Rome 
could  not  look  on  the  clouds  of  dust  that  an- 
nounced the  a]iproach  of  these  war-chariots,  with- 
out trepidation.  The  Gauls  had  once  the  samo 
mode  of  figlitiug,  and  equ.ally  distres.se<l  the  Ro- 
mans with  their  war-ch.ariots.  Nearly  300  years 
before  the  invasion  of  Britain,  when  the  (jauls 
were  establi.slu'd  in  parts  of  Italy,  and  in  close 
.alliance  with  the  Sanmites,  a  successful  charge  of 
the  Rom.au  cavalry  was  repulsed,  and  the  whole 
army  thi-own  into  dism.ay,  by  a  mode  of  fighting 
to  which  they  were  utter  strangers.  "  A  number 
of  the  enemy,"  says  Livy,  "mounted  on  chariots 
and  cars,  made  towards  them  with  sucli  a  terrible 
noise,  from  the  trampling  of  the  horses  and  the 
rolling  of  the  wheels,  as  affrighted  the  horses  of 
the  Romans,  unaccustomed  to  such  oi)eratious. 
By  tills  means  the  victorious  cavalry  were  dis- 
persed, and  men  and  horses,  in  their  headlong 
flight,  were  thrown  in  heaps  to  the  ground.  The 
same  cause  produced  disorder  even  in  the  r.xnks 
of  the  legions  :  through  the  impetuosity  of  the 
horses,  and  the  carriages  they  dragged  through 
the  ranks,  many  of  the  Roman  soldiers  in  the  ^•an 
were  trodden  or  bruised  to  death ;  and  the  Gauls, 
as  soon  .as  they  saw  the  enemy  in  confusion,  fol- 
lowed up  the  .advantage,  nor  allowed  them  breath- 
ing-time." '  The  use  of  war-chariots,  however, 
seems  to  have  fallen  out  of  fashion  among  the 
Gauls  during  the  long  period  that  bad  intervened; 
for  Ctosar  never  makes  mention  of  them  in  de- 
scribing his  many  battles  with  that  people  on  the 
Continent. 

The  existence  of  the  accessories — the  hooks  and 
scythes  .attached  to  the  wheels  or  axles— h:is  been 
questioned,  as  neither  Caesar,  nor  Tacitus,  nor  any 
early  writer,  with  the  exception  of  the  geographer 
Pomponius  Mela  (who  wrote,  however,  in  the  first 
century),  expressly  mentions  them  in  describing 
the  war-chariots.  Weapons  answering  to  tlie 
description  have,  however,  been  found  on  the  field 
of  some  of  the  most  ancient  b.attles.  Between  the 
Roman  invasion  under  Caesar,  and  that  ordered 
by  tjie  Emperor  Claudius,  the  cars  or  chariots  ot 
the  British  attracted  notice,  and  were  exhibited 
in  Italy.  They  were  seen  in  the  splendid  p.age- 
.antry  with  which  Caligula  passed  over  the  sea 
from  Puteoli  to  Bai;f,  on  his  mole  of  m.asoury  and 
bridge  of  bo.ats.  The  emperor,  Suetonius  tells  us, 
rode  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  two  famous  horses, 
and  a  party  of  his  friends  followed,  mounted  in 
British  chariots.  Probably  Cipsar  had  cai-ried 
some  of  the  native  war-oai-s  to  Rome  as  curiosities. 

'  Tit.  Liv.  lib   X.  c.  xxviii. 

4 


26 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil,  AND  Military. 


just  as  our  navigators  brought  the  canoes  of  the  Tliis,  indeeti.  was  so  much  tlie  ease  iu  the  ensuing 
Indians  and  Soutli  Sea  IsUmders  to  England.  At  wars,  that  the  turn  of  a  battle  w.as  often  left  to 
subsequent  periods,  the  war-chariots  of  the  Bri-    depend,  not  on  the  legions,  but  on  their  barbarian 

auxiliaries,  some  of  whom 
were  as  lightly  equii)ped  as 
the  Britons  themselves.  In 
coining  to  their  offensive 
arms,  we  reach  a  point 
where  they  were  decidedly 
inferior  to  the  Romans;  and 
a  cause,  perhaps,  as  prin- 

Bronzg  Wkapons,  answering  to  the  description  of  hooks  or  scythes  appendeJ  to  the  .isle  of  cinal  as  auv  other   of  their 
British  war-ch.ariots. — Drawn  by  J.  W.  Ai^her,  fi-om  specimeus  iu  the  British  Musemu.  1       *      '     /  ' 

in  variable  defeat  when  they 


tons  were  frequently  alluded  to  by  the  poets  as 
well  as  historians  of  Rome. 

The  ancient  Britons  were  well  provided  with 
horses,  of  a  small  breed,  but  hardy,  spirited,  and 
yet  docile.  Their  cavalry  were  ai-med  with  shields, 
broad-swords,  and  lances.  Thej'  were  accustomed, 
like  the  Gauls,  aud  their  own  chariot-men,  to  dis- 
mount, at  fitting  seasons,  aud  fight  on  foot ;  and 
their  horses  are  said  to  have  been  so  well  trained, 
as  to  stand  firm  at  the  places  where  they  were 
left,  till  their  masters  returned  to  them.  Another 
common  practice  among  them  was,  to  mix  an 
equal  number  of  their  swiftest  foot  with  their 
cavalry,  each  of  these  foot-soldiers  liolding  by  a 
horse's  mane,  and  keeping  pace  with  him  in  all 
his  motions.  Some  remains  of  this  last  custom 
were  observed  among  the  Highland  clans  iu  the 
last  century,  in  the  civil  wars  for  the  Pretender; 
and  in  more  modern,  and  regular,  and  scientific 
w.arfare,  an  advantage  has  often  been  found  in 
mounting  infantry  behind  cavalry,  and  in  teach- 
ing cavah'y  to  dismount,  and  do  the  duty  of  foot- 
soldiers.  A  great  fondness  for  horses,  and  a  skill 
in  riding  them,  aud  breaking  them  iu  for  cars 
and  chariots,  were  observable  in  all  the  nations 
of  the  Celtic  race.  The  scythe-armed  cars  of  the 
Britons  may  be  assumed  as  one  of  the  many  links 
in  that  chain  which  seems  to  connect  them  with 
Persia  and  the  East,  where  similar  vehicles  were 
in  use  in  very  remote  ages. 

The  infantry  of  the  Britons  was  the  most  nu- 
merous body,  and,  according  to  Tacitus,  the  main 
strength  of  their  armies.  They  were  very  swift 
of  foot,  and  expert  in  swimmiug  over  rivers  and 
crossing  fens  and  marshes,  by  which  means  they 
were  enabled  to  make  sudden  attacks  and  safe 
retreats.  They  were  slightly  clad  ;  throwing  off 
in  battle  the  whole,  or  at  least  the  greater  part, 
of  whatever  clothing  they  usually  wore,  according 
to  a  custom  which  appears  to  have  been  common 
to  all  the  Celtic  nations.  They  were  not  encum- 
bered with  defensive  armour,  caiTying  nothing  of 
that  sort  but  a  small  light  shield  ;  and  this,  added 
to  their  swiftness,  gave  them,  in  some  respects,  a 
great  advantage  over  the  heavily  armed  Romans, 
whose  foot  could  never  keep  pace  with  them 


came  to  close  combat.  Their  swords  were  un- 
wieldy, awkward,  and  oflenceless  weapons,  com- 
pared to  the  compact,  manageable,  cut-and- 
thrust  swords  of  their  enemies,  which  could  be 
used  in  the  closed  melee.  But  an  important 
circumstance,  which  throws  the  advantage  still 
more  on  the  side  of  the  Romans,  is,  that  while 
their  weapons  were  made  of  well-tempered  steel, 
the  swords  aud  dirks  of  the  Britons  were,  in  all 
probability,  only  made  of  copjier,  or  of  copper 
mixed  with  a  little  tin.  We  are  told  that  the 
swords  of  their  neighbours,  the  Gauls,  were  made 
of  copper,  and  bent  after  the  first  blow,  which 
gave  the  Romans  a  great  advantage  over  them. 
In  addition  to  their  clumsy  sword,  the  British 


British  Swokds,  Daooer,  Spear  Heads,  and  Javklin  IIeads, 
of  bronze.— Drawn  by  J.  W.  Archer,  from  ex^ples  in  the 
Britisli  Mui^enm. 

infantry  carried  a  short  dirk  and  a  spear.  The 
spear  was  sometimes  used  as  a  missile  weapon, 
having  a  leather  thong  fixed  to  it,  and  retained 
in  the  hand  when  thrown,  in  order  that  it  might 
be  recovered  again  :  at  the  butt-end  of  this  spear 


B.C.  55— A.D.  43.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


w.is  sometimes  a  round  h()!lf)W  b.iU  of  coppei',  or 
mixed  copper  aud  tiu,  with  pieces  of  metal  inside; 
and,  shaking  this,  tliey  made  a  noise,  to  frijjliten 
the  horses  when  they  engaged  with  cavalry. 

"With  the  exception  of  the  Druids,  all  the  young 
men  among  the  Britons  aud  other  (.ycltic  uationa 
were  trained  to  the  use  of  arms.  Frequent  hosti- 
lities among  themselves  kept  them  in  practice ; 
aud  liunting  and  martial  sports  were  among  their 
principal  occupations  in  their  brief  periods  of 
))eace.  Even  in  tactics  and  strategics,  the  more 
difficult  parts  of  war,  they  displayed  very  consi- 
derable talent  aud  skill.  They  drew  up  their 
troops  in  regular  order ;  and  if  the  form  of  a  wedge 
was  not  the  very  best  for  infantry,  it  has  been 
found,  by  the  Turks  and  other  Eastern  nations, 
most  eU'ective  for  cavab-y  appointed  to  charge. 
They  knew  the  importance  of  keeping  a  body  in 
reserve;  and  in  several  of  tlieir  Ijattles  they  showed 
skill  aud  promptitude  in  outflanking  the  enemy, 
and  turuing  him  by  tlie  wings.  Their  infantry 
generally  occupied  the  centre,  being  disposed  in 
several  lines,  and  in  distinct  bodies.  These  corjis 
consisted  of  the  warriors  of  one  clan,  commanded 
each  by  its  own  chieftain;  they  were  commonl}' 
formed  in  the  shape  of  a  wedge,  presenting  its 
sharp  point  to  the  enemy;  and  they  were  so  dis- 
posed, that  they  could  readily  support  aud  relieve 
each  other.  The  cavalry  and  chariots  were  placed 
on  the  wings,  but  small  flj'ing  parties  of  both 
manoeuvred  along  the  front.  In  the  rear  and  on 
their  flanks  they  fixed  their  travelling-cliariots 
and  their  waggons,  with  tlieir  respective  families 
in  them,  in  order  that  those  vehicles  might  serve 
as  barriers  to  prevent  attack  in  those  directions, 
and  that  their  courage  might  be  inflamed  by  the 
presence  of  all  who  were  most  dear  to  them. 

Some  of  the  n.ative  princes  displayed  eminent 
abilities  in  the  conduct  of  war.  According  to  the 
Roman  writers,  Cassivellauuus,  Caractacus,  and 
Galgacns,  all  formed  combined  movements  and 
enlarged  plans  of  operation,  and  contrived  strata- 
gems aud  surprises  which  would  have  done  honour 
to  the  greatest  captains  of  Greece  aud  Rome. 
Their  choice  of  gi'ound  for  fighting  upon  was  al- 
most invariably  judicious,  and  they  availed  them- 
selves of  their  superior  knowledge  of  the  country 
on  all  occasions.  In  the  laborious  arts  of  fortify- 
ing, defending,  or  attacking  camps,  castles,  aud 
towns,  they  were,  however,  deficient.  Their 
strongest  places  were  surrounded  only  by  a  shal- 
low ditch  aud  a  mud  wall,  while  some  of  their 
towns  li.ad  uotliing  but  a  parapet  of  felleil  trees 
placed  lengthwise.  While  the  Roman  camps, 
though  made  to  be  occupied  only  for  a  niglit,  were 
sti-ougly  fortified,  the  British  camps  were  merely 
surrounded  by  their  cars  aud  waggons — a  mode 
of  defence  still  common  among  the  Tartar  and 
other  nomadic  tribes  in  Asia.    But,  as  the  Roman 


war  proceeded,  we  frequently  find  them  giving 
more  attention  to  the  defence  of  their  night  camps: 


Britisu  Foi!T!Fii:D  C'amp,'  in  Sfcmtlimoro,  cfilled  White  Cather- 
'riiiiii.— Fi-om  Roy's  Militiny  Antiquities. 

and  some  of  the  more  permanent  positions  they 
took  up  were  strengthened  with  deep  ditches  and 
stone  walls. 

The  armies  of  the  ancient  Britons  were  not 
divided  into  bodies,  mixed,  but  distinct  as  a  whole, 
consisting  eacli  of  a  determinate  number  of  men, 
recruited  from  different  families  and  in  diifei-ent 
places,  aud  commanded  by  appointed  officers  of 
various  rauks,  like  the  Roman  legions  and  our 
modern  regiments ;  but  all  the  fighting-men  of 
each  particular  clan  or  great  family  formed  a 
separate  band,  commanded  by  the  chieftain  or 
liead  of  that  family.  By  this  system,  which  had 
other  disadvantages,  the  command  was  frittered 
away  into  minute  fractions.  All  the  several  clans 
wliich  composed  one  state  or  kingdom  were  com- 
manded in  chief  by  the  sovereign  of  that  state  ; 
and  when  two  or  more  states  formed  an  alliance, 
and  made  war  in  conjunction,  the  king  of  one  of 
these  states  was  chosen  to  be  generalissimo  of  the 
whole.  These  elections  gave  rise  to  jealousies 
and  dissensions ;  and  all  through  the  system 
there  were  too  many  divisions  of  command  and 
power,  and  too  great  a  disposition  in  the  warrioi-s 
to  look  up  only  to  the  head  of  their  own  clan,  or  at 
furthest  to  the  kiug  of  their  own  limited  state. 

Ear  different  fi'om  these  were  the  thoroughly 
organized  and  iuter-dependent  masses  of  the  Ro- 
man army,  where  the  commauds  were  nicely  de- 
fined and  graduated,  and  the  legions  (each  a  small 
but  perfect  army  in  itself)  acted  at  the  voice  of 
the  consul,  or  its  one  supreme  chief,  like  a  com- 
plicated engine  set  in  motion  by  its  main-wheel. 
As  long  as  Rome  maintained  lier  military  glory, 
the  legions  were  composed  only  of  free  Roman 
citizens,  no  allies  or  subjects  of  conquered  uatious 
being  deemed  worthy  of  the  honour  of  fighting  in 
their  ranks.  Each  legion  Wivs  divideii  iuto  horse 
and  ioot,  the  cavalry  bearing  what  is  considered,, 
by  modern  scientific  writei-s,  a  just  i)roportion, 
aud  not  more,  to  the  infantry.     Under  the  old 

'  'J'liis  camp  is  14S0  ft.  long,  nnd  S;i0  ft.  iviao. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaui'. 


Idngs  a  legiou  consisted  of  3000  foot,  and  300 
•horse;  under  the  consuls,  of  4200  foot,  and  400 
horse;  but  uuder  Coesar  and  the  emperors  it 
amounted  to  6100  foot,  and  726  horse.  Like  our 
regiments,  the  legions  were  distinguished  from 
eacli  other  by  their  number;  being  called  the 
tirst,  the  second,  the  third,  &c.  In  the  early  ages 
of  the  Eepublic  they  had  no  more  than  four  or  five 
legions  kept  on  foot,  but  these  were  increased 
with  iucrease  of  conquest  and  territory,  and  under 
tlie  Empire  they  had  as  many  as  twenty-five  or 
thirty  legions,  even  in  time  of  peace.  The  in- 
fantry of  each  legion  was  divided  into  ten  cohorts. 
The  first  cohort,  whicli  had  tlie  custody  of  the 
eagle  and  the  post  of  honour,  was  1105  strong; 
the  remaining  nine  cohorts  had  555  men  each. 

Instead  of  a  long,  awkward  sword  of  copper, 
every  soldier  had  a  short,  manageable,  well-tem- 
pered Spanish  blade  of  steel,  sharp  at  both  edges 
as  at  tlie  point;  and  he  was  always  instructed  to 
thrust  rather  than  cut,  in  order  to  inflict  the 
more  fatal  wounds,  and  expose  his  own  body  the 
less.  In  addition  to  a  lighter  spear,  the  legion- 
ary carried  the  formidable  pilum,  a  heavy  javelin, 
six  feet  long,  terminating  in  a  strong  triangular 
point  of  steel,  eighteen  inches  long.  For  delensive 
armour  they  wore  an  open  helmet  with  a  lofty 
crest,  a  breastplate  or  coat  of  mail,  greaves  on 
their  legs,  and  a  large  strong  shield  on  their  left 
arms.  This  shield  or  buckler,  altogether  unlike 
the  small,  round,  basket-looking  thing  used  by 
the  Britons,  was  four  feet  high,  and  two  aud  a 
half  broad;  it  was  framed  of  a  light  but  firm 
wood,  covered  with  bull's  hide,  and  strongly 
guarded  with  bosses  or  plates  of  iron  or  bronze. 

The  cavalry  of  a  legion  was  divided  into  ten 
troops  or  squadrons ;  the  first  squadron,  as  des- 
tined to  act  with  the  strong  first  cohort,  consist- 
ing of  132  men,  while  the  nine  remaining  squad- 
rons had  only  sixty-six  men  each.  Their  princi- 
pal weapons  were  a  sabre  and  a  javelin;  but  at  a 
later  period  they  borrowed  the  use  of  the  lance 
and  iron  mace  or  liammer  from  foreigners.  For 
defensive  armour  they  had  a  helmet,  "  coat  of 
mail,  and  an  oblong  shield. 

The  legions  serving  abroad  were  generally  at- 
tended by  auxiliaries  raised  among  the  provinces 
aud  conquests  of  the  Empire,  who  for  the  most 
])art  retained  their  national  arms  and  loose  modes 
of  fighting,  and  did  all  the  duties  of  light  troops. 
Their  number  varied  according  to  circumstances, 
being  seldom  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  legions; 

^  "  The  slow  progi'eas  of  tlie  Romans  in  the  reduction  of  Bri- 
tain, is  a  fact  which  has  not  been  sufficiently  considered  by  his- 
torians. It  forms  a  remarkable  deviation  fi'om  the  ancient 
policy,  and,  indeed,  a  striking  contrast  to  the  conquest  of  Gaul, 
though  that  country  was  the  last  great  acquisition  in  the  West, 
and  defended  by  a  people  as  brave  as  the  Britons,  more  im- 
proved, and  far  more  numerous.  It  is  an  instance  of  the  sud- 
den change  produced  in  their  foreign  policy  by  a  revolution  in 


but  in  Britain,  where  mention  of  the  barbarian 
auxiliaries  constantly  occurs,  and  where,  as  we 
have  intimated,  they  performeil  services  for  which 
the  legions  were  not  calculated,  they  seem  to  have 
been  at  least  as  numerous  as  the  Roman  soldiers. 
Three  legions,  say  the  historians,  were  competent 
to  the  occupation  of  Britain  ;  but  to  this  force  of 
20,478  we  must  add  the  auxiliaries,  which  will 
swell  the  number  to  40,956.  Gauls,  Belgians, 
Batavians,  and  Germans  were  the  hordes  that  ac- 
companied the  legions  in  our  island. 

Such  were  the  main  features  and  appointments 
of  the  Eimian  legions  in  their  prime,  and  such 
they  continued  during  their  conflict  with  the 
Britons,  and  long  after  all  the  southern  parts  of 
our  island  were  subjugated  by  their  might.  They 
were  afterwards  sadly  diminished  in  numbers  and 
in  consideration.  They  lost  their  discipline;  the 
men  threw  ofi'  their  defensive  armour  as  too  heavy 
for  them  to  wear ;  changes  were  made  in  theii 
weajoons ;  aud,  not  to  notice  many  iutermediate 
variations,  a  legion,  at  the  final  departure  of  the 
Romans  from  Britain,  consisted  only  of  from  2500 
to  3000  indilTereutly  armed  men. 

After  Cossar's  departure,  Britain  was  left  un- 
disturbed by  foreign  arms  for  nearly  100  yeara.' 
But  few  of  the  events  that  happened,  during  that 
long  interval,  have  been  transmitted  to  us.  We 
can,  however,  make  out  in  that  dim  obscurity  that 
the  country,  and  more  particularlj'  those  maritime 
parts  of  it  occupied  by  the  Belgse,  aud  facing  the 
coast  of  Gaul,  made  considerable  advances  in  civi- 
lization, borrowing  from  the  Gauls,  with  whom 
they  were  in  close  communication,  some  of  those 
useful  and  elegant  arts  which  that  jieople  had 
learned  from  the  Roman  conquerors,  no  w  peaceably 
settled  among  them.  Besides  their  journeys  into 
Gaul,  which  are  well  proved,  it  is  supposed  that 
during  this  long  interval  not  a  few  of  the  superior 
class  of  Britons,  from  time  to  time,  crossed  the 
Alps,  and  found  their  way  to  Rome,  where  the 
civilization  and  arts  of  the  world  then  centred. 

This  progress,  however,  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  accompanied  by  any  improvement  in  the  po- 
litical system  of  the  country,  or  by  any  union  and 
amalgamation  of  the  disjointed  parts  or  states. 
Internal  wars  continued  to  be  waged ;  and  this 
disunion  of  the  Britons,  their  constant  civil  dis- 
sensions, and  the  absence  of  any  steady  system 
of  defence,  laid  them  open  to  the  Romans  when- 
ever those  conquerors  should  think  fit  to  revisit 


their  internal  government.  The  patriciate  steadily  advanced  to 
universal  dominion,  by  adlierence  to  the  traditional  policy  of 
their  body.  The  measures  of  each  emperor  fluctuated  with  his 
temper  and  his  personal  circumstances.  .  .  .  Wise  and  good 
emperors,  desirous  of  securing  a  civil  and  legal  government, 
reasonably  avoided  conquests  which  might  once  more  tempt  vic- 
torious commanders  to  overthrow  their  worlj." — Sir  J.  Mackin- 
tosh, vol.  i.  p.  20. 


A.D.  43  -440.] 


BraTISlI  AXD  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


20 


CnAPTER  II.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

THE  INVASION  UNDER  CLArDIUS  TO  THE  ARUIVAL  OF  THE  SAXONS. — AD.  43—119. 

lloiiian  invasion  of  Britain  in  tlie  reign  of  tne  Emperor  Claudius— Progress  of  tlio  Roman  gei:ir.ila  Plautiu.'i,  Ves- 
pasian, Ostorius— Brave  resistance  and  defeat  of  Caractaons— Cajiture  of  Mona  by  Suetonius — Kevolt  of  the 
Britons  under  Boadicea — Her  defeat  and  deatli— Agricola  appointed  governor  of  Britain— His  successful  and 
wise  administration — His  nortliern  campaigns  and  (lieir  progress — His  victory  at  l\fij}is  Ommpiiis  over  the 
Caledonians — Operations  of  his  fleet,  aud  its  voyage  round  tlie  island — Inconclusive  result  of  liia  victories  over 
tbe  Caledonians — The  Caledonians,  after  a  long  peace,  attack  tlie  province  of  South  Britain — Graham's  Dyljc 
built  to  repress  tliem — Unsuccessful  northern  campaign  of  Severns — Builds  a  new  wall  of  stone  to  protect  the 
province— Carausius  governor  of  Britain — Decay  of  the  Roman  power  in  Britain — Invasions  of  the  Scits  and 
i'icts — Weakness  of  the  .South  Britons  and  its  causes — Their  feeble  resistance  to  the  Scots  and  Picts — Their 
religious  controversies — Their  appeal  to  Rome  in  vain  for  military  assistance — They  invite  the  Saxons  to  their 
aid — Arrival  of  Heugist  and  Horsa. 


N  the  uiuety-seveiith  year  after  Cas- 
sar's  second  e.xpeJitiou  (a.d.  43),  the 
Emperor  Claudius'  resolved  to  seize 
the  island  of  Britain,  aud  Aulus  Plau- 
tius,  a  skilful  commander,  landed  with 
four  complete  legions,  which,  with  the 
cavalry  and  auxiliaries,  must  have  made  above 
50,000  men.  The  Britons,  who  had  made  no  pre- 
paratious,  at  fii'st  offered  no  resistance;  aud  wheu 
they  took  tlie  field  under  Caractacus  and  Togo- 
dumuus,  sons  of  the  deceased  Cunobeliuus,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  been  King  of  the  Trinobantes, 
they  were  thorouglily  defeated  in  the  inland 
country  by  the  Komans.  Some  states  or  tribes 
detaching  themselves  from  the  confederacy,  then 
submitted  ;  and  Aulus  Plautius,  leaving  a  garri- 
son in  those  parts  which  included  Gloucester- 
shire and  portions  of  the  contiguous  counties,  fol- 
lowed up  his  victories  beyond  the  river  Severn, 
and  made  considerable  progress  in  subduing  the 
inhabitants.  After  sustaining  a  great  defeat  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Severn,  the  Britons  re- 
treated eastward  to  some  marshes  on  the  Thames, 
where,  availing  themselves  of  tlie  nature  of  the 
ground,  they  made  a  desperate  stand,  aud  caused 
the  Romans  great  loss.  In  these  campaigns 
Plautius  made  great  use  of  his  light-armed  bar- 
barian auxiliaries  (chiefly  Germans),  many  of 
whom,  ou  this  particular  occasion,  were  lost  in 
the  deep  bogs  and  swamps.  Though  Togodura- 
ims  was  slain,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  na- 
tives were  defeated  in  this  battle;  and  Plautius, 
seeing  their  determined  spirit,  witlidrew  his  army 
to  the  south  of  the  Thames,  to  await  the  arrival 
of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  whose  presence  and 
fresh  forces  lie  earnestly  solicited.  Claudius  em- 
barked with  reinforcements  at  Ostiaut  the  mouth 

'  Pompoiiius  Mela,  who  wrote  in  the  time  of  Claudius,  ex- 
prrsscs  a  hupu  that  tlio  success  of  ilie  Itonian  arms  will  soon 
make  tli.^  island  aud  its  savage  inhabit.uits  better  known. 


of  the  Tiber,  lauded  at  Massilia  (Marseilles),  and 
proceeded  through  Gaul  to  Britain.  It  is  said 
that  some  elephants  were  included  iu  the  force  he 
brouglit,  but  we  hear  uothiug  of  those  animals 
after  his  arrival  in  the  island.  There  is  some 
confusion  .as  to  the  immediate  etfect  of  the  em- 
peror's arrival,  the  two  brief  historians-  of  the 
events  contradicting  each  other;  but  we  believe 
that,  witliout  fighting  any  battles,  the  pusilla- 
nimous Claudius  accompanied  his  army  on  its 
fresh  advance  to  the  north  of  the  Thames,  was 
jn-esent  at  the  taking  of  Caraaloduuum,  tlie  capital 
of  the  Trinobautes,  and  that  then  he  received  the 
proffered  submission  of  some  of  the  states,  and 
returned  to  enjoy  an  easily-earned  triumph  at 
Rome,  whence  he  had  been  absent  altogether 
somewhat  less  than  six  months. 

While  Vespasian,  his  second  in  command,  who 
was  afterwards  emperor  under  the  same  name, 
employed  himself  iu  subduing  Vectis  (the  Isle  of 
Wight),  and  the  maritime  states  on  the  southern 
aud  eastern  coasts,  Aulus  Plautius  prosecuted  a 
long  and,  in  great  part,  an  indecisive  warfare  with 
the  inland  Britons,  who  were  still  commanded 
by  Caractacus.  Between  them  both,  Plautius  and 
Vespasian  thoroughly  reduced  no  more  of  the  is- 
land than  what  lies  to  the  south  of  the  Th.ames, 
with  a  narrow  strip  on  the  left  bank  of  that  river; 
aud  when  Plautius  was  recalled  to  Rome,  even 
these  territories  were  overrun  aud  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  Britons.  Ostorius  Scapvda, 
the  new  jiroprsetor,  ou  his  arrival  in  the  island 
(a.d.  50),  found  tlie  affairs  of  the  Romans  in  an 
all  but  hopeless  state  ;  their  allies,  attacked  aud 
plunilered  on  all  .sides,  were  falling  from  them, 
the  boldness  of  the  unsubdued  slates  w;us  rapidly 
increasing,  and  the  people  they  held  in  subjection 
were  ripe  for  revolt.     But  Ostorius,  who  had  pro- 

'  Dio  Cos),  (in  tlio  abridgraelit  by  Xiphilinus),  lib.  li;  Sueto- 
nius in  C.  Claud,  c.  xvii. 


^0 


ITISTOUY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Miutaiit 


baV>ly  brought  reinforcetnents  into  the  iHlaml. 
was  equal  to  this  emergency:  l^novving  how  mucli 
depends  on  the  beginning  of  a  campaign,  he  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  light  troops,  and  ad- 
vanced against  the  marauding  enemy  by  rapid 
marches.  The  Britons,  who  did  not  expect  he 
would  open  a  campaign  iu  the  winter,  were  taken 
by  surprise,  and  defeated  with  great  loss.  It 
should  appear  from  Tacitus  that  Ostoriusat  once 
recovered  all  the  country,  as  far  as  the  Severn, 
that  had  been  conquered,  or  rather  temporarily 
occupied,  by  his  predecessor  Plaulius ;  for  the 
gi-eat  historian  tells  us,  immediately  after,  that  he 
erected  a  line  of  forts  on  the  Sabrina  (Severn)  and 
the  Antona  (Nene);  but  it  is  more  probable  that 
this  advance  was  made  by  a  series  of  battles 
rather  than  by  one  hasty  blow  struck  in  the  win- 
ter by  the  light  division  of  his  army.  Ostorius 
was  the  first  to  cover  and  protect  the  conquered 
territory  by  forts  and  lines;  the  line  he  now  drew 
cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  island  nearly  all  the 
southern  and  south-eastern  parts,  which  included 
the  more  civilized  states,  who  had  either  submitted 
or  become  willing  allies,  or  been  conquered  by 
Plautius  and  Vespasian.  It  was  by  the  gradual 
advance  of  lines  like  these  that  the  Romans 
brought  the  whole  of  England  south  of  the  Tyne 
under  subjection.  Ostorius  also  adopted  the  cau- 
tious policy  of  disarming  all  such  of  the  Britons 
within  the  line  of  forts  as  he  suspected.  This 
measure,  always  odious,  and  never  to  be  earned 
into  effect  without  shameful  abuses  of  power,  par- 
ticularlv  exasperated  those  Britons  within  the 
Hue  who,  like  the  Iceni,  had  not  been  conquered, 
but,  of  their  own  good  and  free  will,  had  become 
the  allies  of  the  Romans.  Enemies  could  not  treat 
them  worse  than  such  friends — t]ie  surrender  of 
arms  was  the  worst  consequence  that  could  result 
from  defeat  in  a  war  which  they  had  not  yet 
essayed.  It  would  also  naturally  occur  to  them, 
that  if  the  Romans  were  permitted  to  coop  them 
up  within  military  posts,  and  sever  them  from 
the  rest  of  the  island,  their  independence,  whether 
unarmed  or  armed,  w;is  completely  sacrificed. 

The  Iceni,  a  brave  tribe,  who  are  supposed  to 
have  dwelt  in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  took  up  arms, 
formed  a  league  with  their  neighbours,  and  chose 
their  ground  for  a  decisive  battle.  They  were 
beaten  by  Ostoriu.?,  after  having  fought  obsti- 
nately to  the  last,  and  giving  signal  proofs  of  cou- 
rage. After  the  defeat  of  the  Iceni  and  their  allies 
the  Romans  marched  beyond  their  line  of  demar- 
cation against  a  people  called  the  Cangi;  and, 
Tacitus  says,  they  got  within  a  short  march  of 
that  sea  that  lies  between  Britain  and  Ireland. 
From  the  pur.suit  of  this  timid  enemy,  Ostorius 
was  recalled  by  a  rising  of  the  Brigantes,  who 
occu])ied  Yorkshire,  with  pnrts  of  Lancashire  and 
the  ailjoining  counties.     Having  subdued  these 


in  their  tiu'n,  and  drawn  a  camp  and  fixed  a  co- 
lony of  veterans  among  them,  Ostorius  marched 
rapidly  .against  the  Sikires — the  inhabitants  of 
South  Wales — the  fiercest  and  most  olistinate 
enemies  the  Romans  ever  encountered  in  South 
Britain.  To  their  natural  ferocity,  s.ays  Tacitus, 
these  people  added  the  courage  which  they  now 
derived  from  the  presence  of  Cai-actacus.     His 


Larbaeian  Prisoner.^ — i>iuwn  by  -T,  W.  Archer,  from  a 
marble  iu  the  BrltiBh  Mu^seuia. 


valour,  and  the  various  turns  of  his  fortune,  had 
spread  the  fame  of  this  heroic  chief  throughout 
the  island.  His  knowledge  of  the  country,  and 
his  admirable  skill  in  the  stratagems  of  war,  were 
great  advantages;  but  he  could  not  hope,  with 
inferior  forces,  to  beat  a  well-disci]5lined  Roman 
army.  He  therefore  retired  to  the  territory  of 
the  Ordovices,  which  seems  to  have  included 
within  it  nearly  all  North  "Wales.  Having  drawn 
thither  to  his  standard  all  who  considered  peace 
with  the  Romans  as  another  word  for  slavery,  he 
resolved  to  wait  firmly  the  issue  of  a  battle.  Ac- 
cording to  the  great  historian,  he  chose  his  field 
with  admirable  art.  It  was  rendered  safe  by  steep 
and  craggy  hills.  In  parts  where  the  mountains 
opened,  and  the  easy  acclivity  afforded  an  ascent, 
he  raised  a  rampart  of  massy  stones.  A  river 
which  offei'cd  no  safe  ford  flowed  between  him 
and  the  enemy,  and  a  part  of  his  forces  showed 
themselves  in  front  of  his  ramparts. 

As  the  Romans  approached,  the  chieftains  of 
the  confederated  British  clans  rushed  along  the 
ranks,  exhorting  their  men,  and  Caractacus  ani- 
mated the  whole.  There  is  a  lofty  hill  in  Shrop- 
shire, near  to  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Colne 
and  Teme,  which  is  generally  believed  to  be  the 

'  Tills  fiiie  head,  remavk.ible  from  its  expression  of  heroic  me- 
lancholy, is  conjectured  to  represent  the  imago  of  Caractacus, 
and  is  figured,  accordingly,  in  the  DUettanti  Society's  publica- 
tion of  Antique  Marbles  and  Bronzes,  with  a  description  by 
n.  P.  Kniaht. 


i.D.  43—449.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN   PERIOD. 


31 


scene  of  the  liero's  last  .action.  Its  ridges  are 
furroweJ  by  trendies,  .and  still  retain  fr.agnients 
of  a  loose  stone  rampart,  and  the  hill  for  many 
ceutnries  h.oa  been  called  by  the  pooiile  Caer-Ca- 
radoc,  or  the  castle  or  fortitied  place  of  Caradoc, 
supposed  to  be  the  British  name  of  Caractacns. 
Ostorins  was  .astouished  at  the  eseellent  arrange- 


Plan  of  BruTlsu  Cajit  on  C'ox.il  Knoll.'—  From  Roy  s  Milit.ary 
Antiquities. 

ment  and  spirit  he  saw,  but  bis  numbers,  disci- 
pline, and  superior  arms,  once  more  gained  him 
a  victory.  Tacitus  says  that  the  Britons,  having 
neither  breast]ilates  uor  helmets,  could  not  main- 
tain the  conflict — that  the  better  Roman  swords 
and  spears  made  dreadful  liavock — that  the  vic- 
tory was  complete.  Caractacns  escaped  from  the 
carnage ;  but  his  wife  and  daughter  were  taken 
prisoners,  and  his  brothers  surrendered  soon  after 
the  battle.  The  hero  himself  did  not,  however, 
escapo  long,  for  having  taken  refuge  with  his  steji- 
mother,  Cartismandua,  Queen  of  the  Brigantcs, 
that  heartless  woman  caused  him  to  bo  put  in 
chains,  and  delivered  up  to  the  Romans.  From 
the  camp  of  Ostorius  he  was  carried,  w'ith  his 
wife  and  all  his  family,  to  the  foot  of  the  emperor's 
throne.  All  Rome — all  Italy  were  impatient  to 
gaze  on  the  indomitable  Briton,  who  for  nine 
years  had  bidden  defiauce  to  the  masters  of  the 
world.  His  name  was  everywhere  known,  and 
he  was  everywhere  received  with  marked  respect. 
In  the  presence  of  Claudius  his  friends  and  family 
quailed  and  begged  for  mercy;  he  alone  was  su- 
perior to  misfortune:  his  speech  was  manly  with- 
out being  insolent — his  countenance  still  unaltered, 
not  a  symptom  of  fear  appearing — no  sorrow,  no 
mean  condescension;  he  was  great  and  dignified 
even  in  ruin.    This  magnanimous  behaviour  no 

*  Caer-Caradoc  was  supposed  by  Camden  to  be  the  scone  of  the 
final  struggle  between  CaractAcus  and  Ostorius ;  but,  fi'om  vari- 
ous circumstances  mentioned  by  Tacitus  refemng  clearly  to  the 
geography  of  the  spot,  and  with  which  the  site  of  Coxal  KnoU 
alone  corresponds,  Uoy,  supported  by  other  good  authorities, 
believes  that  locality  to  liavo  been  the  true  scene  of  the  action, 
and  Caer-Caradoc  to  have  been  merely  the  castle  of  Caractacns. 
Cosal  Knoll  is  situated  on  the  river  Teme,  between  Knighton 
and  Lentw.anlijie,  some  miles  distant  from  Caer-Caradoc.  Here 
the  remains  of  a  British  camp  still  exist,  measuring  1700  ft.  in 
length;  with  a  breadth,  where  widest,  of  720  ft.,  and,  where uar- 
toweat,  of  000  ft. 


'  doubt  contributed  toprocurehim  milder  treatment 
than  the  Roman  comiuerors  usually  bestowed  on 
captive  princes;  his  cliains  and  tlio.soof  his  family 
were  instantly  struck  off.  At  this  crisis  T.acitus 
leaves  him,  and  his  subsequent  history  is  altoge- 
ther unknown. 

Their  sanguinary  defeat  and  the  loss  of  Carac- 
tacns did  not  break  the  spirit  of  the  Silure.s. 
They  fell  upon  the  Romans  soon  after,  broke*  up 
their  fortified  camp,  and  prevented  them  from 
erecting  a  line  of  forts  across  their  country.  The 
prefect  of  the  camp,  with  eight  centurions  and 
the  bravest  of  his  soldiers,  \va.s  slain;  ami,  but 
for  the  arrival  of  reinforcements,  the  whole  de- 
tachment would  have  been  sacrificed.  A  for.ag- 
iug  party,  and  the  strong  detachments  sent  to 
its  support,  were  routed;  this  forced  Ostorius  to 
bring  his  legions  into  action,  but,  even  with  his 
whole  force,  his  success  was  doubtful.  Continual 
and  most  hai'assing  attacks  and  surprises  fol- 
lowed, till  at  length  Ostorius,  the  victor  of  Carac- 
tacns, sunk  under  the  fatigue  and  vexation,  and 
expired,  to  the  joy  of  the  Britons,  who  boasted 
that  though  he  had  not  fallen  in  battle,  it  was 
still  their  war  which  had  brought  him  to  the 
grave.  The  country  of  the  Silures,  intersected 
by  numerous  and  rapid  rivers,  heaped  into  moun- 
tains, with  winding  and  narrow  defiles,  and  co- 
vered with  forests,  became  the  grave  of  many 
other  Rom;ins;  and  it  was  not  till  the  reign  of 
Vespasian,  and  more  than  twenty  years  after  the 
death  of  Ostorius,  that  it  was  conquered  by  Julius 
Froutinus. 

For  some  time  the  Roman  power  in  Britain 
was  stationary,  or,  at  most,  it  made  very  little 
l)rogress  under  Aulus  Didius  and  Veranius,  the 
immediate  successors  of  Ostorius.  Indeed,  under 
these  governors,  the  Emperor  Nero,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded his  father  Claudius,  is  said  to  have  seri- 
ously entertained  the  thought  of  withdrawing  the 
troops,  and  abandoning  the  island  altogether^so 
profitless  and  uncertain  seemed  the  Roman  pos- 
session of  Britain. 

But  the  next  governor,  Paulinus  Suetonius,  an 
officer  of  distinguished  merit  (.\.D.  59- Gl),  revived 
the  spirit  of  the  conquerors.  Being  well  aware 
that  the  Island  of  jNIona,  now  Anglesey,  was  the 
chief  seat  of  the  Druids,  the  refuge-place  of  the 
defeated  British  warriors,  and  of  the  disalfectcd 
generally,  he  resolved  to  subdue  it.  In  order  to 
facilitate  his  approach,  he  ordered  the  construc- 
tion of  a  number  of  flat-bottomed  boats ;  in 
these  he  transported  his  infantry  over  the  strait 
which  divides  the  island  from  the  main  (the 
Menai),  while  the  cavalry  were  to  find  tlieir  way 
across,  partly  by  fording  and  partly  by  swimming. 
The  Britons  added  the  terroi-s  of  their  supersti- 
tion to  the  force  of  their  arms  for  the  defence  of 
this  sacred  island.   "  On  the  opposite  shore,"  says 


52 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militart. 


Tacitus,  "  there  stood  a  widely  diversified  host : 
there  were  armed  men  in  dense  array,  and  women 
running  among  them,  wlio  in  dismal  dresses,  and 
with  dishevelled  hair,  like  furies,  carried  flaming 
torches.  Around  were  Druids,  pouring  forth 
curses,  lifting  up  their  hands  to  heaven,  and 
striking  terror,  by  the  novelty  of  their  appear- 
ance, into  the  hearts  of  the  Roman  soldiers,  who, 
as  if  their  limbs  were  pai-alyzed,  exposed  them- 
selves motionless  to  the  blows  of  the  enemy.  At 
last,  aroused  by  the  exhortations  of  their  leader, 
and  stimulating  one  another  to  despise  a  frantic 
band  of  women  and  priests,  they  make  their  on- 
set, overthrow  their  foes,  and  burn  them  in  the 
fires  which  they  themselves  had  kindled  for  others. 
A  garrison  was  afterwards  placed  there  among 
the  conquered,  and  the  groves  sacred  to  their 
cruel  superstition  were  cut  down." 

But  while  Suetonius  was  engaged  in  secui-ing 
the  sacred  island,  events  took  place  in  his  rear 
which  went  far  to  commit  the  safety  of  the  entire 
empire  of  the  Romans   in  Britain.     His  attack 
on  the  Druids  and  the  grove  of  Mona  could  not 
fail  to  exasperate  all  the  British  tribes  that  clung 
to  their  ancient  worship :  other  and  recent  cau.ses 
of  provocation  were  particular  to  certain  of  the 
states.     The  Romans,  in   the  colonies  they  had 
planted  in  the  island,  indulged  too  freely  in  what 
are  called  the  rights  of  conquest:  they  treated  the 
Britons  with  cruelty  and  oppression ;  they  drove 
them  from  their  houses,  and,  adding  insult  to 
wrong,  called  them  by  the  opprobrious  name  of 
slaves.     In  these  acts  the  veterans  or  superiors 
were  actively  seconded  by  the  common  soldiery 
— a  class  of  men  who,  in  the  words  of  Tacitus, 
are  by  their  habits  of  life  trained  to  licentious- 
ness.   The  conquerors,  too,  had  introduced  priests 
of  their  own  creed  ;  and  these,  "  with  a  pretended 
zeal  for  religion,  devoured  the  substance  of  the 
land."    Boadicea,  widow  of  King  Prasutagus,  and 
now  Queen  of  the  Iceni,  probably  because  she 
remonstrated  against  the  forcible  seizure  of  the 
territory  her  husband  bequeathed  her,  or  possibly 
because  she  attempted  to  resist  the  Romans  in 
their  plunder,  was  treated  with  the  utmost  bar- 
barity: Catus,  the  procurator,  caused  her  to  be 
scourged,  her  daugliters  to  be  violated  in  her 
presence,  and  the  relations  of  her  deceased  hus- 
Ijand  to  be  reduced  to  slavery.     Her  unheard-of 
Avrongs,  the  dignity  of  her  birth,  the  energy  of 
her  character,  made  Boadicea  the  proper  rallying 
point;  and  immediately  an  extensive  ai-nied  le.igue 
intrusted  her  with  the  supreme  command.     Boa- 
dicea's  own  subjects  were  joined  by  the  Trino- 
bantes;  and  the  neighbouring  states,  not  as  yet 
broken  into  a   slavish   submission,  engaged   in 
secret  councils  to  stand  forward  in  the  cause  of 
national  liberty.     They  were  all  encouraged  by 
the  absence  of  Suetonius,  and  thought  it  no  diffi- 


cult enterprise  to  overrun  a  colony  undefended 
by  a  single  fortification.  Tacitus  says  (and  the 
statement  is  curious,  considering  their  recent  and 
uncertain  tenure)  that  the  Roman  governors  had 
attended  to  improvements  of  taste  and  elegance, 
but  neglected  the  useful — that  they  hail  embel- 
lished the  province,  but  taken  no  pains  to  put  it 
in  a  state  of  defence.  The  storm  first  burst  on 
the  colony  of  C'amalodunum,  which  was  laid  waste 
with  fire  and  sword,  a  legion  which  marched  to 
its  relief  being  cut  to  pieces.  Catus,  the  procu- 
rator, terrified  at  the  fury  his  own  enormities  had 
mainly  excited,  fled,  and  effected  his  escape  into 
Gaul.  On  receiving  the  news  of  these  disasters, 
Suetonius  hurried  across  the  Meuai  Strait,  and, 
marching  through  the  heart  of  the  country,  came 
to  London,  which  city,  though  not  yet  dignified 
with  the  name  of  a  Roman  colony,  was  a  popu- 
lous, trading,  and  prosperous  place.  He  soon 
found  he  could  not  maintain  that  important  town, 
and  therefore  determined  to  evacuate  it.  The  in- 
habitants, who  foresaw  the  fate  of  the  fair  town, 
implored  him  with  tears  to  change  his  plan,  but 
in  vain.  The  signal  for  the  march  was  given,  the 
legions  defiled  through  the  gates,  but  all  the  citi- 
zens who  chose  to  follow  their  eagles  were  taken 
under  their  protection.  They  had  scarcely  cleared 
out  from  London  when  the  Britons  entered:  of 
all  those  who,  from  age,  or  weakness,  or  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  spot,  had  thought  proper  to  remain 
behind,  scarcely  one  escaped.  Tlie  inhabitants  of 
Verulamium  were  in  like  manner  utterly  annihi- 
lated, and,  the  carnage  still  spreading,  no  fewer 
than  70,000  Romans  and  their  confederates  fell 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  The  infuriated  in- 
surgents made  no  prisoners,  gave  no  quarter,  but 
employed  the  gibbet,  the  fire,  and  the  cross,  with- 
out distinction  of  age  or  sex. 

Suetonius,  having  received  reinforcements  which 
made  his  army  amount  to  about  10,000  men,  all 
highly  disciplined,  chose  an  advantageous  field, 
and  waited  the  battle.  The  Britons  were  also 
reinforced,  and  from  all  quarters :  Tacitus  says 
they  were  an  incredible  multitude,  but  their 
ranks  were  swelled  and  weakened  by  women 
and  children.  They  were  the  assailants,  and  at- 
tacked the  Romans  in  the  front  of  their  strong 
position. 

Previously  to  the  first  charge,  Boadicea,mounted 
in  a  war-chariot,  with  her  long  yellow  hair  stream- 
ing to  her  feet,  with  her  two  injured  daughteis 
beside  her,  drove  tlu-ough  the  ranks,  and  harangued 
the  tribes  or  nations,  each  in  its  turn.'  She  re- 
minded them  that  she  was  not  the  first  woman 
that  had  led  the  Britons  to  battle ;  she  spoke  of 
her  own  irreparable  wrongs,  of  the  wrongs  of  her 

1  Dio  has  described  her  coetxune  as  being  a  plaited  tunic  nf 
.arious  colours,  a  chain  of  gold  round  her  waist,  and  a  long 
luantle  over  all. — Dio  Ntc,  apud  XiphiL 


AD.  43—419] 


BRITISH  AND  E051AN   PERIOD. 


3-i 


people  and  all  their  neighbours,  ami  said  wliatever 
was  most  calculated  to  spirit  them  against  their 
j)roud  and  licentious  op]5re.ssoi-s.  The  Drilons, 
however,  were  defeated  witli  treiueiidous  loss,  and 
the  wretched  Boadicea  put  an  end  to  her  exist- 
ence by  taking  poison.  As  if  not  to  be  beliiud 
tl»e  barbarity  of  those  they  emphatically  styled 
barbarians,  the  Romans  committed  an  indiscrimi- 
nate massacre,  visiting  with  fire  aud  sword  not 
only  the  lands  of  those  who  had  joined  the  revolt, 
but  of  those  who  were  only  suspected  of  having 
wavered  in  their  allegiance  to  the  emperor.  Taci- 
tus estimates  the  number  of  the  Britons  who  were 
thus  destroj-ed  at  80,000  ;  and  in  the  train  of  war 
and  devastation  followed  famine  and  disease.  But 
the  despondence  of  sickness  aud  the  pangs  of 
hunger  could  not  induce  them  to  submit ;  and 
though  Suetonius  received  important  reinforce- 
ments from  the  Continent  (according  to  Tacitus,  by 
the  directions  of  the  Emperor  Nero,  2000  legion- 
ary soldiers,  eight  auxiliai-y  cohorts,  aud  1000  horee, 
were  sent  to  him  from  Germany),  aud  retained 
the  command  some  time  longer,  he  left  the  island 
without  finishing  this  war ;  and,  notwithstandiug 
Ids  victories  over  the  Druids  and  Boadicea,  his 
iaimediate  successors  were  obliged  to  relapse  into 
inactivity,  or  merely  to  stand  ou  the  defensive, 
■without  attemjiting  the  extension  of  their  do- 
minions. 

Some  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  after  the  de- 
parture of  Suetouius,  the  Romans  recommenced 
their  former  movements  (a.d.  75-78),  and  Ju- 
lius Froutinus  at  last  subdued  the  Silui-es.  Tins 
general  was  succeeded  by  Cua;us  Julius  Agri- 
cola,  who  was  fortunate,  as  far  as  his  fame  is 
regarded,  in  having  for  his  son-in-law  the  great 
Tacitus,  the  partial  and  eloquent  recorder  of  his 
deeds.  Exaggeration  and  favour  apart,  however, 
Agricola  appeai-s  to  have  had  skill  in  the  arts 
both  of  peace  and  war.  He  bad  served  uuder 
Suetonius  dm-iug  the  Boadicean  conflicts,  he  was 
beloved  by  his  army  and  well  acquainted  with  the 
country,  and  now,  before  he  left  the  supreme  com- 
mand, he  completed  the  conquest  of  South  Biitain, 
and  showed  tlie  victorious  eagles  of  Rome  as  far 
north  as  tlie  Grampian  Hills.  One  of  his  first 
operations,  which  ju-oves  with  what  tenacity  the 
Britons  held  to  their  own,  was  the  reconquest  of 
Mona ;  for  scarcely  had  Suetonius  turned  his 
back,  when  they  repossessed  themselves  of  that 
most  holy  island  Having  made  this  successful 
beginning,  and  also  chastised  the  Ordovices,  who 
liad  cut  a  division  of  cavalry  to  pieces,  he  endea- 
voured, by  mild  measures,  to  endear  himself  to 
the  acknowledged  ])rovincials  of  Rome,  aud  to 
conciliate  the  British  tribes  generally  by  acts  of 
kindness.  "  For,"  says  Tacitus,  '■  the  Britons 
willingly  supply  our  armies  with  recruits,  pay 
their  taxes  without  a  murmur,  and  perform  all 

Vol.  I. 


the  services  of  government  with  alacrity,  pro- 
vided they  have  no  re:ison  to  complain  of  oppres- 
sion. When  injured,  their  resentment  is  quick, 
sudden,  and  impatient :  they  are  couquercil,  not 
spirit-broken :  they  may  be  reduced  to  obedience, 
not  to  slavery." 

At  the  same  time,  Agricola  endeavoured  to  sub- 
due their  fierceness  and  change  their  erratic  habits, 
by  teaching  them  some  of  the  useful  arts,  aud  ac- 
customing them  to  some  of  the  luxuries  of  civilized 
life.  He  persuade;!  them  to  settle  in  towns,  to 
build  comfortable  dwelling-houses,  to  raise  halU 
aud  temples.  It  was  a  capital  part  of  his  policy 
to  establish  a  system  of  education,  and  give  to  the 
sons  of  the  leading  British  chiefs  a  tincture  of 
polite  letters.  He  praised  the  talents  of  the  pti- 
l>ils,  aud  already  saw  them,  by  the  force  of  theii- 
natural  genius,  outstripping  the  Gauls,  who  were 
distinguished  for  their  aptitude  and  abilities. 
Thus,  by  degrees,  the  Britons  began  to  cultivate 
the  beauties  of  the  Roman  language,  which  they 
had  before  disdained — to  wear  the  Roman  toga  as 
a  fashionable  part  of  dress — and  to  indulge  in  the 
luxuries  of  baths,  porticoes,  and  elegant  banquets. 

In  the  second  year  of  his  government  (a.d.  79), 
Agricola  advanced  into  the  uorth-westeru  parts 
of  BriUiin,  and  partly  by  force,  and  more  by  cle- 
menc3',  brought  several  tribes  to  submission. 
These  are  not  named  by  Tacitus,  but  they  pro- 
bably dwelt  in  the  heart  of  the  country,  to  the 
oast  of  the  Ordovices  and  the  Silures.  AVhere- 
ever  he  gained  a  district  he  erected  fortifications, 
composed  of  castles  and  ramparts. 

In  his  third  campaign  (a.d.  80)  Agricola  led 
his  army  still  farther  north;  but  the  line  of 
march,  and  the  degree  of  jjrogress  made  in  it, 
are  not  easily  ascertained.  The  out  lines  jjre- 
sented  to  us  by  Tacitus  are  vague  and  indistinct, 
which  may  be  ascribed  both  to  the  generality  of 
that  writer's  language,  and  to  the  limits  of  his 
information. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  a  late  writer,'  however,  that 
Agricola,  setting  out  from  Maucuuium,  the  Man- 
chester of  present  times,  led  his  army  towards  the 
north-western  coasts,  and  uot  towards  the  noi'tli- 
eastern,  as  is  commonly  stated ;  and  that,  after 
traversing  parts  of  Lancashire,  Westmoreland, 
and  Cumberland,  he  came  to  the  7'ati,  which  this 
writer  contends  was  not  the  river  Tay,  but  the 
Solway  Frith.  The  Tau,  he  says  (the  Taus  of 
Tacitus),  was  a  British  word,  signifying  an  estu- 
ary, or  any  extending  water;  it  might  equally 
imjily  the  Solway,  the  Tay,  or  any  otlu'r  cdtuar\'. 
Besides,  it  was  the  plan  of  this  cautions  general,  it 
is  argued,  to  advance  by  degrees,  and  fortify  the 
country  as  he  advanced;  and  we  accordingly  find 
him  spending  the  remainder  of  this  season  in 


'  Clialmers,  CakUunia. 

s 


31. 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militait. 


buUJing  a  line  of  forts,  in  the  most  convenient 
situations  for  lieepiug  possession  of  tlio  territory 
he  hail  gaiueil.  The  raising  of  a  part,  if  not  of 
tlie  wluile  of  that  rampart  Jrawu  right  across  the 
island,  from  the  Solway  near  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Tyue,  and  called  Agricola's  Wall,  is  supposed  to 
have  taken  place  in  this  year.  It  must  be  con- 
fessed, however,  that  the  tenor  of  Tacitus'  nar- 
rative, and  some  of  his  expressions  in  particular, 
require  considerable  straining  before  we  can  I'e- 
concile  them  with  this  account.  In  the  first  place, 
it  is  to  be  observed,  that  he  speaks  of  Agi'icola's 
march  to  the  Taus  in  his  third  summer  as  merely 
an  inroad,  the  etfects  of  which  were  to  discover  the 
country,  to  lay  it  waste,  and  to  strike  terror  into 
the  inhabitants.  It  appears  to  be  clear  that  the 
occupation  of  it  was  not  at  that  time  attempted 
or  thought  of.  Then,  when  the  liistorian  pro- 
ceeds to  relate  the  operations  of  the  next  cam- 
paign, he  expressly  informs  us  that  the  country 
which  Agricola  employed  this  fourth  summer  in 
taking  possession  of  and  fortifying,  was  that  whicli 
he  had  thus  in  the  preceding  summer  overrun. 
No  words  are  used  which  can  imply  that  he  pene- 
trated into  any  new  country  iu  his  fourth  cam- 
paign ;  the  statement  distinctly  is,  that  he  only 
occupied  and  secured  what  he  had  already  sur- 
veyed and  laid  waste. 

According  to  the  view,  however,  which  sup- 
poses him  not  till  now  to  have  ever  been  be- 
yond the  Solway,  his  fourth  summer  (a.d.  81) 
was  employed  iu  exploring  and  overrunning  the 
country  extending  from  that  arm  of  the  sea 
to  the  Friths  of  Clyde  and  Forth,  and  in  secui-- 
ing,  as  usual,  the  advance  he  had  thus  made. 
Tacitus  describes  the  place  where  the  waters  of 
the  Glottaand  Bodotria  (the  Friths  of  Clyde  and 
Forth)  are  prevented  from  joining  only  by  a  nar- 
row neck  of  land,  and  tells  us  that  Agricola  di-ew 
a  chain  of  forts  across  that  isthmus.  These  forts 
are  supposed  to  have  stood  iu  the  same  line  where 
Lollius  Urbieus  afterwards  erected  his  more  com- 
pact rampart,  and  not  far  from  the  modern  canal 
which  connects  the  two  estuaries. 

But  in  making  this  advance  Agricola  seems  to 
have  neglected  the  great  promontory  of  Galloway, 
which  lay  between  the  Solway  and  the  Clyde,  and 
was  then  occupied  by  the  Novantce,  and,  in  part, 
by  the  Selgovoe  and  Damnii;  we  mean  more  pai-- 
ticulai-ly  the  country  now  included  in  Wigton, 
Kirkcudbright,  Dumfries,  and  Ayrshire.  In  his 
fifth  campaign  (a.d.  82),  therefore,  he  thought  it 
prudent  to  subdue  these  tribes,  wlio,  in  the  ad- 
vance he  contemplated  for  the  next  year  beyond 
the  Frith  of  Forth,  would,  from  their  westeiu 
position,  have  been  iu  his  rear.  He  accordingly 
invaded  "  that  part  of  Britain,"  s.ays  Tacitus, 
"  which  is  opposite  to  Ireland,"  being  the  whole 
extent  of  Galloway;  and  to  do  this,  he  is  sup- 


posed to  liave  sailed  from  Kilbride  Loch,  in  Cum- 
berlanil,  and  on  the  Solway,  and  to  have  lamled 
on  the  estuary  of  Locher  '  From  the  Galloway 
coast  lie  saw  the  distant  hills  of  Ireland,  and  tlie 
sight  is  said  to  have  suggested  the  idea  of  a  fresh 
invasion,  to  which,  moreover,  he  was  incited  by 
an  Irish  chieftain,  who,  being  expelled  from  his 
native  country,  had  taken  refuge  with  the  Roman 
commander,  llaving,  after  various  engagenjents, 
cleared  the  south-west  of  Scotland  as  far  as  his 
fortified  works  on  the  Frith  of  Clyde,  he  seems  to 
have  put  the  mass  of  his  army  into  winter  quar- 
ters, along  the  line  he  had  drawn  from  that  estu- 
ary to  the  Frith  of  Forth,  so  as  to  have  them 
ready  for  next  year's  campaign. 

In  his  sixth  year  (a.d.  83)  Agricola  resolved 
to  extend  his  conquests  to  the  north-east,  be- 
yond the  Frith  of  Forth.  His  fleet  had  already 
surveyed  the  coasts  and  harbours,  and  his  naval 
officers  showed  him  the  most  commodious  pas- 
sage— at  Inchgarvey,  as  it  is  supposed — where 
he  seems  to  have  been  met  by  a  part  of  his 
fleet,  and  to  have  been  wafted  over  to  the  ad- 
vancing point  ill  Fife,  now  called  Northferry." 
Other  writei-s,  however,  supjiose  that  he  marched 
along  the  southern  side  of  the  Forth,  to  a  point 
where  the  river  was  narrow  and  fordable,  and 
crossed  it  somewhere  near  Stirling.  It  is  possible 
that  both  courses  may  have  been  adopted  by  dif- 
ferent divisions  of  the  troops.  On  the  north  side 
of  the  Forth  the  troops  were  attemled  and  suii- 
ported  by  the  ships,  so  that  their  march  must  have 
been  along  the  east  coast.  The  fleet  kept  so  near 
the  shore  that  the  mariners  frequently  landed 
and  encamped  with  the  land  forces;  each  of  these 
bodies  entertaining  the  other  with  marvellous 
tales  of  what  they  had  seen  and  done  in  these 
unknown  seas  and  regions.^ 

Having  crosseil  the  Frith  of  Forth,  Agricola 
found  himself,  for  the  first  time,  fairly  engaged 
with  the  real  Caledonians — a  people  at  the  least  as 
fierce  and  brave  as  any  he  had  hitherto  contended 
witli.  They  were  not  taken  by  surprise,  nor  did 
tliey  wait  to  be  attacked.  Descending  from  the 
upper  country,  as  Agricola  advanced  into  Fife, 
strong  bands  of  them  fell  upon  the  new  Roman 
forts  on  the  isthmus  between  the  Forth  and 
Clyde,  which  had  been  left  behind  without  suffi- 
cient defence.  Soon  after  they  made  a  night  at- 
tack on  the  ninth  legion,  one  of  the  divisions  of 
the  main  army,  and  nearly  succeeded  in  cutting 
it  to  pieces,  iu  spite  of  the  strong  camp  iu  which 
it  was  intrenched.  This  camp  was  probably  situ- 
ated at  Loch  Ore,  about  two  miles  to  the  south 
of  Loch  Leveu,  where  ditches  and  other  traces 
of  a  camp  are  still  seen.  In  a  general  battle, 
however,   to   which   this   nocturnal   attack   led, 

I  Clialmers'  Caledonia.      -  Fbid.     '  Tacit.  Vit.  Agric.  c.  iit. 


A.  D.  43-449.] 


BRITISH  AND  KOMAN   TERIOD. 


oo 


the  Caledouiaus  were  beaten,  and,  witliout  any 
other  succcssl'ul  exploit,  the  Romans  wintered 
north  of  tlie  Frith  of  Fortli,  in  Fife,  where 
their  fleet  supplied  them  with  ]>rovisious,  and 
kept  open  their  conimnnicatiou  with  the  forts  in 
the  south.  The  Caledonians,  no  way  dispirited, 
mustered  all  their  clans  for  the  next  summer's 
campaign,  and  submitted  to  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  Galgacus,  wlio  ranks  with  Cassivcllau- 
niis  and  Caractacus  as  one  of  the  heroes  of  the 
British  wars. 

At  the  opening  of  his  seventh  and  last  cam- 
paign (a.d.  84),  when  Agricola  moved  forward 
lie  found  the  euem_v,  to  the  number  of  30,000, 
posted  on  the  acclivities  of  J/ons  Orampiiis, 
determined  to  oppose  his  progress  in  a  gene- 
ral battle.  The  position  of  the  Caledonians  on 
this  occasion,  and  the  field  of  the  great  battle, 
althougli  they  have  been  much  disputed,  seem  to 
admit  of  being  fixed  on  very  probable  grounds. 
From  the  nature  of  the  country,  Agricola  would 
direct  his  line  of  march  by  the  course  of  the  De- 
von, would  turn  to  the  right  from  Glen  Devon, 
through  the  opening  of  the  Oehil  Hills,  along 
the  course  of  the  rivulet  which  forms  Glen-Eagles, 
leaving  the  Braes  of  Ogilvie  on  his  left.  He  would 
then  pass  between  Blackford  and  Auchterarder, 
towards  the  Grampi.ans  (or  Gran-Pen  of  the  Bri- 
tish, meaning  the  head  or  chief  ridge  or  summit), 
which  he  would  see  before  him  as  he  defiled  from 
the  Ochils.  An  easy  march  would  then  bring 
him  to  the  Moor  of  Ardoch,  at  the  roots  of  the 
Grampians,  where  there  are  very  evident  signs  of 
ancient  conflicts.  The  lai'go  ditch  of  a  Roman 
camp  can  still  be  traced  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance; weapons,  both  British  and  Roman,  have 
been  dug  up ;  and  on  the  hill  above  Ardoch  INIoor 
are  two  enormous  heaps  of  stones,  called  Carn- 
wochel  and  Carnlee,  probably  the  sepulchral 
cairns  of  the  Caledonians  who  fell  in  the  battle.' 

The  host  of  Galgacus  fought  with  great  ob- 
stinacy and  bravery,  but  they  were  no  more  able 
to  resist  the  disciplined  legions  of  Rome  in  a 
pitched  battle  than  their  brethren,  the  southern 
Britons,  had  been.  They  were  defeated,  and  ]iur- 
sued  with  great  loss,  and  the  next  day  nothing 
was  seen  in  front  of  the  Roman  army  but  a  silent 
and  deserted  country,  and  houses  involved  in 
smoke  and  flame.  Tacitus  relates  that  some  of 
the  fleeing  natives,  after  tears  and  tender  em- 
braces, killed  their  wives  and  children,  in  order  to 
save  them  from  slavery  and  the  Romans.  In  the 
battle  the  Caledonians  used  war-chariots,  like  the 
southern  Britons,  and  the  Roman  writer  mentions 
their  broad-swords  and  small  targets,  which  re- 
mained so  long  after  the  peculiar  arms  of  the 
Highlanders.     The  victory  of  Agricola,  however 

*  Cbalniere"  Cakdonia,  book  i.  ch.  iii.;  "Roya  MUUaii/  Antiqui- 
ties, ijlate  10 ;  Stobie's  Map  of  Perth. 


valueless  in  its  results,  was  complete;  and  though 
Tacitus  does  not  reconl  his  death  on  the  lichi,lie 
s]ieaks  no  7nore  of  the  brave  Galgacus. 

In  tlie  course  of  these  two  camp.-iigns  north  of 
the  Forth,  the  Romans  seem  to  have  derived  an 
uuconimon  degi'ee  of  assistance  from  their  fleet, 
which  was  probably  much  better  ajipointed  and 
commanded  than  on  any  former  occjision.  After 
defeating  Galgacus,  Agricola  sent  the  ships  from 
the  Frith  of  Tay  to  make  a  coasting  voyage  to  the 
north,  which  may  very  projicrly  lie  called  a  voyage 
of  discovery ;  for  though  nearly  a  century  and  a  half 
had  passeil  since  Cicsar's  invasions,  the  Romans 
were  not  yet  quite  certain  that  Britain  w.as  an 
island,  but  thought  it  might  have  joined  the  Eu- 
ropean continent  either  at  the  extreme  north  or 
north-east,  or  at  some  other,  to  them  unknown, 
point.  Agricola's  fleet  doubled  the  promontory 
of  Caithness  and  Cape  Wrath,  ran  down  the  west- 
ern coast  fi'om  the  end  of  Scotland  to  the  Land's 
End  in  Cornwall,  then  turning  to  the  east,  arrived 
safe  at  the  Trutulensiau  harbour  (supposed  to  be 
Sandwich),  and  sailing  thence  along  the  eastern 
coast,  returned  with  glory  to  the  jioint  from  which 
it  had  started,  having  tluis,  according  to  Tacitus, 
made  the  first  certain  discovery  that  Britain  was 
an  island. 

The  fears  and  imagination  of  the  mariners  were 
no  doubt  much  excited  during  this  peri])lus;  and 
Tacitus,  who  probably  heard  the  recital  from  his 
father-in-law,  Agricola,  and  some  of  the  oflicers 
of  the  fleet,  was  not  proof  against  exaggeration. 
He  tells  us  that  the  cluster  of  islands  called  the 
Orcades,  till  then  wholly  unknown,  was  added  to 
the  Roman  empire  (he  omits  all  mention  of  the 
Hebrides);  that  Thule,  which  had  lain  concealc^d 
in  gloom  and  eternal  snows,  was  seen  by  the  n.avi- 
gators,  and  that  the  sea  in  those  parts  was  a  slue/- 
gish  mass  of  stagnated  water,  hardly  yielding  to 
the  stroke  of  the  oar,  and  never  agitated  by  winds 
and  storms' 

Agricola  did  not  keep  his  army  this  secom! 
winter  north  of  the  friths,  but  withdrawing  them 
by  easy  marches,  put  his  troops  in  canlonuu^nts 
behind  his  works  on  the  isthmus,  if  not  behind 
those  on  the  Solway  and  Tyne.  Soon  after  this 
he  was  recalled  from  his  command  by  the  jealous, 
tj'ranuical  Domitian.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
Agricola  left  any  garrison  on  the  north  of  the 
Frith  of  Forth,  and  it  ajipears  probable  that  most 
of  the  forts  thrown  up  in  the  p.asses  of  the  Gram- 
pians, to  check  the  incursions  of  the  Caledonians 
(remains  of  which  still  exist  at  Cuj)ar-Angus, 
Keithock,  Harefaulds,  Invergowrie,  and  other 
places),  were  either  temporary  encampments  made 
on  his  march  northward.s,  or  were  erected  at  a 
later  pi'riod  by  the  Enii)cror  Severus,  aud  never 

-  I'it.  Ayric.  c.  X.  and  xxxviii. 


5G 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  amj  Military. 


maintainoil  by  Hie  Rom:ins  for  any  leugth  of  tiniP. 
The  great  dilUculty  in  these  regions  was  not  the 
act  of  advancing,  Ijut  that  of  remaining;  and  the 
poverty  of  the  country  was,  no  doubt,  as  good  a 
defence  as  the  valour  of  its  iuhabitauts. 

It  was  under  Agricola  that  the  Roman  do- 
miuiou  in  Britain  reached  its  utmost  permanent 


Hadrian,  from  a  fiiie  bronze  found  in  the  Thames,  now  in  the 
British  Museum, — Drawn  hy  J.  W.  Archer. 

extent ;  fur  a  few  hurried  marches,  made  at  a 
later  period,  farther  into  the  north  of  Caledonia, 
are  not  to  be  counted  as 
conquests  or   .acquisitions  ^^ 

of  territory.     L)iu-iug  the  — II__ 

long  period  of  thirty  years  ~'^^;I5= 

the    island    remained    so       .^^  ^^^^ 

tranquil  that  scarcely  a 
single  mention  of  its  affairs 
occurs  in  the  Roman  an- 
nals ;  and  we  need  scarcely 
remark  that,  as  history  has 
usually  Vjeim  written,  the 
silence  of  historians  is  one 
of  the  best  pi-ool's  of  a  na- 
tion's happiness. 

But  in  the  i-eign  of  Ila- 
dri.an'  the  Romans  were 
attacked  all  along  their 
northern  frontiers  by  the 

Caledonians,  and  the  whole  state  of  the  island 
was  so  disturbed  as  to  demand  the  presence  of 
that  energetic  emperor  (a.d.  120).  The  conquests 
of  Agricola  north  of  the  Tyne  and  Sol  way  were 
lost ;  his  advanced  line  of  forts  between  the  Forth 
and  the  Clyde  swept  away;  and  Hadrian  contented 
iumself,  without  either  resigning  or  reconquering 

'  In  a  general  description  of  the  Roman  empire  under  Trajan, 
the  immediate  predecessor  of  Hadrian,  Appian  says  that  the  em- 
peror possessed  more  than  one-h.alf  of  Britain,  tliat  he  ne^jlected 
the  rest  of  the  island  as  useless,  and  derived  no  profit  from  the 
jiart  he  possessed. 


all  that  territory,  with  raising  a  new  r.anipart 
(much  stronger  than  that  drawn  by  Agricola)  be- 
tween the  Solw.-iy  Fritli  and  the  German  Ocean. 
Perhaps  it  would  have  been  wise  in  the  Romans 
to  have  kept  to  this  latter  line,  but  in  the  fol- 
lowing reign  of  Antoninus  Pius  (a.d.  1.38),  the 
governor  of  Britain,  Lollius  Urbicus,  advanced 
from  it,  drove  the  b.arbarians  before  him,  and 
again  fixed  the  Roman  frontier  at  the  isthmus 
between  the  Clyde  and  Forth,  where  he  erected 
a  strong  ramj)art  on  the  line  of  Agricola's  forts. 
The  pra;tentui'a,  or  rampart  of  Lollius  Urbicus, 
consisted  of  a  deep  ditch,  and  an  earthen  wall 
raised  on  a  stone  foundation.  There  were  twenty- 
one  forts  at  intervals  along  the  line,  which,  from 
one  extremity  to  the  other,  measured  about 
thirty-one  miles.  A  military  road,  as  a  neces- 
sary appemlage,  i-an  within  the  rampart,  afford- 
ing an  easy  communication  from  station  to  station. 
The  opposite  points  are  fixed  at  Caerridden  on 
the  Forth,  and  Dnnglas  on  the  Clyde.  The 
works  appear  to  have  been  finished  about  A.n. 
140;  and,  notwithstanding  the  perishable  m.ite- 
ri.als,  the  mound  can  be  traced  after  the  Lapse  of 
seventeen  centuries.  Among  the  people,  whose 
traditions  have  always  retained  some  notion  of 
its  original  destination,  it  is  called  Grteme's  or 
Graham's  Dyke.  Inscribed  stones  have  been  dis- 
covered there,  recording  that  the  second  legion, 


^Sjimi 


Remaiss  of  Hadhian's  Vallum,'  near  H.altwhistl6.— Drawn  from  nature  and  CQ 
wood,  by  J.  W.  Archer. 

and  detachments  from  the  sixth  and  the  twenti- 
eth legions,  with  some  auxiliaries,  were  employed 
ujion  the  works.' 

It  had  been  the  boast  of  the  Romans,  even  from 

-  Thise.-irthwork,  originally  constructed  by  Agricola,  consisted 
of  an  earthen  mound,  with  a  ditch,  on  tlie  bordei-s  of  winch  he 
built,  at  unefiual  distances,  a  range  of  forts  or  cistles.  It  was 
repaired  (about  a.d.  121)  by  Hadrian,  who  dug  an  additional 
and  much  larger  ditch,  .and  l-aised  a  higher  rampart  of  earth, 
making  llis  new  works  run  in  lines  nearly  parallel  with  the  ol«. 
From  these  oper-ations  the  association  of  the  name  of  Agricola 
with  the  work  mei-ged  into  that  of  Hadrian.— //uKon. 
3  Roy's  Military  AntiquUks. 


A.D.  43—440.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


37 


the  time  of  Agrieola,  that  this  I'ortitied  line  was 
to  cover  aud  protect  all  the  fertile  territories  of 
the  south,  aud  to  drive  the  enemy,  as  it  were, 
into  another  island,  barren  anil  Vmrbarous  like 
themselves.  But  the  northern  tribes  would  not 
so  understand  it.  In  the  reign  of  Commodtis 
(a.d.  183)  they  again  broke  through  this  barrier, 
and  swept  over  the  country  which  lay  between  it 
.and  the  wall  of  Hadrian,  and  which  became  the 
scene  of  several  sanguinary  battles  with  the  Ro- 
mans. About  the  same  time  a  mutinous  spirit 
declared  itself  among  the  legions  in  Britain,  and 
symptoms  were  everywhere  seen  of  that  decline 
in  discipline  and  military  virtue  which  led  on  ra- 


I  )iidly  to  the  entire  dissolution  of  the  Roman  em- 
I  pire.  Shortly  after,  the  succession  to  tlie  empire 
I  was  disj)ated  with  Scverus  by  Clodius  Albiuus, 
tlie  governor  of  Britain.  The  unequal  contest 
w;is  liccided  by  ;i  great  battle  in  the  south  of 
France ;  but  as  the  pretender  Albiuus  had  drained 
the  island  of  its  best  troojis,  the  northern  tribes 
took  that  favourable  ojiportunity  of  breaking 
into  and  desolating  the  settled  Roman  provinces. 
These  destructive  ravages  continued  for  years, 
and  cost  the  lives  of  thousands  of  the  civilized 
British  subjects  of  Rome. 

The  Emperor  Severus,  in  his  olil  age  (a.d.  207), 
and  though  oppressed  by  the  gout  and  other 


maladies,  resolved  to  le.ad  an  army  in  person 
against  the  northern  barbarians.  Having  made 
great  preparations,  he  landed  in  South  Bi'itain, 
and  almost  immediately  began  his  march  to  the 
northern  frontier,  which  was  once  more  marked 
by  the  walls  of  Agricola  and  Hadrian,  between 
the  Sohvay  Frith  and  the  mouth  of  the  Tyne. 
The  tremendous  difficulties  he  encountered  as 
soon  as  he  crossed  that  line,  sufficiently  show 
that  the  country  beyond  it  had  never  been 
thoroughly  conquered  and  settled  by  the  Ro- 
mans, who  invariably  attended  to  the  ccmstruc- 
tiou  of  roads  aud  bridge.?.     Even  so  near  to  the 


walls  as  the  present  county  of  Durham,  the 
country  was  an  impassable  wilderness.  Brobably 
there  are  some  exaggerations  in  the  number,  and 
a  part  of  the  victims  may  have  fallen  under  the 
spears  and  javelins  of  the  natives,  but  it  is  stateil 
that  Severus,  in  his  march  northward,  lost  .'JO,00O 
men,  who  were  worn  out  by  the  incessant  labour 
of  draining  morasses,  throwing  raised  roads  or 
causeways  across  them,  cutting  down  foi-ests, 
levelling  mountains,  and  building  bridges.  By 
these  means  he  at  length  penetrated  farther  into 
the  heart  of  Caledonia  than  any  of  his  predeces- 
sors, and  struck  such  terror  into  the  native  clans 


or  tribes,  who,  however,  had  most  prudently 
avoided  any  general  action,  that  they  supplicated 
for  peace.  He  went  so  far  to  the  north,  that 
the  Roman  soldiers  were  much  struck  with  the 
length  of  the  summer  days  and  the  shortness  of 
the  nights;  Init  the  Ane  Finium  Imperii  Ro- 
iiiaiii,  and  the  exti-eme  point  to  v.'hich  Severus 


attained  in  tliis  arduous  campaign,  seems  to  have 
been  the  end  of  the  narrow  jiromontory  that 
separates  the  Moray  and  Croniai-ty  Friths,  the 
conqueror  or  explorer  still  leaving  Ross,  Sulher- 
l.and,  and  Caithiies.s,  or  all  the  most  northern 
parts  of  Scotland,  untouched.  The  uses  of  this 
most  expensive  military  jiromenade  (for,  with  tho 


38 


niSTOEY  OF  ICNGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militauv. 


i>^iKf<^ 


exception  of  the   road-iiiakiiig,  it  was  uolliiii!; 
better)  are  not  very  obvious;  no  Roman  army 
ever  followed  liis  footsteps,  and  he  liiinself  could 
not  maintain  tlie  old  debatable  gi-ouud  between 
the  Tyue  and  the  Forth.     Indeed,  after  his  return 
from  tlie  north,  his  first  care  was  to  erect  a  new 
frontier  barrier,  in  the  same  line  as  tliose  of  Agri- 
cola  and  Hadrian,  but  stronger  than  either  of 
them;  thus  acknowledging,  as 
it  were,  the  uncertain  tenure 
the  Romans  had  on  the  coun- 
try beyond   the   Solway  and 
the  Tyne.    For  two  years  the 
Romans  and  their  auxiliaries 
were  employed  in  building  a 
wall,  which  they  vainly  hoped 
would  for  ever  check  the  in-  "^ 

cursious  of  the  northern  clans. 
The  wall  of  Agricola,  which 
has  been  so  frequeuti}'  alluded 
to,  was  in  reality  a  long  bank 
or   mound  of  earth,  with   a 
ditch,  on  the  borders  of  which 
he  built,  at  unequal  distances, 
a  range  efforts  or  castles.  This 
work  very   nearly  extended 
from  sea  to  sea,  being  about 
seventy-four  miles  long;  be- 
ginning   three  miles    and   a 
h:df  cast  of  Newcastle,  and  ending  twelve  miles 
west  of  Carlisle.       After   existing  thirty-seven 
years,  this  work,  which  had  been  much  injured, 
was  repaired  (about  a.d.  121)  by  Hadrian,  who 
added  works  of  his  own  to  strengthen  it.    He  dug 
an  additional  and  much  larger  ditch,  and  raised 
a  higher  rampart  of  earth,  making  his  new  works 
run  in  nearly  parallel  lines  with  the  old.     From 
(he  date  of  these  operations  and  rejiairs,  the  name 
of  Agricola  was  lost ;  and  the  whole,  to  this  day, 
has  retained  the  name  of  Hadrian's  Wall.     Dur- 
ing the  ninety  years  that  interveued  between  the 
labours  of  Hadrian  and  those   of  Severus,  the 
rampart,  not  well   calculated  to  withstand  the 
frosts  and  rains  of  a  cold  and  wet  climate,  had, 
no  doubt,  suffered  extensively,  and  the  barbari- 
ans had  probably  broken  through  the  earthen 

1  This  fortification,  says  Bruce  [On.  tlie  Itonuin  Wall),  consists 
of  thi-ea  parts : — 

1.  A  stone  wall,  strengthened  by  a  ditch  on  its  northern  side. 

2.  An  eai-tli  wall,  or  vallum,  to  the  south  of  the  stone  wall. 

3.  Stations,  c'lstles,  watch-towers,  .and  roads  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  soldiery  who  mamied  the  barrier,  and  for  the 
transmission  of  military  stores.  These  lie,  for  the  most  part, 
between  the  stone  wall  and  the  eaithen  rampart. 

The  Mile-castle  at  Cawfield  (the  name  of  tlie  fai-ra-house  to  the 
north',  isthemost  peifect  mile-castle  remaining  on  the  line.  The 
building  is  a  paraUelogiam,  but  the  coi-uers  at  its  lower  side  are 
rounded  uS.  It  mcTsures  inside  03  ft.  east  to  west,  and  40  ft, 
north  to  south.  The  stones  used  are  of  the  same  character  as 
those  employed  in  the  wall.  The  side  w;dls  of  the  castle  have  not 
baen  tied  to  the  great  wall,  but  have  been  brought  close  up  to  it, 
and  the  jmiction  cemented  with  mortar.     It  is  proviiled  with  a 


mound  in  more  places  than  one.  Severus  -  in  this 
surpassing  his  predecessors — determined  to  build 
with  stone:  the  wall  lie  raised  was  about  eight 
feet  thick,  and  twelve  feet  high  to  the  base  of  the 
battlements.  To  the  wall  were  added,  at  equ.-d  dis- 
tances, a  number  of  stations  or  towns,  eighty-one 
castles,  and  3.30  castelots  or  turrets.  At  the  out- 
aide  of  the  wall  (to  the  north)  was  dug  a  ditch, 


^«^  ^«#{  ^^>^A 


CounsE  OF  THR  WALL  OF  SEVERUS,'  with   Mile-Castle  at  Cawfield,  near  Haltwhistle.- 
Drawn  by  H.  G.  Hine,  from  liis  sketch  on  the  spot  in  1S54. 


.about  thirty-six  feet  wide,  and  from  twelve  totif- 
toen  feet  deep.  Severus'  works  run  nearly  parallel 
with  the  other  two  (those  of  Agricola  and  Had- 
rian), lie  on  the  north  of  them,  and  are  never  far 
distant,  but  may  be  said  always  to  keep  them  in 
view ;  the  greatest  distance  between  them  is  less 
than  a  mile,  the  nearest  distance  about  twenty 
yards,  the  medium  distance  forty  or  fifty  yards. 
Exclusive  of  his  wall  and  ditch,  these  st.ations, 
castles,  and  turrets,  Severus  constructed  a  variety 
of  roads — yet  called  Roman  roads — twenty-four 
feet  wide,  and  eighteen  iuches  high  in  the  centre, 
which  led  from  turret  to  turret,  from  one  castle 
to  another;  and  still  larger  and  more  distant  roads 
from  the  wall,  wdiich  led  from  one  station  or  town 
to  another;  besides  the  grand  military  way  (now 
our  main  road  from  Newcastle  to  Carlisle),  which 


gateway  of  10  ft.  opening,  both  on  its  northern  and  southern 
side,  and  formed  of  large  sLabs  of  rustic  masonry,  the  walls 
being  thicker  here  than  in  other  parts.  Two  folding  doors  have 
closed  the  entrance,  wliich,  when  tlirown  Kick,  have  fallen  into 
recesses.  Some  of  the  pivot-holes  of  the  door-s  remain  tinged 
with  oxide  of  iron.  ...  In  clearing  out  the  interior,  no 
traces  of  par-ty  w.alls,  of  a  substantifil  chamcter  at  least,  n-ere 
found.  Some  fragments  of  gray  slate,  pierced  for  rooling,  were 
found  .among  the  rubbish.  It  is,  therefore,  not  improbable  that 
a  shed  was  laid  .against  the  southei-n  wall  for  the  protection  of 
the  soldiers.  At  about  the  elevation  which  the  raised  floor 
would  reach,  the  wall  is  in  one  place  eaten  aw.ay  by  the  action  ut 
fire,  and  here  the  hear-th  probably  stood.  I'lots  of  chives,  sup- 
posed to  be  surviving  relics  of  the  common  sahrd  accomp.animent 
to  the  black  bread  of  the  Roman  soldier,  planted  there  dmiiig 
their  occupation,  still  grow  near  those  castles. 


A.D.  43-440.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN   PERIOD. 


30 


covered  all  tlie  works,  and  no  doubt  was  first 
formed  by  Agrioola,  improved  by  Hadrian,  and, 
after  lying  neglected  for  IJUO  years,  was  made 
complete  iu  IToi' 

As  long  as  the  Roman  power  lasted,  this  barrier 


f  ttnet  II'. 


No.  2. 

.<h  rt. 


Ko.  1,  Fei-tinii  of  the  Roman  Wall  luut   y\v 
of  the  Wall  and  Ditch  of  Sevom-  —l  i 


niith  Agjtor  Port 
III  Hodgson's  Nor 


Gat«  ;  No.  2.  .Sectioi 
tliumberland. 


was  constantly  garrisoned  by  armed  men.  The 
stations  wei'e  so  near  to  each  other,  that  if  a  tire 
was  lighted  on  any  one  of  the  bulwarks,  it  was 
seen  at  the  next,  and  so  repeated  from  bulwark 
to  bulwai'k,  all  along  the  line,  iu  a  very  short 
time. 

Severns  had  not  finished  his  works  of  defence 
when  the  Caledonian  tribes  resumed  the  ofleusive. 
The  iron-hearted  and  iron-framed  old  emperor 
marched  northward  with  a  dreadful  vow  of  exter- 
mination; but  death  overtook  him  at  Eboracum 
(York),  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  211.  Cara- 
calla,  his  son  and  successor,  who  had  been  serving 
with  him  in  Britain,  tireil  of  a  warfare  in  which 
he  could  gain  comparatively  little,  hopeless,  per- 
haps, of  ever  succeeding  in  the  so-frequently- 
foiled  attempt  of  subjecting  the  country  north  of 
the  walls,  and  certainly  anxious  to  reach  Rome, 
in  order  the  better  to  dispose  of  his  brother  Geta, 
whom  his  father  had  named  co-heir  to  the  Empire, 
made  a  hasty  peace  with  the- Caledonians,  form- 
ally ceding  to  them  the  debatable  ground  between 
the  Solway  and  Tyne,  and  the  Friths  of  Clyde 
and  Forth,  and  then  left  the  island  for  ever. 

After  the  departure  of  Caracalla,  tliere  occurs 
another  long  blank  —  supposed  to  have  been  a 
tranquil    interval  —  for    during    nearly  seventy 

*  Hutton's  Hist,  of  the  Roman  Wall. 

2  Palgi'ave's  RUe  and  Progress  of  tlte  English  Connnoawealth, 
chap.  X. 

^  "The  Roman  influence  in  Britain  must  have  been  very  great, 
if  P.ancirolus  be  right  in  his  calculations.  There  were  tlu'ee 
great  military  commands — one  for  the  interior  parts  of  the  is- 
land, another  for  the  defence  of  the  coast  against  the  Saxons, 
and  a  third  for  guarding  the  fl'ontiers  ag.ainst  the  barbarians  in 
Britain  itself;  and  tlie  wliole  force  must  have  amoiuited  to 
99,000  foot  .and  1700  horse.  In  order  to  feed  these,  the  Roman 
agriculture  nmst  have  been  introduced  ;  and  when  the  Uomans 
left  Britain,  there  must  have  been  great  fulness  of  corn.  But 
the  Roman  arts  also  must  have  been  introduced,  and  were  pro- 


ycars,  history  scarcely  devotes  a  single  page  to 
Britain  and  its  allair.s.  The  formidable  stone  ram- 
part of  Severus  h;id,  no  doubt,  its  part  in  pre- 
serving the  tranquillity  of  the  southern  division 
of  the  island,  but  it  was  not  the  sole  cause  of 
this  ha]ipy  eficct.  The  territory 
ceded  by  Caracalla,  extending 
eighty  miles  to  the  north  of  Se- 
verus' wall,  and  averaging  in 
breadth,  from  sea  to  sea,  not  less 
than  seventy  miles,  was,  in  good 
part,  a  fertile  country,  including 
what  are  now  some  of  the  best 
lands  in  Scotland.  The  clans  left 
in  possession  of  this  valuable  set- 
tlement would  naturally  acquire 
some  taste  for  the  quiet  habits 
of  life  —  would  imbibe  some  civi- 
lization from  the  Roman  provin- 
cials on  the  south  side  of  the 
wall — and  then  their  instinctive 
love  of  property  and  quiet  would  make  them 
restrain,  with  arms  in  their  hands,  the  still  bar- 
barous mountaineers  to  the  north  of  tlieir  own 
territory,  whilst  their  own  civilization,  such  as 
it  might  be,  would  make  some  little  progress 
.•uiiong  the  clans  in  that  direction.  And  it  cer- 
tainly did  happen  that,  even  when  the  Roman 
power  had  long  been  in  a  state  of  decrepitude,  no 
great  or  decisive  invasions  took  place  from  the 
north  to  the  south,  until  the  Scots,  a  new  enemy, 
pouring  in  from  Ireland  with  an  overwhelming 
force,  drove  clan  upon  clan,  and  advanced  beyond 
the  wall  of  Severus.  This  latter  event  ought 
always  to  be  taken  in  connection  with  the  growing 
weakness  of  Rome,  in  order  to  account  f(.)r  the 
catastrophe  Vvdiich  followed. 

Though  it  has  been  generally  overlooked,  there 
is  another,  and  a  gi-eat  cause  too,  which  will  help 
to  account  for  the  tranquillity  enjoyed  in  the 
south,  or  in  all  Roman  Britain.  Caracalla  im- 
parted the  freedom  of  Rome,  and  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  Roman  citizen,  to  all  the  pro- 
vinces of  the  Empire ;  and  thus  the  Briton, 
exempted  from  arbitrary  spoliation  and  oppres- 
sion, enjoyed  liis  patrimony  without  fear  or  chal- 
lenge.- Such  a  boon  merited  seventy  years  of  n 
grateful  quiet.' 

bably  perpetuated.  For,  besides  the  three  military  comman- 
dera-iu-ihiof,  there  was  a  i}rociirator  gi/iutcii,  president  of  the 
wardrobe  iu  Brit.ain,  iu  which  the  enipeyor's  and  soldiers'  clothes 
were  woven.  Thus  the  Roman  system,  by  leaving  nothing  to 
be  done  by  the  native  Britons  for  their  o^vn  defence,  and  stimu- 
lating, .at  the  same  time,  agriculture  and  manufactures,  mu^t 
have  left  them,  on  the  withdraw.al  of  the  legions,  a  tempting 
object  of  contxuest  to  the  Saxons,  who  would  have  found  a  very 
ditferent  reception  in  the  island  h.ad  the  Romans,  by  foiiuing 
the  native  Britons  into  a  militia,  trained  them  to  the  mili- 
tary as  well  as  the  agricidtiiral  and  textile  arts." — (See  Giles' 
History  of  the  Ancient  Jlritans,  vol.  i.  p.  299.)  The  great  ful- 
ness of  corn  in  Uiitain  during  the  Roman  period  m.ay  p.artly 


40 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military 


When  Britaiu  re-appears  in  the  auuils  of  liis- 
tory,  we  fiml  her  beset  by  fresh  foes,  aud  becom- 
ing the  scene  of  a  new  enterprise,  wliich  was  fre- 
quently repeated  in  the  course  of  a  few  following 
yeare.  In  the  reign  of  Diocletian  and  ^faxiniian 
(a.d.  288),  the  Scandinavian  and  Saxon  pirates 
began  to  i-avage  the  coasts  of  Gaul  and  Britain. 
To  repress  these  marauders,  the  emperors  a])- 
pointed  Carausius,  a  Menapiau,  to  the  commaud 
of  a  strong  fleet,  the  head-quarters  of  wliioh  was 
iu  the  British  Channel.  The  Menapians  had 
divided  into  several  colonies;  one  was  settled  in 
Belgium,  one  in  Hibernia,  one  iu  the  islands  of 
the  Rliiue,  one  at  Meuevia  (now  St.  David's)  iu 
Britaiu  —  and  Carausius  was  by  birth  either  a 
lielgian  or  a  Brit(m — it  is  not  verj'  certain  which. 
Wherever  he  was  born,  he  appears  to  have  been 
a  bold  and  skilful  naval  commander.  He  beat 
the  pirates  of  the  Baltic,  and  enriched  himself 
and  his  mariners  with  their  plunder.  It  is  sus- 
pected that  he  had  himself  been  originally  a 
pirate.  He  was  soon  accused  of  collusion  with 
the  enemy,  and  anticipating,  from  his  great 
wealth  and  power,  that  he  would  throw  off  his 
allegiance,  the  emperors  sent  orders  from  Rome 
to  put  him  to  death.  The  wary  and  ambitious 
sailor  fled,  iu  time,  with  his  fleet  to  Britaiu,  where 
the  legions  and  auxiliaries  rallied  round  his  vic- 
torious standard,  and  bestowed  upon  him  the 
imperial  diadem.  The  joint  emperors  of  Rome, 
after  seeing  their  attempts  to  reduce  him  repelled, 
with  disgrace  to  their  own  arms,  were  fain  to 
purchase  peace  by  conceding  to  him  the  govern- 
ment of  Britaiu,  of  Boulogne,  and  the  adjoining 
coast  of  Gaul,  together  with  the  proud  title  of 
Emperor.  Under  his  reign  we  see,  for  the  first 
time,  Britain  figuring  as  a  great  naval  power. 
Carausius  built  ships  of  war,  manned  them  iu 
part  with  the  intrepid  Scandinavian  and  Saxon 
pirates,  against  whom  he  had  fought ;  and,  re- 
maining absolute  master  of  the  Channel,  his  fleet 
swept  the  seas  from  the  mouths  of  the  Rhine  to 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  He  struck  numerous 
medals,  witli   inscriptious  and   devices,  "  which 

be  accounted  for  by  the  invaders  finding,  like  the  fii-st  Eu- 
ropean 86ttler3  in  North  America,  a  vii-gin  soil,  covered  with 
a  rich  layer  of  vegetable  mould,  the  exhaustion  of  which 
goes  fai*  to  account  for  the  famines  and  deartlis  of  subsequent 
times. 

1  Palgrave's  flist.  England,  ch.  j. 

2  This  coin  is  in  the  collection  of  C.  Reach  Smith,  Esq.  It  is 
believed  to  be  unique,  and  is  considered  to  represent  a  veritable 
likeness  of  Carausius. 

3  '•  Tlie  first  half  of  the fomth  century  is  chiefly  remarkable, 
as  regards  Britain,  on  account  of  the  harmony  vdth  wliich  the 
natives  and  Romans,  as  well  as  other  settlers,  brought  together 
in  no  small  nimiber  by  their-  common  faith,  united  in  the  arts 
of  peace.  The  cultivation  of  grain  had  been  carried  to  such  a 
height,  tliat  Britain  became  the  granary  of  the  northern  pro- 
vinces of  the  Empire ;  and,  by  yearly  exports,  supplied  other 
cjuntries  with  food,  while  it  enriched  itself.  Civic  establisli- 
ments  were  so  floui-islujig,  tliat  buildei-s  and  other  artificers 


show  the  pnnip  and  state  he  assumed  in  his  island 
em]iiro."  The  impressive  names  he  borrowed 
were,  "Marcus  Aurelius  Valerius  Carausius."  ' 


Gold  Coin  of  Carausius.^ 

He  had  escaped  the  daggers  of  pirates  and  cni- 
peroi's,  but  a  surer  executioner  rose  up  iu  the 
lierson  of  a  friend  aud  confidential  minister.  Ue 
was  murdered,  in  the  year  297,  at  Eboracum 
(York),  by  AUectus,  a  Briton,  who  succeeded  to 
his  insular  empire,  aud  reigned  about  three 
years,  when  he  was  defeated  aud  slain  by  an 
officer  of  Constantius  Chlorus,  to  whom  Britain 
fell  in  succession  on  the  resignation  of  Diocletian 
and  Maximian  (a.d.  296).  In  this  short  war  we 
hear  of  a  strong  body  of  Fi-auks  and  Saxons,  who 
formed  the  main  strength  of  Allectus'  army,  and 
who  attempted  to  plunder  London  after  his  defeat. 
Thus,  under  Carausius  and  Allectus,  the  Saxons 
must  have  become  acquainted  even  with  the  in- 
terior of  England.  Constantius  Chlorus  died  iu 
the  summer  of  a.d.  306,  at  Eboracum,  or  York. 
Constautine,  afterwards  called  the  Great,  then 
began  his  reign  at  York,  where  he  was  present 
at  liis  father's  death.  After  a  very  doubtful  cam- 
paign north  of  the  wall  of  Severus,  the  details  of 
whicli  are  very  meagre  and  confused,  this  prince 
left  the  island,  taking  with  him  a  vast  number  of 
Britisli  youths,  as  recruits  for  his  army.  From 
this  time  to  the  death  of  Constantine,  iu  337, 
Britain  seems  again  to  have  enjoyed  tranquillity.^ 

The  Roman  power  was,  however,  decaying;  the 
removal  of  the  capital  of  the  Empire  from  Rome 
to  Constantinople  had  its  effects  on  the  remote 
provinces  of  Britain;  and,  under  the  immediate 
successors  of  Constantine,  while  the  Frank  and 

were  demanded  from  Britain  for  the  restoration  of  the  desolated 
provinces. — The  country  was  crossed  by  higlu'oads  iu  vai'ious 
dii-ections,  many  of  wliich  have  served  the  later  settlers  in  their 
marclies,  as  well  as  their  commercial  operations.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Romans  themselves  found  some  of  these  great  liighways 
already  in  existence,  wliich  were  afterwards  known  by  the  name 
of  Watling -street,  leading  fi-om  the  southern  shore  of  Kent,  from 
Rhutupiie  and  Loudon,  through  St.  Alban's  and  Stony-Stratford, 
to  Carnarvon  {Segontium) ;  Ikenild  or  Rikenild-stroet,  from  Tyne- 
mouth,  tlu-ough  I'ork,  Derby,  and  Birmingham,  to  St.  David's ; 
the  Irinin  {Ermin)  Street,  wliich  led  from  the  latter  place  to 
Southampton ;  the  Foss,  fi-om  Cornwall  to  Caitlmess,  or,  perhaps 
more  correctly,  only  to  Lincoln.  These  roads,  which,  if  not 
formed,  were  at  least  greatly  improved  by  Roman  labour,  prove, 
by  their  direction,  a  lively  internal  traffic,  as  well  as  a  commer- 
cial connection  with  countries  lying  east  and  west  of  Britain." — 
Lappenberg's  Ilistori/o/  Eivjland  under  the  Anijlo-Saxon  Kint/s, 
vol.  i.  p.  51. 


A.D.  43—440.] 


BPJTISII  AND  ROMAN   PERIOD. 


41 


Saxon  pirates  ravaged  the  ill-defended  coasts  of  i  tioneil  for  the  first  time  by  historians  in  tlie  ear- 
Ihe  south,  the  Picts,  Scots,  and  Attacots — all  men-  |  licr  part  of  the  fourth  century — began  to  pi-ess 


<-. 


u 


j5^     -^ 


REiiAnrs  of  the  Waxxs  of  London.^ — J.  W.  Archer,  from  liis  original  drawing. 


npon  the  northern  provinces,  and  defy  Severus' 
deep  ditches  and  wall  of  stone.  As  the  Scots 
came  over  from  Ireland  in  boats,  and  frequently 
made  their  attacks  on  the  coast-line,  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  in  some  instances  their  depreda- 
tions "svere  mistaken  for,  or  mixed  up  with  those 
of  the  Saxons.  According  to  our  insuthcient 
guide,^  however,  it  was  the  Picts  and  Scots  alone 
that,  after  breaking  through  the  wall  of  Severus, 
and  killing  a  Eoman  general,  and  Nectaridius, 
the  **  Count  of  the  Saxon  Shore,"  in  the  reign  of 
Julian  the  Apostate,  were  found,  about  three 
years  after  (a.d.  307),  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor 
Valentinian,  pillaging  the  city  of  London  (Au- 

'  ITie  exact  period  when  London  was  first  walled  about,  is 
not  clearly  ascertained.  Simeon  of  Dxirham  ascribes  the  foun- 
dation of  the  wall  to  the  Emperor  Constantine  the  Great,  and 
it  appears  probable  that  it  was  either  built  or  repaired  in  his 
time,  from  the  discovery  of  coins  of  his  mother  Helena  under 
its  site.  But  it  is  probable  that  the  effective  fortification  of 
London  was  completed  during  the  reijjn  of  Valentinian  I.,  and 
after  the  rescue  of  the  city  by  Theodosius,  as  related  in  the  text, 
when  it  is  said  he  restored  the  defences  throughout  the  country, 
Tlie  city  having  been  ravaged  and  burned  by  Danish  pirates 
about  the  year  S39,  it  remained  utterly  waste  for  nearly  half  a 
centuiy,  when  it  was  again  rendered  habitable  by  Alfred,  Iving 
of  the  West  Saxons,  who  restored  its  defences  so  effectually,  that 
about  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  the  citizens  were  able  to 
assert  their  independence.  Fitzstephen  says,  concerning  the 
walls  of  London  as  they  appeared  in  the  reign  of  Henry  IL, 
when  he  compiled  his  account  of  London  : — "The  wall  is  high 
and  great,  well  towered  on  the  north  side,  with  due  distance 
between  the  towere.  On  the  south  side  also  the  city  was  walled 
and  towered,  but  the  fishful  river  of  Thames,  by  his  ebbing  and 
flowing,  has  long  since  subverted  them,"  The  towera  were 
fifteen  in  number,  and  their  remains  were  still  visible  down  to 
the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The  above  view  represents  a 
large  frafrmcnt  of  London  wail,  wluuh  abutted  on  the  Tower 

Vol  I, 


gusta),  and  carrying  off  its  inhabitants  as  slaves. 
Theodosius,  the  distinguished  general,  and  father 
of  the  emperor  of  that  name,  repelled  these  in- 
vaders, and  rejxiired  the  wall  and  the  ruined 
forts  in  differents  parts  of  the  south ;  but  the 
northern  districts  were  never  afterwards  reduced 
to  order  or  tranquillity,  and  even  for  the  partial 
and  temporary  advantage  they  obtained,  the  Ro- 
mans were  compelled  to  follow  the  host  of  pirates 
to  the  extremity  of  the  British  island.s,  "  when," 
as  it  is  expressed  in  the  verses  of  the  poet  Clau- 
dian  upon  this  achievement,  "the  distant  Orcades 
were  di'enched  with  Saxon  gore." 

By  watching   these  occurrences,  with   others 

poitem,  still  in  existence,  but  concealed  by  the  recent  erection 
of  some  livery  stables.  Here  the  wall  is  upwards  of  25  ft.  high, 
the  masonrj'  at  the  base  is  regularly  laid,  and  the  stones  are 
well  squared.  Over  the  fii-st  course  of  stones  is  a  double  laj'er 
of  the  large  tile  found  in  Roman  masonry,  of  wliich  the  dimen- 
sions are  as  follows:— 17  in.  long,  11  in.  broad,  and  nearly  \\  in. 
in  thickness,  the  depth  of  tlie  course,  inchuling  the  mortar, 
being  45  in.  Tlds  course,  wliich  is  evidently  of  Roman  construc- 
tion, and  the  basement  of  the  original  wall,  is  succeeded  by 
another  layer  of  squared  stones,  repaired  in  many  parts  vnih 
nibble  and  bits  of  tile.  The  stones  are  hero  five  deep,  and 
they  occupy  a  space  of  4 G  in.  between  the  first  layer  of  tiles  and 
another  which  lies  upon  it,  and  above  this  there  are  vestiges  of 
a  third  course  of  regular  masonry,  greatly  mingled  with  the 
material  of  coarse  and  unartificial  repair.  Here  probably  we 
see  the  work  of  the  Saxon  rebuilding  of  the  wall,  consisting  of 
large  masses  of  stone,  roughly  composed  with  rubble,  bits  of  Ro- 
man tile,  and  flints.  The  upper  portion  of  tliis  mural  monument 
of  the  ancient  strength  of  London  m.-iy,  in  its  diversity  of  mason- 
ry, contain  a  stratification  of  the  successive  repairs  it  had  under- 
gone, from  the  period  of  its  first  erection  to  the  time  when  tho 
brick  made  from  the  clay  of  Mooi-fields.  with  tho  Kentiwh  chalk, 
were  combined  with  its  structure  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV. 
-  Ammianus  MarccUivtis,  lib.  xxvU.  and  xxviii. 
6 


42 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


Iliat  wore  cf|ii:\lly  fatal,  step  by  step,  as  tht>v 
liappcu,  we  shall  be  the  better  able  to  ninlei-staiul 
how  Britain,  when  abandoned  by  the  Roman  le- 
gions, was  in  so  reduced  and  helpless  a  state  as 
to  fall  a  prey  to  the  barbai-iaus.  If  that  fact  is 
presented  to  ns  in  an  isolated  manner,  it  almost 
passes  our  comprehension;  but  taken  in  conuec- 
liou  with  great  causes,  and  the  events  of  the  two 
centuries  that  preceded  the  Saxon  conquest,  it 
becomes  perfectly  intelligible. 

Following  .in  example  which  h.ail  become  very 
prevalent  in  dilTerent  jiarts  of  the  disorganized 
Empire,  and  which  had  been  fir.st  set  in  Britain 
by  Carausius,  several  oiRcers,  relying  on  the  de- 
votion of  the  legions  and  auxiliaries  under  their 
command,  and  supported  sometimes  by  the  affec- 
tion of  the  people,  cast  off  their  allegiance  to  the 
emperor,  and  declared  themselves  independent 
sovereigns.  It  wjis  the  fa.shion  of  the  servile  his- 
torians to  call  these  provincial  emperors  "  ty- 
rants," or  usurpers,  and  to  describe  Britain  espe- 
cially as  being  "  insula  tyrannorum  fertilis,"  an 
island  fertile  in  usurpers.     But,  in  sober  truth. 


SCALE  CF    one;   MILE 

Plan  of  the  Walls  of  London  • 

these  provincial  monarchs  had  as  pure  and  legi- 
timate a  b.osis  for  their  authority  as  any  of  the 

*  In  this  plan  tl*e  black  portions  represent  the  existing  re- 
mains. The  g.ates  and  posterns  were  twelve  in  number,  namely: 
— 1.  Tower  postern;  2,  Ludgate;  3,  Newgate;  4,  Grej-friais  pos- 
tern; 5,  Aldcrsgate;  6,  Cripplegate  postern;  7,  AJdermanbury 
postern;  S,  Basinghall  postern ;  9,  iloorgate;  10,  Moorgate  pos- 
tern; 11,  Bishopsgate ;  12,  Aldg<ate.  No.  13  shows  the  position 
of  St.  r.anl's  Cathedral.  14  the  supposed  line  of  original  Roman 
wall,  and  15  the  site  of  the  Tower.  The  four  principal  gates  of 
the  city  are  understood  to  have  been  Aldgate  on  the  eastern 
aide,  Newgate  on  the  west,  Aldersgate  on  the  nortli,  and  the 
gate  wliich  stood  on  the  north  end  of  London  Bridge,  on  the 
south.  Fitzstephen  states  that  there  were  seven  double  gates  in 
the  wall  of  London,  but  fails  to  specify  them ;  it  is  to  be  con- 
jectured, howe%'er,  that  the  others  were  the  Tower  postern, 
Ludgate,  and  Aldersgate  or  Cripplegate.  The  gates  eastward 
of  Cripplegate,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  city,  were  opened  in 
times  comparatively  late.  Tlic  gioimd  on  which  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  (No.  13)  is  sitiuated,  was  a  cemetery,  in  which  the 
V.?stige3  of  British  and  Roman  interments  were  found  by  Wren, 
ill  digging  for  thefouiidationsof  the  present  edifice;  and,  accord- 


later  emperors  of  Rome,  in  whose  succession 
hereditary  right  .and  the  will  of  the  governed 
were  alike  disregarded,  and  \vho.se  election  de- 
pended on  the  chances  of  war  and  the  caprices  of 
a  barbarian  soldiery;  for  the  right  of  nomination 
to  the  vacant  Empire,  so  long  assumed  by  the 
Praetorian  band,  and  which  right,  questionable 
as  it  was,  was  still  certain  and  ascertainable — 
still  something  like  a  settled  rule— was  soon  over- 
set, and  disallowed  by  the  men  of  all  nations  in 
arms  on  the  frontiers  in  the  pay  of  Rome.  If  a 
pretension  had  been  set  up  for  purity  of  Roman 
blooil,  or  a  principle  established  that  the  sove- 
reign should  be  at  least  a  Roman  born,  there 
would  have  been  a  line  of  exclusion  drawn 
against  the  provincial  ofBcers ;  but  so  far  from 
this  being  the  case,  we  find  that  the  large  majo- 
rity of  the  so-called  legitimate  Roman  emperoi-s 
were  barbarians  by  race  and  blood  —  natives  of 
lUyria  and  other  more  remote  provinces — while 
several  of  the  most  distinguished  of  their  number 
sprung  from  the  very  lowest  orders  of  society. 
The  most  noted  of  the  provincial  emperoi-s  or 
pretendei-s  that  raised  their  standard 
in  Britain  was  Maximus  (a.d.  382);  cer- 
tainly a  man  of  rank,  and  probably 
connected  with  the  imperial  family  of 
Constantine  the  Great.  If  not  bom  in 
Britain,  he  was  of  British  descent,  and 
had  long  resided  in  the  island,  where 
he  had  repelled  the  Picts  and  Scots. 
Brave,  skilful,  and  exceedingly  popular 
in  Britain,  Jlaximus  might  easily  have 
retained  the  island,  but  his  ambition 
induced  him  to  aim  at  the  possession 
of  all  that  portion  of  the  Western  Ro- 
man empire  which  remained  to  Gra- 
tiau;  and  this  eventually  not  only  led 
to  his  ruin,  but  inflicted  another  dread- 
ful blow  on  British  prosperity.  He 
withdrew  nearly  all  the  troops ;  and  so  many  of 
the  Britons  followed  him  to  Gaul  that  the  island 


ing  to  the  law  .and  practice  of  the  Rom.aus,  the  dead  were  for- 
bidden to  be  interred  within  the  walls  of  their  cities,  it  is  there- 
fore to  be  presumed  that  the  walls  of  Loudon  were  so  planned  as 
to  exclude  this  site.  It  has  consequently  been  conjectured  that 
the  original  west  waU  h.id  run  from  Cripplegate  to  the  Thames 
bank,  and  it  is  indicated  accordingly  on  the  plan,  No.  14;  but  the 
evidence  of  a  Roman  causeway,  discovered  on  the  rebuilding  of 
Newgate — which,  however,  stood  to  the  east  of  the  prison  so 
called — goes  to  prove  that  the  road  presumed  to  have  been  the 
PiTetoi-ian  way  entered  the  city  at  this  angle,  how  much  foi-ther 
to  the  east  cannot  be  determined.  The  further  projection  on 
the  south-west,  at  No.  2,  was  cairied  out  at  the  beginning  of 
the  thirteenth  centxrry,  to  inclose  the  precincts  of  the  monastery 
of  the  Blackfriara,  erected  in  the  year  1215.  It  is  conjectured 
that  a  Roman  p.ilatiiiate  tower  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  pre- 
sent Tower,  No.  15,  and  that  a  corresponding  stronghold  was  situ- 
ated at  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  wall  on  the  west.  Outside 
the  wall  was  a  ditch  200  ft.  broad,  which  was  completed  in  the 
fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  John  (l:;i3;. —  Vestiga  of  Old 
London. 


A.D.  43- -449.1 


BRITISn   AND  ROMAN   PEIUOI). 


43 


■was  left  almost  dt'feucdess,  auil  utterly  ilepi'ive<l 
of  the  flower  of  its  youth  and  nobility.  Many 
of  these  were  swept  off  on  the  field  of  battle, 
many  prevented  by  other  causes  from  ever  re- 
tuniiiig  home.  Gaul  and  Germnny  also  g.ave 
willinc;  recruits  to  the  army  of  ^faximus,  who 
was  left,  by  the  defeat  and  death  of  Gratian, 
the  undisputed  master  of  Brilaiu,  Gaul,  Spain, 
ami  Italy.  He  established  the  seat  of  his  go- 
vernment for  some  time  at  Treves,  and  is  said 
to  have  declared  Victor,  his  son  by  a  British 
wife,  his  partner  in  the  empire  of  the  West — a 
proceeding  which  could  scarcely  fiiil  of  gratifying 
the  host  of  Britons  in  his  army.  But  Theodo- 
sius,  called  the  Great,  the  emperor  of  the  East, 
marched  an  overpowering  army  into  the  West; 
and,  after  being  defeated  in  two  great  battles, 
Maximus  retired  to  Aquileia,  near  the  head  of 
the  Ailriatic  Gulf,  on  the  confines  of  Italy  and 
Illyria,  where  he  was  betrayed  to  the  conqueror, 
who  ordered  him  to  be  put  to  death  in  the  sum- 
mer of  3S8. 

Theodosius  the  Great  now  reunited  the  Roman 
empires  of  the  East  and  West.  While  Maximus 
was  absent,  conquering  many  lands,  the  Scots 
and  Picts  renewed  their  depredations  in  Britain. 
The  moment  of  crisis  is  now  at  hand.  Chrysan- 
tus,  an  able  general,  and  the  lieutenant  of  Theo- 
dosius in  Britain,  wholly  or  partially  expelled  the 
invaders.  Soon  after  this  Theodosius  the  Great 
died  (.\.D.  365),  and  again  divided,  by  his  will,  the 
Empire  which  his  good  fortune  had  reunited. 
Britain,  with  Gaul,  Italy,  and  all  the  countries 
forming  the  empire  of  the  West,  he  bequeathed 
to  his  son,  Honorius,  a  boy  only  ten  years  of  age, 
whom  he  placed  under  the  guardianship  of  the 
famous  Stilicho,  who  fought  long  and  bravely, 
but  in  vain,  to  prop  the  falling  dignity  of  Rome. 
Tlieodosius  was  scarcely  cold  in  his  grave,  when 
Picts,  Scots,  and  Saxons  again  sought  what  they 
co\dd  devour.  Stilicho  claimed  some  temporary 
advantages  over  them,  but  the  inflated  verses  of 
his  panegyrist  are  probably  as  far  from  the  truth 
as  Claudian  is  from  being  a  poet  equal  to  Virgil.' 

While  these  events  were  passing  in  Britain 
(a.d.  403),  the  withered  majesty  of  Rome  was 
shrouded  for  ever :  Africa  was  dismembered  from 
her  empire ;  Dacia,  Pannonia,  Thrace,  and  other 
provinces  were  laid  desolate;  and  Alaric  the  Goth 
was  ravaging  Italy,  and  on  liis  wa}'  to  the  Eternal 
City.  In  this  extremity,  some  Roman  troops, 
which  had  been  lately  sent  into  the  island  by 
Stilicho,  were  hastily  recalled  for  the  defence  of 
Italy,  and  the  Britons,  again  beset  by  the  Picts 
and  Scots,  were  left  to  shift  for  themselves 

The  islanders  seem  to  have  felt  the  natural 
love  of  independence,  but  there  was  no  uuaui- 


'  Claud,  de  ScUo  Gallico. 


mity,  no  political  wisdom,  and  probably  but  little 
good  principle  among  them.  Seeing  the  neces- 
sity of  a  common  leader  to  fight  their  battles, 
they  permitted  their  soldiery  to  elect  one  Marcus 
emperor  of  Britain  (a.d.  407) ;  and,  shortly  after, 
they  permitted  the  same  soldiery  to  dethrone 
him,  and  put  him  to  death.  The  troops  then  set 
up  one  Gratian,  whom,  in  less  than  four  months, 
they  also  deposed  and  murdered.  Their  third 
choice  fell  \ipon  Const.anline,  an  officer  of  low 
rank,  or,  according  to  olhens,  a  common  soldier. 
They  are  said  to  have  chosen  him  mei-ely  on  ac- 
count of  his  bearing  the  imperial  and  auspicious 
u.ame  of  Constantine;  but  lie  soon  showed  he  had 
other  properties  more  valuable  than  a  name  ;  and 
had  he  been  contented  with  the  sovereign  pos- 
session of  Britain,  he  might  possibly  have  foiled  its 
invaders,  and  reigned  with  peace  and  some  glory. 
But,  like  Maximiis,  he  aspired  to  the  whole  em- 
pire of  the  West,  and,  like  Maximus,  he  fell  (.\.D. 
411),  after  having  caused  the  loss  of  vast  num- 
bers of  British  youths,  whom  he  discijilined  and 
took  with  him  to  his  wars  on  the  Continent.  At 
one  part  of  his  short  career,  Constantine  made 
himself  master  of  nearly  the  whole  of  Gaid,  and 
put  his  son  Constans,  who  had  previously  been  a 
monk  at  AVinehester,  in  possession  of  Spain.  lu 
the  course  of  this  Spanish  campaign,  it  is  curious 
to  remark  tluat  in  Constautine's  army  there  were 
two  bands  of  Scots  or  Attacotti." 

Soon  after  the  fall  of  Constantine  we  find  Ge- 
routius,  a  powerful  chief,  and  a  Briton  by  birth, 
cultivating  a  close  connection  with  the  Teutonic 
tribes ;  and,  at  his  instigation,  the  bai'barians 
from  beyond  the  Rhine,  by  whom  we  are  to  un- 
derstand the  Saxons,  continued  to  invade  the 
unhappy  island.  Such  underhand  villainies  are 
always  common  in  the  downfall  of  nations  (but 
can  the  Romanized  Britons  fairly  be  called  a  na- 
tion?); and  we  find  other  chiefs,  woi'se  than  Ge- 
rontius,  in  secret  league  with  tlie  more  barbarous 
Picts  and  Scots. 

It  appears  that,  after  the  death  of  C'oustantiue, 
Honorius,  during  the  short  breathing-time  al- 
lowed him  by  his  numerous  enemies,  twice  sent 
over  a  few  troops  for  the  recovery  and  protec- 
tion of  Britain,  the  sovereignty  of  which  he  still 
claimed ;  but  his  exigencies  soon  obliged  him 
to  recal  them ;  and  about  the  year  420,  nearly 
five  centuries  after  Cresar's  first  invasion,  and 
after  being  masters  of  the  best  part  of  it  during 
nearly  four  centuries,  the  Roman  emperors  finally 
abandoned  the  island.  The  Britons  had  already 
deposed  the  magistrates  a])poiuted  by  Rome,  pro- 
claimed their  independence,  and  taken  uj)  arms 
for  that  defence  against  their  invaders,  which  the 
emperor  could  no  longer  give ;  but  the  final  dis- 

•  Notitia  Imperii,  sect,  xxxviii. 


44 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


severance  was  uot  acconip.inieJ  liy  reproach  or  ap- 
parent ill-will.  Ou  the  contrary,  a  mutual  frieml- 
ship  subsisted  for  some  time  after  between  the 
islanders  and  the  Komans ;  and  the  Emperor  IIo- 
norhis,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  states  or  cities 
of  Britain,  seemed  formally  to  release  them  from 
their  allegiance,  and  to  acknowledge  the  national 
iudejiendence. 

For  some  years  aftc^r  the  departure  of  the  Ro- 
m.ans,  the  historian  has  to  grope  his  way  in  the 
dark ;  nor  is  it  possible  to  determine  the  precise 
condition  of  the  country.  It  appears,  however, 
that  the  free  municipal  government  of  the  cities 
was  presently  overthrown  by  a  multitude  of  mili- 
tary chiefs,  who  were  principally  of  British,  but 
jjartly  of  Roman  origin.  It  was  a  period  to  ap- 
l^reciate  the  warrior  who  could  fight  against  the 
Scots  and  Picts,  rather  than  the  peaceful  magis- 
trate; and  the  voice  of  civil  liberty  would  be 
rarely  heard  in  the  din  of  war  and  invasion.  In 
a  very  few  years  all  traces  of  a  popular  govern- 
ment disappeared,  and  a  number  of  petty  chiefs 
reigned  absolutely  and  tyi-annically,  under  the 
pompous  name  of  kings,  though  the  kingdoms  of 
few  of  them  could  have  been  so  large  as  a  second- 
rate  modern  county  of  England.  Instead  of  unit- 
ing for  their  genei-al  safety,  at  least  until  the  in- 
vaders were  repelled,  these  roitelets,  or  kiugliugs, 
made  wars  upon  each  other  in  the  presence  of  a 
common  danger ;  and,  unwiser  even  than  their  far 
less  civilized  ancestors  in  the  time  of  C;esar,  they 
never  thought  of  forming  any  gi-eat  defensive 
league  until  it  was  too  late. 

It  is  chiefly  in  this  mad  disunion  that  we  must 
look  for  the  cause  of — what  has  created  astonish- 
ment in  so  many  writers — the  miserable  weak- 
ness of  Britain  ou  the  breaking  up  of  the  Roman 
government.'  Other  causes  of  decline,  however, 
had  long  been  at  work.  Almost  from  the  fii'st 
establishment  of  the  Roman  power,  the  British 
troops  raised  as  recruits  were  drafted  off  to  the 
Continent,  where  they  were  disciplined,  and 
whence  few  ever  returned.  It  was  contrary  to 
the  policy  of  the  Romans  to  teach  the  provincials 
the  arts  of  war,  and  establish  them  as  troops  in 
their  own  country.  The  soldiei-s  of  Britain  were 
scattered  from  Gaul  to  the  extremities  of  the 


*  M.  Guizot,  in  Ms  Es^ais  sur  I'Histoire  de  France,  remarks, 
that  tlie  resistance  of  the  Romanized  Britons  to  the  bai'barians 
was,  in  point  of  fact,  far  more  obstinate  than  tliat  of  any  other 
Roman  province.  "  It  was  cliiefly,"  he  says,  "  in  the  provinces 
that  had  been  longest  subject  to  Rome,  and  wliere  civilization 
was  farthest  advanced,  that  the  people  thus  disappeared.  .  .  . 
The  Britons,  less  civilized,  less  Roman  than  the  other  subjects 
of  Rome,  resisted  the  Saxons,  and  their  resistance  has  a  histoi-y. 
At  the  same  epoch,  in  the  s-ime  situation,  the  Italians,  the 
Gauls,  the  Spaniards  have  none.  The  Empire  retired  from  their 
territories,  and  the  barbarians  occupied  them,  without  the  mass 
of  the  inhabitants  having  acted  the  8m.allest  part,  or  marked 
their  place  in  any  way,  in  the  events  that  made  tliem  the  vic- 
tims of  so  many  calamities." 


Empire;  the  sedentary  and  unwarliko  remained 
at  home.  All  this,  we  think,  may  account  for 
the  absence  of  a  well-disciplined  force  in  the  time 
of  need.  Moreover,  during  nearly  a  contui-y  and 
a  half,  the  drain  upon  the  ])opulation  for  the  pur- 
poses of  Roman  war  must  have  been  prodigious. 
In  308  Constantine  took  with  him  a  vast  num- 
ber of  Britons  to  the  Continent;  this  example 
was  followed,  as  the  enemies  of  the  Empire  in- 
creased in  numljer  and  audacity,  or  as  one  pre- 
tender disputed  the  imperial  crown  with  another  ; 
and  we  have  shown,  at  periods  so  recent  as  a.d. 
.38.3  and  411,  how  the  pride  and  flower  of  the 
youth  were  sacrificed  in  foreign  warfare.  The 
exterminating  inroads  of  the  Scots  and  Picts, 
which  began  early  in  the  fourth  century,  and 
lasted,  almost  without  intermission,  until  long 
after  the  departure  of  the  Roman  legions  in  the 
fifth  century,  must  have  fearfully  thinned  the 
population  in  the  north,  where  arms  were  most 
wanted.  The  curses  that  destroy  mankind  were 
many,  and  there  were  none  of  the  blessings  that 
tend  to  their  increase.  Gaul,  and  other  pro- 
vinces with  which  Britain  traded,  were  in  as  bad 
a  condition  as  herself,  and  thus  an  end  was  put 
to  foreign  commerce,  while  the  internal  trade  of 
the  country  was  gradually  destroyed  by  divisions 
and  wars,  which  made  it  unsafe  for  the  inhabi- 
tant of  one  district  to  transport  his  produce  into 
the  next,  although  only  at  a  few  miles'  distance. 
Under  such  a  state  of  things,  moreover,  agi-icul- 
ture  would  be  neglected,  for  men  would  not  sow 
in  the  sad  uncertainty  whether  they  or  the  enemj' 
should  reap.  Famine  and  pestilence  ensued ;  and 
Britain,  in  common  with  the  greater  part  of  Europe, 
where  the  same  causes  had  been  in  operation,  was 
still  further  depopulated  by  these  two  scourges. 

We  can  scarcely  credit  Gildas,  or  the  history 
which  hears  his  name,  and  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  written  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth 
century,  when  he  or  it  asserts  that,  at  the  depar- 
ture of  the  legions,  the  Britons  were  sunk  in 
such  helplessness  and  ignorance,  that  they  could 
uot  repair  the  stone  wall  of  Severus  without  the 
guidance  and  assistance  of  Roman  workmen ; 
but  we  can  understand  how  they  could  not  mus- 
ter forces  sufiicient  to  man  that  rampart,  and  also 
how  the  Picts  and  Scots  should  render  it  of  no 
avail,  by  turning  the  wall  on  its  flanks,  and  land- 
ing in  its  rear,  at  such  distances  as  best  suited 
their  convenience.  To  maintain  an  adequate 
garrison  against  a  vigilant  and  restless  enemy, 
along  a  line  upwards  of  seventy  miles  in  length, 
would  demand  a  very  large  disposable  force. 
The  northern  barbarians  would  not  hesitate  to 
launch  their  boats  in  the  Solway  Frith,  or  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tyne,  north  of  the  wall,  and,  by 
sailing  south,  pass  that  rampart  at  one  of  its  ex- 
tremities, and  land  on  the  coast  within  the  wall. 


A.D.  43-449.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


45 


or  .isceuJ  river.'i,  where  that  dot'iMice,  left  far  in 
tlieir  rear,  couUl  present  no  ob.staele  to  their  pro- 
gress. Tlieir  ruJe-st  coracles  might  liave  per- 
formed this  coasting  service  in  fine  weatlier;  but 
it  is  not  improbable  that  during  their  occa.sional 
connections  witli  tlie  Teutonic  or  Saxon  pirates, 
who  had  made  some  progress  in  naval  architec- 
ture, the  Scots  came  into  possession  of  larger  and 
better  vessels.  An  obvious  fact  is,  that  from 
the  arrival  of  the  latter  people  from  Ireland,  the 
X"am]iart  of  Severus  began  signally  to  fail  in  an- 
swering the  pui'po.'^es  for  which  it  was  intended; 
though,  perhap.^,  if,  instead  of  taking  the  usual 
expression  of  their  breaking  through  the  wall, 
we  read  that  they  turned  it  at  one  or  other  of  its 
extremities,  by  means  of  their  shoals  of  boats,  we 
shall  generall)',  in  regard  to  their  earlier  inroads, 
be  nearer  the  truth. 

Cut  the  time  was  now  come  when  such  strata- 
gems, or  circuitous  courses,  were  unnecessary, 
and  the  Scots  and  Picts  leaped  the  ditches  and 
scaled  the  ill-defended  walls  at  all  points.  The 
fertile  provinces  of  the  south  tempted  them  for- 
ward, tiU  they  reached  the  very  heai-t  of  the 
country,  wliich  they  racked  with  a  most  barba- 
rous hand.  It  was  not  their  object  to  occupy  the 
country  and  settle  in  it  as  conquerors  (had  such 
been  their  plan,  the  Britons  would  have  suffered 
less);  their  expeditions  were  forays;  they  came 
to  plunder  and  destroy;  and  the  booty  they  car- 
ried off,  season  after  season,  was  a  less  serious 
loss  than  the  slaughter  and  devastation  that 
marked  their  advance  and  retreat. 

At  this  horrid  crisis,  the  more  southern  and 
least  exposed  parts  of  the  island  appear  to  have 
been  occupied  by  two  great  parties  or  factions, 
which  had  absorbed  all  the  rest,  but  could  not 
come  to  a  rational  understanding  with  each 
other.  One  of  these  was  a  Roman  party,  includ- 
ing, no  doubt,  thousands  of  Roman  citizens,  who 
had  remained  on  the  estates  they  had  acquired, 
and  the  many  native  families  that  must  have 
been  connected  with  them  by  marriage  and  the 
various  ties  of  civil  life;  the  other  was  a  British 
party,  composed,  or  pretending  to  be  composed, 
exclusively  of  Britons.  As  soon  as  such  a  line 
of  distinction  was  di'awn,  dissension  was  inevi- 
table. The  Roman  party  was  headed  by  Aure- 
lius  Ambrosius,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  em- 
perors ;  the  British  rallied  round  the  notorious 
Vortigern.  It  is  not  very  clear  whether,  when 
it  was  determined  a  third  time  to  implore  the 
aid  of  the  Romans,  both  these  parties  consented 
to  that  measure,  or  whether  Aurelius  Ambrosius 
did  not  take  it  upon  himself,  as  his  rival  Vorti- 
gern did  the  calling  in  of  the  Saxons  only  three 
years  after. 

The  abject  prayer,  however,  entitled  "The 
Groans  of  the  Britons,"  and  addressed  to  ^Etius, 


tlirice  consul,  was  sent  to  the  Continent  (a.d.  441X 
"  The  barbarians,"  said  the  petitionei-s,  "  chase 
us  into  the  sea;  the  sea  throws  us  back  upon 
the  barbarians;  and  we  have  only  the  hard 
choice  left  us  of  perishing  by  the  sword  or  by 
the  waves."  But  yEtius,  though  as  great  a  war- 
rior as  Stilicho,  was  then  contending  with  Attila, 
a  more  terrible  enemy  even  than  Alaric,  and 
could  not  afford  a  single  cohort  to  the  supplicants, 
whose  last  faint  reliance  on  Rome  thus  fell  to  the 
ground. 

Religious  controversy,  and  the  mutual  hatred 
that  inflames  men  when  they  fix  the  charge  of 
heresy  on  one  another,  completed  the  anarchy 
of  Britain.  This  is  also  a  very  common,  though 
a  very  strange  concomitant  with  the  fall  and  last 
agonies  of  nations ;  and  the  Britons,  like  the 
Jews  some  centuries  before,  and  like  the  Greeks 
at  Constantino])le,  besieged  by  the  Turks,  ten 
centuries  after,  consumed  their  time  in  theologi- 
cal subtleties  and  disputations  when  the  enemy 
was  at  their  gates,  and  their  last  defences  were 
falling  above  their  heads.  Had  some  of  the  dis- 
putants been  animated  with  the  same  martial 
spirit  as  Germauus  of  Auxerre,  a  Gallic  bishop, 
who  was  sent  over  by  the  pope  to  decide  the 
controversy,  their  ruin  might  have  been  delayed; 
but  his  was  a  solitary  instance.  Germanus,  who 
had  been  a  soldier  before  he  became  a  priest, 
sallied  out  with  a  number  of  Britons,  and  to  the 
shouts  of  hallelujah  (if  we  may  believe  the  vene- 
rable Bede),  cut  up  a  party  of  Picts  that  were 
plundering  the  coast.  But  this  hallelujah  vic- 
tory, as  it  was  called,  was  far  from  being  sufficient 
to  stay  the  mai'ch  of  the  invaders,  and  at  length 
Vortigern  took  his  memorable  step,  and  called 
the  Saxons  to  his  assistance.  The  people  of 
Armorica  or  Brittany  had  already  set  the  ex- 
ample, and,  more  fortunate  than  their  neighbours 
proved  in  the  end,  they  had  succeeded,  by  means 
of  some  Saxon  allies,  in  maintaining  the  inde- 
pendence, and  securing  the  tranquillity  of  their 
country. 

It  may  be  suspected  that,  even  at  this  extremity, 
Vortigern  applied  for  the  aid  of  foreign  arms,  as 
much  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  Roman 
party  in  the  island  as  for  the  expulsion  of  its  in- 
vaders ;  and  this  suspicion,  though  not  proved, 
gains  some  strength  from  their  past  and  existing 
disputes;  from  the  reports  of  the  deadly  hatred 
and  bloody  conllicts  which  ensued  between  Au- 
relius Ambrosius,  the  head  of  the  Roman  jmrty, 
and  Vortigern;  and  from  the  circumstance  that 
Aurelius,  from  the  first  landing,  m.ade  head 
against  the  Saxons,  while  his  enemy  lived  in 
peace  and  amity  with  them  for  some  time. 

But,  whatever  were  his  motives,  Vortigern 
(A.D.  449)  called  the  hardy  freebooters  of  the 
Baltic  and  Northern  Germany,  and  they  came 


4(J 


lIISTOliy  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Rblioion. 


most  readily  at  his  call.  Three  ckiules  (lieels),  or 
long  slii]is,  were  cruising  in  the  British  Chan- 
nel, under  the  command  of  two  brothers,  distin- 
guished warriors  or  pirates  among  the  Saxons, 
who  are  called  Ilengist  aud  Uorsa,  tlioujjh  it  is 
possible  those  may  not  have  been  really  their 
names,  but  designations  merely  derived  from 
the  standanls  they  bore.'  It  appears  to  have 
been  on  the  deck  of  these  marauding  vessels 
that  the  Saxons  received  the  invitation  which 


eventually  led  to  the  conquest  of  a  great  kingdom. 
Vortigeru  appiiinted  his  ready  guests  to  dwell  in 
the  east  part  of  the  land,  and  gave  them  the  Isle 
of  Thauet  for  their  residence,  an  insulated  and 
secure  tract  to  those  who,  like  the  Saxons,  had 
the  command  of  the  sea;  for  the  narrow,  and,  at 
times,  almost  invisible  rill  which  now  divides 
Thanot  from  the  rest  of  Kent,  was  then  a  chan- 
nel of  tlie  sea,  nearly  a  mile  in  width.  From  this 
date  begins  the  history  of  the  Saxons  in  Britain.-' 


CHAPTER  III.— HISTORY  OF  RELIGION. 


RELICIO.V  OF  THE  ANCIENT  BRITONS,  AND  INTRODUCTION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. B.C.  55— A.D.  440. 

Dniidism— Cresar'3  account  of  the  Druids— .Account  of  tliem  by  Ser.eca  and  Lucan — DruiJical  groves  and  wells— 
Tlie  niisletoe— Classes  of  tl'.e  Lruidical  priesthood— Costume  of  the  Druids— Their  modes  of  divination — Tlieir 
doctrines  and  religious  observances— Their  human  sacrifices — Origin  of  Druidism — Warfare  of  the  Romans 
Rgainst  it— Its  influence  after  tlie  suppression  of  the  Druids — Entrance  of  Christianity  into  Britain— State  of 
the  early  Christian  church  there. 


HAT  very  ancient  aud  far-ex- 
tended faith  known  by  the  name 
of  Druidism,  flourished  among  the 
ancient  Britons  in  all  its  vigour. 
It  appears,  indeed,  that  Druidism 
was  considered  by  the  Gauls  to 
have  originated  in  Britain;  but  those,  perhaps, 
are  nearer  to  the  truth  who  give  to  the  broad 
principles  of  the  religion  an  Eastern  origin.  Much 
of  the  subject  is  concealed  in  a  darkness  very 
favourable  to  conjecture  and  speculation;  but  we 
possess  very  few  materials  whereupon  to  found  a 
positive  account  of  the  system.  Julius  Ctesar, 
who  was  altogether  only  a  short  time  in  our  is- 
land, but  who  resided  six  or  seven  years  in  Gaul, 
and  made  himself  well  acquainted  with  the  insti- 
tutions of  that  country,  has  left  the  fullest  ancient 


account  we  possess  of  the  Gallic  Druids.  He 
states  generally  that  the  same  system  existed  in 
Britain;  but  as  his  stay  was  so  short,  aud  as  he 
saw  so  little  of  our  island,  he  was  scarcely  com- 
petent to  judge  whether  Druidism  prevailed  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  and  whether  it  did  not 
vary  in  some  of  its  rites  and  practices  from  the 
Gallic  establishment.  He,  however,  says  that 
those  of  the  Gauls  who  wished  to  obtain  a  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  system,  were  wont  to  pass 
over  into  Britain  to  study  it. 

Caesar's  account  of  the  Gallic  Druids  is  this: — 
"  They  are  the  ministers  of  sacred  things ;  they 
have  the  charge  of  sacrifices,  both  public  aud 
private ;  they  give  directions  for  the  ordinauces 
of  religious  worship  {i-eligiones  interpretanlur). 
A  great  number  of  young  men  resort  to  them  for 


'  Uenfjst,  or  hmgist,  signifies  a  stallion ;  and  /iorsa,  or  hross, 
does  not  require  any  explanation.  It  may  be  remarked,  how- 
ever, that  in  Danish,  hois  signifies  not  a  horse,  but  a  mare.  Tlie 
snow-white  steed  still  appeai-s  as  the  ensign  of  Kent,  in  Eng- 
land, as  it  anciently  did  in  the  sliield  of  the  *'  Old  Saxons"  in 
Germany.  Uence  the  white  lioi-se  is  still  borne  on  the  royal 
shield  of  Brunswick-Uanover. — Palgr.avo,  Historif  of  EnyUmd, 
cb.  ii. 

2  "  We  have  considered  the  gener.al  principles  of  Roman  pro- 
vincial govenimeut;  aud  we  now  ask,  How  were  these  aiiplied 
in  the  case  of  Britain?  The  answer  is  much  more  diificult  to 
^ivo  than  might  be  imagined.  Wealthy  as  this  country  was, 
nnd  capable  of  conducing  to  the  power  and  wellbeing  of  its 
mastera,  it  seems  never  to  have  received  a  generous,  or  even  fair 
treatment  fi-om  them.  The  Bnton  was  to  the  last,  as  at  the 
first,  pcnitits  toto  divisTS  orbe  Britann-us,  and  his  laud,  alw.iys 
vXtima  Thide,  was  made,  indeed,  to  serve  the  avarice  or  ambition 
of  the  iiUer,  but  derived  little  benefit  to  itself  fiom  the  nile. 
'Levies,  corn,  tribute,  mortgages,  slaves' — imder  these  heads 
was  Britain  entered  in  the  vast  ledger  of  the  Empu-e.  The  Ro- 
man records  do  not  tell  us  much  of  the  details  of  government 
here,  and  we  may  justly  say  that  we  are  more  familiar  ^vith  the 


state  of  an  eastern  or  an  Iberian  city,  than  we  are  with  that  of 
a  British  one.  A  few  teclmical  words,  perfectly  significant  to  a 
people  who,  above  all  others,  symbohzed  a  long  succession  of 
facts  under  one  legal  tei-m,  are  all  that  remain  to  us  ;  and  un- 
fortunately the  jui-ists,  and  statesmen,  and  historians  whose 
works  we  painfully  consult,  in  hopes  of  rescuing  the  minutest 
details  of  our  early  condition,  are  satisfied  with  the  use  of  gene- 
r.al terms,  which  were  perfectly  intelligible  to  those  for  whom 
they  wrote,  but  teach  us  httlc.  .  .  .  Temples  thei-e  were; 
food,  poi-ticoes,  baths,  and  luxurious  fe-ists;  Roman  manners  aud 
Roman  vices;  and  to  support  them,  lo.ans,  usurious  mortgages, 
and  ruin.  But  we  seek  in  vain  for  any  evidence  of  the  Roman- 
ized Britons  having  been  employed  in  any  olEces  of  trust  and 
dignity,  or  pei-mitted  to  sh<are  in  the  really  v.aluable  results  of 
civilization ;  there  is  no  one  Briton  recorded,  of  whom  we  can 
confidently  assert  that  he  held  any  position  of  dignity  and  power 
under  the  imperial  rule ;  the  liistorians,  the  geographeis,  nay, 
even  the  novelists  (who  so  often  supply  incidental  notices  of  the 
utmost  interest),  are  here  consulted  in  vain;  nor  in  tlie  many 
hiscriptions  which  we  possess  relating  to  Britain  can  we  point 
out  one  single  '  British  name.'  " — Kemble's  The  Saxoiis  in  ling- 
land,  book  ii.  ch.  vii. 


n.c.  55— A.D.  419.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN   PERIOD. 


47 


the  purpose  of  instruction  in  their  system,  and 
they  are  held  iu  the  highest  reverenoe.  For  it 
is  they  wlio  determine  most  disputes,  whether  of 
the  affairs  of  the  state  or  of  indivichials ;  and  if 
any  crime  has  been  committed,  if  a  man  has  been 
slain,  if  tliere  is  a  contest  concerning  an  inheri- 
tance or  the  bouudaries  of  their  lands,  it  is  the 
Druids  who  settle  the  matter :  they  fix  rewards 
and  punishments;  if  any  one,  whether  in  an  in- 
dividual or  public  capacity,  refuses  to  abide  by 
their  sentence,  they  foi-bid  him  to  come  to  the 
sacrifices.  This  punishment  is  among  them  very 
severe;  those  on  whom  this  intei-dict  is  laid  are 
accounted  among  the  unholy  and  accursed ;  all 
flee  from  them,  and  shun  their  approach  and  their 
conversation,  lest  they  should  be  injured  by  their 
very  touch  ;  they  are  placed  out  of  the  pale  of  the 
law,  and  excluded  from  aU  offices  of  honoui-. 

"  Over  all  these  Druids  one  presides,  to  whom 
they  pay  the  highest  regard  of  any  among  them. 
Upon  his  death,  if  thei'e  is  auy  of  the  other 
Druids  of  superior  worth,  he  succeeds ;  if  there 
are  more  than  one  who  have  equal  claims,  a  suc- 
cessor is  a]>pointed  by  the  votes  of  the  Druids ; 
and  the  contest  is  sometimes  decided  by  force  of 
arms  These  Druids  hold  a  meeting  at  a  certain 
time  of  the  year,  in  a  consecrated  S])ot  in  the 
country  of  the  Carnutes  (people  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Chartre.s),  which  country  is  considered  to 
be  in  the  centre  of  all  Gaul.  Hither  assemble  all 
from  every  part,  who  have  a  litigation,  and  sub- 
mit themselves  to  their  determination  and  sen- 
tence. The  system  of  Druidisra  is  thought  to 
have  been  formed  in  Britain,  and  from  thence 
cai-ried  over  into  Gaul;  and  now  those  who  wish 
to  be  more  accurately  versed  in  it,  lor  the  most 
part  go  thither  (i.e.,  to  Britain),  in  order  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  it. 

"  The  Druids  do  not  commonly  engage  in  war, 
neither  do  they  pay  taxes  like  the  rest  of  the 
community ;  they  enjoy  an  exemption  from  mili- 
tary service,  and  freedom  from  all  other  public 
burdens.  Induced  by  these  advantages,  many 
come  of  their  own  accord  to  be  trained  up  among 
them,  and  others  are  sent  by  their  parents  and 
connections.  They  are  said  in  this  course  of  in- 
struction to  learn  by  heart  a  number  of  verses ; 
and  some  accordingly  remain  twenty  years  under 
tuition.  Nor  do  the  Druids  think  it  right  to 
commit  their  instructions  to  writing,  although  in 
most  other  things,  in  the  accounts  of  the  state 
and  of  individuals,  the  Greek  chai-acters  are  used. 
They  appear  to  me  to  have  adopted  this  course 
for  two  reasons ;  because  they  do  not  wish  either 
that  the  knowledge  of  their  system  should  be 
diffused  among  the  people  at  large,  or  that  their 
pupils,  trusting  to  written  characters,  should  be- 
come less  careful  about  cultivating  the  memory; 
because  iu  most  cases  it  happens  that  men,  from 


the  security  which  written  ch.iracters  afford,  be- 
couie  careless  in  acquiring  and  retaining  know- 
ledge. It  is  especially  the  object  of  the  Druids 
to  inculcate  this — that  souls  do  not  perish,  but 
after  death  pass  into  other  boilies;  and  they  con- 
sider that  by  this  belief,  more  than  anything  else, 
men  may  be  led  to  cast  away  the  fear  of  death, 
and  to  become  courageous.  They  discuss,  more- 
over, many  points  concerning  the  heavenly  bodies 
and  their  motion,  the  e.'ctent  of  the  universe  and 
the  world,  the  nature  of  things,  the  influence  and 
ability  of  the  immortal  gods;  aud  they  instruct 
the  youth  in  these  things. 

"The  whole  nation  of  the  Gauls  is  much  ad- 
dicted to  religious  observances,  and,  on  that  ac- 
count, those  who  are  attacked  by  any  of  the  more 
serious  diseases,  and  those  who  are  involved  in 
the  dangers  of  warfare,  either  offer  human  sacri- 
fices, or  make  a  vow  that  they  will  offer  them, 
and  they  employ  the  Druids  to  officiate  at  these 
sacrifices :  for  they  consider  that  the  favour  of  the 
immortal  gods  cannot  be  conciliated,  unless  the 
life  of  one  man  be  offered  up  for  that  of  another; 
they  have  also  sacrifices  of  the  same  kind  ap- 
pointed on  behalf  of  the  state.  Some  have  images 
of  enormous  size,  the  limbs  of  which  they  make 
of  wicker-work,  and  fill  with  living  men,  and  set- 
ting them  on  fire,  the  men  are  destroyed  by  the 
flames.  They  consider  that  the  torture  of  those 
who  have  been  taken  in  the  commission  of  theft 
or  open  robbery,  or  in  any  crime,  is  more  agree- 
able to  the  immortal  goils;  but  when  there  is  not 
a  sufficient  number  of  criminals,  they  scruple  not 
to  inflict  this  torture  on  the  innocent. 

'•The  chief  deity  whom  they  worship  is  Mer- 
cury; of  him  they  have  njauy  images,  and  they 
consider  him  to  be  the  inventor  of  all  arts,  their 
guide  iu  all  their  journevs,  and  that  he  has  the 
greatest  influence  in  the  pui-suit  of  wealth  and 
the  affairs  of  commerce.  Next  to  liim  they  wor- 
ship Apollo  aud  Mars,  and  Jupiter  aud  Minerva ; 
and  nearly  resemble  other  nations  in  their  views 
i-especting  these,  as  that  Apollo  wards  off  dis- 
eases, that  Minerva  communicates  the  rudiments 
of  manufactures  and  manual  arts,  that  Jupiter  is 
the  ruler  of  the  celestials,  that  Mars  is  the  god  of 
war.  To  Mars,  when  they  have  determined  to 
engage  in  a  pitched  battle,  they  commonly  devote 
whatever  spoil  they  may  take  in  the  war.  After 
the  contest,  they  slay  all  living  creatures  that  are 
found  among  the  spoil ;  the  otlier  things  they 
gather  into  one  spot.  In  many  states,  heaps 
raised  of  these  things  in  consecrated  places  may 
be  seen :  nor  does  it  often  happen  that  any  one 
is  so  unscrupulous  as  to  conceal  at  home  any  part 
of  the  spoil,  or  to  take  it  away  when  deposited; 
a  very  heavy  punishment,  with  torture,  is  de- 
nounced against  that  crime. 

"  All  the  Gauls  declai'e  that  they  are  descended 


48 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[IIeijqion- 


from  Father  Dis  (or  Pluto),  autl  this  they  say  has 
been  haiidetl  down  by  the  Druids ;  for  tliis  rea- 
son, they  distinguisli  all  spaces  of  time,  uot  by  the 
number  of  days,  but  of  uiglils :  they  so  regulate 
tlieir  birthdays,  and  the  begiuuing  of  the  mouths 
and  years,  that  llie  day  shall  come  after  the 
night." ' 

It  is  to  be  supposed  that  in  speaking  of  the 
divinities  worshipped  by  the  Druids,  Ctesar  de- 
scribes the  unknown  by  the  known,  or  calls  this 
divinity  Mercury,  and  this  Apollo,  or  Mars,  or 
Jupiter,  because  the  attributes  of  the  said  divini- 
ties ri!sembled  those  of  the  gods  of  the  Grecian 
and  Roman  mythology ;  and  that,  if  we  possessed 
a  more  ample  knowledge  of  the  subject,  we  should 
tind  that  the  descent,  pedigree,  origiu,  and  con- 
nection of  the  Druidical  divinities  had  nothing- 
whatever  to  do  with  those  of  the  divinities  in  the 
classical  mythology. 

Among  the  various  derivations  which  have 
been  given  of  the  name  of  the  Druids,  the  most 
probable  seems  to  be  that  which  brings  it  from 
drui,  the  Celtic  word  for  an  oak,  corrujitly  writ- 
ten in  the  modern  Irish  droi,  or  more  corrujitly, 
draoi,  and  making  in  the  plural  druidlie.  Drui 
is  the  same  word  with  drus,  which  signifies  an 
oak  in  the  Greek  language ;  and  also,  indued,  witli 
the  English  word  tree,  which  in  the  old  form  was 
written  triu.  We  cannot  name  the  Druids  of 
England  without  thinking  of  our  woods  and  na- 
tional oaks.  The  things  are  inseparable  in  our 
imagination;  yet  it  is  remarkable  that  Coesar 
nowhere  has  any  mention  of  the  sacred  groves, 
and  the  reverence  paid  to  the  oak,  which  make 
so  great  a  figure  in  the  other  accounts  of  Druid- 
ism,  and  which  indisputably  formed  very  impor- 
tant features  in  that  religion. 

"  If  you  come,"  says  the  philosopher  Seneca, 
"to  a  grove  thick  planted  with  ancient  trees, 
which  have  outgrown  the  usual  altitude,  and 
which  shut  out  the  view  of  the  heaven  with  their 
interwoven  boughs,  the  vast  height  of  the  wood, 
and  the  retired  secrecy  of  the  place,  and  the  won- 
der and  awe  inspired  by  so  dense  and  unbroken 
a  gloom  in  the  midst  of  the  open  day,  impress 
you  with  the  conviction  of  a  present  deity."  ■ 
These  natural  feelings  of  the  human  mind  were 
turned  to  account  by  the  Druids,  even  as  they 
were  in  the  other  most  primitive  and  simple 
forms  of  ancient  superstition.  Pliny  informs  us 
that  the  oak  was  the  tree  which  they  principally 
venerated,  that  they  chose  groves  of  oak  for  their 
residence,  and  performed  no  sacred  lites  without 
the  leaf  of  the  oak.  The  geographer  Pomponius 
Mela  describes  the  Druids  as  teaching  the  youths 
of  noble  families  that  thi-onged  to  them,  in  caves, 
or  in  the  depths  of  forests.    We  have  seen,  in  the 

1  Cmar  de  Bdl.  GaU.  Ijb.  vi.  13,  14,  10,  17,  18,  as  translated 
ill  the  Ptniii/  Ci/dopadia.  '  M.  4.  Seneca,  EfiUl.  41. 


preceding  chajitor,  that  when  (a.d.  61)  Suetonius 
Paulinus  made  himself  master  of  the  Isle  of  An- 
glesey, he  cut  down  the  Druidical  groves.  These 
groves,  says  Tacitus,  were  "  hallowed  with  cruel 
sujx'i-slitions  ;  for  they  held  it  right  to  st:iin  their 
altars  with  the  blood  of  prisoners  taken  in  war, 
and  to  seek  to  know  the  mind  of  the  gods  from 
the  fibres  of  human  victims."'  The  poet  Lucaii, 
in  a  celebrated  passage  on  the  Druids,  has  not 
forgotten  their  sacred  groves  :— 

"  The  Dniids  now,  while  arms  are  heard  uo  more, 
Old  mysteries  and  barbaroiis  rites  reotore ; 
A  tribe,  who  siiij,iilar  relision  love, 
And  haunt  the  lonely  coverts  of  the  grove. 
To  these,  and  these  of  all  mankind  alone. 
The  gods  are  sure  revealed,  or  sirre  unknown. 
If  dying  mortals'  dooms  tliey  sing  aright. 
No  ghosts  descend  to  dweU  in  dreadful  night ; 
No  parting  souls  to  grisly  Pluto  go, 
Nor  seek  the  di'eaiy  silent  shades  below ; 
But  forth  they  fly,  immortal  in  their  kind, 
And  other  bodies  in  new  worlds  they  find. 
Thus  life  for  ever  runs  its  endless  race. 
And  like  a  line  De.ath  but  divides  the  space ; 
A  stop  which  can  but  for  a  moment  last, 
A  iKiint  between  the  future  and  the  past. 
Thrice  happy  they  beneath  their  northern  skies, 
AMio  that  woi-st  fear,  the  fear  of  death,  despise ; 
nence  they  no  cares  for  this  frail  bemg  feel, 
But  rush  undaimted  on  the  pointed  steel ; 
Provolre  approaching  fate,  and  bravely  scorn 
To  sp.are  that  life  which  must  so  soon  return."^ 

No  Druidical  grove,  it  is  believed,  now  remains 
in  any  part  of  our  isl.and  ;  but  within  little  more 
than  a  century,  ancient  oaks  were  still  standing 
around  some  of  the  circles  of  stones  set  upright 
in  the  earth,  which  are  supposed  to  have  been 
the  terajjles  of  the  old  religion.  These  sacred 
iuolosures  seem,  in  their  perfect  state,  to  have  ge- 
nerally consisted  of  a  circular  row  or  double  row 
of  great  stones  in  the  central  open  space  (the 
proper  liicus  or  jilace  of  light),  aud  beyond  these, 
of  a  wood  surrounded  by  a  ditch  and  a  mound  of 
earth.  The  sacred  grove  appears  to  have  been 
usually  watered  by  a  holy  fountain.  The  rever- 
ence for  rivers  or  streams,  springs  or  wells,  is 
another  of  the  most  prevalent  of  ancient  super- 
stitious ;  and  it  is  one  which,  having,  along  with 
many  other  Pagan  customs,  been  adopted,  or  at 
least  tolerated,  by  Christianity  as  first  preached 
by  the  Roman  missionaries,  and  being,  besides, 
in  some  sort  recommended  to  the  reason  by  the 
high  utility  of  the  object  of  regard,  has  not  even 
yet  altogether  passed  away.  The  holy  wells,  to 
which  some  of  our  early  monks  gave  the  names 
ot  their  saints,  had,  in  many  instances,  been  ob- 
jects of  veneration  many  centmies  before ;  and 
the  cultivation  of  the  country,  or  the  decay  from 
lapse  of  time,  which  has  almost  everywhere  swept 
away  the  antique  religious  grove,  has  for  the 
most  part  spared  the  holy  well.     In  the  centre 

'  Tacitus,  An.  xiv.  30. 

*  Lucau,  PliarsaUa,  i.  402 ;  Rowe's  translation. 


B.C.  55— A. D.  4  19.] 


BRITISH   AND   ROMAN  PERIOD. 


49 


of  the  circle  of  upright  stones  is  sometimes  foiiinl 
wh.at  is  still  calleil  a  cromlech,  a  flat  stoue  su])- 
ported  iu  a  horizontal  position  upou  others  set 


■!^V~K: 


Madron  Holy  \Yei,l,>  Coi-nw.-ill.— J.  S.  Pruvit.  fioni  lus 
drawing  on  the  spot. 

perpendicularly  in  the  earth,  being  apparently 
the  altar  on  which  the  sacrifices  were  offered  up, 
and  on  which  the  sacred  fire  was  kept  burning. 
Near  to  the  temple  frequently  rises  a  carncdd,  or 
sacred  mount,  from  which  it  is  conjectured  the 
priests  were  wont  to  address  the  people. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  Druidical  supersti- 
tions connected  with  the  oak,  was  the  reverence 
])aid  to  the  parasitical  jilaut  called  the  misletoe, 
when  it  was  found  growing  on  that  tree.  Pliny 
has  given  us  an  accoimt  of  the  ceremony  of  gather- 
ing this  plant,  which,  like  all  the  other  sacred 
solemnities  of  the  Druids,  was  performed  on  the 
sixth  day  of  the  moon,  probably  because  the 
planet  lias  usually  at  that  age  become  distinctly 
visible.  It  is  thought  that  the  festival  of  gather- 
ing the  misletoe  was  kept  always  as  near  to  the 
10th  of  March,  which  was  their  New  Year's  Day, 
as  this  rule  would  permit.  Having  told  us  that 
the  Diuids  believed  that  God  loved  the  oak  above 
all  the  other  trees,  and  that  everything  growing 
upon  that  tree  came  from  heaven,  he  adds,  that 
there  is  uoUiing  they  held  more  sacred  than  the 
misletoe  of  the  oak.  Whenever  the  plant  was 
found  on  that  tree,  which  it  very  rarely  was,  a 
procession  was  made  to  it  on  the  sacred  day,  with 
great  form  and  pomp.  First,  two  white  bulls 
were  bound  to  the  oak  by  their  horns ;  and  tlaen 
a  Druid  clothed  in  white  mounted  the  tree,  and 
with  a  knife  of  gold  cut  the  misletoe,  which  an- 
other, standing  on  the  ground,  held  out  his  white 
robe  to  receive.  The  sacrifice  of  the  victims  and 
festive  rejoicings  followed.  The  sacredness  of 
the  misletoe  is  said  to  have  been  also  a  part  of 
the  ancient  religious  creed  of  the  Persians,  and 

*  An  ancient  baptistery,  one  mile  north  of  Madi-on  church, 
CornwaU.  It  was  paitially  destroyed  by  filjijor  Ccely,  one  ol 
Cromwell's  officers.  The  altar,  pierced  with  a  hole  to  re- 
ceive the  foot  of  the  cross  or  an  image  oi  the  s.aint,  is  still 
entire 
Vor..  I. 


not  to  be  yet  forgotten  in  India ;  and  it  is  one  of 
the  Druidical  superstitions,  of  which  traces  still 
survive  among  our  popular  customs.  Virgil,  a 
diligent  student  of  the  poetry  of  old  religions, 
has  been  thought  to  intend  an  allusion  to  it  by 
the  golden  branch  which  /Eneas  had  to  pluck  to 
be  his  passport  to  the  infernal  regions.  Indeed, 
the  poet  e.'jpressly  likens  the  branch  to  the 
misletoe: — 

"  Quale  solet  silvia  bnim.'ili  frigore  viscum 
Trondo  vircro  nova,  quod  non  sua  seminat  arbos, 
Et  croceo  fetu  teretes  cu'cumdare  tnmcoa; 
Talis  erat  species  am-i  frondentis  opaca 
Ilice;  sic  leni  crepitabat  bractea  vento."  * 

— En.  vi.  203. 

As  in  the  woods,  bencalh  mid-\vinter's  snow, 
Shoots  from  the  oak  the  fresh-leaved  misletoe, 
Gii'ding  the  dark  stem  with  its  saffron  glow ; 
So  spning  the  bright  gold  from  the  dusky  rind, 
So  the  leaf  rustled  in  the  fanning  winn. 

The  entire  body  oi  the  Druidical  priesthood 
appears  to  have  been  divided  into  several  orders 
or  classes ;   but  there  is  some 
uncertainty  and  diflerence  of 
opinion  as  to  the  characters  anil 


Misletoe  Plant.^  and  Golden  Hook 
with  which  it  was  cut. 

oflioes  of  each.  Strabo  and  Ammi- 
auus  Marcelliuus  are  the  ancient 
authorities  upon  this  head;  and  they 
both  make  the  orders  to  have  been 
three — the  Druids,  the  Vates,  and 
the  Bards.  It  is  agreed  that  the 
Bards  were  poets  and  musicians.  Marcellinus 
says  that  they  sung  the  brave  deeds  of  illustri- 
ous meu,  composed  in  heroic  verses,  with  sweet 
modulations  of  the  lyre ;  and  Diodorus  Siculus 

2  The  misletoe,  Vucum  album,  is  a  common  para-sito  of  apple- 
trees  and  other's,  but  the  sacred  misletoe  of  the  Druids,  gi-owiog 
on  an  oak,  is  mre.  The  goMen  hook  is  from  Hoare'a  yi ncicftt 
Wiltshire.  n 


60 


niSTOKy  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Rklioion. 


nlso  niciUious  Uiem  in  nearly  Uio  snme  terms. 
The  Vates,  according  to  istrabo,  were  priests  aiui 
pliysiologists;  but  ^Lircellinus  spems  to  assign  to 


l''.:ciDS;  fi-oma  bas-reliet  found  a\  Av.tuu. ' — Frum  MoiiLf.tLicoii. 

them  only  the  latter  office,  saying  that  they  iu- 
qiured  into  nature,  and  endeavoured  to  discover 


llarcelliuus  is  that  the  Druids,  properly  so  called, 
lived  together  in  comniuuities  or  brotherhoods. 
This,  however,  cannot  have  been  the  c.ise  with 


Nimbus  of  Gold,  itre.siimed  to  liave  been  worn  on  the  htia*J  by 
Diiuds. — From  Vallancey,  CoUet-t.  de  Reb.  Hibeniicui. 

the  order  of  her  processes,  and  lier  sublimcst 
secrets.  The  Druids  Strabo  speaks  of  as  combin- 
ing the  study  of  jjhysiology  with  that  of  moral 
science;  Marcellinus  describes  them  as  persons  of 
a  loftier  genius  than  the  others,  who  aildressed 
themselves  to  the  most  occult  and  profound  in- 
quiries, and  rising  in  their  contemplations  above 
this  human  scene,  declared  the  spirits  of  men  to 
be  immortal.-     A  remarkable  fact  mentioned  by 

'  The  figure  crowned  with  a  coronal  of  oak  leaves  (without 
which,  or  some  such  symbol,  no  .let  of  their  mysteries  could  be 
performed!,  and  bearing  a  sceptre,  is  conjectiired  to  represent  an 
arch-Druid.  The  other  figure  holds  in  liis  hand  a  crescent,  equiva- 
lent to  the  form  of  the  moon  on  the  sixth  d.ay  of  tlie  month,  which 
was  the  period  ordained  for  the  ceremony  of  cutting  the  misletoe. 

2  StraljOt  iv.;  Animiaji.  Marcdi.  XV.  9  ;  Diod.  Sic.  v.  31  ;  To- 
laml'a  Hut.  of  thf.  Braids,  pp.  24-'2I1 ;  Rowland's  Mnmi  AiUUjva, 


Dlu'lDlCAl-  I.vslQNl.^  of  sold,  found  in  Irel.uid. — From  the 
Arcluttologia. 

all  tlie  members  of  the  order ;  for  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Druids  frequently  reckoned 
among  their  number  some  of  the  sovereigns  of 
the  Celtic  states,  whose  civil  duties,  of  course, 
•would  not  permit  tliera  to  indulge  in  this  monas- 
tic life.  Divitiacus,  the^duau  prince,  who  per- 
formed so  remarkable  a  part,  as  related  by  Coesar, 
in  tlie  ilrama  of  the  subjugation  of  his  country  by 
the  Roman  arms,  is  stated  by  Cicero  to  have  been 
a  Druid.     Strabo  records  it  to  have  been  a  notion 


1      1  .^-..-- 


LiCTH  MkssEaTH,-*  or  Plate  of  Judgment,  found  in  Ireland. 
From  the  Archaeologia. 

among  the  Gauls,  that  the  more  Druids  they  had 
among  them,  the  more  plentiful  would  be  their 
harvests,  and  the  greater  their  abundance  of  all 
good  things;  and  we  may  therefore  suppose  that 
the  numl>ers  of  the  Druids  were  very  considerable'. 
Toland,  who,  in  what  he  calls  his  Specimen  of 
the  Critical  History  of  the  Celtic  Religion  and 
Learning,  has  collected  many  curious  facts,  has 
given  us  the  following  account  of  the  dress  of  the 

p.  65 ;  Borlase's  Cornwall,  p.  67 ;  Macpherson's  DUset'tations, 
p.  203  :  Bouche's  Hutoire  de  Provciice,  i.  6S  ;  Fosbroke's  Enci/do- 
padia  of  Antiquities,  ii.  6G2. 

^  The  Liuth  Messeath  is  Ulideretood  to  have  been  woxii  upon 
the  gii-dle  of  the  Diuld,  and  it  bears  a  rem.arkable  resemblance 
to  the  breastplate  worn  by  the  .Tewish  high-priest.  This  relic 
is  composed  of  pure  silver ;  in  the  centre  is  a  large  crystal,  and 
smaller  stones  are  inserted  around  it. 


B.C.  55— A.D.  440] 


BllITISlI  AND  ROMAN    PERIOD. 


51 


Druids.  Every  DruiJ,  lie  inlorms  us,  cirrieil  a 
waud  or  stuff,  sucli  as  magicians  in  all  countries 
have  done,  and  had  what  was  called  a  Druids' 


Onrm  Coll,vr  ok  Gorget  of  i^iilil,'  found  inlrolami.— From  the 
Arclia:olo;^ia. 

egg  (to  w'hich  we  shall  advert  presently)  hung 
about  his  neck,  inclosed  in  gold.  All  the  Druids 
wore  the  hair  of  their  heads  short,  and  their  beards 
long;  while  other  people  wore  the  hair  of  their 
heads  long,  and  shaved  all  their  beards,  with  the 
exception  of  the  upper  lip.  "  They  like'-ise,"  he 
continues,  "  all  wore  long  habits,  as  did  the  Bards 
and  the  Vaids  (the  Vates) ;  but  the  Druids  had 
on  a  white  surplice  whenever  they  religiously 
officiated.  In  Ireland  they,  with  the  graduate 
Bards  and  Vaids,  had  the  privilege  of  wearing 
six  colours  in  their  breacans  or  robes  (which  were 
the  striped  braccre  of  the  Gauls,  still  worn  by  the 
Highlanders);  whereas  the  king  and  queen  might 
have  in  theirs  but  seven,  lords  and  ladies  five, 
governors  of  fortresses  four,  officers  and  young 
gentlemen  of  quality  three,  common  soldiers  two, 
and  common  people  one."  These  particulars  ap- 
pear to  have  been  collected  from  the  Irish  tradi- 
tions or  Bardic  manuscripts. 

The  art  of  divination  was  one  of  the  favourite 
pretensions  of  the  Druidical,  as  it  has  been  of  most 
other  systems  of  superstition.  The  British  Druids, 
indeed,  apjiear  to  have  professed  the  practice  of 
magic  in  this  and  all  its  other  departments.  Pliny 
observes  that  in  his  day  this  supernatural  art 
was  cultivated  with  such  astonishing  ceremonies 
in  Britain,  that  the  Persians  themselves  might 


1  Tliis  article,  culled  also  Jodhan  Moram,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  worn  on  the  neck  of  the  judge  when  on  the  bench,  and  it 
va3  believed  it  would  choke  liira  if  ho  gave  unjust  judgment. 
Some  authorities  say  that  it  was  called  Morain  from  a  great  judge 
of  ihat  name,  who  fonnerly  flourished  in  Ireland.  "My  surprise," 
says  Governor  Pownall  [Early  Irish  AntiquUks,  Ardtaotor/ia,  vol. 
vii.),  "was  great  when  I  found  in  Buxtorf,  that  Jodhan  Morain 
was  the  Childee  name  for  Urim  and  Thummim.    Not  satisfied 


seem  to  have  acquired  the  knowledge  of  it  from 
that  island;  and  yElian  tells  us  that  the  Druids  of 
Gaul  were  liberally  paid  by  those  who  consulted 
them  for  their  revcialious  of  the  future,  and  the 
good  fortune  they  promised.  Among  their  chief 
methods  of  divination  was  that  from  the  entrails 
of  victims  offered  in  sacrifice.  One  of  their  prac- 
tices was  remarkable  for  its  strange  and  horrid 
cruelty,  if  we  may  believe  the  account  of  Diodorus 
Siculus.  In  sacrificing  a  man  they  would  give 
him  the  mortal  blow  by  the  stroke  of  a  sword 
above  the  diaphragm,  and  then,  according  to  rules 
which  had  descended  to  them  from  their  fore- 
fathers, they  would  draw  their  predictions  from 
inspection  of  the  posture  in  which  the  dying 
wretch  fell,  the  convulsions  of  his  quivering  limbs, 
and  the  direction  in  which  the  blood  flowed  from 
his  body. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Druids,  like 
other  ancient  teachers  of  religion  and  philosophy, 
had  an  esoteric  or  secret  doctrine,  in  which  the 
members  of  the  order  were  instructed,  of  a  more 
refined  and  spiritual  character  than  that  which 
they  preached  to  the  multitude.  Diogenes  Laer- 
tius  acquaints  us  that  the  substance  of  their  sy.s- 
tem  of  iiiith  and  practice  was  comprised  in  three 
precepts,  namely,  to  worship  the  gods,  to  do  no 
evil,  and  to  behave  courageously.  They  were  re- 
poi'ted,  however,  he  says,  to  teach  their  philoso- 
phy in  enigmatic  apophthegms.  Mela  also  ex- 
presses himself  as  if  he  intended  us  to  understand 
that  the  greater  part  of  their  theology  was  re- 
served for  the  initiated.  One  doctrine,  he  says, 
that  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  they  published, 
in  order  that  the  people  might  be  thereby  ani- 
mated to  bravery  in  war ;  and  he  tells  us  that, 
in  consequence  of  their  belief  in  this  doctrine, 
they  were  accustomed,  when  they  buried  their 
dead,  to  burn  and  inter  along  with  them  things 
useful  for  the  living — a  statement  which  is  con- 
firmed by  the  common  contents  of  the  barrows  or 
graves  of  the  ancient  Britons.  He  adds  a  still 
better  evidence  of  the  strength  of  their  faith. 
They  were  wont,  it  seems,  to  put  off  the  settlement 
of  accounts  and  the  exaction  of  debts  (I)  till  they 
should  meet  again  in  the  shades  below.  It  also 
sometimes  happened,  that  persons  not  wishing  to 
be  parted  from  their  friends  who  had  died,  would 
throw  themselves  into  the  funer.al  piles  of  the 
objects  of  their  attachment,  with  the  view  of 
thus  accompanying  them  to  their  new  scene  of 
life.     In  this  belief,  also,  the  ancient  Britons, 

with  Buxtoi-f,  I  wrote  to  the  learned  Rabbi  Heidecfc,  now  in  Lon- 
don :  his  answer  w.13  satisfactory,  and  contained  a  dozen  quot;i- 
tions  from  various  Talmud  commentators.  In  short,  my  friend 
the  Rabbi  will  have  it,  that  none  but  Jews  or  Clmldecs  could 

have  brought  the  name  and  the  thing  to  Ireland The 

measiireraent  of  this  relic  was  nearly  11  in.  at  tho  caps  or 
circles,  by  much  the  some  in  depth ;  and  the  weight  was  exactly 
20  guineas." 


52 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Religiun. 


when  tliey  burieil  their  dead,  were  wont  to  address  l  which  arc  still  crmtinued  bv  the  Roman  Catholics 


letters  to  their  deceased  friends  and 
which  they  threw  into  the  funeral  jjile, 
as  if  the  persona  to  whom  they  were 
addressed  would  in  this  way  receive  and 
read  them. 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  fun- 
damental principle  of  the  Druidical 
esoteric  doctrine  was  the  belief  in  one 
God.  For  popular  effect,  however,  this 
opinion,  if  it  ever  was  really  held,  even 
by  the  initiated,  appears  to  have  been 
from  the  first  wrapped  up  and  dis- 
guised in  an  investment  of  material- 
ism, as  it  was  presented  by  them  to 
the  gross  apprehension  of  tlie  vulgar. 
The  simplest,  purest,  and  most  ancient 
form  of  the  public  religion  of  the  Druids 
seems  to  have  been  the  worship  of  the 
celestial  luminaries  and  of  fire.  The 
sun  appeai-s  to  have  been  adored  under 
the  same  name  of  Bel  or  Baal,  by  which 
he  was  distinguished  as  a  divinity  in 
the  paganism  of  the  East.'  We  have 
already  had  occasion  to  notice  their 
observance  of  the  moon  in  the  regula- 
tion of  the  times  of  their  great  religious 
festivals.  These  appear  to  have  been 
four  in  number:  tlie  first  was  the  10th 
of  Marcli,  or  the  sixth  day  of  the  moon 
nearest  to  that,  which,  as  already  mentioned,  was 
their  New-year's  Day,  and  that  on  whicli  the 
ceremony  of  cutting  the  misletoe  was  performed  ; 
the  others  were  the  1st  of  May,  IMidsummer  Eve, 
and  the  last  day  of  October.  On  all  these  occa- 
sions the  chief  celebration  was  by  fire.  On  the 
eve  of  the  festival  of  the  1st  of  May,  the  tradi- 
tion is  that  all  the  domestic  fires  throughout  the 
country  were  extinguished,  and  lighted  again  the 
next  day  from  the  sacred  tire  kept  always  burning 
in  the  temples.  ''The  Celtic  nations,"  observes 
Toland,  "kindled  other  fires  on  Midsummer  Eve, 

'  The  author  of  Siitannia  after  the  Romans,  however,  denies 
that  the  Celtic  Beli  or  Belinus  has  any  connection  with  the 
Oriental  Baal  or  Bel. 

2  This  plan  is  taken  from  Stukeley's  sui-vey  in  the  year  1724. 
Since  that  time  this  vast  monument  has  become  nearly  obliter- 
ated, through  the  pillage  of  the  stones  for  a  variety  of  im worthy 
purposes.  The  site  of  the  temple  is  a  platform,  bounded  on  the 
east  by  undulating  hills,  and  within  a  short  distance  of  the  source 
of  the  Kennet,  a  tributary  to  the  lliames.  "This,"  Stukeley  re- 
marks, "might  have  been  regarded  as  the  grand  national  cathe- 
dral, while  the  smaller  circles  in  different  parts  of  the  island 
might  be  compared  to  the  palish  or  villago  churches."  Numbers 
of  detached  stones,  called  grey  weathers,  lie  in  the  neighbouring 
parts,  and  from  this  somce  the  materials  of  the  temple  appear 
to  have  been  selected.  The  number  of  these  masses  employed 
in  the  construction  of  the  temple  amounted  to  G50  stones.  The 
dimensions  of  these  stones  vai-y  from  5  ft.  to  20  ft.  in  elevation 
above  the  sm-face  of  the  ground,  and  from  3  ft.  to  12  ft.  in  bulk. 
One  hundred  vertical  stones  surrounded  in  a  circle  an  area  of 
about  1400  ft.  in  diameter,  and  bounding  these  stones,  the  work 
w,i3  completed  by  a  deep  ditch  and  a  high  bank,  having  two  open- 
ings corresponding  with  the  original  avenues,  although  other  two 


relations,  |  of  Ireland,  making  them  in  all  their  grounds,  and 


^mmmmmiim!, 


FiiUeti 
pinct  of  «Di«  rcmorcJ 
CiLvitvwhcrf  uStene  stood 


Pl.\n  01-  DRiriDiCAL  CiPCLE  AT  AVEBUKY.-— From  Hoare's  Ancieut  WUtshivo. 


carryiug  flaming  brands  about  their  coru-fielJa, 
This  they  do  likewise  all  over  France,  and  in  some 
of  the  Scottish  isles.  These  Midsummer  fires  and 
sacrifices  "were  to  obtain  a  blessing  on  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  now  becoming  ready  for  gathering; 
as  those  of  the  1st  of  May,  that  they  might  pros- 
perously grow;  and  those  of  the  last  of  October 
were  the  thanksgiving  for  finishing  their  harvest." 
In  Ireland,  and  also  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  the 
1st  of  May,  and  in  some  places  the  21st  of  June, 
is  still  called  Beltein  or  Beltane,  that  is,  the  day 
of  Bel  Fire;  and  imitations  of  the  old  superstiti- 

openings  have  subsequently  been  broken  in  the  mumid.  Tho 
inner  slope  of  the  muund  measured  80  ft.,  and  its  whole  extent 
and  cii'cuniference  at  the  toj},  according  to  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoaro, 
4442  ft.  The  area  within  the  mound  is  upward  of  2S  acres.  About 
midway  upon  the  inner  slope  was  a  ten-ace,  appaieutly  meant  as 
a  stand  for  spectators.  Within  the  periphery  of  the  gi-eat  cuxlo 
were  two  other  small  circles,  one  being  a  double  cii'cle  of  up- 
right stones,  with  a  single  stone  raised  near  the  centre,  which 
Stukeley  calls  the  ambire  or  obelisk;  this  small  temple  consiste).! 
of  forty-three  stones.  Another  circle  of  forty-five  stone.'i,  some 
of  which  are  still  standing,  and  of  great  size,  stood  a  littlo  north 
of  the  former,  consisting  also  of  two  concentric  circles,  inclosing 
a  gioup  of  three  tall  stones,  called  the  cove.  These  oomposed 
the  triple  ch'cle  or  temple.  This  work  was  distingmshed  from 
other  similar  monuments,  by  avenues  of  approach,  consisting 
of  double  rows  of  upright  stones,  which  branched  off  from  tho 
central  work,  each  to  the  extent  of  upwards  of  a  mile.  One  of 
these  branched  southward,  turning  near  its  extremity  to  tho 
south  east,  where  it  terminated  in  two  elliptical  ranges  of  up- 
right stones.  This  avenue  was  formed  by  200  upright  stones, 
being  finished  at  its  eastern  extremity  with  fifty-eight  stones. 
The  width  of  the  avenue  varied  from  50  ft.  to  35  ft.  between  tho 


B.C.  55— A.D.  419.] 


BRITISH  AND  llOMAN  PERIOD. 


53 


mis  ceremouios  wcro  not  lonj  ago  still  generally 
performed.'     lu  Scollaud  a  sort  of  sacrifice  was 


Ground  Plan  of  CjTONKUfciNQE.'-' — From  Sir  R.  Colt  Iloares  i 
Wiltsliire. 

offered  up,  antl  one  of  the  persons  present,  upon 
whom  the  lot  ft'll,  leaped  three  times  through  the 
flames  of  the  fire.  lu  Ireland  the  cottagers  all 
drove  their  cattle  through  the  fire.      Even  in 

stones,  which  were  on  an  average  S6  ft.  apart  from  each  other 
in  their  linear  direction.  Tlie  outer  oval  of  the  tenninatmg 
temple  to  the  south-east,  oa  an  oraineuce  called  Overton  Hill, 
or  the  Hackpen,  measured  about  146  ft.  in  diameter ;  the  hmer 
oval  was  45  ft.  across.  The  western  avenue  extended  about  one 
mile  and  a  half,  and  consisted  of  203  stones;  its  estremity  ended 
in  a  point  with  a  single  stone.  Those  avenues  were  foiined  in 
curved  lines,  and,  according  to  Dr.  Stuteley's  theory,  were  in- 
tended to  represent  or  typify  the  figiue  of  the  serpent.  This 
vast  work  is  sun-ounded  by  numerous  tumuli,  cromleclis,  and 
ancient  trackways,  over  which  rises  the  lofty  cone  of  Silbury 
Hill.  Tlie  great  earthen  mound  of  Avebury  now  contains  a 
village,  with  its  fields  and  appurtenances,  and  its  original  figtire 
is  not  to  be  made  out  by  the  present  vestiges.  Axibrey  (a.d. 
1663}  makes  out  fcixty-three  stones  as  remaining  within  the  in- 
trenched inclosure  in  his  time ;  these  were  reduced  to  twenty- 
nine,  when  Stukeley  made  his  survey;  and  in  1S12,  when  Sir  R. 
Colt  Hoare  described  it,  only  seventeen  stones  remained.  Two 
upright  stonea  of  the  western  avenue  remain,  and  a'jout  sis- 
teen  of  those  of  the  southern  avenue. 

'  "Tlie  needflre,  nydfyr,  New  Gennan  noihfmer,  was  called, 
from  the  mode  of  its  production,  confrictione  de  Ugnis;  and 
though  probably  common  to  the  Kelts  as  well  as  Teutons,  was 
long  and  weU  known  to  all  tlie  Germanic  r;ices  at  a  certain 
period.  All  the  fires  in  the  viUage  were  to  be  relighted  from 
the  virgin  flame  produced  by  the  rubbing  together  of  wood ; 
and  in  the  Higlilands  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  it  was  usiuil 
to  drive  the  cattle  through  it,  by  way  of  lustration,  and  as  a 
preservative  agaiust  disease." — Kemble's  SaxoM  in  England, 
vol.  ii.  p.  360,  where  a  curious  illustration  of  the  subject  is 
given,  fi-om  an  ancient  English  MS.  Perthshire  seems  to  have 
ratained  most  pertinaciously  the  old  superstitions  connected 


eouie  par^s  of  England  the  practice  still  prevails 
o;*lightiig  fires  in  parishes  on  Midsumuier  Eve.'' 
Another    of    the     most     remarkable 
l>riiiei])Ie3   of    primitive   Druidism    ap- 
jiears  to  have  been  the  worship  of  the 
serpent;    a  superstition  so   widely  ex- 
tended, as  to  evince  its  derivation  from 
the    most    ancient    traditions    of    the 
liuraan  race.     Pliny  has  given  \is  a  curi- 
tius  account  of   the   auguinum,  or  ser- 
pent's ^^g^  ■which  he  tells  us  was  worn 
fis  their    distinguishiug   badge    by  tlie 
Druids.     He   had   himself  seen   it,   he 
enys,  and  it  was  about  the  bigness  of  an 
apple,  its  shell  beiug  a  cartilaginous  in- 
crustation,  full   of   little   cavities,   like 
those  ou  the  legs  of  the  polypus.     Mar- 
\'els  of  all  kinds  were  told  of  this  pro- 
duction.    It  was  said  to  be  formed,  at 
first,   by    a  great   number  of  serpents 
twined  together,  whose  hissing  at  last 
laised  it  into  the  air,  when  it  was  to  be 
caught,  ere  it  fell  to  the  ground,  in  a 
clean  white  cloth,  by  a  person  mounted 
ou  a  swift  hor.je,  who  had  immediately 
to   ride  off  at  full  speed,  the  enraged 
serpents  pursuing  him  until  they  were 
stopped  (^as  witches  still  are  supposed  to 
:icicnt         be,  in  the  popular  faith)  by  a  running 
water.      If  it  were   genuine  it  would^ 
when  enchased  in  gold,  and  thrown  into  a  river, 
swim  against  the  stream.    All  the  virtues  also  of 
a  charm  were  ascribed  to  it.     In  jiarticular,  the 
person  who  carried  it  about  with  him  was  insured 

with  the  worship  of  fiie,  probably  from  Benledi  having  been 
specially  coi^ecrated  to  it.  So  Lite  as  in  1S26,  an  old  farmer 
in  that  county,  who  had  lost  several  cattle  by  an  epidemic 
disease,  was  persuaded,  by  a  weu'd  sister  in  Ids  neighbour- 
hood, to  ti-y  the  effect  of  a  lustration  of  the  sm-vivors,  by 
making  them  pass  through  the  flame  of  a  fire  kindled  in  the 
l»amyard  by  friction. — (See  the  Mirror  for  June,  1S26,  quoted 
by  Kemble.) 

-  The  site  of  Stouehenge,  the  plain  of  Sarum,  is  on  a  platform 
of  imdulating  do\\'ns,  about  six  miles  from  Salisbmy.  The 
structure  consists  of  two  circles  and  two  ovals,  composed  of 
hugo  stones,  uprights  and  imposts.  The  outer  or  largest  circle  is 
lOj  ft.  iu  diameter,  and  between  that  and  the  interior  smaller 
circle  is  a  space  of  about  9  ft.  Within  this  smaller  cii'cle, 
which  is  half  the  height  (S  ft.)  of  the  exterior  one,  was  a  por- 
tion of  an  eUipse  formed  by  five  groups  of  stones,  which  have 
been  called  trilUhons,  because  foi-med  by  two  vortical  and  one 
horizontal  stone.  Within  this  ellipse  is  another  of  smgle  stones, 
half  the  height  of  tlie  trilithons.  The  outer  circle  was  originally 
composed  *if  thirty  upright  stones,  at  nearly  ccxual  distances 
apart,  Bustauiing  .as  many  stones  in  a  horizontal  position,  form- 
ing a  continuous  impost.  The  inner  circle  consisted  of  about 
the  same  number  of  upright  stones  of  smaller  size,  and  without 
imposts.  Within  the  inner  eUiptical  inclosnre  was  a  bhwk  of  stone 
16  ft.  long,  4  ft.  broad,  and  20  in.  thick.  This  has  boon  usually 
called  the  altar  stone.  Round  the  larger  circle,  and  at  the 
distance  of  100  ft.,  was  a  vallum  62  ft.  in  width,  and  15  ft.  in 
height. 

3  See  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  vol.  iii.  p.  105,  vol.  v. 
p.  84,  and  vol.  xi.  p.  620;  Vallancey's  lixsay  on  the  Antiquity  of 
the  Irish  Language,  p.  19;  and  Brando's  PopiHar  Antiquities, 
vol  i.  p  238,  A'C. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[IlEuolo^f. 


agaiust  being  overcome  iu  any  dispute  iu  which 
he  niiglit  engage,  and  might  count  upon  suc- 
cess iu  his  attempts  at  obtaining  the  favour  and 


View  of  Stonehenge. — From  Ili^ins'  Celtic  Dniirl^. 

friendship  of  the  great.  It  has  been  conjectured, 
on  highly  probable  grounds,  that  the  massive 
Druidical  temples  of  Avebury,  of  Stonehenge, 
of  Carnac  in  Brittany,  and  most  of  the  others 
that  remain  both  in  Britain  and  Gaul,  were  dedi- 
cated to  the  united  worship  of  the  sun  and  the 
serpent,  and  that  the  form  of  their  construction  is 
throughout  emblematical  of  this  combination  of 
the  two  religions. ' 

But  however  comparatively  simiile  and  re- 
stricted may  have  been  the  Druidical  worship  in 
its  earliest  stage,  there  is  sufficient  evidence  that, 
at  a  later  period,  its  gods  came  to  be  much  more 
numerous.  Ctesar,  as  we  have  already  seen,  men- 
tions among  those  adored  by  the  Gauls,  Mercury, 
Apollo,  Mars,  Jupiter,  and  Miuerv:\.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  historian  did  not  give  us  the 
Celtic  names  of  the  deities  in  question,  rather  than 
the  Roman  names,  which  he  considered,  from  tho 
similarity  of  attributes,  to  be  their  representa- 
tives. Livy,  however,  tells  us  that  the  Spanish 
Celts  called  Mercury  Teutates;  the  same  word, 
no  doubt,  with  the  Phoenician  Taaut,  and  the 
Egyptian  Thoth,  which  are  stated  by  -vai-ious  an- 


licarnassus  affirm  to  have  been  also  adored  by 
the  Celtic  nations.  Bacchus,  Ceres,  Proserpine, 
Diana,  and  other  gods  of  Greece  and  Rome,  also 
appear  to  have  all  had  their  re- 
^  presentatives  in  the  Dnudical 

,S^"|^=1f5^--  -  worship  ;  if,  indeed,  the  classic 

theology  did  not  borrow  these 
divinities  from  the  Cells.  An- 
other of  the  Celtic  gods  was 
Tarauis,  whose  name  signifies 
the  god  of  thunder. 

The  earliest  Druidism  seems, 
like  the  kindred  superstition  of 
Germany,  as  described  by  Taci- 
tus, to  have  admitted  neither  of 
covered  temples  nor  of  sculp- 
tured images  of  the  gods.  Jupi- 
ter, indeed,  is  said  to  have  been  represented  by  a 
lofty  oak,  and  Mercury  by  a  cube— the  similarity 
of  that  geometrical  figure  on  all  sides  typifying 


Gaulish  Pcities,  from  Roman  b-is-reliefd  undei  the  ohoir  of 
Notre  Dame,  Pai-is. — From  Montfuucoii, 

cieut  writers  to  be  the  same  with  the  Hermes  of 
the  Greeks,  and  the  Mercury  of  the  Latins."  Ju- 
piter is  thought  to  have  been  called  Jow,  which 
means  younrj,  from  his  being  the  youngest  son  of 
S;iturn,  whom  both  Cicero  and  Dionysius  of  Ha- 

•  See  on  tliis  subject  a  cm-ioiis  dissei-t.ation,  by  the  Rev.  C. 
Deane,  in  the  Ai-duEotogia,  vol  XXT.  (for  1S34)  pp.  1S8-229. 
2  Philobibliita  ex  Sanconiath.— Cic.  de  Nat.  B,  iii.  22. 


Gauusu  Deittes,  from  Rnm.in  baa-reliefa  Tinder  ths  choii  of 
Notre-Danie,  Paris. — From  Alontfaucon. 

that  perfect  truth  and  unchangeableness  which 
were  held  to  belong  to  this  supreme  deity ;  but 
these  are  to  be  considereil,  not  as  attempts  to 
imitate  the  supposed  bodily  forms  of  the  gods, 
but  only  as  emblematic  illustrations  of  their 
attributes.  At  a  later  period,  however,  material 
configurations  of  the  objects  of  worshiji  seem  to 
have  been  introduced.  Gildas  speaks  of  such 
images  as  still  existing  in  great  numbers  in  hia 
time,  among  the  unconverted  Britons.  They 
had  a  greater  number  of  gods,  he  says,  than  the 
Egyptians  themselves,  there  being  hardly  a  river, 
lake,  mountain,  or  wood,  which  had  not  its  di- 
vinity. 

As  for  the  human  sacrifices  of  which  Ca;sar 
speaks,  his  account  is  fully  borne  out  by  the  testi- 
monies of  various  other  ancient  authors.  Strabo 
describes  the  image  of  wicker  or  straw,  in  which, 
he  says,  men  and  all  descriptions  of  cattle  and 
beasts   were  roa.«ted   togethei-.    He  also  relates 


E.G.  Co—A  D.  44'J.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


55 


that  sometimes  the  victims  were  cnioified,  some- 
times shot  to  doatli  witli  arrows.  Tlie  statement 
of  DioJi>rus  Siculus  is,  that  criminals  wore  1-iept 
under  ground  inr  five  years,  and  then  otl'ered  up 
as  sacrifices  to  the  gods,  by  being  impaled,  and 
burned  in  great  fires  along  with  (piantities  of 
other  oflerings.  He  adds,  that  tliey  also  immo- 
lated the  prisoners  they  had  taken  in  war,  and 
along  with  them  devoured,  burned,  or  in  some 
other  manner  destroyed,  likewise,  whatever  cattle 
they  had  taken  from  their  enemies.  Plutarch 
tells  ns  that  the  noise  of  songs  .and  musical  in- 
struments w-as  employed  on  these  occasions  to 
drown  the  cries  of  the  sufferers.'  Pliny  is  of 
opinion  that  a  part  of  every  human  victim  was 
eaten  by  the  Druids ;  but  what  reason  he  had  for 
thiukiug  30  does  not  ajipear,  nor  does  the  sup- 
position seem  to  be  probable  in  itself.  Upon  the 
subject  of  the  practice  of  human  s.acrifice  it  has 
been  observed,  that  "  if  we  rightly  consider  this 
point  we  shall  perceive  that,  shocking  as  it  is,  it 
is  yet  a  step  towards  the  humanizing  of  savages ; 
for  the  mere  brute  man  listens  only  to  his  fero- 
cious passions  and  horrid  appetites,  and  sla_ys  and 
devours  all  the  enemies  he  can  conquer;  but  the 
priest,  persuading  him  to  select  only  the  be.st  and 
bravest  as  s.aci-ifices  to  his  protecting  deity,  there- 
by, in  fact,  preserves  numberless  lives,  and  puts 
an  end  to  the  cannibalism  which  has  ju.stly  been 
looked  upon  as  the  last  degradation  of  huuiau 
nature." " 

The  origin  of  Druidism,aud  its  connection  with 
other  ancient  creeds  of  religion  and  philosophy, 
have  given  occasion  to  much  curious  speculation. 
Diogenes  Laertius  describes  the  Druids  as  hold- 
ing the  same  place  among  the  Gauls  and  Britons 
with  that  of  the  Philosophers  among  the  Greeks, 
of  the  Magi  among  the  Persians,  of  the  Gymno- 
so])hists  among  the  Indian.?,  and  of  the  Chaldeans 
among  the  Assyrians,  lie  also  refers  to  Aris- 
totle as  affirming,  in  one  i>f  his  lost  works,  that 
]ihilosophy  hail  not  been  taught  to  the  Gauls  by 
the  Greeks,  but  had  originated  among  the  former, 
and,  from  them,  had  passed  to  the  latter.  The 
introduction  into  the  Greek  philosophy  i,f  the 
doctrine  of  the  Metempsychosis  is  commonly  at- 
tributed to  Pythagoras ;  and  there  are  various 
passages  in  ancient  authors  which  m.ake  mention 
of,  or  allude  to  some  connection  between  that 
philosopher  and  the  Druids.  Abaris,  the  Hyper- 
borean, is  by  man}'  supposed  to  have  been  a  Druid; 
and  he,  lamblicus  tells  us,  was  taught  by  Pytha- 
goras to  find  out  all  truth  by  the  science  of  num- 
bers.' JIarcellinus,  sjieaking  of  the  conventual 
associations  of  the  Druids,  expresses  himself  as  if 
he  conceived  that  they  so  lived  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  Pythagoras;  ".as  the  authority 

I  Pc  Supc-ttitione.        1  lutroJ,  tu  IIL,tary,  Emi/.  Mdrop,  p.  C3. 
'  Vila  Pi/thag.  c.  xix. 


of  Pythagoras  hath  decreed,"  are  his  word.?.' 
Others  aflirm  that  the  Grecian  philo-sophcr  deri- 
ved his  jihilosophy  from  the  Druids.  A  rei)ort  is 
preserved,  by  Clement  of  Alex.amlria,  that  Pytha- 
;or,as,  in  the  course  of  his  travel.?,  studied  under 
lioth  the  Druids  and  the  Brahmins.'^  The  ]irob.a- 
'lility  is  th.at  bdlh  Pythagoras  and  the  Druids 
drew  their  jihilosophy  from  the  same  fountain. 

Several  of  the  ablest  anil  most  hiborious  among 
the  modern  investigators  of  the  subject  of  Druid- 
ism  have  found  themselves  compelled  to  adopt 
the  theory  of  its  Oriental  origin.  Pelloutier,  from 
the  numerous  and  strong  resembl.inces  presented 
by  the  Druidical  and  the  old  Persi.an  religion, 
concludes  the  Celts  and  Persians,  as  Mr.  O'Brien 
has  lately  done,  to  be  the  same  jieoplc,  and  the 
Celtic  tongue  to  be  the  ancient  Persic.'  The  late 
Mr.  Reuben  Burrow,  distinguished  for  his  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  Indian  astronomy 
and  mytliology,  in  a  paper  in  the  Asiatic  Jic- 
«ea;r/(e«,  decidedly  pronounces  the  Druids  to  have 
been  a  race  of  emigrated  Indian  philosophers, 
and  Stonehenge  to  be  evidently  one  of  the  temples 
of  Buddha.'  Some  of  the  Welsh  antiquaries  have, 


Malabar  ToLMEN  "— Fiuia  Uigguio  Celtic  Druidn. 

on  other  grouuils,  brought  their  assumed  British 
ancestors  from  Ceylou,  tiie  great  seat  of  Eucif  Ihisin. 
This  question  has  been  examined  at  great  length, 
iu  a  Dissertation  on  the  Origin  of  the  Druids^  by 
Mr.  Maurice,  who,  considering  the  Buddhists  to 

■>  Ammian.  MarcU.  xv.  9.  ^  Strom,  i.  35. 

"  Histoire  des  Cclles,  p.  19.  See  also  Borlaso's  A  lUifjuities  of 
Cormcall,  cli.  xxii.  :  *'  Of  tlio  Groat  Resemblance  betwixt  the 
Pniid  and  Persian  Suiiei^tition,  and  the  Cause  of  it  inquired 
into."  *  Ai^iatic  Reacarches,  ii.  4SS. 

s  The  similarity  of  remains  louiid  in  parts  of  India,  Persia. 
Palestine,  A-c. ,  ti>  those  of  Druidical  character  still  existing  in  this 
country,  tends  strongly  to  confimi  the  hypothesis  of  the  Kastei  n 
origin  of  Dniidism.  The  above  representation  "f  a  tolmon  in 
Malabar  ia  taken  by  Higgins  from  Sir  R.  Colt  Iloare,  wluj  has 
omitted  to  state  hisautliority,  but  the  antlior  of  the  Cdtic  Pntidn 
quotee  it,  remarking  that  from  Sir  Hichard's  care  and  acumen, 
he  is  pei-suaded  that  it  is  given  ui>on  sufficient  frounda. 


56 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Relioion. 


have  been  a  sect  of  the  Brahmins,  comes  to  the 
conchisioii  tliat  "  the  celebrated  orJer  of  the 
Druids,  anciently  established  in  this  country, 
were  the  immediate  descendants  of  a  tribe  oi 
Brahmins  situated  in  the  high  northern  latitudes 
bordering  on  the  vaat  range  of  Caucasus;  thai 
these,  during  a  jieriod  of  the  Indian  empire,  when 
its  limits  were  most  extended  in  Asia,  mingling 
with  the  Celto-Scythian  tribes  who  tenanted  thi 
immense  deserts  of  Grand  Tartary,  became  gi-adn- 
ally  incorporated,  though  not  confounded  with 
that  ancient  nation;  introduced  among  them  tlu 
rites  of  the  Brahmin  religion,  occasionally  adopt- 
ing those  of  the  Scythians;  and,  together  with 
them,  finally  emigrated  to  the  western  regions  of 
Europe." ' 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  Druidical  system, 
as  established  in  Gaul  and  Britain,  has  altogether 
very  much  the  appearance  of  something  not  the 
growth  of  the  country,  but  superinduced  upon 
the  native  barbarism  by  importation  from  abroad. 
The  knowledge  and  arts  of  which  they  appear  to 
have  been  possessed,  seem  to  point  out  the  Druids 
as  of  foreign  extraction,  and  as  continuing  to  form 
the  depositories  of  a  civilization  greatly  superior 
to  that  of  the  general  community  in  the  midst  of 
which  they  dwelt.  It  was  quite  natural,  how- 
ever, that  Druidism,  supposing  it  to  have  been 
originally  an  imported  antl  foreign  religion,  should 
nevertheless  gradually  adopt  some  things  from 
the  idolatry  of  a  different  form  which  may  have 
prevailed  in  Britain  and  Gaul  previous  to  its  in- 
troduction ;  just  as  we  find  Christianity  itself  to 
have  become  adulterated  in  some  countries  by  an 
infusion  of  the  heathenism  with  which  it  was 
brought  into  contact. 

The  Germans,  Coesar  expressly  tells  us,  had  no 
Druids;  nor  is  there  a  vestige  of  such  an  institu- 
tion to  be  discovered  in  the  ancient  history,  tra- 
ditions, customs,  or  monuments  of  any  Gothic 
people.  It  was  probably,  indeed,  confined  to  Ire- 
land, South  Britain,  and  Gaul,  until  the  measures 
taken  to  root  it  out  from  the  Roman  dominions 
compelled  some  of  the  Druids  to  take  refuge  in 
other  countries.  The  Emperor  Tiljerius,  accord- 
ing to  Pliny  and  Strabo,  and  the  Emperor  Clau- 
dius, according  to  Suetonius,  issued  decrees  for 
the  total  abolition  of  the  Druidical  religion,  on 
the  pretext  of  an  abhorrence  of  the  atrocity  ol  the 
human  sacrifices  in  which  it  indulged  its  votaries. 
The  true  motive  may  be  suspected  to  have  been 
a  jealousy  of  the  influence,  among  the  provincials 
of  Gaul  and  Britain,  of  a  native  order  of  priest- 
hood so  powerful  as  that  of  the  Druids.  Sue- 
tonius, indeed,  states  that  the  practice  of  the 
Druidical  religion  had  been  already  interdicted 
to  Roman  citizens  by  Augustus.     We  have  seen, 

*  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  vi.  part  i.  p.  13. 


in  the  course  of  the  preceding  narrative,  how  it 
was  extiri>ated  from  its  chief  seat  in  the  south 
of  Britain  by  Suetonius  Paulinus.  Such  of  the 
Druids  as  survived  this  attack  are  supposed  to 
have  fied  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  which  then  became, 
in  place  of  Anglesey,  the  head-quarters  of  British 
Druidism.  It  was  probably  after  this  that  the 
Druidical  religion  penetrated  to  the  northern 
parts  of  the  island.  The  vestiges,  at  all  events, 
of  its  establishment  at  some  period  in  Scotlaml, 
are  spread  over  many  parts  of  that  country,  and 
it  has  left  its  impression  in  various  still  surviving 
popular  customs  and  superstitions.  The  number 
and  variety  of  the  Druid  remains  in  North  Bi'i- 
tain,  according  to  a  late  learned  writer,  are  almost 
endless.  The  principal  seat  of  Scottish  Druidism 
is  thought  to  have  been  the  parish  of  Kirkmichael, 
in  the  recesses  of  Perthshire,  near  the  great  moun- 
tainous range  of  the  Grampians.- 

Druidism  long  survived,  though  in  obscurity 
and  decay,  the  thunder  of  the  imperial  edicts. 
In  Ireland,  indeed,  where  the  Roman  arms  had 
not  penetrated,  it  continued  to  flourish  down 
nearly  to  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  when  it 
fell  before  the  Christian  enthusiasm  and  energy 
of  St.  Patrick.  But  even  in  Britain,  the  practice 
of  the  Druidical  worship  appears  to  have  sul)- 
sisted  among  the  people  long  after  the  Druids, 
as  an  order  of  priesthood,  were  extinct.  The 
annals  of  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  even  of  the 
eighth  centuiy,  contain  numerous  edicts  of  em- 
perors, and  canons  of  councils,  against  the  wor- 
ship of  the  suu,  the  moon,  mountains,  rivers, 
lakes,  and  trees.'  There  is  even  a  law  to  the 
same  etTect  of  the  English  king  Canute,  iu  the 
eleventh  ccntui-y.  Nor,  as  we  have  already  more 
than  once  had  occa.sion  to  remark,  have  some  of 
the  practices  of  the  old  superstition  yet  altogether 
ceased  to  be  remembered  in  our  popular  sports, 
pastimes,  and  anniversary  usages.  The  cere- 
monies of  All-Hallowmass,  the  bonfires  of  May 
Day  and  Midsummer  Eve,  the  vii-tues  attributed 
to  the  misletoe,  and  various  other  customs  of  the 
villages  and  country  parts  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  still  speak  to  us  of  the  days  of 
Druidism,  and  evince  that  the  impression  of  its 
grim  ritual  has  not  been  wholly  obliterated  from 
the  ])opular  imagiuation,  by  the  Inp.se  of  nearly 
twenty  centuries. 

On  the  settlement  of  the  Romans  in  Britain, 
the  established  religion  of  the  province  of  course 
became  the  same  classic  superstition  which  these 
conquerors  of  the  world  still  maintained  in  all 
its  ancient  honours  .and  pre-eminence  in  their 
native  Italy,  which  was  diffused  alike  through 
all  the  customs  of  their  private  life  and  the  whole 
system  of  their  state-economy,  and  which  they 


2  Clculmers,  i.  pp.  09- 


'  relloutier,  Hist,  des  Celtes,  iii.  4. 


B.C.  55 — A.D.  44f).] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


57 


I  while  the  sea  assunieJ  the  colour  of  blood,  and 
the  receding  tide  seemed  to  leave  behind  it  the 
phantoms  ot'human  carcasses.  The  i)icture  is  com- 
pleted by  the  mention  of  the  temple,  in  which 
the  Roman  soldiery  took  refuge  on  the  rushing 
into  the  city  of  their  infuriated  assailants — of  the 
undefended  state  of  the  place,  in  which  the  ele- 
gance of  the  buildings  had  been  more  attended 
to  than  their  strength— of  another  temple  which 
had  been  raised  in  it  to  Claudius  the  Divine  —and, 
tiually,  of  its  crew  of  rapa- 
cious priests,  who,  under  the 
pretence  of  religion,  wasted 
every   man's   substance,  and 
excited  a  deeper  indignation 
in  the  breasts  of  the  unhappy 
natives   than   all    the   other 
cruelties  and  oppressions   to 
which  they  were  subjected. 

One  result  of  the  Roman 
invasion  was  the  introduc- 
tion into  Britain  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  But  the  obscurity 
which  jiervades  the  ecclesias- 
tical records  of  the  first  cen- 
tury, and  the  unobtrusive  si- 
lence with  which  the  first  steps 
of  Christianity  were  made,  in- 

Remaixs  of  Tejiple  of  Minerva,  discovered  at  Bath  in  1755,  nn<l  (ireserved  in  Batli    volve  tllis  part  of  the  I'eligious 
Museum.— Lysou's  Reliquiai  Romana;.  " 


carried  with  tliem,  almost  as  a  part  of  themselves, 
or  at  least  as  the  very  living  spirit  and  sustaining 
power  of  their  entire  polity  and  civilization,  into 
every  foreign  land  that  they  colonized.  In  this 
far  island,  too,  as  in  the  elder  homes  of  poetry 
and  the  arts, 

•*  An  ajje  hath  been  when  earth  was  proud 
Of  lustre  too  intense 
To  1)6  sustained;  and  mortals  bowed 
The  front  in  self-defence." 

Beside  the  rude  grandeur  of  Stonehenge,  and  surrounded 
by  the  gloom  of  the  sacred  groves,  glittering  temples, 
displaying  all  the  grace  and  pomp  of  finished  architecture, 
now  rose  to  Jupi- 
ter,and  Apollo,and 
Diana,  and  Venus; 
and  the  air  of  our 
northern  clime  was 
peopled    with   all 


;^^ 


the  bright  di'eams  and  visions  of  the  mythology 
of  Greece.     A  temple  of  Minerva,  and  probably 
other  sacred  edifices,   appear   to  have   adorned 
the  city  of  Bath  ;  London  is  supposed  to  have  had 
its  temple  of  Diana,  occupying  the  same  natural 
elevation  which  is  now  crowned  by  tlie  magnifi- 
cent cathedral  of  St.  Paul's ;  and  the  foundations 
and  other  remains  of  similar  monuments  of  the 
Roman  paganism  have  been  discovered  in  many  of 
our  other  ancient  towns.     But  perhaps  no  such 
material  memorials  are  so  well  fitted  to  strike 
the  imagination,  and  to  convey  a  lively  impi-es- 
sion  of  this  long  past  state  of  things,  as  the  pas- 
sage in  the  Annals  of  Tacitus,  in  which  we  find 
a  string  of  prodigies  i-eoounted  to  have  happened 
in  different  parts  of  the  province  of  Britain,  im- 
mediately before  the  insurrection  of  Boadioea, 
just  as  the  same  events  might  have  taken  place 
in  Italy,  or  in  Rome  itself.     First,  in  the  town  of 
Camalodunum,  the  image  of  the  goddess  Victory, 
without  any  apparent  cause,  suddenly  falls  from 
its  place,  and  turns  its  face  round,  as  if  giving 
way  to  the  enemy.     Then  females,  seized  with  a 
sort  of  prophetic  fury,  would  be  heard  mourn- 
fully calling  out  that  destruction  was  at  hand, 
their  cries  penetrating  from  the  streets  both  into 
the  curia  or  council-chambei",  and  into  the  theatre. 
A  representation,  in  the  air,  of  the  colony  laid  in 
ruins,  was  seen  near  the  mouth  of  the  Thames, 
Vol.  I. 


history  of  Britain  in  much  un- 
certainty.  Some  investigators  have  attributed  the 


Restoration  by  Smirke  of  Portico  of  Tf-mpi.e  of  Minerva, 
at  Bath. — From  Lys^jn's  Rtjli<iuiie  l{om<infe. 

work  of  founding  Christianity  in  Britain  to  St. 
Peter,  to  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  to  Simon  Ze- 


58 


HISTOEY  OP  ENGLAND. 


[Relioios. 


lotes,  aud  some  to  St.  Paul  himself.  Others.again, 
liave  attributed  it  to  such  inferior  personages  as 
Aristobidus,  who  is  iucidcntally  mentioned  by  St. 
Paul,  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and  tlio  disciples  of 
Polycarp.  Some  of  these  accounts  would  imply 
that  British  Christianity  is  as  old  as  the  apostolic 
age ;  but  all  that  can  be  regarded  as  well  estab- 
lished is,  that  at  a  comparatively  early  period 
Christianity  found  its  way  into  the  British  Islands. 
Before  the  close  of  the  first  ceutury  Christian  re- 
fugees may  have  fled  thither  from  the  Continent 
to  escape  i)ei'secution,  aud  Christian  soldiers  and 
civilians  may  have  accompanied  the  invading 
armies.  The  destruction  which  had  befallen  the 
teachei-s  of  the  old  or  Druidical  religion,  would 
facilitate  the  progress  of  Christianity,  and  the 
wars  between  the  Romans  and  the  natives  allow 
it  to  go  on  unchecked.  The  monastic  writers 
decorate  tlieir  history  of  the  fii-st  centuries  of  the 
British  church  with  the  legend  of  King  Lucius, 
the  son  of  Coilus,  who,  according  to  their  account, 
was  king  of  the  whole  island,  was  bajjtized,  and 
became  so  earnest  for  the  conversion  of  his  people 
that  he  sent  to  Eleutherius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  for 
assistance  in  the  important  work.  It  is  possible 
that,  in  this  monkish  legend,  we  see  dimly  sha- 
dowed forth  some  petty  British  king  or  chieftain, 
in  vassalage  to  Rome,  who,  with  the  aid  of  Roman 
missionaries,  effected  the  conversion  of  his  tribe. 
In  Tertullian's  work  against  the  Jews,  written 
A.D.  209,  he  says  that  "even  those  places  in  Britain 
hitherto  inaccessible  to  the  Roman  arms  have 
been  subdued  by  the  gospel  of  Christ."  This 
expression,  however,  may  very  possibly  refer  to 
Ireland,  which  wd,s  then  accounted  part  of  Britain. 
During  the  Diocletian  persecution,  St.  Alban, 
the  first  martyr  of  our  island,  perished,  with 
many  others  whose  names  have  not  been  recorded. 
Bede  says  this  event  took  place  in  a.d.  286;  but  if 
it  really  happened  in  the  great  persecution  under 
Diocletian,  a  date  at  least  seventeen  or  eighteen 
years  later  must  be  assigned  to  it.  In  the  year 
314,  Eborius,  Bishop  of  York,  Restitutus,  Bishop 
of  London,  and  Adelphius,Bishopof  Richborough, 
attended  the  council  at  Aries ;  and  as  three 
bishops  formed  the  full  representation  of  a  pro- 
vince, it  appears  tliat  Britain  was  thus  placed  on 


an  equality  with  the  churches  of  Spain  and  Gaul. 
In  the  fourth  century,  according  to  Gildas,  Ariau- 
ism  was  very  prevalent  in  our  island;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Clirysostom  fre- 
quently allude,  in  their  writings,  to  the  orthodoxy 
of  the  British  Church.  In  the  fifth  ceutury  the 
oiiiuions  of  Pelagius  were  zealously  disseminated 
by  his  countrymen,  Agrioola  and  Celestius ;  and, 
say.s  Bode,  the  British  ecclesiastics,  in  gi-eat  alarm, 
and  unable  to  refute  them,  implored  assistance 
from  the  bishops  of  Gaul.  The  latter  sent  two 
of  their  number,  who  arrived  iu  Britain  about 
the  year  429,  and  completely  silenced  the  Pela- 
gians by  their  ai'guments.  But  the  bafiled  Pela- 
gians again  raised  their  heads,  and  again,  in  446, 
Germanus,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  accompanied  by 
Severus,  Bishop  of  Treves,  came  to  Britain,  and 
this  time  not  only  silenced  the  Pelagians,  but 
procured  the  banishment  of  their  leaders  from 
the  island. 

After  the  Christian  chui-ch  had  been  estab- 
lished, the  same  results  were  exhibited  iu  Bri- 
tain as  in  other  countries  ;  and  while  the  Italian 
or  Greek  infused  into  the  Christian  fiiith  the 
classical  paganism  of  his  fathers,  the  Briton 
leavened  it  with  his  ancestral  Druidical  super- 
stitions.' 

It  should  appear  that  the  order  of  monks  soon 
became  numerous,  though  they  were  obliged  for 
a  long  time  to  procure  their  subsistence  by  manual 
labour.  Even  the  British  bishops,  partly  tlu'ough 
the  poverty  of  the  coiinti-y,  and,  perhaps,  still 
more  through  the  partial  conversion  of  the  people 
— many  of  whom  still  remained  attached  either 
to  the  Roman  paganism  or  to  the  Druidical  wor- 
ship— were,  and  long  continued  to  be,  very  poor. 
When  the  successor  of  Constantine  offered  to 
maintain  the  bishops  of  the  West  from  the  im- 
]ierial  revenues,  only  those  of  Biitain  acceded  to 
the  i^roposal,  while  the  rest  rejected  it.  The 
number  of  churches  and  houses  of  religion  seems 
to  be  only  matter  of  conjecture ;  but  it  is  pretty 
certain  that,  eveu  at  the  time  when  the  Romans 
abandoned  the  island,  many  parts  of  it  had  never 
heard  of  the  Christian  gospel. 

'  SoutLey,  Book  of  the  C1m,cU. 


B.C.  55-A.D.  449] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


59 


CHAPTER  IV.— HISTORY   OF  SOCIETY. 


Cesar's  invasion  to  the  AimivAL  of  the  saxons. — b.c.  .53— ad.  449. 


Derivation  of  the  uanios  Albion  and  Britain— Cresar's  account  of  the  island— Britain  jieoiiled  by  two  distinct  races 
— Cffisar's  account  of  the  inhabitants— Personal  appearance  of  the  Britons— Their  painted  skins— Strange  mar- 
riage institutions  of  the  Britons— Their  habitations- Their  handicraft  ingenuity— Their  war-chariotB.  baskets, 
furniture,  dress,  ornaments — Their  means  and  modes  of  subsistence— Their  form  of  government — Disunion  of 
the  tribes  and  their  mutual  wars— Their  towns  and  fortifications— Eoman  civilization,  and  its  effect  on  the 
Britons. 


.DSAR'S  own  account  of  the  isian  J 
.and  its  inhabitants,  as  given  in  his 
Commentaries,  shows  th.at  he  spent 
bnt  a  brief  period  in  liis  Britisli 
invasion,  and  thus  its  results  were 
indecisive.  It  was  not  a  conquest, 
but  a  mere  hostile  landing;  and  the  account 
which  he  has  given  us  of  the  ancient  Britons  was 
perhaps  little  more  than  he  might  easily  have 
learned  from  the  Gaulish  traders,  whom  he  con- 
sulted before  he  commenced  the  expedition.  Still, 
his  brief  notices  are  valuable,  characterized  as 
they  are  by  his  wonted  sagacity  and  power  of 
observation,  and  also  by  their  forming  the  first 
introduction  of  the  British  people  into  th«  records 
of  accredited  history. 

In  a  former  chapter  we  had  occasion  to  notice 
the  names,  fii-st,  of  Samothea,  and  afterwards  of 
Albion,  by  which  the  island  was  distinguished. 
We  also  adverted  to  the  historical  legends  in 
which  they  are  said  to  have  originated.  These 
sources,  however,  were  uusatisfiictory  to  our  ear- 
liest antiquaries,  who  turned  their  inquiries  to 
another  source,  and  they  have  derived  the  name 
of  Albion  from  alb  or  albus,  signifying  while, 
which  is  supposed  to  have  been  given  to  the  is- 
land from  the  whiteness  of  its  cliffs,  as  .seen  from 
the  opposite  coast  of  Gaul.  That  of  Britain, 
by  which  name  the  island  was  first  known  to 
the  Romans,  is  still  more  doubtful  in  its  origin  ; 
so  that,  while  some  of  our  antiquaries,  at  the 
head  of  whom  is  Camden,  have  derived  it  from 
brit  or  6;'i<A  (''painted"),  in  allusion  to  the  blue 
painted  skins  of  the  natives,  others,  with  Carte, 
suppo.se  it  a  corruption  of  a  British  word,  pri/d- 
hain,  but  of  the  true  meaning  of  which  they  are 
uncertain. 

From  this  unprofitable  investigation  about 
names,  we  gladly  turn  to  the  account  of  the  is- 
land itself,  as  given  by  Julius  Cajsar.  "The 
inland  part  of  Britain,"  he  says  in  his  Commen- 
taries, "  is  inhabited  by  those  who,  according  to 
the  existing  tradition,  were  tlie  aborigines  of  tlie 
island ;  the  sea-coast,  by  those  who,  for  the  sake 


of  ])hindcr,  or  to  make  war,  had  cro.ssed  over 
from  among  the  Belga;,  and  who,  in  nearly  every 
case,  retain  the  names  of  their  native  states,  from 
wliicli  they  emigrated  to  this  ishmd,  wherein  they 
made  war,  and  settled,  and  began  to  cultivate  the 
ground."  Taking  this  statement  in  connection 
with  the  whole  tenor  of  antiquarian  discovery 
among  the  earliest  ages  of  Britain,  we  find  that 
its  first  inhabitants  were  Celts,  children  of  that 
large  Asiatic  family  who  emigrated  during  the 
primiti\'e  ages  into  Europe,  and  afterwards,  under 
the  names  of  Gauls  and  Cimbri,  carried  such  ter- 
ror into  It.aly  and  Greece,  and  secured  so  many 
fair  European  settlements,  among  which  Britain 
was  not  the  least  important.  In  process  of  time, 
however,  according  to  Ccesar's  intimation,  they 
had  formidable  rivals  in  the  BelgK,  a  Gothic  race, 
located  in  Gaul,  and  i-en  owned  for  their  supe- 
rior valour  and  activity,  who,  crossing  the  nar- 
row sea,  obtained  possession  of  the  south-eastern 
coast  of  Britain,  and  drove  its  Celtic  population 
into  the  interior.  In  this  way  two  distinct  races, 
and  one  considerably  superior  to  the  other,  as 
well  as  later  in  its  arrival,  are  recognized  as  oc- 
cupying the  island  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Roman  invasion.  Some  addition;d  information 
upon  this  important  head  might  have  thrown 
much  light  upon  our  primitive  history,  and  ex- 
plained those  perplexing  anomalies  of  civiliza- 
tion, combined  with  barbarism,  which  the  ancient 
relics  of  our  island  present  to  the  study  of  the 
antiquaiy.  But  Cresar,  although  the  most  ob- 
servant and  intellectual  of  conquerors,  wa.s  not 
the  conqueror  of  Britain,  and  his  hostile  advance 
into  it  never  appears  to  have  exceeded  eighty 
miles,  commencing  at  the  east  coast  of  Kent,  and 
terminating  at  the  capital  of  CassiveUaunus,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  afterwards  the  ancient  town 
of  Verulam,  in  Hertfordshire.  The  tribes  dig- 
nified with  the  name  of  nations,  with  whom  he 
successively  came  in  contact  in  his  h;isty  inroad, 
were  the  people  of  Cantium,  the  Triuobantes,  the 
Cenimagni,  the  Segontiaci,  the  Ancalites,  the  Bi- 
broci,  and  the  Cassi — clans  sullicieutly  uumerou.s 


60 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


within  so  sliort  a  compass,  and  piobably  living  in 
the  old  Celtic  fashion,  either  of  isolation  or  down- 
right hostility ;  but  the  different  localities  they 
occupied  is  now  a  matter  of  mere  conjecture.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  also,  that  he  ha.s  not  men- 
tioned tlie  name  of  a  single  British  town  in  the 
whole  course  of  his  expedition. 

From  this  very  limited  account  of  the  island, 
we  pass  to  that  which  he  has  given  of  the  inhabi- 
tants ;  and  here  his  brevity  is  sufficiently  charac- 
teristic of  his  limited  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
"  The  population,"  he  says,  "  is  very  great,  and 
the  buildings  very  numerous,  closely  resembling 
those  of  the  Gauls :  the  quantity  of  cattle  is  con- 
siderable. For  money  they  use  copper,  or  rings 
of  iron  of  a  certain  weight.  Tin  is  produced  there 
in  the  midland  districts,  and  iron  near  the  sea- 
coast;  but  the  quantity  of  this  is  small.  The 
copper  which  they  use  is  imported.  There  is 
timber  of  every  kind  that  is  found  in  Gaul,  ex- 
cept beech  and  fir.  They  reckon  it  unlawful  to 
eat  the  hare,  the  lien,  and  the  goose.  These  ani- 
mals, however,  they  breed  for  amusement.  The 
country  has  a  more  temperate  climate  than  Gaiil, 
the  cold  being  less  intense."  After  several  geo- 
graphical statements,  which  are  irrelevant  to  our 
purpose,  Csesar  thus  continues  his  account  of  the 
Britons : — ■'  Of  all  the  natives,  those  who  inhabit 
Kent  {Cantiuni)—a  district  the  whole  of  which  is 
near  the  coast — are  by  far  the  most  civilized,  and 
do  not  differ  greatly  in  their  customs  from  the 
Gauls.  The  inland  people  for  the  most  part  do 
not  sow  corn,  but  subsist  on  milk  and  flesh,  and 
have  clothing  of  skins.  All  the  Britons,  however, 
stain  themselves  with  wo.ad,  which  makes  them 
of  a  blue  tinge,  and  gives  them  a  more  formidable 
appeai-ance  in  battle.  They  also  wear  their  hair 
long,  and  shave  every  part  of  the  body  except 
the  head  and  the  upper  lip.  Every  ten  or  twelve 
of  them  have  their  wives  in  common,  especially 
brothers  with  brothers,  and  parents  with  chil- 
dren ;  but  if  any  children  are  born,  they  are  ac- 
counted the  children  of  those  by  whom  each 
virgin  was  first  espoused." 

Such  is  the  brief  account  of  Julius  Ca;sar  con- 
cerning that  strange  people,  of  whom  his  own 
countrymen  appear  to  have  hut  vaguely  heard, 
until  he  landed  an  army  in  the  island,  and  over- 
I'an  part  of  it  in  two  campaigns.  So  little  inte- 
rest, however,  did  the  Romans  feel  about  Britain, 
or  so  difficult  had  a  conquest  of  it  beeu  reckoned, 
that  an  interval  of  nearly  a  century  followed  be- 
fore another  invasion  was  attempted.  The  supe- 
rior opportunities  for  information  which  were  then 
acquired  by  his  successors,  not  only  sufficed  to  give 
a  general  confirmation  of  his  statements,  but  also 
materially  to  enlarge  their  amount. 

The  first  circumstance  that  arrests  our  atten- 
tion in  these  notices  of  the  ancient  Britons,  is 


their  personal  appearance.  The  physical  qualifi- 
cations of  tliose  rude  warriors,  who  fought  with 
the  greatest  of  Roman  conquerors,  and  who,  of 
all  his  enemies,  reduced  him  to  the  honours  of  a 
doubtful  victory,  could  have  been  of  no  ordinary 
character.  The  strength  and  courage  of  these 
half-naked,  scantily  armed,  mustachioed  warriors, 
were  well  attested  by  the  stout  resistance  they 
offered  to  the  Roman  legions.  Their  large  cor- 
respondent stature  is  mentioned  by  Strabo,  who 
tells  us  he  had  seen  some  British  youths  at  Rome 
half  a  foot  taller  than  the  Gauls,  who  in  turn 
were  superior  in  height  to  the  Romans.  This 
writer  adds,  that  they  were  not  gracefully  and 
strongly  formed  in  proportion  to  their  great  sta- 
ture, and  that  they  did  not  stand  very  firmly 
upon  their  legs;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
these  juvenile  specimens  were  perhaps  longer 
in  attaining  to  full  maturity  than  persons  of  a 
smaller  size  and  warmer  climate.  As  for  their 
painted  skins,  with  which  the  Britons  endea- 
voured to  dismay  theii-  enemies,  the  idea  pre- 
vailed among  the  Romans  of  Caesar's  day,  that 
this  was  nothing  more  than  a  mere  painting  or 
staining  with  the  juice  of  woad — something,  in- 
deed, like  the  war- 
painting  of  the  Red 
Indians  when  they 
prepare  for  fight  or 
festival.  But  instead 
of  this  mere  surface- 
colouring,  which  may 
be  washed  off  at  plea- 
sure, we  learn  from 
several  ancient  Roman 
writers  that  it  was  a 
permanent  tattooing, 
like  that  of  the  South 
Sea  Islanders,  which, 
once  imjjressed,  could 
never  be  eradicated. 
The  jirocess,  they  in- 
form us,  was  effected 
in  early  youth,  by 
puncturing  the  skin 
with  a  sharp-pointed  instrument,  and  squeezing 
out  the  juice  of  certain  herbs  upon  the  punc- 
tures, which  were  made  to  represent  the  forms 
of  animals,  and  that  these  pictures,  which  as- 
sumed a  blue  colour,  grew  with  the  growth  of 
the  body,  and  descended  with  it  to  the  grave. 
When  the  first  steps  of  Roman  civilization  in- 
troduced a  more  abundant  clothing,  this  rude 
fashion  soon  disappeared  in  South  Britain,  and 
was  retained  only  in  the  still  unconquered  north, 
where  it  continued  to  form  almost  the  only  kind 
of  dress  and  ornament,  and  whose  inhabitants 
were  therefore  called  Picti  (or  jjainted  men)  by 
their  Romanized  brethren  of  South  Britain.     lu 


Woad  Plant,  Isa'is  tinctoria. 


C.c.  55— A.D.  449.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


CJ 


this  simple  way  we  can  easily  account  for  the 
sudden  disappearance  of  the  Caledonians  in  his- 
tory, which  hiis  so  sorely  puzzled  our  antiquaries: 
instead  of  being  utterly  exterminated,  as  has 
sometimes  been  supposed,  they  only  reappear 
under  the  nickname  of  Plots.  It  is  worth  no- 
ticing, by  the  way,  that  in  their  practice  of  tat- 
tooing, and  their  adherence  to  the  pastoral  life, 
the  ancient  Britons  closely  resembled  two  classes 
of  the  most  hopeful  and  energetic  of  our  modern 
savages.  These,  it  will  at  once  be  seen,  are  the 
inhabitants  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  and  the 
Caifres  of  South  Africa. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  that  strange  form 
of  the  marriage  institution  wliich  Ca'sar  declares 
to  have  prevailed  among  the  Britons?  It  appears 
so  gross  and  revolting,  and  so  opposed  to  that  ex- 
clusive possession  wliich  forms  the  great  principle 
of  marriage,  that  modern  writers  have  discarded 
the  fact,  by  declaring  such  a  state  of  society  im- 
()ossible.  Polygamy,  indeed,  has  prevailed  almost 
since  the  world  commenced,  but  in  every  case  it 
lias  consisted  of  a  plurality  of  wives,  and  not  of 
husbands.  Man,  and  not  woman  has  always  been 
the  legislator,  and  he  took  care  to  frame  the  in- 
dulgence for  his  own  especial  benefit.  Besides, 
could  such  a  strong,  healthy,  and  numerous  race 
as  the  ancient  Britons  have  been  the  produce  of 
such  promiscuous  intercourse?  It  is  also  alleged 
that  Ctesar,  whose  testimony  is  quoted  as  the  au- 
thority for  such  a  revolting  fact,  was  but  a  short 
time  in  the  island,  and  saw  little  of  the  natives, 
except  in  actual  conflict.  He  may  have  seen 
them,  indeed,  dwelling  by  whole  families  under 
one  roof,  from  the  want  of  more  abundant  ac- 
commodation, and  thus  have  hastily  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  also  lived  in  common 
sexual  intercourse.  But  to  this  it  may  be  an- 
swered, on  the  other  hand,  that  no  such  mis- 
take was  made  about  the  ancient  Germans,  who 
also  lived  by  whole  families  in  a  single  habi- 
tation. Caesar,  too,  is  not  the  only  autliority  for 
the  statement,  for  it  was  repeated  by  Dio  Cassius 
and  St.  Jerome,  when  Britain  was  fully  known 
to  the  world  at  large.  Unpalatable,  therefore, 
though  it  be,  it  descends  to  us  with  all  the  stub- 
bornness of  an  historical  fact.  And  that  the  ideas 
of  the  Britons  upon  the  subject  of  marriage  in 
genei'al  dilTered  from  those  of  other  nations,  is 
attested  by  the  old  Roman  writer,  Solinus,  when 
he  describes  the  government  of  the  western  is- 
lands of  Caledonia,  afterwards  called  the  He- 
brides. Speaking  of  the  sovereign,  he  states, 
'■This  prince  is  not  even  allowed  to  have  a  wife 
of  his  own ;  but  he  has  free  access  to  the  wives 
of  all  his  subjects,  that,  having  no  children  which 
he  knows  to  be  his  own,  lie  may  not  be  prompted 
to  encroach  on  the  privileges  of  his  subjects,  in 
oi'der  to  aggrandize  his  family."     Strange,  also, 


though  these  British  marriages  were,  they  sc;ircely 
exceeded  in  guilt  or  extravagance  the  marriage 
institutions  which  prevail  among  the  Nairs  of 
India.  Perhaps  the  Asiatic  origin  of  the  Celtic 
race  who  finally  settled  iu  Britain,  and  the 
strange  expedients  of  the  earliest  Eastern  nations 
to  make  marital  jealousy  a  feeling  not  worth  en- 
tertaining, might  account  iu  some  measure  for 
these  matrimonial  usages  of  the  Britons,  and  sliow 
that  they  were  not  wholly  improbaVde.  At  all 
events,  we  may  hope  that,  like  the  permission 
given  to  polygamy,  they  were  only  confined  to 
the  higher  classes,  and  not  jiarticipated  by  the 
people  at  large;  and  this,  too,  long  before  the  en- 
trance of  Christianity  into  the  island,  when  they 
utterly  disappeared. 

We  have  seen,  in  a  former  chapter,  what  kind 
of  houses  the  Britons  occupied  on  the  an-ival  of 
Julius  Cresar.  On  that  part  of  the  sea-coast  oppo- 
site Gaul,  where  intercourse  with  strangera  had 
effected  a  higher  civilization,  the  houses  were  like 
those  of  the  Gauls,  being  poles  set  up  in  a  circle, 
forming  a  sharp  point  at  tlie  top,  with  the  inter- 
stices tilled  up  with  wattled  work,  and  having 
neither  window  nor  chimney;  but  far  inferior  to 
these  wei'e  the  common  dwellings  of  the  interior, 
which  were  little  better  than  the  holes  of  foxes. 
As  for  the  ancient  British  towns,  according  to 
Csesar  they  were  nothing  else  than  a  cluster  of 
these  huts  planted  in  the  heart  of  a  forest,  guarded 
by  a  rampart  of  felled  trees,  and  sometimes  also 
by  a  dun,  or  fortress,  composed  of  loose  blocks  of 
granite.  As  safety  and  the  means  of  absolute 
subsistence  were  of  more  account  at  such  a  period 
than  even  domestic  comfort,  the  princiijal  British 
constructions  of  those  days  were  the  strongholds 
of  princes,  while  those  of  the  common  people 
might  be  worn  out  in  a  year.  Little  better  than 
this  were  the  Border  houses  in  Scotland,  even  so 
late  as  the  fourteenth  century. 

In  their  handicraft  o])eratious  these  islanders 
showed  considerable  ingenuity.  This  was  esjie- 
cially  manifested  iu  the  construction  of  tXxah- essedce 
or  war-chariots,  which  must  not  only  have  been 
strong  and  well-poised,  to  encounter  the  rough 
fields  over  which  they  were  driven  at  full  speed, 
but  also  to  have  tasked  much  skill  iu  the  fabrica- 
tion of  the  scythes  with  which  they  were  armed, 
and  the  harness  with  which  the  horses  were  yoked. 
These  chariots,  indeed,  the  Britons  appear  to  have 
derived  from  their  remote  Eastern  ancestry,  and 
such  vehicles  for  the  purposes  of  warfare  occur  in 
the  earliest  records  of  Sacred  History,  as  well  as 
in  the  pioems  of  Homer.  Even  at  a  late  period 
they  were  also  occasionally  used  by  the  nations 
of  Asia  against  the  armies  of  the  Roman  repub- 
lic, and  were  continued  by  the  Britons  the  last 
of  all,  until  they  learned  to  imitate  the  military 
arts  of  their  conquerors.     The  same  ingenuity 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


iudeeJ,  iiii{,'lit  have  coiiatructed  war-canocs  equal 
to  those  of  the  New  Zealauders,  and  made  the 
Britons  an  adventurous  niaritimo  people;  but,  as 
we  have  already  stated,  they  had  that  aversion 
for  the  sea  which  has  characterized  the  whole 
Celtic  race.  Next  to  their  war-chariots,  the  skill 
of  t)ie  Britons  was  exerted  in  the  various  opera- 
tions of  basket-work,  from  the  walls  of  a  house 
and  the  sides  of  a  coracle,  down  to  tlie  lightest 
utensil  for  household  purposes.  It  was  the  same 
kind  of  ingenuity  as  that  of  the  Caffres  of  South 
Africa,  who  form  elegant  vessels  of  grass,  so  closely 
plaited  together  as  to  hold  milk  and  other  liquids. 
The  baskets  of  the  Britons  were  so  highly  admired 
at  Rome,  that  the  Latin  word  bascav.da  is  supposed 
to  have  been  of  British  origin.  From  the  earliest 
coins  we  also  fiud  that  the  houses  of  the  Bri- 
tons were  furnished  with  stools,  like  the  modern 
crickets;  while  the  contents  of  the  barrows  attest 
that,  even  before  tlie  entrance  of  the  Romans,  they 
made  various  kinds  of  pottery,  such  as  drinking 
cups,  jai'S,  and  cinerary  urns.  In  the  article  of 
clothing,  although  the  Britons  of  the  interior  wore 
nothing  but  the  skins  of  animals  at  the  arrival  of 
Julius  Cresar,  yet  it  is  certain  that  tlie  inhabi- 
tants of  the  coast  opposite  Gaul,  in  consequence 
of  their  higher  civilization,  and  intercourse  with 
foreign  traders,  were  better  provided.  Even  be- 
fore this  period,  it  is  evident  that  the  check- 
ered cloth  and  braccce  of  the  Gauls  had  found 
their  way  into  the  island,  and  been  adopted  by  tlie 
wealthier  inhabitants.     'W'ith  regard  to  personal 


Torques,  with  manner  of  wearing  it,  from  tlie  sculpturfs  on 
tlie  monument  of  Vigua  Ameudola. 

ornaments,  the  principal  one  worn  by  the  Britons 
was  the  torques,  a  chain  composed  of  flexible 
bars  twisted  into  the  form  of  a  rope,  and  clasped 
behind  by  a  hook.  In  its  highest  state  of  im- 
provement, it  was  composed  of  links  elaborately 
carved  and  ornamented.  These  were  badges  of 
distinction  for  kings  and  chieftains,  and,  as  such, 
were  made  of  silver,  and  sometimes  even  of  gold; 
but,  in  the  absence  of  these  metals,  they  were 
usually  of  bronze  or  iron.  The  Britons,  also,  as 
well  as  the  Gauls,  wore  a  ring  on  the  middle  linger. 
The  ornaments  of  the  females  were  still  more  nu- 
merous, as  is  attested  by  the  remains  found  iu  bell- 
shaped  barrows,  which  appear  to  have  been  chiefly 


the  burial-places  of  women.  These  ornaments  con- 
sist of  beads  of  granite,  flint,  and  pebble;  amber 
and  bead  necklaces;  bronze  jiius,  some  of  tliem 
with  bone  and  ivory  handles ;  and  bracelets  of 
ivory.'  All  this,  however,  was  poor  and  rude 
enough,  even  at  the  best,  and  its  nakedness  must 
have  been  keenly  felt  when  brought  in  contact 
with  the  wealth,  grandeur,  and  taste  of  the  Ro- 
man conquerors.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that 
Caractacusshouhl  have  burst  into  tlie  exclamation, 
while  he  was  led  a  prisoner  through  the  stately 
streets  of  Rome:  "Alas!  that  those  who  inhabit 
such  palaces  should  envy  me  a  hut  in  Britain!" 

The  inhabitants  of  the  island  being  so  depen- 
dent upon  their  own  native  produce,  subsisted 
upon  the  resources  of  agriculture,  rearing  of  tame 
animals,  and  the  chase,  each  piireuit  being  prose- 
cuted according  to  the  facilities  of  the  particular 
district,  or  the  advanced  condition  of  the  tribe 
that  occupied  it.  In  this  way  the  inhabitants  of 
the  southern  coast,  and  especially  those  of  Can- 
tium  or  Kent,  were,  like  tlieir  brethren  the  Belgaj, 
addicted  to  agriculture ;  while  the  more  inland 
tribes  were  chiefly  shepherds,  who  were  unac- 
quainted with  tillage,  and  lived  upon  the  produce 
of  their  flocks  and  herds — or  hunters,  with  whom 
the  pursuit  of  game  and  wild  beasts  was  more 
a  necessity  than  an  amusement.  It  is  strange 
that  to  these  three  occupations  fishing  cannot  be 
added,  considering  the  plentiful  supplies  of  food 
with  which  the  rivers  and  coasts  abounded ;  but 
Xiphiliuus  informs  us  that  none  of  the  Britons 
ever  tasted  fish.  Whetlier  this  abstinence  arose 
from  a  religious  prejudice,  or  from  the  general 
Celtic  aversion  to  the  sea,  it  is  impossible  to  de- 
termine. We  learn  from  Pliny,  that  iu  agricul- 
ture the  people  of  the  south  coast  manured  the 
soU,  not  only  with  the  usual  appliances,  but  with 
marl,  a  iiractice  confined  to  themselves  and  their 
neighbours  the  Gauls  alone  He  informs  us,  also, 
that  of  this  marl,  one  kind,  which  was  white  and 
chalky,  was  so  etfeetual  for  the  purpose,  that 
ground  once  manured  with  it  would  retain  its 
productive  qualities  for  eighty  years,  so  that  no 
man  using  this  to  a  field  needed  to  apply  it  twice 
during  his  lifetime.  In  the  pastoral  life  each 
proprietor  had  the  boundary  of  his  land  marked 
by  a  large  upright  stoue,  within  which  he  con- 
fined his  range;  but  the  knowledge  of  his  occupa- 
tion was  so  limited,  th.at  the  milk  of  his  cattle 
was  only  useful  for  daily  subsistence;  for,  accord- 
ing to  Strabo,  the  Britons  were  unacquainted 
with  the  making  of  cheese.  In  the  hunter's  life 
the  sacrilege  of  eating  hares  must  have  often  been 
felt  as  a  severe  game-law,  even  though  religion 
had  enforced  the  ]>rohibition.  Such,  also,  may  have 
been  the  case  with  the  shepherd  or  the  husband- 
man in  his  abstinence  from  the  hen  and  the  goose. 
'  Sue  illuatratioas  iu  vol.  i.  pp.  11, 12. 


D.C.  55— A.D.  449.] 


BRITISH  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


63 


AVhile  such  were  the  Hunted  means  of  subsist- 
ence possessed  by  the  inhabitants  of  tlic  southern 
]iart  of  the  island,  it  was  still  worse  with  those 
of  the  northern  division.  The  tribes  of  the  north, 
whom  the  earliest  Roman  historians  comiirised 
under  the  two  classes  of  Mxataj,  or  inhabitants 
of  the  lowlands,  and  Caledonians,  or  those  of  the 
great  forest  and  highlanda,  because  they  resisted 
to  the  last  the  dej^radation  of  Roman  conquest, 
were  lon,£;est  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  Ro- 
man civilization.  We  find  them,  therefore,  so  late 
as  the  invasion  of  Severus,  in  the  same  condition 
as  the  southern  Britons  had  been  at  the  time  of 
Ctesar's  arrival — or  even  lower  in  the  scale — in 
consequence  of  the  greater  sterility  of  the  soil, 
that  offered  fewer  temptations  to  the  civilizing 
exertions  of  husbandry.  We  aro  informed  that 
they  had  neither  walls  nor  towns,  but  were  a 
pastoral  people,  living  in  tents ;  and  that  they 
subsisted  ou  milk  and  wild  fruits,  and  sueh  ani- 
mals as  they  caught  in  hunting.  But  to  a  people 
so  imperfectly  armed,  their  chief  articles  of  game, 
which  must  have  been  the  deer,  the  wild  bull, 
and  the  boar,  were  not  always  attainable ;  and 
Xiphilinus,  as  we  have  already  stated,  informs  us 
that  the  chief  resource  of  these  northern  hunters 
in  such  a  strait,  was  to  swallow  a  certain  drug, 
about  the  size  of  a  bean,  by  which  their  spirits 
were  exhilarated,  and  the  cravings  of  hunger 
deadened.  When  milk  and  wild  fruits  failed,  we 
are  also  told  by  the  same  writer,  that  those  who 
dwelt  in  the  woods  had  recourse  to  roots  and 
leaves.  Even  worse  modes  of  subsistence  ajipear 
to  have  been  adopted  in  cases  of  desperate  fa- 
mine; for,  on  the  testimony  of  St.  Jerome,  they  are 
charged  with  actual  cannibalism.  He  declares 
that  in  his  j-outh,  when  he  was  in  Gaul,  he  saw 
people  of  tlie  Attacotti,  one  of  the  northern  tribes, 
devouring  human  flesh;  and  he  even  specifies 
those  particular  parts  of  the  body  which  these 
man-devourers  held  in  highest  account.  All  this 
would  be  incredible,  did  we  not  know  that  the 
same  practice  even  yet  prevails  among  the  islands 
of  the  South  Seas,  and  in  a  part  of  Sumatra, 
where  the  people  are  at  least  as  civilized  as  the 
rudest  tribes  of  the  Britons  of  the  north,  while 
they  had  not  their  plea  of  urgent  necessity. 

Although  little  has  been  told  us  by  the  Roman 
writers  of  the  form  of  government  which  was 
established  in  Britain,  yet,  from  the  fact  of  the 
people  belonging  to  the  Celtic  race,  we  can  easily 
conclude  that  it  was  the  same  patriarchal  insti- 
tution to  which  the  Celts  have  invariably  adhered, 
whatever  might  be  the  country  in  which  they 
obtained  a  settlement.  Politically,  the  Britons 
did  not  constitute  a  collective  nation,  but  a  con- 
geries of  tribes,  each  ruled  by  its  own  indepen- 
dent head.  On  this  account,  if  the  Belgte  of  the 
southern  coast  had  been  a  united  peo]>le,  they 


might  have  anticipated  the  Saxon  conquest,  and 
obtained  a  complete  predominance  over  the  wliole 
island.   But,  from  Caisar's  account,  it  appears  that 
these  colonists  still  retained   the  names  of  the 
different  peoples  from  whom  they  had  sprung ; 
and  in  all  likelihood,  therefore,  were  as  much 
divided  among  themselves  as  wei'e  the  rude  tribes 
whom  they  dispossessed.    Ptolemy,  in  his  classifi- 
cation of  the  Britons,  gives  us  not  less  than  seven- 
teen tribes  for  the  south,  and  eighteen  for  the 
north  part  of  the  island,  making  thirty-five  in 
all ! — a  comparatively  easy  conquest  fur  Agricola, 
and  afterwards  for  the  successors  of  llengist  and 
Horsa.    One  wonders,  indeed,  that,  from  the  ditli- 
culty  of  bringing  so  many  independent  and  rival 
sovereigns  together,  they  could  in  any  case  be 
united  for  a  common  resistance;  but  a  common 
danger,  which  brings  animals  the  most  hostile  to 
each  other  within  a  peaceful  ring,  until  the  danger 
is  over-past,  could  combine  several,  or  even  the 
whole  of  the  tribes  against  a  dangerous  foreign 
invasion,  as  was  evinced  in  the  one  case  by  the 
army  of  Caractacus,  and  in  the  other  by  that  of 
Cassivellaunus.     But  these  unions  were  of  such 
uncertain  continuity  that,  when  the  tide  of  fortune 
turned,  the  one  leader  was  betrayed  and  the  other 
deserted.  Of  the  amount  of  regal  authority  which 
these  kings  possessed  over  their  subjects,  and  the 
specific  manner  in  wliich  it  was  exercised,  the 
Roman  historians  have  not  informed  us ;  all  we 
can  leai'U  of  this  subject  is,  that  the  nobles  or 
inferior  chiefs  had  a  controlling  voice  in  every 
public  movement;  and  that  the  authority  of  the 
Druiils,  when  they  were  pleased  to  interpose  it, 
was  superior  even  to  that  of  the  sovereigns.   They 
were  the  sacred  Brahmins  of  Britain — the  race 
who  were  sprung  from  the  highest  and  holiest  por- 
tion of  that  divine  body,  out  of  which  all  the  otiier 
classes  of  society  proceeded — and  who,  thei'efore, 
by  virtue  of  their  superior  descent,  could  claim  a 
paramount  authority  over  both  king  and  soldier. 
Here  was  a  check  upon  the  otherwise  uuliuiited 
and  irresponsible  power  of  a  Celtic  chief,  which 
was  common  to  Britain  alone — making  the  con- 
clusion obvious,  that  the  Druids  had  not  origi- 
nally been  Celts,  but  strangers,  of  a  higher  and 
more  civilized  race,  who  hail  assumed  the  pre- 
eminence which   kuowledge  unscrupulously  ex- 
ercised will  always  obtain  over  barbarism  and 
ignoi-ance.     Of  this  Druidical  suprem.acy,  even  in 
political  matters,  we  ai-e  assured  by  Dio  Chiysos- 
tom,  who  informs  us  that  even  a  royal  edict  could 
not  be  carried  into  effect  without  the  sanction  of 
the  Druids ;  and  that  the  kings  were   uothiug 
more  than  the  servants  and  instruments  of  the 
priesthood. 

Such  a  divided  state  of  society  as  thus  existed 
in  Britain,  at  once  suggests  the  id^a  of  incessant 
strife  and  contention.     Each  tribe  was  a  nation 


64< 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


iu  itself;  every  king  Imd  a  rival  iu  his  neighbour; 
and  where  none   of  those  obstacles   interposed 
■which  keep  hostile  kingdoms  apart,  the  wars  of 
the  Britons  among  each  other  must  have  been 
both  rancorous  and  incessant.     A  boundary  line, 
a  pasture  field,  even  a  personal  or  family  pique, 
would  be  enough,  in  the  first  instance,  to  set  two 
tribes  at  variance,  and  afterwards  to  involve  others 
in  the  contest.    That  such  a  state  of  internal  war- 
fare was  common  among  the  Britons,  we  may 
learn  from  the  inmiense  earthen  ramparts  that 
can  still  bo  traced  in  the  island,  of  which  that  of 
Wansdyke  is  a  specimen.    As  they  seem  to  have 
extended  for  several  miles,  they  were  probably 
thrown  up  for  the  defence  of  a  whole  tribe  against 
their  neighboui-s  -  a  sort  of  Chinese  wall  on  a 
limited  scale.     The  same  state  of  insecurity  is  in- 
dicated by  the  remains  of  broad  and  deep  covered 
ways,  strongly  embanked  on  either  side,  which 
served  as  lines  of  communication  from  one  forest- 
town  to  anothex-.     Of  these,  the  specimens  that 
exist  iu  Wiltshire  attest  not  only  the  vast  labour 
with  which  they  were  constructed,  but  the  mili- 
tary skill  and  experience  that  had  planned  them. 
In  warfare,  indeed,  the  Britons  showed  that  they 
were  no  tyros,  by  their  resistance  to  Ciesar  and 
his  legions.     This  was  evidently  their  chief  de- 
partment of  knowledge,  even  as  their  war-chariots 
were  the  most  ingenious   of  their  fabrications. 
Strange,  indeed,  must   have  been  the   contrast 
between  the  miserable  clusters  of  hovels  in  the 
heart  of  a  wood,  which  constituted  a  British  town 
—  if  we  are  to  put  faith  iu  Roman  authorities — 
and  the  array  of  armed  warriors,  and  prancing 
steeds,  and  rattling  chariots,  that  poured  from 
it  through  the  long,  broad,  covered  way,  to  at- 
tack some  rival  town !      And    where   were  the 
Druids,  the  while,  to  prevent  such  terrible  col- 
lisions?    Being  men  of  like  passions  with  their 
worshippers,  perhaps  they  sympathized   in   the 
feud.     Or  perhaps  they  were  cautious  of  inter- 
posing against  such  outbursts,  from  the  fear  that 
their  own  ascendency  might  be  swept  away  in 
the  popular  storm. 

Such  were  the  Britons  at  the  period  of  the  Ro- 
man invasion.  The  sketch  is  not  only  narrow, 
but  imperfect,  owing  to  the  very  scanty  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  which  the  Roman  writers 
have  bequeathed  to  us.  A  new  school  of  British 
antiquarianism  has  also  lately  risen  to  assert,  that 
this  scantiness  is  not  the  greatest  defect  in  their 
statements — that  they  have  been  partial  aud  one- 
sided, as  well  as  careless  and  brief,  in  their  ac- 
counts of  Britain  and  its  inhabitants.  While  they 
saw  and  announced  the  barbarism  of  the  people, 
why  were  they  so  silent  about  those  Cyclopean 
erections  with  which  the  island  abounded,  and 
those  relics  of  a  liigher  civilization  which  the 
graves  still  continue  to  yield  up?     It  has  been 


thought,  from  these  most  substantial  evidences  of 
an  early  civilization,  that  the  Britons  were  not 
such  utter  savages  as  they  have  been  represented; 
and  that  they  must  have  had  science,  and  skill, 
and  long-descended  experience  among  them,  as 
well  a.s  brute  force,  and  the  labour  of  countless 
bands.  It  has  been  alleged,  also,  that  with  the 
Druids  for  their  schoolmasters,  they  must  have 
learned  a  more  comfortable  style  of  life,  aud  at- 
tained a  higher  style  of  intellectual  culture,  than 
have  been  attributed  to  them  in  Cresar's  Comincn- 
taries.  It  is  unfortunate  that  these  Druids  have 
passed  away  and  left  no  historians  to  record  their 
deeds,  except  those  who  were  their  enemies  and 
destroyei-s.  If  either  the  records  of  the  past  of 
our  island  can  be  more  clearly  deciphered,  or  the 
buried  treasures  of  its  antiquarianism  more  plen- 
tifully exhumed,  it  may  be  that  we  shall  have  a 
more  favourable  account  of  the  Britons  than  can 
be  found  iu  Roman  history.  We  may  then  also 
learn  from  what  race  and  country  the  Drui<l:i 
came,  at  what  time  they  arrived  in  Britain,  what 
were  their  real  qualifications  and  character;  and 
whether  such  wattled,  mud-built  hovels  as  the 
Romans  found  at  their  arrival,  had  always  stood 
in  full  neighbourhood  with  the  stately  erections 
of  Stonehenge  and  Avebuiy. 

Although  the  stay  of  Ctesar  in  Britain  was  so 
brief,  and  his  two  campaigns  so  indecisive  of  re- 
sults, compared  with  his  usual  career  of  conquest, 
his  visit  w.as  not  without  important  consequences. 
It  opened  the  island  more  completely  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  world,  and  was  attended  with  not 
only  more  frequent  arrivals  from  Gaul,  but  even 
visits  from  Rome  itself.  The  effect  of  such  inter- 
course was  that,  even  in  the  time  of  Augustus, 
the  arts,  the  manners,  and  religion  of  Rome  had 
obtained  an  entrance  into  the  island.  This  we 
are  told  by  Strabo,  who  also  informs  us  of  the 
increase  of  traflic  that  had  already  taken  place  in 
Britain;  and  while  he  mentions  gold,  silver,  and 
iron,  corn,  dogs,  cattle,  and  skins  as  its  ej  ports, 
the  imports  were  ivory,  bridles,  gold  chains,  cups 
of  amber,  drinking  glasses,  and  other  similar  ar- 
ticles. Then,  too,  the  ring  money  of  bronze  and 
ii-on  gave  place  to  a  regular  coinage  of  the  valu- 
able metals,  better  fitted  for  foreign  circulation  ; 
and  of  these,  the  mintage  of  Cunobelinus,  usually 
stamped  with  a  human  effigy  on  the  one  side,  and 
an  animal  or  emblematic  device  on  the  other,  gives 
ample  indications  of  the  commercial  improvement 
that  had  taken  place  during  the  century  which  fol- 
lowed the  invasion  of  Julius  Caesar.  But  that  of 
Claudius  succeeded,  when  the  island  was  con- 
quered and  occupied  as  well  as  invaded,  and  when 
not  only  the  style  of  British  life  and  character, 
but  the  whole  aspect  of  the  country,  were  to  as- 
sume a  new  physiognomy. 

These  changes,  introduced  by  the  establishment 


B.C.  55— A.D.  440.] 


lUUTlSlI   AND  ROMAN  PEIUOD. 


65 


of  the  Roinau  domiiiiou,  iieeil  ouly  to  be  hastily 
glanced  at,  being  of  tlie  same  kind  with  tliose  they 
impressed  upon  every  conquereil  country,  and  the 
iuelfaceable  tol<ens  of  which  are  still  distinctly 
marked  over  the  whole  map  of  Eurojie.  The  land 
of  many  tribes  was  reduced  into  a  single  province; 
and  although  native  kings  in  some  cases  were 
allowud  to  retain  their  titles,  it  was  only  in  sub- 
servience to  the  paramount  rule  of  the  Roman 
governor.  jMunici])ia  or  free  towns  were  estab- 
lished, with  the  privileges  of  Roman  citizenship; 
highways  wore  constnicted,  that  linked  the  scat- 
tered districts  into  a  single  country;  and  while 
Roman  laws,  courts  of  j  ustice,  temples,  and  aca- 
demies took  the  place  of  Celtic  legislation  and 
Druidical  training,  the  rich  natural  resources  of 
the  country— its  lead,  copper,  and  tin — its  ferti- 
lizing niai'l  and  v.aluable  chalk — its  pearls,  and 
even  its  oysters — its  spirited  horses,  and  fleet, 
stanch  hunting-dogs — all  were  brought  to  their 
full  perfection,  introduced  into  the  markets  of 
Rome  and  the  Continent,  and  converted  into  plen- 
tiful sources  of  commercial  wealth,  as  well  as 
motives  to  increased  British  immigration.  It  is 
in  this  way,  pei-haps,  that  we  are  to  account  for 
the  discrejjancies  between  the  statements  of  Caesar 
respecting  the  temporary  forest  villages  of  the 
Britons,  and  the  numerous  towns  by  which  they 
were  superseded  in  the  days  of  Tacitus,  130  years 
afterwards.  The  energy  and  rapidity  of  Roman 
civilization,  especially  among  a  rude  jjeople,  gene- 
rally corresponded  with  the  previous  work  of 
conquest.  It  was  then,  also,  that  llie  youths  of 
Britain  awoke  as  to  a  new  life,  and  learned  to 
despise  the  rude  habits  of  their  fathers :  Roman 
dresses  and  ornaments  were  speedily  adopted  in 
lieu  of  sheep-skins  or  Gaulish  tartan  ;  and  while 
Vol.  I. 


they  attended  the  courts  and  theatres  of  the  con- 
queroi-s,  they  did  their  best  to  imitate — and  even 
to  ape  when  they  could  not  imitate— the  fashions 
of  Rome  itself,  and  the  refinements  that  had 
newly  issued  from  the  imperial  palace.  Such  we 
could  easily  imagine  to  have  been  the  case,  with- 
out turning  for  coufu-mation  to  the  turgid  and 
lugubrious  pages  of  (Jildas,  in  which  he  describes 
the  cluange,  and  bewails  the  vices  that  had  fol- 
lowed it. 

It  happened,  unfortunately  for  the  Britons,  in 
this  great  transformation  from  their  primitive 
state  to  the  high  artificial  style  of  their  con- 
querors, that  the  progress  was  not  a  gradual  one. 
Ilad  it  been  so,  it  would  have  laid  a  firmer  hold 
upon  the  native  character,  ami  produced  more 
vital  results.  We  might  then  have  had  British 
orators,  poets,  and  historians  of  these  early  ages, 
whose  works  would  have  been  worth  reading,  as 
well  as  warriors  and  statesmen,  whom  history 
would  have  been  proud  to  commemorate.  But 
the  change  was  eflected  so  rapidly,  that  it  seemed 
little  else  than  an  external  show;  it  was  a  gay, 
superficial  varnishiug,  rather  than  an  internal 
and  thorough  permeation;  a  few  year.?  would  have 
dimmed  it,  and  a  single  storm  effaced  it  for  ever. 
For  only  three  centuries  this  gay  show  continued; 
and  what  a  brief  period  for  a  national  history  ! — 
and  when  the  Roman  fell,  the  Briton  could  stand 
no  longer.  A  woful  jiicture  of  this  Iiel[ilessness 
was  presented  in  the  inability  of  the  Britons  to 
defend  themselves  from  such  enemies  as  the  Scots 
and  Picts,  and  their  calling  in  the  Saxons  to  their 
aid.  It  was,  indeed,  full  time  that  a  new  people 
should  enter  upon  the  scene — that  fresh  elements 
should  be  introduced  for  the  construction  of  a  new 
national  character ! 


BOOK    II. 

PERIOD  FROM  THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  SAXONS  TO  THE  ARRIVAL 
OF  THE  NORMANS— 617  YEARS. 

FROM  A.D.  449— lOOe. 


CHAPTER    I.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

TUE    ARRIVAL    OF    THE    SAXONS   TO    THE   UNION    OF    THE    HEPTAECIIY. — A.D.  449— S25. 

Origin  of  the  Saxons — Their  early  history — Their  arrival  in  Britain— Progress  of  tlieir  conquest  of  Euglan'l  — 
faliuloiis  history  of  King  Artluir — The  Heptarchy — The  office  of  Bretwalda— Keigns  of  the  successive  Bret- 
waUlas — Introduction  of  Christianity  among  the  Anglo-Sa.\ons — Wars  of  the  Heptarcliy — Reign  of  Olfa — Of 
Egbert— England  reduced  into  one  Icingdojn. 


OME  etymologists  liave  dcrivetl 
the  word  Saxon  from  the  term 
Sea.i;  a  .short  sword,  witli  which 
the  warlike  natives  of  the  shores 
of  the  Baltic,  the  Elbe,  the  Weser, 
and  the  Rhine,  are  snpi)0sed,  but 
on  somewhat  doubtful  authority,  to 
have  been  generally  armed.  It  is 
uch  more  probable,  however,  that  the 
Saxons  are  the  Sakai-Suna,  or  descend- 
,s  of  the  Sakai,  or  Sac»,  a  tribe  of  Scy- 
thians, who  are  mentioned  by  ancient  writers 
as  making  their  v^ny  towards  Europe  from  the 
East  so  early  as  in  the  age  of  Cyrus.  Pliny 
tells  of  a  branch  of  the  Sacte  who  called  them- 
selves Sacassani ;  and  Ptolemy  designates  an- 
other branch  by  the  name  Saxone.s,  which  seems 
to  be  merely  another  form  of  the  same  word. 
But  whatever  was  the  etymology  of  the  name,  it 
was  certainly,  at  the  time  of  the  British  inva- 
sion, applied,  in  a  very  general  sense,,  to  tribes  or 
nations  who  were  separate,  and  dilfering  in  some 
essentials,  though  they  had  most  probably  all 
sprung  from  the  same  stock  at  no  very  distant 
period,  and  still  preserved  the  same  physical 
features,  the  same  manners  and  customs,  and 
nearly,  though  not  quite,  the  same  unaltered  lan- 
guage which,  at   the   distance   of  fourteen  cen- 


1  "  For  successive  generations  the  tribes,  or  even  portions  of 
tribes,  may  have  moved  from  place  to  place,  as  the  necessities 
of  their  circumstAaces  demanded;  names  may  have  appeared, 
and  vanished  altogether  from  the  scene;  wai-s,  seditions,  con- 
quests, the  rise  and  fall  of  states,  the  solemn  formation  or  disso- 
lution of  confederacies,  may  have  filled  the  ages  that  intei-vened 
bstween  the  fli-st  settlement  of  the  Teutons  in  Gei-many,  and  their 
appearance  in  histoiy  as  dangerous  to  the  quiet  of  Home.    The 


turies,  is  the  basis  and  staple  of  the  idiom  we 
s]5eak.  They  were  all  of  the  pure  Teutonic  or 
Gothic  race,  and  all  their  kings  claimed  their  de- 
scent from  "Woden,  or  Odin,  an  ancient  sovereign, 
magnified  by  veneration  and  superstition  into 
a  god,  the  traces  of  whose  capital  (real  or  tradi- 
tional) are  still  shown  to  the  traveller  at  Sigtuua, 
on  the  borders  of  the  great  Malar  Lake,  between 
the  old  city  of  Upsala  and  Stockholm,  the  present 
capital  of  Sweden.  Other  tribes  that  issued  both 
before  and  after  the  fifth  century  ft-om  that  fruit- 
ful storehouse  of  nations,  Scandinavia,  were  of 
the  same  Teutonic  origin ;  and  the  Franks,  the 
Danes,  the  Norwegians,  the  Norse  or  Northmen, 
and  the  most  distinguished  of  the  last-mentioned, 
those  known  throughout  Europe  under  the  name 
of  Normans,  were  all  of  the  same  race,  and  com- 
menced thuh-  career  from  the  same  regions,  though 
dilfering  subsequently,  owing  to  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  their  disseverance  from  the  great 
northern  stock,  the  direction  in  which  their  migra- 
tions and  conquests  had  lain,  and  the  character 
physical  and  moral,  the  habits,  and  the  langu.age 
of  the  people  they  had  conquered,  or  among  whom 
they  had  settled  and  been  mixed.'  It  would  neither 
be  a  profitable  nor  a  very  easy  task  to  trace  all 
these  kindred  streams  to  their  primitive  fountain- 
head,  by  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  in  Asia,  ,-ind 


heroic  lays  may  possibly  preserve  some  shadowy  traces  of  these 
events ;  but  of  all  the  changes  in  detiiil  we  know  nothing ;  we 
argue  only  that  nations,  possessing  in  so  pre-eminent  a  degree  as 
the  Germans  the  principles,  the  arts,  and  institutions  of  civiliza- 
tion, must  have  passed  tlu-ough  a  long  apprenticeship  of  action 
and  suffering,  and  have  learned  in  the  rough  school  of  practice 
the  wisdom  they  embodied  in  their  lives." — Kembie's  Saxons  in 
England,  vol.  i.  p.  4 


A.r.  419— ?21] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


C7 


thence  follow  them  bacl<  agniu  to  the  coasln,  pro- 
montories, and  islands  of  llio  Baltie  and  the  Ivhiue; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  local  habitation  to 
the  particular  tribes  that  now  began  to  work  a 
total  change  in  Britain. 

Although  classed  under  one  general  head,  as 
Saxons,  these  tribes  were  three  in  number:  1.  The 
Jutes.  2.  The  Angles.  3.  The  Saxons.  The  Jutes 
and  the  Angles  dwelt  in  the  Cimbric  Cliersonesus, 


Map  of  tlic 

CIMBRIC  CHERSOKESE 

A.M)  JUJJOns'IXG  NAINLiNT) 
TItn  OIUGIKAt  SrftT 

SAXON 


or  peninsula  of  Jutland  (now  a  province  of  Den- 
mark), and  in  parts  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  the 
territory  of  the  Angles  extending  as  far  as  the 
modern  town  of  Fleusborg.  In  Holstein  there  is  a 
district  still  called  Anglen  (the  real  Old  England); 
and  the  narrowness  of  its  limits  need  not  interfere 
with  our  belief  that  this  was  the  seat  of  the  ti'ibe 
(the  Angles)  that  gave  its  name  to  our  island.  The 
Saxons  jiroper,  to  the  south  of  the  Jutes  and 
Angles,  wore  far  more  widely  spread,  extending 
from  the  Weser  to  the  delta  of  the  Rhine,  and 
occupying  the  countries  now  called  Westphalia, 
Frieslaud,  Holland,  and  probably  a  part  of  Bel- 
gium. Their  precise  limits  are  not  fixed,  but  it 
seems  their  gradual  encroachments  on  the  Con- 
tinent had  brought  them  from  the  Baltic  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  British  Channel,  when 
they  embraced,  as  it  were,  our  south-eastern 
coast.     From  the  very  close  resemblance  the  old 


Frisick  dialect  be.ai's  to  the  Anglo-Saxon,  a  recent 
writer  conjectures  that  the  conquerors  of  Britain 
must  have  come  principally  from  Friesland.'  But 
many  known  fluxes  and  reiluxcs  of  ]io])ulatiou 
took  place  between  the  fifth  and  the  twelfth  cen- 
turies; the  Jutes  and  the  Angles,  whose  language 
may  have  been  as  like  that  of  our  Anglo-Saxon 
ancestors  as  the  old  Frisick  dialect,  were  partially 
dispossessed  of  their  territory  in  the  peuinsula  of 
Jutland,  and  mixed  up  with  newer  tribes 
from  Scandinavia,  who  eventually  formed 
the  Danish  kingdom,  and  must  have  in- 
fluenced the  dialect  there,  as  afterwards  iu 
Sehleswig  and  Holstein.  Ou  the  other 
hand,  the  occupants  of  the  remarkable  dis- 
trict of  Friesland,  whei-e  language,  manners, 
usages— where  all  things  seem,  even  in  our 
days,  to  retain  an  ancient  and  primitive 
sUinip,  may,  fi-om  local  situation  or  otlier 
causes,  have  escaped  the  intermixture  that 
befell  the  other  Saxons.  It  is  generally 
admitted  that  Horsa,  Heugist,  and  their 
followers,  were  Jutes,  and  that  the  tribe  or 
nation  they  first  called  in  to  partake  in  the 
pay  and  spoils  of  the  Britons  were  their 
neighbours  the  Angles,  from  Holstein,  and 
not  the  Saxons,  from  Friesland,  though  the 
latter  soon  joined  the  enterprise,  and  pro- 
bably derived  some  advantage  from  being 
nearer  than  the  others  to  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion. 

When  the  conquests  of  the  Romans,  in 
the  first  century  of  our  era,  brought  them 
into  contact  with  the  Saxons,  they  fouuil 
them  as  brave  as  the  Britons,  but,  like  the 
latter  people,  unprovided  with  steel  blades 
and  the  projjer  implements  of  war.  During 
the  three  centuries,  however,  that  had  elaj)- 
sed  since  then,  in  their  wars  with  the  Ro- 
man armies,  and  their  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  Roman  colonies  in  Gaul  and  on  the 
Rhine,  they  hail  been  made  fully  sensible  of  their 
wants,  and  learned,  in  part,  bow  to  sujiply  them. 
In  their  long-continued  piratical  excursions  they 
had  looked  out  for  bright  arms  and  well- wrought 
steel,  as  the  most  valuable  article  of  plunder,  and 
a  constant  accunuilation  must  have  left  them  well 
provided  with  that  ruder  metal,  which  commands 
gold.  When  they  appeared  iu  Britaiu,  they  cer- 
tainly showed  no  want  of  good  ai'ms.  Every 
warrior  had  his  dagger,  his  spear,  his  battle-axe, 
and  his  sword,  all  of  steel.  In  addition  to  these 
weapons,  they  had  bows  and  arrows,  and  their 
champions  frequently  wielded  a  ponderous  club, 
bound  and  spiked  with  iron,  a  sort  of  sledge- 
hammer, a  copy,  possibly,  from  the  Scandinavian 
type  of  Thor's  '■  mighty  hammer."      These  two 

*  Palgrave,  Iliit.  £ng. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  STiLiTAnT. 


weapons,  the  battle-axo  ami  the  hnnimer,  wlehled 
by  nervous  arms,  were  the  dread  of  their  enemies, 
auJ  constantly  recurring  images  in  the  songs  of 


Saxcs  S\voni>s.  Spear  Heads,  and  Bosses  of  Shields,  ,iU  of  iron 
J.  W.  Aiclier,  fi-um  examples  iii  tlie  British  Museum. 


their  bard.s,  who  represent  them  as  cleaving  hel- 
mets and  brains  with  blows  that  nothing  could 
withstand.  When  their  depredations  first  at- 
tracted the  notice  of  the  Romans,  they  ventured 
fi-oni  the  mouth  of  the  Baltic  and  the  Elbe  in 
crazy  little  boats;  and  shoals  of  these  canoes  laid 
the  coasts  of  Gaul,  Britain,  and  other  parts  of  the 
Empire  under  contribution.  Though  larger,  the 
best  of  these  vessels  could  scarcely  have  been 
better  than  the  coracles  of  the  British;  they  were 
flat-bottomed,  their  keels  and  ribs  were  of  light 
timber,  but  the  sides  and  upper  works  consisted 
only  of  W'icker,  with  a  covering  of  strong  hides. 
In  the  fifth  century,  however,  their  chiules,'  or 
war-ships,  were  long,  strong,  lofty,  and  capable 
of  containing  each  a  considerable  number  of  men, 
with  provision  and  other  stores.  If  they  had 
boldly  trusted  themselves  to  the  stormy  waves  of 
the  Baltic,  the  German  Ocean,  the  Briti-sh  Chan- 
nel, and  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  in  their  frail  embar- 
kations, they  would  laugh  at  the  tempest  in  such 
ships  as  these.    All  their  contemporaries  speak 


-Drawn  by 


'  Hence  our  word  ketl. 

-  "  Meagre,  indeed,  are  tlie  accounts  which  th\is  satisfied  the 
most  inquiring  of  our  forefather's :  yet,  such  as  they  are,  they  were 
received  as  the  undoubted  tnzth,  and  appealed  to  in  later  periods 
as  the  earliest  authentic  record  of  our  race.  The  acuter  criticism 
of  an  age  less  prone  to  believe,  more  skilfiU  in  the  appreciation 
of  evidence,  and  familiar  with  the  fleeting  forms  of  mytliical 
and  epical  thought,  sees  in  tliem  only  a  confused  mciss  of  tradi- 
tions, borrowed  fi-om  the  most  heterogeneous  sources,  compacttd 
rudely  and  with  little  ingenuity,  and  in  which  tho  smallest 
amount  of  historical  truth  is  involved  in  a  great  deal  of  fable. 
Yet  the  truth  wliich  such  traditions  do  nevertheless  contain, 
yields  to  the  alchemy  of  our  days  a  golden  hai-vest ;  if  wo  cannot 
undoubtingly  accept  the  details  of  such  legends,  they  stiU  point 
out  to  us  at  least  tho  course  we  must  pur^-ue  to  discover  the  ele- 
ments of  fact  upon  which  the  Mythus  and  Epos  rest,  and  guide 
us  to  the  period  and  locality  where  these  took  root  and  flomished. ' 
— Kemble'a  ikixons  m  England,  vol.  i.  p.  3. 


of  their  love  of  the  se.a,  and  of  their  great  fami- 
liarity with  it  and  its  dangers.  "Tempests,"  s.tys 
Sidonius,  "which  inspire  fear  in  other  men,  fill 
them  with  joy;  thestorm  is  their 
protection  when  they  are  pressed 
by  an  enemy --their  veil  and 
cover  when  they  meditate  an 
attack."  This  love  of  a  mari- 
time life  afterwai'ds  gained  for 
some  of  the  Northmen  the  title 
of  Sea-kings.  The  passion  was 
common  to  all  the  Saxon.s,  and 
to  the  whole  Teutonic  race.' 

Thus,  supposing  that  the  Bri- 
tons retained  the  arms  of  the 
Roman  legions— and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  they  did, 
though  the  Roman  discipline 
was  lost — their  new  enemy  was 
as  well  armed  as  themselves; 
while  the  Saxons  had  over  them 
all  the  advantages  of  a  much 
greater  command  of  the  sea, 
and  could  constantly  recruit  their  armies  on  the 
Continent,  in  the  midst  of  their  warlike  brethren, 
bring  them  over  in  their  ships,  and  land  them 
at  whatever  point  they  chose. 

At  the  period  of  their  invasion  of  Britain,  the 
Saxons  were  as  rough  and  uncouth  as  any  of  the 
barbarian  nations  that  overturned  the  Roman 
empire.  Of  civilization  and  the  arts,  they  had 
only  borrowed  those  parts  which  strengthen  the 
arm  in  battle  by  means  of  steel  and  proper 
weapons,  and  facilitate  the  work  of  destruction. 
They  were  still  pagans,  professing  a  bloody  faith, 
that  made  them  hate  or  despise  the  Christian 
Britons.  Revenge  was  a  religious  duty,  and 
havock  and  slaughter  a  delight  to  their  savage 
tempers.  Their  enemies  and  victims  who  drew 
their  portraits,  darkened  the  shades ;  and  the 
Saxons  had,  no  doubt,  some  of  those  rude  virtues 
which  are  generally  attached  to  such  a  condition 
of  society. 

The  obscurity  that  comes  over  the  history  of 
Britain  with  the  departure  of  the  Romans,  con- 


"  Possessing  no  Avritten  annals,  and  trusting  to  tho  poet  the 
tjisk  of  the  historian,  our  forefatheiB  have  left  but  scanty  records 
of  their  early  condition.  Nor  did  the  supercilious  or  luisuspect- 
ing  ignoi'ance  of  Italy  care  to  inquire  into  the  mode  of  life  and 
habits  of  the  biu-barians,  mitil  their  strong  arms  threatened  the 
civiUiiation  and  the  very  existence  of  tho  Empire  itself.  Then 
Jii-st,  dimly  through  tho  tsvilight  in  wliich  the  sim  of  Home  w;is 
to  set  for  ever,  loomed  the  Colossus  of  the  Genn.an  r.ace,  gigan- 
tic, terrible,  inexplicable ;  and  the  vague  attempt  to  define  its 
a\vful  features  came  too  late  to  be  fully  successful.  In  Tacitus 
the  City  possessed,  indeed,  a  thinker  worthy  of  the  exalted  themo; 
but  his  sketch,  though  vigorous  beyond  expectation,  is  incom- 
plete ill  mi-my  of  its  most  material  points  ;  yet  this  is  the  most 
detailed  and  fvdlest  account  which  we  possess,  .and  nearly  the 
only  certain  source  of  information,  till  we  arrive  at  the  moment 
wlien  the  invading  tribes  in  every  portion  of  the  Empire  entereil 
upon  their  great  task  of  reconstnicting  society  from  its  founda- 
tions."— Kemble'3  Saxons  in  England,  vol.  i.  p.  5. 


A.T5.  440-825.] 


SAXON   TERIOn. 


C9 


tinucs  to  rest  tipou  it  for  the  tvro  following:  cen- 
turies.' In  the  first  inst.auce,  Ileugist  ami  Hors.a 
appear  to  have  fullilled  their  jiart  of  the  eugage- 
raent  upou  which  they  liatl  come  over,  by  march- 
ing with  the  Jutes,  their  followers,  against  the 
Picts  aud  Scots,  and  driving  these  invaders  from 
the  kingdom.  Soon  after  this,  if  it  occurred  at 
all,  must  be  placed  the  story  of  the  feast  given 
by  Hengist,  at  his  stronghold  of  Thoug-caster,  iu 
Lincolnshire,  to  the  British  king,  Vortigern,  aud 
of  the  bewitchment  of  the  royal  giiest  by  the 
charms  of  Eoweua,  the  young  and  beautiful 
daughter  of  his  entertainer.  Roweua's  address, 
as  she  gracefully  knelt  and  presented  the  wine- 
cup  to  the  king,  Licver  Kijning  wass  heal  (Dear 
king,  your  health),  is  often  quoted  as  the  origin  of 
our  stiU  existing  expressions,  wassail  aud  wassail- 
cup,  in  which,  however,  the  word  wassail  might 
mean  health-drinking,  or  pledging,  although  it 
had  never  been  uttered  by  Eowena.  But,  as  the 
story  goes  on,  the  action  and  the  words  of  the 
Saxon  maid  finished  the  conquest  over  the  heart 
of  the  king,  which  her  beauty  had  begun;  and, 
from  that  time,  he  rested  not  till  he  had  obtained 
the  consent  of  her  father  to  make  her  his  wife. 
The  latest  wi-iter  who  has  investigated  the  history 
of  this  period,  sees  no  reason  to  doubt  the  stoiy 
of  Eoweua,  and  has  advanced  many  ingenious  and 
plausible  arguments  in  proof  of  its  truth.-  But, 
at  any  rate,  it  appears  that,  either  from  Vorti- 
geru's  attachment  thus  secui-ed,  or  from  his  gra- 
titude for  martial  services  rendered  to  him,  or 
from  an  inability  on  his  part  to  prevent  it,  the 
Jutes  were  allowed  to  fortify  the  Isle  of  Thanet, 
and  to  invite  over  fresh  forces.  The  natural  fer- 
tility and  beauty  of  Britain,  as  well  as  its  disor- 
ganization and  weakness,  must  long   have  been 


'  Tliis  obscm-ity  rests  pai-ticularly  over  tho  Iiistoiy  and  fate 
of  the  cities  of  Britain.  Of  these,  Lappenberg  speaks  thus  ; — 
"  \Vhen  tlie  Romans  abandoned  Britain,  it  contained  twenty- 
eight  cities,  besides  a  consideiublo  number  of  castella,  forts,  and 
sniall  communities.  Among  tho  first,  we  Itnow  of  two  miuiici- 
pia — York  and  Verulam  ;  nine  colonies — Camolodunum  (Maldon 
or  Colchester),  Rhutupia)  (Richborougb),  Londinium  AugiLsta 
(London),  Glevum  Claudia  (Gloucester),  TlicrmM  Aquas  Solis 
(Bath),  Isca  Silurum  (Carleon,  in  Monmoutiisbire),  Camboricum 
(Chesterford,  near  Cambridge),  Lindum  (Lincoln),  and  Deva 
Colonia  (Chester) ;  also  ten  cities  which  had  obtained  the  right 
of  Latium — Pterotone  (Inverness),  Victoria  (Pertli),  Dumoraagus 
(Caister  in  Lincolnshire),  Lugubalia  (Cai'lisle),  Cattar.actone 
(Catterick),  Cambodunum  (Slack  in  Longwood),  Coccium  (Black- 
rode  Ln  Lancashire?),  Theodosia  (Dumbarton),  Corinum  (Ciron- 
cesterl,  and  Sorbiodunum  (Old  Sarum),  tho  last  colony  to  the 
south-west  in  the  couuti-y  of  the  free  Damnonii.  Volantium 
(Ellenborough  in  Cumberland),  so  rich  in  Roman  remains,  pre- 
sei-ves  an  inscription,  from  which  we  learn  that  it  had  decui-ions, 
who  assembled  in  a  public  building  destined  for  the  purjjose. 
These  cities,  therefore,  posseted  a  council  {decuriomSt  curiales, 
municipes) ,  with  m.'igihtrates  of  their  own  choosing  {daumviri 
!uxilpnnci2>a(cq),  and  the  right  of  contentious  as  well  as  of  vo- 
limtnry  jurisdiction.  To  them  was  committed  the  levying  of 
taxes  in  their  districts ;  and  it  is  known  how  the  joint  security 
of  the  civic  decurions  became  both  a  burden  to  themselves,  and 
brought  tho  greatest  obloquy  on  their  order.    That  these  abuces 


familiar  to  the  pirates  on  tho  Continent;  and  ns 
soon  as  they  got  a  firm  footing  in  the  land,  they 
conceived  the  notinn  of  possessing  at  least  a  part 
of  it,  not  .as  dependent  allies  or  vassals,  but  as 
m;isters.  The  conquest  of  the  whole  v.'as  pro- 
bably an  after-thought,  which  did  not  suggest  it- 
self till  many  generations  had  passed  away.  The 
sword  was  soon  drawn  between  the  Britons  and 
their  Saxon  guests,  who  thereupon  allied  them- 
selves with  their  old  friends  the  Scots  and  Picts, 
to  oppose  whom  they  had  been  invited  by  Vorti- 
gern. That  unfortunate  king  is  said  to  have  been 
deposed,  and  his  son  Vortimer  elected  iu  his 
stead.  A  i>artial  and  uncertain  league  was  now- 
formed  between  the  Eoman  faction  and  the  Bri- 
tons; aud  several  battles  were  fought  by  tlieir 
united  forces  against  the  Saxons.  In  one  of  these 
engagements  Vortigern  is  said  to  have  commanded 
the  Britons.  Then,  after  a  time,  the  two  nations, 
according  to  the  story  commonly  told,  agreed  to 
terminate  their  contention;  and  a  meeting  was 
held,  at  which  the  chief  personages  of  both  were 
mixed  together  in  festive  enjoyment,  when  sud- 
denly, Ileugist,  exclaiming  to  his  Saxons,  Nimed 
euro  sea.cas  (Unsheath  your  swords),  they  pidled 
forth  each  a  short  sword  or  knife,  which  he  had 
brought  with  him  concealed  in  his  hose,  aud  slew 
all  the  Brjtous  present,  Vortigern  only  excepted. 
This  story,  too,  has  been  treated  as  a  fiction  by 
most  recent  writers;  but  the  same  ingenious  aud 
accomplished  inquirer  who  has  vindicated  the 
historic  existence  of  Eowena,  has  also  argued  ably 
and  powerfully  in  favour  of  the  truth  of  this  other 
ancient  tradition.'  He  thinks,  however,  that  the 
Britons  were  tho  conspirators  on  this  occasion, 
and  that  the  Saxons  only  acted  iu  self-defence. 
The  bloody  congress  is  conjectured  to  have  taken 


had  also  foimd  their  way  into  Britain,  we  learn  from  an  ordinance 
of  Con3t.antiiie,  for  tho  remedying  of  the  same  in  this  comitry. 
Subsequently  to  the  time  of  that  emperor,  the  defen-sor,  elected 
by  tho  whole  city,  more  esx^ecially  against  the  oppres-sions  of  tho 
governor,  h.ad  become  of  consideration.  Tho  establishment  of 
corporations  at  Rome,  into  which  certain  artisans  and  handi- 
craftsmen were  united,  was  extremely  advantageous  to  them 
when  they  were  removed  into  foreign  provinces." — Seo  Lappea- 
berg,  vol.  i.  p.  3j. 

~  Britannia  after  the  Jiomans,  pp.  42,  G2,  A-c. 

'  Ibid.  "  It  strikes  tho  inquirer  at  once  with  suspicion,  when 
he  finds  the  tales  supposed  peculiar  to  his  own  race  .and  to  tliL^ 
island  shared  by  the  Germanic  population  of  other  lands ;  and, 
with  slight  changes  of  locality,  or  trifling  variations  of  detail, 
recorded  as  authentic  parts  of  their  history.  The  readiest  belief 
in  foi-tuitous  resemblances  and  coincidences  gives  way  before  a 
number  of  instances,  whose  agreement  defies  .all  the  calculations 
of  chances.  Thus,  when  we  find  Hengist  aud  Horsa  approaching 
the  coasts  of  Kent  in  three  keels,  and  TElli  effecting  a  Landing  in 
Sussex  with  the  same  number,  we  are  reminded  of  the  Gothic 
tradition  wliich  carries  a  migration  of  Ostrogotlis,  Visigoths,  and 
Epidse,  also  in  three  vessehj,  to  the  mouths  of  tho  Vistula,  cer- 
tainly a  spot  where  we  do  not  look  for  recurrence  to  a  trivi.al  cal- 
culation which  so  peculi.arly  characterizes  the  modes  of  thought 
of  the  Cymri.  The  murder  of  tho  British  chieftains  by  Ilongist 
is  told  totidem  vcrtiis  by  Widikimd  and  otliei-s  of  tho  old  Saxons 
in  Thuringia."— Kemble's  Stwma  in  England,  vol.  i.  p.  10. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  asd  MiuTAnr. 


I'lace  at  Stouclienge,  on  a  May  Day.  lu  the  eud 
line,  tlie  son  of  Hengist,  remained  in  posse3.sion 
of  all  Kent,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  Ken- 
tish, or  first  Saxon  kingdom,  in  our  island. 

The  conquerors  of  "Cantwara  Land,"  or  Kent, 
seem  to  have  been  Jutes  mi.xed  with  some  Angles; 
but  now  the  Saxons  appeared  as  their  immediate 
neighbours.  lu  the  year  477,  Ella,  the  Saxon, 
with  his  three  sons,  and  a  formidable  force,  lauded 
in  the  ancient  territory  of  the  Itegui,  now  Sussex 
at  or  near  to  Withering,  in  the  Isle  of  Selsey! 
The  Britons  were  defeated  with  great  slaughter, 
and  driven  into  the  forest  of  Andreade  or  An- 
dredswold.'  According  to  the  old  wiiters,  this 
forest  was  1 20  miles  long,  and 
30  broad  ;  prodigious  dimen- 
sions, which  astonish  us,  al- 
though informed  that, even  at 
the  evacuation  of  the  country 
by  the  Romans,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  island  was  co- 
vered with  primeval  woods, 
forests,  and  marshes.  Conti- 
nuing to  receive  accessions  of 
force,  Ella  defeated  a  confe- 
deracy of  the  British  princes, 
became  master  of  nearly  all 
Sussex,  and  established  there 
the  second  kingdom,  called 
that  of  the  South  Sa.rons. 
Taking  the  coast-liue,  the  in- 
vadere  now  occupied  from  the 
estuary  of  the  Thames  to  the 
river  Aruu ;  a  nd  to  obtain  this 
short  and  narrow  slip  had  cost  them  half  a  century 
of  conflict.  Cerdic,  with  another  band  of  Saxons, 
extended  the  line  westward,  a  few  years  after,  as 
far  as  the  river  Avon,  by  conquering  Hampshire 
and  the  Isle  of  Wight;  when  he  founded  Wesscx, 
or  the  kingdom  of  the  West  Saxons.  The  country 
to  the  west  of  the  Hampshire  Avon  remained  for 
many  years  longer  in  possession  of  the  Britons, 
who  now  yielded  no  ground  without  hard  fighting. 
The  next  important  descent  was  to  the  north 
of  the  estuary  of  the  Thames,  where  Ercenwine, 
about  527-9,  took  possession  of  the  flats  of  Essex, 
with  some  of  the  contiguous  country,  and  formed 
the  state  of  the  East  Saxons.  Other  tribes  carried 
theii'  arms  in  this  direction  as  far  as  the  Stour, 
when  there  w.as  a  short  pause,  which  was  not  one 
of  pe.ace,  for  the  Britons,  driven  from  the  coasts, 
pressed  them  incessantly  on  the  land  side.  About 
the  ye.ar  547,  Ida,  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  host 
of  Angles,  landed  at  Flamborough  Head,  and 
leaving  a  long  lapse  on  the  coast  between  him 
and  the  East  Saxons,  proceeded  to  settle  between 
the  Tees  and  the  Tyne,  a  -ivM  country,  which 

1  The  forest  or  wold  is  also  called  Aiiderida. 


now  includes  the  county  of  Durham,  but  which 
was  then  abandoned  to  the  beasts  of  the  forest. 
This  conquest  obtained  the  name  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Bemicia.  Other  invaders,  again,  stepped  in 
between  the  Tees  and  the  Humber,  but  it  cost 
them  much  time  and  blood  before  they  could 
establish  their  southern  frontier  on  the  Iluinber. 
Their  possessions  were  called  the  Kingdom  of 
Beira.  At  the  end  of  the  sixth  century,  a  general 
emigration  seems  to  have  taken  place  from  An- 
gleu,  or  Old  England;  and  under  chiefs  that  have 
not  left  so  much  as  a  doubtful  name  behind  them, 
the  Angles,  in  two  great  divisions,  called  the 
Southfolk  and  the  Northfolk,  rushed  in  between 


Flameoeocgh  IIead.2 


sketch  by  G.  Balmcr. 


the  Stowe  and  the  Great  Ouse  and  Wash,  and 
gave  a  lasting  denomin.atiou  to  our  two  counties 
of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk.  Their  conquest  was 
called  \\\Q  Kingdom  of  East  Anglia.  The  terri- 
tory thus  seized  by  the  East  Angles  was  almost 
insulated  from  the  rest  of  the  island  by  a  suc- 
cession (on  its  western  side)  of  bogs,  meres,  and 
broad  lakes,  connected,  for  the  most  part,  by  nu- 
merous streams.  Where  these  natural  defences 
ended,  the  East  Angles  dug  a  deep  ditch,  and 
cast  up  a  lofty  rampart  of  earth.  In  the  middle 
ages  this  was  called  the  "Giants'  Dyke,"  a  name 
which  was  afterwards  changed  into  the  more  po- 
pular denomination  of  the  "  Devil's  Dyke."  The 
marslies  upon  which  it  leaned  have  been  drained, 
but  the  remai'kable  mound  is  still  very  perfect. 
The  other  Angles  advanced  from  beyond  the 
Humber,  and  fresh  tribes  pouring  in  from  the 

2  This  rera.arkable  promontory,  on  the  Yorkshire  co.ast,  is  com- 
posed of  chalk  cliffs,  extending  about  six  miles,  and  rising  in 
many  parts  to  an  elevation  of  300  ft.  peiijendicularly  from  the 
sea.  The  bases  of  the  cliffs  ai-e  worn  into  extensive  caverns. 
On  the  extreme  point  of  the  promontory,  at  a  height  of  214  ft. 
.aljove  sea-level,  is  a  lighthonse  with  a  revolving  light,  visible 
from  a  distance  of  thirty  miles.  These  cliffs  are  frequented  by 
immense  nuuibei's  of  sea-fowl. 


A.D.  440—825.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


71 


peuinsula  of  JutlauJ  anJ  Ilolsteiu,  the  torntory 
now  formiug  Lincolnshire,  between  the  Wash  and 
the  Huniber,  was  gradually  but  slowly  conquered 
from  the  Britons,  and  the  only  lapse  or  chasm 
filled  up,  that  existed  in  the  Saxon  line  of  coast, 
from  the  Hampshire  Avon  to  the  Northumbrian 
Tyue.  This  line  was  extended  as  far  north  as 
the  Frith  of  Forth  by  the  Angles  of  Bernioia  and 
Deira,  who  were  united  under  one  sceptre  about 
the  year  617,  and  thenceforward  were  called  Nor- 
thumbriaits^  All  the  western  coast,  from  the 
Frith  of  Clyde  to  the  Laud's  End,  in  Cornwall, 
and  the  southern  coast,  from  the  Laml's  End  to 
the  confines  of  Hampshire,  remained  unoouquered 
by  the  Saxons.  Such  had  been  the  security  of 
CoruT.-all,  and  its  inditlerence  to  the  fate  of  the 
rest  of  the  island,  that,  while  the  states  of  the 
south  were  failing  one  by  one  under  the  sword  of 
the  Saxon  invaders,  12,000  armed  Britons  left  its 
shore  to  take  part  in  a  foreign  war.  This  curious 
event  took  place  about  the  year  470,  when  Gaul 
was  overrun  by  the  Visigoths,  and  Anthemius, 
who  reigned  iu  Ital}',  was  unable  to  protect  his 
subjects  north  of  the  Alps.  He  purchased  or 
otherwise  procured  the  services  of  Riothamus,  an 
independent  British  king,  whose  ^  dominion  in- 
cluded, besides  Cornwall,  parts  of  Devonshire. 
The  Bi-itons  sailed  up  the  river  Loire,  and  estab- 
lished themselves  iu  Berry,  where,  acting  as  op- 
pressive and  insolent  conquerors,  rather  than  as 
friends  and  allies,  they  so  conducted  themselves, 
that  the  people  were  rejoiced  when  they  saw  them 
cut  to  pieces  or  dispersed  by  the  Visigoths.^ 

The  brea<lth  of  the  Saxuu  tei'i'itories  or  their 
frontiers  inland,  were  long  uncertain  and  waver- 
ing, now  advancing,  and  now  receding,  according 
to  the  fortune  of  war.  Under  the  name  oiMyrcna- 
ric,  Latinized  Mercia,^  a  branch  of  the  Angles, 
penetrating  into  the  heart  of  the  island,  founded 
a  kingdom  that  extended  over  aJl  the  midland 
counties,  from  the  Severn  to  the  Humber,  and 
that  pressed  on  the  borders  of  Wales.  In  this 
district,  however,  the  population  was  not  de- 
stroyed or  expelled  ;  the  Britons  lived  mixed  up, 
in  about  equal  numbers,  with  the  Saxons.  The 
Mercian  Angles,  who  at  one  period  had  spread 
to  the  south  and  east,  until   they  reached  the 


'  "  The  great  extent  of  groimd  which  the  Angles  occupied  in 
Britain  is  quite  sufficient  to  explain  the  statement  of  the  old 
liiatorians,  that  they  had  completely  evacuated  their  native  land, 
and  left  it  iminhabited.  From  them,  as  the  earliest  settlers,  and 
the  most  numerous,  the  island  became  kuOAvn  among  foreign 
writers  by  tlie  n.-imes  of  Anglia  and  Anfflorum  Terra:  and  among 
the  Saxons  themselves  it  was  usually  called  fui^/la-land  (Eng- 
laudj,  and  the  language  of  its  inhabitants  EnyLisc  (English). 
The  population  of  the  Teutonic  portion  of  the  island  is  stUl 
known  by  no  other  name  than  that  of  Englishmen." — Tlte  Ctlt, 
tin;  Roman,  and  the  Saxon,  p.  394.  As  the  Anglian  settlements  ill 
England  were  .afterwards  so  completely  conquered  and  occupied 
by  the  Danes,  that  Danish  superseded  English  names  of  many 
imjioi-tant  towns,  and  as  the  south  of  Eii>;land  w.ts  chiefly  occu- 


Thamos,  and  included  London  in  their  dominion, 
contributed  most  extensively  to  the  conquest  of 
the  island,  and  formctl  a  kingdom,  which  was 
one  of  the  last  of  the  Heptarchy  to  be  overthrown 
or  absorbed.  During  their  jiower,  the  Mercians 
more  than  once  followed  the  bold  mountaineers  of 
Wales,  who  maintained  a  constant  hostility,  right 
through  theircountryto  the  shores  of  St.  George's 
Channel  and  the  Irish  Sea ;  but  they  were  never 
able  to  subdue  that  rugged  land.  The  other  An- 
glo-Saxons, who  seized  their  dominions  in  tho 
ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  were  not  more  success- 
ful than  the  Mercians ;  and  although,  at  a  later 
day,  some  of  its  princes  paid  a  trifiing  tribute, 
and  the  country  was  reduced  to  its  present  limits 
of  Wales  and  Monmouthshire,  Cambria  was  never 
conquered  by  the  Saxons  during  the  600  years  of 
their  domination.' 

The  people  of  Strathclyde  and  Cumbria,  which 
territories  extended  along  the  western  coast,  from 
the  Frith  of  Clyde  to  the  Mersey  and  the  Dee, 
ajipear  to  have  been  almost  as  successful  as  the 
Welsh,  and  by  the  same  means.  Their  disposi- 
tion was  fierce  and  warlike,  their  hatred  to  the 
Saxons  inveterate,  and,  above  all,  their  country 
%vas  mountainous,  and  abounded  with  lakes, 
marshes,  moors,  and  forests.  Part  of  the  tcrri- 
toi-y  of  Strathclyde,  moreover,  was  defended  by  a 
ditch  and  a  rampart  of  earth.  This  work,  which 
is  popularly  called  the  Catrail  or  the  Marcli 
Dykes,  can  still  be  traced  from  the  Peel-fell,  on 
the  Borders,  between  Northumberland  and  Rox- 
burghshire, to  Galashiels,  a  little  to  the  north  of 
Melrose  and  the  river  Tweed,  and  near  to  Ab- 
botsford.'  But  lower  down  on  the  western  coast 
the  Saxon  arms  were  more  successful.  Even 
there,  however,  the  slowness  of  their  progress 
denotes  the  sturdy  resistance  they  met  with. 
Nearly  two  centuries  had  elapsed  since  their 
landing  at  Thanet  before  they  found  their  way 
into  Dumnonia  or  Devonshire,  which,  together 
with  Cornwall,  appeal's  to  have  remained  iu  the 
occupation  of  a  great  undisturbed  mass  of  British 
population.  The  king,  Cadwallader,  had  resigned 
his  earthly  crown,  and  gone  to  Rome  as  a  pilgrim, 
in  search  of  a  cro\vn  of  glory;  disunited  and  dis- 
heartened, the  nobles  of  the  land  fled  beyond  sta 


pied  by  Jutes  and  Saxons,  it  would  seem  that  the  Teutonic  inhabi- 
tants of  Scotland  are  now  the  pxurest  English.— See  Palgrave. 

'^  Jo)'nandcs,  c.  xlv. ;  Sidonius,  lib.  iii.  epist.  0. 

^  "  We  are  genenilly  told  that  Mercia  signifies  the  march  or 
frontier — a  signification  peculiarly  improper  for  a  central  coun- 
try. Mijrcna-ric,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon,  signifies  tho  icoodland 
kingdom,  wliich  agrees  very  closely  with  Coitani,  tho  Latinized 
name  of  the  old  British  inhabitants,  signifying  icoodtand  men  or 
/orcfl^ers."— Macpher^on's  AnjiaU  of  Commerce,  i.  237. 

*  A  portion  of  Monmouthsliire  was,  however,  thoroughly  con- 
quered a  short  time  before  the  Norman  invasion,  when  the 
Saxons  occupied  the  towns  of  Monmouth,  Chepstow,  Caervvent, 
and  Caerleon. — Coxe,  Monmouthshire. 

*  Gordon's  Iter  Septentrionale:  Chalmers'  Caledonia, 


mSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mimtap-t. 


to  Anuorica  or  Brittany,  and,  at  the  (ijiproacli  of 
the  invadei'S,  hardly  any  were  left  to  oppose  them 
except  the  pe;>santry.  From  the  traditions  of  the 
country,  and  the  signs  of  camps,  trendies,  and 
fieUls  of  battle  spread  over  it,  we  should  judge 
that  the  rustics  made  a  vigorous  defence.'  They 
made  a  stand  on  the  river  Exe;  but,  being  routed 
there,  retreated  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Tamar, 
abandoning  all  the  fertile  plains  of  Devonshire, 
but  still  hoping  to  maintain  themselves  in  tlie 
hilly  country  of  Cornwall.  Defeat  followed  them 
to  the  Tamar  and  the  country  beyond  it,  upon 
which  they,  in  a.d.  647,  submitted  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  \\  lio  by  this  time  may  be  called  the  Eng- 
lish. 

In  this  rapid  and  general  sketch  of  the  Saxon 
conquest,  which,  from  the  dates  that  have  been 
given,  wiU  be  perceived  to  have  occujjied  altoge- 
ther a  space  of  nearly  200  years— of  which  above 
100  were  consumed  even  before  the  eastern  and 
central  pai-ts  of  the  island  were  subdued,  and  the 
last  of  the  several  new  Saxon  kingdoms  estab- 
lished, a  sufficient  proof  of  the  obstinate  resis- 
tance of  the  Bi-itons — we  have  omitted  all  details 
of  the  achievements  of  the  British  champions,  not 
excepting  even-^ 

. "what  resoxmds 

In  fable  or  romance  of  Uther's  son," 

as  Milton  has  chosen  to  designate  the  history  of 
the  famous  King  Aj'thur.  It  seems  impossible  to 
arrive  at  any  certainty  with  regard  to  the  chro- 
nology or  particular  events  of  a  period,  the  only 
accounts  of  which  are  so  dark  and  confused,  and 
so  mixed  up  and  overrun  with  the  most  paljjable 
fictions.  But  as  to  Arthur,  there  appear  to  be 
the  strongest  reasons  for  suspecting  that  he  was 
not  a  real  but  only  a  mythological  personage,  the 
chief  divinity  of  that  system  of  revived  Druidism 
which  appears  to  have  arisen  in  the  unconqueved 
parts  of  the  west  of  Britain  after  the  departure 
of  the  Romans,  the  name  being  often  used  in  the 
poetry  of  the  bards  as  the  hieroglyphical  repre- 
sentative of  the  system.  This  is  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  subjects  upon  which  new  light  has 

^  BorJase;  SIi-s.  Bray's  Litters  to  SoutJicy. 

2  Britannia  after  the  Romans,  pp.  70-141.  For  a  defence  of  the 
historic  reality  of  Arthur,  see  Turner's  Anglo-Saxons,  i.  26S-2S3. 

*"rho  glory  of  one  of  the  last  champions  of  Christendom 
against  ferocious  pagans  was  alluring  to  ingenious  fablers.  Tlie 
absence  of  authentic  particulars  set  free  their  fancy  ;  actions  seen 
in  so  tlini  a  twilight  put  on  the  size  and  shape  which  best  pleased 
the  poet ;  and  the  wonders  of  mythology,  which  always  gr.adu- 
ally  withdi-aw  before  the  advance  of  civilization,  found  a  n.atu- 
ral  and  last  retreat  in  the  most  remote  regions  of  Western  Eu- 
rope. To  these  circumstances,  or  to  some  of  them,  it  may  pro- 
b.ably  be  ascribed  that  in  a  few  centimes  a  ConiLsh  or  Welsh 
chieftain  came  to  sh.are  the  popularity  of  Chai-lemagne  himself. 
The  historical  name  of  the  great  ruler  of  the  Fr.anks  has,  per- 
haps, bon*o\ved  a  brighter  lustre  from  the  heroic  legends  with 
which  it  was  long  surrotmded.  In  this  country,  on  the  con- 
trary, a  disposition  has  been  shown  to  take  revenge  on  the  me- 
mory of  Arthur  for  the  credulity  of  o\ir  forefathere,  by  ungrate- 


been  thrown  by  the  researches  of  the  author  of 
Britannia  after  the  Romans,  and  his  elaborate  and 
masterly  examination  of  the  (juestion  of  Arthur 
certainly  seems  to  go  very  near  to  settle  the  con- 
troversy. "The  Saxon  Chronicle"  he  observes, 
ujiou  the  several  probabilities  of  the  case  (the  only 
part  of  his  argument  to  which  we  can  here  ad- 
vert), "  does  not  suppress  the  names  of  islanders 
with  whom  the  Saxons  had  to  deal,  but  mentions 
those  of  Vortigem,  Natanleod,  Aidan,  Brochvael, 
Geraint,  Constantine  of  Scots,  and  Cadwallon. 
Its  author  betrays  no  knowledge  of  Arthurs  ex- 
istence. The  venerable  Beda  either  never  heard 
of  it,  or  despised  it  as  a  fable."  Nor  is  it  men- 
tioned, he  goes  on  to  i-emark,  either  by  Florence 
of  Worcester  or  by  Gildas.  Yet,  as  he  observes 
elsewhere,  "  the  name  of  Arthur  is  so  great,  that 
if  such  a  man  ever  reigned  in  Britain,  he  must 
have  been  a  man  as  great  as  the  circumscribed 
theatre  of  his  actions  could  permit."  And  again  : 
"  The  Artliurian  era  was  one  in  the  course  of 
which  the  British  frontier  receded,  and  Ilauts, 
Somerset,  and  other  districts  passed  for  ever  into 
the  hands  of  the  invader.  It  is  not  by  suffering 
a  series  of  severe  defeats  that  any  Saxon  or  other 
man  conquers  provinces ;  it  is  done  by  gaining 
successive  victories.  If  Aa'thur  lived  and  fought, 
he  did  so  with  a  preponderance  of  iU  success,  and 
with  the  loss  of  battles  and  of  provinces.  But 
exaggeration  must  be  built  upon  homogeneous 
ti'uth.  For  a  Cornish  prince  to  be  renowned 
through  all  countries,  and  feigned  a  uuiver.sal 
conqueror,  he  must  really  have  been  a  hero  in  his 
own  land,  and  a  signal  benefactor  to  it.  No  man 
was  ever  deified  in  song  for  being  vanquished  and 
losing  half  a  kingdom.  But  the  god  of  war 
would  retain  his  rank  in  any  case.  .  .  .  The  god 
of  war  would  keep  his  station  and  preside  over 
valiant  acts,  whether  the  results  of  war  were  for- 
tunate or  not.  But  the  disasters  of  the  British, 
historically  and  geographically  certain  as  they 
are,  make  it  also  clear  that  they  were  commanded 
by  no  king  tit  for  their  bards  to  canonize." - 
To  bring  the  course  of  the  invaders  and  the 


fidly  and  um'e.ison.ably  calling  into  question  his  existence." — 
Sir  James  Mackintosh,  vol.  i.  p.  26.  "  Tlie  authentic  actions  of 
Arthur  have  been  so  disfigui-ed  by  the  gorgeous  additions  of  the 
minstrels  and  of  Jeffrey,  that  many  writers  have  denied  that  he 
ever  lived ;  but  this  is  an  e.xtreme  as  wild  as  the  romances  which 
occasioned  it.  His  existence  is  testified  by  his  contemporarie.^, 
whose  genius  has  survived  the  ruin  of  twelve  centuries ;  and  the 
British  b.ards  are  a  body  of  men  too  illustrious  for  their  personal 
merit  and  wonderful  institution,  to  be  discredited  when  they  at- 
test. .  .  .  Tills  state  of  moderate  greatness  suits  the  character 
in  wldch  the  Welsh  b.u-ds  exliibit  Arthur;  they  commemoi-ate 
him,  but  it  is  not  with  that  excelling  glory  with  wliich  he  has 
been  surrounded  by  subsequent  traditions.  .  .  .  Yet,  on  pe- 
rusing the  British  triads,  we  discern  some  tr.aits  which  raise 
Arthur  .above  the  sitimtion  of  a  provincial  chieftain.  They  give 
him  tliree  palaces ;  and  the  positions  of  these  imply  a  sovereignty 
on  the  western  part  of  the  island,  from  Cornwall  to  Scotland." 
— Sh.  Turner's  Hist,  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  i.  228,  207. 


A..D.  449-825.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


permanent  settlement  of  tlic  Anglo-Saxons  uuJer 
one  point  of  view,  we  have  glanced  from  the 
midille  of  the  fifth  to  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
centm'3'.  We  may  now  letraco  our  steps  over 
part  of  that  dark  and  utterly  confused  interval ; 
but  in  doing  so  we  shall  not  venture  into  the 
perplexing  labyrinth  presented  by  the  more  tliau 
half  fabulous  history  of  the  Heptarchy,  or  seven 
separate  and  independent  states  or  kiugiloms  of 
the  Anglo-Saxons.  Modern  writers  have  a.ssumed, 
that  over  these  separate  .states  there  was  always 
a  lord  paramount,  a  sort  of  Emperor  of  England, 
who  might  be,  by  inheritance  or  conquest,  some- 
times the  king  of  one  state  and  sometimes  the 
king  of  another."  This  ascendant  monarch  is 
called  the  Britwalda,  or  Bretwalda,  a  Saxon  term, 
which  signifies  the  wielder,  or  dominator,  or  ruler, 
of  Brit  (Britain).^  According  to  Bede  and  the 
Saron  Chronicle,  seven  or  eight  of  tlie  Saxon 
princes  in  irregular  succession  bore  this  proud 
title;  and  perhaps  it  may  be  inferred  from  Bede's 
expressions  that  the  other  six  kings  of  the  island 
acknowledged  themselves  the  vassals  of  the  Bret- 
waldas.  "We  are  not  thoroughly  convinced  of  any 
such  supremacy  (even  nominal),  and  in  the  real 
operations  of  war  and  government  we  continually 
find  each  state  acting  in  an  independent  manner, 
as  if  separate  from  all  the  rest — a  proof  at  least 
that  the  authority  of  the  lord  paramount  was 
very  limited  or  very  uncertain.  As,  however, 
their  whole  history  is  uninteresting,  and  as 
it  is  easier  to  trace  the  reigns  of  the  more 
marking  monarchs  tlian  to  enter  into  seven 
separate  dynasties,  we  shall  follow  the  modern 
example. 

*  Mr.  Kemble  utterly  rejects  the  idea  of  there  ever  having 
been  any  such  lord  piiramount : — "Much  less,"  says  he,  "can 
we  admit  that  there  w.ia  any  central  political  authority,  recog- 
nized, systematic,  and  regulated,  by  which  the  several  kingdoms 
were  combined  into  a  corporate  body.  There  is,  indeed,  a  theory, 
respectable  for  its  antiquity,  and  reproduced  by  modern  inge- 
nuity, according  to  which  this  important  fact  is  assumed ;  and 
we  are  not  only  taught  that  the  several  kingdoms  formed  a  con- 
federation, at  whose  head,  by  election  or  otherwise,  one  of  the 
princes  was  placed,  with  imperial  power,  but  that  this  institu- 
tion was  derived  by  direct  imitation  from  the  custom  of  the 
Roman  empire ;  we  farther  loam,  that  the  title  of  this  high 
functionary  was  Bretwalda,  or  Emperor  of  Britain,  and  that  he 
ix)ssessed  the  imperial  decorations  of  the  Roman  state."  This 
learned  author,  who  considera  the  Roman  part  of  the  theory,  as 
adopted  by  Falgrave,  very  well  exploded  by  L-ippeuberg — though 
the  latter  gives  far-  too  much  credence  to  the  rest — then  proceeds 
to  refute  what  Rapin,  Sh.  Turner,  and  others  have  said  on  the 
subject,  and  sums  up  his  own  ideas  upon  it  as  follows: — "I 
therefore  again  conclude  that  this  so-called  Bretwaldadom  was  a 
mere  accidental  predominance ;  there  is  no  jieculiar  function, 
duty,  or  privilege  anywhere  mentioned  as  appertaining  to  it ; 
and  when  Beda  describes  Eadwini  of  Northumberland  proceed- 
irg  with  the  Roman  tvj'a  or  baimer  before  him,  as  an  ensign  of 
dignity,  he  does  so  in  terms  which  show  that  it  was  not,  as  Pal- 
grave  seems  to  imagine,  an  ensign  of  imperial  authority  \i£ed  by 
all  the  Bretwaldas,  but  a  peculiar  and  remarkable  affectation  of 
that  particular  prince." — Saxoiis  in  England,  vol.  ii.  p.  18. 

2  The  supposed  universal  empire  held  over  Britain  by  particu- 
lar Anglo-Saxon  kings,  in  so  far  as  it  rests  on  the  etymology  of 
the  word  Bretwalda,  is  overthrown  by  Mr.  Kemble,  who  shows^ 
A'OL.  I. 


Ella,  the  conqueror  of  Sii.ssex,  and  the  founder, 
there,  of  the  kingdom  of  the  South  Saxons — the 
smallest  of  all  the  new  states — was  the  first 
Bretwalda,  and  died,  little  nolicetl  by  the  Euglisli 
chroniclers,  about  tlie  year  510.  After  a  long 
vacancy,  Ceawlis,  King  of  Wessex,  who  began 
to  reign  about  5G8,  stepped  into  the  dignity, 
which,  however,  was  contested  with  him,  by 
Ethelbert,  the  fourth  King  of  Kent,  who  claimed 
it  in  right  of  his  <lescent  from  Ueugist,  the  bro- 
ther of  Horsa.  The  dispute  led  to  hostilities;  for 
long  before  the  Anglo-Saxons  had  subdued  all 
the  Britons,  they  made  fierce  wars  upon  one  aff 
other.  The  first  example  of  this  practice,  which 
must  have  retarded  their  general  progress  in  the 
subjugation  of  the  island,  was  set  by  Ethelbert, 
who,  after  svistaining  two  signal  defeats  from  his 
rival,  and  many  other  reverses,during  the  twenty- 
two  years  that  Ceawlin  reigned,  acquireil  the  dig- 
nity of  Bretwalda  (  a.d.  593)  soon  after  that  prince's 
death.  Ceawlin,  by  the  law  of  the  sword,  had 
taken  possession  of  the  kingdom  of  Sussex,  and 
seems  to  have  fought  as  often  against  his  Saxou 
brethren  .as  against  the  Britons. 

The  grand  incident  under  the  reign  of  this,  the 
third  Bretwalda,  was  the  conversion  of  himsol  f 
and  court  by  Augustine  and  forty  monks,  chiefly 
Italians,  who  were  sent  for  th.at  purpose  into 
Britain,  by  Pope  Gregory  the  Great.  Ethelbert's 
change  of  religion  was  facilitated  by  the  circum- 
stance of  his  having  espoused  a  Christian  wife 
shortly  before.  This  was  the  young  and  beauti- 
ful Bertha,  sister  or  daughter  of  Charibert,  King 
of  Paris,  to  whom,  by  stipulation,  he  granted  the 
free  exercise  of  her  religion  when  she  came  into 


fii-st,  that  that  word,  Bretwalda,  arises  from  a  clerical  error; 
and,  secondly,  that  the  right  word  has  notliiiig  to  do  with  Bri- 
tain at  all. 

"Let  us  now  imxm're,"  says  he,  "to  what  the  passage  in  the 
Saxcn  Chronich  amounts,  which  has  put  so  many  of  our  histo- 
rians upon  a  wrong  track,  by  supplying  them  with  tlie  suspicious 
name  Bretwalda.  Speaking  of  Ecgberht,  the  chronicler  says ; 
'  And  the  same  year  King  Ecgbcrlit  overran  the  kingdom  of  the 
Mercians,  and  all  that  was  south  of  the  llumber ;  and  he  was 
the  eighth  king  who  was  Bretwalda.'  And  then,  after  naming 
the  seven  mentioned  by  Beda,  and  totally  omitting  all  notice 
of  the  Mercian  kings,  he  concludes  :  '  The  eighth  w.a3  Ecgberht, 
King  of  the  West  Saxons.' 

"Now  it  is  somewhat  remarkable,  that  of  six  manuscripts 
in  wliich  this  passage  occurs,  one  only  reads  Bretwalda ;  of  the 
remaining  five,  four  have  Bry-ten-walda  or  wealda,  and  one 
Breten-anweald,  which  is  jireciscly  synonymous  with  Biyten- 
wealda.  All  the  rules  of  orderly  criticism  would,  therefore, 
compel  us  to  look  upon  this  as  the  i-ight  reading ;  and  we  aro 
confirmed  in  so  doing,  by  finding  that  ^Ethelstan,  in  one  of  his 
chartei-3,  calls  himself  .also  'Bryten-wealdaealles  theses  ealondea' 
— niler  or  monarch  of  all  this  island.  Now,  the  tnio  meaning 
of  this  word,  which  is  compounded  of  wealda,  a  ruler,  and  tho 
ailjective  brijten,  is  totally  imconnected  with  Bret  or  Bretwealh, 
the  name  of  the  British  aborigines,  tho  resemblance  to  which  is 
merely  accidental;  bryten  is  derived  from  breUan,  to  distribute, 
to  divide,  to  break  into  small  portions,  to  disiiei-so ;  it  is  a  com- 
mon prefix  to  words  denoting  wide  or  general  dispereion,  ami, 
when  coupled  with  wcalUa,  means  no  more  than  .an  extensive, 
powerful  king — a  king  whoso  power  is  widely  extended." — Kem- 
ble, Anglo-Saxous. 

10 


7-t 


niSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militap.t. 


the  island.  Etlielberl's  olose  connection  with  the 
nioi-e  eulighteucd  n.ations  of  tlie  Continent,  .and 
his  frequent  intercourse  with  French,  Roman, 
and  Italian  clmrchiuen,  who,  ignorant  ,as  they 
were,  wore  infinitely  more  civilized  than  the 
Saxons,  proved  highly  beneficial  to  England;  and 
in  the  code  of  laws  which  this  prince  published 
before  his  death,  he  is  supposed  to  h.ave  been  in- 
debted to  the  suggestions  and  science  of  those 
foreigners,  although  the  code  has  far  more  of  the 
spirit  of  the  old  German  lawgivers  than  of  Jus- 
tinian and  the  Roman  jurisconsults.  This  code 
was  not  octroyed,  as  from  an  absolute  sovereign 
(a  quality  to  which  none  of  the  Saxon  princes 
ever  attained),  but  was  enacted  by  Ethelbert  with 
the  consent  of  the  states  of  his  kingdom  of  Kent, 
and  formed  the  first  written  laws  promulgated 
by  any  of  the  northern  conquerors ;  the  second 
being  the  code  of  the  Burgundians,  published  a 
little  later;  and  the  third,  that  of  the  Longobardi 
or  Lombards,  which  was  promulgated  in  their 
dominions  in  the  north  of  Italy,  about  half  a  cen- 
tury after  Ethelbert's  code.  As  King  of  Kent, 
Ethelbert's  reign  was  a  very  long  and  happy  one; 
as  Bretwaldahe  exercised  considerable  authority 
or  influence  over  all  the  Sason  ])rinoes  south  of 
the  Humber.  He  died  in  616,  and  w.as  succeeded, 
as  King  of  Kent,  but  not  as  Bretwalda,  by  his  son 
Eadbald.  The  Anglo-Saxons  at  this  period  were 
very  volatile  and  fickle  in  their  faith,  or  very 
imperfectly  converted  to  the  Christian  religion. 
Passionately  enamoured  of  the  youth  and  beaiity 
of  his  step-mother,  Ethelbert's  widow,  Eadbald 
took  her  to  bis  bed;  and  as  the  Christians  repro- 
bated such  incestuous  marriages,  he  broke  with 
them  altogether,  and  returned  to  his  priests  of 
the  old  Teutonic  idolatry.  The  whole  Kentish 
people  turned  with  him,  forsook  the  missionaries 
and  the  churches,  expelled  the  Christian  bishop, 
and  again  set  up  the  rude  altars  of  the  Scandi- 
navian idols.  Such  a  relapse  as  this  was  not  un- 
common among  the  recently  converted  heathen 
of  other  countries  ;  but  the  sequel  is  curious,  and 
makes  our  Saxon  ancestoi-s  appear  like  a  flock  of 
sheep  following  the  bell-wether.  Laurentius,  the 
successor  of  Augustine  in  the  archbishopric  of 
Canterbury,  prevailed  on  Eadbald  to  put  away 
his  step-mother,  and  return  to  his  fold ;  and  no 
sooner  had  the  king  done  so,  than  all  his  sub- 
jects returned  with  him,  without  m\irmur  or  dis- 
putation. 

We  have  said  that  Eadbald  did  not  succeed  to 
the  dignity  of  Bretwalda.  It  appears,  however, 
he  made  a  claim  to  it,  and  that  the  other  princes 
refused  their  concurrence  and  obedience.  The 
dignity  of  Bi-etwalda  would  seem,  from  this  and 
other  instances,  not  to  have  been  obtained  by  re- 
gidar  and  free  election,  but  to  have  been  conceded 
to  him  who  showed  himself  ablest  to  maintain 


his  claim  to  ii  by  the  sword.  The  three  firet 
Bretwaldas,  Ella,  Ccawlin,  and  Ethelbert,  were 
Saxons  or  Jutes;  but  now  the  dignity  passed  to 
the  moi-e  powerful  Angles,  in  the  person  of  Eed- 
WALD,  about  the  year  G17.  Redwald  was  King  of 
East  Anglia,  and  by  profession  a  Christian,  hav- 
ing been  converted  some  years  before  by  tha 
Bretwalda  Ethelbert.  But  his  wife  and  people 
were  attached  to  the  old  idolatry ;  and,  yielding 
to  their  importunities,  he  re-opened  the  temples, 
taking  care,  however,  to  place  a  Christian  altar 
by  the  side  of  the  statue  of  Woden,'  in  doing 
which  he  no  doubt  hoped  to  conciliate  both  par- 
ties. During  his  reign  the  Scots,  who  had  re- 
newed hostilities  in  the  north,  were  beaten  by 
the  now  united  and  extended  Saxon  kingdom  of 
Northumbria.  At  a  later  period  Redwald  him- 
self was  hostilely  engaged  with  the  Northumbrian 
king  Edilfrid,  who  is  said  to  have  destroyed  more 
Britons  than  all  the  other  Saxon  kings.  The 
armies  of  the  Saxon  kings  met  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Idel,  in  Nottinghamshire,  where  victory, 
after  a  sanguinary  engagement,  rested  on  the 
crest  of  the  Bretwalda.     Edilfrid  was  slain. 

Edwin,  the  fifth  Bretwalda,  succeeded  (.about 
621)  both  to  the  dignity  of  Redwald  and  the 
kingdom  of  Edilfrid  ;  and  so  successful  was  he  in 
his  wars  and  his  politics,  that  he  raised  North- 
umbria to  a  superiority  over  all  the  Saxon  king- 
doms, thus  transferring  the  ascendency  from  the 
south  to  the  north  of  the  island.  After  wavering 
some  time  between  the  old  national  faith  of  the 
Saxons  and  Christianity,  Edwin  was  converted  by 
the  preaching  of  Pauliuus,  a  Roman  missionary, 
and  the  influence  of  his  fair  wife  Edilberga,  who 
was  daugliter  of  Ethelbert,  the  Bretwalda  and 
King  of  Kent,  and  a  Christian  before  she  married 
Edwin.  The  happiest  effects  are  asserted  to  have 
followed  the  conversion  of  the  hitherto  ferocious 
Northumbrians.  Edwin  added  the  Isles  of  Man 
and  Anglesey  to  his  Northumbrian  dominions ; 
and  was  so  powerful,  that  all  the  Saxon  kings 
acknowledged  his  authority,  and  paid  him  a  kind 
of  tribute.  According  to  some  accounts,  he  also 
maintained  a  supremacy  over  the  Scots  and  Picts. 
In  writing  to  him,  in  the  year  625,  the  pope  styles 
Edwin  "  Rex  Anglorum" — King  of  the  Angles,  or 
English.  In  his  person  the  dignity  of  Bretwalda 
had  a  significant  and  clear  meaning;  but  he  did 
not  hold  it  very  long.  About  the  year  C33,  Penda, 
the  Saxon  Prince  of  Mercia,  rebelled  against  his 
authority;  and,  forming  an  alliance  with  Cead- 
walla,  or  Cadwallader,  the  King  of  North  Wales, 
he  fought  a  great  battle  at  Hatfield,  or  Heath- 
field,  near  the  river  Trent,  in  which  Edwin  was 
defeated  and  slain  (a.d.  634).  The  alliance  of  one 
])arty  of  the  Saxons  with  the  Welsh,  to  tiglit 


'  J3cda. 


A.D.  449  -825.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


io 


agaiust  auollier  party  of  Saxous,  is  remarkable  ; 
but  the  case  was  often  repeated.  The  confede- 
rate armies  between  tliem  committed  a  liorribl(^ 
slaughter,  sjxariug  neither  old  men  nor  children, 
women  nor  monks.  Cadwallader  and  the  Welsh 
remained  in  tlie  territory  of  the  Northumbrians 
at  York;  but  Penda  marched  into  Norfolk,  against 
the  East  Angles.  This  people  had  embraced  the 
Christian  faith  some  seven  years  before,  at  the 
eai'nest  representations  of  the  Bretwalda  Edwin ; 
and  Sigebert,  their  old  king,  had  lately  renounced 
his  crown  to  his  cousin  Egeric,  and  retired  iuto 
a  monastery.  But  at  the  approach  of  Fenda  and 
his  jiagan  host  the  old  soldier  left  his  holy  retire- 
ment, and  directed  the  mana'uvres  of  his  army, 
with  a  white  rod  or  wand,  his  religious  scruples 
not  permitting  him  to  resume  the  sword  and 
battle-axe.  Penda  was  as  successful  here  as  he 
had  been  against  the  (!liristians  of  Northumbria, 
and  both  Sigebert  and  Egeric  fell  in  battle.  At 
this  time  a  struggle  for  supremacy  seems  to  have 
existed  between  the  converted  and  unconverted 
Saxons;  and  Penda,  as  head  of  the  latter,  evi- 
dently aimed  at  possessing  the  full  dignity  of 
Bretwalda,  as  it  had  been  exercised  by  Edwin  of 
Noithumbria.  But  the  latter  jirince  had  laid  a 
broad  and  sure  basis,  which  enabled  the  Nortli- 
uuibriaus  to  retain  the  advantage  in  their  own 
country,  and  transmit  the  dignity  to  two  mem- 
bers of  his  family. 

In  the  year  G34,  Oswald,  the  nephew  of  Edwin, 
raised  his  banner  in  Northumbria,  where  Cad- 
wallader, after  many  successes,  seemed  to  despise 
lu'ecaution.  He  and  his  Welsh  were  surpi'ised 
near  Hexham,  and  totally  defeated  by  inferior 
numbers.  On  the  p.-irt  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  the 
battle  began  with  kneeling  ami  prayers ;  it  ended, 
ou  the  part  of  the  Welsh,  in  the  death  of  Cad- 
wallader, and  in  the  annihilation  of  his  army, 
which  appears  to  have  assumed  the  title  of  "the 
invincible."'  Oswald  being  equally  recognized 
by  the  two  Northumbrian  states  of  Bernicia  and 
Deira,  then  regained  all  that  his  uncle  Edwin 
had  lost,  and  soon  after  most  of  the  Saxons  ac- 
knowledged him  as  Bretwalda.  He  attributed 
his  success  to  the  God  he  worshipped ;  and,  to 
show  his  gratitude,  he  invited  many  monks  to 
complete  the  conversion  of  the  people  of  North- 
umbria. The  donation  of  Lindisfarne,  or  Holy  Is- 
land, and  the  splendid  monastery  that  rose  there, 


'  "  In  CitdwaUa  expired  the  last  renowned  hero  of  old  BritiBh 
race ;  in  foiuteen  pitched  battles  and  sixty  encounters  he  had 
revived  and  coniii'med  the  military  famo  of  liifl  country,  and 
aaiuii'ed  dominion  over  a  considerable  part  of  Lloegi-ia  (Lloegyr). 
No  wonder,  then,  if  his  life  and  death,  though  claiming  a  fai- 
luglier  degree  of  credibility  than  Arthm-'s,  were  soon  surrounded 
by  tlie  glittering  imagery  of  tradition,  and  that  ^ve  .are  now  un- 
able to  ascertain  the  tmth,  either  in  the  apotheosis  of  his  adoring 
coiuitrymen,  or  in  thevindict.ivenjiiTativeof  the  Anglo-Saxons." 
— Lappettberg ,  vol.  i.  p.  15S. 


testified  to  his  munificence.  Churches  and  mon- 
asteries sprung  up  in  other  parts  of  the  nortli, 
and  undoubtedly  forwarded  civilization,  to  a  cer- 
tain jioint,  more  than  any  other  measures  or 
cstahlishmeiits.  Oswald,  who  ro]\-iired  to  the  court 
of  Cynegils,  the  king  of  that  country,  to  demand 
his  daughter  in  marriage,  took  an  active  part  in 
the  conversion  of  Wessex ;  and  when  Cynegils 
made  a  donation  of  land  to  Dirinus,  the  Roman 
missionary  .and  bishop,  ho  confirmed  it  in  his 
quality  of  Bretwalda. 

As  Bretwalda,  Oswald  exercised  an  authority 
over  the  Saxon  nations  and  provinces  fully  equal 
to  that  (.f  his  uncle  Edwin;  and  he  is  said,  beside, 
although  the  fact  is  disputed,  to  have  compelled 
the  Pictish  and  Scottish  kings  to  acknowledge 
themselves  his  va.ssals.  Oswald  was  slain  in 
battle  (a.d.  042),  like  his  uncle  Eilwin,  and  by  the 
same  enemy,  the  fierce  ami  still  unconverted 
Penda,  King  of  Meroia,  who  was  as  desirous  as 
ever  of  establishing  his  own  supremacy.  But 
the  Northumbrians  once  more  rallied  round  the 
family  of  the  beloved  Edwin,  and  on  the  retreat 
of  the  heathens  from  the  well-defended  rock  of 
Bamborough,  they  enabled  Oswald's  brother, 
named  Oswy,  or  Oswio,  whose  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  the  great  Edwin,  to  ascend  the  throne 
of  his  father-in-law.  His  sucoessi(jn,  however, 
was  not  undisputed,  nm-  did  liis  murder  of  one 
of  his  competitors  preserve  the  integrity  of  the 
Northumbrian  kingdom.  About  the  year  651  it 
was  re-divided  into  its  two  ancient  independent 
states ;  and  whilst  Oswy  i-etained  to  himself  Ber- 
nicia, the  more  northern  half,  Odelwald  reigned 
in  Deira,  or  the  southern  jjart.  The  disseverance 
was  a  fatal  blow,  from  which  Northumbria  never 
recovered. 

Oswy  had  soon  to  contend  with  the  old  enemy 
of  his  house,  the  slayer  of  his  two  predecessors. 
Penda,  still  anxious  to  obtain  the  dignity  of  Bret- 
walda, which,  as  on  other  occasions,  seems  to 
have  been  in  abeyance  for  some  years,  after  driv- 
ing the  Christian  King  of  Wessex  from  his  throne 
(a.d.  652), advanced  once  more,  and  this  time  with 
fire  and  sword,  into  Northumberlanil.  Burning 
every  house  or  hut  he  found  in  his  way,  this 
savage  marched  as  far  as  Bamborough.  Trem- 
bling at  his  recollections  of  tlie  past,  and  his  pre- 
sent danger,  Oswy  entreated  for  peace,  which  he 
at  length  obtaineil  by  means  of  rich  presents, 
hostages,  and  an  arrangement  of  inter-marriage. 
II  is  second  son  was  sent  as  a  hostage  to  Penda's 
court.  Alchfrid,  his  eldest  son,  espoused  one  of 
Penda's  daughters,  and  shortly  after  Penda's  sou, 
Peada  or  Weda,  married  one  of  Oswy's  daughters, 
the  fair  and  Christian  Alchfreda,  who  carried 
four  priests  in  her  train,  and  became  instrumental 
in  converting  the  people  of  Mercia. 

But  as  long  as  Penda  was  alive  in  the  land 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


there  could  be  no  lasting  peace.  Having  deso- 
lated East  Anglia  (a.d.  (i!>i),  lie  advanced  once 
more  against  the  Northumbrians,  his  army  being 
swelled  by  the  foroos  of  thirty  vassal  kings  or 
chieftains,  Welsh  or  Cumbrians,  as  well  as  Sax- 
ons. This  time  gifts  and  ofj'ers  were  of  no  avail. 
Oswy  was  obliged  to  fight;  and  the  hardest 
fought  battle  that  had  been  seen  for  many  years, 
took  place  between  hira  and  Penda  not  far  from 
York.  Here,  at  last,  this  .scourge  of  Britain  or 
England  (for  the  first  name  is  now  scarcely  ap- 
propriate) perished  by  that  violent  death  he  had 
caused  so  many  princes,  and  thirty  of  his  chief 
captains  were  slain  with  him.     Another  account 


is,  th.it  of  the  thirty  vassal  kings  or  chiefs  who 
followed  him  to  the  field,  only  one  escaped,  and 
that  this  one  was  the  King  of  Gwyuedh,  a  state 
in  North  Wales,  which  seems  to  have  comprised 
Cardiganshire,  ]iart  of  Merionethshire,  and  all 
Carnarvonshire.  Twelve  abbeys,  with  broad  lauds 
attached,  showed  the  gratitude  of  Oswy  for  his 
unexpected  victory;  and,  according  to  a  custom 
which  was  now  obtaining  among  all  the  north- 
ern conquerors,  he  dedicated  an  infant  daughter 
to  the  service  of  God,  and  took  her  to  the  Lady 
of  Hilda,  who  shortly  after  removed  with  her  nuns 
from  Haitlepool  to  the  vale  of  Whitby,  where 
there  soon  arose  one  of  the  most  famed  and  sjilen- 


*et- 


Whitby.' — From  Darnell's  British  Coast. 


did  monasteries  of  the  middle  ages.  But  all  the 
proceedings  of  the  victor  were  not  of  so  pious  or 
tranquil  a  nature.  After  Penda's  death,  Oswy 
rapidly  overran  the  country  of  his  old  enemies 
the  Mercians,  on  whom  he  inflicted  a  cruel  ven- 
geance. He  attached  all  their  territory  north  of 
the  Trent  to  his  Northumbrian  kingdom  ;  and 
Peada,  his  son-in-law,  being  treacherously  mur- 
dered soon  after  (it  is  said  by  his  own  wife,  who 
was  Oswy's  daughter),  he  seized  the  southern 
part  of  Mercia  also.  It  was  probably  at  this 
high  tide  of  his  fortune  (a.d.  655)  that  Oswy  as- 
sumed the  rank  of  Bretwalda.  The  usual  broad 
assertion  is  made,  that  the  Picts  and  Soots,  and 
the  other  natives  of  Britain,  acknowledged  his 
supremacy.  There  was  soon,  however,  another 
Bretwalda;  the  first  instance,  we  believe,  of  two 
such  suns  shining  in  our  hemisphere. 

In  656  the  eoldermen  or  nobles  of  Mercia  rose 
up  in  arms,  expelled  the  Northumbrians,  and 
gave  the  crown  to  Wulferk,  another  of  Penda's 
sons,  whom  they  had  carefully  concealed  from  the 


eager  search  of  Oswy.  This  Wulfere  not  only 
reta,ined  possession  of  Mercia,  but  extended  his 
dominions  by  conquests  in  Wessex  and  the  neigh- 
bouring countries ;  after  which  he  became  king 
of  all  the  "  australian  regions,"  or  Bretwalda  in 
all  those  parts  of  the  island  that  lie  south  of  the 
Humber.  About  the  same  time,  Oswy  was  fur- 
ther weakened  by  the  ambition  of  his  eldest  son, 
Alchfrid,  who  demanded  and  obtained  a  part  of 
Northumbria  in  independent  sovereignty.  The 
sickness  called  the  yellow,  or  the  yellers  jilague, 
atilicted  Oswy  and  his  enemies  alike;  for  it  began 
in  the  south,  gradually  extended  to  the  north, 

'  Whitby  is  understood  to  have  risen  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  an  abbey,  founded  by  Oswy,  King  of  Northmnberland,  in 
007.  Both  abbey  and  town  were  utterly  destroyed  by  the  Danes, 
and  Liy  in  ruins  till  after  the  Nonnan  conquest,  when  the  abbey 
w.ia  rebuilt,  and  a  considerable  fishing  town  was  established. 
Tlio  ruins  of  Whitby  Abbey  overlook  the  sea  at  an  elevation  of 
240  ft.  The  fine  central  tower  fell  in  1S30 ;  the  coasting  ves- 
tiges consist  of  tlie  choir,  the  north  transept,  which  is  nearly 
entire,  and  part  of  the  west  front.  The  town  of  Wliitby  is  situ- 
ated on  botli  sides  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  Esk.  It  has  a  good 
harljoui-,  proteoteJ  by  piers. 


A.D.  449-825.] 


SAXON  rEinoi). 


77 


aud  at  leugtL  raged  over  Uie  whole  isluiul,  with 
the  exception  of  the  mouutaius  of  Caledonia. 
Among  the  earliest  victims  of  thia  pestilence 
■were  kings,  archbishops,  bishops,  monks,  and 
nuns.  As  the  plague  now  makes  its  appearance 
anmially  in  some  of  the  countries  of  the  East,  so 
did  this  yellow  sickness  break  out  in  our  island 
for  twenty  years.  King  Oswy,  who  is  generally 
considered  the  last  of  the  Bretwaldas,  though 
others  continue  the  title  to  Ethelbald,  King  of 
Mercia,  died  in  670,  during  the  progress  of  this 
fearful  disease,  but  not  of  it. 

Although  we  here  lose  the  convenient  point  of 
concentration  afforded  by  the  reigns  of  the  Bret- 
waldas, it  is  at  a  point  where  the  seven  kingdoms 
of  the  IIe]itarchy  had  merged  into  three;  for  the 
weak  states  of  Kent,  Sussex,  Esses,  and  East 
Anglia,  were  now  reduced  to  a  condition  of  vas- 
salage by  one  or  the  other  of  their  jiowerful  neigh- 
bours; and  the  great  game  for  supreme  dominion 
remained  in  the  liauds  of  Northumbria,  Mercia, 
and  Wessex.  "We  are  also  relieved  from  any  ne- 
cessity of  detail.  The  preceding  narrative  will 
convey  a  sufficient  notion  of  the  wars  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  states  waged  with  one  another;  and  as  we 
approach  the  junction  of  the  three  great  streams 
of  Northumbria,  Mei-cia.  and  Wessex,  which  were 
made  to  flow  in  one  channel  under  Egbert,  we 
shall  notice  only  the  important  circumstances  that 
led  to  that  event. 

Oswy  was  succeeded  in  the  greater  part  of  his 
Northumbrian  dominions  by  his  son  Egfrid,  who 
was  scarcely  seated  on  that  now  tottering  throne, 
when  the  Picts  seated  between  the  Tyne  and  the 
Forth  broke  into  insurrection.  Willi  a  strong  body 
of  cavalry,  Egfrid  defeated  them  in  a  bloody  battle, 
and  again  reduced  them  to  a  doubtful  obedience. 
Some  eight  years  after,  juubitious  of  obtaining  all 
the  power  his  father  had  once  held,  Egfrid  in- 
vaded Mercia.  A  drawn  battle  was  fought  (a.d. 
G79)  by  the  rival  Saxons,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Trent,  and  peace  was  then  restored  by  means  of  a 
holy  servant  of  the  church ;  but  it  was  beyond  the 
bishop's  power  to  restore  the  lives  of  the  brave 
who  had  fallen,  and  whose  loss  sadly  weakened 
both  Mercia  and  Northumbria.  In  685  Egfrid 
was  slain  in  a  war  with  Brude,  the  Pictisli  king ; 
and  tlie  Scots  and  some  of  the  northern  Welsh 
joined  the  Picts,  and  carried  their  arms  into  Eng- 
land. In  the  exposed  ])arts  of  Northumbria  the 
Anglo-Saxons  were  put  to  the  .sword  or  reduced 
to  slavery,  and  that  kingdom  became  the  scene  of 
wretchedness  and  anarchy.  In  the  course  of  a 
century  fourteen  kings  ascended  the  throne,  in  a 
manner  as  irregular  as  their  descent  from  it  was 
rapid  and  tragical.  Six  were  murdered  by  their 
kinsmen  or  other  competitors,  five  were  expelled 
by  their  subjects,  two  became  monks,  and  one 
only  died  with  the  crown  on  his  head. 


Although  exposed,  like  all  the  An^du-Saxon 
states,  to  sanguinary  revolutions  in  its  govern- 
ment, Mercia,  the  old  rival  of  Northumbria,  for 
a  consideratile  period  seemed  to  rise  on  the  de- 
cline of  the  latter,  and  to  bid  fair  to  be  the  victor 
of  the  three  great  states.  After  many  hardly 
contested  battles,  the  kings  of  Wessex  were  re- 
duced to  serve  as  vassals,  and  by  the  year  737, 
Ktiielbat.d,  the  Mercian  king,  ruled  with  a  para- 
mount authority  over  all  the  country  south  of  tlie 
Humber,  with  the  exception  only  ot  Wales.  But 
five  years  after,  the  vassal  state  asserted  its  inde- 
pendence, and  in  a  great  battle  at  Burford,  iu 
Oxfordshire,  victory  declared  for  the  Golden 
Dragon,  the  standard  of  Wessex.  Between  the 
years  757  and  794  the  superiority  of  Mercia  was 
successfully  I'e-asserted  by  King  Offa,  who,  after 
subduing  parts  of  Sussex  and  Kent,  invaded  Ox- 
fordshire, and  took  all  that  part  of  the  kingdom 
of  Wessex  that  lay  ou  the  left  of  the  Thames. 
Then  turning  his  arms  again.st  the  Welsh,  he 
drove  the  kings  of  Powis  from  Pengwern  (now 
Shrewsbury)  beyond  the  river  Wye,  and  yilanted 
strong  Saxon  colonies  between  that  i-iver  aud  the 
Severn.  To  secure  these  conquests,  and  protect 
liis  subjects  from  the  iai'oads  aud  forays  of  the 
Welsh,  he  resorted  to  means  that  bear  quite  a 
Roman  character.  He  caused  a  ditch  and  ram- 
part to  be  drawn  all  along  the  frontier  of  Wales 
(a  line  measuring  100  miles),  beginning  at  B.asing- 
werke,  iu  Flintshire,  not  far  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Dee,  aud  ending  on  the  Severn,  near  Bristol. 
There  are  extensive  I'emains  of  the  work,  which 
the  Welsh  still  call  "Clawdh  Offa,"  or  Offu's 
Dyke.  But  the  work  was  scarcely  finished  when 
the  Welsh  filled  up  part  of  the  ditch,  broke 
through  the  rampart,  and  slew  many  of  Otla's  sol- 
diers while  they  were  jjleasantly  eng.aged  in  cele- 
brating Christmas.  Offa  the  Terrible.,  as  he  was 
called,  took  a  terrible  vengeance.  He  met  tlie 
mountaineers  at  Rliuddlau^  aud  euoouutered  them 
in  a  battle  there,  in  which  the  King  of  North 
Wales,  and  the  pride  of  the  Welsh  youth  and 
nobility,  were  cut  to  pieces.  The  prisoners  he 
took  were  condemned  to  the  harshest  condition 
of  slavery.  Master  of  the  south,  it  is  said  that 
he  now  compelled  the  Noi-thunibrians  bcyoml 
the  Humber  to  pay  him  tribute;  but  the  year  is 
not  mentioned,  and  the  fact  is  not  very  clear. 
Ten  years  of  victory  and  conquest,  say  his  monk- 
ish eulogists,  neither  elated  him  nor  swelled  him 
with  pride;  "yet,"  adds  one  of  ther.i,  "he  was  not 
negligent  of  his  regal  state;  for  that,  in  reg.ird  of 
his  great  prerogative,  aud  not  of  any  pride,  he  first 
instituted  aud  commanded  that,  even  iu  times  of 
peace,  himself  and  his  successors  in  the  crown 
should,  as  they  passed  through  any  city,  have 
trumpeters  goinfj  and  soundinrj  before  them,  to 
show  that  the  presence  of  the  king  should  breed 


78 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militart. 


both  fear  and  honour  in  uU  who  either  see  or 
hear  him.'"  WiUiani  of  Malmesbiuy  declares  he 
is  at  a  loss  to  determine  whether  the  merits  or 
crimes  of  tliis  prince  [jreponderated ;  but  as  Offa 
w;u<!  a  most  munificent  benefactor  to  the  church, 
the  monks  in  general  (the  only  historians  of  these 
times)  did  not  partake  of  this  scruple,  and  praised 
him  to  excess.  As  a  sovereign,  however,  Offa 
had  indisputable  and  high  merits,  and  the  coun- 
try made  some  progress  under  his  reign  and  by 
his  example.  He  had  some  taste  for  the  elegan- 
cies of  life  and  the  fine  arts;  he  built  a  palace  at 
"Tarn worth  Town,"  which  was  the  wonder  of  the 
age;  and  his  medals  and  coins  are  of  much  better 


BitAis  Corx  Off  Offa. — British  Musexun. 

taste  and  workmanship  than  those  of  any  other 
Saxon  monarch.^  He  maintained  an  epistolary  cor- 
respondence with  Charlemagne;  and  it  is  highly 
interesting,  and  a  consoling  proof  of  progression, 
to  see  the  trade  of  the  nation  and  the  commercial 
intercourse  between  England  and  France  made  a 
subject  of  discussion  in  these  i-oyal  letters.  When, 
towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  his  body  being 
racked  with  disease  and  his  soul  with  a  late  re- 
morse, he  gave  himself  up  to  monkish  devotion 
and  superstitious  observances,  there  was  still  a 
certain  taste  as  well  as  grandeur  in  his  expiatory 
donations,  and  a  remarkable  happiness  of  choice 
(though  this  is  said  to  have  been  directed  by  the 
accidental  discovery  of  a  few  bones)  in  his  site 
for  the  abbey  of  St.  Alb.an's,  the  most  magnifi- 
cent of  all  the  ecclesiastical  edifices  he  erected.' 
According  to  some  of  the  old  writers,  his  last  war- 
like exploit  was  the  defeat  of  a  body  of  Danish 
invaders;  and  it  is  generally  allowed  that,  during 
the  latter  jiart  of  his  reign,  a  few  ship.s'  crews, 
the  precui-sors  of  those  hordes  that  desolated 
England  soon  after,  efiected  a  landing  on  our 
coast,  and  did  some  mischief.  On  the  death  of 
Otfa,  after  a  long  reign,  in  the  yeai-  795,  the  great 
power  of  Mercia,  wdnch  his  craft,  valour,  and  for- 
tune had  built  up,  and  which  his  energies  alone 
had  supported,  began  rapidly  to  decline;  and  as 
Northumbria  continued  in  a  hopeless  condition, 

^  Tfie  Ligger  Book  of  St.  Alban's,  as  quoted  in  Speed's  Chro- 
nklea.  "  Palgi^ve,  Hist. 

3  The  present  venerable  Abbey  church  of  St.  Alban's,  which 
stands  on  the  site  of  that  erected  by  Offa,  was  built,  tlu'ee  cen- 
turies later,  by  William  Rufus.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
materials  employed  are  Roman  bricks  or  tiles,  taken  fi-om  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Vel-ulamium,  which  stood  in  the 
neighbourhood,  between  St.  Alban's  and  Gorliambmy  Park. 


Wessex,  long  the  least  of  the  three  great  rival 
states,  soon  had  the  field  to  hei-self 

At  the  time  of  Offa's  death  the  throne  of  Wes- 
sex was  occupied  by  Brihtric,  or  Beortric,  whose 
right  was  considered  very  questionable  even  in 
those  days,  when  the  rule  of  succession  was  very 
fiir  from  being  settled.  Egbert,  the  son  of  Alch- 
muud,  had  abetter  title,  but  fewer  partizans;  and, 
after  a  short  antl  unsuccessful  struggle  for  the 
crown,  he  fled  for  his  life,  and  took  refuge  in  the 
court  of  OH'i,  the  Mercian.  His  triumphant 
rival,  Beortric,  then  despatched  amlnissadors  into 
Mercia,  charged  with  the  double  duty  of  demand- 
ing the  hand  of  Eadbm-gha,  one  of  Offa's  daugh- 
tei-s,  and  the  head  of  Egbert.  Otfa  readily  gave  his 
daughter  (lie  oould  hardly  have  given  a  greater 
cui-se),  but  he  refused  the  second  request.  He, 
however,  withdrew  his  protection  fmm  his  royal 
guest,  who  fled  a  second  time  for  his  life.  Egbert 
repaired  to  the  court  or  camp  of  the  Emperor 
Charlemagne,  who  received  him  hospitably,  and 
employed  him  in  his  armies.  During  a  residence 
of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  on  the  Continent,  living 
chiefly  among  the  French,  who  were  then  much 
more  polished  than  the  Saxons,  Egbert  acquired 
many  accomplishments  ;  and,  whether  as  a  soldier 
or  statesman,  he  could  not  have  found  a  better 
instructor  than  Charlemagne.  Eadburgha,  the 
daughter  of  OfFii,  and  wife  of  Beortric,  was  a  woman 
of  a  most  depraved  character — incontinent,  wan- 
ton, perfidious,  and  cruel.  When  men  thwarted 
her  love,  or  otherwise  gave  her  offence,  she  armed 
the  uxorious  king  against  them ;  ami  when  he 
would  not  be  moved  to  cruelty,  she  became  the 
executioner  of  her  own  vengeance.  She  had  pre- 
pared a  wip  of  poison  for  a  young  nobleman  who 
was  her  husband's  favourite;  by  some  inadver- 
tence this  was  so  disposed  that  the  king  drank 
of  it  as  well  a.s  the  intended  victim,  and  died  a 
horrid  death  (4..D.  800).  Accoi-ding  to  another 
vereion  of  the  story,  she  had  filled  the  bowl  ex- 
pressly for  the  king,  and  many  of  his  household 
and  warriors  were  poisoned  by  it.  The  crime  was 
discovered, and  the  queen  degraded  and  expelled; 
the  thanes  and  men  of  Wessex  decreeing,  at  the 
same  time,  that  for  the  future  no  kings'  wives 
should  be  called  queens,  nor  sufl'ered  to  sit  by 
their  husbands'  sides  ujjou  the  throne.  She  also 
took  refuge  with  Charlemagne,  who  assigned  her 
a  residence  in  a  convent  or  abbey.  But  in  pro- 
cess of  time  she  beg.an  to  conduct  herself  so  vi- 
ciously, that  she  was  turned  out  of  this  place  of 
shelter.  Some  years  after  her  expulsion,  a  woman 
of  foreign  mien  and  faded  beauty  was  seen  beg- 
ging alms  in  the  streets  of  Pavia,  in  Italy;  it  was 
Eadburgha,  the  widow  of  the  King  of  the  West 
Saxons — the  daughter  of  Offa,  monarch  of  all 
England  south  of  the  Humber.  It  is  believed 
she  ended  her  days  at  Pavia. 


A.D.  825—901.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


79 


As  soon  as  Egbert  loarncil  llie  dcatli  of  Beor- 
tric,  he  i-eturued  from  France  to  Wessex,  when  the 
thanes  and  the  pcojile  received  him  with  open 
arms.  The  tii-st  years  of  his  reign  were  emjiloyed 
in  establishing  his  anthority  over  the  inhabitants 
of  Devonsliire  and  Cornwall;  but  he  had  then  to 
meet  the  liostility  of  the  jealous  Mercians,  who 
invaded  Wessex  with  all  their  forces.  Egbert 
met  them  at  Elyndome,  or  Ellandum,  near  Wil- 
ton, in  Wiltshire,  with  an  army  very  inferior  in 
numbers,  but  in  superior  fighting  condition ;  being, 
to  use  the  expression  of  one  of  our  old  quaint 
chroniclers,  "lean,  meagre,  pale,  and  long-breath- 
ed," wherea-s  the  Mercians  were  "fat,  corpnlent, 
and  short-winded."  He  gained  a  complete  vic- 
tory, and  was  soon  after  enabled  to  attach  Mercia 
and  all   its  dependencies  to  his  kingdom.     He 


established  sub-reguli,  or  under-kings,  in  Kent 
and  Ea.st  Anglia ;  and  not  satisfied  with  the 
dominion  of  the  island  south  of  the  Humber, 
he  crossed  that  river,  and  penetrated  into  the 
heart  of  Northumbria.  He  invaded  that  once 
powerful  state  when  anarchy  was  at  its  height. 
Incapable  of  resistance,  the  Northumbrians  made 
an  offer  of  entire  submission  (a.d.  825);  and  Ean- 
red,  their  king,  became  the  vassal  and  tributary 
of  the  great  monarch  of  Wessex.  It  appears, 
however,  that  Egbert  granted  much  milder  terms 
of  dependence  to  the  Northumbrians  than  to  any 
of  the  rest.  Thus,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  ninth 
century,  and  376  years  after  the  first  landing  of 
Hengist  and  Horsa,  was  effected  what  some  his- 
torians call  the  reduction  of  all  the  kingdoms 
under  one  sovereign. 


CHAPTER  II.-CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 


INVASION    OF   THE    DANES   TO   THE    DE.VTII    OF    ALFRED. — A.D.    825—901. 

England  iiivaileil  Ijy  tlie  Danes— lleign  of  Etlielwulf— Ilia  wars  with  the  Danes— His  jiilgrimage  to  Home— Kcigns 
of  Etiielbald  aud  Ethelbert— Their  wars  with  the  Danish  invaders — History  of  the  Danes— Their  character  at 
the  period  of  their  invasion  of  England — Their  modes  of  invasion  and  warf.are — Ethelbert  succeeded  by  Alfred 
the  Great — Alfred's  early  contlicts  with  the  Danes — Hia  attempt.^  to  create  an  English  navy — His  defeat  and 
flight  to  Athelney — His  victory  over  the  Danes  at  Ethaudune — His  treaty  with  Guthrnn,  and  assignment  of 
tlie  Danelagh  to  tlie  enemy — luterconrse  of  Alfred  witli  Asser,  his  biograplier — Hasting  invades  England — 
Various  conflicts  of  the  tliree  years'  warfare  between  Alfred  and  Hasting — Hasting  compelled  to  leave  Eng- 
land— Alfred's  navy — Review  of  Alfred's  history  and  character — His  education,  studies,  and  acquirements — 
His  proceedings  as  a  sovereign  and  legislator — His  death  and  character. 


LTHOUGH  Egbert  had  now  at- 
tained to  paramount  authority,  he 
did  not  assume  the  title  of  King 
of  England.  He  contented  himself 
with  the  style  of  King  of  Wessex, 
aud  with  the  dignity  and  author- 
ity of  Bretwalda.  This  authoi-ity  was  sometimes 
questioned  or  despised  in  more  than  one  part 
of  the  kingdom;  but,  counting  from  the  river 
Tweed  to  the  shores  of  the  British  Channel  and 
the  extremity  of  Cornwall,  there  were  none  who 
could  make  head  against  him;  and  during  the  last 
ten  years  of  his  reign  he  possessed,  or  absolutely 
controlled,  more  territory,  not  only  than  any 
Saxon  sovereign  that  preceded  him,  but  than 
any  that  followed  him.  Even  Wales,  it  not  con- 
quered, was  at  one  time  coez-ced  aud  kept  in  a 
dependent  state. 

But  no  sooner  had  England  made  some  ap- 
proaches towards  a  union  aud  consolidation,  and 
the  blessings  of  a  regular  government,  than  the 
Danes  or  Northmen  appeared  in  force,  and  began 
to  thiow  everything  into  confusion  aud  hoi-ror. 


In  the  year  832,  when  Egbert  was  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  his  power,  a  number  of  these  ferocious 
pirates  lauded  in  the  Isle  of  Sheppey,  and  having 
plundered  it,  escaped  to  their  ships  without  loss 
or  hiuderance.  The  very  next  year  the  marau- 
ders landed  from  thirty-five  ships,  and  were  en- 
countered by  the  brave  and  active  Egbert  at 
Charmouth,  in  Dorsetshire.  The  English  were 
astonished  at  the  ferocity  and  desperate  valour  of 
these  new  foes,  who,  though  they  lost  great  num- 
bers, maintained  their  position  for  a  while,  and 
then  made  good  their  retreat  to  their  ships.  In- 
deed, some  accounts  state  that  Egbert's  army  was 
defeated  in  the  engagement;  that  two  chief  cap- 
tains and  two  bishops  were  slain;  and  that  Eg- 
bert himself  only  escaped  by  the  covert  of  niglit. 
In  cruising  along  the  English  coasts,  where  they 
frequently  landed  in  small  bodies  at  defenceless 
places,  the  robbers  of  the  North  formed  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  inhabitants  of  Cornwall, 
which  ended  in  an  ill-assorted  alliance.  The  rug- 
ged promontory  which  stretclies  out  to  tlie  Land's 
End  had  never  been  invaded  by  the  Saxon  con- 


80 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militahy. 


querora  of  the  island  iiulil  tlie  comparatively  re- 
cent period  of  G-iT,  ami  even  then,  as  we  have 
shown,  the  native  population  there  was  not  much 
disturbed.  As  recently  as  809,  Egbert  had  in- 
vaded their  territory,  where  ho  found  them  in 
such  force  and  spirit  that  he  lost  many  of  his 
troops  befoi'e  he  could  reduce  them  to  a  nominal 
obedience.  They  must  even  now  have  been  nu- 
merous and  warlike,  for  on  the  stipulated  landing 
in  their  territory  of  their  Danish  allies,  in  834, 
they  joined  them  in  great  force,  and  marched  with 
them  into  Devonshire,  where  they  found  many 
old  Britons  equally  willing  to  rise  against  the 
Saxons  who  had  settled  among  them.  But  Egbert 
was  again  on  the  alert.  He  met  them  with  his 
well-appointed  army  at  Hengsdown-hill,  and  de- 
feated them  with  enormous  slaughter. 

This  w:is  the  last  martial  exploit  of  Egbert,  who 
died  in  836,  after  a  long  reign.  The  kingdom  he 
had  in  a  manner  built  up  out  of  many  pieces, 
began  to  fall  asunder  almost  before  his  coffin  was 
deposited  in  the  church  of  Winchester.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  eldest  surviving  son,ETnELwnLF, 
one  of  the  first  operations  of  whoso  government 
was  to  give  the  kingdom  of  Kent,  with  its  depen- 
dencies, Sussex  and  Essex,  in  separate  sovereignty 
to  his  son  Athelstaue.'  He  retained  Wessex;  but 
Mercia,  which  Egbert  had  subdued,  again  started 
into  independence ;  and  thus,  when  union  was 
becoming  more  and  more  necessary,  to  face  an 
enemy  as  terrible  to  the  Saxons  as  the  Saxons 
hail  been  to  the  Britons,  the  spirit  of  disunion, 
jealousy,  and  discord  assumed  a  fatal  ascendency. 

The  Scandinavian  pir.ates  soon  found  there  was 
no  longer  an  Egbert  in  the  land.  They  ravaged 
all  the  southern  coasts  of  the  kingdoms  of  Wessex 
and  Kent;  they  audaciously  sailed  up  the  Thames 
and  the  Medway;  and  stormed  and  pillaged  Lon- 
don, Rochester,  and  Canterbury.  The  idea  of  the 
need  of  a  common  co-operation  at  last  suggesteil 
itself,  and  a  sort  of  congress,  composed  of  the 
bishops  and  thanes  of  Wessex  and  Mercia,  was 
held  at  Kingsbury,  in  Oxfordshire  (a.d.  851). 
Some  energetic,  and  for  the  most  part  successful 
measures  followed  these  deliberations.  Barhulf, 
King  of  Mercia,  was  defeated  and  slain;  but  Ethel- 
wulf  and  his  son  Ethelbald,  at  the  head  of  their 
men  of  Wessex,  gained  a  complete  victory  over 
the  Danes  at  Okeley,  in  Surrey,  and  achieved 
such  a  slaughter  as  those  mai-auders  had  never 
before  suffered  in  any  of  the  several  countries 
they  had  invaded.  Soon  after  Athelstane,  the 
King  of  Kent,  with  Alchere,  the  eolderman,  de- 
feated the  pirates,  and  took  nine  of  their  ships  at 
Sandwich.     The  west  of  England   also  contri- 

»  Ethelwulf  had  been  sub-re^iia  of  Kent  binder  his  father, 
but  then  he  was  in  reality  subordinate  to  Egbert,  who  main- 
tained full  autliority.  It  is  not  quite  clear  whether  Athelstane 
was  the  eldest  son  or  the  brother  of  Ethelwulf. 


buted  a  victory;  for  Ccorl,  with  the  men  of  Devon, 
defeated  the  Danes  at  Weubury.  These  severe 
checks,  together  with  the  disordered  state  of 
France,  which  favoured  their  incursions  in  that 
direction,  where  they  soon  laid  Paris  in  ashes, 
seem  to  have  induced  the  marauders  to  suspend 
for  a  while  their  great  attacks  on  England;  but 
such  was  the  mischief  they  had  dune,  and  the  ap- 
prehensions they  still  inspired,  that  the  Wednes- 
day of  each  week  was  appointed  as  a  day  of  public 
prayer  to  implore  the  Divine  assistance  against 
the  Danes.  During  the  confusion  their  attacks 
caused  in  England,  the  Welsh  many  times  de- 
scended from  their  mountains,  and  fell  upon  the 
Saxons.  Ethelwulf  is  said  to  have  taken  ven- 
geance for  this,  by  marching  through  their  coun- 
try as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Anglesey,  and  compelling 
the  Welsh  to  acknowledge  his  authority';  but  pre- 
cisely the  same  stories  ai-e  vaguely  related  (as 
this  is)  of  several  S.axon  kings,  who  certainly 
never  preserved  any  conquest  or  authority  there 
for  any  length  of  time. 

Ever  since  their  conversion,  the  Saxons  of  su- 
perior condition  had  been  singularly  enamoured 
of  journeys  or  pilgrim.ages  to  Eome;  and  besides 
the  prelates  who  went  upon  business,  many 
princes  and  king.s,  crowned,  or  uncrowned  and 
dethroned,  had  told  their  orisons  before  the  altar 
of  St.  Peter.  Ethelwulf,  whose  devotion  was  fer- 
vent, though  his  sense  of  some  moral  duties  was 
languid,  now  felt  the  general  desire,  and,  as  the 
island  was  tranquil,  ho  passed  over  to  the  Conti- 
nent (a.d.  853),  and  crossing  the  Alps  and  the 
Apennines,  arrived  at  Rome,  where  he  was  hon- 
ourably received,  and  where  he  tarried  nearly 
one  year.  On  his  return,  forgetting  that  he  was 
an  old  man,  he  became  enamoured  of  Judith,  the 
fair  and  youthful  daughter  of  Charles  the  Bald, 
King  of  the  Franks,  and  espoused  that  princess 
with  great  solemnity  iu  the  cathedral  of  Rheims, 
where  he  placed  her  by  his  side,  and  caused  her 
to  be  crowned  as  queen.  Athelstane,  his  eldest 
son,  was  dead,  but  Ethelwulf  had  still  three  sons 
of  man's  estate — Ethelbald,  Ethelbert,  and  Ethel- 
red,  besides  Alfred,  then  a  boy,  who  was  destined 
to  see  his  brothers  ascend  and  descend  the  throne 
in  rapid  succession,  and  to  become  himsel  f  "  the 
Great."  From  the  usual  thii-st  for  power,  it  is 
probable  that,  before  this  French  marriage,  Ethel- 
bald, who  was  already  intrusted  with  the  govern- 
ment of  part  of  his  father's  kingdom,  was  anxious 
to  possess  himself  of  the  whole;  but  the  mari-iage 
and  the  circumstances  attending  it  gave  plausi- 
ble grounds  of  complaint,  and  Prince  Ethelbald, 
Adelstane,  Bishop  of  Sherborn,  Enwulf,  Earl  of 
Somerset,  and  the  other  thanes  and  men  of  Wes- 
sex that  joined  in  a  plot  to  dethrone  the  absent 
king,  set  forth  iu  their  manifesto  that  he  had  given 
the  name  and  authority  of  Queen  to  his  French 


A.D.  S25— 901.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


81 


vile,  had  seated  her  by  liia  side  on  tlie  throup, 
aud  "openly  eaten  ivilh  her  at  the  table;"  all  which 
w;is  agaiust  the  constitution  and  hnv.s  of  Wessox, 
wliicli  had  for  ever  abolislied  the  ([ueenly  dignity, 
in  consequence  of  the  crimes  of  Eadburgha.  It 
is  probable,  also,  that  the  favour  shown  to  the  boy 
Alfred  had  some  share  in  Ethelbald's  resentment. 
Ethelwulf  had  carried  his  favourite  son  with  him 
to  Rome,  where  the  jiope  anointed  him  as  king 
with  holy  oil,  and  with  his  own  hands.  It  is 
more  than  likely  that  Alfred  had  always  been 
destined  by  his  father  to  fill  a  minor  throne  in 
the  kingdom,  but  this  act,  and  the  wonderful 
estimation  in  which  the  oil  of  consecration  was 
held  in  those  days,  especially  when  administered 
by  the  pontiff  of  the  Christian  world,  may  have 
induced  his  brothei-s  to  suspect  that  the  Benja- 
min of  the  family  was  to  be  preferred  to  them  all. 
A  recent  historian — an  indefatigable  searcher  into 
the  old  chronicles  and  records  of  the  kingdom  — 
is  of  opinion  that,  though  the  fact  is  not  meutiouiMl 
in  expi'css  terms  in  our  ancient  historians,  Os- 
burgha,  his  first  wife,  aud  the  mother  of  his  chil- 
dren, was  uot  dead  at  the  time,  but  merel_v  jnit 
away  by  Ethelwulf  to  make  room  for  .Judith.'  In 
sjiite  of  their  devotion  and  zeal  for  the  church, 
such  proceedings  were  not  uncommon  among 
kings  in  the  middle  ages;  but  if  Ethelwulf  so 
acted,  the  undutifuluess  of  his  eldest  sou,  who  had 
a  mother's  wrongs  to  avenge,  would  appear  the 
more  excusable.  AVhatever  were  their  motives 
and  grievances,  a  formidable  faction,  in  arms,  oi>- 
posed  Ethelwulf  when  he  returned  to  the  island 
with  his  yoimg  bride.  Yet  the  old  king  had  many 
friends;  his  party  gained  strength  after  his  arrival 
among  them,  and  it  was  thought  he  might  have 
expelled  Ethelbald  and  his  adherents.  But  the 
old  man  shrunk  from  the  accumulated  horrors  of 
a  civil  war  waged  between  father  and  sou,  and 
consented  to  a  compromise,  which,  on  his  part, 
was  attended  with  great  sacrifices.  Eetaiuing  to 
himself  the  eastern  part  of  the  kingdom  ol  Wes- 
sex,  lie  resigned  all  the  western,  which  w-as  con- 
sidered the  richer  and  better  ])ortion,to  Ethelbald. 
Ethelwulf  did  not  long  survive  this  partitiou, 
dying  in  857,  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  reign. 
Ethelbald  then  not  only  succeeded  to  the 
whole  of  his  father's  kingdom,  but  to  hi.s  young 
widow  also;  for,  according  to  the  chroniclers,  how- 
soever unwilling  he  had  been  that  this  fair  queen 
should  sit  in  slate  by  his  father's  side,  yet,  con- 
trary to  idl  laws  both  of  God  and  man,  he  placed 
her  by  his  own,  and  by  nujitial  riles  brought  her 
to  his  sinful  and  incestuous  bed.  A  tolerably 
well-grounded  supposition  that  Judith  was  only 


»  According  to  Boine  of  the  chrouklera,  the  Queeu  Osbui-gha 
w-TS  alive  tweuty-soveu  years  after  Ktliohvuirs  marriage  with 
.J  edith,  anil  in  S7S  rep,-urej  to  Atheluey,  m  Someraetsliire,  the 
letrcLit  uf  Jilt  son  Alfred. 
\'0L.   1. 


twelve  yeai-s  old  when  Ethelwulf  married  her, 
and  that  their  marriage  had  never  been  consum- 
mated, may  diminish  our  horror ;  but  such  a  union 
could  in  no  sense  be  tolerated  by  the  Koniish 
Church,  which,  by  means  of  its  bishops  in  Eng- 
land, at  last  gained  Ethelbald's  reluctant  consent 
to  a  divorce.  According  to  other  old  authorities, 
the  marriage  was  only  dissolved  by  his  death,  and 
jiriests  and  people  generally  attributed  the  short- 
ness of  his  reign,  which  did  not  last  two  years,  to 
the  siuful  marriage,  which  had  drawn  down  God's 
N'engeanco.  As  she  is  connected  by  her  posterity 
with  many  succeeding  ages  of  our  history,  wi; 
must  devote  a  few  words  to  the  rest  of  the  check- 
ered career  of  Judilh.  Either  on  her  divorce,  or 
at  the  death  of  Ethelbald,  she  retired  to  France, 
and  lived  some  time  in  a  convent  at  Senlis,  a  few 
uules  to  the  north  of  Paris.  From  this  convent 
she  either  eloped  with,  or  was  forcibly  carried  oil' 
by  Baldwin,  the  grand  forester  of  Ardennes.  Iler 
father,  Charles  the  Bald,  made  his  bishojis  excom- 
numicato  Baldwin  for  having  r.avished  a  widow; 
but  the  jjope  took  a  milder  view  of  the  ease,  and 
by  his  meLliation  the  mai'riage  of  the  still  youth- 
ful Judith  with  her  third  husband  was  solemnized 
in  a  regular  manner,  aud  the  earldom  of  Flandei-s 
was  bestowed  on  Baldwin.  Judith  then  lived  in 
great  state  and  magnilicenee;  her  son,  the  second 
Earl  of  Flanders,  espoused  Elfrida,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  our  Alfred  the  Great,  from  whom, 
tlirough  five  lineal  descents,  proceeded  !Maud,  or 
INlatilda,  the  wife  of  William  the  Conqueror,  from 
whom  again  descended  all  the  subsequent  Kings 
of  England. 

Ethell>ald  was  succeeded  iu  the  kingdom  of 
"Wessex  by  his  brother  Etiieluep.t,  who  had  a 
short  reign,  troubled  beyond  measure  by  the 
Danes,  who  now  made  inroads  iu  idmost  every 
part  of  the  island.  lie  had  the  mortification  to 
see  them  burn  Vv'inchester,  his  capital,  and  per- 
manently establish  themselves  in  the  Isle  of 
Thanet,  which  thej'  made  their  nucleus,  and  the 
key  of  their  conquests,  just  as  the  Saxons  had 
done  more  than  four  centuries  before.  This  king 
died  in  the  year  SGG  or  8G7,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother  Etiielred,  who,  in  the  courae  of 
one  3'ear,  had  to  fight  nine  jiitcheil  aud  murderous 
battles  .against  the  Danes.  Wiiiist  he  was  thus 
busied  in  resisting  the  invaders  in  the  south  and 
west  parts  of  the  island,  the  kings  and  chiefs  of 
Mercia  aud  Norlhumbria  wholly  withdrew  from 
their  covenanted  subjeclion  or  alliance,  and,  only 
thinking  of  themselves,  they  gave  no  timely  aid 
to  one  another  or  to  the  common  cause.  Thus 
left  to  their  own  resources,  the  men  of  Wessex 
maintained  a  doubtful  struggle,  at  times  losing, 
aud  at  others  gaining  battles.  According  to  the 
old  writers,  the  ilestruction  of  the  Danes  was  im- 
mense; and  during  the  five  or  six  years  of  Ethel- 
U 


82 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mit.itary. 


red's  rclgn  tliore  were  killed  in  llie  field  uiiie 
yarls  or  earls,  one  king,  "  besides  others  of  the 
meaner  sort  without  uiinilier."  But  this  loss  was 
constantly  supplied  by  fresh  forces  from  the  North, 
who  brought  as  eager  au  appetite  for  plunder  as 
their  precursors,  and  whose  vengeance  became  the 
more  inflamed  as  the  number  of  deaths  of  their 
brethren  was  increased.  In  most  of  these  con- 
flicts Alfred,  who  was  already  far  more  fitted  to 
command,  fought  along  with  Ethelred,  the  last 
of  his  brothers;  and  at  Aston  or  Asheuden,  in 
Berkshire,  while  the  king  was  engaged  at  his 
prayers,  and  would  not  move  with  his  division 
of  the  Saxon  army  till  mass  was  over,  Alfred 
sustained  the  brunt  of  the  whole  Danish  force, 
and  mainly  contributed  to  a  splendid  victory. 
The  victory  of  Aston  was  followed  by  the  defeats 
of  Basing  and  Mereton;  and,  soon  after,  Ethel- 
red  died  (871),  at  Whittiugham,  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  battle,  upon  which  the  crown  fell  to 
Alfred,  the  only  surviving  and  the  best  of  all 
the  sous  of  Ethelwiilf.  But,  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances, the  crown  was  a  jewel  of  no  price, 
and  for  many  years  the  hero  had  to  fight  for  ter- 
ritory and  for  life  against  the  formidable  Danes. 
The  piratical  hordes  called  Danes  or  Norse- 
men by  the  English,  Normans  by  our  neighbours 
the  French,  and  Normanni  by  the  Italians,  wei-e 
not  merely  natives  of  Denmark,  properly  so  called, 
but  belonged  also  to  Norway,  Sweden,  and  other 
countries  spi-ead  round  the  Baltic  Sea.  They 
were  offshoots  of  the  great  Scandinavian  branch 
of  the  Teutons,  who,  under  different  names,  con- 
quered and  recomposed  most  of  the  states  of 
Europe  on  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  empi]-e. 
Such  of  the  Scandinavian  tribes  as  did  not  move 
to  the  South  and  tlie  West  to  establish  them- 
selves permanently  in  fertile  provinces,  but  re- 
mained in  the  barren  and  bleak  regions  of  the 
North,  devoted  themselves  to  piracy  as  a  profi- 
table and  honourable  profession.  The  Saxons, 
then  scattered  along  the  south  of  the  Baltic,  did 
this  iu  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  and  now. 
in  the  ninth  century,  they  were  becoming  the 
victims  of  their  old  system,  carried  into  practice 
by  their  kindred,  the  Danes,  Swedes,  Norwegians, 
and  others.  All  these  people  were  of  the  same  race 
as  the  Saxons,  being  an  after-torrent  from  the 
same  Scandinavian  fountain-head ;  and  though 
time,  and  a  change  of  country  and  religion  on  the 
pai't  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  had  made  some  differ- 
ence between  them,  the  common  re.seniblance  iu 
physical  appearance,  language,  and  other  essen- 
tials, was  still  strong.  It  is  indeed  remarkable 
that  the  three  different  conquests  of  England, 
made  in  the  course  of  si.x  centuries,  were  all  the 
work  of  one  race  of  men,  bearing  different  names 
at  diflTerent  epochs ;  for  the  Normans  of  the 
eleventh  century  were  called  Danes  in  the  ninth. 


and  were  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Danes  and 
Saxons  they  subdued  in  England.  A  settlement 
of  200  years  in  France,  and  an  intermixture  with 
the  people  of  that  country,  had  wonderfully  mo- 
dified the  Scandinavian  character,  but  still  the 
followers  of  William  the  Conqueror  had  a  much 
greater  affinity  with  the  Danes  and  Anglo-Saxons 
than  is  generally  imagined. 

Hume  and  other  historians  are  of  opinion  that 
the  remorseless  cruelties  practised  by  Charle- 
magne from  the  yeai-  772  to  803,  upon  the  pagan 
Saxons  settled  on  the  Rhine  and  in  Germany, 
were  the  cause  of  the  fearful  reaction  and  the 
confinned  idolatry  of  that  people.'  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  this  was  partly  the  case;  and  it 
is  a  well-established  fact,  that  the  Northmen  or 
Normans  made  the  imbecile  posterity  of  Charle- 
magne pay  dearly  for  their  father's  cruelty.  Re- 
treating from  the  arms,  the  priests,  and  the  com- 
pulsory baptisms  of  this  conqueror,  many  of 
these  Saxons  fixed  their  homes  in  the  peninsula 
of  Jutland,  which  had  been  nearly  evacuated 
three  centuries  before  by  the  Jutes  and  Angles, 
who  went  to  conquer  England.  A  mixed  popu- 
lation, of  which  the  Jutes  formed  the  larger  por- 
tion, had,  however,  grown  up  in  the  interval  on 
that  peninsula,  and,  as  they  were  unconverted, 
they  were  inclined  to  give  a  friendly  reception  to 
Ijrethren  suffering  in  the  cause  of  Woden.  The 
next  step  was  obvious;  and  iu  the  repi'isals  made 
on  the  French  coasts,  which  were  ravaged  long 
before  those  of  England  were  touched,  the  men 
of  Jutland  were  probably  joined  by  many  of  theii' 
neighbours  from  the  mouth  of  the  Baltic,  the 
islands  of  Seeland,  Funen,  and  the  islets  of  the 
Kattegat.  All  these  might  probably  be  called 
Danes;  but  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  invaders  of  oirr  island,  under  Alfred  and  his 
predecessors,  were  chiefly  Norwegians,  and  not 
Danes;  and  that  the  real  Danish  invasions,  which 
ended  in  final  conquest,  were  not  commenced 
until  nearly  a  centui-y  later.  Our  old  chroniclers, 
who  applied  one  general  name  to  all,  call  Rollo 
"  the  Ganger,"  one  of  the  most  formidable  of  our 
invaders,  a  Dane,  and  yet  it  is  well  ascertained 
that  he  was  a  Norwegian  nobleman.  It  is  dith- 
cult,  however,  and  not  very  important,  to  dis- 
tinguish between  two  nations  speaking  the  same 
language,  and  having  the  same  manners  and  pm-- 
suits.  All  the  raaiitime  Scandinavian  tribes, 
from  Jutland  to  the  head  of  the  Baltic — from 
Copenhagen  nearly  to  the  North  Cape — were 
jjirates  alike;  and  the  fleet  that  sailed  from  the 
coasts  of  Norway   would  often  be  mixed  with 

'  Charlemagne  massacred  the  Saxons  by  thoiLsands,  even  after 
they  had  laid  down  their  arms.  The  alternative  he  oflered  was 
death  or  a  Clmstiau  baptism.  Those  who  renounced  their  old 
gods,  or  pretended  to  do  so,  he  sent  in  colonies  into  the  interior 
of  France.     Some  were  even  hniTied  into  Italy. 


A.D.  825-901.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


83 


sliipg  from  .JutlaiKl  ami  Donmai-k,  and  vice  vcn4. 
Moreover,  on  certain  gi-eat  occasions,  when  their 
highest  numerical  force  was  required,  the  "Sea- 
kings,"  the  leaders  of  these  hordes,  were  known 
to  make  very  extensive  leagues. 

In  their  origin,  the  piratical  associations  of  the 
Northmen  pai'took  somewhat  of  the  nature  of 
our  privateering  companies  in  war-time,  but  still 
more  closely  resembled  the  associations  of  the 
corsaii-s  of  the  Bai-bary  coast,  who,  crossing  the 
Mediterranean,  as  the  Danes  and  Norwegians  did 
the  German  Ocean  and  the  British  Channel,  for 
many  ages  plundered  every  Chiistiau  ship  and 


Danish  Chiule.* 

country  they  could  ajiproach.  The  governments 
at  home,  such  as  they  were,  licensed  the  depre- 
dations, and  partook  of  the  spoils,  having,  as  it 
seems,  a  regularly  fixed  portion  allotted  them 
after  every  successful  expedition.  Like  the  Saxons 
we  have  described,  the 
Danes,  Norwegians, 
and  all  the  Scandina- 
vians, were  familiar 
with  the  sea  and  its 
dangers,  and  expert 
mariners.  Every  fa- 
mily had  its  boat  or 
its  ship,  and  the 
younger  sons  of  the 
noblest  of  the  land 
had  no  other  fortune 
than  their  swords  and 
their  chiules  (keels). 
With  these  they 
fought  their  way  to 
fame  and  fortune,  or 

perished  by  the  tempest  or  battle,  which  were 
both  considered  most  honourable  deaths.     All 

1  Tliis  illustnation,  taken  from  thetombstone  in  lonaof  Laclilan 
M'Kiiinon,  a  descendant  of  a  race  of  Nonvegian  kings  in  the 
Islo  of  Man,  can  only  be  regarded  as  an  exaggerated  type  of  the 
Scandinavian  chiule.  It  presents,  however,  tliis  diiference  from 
the  Roman  galleys,  chai-acteristic  of  the  vessels  of  the  Northmen 
generally,  of  being  sharp  at  both  ends,  and  being  propelled  by  a 
sail  rigged  upon  a  mast,  placed  nearly  equidistant  between  the 
stem  and  the  stem  of  the  vessel.  Instead,  however,  of  a  rudder 
insei'ted  on  the  quarter  at  either  end  of  the  vessel,  the  figure 
before  us  baa  it  placed  as  we  use  it  in  modem  times.  The  coal- 
boats  on  the  Tyne,  called  keels,  are  fonned  like  the  Danish 
cbiulo. 


the  males  were  practisc<I  in  the  use  of  ai-ras  from 
their  infaiu  y,  and  the  art  of  war  was  cultivated 
with  more  success  than  by  any  nation  in  Europe. 
The  astonishing  progress  of  the  Danes  (as  they 
were  called)  in  England,  of  the  Normans  in 
France,  and  later  in  Italy  and  Sicily,  not  only 
prove  their  physical  vigour,  their  valour,  and  per- 
severance, but  their  military  skill  and  address. 
Their  religion  and  literatiu-e  (for  they  had  a  li- 
terature at  least  as  early  as  the  eighth  century) 
were  subservient  to  the  ruling  passions  for  war 
and  [ilunder ;  or,  more  pro]icrly  speaking,  they 
were  both  cast  in  the  mould  of  those  passions, 
and  stamped  with  the  dccj)  impress  of  the  na- 
tional character.  The  blood  of  their  enemies  in 
war,  and  a  rude  hospitality,  with  a  barbarous 
excess  in  drinking,  were  held  to  be  the  incense 
most  acceptable  to  the  god  Woden,  who  himself 
had  perhaps  been  nothing  more  than  a  mighty 
slayer  and  drinker.  War  and  feasting  were  the 
constant  tliemes  of  their  scalds  or  bards;  and 
what  they  called  their  history,  which  is  mixed 
with  fable  to  such  a  degi-ee  that  the  fragments 
remaining  of  it  are  seldom  intelligible,  recorded 
little  else  than  pii-acy  and  bloodshed.  Like  their 
brethi-en  the  Saxons,  they  were  not  at  one  time 
very  bigoted,  or  very  intolerant  to  other  modes 
of  faith;  but  when  they  came  to  England,  they 
were  imbittered  by  recent  persecution,  and  they 
treated  the  Saxons  as  renegadoes,  who  had  for- 


Dakish  SWORC3  ANT>  AxE  HEAD.— Drawn  by  11.  G.  Hine,  from  sijecimens  m  the 
British  Museum. 

saken  the  faith  of  their  common  ancestoi-s  to  cm- 
brace  that  of  their  deadly  enemies.  This  feeling 
was  shown  in  theu-  merciless  attacks  on  priests, 
churches,  monasteries,  and  convents. 

AVith  good  steel  arms  the  Danes  were  abun- 
dantly provided.  Then-  weapons  seem  to  have 
been  much  the  same  as  those  used  by  the  Saxons 
at  their  invasion  of  the  island,  but  the  Scandina- 
vian mace  and  V)atlle-axe  were  still  more  consjii- 
cuous,  particularly  a  double-bladed  axe.  "To 
shoot  well  with  the  bow"  was  also  an  indispens- 
able qualification  to  a  Danish  warrior;  and  as 


84 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


tlie  Saxona  liad  totally  neglected  archery,  it 
sliould  seem  the  English  were  indebted  to  the 
conquest,  and  intermixture  with  them  of  the 
Dane.q,  for  the  high  fame  they  afterwards  enjoyed 
aa  bowmen.  They  had  gi'eat  skill  in  choosing  and 
fortifying  the  positions  they  took  uj>.  Wherever 
a  camj)  was  established,  a  ditch  was  dug,  and  a 
ramjiart  raised  with  extraordinary  rapidity;  and 
all  the  skill  and  bravery  of  the  Saxons  were 
generally  baffled  by  these  intrencliments.  Their 
.ships  were  large,  and  capalile  of  containing  many 
men;  but  in  most  of  their  expeditions  they  were 
attended  by  vessels  di-awing  little  water,  that 
could  easily  run  up  the  creeks  and  rivers  of  cm' 
island.  Many  of  our  river.s,  however,  must  have 
been  deeper  in  those  times,  for  we  constantly 
hear  of  their  ascending  such  as  would  not  now 
float  the  smallest  embarkation.  They  frequently 
drew  their  vessels  on  shore,  and  having  formed 
an  intrenchmeut  ai'ound  them  (as  C'aisar  had 
done  with  his  invading  fleet),  they  left  part  of 
their  force  to  guard  them,  and  then  scattered 
themselves  over  the  counti-y  to  plunder  and  de- 
stroy. On  many  occasions  they  dragged  their 
vessels  overland  from  one  i-iver  to  another,  or 
from  one  arm  of  the  sea  to  another  inlet.' 

If  they  met  a  superior  force,  they  fled  to  their 
.ship.s,  and  disappeared;  for  there  was  no  dishon- 
our in  retreat,  when  they  earned  off  the  pillage 
they  had  made.  They  then  suddenly  ajjpeared 
on  some  other  distant  or  unprepared  coast,  and 
repeated  the  same  manoeuvi-es;  thus,  at  length, 
as  their  numbers  increased  more  and  more,  keep- 
ing every  part  of  England  in  a  constant  state  of 
alai-m,  and  preventing  the  peoj^le  of  one  country 
from  marching  to  the  assistance  of  those  of  an- 
other, lest  in  their  absence  their  O'SA'n  district 
should  be  invaded,  and  their  own  families  and 
property  fall  the  victims  of  the  mai-auders.  The 
father  and  brothers  of  Alfred  had  established  a 
sort  of  local  district  militia;  but  the  same  causes 
of  self-interest  and  alarm  continued,  and  it  was 
seldom  that  a  suflicient  force  could  be  concen- 
trated on  one  point,  in  time  to  prevent  the  de- 


*  "The  northern  fleets  and  vessels,  however  dispersed  in  action, 
were  always  iu  commnnication  with  each  other ;  so  that  the 
several  hosts  and  bands  might  assist  iu  tlicir  mutual  e.xigencies, 
or  best  profit  by  their  mutual  good  fortunes.  In  the  British 
Islands,  as  well  as  on  the  Continent,  their  operations  were  uni- 
foiTO.  Fleet  after  fleet,  scLu.adron  after  squadron,  vessel  after 
vessel,  they  sought  to  crush  the  country  between  river  and  river, 
or  between  river  and  sea,  a  battue  encircling  the  prey. 

"The  littoral  has  sustained  many  alterations;  cliff  and  beach, 
length  and  level,  height  and  depth  have  changed  and  inter- 
changed. Estimated  according  to  a  general  average,  we  may 
assert  that,  bordering  on  the  North  Sea  and  the  Channel,  and 
as  far  aa  the  Scheldt,  tlie  land  has  lost  and  the  sea  has  gained. 
ITio  bays  on  the  coasts  of  France  and  England  were  generally 
much  deeper  than  they  are  at  jiresent,  and  the  rivei-s  more 
abmidant  in  water,  whether  flowing  in  the  stream,  spre.iding  on 
the  sheeted  broad,  or  stagnating  in  the  marsh.  It  is  veiy  im- 
portant to  notice  these  facts :  such  physical  mutations,  rarely 
recollected  liy  historians,  have  been  almost  universally  neglected 


predations  of  the  ph-ates.  On  some  occasions, 
however,  these  anned  burghers  and  jieasants, 
throwing  themselves  between  the  Danes  and 
their  ships,  recovered  their  booty,  and  inflicted  a 
fearful  vengeance;  quai'ter  was  rarely  given  to 
the  defeated  invaders.  For  a  considerable  time 
the  Danes  carefully  avoided  coming  to  any  gene- 
ral engagement;  for,  like  the  Picts  and  Scots  of 
old,  their  object  was  merely  to  make  forays,  and 
not  conquests  and  settlements.  Their  success, 
with  the  weakness  and  divisions  of  England, 
gi'adually  enlarged  theh-  views.  They  brought 
no  horses  with  them;  but  as  cavahy  was  neces- 
sary to  scour  the  couutiy,  and  an  important 
component  of  an  armed  force,  they  seized  and 
mounted  all  the  horses  they  could  catch;  and  as 
their  operations  extended  inland,  their  lirst  care 
was  to  provide  themselves  with  those  animals, 
for  the  procm'ing  of  which  they  would  promise 
neutrality  or  an  exemption  from  plunder,  to  the 
people  or  districts  that  furnished  them.  Thus, 
on  one  occasion,  the  men  of  East  Anglia  mounted 
the  faithless  robbers,  who  rushed  upon  the  men 
of  Mercia,  vowing  they  would  not  iujure  the 
horse-lenders.  But  no  promises  or  vows  were 
regarded — no  treaty  was  kept  sacred  by  the 
Danes,  v,-ho  had  always  the  ready  excuse  (v/hen 
they  thought  fit  to  make  one)  that  the  peace  or 
truce  was  broken  by  other  bauds,  over  whom 
those  who  made  the  treaty  had  no  control.  Thus, 
when  the  men  of  Kent  resorted  to  the  fatal  ex- 
pedient of  ofi'ering  money  for  their  forbeai-ance, 
the  Danes  concluded  a  treat}',  took  the  gold,  and, 
breaking  from  their  permanent  head-quarters  in 
the  Isle  of  Thanet,  ravaged  the  whole  of  their 
country  shortly  after.  The  old  wTiters  continu- 
ally call  them  "truce-breakers;"  and  the  Danes 
well  deserved  the  name. 

We  need  not  follow  the  gi-adual  development 
of  this  sanguinary  stor}',  nor  trace,  step  by  step, 
how  the  Danes  established  themselves  in  the  is- 
land. It  will  be  enough  to  show  their  possessions 
and  power  on  the  accession  of  Alfred  to  the  de- 
gi-aded  throne.     They  held  the  Isle  of  Thanet, 


in  historical  geography,  a  branch  of  science  yet  imperfectly  pur- 
sued. We  have,  for  example,  never  seen  a  single  map  of  Roman 
Britain  whose  delineator  has  not  joined  tlic  Isle  of  Thanet  to 
the  Kentish  land.  On  the  Gaulish  coasts,  the  tides,  particularly 
in  the  Seine,  rose  much  higher  up  than  .at  present ;  and  many 
of  the  existing  peninsulas,  which  caiiso  the  river's  sinuous 
com-se,  increasing  the  landscape's  beauty,  were  then  not  presqii'- 
ules,  but  completely  eyots  and  islands.  The  French  academi- 
cians, who  have  investigated  these  questions  with  the  most  con- 
scientious diligence,  leave  us  in  doubt  whether  the  Isle  d'Oisselle, 
a  veiy  important  and  celebi-ated  military  iwst  during  the  north- 
ern invasions,  has  not  been  obliterated  by  alluvion. 

"  The  facilities  thus  afforded  for  penetrating  into  the  country 
encouraged  the  Northmen's  desperate  pertinacity;  the  seas,  the 
blue  billows,  the  boljen  Itlau  of  the  Danisli  ballads,  were  their 
home.  Beaten  off  from  the  Belgic  or  Neustrian  ccost,  they  would 
ply  the  oar,  and  hoist  the  bhick  sail  for  Essex  or  Kent,  East  Ang- 
lia or  Northumbria." — FaJgravo,  Hist.  Kormandt/  and  Eiigbind, 
vol.  i.  p.  320. 


A.D.  825— 901.] 


SAXON   PF.RTOD, 


85 


which  gave  them  the  conmiaiul  of  tlie  river 
Thames  aud  the  coasts  of  Kent  and  Essex;  they 
had  thoroughlj'  overrun  or  couqucred  all  North- 
uiubria,  from  the  Tweed  to  the  Iliimbor;  they 
had  planted  strong  colonies  at  York,  wliieli  city, 
destroyed  during  the  wars,  they  rebuilt.  South 
of  the  Ilumber,  with  the  excejition  of  the  Isle  of 
Tlianct,  their  iron  gi-asp  on  the  soil  was  less  sure, 
but  they  had  desolated  Nottinghamshire,  Liu- 
cobishire,  Cambridgcsliire,  Norfolk,  and  Sullblk; 
and,  with  nunibei'S  con.stantly  increa-siug,  they 
ranged  through  the  whole  length  of  the  island, 
on  this  side  of  the  Tweed,  with  the  exception 
only  of  the  western  counties  of  England,  and  had 
established  fortified  camps  between  the  Severn 
aud  the  Thames.  The  Anglo-Saxon  standard 
had  been  gi-adually  retreating  towards  the  south- 
western corner  of  our  islanil,  which  includes 
Somereetshire,  Devonshire,  and  Cornwall,  and 
which  was  now  about  to  become  the  scene  of 
Alfred's  most  romantic  adventures.  For  a  while, 
the  English  expected  the  arrival  of  their  foes 
dm-ing  the  spring  and  summer  months,  and  their 
departure  at  the  close  of  autumn;  but  now  a 
Danish  ai-my  liad  wintered  seven  years  in  the 
land,  and  there  was  no  longer  a  hope  of  the  bless- 
ing of  their  ever  departing  from  it. 

But  Alfred,  the  saviour  of  his  people,  did  not 
despair,  even  wlien  worse  times  came:  he  calmly 
.abode  the  storm  over  which  his  valour,  but  still 
more  his  prudence,  skill,  and  wisdom  finally 
triumplied.  Though  only  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  he  had  been  already  tried  in  many  battles. 
He  had  scai-cely  been  a  month  on  the  throne, 
when  his  army,  very  inferior  in  force  to  that  of 
the  Danes,  was  forced  into  a  general  engagement 
at  Wilton.  After  fighting  desperately  through 
a  gi-eat  part  of  the  day,  the  heathens  fled;  but 
seeing  the  fewness  of  those  who  puraued,  they 
set  themselves  to  battle  again,  and  got  the  field. 
Alfred  was  absent  at  the  time,  and  it  is  probable 
his  army  was  g^nlty  of  some  imprudence;  but 
the  Danes  suiTered  so  seriously  in  the  battle  of 
Wilton,  that  they  were  fain  to  conclude  a  peace 
with  him,  and  evacuate  his  kingdom  of  Wessex, 
which  they  hardly  touched  again  for  thi-ee  yeai-s. 
The  invading  army  witlidrev/  in  the  direction  of 
London,  in  which  city  they  passed  the  winter. 
In  the  following  spring,  liaving  been  joined  in 
Ijondon  by  fresh  hosts,  both  from  Northumbria 
and  from  their  own  country,  they  marched  into 
Lyndesey,  or  Lincolnshire,  robbing  and  burning 
the  towns  and  villages  as  they  went,  and  reduc- 
ing tlie  people,  whose  lives  they  spared,  to  a 
complete  state  of  slavery.  From  Lincolnshire 
they  marched  to  Derbyshire,  and  wintered  there 
at  the  town  of  Repton. 

The  next  year  (a.d.  87.5)  one  army,  under  Half- 
den,  or  llalfdane,  was  employed  in  settling  Nor- 


thumbria, and  in  waging  war  with  that  proba- 
bly  mixed  population  tli.vt  still  dwelt  in  Cum- 
berland, Westmoreland,  and  Calloway,  or  what 
was  called  the  king<lom  of  Strathclyde.     They 
now  came  into  ho.stile  collision  with  the  Scots, 
who  were  forced  to  retreat  beyond  the  Fi-iths  of 
Clyde  and  Forth.    llalfdane  then  divi<led  the  ma.sK 
of  the  Northumbrian  territory  among  his  follow- 
ers, who,  settling  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  there, 
and  intermarrying  with  them,  became,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  generations,  so  mixed  as  to  form 
almost  one  people.    It  is  not  easy,  from  the  vague- 
ness of  the  old  writers,  to  fix  limits;   but  this 
fusion  was  probably  felt  strongest  along  our  north- 
ea.stern  coast,  between  the  Tees  and  the  Tweed, 
where  some  Danish  peculiarities  are  still  detected 
among  the  peojile.     While  Halfilane  w;us  jnu-su- 
ing  these  measures  in  the  north,  a  still  stronger 
army,  commanded  by  three  kings,  marched  upon 
Cambridge,  which  they  fortified  and  made  their 
winter-quai-ters.     By  this  time  the  Anglo-Saxon 
kingdoms  of  Northumbria,  Mercia,  and  East  Ang- 
lia,  were  entirely  obliterated,  and  the  contest  lay 
between  the  Dajues  and  Alfred's  men  of  Wessex. 
At  the  opening  of  the  year  87G,  the  host  that 
had  wintered  in  Cambridge  took  to  their  ships, 
and,  resolving  to  carry  the  war  they  had  renewed 
into  the   heart  of  Wessex,  they  landed  on   the 
coast  of  Dorsetshire,  surprised  the  castle  of  Ware- 
ham,  and  scoured  the  neighbouring  country.   But 
in  the  interval  of  the  truce,  Alfred's  mind  had 
conceived  an  idea  which  may  be  looked  upon  as 
an  embryo  of  the  naval  glory  of  England.     After 
their  establishment   in   om-  island,  the  Saxons, 
who,  at  theii-  first  coming,  were  as  nautical  it 
people  as  the  Danes,  imprudently  neglected  sea 
aftairs ;  but  in  his  present  straits  Alfred  saw  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  emjiloyment 
of  ships  along  the  coast,  where  they  might  either 
prevent  the  landing  of  an  enemy,  or  cut  otl"  their 
supplies  aud  reinforcements,  which  generally  came 
by  sea,  and  as  frequently  from  the  Continent  a.s 
elsewhei-e.      The  first  flotilla  he  launched  wa.s 
smaO,and  almost  contemptible;  but  in  its  very  first 
encounter  with  the  enemy  it  proved  victorious, 
attacking  a  Danish  squadron  of  seven  shiji.s,  one 
of  which  was  taken,  the  rest  i>ut  to  flight.     This 
hap]3ened  immediately  after  the  surprise  of  Ware- 
ham  ;  and  when,  in  a  few  days,  the  Danes  agi'eed 
to  treat  for  peace,  and  evacuate  the  territory  of 
Wessex,  the  consequences   of  the  victory  were 
magnified  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.     In  conclud- 
ing this  peace,  after  the  Danish  chiefs  or  kings 
had  sworn  by  their  golden  bracelets — a  most  so- 
lemn form  of  oath  with  them — Alfred,  wdio  was 
not  above  all  the  superstitions  of  his  age,  insisted 
that  they  should  swear  upon  the  relics  of  some 
Christian  saints.'    The  Danes  swore  by  both,  aud 

*  Aiser,  28. 


86 


the  very  next  night  fell  upon  Alfred  sw  he  was 
riding  with  a  small  force,  and  suspecting  no  mis- 


IIISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


Golden  Bracelet.'— From  VaUancey,  Col.  Reb.  Hob. 

chief,  towards  the  town  of  Winchester.  The  king 
had  a  narrow  escape ;  the  horsemen  who  attended 
him  were  nearly  all  dismounted  and  slain;  and, 
seizing  their  hoi-sea,  the  Danes  galloped  off  in  the 
direction  of  Exeter,  whither,  as  they  were  no 
doubt  informed,  another  body  of  their  brethi-en 
were  proceeding,  having  come  rovmd  by  sea,  and 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Exe.  Their  plan  now 
was  to  take  Alfred  in  the  rear  of  his  stronghold 
in  the  west  of  England,  and  to  rouse  again  the 
people  of  Cornwall  against  the  Saxons.  A  for- 
midable Danish  fleet  sailed  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Thames  to  reinforce  the  troops  united  in  De- 
vonshire; but  Alfred's  infant  navy,  strengthened 
by  some  new  vessels,  stood  ready  to  intercept 
it.  A  storm  which  arose  caused  the  wi-eck  of 
half  the  Danish  ships  on  the  Hampshu'e  coast ; 
and  when  the  others  arrived,  tardily  and  in  a 
shattered  condition,  they  were  met  by  the  Saxon 
fleet  that  blockaded  the  Exe,  and  entirely  de- 
stroyed, after  a  gallant  action.  Before  this,  his 
second  sea-victory,  Alfred  had  come  up  with  his 
laud  forces  and  invested  Exeter,  and  King  Gu- 
thrun,  the  Dane  who  held  that  town,  on  learning 
the  destruction  of  his  fleet,  capitulated,  gave  hos- 
tages and  oaths,  and  marched  with  his  Northmen 
from  Exeter  and  the  kingdom  of  Wessex,  into 
Mercia. 

Alfred  had  now  felt  the  value  of  the  fleet  he 
liad  created,  and  which,  weak  as  it  was,  main- 
tained his  cause  on  the  sea  diuing  the  retreat  to 
which  he  was  now  about  to  be  condemned.  The 
crews  of  these  ships,  however,  must  have  been 
oddly  constituted;  for,  not  finding  English  ma- 
riners enough,  he  engaged  a  number  of  Friesland 
pii'ates,  or  rovers,  to  serve  him.  These  men  did 
their  duty  gallantly  and  faithfully.  It  is  ciu'ious 
to  reflect  that  they  came  from  the  same  coimtry 
which,  ages  before,  had  sent  forth  many  of  the 
Angles  to  the  conquest  of  Britain;  and  they  may 
have  felt,  even  at  that  distance  of  time,  a  strong 
sympathy  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  adherents  of 
Alfred.     The   reader   has   akeady  weighed  the 

•  Tliia  bracelet,  preaunieJ  to  be  of  the  period  Epoken  of,  was 
found  in  Ireland  ;  weight,  17  oz.  G  gl-s. 


value  of  a  Danish  treaty  of  peace.  Guthruu  had 
no  sooner  retreated  from  Exeter  than  he  began 
to  prepare  for  another  war,  and  this  he  did  with 
gi-eat  art,  and  by  employing  all  his  means  and 
influence,  for  he  had  learned  to  appreciate  the 
qualities  of  his  enemy,  and  he  was  liimself  the 
most  skilful,  steady,  and  persevering  of  all  the  in- 
vaders, lie  fixed  his  head-quarters  at  no  greater 
distance  from  Alfred  than  the  city  of  Gloucester, 
aroimd  which  he  had  broad  and  fertile  lands  to 
distribute  among  his  warriors.  His  fortunate 
raven  attracted  the  birds  of  rapine  from  every 
quarter ;  and  when  everything  was  ready  for  a 
fresh  incursion  into  the  west,  he  craftily  pro- 
ceeded in  a  new  and  unexpected  manner.  A 
winter  campaign  had  hitherto  been  unknown 
among  the  Danes,  but  on  the  first  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 878,  his  choicest  wan-ioi-s  received  a  secret 
order  to  meet  him  on  horseback  at  an  appointed 
place.  Alfred  was  at  Chippenham,  a  strong  resi- 
dence of  the  Wessex  kings.  It  was  the  feast  of  the 
Epiphany,  or  Twelfth  Night,  and  the  Saxons  were 
probably  celebrating  the  festival  when  they  heard 
that  Gutlu'un  and  his  Danes  were  at  the  gates. 
Surprised  thus  by  the  celerity  of  an  overwhelm- 
ing force,  they  could  ofl'er  but  an  ineifectual  re- 
sistance. Many  were  slain ;  the  foe  burst  into 
Chijipenham,  and  Alfred,  escaping  with  a  little 
band,  retired,  with  an  anxious  mind,  to  the  woods 
and  the  fastnesses  of  the  moors.  As  the  story  is 
generally  told,  the  king  could  not  make  head 
against  the  Danes,  but  other  accounts  state  that  he 
immediately  fought  several  battles  in  rapid  suc- 
cession. We  are  inclined  to  the  latter  belief, 
which  renders  the  broken  spirits  and  despair  of 
the  men  of  Wessex  more  intelligible;  but  all  are 
agi-eed  in  the  facts  that,  not  long  after  the  Danes 
stole  into  Chippenham,  they  rode  over  the  king- 
dom of  Wessex,  where  no  army  was  left  to  o]ii)ose 
them ;  that  nimibers  of  the  population  fled  to  the 
Isle  of  Wight  and  the  opposite  shores  of  the  Con- 
tinent, wliUe  those  who  remained  tilled  the  soil 
for  their  hai-d  taskmastex-s,  the  Danes,  whom  they 
ti'ied  to  conciliate  with  presents  and  an  abject 
submission.  The  brave  men  of  Somerset  alone 
retained  some  spu'it,  and  continued,  in  the  main, 
true  to  their  king;  but  even  in  their  country, 
where  he  finally  sought  a  refuge,  he  was  obliged 
to  hide  in  fens  and  coverts,  for  feai'  of  being  be- 
trayed to  his  powerful  foe,  Guthiun.  Near  the 
confluence  of  the  rivers  Thone  and  Pai-ret  there 
is  a  tract  of  country  still  called  Athelney,  or 
the  Prince's  Island.  The  waters  of  the  little 
rivers  now  flow  by  corn-fields,  pasture-land,  a 
fai-m-house,  and  a  cottage  ;  but  in  the  time  of 
Alfred  the  whole  tract  was  covered  by  a  dense 
wood,  the  secluded  haunt  of  deer,  wild  boars, 
wild  goats,  and  other  beasts  of  the  forest.  It 
has  now  long  ceased  to  be  an  island;  but  in 


A.D.  825—901.] 


SAXON  PEEIOD. 


87 


those  (lays,  wlicrc  not  wasUwl  by  tlie  two  rivers, 
it  was  insulateil  by  bogs  and  inundations,  w!iii-li 
could  only  be  passed  in  a  boat.  In  tliis  secure 
lurkinfc-jilace  the  king  abode  some  time,  making 
himself  a  small  hold  or  fortress  there.  For  sus- 
tenance he  and  his  few  followers  depended  upon 
hunting  and  fishing,  and  the  spoil  they  coidd 
make  by  sudden  and  secret  forays  among  the 
Danes.  From  an  ambiguous  exjiression  of  some 
of  tlie  old  writers,  we  might  believe  he  sometimes 
plundered  his  own  subjects ;  and  this  is  not  al- 
together improbable,  if  we  consider  his  pressing 
wants,  and  the  necessity  under  which  he  lay  of 
concealing  who  he  was.  This  secret  seems  to 
have  been  most  scrupulously  kept  by  his  few  ad- 
herents, and  to  have  been  maintained  on  his  own 
part  w-ith  infinite  patience  and  forbearance.  A 
well-known  story,  endeared  to  us  all  by  our  ear- 
liest recollections,  is  told  by  his  contempoi-ai-y 
and  bosom  friend,  the  monk  Asser ;  it  is  repeated 
by  all  the  writers  who  lived  near  the  time,  and 
may  safely  be  considered  as  authentic  as  it  is  in- 
teresting. In  one  of  his  excursions  he  took  refuge 
in  the  humble  cabin  of  a  swineherd,  where  he 
stayed  some  time.  On  a  certain  day  it  ha])j)ened 
that  the  wife  of  the  swain  pi'ejiared  to  bake  her 
lotidas,  or  loaves  of  bread.  The  king,  sitting  at  the 
time  ueiir  the  hearth,  was  making  ready  his  bow 
and  arrows,  when  the  shi-ew  beheld  her  loaves 
bm-ning.  She  ran  ha.stily,  and  removed  them, 
scolding  the  king  for  his  shameful  negligence,  and 
exclaiming,  "  You  man !  you  will  not  turn  the 
bread  you  see  burning,  but  you  will  be  glad 
enough  to  eat  it."  '"  This  unlucky  woman,"  adds 
Asser,  "  little  thought  she  was  talking  to  the 
King  Alfred." 

From  his  all  but  inaccessible  retreat  in  Athel- 
nej-,  the  king  maintained  a  coiTespondence  with 
some  of  his  faithful  adherents.  By 
degrees  a  few  bold  warriors  ga- 
thered round  him  in  that  islet, 
which  they  more  strongly  forti- 
fied, as  a  point  upon  which  to  re- 
treat in  c;ise  of  reverse ;  and  be- 
tween the  Easter  and  Whitsuntide 
following  his  flight,  Alfred  saw 
hojies  of  his  emerging  from  ob- 
scurity. The  men  of  Somerset- 
shire, Wiltshii-e,  Dorsetshire,  and 
Hampshire  began  to  flock  in ; 
and,  with  a  resolute  force,  Alfred 
was  soon  enabled  to  extend  his 
operations  against  the  Danes.  In  the  interval, 
an  important  event  in  Devonsliire  had  favoured 
his  cause,  llubba,  a  Danish  king  or  chief  of 
great  renown,  in  attempting  to  land  there,  was 
slain,  with  800  or  900  of  his  followers,  and  their 
magical  banner,  a  raven,  which  liad  been  em- 
broidered in  one  noon-tiile  h\  the  hands  of  the 


three  daughters  of  the  gi-eat  Lodbroke,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Saxons.  Soon  after  receiving 
the  welcome  news  at  Athclney,  the  king  dc- 
tennined  to  convert  his  skirmishes  and  loose 
partizan  warfare  into  luoj'e  decisive  operations. 
Previously  to  this,  however,  he  was  anxious  to 
know  the  precise  force  and  condition  of  the  army 
which  Guthrun  kept  together ;  and,  to  obtain  this 
information,  he  ])ut  himself  in  gi-eat  jeo))ardy, 
trusting  to  his  own  resources  and  address.  He 
assumed  the  habit  of  a  wandering  minstrel,  or 
gleeman,  and  with  his  instruments  of  music  in 
his  hands,  gained  a  ready  entrance  into  the  camp, 
and  the  tents  and  pavilions  of  the  Danes.  Ashe 
amused  these  idle  warriore  with  songs  and  inter- 
ludes, he  espied  all  theu-  sloth  and  negligence, 
heard  much  of  their  councils  and  plans,  and  was 
soon  enabled  to  return  to  his  fz-iends  at  Atheluey 
with  a  full  and  satisfactory  account  of  the  state 
and  habits  of  that  army.  Then  secret  messengers 
were  sent  to  all  quai-ters,  requesting  the  trusty 
men  of  Wessex  to  meet  in  arms  at  Egbert's  Stone, 
on  the  east  of  Selwood  Forest.'  The  summons 
was  obeyed,  though  most  knew  not  the  king  had 
sent  it;  and  when  Alfred  ajipeiu-ed  at  the  |)lace 
of  rendezvous  he  was  received  with  enthusiastic 
joy,  the  men  of  Hami>shire,  and  Dorset,  and 
Wilts,  rejoicing  as  if  he  had  been  risen  from  death 
to  life.  In  the  general  battle  of  Etliandune  which 
ensued  (seven  weeks  after  Eiister),  the  Danes 
were  taken  by  surprise,  and  thoroughly  beaten. 
Alfred's  concealment,  counting  from  his  flight 
from  C!hipiienham,  did  not  last  above  five  months. 
It  is  reasonably  supposed  that  the  present 
Yatton,  about  five  miles  from  Chijiiieuham,  is 
the  representative  of  Etliandune,  or  As.sandune ; 
but  that  the  battle  w;is  fought  a  little  lower 
on  the  Avon,  at  a  place  called  "  Slaughterford," 


•"-1  rf  ?£■!  \<f' 

b*eM>j  ■'o„o,.da. 


U'    iiliiatiiia 
TngliJih.Mltt. 


where,  according  to  a  tradition  of  the  country 
people,  the  Danes  suflered  a  gi-eat  slaughter. 
Giithrun  retreated  with  the  mournful  resitlue  of 
liis  army  to  a  fortified  jjosition.  Alfred  followed 
him  thither,  cut  ofj"  all  his  coiinuunications,  and 

■  Amr.  33.    The  wood  cxtcniled  Irom  Fronic  to  Biilbnni,  caA 
was  luobabl}'  much  largoi-  at  one  tiiiw, 


88 


UISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  akd  Militart. 


establislicil  a  close  Wot-kaile.  In  fourteen  days, 
famine  obliged  the  Danes  to  accept  the  condi- 
tions oflered  by  the  Saxons.  These  conditions 
were  libeial;  for,  though  victorious,  Alfred  could 
not  hope  to  drive  the  Danes  by  one,  nay,  nor  by 
twenty  battles,  out  of  England.  They  were  too 
numerous,  and  had  seciu-ed  themselves  in  too 
considerable  a  part  of  the  island.  The  first  points 
insisted  upon  in  the  treaty  were,  that  Guthruii 
should  evacuate  all  Wessex,  and  submit  to  be 
baptized.'  Without  a  convei-sion  to  Chiistian- 
ity,  Alfred  thought  it  impossible  to  rely  on  the 
promises  or  oaths  of  the  Danes;  he  saw  that  a 
change  of  religion  would,  more  than  anything 
else,  detach  them  from  their  savage  Scandina- 
vian brethren  across  the  seas;  and  as  he  was  a 
devout  man,  with  priests  and  monks  for  his 
counsellora,  religion,  no  doubt,  was  as  px-ecious 
to  him  as  policy,  and  he  was  moved  with  an 
ardent  hope  of  propagating  and  extending  the 
Christian  faith.  Upon  Guthrun's  ready  accept- 
ance of  these  two  conditions,  an  extensive  ces- 
sion of  territory  was  made  to  him  and  the  Danes ; 
and  here  the  gi-eat  mind  of  Alfred  probably  con- 
templated the  gi-adual  fusion  of  two  people — the 
Saxons  and  the  Danes — who  differed  in  bvit  few 
essentials;  and  foresaw  that  the  pxirsuits  of  agi'i- 
culture  and  industry,  growing  up  among  them, 
after  a  tranquil  settlement,  would  win  the  rovers 
of  the  North  from  their  old  plundering,  piratical 
habits.  As  soon  as  this  took  jilace,  they  would 
guard  the  coasts  they  formei-lj'  desolated.  If  it 
had  even  been  in  Alfred's  j)uwer  to  expel  them 
all  (\\  hich  it  never  was),  he  could  have  had  no 
secm-ity  against  their  prompt  return  and  in- 
cessant attacks.  There  was  territory  enough, 
fertile,  though  neglected,  to  give  away,  without 
straitening  the  Saxons.  In  the  most  happy  time 
of  the  Roman  occupation,  a  gi-eat  pai-t  of  Britain 
was  but  thinly  inhabited;  and  the  famines,  the 
pestilences,  the  almost  incessant  wars  which  had 
followed  since  then,  had  depopulated  whole  coun- 
ties, and  left  immense  tracts  of  land  without 
hands  to  till  them,  or  mouths  to  eat  the  iiroduce 
they  promised  the  agriculturist.-' 

Alfred  thus  drew  the  line  of  demarca,tion  be- 
tween him  and  the  Danes: — "Let  the  bounds  of 


'  "  We  meet  with  nothing  which  can  be  constnied  into  an  indi- 
cation of  Alfied'8  having  made  this  determination  to  embrace 
Christianity)  one  of  tlie  conditions  of  peace.  The  fii-st  idea  of 
such  a  tiling,  although  it  might  not  have  been  sincere,  but  merely 
suggested  by  the  straits  to  which  lie  was  reduced,  appears  to  have 
Arisen  in  the  soul  of  the  he.athen.  He  himself  ruled  over  Chris- 
tian subjects,  who  showed  more  coiu-age  for  their  religion  than 
they  did  in  war;  and  already,  too,  w\.'re  the  first  signs  of  that  so 
frequently  recuiTing  phenomenon  apparent,  namely,  that  tlie 
Cliristian  religion  generally  triumplis,  in  the  course  of  time,  over 
the  weapons  of  its  oppressore." — Pauli,  Life  of  Alfred  tlu  Greatf 
p.  181. 

'^  *'  The  magnanimity  of  the  plan  was  as  great  as  its  wisdom. 
Had  Alfred  sudered  fear  or  revenge  to  have  been  his  counsellors, 


our  dominion  stretch  to  the  river  Thames,  and 
from  thence  to  the  water  of  Lea,  even  inito  the 
head  of  the  same  water;  and  thence  straight  unto 
Bedford;  and  finally,  going  along  by  the  river 
Ouse,  let  them  end  at  Watling-street."  Beyond 
these  lines,  all  the  east  side  of  the  island,  as  far 
as  the  Ilumber,  was  sm-rendered  to  the  Danes; 
and  !us  they  had  established  themselves  in  Nortli- 
mnbria,  that  territory  was  soon  united,  and  the 
whole  eastern  country  from  the  Tweed  to  the 
Thames,  where  it  washes  a  part  of  Essex,  took 
the  name  of  the  Ba/ielaffh,  or  "  Dane-law,"  which 
it  retained  for  many  ages,  even  down  to  the  time 
of  the  Norman  conquest.  The  cession  was  large; 
but  it  should  be  remembered  that  Alfred,  at  the 
opening  of  his  reign,  was  driven  into  the  western 
corner  of  England,  and  that  he  now  gained  tran- 
quil ])ossossion  of  five,  or  perhaps  ten  times  more 
territory  than  he  then  possessed.^  lu  many  re- 
spects, these  his  moderate  measures  answered  the 
end  he  jiroposed.  Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty,  Guthrun,  relying  on  the  good  faith  of  the 
Saxons,  went  with  oidy  thirty  of  his  chiefs  to 
Aulre,  near  Athelney.  His  old  but  gallant  and 
generous  enemy,  Alfred,  answered  for  him  at 
the  baptismal  font,  and  the  Dane  was  christened 
under  the  Saxon  name  of  Athelstan.  The  next 
week  the  ceremony  was  completed  with  great 
solemnity  at  the  royal  to^vn  of  Wedmor,  and 
after  spending  twelve  days  as  the  guest  of  Al- 
fred, Guthrun  departed  (a.d.  878),  loaded  with 
jiresents,  which  the  monk  Asser  says  were  7naff- 
nificcnt.  Whatever  were  his  inward  convictions, 
or  the  ellicacy  and  sincerity  of  his  conversion, 
the  Danish  prince  was  certainly  captivated  by 
the  merits  of  his  victor,  and  ever  after  continued 
the  faithful  friend  and  ally  (if  not  vassal)  of  Al- 
fred The  subjects  under  his  rule  in  the  Dane- 
lagh, or  "  Dane-law,"  assumed  habits  of  industry 
and  tranquillity,  and  gradually  adopted  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  more  civilized  life.  By 
mutual  agreement,  the  laws  of  the  Danes  were 
assimilated  to  those  of  the  Saxons;  but  the  for- 
mer long  retained  many  of  their  old  Scandina- 
vian usages.  All  sales,  ■whether  of  men,  horses, 
or  oxen,  were  deehu'ed  illegal,  unless  the  pur- 
chaser produced  the  voucher  of  the  seller.     This 


he  would  never  have  sheathed  the  e.vtenuinating  s«  ord  till  every 
Northman  or  ever)*  Saxon  had  perished.  Common  mijids  and 
vehement  feelings  would  have  chosen  this  alternative.  But 
Alfred  had  the  wisdom  to  rtisceni  and  the  vhtuo  to  believe,  that 
the  existence  of  his  enemies  was  not  incompatible  with  his  ooti 
honour  and  his  pcojile's  safety.  He  felt  that  the  addition  of 
Slercia  w.ns  an  increase  of  power,  which  placed  him  above  any 
perilous  assaiUt,  and  he  was  contented  to  be  seciu'e." — Sh.  Tur- 
ner, lliil.  of  Anfjlo-Saxons,  vol.  ii.  p.  209. 

3  Slercia  fell  completely  into  the  ixiwer  of  Alfred  after  the  de- 
feat of  Guthnm.  He  abolislied  the  regal  honours  of  tliat  state, 
and  uitrustcd  the  militaiy  command  of  it  to  Ethelred,  who  w:us 
afterwards  married  to  one  of  his  daughters.  Ethelied  seems  to 
have  been  merely  styled  the  "  Eoldernian  of  Mercia.  ' 


A.D.  825-001.] 


SAXON  TERIOD. 


8!> 


^va3  to  put  a  stop  ou  both  sule3  to  tlit>  lifting  of 
cattle,  and  the  carrying  oil"  of  the  jjcasantry  as 
slaves.  Both  kings  engaged  to  promote  the 
Christian  religion,  and  to  jninisli  apostasy.  We 
ai"e  not  well  uiformed  as  to  the  progress  the  faith 
made  among  his  subjects  ou  Guthrun's  conver- 
sion; but  it  was  probably  rajiid,  though  imjier- 
fect,  and  accompanied  with  a  lingering  aftection 
for  the  divinities  of  the  Scandinavian  mythology'. 

It  was  about  this  time,  oi>  very  soon  after 
Alfred's  breaking  up  from  his  retreat  at  Athcl- 
ney,  and  gaining  the  victory  of  Ethandune,  that, 
moved  by  the  love  of  humane  letters  which  dis- 
tinguished him  all  his  life,  lie  invited  Asser, 
esteemed  the  most  learned  man  then  in  the  is- 
land, to  his  court  or  camp,  in  order  that  he 
might  profit  by  his  instructive  convei-s.ation.  The 
monk  of  St.  David's,  who  was  not  a  Saxon,  but 
descended  from  a  Welsh  family,  obeyed  the  sum- 
mons, and,  according  to  his  own  account,  he  was 
introduced  to  the  king  at  Dene,  in  Wiltshire,  by 
the  thanes  who  had  been  sent  to  fetch  him.  A 
familiar  intercourse  followed  a  most  courteous 
reception,  and  then  the  king  invited  the  monk 
to  live  constantly  aliout  his  person.  The  vows 
of  Asser,  and  his  attachment  to  his  monastery, 
where  he  had  been  nurtm-ed  and  instructed,  in- 
terfered with  this  arrangement;  but,  after  some 
delays,  it  was  agreed  he  should  pass  half  his 
time  in  his  monastery,  and  the  rest  of  the  year 
at  court.  Returning,  at  length,  to  Alfred,  he 
found  him  at  a  place  called  Leonaford.  lie  re- 
mained eight  months  constantly  with  him,  con- 
versing and  reading  with  him  all  such  books  as 
the  king  possessed.  On  the  Christmas  Eve  fol- 
lowing, Alfred,  in  token  of  his  high  regard,  gave 
the  monk  an  abbey  in  Wiltshire,  supposed  to  be 
at  Amesbur}',  and  another  alibey  at  Banwell,  in 
Somersetshire,  together  with  a  rich  silk  pall,  and 
as  much  incense  as  a  strong  man  could  carry  on 
his  shoulders,  assm'ing  him,  at  the  same  time,  that 
he  considered  these  as  small  things  for  a  man  of 
so  much  merit,  and  that  hereafter  he  should  have 
gi'eater.  Asser  w;is  subsequently  pi-omoted  to 
the  bishopric  of  Sherbm-n,  and  thenceforward 
remained  constantly  with  the  king,  enjoying  his 
entire  confidence  and  affection,  and  sharing  in 
all  his  joys  and  sorrows.  This  rare  friendship 
between  a  sovereign  and  subject  continued  un- 
broken till  death  ;  and  when  the  grave  closed 
over  the  great  Alfred,  the  honourable  testimony 
was  read  in  his  will,  that  Asser  was  a  person  in 
whom  he  had  full  confidence.  To  this  singular 
connection  Alfred  and  his  subjects  were,  no 
doubt,  indebted  for  some  improvements  in  the 
royal  mind,  which  wi-ought  good  alike  for  the 
king  and  for  the  people;  and  wc,  at  the  distance 
of  nearly  lOUCl  years,  owe  to  it  .an  endearing  record 
of  that  monarch's  personal  character  and  habits. 

Vol.  I. 


]!ut  some  time  had  yet  to  pa.'is  ere  Alfred 
could  give  himself  up  to  quiet  enjoyments,  to 
law-making,  and  the  intellectual  improvement 
of  his  people.  Though  Guthrun  kept  his  con- 
tract, hosts  of  marauding  Danes,  who  were  not 
bound  by  it,  continued  to  cross  over  from  the 
(.tontinent,  and  infest  the  shores  and  rivers  of  oui- 
island.  In  879,  the  very  year  after  Guthrun'.s 
treaty  and  baptism,  a  gi-eat  army  of  i)ag;uis  came 
from  beyond  the  sea,  imd  wintered  at  FuUanham, 
or  Fulham,  hard  by  the  river  Thames.  From 
Fulham,  this  host  proceeded  to  Ghent,  in  the 
Low  Countries.  At  this  period  the  Northmen 
.alternated  their  attacks  on  England,  and  then- 
attacks  on  Holland,  Belgium,  and  East  France, 
in  a  curious  manner,  the  expedition  beginning 
ou  one  side  of  the  British  Channel  and  German 
Ocean,  frequently  ending  on  the  other  side.  The 
rule  of  their  conduct,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  this — to  persevere  only  against  the  weakest 
enemy.  Thus,  when  they  found  France  strong, 
they  tried  England;  and  when  they  found  the 
force  of  England  consolidated  under  Alfred,  they 
turned  off  in  the  direction  of  France,  or  the 
neighbouring  shores  of  the  Continent.  It  is  a 
melancholy  fact,  that  England  then  benefited  by 
the  calamities  of  her  neighbours.  In  the  year 
886,  while  the  armies  of  the  Northmen  were 
fully  employed  in  besieging  or  blockading  the 
city  of  Paris,  Alfred  took  that  favourable  op]ior- 
tunity  to  rebuild  and  fortify  the  city  of  Loudon. 
Amongst  other  cities,  we  are  told,  it  had  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  people  killed;  but  he 
made  it  habitable  again,  and  committed  it  to  the 
care  and  custody  of  his  son-in-law,  Ethelred,  Earl 
or  Eolderman  of  the  Mercians,  to  whom,  before, 
he  had  given  his  daughter  Ethellleda.  Each  of 
the  six  years  immediately  preceding  the  rebuild- 
ing of  London,  he  was  engaged  in  hostilities;  but 
he  was  generally  fortunate  by  sea  as  well  as  by 
land,  for  he  had  increased  his  navy,  and  the  care 
due  to  that  truly  national  service.  In  the  year 
882  his  fleet,  still  oflBcered  by  Frieslanders,  took 
four,  and,  three  years  after  (in  one  fight),  sixteen 
of  the  enemy's  ships.  In  the  latter  year  (885) 
he  gained  a  decisive  victory  over  a  Danish  host 
that  had  ascended  the  Medway,  and  were  be- 
sieging Rochester,  having  built  them  a  strong 
casLle  before  the  gates  of  that  city.  By  suddenly 
falling  on  them,  he  took  their  tower  with  little 
loss,  seized  ;dl  the  horses  they  had  brought  with 
them  from  France,  recovered  the  greater  ]iart  of 
their  captives,  and  drove  them  to  their  shi])s, 
with  which  they  returned  to  France  in  the  ut- 
most distress. 

Alfred  wa-s  now  allowed  some  breathing  time, 

which  he  wisely  employed  in  strengthening  his 

kingdom,  and    bettering   tlie   condition  of   his 

]jpo]ile.    Instead,  however,  of  tracing  these  tilings 

12 


90 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil.  AND  Military. 


slrictl}'  ill  their  clironolosical  order,  it  will  aJJ 
to  the  perspicuity  of  the  narrative,  if  we  follow  at 
once  the  warlike  events  of  his  reign  to  their  close. 
The  siege  of  Pai'is,  to  which  we  have  alluded, 
and  which  began  in  886,  emploj'ed  the  Danes  or 
Northmen  two  whole  years.  Shortly  after  the 
heathens  burst  into  the  country  now  called  Flan- 
ders, which  was  then  a  dependency  of  the  Frank- 
ish  or  French  kings,  and  were  employed  there  for 
some  time  in  a  difficult  and  extensive  warfare. 
A  hoiTid  famine  ensiied  in  those  parts  of  the  Con- 
tinent, and  made  the  hungry  wolves  look  else- 
where for  sustenance  and  prey.  England  had 
now  revived,  by  a  happy  repose  of  seven  years; 
her  corn-fields  had  borne  their  plentiful  crops; 
her  pastures,  no  longer  swept  by  the  tempests  of 
war,  were  well  sprinkled  with  flocks  and  herds; 
and  those  good  fatted  beeves,  which  were  always 
dear  to  the  capacious  stomachs  of  the  Northmen, 
made  the  island  a  very  land  of  promise  to  the 
imagination  of  the  famished.  It  is  ti-ue  that  of 
late  years  they  had  found  those  treasures  were 
well  defended,  and  that  nothing  was  to  be  got 
under  Alfred's  present  government  without  hard 
blows,  and  a  desperate  contest,  at  least  doubtful 
in  its  issue.  But  hunger  impelled  them  forward ; 
they  were  a  larger  body  than  had  ever  made  the 
attack  at  once;  they  were  united  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  chief  equal  or  superior  in  fame  and 
military  talent  to  any  that  had  preceded  him; 
and  therefore  the  Danes,  in  the  year  89.3,  once 
more  tm-ued  the  prows  of  their  vessels  toward 
England.  It  was  indeed  a  formidable  fleet.  As 
the  men  of  Kent  gazed  seaward  from  their  cliffs 
and  downs,  they  saw  the  horizon  darkened  by  it; 
as  the  winds  and  waves  wafted  it  forward,  they 
counted  250  several  ships;  and  every  ship  was 
full  of  warriors  and  horses  brought  from  Flan- 
ders and  France,  for  the  immediate  mounting  of 
them  as  a  rapid,  predatory  cavalry.  The  in- 
vadei-3  landed  near  Eomney  Marsh,  at  the  east- 
em  termination  of  the  great  wood  or  weald  of 
Anderida  (ah-eady  mentioned  in  connection  with 
an  invasion  of  the  Saxons),  and  at  the  mouth  of 
a  river,  now  dry,  called  Limine.  They  towed 
their  ships  four  miles  up  the  river  towards  the 
weald,  and  there  ma.stered  a  fortress  the  peasants 
of  the  country  were  raising  in  the  fens.  They 
then  proceeded  to  Apuldre,  or  Appledore,  at 
which  point  they  made  a  strongly  fortiljed  camp, 
whence  they  ravaged  the  adjacent  country  for 
many  miles.  Nearly  simultaneously  with  these 
movements,  the  famed  Haesten  or  Hasting,  the 
skilful  commander-in-chief  of  the  entire  expedi- 
tion, entered  the  Thames  with  another  division 
of  eighty  shiijs,  landed  at  and  took  Milton,  near 
Sittingbourne,  and  there  threw  up  prodigiously 
strong  iutrenchments.  Theu"  past  reverses  had 
made  them  extremely  cautioui>;  and  for  nearly  a 


whole  year,  the  Danes  in  either  camp  did  little 
else  than  fortify  their  positions,  and  scorn'  the 
country  in  foraging  parties.  Other  piratical 
squadrons,  however,  kept  hoveruig  round  our 
coasts,  to  distract  attention  and  create  alarm  at 
many  points  at  one  and  the  same  time.  The 
honourable  and  trustworthy  Guthrun  had  now 
been  dead  three  yeaa-s;  and  to  complete  the  most 
critical  position  of  Alfred,  the  Danes  settled  in 
the  Danelagh,  even  from  the  Tweed  to  the  Thames, 
violated  their  oaths,  took  up  arms  against  him, 
and  joined  their  marauding  brethren  under  Has- 
ting. It  was  in  this  campaign,  or  rather  this 
succession  of  campaigns,  which  lasted  altogether 
three  yeare,  that  the  militaiy  genius  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  monarch  shone  with  its  gi-eatest  lustre, 
and  was  brought  into  full  play  liy  the  ability, 
the  wonderful  and  eccentric  rapidity,  and  the 
gi'eat  resources  of  his  opponent  Hasting.  To 
follow  their  operations  the  reader  must  place  the 
map  of  England  before  him,  for  they  ran  over 
half  of  the  island,  and  shifted  the  scene  of  war 
with  almost  as  much  rapidity  as  that  with  which 
the  decorations  of  a  theatre  are  changed. 

The  first  gi-eat  difficulty  Alfred  had  to  encoun- 
ter was  in  collecting  and  bringing  up  sufficient 
forces  to  one  point,  and  then  in  keeping  them  in 
adequate  number  in  the  field ;  for  the  Saxon 
"fyrd,"  or  levee  en  masse,  were  only  bound  by 
law  to  serve  for  a  certain  time  (probably  forty 
days),  and  it  was  indispensable  to  jirovide  for  the 
safety  of  the  towns,  almost  evei-ywhere  tlu-eat- 
ened,  and  to  leave  men  sufficient  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  country.  Alfred  overcame  this 
difficulty  by  dividing  his  ai'my,  or  militia,  into 
two  bodies;  of  these  he  called  one  to  the  field, 
while  the  men  composing  the  other  were  left  at 
home.  After  a  reasonable  length  of  ser\'ice  those 
in  the  field  returned  to  their  homes,  and  those 
left  at  home  took  their  places  in  the  field.  The 
spectacle  of  this  large  and  permanent  amiy, 
to  which  they  had  been  wholly  unaccustomed, 
struck  Hasting  and  his  confederates  with  asto- 
nishment and  dismay.  Nor  did  the  position  the 
English  king  took  up  with  it  give  them  much 
ground  for  comfort.  Advancing  into  Kent,  he 
threw  himself  between  Hasting  and  the  other 
division  of  the  Danes:  a  forest  on  one  side,  and 
swamps  and  deep  watei-s  on  the  other,  protected 
his  flanks,  and  he  made  the  front  and  rear  of  his 
position  so  strong  that  the  Danes  dared  not  look 
at  them.  He  thus  kept  asunder  the  two  armies 
of  the  Northmen,  watching  the  motions  of  both, 
being  always  ready  to  attack  either,  should  it 
quit  its  intrenchments;  and  so  active  were  the 
patrols  and  troops  he  threw  out  in  small  bodies, 
and  so  good  the  spirit  of  the  villagers  and  town- 
folk,  cheered  by  the  presence  and  wise  disposi- 
tions of  the  sovereign,  that  in  a  short  time  not 


A.D.  825-001.] 


SAXON   PEraOD. 


91 


a  sini,'le  foraging  )3arty  could  issue  from  the 
Danish  camp  without  almost  certain  destruction. 
Worn  out  iu  body  and  sph-it,  the  Northmen  re- 
solved to  breali  up  from  their  camps,  and,  to 
deceive  the  king  as  to  tlieir  intentions,  they  sent 
submissive  messages  and  hostages,  and  promised 
to  leave  the  kingdom.  Hasting  took  to  his  shiji- 
ping,  and  actually  made  sail,  as  if  to  leave  the 
well-defended  island;  but  while  the  eyes  of  the 
Saxons  were  fixed  on  his  departure,  the  other 
division,  in  Alfred's  rear,  rushed  suddenly  from 
their  intrenchments  into  the  intei'ior  of  the  coun- 
try, in  order  to  seek  a  ford  across  the  TJiames, 
by  which  they  hoped  to  be  enabled  to  get  into 
Essex,  where  the  rebel  Danes  that  had  been 
ruled  by  Guthrun  would  give  them  a  friendly 
reception,  and  where  they  knew  they  shoidd 
meet  Hasting  and  his  di\"ision,  who,  instead  of 
putting  to  sea,  merely  crossed  the  Thames,  and 
took  up  a  strong  position  at  Benfleet,  on  the 
Essex  coast.     Alfred  had  not  ships  to  pm-sue 


those  who  moved  by  wat^er;  but  tlioso  who 
marched  by  land  he  followed  up  closely,  anil 
brought  them  to  action  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Thames,  near  Farnham,  in  S\irrey.  The  Danes 
were  thoroughly  defeated.  Those  who  escaped 
the  sword  and  drowning  marched  along  the  left 
bank  of  the  Thames,  through  Middlesex,  into 
Essex;  but  being  hotly  pursued  by  Alfred,  tliej 
were  driven  right  through  Essex,  and  across  the 
river  Coin,  when  they  found  a  strong  place  of 
refuge  in  the  Isle  of  Mei-scy.  Here,  however, 
they  were  closely  blockaded,  and  soon  obliged  to 
sue  for  peace,  jjromising  hostages,  as  usual,  and 
an  immediate  depai-ture  from  England.  Alfred 
would  have  had  this  enemy  in  his  hand  through 
sheer  starvation,  but  the  genius  of  Hasting,  and 
the  defection  of  the  Northmen  of  the  Danelagh, 
called  him  to  a  distant  jiart  of  the  island.  Two 
fleets,  one  of  100  sail,  the  second  of  forty,  and 
both  iu  good  part  manned  by  the  Danes  who  had 
been  so  long,  and  for  the  last  fifteen  years  so 


sketch  to  ninsirait 


OUITAIGSS   OF  B3>7.         ^"^^^^"^  f^^ 


peacefully  settled  in  England,  set  sail  to  attack 
in  two  points,  and  make  a  formidable  diversion. 
The  fii-st  of  these,  which  had  pi-obably  been 
equipped  in  Norfolk'  and  Suffolk,  doubled  the 
North  Foreland,  ran  down  the  southern  coast  as 
far  as  Devonshire,  and  laid  siege  to  Exeter,  the 
smaller  fleet,  which  had  been  fitted  out  in  North- 
umbria,  and  pi'obably  sailed  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Tyne,  took  the  passage  round  Scotland,  ran 


'  Tli.at  Noi-folk  w.as  now  peopled  by  the  Norm.%n9,  under  the 
name  of  Danes,  may  be  inferred  from  its  having  the  same  repu- 
tation for  producing  litigants  and  lawyers  that  Nonuaiidy  has  in 
France,  although  Camden,  oddly  enough,  attributes  tliis  to  the 
goodness  of  the  soil,  which  he  admits  to  bo  very  v.irious.  "  Tlie 
soil,"  says  he,  "is  difierent,  according  to  the  several  qxiai-ters ; 
in  some  places  it  is  fat,  luscious,  and  moist ;  in  others  poor,  lean, 
and  sandy ;  and  in  others,  clayey  and  chalky.  But  (to  follow 
the  directions  of  VarroJ  the  goodness  of  the  soil  may  be  gathered 
from  hence,  that  the  inhabitants  are  of  a  bright,  clear  com- 
plexion :  not  to  mention  their  slwrpness  of  wit,  and  singular 
sa^'acity  in  the  study  of  our  common  law,  so  that  it  ia  at  present, 


down  all  the  western  coast,  from  Cape  Wrath  to 
the  Bristol  Channel,  and,  ascending  that  arm  of 
the  sea,  beleaguered  a  fortified  town  to  the  north 
of  the  Severn.  Though  Alfred  had  established 
friendly  relations  with  the  people  of  the  west  of 
England,  who  seem  on  many  occasions  to  have 
served  him  with  as  much  ardour  as  his  Saxon 
svibjects,  he  still  felt  that  Devonshire  was  a  vul- 
nerable pai-t.    Leaving,  therefore,  a  portion  of  his 


and  always  has  been  reputed,  the  most  fruitfid  nursery  of  law- 
yers. But  oven  among  the  common  people  you  may  meet  with 
many  who,  as  one  expresses  it,  if  no  quarrel  oifcrs,  aro  able  to 
pick  one  out  of  the  quirks  and  niceties  of  tho  law."  *'  .\nd," 
adds  Bishop  Gibson,  "  for  tho  preventing  of  the  great  and  fre- 
quent contentions  that  might  ensue  thereupon,  and  tho  in- 
conveniences of  too  many  attorneys,  a  special  statute  was 
made,  as  long  since  as  tho  time  of  King  Henry  VI.,  to  restrain 
the  number  of  attorneys  in  Norfolk,  SulTolk,  and  Norwich." 
Thus  Norfolk  and  Noi-mandy  add  their  testimony  to  tho 
force  of  the  expression  of  a  nnau's  "bouig  too  far  liOrtA  to  bo 
ch'^a.ed." 


92 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mii-it^ht. 


army  on  the  confines  of  Essex,  he  mounted  all 
the  rest  on  horses,  ami  flew  to  Exeter.  Victory 
followed  him  to  the  west;  he  obliged  the  Danes 
to  raise  the  siege  of  Exeter;  he  beat  them  back 
to  their  ships  with  gi'eat  loss,  and  soon  after  the 
minor  expedition  was  driven  from  the  Severn. 
The  blockade  of  the  Danes  in  the  Isle  of  Mersey 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  well  conducted 
during  his  absence,  and  yet  that  interval  was  not 
devoid  of  great  successes:  for,  in  the  meantime, 
Ethelred,  Eolderman  of  the  Mercians,  and  Alfred's 
son-in-law,  with  the  citizens  of  London  and  others, 
went  down  to  the  fortified  post  at  Benfleet,  in 
Essex,  laid  siege  to  it,  broke  into  it,  and  despoiled 
it  of  great  quantities  of  gold,  silver,  horses,  and 
gai'ments;  taking  away  captive  also  the  wife  of 
Hasting  and  his  two  sons,  w-ho  were  brought  to 
London,  and  presented  to  the  king  on  his  return. 
Some  of  his  followers  urged  him  to  put  these 
captives  to  death — others  to  detain  them  in 
prison  as  a  check  upon  Hasting ;  but  Alfred, 
with  a  generosity  which  was  never  properly  ap- 
preciated by  the  savage  Dane,  caused  them  im- 
mediately to  be  restored  to  his  enemy,  and  sent 
many  presents  of  value  with  them.  By  this  time 
the  untiring  Hasting  had  thrown  up  another 
formidable  intrenchmeut  at  South  Showbury, 
in  Essex,  when  he  was  soon  joined  by  numbers 
from  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  from  Northumbria, 
from  all  parts  of  the  Danelagh,  and  by  fresh  ad- 
venturers from  beyond  sea.  Thus  reinforced, 
he  sailed  boldly  up  the  Thames,  and  thence 
spread  the  mass  of  his  forces  into  the  heart  of 
the  kingdom,  while  the  rest  returned  with  their 
vessels  and  the  spoil  they  had  so  far  made  to  the 
intrenched  camp  at  South  Showbury.  From  the 
Thames,  Hasting  marched  to  the  Severn,  and 
fortified  himself  at  Buttington.  But  here  he  was 
smTOunded  by  the  Saxons  and  the  men  of  North 
Wales,  who  now  cordially  acted  with  them;  ami 
in  brief  time  Alfred,  with  Ethelred  and  two 
other  eoldermen,  cut  off  all  his  supplies,  and 
blockaded  him  in  his  camp.  After  some  weeks, 
when  the  Danes  had  eaten  up  nearly  all  theii- 
horses,  and  famine  was  staring  them  in  the  face, 
Hasting  rushed  from  his  intrenchments.  Avoid- 
ing the  Welsh  forces,  he  concentrated  his  attack 
upon  the  Saxons,  who  formed  the  blockade  to  the 
east  of  his  position.  The  conflict  was  ten-ific; 
several  hundreds  (some  of  the  chroniclers  say 
thousands)  of  the  Danes  were  slain  in  their  at- 
tempt to  break  through  Alfred's  lines ;  many 
were  thrown  into  the  Severn  and  drowned;  but 
the  rest,  headed  by  Hasting,  effected  their  escape, 
and,  mai'ching  across  the  island,  reached  their 
intrenchment  and  their  ships  on  the  Essex  coast. 
Alfred  lost  many  of  his  nobles,  and  must  have 
been  otherwise  much  crippled,  for  he  did  not 
molest  Hasting,  who  could  have  h.ad  hai-dly  any 


horse  in  any  part  of  his  retreat.  Most  of  the 
Saxons  who  fought  at  Buttington  were  raw  levies, 
and  hastily  got  together.  When  Hpvsting  next 
showed  front  it  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
North  Wales,  between  the  rivers  Dee  and  Mer- 
sey. During  the  winter  that  followed  his  dis- 
asters on  the  SeveiTi,  he  had  been  again  reinforced 
by  the  men  of  the  Danelagh,  and  at  early  spring 
he  set  forth  with  his  usual  ra]>idity,  and  marched 
through  the  midland  counties.  Alfred  was  not 
far  behind  him,  Init  could  not  overtake  him  until 
he  had  seized  Chester,  which  was  then  almost 
uninhabited,  and  secured  himself  there.  This 
town  had  been  veiy  strongly  fortified  by  the 
Romans,  and  many  of  the  works  of  those  con- 
querors still  remaining,'  no  doubt  gave  strength 
to  Hasting's  position,  which  was  deemed  too  for- 
midable for  attack.  But  the  Saxon  troops  pressed 
him  on  the  land  si<le,  and  a  squadron  of  Alfred's 
ships,  which  had  put  to  sea,  ascended  the  Mersey 
and  the  river  Wirall,  and  prevented  his  receiving 
succour  in  that  du-ection.  Dreading  that  Chester 
might  become  a  second  Buttington,  the  Danes 
burst  away  into  North  Wales.  After  ravaging 
part  of  that  country,  they  would  have  gone  off  in 
the  direction  of  the  Severn  and  the  Avon,  but 
they  were  met  and  tirrned  by  a  fonniilable  royal 
army,  upon  which  they  retraced  their  steps,  and 
finally  maa-ched  off  to  the  north-east.  They  tra- 
versed Northumbria,  Lincolnshii'e,  Norfolk,  Suf- 
folk— neai-ly  the  whole  length  of  the  Daaelagh — 
where  they  were  among  fiiends  and  allies,  and  by 
that  circuitous  route  at  length  regained  then-  forti- 
fied post  at  South  Showbury,  in  Essex,  where  they 
wintered  and  recruited  their  strength  as  usual. 

Early  next  spring  the  persevering  Hasting 
sailed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lea,  ascended  that 
river  with  his  ships,  and  at  or  near  Ware,-  about 
twenty  miles  above  London,  erected  a  new  for- 
tress on  the  Lea.  On  the  approach  of  summer, 
the  biu-gesses  of  London,  with  many  of  their 
neighbours,  attacked  the  stronghold  on  the  Lea, 
but  were  repidsed  with  great  loss.  As  London 
was  now  more  closely  pressed  than  ever,  Alfred 
foimd  it  necessary  to  encamp  his  army  round 
about  the  city  until  the  citizens  got  in  their  har- 
vest. He  then  pushed  a  strong  reconnoissance 
to  the  Lea,  which  (far  deeper  and  broader  than 
now)  was  covered  by  theii-  shijis,  and  afterwards 
surveyed,  at  great  personal  risk,  the  new  forti- 
fied camp  of  the  Danes.  His  active  ingenious 
mind  forthwith  conceived  a  plan,  which  he  con- 
fidently hojied  would  end  in  their  inevitable  de- 
struction.    Bringing  up  his  army,  he  raised  two 

'  Some  noble  .ircheU  gateways,  built  by  the  Romans,  were 
standing  almost  entire  until  a  recent  i»crio<I,  when  they  were 
laid  low  by  a  barbarous  decree  of  the  Chester  corporation. 

2  Some  topographci-s  contend  that  this  fortified  camp  was  net 
at  Ware,  but  at  IlertforJ. 


A.D.  825—901.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


93 


fortresses,  one  ou  either  side  the  Lea,  somewhat 
below  the  Dajiish  station,  and  then  he  dug  three 
deep  channels  from  the  Lea  to  the  Thames,  in 
order  to  lower  the  level  of  the  tributaiy  stream. 
So  much  water  was  thiis  drawn  off,  that  "  where 
a  sliii>,"  says  an  old  writer,  "might  sail  in  time 
afore  passed,  then  a  little  boat  might  scarcely 
row;" — aiid  the  whole  fleet  of  Hasting  wa.s  left 
agroinid,  and  rendered  useless.  But  yet  again 
did  that  remarkalile  chieftain  break  through  the 
toils  sjiread  for  him,  to  renew  the  war  in  a  dis- 
tant part  of  the  island.  Abandoning  the  ships 
where  they  were,  and  putting,  as  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  do,  their  wives,  their  children, 
and  their  booty  under  the  protection  of  their 
frieuds  in  the  Danelagh,  the  followera  of  Hasting 
liroke  from  their  intrenchments  by  night,  and 
hardly  rested  till  they  had  traversed  the  whole 
of  that  wide  tract  of  coimtry  which  sepiirates 
the  Lea  from  the  Severn.  Mai-ching  for  some 
distance  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Severn,  they 
took  post  close  on  the  river  at  Quatbridge,  which 
is  supposed  to  be  Quatford,  near  Bridgenorth,  in 
Shropshii-e.  Wlien  Alfred  came  up  with  them 
there,  he  found  them  already  strongly  fortified. 

On  our  fii-st  introducing  the  Northmen,  we 
mentioned  their  skill  in  choosing  and  strengthen- 
ing military  positions;  and  the  course  of  our  nar- 
rative will  have  made  their  skill  and  speed  in 
these  matters  evident,  especially  in  the  campaigns 
they  performed  under  Hasting,  who  had  many  of 
the  qualities  that  constitute  a  great  general.  Al- 
fred was  compeUed  to  respect  the  intrendiments 
at  Quatbi-idge,  and  to  leave  the  Danes  there  un- 
disturbed during  the  winter.  In  the  meantime 
the  citizens  of  London  seized  Hastings  fleet, 
grounded  in  the  Lea.  Some  ships  they  burned 
and  destroyed,  but  others  they  were  enabled  to 
get  afloat  and  conduct  to  London,  where  they 
were  received  with  exceeding  gi-eat  joy. 

For  full  three  years  this  Scandinavian  Haniii- 
bal  had  maintained  a  war  in  the  country  of  the 
enemy ;  but  now,  watched  on  eveiy  side,  worn 
out  by  constant  losses,  and  probably  in  good  part 
forsaken  as  an  unlucky  leader,  both  by  his  bre- 
thren settled  in  the  Danelagh  and  by  those  on 
the  Continent,  his  spirit  began  to  break,  and  he 
prepared  to  take  a  reluctant  and  indignant  fare- 
well of  England.  In  the  following  spring  of  897, 
by  which  time  dissensions  had  broken  out  among 
their  leaders,  the  Danes  tumultuously  abandoned 
their  camp  at  Quatbridge,  and  utterly  disljaudcd 
their  ai'my  soon  after,  fleeing  in  small  and  sepa- 
rate parties,  in  various  directions.  Some  sought 
shelter  among  their  brethren  of  the  Danelagh, 
either  in  Northumbria,  or  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  : 
some  built  vessels,  and  sailed  for  the  Scheldt  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  ;  while  others,  adhering 
to  Hasting  in  his  eril  fortune,  waited  until  lu 


was  ready  to  pass  into  France.  A  small  fleet, 
bearing  his  drooping  raven,  was  hastily  ecpiipped 
on  our  eastern  coast,  and  the  humbled  chieftain, 
according  to  Assei-,  crossed  the  Channel  "sine 
lucro  et  sine  honored  without  profit  or  honour. 
It  appeai-s  that  he  ascended  the  Seine,  and  soon 
after  obtained  a  settlement  on  tlie  banks  of  that 
river  (pi-obably  in  Normandy)  from  tlie  weak 
King  of  the  [•''rench. 

A  few  desultory  attacks  made  by  sea,  and  by 
the  men  of  the  Danelagh,  almost  immediately 
after  Ilasting's  deparhire,  only  tended  to  show 
the  naval  superiority  Alfred  was  attaining,  and 
to  improve  the  Anglo-Sa-xons  in  maritime  tactics. 
A  squadron  of  Northuml)rian  pirates  cniiseJ  off 
the  southern  coasts,  with  their  old  objects  in  view. 
It  was  met  and  defeated  on  several  occasions  by 
the  improved  ships  of  the  king.  Alfred,  who  had 
some  mechanical  skill  himself,  had  caused  vessels 
to  be  built,  far  exceeding  those  of  his  enemies 
in  length  of  keel,  height  of  boai-d,  swiftness,  and 
steadiness ;  some  of  these  carried  sixty  oare  or 
sweepers,  to  be  used,  as  in  the  Roman  galleys, 
when  the  wind  failed;  and  others  can-ied  even 
more  than  sixty.  They  differed  in  the  fonn  of 
the  hull,  and  probably  in  their  rigging,  from  the 
other  vessels  used  in  the  North  Sea.  Hitherto 
the  Danish  and  Friesland  builds  seem  to  have 
been  considered  as  the  best  models;  but  these 
ships,  which  were  found  peculi;u-ly  well  adajited 
to  the  service  for  which  he  intended  them,  were 
constructed  after  a  plan  of  Alfred's  own  inven- 
tion. At  the  end  of  his  reign  they  considerably 
exceeded  the  number  of  100  sail ;  they  were  di- 
vided into  squadrons,  and  stationed  at  different 
ports  round  the  island,  while  some  of  them  were 
kept  constantly  cruising  between  England  and 
the  main.  Although  he  abandoned  their  system 
of  ship-building,  Alfred  retained  many  Fries- 
landers  in  his  service,  for  they  were  more  cxpeit 
seamen  than  his  subjects,  who  still  required  in- 
struction. After  an  ob.stinate  engagement  near 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  two  Danish  ships,  which  had 
been  much  injured  in  the  fight,  were  cast  ashore 
and  taken.  When  the  crews  were  carried  to  the 
king  at  Winchester,  he  ordered  them  all  to  be 
hanged.  This  severity,  so  much  at  v;u-iauce  with 
Alfied's  usual  humanity,  has  caused  some  regi-et 
and  confusion  to  historians.  One  writer  says 
that  the  Danes  do  not  seem  to  have  violated  the 
law  of  nations,  as  such  law  was  then  undcretood, 
and  that,  therefore,  Alfred's  execution  of  them 
was  inexcusable.  Another  writer  is  of  opinion 
that  Alfred  always,  :md  properly,  drew  .-v  distinc- 
tion between  pirates  and  warrioi-s.  This  line 
would  be  most  difficult  to  draw,  when  all  were 
robbers  and  pirates  alike ;  but  the  real  rule  of 
Alfred's  conduct  seems  to  have  been  this — to  dis- 
tinguish between  such   Danes  as  attacked   him 


94 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militarit. 


from  abroad,  and  such  Danes  as  attacked  Liui 
from  tlie  Danelagh  at  home.  On  the  sei-vices  and 
gratitude  of  the  former  he  had  no  chum,  bnt  the 
men  of  Northumbria,  Norfolk,  and  Sussex  had, 
through  their  chiefs  and  princes,  sworn  allegiance 
to  him,  had  received  benefits  from  him,  and  stood 
bound  to  the  protection  of  his  states,  which  they 
were  ravaging.  Fi'om  the  situation  they  occupied 
they  could  constantly  trouble  his  tnmquiUity, 
and  in  regai'd  to  them  he  may  have  been  led  to 
con^der,  after  the  expei'ience  he  had  had  of  their 
bad  fadth,  that  measxu-es  of  extreme  severity  were 
allowable  and  indispensable.  The  two  ships  cap- 
tured at  the  Isle  of  Wight  came  from  Northum- 
bria, and  the  twenty  ships  taken  during  the  thi-ee 
remaining  years  of  his  life,  and  of  which  the 
crews  were  slain  or  hanged  on  the  gallows,  came 
from  the  same  coimtry,  and  the  other  English 
lands  included  in  the  Danelagh. 

The  excm-sions  of  Hasting  were  accompanied 
with  other  calamities,  "  so  that,"  to  use  the  words 
of  the  chronicler  Fabian,  "this  land,  for  three 
yeai'S,  was  vexed  with  three  manner  of  sorrows 
— with  war  of  the  Danes,  pestilence  of  men,  and 
murrain  of  beasts."  The  horrors  of  famine,  to 
escajje  which  the  Danes  had  come  to  England, 
are  not  alluded  to,  but  the  pestilence,  which  is 
mentioned  by  all  the  chi-oniclers,  carried  ofi'  vast 
numbei's.  It  seems  to  have  continued  some  time 
after  Easting's  departm-e,  and  then,  on  its  cessa- 
tion, Alfred  enjoyed  as  much  comfort  as  his  ra- 
pidly declining  health  would  permit. 

Before  we  descend  to  the  far  inferior  reigns  of 
his  successors,  we  must  select  from  his  biogi'aphers 
a  few  personal  details,  and  cull  a  few  of  those 
flowers  which  adorned  the  great  Alfred's  reign, 
and  which  still  give  it  a  beauty  and  an  interest 
we  look  for  in  vain  elsewhere  during  those  baj-- 
biirous  ages. 

Historians  have  generally  attached  great  con- 
sequences to  his  travels  on  the  Continent  thi'ough 
France  and  Italy;  and,  mere  child  as  he  was,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  Alfred's  mind  received  im- 
pressions in  those  countries  that  were  afterwards 
of  benefit  to  himself  and  his  kingdom.  On  the 
first  of  these  journeys  to  Eome,  Alfred  was  only 
in  his  fifth  year,  but  on  the  second,  when  he  was 
accompanied  by  his  father,  and  anointed  by  the 
pope,  he  was  eight  years  old.  On  this  last  occa- 
sion he  staid  neaily  a  year  at  Eome,  and  return- 
ing thence  tlu-ough  France,  he  resided  some  time 
at  Paris.  The  Eternal  City,  though  despoiled  by 
the  barbailans,  and  not  yet  enriched  with  the 
works  of  modern  ai't,  must  have  retained  much  of 
its  ancient  splendom- ;  the  Coliseum,  and  many 
other  edifices  that  remain,  ai-e  known  to  have 
been  much  more  perfect  m  the  days  of  Alfred 
than  they  are  now ;  the  proud  Cajjitol  was  com- 
p.iratively  entire,  and  in  various  p.ai-ts  of  the  city, 


where  we  now  trace  little  but  foundations  of 
walls  and  scattered  fragments,  there  then  stood 
lofty  and  elegant  buildings.  Alfred,  who  at  homo 
had  lived  in  wooden  houses,  and  been  accustomed 
to  see  mud  huts  with  thatched  roofs,  could  hardly 
fail  of  being  struck  with  the  superior  si>leudom- 
of  Eome.  The  papal  com-t,  though  as  yet  modest 
and  unassuming,  was  regulated  with  some  taste 
and  gi-eat  order,  while  the  other  court  at  which  he 
resided  (the  French)  was  more  splendid  than  any 
in  Eiu-ope,  with  the  exception  of  Constantinople. 
But  whatever  efl'ect  these  scenes  may  have  had 
in  enlai'glng  the  mind  of  Alfred,  it  should  appear 
he  had  not  yet  learned  to  read — an  accomplish- 
ment, by  the  way,  not  then  very  common,  even 
among  princes  and  nobles  of  a  more  advanced 
age.  He,  however,  delighted  in  listening  to  the 
Anglo-Saxon  ballads  and  songs,  which  were  con- 
stantly recited  by  the  minstrels  and  gleemen  at- 
tached to  his  father's  court.  From  frequent  vocal 
repetition,  to  which  he  listened  day  and  night,' 
he  leai-ned  them  by  lieai-t ;  and  the  taste  he  thus 
acquired  for  poetry  lasted  him,  through  many 
cares  and  sorrows,  to  the  last  day  of  his  life.  The 
stoiy  told  by  Asser  is  well  known.  One  day  liLs 
mother,  Osburgha,  was  sitting,  sun-ounded  by  her 
childi'en,  with  a  book  of  Saxon  poetry  in  her 
hands.  The  precious  MS.  was  gilded  or  illu- 
minated, and  the  contents  were  pi-obably  new, 
and  much  to  the  taste  of  the  boys.  "  I  will  give 
it,"  said  she,  "  to  him  among  you  who  shall  first 
learn  to  read  it."  Alfred,  the  youngest  of  them 
all,  ran  to  a  teacher,  and  studying  earnestly,  soon 
learned  to  read  Anglo-Saxon,  and  won  the  book. 
But,  with  the  excei^tion  of  popular  poetiy,  Anglo- 
Saxon  was  the  key  to  only  a  small  portion  of  the 
literatm-e  or  knowledge  of  the  times;  and  as  his 
cm'iosity  and  intellect  increased,  it  became  ne- 
cessary for  him  to  learn  Latin.  At  a  subsequent 
period  of  his  life  Alfred  possessed  a  knowledge 
of  that  learned  language,  which  was  altogether 
extraordinary  for  a  prince  of  the  ninth  centmy. 
It  is  not  very  clear  when  he  obtained  this  degree 
of  knowledge,  but  after  teaching  himself  by  trans- 
lating, he  was  probably  greatly  improved  in  his 
matm-e  manhood,  when  the  monk  Asser,  Johan- 
nes Ei'igena,  Grimbald,  and  other  leai-ned  men, 
settled  at  liis  court.  Alfred  was  accustomed  to 
say  that  he  regretted  the  neglected  education  of 
his  youth,  the  entire  want  of  proper  teachers,  and 
also  the  difiiculties  that  then  biu-red  his  progi-ess 
to  intellectual  acquii-ements,  much  more  than  all 
the  hardships,  and  sorrows,  and  crosses  that  befell 
him  afterwai-ds.  As  one  of  his  great  impediments 
had  been  the  Latin  language,  which,  even  with 
our  improved  system  of  tuition,  and  with  all  om- 
facilities  and  advantages,  is  not  mastered  without 

•  Asstr,  16. 


AD.  825—901.] 


SAXON  TERIOD. 


9o 


long  and  difficult  study,  lie  earnestly  recom- 
mended from  the  throne,  in  a  circul.ir  letter  ad- 
di'essed  to  the  bishop.f,  that  thenceforward  "  all 
good  and  useful  books  be  translated  into  the  lan- 
guage which  we  all  understand,  so  that  all  the 
youths  of  England,  but  more  especially  those  who 
are  of  gentle  kind,  and  in  easy  circumstances, 
may  be  grounded  in  letters,  for  they  cannot  pro- 
fit in  any  pursuit  luitil  they  are  well  aijle  to  read 
English."  Alfreds  own  literary  works  were 
chiefly  translations  from  the  Latin  into  Anglo- 
Saxon,  the  spoken  language  of  his  pcojile.  It 
excites  surprise  how  he  could  find  time  for  these 
laudable  occujiations ;  but  he  was  steady  and 
persevering,  regulaj-  in  his  habits,  wdieu  not  kept 
in  the  field  by  the  Danes,  and  a  great  economist 
of  his  time.  Eight  hoiu'S  of  each  day  he  gave  to 
sleep,  to  his  meals,  and  exercise ;  eight  were  ab- 
sorbed by  the  affairs  of  government ;  and  eight 
were  devoted  to  study  and  devotion.  Clocks, 
clepsydras,  and  the  other  ingenious  instruments 
for  measuring  time  were  then  unknown  in  Eng- 
land. Alfred  wa.s,  no  doubt,  acquainted  with 
the  sun-dial,  which  was  in  common  use  in  Ital}- 
and  parts  of  France ;  but  this  index  is  of  no  use 
in  the  hoiu's  of  the  night,  and  would  frequently 
be  equally  unserviceable  during  om'  foggy  sunless 
days.  He,  therefore,  marked  his  time  by  the  con- 
stant bm'ning  of  wax  torches  or  candles,  which 
were  made  precisely  of  the  same  weight  and  size, 
and  notched  inthe  stem  at  regulardistances.  These 
caudles  were  twelve  inches  long ;  six  of  them,  or 
seventy-two  inches  of  wax,  were  consmned  in 
twenty-four  hours,  or  1440  minutes ;  and  thus, 
supposing  the  notches  at  intervals  of  an  inch,  one 
inch  would  mark  the  lapse  of  twenty  minutes. 


Saxon  I.ANTE8N.--Fiom  Stnitt  s  Clironicle  of  England. 

It  ai^pears  that  these  time-candles  were  jdaced 
under  the  special  charge  of  his  mass -priests  or 
chaiilains.  But  it  was  soon  discovered  that  some- 
times the  wind,  rushing  in  through  the  windows 


and  doovs,  and  l/ie  mimcrous  c/iuds  in  the  walls  0/ 
the  jialace,  consumed  the  wax  in  a  rapid  and  ir- 
regular manner.  Hence  Asser  makes  the  great 
Alfred  the  inventor  of  horn  lanterns !  He  says 
the  king  went  skilfully  and  wisely  to  work ;  and 
having  found  out  that  white  horn  could  be  ren- 
dered transparent  likeglas.^,  ho,  wi(h  that  material, 
and  with  [)ieces  of  wood,  admirably  (mirabiliter) 
made  a  case  for  his  candle,  which  kept  it  from 
wasting  and  llaring. 

In  his  youth  Alfreil  was  passionately  fond  of 
field  sports,  and  was  famed  as  being  "  excellent 
cunning  in  all  hunting;"  but  after  his  retreat 
at  Athelney  he  indulged  this  taste  with  becom- 
ing moderation;  and  during  tlie  latter  years  of 
his  reign  he  seems  to  have  ridden  merely  upon 
business,  or  for  the  sake  of  his  health.  He  then 
considered  every  moment  of  value,  as  he  could 
devote  it  to  lofty  and  improving  purposes. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  care  and  in- 
genuity he  em])loyed  in  creating  a  ua\'j-.  Sea 
affairs,  geogi-a]ihy,  and  the  discovery  of  unknown 
countries,  or  rather  the  descriptions  of  countries 
then  little  known,  obtained  by  means  of  bold 
navigatoi-s,  occupied  much  of  his  time,  and  formed 
one  of  his  favourite  subjects  for  writing.  He 
endeavoured,  by  liberality  and  kindness,  to  at- 
tract to  England  all  such  foreigners  as  could 
give  good  information  on  these  subjects,  or  wei-e 
otherwise  qualified  to  illuminate  the  national 
ignorance.  From  Audber,  or  Ohthere,  who  had 
coasted  the  continent  of  Europe  from  the  Baltic 
to  the  North  Cape,  he  obtained  much  informa- 
tion ;  from  Wulfstan,  who  appears  to  have  been 
one  of  his  subjects,  and  who  undertook  a  voyage 
round  the  Baltic,  he  gathered  many  particidai-s 
concerning  the  diverse  coiintries  situated  on  that 
sea ;  and  from  other  voyagers  and  travellere  wlioni 
he  sent  out  expressly  himself,  he  obtained  a  de- 
scription of  Bulgaria,  Sclavonia,  Bohemia,  and 
Germany.  All  this  information  he  committed  to 
wi-iting  in  the  plain  mother  tongue,  and  with 
the  noble  design  of  impartiug  it  to  his  people. 
Having  learned  that  there  were  colonies  of  Chris- 
tian Sji'ians  settled  on  the  coasts  of  Malaliar  and 
Coromandel,  he  sent  out  Swithelm,  Bishop  of 
Sherburn,  to  India — a  tremendous  jom-ney  in 
those  days.  The  stout-hearted  ecclesiastic,  how- 
ever, making  what  is  now  called  the  overlaiul 
journej',  went  and  returned  in  safety,  bringing 
back  with  him  [jresents  of  gems  and  Indian  spices. 
Hereby  was  Alfred's  fame  increased,  and  the  name 
and  existence  of  England  probably  heard  of  for 
the  first  time  in  that  remote  country,  of  which, 
nine  centimes  after,  she  w;vs  to  become  the  al- 
most absolute  mistress.' 

'  i'ui'  fui-thur  details  relating  to  tlic  commci*co  of  this  and  Eub- 
.'^eqiient  iieriods,  wo  rofor  the  rc.idor  to  Ihslorij  of  Brilish  Com- 
iiicixe  from  thr  Earliest  Timtt,  by  Gen.  I.,  Craik,  M.A. 


96 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militakt. 


"While  liis  active  miud,  whicli  anticipated  the 
national  s|iii'it  of  mucli  later  times,  was  thus  en- 
gaged in  drawing  knowledge  from  the  distant 
comei-s  of  the  earth,  he  did  not  neglect  home 
affairs.  He  taught  the  people  how  to  build  bet> 
ter  houses;  he  laboured  to  increase  their  comforts; 
he  established  schools ;  he  founded  or  rebuilt 
many  towns ;  and  having  learned  the  importance 
of  fortifications  during  his  wars  with  the  Danes, 
lie  fortified  them  all  as  well  as  he  could.  He 
caused  a  survey  to  be  made  of  the  coast  and  na- 
vigable rivere,  and  ordered  castles  to  be  erected 
at  those  places  which  were  most  accessible  to  the 
landing  of  the  enemy.  Fifty  sti-ong  towers  and 
castles  rose  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but 
the  number  would  have  been  threefold  had  Al- 
fred not  been  thwarted  by  the  indolence,  igno- 
rance, and  carelessness  of  his  nobles  aud  people. 
He  revised  the  laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  being 
aided  and  sanctioned  therein  by  his  witenagemot 
or  parliament;  and  he  established  so  excellent  a 
system  of  police,  that  towards  the  end  of  his 
reign  it  was  generally  asserted  that  one  might 
have  hung  golden  bracelets  and  jewels  on  the  pub- 
lic highways  and  cross-roads,  and  no  man  would 
have  dared  to  touch  them,  for  fear  of  the  law. 


Alfred's  JEWEU'—Aslmioleau  Museum,  Oxf^>rJ. 

Towards  arbitraiy,  unjust,  or  con-upt  adminis- 
trators of  the  law,  he  was  inexorable;  aud,  if  we 
can  give  credit  to  an  old  ■m'iter,"  he  ordered  the 
execution  of  no  fewer  than  forty-four  judges  and 
magistrates  of  this  stamp  in  the  course  of  one 
year.     Those  who  were  ignorant  or  careless  he 

'  This  higlily  interesting  relic,  an  ornament  of  gold,  seemingly 
intended  to  be  hung  round  the  neck,  was  found  near  Athelney, 
in  Someraetshire,  the  very  place  of  Alfred's  retreat  and  deliver- 
ance from  the  Danes.  The  jewel  contains  an  effigy,  coujectiu'ed 
to  be  that  of  St.  Cuthbei-t.  enamelled  on  gold,  surrounded  by 
the  following  inscription,  which  identifies  it  with  the  best  of 
the  Saxon  kings — aelfred  me  haet  gewrcan  (Alfred  had  me 
wrought).  On  the  other  side  is  represented  a  flower.  The  jewel 
measures  al^out  3  in.  long,  and  the  workmanship  of  the  whole  is 
good.  Malmesbmy  relates  that  St.  Cuthbeit  appeared  to  Alfred 
in  a  vision  at  Athelney,  and  predicted  his  futui'e  triumph  over 
the  infidel  Danes. 

2  Andrew  llome,  author  of  Miroir  dfi  Justici^s,  who  wrote,  in 
Norman  French,  under  Edward  I.  or  Edward  II. 


reprimanded  and  suspended,  commanding  them 
to  qualify  themselves  for  the  pro]ier  discharge 
of  their  office  before  they  ventured  to  gi'asp  its 
honours  and  emoluments.  He  heard  all  appeals 
with  the  utmost  patience,  and,  in  cases  of  im- 
portance, revised  all  the  law  proceedings  with 
the  utmost  industry.  His  manifold  labours  in 
the  court,  the  camp,  the  field,  the  hall  of  justice, 
the  study,  must  have  been  prodigious;  and  our 
admiration  of  this  wonderful  man  is  increased  by 
the  well-established  fact,  that  all  these  exertions 
were  made  in  spite  of  the  de]iressing  influences 
of  physical  pain  and  constant  bad  health.  In 
his  early  yeai-s  he  was  severely  afflicted  ])y  the 
disease  called  i\ie  ficus.  This  left  him;  but,  at 
the  age  of  twenty  or  twenty-one,  it  was  replaced 
by  another  and  still  more  tormenting  malady, 
the  in'ward  seat  and  unknown  mysterious  nature 
of  which  baffled  all  the  medical  skill  of  his 
"leeches."  The  accesses  of  excruciating  p.ain 
were  frequent — at  times  almost  unintennittent; 
aud  then  if,  by  day  or  by  night,  a  single  hour  of 
ease  was  mercifidly  gi-anted  him,  that  short  in- 
terval was  imbittered  by  the  dread  of  the  sure 
retiu'uing  anguish.^  This  malady  never  left  him 
till  the  day  of  his  death,  which  it  must  have 
hastened.  He  expired  iu  the  month  of  October, 
six  nights  before  All-Hallows-mass  Day,  in  the 
year  901,  when  he  was  only  in  the  fifty -thu'd 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  at  Winchester, 
in  a  monastery  he  had  founded. 

In  deseribiug  his  brilUaut  and  incontestable 
deeds,  and  in  tracing  the  character  of  the  great 
Alfred,  we,  in  common  with  nearly  all  the  writers 
who  have  preceded  us  in  the  task,  have  dra^vn  a 
general  eulogy,  and  a  character  nearly  approach- 
ing to  ideal  perfection.  But  were  there  no  spots 
in  all  this  brilliancy  and  pm-ity  ?  As  Alfred  was 
a  mortal  man,  there  were,  no  doubt,  many;  but 
to  discover  them,  we  must  ransack  his  private 
life,  and  his  vaguely  reported  conduct  when  a 
mere  stripling  king;  and  the  discovei-y,  after  all, 
confers  no  honour  of  sagacity,  and  does  not  jus- 
tify the  exultation  with  which  a  recent  writer 
annoimces  to  the  world  that  Alfred  had  not  only 
faults,  but  crimes  to  bemoan.  It  is  passed  into 
a  truism  that  he  will  seldom  be  in  the  vv-rong 
who  deducts  alike  from  the  amoimt  of  vu-tue  aud 
vice  in  the  characters  recorded  in  history;  but 
this  deduction  will  be  made  according  to  men's 
temjjers ;  and  wliile  some  largely  reduce  the 
amount  of  vu-tue,  they  seem  to  leave  the  vice  un- 
touched— then-  incredidity  extending  rather  to 
what  elevates  and  ennobles  human  nature,  than 
to  the  things  which  degi'ade  and  debase  it.  The 
directly  contrary  course,  or  that  of  reducing  the 
crime,  and  lea'ving  the  vh-tue,  if  not  the  more 
correct  (which  we  will  not  decide),  is  certainly 

^  As&er. 


A.D.  901-1012.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


97 


the  more  generous  and  improving.  Every  people 
above  the  condition  of  bai'bai'ity  have  their 
heroes  and  their  national  objects  of  veneration, 
and  are  probably  improved  by  the  high  standard 
of  excellence  they  ]iresent,  and  by  the  vei-y  reve- 
rence they  pay  to  them.  We  may  venerate  the 
memory  of  our  Alfred  with  as  little  danger  of 
paying  an  unmerited  homage  as  any  of  tliem. 
On  this  subject  the  late  Su'  James  Mackintosh, 
whose  historical  sagacity  was  equal  to  his  good 
feeling,  says,  '•  The  Norman  historians,  who  seem 
to  have  had  his  diai-ies  and  note-books  in  theii- 
hands,  cliose  AJfred  as  the  glory  of  the  land 
which  liad  become  their  own.  There  is  no  sub- 
ject on  which  imanimous  tradition  is  so  nearly 


sufficient  evidence  as  on  the  eminence  of  one  man 
over  others  of  the  same  condition.  His  bright 
image  may  long  be  held  up  before  the  national 
mind.  This  tradition,  however  parado.xical  the 
assertion  may  appear,  is,  in  the  case  of  Alfred, 
rather  su|)p(irt(>d  than  weakened  by  the  fictions 
which  have  sprung  from  it.  AHliough  it  be  an 
infirmity  of  every  nation  (o  ascribe  their  institu- 
tions to  the  contrivance  of  a  man,  rather  than  to 
the  slow  action  of  time  and  circumstances,  yet 
the  selection  of  Alfred  by  the  English  people,  as 
the  founder  of  all  that  was  dear  to  them,  is  surely 
the  strongest  pi'oof  of  the  deep  impression,  left 
on  the  minds  of  all,  of  his  tianscendent  wisdom 
and  virtue.'" 


CHAPTER  III.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

FROM    THE   ACCESSION    OF    EDWARD    TO    THE   DEATH    OF    UARDICANUTE. —  A.D.    901—1042. 


Reigu  of  Edward — Account  of  his  sister,  Etbelfleda — Reign  of  Athelstane — His  victory  at  Brunnaburgh— Reigns  of 
Edmund  the  Atlieliiig,  Edred,  and  Edwy— Contest  of  Ed\vy  with  Dunstan — Tragical  fate  of  Elgiva,  the  wife 
of  Ed\v3' — Reign  of  Edgar— His  prosperity — His  marriage  with  Elfrida — Reign  of  Edward  the  Martyr — His 
assassination  at  Corfe  Castle — He  is  succeeded  by  Ethelred — Iteigu  of  Ethelred,  surnamed  the  Unready — The 
Danes  invade  England — Their  forbearance  purchased  with  money — Massacre  of  the  Danes  in  England — Inva- 
sion of  England  by  Sweyn,  King  of  Denmark — His  invasion  repeated — Ethelred's  unwise  proceedings — 
Invasion  of  Thurkill's  host — Martyrdom  of  Alphege  by  the  Danes — Sweyn  once  more  invades  England, 
and  is  proclaimed  king — Ethelred's  return  to  England,  and  death — Succeeded  by  Edmund  Ironside — Canute 
becomes  King  of  England — Marries  the  widow  of  Ethelred — His  prosperous  reign — His  pilgruuage  to  Rome 
— His  rebuke  of  the  flattery  of  his  conrtiers — He  is  succeeded  by  his  son  Harold — Treacherous  murder  of 
Edward  the  son  of  Ethelred — Harold  succeeded  by  Hardicanute — Death  of  Uardicanute  at  a  banquet. 


IDWARD.  A.D.  901.  Alfred,  with 
all  his  wisdom  and  power,  had  not 
been  enabled  to  settle  the  succes- 
sion to  the  throne  on  a  sui'e  and 
lasting  basis.  On  his  death  it  was 
disputed  between  his  son  Edwai*d 
and  his  nephew  Ethelwald,  the  son  of  Ethel- 
bald,  one  of  Alfred's  elder  brothers.  Each  pai-ty 
ai'med ;    but   as   Ethelwald    found   himself    the 

'  //iX.  Eng.  ch.  xi.  "  The  qualities  of  his  muid  were  those  of 
a  statesman  and  a  hero,  but  elevated,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
softened,  by  his  ardent  louging  for  higher  and  more  imperish- 
able things  than  those  on  which  all  the  splendour  and  power  of 
this  world  generally  rest.  The  most  mishakable  courage  was 
most  certainly  the  fii-st  component  of  his  being ;  lie  showed  it, 
wliile  still  a  youth,  in  the  tumult  of  the  battle  of  Ascesdune. 
There  was  one  peiiod  when  his  coinage  seemed  about  to  desert 
him.  This  was  when  the  yomxg  king  imagined  that  he  saw  hla 
country  for  ever  in  the  hands  of  the  foe,  and  liis  people  doomed 
to  never-ending  despair;  but  from  the  ordeal  of  Athelney  he 
came  out  proved  and  victorious,  and  a  large  number  of  brave 
men  rivalled  each  other  in  imitating  his  example. 

'■  We  have  aheady  had  occasion,  several  times,  in  the  course 
of  this  work,  to  notice  another  peculiarity  of  Alfred's  mind  that 
was  attended  with  no  less  gratifying  results ;  he  possessed  a  de- 
cided turn  for  invention,  which  enabled  him  not  only  to  extri- 
cate l.::n.,jlf  fiom  pcriuu^J  diHiculticj^  but  to  £UggCi.t  new  and 
original  ideas  in  the  execution  of  all  soi'ts  of  artistic  productions 

Vol.  T. 


weaker,  he  declined  a  combat  at  Wimburn,  and 
fled  into  the  Danelagh,  where  the  Danes  hailed 
him  as  theii'  king.  Many  of  the  Saxons  who 
lived  in  that  countiy  mixed  witli  the  Danes, 
preferred  war  to  the  restraints  of  such  a  govern- 
ment as  Alfred  had  established;  and  an  internal 
war  was  renewed,  which  did  infmite  mischief, 
and  prepai*ed  the  way  for  other  horrors.  Ethel- 
wald was  slain   in   a  terrible   battle   fought   in 

and  Iiantliwork.  Tlia  pillars  on  which  the  church  at  Athelney 
was  built,  the  long  sliips  he  constructed,  the  maimer  m  which 
he  turned  a  river  from  its  natui-al  course,  and  his  clock  of  tajwra, 
afford  us  as  convincing  evidence  of  liis  iwwers  of  thought  as  tlie 

battles  which  ho  gained 

"  Elevated  by  his  piety  above  all  his  subjects  and  contempora- 
ries, no  one  could  be  farther  than  ho  was  from  becoming  a  weak 
bigot,  willingly  bending  beneath  the  yoke  of  an  arrogant  priest- 
hood ;  and,  while  immersed  in  the  fiJfilment  of  his  religious 
duties,  forgetting  the  prosperity  of  worldly  affaiiB,  as  u*oH  as  that 
of  his  subjects.  He  was  well  awai'o  what  the  country  had  suffered 
from  the  too  yielding  disposition  of  his  father  to  the  will  of  the 
higher  ecclesiastics.  It  is  impossible  to  draw  a  paridlel  between 
Alfred  and  his  descendant  Edward  the  Confessor.  The  latter 
lost  his  kingdom,  and  was  made  a  saint;  tho  former  kept  it  by 
the  aid  of  Ids  sword  and  a  firm  reliance  on  tho  Almighty.  The 
Chiurch  of  Rome,  it  is  true,  did  not  thank  liiiii  fur  thi«;  but  ho 
lived,  through  hib  wotku,  m  the  hearts  of  his  people,  who  cele- 
brated liito  praises  in  theh-  songs."— Pauli'a  Lifeqf  Alfred  the  Oixat, 
13 


98 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military 


the  yeai-  90o,  upon  which  the  Danes  conchided 
a  peace  upon  equal  terms;  for  Edward  was  not 
yet  powerful  enough  to  treat  them  as  a  master. 
The  sons  of  the  princes  and  yai-ls,  and  in  many 
instances  the  individuals  themselves,  who  had 
been  tranquil  and  submissive  under  Alfred,  soon 
aimed,  not  merely  at  making  the  Danelagh  an 
independent  kingdom,  but  at  conquering  the  rest 
of  the  island.  Edward  was  not  deficient  in  va- 
loui'  or  military  skill.  In  the  year  911  he  gained 
a  most  signal  victory  over  the  Danes,  who  had 
advanced  to  the  Severn;  but  the  whole  spirit  of 
Alfred  seemed  more  pai-ticularly  to  survive  in 
his  daughter  Ethelfleda,  sister  of  Edward,  and 
wife  of  Ethelred,  the  Eolderman  of  Mercia,  who 
has  been  so  often  mentioned,  and  whose  death, 
in  912,  left  the  wliole  care  of  that  kingdom  to 
his  widow.  Her  brother  Edward  took  possession 
of  London  and  Oxford,  but  she  claimed,  and  then 
defended  the  rest  of  Mercia,  with  the  bravery 
and  ability  of  an  experienced  warrior.  Following 
her  father's  example,  she  fortified  all  her  towns, 
and  constructed  ramparts  and  intrenched  camps 
in  the  proper  places;  allowing  them  no  rest,  she 
drove  the  Danes  out  of  Derby  and  Leicester,  and 
comjjelled  many  tribes  of  them  to  acknowledge 
her  authority.  In  the  assault  of  Derby,  four  of 
her  bravest  commanders  fell,  but  she  boldly 
urged  the  combat  until  the  place  was  taken.  As 
some  of  the  Welsh  had  become  troublesome,  she 
conducted  an  expedition,  with  remarkable  spirit 
and  rapidity,  against  Breccanmere  or  Brecknock, 
and  took  the  wife  of  the  Welsh  king  prisoner. 
In  seeing  these,  her  warlike  operations,  says  an 
old  writer,  one  would  have  believed  she  had 
changed  her  sex.  The  Lady  Ethelfleda,  as  she  is 
called  by  the  clu-ouiclers,  died  in  920,  when  Edward 
succeeded  to  her  authority  iu  Mercia,  and  prose- 
cuted her  plan  of  secm-ing  the  country  by  fortified 
works.  He  was  active  and  successful:  he  took 
most  of  the  Danish  towns  between  the  Thames 
\nd  the  Humber,  and  forced  the  rest  of  the  Dane- 
lagh that  lay  north  of  the  Humber  to  acknowledge 
his  supremacy.  The  Welsh,  the  Scots,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Strathclyde  and  Cumbria  (who  still  figure 
as  a  separate  people),  and  the  men  of  Galloway, 
are  said  to  have  done  him  homage,  and  to  have  ac- 
cepted liim  as  their  "father,  lord,  and  protector." 
ATHELSTANE.  a.d.  925.  Edwai-d's  dominion 
far  exceeded  in  extent  that  of  his  father  Alfred ; 
but  his  son  Athelstane,  who  succeeded  him  in 
92.5,  established  a  more  brilliant  tlu-one,  and 
made  a  still  nearer  approach  to  the  sovereignty 
of  all  England.  By  war  and  policy  he  reduced 
nearly  all  Wales  to  an  inoffensive  tranquillity,  if 
not  to  vassalage.  A  tribute  was  certainly  paid 
during  a  part  of  the  reign,  and,  together  with 
gold  and  silver,  and  beeves,  the  Welsh  were 
bound  to  send  their  best  hounds  and  hawks  to 


tlie  court  of  Athelstane.  Ue  next  turned  his 
arms  against  the  old  tribes  of  Cornwall,  who  were 
still  turbulent,  and  impatient  of  the  Saxon  yoke. 
He  drove  them  from  Devonshire,  where  they  liad 
again  made  encroachments,  and  reduced  them  to 
obedience  and  good  order  beyond  the  Tamar. 

In  937  he  was  assailed  by  a  more  jjowerful 
confederacy  than  had  ever  been  formed  against 
a  Saxon  king.  Olave  or  Anlaf,  a  Danish  prince, 
who  had  already  been  settled  in  Northumbria, 
but  who  had  lately  taken  Dublin,  and  made  con 
siderable  conquests  in  Ireland,  sailed  up  the  Hum- 
ber with  620  ships ;  his  friend  and  ally,  Constan- 
tine,  King  of  the  Scots,  the  people  of  Strathclyde 
and  Cumbria,  and  the  northern  Welsh  were  all 
up  in  arms,  and  ready  to  join  him.  Yet  this  coa- 
Ution,  formidable  as  it  was,  was  uttei-ly  destroyed 
on  the  bloody  field  of  Brunnaburgh,'  where  Ath- 
elstane gained  one  of  the  most  splendid  of  victo- 
ries, and  where  five  Danish  kings  and  seven  eai-ls 
fell.  Ajilaf  escaped,  with  a  wretched  fragment 
of  his  forces,  to  Ireland;  Coustantine,  bemoaning 
the  loss  of  his  fair-haired  son,  who  had  also  pe- 
rished at  Brunnaburgh,  fled  to  the  hilly  country 
north  of  the  friths.  After  this  great  victory, 
none  seem  to  have  dai-ed  again  to  raise  arms 
against  Athelstane  in  any  part  of  the  island. 

It  appears  to  have  been  from  this  time  that 
Athelstane  laid  aside  the  modest  and  limited  title 
of  his  predecessors,  and  assumed  that  of  "  King 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons,"  or  "  King  of  the  English," 
a  title  which  had  been  given  to  several  of  them 
in  the  letters  of  the  Roman  popes  and  bishops, 
but  had  never  till  now  been  used  by  the  sove- 
reigns themselves.  His  father,  and  liis  grand- 
father Alfred,  had  simply  styled  themselves  Kings 
of  Wessex,  or  of  the  West  Saxons. 

Under  Athelstane  the  English  court  was  po- 
lished to  a  considerable  degree,  and  became  the 
chosen  residence  or  asylum  of  several  foreign 
princes.  Harold,  the  King  of  Norway,  intrusted 
Ills  son  Haco  to  the  care  and  tuition  of  the  en- 
lightened Athelstane;  and  his  son,  by  the  aid  of 
England,  afterwards  succeeded  to  the  Norwegian 
throne,  on  which  he  distinguished  himself  as  a 
legislator.  Louis  d'Outremer,  the  French  king, 
took  refuge  in  London  before  he  secured  his 
thi'one  ;  and  even  the  Celtic  princes  of  Ai-morica 
or  Brittany,  when  expelled  their  states  by  the 
Northmen  or  Normans,  fled  to  the  court  of  Athel- 
stane in  preference  to  all  others.  He  bestowed 
his  sisters  in  man-iage  on  the  fii-st  sovereigns  of 
those  times,  and,  altogether,  he  enjoyed  a  degree 
of  re-spect,  and  exercised  an  influence  on  the  gene- 
ral politics  of  Europe,  that  were  not  surpassed  by 
any  living  sovereign."  A  horrid  suspicion  of  guilt 

'  Supposed  by  some  to  be  Bourn,  in  the  south  of  Lincolnshire; 
by  others,  Bmgh,  in  the  nox-th  of  the  same  county. 

-  Among  the  costly  presents  sent  to  Athelstane  by  foreign  so- 


AD.  901-1042.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


99 


— the  crime  of  muvderinp;  hisowii  brotlior  Edwin 
— has  been  cast  njion  liini;  but  this  is  scarcely 
proved  by  any  contemporary  evidence,  and  liis 
conduct  as  a  sovereign  seems  almost  irreproach- 
able. He  revised  the  laws,  promulgated  some  new 
and  good  ones,  made  a  provision  fortlie  poor  and 
lu'lpless,  and  encouraged  the  stvidy  of  letters  by 
earnest  recommendations  and  Ijy  his  own  exanijile. 
Like  his  gi'andfathcr  Alfred,  he  was  exceedingly 
fond  of  the  Bilile,  and  promoteil  the  translation  of 
it  into  the  spolcen  language  of  the  jieojilc.  The 
life  of  this  king  was,  in  the  words  of  William 
of  Malmesbui-v,  "  in  time  little — in  deeds  great." 
TIad  it  been  prolonged,  he  might  possibly  have  con- 
solidated his  power,  and  averted  those  tempests 
from  the  north  which  soon  again  desolated  England. 
He  died  a.d.  940,  being  only  in  his  forty-seventh 
\ear,  and  was  buried  in  the  abbey  of  Malmesbury. 
EDMUND  the  Atheling,  his  brother,  who  was 
not  quite  eighteen  years  old,  succeeded  to  the 
tlirone.  In  him  the  family  vh'tue  of  courage 
knew  no  blemish  or  decrease;  and  he  showed  a 
determined  taste  for  elegance  and  improvement, 
which  obtained  for  him  the  name  of  "  the  Mag- 
uificent ;"  but  his  reign  was  troubled  from  the 
beginning,  and  he  was  cut  off  in  his  prime  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin.  He  had  scarcely  ascended 
the  thi'one  when  the  Danes  of  Northumbria  re- 
called from  Ireland  Ajilaf,  tlie  old  opponent  of 
Athelstane  at  Brunnaburgh.  The  Danish  prince 
came  in  force,  and  the  result  of  a  war  was,  that 
Edmund  was  obliged  to  resign  to  him,  in  sep.arate 
sovereignt}-,  the  whole  of  the  island  north  of 
Watlmg-street.  But  Anlaf  did  not  enjoy  these 
advantages  many  months ;  and  when  he  died 
Edmund  repossessed  himself  of  all  the  territoi-_y 
he  had  ceded.  During  his  troubles  the  people  of 
Cumbria,  who  had  submitted  to  Athelstane,  broke 
out  in  rebellion.  He  marched  against  them  in 
946,  expelled  their  king,  Dunmail,  and  gave  the 
coimtry  as  a  fief  to  Malcolm  of  Scotland,  whom 
he  at  the  same  time  bound  to  defend  the  north  of 
the  island  against  Danish  and  other  invaders. 
The  two  sons  of  Dunmail,  whom  he  took  pri- 
soners, he  barbarously  deprived  of  their  eyes. 
Such  abominable  operations,  together  with  the 
amputating  of  limbs,  cutting  off  of  tongues  and 
noses  of  captive  princes,  had  become  common  on 
the  Continent,  but  hitherto  had  very  rarely  dis- 
graced the  Anglo-Saxons.  Edmimd  did  not  long 
survive  the  perpetration  of  this  atrocity.  On  the 
festival  of  St.  Augustine,  in  the  same  year,  as  he 
was  carousing  with  his  nobles  and  officers,  his 
eye  fell  upon  a  banished  robbei',  named  Leof ,  who 
had  dared  to  mingle  with  the  company.  The 
royal  cup-bearer,   or  dapifer,   ordered  him  to 

vereigTiB,  was  one  from  the  King  of  Norway,  "  of  a  goodly  ship  of 
fine  workmanship,  with  gilt  stern  and  purplesails,faniisheiircminl 
about  the  deck  within  with  a  row  of  gilt  pavises  for  shields)." 


witlidraw.  The  robber  refused.  Incensed  at  liis 
insolence,  and  heated  by  wine,  lvlmun<l  started 
from  his  seat,  and  seizing  him  by  his  long  hair, 
tried  to  throw  him  to  the  gi-ound.  Leof  had  i\ 
dagger  hid  under  his  cloak,  and  in  the  scuflle  he 
stabbed  the  king  in  a  vital  ])art.  The  desperate 
villain  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Edmund's  servants, 
but  not  before  he  liad  slain  and  hurt  divers  of 
them.  The  body  of  the  king  wa.s  interred  in 
Glastonbury  Abbey,  where  Dunstan,  who  was 
soon  to  occupy  a  wider  scene,  was  tlien  abbot. 

EDBEI)  (94G),  who  succeeded  his  brother  Evl- 
mund,  was  another  son  of  Edward  the  Elder,  and 
grandson  of  jVlfred.  He  was  not  twenty-three 
years  old,  but  a  loathsome  disease  had  brought  on 
a  premature  old  age.  He  was  atHicted  witlia  con- 
stant cough,  he  lost  his  teeth  and  hair,  and  he 
was  so  weak  in  his  lower  extremities  that  he  was 
nick-named  "  Edredus  debilis  pedibus"  (Edred 
weak  in  the  feet).  According  to  some  authorities, 
his  mind  was  as  feeble  as  his  body,  and  the  vig- 
our that  marked  his  reign  sprung  from  the  energy 
of  Dunstan,  the  aljbot  of  Glastonbury,  who  now 
began  to  figure  as  a  statesman,  aiul  of  Torketul, 
another  churchman,  who  was  chancellor  of  the 
kingdom.  Other  writei-s,  however,  affirm  that 
Edi-ed's  weak  and  puny  body  did  not  affect  his 
mind,  which  was  resolute  and  vigorous,  and  such 
as  became  a  grandson  of  Alfred.  Though,  in 
common  with  the  other  states  of  the  north,  the 
Danes  of  Northumbria  had  sworn  fealty  to  Edred 
at  Tadwine's  Clill',  they  rose  soon  after  his  acces- 
sion, and  being  joined  by  Eric,  and  other  princes 
and  pirates  from  Denmark,  Norway,  Ireland,  tlie 
Oi'kneys,  and  the  Hebrides  (where  the  se.a-kiugs 
had  established  themselv.?s),  they  once  more  tried 
the  fortune  of  war  with  the  Saxons.  The  opera- 
tions of  Edred's  armies,  though  disgraced  by 
cruelty  and  the  devastation  of  the  land,  were 
marked  with  exceeding  vigour  and  activity,  and, 
after  two  or  three  most  obstinate  and  sanguinary 
battles,  they  were  cro\vned  with  success.  The 
Danes  in  Euglaml,  humbled  and  apparently 
crushed,  were  condemned  to  pay  a  heavy  peoi- 
niarj'  fine ;  Northumbria  was  incorporated  with 
the  rest  of  the  kingdom  much  more  completely 
than  it  had  hitherto  been;  the  royal  title  was 
abolished,  and  the  administration  put  into  the 
hands  of  an  earl  ajipointed  by  the  king.  Even 
the  victorious  Athelstane  had  left  the  title  of 
king,  or  sub-king,  to  the  Danish  rulers  of  North- 
umbria, and  it  is  assumed  that  the  constant  re- 
bellions of  those  rulers  were  principally  excited 
by  their  anxious  wish  to  throw  off  the  allegiance 
due  to  the  English  crown.  We  believe,  however, 
there  was  a  powerful  excitement  from  without. 
The  sea-kings  still  roamed  the  ocean  in  search  of 
[jlimder  or  settlements ;  many  princes  or  chiefs 
in  Denmark  and  Norway  claimed  kindred  with 


100 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Miutarv. 


those  who  had  made  conquests  and  obtainetl 
kingdoms  in  Eugland,  and  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity offered  they  pretended  to  those  possessions 
l)y  an  indefeasible,  hereditary  right.  Such  a 
right  might  not  be  recognized  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  but  it  would  pass  unquestioned  among 
the  Scandinavian  rovers,  who  would  profit  by  its 
being  enforced.  The  names  of  a  whole  series  of 
these  Danish  pretenders  may  probably  be  found 
La  the  mythical  historians — in  the  more  than  half 
fabulous  Edda  and  Sagas  of  the  north — but  we 
are  not  aware  that  the  discovery  of  them  would 
cast  any  very  important  light  on  our  annals. 

Edred  died  soon  after  the  reduction  of  Northum- 
bria,  and,  leaving  no  childi'en,  was  succeeded  by  the 
son  of  his  brother  and  pi-edecessor  on  the  throne. 

EDWY  was  a  boy  of  fifteen  when  he  began  his 
troublous  reign  (a.d.  955).  One  of  the  first  acts 
of  his  government  seems  to  have  been  the  ap- 
pointment of  his  brother  Edgar  (whom  the  monks 
soon  played  off  against  him)  to  be  sub-regulus  or 
vassal-king  of  a  part  of  England,'  most  probably 
of  the  old  kingdom  of  Mercia,  where  he  was  to 
acknowledge  Ed wy's  supremacy.  As  the  Northum- 
brians remained  in  subjection,  and  as  the  Danes 
generally  seem  to  have  ceased  from  troubling 
the  land,  he  might  have  enjoyed  a  tranquil  reign 
but  for  some  irregularities  of  his  own,  and  his 
quarrels  with  a  body  more  powerful  then  than 
warriors  and  sea-kings,  and  who  fought  with  a 
weapon  more  deadly  than  the  sword. 

We  now  reach  an  interesting  part  of  our  his- 
toi-y,  which,  after  passing  cm-rent  for  many  ages, 
has  been  fiercely  disputed  by  some  recent  writers, 
whose  main  com-se  of  argument  is  weakened  by 
the  glaring  fact,  that  in  shifting  all  the  blame 
from  Dunstan  to  Edwy,  they  had  party  or  secta- 
rian purposes  to  serve.  For  ourselves,  who  are 
perfectly  impartial  between  the  king  and  the 
monk,  we  think  the  old  narrative  has  been  dis- 
turbed without  rendering  any  service  to  historical 
truth,  and  that  this  is  proved  to  be  the  case,  al- 
most to  a  demonstration,  by  a  learned  and  acute 
wi'iter  who  has  sifted  the  whole  question."  Like 
nearly  every  other  jiart  of  the  Saxon  history,  the 
stoiy  of  Edwy  and  Elgiva  is  certainly  involved 
in  some  ditliculties  or  obscm-ities.  Avoidmg  dis- 
cussion and  disputation,  we  will  briefly  state  the 
facts  as  they  seem  to  us  best  established. 

Edwy,  who  was  gay,  handsome,  thoughtless, 

'  ' '  This  fact,  wliich  is  of  some  importance,  i.s  proved,  like  many 
other  points  of  a  similar  description,  not  by  historians,  but  by  a 
chaiter.  The  document,  however,  does  not  designate  the  locality 
of  thedominions assigned  to  Edgar." — Palgrave,  Hvtt.  Eng.  ch.  -xii. 
We  foUow  this  learned  investigator  in  supposing  it  was  Mercia. 

2  See  article  on  Lingard's  Ardiquities  of  tlie  Anfilo-Saxon 
Churchy  in  Edinburgh  Review,  vol.  xxv.  pp.  34(5-354 ;  and 
article  on  Lingard's  History  of  England,  in  the  same  work, 
vol.  sliii.  pp.  1-31.  Both  these  reviews  are  acknowledged  te 
be  by  the  late  John  Allen,  Esq.,  in  his  Letter  to  Francis  Jeffrey, 
E^q.,  in  rejily  to  Dr.  Lingard's  Vindication,  8vo.     Lond.  1827. 


and  vei-y  young,  became  enamoured  of  Elgiva,  a 
young  lady  of  rank,  and  married  her,  althougli 
she  was  related  to  him  in  a  degree  within  which 
the  canonical  laws  forbade  such  union.  She  was 
probably  his  first  or  second  cousin  ;  and  we  need 
not  go  nearer,  as  such  marriages  are  still  illegal 
in  Catholic  countries,  without  the  express  dispen- 
sation of  the  pope.  Her  mother,  Ethelgiva,  lived 
with  her  at  the  court  of  Edwy,  and  seems  to  have 
been  a  pereon  of  good  repute,  for,  under  the 
honourable  designation  of  the  "  king's  wife's 
mother,"  she  attested  an  agi-eement  between  St. 
Ethelwold  and  the  Bishop  of  Wells,  to  which 
three  other  bishops  were  subscribing  witnesses. 
We  are  entitled  to  assume,  that  had  there  been 
anything  more  than  a  slight  infringement  of 
church-law  in  the  marriage  of  Elgiva,  or  had  she 
and  her  mother  been  the  depraved  characters 
some  writers  have  repi'esented  them,  such  per- 
sonages as  saints,  and  bishops,  and  most  orthodox 
churchmen  would  not  be  found  frequenting  the 
court,  where  both  the  ladies  lived  in  pre-eminence 
and  honom-.  Dunstan  and  his  party,  however, 
must  surely  have  had  other  provocations  than  the 
irregularity  of  the  marriage,  or  the  thoughtless- 
ness of  Edwy  in  quitting  their  company,  when 
they  proceeded  to  the  insolent  extremities  we  are 
now  to  relate.  On  the  day  of  the  king's  corona- 
tion the  chief  nobles  and  clergy  were  bidden  to 
a  feast,  where  they  sat  long  carousing,  deep  in 
their  cups,  which  they  were  too  much  accustomed 
to  do.^  The  stomach  of  the  youthful  king  may 
have  been  incapable  of  such  potations — his  taste 
may  have  been  revolted  by  such  coai'se  excesses — 
he  was  still  passionately  enamom-ed  of  his  beau- 
tiful bride;  and,  stealing  from  the  banqueting- 
hall,  he  withdrew  with  her  and  her  mother  to  an 
inner  apartment  of  the  palace.  His  absence  was 
remarked  by  Odo,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
a  Dane  by  bii-th,'  a  harsh,  ambitious  man,  who 
may  be  more  than  suspected  of  having  jdayed 
false  with  Edwy's  fathei-,  King  Edmund,  when 
engaged  in  the  Northumbrian  troubles,  and  ob- 
liged to  renounce  half  the  island  to  Aulaf.  Odo 
was  probably  exasperated  himself,  and  perceiv- 
ing that  the  comjmny  were  displeased  at  the 
king's  leaving  them,  he  ordered  some  persons  to 
go  and  bring  him  back  to  partake  of  the  general 
conviviality.  The  individuals  addressed  seem  to 
have  declined  the  office,  from  motives  of  respect 
and  decency;  but  Dimstan,  the  friend  of  Odo, 
feeling  no  such  scruples,  rushed  to  the  inner 
apai-tment,  dragged  the  yoimg  king  from  the  side 
of  his  wife,  and  tlirust  him  back  into  the  ban- 
quetiug-hall  by  main  force.  Such  an  outrage — 
such  a  humiliation  in  the  face  of  his  assembled 

3  "Quibus  Angli  nimis  simt  assueti." — WoXlingford, 

4  He  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  chieftains  who  had  invaded 
i  England. 


A.D.  901— 1042.] 


SAXON  PERIOD, 


101 


subjeets — must  have  passer!  E.lwv's  endurance. 
Nor  was  this  all  the  \\Tong.  While  in  the  chamber 
Dunstan  addressed  the  queen  and  her  mother 
in  the  most  brutal  language,  and  tlu-eatoned  the 
latter  with  infamy  and  the  gallows.  The  king 
had  a  ready  rod  wherewith  to  scourge  the  monk. 
Dunstan,  among  other  ofiices,  filled  that  of  trea- 
surer to  Edred,  the  preceding  sovereign,  and 
Edwy,  it  is  said,  had  all  along  suspected  him  of 
having  been  guilty  of  peculation  iu  his  charge. 
If  Edwy  had  ever  whispered  these  suspicions — 
and  from  his  youth,  imprudence,  and  liastiness 
of  temper,  he  had  probably  done  so  often — this 
alone  would  account  for  Dunstan's  ire.  However 
this  may  be,  the  fieiy  abbot  of  Glastonbury,  v/ho 
retm'ned  from  the  festival  to  his  abbey,  was  now 
questioned  touchLug  the  moneys;  his  property  was 
sequestered;  his  court  places  were  taken  from 
him ;  the  monks  who  professed  celibacy  were 
driven  out,  and  his  monastery  was  given  to  the 
seculaa-  clergy,  who  still  insisted  on  having  wives 
like  other  men;  and  finally  a  sentence  of  banish- 
ment was  hm-led  at  Dunstan.  He  fled  for  the 
monasteiy  of  St.  Peter's,  in  Ghent,  but  was 
scarcely  three  miles  from  the  shore,  on  Iiis  way 
to  Flanders,  when  messengei-s  reached  it,  de- 
spatched by  Edwy  or  his  mother-in-law,  and  who, 
it  is  said,  had  ordei-s  to  put  out  his  eyes  if  they 
caught  him  in  this  country. 

Before  this  extreme  rupture  Edwy  had  pro- 
bably meddled  with  the  then  stormy  politics  of 
the  church,  or  betrayed  au  inclination  to  favour 
the  secular  clergy  in  opposition  to  the  monks;  and 
this  again  would,  and  of  itself,  suffice  to  account 
for  Dunstan's  outrageous  behaviour  at  the  coro- 
nation feast-  After  Dimstan's  flight  the  king  cer- 
tainly made  himself  the  protector  of  the  "  man-ied 
clerks;"  for,  expelling  those  who  professed  celi- 
bacy, he  put  the  others  in  possession,  not  only  of 
Glastonbury  and  Malmesbuiy,  but  of  several  other 
abbeys,  which  he  thus  made  (to  speak  the  lan- 
guage of  Dunstan's  adherents  and  successors) 
"styes  for  canons."  In  so  doing,  Edwi,-,  fatally  for 
himself,  espoused  the  weaker  pai'ty,  and  still  fiu-- 
ther  exasperated  Odo,  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bmy,  who  entertained  the  same  views  in  state  mat- 
ters and  church  discipline  as  his  friend  Dun&tan. 

Shortly  after  the  departure  of  Dun.stan,  a  general 
rising  of  the  people,  instigated  by  Odo,  took  place 
in  Northumbria  (the  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that 
the  archbishop  was  a  Dane),  and  a  coiTesponding 
movement  following,  under  the  same  influence  or 
holy  sanction,  in  Mercia,  it  was  detennined  to  set 
one  brother  in  hostile  array  against  the  other; 
and,  in  brief  time,  Edgar  was  declared  indej lendent 
sovereign  of  the  whole  of  the  island  noi'th  of  the 
Thames!  Dunstan  then  returned  in  triumph  from 
his  brief  exile,  which  had  scarcely  lasted  a  year. 

But  while  these  events  were  in  progress,  and 


before  they  were  completed,  the  young  soul  of 
Edwy  was  i-acked  by  au  anguish  more  acute  than 
any  that  could  be  caused  by  the  loss  of  territory 
and  empire.  Some  knights  and  armed  retainers 
of  the  iinjilacable  archbishop  tore  his  beautiful 
wife  Elgiva  from  one  of  his  residences,  branded 
her  in  the  face  with  a  red-hot  iron,  to  destroy 
her  beauty,  and  then  hurried  her  to  the  coa.st, 
whence  she  was  transported  to  Ireland,  i)robal)ly 
as  a  slave.  Her  melancholy  fate,  her  high  birtli, 
gi-acefulness,  and  youth  (for  she  seems  to  have 
been  now  not  more  than  sixteen  or  seventeen 
years  old),  probably  gained  lier  friends  among 
a  kind-hearted  people.  She  was  cured  of  the 
cruel  wounds  inflicted ;  her  scars  were  oblite- 
rated ;  and,  as  radiant  in  beauty  as  ever,  she 
was  allowed  (and  no  doubt  assisted)  to  return  to 
England  It  is  not  clear  whether  Elgiva  had 
actually  joined  her  husband  or  was  fleeing  to  his 
embraces,  when  she  was  seized  near  Gloucester; 
but  0.11  the  early  accounts  agree  in  stating  that 
she  was  there  bail larously  mangled  and  ham- 
strung, and  that  she  expired  a  few  days  after  in 
great  torture.  The  generally  received  statement 
is,  that  the  perpetrators  of  this  atrocious  deed 
were  ai'med  retainers  of  the  Aa-chbishop  Odo : 
others,  however,  are  of  opinion  that  the  young 
queen  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mercians,  who 
were  in  insurrection  against  her  husband,  and 
that  in  neither  case  was  the  execution  ordered 
either  by  Otho  or  Dunstan.  However  this  may 
be,  the  deed  was  undeniably  done  by  the  ad- 
herents of  those  ehm-chmen  (for  the  Mercians 
were  armed  in  their  quarrel),  and  ])raised  ;is  an 
act  of  inflexible  vii-tue  by  their  encomiasts.  The 
palliation  set  uj)  by  a  recent  historian — who  can- 
not deny  the  fact  of  the  hamstringing— that  such 
a  mode  of  punishment,  "  though  cruel,  was  not 
imusual  in  that  age,"  leaves  the  question  of  jus- 
tice and  law  untouched,  and  seems  to  us  to  be 
conceived  in  the  spirit  of  an  inquisitor  of  the 
worst  ages.  Edwy  did  not  long  sm-vivc  his  wife: 
he  died  in  the  following  year  (OSS),  when  he 
could  not  have  been  more  than  eighteen  or  nine- 
teen years  old.  His  death  is  generally  attri- 
buted to  grief  anil  ;i  broken  heai-t,  but  it  is  just 
as  pi'obable  that  he  was  assassinated  bj'  his  ene- 
mies.'  From  the  comeliness  of  his  person,  he  was 
generally  called  Edwy  the  Fair. 

EDGAR  (958-;)),  his  brother,  who  had  been 
put  forward  against  him  in  his  lifetime,  now  suc- 
ceeded to  aU  his  dignities.  As  a  boy  of  fifteen, 
he  could  exercise  little  autliority:  he  was  long  a 
passive  instrument  iu  the  hands  of  Dunstan  and 

'  \n  old  Ua.  in  the  Cottouinn  Library  says  oxplicitly,  "  In 
p-ago  Glocestrensi  intorfectus  fiiit."  Another  old  MS.,  qnot««l 
by  Mr.  Sharon  Turner,  aays,  "Misera  morto  exspiravit ;"  but 
this  wonld  apply  as  woU  (or  better)  to  death  by  grief  as  to  deatti 
by  the  dagger. 


102 


niSTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militauy. 


Ills  party,  who  used  their  power  in  establishing 
their  cause,  iu  enforcing  the  celibacy  of  the 
clergj',  and  in  driving  out,  by  main  force,  from 
all  abbeys,  monasteries,  cathedrals,  cliurches,  and 
chanti'ies,  all  such  married  clergymen  as  would 
not  separate  from  their  wives.  At  the  same 
tiuie,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Dunstan  and  the 
monks  ruled  the  kingdom  with  vigour  and  suc- 
ce.ss,  and  consolidated  the  detached  states  into 
more  comjiact  integi-ity  ami  union  than  had  ever 
been  known  before.  Several  causes  favoured  this 
process.  Among  others,  Edgai',  who  had  been 
brought  up  among  the  Danes  of  East  Anglia 
and  Northumbria,  was  endeared  to  that  people, 
who,  in  consequence,  allowed  him  to  weaken 
their  states,  by  dividing  them  into  several  sepa- 
rate eai-ldoms  or  governments,  and  to  make  other 
innovations,  which  they  would  have  resented 
with  arms  in  their  hands  under  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors. His  fleet  was  also  wisely  increased  to 
the  number  of  300  sail;  and  these  ships  were  so 
well  disposed,  and  powerful  squadrons  kept  so 
constantly  in  motion,  that  the  sea-kings  were 
held  in  check  on  theu"  own  element,  and  pre- 
vented from  landing  and  troubling  the  country. 
At  the  same  time,  tutored  by  the  indefatigable 
Dunstan,  who  soon  was  made,  or  rather  who 
soon  made  himself.  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
the  king  accustomed  himself  to  visit  in  person 
every  jmrt  of  his  dominions  annually.  In  the 
land  progresses  he  was  attended  by  tlie  primate, 
or  by  energetic  ministers  of  Dunstan's  appoint- 
ing; and  as  he  went  from  Wessex  to  Mercia, 
from  Mercia  to  Northumbria,  courts  of  justice 
were  held  in  the  different  counties,  audiences 
and  feasts  were  given,  appeals  were  heard,  and 
Edgar  cultivated  the  acquaintance  of  all  the 
nobles  and  principal  men  of  the  kingdom.  The 
neighbouring  princes — his  vassals  or  allies — of 
Wales,  Cumbria,  and  Scotland,  were  awed  into 
respect  or  obedience,  and  on  several  occasions 
seem  to  have  bowed  before  his  throne.  When 
he  held  his  court  at  Chester,  and  had  one  day  a 
wish  to  visit  the  monastery  of  St.  John's,  on  the 


'  "  Hence,  his  fame  boiiig  noised  .ibroad,  foreigners — Saxons, 
Flemings,  and  even  Danes — frequently  sailed  hither,  and  ivere  on 
terms  of  intimacy  \vith  Edgar,  though  their  an-ival  was  highly 
prejudicial  to  the  natives ;  for  from  the  Saxons  they  learned  an 
untamable  ferocity  of  mind ;  from  the  Flemings,  an  unm.anly 
delicacy  of  body;  and  from  the  Danes,  drunkemiess;  though  they 
were  before  free  from  such  propensities,  and  disposed  to  obsen'e 
their  own  customs  with  native  simplicity,  rather  than  admire 
those  of  others." — WilUam  of  Malmcsb.  book  ii.  ch.  viii.  Yet,  in 
spite  of  these  corrupting  influences,  the  monk  of  Malmesbury 
adds :  "At  this  time  the  light  of  holy  men  was  so  resplendent 
in  England,  that  yoxi  would  believe  the  very  stairs  from  licaven 
smiled  upon  it.  Among  these  was  Dunstan,"  .  .  .  who,  with* 
out  preaching  total  abstinence  as  a  remedy  for  the  growing  vice 
of  drunkenness,  "ordered  gold  or  silver  pegs  to  be  fastened  in  the 
pots;  th.at  whilst  every  man  knew  hisjust  measure,  shame  should 
compel  each  neither  to  take  more  liimself,  nor  to  oblige  others  to 
drink  more  than  their  proportional  share." — See  Giles'  ed.  p.  14S. 


river  Dee,  eiglit  crowned  kings  (so  goes  the  story) 
plied  the  oars  of  his  barge,  while  he  guided  the 
helm.  These  sovereign  -  bargemen  are  said  to 
have  been  Kenneth,  King  of  Scotl.and;  Malcolm, 
his  son.  King  of  Cumbria;  Maccu.s  the  Dane,  King 
of  Anglesey,  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  the  Hebrides; 
the  Scottish  K  ings  of  Galloway  and  "  Westmere ;" 
and  the  three  Welsh  Kings  of  Dynwall,  Siferth, 
and  Edwall.' 

Edgar  certainly  bore  prouder  and  more  sound- 
ing titles  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  was 
styled  Basileus  or  Emperor  of  Albion,  King  of 
the  English,  and  of  all  tlie  nations  and  islands 
around."  He  obtained  the  more  honourable  epi- 
thet of  the  Peaceable  or  Pacific;  for,  luckily, 
during  his  wliole  reign,  his  kingdom  was  not 
troubled  by  a  single  war.^  He  commuted  a  tri- 
bute he  i-eceived  from  a  part  or  the  whole  of 
Wales,  into  300  wolves'  heads  annually,  in  order 
to  extii^pate  those  ravenous  animals;  and,  accord- 
ing to  William  of  Malme.sbury,  this  tribute  ceased 
in  the  fourth  year,  for  want  of  wolves  to  kill. 
The  cuiTency  had  been  so  diminished  in  weight 
by  the  fraudulent  practice  of  clipping,  that  the 
actual  value  was  far  inferior  to  the  nominal 
He  therefore  reformed  the  coinage,  and  had  new 
coins  issued  all  over  the  kingdom.  Though  Ed- 
gar was  now  in  mature  manhood,  there  is  pretty 
good  evidence  to  show  that  these  measures,  with 
others,  generally  of  a  beneficial  nature,  were  sug- 
gested and  carried  into  effect  liy  Dunstan,  who, 
most  indubital)ly,  had  his  full  share  in  the  next 
operations,  which  are  mentioned  with  especial 
laud  and  triumjih  by  the  monkish  wi-iters.  He 
made  married  priests  so  scarce  or  so  timid,  that 
their  faces  were  nowhere  to  be  seen;  and  he 
founded  or  restored  no  fewer  than  fifty  monas- 
teries, which  were  all  subjected  to  the  rigid  rales 
of  the  Benedictine  order.  It  is  curious  that  the 
monks,  who  had  a  debt  of  gi-atitude  to  pay,  and 
who,  in  their  summary  of  his  whole  character, 
indeed,  uphold  Edgar  as  a  godly,  virtuous  prince, 
should  have  recorded  actions  which  prove  him  to 
have  been  one  of  the  most  viciously  profligate  of 


-  "Nothing,"  says  Mr.  Turner,  "can  more  strongly  display 
Edgar's  vanity  than  the  pompous  and  boasting  titles  wliich  he 
assumes  in  his  charters.  They  sometimes  i-un  to  the  length  of 
fifteen  or  eigliteen  lines.  How  different  from  Alfred's  '  Ego  oc- 
cidentaliimi  Saxonnm  Res  1 '  " — Sharon  Turner's  Uistory  of  the 
Anfjla-Saxons. 

3  "  Edgar  the  Pacific,  as  he  was  called,  gave  a  greater  extent 
and  majesty  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  dominion  than  any  Bretwalda 
h.ad  hitlierto  obtained.  Peace,  it  was  believed,  w.as  prophesied 
to  liim  by  Dimstan,  and  peace  certainly  prevailed.  A  combat 
with  the  Britons,  faintly  indicated,  is  the  only  sign  of  war  which 
can  be  traced  in  the  annals  of  his  reign.  Yet  such  obedience 
wiis  rendered  to  Edgar  asnosovereignofBritam  had  ever  claimed 
before.  Circumnavigating  the  island  with  a  fleet  whose  num- 
bers are  said  to  have  amounted  to  5000  vessels,  he  led  his  mighty 
force  to  the  city  of  Chester,  where  the  v.-i-ssiils  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
crown  had  as.'^embled,  pursuant  to  his  behest." — Palgrave's  His- 
tory of  the  Anglo-Saxmis. 


A.D.  901-  1042.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


103 


the  Saxon  kings.     The  court  of  this  promoter  of 
eelibaey  and  chastity  swarmeil  at  all  times  with 
concubines,  some  of  whom  were  obtained  in  the 
most  violent  or  flagitious  manner.     To  pass  over 
less  authentic  cases,  in  an  early  part  of  his  reign, 
during  the  life  of  his  first  wife,  he  carried  oii" 
from  the  monastery  of  Wilton  a  beautiful  young 
lady  of  noble  bii-th,  named  Wulfreda,  who  was 
either  a  professed  nun,  or  receiving  her  education 
imder  the  sacred  covering  of  the  veil.     It  has 
been  said  that  Dunstan  here  interfered  with  a 
courage  which  absolves  him  from  the  charge  of 
reserving  his  reproofs  for  those  who  stood,  like 
the  unfortunate  Edwy,  in  the  position  of  enemies. 
But  what  was  the  amount  of  his  interference  in 
this  extreme  case,  where  the  sanctity  of  the  clois- 
ter itself  was  violated  ?     He  condemned  the  king 
to  lay  aside  an  empty,  inconvenient  bauble — not 
to  wear  his  crown  on  his  head  for  seven  years — 
iind  to  a  penance  of  fasting,  which  was  probably 
in  good  part  performed  by  deputy.     This  was 
not  the  measiu'e  of  piunishment  that  was  meted 
out  to  Edw}';  and,  for  all  that  we  can  learn  to 
the  contrary,  Edgar  was  allowed  to  retain  Wul- 
freda as  his  mistress!    On  another  occasion,  when 
the  guest  of  one  of  his  nobles  at  Andover,  he  or- 
dered that  the  fair  and  honourable  daughter  of 
his  host  should  be  sent  to  his  bed.     The  young 
lady's   mother  ai-tfully  substituted  a  handsome 
slave  or  servant;  and  this  menial  was  added  to 
Ids  harem,  or  taken  to  court,  where,  according  to 
William  of  Malmesbury,  she  enjoyed  his  exceed- 
ing gi-eat  favour,  until  he  became  enamoured  of 
Elfrida,  his  second  lawful  wife.    Komantic  as  ai-e 
its  incidents,  the  story  of  his  marriage  with  the 
execrable  Elfrida  rests  on  about  as  good  autho- 
rity as  we  can  find  for  any  of  the  events  of  the 
time.     The  fame  of  this  young  lady's   beauty 
reached  the  ears  of  Edgar,  ever  hungiy  of  such 
reports.     To  ascertain  whether  her  charms  were 
not  exaggerated,  the  royal  voluptuary  despatched 
Athelwold,  his  favourite  courtier,  to  the  dist;int 
castle  of  her  father,  Ordgar,  Earl  of  Devonshii-e. 
-Vthelwold   became   himself   enamoured   of   the 
beauty,  wedded  Jier,  and  then  represented  her 
to  the  king  as  being  rich,  indeed,  but  not  other- 
wise  commendable.      Edgar    suspected    or  was 
told  the  real  truth.     He  insisted  on  paying  her 
a  visit.     The  unlucky  husband  was  allowed  to 
precede  him,  that   he  might  put   his  house  in 
order;  but  he  failed  in   his  real  object,  which 
was  to  obtain  his  wife's  forgiveness  for  having 
stepped  between  her  and  a  thi'one,  and  to  induce 
her  to  disguise  or  conceal  the  brilliancy  of  her 
charms  by  homely  attire  and  rustic  demeanour. 
The  visit  was  made :  the  king  was  captivated, 
as  she  intended  he  should  be.     Soon  after  Athel- 
wold was  found  mm-dered  in  a  wood,  and  Edgar 
married  his  widow.    Tlus  union,  begun  in  crime, 


leil  to  the  foul  murder  of  Edgar's  eldest  son:  and 
under  the  ind)ccilc  Ethelred,  the  only  .son  he  had 
by  Elfrida,  the  glory  of  the  house  of  .Mfred  was 
eclipsetl  for  ever.  He  himself  did  not  survive 
the  marriage  more  than  six  or  seven  yeai-s,  when 
he  died,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-two,  and  was 
bm-ied  in  the  abbey  of  Glastonb\n-y,  which  he 
had  made  magnificent  by  viist  outlays  of  money 
and  donations  of  land.' 

EDWAKD,  commonly  called  the  Martyr,  wlio 
succeeded  (a.d.  !)75),  was  Edgar's  son  by  his  first 
marriage.     Like  all  the  kings  since  Athelstane, 
he  was  a  mere  boy  at  his  accession,  being  not 
more  than   fourteen  or   fifteen  years  old.     His 
rights  were  disputed,  in  favoiu-  of  her  own  son, 
Ethelred,  who  was  only  six  years  old,  by  the 
ambitious  and  remorseless  Elfrida,  who  boldly 
maintained  that  Edward,  though  the  elder  bro- 
ther, and  named  king  in  his  father's  will,  was 
excluded  by  the  illegitimacy  of  his  bii-th.     The 
legitimacy  of  sevez-al  of  the  Saxon  princes  who 
had  worn  the  crown  was  more  than  doubtful; 
but  in  the  case  of  Edward  the  challenge  seems 
to  have  been  unfounded.     The  cause  of  Edward 
and  his  half-brother  was  decided  on  fai-  diiferent 
grounds.    As  soon  as  Edgar  was  dead  the  church 
war  was  I'enewed,  and  Dunstan,  after  a  long  and 
unopposed  triumjjh,  was  compelled  once  more  to 
descend  to  the  ai-ena  wdth  his  old  opponents,  the 
"mai-ried  clerks,"  or  seculai'  clergy,  who  again 
showed  themselves  m  force  in  many  pai-ts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  claimed  the  abbeys  and  churches 
of  which  they  had  been  dispossessed.    The  nobles 
and  the  governors  of  provinces  chose  different 
sides.     Alfere,  the  powerful  Eolderman  of  Mer- 
cia,  declared  for  the  secular  clergy,  and  di'ove  the 
monks  from  every  part  of   his  extensive  domi- 
nions.    Alwyn,  of  East  Anglia,  on  the  contrary, 
stood  by  Dunstan  and  the  monks,  and  chased  the 
seculars.      Elfrida,   no   doubt   because   Dunstan 
and  his  friends  had  got  possession  of  Edward, 
gave  the  weight  of  her  son  Etheh'ed's  n;uue  and 
herself  to  the  party  of  Alfere  and  the  seculai-s, 
which  soon  j'roved  again  to  be  the  weaker  of  the 
two  factions.     Had  it  been  the  stronger,  Ethel- 
red would  have  been  crowned;  as  it  twned  out. 


1  "  Edgar's  reign  has  been  celebrated  as  the  most  glorious  of 
all  the  ^Viiglo-Saxon  liings.  No  other  sovereign,  indeed,  con- 
verted his  prosperity  into  siich  personal  pomp,  and  no  other 
sovereign  was  more  degraded  in  iiis  posterity.  Witli  his  sliort 
Ufe — for  he  died  at  tiiirty-two — the  gaudy  pageantry  ceased,  and 
all  the  va3t  dominion  in  which  he  h:ul  so  ostent.atiousl>'  exulted 
vanished  from  his  cliildreu's  grasp.  His  eldest  son  perished  by 
the  scheme  of  his  beloved  Elfrida ;  his  youngest  reigned  only  to 
show  that  one  weal£  reign  is  sufficient  to  ruin  even  a  bravo  and 
great  people.  Edgar  made  kings  his  watermen  ;  tlie  son  of  his 
love  live  times  bought  liis  kingdom  from  Dani.ih  rovera,  wiis  the 
fool  of  traitore,  and  sun'endered  his  tlirone  to  a  foreign  invader. 
Of  Edgar's  grandsons,  one  perished  violently  soon  after  his  ivi- 
cession.  The  otlier  was  tlie  last  of  liis  race  who  nUed  the  Anglo- 
.Saxon  n.ation." — Sharon  Tinner's  Uiitory  of  the  Angio-Saxonf, 
vol.  iii.  p.  lao. 


10^ 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  jMilitart 


Dunstan  was  eualiled  to  jilace  Eihvai-d  upon  tlie 
throne.  But  the  animosities  of  two  i-eligious 
parties  were  not  to  be  reconciled  liy  the  decisions 
of  national  or  church  councils,  by  disinitations, 
or  even  by  mu-acles;  nor  was  the  ambition  of  the 
perfidious  Elfrida  to  be  cured  by  a  single  reverse. 
She  continued  her  intrigues  with  the  seculiir 
pai-ty;  she  united  herself  more  closely  than  ever 
with  Alfere,  the  Eolderman  of  Mercia;  and  soon 
saw  herself  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  confede- 
racy of  nobles,  who  were  resolved  her  son  shoidd 
reign,  and  Dunstan  be  deprived  of  that  immense 
power  he  had  so  long  held.  But  not  even  this 
resolution  would  prepare  us  for  the  horrible  catas- 
trophe that  followed.  About  three  yeai-s  after 
his  accession,  as  Edward  was  hunting  one  day  in 
Dorsetshire,  he  quitted  his  company  and  atten- 
dants to  visit  his  half-brother,  Ethelred,  who  was 


CoRrE  Castle,  Dorsetaliire  ' 


•Prom  Turner  s  Southern  CoTst 


living  with  his  mother,  hard  by,  in  Corfe  Castle. 
Elfrida  came  forth  with  her  son  to  meet  him  at 
the  outer  gate:  she  bade  him  welcome  with  a 
smiling  face,  and  invited  him  to  dismount;  but 
the  young  king,  with  thanks,  declined,  fearing  he 
should  be  missed  by  his  company,  and  craved  only 
a  cup  of  wine,  which  he  might  drink  in  his  saddle 
to  her  and  his  brother,  and  so  be  gone.  The  wine 
was  brought,  and  as  Edward  was  carrying  the 

1  The  foundation  of  this  castle  is  considered  to  date  from  the 
tenth  century.  Its  great  strength,  and  its  situation  on  a  liigh 
hill,  caused  it  to  be  reg-arded  formerly  as  a  fortress  ofpecuJiar  im- 
portance, and  it  was  used  as  a  resting-place  by  the  West  Saxon 
piinces.  It  was  the  occasional  residence  of  Iving  John,  and  here 
he  deposited  liis  regalia  for  security.  Here  Edwai-d  11.,  when 
he  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  was  for  a  time  imprisoned; 
it  was  stoutly  defended  in  the  war  of  the  Parli-oment.  but 
taken  by  treachery  in  1645-6,  when  it  was  di-sm-intled.  The 
Ciistle  is  separ.at^d  from  the  town  to  which  it  gives  its  name  by 
a  ditch,  now  diy,  crossed  by  a  bridge  of  four  very  narrow,  high 
&r».^ueo. 


cup  to  his  lips,  one  of  Elfrida's  attendants  stabbed 
him  in  the  back.  The  wounded  king  put  spurs 
to  his  horse,  Viut  soon  fainting  from  loss  of  blood, 
he  fell  out  of  the  saddle,  and  was  dragged  by  one 
foot  in  the  stin-up  through  woods  and  rugged 
ways  until  he  was  dead.  His  but  too  negligent 
companions  in  the  chase  traced  him  by  his  blood, 
and  at  last  found  his  disfigm-ed  corpse,  which 
they  burned,  and  then  bm-ied  the  ashes  of  it  at 
Wareham,  without  any  pomp  or  regal  ceremonies. 
"  No  worse  deed  than  this,"  says  the  Saxon  Chro- 
nicle, "  had  been  committed  among  the  people 
of  the  Angles  since  they  fii-st  came  to  the  land  of 
Britain." 

It  is  believed  that  Alfere,  the  Eolderman  of 
Mercia,  with  other  nobles  opposed   to  Dunstan 
and   the  monks,  was  engaged  with   the  queen- 
dowager  in  a  plot  to  assassinate  Edwai'd,  but 
that  Elfrida,  impatiently  seiz- 
ing an  unlooked-f<ir  opjjortu- 
nity,  took  the  bloody  execution 
_  ~_^^.-~        instantly  and  wholly  upon  her- 
^^  self.     The  boy  ETHELEED, 

who  was  not  ten  years  old,  had 
no  pai-t  in  the  guilt  which  gave 
him  a  crown,  though  that 
crown  certainly  sat  upon  him 
like  a  curse.  It  is  related  of 
him  that  he  dearly  loved  his 
half-brother  Edwai-d,  and  wept 
his  death,  for  which  his  virago 
mother,  seizing  a  large  torch, 
beat  him  with  it  until  he  was 
almost  dead  himself.  Such, 
however,  was  the  popular 
odium  that  fell  both  on  son 
and  mother,  that  an  attempt 
was  made  to  exclude  him  from 
the  throne,  by  substituting  Ed- 
githa,  Edgar's  natm-al  daugh- 
ter by  the  lady  he  had  stolen  from  the  nunnery 
of  Wilton.  This  Edgitha  was  herself  at  the  time 
a  professed  nun  in  the  same  monasteiy  from 
which  her  mother  had  been  torn;  and  it  is  said 
that  nothing  but  her  timidity  and  the  di-ead  in- 
sph-ed  by  her  brother  Edward's  mm-der,  and  her 
firm  refusal  to  exchange  the  tranquillitj-  of  the 
cell  for  the  dangers  of  the  throne,  prevented 
Dunstan  from  causing  her  to  be  jiroclaimed 
Queen  of  all  England.  There  was  no  other  prince 
of  the  blood-royal — no  other  pretender  to  set  up; 
so  the  prelates  and  thanes,  with  no  small  repug- 
nance, were  compelled  to  bestow  the  crown  on  the 
son  of  the  mui-deress ;  and  Dimstan,  as  primate,  at 
the  festival  of  Easter  (a.  d.  979)  put  it  on  his  weak 
head  in  the  old  chapel  of  Kingston,  at  this  time 
the  usual  crowning  place  of  the  Saxon  monarchs. 
The  vehement  monk,  who  Wiis  now  soured  Ijy 
a^e,  and  exasperated  at  the  tenipcrai-y  tiiumph 


A.D.  901—1042.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


105 


of  his  enemies,  is  said  to  have  pronounced  a  male- 
diction on  Etheh-ed,  even  in  the  act  of  crowning 
him,  and  to  have  given  public  vent  to  a  prophecy 
of  ■\voe  and  misery,  which  some  think  was  well 
calculated  to  insure  its 
own  fulfilment  ;  for 
Dunstan  already  en- 
joyed among  the  na- 
tion the  repvilalion  of 
being  both  a  seer  and 
a  saint,  and  the  words 
he  dropped  could  hard- 
ly fail  of  being  trea- 
sured in  the  memory 
of  the  people,  and  of 
depressing  their  spii-its 
at  the  ajiproach  of  dan- 
ger. Etheh-ed,  more- 
over, began  liis  reign 
with  an  luilucky  nick- 
name, which  it  is  be- 
lieved was  given  him 
by  Dunstan  —  he   was 


CRO^VNlSG-STo^rE  of  the  Saxon  Kings.'— J.  W.  Archer, 
from  his  drawing  on  the  spot. 


called  "the  Unready." 
His  personal  and  moral  qualities  were  not  cal- 
culated to  overcome  a  bad  prestige,  and  the 
unpopular  circumstances  attending  his  succes- 
sion: in  him  the  people  lost  their  warm  afl'ec- 
tion  for  the  blood  of  Alfred,  and  by  degi-ees 
many  of  them  contemplated  with  indiflerence,  if 
not  with  pleasure,  the  transfer  of  the  crown  to  a 
prince  of  Danish  race.  This  latter  feeling  more 
than  half  exjilaius  the  events  of  his  reign.  Dm-- 
ing  the  first  jiai't  of  the  minority,  the  infamous 
Elfi'ida  enjoyed  great  authority,  but  as  the  king 
advanced  in  years,  her  influence  declined,  and, 
followed  by  the  execrations  of  nobles  and  people 
(even  by  those  of  her  own  party),  she  at  last  re- 
tired to  expiate  her  sins,  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  tunes,  in  building  and  endowing  monas- 
teries. 

Although  the  Northmen  settled  in  the  Dane- 
l;\gh  had  so  frequently  troubled  the  peace  of  the 
kingdom,  and  had  probably  at  no  period  re- 
noxmced  the  hope  of  gaining  an  ascendency  over 
the  Saxons  of  the  island,  and  placing  a  king  of 
their  own  race  on  the  throne  of  England,  the 
Danes  beyond  sea  had  cei-tainly  made  no  for- 
midable attacks  since  the  time  of  Athelstane,  and 
of  late  years  had  scarcely  been  heai'd  of.  This 
suspension  of  hostility  on  theu-  part  is  not  to  be 

'  Tliis  stone  w  as  invested  with  a  traditionary  sanctity  some- 
what siniilai-  to  that  in  the  coronation  chair  at  Westminster  Ab- 
bey. It  foi-merly  stood  in  the  ancient  chapel  of  St.  Mary,  at  King- 
ston-on-Thames, wliich  fell  down  about  fifty  years  ago.  It  haa 
been  recently  set  up  upon  a  new  pedestal  in  the  High  Street  of 
that  town. 

**  The  Anglo-S<ixon  kings  were  crowned  at  Winchester  until 
that  city  was  burned  by  the  Danes,  in  the  reign  of  Ethelbert, 
when  the  court  was  removed  to  Kingston.  Edward  (called  the 
Elder)  was  the  first  Anglo-Saxon  king  crowned  at  Kingston."— 
Brayley's  Suri-ei/. 

Vol.  I. 


attributed  solely  to  the  wisdom  and  valour  of  tlic 
intermediate  Saxon  kings.  There  were  great 
political  causes  connected  with  tlie  histories  of 
Norway  and  Denmark,  and  France  and  Nor- 
mandy; and  circum- 
stances which,  by  giv- 
ing the  Danes  employ- 
ment and  settlement  in 
other  countries,  kept 
ihera  away  from  Eng- 
land. But  now,  when 
un  fortunately  there  was 
neither  wisdom  nor  va- 
lour in  the  king  and 
council,  nor  spirit  in 
the  people,  these  ex- 
traneous circumstances 
had  changed,  and  in- 
stead of  checking,  they 
tlu-ew  the  men  of  the 
North  on  our  shores. 
Sweyn,  a  son  of  the 
King  of  Denmark,  had  quarrelled  with  his  father, 
and  been  banished  from  his  home.  Young,  brave, 
and  euterprisiug,  he  soon  collected  a  host  of  ma- 
riners and  adventurers  round  his  standard,  with 
whom  he  resolved  to  obtain  wealth,  if  not  a  home 
in  our  island.  His  first  operations  were  on  a 
small  scale,  intended  merely  to  try  the  state  of 
defence  of  the  island,  and  wore  probably  not  con- 
ducted by  himself. 

In  the  third  year  of  Ethelred's  reign  (a.d.  981), 
the  Danish  raven  was  seen  floating  in  Soutliamp- 
ton  Water,  and  that  city  was  plundered,  and  its 
inhabitants  carried  into  slavery.  In  the  com-se 
of  a  few  months  Chester  and  London  partook  of 
the  fate  of  Southampton,  and  attacks  were  mul- 
tiplied on  different  points — in  the  north,  in  the 
south,  and  in  the  west — as  far  as  the  extremity  of 
Cornwall.  These  operations  were  continued  for 
some  years,  during  which  Etheh'ed  seems  to  have 
been  much  occuijied  by  quarrels  with  his  bishops 
and  nobles.  Alfere,  the  Mercian,  who  had  con- 
S]5ii'ed  with  Elfrida  against  Edward  the  Martyr, 
was  dead,  and  his  extensive  earldom  had  fallen 
to  his  son  Alfric,  a  notorious  name  in  these  an- 
nals. In  consequence  of  a  cons])iracy,  real  or 
alleged,  this  Alfric  was  banished.  The  weak 
king  was  soon  obliged  to  recal  him,  but  tlie  re- 
vengefid  nobleman  never  forgot  the  past.  In  the 
yeai-  991  a  more  formidable  host  of  the  sea-kings 
i-avaged  all  tliat  part  of  East  Anglia  that  lay  be- 
tween Ipswich  and  Maldon,  and  won  a  gi'eat 
battle,  in  which  Earl  Brilhnoth,  a  Dane  by  de- 
scent, but  a  Christian,  and  a  friend  to  the  estab- 
li.shed  government,  was  slain.  Etheh-ed,  then, 
for  the  first  time,  had  recourse  to  the  fatal  ex- 
pedient of  purchasing  their  forbeai-auce  witli 
I  money.  Ten  thousand  ])ound3  of  silver  were  paid 
14 


lOG 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  jkd  Militauy. 


down,  and  tlie  sea-kings  departed  for  a  while, 
can-ying  with  tliem  the  heail  of  Earl  Brithnoth 
as  a  trophy.  In  the  course  of  the  following  yeai- 
the  wltenagemot  adopted  a  wiser  plan  of  defence. 
A  formidable  fleet  was  collected  at  London,  and 
well  manned  and  supplied  with  arms.  But  this 
wise  measure  was  defeated  by  Alfrio  the  Mercian, 
who,  in  his  hatred  to  the  king,  had  opened  a  cor- 
respondence with  the  Danes,  and  being  intrusted 
with  a  principal  command  in  the  fleet,  he  went 
over  to  them  on  the  eve  of  a  battle,  with  many 
of  his  ships.  The  traitor  of  com'se  escaped,  and 
Etheh-ed  wreaked  his  savage  vengeance  on  Elf  gar, 
the  son  of  Alfric,  whose  eyes  he  put  out.  In  993 
a  Danish  host  landed  in  the  north,  and  took  Bam- 
borough  Castle  by  storm.  Three  chiefs,  of  Dan- 
ish origin,  who  had  been  appointed  to  command 
the  natives,  threw  down  the  standard  of  Etheh-ed, 
and  ranged  themselves  under  the  Danish  raven. 
AJl  through  Northumbria,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Danelagh,  the  Danish  settlers  gradually  either 
joined  theu-  still  pagan  brethren  from  the  Baltic, 
cr  offered  them  no  resistance.  In  the  meantime, 
the  fortimes  of  Sweyn  the  exile  had  undergone 
a  change.  By  the  murder  of  his  father  he  had 
ascended  the  throne  of  Denmai-k,  and,  formidable 
himself,  he  had  gained  a  powerful  ally  in  Olave, 
King  of  Norway,  a  prince  of  the  true  Scandina- 
vian race,  a  son  of  an  old  pirate,  who,  in  former 
times,  had  often  pillaged  the  coast  of  England. 
In  994  the  two  North  kings  ravaged  all  the  south- 
ern provinces  of  om-  island,  doing  "  unspeakable 
harm,"  and  meeting  nowhere  with  a  valid  re- 
sist.ance.  It  was  again  agreed  to  treat,  and  buy 
them  off  with  money.  Theii-  pretensions  of 
course  rose,  and  this  time  sixteen  thousand  pounds 
of  silver  were  exacted  and  paid.  By  a  clause  in 
the  treaty,  Olave  and  some  chiefs  were  bound  to 
embrace  the  Chi'istian  religion,  Sweyn  had  been 
baptized  ah-eady  more  than  once,  and  had  re- 
lapsed to  idolatry.  One  of  the  chiefs  boasted 
that  ho  had  been  washed  twenty  times  hi  the  wa- 
ter of  baptism,  by  which  we  are  to  understand 
that  the  marauder  had  submitted  to  what  he  con- 
sidered an  idle  ceremony,  whenever  it  suited  his 
convenience.  Olave,  the  Norwegian  king,  how- 
ever, stood  at  the  font  with  a  better  spu-it ;  his 
conversion  was  sincere ;  and  an  oath  he  there 
took,  never  again  to  molest  the  English,  was 
honoiu'ably  kept.  During  the  fom-  following 
yeai'S  the  Danes  continued  their  desultoi-y  inva- 
sions ;  and  when  (in  998)  Etheh-ed  had  got  ready 
a  strong  fleet  and  army  to  ojipose  them,  some  of 
his  own  oflicers  g.ave  the  plunderers  timely  warn- 
ing, and  they  retreated  unhurt.  On  their  next 
returning  in  force  (a.d.  1001),  Ethelred  seems  to 
have  had  neither  fleet  nor  army  in  a  condition  to 
meet  them ;  for,  after  two  conflicts  by  land,  they 
were  allowed  to  ravage  the  whole  kingdom  from 


the  Isle  of  Wiglit  to  the  Bristol  Channel,  and 
then  tlicy  v^ere  stayed,  not  by  steel,  but  by  gold. 
Their  price  of  course  still  rose  ;  this  time  twcnty- 
four  thousand  pounds  were  paid  to  purchase  their 
departui'e.  These  large  sums  were  raised  by 
direct  taxation  upon  land ;  and  the  "  Dane-geld," 
as  it  was  called,  was  an  oppressive  and  humiliat- 
ing bm'den,  that  became  permanent.  Nor  was 
this  all.  The  treaties  of  peace  or  truce  generally 
allowed  bands  of  the  marauders  to  winter  in  the 
island,  at  Southampton  or  some  other  town;  and 
during  their  stay  the  English  people,  whom  they 
had  plundered  and  beggared,  were  obliged  to  feed 
them.  Their  appetites  had  not  decreased  since 
the  days  of  Guthrun  and  Hasting. 

As  if  the  Danes  were  not  enemies  enough, 
Ethelred  had  engaged  in  hostilities  with  Eichard 
II.,  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  had  even,  at  one 
time,  prepared  an  armament  to  invade  his  do- 
minions. The  quarrel  was  made  up  by  the 
mediation  of  the  pope;  and  then  the  English 
king,  who  was  a  widower,  thought  of  strength- 
ening his  hr.nls  by  marrying  Emma,  the  Duke  of 
Normandy's  sister.  The  alliance,  wliich  laid  the 
first  gi-ounds  for  the  pretext  of  Norman  claims 
on  England,  afterwards  pressed  by  William  the 
Conqueror,  was  readily  accepted  by  the  Duke 
Eichard,  and  in  the  spring  of  1002  Emma,  "  the 
Flower  of  Normandy,"  as  she  was  styled,  arrived 
at  the  coiu-t  of  Etheh'ed,  where  she  was  received 
with  gi-eat  pomp 

The  long  rejoicings  for  this  maiTiage  were 
scarcely  over  when  a  memorable  atrocity  covered 
the  land  with  amazement,  blood,  and  horror. 
This  was  the  sudden  massacre  of  the  Danes,  per- 
petrated by  the  people  with  whom  they  were 
living  intermixed  as  fellow-subjects.  It  is  uni- 
versally asserted  that  the  plot  was  laid  before- 
hand, the  fatal  order  given  by  the  king  himself ; 
and  there  is  little  in  Ethelred's  general  conduct 
and  character  to  awaken  a  doubt  in  his  favour. 
At  the  same  time,  be  it  observed,  the  people  must 
have  been  as  guilty,  as  secret,  as  treacherous,  as 
cruel  as  the  king,  and  must  have  entered  fully 
into  the  sjimt  which  dictated  the  bloody  order  of 
which  they  were  to  be  the  executioners.  Such 
being  the  case,  we  think  they  were  fully  equal  to 
the  conception  of  the  plot  themselves,  and  that, 
from  the  loose,  unguarded  manner  in  which  the 
Danes  lived  scattered  among  them,  such  a  mode 
of  disposing  of  them  would  naturally  suggest 
itself  to  a  very  imperfectly  civilized  people,  mad- 
dened by  the  harsh  treatment  and  insults  of  their 
invaders.  In  the  simultaneous  massacre  of  the 
French  invaders  aU  over  Sicily,  in  1282,  the  same 
mystery  was  observed  ;  but  it  is  still  a  matter  of 
doubt  whether  the  "  Sicilian  Vespers "  were  or- 
dered by  John  of  Procida,  or  sprung  spontane- 
ously from  the  people.     These  two  cases,  which 


A.v.  001  —  101-2.' 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


107 


belmg  alike  to  the  class  of  the  terrible  acts  of 
vengeance  that  signalize  a  nation's  desjiair,  are 
nearly  jiarallcl  in  their  circumstances;  and  in 
England,  as  afterwards  in  Sicily,  it  was  the  in- 
sults offered  by  the  iuvadei-s  to  their  women  that 
extinguished  tlie  last  sentiments  of  humanity  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  The  outrages  of  the 
Danish  pagans  were  extreme.  According  to  the 
okl  chroniclers,  they  made  the  English  yeomanry 
among  whom  they  were  settled,  perform  the  most 
menial  offices  for  them ;  they  held  their  houses 
as  their  own,  and,  eating  and  drinking  of  the 
best,  scantly  left  the  real  proprietor  Iiis  fill  of  tlie 
worst;  the  peasantiy  were  so  sorely  oppressed 
that,  out  of  fear  and  dread,  they  called  them,  in 
evoy  house  where  they  had  rule,  "  Lord  Danes." 
Their  wives  and  daughters  were  everywhere  a 
prey  to  their  lust,  and  when  the  English  mado 
resistance  or  remonstrance,  they  were  killed,  or 
beaten  and  laughed  at.  All  this  description 
seems  to  point  at  soldiers  and  adventurers,  and 
men  recently  settled  in  the  land,  and  not  to  the 
converted  married  Danes,  who  liad  been  living  a 
long  time  in  different  parts  of  the  country  (as 
well  as  in  the  Danelagh,  where  they  were  too 
numerous  to  be  touched),  who  had  conti-acted 
quiet,  orderly  habits,  and  successfully  cultivated 
the  friendship  of  the  English.  It  was  resolved, 
however,  to  destroy  them  all  at  one  blow ;  the 
good  with  the  bad,  the  innocent  infant  at  the 
breast  with  the  hai'dened  ruffian,  the  neighbour 
of  years  with  the  intruder  of  yesterday.  As  the 
stoiy  is  told,  Ethelred  sent  secretly  to  all  his  good 
burghs,  cities,  and  towns,  charging  the  rulers 
thereof  to  rise,  all  on  a  fixed  day  and  hour,  and, 
by  falling  suddenly  on  the  Danes,  exterminate 
them  from  the  land  by  sword  and  fii'e.  By  what- 
ever means  this  simultaneous  movement  was  ar- 
ranged, it  certainly  took  place.  On  Nov.  13,  1002 
(the  holy  festival  of  St.  Brice),tlie  Danes,  dispersed 
through  a  gi-eat  part  of  England,  were  attacked 
by  surprise,  and  massacred,  without  distinction 
of  quality,  age,  or  sex,  by  their  hosts  and  neigh- 
bours. GunhiUIa,  the  sister  of  Sweyn,  King  of 
Denmark,  who  had  embraced  Christianity,  and 
married  an  English  earl  of  Danish  descent,  after 
being  made  to  witness  the  murder  of  her  husband 
and  child,  was  barbarously  murdered  herself. 

This  talc  of  horror  was  soon  wafted  across  the 
ocean,  wdiere  Sweyn  prepared  for  a  deadly  re- 
venge. He  assembled  a  fleet  more  numerous  than 
any  that  had  hitherto  invaded  England.  The 
Danish  wan-iors  considered  the  cause  a  national 
and  sacred  one ;  and  in  the  assembled  host  there 
was  not  a  slave,  or  an  emancipated  slave,  or  a  sin- 
gle old  man,  but  every  combatant  was  a  freeman, 
the  son  of  a  freeman,  and  in  the  prime  of  life.' 

'  Sax.  Chron, 


These  clioice  wai-riors  embarked  in  lofty  ships, 
e\cry  one  of  whicli  bore  the  ensign  or  standard 
of  its  sejiarate  commander.  Some  carried  at  their 
prow  such  figures  as  lions,  bulls,  dolpliins,  dra- 
gons, or  armed  men,  all  made  of  metal,  and  gayly 
gilded ;  others  carried  on  their  topmast-head  the 
figures  of  large  birds,  as  eagles  and  ravens,  that 
stretched  out  their  wings  and  turned  with  the 
wind;  the  sides  of  the  shii)S  were  painted  with 
different  bright  coloui-s,  and,  larbo.ai-d  and  star- 
board, from  stem  to  stern,  shields  of  burnished 
steel  were  susiiended  in  even  lines,  and  glittered 
in  the  sun.  Gold,  silver,  and  embroidered  ban- 
ners were  profusely  displayed,  and  the  whole 
wealth  of  the  pirates  of  (he  Baltic  was  made  to 
contribute  to  this  barbaric  pomp.  The  ship  that 
l)ore  the  royal  standard  of  Sweyn  was  moidded 
in  the  form  of  an  enormous  serpent,  the  sharp 
head  of  which  formed  the  prow,  while  the  length- 
ening tail  coiled  over  the  poop.  It  was  called 
"The  Great  Dragon."  The  first  jilace  where  the 
avengers  landed  was  near  Exeter,  and  that  im- 
portant city  was  presently  surrendered  to  them, 
through  the  treachery  of  Ethelred's  governor,  a 
Norman  nobleman,  and  one  of  the  train  of  fa- 
vourites and  dependents  that  had  followed  Queen 
Emma.  After  plundering  and  dismantling  Exe- 
ter, the  Danes  marched  through  the  country  into 
Wiltshire,  committing  every  excess  that  a  thirst 
for  vengeance  and  rapine  could  suggest.  In  all 
the  towns  and  villages  through  which  they  passed, 
after  gayly  eating  the  repasts  the  Saxons  were 
forced  to  pre]iare  for  them,  they  slew  their  host.s, 
and,  departing,  set  fire  to  their  houses.-  At  last 
an  Anglo-Saxon  army  was  brought  up  to  oppose 
their  destructive  progi'ess ;  but  this  force  was 
commanded  by  another  traitor — by  Alfrie  the 
Mercian — who  had  already  betrayed  Ethelred, 
and  whose  son,  in  consequence,  had  been  barba- 
rously blinded  by  the  king.  We  are  not  informed 
by  what  means  he  had  been  restored  to  favour 
and  employment  after  such  extreme  mea.sures, 
but  Alfrie  now  took  the  opportunity  offered  liim 
for  further  revenge  au  the  king.  Ho  pretended 
to  be  seized  with  a  sudden  illness,  called  off  his 
men  when  they  were  about  to  join  battle,  and 
permitted  Sweyn  to  retire  with  his  ai-my  and  his 
immense  booty  through  Salisbury  to  the  sea- 
coast.  In  the  following  year  Norwich  was  taken, 
plundered,  and  burned,  and  the  same  fate  befell 
nearly  every  town  in  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Cam- 
bridgeshire, Huntingdonshire,  and  Lincolnshire. 
The  Danes  then  (a.d.  1004)  returned  to  the  Bal- 
tic, retreating  from  a  famine  which  their  devas- 
tations had  caused  in  England 

By  marrying  the  Norman  princess  Emma,  Eth- 
elred had  hoped  to  secure  the  assistance  of  her 


2  Hen.  Hunting.  Uiit. 


108 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


brother,  Duke  Richnr'l,  ag.ninst  the  D.mes ;  but 
it  was  soon  fouiiil  that  the  only  Norm.ans  wlio 
crossed  the  Channel  -were  a  set  of  intriguing,  am- 
bitious courtiei-s,  hungry  for  English  places  and 
honours ;  and  by  his  inconstancy  and  neglect  of 
his  wife,  Elhelred  so  irritated  that  princess  that 
she  made  bitter  complaints  to  her  brother,  and 
caused  a  fresh  quarrel  between  England  and 
Normandy.  Duke  Richard  seized  all  the  native 
English  who  chanced  to  be  in  his  dominions,  and 
after  shamefully  killing  some,  threw  the  rest 
into  prison  According  to  Walsingham,  and  some 
of  the  old  Norman  writers,  Etheh-ed  then  actu- 
ally sent  a  force  to  invade  Normandy,  and  this 
force,  after  effecting  a  landing  near  Coutances, 
was  thoroughly  defeated.  We  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  expedition  was  less  important 
than  the  Norman  chronicles  represent  it,  but  it 
shows  the  impolicy  of  the  Saxon  king,  and  had, 
no  doubt,  some  effect  in  weakening  an  already 
■weak  and  dispu-ited  nation. 

In  1006  Sweyn,  whose  vengeance  and  rapacity 
were  not  yet  satisfied,  retm-ned,  and  carried  fire 
and  sword  over  a  great  part  of  the  kingdom  ;  and 
when  it  was  resolved  in  the  great  council  to  buy 
him  off  with  gold,  .£36,000  was  the  sum  de- 
manded. The  frequent  raising  of  these  large 
sums  utterly  exhausted  the  people,  whose  doors 
were  almost  constantly  beset  either  by  the  king's 
tax-gatherers  or  the  Danish  marauders.  Those 
few  who  had,  as  yet,  the  good  fortune  of  escaping 
the  pillage  of  the  Danes,  could  not  now  escape 
the  exactions  of  Ethelred,  and,  under  one  form 
or  another,  they  were  siu-e  of  being  plundered  of 
all  they  possessed.  By  an  insolent  and  cruel 
mockery,  the  royal  tax-gatherers  were  accustomed 
to  demand  an  additional  sum,  from  those  who 
had  paid  money  to  the  Danes  directly,  in  order 
to  save  then-  persons  and  their  houses  from  de- 
straction,  affecting  to  consider  such  transactions 
with  the  enemy  as  illegal. 

In  1008  the  people  were  oppressed  with  a  new 
burden ;  but  had  this  been  properly  apportioned, 
had  the  coimtry  been  less  e:^austed,  and  had  the 
measure  for  which  the  money  was  to  be  applied 
been  carried  vigorously  and  honestly  into  effect, 
it  seems  as  if  it  ought  to  have  saved  England 
from  the  Danes.  Every  310  hides  of  land  were 
charged  with  the  building  and  equipping  of  one 
ship  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom;  and  in  ad- 
dition to  this,  every  nine  hides  of  land  were  bound 
to  provide  one  man,  anned  with  a  helmet  and 


*  "  In  the  earlier  years  of  Ethelred,  the  struggle  commenced 
between  the  two  races  of  the  inhabitants  of  England.  The  supe- 
riority of  the  Saxons  in  art  and  wealth  was,  for  a  time,  compen- 
sated by  the  inexhaustible  aid  which  their  opponents  drew  from 
Scandinavia,  now  almost  united  under  one  king  paramount. 
Tlie  Saxon  people  continued  faithful,  though  dispirited.  But 
the  defection  and  treacheiy  of  several  of  the  provincial  chiefs, 
tisiiecially  of  Elfric,  Earl  of  Mercia.  seem  to  indicate  a  grooving 


iron  breastplate.  It  is  calculated  that,  if  all  the 
land  which  still  nominally  belonged  to  Ethelred 
had  supplied  its  proper  contingent,  more  than 
800  ships  and  about  S.'JjOOO  armed  men  would 
have  been  provided.  The  force  actually  raised 
is  not  stated,  but,  in  spite  of  the  exhaustion  of 
the  country,  it  appears  to  have  been  large ;  some 
of  the  old  writera  stating,  particularly  as  to  the 
marine,  that  there  never  were  so  many  ships  got 
together  in  England  before.  This  fleet,  however, 
was  soon  rendered  valueless  by  dissensions  and 
treachei-y  at  home.  Ethelred,  who  had  always  a 
favourite  of  some  kind,  was  now  governed  by 
Edric,  a  man  of  low  birth,  but  eloquent,  clever, 
and  ambitious  He  obtained  in  mari-iage  one  of 
the  king's  daughters,  and  about  the  same  time 
one  of  the  highest  offices  in  the  state.  His  family 
shai-ed,  as  usual,  in  his  promotion.  Brihtric, 
the  brother  of  this  powerful  favourite,  conspired 
against  Earl  Wulfnoth.  Wulfnoth  fled,  and  car- 
ried twenty  of  the  new  shijjs  with  him,  with 
which  he  plimdered  all  the  southern  coast  of 
England,  even  as  if  he  had  been  a  Danish  pii-ate. 
Eighty  other  ships  were  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  Brihtric,  who  pursued  the  man  he  had 
sought  to  ruin.  A  stoi-m  ai'ose ;  these  eighty 
vessels  were  wrecked  on  the  coast,  where  Wulf- 
noth succeeded  in  bm-ning  them  all ;  and  then 
the  rest  of  the  king's  fleet  appear  to  have  dis- 
persed in  anarchy  and  confusion.  This  story, 
like  so  many  othera  of  the  period,  is  imperfectly 
told;  but  the  annalists  agree  in  stating  that  the 
new  navy  was  dissipated  or  lost ;  and  that  thus 
perished  the  last  hope  of  England. 

As  soon  as  the  intelligence  of  this  disaster 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Baltic,  a  large  army  of 
Danes,  called,  fi-om  their  leader,  "  Thurkill's  host," 
set  sail  for  England,  where,  dm-ing  the  tlu-ee  fol- 
lowing yeara,  they  committed  incalculable  mis- 
chief, and  by  the  end  of  that  period  had  made 
themselves  mastei-s  of  a  large  part  of  the  king- 
dom. They  now  and  then  sold  short  and  uncer- 
tain truces  to  the  Saxons,  but  they  never  evinced 
an  intention  of  leaving  the  island,  as  Sweyn  had 
left  it  on  former  occasions,  when  well  loaded  with 
gold.  As  Ethelred's  difficulties  increased,  he  was 
surrounded  more  and  more  by  the  basest  treach- 
erj',  and  he  seems,  at  la.st,  not  to  have  had  a 
single  officer  on  whom  he  could  depend.  During 
this  lamentable  period  of  baseness  and  cowardice, 
a  noble  instance  of  courage  and  firmness  occm-red 
in  the  person  of  a  churchman.'  AJphege,  Arch- 
familiarity  between  men  of  rank  in  both  nations,  and  a  disposi- 
tion to  regard  the  war  as  the  contest  of  two  n.atioual  parties  for 
the  mastery.  Three  times  did  Ethelred  purchase  a  moraentarj- 
respite  from  their  ravages  by  large  bribes,  which  served  to  insure 
their  return.  In  the  midst  of  these  ignominious  submissions, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  <a  prisoner  in  the  Danish  camp, 
acted  with  a  magnanimity  more  signal  than  that  which  patriotic 
fiction  ascribed  to  Regulus." — Sir  James  Mackijitosh. 


A.D.  901-1012.1 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


]0.1 


bishop  of  Cauterbury,  defcndcil  tliat  city  for 
twenty  days,  and  when  a  traitoi-  opened  its  gates 
to  the  Danes,  and  he  was  made  prisoner  and 
loaded  with  chains,  he  refused  to  purchase  li- 
berty and  life  with  gold,  which  he  knew  must  be 
wi-uug  from  the  people.  Tii'ed  out  by  his  resist- 
ance, they  thought  to  overcome  it  by  lowering 
the  rate  of  his  ransom;  and  they  proposed  to  take 
a  small  sum  from  him,  if  he  would  engage  to  ad- 
vTse  the  king  to  pay  them  a  further  amount  as  a 
largess.  "  I  do  not  possess  so  much  money  as 
you  demand  from  me,"  replied  the  Saxon  arch- 
bishop, "  and  I  will  not  ask  or  take  money  from 
anybody,  nor  will  I  advise  my  king  against  the 
honour  of  my  country."  He  continued  immov- 
able in  this  resolution,  even  refusing  the  means 
of  ransom  voluntarily  offered  by  his  brother,  say- 
ing it  would  be  treason  in  him  to  enrich,  in  any 
degree,  the  enemies  of  England.  The  Danes, 
more  covetous  of  money  than  desirous  of  his 
blood,  frequently  renewed  then-  demands.  "You 
press  me  in  vain,"  said  Aljiliege  ;  "  I  am  not  the 
man  to  provide  Clu-istian  flesh  for  pagan  teeth, 
by  robbing  my  poor  countrjonen  to  enrich  then- 
enemies."  The  Danes  at  length  lost  patience, 
and  one  day,  when  they  were  assembled  at  a 
drunken  banquet,  they  caused  him  to  be  di-agged 
into  their  presence.  "  Gold,  bishop !  give  us 
gold!  gold! "  was  their  cry,  as  they  gathered  about 
him  in  menacing  attitudes.  Still  unmoved,  he 
looked  round  that  cii'cle  of  fierce  men,  who  pre- 
sently broke  up  in  rage  and  disorder,  and  i-un- 
ning  to  a  heap  of  bones,  horns,  and  jaw-bones, 
the  remains  of  their  gi'oss  feast,  they  threw  these 
things  at  him,  until  he  fell  to  the  gi-ound  half 
dead.  A  Danish  pirate,  whom  he  had  previously 
converted,  or,  at  least,  baptized  with  his  own 
hands,  then  took  his  battle-axe,  and  put  an  end 
to  the  agony  and  life  of  Archbishop  Alphege.' 

This  heroic  example  had  no  eflect  upon  King 
Etheh-ed,  who  continued  to  pay  gold  as  before. 
After  receiving  £48,000  (for  still  their  demands 
rose),  and  the  formal  cession  of  several  counties, 
Thm-kill  took  the  oaths  of  peace,  and  became, 
with  many  of  his  chiefs,  and  a  large  detachment 
of  his  host,  the  ally  and  soldier  of  the  weak  Saxon 
monarch.  It  is  probable  that  Earl  Thm-kill  en- 
tered the  service  of  Ethelred  for  the  purjiose  of 
betraying  him,  and  acted  all  along  in  concert  vnth 
Sweyn  ;  but  the  Danish  king  afl'ected  to  consider 
the  compact  as  treason  to  himself,  and,  with  a 
show  of  jealousy  towards  Thurkill,  prepared  a 
fresh  expedition,  which  he  gave  out  was  equally 
directed  against  Ethelred  and  his  vassal  Thur- 
kill. The  fact  at  all  events  was,  that  Sweyn,  who 
had  so  often  swept  the  laud  from  east  to  west, 
from  north  to  south,  had  now  resolved  to  attempt 


the  jiermancnt  conquest  of  oiu-  islaml.  lie  .'iailed 
up  tlie  1  [umber  with  a  numerous  and  splendid 
fleet,  and  landed  as  near  as  he  could  to  the  city  cf 
York.  As  the  Danes  advanced  into  the  country, 
they  stuck  their  lances  into  the  soil,  or  threw 
them  into  the  current  of  the  rivers,  in  sign  of 
their  entire  domination  over  England.  They 
m;u'ched  escorted  by  fire  and  sword,  their  ordi- 
nai-y  satellites.-  Neai-ly  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Danelagh  joined  them  at  once:  the  men  of 
Northumliria,  Lindesey,  and  the  "  Five  P.urglis" 
welcomed  the  banner  of  Sweyn,  and  finally  all  the 
"  host"  north  of  Watling-street  took  up  amis  in 
his  favour.^  Even  the  provinces  in  the  centre 
of  England,  where  the  Dani.sh  settlers  or  troops 
were  far  less  numerous,  prepared  themselves  for 
a  quiet  surrender.  Leaving  his  fleet  to  the  care 
of  his  son  Canute,  Sweyn  conducted  the  main 
body  of  his  army  to  the  south,  exacting  horses 
and  provisions  as  he  marched  rapidly  along. 
Oxford,  Winchester,  and  other  important  towns 
threw  open  their  gates  at  his  approach ;  but  he 
wa.s  obliged  to  reth-e  from  before  the  walls  of 
London,  and  the  determined  valoiu-  of  its  citi- 
zens, among  whom  the  king  had  taken  refuge. 
Sweyn  then  turned  to  the  we.st,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  open  arms.  The  eoldermen  of  De- 
vonshire, and  nearly  every  other  thane  in  that 
part  of  the  kingdom,  repaired  to  his  head-quarters 
at  Bath,  and  did  homage  to  him  as  their  lawful 
or  chosen  sovereign.  Seeing  the  whole  kingdom 
falling  from  him,  Ethelred  abandoned  London, 
which  soon  followed  the  general  examj)le,  and 
suljmitted  to  the  Dane.s.  This  unready  king  then 
fled  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  whence  he  secretly  sent 
his  children  with  Emma,  his  Norman  wife,  to  the 
court  of  her  brother  at  Eouen.  He  was  for  some 
short  time  doubtful  where  he  should  lay  his  own 
head  ;  for,  after  the  hostilities  and  insults  which 
had  passed  between  them,  he  reasonably  doubted 
the  good-will  of  his  brother-in-law.  The  Duke 
of  Normandy,  however,  not  only  received  Eiuma 
and  her  children  with  great  kindness,  but  ofl'ered 
a  safe  and  honourable  asylum  to  Etlielred,  which 
that  luckless  prince  was  fain  to  accept  as  his  only 
resoiu'ce. 

SWEYN  was  now  (about  the  middle  of  Jan., 
1013)  acknowledged  as  "full  King  of  Euglaud;" 
but  the  power  which  had  been  obtained  with  so 
much  labour,  and  at  the  expense  of  so  much 
bloodshed  and  wretchedness,  remained  to  the 
conqueror  a  very  short  time.  He  died  suddenly 
at  Gainsborough ;  and,  only  six  weeks  after  the 
time  when  he  had  been  allowed  to  depart  for 
Normandy,  "abandoned,  deserted,  and  betrayed" 
by  all,  Ethelred  was  invited  by  the  Saxon  nobles 
and  prelates  to  return  and  take  possession  of  his 


*  Vita  Alpliegi,  in  Anglia  Sacra;  Ingulf;  Citron.  Sax.;  Eatl-        -  Scriptores  Rer.  Danic.j  quoted  in  ThieiTy's  ffistoire  de  la 
riier;  Rrompton.  I  Ctnqucte;  Brompton.  ^  C/tron.  Sax. 


HO 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


kingdom,  wliioh  w.-i.?  pleilged  to  liis  defence  and 
support — provided  onh/  (hat  he  wonld  govern  tliem 
better  than,  he  had  done  before.  Etlielred,  before 
venturing  liimself,  sent  over  liis  son  Edward, 
with  solemn  promises  and  assurances.  Pledges 
were  exchanged  for  the  faithful  perfonuance  of 
the  new  compact  between  king  and  people.'  A 
sentence  of  perpetual  ov-tlawry  was  pronounced 
against  every  king  of  Danish  name  and  race ;  and 
before  the  end  of  Lent,  Ethelred  wa,s  restored  to 
those  dominions  which  he  had  already  misgo- 
verned thirty-five  years.  In  the  meantime,  the 
Danish  army  in  England  had  proclaimed  Canute, 
the  son  of  Sweyn,  as  king  of  the  whole  land;  and 
in  the  northern  provinces  they  and  their  adher- 
ents were  in  a  condition  to  maintain  the  election 
they  had  made  Indeed,  north  of  Watling-street 
the  Danes  were  all-powerful ;  and  Canute,  though 
beset  by  some  difficulties,  was  not  of  a  character 
to  relinquish  his  hold  of  the  kingdom  without  a 
hard  struggle.  A  sanguinary  warfare  was  re- 
newed, and  mm-dering  and  bribing,  lietraying 
and  betrayed,  Ethelred  was  fast  losing  ground, 
when  he  died  of  disease,  about  thr-ee  years  after 
his  return  from  Normandy.'- 

The  law  of  succession  continued  as  loose  as 
ever ;  and  in  seasons  of  extreme  difficulty  like  the 
pi'esent,  wdien  so  much  depended  on  the  personal 
character  and  valour  of  the  sovereign,  it  was  alto- 
gether neglected  or  desjjised.  Setting  aside  Eth- 
eh-ed's  legitimate  children,  the  Saxons  chose  for 
their  king  a  natural  son,  EDMUND,  surnamed 
Ironside,  who  had  already  given  many  proofs  of 
courage  in  the  field  and  wisdom  in  the  council. 
By  general  consent,  indeed,  Edmund  was  a  hero; 
but  the  country  was  too  much  worn  out  and  di-' 
vided,  and  the  treasons  that  had  torn  his  father's 
coui-t  and  camp  were  too  prevalent  in  his  own, 
to  permit  of  his  restoring  Saxon  independence 
throughout  the  kingdom.  After  twice  relieving 
London,  when  besieged  by  Canute  and  all  his 
host,  and  fighting  five  pitched  battles  with  un- 
varying valour,  but  with  various  success.  Ironside 
proposed  that  he  and  his  rival  should  decide  their 
claims  in  a  single  combat,  saying  "  it  was  pity  so 
many  lives  should  be  lost  and  perilled  for  their 
ambition."'  Canute  declined  the  duel,  saying 
that  he,  as  a  man  of  slender  make,  would  stand 
no  chance  with  the  stalwart  Edmund;  and  he 
added,  that  it  would  be  wiser  and  better  for  them 
both  to  divide  England  between  them,  even  as 
their  forefathers  had  done  in  other  times.  This 
proposal  is  said  to  have  been  received  with  en- 

'  "This  remai-kable  transaction  laid  the  foundations  for  the 
greatest  alterations  in  the  principles  of  the  constitution.  With 
the  full  acknowledgment  of  hereditary  right,  the  nation  stipu- 
lated that  tile  king  should  not  abuse  his  power.  They  imposed 
terms  upon  Ethelred — they  vindicated  their  national  liberty,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  respected  the  sanctity  of  tho  crown ; 
and  in  the  concessions  made  by  Ethelred  we  may  discern  the 


thusiastic  joy  by  both  armies;  and  however  the 
negotiation  may  have  lieen  conducted,  and  what- 
ever was  the  precise  line  of  demarcation  settled 
between  them,  it  was  certainly  agreed  that  Ca- 
nute should  reign  over  the  north,  and  ICdmund 
Ironside  over  the  south,  with  a  nominal  superi- 
ority over  the  Dane's  portion.  The  brave  Eil- 
miind  did  not  survive  the  treaty  more  than  two 
months.  His  death,  which  took  place  on  the 
feast  of  St.  Andrew,  was  sudden  and  mysterious. 
As  Canute  profited  so  much  by  it  as  to  become 
sole  monarch  of  England  immediately  after,  it  is 
generally  believed  he  planned  his  assassination  ; 
but  judging  from  the  old  chroniclers  who  lived 
at  or  near  the  time,  it  is  not  clear  who  were  the 
contrivers  and  actual  perpetrators  of  the  deed,  or 
whether  he  was  killed  at  all  There  is  even  a 
doubt  as  to  the  place  of  his  death,  whether  it  was 
London  or  Oxford. 

CANUTE.    A.D.  1017.    Although  the  death  of 
Edmund  removed  all  obstacles,  and  the  south 


Canute  and  his  Queen. — From  an  illumination  in  the  Registry 
of  Hyd**  Abbey. 

lay  prostrate  before  the  Danes,  Canute  began 
with  a  show  of  law  and  moderation.  A  gi-eat 
council  of  the  bishops,  "duces,"  and  "ojjtimates" 
was  convened  at  London;  and  before  them  Ca- 
nute appealed  to  those  Sa.xous  who  had  been  wit- 
nesses to  the  convention  and  treaty  of  pai-tition 
between  himself  and  Edmund,  and  called  upon 


germ  of  Magna  Charta,  and  of  all  the  subseqilent  compacts  be- 
tween the  king  and  people  of  England." — Palgi'ave,  HUt.  of  tht 
AiKjto- Saxons,  p.  30.1. 

-  "  His  death  put  an  end  to  a  reign  in  wliich  all  the  elements 
of  Anglo-Saxon  society  seemed  to  have  fallen  into  the  most  com- 
plete and  the  most  frightful  dissolution." — Bomiechose,  Lcquatrt 
ConqueCt'8  de  V AngLterre,  t.  ii.  p.  2S.  ^  Malnietlj. 


A.D.  901—1042.1 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


Ill 


them  to  state  the  terms  upon  wliich  the  com]i.ao(. 
was  concluded.  Intimidated  by  force,  or  won  by 
promises,  and  the  hopes  of  coiieiliatiuu;  the  favour 
of  the  powerful  survivor,  who  seemed  certain  to 
be  kuig,  with  or  without  their  consent,  they  all 
loudly  testified  that  Edmund  had  never  intended 
to  reserve  any  right  of  succession  to  his  brothei-s, 
the  sons  of  Ethelred,  who  were  absent  in  Nor- 
mandy, and  that  it  was  his  (Edmund's)  express 
wish  that  Canute  should  be  the  guardian  of  his 
omi  children  during  their  infancy.  The  most  im- 
perfect and  faint  semblance  of  a  right  being  thus 
established,  the  Saxou  cliiefs  took  an  oath  of  fide- 
lity to  Canute,  as  King  of  all  England ;  and  Canute, 
in  retm'n,  swore  to  be  just  and  benevolent,  and 
clasped  theii-  hands  with  his  naked  hand,  in  sign 
of  sincerity.  A  full  amnesty  was  promised ;  but 
the  promise  had  scai'cely  passed  the  royal  lips 
ere  Canute  began  to  proscribe  those  whom  he  had 
promised  to  love.  The  principal  of  the  Saxon 
chiefs  who  had  formerly  opposed  him,  and  the 
relations  of  Edmund  and  Etheh'cd,  were  banished 
or  put  to  death.  "  He  who  brings  me  the  head 
of  one  of  my  enemies,"  said  the  ferocious  Dane, 
"shall  be  de;irer  to  me  than  a  brother."  The 
witeuagemot  or  parliament,  which  had  so  re- 
cently passed  the  same  sentence  against  the 
Danish  princes,  now  excluded  all  the  descendants 
of  Etheh-ed  from  the  throne.  They  declared 
Edwy,  a  growm-up  brother  of  Ironside,  an  out- 
law, and  when  he  was  pm-sued  and  mm-dered  by 
Canute,  they  tacitly  acknowledged  the  justice  of 
that  execution. 

Edmund  and  Edward,  the  two  infant  sous  of 
the  deceased  king,  Edmund  Ironside,  were  seized, 
and  a  feeling  of  shame,  mingled  perhaps  with 
some  fear  of  the  popular  odium,  preventing  him 
from  murdering  them  in  England,  Canute  sent 
them  over  sea  to  his  ally  and  vassal,  the  King  of 
Sweden,  whom  be  requested  to  dispose  of  them 
in  such  a  manner  as  should  remove  his  uneasiness 
on  their  account.  He  meant  that  they  should 
be  murdered ;  but  the  Swedish  king,  moved  by 
the  innocence  of  the  little  children,  instead  of 
executing  the  horrid  commission,  sent  them  to 
the  distant  court  of  the  King  of  Hungary,  where 
they  were  aflectionately  and  honourably  enter- 
tained, beyond  the  reach  of  Canute.  Of  these 
two  orphans,  Edmund  died  without  issue,  but 
Edward  married  a  daughter  of  the  German  em- 
peror, by  whom  he  became  father  to  Edgar 
Atheling,  Christina,  and  Margaret.  Edgar  will 
be  frequently  mentioned  in  our  subsequent  pages; 
Margaret  became  the  wife  of  Malcolm,  King  of 
Scotland,  and  through  her  the  rights  of  tlie  line 
of  AKred  and  Cerdic  were  transmitted  to  Mal- 
colm's progeny,  after  the  Nomian  conquest  of 
England.  There  were  stiU  two  princes  whose 
claims  to  the  crown  might  some  day  disquiet 


Canute,  but  they  were  out  of  his  reach,  iu  Nor- 
mandy. These  were  Edward  and  Alfred,  the 
sons  of  King  Ethelred  by  Emma.  Their  uncle 
Kichard,  the  Norman  duke,  at  first  sent  an  em- 
bassy to  tlie  Dane,  demanding,  on  their  behalf, 
the  restitution  of  the  kingdom;  but  though  his 
power  was  gi'eat,  he  adopted  no  measiu-es  likely 
to  induce  Canute  to  a  surrender  or  p.artitiou  of 
the  territories  he  was  actually  possessed  of;  and 
very  soon  after,  he  entered  into  close  and  friendly 
negotiations  with  that  enemy  of  his  nephews,  and 
even  offered  him  their  own  mother  ami  his  sister 
in  marriage.  According  to  some  historians,  the 
first  overtures  to  this  unnatural  marriage,  which 
was  followed  by  most  unnatural  consequences, 
proceeded  from  Canute.  However  this  may  be, 
the  Dane  wooed  the  widowed  "Flower  of  Nor- 
mandy;" and  the  heai-tless  Emma,  forgetfid  of 
the  children  she  had  borne,  and  only  anxious  to 
become  again  the  wife  of  a  king,  readily  gave  her 
hand  to  the  man  who  had  caused  the  ruin  and 
hastened  the  death  of  her  husband  Etheli-ed.  In 
this  extraordinaiy  transaction  an  old  chronicler 
is  at  a  loss  to  decide  whether  the  greater  share 
of  dishonour  falls  to  Queen  Emma  or  to  her 
brother,  Duke  Richard.'  Having  soon  become 
the  mother  of  another  son,  by  Canute,  this  Nor- 
man woman  neglected  and  despised  her  fii'st-born; 
and  those  two  princes,  being  detained  at  a  dis- 
tance from  England,  became  by  degi-ees  strangers 
to  their  own  country,  forgot  its  language  and  its 
manners,  and  gi-ew  up  Normans  instead  of  Sax- 
ons. The  Danish  dynasty  of  Canute  -waa  not 
destined  to  take  root;  but  the  cii-cumstance  just 
alluded  to  most  essentially  contributed  to  place 
a  long  line  of  Norman  princes  upon  the  thror.e 
of  EngUuid. 

Canute  was  not  one  that  loved  blood  for  the 
sake  of  bloodshedding.  When  he  had  disposed 
of  all  those  who  gave  liim  fear  or  umbrage,  he 
stayed  his  hand,  and  was  praised,  like  so  many 
other  conquerors,  for  his  merciful  forbearance. 
The  Danish  warriors  insulted,  robbed,  and  sorely 
oppressed  the  Saxons,  and  he  himself  wrimg 
from  them  more  "geld"  than  they  had  ever  paid 
before;  but  by  degi-ees  Canute  assumed  a  mild 
tone  towards  his  new  subjects,  and  jjartially  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  their  good-will.  Tliey  followed 
him  willingly  to  his  foreign  wars,  of  which  there 
was  no  lack,  for,  besides  that  of  England,  Cainito 
now  lield,  or  pretended  to,  the  crowns  of  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  and  Norway.  In  these  distant 
wars  the  Saxons,  who  had  not  been  able  to  de- 
fend themselves,  fought  most  bravely  under  their 
own  conqueror,  for  the  enslaving  of  other  nations. 
But  this  is  a  case  of  very  connnon  occurrence, 
both  in  ancient  and  modern  history.     Canute's 


1  Malmesb, 


112 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


last  luilitary  exjiedition  (a.d.1017-9)  was  against 
the  Cumbrians  and  Scots.  Duncan,  the  reguhis 
or  under-king  of  Cumbria,  i-efused  homage  and 
allegiance  to  the  D.aue,  on  the  ground  that  he 
was  an  usurjier ;  and  Malcolm,  King  of  Scotland, 
equally  maintained  that  the  English  throne  be- 
longed of  right  to  the  legitimate  heir  of  King 
Ethelred.  Had  the  powerful  Duke  of  Normandy 
seconded  these  demonstrations  in  favour  of  his 
nephews,  Canute's  crown  might  have  been  put  in 
jeopardy;  but  the  Cumbrians  and  Scots  were  left 
to  themselves,  and  compelled  to  submit,  in  the 
face  of  a  most  formidable  army  which  the  Dane 
had  collected. 

These  constant  successes,  and  the  enjoyment 
of  peace  which  followed  tliem,  together  with  the 
sobering  influence  of  increasing  years,  though  he 
was  yet  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  softened  the 
conqueror's  heart;  and  though  he  continued  to 
rule  despotically,  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  was 
marked  with  no  acts  of  cruelty,  and  was  probably, 
on  the  whole,  a  hajipier  time  than  the  English 
had  known  since  the  days  of  Alfred  and  Athel- 
stane.'  He  was  cheerful  and  accessible  to  all  his 
subjects,  without  distinction  of  race  or  nation. 
He  took  pleasiu'e  in  old  songs  and  ballads,  of 
which  both  Danes  and  Saxons  were  passionately 
fond ;  he  most  liberally  patronized  the  scalds, 
minstrels,  and,  glee-men,  the  poets  and  musicians 
of  the  time,  and  occasionally  wrote  verses  him- 
self, which  were  orally  circulated  among  the 
common  people,  and  taken  up  and  sung  by  them. 
He  could  scarcely  have  hit  upon  a  surer  road 
to  popularity.  A  ballad  of  his  composition  con- 
tinued long  after  to  be  a  special  favourite  witli 
the  English  peasantry.  All  of  it  is  lost  except 
the  fh'st  verse,  which  has  been  preserved  in  the 
Historia  Elicnsis,  or  History  of  Ely.  The  inter- 
esting royal  fragment  is  simply  this :  - 

Merie  simgen  the  muneches  biiinen  Ely, 
Tha  Cnut  Chiiijj  reu  there  by. 
Roweth,  cniLtes,  na^r  the  land, 
And  hear  we  tlies  miuieches  soeng. 

Tliat  is  :— 

Merrily  8uiig  the  monlia  within  Ely, 
When  Cnute  king  rowed  there  by. 
Row,  my  knights,  row  near  the  land, 
And  hear  we  these  monks'  song. 

The  veraes  are  said  to  have  been  suggested  to  him 
one  day  as  he  was  rowing  on  the  river  Nene, 
near  Ely  minster,  by  hearing  the  sweet  and  so- 


1  "The  character  of  the  Scandinavian  nations  was  in  Eome 
measure  changed  from  what  it  had  been  dming  their  fij-st  inva- 
sions. They  had  embrjiced  the  Christian  faith  ;  they  were  con- 
solidated ijito  great  kingdoms ;  they  had  lost  some  of  that  pre- 
datory and  ferocious  spirit  which  a  religion  invented,  it  seems, 
for  ph-ates,  had  stimiilated.  Those,  too,  who  had  long  been 
settled  in  England,  became  gradually  more  assimilated  to  the 
natives,  whose  laws  and  language  were  not  rjidicaUy  diifei-ent 
from  their  ovra.  Hence  the  accession  of  a  Danish  line  of  kings 
produced  neither  any  evil  nor  any  sensible  change  of  polity. 
Cut  the  English  stiU  outn^mlbered  theii-  conq^uerors,  and  eagerly 


lemn  music  of  the  monastic  choir  floating  over 
tlie  watei's."  In  his  days  of  quiet  the  devotion 
of  the  times  had  also  its  full  influence  on  the 
cliaracter  of  Canute.  This  son  of  an  apo.state 
Christian  showed  himself  a  zealous  believer,  a 
friend  to  the  monks,  a  visitor  and  collector  of 
relics,  a  founder  of  churches  and  monasteries. 
His  soul  was  assailed  with  remorse  for  the  blood 
he  had  shed  and  the  other  crimes  he  had  com- 
mitted ;  and,  in  the  year  1030,  he  detenuined  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  He  started  on  his 
journey  to  the  Holy  City  with  a  wallet  on  his 
back  and  a  j)ilgrim's  staff  in  his  hand.  He  visited 
all  the  most  celebrated  chm-ches  on  the  road  be- 
tween the  Low  Countries  and  Rome,  leaving  at 
every  one  of  them  some  proof  of  his  liberality. 
According  to  a  foreign  chronicler,  all  the  people 
on  his  way  had  reason  to  exclaim — "The  blessing 
of  God  be  upon  the  King  of  the  English !"  But 
no  one  tells  us  how  dearly  this  munificence  cost 
the  English  people.  Eetui-niug  from  Rome,  where 
he  resided  a  considerable  time,  in  company  with 
other  kings  (there  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of 
royal  and  ecclesiastical  congi-ess  held),  he  pxu-- 
chased,  in  tlie  city  of  Pavia,  tlie  arm  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, "the  Great  Doctor."  This  precious  relic,  for 
wliich  he  paid  100  talents  of  gold  and  100  talents 
of  silver,  he  afterwards  presented  to  the  church 
of  Coventry — an  act  of  liberality  by  which,  no 
doubt,  he  gained  many  friends  and  many  prayers. 

On  re-crossing  the  Alps,  Canute  did  not  make 
his  way  direct  to  England,  but  went  to  his  other 
kingdom  of  Denmark,  where,  it  appears,  he  had 
still  difficulties  to  settle,  and  where  he  remained 
some  months.  He,  however,  despatclied  the  ab- 
bot of  Tavistock  to  England  with  a  long  letter 
of  explanation,  command,  and  advice,  addressed 
"to  Egelnoth  the  metroijolitan,  to  Archbishop 
Alfric,  to  aU  bishops  and  chiefs,  and  to  all  the 
nation  of  tlie  Englisli,  both  nobles  and  commoner;?, 
gi"eeting."  This  curious  letter,  which  appears  to 
have  been  carefully  preserved,  and  which  is 
given  entire  by  writers  who  lived  near  the  time, 
begins  with  explaining  the  motives  of  his  pilgri- 
mage, and  the  nature  of  tlie  sacred  omnijjotence 
of  tlie  Church  of  Eome.     It  then  continues: — 

"And  be  it  known  to  you  that,  at  the  solemn 
festival  of  Easter,  there  was  held  a  great  assem- 
blage of  illustrious  persons ;  to  wit, — the  Pope 
John,  the  Emjieror  Conrad,  and  the  chiefs  of  all 


returned,  when  an  opportunity  arrived,  to  the  ancient  stock. 
Edward  the  Confessor,  notwithstanding  his  Norman  favoui'itea, 
waa  endeared  by  the  mildness  of  his  ch.ar.acter  to  the  English 
nation ;  and  subsequent  miseries  gave  a  kind  of  pustliumous 
credit  to  a  reign  not  eminent  either  for  good  fortune  or  wise 
government." — Hallam's  Constitutional  History  of  England,  vol. 
ii.  p.  379. 

-  The  meaning  of  the  old  English  "merry,"  and  "merrily,"  it 
is  to  be  remembered,  was  dift'erent  from  that  which  we  now  at- 
tach to  the  words.  A  "merry"  song  was  merely  a  sweet  or 
touching  melody,  and  might  be  plaintive  as  well  as  gay. 


A.D.  901—1042.' 


SAXON  rERIOD. 


IKi 


the  nations  from  Mount  GiU-ganus  to  the  neigh- 
bouring sea.  They  all  received  me  vrith  distinc- 
tion, and  honoured  me  with  rich  presents,  giving 
me  vases  of  gold  and  vessels  of  silver,  and  stufls 
and  garments  of  gi-eat  price.  I  discoui-sed  with 
the  Lord  Pope,  the  Lord  Emperor,  and  the  other 
princes,  on  the  gi-ievances  of  my  people,  English 
as  well  as  Danes.  I  endeavoured  to  obtain  for 
my  peoi>le  justice  and  security  in  thcii-  journeys 
to  Rome ;  and,  above  all,  that  they  might  not 
henceforth  be  delayed  on  the  road  by  the  shutting 
up  of  the  mountain  passes,  the  erecting  of  bai-- 
riere,  and  the  exaction  of  heavy  tolls.  My  de- 
mands were  granted  both  by  the  emperor  and 
King  Rudolf,  who  are  ma-sters  of  most  of  the 
passes;  and  it  was  enacted  that  all  my  men,  as 
well  merchants  as  pilgrims,  should  go  to  Rome 
and  return  in  full  security,  without  being  de- 
tained at  the  baiTiers,  or  forced  to  pay  unlawful 
tolls.  I  also  eomjjlained  to  the  Lord  Pope  that 
such  enormous  sums  had  been  extorted  up  to  this 
day  from  my  ai'chbishops,  when,  according  to 
custom,  they  went  to  the  apostolic  see  to  obtain 
the  pallium;  and  a  decree  was  forthwith  made 
that  this  grievance  likewise  should  cease.  Where- 
fore I  return  sincere  thanks  to  God  that  I  have 
successfully  done  all  that  I  intended  to  do,  and 
have  fully  satisfied  all  my  wishes.  And  now, 
therefore,  be  it  knowTi  to  you  all,  that  I  have 
dedicated  my  life  to  God,  to  govern  my  kingdoms 
with  justice,  and  to  observe  the  right  in  all  things. 
If,  in  the  time  that  is  passed,  and  in  the  violence 
and  cai-elessness  of  youth,  I  have  violated  justice, 
it  is  my  intention,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  make 
full  compensation.  Therefore  I  beg  and  command 
those  unto  whom  I  have  intrusted  the  govern- 
ment, as  they  wish  to  preserve  my  good-will,  and 
save  their  own  souls,  to  do  no  injustice  either  to 
rich  or  poor.  Let  those  who  are  noble,  and  those 
who  ai'e  not,  equally  obtain  their  rights,  accord- 
ing to  the  laws,  from  wliich  no  deviation  shall  be 
allowed,  either  from  fear  of  me,  or  through  favour 
to  the  powerful,  or  for  the  pm-pose  of  sujjplying 
my  treasury.  /  u-ant  no  money  raised  by  injus- 
tice." The  last  clause  of  this  remarkable  and 
characteristic  epistle  had  reference  to  the  clergy. 
"  I  entreat  and  order  you  all,  the  bishops,  sheriffs, 
and  officers  of  my  kingdom  of  England,  by  the 
faith  which  you  owe  to  God  and  to  me,  so  to  take 
measm-es  that  before  my  retm-n  among  you  all 
our  debts  to  the  chm-ch  be  paid  up;  to  wit,  the 


plough  alma,  the  tithes  on  cattle  of  the  present 
year,  the  Peter-pence  duo  by  each  liouse  in  all 
towns  and  villages,  the  tithes  of  fruit  in  the 
mid<lle  August,  and  the  kirk-shot  at  the  fc;ust  of 
St.  Martin  to  the  pai-ish  church.  And  if,  at  my 
return,  these  dues  are  not  \xholly  discharged,  I 
will  punish  the  delinquents  according  to  the 
rigour  of  the  laws,  and  without  any  grace.  So 
fare  ye  well."' 

It  does  not  clearly  appear  whether  the  old 
writere  refer  the  following  often-repeated  in- 
cident to  a  period  preceding  or  one  subsequent 
to  this  Roman  pilgi-image.  When  at  the  height 
of  his  power,  and  when  all  things  seemed  to  bend 
to  his  lordly  will  (so  goes  the  story),  Canute,  dis- 
gusted one  day  with  the  extravagiuit  flatteries  of 
his  courtiers,  determined  to  read  them  a  jiractical 
lesson.  He  caused  his  throne  to  be  jjlaced  on 
the  verge  of  the  sands  on  the  sea-shore,  as  the 
tide  was  rolling  in  with  its  resistless  might,  autl, 
seating  himself,  he  addressed  the  ocean,  and  said 
— "Ocean!  the  land  on  which  I  sit  is  mine,  and 
thou  art  a  part  of  my  dominion — therefore  rise 
not— obey  my  commands,  nor  presume  to  wet 
the  edge  of  my  robe."  He  sat  for  some  time,  as 
if  expecting  obedience,  but  the  sea  rolled  on  in 
its  immutable  course ;  succeeding  waves  broke 
nearer  and  nearer  to  his  feet,  till,  at  length  the 
sku'ts  of  his  garments  and  his  legs  were  bathed 
by  the  watei's.  Then,  turning  to  his  courtiers 
and  captains,  Canute  said,  "Confess  ye  now  how 
frivolous  and  vain  is  the  might  of  an  eai'thly 
king  compared  to  that  gi-eat  Power  who  rules  the 
elements,  and  can  say  unto  the  ocean,  '  Thus  far 
slialt  thou  go,  and  no  farther.' "  The  chroniclers 
conclude  the  apologue  by  adding  that  he  imme- 
diately took  ofl'  his  cro\\T),  and  depositing  it  in 
the  cathedral  of  Winchester,  never  wore  it  again. 

This  gi-eat  Danish  sovereign  died  in  A.D.  1035, 
at  Shaftesbury,  about  three  years  after  his  return 
from  Rome,  and  was  buried  at  Winchester.  The 
churches  and  abbeys  he  erected  have  long  since 
disappeared,  or  theii-  fragments  have  been  imbed- 
ded in  later  edifices  erected  on  their  sites;  but 
the  great  public  work  called  the  Kind's  Del/,  a 
causeway  coiniecting  Peterborough  and  Ramsey, 
and  carried  through  the  marshes  by  Canute's 
command,  is  still  serviceable. - 

On  his  demise  there  was  the  usual  difficulty 
and  contention  respecting  the  succession.  Ca- 
nute left  but  one  legitimate  son,  Hardicanute, 


*  Matnus?t.;  Ftorcnt.  Wifjorn.  Tlie  substance  of  the  letter  is 
nlso  found  in  Torfa-i  Hist.  Nonrg.,  and  in  DUmari.  Script.  Rev. 
Vanicar. 

-  "  Tiie  northerns  have  transmitted  to  vis  the  portrait  of  Canute. 
He  was  large  in  stature,  and  very  powerful ;  he  was  fair,  and 
distinguished  for  his  beauty;  liis  nose  was  thin,  eminent,  and 
aquiline ;  liis  hair  was  profuse ;  his  eyes  bright  and  fierce. 

"He  was  chosen  king  by  general  assent;  for  who  could  resist 
liis  power?    Ilia  nieasiues  to  secure  his  crown  were  sanguinary 

Vol.  I. 


and  tyrannical;  but  the  wholo  of  Canute's  character  breathes  an 
uir  of  barbaric  grandeur.  He  was  formed  by  nature  to  tower 
over  his  contemporaries ;  but  liis  counti"y  and  his  education  in- 
termixed liis  greatness  with  a  ferocity  that  compels  us  to  tremble 
even  wliile  we  admire.  In  one  r&tpcct  he  was  fortunate — his 
mind  and  his  manners  refined  as  hi3  age  matured.  The  firet 
part  of  his  reign  was  cruel  and  despotic.  If  is  latter  days  shone 
witli  a  glory  more  unclouded." — Turner's  IliMoiy  0/  the  jirifflo- 
Saxoiut,  vol.  iii. 

15 


Hi 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


wliom  he  had  by  Etheh-ed's  widow,  the  Lady 
Emma  of  Normandy.  He  had  two  illoj^ithnate 
sons,  Sweyn  and  Harold.  In  royal  families  bas- 
tardy was  none,  or  a  very  slight  objection  in 
those  days;  but  according  to  the  contemporary 
writers,  it  was  the  prevalent  belief,  or  popular 
scandal,  that  these  two  young  men  were  not  the 
eliildreu  of  Canute,  even  illegitimately,  but  were 
imposed  upon  him  as  such  by  liis  acknowledged 
concubine  Alfgiva,  daughter  of  the  Eolderman  of 
Southampton,  who,  according  to  this  gossip,  Icnew 
full  well  that  Sweyn  was  the  son  of  a  priest  by 
another  woman,  and  Hai'old  the  offs2:iring  of  a 
cobbler  a,nd  his  wife.  Whoever  were  their  fa- 
thers and  mothers,  it  is  certain  that  Canute  in- 
tended that  his  dominions  should  be  divided 
among  the  thi'ee  young  men,  and  this  without  any 
apparent  prejudice  in  favour  of  legitimacy;  for 
Harold,  and  not  Hardicanute  (the  lawfid  son), 
was  to  have  England,  which  was  esteemed  by  far 
the  best  portion.  Denmark  was  to  fall  to  Har- 
dicanute, and  Norway  to  Sweyn.  Both  these 
prmccs  wei-e  in  the  north  of  Europe,  and  appa- 
rently in  possession  of  power  there,  when  Canute 
died.  The  powerful  Earl  Godwin,  and  the  Sax- 
ons of  the  south  generally,  wished  rather  to 
choose  for  King  of  England  eitlier  one  of  the  sons 
of  Etheh'ed,  who  were  still  in  Normandy,  or 
Hardicanute,  the  son  of  Emma,  who  was  at  least 
connected  with  the  old  Saxon  line.  But  Earl 
Leofi'ic  of  Mercia,  with  the  thanes  north  of  the 
Thames,  and  all  the  Danes,  supported  the  claims 
of  tlie  illegitimate  Harold;  and  when  the  influ- 
ential city  of  London  took  this  side,  the  cause  of 
Hardicanute  seemed  almost  hopeless.  But  still 
all  the  men  of  the  south  and  the  great  Earl  God- 
win adhered  to  the  latter,  and  a  civil  war  was 
imminent  (to  escape  the  horroi-s  of  which  many 
families  had  already  lied  to  the  morasses  and 
forests),  when  it  was  wisely  determined  to  effect 
a  compromise  by  means  of  the  witenagemot. 
This  assembly  met  at  Oxfoi-d,  and  there  decided 
that  Harold  should  have  all  the  provinces  north 
of  the  Thames,  with  London  for  his  capital, 
while  all  the  country  south  of  that  river  should 
remain  to  his  real  or  fictitious  half-brother,  Har- 
dicanute. 

Hardicanute,  showing  no  anxiety  for  his  do- 
minions in  England,  lingered  in  Denmark,  where 
the  habits  of  the  Scandinavian  chiefs,  and  theii' 
hard  drinking,  were  to  his  taste;  but  his  mother, 
Emma,  and  Earl  Godwin,  governed  in  the  south 
on  his  behalf,  and  held  a  court  at  Winchester, 
Harold,  however,  who  saw  his  superiority  over 
his  absent  half-brother,  took  liis  measures  for 
attaching  the  provinces  of  the  south  to  his  do- 
minions, and  two  fruitless  invasions  from  Nor- 
mandy only  tended  to  increa.se  his  power  and 
facilitate  that  aggrandizement. 


Soon  after  the  newa  of  Canute's  death  reached 
Normandy,  Edwai-d,  the  eldest  of  the  surviving 
sons  of  Ethelred  by  Emma,  and  who  eventually 
became  King  of  England  under  the  title  of  Ed- 
ward the  Confessor,  made  sail  for  England  with 
a  few  ships,  and  lauded  at  Southampton,  in  the 
intention  of  claiming  the  crown.  He  threw  him- 
self in  the  midst  of  his  mother's  retainers,  and 
was  within  a  few  miles  of  her  residence  at  Win- 
chester, But  Emma  had  no  aflection  for  her 
children  by  Ethelred ;  she  was  at  the  moment 
making  every  exertion  to  secure  the  English 
throne  for  her  sou  by  Canute,  and,  instead  of 
aiding  Edwai'd,  she  set  the  whole  country  in 
hostile  array  against  him.  He  escaped  witli  some 
dilliculty,  from  a  fonnidable  force,  and  fled  back 
to  Normandy,  detennined,  it  is  said,  never  again 
to  touch  the  sod  of  his  fathers. 

The  second  invasion  from  Normandy  was  at- 
tended with  more  tragical  results,  and  pai-t  of  the 
history  of  it  is  enveloped  in  an  impenetrable  mys- 
tery. 

An  aflfectionate  letter,'  purporting  to  be  -m-it- 
ten  by  the  queen-mother,  Emma,  was  conveyed 
to  her  sons  Edward  and  Alfred,  reproaching  them 
with  their  apathy,  and  urging  that  one  of  them 
at  least  should  return  to  England,  and  assert  his 
right  against  the  tyrant  Harold.  This  letter  is 
pronounced  a  forgery  by  the  old  wi'iter  who  pre- 
serves it ;  but  those  who  ai-e  disposed  to  take  the 
darkest  view  of  Emma's  character,  may  object 
that  this  wi'iter  was  a  paid  encomiast  of  that 
queen  (and  paid  by  lier  living  self),  and  therefore 
not  likely  to  confess  her  guilty  of  being  a  partici- 
pator in  her  own  son's  murder,  even  if  such  were 
the  fact.  The  same  authority,  indeed,  even 
jjraises  her  for  her  ill-assorted,  shameful  marriage 
with  Canute,  which  undeniably  alienated  her 
from  her  children  by  the  former  union.  For 
ourselves,  although  she  did  not  escajje  the  strong 
suspicion  of  her  contemporaries,  any  more  than 
Earl  Godwin,  who  was  then  in  close  alliance  with 
her,  we  rather  incline  to  tlie  belief  that  the  letter 
was  forged  by  the  order  of  Harold,  though,  again, 
there  is  a  possibility  that  it  may  have  been  actu- 
ally the  jiroduction  of  the  queen,  who  may  have 
meant  no  hai-m  to  her  son,  and  that  the  harm  he 
suft'ered  may  have  fallen  ujion  him  through  God- 
win, on  that  chiefs  seeing  how  he  came  attended. 
However  this  may  be,  Alfred,  the  younger  of  the 
two  brothers,  accepted  the  invitation.  The  in- 
structions of  Emma's  letter  were  to  come  without 
any  armament;'  but  he  raised  a  considerable 
force  {milites  nonjiani  7iumcriy  in  Normandy  and 
Boulogne.  When  he  appeared  off  Sandwich  there 
was  a  far  sujjerior  force  there,  which  rendered 

'  Encom.  Emm. 

2  Rogo  un\is  vestnim  acl  me  velociter  et  private  veni.nt. — 
Eiicom.  Emm,  ^  GuiU.  Gem£ticcnsis, 


A.D.  901—1012.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


I  1.5 


his  landing  hopeless.  He  therefore  bore  round 
the  North  Foreland,  and  disembarked  "  opposite 
to  Canterbury,"  probably  aliovit  Ilerno  Bay,  be- 
tween the  Trioulvcrs  and  the  Isle  of  Shepjicy. 
Having  advanced  some  distance  up  the  country 
without  any  opposition,  he  was  met  by  Earl 
Godwin,  who  is  said  to  have  sworn  faith  to  him, 
and  to  have  undertaken  to  conduct  liim  to  his 
mother  Emma.  Avoiding  London,  where  the 
party  of  Harold  Wiis  predominant,  they  marched 
to  Guildford,  where  Godwin  billeted  the  stnm- 
gers,  in  small  parties  of  tens  and  scores,  in  dif- 
ferent houses  of  the  town.  There  was  plenty  of 
meat  and  drink  prepared  in  every  lodging,  and 
Earl  Godwin,  taking  his  leave  for  the  night,  pro- 
mised his  dutiful  attendance  on  Alfred  for  the 
following  morning.  Tii-ed  with  the  day's  jour- 
nej',  and  filled  with  meat  and  wine,  the  separated 
company  went  to  bed  suspecting  no  wrong;  but 
ni  the  dead  of  night,  when  disarmed  and  buried 
in  sleep,  they  were  suddenly  set  upon  by  King 
Harold's  forces,  who  seized  and  bomid  them  all 
with  chains  and  gyres.  On  the  following  morn- 
ing they  were  ranged  in  a  line  before  the  execu- 
tioners. There  are  said  to  have  been  600  victims, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  every  tenth  man,  they 
■wei-e  all  barbarously  tortured  and  massacred. 
Prince  Alfred  was  reserved  for  a  still  more  cruel 
fate.  He  was  hurried  away  to  London,  where, 
it  should  seem,  Harold  pei-sonally  insulted  his 
misfortunes ;  and  from  London  he  was  sent  to 
the  Isle  of  Ely,  in  the  heart  of  the  country  of  the 
D;mes.  He  made  the  sad  journey  moimted  on  a 
wi-etched  horse,  naked,  and  with  his  feet  -tied 
beneath  the  animal's  belly.  At  Ely  he  was  ar- 
raigned before  a  mock  com-t  of  Danish  miscreants 
as  a  disturber  of  the  eoimtry's  peace,  and  was 
condemned  to  lose  his  eyes.  His  eyes  were  in- 
stantly toi'n  out  by  main  force,  and  he  died  a  few 
days  after,  in  exquisite  anguish,  Some  believe 
that  Earl  Godwin  was  guilty  of  betraying,  or  at 
least  deserting  the  prince  after  he  had  landed  in 
England,  without  having  premeditated  treachery 
in  inviting  him  over ;  and  they  say  his  change  of 
sentiment  took  place  the  instant  lie  saw  that 
Alfred,  instead  of  coming  alone  to  tlu'ow  himself 
on  the  atfections  of  the  Saxon  people,  had  sm-- 
rounded  himself  with  a  host  of  ambitious  fo- 
reigners, all  eager  to  shai'e  in  the  wealth  and 
honours  of  the  land.  Hem-y  of  Huntingdon,  a 
writer  of  the  twelfth  ccntuiy,  supports  this  not 
irrational  view  of  the  case,  and  says  that  God- 
win told  his  Saxon  followers  that  Alfred  came 
escorted  by  too  many  Normans,  tliat  he  had  pro- 
mised these  Normans  rich  possessions  in  England, 
and  that  it  would  be  an  act  of  imprudence  in 
them  (the  Saxons)  to  permit  this  race  of  fo- 
reigners, known  through  the  world  for  their 
audacity  and  cunning,  to  gain  a  footing  in  Eng- 


land. Sliortly  after  the  murder  of  Alfred,  Emma 
was  either  sent  out  of  England  by  Harold,  or 
retired  a  vohuitary  exile.  It  is  to  be  remarked 
that  she  did  not  fix  her  residence  in  Normandy, 
wliere  her  son  Eilward,  brother  of  Alfred,  was 
living,  but  went  to  the  court  of  Baldwin,  Earl  of 
Flanders. 

HAUOLD  had  now  little  dilVu-ulty  in  getting 
himself  proclaimed  "fuU  king"  over  all  the 
island.  The  election,  indeed,  was  not  sanctioned 
by  legislative  authority ;  but  this  authority,  al- 
ways fluctuating  and  uncertain,  waa  at  present 
almost  worthless.  A  more  important  opposition 
was  that  offered  by  the  church,  in  whose  ranks 
the  Saxons  were  far  more  numerous  than  the 
Danes,  or  priests  of  Danish  descent;  and  in  all 
these  contentions  the  two  hostile  races  must  be 
considered,  and  not  merely  the  quarrels  or  am- 
bition of  the  rival  princes.  The  question  at  issue 
was,  whether  the  Danes  or  the  Saxons  sliouKl 
have  the  upper  hand.  Etholnoth,  the  Aixhbishop 
of  Canterbury,  who  was  a  Saxon,  refused  to  per- 
foi-m  the  ceremonies  of  the  coronation.  Taking 
the  crown  and  sceptre,  which  it  appears  had  been 
intrusted  to  his  charge  by  Canute,  he  laid  them 
on  the  altai-,  and  said,  "  Hai-old !  I  will  nei- 
ther give  them  to  thee,  nor  prevent  thee  from 
taking  the  ensigns  of  royalty ;  but  I  will  not 
bless  thee,  nor  shall  any  bishop  consecrate  thee 
on  the  throne."  It  is  said  that  oh  this,  like  a 
modern  conqueror,  the  Dane  put  the  crown  on  his 
head  with  his  own  hands.  According  to  some 
accounts,  he  subsequently  won  over  the  arch- 
bishop, and  was  solemnly  crowned.  His  chief 
amusement  was  hunting;  and,  from  the  fleetness 
with  which  he  could  follow  the  game  on  foot,  he 
acquired  the  name  of  "  Harold  Harefoot."  Little 
more  is  known  about  him,  except  that  he  died 
after  a  short  reign  of  four  years,  in  a.d.  1040, 
and  was  buried  at  Westminster. 

HAKDICANUTE,  his  half-brother,  w.as  at 
Bruges,  and  on  the  point  of  invading  England, 
when  Harold  died.  After  long  delays  in  Den- 
mark he  listened  to  the  urgent  calls  of  his  exiled 
mother,  the  stiU  stirring  and  ambitious  Emma ; 
and,  leaving  a  greater  force  ready  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Baltic,  he  sailed  to  Flanders  with  nine  ships 
to  consult  his  pai-ent.  He  had  been  but  a  short 
time  at  Bruges  when  a  deputation  of  English 
and  Danish  thanes  arrived  tliere  to  invite  him  to 
ascend  the  most  brilliant  of  his  fatlicr's  thrones 
in  peace.  The  two  great  factions  in  England  had 
come  to  this  agi-eement,  but,  according  to  the 
chroniclers,  they  were  soon  made  to  rejient  of  it 
by  the  exactions  and  ra])acity  of  Ilardicanute. 
Relying  more  on  the  Danes,  among  whom  lie  had 
lived  so  long,  than  on  the  English,  and  being 
averse  to  part  with  the  companions  of  his  revels 
and  drinking-bouts,  he  brought  with  him  a  gi'eat 


116 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militakv. 


number  of  Danish  chiefs  and  courtiers,  and  re- 
tained an  expensive  Danish  army  and  navy.  Thia 
obliged  him  to  liave  frequent  recoiu'se  to  "  Dane- 
gelds,"  the  arbitrary  levying  of  ■which  by  his 
"  huscarles,"  or  household  troops,  who  were  all 
Danes,  caused  frequent  insurrections  or  commo- 
tions. The  people  of  Worcester  resisted  the 
huscarles  with  arras  in  their  hands,  and  slew 
Feaderand  Turstane,  two  of  the  king's  collectors. 
In  revenge  for  this  contempt  that  city  was  burned 
to  the  ground,  a  great  part  of  the  sm-roundiug 
counti-y  laid  desolate,  and  the  goods  of  the  citi- 
zens put  to  the  spoil  "  by  such  power  of  lords  and 
men-of-war  as  the  king  sent  against  them."  It 
should  appear  that  not  even  the  church  was  ex- 
empted from  these  oppressive  levies  of  Danegeld, 
for  a  monkish  writer  complains  that  the  clei-gy 
were  forced  to  sell  the  very  chalices  from  the  al- 
tar in  order  to  pay  their  assessments. 

On  his  first  arriving  in  England,  Hardicanute 
showed  his  horror  of  Prince  Alfred's  murder,  and 
his  revenge  for  the  injury  done  by  Harold  to 
himself  and  his  relatives,  in  a  truly  barbarous 
manner.  By  his  order  the  body  of  Harold  was 
dug  up  from  the  grave,  its  head  was  struck  oft', 
and  then  both  body  and  head  were  thrown  into 
the  Thames.  To  increase  the  di-amatio  interest  of 
the  story,  some  of  the  old  writers,  who  maintain 
that  the  gi-eat  earl  had  murdered  Alfred  to  serve 
Harold,  say  that  Godwin  was  obliged  to  assist  at 
the  disinterment  and  decapitation  of  the  corpse, 
the  mutilated  remains  of  which  were  soon  after 
drawn  out  of  the  river  by  some  Danish  fishermen, 
wdio  secretly  interred  them  in  the  church-yard  of 
St.  Clement  Danes,  "  without  Temple  Bar  at  Lou- 
don." Earl  Godwin,  indeed,  a  very  short  time 
after,  was  formally  accused  of  Alfred's  murder, 
but  he  cleared  himself  in  law  by  his  own  oath, 
and  the  oaths  of  many  of  his  peers,  and  a  rich 
and  splendid  present  is  generally  supposed  to 
h.ave  set  the  question  at  rest  between  him  and 
Hardicanute,  though  it  failed  to  quit  him  in 
popular  opinion.  This  present  was  a  ship  of  the 
first  class,  covered  with  gilded  metal,  and  bearing 
a  figure-head  in  solid  gold;  the  crew,  which 
formed  an  intrinsic  part  of  the  gift,  were  four- 
score picked  warriors,  and  each  warrior  was  fur- 
nished with  dress  and  appointments  of  the  most 
costly  description— a  gilded  helmet  was  on  his 
head,  a  triple  hauberk  on  his  body,  a  sword  with 
a  hilt  of  gold  hung  by  his  side,  a  Danish  battle- 
axe,  damasked  with  silver,  was  on  his  shoulder,  a 


gold-studded  shield  on  his  left  arm,  and  in  his 
right  hand  a  gilded  alet/ar.' 

During  the  remain- 
der of  Hardicanute's 
short  reign.  Earl  God- 
win and  Emma,  the 
queen-mother,  who 
wore  again  in  friendly 
alliance,  divided  near- 
ly all  the  authority  of 
government  between 
tliem,  leaving  the  king 
to  the  trancpiil  enjoy- 
ment of  the  things  he 
most  prized  in  life — his 
banquets,  which  were 
spread  four  times  a-day, 
and  his  carousals  at 
night.  From  many  in- 
cidental passages  in  the 
old  writers,  we  should 
conclude  that  the  Sax- 
ons themselves  were 
sufficiently  addicted  to 
diinking  and  the  plea- 
sures of  the  table,  and  requii-ed  no  instructors  in 
those  particulars;  yet  it  is  pretty  generally  stated 
that  hard  drinking  became  fashionable  under  the 
Danes,  and  more  than  one  chronicler  laments 
that  Englishmen  learned  from  the  example  of 
Hardicanute  "their  excessive  gormandizing  and 
unmeasuralile  filling  of  their  bellies  with  meats 
and  drinks." 

This  king's  death  was  in  keeping  with  the 
tenor  of  his  life.  When  he  had  reigned  two 
years  all  but  ten  days,  he  took  part,  with  his 
usual  zest,  in  the  raaniage  feast  of  one  of  his 
Danish  thanes,  which  was  held  at  Lambeth,  or, 
more  probably,  at  Clapham.^  At  a  late  hour  of 
the  night,  as  he  stood  up  to  pledge  that  jovial 
company,  he  suddenly  fell  down  speechless,  with 
the  wine-cup  in  his  hand  :  he  was  removed  to  an 
inner  chamber,  but  he  spoke  no  more;  and  thus 
the  last  Danish  king  in  England  died  di-imk. 
He  was  buried  in  the  church  of  Winchester,  near 
his  father  Canute. 


Danish  Soldier  of  the  period. 
From  Strutt. 


I  The  same  scythe-shaped  weapon  as  the  Moorish  "assagai," 
the  Turkish  "yataghan,"  &c.  It  was  a  common  weapon  witli 
the  Danes,  and  is  still  so  in  the  East. 

-  The  name  of  the  bride's  father,  in  whose  house  the  feast  is 
supposed  to  h.ave  been  held,  was  Osgod  Clajia;  and  Clapahaw, 
the  hame  or  Itomc  of  Clapa,  is  taken  as  the  etymology  of  our  sub- 
urban village— ralgrave,  Hist.  ch.  .\iii. 


A.D.  1042— 106C1.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


17 


CHAPTER  IV.- CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

EDWARD    THE   CONFESSOR   TO    THE   NORMAN    CONQUEST. — A.D.    1042— lOIW. 

Uarilicanute  succeeded  by  Edward  the  Confessor — Edward's  beli.iviour  to  Ijij  wife  and  mother — His  favour  towards 
tlie  Norm.aiis — Visit  of  Eustace,  Count  of  Uoulogue,  and  its  consequences — Quarrels  between  the  Confessor  and 
Earl  Godwin — "William.  Duke  of  Normandy,  visits  England — His  gracious  reception  by  Edward  tho  Confessor 
—Earl  Godwin  drives  the  Normans  out  of  England — I'oindar  character  and  achievements  of  his  son,  Harold 

Death  of  Edward  the  Atheling  in  London — Harold's  journey  to  Normandy — Ho  falls  into  tho  hands  of 

"William,  Duke  of  Normandy — I'roinises  and  oatlis  exacted  of  him  by  William — Unpopular  j'roccedings  of 
Tostig,  the  brother  of  Harold — Last  illness  of  E»lward  the  Confessor — Question  of  the  succession  to  the  tlirone. 
Harold  proclaimed  king — William  of  Normandy  asserts  his  right  to  tho  throne  of  England — His  prepara- 
tions to  maintain  it — Hardrada,  King  of  Norway,  invades  England — Is  defeated  and  slain  at  Stamford  liridgo 

Hostile  arrival  ot  William,  Duke  of  Normandy — His  proposals  to  Harold— Uattlo  of  Hastings — Defeat  and 

death  of  Harolil. 


DWAED  THE  CONTESSOR.  Ilai'di- 
canute  was  scarcely  in  his  gi-ave, 
when  his  half-brother  Edward,  who 
was  many  j'ears  his  senior,  ascended 
the  throne  (.A..D.  104i2)  with  no  op- 
position, except  such  as  lie  found 
from  his  own  fears  and  scruples,  wliich,  had  he 
been  left  to  himself,  would  probably  have  in- 
duced him  to  prefer  a  monastery,  or  some  other 
quiet  retirement  in  Normandy.  During  his  very 
brief  reign,  Hardicanute  had  recalled  the  exile 
to  England,  had  received  him  with  honour  and 
affection,  granted  him  a  handsome  allowance, 
and  even  proposed,  it  is  said,  to  associate  him 
in  his  government.  Edward  was,  tliei-efore,  at 
liaud,  and  in  a  favourable  position  at  the  mo- 
ment of  crisis ;  nor,  according  to  the  modern 
laws  of  hereditary  succession,  could  any  one 
have  established  so  good  a  right;  for  his  half- 
nephew  Edward,  who  was  still  fai'  away  in  Hun- 
gaiy,  was  only  illegitimately  descended  from 
the  royal  line  of  Cerdic  and  Alfred,  his  father, 
Edmund  Ironside,  though  older  than  Edwai'd, 
being  a  natural  son  of  their  common  father  Ethel- 
i-ed.  But,  in  truth,  rules  of  succession  had  little 
to  do  with  the  settlement  of  the  crown,  which 
was  affected  by  a  vaa-iety  of  other  and  more 
potent  agencies.  The  connection  between  tlie 
Danish  and  English  crowns  was  evidently  break- 
ing off;  there  was  a  prosjject  that  the  two  parties 
in  England  would  soon  be  left  to  decide  their 
contest  without  any  intervention  from  Denmark ; 
for  some  time  the  Saxon  party  had  been  gaining 
ground,  and,  before  Hardicanute's  death,  formi- 
dable associations  had  been  made,  and  more  than 
one  successful  battle  fought  against  the  Danes. 
On  their  side,  the  Danes,  having  no  descendant 
of  the  gi'eat  Canute  around  whom  to  rally,  be- 
came less  vehement  for  the  e.xinilsion  of  tlie 
Saxon  line,  while  many  of  them  settled  in  the 


soutli  of  the  island  were  won  over  by  the  reputed 
virtue  and  sanctity  of  Edwai'd.  If  we  may  judge 
by  the  imcertain  light  of  some  of  tlie  chronicles, 
many  leading  Danes  quitted  England  on  Hardi- 
canute's decease;  ami  it  seems  quite  certain  that 
when  the  nobles  and  prelates  of  the  Saxons  (were 
tliere  not  D.anes  among  these?)  assembled  in  Lon- 
don, with  the  resolution  of  electing  Edward,  they 
encountered  no  opposition  from  any  Danish  fac- 
tion. But  the  great  Earl  Godwin,  the  still  sus- 
pected mm-derer  of  the  new  king's  brother,  Alfred, 
had  by  far  the  greatest  share  in  Edward's  eleva- 
tion. This  veteran  politician,  of  an  age  considered 
barbai'ons,  and  of  a  race  (the  Saxon)  generally 
noted  rather  for  stu])idity  and  dulness  than  for 
acuteness  and  adroitness,  trimmed  his  sails  ac- 
cording to  the  winds  that  predominated,  with  a 
degree  of  skill  and  remorsclessncsa  whicli  would 
stand  a  comparison  with  the  manmuvTes  of  the 
most  celebrated  political  intriguers  of  the  most 
modern  and  civilized  times.  In  all  the  struggles 
that  had  taken  place  since  the  death  of  Canute, 
he  had  changed  sides  with  astonishing  facility 
and  rapidity — going  back  more  than  once  to  the 
party  he  had  deserted,  then  changing  again,  and 
always  causing  the  faction  he  embraced  to  tri- 
umph just  so  long  as  he  adhered  to  it,  and  no 
longer.  Changes,  ruinous  to  others,  only  brouglit 
him  an  accession  of  strength.  At  llie  death  of 
Hardicanute,  he  was  Eai'l  of  allWessc.x  and  Kent; 
and  by  his  alliances  and  intrigues,  he  controlled 
ueai'ly  the  whole  of  the  southern  and  more  Saxon 
pai't  of  England.  His  abilities  were  proved  by 
the  station  he  had  attained;  for  he  had  begun  life 
as  a  cow-herd.  He  was  a  fluent  speaker;  but  liis 
eloquence,  no  doubt,  owed  much  of  its  faculty  of 
conveying  conviction,  to  the  power  or  material 
means  he  had  always  at  liand  to  enforce  his  argu- 
ments. "Wlien  \te  rose  in  the  assenil  ily  of  tlianos 
and  bishops,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  Ed- 


118 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


■n-.inl  tlie  Atheliiig,  tlie  only  surviving  son  of 
Etlielred,  slioulj  be  their  king,  there  were  but 
very  few  dissentient  voices;  and  the  earl  care- 
fully marked  the  weak  minority,  who  seem  all 
to  have  been  Saxons,  and  drove  them  into  e.xile 
shortly  after.  It  is  jiretty  generally  stated  that 
his  relation,  William,  Duke  of  Normandy  (after- 
wards the  Conqueror),  materially  aided  Edwai'd 
by  his  influence,  having  firmly  announced  to  the 
Saxons,  that  if  they  failed  in  their  duty  to  the 
sons  of  Emma,  they  should  feel  the  weight  of  his 
vengeance;  but  we  more  tlian  doubt  the  authen- 
ticity of  this  fact,  from  the  sunple  circumstances 
of  Duke  William's  being  only  fifteen  years  old  at 
the  time,  and  his  states  being  in  mo.st  lamentable 
confusion  and  anarchy,  pressed  from  without  by 
the  French  king,  and  troubled  within  by  factious 
nobles,  who  all  wished  to  take  advantage  of  his 
youth  and  inexperience. 

The  case,  perhaps,  is  not  very  rare,  hut  it  must 
always  be  a  painful  and  perplexing  one.  Edward 
hated  the  man  who  was  sei-ving  him;  and  while 
Godwin  was  placing  him  on  the  throne,  he  could 
not  detach  his  eyes  from  the  bloody  gi'ave  to 
which,  in  his  conviction,  the  earl  had  sent  his 
brother  Alfred.  Godwin  was  perfectly  well  aware 
of  these  feelings,  and,  like  a  practised  politician, 
before  he  stirred  in  Edwai-d's  cause,  and  when 
the  fate  of  that  prince,  even  to  his  life  or  death, 
was  in  his  hands,  he  made  such  stipulations  as 
were  best  calculated  to  secure  him  against  their 
effects.  He  obtained  an  extension  of  territories, 
honours,  and  commands  for  himself  and  his  sons; 
a  solemn  assiu-ance  that  the  past  was  forgiven ; 
and,  as  a  pledge  for  future  afl'ection  and  family 
union,  he  made  Edward  consent  to  marry  his 
daughter.  The  fan-  Editha,  the  daughter  of  the 
fortunate  earl,  became  Queen  of  England;  b'.it  the 
heart  was  not  to  be  controlled,  and  Edward  was 
never  a  husband  to  her.  Yet,  fi'om  contemporai-y 
accounts,  Editha  was  deserving  of  love,  and  pos- 
sessed of  such  a  union  of  good  qualities  as  ought 
to  have  removed  the  deep-rooted  antipathies  of 
the  king  to  herself  and  her  race.  Her  person  was 
beautiful;  her  manners  graceful;  her  disposition 
cheerful,  meek,  pious,  and  generous,  without  a 
taint  of  her  father's  or  brothers'  pride  and  aiTO- 
gance.  Her  mental  accomplishments  far  sur- 
passed the  standard  of  that  age;  she  was  fond  of 
reading,  and  had  read  many  books. 

If  Edward  neglected,  and  afterwards  perse- 
cuted his  wife,  he  behaved  in  a  still  harsher  and 
more  summary  manner  to  his  mother  Emma, 
who,  though  she  has  few  claims  on  our  sym- 
pathy, was,  in  spite  of  all  her  faults,  entitled  to 
some  consideration  from  him.  But  he  could  not 
forgive  past  injuries;  he  could  not  forget  that, 
while  she  lavished  her  affections  .and  ill-gotten 
treasures  on  her  children  by  Canute,  she  had  left 


him  and  his  brother  to  languish  in  poverty  in 
Normandy,  where  they  were  forced  to  eat  the 
bitter  bread  of  other  people;  and  he  seems  never 
to  have  relieved  her  from  the  honld  suspicion  of 
having  had  part  in  Alfred's  murder.  These  feel- 
ings were  jtrobably  exasperated  by  her  refusing 
to  advance  him  money  at  a  moment  of  need,  just 
before  or  at  the  date  of  his  coronation.  Shortly 
after  his  coronation  he  held  a  council  at  Glou- 
cester, whence,  accompanied  by  Earls  Godwin, 
Leofric,  and  Siward,  he  hun-ied  to  Winchester, 
where  Emma  had  again  established  a  sort  of  court, 
seized  her  treasures,  and  all  the  cattle,  the  corn, 
and  the  forage  on  the  lands  which  she  possessed 
as  a  dower,  and  behaved  otherwise  to  her  with 
gi-eat  harshness.  Some  say  she  was  committed 
to  close  custody  in  the  abbey  of  Wearwell ;  but, 
according  to  the  more  generally  received  account, 
she  was  pei-mitted  to  retain  her  lands,  and  to 
reside  at  large  at  Winchester,  where,  it  appears, 
she  died  in  1052,  the  tenth  year  of  Edward's  reig-n. 
In  the  second  year  of  Edward's  reign  (a.d.  104.3) 
a  faint  demonstration  to  re-establish  the  Scandi- 
navian supremacy  in  England  was  made  by  Mag- 
nus, King  of  Norway  and  Denmark;  but  the 
Saxons  assembled  a  great  fleet  at  Sandwich;  the 
Danes  in  the  land  remained  quiet;  and,  his  last 
hopes  expiring,  Magnus  was  soon  induced  to  de- 
clare that  he  thought  it  "  right  and  most  conve- 
nient "  that  he  should  let  Edward  enjoy  his  crown, 
and  content  himself  with  the  kingdoms  which 
God  had  given  him.  But  though  undisturbed  by 
foreign  invasions,  or  the  internal  wars  of  a  com- 
petitor for  the  crown,  Edward  was  little  moi-e 
than  a  king  in  name.  This  abject  condition  ai-ose 
in  part,  but  certainly  not  wholly,  from  his  easy, 
pacific  disposition;  for  he  not  unfrequently  showed 
himself  capable  of  energy,  and  firm  and  sudden 
decisions;  and  although  superstitious  and  monk- 
ridden,  he  was,  when  roused,  neither  deficient  in 
talent  nor  in  moral  comage.  A  wider  and  deeper 
spiing,  that  sapped  the  roj^al  authority,  was  the 
enormous  power  of  which  Godwin  and  other  earls 
had  possessed  themselves  before  his  accession; 
and  this  power,  be  it  remembered,  he  himself  was 
obliged  to  augment  before  he  could  put  his  foot 
on  the  lowest  step  of  the  throne.  When  he  had 
kept  his  promises  with  the  "gi-eat  carl" — and  he 
could  not  possibly  evade  them — what  with  the 
territories  and  commands  of  Godwin,  .and  of  his 
six  sons,  Harold,  Sweyn,  Wulnot,  Tostig,  Gurth, 
and  Leof\vin,  the  whole  of  the  south  of  England, 
from  Lincolnshire  to  the  end  of  Devonshu-e,  was 
in  the  hands  of  one  family.  Nor  had  Edward's 
authority  a  better  basis  elsewhere,  for  the  whole 
of  the  north  was  unequally  divided  between  Leo- 
fric and  the  gi-eater  Earl  Siward,  whose  dominions 
extended  from  the  Humber  to  the  Scottish  bor- 
der.    These  earls  possessed  all  that  was  valuable 


A.D.  1042- lOCC] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


113 


iMrr.ESSION; 


iu  sovereignty  within  the  territories  tlicy  hekl. 
They  appointed  their  own  judges,  received  fines, 
and  levied  what  troops  they  chose.  Tlie  chief 
security  of  the  king  lay  in  the  clashing  interests 
and  jealousies  of  these  mighty  v.issals.  As  the 
king  endeared  himself  to  his  people  by  reducing 
taxation  and  removing  the  odious  Danegeld  alto- 
gether, by  reviving  the  old  Saxon  laws,  and  ad- 
ministering them  with  justice  and  proni|ititude — 
as  he  gained  their  reverence  by  his  mild  vii-tucs, 
and  still  more  by  his  ascetic  devotion,  which 
eventually  caused  his  canonization,  he  miglit  have 
been  enabled  to  curb  the  family  of  Godwin  and 
the  rest,  and  raise  his  depressed  throne  by  means 
of  the  popular  will  and  aflection;  but  unfortu- 
nately there  were  cir- 
cumstances interwov- 
en which  neutralized 
Edward's  advantages, 
and  gave  the  favoui-- 
able  colour  of  nation- 
ality and  patriotism 
to  the  cause  of  God- 
win, whenever  he 
chose  to  quarrel  with 
the  king.  It  was  per- 
fectly natural  —  and 
it  would  have  been  as 
excusable  as  natm-al,  if  the  imprudence  of  a  king 
ever  admitted  of  an  excuse — that  Edw;u'd  should 
have  an  aflection  for  the  Normans,  among  whom 
the  best  years  of  his  life  had  been  passed,  and  who 
gave  him  food  and  shelter  when  abandoned  by  all 
the  rest  of  the  world.  He  was  only  thii-teen  years 
old  when  he  was  first  sent  into  Normandy;  he 
was  somewhat  past  forty  when  he  ascended  the 
English  tlirone,  so  that  fortwenty-seven  yeai'S,  com- 
mencing with  a  period  when  the  young  mind  is  not 
formed,  but  ductile,  and  most  susceptible  of  impres- 
sions, he  had  been  accustomed  to  foreign  manners 
and  habits,  and  to  convey  all  his  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings through  the  medium  of  a  foreign  language. 
He  was  accused  of  a  predilection  for  the  Erench 
or  "  Komance,"  which  by  this  time  had  superseded 
theii-  Scandina\'ian  dialect,  and  become  the  ver- 
nacular language  of  the  Normans;  but  it  is  more 
than  probable  he  had  forgotten  his  Saxon.  Be- 
lying on  Edward's  gi'atitude  and  friendship,  seve- 
ral Normans  came  over  with  him  when  he  was 
invited  to  England  by  Uardicanute ;  this  number 
was  augmented  after  his  accession  to  the  throne; 
and  as  the  king  provided  for  them  all,  or  gave 
them  constant  entertainment  at  his  court,  fresh 
adventm-ers  continued  to  cross  the  Channel.  It 
should  appear  it  was  chiefly  in  the  church  that 
Edward  provided  for  his  foreign  favom-ites.  Ro- 
bert, a  Noi-man,  and,  like  most  of  his  race,  a  per- 
sonal enemy  to  Earl  Godwin,  was  promoted  to 
be  Ai-chbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Primate  of  all 


FROM  THE  Great  Skai.  nt  Edw.\rd  the  CosrEssor.. ' 
British  lliiseam. 


England;  Ulf  and  William,  two  other  Normans, 
■were  made  Bisliops  of  Dorchester  and  London; 
and  crosiei-3  and  abbots'  stalls  were  liberally  dis- 
tributed to  the  king's  exotic  chaplains  and  house- 
clerks,  who  ai-e  said  to  have  closed  all  the  avenuea 
of  access  to  his  person  and  favour  against  the 
English-born.  Those  Saxon  nobles  who  yet  hojjed 
to  prosper  at  court,  learned  to  speak  Fi'cnch,  ami 
imitated  the  dress,  fashions,  and  manner  of  living 
of  the  Normans  Edwai-d  ailoptcd,  in  all  docu- 
ments and  chartera,  the  handwriting  of  the  Nor- 
mans, which  he  thought  liandsomer  tlian  that  of 
the  English;  ho  introduced  the  use  of  the  "gi-eat 
seal,"  which  he  ajipended  to  his  parchments,  in 
addition  to  the  simple  mark  of  the  cross,  which 
had  been  used  by  the 
Anglo-Saxon  kings ; 
and  as  his  chancellor, 
secretaries  of  state, 
and  legal  advisera 
were  all  foreigners, 
and,  no  doubt,  like 
the  natives  of  France 
of  all  ages,  singulai"- 
ly  neglectful  of  the 
tongue  of  the  jjeople 
among  whom  they 
were  settled,  the  Eng- 
lish lawyers  were  obliged  to  study  French,  and 
to  employ  a  foreign  language  in  their  deeds  and 
papers.  Even  in  those  rude  ages  fashion  had  her 
influence  and  her  votai'ies.  The  study  of  the  French 
language,  to  the  neglect  of  the  Saxon,  became  very 
general;  and  the  rich,  the  young,  and  the  gay  of 
both  sexes  were  not  satisfied  unless  their  tunics, 
their  chawssL-s,  their  streamera,  and  mufflers  were 
cut  after  the  latest  Norman  pattern.  Not  one  of 
these  things  was  trifling  in  its  influence — united, 
their  efl"ect  must  have  been  most  important;  and 
it  seems  to  us  that  historians  in  general  have  not 
sufficiently  borne  them  in  mind,  as  a  j^rclude  to 
the  gi-eat  di-ama  of  the  Norman  conquest. 

All  this,  however,  was  distasteful  to  the  gi'cat 
body  of  the  Saxon  people,  and  highly  irritating 
to  Earl  Godwin,  who  is  said  to  have  exacted  an 
express  and  soleimi  promise  from  the  king  not  to 
inundate  the  land  with  Normans,  ere  he  consented 
to  raise  him  to  the  throne.  The  carl  could  scai'cely 
take  up  a  more  pojiular  ground;  and  he  made  his 
more  private  wrongs — the  king's  treatment  of  his 
daughter,  and  disinclination  to  the  society  of  him- 
self and  his  sons — aU  close  and  revolve  round  this 
centre.  Even  personally  the  symiKithy  of  the 
people  went  with  him.  "  Is  it  astonishing,"  they 
said,  "  that  the  author  and  supporter  of  Edward's 
reign  should  be  wroth  to  see  new  men,  of  a  foreign 
nation,  prefeiTcd  to  himself?"'' 


*  This  seal  measiires  3  in.  in  diameter. 


'  Matmab. 


120 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  aud  Military. 


In  1044  a  ci-ime,  committetl  by  a  iiicniber  of 
liis  family,  somewhat  clouded  Godwin's  popula- 
rity. Sweyn,  the  earl's  second  son,  and  a  maiTied 
man,  violated  an  abbess,  and  was  exiled  by  the 
king — for  this,  of  all  others,  was  the  crime  Ed- 
ward was  least  likely  to  overlook.  After  keeping 
the  sea.s  for  some  time  as  a  pirate,  Sweyn  i-eturned 
to  England,  on  the  promise  of  a  royal  pardon. 
Some  delay  occurred  in  passing  this  act  of  grace ; 
and  it  is  said  that  Beorn,  his  cousin,  and  even 
Harold,  the  brother  of  Sweyn,  pleaded  strongly 
against  him  at  court.  The  fury  of  the  outlaw 
knew  no  bounds;  but,  pretending  to  be  reconciled 
with  his  cousin  Beorn,  he  won  his  confidence,  got 
possession  of  his  person,  and  then  caused  him  to 
be  murdered.  In  spite  of  this  accumulated  guilt, 
Edward  was  fain  to  gi-ant  a  pardon  to  the  son  of 
the  powerful  earl;  and  Sweyn,  tliough  he  had 
rendered  himself  odious,  and  injured  the  popula- 
rity of  his  family,  was  restored  to  his  government. 

But  in  IOjI  an  event  occuii-ed  which  exaspe- 
rated the  whole  nation  against  tlie  Normans,  and 
gave  Godwin  the  opportunity  of  recovering  all  his 
reputation  and  influence  with  the  Saxon  people. 
Among  the  many  foreigners  that  came  over  to 
visit  the  king  was  Eustace,  Count  of  Boulogne, 
who  had  married  the  Lady  Goda,  a  daughter  of 
Etheb-ed,  and  sister  to  Edward.  This  Eustace 
was  a  prince  of  considerable  power,  and  moi'e 
pretension.  He  governed  hereditarily,  under  the 
supremacy  of  the  French  crown,  the  city  of  Bou- 
logne and  the  contiguous  territory  on  the  shores 
of  the  Channel;  and  as  a  sign  of  his  dignity  as 
chief  of  a  maritime  country,  when  he  ai-med  for 
war  he  attached  two  long  aigrettes,  made  of 
whalebone,  to  his  helmet.  This  loving  brother- 
in-law,  w'ith  rather  a  numerous  retinue  of  war- 
riors and  men-at-arms,  was  hospitably  entertained 
at  the  com-t  of  Edward,  where  he  saw  Frenchmen, 
and  Normans,  and  everything  that  was  French 
and  foreign,  so  completely  in  the  ascendant,  that 
he  was  led  to  despise  the  Saxons  as  a  people 
already  conquered.  On  his  return  homewards 
Eustace  slept  one  night  at  Cantei-bury.  The  next 
morning  he  continued  his  route  for  Dover,  and 
when  he  was  within  a  mile  of  that  town  he  ordered 
a  halt,  left  his  travelling  palfrey,  and  mounted 
his  war-horse,  which  a  page  led  in  his  right  hand. 
He  also  put  on  his  coat  of  mail;  all  his  people 
did  the  same;  and  in  this  warlike  harness  they 
entered  Dover.  The  foreigners  marched  inso- 
lently tlu-ough  the  town,  choosing  the  best  houses 
in  which  to  pass  the  night,  and  taking  free  quar- 
ters on  the  citizens  without  asking  permission, 
which  was  contrary  to  the  laws  and  customs  of 
the  Saxons.  One  of  the  townsmen  boldly  repelled 
from  Ills  thi-eshold  a  retainer  who  pretended  to 
take  up  his  quarters  in  his  house.  The  stranger 
drew  his  sword,  and  wounded  the  Englishman; 


the  Euglishman  armed  in  ha.ste,  and  he,  or  one 
of  his  house,  slew  the  Frenchman.  At  this  intel- 
ligence. Count  Eustace  and  all  his  troo])  mounted 
on  horseback,  and,  surrounding  the  liouse  of  the 
Englishman,  some  of  them  forced  tlieir  way  in, 
and  murdered  him  on  his  own  hearth-stone.  Th  is 
done,  they  g.aUoped  through  the  streets  witli  their 
luiked  swords  in  their  hands,  striking  men  and 
women,  and  crushing  several  children  under  their 
horses'  hoofs.  This  outrage  roused  the  spirit  of 
the  bm'ghers,  who  ai-med  themselves  with  such 
weapons  as  they  had,  and  met  the  mailed  war- 
riors in  a  mass.  After  a  fierce  conflict,  in  which 
nineteen  of  the  foreigners  were  slain  and  many 
more  wounded,  Eustace,  with  the  rest,  being  im- 
able  to  reach  the  port  and  embark,  retreated  out 
of  Dover,  and  then  galloped  with  loose  rein  to- 
wards Gloucester,  to  lay  his  complaints  before  the 
king.  Edward,  who  was,  as  usual,  suiTOundcd 
by  his  Norman  favom-ites,  gave  his  peace  to  Eus- 
tace and  his  companions;  and  believing,  on  the 
simple  assertion  of  his  bi-other-in-law,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Dover  were  in  the  wi-ong,  .and  had 
begun  the  affray,  he  sent  immediately  to  Earl 
Godwin,  in  whose  government  the  city  lay.  "Set 
out  forthwith,"  said  the  king's  order;'  "go  and 
chastise  with  a  militar.y  execution  those  who  at- 
tack my  relations  with  the  sword,  and  trouble  the 
peace  of  the  countiy."  "  It  Ul  becomes  you,"  re- 
plied Godwin,  "to  condemn,  without  a  hearing, 
the  men  whom  it  is  your  duty  to  protect."-  The 
ch'cumstances  of  the  fight  at  Dover  were  now 
known  all  over  the  country;  the  assault  evidently 
had  begun  by  a  Frenchman's  daring  to  viol.ate 
the  sanctity  of  an  Englishman's  house,  and,  right 
or  wTong,  the  Saxon  people  would  n.aturally 
es])0use  the  cause  of  their  countrymen.  Instead, 
therefore,  of  chastising  the  burghers,  the  earl 
sided  with  them.  Before  proceeding  to  extremi- 
ties, Godwin  proposed  that,  instead  of  exercising 
that  indiscriminate  vengeance  on  all  the  inhabi- 
tants which  was  implied  by  a  military  execution, 
the  magistrates  of  Dover  should  be  cited  in  a  legal 
manner  to  appear  before  the  king  and  the  royal 
judges,  to  give  an  account  of  their  conduct.  It 
should  seem  that,  transported  by  the  indignation 
of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Earl  Eustace,  and  con- 
founded by  the  clamours  of  his  Norman  favour- 
ites, Edward  would  not  listen  to  this  just  antl 
reasonable  proposition,  but  summoned  God-n-in  to 
appear  before  his /orei^a  court  at  Gloucester;  and 
on  his  hesitating  to  put  himself  in  so  much  jeo- 
pardy, tlu-eatened  him  and  his  family  with  ba- 
nishment and  confiscation.  Then  the  gi-eat  earl 
armed;  and  though  some  of  the  chi'oniclers  assert 
it  was  only  to  redj-ess  the  popular  gi-ievauces,  and 
to  make  an  ajipeal  to  the  English  against  the 


'  Chron.  Sax. 


'  Malmesb. 


AD.  lOliJ— lOGG. 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


courtiers  from  boyoiul  soa,  and  Uiat  nothing  was 
farther  from  his  thoughts  than  to  otVer  insult  or 
violence  to  the  king  of  his  owni  creation,  we  are 
far  from  being  convinced  of  the  entire  purity  of 
his  motives,  or  the  moderation  of  his  objects. 

Godwin,  who  ruled  the  country  south  of  the 
Thames,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  gathered  his 
forces  together,  and  was  joined  by  a  large  body 
of  the  people,  who  vohmtarily  took  up  arms. 
Ilarold,  the  eldest  of  his  sons,  collected  many 
men  all  along  the  eastern  coast  between  the 
Thames  and  the  AVash;  and  Sweyn,  his  second 
son,  whose  guilt  was  forgotten  in  the  pop\dar 
excitement,  arrayed  his  soldiers,  and  formed  a 
]iatriotic  association  among  the  Saxou.s  who  dwelt 
on  the  banks  of  the  Severn  and  along  the  fron- 
tiers of  Wales.  These  three  columns  soon  con- 
centrated near  Gloucester,  then  the  royal  resi- 
dence; and,  with  means  adequate  to  enforce  his 
wish,  Godwin  demanded  that  the  Count  Eustace, 
his  companions,  and  many  other  Normans  and 
Frenchmen,  should  be  given  up  to  the  justice  of 
the  nation.  Edward,  knowing  he  was  wholly  at 
the  mercy  of  his  irritated  father-in-law,  was  still 
firm.  To  gain  time  he  opened  a  negotiation;  and 
so  much  was  he  still  esteemed  by  the  people,  that 
Godwin  was  obliged  to  save  ap]ieara.nces,  and  to 
grant  him  that  delay  which,  for  a  while,  wholly 
overcast  the  earl's  fortunes.  Edward  had  secui-ed 
the  good-will  of  Godwin's  gi-eat  rivals — Siward, 
Earl  of  Northumbria,  and  Leofric,  Eaad  of  IMer- 
cia;  to  these  cliiefs  he  now  applied  for  pi-otection, 
summoning  to  his  aid  at  the  same  time  Kanulf 
or  Ealph,  a  Norman  knight,  whom  he  had  made 
Earl  of  "Worcestershire.  When  tliese  forces  united 
and  marched  to  the  king's  rescue,  they  were 
equal  or  superior  in  number  to  those  of  Godwin, 
who  had  thus  lost  his  moment.  The  peojde, 
however,  had  improved  in  wisdom;  and  on  the 
two  ai-mies  coming  in  front  of  each  other,  it  was 
presently  seen,  by  their  respective  leaders,  that 
old  animosities  had  in  a  gi-eat  measure  died  away 
— that  the  Anglo-Danes  from  the  north  were  by 
no  means  anxious  to  engage  their  brethren  of  the 
south  for  the  cause  of  Normans,  and  men  equally 
alien  to  them  both — and  that  the  Saxons  of  the 
south  were  averse  to  shedding  the  blood  of  the 
Anglo-Danes  of  the  north.  The  whispers  of  in- 
dividual ambition — the  mutterings  of  mutual  re- 
venge— the  aspirations  of  the  great  were  mute, 
for  once,  at  the  loud  and  universal  voice  of  the 
people.  An  annistice  was  concluded  between 
the  king  and  Godwin,  and  it  wa-s  agreed  to  refer 
all  differences  to  an  assembly  of  the  legislature, 
to  be  held  at  London  in  the  following  autumn. 
Hostages  and  oaths  were  exchanged — botli  king 
and  eai-1  swearing  "God's  peace  and  full  friend- 
ship" for  one  another.  Edward  employed  the 
interval  between  the  armistice  and  tlie  meeting 

Vol.  I. 


of  the  witenagemot  in  p>d)lishing  a  ban  for  the 
levying  of  a  royal  army  all  over  the  kingdom,  in 
engaging  troops,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  and 
in  strengthening  liimself  by  all  the  means  lie 
could  command.  In  the  same  time  the  forces  of 
Harold,  which  consisted  in  chief  ])art  of  burghers 
and  yeomen,  who  had  armed  under  the  fii-st  ex- 
citement of  a  i)o]ndar  quarrel,  and  who  had  neither 
pay  nor  quai'tei-s  in  the  held,  dwindled  rapidly 
away.  According  to  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  the 
king's  army,  wliich  was  cantoned  witliin  and 
about  Loudon,  soon  became  the  most  numei'ous 
that  had  been  seen  in  this  reign.  The  chief,  and 
many  of  the  subordinate  commands  in  it,  were 
given  to  Norman  favourites,  who  thirated  for  the 
blood  of  Earl  Godwin.  At  the  appointed  time 
the  earl  and  his  sons  were  summoned  to  appear 
before  the  witenagemot,  without  any  military 
escort  whatsoever,  and  that,  too,  in  the  midst  of 
a  most  formidable  army  and  of  deadly  enemies, 
who  would  not  have  spared  their  persons,  even 
if  the  king  and  the  legislative  assembly  had  been 
that  way  inclined.  Godwin,  who  before  now  had 
frequently  both  suffered  and  practised  treachery, 
refused  to  attend  tlie  assembly  unless  proper  se- 
curities were  given  that  he  and  his  sons  should 
go  thither  and  depai-t  thence  in  safety.  This 
reasonable  demand  was  repeated,  and  twice  re- 
fused; and  then  Edward  and  the  gi-eat  covmcil 
pronoimced  a  sentence  of  banishment,  decreeing 
that  the  earl  and  all  his  family  should  quit  the 
land  for  ever  within  five  days.  There  was  no 
ajipeal;  and  Godwin  and  his  sons,  who,  it  aj)- 
peai's,  had  marched  to  Southwark,  on  finding  th;it 
even  the  small  force  they  had  brought  with  them 
was  thinned  by  hourly  desertion,  lied  by  night 
for  their  lives.  The  sudden  fall  of  this  great  fa- 
mily confounded  and  stupified  the  popular  mind. 
"  Wonderful  would  it  have  been  thought,"  says 
the  Saxon  Chronicle,  "  if  any  one  had  said  before 
that  matters  would  come  to  such  a  pass."  Befoi-e 
the  expu'ation  of  the  five  days'  grace  a  troop  of 
horsemen  was  sent  to  jiursue  and  seize  the  earl 
and  his  family;  but  these  soldiers  were  wholly  or 
chiefly  Saxons,  and  either  coidd  not  or  wouUl  not 
overtake  them.  Godwin,  with  his  wife  and  his 
three  sous,  Sweyn,  Tostig,  and  Gurth,  and  a  ship 
well  stored  with  money  and  treasures,  embarked 
on  the  east  coast,  and  sailed  to  Elanders,  where 
he  was  well  received  by  Earl  Baldwin;  Harold 
and  his  brother  Leofwin  fled  westward,  and,  em- 
barking at  Bristol,  crossed  the  sea  to  Ireland. 
Then-  property,  their  broad  lands,  and  houses, 
with  everything  upon  them  and  within  them,  were 
confiscated;  theu- governments  and  honours  dis- 
tributed, in  ]iart  among  foreigners;  i.nd  scarcely 
a  trace  was  left  in  the  country  of  the  warlike  earl 
or  his  bold  sons.  But  a  fan-  daughter  of  that  house 
remained;  Editlia  was  still  Queen  of  England, 
13 


J  22 


niSTOUY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil.  AND  Mll.ITAr.T 


and  on  her  l'>lwanl  determinetl  to  pour  out  tho 
last  \'ialof  his  wl-ath,  and  conijiletehis  vrngeanoe 
on  the  ol)no.\ious  race  tliat  had  given  him  the 
throne.  He  seized  her  dower,  lie  took  from  her 
her  jewels  and  her  money,  "even  to  the  utter- 
most farthing,"  and  allowing  her  only  the  attend- 
ance of  one  maiden,  he  closely  confined  his  vir- 
gin wife  in  the  nionsistery  of  Wearwell,  of  which 
one  of  his  sisters  was  lady  abbess;  and  in  this 
cheerless  captivity  she,  in  the  language  of  one  of 
the  old  chroniclers,  "  in  tears  and  prayers  expected 
the  day  of  her  release  and  comfort." 

Delivered  from  the  awe  and  timidity  he  had 
always  felt  in  Earl  Godwin's  presence,  the  king 
now  put  no  restraint  on  his  af- 
fection for  the  Normans,  who 
flocked  over  in  greater  shoals 
than  ever  to  make  their  for- 
tunes in  England.  A  few  months 
after  Godwin's  exile  he  ex- 
pressed his  anxious  desire  to 
have  William,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, for  his  guest;  and  that 
ambitious  and  most  crafty 
prince,  who  already  began  to 
entertain  projects  on  England, 
readily  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  came  over  with  a  numerous 
retinue,  in  the  fixed  pm-pose  of 
turning  the  visit  to  the  best  ac- 
count, by  pereonally  informing 
himself  of  the  strength  and  con- 
dition of  the  country,  and  by  in- 
fluencing the  councils  of  the 
king,  who  had  no  childi-en  to  succeed  him,  and 
was  said  to  be  labouring  imder  a  vow  of  per- 
petual chastity,  even  as  if  he  had  been  a  clois- 
tered monk. 

William  was  the  natural  son  of  Robert,  Duke 
of  Normandy,  the  younger  brother  of  Duke  Kieh- 
ard  III.,  and  the  son  of  Duke  Kichard  II.,  who 
was  brother  to  Queen  Emma,  the  mother  of  King 
Edward,  and  of  the  miu'dered  Alfred,  by  Ethel- 
red,  as  also  of  the  preceding  kings,  Harold  and 
Hardicanute,  by  her  second  husband,  Canute  the 
Great.  On  the  mother's  side  William's  descent 
was  sufficiently  obscm-e.  One  day,  as  the  Duke 
Robert  was  returning  from  the  chase,  he  met  a 
fair  gu-1,  who,  with  comiiauions  of  her  own  age, 
was  washing  clothes  in  a  brook.  Struck  by  her 
surpassing  beauty,  he  sent  one  of  his  discreetest 
knights  to  make  proposals  to  her  family.  Such 
a  mode  of  proceeding  is  stai'tling  enough  in  our 
days,  but  in  that  age  of  bai-barism  and  the  licen.se 
of  power,  the  wonder  is  he  did  not  seize  the  lowly 
maiden  by  force,  without  treaty  or  negotiation. 
The  father  of  the  maiden,  who  was  a  cm-rier  or 
tanner,  of  the  town  of  Falaise,  at  fii'st  received  the 
proposals  of  Robert's    love-ambassador  with  in- 


dignation ;  but,  on  second  thoughts,  he  went  to 
consult  one  of  his  brothera,  a  hermit  in  a  neigh- 
bouring forest,  and  a  man  enjoying  a  gi'cat  re- 
ligious rei)utation;  and  this  religious  man  gave 
it  as  his  ojiinion  that  one  ought,  in  all  things,  to 
conform  to  the  will  -of  the  powerful  man.  The 
name  of  the  maid  of  Falaise  was  A  rlete,IIarlotta, 
or  Herleva,  for  she  is  indiscriminately  called  by 
these  different  ajijiellations,  which  all  seem  to 
come  from  the  old  Norman  or  Danish  compound, 
Ilcr-leve,  "  the  much-loved."  And  the  duke  con- 
tinued to  love  her  dearly;  and  he  brought  up  the 
boy  William,  he  had  by  her,  with  as  much  care 
and  honour  as  if  he  had  been  the  son  of  a  lawful 


The  Castle  of  Falaise.' — From  Cotmau's  Antiquities  of  Noi-ruaiiily. 

spouse.  Although — or  perhaps  it  will  be  more 
correct  to  s.iy  because — their  conversion  was  of  a 
compai'atively  recent  date,  no  people  in  Em-ope 
surpassed  the  Normans  in  their  devotion,  or  their 
passion  for  distant  pilgi-images.  When  William 
was  only  seven  years  old,  his  father,  Duke  Robert-, 
resolved  to  go  to  Jerus.aleni  as  a  jiilgTim,  to  ob- 
tain the  remission  of  his  sins.  As  he  had  go- 
verned his  states  wisely,  his  peoj)le  heard  of  his 
intention  with  alarm  and  regret;  but  his  worldly 
advantage  could  not  be  put  in  the  balance  against 
his  spiritual  welfare.  The  Norman  chiefs,  still 
anxious  to  retain  him  among  them,  i-epresented 
that  it  would  be  a  bad  thing  for  them  to  be  left 
without  a  head.  The  native  chroniclers  put  the 
following  naive  reply  into  the  mouth  of  Duke  Ro- 
bert— "  By  my  faiih,  Sirs,  I  will  not  leave  you 
without  a  seigneur.  I  have  a  little  bastard,  who 
will  gi-ow  big,  if  it  pleases  God !  Choose  him 
from  this  moment,  and,  before  you  all,  I  will  put 

^  The  keep  of  the  castle  was  built  in  the  year  1000,  or  prior  to 
that  date.  The  lofty  circular  tower  was  added  in  the  year  1430, 
by  tlie  English  general  Talbot,  then  governor  of  tlie  town,  and 
to  the  present  day  it  bears  his  name.  A  room  in  the  keep  is  still 
shown,  in  which,  according  to  tradition,  WiUi.im  the  Couiiueror 
was  bom. — Dawson  Tui"ner,  in  Cotmau's  Nonnandy. 


A.D.  1042— lOCC] 


BAXON  PERIOD. 


123 


liim  iu  possession  of  tins  duchy  as  my  successor." 
The  Normaus  did  what  the  Duke  Robert  pro- 
posed, "  because,"  says  the  chronicle,  "  it  suited 
them  so  to  do."  According  to  the  feudal  practice 
they,  one  by  one,  placed  their  luuida  within  his 
hands,  and  swore  fidelity  to  the  child.  Kobert 
had  a  presentiment  that  he  should  not  return; 
and  he  never  did;  he  died  about  a  year  after 
(A.D.  1034),  on  his  road  home.  He  had  scarcely 
donned  his  pilgrim's  weeds  and  departed  from 
Normandy,  when  several  of  the  chiefs,  and  above 
all  the  relations  of  the  old  duke,  protested  against 
the  election  of  William,  alleging  that  a  bastard 
was  not  worthy  of  commanding  the  children  of 
the  Scandinavians.  A  civil  war  ensued,  in  which 
the  party  of  William  was  decidedly  victorious. 
As  the  boy  advanced  in  years  he  showed  an  in- 
domitable sjjirit,  and  a  wonderful  aptitude  in 
learning  those  knightly  and  warlike  exercises 
which  then  constituted  the  principal  part  of  edu- 
cation. This  endeared  him  to  his  partizans;  and 
the  important  day  on  which  he  fii-st  put  on  ar- 
mom-,  and  mounted  his  battle-steed  without  the 
aid  of  stirrup,  was  held  as  a  festal  day  in  Nor- 
mandy. Occasions  were  not  wanting  for  the 
practice  of  w-ar  and  battles,  but  were,  on  the  con- 
trary, frequently  presented  both  by  his  own  tur- 
bulent subjects  and  his  ambitious  neighbours. 
Fi'om  his  tender  youth  upwards,  William  was 
habituated  to  warfare  and  bloodshed,  and  to  the 
exercise  of  policy  and  craft,  by  which  he  often  suc- 
ceeded when  force  and  arms  failed.  His  contem- 
porai'ies  tell  us  that  he  was  passionately  fond  of 
fine  horses,  and  caused  them  to  be  brought  to  him 
from  Gascony,  Auvergne,  and  Spain,  preferring 
above  all  those  steeds  •which  bore  proper  names, 
by  which  their  genealogy  was  distinguished.  His 
disposition  was  revengeful  and  pitiless  in  the  ex- 
treme. At  an  after  period  of  life,  when  he  had 
imposed  respect  or  dread  upon  the  world,  he 
scoraed  the  distinctions  between  legitimate  and 
illegitimate  birth,  and  more  than  once  bravingly 
put  "We,  William  the  Bastard,"  to.  his  charters 
and  declarations;'  but  at  the  commencement  of 
his  career  he  was  exceedingly  susceptible  and 
sore  on  this  point,  and  often  took  sanguinary  ven- 
geance on  those  who  scofl'ed  at  the  stain  of  his  bu'th. 
The  fame  of  William's  doings  had  long  pre- 
ceded him  to  this  island,  where  they  created  very 
ilifferent  emotions,  according  to  men's  disposi- 
tions and  interests.  But  when  he  arrived  himself 
in  England,  with  a  numerous  and  splendid  train, 
it  is  said  that  the  Duke  of  Normandy  might  luive 
doubted,  from  the  evidence  of  his  senses,  whether 
he  had  quitted  his  own  country.  Noi-maus  com- 
manded the  Saxon  fleet  he  met  at  Dover,  Nor- 
mans garrisoned  the  castle  and  a  fortress  on  a 


'  In  Olio  of  his  English  ch.arter3,  prcserveil  in  Hickes,  he  styles 
himself,  with  less  truth,  "  Rex  Uereditariua." 


hiU  at  Canterbur}';  and  as  he  advanced  on  the 
jom-ney,  Norman  knights,  bishops,  abbots,  and 
burgesses  met  him  at  every  relay  to  bid  him  wel- 
come. At  the  court  of  Edward,  in  the  midst  of 
Norman  clerks,  priests,  and  nobles,  who  looked  >ip 
to  him  as  their  "  natural  lord,"  he  was  more  a 
king  tlian  the  king  himself;  and  every  day  he 
spent  iu  England  must  have  convej-ed  additional 
conviction  of  the  extent  of  Norman  influence, 
and  of  the  weakness  and  disorganization  of  the 
country. 

It  is  recorded  by  the  old  writers  that  King 
Edward  gave  a  most  affectionate  welcome  to  his 
good  cousin  Duke  William,  that  he  lived  lovingly 
with  him  while  he  was  here,  and  fJiat  at  his  de- 
parture he  gave  him  a  most  roj'al  gift  of  arms, 
horees,  hoimds,  and  hawks."  But  what  passed  in 
the  private  and  confidential  intercourse  of  the 
two  princes  these  writers  knew  not,  and  atteni])ted 
not  to  divine;  and  the  only  evident  fact  is  that, 
after  William's  visit,  the  Normans  in  England 
carried  their  assumirtion  of  sujieriority  still  higher 
than  before. 

But  preparations  were  in  progress  for  the  in- 
terrupting of  this  domination.  Ever  since  his 
flight  into  Flanders,  Godwin  had  been  actively 
engaged  in  devising  means  for  his  triumphant 
return,  and  in  corresponding  with  and  keeping 
up  the  spirits  of  the  Saxon  party  at  home.  In 
the  following  summer  (a.d.  1052),  the  great  earl 
having  well  employed  the  money  and  treasure  he 
took  with  him,  got  together  a  number  of  shijis, 
and,  eluding  the  vigilance  of  the  royal  fleet,  wliich 
was  commanded  by  two  Normans,  his  ])ersonal 
and  deadly  enemies,  he  fell  upon  our  southei-n 
coast,  where  many  Saxons  gave  him  a  hearty 
welcome.  He  had  previously  won  over  the  Saxon 
garrison  and  the  mariners  of  Hastings,  and  he 
now  sent  secret  emissaries  all  over  the  country,  at 
whose  representations  hosts  of  people  took  up 
arms,  binding  themselves  by  oath  to  the  cause 
of  the  exiled  chief,  and  "  promising,  all  with  one 
voiced  says  Roger  of  Hoveden,  "  to  live  or  die 
with  Godwin."  Sailing  along  the  Sussex  coast  to 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  he  was  met  there  by  his  sons 
Harold  and  Leofwin,  wdio  had  brought  over  a 
considerable  force  in  men  and  shijis  from  Ireland. 
From  the  Isle  of  Wight  the  Saxon  chiefs  sailed 
to  Sandwich,  where  they  landed  paa-t  of  their 
forces  without  opposition,  and  then,  with  the 
rest,  boldly  doubled  the  North  Foreland,  and 
sailed  up  the  Thames  towards  London.  As  they 
advanced,  the  popularity  of  their  cause  was  ma- 
nifestly dis]ilayed;  the  Saxon  and  Anglo-Danish 
troops  of  the  king,  and  all  the  royal  ahi|)S  they 
met,  went  over  to  them ;  the  burghers  and  pea- 
sants hastened  to  supply  them  witli  jii-ovisions, 

2  Maistre  Waco,  Rtman  dv.  Row. 


121. 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militai;t. 


anil  to  join  tlie  cry  itgainst  the  Noi-nians.  In  this 
easy  and  triumphant  manner  did  the  exiles  reach 
the  suburb  of  Southwavk,  where  thej'  anchored, 
and  landed  without  being  obliged  to  draw  a 
sword  or  bend  a  single  bow.  Their  presence 
threw  everj'tlung  into  confusion;  and  the  court 
party  soon  saw  that  the  citizens  of  London  were 
as  well  affected  to  Godwin  as  the  rest  of  the 
people  had  shown  themselves.  The  earl  sent  a 
respectfvd  message  to  the  king,  requesting  for 
himself  and  family  the  revision  of  the  iiTegular 
sentence  of  exile,  the  restoration  of  their  former 
territories,  honours,  and  employments,  promising, 
on  these  conditions,  a  dutiful  and  entire  submis- 
sion. Though  he  must  have  known  the  critical 
state  of  his  ailairs,  Edward  was  firm  or  obstin- 
ate, and  sternly  refused  the  conditions.  Godwin 
despatched  other  messengers,  but  they  returned 
with  an  equally  positive  refusal,  and  then  the  old 
eai-1  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  restraining  his 
irritated  partizaus.  But  the  game  was  in  his 
hand,  and  his  moderation  and  aversion  to  the 
spilling  of  kindred  blood  greatly  strengthened 
his  party.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  a 
royal  fleet  of  fifty  sail  was  moored,  and  a  consi- 
derable army  was  drawn  up  on  the  bank,  but  it 
was  soou  found  there  was  no  relying  either  on  the 
mariners  or  the  soldiers,  who,  for  the  most  part, 
if  not  won  over  to  the  cause  of  Godwin,  were 
averse  to  civil  war.  Still,  while  most  of  his 
party  were  trembling  around  him,  and  not  a  few 
seeking  safety  in  flight  or  concealment,  the  king 
remained  inflexible,  and,  to  all  appearance,  devoid 
of  fear.  The  boldest  of  his  Norman  favoiu-ites, 
who  foresaw  that  peace  between  the  Saxons 
would  be  their  ruin,  ventured  to  press  him  to 
give  the  signal  for  attack ;  but  the  now  openly 
expi-essed  sentiments  of  the  royal  troops,  and  the 
arguments  of  the  priest  Stigand  and  many  of  tlie 
Saxon  nobles,  finally  induced  Edward  to  yield, 
and  give  his  reluctant  consent  to  the  opening  of 
negotiations  with  his  detested  father-in-law.  At 
the  first  report  of  this  prospect  of  a  speedy  recon- 
ciliation, there  was  a  hm-ried  gathering  together 
of  property  or  spoils,  and  a  shoeing  and  saddling 
of  horses  for  flight.  No  Norman  or  Frenchman 
of  any  consequence  thought  his  life  safe.  Ro- 
bert, the  Archbishop  of  Canterbm-y,  and  Wil- 
liam, Bishop  of  Loudon,  having  armed  their  re- 
tainers, took  horse,  and  fought  their  way,  sword 
in  hand,  through  the  city,  where  many  English 
were  killed  or  wounded.  They  escaped  thi-ough 
the  eastern  gate  of  Loudon,  and  galloped  with 
headlong  .speed  to  Ness,  in  Essex.  So  gi-eat  was 
the  danger  or  the  panic  of  these  two  prelates, 
that  they  threw  themselves  into  an  ill-condi- 
tioned, small,  open  fishing-boat,  and  thus,  with 
gi-eat  sufiering  and  at  imminent  hazard,  crossed 
the  Channel  to  France.     The  rest  of  the  foreigu 


favourites  fled  in  all  directions,  some  taking  re- 
fuge in  the  castles  or  fortresses  comm.-mded  by 
their  countrymen,  and  others  making  for  the 
shores  of  the  British  Chaimel,  where  they  lay 
concealed  until  favourable  opportunities  oUiered 
for  passing  over  to  the  Continent. 

In  the  meantime  the  witenagemot  was  sum- 
moned, and  when  Godwin,  in  plenitude  of  might, 
appeared  before  it,  after  having  visited  the  hum- 
bled king,  the  "earls"  and  "all  the  best  men  of 
the  land"  agreed  in  the  proposition  that  the 
Normans  were  guilty  of  the  late  dissensions,  and 
Godwin  and  his  sons  innooeut  of  the  crimes  of 
which  they  had  been  accused.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  four  or  five  obscure  men,  a  sentence  of 
outlawry  was  hurled  against  all  the  Normans  and 
French;  and,  after  he  had  given  hostages  to  Ed- 
ward, Godwin  and  his  sons,  with  the  exception 
only  of  Sweyn,  received  full  restitution;  and,  as 
a  completion  of  his  triumph,  his  daughter  Editha 
was  removed  from  her  monastic  prison  to  court, 
and  restored  to  all  her  honours  as  queen.  The 
hostages  gi-anted  were  Wulnot,  the  youngest  son, 
and  Haco,  a  grandson  of  Godwin.  Edward  had 
no  sooner  got  them  into  his  hands  than,  for  safer 
custody,  he  sent  them  over  to  his  cousin,  William 
of  Normandy,  and  from  this  circumstance  there 
arose  a  curious  episode,  or  under-act,  in  the  ti-ea- 
cherous  and  sanguinary  drama.  The  exclusion 
of  Sweyn  from  pardon,  and  a  nominal  restoration 
to  the  king's  friendship,  did  not  arise  from  the 
active  part  he  had  taken  in  the  Norman  quarrel, 
but  was  based  in  his  old  crimes,  and  more  par- 
ticularly the  treacherous  murder  of  his  cousin 
Eeorn.  It  seems  that  his  family  acquiesced  in 
the  justice  of  his  sentence  of  banishment,  and 
that  Sweyn  himself,  now  humble  and  penitent, 
submitted  without  a  struggle.  He  threw  aside 
his  costljr  mantle  and  his  chains  of  gold,  his  ar- 
mour, his  sword,  and  all  that  marked  the  noble 
and  the  warrior;  he  assiuned  the  lowly  gai-b  of  a 
pilgrim,  and,  setting  out  from  Flanders,  walked 
barefoot  to  Jerusalem — that  gi-eat  pool  of  moral 
purification,  which,  according  to  the  notion  of  the 
times,  could  wash  out  the  stains  of  all  guilt.  He 
reached  the  Holy  City  in  safety,  he  wept  and 
prayed  at  all  the  holiest  places  there;  but,  re- 
turning through  Asia  Minor,  he  died  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Lycia. 

Godwin  did  not  long  survive  the  re- establish- 
ment of  Saxon  supremacy,  and  his  complete  vic- 
tory over  the  king.  According  to  Heni-y  of 
Himtiugdon,  and  other  chroniclers,  a  very  short 
time  after  their  feigned  reconciliation,  as  Godwin 
sat  at  table  with  the  king  at  Windsor,  Edwai"d 
again  reproached  the  earl  with  his  brother  Al- 
fred's murder.  "O,  king!"  Godwin  is  made  to 
say,  "  whence  comes  it  that,  at  the  lea.st  remem- 
brance of  yom-  brother,  you  show  me  a  bad  coun- 


A.D.  1042-1000.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


12; 


tpnance  ?  If  I  liave  contributed,  even  indirectly, 
to  his  cruel  fate,  may  tlie  God  of  heaven  cause 
this  moi-sel  of  bread  to  choice  me !"  He  put  the 
bread  to  Ids  mouth,  and,  of  course,  according  to 
this  story,  was  choked,  and  died  instantly.  But 
it  appears,  from  better  authority,  that  Godwin's 
death  was  by  no  means  so  sudden  and  dramatic; 
that  though  he  fell  spceoldess  from  the  king's 
table  on  Easter  Monday  (most  probably  from 
apoplexy),  he  was  taken  up  and  can-ied  into  an 
inner  chamber  by  liis  two  sons,  Tostig  and  Gurth, 
and  did  not  die  till  tlie  followmg  Thursday.  Ha- 
rold, the  eldest,  the  handsomest,  the  most  accom- 
plished, and  in  every  resj^ect  the  best  of  all  the 
sous  of  Godwin,  succeeded  to  his  father's  terri- 
tories and  command,  and  to  even  more  tlum 
Godwin's  authority  in  the  nation;  for,  while  the 
people  equally  considered  him  as  the  great  cham- 
pion of  the  Saxon  cause,  he  was  far  less  obnoxious 
than  his  father  to  the  king;  and  whereas  his  fa- 
ther's iron  frame  was  sinking  under  the  weight 
of  years,  he  was  in  the  prime  and  vigour  of  life. 
The  spirit  of  Edward,  moreover,  was  subdued  by 
misfortune,  the  fast-coming  infirmities  of  age,  and 
a  stiU  increasing  devotion,  that  taught  him  all 
worldly  dominion  was  a  bauble  not  worth  con- 
tending for.  He  was  also  conciliated  by  the  per- 
mission to  retain  some  of  his  foreign  bishops, 
abbots,  and  clerks,  and  to  recal  a  few  other  fa- 
vourites from  Normandy. 

The  extent  of  Harold's  power  was  soon  made 
manifest.  On  succeeding  to  Godwin's  earldom 
lie  had  vacated  his  own  command  of  East  Anglia, 
which  was  bestowed  by  the  com't  on  Algar,  the 
son  of  Earl  Leofric,  the  hereditary  enemy  of  the 
house  of  Godwin,  who  had  held  it  dui'ing  Harold's 
disgrace  and  exile.  As  soon  as  ho  felt  confident  of 
his  strength,  Harold  caused  Algar  to  be  expelled 
his  government  and  banished  tlie  land,  upon  an 
accusation  of  treason;  and,  however  unjust  the 
sentence  may  have  been,  it  appears  to  have  been 
passed  with  the  sanction  and  concuiTence  of  the 
witenagemot.  Algar,  who  had  mai-ried  a  Welsh 
princess,  the  daughter  of  King  Griffith,  fled  into 
Wales,  whence,  relying  on  the  power  and  influ- 
ence possessed  by  his  father,  the  Earl  Leofric, 
and  by  his  other  family  connections  and  allies,  he 
shortly  after  issued  with  a  considerable  force,  and 
fell  upon  the  county  and  city  of  Hereford,  in 
which  latter  place  he  did  much  harm,  burning 
the  minster  and  slaying  seven  canons,  besides 
a  multitude  of  laymen.  Eulpli  or  Eadulf,  the 
Earl  of  Hereford,  wlio  was  a  Norman,  and  ne- 
phew of  the  king's,  made  him  a  feeble  resistance; 
and  it  is  said  he  destx-oyed  the  efficiency  of  the 
Saxon  troops  by  making  them  fight  the  Welsh  on 
horseback,  "against  the  custom  of  their  country." 
Harold  soon  hastened  to  tlie  aceiie  of  action,  and 
advancing  from  Gloucester  with  a  well-a]ipoiuted 


army,  defeated  Algar,  ajid  followed  him  in  his 
retreat  through  the  mountain  defiles,  and  across 
the  moors  and  morasses  of  Wales.  Algar,  how- 
ever, still  .sliowed  himself  so  powerful  that  Harold 
was  obliged  to  treat  with  him.  By  these  nego- 
tiations he  was  restored  to  his  former  possessions 
and  honours;  and  when,  very  sliortly  after,  his 
fatlier  Leofric  died,  Algar  w;is  allowed  to  take 
possession  of  his  vast  earldoms.  The  king  seems 
to  have  wished  that  Algar  should  have  been  a 
counterpoise  to  Harohl,  as  Leofric  had  once  been 
to  Godwin;  but,  both  in  council  and  camp,  Harold 
caiTJed  everything  before  him,  and  his  jealousy 
being  agam  excited,  lie  again  drove  Algar  into 
banishment.  Algai-,  indeed,  was  no  mean  rival. 
Both  in  boldness  of  chai-acter,  and  in  the  nature 
of  his  adventm'os,  he  bore  some  resemblance  to 
Hai'old.  This  time  lie  fled  into  Ireland,  whence 
he  soon  returned  with  a  small  fleet  and  an  army, 
chiefly  raised  among  the  Northmen  who  liad 
settled  on  the  Irish  coasts,  and  who  thence  made 
repeated  attacks  upon  England.  With  this  force, 
and  the  i\ssistance  of  the  Welsh  mider  his  father- 
in-law.  King  Griflith,  he  recovered  his  e;U'ldonis 
by  force  of  arms,  and  held  them  in  defiance  of 
the  decrees  of  the  king,  who,  whatever  were  liis 
secret  wishes,  was  obliged  openly  to  denounce 
these  proceedings  as  illegal  and  treasonable.  Af- 
ter enjoying  this  triumph  little  more  than  a  year, 
Algar  died  (a.d.  1059),  and  left  two  sons,  Morcar 
and  Edwin,  who  divided  between  them  part  of 
his  territories  and  commands. 

WliUe  these  events  were  in  progress,  other  cir- 
cumstances had  occurred  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land which  materially  augmented  the  power  of 
Harold.  Siward,  the  great  Earl  of  Northumbria, 
another  of  Godwin's  most  formidable  rivals,  had 
died,  after  an  expedition  into  Scotland,  and  as 
his  elder  son  Osberne  had  been  slain,  and  his 
younger  son  Waltheof  was  too  young  to  succeed 
to  his  father's  government,  the  extensive  north- 
ern earldom  was  given  to  Tostig,  the  brother  of 
Harold.  Siward,  as  wiU  be  presently  related 
more  at  length,  had  proceeded  to  Scotland  to 
assist  in  seating  his  relation.  Prince  Malcolm,  the 
son  of  the  late  King  Duncan,  upon  the  throne  of 
that  country,  which  had  been  usurped  by  Dun- 
can's murderer,  Macbeth.  It  was  in  this  en- 
terprise, and  before  it  was  crowned  with  final 
success,  that,  as  has  just  been  mentioned,  Os- 
berne, the  pride  of  his  father's  heart,  was  slain. 
He  appears  to  have  fallen  in  the  fii^st  battle 
fought  with  Macbeth  (a.d.  1054),  near  the  hill  of 
Dunsiimaue. 

Siwaixl,  who  was  a  Dane,  eitlu^r  by  birtli  or 
near  descent,  was  much  beloved  by  the  North- 
umbrians, who  were  themselves  chiefly  of  Dan- 
ish extraction.  They  called  him  Sigward-Digr, 
or  Siward  the  Strong;  and  many  years  after  his 


126 


IirSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


death  tlicy  showed,  with  pride,  a  rock  of  polid 
gi-anite  whicli  they  pretended  he  liad  si)lit  in  tw.-) 
with  a  single  blow  of  his  liattle-axe.  To  his  ir- 
regular successor,  Tostig,  the  brother  of  Harold, 
they  showed  a  strong  dislike  from  the  first,  and 
this  aversion  was  subsequently  increased  by  acts 
of  tjTanny  on  the  part  of  the  new  eai-1.  In  an- 
other direction  the  populai-ity  of  Ilarold  was  in- 
creased by  a  most  successful  campaign  against 
the  Welsli,  who  had  inflamed  the  hatred  of  the 
Saxon  people  by  their  recent  foi-ays  and  cruel 
murders.  Their  great  leader,  King  Griflith,  had 
been  weakened  and  exposed  by  the  death  of  his 
son-in-law  and  Harold's  rival,  the  Earl  Algar,  in 
1059;  and  after  some  minor  ojierations,  in  one  of 
which  Eees,  the  brother  of  Griflith,  was  taken 
prisoner  and  put  to  death,  by  the  order  of  King 
Edward,  as  a  robber  and  mm-derer,  Harold  was 
commissioned,  in  10C3,  to  cany  extreme  measures 
into  effect  against  the  ever-turbulent  Welsh. 
The  gi-eat  earl  displayed  his  usual  ability,  brav- 
ery, and  activity ;  and  by  skilfully  combined 
movements,  in  which  his  brother  Tostig  and  the 
Northumbrians  acted  in  concert  with  him — by 
employing  i;he  fleet  along  the  coast,  by  accoutring 
his  troops  with  light  helmets,  targets,  and  breast- 
pieces  made  of  leather  (instead  of  their  usual 
heavy  armour),  in  order  that  they  might  be  the 
better  able  to  follow  the  fleet-footed  Welsh — he 
gained  a  succession  of  victories,  and  finally  re- 
duced the  mountaineers  to  such  despair  that  they 
decapitated  their  king,  Griflith,  and  sent  his 
bleeding  head  to  Harold,  as  a  peace-offering  and 
token  of  submission.  The  two  half-brothers  of 
Griffith  swore  fealty  and  gave  hostages  to  King 
Edward  and  Harold.  They  also  engaged  to  pay 
the  ancient  tribute;  and  a  law  was  passed,  that 
every  Welshman  found  in  arms  to  the  east  of 
Offa's  Dyke  should  lose  his  right  hand.  From 
this  memorable  expedition,  tlie  good  eflects  of 
which  were  felt  in  England,  through  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  Welsh,  for  many  j'eai's  after, 
Harold  returned  in  a  sort  of  a  Roman  triumph  to 
the  mild  and  peaceable  Edward,  to  whom  he  pre- 
sented the  ghastly  head  of  Griifith,  together  with 
the  rosti-um  or  beak  of  that  king's  chief  war-ship. 
The  king's  devotion  still  kept  increasing  with 
his  yeara,  and  now,  forgetful  of  his  bodily  infir- 
mities, w-hich,  in  all  probability,  would  have 
caused  his  death  on  the  road,  and  indifferent  to 
the  temporal  good  of  his  people,  he  expressed  his 
intention  of  going  in  pilgi-image  to  Rome,  assert- 
ing that  he  was  bound  thereto  by  a  solemn  vow. 
The  Witan  objected  that,  as  he  had  no  children, 
his  absence  and  death  would  expose  the  nation 
to  the  dangers  of  a  disputed  succession ;  and  then 
the  king,  for  the  firet  time,  tm-ned  his  thoughts 
to  his  nephew  and  namesake,  Edward,  the  son  of 
his  half-brother,  Edmund  Ironside.      The  long 


neglect  of  this  prince  of  the  old  race  of  Cerdic 
and  Alfred,  which,  counting  from  the  time  of 
King  Edward's  accession,  had  extended  over  a 
period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  shows  but 
slight  affection  for  that  Saxon  family;  and,  as  the 
king  had  never  expected  any  children  of  his  own 
to  succeed  him,  it  seems  to  confirm  the  statement 
of  those  old  writers  who  say  he  had  all  along  in- 
tended to  bequeath  his  crown  to  his  cousin,  Wil- 
liam of  Normandy.  But  at  this  moment  Norman 
interest  and  influence,  though  not  dried  up,  were 
at  a  low  ebb;  be  his  wishes  what  they  might, 
Edward  durst  not  propose  the  succession  of 
William,  and  being  pressed  by  the  Witan,  and 
his  own  eager  desire  of  travelling  to  Rome,  he 
sent  an  embassy  to  the  German  emperor,  Henry 
HI.,  whose  relative  the  young  prince  had  mar- 
ried, requesting  he  might  be  restored  to  the 
wishes  of  the  English  nation.  Edward  the  Ath- 
eling,  or  Edward  the  Outlaw,  as  he  is  more  com- 
monly called,  obeyed  the  summons  with  alacrity, 
and  soon  an-ived  in  Loudon,  with  his  wife  Agatha 
and  his  three  yoimg  chikh-en — Edgar,  Margaret, 
an<l  Christina.  The  race  of  theu-  old  kings  was 
still  dear  to  them;  Edmund  Ironside  was  a  na- 
tional hero,  inferior  only  to  the  gi-eat  Alfred;  his 
gallantry,  his  bi-avery,  his  victoi-ies  over  the 
Danes,  were  simg  in  popular  songs,  and  still 
formed  the  subject  of  daily  conversation  among 
the  Saxon  people,  who  therefore  received  his  son 
and  gi'andchildren  with  the  most  heai'ty  welcome 
and  enthusiastic  joy.  But  though  King  Edward 
had  invited  over  his  nephew  with  the  ]5rofessed 
intention  of  proclaiming  him  his  heir  to  the 
crown,  that  prince  was  never  admitted  into  his 
presence.  This  circumstance  could  not  fail  of 
creating  gi-eat  disgust;  but  this  and  all  other  sen- 
timents in  the  popular  mind  were  speedily  ab- 
sorbed by  the  deep  and  universal  grief  and  de- 
spondence caused  by  Prince  Edward's  death,  who 
expu-ed  in  London  shortly  after  his  arrival  in 
that  city,  and  was  bm-ied  in  the  cathedral  of  St. 
Paul's.  This  sudden  catastrophe,  and  the  volun- 
tary or  constrained  coyness  of  the  king  towards 
his  nephew,  awakened  homd  suspicions  of  foul 
play.  The  more  generally  received  opinion  seems 
to  have  been  that  the  prince  was  kept  at  a  dis- 
tance, by  the  machinations  and  contrivances  of 
the  jealous  Harold,  and  that  that  earl  caused  him 
to  be  poisoned,  in  order  to  remove  what  he  con- 
sidered the  gi-eatest  obstacle  to  his  own  future 
plans.  In  justice,  however,  the  memory  of  Ha- 
rold ought  not  to  be  loaded  with  a  crime  which, 
possibly,  after  all,  was  never  committed;  for  the 
prince  might  very  well  have  died  a  natural  death, 
although  his  demise  tallied  with  the  views  and 
interests  of  Harold.  There  is  no  proof,  nor 
shadow  of  pi'oof,  that  Harold  circumvented  and 
then  destroyed  the  prince.    It  is  merely  presumed 


A.D.  1042— lOGC] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


127 


that,  because  the  eai-1  gained  most  by  his  death, 
he  caused  hiui  to  be  killed.  But  William  of  Nor- 
mandy gained  as  much  as  Hnrold  by  the  removal 
of  the  prince,  and  was,  at  the  very  least,  as  ca- 
pable of  extreme  and  ti'cacherous  measures.  Dm-- 
ing  his  visit  in  England,  the  king  may  have  j)ro- 
mised  the  duke  that  lie  would  never  receive  his 
nephew  Edward;  and  while  this  circumstance 
would  of  itself  account  for  the  king's  shyness, 
the  coming  of  the  prince  would  excite  the  jea- 
lousy and  alarm  of  William,  who  had  emissaries 
in  the  laud,  and  frieud.s  and  partizans  about  the 
com-t.  Suiiposing,  therefore.  Prince  Eilward  to 
have  been  murdered  (and  there  is  no  proof  that 
he  was),  (he  crime  was  as  likely  to  have  been 
committed  by  the  orders  of  the  duke  as  by  those 
of  the  earl. 

The  demise  of  Edward  the  Outlaw  certainly 
cut  oti"  the  national  hope  of  a  continuance  of  the 
old  S;ixon  dynasty;  for  though  he  left  a  sou, 
called  Edgar  the  Atheling,  that  prince  was  very 
young,  feeble  in  body,  and  in  intellect  not  far  re- 
moved from  idiotcy.  The  latter  circumstance 
forbade  all  exertion  in  his  favour;  but  had  he 
been  the  most  promising  of  youths,  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  a  minor  woulil  not  have  been 
crushed  by  one  or  other  of  two  such  bold  and 
skilful  competitors  as  William  and  Harold.  As 
matters  stood,  the  king,  whose  journey  to  Rome 
could  be  no  more  talked  of,  turned  his  eyes  to 
Normandy,  while  many  of  the  Saxons  began  to 
look  up  to  Harold,  the  brother  of  the  cpieen,  as 
the  best  and  most  national  successor  to  the 
throne. 

That  Harold  went  to  Normandy  at  this  time 
is  certain,  but  it  is  said  that  his  sole  object  in 
going  was  to  obtain  the  i-elease  of  his  brother 
Wulnot  and  his  nephew  llaco,  the  two  hostages 
for  the  Godwin  family,  whom  Edward  had  com- 
mitted to  the  custody  of  Duke  William,  but 
whom  he  was  now  willing  to  restore.  Another 
opinion  is,  that  Harold's  going  at  all  was  wholly 
accidental.  According  to  this  version,  being  one 
day  at  his  manor  of  Bosenham,  or  Bosham,  on 
the  Sussex  coast,  he  went  into  a  fishing-boat  for 
recreation,  with  but  few  attendants,  and  those 
not  very  expert  mariners;  and  scarcely  was  he 
launched  into  the  deep,  when  a  violent  storm 
suddenly  ;u'Ose,  and  di'ove  the  ill-managed  boat 
upon  the  opjiosite  coast  of  Fiance;  but  whether 
he  went  by  accident  or  design,  or  whatever  were 
the  motives  of  the  voyage,  the  following  facts 
seem  to  be  pretty  generally  acbnitted. 

Harold  was  wi-eckcd  or  sti-anded  near  the 
m  )uth  of  the  river  Somme,  in  the  territory  of 
Guy,  Count  of  Ponthieu,  who,  according  to  a 
barbarous  practice,  not  uncommon,  and  held  as 
good  law  in  the  middle  ages,  seized  the  wreck  as 
his  right,  and  made  the  passengers  his  prisonei-s 


until  they  should  pay  a  heavy  ransom  for  their 
release.  Eroni  the  castle  of  Beli-am,  now  Bean- 
rain,  near  Montreuil,  where  the  earl  ami  his  re- 
tinue were  shut  >i]),  after  they  had  been  despoiled 
of  the  best  part  of  their  baggage,  Harold  made 
his  condition  knowTi  to  Duke  William,  and  en- 
treated his  good  otficcs.  The  duke  could  not  be 
blind  to  the  adv.antages  that  might  be  derived 
from  this  accident,  and  he  instantly  and  earnestly 
demanded  that  Harold  should  be  relejised,  and 
sent  to  his  court.  Careful  of  his  money,  AVilliain 
at  first  employed  threats,  without  talking  of  ran- 
som. The  Count  of  Ponthieu,  who  knew  the 
rank  of  his  captive,  was  deaf  to  these  menaces, 
and  only  yielded  on  the  oiler  of  a  large  sum  of 
money  from  the  duke,  and  a  fine  estate  on  the 
river  d'Eaune.  Harold  then  went  to  Rouen ;  ani  I 
the  Bastard  of  Normandy  had  the  gratification 
of  having  in  his  court,  and  in  his  power,  antl 
bound  to  him  by  this  recent  obligation,  the  son 
of  the  great  enemy  of  the  Normans,  one  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  league  that  had  banished  from  Eng- 
land the  foreign  courtiers — the  friends  and  rela- 
tions of  William — those  on  wdiora  his  hopes  rested 
— the  intriguers  in  his  favour  for  the  royalty  of 
that  kingdom.  Although  received  with  much 
magnificence,  and  treated  with  great  I'espect  and 
even  a  semblance  of  alFection,  Harold  soon  per- 
ceived he  was  in  a  more  dangerous  prison  at 
Rouen  than  he  had  been  in  the  castle  of  Belram. 
His  aspirations  to  the  English  crown  could  be  no 
secret  to  himself,  and  his  inward  conscience  would 
make  him  believe  they  were  well  known  to  AVil- 
liam,  who  could  not  be  ignorant  of  his  past  life 
and  present  power  in  the  island.  If  he  was  in- 
deed uninformed  as  yet  as  to  William's  intentions, 
that  haiijiy  ignorance  was  soon  removed,  and  the 
whole  peril  of  his  present  situation  placed  full  be- 
fore him  by  the  duke,  who  said  to  liiin  one  day, 
as  they  wei-e  riding  side  by  side — "When  Edward 
and  I  lived  together,  like  bi-others,  under  the 
same  roof,  he  promised  me  that,  if  ever  he  be- 
came King  of  England,  he  would  make  me  his 
successor.  Hai'old!  I  would,  right  well,  that 
you  helped  me  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise; 
and  be  assiu-ed  that  if  I  obtain  the  kingdom  by 
your  aid,  whatever  you  choose  to  ask  shall  be 
granted  on  the  instant."  The  liberty  and  life  of 
the  earl  were  in  the  hands  of  the  proposer,  and 
so  Harold  promised  to  do  what  he  could.  Wil- 
liam was  not  to  be  satisfied  with  vague  promises. 
"Since  you  consent  to  seiwe  me,"  he  continued, 
"you  must  engage  to  fortify  Dover  Castle,  to  dig 
a  well  of  good  water  there,  and  to  give  it  up  to 
my  men-at-arms;  you  must  also  give  me  j'our 
sister,  that  I  may  marry  her  to  one  of  my  chiefs; 
and  you  yourself  must  marry  my  daughter  Adelo. 
Moreover,  I  wish  you,  at  your  dejiarture,  to 
leave  me,  in  pledge  of  youi-  promises,  one  of  the 


128 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil.  AND  MiLlTAUT. 


lioatajcos  wliose  liberty  yo«  now  rccluim;  lie  will 
-stay  vuuler  my  guard,  ami  I  will  lestore  liiiii  to 
you  in  England  when  I  arrive  there  as  king." 
Harold  felt  that  to  refii.se  or  object  would  be  not 
only  to  expose  himself,  but  his  brother  and  ne- 
jihew,  also,  to  ruin;  and  the  champion  of  the  Sax- 
on cause,  hiding  his  heart's  abhorrence,  pledged 
liimself  verbally  to  deliver  the  principal  fortress 
of  his  country  to  the  Normans,  and  to  fulfil  all 
the  other  engagements,  which  were  as  much 
forced  u]5on  him  as  though  WiDiam  had  held  the 
knife  to  hia  defenceless  throat.  But  the  ambi- 
tions, crafty,  and  suspicious  Norman  was  not  yet 
satisfied. 

In  the  towai  of  Avi-anches,  or,  according  to 
other  authorities,  in  the  town  of  Bayeux,  William 
summoned  a  grand  council  of  the  barons  and 
lieadmen  of  Noiinandy,  to  be  witnesses  to  the 
oaths  he  should  exact  from  the  English  earl. 
The  sanctity  of  an  oath  was  so  frequently  dis- 
regarded in  these  devout  ages,  that  men  had  be- 
gun to  consider  it  not  enough  to  sw-ear  by  the 
majesty  of  heaven  and  the  hopes  of  eternal  sal- 
vation; and  had  invented  sundry  plans,  such  as 
swearing  upon  tlie  host   or  consecrated  wafer, 


ami  uiion  the  relics  of  saints  and  inartyw,  which, 
in  their  dull  concejjtiou,  were  things  far  more 
awful  and  binding.  But  William  determined  to 
gain  this  additional  guai'antee  by  a  trick.  On 
the  eve  of  the  day  fixed  for  the  assemlily,  he 
caused  all  the  bones  and  relics  of  saints  jire.served 
in  all  the  chiu'ches  and  monasteries  in  the  coun- 
try, to  be  collected  and  deposited  in  a  large  tub, 
which  was  placed  in  the  council-chamber,  and 
covered  and  concealed  under  a  cloth  of  gold.  At 
the  appointed  meeting,  when  William  was  seated 
on  his  chair  of  state,  with  a  rich  sword  in  his 
hand,  a  golden  diadem  on  his  head,  and  all  his 
Norman  chieftains  round  about  him,  the  missal 
was  brought  in,  and  being  opened  at  the  evan- 
gelists, was  laid  upon  the  cloth  of  gold  wliicli 
covex'cd  the  tub,  and  gave  it  the  appearance  of  a 
rich  table  or  altar.  Then  Duke  William  I'ose  and 
said,  "Earl  Ilarold,  I  require  you,  before  this 
noble  assembly,  to  confirm  by  oath  the  jn-omises 
you  have  made  me — to  wit,  to  assist  me  in  ob- 
taining the  kingdom  of  England  after  King  Ed- 
ward's death,  to  marry  my  daughter  Adele,  and 
to  send  me  your  sister,  that  I  may  give  lier  in 
marriage  to  one  of  mine."  Harold,  who,  it  is  said, 


IIap.old  Sweabiko  on  the  Relics.'— From  the  B-iyeux  Tapestry. 


was  thus  publicly  taken  by  surprise,  durst  not 
retract;  he  stepped  forwai-d  witli  a  troubled  and 
confused  air,  laid  his  hand  upon  the  book,  and 
swore.  As  soon  as  the  oath  was  taken,  at  a  sig- 
nal from  the  duke  the  missal  was  removed,  the 
cloth  of  gold  was  taken  off,  and  the  large  tub  was 


1  The  Bayeux  Tapestry  is  a  long  piece  of  embroidery,  worked 
with  coloured  worsted  thread,  on  a  tissue  of  linen,  about  233  ft. 
(71  mHres)  long,  and  20  in.  {52  centimetres)  broad.  It  was  dis- 
covered in  the  tomihaU  of  Bayeux,  in  Normandy,  whence  its 
name.  Tradition  a.ssign8  the  work  to  Matilda,  queen  of  William 
the  Conqueror,  and  her  maids  of  honour.  It  is  certainly  a  pro- 
duct of  the  eleventh  centm-y,  though  still  iii  the  fi-eshest  condi- 
tion, and  was  probably  sewed  by  some  high-born  chtitclaine  of 
the  time,  .and  her  ladies.  It  is  a  pictorial  representation  of  the 
conquest  of  England  by  the  Normans,  in  seventy-two  distinct 
compartments,  every  leading  incident  immediately  preceiling. 
during,  and  following  wliich,  is  depicted  in  the  most  expressive 
manner,  accompanied  by  all  the  accessories  of  ai"chitectm-e,  fixed 
and  floating,  costume,  armoiu-,  itc.  Every  compartment  has  a 
auperseription  in  Latin,  indicating  its  subject.    The  pantomime 


discovered,  filled  to  the  very  brim  with  dead 
men's  bones  and  dried-up  bodies  of  saints,  over 
which  the  son  of  Godwin  had  sworn  without 
knowing  it.  According  to  the  Norman  chroni- 
clers, Harold  shuddered  at  the  sight." 

Having,  in  iiis  apprehension,  thus  made  surety 


of  the  actors  in  the  successive  scenes  is  singulai-ly  eloquent;  and 
the  apparent  movement  of  the  figm-es — allowance  made  for  the 
imperfect  ai-t  of  the  time — is  really  spirited.  This  fine  relic  of 
the  olden  time — really  an  historical  document  of  the  utmost 
value — has  had  several  locations,  but  is  at  present  reposited  in 
the  hutd-de-vitlt  of  Bayeux,  where  it  is  kept  coiled  romid  a  roller, 
from  wliich  it  is  unwound  for  inspection. 

~  Mem.  de  V Acad,  des  ]nscripiioris;  Roman  du  Rouer  :  Eadmer; 
Glilidmus  J'ictaviensis,  or  William  of  l*oitou.  William  of 
Poitou  received  the  particulars  from  i^ersons  who  were  presout 
at  this  extraordinary  scene. 

Among  the  chief  objects  of  attr.action  to  the  Anglo-Siixons, 
both  at  home  and  in  their  pilgrimages,  were  relics.  In  findijig 
this  supei-stition  so  extremely  prevalent  among  them,  we  are 
.almost  led  to  the  supposition  that  it  did  not  originate  in  the 


A.D.  1042- 106C.] 


SAXON   IM;1!I0D. 


120 


doubly  sure,  William  loaded  Ilai-old  with  \ire- 
seuts,  and  perniitlcd  liiiii  to  depart.  Liberty 
was  restored  to  young  JI;ieo,  who  returned  to 
England  with  his  uncle,  but  the  politic  duke  re- 
tained the  other  hostage,  Wulnot,  as  a  further 
seciu-ity  for  the  faith  of  his  brother  the  eai-l. 

Harold  had  scarcely  set  foot  in  England  when 
he  was  called  to  the  field  by  circumstances  which, 
for  the  present,  gave  liim  an  opportunity  of  show- 
ing his  justice  and  impai-tiality,  or  his  wise 
policy,  but  which  soon  afterwai-ds  tended  to 
complicate  the  difficulties  of  his  situation.  ITia 
brother  Tostig,  who  had  been  intrusted  with  the 
government  of  Northumbria  on  good  Siward's 
death,  behaved  with  so  much  rapacity,  tyranny, 
and  cruelty,  as  to  provoke  a  general  rising  against 
his  authority  and  person.  The  insurgents — the 
hardiest  and  most  warlike  men  of  the  land — 
mai'ched  ujion  York,  where  their  obnoxious  go- 
vernor resided.  Tostig  fled ;  his  treasm-y  and 
armoury  were  pillaged,  and  200  of  his  body- 
guai'd  were  massacred  on  the  baidcs  of  the  Ouse. 
The  Northumbrians  then,  despising  the  weak 
authority  of  the  king,  determined  to  choose  an 
e;\rl  for  themselves ;  and  their  choice  fell  on 
Morcar,  one  of  the  sons  of  Earl  Algar,  the  old 
enemy  of  IlaroUl  and  his  family.  Morcar,  whose 
])ower  and  inlliience  w-ere  extensive  in  Lincoln, 
Nottingham,  and  Derbj-shire,  readily  accepted 
the  authority  offered  him,  and  gathering  to- 
gether an  ai-med  host,  and  secui-ing  the  services 
of  a  body  of  Welsh  auxiliaries,  he  not  only  took 
]iossession  of  the  great  northern  earldom,  but  ad- 
vanced to  Northamjitou,  with  an  evident  inten- 
tion of  extending  his  power  towards  the  south 
of  England;  but  here  he  was  met  by  the  active 
aud  intrepid  Uai'old,  who  had  never  yet  retm-ned 
vanquished  from  a  field  of  battle.  Before  draw- 
ing the  sword  against  his  own  countrymen,  the 
son  of  Godwin  jiroposed  a  conference.  This  was 
accepted  by  the  Northumbrians,  who,  at  the 
meeting,  exposed  the  wrongs  they  had  suffered 
from  Tostig,  aud  the  motives  of  their  insiuTection. 
Harold  endeavom-ed  to  palliate  the  faidts  of  his 
brother,  and  promised,  iu  his  name,  better  con- 
duct for  the  future,  if  they  would  i-eceive  him 
back  as  then-  earl  lawfully  appointed  by  the  king. 
Bufi  the  Northumbrians  imanimously  protested 
against  any  reconciliation  with  the  chief  who  had 
tyi-annized   over  them.     "We  were   bora  free- 


t'R.)  Catholic  faith,  but  w.is  rattier,  if  not  entirely  jiroduced,  at 
least  gre.atiy  promoted  by  the  belief  of  the  Ueriiiamc  nations, 
who  Bolemnly  buried  the  bones  of  the  dead  iu  barrows,  threw 
up  vast  moimds  over  them,  raised  monuments  of  rude  work- 
manship, and  thought  to  conquer  in  battle  with  tho  aid  of  the 
coi-pses  of  their  dead  cliieftains.  Tlie  judicial  euiJerstition, 
brought  to  Britain  by  the  Saxons,  tliat  tlie  lifeless  body  of  a 
murdered  person  would  begin  to  bleed  on  the  approach  of  tho 
mTirderer,  also  supposes  the  presence  of  su])Bniatm"al  powera  in 
the  corpse. — Lapiitnberg. 
Vol.  I. 


men,"  saitl  they,  "and  were  brought  u]i  iu  free- 
dom; a  ])roud  chief  is  to  us  unbeai-able — for  we 
have  learned  from  our  ancestors  to  live  free  or 
die." 

The  crimes  of  Tostig  were  proved,  and  Harold, 
giving  up  his  brothers  cause  as  lost,  agi-eed  to 
the  demands  of  the  Northumbrians,  that  the  ap- 
pointment of  Morcar  as  earl  should  be  confirmed. 
A  truce  bemg  concluded,  he  hastened  to  obtain 
the  consent  of  the  king,  which  was  little  more 
than  a  matter  of  form,  and  granted  immediately. 
The  Northumbrians  then  withdrew  with  their 
new  earl,  Morcar,  from  Northampton;  but  diu-- 
ing  Harold's  short  absence  at  court,  to  complete 
the  treaty  of  i>acitication,  and  at  their  dejjarture, 
they  plundered  and  burned  the  neighbouring 
towns  and  villages,  and  carried  oil" some  hundreds 
of  the  inhabitants,  whom  they  kept  for  the  sake 
of  ransom.  As  for  the  expelled  Tostig,  he  fled 
to  Bruges,  the  court  of  Baldwin,  Earl  of  Flanders, 
whose  daughter  he  had  married,  and,  burning 
with  rage  and  revenge,  and  considering  himself 
betrayed  or  unjustly  abandoned  by  his  brother 
Harold,  he  opened  a  corres]jondenee,  and  sought 
friendship  aud  supjiort,  with  William  of  Nor- 
mandy. 

The  childless  and  now  childi.';h  Edward  was 
dying.  Harold  arrived  in  London  on  the  last 
day  of  November;  the  king  grew  worse  and 
worse ;  and  in  the  first  days  of  January  it  was 
evident  that  the  hand  of  death  was  ujion  him. 
The  veil  of  mystery  and  doubt  again  thickens 
round  the  royal  deathbed.  The  wiiters  who  go 
upon  the  authority  of  those  who  were  hi  the  in- 
terest of  the  Norman,  positively  affirm  that  Ed- 
ward repeated  the  clauses  of  his  will,  aud  named 
William  his  successor ;  and  that  when  Harold 
and  his  kinsmen  forced  their  way  into  his  cham- 
ber to  obtain  a  diflerent  decision,  he  said  to  them 
with  his  dying  voice,  "  Ye  know  right  well,  my 
lords,  that  I  have  bequeathed  my  kingdom  to 
the  Duke  of  Normandy;  and  are  there  not  those 
here  who  have  pi  ighted  oaths  to  secure  William's 
succession  ?"  On  the  other  side  it  is  maintained, 
with  equal  confidence,  that  he  named  Hm-old  his 
successor,  and  told  the  chiefs  and  churchmen  that 
no  one  was  so  worthy  of  the  crown  its  the  great 
son  of  Godwin. 

The  Norman  duke,  whose  best  light  (if  (jood 
or  right  can  be  in  it)  was  the  sword  of  conquest, 
always  insisted  on  the  intentions  and  last  will  of 
Edward.  But  although  the  will  of  a  jiojiular 
king  was  occasionally  allowed  much  weight  in 
the  decision,  it  was  not  imperative  or  binding  to 
tho  Saxon  people  without  the  consent  and  con- 
currence of  the  witenageniot — the  j)arliar:ienf  or 
great  council  of  the  nation — to  which  source  of 
right  the  Norn)ati,  very  naturally,  never  thought 
of  apjilying.  The  English  crown  was  in  great 
17 


130 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militahy. 


measure  an  elective  crown.     This  fact  is  sufli- 
ciently  proved  by  the  irregularity  in  tlie  succes- 
sion, wliicli  is  not  reconcilable  with  aiiv 
laws  of  lieirsLi])  and  j:)riiuogeniture,  for 
we  frequently  see  the  brother  of  a  do- 
ceased  king  preferred  to  all  the  sons  of 
that  king,  or  a  younger  son  put  over  the 
head  of  the  eldest.      As  the  royal  rac 
ended  in  Edward,  or  only  survived  in 
an  imbecile  boy,  it  became  imperative  to 
look  elsewhere  for  a  successor,  and  upon 
whom  could  the  eyes  of  the  nation  son.i 
turally  fall  as  upon  the  experienced,  skil- 
ful, and  brave  Harold,  tlie  defender  o 
the  Saxon  cause,  and  the  near  relatiuh 
by  marriage  of  their  last  king?     Harold, 
therefore,    derived   his   authority    from 
what  ought  alwaj'3  to  be  considered  its 
most  legitimate  source,  and  which  was 
actually  acknowledged  to  be  so  in  the  age 
and  country  in  which  he  lived.     William, 
a  foreigner  of  an  obnoxious  race,  rested 
his  claim  on  Edward's  dying  declaration, 
and  on  a  will  that  the  king  had  no  faculty 
to  make  or  enforce  without  the  consent 
and  ratification  of  the  states  of  the  king- 
dom;   and,    strange    to  say,   this   will, 
which  was  held  by  some  to  give  a  plausible,  | 
or   even   a  just  title   (which   it   did   not),  was 
never  produced,  whence  people  concluded  it  had 
never  existed.     The  chroniclers  agree  in  stating 
that  Edward  was  visited  by  frightful  visions — 
that  he  repeated  the  most  menacing  passages  of 
the  Bible,  which  came  to  his  memory  involunta- 
rily, and  in  a  confused  manner — and  that  the  day 
before  his  death  he  pronounced  a  fearful  pr02jheoy 
of  woe  and  judgment  to  the  Saxon  people.     At 
these  words  there  was  "  dole  and  sorrow  enough ;" 
but   Stigaud,   the    Archbishop    of    Canterbury, 
could  not  refrain  from  laughing  at  the  general 
alarm,  and  said  the  old  man  was  only  dreaming 
and  raving,  as  sick  old  men  are  wont  to  do. 

During  these  his  last  days,  however,  the  anxi- 
ous mind  of  the  king  was  in  good  part  absorbed 
by  the  care  for  his  own  sepulture,  aud  his  ear- 
nest wish  that  Westminster  Abbey,  which  he  had 
rebuilt  from  the  foundation,  should  be  comjileted 
aud  consecrated  before  he  departed  this  life. 
The  woi-ks,  to  which  he  had  devoted  a  tenth  part 
of  his  revenue,  were  pressed — they  were  finished ; 
but  on  the  festival  of  the  Innocents,  the  day 
fixed  for  the  consecration,  he  could  not  leave  his 
chamber;  and  the  grand  ceremony  was  performed 
in  presence  of  Queen  Editha,  who  represented 
her  dying  husband,  and  of  a  great  concourse  of 
nobles  and  priests,  who  had  been  bidden  m  un- 
usual numbers  to  the  Christmas  festival,  that 
tliey  might  jjartake  in  this  solemn  celebration. 
He  expired  on  the  5th  of  January,  1066;  and,  on 


the  very  next  day,  the  festival  of  the  Epijihaiiy, 
all  that  ix-maincd  of  the  Lust  Saxon  king  of  the 


Chatei    and  Shkine  of  Edward  the  Oojtfkssor. 


race  of  Cerdic  and  Alfred  was  interred,  with 
great  pomp  and  solemnity,  within  the  walls  of 
the  sacred  edifice  he  had  just  lived  time  enough 
to  complete.  He  was  in  his  sixty-fiftli  or  sixty- 
sixth  year,  and  had  reigned  over  England  nearly 
twenty-four  years. 

The  body  of  laws  he  compiled,  and  which  were 
so  fondly  remembered  in  after  times,  when  the 
Saxons  were  ground  to  the  dust  by  Norman 
tyranny,  were  selected  from  the  codes  or  collec- 
tions of  his  predecessors,  Ethelbert,  Ina,  and  Al- 
fred, few  or  none  of  them  originating  in  himself, 
although  the  gi-atitude  of  the  n.ation  long  con- 
tinued to  attribute  them  all  to  him.  In  his  jier- 
sonal  character  pious,  humane,  and  temperate,  but 
infirm  and  easily  persuaded,  his  whole  life  showed 
that  he  was  better  fitted  to  be  a  monk  than  a  king. 

HAROLD  was  proclaimed  king  in  a  vastassem- 
bly  of  the  chiefs  and  nobles,  and  of  the  citizens 
of  London,  almost  as  soon  as  the  body  of  Edward 
was  deposited  in  the  tomb,  and  the  same  evening 
witnessed  his  solemn  coronation,  only  a  few  hours 
intervening  between  the  two  ceremonies.  The 
common  account  is  that  Stigand,  the  Ai'chbishop 
of  Canterbury,  who,  in  right  of  his  office,  should 
have  crowned  the  king,  having  quarrelled  with 


'  The  chapel  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  the  shrine  which  con- 
1.11  ns  the  ashes  of  tht-  Confessor,  were  erected  by  direction  of 
Henry  III.,  the  latter  being  the  work  of  the  Italian  artist  Ca- 
vallini.  The  coifin  containing  the  king's  remains  is  suspended 
by  iron  rods  firmly  inserted  in  the  stone-work,  at  about  half  the 
depth  of  the  shrine. 


A.D.  10-12-  lOGG.] 


SAXON    PERIOD. 


131 


tlie  court  of  Rome,  and  then  lying  under  a  son- 
tenee  of  susi>eusioii,  the  ccolesiivstic  next  in  dig- 
nity, Aldred,  Archliisliop  of  Yorlc,  olliciated  iu  liis 
stead;  other  authorities  affirm  that  Harold  put 
the  crown  on  his  head  with  his  own  hands:  hut 
both  William  of  Poitiers,  a  ountenijiorary  WTiter, 
and  Ordericus  Vitalis,  who  lived  in  the  next  cen- 
tiuy,  assert  that  the  act  was  performed  by  Sti- 
gand.  This  account  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  representation  of  the  ceremony  on  the  Bayeux 
Tapestry,  where  Hai-old  appears  seated  on  the 
thi'oue,  with  Stigaud  staudint;  on  his  left.    In  this 


moment  of  excitement  the  strong  mind  of  the 
Saxon,  though  not  destitute  of  superstition,  may 
h.ave  risen  superior  to  the  terrors  of  the  dead 
men's  bones,  and  the  oaths  that  h.ad  been  extorted 
from  him  most  foully  and  by  force  in  Norm.andy ; 
but  the  circumstances,  no  doubt,  made  an  unfa- 
voural  lie  impression  on  the  minds  of  most  of  such 
of  his  countiymen  as  were  acquainted  with  them. 
Still  all  the  southern  coimties  of  England  hailed 
his  accession  with  joy;  nor  was  he  wanting  to  him- 
self in  exertions  to  increase  his  well-established 
pojHilarity.  "  He  studied  by  all  means  which  wa) 
R  A  ,P. 


Tna  Ceown  offered  to  Harold,  and  the  Coronation  of  Harold. — From  the  B.iyetix  Tapestiy. 


to  win  the  people's  favour,  and  omitted  no  occasion 
whereby  he  might  show  any  token  of  bounteous 
liberality,  gentleness,  and  courteous  behaviour 
towards  them.  The  grievous  customs,  also,  and 
taxes  which  his  predecessors  had  raised,  he  either 
abolished  or  diminished;  the  ordinary  wages  of 
his  servants  and  men  of-war  he  increased,  and 
furthei-  showed  himself  very  well  bent  to  all  vir- 
tue and  goodness."'  A  wi-iter  who  lived  near  the 
time  adds  that,  from  the  moment  of  his  accession, 
he  showed  himself  jjious,  humble,  and  affable, 
and  that  he  spared  himself  no  fatigue,  either  by 
land  or  by  sea,  for  the  defence  of  his  countiy.^ 

The  court  was  effectually  cleared  of  the  un- 
popidar  foreign  favourites,  but  their  property  was 
respected;  they  were  left  in  the  enjoyment  of 
their  civil  rights,  and  not  a  few  retained  their 
employments.  Some  of  these  Normans  were  the 
first  to  announce  the  death  of  Rihvanl  and  the 
coronation  of  Harold  to  Duke  William.  At  the 
moment  when  he  received  this  great  news  he 
was  in  his  hunting-grounds  near  Kouen,  hold- 
ing a  bow  in  his  hand,  with  some  new  arrows 
that  he  was  trying.  On  a  sudden  he  was  ob- 
served to  be  very  pensive;  and  giving  hLs  bow- 
to  one  of  his  people,  he  threw  himself  into  a 
skiff,  crossed  the  river  Seine,  and  then  hurried 


on  to  his  palace  of  Rouen,  without  saying  a  word 
to  any  one.  He  stopped  in  the  gi-eat  hall,  and 
strode  uj)  and  down  that  apartment,  now  sit- 
ting down,  now  rising,  changing  his  seat  au<l  his 
posture,  as  if  unable  to  find  rest  in  any.  None  of 
his  attendants  durst  approach,  he  looked  so  fierce 
and  agitated.'  Recovering  from  his  reverie,  Wil- 
liam agi'eed  that  ambassadors  should  be  imme- 
diately sent  to  England.  When  these  envoys 
appeared  before  Harold,  they  said,  "  William, 
Dulie  of  the  Normans,  reminds  thee  of  the  oath 
thou  hast  sworn  him  with  thy  mouth,  and  with 
thy  hand  on  good  and  holy  relics."  "  It  is  true," 
replied  the  Saxon  king,  "  that  I  made  an  oath  to 
William,  but  I  made  it  imder  the  influence  of 
force;  I  jjromised  what  did  not  belong  to  me, 
and  engaged  to  do  what  I  never  coidd  do;  for 
my  royalty  does  not  belong  to  me,  nor  can  I  dis- 
pose of  it  without  the  consent  of  my  country. 
In  the  like  manner  I  cannot,  without  the  consent 
of  my  country,  espouse  a  foreign  wife.  As  for  my 
sister,  whom  the  duke  claims,  iu  order  that  he 
may  many  her  to  one  of  his  chiefs,  she  has  been 
dead  some  time — will  he  that  I  send  him  her 
corpse  V  A  second  embassy  terminated  in  mu- 
tual reproaches;  and  then  William,  swearing 
that,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  he  would  come  to 


*  Holinshed. 


2  Rnger  of  Hovedtn.  '  Thierry,  Hist.  <U  la.  Conqucle  de  VAngktem:  Cliron.  <U  Norm. 


132 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  ^Tii-itaut. 


exact  all  that  was  due  to  him,  aiul  pursue  the 
perjured  Harold  even  unto  the  places  where  he 
believed  his  footing  (he  most  sure  and  fii'm, 
pressed  those  preparations  for  war  which  he  had 
begun  almost  as  soon  as  he  learned  the  course 
events  had  taken  in  England. 

On  the  Continent  the  opinion  of  most  men  was 
in  favoiu-  of  William,  and  Harold  was  regarded 
in  the  light  of  a  sacrilegious  oath-breaker,  with 
whom  no  terms  were  to  be  kept.  The  habitual 
love  of  war,  and  the  hopes  of  obtaining  copious 
plunder  and  rich  settlements  in  England,  were 
not  without  their  effect.  In  the  cabinet  council 
which  the  duke  assembled,  there  v.-aa  not  one  dis- 
sentient voice;  all  the  great  Norman  lords  were  of 
opinion  that  the  island  ought  to  be  invaded;  and 
knowing  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise,  they 
engaged  to  serve  him  with  their  body  and  goods, 
even  to  the  selling  or  mortgaging  their  inherit- 
ance. Some  subscribed  for  ships,  others  to  fur- 
nish men-at-arms,  others  engaged  to  march  in 
person;  the  priests  gave  their  gold  and  silver, 
the  merchants  their  stuifs,  and  the  farmers  their 
corn  and  provender.  A  clerk  stood  near  the 
duke,  with  a  large  book  open  before  him;  and  as 
the  vassals  made  their  promises,  he  wrote  them 
all  down  in  his  register.  The  ambitious  William 
looked  far  beyond  the  confines  of  Normandy  for 
soldiers  of  fortune  to  assist  him  in  his  enterprise. 
He  had  his  ban  of  war  published  in  all  the 
neighbom-ing  countries;  he  oft'ered  good  pay  to 
every  tall,  robust  man  who  would  serve  him  with 
the  lance,  the  sword,  or  the  cross-bow.  A  mul- 
titude flocked  to  him  from  all  pai-ts — from  far 
and  near — from  the  north  and  the  south.  They 
came  from  Maine  and  Anjou:  from  Poitou  and 
Bretagne ;  from  the  country  of  the  French  king  and 
from  Flanders;  from  Aquitaiue  and  from  Bur- 
gundy ;  from  Piedmont  beyond  the  Alps  and  from 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  Adventurers  by  profes- 
sion, the  idle,  the  dissipated,  the  profligate,  the 
enfans  pcrdus  of  Europe  hurried  at  the  sum- 
mons.' Of  these  some  were  kniglits  and  chiefs  in 
war,  others  simple  f oot-soldiei-s ;  some  demanded 
regular  pay  in  money,  others  mer-ely  their  passage 
across  the  Channel,  and  all  the  booty  they  might 
make.  Some  demanded  teiritory  in  England — 
a  domain,  a  castle,  a  town;  while  others,  again, 
simply  wished  to  secure  some  rich  Saxon  lady  in 
maiTiage.  All  the  wild  wishes,  all  the  preten- 
sions of  human  avarice  were  wakened  into  acti- 
vity. "William,"  says  the  Norman  Chronicle, 
"repulsed  no  one;  but  promised  and  pleased  all 
as  much  as  he  could."  He  even  sold,  beforehand, 
a  bishopric  in  England  to  a  certain  Remi  of  Fes- 
camp  (afterwards  canonized  as  St.  Remigius),  for 
a  ship  and  twenty  men-at-arms. 

^  Tliierry,  Chron.  de  Normandie. 


When  the  pope's  bull  arrived,  justifying  the 
expedition,  and  with  it  the  consecrated  banner 
that  was  to  float  over  it,  the  matrons  of  Norniandv 
sent  their  sons  to  enrol  themselves  for  the  health 
of  their  soids;  and  the  national  eagerness  for  war 
was  increased  twofold.  Three  chm-ohmen — the 
celebrated  Lanfranc,  Robert  of  JumiSges  (Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  who  had  been  expelled  by 
Earl  Godwin  and  his  sons),  and  a  deacon  of  Li- 
sieux — had  been  sent  on  an  embassy  to  Rome, 
where  they  urged  the  cause  of  William  with 
entire  success,  and  obtained  from  Alexander  III. 
a  holy  license  to  invade  England,  on  the  condi- 
tion, however,  that  the  Norman  duke,  when  he 
had  conquered  our  island,  should  hold  it  as  a  fief 
of  the  church.  This  measure  was  not  carried 
through  the  consistory  without  opposition.  The 
man  who  combated  most  warmly  in  its  favour 
was  the  fiery  HUdebrand,  then  archdeacon  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  afterwards  the  celebrated 
Pope  Gregory  VII.  The  most  valid  reasons 
William  or  his  ambassadors  could  present  to  the 
pope  were — the  will  of  King  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor (which  was  never  produced),  the  perjury 
and  sacrilege  of  Harold,  the  forcible  expulsion 
from  England  of  the  Norman  prelates,  and  the 
old  massacre  of  the  Danes  on  St.  Brice's  Day  by 
King  Ethelred.  But  if  there  was  any  want  of 
plausibility  in  the  ai'gumentative  statement  of 
his  case,  WilUam,  as  already  intimated,  was  most 
liberal  and  convincing  in  his  promises  to  the 
pope. 

A  pontifical  diploma,  signed  with  the  cross, 
and  sealed,  according  to  the  Roman  usage,  with 
a  seal  in  lead,  of  a  round  form,"  was  sent  to  the 
Norman  duke;  and,  in  order  to  give  him  still 
more  confidence  and  security  in  his  invasion,  a 
consecrated  banner,  and  a  ring  of  gi-eat  price, 
containing  one  of  the  hairs  of  St.  Peter,  were 
added  to  the  bull.  William  repaii-ed  in  per.son 
to  St.  Germain,  in  order  to  solicit  the  aid  of 
Philip  I.,  King  of  the  French.  This  sovereign, 
though  tempted  by  flattering  promises,  thouglit 
fit  to  refuse  any  direct  assistance;  but  he  per- 
mitted (what  he  probably  could  not  prevent)  that 
many  hundreds  of  his  subjects  should  join  the 
expedition.  William's  father  in-law,  Baldwin  of 
Flanders,  gave  some  assistance  in  men,  ships,  and 
stores;  and  the  other  continental  princes  pretty 
generally  encouraged  William,  in  the  politic  hope 
that  a  formidable  neighbour  might  be  kept  at  a 
distance  for  the  rest  of  his  life  if  the  expedition 
succeeded,  or  so  weakened  as  to  be  no  longer  for- 
midable if  it  failed.  But  there  was  one  state, 
whose  history  in  old  times  had  been  singularly 
mixed  and  interwoven  with  that  of  Britain,  which 
might  have  jjroved  an  impediment.     Armorica, 

•  C.illed  in  Latin  bulla;  hence  the  common  name,  "  buU,"  for 
I  the  pope's  letters,  &c. 


A.D.  1042-1066." 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


133 


now  called  Bref  agiie  or  Brittany,  hiul  become  a 
sort  of  fief  to  NormaiKly;  but  Conan,  the  I'eign- 
iug  chief  or  Duke  of  the  Bretons,  sent  a  message 
to  William,  requiring  that,  since  he  wa.s  going  to 
be  King  of  England,  he  should  deliver  up  hi.4 
Norman  duchy  to  the  legitimate  descendants  of 
Rollo  the  Ganger,'  from  whom  the  Breton  said 
he  issued  by  the  female  line.  Conan  did  not  long 
smwive  this  indiscreet  demand;  and  his  sudden 
death,  by  poison,  was  generally,  and  above  all  in 
Brittany,  imputed  to  ^Yilliam  the  Bastard.  Eudes 
or  Eudo,  the  successor  of  Conan,  raised  no  pre- 
tensions ;  but  voluntarily  yielding  to  the  influ- 
ence of  William,  sent  him  two  of  his  sons  (which 
he  was  not  boimd  to  do)  to  serve  him  in  his 
wars  against  the  English.  These  two  young 
Bretons,  named  Brian  and  Allan,^  came  to  the 
rendezvous,  accompanied  by  a  troop  of  men  of 
their  own  counti-y,  who  g.ave  them  the  title  of 
Mac  Tierns  (the  sons  of  the  chief),  while  the  Nor- 
mans styled  them  Counts.  Other  rich  Bretons — 
as  Robert  de  Vitry,  Bertrand  de  Dinan,  and 
Raoul  de  Gael — flocked  to  William's  standard,  to 
offer  their  services  as  volunteers  or  as  sokbers 
of  fortune. 

From  early  spring  all  through  the  summer 
months  the  most  active  preparations  had  been 
carried  on  in  all  the  seaports  of  Normandy. 
Workmen  of  all  classes  were  emploj'ed  in  build- 
ing and  equipping  ships;  smitba  and  ai-mourers 


Norman  Saip.— Restored  from  the  Bayeui  Tapestiy,  by  C.  Jal, 

forged  lances,  and  made  coats  of  mail;  and  por- 
ters passed  incessantly  to  and  fro,  carrjdng  the 
arms  from  the  workshops  to  the  ships.  These 
notes  of  preparation  soon  sounded  across  the 
Channel,  and  gave  warning  of  the  coming  inva- 
sion. The  first  storm  of  war  that  burst  upon  Eng- 
land did  not,  however,  proceed  from  Normandy, 
but  from  Harold's  own  unnatural  brother.  It 
will  be  remembered  how  this   brother,  Tostig, 

'  The  founder  of  the  duchy  of  Normamly. 
'  This  Allan  is  supjiosed  by  some  to  Lave  been  the  original 
stock  of  the  royal  bouse  of  Stuait. 


expelled  from  Norlhumbria,  fled  with  treache- 
rous intentions  to  the  court  of  the  Earl  of  Flan- 
ders, and  opened  communications  with  the  Duke 
of  Normandy.  Soon  after  Harold's  coronation 
Tostig  repaired  in  person  to  Rouen,  where  he 
boasted  to  William  that  he  had  more  credit  and 
real  jiower  in  England  than  Lis  brother,  and  pro- 
mised him  the  sure  possession  of  that  country  if 
he  wouhl  only  unite  with  him  for  its  conquest. 
AVilliam  was  no  doubt  too  well  informed  to  credit 
this  assertion;  but  he  saw  the  advantage  which 
might  be  derived  from  this  fraternal  hate;  and 
gave  Tostig  a  few  shijjs,  with  which  that  mis- 
creant ravaged  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  the  country 
about  Sandwich.  Retreating  before  the  naval 
force  of  his  brother,  Tostig  then  went  to  the 
coast  of  Lincolnshire,  where  he  did  gi-eat  harm. 
He  next  sailed  up  the  Humber,  but  was  presently 
driven  thence  by  the  advance  of  Morcar,  Earl  of 
Northumbria,  and  his  brother  Edwin,  which  two 
powerful  chiefs  were  now  living  in  friendship 
with  Harold,  who  had  espoused  theii-  sister,  Al- 
githa,  and  made  her  Queen  of  England.  Fi'om 
the  Humber,  Tostig  fled  with  only  twelve  small 
vessels  to  the  north  of  Scotland,  whence,  forgetful 
of  his  alliance  with  the  Norman  duke,  he  sailed 
to  the  Baltic,  to  invite  Sweyn,  the  King  of  Den- 
mark, to  the  conquest  of  oui*  islaml.  Sweyn 
wisely  declined  the  dangerous  invitation ;  and 
then,  caring  little  what  rival  he  raised  to  his 
brother,  he  went  to  Norway, 
and  pressed  Harold  Hardrada, 
the  king  of  that  country,  to  in- 
vade England.  Hardrada  could 
not  resist  the  temptation;  and, 
early  in  autumn,  he  set  sail  with 
a  formidable  fleet,  consisting  of 
ifi  200  war-ships,  and  300   store- 

ships  and  vessels  of  smaller  size. 
Having  touched  at  the  Orkneys, 
where  he  left  his  queen,  and 
procured  a  large  reinforcement 
of  pirates  and  adventurers,  Har- 
drada made  for  England,  and 
sailed  up  the  Tyiie,  taking  and 
.    ,     ,    .   ,.      ,       plundering  several  to-\vns.     He 

Arcbajotogie  ^avaIe       *  ^ 

then  continued  his  course  south- 
wards, and,  being  joined  by  Tostig,  sailed  up  the 
Humber  and  the  Ouse.  The  Norwegian  king 
and  the  Saxon  traitor  landed  their  united  forces 
at  Riccall  or  Rlch;de,  not  far  from  the  city  of 
York.  Notwithstanding  his  former  infamous 
conduct,  Tostig  had  still  some  friends  and  re- 
tainers in  that  country;  these  now  rallied  round 
his  standard,  and  many  others  were  won  over 
or  reduced  to  an  unjiatriotic  neutrality  by  the 
imposing  display  of  force  on  the  part  of  the 
invaders.  The  Earls  Morcar  and  Edwin,  true 
to  Harold  and  their  trust,  mai-ched  boldly  out 


134. 


HISTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


from  York;  but  they  were  defeated,  after  a  des- 
perate conflict,  and  compelled  to  flee.  The  citi- 
zens of  York  then  opened  thcii-  gates  to  the 
Norwegian   conqueror,  who   made   himself   the 


Saxon  Ship— IIarold  a  biiic— Ucsttiea  tujin  tlit  Iiaycux  Taiwstrj,  u)  11 


more  formidalile  to  Harold  by  the  wisdom  and 
moderation  of  his  conduct. 

Through  all  the  summer  months  the  last  of 
the  Saxon  monarchs  had  been  busily  engaged 
watching  the  southern  coast,  where  he  expected 
William  to  land;  but  noTO(  giving  up  for  the 
moment  every  thought  of  the  Noi-mans,  he  united 
nearly  all  his  forces,  and  marched  most  rapidly 
to  the  north,  to  face  his  brother  and  the  King  of 
Norway.  This  march  was  so  skilfully  managed, 
that  the  invaders  had  no  notion  of  the  advance; 
and  they  were  taken  by  surprise,  when  Harold 
bm-st  upon  them  like  a  thunderbolt,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  York,  a  very  few  days  after  then- 
landing.  Hardrada  drew  up  his  forces  as  best 
he  could,  at  Stamford  Bridge;  as  he  rode  round 
them  his  hoi-se  stumbled,  and  he  fell  to  the 
gi-ound;  but  he  presently  sprang  up  unhurt,  and, 
in  order  to  stop  a  contraiy  augury,  exclaimed 
that  this  was  a  good  omen.  Harold  saw  what 
had  happened,  and  inquired  who  that  Norwegian 
chief  was  in  the  sky-blue  mantle  and  with  the 
splendid  helmet.  He  was  told  that  it  was  the 
King  of  Norway;  upon  which  he  added,  "  He  is 
a  large  and  strong  person,  but  I  augm-  that  for- 
tune has  forsaken  him."  Before  joining  battle, 
Harold  detached  twenty  mail-clad  horsemen  to 
parley  with  that  wing  of  the  enemy  where  the 
standard  of  Tostig  was  seen;  and  one  of  these 
warriors  asked  if  Earl  Tostig  was  there.  Tostig 
answered  for  himself,  and  said,  "  You  know  he 
is  here."  The  horsemen  then,  in  the  name  of  his 
brother,  King  Harold,  ofi"ered  him  peace  and  the 
whole  of  Northumbria,  or,  if  that  were  too  little, 
the  thh-d  part  of  the  realm  of  England.  "  And 
what  territory  would  Harold  give  in  compen- 
sation to  my  ally  Hardrada,  King  of   Norway  ?" 


The  horsemen  replied,  "  Seven  feet  of  English 
gi-ound  for  a  gi-ave;  or  a  little  more,  seeing  that 
Hardrada   is  taller   than   most  men."      "  Ride 
back,  ride  back,"  cried  Tostig,  "and  bid  King  Ha- 
rold make  ready  for  the  fight. 
When  the   Northmen  tell  the 
story  of   this    day,   they   shall 
never  say  that  Earl  Tostig  for- 
sook King  Hardrada,  the  son 
of  Sigurd.     He  and  I  have  one 
mind  and  one  resolve,  and  that 
is,   either  to  die   in  battle   or 
to  possess  all  England."     Soon 
after,  the  action  commenced;  it 
was  long,  fierce,  and  bloody,  but 
the  victory  was  decisive,  and  in 
favom-  of   Hai-old.     Hardrada 
fell,  with  nearly  eveiy  one   of 
his  chiefs,  and  the  greater  part 
of    the    Norwegians   pei-ished. 
Tostig,  the  cause  of  the  war, 
was  slain  soon  after  Hardrada. 
Even  the  Norwegian  fleet  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  conqueror,  who  had  the  generosity  to  permit 
Olave,  the  son  of  Hardrada,  to  depart,  with  all 
the  survivors,  in   twenty-four  ships,  after  that 
prince  had  sworn  that  he  would  for  ever  main- 
tain faith  and  friendship  to  England. 

Only  three  days  after  this  signal  victory,  the 
Normans  landed  in  the  south.  Harold  received 
this  news  as  he  was  sitting  joyfully  at  table  in 
the  good  city  of  York;  but,  taking  his  measures 
with  his  usual  rapidity,  he  instantly  began  bis 
march  towards  London.  Upon  his  way,  his 
forces,  which  had  sufiered  tremendously  in  the 
battle  against  the  Norwegians,  were  weakened 
by  discontents  and  desertion;  and  not  a  few  men 
were  left  behind  by  the  speed  of  his  mai'ch,  from 
the  effects  of  their  wounds  and  from  sheer  fatigue. 
In  numlter,  sjiirit,  discipline,  appointment,  and 
in  all  other  essentials,  the  enemies  he  had  now 
to  encounter  were  most  formidable.  They  have 
well  been  called  "  the  most  remai-kable  and  for- 
midable armament  which  the  Western  nations 
had  seen,  since  some  degi-ee  of  regularity  and 
order  had  been  introduced  into  their  civil  and 
military  arrangements."' 

By  the  middle  of  August,  the  whole  of  Wil- 
liam's fleet,  with  the  land-troops  on  board,  had 
assembled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dive,  a  small 
river,  which  falls  into  the  sea  between  the  Seine 
and  the  Orne.  The  total  number  of  vessels 
amounted  to  about  3000,  of  which  600  or  700 
were  of  a  superior  order.  During  a  whole 
month  the  winds  were  contrary,  and  kept  the 
Noi-man  fleet  in  that  port.  Then  a  breeze 
sprang  up  from  the  south,  and  cari-ied  the  ships 

'  Sir  J.  Mackintosh,  Hist.  Eng, 


A.D.  1042-1060.' 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


1  :r, 


as   f;ir  as   St.   Valery,  ne.ar  Dieppe;  but   tliero 
the  weather  changed;  a  storiu  set  in,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  cast  anchor,  and  wait  for  several 
days.     During  tliis  delay  some  of  tlie  sliips  were 
wTecked,  and  their  crews  drowned  on  tiie  coast. 
lu  consequence  of  all  this,  not  a  few  of  the  dis- 
coiu'aged  adventurei-s  broke  their  engagements, 
and  withdrew  from  the  army;  and  the  rest  were 
iuolmed  to  believe  that  Providence  had  declared 
against  the  war.     To  checlv  these  feelings,  whicli 
might  have  proved  fatal  to  his  projects,  AVilliam 
caused  the  bodies  of  the  shipwrecked  to  be  pri- 
vately buried  as  soon  as  they  were  found,  and 
increased  the   rations  both  of  food   and  strong 
drink.      Eat  this   inactivity  still  brought  back 
the  same  sad  and  discouraging  ideas.     "  He  is 
mad!"  murmured  the  soldiers,  ''that  man  is  very 
mad  who  seeks  to  take  possession  of  auothei's 
country !     God  is  offended  at  such  designs,  and 
this  he  shows  now  by  refusing  us  a  fair  wind." 
The   duke  then  had   recourse  to 
something  more  potent  than  bread 
and  wine.    He  caused  the  body  of 
St.  Valery,   the    patron   of    that 
place,  where  a  town  had  grown  up 
ai'ound  his  cell,  to  be  taken  from 
liis  shrine,  and  carried  in  proces- 
sion through  the  camp,  the  knights, 
soldiers,  camp-followers,  and  sail- 
ors, all   devoutly  kneeling   as   it 
pa-ssed,  and  praying  for  the  saint's 
intercession.     In  the  course  of  the 
ensuing  night  the  weather  changed, 
and  the  wind  blew  fair  from  the 
Norman  to  the  English  coast.  The 
troops  reijairod   to   their  several 
ships,  and   at   an  early  hour  the 
next  morning  the  whole  fleet  set 
sail.     "William  led  the  van,  in  a 
vessel  which  had  been  presented 
to   him   for  the   occasion   by  his 
wife  Matilda,  and  which  was  distinguished  by 
its  .splendid  decorations  in  the  day,  and  in  the 
darkness  of  night  by  a  brilliant  light  at  its  mast- 
head.    The  vanes  of  the  ship  were  gilded;  its 
sails  were  of  different  bright  colours;  the  three 
lions,  the  arms  of  Nomiandy,  were  painted  in 
several   places;  and   its   sculptured  figure-head 
was  a  child  with  a  drawm  bow,  the  arrow  ready 
to  fly  against  the  hostile  laud.     The  consecrated 
banner,  sent  from  Home  by  the  pope,  floated  at 
the  main-top  mast,  and  the  invader  had  put  a 
cross  upon  his  flag,  in  testimony  of  the  holiness 
of  his  undertaking.     This  ship  sailed  faster  than 
all  the  rest,  and,  in  his  impatience,  William  ne- 
glected to  order  the  taking  in  of  sail  to  lessen  its 
speed.     In  the  course  of  the  night  he  left  the 
whole  fleet  far  astern.     Early  in  the  morning  he 
ordered  a  sailor  to  the  mast-head,  to  see  if  the 


other  ships  were  coming  up.  "  I  can  see  nothing 
but  the  sea  and  sky,"  said  the  mariner;  and  then 
they  lay-to.  To  keep  the  crew  in  good  heart, 
AVilliam  ordered  them  a  sumptuous  breakfast, 
with  wines  strongly  spiced.  The  sailor  was 
again  sent  aloft,  and  this  time  he  said  he  could 
make  out  four  vessels  in  the  distance;  but  mount- 
ing a  third  time  shortly  after,  he  shouted,  "Now 
I  see  a  forest  of  masts  and  sails !°  A  few  houra 
after  this  tlie  united  Norman  fleet  came  to  an- 
chor on  the  Susse.x  coast,  without  meeting  with 
any  resistance;  for  Harold's  ships,  which  so  long 
had  cruised  on  that  coast,  had  been  called  else, 
wliere,  or  had  returned  into  port  through  want 
of  pay  and  jirovisious.'  It  was  on  the  28th  of 
Septembei-,  106(>,  that  the  Normans  laniled  un- 
opposed at  a  place  called  Bulverhithe,  between 
Pevensey  and  Hastings.  The  archers  landed 
first;  they  wore  short  dresses,  and  their  hah'  was 
shaved  off";  then  the  horsemen  landed,  wearing 


iron  casques  and  tunics  and  chausses  (or  defences 
for  the  thighs)  of  mail,  being  armed  with  long 
and  strong  lances,  and  straiglit,  double-edged 
swords.  After  them  descended  the  workmen  of 
the  army,  pioneers,  cai-penters,  and  smiths,  who 
carried  on  shore,  piece  by  piece,  three  wooden 
castles,  which  had  been  cut  and  prepared  before- 
hand in  Normandy.  The  duke  was  the  last  man 
to  land;  and  as  his  foot  touched  the  sand,  he 
made  a  false  step,  and  fell  upon  his  face.  A 
muriviur  instantly  succeeded  this  trilling  mishap, 
and  the  soldiery  cried  out,  "God  keep  us!  but 
here  is  a  bad  sign ! "  In  those  days  the  Con- 
queror's presence  of  mind  never  forsook  him, 
and,  leaping  gayly  to  his  feet,  and  showing  them 
his  hand  full  of  English  eai-th  or  sand,  he  ex- 

'  Thierry,  IIUl.  de  la  ConqtUte;  Southej's  Naml  Hist,  of  Eng.: 
Chron.  de  Norrmmd.;  Old.  PictAv. 


36 


ITISTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


clainiej,  "  What  now  ?  What  astonishes  you  ? 
I  have  taken  seisin  of  this  land  with  my  liands, 
and,  by  the  splendour  of  God !  as  far  as  it  ex- 
tends it  is  mine — it  is  yours!" 


rEVENSET  Bay.  —From  a  drawing  on  the  spot,  by  U.  G    Hine 
From  the  landing-place  the  army  marched  to  I  hoping   to 


Hastings,  near  to  which  town 
tified  camp,  and  set  up  two  of 
the  wooden  castles  or  towers 
that  he  had  brought  with  him 
from  Normandy,  and  thei-e 
placed  his  provisions.  De- 
tached corps  of  Normans  then 
overran  all  the  neighbom^ing 
country,  pillaging  and  burning 
the  houses.  The  English  fled 
from  their  abodes,  concealed 
their  goods  and  their  cattle, 
and  repau'ed  in  crowds  to  the 
sacred  protection  of  then-  in- 
land churches.  William  per- 
sonally sm-veyed  all  the  neigh- 
boiu'ing  country,  and  occupied 
the  old  Roman  castle  of  Peven- 
sey  with  a  strong  detachment. 
It  should  appear  that  he  was 
presently  welcomed  into  England  by  several 
foreigners,  the  remnant  of  the  old  Norman  court 
pai'ty  which  had  been  so  predominant  in  the  days 
of  the  late  king.  One  Ilobert,  a  Norman  thane, 
who  was  settled  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hast- 
ings, is  pai-ticularly  mentioned  as  giving  him 
advice  immediately  after  his  landing.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  the  disembarking  the  army,  horse 
an<l  foot,  and  the  landing  of  the  provisions  and 
militaiy  stores,  would  occupy  two  or  three  days; 


but  sixteen  days  ela])sed  between  their  arrival  and 
the  battle,  and  in  all  that  time  William  made 
no  advance  into  the  country,  but  lingered  within 
a  'ew  miles  of  the  coast  where  he  had  lauded. 

On  reaching  London,  where 
he  appeai-s  to  have  been  well 
received  by  the  people,  Hai-old 
manned  700  vessels,  and  sent 
them  round  to  hinder  Wil- 
liam's escape;  for  he  made  no 
doubt  of  vanquishing  the  Nor- 
mans, even  as  he  had  so  re- 
cently vanquished  the  Nor- 
wegians. Eeinforcements  of 
troops  came  in  from  ail  quar- 
ters except  from  the  north ; 
and  another  of  his  Norman 
spies  and  advisers,  who  w;is 
residing  in  the  capital,  in- 
formed the  duke  there  were 
grounds  for  apjn-ehending 
that  in  a  few  days  the  Saxon 
army  would  be  swelled  to 
100,000  men.  But  Harold 
was  iiTitated  by  the  ravages 
committed  in  the  country  by 
the  invaders;  he  was  impa- 
tient to  meet  them  ;  and, 
profit   a  second   time   by  a  sudden 


le  traced  a  for-  I  and  unexpected  attack,  he  marched  off  foi-  the 


* 


i5T*s 


Pevensey  Castle.!— H   G.  Hine,  from  his  drawln-  on  the  spot. 


Sussex  coast  by  night,  only  six  days  after  his 

'  The  remains  of  Koman  masonry  visible  in  Pevensey  Castle 
indicate  an  origin  prior  to  the  times  both  of  Saxons  and  Nor- 
mans. The  outer  walls,  the  most  ancient  pai-t  of  tlie  biiilding, 
inclose  an  area  of  7  ac. ,  and  stand  from  20  ft.  to  25  ft.  high.  The 
moat  on  the  south  is  wide  and  deep.  Works  of  more  modem 
character  stand  within  the  walls,  consisting  of  a  fortification  of 
pentagonal  form,  with  five  circular  towers.  It  is  entered  from 
the  outer  court  by  a  drawbridge  on  the  west  side,  between  two 
towers.  The  principal  barbican  or  watch-tower  is  towards  the 
north-east  comer.  The  walls  are  -J  ft.  tliiok;  the  towel's  are  two 
and  three  stories  high. 


A.D.  1U42— 1066.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


137 


arrhal  iu  LoiiJou,  auil  with  forces  iuferior  in 
uumbei'3  to  those  of  \Villi;mi.  The  c;imi)  of 
William  was  well  guarded,  aiiJ,  to  prevent  all 
siu-prise,  he  had  thrown  out  advanced  posts  to  a 
considerable  distance.  These  posts,  composed  of 
good  cavalry,  fell  back  as  tlie  Saxons  approached, 
and  told  William  that  Harold  was  rushing  on 
with  the  speed  and  fury  of  a  madman.  On  his 
side  llarold  despatched  some  spies,  wlio  spoke 
the  French  language,  to  ascertain  the  position 
and  state  of  prejjaratiou  of  the  Noriuans.  Both 
these  the  retiu-ning  spies  reported  to  be  formi- 
dable, and  they  addeil,  with  astonishment,  that 
tliere  were  more  priests  iu  William's  camp  than 
there  were  soldiers  in  the  English  army.  These 
men  had  mistaken  for  priests  all  the  Norman 
soldiers  that  had  short  hair  and  sliaven  upper 
lips;  for  it  was  then  the  fashion  of  the  English 
to  let  both  tlieir  liair  and  tlieir  moustaches  gi'ow 
long.  llarold  smiled  at  their  mistake,  and  said, 
"  Those  whom  you  have  found  iu  such  great 
numbers  are  not  priests,  but  brave  men  of  war, 
who  will  soon  sliow  us  what  they  ai-e  wortli." 
He  then  halted  liis  army  at  Soilac,  since  called 
Battle,  and  changing  his  plan,  surrounded  his 
camp  with  ditches  and  palisades,  and  waited  the 
attack  of  his  rival  in  that  well-chosen  position. 
One  whole  day  was  passed  in  fruitless  negotia- 
tions, the  nature  of  which  is  differently  reported 
by  the  old  chroniclers.  Accordiug  to  William 
of  Poitiei-3,  who  was  chaplain  to  the  Conqueror, 
and  had  the  best  means  of  information,  and  the 
writer  or  writers  of  the  Chronicle  of  Normandu, 
a  mouk  named  Hugh  Maigrot  was  despatched  to 
demand  from  Plarold,  in  the  name  of  William, 
that  he  would  do  one  of  three  things — resign  his 
crown  in  favour  of  the  Norman;  submit  to  the 
arbitration  of  the  pope;  or  decide  the  quarrel  by 
single  combat.  H;u'old  sent  a  refusal  to  each  of 
these  proposals,  upon  which  William  cliarged  the 
monk  witli  this  last  message: — "Go,  and  tell 
Harold,  that  if  he  will  keep  his  old  bargain  with 
me,  I  will  leave  hiui  all  the  couutry  beyond  the 
river  Humber,  and  will  give  his  brother  Gurth 
all  the  lands  of  his  father,  Earl  Godwin;  but  if 
he  obstinately  refuse  what  I  olfer  him,  thou  wilt 
teU  him,  before  all  his  people,  that  he  is  per- 
jured, and  a  liar;  that  he  and  all  those  who  shall 
support  him  are  excommunicated  by  the  pope, 
and  that  I  carry  a  bull  to  that  effect."  The 
Norman  Chronicle  says  that  the  monk  Hugh 
pronounced  this  message  in  a  solemn  tone,  and 
at  the  word  "excommunication,"  the  English 
chiefs  gazed  upon  one  another  in  great  dismay; 
but  that,  nevertheless,  they  all  resolved  to  fight 
to  the  last,  well  knowing  that  the  Norman  had 
promised  their  lauds  to  his  nobles,  his  captains, 
and  his  knights,  who  had  ah-eady  done  homage 
for  them. 
Vol.  I. 


The  Normans  quitted  Hastings,  and  occu)jicJ 
an  eminence  opposite  to  llie  English,  plainly 
showing  that  they  intended  to  give  battle  on  the 
morrow.  Several  reasons  had  been  pressed  upon 
Harold  by  his  followew,  and  were  now  repeated, 
why  he  shouhl  decline  the  combat,  or  absent 
himself  from  its  jjerilous  chances.  It  was  urged 
that  the  des])erate  situation  of  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy forceil  him  to  brijig  matters  to  a  sjjeedy 
decision,  and  put  his  whole  fortune  on  the  issue 
of  a  battle,  for  his  provisions  were  already  ex- 
hausted, and  his  supplies  from  beyond  sea  would 
be  rendered  precarious  both  by  the  storms  of  the 
coming  winter,  and  tlie  ojjerations  of  the  English 
fleet,  which  had  already  blockaded  all  tlie  ships 
William  kept  with  him  in  the  ports  of  Pevensey 
and  Hastings  ;  but  that  he,  the  King  of  England, 
in  his  own  country,  and  well  provided  with  pro- 
visions, miglit  bide  his  own  time,  and  harass  with 
skirmishes  a  decreasing  enemy,  who  would  be 
exposed  to  all  the  discomforts  of  an  inclement 
seixson  and  tlcep  miry  roads ;  that  if  a  general 
action  were  now  avoided,  the  whole  mass  of  the 
English  people,  made  sensible  of  the  danger  that 
threatened  their  property,  their  honour,  and  their 
liberties,  would  reinforce  his  army  from  all  quai-- 
ters,  and  by  degi-ees  render  it  invincible.  As  lie 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  these  arguments,  his 
bi-other  Gurth,  who  was  greatly  attached  to  him, 
and  a  man  of  bravery  and  good  counsel,  endea- 
voured to  persuade  him  not  to  be  jireseut  at  the 
action,  but  to  set  out  for  London,  and  bring  up 
the  levies,  wliile  his  be.st  friemls  should  sustain 
the  attack  of  the  Normans.  "  O  !  llarold,"  said 
the  young  man,  "thou  canst  not  deny  that,  either 
by  force  or  free-will,  thou  hast  made  Duke 
William  an  oath  upon  the  body  of  saints ;  why, 
then,  adventure  thyself  in  the  dangers  of  the 
combat  witli  a  perjury  against  thee  1  To  us, 
who  have  sworn  nothing,  this  wai-  is  proper  and 
just,  for  we  defend  our  country.  Leave  us,  then, 
alone  to  fight  this  battle — thou  wilt  succour  us  if 
we  are  forced  to  retreat,  and  if  we  die  thou  wilt 
avenge  us."  To  this  touching  appeal  Harold  an- 
swered, that  his  duty  forbade  him  to  keep  at  a 
distance  whilst  others  risked  their  lives ;  and, 
determined  to  fight,  and  full  of  confidence  in  the 
justice  of  his  cause,  he  waited  the  morrow  with 
his  usual  courage.  The  night  was  cold  and 
clear;  it  was  spent  very  differently  by  the  hostile 
armies  ;  the  English  feasted  and  rejoiced,  singing, 
with  a  gi-eat  noise,  their  old  national  songs,  and 
emptying  their  horn-ciqis,  whicli  were  well  filled 
with  beer  and  wine:  the  Normans  having  looked 
to  their  arms  and  to  their  horses,  listened  to  their 
|)riests  and  monks,  who  prayed  and  sang  litanies; 
and  tliat  over,  the  soldiers  confessed  themselves, 
and  took  the  sacrament  tiy  tliou.sands  at  a  time. 

The  day  of  trial— Saturday,  tlie  Hth  of  Octo- 
13 


138 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


ber — was  come.  As  Jay  dawned,  Odo,  the  Bishop 
of  Bayeux,  a  half-brother  of  Duke  William,  cele- 
brated mass,  and  gave  his  benediction  to  the 
troops,  being  armed  the  while  in  a  coat  of  mail, 
which  he  wore  under  his  episcopal  rochet;  and 
when  the  mass  and  the  blessing  were  over,  he 
mounted  a  war-horse,  which  the  old  chi-oniclers, 
with  their  interesting  minuteness  of  detail,  tell 
us  was  large  and  white,  took  a  lance  in  his  hand, 
and  marshalled  his  brigade  of  cavalry.  The  whole 
army  was  divided  into  three  columns  of  attack; 
the  third  column,  composed  of  nalive  Normans, 
and  including  many  great  lords  and  the  choicest 
of  the  knights,  being  headed  by  the  duke  in  per- 
son. William  rode  a  fine  Spanish  horse,  which 
a  rich  Norman  had  brought  him  on  his  return 
from  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  St.  lago  of 
Galicia:  he  wore  suspended  round  his  neck  some 
of  those  revered  relics  upon  wliieh  Harold  had 
sworn,  and  the  standard  blessed  by  the  pope  was 
carried  at  his  side,  by  one  Tonstain,  sm'uamed 
"the  White,"  or  "the  Fail-,"' who  accepted  the 
honourable  but  dangerous  office,  after  two  Nor- 
man bai'ons  had  declined  it.  Just  before  giving 
the  word  to  advance,  he  briefly  addressed  his  col- 
lected host — "  Make  up  your  minds  to  fight  vali- 
antly, and  slay  yo\ir  enemies.  A  great  booty  is 
before  us ;  for  if  we  conquer  we  shall  all  be  rich; 
what  I  gain  you  will  gain ;  if  I  take  this  land, 
you  will  have  it  in  lots  among  you.  Know  ye, 
however,  that  I  am  not  come  hither  solely  to  take 
what  is  my  due,  but  also  to  avenge  om*  whole 
nation,  for  the  felonies,  perjuries,  and  treachery 
of  these  English.  They  massacred  our  kinsmen 
the  Danes — men,  women,  and  children — on  the 
night  of  St.  Brice ;  they  murdered  the  knights 
and  good  men  who  accompanied  Prince  Alfred 
from  Normandy,  and  made  my  cousin  Alfred 
expire  in  tortui-e.  Before  you  is  the  son  of  that 
Earl  Godwin  who  was  charged  with  these  mur- 
ders. Let  us  forwai'd,  and  punish  him,  with  God 
to  our  aid  I " 

A  gigantic  Norman,  called  Taillefer,  who  united 
the  different  qualities  of  champion,  minstrel,  and 
juggler,  spurred  his  horse  to  the  front  of  the 
van,  and  sung,  with  a  loud  voice,  the  popular 
ballads  which  immortalized  the  valom'  of  Char- 
lemagne, and  Roland,  and  all  that  iiower  of  chi- 
valry that  fought  in  the  gi-eat  fight  of  Ronces- 
valles.  As  he  sang  he  performed  feats  with  his 
sword,  throwing  it  into  the  air  with  great  force 
with  one  hand,  and  catching  it  again  with  the 
other.  The  Normans  repeated  the  burden  of  his 
song,  or  cried  Dieu  aide!  Dieu  aide!  This 
accomplished  bravo  craved  permission  to  strike 
the  first  blow :  he  ran  one  Englishman  through 


*  The  readers  of  Mttrmion  will  remember  the  bi-ave  bearing  of 
"Btainless  Tuastall's  banuer  white,"  loug  after  in  the  fight  of 
Flodden. 


the  body,  and  felled  a  second  to  the  ground  ;  but 
in  attacking  a  third  cavalier  he  Vfas  himself  mor- 
tally wounded.  The  English,  who,  in  rejdy  to 
the  Dieu  aide!  or  "God  is  our  help!"  of  the 
Normans,  shouted  "  Chi-ist's  rood !  —  the  holy 
rood!"  remained  in  their  position  on  the  ridge 
of  a  hill  fortified  by  trenches  and  palisades;  and 
within  these  defences  they  were  marshalled 
after  the  fashion  of  the  Danes,  shield  against 
shield,  presenting  an  impenetrable  front  to  the 
enemy.  According  to  old  privilege,  the  men  of 
Kent  were  in  the  first  line,  and  the  burgesses  of 
London  had  the  honour  of  being  the  body-guard, 
and  were  di'awn  up  close  round  the  royal  stan- 
dard. At  the  foot  of  this  banner  stood  Hai-old, 
with  his  two  brothers,  Gurth  and  Leofwin,  and 
a  body  of  the  bravest  thanes  of  England.  The 
Normans  attacked  along  the  line  with  their  bow- 
men and  cross-bowmen,  who  produced  no  impres- 
sion; and  when  their  cavalry  charged,  the  Eng- 
lish, in  a  compact  body,  received  the  assailants 
with  battle-axes,  with  which  they  broke  the 
lances  and  cut  the  coats  of  mail  on  which  the  Nor- 
mans relied.  The  Normans,  despairing  of  forcing 
the  English  palisades  and  ranks,  retired  in  some 
disorder  to  the  division  where  William  com- 
manded in  person.  The  duke  then  threw  forward 
all  his  archers,  and  supported  them  by  a  charge 
of  cavalry,  who  shouted,  as  they  couched  their 
Lances,  "  JVutre  Dame !  Notre  Dame!  Dieu  aide! 
Dieu  aide  !  "  Some  of  this  cavalry  broke  tlu'ough 
the  English  line,  but  presently  they  were  all 
driven  back  to  a  deep  trench,  artfully  covered 
over  with  brushes  and  grass,  where  horses  and 
riders  fell  in  pe'le-mc'le,  and  jierished  in  great 
numbers.  According  to  some  accounts,  more  Nor- 
mans fell  here  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  field. 
For  a  moment  there  was  a  general  panic;  a  cry 
spread  that  the  duke  was  killed,  and  at  this  re- 
port a  flight  commenced.  William  threw  himself 
before  the  fugitives,  and  stopjied  then-  passage, 
threatening  them,  and  striking  them  with  his 
lance;  then,  imcovering  his  face  and  head,  he 
cried,  "  Here  I  am !  look  at  me !  I  am  still  alive, 
and  I  will  conquer  by  God's  help."  In  another 
part  of  the  field  the  rout  was  stopped  by  the 
fierce  Bishop  of  Bayeux,  and  the  attacks  on  the 
English  line  were  renewed  and  multiplied.  From 
nine  in  the  morning  till  three  in  the  afternoon 
the  successes  were  nearly  balanced,  or,  if  any- 
thing, seemed  rather  to  preponderate  on  the  Eng- 
lish side.  William  had  expected  the  gi-eatest 
advantage  from  the  charges  of  his  numerous  and 
brilliant  cavah-y;  but  the  English  foot  stood  firm 
(a  thing  which  infantiy  seldom  did  in  those  days 
under  such  cii'cumstances),  ;ind  they  were  so  well 
defended  by  their  closed  shields,  that  the  arrows 
of  the  Normans  had  little  efl'ect  upon  them.  The 
duke  then  ordered  his  bowmen  to  alter  the  du-ec- 


A.D.  1042- lOCC] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


ir?!) 


tiou  of  their  shafts,  and,  insteail  of  ahootinj;  |ioint- 
M:ink,  to  <lh-ect  their  arrows  u]i\var(l,  so  tliat  tlie 
piiiuts  should  ooii\e  down  like  hail  from  above 
upon  the  heads  of  the  enemy.  The  manoeuvre  took 
effect,  and  many  of  the  I'^ngli-sh  wei-e  wounded, 
most  of  them  in  the  face ;  but  still  they  stood 
firm,  and  the  Normans,  almost  disheartened,  had 
recourse  to  a  stratagem.  William  ordered  1000 
hoi-se  to  advance,  and  then  turn  and  flee;  at 
the  view  of  this  pretended  rout  the  Engli.sh  lost 
their  coolness,  and  leaving  their  positions,  a  part 
of  the  line  gave  pursuit,  with  their  battle-axes 
slung  round  their  necks.  At  a  certain  distance 
a  fresh  corps  of  Normans  joined  the  1000  horse, 
who  drew  rein  and  faced  about;  and  then  the 
English,  surprised  in  their  disorder,  were  as- 
sailed on  every  side  by  lances  and  swords.  Here 
many  hundreds  of  the  English  fell;  for,  encom- 
passed by  horse  and  foot,  they  could  not  retreat, 
and  they  would  not  sm-render.  The  latter  word, 
indeed,  is  never  once  used  in  any  of  the  old  ac- 
counts of  the  battle  of  Ilastings.  The  Norman 
writers  speak  with  admiration  of  the  valour  of 
several  of  Harold's  thanes,  who  fought  single- 
handed  against  a  host  of  foes,  as  though  each  of 
them  thouglit  to  save  his  country  by  his  indi- 
vidual exertions.  They  have  not  preserved  his 
name,  but  they  make  particular  mention  of  one 
English  thane,  armed  with  a  battle-axe,  who 
S2)read  dismay  among  the  invaders.  The  battle- 
axe  appears  to  have  been  the  arm  chiefly  used 
by  the  English.  This  ponderous  weapon  had  its 
advantages  and  its  disadvantages ;  wielded  by 
nervous  men,  it  bi'oke  in  pieces  the  coats  of  mail, 
and  cleft  the  steel  casques  of  the  Normans,  as  no 
swords  could  have  done;  but  from  its  weight  and 
size  it  required  both  hands  to  wield  it,  and  was 
awkward  and  difticult  to  manage  in  close  combat. 
The  feint  flight,  which  had  sr.cceeded  so  well, 
was  repeated  by  the  Normans  in  another  part  of 
the  field,  and,  owing  to  the  impetuosity  of  the 
English,  with  equal  success.  But  still  the  main 
body  maintained  its  position  behind  its  stakes 
and  palisades  on  the  ridge  of  the  hill;  and  such 
was  their  unshaken  courage,  that  the  Normans 
were  obliged  to  try  the  same  stratagem  a  tliird 
time — and  a  third  time  the  lirave  but  imprudent 
victims  fell  into  tlie  snare.  Then'  the  Norman 
horse  and  foot  burst  into  the  long-defended  in- 
closure,  and  broke  the  English  line  in  several 
points.  But  even  now  the  English  closed  again 
I'ound  Harold,  who,  throughout  the  day,  had 
shown  the  gi'eatest  activity  and  bravery.  At  this 
juncture  he  was  struck  b\'  an  arrow,  shot  at  ran- 
dom, which  entered  his  left  eye,  and  penetrated 
into  his  brain.  The  English  then  gave  way,  but 
they  retreated  no  further  than  their  standard, 
which  they  still  sought  to  defend.  The  Normans 
hemmed   them   in,  making   the  most  desperate 


eflbrts  to  seize  the  banner.  Robert  Fitz-Krnest 
had  almost  graajied  it,  when  a  b.attle-axe  laid  him 
low  for  ever.  Twenty  Norman  knight.s  then  un- 
dertook the  task,and  this  attempt  succeeded,  after 
ten  of  their  number  had  jierished.  The  standard 
of  England  was  then  lowered,  and  the  consecrated 
lianner,  sent  from  Rome,  raised  in  its  stead,  in 
sign  of  victory.  Gurth  and  Leofwin,  the  brave 
brothere  of  Hai-old,  died  at  that  last  rallying 
jioint.  The  combat  had  lasted  nine  lioin-s,  for  it 
was  now  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  the  sim 
was  setting.  After  a  des])erate  attempt  at  rally- 
ing made  by  the  men  of  Kent  and  the  East  An- 
gles, which  cost  the  lives  of  many  of  the  victors, 
the  English  troops,  broken  and  dispirited  by  the 
loss  of  their  leader,  dispersed  through  the  woods 
which  lay  in  the  rear  of  their  jiosition;  the  enemy 
followed  them  by  the  light  of  the  moon;  but,  as 
they  were  ignorant  of  the  country,  which  was  in 
some  places  intersected  by  ditches,  and  as  tlie 
English  tm-ned  and  made  a  stand  wherever  they 
could,  they  sufl'ered  severely  in  this  i>nrsuit,  and 
soon  gave  it  uj).  In  every  clause  of  their  naira- 
tive  the  Norman  writers  express  their  admiration 
of  the  valoiu-  of  the  foe;  and  most  of  them  confess 
that  the  gi-eat  sujieriority  of  his  forces  alone  en- 
abled AVilliam  to  obtain  the  victoiy.  Dm-ing  the 
sang-uiuary  conflict  the  fortunate  duke  liad  tlu-ee 
horses  killed  under  him,  and  at  one  moment  he 
was  nearly  laid  prostrate  by  a  blow  struck  upon 
his  helmet  by  an  English  cavalier.  The  proud  band 
of  lords  and  knights  that  followed  him  from  the 
Continent  was  fearfully  thinned,  as  was  well 
proved  on  the  morrow,  when  the  muster-roll  he 
had  prepared  before  leaving  the  port  of  St.  Valery 
was  called  over.  He  lost  one-fom-th  of  his  ai-my, 
and  he  did  not  gain  by  the  battle  of  Hastings  a 
fourth  part  of  the  kingdom  of  England;  for  many 
an  after-field  was  fought,  and  his  wai'S  for  the 
conquest  of  the  west,  the  north,  and  the  east, 
were  protracted  for  seven  long  years.  The  con- 
quest effected  by  the  Normans  w.;is  a  slow,  and 
not  a  sudden  one.'  "  Thus,"  to  use  the  energetic 
language  of  an  old  ^VTiter,"  "  was  tried,  by  the  great 
ai3.size  of  God's  judgment  in  battle,  the  right  of 
power  between  the  English  and  Norman  nations; 
a  battle  the  most  memorable  of  all  othere;  and 
howsoever  miserably  lost,  yet  most  nobly  fought 
on  the  part  of  England."^ 


'  Sir  J.  W.afikiiitosli,  IliH.  '■'  Daniel. 

3  It  lias  not  been  sufficiently  noticed  by  bistoi-inns,  tliat  the 
s.ime  mistaken  views  of  CliriatLan  perfection  which,  by  witli- 
drawing  the  most  moral  part  of  the  popniation  into  convents 
and  solitudes,  weakened  the  social  system  of  the  Roman  empii-c 
in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  and  tlnzs  insured  its  overtlirow 
by  the  barbari.ins  of  the  North,  weakened  Anglo-Saxon  society 
in  tlio  eleventh  century,  and  thus  insured  the  triumph  of  the 
Konnans.  Dis.'^ipatiou  in  one  part  of  the  people,  .iiid  luiceticism 
in  another,  tended  to  the  same  restilt.  Christianity  became 
cither  qtiito  \inknowii,  or  did  not  bear  on  the  ordinary  relations 
of  civil  and  domestic  life.    Retrcatijig  from  the  world  it  should 


no 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Scotland  and  Ireland. 


CHAPTER  v.- SCOTTISH  AND  IRISH  ANNALS. 


A.B.    300-lOCG. 


Different  occnpants  of  Britain— The  Picts — The  Scots  — Tliey  are  uniteil  into  one  nation — History  of  the  Scottish 
kings  to  Malcolm  III. — Annals  of  Ireland— Its  early  populations— Conversion  of  the  Irish  to  Christian'ty 
by  St.  Patrick— Their  contests  with  the  Danes — State  of  Ireland  at  the  period  of  the  Norman  Conquest  of 
England. 


URING  the  course  of  the  preced- 
ing narrative,  we  have  seen  the 
Saxons  frequently  engaged  in  wars, 
and  occasionally  also  connected  by 
alliances,  with  various  other  na- 
tions dwelling  around  thcni  in  the 
same  island.  The  largest  as  well  as  the  fairest 
portion  of  Britain  was  conquered  and  occui)ied, 
diu'ing  the  period  we  have  been  reviewing,  by 
these  Germanic  invaders;  but  much  of  it  still 
remained  in  the  possession  of  the  races  of  other 
lineage,  by  whom  it  had  been  earlier  colonized, 
or  was  seized  upon  by  invaders  like  themselves, 
but  from  a  different  quarter.  All  the  east  and 
south,  from  the  Channel  to  the  Tweed,  was  Saxon; 
in  the  west,  along  tlie  whole  extent  of  the  Saxon 
dominion,  were  the  alien  and  generally  hostile 
tribes  of  Cornwall  and  Wales ;  on  the  noi-th-west 
were  the  independent  sovereignties  of  Cumbria 
and  Strathclyde  (if  these  were  really  two  distinct 
kingdoms);  and  to  the  east  and  north  of  these 


was  the  powerful  and  extensive  kingdom  of  the 
Picts,  originally,  it  should  seem,  embracing  the 
whole  of  the  rest  of  modern  Scotland.  Behind 
the  Picts,  however,  in  the  north-west,  a  colony  of 
Scots  from  Ireland,  not  long  after  the  ain-ival  of 
the  Saxons  in  the  south,  founded  another  new 
power  of  foreign  origin,  destined  in  like  manner, 
in  course  of  time,  to  bear  down  l)efore  it  the  elder 
thrones  of  its  own  part  of  the  island. 

The  doubtful  and  confused  annals  of  the  seve- 
ral Cornish  and  Welsh  principalities  of  those 
times  offer  notliing  to  detain  the  historian.  Corn- 
wail  appeal's  to  have  usually  formed  one  king- 
dom, South  AVales  another,  and  North  Wales  a 
third.  But  the  subjects  of  these  several  states, 
and  also  those  of  Cumbria  and  Strathclyde,  fai*- 
ther  to  the  north,  may  be  regarded  as  having  been, 
in  the  main,  one  people.  It  seems  not  impro- 
bable that  they  may  have  been  a  mixture  of  the 
old  Celtic  Britons  who  fled  before  the  Saxons,  or 
were  the  original   inhabitants  of  this  strip  of 


have  pmifieJ,  it  left  it  to  perish  from  its  o^vn  coTTuptions. 
William  of  Malmesbury  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  both  excesses. 
The  whole  passage  is  instnictive  : — "This  was  a  fatal  day  to  Eng- 
land— a  melancholy  havock  of  our  dear  couiitiy,  through  its 
change  of  masters.  For  it  had  long  since  adopted  the  manners 
of  the  Angles,  which  had  been  very  various  according  to  the 
times;  for  in  the  fii-st  years  of  their  arrival  they  were  barbarians 
in  their  look  and  maimers,  warlike  in  their  usages,  heathen  in 
their  rites ;  but  after  embracing  the  faith  of  Clirist,  by  degrees 
and  in  process  of  time,  from  the  peace  they  enjoyed,  regarding 
arms  only  in  a  secondary  light,  they  gave  their  whole  attention 
to  religion.  I  say  nothing  of  the  poor,  the  meanness  of  whose 
fortmie  often  restrains  them  from  overstepping  the  bounds  of 
justice.  I  omit  men  of  ecclesiastical  rank,  whom  sometimes 
respect  to  their  profession,  and  sometimes  the  fear  of  shame, 
suffer  not  to  stray  from  the  truth.  I  speak  of  princes,  who, 
from  the  greatness  of  their  power,  might  have  full  liberty  to 
indulge  in  pleasure;  some  of  whom  in  their  own  countiy,  and 
others  at  Rome,  changing  their  habit  [that  is,  becoming  monks], 
obtained  a  heavenly  kingdom  and  a  saintly  intercoui-se.  Many 
during  theii*  whole  lives  in  outward  appearance  only  embraced 
the  present  world,  in  order  that  they  might  exhaust  their  trea- 
sui'es  on  the  poor,  or  divide  them  among  mouasteiies.  What 
shall  I  say  of  the  multitudes  of  bishops,  hermits,  and  abbots? 
Does  not  the  whole  island  blaze  with  such  numerous  relics  of 
its  natives,  that  you  can  scarcely  pass  a  village  of  any  conse- 
quence but  you  hear  the  name  of  some  new  saint,  besides  the 
numbers  of  whom  aU  notices  have  perished,  from  the  want  of 
records?" 

Anglo-Saxon  England  had  evidently  become  much  like  the 
Roman  provinces  in  the  days  of  Sidpicius  Severus.  Social, 
domestic,  and  military  life  had  not  received  those  pm'ifyiug 


and  invigorating  Christian  influences  that  make  a  people  dis- 
posed to  peace,  yet  iri'esistible  against  foreign  attack.  On  the 
contrary,  monkish  superstition  and  asceticism,  by  leading  the 
conscientious  and  pious  away  fi-ora  the  world  they  should  have 
puiified  and  preserved,  left  vice  and  ignorance,  profligacy  and 
moral  cowardice,  to  usurp  their  place.  Wo  need  not  wonder, 
therel'ore,  at  what  follows,  from  the  same  author; — 

"Nevertheless,  in  process  of  time,  the  desii'e  after  Hterature 
and  religion  liad  decayed,  for  several  years  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Normans.  The  clergy,  contented  with  a  very  slight  degree 
of  learning,  could  scarcely  stammer  out  the  words  of  the  sacra- 
ments ;  and  a  person  who  imdei"stootl  grammar  was  an  object 
of  wonder  and  astonishment.  The  monks  mocked  the  rule  of 
tlieir  order  by  fine  vestments  and  the  use  of  every  kind  of  food. 
The  nobility,  given  up  to  luxury  and  wantonness,  went  not  to 
church  in  the  morning,  after  the  manner  of  Christians,  but 
merely,  in  a  cai-elesg  manner,  heard  matins  and  masses  from  a 
hurrjiiig  priest  in  their  chambers,  amid  the  blandishments  of 
their  wives.  The  commonalty,  left  unprotected,  became  a  prey 
to  the  most  powerful,  who  amassed  fortimes  by  either  seizing  on 
their  property,  or  by  selling  their  persons  into  foreign  comitries; 
although  it  be  an  innate  quality  of  this  people  to  be  more  in- 
clined to  revelling  than  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  There 
was  one  custom  repugnant  to  lumian  nature  wliich  they  adopted, 
namely,  to  sell  their  female  servants,  when  pregnant  by  them, 
and  after  they  had  satisfied  their  lusts,  either  to  public  prostitu- 
tion, or  to  foreign  slavery.  Drinking  in  parties  was  an  universal 
practice,  in  which  occupation  they  passed  entire  nights  as  well 
as  days.  They  consumed  their  whole  substance  in  mean  and 
despicable  houses,  imlike  the  Normans  and  French,  who,  in 
noble  and  splendid  ho\ise3,  lived  with  frugality." — William  of 
Malmesbury,  book  iii. 


A.Ti.  300-1006.] 


SAXON  PEUTOD. 


m 


country,  anil  of  Cirabrians,  originally  from  the 
north  of  Germany  and  Uenniarlc,  the  proper  i>ro- 
genitors  of  the  present  Welsh.  At  what  date 
these  Cimbrians  first  found  their  way  from  the 
east  coast  of  Scotland,  where  tliey  seem  to  have 
earliest  settled,  to  the  west  coast  of  England,  and 
there  mixed  with  and  established  a  dominion 
over  the  native  British  occupants,  no  chronicles 
have  told  us.  But  some  ancient  relation  between 
the  Welsh  aud  the  Picts  seems  to  be  indicated  by 
the  strong  evidence  of  language ;  and  the  close 
connection  that  subsisted  between  Wales  and  the 
Scottish  kingdom  of  Strathclyde,  down  to  the 
extinction  of  the  latter,  is  establi died  by  abun- 
dance of  historic  testimony.  If,  in  the  mixture 
of  the  two  races,  the  ascendency  remained  witli 
the  Celtic  Britous  anywhere,  it  was  most  probably 
in  Cornwall.  Everj'where  else  both  the  govern- 
ment and  the  language  appear  to  have  become 
chiefly  Cimbrian,  the  national  denomination  of 
the  Welsh  in  their  vernacular  tongue  to  this  day. 
One  of  the  northern  Welsh  kingdoms  was  actu- 
ally called  the  kingdom  of  Cumbria,  whence  our 
modern  county  of  Cumberland  ;  and  if  tlie  king- 
dom of  Strathclyde  was  a  dilTereut  state  from 
this  (which  is  doubtful),  we  know  at  least  that 
in  that  district  of  Scotland  also,  the  native  land 
aud  residence  of  Merlin  and  Anem-in,  and  many 
other  personages  famous  in  Cumbrian  song  and 
story,  the  language,  and  government,  and  all 
things  else  were  Welsh.' 

At  what  time  the  various  tribes  of  the  north, 


^  This  13  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  genealogy  of  the  Picts  ; 
but  if  we  adopt  the  theoi-y  of  their  Germanic  origin,  the  enigma 
(of  the  passing  away  of  the  Romano-British  population),  if  not 
m.'Ule  quite  plain,  will  appear  less  diihcult  than  before. 

"The  supposition  i3  not  destitute  of  support.  Tlie  migi-a- 
tory  tendencies  of  the  Gotliic  tribes  have  always  been  conspi- 
cuous. From  the  earliest  periods  of  our  history,  tlie  inhabitants 
of  Jutland  and  its  neighbouring  provinces  were  in  the  habit  of 
making  descents  on  the  coasts  of  Britain.  After  the  departure 
of  the  Ilomaiis,  their  attempts  were  probably  more  bold  and 
frequent ;  but  they  ilid  not  then  for  the  first  time  commence 
The  Norfolli  and  Suffolk  coast  was,  from  its  position,  peculiarly 
exposed  to  these  incursions;  and  as  early  as  the  close  of  the  tliird 
century,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  a  militaiy  count, 
called  Comes  titoris  S'.lj:onici  This  district  was  called  the  Saxon 
shore,  as  Sir  Francis  Palgrave  observes,  not  merely  because  it 
was  open  to  tlie  incm-sion  of  the  Saxons,  but,  most  probably, 
because  they  had  succeeded  in  fixing  themselves  in  some  por- 
tions of  it.  The  weak  hold  which  the  Romans,  at  aU  times,  had 
of  Scotland,  would  render  it  an  easier  prey  than  EngLand  to  the 
Franks  and  Saxons.  Tacitus  informs  us  that  tlie  ruddy  hair 
and  lusty  limbs  of  tlie  Caledonians  indicate  a  Germanic  extrac- 
tion. Richard  of  Cirencester  tells  lis,  that  a  little  before  the 
coming  of  Sevenis,  the  Picts  landed  in  Scotland  ;  from  which  wc 
are  entitled  to  infer,  that  the  Picts  were  not  the  original  inha- 
bitants of  North  Britain  ;  and  probably  the  statement  is  sub 
Btantially  correct,  inasmuch  as  large  reinforcements  landed  in 
Scotland  at  this  period,  as  previously  observed.  The  Scots — the 
other  branch  of  the  people  classed  under  the  general  term  Cale- 
donians—are confessedly  of  Irish  origin.  When  St.  Columba, 
whose  mother-tongue  was  the  Irish  Gaelic,  preached  to  the 
Picts.  he  used  an  interpreter.  Fordun,  the  father  of  Scottish 
liistorj',  tells  us :  '  The  manners  of  the  Scots  are  various  ,xs  to  thei  r 
languages  ;  for  they  use  two  tongues— the  Scottish  and  the  Ton- 
tonic.     The  last  is  spoken  by  those  on  the  sea-coasts  and  in  t!ic 


often  .spoken  of  under  the  general  appellation  of 
the  Caledonians,  although  that  name  was  ])ro])erly 
applicable  only  to  the  occujiants  of  the  woody 
and  mountainous  regions  of  the  west  and  north- 
west, came  to  be  united  in  the  single  monarchy 
of  the  Picts,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  The 
Picts  are  first  mentioned  about  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century,  at  which  time  the  name  ap- 
pears to  liave  been  understood  to  comprehend  all 
the  northern  tribes.  Antiquaries  are  generally 
agreed  that  a  kingdom,  under  the  name  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Picts — whicli,  in  pretension  at 
least,  extended  over  the  whole  of  what  is  now 
called  Scotland,  with  the  exception  of  the  district 
of  Strathclyde  in  the  south-west-  had  been  estab- 
lished some  considerable  lime  before  the  evacua- 
tion of  South  Britain  by  the  Romans  in  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century.  Records,  the  authenticity 
of  which  docs  not  admit  of  any  reasonable  doubt, 
make  the  Pictish  sovereign,  when  this  event  took 
place,  to  have  been  Durst,  the  son  of  Erp,  for 
wliom  his  warlike  achievements  against  the  pro- 
vincialized Britons  of  the  south,  and  the  length 
of  his  reign,  have  obtained  from  the  Irish  annal- 
ists the  poetic  title  of  King  of  a  Hvmdred  Years 
and  a  Hundred  Battles.  The  Picts  came  into 
collision  with  the  Saxons  of  Northumberland  not 
long  after  the  establishment  of  the  two  kingdoms 
of  Deh-a  and  Bernicia,  the  princes  of  the  latter 
of  which  appear  to  have  claimed,  as  within  their 
boundaries,  the  whole  of  the  territoiy  along  the 
east  coast,  as  far  as  to  the  Frith  of  Forth.     For 

low  countries,  wliile  the  Scottish  is  the  speech  of  the  mountain- 
eers and  the  remote  isl.anders.'  Tlie  proper  Scots  Camden  de- 
scribes as  those  commonly  called  Highlandmen;  'for  the  rest,'  ho 
adds,  '  more  civilized,  and  inliabiting  the  eastern  part,  though 
comprehended  under  the  name  of  Scots,  are  the  farthest  in  the 
world  from  being  Scots,  but  are  of  the  same  Gennan  origin  \vith 
us  English.'  Dr.  Jamieson,  who.=!e  researches  in  physiology  are 
well  known,  is  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  Picts  and  Saxons 
had  a  common  origin.  Upon  what  other  theoiy,  he  .irgues, 
can  the  prevalence  of  the  Saxon  tongue  in  the  Lowl.ands  of  .Scot- 
laud  be  .accounted  for?  William  the  Conqueror  could  not  change 
the  language  of  South  Britain.  Was  it  likely  that  a  few  Saxon 
fugitives  at  the  Scottish  com-t  could  supplant  that  of  their 
benefactor  1 

"The  theory  of  the  Germanic  origin  of  the  Picts  i"omove3  an- 
other difficulty.  How  is  the  disappearance  of  the  Celtic  tongue 
from  England  to  be  accflmited  for?  The  Saxons,  on  seizing  the 
soil,  would  not  extenuinate  the  iidiabitants,  but  retain  them  aa 
bondsmen.  Had  the  majority  of  the  original  occup<ant3  of  Eng- 
land been  the  original  Britons  or  Romanized  Celts,  we  should 
have  found  in  our  daily  speech,  and  in  the  names  of  our  towns 
and  villages,  a  large  intennixture  of  Gaelic  and  Latin;  but  such 
is  not  the  case.  Grant  that  the  Picts  were  a  branch  of  the  great 
Gothic  family,  and  that  successive  waves  of  tlieni  li.ad,  long 
before  the  time  of  Cerdic,  poured  from  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland 
over  the  plains  of  England,  .and  the  almost  entire  extermluatlon 
of  the  ancient  Britons  is  easily  .accounted  for. 

"  If  tlie  theory  here  advocated  cannot  be  Rustainod,  it  must 
at  least  be  allowed  tli.at  the  population  of  Nortli  Brit.ain  was 
Largely  leavened  with  individuals  of  the  Saxon  race.  These 
strangers  would,  doul,tless,  obtain  that  supremacy  over  tho 
natives  which  the  Franks  did  in  G.aul;  so  that,  even  upon  this 
limited  view  of  the  question,  tho  influence  of  the  Germanic  race 
in  fixing  tho  destinies  of  Britain  .at  this  critical  period,  is  appa- 
rent."— The  KoTiian  Wall,  by  the  Rev.  John  C.  Bruce,  M.A. 


U2 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


rScuTLAKD  AND  ICELAND. 


some  tiiiK^,  accoriliiigly,  all  tliis  tlistrict  formed  u 
sort  of  dutuiteablc  laiul,  alternati-ly  subject  to  the 
Northumbrian  Saxons  and  to  the  Piets.  The 
Saxons  are  believed  to  have  l)Ogun  to  settle  in 
the  territory  as  early  as  the  niieldle  of  the  fifth 
century,  and  probably  from  this  date  the  popu- 
lation continued  to  be  mainly  Saxon ;  but  after 
the  gi'eat  battle  of  Dunnechtan  (supposed  to  be 
Dunnichen  in  Angus),  fought  in  085  between  the 
Pictish  king  Bridei,  the  son  of  Beli,  and  the  Nor- 
thumbrian Egfrid,  it  became  permanently  a  part 
of  the  Pictish  dominions.  This  is  the  tract  of 
country  which,  in  a  later  age,  came  to  be  called 
by  the  name  of  Lodonia  or  Laodonia,  .=;till  sur- 
viving in  the  Lothians,  the  modern  designation 
of  the  greater  part  of  it. 

In  the  earliest  times  of  the  Pictish  monarchy, 
its  cajiital  appears  to  have  stood  near  the  jjresent 
town  of  Inverness.  It  was  here  that  King  Bridei 
or  Brude,  son  of  Merlothon,  was  visited,  soon 
after  the  middle  of  the  sixth  centmy,  by  St.  Co- 
lumba.  Afterwards,  on  the  extension  of  then- 
power  towards  the  south,  the  Kings  of  the  Picts 
transferred  their  residence  to  Forteviot  in  Perth- 
shire, and  here  they  seem  to  have  fixed  themselves 
so  long  as  the  mouai-chy  subsisted.  The  history 
of  the  state,  so  far  as  it  has  been  preserved,  is 
made  up  of  little  else  than  a  long  succession  of 
hostilities,  sometimes  with  the  SaxOns,  some- 
times wiLh  the  neighbouring  kingdom  of  Stratli- 
clyde,  sometimes  with  the  Scots  from  Ireland, 
who  from  the  commencement  of  the  sixth  centm-y 
continued  to  encroach  upon  the  teri'itories  of  the 
Picts,  and  the  pressure  from  whom  perhaps  had 
some  share  in  inducing  the  latter  eventually  to 
remove  the  chief  seat  of  their  sovereignty  from 
ils  ancient  position  in  the  heart  of  the  true  Cale- 
donia. The  meagre  narrative  is  also  varied  by 
some  domestic  wars,  principally  arising  out  of 
the  competition  of  various  claimants  for  the 
crown,  to  which  there  seems  to  have  been  no  de- 
finitely settled  rule  of  succession.  In  the  end  of 
the  eighth  and  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century, 
the  Piets  found  a  new  enemy  in  the  northern 
pirates  or  sea-kings,  the  same  marauders  who  in 
the  same  age  ravaged  the  neighbouring  coasts  of 
England  and  France,  and  indeed  it  may  be  said 
genei-ally  of  all  the  north-west  of  Em'opc.  The 
dissolution  of  tlie  ancient  Pictish  royalty,  how- 
ever, and  the  extinction  of  the  name  of  the  Piets 
as  that  of  an  independent  people,  wei'e  now  at 
hand. 

The  earliest  colony  of  Irish,  or  Soots,  as  they 
were  called,  is  said  to  have  settled  on  the  west 
coast  of  North  Britain  about  the  middle  of  the 
third  centm-y.  They  were  led  by  Carbiy  Eiada, 
prince  or  sub-regiilus  of  a  district  called  Dalriada 
in  Ulster;  and  they  were  long  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Dalriadians.  from  this  their  native 


seat.  The  Dalriadians,  liowever,  do  not  appeal' 
to  have  set  up  any  pretences  to  an  independent 
sovereignty  in  the  country  of  then-  adoption 
until  after  the  begintiing  of  the  sixth  century, 
when  then-  nmnbei-s  were  gi-eatly  augmented  by 
an  immigi-ationof  their  Irish  kmdred,  under  the 
conduct  of  Lorn,  Fergus,  and  Angus,  the  three 
sons  of  Erck,  the  then  prince  of  Dalriada.  This 
new  colonization  seems  to  have  amounted  to  an 
actual  invasion  of  North  Britain,  and  the  design 
of  its  leaders  probably  was  from  the  fii-st  to 
wrest  the  country  or  a  part  of  it  from  its  actual 
jjossessors.  Very  soon  after  this  we  find  the 
Picts  and  Scots  meeting  each  other  in  arms.  A 
still  more  decided  proof  of  the  growing  strength 
of  the  latter  nation  is,  in  coiu'se  of  time,  afforded 
by  a  matrimonial  alliance  between  the  King  of 
the  Dalriadians  and  the  Pictish  royal  house. 
This  connection  took  place  in  the  reign  of  Achaius, 
who  is  reckoned  the  twenty-seventh  of  the  Scot- 
tish kings  from  Fergus,  in  whose  line  and  in  that 
of  the  descendants  of  his  elder  brother,  Lorn,  the 
sovereign  power  had  been  all  along  preserved. 
Achaius  married  LTrgusia,  the  sister  of  the  Pict- 
ish kings  Constantine  and  Ungus,  who  reigned 
in  succession  from  a.d.  791  to  830.  Tlie  issue  of 
this  marriage,  and  the  successor  of  Achaius,  was 
Alpin,  and  his  son  and  successor  Wiis  Kenneth  II., 
who  mounted  the  thi-one  of  his  ancestors  in  the 
year  836.  Three  yeai-s  after,  the  Pictish  king 
Uven,  the  son  and  successor  of  Ungus,  fell  in 
battle  with  the  Danes.  Kemieth,  as  the  near 
relation  of  its  deceased  occupier,  immediately 
claimed  the  vacant  throne :  a  contest  of  arms  be- 
tween the  two  nations  appears  to  have  ensued ; 
but  at  last,  in  a.d.  843,  Kenneth,  having  subdued 
all  opposition,  was  acknowledged  king,  both  of 
the  Scots  and  the  Picts.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose,  as  is  asserted  by  some  of  the  Scottish 
chroniclei-s  who  wrote  in  a  comparatively  recent 
age,  that  the  Pictish  people  were  upon  this  event 
either  destroyed  or  driven  from  their  country; 
it  is  probable  enough  that  the  chiefs  of  the  fac- 
tion that  had  resisted  the  claim  of  Kenneth,  and 
also  perha]is  many  of  their  followers,  may  have 
fled  from  the  vengeance  of  the  conqueror,  and 
taken  refuge  in  the  Orkney  Islands  and  elsewhere; 
but  the  great  body  of  the  inhabitants,  no  doubt, 
remained  the  subjects  of  the  new  Idng.  It  ap- 
pears that  Kenneth  and  his  immediate  successors 
styled  themselves,  not  Kings  of  Scotland  and  of 
Pictavia  or  Pictland,  but  Kings  of  the  Scots  and 
the  Picts ;  and  the  Picts  are  spoken  of  as  a  dis- 
tinct people  for  a  century  after  they  thus  ceased 
to  form  an  independent  state.' 


*  The  account  here  given  is  that  which  is  now  generally  re- 
ceived ;  but  it  13  pi-oper  to  notice  that  the  whole  story  of  the 
conquest  of  the  Picts  by  Kenneth,  and  also  Kenneth's  extraction 
from  the  old  royal  line  of  the  Irish  Scots,  have  been  called  in 


A.D.  300~10CG.] 


SAXON  TERIOD. 


IK} 


Meanwhile  the  kingdom  of  StratLelyJe,  tlie 
capital  of  which  was  Alcliiyd,  the  modern  Dum- 
barton, still  subsisted,  and  witldield  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  present  Scotland  from  the  sway  of  tlie 
Dalriadian  prince.  There  is  some  appearance  of 
Kenneth  Mac  Alpin  having  attempted  to  possess 
himself  of  that  additional  throne  by  the  same 
combination  of  policy  and  force  by  which  he  had 
acquired  the  dominion  of  the  Picts.  After  long 
fighting,  he  concluded  a  peace  with  Cu  or  Caw, 
the  King  of  Strathclyde,  and  gave  him  his  daugh- 
ter in  man-iage.  No  opportunity,  however,  was 
found  of  tm-uing  this  arrangement  to  aocoimt  in 
the  manner  which  its  projector  probably  contem- 
plated; and  the  kingdom  of  Strathclyde,  though 
distressed  and  weakened,  both  by  tlie  joressure  of 
its  powerful  neighbom-,  and  the  frequent  preda- 
tory and  devastating  attacks  of  the  Danes  from 
beyond  seas,  continued  to  maintain  a  nominal  in- 
dependence till  the  native  governnjent  was  finally 
subverted,  and  the  countiy  incorporated  with  the 
rest  of  the  Scottish  dominions,  by  the  defeat  of 
its  last  king,  Dunwallon,  by  Kenneth  III.,  the 
King  of  the  Scots  (the  great-great-gi-andson  of 
Kenneth  Mae  Alpin),  at  the  battle  of  Vacornar, 
in  A.D.  973.  Even  before  this  event,  however. 
North  Britain  had  begun  to  be  known,  after  its 
Irish  conquerors,  by  the  name  of  Scotland.  It 
is  so  called  for  the  first  time  in  the  Saxon  Chro- 
nicle  under  the  year  934. 

Meanwhile,  the  united  Scottish  kingdom, 
founded  by  Kenneth  Mac  Aljiin,  continued  to 
consolidate  and  strengthen  itself  under  the  sway 
of  his  descendants.  Kenneth  himself,  in  the  re- 
maining pai't  of  his  reign,  had  to  make  good  his 
position  by  his  sword,  sometimes  in  defensive, 
sometimes  in  aggressive  contests,  both  with  the 
Danes,  the  Saxons,  and  his  neiglibom-s  of  Strath- 
clyde; but  lie  died  at  last  in  bed,  at  his  capital  of 
Forteviot,  a.d.  859.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother,  Donald  III.,  who  reigned  till  a.d.  8G3. 
Constantine  II.,  the  son  of  Kenneth,  followed, 
and,  during  a  reign  of  eighteen  years,  was  engaged 
in  almost  uninterrupted  warfare  with  the  Danes, 
who  harassed  him  both  from  Ireland  and  from 
the  Continent,  and  penetrated  into  the  heart  of 
the  kingdom  by  all  its  maritime  inlets.  It  is 
asserted  by  the  old  historians,  that  these  invaders 
were  first  called  in  by  the  fugitive  or  subjugated 
Plots,  a  fact  which  may  be  taken  as  some  confir- 
mation of  the  common  Northern  origin  of  both. 

question  and  denied  by  Pinkerfcon,  in  hia  Inquiry  into  the  History 
of  Scotland  preceding  the  Rtif/n  of  Malcolm  III.,  a  work  of  mucli 
learning  and  acnteness,  and  also  of  great  value  for  the  quantity 
of  materials  collected  in  it  from  previously  unexplored  sources, 
but  disfigured  by  many  precipitate  assertions,  and  a  pervading 
spirit  of  prejudice  and  pai-adox.  In  our  abstract  we  have  prin- 
cipally adhered  to  the  dates  and  order  of  events  as  settled  by  the 
latest  invc>atigator  of  this  part  of  our  national  iiistory,  Chalmers, 
in  his  CaUlonia,  vol.  i.  pp.  374-42S. 


The  enemy,  therefore,  witli  whom  Constantine 
had  to  contend,  had  friends  and  siip]iorters  in 
the  heart  of  his  dominions  ;  and  while  he  endea- 
voured to  repel  the  foreigners  with  one  hand,  he 
must  have  had  to  keep  down  hia  own  subjects 
with  the  other.  Nor  were  the  Picts  altogether 
defrauded  of  their  i-evenge  on  the  son  of  their 
conqueror.  They  and  their  allies  the  Danes  ap- 
pear to  have  wrested  from  the  Scottish  king  not 
only  the  Orkney  and  Western  Islands,  but  also 
the  extensive  districts  of  Caithness,  Sutherland, 
and  part  of  Eoss-shire,  on  the  continent  of  Scot- 
land ;  and  these  acquisitions  continued  to  be  go- 
verned for  many  ages  by  Norwegian  princes 
entirely  independent  of  the  Scottish  crown.  The 
traditionary  account,  repeated  by  the  later  histo- 
rians, of  the  termination  of  Coiistiintine's  disas- 
trous reign  is,  that  he  was  killed  in  a  battle  with 
tlie  Danes,  or  put  to  death  by  them  immediately 
after  the  battle,  near  Crail,  in  Fife.  A  cave  in 
which  he  was  massacred  is  still  shown,  and  called 
the  Devil's  Cave.  The  older  writei-s,  however, 
place  his  death  in  a.d.  882,  a  year  after  the  great 
battle  in  Fife. 

Constantine's  immediate  successor  was  his 
brother  Hugh;  but  he  was  dethroned  the  same 
year  by  Grig,  the  chieftain  of  the  district  now 
forming  the  shires  of  Aberdeen  and  Banff,  who, 
associating  with  himself  on  the  throne  Eocha  or 
Eth,  son  of  the  King  of  Strathclyde,  by  a  daugh- 
ter of  Kenneth  Mac  Alpin,  is  said  to  have  reigned 
for  about  twelve  years,  with  a  more  extensive 
authority  than  had  been  enjoyed  by  any  of  his 
predecessors.  The  monkish  chroniclers,  indeed, 
who  designate  him  by  the  pompous  title  of 
Gregory  the  Great,  absiu'dly  make  him  not  only 
to  have  held  his  own  with  a  strong  hand,  but  to 
have  actually  reduced  to  sid)jectiun  all  the  neigh- 
bouring states,  including  both  the  English  and 
the  Irish.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  favourer 
of  the  church,  upon  which  he  proI>ably  leaned  for 
support  in  the  deficiency  of  his  hereditary  title. 
However,  he  and  his  partner  in  the  sovereignty 
were  at  length  dethroned  by  a  popular  insurrec- 
tion, A.D.  893  ;  on  which  their  jjlace  was  supjilied 
by  Donald  IV.,  the  son  of  Constantine  II.  A 
succession  of  combats  with  the  Danes,  again — one 
of  the  most  memorable  of  which  was  fought  at 
Collin,  near  Scone,  for  the  possession  of  the  fa- 
mous Stone  of  Destiny,  which  Kenneth  Mac 
Alpin  had  transferred  thither  from  the  original 
British  nestling-place  of  liis  antique  race  in  Ar- 
gyleshire — form  almost  the  only  recorded  events 
of  his  reign.  The  Northern  invaders  were  beaten 
at  Collin;  but  a  few  years  after,  in  904,  Donald 
fell  in  fight  near  Forteviot,  against  another  band 
of  them  from  Ireland.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Constantine  III.,  the  son  of  his  uncle  Hugh.  This 
was  the  Scottish  king  who,  as  related  in  a  pre- 


ut 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Scotland  and  Ireland. 


ceding  page,  made  au  iuroad,  in  937,  into  the 
dominions  of  the  Saxon  Athelstane,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Clave  or  Anlaf,  tlie  Danish  chief  of 
Nortliumbei'land,  when  then-  united  forces  were 
routed  in  the  bloody  day  of  Briinnaburgh,  and 
Constantiue  with  ditiiculty  escaped  from  the 
slaughter,  in  which  his  eldest  son  fell.  A  few 
years  after  this  humiliating  defeat,  in  a.d.  944, 
he  exchanged  his  crown  for  a  cowl,  and  he  passed 
the  last  eight  or  nine  yeai's  of  his  life  as  abbot 
of  the  Culdees  of  St.  Andrews.  Meanwhile  the 
throne  was  ascended  by  Malcolm  I.,  son  of 
Donald  IV.  The  most  important  event  of  this 
reign  was  the  cession,  by  the  Saxon  king,  Ed- 
mund, of  the  district  of  Cumln-ia,  which  he  had 
recently  conquered  from  its  last  king,  Dunmail, 
to  Malcolm,  to  be  held  by  him  on  condition  of 
his  arming  when  called  upon,  in  the  defence  either 
of  that  or  of  any  other  part  of  the  English  terri- 
toiy.  Cumberland  remained  an  appanage  of  the 
Scottish  crown  from  this  time  till  1072,  when  it 
was  recovered  by  William  the  Conqueror. 

Malcolm  I.  came  to  a  violent  death  at  the  hands 
of  some  of  his  own  subjects  in  953,  and  left  his 
sceptre  to  Indulf,  the  son  of  his  predecessor,  Con- 
stantine  III.  The  reign  of  Indulf  was  gi-ievously 
troubled  by  repeated  attacks  of  the  Northmen; 
and  he  at  last  lost  his  life  in  -ndiat  the  old  writers 
call  the  battle  of  the  Bauds,  fought  in  9G1,  near 
the  Bay  of  CuUen,  in  Banfl'shu-e,  where  several 
baiTows  on  a  moor  still  preserve  the  memoiy  of 
the  defeat  of  the  foreigners.  Duti',  the  sou  of  Mal- 
colm I.,  now  became  king,  according  to  what 
appears  to  have  been  the  legal  order  of  succession 
at  this  time,  when  each  king  for  many  genera- 
tions was  almost  uniformly  succeeded,  not  by  his 
own  son,  but  by  the  son  of  his  predecessor.  But 
the  effects  of  the  natural  disposition  of  the  sove- 
reign in  possession  to  retain  the  succession  ex- 
clusively in  his  own  line,  now  began  to  show 
themselves;  and  the  right  of  Duff  was  disputed 
from  the  first  by  Indulf 's  son,  Culen,  whose  par- 
tizans,  although  defeated  in  the  fab-  fight  of  Dun- 
crub,  in  Perthshire,  are  asserted  to  have  after- 
wards opened  the  way  to  the  throne  for  their 
leader  by  the  assassination  of  his  rival.  This 
event  took  place  at  Forres,  in  965.  But  Culen 
did  not  long  retain  his  guiltily  acquired  power. 
Disregarding  all  the  duties  of  his  jolace,  he  aban- 
doned himself  to  riot  and  licentiousness,  and 
soon  followed  up  the  murder  of  Duff  by  an  act 
of  atrocious  violence,  committed  on  another  near 
relation,  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Strathclyde. 
The  nation  of  the  injured  lady  took  arms  against 
her  violator;  and  Culen  fell  in  a  battle  fought 
with  them  at  a  place  situated  to  the  south  of  the 
Forth,  in  A.D.  970. 

The   crown    now   fell   to   Kenneth  HI.,  an- 
other son  of  Malcolm  I.,  and  the  brother  of  Dufi'. 


The  reign  of  Kenneth  III.  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant in  the  early  historj'  of  Scotland.  He  was 
a  prince  of  remarkable  abilitj',  and  of  a  daring 
and  unscrupulous  character;  he  occupied  the 
throne  for  a  suliicient  length  of  time  to  enable 
him  to  lay  a  deep  foundation  for  his  schemes  of 
policy,  if  not  to  carry  them  into  complete  effect; 
and  he  came  at  a  crisis  when  the  old  order  of 
things  was  naturally  breaking  up,  and  the  most 
i'avom'able  opportunity  was  oflered  to  a  bold  and 
enterprising  genius  like  his  of  establishing,  or  at 
least  originating  a  new  system.  It  was  one  of 
those  conjunctions  of  circumstances,  and  of  an  in- 
dividual mind  fitted  to  take  advantage  of  them, 
by  which  most  of  the  great  movements  in  national 
affairs  have  been  produced.  His  first  effort  was 
to  follow  out  the  war  with  the  declining  state  of 
Strathclyde,  until  he  wound  it  up,  as  has  been 
intimated  above,  with  the  complete  subjugation 
of  that  rival  kingdom,  and  its  incorporation  with 
his  hereditary  dominions.  With  the  exception, 
therefore,  of  the  nominal  independence,  but  real 
vassalage  in  everything  except  in  name,  of  the 
Welsh,  the  whole  of  Britain  was  now  divided 
into  the  two  sovereignties  of  England  and  Scot- 
land. The  Saxon  power  of  Wessex  had  swal- 
lowed up  and  absorbed  everything  else  in  the 
south,  and  in  the  north  every  other  royalty  had 
in  like  manner  fallen  before  that  of  the  Celtic 
princes  of  Dalriada.  Peace  and  intimate  alliance, 
also,  had  now  taken  place  of  the  old  enmity  be- 
tween the  two  monarchies;  and  an  opening  must 
have  been  made  for  the  passage  to  Scotland  of 
some  rays  from  the  supei'ior  civilization  of  her 
neighbour,  which  would  naturally  be  favom-able 
to  imitation  in  the  arrangements  of  the  govern- 
ment, as  well  as  in  other  matters.  It  was  in  this 
position  of  aflairs  that  Kenneth  proceeded  to  take 
measures  for  getting  rid  of  what  we  have  seen 
was  the  most  remarkable  peculiarity  of  the  Scot- 
tish regal  constitution,  the  pai'ticipation  of  two 
distinct  lines  in  the  right  of  succession  to  the 
tlu'one,  a  rule  or  custom  to  which,  notwithstand- 
ing some  advantages,  there  would  seem  to  exist 
an  all-suflicient  objection  in  its  very  tendency  to 
excite  to  such  attempts  as  that  which  Kenneth 
now  made.  Kenneth's  mode  of  proceeding  was 
characteristically  energetic  and  direct.  To  put 
an  end,  in  the  most  effectual  manner,  to  the  pre- 
teusions  of  Malcolm,  the  son  of  his  brother  Dufl', 
he  had  that  prince  put  to  death,  although  he  had 
been  already  recognized  as  Tanist,  or  next  heir 
to  the  throne,  and  had  a-s  such  been  invested,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  with  the  lordship  of  Cumber- 
land. We  shall  see,  however,  that  this  deed  of 
blood  was,  after  all,  perpetrated  to  no  purjjose. 
Another  of  Kenneth's  acts  of  severity,  and  per- 
haps also  of  cruelty  and  vengeance,  recoiled  ujion 
iilm  to  his  own  destruction.    After  the  suiipression 


A.D.  300— lOGC] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


14,1 


of  a  comiuotioii  in  the  Meams,  he  liad  thoiif,'ht 
it  necessaiy  to  signalize  the  triumph  of  tlie  myal 
authority  by  taking  the  life  of  the  only  son  of  the 
chief  of  the  district,  either  because  the  j'ouug 
man  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  A'anquished 
faction,  or  perhaps  because  his  father  had  not 
shown  sufficient  energy  in  meeting  and  putting 
down  their  desigiis.  By  some  means  or  other, 
however,  Kenneth  was  some  time  after  induced 
to  trust  himself  in  the  hands  of  Fenella,  the  mo- 
ther of  his  victim,  by  visiting  her  in  her  castle, 
near  Fettercairn.  Here  he  was  murdered,  either 
by  her  orders,  or  not  im]irobably  by  her  own 
hands,  for  it  is  related  that  she  fled  the  instant 
the  deed  was  done,  although  she  was  soon  taken, 
and  suffered  the  same  bloody  death  she  had 
avenged  and  inflicted.  The  reign  of  Kenneth 
was  thus  terminated,  a.d.  944. 

The  throne  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Ken- 
neth appeal's  to  liave  been  contested  fi'om  the 
fii'st  by  three  competitors.  Of  these  a  son  of 
Culen,  under  the  name  of  Constantine  IV.,  is  re- 
garded as  having  been  first  crowned;  but,  within 
a  year,  he  fell  fighting  against  one  of  his  rivals, 
a  son  of  King  Duff,  and  younger  brother  of  the 
murdered  Prince  Malcolm,  who  immediately 
assumed  the  sovereignty,  as  Kenneth  IV.  The 
Scottish  chroniclers  call  him  Kenneth  the  Urim. 
There  was  still,  however,  another  claimant  to  the 
succession  of  Kenneth  III. ;  this  was  Malcolm,  the 
son  of  that  king,  whom  his  father  had  designed 
to  be  his  heir,  and  invested  as  such  -with  the 
lirincipality  of  Cumberland,  after  the  violent 
removal  of  his  cousin,  the  other  Malcolm.  The 
two  competitors  met  at  last,  in  a.d.  1003,  at 
Monivaird,  when  a  battle  took  place,  in  which 
Kenneth  the  Grim  lost  both  the  day  and  his 
life. 

The  vigorous  line  of  Kenneth  III.  was  now 
again  seated  on  the  thi'one,  in  the  jierson  of 
Malcolm  II.  The  earlier  part  of  Malcolm's 
reign  appears  to  have  been  consumed  in  a  long 
succession  of  fierce  contests  with  the  Danes,  in 
the  coui-se  of  which  these  persevering  invaders 
are  said  to  have  been  defeated  in  the  several 
battles  of  Mortlach  in  Moray,  in  the  pai-ish  chmx-h 
of  which  place  the  skulls  of  the  slaughtered  fo- 
reigners were,  not  many  years  ago,  to  be  seen 
built  into  the  wall;  of  Aberlemno,  where  bar- 
rows and  sculptured  stones  are  held  still  to  pre- 
serve the  memory  and  to  point  out  the  scene  of 
the  conflict;  of  Panbride,  where  the  Danish  com- 
mander, Camus,  was  slain;  and  of  Cruden,  near 
Forres,  where  a  remarkable  obelisk,  covered  with 
engraved  figures,  is  supposed,  but  probably  erro- 
neously, to  have  been  erected  in  commemoration 
of  the  Scottish  victory.  It  was  in  1020  also,  in 
the  reign  of  this  king,  that  a  formal  cession  was 
obtained  from  Eailulf,  the  Danish  Earl  of  Korth- 

VOL.  I. 


umberland,  of  the  portion  of  modern  Scotland 
south  of  the  Forth,  then  called  Lodonia,  the  ]ios- 
aession  of  which  had  for  a  long  period  been  dis- 
puted between  the  Scots  and  the  Saxons,  although 
in  the  meantime  such  numbers  of  the  latter  had 
settled  in  it,  that  its  population  a])pears  already 
to  have  become  in  the  greater  part  Saxon,  and 
the  country  itself  was  often  called  Saxonia  or 
Saxony.  Malcolm  II.,  the  ability  of  whose  ad- 
ministration was  long  held  in  respectful  remem- 
brance, died  in  1033. 

This  king,  unfortunately  for  (he  peaceful  suc- 
cess of  his  father's  scheme  of  changing  the  old 
rule  of  succession,  left  no  son;  but,  imitating  his 
father's  remorseless  policy,  he  had  done  his  ut- 
most to  make  a  similarity  even  in  that  rispect 
between  himself  aud  the  rival  branch  of  the  royal 
stock,  liy  having,  a  short  time  before  his  decease, 
had  the  only  existing  male  descendant  of  Ken- 
neth the  Grim,  a  son  of  his  son  Boidhe,  put  in 
the  most  effectual  manner  out  of  the  way.  In 
the£;e  cii'cumstances  no  opposition  apj^ears  to 
have  been  made  in  the  first  instance  to  the  acces- 
sion of  Duncan,  the  grandson  of  Malcolm  II.,  by 
his  daughter  Bethoc  or  Beatrice,  who  was  mar- 
ried to  Orinan,  abbot  of  Dunkeld,  in  those  days 
a  personage  of  gi-eat  eminence  in  the  state. 
Boidhe,  however,  besides  the  son  who  was  mur- 
dered, had  left  a  daughter,  Gruoch;  and  this  lady 
had  other  wrongs  to  avenge  besides  those  of  the 
line  from  which  she  was  sprung.  Her  first  hus- 
band, Gilcomcain,  mai-mor  or  chief  of  Moray, 
having  been  defeated  in  an  attem2)t  to  support 
the  cause  of  his  wife's  family  by  arms  against 
King  Malcolm,  had  been  burned  in  his  castle, 
along  with  fifty  of  his  friends,  when  she  herself 
had  to  flee  for  her  life,  with  her  infant  son  Lu- 
lach.  She  sought  shelter  in  the  remoter  di.strict 
of  Boss,  of  which  the  famous  Jlacbeth  aii]ieai-s  to 
have  then  been  the  hereditary  lord,  maintaining 
probably  within  his  bounds  an  all  but  nominal 
independence  of  the  royal  authority.  This  part 
of  Scotland,  it  may  be  remembered,  had  been 
torn,  scarcely  a  century  before,  from  Constan- 
tine II.  by  the  Danes,  and  Macbeth  liimself  may 
possibly  have  been  of  Danish  lineage.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  to  him  the  Lady  Gruoch  now  gave  her 
hand.  She  is  the  Lady  Macbeth  made  familiar 
to  us  all  by  the  wonderful  di-ama  of  Shakspeare. 
It  would  appear  that,  for  some  time  after  the  ac- 
cession of  Duncan,  Macbeth  and  his  wife  had 
feigned  an  acquiescence  in  his  title,  and  had  ]iro- 
bably  even  won  the  confidence  of  the  good  and 
unsuspecting  king  (the  pure-breathed  Duncan, 
as  he  is  designated  in  Celtic  song)  by  their  ser- 
vices or  professions.  The  end  of  their  plot,  how- 
ever, was,  that  Duncan  was  barljarously  assas- 
sinated in  1030,  not,  as  Shakspeare  has  it,  in  Mac- 
beth'a  castle  at  Inverness,  but  at  a  place  called 
18 


UG 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Scotland  and  Ireland. 


Dolligoiiaiuin,  uear  Elgin.'  Macbeth  immediately 
mountej  the  throne,  ami  the  accounts  of  the  old- 
est chroniclers  give  reason  to  believe  that  he  filled 
it  both  ably  and  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  the 
paople.  The  partizans  of  the  race  of  Kenneth 
III.,  however,  re.si.sted  the  new  king  from  the 
first;  for  Duncan  had  left  two  sons,  the  elder  of 
whom,  Malcolm,  fled  on  his  father's  as-jassination 
to  Cumberland,  and  the  younger,  Donald,  to  the 
Western  Isles.  One  revolt  in  favour  of  ]\Ial- 
colm's  restoration  was  headed  by  his  grandfather, 
the  abbot  of  Dunkeld;  but  this  and  several  other 
similar  attempts  failed.  At  length,  in  1054, 
Macduff,  mai'mor  or  chief  (improperly  called  by 
later  -wi'iters  thane)  of  Fife,  his  patriotism  in- 
flamed, it  is  said,  by  some  personal  injuries, 
called  to  arms  his  numerous  retainers;  and  Si- 
ward,  the  Danish  Earl  of  Northumberland,  whose 
sister  Duncan  had  married,  having  joined  him  at 
the  head  of  a  formidable  force,  the  two  advanced 
together  upon  Macbeth.  Their  fii-st  encounter 
appears  to  have  taken  place,  as  tradition  and 
Shakspeare  agree  in  rejiresenting,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Dunsiunaue  Hill,  in  Angus,  on  the 
summit  of  which  Macbeth  probalily  had  a  strong- 
hold.^ Defeated  here,  the  usurper  retreated  to 
the  fastnesses  of  the  north,  where  he  appears  to 
have  protracted  the  war  for  about  two  years 
longer.  His  last  place  of  refuge  is  supposed  to 
have  been  a  fortress  in  a  solitary  valley  in  the 
parish  of  Lunfanan,  in  Aberdeenshire.  In  this 
neighbourhood  he  was  attacked  by  the  forces  un- 
der the  command  of  Macduff  and  Malcolm,  on  the 
5th  of  December,  105G,  and  fell  in  the  fight,  struck 
down,  it  is  said,  by  the  hand  of  Macduff.  His 
followers,  however,  did  not  even  yet  everywhere 
throw  down  their  arms.  They  immediately  set 
up  as  king,  Lulach,  the  son  of  Lady  ]\Iacbeth, 
who  indeed,  as  descended  from  Duff,  the  elder 
son  of  Malcolm  I.,  in  the  same  degi-ee  in  which 
liis  rival  was  descended  from  Malcolm's  younger 
son,  Kenneth  III.,  might  be  affirmed  to  have  had 
the  better  right  to  the  thi-one  of  the  two.  Lulach, 
however,  a  fugitive  all  the  while  that  he  was  a 
king,  did  not  long  bear  the  empty  title  that  thus 
mocked  his  fortunes.  His  forces  and  those  of 
Malcolm  met  on  the  3d  of  April,  1057,  at  Eassie, 
in  Angus;  and  that  day  ended  his  life,  and  also 
broke  for  ever  the  power  of  his  faction.  In  a 
few  days  after  this  (on  the  25th  of  April,  the 
festival  of  St.  Mark)  ]\Ialcolm  HI.  was  crowned 

*  "  The  word  Bothgouanan  means  in  Gaelic,  the  Smith's  Dwell- 
ing. It  is  probable  that  the  assassins  lay  in  ambush,  and  mur- 
dered him  at  a  smith's  house  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Elgin." — 
Hailes'  Annals,  i.  1  (eilit.  of  1819). 

'  The  foundations  of  an  ancient  stone  building  are  still  to  be 
found  buried  in  the  soil  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  Dunsijmane  is 
about  eight  miles  north-east  from  Perth  ;  the  hill  is  of  vei7  re- 
gular shape,  and  although  more  than  1000  ft.  above  the  level  of 
tlie  sea,  it  has  been  supposed  to  be  in  great  part  artificial. — See 
Ch.almei^'  Culedonia,  vol.  i. 


at  Scone.     But  the  history  of  his  reign  belongs 
to  the  next  period. 

It  will  be  convenient,  also,  before  we  close  the 
present  chapter,  to  turn  for  a  few  moments  to 
the  couree  of  events  in  Ireland,  which,  altliough 
not  politically  connected  with  England  in  the 
period  under  review,  had  already  acquired  a  re- 
markable celebrity,  and  begun  to  maintain  a  con- 
siderable intercourse  both  with  Britain  and  with 
continental  Europe.  We  find  the  country  at  the 
commencement  of  our  era  subjected  to  the  rule 
of  the  Scots,  a  foreign  people,  who  had  wrested 
the  supreme  dominion  of  it  from  the  Tuath  de 
Danans,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  latter  had 
displaced  their  predecessors  the  Firbolgs.  The 
fables  of  the  bards  make  mention  of  three  still 
earlier  i-aces  by  whom  the  island  was  successively 
colonized.  But  all  that  can  be  gathered  from 
the  chaos  of  wild  inventions  which  forms  this 
first  pai-t  of  the  Irish  story  is,  that  probably  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Fii-bolgs  the  country  had 
been  peopled  by  that  Celtic  race  to  which  the 
great  body  of  its  population  still  contmues  to  be- 
long. These  primitive  Celtic  colonists,  whose 
blood,  whose  speech,  whose  manners  and  customs 
remain — in  spite  of  all  subsequent  foreign  infu- 
sions— dominant  throughout  the  island  to  this 
day,  would  seem  to  be  the  Partholans  of  the  le- 
gendary account.  The  Fomorians,  again,  who 
came  from  Africa,  were  perhaps  the  Phcenicians 
or  Carthaginians.  The  Nemedians,  the  Tuath 
de  D;uians,  the  Fii'bolgs,  and  the  Scots  or  Mile- 
sians, are  afiii'med  to  have  all  been  of  the  same 
race,  which  was  different  from  that  of  the  Par- 
tholans ;  a  statement  which  is  most  easily  ex- 
plained by  supposing  that  all  these  subsequent 
bodies  of  colonists  or  invaders  were  of  the  Gothic 
or  Teutonic  stock,  and  came,  as  indeed  the  bardic 
narrative  makes  them  to  have  done,  from  the 
north  of  continental  Europe.  It  seems,  at  all 
events,  to  be  most  probable  that  the  Scots  were 
a  Gothic  people;  Scyths,  Scoti,  Gothi,  Getie,  in- 
deed, appear  to  be  only  different  forms  of  the 
same  word.'  The  Scots  are  supposed,  by  the 
ablest  inquirers,  not  to  have  made  their  appear- 
i  ance  in  Ireland  very  long  before  the  commence- 
ment of  our  era,  if  their  colonization  be  not,  in- 
deed, a  still  more  recent  event;  for  we  believe 
no  trace  of  their  occupation  is  to  be  discovered 
before  the  second  or  third  century.  From  the 
fourth  century  dowai  to  the  eleventh,  that  is,  dui-- 
ing  the  whole  of  the  period  with  which  we  are 
at  present  engaged,  Ireland  was  known  by  the 
name  of  Scotia  or  Scotland,  and  the  Irish  gene- 
rally by  that  of  the  Scoti  or  Scots;  nor  till  the 
close  of  the  tenth  century  were  these  names  ever 

3  See  this  matter  very  ably  treated  in  Piidierton's  Dissertation 
on  the  Origin  and  Progress  o/  tlu  Scijthians  or  Goths,  part  1. 
ch.ap.  1. 


A.o.  300— lOGG.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


1  \: 


otherwise  aiiplieiL'  If  the  Scots  of  North  Britain 
were  spoken  of,  they  were  so  designated  as  being 
considereil  to  be  a  colony  of  Irisli. 

The  bardic  account,  however,  carries  back  the 
arrival  of  the  Scotic  colony,  undei  the  conduct 
of  Ileber  and  Heremon,  the  sons  of  Blilesius,  to 
a  much  more  ancient  date;  and  the  modern  in- 
quirers who  have  endeavoured  to  settle  the  chro- 
nology of  that  version  of  the  story,  have  assigned 
the  event,  in  the  most  moderate  of  their  calcula- 
tions, to  the  fifth  or  sixth  ceutm-y  before  the 
birth  of  Christ.  Others  place  it  nearly  1000 
years  earlier.  It  is  related  that  the  two  bro- 
thers at  first  divided  the  island  between  them, 
Heber,  the  elder,  taking  to  himself  Leinster  and 
Munster,  and  Heremon  getting  Ulster  and  Con- 
naught;  but,  in  imitation  of  Romulus  and  Remus 
(if  we  ought  not  rather  to  suppose  the  Irish  to 
have  been  the  prototype  of  the  classic  incident), 
they  afterwards  quarrelled,  and,  Heber  having 
been  slain,  Heremon  became  sole  sovereign. 
From  him  is  deduced  a  reguku-  succession  of  mo- 
narchs  of  all  Ireland  down  to  Kimbaoth,  who  is 
reckoned  the  fifty -seventh  in  the  list,  ami  is  said 
to  have  reigned  about  200  j'ears  before  our  era. 
Besides  the  supreme  monarch,  it  is  admitted  that 
there  were  always  four  subordinate  kings,  reign- 
ing each  over  his  province;  and  the  history  is 
made  up  in  great  part  of  the  wars  of  these  reguli, 
not  only  with  one  another,  but  frequently  also 
with  then'  common  sovereign  lord.  Tacitus  re- 
lates that  one  of  the  reguli  of  Ireland,  who  had 
been  di'iven  from  his  country  by  some  dome.stie 
revolution,  came  over  to  Britain,  to  Agricola,  who 
kept  him  with  him  under  the  semblance  of  fi'iend- 
ship,  in  the  hope  of  some  time  or  otiier  having  an 
op]iortunity  of  making  use  of  him.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  Agricola  that  Ireland  might  have  been 
conquered  and  kept  in  subjection  by  a  single 
legion  and  a  few  auxiliaries.  Tacitus  observes, 
however,  that  its  ports  and  harbours  were  better 
known  than  those  of  Britain,  through  the  mer- 
chants that  resorted  to  them,  and  the  extent  of 
their  foreign  commerce.''^ 

We  need  not  fm-ther  pursue  the  obscure,  and 
in  great  part  fabulous  annals  of  the  country  be- 
fore the  introduction  of  Christianity.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  some  knowledge  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion had  penetrated  to  Ireland  before  the  mission 
of  St.  Patrick;  but  it  was  by  the  labours  of  that 
celebrated  personage  that  the  general  convereion 
of  the  people  was  eflected,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  fifth  century.  The  first  Christian  King  of 
Ireland  was  Leogaire  or  Laogaire  Mac  Neil, 
whose  reign  is  stated  to  have  extended  from  a.d. 
428  to  A.D.  4()3.     The  twenty-ninth  king,  count- 


1  See  this  completely  eaUtblislied,  and  aU  the  authoritiea  col- 
lected, in  Pinkerton's  Iitiiuirt/,  part  v.  ch.  iv. 
^  Tacit.   Vtt.  Agrlc.  xxiv. 


ing  from  him,  was  Donahl  IIT.,\vIio  reigned  from 
A.L>.  743  to  A.n.  7()3.  It  was  in  his  time  (a.d. 
748)  that  the  Danes  or  Northmen  made  tlicir  first 
descent  upon  Ireland.  In  815,  in  the  reign  of 
Aodhus  v.,  these  invaders  obtained  a  fixed  settle- 
ment in  Armagh;  and  thirty  years  afterwards, 
their  leader,  Turgesius  or  Tnrges,  a  Norwegian, 
was  proclaimed  King  of  all  Ireland.  At  length, 
a  general  massacre  of  the  foreignei-s  led  to  the 
restoration  of  the  line  of  the  native  ])rinces.  But 
new  banils  spectlily  ai'rived  from  the  north,  to 
avenge  their  countiymen;  and  in  a  few  years  all 
the  chief  jiorts  and  towns  throughout  the  south 
and  along  tlie  east  coast  were  again  in  their 
liand.s.  The  struggle  between  the  two  races  for 
the  dominion  of  the  country  continued,  with  little 
intermission  and  with  various  fortune,  for  more 
than  a  century  and  a  half,  although  the  Danes, 
too,  had  embraced  Christianity  about  the  year 
948.  Tlie  closing  period  of  the  long  contest  is 
illustrated  by  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  renowned 
Brien  Boroilime  or  Boru,  the  "  Brien  the  Brave" 
of  song,  who  was  first  King  of  Munster,  and 
afterwards  King  of  all  Ireland.  He  occu]>ied 
the  national  throne  from  lt)03  to  1014,  in  which 
latter  year  he  fell,  sword  in  hand,  at  tlie  age  of 
eighty-eight,  in  the  great  battle  of  Clontarf,  in 
which,  however,  the  Danish  power  i-eceived  a  dis- 
comfitm-e  from  which  it  never  recovered.  Brien, 
however,  though  his  merits  and  talents  had  raised 
him  to  the  supreme  power,  not  being  of  the  an- 
cient roj'al  house,  is  looked  upon  as  little  better 
than  an  usurper  by  the  Irish  historians;  and  the 
true  king  of  this  date  is  reckoned  to  have  been 
Maelsechlan  Mac  Domhnaill,  more  manageably 
wTitten  Melachlan  or  Malachi,  whom  Brien  de- 
posed. Malachi,  too,  was  a  great  warrior;  the 
same  patriotic  poet  who,  in  our  own  day  and  in 
our  Saxon  tongue,  has  celebrated  "  the  glories  of 
Brien  the  Brave,"  has  also  sung — 

"  Let  Erin  remember  the  d.ays  of  old, 
Ere  her  faithless  sons  betrayed  her  ; 
When  Malachi  wore  the  collar  of  gold 
Which  ho  won  from  her  proud  invader  ;" 

and  on  the  death  of  Brien,  Malachi  was  restored 
to  the  throne,  which  he  occupied  till  1022.  He 
is  reckoned  the  forty-second  Christian  King  of 
Ii-eland.'  The  interruption  of  the  regulai-  suc- 
cession, however,  by  the  elevation  of  Brien,  now 
brought  upon  the  country  the  new  calamity  of  a 
contest  among  several  competitors  for  tho  throne; 
and  the  death  of  Malachi  was  followed  by  a  sea- 
son of  gi'eat  confusion  and  national  misery.  The 
game  was  eventually  reduced  to  a  trial  of  strength 
between  Donchad,  the  son  of  Brien,  and  Don- 
chad's  nephew,  Turlogh;  and  in  10G4  Turlogh 


3  In  these  dates  we  have  followed  tho  aulliority  of  tho  Catalo- 
inui  Chmnolopicus  Rnjum  Christ ianoi-um  llibtrnia,  in  O'Connor'B 
Vierum  JliOmiicarmi  Scriplom  I'tlera,  vol.  i.  pp.  liiv.  4c. 


148 


niSTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[TtELlGION. 


siicceeilej  in  overpowering  liis  uncle,  who,  bid- 
ding fai'ewell  to  arras  and  to  ambition,  retired 
across  the  sea,  and  ended  liis  days  as  a  monk  at 
Eome.     Turlogh,  reckoned  an  usLiri)er  by  tlie  na- 


tive annalists,  but  acknowledged  to  have  ruled 
the  country  ably  and  well,  occupied  the  Irish 
throne  <at  the  epoch  of  the  Norman  conquest  i>f 
England. 


CHAPTER  VI.— HISTORY  OF  RELIGION. 


A.D.  419— IOCS. 


Religion  of  the  Saxon  invaders  of  England— Its  deities — Its  doctrines  of  a  future  state— Its  sanguinary  rites— 
State  of  Cliristiauity  in  North  and  South  Britain  at  tlie  Saxon  invasion — Missionaries  sent  to  England  by 
Gregory  the  Great — ^Progreas  of  the  missionaries  among  tlie  kingdoms  of  tlio  Heptarcliy — Conversion  of  Nortli- 
uinbria — Controversies  about  the  frrrn  of  tlio  tonsure  and  perioil  for  the  celebration  of  Easter — Corruptions 
among  the  clergy  tbrougli  wealthy  donations — Multiplication  of  nmnasteries  and  nunneries — Havoc  wrought 
among  them  by  the  Danish  invaders— Life  of  St.  Dunstan — His  miracles  and  adventures— He  becomes  Pri- 
mate of  England — His  strange  expedients  to  reform  tlie  church — Its  condition  after  his  death  till  the  Nor- 
man comiuesc. 


HEN  Hengist  and  Horsa,  and 
their  followers  an-ived  in  Bri- 
tain,they  certainly  found  Chi-is- 
tiauity  professed  by  a  large 
]  lart  of  the  island ;  but  the  re- 
ligion of  the  South  Britons  had 
become  uixed  with  many  corruptions  of  doc- 
trine.    The  Saxons,  one  and  all,  were  pagans,  but 
of   a  paganism  which  ditlered  essentially  from 
the  old  Druidism.     Woden  or  Odin  was  the  head 
of  their  mythology.      The  source  from  whence 
their  religion  issued,  the  period  of  its  fii-st  pro- 
mulgation,  and  the   agents    by  whom  it    was 
planted  in  the  several  countries  where  it  flou- 
rished, are  historical  difficulties,  which  yet  re- 
main to  be  settled.     Long  before  the  fourth  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  era,  it  prevailed  through- 
out   Scandinavia,   and   in    other    countries  be- 
sides those  which  we  now  call  Sweden,  Norway, 
and   Denmark.'      It   was   a   grim   and   terril)le 
theology.      Woden  or  Odin  was  "the  terrible 
and  severe  god;  the  father  of  slaughter;  the  god 
that  carries    desolation    and    fire ;    the    active 
and  roaring  deity;  he  who  gives  victoiy,  and  who 
names  those  that  are  to  be  slain."     The  wor- 
ship of  sitch  a  divinity  kept  up  the  ferocity  and 
warlike  habits  of  these  iron  men  of  the  North. 
Under  him  figm'od  Frea,  his  wife,  as  the  goddess 
of  love,  pleasm'e,  and  sensuality;  the  god  Thor, 
who  controlled  the  temjiests;  Balder,  who  was 
the  god  of  light;  Kiord,  the  god  of  the  watei-s; 
Tyi-,  the  god  of  champions;   Brage,  the  god  of 
orators  and  poets;    and   Heimdal,  the  janitor 
of  heaven,  and   the  guardian   of  the  rainbow. 
Eleven  gods,  and  as  many  goddesses,  all  the  chil- 

'  MaUefc,  NoHlwn  Aiitlquitui. 


dren  of  Odin  and  Fx-ea,  assisted  their  parents, 
and  wei-e  objects  of  worship.  But  in  addition  to 
all  these  there  were  very  many  inferior  divini- 
ties. There  were  thi-ee  Fates,  by  whom  the  ca- 
reer of  men  was  predestined;  and  every  indivi- 
dual was  supposed,  besides,  to  have  a  Fate  attend- 
ing him,  by  whom  his  life  was  controlled  and  his 
death  deteiTuined.  There  were  also  the  Valke- 
ries,  a  species  of  inferior  goddesses,  who  acted  as 
celestial  attendants,  and  who  were  also  employed 
by  Odin  to  determine  victory,  and  select  the  war- 
riors that  were  to  perish  in  battle.  There  were 
genii  and  sjiirits,  who  mingled  in  every  moi-tal 
event.  Infernal  agents  there  were  in  abundance; 
and  Lok,  the  personification  of  the  evil  principle, 
was  the  head  of  them  all.  Lok  is  described  as 
beautiful  in  form,  but  depraved  in  mind;  the 
calumniator  of  the  gods,  the  gi'and  contriver  of 
deceit  and  fraud,  the  reproach  of  gods  and  men, 
whom  the  deities,  in  consequence  of  his  malig- 
nity, had  been  constrained  to  shut  up  in  a  ca- 
vern. The  goddess  Hela,  the  wolf  Fem-Ls,  the 
great  dragon,  and  giants  of  measureless  size  and 
strength,  completed  the  dark  array. 

On  the  subject  of  a  futm-e  state,  this  leligion 
of  the  North  was  pai-ticularly  explicit;  and  a 
heaven  was  formed,  congenial  to  a  people  whose 
chief  employment  and  greatest  jjleasm-e  was  vv-ar. 
Those  who  had  led  a  life  of  heroism,  or  perished 
bravely  in  battle,  ascended  to  Valhalla.  In  that 
blessed  region  the  day  was  spent  in  war  and 
furious  conflict;  but  at  evening- tide  the  battle 
ceased,  all  wounds  were  suddenly  healed,  and  the 
contending  wari-iors  sat  down  to  the  bancjuet,  and 
feasted  on  the  exhaustless  flesh  of  the  boar  Se- 
rimner,  and  drank  huge  draughts  of  mead  from 
the  skidls  of  their  enemies.     Such  was  the  para- 


A.D.  449—1066.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


110 


flise,  the  hope  of  which  wakened  to  raptiu-e  the 
hiiagination  of  the  Saxon  and  tlie  Dane.  There 
was  a  lit'U  for  the  wicked;  but  by  the  word  wicked 
was  merely  understood  the  cowardly  and  the 
slothful.  This  hell  was  called  Nitlheim.  Here 
Hela  dwelt,  and  exercised  lier  terrible  supre- 
macy. Iler  palace  was  Anguish,  lier  table  Famine, 
her  waiters  were  Expectation  and  Delay,  the 
tlireshold  of  her  door  was  Precipice,  her  bed  was 
Leanness,  and  her  looks  struck  terror  into  every 
beholder. 

-But  nothing  of  all  this  was  to  be  strictly  eter- 
nal. After  the  revolution  of  countless  ages,  the 
malignant  powers,  so  long  restrained,  ai'e  to  burst 
forth  again;  the  gods  are  to  perish,  and  even 
Odin  himself  expire;  while  a  contlagi'ation  bursts 
forth,  in  wliiih  Valhalla,  their  heaven,  anil  the 
world,  and  Nillheim  or  hell,  with  all  their  divine 
and  human  inhabitants,  ai-e  consumed,  and  pass 
awaj'.  But  from  this  second  chaos  a  new  world 
is  to  emerge,  fresh  and  full  of  beauty  and  gran- 
deur, with  a  heaven  more  glorious  than  Valhalla, 
and  a  hell  more  feai-ful  than  Niflheim;  while 
over  all  a  God  appears  pre-eminent  and  alone, 
possessed  of  incomjjai-ably  greater  might  and 
nobler  attributes  than  Odin.  Then,  too,  the 
human  race  are  finally  to  be  tried,  and  higher 
virtues  than  bravery,  and  heavier  guilt  than 
cowardice  and  sloth,  ai'e  to  form  the  standard 
of  good  and  evil.  The  rigliteous  shall  then  be 
received  into  Gimie,  and  the  wicked  shall  be  sent 
to  the  unuttei'able  punishments  of  Nastrande; 
and  this  heaven  and  this  hell  shall  continue 
through  all  eternity  under  the  reign  of  Him 
who  is  eternal. 

But  among  the  fierce  worshippers  of  Odin  we 
can  discover  no  practical  results  of  tliis  better 
faith  that  lay  immediately  beneath  the  surface 
of  their  own  system.  They  thought  more  of 
the  temjioral,  but  immediate,  than  of  the  eter- 
nal— more  of  Valhalla  than  of  Gimle.  Their 
tempest -breathing  god,  and  his  paradise  of 
battles,  and  drinking  and  feasting,  though  these 
were  finally  to  be  consumed  and  to  pass  away, 
were  moi-e  attractive  than  the  excellences  of  a 
more  sjiii'itual  Deity,  and  the  eternity  of  a  pm-er 
lieaveu. 

The  Scandinavian  temples,  in  which  Odin  was 
represented  by  a  gigantic  image,  armed  and 
crowned,  and  brandishing  a  naked  swoj'd,  were 
rude  and  colossal ;  and  rugged  were  the  rites  per- 
formed therein.  Animals  were  olfered  up  as 
sacrifices,  and  their  blood  was  sprinkled  upon  the 
worshippers.  The  rough  altar  was  frequently 
drenched  with  the  blood  of  human  victims. 
Crowds  of  cajitives  and  slaves  were  immolated 
for  the  welfare  of  the  people  at  large;  and  princes 
often  sacrificed  their  own  children,  to  avert  a 
mortal  sickness  or  to  secure  an  imiiortant  vic- 


tory.' Believing  that  tlie  exclusion  from  Val- 
lialla,  which  a  natiu-al  death  entailed,  could  be 
avoided  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  substitute,  every 
warrior  who  could  procure  a  captive  to  put  to 
death  with  this  object  had  a  motive  jjcculiai'ly 
powerful  for  so  horrid  a  j)ractice. 

Mixed  with  all  this  ferocity,  the  Scandinavian 
tribes  had  a  more  delicate  and  romantic  feeling 
about  women  than  any  other  ancient  ])eople.  As 
females  among  them  were  regarded  with  a  vene- 
ration elsewhere  xmknown,  and  were  supposed 
to  be  chosen  receptacles  of  Divine  inspiration, 
they  were  therefore  considered  as  being  well 
fitted  to  preside  over  the  worshij)  of  the  gods. 
The  daughters  of  Scandinavian  princes  officiated 
as  priestesses  of  the  national  faith,  were  consulted 
as  the  oracles  of  heaven,  and  were  frequently 
dreaded  as  the  ministers  of  its  vengeance;  while 
other  women  who  cultivated  the  favour  of  the 
malignant  divinities  were  held  to  be  witches. 
Of  the  authority  of  the  priests  little  is  known. 
Among  the  Saxons,  they  were  not  permitted  to 
mount  a  horse  or  handle  a  warlike  weapon.' 
Tacitus  represents  them  in  Germany  as  being  in- 
vested with  magisterial  authority.  He  says  that 
they  settled  controversies,  attended  the  armies  in 
their  expeditions,  and  not  only  awarded  punish- 
ments, but  inflicted  them  with  then-  own  hands, 
the  fierce  wari'iors  submitting  to  their  stripes  as 
to  inflictions  from  the  hand  of  Heaven. 

The  grim  Scandinavian  faith  was,  however, 
subject  to  gi'eat  modifications,  according  to  the 
situation  and  circumstances  of  the  several  tribes 
who  professed  it.  It  was  of  a  moi-e  sanguinai-y 
complexion  among  the  reckless  followers  of  the 
sea-kings  than  among  those  who  dwelt  on  shore. 
Perhaps  the  Saxon  invaders  of  Britain  might  be 
classed  with  those  among  whom  the  religion  as- 
sumed its  least  revolting  shape;  while  the  Danes, 
who  afterwards  followed  in  their  track,  exhibited 
the  worship  of  Odin  in  its  fiercest  and  most  perni- 
cious aspect.  With  tli  e  latter  the  primitive  super- 
stition was  amplified  by  the  principles  and  tales 
of  the  Scalds,  who  clothed  it  in  their  songs  with 
hon-ors,  of  which  its  first  founders  had  probably 
no  conception.  Althoiigh  both  Saxons  and  Danes 
worshipped  the  same  gods,  and  believed  alike  in 
Valhalla,  yet  the  Saxons,  even  while  they  con- 
tinued heathens,  became  jieaceful  cultivators  of 
the  soil  which  their  swords  had  won;  while  the 
Danes  did  not  subside  into  the  same  social  condi- 
tion until  they  had  abandoned  their  original  creed 
and  embraced  Christianity. 

On  the  first  coming  of  the  Saxons  into  Britain 
there  was  visible,  not  only  in  Wales,  but  in  other 
parts  of  the  island,  a  strange  intermixture  of 

'  Mallet,  Northn-n  Antiqidtifs  ;   Ditlimar,  Chronicks  0/ Merse- 
hnifj ;  Wormiua  in  Monument.  Dan.  Saxo  Granunalic. 
-  Bcde. 


i.-o 


niSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[T!elioi(in. 


Christ iauity  and  Druidism;  and  it  is  thnuglit 
that  throughout  the  protracted  struggle  which 
ensued  for  the  dominion  of  the  country,  it  was  in 
tlie  spirit  and  in  the  ritual  of  tliis  Neo-Druidism, 
and  not  of  Christianity,  that  the  national  feeling 
was  chiefly  appealed  to,  and  the  resistance  to  the 
invaders  sustained  and  directed. 

About  a  q\iarter  of  a  century  before  the  Saxons 
began  their  conquest,  Ninian  is  said  to  have  con- 
verted the  Picts  that  lived  southward  of  the 
Graraijian  Hills.  Nearly  at  the  same  time  that 
illustrious  missionary,  St.  Patrick,  had  appeared 
in  Ireland,  and,  after  sweeping  away  much  of  the 
old  heathenism,  had  established  Christianity  as 
the  national  religion.  About  the  year  550,  Ken- 
tigern,  or  St.  Mungo,  is  supposed  to  have  founded 
the  see  of  Glasgow.  But  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  missionaries  to  Caledonia  was  St.  Columba, 
venerated  as  the  patron  saint  of  Scotland  until 
that  honour  was  conferred  upon  St.  Andrew. 
Columba  was  born  at  Garten,  a  village  now  in- 
cluded in  the  county  of  Donegal,  in  Ireland. 
He  was  illustrious  by  his  birth,  being  connected 
with  the  royal  families  of  the  Irish  and  of  the 
Scots.  He  landed  in  Scotland  with  twelve  com- 
panions, in  the  year  563,  and  undertook  the  task 
of  converting  the  heathen  Picts  that  occupied  the 
country  north  of  the  Grampians.  He  soon  con- 
verted and  baptized  the  Pictish  king,  whose 
subjects  immediately  followed  the  royal  e.xam- 
ple.     Columba  then  settled  in    loua,  where  he 


TuE  Catiiedual  and  St.  Or.AS's  Chapel,  Iona.>    MuU  in  the 

founded  his  celebrated  monastery,  and  estab- 
lished a  system  of  religious  discipline,  which 
became  the  model  of  many  other  monastic  in- 

*  Tlie  remains  of  religious  establishments  on  this  little  island 
of  the  Ilebrides,  though  popularly  attributed  to  Columba,  aro  \ 
of  a  much  more  recent  date  than  the  time  of  that  venerated 
saint,  whose  structiu-es  were  of  veiy  slight  materials.    The  prin- 
cipal i-uins  are  those  of  the  cathedi-al  chm-ch  of  St.  Maiy,  of  a 
nunnery,  five  chapels,  and  a  building  called  the  Bishop's  House.  I 
Numerous  Kings  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Norway  were  buried  , 
in  the  island.  I 


stitutions.  The  small  and  barren  Island  of  lona 
soon  became  illustrious  in  tlie  labours  and  tri- 
iimphs  of  the  Christian  church;  and  the  Cul- 
dees,  or  priests,  animated  with  the  zeal  of  tlieir 
founder,  not  only  devoted  their  efforts  to  en- 
lighten their  own  country,  but  became  adven- 
turous missionaries  to  remote  and  dangerous 
fields.  Of  the  cai-e  with  which  they  were  trained 
to  be  the  guardians  of  learning  and  instruc- 
tors of  the  peo])le,  some  idea  may  be  formed 
from  the  fact,  that  eighteen  years  of  study  were 
frequently  required  of  them  before  they  were 
ordained.^ 

In  the  south  of  Britain,  in  the  first  fuiy  of  the 
Saxon   invasion,  if  Christianity  was  not  com- 
pletely overthrown,  the  Christian  church   and 
every  trace  of  it  were  destroyed.     Without   a 
clergy,  or  any  apparatus  for  the  administration 
of  the  ordinances  of  religion,  it  is  not  easy  to  con- 
ceive that  such  of  the  native  Britons  as  were 
Christians  would  very  long  retain  their  know- 
ledge and  profession  of  the  truth.     But  mean- 
while the  Saxon  couquei-ors  themselves,  becoming 
settled  and  peaceful,  gradually  accinired  habits 
and  a  disposition  favourable  for  their  conversion 
to  a  religion  of  love  and  peace.     When  things 
were  in  this  state,  a  simple  incident  led  to  great 
results.  Gregory,  afterwards  pope,  and  surnamed 
the  Great,  passing  one  day  through  the  streets  of 
Kome,  was  arrested  at  the  market-place  by  the 
sight  of  3'oung  slaves  from  Britain,  who  were  pub- 
licly exposed  for  sale.    Struck  with  the 
brightness  of  their  complexions,  their 
fah-    long   hair,   and   the   remarkable 
beauty  of  their  forms,  he  eagerly  in- 
quired to  what  country  they  belonged ; 
and  being  told  that  they  were  Angles, 
he  said,  "They  would  not  be  Angles, 
but   angels,  if   they  were   but  Chris- 
tians."    Gregory    resolved,   at    every 
hazard,  to   carry  the  gospel  to  their 
shores,  and  he  actually  set  off  upon  the 
dangerous  pilgrimage ;   but  the   pope 
was  prevailed  upon   to  command  his 
\       return.     When,  some  years  after,  Gre- 
gory  succeeded   to   the   popedom,   he 
appointed  Augustine,  prior  of  the  con- 
vent of   St.  Andrew's  at  Pome,  with 
distance.       forty  monks,  to  proceed  on  a  mission  to 
England.      There  were  many  delays  and  misgiv- 
ings upon  the  road,  Augustine  and  his  companions 
being  alarmed  by  the  i-ejiorts  they  heard  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  ferocity;  but  Pope  Gregory  passion- 
ately m-ged  them  on,  and  procured  them  all  the 
assistance  he  could  in  France;  and  in  the  year  597 
they  landed  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  and  forthwith 
announced  the  object  of  their  coming  to  Ethel- 


'^  Adomnani,  Vit.  Sti.  Columhce. 


A.D.  449— 106U.] 


SAXON  PKlilOD. 


151 


bert,  the  King  of  Kent,  who  also  held  t-he  rank  uf 
Bi'ctwalila,  while  his  authority  extomlej  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Humbsr.'  His  queen,  Bertha, 
was  a  Christian  princess,-  and  having  stipulated 
at  her  marriage  for  the  liberty  of  professing  her 
own  religion,  she  liad  some  French  priests  in 
her  household,  and  a  bisliop  named  Ijiudhard, 
by  whom  the  rites  of  the  C!u-istian  failh  were 
performed  in  a  little  chiu-ch  outside  the  walls  of 
Canterbury.'  The  conversion  of  the  king  was 
easily  brought  about,  and  the  opposition  of  the 
pagan  priesthood  was  out  feeble  and  momentary. 
When  Ethelbert  had  been  baptized,  10,000  of  his 
people  soon  followed  his  example.  The  joy  of 
Pope  Gregory  was  so  great  that  he  conferred  the 
primacy  of  the  whole  island  upon  Canterbury, 
the  capital  of  Kent,  and  sent  the  pall  to  Augus- 
tine, who  had  already  been  consecrated  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbmy  by  the  prelate  of  Aries. 

From  the  facility  with  which  he  had  established 
his  faith  in  Kent,  Augustine  hoped  for  a  similar 


convei-sion  in  the  whole  island;  but,  altliougli 
Pope  Gregory  sent  liini  additional  aid,  the  work 
proved  long  and  difficult,  and  was  not  completed 
until  many  years  after  Augustine  had  been  laid 
in  his  grave,  in  (he  church-yard  of  the  monasteiw 
in  Canterbury  which  goes  by  his  name.  Among 
the  mountains  of  Wales,  wliere  the  Saxon  con- 
querors could  not  penetrate,  there  existed  many 
Christians,  and  a  regular  clergy;  but  when  Au- 
gustine applied  for  the  assistance  of  tlie  Welsh 
ecclesiastics,  and  demanded  their  sulmiission  to 
the  universal  su]iremacy  of  the  Bishop.of  Rome, 
he  found  that  the  Welsh  clergy  would  not  co- 
operate with  him.  They  disagreed  on  veiy  many 
points,  and  notably  as  to  the  proper  period  for 
the  celebration  of  E;istor,  a  question  which  di- 
vided many  churches,  and  which  was  once  dis- 
puted with  a  most  fierce  and  uncompromising 
spirit.  Yet,  without  the  aid  of  the  Welsh  ec- 
clesiastics, the  progress  of  the  Chri.stian  faith  was 
rapid.     lu  the  year  604  Sebert,  King  of  Essex, 


Si^j^,^__ 


North  Walls  of  Ricubohough  CAdiLE,  anu  Foundations  of  St.  .vi'oustine  s  Cuurcu.* — Fcora  j.  drawing  on  thi:  spot, 

by  J.  W.  Archer. 


and  nephew  to  Ethelbert,  the  converted  Kinc^  of 
Kent, and  Bretwalda,  received  the  rite  of  ba])tism. 
As  usual,  gi*eat  numbers  of  the  people  forthwith 
followed  the  example  of  their  king;  and  a  Chris- 
tian church  was  erected  in  London,  Sebert's  capi- 
tal, upon  the  rising  ground  which  had  foi-merly 
been  the  site  of  the  Ivoman  temple  of  Diana. 
This  London  church  was  dedicated  to  St.  Paul, 


^  Sede.  -  See  vol.  i.  p.  73.  '  Bfde.      \ 

<  Richborough  Castle,  near  Sandwich,  is  the  Ritupre  or  Ad 
Portum  Ritupis  of  the  Romans.  It  exhibits  one  of  the  most 
noblo  ver,tigOi  of  tlie  Romans  in  Britain.  The  walls  have  formed 
a  paralieiograra,  but  the  e-ast  wall  has  disappeared.  It  stands 
upon  a  slight  eminence,  at  the  base  of  which  flows  the  Stour. 
Tlie  walla  are  constructed  in  blocks  of  chalk  and  stone,  and 
faced  with  square  blocks  of  grit  stone.  The  northern  wall, 
which  is  perfect,  measures  560  ft.  in  length;  it  contains  seven 
courses,  each  course  4  ft.  thick,  banded  at  intervals  with  layers 
of  large  tiles.     Rising  6  ft.,  the  thickness  of  tlie  walls  is  U  ft. 


and  each  suoces.sive  building  uy")on  the  same  site 
has  retained  the  name.  Nearly  at  the  same  time, 
Redwald,the  King  of  East  Anglia,was  converted.^ 
In  this  same  year  (604)  Augustine  died,  after  hav- 
ing seen  the  gospel  firmly  established  in  Kent 
and  Essex.  He  had  consecrated  Justus  Bisliop 
of  Itochester,  and  Miletus  Ei.shop  of  the  E;xst 
Saxons,  and  appointed  his  faithful  follower  Lau- 

3  in.,  above  which  thoy  measure  10  ft.  S  in.  The  greatest  exiav 
ing  altitude  of  the  walls  is  23  ft.,  but  the  summit  is  everywhere 
broken.  Leland,  in  his  //wiercn-y,  says:  "Within  the  castle  is 
a  little  parish  church  of  St.  Augustine,  and  an  luirmitage.  I 
had  antiquities  of  the  hermit,  the  wluch  is  an  imlustrious  man." 
In  the  centre  of  the  area  of  the  walls  there  is  a  platform  in  the 
shape  of  a  cro.s3,  corrctponding  with  the  sacellum  of  Roman  for- 
tifications, where  the  Roman  st;indards  and  eaglea  were  doi>o- 
sited,  but  whicli  appears  in  tliis  instanco  to  have  been  adopted 
for  the  site  of  a  church— that  mentioned  by  Lelaud. 
*  bee  vol.  i.  p.  74. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Religion. 


rentius  to  be  liia  successor  in  the  see  of  Canter- 
bury. 
The  faith  so  lately  planted  among  the  Anglo- 


Altar  of  Diana.' — Drawn  fi-om  tlio  orig;inal,  by  J.  W.  Archer. 


Saxons  soon  sustained  a  violent  shock.  Sebert, 
the  King  of  Essex,  died ;  and  his  tliree  sons 
endeavoured  to  re-establish  the  ancient  idolatry. 
Melitus  was  banished,  and  compelled  to  flee  from 
London  to  Rochester,  to  seek  for  shelter  with  his 
friend  Justus.  But  even  in  Kent  the  faith  was 
shaken,  chiefly  tln-ough  the  passion  of  Eadbald, 
the  son  and  successor  of  Ethelbert,  for  his  father's 
youthful  widow.^  Melitus  and  Justus  fled  to 
France,  and  the  primate  Lauientius  was  prepai'- 
ing  to  follow  them,  in  the  conviction  that  the 
cause  of  Cliristianity  was  for  the  present  lost  in 
England  ;  but  Eadbald  relented,  and  became  con- 
verted anew. 

After  many  sufiTering.s  and  most  perilous  ad- 
ventures, Edwin  became  King  of  Northumbria, 
and  introduced  Christianity  into  that  very  power- 
ful and  warlike  kingdom.  Before  he  was  ac- 
tually baptized,  Edwin  called  an  assembly  of  his 
nobles,  that  they  might  discuss  the  claims  of  the 
new  faith  and  the  old.  Coifi,  the  jwgan  high- 
jiriest,  declared  that  the  gods  whom  they  had 
hitherto  worshipped  were  utterly  useless.  No 
man,  he  said,  had  served  them  with  greater  zeal 
than  himself,  and  yet  many  men  had  prospered 
ill  the  world  far  more  than  he  had  done ;  thei-e- 
fore  was  he  quite  ready  to  give  at  least  a  trial  to 
the  new  religion.     One  of  the  nobles  followed  in 

'  The  altar  is  21  in.  high,  11  in.  broad  at  the  base,  and  7.i  in. 
thicli.  It  was  found  May  5,  1S31,  at  a  depth  of  15  ft.,  in  a  stra- 
tum of  clay,  when  excavating  the  foundation  for  the  Gold- 
EUiiths'  Hall,  in  Tvliich  it  is  now  deposited.  Under  the  site  of 
Goldsmiths'  Hall,  and  under  that  of  the  General  Post-office  ad- 
joining, were  found  vaiUts  and  foundations,  evidently  of  Roman 
masonry.  It  is  probable  these  were  vestiges  of  the  temple  of 
Diana,  which  were  soiight  for  in  vain  on  the  site  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  at  the  di-stance  of  little  more  than  a  stone's  throw. 

*  6ee  vol.  i.  p.  74, 


a  wiser  and  ]iurer  spirit.  Comparing  the  present 
life  of  man,  whose  beginning  and  end  is  in  dark- 
ness, to  a  swallow  entering  a  banqueting-liall  to 
find  refuge  from  the  storm 
without,  flitting  for  a  moment 
through  the  warm  and  cheerful 
apartment,  and  then  passing 
out  again  into  the  gloom,  he 
proposed  that  if  Cliristianity 
should  be  found  to  lighten  this 
obscurity,  and  exjilain  whence 
we  came  and  whither  we  de- 
parted, it  should  immediately 
be  adopted.  Upon  this  Coifl, 
the  pagan  high-priest,  moved 
that  Pauliniis  the  missionary 
should  be  called  in  to  explain 
the  Christian  doctrine.  Pauli- 
nus  came  in  immediately,  and 
made  use  of  such  cogent  argu- 
ments, that  the  impatient  Coifi 
declared  there  was  no  longer 
room  for  hesitation;  proposed 
that  the  old  Saxon  idols  should  be  immediately 
overturned;  and,  as  he  had  been  the  chief  of 
their  worshippers,  he  now  ofi'ered  to  be  the 
fii-Bt  to  desecrate  them.  He  threw  aside  his 
priestly  gai-ments;  called  for  arms,  which  the 
Saxon  priests  were  forbidden  to  wield,  and  for  a 
horse,  which  they  were  not  permitted  to  mount, 
and  thus  accoutred,  he  galloped  forth  before  the 
amazed  multitude.  Advancing  to  a  temple  in 
the  neighbourhood,  where  the  chief  idol  stood,  he 
hurled  his  lance  vrithin  the  sacred  inclosure,  and 
by  that  act  the  temple  was  profaned.  No  light- 
ning descended,  no  earthquake  shook  the  ground; 
and  the  multitude,  encouraged  by  the  impunity 
of  the  daring  apostate,  proceeded  to  second  his 
efibrts.  Forthwith  the  temple  and  its  inclosiu'es 
were  levelled  with  the  ground.  This  event  hap- 
pened at  a  village  still  called  Godmundham, 
which  means  the  home  or  hamlet  of  the  inclosure 
of  the  god.  The  conversion  of  the  king  was  in- 
stantly followed  by  that  of  his  subjects,  and 
Paulinus,  who  was  afterwai'ds  consecrated  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  is  said  to  have  baptized  12,000 
converts  in  one  day  in  the  river  Swale.  This 
Chiistian  king,  Edwin,  attained  to  the  dignity  of 
Eretwalda,  and  maintained  the  faith  which  lie 
had  adopted ;  but  in  the  year  634,  while  in  the 
vigour  of  his  days,  he  was  slain  in  battle  against 
the  teiTible  pagan  king,  Penda.  Upon  this  sad 
event  there  followed  such  a  general  apostasy  of 
the  people  in  Northumbria,  that  Bishop  Paulinus 
was  obliged  to  abandon  his  see,  and  retire  into 
Kent.  The  triumph  of  the  heathen  was,  how- 
ever, checked  in  the  north  liy  the  accession  of 
King  Oswald,  who  had  spent  his  youth  in  lona, 
to  which  northern  sanctuary  he  had  repaii-ed  for 


a.v.  449— lOGC] 


SAXON   PERIOD. 


1; 


Bhelter;  and  having  been  taught  Christianity 
among  that  primitive  community,  lie  naturally 
sent  thither  for  spiritual  instrui^tors  to  his  people, 
as  soon  as  he  was  established  upon  the  throne. 
Cornian,  the  first  monk  that  was  sent  from  loiia, 
quickly  returned,  disheartened  by  the  dillhndtii's 


of  his  office,  and  by  the  barbarous  disposition  and 
gross  intellect  of  the  Northumbrians;  but  Aidan, 
another  monk  of  the  order,  volunteered  to  su])ply 
Cormau's  place.  In  the  year  (i:i'>  Aidan  foimded 
amona.stery  ujion  the  bleak  Island  of  Litidisfarne; 
and  there  his  religious  conununity  flouri.ihed  for 


Holy  Isund,  coast  of  Xortlmmbarlaml,  and  Remains  of  tub  Cliur.cn  oy  Lixdisfarne.'— From  Turner's  EnslaaJ  and  Wa!c3. 


more  than  two  centuries,  until  it  fell  beneath 
the  fury  of  the  Danes.  Aided  by  King  Oswald, 
Aidrm  was  very  successful  in  reclaiming  the  apos- 
tate Northumljriaus,  and  in  converting  other 
Saxon  states.  Having  prevailed  upon  the  King 
of  Wessex  and  his  daughter  to  be  baptized,  a 
Christian  chui'ch  was  established  in  that  portion 
of  the  Heptarchy,  according  to  the  primitive  and 
simple  form  of  that  of  loua. 

The  introduction  of  the  gospel  into  the  power- 
ful kingdom  of  Mercia  was  the  next  great  event. 
Peada,  the  son  of  the  terriljle  Penda,  in  whom 
the  Christianity  of  England  had  found  its  dead- 
liest enemy,  solicited  the  hand  of  the  fair  daugh- 
ter of  the  converted  King  of  Northumbria.  The 
l)rincess  refused  to  man-y  an  unbelieving  hus- 
band, and  the  prince  in  consequence  abjured  his 
idols,  and  was  baptized ;  and  on  his  return  to 
iNlercia  he  took  with  him  foiu-  good  missionai-ies, 
who  were  very  successful  in  converting  the  people. 
Towards  the  close  of  this  centuiy  the  kingdom 
of  Sussex  was  converted ;  and  thus,  in  less  than 
ninety  years  from  the  first  arrival  of  Augustine, 
Christianity  was  established  over  the  wh.ole  of 
England. 

When  Christianity  thus  became  the  religion  of 
Saxon  Britain,  its  rude  inhabitants  were  prepared 
for  the  further  blessings  of  learning  and  civiliza- 
tion, and  these  were  now  introduced  in  tlie  train 
of  Theodore,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  was 
consecrated  to  the  jirimacy  bj'  Pope  Vitalian,  in 
66S.     Like  St.  Paul,  he  was  a  native  of  Tarsus 

Vol.  I. 


in  Cilicia,  and  eminent  for  his  extensive  learning. 
Though  already  sixty-six  years  old,  yet  such  was 
the  energy  of  his  character,  that  a  life  of  useful- 
ness was  still  expected  from  him ;  ami  these 
hopes  were  not  disappointed,  for  he  governed  the 
English  Church  for  twenty- two  years.  He 
brought  with  him  a  valuable  libi'ary  of  Latin  and 
Greek  authors,  among  which  were  the  works  of 
Homer,  and  established  schools  of  learning,  to 
which  the  clergy  and  laity  repaii'ed.  The  conse- 
quence was,  according  to  Bede,  that  soon  after 
(his  many  English  priests  were  as  conversant 
with  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  as  wilh  their 
native  tongue.- 

Scai'cely,  however,  was  the  national  faith  thus 
settled,  when  controversies  ai'ose  in  the  bosom  of 
the  infant  church  on  certain  points  of  ceremonial 
practice,  the  triviality  of  which,  of  course,  did  not 
prevent  them  from  being  agitated  with  as  much 
heat  and  obstinacy  as  if  they  had  involved  the 
most  essential  principles  of  morality  or  religion. 

*  In  Holy  Island  was  first  established  the  nucleus  of  the  opu- 
lent see  of  Dm-hani,  by  Aidan,  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  lona. 
The  church  w;is  at  first  built  of  sjilit  oak,  and  covered  with 
reeils.  It  w.is  rebuilt  by  K.'idbert,  successor  to  St.  Cuthbert, 
who  caused  the  body  of  Cutlibert  to  bo  removed  and  placet!  in  n 
magnificent  tomb  near  the  high  altar.  Uei-o  the  venerated  re- 
mains rested  till  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  contnry,  when 
the  coast  was  overrun  by  the  barb.irous  Daiio,  and  the  affrighted 
monks  of  Lindisfurne  escaped  with  the  remains  of  their  Iwloveil 
apostle,  and  commenced  the  series  of  jteregrinations  which 
ended  in  their  establishment  at  Dimholm  .Inu-ham).  Few  traces 
of  the  mon.Tstic  buildings  exist,  except  those  of  the  churt^b. 
which  13  of  Anglo-Norman  architecture.  -  Jhilr,  iv,  2 

20 


1.3i 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[rtEI.IOION 


One  of  the  subjects  of  dispute  was  the  same  difler- 
ence  as  to  the  mode  of  computing  Ea-ster  that 
had  already  prevented  the  union  of  the  English 
and  Welsh  Churches ;  it  now,  in  like  manner, 
threatened  to  divide  the  two  kingdoms  of  Mercia 
and  Northumberland,  which,  as  ah-eady  related, 
had  been  converted  by  Scottish  missionaries,  from 
the  other  states  of  the  Heptarchy,  that  had  re- 
ceived their  instructors  from  Uome  and  France. 
To  this  was  added  the  difference  between  the 
Romish  and  Scottish  Churches,  upon  the  form 
of  the  ecclesiastical  tonsure.  While  the  priests 
of  the  former  wore  the  hair  round  the  temples, 
in  imitation  of  a  crown  of  thorns,  they  were  hor- 
ror-struck at  the  latter,  who,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  Eastern  Church,  shaved  it  from 
their  foreheads  into  the  form  of  a  crescent,  for 
which  they  were  reproached  w-ith  bearing  the 
emblem  of  Simon  Magus.'  A  council  had  been 
summoned  with  the  view  of  accommodating  these 
dissensions,  by  Oswy,  King  of  Northumbeiland, 
in  the  year  CG4;  but  the  only  result  of  this  at- 
tempt was  to  increase  the  animosity  of  the  two 
factions,  the  clergy  of  the  Scottish  persuasion,  in 
fact,  retiring  from  the  assembly  in  disgust.' 
Their  departure  was  occasioned  by  the  intem- 
perate zeal  and  arrogance  of  Wilfrith,  afterwards 
Archbishop  of  York,  whose  gi-eat  aim  was  to  re- 
duce the  English  Church  to  a  state  of  uniformity, 
by  the  suppression  of  the  Culdees.^  At  a  council 
called  at  Hertford,  in  the  year  673,  the  bishops 
generally  consented  to  the  canons  which  Theodore 
had  brought  with  him  from  Rome,  by  which  a 
complete  agi'eemerit  in  faith  and  worship  v/as 
established.' 

In  the  meantime,  Theodore  was  enabled  to  pro- 
ceed with  his  division  of  the  larger  dioceses. 
That  of  Mercia,  in  particular,  which  had  till  now 
embraced  the  whole  of  the  state  so  called,  was 

'  Theodore,  who,  wlien  he  was  called  to  the  primacy,  wore  the 
Eastern  tonsure,  was  obliged  to  wait  four  mouths,  that  his  hair 
might  grow  so  as  to  be  shaven  accordiBg  to  the  oi-thodo.x  fasliion. 
— Bede,  iv.  1. 

-  For  the  lengthened  discussion  at  tliis  council,  see  Bcdn,  iii,  2.^. 

3  "  Wilfritli,  by  his  own  power,  accompliolied  wli.it  Augustine, 
miniated  by  the  spirit  of  Gregory  the  Great,  had  be^un.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  states  were  converted  not  only  to  Cla-istianity,  but 
to  Catholicism.  For  secular  learning  they  were  chiefly  indebted 
to  the  Scots  and  Britons — for  their  accession  to  the  Europe.an 
system  of  faitli,  to  tliese  two  men ;  for,  however  successful  Au- 
gustine may  appear  in  his  first  spiritual  acquisitions  for  the 
Church  of  Rome,  the  coui-se  of  Anglo-Sa.xon  history,  neverthe- 
less, shows  that,  althougli  the  Roman  ecclesiastical  system  was 
acknowledged,  the  influonoe  of  Rome  was  exceedingly  weait.  and 
that  the  Anglo-Saxons,  even  after  they  ware  no  longer  anti- 
Catholic,  continued  always  anri-rapistical.  As  Wiltrith's  his- 
tory itself  proves  indeed  how  little  even  this  zealous  partisan  ot 
tlie  popes  could  eilect,  it  is  tlio  more  desirable  to  take  a  view  of 
the  intei-nal  relations  of  religion  in  England. 

"We  notice,  in  the  first  place,  in  every  kingdom  a  bishop, 
who,  travelling  about  with  his  coadjutors,  propagated  both  doc- 
truie  and  discipline.  This  kind  of  church  regimen  was  well  oal- 
cul.ated  to  succeed  that  of  the  pagan  priesthood.  Tiie  bishops, 
wljea  chosca  by  the  clergy,  always  reiiuire.l  the  ooniii-'uation  of 


divi^led  by  -King  Etheh-ed,  at  his  instigation,  into 
the  four  dioceses  of  Lichfield,  Worcester,  Here- 
ford, and  Chester.  Many  other  reforms  were  also 
prosecuted  by  the  energetic  primate.  He  en- 
couraged the  wealthy  to  build  parish  churches, 
by  confen-ing  ujion  them  and  their  heirs  the 
right  of  patronage.  The  sacred  edifices,  till  now 
for  the  most  part  of  timber,  began  to  give  place 
to  larger  and  more  durable  structures  of  stone; 
the  beautiful  chanting,  hitherto  confined  to  the 
cathedrals,  was  introduced  into  the  churches 
generally;  and  the  priests,  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed, in  the  discharge  of  then-  office,  to  wander 
from  place  to  place,  had  fixed  stations  assigned 
to  them.  They  and  the  churches  had  as  yet  been 
maintained  solely  by  the  voluntary  contributions 
of  the  people;  but,  because  this  was  a  precarious 
resource  w'hen  the  excitement  of  novelty  had 
ceased,  Theodore  provided  for  the  regular  sup- 
port of  religion,  by  jirevailing  upon  the  knigs  of 
the  ilillcrent  states  to  impose  a  special  tax  uj5on 
their  subjects  for  that  purpose,  under  the  name 
of  kirk-scot.^  By  these  and  similar  measures,  all 
England,  long  before  the  several  kingdoms  were 
united  under  one  sovereign,  was  reduced  to  a  state 
of  religious  uniformity,  and  composed  a  single 
spiritual  empire.  After  living  to  witness  many 
of  the  benefits  of  his  important  labours,  this  illus- 
trious primate  dieil  in  690,  after  a  well-spent  and 
active  life  of  nearly  ninety  years. 

The  age  of  the  Christian  chm-ch  in  England 
that  immediately  succeeded  its  establishment,  was 
distinguished  by  the  decline  of  tiiie  religion,  and 
the  rapid  increase  both  of  worldly-mindedness 
among  the  clergy,  and  of  fanaticism  and  super- 
stition among  the  people.  Fiom  the  humble  con- 
dition of  a  dependence  upon  the  alms  of  the  faith- 
ful, the  church  now  found  itself  in  the  possession 
of  revenues  which  enabled  its  bishops  to  vie  in 


the  prince ;  but,  in  most  instances,  they  were  nominated  by  Mm. 
In  later  times,  it  is  obsei-vable  that  the  royal  chaplains  always 
obtained  the  episcopal  dignities.  Over  these  bishops,  he  who 
resided  at  Canterbury,  the  capital  of  the  Brctwalda  Etlielbert, 
was  set  as  archbishop,  in  like  manner  as  the  Bishop  of  Rome  had 
origin.ally  assumed  the  supremacy  over  the  Roman  provinces. 
The  archbishopric  of  York,  established  by  Gregory  the  Great, 
which  might  act  aa  a  chock  to  a  primacy  of  the  Kentish  arch- 
bishop, dangerous  to  the  P.apal  authority,  ceased  to  exist  after 
the  flight  C'f  Paulinus,  and  w£is  not  re-established  till  a  cen- 
tury afterwards,  when  Egbert,  the  brother  of  King  Eadbert,  after 
many  representations  to  the  Papal  chair,  received  the  pall.  A 
third  archiepisoopal  see  was  established  for  the  country  between 
the  Tliames  and  the  Hnniber,  Ly  the  powerful  OtFa  of  Mercia, 
who  held  the  dignity  necessary  for  the  honour  of  his  kingdom, 
with  the  consent  of  Popo  Hadrian,  to  whom  this  augmentation 
of  his  slight  influence  over  the  Anglo-Saxon  clergy  might  have 
been  welcome.  The  old  state  of  things  was,  however,  shortly 
after  restored. — Almost  oontempononeously  with  the  bishoprics, 
some  monasteries  were  founded  by  the  bounty  of  the  kings  and 
their  relatives,  which  served  as  residences  to  numerous  monks. 
Many  of  these  oloistei-s  in  the  north  of  England  were  destroyed 
by  the  Danes,  the  very  sites  of  which  are  not  known  with  cer- 
tainty."— Lapt>enberg,  vol.  i.  p.  ISO. 
<  Side,  iv.  5.  ^Ecde,  Ejuslol.  ad  I'gberi 


A.D.  410-lOCC.] 


S.WON    PERIOD. 


1. 


[jamp  and  luxury  with  the  chief  nobility,  an<l 
even  conferred  no  small  consideration  uiion  many 
of  its  inferior  ministei'S.  It  is  generally  held  that 
tithes  were  first  imiiosed  upon  the  Mercians  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century,  by  their 
king:,  Oli'a,  and  that  the  tax  was  extended  over  all 
England  by  King  Elhelwulf,  in  855.  But  the 
subject  of  this  ;ussunied  donation  of  Ethelwulf  to 
the  church  is  involved  in  groat  obscurity.'  All 
that  is  certain  is,  that  in  after  ages  the  clergy 
were  uniformly  wont  to  refer  to  his  charter  as 
the  foundation  of  their  claim.  The  tithes  of  all 
England,  however,  at  this  early  period,  if  such  a 
general  tax  then  existed,  would  not  have  been 
sufficient  of  themselves  to  weigh  down  the  church 
by  too  gi-eat  a  burden  of  wealth.  A  great  portion 
of  the  soil  was  still  composed  of  waste  or  forest 
land;  and  the  tithes  appear  to  have  been  charged 
with  the  repair  of  churches,  the  expenses  of  wor- 
ship, and  the  relief  of  the  poor,  as  well  as  with 
the  maintenance  of  the  clergy.  It  was  from  the 
lavish  benevolence  of  individuals  that  the  church 
principally  derived  its  large  revenues.  Kings, 
under  the  influence  of  piety  or  remorse,  were 
eager  to  pour  their  wealth  into  the  ecclesiastical 
treasury,  to  bribe  the  favour  of  Ileaven,  or  avert 
its  indignation;  and  wealthy  thanes  wei'e  in  like 
manner  wont  to  expiate  their  sins,  as  they  were 
taught  they  might  do,  ]>y  founding  a  churcli  or 
endowing  a  monastery.  Ainong  other  conse- 
quences of  these  more  ample  resources,  we  iind 
that  the  walls  of  the  churches  became  covered 
with  foreign  paintings  and  tapesti-y;  that  the 
altars  and  sacred  vessels  were  formed  of  (he  pre- 
cious metals,  and  spai-kled  with  gems;  while  the 
vestments  of  tlie  priests  were  of  the  most  splendid 
description.  Other  much  more  lamentable  eflecls 
followed.  Indolence  and  sensuality  took  the  place 
of  religion  and  learning  among  all  onlers  of  the 
clergy.  Tlie  monasteries  in  jiailicular,  founded 
at  first  as  abodes  of  piety  and  letters,  and  refuges 
for  the  desolate  and  the  penitent,  soon  l)ecame  the 
haunts  of  idleness  and  superstition.  Many  of  the 
numieries  were  mere  receptacles  of  profligacy,  in 
which  the  roving  debauchee  was  sure  of  a  wel- 
come.^ In  the  year  747  the  Council  of  Cloveshoe 
foimd  it  necessaiy  to  order  that  the  monasteries 
should  not  be  turned  into  places  of  amusement 
for  harpers  and  buffoons;  and  that  laymen  should 
not  be  admitted  within  their  walls  too  freely,  lest 
they  might  be  scandalized  at  the  offences  they 
should  discover  there.'  Most  of  the  monasteries 
in  England,  too,  were  double  houses,'  in  which 
resided  communities  of  men  and  women;  and  the 
uatiu-al  consequences  often  followed  this  perilous 

1  See  Turner's  An{jIo-Saxons,  i.  479-4.S1. 

-  Bale:  De  Rejtiedio  Peccaiorum:  Wilkins'  Concilia,  i.  SS,  99. 

3  WOkins'  Concilia,  i.  97. 

^  Lins^rd's  Antifjniti'S  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Churcli,  p.  120. 


juxtaposition  of  the  sexes,  living  in  the  midst  of 
plenty  and  idleness.  Tliese  establishments  also 
continued  to  multiply  with  a  rapidity  that  was 
portentous,  not  only  from  the  tendency  of  tlie 
idle  and  depraved  to  embrace  such  a  life  of  in- 
dulgence, but  from  the  doctrine  current  at  the 
end  of  the  seventh  century,  that  the  assumption 
of  the  monastic  habit  absolved  from  all  previous 
sin.  Bede,  who  saw  and  lamented  this  growing 
evil,  raised  a  warning  voice,  but  in  vain,  against 
it;  and  expressed  his  fears  that,  from  tlie  increase 
of  the  monks,  soldiers  would  at  last  be  wanting 
to  repel  the  invasion  of  an  enemy.'  JIany  nobles, 
desii-ous  of  an  uninterrupted  life  of  sensuality, 
pretended  to  devote  their  wealth  to  the  service 
of  Ileaven,  and  obtained  the  I'oyal  sanction  for 
founding  a  religious  house;  but  in  their  new  cha- 
racter of  abbots,  they  gathered  round  them  a 
brotherhood  of  dissolute  monks,  witli  whom  they 
lived  in  the  commission  of  every  vice;  while  their 
wives,  following  the  examiile,  established  nun- 
neries upon  a  similar  piinciple,  and  filled  them 
with  the  most  depravcil  of  their  sex.'  To  tliese 
evils  was  added  the  bitterness  of  religious  con- 
tention. Men  thus  pampered  could  scarcely  be 
ex)iected  to  live  in  a  state  of  mutual  hiirmoiiy; 
and  fierce  dissensions  were  constantly  raging  be- 
tween the  monks,  or  regulars,  as  they  called  tliem- 
selves,  and  the  seculars  or  unmonastic  c!erg3',  about 
their  respective  duties,  privileges,  and  honours. 

It  was  natural  enough  that  the  grossest  su- 
perstition should  accompany  and  intermingle 
with  all  this  |irolligacy.  So  many  Saxon  kings 
accordingly  abandoned  their  crowns,  and  retired 
into  monasteries,  that  the  practice  became  a  pro- 
verbial distinction  of  their  race;"  while  other 
]iersons  of  rank,  nauseated  with  indulgence,  or 
horror-sti-uck  with  religious  dread,  often  also  for- 
sook the  world,  of  which  they  were  weary,  and 
took  refuge  in  cells  or  hermitages.  The  penances 
by  which  they  endeavoured  either  to  exjiiate 
their  crimes  or  attain  to  the  honours  of  saintsliip, 
emblazoned  though  they  are  in  chronicles,  and 
canonized  in  calendars,  can  only  excite  contempt 
or  disgust,  whether  they  a-scend  to  the  extrava- 
gance of  St.  Gurthlake,  who  endeavoured  to  fast 
forty  days,  after  the  fashion  of  Elias,'  or  sink  to 
the  low  standard  of  those  noble  ladies  wdio  thought 
that  heaven  was  to  be  won  by  the  s]iiritual  purity 
of  unwashed  linen.  In  addition  to  the  feeling  of 
I'emorse  by  which  sucli  ex|iiations  were  ins]iired, 
a  profligate  state  of  society  will  niulliply  religious 
observances,  as  a  cheap  substitute  for  the  ])rnctice 
of  holiness  and  virtue ;  and  men  will  re.adily  fast, 
and  make  journeys,  and  give  alms,  in  preference 


*  JJedo,  £piJ(i.  ad  Eijbcrt, 

•*  Aicuiii,  Epislola: ;  Line.artl'B  Anliqniiief  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Church,  p.  133. 

'  Hunting,  p.  337.       ^  florcf  Sinictorum,  in  Vit.  Gurih.  p.  34. 


15G 


niSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Religion'. 


to  the  greater  sacrifice  of  amendment  of  life.  We 
need  not,  therefore,  wonder  to  find  Saxon  jtil- 
griiiis  tlironging  to  tlie  Continent  and  to  I!ome, 


''S^y^l,"     Ir*!: 


Rock   Hermitage,  at  Guy's  Cliff,^  Wanvicksliire. — From  a 
sketcli  on  the  spot,  by  J.  "W.  Archer. 

wlio  do  not  seem  to  have  considered  a  little  con- 
traband traffic,  \vlien  opportunity  offered,  as  de- 
tracting from  the  merits  of  their  religious  tour;  ^ 
while  ladies  of  rank,  who  undertook  the  same 

'  Dugdale,  def>cribiiig  Guy's  CJiff,  says:  "This  being  a  great 
clift"  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Avon,  ivas  made  choice  of  by 
that  pious  man  St.  DubHtius  (who  in  the  Britons'  time  had  liis 
episcopal  seiit  at  Warwick)  for  a  place  of  devotion,  where  he 
bnilt  an  oratoiy,  dedicated  to  St.  Marv  Mogdolm  (Camden  says 
St.  Margaret,  into  which,  long  after,  in  the  Saxon  days,  did  a 
devout  heremite  repair,  who,  finding  the  natural  rock  so  proper 
for  his  cell,  and  the  pleasant  grove  wherewith  it  is  backed  yield- 
ing enteilaiiiment  fit  for  solitude,  seated  himself  here.  Which 
advantages  invited  also  the  famous  Guy  (sometime  Earl  of  War- 
wick), after  his  notable  achievements,  having  weaned  himself 
from  the  deceitful  pleasiu-es  of  this  woi'Id,  to  retire  hither, 
where,  receiving  ghostly  comfort  from  that  heremite,  he  abode 
till  liis  death."  There  are  several  cells  in  the  cliff.  Tliat 
shown  in  the  cut  is  at  the  base  of  the  rock,  and  is  popularly 
distinguished  as  Guy's  Cell.  However  doubtful  that  pei-sonage 
and  Ids  localities  may  be,  the  cell  itself  bears  a  token  of  early 
occupation,  in  an  inscription  cut  in  the  wall  in  Saxon  characters, 
but  not  legible. 

-  Spelraan's  Concilia,  i.  p.  2.07. 

^  "To  the  distance  from  Rome,  and  their  slender  dependence 
on  the  Papal  chair,  the  people  of  England  are  apparently  in- 
debted for  the  advantage  of  having  retained  their  mother  tongue 
as  the  language  of  the  church,  which  was  never  entirely  banished 
by  the  priests  from  their  most  sacred  services.  Tlieir  careless, 
sensual  coiu-se  of  life,  and  perhaps  the  prejudice  which  pre- 
vented them  fi-om  learning  even  so  much  Latin  as  was  requisite 
to  enable  them  to  repeat  the  Paternoster  and  Creed  in  that  lan- 
guage, have  proved  more  conducive  to  the  highest  interests  of 
the  countiy  than  the  dark  subtilty  of  the  learned  Romanized 
monk,  pondering  over  authorities.  Even  the  mass  itself  was 
not  read  entirely  in  the  Latin  tongue.     Tlie  wedding  form  was. 


journey,  frequently  parted  with  whatever  virtue 
they  i^oKsessed  by  the  way." 

"While  such  was  the  state  of  the  English  Church, 
the  invasions  of  the  Danes  coinnieneed  at  the  end 
of  the  eighth  centuiy,  and  were  continued  in  a 
succession  of  inundations,  each  more  terrible  than 
the  preceding.  These  spoilei-s  of  the  North,  de- 
voted to  their  ancient  idolatry,  naturally  abhorred 
the  Christianity  of  the  Saxons,  corrupted  though 
it  was,  as  a  religion  of  humanity  and  order;  and 
as  the  treasures  of  the  land,  at  the  first  alarm,  were 
deposited  in  the  sacred  edifices,  which  were  fondly 
believed  to  be  safe  from  the  intrusion  even  of  the* 
most  daring,  the  tempest  of  the  Danish  warfare 
was  chiefly  directed  against  the  churches  and 
monasteries.  Those  miracles  lately  so  plentiful, 
and  so  powerful  to  deceive,  were  impotent  now 
to  break  or  tiu-n  back  the  sword  of  the  invader. 
The  priest  was  massacred  at  the  altar;  the  monk 
perished  in  his  cell ;  the  nuns  were  violated  ;  and 
the  course  of  the  Northmen  might  be  traced  by 
the  ashes  of  sacred  edifices  that  had  been  pillaged 
and  consumed.  The  effects  of  these  devastations 
upon  both  religion  and  learning  may  be  read  in 
the  mom-nful  complaint  of  Alfred.  At  his  acces- 
sion, he  tells  us,  in  the  interesting  preface  to  his 
translation  of  Pope  Gregory's  tract  on  the  Duties 
of  Pastors^  that  he  could  find  very  few  priests 
north  of  the  Humber  Avho  were  able  to  translate 
the  Latin  service  into  the  vulgar  tongue ;  and 
south  of  the  Thames,  not  one.^ 

After  the  land  had  begun  to  recover  from  the 
immediate  effects  of  this  visitation,  and  the  chm'ch 
had  resumed  its  wonted  position,  the  celebrated 

no  doubt,  in  Anglo-Saxon ;  and  its  hearty,  sound,  and  simple 
sterling  substance,  are  preserved  in  the  English  ritual  to  the 
present  day.  The  numerous  versions  and  paraphrases  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  made  those  boo'ts  known  to  the  laity, 
and  more  familiar  to  the  clergy.  That  these  were  in  general 
ch'CTilation  in  Bede's  time,  may  perhaps  be  inferred  from  his 
omission  of  all  mention  of  them,  though  the  learned  and  cele- 
brated Anglo-Saxon  poet,  Aldhelm,  had  ah'eady  translated  the 
Psalms ;  and  Egbert,  Bishop  of  Lindisfame,  the  four  gospels. 
Beds  is  also  said  to  have  translated  both  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testament  into  liis  mother  tongue,  an  assertion  wldch,  like  a 
similar  one  regai'ding  King  Alfred,  must  be  limited  to  the  Gos- 
pel of  St.  John,  and,  in  the  case  of  Alfi*ed,  to  somo  fragments 
of  the  Psalms.  An  abridged  version  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  of 
some  other  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  by  Elfric,  in  the  end 
of  the  tenth  centmy,  is  still  extant.  The  vast  collection  of 
Anglo-Saxon  homilies,  still  preserved  in  man\iscript,  at  once 
enlarged  and  ennobled  the  language  and  the  feelings  of  Chris- 
tianity; and  the  ear,  which  continued  deaf  to  the  mother  tongue, 
was,  in  the  ^Vnglo-Sason  Church,  yet  more  sensibly  addressed, 
and  in  a  way  to  agitate  or  gently  move  the  heart.  Large  organs 
are  described  and  spoken  of  as  donations  to  the  chm-ch  in  the 
begiiming  of  the  eighth  centmy.  The  mention  of  this  instru- 
ment at  Mahnesbury,  aflords  ground  for  the  conjecture  that  it 
might  have  been  introduced  by  the  musical  Welsh.  Ciiurch 
music  was  fii-st  brought  into  Kent  by  the  Roman  clergy,  and 
from  thence  into  the  northern  parts,  where  it  \mderwcnt  im- 
provement. Tills  was  an  object  of  such  interest,  that  the  arrival 
of  aRnman  singing-master  is  mentioned  by  contemporary  authors 
as  a  matter  of  almost  equal  imiwrtance  with  a  new  victory  gained 
by  the  Catholic  faith  over  the  Pagans  or  Scots." — Lappenbcrg, 
vol.  i.  p.  202. 


AD.  440— 1066.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


1 


0/ 


Duustim  appeared.  lie  was  born  iu  ^yessox, 
about  the  year  925.  Although  he  was  of  uoble 
birth,  and  remotely  related  to  the  royal  family, 
as  well  as  connected  with  the  church  through  two 
uncles,  one  of  whom  was  primate,  and  the  other 
Eishop  of  Winchester,  those  signal  advantages 
were  not  deemed  enough  for  the  future  a.spirant 
to  clerical  supremacy,  without  the  corroboration 
of  a  miracle.  Ilis  career  was,  therefore,  indicated 
by  a  miracle  iu  a  clim-ch,  even  before  he  v.-as  born. 
His  youth  also  was  a  series  of  miracles,  llis 
early  studies  having  been  pursued  with  an  inten- 
sity that  exhausted  his  feeble  constitution,  a  fever 
ensued;  but  an  angel  visited  his  couch  by  night, 
and  suddenly  restored  him  to  health.  By  another 
niii'acle  he  was  taught  how  he  must  enlarge  the 
cluirch  in  Glastonbui-y,  &c.  Dunstan,  however, 
accomplished  himself  in  all  the  learning  and  in 
most  of  the  arts  that  might  give  him  an  influence 
in  society.  He  was  an  excellent  composer  in 
music;  he  played  skilfully  upon  vai'ious  instru- 
ments; was  a  painter,  a  worker  iu  design,  and  a 
caligraplier;  a  jeweller,  and  a  blacksmith.  After 
he  had  taken  the  clerical  habit,  he  was  introduced 
by  his  uncle,  Aldhelm  the  primate,  to  King  Athel- 
stane,  who  seems  to  have  been  delighted  with  liis 
music.  At  this  time  of  his  life  he  w.as  accustomed 
to  sing  and  play  some  of  the  heathen  songs  of  the 
ancient  Saxons,  and  for  this  he  was  accused  by  his 
enemies  as  a  profane  person.  Incun-ing  the  envy 
of  Athelstane's  courtiers,  and  losing  the  favour  of 
the  king,  who  was  made  to  suspect  him  of  sorcery, 
Dunstan  was  driven  from  the  court,  was  kicked, 
and  cudgelled,  and  thrown  into  a  bog,  and  there 
left  to  perish.  lie  escaped,  however,  from  this 
peril,  and  sought  refuge  with  his  uncle,  the  Bisho]i 
of  "Winchester.  His  vi-hole  life  was  now  altered. 
Contiguous  to  the  church  of  Glastonbui-y  he 
erected  a  very  small  cell,  more  like  a  sepulchre 
than  a  human  habitation;  and  this  was  at  once 
his  bed-chamber,  his  oratory,  and  his  workshop; 
and  it  was  here  that  he  had  that  most  celebrated 
combat  with  the  devil  which  all  have  heard  of. 
His  character  for  sanctity  now  began  to  wax  illus- 
trious. A  noble  dame,  who  had  renounced  the 
world,  and  who  occupied  a  cell  near  Ids  own, 
died  in  the  odoiu-  of  sanctity,  and  left  him  all 
her  property.  He  distributed  the  personal  pro- 
pei'ty  among  the  poor,  and  bestowed  the  lands 
iipon  the  church  at  Glastonbury,  endowing  that 
estaljlishment  at  the  same  time  with  the  whole 
of  his  own  patrimony,  which  had  lately  fallen  to 
him.  His  ambition,  though  inoi-dinate,  was  of 
too  lofty  a  character  to  stoop  to  lucrative  consi- 
derations. Edmund  ha\-ing  now  succeeded  to  the 
throne,  Dunstan  was  recalled  to  court;  but  his 
ambition  and  the  dread  of  his  talents  again  united 
the  courtiers  against  hiin,  and  he  was  once  more 
dismissed  through  their  intrigues.    An  opjiortunc  I 


miracle,  however,  induced  the  king  to  make  him 
abbot  of  Glastonbury,  and  to  increase  gi'eatly 
the  privileges  of  that  famous  mouastei-y.  Eilrcd, 
the  successor  of  Edmund,  showed  him  equal  fa- 
vour, anil  wovdd  have  made  him  IJishop  of  Crc- 
diton;  but  Dunstan,  who  seems  to  have  cont^m- 
])lated  a  much  higher  preferment,  declined  the 
oll'er.  The  very  next  day  (liaving  alw.ays  mira- 
cles at  his  hand)  he  declared  that  St.  Peter,  St. 
Paul,  and  St.  Andrew  had  visited  him  iu  tlie 
night,  and  that  the  last,  having  severely  chastised 
him  with  a  rod  for  rejecting  their  apostolic  society, 
commanded  him  never  to  refuse  such  an  offer 
again,  or  even  the  primaci/,  should  it  be  offered 
him;  assuring  him  witlial  that  he  should  one  day 
travel  to  IJouie. 

It  is  prol).al)le  that  Diinstan's  ultimate  aim  was 
to  etlect  what  he  deemed  a  reformation  of  the 
church,  and  that,  according  to  the  morality  of  the 
times,  he  justified  to  himself  the  means  to  which 
he  resorted  by  the  importance  of  the  object  he 
had  in  ■view.  A  fiex-ce  champion  for  the  fancied 
holiness  of  celibacy,  he  determined  to  reduce  the 
clergy  under  the  monastic  yoke,  and  to  cairy  out 
the  celibate  rule  of  Pope  Gregory  II.;  and  as 
during  the  late  troubles  many  both  of  the  secular 
and  the  regular  priests  had  married,  he  insisted 
that  those  who  had  so  acted  should  put  away  both 
their  wives  and  families.  Those  clergv'men  also 
who  dwelt  with  their  i-espective  bishops  were  re- 
quired to  become  the  inmates  of  a  monaster)'.  In 
these  views  Dunstan  was  happy  in  having  for  his 
coadjutor  Archbishop  Odo.  This  pei-sonage,  born 
of  Danish  pai-ents,  and  distinguished  in  the  early 
part  of  his  life  as  a  warrior,  retained  ever  after 
the  firmness  and  ferocity  of  his  first  calling.  We 
have  ah'cady  related  the  jiart  he  acted  along  with 
Dunst:m  in  tlie  tragedy  of  the  inihap]iy  Elgiva.' 
When  Dunstan,  shortly  after  this,  was  ol)liged  to 
flee  from  England,  on  being  accused  of  embezzle- 
ment in  the  administration  of  the  royal  revenues, 
it  is  related  that  while  the  king's  ollicei's  were 
employed  at  the  abbey  of  Glastonbury  in  taking 
an  inventoiy  of  his  efiects,  his  old  advcrsaiy,  the 
devil,  made  the  sacred  building  resound  with 
obstreperous  rejoicings.  But  it  is  added  tliat 
Dunstan  checked  the  devil's  triumph  by  the  pro- 
phetic intimation  of  a  speedy  return."  In  etlect 
the  death  of  Edwy  immediately  brought  about 
the  recal  of  Dunstan,  and  the  restoration  of  his 
inlluence;  and  ho  was  appointed  Bisliop  of  Wor- 
cester by  King  Edg.oi-  in  957.  Three  years  after 
he  obtained  the  primacy,  being  pi'omoted  to  the 
archbishopric  of  Canterbury  ujion  the  death  of 
his  friend  Odo.  According  to  custom,  he  re])aired 
to  Home  to  receive  the  pall  at  the  hands  of  the 
pope,  thus  fulfilling  the  pi-edictions  of  his  vision. 


'  Soo  vol.  i.  p.  101. 


2  Angtia  Sacra. 


153 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[r.ELiGioy. 


Diiiistaii  was  now  possessed  of  uulimitoJ  eccle- 
siastioal  authority;'  and  lie  was  seconded  hj'  the 
zealous  efforts  of  Oswald  and  Ethehvald,  the  for- 
mer of  \Yhom  he  promoted  to  the  see  of  Worces- 
ter, and  the  latter  to  the  see  of  Winchester,  and 
both  of  whom  were  afterwards  canonized  as  well 
as  himself.  The  superstitious  King  Edgar,  and 
afterwards  the  youthful  King  Edward,  were  com- 
pletely under  his  control.  With  none  to  check 
him,  he  proceeded  with  merciless  zeal  in  his  pro- 
jects of  reformation,  and  alternately  adopted  force 
and  stratagem.  The  clergy  were  imperiously  re- 
quired to  dismiss  their  wives  and  child  .en,  and 
conform  to  the  law  of  celibacy  or  resign  their 
charges ;  and  when  they  embraced  the  latter 
alternative  they  were  represented  as  monsters  of 
wickedness.  The  secular  canons  were  driven  out 
of  the  cathedrals  and  monasteries,  and  their  places 
were  filled  with  monks.  Miracles  were  not  spared 
for  converting  the  obstinate  recusants,  and,  be- 
sides the  wonderful  legends  that  were  prop.agated 
in  praise  of  St.  Benedict  and  his  severe  institu- 
tion, Archbishop  Dunstan  vouchsafed  to  them  a 
sign  for  their  conviction.  A  synod  being  held  at 
Winchester  in  the  year  977,  at  which  the  canons 
hoped  that  the  sentence  against  them  would  be 
reversed,  all  at  once  a  voice  issued  fi-om  a  crnciti.x 
in  the  wall,  exclaiming,  "Do  it  not!  do  it  not! 
You  have  judged  well,  and  you  would  do  ill  to 
change  it."  This  miracle  or  ventriloquism,  how- 
ever, so  far  from  convincing  the  canons,  only 
produced  confusiou,  and  broke  up  the  meeting. 
A  second  meeting  was  held,  with  no  better  suc- 
cess. A  third  wa-s  appointed  at  C'alne,  and  there 
a  prodigy  was  to  be  exhibited  of  a  more  tremen- 
dous and  decisive  character.  The  opponents  of 
Dunstan  had  chosen  for  their  advocate  Beornelm, 
a  Scottish  bishop,  who  is  described  as  a  pereon 
of  subtle  understanding  and  infinite  loquacity. 
Dunstan,  perplexed  by  the  arguments  of  the  logi- 
cal and  loquacious  Scot,  proceeded  to  his  final 
demonstration.  "  I  am  now  growing  old,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  and  you  endeavour  to  overcome  me. 
I  am  more  disposed  to  silence  than  to  contention. 
Yet  I  confess  I  am  unwilling  that  you  should 
vanquish  me;  and  to  Christ  himself,  as  judge,  1 
commit  the  cause  of  his  church  ! "  Scarcely  had 
he  said  the  words,  when  part  of  the  scaffolding 

'  "  The  CTiristian  clergy  occupied  an  influential  station  amons 
tue  Anglo-Sa.\ons,  which,  considering  the  numerous  calamities 
that  had  befiiUen  them,  as  well  as  their  disputes  with  the  Scots, 
is  the  more  remarkable.  In  explanation  of  tliis  striking  pheno- 
menon among  barbaric  horde;,  may  be  adduced  the  account 
given  by  Tacitus  of  the  vast  influence  in  secular  affairs  possessed 
by  the  pagan  Gennan  priesthood,  in  whom  exclusively  resided 
the  power  of  life  and  death.  Such  a  primitive  influence  tended, 
no  doubt,  greatly  to  facilitate  the  domination  of  the  Roman 
Tapal  Church,  and  a  part  of  their  jurisdiction — the  ordeals  or  so- 
called  judgments  of  God — may  have  had  their  origin  in  the  legal 
iLiiges  of  the  heathen  priests.  Religion  became  a  national  con- 
cern, and  priests  enacted  a  jirincipal  part  In  the  Anglo-Saxon 
witeuagemot.     The  rank  of  an  archbishop  was  equal  to  tliat  of 


and  flooring  suildcnly  gave  way,  and  fell  with  a 
mighty  crash,  with  his  adversaries,  of  whom  some 
were  crushed  to  death,  and  many  grievously  in- 
jured; while  the  part  of  the  edifice  which  Dun- 
stan and  his  adherents  occupied  i-emained  safe 
and  unmoved — sound  as  a  rock.  It  is  no  viola- 
tion of  charity  to  suspect  from  this  incident  that 
the  archbishop  was  skilled  in  the  profession  of 
the  carpenter  and  builder  as  well  as  in  that  of 
the  black.smilh. 

Dunstan  lived  for  ten  years  after  this  sangui- 
nary trick,  and  spent  them  in  prosecuting  his. 
favom'ite  schemes  of  ecclesiastical  reform.  His 
last  moments  are  irradiated  in  the  legend  of  his 
life  by  a  whole  galaxy  of  miracles.  lie  died  in 
the  reign  of  Ethelred,  a.d.  988. 

The  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  from 
the  death  of  Dunstan  to  the  Norman  conquest, 
pre.seuts  little  to  interest  the  general  reader.  The 
cause  for  which  Dunstan  and  his  coadjutoi-s  had 
laboured,  with  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  re- 
mained completely  in  the  ascendant.  IMonaste- 
ries  continued  to  be  founded  or  endowed  in  every 
jiartof  thekingdonijand  such  were  the  multitudes 
who  devoted  themselves  to  the  cloi-stei",  that  the 
foreboding  of  the  venerable  Bede  was  at  length 
accomplished — the  monks  wei-e  so  numerous  that 
there  were  not  left  soldiers  enough  to  defend  the 
conntry,  and  above  a  third  of  the  projierty  of  the 
land  was  in  possession  of  the  church,  and  exempted 
from  taxes  and  military  service. 

"With  the  i-emnant  of  the  superstitions  of  the 
ancient  Britons  were  blended  many  of  the  super- 
stitions and  customs  which  the  Saxons  and  Danes 
brought  with  them  from  Northern  Germany  and 
Scandinavia,  and  of  which  traces  are  still  to  be 
foimd  in  simdry  usages  and  in  many  parts  of 
England  and  Scotland.  An  increase  of  supereti- 
tion  of  a  certain  kind  was  one  of  the  consequences 
of  the  invasion  of  the  Danes.  In  a  canon  of  the 
reign  of  King  Edgar  the  clergy  are  enjoined  to 
be  diligent  in  withdi'awing  the  ])eople  from  the 
worship  of  trees,  stones,  and  fountains,  and  from 
other  evil  practices;  and  the  laws  of  King  Canute 
prohibit  the  worship  of  heathen  gods,  of  the  sun, 
moon,  fire,  rivers,  fountains,  rocks,  or  trees,  the 
practice  of  witchcraft,  or  the  commission  of  mur- 
der by  magic,  or  other  infernal  devices.^ 

an  atheling,  of  a  bishop  to  th.at  of  an  eolderman.  The  bishop 
presided  with  the  eoldei-man  in  the  county  court  [scir-geinot), 
the  jurisdiction  of  which  was  frequently  coextensive  with  the 
diocese." — Lappaiberg,  vol.  ii.  p.  323. 

2  "  No  Gennanic  people  preserved  so  many  memorials  of  pa- 
ganism as  the  .\nglo-Saxons.  Their  days  of  the  week  have  t« 
the  present  time  retained  their  heathen  names ;  even  that  of 
Woden  (Wednesd.ay)  is  still  unconsciously  so  called  in  both 
worlds,  and  by  more  tongues  than  when  he  was  the  chief  object 
of  religious  veneration.  In  the  north  of  Kngland  and  the  Ger- 
manic parts  of  Scotland,  the  Yule  fc-ist  igcoltol,  gcol)  has  never 
been  supplanted  by  the  name  of  Christmas.  That  these  deno- 
minations throughout  ages  were  not  a  senseless  echo  of  super- 
anmiated  customs,  is  evident  from  th"*  Anglo-Saxon  laws  of  later 


A.D.  -149— 106G.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


l.-:i 


111  the  canons  of  Elfric,  wlio  was  Aivlibisliop  of  \  ostiary,  who  took  charge  of  the  church  doors,  and 


Canterbury  from  905  to  1005,  we  learn  that  tl 
were  seven  orders  of  cler<,'y  in  the  church,  whose 
names  and  olUces  were  the  following:— 1st,  the 


rang  the  bell;  2d,  the  lector  or  reader  of  Scrip- 
ture to  the  congregation;  3d,  the  exorcist,  who 
drove  out  devils  by  sacred  atljiu-atlons  or  iiivo- 


Ordees  op  the  Clergy,'  li'om  carved  panels  in  the  cJiiuch  at  TiiiU,  Somersetshire. — J,  W.  Aiclur,  troin  his  drHWiiigon  tlie  spot. 


cations ;  4tli,  the  acolyte,  who  held  the  tapers 
at  the  reading  of  tlie  gospels  and  the  celebra- 
tion of  mass;  0th,  the  sub-deacon,  who  produ- 
ced the  holy  vessels,  and  attended  the  deacon  at 
the  altar ;  6th,  the  deacon,  who  ministered  to 
the  mass-priest,  laid  the  oblation  on  the  altar. 


times,  wMcli  strictly  forbid  the  Tvorship  of  heathen  gods,  of  the 
siin,  the  moon,  fire,  rivei-s,  water- wells,  stones,  or  forest-trees. 
It  is,  however,  probable,  that  some  of  this  heathenism  may  have 
been  awakened  by  contact  with  the  pagan  Northmen.  A  part 
of  the  old  theology  lost  its  pei'nicious  power;  when  reduced  to 
history  it  became  subservient  to  the  purposes  of  epic  poetry,  as 
instances  of  which  may  be  cited  the  genealogies  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  kings  and  the  poem  of  Beowulph.  Of  many  superstitions, 
which  long  retained  their  gvomid,  relative  to  the  power  of  magic, 
to  amulets,  magical  medicaments,  as  well  as  to  the  innocent 
belief— 6o  intimately  connected  with  poetry — in  elves  and  swanns 
of  benevolent,  or  at  least  hai-mless  unearthly,  though  sublunaiy 
spirits,  it  is  often  difficult  to  point  out  the  historic  elements  from 
which  they  have  spning;  as  precisely  in  the  northern  parts  of 
England,  where  they  were  longest  preserved,  the  intermixture 
of  the  Britons  with  tlie  Germans  was  the  most  intimate." — 
lappeiibei-fj. 

'  In  this  curious  carving,  we  have,  commencing  on  the  right, 
the  ostiarj'  ringing  the  church  bell;  next,  it  may  be  conceived, 
tlie  sub-deacon,  bearing  a  coffer  containing  the  holy  vessels. 
The  next  figure  may  represent  the  exorcist,  then  followed  by  a 
cross-bearer,  the  mass-priest,  in  his  embroidered  cape.  The  in- 
tervening panels  are  ornamented  with — 1st,  an  oak  ;  2d,  a  vine  ; 
3d,  the  iustiTiments  of  the  passion,  viz.,  the  cross,  the  hammer, 
the  pincers,  and  the  ladder,  between  the  nmgs  of  which  is  the 
flagellum  or  scourge ;  on  the  ladder  is  the  cock  which  admo- 
nished St.  Peter  by  its  crowing,  and  opposite,  the  lantern  of 


read  the  gospel,  baptized  children,  and  gave  the 
euchai'ist  to  the  people;  7th,  the  mass-priest 
or  presbyter,  who  preached,  baptized,  and  con- 
secrated the  eucliarist.  Of  the  same  order  with 
the  last  of  these,  but  higher  in  honour,  was  the 
bishop.^ 


Judas;  4th  and  6th,  a  repetition  of  the  oak  and  vine;  and 
6th,  a  vine  surmounted  by  the  sacred  monogi-am.  Over  an 
adjoining  series  of  scroll  panels  are  the  names  of  the  ecclcsliistic 
under  whose  auspices  the  work  w;is  performed,  "John  Wayo 
Clarke  heere;"  and  of  the  carver  himself,  "Simon  Warnian 
maker  of  thys  "worke.    Ano.  Dni.  1560." 

-  "  A  preceding  bishop,  probably  his  immediate  predecessor. 
FIfric,  in  the  year  1000,  had  directed,  in  one  of  the  canons  pub- 
lished at  a  council  in  which  he  presided,  that  every  parish  prie.st 
should  bo  obliged,  on  Svunlays  and  on  other  holidays,  to  explain 
the  Lord's  Prayer  or  the  Creed,  and  tho  gospel  for  the  day,  before 
the  people,  in  the  English  tongue.  While  historians  enlarge  on 
the  quarrels  between  the  Papacy  and  the  civil  power,  and  de- 
scant, with  tedious  prolixity,  on  the  superstitions  which  were 
in  vogue  dm-ing  the  dark  ages,  they  are  too  apt  to  pass  over  in 
a  cursory  manner  such  facts  as  this.  Lot  tho  reader  rellcct  on 
the  precioiLsness  of  the  doctrines  which  the  Loi-d's  Pi-ayer,  tho 
Creed,  and  some  of  the  plainest  and  most  jiractical  passages  of 
the  New  Testament  either  exhibit  or  imply,  and  he  will  be 
convinced  that,  if  the  canon  of  Eifric  had  been  obeyeii  with  any 
tolerable  degree  of  spirit  and  exactness  in  a  nmnber  of  parishes 
in  England,  the  ignorance  and  darkness  could  not  have  been  so 
complete  or  so  universal  as  we  are  generally  taught  to  believe. 
.  ,  .  That  elementary  knowledge  which  is  tho  object  of  the 
canon  is  ever  more  salutary  in  its  influence  than  the  most  inge- 
nious subtleties  of  literary  refmement  in  religion." — Milner, 
flist.  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  cent.  11,  ch.  iv. 


IGO 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


CHAPTER  YII.-HISTORY  OF  SOCIETY. 


FROM  THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  SAXONS  TO  THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  NORMANS. — A.D.  449— 10C6- 


TJnion  of  the  Saxon  tribes  in  England  into  one  people— Classe3  into  winch  tliey  were  divided — Condition  of  tlio 
ceorls  and  serfs — Different  kinds  of  servitude— Ecclesiastical  architecture — Houses — Furniture — Food — 
Cookery — An^Io-Saxon  banquets — Drinking  practices— Dress  of  the  Anj^lo-Saxons — Ornaments — Female 
costume  and  ornaments — Social  and  domestic  life  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  —  Female  occupations — Superstitions 
of  the  people— Their  course  of  life  from  the  beginning  to  the  close — Amusements  of  the  Anglo-Saxons — State 
of  education — Learned  Englishmen. 


^HEN  the  Saxons,  Jutes,  and 
Aiic^les  had  obtained  ])ossession 
of  England,  and  when  the  Ilep- 
tarchy  had  been  resolved  into 
a  monarchy,  it  was  in  the  or- 
dinary coui'se  of  things  that 
these  distinctions  of  races  should  cease,  and  the 
■whole  become  one  people.  This  was  the  more 
natiu'al,  as  they  were  pi-eviously  assimilated  in 
character,  language,  customs,  and  institutions,  as 
well  as  by  the  fact  of  a  common  origin.  Accor- 
dingly they  soon  came  to  be  spoken  of,  first 
under  the  name  of  Angles,  and  afterwards  under 
the  compound  term  of  Anglo-Saxons.  An  equally 
natural,  but  still  more  important  change,  was 

•  Tlie  police  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  was  established  and  secureJ 
by  the  principle  of  mutual  guarantee.  This  system  began  with 
the  mccgburh,  or  family-bond,  including  whole  commimities, 
related  by  blood  and  occupying  the  same  localities.  These  seem 
to  have  given  their  names  to  their  respective  possessions  in  the 
lands  they  had  conquered.  Mr.  Kemble  gives  two  lists  of 
patronymical  names,  winch  he  believes  to  be  those  of  ancient 
marks — the  fii-st  derived  from  the  Cod-x  Diplomaticus  and  other 
authorities;  the  second  inferred  from  actual  local  names  in  Eng- 
land. The  total  number  of  the  latter  is  G'27 ;  bnt  as  several  .are 
fomid  repeated  in  various  counties,  the  grand  total  is  131^9. 
Thus,  the  .Ebingtis  are  supposed  to  have  given  their  name  to 
Abhiger,  Abingliall,  and  Abington ;  the  Aldingas,  to  Alding- 
boum,  Aldingham,  and  Aldington ;  the  Buslingas,  to  Busling- 
thorpo ;  the  Fealdingas,  to  Faldingworth ;  the  Ferdingas,  to 
Firdlngbridge  ;  the  Gildingas,  to  Gildingwells;  the  Ilemingas, 
to  Hemingbrough  and  Uemingby,  &c. ;  while  many  of  these 
names  stand  alone,  witliout  any  atldition  of  ton,  ham,  thorpe, 
worth,  &c.  Mr.  Kemble  supposes  that,  as  of  U)0  of  these  last, 
140  occiu"  in  coimties  on  the  eastern  and  southern  coasts,  and 
twenty-two  more  in  counties  easily  accessible  tlirough  great 
navigable  streams,  they  were  possibly  the  original  seats  of  the 
marks  bearing  those  names ;  and  that  the  settlements  distin- 
guished by  the  addition  of  ham,  wic,  &c.,  to  these  original  names, 
were  filial  settlements,  or,  as  it  were,  colonies  from  them. 

"  In  looking  over  a  good  coimty  map,"  says  Mr.  K.,  "  we  are 
surprised  to  see  the  systematic  succession  of  places  ending  in  dai, 
holt,  tcood,  hurst,  fald,  and  other  words,  which  invariably  de- 
note forests  and  out-lying  pastures  in  the  woods.  These  are  all 
in  the  viarh;  and  witliin  them  we  may  trace,  with  ecxual  cer- 
tainty, the  hams,  tans,  icorihs,  and  sUd<s,  which  imply  settled 
habitations," 

Thus,  while  the  British  and  Celtic  races  seem  to  have  named 
places  almost  invariably  fi'om  some  natui'al  pecidiarity  of  the 
grcmid,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  it  appears,  named  them  from  the  fa- 
milies or  relationsliips  that  settled  on  them.  And  each  of  thcL^e 
small  comramnties  had  its  police  maintained  originally  by  the 
maghurh,  or  family-bond,  according  to  which  all  were  held  resixm- 


that  which  converted  them  from  restless  pirates 
into  peaceful  industrious  agi'iculturists.  In  ob- 
taining not  the  mere  plunder  of  the  English 
coast,  but  the  permanent  possession  of  England 
itself,  they  had  got  all  and  more  than  they  hail 
hoped  for;  and,  therefore,  nothing  further  re- 
mained for  them  but  to  sheathe  their  swords,  and 
sit  down  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  conquest. 
In  this  way  the  three  Germanic  tribes  became 
a  single  nation;  and  from  these  causes,  also,  they 
acquired  that  distinctive  nationality  which  was 
best  suited  to  their  common  character.  The 
country  was  divided  into  shires  antl  lunnlreds, 
and  into  cities,  burghs,  and  townships;'  while  the 
people,  in  like  manner,  were  jmrted  into  their 

siblo  for  the  offence  committed  by  one;  and  an  oJience  done  to 
one,  it  became  the  right  and  duty  of  all  to  avenge. 

But  this,  though  a  natural,  could  not  be  a  lasting  system.  A 
time  inevitably  comes  when  the  members  of  a  sibsccaft,  or  cog- 
nation, giadually  disperse,  and  neighbours  cea-'^e  to  be  kinsmen. 
This  naturally  led  to  a  new  system  of  guiiranteo,  founded  sim- 
ply on  number  and  neighbourhood.  The  free  inhabitants  of  the 
mark  came  thus  to  be  classed  in  tens  and  liundreds — techni- 
cally, titliings  and  hundreds — each  forming  a  corporation,  pro- 
bably comprising  a  coiTesponding  nimiber  of  members  respec- 
tively, together  with  a  titliing-nian  for  each  tithing,  and  n 
hundred-man  for  each  hundi-ed  ;  thus  making  111  men  in  each 
territorial  hundred. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these  111  heads  of  houses  were, 
with  their  children  and  domestic  servants,  the  sole  inhabitants 
of  tlie  hmidred ;  a  large  allowance  must  be  made  for  slaves. 
Neither  did  the  territorial  himdred  contain  always  neither  more 
nor  fewer  heads  of  houses  than  those  with  which  it  commenced. 
A  distinction  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  for  some  time  obsei-ved 
between  the  numerical  and  the  territorial  division— the  nume- 
rical being  called  the  hynden,  wldch  consisted  of  ten  tithings, 
and  the  territorial  being  called  the  hundred,  although  originally 
they  were  identical.  The  tendency  of  land  divisions  being  to 
remain  stationary  for  ages,  whUe  their  population  varies  inces- 
santly, two  very  distinct  things  seem  to  have  grown  up  together 
in  England — a  constantly  increasing  number  of  the  pj/hh,  or 
corporations,  yet  a  nearly  or  entirely  stationary  tale  of  tenito- 
rial  tithings  and  himdreds.  There  seems  to  have  been  elbow- 
room  within  the  marks,  to  admit  a  considerable  elasticity  of 
the  population,  without  disturbing  their  ancient  boimdaries, 
i  but  merely  by  extending  and  improving  cultivation  within 
1  those  boimdaries.  Assuming  that  ovu  present  hundreds  nearly 
represent  the  original  in  number  and  extent,  we  miglit  (in- 
clude that,  if  in  the  year  400  Kent  wiu  fii^t  divided,  Thanct 
then  contained  only  100  heads  of  houses,  or  hydes,  upon  :!U00 
acres  of  cultivated  land  ;  wliile,  in  the  time  of  Bedc,  tln-eo  cen- 
turies later,  it  comprised  COO  families,  upon  1S,000  cultivated 


A.D.  Uy— 10G6.J 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


IGl 


respective  classes,  whether  of  rich  or  poor,\vliether 
of  boud  or  free.'  But  it  is  to  these  divisions  of 
the  people  that  we  confine  our  attention  at  pre- 
sent, and  to  the  development  and  progi-ess  of 
their  chai-aeter  in  intellectual,  social,  and  domes- 
tie  life. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  society,  after  it  had  assumed 
a  settled  and  regularly  organized  form,  may  bo 
divided  into  six  classes.  These  wore — 1,  the  king 
and  liis  family;  2,  the  ethelborn,  or  nobly-born, 
who  were  men  of  the  highest  birth;  3,  men  high 
in  office  or  possessed  of  large  property;  4,  a  free- 
man; 5,  a  freed  man;  G,  a  serf."  In  simplifying 
these  nice  distinctions,  however,  the  people,  pro- 
perly so  called,  were  divided  into  two  great 
classes — the  eoiis  and  the  ceorls.  The  former 
comprised  the  ethelborn,  eoldermen,  or  men  of 
princely  descent;  the  twdfh(undnun,  or  men  of 
twelve  hands,  and  the  sixhaeiuimeii,  or  men  of 
six  hands;  that  is,  the  nobility  of  inferior  rank. 
As  for  the  ceorls  (or  chmis),  who  were  also  called 
villains  (or  inhabitants  of  a  \411?.),  they  were  the 
free-born  and  the  liberated,  who  dwelt  in  the 
township,  village,  or  farm,  under  the  rule  of  their 
feudal  superior,  and  were  the  agxicultui-ists  and 
liaudicr;iitsmen  of  the  country,  and  traders  and 
small  kmdholders  of  every  description  under  the 
rank  of  priest  and  noble.  These  constituted  the 
middle  classes,  out  of  which  the  commons  of  Eng- 
land were  ultimately  formed.  An  idea  of  the 
inferior  jilace  which  the  ceorls  occupied,  although 
they  constituted  the  bulk  of  the  commimity,  may 
be  obtained  from  the  following  scale,  established 
in  the  courts  of  law.  The  Mord  of  a  king  or 
bishop  was  of  itself  conclusive,  and  required 
no  additional  corroboration.  The  compurgatory 
oath  of  a  priest  was  equivalent  to  that  of  1'20 
ceorls,  and  the  oath  of  a  deacon  to  that  of  sixty. 
But  when  we  descend  from  these  sacred  privi- 
leges of  the  chui-ch  in  the  matter  of  legal  testi- 
mony and  oath-taking,  to  the  lay  nobles,  it  is  gra- 
tifying to  find  that  the  eorl  was  equivalent  to 
not  more  than  six  ceorls.  This  was  a  liberal  al- 
lowance, according  to  the  standard  of  the  age; 


but  still  it  was  hard  enough  that  five  good  men 
and  true  might  bo  outfaced  in  a  coiu't  by  the  tes- 
timony of  only  one  six-handed  mjin.  The  ceorls, 
also,  although  they  were  not  the  absolute  property 
of  a  master,  were  yet  so  strictly  bound  to  the 
soil  that  they  could  not  remove  from  the  estate 
on  which  they  were  born;  and  when  this  was 
sold,  they  were  transferred  with  it  to  the  new 
purchiiser,  like  the  cattle  that  grazed,  or  even  tlie 
trees  tliat  grew  ujion  it.'  This  was  nothing  more 
or  less  than  the  condition  in  which  these  ceorls, 
villani,  or  bondmen  had  been  placed  in  the  forests 
of  Germany,  v,  liich  Tacitus  thus  describes :  "  The 
rest  of  theii-  slaves  liave  not,  like  om-s,  particular 
employments  in  the  family  allotted  them.  Each 
is  the  master  of  a  habitation  and  household  of 
his  own.  The  lord  requu'es  from  him  a  certain 
quantity  of  gi-ain,  cattle,  or  cloth,  as  from  a  ten- 
ant; and  so  far  only  the  subjection  of  the  .slave 
extends."  Mild  though  this  form  of  servitude 
might  be  in  a  rude  slate  of  society,  the  Roman 
historian  characterizes  it  imder  the  n;une  of  sla- 
very; and  there  ai'e  few  of  the  present  day  who 
v/ill  not  agree  with  him.  To  be  mere  part  and 
parcel  of  the  soil,  though  it  were  that  of  Eden 
itself,  and  to  be  bound  to  it  beyond  the  power  or 
liberty  of  removal,  is  bondage  indeed.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  a  long  period 
had  to  intervene,  and 
many  a  step  of  transi- 
tion to  be  efl'ected,  be- 
fore these  laud-enthrall- 
ed churls  could  become 
the  happy,  bold-hearted, 
and  free  -  born,  free  - 
moving  conunons  of 
merry  England. 

A  worse  condition  still 
than  this  was  that  of  the 
serfs  or  slaves,  in  the 
proper  acceptation  of 
the  term.  These  men, 
who  constituted  a  lai-ge  portion  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  population,  were  not  only  bondmen  of  the 


-Serf  or  Theow. — Cotton  MS 
Ckypatia  C.  a. 


'  "'The  populatiou  oi  the  coimtry  consisted  of  two  elements 
— tue  cliieis  and  tlioir  loLlowei-s,  who  had  obtained  possession 
and  lordslup  of  the  lands;  and  the  agricultui'ists  and  labourei-s, 
who  Were  in  the  position  of  serfs  and  bondmen,  and  comprised 
cliiefly  ttie  old  Romano-British  popnlation,  which,  xmder  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  was  probably  ipiito  as  well  off  as  under  the  Ro- 
mans. The  Saxons  thus  held  the  coimtiy,  while  the  Roman 
cities  continued  to  hold  the  towns  as  tributaries  of  the  Saxon 
kings,  within  whose  bounds  they  atood.  The  country  thus 
exliibited  Teutonic  l-udeueas,  whUe  tlie  towns  were  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Roman  civilization;  and  though  the  intercoui-se 
between  the  two,  and  the  gradual  infusion  of  Saxon  blood  into 
the  townis,  laid  the  foundation  of  modern  society,  there  was  a 
feeling  of  hostility  and  rivalry  between  tov/n  and  country  which 
has  hardly  yet  disappeai-ed.  Between  the  aristocratic  feeling  of 
the  Saxon  landholders,  and  the  republican  principles  that  ex- 
isted in  the  towns,  arose,  under  the  balancing  influence  of  the 
crown,  the  modei-u  political  constitution." — See  T/te  CtU,  Ifa 
Vol.  ]. 


Roman,  and  tlie  Saxon,  p.  435.  In  illustrating  the  only  effects 
by  wliicb  his  view  w;is  demonstrated,  the  same  author  adds,  at 
p.  440: — "  it  may  be  cited  as  a  proof  of  the  correctness  of  this 
view  ot  tho  mode  in  which  the  Roman  corponitious  outlived 
tho  shock  of  invasion,  and  titus  became  a  ch'uf  hutratnent  in 
the  civiii2ation  of  subsequent  ages,  that  even  tho  Danes,  in  their 
predatory  excursions,  often  entered  into  similar  compositions 
with  the  Saxon  towns,  aa  with  Canterbury,  in  1009.  It  m.ay 
be  added,  that  there  is  no  greater  evidence  of  the  independ- 
ence and  strength  of  the  tow'iis  under  tho  Saxons  than  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  while  the  kijig  and  his  earls,  with  tho  forces 
of  the  counties,  were  not  able  to  make  a  successful  stAud  against 
the  Danish  invaders,  it  frequently  haiipcned  that  a  town  singly 
drove  a  jwwerfiU  army  from  its  gales,  and  tho  to^viismeu 
sometimes  issued  forth,  and  defeated  tho  enemy  lu  a  pitched 
battle." 

2  Sliaron  Turner's  Uiatory  of  the  Anglo-Saxon). 

^  Ibid.  ;  Palgrave's  EnglUh  Cominonwcalth. 

21 


162 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


soil,  but  01  the  proprietor  also,  and,  as  such,  were 
bound  to  serve  him  at  home  or  a-field  without 
wages,  except  the  clothing  and  sustenance  which 
he  was  pleased  to'  give  them.  It  was  not  merely 
that  they  were  bought  and  sold  with  the  land, 
like  cattle  or  other  projierty — for  this  was  also 
the  destiny  of  the  chiu-ls,  who  considered  them- 
selves as  freemen  notwithstanding  —  but  they 
were  bequeathed  by  will  on  the  death  of  their 
masters,  and  not  only  they,  but  then-  posterity  to 
the  remotest  generations,  in  the  fashion  of  a  mo- 
dern entail.  While  the  ceorl  also  was  protected 
by  the  laws  in  such  liberty  as  he  possessed,  the 
slave  might  be  confined,  whipped,  or  branded 
without  appeal,  and  was  frequently  yoked  to  the 
car  or  plough;  and  in  this  way,  we  read  of  "teams 
of  men  "  in  the  inventories  of  the  day,  to  distin- 
guish them  from  horses  and  oxen.'  Such  was  the 
condition  of  the  slaves,  or  t/icows,  as  they  were 
denominated  among  the  Anglo-Saxons.  But  in 
this,  also,  there  were  several  ameliorating  circum- 
stances. Thus  the  practice  of  manumission,  which 
was  recommended  as  a  Cliristian  duty,  was  fre- 
quent, especially  at  the  horn-  of  death,  and  by  the 
wills  of  testators.  A  serf  might  also  buy  out  his 
freedom  by  a  little  extra  industry,  for  which  he 
had  many  opportunities.  But  the  greatest  blow 
at  slavery  was  struck  by  the  institutions  of  Al- 
fred, which  decreed  that  when  a  Christian  man 
was  purchased  as  a  slave,  he  should  only  seive 
for  six  years,  but  on  the  seventh  be  set  at  liberty. 
In  this  way  it  was  decided  that,  in  the  ordinary 
com-se  of  nature,  aud  without  any  other  interfer- 
ence, slavery  should  gradually  die  out  in  Eng- 
land. As  to  the  kinds  of  people  upon  whom  this 
unfortunate  lot  of  slavery  had  fallen,  it  is  per- 
haps not  very  difficult  to  ascertain  them,  As 
the  Saxous  had  been  accustomed  to  the  in- 
stitution in  their  own  country,  they  would 
scarcely  scruple  to  continue  it  in  their  new 
home,  and  retain  in  serfage  the  classes  whom 
they  had  been  wont  to  hold  in  thraldom 
in  Germany.  But  besides  their  own  here- 
ditary bondmen,  who  were  of  the  same  race 
with  themselves,  there  were  the  vanquish- 
ed Britons,  over  whom  they  probably  exer- 
cised that  right  of  the  stronger  which  every 
countiy  has  used  in  tiu-n,  and  whom  they 
converted  not  only  into  ceorls,  but  iu  many  '^^ 
cases  into  theows.  Fmalty,  there  were  but 
too  many  Sax:ous  who  either  had  forfeited 
their  liberty  by  their-  ciimes,  or  been  fain 
to  sell  it  in  consequence  of  their  poverty,  out 
of  whom  the  ranks  of  servitude  were  con- 
stantly supplied.  A  slave-mai'ket,  indeed,  was 
not  unknown  in  England;  and  in  the  frequent  fa- 
mines that  occui-red,  chiefly  from  the  Danish  in- 


vasions, parents  sold  their  own  children,  to  save 
them  from  a  death  of  hunger.  In  this  way  each 
noble  household  was  abundantly  sup])lied  with 
such  kind  of  service,  as  is  evident  from  the  single 
example  of  Alcuin,  the  Saxon  abbot,  who  had 
10,000  slaves  to  his  own  share."  But  besides 
these  numerous  serfs,  the  princes  and  eorls  had 
retinues,  composed  of  men  of  a  higher  grade. 
These  were  /i.i(s<:arh'i!  (house  ceorls),  who  waited 
upon  their  master's  person  at  home,  or  upon  a 
journey ;  and  cnihts,  or  knights.  As  this  last 
word  bulked  so  largely  during  the  Norman  as- 
cendency, it  is  necessary  to  mention,  that  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons  it  only  signified  a  boy,  after- 
wai-ds  a  servant  who  was  not  a  slave,  and  finally, 
a  militaiy  attendant.  In  this  la.st  capacity  the 
cnihts  were  distinguished  for  their  fidelity  and 
devotedness,  as  was  manifested  by  an  instance 
that  oocmTed  during  the  period  of  the  Heptarchy. 
When  Cynewulf,  King  of  Mercia,  was  about  to 
be  assassioated,  his  military  attendants  were  of- 
fered immunity  if  they  cea-sed  to  resist;  but  they 
scorned  the  bribe,  aud  died  to  a  man  in  the  hope- 
less defence  of  their  master.  When  Cyneheard, 
his  murderer,  a  few  hom-s  after,  was  attacked  by 
a  gi-eatly  superior  force,  who  sought  to  revenge 
their  sovereign's  death,  his  cnihts,  who  might  have 
escaped,  rallied  in  his  defence,  and  fell  one  by  one 
before  he  could  be  reached. 

Before  tiu-ning  our  attention  to  the  social  and 
domestic  life  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  the  homes 
they  inhabited,  it  is  necessai-y  to  advert  to  the 
condition  of  their  ecclesiastical  and  public  ai-ehi- 
tectm-e.  When  Christianity  was  established  iu 
the  seventh  century  in  England,  the  first  churches 
partook  of  the  rude  simplicity  of  the 
period,  being  constructed  only  of  timber 
and  roofed  with  thatch,  as  in  the  in- 
stances of  Lindesfarne  aud  York,  while 
nothing  but  the  altar  was  of  stone.  Of 
this  primitive  kind  of  edifice,  the  chm-ch 
at  Greenstead  is  believed  to  be  an  ex- 


T 


SouTH  View  of  Greensteau  chuklh,  i:.M«\. — i^iawu  174S. 

isting  specimen.      According  to  ancient  legends, 
this  simple  structure  was  erected  to  serve  as  a 


'  Shai-on  Turner's  UislMry  of  the  Anglo-Saxoiti. 


-  Stndt.—lt  is  to  the  various  works  of  tliis  indefatigable  an- 
tiquarian tliat  we  are  mainly  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  the 
condition,  oostiime,  and  manners  of  the  Auglo-Sa.\;ouB.  Tliis 
tntimation  will  make  it  the  less  necessary  to  refer  to  bis  name 
as  our  autbority  in  the  foUowijig  pa^es. 


A.n.   U9— 1066.1 


SAXON    PERIOD. 


1C3 


.shrine  for  the  body  of  St.  Ednuuul,  .\.D.   KUO. 
The  nave  ia  entii-ely  comuosed  of  the  trunks  of 


West  End  of  Greenstead  CsuBcn,  Esse.x 

l.Tj'ge  oaks,  split  and  roughly  hewed  ou  both 
sides;  they  are  set  upright,  aud  close  to  each 
other,  being  let  into  a  sill  at  the  bottom,  and  a 
plate  at  tke  top,  where  they  are  fastened  with 
wooden  pins.  This  was  the  whole  of  the  origi- 
nal fabric,  which  still  remains  entire,  although 
much  decayed  by  time.  It  is  twenty-nine  feet 
nine  inches  long,  fourteen  feet 
wide,  and  five  feet  six  inches 
high  on  the  side  which  sup- 
ported the  primitive  roof. 
The  addition  at  the  east  end 
is  of  Anglo-Norman  architec- 
ture, and  forms  a  further  evi- 
dence of  the  antiquity  of  this 
timber  edifice. 

In  the  seventh  ceutuiy, 
churches  in  England  began  to 
be  built  of  stone;  and  of  this 
early  ecclesiastical  masonry 
specimens  are  still  to  be  found 
iu  the  remains  of  the  monas- 
teries erected  by  Benedict 
Biscop,  at  Weai-mouth,  a.d.  674,  and  at  Jar- 
row,  A.D.  684.  Those  in  the  foi-mer  place  consist 
of   a   banded  cylindrical  column  that  has   be- 


COLUMN  IN  MoNKWEAK- 

MOUTH  Church. 


Carved  Fbaomknt,  Munkwoarmouth  Chui-ili. 

longed  to  a  small  window,  and  of  very  rmle  de- 
sign, but  which  con-espouds  precisely  with  some 
columns    delineated    in   Anglo-Saxon    illumina- 


tions; and  another  fragment,  suiJjjosed  lo  liave 
belonged  to  tlie  same  edifice,  being  jiart  of  a 
string  com-se,  on  which  ai-o  rude  cai'vings  of  ani- 
mals, &c.  The  architectural  zeal  of  Biscop  was 
manifested  not  only  by  the  sacred  edifices  he 
erected,  but  his  diligence  iu  bringing  foreign  ar- 
tisans into  England ;  but  amidst  the  growing 
improvement,  it  is  evident  that  the  architectural 
styles  both  of  the  Saxons  and  the  Normans  were 
only  imitations  of  the  Komanesque  style  of  Italy, 
and  that  the  chief  dillerence  lay  in  the  degi-ee  of 
ability  in  imitaling  a  debased  original. 

The  towers  of  Earls-Biu-ton  Church  in  North- 
amptonshire, and  of  Sompting  Chm-ch  in  Sussex 
— as  structures  admit- 
ted to  belong  to  the 
Anglo-Saxon  period  — 
])resent  a  remarkable 
feature  in  the  peculiar 
mode  of  their  construc- 
tion,being  built  rather 
iu  the  manner  of  tim- 
bered edifices  than  of 
those  raised  in  mason- 
ry. "  Beyond  the  face 
of  the  walls  long  thin 
stones  project,  placed 
vertically  at  nearly 
equal  distances,  which 
'  <iutinue  from  one  ho- 
rizontal course  or  story 
to  another,  and  in  the 
sjMces  between  are  se- 
micircular and  diago- 
nal jiieces,  which  give 
it  a  gi-eat  similarity  to  wood  quartering.  The 
quoins  are  of  the  description  of  masonry  which  is 
always  identified  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  style,  and 
called  long  and  short  work,  from  theii-  being  ar- 
ranged with  stones  of 
equal  size,  placed  al- 
ternately in  a  vertical 
ajid  horizontal  position 
upon  each  other,  thus 
bearing  resemblance  to 
debased  rustic  work. 
The  walls  of  the  tower 
of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Bai-ton  -upon-H  umber, 
are  built  in  a  similar 
manner  to  those  just 
described,  of  rubble 
stone  and  grout,  inter- 
spersed with  a  sort  of 
framework  of  project- 
ing freestone  in   com- 


TowEB  OF  Sompting  Church, 
Sussex. 


Window,  Bamrick  Cluircli, 
Northamptonshire. 


partments,  and  incasing  the  doors  and  windows; 
the  openings  of  the  windows  in  the  upper  story 
ai-e  covered  by  two  stone.s,  inclining  together. 


1C4 


HISTORY  OF    ENGLAND. 


[Social  Statk. 


n-ithout  nny  curvature.''  This  peculiarity  iu  the 
Anglo-Saxon  bell  towers  is  not  recognized  in  the 
Noiinan  arcliitecture,  nor  in  any  other,  except  in 
some  of  the  numerous  tombs  of  Asia  Minor;  and 
it  may  be  presumed  to  have  origin.ated  in  the 
transition  fnmi  the  practice  of  executing  edifices 
composed  of  timber,  to  that  of  working  in  stone, 
Tlie  heads  of  windows  and  doors  in  Anglo-Saxon 
.'irchitecture  are  triangidar  or  semicircular;  the 
former  .shape  seems  to  have  been  copied  from  the 


Doorway  of  the  Tower  ok  Earls-Barton  Church. 

debased  Roman  form  wliich  is  to  be  seen  on 
sarcophagi  in  the  catacombs  of  Rome.  "  The 
extreme  of  the  triangle  rests  upon  a  plain  abacus, 
the  impost  in  some  cases  projecting  fi-om  the 
wall.''^  The  semicii'cular  arch  is  the  most  fre- 
quent, the  earliest  of  which  were  constructed  of 
large  tiles,  probably  borrowed  from  the  debris  of 
Roman  edifices.  These  tiles  -were  placed  on  end, 
and  the  spaces  between,  which  are  nearly  equal 
in  width,  filled  in  with  i-ubble-work  ;  the  jambs 
or  imposts  of  the  arches  were  generally  of  stone, 
as  well  as  the  walls,  in  which  were  sometimes 
laid  courses  of  tile,  either  iu  horizontal  layers,  or 
in  the  diagonal  man- 
ner ca.lled  herring- 
bone, bemg  evi- 
dently an  imitation 
of  the  Romano-Bri- 
tish structures.  A 
massive  but  rude 
imitation  of  the  Ro- 
man models  before 
them  seems  to  have 
characterized  the 
■works  of  the  Saxon 
architects.  Their 
mouldings  were  few  and  simple,  consisting  of  a 
square  faced  projection,  with  a  chamfer  or  splay 
on  the  upper  or  lower  edge.  Another  feature  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  bell  towers  is  to  be  remarked 
in  the  rude  columns  which  di^dde  the  openings 


Baluster   V.'indow,    llonkwedr- 
mouth  Church,  Durham. 


of  the  windows,  and  form  a  kind  of  balustrade, 
frequently  represented  in  Anglo-Saxon  manu- 
scripts. Tliese  appear  iu  the  tower  of  Earls-Barton, 
.T:u-row,  Monk we.armoutli, and  other  churches.  Of 
llie  genius  of  Anglo-Saxon  sculjrture  we  have  a 
fow  examples,  chiefly  consisting  of  crosses  and 
fonts,  in  wliich  the  human  figiu-e  and  animals 
are  sometimes  rudely  carved,  but  the  adorn- 
ments of  interlaced  knot-work  and  foliage  dis- 
play some  ingenuity  of  design  and  execution,  as 
in  the  font  of  Bridekirk,  Cumberland,  on  which 
is  a  Saxon  inscription,  evidently  part  of  the  ori- 
sriual  design. 


'  Talbot  Burj',  Rudimentary  Atchitpcture. 


Font  in  Bridekirk  Church,  CumTjerlaiiil. 

Of  the  domestic  architecture  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  all  we  can  learn  is  only  to  be  gathered 
from  a  few  scattered  hints,  which  show  that  the 
houses  of  our  Saxon  ancestors  were  piles  con- 
structed without  ai-t,  or  mere  imitations  of  the 
Roman  edifices  which  existed  among  them.  Such 
is  the  testimony  of  William  of  Malmesbury,^ 
who  contrasts  the  low  and  mean  dwellings  of 
the  people  with  those  stately  edifices  which  the 
Norm.ans  .afterwards  introduced.  That  such  was 
the  condition  even  of  tlie  palaces  of  kings  at  the 
introduction  of  Christianit}',  is  app.arent  from  the 
speech  of  the  venerable  thegn  to  Edwin,  King 
of  Northumbria,  when  the  question  of  adopt- 
ing the  new  faith  was  discussed.  He  compared 
the  state  of  man  to  the  entrance  and  dej^ar- 
ture  of  a  swallow ;  and  from  the  whole  picture, 
we  see  nothing  better  than  the  king  and  liis 
nobles  seated  I'ound  a  fire  in  the  midst  of  the 
apartment,  from  which  the  smoke  was  allowed  to 
escape  as  it  best  might,  while  the  wdLole  building 
was  so  open,  that,  even  in  the  winter  storm,  a 
bird  could  enter  and  depart  at  pleasure.  When 
Alfred  liad  settled  the  Danelagh,  and  commenced 
a  life  of  study  in  earnest,  we  also  find  that  he  was 
obliged  to  invent  a  lantern,  to  guard  his  candles 
from  being  blown  out  by  the  winds  that  swept 
through  his  apartment.  As  often  happens,  how- 
ever, all  this  squalor  and  discomfort  was  contrasted 
with  the  occasional  richness  of  the  furniture;  and 

^  Tlu6  historian,  who  wrote  after  the  Norman  conquest, 
.ibounds  with  incidental  notices  of  the  manners  and  cugtoma  of 
the  Anglo-Saxons  prior  to  that  event. 


A.D.  44!)  -  l()G(i. 


SAXON   PERIOD. 


165 


Ike  walls  wi;lnn,  iiotwitliatauding  tlieir  apeiiurca, 
aiid  the  dust  with  wliioh  they  were  begrimed, 
were  hung  with  rich  tapestry.  These  hangings 
are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  inventories  of 
the  day;  and  in  the  liouses  of  the  wealthy  and 
noble  they  were  generally  of  silk,  sometimes 
adorned  with  rich  needle-work  of  gold,  represent- 
ing hirds  and  other  animals.  One  of  the.se,  men- 
tioned by  Iug\ilphus,'  which  was  made  in  the  ninth 
century,  represented  the  destruction  of  Troy;  and 
another,  wrought  by  Edeltleda,  for  the  church  of 
Kly,  was  embroidered  with  the  actions  of  her 
husband  Brithnod,  Duke  of  Northumberland,  in 
needle-work  of  gold.  The  chairs,  benches,  and 
stools,  were  sometimes  covered  with  the  same 
kind  of  tapestry,  and  the  wood-woi-k  ornamented 
with  cai'ved  likenesses  of  the  heads  and  legs  of 
animals.  The  tables  also  were  rich,  being  some- 
times described  as  made  of  silver,  and  even  of 
gold,"  while  the  same  costly  materials  were  abun- 
dantly used  in  the  manufacture  of  drinking- 
cups,  and  the  furniture  of  a  banquet.  In  these 
consisted  the  chief  wealth  of  their  ownei-s,  and 
they  were  at  any  time  convertible  into  money. 
Besides  the  above  articles,  a  silver  mh'ror  is 
mentioned  in  Dugdale's  Monasticon  as  an  accom- 
paniment of  the  toilet,  and  silver  candelabra  and 
cressets  occur  in  the  notices  of  the  period.  To 
these  may  be  added  the  indispensable  conveni- 
ence of  a  hand-bell,  with  which  the  lord  or  lady 


erected  a  monastei-y  at  \Vearuio\ith,  K.n.  674,  ii> 
troduced  workers  in  gla.ss  into  England,  who  not 
only  glazed  the  windows  of  his  edifices,  but  also 


Saxon  IlAND-nnLLS. — 1,  foimd  at  Ijittle  Wilbraham.    Nuvillo's 
Saxon  Obsequies. — 2,  fi-om  Strutt. 

summoned  the  attendants.  As  for  cups  and  ves- 
sels of  glass,  these  were  rarely  used  in  England 
before  the  period  of  the  Norman  conquest;  and 
Bede  mentions  that  the  people  were  "  ignorant  and 
helpless  in  the  art  of  glass-making."  The  same 
authority  informs  us  that  Benedict  Biscop,  who 


'  Secretary  of  William  the  Conqueror,  This  writer  is  also  a 
valuable  authority  upon  the  condition  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

2  ProKibly  they  were  only  overlaid  or  oniameuted  with  the.se 
precious  metals.  In  the  same  manner,  Turgot  infoi-ms  us  that 
Malcolm  Canmore.  King  of  Scotland,  was  served  at  table  in  ves- 
sels of  gold  and  silver,  and  then  adds,  that  at  least  they  were 
over-gilt. 

^  These  vessels  are  of  a  fine  material.  No.  2  is  of  extremely 
delicate  fabric,  and  of  a  rich  brown  tint.  It  is  so  exceedingly 
light,  as  scarcely  to  be  felt  in  the  hand.  No.  3  is  of  very  trans- 
parent light  green  glass;  it  holds  exactly  a  pint.   Drinking-glassea 


Glass  Vessels,  fuund  iu  Saxon  graves.^  -:  ^nl  l.  1^a\\\  at  Cud- 
tiison,  Oxon ;  2  and  3,  from  a  cemetery  in  East  Kent. — Akei-- 
man's  Pagan  Saxondoui. 

made  glass  for  lamps  and  other  uses,  and  gave  in- 
struction in  those  manufactures  to  the  English.' 
When  the  hour  of  rest  arrived,  the  tables  of  the  hall 
were  removed,  and  beds  laid  in  their  places,  where 
those  who  had  feasted  dm-ing  the  day  betook  them- 
selves to  repose,  each  man  with  his  weapons  above 
his  head.  This,  however,  was  during  the  eai-lier 
stage  of  the  Saxon  occupation  of  England ;  for 
afterwards,  as  appears  by  an  illuminated  MS., 
bedsteads,  with  a  roof  shaped  like  that  of  a  house, 
and  liung  with  curtains,  were  introduced  ;  and  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  poem  of  Judith,  we  read  also  of 
one  being  siu-rounded  with  the  luxuiy  of  a  "golden 
fly-net."  As  for  the  beds  themselves,  they  were 
sacks  stuiVed  with  soft  materials,  furnished  with 
pillows  of  straw,  and  the  usual  comjilement  of 
blankets  and  sheets.  These  accounts,  as  will  at 
once  be  seen,  only  ajiply  to  the  houses  of  the 
noble  and  wealthy;  what  kind  of  habitations  were 
used  by  the  lower  classes,  and  how  they  were 
furnished,  the  chroniclers  of  the  jieriod  have  not 
informed  us. 

distinguished  by  the  same  peculiarities  have  boon  found  in  the 
Frank  cemeteries  of  France  and  Germany.  The  form  of  those 
ghisses,  not  being  adapted  to  set  domi  until  emptied,  is  con- 
j  ectured  to  have  originated  the  name  of  tumbler,  given  to  modem 
drinking  glasses. 

^  Local  tradition  accounts  for  several  outlandish  names,  such 
as  Tyzack,  Henzcll,  &C.,  still  flourisliing  among  the  Tyno  glass- 
works, by  st.ating  that  Biscop's  artificers  pl.anted  themtielvea  on 
the  Tyne,  and  cstublished  the  fii-st  English  glass-works  in  that 
quarter,  which  continued  to  be  carried  on  by  their  descendants 
lor  several  centuries  aftel-w-ards. 


I  fig 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  Statu. 


This  mention  of  tl»e  Anglo-Saxon  houses  sug- 
gests the  subject  of  in-door  and  domestic  life;  and 
here  the  department  of  cookery  claims  om-  first 
attention.  But  on  this  we  must  confess  that 
oiu-  knowledge  is  extremely  limited.    The  people, 


Saxon  Bed.— Cotton  MS.  Claud.  B.  IV. 

it  is  well  known,  were  vigorous  feeders;  but 
before  the  arrival  of  the  more  refined  Normans, 
it  is  probable  that  quantity  rather  than  quality 
was  the  chief  mark  of  their  solicitiade.  The 
principal  animal  food  used  among  them  was 
pork;  and  the  landholders  kept  such  lai-ge  herds 
of  swine,  that  the  swineherd  was  an  important 
functionary  among  the  rural  offices  of  a  farm 
establishment.  This  was  the  more  natural,  as 
swine  could  be  easily  maintained  in  the 
woods,  which  were  of  common  access 
before  the  Norman  game-laws  were  in- 
troduced; and  fattened  upon  the  fruit 
of  the  beech  and  oak,  that  requii-ed  no 
cultivation.  Mutton  was  not  so  abun- 
dantly used,  as  the  Saxons  appear  to 
have  valued  the  sheep  more  for  its  wool 
than  its  flesh;  but  beef,  venison,  and 
fowls  were  common  articles  of  susten- 
ance. In  striking  contrast  to  the  Bri- 
tons, however,  the  Anglo-Saxons  were 
partial  to  a  fish  diet,  and  next  to  pork, 
eels  appear  to  have  been  their  principal 
articles  of  food.  These  were  carefully 
fattened  in  eel -ponds  and  inclosures,  ■ 
and  were  so  abundant,  that  they  were  sometimes 
paid  by  the  thousand  as  rent.  Besides  eating 
eveiy  kind  of  fish  used  in  the  present  day,  we 
ieam  that  the  Saxons  also  ate  the  porpoise.  The 
processes  of  cooking  food  among  them  were  broil- 
ing, baking,  and  roasting,  but  chiefly  boiling; 
and  a  th-awing  in  one  of  the  Saxon  MSS.  repre- 
sents a  calilron  resting  on  a  trivet,  with  the  fire 
beneath,  wliile  the  cook  stands  beside  it  with  an 
iron  flesh-fork,  for  the  pm-pose  of  removing  the 
meat  when  it  is  ready.  In  boiling  meat  they 
also  seasoned  it  with  various  herbs,  among  which 


colewort  appears  to  have  held  the  chief  place. 
Bread  w:i.s  not  so  plentiful  among  the  Saxons  a.s 
animal  food,  and  was  therefore  more  sijaringly 
used,  and  wheaten  bread  was  a  luxury  confined 
to  the  tables  of  the  rich. 

From  various  pi<-tures  in  the  MSS. 
of  this  period,  a  pretty  distinct  idea  can 
be  formed  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  banquet. 
The  table  was  commonly  covered  with 
a  table-cloth,  and  abundantly  provided 
with  knives  and  spoons,  but  no  forks ; 
dishes  of  various  shapes  and  sizes; 
loaves  of  bread,  and  services  of  soup 
and  fi.sh;  and  cups  or  drinking-horas, 
which  were  still  more  numerous  than 
the  dishes.  Sometimes  the  table-cloth 
was  so  large  as  to  cover  the  knees  of  the 
guests,  and  serve  the  purposes  of  a 
napkin.  The  roast  meats  were  gene- 
rally presented  by  servants  on  the 
spits  to  the  company,  and  each  man 
cut  from  the  offered  joint,  with  his 
knife,  the  portion  he  required.  One  picture  in 
the  Cotton  MS.  represents  the  servants  kneel- 
ing in  the  performance  of  this  duty.  It  is 
pleasing  to  remark,  also,  that  at  these  tables 
the  women  were  seated  on  equal  terms  with 
the  men,  instead  of  being  kept  apart,  or  ob- 
liged to  wait  upon  the  other  sex,  as  was  gene- 
rally the  case  in  a  rude  state  of  society.  In 
pledging  each  other  with  the  cup  at  table,  a 


Si.'toN  Banquet. — Cotton  MS.  Tib.  C.  7. 

cnrious  practice  prevailed — by  no  means  un- 
necessary in  the  revels  of  such  a  jnignacious 
people — which  was  also  common  at  a  compara- 
tively late  period  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
This  was,  for  the  person  pledged  to  hold  up  his 
knife  or  sword,  in  token  that  he  would  protect 
the  drinker  from  assault  or  assassination  while 
he  was  thus  off  his  guai'd.  This  custom,  we  are 
informed  by  Williaui  of  Malmesbury,  originated 
in  the  treacherous  murder  of  Edward  the  Martyr, 
who  was  stabbed  in  the  back  while  di-inkiug  a 
cup  of  wine  which  his  stcij-mother  Elfrida  had 


A.D.  449-106C.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


i6r 


oftereil  liiin.  When  the  meats  were  removed, 
and  tlie  guests  were  warmed  with  wassail,  it  was 
the  custom,  as  we  are  informed  by  Bede,  to  bring 
in  a  har)),  which  was  sent  round  the  company, 
and  each  man  was  exijected  to  phvy  and  sing  in 
turn  for  the  amusement  of  the  rest.  Thus  it 
was  even  in  Athens  in  the  days  of  Themistocles 
and  Pericles.  But  in  spite  of  the  charms  of  music 
and  poetry,  these  Saxon  feastings  were  so  gross, 
and  tlie  drinking  was  so  excessive,  as  frei.iueutly 
to  be  followed  with  fatal  consequences :  in  this 
way  Hardioanute,  after  a  life  of  gluttony,  died 
of  an  over-abundant  dinner;  and  Edmund  I.  was 
assassinated  at  table,  because  his  nobles  and  at- 
tendants were  too  drunk  to  defend  him.  This 
style  of  living,  especially  among  the  gi'eat,  was 
at  last  so  exaggerated,  that  at  court  four  abun- 
dant meals  were  served  up  daily — a  profusion 
which  an  historian  of  the  twelfth  century  regret- 
fully contrasts  with  the  single  daily  dinner  in- 
troduced by  the  Normans,  as  if  the  spirit  of  hos- 
pitality and  social  intercomse  had  been  banished 
by  the  change. 

As  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  still  moi-e  notorious 
for  then-  drinking  than  eating  propensities,  an 
account  of  their  principal  beverages  demands 
full  notice.  And  first  in  the  list  must  be  men- 
tioned ale,  which  had  been  their  favoiu-ite  liquor 
before  they  left  the  shores  of  Germimy.  This 
we  are  informed  by  Tacitus,  who  describes  the 
chief  diink  of  the  German  tribes  as  a  distillation 
from  barley  "corrupted  into  a  likeness  of  wine." 
Besides  ale,  they  used  mead,  which  probably  they 
had  learned  to  make  from  the  Biitons,  as  this 
constituted  for  centuries  aftei'wai'ds  the  national 
beverage  of  the  Welsh.  The  Saxons  also  knew 
the  art  of  making  cider,  which  they  may  Lave 
acquired  after  theh"  settlement  in  England.  Pig- 
ment and  morat  were  in  use  among  them,  but 
probably  more  sparingly  than  the  other  liquors, 
on  account  of  then-  superior  richness  and  costli- 
ness, the  former  being  a  composition  of  wine, 
honey,  and  various  spices,  and  the  latter  of  honey 
diluted  with  the  juice  of  mulberries.  As  wine 
was  not  a  native  produce,  and  imported  at  gi-eat 
expense,  its  use  in  England  before  the  Conquest 
w;is  limited  to  the  higher  classes.  Of  the  im- 
mense spilth  of  these  liquors  at  the  great  fes- 
tivals, or  even  common  revelries  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  the  vociferous  mii-th  and  desperate 
excesses  which  they  occasioned,  the  continued 
history  of  the  people  makes  frequent  mention; 
and  the  following  extract,  from  a  translation  of 
the  Saxon  poem  of  Judith,  was  no  doubt  a  faith- 
ful pictm'e  of  the  noble  and  even  royal  banquets 
of  the  author's  own  day: — • 

"  Then  was  Holoferuea 
Enchauted  with  the  wine  of  men; 
In  the  hall  of  the  guests 


lly  laughed  and  Hhoiitcd, 

Ho  roared  and  dinned , 

That  the  children  of  men  might  heir  iif;\r. 

How  the  sturdy  one 

Stormed  and  clamoured, 

Anim.'tted  and  elated  with  wine; 

lie  adnionLsliud  amr'y 

Tho.se  sitting  on  tho  bench 

Tliat  they  slioiUd  hear  it  well. 

So  was  the  wicked  one  all  d.ay, 

Tho  lord  and  his  men, 

Drunk  with  wine; 

Tlie  stern  dispenser  of  wealtji; 

Till  that  they  bwiniming  lay 

Over  dnuik, 

All  his  nobility 

As  they  were  death  slain, 

Their  property  poured  about. 

iSo  commanded  the  lord  of  men 

To  fill  to  those  sitiins  at  the  fe;ii^t. 

Till  the  d,ark  night 

Approached  the  cliiUlren  of  men." 

This  national  vice  of  inebriety,  however  it 
might  be  indulged  uncensured  among  the  wor- 
shippers of  Thor  and  Woden,  was  too  flagrant 
for  the  toleration  of  a  Christian  priesthood,  and 
the  statutes  of  the  church  were  both  frequent 
and  severe  against  the  prevailing  tendency.  That 
no  one,  also,  might  be  ignorant  of  the  mark  at 
which  he  should  stop  short,  the  following  speci- 
fication of  the  crime  was  given  in  one  of  the 
canons:  "This  is  di'unkenness,  when  the  state  of 
the  mind  is  changed,  the  tongue  stammers,  the 
eyes  are  disturbed,  the  head  is  giddy,  the  belly 
is  swelled,  and  pain  follows."  But  as  such  de- 
fjuitious  are  only  found  useful  to  those  who  do 
not  need  them,  a  more  tangible  corrective  was 
devised  by  Edgar  the  Peaceable,  at  the  suggestion, 
it  is  said,  of  St.  Dimstan.  As  it  was  discovered 
that  one  gre;it  source  of  the  e-xcess  ai'ose  from  the 
practice  of  handing  round  a  large  vessel  at  the 
table,  while  each  guest  vied  with  the  othera  in 
the  amplitude  of  his  draught,  these  vessels  were 
ordered  by  royal  statute  to  be  made  with  knobs 
or  pins  of  bra^s  placed  at  regular  distances,  while 
each  drinker  was  only  to  go  from  one  mark  to 
another.  But  it  was  easy  to  elude  such  a  formal 
restriction;  and  the  phrase,  "'  He  is  in  a  merry 
])iu,"  came  to  designate  a  person  who  had  ti'ans- 
gi-essed  the  graduated  scale  of  temperance,  or,  in 
common  parlance,  "got  more  than  enough."  It 
is  probable,  also,  that  the  penances  imposed  by 
the  chui-ch  on  such  transgressors  were  frequently 
commuted  or  overlooked,  iis  the  Anglo-Saxon 
clergy  were  too  much  addicted  to  the  same  ex- 
cesses. This  we  leai-u  from  the  decrees  of  dif- 
ferent councils,  in  which  the  incentives  to  in- 
temperance were  strictly  prohibited — gambling, 
dancing,  and  singing  in  the  monasteiies,  "even 
to  the  very  middle  of  the  night;"  while  every 
priest  was  forbid  to  have  harpers  or  any  music, 
or  to  permit  jokes  or  plays  to  be  performed  in 
his  presence  ;  and  eveiy  monastery  was  debarred 


168 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


from  being  a  haimt  of  pructisei-s  of  tlie  sportive 
ai'ts;  that  is — as  the  decree  jjarticularly  indicates 
them — poets,  liai'pers,  musicians,  and  bullbous. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  tlie  national  costume 
of  the  Saxons  at  tlie  period  of  their  arrival  in 
England,  and  until  the  time  of  their  conversion 
to  Chi'istiauity.  But  that  it  largely  partook  of 
barbarism  is  testified  by  the  fact  that  they  some- 
times tattooed  then-  bodies,  like  the  primitive  Bri- 
tons; and  although  this  practice  was  condemned 
in  the  year  785,  it  \\ai  not  wholly  rooted  out  of 
England  till  after  the  Norman  conquest.  The 
chm-ch,  also,  that  set  itself  against  this  pi'actice 
of  skin-engi-aving,  as  a  relic  of  the  former  heath- 
enism, was  equally  zealous  against  their  eai'lier 
clothing,  from  the  same  cause,  and  endeavoured 
to  have  it  wholly  set  aside.  This  is  evident  from 
the  rebuke  addressed  to  the  people,  who  still  ad- 
hered in  whole  or  in  part  to  the  costume  of  theii- 
ancestors,  by  the  council  of  Cealhythe,  a.d.  787. 
"You  put  on,"  it  said,  "youi"  gai'meut3  in  the 
manner  of  pagans,  whom  your  fathei-s  expelled 
from  the  world;  an  astonishing  thing  that  you 
imitate  those  whose  life  you  always  hated."  At 
this  time,  as  we  learn  from  Paulus  Diaconus,  the 
di-ess  of  the  Chiistianized  Anglo-Saxons  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  Lombards,  of  whom  he 
says,  "Their  garments  wei-e  loose  and  flowing, 
and  chiefly  made  of  linen,  adorned  with  broad 
borders,  woven  or  embroidered  with  vaiious 
colours."  Fortunately'  we  ai'e  enabled,  from  the 
many  illuminated  MSS.  of  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centmies,  to  specify  the  particular  pai-ts  of  this 
briefly  described  costume,  and  ascertain  with  dis- 
tinctness how  our  ancestors  were  dressed  in  the 
days  of  Alfred,  Canute,  and  "William  the  Con- 
queror. 

First  of  all,  then,  we  should  mention  the  shu-t, 
which  was  made  of  linen,  and  was  in  general  use 
among  the  Anglo-Saxons  so  eai'ly  as  the  eighth 
centm-y.  Over  this  was  a  tunic  of  linen  or  wool- 
len, which  was  worn  by  all  classes,  fi'om  the  sove- 
reign to  the  peasant.  This  garment —  of  fine  or 
coarse  textm'e  according  to  the  means  of  the 
wearer — descending  no  lower  than  the  knee,  ap- 
pears to  have  formed  the  outer  covering  of  the 
common  people  wlien  employed  in  their  usual 
avocations,  and  was  probably  the  origin  of  the 
EngUsh  smock-frock.  It  was  open  at  the  neck, 
and  occasionidly  at  the  sides  also,  while  the 
sleeves,  which  descended  to  the  waists,  were 
either  close  and  tight,  or  puckered  into  small 
folds.  If  ornamented,  it  was  generally  with 
needle-work  of  diiferent  colours,  round  the  bor- 
der and  coUai'S.  This  garment  was  usually  gu-ded 
round  the  waist  with  a  sash  or  belt.  Last  in  the 
article  of  a  working  man's  costmne  was  the  shoe, 
which  appears  to  have  been  in  common  use,  even 
among  those  who  otherwise   went   bare-legged. 


These  shoes,  not  only  in  material  and  colour, 
but  also  in  form,  resembled  those  of  the  present 
day,  having  an  opening  at  the  top  to  receive  the 
foot,  which  opening  w;is  fastened  by  two  tUwangs 
or  thongs.  The  usual  covering  for  the  head  was 
a  cap  or  cowl,  shaped  like  a  Phi-ygian  bonnet. 
Thus  attired,  we  can  form  a  distinct  idea  of  the 
appeai-ance  of  the  English  peasantry  of  this 
period,  while  travelling  on  the  highway  or  en- 
gaged in  the  labours  of  the  field.  To  these  we 
can  add  other  articles  of  di-ess  belonging  to  the 
better  classes,  but  which  were  also  probably  used 
by  the  common  peojile  upon  particular  occasions. 
The  first  of  these  was  a  short  cloak  or  mantle, 
tlu-own  over  the  tunic,  and  fastened  either  across 
the  breast  or  shoulder  with  a  buckle.  Next  came 
a  pair  of  drawers,  which  begin  to  make  their 
appearance  in  the  pictures  of  the  ninth  century. 


ArmkdMax, — Beuediotional  of  St.  Ethelwuld. 

These  were  either  of  linen  or  woollen,  and  at 
fu'st  were  so  short  that  they  were  fastened  above 
the  knee ;  but  in  process  of  time  they  were  elon- 
gated into  trousers,  or  rather  pantaloons,  where 
drawers  and  stockings  composed  one  piece  of 
atth'e.  In  addition  to  this,  the  stocking  was  fre- 
quently bandaged  from  ankle  to  knee  with  strips 
of  cloth  or  leather ;  and  as  the  colom-  and  arrange- 
ment of  such  strips  gave  ample  scope  to  the  love 
of  finery  and  display,  we  can  imagine  that  not  a 
few  MalvoUos  of  the  period  were  "  cross-gartered 
most  villainously.''  Sometimes,  instead  of  this 
cross-gartering,  a  half-stocking  or  sock  was  worn 
over  the  di-awers,  supposed  to  have  been  made 
of  woollen,  and  ornamented  with  fringes.  In 
this  progress  of  addition,  and  perhaps  of  improve- 
ment in  the  common  national  costume,  we  shall 
do  well  to  take  into  account,  fh-st,  the  settlement 


A. I).  44!)     1066.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


169 


of  the  Danes  in  Englaud,  svlio  were  disUuguislied, 
even  be}i>inl  the  .Saxons,  for  their  love  of  finery 


Saxon  Kiuo  and  Eolderman— Cotton  MS.  Clauil.  B.  IV. 

and  display;  and  afterwards,  the  introduction  of 
Norman  fashions  into  tlie  court  of  Edward  the 
Confessor.  Tliese  causes,  it  is  probable,  tended 
to  make  the  dress  of  the  people  not  only  more 
complete,  but  also  more  elegant. 

We  now  ascend  to  the  costume  of  the  rich  and 
the  noble,  wliich  mainly  consisted  of  certain 
additional  garments  tliat  were  used  on  public  or 
state  occasions.  The  first  of  these  was  a  long 
tunic,  that  descended  below  the  knee;  the  second 
a  kind  of  surcoat,  that  had  short  wide  sleeves, 
and  an  aperture  at  the  top  to  admit  the  head. 
These,  which  were  frequently  made  of  silk,  after 
the  eighth  centm-y  had  introduced  the  use  of 
that  luxury  into  the  court  of  England,  were  also 
ornamented  with  rich  embroideries  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  silk  thread  of  various  colours,  and 
lined  with  the  fur  of  the  beaver,  sable,  or  fox. 
Such  are  the  chief  distinctions  in  costume  or 
princes  and  nobles  in  the  illuminated  MSS.  of  the 
times.  Except  when  the  regal  crown  appears,  no 
distinctive  head-cbess  occurs,  beyond  the  Phi-ygian 
shaped  bonnet,  which  was  worn  by  all  classes,  but 
in  the  case  of  the  higher  ranks,  imjjroved,  as  may 
be  supposed,  in  texture,  colour,  and  ornament. 
Indeed,  in  all  these  delineations  we  find  nothing 
in  the  form  of  a  hat,  an  article  which  was  worn 
among  the  Britons,  in  shape  similar  to  that  of  a 
Vol.  1. 


modern  carman  or  coal-heaver,  as  may  be  seen 
in  the  coins  of  Cunobelinus.  But  the  Saxons 
were  independent  of  this  head-coveiing,  in 
consequence  of  the  long  hair  they  wore,  and 
of  which  they  were  not  a  little  proud.  This 
was  parted  on  either  side  from  the  middle  of 
the  head,  and  flowed,  waving  or  in  ringlets,  to 
the  shoulders;  and  such  was  eitlier  the  time 
they  consumed  in  dressing  this  ornament  of 
nature,  so  (jrized  liy  all  tlie  Teutonic  tribes, 
or  the  superstitious  veneration  attached  to 
it,  that  the  English  clergy  inveighed  against 
it  with  a  vehemence  equal  to  that  of  Prynue 
himself,  when  he  so  terribly  denounced  the 
"  unlovelines.s  of  love-locks."  But  the  long 
fair  hail-  of  onr  ancestors  remained  unshorn, 
and  even  unshaken,  amidst  the  clerical  tem- 
pest. The  beard,  however,  was  more  mutable 
in  its  character;  and  the  fir.U  change  it  un- 
dei-went  was  by  the  shaving  of  the  upper 
and  lower  lip,  so  that  it  became  a  continua- 
tion of  the  whiskers,  terminating  below  the 
chin  in  two  forked  points.  Afterwai-ds,  the 
beai-d  was  shaven  away,  and  the  mustaches 
left  entire — the  former  being  resigned  wholly 
to  the  clergy — and  hence  the  ridiculous  error 
of  the  English  spies  whom  Harold  sent  to 
the  camp  of  William  the  Conqueror,  when 
they  mistook  the  Norman  soldiers  for  priests, 
because  they  wore  short  hair,  and  sliaved 
the  upper  lip. 
In  the  ai-ticles  of  rich  oi-naraent,  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  were  not  behind   the  other  nation.s  of 


BucKLRs  AND  Broocii,  h.olf  tlie  actual  size.' — Proceedings  of  tho 
Britisli   .Archaiol.  Aiwoc. 

the  period;  but  it  speaks  little  for  their  gallantly 
that  the  men  in  this  particular  seem  to  have 


'  The  buckles  were  discovered,  togetlier  with  spear  heads,  and 
an  iron  sword,  at  BoUevue,  in  the  jiarish  oi  Lyinpne,  Kent;  the 

22 


170 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Social  State. 


appropriated  the  costliest  share  to  themselves. 
Tliese  werechiefly  bracelets, brooches, and  buckles 
made  of  gold,  silver,  and  ivory ;  chains,  wm- 
lets,  and  crosses,  made  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
set  with  jewels;  sword-belts,  mounted  with  the 


Necklace  and  Pin,'  fi-om  a  tumulus  at  Callige  Lowe,  DerbysLire 
Kings,  from  Little  WUbraham. 


same  rich  accompaniments;  and  fillets  or  coro- 
nets by  whose  lustre  an  additional  brightness  was 
imparted  to  their  long  flowing  hair.  As  miglit 
have  been  expected  among  a  people  essentially 
warlike,  the  hilts  and  sheaths  of  theii-  weapons 


ment,  and  as  it  was  worn  on  the  finger  of  the 
right  hand  next  to  the  little  one,  this  was  called 
the  "gold  finger."  Thia  distinct  badge  of  the 
wearei-'s  rank  could  at  all  times  be  recognized, 
as  gloves,  which  were  a  Norman  innovation,  weie 
not  worn  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  until 
the  twelfth  century. 

In  advancing  to  the  more  diflioult  sul>- 
ject  of  female  costume,  it  may  be  pre- 
mised that  the  dress  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
ladies  was  not  only  splendid  and  gi-aceful, 
but  in  strict  accordance  with  the  most 
rigid  modesty.  The  outer  garment  [gunna 
or  gown)  was  a  long  tunic,  the  sku-ts  of 
which  nearly  reached  the  ground,  while 
the  sleeves,  that  were  loose  and  wide, 
reached  only  to  the  elbows.  It  was  of 
various  coloiu-s,  but  generally  white, 
probably  being  made  of  linen,  and  was 
boimd  at  the  waist  with  a  girdle.  As 
this  gai-ment  was  a  fan-  gi-oundwork, 
upon  which  the  weai-er's  taste  and  skill 
in  embroidery  could  be  exhibited  to  best 
.advantage,  we  fhid  it  in  the  illuminated 
MSS.  fi-equently  adorned  with  needle- 
work of  variegated  stripes,  or  small 
sprigs,  diverging  gracefully  from  a  centre.  Over 
this,  ladies  of  rank  appear  to  have  worn  a  cloak  or 
mantle,  i>robabIy  for  visituig  or  travelling.   Uniler 


Saxon  SpmsraK,  and  Male  CosTUME.-Cotton  MS.  Claud.  B.  4. 

were  not  neglected  amidst  the  general  adorn- 
ment.    The  ring  was  an   indispensable  orna- 


Bccond  of  them  has  been  gilt.  The  brooch  was  found  near  the 
turnpike  road  at  Folkestone  HiU,  between  Folkestone  and  Dover. 
The  body  is  of  bronze,  gUt;  the  central  band  h.is  been  ornamented 
with  slices  of  garnet,  one  of  which  remains  at  the  bottom  in  a 
silver  rim;  the  upper  pai-t  has  also  been  set  with  stones,  or  some 
kind  of  glass. 

1  The  necklace  is  composed  of  gold  drops,  set  with  g.amets, 
and  is  probably  of  late  Roman  workmanship.  The  jeweUed 
hair-pin  was  found  in  the  grave  of  a  woman,  at  Wingham,  Kent. 
The  rings  are  of  gold;  one  of  them  has  been  formed  to  encircle 


Heads,  fiom  the  Saxon  Cross  of  Rothbury,  Northnmberland.2— 
J.  W.  Archer,  from  his  original  drawmg. 

the  gown  was  worn  a  more  succinct  tunic,  perhaps 
the  original  kirtle,  the  sleeves  of  which  descended 

the  finger  in  a  series  of  elastic  hoops.  -  Akermans   Pagan 

2  The  top  of  this  cross,  which  is  greatly  fractured,  shows  frag- 
ments of  the  cmcified  figure  of  our  Saviour.  The  group  of  hea<U 
is  from  one  side  of  the  base,  and  is  supposed  to  repr^ent  the 
spectators  who  assembled  to  witness  the  crucifi.vaon.  This  lUus- 
tration  is  given  to  show  the  manner  of  the  AngloSa^on  ,vo- 
men  in  wearing  the  hair  roUed  back,  or  parted  and  coiifined  by 
a  flUet,  with  an  ornament  over  the  forehead,  like  that  shown  on 
some  Roman  coins. 


A.D.  443—1006.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


to  tlie  wrist.  The  lioiid-drcss  was  a  kerchief  or 
veil  of  linen  or  silk,  which,  being  fastened  near 
the  top  of  the  forehead,  or  wrapped  round  the 
head  and  neck,  enveloped  the  shouldera, 
and  fell  on  either  side  as  low  as  the  kneca 
Shoes,  of  which  the  colour  is  always  black, 
form  part  of  a  lady's  dress  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  delineations;  and  although,  from 
the  length  of  her  gownskirts,  we  are  una- 
ble to  perceive  any  token  of  stockings  or 
socks,  yet  we  may  presume  that  such  a 
useful  article  of  di-ess,  which  was  worn 
by  the  men,  was  common  to  the  women 
also.  AJthough  the  veil  or  head-rail, 
which  we  have  already  described,  must 
have  concealed  the  greater  pait  of  the 
head,  yet  we  learn  from  Aldhelm,  that 
the  Anglo-Saxon  ladies,  at  the  close  cf 
the  eighth  century,  were  at  least  as  care- 
ful of  their  hair  as  the  other  sex;  and 
he  describes  them  a-s  wearing  it  artifi- 
cially dressed,  and  delicately  cm-led  with 
irons.  From  the  same  authority  we  are 
informed  of  another  practice  by  which 
the  ladies  endeavoured  to  heighten  their 
beauty,  that  was  scarcel}'  so   commend 


among  every  race  of  mankind,  from  the  nuked 
savage  girl,  who  plasters  her  face  with  chalk  or 
odire,  to  the  fashionable  court  belle,  who  deli- 


13eai>s  of  Guvss,  and  of  Coloured  Paste,  foiuid  .it  Little  Wilbraliara. 
1,  '2,  li.ilf  size;  3,  4,  5,  fuJl  size. — Neville's  Saxon  Obsequies. 


able— it  was  the  painting  of  theii-  cheeks  with  I  cately  tints  her  cheek  with  more  than  the  bloom 
the  red  colour  of  stibium.  This  practice,  how-  I  of  youth.  In  the  enumeration  of  female  orna- 
ments, we  find  that  they  chiefly  consisted 
of  golden  half-cu-cles  or  fillets  for  the 
head,  ear-rings,  necklaces,  beads,  jewelled 
neck-crosses,  rings,  girdles  adorned  with 
gold  or  precious  stones,  a  bulla,  and  a 
golden  fly  beautifully  set  with  gems. 

Having  thus  endeavoiired  to  describe 
the  broad  outlines  of  an  Engli.sh  Iiomc  and 
its  inmates,  before  they  were  modified  or 
altered  by  the  Norman  conquest,  we  ]  iro- 
ceed  to  add  a  few  minute  particulai-s,  by 
which  the  picture  will  become  more  com- 
plete.    While   the  master  and   mistress 
were  thus  attired  in  full  costume,  the  ser- 
vants of  the  household  are  represented  as 
waiting  upon  them  bareheaded  and  bare- 
footed. Within  doors,  the  master  generally 
wore  his  bonnet;  but  on  leaving  the  house, 
his  covering  was  laid  aside,  and  he  went 
forth  bareheaded.     A  practice  which  he 
.  had  perhaps  derived  from  his  warlike  an- 
cestors, made  him  always  carry  his  weapons  with 
him  wherever  he  went;  but  even  when  England 
was  most  settled,  there  wiis  too  little  cause  to  dis- 
continue the  habit.     Thus  equijiijcd,  with  sword 
or  spear,  or  both  weapons  together,  he  repaired  to 
the  social   meeting  or  the  market-place,  ready 
equally  to  kiss  his  friend  or  chastise  his  enemy, 
as  the  case  might  require.   Besides  the  possession 
of  good  cb-ess  and  ornaments,  and  the  full  plea- 
sures of  the  table,  the  Anglo-Saxon  loved  the  eu- 


Necklace  or  CRArET.ET,'  from  n  jjrave  ne.ir  St.imford:  unrl  Heads,  found 
nt  yysLou  Parli,  Lincolushiie. — British  Museum. 

ever,  has  prevailed  not  only  in  every  stage  of 
human  existence,  but  at  some  time   or  other 

'  The  necklace  is  composed  of  glass  beads  of  vai-ious  colours, 
sizes  and  degrees  of  opacity.  Deep  blue  is  the  predominant 
tint,  and  this  is  relieved  by  a  light  green  specimen,  and  by 
others  nearly  resembling,  both  in  colour  and  substance,  "  Samian 
ware."  The  beads  Nos.  1  and  2  are  remarkable  for  tiieir  con- 
struction. No.  1  is  of  a  pale  brown,  the  knobs  yellow,  with  a 
red  b.and  at  the  base.  No.  2  was  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
cemetery  at  Fairford  in  Gloucestershire.  It  is  banded  with 
stripes  of  red,  yellow,  and  green.  The  knobs  are  alternately 
red  and  yellow. 


172 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  Stath. 


joymeiit  of  a  wai'm  bath;  but  to  ])lunge  into  cold 
water  w;is  so  utterly  itvolting  to  his  feelings, 
that  he  only  endured  it  at  the  command  of  the 
priest,  and  for  the  remission  of  liis  sins.  In  this 
way,  he  sauntered,  ate,  and  chatted  dui-ing  the 
day,  until  the  afternoon's  banquet  arrived,  with 
its  suliseciuent  revelry,  that  was  often  kept  up 
till  midnight.  It  was  through  this  luxurious  dis- 
position and  love  of  enjoyment,  that  the  church 
endeavoured  to  coerce  him  into  full  submission; 
and  in  the  following  extract  from  the  laws  of 
Edgar,  we  perceive  how  completely  the  penance 
was  fitted  for  the  man,  however  the  man  might 
be  for  the  penance: — "He  must  lay  aside  his 
weapons,  and  travel  barefoot  a  long  way;  nor  be 
sheltered  of  a  night.  He  must  fast,  and  watch, 
and  pray,  both  day  and  night,  and  willingly 
weary  himself,  and  be  so  careless  of  his  di-ess,  that 
the  iron  .^ihould  not  come  to  his  h.-^ir  or  nails.  He 
must  not  enter  a  warm  bath,  nor  a  soft  bed;  nor 
eat  flesh,  nor  anything  by  which  he  can  be  intoxi- 
cated ;  nor  may  he  go  inside  of  a  church,  but  seek 
some  holy  place,  and  confess  his  guilt  and  pray 
for  intercession.  He  must  kiss  no  man,  but  be 
always  grieving  for  his  sins."  In  this  way  was 
the  Saxon  sinner  assailed  at  every  possible  point 
of  enjoyment:  the  whole  world  was  tabooed 
against  his  entrance;  and  he  lived  " a  man  for- 
bid," until  the  church  was  pleased  to  absolve  him. 
Whetlier  he  contrived,  in  any  of  tliese  cases,  "  to 
boil  the  pease,"  so  that  he  might  walk  through 
his  penance  more  lightly,  we  are  not  informed; 
but  it  may  be  suspected  that  such  was  the  fact, 
from  the  dexterous  plan  which  he  adopted  in 
what  was  to  him  the  most  odious  of  all  penances 
— the  penance  of  fasting.  lu  this  case,  he  hired 
a  whole  regiment  of  penitents  to  fast  with  him 
on  bread,  green  herbs,  and  cold  water;  and  as 
each  man's  share  was  of  full  account  in  the 
sum  total,  himself  and  800  auxiliaries  could  thus 
get  through  a  hungiy  seven  years'  penance  in 
three  days  and  a  few  odd  hours.  When  such 
was  the  permission  of  the  church,  even  in  sins  of 
gi-eatest  enormity,  the  peccadilloes  of  smaller 
account  were  liquidated  in  a  way  which  the 
clergy  must  have  found  very  profitable  to  their 
own  private  revenues.  Thus,  a  man  might  re- 
deem one  day's  fasting  by  the  fine  of  a  penny,  or 
a  whole  year  of  such  penance  by  the  payment  of 
thirty  shillings,  or  the  manumission  of  a  slave 
worth  that  sum. 

While  the  occupations  of  the  men — such  at 
least  as  were  exempted  from  the  necessity  of  toil 
— were  of  such  an  unintellectual  and  unprofitable 
character,  those  of  the  ladies  appear  to  have  been 
of  a  more  industrious  description.  An  idea  of 
the  multitude  of  their  domestic  occupations  may 
be  formed  from  the  thronged  households  over 
which  they  presided,  where  almost  every  trade 


and  craft  was  comprised;  and  the  huge  daily 
llcsh- feasts  and  caiousals  of  their  lords,  for  which 
they  had  to  make  due  preparation.  But  be- 
sides these,  there  was  the  complicated  needle- 
work of  robes  and  hangings,  that  were  so  in- 
dis]iensable  to  every  family  above  the  rank  of 
servitude,  and  the  embroidery  of  clerical  vest- 
ments, cb-apery  for  the  church  walls,  and  cover- 
ings for  the  altars,  by  which  the  ladies  of  the 
day  manifested  their  religious  zeal.  No  lady, 
however  high  in  raid<,  wa.s  too  proud  for  such 
occupations;  and  the  hall  of  the  palace,  as  well 
as  the  kitchen  of  the  gi'angc,  was  animated  with 
the  boom  of  the  spinning-wheel  and  the  click  of 
the  loom.  We  are  informed  incidentally  in  this 
way,  by  William  of  Malraesbury,  that  the  four 
princesses,  daughters  of  Edward  the  Elder,  and 
sisters  of  Athelstaue,  were  distinguished  for  their 
superior  skill  in  spinning,  weaving,  and  embroi- 
dery; and  that  Queen  Editha,  the  wife  of  Ed- 
ward the  Confessor,  was  a  complete  mistress  of 
the  needle,  and  embroidered  with  her  own  hands 
the  rich  state  robes  of  her  husband.'  Of  this 
lady  a  touching  delineation  is  given  in  the  follow- 
ing simple  statement  of  Ingulphus :  "I  have  often 
seen  her,  while  I  was  yet  a  boy,  when  my  father 
was  at  the  king's  palace ;  and  as  I  came  from 
school,  when  I  have  met  her,  she  would  examine 
me  in  my  leai'ning;  and  from  grammar,  she 
would  jn-oceed  to  logic  (which  she  also  under- 
stood), concluding  with  me  in  the  most  subtle 
argument ;  then  causing  one  of  her  attendant 
maids  to  present  me  with  three  or  four  pieces  of 
money,  I  was  dismissed,  being  sent  to  the  lai'der, 
where  I  was  sure  to  get  some  eatables."  Al- 
though many  ladies  in  England  might  be  as  skil- 
ful, industrious,  and  hospitable  as  Editha,  per- 
haps few  were  equally  capable  of  conducting  a 
logical  ai'gument.  It  is  gratifying  to  find,  that 
while  female  industry  was  thus  encouraged  in 
England,  female  chastity  was  duly  prized  and 
carefully  protected.  This  is  evident  from  the 
severe  laws  enacted  against  those  men  who  were 
guilty  of  outrage  upon  the  female  sex,  not  even  ex- 
cepting the  female  slaves,  and  whei'e  the  punish- 
ment was  proportioned  to  the  rank  of  her  against 
whom  the  oft'ence  was  committed.  The  law  was 
still  more  merciless  against  her  who  had  willingly 
yielded  to  the  crime."    Even  the  approaches  also 


'  Hence  the  term  "  spinster,"  by  which  every  immarrieJ 
woman  still  continues  to  be  designated  in  England,  upon  a  cer- 
tain important  occasion.  Dauglitei-s  were  also  termed  children 
of  tlio  "  spindle  side,"  in  the  enumeration  of  a  family. 

-  The  adulteress  was  driven  from  place  to  place  by  crowds  of 
her  own  sex,  and  mangled  with  their  knives  until  she  expired, 
or  hanged  herself  to  escape  further  torture.  Her  body  was  then 
burned,  and  her  seducer  put  to  death  upon  tlio  spot.  Such  is  the 
testimony  of  St.  Boniface  or  Winfritli,  in  tlie  early  part  of  the 
eighth  century.  This,  however,  seems  to  have  been  a  popidar 
aneute,  or  Lynch-law  process,  rather  than  tho  result  of  the 
usual  form  of  legislation. 


A.D.  449—1066.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


173 


to  immodesty  and  uucliastity  iu  liouselioKls  where 
servants  of  both  sexes  were  numerous,  were 
strictly  guai'ded,  as  may  be  learned  from  the  fol- 
lowing notice  of  Bede:  "In  the  courts  of  princes 
there  ai-e  certain  men  and  women  moving  con- 
tinually in  more  splendid  vestments,  and  retain- 
ing a  gi'eat  familiarity  with  their  lord  and  lady. 
There  it  is  studiously  provided  that  none  of  the 
women  there  who  are  in  an  enslaved  state  should 
remain  with  auy  stain  of  imchastity;  but  if  by 
chance  she  should  turn  to  the  eyes  of  men  with 
an  immodest  as]iect,  she  is  immediately  chided 
with  severity.  There  some  art-  deputed  to  the 
interior,  some  to  the  exterior  offices,  all  of  whom 
carefully  observe  the  duties  committed  to  them, 
that  they  may  claim  nothing  but  what  is  so  in- 
trusted." 

The  other  domestic  usages  of  the  Anglo-Saxons 
maybe  briefly  dismissed.  As  each  day  is  fi'aught 
with  its  own  doubts  and  difficulties,  and  as  the 
people  in  general  were  not  particularly  addicted 
to  the  toil  of  profound  thinking,  they  were  wont, 
like  other  nations  of  a  similar  character,  to  solve 
the  question  by  lot.  In  this  case  a  white  sheet 
was  thrown  upon  the  gi'ound,  and  slips  from  a 
fruit-bearing  tree,mai-ked  on  either  side,  were  cast 
down  at  i-andom  upon  it.  The  number  of  lucky 
or  unlucky  mai'ks  lying  ujipermost  decided  the 
matter  at  once,  and  saved  all  further  speculation. 
Was  it  from  this  compendious  way  of  solving  a 
doubt  that  their  descendants  acquired  such  a 
wondrous  aptitude  for  betting?  But  in  matters 
of  greater  importance,  where  a  heavy  wi-ong  had 
been  inflicted,  or  grievous  crime  committed,  while 
the  culprit  could  not  be  directly  convicted,  the 
same  chance-medley  system  was  adopted,  under 
a  mox-e  solemn  form.  The  accused  was  bound 
hand  and  foot,  and  cast  into  deep  water,  where, 
if  he  floated  on  the  surface  without  stir  or  mo- 
tion, he  v/aa  held  innocent,  but  if  he  struggled 
or  sunk,  he  was  accounted  guilty.  This  was  the 
trial  reserved  exclusively  for  witches  and  wi- 
zards at  a  later  period.  Another  form  of  the 
water  ordeal  was  for  the  accused  to  plunge  his 
naked  arm  into  boiling  water,  from  which  if  he 
could  withdraw  it  unscalded,  he  was  absolved 
from  suspicion.  These  forms  of  trial,  which 
originally  must  have  been  the  right  of  every 
noble  householder  to  exercise  among  his  own 
serfage,  were  reckoned  a  direct  appeal  to  heaven, 
and  as  such,  their  superintendence  was  claimed 
by  the  clergy,  at  first,  it  may  be,  from  motives 
of  pure  humanity,  but  which  afterwards  degene- 
rated into  a  selfish  spirit  of  rule  and  aggrandize- 
ment. In  the  same  way  they  became  the  um- 
pires of  the  ordeal  by  fire,  the  most  solemn  form 
of  trial  in  Saxon  legislation  when  sunicicnt  proof 
of  guilt  was  wanting.  By  this  process  the  ac- 
cused was  obliged  to  walk  blindfold  and  bare- 


footed over  nine  red-hot  ploughshares,  placed  at 
equal  distances,  or  to  caj-ry  a  bar  or  red-hot  mass 
of  iron  to  a  certain  distance  unhurt.  But  in  this 
case  the  culprit  was  previously  put  under  tlie 
chai-ge  of  the  clergy,  who  also  heated  the  hons; 
and  when  his  probation  was  over,  liis  hands  or 
feet  were  muffled  up  for  three  days,  at  the  end 
of  which  he  was  to  exhibit  them  in  open  court. 
Who  does  not  at  once  see  his  numerous  chances 
of  escape,  especially  if  he  was  rich  and  liberal) 
At  all  events,  it  is  certain  that  several  persona 
thus  tried  passed  the  ordeal  imhurt — and  it  is 
equally  certain  that  the  same  feat  can  be  achieved 
by  an  ordinary  juggler. 

On  the  birth  of  a  child,  after  the  conrersion  of 
the  people  to  Christianity,  the  first  gi'eat  subject 
of  thought  was  the  administration  of  baptism, 
and  the  imposition  of  a  name.  The  sacred  rite 
was  performed  by  immersion;  and  as  for  the 
name,  it  was  not  a  patronymic,  but  one  expres- 
sive of  some  peculiar  quality  or  circumstance, 
and  generally  a  compound  word.  Tlius,  Egbert 
means  the  bright  eye;  ^thelwulf,  the  noble  wolf; 
Ealdwulf,  the  old  wolf;  Eadward,  the  prosjjeroua 
g-uai-dian;  ^thelgifa,  the  noble  gift.  To  these 
was  frequently  added  a  surname,  expressive 
either  of  locality,  occupation,  or  family,  when  the 
Christian  name  itself  would  not  have  been  a  suf- 
ficient designation.  The  period  spent  by  the  boy 
between  infancy  and  manhood  was  called  cniht- 
hade  (knighthood);  but,  as  we  have  seen,  this  was 
a  term  indicative  of  servitude,  rather  than  liberty 
and  distinction.  The  paternal  authority,  how- 
ever, was  limited.  Thus,  if  a  boy  of  fifteen  yeai-s 
old  had  an  inclination  to  become  a  monk,  he 
might  pursue  his  purpose,  notwithstanding  his 
father's  inclination  to  the  contrary.  After  the 
age  of  fifteen,  also,  a  father  might  not  give  his 
daughter  in  marriage  against  her  will.  What  is 
commonly  called  the  school-boy  period  of  life, 
and  remembered  in  after  stages  as  the  darkest  or 
brightest  of  our  existence,  had  scai-cely  a  place  in 
England  during  the  Anglo-Saxon  ascendency,  as 
it  was  confined  only  to  the  higher  ranks,  and,  even 
in  their  case,  only  for  a  brief  season.  It  was  not 
wonderful,  therefore,  if  so  many  of  their  kings 
and  nobles  were  unable  to  read,  or  to  sign  their 
own  names.  When  scholai-ship  was  required, 
the  chitrf  teachers  were  the  ecclesiastics;  and  flog- 
ging appeai-s  to  have  been  their  principal  incen- 
tive in  accelerating  the  progress  of  their  pupils. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen,  the  stripling,  now  a  yomig 
man,  threw  aside  his  previous  occupations,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  arms,  which  was  reck- 
oned the  proper  profession  of  the  high-bom. 
How  the  rest  of  his  life  was  usually  spent  we 
have  already  .seen.  AVhen  this  wria  closed,  and 
the  only  oflice  that  remained  was  to  return  dust 
to  dust,  the  last  duties  were  performed  by  the 


174, 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 


[Social  Statr. 


survivors  with  I'liit  reverential  care  and  affection 
which  is  common  to  evei-y  people,  however  diver- 
sified may  be  the  mode.  In  that  of  tlie  Anglo- 
Saions  we  have  abundant  information,  as  it 
forms  the  frequent  subject  of  their  pictorial  illus- 
trations. From  these  we  perceive  that  the  body, 
after  being  washed  in  pure  water,  was  wi-ap]3ed 
in  a  shirt,  and  clothed  according  to  the  rank  of 
the  wearer;  and  if  he  had  held  a  high  office,  it 
was  often  adorned  with  his  robes  of  state,  and 
the  rich  insignia  he  had  worn  when  living.  All 
this  w;is  finally  enveloped  in  a  winding-sheet, 
while  the  face  w-as  cai-efully  left  uncovered,  that 
the  frieads  of  the  deceased  might  view  it  to  the 
last.  When  the  pei-iod  for  bui-ial  had  an-ived,  a 
srularium  or  napkin  was  spread  upon  the  face, 
the  extremities  of  the  winding-sheet  were  drawn 
over  it,  and  the  body  consigned  to  the  coflin, 
which  at  first  v/as  made  of  wood,  but  afterwards 
of  stone,  often  richly  carved,  as  is  found  on  open- 
ing the  graves  of  illustrious  pereonages.  The 
funeral  procession,  the  chant  of  monks  with 
which  it  was  accompanied,  the  prayere  over  the 
closing  grave,  and  the  plentiful  dole  of  bread  and 
meat  that  was  usually  administered  at  the  gate 
of  the  house  of  mom-ning,  may  be  left  to  the  ima- 


gination of  the  reader.  One  funeral  custom,  how- 
ever, we  must  not  omit,  as  it  originated  during 
the  Anglo-Saxon  period.  This  was  the  ringing 
of  the  passing  beU  when  the  person's  death  oc- 
curred, that  all  who  were  within  hearing  might 
pray  for  the  repose  of  his  soul. 

Of  the  sedentary  spoi-ts  and  pastimes  used  by 
the  Anglo-Saxons  before  the  Norman  conquest, 
we  can  say  little,  as  scarcely  any  notice  occurs  of 
them  among  the  writera  of  the  day.  We  may 
pi-esume,  however,  that  they  were,  for  the  most 
part,  such  as  were  followed  at  a  later  period, 
which  we  must,  therefore,  reserve  for  a  subse- 
quent era  of  this  history.  With  the  stirring  and 
active  out-door  amusements  we  are  better  ac- 
quainted, and  can  speak  of  them  with  greater 
certainty.  We  learn,  from  Asser's  Life  of  Alfred, 
that  the  young  noblemen  of  the  day,  after  having 
acquired  what  was  reckoned  a  sufficient  know- 
ledge of  the  Latin  language,  betook  themselves 
to  "  the  ai-ts  adapted  to  manly  strength,  such  as 
hunting;"  and  we  know  that  this  last  sport  has 
been  reckoned  essenti.al  in  every  age  in  the  train- 
ing of  yoimg  gentlemen  for  a  military  life.  The 
animals  chiefly  hunted  in  England  were  the  wolf, 
until  it  was  finally  extirpated — wild  boars  and 


Saxon  Boar  HuNT.^Fiom  Stnitt. 


deer,  the  hare,  and  sometimes  the  goat.  These 
were  either  run  down  with  hor.se  and  hound, 
amidst  the  joyous  cheer  of  the  horn,  or  driven 
into  nets.  As  each  proprietor  was  at  full  liberty 
to  himt  the  game  iipon  his  ovra  ground,  the  ex- 
tinction of  this  right  by  the  Norman  game-laws 
was  considered  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  as  one  of 
the  most  oppressive  results  of  the  Conquest. 
Hawking  was  also  a  favourite  sport  among  them, 
and  was  in  such  high  account  with  the  gi-eat 
Alfred,  that,  amidst  his  many  important  cares, 
he  insti-ucted  his  falconers  in  the  proper  training 
of  hawks,  and  wi-ote  a  book  on  the  subject.  The 
falcons  of  England,  however,  were  judged  so  in- 
ferior, that  the  best  were  brought  from  abroad, 
and  purchased  at  high  prices.  After  hawking 
came  fowling,  the  sport  of  those  who  were  not 
rich  enough  to  keep  falcons,  but  where  variety 


made  amends  for  the  want  of  splendour  and 
bustle.  In  this  case  the  bu-ds  of  game  were 
sometimes  allured  with  decoys,  sometimes  trap- 
ped with  snares  and  gins,  and  sometimes  caught 
with  bh-d-lime;  but  to  bring  them  down  upon  the 
wing,  the  bow  and  aiTOw  were  used,  as  also  the 
sling  and  stone.  Two  jjictores  occirr  in  the  Cot- 
ton MS.  of  fowling  practised  with  these  simple 
weapons,  which  were  probably  used  also  by  the 
poorer  classes  in  hunting.  As  horse-racing  may 
be  termed  an  English  passion,  it  would  have  been 
strange  if  at  least  the  germ  of  it  had  not  been 
indicated  among  the  earlier  amusements  of  our 
Saxon  ancestors.  But  that  it  was  in  usual  prac- 
tice among  them,  although  in  its  simplest  form, 
we  can  conclude  from  a  passage  in  Bede,  where 
he  mentions  iucideutall}',  and  as  a  thing  of  course, 
that  when  himself   and  his  school-fellows  were 


AD.  449—1066.] 


SAXON  PERIOD. 


r 


riding  togetlier,  tliey  tried  the  mettle  and  speed 
of  tlieir  horses  in  a  race,  as  soon  as  they  entered 
upon  tlie  optin  plain. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  state  of  educa- 
tion in  England  at  this  period,  and  the  unprofit- 
able results  with  which  it  wa-s  followed.  Was 
this,  then,  to  be  attributed  to  any  inherent  defi- 
ciency in  the  Anglo-Saxon  intellect,  or  disincli- 
nation to  the  jjuj'suit  of  knowledge,  from  the 
toil  and  difficulty  with  \N-hich  it  was  attended  ? 
We  scai'cely  think  that  any  will  venture  to  an- 
swer in  the  affirmative.  The  cause,  perhaps,  is 
to  be  found  in  the  unsettled  state  of  the  people 
from  the  lauding  of  Heugist  and  Horsa  to  that 
of  William  the  Conqueror.  Leai-niug  being  a 
plant  of  slow  gi'owth,  requires  a  king  and  peace- 
ful interval;  but  the  protracted  struggle  of  the 
Saxous  before  their  occupation  of  England  was 
secm-ed,  then  the  wai's  of  the  Heptarchy,  and, 
finally,  the  Danish  invasions,  allowed  no  such 
interval  to  occur.  Still,  however,  their  oppor- 
tunities, such  as  they  were,  do  not  appear  to 
have  tieeu  wholly  neglected ;  and,  in  common 
with  the  scholars  of  every  country,  English  stu- 
dents of  all  ranks  repaii'ed  to  L'eland,  at  that 
period  abounding  in  learned  and  liberal  scho- 
lastic institutions,  where  they  were  received  with 


hospitable  welcome,  and  gratuitously  supplied 
with  food,  books,  and  instruction.  Of  this  we 
are  informed  by  Bede;  while  the  high  intellec- 
tual rank  of  the  Irish  schools,  and  the  eagerness 
with  which  they  were  sought  by  our  countrymen, 
is  thus  rolucUintly  attested  by  Aldhelm: — "Why 
should  Ireland,  whither  troojjs  of  students  are 
daily  ti-ansportcd,  boast  of  such  unspeakable  ex- 
cellence. Its  if,  in  the  rich  soil  of  England,  Greek 
and  Roman  masters  were  not  to  be  had  to  unlock 
the  treasures  of  Divine  knowledge  ?  Though  Ire- 
land, rich  and  blooming  in  scholars,  is  adorned, 
like  the  poles  of  the  world,  with  iimumerable 
bi-ight  stars,  it  is  Britain  that  has  her  radiant 
Sim,  her  sovereign-pontiff  Theodore."  This  "ra- 
diant sun,"  who,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  Primate 
of  England  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventh 
century,  fully  deserved  the  commendations  be- 
stowed on  him,  by  the  zeal  with  which  he  la- 
boured to  introduce  learning  into  the  country 
in  the  train  of  Christianity,  and  the  successors 
whom  his  instructions  had  prepared  or  his  ex- 
ample stimulated. 

Of  these  leai-ued  Englishmen,  Aldhelm  him- 
self was  one.  A  eotemj)orary  of  Theodore,  and 
originally  the  pupil  of  one  of  those  monks  whom 
the  archbishop  had  brought  with  him  from  Italy, 


^ 


-^  nM^0 


'^^ 


^^^vSif" 


Church  and  Remains  op  the  Monastery  at  jARROw.i—From  Surtee's  Diuham. 


his  scLolai'sLip  was  matured  and  perfected  by 
one  of  those  Irish  preceptors  against  whom  he 
afterwards  declaimed  with  such   patriotic  jea- 


'  " Almost  at  the  very  mouth  of  the  Tyne,"  says  Camden, 

"  is  to  be  seen  Girwy,  now  Jarrow,  the  native  soil  of  the  Ve- 
nerable Bede,  where  also  in  ancient  times  flourished  a  little 
monastery.  The  fomidation  wherof,  and  tlio  time  of  the  founda- 
tion, this  inscription  showeth,  which  ia  yet  extant  in  the  church 
^TaU  ■•— 

DEICATIO  BASILICE 
B  PAVLI  VIII  KL  »IAII 
ANNO  XVI.      ECFRIDI  REO 
CEOLFRIDI  ABB.      FIVS  DEMQ. 
KCCLE3  DEO  AVCTORB 
CONDITORIS  ANNO  IIII. 


lousy.  Although  he  was  eminent,  and  deservedly 
so,  among  the  writers  of  the  day,  yet  his  subjects 
were  of  a  contracted  and  temporary  character, 
-1  that  aflbrded  little  scope  for  the  development  of 
genius,  as  they  consisted  chiefly  of  laudations  of 
virginity,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  and  the  right 
method  of  computing  the  period  of  Easter;  while 

Bede  died  and  was  buried  in  this  monasterj',  but  his  remaina 
were  afterwards  removed  to  Durham,  and  laid  in  the  same  cof-* 
fin  or  chest  with  those  of  St.  Cdthbort.  Some  remains  of  the 
original  edifice  may  be  observed  in  the  church.  Bedo's  Well, 
near  the  church,  is  still  venerated  ;  the  bottom  of  it  is  covered 
with  pins,  from  the  custom  observed  by  visitors  of  dropping  a 
pin  into  the  water.     His  chair  is  preserved  in  the  church. 


176 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Social  Stati;. 


his  wi-itiDgs,  which  were  iu  Latin,  were  turgid, 
pedantic,  and  ai-tificial.  Eddius,  snrnamed  Ste- 
plianus,  who  wrote  a  Life  of  Bishop  Wilfred  in 
Latin,  and  was  the  fii-st  who  instructed  the 
churches  of  Korthumbria  in  tlie  science  of  sa- 
cred music,  was  another  literajy  English  clia- 
racter  of  note.  A  third  distinguished  luminary 
among  the  learned  men  of  the  eighth  centui-y  was 
Winfrith,  better  known  as  St.  Boniface,  a  native 
of  Devonshire,  who  finally  became  Archliishop  of 
Mentz,  and  suffered  martyrdom  from  the  pagans 
of  East  Friesland,  and  whose  letters,  illustrative 
of  the  period  in  which  he  lived,  have  been  pub- 
lished in  the  Magna  Bibliotheca  Patrum.  One 
unlucky  proof  which  he  afforded  of  his  ortho- 
doxy and  religious  zeal,  was  to  denoimce  the 
Irishman  Virgilius,  Bishop  of  Saltzburgh,  as  a 
heretic,  for  asserting  the  existence  of  the  anti- 
podes !  But  fiir  more  illustrious  than  any  of 
these  was  Venerable  Bede,  whose  name  and 
writings  are  still  as  fresh  in  the  present,  as  ever 
they  were  in  past  ages.  He  was  born  at  Jar- 
row,  in  the  county  of  Durham,  somewhere  about 
the  years  672  and  677,  and  died  in  735.  His 
chief  work  was  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of 
England,  and  it  is  from  this  well-known  pro- 
duction, devoted  though  it  be  to  the  affairs  of  the 


church,  that  the  best  portion  of  our  information 
on  the  civil  affah-s  of  the  country  is  derived.  As 
the  gi-eater  part  of  his  life  wa-s  spent  in  a  cloister, 
while  liis  whole  time  was  devoted  to  writing,  lie 
produced,  besides  his  voluminous  history,  many 
other  works,  chiefly  c)n  theology  and  educational 
subjects,  and  a  Martyrologj'.  He  was  also  the 
author  of  a  volume  on  the  metrical  art,  and 
another  of  hymns  and  epigi-ams.  These  works 
were  wa-itten  in  Latin;  but  his  last  literary  la- 
bour, upon  which  he  was  engaged  when  he  died, 
was  a  translation  of  St.  John's  Gospel  into  his 
native  tongue.  The  literary  exertions  of  Alfred 
the  Great,  by  which  he  sought  to  become  the 
teacher  as  well  as  the  liberator  and  lawgiver  of 
his  countiy,  are  too  well  known  to  recpiire  par- 
ticular notice  here.  His  various  productions, 
both  original  and  tran.slated,  which  he  executed 
iu  the  midst  of  difficulties  such  as  few  sovereigns 
have  been  able  to  surmount,  were  as  remarkable, 
and  perhaps  as  beneficial,  as  his  victories.  It 
wUl  be  seen,  however,  that,  at  the  best,  the  his- 
tory of  Anglo-Saxon  literature  forms  a  veiy 
scanty  record.  The  genius  of  England,  like  its 
poUtical  constitution,  required  the  labour  of  gene- 
rations and  the  lapse  of  ages  to  bring  it  into  full 
form  and  maturity. 


BOOK    III. 


PERIOD  FROM  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST  TO  THE  DEATH 
OF  KING  JOHN.— 1.50  YEARS. 

FROM  A.D.  lOCG— 1216. 


CONTEMPORARY  PRINCES. 

England. 

11.53 

MALCOLM    IV. 

France. 

lOCG   WILLIAM   I. 
10S7    WILLIAM    II. 

1165 
1214 

WILLIAM. 
ALEXjVNDER  n. 

lOGO 

1109 

PHILIP    I. 
LOUIS   VI. 

1100    HESBT    I. 

Ireland. 

1137 

louia  VII. 

1135    STEPHEN. 

1064 

TDRLOGH. 

USD 

roiLip  II. 

1154    HENEY    II. 
1189    KICHAED    I. 
1199    JOHN. 

1086 
1094 

INTERREGNUM. 
MURTACH     O'BRIEN      in 

Germany. 

the  South, 

1056 

HENRY    IV. 

Scotland. 

DONALD      MACLACULAN 

1107 

HENRY    V. 

o'NEIL  in  the  North. 

1125 

LOTHAIRE. 

1057    MALCOLM    III. 

1119 

DONALD      MACL.ACHLAN 

1139 

CONRAD    III. 

1093    DONALD    BANE. 

o'NEIL. 

1152 

FREDERICK    I 

1094    DONCAN. 

1121 

INTERREGNUM. 

1191 

HENRY    VI. 

1095    DONALD    BANE 

1136 

TDRLOGH   O'CONNOR  the 

1209 

OTTO  IV. 

(restored). 

Great. 

Popes. 

1093  edqah. 

1156 

MURTAOH  MAOLACHLAN 

1107    ALEXANDER    I. 

O'NEIL. 

1061 

ALEXANDER 

112-t    DAVID    I. 

I1C6 

RODERIC    O'CONNOR. 

1073 

GItEfiORY    VII 

10S6 

loss 

1099 
1118 
1119 
1124 
1130 
1143 
1144 
1145 
1153 
1154 
1159 
llSl 
1185 
1187 
1188 
1191 
119S 


VICTOR  m. 

URBAN    II. 
PASCAL    II. 
GKLASIUS   II. 
OALI.XTUS    II. 
H0N0RIU3   II. 
INNOCENT    II. 
CELESTINB    II. 
LUCIUS    II. 
EUGEN1U3   in. 
ANASTASIU3  IV. 
ADRIAN   IV. 
ALEXANDER    III. 
LUCIUS    III. 
URBAN    III. 
GREGORY    VIII. 
CLEMENT   III. 
CELESTINE    III. 
INNOCENT    HI. 


CHArXER  I.— CIVIL  AND  MILITxVEY  HISTORY. 

WILLIAM    I.,    SURNAMED    TUE    CONQUEROR. ACCESSION,    A.D.   10G5— DEATH,  A.D.    10S7. 

Battle  Abbey  founiled — "William's  aJv,\nce  to  London — Feeble  resi-stance  of  the  Englisli — AVilliam  crowned  at 
Westminster — Riot  at  his  coronation — -He  revisits  Normandy — Revolt  in  England  dnring  his  absence — Hia 
merciless  proceedings  to  complete  the  conquest  at  his  return — .\narchy  and  sufferings  thereby  occasioned — 
William's  military  operations  in  the  north  of  England — Desertion  among  his  nobles — Revolt  in  Northumber- 
land— William  suppresses  it — Confiscations  and  oppressions  which  follow — -Resistance  of  Hereward,  Lord 
of  Brunn,  in  Lincolnshire — Ilereward's  Camp  of  Refuge  at  Ely — His  successes  over  the  Normans — He  is 
obliged  to  capitulate — Completion  of  the  conquest — William  departs  to  the  Continent — Revolt  of  his  nobles 
during  his  .absence — They  are  defeated — E.\ecution  of  Waltheof,  E,arl  of  Nortluimberlaud — Rebellion  of  Wil- 
liam's family  against  him — Demand  of  Robert,  his  eldest  fo'i,  for  a  separate  government — He  makes  war  upon 
his  father — Combat  between  William  and  his  son  under  the  walls  of  Gerberoy — The  Northumbrians  again  in 
rebellion— They  kill  their  Norman  governor  and  his  garrison — Their  suppression  by  Odo,  brother  of  William 
— Odo  intrigues  for  the  popedom — He  is  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  William — Tyrannical  formation  of  tho 
New  Forest —  William's  inordinate  love  of  hunting — He  repairs  with  an  army  to  France — His  death  occasioned 
by  an  accident — Ingratitude  of  his  sons  and  courtiers — Ingloi-ious  funeral  of  William  tho  Conqueror. 


HE  first  feelings  of  the  Normans 
after  the  battle  of  Hastiugs  seem 
to  have  been  sensations  of  trium]:>h 
I  and    joy,   amounting   almost  to  a 
delirium.    They  are  represented  by 
a  contemporary'   as   making   then- 
K^'j"  horses  to  prance  and  bound  over  tlie 
thickly  strewed   bodies   of  the   Anglo- 
Saxons  ;  after  which  they  proceeded  to 
rifle  them,  and  despoil  them  of  their  clothes. 
By  William's  orders  the  space  was  cleared  round 


the  pope's  standard,  which  he  had  .set  up;  and 
there  his  tent  was  jiitched,  and  he  feasted  with  his 
followers  amongst  the  dead.  The  critical  cii-cum- 
stances  in.  which  he  had  so  recently  been  placed, 
and  the  difficulties  which  still  lay  before  him, 
disposed  the  mind  of  the  Conqueror  to  serious 
thoughts.  Not  less,  perh.aps,  in  gratitude  for  the 
past  than  in  the  hope  that  such  a  work  would 
procure  him  heavenly  favour  for  the  future,  he 
solemnly  vowed  that  he  would  erect  a  splendid 
abbey  on  tlie  scene  of  this  his  first  victory;  and 


•  WiUiam  of  Poitiers.  '    This  writer  asserts,  that  although 
Harold's  mother  offered  its  weight  in  gold  for  tho  dead  body  of 

Vol.  I. 


her  son,  the  stem  victor  was  deaf  to  lier  i-eriucst,  pi  ofeasing  indig- 
nation at  the  propoa.aI  that  he  should  enjoy  tho  ritea  of  sepul- 

23 


178 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[CrVIL  AND  RIlLITAIll 


when,  in  process  of  time,  this  vow  wiis  accom- 
plished, tlie  liigh  altai-  of  the  abbey  church  stood 
on  the  very  s]iot  wliei-e  the  staiidai-d  of  Harold 
had  l)een  i)lautfHl  and  thrown  down      The  exte- 


Fattle  Abeev.' — From  a  drawing  in  the  King's  Library,  British  Museum 

rior  walls  embraced  the  whole  of  the  hill,  the  I 
centre  of  their  position,  which  the  bravest  of 
the  Euglisli  had  covered  with  their  bodies,  and 
all  the  surrounding  country  where  the  scenes 
of  the  combat  had  passed,  became  the  property 
of  the  holy  house,  which  was  called,  in  the  Nor 
man  or  French  language,  I'Abbai/e  de  la  Bataillc, 
and  was  dedicated  to  St.  Martin,  the  patron  of 
the  soldiers  of  Gaul.  Monks,  invited  from  the 
great  convent  of  Marmontier,  near  Tour?,  took 
up  their  residence  in  the  new  edifice.  They 
were  well  endowed  with  the  property  of  the 
English  who  had  died  in  the  battle,  and  prayed 
alike  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  those  victims, 
and  for  the  prosjierity  and  long  life  of  the  Nor- 
mans who  had  killed  them.-  In  the  archives  of 
the  house  was  deposited  a  long  roll,  on  which 
were  inscribed  the  names  of  the  nobles  and  gen- 


tui'e  for  whose  excessive  cupidity  so  many  men  lay  unburied. 
Harold,  it  is  added,  was  buried  on  the  beach.  Most  of  the  Eng- 
lish histori.ons,  however,  say  that  the  body  was  given  to  his 
mother  without  ransom,  and  interred  by  her  in  Waltham  Ab- 
bey, which  had  been  foimde<l  by  Harold  before  he  was  king. 
The  Cottonjan  MS.,  Jidiiis  D.  6,  which  appears  to  have  been 
written  in  Walth.am  .\bbey  about  a  century  after  the  event,  re- 
lates that  two  monks,  who  were  allowed  by  William  to  search 
for  the  bod,v.  were  unable  to  distingui-sh  it  among  the  heaps  of 
slain,  until  they  sent  for  Harold's  mistress,  Editha,  "  the  Swan- 
necked,"  whose  eye  of  affection  was  not  to  ba  eluded  or  deceived. 
The  improbable  story  told  by  Giraldus  Cambrensis  (and  in  more 
detail  in  the  Harleian  MS.  377(3)  about  Harold,  .after  receiving 
liis  woirnd,  having  e.scaped  from  the  battle,  and  living  for  some 
years  as  an  ancliorite  in  a  cell  near  St.  Jolin's  Church,  in  Chester, 
thougli  a  pretty  enough  romance,  is  palpably  undeserving  of 
notice  in  an  historical  point  of  view. 

'  The  building  of  Battle  Abbey  was  commenced  by  the  Con- 
queror in  A.D.  10G7,  the  year  following  th.at  on  which  the  b.attle 
of  Hastings  was  fought.     In  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  the  abbey 


tlemen  of  mark  who  came  with  the  Conqueror 
and  survived  the  battle  of  Hastings.^ 

The  most  sanguine  of  the  Norin;uis,  in  common 
with  the  most  despondent  among  the  English, 
expected  that,    immediately 
after  the  battle  of  Hastings, 
the  Conqueror  would  man-h 
straight  t(j London,  and  make 
him.self  master  of  that  capi- 
tal.    But  the  first  move  was 
a   retronrade   one ;   nor  di<l 
William    establish     himself 
in    the    cajjital   until   more 
tlian  two  months  had  passed. 
While  the  army  of   Harold 
kept  the   field  at  Senlac  or 
Cattle,   several    new    ships, 
with    I'einforcements,    came 
over  from  Normandy  to  join 
William.  Mistaking  the  pro- 
per  place  for   landing,   the 
commanders  of  these  vessels 
put    in   to   Eomney,  where 
they  were  at  once  assaulted 
and  beaten  by  the  people  of 
the  coast.    AVilliam  leai'ned  this  unpleasant  news 
the  day  after  his  victory,  and  to  save  the  other 
recruits,  whom  he  still  expected,  from  a  similar 
disaster,  he  resolved,  before  proceeding  farther, 
to  make  himself  master  of  all  the  south-eastern 
coast.     lie  tm-ned  back,  therefore,  from  Eattle 
to   Hastings,   at   which   latter   place   he  stayed 
some  days,  awaiting  his  transports  from  beyond 
sea,  and  hoping,   it  is   said,  that  his   presence 
would  induce  the  population  of  those  parts  to 
make   voluntary   submission.      At    length,   see- 
ing that  no  one  came  to  ask  for  peace,  William 
resumed  his  march  with  the  remnant  of  his  army, 
and  the  fresh  troojis  which  had  arrived  in  the  in- 
terval from  Normandy.     He  kept  close  to  the 
sea-coast,   marching  from   south   to  north,  and 
spreading  devastation  on  his  passage.     He  took 
a  savage  vengeance  at  Eomney  for  the  reverse  his 

was  fortified  by  permission  of  the  king.  The  circuit  of  the  ruins 
is  computed  at  about  a  mile.  Gilpin  considers  that  the  prevail- 
ing style  indicates  the  rebuilding  of  the  greater  part  of  the  edifice 
in  the  time  of  tho  later  Henries.  The  remains  consist  of  three 
sides  of  a  quadrangle,  the  fourth  havhig  been  removed.  Tlie 
grand  enti-ance  was  a  large  squ.aro  building,  embattled,  with  .an 
octagon  tower  at  each  comer.  The  abbey  church  is  supplanted 
by  the  edifice  of  Sir  Tliomas  Webster.  Tlie  refectory  lies  in  utter 
ruin,  and  the  cryi^ts  h.ave  been  converted  into  a  st.able.  Many 
fine  minor  vestiges  exist  in  diflTerent  parts  of  the  ruin. 

2  Tliierry,  Ilistoire  de  la  Conquete. 

^  The  original  roll  of  Battle  Abbey  is  lost ;  but  some  copies 
have  been  preserved,  from  which  the  document  has  been  repeat- 
edly printed.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  these  pretended 
tr.anscript3  are  far  from  faitliful,  and  that,  besides  other  cor- 
ruptions, many  names  have  been  inserted  in  later  times  by  the 
monks  of  tlie  abbey,  to  gratify  families  or  individuals  th.at 
wished  to  m.ake  it  appear  they  were  sprung  from  followers  of 
the  Conqueror.  To  date  from  tho  Conquest,  .as  is  well  known, 
is  still  tlie  .ambition  of  noble  English  families. 


A.u.  lOGG-1087] 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEilOK. 


17:) 


troops  had  sustained  there,  by  massacring  the  in- 
habitants and  biirning  tlieu-  houses.  Prom  Roni- 
ney  he  advanced  to  Dover,  tlie  strongest  place  on 
the  coast — "tlie  lock  and  key  of  all  England,"  as 
Holinshed  calls  it.  With  little  or  no  opposilion, 
he  burst  into  the  town,  which  his  troops  set  fire 
to;  and  the  strong  castle,  whieli  the  sou  of  God- 
win had  put  into  an  excellent  state  of  defence, 
was  so  speedily  surrendered  to  him,  that  a  sus- 
picion of  treachery  rests  on  the  Saxon  comman- 
der. The  oaptiu-e  of  this  fortress  was  most  oppor- 
tune an<l  important,  for  a  dreadful  dysentery  had 
broken  out  in  the  Norman  army,  and  a  safe  re- 
ceptacle for  the  sick  had  become  indispensable. 
Dover  Castle  also  commanded  the  best  landiijg- 
place  for  troops  from  the  Continent,  and  William 
was  not  yet  so  sure  of  his  game  as  not  to  look 
anxiously  for  a  place  of  retreat  on  the  coast,  in 
case  of  meeting  with  reverses  in  the  interior.  He 
spent  eight  or  nine  days  in  strengthening  the  castle, 
and  repairing  some  of  the  damage  done  to  the 
town  by  his  lawless  soldiery.  Meanwhile,  in  order 
to  conciliate  the  inhabitants,  he  made  them  some 
compensation  for  the  losses  and  in j  uries  they  had 
sustained ;  and  in  the  same  interval  he  received 
more  recruits  from  Normandy. 

When  the  Conqueror  at  last  moved  from  Do- 
ver, he  ceased  to  creep  cautiously  round  the 
coast,  but,  penetrating  into  Kent,  marched  du'ect 
to  London.  A  confused  story  is  told  by  some  of 
om'  early  liistoi'ians  about  a  popular  resistance, 
organized  by  Archbishop  Stigand  and  the  abbot 
Egelnoth,  in  which  the  men  of  Kent,  advancing 
like  the  army  of  Macduff  and  Siward  against 
Macbeth,  under  the  cover  of  cut-down  trees  and 
boughs,  disputed  the  passage  of  the  Normans,  and, 
with  arms  in  their  hands,  exacted  from  them  terms 
most  favoiu'able  to  themselves  and  the  part  of 
England  they  occupied.  But  the  plain  truth 
seems  to  be  that,  overawed  by  the  recent  catas- 
trophe of  Hastings,  and  the  presence  of  a  com- 
pact and  numerous  arm}',  the  inhabitants  of  Kent 
made  no  resistance,  and  meeting  William  with 
offers  of  submission,  placed  hostages  in  his  hands, 
and  so  obtained  mild  treatment. 

Diu'iug  these  calamities  the  Saxon  Witan  had 
assembled  in  London,  to  deliberate  and  provide 
for  the  futiu'e;  but  evidently,  as  far  as  the  lay 
portion  of  the  meeting  was  concerned,  with  no 
intention  of  submitting  to  the  Conqueror.  The 
first  care  that  occupied  their  thoughts  was  to 
elect  a  successor  to  the  throne.  Eitlier  of  Ha- 
rold's brave  brothers,  at  such  a  crisis,  when  valom- 
and  military  skill  were  the  qualities  most  wanted, 
might  probably  have  commanded  a  majority  of 
sufJrages;  but  they  had  both  fought  their  last 
fight;  and,  owing  to  their  youth,  their  inexperi- 
ence, their  want  of  popularity,  or  to  some  other 
circumstance,  the  two  sons  of  Harold  seem  never 


to  have  been  thought  of.  Many  voices  would 
have  supported  Morcar  or  Edwin,  the  [lowerful 
brothers-in-law  of  Harold,  who  had  already  an 
almost  sovereign  .authority  in  Northumbria  and 
Mercia;  but  the  citizens  of  Ijondon,  .and  the  men 
of  the  south  of  England  generally, preferred  young 
Edgar  Athcling,  the  grand-son  of  Edmund  Iron- 
side, who  had  been  previously  set  aside  on  account 
of  his  little  worth :  and  when  Stigand  the  primate, 
and  Aldred  the  Archbishop  of  York,  threw  their 
weight  into  this  scale,  it  outweighed  the  others, 
anil  Edgar  was  proclaimed  king.  It  should  seem, 
however,  that  even  at  this  stage,  many  of  the 
bisho])s  and  dignified  clergymen,  who  were  even 
then  Frenchmen  or  Normans,  raised  their  voice 
in  favour  of  William,  or  let  fall  hints  that  were 
all  meant  to  favour  his  preten.sions.  The  pope's 
bull  and  banner  could  not  be  without  their  effect, 
and,  motives  of  interest  and  policy  apart,  some 
of  these  ecclesiastics  may  have  conscientiously 
believed  they  were  performing  their  duty  in  pro- 
moting the  cause  of  the  elect  of  Rome.  Others 
there  were  who  were  notoriously  bought  over, 
either  by  money  paid  beforehand,  or  l)y  jiromises 
of  future  largesse. 

The  party  that  ultimately  pre^■ailed  in  the 
Witan  did  not  carry  their  jioiut  until  much  pre- 
cious time  had  been  consumed ;  nor  could  the 
blood  of  Cerdic,  Alfred,  and  Edmund,  make  the 
king  of  their  choice  that  rallying  point  which 
conflicting  factions  required,  or  a  hero  capable  of 
facing  a  victorious  invader,  advancing  at  the  head 
of  a  more  powerful  army  than  England  could 
hope  to  raise  for  some  time.  In  fact,  Edgar  was 
a  mere  cipher — a  boy  incapable  of  government  as 
of  war — with  nothing  popular  about  him  except 
his  descent.  The  primate  Stigand  took  his  place 
at  the  council  board,  and  the  military  command 
w.as  given  to  Earls  Edwin  and  Morcar.  A  very 
few  acts  of  legal  authority  had  been  performed 
in  the  name  of  Edgar,  when  William  of  Noi-- 
raaudy  appeared  before  the  southern  suburb  of 
London.  If  the  Normans  had  expected  to  take 
the  capital  by  a  coup-de-main,  and  at  once,  they 
were  disappointed ;  the  Londoners  were  very 
warlike ;  and  the  popidation  of  the  city,  great 
even  in  those  days,  was  much  increased  by  the 
pi'eseuce  of  the  thanes  and  chiefs  of  all  the  neigh- 
bouring counties,  who  had  come  in  to  attend 
the  Witan,  and  had  brought  their  servants  and 
followers  with  them.  After  making  a  successful 
ch.arge,  with  500  of  his  best  lu)rse,  against  some 
citizens  who  were  gathered  on  that  side  of  the 
river,  William  set  fire  to  Southwark,  and  marched 
away  from  London,  with  the  determination  of 
ravaging  the  country  around  it,  destroying  the 
property  of  the  thanes  who  had  assembled  at  the 
Witan,  and,  by  iuterru])ting  all  communication, 
induce  the  well-defended   capital   to  surrender. 


ISO 


niSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  MiuTAnr. 


Detachments  of  his  tirmy  \7ere  soon  spread  over 
a  wide  tract;  and  in  biu-uing  towns  and  villages, 
in  the  massacre  of  men  armed  and  men  uu;u-med, 
and  in  the  violation  of  liclploss  females,  the 
people  of  Surrey,  Sussex,  Ilampshii'e,  and  Berk- 
shire, were  made  to  feel  the  full  signification  of 
a  Norman  couqiiest.  William  crossed  the  Thames 
at  Wallingford,  near  to  which  place  he  established 
an  intrenched  camp,  where  a  division  of  his  army 
was  left,  in  order  to  cut  off  any  succoui-s  that 
might  be  sent  towards  London  from  the  west. 
This  done,  he  proceeded  across  Buckingliamshire 
into  Hertfordshire,  "slaying  the  people,"  till  he 
came  to  Berkhampstead,  where  he  took  up  a 
position,  in  order  to  interrupt  all  communication 
with  London  from  the  north.  The  capital,  in- 
deed, at  this  time  seems  to  have  been  girded 
round  by  the  enemy,  and  afflicted  by  the  prospect 
of  absolute  famine.  Nor  were  there  wanting 
other  causes  of  discouragement.  The  Earls  Ed- 
^vin  and  Morcar  showed  little  zeal  in  the  com- 
mand of  a  weak,  and,  as  yet,  unorganized  army, 
and  soon  withdrew  towards  the  Humber,  talcing 
with  them  all  the  soldiers  of  Northumbria  and 
Mercia,  who  constituted  the  best  part  of  King 
Edgar's  forces,  but  who  looked  to  the  earls  much 
more  than  to  the  king.  These  two  sons  of  Alfgar 
probably  hoped  to  be  able  to  maintain  themselves 
in  independence  in  the  north,  where,  in  reality, 
they  at  a  later  period  renewed,  and  greatly  pro- 
longed the  contest  with  the  Normans.  Their 
depai-ture  had  a  baneful  eiTeot  in  Loudon;  and 
while  the  spirit  of  the  citizens  waxed  fainter  and 
fainter,  the  partizans  and  intriguers  for  William, 
encom-aged  at  every  move  by  the  prevalent  fac- 
tion among  the  clergy,  raised  their  hopes  and  ex- 
tended their  exertions. 

After  some  time,  however.  Earls  Morcar  and 
Edwin  appear  to  have  returned  to  the  capital. 
On  many  an  intermediate  step  the  chroniclers  are 
provokingly  silent :  but  at  last  it  was  determined 
that  a  submi-ssive  deputation  should  be  sent  from 
London  to  Berkhampstead ;  and  King  Edg.ar 
himself,  the  primate  Stigand,  Aldred,  Ai-chbishop 
of  York,  Wolfstan,  Bisliop  of  Worcester,  with 
other  prelates  and  lay  chiefs,  among  whom  the 
Saxon  chronicler  expressly  names  the  two  Earls 
of  Northumbria  and  Mercia,  and  many  of  the 
principal  citizens,  repaired  to  William,  who  re- 
ceived them  with  an  outwaj'd  show  of  modera- 
tion and  kindness.  It  is  related  that  when  the 
man  whom  he  most  hated,  as  the  friend  of  Ha- 
rold and  the  energetic  enemy  of  the  Normans — 
that  when  Stigand  came  into  his  presence,  he 
saluted  him  with  the  endearing  epithets  of  father 
and  bishop.  The  puppet-king  Edgar  made  a 
verbal  renunciation  of  the  throne,  and  the  rest 
swore  allegiance  to  the  Conqueror — the  bishops 
swearing  for  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy,  the 


chiefs  for  the  nobility,  and  the  citizens  for  the 
good  city  of  London.'  During  a  part  of  this  sin- 
gular audience,  William  pretended  t(j  have  doubts 
and  misgivings  as  to  the  pi-opriety  of  his  ascend- 
ing the  vacant  throne;  but  these  hypocritical  ex- 
pressions were  drowned  in  the  loud  acclamations 
of  his  Norman  barons,  who  felt  th.at  the  crown 
of  England  was  on  the  point  of  then-  swords. 
Having  taken  oaths  of  fulelity  and  peace,  the 
Saxon  deputies  left  hostages  with  the  Norman, 
who,  on  his  side,  promised  to  be  mild  and  merci- 
ful to  all  men.  On  the  following  morning  the 
foreigners  began  their  march  towards  London, 
plundering,  murdering,  and  burning,  just  as  be- 
fore." They  took  then'  way  through  St.  Alban's. 
Even  now  William  did  not  enter  London  in  per- 
son, but,  sending  on  part  of  his  ai'iny  to  build  a 
fortress  for  his  reception,  he  encamped  with  the 
rest  at  some  distance  from  the  city.  This  for- 
tress, which  was  built  on  the  site,  and  probably 
included  j^art  of  a  Roman  castle,  grew  gradu- 
ally, in  after  times,  into  the  Tower  of  London. 
Some  accounts  state  that  William's  vanguard  was 
hostilely  engaged  by  the  citizens,  but  according 
to  others,  they  met  with  no  resistance,  and  were 
permitted  to  raise  then'  fortifications  without  ;iny 
serious  molestation. 

As  soon  as  the  Normans  had  finished  his  strong- 
hold, William  took  possession  of  it,  and  then 
they  fixed  his  coronation  for  a  few  days  after.  The 
Conqueror  is  said  to  have  objected  to  the  per- 
formance of  this  ceremony  while  so  large  a  part 
of  the  island  was  independent  of  his  authority; 
and  he  certainly  hoped,  by  delaying  it,  to  obtain 
a  more  formal  consent  from  the  English  nation, 
or  something  like  a  Saxon  election,  which  would 
be  a  better  title  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  than 
the  right  of  conquest.  Little,  however,  was 
gained  by  delay;  and  the  coronation,  which,  for 
the  sake  of  greater  solemnity,  took  place  on 
Christmas  Day,  was  accompanied  by  accidents 
and  circumstances  highly  mitating  to  the  peo]>le. 
It  is  stated,  on  one  side,  that  William  invited 
the  firimate  Stigand  to  perform  the  rites,  and 
that  Stigand  refused  to  crown  a  man  "  covered 
with  the  blood  of  men,  and  the  invader  of  others' 
rights."'  Although  there  might  have  been  some 
policy  in  making  this  great  champion  of  the  Saxon 
cause  hallow  the  Conqueror,  it  does  not  appeal- 
probable  that  William  would  ask  this  service  of 
one  who  was  lying  \mder  the  severe  displeasure 
of  Eome;  and  it  is  said,  on  the  other  side,  that 

»  "Biigon  tha  for  ncode,"  8.173  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  "  tba 
maest  w.iea  to  heami  gedou  ;  and  thaet  waes  micel  unread  thaet 
mail  aeror  swa  ne  dyde  tha  hit  god  betan  iiolde  for  unim  syu- 
num."  (They  suhmittod  them  for  need,  when  the  most  harm 
was  done.  It  was  very  ill-advised  that  they  did  not  so  before, 
seeing  that  God  would  not  better  things  for  our  sins. — Ingram's 
Traii^lation.) 
-  Boger  Jlovcien;  Chraa.  Sax.  a  n'ifimni  of  Ne^cburr/. 


A.D.  lOGG— lOST.] 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEnOR. 


ISl 


he  refused  to  be  consecrated  by  Stigaiul,  and  con- 
ferred tliat  honour  on  Aldred,  Ai-chbishop  of 
York,  wliom  some  of  the  chroniclere  describe  as 
a  wise  and  prudent  man,  wlio  understood  tlie  ex- 
pediency of  acc-ommodatinr;  himself  to  circum- 
stances. Tlie  new  abbey  of  Westminster,  the  last 
work  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  was  chosen  as 
tlie  place  for  the  coronation  of  our  first  Norman 
king.  The  sidnu'bs,  the  streets  of  Loudon,  and 
all  the  approaches  to  the  abbey  were  lined  with 
double  rows  of  soldiers,  horse  and  foot.  The 
Conqueror  rode  through  the  ranks,  and  entered 
the  abbey  church,  attended  by  260  of  his  warlike 
chiefs,  by  many  priests  and  monks,  and  a  consi- 
derable number  of  English,  who  had  been  gained 
over  to  act  a  part  in  the  pageantry.  At  the  open- 
ing of  tlie  ceremony  one  of  William's  prelates, 
Geoflrey,  the  Bishop  of  Coutanoes,  asked  the  Nor- 
m;ins,  in  the  Freucli  language,  if  they  were  of 
opmion  that  theu-  chief  should  take  the  title  of 
King  of  England  ?  and  then  the  Ai-chbishop  of 
York  asked  the  English  if  they  would  have  Wil- 
liam the  Norman  for  their  king  ?  The  reply  on 
either  side  was  given  by  acclamation  in  the  affii-- 
mative,  and  the  shouts  and  cheers  thus  raised 
were  so  loud  that  they  stai-tled  the  foreign  ca- 
valry stationed  round  the  abbey.  The  troops 
took  tlie  confused  noise  for  a  ciy  of  alarm  raised 
by  their  friends,  and,  as  they  had  received  orders 
to  be  on  the  alert,  and  ready  to  act  in  case  of  any 
seditious  mo\-ement,  they  rushed  to  the  Englisli 
houses  nearest  the  abbey,  and  set  fire  to  them  all. 
A  few,  thinking  to  succoiu-  their  betrayed  duke 
and  the  nobles  they  served,  ran  to  the  church, 
where,  at  sight  of  their  naked  swords,  and  the 
smoke  and  flames  that  were  rising,  the  tumult 
soon  became  as  gi-eat  as  that  without  its  walls. 
The  Normans  fancied  the  whole  popidation  of 
London  and  its  neighboui'hood  had  risen  against 
them;  the  English  imagined  that  they  had  been 
dujied  by  a  vain  show,  and  drawn  togethei',  un- 
armed and  defenceless,  that  they  might  be  mas- 
sacred. Both  parties  r;iji  out  of  the  abbey,  and 
the  ceremony  was  interrujj^ed,  though  WiUiam, 
left  almost  alone  in  the  church,  or  witli  none  but 
the  Archbishop  Aldi-ed  and  some  tei'rified  priests 
of  both  nations  near  him  at  the  altar,  decidedly 
refused  to  postpone  the  celebration.  The  service 
was  theiefore  completed  amidst  these  bad  augu- 
ries, but  in  the  utmost  huriy  and  confusion,  and 
the  Conqueror  took  the  usual  coronation  oath  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  kings,  making,  as  an  addition 
of  his  own,  the  solemn  promise  that  he  would 
treat  the  English  people  as  well  as  the  best  of 
their  kings  had  done.'  Meanwhile  the  commo- 
tion without  continued,  and  it  is  not  mentioned 
at  what  hour  of  the  day  or  night  the  conflagra- 

'  Guil.  Pictav.:  Ordcric.  Vital.:  Citron.  Sax. 


tion  ended.  The  English,  who  had  been  at  the 
abbey,  r.an  to  e.xtingui.sh  the  fire — the  Normans, 
it  is  said,  to  ])lunder,  and  otherwise  jirofit  by  the 
disorder;  but  it  appears  that  some  of  the  latter 
exerted  themselves  to  stop  the  progress  of  the 
flames,  and  to  |iut  an  end  to  a  riot  peculiarly  un- 
palatable to  their  master,  whose  anxious  wish 
was  certainly,  at  that  time,  to  conciliate  the  two 
nations. 

Soon  after  his  coronation,  William  withdrew 
from  London  to  Bai-king,  where  he  established 
a  court,  which  gradually  attracted  many  of  the 
nobles  of  the  south  of  England.  Edric,  surnanied 
the  Forester,  Coxo,  a  warrior  of  high  repute,  and 
others  are  named;  and,  as  William  extended  his 
authority,  even  the  thanes  and  tlie  gi-eat  earls 
from  the  north,  where  the  force  of  his  arms  was 
not  yet  felt,  repaired  to  do  him  homage.  In  re- 
turn AVQliam  granted  them  the  confii-mation  of 
their  estates  and  honours,  which  he  had  not  at 
present  the  power  to  seize  or  invade.  It  ajijiears 
that  the  Conqueroi-'s  first  seizures  and  confisca- 
tions, after  the  crown  lands,  were  the  domains  of 
Harold,  and  his  brothers  Gurth  and  Leof  win,  and 
the  lands  and  property  of  such  of  the  English 
chiefs  as  were  either  very  weak,  or  unjiopular,  or 
indiflerent  to  the  nation. 

Edgar  Atheling  was  an  inmate  of  the  new 
court,  and  William,  knowing  he  was  cherished 
by  many  of  the  English  on  account  of  his  descent, 
pretended  to  treat  him  with  great  respect,  and 
left  him  the  earldom  of  Oxford,  which  Harold 
had  conferred  on  him  when  he  ascended  the 
throne  in  his  stead.  From  Barking  the  new  king 
made  a  progi-ess  through  the  territory,  that  was 
rather  militai-ily  occujiied  than  securely  conquered, 
displaying  as  he  went  as  much  royal  pomij,  and 
treating  the  English  with  as  much  coui-tesy  and 
consideration,  as  he  could.  The  extent  of  this 
territory  cannot  be  exactly  determined,  but  it  ap- 
pears the  Conqueror  had  not  yet  advanced,  in  the 
north-east  beyond  the  confines  of  Norfolk,  nor 
in  the  south-west  beyond  Dorsetshire.  Both  on 
the  eastern  and  western  coast,  and  in  the  midland 
counties,  the  invasion  was  gi-adual  and  slow,  and, 
as  yet,  the  city  of  O.xford  had  certaiidy  not  fallen. 

All  William's  measures  at  this  time  were  mild 
and  conciliating ;  he  respected  the  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  laws;  he  established  good  courts  of  justice, 
encoiu-aged  agi'iculture  and  commerce,  and  (at 
least  nominally)  eulaiged  the  jirivilegcs  of  Lou- 
don and  some  other  to^vns.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  the  country  he  held  was  bristled  with 
castles  and  towers ;  and  additional  fortresses 
erected  in  and  around  the  capital,  showed  his  dis- 
trust of  what  was  termed,  in  the  language  of  the 
Normans,  an  over-numerous  and  too  proud  popu- 
lation. Next  to  London,  the  city  of  Winchester, 
which  had   been  a  favourite  residence  of  the 


IS'J 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militai:v. 


Anglo-Saxon  kings,  excited  most  suspicion  ; 
"  for,"  says  William  of  Poitiers,  the  Conqueror's 
chaplain,  "  it  is  a  noble  and  powerful  city,  inha- 
bited by  a  race  of  men  rich,  fearless,  and  perfidi- 
ous." A  castle  was  therefore  erected  at  Win- 
chester, and  a  strong  Norman  garrison  put  into 
it.  Such  operations  coidd  not  be  otherwise  than 
distasteful  to  the  English,  who  were  further  irri- 
tated by  seeing  proud  foreign  lords  fixed  among 
them,  and  married  to  the  widows  and  heiresses 
of  their  old  lords,  who  had  f.-dlun  at  Hastings. 
The  rapacious  followers  of  William  were  hard  to 
satisfy;  and,  to  secm'e  theii-  attachment,  he  was 
frequently  obliged  to  go  beyond  those  bounds  of 
moderation  he  was  inclined  to  set  for  himself.  A 
most  numerous  troop  of  priests  and  monks  had 
come  over  from  the  Continent,  and  their  avidity 
was  scarcely  mferior  to  that  of  the  barons  and 
knights.  Nearly  every  one  of  them  wanted  a 
cluu-ch,  a  rich  abbey,  or  some  higher  promotion. 
To  pass  over  other  wi-ongs  and  provocations  in- 
separable from  foreign  conquest,  the  people  pre- 
sently saw  the  coming  on  of  that  sad  state  of 
things  which  they  soon  after  suficred,  "  when 
England  became  the  habitation  of  new  strangers, 
in  such  -wise,  that  there  was  neither  governor, 
bishop,  nor  abbot  remaining  therein  of  the  Eng- 
lish nation." '  It  was,  however,  to  these  foreign 
churchmen  that  our  coimtry  was  chiefly  indebted 
for  whatever  iatellectual  improvement  or  civili- 
zation was  imported  at  the  Conquest. 

In  the  month  of  March,  1067,  the  English  in 
the  north  and  west  being  yet  untouched,  and  their 
countiymen  in  the  south  beginning  to  harbour 
violent  feelings — while  the  Normans  were  anxious 
to  provoke  an  insurrection,  and  prosecute  the  war 
in  the  land  where  so  many  bi-oad  acres  remained 
to  reward  the  victors — William  resolved  to  pass 
over  into  Normandy.  Had  he  determined  to  vex 
and  rouse  the  English,  he  could  scai-cely  have 
left  a  more  fitting  instrument  than  his  half- 
brother,  Odo,  to  whom  he  confided  the  royal  power 
dui'ing  his  absence,  associating  with  him  as  coun- 
cillors of  state,  William  Fitz-Osborn,  Hugo  of 
Grantmesnil,  Hugo  de  Montfort,  Walter  Giflbrd, 
and  WiUiam  de  Gareuue.  On  the  other  hand, 
as  if  to  make  an  English  revolt  hopeless,  should 
it  be  attempted,  he  can-ied  in  his  train  Stigand, 
the  Ai-chbishojj  of  Canterbmy,  the  abbot  Egel- 
noth,  Edgar  Atheling,  Edwin,  Earl  of  Mercia, 
Morcar,  Earl  of  Northumbria,  Waltheof,  Earl  of 
Northampton  and  Huntingdon,  and  many  others 
of  high  nobility.  The  place  chosen  for  his  em- 
barkation was  Pevensey,  near  Hastings ;  and 
when  he  had  made  a  liberal  distribution  of  money 
and  presents  to  a  part  of  his  army  which  had 
followed  him  to  the  beach,  he  set  sail  with  a  fair 


wind  for  Normandy,  just  .six  months  after  liis 
lauding  in  England.  According  to  every  account, 
he  was  received  with  enthusiastic  joy  by  his  con- 
tinental subjects,  who  were  filled  with  wonder- 
ment at  his  success,  and  the  quantity  of  gold  and 
silver  and  other  precioiis  eflects  he  brought  back 
■svith  him.  A  part  of  this  wealth,  the  fruit  of 
blood  and  plunder,  w;us  sent  to  the  pope,  witli  the 
banner  of  Harold,  which  had  been  taken  at  the 
battle  of  Hastuigs,  and  another  jiortion  was  dis- 
tributed among  the  abbeys,  monasteries,  and 
churches  of  Normandy;  "neither  monks  nor 
priests  remaining  without  a  guerdon."  William 
gave  them  coined  gold,  and  gold  in  bars,  golden 
vases,  and,  above  all,  richly  embroidered  stuffs, 
which,  on  high  feast-days  they  hung  up  in  their 
chm'ches,  where  they  excited  the  admii'ation  of 
all  travellers  and  strangers.  The  whole  of  the 
account  given  by  William's  chaplain  tends  to 
raise  our  idea  of  the  wealth  of  England.  "  That 
land,"  says  the  Poitevin,  "abounds  more  than 
Normandy  in  the  precious  metals.  If  in  fertility 
it  may  be  tei-med  the  gi-anaiy  of  Ceres,  in  riches 
it  should  be  called  the  treasury  of  Ai-abia.  The 
English  women  excel  in  the  use  of  the  needle, 
and  in  embroidering  in  gold ;  the  men  in  every 
species  of  elegant  workmanship.  Moreover,  the 
best  artists  of  Germany  live  amongst  them;  and 
merchants,  who  rejiair  to  distant  countries,  im- 
port the  most  valu.able  articles  of  foreign  manu- 
facture, unknown  in  Normandy."  The  same  con- 
temporary informs  us  that  at  the  feast  of  Easter, 
which  William  held  with  unusual  splendour,  a  re- 
lation of  the  King  of  France,  named  Raoul,  came 
with  a  numerous  retinue  to  the  Conqueror's  court, 
where  he  and  his  Frenchmen,  not  less  than  the 
Normans,  considered  with  a  curiosity,  mingled 
with  surprise,  the  chased  vases  of  gold  and  silver 
brought  from  England;  and,  above  all,  the  drink- 
ing-cups  of  the  Saxons,  made  of  large  bufl'alo- 
horns,  and  ornamented  at  either  extremity  with 
precious  metal.  The  French  prince  and  his  com- 
panions were  also  much  struck  with  the  beauty 
of  couutenance  and  llie  long  flowing  hair  of  the 
young  Englishmen  whom  William  had  brought 
over  with  him  as  guests  or  hostages. 

While  all  thus  went  on  mei-rily  in  Normandy, 
events  of  a  very  different  natm-e  were  talcing 
place  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel.  The  rule 
of  Odo  and  the  barons  left  in  England  pressed 
harshly  on  the  people,  whose  complaints  and  cries 
for  justice  they  despised.  Without  punishment 
or  check,  their  men-at-arms  were  permitted  to 
insult  and  plunder,  not  merely  the  peasants  and 
burgesses,  but  peo2ile  of  the  best  condition,  and 
the  cup  of  misery  and  degradation  was  filled  up, 
as  usual  in  such  cases,  by  violence  offered  to  the 
women.  The  English  spirit  was  not  yet  so  de- 
pressed, and,  in  fact,  never  sank  so  low  as  to  tole- 


A.D.  1066—1087  I 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 


183 


rate  such  wi-ongs.  Several  popiilai-  x-isiii^  took 
place  in  various  i>arts  of  the  subjugated  territory, 
and  many  a  Norman,  caught  be^'ond  the  walls  of 
his  castle  or  garrison-town,  was  cut  to  pieces. 
These  partial  insurrections  were  followed  by  con- 
certed and  extensively  combined  movements.  A 
granil  cousjiiracy  wa.s  formed,  and  the  Conqueror's 
throne  was  made  to  totter  before  it  was  nine 
months  old.  The  men  of  Kent,  who  had  been 
the  first  to  submit,  were  the  fii'st  to  attemjit  to 
throw  off  the  yoke.  A  singular  circumstance  at- 
tended their  effort.  Eustace,  Count  of  Boulogne, 
the  same  who  had  caused  such  a  stir  at  Dover  in 
the  time  of  Edw.ird  the  Confessor,  was  then  in 
open  quarrel  with  William  the  Norman,  who  kept 
one  of  his  sons  in  prison.  This  Eustace  was  famoil 
far  and  wide  for  his  military  skill;  and  his  rela- 
tionshipto  the  sainted  King  Edward, whose  sister 
he  had  married,  made  the  English  consider  him 
now  in  the  light  of  a  natm-al  ally.  Forgetting, 
therefore,  their  old  grievances,  the  people  of  Kent 
sent  a  message  to  Count  Eustace,  promising  to  put 
Dover  into  his  hands,  if  he  would  make  a  descent 
on  the  coast,  and  help  them  to  wage  war  on  their 
Norman  opjiressors.  Eustace  accepted  the  invi- 
tation, and,  crossing  the  Channel  vnih  a  small  but 
chosen  band,  he  landed,  under  favour  of  a  dark 
night,  at  a  short  distance  from  Dover,  where  he 
was  presently  joined  b}'  a  host  of  Kentish  men  in 
arms.  A  contemporary  says,  that  had  they  waited 
but  two  daj'S,  these  insui'gents  would  have  been 
juined  by  the  whole  population  of  those  parts; 
but  they  imprudently  made  an  attack  on  the  strong 
castle  of  Dover,  were  repulsed  with  loss,  and  then 
thrown  into  a  panic,  by  the  false  report  that  Bishop 
Odo  was  approaching  them  with  all  his  forces. 
Count  Eustace  fled,  and  got  safely  on  board  ship, 
but  most  of  his  men-at-ai-ms  were  slain  or  taken 
prisoners  by  the  Norman  garrison,  or  broke  their 
necks  by  falling  over  the  cliffs  on  which  Dover 
Castle  .stands.  The  men  of  Kent,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  found  then-  way  home  in  safety,  by 
taking  by-]iaths  and  roads  with  which  the  Nor- 
mans were  unac(iuainted. 

In  the  west  the  Normans  were  much  less  for- 
tunate. Edric  the  Forester,  who  had  visited  the 
Conqueror  at  Barking,  and  done  homage  to  him, 
was  the  lord  of  extensive  possessions  that  lay 
on  the  Severn  and  the  confines  of  Wales.  This 
powerful  chief  was  at  first  desirous  of  living  in 
peace,  but  being  provoked  at  the  depredations 
committed  by  some  Norman  captains  who  had 
garrisoned  the  city  of  Hereford,  he  took  nji  arms, 
and  forming  an  alliance  with  two  AVelsh  piinccs, 
he  was  enabled  to  shut  the  foreigners  close  up 
within  the  walls  of  the  to^vn,  and  to  i-ange  undi.-- 
puted  master  of  all  the  western  part  of  Here- 
fordshire. 

At   this  favourable  moment  the  two  sons  of 


King  Harold  appeared  in  the  west;  but  though 
they  were  nearly  a  year  older  than  at  the  time 
they  were  passed  over  unnoticed  by  tlie  AVitan 
assembled  at  London,  they  soon  showed  that 
neither  of  them  had  the  qualities  requisite  for 
the  saviour  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  n.ation.  Their 
]iroceedings  would  be  altogether  inexplicable  if 
we  did  not  reflect  tliat  they  were  allied  with,  and 
probably  controlled  by  a  liost  of  pii'atos.  These 
two  young  men  sailed  over  from  Ireland  with 
a  considerable  force,  embarked  in  sixty  shijis. 
Tliey  ascended  the  Bristol  Channel  and  the  river 
Avon,  and  landing  near  Bristol,  plundered  that 
fertile  country.  Wh.atever  were  their  pretexts 
and  claims,  they  acted  as  common  enemies,  and 
were  met  as  such  by  the  English  ]ieop!e,  who  re- 
pulsed them  when  they  attempted  to  t.ake  the  city 
of  Bristol,  .and  soon  after  defeated  them  upon 
the  coast  of  Somersetshire,  whither  they  had  re- 
j  'aired  with  theli-  ships  and  plunder.  The  invaders, 
who  suffered  severely,  took  to  their  shijis,  and 
returned  immediately  to  Ireland.  In  Shropshire, 
Nottinghamshire,  and  other  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
both  where  they  had  felt  the  Norman  oi>pres- 
sion,  and  where,  as  yet,  they  only  apprehended  it, 
bodies  of  English  rose  in  arms,  and  urged  their 
neighbours  to  join  them.  The  indignation  of  the 
people  was  general,  and  encouraged  by  the  Con- 
queror's absence,  efforts  were  made,  and  others 
contemplated,  for  throwing  off  the  yoke.  Ru- 
mours spread  that  a  simultaneous  m.assacro,  like 
that  perpetrated  on  the  Danes,  was  intended;  and 
it  was  equally  n.atural  that  the  English  should 
make  use  of  such  threats  in  their  moments  of  r.age, 
and  th.at  the  Normans,  conscious  of  oppression, 
and  well  versed  in  the  history  of  St.  Brice's 
Day,  should  believe  them  and  tremble  at  them. 
Letter  after  letter,  and  message  after  message, 
were  sent  into  Normandy;  but  the  Conqueror, 
either  because  he  was  insensible  to  the  alarm,  or 
thought  sufficient  provocation  had  not  been  given, 
lingered  there  for  more  than  eight  months.  When 
at  last  he  departed,  it  was  in  hurry  and  agitation. 
He  embarked  at  Dieppe  on  the  (ith  of  December, 
and  sailed  for  England  by  night.  On  arriving, 
he  placed  new  governors,  whom  he  had  brought 
from  Normandy,  in  his  castles  and  strongholds 
in  Sussex  and  Kent.  On  reaching  London  he 
was  made  fully  sensible  of  tlie  prevailing  discon- 
tent; but  with  his  usual  crafty  prudence  he  applied 
himself  to  soothe  the  storm  for  awhile,  decuning 
that  the  time  had  not  yet  arrived  for  Ins  openly 
decl.aring  that  the  fickle,  f.aithlcss  Engli.sh  were 
to  be  exterminated  or  treated  as  slaves,  and  all 
their  possessions  and  honours  given  to  the  Nor- 
mans. He  celebrated  the  festival  of  C-'hristm.as 
with  unusual  jjomp,  and  invited  many  Saxon 
chiefs  to  London  to  ])artake  in  the  celebr.ation. 
He  received  these  guests  with  .smiles  and  cai-esses, 


184 


HISTORY  OF  ENCiLAND. 


[C'lVII,  AND  MlLITAISY. 


giving  tlie  kiss  of  welcome  to  every  comer.'  If 
they  asked  for  anytliing,  he  gi-anted  it ;  if  they 
announced  or  advised  anything,  he  listened  with 
respectful  attention;  and  it  should  seem  that 
they  were  nearly  all  the  dupes  of  these  royal 
artifices.  He  then  propitiated  the  citizens  of 
London  by  a  proclamation,  which  was  written  in 
the  Saxon  language,  and  read  in  all  the  churches 
of  the  capital.  "Be  it  known  unto  you,"  said 
this  document,  "  what  is  my  will.  I  will  that  all 
of  you  enjoy  your  national  laws  as  in  the  days  of 
King  Edward  ;  that  every  son  shall  inherit  from 
his  father,  after  the  days  of  his  father;  and  that 
none  of  my  people  do  you  wrong."  William's 
first  public  act  after  all  these  promises  was  to 
impose  a  heavy  tax,  which  was  made  more  and 
more  burdensome  as  his  power  increased. 

The  war  of  1068,  or  what  may  be  called  the 
Conqueror's  second  campaign  in  England,  opened 
in  the  fertile  province  of  Devonshire,  where  the 
people,  supported  by  their  hai\ly  neighbom-s  of 
Cornwall,  and  animated  by  the  presence  of  the 
mother  and  some  other  relations  of  King  Harold, 
refused  to  acknowledge  his  government,  and  had 
prepared  to  resist  the  advance  of  his  lieutenants. 
Some  of  the  thanes  to  whom  the  command  of  the 
insurrection  had  been  intrusted,  proved  cowards 
or  traitors;  the  Normans  advanced,  burning,  and 
desti-oying,  and  breathing  vengeance;  but  the 
men  of  Exeter,  who  had  had  a  principal  share  in 
organizing  the  patriotic  resistance,  were  resolute 
in  the  defence  of  their  city.  Githa  or  Editha, 
Harold's  mother,  had  fled  there  after  the  battle 
of  Hastings,  and  carried  with  her  considerable 
riches.  When  the  Conqueror  came  within  four 
miles  of  Exeter,  he  summoned  the  citizens  to 
submit,  and  take  the  oath  of  fealty.  They  replied, 
"We  will  not  swear  fealty  to  this  man,  who 
pretends  to  be  our  king,  nor  will  we  receive  his 
garrison  within  om-  walls ;  but  if  he  will  receive 
as  tribute  the  dues  we  were  accustomed  to  pay  to 
our  kings,  we  will  consent  to  pay  them  to  him." 
To  this  somewhat  novel  proposal  WUliam  said, 
"I  would  have  subjects,  and  it  is  not  my  custom 
to  take  them  on  such  conditions."-  Some  of  the 
magistrates  and  wealthiest  of  the  citizens  then 
went  to  William,  and,  imploring  his  mercy,  prof- 
fered the  submission  of  the  city,  and  gave  hos- 
tages; but  the  mass  of  the  population  either  did 
not  sanction  this  proceeding,  or  repented  of  it; 
and  when  William  rode  up  at  the  head  of  his 
cavalry,  he  found  the  gates  barred  and  the  walls 
manned  with  combatants,  who  bade  him  defiance. 
The  Normans,  in  sight  of  the  men  on  the  ram- 
parts, then  tore  out  the  eyes  of  one  of  the  hostages 
they  had  just  received;  but  this  savage  act  did 
not  daimt  the  people,  who  wei-e  well  prepared  for 


defence,  having  rais-ed    new  turrets  and  battle- 
ments on  the  walls,  and  brouudit  in  a  number  of 


'  Dulciter  ad  osciila  invitabat. — Orderic. 


■>  Ibid. 


RouHEMONT  Castle,  part  of  the  old  defences  of  Exeter.^ — From 
a  view  in  the  King's  Library,  British  Museum. 

armed  seamen  both  native  and  foreigners,  that 
happened  to  be  in  their  port.  The  siege  con- 
tinued for  eighteen  days,  and  cost  William  a 
gi-eat  number  of  men;  and  when  the  city  sur- 
rendered at  last,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  Saxon 
Chronicle,  it  was  because  their  chiefs  had  again 
betrayed  them.  The  brave  men  of  Exeter,  how- 
ever, obtained  much  more  favom-able  terms  than 
were  then  usual;  for,  though  they  were  forced  to 
t,ake  the  oath,  and  admit  a  Norman  garrison, 
their  lives,  property,  and  privileges  were  secured 
to  them,  and  successful  precautions  were  taken 
by  the  Conqueror  to  prevent  any  outrage  or 
plunder.  Having  ordered  a  strong  castle  to  be 
built  in  the  captured  town,  William  returned 
eastward  to  Winchester,  where  he  was  joined  by 
his  wife  Matilda,  who  had  not  hitherto  been  in 
England.  At  the  ensuing  festival  of  Whitsun- 
tide she  was  publicly  crowned  by  Aldred,  the 
Ai-chbishop  of  York.     On  the  siuTender  of  Exe- 


3  Bishop  Graudisson,  on  the  authority  of  an  old  chronicle, 
states  that  King  Athelstaue  founded  a  caitle  here,  which  was 
destroyed  by  the  Danes  in  1003.  It  was  rebuilt  by  William  the 
Conqueror.  After  the  surrender  of  Exeter  to  General  Fairfa.T, 
it  was  dismantled,  and  all  its  towers  and  battlements  destroyed. 
Tliere  are  now  few  remains  of  the  builfling.  The  lofty  giiteway 
represented  in  the  wood-cut  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  vestiges. 
The  name  Rougemont  is  considered  to  have  been  derived  from 
the  red  colour  of  the  soil  on  wliich  the  castle  st.and8. — Lyson'a 
Magna  Britannia. 


A.D.  lOCG     1087. 


WILLIAM   Till';  CONQUEKOR. 


185 


ter,  the  aged  Gitlia,  with  several  lailies  of  rank, 
escaped  to  Bath,  and  finding  no  safety  there, 
tliey  fled  to  the  small  islands  at  the  month  of  the 
Severn,  where  they  lay  eoneealed  until  they  found 
an  opportunity  of  passing  over  to  Flanders. 

Iliu-old's  sons,  Godwin  and  Ednaund,  with  a 
younger  brother  named  Magnus,  again  came 
over  from  Ireland;  and  with  a  fleet  hovered  off 
the  coast  of  Devonshire  and  Cornwall,  landing 
occasionally,  and  inviting  the  people  to  join 
them  against  the  Normans.  Nothing  could  be 
more  absurdly  concerted  than  these  movements. 
Having  rashly  ventux'ed  too  f;u'  into  the  country, 
they  were  suddenly  attacked  by  a  Norman  force 
from  Exeter,  and  defeated  with  great  slaughter. 
Their  means  were  now  exhausted,  and,  wearied 
by  their  ill  success,  theii-  Irish  allies  declined  giv- 
ing any  further  assistance  to  these  exiles.  The 
sons  of  Harold  next  appeared  as  suppliants  at 
the  court  of  Sweyn,  King  of  Denmark. 

During  the  spring  and  early  summer  of  tliis 
same  j'ear  (1068),  William  established  his  autho- 
rity in  De vonshii-e,  Somersetshire,  and  Gloucester- 
shire, and  besides  taking  Exeter,  made  himself 
master  of  Oxfoi-d  and  other  fortified  cities  which 
he  had  left  in  his  rear  wlien  he  advanced  into 
the  west.     V/herever  his  dominion  was  imposed, 
the  mass  of  land  was  given   to  his  lords  and 
knights,  and  fortresses  and  castles  were  erected 
and  garrisoned  by  Normans  and  other  foreigners, 
wlio  continued  to  cross  the  Channel  in  search  of 
employment,  wealth,  and  honours.     ^Meanwhile, 
the  accounts  of  the  sufferings  of  the  conquered 
people,  as  given  by  the  native   chroniclers,  are 
thus  condensed  in  a  striking  passage  of  Holin- 
shed  : — "  He  took  away  from  divers  of  the  no- 
bility, and  others  of   the  better  sort,  all  their 
livings,   and   gave   the   same   to   his   Noi-mans. 
Moreover,  he   raised  great   taxes  and  subsidies 
through  the  realm;  nor  anything  regarded  the 
English  nobility;  so  that  they  who  before  thought 
themselves  to  be  made  for  ever  by  bringing  a 
stranger  into  the  realm,  did  now  see  themselves 
trodden  under   foot,  to  be  despised,  and  to  be 
mocked  on  all  sides,  insomuch  that  many  of  them 
were  constrained  (as  it  were,  for  a  fiu'ther  testi- 
mony of  servitude  and  bondage)  to  shave  their 
beards,  to  round  then-  hah-,  and  to  frame  them- 
selves, as  well  in  apparel  as  in  service  and  diet, 
at  their  tables,  after  the  Norman  manner,  very 
strange  and  far  differing  from  the  ancient  cus- 
toms and  old  usages  of  their  countty.     Others, 
utterly  refusing  to  sustain  such  an  intolerable 
yoke  of  thi-aldom  as  was  daily  laid  upon  tliem 
by  the  Noi-mans,  chose  rather  to  leave  all,  both 
goods  and  lands,  and,  after  the  manner  of  out- 
laws, got  them  to  the  woods  with  their  wives, 
children,  and  servants,  meaning   from   thence- 
forth to  live  upon  the  spoil  of  the  country  ad- 
VOL.  I. 


joining,  ami  to  take  whatsoever  came  next  to 
hand.  Whereupon  it  came  to  pass  within  a 
while  that  no  man  might  travel  in  safety  from 
his  own  liou.se  or  town  to  his  next  neighboui-s." 
The  bands  of  outlaws  thus  formed  of  imjiover- 
ishod,  des])erate  men,  were  not  8Ui)pressed  foi' 
several  successive  reigns;  and  while  the  Normans 
considered  and  treated  them  as  banditti,  the 
English  people  long  regai-<led  them  in  the  light 
of  unfortunate  patriots. 

Men  of  higher  rank  and  more  extended  views 
were  soon  among  the  fugitives  from  the  pale  of 
the  Conqueror.  When  in  his  conciliating  mood, 
William  had  promised  Edwin,  Earl  of  Mcrcia, 
one  of  his  daughters  in  inarri.-ige,  and  (lattered  by 
the  prospect  of  such  a  prize,  this  ])owerf  ul  brother- 
in-law  of  Harold  liad  rendered  important  services 
to  the  Norman  cause;  but  now,  when  he  asked 
his  reward,  the  Conqueror  not  only  refused  the 
fair  bride,  but  insulted  the  suitor.  Upon  this, 
Edwin,  with  his  brother  Morcar,  absconded  from 
the  Norman  court,  and  went  to  the  north  of 
England,  there  to  join  their  incensed  countrymen, 
and  make  one  general  effort  for  the  recovery  of 
tlieir  ancient  liberties.  No  foreign  soldier  had 
as  yet  passed  the  Humber ;  and  it  was  behind 
that  river  tliat  Edwin  and  Morcar  fixed  the  great 
camp  of  independence,  the  most  southern  bul- 
wark of  which  was  the  fortified  city  of  York- 
Among  the  men  of  Yorkshire  and  Northurabria 
they  found  some  thoTisands  of  hardy  warriors, 
who  swore  they  would  not  sleep  under  the  roof 
of  a  house  till  the  day  of  victory,  and  they  were 
joined  by  some  allies  from  the  mountains  of 
Wales  and  other  parts.  The  ever  active  Con- 
queror, however,  came  upon  them  before  they 
were  prepared.  His  march,  considering  tlie 
many  obstacles  he  had  to  overcome,  was  wonder- 
fully rapid.  Advancing  from  Oxford,  he  took 
Warwick  and  Leicester,  the  latter  of  which  places 
he  almost  entirely  destroyed.  Then  crossing  the 
Trent,  wliich  he  had  not  seen  till  now,  he  fell 
upon  Derby  and  Nottingham.  From  Nottingham 
he  marched  upon  Lincoln,  which  he  forced  to 
capitulate  and  deliver  hostages,  and  thence  press- 
ing forward  might  and  main,  he  came  to  the 
river  Ouse,  near  the  jjoint  where  it  falls  into  the 
Humber.  Here  he  found  Edwin  and  Morcar 
drawn  out  to  oppose  him.  The  battle  wliich 
immediately  ensued  was  fierce  in  the  extreme ; 
but,  as  at  Hasting.s,  then-  superiority  in  num- 
ber, arms,  and  discipline,  gave  the  Normans  the 
victory.  Many  of  the  English  perished;  the  rest 
retreated  to  York,  within  tha  walls  of  which  they 
hoped  to  find  refuge;  but  the  conquerors,  follow- 
ing them  closely,  broke  through  the  walls  and 
entered  the  city,  destroying  everything  with  fire 
and  sword,  and  massacring  all  they  found,  from 
the  boy  to  the  old  man.  The  wi'eck  of  tlie  pa- 
24 


1S6 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  MiLiTAr.y. 


triotic  army  lied  to  the  Humbur,  and  descended 
tliat  estuai-y  in  boats ;  they  tlieu  turned  to  tlie 
nortli,  and  landed  iu  the  country  of  the  Scotch 
or  in  the  territory  near  the  Borders,  which  became 
the  places  of  refuge  of  all  the  brave  men  of  the 
north,  who  did  not  yet  desjiair  of  liberty.' 

The  victors,  who  were  not  prepared  to  advance 
faa-ther,  built  a  strong  citadel  at  York,  which 
became  their  advanced  post  and  bulwai'k  towards 
the  north.  A  chosen  garrison  of  500  knights  and 
men-at-arms,  with  a  host  of  squires  and  servants- 
at-arms,  was  left  at  this  dangerous  post.  So 
perilous,  indeed,  was  it  considered,  from  the  well- 
known  martial  and  obstinate  chai'acter  of  the  men 
that  dwelt  beyond  its  walls,  that  the  Normans 
labom-ed  day  and  night  to  sti-engthen  their  posi- 
tion, forcing  the  poor  inhabitants  of  York  who 
had  escaped  the  massacre  to  dig  deep  ditches  and 
build  strong  walls  for  them.  Fearing  to  be  be- 
sieged in  their-  tm-n,  they  also  collected  all  the 
stores  and  provisions  they  could. 

In  spite  of  his  successes  in  the  north,  and  his 
firm  establishment  in  the  midland  counties,  where 
he  built  castles  and  gave  away  earldoms,  the 
Comiueror's  throne  was  still  threatened,  and  the 
country  still  agitated  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
The  English  chiefs,  who  had  hitherto  adhered  to 
his  cause,  fell  oif,  at  first  one  by  one,  and  then 
in  troops  together,  following  up  their  defection 
with  concerted  plans  of  operation  against  him. 
To  these  was  added  a  fugitive  of  still  higher  ranlc, 
of  whose  custody  the  Conqueror  was  very  negli- 
gent. At  the  instance  of  Marleswine,  Cospatric, 
and  some  otlier  noblemen,  Edgar  AtheUug  fled  by 
sea  into  Scotland,  taking  his  mother,  Agatha,  the 
widow  of  Edmund,  son  of  Edmund  Ironside,  and 
his  two  sisters,  Margaret  and  Christina,  with  him. 
These  royal  fugitives  were  received  with  gi-eat 
honour  and  kindness,  and  conducted  to  his  castle 
of  Dunfermline  by  the  Scottish  monarch,  Mal- 
colm Canmore.  Edgar's  sister  Margaret  was 
young  and  handsome;  "and  in  process  of  time, 
the  said  King  Malcolm  cast  such  love  unto  the 
said  Margaret,  that  he  took  her  to  wife."-  Some 
of  the  English  nobles  had  preceded  Edgar  to 
Scotland ;  many  followed  him ;  and  these  emi- 
grants, and  others  that  arrived  from  the  same 


1  '<  A  more  general  proof  of  the  i-uinous  oppression  of  William 
the  Conqueror  may  be  deduced  from  the  comparative  condition 
of  the  English  towns  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  and 
at  the  compilation  of  Doomsday,  At  the  fonner  epoch  there 
were,  in  York,  G07  inhabited  houses — at  the  latter,  967;  at  the 
fonner  there  were,  in  Oxford,  721 — at  the  latter,  243;  of  172 
houses  in  Dorchester,  100  were  destroyed;  of  243  in  Derby,  103; 
of  4S7  in  Chester,  205.  Some  other  towns  had  suffered  less,  but 
scarcely  any  one  fails  to  exhibit  marks  of  a  deciyed  population. 
As  to  the  relative  numbers  of  the  pe<Tsantry  and  value  of  lauds 
at  these  two  periods,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  .issert  anything 
without  .a  laborious  ei.amination  of  Doomsday  Book. " — Ilallara, 
Slate  of  Europe  duriufj  the  Middle  Ages,  vol.  ii.  p.  42G. 

2  Grafton. 


quarter  on  vai-ious  subsequent  occasions,  became 
the  founders  of  a  principal  part  of  the  Scottish 

nobility. 

It  is  probable  that  William  did  not  mourn 
much  for  the  departure  of  the  English  thanes; 
but  presently  he  was  vexed  and  embarrassed  by 
the  depai'ture  of  some  of  his  Norman  chiefs  who 
had  followed  him  from  the  Continent.  These 
warriors,  wearied  by  the  constant  surprises  and 
attacks  of  the  English,  and  seeing  no  term  to 
that  desultory  and  destructive  warfare,  longed 
for  the  quiet  of  then-  own  homes.  Some  con- 
sidered themselves  enriched  enough  by  the  phm- 
der  they  had  made;  others  thought  that  estates 
in  England  were  not  worth  the  ti-ouble  and  dan- 
ger with  which  they  were  to  be  obtained  and  se- 
cured; others,  again,  wanted  to  join  their  wives, 
who  were  constantly  pressing  them  to  return; 
for  it  appears  that  few  or  none  of  them  had  as 
yet  thought  it  safe  to  bring  then'  families  to  Eng- 
land. William  tried  to  reanimate  their  zeal  by 
offers  more  boimtiful  than  ever,  and  by  promis- 
ing lands,  money,  and  honours  m  abimdauce  the 
moment  the  conquest  of  England  should  be  com- 
pleted. In  spite,  however,  of  all  these  manoeu- 
%Tes,  Hugh  de  Grantmesnil,  Eai'l  of  Norfolk,  his 
brother-in-law,  Humphrey  Tilleuil,  the  warden 
of  Hastings  Castle,  and  a  great  number  of  others, 
retu-ed  from  the  service,  and  re-crossed  the  Chan- 
nel. The  king  punished  this  desertion  by  imme- 
diately confiscating  all  the  possessions  they  had 
obtained  in  om*  island.  Foreseeing,  however, 
that  he  was  about  to  be  suiTounded  by  gi-eat  dif- 
ficulties and  dangers,  he  sent  his  own  wife  Ma- 
tilda back  to  Normandy,  that  she  might  be  in  a 
place  of  safety.  At  the  same  time  he  invited 
fresh  adventurers  and  soldiers  of  fortvme  from 
nearly  every  country  in  Europe;  and,  alhu-ed  by 
his  brilliant  offers,  bands  flocked  to  him  from  the 
banks  of  the  Khine,  the  Seine,  the  Loire,  the  Ga- 
ronne, and  the  Tagus — from  the  Alps,  and  the 
Italian  peninsula  beyond  the  Alps. 

The  strong  gaiTison  which  the 
A.D.  10G9.  Conqueror  had  left  at  York  could 
scarcely  adventure  a  mile  in  advance  of  that  post 
without  being  attacked  by  the  natives,  who  lay 
constantly  in  ambush  in  all  the  woods  and  glens. 
The  governor,  AVilliam  Malet,  was  soon  fain  to 
declare  that  he  would  not  answer  for  the  secui'ity 
of  York  itself  imless  prompt  succom-  was  sent 
him.  On  receiving  this  alarmmg  news,  William 
marched  in  person,  and  arrived  before  York  just 
as  the  citizens,  in  league  with  all  the  country 
people  of  the  neighbourhood,  were  besieging  the 
Norman  fortress.  Having  raised  this  siege  by  a 
sudden  attack,  he  laid  the  foundations  of  a  second 
castle  in  York,  and,  leaving  a  double  garrison,  re- 
turned southward.  Soon  after  his  departm'e,  the 
English  made  a  second  attempt  to  drive  the  enemy 


A.D.  lOGG— 1087.] 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 


187 


from  their  fortress,  Vmt  they  were  repulsed  with 
loss;  and  tlie  second  o.istle  and  other  works  were 
finished  without  further  interruption.  Tliinkinjr 
them.selves  now  secure  in  this  advanced  post,  the 
Normans  resumed  the  oll'ensive,  and  made  a  des- 
perate attempt  to  extend  tlieir  frontier  as  far 
north  as  Durham.  Tlie  advance  was  made  by  a 
certain  Eobert  de  Comine,  to  whom  William  had 
promised  a  vast  territory  yet  to  be  conquered. 

This  Eobert  set  out  from  York  with  much 
pomp  and  circumstance,  having  assumed,  by  an- 
ticipation, the  title  of  Earl  of  Northumberland. 
EEis  army  was  not  large,  consisting  only  of  1200 
lances;  but  his  confidence  was  boundless.  He 
crossed  the  Tees,  and  was  within  sight  of  the 
walls  of  Durham,  which  the  Normans  called  "the 
stronghold  of  the  rebels  of  the  north,"  when 
Egelwiii,  the  English  bishop  of  that  place,  came 
forth  to  meet  him,  and  informed  him  that  the  na- 
tives had  vowed  to  destroy  him,  or  be  destroyed, 
and  warned  him  not  to  expose  himself  with  so 
small  a  force.  Comine  treated  the  warning  with 
contempt,  and  marched  on.  The  Normans  en- 
tered Durham,  massacring  a  few  defenceless  men. 
The  soliliei's  quartered  tliemselves  in  the  houses 
of  the  citizens,  plundering  or  wasting  theii-  sub- 
stance; and  the  chief  himself  took  possession  of 
the  bishop's  palace.  But  when  night  fell,  the 
people  lighted  signal-fij-es  on  the  hills,  that  were 
seen  as  far  as  the  Tees  to  the  south,  and  as  far 
northward  as  the  river  Tyne;  and,  at  the  sum- 
mons, the  inhabitants  gathered  in  great  numbers, 
and  hurried  to  Durham.  At  the  point  of  day 
they  rushed  into  the  city,  and  attacked  the  Nor- 
mans on  all  sides.  Many  were  killed  before  they 
could  well  rouse  themselves  from  the  deep  sleep 
induced  by  the  fatigue  of  the  preceding  day's 
mai'ch,  and  the  i-evelry  and  debauch  of  the  night. 
The  rest  attempted  to  rally  in  the  bishop's  house, 
where  then-  leader  had  established  his  quarters. 
They  defended  this  post  for  a  short  time,  dis- 
charging then-  arrows  and  other  missiles  on  the 
heads  of  theu-  assailants,  but  the  English  ended 
the  combat  by  setting  fii-e  to  the  house,  which 
was  bm-ned  to  the  ground,  with  Eobert  de  Comine 
and  all  the  Normans  in  it.  The  chroniclers  re- 
late, that  of  all  the  men  engaged  in  the  expedi- 
tion only  two  escaped. 

When  the  Northumbrians  struck  the  blow  at 
Durham,  they  were  expecting  powerfid  allies, 
who  soon  arrived.  As  we  have  so  often  had  oc- 
casion to  repeat,  these  men,  with  the  inhabitants 
of  most  of  the  Danelagh,  were  exceedingly  fierce 
and  warlike,  and  chiefly  of  Danish  blood.  Many 
of  the  old  men  had  followed  the  victorious  banner 
of  the  gi-eat  Canute  into  England,  or  had  served 
under  his  sons.  Kings  Hai-old  Harefoot  and  Har- 
dicanute ;  and  the  sons  of  these  old  warriors  were 
now  in  the  vigour  of  mature  manhood.     Tlun- 


had  always  maintained  an  intercoui-se  witli  Den- 
mark, and  as  soon  as  tliey  saw  themselves  threat- 
ened by  llie  Normans,  they  a])])lied  to  that  coun- 
try for  a.ssistance.  The  coiu't  of  the  Danisli  king 
was  soon  crowded  by  su]i])licants  from  the  Dane- 
lagh, from  Norwich  and  Lincoln,  to  York,  Dur- 
ham, and  Newcastle.  There  were  also  envoys 
from  other  jiarts  of  the  kingdom,  where  the  Saxon 
blood  predominated,  and  the  sons  of  King  Harold 
added  their  efforts  to  ui-ge  the  Danish  monarch 
to  the  invasion  of  England.  At  the  same  time 
the  men  of  Northumberland  had  opened  a  coiTe- 
spondeuce  with  Malcolm  Canniore  and  his  guest 
Edgar  Atheling,  and  allied  themselves  with  the 
English  refugees  in  Scotland  and  on  the  IJorder. 
Even  supposing  that  the  sons  of  Harold  made  no 
pretensions  to  the  crown,  there  must  have  been 
some  jealousy  and  confusion  in  this  confederacy; 
for  while  one  party  to  it  held  the  weak  Edgar  as 
legitimate  sovereign,  another  maintained  that  by 
right  of  succession  the  King  of  Denmark  was 
King  of  England.  It  seems  well  established  that 
the- Danish  monarch,  Sweyn  Estridsen,  held  the 
latter  opinion;  and  the  ill  success  of  the  confede- 
racy may  pi-obably  be  attributed  to  the  disunion 
inevitably  arising  from  such  clashing  interests 
and  pretensions.  As  soon  as  the  battle  of  Has- 
tings was  known,  and  before  any  invitations  were 
sent  over,  Sweyn  had  contemjjlated  a  descent  on 
England.  To  avert  this  danger,  William  had 
recoui'se  to  Adelbert,  the  Ai-chbishop  of  Bremen, 
who,  won  by  pei-suasion  and  presents  of  large 
sums  of  money,  imdertook  the  negotiation,  and 
endeavoured  to  make  the  Danish  king  renounce 
his  jjroject. 

Two  years  passed  withoiit  auj^thing  more  being 
heard  of  the  Danish  invasion;  but  when  in  this, 
the  thu-d  year  after  the  battle  of  Hastings,  the 
solicitations  of  the  English  emigrants  were  more 
m-gent  than  ever,  and  the  men  of  the  north,  his 
natural  allies,  were  up  in  arms,  the  powerful 
Dane  despatched  a  fleet  of  240  sail,  with  orders 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  King  of  Scotland 
and  the  Northumbrians.  The  army  embarked 
in  this  fleet  was  composed  of  almost  as  many 
heterogeneous  materials  as  the  mercenary  force 
of  WiUiam;  besides  Danes  and  Holsteiners,  there 
were  Frisians,  Saxons,  Poles,  and  adventui-ei-s 
from  other  countries,  tempted  by  the  hope  of 
plunder.'  The  Danish  kmg  gave  the  supreme 
command  of  the  fleet  to  his  brother  Csbeorn. 
After  alanning  the  Normans  in  the  south-east, 
at  Dover,  Sandwich,  ami  Ipswicli,  the  Danes 
went  northward  to  the  Humber,  and  sailed  up 
that  estuai-y  to  the  Ouse,  where  they  landed 
about  the  middle  of  August.  It  appeai-s  that 
Osbeorn  was  not  able  to  prevent  his  motley  army 

'  Sovitlioy,  Ararat  //tV(. 


1S8 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militart. 


from  plundering  and  wasting  tlie  country.  As 
soon,  however,  as  the  Anglo-Dauea,  the  men  of 
Yorkshire  and  Nortliumbcrland,  were  advised 
of  the  arrival  of  the  armament,  they  flocked  to 
join  it  from  all  jiarts  of  the  country;  and  Edgar 
Atheling,  with  Mai'leswme,  Cospatrio,  Waltheof 
the  sou  of  Si  ward,  the  gi-eat  enemy  of  Macbeth, 
Archil,  the  five  sons  of  Carl,  aud  many  other 
English  nobles,  arrived  from  the  frontiers  of 
Scotland,  bearing  the  consoling  assurance  that, 
in  addition  to  the  force  they  brought  with  them, 
Malcolm  Canmore  was  advancing  with  a  Scottish 
army  to  support  the  insurgents.  York  was  close 
at  hand,  and  they  determined  to  commence  ope- 
rations by  the  attack  of  the  Norman  fortifications 
in  that  city.  The  Normans  had  rendered  the 
walls  of  the  town  so  strong  that  they  defended 
them  seven  days;  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  siege 
they  set  fii-e  to  the  liouses  that  stood  near  their 
citadels,  in  oi-der  that  then-  assailants  might  not 
use  the  materials  to  fill  up  the  ditches  of  the 
castles,  and  then  they  shut  themselves  up  within 
those  lines.  A  strong  wind  arose — the  flames 
spread  in  all  directions;  the  minster,  or  cathedral 
church,  with  its  famous  library,  and  great  part 
of  the  city,  was  consumed;  and  even  within  then- 
castles  the  Normans  saw  themselves  thi-eatened 
with  a  horrid  death  by  the  tLre  they  had  kindled. 
Preferring  death  by  the  sword  aud  battle-axe  to 
being  biu-ned  alive,  they  made  a  sally,  and  were 
slain,  almost  to  a  man,  by  an  enemy  far  superior 
in  number,  and  inflamed  with  the  fiercest  hatred. 
They  had  suffered  no  such  loss  since  the  fight  of 
Hastings;  3000  Normans  and  mercenaries  of  dif- 
ferent races  fell;  and  only  William  Malet,  the 
governor  of  York,  with  his  wife  and  chilch-en, 
and  a  few  other  men  of  rank,  were  saved  and 
carried  on  board  the  Danish  fleet,  where  they  were 
kept  for  ransom.  Such  pai-ts  of  the  city  of  York 
as  escaped  the  conflagration  were  occupied  by  or 
for  Edgar  Atheling.  A  rapid  advance  to  the 
south,  after  the  capture  of  York,  with  no  enemy 
iu  their  rear,  might  have  insured  the  confederates 
a  signal  and  perhaps  a  decisive  success;  but  the 
King  of  Scotland  did  not  appear  with  his  pro- 
mised ai-my,  and  at  the  approach  of  winter  the 
Danes  retired  to  then-  ships  in  the  Humber,  or 
took  up  quarters  between  the  Ouse  and  the 
Trent.  William  was  thus  allowed  time  to  collect 
his  forces  aud  bring  over  fresh  troops  from  the 
Continent. 

The  Conqueror  was  himting  in  the  forest  of 
Dean  when  he  received  the  first  news  of  the 
catastrophe  of  York ;  and  then  and  there  he 
swore,  by  the  splendom-  of  the  Almighty,  that 
he  would  utterly  exterminate  the  Northumbrian 
people,  nor  ever  lay  down  liis  lance  when  he  had 
once  taken  it  up,  until  he  had  done  the  deed. 
He  forthwith  opened   secret   negotiations  with 


Osbeorn,  and  finally  succeeded,  by  means  of  gold 
and  other  presents,  in  inducing  him  to  agi-ee  to 
withdraw  his  Danish  fleet  and  army,  and  to  give 
no  more  assistance  to  the  Northumljrians.  With 
the  earliest  spring  William  took  the  field,  riding 
at  the  head  of  the  finest  and  most  numerous 
cavaliy  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  England,  and 
causing  his  infantiy  to  follow  by  forced  marches. 
As  he  thus  advanced  the  English  rose  nearly 
everywhere  in  his  real',  i-e-commencing  a  war  on 
many  different  points  at  once.  An  inferior  com- 
mander would  have  Tieen  confused  by  this  multi- 
plicity of  attacks, and  inevitably  ruined;  but  Wil- 
liam did  not  sufler  his  attention  to  be  distracted, 
and  steadily  pursued  liis  com'se  to  the  north, 
where  he  knew  the  great  blow  must  be  struck. 

The  defenders  of  York  learned  nearly  at  the 
same  moment  that  the  ruthless  Conqiieror  was 
approaching  their  walls,  and  tliat  their  faithless 
allies,  the  Danes,  had  abandoned  them,  and  wex-e 
sailing  awa}'  for  the  south,  where,  according  to 
the  compact  they  had  made,  they  were  to  be  per- 
mitted to  victual,  and  to  phmder  the  English. 
Abandoned  as  they  were,  aud  ill  provided  with 
defences — for  in  their  rage  they  had  utterly  de- 
stroyed the  two  castles — they  made  an  obstinate 
resistance;  nor  was  York  taken  imtil  many  hun- 
ch'eds  of  English  and  Normans  lay  dead  together. 
Edgar  Atheling,  escaiiing  with  his  life,  and  little 
else,  fled  for  a  second  time  to  the  court  of  the 
Scottish  king.  Elated  by  his  victory,  William 
spent  but  a  short  time  in  York,  and  then  con- 
tinued his  march  northward.  His  rage  had  not 
moderated  with  time,  and  he  thought  it  wise  and 
good  policy  to  carry  into  effect  the  fearful  vow 
he  had  made  iu  the  forest  of  Dean.  His  troops 
required  no  excitement  from  him;  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  comrades  at  Durham  and  York  in 
the  preceding  year,  and  the  loss  they  had  just 
sustained  themselves  at  the  latter  city,  rankled 
in  then-  savage  minds,  and  they  thi-ew  themselves 
on  the  territory  of  Northumbria  in  a  frenzy  of 
vengeance,  w.asting  the  cultivated  fields,  bui'uing 
towns  and  villages,  aud  massacring  indiscrimi- 
nately flocks,  herds,  and  men.  To  accomplish  this 
havoc  over  a  great  width  of  country,  they  mai'ched 
iu  separate  columns.  An  English  army,  com- 
manded by  Cospatric,  and  very  mferior  iu  num- 
bers, retreated  before  the  Normans  into  Scotland. 
Egelwin,  the  Bishoj)  of  Durham — the  .same  who 
had  given  the  fruitless  warning  to  Kobert  de 
Comine — assembled  the  mhabitants  of  that  city, 
and,  like  a  good  shepherd,  proposed  to  conduct 
his  flock  to  a  place  of  safety,  out  of  the  reach  of 
what  an  old  rhyming  chronicler  calls  "  Noi-mans, 
Burgolouns,'  thieves,  and  felons."  Leaving  their 
homes  to  become  the  prey  of  the  enemy,  but 

'  Bvirgundians. 


A.u.  UIC6-1087.] 


WILLIAM   THE  COXQUEROK. 


189 


carrying  witli  them  tlie  body  or  bones  of  St. 
Cutlibert,  these  wretclieil  people  followed  their 
bishop  across  the  Tyiie  to  Lindisfarnc  or  Holy 
Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tweed;  and  the 
Normans  a  second  time  entered  DiU'ham,  but  in 
such  force  as  to  leave  thcni  no  grounds  for  appre- 
hending a  repetition  of  the  tragedy  that  had  ter- 
minated their  iu-st  visit.  Ilaving  fortified  Dur- 
ham, the  invaders  pushed  forward  to  the  Tyne, 
continuing  their-  work  of  devastation,  and  feeling 
theii-  thii-st  for  blood  unslaked.  A  havoc  more 
complete  and  diabolical  was  never  perpetrated. 
The  Normau  and  French  chroniclers  and  histo- 
i'i;ms  join  the  English  in  naj'rating  and  deploring 
(he  catastrophe  which,  even  in  those  times  of 
\  iolence  and  blood,  seems  to  have  overpowered 
men's  minds  with  a  wild  horror  and  wonderment. 
William  of  Malmesbury,  who  WTote  in  the  reign 
of  Stephen,  about  eighty  years  after,  says, 
"From  York  to  Durham  not  an  inhabited  village 
remained.  Fire,  slaughter,  and  desolation  made 
a  vast  -wilderness  there,  which  continues  to  this 
day."  From  Durham  north  to  Hexham,  from 
the  Wear  to  the  Tj-ne,  the  remorseless  Conqueror 
continued  the  same  infernal  process.  Orderic 
Vitalis  denounces  the  "feralis  occisio"  the  dismal 
slaughter;  and  says  that  more  than  100,000  vic- 
tims perished.  The  fields  in  culture  were  burned, 
and  the  cattle  and  the  corn  in  the  barns  carried 
oft"  by  the  conquerors,  who  made  a  famine  where 
they  could  not  maintain  themselves  by  the  sword. 
After  eating  the  flesh  of  dead  horses  which  the 
Normans  left  behind  them,  the  people  of  York- 
shire and  Northumberland,  driven  to  the  last 
extremity,  are  said  to  have  made  many  a  loath- 
some repast  on  human  flesh.'  Pestilence  followed 
in  the  wake  of  famine;  and  as  a  completion  to 
this  picture  of  horror,  we  are  informed  that  some 
of  the  English,  to  escape  death  by  hunger,  sold 
themselves,  with  theu-  wives  and  children,  as 
slaves  to  the  Noi-man  soldiery,  who  were  well 
provided  with  corn  and  provisions,  purchased  on 
the  Continent  with  gold  and  goods  robbed  from 
the  English. 

On  his  retm-n  from  Hexham  to  York,  by  an 
imperfectly  known  and  indirect  ro^ite  across  the 
Fells,  AVilliam  was  well  nigh  perishing.  The 
snow  was  still  deep  in  those  parts,  and  the  rivers, 
torrents,  ravines,  and  moimtains  continually  pre- 
sented obstacles  to  which  the  Normans  had  been 
little  accustomed  in  the  level  coimties  of  Eng- 
liind.  The  army  fell  into  confusion,  the  king 
lost  the  track,  and  passed  a  whole  night  with- 
out knowing  where  he  was,  or  what  dii-ection  his 
troops  had  taken.  He  did  not  reach  York  with- 
out a  serious  loss,  for  he  left  behind  him  most  of 
his  horses,  which  were  said  to  have  perished  in 

1  Ftonnt.  Wigorn, 


the  snow;  his  men  also  sulTered  the  severast  pri- 
vations. 

Confiscation  now  became  almost  general.  A 11 
l)roperty  in  laud,  whether  belonging  to  patriotic 
chiefs,  or  to  men  who  had  taken  no  active  part  iu 
the  conflict,  began  to  pass  into  the  possession  of 
the  Normans  and  other  foreigners.  Nor  was 
movable  property  safer  or  more  respected.  Wil- 
liam's commissioners,  who  in  many  places  per- 
formed their  work  sword  in  hand,  did  not  alwayu 
draw  a  distinction  between  the  plate  and  jewels 
left  in  deposit  and  the  treasures  that  belonged  to 
the  monasteries  themselves,  but  carried  off  the 
church  ornaments  and  the  vessels  of  silver  or 
gold  that  were  attached  to  the  service  of  the  altar. 
They  also  removed  or  destroyed  all  deeds  and 
documents,  chartei's  of  immunities,  and  evidences 
of  property.  The  newly-conquered  territoiy  in 
the  north  was  distributed  in  immense  lots. 
William  de  Garenne  had  twenty-eight  villages; 
William  de  Percy  more  than  eighty  manoi-s.  Iu 
Doomsdaj/  Book,  which   was   drawn  up  fifteen 


Keep  or  Richmond  Casti.e.'— Wliitakoi's  History  or  Rich- 
niondshire. 

years  after  the  Norman  occupation  of  them,  mast 
of  these  domains  are  described  as  lying  fallow  or 
waste.  Vast  tracts  of  country  to  the  north  of 
the  city  of  York  fell  to  the  lot  of  Allan  the  Bre- 

-  Eiclimond  Ciutlo  is  undoretood  to  have  been  founded  by 
Al.in  Rufiui,  son  of  Hoel,  Count  of  Bretagno,  a  kinsman  of  Wil- 
liam tlie  Comiuoror,  by  whom  ho  was  created  E.arl  of  Richmond. 
It  is  situated  on  a  precipitous  rock,  wliich  rises  upwai-ds  of 
100  ft.  above  the  rivar  Swale.  The  mccossors  to  the  founder  in 
the  earldom  of  Richmond  .added  to  the  e.\lerior  defences,  but 
the  Nonn.an  keep,  about  100  ft.  high,  with  walla  11  ft.  tluck, 
remains  unchanged,  and  almost  entire. 


190 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


ton,  who  erected  a  castle  and  other  works  of  de- 
fence on  a  steep  hill,  nearly  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  the  river  Swale.  Like  most  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  conquering  army,  he  gave  a  French  name  to 
the  place — he  called  it  RichemorU  or  Richmount, 
now  liiclimond.  Dreux  Bruere,  the  chief  of  a 
band  of  Flemish  auxiliaries,  had  the  eastern  part  of 
Yorkshire,  between  the  rivers  and  the  sea.  The 
territory  of  this  Fleming  was  afterwards  conferred 
on  Eudes  of  Champaign,  who  married  a  half- 
sister  of  the  Conqueror.  When  Eudes'  wife  was 
delivered  of  a  son,  he  represented  to  the  king 
that  his  lands  were  not  at  all  fertile,  producing 
only  oats,  and  prayed  he  would  make  him  a  grant 
of  an  estate  proper  to  bear  wheat,  that  he  might 
have  wherewith  to  make  wheaten  bread  for  his 
infant,  the  king's  nephew.  King  William  pre- 
sented him  with  some  lands  to  his  heart's  wish, 
in  Lincolnshire.  Gamel,  who  came  from  Meaux, 
with  a  troop  of  his  own  townsmen,  established 
himself  in  lauds  adjoining  the  Yorkshire  posses- 
sions of  Eudes  of  Champaign;  and  Basin,  Sivard, 
Francon,and  Richard  D'Estouteville  ai-e  mentioned 
as  landholders  and  neighbours  of  Gamel  of 
Meaux.  The  vast  domain  of  Poutefi-act  was  the 
shai-e  of  Gilbert  de  Lacy,  who  soon  afterwards 
extended  the  Norman  conquest  in  Lancashire 
and  Cheshii-c,  and  obtained  three  estates  still 
more  extensive.'  Every  baron  erected  his  castle; 
and  in  every  populous  town  there  was  a  strong- 
fortress,  where  the  Normans  confined  the  prin- 
cipal natives  as  hostages,  and  into  which  they 
could  retire  in  case  of  an  insmTection.  William 
did  not  advance  farther  than  Hexham;  but  some 
of  his  captains  continued  the  progi-ess  both  to 
the  north  and  to  the  west,  though  their  tenm-e 
of  the  land  was  scaa-cely  seom-ed  imtil  some  years 
latei-,  when  the  mountainous  country  of  West- 
moreland and  Cumberland,  and  the  adjacent  part 
of  Northumberland,  were  reduced  by  vai-ious 
chiefs.     The  first  Eai-1  of  Cumberland  was  a  cer- 


'  Tliieny,  Hitstoire  de  la  Conqucte. 

•  "A  peculiar  aspect  is  given  to  the  English  annals  by  the 
Norman  conquest.  In  tracing  the  progress  of  the  other  gi-eat 
nations  of  moJern  Eui'ope,  from  their  first  establishment  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Roman  empu'e  to  their  fnU  development  as  states 
and  kingdoms,  we  pursue  our  inquiries,  amidst  the  changes  and 
revolutions  of  dynasties,  with  difficulty  and  hesit.ation;  yet  we 
do_  not  meet  with  any  catastrophe  occasioning  so  sudden  and 
jarring  an  interruption  .as  that  great  event,  which,  cousidered 
as  an  historical  incident,  h.os  no  pjirallel  in  character.  Even  in 
Spain,  where  so  many  kingdoms  were  rendered  aliens  to  Christ- 
endom, the  lineal  succession  of  the  nation  seems  to  be  more  un- 
broken than  in  England.  Wo  arrive  at  the  period  when  the 
whole  Gothic  monai'chy  is  sheltered  in  the  caverns  of  Covadonga, 
yet  it  still  survives ;  Pelayo  and  his  descendants  are  the  la^vf  ul 
successors  of  Hermeneric  and  Athanagild;  Clstde  and  Leon  are 
gradually  reijeopled  by  those  who,  proud  of  the  name  of  Goths, 
issue  forth  from  the  mountain  fastnesses,  in  whicli  they  have 
preserved  the  laws  which  their  ancestors  .adopted  .and  the  lan- 
giuigo  which  they  assumed.  Not  so  in  Engl.aud,  where  the  Nor- 
man conquest  forma  a  dark,  detennined  boimdary-line — where 
the  accession  of  William  becomes  an  era  ul>on  which  we  are  ac- 


tain  Renouf  Mescliines,  who  divided  the  domains 
and  handsome  women  of  the  country  among  his 
followers,  thus  following  out  the  feudal  sj'stem 
fully  established  by  William.  Simon,  the  son  of 
Thorn,  the  English  proprietor  of  two  rich  manoi-s, 
had  three  daughters ;  one  of  these  Meschinea 
gave  to  Humjjhrey,  his  man-at-arms;  the  second 
he  gave  to  Eaoul,  nicknamed  Turtcs- mains 
(crooked  hands);  and  the  thu'd  he  reserved  for 
his  squire,  William  of  St.  Paul.  In  the  north  of 
Northumbei'laud,  Ives  de  Vescy  took  possession 
of  the  town  of  Alnwick,  along  with  the  gi-aud- 
daughter  and  all  the  inheritance  of  a  Saxon  who 
had  died  in  battle.  Robert  de  Bruce  obtained, 
by  conquest,  several  manors,  and  the  dues  of 
Hartlepool,  the  seaport  of  Diu-ham.  Robert 
D'Omfreville  had  the  forest  of  Riddesdale,  which 
belonged  to  Mildred  the  Saxon,  the  son  of  Ak- 
man.  On  his  receiving  investiture  of  this  domain, 
D'Omfreville  swore  that  he  would  clear  the  land 
of  wolves  and  the  enemies  of  the  Conqueror. 
The  nominal  government  of  Noi-thumberland 
was,  however,  intrusted  to  a  native  who  had  re- 
cently borne  arms  against  William.  This  was 
Cospatric,  who  came  in  with  Waltheof,  the  brave 
son  of  Siward,  with  Morcar  and  Edwin,  the  bro- 
thers-in-law of  King  Harold,  and  submitted  to 
WUIiam  for  the  second  time,  being  probably  in- 
duced thereto  bj'  liberal  promises  from  the  Con 
queror,  who  then  considered  them  as  the  main 
projo  of  the  English  cause,  wanting  whom  Edgar 
Atheling  would  at  once  fall  into  insignificance. 
The  reward  of  Cospatric  we  have  mentioned ; 
Waltheof  was  made  E;u-1  of  Huntingdon  and 
Northampton,  and  received  the  hand  of  Judith, 
one  of  King  William's  nieces;  and  Morcar  and 
Edwin  were  restored  to  their  paternal  estates. 
In  reality,  however,  these  fom-  men  were  little 
better  than  prisoners,  and  three  of  them  perished 
miserably  iu  a  very  short  time." 
The  insurrections  which  broke  out  in  William's 


customed  to  found  chronologies  and  calcuLations — a  term  of 
beginning  and  of  ending.  Hence  it  has  become  extremely  diffi- 
ciUt  to  disconnect  the  tr.ain  of  ideas  suggested  by  the  Conquest, 
from  the  views  which  we  t.ake  of  Anglo-S<axon  history  and  of 
the  growth  and  progress  of  the  law;  and  we  should  be  always  on 
oiu-  guard  lest  we  shoidd  be  misled  by  the  impressions  wliich  we 
xincousciously  receive. 

"  Wliatever  colour  of  right  may  be  given  to  the  title  by  which 
William  cLaimed  the  crown — by  whatever  efforts  he  m.ay  have 
attempted  to  acquire  the  character  of  a  lawful  sovereign,  and 
not  of  an  invader — still  his  triumph  appeared  toplacethe  English 
people  in  the  lowest  state  of  degradation.  Even  after  the  lapse 
of  centuries,  the  Conquest  coiUd  not  be  considered  with  impar- 
tiality; for  when  England  was  contending  against  tliose  sove- 
reigns who  labom-ed  to  subvert  her  civil  and  religioiis  liberties, 
the  arguments  founded  upon  the  occupation  of  the  kingdom  by 
the  Normans  were  still  mooted  by  the  zealous  advocates  who 
fanned  the  flames  of  mutual  hostility,  and  who  prosecuted  their 
discussions,  not  as  points  of  abstriict  mqiury,  or  as  the  themes  of 
historical  research,  but  as  subjects  of  vital  and  practical  import- 
ance. Doovuday  was  the  authentic  record  of  the  entire  and 
unqualified  subjection  of  the  English  r.ace  in  the  eyes  of  the  in- 


A.n.  lOGG  -10S7.J 


WILLIAM   THE  CONQUEROR. 


IDl 


rear,  during  bis  march  to  York,  were  partially 
suppressed  by  bis  lieuteuauts,  who  suffered  some 
reverses,  aud  perpetrated  great  cruelties.  The 
garrison  of  Exeter,  besieged  by  the  people  of 
Cornwall,  was  relieved  by  l'"itz-Osbonie;  IMouta- 
cute  repulsed  the  insurgents  of  Devonshire  aud 
Somersetshire;  and  Edrio  the  Forester,  who  took 
the  town  of  Shrewsbury,  with  the  help  of  the 
men  of  Chester  aud  some  Welsh,  was  foiled  in 
his  attempt  to  reduce  the  castle.  The  whole  of 
the  north-west  was,  however,  in  a  very  insecure 
state;  aud  the  h.aste  with  which  William  miu-chcd 
thither  on  his  retiu'u  to  York  from  Hexham, 
seems  to  denote  some  greater  peril  on  the  side  of 
the  Normans  than  is  expressed  by  any  of  the  an- 
nalists.    Tlie  weather  was  still  inclement,  and 


his  troops  were  fatigued  by  their  recent  exer- 
tions, their  rajnd  mai-ches  aud  counter-marches 
iu  Northumberland;  yet  he  led  them,  amidst 
storms  of  sleet  and  hail,  across  the  mountains 
which  divide  our  island  lengthwise,  and  which 
have  been  called,  not  inappropriately,  the  Appe- 
nuies  of  England.  The  roads  he  took,  as  being 
those  which  led  direct  to  Chester,  were  scarcely 
passable  for  cavalry,  and  his  troops  were  annoyed 
and  disheartened  by  actual  diliiculties  and  pro- 
spective hardships  and  dangei-s.  The  auxiliaiies, 
pai-ticularly  the  men  of  Anjou  and  Brittany, 
began  to  murmm-  aloud;  and  not  a  few  of  the 
Normans,  complaining  of  the  hard  service  to 
which  their  chief  was  exposing  them,  talked  of 
returning  beyond  sea.      William  silenced  their 


.:_"  1 4t^ta-'t-^i 


Wateii  Tower  and  Walls  of  Chkster.' — J.  S.  Prout,  from  his  sketch  on  the  spot. 


murmiu-s  with  his  wonted  art;  and  on  the  rougn 
way  over  the  wealds  he  paitook  in  the  fatigues 
of  the  common  soldiers,  marching  on  foot  with 
them,  aud  faring  as  they  fared.  Chester,  which 
still  retained  the  outer  features  of  a  Roman  city, 
aud  where  the  Conqueror  gazed  on  Roman  walls 
and  gates  then  comparatively  entire,  had  not  yet 
been  invaded  by  the  Normans.  No  defence,  how- 
ever, was  attemiJted  there ;  aud,  after  entering  iu 
triumph,  William  proceeded  to  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  a  new  aud  strong  castle,  while  detach- 

culcitors  of  indefeasible  hereditai-y  right,  who  sought  to  prove 
that  all  the  boasted  franchises  of  England  had  proceeded  from 
the  mere  motion  and  bounty  of  the  sovereign,  and  were  there- 
fore revocable  at  the  will  .and  plcisuro  of  him  who  had  m.ado 
the  grants.  In  reasoning  .ag.ain3t  these  opinions,  the  earnest  ant.a- 
gonists  of  prerogative  and  arbitr.ai7  power  sought  to  strengthen 
th.e  rights  of  the  people  by  the  assertion  of  their  antiquity;  thoy 
discovered  the  English  parliament,  with  all  its  powers  and 
members,  in  the  obscure  witenagemot  of  the  Saxon  ago,  and 
endeavoured  to  prove  that  the  safeguards  of  liberty  survived, 
though  Harold  had  fallen  on  the  field."— Palgrave,  The  Rise  and 
Progress  o/Uie  Enpiish  (hmmomcciiUh,  vol.  i.  p.  51. 


ments  of  his  army  reduced  the  surrounding  coim- 
try.  During  the  Conqueror's  stay  Edric  the  Fo- 
rester submitted,  and  was  received  into  favom-. 
From  Chester  William  marched^to  Salisbury, 
where  he  distributed  rewards  among  the  merce- 
naries, a  part  of  whom  he  disbanded;  and  from 
Salisbury  he  repaired  to  his  strong  citadel  or 
palace  at  Winchester,  which  city  liecame  a  favour- 
ite abode  witli  him,  as  it  had  been  with  his  Saxon 
predecessors.  To  retain  the  newly-conquered  pro- 
vince in  the  north-west,  he  had  left  a  strong  body 


•  Chester  is  conjectured  to  have  had  its  origin  in  one  of  the 
fortresses  constructed  by  Ostorius  Scapula,  for  the  security  of 
the  Roman  .army  after  the  discomfituro  of  C.aract.acus.  It  is 
certam  that  Chester  was  a  walled  city  before  90S,  and  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  walls  were  originally  built  by  the 
Romans.  It  had  four  principal  gates,  besides  posterns — these 
were  the  North-gate,  E.ist-gato,  Bridge-gate,  .and  W.ater-gato;  and 
on  the  walls  there  were  formerly  several  toweiu  The  Water 
Tower  projects  towards  the  river  Deo,  and  large  iix>n  ringa  ai-o 
attached  to  it,  for  the  purjioso  of  fastening  vessels,  wliich,  before 
the  harbour  w.as  choked  with  saTid-s,  came  up  to  the  walls, — . 
Lyson's  Marfna  Lritannia. 


102 


HISTOBY  OF  ENGLAND. 


fOll'IL  AND  MlLlTAnV. 


of  troojis  lioliind  him,  under  tl\e  cominaiul  of  ii 
Fleming,  nauini.1  Glu-rbaiul,  who  became  the  first 
Count  or  Earl  of  Chester.  This  Gherliaiul  was 
soon  wearied  by  the  constant  fatigues  and  diuigers 
of  his  post;  for  the  English  rose  whenever  they 
found  an  opportunity,  and  the  mountaineers  from 
North  Wales  harassed  him  incessantly,  so  that 
lie  was  glad  to  resign  his  command,  fiefs,  and 
honours,  and  retm'n  to  his  own  country.  The 
Conqueror  then  griinted  tlie  earldom  of  Chester 
to  Hugh  D'Avranches,  a  more  warlike  and  mucli 
fiercer  commander,  who  earned,  even  in  that  ago, 
the  surname  of  "  the  Wolf."  Not  satisfied  with 
defensive  operations,  the  new  earl  immediately 
crossed  the  Dee,  invaded  North  Wales,  made  him- 
self master  of  a  part  of  Flintshirej  and  built  a 


RnuDDLAN  Castle,  Fiintsliiie. ' — Gixise's  Antiqiiitiea. 

castle  at  Ehuddlan,  thus  taking  an  important  step 
towards  the  subjugation  of  the  Welsh,  a  project 
the  Normans  never  abandoned  until  it  was  com- 
pleted, two  centuries  later,  by  Edward  I.  Hugh 
the  Wolf  and  his  ferocious  followers,  roused  to 
even  more  than  their  usual  ferocity  by  the  obsti- 
nate and  fierce  resistance  they  encountered,  shed 
the  blood  of  the  Welsh  like  water,  and  burned 
and  wasted  their  houses  and  lands.  The  fearful 
tragedy  of  Northumberland  and  Yorkslm-e  was 
repeated  on  a  smaller  scale  in  this  corner  of  the 
island,  and  famine  and  pestilence  stalked  along 

1  This  castle  stands  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  Clwyd, 
within  about  two  miies  of  its  inflitx:  into  the  sea.  It  was  built, 
according  to  Camden,  by  Llewellin  ap  Sitsliilt,  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  is  reported  to  have  been  a  principal  palace  of  the  Welsh 
princes;  but  was  burned,  a.d.  10G3,  in  an  excursion  made  by  Har- 
old, afterwards  King  of  England,  in  retaliation  for  the  depre- 
dations committed  by  the  Welsh  on  the  English  bordem.  It  was 
strengthened  by  Edward  I.  in  1273.     It  belongs  to  the  crown. 


the  banks  of  the  Clwj-d,  the  Dee,  ami  the  ISfcr- 
sey,  as  they  had  done  hy  the  rivers  of  the  north- 
eastern coast. 

The  distiu-bances  on  the  eastern  coast,  wliirli 
had  been  overlooked,  now  grew  to  such  import- 
ance as  to  demand  attention.     Hereward,  "  Eng- 
land's darling,"  as  he  was  called  by  liis  admiring 
countrymen,  was  Lord  of  Brunn  or  Bourn,  in 
Lincolnshire,  and  one  of  the  most  resolute  chiefs 
the  Normans  ever  had  to  encounter.     Having  ex- 
pelled the  foreigners,  who  had  taken  possession 
of  his  patrimony,  he  assisted  his  neighbours  in 
doing  the  like,  and  then  established  a  fortified 
camp  in  the  Isle  of  Ely,  where  he  raised  the  ban- 
ner of  independence,  and  bade  defiance  to  the 
Conqueror.    His  power  or  influence  soon  extended 
along  the  eastern  sea-line,  over 
the  fen  ooimtry  of  Lincolnshire, 
Huntingdon,   and    Cambridge ; 
and    English   refugees    of    all 
classes — thanes  dispossessed   of 
their  lands,  bishops  deprived  of 
their  mitres,  abbots  driven  from 
their  monasteries  to  make  room 
for    foreigners — repaired    from 
time  to  time  to  his  "  camp  of 
refuge."    The  jealous  fears   of 
the  king  increased  the  danger 
they  were  intended   to   lessen. 
Though  Edwin  and  Morcar  re- 
mained    perfectly    quiet,    and 
showed  every  disposition  to  keep 
their    oaths    of    allegiance,    he 
dreaded   them,   on    account   of 
their  great  popularity  with  their 
countrymen,  and  he  finally  re- 
solved  to   seize   their  persons. 
The  two  earls  received  timely 
notice   of    this   intention,    and 
secreted  themselves.     When  he 
thought  the  vigilance  of  the  Normans  was  lulled, 
Edwin  endeavoured  to  escape  to  the  Scottisli  bor- 
der; but  he  was  betrayed  by  three  of  his  attend- 
ants, and   fell   on   the   road,   gallantly  fighting 
against  his  Norman  pursuers,  who  cut  oif  his 
head,  and  sent  it  as  an  acceptable  present  to  the 
Conqueror.-     Morcar  effected  his  escape  to  the 
morasses  of  Cambridgeshii-e,  and  joined   Here- 
ward, whose  camp  was  further  crowded  about  this 
time  by  many  of  the  English  chiefs  of  the  north, 
who   had   been   di'iven  homeless  into  Scotland. 
Among  the   eecle.siastics  of  Northumbria  who 
took   this   course  was   Egelwin,  the  Bishop   of 
Durham.      Even    Stigand,   the   Primate   of    all 
England,  but  now  degi-aded  by  king  and  pope, 
and  replaced  by  Lanfranc,  an  Italian,  is  men- 
tioned among  the  refugees  of  Ely.^ 

-  Orcleric.  Vital.;  H.  Hvnt. 

^  M.  Thien-y's  view  of  the  Nonnan  conquest  is,  that  it  waij  the 


A.n.  10GG^10S7,] 


V; ILL] AM   THE  CONQUEROR. 


19.*^ 


William  at  len«^th  moved  with  a  formidable 
army.  The  difficulties  of  this  war  on  the  eastern 
coast  were  different  from,  but  not  inferior  to  what 
the  Normans  had  encountered  in  the  west  and 
the  north.  There  were  no  mountains  and  defiles, 
but  the  country  was  in  good  part  a  swamp,  on 
which  no  cavalry  could  tread;  it  was  cut  in  all 
directions  by  rivei*s.  and  streams,  and  broad 
meres;  and  the  few  roads  that  letl  through  this 
dangerous  labyrinth  were  little  known  to  the  fo- 
reigners. The  country,  too,  where  the  banner  of 
iudepeudence  floated  was  a  sort  of  holy  land  to 
the  English;  the  abbeys  of  Ely,  Peterborough, 
Thorney,  and  Croyland,  the  most  ancient,  the 
most  revered  of  their  establishments,  stood  within 

resiilt  of  a  conspiracy  between  Rome  and  William  of  Normandy, 
which  had  been  maturing  for  years,  and  which  had  for  ita  grand 
object  the  humiliation  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church  and  people,  by 
subjecting  the  cue  to  the  absolute  empii-e  of  the  pope,  and  the 
other  to  the  civil  and  military  desix>tism  of  the  Norman  bastard. 
This  view  he  supports  by  special  proofe:  but  the  strongest  is. 
doubtless,  to  be  found  in  the  Normans  in  general,  and  William 
in  particular,  being  so  largely  endowed  with  those  qtialities 
which  Rome  required,  and  wliich  she  knew  so  well  how  to  enlist 
in  her  service.  Rome's  quarrel  with  Anglo-Saxon  England,  for 
want  of  absolute  submission  to  her  will,  bore  a  striking  analogy 
to  her  quarrel  with  the  inhabitants  of  Dauphiny,  Provence,  and 
Languedoc,  not  long  after,  for  the  same  deadly  offence.  In  both 
cases  the  revenge  taken  by  her  wounded  pride  was  fierce,  bloody, 
relentless;  and  in  both  her  grand  agents  were  the  feudal  cbiefa 
of  the  porth  of  Fi'auce,  whom  she  employed  also  in  enslaving 
Ireland  to  her  will. 

The  following  facts,  from  that  author's  Htstori/  of  the  Norma7i 
Conquest,  are  in  this  view  particularly  memorable : — 

"  From  the  period  of  England's  deliverance  fi'om  the  Danish 
domination.  King  Canute's  law  for  raising  the  yearly  impost  of 
Peter's  pence,  had  sliared  the  fate  of  all  the  other  laws  decreed 
by  the  foreign  government.  The  public  administration  compelled 
no  one  to  observe  it,  and  Rome  now  received  from  England  only 
the  offerings  and  free  gifts  oi  individual  devotion.  Thus  the 
ancient  regard  of  the  Romish  Church  for  the  English  nation 
rapidly  declined.  Conversations  to  their  and  their  king's  pre- 
judice were  held  in  enigmatical  language,  in  the  halls  of  St. 
John  of  Lateran" 

Rome,  accustomed  to  sell  all  things  herself,  accused  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  bieihoi*  of  simony.  Eldred,  as  Archbishop  of  Vork,  went 
to  Rome  for  the  pallium,  and  obtained  itoiily  on  an  Anglo-Saxon 
chief,  who  had  accompanied  him,  threatening  that,  if  refused, 
he  woiUd  obtain  a  law  prohibiti-ng  the  sending  of  money  to 
Rome.  Hence  deep  resentment  was  felt  even  in  granting  the 
pallium. 

"The  Norman,  Robert  de  Jurai^ges,  expelled  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  patriots  from  the  see  of  Canterbury  immediately  went 
to  Rome,  and  denounced  Stigand,  the  native  churchman  whom 
the  national  desire  had  put  in  his  place,  and  retui'ned  to  Nor- 
mandy with  papal  lettera,  declaring  him  to  be  lawful  archbishop. 
.  .  .  The  journey  from  Canterbury  to  Rome  was  in  those 
days  a  painful  one;  Stigand  was  in  no  haste  to  go  and  justify 
himself  before  the  fortunate  rival  of  Benedict  X.;  and  the  old 
leaven  of  hatred  against  the  English  people  fermented  more 
strongly  than  ever." 

Finally,  Lanfranc,  a  monk  of  Lombard  origin,  famous  for  his 
knowledge  of  the  civil  law,  after  having  incurred  William's  dis- 
pleasure, by  blaming  his  marriage  with  Matilda,  aa  a  kinswoman 
within  the  forbidden  degrees,  found  it  convenient  to  seek  a  re- 
conciliation with  so  powerful  a  prince,  by  pleading  the  cause  of 
that  very  marriage  with  the  pope,  and  obtaining  a  formal  dis- 
pensation for  it.  Thus  "  he  became  the  soul  of  Ida  (WiUiam's) 
coimcils,  and  his  plenii)otentiary  at  the  court  of  Rome.  The 
respective  pretensions  of  the  Romish  clergy  and  the  Duke  of 
Normandy,  with  regard  to  England,  and  the  possibility  of  rea- 
lizing them,  and  of  meeting  with  joint  success  thfreui,  were,  it 

Vol.  I. 


it;  and  the  monks,  however  professionally  timid 
or  peaceful,  were  disposed  to  resistance — for  they 
well  knew  that  the  coming  of  the  Normans  would 

be  the  signal  for  driving  them  from  their  monas- 
teries. 

During  two  or  three  years,  the  Conquest  was 
checked  in  tliis  direction.  The  Normans,  sur- 
prised among  the  bogs  and  the  tall  rushes  that 
covered  them,  suffered  many  severe  los.ses.  The 
sagacious  eye  of  William  at  last  saw  that  the 
proper  way  of  proceeding  would  be  by  a  blockade 
that  should  prevent  provisions  and  succour  from 
reaching  the  Isle  of  Ely.  He  accordingly  sta- 
tioned all  the  ships  he  could  collect  in  the  Wash, 
with  orders  to  watch  every  inlet  from  tlie  sea  to 

would  appear,  from  that  time  the  subject  of  serious  negotiations. 
An  armed  invasion  was,  perhaps,  not  3'et  tliought  of;  but  Wil- 
liam's relationship  to  Edward  seemed  one  great  cause  for  hope, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  an  iucontestible  title  in  the  ej-es  of  the 
Roman  priests,  who  fayomcd,  throughout  Europe,  the  maxima 
of  hercdi'tary  I'oyalty,  in  opposition  to  the  jnactice  of  elec- 
tion." 

"  The  Duke  of  Normandy  prefoiTcd  an  accusation  of  sacrilcgi: 
against  his  enemy  before  the  pontific<d  court;  he  demanded  that 
England  should  be  laid  under  interdict  by  the  chuich,  and  de- 
clared to  be  the  property  01  him  who  shoidd  first  take  posses- 
ion, with  the  reservation  of  the  pope's  approval.  .  ,  .  But 
Harold  was  in  vain  cited  to  defend  himself  before  the  tiibunal 
of  Rome.  He  refused  to  acknowledge  himself  amenable  to  that 
court;  he  deputed  no  ambassador  thither,  being  too  haughty  to 
submit  the  independence  of  his  crown  to  any  foreign  dictation, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  possessed  of  too  much  good  sense  to  con- 
fide in  the  impartiality  of  judges  appealed  to  by  liis  enemy." 

Add  to  this,  that  Norman  knights  bad  heen  of  gi-eat  service  to 
the  Roman  see  already  in  Italy.  In  short,  Ilildebrand,  whose 
constant  object  it  was  to  transform  the  reb'gious  snprcraacy  of 
Rome  into  an  xmiversal  sovereignty  over  all  Christian  states, 
began  to  consider  the  Nonuans  as  destined  to  fight  all  its  battles, 
and  to  do  homage  to  it  for  its  conquests. 

Such,  says  ThieiTy,  were  the  verj'  singular  relations  which 
accidental  events  had  recently  established,  when  tho  complaints 
and  the  appeal  of  tho  Duke  of  Normandy  were  laid  before  tho 
court  of  Rome.  Fraught  with  his  long-cherished  hoj)©,  Arch- 
deacon Uildebrand  thought  the  propitious  hour  had  aiTived  for 
attempting,  with  regard  to  the  kingdom  of  England,  those  do- 
signs  which  bad  been  so  happily  carried  into  efi'ect  in  Italy, 
llis  most  strenuous  efforts  were  directed  to  substitute,  instead 
of  ecclesiastical  pleadings  relative  to  the  lukewaiinness  of  the 
English  people,  the  simony  of  its  jirolates  and  the  porjmy  of  its 
king,  a  formal  treaty  with  the  Norman  for  (he  conquist  0/  the 
island  at  common  cost  and  for  mutual  profit.  Although  the  real 
design  w;is  thus  converted  to  a  purely  political  purpose,  tho 
cause  of  Wilbam  against  Harold  was  examined  in  the  conclave, 
without  other  motive  appearing  than  to  sift  the  question  of  here- 
ditary right,  or  to  uphold  the  sanctity  of  an  oath  as  inviolable, 
and  tha  veneration  for  relics  as  obligatory.  These  pleas,  to 
many  of  the  judges,  seemed  not  enough  to  justify  tho  church  in 
sanctioning  hostile  aggression  agabist  a  Chi"istian  nation,  or  a 
military  invasion  of  its  territory.  When  Hildebrand  iusihtcil, 
loud  murmurs  arose,  the  more  conscientious  prelatea  declaring 
that  it  would  be  infamous  to  authorize  so  murderous  a  course ; 
but  he  was  not  to  be  moved,  and  his  sentiments  prevailed  at 
last. 

"  According  to  the  terms  of  the  Papal  sentence,  jironounced 
by  the  pope  himself,  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  had  leave  to 
enter  England,  to  brin{j  it  back  to  its  obedience  to  the  Holy  See,  and 
to  re-establish  for  ever  the  tax  of  St.  Peter's  pence.  Harold  and 
all  his  adlierents  were  excommmiicated  by  a  Papal  bull,  trans- 
mitted to  William  by  the  b.ands  of  his  envoy;  and  to  it  was 
added  the  gift  of  a  banner  from  the  apostolical  church,  and  a 
ring,  containing  one  of  St.  Peter's  hail's,  enchased  beneath  a 
diamond  of  some  price." 

25 


19  + 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaht. 


the  feus;  and  lie  so  stationed  his  anuy  as  to  block 
up  every  road  that  led  into  the  feus  by  land. 
When  lie  resumed  more  active  operations,  he 
undertook  a  work  of  great  note  and  difficulty. 
In  order  to  approach  the  fortified  camp  in  the 
midst  of  marshes,  and  an  exjjanse  of  water  in 
some  places  shallow,  in  others  deep,  he  began  to 
build  a  wooden  causeway,  two  miles  long,  with 
bridges  over  the  beds  of  the  rivers.  Hereward 
frequently  interruptedthese  operations,  and  in  a 


manner  so  murderous,  sudden,  and  mysterious, 
that  the  afirighted  workmen  and  soldiers  became 
firmly  convinced  that  he  was  leagued  with  the 
devil,  and  aided  by  some  necromancer.    William, 

'  This  map  is  intended  to  exhibit,  as  nearly  as  e.xisting  autho- 
rities render  possible,  the  extent  of  the  fens,  with  the  courses  of 
the  rivers,  and  the  direction  of  the  adjacent  se.vcoast,  prior  to 
the  works  undeitaken  for  theii-  drainage.  The  following  maps, 
compared  with  various  historical  notices,  have  served  to  supply 
the  materials  for  its  construction ; — ' '  A  General  Plott  and  De- 
scription of  the  Fennes  and  Surrounded  Grounds,"  ttc.  By  H. 
Hondius  (Amstelodami,  16S0?).  "  A  JI.app  of  the  Gre.at  LeveU 
of  the  Fenns."  By  Sir  Jonas  Moore.  SLxteen  sheets.  (London, 
1684.)  The  roads  that  are  indicated  are  mostly  {if  not  all}  of 
ancient  date — chiefly  of  Roman,  or  else  of  early  British  con- 
struction. 


who  had  brought  over  with  him  from  Normandy 
a  conjuror  and  soothsayer  as  an  essential  part  of 
his  army  of  invasion,  was  readily  induced  to  em- 
ploy a  sorceress  on  the  side  of  the  Normans,  in 
order  to  neutralize  or  defeat  the  spells  of  the 
Eugli--ih.-  This  sorceress  was  placed,  with  much 
ceremony,  on  the  top  of  a  wooden  tower  at  the 
head  of  the  works;  but  Hereward,  the  "cunning 
captain,"  watching  his  opportunity,  set  fire  to  the 
dry  reeds  and  rushes;  the  flames  were  rapidly 

1    spread  by  the  wind,  and  tower 

and  sorceress,  workmen  and  sol- 
diers, were  consumed. 

When  the  Isle  of  Ely  ha<l 
been  blockaded  thi-ee  months, 
provisions  became  scai'ce  there. 
Those  whose  profession  and 
vowed  duties  included  frequent 
fasting  were  the  first  to  become 
impatient  under  privation.  The 
monks  of  Ely  sent  to  the  enemy's 
camp,  offering  to  show  a  safe 
passage  across  the  fens,  if  the 
king  would  only  promise  to  leave 
them  in  undisturbed  possession 
of  their  houses  and  lands.  The 
king  agreed  to  the  condition, 
and  two  of  his  barons  pledged 
their  faith  for  the  execution 
of  the  treaty.  Under  proper 
guides  the  Normans  then  found 
their  way  into  the  Isle  of  Ely, 
and  took  possession  of  the  strong 
monastery  which  formed  part 
of  Hereward's  line  of  defence. 
They  killed  1000  Englishmen, 
that  either  occupied  an  advanced 
position,  or  had  made  a  sortie; 
and  then,  closing  round  the 
"camp  of  refuge,"  they  finally 
obliged  the  rest  to  lay  down 
their  arms.  Some  of  these  brave 
men  were  liberated  on  paying 
heavy  fines  or  ransoms ;  some 
were  put  to  death;  some  de- 
prived of  then-  sight ;  some  maimed  and  rendered 
unfit  for  war,  by  having  a  right  hand  or  a  foot 
cut  off;  some  were  condemned  to  perpetual  im- 
prisonment.     Hereward,  the  soul  of  the  con- 

2  Croyland,  it  appears,  had  a  particularly  ill  name  in  this 
respect ;  and  evil  spU-its,  that  did  not  respect  the  monks,  might 
weU  be  supposed  to  have  no  mercy  on  the  Normans.  Camden's 
description  of  the  place,  however,  even  as  it  existed  in  his  d.ay, 
shows  how  admirably  it  was  adiipted  for  defence ;  wliUe  the 
abundance  of  water-fowl  must  h.ave  made  starving  it  out  almost 
impossible.     He  begins  with  its  demonology  ; — 

'*  If,  out  of  the  same  author  (InguJphiis),  I  shoiUd  describe 
the  devils  of  Crowland  (with  their  blubber  lips,  fiery  mouths, 
scaly  faces,  beetle  heads,  sharp  teeth,  long  chins,  hoaree  throats, 
black  skins,  hump  shoulders,  big  bellies,  burning  loins,  bandy 
legs,  tailed  buttocks,  &c.),  which  haunted  these  places,  and  vei7 


A.T).  lOGG     1087.] 


WILLIAM   TIIK  CONQUEROR. 


195 


feJeracy,  would  not  submit;  but,  making  au  eftort 
which  appeared  desperate  to  all,  he  rushed  from 
the  beleaguered  camp,  and  escaped  by  thi-owing 
himself  into  the  marshes,  whore  the  Normans 
would  not  venture  to  follow  him.  Passing  from 
fen  to  fen,  he  gained  the  low,  swampy  lands  in 
Lincolnshire,  near  his  own  estate,  where  he  was 
joined  by  some  friends,  and  renewed  a.  partizau  or 
guerilla  warfare,  which  lasted  four  or  five  years, 
and  cost  the  Normans  many  lives,  but  which 
could  not,  under  existing  circumstances,  produce 
any  great  political  residt.  At  last,  seeing  the 
hopelessness  of  the  struggle,  he  listened  to  terms 
from  William,  who  was  anxious  to  pacify  an 
enemy  his  ai'mies  could  never  reach,  and  who 
probably  admired,  as  a  soldier,  his  wonderfid 
courage  and  address.  Hereward  made  his  peace, 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  was  jiermitted 
by  the  Couquei'or  to  preserve  and  enjoy  the 
estates  of  his  ancestors.  The  exploits  of  the  last 
hero  of  Anglo-Saxon  independence  formed  a 
favourite  theme  of  tradition  and  poetry;  and 
long  after  his  death  the  iidiabitants  of  the  Isle 
of  Ely  showed  with  pride  the  ruins  of  a  wooden 
tower,  which  they  called  the  castle  of  Hereward. 
After  the  destruction  of  the  camp  of  refuge  in 
Ely,  the  Norman  forces,  naval  as  well  as  military, 
proceeded  to  the  north,  to  disperse  some  bands 
which  had  again  raised  the  standard  of  indepen- 
dence, and  invoked  the  presence  of  Edgar  Athe- 
liug,  who  was  enjoying  the  tranquillity  and  obscu- 
rity for  which  he  was  fitted  in  Scotland.  After 
some  bloody  skirmishes,  the  confeilerates  were 
ch'iven  beyond  the  Tweed;  and  then  William 
crossed  that  river,  to  seize  the  English  emigrants 
and  pimish  Malcolm  Canmore.  A  Scottish  army, 
which  had  been  so  anxiously  expected  by  the  Eng- 
lish insurgents  at  York  two  years  before,  when  its 
weight  in  the  scale  might  have  proved  fatal  to  the 
Normans,  had  tardily  marched,  at  a  moment  when 
the  Northumbrians  and  people  of  Yorkshire  were 
almost  exterminated,  and  when  it  could  do  little 
more  than  excite  the  few  remaining  mhabitauts 
to  a  hopeless  rising,  and  burn  the  houses  of  siicli 
as  refused  to  join  in  it.  The  want  of  provisions 
ill  a  land  laid  waste  soon  made  the  Scots  re-cross 


much  annoyed  GuthJacua  aaid  the  monks,  you  would  laugh  at 
the  history,  and  much  more  at  my  m-idness  in  relating  it.  But 
since  the  situation  and  mituro  of  tho  place  is  strange,  and  dif- 
ferent from  all  othei-s  in  England,  and  since  the  monastery  was 
particiUarly  famous  in  foi-mer  times,  I  shall  give  you  the  de- 
scx-iption  of  it  somewhat  more  at  lai-ge.  This  Crowland  (amio 
ItiOT)  lies  in  feus  so  inclosed  and  incompassed  with  deep  bogs 
and  pools,  that  there  is  no  access  to  it  but  on  the  north  and  east 
sides,  and  there,  too,  only  by  narrow  c:iusew.ays.  This  monas- 
tery and  Venice  tif  j>'e  may  compare  small  tldngs  with  great) 
have  the  same  sort  of  situation ;  it  consists  of  three  streets, 
separated  from  each  other  by  water-courses  planted  witli  wil- 
lows, and  raised  on  piles  driven  into  the  bottom  of  tlie  pool, 
having  communication  by  a  triangular  bridge  of  curious  work- 
manship, under  which  the  inhabitants  say  there  was  a  very  deep 
pit,  that  was  dug  to  receive  the  concoinse  of  watei-s  there.     Be- 


the  Border.  To  avenge  this  mere  predatory  in- 
road, however,  William  now  advanced  from  the 
Tweed  to  the  Frith  of  Forth,  as  if  he  intended 
to  subdue  the  whole  of  the  "  land  of  tho  moun- 
tain and  flood,"  taking  with  him  the  entire  m;uss 
of  his  splendid  cavalry,  and  nearly  every  Norman 
foot-soldier  he  coidd  ]irudently  detach  from  gar- 
rison duty  in  England.  The  emigrants  escaped 
hi.s  pui-suit,  nor  woidd  Malcolm  deliver  them  up; 
but,  intimidated  by  the  advance  of  an  army  infi- 
nitely more  numerous  and  better  ai-nied  than  his 
own,  the  Scottish  king,  says  the  Sa.von  Chronicle, 
"  came  and  agreed  with  King  William,  and  de- 
livered hostages,  and  was  his  man;  and  the  king 
went  home  with  all  his  force." 

On  his  return  from  Scotland,  during  his  stay 
at  Durham,  the  king  summoned  Cosjiatric  to 
ajipear  before  him,  and,  on  the  idle  ground  of  old 
grievances,  which  had  been  pardoned  when  that 
nobleman  surrendered  with  Edwin  and  Mo  rear, 
he  deprived  him  of  the  eaiddom  of  Northumber- 
land, for  which,  it  appears,  he  had  paid  a  large 
sum  of  money.  Cospatric,  fearing  worse  conse- 
quences, abandoning  whatever  else  he  had  iu 
England,  fled  to  Malcolm  Canmore,  who  gave 
him  a  castle  and  lands.  The  eaiddom  of  North- 
umberland was  conferred  on  Waltheof,  an  Eng- 
lishman like  himself,  but  now  the  nephew  of  the 
Conqueror,  by  marriage  with  his  niece  Judith. 

The  Normans  had  now  been  seven  years  in  the 
laud,  engaged  in  almost  constant  hostilities;  and 
at  length  England,  with  the  exception  of  Wales, 
might  fairly  be  said  to  be  conquered.  In  most 
abridgments  and  epitomes  of  history,  the  events 
we  have  related,  in  not  unnecessary  detail,  are  so 
faintly  indicated,  and  huddled  together  in  so  nai-- 
row  a  space,  as  to  leave  an  impression  that  the 
resistance  of  our  ancestors  after  the  battle  of  Has- 
tings was  trifling  and  brief — that  the  sanguinarv 
drama  of  the  Conquest  was  almost  wholly  in- 
cluded in  one  act.  Nothing  can  be  more  incor- 
rect than  this  impression,  or  more  unfair  to  that 
hardy  race  of  men,  who  were  the  fountain-source 
of  at  least  nine-tenths  of  the  blood  that  flows  in 
the  large  and  generous  veins  of  the  English 
nation. 


yond  the  bridge,  where,  as  one  wortis  it,  '  a  bog  is  become  firm 
ground  '  (in  solum  mutatur  humus;,  formerly  stood  that  famous 
monaster}',  though  of  a  small  compass,  about  which,  unless 
on  the  side  where  the  to\vn  stands,  the  groimd  is  so  rotten  and 
boggy,  that  a  pole  may  bo  thi-ust  down  30  fc.  deep ;  and  thei-e 
is  nothing  round  about  but  reeds,  .and,  ne.\t  the  church,  a  grove 
of  aldera.  However,  the  to^vn  is  pretty  well  inliabited;  but  tlie 
cattle  are  kept  at  some  distance  from  it,  so  tliat,  wlien  the 
owuera  milk  them,  they  go  in  boats  which  will  hold  but  two, 
called  skerries.  Their  greatest  gain  is  from  tho  fish  and  wild- 
ducks  that  tlicy  catch,  which  are  so  many,  that  in  August  they 
can  drive  into  a  single  not  ."JOOO  duclis  at  once;  *uid  they  call 
th&ie  pools  their  conx-fields,  there  being  no  coi-n  growing  within 
five  miles  of  the  place.  l''or  this  liberty  of  catching  fish  and 
wild  ducks,  they  foimorly  paid  yearly  to  the  abbot,  aa  they  do 
now  to  tho  king,  £.100  sterling  " 


196 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militart. 


Not  long  after  his  return  from  Scotland,  cu'- 
cumstances  imperatively  called  for  the  presence 
of  William  in  his  continental  dominions.  His 
talents  as  a  statesman  and  wanior  are  indisput- 
able, yet  few  men  have  owed  more  to  good  for- 
tune. Theu-  wrongs  and  provocations  were  the 
same  then  as  now,  and  policy  would  have  sug- 
gested to  the  people  of  Maine  to  exert  themselves 
a  year  or  two  before,  when  William,  engaged  in 
difKcult  wai-s  in  England,  would  have  been  em- 
barrassed by  then-  insm'rection  on  the  Continent. 
But  they  made  then-  gi-eat  effort  just  as  England 
was  reduced  to  the  quietude  of  despair,  and  when 
William  could  proceed  against  tliem  unencum- 
bered by  an}'  other  war.  Herbert,  the  last  count 
or  national  chief,  bequeathed  the  county  of  Maine, 
bordering  on  Normandy,  to  Duke  William,  who, 
to  the  displeasiire  of  the  people,  but  without  any 
important  opposition,  took  possession  of  it  several 
years  before  he  invaded  England.  Instigated  by 
Fulk,  Count  of  Anjou,  and  vexed  by  a  tyramii- 
cal  administration,  the  people  of  Maine  now  rose 
against  William,  expelled  the  magistrates  he  had 
placed  over  them,  and  di-ove  out  from  their  towns 
the  officers  and  gan-isons  of  the  Norman  race. 
Deeming  it  imprudent  to  remove  his  Norman 
forces  from  this  island,  he  collected  a  consider- 
able army  among  tlie  English  jjopulation,  and, 
carrying  them  over  to  Normandy,  he  joined  them 
to  pome  troops  levied  there,  and,  putting  himself 
at  then-  head,  marched  into  the  unfortunate  pro- 
vince of  Maine.  The  national  valour,  which  so 
often  opposed  him,  was  now  exerted,  with  a  blind 
fury,  in  his  favour.  The  English  beat  the  men 
of  Maine,  burned  their  towns  and  villages,  and 
did  as  much  mischief  as  the  Normans  (among 
whom  was  a  strong  contingent  from  Maine)  had 
perpetrated  in  England. 

While  these  things  were  passing  on  the  Conti- 
nent, Edgar  Atheling  received  an  advantageous 
offer  of  services  and  co-operation  from  Philip, 
King  of  France,  who  at  last,  and  too  late,  roused 
himself  from  the  strange  sloth  and  indifference 
with  wliich  he  had  seen  the  progi-ess  made  b}'  his 
overgrown  vassal,  the  Duke  of  Normandy.  The 
events  in  Maine,  the  dread  inspired  in  all  the 
neighbouring  country,  even  to  the  walls  of  Paris, 
and  William's  exhibition  of  force,  were  probably 
the  immediate  causes  that  dispelled  Philip's  long- 
sleep.  He  invited  Edgar  to  come  to  France  and 
be  present  at  his  council,  promising  him  a  strong 
fortress,  situated  on  the  Channel,  at  a  point 
equally  convenient  for  making  descents  upon 
England,  or  incui'sions  or  forays  into  Normandy. 
Closing  with  the  proposals,  Edgar  got  ready  a 
few  ships  and  a  small  band  of  soldiers — being 
aided  thei-ein  by  his  sister,  the  Queen  of  Scotland, 
and  some  of  the  Scottish  noliility — and  made  sail 
for  France.     His  usual  bad  luck  attended  him; 


he  hail  scarcely  gained  the  open  sea  when  a  storm 
ai'ose,  and  drove  his  ships  ashore  on  the  coast  of 
Northumberland,  where  some  of  his  followera 
were  drowned,  !Uid  others  taken  prisoners  by  the 
Normans.  He  and  a  few  of  his  friends  of  supe- 
rior rank  escaped  and  got  into  Scotland,  where 
they  arrived  in  miserable  plight,  witli  nothing 
but  the  clothes  on  their  backs,  some  walking  on 
foot,  some  motmted  on  sorry  beasts.  After  this 
misfortune,  his  brother-in-law.  King  Malcolm, 
advised  him  to  seek  a  reconciliation  with  William, 
and  Edgar  accordingly  sent  a  messenger  to  the 
Conqueror,  who  at  once  invited  him  to  Nor- 
mandy, where  he  promised  proper  and  honour- 
able treatment.  Instead  of  sailing  direct  from 
Scotland,  the  Atheling,  whose  feelings  were  as 
obtuse  as  his  intellect,  took  his  way  thi'ough 
England,  the  desolated  kingdom  of  his  ancestors, 
feasting  at  the  castles  of  the  Norman  invaders  as 
he  went  along.  William  received  him  with  a 
show  of  kindness,  and  allotted  him  an  apartment 
in  the  palace  of  Rouen,  with  a  pound  of  silver 
a-day  for  his  maintenance;  and  there  the  descend- 
ant of  the  great  Alfred  passed  eleven  years  of  his 
life,  occupying  himself  with  dogs  and  horses. 

The  king,  who  had  gone  to  the  Continent  to 
quell  one  insiu-rection,  was  recalled  to  England 
by  another  of  a  much  more  threatening  natui'e, 
jdanned,  not  by  the  English,  but  by  the  Norman 
barons,  their  conquerors  and  despoilers.  William 
Fitz-Osborn,  the  prime  favourite  and  counsellor 
of  the  Conqueror,  had  died  a  violent  death  in 
Flandei's,  and  had  been  succeeded  in  his  English 
domains,  and  the  earldom  of  Hereford,  by  his 
son,  Roger  Fitz-Osborn.  This  young  nobleman 
negotiated  a  marriage  with  Raoul  or  Raljih  de 
Gael,  a  Breton  by  birth,  and  Earl  of  Norfolk  in 
England  by  the  right  of  the  sword.  For  some 
reason  not  explained,  this  alliance  was  displeas- 
ing to  the  king,  who  sent  from  Noi-mandy  to 
prohibit  it.  The  jmrties  were  enraged  at  this 
prohibition,  which  they  also  determined  not  to 
obey;  and  on  the  day  which  had  been  previously 
fixed  for  the  ceremonj-,  Emma,  the  affianced,  was 
conducted  to  Norwich,  where  a  wedding-feast 
was  celebrated,  that  was  fatal  to  all  who  were 
present  at  it.'  Among  the  guests  who  had  been 
invited,  rather  for  the  after-act  than  to  do  honour 
to  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  were  Waltheof,  the 
husband  of  Judith,  sundry  barons  and  bishojjs  of 
the  Noi-man  race,  some  Saxons  who  were  friends 
to  the  Normans,  and  even  some  chieftains  from 
the  mountains  of  Wales,  with  whom  their  neigh- 
bour, the  Earl  of  Hereford,  the  brother  of  the 
bride,  had  thought  proper  to  cultivate  amicable 
relations.  A  sumptuous  feast  was  followed  by 
copious   libations ;   and  when  the  heads  of  the 

'  Chiim.  Soar. 


A  D.  lOCG  -1087.] 


WII.TJAM     rriE  CONQUEROR. 


1!>7 


guests  were  heated  by  wine,  the  Kurls  of  llere- 
foi-d  and  Norwioli,  ■who  were  alreatly  committed 
by  carrying  the  forbidden  marriage  into  ofleet. 
and  who  kuew  the  im])lacable  temper  of  William, 
opened  their  plans  with  a  wild  and  energetic 
eloquence.  They  inveighed  against  the  ai-bitrary 
condiict  of  the  king,  his  hai-sh  and  aiTogant  be- 
haviour to  his  noblest  barons,  and  his  apparent 
intention  of  reducing  the  Normans  to  the  same 
condition  of  misery  and  servitude  as  the  English, 
whose  wrongs  and  misfortunes  they  affected  to 
compassionate.  Hereford  complained  of  his  con- 
duct with  regard  to  the  marriage,  saying  it  was 
an  insidt  oll'ered  to  the  memory  of  his  father, 
Fitz-Osborn,  the  man  to  whom  the  Bastard  incon- 
testably  owed  his  crown.  By  degi'ees  the  excited 
assembly  broke  forth  in  one  general  curse  against 
the  Conqueror.  The  old  repi-oach  of  his  birth 
was  revived  over  and  ovei'  again.  "  He  is  a  bas- 
tai'd,  a  man  of  base  extraction,"  cried  the  Nor- 
mans; "it  is  in  vain  he  calls  himself  a  king;  it 
is  easy  to  see  he  was  never  made  to  be  one,  and 
that  God  hath  him  not  in  his  grace."  "  He 
poisoned  oui'  Conan,  that  brave  Count  of  Brit- 
tany," said  the  Bretons.  "  He  has  invaded  our 
noble  kingdom,  and  massacred  the  legitimate 
heirs  to  it,  or  driven  them  into  exile,"  cried  the 
English,  "He  is  ungrateful  to  the  brave  men 
who  have  shed  their  blood  for  him,  and  raised 
him  to  a  higher  pitch  of  greatness  than  any  of  his 
predecessoi'S  ever  knew,"  said  the  f oreigii  captains ; 
"and  what  has  he  given  to  us  conquerors  covered 
with  wounds  1  Nothing  but  lands  naturally  ste- 
rile or  devastated  by  the  war;  and  then,  as  soon  as 
he  sees  we  have  improved  those  estates,  he  takes 
them  from  us,  or  diminishes  their  extent."  The 
guests  cried  out  tumultuously  that  all  this  was 
true — that  William  the  Bastard  was  in  oVlium 
with  all  men — that  his  death  would  gladden  the 
hearts  of  many.' 

The  gi'eat  object  of  the  Norman  consjiirators 
was  to  gain  over  Earl  Waltheof,  whose  warlike 
qualities  and  great  popularity  with  the  English 
were  well  known  to  them ;  and,  when  they  pro- 
ceeded to  divulge  tlie  particulars  of  their  plan,  the 
Eiu-ls  of  Hereford  and  Norwich  allured  him  with 
the  promise  of  a  third  of  England,  which  was  to 
be  partitioned  into  the  old  Saxon  kingdoms  of 
VVessex,  Mercia,  and  Northumberland.  With 
the  fumes  of  wine  in  his  head,  and  a  general  ar- 
dour and  enthusiasm  around  him,  Waltheof,  it  is 
said,  gave  his  approval  to  the  conspiracy;  but, 
according  to  one  vei-sion  of  the  story,  the  next 
morning,  "  when  he  had  consulted  with  his  pil- 
low, and  awaked  his  wits  to  pei-ceive  the  danger 
whereunto  he  was  drawn,  he  determined  not  to 
move  in  it,"  and   took  measures  to  prevent  its 

I  IVm.  Mabn.:  Moll.  Pari).:  Ordtric. 


breaking  out.  A  more  generally  received  ac- 
count, liowever,  is,  that  Waltheof,  seeing  from 
the  iirst  the  madness  of  the  scheme,  and  the  little 
probability  it  olTered  of  benefiting  the  English 
peojile,  refused  to  engage  in  it,  and  only  took  an 
oath  of  secrecy.  The  whole  project,  indeed,  was 
insane;  the  discontented  barons  had  scarcely  a 
chance  of  succeeding  against  the  established  au- 
thority and  the  geni\is  of  William  ;  and  their 
success,  had  it  been  possilile,  would  have  proved 
a  curse  to  the  country;  a  step  fatally  retrogi-ade; 
a  going  back  towards  the  time  of  tlie  Saxon  Hep- 
tarchy, when  England  was  fractured  into  a  num- 
ber of  ]jetty  hostile  states.  It  is  quite  certain 
that  Waltheof  never  took  up  arms,  nor  did  any 
overt  act  of  treason,  but  in  his  uneasmess  of 
mind,  and  his  confidence  in  so  dear  a  connection, 
he  disclosed  to  his  wife  Judith  all  that  had  been 
done  in  Norwich  Castle;  and  this  confidence  is 
generally  believed  to  have  been  the  main  cause 
of  his  ruin.  Roger  Fitz-Osborn  and  Ralj^h  de 
Gael,  the  real  heads  of  the  confederacy,  were 
hurried  into  action  before  their  scheme  was  ripe, 
for  their  secret  was  betrayed  by  some  one.  The 
first  of  these  eai'ls,  who  had  returned  to  his  go- 
vernment, and  collected  his  followers  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  Welsh,  was  checked  in  his 
attemjit  to  cross  the  Severn  at  Worcester,  nor 
could  he  find  a  passage  at  any  other  point,  as 
Ours,  the  Viscount  of  Worcester,  and  Wulistan, 
the  bishop,  occujjied  the  left  bank  of  that  river 
with  a  gi'eat  force  of  Norman  cavalry.  Egeiwin, 
the  abbot  of  Evesham,  who,  like  Wulfstan,  was 
an  Englishman,  induced  the  population  of  Glou- 
cester to  rise  and  co-operate  with  the  king's  offi- 
cers; and  Walter  de  Lacy,  a  great  baron  in  those 
parts,  soon  brought  up  a  ndxed  host  of  English 
and  Nox-mans,  that  rendered  the  Earl  of  Here- 
ford's project  of  crossing  the  Severn,  to  co-operate 
with  his  brother-in-law  in  the  heart  of  England, 
'  altogether  hopeless.  Lanfranc,  the  Italian  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  who  acted  as  viceroy  dur- 
ing William's  absence,  proceeding  with  the  gi-eat- 
est  decision,  also  sent  troojis  fi-om  London  and 
Winchester  to  oppose  Fitz-Osborn,  at  whose  head 
he  hurled,  at  the  same  time,  the  terrible  sentence 
of  excommunication.  In  writing  to  the  king  in 
Normandy,  the  primate  said,  "  It  would  be  with 
pleasure,  and  as  envoy  of  God,  that  we  could  wel- 
come you  among  us:  but,"  added  the  energetic  old 
priest,  "  do  not  hurry  yourself  to  cross  the  sea, 
for  it  would  be  initting  us  to  shame  to  come  and 
aid  us  in  destroying  such  traitors  and  thieves." 
The  E;u-1  of  Hereford  fell  back  from  the  Severn, 
and  his  brother-in-law,  the  Earl  of  Norfolk,  left 
to  himself,  .and  unable  to  procure  in  time  as- 
sistance, for  which  he  had  a]i]ilied  to  the  J)aues, 
was  suddenly  attacked  by  a  royal  ai-my  of  very 
superior   force,  led   on   by  Odo,  the  Bishop  of 


198 


niSTOlU'  OF  ENGLAND. 


[ClVH,  AND  MlLlTART. 


Bayeux,  Geoffrey,  Bishop  nf  CoutMioes,  and  Kicli- 
ard  de  Bieufait  and  "William  de  Warenne,  the 
two  justiciai-ies  of  the  kingdom,  who  obtained  a 
complete  victory,  and  cut  off  the  right  foot  of 
every  prisoner  they  made.  The  eai-1  retreated  to 
Norwich,  garrisoned  his  castle  with  the  most 
ti-usty  of  his  followers,  and,  leaving  his  bride  to 
defend  it,  passed  over  to  Brittany,  in  hopes  of 
obtaining  succom-  from  his  countrymen.  The 
daughter  of  William  Fitz-Osborn  defended  Nor- 
wicli  Castle  with  great  braverv;  and  when,  at  the 


Norwich  Castie.'— J.  S.  Prout,  from  an  old  view, 

end  of  three  months,  she  capitulated,  she  obtained 
mild  terms  for  her  gaiTison,  which  was  almost 
entii-ely  composed  of  Bretons.  They  did  not  suf- 
fer in  life  or  limb,  but  were  shipped  off  to  the 
Continent  within  the  term  of  forty  days.  The 
Bretons  generally  had  rendered  themselves  im- 
popular  at  William's  court.  V,^ith  the  true  cha- 
racter of  theu'  race,  they  were  u-aseible,  tui-bulent, 
factious,  and  much  more  devoted  to  the  head 
of  their  clan  than  to  the  king.  When  they  were 
embarked,  Lanfrano  wrote  to  his  master,  "Glory 
be  to  God,  yom-  kingdom  is  at  last  pm-ged  of  the 
filth  of  these  Bretons."  The  king  invaded  Brit- 
tany, in  the  hope  of  exterminating  the  fugitive 
Earl  of  Norwich  in  his  native  castle,  and  reduc- 
ing that  pi-ovince  to  enth-e  subjection;  bat,  after 
laying  an  unsuccessful  siege  to  the  town  of  Dol, 
he  was  obliged  to  retire  before  an  army  of  Bre- 

1  The  site  of  Norwich  Castle  was  probably  occupied  by  one 
belonging  to  the  East  Anglian  liings.  It  bad  thi'ee  nearly  cir- 
cular concentric  lines  of  defence,  each  consisting  of  a  wall  and 
ditch,  inclosing  a  coiirt.  Beside  these,  there  was  the  keep,  the 
only  part  now  standing,  and  wliich  has  been  covered  by  a  mo- 
dem casing  of  granite.  The  whole  comprehended  an  area  of 
23  acres.  The  inner  ditch  and  the  bridge  over  it  still  remain. 
The  bridge  is  150  ft.  long,  and  has  one  arch  of  40  ft.  span,  sup- 
posed tx)  be  the  liir^est  and  most  perfect  ai-cli  remaining  of  what 


tons,  who  were  supported  bj'  the  French  king.^ 
^\'illiam  then  crossed  the  Channel  to  suppress 
the  insurrection  in  England;  but  by  the  time  he 
arrived,  there  was  little  left  for  him  to  do  except 
to  punish  the  principal  offenders.  The  Earl  of 
Hereford  had  been  followed,  defeated,  and  taken 
prisoner,  and  many  of  his  adherents,  Welsh, 
English,  and  Normans,  hanged  on  high  gibbets, 
or  blinded,  or  mutilated.  At  a  royal  court  De 
Gael  was  outlawed,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Fitz- 
Osborn,  condemned  to  perpetual  imprisoimient 
and  the  forfeiture  of  his  pro- 
perty. Scarcely  one  of  the  guests 
at  the  ill-augured  marriage  of 
a;-;"J:;s=  Emma  Fitz-Osborn  escaped  with 

life,  and   even  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town  of  Norwich  felt  the 
weight  of  royal  vengeance.  The 
last  and  most  conspicuous  vic- 
tim was  Waltheof,  who  had  been 
guilty,  at  most,  of  a  misprision 
of  treason.    His  secret  had  been 
betrayed  by  his   wife    Judith, 
who  is  said,  moreover,  to  have 
accused  him  of  inviting  over  the 
Danish  fleet,  which  now  made 
its  appearance  on  the  coast  of 
Norfolk.   The  motive  that  made 
this  heartless  woman  seek  the 
death  of  herbi'ave  and  generous 
husband,  was  a  passion  she  had 
conceived  for  a  Norman  noble- 
man, whom  she  hoped  to  mai-ry 
if  she  could  but  be  made  a  widow.     Others,  how- 
ever, although  acting  under  different  impulses, 
were  quite  as  iirgent  as  the  Conqueror's  niece  for 
the  execution  of  the  English  eai-1.  These  were  Nor- 
man barons,  who  had  cast  the  eyes  of  affection  on 
his  honom-s  and  estates — "  his  great  possessions 
being  his  greatest   enemies."     The  judges  were 
divided   in   opinion  as  to  the  proper   sentence, 
some   of   them  maintaining   that,  as  a  revolteil 
English  subject,  Waltheof  ought  to  die;  others, 
that  as  an  officer  of  the  king,  and  according  to 
Norman  law,  he  ought  only  to  suffer  the  minor 
2)unishnient  of  perpetual  imprisonment.     These 
difl'erenoes  of  opinion  lasted  nearly  a  whole  year, 
during  which  the  earl  was  confined  in  the  royal 
citadel  of  Winchester.     At  length  his  wife  and 
other  enemies  prevailed,  the  sentence  of  death 
was  pronounced,  and  confirmed  by  the  king,  who 

has  been  popularly  but  eiTOneously  termed  Saxon  architecture. 
The  wall  of  the  innermost  ballium  has  long  been  destroyed, 
but  there  are  the  remains  of  two  round  towers,  pai-t  of  the  ori- 
ginal gateway  at  the  inner  end  of  the  bridge.  Tlie  central  keep 
is  a  substantial  quiidi-angular  buil^ling.  of  110  ft.  from  cost  to 
west,  including  a  smaU  tower,  througli  wliich  was  the  princip.al 
entrance.  From  north  to  south  it  is  93  ft.;  its  height  to  the 
battlements  is  upwards  of  69  ft. 
-  Dam,  IliU.  de  la  Bretagne. 


A.D.  106G-1087.] 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 


!tf) 


is  said  to  Iiave  long  wisliej  for  the  opportunity  of 
putting  him  out  of  his  way.  The  unfortunate 
son  of  that  gi-eat  and  good  Eai-l  Siward,  whom 
Shakspeare  has  immortalized,  was  executed  on 
a  hill,  a  short  distance  from  the  town  of  Win- 
chester, at  a  very  eai'Iy  hour  in  the  morning,  and 
in  great  haste,  lest  the  citizens  should  become 
aware  of  his  fate,  and  .attempt  a  rescue.'  His 
body  was  thrown  into  a  hole  dug  at  a  cross-road, 
and  covered  with  earth  in  a  liurry;  but  the  king 
was  induced  to  permit  its  removal  thence,  and 
the  English  monks  of  Croyland,  to  whom  the 
deceased  earl  had  been  a  benefactor,  took  it  up, 
and  carried  it  to  their  abbey,  where  they  gave  it 
a  more  honourable  sepultvire.  The  patriotic  su- 
perstition of  the  nation  soon  converted  the  dead 
warrior  into  a  saint,  and  the  universal  gi-ief  of 
the  English  people  found  some  consolation  in 
giving  a  ready  credence  to  the  miracles  said  to  be 
performed  at  his  tomb.  The  Anglo-Saxon  hagi- 
ology  seems  to  have  abounded,  beyond  that  of 
most  other  nations,  in  unfortunate  patriots  and 
heroes  who  had  fallen  in  battle  against  the  in- 
vaders of  the  country.  And  what  became  of  the 
widow  of  the  brave  son  of  Siward — of  the  "  infa- 
mous Judith,"  as  she  is  called  by  nearly  all  the 
chroniclers?  So  far  from  permitting  her  to  maiTy 
the  man  of  whom  she  was  enamoured,  her  imclo 
Willi.am,  who  was  most  despotic  in  those  matters, 
and  claimed  as  part  of  his  prerogative  the  right 
of  disposing  of  female  wards,  insisted  on  her  giv- 
ing her  hand  to  one  Simon,  a  Frenchman  of  Sen- 
lis,  a  very  brave  soldier,  but  lame  and  deformed; 
and  when  the  perverse  viadow  rejected  the  match 
with  insulting  language,  he  di'ove  her  from  his 
presence,  deprived  her  of  all  Waltheof's  estates, 
and  gave  them  to  Simon,  without  the  incum- 
brance of  such  a  wife.  Cast  from  the  king's  fa- 
vour, and  reduced  to  poverty,  she  became  almost 
as  unpopulai-  with  tlie  Normans  as  she  was  with 
the  English;  and  the  wretched  woman,  hated  by 
all,  or  justly  contemned,  passed  the  rest  of  her 
life  in  wandei'ing  in  different  corners  of  England, 
seeking  to  hide  her  shame  in  remote  and  secluded 
places. 

The  Normans  had  been  gi'adually  encroaching 
on  the  Welsh  territory,  both  on  the  side  of  the 
Dee  and  on  the  side  of  the  Severn,  and  now  Wil- 
liam in  person  led  a  formidable  army  into  Wales, 
where  he  is  said  to  have  struck  such  terror,  that 
the  native  princes  performed  feudal  homage  to 
him  at  St.  David's,  and  delivered  many  hostages 
and  Norman  and  I^uglish  prisoners,  with  which 
he  returned  as  a  "  victorious  conqueror."  In  the 
north  of  England  he  made  no  further  progress, 
and  had  considerable  difficulty  in  retaining  the 
land  he  had  occupied.     The  Scots  again  crossed 


A.D.  1077-!). 


1  Orderic  gives  i 
cutiou. 


the  Tweed  and  the  Tync,  and  much  liamssed  the 
Norman  bai'ous.  At  the  approach  of  a  superior 
army  they  retired;  but  William's  ofHcers  did  not 
follow  them,  and  the  only  result  of  the  expedition, 
on  the  king's  side,  was  tl\e  founding  of  the  city  of 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  Tlie  impression  made 
upon  Scotland  by  the  Conqueror  when  lie  had 
marched  in  person,  must  have  been  of  the  slight- 
est kind,  and  his  circumstances  never  permitted 
him  to  return. 

lie  was  now  wounded  by  tlie 
sharp  tooth  of  filial  disobedience, 
and  obliged  to  bo  frequently,  and  for  long  inter- 
vals, on  the  Continent,  where  a  fierce  and  un- 
natural war  wa,s  waged  between  father  and  son. 
When  William  fii-st  received  the  submission  of  the 
province  of  Maine,  he  had  promised  the  inhabi- 
tants to  make  his  eldest  son,  Robert,  their  prince; 
and  before  departing  for  the  conquest  of  England 
he  stijnilated  that,  In  case  of  succeeding  in  his  en- 
terprise, he  would  resign  the  duchy  of  Normandy 
to  the  same  son.  So  confident  was  he  of  success, 
that  he  permitted  the  Noriu^n  chiefs,  who  con- 
sented to  and  legalized  the  appointment,  to  swear 
fealty  and  render  homage  to  young  Robert  as  their 
futm-e  sovereign.  But  all  this  was  done  to  allay 
the  jealousy  of  the  King  of  France  and  his  other 
neighbours,  uneasy  at  the  prospect  of  his  vastly 
extending  power;  and  when  he  was  firmly  seated 
in  his  concjuest,  and  had  streng-thened  his  hands, 
William  ojjeuly  showed  his  determination  of  keep- 
ing and  ruling  both  his  insular  kingdom  and  hip 
continental  ducliy.  Grown  iip  to  man's  estate,  Ro- 
bert claimed  what  he  considered  his  right.  "My 
son,  I  wot  not  to  throw  off  my  clothes  till  I  go  to 
bed,"  was  the  homely  but  decisive  answer  of  his 
father.  Robert  was  brave  to  rashness,  ambitious, 
impatient  of  command;  and  a  young  prince  in 
his  cii'cumstances  was  never  yet  without  ad- 
herents and  counsellors,  to  urge  him  to  those  ex- 
treme measures  on  which  they  found  their  own 
hopes  of  fortune  and  advancement.  He  was 
susjteeted  of  faiming  the  fiames  of  discontent  in 
Brittany  as  well  as  in  Maine,  and  to  have  had  an 
understanding  with  the  King  of  France,  when 
that  monarch  frustrated  William's  attempt  to 
seize  the  fugitive  Breton,  Raoul  de  Gael,  and 
forced  the  King  of  England  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Dol.  Some  circumstani'os,  which  added  to  the 
number  of  the  unnatural  elements  already  en- 
gaged, made  Robert  declare  himself  more  openly. 
In  person  he  was  less  favoured  by  nature  than  hi;; 
two  younger  brothers,  AV'illiam  and  Henry,  who 
seemed  to  engross  all  their  father's  favour,  and 
who  probably  made  an  impro]ier  use  of  the  nick- 
name of  Cowte-heusei'  which  was  given  to  Robert 
on  account  of  the  shortness  of  his  legs.    One  daj', 

s  cui-ious  particulars  respecting  the  exe-         2  Literally    "short-hose,"    or    "short-boot" — JSirvit   Ocrea. 

— Orderic.  Vital. 


200 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil.  .\SD  MiLiT.ir.r. 


when  the  king  and  his  court  were  staying  in  the 
little  town  of  L'Aigle,  William  and  Henry  went 
to  the  house  of  a  certain  Roger  Chaussicgue, 
which  had  been  allotted  to  their  brother  Robert 
for  his  lodging,  and  installed  themselves,  without 
his  leave,  in  the  upper  gallery  or  balcony.  After 
playing  for  a  time  at  dice,  "  as  was  the  fashion 
with  military  men,"'  they  began  to  make  a  gi-eat 
noise  and  uproar,  and  then  they  finished  their 
boyish  pranks  by  emptying  a  pitcher  of  water  on 
the  heads  of  Robert  and  his  comrades,  who  were 
passing  in  the  court  below.  Robert,  naturally  pas- 
sionate, probably  required  no  additional  incentive; 
but  it  is  stated  that  one  of  bis  companions,  Alberic 
de  Grantmesuil,  a  son  of  Hugh  de  Grantmesnil, 
whom  King  William  bad  formerly  deprived  of  his 
estates  in  England,  instigated  the  prince  to  resent 
the  action  of  his  brothers  as  a  public  afiront, 
which  could  not  be  borne  in  honour.  Robert 
drew  bis  sword,  and  ran  up  stab's,  vowing  that  he 
would  wipe  out  the  insult  with  blood.  A  gi-eat 
tumult  followed,  and  the  king,  who  rushed  to 
the  spot,  had  much  difficulty  in  quelling  it.  That 
very  night  Robert  fled  with  his  companions  to 
Rouen,  fully  determined  to  raise  the  standai-d 
of  revolt.  He  failed  in  bis  fii-st  attempt,  which 
was  to  take  the  castle  of  Rouen;  and,  soon  after, 
some  of  his  warmest  partizans  were  surprised  and 
made  prisoners  by  the  king's  officers.  The  prince 
escaped  across  the  frontiers  of  Normandy,  into 
the  district  of  Le  Perche,  where  Hugh,  nejihew  of 
Albert  le  Riband,  welcomed  him,  and  sheltered 
him  in  his  castles  of  Sorel  and  Reymalard.  By 
the  mediation  of  his  mother,  who  seems  to  have 
been  fondly  attached  to  him,  Robert  was  recon- 
ciled to  his  father;  but  the  reconciliation  did  not 
last  long,  for  the  prince  was  as  impatient  for  au- 
thority as  ever;  and  the  young  counsellors  who 
sm-rounded  him  found  it  unseemly,  and  altogether 
abominable,  that  he  should  be  left  so  poor,  through 
the  avarice  of  his  father,  as  not  to  have  a  shilling 
to  give  his  faithful  friends  who  followed  his  for- 
tunes.^ Thus  excited,  Robert  went  to  his  father, 
and  again  demanded  possession  of  Normandy; 
but  the  king  again  refused  him,  exhorting  him, 
at  the  same  time,  to  change  his  associates  for 
serious  old  men,  like  the  royal  coimsellor  and 
prime  minister,  Ai-chbishop  Lanfranc.  "Sire," 
said  Robert  bluntly,  "  I  came  here  to  claim  my 
right,  and  not  to  listen  to  sermons;  I  heard 
plenty  of  them,  and  tedious  ones,  too,  when  I  was 
learning  my  gi'ammar;"  and  then  he  added  that 
he  insisted  on  a  positive  answer  to  his  demand  of 
the  duchy.  The  king  TVTathfully  replied  that  he 
would  never  give  up  Normandy,  his  native  land, 
nor  share  with  another  any  pai-t  of  England, 
which  he  had  won  with  his  own  toil  and  peril. 

I  "  Ibique  super  Bolarium   (Bicut  milltibus  mos  est}  tesserlB 
ludere  coeperunt." — Ordcric.  Vital.  *        -  Ibid. 


"  Well,  then,"  said  Robert,  "  1  will  go  and  bear 
arms  among  strangers,  and  perhajjs  I  shall  ob- 
tain from  them  what  is  refused  to  me  by  my  fa- 
ther."' He  set  out  accordingly,  and  wandered 
through  Flanders,  Lorraine,  Gascony,  and  other 
lands,  visiting  dukes,  counts,  and  rich  burgesses, 
relating  his  grievances  and  asking  assistance ;  but 
all  the  money  he  got  on  these  eleemosynary  cir- 
cuits he  dissipated  among  minstrels  and  jugglers, 
parasites  and  prostitutes,  and  was  thus  obliged 
to  go  again  a-begging,  or  borrow  money  at  an 
enormous  interest.  Queen  Matilda,  whose  ma- 
ternal tenderness  was  not  estranged  by  the  follies 
and  vices  of  her  son,  contrived  to  remit  him  seve- 
ral sums  when  he  was  in  great  distress.  AVilliam 
discovered  this,  and  sternly  forbade  it  for  the 
future.  But  her  heart  still  yearning  for  the  pro- 
digal, the  queen  made  further  remittances,  and 
her  secret  was  again  betrayed.  The  king  then 
reproached  her,  in  bitter  terms,  for  distributing 
among  his  enemies  the  treasures  he  gave  her  to 
guard  for  himself,  and  ordered  the  arrest  of  Sam- 
sou,  her  messenger,  who  had  carried  the  monej', 
and  whose  eyes  he  vowed  to  tear  out  as  a  proper 
punishment.  Samson,  who  was  a  Breton,  took 
to  flight,  and  became  a  monk,  "  for  the  salvation 
both  of  body  and  soul."  ' 

After  leading  a  vagabond  life  for  some  time, 
Robert  repaired  to  the  French  com-t,  and  King 
Philip,  stiU  finding  in  him  the  instrument  he 
wanted,  openly  espoused  his  cause,  and  established 
him  in  the  castle  of  Gerberoy,  on  the  very  con- 
fines of  Normandy,  where  he  supported  himself 
by  phmdering  the  neighbouring  country,  and 
whence  he  corresponded  with  the  disaffected  in 
the  duchy.  Knights  and  troops  of  adventurers 
on  horaeback  flocked  to  shai-e  the  plunder  and 
the  pay  he  now  had  to  offer  them:  in  the  number 
were  as  many  Norman  as  French  subjects,  and 
not  a  few  men  of  King  William's  own  household. 
Burning  with  rage,  the  king  crossed  the  Channel 
with  a  formidable  English  army,  and  came  in 
person  to  direct  the  siege  of  the  strong  castle  of 
Gerberoy,  where  he  lost  many  men  in  fruitless 
operations,  and  from  sorties  made  by  the  garrison. 
With  all  his  faults,  Robert  had  many  good  and 
generous  qualities,  which  singularly  endeared  him 
to  his  friends  when  living,  and  which,  along  with 
his  cruel  misfortunes,  caused  him  to  be  moiu'ned 
when  dead.  Ambition,  passion,  and  evd  counsel 
had  lulled  aud  stupified,  but  had  not  extirjj.ated 
bis  natm-al  feelings.  One  day,  in  a  sally  from  his 
castle,  he  chanced  to  engage  in  single  combat  with 
a  stalwart  warrior  clad  in  mail,  and  concealed,  like 
himself,  wdth  the  visor  of  his  helm.  Both  were 
valiant  and  well  skilled  in  the  use  of  their  wea- 
pons; but,  after  a  fierce  combat,  Robert  wounded 


*  Orderic. 

*  Pro  Ealvatione  corporis  et  aiiim<c.- 


-Ordenc.  fUal. 


A.D.  lOGfi  — 1087. 


WILLIAM  THE  CONQUEROR. 


201 


jiiitl  unhorsed  his  imtagouist.  In  the  voice  of  the 
fallen  warrior,  wlio  shouted  for  assistance,  the 
prince,  who  was  about  to  follow  uji  his  advantage 
with  a  death-stroke,  recognized  hia  fatlier.  and, 
instantly  dismounting,  fell  on  his  knees,  ci-aved 
forgiveness  with  teai-s,  and  helping  him  to  his 
saddle,  saw  him  safely  out  of  the  nic'lee,  wliich  now 
thickened.  The  men  who  were  coming  up  to  the 
king's  assistance,  and  bringing  a  second  horse  for 
him  to  mount,  were  nearly  all  killed.  \N'illiam 
rode  away  to  liis  camp  on  Roberts  horse,  smart- 
ing with  his  v.'ound,  and  still  cursing  his  sou,  who 
had  so  seasonably  mounted  him.'  He  relinquished 
the  siege  of  Gerberoy  in  despau-,  and  went  to 
Rouen,  where,  as  soon  as  his  temper  permitted, 
his  wife  and  bishops,  with  many  of  the  Norman 
nobles,  laboured  to  reconcile  him  again  to  Eobei-t. 
For  a  long  time  the  iron-hearted  king  was  deaf 
to  their  entreaties,  or  only  irritated  by  them. 
"  Why,"  cried  he,  "  do  you  solicit  me  in  favour  of 
a  traitor  who  has  seduced  my  men — my  very 
pupils  in  war,  whom  I  fed  with  my  own  bread, 
and  invested  with  the  knightly  arms  the}'  wear  ?"■ 
At  last  he  yielded,  and  Robert,  having  again  knelt 
and  wept  before  him,  received  his  father's  par- 
don, and  accompanied  him  to  England.  But  even 
now  the  reconciliation  on  the  part  of  the  unfor- 
giving king  was  a  mere  matter  of  policy,  and 
Robert,  finding  no  symptoms  of  returning  affec- 
tion, and  fearing  for  his  life  or  liberty,  soon  fled 
for  the  third  time,  and  never  saw  his  father's  face 
again.  Ills  departure  was  followed  by  another 
paternal  malediction,  which  was  never  revoked. 
Walrher  of  Lorraine,  installed  in 
the  bishopi'ie  of  Durham  and  his 
strong  castle  "on  the  highest  hill,"  imited  to  Ids 
episcopal  functions  the  political  and  military  go- 
vernment of  Northimiberland.  The  earl-bishop 
boasted  that  he  was  equally  skilful  in  repressing 
rebellion  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  re- 
forming the  morals  of  the  Englibh  by  eloquent 
discom-se.  But  the  Lorrainer  was  a  harsh  ta.sk- 
master  to  the  English,  laying  heavy  labouis  and 
taxes  upon  them,  and  permitting  the  officers  un- 
der him  and  his  meu-at-aiTus  to  plunder,  insult, 
and  kill  them  with  impunity.^  Liulf,  an  Eng- 
lishman of  noble  birth,  and  endeared  to  tlie  whole 
provmce,  ventured,  on  being  robbed  by  some  of 
Walcher's  satellites,  to  lay  his  complaint  before 
the  bishop.  Shortly  after  making  this  accusa- 
tion, Liulf  was  mvu'dered  by  night  in  his  manor- 
house,  neai-  the  city  of  Durham,  and  it  was 
well  proved  that  one  Gilbert,  and  others  in  the 
bishop's  service,  were  the  perpetrators  of  the 
foul  deed.     "  Hereupon,"  says  an  old  writer,  "the 

*  Chrtyn.  Sax.:  Florent.  Wigorn.    The  story  i£  told  soniewliat 
differently  in  the  Chron.  Lambardi. 

'^  Tirones  uieos,  quoa  alui  et  armis  militaribus  decoravi,  ab- 
iluxit.  —Oi-d-'ri':.  Vital.  3  j/(,(/_  Paris.;  Anglia  Sacra. 

■^"OL.  I. 


malice  of  the  people  was  kindled  against  liini, 
and  when  it  was  known  that  he  had  received  tlie 
murderers  into  his  house,  and  favoured  them 
as  before,  they  stomached  the  matter  higldy." 
Secret  meetings  wei-e  held  at  tlie  dead  of  night, 
and  the  Nortliumbrlaus,  who  had  lost  none 
of  their  old  spirit,  and  were  absolutely  di'iven 
to  madness,  because,  among  other  causes  of  en- 
dearment, Liulf  had  married  the  widow  of  Earl 
Siward,  the  mother  of  the  unfortunate  Earl  Wal- 
theof,  resolved  to  take  a  sanguinary  vengeance. 
Both  parties  met  by  agi-eement  at  Gatesliead;* 
the  bishop,  vdio  protested  his  innocence  of  the 
homicide,  in  the  pomp  of  power,  surrounded  by 
his  retainers ;  the  Nortlnunbrians  in  humble 
guise, as  if  to  petition  their  lord  for  justice, though 
every  man  among  them  canned  a  sharp  weapon 
hid  under  his  garment.  The  bishop,  alarmed  at 
the  number  of  English  that  continued  to  flock  to 
the  place  of  rendezvous,  retu-ed  with  all  liis  re- 
tinue into  the  clim'ch.  The  people  then  signified 
in  ))lain  terms  that,  unless  he  came  forth  and 
showed  himself,  they  would  lire  the  place  where 
he  stood.  As  he  did  not  move,  the  threat  was 
executed.  Then,  seeing  the  smoke  and  flames 
arising,  he  caused  Gilbert  and  his  accomplices  to 
be  thrust  out  of -the  church.  The  people  fell  with 
savage  joy  on  the  murderers  of  Liulf,  and  cut 
them  to  pieces.  Half-sufibcated  by  the  heat  and 
smoke,  the  bishop  himself  wrapped  the  skirts  of 
his  govm  over  his  face,  and  came  to  the  threshold 
of  the  door.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  moment 
of  hesitation;  but  a  voice  was  heard  among  the 
crowd,  saying,  "Good  rede,  short  rede!  slay  ye 
the  bishop!"  and  the  bishop  was  slain  accord- 
ing!}'.* The  foreigners  had  nolhing  left  but  the 
alternative  of  being  burned  alive  or  perishing  by 
the  sword.  The  bishop's  chaplain  seemed  to  give 
a  preference  to  the  former  death,  for  he  lingered 
long  in  the  Lm-ning  church;  but  in  the  end  he 
was  compelled,  by  the  raging  fu-e,  to  come  out, 
and  was  also  slain  and  hacked  to  pieces — "as  he 
had  well  deserved,"  adds  an  old  historian,  "  being 
the  main  promoter  of  all  the  mischief  that  had 
been  done  in  the  country."  °  Of  all  who  had  ac- 
companied the  bishop  to  the  tragical  meeting  at 
Gateshead,  only  two  were  left  alive,  and  these 
were  menials  of  English  birth.  Above  100  men, 
Normans  and  Flemings,  perished  with  Walcner.' 
William  intrusted  to  one  bishop 
A.D.  lOS...    j.|jg  pjjj^g  ^f  avenging  another.    His 

half-brother,  Odo,  the  fierce  Bishop  of  Bayeux, 
niai-ched  to  Durham  with  a  numerous  army.  He 
found  no  force  on  foot  to  resist  him,  but  he  treated 
the  whole  country  as  an  insm-gcnt  yirovince,  and 
making  no  distinction  of  persons,  and  employing 


■I  The   name  means    "goat's  head;" 
Floycnt.  Wiporn.  '  .Malt.  Paris. 

^  Saxon  ChronicU. 

26 


*ad  caput  capraj." — 
«  Holiiulted. 


50: 


IIISTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  akd  Military. 


no  jiulicial  forms,  lie  beheaded  or  mutilated  all 
the  men  he  could  find  in  their  houses.  Some 
persons  of  proiicrty  bought  their  lives  by  surren- 
dering everything  they  possessed.  By  this  exter- 
minating expedition  Odo  obtained  the  rejmtatiou 
of  being  one  of  the  greatest  "dominators  of  the 
English;"  but  it  seems  to  have  been  the  last  he 
commanded,  and  disgraced  with  cruelty,  during 
the  reign  of  Vrilliam.  This  churchman,  besides 
being  Bishop  of  Bayeux  in  Normandy,  was  Earl 
of  Kent  in  England,  and  held  many  high  offices 
in  this  island,  where  he  had  accumulated  enor- 
mous wealth,  chiefly  by  extortion,  or  a  base  sell- 
ing of  justice.  For-  some  years  a  splendid  dream 
of  ambition,  which  he  thought  he  could  realize 
by  means  of  money,  increased  his  rapacity.  There 
were  many  instances  in  those  ages  of  kings  be- 
coming monks,  but  not  one  of  a  Catholic  priest 
becoming  a  king.  Profane  crowns  being  out  of 
his  reach,  Odo  aspired  to  a  sacred  one — to  the 
tiara — that  triple  crown  of  Rome,  which  gi-adually 
obtained,  in  another  shape,  a  homage  more  widely 
extended  than  that  paid  to  the  Ca;sars.  Ilis  dream 
was  cherished  by  the  predictions  of  some  Italian 
astrologers,  who,  living  in  his  service,  and  being 
well  paid,  assiu-ed  him  that  he  would  be  the  suc- 
cessor of  Gregory  VII.,  the  reigning  pope.  Odo 
opened  a  correspondence  with  the  Eternal  City  by 
means  of  English  and  Norman  pilgrims  who  were 
constantly  flocking  thither,  bought  a  palace  at 
Home,  and  sent  rich  presents  to  the  senators.  His 
project  was  not  altogether  so  visionary  as  it  has 
been  considered  b}'  most  writers,  and  we  can 
hai'dly  understand  why  his  half-brother,  William, 
should  have  checked  it,  unless  indeed  his  inter- 
ference proceeded  from  his  desire  of  getting  pos- 
session of  the  bishop's  wealth.  Ten  years  before 
the  Conqueror  invaded  England,  Eobert  Guis- 
cai'd,  one  of  twelve  heroic  Norman  brothers,  had 
acquired  the  sovereignty  of  the  greater  part  of 
those  beautiful  countries  that  are  now  included 
within  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The  Norman 
lance  was  di'eaded  in  all  the  rest  of  Italy,  and 
with  a  Norman  pope  established  at  Rome,  the 
supremacy  of  that  people  might  have  been  ex- 
tended from  one  end  of  the  peninsula  to  the 
other.  The  Bishop  of  Bayeux  had  some  reason 
for  counting  on  the  symijathy  of  his  powerful 
countrymen  in  the  south,  the  close  neighbour's  of 
Eome;  and  the  influence  of  gold  had  been  felt 
before  now  in  the  college  of  cardinals,  and  the 
elections  of  popes.  It  is  quite  certain  that  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  Norman  chiefs  entered 
into  Odo's  views;  and  when  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  set  out  for  Italy  in  person,  a  brilliant  escort 
was  formed  for  him.  "Hugh  the  Wolf,"  the 
famous  Earl  of  Chester,  who  had  a  long  account 
of  sin  to  settle — if  he  considered  the  butchering 
of  English  and  Welsh  as  crimes — was  anxious  to 


go  to  Rome,  and  joined  the  bishu]),  with  some  con- 
siilerable  bai'ons,  his  friends,  ami  niuch  money. 

The  king  was  in  Normandy  when  he  heai'd  of 
this  expedition,  and  being  resolute  in  his  deter- 
mination of  stoppjing  it,  he  instantly  set  sail  for 
England.  He  sm-prised  the  aspii-ant  to  the  pope- 
dom at  the  Isle  of  Wight,  seized  his  treasures, 
and  summoned  him  before  a  council  of  Norman 
bai'ons  hastily  assembled  at  that  island.  Here 
the  king  accused  his  half-brother  of  "  imtruth 
and  sinister  dealings" — of  having  abused  his 
power,  both  as  viceroy  and  judge,  and  as  an  eai'l 
of  the  realm — of  having  maltreated  the  English 
beyond  measure,  to  the  gi-eat  danger  of  the  com- 
mon cause — of  having  robbed  the  churches  of 
the  laud — and  finally,  of  having  seduced  and  at- 
tempted to  carry  out  of  England,  and  beyond  the 
Alps,  the  wai-riors  of  the  king,  who  needed  theii- 
services  for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  kingdom. 
Having  exposed  his  gi-ievauces,  William  asked 
the  council  what  such  a  brother  deserved  at  his 
hands?  No  one  dm'st  answer.  "An-est  him, 
then !"  ci-ied  the  Iving,  "  and  see  that  he  be  well 
looked  to !"  If  they  had  been  backwai'd  iu  pro- 
nouncing an  opinion,  they  were  still  more  avei-se 
to  lay  hands  on  a  bishop;  not  one  of  the  council 
moved,  though  it  was  the  king  that  ordered  them. 
William  then  advanced  himself,  and  seized  the 
prelate  by  his  robe.  "  I  am  a  clerk — a  priest," 
cried  Odo;  "I  am  a  minister  of  the  Lord:  the 
pope  alone  has  the  right  of  judging  me  1"  But 
his  brother,  without  losing  his  hold,  replied,  "  I 
do  not  ai-rest  you  as  Bishop  of  Bayeux,  but  as 
Earl  of  Kent."'  Odo  was  cai-ried  forthwith  to 
Normandy,  and,  instead  of  crossing  the  Alps  and 
the  Apennines,  was  shut  u])  in  a  castle. 

Soon  after  imprisoning  his  brother,  William 
lost  his  wife,  Matilda,  whom  he  tenderly  loved; 
and  after  her  death  it  was  observed  or  fancied  he 
became  more  suspicious,  more  jealous  of  the  au- 
thority of  his  old  companions  iu  ai-ms,  and  more 
av:u-icious  than  ever.  The  coming  on  of  old  age 
is,  however,  enough  in  itself  to  account  for  such 
a  change  in  such  a  man.  After  a  lapse  of  ten 
years  the  Danes  were  again  heard  of,  and  their 
tlu-eats  of  invading  England  kept  William  in  a 
state  of  anxiety  for  nearly  two  whole  yeai-s,  and 
were  the  cause  of  his  laying  fresh  burdens  upon 
his  English  subjects.  He  revived  the  odious 
Danegeld;  and  because  many  lands  and  manors 
which  had  been  charged  with  it  in  the  time  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  kings  had  been  specially  ex- 
emjjted  from  this  tax  when  he  granted  them  in 
fief  to  his  nobles,  he  made  up  the  deficiency  by 
raising  it  upon  the  other  lauds,  to  the  rate  of  six 
shillings  a-hide.  The  money  he  thus  obtained, 
with  part  of  the  treasm-es  lie  had  amassed,  was 

1  Chron.  Sax.;  FloraU.;  Malviesb.;  Ordcric. 


A.D.  1006-1087] 


WW.LIA^t  THE   CONQUEROR. 


203 


employed  in  Im-iug  and  brinj,nng  over  foreign 
auxiliaries;  for  though  he  could  rely  on  iin  Eng- 
lish army  when  fighting  against  Frenchmen,  or 
the  people  of  Normandy,  !Maine,  and  Brittany, 
he  could  not  trust  them  at  home;  and  he  well 
knew  that  many  of  them  on  the  eastern  and 
north-eastern  shores  would  join  tlie  Danish  in- 
vaders heart  and  hand,  instead  of  ojiposing  them. 
He  therefore  collected,  as  he  had  done  before, 
men  of  all  nations ;  and  these  came  across  the 
Channel  in  such  numbers  that,  according  to  the 
chroniclers,  people  began  to  wonder  how  the 
land  could  feed  so  many  hungry  bellies.  These 
hordes  of  foreignei's  sorely  oppressed  the  na- 
tives, for  William  quartered  them  tlu-oughout 
the  country,  to  be  paid  as  well  as  supported. 

To  complete  the  miseries  inflicted  upon  Eng- 
land at  this  time,  "William  ordered  all  the  land 
lying  near  the  sea-coast  to  be  laid  waste,  so  that 
if  the  Danes  should  land,  they  would  find  no 
ready  supply  of  food  or  forage.' 

The  Conqueror  had  often  felt  the  want  of  a 
naval  force,  and  knowing  that  to  encom-age  com- 
merce was  the  best  means  of  fostering  a  navy, 
he  repeatedly  invited  foreignei-s  to  frequent  his 
ports,  promising  that  they  and  theu*  property 
should  be  perfectly  secure.  But  he  did  not  live 
to  possess  a  navy  of  his  own. 

Another  domestic  calamity  afflicted  the  latter 
yeai's  of  the  Conqueror — for  he  saw  a  violent 
jealousy  growing  up  between  his  favourite  sons, 
William  and  Henry.  Robert,  his  eldest  son, 
continued  an  exile  or  fugitive;  and  Richard,  his 
second  son  in  order  of  bu-th  (but  whom  some 
make  illegitimate),  had  been  gored  to  death  by  a 
stag,''  some  years  before,  as  he  was  hunthig  in 
the  New  Forest;  and  he  was  noted  by  the  old 
English  annalists  as  being  the  first  of  sevei-al  of 
the  Conqueror's  progeny  that  perished  in  that 
place — "  the  justice  of  God  punishing  in  him  his 
father's  dispeopling  of  that  country." 

Perhaps  no  single  act  of  the  Conqueror  in- 
flicted more  misery  within  the  limits  of  its  opera- 
tion, and  certainlj'  none  has  been  more  bitterly 
stigmatized,  than  his  seizure  and  wasting  of  the 
lands  in  Ilampshh'e,  to  make  himself  a  hunting- 
ground.  Like  most  of  the  great  men  of  the  time, 
who  had  few  other  amusements,  William  w;is 
jia-ssionately  fond  of  the  chase.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  kings  had  the  same  taste,  and  left  many 
royal  parks  and  forests  in  all  parts  of  England, 

•  Saxon  Chronicle. 

-Other  accounts  say  he  was  killed  by  a  "pestilent  blast" 
which  crossed  him  while  hunting;  but,  we  believe,  all  fix  the 
scene  of  his  death  in  the  New  Forest. 

'  Warner,  Topographical  Remarks  on  Ihe  South-Wtskrii  Parts 
of  Hampshire. 

<  The  late  William  Stewart  Rose,  Esq.  Tlie  office  of  bow- 
bearer  for  the  Xew  Forest  is  now,  of  coui-se,  a  sinecure,  and  it  in 
almost  purely  honorary,  the  salai-y  being  Aiis.  in  tlie  year,  and 


wherein  he  might  have  gratified   a  rea-sonablo 
passion;  but  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the  pos- 
session of  these,  and  resolved  to  have  a  vast 
hunting-ground    "for  his  insatiate  and  super- 
fluous pleasm-e,"  in  the  close  ueighboiu-hood  of 
the  royal  city,  Winchester,  his  favourite  place  of 
residence.    In  an  early  part  of  his  reign  he  there- 
fore seized  all  the  south-western  part  of  Ilamp- 
shire,  ino;isuring  thirty  miles  fi-om  Salisbury  to 
the  sea,  and  in  circumference  not  inucli  less  than 
ninety  miles.     This  wide  district,  before  called 
Ytene  or  Ytchtene  (a  name  yet  partially  pre- 
served), was  to  some  extent  uninhabited,  and  fit 
for  the  purposes  of  the  chase,  abounding  in  sylvan 
sjjots  and  coverts;  but  it  included,  at  the  same 
time,  many  fertile  and  cultivated  manors,  which 
he  caused  to   be  totally  absorbed   in   the  sur- 
rounding wilderness,  and  many  towns  or  villages, 
with  no  fewer  than  thirty-six  mother  or  parish 
chm-ches,  all  which   he   demolished,  and  th-ove 
away  the    people,  making  them  no   compensa- 
tion.     According  to  the  indisputable  authority 
of  Doomsday  Book,  in  which  we  have  an  ac- 
count of  the  state  of  this  territory  both  before 
and  after  its  "  aiforestation,"  the  damage  done  to 
private  property  must  have  been  immense.     In 
an  extent  of  nearly  ninety  miles  in  circumference, 
one  hundred  mud  eight  places,  manors,  villages, 
or  hamlets  suflfered  in  a  greater  or  less  degi-ee." 
Some  melancholy  traces  of  these  ancient  abodes 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons  are  still  to  be  found  in  the 
recesses  of  the  New  Forest,  and  have  been  de- 
scribed by  a  gentleman*  who  passed  much  of  his 
life  in  and  near  those  woods,  and  who  was  the 
successor  in  office  to  Sir  Walter  Tyi-rel,  as  bow- 
bearer  to  the  king.     In  many  spots,  though  no 
ruins  are  visible  above  gi-ound,  either  the  line  of 
erections  can  be  traced  by  the  elevation  of  the 
soil,  or  fragments  of  building  materials  have  been 
discovered  on  turning  up  the  surface.     The  tradi- 
tional names  of  places  still  used  by  the  foresters, 
such  as  " Church-place,"  " Chm-eh-moor,"  "Thom- 
son's Castle,"  seem  to  mark  the  now  solitary  si)0ts 
as  the  sites  of  ancient  buildings  where  the  Eng- 
lish people  worshipped  their  God,  and  dwelt  in 
peace,  before  they  were  swept  away  by  the  Con- 
queror; and  the  same  elegant  writer  we  have  last 
refeiTcd  to  suggests  that  the  termination  of  ham 
and  ton,  yet  annexed  to  some  woodlands,  may  be 
taken  as  evidence  of  the   former  existence   of 
hamlets  and  towns  in  the  Forest.'' 


one  buck  in  the  season.  In  Iiis  oath  of  office  the  bow-boarar 
swears  "to  be  of  good  behaviour  towards  his  m.^jesty's  wild 
beasts." 

»  See  notes  to  The  Red  King,  a  spirited  poem,  by  William 
Stewart  Rose,  Esq.,  the  royal  bow-boni-cr,  in  which  the  man- 
ners and  costume  ot  the  period  are  carefully  prcsoi-vcd.  Mr. 
Rose  justly  obsei-ves,  "  that  this  cannot  be  considered  as  one  of 
those  '  liistorical  doubts,'  the  solution  of  which  involves  nothing 
beyond  the  mere  disentanglement  of  an  intricate  knot.     It  may 


201. 


We  hare  euU'reJ  into  these  slight  details  be 
cause  some  foi-cigu  writers,  at  the  head  of  whom 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAXD. 


[Civil  and  Militakt. 


is  Voltaire,  have  professed  a  disbelief  of  the  early 
history  of  the  New  Forest,  aud  because  some 


1.  Ashley  Walk. 

2.  AshurstWalk. 

3.  Baldenvood  Walk. 

4.  BramWehill  Walk, 
fl.  Broomy  Walk. 


6.  BurleyWalk. 

7.  Castla  MahvooJ  Walk. 

8.  Tleiiny  Lodge  Walk. 

9.  Eyewortb  Wali. 


10.  Holmsley  Walk, 

11.  Irons  Hill  Walk. 

12.  Lady  Cross  Walk. 

13.  ItJiiefield  Walk. 


14.  Whitley  Ridja  Walk. 

15.  Wilverley  Walk. 
Ifi.  Beaulieu  Manor. 
17.  Mmestead  Llauor. 


native  wi'iters,  including  even  Dr.  V/^arton,  who 
was  "naturally  disposed  to  cling  to  the  traditions 
of  antiquity,"  fancying  there  were  no  existing 
ruins  or  traces  of  such  desolation,  have  doubted 
whether  William  destroyed  village;,  castles,  and 
chm-ches,  though  that  demolition  is  recorded  by 
chroniclers  who  wrote  a  very  short  time  after  the 
event,  and  is  proved  beyond  the  reach  of  a  doubt 
by  Doomsday  Book.  If  any  other  proof  were 
necessary,  it  ought  to  be  found  in  the  universal 
tradition  of  the  people  in  all  ages,  that  on  account 
of  the  unusual  crimes  and  cruelties  committed 
there  hy  William,  God  made  the  New  Forest  the 
death-scene  of  three  princes  of  his  ov>'n  blood. 
The  seizui'e  of  a  waste  or  wholly  uninhabited  dis- 
trict would  have  been  nothing  extraordinary :  it 
was  the  sufferings  of  the  people,  who  were  di-iven 
from  their  villages — the  WTOUgs  done  the  clergy, 

be  considered  as  making  one  of  a  series  of  acts  of  tyranny,  uu- 
vai-nished  with  any  plea  wliich  might  palliate  or  disguise  its 
euorraity;  aud,  as  such,  foi-ming  a  curious  feature  in  the  hibtory 
of  maiuiera." 


whose  churches  were  destroyed — that  made  the 
deep  and  ineffaceable  impression. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  Conqueror  thus  en- 
larged the  Held  of  his  own  pleasures  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  subjects,  he  enacted  new  laws,  by 
which  he  prohibited  hunting  in  any  of  his  forests, 
and  rendered  the  penalties  more  severe  than  ever 
had  been  inflicted  for  such  offences.  At  this  pe- 
riod the  killing  of  a  man  might  be  atoned  for  by 
payment  of  a  moderate  fine  or  composition ;  but 
not  so,  by  the  New  Forest  laws,  the  slaying  of 
one  of  the  king's  beasts  of  chase.  "  He  ordained," 
says  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  "that  whosoever  should 
kiU  a  stag  or  a  deer  should  have  his  eyes  toi'ji 
out;  wild  boai's  were  protected  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  deer,  and  he  even  made  statutes  equally 
severe  to  preserve  the  hai-es.  This  savage  king 
loved  wild  beasts  as  if  he  had  been  their  father." 
These  forest  laws,  which  were  executed  with 
rigour  against  the  English,  caused  gi'eat  misery ; 
for  many  of  them  depended  on  the  chase  as  a 
chief  means  of  subsistence.     By  including  in  his 


A.D.  10C6— 10S7.] 


VTILUAM  THE  CONQUEROn. 


20o 


roviil  Joiuain  all  the  great  forests  of  EiiglauJ, 
and  insisting  on  his  riglit  to  grant  or  refuse  per- 
mission to  liiint  in  them,  William  gave  sore  of- 
fence to  many  of  his  Norman  nobles,  who  were 
as  much  addicted  to  the  sport  as  himself,  but 
who  were  prohibited  from  keeping  sporting  dogs, 
even  on  their  own  estates,  unless  they  subjected 
the  poor  animals  to  a  mutilation  of  the  fore-juiws, 
that  rendered  them  unfit  for  hunting.  From 
their  first  establishment,  and  through  their  dif- 
ferent gradations  of  "forest  laws"aud  "game- 
laws,"  these  jealous  regulations  have  constantly 
been  one  of  the  most  copious  sources  of  dissen- 
sion, litigation,  violence,  and  bloodshed.' 

Towai-ds  the  end  of  the  j'ear  10S6,  William 
summoned  all  the  chiefs  of  the  army  of  the  Con- 
quest, the  sons  of  those  chiefs,  and  every  one  to 
whom  he  had  given  a  fief,  to  meet  him  at  Salis- 
bury. All  the  barons  and  all  the  abbots  came, 
attended  with  men-at-arms  and  part  of  their  vas- 
sals, the  whole  assemblage,  it  is  said,  amounting 
to  60,000  men.  Tlie  chiefs,  both  lay  and  church- 
men, took  agaii^  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  ho- 
mage to  the  king;  but  the  assertion  that  they 
rendered  the  same  to  Prince  William,  as  his 
successor,  seems  to  be  without  good  foundation. 
Shortly  after  receiving  these  new  pledges,  Wil- 
liam, accompanied  by  his  two  sons,  passed  over 
to  the  Continent,  taking  with  him  "a  mighty 
mass  of  money  fitted  for  some  gi-eat  attemjit,"  and 
being  followed  by  the  numberless  curses  of  the 
English  people.  The  enterprise  he  had  on  hand 
was  a  war  with  Fi-ance,  for  the  possession  of  the 
city  of  Mantes,  with  the  territory  situated  be- 
tween the  Epte  and  the  Oise,  which  was  then 
called  the  country  of  Vexin.  William  at  first 
entered  into  negotiations  for  this  territory,  which 
he  claimed  as  his  right;  but  Philip,  the  French 
king,  after  amusing  his  rival  for  a  while  with 
quibbles  and  sophisms,  marched  troops  into  the 
coimtry,  and  secretly  authorized  some  of  his  ba- 
rons to  make  incursions  on  the  frontiers  of  Nor- 
mandy. During  the  negotiations  William  fell 
sick,  and  kept  his  bed.     As  he  advanced  in  years 


1  These  laws,  however,  did  not  much  alTect  the  main  fabric  of 
the  iKitioual  jurisprudence,  as  to  wliichSir  F.  Palgvavo  remarks 
as  follows : — '*  Notwitlistanding  the  violence  and  desolation  at- 
tendant upon  the  Conquest,  AVilliam  the  NoiTn-in  governed  with 
as  much  equity  and  justice  as  was  compatible  with  the  forcible 
assumption  of  the  regal  power;  and  the  m.aiii  fabric  of  the  Anglo- 
Sason  jmisprudence  remained  unch.anged,  although  some  altera- 
tions had  been  effected  in  the  executive  details.  If  William  ever 
contemplated  the  introduction  of  the  Nonnan  jmisprudence  as 
the  law  of  the  whole  people  of  England,  that  plan  had  been  de- 
feated, and  probabl.v  by  the  opposition  of  the  Normans  them- 
selves, united  to  the  unwillingness  of  the  natives.  Had  the 
Conqueror  succeeded,  the  royal  prerofj.atives  would  have  gained 
a  great  accession;  for  it  was  the  English  laws  which  protected 
the  Xomian  barons,  whose  franchises  were  established  by  plead- 
ing the  usages  wliich  liad  prevailed  under  Edward  the  Confessor. 
So  great,  indeed,  w.-is  the  traditionary  veneration  inspired  by 
the  hallowed  ujime  of  the  last  legitim.ate  Anglo-Sa.xon  king. 


he  grew  excessively  fat;  and,  spite  of  his  \inlont 
exercise,  his  indulgence  in  the  ple;isures  of  the 
table  had  given  him  considerable  rotundity  of 
person.  On  the  score  of  many  grudges,  his 
hatred  of  the  French  king  was  intense;  and  Philip 
now  drove  him  to  frenzy  by  saying,  as  a  good 
joke  among  his  courtiers,  that  his  cousin  William 
was  a  long  while  lying-in,  but  that  no  doubt 
there  would  be  a  fine  churching  when  he  was  de- 
livered. On  liearing  this  coarse  and  insipid  jest, 
the  conqueror  of  England  swore  by  the  most  ter- 
rible of  his  oaths — by  the  .splendour  and  birth  of 
Chi-ist  —  that  he  would  be  churched  in  Notre 
Dame,  the  cathedral  of  Paris,  and  present  so 
many  wax  torches  that  all  France  should  be  set 
in  a  blaze.- 

It  was  not  until  the  end  of  July  (1087)  that  he 
was  in  a  state  to  mount  his  wai'-horse,  though  it 
is  asserted  by  a  cotemporary  that  he  was  con- 
valescent before  then,  and  expressly  waited  that 
season  to  make  his  vengeance  the  more  dreadful 
to  the  country.  The  corn  was  almost  ready  for 
the  sickle,  the  grapes  hung  in  rich  ripening  clus- 
ters on  the  vines,  when  William  marched  his  ca- 
valry through  the  corn-fields,  and  made  his  sol- 
diery tear  up  the  vines  by  the  roots,  and  cut 
down  the  pleasant  trees.  His  destructive  host 
was  soon  before  Mantes,  which  either  was  taken 
by  surprise  and  treachery,  or  oflered  but  a  feeble 
resistance.  At  his  orders  the  troops  fired  the 
unfortunate  town,  sparing  neither  church  nor 
monastery,  but  doing  their  best  to  reduce  the 
whole  to  a  heap  of  ashes.  As  the  Conqueror 
rode  up  to  view  the  ruin  he  had  made,  his  horse 
put  his  fore-feet  on  some  embers  or  hot  cin- 
ders, which  caused  him  to  swerve  or  plunge  so 
violently,  that  the  heavy  rider  was  thrown  on 
the  high  pummel  of  the  saddle,  and  grievously 
bruised.  The  king  disinoimted  in  great  pain,  and 
never  more  put  foot  in  stirrup.^  He  was  carried 
slowly  in  a  litter  to  Rouen,  and  again  laid  in  his 
bed.  The  bruise  had  produced  a  rujjture;  and 
being  in  a  bad  habit  of  body,  and  somewhat  ad- 
vanced in  years,  it  was  soon  evident  to  all,  and 


that  the  Xornians  themselves  were  willing  to  claim  him  .as  the 
author  of  the  wise  customs  of  their  native  country.  And  we 
m.ay  be  also  inclined  to  believe  that  notwitlistanding  the  veij 
strong  terms  in  which  the  chroniclers  describe  the  despotism  of 
the  Conqueror — 'all  things,"  it  is  s.litl,  'Divine  a}ui  human, 
obeyed  his  beck  and  nod' — his  supremacy  over  the  church  w:ifi 
the  principal  oppression  of  which  they  complained.  But  the 
employment  of  foreign  functionaries  was  followed  by  new  forms 
of  proceeding,  not  accompanied,  perhaps,  by  any  decided  hitcn- 
tion  of  innovating,  and  dictated  merely  by  the  pre^uro  of  cir- 
cumstances, which,  nevertheless,  had  afterwards  the  effect  of 
displacing  much  of  the  old  jurisprudence  .as  it  existed  befora 
the  invtision,  or  of  causing  it  to  assume  another  guise." — Pal- 
grave's  iii«t-  and  Progress  of  the  Eii'jluh  C'ommonicealth,  part  i. 
p.  240. 

-  Cliron.  de  Norriiand.:  Brompton.  It  was  the  custom  ffT 
women,  at  their  chiu'ching,  to  cai'ry  lighted  tapers  in  th'-'ir 
hauJa.  ^  Orderic;  Anglia  Saaa. 


206 


HISTOnV  Oi"  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  ]\Iii.it  vky, 


even  to  himself,  that  the  consequeuce  would  be 
fatal.  Being  disturbed  by  the  noise  and  bustle 
of  Rouen,  and  no  dovibt  desirous  of  dying  in  a 
lioly  place,  he  had  himself  carried  to  llie  monas- 
tery of  St.  Gervas,  outside  of  the  city  -n-alls. 
There  he  lingered  for  six  weeks,  surrounded  by 
doctors,  who  could  do  Iiim  no  good,  and  by  priests 
and  monks,  who,  at  least,  did  not  neglect  the 
opportunity  of  doing  much  good  for  themselves. 


Becoming  sensible  of  the  approach  of  death,  his 
heai-t  softened  for  the  first  time;  and  though  he 
preserved  his  kingly  decorum,  and  conversed 
calmly  on  the  wonderful  events  of  his  life,  he  is 
said  to  have  felt  the  vanity  of  all  human  gran- 
deur, and  a  keen  remorse  for  the  crimes  and 
cruelties  he  had  committeil.  He  sent  money  to 
Mantes,  to  rebuild  the  churches  he  had  burned, 
and   he  ordered  large  sums  to  be  paid  to  the 


MANfEa.'— iinnvii  bv  H.  G.  Hiiie,  from  his  sket;!i  on  the  spot. 


chui'ches  and  monasteries  in  England.  It  was 
represented  to  him  that  one  of  the  best  means  of 
obtaining  mercy  from  God  was  to  show  mercy  to 
man;  and  at  length  lie  consented  to  the  instant 
release  of  his  state-prisoners,  some  of  whom  had 
pmed  in  dungeons  for  more  thau  twenty  yeai-s. 
Of  those  that  were  English  among  these  captives, 
the  most  conspicuous  wei-e — Earl  Morear,  Beorn, 
and  Ulnoth  or  Wuluot,  the  brother  of  Harold; 
of  the  Normans — Eoger  Fitz-Osboru,  formerly 
Earl  of  Hereford,  and  Odo,  Bishop  of  Bayeux,  his 
own  half-brother.  The  pai-don  which  was  -rn-ung 
from  him  with  most  diificulty  was  that  of  Odo, 
whom,  at  iii-st,  he  excepted  in  his  act  of  grace, 
saying  he  was  a  fii-ebrand,  that  would  ruin  both 
England  and  Normandy  if  set  at  large. 

His  two  younger  sons,  William  and  Henry, 
were  assiduous  round  the  death-bed  of  the  Ising, 
waiting  impatieutly  for  the  declaration  of  his  last 
will.  A  day  or  two  before  his  death,  the  Con- 
qiieror  assembled  some  of  his  chief  prelates  and 


'  M.antes  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  tlie  Seine.  Two  fine 
stone  bridges  communicate,  by  an  intervening  island,  with  the 
small  to^TO  of  Limay,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  The 
town  is  well  built,  and  the  streets  are  adorned  with  four  public 
fountains.  The  church  is  a  fine  Gothic  edifice,  with  two  lofty 
toweiB,  and  there  is  another  more  ancient  tower,  wluch  belonged 
to  the  old  church  of  8t.  M.aclou,  In  the  infancy  of  the  Krench 
monarchy,  Mantes  was  one  of  its  bulw-arks  towards  Normandy. 


bai'ous  in  his  sick  chamber,  and  declai-ed  in  their 
presence  that  he  bequeathed  the  duchy  of  Nor- 
mandy, with  llaine  and  its  other  dependencies, 
to  his  eldest  son,  Robert,  whom,  it  is  alleged,  he 
could  not  put  aside  in  the  order  of  succession,  as 
the  Normans  were  mindful  of  the  oaths  they  had 
taken,  with  his  father's  consent,  to  that  unfortu- 
nate prince,  and  were  much  attached  to  him. 
"  As  to  the  crown  of  England,"  said  i\\e  dying 
monarch,  "  I  bequeath  it  to  no  one,  as  I  did  not 
receive  it,  like  the  duchy  of  Normandy,  in  inhe- 
ritance from  my  father,  but  acquired  it  by  con- 
quest and  the  shedding  of  blood  with  mine  own 
good  sword.  The  succession  to  that  kingdom  I 
therefore  leave  to  the  decision  of  God,  only  desii'- 
iug  most  fervently  that  my  son  William,  who  has 
ever  been  dutiful  to  me  in  all  things,  may  obtaiu 
it,  and  prosper  in  it."  "And  what  do  you  give 
unto  me,  O  my  father  ?"  impatiently  cried  Prince 
Henry,  who  had  not  been  mentioned  in  this  dis- 
tribution. "Five  thousand  pounds'  weight  of  sil- 
ver out  of  my  treasury,"  was  his  answer.  "  But 
what  can  I  do  with  five  thousand  pounds  of  silver, 
if  I  have  neither  lauds  nor  a  home  ?"  "  Be  pa- 
tient," rejjlied  the  king,  "and  have  trust  in  the 
Lord ;  suffer  thy  elder  brothers  to  precede  thee — 
thy  time  will  come  after  theirs."-    Henry  went 

2  0,deric. 


A.D.  1066—1087.] 


^V!LLIAM   Tlir.  CONQUEROR. 


207 


straight,  and  drew  tbe  silvei',  which  lie  weighed 
with  gi-eat  eai-e,  and  then  furnislied  himself  with 
a  strong  coiier,  well  protected  with  locks  and  iron 
bindings,  to  keep  his  treasure  in.  William  left 
the  king's  bedside  at  the  same  time,  and,  without 
waiting  to  see  the  breath  out  of  the  old  man's 
body,  hastened  over  to  England  to  look  after  his 
crown. 

About  sunrise  on  the  9th  of  September,  the  Con- 
queror was  for  a  moment  roused  from  a  stupor  into 
which  he  had  fallen,  by  the  sound  of  bells;  he 
eagerly  inquired  what  the  noise  meant,  and  was 
answered  that  they  were  tolling  the  hour  of  ]3rinie 
in  the  church  of  St.  Mary.  He  lifted  his  hands 
to  heaven,  and  saying,  "I  recommend  iny  soul  to 
my  Lady  Maiy,  the  holy  mother  of  God,"  instantly 
expired.  The  events  which  followed  his  dissolu- 
tion not  only  give  a  striking  picture  of  the  then 
unsettled  state  of  society,  but  also  of  the  char- 
acter and  aflections  of  the  men  that  waited  on 
princes  anci  conquerors.  William's  last  faint  sigh 
was  the  signal  for  a  general  flight  and  sci-amble. 
The  knights,  priests,  and  doctors  v.'ho  had  passed 
the  night  near  him,  put  on  theii-  spurs  as  soon  as 
they  saw  him  dead,  mounted  their  horses,  and 
galloped  off  to  their  several  homes,  to  look  after 
their  pi-operty  and  their  own  interests.  The 
king's  servants,  and  some  vassals  of  minor  rank, 
left  behind,  then  proceeded  to  I'ifle  the  aj)art- 
ment  of  the  arms,  silver  vessels,  linen,  the  royal 
dresses,  and  everything  it  contained,  and  then 
were  to  horse,  and  away  like  the  rest.  From 
prime  to  tierce,'  or  for  about  three  hoiu's,  the 
corpse  of  the  mighty  Conc^ueror,  abandoned  by 
all,  lay  in  a  state  of  almost  perfect  nakedness  on 
the  bare  boai'ds.  The  citizens  of  Rouen  were 
thrown  into  as  much  constei-nation  as  could  have 
been  excited  by  a  conquering  enemj'  at  their 
gates;  they  either  ran  about  the  streets,  asking 
news  and  advice  from  every  one  they  chanced  to 
meet,  or  busied  themselves  in  concealing  then- 
moveables  and  valuables.  At  last  the  clergy  and 
the  monks  thought  of  the  decent  duties  owing 
to  the  mortal  remains  of  their  sovereign ;  and, 
forming  a  procession,  they  went  with  a  crucifix, 
burning  tapers  and  incense,  to  pray  over  the  di.s- 
hououred  body  for  the  peace  of  its  sold.  The 
Ai-chbishoji  of  Eouen  ordained  that  the  king 
should  be  interi-ed  at  Caen,  in  the  church  of  St. 
Stejihen's,  which  he  had  built  and  royally  en- 
dowed. But  even  now  it  should  seem  there  were 
none  to  do  it  honour;  for  the  minute  relater  of 
these  dismal  ti-ansactions,  who  was  living  at  the 
time,  says  that  his  sons,  his  brothers,  his  rela- 

'  The  chroniclers,  who  were  all  mnnks  or  priests,  always  couut 
by  these  and  the  other  canonical  hours,  a2  sejcts,  nones,  ve^pcri', 
(kc.  The  chui-ch  service  called  prime  or  pnma^  and  which  im- 
meiliately  succeeded  matinx.  began  about  six  a.m.,  and  lasted 
to  tierce  or  tei-tia,  which  comaienced  about  nine  ,i,,M. 


tions  were  all  absent,  and  that  of  all  his  officere, 
not  one  was  found  to  take  charge  of  the  obse- 
quies, and  that  it  was  a  poor  knight  who  lived 
in  the  neighbourhood  who  chai'ged  himself  with 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  the  funeral,  "out  of 
his  natm'al  good  nature  and  love  of  God."  The 
body  was  cai-ried  by  water,  by  the  Seine  and  the 
sea,  to  Caen,  where  it  w;is  received  by  the  abbot 
and  monks  of  St.  Stejihen's ;  other  churchmen 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  joining  these,  a 
considerable  procession  was  formed;  but  as  they 
went  along  after  the  coffin,  a  fire  suddenly  broke 
out  in  the  town ;  laymen  and  clerks  ran  to  ex- 
tinguish it,  and  the  brothers  of  St.  Stephen's 
were  left  alone  to  conduct  the  corpse  to  the 
chm-ch.  Even  the  last  burial  service  did  not 
pass  undisturbed.  The  neighbom-ing  bishops 
and  abbots  assembled  for  this  ceremony.  The 
mass  had  been  performed;  the  Bi.shop  of  Evreux 
had  pronounced  the  panegj'ric,  and  the  body  was 
about  to  be  lowered  into  the  grave  prepared  for 
it  in  the  church,  between  the  altar  and  the  choir, 
when  a  man,  suddenly  rising  in  the  crowd,  ex- 
claimed with  a  loud  voice,  "Bishop,  the  man 
whom  3'ou  have  praised  was  a  robber;  the  very 
ground  on  which  we  are  standing  is  mine,  and  is 
the  site  where  my  father's  house  stood.  He  took 
it  from  me  by  violence,  to  build  this  church  on 
it.  I  reclaim  it  as  my  right;  and,  in  the  name  of 
God,  I  forbid  you  to  bury  him  here,  or  cover 
him  with  my  glebe."  The  man  who  spoke  thus 
boldly  was  Asseline  Fitz-Ai'thur,  who  had  often 
asked  a  just  compensation  from  the  king  in  his 
lifetime.  Many  of  the  persons  present  confirmed 
the  truth  of  his  statement;  and,  after  some  pai-- 
ley,  the  bishops  paid  him  sixty  sliillings  for  the 
grave  alone,  engaging,  at  the  same  time,  to  jjiro- 
cure  him  the  full  value  of  the  rest  of  his  land. 
The  body,  dressed  in  royal  robes,  but  without  a 
coffin,  was  then  lowered  into  the  tomb;  the  rest 
of  the  ceremony  was  hmu-ied  over,  and  the  as- 
sembly disjjersed." 

The  personal  character  of  William  is  inscribed 
so  distinctly  in  the  pai'ticulars  of  his  eventful 
history,  that  any  further  detail  of  it  is  unneces- 
saiy.  As  a  brave  soldier,  he  was  distinguished 
at  a  period  when  mere  personal  bravery  was  of 
the  highest  account ;  as  a  sagacious  leader,  he 
was  so  far  superior  to  any  of  his  cotemporaries, 
that  for  his  equal  in  English  history  we  must 
pass  onward  to  the  days  of  Ci'ecy  and  Azincom't. 
Even  tliese  qualities,  however,  would  not  have 
sufficed  to  win  for  him  the  proud  title  of  the 
"Conqueror,"  had  he  not  excelled  in  jiolitieal 
craft  and  cunning  as  much  as  in  military  skill. 


'  Orderic;  Waco.  Roman,  de  Rou.;  CUron.  dt  Ii'ormand.  Or- 
deric  gives  furtlier  details  respecting  the  lowering  of  the  body 
into  the  grave,  but  they  are  too  revolting  to  bo  translated  for 
general  readers  of  the  nineteenth  conliu-y. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mimtahy. 


.ii'oviuces 
attempt  against  En, 


Dynasties  have  been    cliangeJ   and  \ 

won  by  war,  but  AVilliam's  attempt  agai — .^ 

land  was  the  last  gn\it  and  pei'mauent  conquest 
of  a  whole  nation  achieved  in  Kurojie.  The  com- 
panions of  his  conquest  became  one  people  with 

^  Of  William  the  Conqueror,  M.  Bonnechose  says :— "  His  in- 
satiable ambition  was  served  by  an  invincible  pei-severance ;  he 
bad  fi'om  his  infancy  to  face  innumerable  difficiiltiea;  cveiything 
was  at  fii-st  against  him — his  illegitimate  buth,  hi3  tender  age, 
tlio  ambition  of  relatives  disputing  his  paternal  inlieritance ;  he 
gi-ew  np  araid  the  severest  trials ;  he  inui'ed  his  soul,  in  sup- 
pressing rebellion,  to  the  employment  of  the  most  violent  mea- 
sures, and  he  learned,  in  reg;uning  his  own  patrimony,  how  to 
appropriate  that  of  others. 

"With  what  sagacity  did  he  foresoe  remote  co:itiiigoncie9! 
with  what  consummate  skill  did  he  so  arrange  overji.hiug  as  to 
insure  success !  When  Ids  rival  is  in  his  hands,  he  caresses  in- 
stead of  threatening  him,  in  order  to  obtain  fi-om  him  an  oath 
which  would  make  him  Ids  subject  if  he  kept  it,  and  would  dis- 
grace him  if  he  broke  it ;  afterwards,  when  llarold  occupied  the 
throne  that  William  claimed,  the  latter  still  temporizes,  and 
when  at  the  point  of  employing  violence,  studies  to  maintain  a 
show  of  justice.  With  what  prudence  does  lie  secui-e  that  aid 
from  Rome  which  his  rival  disdains '.  how  he  avails  himself  of 
the  passions  that  he  needs  to  serve  his  pm-poses  t  One  after 
auothtr,  he  addresses  him-xlf  to  men's  cupidity,  to  their  feara, 
to  their  supei-stition,  to  their  prejudices,  and  tvirns  all  to  ac- 
count. At  last  the  moment  for  action  comes,  and  that  same 
man,  whom  we  have  seen  so  temporizing,  so  measured,  and  as 
cunning  as  a  fox,  at  once  becomes  a  lion  ;  to  him  we  may  apply 
the  words  of  Bossuet :  'The  promptitude  of  his  action  affords  no 
time  for  counteraction,  and  in  the  tluckest  of  the  fight  at  Has- 
tings he  displays  a  com\ige  which  would  have  been  rash,  liad 
not  the  extremity  of  the  peril  been  such  as  to  reader  the  excess 
of  courage  indispensable," 

"After  gaining  the  battle,  he  trusts  nothing  to  chance,  and 
before  risking  himself  in  the  interior,  he  subdues  and  fortifies 
the  whole  of  the  coast;  next  h«  establishes  himself  as  strongly 
to  the  north  of  the  capital  as  t"  tlie  south,  and  after  encompass- 
ing the  city  on  all  sides,  just  as  lie  seems  to  have  only  to  march 
in  order  to  effect  its  reduction,  he  restrains  himself.  Ilia  language 
is  not  that  of  a  conq.uoror  or  a  mivster;  William  caresses  the  lead- 
ing men  among  his  enemies,  ho  solicits  their  suH'rages,  he  allures 
to  him  the  descendant  of  the  old  Saxon  kings,  he  give:i  the  titles 
of  father  and  bishop  to  the  vei-y  priest  who,  at  his  own  pressing 
reciuest,  has  been  declai'ed  at  Rome  to  be  an  intnider  and  a 
rebel ;  he  lays  no  violent  hand  on  the  crown  of  Cerdic,  he  con- 
trives to  have  it  offered  to  him ;  lie  accex^ts  it,  and  swears  he 
will  govern  England  as  tlie  best  of  her  kings.  .  .  .  When 
threatened  with  a  formidable  insurrection,  we  have  seen  how 
he  conjm"ed  the  stomi,  by  promising  to  imiuire  into  the  old  laws 
of  the  country,  and  to  cause  them  to  be  observed  ;  but  the  na- 
tional law,  as  intei'preted  by  a  conqueror,  is  the  law  of  the 
strongest.  We  shall  see  with  what  unheaid-nf  ability,  with  what 
a  despot's  tact,  M'illiam  contrives  to  extract  from  ancient  insti- 
tutions whatever  could  consolidate  his  power,  and  how,  in  evok- 
ing from  their'  tombs  all  the  kings  whose  memoiy  had  retained 
popularity,  from  Arthur  to  Kdward,  he  made  all  speak  so  as  to 
favour  his  views.  At  last,  when  he  found  Ins  authority  fully 
established — when  he  had  all  England  within  his  powerful  gi-asp, 
and  had  made  all  resistance  hopeless— he  seizes  his  vast  prey,  he 
tears  it  to  pieces  as  it  suits  Ids  humour,  and  of  all  those  i>oi-tions, 
still  reeking  with  the  blood  of  a  whole  people,  he  appropriates 
tlie  largest  to  himself.  He  possessed  coimtless  domains ;  heaps 
of  gold  were  yeaily  pourevl  into  his  treasuiy ;  inimcutie  foreita 


those  tliey  subdued;  bis  power  was  transmitted 
to  Ids  posterity;  and  after  :dl  the  changes  and 
revolutions  that  have  ha]>peucd  in  the  course  of 
seven  centuries  and  a  half,  the  blood  of  our  reigia- 
ing  family  is  still  kihdi'ed  to  his.' 

grew  by  his  command,  on  what  were  once  the  sites  of  thriving 
towns;  and  herds  of  game,  for  his  gratification,  found  a  haunt 
in  tracts  of  land  laid  waste  for  the  pmiiose,  and  from  wldch  man 
was  expelled.  .  .  .  Taught  by  long  practical  acquaintance 
with  men  and  affau-s,  he  thoroughly  know  human  natme  and 
desjilsed  it ;  neverthele-ss,  he  believed  also  in  the  existence  of 
virtiio;  and  when  he  any^vhore  discovered  it,  his  confidence 
became  as  boundless  as  Ids  esteem ;  extraordinary  merit,  oven 
in  his  enemies,  never  found  him  indifferent  or  insensible,  and 
his  admiration  disarmed  his  wrath.  If  he  often  employed 
criminal  means  to  raise  and  etrengtlien  Idmself,  he  also  exhi- 
bited, in  several  acts  of  his  life,  a  serious  regard  and  sincere 
zeal  for  religion  and  justice ;  his  wisdom,  in  fine,  consolidated 
what  violence  had  established."— its  Quutre  Conqiicta  de  I'Angle- 
terre,  livre  iv.  ch.  iii. 

Tliieny,  on  the  subject  of  the  Conquest,  has  the  following  re- 
marks : — "  If,  in  collecting  in  his  own  mind  all  the  facts  detailed 
in  the  foregoing  narration,  the  reader  wishes  to  fonn  a  just  idea 
of  England  upon  its  conquest  by  William  of  Normandy,  he  must 
figure  to  himself  not  a  mere  cliange  of  political  rule— not  the 
triumph  of  one  of  two  competitora— but  the  inti-usion  of  a  nation 
into  the  bosom  of  another  people,  which  it  came  to  destroy,  and 
the  scattered  fragments  of  which  it  retained  as  an  iutegi'al  por- 
tion of  the  new  system  of  society,  in  the  status  merely  of  per- 
sonal in-opcrty,  or,  to  use  the  stronger  language  of  records  and 
deeds,  of  a  'clothing  to  the  soil.'  He  must  not  picture  to  him- 
self, on  the  one  hand,  William,  the  king  and  despot ;  on  the 
other,  simply  Ins  subjects,  high  and  low,  rich  and  pour,  all 
inhabiting  England,  and,  consequently,  all  English  ;  he  must 
bear  in  mind  tliat  there  wei-e  two  distinct  nations,  the  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  and  the  Norman  invaders,  dwelling  intermingled  on 
the  same  soil ;  or  rather  he  might  contemplate  two  countries— 
the  one  possessed  by  the  Normans,  wealthy  and  exonerated  fi'om 
capitation  and  public  burdens — the  other,  the  Anglo-Saxon, 
enslaved  and  oppressed  with  a  land-tax  ;  the  former  fidl  of  spa- 
cious mansions,  of  walled  and  moated  castles ;  the  latter  scat- 
tered over  with  thatched  cabins  and  ancient  walls,  in  a  state  of 
dilapidation ;  this  peopled  with  the  happy  and  the  idle,  with 
soldiers  and  couitiere,  with  knights  and  nobles;  that  with  men 
in  misery  and  condemned  to  labom",  with  peasants  and  aitisans; 
on  the  one  he  beholds  luxuiy  and  insolence — on  the  other, 
poverty  and  envy ;  not  the  envy  of  the  poor  at  the  sight  of  the 
opulence  of  men  born  to  opulence,  but  that  malignant  envy, 
although  justice  be  on  its  side,  which  the  despoiled  cannot  but 
entertain  in  looking  upon  tlie  spoilei-a.  Lastly,  to  complete  the 
pictme,  these  t^^'o  lands  iire  in  some  sort  interwoven  with  each 
other ;  they  meet  at  every  point ;  and  yet  they  are  more  distinct, 
more  completely  separated,  than  if  the  ocean  roUed  between 
them.  Each  has  its  own  tongue,  and  spe^iks  a  tongue  that  is 
strange  to  the  other.  French  is  the  coui't  language — used  in  all 
the  palaces,  castles,  and  mansions,  in  the  abbeys  and  monas- 
teries, in  all  places  where  wealth  and  power  offer  their  attrac- 
tions; wliile  the  ancient  language  of  the  countiy  is  heard  only 
at  the  firesides  of  the  poor  and  the  serfs.  For  a  long  time  these 
two  idioms  were  propagated  without  intonnixture — the  one 
being  the  mask  of  noble,  the  other  of  ignoble  bii'th.  as  is  ex- 
pressed with  bitterness  in  the  vei-ses  of  a  poet  of  the  oldon  time, 
who  complains  that  England  in  his  day  exhibited  the  spectacle 
of  a  land  that  had  repudiated  its  mother  tongue." — IliSt.  0/ 
Ihe  Nonnan  CQnqv£st,  conclusion  of  book  vi. 


A.D.  1087—1100.] 


WILLIAM   lUIFUS. 


209 


CHAPTER  II.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

WILLIAM  11.,  SURSAMED  UUFUS. A.D.   1087-1100. 

Accession  of  Willi.am  II.,  surnanied  Kufus— Opposition  made  to  his  succession — Claim  of  liis  eUler  brother,  Robert, 
to  tlie  crown — Oilo,  who  assists  him,  is  bauislied — Fl.aiiibaril,  the  rapacious  luiuister  of  Rufus — Contentions 
between  Rnfus  and  his  brotliers — AVar  between  England  and  Scotland — War  between  En^daud  and  Wales — 
Conspiracy  in  Northumberland  against  Rufus  defeated — Departure  of  Robert  of  Normandy  to  the  Crusade — 
Kufus  invades  Slaiue— His  death  in  the  New  Forest — His  character. 


ILLIAIM  EUFUS,  or  A\'iniam 
the  Red,  who  left  his   father 
at  the  point  of  death,  was  in- 
formed of  his  decease   as  he 
igMK^jl^^«j    was  on  the  point  of  embark- 

\fy'  -^__>-\-^- ^   ijjg  g^   Wissant,  near   Calais. 

The  news  only  made  him  the  more  anxious  to 
reach  England,  that  he  might,  by  the  actual 
seizure  of  the  succession,  set  at  defiance  the  pre- 
tensions of  any  other  claimant  to  the  crown.  Ar- 
riving in  England,  he  secured  the  important 
fortresses  of  Dover,  Peveusey,  and  Hastings, 
concealhig  his  father's  death,  and  pretending  to 
be  the  bearer  of  orders  from  him.  He  tlien  has- 
tened to  Winchester,  where,  with  a  proper  con- 
viction of  the  efficacy  of  money,  he  claimed  his 
father's  treasui-es,  which  were  deposited  in  the 
castle  there.  WiUiam  de  Pont-de-l'Arche,  the 
royal  treasurer,  readUy  delivered  him  the  keys, 
and  Rufus  took  possession  of  £60,000  in  pure 
silver,  with  much  gold  and  many  precious  stones. 
His  next  step  was  to  repair  to  Laufranc,  the 
primate,  in  whose  hands  the  destinies  of  the  king- 
dom may  almost  be  said  to  have  at  that  mo- 
ment been.  Bloet,  a  confidential  messenger,  had 
ah'eady  delivered  a  letter  from  the  deceased 
king,  commending  the  cause  and  guidance  of  liis 
son  William  to  the  arclibishop,  already  disposed 
by  motives  botli  of  affection  and  self-interest  in 
favour  of  William,  who  had  been  his  pupil,  and 
for  whom  he  had  performed  the  sacred  cere- 
monies on  his  initiation  iuto  knighthood.  It  is 
stated,  however,  that  Liinfrauc  refused  to  declai-e 
himself  in  favour  of  Rufus  tUl  that  prince  pro- 
mised, u])on  oath,  to  govern  according  to  law 
and  right,  and  to  ask  and  follow  the  advice  of 
the  ju-imate  in  all  matters  of  importance.  It  aji- 
peai-s  that  Lanfranc  then  proceeded  with  as  much 
activity  as  Rufus  could  desire.  He  fii'st  hastily 
summoned  a  council  of  the  .prelates  and  barons, 
to  give  the  semblance  of  a  free  election.  The 
former  he  knew  he  could  influence,  and  of  the 
latter  many  were  absent  in  Normandy.  Some 
prefeiTed  William's  claim  and  character  ujion 
principle,  and  others  were  silenced  by  his  ]ire- 

VOL.  I. 


sence  and  promises.  Though  a  strong  feeling  of 
opposition  existed,  none  was  shown  at  this  meet- 
ing; and  Lanfranc  crowned  his  pvipil  at  West- 
minster, on  Sunday,  the  26th  of  Se])tember,  1087, 
the  seventeenth  day  after  the  Conqueror's  death. 
William's  first  act  of  royal  authority  speaks 
little  in  his  favour  either  as  a  man  or  a  sou — it 
was  the  imprisonment  of  the  unfortunate  Eng- 
lishmen whom  his  father  had  liberated  on  his 
death-bed.  Earls  Morcar  and  Wulnot,  who  liad 
followed  him  to  England,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining 
some  part  of  the  estates  of  their  fathers,  were  ;u-- 
rested  at  Winchester,  and  confined  in  the  castle. 
The  Norman  state  prisoners,  however,  who  had 
been  released  at  the  same  time  by  the  Conqueror, 
re-obtained  possession  of  their  estates  and  hon- 
ours. He  then  gave  a  quantity  of  gold  and  silver, 
a  part  of  the  ti'easure  found  at  Winchester,  to 
"  Otho,  the  goldsmith,"  with  orders  to  work  it 
into  ornaments  for  the  tomb  of  that  father  whom 
he  had  abandoned  on  his  death-bed. 

When  Robert  Courtehose  lieard  of  his  father's 
death,  he  was  living,  an  impoverished  exile,  at 
Abbeville,  or,  according  to  other  accounts,  in 
Germany.  He,  however,  soon  appeared  in  Nor- 
mandy, and  was  joyfully  received  at  Rouen,  the 
capital,  and  recognized  as  their  duke  by  the  pre- 
lates, barons,  and  chief  men.  Henry,  the  young- 
est brother  of  the  three,  put  himself  and  his  five 
thousand  pounds  of  silver  Ln  a  place  of  safety, 
waiting  events,  and  ready  to  seize  every  chance 
of  gaining  either  the  royal  crown  or  the  ducal 
coronet. 

It  was  not  perhaps  easy  for  the  Conqueror  to 
make  any  better  arrangement,  but  it  was  in  the 
higliest  degree  unlikely,  under  tlie  division  he 
had  made  of  Enghind  and  Normandy,  that  peace 
should  be  presei-ved  between  the  brothers.  Even 
if  the  unscrupulous  Rufus  had  been  less  active, 
and  the  pereonal  qualities  of  Robert  altogether 
difl'erent  from  what  they  were,  causes  indepen- 
dent of  the  two  princes  thi-eatened  to  lead  to  in- 
evitable hostilities.  The  great  barons,  tlie  fol- 
lowers of  the  Conqvieror,  were  almost  sill  pos- 
sessed of  estates  and  fiefs  in  both  countries:  they 
£7 


210 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militabt. 


were  naturally  uneasy  at  the  separation  of  the 
two  territories,  and  foi-esaw  tliat  it  would  be 
impossible  for  them  to  preserve  their  allegiance 
to  two  masters,  ami  that  they  must  very  soon 
resign  or  lose  either  their  ancient  patrimonies  in 
Nornimidy,  or  their  new  acquisitions  in  England. 
A  war  between  the  two  brothers  wouUl  at  any 
time  embaiTass  them  as  long  as  they  held  teiri- 
toiy  under  both.  The  time,  also,  was  not  yet 
come  to  reconcile  them  to  the  thought  of  their 
native  Normandy  as  a  separate  and  foreign  land. 
In  short,  every  inducement  of  interest  and  of 
local  attachment  made  them  wish  to  see  the  two 
countries  united  under  one  sovereign ;  and  their 
only  gi-eat  dilTerence  of  opiuion  on  this  head  -was, 
as  to  which  of  the  two  brothers  should  be  that 
so-i'ereign  ;  some  of  them  adhering  to  William 
while  others  insisted  that,  both  by  right  of  birth, 
and  the  honourableness,  generosity,  and  popu- 
larity of  his  character,  Eobert  was  the  proper 
prince  to  have  both  realms.  A  decision  of  the 
question  was  inevitable;  and  the  first  step  was 
taken,  not  in  Normandy,  to  expel  Robert,  but  in 
England,  to  dethrone  William.  Had  he  been 
left  to  himself,  the  elder  brother,  from  his  love 
of  ease  and  pleasure,  would  in  all  probability 
have  remained  satisfied  vnth  his  duchy,  but  he 
was  beset  on  all  sides  by  men  who  were  con- 
stantly repeating  how  unjust  and  disgraceful  to 
him  it  was  to  see  a  younger  brother  possess  a 
kingdom  while  he  had  only  a  duchy;  by  Nor- 
man nobles  that  went  daUy  over  to  him  com- 
plaining of  the  present  state  of  aftairs  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  by  his  uncle  Odo,  the  bishop,  who 
moved  with  all  his  ancient  energy  and  fierceness 
in  the  matter,  not  so  much  out  of  any  preference 
of  one  brother  to  the  other,  as  out  of  his  hatred 
of  the  primate  Lanfranc,  whom  he  considered  as 
the  chief  cause  of  the  disgrace,  the  imprisonment, 
and  all  the  misfortunes  that  had  befallen  him  in 
the  latter  years  of  the  Conqueror. 

Robert  piomised  to  come  over  with  an  army 
in  all  haste,  and  Odo  engaged  to  do  the  rest. 
At  the  Easter  festival,  the  Red  King  kept  his 
court  at  Winchester.  Odo  was  there  with  his 
friends,  and  took  that  opportunity  of  ai'ranging 
his  plans.  From  the  festival  he  departed  to 
raise  the  standard  of  Robert  in  his  old  earldom 
of  Kent,  while  Hugh  de  Grantmesuil,  Roger 
Bigod,  Robert  de  Mowbray,  Roger  de  Mont- 
gomery, William,  Bishop  of  Durham,  and  Geof- 
frey of  Coutances,  repaired  to  do  the  like  in  then- 
several  fiefs  and  governments.  A  dangerous 
rising  thus  took  place  simultaneously  in  many 
parts  of  England;  but  the  insurgents  lost  time, 
and  alienated  the  hearts  of  the  English  inhabi- 
tants by  paltiy  acts  of  depredation,  while  the 
army  from  Nomiandy,  with  which  Robert  had 
promised  to  come  over,  and  which  Odo  was  in- 


sfruited  to  look  out  and  proviile  for  U])on  the 
south  coast  of  Enghuid,  was  slow  in  making  its 
appearance.  The  Courtehose,  a  slave  to  his  ha- 
bitual indolence  and  indecision,  was,  as  usual,  in 
great  straits  for  money;  but  those  who  acted  for 
him  had  raised  a  considerable  force  in  Normandy, 
and  but  for  the  adoption  by  the  new  king  of  a 
novel  measure,  and  a  confidence  timely  placed  in 
the  natives,  England  would  have  been  again 
desolated  by  a  foreign  army.  Rufus,  on  learning 
the  preparations  that  were  making  for  this  arma- 
ment, permitted  his  English  subjects  to  fit  out 
cruisers;  and  these  adventurers,  who  seem  to 
have  been  the  first  that  may  be  called  "  priva- 
teers," rendered  him  very  important  service;  for 
the  Normans,  calculating  that  there  was  no  royal 
na'sy  to  oppose  them,  and  that  when  they  landed 
they  would  be  received  by  their  friends  and  con- 
federates, the  followers  of  Odo  and  his  party, 
began  to  cross  the  Channel  in  small  companies, 
each  at  their  own  convenience,  without  concert 
or  any  regard  to  mutual  support  in  case  of  being 
attacked  on  their  passage;  and  so  many  of  them 
were  intercepted  and  destroyed  by  the  English 
cruisers,  that  the  attempt  at  invasion  was  aban- 
doned.' But  Rufus  was  also  greatly  indebted  to 
another  measure  which  he  adopted  at  this  impor- 
tant crisis.  Before  the  success  of  the  jirivateer- 
ing  experiment  could  be  fully  ascertained,  seeing 
so  many  of  the  Normans  arrayed  against  him, 
he  had  recourse  to  the  native  English;  he  armed 
them  to  fight  in  their  own  countiy  against  his 
own  countrymen  and  relatives;  and  it  was  by 
this  confidence  in  them  that  he  presei-ved  his 
crown,  and  probably  his  life.  He  called  a  meet- 
ing of  the  long-despised  chiefs  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
blood,  who  had  survived  the  slow  and  wasting 
conquest  of  his  father;  he  promised  that  he  would 
rule  them  with  the  best  laws  they  had  ever  known ; 
that  he  would  give  them  the  right  of  hunting  in 
the  forests,  as  their  forefathers  had  enjoyed  it; 
and  that  he  would  relieve  them  from  many  of 
the  taillages  and  odious  tributes  his  father  had 
imposed.'  "  Contested  titles  and  a  disputed  suc- 
cession," as  Sir  James  Mackintosh  has  remarked, 
"  obliged  Rufus  and  his  immediate  successors  to 
make  concessions  to  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who  so 
much  surpassed  the  conquering  nation  in  num- 
bers; and  these  immediate  sources  of  terrible  evils 
to  England  became  the  causes  of  its  final  deliver- 
ance."' Flattered  by  his  confidence,  the  thanes 
and  franklins  who  had  been  simimoned  to  attend 
him,  zealously  promoted  the  levy;  and  when  Ru- 
fus proclaimed  his  ban  of  war  in  the  old  Saxon 
foi-m — "  Let  every  man  who  is  not  a  man  of  no- 
thing,' whether  he  live  in  burgh  or  out  of  burgh, 


'  Southey,  I^'avol  Hiit.:  Dr.  Campbell. 

"^  Chron.  Sax.;    Waverley  Annals.  ^  Hht.  England. 

*  In  Auglo-Sason,  a  "nidering,"  or  "  mmithing,"  ono  of  tLe 


A.D.  1087—1100.] 


WILLIAM   Rl'FUS. 


211 


leave  his  house  and  come'' — there  came  30,000 
stout  Englishmen  to  the  jihice  appointed  for  the 
muster. 

Kent,  with  the  Sussex  coast,  was  the  most  vul- 
nerable part  of  the  islaud,  and  Odo,  the  king's 
uucle,  the  most  dangerous  of  his  enemies;  Kufns, 
therefore,  marched  against  the  bislio]!,  wlio  had 
strongly  fortified  Rochester  Castle,  and  then 
thrown  liimself  into  Peveusey,  there  to  await  the 
arrival  of  the  tai-dy  and  never-coming  Robert. 
After  a  siege  of  seven  weeks,  the  bishop  was 
obliged  to  surrender  this  stronghold,  and  his 
nephew  granted  him  life  and  liberty,  on  his  tak- 
ing an  oath  that  he  would  put  Rochester  Castle 


RocnESTER Castle,  Kent.'- J.  S,  Prout,  from  a  photographic  view 

into  his  hands,  and  then  leave  the  kingdom  for 
ever.  Relying  on  his  solemn  vow,  Rufus  sent 
the  prelate,  with  an  inconsiderable  escort  of  Nor- 
man horse,  from  Pevensey  to  Rochester.  The 
strong  castle  of  Rochester,  Odo  had  intrusted  to 
the  cai-e  of  Eustace,  Earl  of  Boulogne.  When 
now  reciting  the  set  form  of  words,  he  demanded 
of  the  eai-1  the  surrender  of  the  castle,  Eustace, 
pretending  great  wrath,  ai-rested  both  the  bishop 
and  his  guards,  as  traitors  to  King  Robert.  The 
scene  was  well  acted,  and  Odo,  trusting  to  be 


screened  from  the  accusation  of  perjnry,  remained 
in  the  fortres-s.  His  loving  nephew  soon  em- 
braced him  with  a  close  environment,  drawing 
round  him  a  great  force  of  English  infantry  and 
foreign  cavalry.  But  the  castle  w.as  strong  and 
well  garrisoned,  for  500  Norman  knights,  with- 
out counting  the  meaner  sort,  fought  on  the 
battlements;  and  after  a  long  siege  the  place  was 
not  taken  by  assault,  but  forced  to  surrender 
either  by  pestilential  disease  or  famine,  or  pro- 
bably by  both.  The  English  would  have  granted 
no  terms  of  capitulation;  but  the  Norman  portion 
of  William's  army,  who  had  countrymen,  and 
many  of  them  friends  and  relations  in  the  castle, 
entertained  very  different  senti- 
;^-  nients,   and  at   their  earnest  in- 

stance, the  Red  King  allowed  the 
besieged  to  march  out  with  their 
_  arms  and  horses,  and  freely  depart 

"     ^  the    land.      The    unconscionable 

Bishop  of  Bayeux  would  have  in- 
cluded in  the  capitulation  a  pro- 
viso that  the  king's  army  should 
not  cause  tlieii-  band  to  play  in 
sign  of  victory  and  triumph  as  the 
garrison  mai-ched  out,  but  this 
condition  was  refused,  the  king 
saying  in  gi'eat  auger  he  would 
not  make  such  a  concession  for 
1000  marks  of  gold.  The  pai-ti- 
zans  of  Robert  then  came  forth 
with  banners  lowered,  the  king's 
music  playing  the  while.  As 
Odo  api^eared,  there  was  a  louder 
crash;  the  trumjiets  screamed, and 
the  English  shouted  as  he  passed, 
"O !  for  a  halter  to  hang  this  per- 
jured, murderous  bishop!"  It 
was  with  these  and  still  woree 
imjirecalions,  that  the  priest  who  had  blessed  the 
Norman  army  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  departed 
from  England  never  more  to  enter  it." 

Having  disposed  of  Odo,  Rufns  found  no  veiy 
great  difficulty  in  dealing  with  the  other  conspi- 
rators, who  began  to  feel  that  Robert  was  not  the 
man  to  re-unite  the  two  countries,  or  give  them 
security  for  their  estates  and  honouj-s  in  both. 
Roger  Montgomery,  the  powerful  Eai-1  of  Shrews- 
bury, was  detached  from  the  confederacy  by  a 
peaceful  negotiation;  others  were  won  over  by 


atroDgest  tei-ms  of  contempt.  The  expressions  of  the  Saxon 
ehrouicler  are,  "  Baed  thaet  aelc  man  the  waere  uiuiitliing 
3ceolde  cuinan  to  him — Frenci^ce  and  Englisco — of  porte  and  of 
uppbinde." 

I  Rochester  Castle  was  erected  by  William  the  Conqueror  ou 
what  is  believed  to  have  been  the  site  of  an  earlier  fortress. 
Tlie  west  wall  of  the  castle  overhangs  the  Medw.'ty,  just  above 
the  ancient  bridge  erected  in  the  reign  of  Richard  11.  The  walls 
inclosed  a  quadrangular  area  nearly  300  ft-  square.  Tlie  keep 
stands  in  the  south-castem  angle  of  this  area,  and  is  about  TO  ft. 


sqiure,  and  rises  about  104  ft.  from  the  base,  having  a  tower  at 
each  angle  rising  12  ft.  above  tlie  rest  of  tiio  biulding.  On  the 
uoi-th  side  is  anotlier  tower,  about  two-thirds  tlie  height  of  the 
keep,  which  guarded  tho  entrance.  The  walls  of  this  castle  are 
of  Kentish  rag-stone,  with  quoins  of  Caen  stone.  Tho  building, 
with  tho  exception  of  a  circular  tower  at  tho  Bouth-o.ifiteru  angle, 
which  was  rebuilt  after  King  John  had  besieged  and  taken  the 
castle,  is  of  pure  Norman  construction.  It  was  di-nmautlod  iu 
the  reign  of  James  I.,  and  tho  roof  and  floors  are  entirely  gono. 
'■'  Tkicrri/;  Chron.  Sax.;  Ordcric.  Vital. 


212 


IIISTOKY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mu.iTAnr. 


LlanJishments;  the  Bishop  of  Durham  was  de- 
feated by  a  divisiou  of  William's  army,  and  the 
Bishop  of  AVorcester's  English  tenants,  adhering 
to  William,  killed  a  host  of  the  insurgents.  The 
remaining  chiefs  of  the  confederacy  either  sub- 
mitted on  proclamation  or  escaped  into  Nor- 
mandy. A  few  of  them  received  a  pardon,  but 
the  greater  part  were  attainted,  and  Rufus  be- 
stowed their  Englisli  estates  on  such  of  the  barons 
as  had  done  him  best  service. 

In  the  course  of  the  following  year  (10S9), 
Laufranc,  who  was  in  many  respects  a  gi'eat  and 
a  good  man,  departed  this  life.  A  change  was 
immediately  observed  in  the  king,  who  showed 
himself  more  debauched,  tyrannical,  and  rapa- 
cious than  he  had  been  when  checked  by  the 
primate's  virtues  and  abilities.  He  appointed  no 
successor  to  the  head  office  in  the  church,  but 
seized  the  rich  i-evenues  of  the  archbishopric  of 
Canterbury,  and  spent  them  in  his  unholy  revel- 
ries. Lanfranc  had  been,  in  fact,  chief  minister, 
as  well  as  primate  of  the  kingdom.  As  minister, 
he  was  succeeded  by  a  Norman  clergyman  of  low 
bii'th  and  dissolute  habits,  but  gifted  with  an 
aspiring  spirit,  great  readiness  of  wit,  engaging 
manners,  and  an  unhesitating  devotion  to  the 
king  in  all  things.  He  had  fii-st  attracted  atten- 
tion in  the  English  court  of  the  Conqueror  as  a 
skilful  spy  and  public  informer.  His  name  was 
Ealph,  to  which,  in  his  capacitj-  of  minister,  and 
through  his  violent  measures,  he  soon  obtained 
the  significant  addition  of  le  Flamhard,  or  "  the 
destructive  torch."  His  nominal  offices  in  the 
court  of  the  Eed  King  were,  royal  chaplain,  tre'a- 
sui-er,  and  justiciary;  his  real  duties,  to  raise  as 
much  money  as  he  could  for  his  master's  extra- 
vagant pleasures,  and  to  flatter  and  share  his 
vices.  He  was  ingeniously  rapacious,  and  seems 
almost  to  have  exhausted  the  art  of  extortion. 
Under  this  priest  the  harsh  forest  laws  were 
made  a  source  of  pecuniary  profit;  new  offences 
were  invented  for  the  multiplication  of  fines; 
another  survey  of  the  kingdom  was  begun,  in 
order  to  raise  the  revenues  of  the  crown  from 
those  estates  which  had  been  underrated  in  the 
record  of  Doomsday;''  and  all  the  bishoprics  and 
abbeys,  that  fell  vacant  by  death  were  left  so  by 
the  king,  who  di'ew  their  revenues  and  applied 
them  to  his  own  use.     These  latter  proceedings 

*  The  measxirements  in  Doomsday  appear  to  have  been  made 
with  a  reference  to  the  q^uality  as  weU  as  the-quantity  of  the 
land  in  each  case,  whereas  Flamhard  is  said  to  have  caused  the 
hides  to  be  measui-ed  exactly  by  the  line,  or  without  regard  to 
anytliing  hut  their  superficial  extent.  Sir  Francis  Palgrave  be- 
lieves that  a  fragment  of  Flambard's  Doomsday  is  presened  in 
an  ancient  lieger  or  register  book  of  the  mouasteiy  of  Eves- 
ham, now  in  the  Cottonian  Library,  in  MS.  Vespasian,  B.  xxiv. 
It  relates  to  the  county  of  Gloucester,  and  must  have  been  com- 
piled between  1096  and  1112.  See  an  account  of  this  curious 
and  hitherto  minoticed  relic,  with  extracts,  in  Sir  Francis'  iitie 
and  Frogrees  of  t/ie  English  CommoiiwealUi,  ii.  448,  iSic. 


A.D.  1090. 


couhl  hardly  fail  to  offend  the  monastic  chro- 
niclers, and  the  character  of  the  lied  King  has 
in  consequence  come  down  to  us  darkened  with 
perhaps  rather  more  than  its  real  depravity. 
There  is,  however,  no  reasonable  ground  for 
doubting  that  he  was  a  licentious,  violent,  and 
rapacious  king,  nor  (as  has  been  well  observed) 
is  there  either  wisdom  or  liberality  of  sentiment 
in  excusing  his  rapacity  because  it  comprehended 
the  clei'gy,  who,  after  all,  were  the  best  friends 
of  the  people  in  those  violent  times." 

The  barons  who  had  given  the 
preference  to  Robert  having  failed 
in  their'  attempts  to  deprive  William  of  Eng- 
land, the  friends  of  William  now  determined  to 
drive  Robert  out  of  Normandy,  which  country 
had  fallen  into  a  state  of  complete  anarchy.  The 
turbulent  barons  expelled  Robert's  troops  from 
neai'Iy  all  the  fortresses,  and  then  made  war  with 
one  another  on  their  o\vu  private  account.  Many 
would  have  preferred  this  state  of  things,  which 
left  them  wholly  independent  of  the  sovereigu 
authority ;  but  those  of  the  great  lords  who  chiefly 
resided  in  England,  were  greatly  embarrassed  by 
it,  and  resolved  it  should  cease.  By  treachery 
and  bribery  possession  was  obtained  of  Aumale, 
or  Albemarle,  St.  Vallei-y,  and  other  Noi-man 
foi'tresses,  which  were  forthwith  strongly  garri- 
soned for  Rufus.  Robert  was  roused  from  his 
lethargy,  but  his  coffers  were  empty,  and  the 
improvident  grants  of  estates  he  had  ab-eady 
made  left  him  scai-cely  anything  to  promise  for 
futui"e  services;  he  t'aerefore  applied  for  aid  to 
his  friend  and  feudal  superior  the  French  king, 
who  marched  an  army  to  the  confines  of  Nor- 
mandy, as  if  to  give  assistance,  but  marched  it 
back  again  on  receiving  a  large  amount  of  gold 
from  the  English  king.  At  the  same  time  the 
unlucky  Robert  nearly  lost  his  capital  by  a  con- 
spiracy, Conan,  a  wealthy  and  powerful  burgess, 
having  engaged  to  deliver  up  Rouen  to  Reginald 
de  Warenne  for  King  Rufus.  In  these  difficulties 
Robert  claimed  the  assistance  of  the  cautious 
and  crafty  Henry.  Some  very  singular  transac- 
tions had  ah'eady  taken  place  between  these  two 
brothei'S.  While  Robert  was  making  his  pre- 
parations to  invade  England,  Henry  advanced 
him  £3000,  in  return  for  which  slender  sujsply 
he  had  been  put  in  possession  of  the  Cotentin 
country,  which  comprehended  nearly  a  third  pai't 
of  the  Norman  duchy.  Dissensions  followed  this 
unequal  bargain,  and  Robert,  on  some  other  sus- 
picions, either  threw  Hemy  into  prison  for  a 
short  time,  or  attempted  to  ai-rest  him.  Now, 
however,  the  youngest  brother  listened  to  the 
call  of  the  eldest,  and  joined  him  at  Rouen,  whei-e 
he  chiefly  contributed  to  put  down  the  conspi- 

2  Mackintosh,  Bist.  of  Eiig.  i.  119 ;  Sitgeri  Vii.  Lvdovic.  Grossi; 
fngulph.; Mabnesb.:  OfdcHc. 


A.D.  10S7— iioo; 


WILLIAM   RUFUS. 


213 


A.D.  1091. 


racy,  to  repulse  King  William's  adherent,  Regi- 
nald de  Warenne,  and  to  take  Conan,  the  great 
burgess,  prisoner.  The  forgiving  nature  of  Eo- 
bert  was  averae  to  cajiital  pinii.slnuent,  and  he 
condemned  Conan  to  a  perpetual  imprisonment; 
but  Henr}',  some  .short  time  after,  took  the  cap- 
tive to  the  top  of  a  high  tower  on  pretence  of 
showing  him  the  beauty  of  the  surrounding 
scenery,  and  while  the  eye  of  the  unhappy  man 
rested  on  the  pleasant  landscape,  he  suddenly 
seized  him  by  the  waist  and  iluug  him  over  the 
battlements.  Conan  was  dashed  to  pieces  by 
the  fall,  and  the  prince  coolly  observed  to  those 
who  saw  the  catastrophe  that  it  was  not  fitting 
that  a  traitor  should  escape  condign  punishment.' 
In  thefollowiijg  January,William 
Eufus  appeared  in  Normandy,  at 
the  head  of  an  army  chiefly  English.  The  afl'airs  of 
the  king  and  duke  would  have  now  come  to  extre- 
mity, but  Robert  again  called  in  the  French  king, 
by  whose  mediation  a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded 
at  Caen.  Ruf  us,  however,  gained  almost  as  much 
by  this  treaty  as  a  successful  war  could  have  given 
him.  He  retained  possession  of  all  the  fortresses 
he  had  acquired  in  Normandy,  together  with  the 
territories  of  Eu,  Aumale,  Fescamp,  and  other 
places;  and  secured,  in  addition,  the  formal  re- 
nimciation  on  the  part  of  Robert  of  all  claims  and 
pretensions  to  the  English  throne.  On  his  side, 
WUliam  engaged  to  indemnify  his  brother  for 
what  he  resigned  in  Normandy  by  an  equivalent 
in  territorial  property  in  England,  and  to  restore 
the  estates  to  all  the  barons  who  bad  been  at- 
tainted in  Robert's  cause.  It  was  also  stipulated 
between  the  two  parties  that  the  king,  if  he  out- 
lived the  duke,  should  have  Normandy;  and  the 
duke,  if  he  outlived  the  king,  should  have  Eng- 
land; the  kingdom  and  duchy  thus  in  either  case 
to  be  united  as  imder  the  Conqxieror;  and  twelve 
of  the  most  powerful  bai'ons  on  each  side  swore 
that  they  would  do  their  best  to  see  the  whole  of 
the  treaty  faithfully  executed. 

The  family  of  the  Conqueror  were  not  a  family 
of  love.  No  sooner  were  the  bonds  of  fraternal 
concord  gathered  up  between  Robert  and  William 
than  they  were  loosened  between  them  and  then- 
younger  brother  Henry.  The  united  forces  of 
the  duke  and  king  proceeded  to  take  possession 
of  his  castles;  and  Heniy  was  obliged  to  retire  to 
a  fortress  on  Mount  St.  Michael,  a  lofty  i-ock  on 
the  coast  of  Normandy,  insulated  at  high  water 
by  the  sea.  In  this  almost  impregnable  position 
he  was  besieged  by  Robert  and  William.  In  the 
end,  Prince  Henry  was  obliged  to  capitulate.  He 
obtained  with  difficulty  ]5ermission  to  retire  into 
Brittany;  he  was  despoiled  of  all  he  possessed, 
and  wandered  about  for  two  years,  with  no  better 

^OycUfic;  MalnusO. 


attendance  than  grim  poverty,  one  knight,  three 
squires,  and  a  chai)lain.  But  in  this,  the  lowest 
stage  of  his  fortunes,  he  impressed  men  with  a 
notion  of  his  political  abilities;  and  he  was  in- 
vited by  the  inhabitants  of  Damf  i-ont  to  take  upon 
himself  the  government  of  that  city. 

Duke  Robert  accompauieil  the  king  to  England, 
to  take  possession  of  those  territories  which  were 
promised  by  the  treaty.  During  his  stay  Rufus 
was  engaged  in  a  war  with  Malcolm  Canmore, 
who,  while  William  was  absent  in  Normandy,  had 
invaded  England,  and  "overrun  a  great  deal  of 
it,"  says  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  "until  the  good 
men  that  governed  this  land  sent  an  army  against 
him  and  repulsed  him."  On  his  return,  William 
collected  a  great  force,  both  naval  and  military, 
to  avenge  this  insult;  but  his  ships  were  all  de- 
stroyed before  they  reached  the  Scottish  coast. 
The  English  and  Scottish  armies  met,  however, 
in  Lothian,  in  England,  according  to  the  Saxon, 
Chronicle — at  the  river  called  Scotte  Uatra  (per- 
haps Scotswater)  saysOrdericus  Vitalis — and  were 
ready  to  engage,  when  a  peace  was  brought  about 
by  the  mediation  of  Duke  Robert  on  one  side, 
and  his  old  friend  Edgar  Atheling  on  the  other. 
"King  Malcolm,"  says  the  Saxon  Ch ronicle,  " came 
to  om-  king,  and  became  his  man,  promising  all 
such  obedience  as  he  formerly  rendered  to  his 
father,  and  that  he  confirmed  with  an  oath.  And 
the  King  William  jn-omised  him  in  laud  and  in 
all  things  whatever  he  formerly  had  under  his 
father."  By  the  same  treaty,  Edgar  Atheling  was 
permitted  to  retiu-n  to  England,  where  he  received 
some  paltry  com-t  appointment. 

Retui-ning  from  Scotland,  Rufus  was  much 
struck  with  the  favourable  position  of  Carlisle; 
and,  exjielling  the  lord  of  the  district,  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  castle,  and  soon  after  sent  a  strong 
Eugli.sh  colony  from  the  southern  counties  to  set- 
tle in  the  town  and  its  neighbourhood.  Carlisle, 
with  the  whole  of  Cumberland,  had  long  been  an 
ajipanage  of  the  elder  son  of  the  Scottish  kings; 
and  this  act  of  Rivfus  was  speedily  followed  by  a 
renewal  of  the  quarrel  between  him  and  Malcolm 
Canmore.  To  accommodate  these  diflerenoes, 
Malcolm  was  invited  to  Gloucester,  whei-e  Wil- 
liam was  kee23ing  his  court;  but,  before  imder- 
taking  this  joiuuiey,  the  Scottish  king  demanded 
and  obtained  hostages  for  his  security — a  privi- 
lege not  gi-anted  to  the  ordinaiy  vassals  of  the 
English  crown."  On  arriving  at  Gloucester,  how- 
ever, Malcolm  was  requu'ed  by  Rufus  to  do  hun 
right,  that  is,  to  make  him  amends  for  the  injuries 
with  which  he  was  charged,  in  his  court  there, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  submit  to  the  ojjinion  and 
decision  of  the  Anglo-Norman  barons.  Malcolm 
rejected  the  proposal,  and  said  that  the  Kings  of 

-  Allan's  VindiccUum  of  the  Ancient  Independence  <^  Scotland; 

i'^kra;  Chron.  Sax. 


2H 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


Scotliuul  luul  ucver  been  accustomed  to  do  right 
to  the  Kings  of  England  except  on  the  frontiers 
of  the  two  kmgdoms,  and  by  the  judgment  of  the 
bai-ons  of  both.'  He  then  hurried  northward, and, 
having  raised  an  army,  burst  into  Northumber- 
land, where  he  soon  afterwards  fell  into  au  am- 
bush, and  was  slain,  together  with  Edward,  his 
eldest  son.  Broken-hearted  by  this  calamity,  his 
amiable  queen,  Margaret,  died  only  four  days 
after. 

Duke  Robert  had  returned  to  the  Continent  in 
disgust,  at  having  pressed  his  claims  for  the  pro- 
mised indemnity  in  England  without  any  success. 
He  afterwards  despatched  messenger  after  mes- 
senger from  the  Continent,  but  still  William  would 
give  up  none  of  his  domains.  At  last,  in  1094, 
Robert  had  recourse  to  a  measure  deemed  very 
efficacious  iu  the  court  of  chivalry.  He  sent  two 
heralds,  who,  having  found  their  way  into  the 
presence  of  the  Red  King,  denounced  him  before 
his  chief  vassals  as  a  false  and  perjured  knight, 
with  whom  his  brother,  the  duke,  would  no  longer 
hold  friendship.  To  defend  his  honour,  the  king 
followed  the  two  heralds  to  Normandy,  where, 
hoping  at  least  for  the  majority  of  voices,  he 
agreed  to  submit  the  matter  in  dispute  to  the 
ai-bitration  of  the  twenty-four  barons,  who  had 
sworn  to  do  their  best  to  enforce  the  faithful  ob- 
servance of  the  treaty  of  Caen.  The  barons,  how- 
ever, decided  in  favour  of  Robert;  and  then  Wil- 
liam appealed  to  the  sword.  The  campaign  went 
so  much  in  favour  of  the  Red  King,  that  Robert 
was  again  obliged  to  apply  for  assistance  to  the 
King  of  France;  and  Philip  once  more  marched 
with  an  army  into  Normandy.  Rufus  then  sus- 
tained some  serious  losses ;  and  trusting  no  longer 
to  the  appeal  of  the  sword,  he  resolved  to  buy  oil' 
the  French  king.  He  sent  his  commission  into 
England  for  the  immediate  levymg  of  20,000  men. 
By  the  time  appointed  these  men  came  together 
about  Hastings,  and  were  ready  to  embai'k, 
"when  suddenly  there  came  his  lieutenant  with  a 
counter-order,  and  signified  to  them,  that  the 
king,  minding  to  favour  them,  and  spare  them 
for  that  jom-ney,  would  that  every  of  them  shoidd 
give  him  ten  shillings  towards  the  charges  of 
the  war,  and  thereupon  depart  home  with  a  suf- 
ficient safe  conduct ;  which  the  most  part  were 
better  content  to  do  than  to  commit  themselves 
to  the  fortune  of  the  sea  and  bloody  success  of 
the  wars  in  Nonnandj'."^  The  king's  lieutenant 
and  representative  in  this  cunning  device,  was 
Ralph  Flambard.  Some  considerable  sum  was 
raised,  and  King  Philip  accepted  it,  and  withdi-ew 
from  the  field,  leaving  Robert,  as  he  had  done 
before,  to  shift  for  himself.     Rufus  would  then 

•  Flor.  Wigom;  Sim.  Dun. 

2  Hoiinshed.  The  old  authorities  are  Matthew  Tans  and  Simeon 
Duiielmeusis. 


A.D.  1094-5. 


in  all  probability  have  made  Inmself  ma.ster  of 
Normandy,  had  he  not  been  recalled  to  England 
by  important  events. 

The  Welsh,  "  after  their  accus- 
tomed manner,  began  to  invade 
the  English  marches,  taking  booty  of  cattle,  and 
destroying,  killing,  and  sjioilmg  many  of  the 
king's  subjects."  Laying  siege  to  the  castle  of 
Montgomery,  which  had  been  erected  on  a  re- 
cently oceuiiied  part  of  Wales,  they  took  it  by 
assault,  and  slew  all  whom  they  found  within  it. 
Before  William  could  reach  the  scene  of  action 
ail  the  Welsh  were  in  arms,  and  had  overi-un 
Cheshire,  Shropshire,  and  Herefordshh-e,  besides 
reducing  the  Isle  of  Anglesey.  To  chastise  them, 
he  determined  to  follow  them,  as  Harold  had 
done  before,^  for  he  saw  that  the  Welsh  "  would 
not  join  battle  with  him  in  the  plain,  but  kept 
themselves  stiU  aloof  within  the  woods  and 
marches,  and  aloft  upon  the  mountains:  albeit, 
oftentimes  when  they  saw  advantage  they  would 
come  forth,  and,  taking  the  Normans  and  the 
English  unawares,  kQl  many  and  woimd  no  small 
numbers."''  Stimulated,  however,  by  the  exam- 
ple of  Harold,  who  had  penetrated  into  the  inmost 
recesses  m  Wales,  the  Red  King  still  pursued 
them  by  hill  and  dale:  but  by  the  time  he  reached 
the  mountains  of  Snowdon,  he  found  that  his  loss 
was  tremendous,  and  "  not  without  some  note  of 
dishonour,"  began  a  retreat  which  was  much  more 
rapid  than  his  advance.  The  next  summer  he 
entered  the  mountains  with  a  stiU  more  numerous 
army,  and  was  agiiin  forced  to  retire  with  loss 
and  shame.  He  seems  to  have  forgot  that  the 
invasions  of  Harold  were  made  with  light  ai-med 
troops,  and  he  foimd  that  his  heaA^-  Norman  ca- 
vaby  was  ill  suited  for  such  a  wtu-fare.  He  turned 
from  AVales  in  despaii',  but  ordered  the  immediate 
erection  of  a  chain  of  forts  and  castles  along  the 
frontier. 

Before  he  was  free  from  the  troubles  of  this 
Welsh  war  his  throne  was  threatened  by  a  for- 
midable conspiracy  in  the  north  of  England. 
The  exclusive  right  claimed  by  Rufus  over  all 
the  forests  continued  to  ii-ritate  the  Norman 
barons,  and  other  causes  of  discontent  were  not 
wanting.  At  the  head  of  the  disaffected  was 
Robert  Mowbray,  Earl  of  Northumberland,  a 
most  powerful  chief,  possessing  280  English  ma- 
nors, whose  long-continued  absence  from  court 
created  suspicion.  The  king  pubUshed  a  decree 
that  every  baron  who  did  not  present  himself  at 
court  on  the  approaching  festival  of  Whitsuntide 
should  be  outlawed.  The  festival  came  and 
passed  ^vithout  any  tidings  of  the  Earl  of  Nor- 
thumberland, who  feared  he  should  be  cast  into 
prison  if  he  went  to  the  south.    The  king  marched 


3  See  vol.  i.  p.  125. 


*  Holimhed. 


A.D.  1087-1100.' 


W 1 1,1,1  AM  RUFUS. 


21J 


with  ail  army  into  Northumberland,  and  after 
taking  several  of  his  less  important  fortresses, 
shut  up  the  earl  within  the  walls  of  Bam- 
horo\itrh  Castle.    I'"indiiig  he  could  neither  besiege 


fi    3 


I 


^^  if  »..j 


BA.\iBOROuan  Cactle,  Northxunberiaud.' — J.  B.  Prout,  from  a  photographic  view 


nor  liloc-kade  this  impregnable  place,  he  built 
another  castle  close  to  it,  in  which  leaving  a 
strong  garrison,  he  returned  to  the  south.  The 
new  castle,  which  was  hastily  constructed  of 
wood,  was  called  "Malvoisin"  (the  bad  neigh- 
bour), and  such  it  proved  to  Earl  Mowbray.  Be- 
ing decoyed  from  his  safe  retreat  by  a  feigned 
ofter  of  placing  the  town  of  Newcastle-upon-Tjaie 
in  his  hands,  he  was  attacked  by  a  large  party  of 
Normans  from  ISIalvoisin,  who  lay  in  wait  for 
him.  The  earl,  with  thirty  horsemen,  fled  to  the 
monastery  of  St.  Oswin,  at  Tynemouth.  The 
sanetuaiy  was  not  respected;  but  Mowbray  and 
his  few  followers  defended  it  with  desperate 
valour  for  six  days,  at  the  end  of  which  the  earl, 
sorely  wounded,  was  made  prisoner.  But  Bam- 
borough  Castle  was  even  more  valuable  than  the 
person  of  this  noble  captive,  and  the  Red  King, 
who  had  laid  the  snare  into  which  the  earl  had 
fallen,  had  also  arranged  the  plan  upon  which 
the  captors  now  acted.  They  carried  Mowbiay 
to  a  spot  in  front  of  his  castle,  and  invited  his 
countess,  the  fair  jMatilda,  to  whom  he  had  been 
married  only  a  few  months,  to  a  parley.  When 
the  countess  came  to  the  outer  walls,  she  saw 
her  husband  in  the  hands  of  his  bitter  enemies, 
who  told  her  they  would  put  out  his  eyes  before 
her  face,  unless  she  instantly  delivered  up  the 
castle.  It  was  scarcel}'  for  woman  to  hesitate  in 
such  an  alternative:  Matilda  threw  open  the 
gates.  Within  the  walls  the  king's  men  found 
more  than  they  expected,  for  Eai'l  Mowbray's 

1  The  castla  is  considered  to  retain  masonry  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury, when  it  was  founded,  according  to  the  Saxon  CUronkU,  by 
Ida,  King  of  Nortliuniborland.  It  is  founded  "pon  .1  platfonn  of 
lorty  basaltic  cliffs,  and  is  only  accessible  on  the  south-east  aide. 


lieutenant  betrayed  to  them  the  whole  secret  of 
the  conspirac)',  the  object  of  wliich  wa.s  to  place 
upon  tlie  throne  of  England,  Stephen,  Count  of 
Auniale,  ncjihew  of  the  Conqueror,  and  brother 
to  the  infamous  Judith.    The 
extensive  conspiracy  included, 
among  others,  William, Count 
of  Eu,  a  rclalion  of  the  king's?, 
William  of  Aldcric,  the  king's 
goil  -  father,    Hugh,    Earl    of 
■Shrewsbury,    Odo,    Earl     of 
Iloldemcss,   and   Walter    de 
I,acey.      The   fates   of   these 
men     were     various:     Earl 
Mowbray  was  condemned  to 
]5erpetual  imjirisonmcnt,  and 
died  in  a  dungeon  of  Windsor 
Castle,    about     thirty    years 
after;  the  Count  of  Eu  rested 
his  justification  on  the  issue 
of  a  duel,  which   he   fought 
with  his  accuser  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  king  and  court; 
but  being  vanquished  in  the  combat,  he  was  con- 
victed, according  to  the  prevailing  law,  and  con- 
demned  to  have  his  eyes  torn  out,  and  to  be 
otherwise  mutilated.'    William  of  Alderic,  who 
was  much  esteemed  and  lamented,  was  hanged; 
the  Earl  of   Shrewsbury  bought  his  pardon  for 
an  immense  sum  of  money;  the  Earl  of  Holder- 
ness  was  deprived  of  all  he  possessed   and   im- 
prisoned; the  rest  escaped  to  the  Continent,  leav- 
ing their  estates  in  England  to  be  confiscated. 

At  a  moment  when  the  Red  King 
<ad  successfully  disposed  of  all  his 
enemies  in  England,  and  was  in  a  condition  to 
renew  the  war  in  Normandy,  his  thoughtless 
brother  resigned  that  duchy  to  him  for  a  sum  of 
money.  The  Christians  of  the  West,  no  longer 
content  to  appear  at  Jerusalem  as  despised  and  ill- 
treated  pilgrims  ^vith  beads  and  crosses  in  their 
liands,  resolved  to  repair  thither  with  swords  and 
lances,  and  conquer  the  whole  of  Palestine  and 
Syi-ia  from  the  infidels.  The  pi'eaching  of  Peter 
the  Hermit,  the  decisions  of  the  council  of  Cler- 
mont, and  the  bulls  of  Pope  Urban  II.,  had 
kindled  a  warlike  Hame  throughout  Europe. 
Duke  Robert  liad  early  enlisted  in  the  crusade, 
engaging  to  take  with  him  a  numerous  and  well- 
armed  body  of  knights  and  vassals;  but  wanting 
money,  "no  news  to  his  cofl'crs,"  he  applied  to  his 
brother  the  Red  King,  who  readily  entered  into 
a  Viargain  which  was  concluded  on  terms  most  ad- 
vantageous to  himself.  For  the  sum  of  i^lO,000, 
the  duke  resigned  tlie  government  of  Normandy 
to  his  brother.  This  act  is  generally  consiilered  by 
historians  not  as  a  sale,  but  as  a  mortg:ige,  which 

'  CaicatiB  ot  "itusUcuIatus  est.— Jl/a(m(i6, 


A.D.  1096. 


216 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civ:l  and  Military. 


was  to  expire  iu  five  yeai-s.  But  it  is  alino.-t 
idle  to  talli  of  conditions  in  such  a  strange  trans- 
action, which  eonld  have  left  Eobert  but  a  slight 
chance  of  ever  recovering  his  dominion  from  his 
unscru])idous  brother,  had  Kufus  lived.  When 
tlie  bargain  was  struck,  Rufus  was  almost  as 
penniless  as  Eobert.  According  to  an  old  his- 
torian, to  make  up  this  sum  with  despatch,  "  he 
did  not  only  oppress  and  fleece  his  poor  subjects, 
but  rather  with  importunate  exactions,  did,  as  it 
were,  flea  ofi'  theii-  skins.  All  this  was  grievous 
and  intolerable,  as  well  to  the  spirituality  as  tem- 
porality; so  that  divers  bishops  and  abbots,  who 
had  already  made  away  with  some  of  their  cha- 
lices and  church  jewels  to  pay  the  king,  made 
now  plain  answer  that  they  were  not  able  to 
help  him  with  any  more;  unto  whom,  on  the 
other  side,  as  the  report  went,  the  king  said  again, 
'  Have  you  not,  I  beseech  you,  coffins  of  gold  and 
silver  full  of  dead  men's  bones?""  meaning  the 
slu-ines  wherein  the  relics  of  saints  were  inclosed. 
Soon  after  receiving  his  JlO,000,  Robert  de- 
pai'ted  for  Palestine,  flattering  himself  with  a 
splendid  futurity;  and  then  William,  indulging 
iu  the  less  fantastic  prospect  of  near  and  solid 
advantages,  sailed  to  the  Continent  to  take  im- 
mediate possession  of  Normandy.  He  had  long 
held  many  of  the  fortresses,  his  partizans  among 
the  nobility  were  numerous,  and  he  was  received 
by  the  Normans  without  opposition.  But  it  was 
far  otherwise  with  the  people  of  Maine,  who 
burst  into  a  universal  insurrection,  and  by  rally- 
ing round  Helie,  Lord  of  La  Fleche,  a  young 
and  gallant  adventurer,  who  had  some  claim  to 
the  country  himself,  gave  Rufus  much  trouble, 
and  obliged  him  to  carry  over  an  army  from 
England  more  than  once.  About  three  years 
after  Robert's  departure,  the  brave  Helie  was 
surprised  iu  a  wood  with  only  seven  knights  in 
company,  and  made  prisoner  by  one  of  the  Eng- 
lish king's  officers.  Rufus  marched  into  Maine, 
soon  after,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  of  cavalry; 
but  the  French  king  and  the  Count  of  Anjou  in- 
terfering, he  was  induced  to  negotiate,  and  Helie 
obtained  his  liberty  by  delivering  up  the  town 
of  Mans.  In  the  following  year  (1100),  as  the 
Red  King  was  hunting  iu  the  New  Forest,  a 
messenger  arrived  with  intelligence  that  Helie 
had  surprised  the  town  of  Mans,  and  was  besieg- 
ing the  Norman  garrison  in  the  castle,  being 
aided  therein  by  the  inhabitants.     WiUiam  in- 

>  HoUnshed;  Speed.    The  old  authorities  are  Eadnier,  Orderic, 
Matt.  Pari»,  and  Wm.  Malmesb.  "  Win.  Malmcsb. 

3  "  The  Red  Kiug  lies  in  Malwood-keep, 
To  drive  the  deer  o'er  lawn  and  steep, 

He's  bound  him  with  the  mom. 
His  steeds  are  swift,  his  hounds  are  good  ; 
The  like  in  covert  or  high-wood. 
Were  never  cheer'd  with  horn. 

—  Jr.  SteicaH  Rose. 


stantly  turned  his  horse's  head,  and  set  off  for 
the  nearest  sea-port.  The  nobles  who  were  huntr 
ing  with  him  reminded  him  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  call  out  troops,  and  wait  for  them.  "  Not 
so,"  rejilied  Rufus,  '■  I  shall  see  who  will  follow 
me;  and,  if  I  understand  the  temper  of  the  youth 
of  this  kingdom,  I  shall  have  ijeojjle  enough." 
Without  stopping  or  turning  he  reached  the  port. 
and  embarked  in  the  fir.st  vessel  he  found.  It 
was  blowing  a  gale  of  wind,  and  the  sailors  en- 
treated him  to  have  patience  till  tlie  storm  should 
abate.  "  Weigh  anchor,  hoist  sail,  and  begone," 
cried  Rufus;  "did  you  ever  hear  of  a  king  that 
was  drowned?"^  Obeying  his  orders,  the  sailors 
put  to  sea,  and  safely  landed  their  royal  passen- 
ger at  Barfleur.  The  news  of  his  landing  sufficed 
to  raise  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  Mans;  and 
Helie,  thinking  he  must  have  come  in  force,  dis- 
missed his  troops  and  took  to  flight.  The  Red 
King  then  barbarously  ravaged  the  lands  of  his 
enemies;  but  being  wounded  while  laying  siege 
to  an  insignificant  castle,  he  retm-ued  suddenly 
to  England. 

William's  lavish  expenditure  continued  on  the 
increase;  but  by  his  exactions  and  in-egular  way 
of  dealing  with  church  property,  he  still  found 
means  for  gratifying  his  extravagance,  and  en- 
joyed abroad  the  reputation  of  being  a  rich,  as 
well  as  a  powerful  king.  But  the  dread  credi- 
tor was  now  at  hand,  whom  even  kings  cannot 
escape.  Popular  superetition  had  long  darkened 
the  shades  and  solitudes  of  the  New  Forest,  and 
peopled  its  glades  with  horrid  spectres.  The 
fiend  himself,  it  was  said  and  believed,  had  ap- 
peared there  to  the  Normans,  announcing  the  pun- 
ishment he  had  in  reserve  for  the  Red  King  and 
his  wicked  counsellors.  The  accidents  that  hap- 
pened in  that  Chase,  which  had  been  so  barbar- 
ously obtained,  gave  strength  to  the  vulgar  belief. 
In  tiie  mouth  of  May,  Richard,  an  illegitimate  son 
of  Duke  Robert,  was  killed  while  hunting  in  the 
forest  by  an  arrow,  reported  to  have  been  shot 
at  random.  This  was  the  second  time  the  Con- 
queror's blood  had  been  poured  out  there,  and 
men  said  it  would  not  be  the  last  time.  On  the 
1st  of  August  following,  William  lay  at  Malwood- 
keep,  a  hunting-seat  in  the  forest,'  with  a  goodly 
train  of  knights.  A  reconciUation  had  taken 
place  between  the  two  brothers,  and  the  astuci- 
ous  Henry,  who  had  been  some  time  in  England, 
was  of  the  gay  pai-ty.     The  circumstances  of  the 


"  Malwood  Castle  or  Keep,  seated  upon  an  eminence,  em- 
bosomed in  wood,  at  a  smaU  distance  from  the  village  of  Mine- 
stead,  in  the  New  Forest,  was  the  residence  of  this  prince,  when 
he  met  with  the  accident  which  tei-minated  his  life.  No  remains 
of  it  exist,  but  the  circumference  of  a  building  is  to  be  traced; 
and  it  yet  gives  its  name  to  the  walk  in  which  it  was  situated." 
—Notes  to  the  Red  King.  This  spirited  and  beautiful  poem,  illus- 
trative of  the  age  and  its  events,  is  published  in  the  same  volume 
with  ParlcnojKX  de  Btois. 


A.D.  1087—1100.] 


WILLIAM  RUFUS. 


217 


story,  as  tokl  by  the  monkish  chroniclers,  are 
sufficiently  reniai'kable.  At  the  dead  of  uiglit 
the  king  was  licard  invoking  the  blessed  Virgin, 
a  thing  strange  in  him;  and  then  he  called  aloud 
for  lights  in  his  chamber.  His  attendants  ran 
at  his  call,  and  found  him  disturbed  by  a  fright- 
ful vision,  to  prevent  the  return  of  which  he 
ordered  them  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  night  by 
his  bedside,  and  divert  him  with  pleasant  talk. 
As  he  was  dressing  in  the  raoruing  an  artisan 
brought  him  six  new  arrows:  he  examined  them, 
praised  the  woi-kmanship,  and  keeping  four  for 
himself,  gave  the  other  two  to  Sir  "Walter  Tyrrel, 
otherwise  called,  from  his  estates  in  France,  Sir 
Walter  de  Poix,  saying,  as  he  presented  them — 
"  Gtood  weapons  are  due  to  the  sportsman  that 
knows  how  to  make  a  good  use  of  them.'"  The 
tables  were  spread  with  an  abundant  collation, 
and  the  Ked  King  ate  more  meat  and  drank  even 
more  wine  than  he  was  wont  to  do.  His  sph'its 
rose  to  their  highest  pitch ;  his  companions  still 
passed  the  wine  cup,  whilst  the  grooms  and 
huntsmen  prepared  their  horses  and  hounds  for 
the  chase;  and  all  was  boisterously  gay  in  Mal- 
wood-keep,  when  a  messenger  arrived  from  Ser- 
lon,  the  Norman  abbot  of  St.  Peter's,  at 
Gloucester,  to  inform  the  king  that  one  of  his 
monks  had  dreamed  a  dream  foreboding  a  sud- 
den and  awful  death  to  him.  "  The  man  is  a 
right  monk,"  cried  Rufus,  "  and  to  have  a  piece 
of  money  he  dreameth  such  things.  Give  him, 
therefore,  an  hvmtU-ed  pence,  and  bid  him  dream 
of  better  fortune  to  our  person."  Then  turuiug 
to  Tyrrel,  he  said — "  Do  they  tliiuk  I  am  one  of 
those  fools  that  give  up  their  plea- 
sure or  theu'  business  because  an 
old  woman  happens  to  dieam  or 
sneeze  ?  To  horse,  Walter  de 
Poix!" 

The  king,  with  his  brother 
Henry,  William  de  Breteuil,  and 
many  other  lords  and  knights, 
rode  into  the  forest,  where  the 
company  dispersed  here  and  there,  after  the  man- 
ner used  in  hunting;  but  Sir  Walter,  his  especial 
favourite  in  these  sjiorts,  remained  constantly  near 
the  king,  and  their  dogs  hunted  together.  As  the 
sim  was  sinking  low  in  the  west,  a  hart  came 
boimdmg  by,  between  Rufus  and  his  conu-ade, 
who  stood  concealed  in  the  thickets.  The  king 
drew  his  bow,  but  the  string  broke,  and  the  arrow 
took  no  eflect.  Startled  by  the  sound,  the  hart 
paused  in  his  speed  and  looked  on  all  sides,  as  if 
doubtful  which  way  to  turn.  The  king,  keeping 
his  attention  on  the  quarry,  raised  Ms  bridle-hand 
above  his  eyes,  that  he  might  see  clear  by  shading 
them  from  the  glare  of  the  sun,  which  now  shone 


almost  horizontally  through  the  glades  of  the 
forest;  and  at  the  same  time,  being  unprovided 
with  a  second  bow,  he  shouted,  "  Shoot,  AValter  I 
— shoot,  in  the  devil's  name  !"'  Tyrrel  drew  his 
bow — the  arrow  departed — was  glanced  aside  in 
its  flight  by  an  intervening  tree,  and  struck 
William  in  the  left  breast,  which  was  left  ex- 
posed by  his  raised  arm.  The  fork-head  pierced 
his  heart,  and,  with  one  groan,  and  no  woi-d  or 
prayer  uttered,  the  Itcd  King  fell,  and  expired. 
Sir  Walter  Tyi-rel  ran  to  his  master's  side,  but, 
finding  him  dead,  he  remounted  his  horse,  and, 
without  informing  any  one  of  the  cat;istrophe, 
galloped  to  the  sea-coast,  embarked  for  Nor- 
mand)',  whence  he  fled  for  sanctuary  into  the 
dominions  of  the  French  king,  and  soon  after  de- 
parted for  the  Holy  Land.  According  to  an  old 
chronicler,  the  spot  where  Rufus  fell  had  been 
the  site  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  church,  which  his 
father,  the  Conqueror,  had  pulled  down  and  de- 
stroyed for  the  eidarging  of  his  chase."  Late  in 
the  evening,  the  royal  corpse  was  found  alone, 
where  it  fell,  by  a  poor  charcoal-burner,*  who  put 
it,  still  bleeding,  into  his  cart,  and  drove  towards 
Winchester.  At  the  earliest  rejjort  of  his  death, 
his  brother  Henry  flew  to  seize  the  royal  trea- 
sury; and  the  knights  and  favourites  who  had 
been  hunting  in  the  forest  dispersed,  in  several 
directions,  to  look  after  their  interest,  not  one  of 
them  caring  to  render  the  last  sad  honours  to 
then-  master.  The  next  day  the  body,  still  in  the 
charcoal-burner's  cart,  and  defiled  with  blood  and 
dirt,  was  carried  to  St.  Swithin's,  the  cathedral 
church  of  Winchester.     There,  hov.-ever,  it  wa-s 


Tomb  of  Wjlliam  IUifus,  Wiiiclitster  CathoaniL— Gouyh  a  Suyuklii-.a  .Muiiumuiu, 

treated  with  proper  respect,  and  buried  in  tlio 
centre  of  the  cathedral  choii',  many  persons  look- 
ing on,  but  few  grieving.  A  proof  of  the  bad 
ojjiniou  which  the  jjeople  entertained  of  the  de- 
ceased monarch  is,  that  they  intcri)reted  the  fall 
of  a  certain  tower  in  the  cathedral,  which  hap- 
pened the  following  year,  and  covered  his  tomb 
with  its  ruins,  into  a  sign  of  the  displeasure  of 
Heaven  that  he  had  received  Chi-istiau  burial.'' 


'  Orderic.  VUal. 


Vol.  I. 


-  "Trahe,  tralie  arcum  e.ic  parte  diaboli." — Ilm,  Knyghton, 

3  Walter  Hemyngfurde,  (ixioted  iu  Grafton's  ChronicU. 

*  '*  Tills  mau'3  name  w.ia  Purkoss.  He  is  the  aucestor  of  a 
very  uiuuerous  tribe.  Of  his  lijieal  desceudantfl  it  is  rei>orted 
tliat,  living  on  the  same  spot,  tliey  have  constantly  been  pro- 
prietors of  a  horee  and  cart,  but  never  attained  to  the  jioasesbiou 
of  a  team."— W.  S.  Huso,  notes  to  the  Red  King. 

^  Dr.  Milner,  IlUt.  U'inchat. 

28 


218 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaut. 


The  second  king  of  the  Norman  line  reigned 
thirteen  years,  all  but  a  few  weeks,  and  was  full 
of  healtli  and  vigour,  and  only  forty  years  of  age, 
when  he  died.  That  he  was  shot  by  an  arrow  in 
the  New  Forest — that  his  body  was  abandoned 
and  then  hastily  interi'ed — are  facts  perfectly  well 
authenticated;  but  some  doubts  may  be  enter- 
tained as  to  the  precise  circumstances  attending 
his  death,  notwithstanding  their  being  minutely 
related  by  writers  who  were  living  at  the  time, 
or  who  flourished  in  the  course  of  the  following 
ceutuiy.  Sii'  Walter  Tyrrel  afterwards  swore,  in 
France,  that  he  did  not  shoot  the  arrow;  but  he 
was  probably  anxious  to  relieve  himself  from  the 
odium  of  killing  a  king,  even  by  accident.  It  is 
quite  possible,  indeed,  that  the  event  did  not  arise 
from  chance,  and  that  Tyrrel  had  no  part  in  it. 
The  remorseless  ambition  of  Henry  might  have 
had  recourse  to  murder,  or  the  avenging  shaft 
might  have  been  sped  by  the  desperate  hand  of 
some  Englishman,  tempted  by  a  favoui-able  oppor- 
tunity and  the  traditions  of  the  place.  But  the 
most  charitable  construction  is,  that  the  party 
were  intoxicated  with  the  wine  they  had  di'unk 

'  William  of  Malmesbxiry,  who  was  bora  in  the  reign  of  Wil- 
liam Rufus,  gives  this  graphic  description  of  him : — "  Greatness 
of  soul  was  pre-eminent  in  the  king,  which,  in  process  of  time, 
he  obscured  by  excessive  seveiity — vices,  indeed,  in  place  of  vir- 
tues, so  insensibly  crept  into  his  bosom  that  he  could  not  dis- 
tinguish them.  ...  At  last,  however,  in  his  latter  years, 
the  desii'e  after  good  grew  cold,  and  the  crop  of  evil  increased  to 
ripeness ;  his  liberality  became  prodigality — his  magnanimity, 
pride — liis  austerity,  cruelty.  .  .  .  He  was,  when  abroad,  and 
in  public  assemblies,  of  superciliouB  look,  darting  his  threaten- 
ing eye  on  the  bystander ;  and  with  assumed  severity  and  fero- 
cious voice,  assailing  such  as  conversed  with  him.  From  appre- 
hension of  poverty  and  of  the  treachery  of  others,  as  may  be 
conjectured,  he  was  too  much  given  to  lucre  and  to  cruelty. 
At  home  and  at  table,  with  his  intimate  companions,  he  gave 
loose  to  levity  and  to  mirth.  He  was  a  most  facetious  railer  at 
anything  he  had  himself  done  amiss,  in  order  that  he  might 

thxis  do  away  obloquy,  and  make  it  matter  of  jest 

Military  men  came  to  him  out  of  every  province  on  this  side  of 
the  mountains,  whom  he  rewarded  most  profusely.  In  conse- 
quence, when  he  had  no  longer  aught  to  bestow,  poor  and  ex- 
hausted, he  turned  his  thoughts  to  rapiues.  The  rapacity  of 
Lis  disposition  was  seconded  by  Ralph,  the  inciter  of  hia  covet- 
ousneas,  a  clergyman  of  the  lowest  origin,  but  raised  to  eminence 
by  his  vrit  and  subtUty.  If,  at  auy  time,  a  royal  edict  issued 
that  England  should  pay  a  certain  tribute,  it  was  doubled  by 
this  plunderer  of  the  rich — this  exterminator  of  the  poor — this 
coufiacator  of  other  mens  inheritauc'j.     Jle  was  an  invincible 


at  Malwood-keep,  and  that,  in  the  confusion  con- 
sequent on  drunkenness,  the  king  was  hit  by  a 
random  an*ow. 

The  lied  King  was  never  mirried;  and  his 
example  is  said  to  have  induced  all  liis  young 
courtiers  to  prefer  the  licentious  liberty  of  a 
single  life.  In  describing  his  libertinism,  the 
least  heinous  charge  of  the  monkish  historians  is, 
that  he  respected  not  the  vii-tue  of  other  men's 
wives,  and  was  "  a  most  especial  follower  of  le- 
mans."  For  the  honour  of  human  nature  we 
hope  the  picture  is  overcharged;  but  there  are 
proofs  enough  to  convince  us  that  but  little  order 
or  decorum  reigned  in  the  court  of  Kufus.  In- 
deed, all  writers  agi-ee  in  their  accounts  of  the 
dissolute  manners  of  his  household  and  adherents. 
Uis  rapacity  is  equally  unquestionable;  but  this 
charge  may  be  partially  explained,  if  it  cannot 
be  excused,  by  his  taste  and  magnificence.  He 
did  not  spend  all  his  money  in  his  wai-s,  his 
foreign  schemes,  his  pleasm'es  and  debaucheries; 
but  devoted  large  sums  to  the  building  of  royal 
palaces,  and  to  several  works  of  great  pulilic 
utility.' 


pleader,  as  unrestrained  in  his  words  as  in  his  actions;  and 
efiuaUy  furious  against  the  meek  or  the  turbulent.  ...  At 
this  person's  suggestion,  the  sacred  honours  of  the  church,  as  the 
pastoi-s  died  out,  were  exposed  to  sale.  .  .  .  These  tilings 
appeared  the  more  disgraceful,  because  in  his  father's  time,  after 
the  decease  of  a  bishop  or  abbot,  all  rents  were  reserved  entire, 
to  be  given  up  to  the  succeeding  pastor ;  aad  persons,  truly  meri- 
torious on  account  of  their  religion,  were  elected.     But  in  the 

lapse  of  a  very  few  years,  everything  was  changed 

Men  of  the  meanest  comlition,  or  guilty  of  whatever  crime,  were 
listened  to,  if  they  could  suggest  anything  likely  to  be  advan- 
tageous to  the  king ;  the  halter  was  loosened  from  the  robber's 
neck,  if  he  could  promise  any  emolument  to  the  sovereign.  All 
military  discipline  bemg  relaxed,  the  courtiers  preyed  upon  the 
property  of  the  country  people,  and  consumed  their  substance, 
taking  the  veiy  meat  from  the  mouths  of  these  wretched  crea- 
tures. Then  was  there  flo^ving  hair  and  extravagant  di-ess ;  and 
then  was  invented  the  fashion  of  shoes  with  curved  points ;  then 
the  model  for  young  men  was  to  rival  women  in  delicacy  of  per- 
son— to  mince  their  gait,  to  walk  with  loose  gesture,  and  half 
naked.  Enervated  and  effeminate,  they  unwillingly  remained 
wliat  nature  had  made  them — tlie  assailers  of  others'  chastity, 
prodigal  of  their  own.  Troops  of  pathics  and  droves  of  hailots 
followed  the  court ;  so  that  it  was  said,  with  justice,  by  a  wise 
man,  '  That  England  would  be  fortimarte  if  Henry  could  reign ;' 
led  to  such  an  opinion,  because  he  abhorred  obscenity  from  his 
youth."  Such  was  the  improved  morality  introduced  by  the 
Normans  1 


A.D.  1100—1135.] 


HENRY  r.  (BEAUCLERK). 


219 


CHAPTER  III.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

IIENRT  I.,  SURNAMED  CEAUCLEIiK.— A.U.  1100— IIS.'S. 

HcJirj.  snrnaraed  Beauclerk,  seizes  tlie  crown — Ilia  endeavours  to  conciliate  his  English  Buhjects — He  marries  the 
I'rincess  Maud,  the  descendant  of  Alfred — The  marriage  opposed,  from  the  report  that  Maud  had  taken 
the  veil — Flambard's  imprisonment  and  escape — Eeturn  of  Robert  of  Normandy  from  tlio  Crusade— FTo  de- 
maud.-)  the  crown  of  England — His  claim  defeated  and  relinquished — Rebellion  of  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury 
suppressed — Henry  Eeauclerk  invades  the  territory  of  bis  brother  Robert — He  defeats  Robert,  and  takes  liini 
prisoner — Miserable  end  of  Robert — Henry  Beauclerk  takes  possession  of  Xonnandy — Marriage  of  bis  daughter 
Jfatilda  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany — Henry's  successful  wars  and  negotiations  on  the  Continent — His  only 
son,  "William,  drowned  while  returning  to  England — His  new  plans  to  settle  the  succession  of  the  crown — 
Procures  Matilda,  his  daughter,  to  be  acknowledged  his  successor — Ilis  proceedings  to  insure  her  succession — 
Death  of  Henry  Beauclerk — His  character. 


?^'ENRY  was  not  unopposed  in  tlie 
first  step  he  took  to  secure  tlie 
crown.  While  he  was  imperiously 
demanding  the  keys  of  the  royal 
treasury,  and  the  officers,  in  whose 
charge  they  were  placed,  were  hesi- 
tating whether  they  should  deliver  them  or  not, 
William  de  BreteuU,  tlie  royal  treasurer,  who  had 
also  been  of  the  fatal  hunting  party,  arrived  with 
breathlesi?  speed  from  the  forest,  and  opposed  his 
demand.  '•'  You  and  I,"  said  he  to  Henry,  "ought 
to  remember  the  faith  we  have  pledged  to  youi- 
brother,  Duke  Robert;  he  has  received  om*  oath 
of  homage,  and,  absent  or  present,  he  has  a  right 
to  this  money."  Henry  attempted  to  shake  the 
fidelity  of  the  treasurer  with  arguments,  but 
William  de  Breteuil  resolutely  maintained  that 
Robert  was  the  lawful  sovereign  of  England,  to 
whom,  and  to  no  one  else,  the  money  in  Winches- 
ter Castle  belonged.'  The  altercation  gi-ew  vio- 
lent, and  Heniy,  who  felt  he  had  no  time  to  lose, 
drew  his  sword,  and  threatened  immediate  death 
to  any  that  should  oppose  liim.  He  was  sup- 
ported by  some  powerfid  barons  who  happened 
to  be  on  the  spot,  or  who  had  followed  him  from 
the  forest.  De  Breteuil  was  left  almost  single  in 
his  honourable  opposition,  the  domestics  of  the 
late  king  taking  part  against  him;  and  Henry 
seized  the  money  and  crown-jewels  before  his 
eyes.  Pai-t  of  the  money  seems  to  have  been 
distributed  among  the  barons  and  churchmen  at 
Winchester.  He  immediately  gave  the  bishopric 
of  Winchester  to  Hem-y  Gifford,  a  most  influen- 
tial adherent,  and  then  proceeded,  with  all  speed, 
to  London,  where  he  made  a  skilful  use  of  his 
treasiu'es,  and  was  proclaimed  by  an  assembly  of 
noblemen  and  prelates,  no  one  challenging  his 
title,  but  all  acknowledging  his  consummate 
abilities  and  fitness  for  government.     On  Sun- 

'  Malmub. 


day,  the  5th  of  Au<:;U3t,  only  three  days  after  the 
death  of  Eufus,  standing  before  the  altar  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  he  promised  God  and  all 
the  people  to  annul  all  the  unrighteous  acts  that 
took  place  in  his  brother's  time;  and  after  this 
declaration,  ^Maurice,  the  Bishop  of  London,  con- 
secrated him  king.-  Anselm,  the  Aj-chbishop  of 
Canterbury,  who,  according  to  ancient  i-ule,  should 
have  performed  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation, 
had  been  driven  out  of  the  kingdom  some  three 
yeai-s  before;  and  the  archbishopric  of  York  had 
been  left  vacant  for  some  time.  A  popular  re- 
commendation was,  that  Henry  was  an  English- 
man, born  in  the  country,'  and  after  the  Conquest; 
and  some  of  his  partizans  set  up  this  circumstance 
as  being,  in  itself,  a  sufficient  title  to  the  crown. 
But  he  himself,  in  a  charter  of  liberties  issued 
on  the  following  day,  and  diligently  promulgated 
throughout  the  land,  represented  himself  as 
being  crowned  "  by  the  mercy  of  God,  and  by 
the  common  consent  of  the  barons  of  the  king- 
dom." 

The  claims  of  Duke  Eobert  were  not  forgotten ; 
but  Hem-y,  who  "had  aforehand  trained  the 
people  to  his  humom-  and  vein,  in  bringing  them 
to  think  well  of  him,"  had  also  caused  to  be  re- 
jiorted,  as  a  certain  fact,  that  Eobert  was  already 
created  King  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Crusaders,  and 
would  never  leave  the  Holy  Land  for  an  oixlinary 
kingdom.  Although  the  law  of  succession  re- 
mained almost  as  loose  as  under  the  Saxon 
djTiasty,  and  the  crown  of  England  was  still,  in 
form  at  least,  an  elective  one,  Hem-y,  who,  more- 
over, was  bound  by  oaths  to  his  elder  brother 
Eobex-t,  seems  himself  to  have  been  conscious  of 
a  want  of  validity  or  security  in  his  title,  and  to 
have  endeavoured  to  strengthen  his  throne  by 
reforms  of  abuses,  and  by  large  concessions  to  the 

2  Sax.  Chron. 

^  Henry  waa  bom  .at  Selby,  in  Yoikehire,  a.d.  1070,  in  tlw 
fourth  year  of  his  fatlier's  reign  as  King  of  England. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


(Civil  and  Military. 


nation.  Tlie  charter  of  liberties  passeil  by  Henry 
on  his  accession,  forms  an  important  feature  in 
our  progressive  law  and  government.  He  restored 
all  the  rights  of  the  cluirch,  promised  to  require 
only  moderate  and  just  reliefs  from  his  vassals, 
to  exercise  his  powers  in  wardships  and  marriages 
with  equity  and  mildness,  to  redi'ess  all  the  gi-iev- 
ances  of  the  former  reign,  and  to  I'estore  the  laws 
of  King  Edward  the  Confessor,  subject  only  to 
the  amendments  made  in  them  by  his  father. 

Still  faa-ther,  to  conciliate  his  Anglo-Saxon  sub- 
jects, Henry,  who,  on  all  necessary  occasions, 
boasted  of  his  English  birth,  determined  to  es- 
pouse an  English  wife.  This  marriage  is  a  most 
important  historical  event,  being  a  step  made  to- 
wards that  intermixture  and  fusion  of  the  two 
races  which  destroyed,  at  a  much  earlier  period 
than  is  generally  imagined,  the  odious  distinction 
between  Saxons  and  Normans.  It  is  also  exceed- 
ingly interesting  in  some  of  its  details,  and  par- 
ticularly those  which  have  been  transmitted  by 
the  pen  of  Eadmer,'  who  was  living  at  the  time, 
and  who,  as  an  Englishman  himself,  entertained 
a  lively  sympathy  for  the  fortunes  of  the  young 
princess.  The  lady  of  Heniy's  choice  was,  to  use 
the  words  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle, "  Maud,  daugh- 
ter of  Malcolm,  King  of  Scots,  and  of  Margai-et, 
the  good  queen,  the  relation  of  King  Edward, 
and  of  the  right  kingly  kin  of  England."  This 
descendant  of  the  gi-eat  Alfred  had  been  sent 
from  Scotland  at  a  very  early  age,  and  committed 
to  the  care  of  her  aunt  Christina,  Edgar  Atheling's 
second  sistei',  who  was  abbess  of  Wilton,  or,  as 
others  say,  of  Eumsey,  in  Hampshire.  As  she 
gi-ew  up,  several  of  the  Norman  captains  aspired 
to  the  honom-  of  her  hand.  She  was  asked  in 
marriage  by  Alan,  the  Lord  of  Eichmond;  but 
Alan  died  before  he  could  receive  any  answer 
from  the  king.  William  de  Garenne,  Eaid  of 
Sm-rey,  was  the  next  suitor,  but  the  mai-riage  was 
not  allowed  by  Eufus.  A  cotemporary  wi-iter" 
says,  he  knows  not  why  the  marriage  with  the 
Earl  of  Surrey  did  not  take  jiiace;  but  the  policy 
of  forbidding  a  imion  between  a  powerful  vassal, 
and  a  princess  of  the  ancient  royal  line,  is  evident; 
and  the  Eed  King,  like  his  father,  held  it  as  pai-t 
of  his  prerogative  to  give  or  refuse  the  hands  of 
his  fair  subjects.  AVhen  proposals  were  made  on 
the  part  of  King  Henry,  the  fair  Saxon,  not 
being  dazzled  with  the  prospect  of  sharing  with 
a  Norman  the  throne  on  which  her  ancestors  had 
sat  for  centui'ies,  showed  a  decided  aversion  to 
the  match.  But  she  was  assailed  by  arguments 
difficult   to   resist.     "  0 1    most  noble   and  fair 

'  Thia  liistorian  was  the  scholar  and  inmate  of  Archbishop 
Anselm,  who  celebrated  the  marriage,  and  afterwax-ds  crowned 
the  yoimg  queen. 

-  Ordericus.  This  chronicler  says  she  bad  formerly  gone  by 
the  more  Saxon  name  of  Edith. 


among  women," said  her  Saxon  advisers,  "if  thou 
wilt,  thou  canst  restore  the  ancient  honour  of 
England,  an<l  be  a  pledge  of  reconciliation  and 
friendship;  but  if  thou  art  obstinate  in  thy  re- 
fusal, the  enmity  between  the  two  races  will  be 
everlasting,  and  the  shedding  of  human  blood 
know  no  end." '  When  her  slow  consent  was  ob- 
tained, another  impediment  was  raised  by  a 
strong  Norman  party,  who  neither  liked  to  see 
an  Englishwoman  raised  to  be  their  queen,  nor 
the  power  of  their  king  confirmed  by  means  which 
would  endear  him  to  the  native  race,  and  render 
him  moi-e  and  more  independent  of  the  Normans. 
They  asserted  that  Maud,  who  had  been  brought 
up  from  her  infancy  in  a  convent,  was  a  nun,  and 
that  she  had  been  seen  wearing  a  veil,  which 
made  her  for  ever  the  spouse  of  Christ.  Such 
an  obstacle  would  have  been  insurmountable;  and 
as  there  were  some  seeming  grounds  for  the  re- 
port, the  celebration  of  the  marriage  was  post- 
poned, to  the  great  joy  of  those  who  were  opposed 
to  it.* 

Anselm,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
had  returned  from  Italy  at  the  pressing  invita- 
tion of  the  new  king,  was  a  zealous  promoter  of 
the  marriage — for  his  soul  was  kind  and  benevo- 
lent, and  he  was  interested  in  favour  of  the 
English  people;  but,  when  he  heard  the  reports, 
he  declared  that  nothing  could  induce  him  to 
unite  a  nun  to  a  carnal  husband.  The  arch- 
bishop, however,  determined  to  question  the 
maiden  herself;  and  Matilda,  or  Maud,  in  reply, 
denied  she  had  ever  taken  the  vows,  or  even  worn 
the  veil  of  her  free  will;  and  she  offered  to  give 
full  proof  of  this  before  all  the  prelates  of  Eng- 
land. "  I  must  confess,"  she  said,  "  that  I  have 
sometimes  appeared  veiled;  but  listen  to  the 
cause:  in  my  first  youth,  when  I  was  living 
under  her  care,  my  aunt,  to  save  me,  as  she  said, 
from  the  lust  of  the  Normans,  who  attacked  all 
females,  was  accustomed  to  throw  a  piece  of 
black  stuff  over  my  head ;  and  when  I  refused  to 
cover  myself  with  it,  she  treated  me  vei-y  roughly. 
In  her  presence  I  woi'e  that  covering,  but  as  soon 
as  she  was  out  of  sight,  I  threw  it  on  the  gi-ound, 
and  trampled  it  under  my  feet  in  childish  anger." 
To  solve  this  gi-eat  difficulty,  Anselm  called  a 
coimeil  of  bishops,  abbots,  and  monks.  Wit- 
nesses summoned  before  this  council  confirmed 
the  truth  of  Matilda's  words.  Two  archdeacons, 
who  had  been  sent  to  the  convent  where  the 
young  lady  was  brought  up,  deposed  that  public 
report,  and  the  testimony  of  the  nuns,  agi-eed 
with  her  declaration.  The  decision,  given  imani- 
mously,  was,  "  We,  the  bishops,  &c.,  are  of 
opinion  that  the  young  lady  is  free,  and  can  dis- 
pose of  herself;  and  we  have  a  precedent  in  a 

3  Natl.  Paris.  >  Hadiiur. 


A.D,  1100—1130.] 


HENRY  I.  (BEAUCLERK). 


221 


jiulgment,  remleveil,  iu  a  similar  cause,  by  the 
venerable  Lanfranc,  when  the  Saxon  women,  who 
had  taken  refuge  iu  the  convent  out  of  fear  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  gi'eat  William,  reclaimed  and 
obtained  their  liberty."  On  Sunday,  the  11th  of 
November,  the  man-iage  was  celebrated,  and  the 
queen  was  crowned  with  great  pomp  and  solem- 
nity. But  so  wisely  cautious  was  the  prelate, 
and  so  anxious  to  dissipate  all  suspicions  and 
false  reports,  that,  before  pronouncing  the  nuptial 
benediction,  he  moiinted  on  a  bench  in  front  of 
the  church  door,  and  showed  to  the  assembled 
people  the  debate  and  decision  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal council.  The  Normans,  who  had  opposed  the 
union,  now  vented  their  spite  in  bitter  railleries. 
Henry  dissembled  his  rage  till  a  convenient  mo- 
ment, and,  in  public,  laughed  heartily  at  the  in- 
solent jests.  Matilda,  who  had  given  her  consent 
to  the  maiTiage  with  reluctance,  and  who  found 
a  most  unfaithful  husband,  proved  a  "  right  lov- 
ing and  obedient  wife."  She  was  beautiful  in 
person,  and  distinguished  by  a  love  of  learning 
and  gi-eat  charity  to  the  poor.  Her  elevation  to 
the  throne  filled  the  heai-ts  of  the  English  with 
a  momentary  joy. 

Another  proceeding  which  greatly  increased 
the  new  king's  popularity  with  the  Engli-sh,  and 
with  all  who  entertained  resj^ect  for  vii-tiie  and 
decency,  was  his  expulsion  of  his  brother's 
minions.  If  half  of  the  detestable  vices  attri- 
buted by  the  churchmen,  their  cotemporaries, 
to  these  favourites,  were  really  prevalent  among 
them,  they  miist  have  been  a  cm-se  and  an  abomi- 
nation to  the  land. 

It  was  scarcely  possible  that  Ralph  FlamVuu-d, 
the  obnoxious  minister  of  the  late  king,  should 
escape  in  this  general  purgation.  The  Bishop  of 
Durham — for  such  was  the  ecclesiastical  promo- 
tion Ralph  had  attained  under  Rufus  —  was 
thrown  into  the  Tower,  where  he  lived  most 
luxm-iously,  and  captivated  the  affections  of  his 
keepers  by  his  conviviality,  generosity,  and  wit. 
In  the  Februai-y  following  Henry's  coronation,  a 
good  rope  was  conveyed  to  the  bishop,  hid  in  the 
bottom  of  a  huge  wine  flagon.  His  guards  drank 
of  the  wine  until  their  senses  forsook  them;  and 
then  Ralph,  under  favour  of  the  night,  and  by 
means  of  the  rope,  descended  from  his  prison 
window,  and  escaped.  Some  friends  in  attend- 
ance put  him  on  board  ship,  .and  the  active  bishop 
made  sail  for  Noiinandy,  to  see  what  fortune 
would  offer  him  as  the  servant  of  Robert  Courte- 
hose. 

When  Heniy  caused  the  report  to  be  circulated, 
that  Robert  had  obtained  the  crown  of  Jerusalem, 
and  thought  not  of  returning  to  England,  he 
knew  right  well  that  another  than  he  had  been 
elected  sovereign  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  that  his 
brother  was  actually  in  Europe,  and  on  his  way 


back  to  Normandy,  in  which  country  lie  arrived 
within  a  month  or  six  weeks  after  the  death  of 
Rufus.  The  improvident  duke  had  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  conquest  of  Palestine, 
and  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  performing  prodi- 
gies of  valour,  which  were  only  surpassed,  in 
hiter  times,  by  Rich.ard  CVeur  de  Lion.  Though 
valued  for  the  good  qiialities  he  possessed,  the 
Crusadei-s  never  thought  seriously  of  electing  so 
imprudent  a  prince  to  the  difficult  post  of  secur- 
ing and  governing  the  conquests  they  had  made; 
nor  does  Robert  appear  ever  to  have  fixed  his  eye 
on  the  tlxrone  of  Jerusalem,  which,  by  universal 
consent,  fell  to  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  a  man  "  born 
for  command,"  and  as  wise  and  prudent  as  a 
statesman  as  he  was  gallant  and  fearless  as  a 
knight.'  Soon  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem, 
which  happened  on  the  15th  of  July,  1099,  some- 
what more  than  a  year  before  the  death  of  the 
English  king  in  the  New  Forest,  Duke  Robert 
left  the  Holy  Land  covered  with  holy  laurels, 
and  crossed  the  Mediten-anean  to  Brundusium, 
the  nearest  port  of  Italy,  intending  to  travel 
homeward,  by  land,  through  that  beautiful  and 
luxurious  coimtry.  The  Norman  lance,  as  we 
have  already  mentioned,  had  won  the  fairest  por- 
tion of  Southern  Italy  some  years  before  the  con- 
quest of  England;  and  as  Duke  Robert  advanced 
into  the  land,  he  was  eveiywhere  met  by  Noi-man 
barons,  and  nobles  of  Norman  descent.  At  every 
feudal  castle  the  duke  was  hailed  and  welcomed 
as  a  countryman,  a  friend,  a  hero,  a  Crusader 
returning  with  victory,  whom  it  was  honour- 
•able  to  honour;  and  so  much  was  their  hospi- 
tality to  the  taste  of  the  thoughtless  prince  that 
he  lingered  long  and  well  pleased  on  his  way. 
Of  all  these  noble  hosts  was  none  more  noble 
or  more  powerful  than  William,  Count  of  Con- 
versano;  he  was  the  son  of  Geoffrey,  who  was 
nephew  of  Robert  Guiscard,  the  founder  of  the 
Norman  dynasty  in  Naples;  his  vast  possessions 
lay  along  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  from  Otranto 
to  Bari,  and  extended  far  inland  in  the  direction 
of  Lucania  and  the  other  sea.  He  was,  Lu  short, 
the  most  powerful  lord  in  Lower  Apulia.  Ilis 
castle,  which  stood  on  an  eminence  surrounded 
hj  olive  gi-oves,  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
Aih'iatic,  had  many  attractions  for  the  pleasui-e- 
loving  and  susceptible  son  of  the  Conqueror. 
There  were  minstrels  and  jongleurs;  there  were 
fine  horses  and  hounds,  and  hawks,  in  almost 

'  "  Veramente  6  costxii  nato  all'  impero, 
&i  del  re^ar,  del  comm.audar  sa  I'ai-ti ; 
E  non  mmor  che  duce  e  cavaliero ; 
BI.a  del  doppio  valor  tutte  lia  le  parti." 

— Tasso,  QtTusalanmt, 

"  Well  iieems  he  born  to  be  with  honour  crown'd, 
So  well  the  lore  ho  knows  of  regiment ; 
Peerless  in  fight,  in  counsel  grave  and  sound — 
The  double  gift  of  glory  excellent." — Fairfax, 


99^ 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  lIiLiTARr. 


royal  abundance;  ami  the  vast  plains  of  Apulia, 
with  the  forests  and  mountains  that  encompass 
them,  offered  a  variety  of  the  linest  sport.  But 
there  was  an  attraction,  even  greater  than  all 
these,  in  the  person  of  a  beautiful  maiden,  the 
young  Sibylla,  the  daughter  of  his  host,  the 
Count  of  Conversano.  Robert  became  ena- 
moured, and  such  a  suitor  was  not  likely  to  be 
rejected.  Robert  received  the  hand  of  Sibylla, 
who  is  painted  as  being  as  good  as  she  was  fan-, 
together  with  a  large  simi  of  money  as  her  dowiy. 
Happy  in  the  present,  careless  of  the  future,  and 
little  thinking  that  a  man  so  young  as  his  brother, 
the  Red  King,  would  die,  he  lingered  several 
months  in  Apulia,  and  finally  travelled  thence 
without  any  eagerness  or  speed;  and  at  the  criti- 
cal moment  when  the  English  throne  fell  vacant, 
his  friends  hardly  knew  when  they  might  expect 
him.  On  his  arrival,  however,  in  Normandy,  he 
appears  to  have  been  received  with  great  joy  by 
the  people,  and  to  liave  obtained  peaceful  posses- 
sion of  the  whole  of  the  country  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  forti-esses  surrendered  to  Rufus,  and 
which  were  now  held  for  Henry.  He  made  no 
secret  of  hia  intention  of  prosecuting  his  claim  on 
England;  but  here  again  he  lost  time  and  threw 
away  his  last  remaining  chance.  He  was  proud 
of  showing  his  beautiful  bride  to  the  Normans, 
and,  with  his  usual  imprudence,  he  spent  her  for- 
tune in  feasting  and  pageantry.  Ralph  Flam- 
bai-d  was  the  first  to  wake  him  from  this  splen- 
did but  evanescent  dream,  and  at  the  earnest 
suggestion  of  the  fugitive  bishop-minister  he  pre- 
pared for  immediate  war,  knowing  it  was  vain  to 
plead  to  Henry  his  priority  of  birth,  his  treaty 
with  Rufus,  or  the  oaths  which  Henry  himself 
had  taken  to  him. 

When  Ids  ban  of  war  was  proclaimed,  Robert's 
Noi-man  vassals  showed  the  utmost  readiness  to 
fight  under  a  prince  who  had  won  laurels  in  the 
Holy  Land;  and  the  Norman  barons  expressed 
the  same  discontent  at  the  separation  of  the  duchy 
and  kingdom  which  had  appeared  on  the  acces- 
sion of  WilUam  Rufus.  If  the  nobles  had  been 
mianimous  in  then-  preference  to  Robert  as  sove- 
reign of  the  country,  on  either  side  the  Channel 
where  they  had  domains,  the  dispute  about  the 
English  throne  must  have  been  settled  in  his  fa- 
vom-;  but  they  were  divided,  and  many  preferred 
Henry  (as  they  had  foi-merly  done  Rufus)  to  Ro- 
bert. The  fi-iends  of  the  latter,  however,  were 
neither  few  nor  powerless:  several  of  high  rank 
crossed  the  Channel  from  England,  to  urge  him 
to  recover  the  title  which  belonged  to  him  in 
vu'tue  of  the  agreement  formerly  concluded  be- 
tween him  and  the  Red  King;  and  Robert  de 
Belesme,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  and  Armidel,  Wil- 
liam de  la  Warrenne,  Earl  of  Surrey,  Aruulf  de 
Montgomery,  Walter  Gifford,  Robert  de  Ponte 


fract,  Robert  de  Mallet,  Yvo  de  Grantmesnil,  and 
many  others  of  the  principal  nobility,  promised, 
on  his  landing,  to  join  him  with  all  theii-  forces. 
Henry  began  to  tremble  on  the  tlu-one  he  had  so 
recently  acquired.  His  fears  of  the  Nonnans 
threw  him  more  than  ever  on  the  su]iport  of  the 
English  people,  whom  he  now  called  his  friends, 
his  faithful  vassals,  his  countrymen — the  best  and 
bravest  of  men — though  liis  brother,  he  insidi- 
ously added,  treated  them  with  scorn,  and  called 
them  cowards  and  gluttons.'  At  the  same  time 
he  paid  diligent  court  to  Ai-chbishop  Anselm, 
who,  by  the  sanctity  of  his  character  and  his  un- 
deniable virtues  and  abilities,  exercised  a  great 
influence  in  the  nation. 

The  effect  of  all  this  was,  that  the  bishops,  the 
common  soldiers,  and  the  native  English,  with  a 
curious  exception,  stood  firmly  on  the  side  of 
Henry,  who  could  also  count,  among  the  Nor- 
man nobility,  Robert  de  Slellent,  his  chief  mini- 
ster, the  Earl  of  Warwick,  Roger  Bigod,  Rich- 
ard de  Redvers,  and  Robert  Fitz-Hamon,  all 
powerful  barons,  as  his  unchangeable  adherents. 
The  exception  against  him,  on  the  part  of  the 
native  English,  was  among  the  sailors,  who,  af- 
fected by  Robert's  fame,  and  partly  won  over  by 
the  fugitive  Bishop  of  Dm'ham,  deserted  with 
the  greater  part  of  a  fleet,  which  had  been  hastily 
equipped,  to  intercept  the  duke  on  his  passage,  or 
oppose  his  landing.  Robert  sailed  from  Nor- 
mandy in  these  very  ships,  and  while  Henry  was 
expecting  him  at  Pevensey,  on  the  Sussex  coast, 
he  reached  Portsmouth,  and  there  landed.  Be- 
fore the  two  armies  could  meet,  some  of  the  less 
violent  of  the  Normans  from  both  parties  had 
interviews,  and  agreed  pretty  well  on  the  ne- 
cessity of  putting  an  end  to  a  quarrel  among 
countiymen  and  friends.  When  the  hostile  forces 
fronted  each  other,  there  was  a  wavering  among 
his  Noi-maus;  but  the  English  continued  faithful 
to  Henry,  and  Anselm  threatened  the  invaders 
with  excommunication.  To  the  surprise  of  most 
men,  the  duke's  great  expedition  ended  in  a  hiu-- 
ried  peace  and  a  seemingly  affectionate  reconcilia- 
tion; after  which  the  credulous  Robert  returned 
to  the  Continent,  renouncing  all  claim  to  Eng- 
land, and  having  obtained  a  yearly  payment  of 
3000  marks,  and  the  cession  to  him  of  all  the 
castles  which  Heniy  jjossessed  in  Normandy.  It 
was  also  sti]nilated,  that  the  adherents  of  each 
should  be  fully  pardoned,  and  restored  to  all 
their  possessions,  whether  in  Normandy  or  in 
England;  and  that  neither  Robert  nor  Henry 
should  thenceforward  encom'age,  receive,  or  pro- 
tect the  enemies  of  the  other.  There  was  another 
clause  added,  which,  even  without  counting  how 
much  older  he  was  than  Henry,  was  not  worth,  to 

'  Matt.  Parit. 


A.D.  1100—113^.] 


HENEY   I.  (BEAUCLERK). 


223 


Robert,  the  piece  of  piircluuent  it  was  written 
upon;  it  imported  tliat,  if  either  of  tlie  brotliei-s 
died  without  legitimate  issue,  the  survivor  shouUl 
be  lieu-  to  his  dominions. 

Robert  was  scarcely  returned  to  Normandy 
when  Ilenry  began  to  take  measures  against  the 
bai'ons,  his  partizans,  whom  he  had  promised  to 
pai'don.  He  appointed  spies  to  watch  them  in 
their  castles,  and,  artfully  sowing  dissensions 
among  them,  and  provoking  them  to  breaches  of 
the  law,  he  easily  obtained,  fi'om  the  habitual 
violence  of  these  unjjopular  chiefs,  a  plausible 
pretence  for  his  prosecutions.  He  summoned 
Robert  de  Belesme,  Earl  of  Shrewsbm-y,  to  an- 
swer to  an  indictment  containing  forty-five  seri- 
ous charges.'  De  Belesme  appeared,  and,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  demanded  that  he  might  go  freely 
to  consult  with  his  friends  and  an-ange  his  de- 
fence; but  he  was  no  sooner  out  of  the  court  than 
he  mounted  his  horse  and  galloped  off  to  one  of 
his  strong  castles.  The  king  summoned  him  to 
appear  within  a  given  time,  under  pain  of  out- 
lawry. The  earl  responded  to  the  siunmons  by 
calling  his  vassals  around  him,  and  preparing  for 
open  war.  This  was  meeting  the  wishes  of  the 
king,  who  took  the  field  with  an  army,  consisting 
in  good  part  of  English  infantry,  well  disposed  to 
do  his  will,  and  dehghted  at  the  prospect  of  pvm- 
ishing  one  of  their  many  oppressors.  He  was 
detained  several  weeks  by  the  siege  of  the  castle 
of  Ai-uudel,  the  gan-ison  of  which  finally  capitu- 
lated, and  then,  in  part,  escaped  to  join  their 
Earl  de  Belesme,  who,  in  the  mean  time,  had 
strongly  fortified  Bridgenorth,  near  the  Welsh 
frontiers,  and  strengthened  himself  in  the  citadel 
of  Shrewsbury.  During  the  siege  of  Bridgeuorth 
the  Noi'mans  in  the  king's  service  showed  that 
they  were  .averse  to  proceeding  to  extremities 
against  one  of  the  noblest  of  their  countrymen, 
and  some  of  the  earls  and  barons  endeavoured  to 
put  an  end  to  the  war  by  effecting  a  reconcile- 
ment between  Robert  de  Belesme  and  the  sove- 
reign. They  demanded  a  conference,  and  an 
assembly  was  held,  in  a  plain  near  the  royal  camp. 
A  body  of  English  infantry,  posted  on  a  hill  close 
by,  who  knew  what  was  in  agitation  among  the 
Norman  chiefs,  cried  out,  "  Do  not  trust  in  them, 
King  Hemy;  they  want  to  lay  a  snai-e  for  you. 
We  are  here;  we  will  assist  you  and  make  the 


'  "  Robert  de  Belesme,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  sou  of  the  great 
Montgomery,  deserves  some  notice.  He  was  the  most  powerful 
subject  in  England,  haughty,  rapacious,  and  deceitful.  In  these 
vices  he  might  have  many  equals  ;  ta  cruelty  he  rose  pre-eminent 
among  the  savages  of  the  age.  He  preferred  the  death  to  thi- 
ransom  of  his  captives ;  it  was  his  delight  to  feast  his  eyes  ^vitll 
the  contortions  of  the  victims,  men  and  women,  whom  ho  had 
ordered  to  be  impaled  ;  he  is  even  said  to  h<av6  torn  out  the  eye.^ 
of  his  godson  with  his  own  hands,  because  the  father  of  the  boy 
had  committed  some  trivial  olionce,  and  had  escaped  from  his 
vengeance.  Against  this  monster,  not  from  motives  of  huma- 
nity, but  from  policy,  Henry  had  conceived  the  most  violent 


assault.  Grant  no  pe.ice  to  the  ti-aitor  until  you 
have  him  in  your  hands,  ali^■e  or  dead !"'  The 
attem])t  at  reconciliation  failed;  the  siege  was 
pressed,  and  Bridgenorth  fell.  The  counti-y  be- 
tween Bridgenorth  and  Shi'ewabury,  where  the 
earl  made  his  last  stand,  was  covered  with  thick 
wood,  and  infested  by  his  scouts  and  archera. 
The  English  infantry  cleared  the  wood  of  the 
enemy,  and  cut  a  road  for  the  king  to  the  very 
walls  of  Shrewsbury,  where  De  Belesme,  reduced 
to  despair,  soon  capitulated.  He  lost  all  his  vast 
estates  in  England,  but  was  ])ermitted  to  retire 
into  Normandy,  on  taking  an  oath  he  would  never 
return  to  the  kingdom  without  Henry's  permis- 
sion. His  ruin  involved  that  of  his  two  brothers, 
Arnulf,  Earl  of  Montgomery,  and  Roger,  Earl  of 
Lancaster;  and  the  prosecution  and  condemnation 
of  all  the  barons  who  had  been  favourable  to  Ro- 
bert followed.  One  by  one,  neai-ly  all  the  great 
nobles,  the  sons  of  the  men  who  had  achieved  the 
conquest  of  England,  were  di-iven  out  of  the  land 
as  traitoi-s  and  outlaws,  and  their  estates  and 
honom-s  were  given  to  "new  men."^ 

So  scrupulous  was  Duke  Robert  in  observing 
the  treaty,  that,  on  the  first  notice  of  De  Belesme's 
rebellion,  he  ravaged  the  Noi-mau  estates  of  that 
nobleman;  considering  himself,  in  spite  of  former 
ties  of  friendship,  as  bound  so  to  do  by  the  clause 
which  stipulated  that  neither  brother  should  en- 
courage the  enemies  of  the  other.  He  was  soon, 
however,  made  sensible  that  the  real  crime  of  all 
the  outlaws,  in  Hemy's  eyes,  was  the  preference 
they  had  given  to  him;  and  following  one  of 
those  generous  impulses  to  which  his  romantic 
natui'e  was  prone,  he  came  suddenly  over  to  Eng- 
land and  put  himself  completely  in  the  power  of 
Heniy,  to  intercede  in  favour  of  the  unfortunate 
barons.  The  crafty  king  received  him  with 
smiles  and  brotherly  embraces,  and  then  placed 
spies  over  him  to  watch  all  his  motions.  Robert, 
who  had  demanded  no  hostages,  soon  found  he 
was  a  prisoner,  and  was  glad  to  purchase  his 
liberty  by  renouncing  his  annuity  of  3000  marks. 
He  then  retm-ned  to  Normandy,  and,  in  self-de- 
fence, renewed  his  friendship  with  the  barons 
exiled  from  England.  Henry  now  pretended 
that  Robert  was  the  aggressor,  and  declaimed  the 
peace  between  them  to  be  for  ever  at  an  end. 
The  simple  truth  was,  that  he  had  resolved  to 

hatred.  He  was  cited  before  the  king's  court ;  the  conduct  of 
his  officers  in  Normandy,  as  well  as  in  England — his  words,  no 
less  than  his  actions,  were  severely  scrutinized ;  and  a  long  list 
of  five  and  forty  ofleuces  was  objected  to  him  by  his  accusers. 
The  earl,  according  to  custom,  obtained  permission  to  .retire, 
tliat  he  might  consult  liis  friends ;  but  instantly  mounted  his 
horse,  fled  to  his  earldom,  summoned  his  retainers,  and  boldly 
b.ade  defiance  to  the  power  of  his  prosecutor.  Henry  cheerfully 
accepted  the  challenge." — Linrfurd.  Compelled  in  the  end  to 
surrender,  this  monster  of  cruelty  had  his  life  spared,  on  condi- 
tion of  his  quitting  ti-e  kingdom. 
-  OrdcHc.  '■>  Tliierr}',  HMoirt  de  ia  Cojiqucte. 


22i 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  .\.\d  IMilitary. 


unite  the  duchy  to  his  kingdom.  Normandy,  in- 
deed, was  in  a  deplorable  state,  and  Robert,  it 
must  be  said,  had  given,  and  continued  to  give, 
manifold  proofs  of  his  inability  to  manage  a  fac- 
tious and  intriguing  nobility,  or  to  govern  any 
state,  as  states  were  then  constituted.  He  was 
indeed  "too  trusting  and  merciful  for  his  age."' 
He  liad,  however,  relajjsed  into  his  old  irregu- 
larities after  losing  the  beautiful  Sibylla,  who 
died  in  1102,  leaving  an  infant  son,  the  only  issue 
of  their  brief  man-iage.  His  court  was  again 
thronged  with  vagabond  jongleurs,  loose  women, 
and  rapacious  favourites,  who  plundered  him  of 
his  very  attire — at  least  this  sovereign  prince  is 
represented  as  lying  in  bed,  at  times,  from  want 
of  proper  clothes  to  put  on  when  he  should  rise. 
A  much  more  serious  evil  for  the  countrj'  was, 
that  his  pettiest  barons  were  suffered  to  wage 
war  on  each  other,  and  inflict  all  kinds  of  wrong 
on  the  people.  Wlien  Henry  fh'st  raised  the 
mask,  he  declared  himself  the  protector  of  Nor- 
mandy against  the  bad  government  of  his  brother. 
He  called  on  Robert  to  cede  the  duchy  for  a  sum 
of  money,  or  an  annual  pension.  "  You  have  the 
title  of  chief,"  said  he,  "  but  in  reality  you  are  no 
longer  a  chief,  seeing  that  the  vassals  who  ought 
to  obey  you  set  you  at  nought."  =  The  duke  in- 
dignantly rejected  the  proposal,  on  which  the 
king  crossed  the  seas  with  an  army,  and,  "by 
large  distributions  of  money  carried  out  of  Eng- 
land," won  many  new  partizans,  and  got  posses- 
sion of  many  of  the  fortresses  of  Normandy.  The 
duke,  on  the  other  hand,  had  now  nothing  to  give 
to  any  one,  yet  still  some  brave  men  rallied 
ai'ound  him,  out  of  affection  to  his  person,  or  in 
dread  and  hatred  of  his  brother;  and  Henry  found 
it  impossible  to  complete  his  ruin  in  this  cam- 
paign. 

In  the  following  year  (1106)  the  king  re-ap- 
peared in  Normandy  with  a  more  formidable 
arm}',  and  with  stiU  more  money,  to  raise  which 
he  had  cruelly  distressed  his  English  subjects. 
About  the  end  of  July  he  laid  siege  to  Tenche- 
bray,  an  important  place,  the  garrison  of  which, 
incorruptible  by  his  gold,  made  a  faithful  and 
gallant  resistance.  Robert,  when  informed  that 
his  friends  were  hard  pressed,  promised  to  march 
to  theii'  relief,  ensue  what  might;  and  on  the 
appointed  day,  most  true  to  his  word,  as  was 
usual  with  hhn  in  such  matters,  he  appeared  be- 
fore the  walls  of  Teuchebray,  where  Hemy  had 
concentrated  his  whole  ai-my.  As  a  soldier,  Ro- 
bert was  fai-  superior  to  his  brother,  but  his 
forces  were  numerically  inferior,  and  there  was 
treachery  in  his  camp.  As  brave,  however,  as 
when  he  fought  the  Paynim  and  mounted  the 
breach  in  the  Holy  City,  he  fell  upon  the  king's 

*  WUiiam  of  3Ialmesbui7  s.a^s,  "  He  forgot  and  forgave  to-) 

2  Orderic. 


army,  threw  the  English  infantry  into  disorder, 
and  had  nearly  won  the  victory,  when  He  Be- 
lesme  most  basely  fled  with  a  strong  division  of 
his  forces,  and  left  him  to  inevitable  defeat.  Af- 
ter a  last  and  most  brilliant  display  of  his  valour 
as  a  soldier,  the  duke  was  taken  prisoner,  wilh 
400  of  his  knights.  "  This  battle,"  observes  old 
John  Speed,  "was  fought,  and  Normandy  won, 
upon  Saturday,  being  the  vigil  of  St.  Michael, 
even  the  same  day,  forty  years,  that  William  the 
Bastard  set  foot  on  England's  shore  for  his  con- 
quest; God  so  disposing  it  (saith  Malmesbury) 
that  Normandy  should  be  subjected  to  England 
that  very  day  wherein  England  was  subdued  to 
Normandy." 

The  fate  of  the  captives  made  at  Tenchebray, 
or  taken  after  that  battle,  or  who  voluntarily  sur- 
rendered, was  various;  some  received  a  free  par- 
don, some  were  allowed  to  be  ransomed,  and  a 
few  were  condemned  to  pei-petual  imprisonment. 
The  e.x-Earl  of  Shrewsbwy,  De  Belesme,  was  gi-a- 
tified  with  a  new  gi-ant  of  most  of  his  estates  in 
Normandy ;  and  the  ex-bishop-minister,  Ralph 
Flambard,  who  had  been  moving  in  all  these  con- 
tentions, obtained  the  restoration  of  his  English 
see,  by  delivering  up  the  town  and  castle  of  Lisi- 
eux  to  King  Henry.  A  remarkable  incident  in 
the  victory  of  Tenchebray  is,  that  the  royal  Saxon, 
Edgar  Atheling,  was  among  the  prisoners.  Duke 
Robert  had  on  many  occasions  treated  him  with 
great  kindness  and  liberality.  According  to  some 
accounts  Edgar  had  followed  Robei-t  to  the  Holy 
Laud;^  but  this  is,  at  the  least,  doubtful;  and  the 
Saxon  Chronicle  represents  him  as  ha^  ing  joined 
the  duke  only  a  short  time  before  the  battle  of 
Tenchebray,  where  he  charged  with  the  Norman 
chivahy.  This  was  his  last  public  appearance. 
He  was  sent  over  to  England,  where,  to  show  the 
Norman  king's  contempt  of  him,  he  was  allowed 
to  go  at  large.  At  the  intei-cession  of  his  niece, 
the  Queen  Maud,  Hemy  granted  him  a  trifling 
pension;  and  this  sm-vivor  of  so  many  changes 
and  sanguinary  revolutions  passed  the  rest  of  his 
life  in  an  obscm-e  but  tranquil  solitude  in  the 
country.  So  perfect  was  the  oblivion  into  which 
he  fell,  that  not  one  of  the  chroniclers  mentions 
the  place  of  his  residence,  or  records  when  or 
how  he  died.  The  fate  of  his  friend  Duke  Ro- 
bert, who  had  much  less  apathy,  was  infinitely 
more  galling  from  the  beginning,  and  his  ca]> 
tivity  was  soon  accompanied  with  other  atroci- 
ties. He  was  committed  a  prisoner  for  life  to 
one  of  his  brother's  castles.  At  first  his  keepers, 
appointing  a  proper  guai'd,  allowed  him  to  take 


3  In  lOSO,  the  last  year  of  the  Conqueror's  reign,  Edgar  Athel- 
ing obtained  permission  to  conduct  200  knights  to  Apulia,  and 
thenca  to  Palestine ;  but  we  are  not  informed  wliat  progress  he 
made  in  this  journey,  and  Duke  Robert  did  not  set  out  for  tho 
Holy  Land  until  loao,  or  ten  years  after. 


AD.  lino— 11  sr).] 


HENRY   I.  (KEAUCLERK). 


225 


air  and  exercise  in  the  neighbouring  \voo<ls  and 
fields.  One  day  he  seized  a  horse,  and,  breaking 
from  his  guard,  did  liis  best  to  escape;  but  he 
was  presently  pursued,  and  taken  in  a  morass, 
wherein  his  horse  had  stuck  fast.  Upon  hearing 
of  this  attem])t  the  king  not  only  prescribed  "a 
greater  resti-aint  and  harder  durance,"  but  com- 
manded that  his  sight  should  be  destroyed,  in 
order  to  render  him  incapalile  of  such  enter- 
prises, and  unapt  to  all  royal  or  martial  duties 
for  the  future.  This  detestable  order  was  exe- 
cuted by  a  method  which  had  become  horribly 
common  in  Italy'  during  these  ages,  and  which 
was  not  unknown  iu  other  countries  on  the 
Continent.  A  basin  of  copper  or  ii'on,  made  red- 
hot,  was  held  close  over  the  victim's  eyes  till  the 
organs  of  sight  were  seai-ed  and  destroyed.  The 
wretched  prince  lived  twenty-eight  years  after 
this,  and  died  in  Cardiff  Castle  in  1135,  a  few 


DuiiK  Robert    luu  tr  (      1  fF       t 

months  before  his  brother  Henry.  He  was  nearly 
eighty  years  old,  and  had  sm-vived  all  the  chiefs  of 
name  who  rescued  Jerusalem  from  the  Saracens. 


'  The  pniiisliment  was  usually  applied  to  captive  princes,  fallen 
ministers,  and  personages  of  the  liigliest  rank  and  political  in- 
fluence. The  Italians  had  even  a  verb  to  espress  it — Abbacinare, 
from  bacino,  a  basin.  "L'abbacinare  fe  il  medeaimo  che  I'acce- 
cai'e;  e  perchti  si  faceva  con  un  bacijio  rovente,  che  avvicinato 
agli  occhi  tenuti  apei-ti  per  foi*2a,  concentrandosi  il  calore  strug- 
geva  que'  panicelli,  e  riseccava  I'umiditi,  che,  come  un'  uva  i 
intorno  alia  pupilla,  e  la  ricopriva  di  una  cotal  nuvola,  che  gli 
toglieva  la  vista,  si  aveva  preso  questo  nome  d'abbacinare." 
Such  is  the  formal  e.\planation  of  the  horrid  verb  in  the  JOic- 
tifnart/  Dilta  C'rust'a. 

Vol.  I. 


Ill  getting  possession  of  Robert's  peraon  Henry 
became  master  of  Normandy.   Rouen,  the  cajjital, 
submitted,  and  Falaise  surrendered  after  a  short 
resistance.    At  the  latter  place  William,  the  only 
son   of  Sibylla  and  Duke  Robert,  fell  into  liia 
hands.     When  the  child,  who  was  then  only  five 
years  old,  was  brought  into  the  presence  of  hi.4 
uncle,  he  sobbed  and  cried  for  mercy.     It  coukl 
not  escape  the   king's  far-reaching  calculations 
that  this  boy's  legitimate  claims  might  cause  him 
futtire  trouble;  but  Henry,  as  if  making  a  vio- 
lent eiibrt  to  rid  himself  of  evil  thouglits,  sud- 
denly commanded  that  he  should  be  renioveil 
from  him,  and  given  in  custody  to  Helie  de  St. 
Saen,  a  Norman  noble,  on  whom  (though  he  had 
married  an  illegitimate  daughter  of  Duke  Ro- 
bert) he  thought  he  could  rely.     He  soon,  how- 
ever, repented  of  this  arrangement,  and  sent  a 
force  to  surjjrise  the  castle  of  St.  Saen,  and  se- 
cure the  person  of  young  ^Villiam.     Ilelie  fied 
with  his  pujiil,  and  they  were  both  honourably 
received  at  all  the   neighboiu'ing  courts,  where 
the  beauty,  the  innocence,  the  early  misfortunes, 
and  claims  of  the  boy,  gained  him  many  protec- 
tors.    The  most  powerful  of  these  friends  were 
I>ouis  VI.  of  France,  commonly  called  Le  Gros, 
and  Fulk,  Eai-1  of  Anjou.     As  William  Fitz-Ro- 
Ijert,  as  he  was  called,  grew  up,  and  gave  good 
[iromise  of  being  a  valiant  prince,  they  espoused 
is  cause  more  decidedly,  Louis  engaging  to  grant 
im  the  investiture  of  Normandy,  and  Fulk  to 
give  him  his  daughter  Sibylla  in  marriage,  as 
soon  as  he  should  be  of  proper  age.     Before  that 
period  arrived,  circumstances  occurred  (a.d.  1113) 
that  hurried  them  into  hostilities,  and  the  E;irl 
of  Flanders  having  been  induced  to  sanction,  if 
not  to  join  their  league,  Henry  was  attacked  all 
along  the  frontiers  of  Normandy.    He  lost  towns 
and  castles,  and  was  alarmed,  at  the  same  time, 
by  a  report,  true  or  false,  that  some  friends  of 
Duke  Robert  had  formed  a  plot  against  his  life. 
When  the  w'ar  had  lasted  two  years,  Henry  ]jut 
an  end  to  it  by  a  skilful  treaty,  in  which  he  re- 
gained whatever  he  had  lost  in  Normandy,  and 
in  which  the  interests  of  WiUiam  Fitz-Robert 
were   overlooked.      These  advantages  were  ob- 
tained by  giving  the  estates  and  honours  of  the 
faithful  Helie  de  St.  Saen  to  his  quondam  ally, 
Fulk,  Earl  of  Anjou,  and  by  stipulating  a  mar- 
riage between  his  only  sou,  Prince  William  of 


-  This  castle,  situated  on  the  river  Taff,  which  washes  its  walls, 
was  built,  A.D.  1110,  by  Robert  Fitz-Uamon,  one  of  the  most  re- 
nowned of  WiUiam  the  Conqueror's  captains,  who,  in  1091,  con- 
quered Glamorgan.^hire.  The  tower  represented  in  the  engrav- 
ing is  th.at  in  which  trailition  sjiys  Robert,  IJuko  of  Normandy, 
was  confined  for  njjwards  of  twenty-si.x  years.  According  to 
Ordo  Vitalis  and  William  of  Malmesbury,  Henry  made  Ills  im- 
prisoimient  as  easy  as  possitjie,  furnishijig  him  with  an  elegant 
table,  and  bufloons  to  divert  liim,  "  pleasures  which,  for  some 
yeal-s,  he  had  preferred  to  all  the  duties  of  sovereign  power." — 
Lord  Lyllhton. — Grose's  Anli'juitks. 
23 


22(i 


TTTSTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaui'. 


Eiiglaiiil,  ami  Matikla,  another  (laughter  of  that 
earl.  The  previous  contract  between  Fitz-Ro- 
bert  and  Sibylla  was  broken  off,  and  the  Earl  of 
Aujou  agreed  to  give  uo  more  aid  or  countenance 
to  that  young  prince. 

These  aiTaugemeuts  were  not  made  without 
great  sacrifices  of  money  on  the  part  of  the  Eng- 
lish people ;  and  some  years  before  they  were 
concluded,  the  nation  was  made  to  bear  another 
burden.'  By  the  feudal  customs  the  king  was 
entitled  to  levy  a  tax  for  the  marrying  of  his 
eldest  daughter;  and  (a.d.  1110)  Henry  affianced 
the  Princess  Matilda,  a  child  only  eight  years 
old,  to  Henry  V.,  Emperor  of  Germany.  The 
high  nominal  rank  of  the  party,  and  the  general 
poverty  of  the  German  emperors  in  those  days, 
would  alike  call  for  a  large  dowi-y ;  and  Henry  V. 
drove  a  hard  bargain  with  his  brother  (and  to-be- 
father-in-law),  of  England.  The  mai-riage  por- 
tion seems  to  have  been  principally  raised  by  a 
tax  laid  upon  land.  The  stipulated  sum  was  at 
length  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  emperoi-'s  am- 
bassadors, who  conducted  the  young  lady  into 
Germany. 

About  this  time  Henry  checked  some  incur- 
sions of  the  Welsh,  the  only  wars  waged  in  the 
interior  of  England  during  his  reign.  He  de- 
spaired, however,  of  reducing  them,  and  was  fain 
to  content  himself  with  building  a  few  castles,  a 
little  in  advance  of  those  erected  by  the  Con- 
queror and  the  Eed  King.  He  also  collected  a 
number  of  Flemings,  who  had  been  di-iven  into 
England  by  the  misfortunes  of  their  own  country, 
and  gave  them  the  town  of  Haverfordwest,  with 
the  district  of  Koss,  in  Pembrokeshire.  They 
were  a  brave  and  industrious  people,  skilled  in 
manufacturing  woollen  cloths;  and,  increasing  in 
wealth  and  numbers,  they  maintained  themselves 
in  their  advanced  post,  in  spite  of  the  long  efforts 
of  the  Welsh  to  drive  them  from  it.  But  a  sub- 
ject which  occupied  the  mind  of  the  English  king 
much  more  than  the  conquest  of  Wales,  was  the 
securing  the  succession  of  all  his  dominions  to 

1  While  public  exactions  were  thus  pressing  on  people  of  mU 
rarJis,  the  chxirchmen  fomid  ingenious  methods  of  raising  money 
for  buUdiiig  purposes.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  we  may  take 
the  following  passage  from  the  pages  of  Camden.  Speaking  of 
the  monastery  of  Crowland,  or  Croyland,  he  says : — 

"It  is  not  necessary  to  write  the  private  history  of  this  mo- 
nastery, for  it  is  extant  in  Inglllphus,  which  is  now  printed;  yet 
I  am  willing  to  make  a  short  report  of  that  which  Tetrus  Ble- 
sensis,  vice-chancellor  to  King  Heniy  il.,  has  related  at  large 
concerning  the  first  building  of  this  monastery,  in  the  year  1112, 
to  the  end  that  from  one  single  precedent  We  may  learn  by  what 
means  and  by  what  assistances  so  many  stately  religious  house.'^ 
were  built  in  all  parts  of  this  kingdom.  Jotfrid,  the  abbot, 
obtained  of  the  archbishops  of  England,  'to  eveiy  one  th.at 
helped  forward  so  religious  a  work,  an  indulgence  of  the  third 
part  of  the  penance  enjoined  for  the  sins  he  had  committed.' 
With  this  he  sent  our  monks  everywhere  to  make  collections, 
and  lu^ving  enough,  he  appointed  St.  Perpetua's  and  Felicity's 
d.ay  to  be  that  on  which  he  wotUd  lay  the  foundation,  that  the 
work,  from  those  fortunate  names,  might  be  aiispiciously  begmi. 


his  only  legitimate  son  William,  to  whom  he 
confidently  and  proudly  looked,  as  to  one  who 
was  to  perpetuate  his  lineage  and  power.  Hav- 
ing already  made  all  the  barons  and  prelates  of 
Normandy  swear  fealty  and  do  homage  to  the 
boy,  lie  exacted  the  same  oaths  in  England,  at  a 
gi-eat  council  of  all  the  bishops,  earls,  and  barons 
of  the  kingdom;  and  being  still  puraued  by  the 
dread  of  the  growing  popularity,  on  the  Conti- 
nent, of  his  nephew  Fitz-Eobert,  he  artfully 
laboured  to  get  him  into  his  power,  making  use, 
among  other  means,  of  the  most  enticing  pro- 
mises— such  as  the  immediate  possession  of  three 
great  earldoms  in  England.  But  that  young 
prince  woidd  never  trust  the  jailer  of  his  father. 
At  a  moment  when  the  most 
formidable  confederacy  that  ever 
threatened  him  was  forming  on  the  Continent, 
Henry  lost  his  excellent  consort,  Maud  the  Good; 
and  in  about  a  month  after  he  sutfei-ed  a  loss, 
which  he  probably  felt  much  more,  in  the  death 
of  the  Earl  of  Mellent,  the  ablest  instrument  of 
his  ambition,  the  most  skilful  of  all  his  ministers, 
who  had  so  managed  his  foreign  politics  as  to 
obtain  the  reputation  of  being  the  greatest  states- 
man in  Europe. 

Henry's  want  of  good  faith  liad  hurried  on  the 
storm  which  now  burst  upon  him.  He  had 
secretly  assisted  his  nephew  Theobald,-'  Earl  of 
Blois,  in  a  revolt  against  his  feudal  superior  and 
liege  lord,  the  French  king — he  had  broken  of 
the  match  agreed  upon  between  his  sou  William 
and  the  Earl  of  Anjou's  daughter,  Matilda — and 
he  had  belied  many  of  the  promises  made  to 
the  Norman  barons  in  his  hour  of  need.  The 
league  that  was  formed  against  him,  therefore,  in- 
cluded many  of  his  own  disaffected  Norman  sub- 
jects, Louis  of  France,  Fulk  of  Anjou,  and  Bald- 
win, Earl  of  Flanders — the  last-mentioned  having 
fewer  interested  motives,  and  a  purer  affection 
for  the  gallant  son  of  Duke  Robert,  than  any 
of  the  others.  The  beginning  of  the  war  was 
altogether  uufavom-alile  to  the  allies,  and  King 

At  tins  time  the  nobles  and  prelates,  with  the  common  people, 
met  there  in  great  numbers.  Prayers  being  said  and  anthems 
smig,  the  abbot  liimself  laid  the  fii-st  comer-stone  on  the  east 
side ;  after  him,  every  nobleman,  according  to  his  degree,  laid 
liis  stone,  and  upon  it  some  laid  money,  and  others  writings,  by 
which  they  offered  lands,  advowsons  of  churches,  tenths  of  theii- 
sheep,  and  other  tithes  of  their  several  churches,  certain  mea- 
sures of  wheat,  or  a  certain  number  of  workmen  or  masons.  On 
the  other  side,  the  common  people,  no  less  generous,  offered,  with 
great  devotion,  some  of  them  money,  and  some  one  diiy's  work 
every  month,  till  it  should  be  finished;  some  to  build  whole  pil- 
lars, and  others  pedestals,  and  others  certain  parts  of  the  walls. 
The  abbot  afterwards  made  a  speech,  commemUng  their  great 
zeal  and  bounty  in  contributing  to  so  pious  a  work  ;  and  by  way 
of  requital,  he  made  every  one  of  them  a  member  of  that  monas- 
tery, and  gave  them  a  right  to  partake  in  all  the  spiritual  bless- 
ings of  that  church.  At  last,  having  entert.ained  them  with  a 
plentiful  fe-ist,  he  disnUs.sed  them  in  great  joy." 

■-  Elder  brother  of  Stephen,  who  seized  the  English  crown  on 
Henry's  death. 


A.D.   1100— 113J.1 


HENRY  I.  (BEAUCLERK). 


227 


Louis,  at  one  time,  was  forced  to  bog  a  suspension 
of  hostilities.  Tlien  fortune  veered,  and  King 
Henry  lost  ground;  l)ut  after  a  succession  of  re- 
verses, his  better  star  ]3revailed,and  he  was  made 
happy  by  the  death  of  ]5aldwiu,  Earl  of  Flan- 
<lers,  the  soul  of  the  confederacy,  who  died  of  a 
wound  received  at  the  siege  of  Eu.  Being  thus 
relieved  from  one  of  his  formidable  enemies,  he 
proceeded  to  detach  another  by  means  as  preva- 
lent as  sword,  or  lance,  or  arrow-shot.  He  sent 
a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  venal  Earl  of  Anjou, 
.and  agreed  that  the  marriage  between  his  son 
and  the  earl's  daughter  should  be  solemnized 
forthwith.  Fulk  took  the  bribe,  and  abandoning 
his  allies,  went  to  prepare  for  the  wedding.  At 
the  same  time,  Henry  gained  over  most  of  the 
disaffected  Norman  barons;  and,  after  two  more 
years  of  a  war  of  jietty  sieges,  and  of  skirmishes 
scarcely  deserving  the  name  of  battles,  tlie  French 
king  saw  himself  deserted  by  all  his  allies. 

An  end  was  put  to  the  war,  now  only  main- 
tained on  one  side  by  Louis,  through  the  praise- 
worthy mediation  of  the  pope,'  who,  however, 
laboured  in  vain  to  procure  a  mitigation  of  the 
severity  exercised  on  Duke  Robert,  and  a  proper 
settlement  for  his  son  AVilliam.  By  this  treaty 
of  peace,  Henry  was  to  preserve  undisturbed  pos- 
session of  Normandy;  and  his  ])ride  was  saved  by 
Louis  consenting  to  receive  the  homage  due  to 
him  for  the  duchy  from  the  son  instead  of  the 
father.  This  son,  who  was  in  bis  eighteenth  year, 
had  received  the  oaths  of  the  Norman  nobles,  as 
also  the  hand  of  his  bride,  a  child  only  twelve 
years  old,  whose  father,  Fulk  of  Anjou,  had  given 
her  a  considerable  dower.  King  Hemy  now  re- 
solved to  return  triumjjhantly  to  England.  The 
place  of  emljarkation  was  Barfleur,  where  Rufus 
had  lauded  after  his  stormy  pass.age  and  impious 
daring  of  tlie  elements."  The  douljle  retinue  of 
the  king  and  prince-royal  was  most  numerous; 
and  some  delay  was  caused  liy  the  jiroviding  of  ac- 
commodation and  means  of  trauspoi-t  for  so  many 
noble  personages,  among  whom  were  counted,  we 
scarcely  knowhow  many,  illegitimate  children  and 
mistresses  of  the  king.  On  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber (a.d.  1120),  however,  all  was  ready,  and  the 
sails  were  joyously  bent,  as  for  a  short  and  plea- 
sant voyage.  Thomas  Fitz-Stephen,  a  mariner  of 
some  repute,  presented  himself  to  the  king,  and 
tendering  a  golden  mark,  said — "  Stephen,  son  of 
E  vrard,  my  father,  served  yours  all  his  life  by  sea, 

'  Calixtus  II.  lie  was  related  by  marriage  to  King  Henry, 
and  personally  visited  th.at  sovereign ,  who,  among  other  signal 
falsehoods,  assm*ed  him  that  his  brotlier  Kobert  was  not  a  pri- 
soner, but  entertained  in  a  sumptuous  manner  in  one  of  the 
royal  castles,  where  he  enjoyed  .as  much  liberty  and  amusement 
03  he  desired. 

-  See  vol.  i.  p.  216.  Most  of  the  old  liistorians  are  of  opinion 
that  the  drowning  of  the  nephew  was  a  judgment  provoked  by 
the  presiiroption  of  the  uncle. 


and  he  it  w:is  wlio  steered  tlie  sliip  in  which,  your 
father  sailed  for  the  contpiest  of  ICngland.  Sire 
king,  I  beg  you  to  grant  me  the  same  office  in 
iief :  I  have  a  vessel  calleil  the  Blanchc-Xcf,  well 
eipiipped  and  manned  with  fifty  skilful  marinei-s." 
The  king  rei)li('d  that  he  had  already  chosen  a 
vessel  for  himself,  but  that,  in  order  to  accede 
to  the  prayer  of  Fitz-Stophen,  he  would  confide 
to  his  care  the  prince,  with  his  eoinjianions  and 
attendants.  Hemy  then  embarked,  and  setting 
sail  in  the  afternoon  with  a  favoiu-able  and  gentle 
wind  from  the  south,  reached  the  English  coast 
in  safety  on  the  following  morning.  The  prince 
was  accompanied  in  the  Blanche-Nef,  or  "White 
Ship,"  by  his  half-brother  Richard;  his  h.alf-sister 
the  Lady  Marie,'  Countess  of  Perchc;  Richard, 
Earl  of  Chester,  with  his  wife,  who  was  the  king's 
niece;  her  brother,  the  prince's  governor,  with  a 
host  of  gay  young  nobles,  both  of  Normandy  and 
of  England,  140  in  number,  eighteen  being  ladies 
of  the  first  rank — all  these  and  their  retinues 
amounting,  with  the  crew,  to  about  300  persons. 
On  such  occasions  it  was  usual  to  regale  the  mari- 
uei-s  with  a  little  wine,  but  the  prince,  and  the 
young  men  with  him,  imprudently  ordered  three 
whole  casks  of  wine  to  be  distributed  among  the 
men,  who  "drank  out  their  wits  and  reason." 
The  captain  had  a  sailor's  pride  in  the  speed  of 
his  craft  and  the  qualities  of  his  crew,  and,  though 
hours  passed  away,  he  promised  to  overtake  every 
ship  that  had  sailed  before  him.  The  prince  cer- 
tainly did  not  press  his  departure,  for  he  spent 
some  hours  on  deck  in  feasting  and  dancing  with 
liis  company.  A  few  prudent  persons  quitted  the 
disorderly  vessel,  and  went  on  shore.  Night  had 
set  in  before  the  Bhmcke-Kef  started  from  her 
moorings,  but  it  was  a  bright  moonlight,  and  the 
wind,  though  it  had  freshened  somewhat,  was 
still  fair  and  gentle.  Fitz-Stephen,  proud  of  his 
charge,  held  the  helm;  every  sail  was  set,  and, 
still  to  increase  the  speed,  the  fifty  sturdy  mari- 
ners, encouraged  by  then-  boyish  passengers,  plied 
the  oar  with  all  their  vigour.  As  they  proceeded 
coastwise  they  got  engaged  among  some  rocks  at 
a  spot  called  Ras  de  Catte  (now  Ras  de  Catte- 
ville),  and  the  White  Ship  struck  on  one  of  these 
with  such  violence  on  her  larboard  side,  that 
several  planks  were  started,  and  she  instantly 
began  to  fill.  A  cry  of  alarm  and  horror  was 
raised  at  once  by  300  voices,  and  was  heard  on 
board  some  of  the  king's  ships  that  had  gained 
the  high  sea,  but  nobody  there  suspected  the  cause. 
Fitz-Stephen  lowered  a  boat,  and  jnitting  the 
prince  with  some  of  his  companions  iu  it,  advised 


3  By  some  writers  this  lady  is  called  Maud,  and  by  others 
Adele  or  Adula.  Tlie  name  of  her  mother  is  not  mentione<i. 
Ricliard  was  the  sou  of  an  English  mistress,  who  is  called  "  the 
widow  of  .\nskill,  a  nobleman  that  lived  near  tlie  monastei7  of 
Abingdon  *' 


228 


HISTOKY  OF  ENGLAND. 


ICiviL  AND  Military. 


tlieiu  to  row  for  the  shore,  ami  save  tliemaelvea. 
Tliis  -svouhi  not  have  been  dithcult,  for  tlie  sea 
was  smooth,  and  tlie  coast  at  no  great  distance; 
but  liis  sister,  Marie,  had  been  left  behind  in  the 
ship,  and  her  shrieks  touched  the  heart  of  the 
prince — the  best  or  most  generous  deed  of  whose 
life  seems  to  have  been  his  last.  He  ordered  the 
boat  to  be  put  back  to  take  her  in;  but  such  num- 
bera  leaped  into  it  at  the  same  time  as  the  lady, 
that  it  was  upset  or  swamped,  aud  all  in  it  per- 
ished. The  ship  also  went  down  with  all  on 
boai'd.  Only  two  men  escajied  l>y  rising  and 
clinging  to  the  main-yard,  which  floated,  and  was 
probably  detached  from  the  wreck:  one  of  these 
was  a  butcher  of  Rouen,  named  Bei-old,  the  other 
a  young  man  of  higher  condition,  named  Godfrey, 
the  son  of  Gilbert  de  I'Aigle.  Fitz-Stephen,  the 
unfortunate  captain,  seeing  the  heads  of  two  men 
clinging  to  the  yard,  swam  to  them.  "And  the 
king's  sou,"  said  he,  "what  has  happened  to 
him } "  "He  is  gone !  neither  he,  nor  his  brother, 
nor  his  sister,  nor  any  person  of  his  company,  has 
appeared  above  water."  "  Woe  to  me  !  "  cried 
Fitz-Stephen ;  and  then  plunged  to  the  bottom. 
The  night  was  cold,  and  the  young  nobleman,  the 
more  delicate  of  the  two  survivors,  became  ex- 
hausted; aud  after  holding  on  for  some  hours  let 
go  the  yard,  and,  recommending  his  poor  com- 
[lanion  to  God's  mercy,  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the 
sea.  The  butcher  of  Rouen,  the  poorest  of  all 
those  who  had  embarked  in  the  White  Ship, 
wrapped  in  his  sheep-skin  coat,'  held  on  till  morn- 
ing, when  he  was  seen  from  the  shore,  and  saved 
by  some  fishermen;  and  fi-om  him,  being  the  sole 
survivor,  the  circumstances  of  the  fearful  event 
were  learned.  The  tidings  reached  England  in 
the  com'se  of  the  following  day,  but  no  one  would 
venture  on  communicating  them  to  the  king.  For 
tkree  days  the  courtiers  concealed  the  fact,  and 
at  last  they  sent  in  a  little  boy,  who,  weeping 
bitterly  with  "  no  counterfeit  pa.ssion,"  feU  at  his 
feet,  and  told  him  that  the  White  Ship  was  lost, 
and  that  all  on  board  had  perished.  The  hard 
heart  of  Henry  was  not  proof  to  this  shock — he 
sunk  to  the  ground  in  a  swoon;  and  though  he 
survived  it  many  years,  and  indulged  again  in 
his  habitual  amliition,  he  was  never  afterwards 
seen  to  sniile.^  Ey  the  jieople  at  large,  the  death 
of  the  young  piince  was  regarded  with  satisfac- 
tion ;  for  indejiendently  of  his  hateful  vices,  by 
which  he  had  utterly  forfeited  their  sym]iathy, 
he  had  been  often  heard  to  threaten  that  he  would 
yoke  the  English  natives  to  the  plough,  and  treat 
them  like  beasts  of  burden,  when  he  became 
king. 

As  Henry  was  now  deprived  of  his  only  legiti- 


'  Qui  panponor  err.t  omnibus,  renone  amictua  ex  arietinis  pel- 

libus Oidi>.ric. 

2  Ofderic  •  Mnlmesb.:  Hm.  Hi^nt.:  R.  Hoveden.-  W,  GcmU. 


mate  son,  he  was  oast  upon  new  jilans  for  the 
securing  of  his  various  states  in  his  family.  At 
the  same  time,  the  same  event  seemed  to  brighten 
the  prospects  of  his  nephew,  William  of  Nor- 
mandy, whose  friends  certainly  increased  soon 
after  the  demise  of  the  heir  apparent.  A  circum- 
stance connected  with  the  marriage  of  the  di'owned 
prince  hastened  and  gave  a  colour  of  just  resent- 
ment to  one  declaration  in  favour  of  Fitz-Robert. 
His  former  friend  Fulk,  Earl  of  Anjou,  demanded 
back  from  Henry  his  daughter  Matilda,  together 
with  the  dower  he  had  given  to  Prince  William. 
King  Henry  willingly  gave  up  the  yoiuig  lady,' 
Ijut  refused  to  part  with  the  money;  and  upon 
this,  Fulk,  who  was  an  adept  in  these  matters, 
renewed  his  matrimonial  negotiations  with  the 
son  of  Duke  Robert,  and  finally  affianced  to  him 
his  younger  daughter  Sibylla,  putting  him,  mean- 
while, in  possession  of  the  earldom  of  Mons.  Louis 
of  Fi-ance  continued  to  favour  the  young  prince, 
and  some  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Norman 
barons  entered  into  a  conspiracy  in  his  favoui 
against  his  unkind  uncle,  Henry.  But  no  art — 
no  precaution — could  conceal  these  manoauvi-es 
from  the  English  king,  who  had  sjiies  everywhere, 
and  who  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  amoug  the  Nor- 
man lords  before  they  were  prepared.  It  cost 
him,  however,  more  than  a  year  to  subdue  this 
revolt;  but  then  he  made  the  Norman  leaders  of 
it  prisoners,  and  induced  the  Earl  of  Anjou  once 
more  to  abandon  the  cause  of  his  intended  son- 
in-law. 

Some  time  before  effecting  this  peace,  Henry, 
in  the  vain  hope  of  otl'spring,  which  he  thought 
must  destroy  the  expectations  of  his  nephew, 
espoused  Adelais,  or  Alice,  daughter  of  Geoffrey, 
Duke  of  Louvain,  and  niece  to  the  reigning  pope, 
Calixtus  II.  This  new  queen  was  young,  and 
very  beautiful,  but  the  marriage  was  not  produc- 
tive of  any  issue;  and  after  three  or  four  years 
had  jiassed,  the  king  formed  the  bold  design  of 
settling  the  crown  of  England  and  the  ducal  coro- 
net of  Noi-mandy  on  his  da\ighter  Matilda,  who 
had  become  a  widow  in  1124,  by  the  death  of  her 
husband,  the  Emperor  Henry  V. 

On  the  solemn  day  of  Christmas  (a.d.  1126) 
there  was  a  general  assembly  in  Windsor  Castle, 
of  the  bishops,  abbots,  barons,  and  all  the  great 
tenants  of  the  crown,  who,  for  the  most  part 
acting  against  their  inward  conviction,  unani- 
mozisl)/  declared  the  ex-empress  Matilda  to  be  the 
next  heii-  to  the  throne,  in  the  case  (now  not  pro- 
blematical) of  her  father's  dying  without  legiti- 
mate male  issue.  They  then  swore  to  maintain 
her  succession — the  clergy  swearing  first,  in  the 
order  of  their  rank,  and  after  them  tlie  laity, 
among  whom  there  seems  to  have  been  more  than 

^  Ten  years  after,  Matilda  became  a  uun  iii  the  celebrated  con- 
vent of  Fontevraud. 


A.n.  1100—1135.1 


HENRY  I.  (BEAUCLERK). 


22!) 


one  dispute  touching  precedence.'  The  most  re- 
markable of  these  disputes,  as  being  an  index  to 
liidden  asiiirations,  was  that  for  priority  between 
Stephen,  Earl  of  Boulogne,  and  Robert,  Eai-1  of 
Gloucester.  Stei)hen  was  the  king's  nephew,  by 
the  daughter  of  the  Conqueror,  Henry's  sister, 
Adela:  Robert,  on  the  other  side,  was  the  king's 
own  son,  but  was  of  illcgitim.ate  birth;  and  the 
delicate  point  to  be  decided  was,  wliether  prece- 
dence was  due  to  legitimacy  of  birth  or  to  near- 
ness of  blood;  or,  in  other  words,  which  of  the 
two — the  lawfidly  begotten  nephew  of  a  king,  or 
the  unlawfully  begotten  son  of  a  king — was  the 
greater  personage.  The  shade  of  the  great  Con- 
queror might  have  been  vexed  at  such  a  dis- 
cussion; but  though  the  reigning  family  deri- 
ved its  claim  from  a  bastard,  the  question  was 
decided  by  the  assemlily  in  favour  of  the  nephew, 
Stephen,  who  accordingly  swore  first.  The 
question  had  not  arisen  out  of  the  small  spirit 
of  courtly  form  and  etiquette;  the  disputants 
had  higher  oljjects.  They  contemplated  psrjury 
in  the  very  preliminary  of  their  oaths.  Feel- 
ing, in  common  with  every  bai-on  present  at 
that  wholesale  swearing,  that  the  succession 
of  Jilatilda  was  insecure,  they  both  looked  for- 
ward to  the  crown;  and  ou  that  account  each 
was  anxious  to  be  declared  the  first  prince  of  the 
blood. 

The  same  year  that  brought  Matilda  to  Eng- 
land, saw  Fulk,  the  Earl  of  Anjou,  depart  for  the 
Holy  Land,  it  being  his  destiny  to  become  a  very 
inditl'erent  king  of  Jerusalem.  He  renounced  the 
government  of  the  province  of  Aiijou  to  his  son, 
Geoffrey,  surnamed  Flantagcnet,  on  account  of  a 
custom  he  had  of  wearing  a  sprig  of  flowering 
broom"  in  his  cap  like  a  feather.  Henry  had 
many  times  felt  the  hostile  power  of  the  earls  of 
Anjou,  and  various  political  considerations  in- 
duced him  to  conclude  a  marriage  between  his 
daughter  Matilda  and  this  Geoffrey,  the  son  of 
Fulk.  The  ex-emjiress,  though  partly  against  her 
liking,  consented  to  the  match,  which  was  nego- 
tiated and  concluded  with  great  secrecy.  The 
barons  of  England  and  Normandy  pretended  that 
the  king  had  no  right  thus  to  dispose  of  their 
future  sovereign  without  previously  consulting 


^  David,  King  of  Scotland,  in  hig  quality  of  English  earl,  or 
holder  of  lands  iii  England,  swore  first  of  all  to  support  Matilda, 
who  was  his  own  niece. 

-  In  old  French  geilr:st  (now  rrcnL-t],  from  the  Latin  genista. 

^  The  beautiful  enamelled  tablet  fi'om  which  this  representa- 
tion 19  derived  was  formerly  in  the  chm-ch  of  St.  Julien,  and 
is  now  presented  in  the  museum  at  Mans.  The  earl  appears  at 
full  length  imdor  an  arch  decorated  with  semicircular  orna- 
ments, .and  supported  on  either  side  by  a  pillar  with  a  cai)ital 
of  foliage.  He  wears  a  steel  cajj  in  form  like  the  Phrygi.an, 
enamelled  with  a  leopard  of  gold.  In  his  right  hand  is  a  sword, 
his  left  supports  a  shield,  which  is  adorned  with  golden  leopards 
onablue  field,  similar  to  the  cap.  This  shield  is  of  the  long  kite 
shape,  and  reaches  from  the  shoulders  to  the  feet;  it  bears  a 
btrdtiug  resemblance  to  those  represeuted  on  the  Bayeux  Tapes- 


Geokfrkv  Pi.antaornet  -^ 
From  liis  mouument.al  tablet. 


them ;  they  were  generally  dissatisfied  witli  the 
[iroceeding,  and  some  of  them  openlj'  declared 
that  it  released  them  from  the  obligations  of  the 
oath  they  had  taken  to 
Matilda;  but  Henry  dis- 
regai'ded  their  mur- 
murs, and  congi'atulat- 
ed  himself  ou  liis  policy, 
which  united  the  inter- 
ests of  the  house  of  An- 
jou with  tho.se  of  his 
own.  The  marriage  was 
celebrated  at  Rouen,  in 
the  octaves  of  the  feast 
of  Whitsuntide,  1127, 
and  the  festival  was  pro- 
longed during  three 
weeks.  Henry  some- 
what despotically  order- 
ed, by  proclamation, 
everybody  to  be  meri-y, 
and  all  who  refused,  to 
be  deemed  as  offenders, 
and  guilty  of  disloyalty. 

But,  rejoice  as  he  might,  Hemy  felt  that  the 
succession  of  his  daughter  could  never  be  secure, 
if  his  nephew,  William  Fitz-Robert,  survived 
him;  and  he  applied  himself  with  all  his  craft  to 
effect  the  ruin  of  that  young  man,  who,  at  the 
moment,  occupied  a  position  that  matle  him  truly 
formidable.  At  the  late  peace,  the  French  king 
had  not  abandoned  his  interests,  like  Fulk,  the 
Earl  of  Anjou;  on  the  contrary,  Louis  invited 
him  again  to  his  court,  and  soon  after,  in  lieu  of 
Sibylla  of  Anjou,  gave  him  the  hand  of  his  queen's 
sister,  and  with  her,  as  a  portion,  the  countries 
of  Pontoise,  Chaumont,  and  the  Vexin,  on  the 
borders  of  Normandy.  Soon  after  this  advan- 
tageous settlement,  Charles  the  Good,  Earl  of 
Flanders,  successor  to  Baldwin,  the  steady  friend 
of  the  son  of  Duke  Robert,  was  mm-dered  in  a 
church  at  the  very  foot  of  the  altar.  The  king 
of  France  entered  Flanders,  as  liege  lord,  and 
with  the  consent  of  the  peoijle,  to  punish  the 
sacrilegious  murderers;  and  having  done  this,  he, 
in  virtue  of  his  feudal  suzerainty,  conferred  the 
earldom  upon  young  William  of  Normandy,  who 

try,  save  that  the  upper  part  is  not  ciu-ved,  though  the  angles 
are  rounded.  He  weai-s  an  under  tunic  of  light  blue,  ornamen- 
ted with  borders  of  gold,  an  upper  one  of  green;  his  in.autle  is  of 
light  blue,  and  is  lined  with  vair;  above  the  mantle  and  over 
the  right  shoulder  is  his  belt.  The  whole  groundwork  of  the 
tablet  is  cui'iously  tilled  up  with  small  trefoil,  scroll,  and  other 
ornaments.    Over  the  head  of  the  figure  is  this  inscription: — 

ENSE  TVO,  PRINCEPS,  PREDONVM  TVIIBA  FVaATVB, 
ECCLe"  II.S  Q'  QVIE.S  PACE  VIOENTE  DATTU. 

Tlic  heraldic  bearings  on  this  tablet— by  rome  thought  to  be 
gritlins  ^though  they  are  in  all  probability  leopards  or  lions) — 
have  excited  much  attention  from  being  perhaps  the  earliest 
specimen  extant  of  armorial  b&arings.  The  style  in  wliich  the 
tablet  is  executed  leaves  little  doubt  but  that  tliis  memorial  of 
Geoffrey  Plantagenet  was  uiaile  about  the  time  when  he  died. 


230 


HISTOKY  OF  ENGLAND 


had  accompiuiied  liim  in  the  expedition,  and  wlio 
had  such  chums  been  aUowed,  liad  a  good  lieredi 
tary  ri^ht  to  it  ;us  the  rejiresentative  of 
his    gi-andmother,   Matilda,    wlio    was 
daughter  of  Earl  Bahlwin  of  the  oUl  legi- 
timate line.    Tlie  Flemish  people  offered 
uo  opiiosition   to  their  new  earl;   and 
King  Louis,  with  his  army,  departed,  in 
the  gi-atifying  conviction  that   he  had 
secured  a  stable  dominion  to  his  gallant 
young  brother-in-law,  and  placed  him  in 
a  situation  the  most  favourable  for  the 
conquest  of  Normandy,  or  at  least  for  the 
curbing  of  that  ambition  in  the  English 
king,  which  continued  to  give  uneasiness 
to  Louis.    This  uneasiness  could  not  fail 
of  being  increased  by  the  union  between 
the  Norman  line  and  the  house  of  Anjou, 
which  took  place  at  this  very  time.    But 
the  French  army  had  scarcely  left  the 
country,  when  the  Flemish  people  broke 
out  into  revolt  against  their  new  earl,  and 
asked  and  received  assistance  from  King  Henry. 
A  respectable  party,  however,  adhered  to  William, 
who  had  many  qualities  to  insiu-e  respect  and  love. 
In  the  field  he  had  a  manifest  advantage  over 
the   ill-directed    insurgents,   who   then    invited 
Thiediik  or  Thierry,  Landgrave  of  Alsace,  to  put 
himself  at  their-  head.     Thien-y  gladly  accepted 
their  invitation.    He  advanced  a  claim  to  the  suc- 
cession on  the  gi-ound  of  his  descent  from  some  old 
chief  of  the  country;  and  Henry,  who  found  in 
him  the  instrument  he  wanted,  sent  him  money, 
and  engaged  to  support  him  with  all  his  might. 
The  treacherous  surrender  of  Lisle,  Ghent,  and 
other  important  ])laees  in  Flanders,  immediately 
followed;  but  William,  who  had  the  courage  and 
military  skill  of  his  unfortunate  father,  without 
any  of  his  indolence,  completely  defeated  his  an- 
tagonist, Thien-y,  under  the  walls  of  Alost.     Most 
unfortunately,  however,  in  the  moment  of  victoiy, 
he  received  a  pike  wound  in  the  hand,  and  this 
being  neglected,  or  improperly  treated  by  igno- 
rant surgeons,  brought  on  a  mortification.     He 
was   conveyed   to  the   monastery  of   St.  Omer, 
where  he  died  on  the  27th  of  July,  1128,  in  his 
twenty-sixth  year.    In  his  last  moments,  he  wi-ote 
to  his  unnatural  uncle,  to  implore  mercy  for  the 
Norman  barons  who  had  followed  his  fortunes. 
Henry,  in  the  joy  of  his  heart,  gi-anted  the  re- 
quest of  his  deceased  nephew,  who  left  no  chil- 
dren to  prolong  the  king's  inquietude,  or  serve 
as  a  rallying  point  to  the  disaffected  nobles.     We 
are  not  infoi-med  whether  the  tidings  of  WUliam's 
brief  gi-eatness  were  conveyed  into  the  dungeon 
of  Cardiff  Castle,  to  solace  the  heart  of  his  suffer- 
ing father,  or  whether  the  news  of  his  early  death, 
which  so  soon  followed  it,  was  in  mercy  concealed 
from  the  blind  old  man. 


[Civil  and  MiLrrAur. 

To  work  out  his  purposes,  Henry  had  hesitated 
It  no  treachery,  no  bloodshed,  no  crime,  and  yet 


Chapi'ER  IIouse  and  paiu'  of  the  Catheukal,  St.  Omer.' 
Architectural  Papers. 


Weale'& 


he  fondly  hoped  to  end  his  days  in  tranquillity. 
The  winding  up  of  his  story  is  little  more  than  a 
succession  of  petty  family  jars  and  discords — the 
very  bathos  of  ambition  and  worldly  grandeur. 
His  daughter,  Matilda,  presuming  on  the  imperial 
rank  she  had  held,  and  being  naturally  of  a  jjroud, 
imperious  temper,  soon  quan-elled  with  her  hus- 
band :  a  separation  took  place ;  Matilda  returned 
to  England,  and  her  father  was  oecujiied  during 
many  months  with  these  family  disputes,  and  in 
negotiating  a  peace  between  man  and  wife.  At 
length  a  reconciliation  was  patched  up,  and  Ma- 
tilda returned  to  her  husband.  The  oath-breaker, 
her  father,  thought  he  could  never  exact  oaths 
enough  from  others;  and  before  his  daughter  left 
England,  he  made  the  prelates  and  barons  again 
swear  fealty  to  her.  Henry,  who,  in  sjjite  of 
these  precautions,  well  knew  the  chances  to  which 
Matilda  would  be  exposed,  ardently  longed  for  a 
grandson,  whom  he  hoped  to  see  gi-ow  up;  but 
for  six  years  he  was  kept  uneasy  and  unhappy 
by  the  unfruitf  ulness  of  the  marriage.  In  March, 
1133,  however,  Matilda  was  delivered,  at  Mans, 
of  her  firet  child,  Henry,  staled  Fitz-Empress, 
who  was  afterwards  Henry  II.  of  England.  At 
the  birth  of  this  grandson  the  king  again  con- 
voked the  barons  of  England  and  Normandy,  and 
made  them  recognize  as  his  successors  the  chil- 
dren of  his  daughter,  after  him  and  after  her. 
The  nobles,  being  accustomed  to  the  taking  of 
oaths  which  they  meant  to  break,  swore  fealty 
afresh,  not  only  to  Matilda,  but  to  her  infant  son, 
and  the  rest  of  her  progeny  as  yet  unborn.  The 
ex-empress  gave  birth  to  two  more  princes, 
Geoffrey  and  William,  in  the  course  of  the  two 

•  Tliis  fine  cathedral  is  of  the  style  of  transition  from  the  round 
to  the  pointed  style  of  the  twelfth  century. 


A.u.  1  loo— 1135.] 


HENRY  1.  (liEAUCLERK) 


231 


following  yeai-s;  but  oven  a  gi'owiiig  family  failed 
to  eudeai-  her  husband  to  her;   slie  i|u;u-relled 


Mans.' — Froiu  n  modem  French  print. 

with  lam  ou  all  possible  occasions:  and  as  her 
father  took  her  part,  she  kept  his  mind  almost  con- 
stantly occupied  with  their  dissensions.  Under 
these  circumstances,  it  was  not  natural  that 
Geotfrey  Plantagenet  should  prove  a  loving  and 
dutiful  son-in-law.  He  demanded  immediate  pos- 
session of  Normandy,  which  he  said  Hemy  had 
promised  him;  and  when  the  king  refused,  he 
broke  out  into  threats  and  insults.  Matilda,  it 
is  said,  exerted  her  malignant  and  ingenious 
sph-it  in  widening  the  breach  between  her  own 
husband  and  fatlier.  The  four  last  years  of 
Henry's  reign,  which  were  spent  wholly  abroad, 
were  troubled  with  these  domestic  broils.  At 
length  an  incm-sion  of  the  Welsh  demanded  his 
presence  in  England;  and  he  was  preparing  for 
that  journey,  when  death  despatched  him  on  a 
longer  one.  His  health  and  spu'its  had  been  for 
some  time  visibly  on  the  decline.  On  the  25th 
of  November,  "  to  drive  his  grief  away,  he  went 
abroad  to  hunt."     Having  pursued  his  sport  dur- 


I  ing  the  day,  in  tlie  woods  of  Lions-lu-Foret,  ia 

i  Normandy,-'  he  returned  home  in  the  eveuiu", 

"  somewhat  amended,"  and  being 

hungry,  "would  needs  eat  of  a 

°=^Jt,;2«;;f  lamprey,   though    his    physician 

'"  ever  counselled  him  to  the  con- 

trary."   The  lamprey  or  lampreys 
he  ate  brought  on  an  indigestion; 
and  the  indigestion  a  fever.     On 
the  third  day,  despairing  of  his 
i-ecovery,  he  sent  for  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Rouen,  who  adminis- 
tered the  sacrament  and  extreme 
unction;  and,  on  the  seventh  day 
of  his  illness,  which  was  Sunday, 
December  1,  a.d.  1135,  he  expired 
at  the  midnight  hour.     He  was 
in  his  sixty-seventh   year,   and 
had  reigned  thirty-five  ye;irs  and 
fom'  months,  wanting  four  day.s. 
By  his  will  he  left  to  his  dauglitcr, 
Matilda,  and  her  heirs  for  ever, 
all  his  territories  ou  cither  side 
the  sea;  and  he  desired  that  when  his  lawful  debts 
were  dischai-ged,  and  the  liveries  and  wages  of 
his  retainers  paid,  the  residue  of  his  eS'ccts  should 
be  distributed  among  the  poor.     They  kejit  the 
royal  bowels  in  Normandy,  and  deposited  them 
in  the  church  of  St.  Mai-y,  at  Eouen,  which  his 
mother  had  founded;  but  the  body  was  conveyed 
to   England,  and   interred   in   Reading   Abbey, 
which  Henry  had  built  himself. 

The  best  circumstances  attending  his  long 
reign  were,  the  peace  he  maintained  in  England, 
and  a  partial  respect  to  the  laws  which  his 
vigorous  government  imposed  on  his  haughty  anil 
ferocious  barons.''  Considering  the  times,  extra- 
ordinary care  liad  been  taken  of  his  education. 
His  natural  abilities  were  excellent;  and  so  gi-eat 
was  his  progi-ess  in  the  philosophy  and  Uterature 
of  the  age,  that  his  contemporaries  honom-ed  him 
with  the  name  of  Beauclerk,  or  the  fine  scholar. 
He  was  proud  of  his  learning,  and  in  the  habit  of 
saying  that  he  considered  an  unlearned  king  as 


'  The  view  includes  the  c.ithedral  and  part  of  the  fortifications 
of  the  town.  The  cathedral  is  built  npon  the  loimdations  of  an 
ancient  temple.  The  most  ancient  pai-t  of  the  edifice  is  the  nave, 
which  Is  by  different  authorities  ascribed  to  the  ninth  and  the 
eleventh  centuries.  The  choir  and  transepts  are  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  chou-  ia  remarkably  bold  iu  style,  and  has  a  lofty 
roof;  it  contains  a  quantity  of  fine  stained  glass.  A  tower  at 
the  end  of  one  of  the  transepts  rises  upw.ard3  of  200  ft.  from 
the  ground.  The  cathedral  is  surrounded  by  thirteen  small 
ch.apels.  The  town  contains  several  other  chui'ches,  and  an  abbey 
of  St.  Vincent,  now  occupied  as  a  seminary  lor  priests.  Mans 
contains  several  vestiges  of  Koman  edifices,  among  which  are 
those  of  an  araphithejitre. 

-  Lions-la-Foret,  now  a  town,  is  at  a  short  distance  from 
Rouen,  and  is  approached  through  the  remains  of  a  fore-st,  to 
which  it  owes  its  surname.  To  this  forest,  once  of  great  extent, 
the  Norman  pi-inces  eagerly  resorted  for  the  diversion  of  the 
chase.  So  early  as  029,  William  I.,  Duke  of  Norm.andy,  built  a 
hunting-bo.\  there,  which  after^vards  became  a  castle  imiwrtant 


from  its  strength.  This  forest  w.as  the  scene  in  wliich,  as  con- 
genial gi'oniul,  were  laid  many  of  the  adventures  recorded  in 
the  old  chronicles  and  romances. — Tour  in  A'ormandif,  by  II. 
Gaily  Knight. 

^  *'  During  the  t>Tannical  reign  of  Rufils,  the  arbitrary  mil  of 
the  monarch  constituted  the  only  code  by  which  the  subject  was 
nUed;  but  the  charter  of  Hemy  I.  'restored  the  law  of  Edward;' 
or,  in  other  words,  re-established  or  intended  to  re-estjxblish  the 
.\nglo-Sa.\on  jurisprudence  as  it  existed  before  the  invasion.  To 
wh.at  extent  the  .altei'ations,  consequent  upon  the  change  of  pro- 
perty amongst  the  higher  orders,  had  modificil  tho  older  insti- 
tutions, we  cannot  entirely  ascertain  ;  and  some  of  the  doctrines 
introduced  by  the  Conqueror  were  silently  preparing  tho  w.ay 
for  futiu-e  revolutions.  But,  in  theory,  the  customs  of  tho 
ancient  national  monarchs  still  prov.ailed,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  the  law,  though  severe,  was  neither  discreditable  to  the 
government  nor  ungi-ateful  to  a  people,  then  advancing  in  good 
order  and  civilization." — Palgrave's  liisc  and  l'rog>i:ss  of  On 
EnglUU  Covimonwtattlit  [lart  i.  p.  240. 


niSTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


notliiiig  better  tli.in  a  crowned  ass.    He  was  very  I  b.attle  in  the  service  of  their  iinraeiliato  superior. 


foud  of  men  of  letters,  and  of  wild  beasts;  and, 
to  enjoy  both,  he  often  fixed  liis  residence  be- 
tween tlieni;  fir,  in  the  words  of  one  of  the 
chroniclers,  "  He  took  chief  pleasure  to  reside  in 
his  new  palace,  which  liiinself  built  at  Oxford, 
both  for  the  delight  he  had  in  learned  men — 
himself  being  very  learned — and  for  the  vicinity 
of  liis  new  jiark  at  Woodstock,  which  he  had 
fraught  with  all  kinds  of  strange  beasts,  wherein 
lie  much  delighted,  as  lions,  leopards,  lynxes, 
camels,  porcupines,  and  the  like."  '     His  love  of 


Remains  of  Readtno  Abbey.- — Grose's  Antiqxiities. 

letters,  however,  did  not  interfere  with  his  re- 
venge. In  the  last  war  in  which  he  w-as  person- 
ally engaged  on  the  Continent,  Luke  de  Ban  e, 
a  knightly  poet,  who  had  fought  against  him,  was 
made  prisoner,  and  bai-barously  sentenced  to  lose 
his  ej'es.  Charles  the  Good,  Eai-1  of  Flanders, 
who  was  present,  remonstrated  against  the 
punishment,  urging,  among  other  things,  that  it 
was  not  the  custom  to  inflict  bodily  punishment 
on  men  of  the  rank  of  knights,  who  had  done 


'  Jio9Su9.,  quoted  in  Speed's  Chronicle. 

-  Re.-icliiig  Abbey  was  biiilt  by  Henry  I,,  who  was  buried 
witliiji  its  w.ills.  It  was  subsequently  converted  into  h  royal 
palace,  but  it  has  long  since  fallen  into  total  ruin. 


Henry  replied,  "This  is  not  the  first  time  that 
Luke  de  Barr6  has  borne  arms  against  me:  but 
he  has  been  guilty  of  still  worse  things;  for  he 
has  satirized    me  in  his    poems,  and    made  me 
a  laughiug-stoek   to   mine  enemies.     From   his 
example,  let  other  verse-makers  learn  what  they 
have  to  expect  when  they  offend  the  King  of 
England."     The  cruel  sentence  was  wholly  or 
pai'tly  executed,  and  the  poet,  in  a  paroxysm  of 
agony,  bui'st  from  the  savage  hands  of  the  exe- 
cutionei-s,  and  dashed  out  his  brains  against  the 
wall.'    Early  in  life,  he  chose 
his  chaphiin  by  the  rapidity 
with  which  he  got  through  a 
mass,    saying,   that    no    man 
could  be  so  tit  a  mass-priest 
for  soldiers   as  one  who   did 
his  work  with  such  despatch. 
While   making  war   in   Nor- 
mandy, Henry  chanced  to  enter 
this  priest's  church,  as  it  lay 
on  his  road,  near  Caen.      And 
when  the  royal  youth,"  says 
William  of  Newbury,  "  said, 
'  Follow  me ! '    he  adhered  as 
closely  to  him  as  Teter  did  to 
Ins  heavenly  Lord,  uttering  a 
similar  command ;  for  Peter, 
leaving  his  vessel,  followed  the 
King  of  kings — he,  leaving  his 
church,  followed  the  prince,  and,  being  appointed 
chaplain  to  him  and  his  troops,  became  a  blind 
leader  of  the  blind."     In  some  worldly  respects, 
at  least,  the  censure  was  too  severe.     The  speedy 
chaplain,  who   will   re-appear  under   the  reign 
of  Stephen,  was  Eoger,  afterwards  the  famous 
Bishop  of   Sarum,  and  treasurer  and  favourite 
minister  to  Henry,  who  invariably  made  such 
elections  from  among  the  most  able  and  quick- 
sighted  of  men.' 


3  Oi-dericus  Vitaln. 

*  During  Henrj''s  frequent  and  long  absences  fi-oru  England, 
Eoger  seems  almost  without  exception  to  have  been  lord-lieu- 
tenant,  or  regent  of  the  kingdom. 


A.D.  1135—1154.] 


STEPHEN. 


^33 


CHAPTER  IV.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY. 

STEPHEN. — A.l).  1135— 1I.>1. 

Opposition  m.ade  to  the  succession  of  MatiMa — Stephen  is  crownetl  in  her  stead — His  unwise  concesiions  to  tlie 
barons — Tiie  Earl  of  Ulouce.^tor  intrigues  against  Itiin  in  favour  of  ilatilila — TlieScots  invade  Englaml — Battle 
of  tlie  Standard,  aiui  defeat  of  tlie  Scots — The  Ijishojj  of  Saruni's  rebellion  against  Stephen — Its  suppression — 
Matilda  lands  in  England  ami  claims  the  crown — Wars  between  her  and  Stei)heii — Stephen  taken  prisoner — 
Matihla  driven  from  London  by  the  adherents  of  Stephen — She  is  defeated,  and  Ste]>hen  restored — Troubles 
of  the  land  from  the  contest — Matilda's  singular  escajje  from  Oxford— She  retires  to  Normandy — (Quarrels  of 
Stephen  with  his  prelates  anil  barons — Prince  Henry,  son  of  Matilda,  asserts  his  right  to  the  crown — He  in- 
vades England — Treaty  by  which  Stephen  retains  the  crown  for  life,  with  Uenry  for  ijis  successor — Death  of 
Stephen. 


CARCELY  was  lleury  Beaiiclerk 
dead  wheu  events  ])roved  how  fruit- 
less wei-e  all  his  pains  and  precau- 
tions to  secure  the  succession  to  his 
daughter,  and  how  utterly  valueless 
were  unanimous  oaths  which  were 
rather  tlie  offspring  of  fear  than  of  inward  con- 
viction iuid  good-will.  Passing  over  the  always 
questionable  obligation  of  oaths  of  this  nature, 
there  were  several  capital  obstacles  to  bar  the 
avenues  of  the  throne  to  Matilda.  The  first 
among  these  was  her  sex.  Since  the  time  of  the 
ancient  Britons,  England  had  never  obeyed  a 
female  sovereign ;  and  the  Saxons  for  a  long  time 
had  even  a  marked  aversion  to  the  name  and 
dignity  of  queen  when  applied  only  to  the  reign- 
ing king's  wife.'  In  the  same  manner,  the  Nor- 
mans had  never  known  a  female  reign,  the  notion 
of  which  was  most  repugnant  to  the  wliole  course 
of  their  habits  and  feelings.  To  Iiold  their  fiefs 
"imder  the  distatt'"  (as  it  was  called)  was  con- 
sidered humiliating  to  a  nobility  whose  business 
was  war,  and  whose  king,  according  to  the  feudal 
system,  was  little  else  than  the  first  of  many 
warriors — a  chief  expected  to  be  in  the  saddle, 
and  at  the  head  of  his  chivalry  whenever  occasion 
demanded.  We  accordingly  find  that  a  loud 
and  general  cry  was  i-aised  by  the  Anglo-Noi-man 
and  Noi'man  barons,  that  it  would  be  most  dis- 
graceful for  so  many  noble  knights  to  obey  the 
orders  of  a  woman.  In  certain  stages  of  society, 
and  in  all  the  earliest,  the  Salic  law,  or  that  por- 
tion of  it  excluding  females  from  the  throne,  to 
which  we  have  limited  its  name  and  meaning,  is 
a  natural  law.  These  all  but  iusurmoiuitable 
objections  would  not  hold  good  against  her  son 
Henry;  but  that  prince  was  an  infant  not  yet  four 
years  old,  and  regencies  under  a  long  minority 
were  as  incompatible  with  the  spii-it  and  condi- 
tion of  the  times,  as  a  female  reign.     Queens 


'  See  vol.  i.     Saxou  Period. 


Vol.  I. 


governing  in  their  own  right  and  by  themselves, 
antl  faithfully  guarded  minorities,  are  both  the 
product  of  an  age  much  more  civilized  and  settled 
than  the  twelfth  century,  and  the  approach  to 
them  was  slow  and  gradual.  It  was  something, 
however,  to  have  confined  the  riglit  of  succession 
to  the  legitimately  born;  for  if  the  case  had 
occurred  a  little  earlier  in  England,  the  grown-up 
and  experienced  natural  sou  of  the  king,  standing 
in  the  position  of  Roberta,  Earl  of  (Gloucester, 
might  possibly  have  been  elected  without  scrujilo, 
as  had  hapjiened  to  Edmund  Ironside,  Athelstane, 
and  others  of  the  Saxon  line. 

No  one  was  better  acquainted  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times,  and  the  obstacles  raised  against  Ma- 
tilda and  Earl  Robert,  tha,n  the  ambitious  Ste- 
phen, nephew  of  the  late  king,  wlio  had  taken 
many  measures  beforehand,  who  Wiis  encouraged 
by  the  irregularity  of  the  succession  ever  since 
the  Conquest,  and  who  would  no  doubt  give  the 
widest  inter]  >retation  to  whatever  of  elective  cha- 
racter was  held  to  belong  to  the  English  crown. 
Henry  had  been  unusually  bountiful  to  this 
nephew.  He  married  him  to  Maud,  daughter 
and  heir  of  Eustace,  Count  of  lioulogne,  who 
brought  him,  in  addition  to  the  feudal  sove- 
reignty of  Boulogne,  immense  estates  in  England, 
which  had  been  conferred  by  the  Conqueror  on 
the  family  of  the  count.  By  this  marriage  Ste- 
phen also  acquired  another  close  connection  with 
lite  royal  family  of  England,  and  a  new  hold  upon 
the  sympathies  of  the  English,  as  his  wife  Maud 
was  of  the  old  Saxon  stock,  being  the  only  child 
of  Mary  of  Scotland,  sister  to  David,  the  reigning 
king,  as  also  to  the  good  Queen  ]\Iaud,  the  first 
wife  of  Henry,  and  mother  of  the  Empress  Ma- 
tilda. Still  further  to  aggrandize  this  favourite 
nephew,  Henry  conferred  upon  him  tlie  great 
estate  forfeited  by  Robert  Mallet  in  England, 
and  that  forfeited  by  tlie  Earl  of  Mortaigne  in 
Normandy.  He  also  brought  over  Stephen's 
younger  brother,  Henry,  who,  being  a  church- 
30 


23t 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mimtarv. 


man,  was  created  abbot  of  Glastonbury  and 
Bishop  of  Winchester.  Stephen  had  resided 
much  iu  England,  and  had  rendered  himself  ex- 
ceedingly popidar  both  to  the  Normans  and  the 
people  of  Saxon  race.  The  barons  and  knights 
admired  him  for  his  undoubted  bravery  and  acti- 
vity— the  people  for  his  generositj',  the  beauty  of 
his  person,  and  his  affable,  familiar  manners. 
The  king  might  not  know  it,  but  he  was  the 
poi)vdar  favouj'ite  in  the  already  important  and 
fast-rising  city  of  London  before  Henry's  death. 
When  that  event  happened,  he  was  nearer  Eng- 
land than  Matilda,  whose  rights  he  had  long  de- 
termined to  dispute.  Taking  advantage  of  his 
situation,  he  crossed  the  Channel  immediately, 
and  though  the  gates  of  Dover  and  Canterbuiy 
were  shut  against  him,  he  was  received  in  Lon- 
don with  enthusiastic  joy,  the  populace  saluting 
hira  as  king  without  waiting  for  the  formalities 
of  the  election  and  consecration.  The  first  step 
to  the  English  thi-one  in  those  days,  as  we  have 
seen  iu  the  cases  of  Rufus  and  Henry,  was  to  get 
possession  of  the  royal  ti-easm-y  at  Winchester. 
Stephen's  own  brother  was  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
and  by  his  assistance  he  got  the  keys  into  his 
hands.  The  treasure  consisted  of  £100,000  in 
money,  besides  plate  and  jewels  of  gi-eat  value. 
His  episcopal  bi-other  was  otherwise  of  the  great- 
est use,  being  mainly  instrumental  in  winning 
over  Roger,  Bishop  of  Sarum,  then  chief  justi- 
ciary and  regent  of  the  kingdom,  and  William 
Corboil,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Bishop 
Roger,  he  who  had  been  the  speedy  mass-priest 
of  King  Henry,  was  easily  gained  through  his 
constant  craving  after  money;  but  the  primate 
was  not  assailable  on  that  side,  being  a  very  con- 
scientious though  weak  man;  it  was  therefore 
thought  necessary  to  practise  a  deception  upon 
him,  and  Hugh  Bigod,  steward  of  the  late  house- 
hold, made  oath  before  hira  and  other  lords  of 
the  laud,  that  the  king  on  his  death-bed  had 
adopted  and  chosen  liis  nejJiew,  Stephen,  to  be 
his  heu-  and  successor,  because  his  daughter  the 
empress  had  gi-ievously  offended  him  by  her 
recent  conduct.  This  was  a  most  disgraceful 
measm-e;  and  those  men  were  more  honest,  and 
in  every  sense  occupied  better  ground,  who  main- 
tained that  the  gi-eat  kingdom  of  England  was 
not  a  heritable  property,  or  a  thing  to  be  willed 
away  by  a  dying  king,  without  the  consent  and 
against  the  customs  of  the  people.  After  hear- 
ing Bigod's  oath,  the  archbishop  seems  to  have 
floated  quietly  with  the  current,  -without  offering 
either  resistance  or  remonstrance.  But  there 
were  other  oaths  to  be  considered,  for  the  whole 
body  of  the  clergy  and  nobility  had  repeatedly 
swora  fealty  to  Matilda.  We  have  already  shown 
how  the  oaths  were  considered  by  the  mass;  and 
now  the  all-prevalent  Roger,  Bishop  of  Sarum, 


openly  declared  that  those  vows  of  allegiance 
were  null  and  void,  because,  without  the  consent 
of  the  lords  of  the  land,  the  empress  was  married 
out  of  the  realm;  whereas  they  took  their  oath 
to  receive  her  as  their  queen  upon  the  express 
condition  that  she  should  never  be  so  mai-ried 
without  their  conciUTence.'  Some  scruples  may 
have  remained,  but  no  opposition  was  offered  to 
his  election,  and  on  the  2Cth  of  December,  being 
St.  Stephen's  Day,  Stephen  was  hallowed  and 
crowned  at  Westminster  by  the  primate,  Wil- 
liam Corboil.  Immediately  after  his  coronation, 
he  went  to  Reading,  to  attend  the  bm-ial  of 
the  body  of  his  uncle.  King  Henry,  and  from 
Reading  Abbey  he  proceeded  to  Oxford,  where 
he  summoned  a  gi-eat  council  of  the  prelates, 
abbots,  and  lay-barons  of  the  kingdom,  that  he 
might  receive  their  oaths  of  allegiance,  and  con- 
sult with  them  on  the  affairs  of  the  state.  When 
the  assembly  met,  he  allowed  the  clergy  to  annex 
a  condition,  which,  as  they  were  sure  to  assume 
the  right  of  interpretation,  rendered  their  oaths 
less  binding  even  than  usual.  They  swore  to 
obey  him  as  their  king  so  long  as  he  should  pre- 
serve their  chm-ch  liberties,  and  the  vigour  of 
discipline,  and  no  longer.  This  large  concession, 
however,  had  the  effect  of  conciliating  the  bishops 
and  abbots,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  pope 
soon  followed.  The  letter  of  Innocent  II.,  which 
ratified  Stephen's  title,  was  brief  and  clear.' 

Stephen  weakened  his  right  instead  of  strength- 
ening it,  by  introducing  a  variety  of  titles  into 
his  ehai-ter,  which,  in  imitation  of  his  predecessor 
Henry,  he  issued  at  this  time ;  but  particular 
stress  seems  to  have  been  laid  on  his  election  as 
king,  "  with  the  consent  of  the  clergy  and  people," 
and  on  the  confirmation  gi-anted  him  by  the  pope. 
In  this  same  charter  he  promised  to  redi'ess  all 
gi-ievances,  and  grant  to  the  people  all  the  good 
laws  and  good  customs  of  Edward  the  Confessor. 
Whatever  were  his  natural  inclinations  (and  we 
are  inclined  to  believe  they  were  not  bad  or  un- 
generous), the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 
placed,  and  the  'villainous  instiniments  with  which 
he  had  to  work,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of 
his  troubled  reign,  put  it  wholly  out  of  his  power 
to  keep  the  promises  he  had  made,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  the  English  jDeople  became  infinitely  worse 
under  him  than  it  had  been  under  Henry,  or  even 
vmder  Rufus.  A  concession  which  he  made  to 
the  lay  bai-ons  contributed  largely  to  the  fiightf  id 
anarchy  which  ensued.  To  secure  then-  affections 
and  to  strengthen  himself,  as  he  thought,  against 
the  empress,  he  granted  them  aU  permission  to 

'  Matt.  Parii.;  Gtsta  Steph. 

-  Scrip.  RfT.  Franc.  The  letter  ot  the  pope  ha3  been  preserve<l 
by  Richard  of  Hexham.  It  may  be  possible,  though  it  appear.* 
scarcely  probable,  that  the  pope  knew  nothing  of  the  oaths 
previously  taken  to  Matilda  and  her  children. 


A.I).  1135     11.54. 


STEPHEN. 


235 


fortify  their  castles  ami  Iniild  new  ones;  ami 
tlie.'se,  almost  without  an  exc-t'ption,  became  dens 
of  thieves  and  cut-tlii'oats.  At  the  same  time  he 
made  large  promises  to  the  venal  and  rajiacions 
nobles,  to  engage  them  the  more  in  support  of  Iiis 
title  to  the  orowii,  and  gave  them  strong  assur- 
ances that  they  should  enjoy  more  privileges  and 
offices  under  him  than  they  had  possessed  in  the 
reigns  of  his  Norman  predecessors.  The  keeping 
of  these  engagements  with  the  barons  would  of 
itself  render  nugatory  his  promises  to  the  English 
people ;  ajid  the  non-performance  of  them  was 
sure  to  bring  down  on  Stephen's  head  the  ven- 
geance of  a  warlike  body  of  men,  who  were  almost 
evei-ythiug  in  the  nation,  and  far  too  much,  when 
united,  for  any  royal  authority,  however  legiti- 
mately founded.  At  first,  and  probably  on  ac- 
count of  the  lai'ge  sum  of  money  he  had  in  hand 
to  meet  demands,  all  went  on  in  gi-cat  peace  and 
harmony;  and  the  court  which  the  new  king  held 
in  London  during  the  festival  of  Easter,  in  the 
first  yeai-  of  his  reign,  was  more  S])lendid,  and 
better  attended  in  every  respect,  than  any  that 
had  yet  been  seen  in  England.' 

Nor  were  the  prelates  and  bai'ons  in  Normandy 
more  averse  to  the  succession  of  Stej)hen  than 
their  brethren  in  England.  The  old  reasons  for 
desiring  a  continuance  of  their  union  with  our 
island  were  still  in  force  with  many  of  them;  and 
there  was  an  hereditary  animosity  between  the 
nobles  and  people  of  Normandy  and  those  of 
Anjou,  so  that  when  Geoffrey  Plantagenet,  Earl 
of  Anjou,  marched  into  the  duchy  to  assert  the 
rights  of  his  wife  Matilda,  he  and  his  Angevins 
met  with  a  determined  opposition,  and  he  was, 
soon  after,  glad  to  conclude  a  peace  or  truce  for 
two  years  with  Stejilien,on  condition  of  i-eceiviuT 
during  that  time  an  annual  pension  of  5000  marks. 
AVhen  Stejihen  a]ii)e:ired  on  the  Continent  he  met 
with  noHiing  to  iiulicate  that  he  was  considered 
as  an  unlawful  usurper:  the  Normans  swore  alle- 
giance, and  the  French  king  (Louis  VII. ),  with 
whom  he  had  an  interview,  formed  an  alliance 
by  contracting  his  young  sister  Constance  with 
Eustace,  Stephen's  son,  and,  as  suzerain,  granted 
the  investiture  of  Normandy  to  Eustace,  who  was 
then  a  mere  child. 

During  the  first  year  of  Stephen's  reign  Eng- 
land was  disturbed  only  by  the  revolt  of  the  Earl 
of  Exeter,  who  was  discontented  with  his  .share 
in  the  new  king's  lil)eralities;  and  by  a  Scottish 
incursion  made  into  the  ncQ-thern  counties  in 
support  of  Matilda  by  her  uncle  King  David,-' 
who,  however,  was  bought  off  for  the  present, 
by  the   grant   of   the  lordship  of   Huntingdon 

^  Ilmry  Hunting. 

2  The  Scottish  king  wa9  equally  iiiicle  to  Stei>hen'8  wife,  but 
lie  probably  remembered  the  oatlis  lie  had  taken  to  the  mother 
of  Henry. 


ami  the  castle  of  Carlisle,  with  a  few  other  con- 
cessions. 

Robert,  Earl  of  Gloucester,  the  late  king's  na- 
tural son,  who  had  so  vehemently  disputed  the 
(luestion  of  precedence  with  Stephen,  merged  his 
own  pretensioiLs  to  the  crown  in  those  of  his  half- 
sister  Matilda,  whose  cause  he  resolved  to  pro- 
mote in  England  conjointly  with  his  own  imme- 
diate advantages.  Pretending  to  be  reconciled  to 
his  i-ule,  he  came  over  from  the  Continent  (a.d. 
1137)  and  took  the  oaths  of  fealty  and  homage  to 
Stephen,  by  the  performance  of  which  ceremony 
he  obtained  instant  possession  of  his  vast  estates 
in  England;  and  the  first  use  he  made  of  the 
advantages  the  oaths  procured  him,  was  to  in- 
trigue with  the  nobles  in  favour  of  his  lialf-sister. 
The  happy  calm  in  which  England  lay  did  not 
last  long  after  the  Ivirl  of  Gloucester's  arrival. 
Several  of  the  barons,  alleging  their  services  had 
not  met  with  due  reward,  began  to  seize,  by  force 
of  arms,  different  parts  of  the  royal  demesne, 
which  they  said  Stephen  had  promised  them  in 
fief.  Hugh  Bigod,  who  had  sworn  that  King 
Henry  had  appointed  Ste]3hen  his  successor,  and 
who  probably  put  a  high  price  on  his  perjury,  was 
foremost  among  the  disaffected,  and  seized  Nor- 
wich Castle.  Other  royal  castles  were  besieged 
and  taken,  or  were  treacherously  surrendered. 
They  were  nearly  all  soon  retaken  by  the  kinc, 
but  the  spirit  of  revolt  was  rife  among  the  nobles, 
and  the  sedition,  suppressed  on  one  spot,  burst 
forth  on  others.  Stephen,  however,  was  lenient 
and  merciful  beyond  all  precedent  to  the  van- 
quished. 

The  Earl  of  Gloucester,  having  settled  with  his 
friends  the  plan  of  a  most  extensive  insurrection, 
and  induced  the  Scottish  king  to  [iromise  another 
invasion  of  England,  withdrew  be_vun  1  sea,  and 
sent  a  letter  of  defiance  to  Stephen,  in  which 
he  formally  renounced  his  homage.  Oiher  gi-eat 
barons — all  ])leadiiig  that  Stephen  had  not  given 
them  enough,  nor  extended  their  privileges  as  he 
had  promised — fell  from  his  side,  and  witlulrew 
to  their  castles,  which  by  his  permission  they  had 
already  strongly  foi-tified.  He  was  abandoned, 
like  Shakspeare's  Macbeth,  but  his  soul  was  as 
high  as  that  usurper's.  "The  traitors  !"  he  cried, 
"  they  themselves  made  me  a  king,  and  now  they 
fall  from  me;  but  by  God's  birth,  they  shall  never 
call  me  a  deposed  king  !"''  At  this  crisis  of -his 
fortunes,  he  dispLayed  extraordinary  activity  and 
valour;  but  having  no  other  politic  means  of  any 
efficacy  with  such  men,  who  were  all  grasping  for 
estates,  honours,  and  employments,  he  trenched 
on  the  domains  of  the  crown,  and  had  ag-ain  re- 
course to  his  old  .system  of  promising  more  than 
he  could  possibly  perform.     The  history  of  those 


William  of  Malmesburi/. 


236 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militart. 


pettj-  sieges  of  baronial  castles,  wherein  Stephen 
was  almost  iuvariaMy  successful,  is  sinj;ularly 
uninteresting;  Imt  the  campaign  against  the  Scots 
has  some  remarkable  features.  While  he  was 
engaged  with  the  revolted  barons  in  the  south, 
King  David,  true  to  his  promise,  but  badly  su]i- 
ported  by  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  and  IMatilda, 
who  did  not  an-ive  in  England  to  put  themselves 
at  the  head  of  their  party  till  a  year  later,  ga- 
thered his  forces  togetlier  from  every  part  of  his 
dominions — from  the  Lowlands,  the  Ilighlauds, 
and  the  Isles — from  the  great  promontory  of 
Galloway,  the  Cheviot  Hills,  and  from  that  niirs- 
ing-jilace  of  hardy,  lawless  men,  the  Border-land 
between  the  two  kingdoms — and  crossing  the 
Tweed  (March,  1138),  advanced  boldly  into  Nor- 
thumberland, i-iding  with  Prince  Henry,  his  sou 
and  heir,  at  the  head  of  ivs  numerous,  as  mixed, 
and,  in  the  main,  as  wild  a  host  as  ever  trode  this 
gi-ound.  These  "  Scottish  ants,"  as  an  old  writer 
calls  them,'  overran  the  whole  of  the  country  that 
lies  between  the  Tweed  and  the  Tees.  "As  for 
the  King  of  Scots  Idmself,"  says  the  anonymous 
author  of  Gesta  HtcpAani,  "he  was  a  prince  of  a 
mild  and  merciful  disposition;  but  the  Scots  were 
a  barbarous  and  impure  nation,  and  their  king, 
leading  hordes  of  them  from  the  remotest  parts 
of  that  land,  was  unable  to  restrain  their  wicked- 
ness." The  Normans  of  the  time  purposely  ex- 
aggerated the  barbarous  excesses  —  committed 
chiefly  by  the  Gallowegians,  the  Highlanders,  and 
the  men  of  the  Isles — in  order  to  make  the  Eng- 
lish fight  moi-e  desperately  on  their  side;  for  had 
they  relied  solely  on  their  chivalry,  and  the  men- 
at-arms  and  mercenaries  in  the  service  of  their 
northern  barons,  their  case  would  have  been  hope- 
less. At  the  same  time  they  conciliated  the  Eng- 
lish people  of  the  north  by  a  strong  appeal  to 
the  local  superstitions — they  invoked  the  names 
of  the  saints  of  Saxon  race  whom  they  had  been 
wont  to  treat  with  little  respect;  and  the  popular 
banners  of  St.  Cuthbert  of  Durham  (or,  according 
to  some,  of  St.  Peter  of  York),  St.  .John  of  Bever- 
ley, and  St.  Wilfrid  of  Eipon,  which  had  long 
lain  dust-covered  in  the  churches,  were  repro- 
duced in  the  army,  as  the  pledges  and  means  of 
victory.  So  rapid  was  the  advance  of  King 
David,  that  Stephen  had  not  time  to  reach  the 
scene  of  hostilities;  and  the  defence  of  the  north 
was,  in  a  great  measure,  left  to  Toustain  or  Thur- 
stan,  ArchbLshop  of  York,  an  infii-m,  decrepid 
old  man,  but  whose  warlike  energies,  address,  and 


'  Matthew  Paris. 

2  The  carroccio,  or  great  standard  car,  is  said  to  have  been  in- 
vented or  first  used  by  Eribert.  Archbishop  of  Milan,  in  the  year 
1035.  It  was  a  car  upon  four  wheels,  painted  red,  and  so  heavy 
that  it  W.1S  drawn  by  four  pair  of  oxen.  In  the  centre  of  the 
car  was  fixed  a  mast,  which  supported  a  golden  ball,  an  image 
of  our  Saviour,  and  the  banner  of  the  republic.  In  front  of  the 
mast  were  placed  a  few  of  the  most  valiant  warriors ;  in  the 


cunning  were  not  affected  by  age  and  disease.  It 
was  imiiuly  he  who  organized  the  array  of  defence 
which  was  got  together  in  a  hurry.  He  elo- 
quently exhorted  the  men  to  fight  to  the  last,  for 
God  and  their  coimtry,  telling  tliem  victory  wiis 
certiun,  and  paradise  the  meed  of  all  who  should 
f^dl  in  battle  against  tlie  Scots;  he  made  them 
swear  never  to  desert  each  other;  he  gave  them 
his  blessing  and  the  remission  of  their  sins;  he 
sent  forth  all  his  clergy,  liishops,  and  chaplains, 
and  the  cui-ates,  who  led  their  parishioners,  "  the 
bravest  men  of  Yorkshire;"  and  though  sickness 
prevented  him  from  putting  on  his  own  coat  of 
mail,  he  sent  Raoul  or  Ranulf,  the  Bishop  of 
Durham,  to  represent  him  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Each  lay  baron  of  the  north  headed  his  own  vas- 
sals; but  a  more  extensive  command  of  divisions 
was  intrusted  by  the  archbishop  to  William  Pi- 
perel  or  Peverel,  and  Walter  Espec,  of  Notting- 
hamshire, and  Gilbert  de  Lacy  and  his  brother 
Walter,  of  Y'orkshire.  As  the  Scots  were  already 
upon  the  Tees,  the  Anglo-Norman  ai-my  drew  up 
between  that  river  and  the  Humber,  choosing 
their  own  battle-field  at  Elfer-tun,  now  Northal- 
lerton, about  equidistant  from  York  and  Durham. 
Here  they  erected  a  remarkable  standard,  from 
which  the  battle  has  taken  its  name.  A  car  upon 
four  wheels,  which  will  remind  the  reader  of 
Italian  history  of  the  carroccio  of  the  peo])le  of 
Lombardy,'-  was  di-awn  to  the  centre  of  the  posi- 
tion; the  mast  of  a  vessel  was  strongly  fastened 
in  the  car;  at  the  top  of  the  mast  a  large  crucifix 
was  displayed,  having  in  its  centre  a  silver  box 
containing  the  consecrated  wafer,  or  sacrament; 
and,  lower  down,  the  mast  was  decorated  with 
the  banners  of  the  three  English  saints.  Ai-ound 
this  sacred  standard  many  of  the  English  yeo- 
manry and  peasants  from  the  plains,  wolds,  and 
woodlands  of  Yorkshire,  Nottingham,  and  Lin- 
cohishire,  gathered  of  their  own  accord.  These 
men  were  all  armed  with  large  bows  and  arrows 
two  cubits  long;  they  had  the  fame  of  being  ex- 
cellent archers,  and  the  Normans  gladly  assigned 
them  posts  in  the  foremost  and  most  exposed 
ranks  of  the  army. 

The  Scots,  whose  standard  was  a  simple  lance, 
with  a  sprig  of  the  "blooming  heather"  wreathed 
round  it,  crossed  the  Tees  in  several  divisions. 
Prince  Henry  commanded  the  first  corpjs,  which 
consisted  of  men  from  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland, 
armed  with  cuirasses  and  long  pikes  ;  of  arch- 
ers from  Teviotdale,  and  Liddesdale,  and  all  the 


rear  of  it  a  band  of  warlike  music.  Feelings  of  religion,  of  mili- 
tary glory,  of  local  attachment,  of  patriotism,  were  all  associated 
with  the  calToccio,  the  idea  of  which  is  supposed  to  have  been 
derived  from  the  Jewish  ark  of  the  covenant.  It  was  from  the 
pLatform  of  the  car  that  t'le  priest  administered  the  offices  of  re- 
ligion to  the  army.  No  disgrace  was  so  intolerable  .among  the 
free  citizens  of  Lombardy  as  th.at  entailed  by  the  suffering  an 
enemy  to  take  the  carroccio. 


AD.  1135—1154. 


STEPHEN. 


237 


valleys  of  the  rivers  tliat  empty  their  waters  into 
the  Tweed  or  the  Solway  Frith  ;  of  troopers  from 
the  mountains  of  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland, 
mounted  on  small  but  strong  and  active  horees  ; 
and  of  the  fierce  men  of  Galloway,  who  wore  no 
defensive  armour,  and  c;uTied  long  thin  pikes  as 


Armour  of  the  time  of  Stephen. — Cotton  MS.  Nero  C  4 

their  cliief,  if  not  sole  weapon  of  war.  A  body- 
gii;U'd  of  knights  and  men-at-arms  under  the 
command  of  Eustace  Fitz-.Tohn,  a  nobleman  of 
Norman  descent,  rode  round  the  prince.  The 
Highland  clans  and  men  of  the  Isles  came  next, 
carrying  a  small  round  shield  made  of  light  woolI 
covered  with  leather,  as  their  only  defensive 
armour,  and  the  claymore  or  broad-.?vvord  as  their 
only  weapon :  some  of  the  island  tribes,  however, 
wielded  the  old  Danish  battle-axe  instead  of  the 
claymore.  After  these  marched  the  king  with  a 
strong   body   of    knights,   who   were  all   either 


Cnioht,  in  tegiilaterl  armour.— Se.!!   uf  Richard,  constable  i.f 
Chester  in  the  time  oi  Stephen. 

of  Engli.sh  or  Norman  extraction  ;  and  a  mixed 
corps  of  men  from  the  Moray  Fi-ith,  and  vai-ious 
other  parts  of  the  land,  brought  up  the  rear. 
With  the  exception  of  the  knights  and  men-at- 
arms,  who  were  clad  in  complete  mail,  and  armed 


miiformly,  the  host  of  the  Scottish  king  presented 
a  disordered  variety  of  weapons  and  dresses. 
The  half-naked  clans  were,  however,  as  forward 
to  fight  as  the  warriors  clad  in  steel.  The  rapid 
advance  of  the  Scottish  forces  was  covered  and 
concealed  by  a  dense  fog;  and  they  would  have 
taken  the  Anglo-Norman  army  by  sari)rise,  had 
it  not  been  for  Kobort  dc  Bruce  and  Bernard  de 
Baliol,  two  barons  of  Norman  descent,  who  held 
lands  both  iu  ScoUaud  and  England,  and  who 
were  anxious  for  the  conclusion  of  an  immediate 
peace.  Having  in  vaiu  argued  with  David,  and 
hearing  themselves  called  traitors  by  William, 
the  king's  nejihew,  they  renounced  the  Scottish 
part  of  their  allegiance,  bade  defiance  to  the  king, 
and  putting  spurs  to  their  horses,  galloped  off  to 
the  camp  at  Northallerton,  which  they  reached 
in  good  time  to  tell  that  the  Scots  were  coming. 
At  the  sight  and  sound  of  their  headlong  and 
tumultuous  approach,  the  Bishop  of  Durham  read 
the  prayer  of  absolution  from  tlie  standard-car,  the 
Normans  and  the  English  kneeling  on  the  ground 
the  while,  and  rising  to  their  feet  and  shouting 
"  Amen,"  when  it  was  finished.  The  representa- 
tive of  the  energetic  old  Thurstain  then  delivered 
a  speech  for  the  further  encouragement  of  the 
army :  it  was  long,  and  seems  to  have  been  inter- 
rupted by  the  onslaught  of  the  Soots. 

The  Scots  came  on  with  the  simple  war-ciy  of 
"Alban  !  Alban  !"'  which  was  shouted  at  once  by 
all  the  Celtic  tribes.  The  desperate  charge  of  the 
men  of  Galloway  drove  in  the  English  infantry, 
and  broke  for  a  moment  the  Norman  centre. 
"  They  burst  the  enemy's  ranks,"  says  old  Bromp- 
ton,  "as  if  they  had  been  but  spiders'  webs." 
Almost  immediately  after,  both  flanks  of  the 
Anglo-Normans  wei-e  assailed  by  the  mountain- 
eers and  the  men  of  Teviotdale  and  Liddesdale; 
but  these  charges  were  not  supported  in  time, 
and  the  Norman  horse  formed  an  impenetrable 
mass  round  the  standard-car,  and  repulsed  the 
Scots  in  a  fierce  charge  they  made  to  penetrate 
there.  During  this  fruitless  effort  of  the  enemy, 
the  English  bowmen  rallied,  and  took  up  good 
positions  on  the  two  wings  of  the  Anglo-Norman 
army ;  and  when  the  Scots  renewed  their  attack 
on  the  centre,  they  harassed  them  with  a  double 
flank  flight  of  arrows,  while  the  Norman  knights 
and  men-at-arms  received  them  in  front  on  the 
points  of  their  couched  lances.  The  long  thin 
pikes  of  the  men  of  Galloway  were  shivered 
against  the  armour  of  the  Normans,  or  broken  by 
their  heavy  swords  and  battle-axes.  The  High- 
land clans  still  shouting  "Alban!  Alban!" 
wielded  theii-  claymores,  and  fighting  hand  to 
hand,  tried  to  cut  their  way  through  the  mass  of 
iron-cased  chivalry.     For  full  two  hom-s  did  the 


>  Matt.  Paris. 


238 


niSTORV  OF    ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


Seots  maintain  the  fight  in  front  of  the  Nnrinan 
host  ;  and  at  one  moment  the  g;ill:int  Prince 
Henry  haj  nearly  jienetrated  to  tlie  elevated 
standard ;  but,  at  la.st,  with  broken  spears  and 
swords,  they  ceased  to  attack — paus?d,  retreated, 
and  then  fled  in  confusion.  The  king,  however, 
retained  near  his  peraon,  and  in  good  order,  his 
guards  and  some  other  troops,  which  covered  the 
retreat,  and  gave  several  bloody  checks  to  the 
Anglo-Normans  who  pursued.  Three  days  after 
he  rallied  within  the  walls  of  Carlisle,  and  em- 
ployed himself  in  collecting  his  scattered  troops, 
and  organizing  a  new  ai-my.  He  is  said  to  have 
lost  12,000  men  at  Northallerton.  The  Normans 
were  not  in  a  situation  to  pursue  their  advantages 
to  any  extent ;  and  the  Scots  soon  re-assumed  the 
offensive,  by  laying  siege  to  Wark  Castle,  which 
they  reduced  by  famine.  The  famous  battle  of 
the  Standard,  which  was  fought  on  the  22d  of 
August,  A.D.  11.38,  was,  however,  the  great  event 
of  the  Scottish  war,  which  was  concluded  in  the 
following  year  by  a  treaty  of  peace,  brought 
about  by  the  intercessions  and  prayers  of  Alberic, 
Bishop  of  Ostia,  the  pope's  legate  in  England, 
and  Stephen's  wife,  Maud,  who  had  an  interview 
with  her  uncle.  King  David,  at  Durham.  Though 
the  Scots  were  left  in  jiossession  of  Cumberland 
and  Westmoreland,  and  Prince  Henry  invested 
with  the  earldom  of  Northumberland,  the  issue 
of  the  war  dispirited  the  malcontents  all  over 
England,  and  might  have  given  some  stability  to 
Stephen's  throne,  had  he  not,  in  an  evil  moment, 
I'oused  the  powerful  hostility  of  the  church. 

Roger,  Bishop  of  Sarum,  though  no  longer 
treasm-er  and  justiciary,  as  in  the  former  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  pre.'jent  reign,  still  possessed 
great  influence  in  the  nation,  among  laity  as  well 
as  clergy — an  influence  not  wholly  arising  out  of 
his  gi-eat  wealth  and  political  abilities,  but  in 
part  owing  to  the  noble  use  he  made  of  his  money, 
to  his  taste  and  munificence,  and  the  superior 
learning  of  his  family  and  adherents.  Among 
other  works  of  the  same  kind  he  rebuilt  the 
cathedi-al  at  Sarum,  which  had  been  injured  by 
fii-e,  and  the  storms  to  which  its  elevated  position 
exposed  it,  and  he  beautified  it  so  gi"eatly  that  it 
yielded  to  none  in  England  at  that  time  ;  and 
some  respect  is  stiU  due  to  the  memory  of  a  man 
who  gi-eatly  raised  the  architectural  taste  of  this 
country,  and  whose  genius  aff'ected  the  age  in 
which  he  lived.  "  He  erected  splendid  mansions 
on  all  Ms  estates,"  says  William  of  Malmesbuiy, 
"  with  imrivaUed  magnificence,  in  merely  main- 
taining which  his  successors  will  toil  in  vain. 
His  cathedral  he  dignified  to  the  utmost  with 
matchless  adornments,  and  buildings  in  which  no 
expense  was  spared.  It  was  wonderful  to  behold 
in  this  man  what  abundant  authority  attended, 
and  flowed,  as  it  were,  to  his  hand.     He  was 


sensible  of  his  power,  and  somewhat  more  harshly 
than  beseemed  such  a  character,  abused  the  favour 
of  Heaven.  Was  there  anything  adjacent  to  his 
possessions  which  he  desired,  he  would  obtain  it 
either  by  treaty  or  purchase  ;  and  if  that  failed, 
by  force."  But  other  powerful  bai-ons,  botli 
ecclesiastical  and  lay,  equalled  his  rapacity  with- 
out having  any  of  his  taste  and  elevation  of  spirit; 
for  he  was  in  all  things  a  most  magnificent  person, 
and  one  who  extended  his  patronage  to  men  of 
learning  as  well  as  to  architects  and  other  artists. 
He  obtainedr  the  sees  of  Lincoln  and  Ely  for  his 
two  nephews,  Alexander  and  Nigel,  who  were 
men  of  noted  learning  and  industry,  and  were 
said  at  the  time  to  merit  their  promotion  by 
virtue  of  the  education  which  he  had  given  them. 
Alexander,  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  who,  though 
called  liis  nephew,  is  significantly  said  to  have 
been  something  nearer  and  dearer,  had  the  same 
taste  for  I'aising  splendid  buildings  ;  he  nearly 
rebuilt  the  cathedral  of  Lincoln,  and  built  the 
castle  of  Newark  :  but  Nigel,  on  the  contrary,  is 
said  to  have  wasted  his  wealth  on  hawks  and 
hoimds.  Bishop  Roger,  next  to  his  own  brother, 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  had  contributed  more 
than  any  churchman  to  his  elevation,  and  Ste- 
i:hen's  consequent  liberality  for  a  long  time  knew 
no  stint.  It  should  appear,  however,  that  his 
gifts  were  not  the  free  offerings  of  gi-atitude,  and 
that  he  treated  the  bishop  as  one  does  a  sponge 
which  is  pei-mitted  to  fill  before  it  is  squeezed. 
He  is  reported  to  have  said  more  than  once  to  his 
familiar  comjianions — "  By  God's  bh-th,  I  woidd 
give  him  half  England  if  he  asked  for  it :  till  the 
time  be  ripe  he  shall  tire  of  asking  before  I  tn-e 
of  giving."  Roger  was  one  of  the  castle-buildera 
of  that  turbulent  period,  being,  as  he  thought, 
licensed  therein,  by  the  permission  granted  by 
Stephen  at  his  coronation:  all  his  stately  mansions 
were,  in  fact,  strongly  fortified  places,  well  gar- 
risoned, and  provided  with  warlike  stores.  Be- 
sides Newai-k  Castle,  Alexander  had  built  other 
houses,  which  were  also  fortified  ;  and,  when 
abroad,  uncle  and  nephews  were  accustomed  to 
make  a  great  display  of  military  force.  The 
pomp  and  power  of  this  family  had  long  excited 
the  envy  of  Stephen's  favoiu-ites,  who  liasl  no 
great  diificidty  in  persuading  then-  master  that 
Bishop  Roger  was  on  the  point  of  betraying  him, 
and  espousing  the  interests  of  Matilda.  Stephen 
was  threatened  by  an  invasion  from  without,  and 
no  longer  knew  how  to  distinguish  his  friends 
from  his  foes  within:  his  want  of  money  to  pay 
the  foreign  mercenary  troops  he  had  engaged,  and 
to  satisfy  his  selfish  nobles,  now  drove  him  into 
in-egular  courses,  and  he  probably  considered  that 
the  bishop's  time  was  ripe.  The  king  was  hold- 
ing his  com't  at  Oxford  :  the  town  was  crowded 
with  prelates  and  barons,  with  their  numerous 


n:!5-U54.] 


STEPHEN. 


239 


and  disorderly  attendants;  a  quarrel,  either  acci- 
dental or  preconcerted,  arose  between  the  bishop's 
retainers  ;uid  those  of  the  Earl  of  Brittany  con- 
cerning quarters,  and  swords  bein^  drawn  on 
both  sides,  many  men  were  wounded  and  one 
knight  was  killed.'  Ste])lien  took  advantage  of 
the  cireunistanoe  and  ordered  the  arrest  of  the 
bishop  and  his  nephews.  Roger  was  seized  in 
the  king's  own  hall,  and  Alexander,  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln, at  his  lodging  in  the  town;  but  Nigel, 
the  Bishop  of  Ely,  who  had  taken  up  his  quartei's 
in  a  house  outside  the  town,  escaped,  and  threw 
himself  into  Devizes,  the  strongest  of  all  his 
uncle's  castles.  The  two  captives  were  confined 
in  separate  dungeons.  The  first  charge  laid 
against  them  was  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  king's 
peace  within  the  precincts  of  his  court;  and  for 
this  they  were  assured  that  Stephen  would  accept 
of  no  atonement  less  than  the  unconditional  sur- 
render to  him  of  all  theii-  castles.  They  at  first 
refused  to  part  with  their  liouses,  and  oflered  "a 
reasonable  compensation"  in  money;  but,  moved 
by  the  dreadful  threats  of  their  enemies  and  the 
entreaties  of  their  friends,  they  at  length  surren- 
dered the  castles  which  Roger  had  built  at 
Malmesbury  and  Sherborne,  and  that  which  he 
had  enlarged  and  strengthened  at  Sarum.  Newark 
Castle,  the  work  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  seems 
also  to  have  been  given  up.  But  the  castle  of 
Devizes,  the  most  important  of  them  all,  re- 
mained; and  relying  on  its  strength,  the  warlike 
Bishop  of  Ely  was  prepared  to  bid  defiance  to  the 
king.  To  overcome  this  opposition,  Stephen  or- 
dered Roger  and  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  to  be  kept 
without  food  till  the  castle  should  be  given  up. 
In  case  of  a  less  direct  apjieal,  the  defenders  of 
Devizes  might  have  been  obstinate  or  iucredulous 
of  the  fact  that  Stephen  was  stai'ving  two  bishops; 
liut  Roger  himself,  already  pale  and  emaciated, 
was  made  to  state  his  own  hard  fate,  in  front  of 
his  own  castle,  to  his  own  nephevf,  whom  he  im- 
plored to  surrender,  as  the  king  had  sworn  to 
kee]i  his  pm-pose  of  famishing  him  and  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln  to  death  unless  he  submitted.  Stephen, 
though  far  less  cruel  by  nature  than  most  of  his 
contemporaries,  was  yet  thought  to  be  a  man  to 
keep  his  word  in  such  a  case  as  the  present ;  this 
was  felt  by  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  who,  overcoming 
his  own  haughty  spirit  out  of  aiiectiou  to  his 
uncle,  surrendered  to  save  the  lives  of  the  cap- 
tives after  they  had  been  three  whole  days  in  a 
fearful  fast.- 
At  these  violent  jsroceedings  the  whole  body  of 


1  It  ajjpears  that  Bisliop  Roger  set  out  on  his  journey  to  Ox- 
ford with  reluctance.  "  For,"  saya  WlUiara  of  .Malmesbury,  '*  I 
heard  him  speaking  to  the  following  purijose ;  '  By  my  Lady  St 
lilary,  1  know  not  where.''ore,  but  my  heart  revolts  at  tliis  jour- 
ney: this  I  am  sure  of,  that  I  shall  be  of  much  the  same  service 
at  ci^virt  as  a  fool  iji  l^attle  ! '  " 

-  Maliiusb.;  Orileric:  G':Ma  Stepk, 


the  dignified  clergy,  including  even  his  own  bro- 
ther Henry,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  who  was 
now  armed  with  the  high  powers  of  I'apal  legate 
for  all  England,  turned  against  Stephen,  accusing 
him  of  .sacrilege  in  laying  violent  liands  on  ])re- 
lates.  The  legate  Henry  summoned  his  brotlier, 
tlie  king,  to  appear  before  a  synod  of  bishojjs  as- 
sembled at  Winchester.  Stephen  would  not  attend 
in  person,  but  sent  Alberic  dc  Vere  as  his  coun- 
sel to  plead  for  him.  Alberic  exaggerated  the 
cii-cumstances  of  the  I'iot  at  Oxford,  and  laid 
aU  the  blame  of  that  blood-shedding  upon  Roger 
and  his  neiihews,  whom,  moreover,  he  charged 
with  a  treasonable  cori'esi)ondence  with  the  em- 
press. The  legate  answered  that  the  three  bishops, 
uncle  and  nephews,  were  ready  to  aliide  their 
trial  before  a  proper  tribunal,  but  demanded,  as  of 
right,  that  their  houses  and  property  should  be 
previously  restored  to  them.  Alberic  said  that  they 
had  voluntarily  surrendered  their  castles  and  trea- 
sures as  an  atonement  for  tlieir  oflfences;  and  it 
was  insisted,  moreover,  on  the  same  side,  that 
the  king  had  a  right  to  take  possession  of  ah  for- 
tified places  in  his  dominions  whenever  he  consi- 
dered, as  circumstances  now  obliged  him  to_  do, 
that  his  throne  was  in  danger.  On  the  second 
day  of  the  debate  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  the 
only  prelate  that  still  adhered  to  the  king,  took  a 
more  apostolic  and  simple  view  of  the  case,  and 
boldly  affirmed  that  the  three  bishops  were  bound 
by  their  vows  to  live  humbly  and  quietly  accord- 
ing to  the  canons  of  the  church,  which  prohibited 
them-  from  all  kinds  of  military  pursuits  whatso- 
ever— that  they  could  not  claim  the  I'estitution  of 
castles  and  places  of  wai',  which  it  was  most  un- 
lawful for  them,  as  churchmen,  to  build  or  to 
hold — and  that,  consequently,  they  had  merited 
the  greatest  part  of  the  punishment  they  had  suf- 
fered. The  points  of  canonical  law  thus  laid 
down  were  undeniable;  but  the  bishops  there 
assembled  were  not  accustomed  to  their  practice, 
and  every  one  of  them  tniyht  have  said  that,  with- 
out making  his  house  a  castle,  there  was  no  living 
in  it  in  these  lawless  times.  As  their  temper  was 
stei-n  and  imcompromising,  Alberic  de  Vere  ap- 
pealed to  the  pope  in  the  name  of  the  king  and 
dissolved  the  council,  the  knights  with  him  draw- 
ing their  swords  to  enforce  his  orders  if  neces- 
sary.^ The  effects  of  this  confirmed  rupture  were 
soon  made  visible.  But  Bisho])  Roger  did  not 
live  to  see  the  humiliation  of  Stephen;  he  was 
heart-broken;  and  when,  in  the  following  month 
of  December,  as  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war  were 
commencing,  he  died  at  an  advanced  age,  his  fate 
was  ascribed,  not  to  the  fever  and  ague,  from 
wliich,  in  Malmesbury's  words,  he  escaped  by  the 
kindness  of  death,  but  to  gi-ief  and  indignation 

3  Malmcsb.  William  of  Malmesbiu-y  waj  present  at  this  council. 


2i0 


HISTORY  OP   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


for  tlie  injuries  he  had  sufferpd.  Tlie  plate  and 
money  which  liad  l>een  saved  fi-om  tlie  king's  ra- 
pacity he  devoted  to  the  completion  of  his  church 
at  Saruin,  and  he  laid  them  upon  the  high  altar, 
in  the  hope  that  Stephen  might  be  restrained,  by 
fear  of  sacrilege,  from  seizing  them.  But  these 
were  not  times  for  delicate  scruples,  and  they 
were  can'ied  ofif  even  before  the  old  man's  death. 
Their  value  was  estimated  at  40,000  marks. 
Bishop  Roger  w;is  the  Cardinal  Wolsey  of  the 
twelfth  ceutuiy,  and  his  fate,  not  less  tragic  than 
the  CiU-dinal's,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
minds  of  his  contemporaries.  Ilis  nephew,  or 
son,  Alexander,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  his  ne- 
phew Nigel,  Bishop  of  Ely,  having  the  advan- 
tage of  a  younger  age,  did  not  resign  themselves 
to  despair,  but,  intent  on  taking  vengeance,  they 
openly  joined  Matilda,  and  were  soon  up  in  arms 
against  Stephen. 

The  synod  of  bishops  held  at  Winchester  was 
dissolved  on  the  first  day  of  September  (a.d.  1 130), 
and  towards  the  end  of  the  same  month,  Matilda 
landed  in  England  with  her 
half-brother,  Robert,  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  and  140  knights. 
Some  Normans  who  went  out 
to  meet  her,  on  finding  that 
she  came  with  so  insignificant  a 
force,  and  brought  no  money, 
returned  to  the  other  side;  and 
Stephen,  by  a  rapid  movement, 
presently  siu'prised  her  in  Arun- 
del Castle,  where  Alice  or 
Adelais,  the  queen -widow  of 
Henry  I.,  gave  her  shelter.  Ste- 
phen had  both  these  dames  in 
his  power,  but  refining  on  the 
chivalrous  notions  which  were 
becoming  more  and  more  in 
vogue,  and  to  which  he  was  in- 
clined by  nature  more  perhaps 
than  suited  good  policy,  he  left 
Queen  Alice  undisturbed  in  her 
castle,  and  gave  Matilda  permis- 
sion to  go  free  and  join  her 
half-brother,  Robert,  who,  immediately  after 
theii-  landing,  had  repaired  by  by-roads,  and 
with  only  twelve  followers,  to  the  west  coimtry, 
where,  at  the  very  moment  of  these  generous 
concessions,  he  was  collecting  his  friends  to 
make  war  upon  Stephen.  The  king's  brother, 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  escorted  Matilda  to 
Bristol,  and  delivered  her  safely  to  Earl  Robert. 
It  was  quickly  seen  that  those  who  had  declined 
joining  ]\Iatilda  on  her  fii-st  lamling  had  taken  a 
narrow  view  of  the  resources  of  her  party,  for 
most  of  the  chiefs  in  the  north  and  the  west  re- 
nounced then-  allegiance  to  Stephen,  and  took 
fresh  oaths  to  the  empress.     There  was  a  moment 


of  wavering,  during  which  many  of  the  barons  in 
other  parts  of  the  kingiloin  weighed  the  chances 
of  success,  or  tried  both  parties,  to  ascertain  which 
would  grant  the  more  ain])le  recompense  to  their 
venal  swords.  While  this  state  of  indecision 
lasted,  men  knew  not  who  were  to  be  their 
friends,  or  who  their  foes,  in  the  coming  struggle; 
"  the  neighbour  could  put  no  faith  in  his  nearest 
neighbour,  nor  the  friend  in  his  friend,  nor  the 
brother  in  his  own  brother;"'  but  at  last  the 
more  active  chiefs  chose  their  sides,  the  game 
was  made  up,  and  the  horrors  of  civil  war,  which 
were  to  decide  it,  were  let  loose  upon  the  land. 
Still,  however,  many  of  the  barons  kept  aloof, 
and,  strongly  gai-risoning  their  own  castles,  took 
the  favourable  ojijjortunity  of  desjjoiling,  tortiu?- 
ing,  and  murdering  their  weak  neighbours.  The 
whole  war  was  conducted  in  a  frightful  manner; 
but  the  greatest  of  the  atrocities  seem  to  have 
been  committed  by  these  separationists,  who 
cared  neither  for  Stephen  nor  Matilda,  and  who 
rarely,  or  never,  took  the  field  for  either  party. 


OuEEV  SlAUD-s  Chambek,  ATun.lel  Castle.=-l?rom  a  sketcli  ou  the  spot  bj 
J.  W.  Archer. 

They  waged  war  against  one  another,  and  be- 
sieged castles,  and  racked  farms,  and  seized  the 


1  Bcrvase  of  Canterbury. 

■  Arundel  Castle  is  referred  to  as  e.Trly  as  the  time  of  King 
Alft-d  who  bequeathed  it  to  liis  nephew  Aldlielm.  William 
the  Conqueror  gave  it  to  his  kinsm.an,  Roger  do  Montgomery, 
created  Earl  of  .Arundel  and  Shrewsbury.  It  af  tenvards  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Albini,  and  from  them  to  the  Fitz-AlanB. 
The  ancient  lieep  and  several  towers  and  gates  stiU  remain. 
Ai-undel  Castle  confers  by  tenure  the  peerage  and  eaildom  of 
Ai-undel,  without  any  creation,  patent,  or  investiture,  this  being 
the  only  instance  of  the  kind  now  existing  in  tliis  country.  A 
tower  next  the  keep  is  called  Queen  Maud's  Tower;  and  an 
upper  chamber  is  said  by  tradition  to  have  been  her  chamber, 
when  Alice  or  Adelais,  the  widow  queen  of  Henry  I.,  gave  her 
shelter  at  Arandel  in  the  course  of  her  contest  with  Stephen. 


A.p.  1135—1154.] 


STEPHEN. 


241 


unprotected  travoUer.  on  tlieir  own  account,  anil 
for  their  own  i)riv;ite  .si)ite  or  advantage. 

At  firet  the  fortune  of  the  greater  war  inclined 
in  favour  of  Stephen;  for  though  he  failed  to  take 
Bristol,  the  head-quarti^rs  of  Matilda  aud  Earl 
Eobeit,  he  gained  many  advautages  over  their 
adherents  in  the  west,  and  lie  defeated  a  formid- 
able insui-i-ection  in  the  east,  headed  by  Nigel, 
the  Bishop  of  Ely,  who  built  a  stoue  rampart 
among  the  bogs  aud  fens  of  his  diocese,  on  the 
very  spot,  it  is  said,  where  the  brave  Hereward, 
the  last  champion  of  Saxon  independence,  had 
raised  his  fortress  against  the  Conqueror.  To 
reach  the  warlike  aud  inveterate  ne])hew  of  old 
Bishop  Roger,  Stephen  had  recourse  to  the  same 
skilful  measures  wliieh  had  been  employed  by 
the  Conqueror  at  the  same  difficult  place.  De- 
feated at  Ely,  Nigel  tied  to  Gloucester,  whither 
Matilda  had  transferred  her  standard;  and  while 
Steplien  was  still  on  the  eastern  coast,  the  flames 
of  war  were  rekindled  in  all  the  west.  The  Nor- 
man prelates  had  no  scru])lcs  in  taking  an  active 
part  in  these  military  operations;  and  the  garri- 
sons of  their  castles  ai-e  said  to  have  been  as  cruel 
to  the  defenceless  rural  population,  as  eager  after 
]:ilunder,  and  altogether  as  lawless,  as  the  retainers 
of  the  lay  barons.  The  bishops  themselves  were 
seen,  as  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  mounted  on 
war-hoi-ses,  clad  in  armour,  directing  the  siege  or 
the  attack,  and  di-awing  lots  with  the  rest  ior  tlie 
booty.' 

The  cause  of  Sle2)heu  was  never  injured  by  any 
want  of  personal  courage  and  rapidity  of  move- 
ment. From  the  east  he  returned  to  the  west, 
and  from  the  west  marched  ag;un  to  the  country 
of  fens,  on  learning  that  Alexander,  the  Bishop 
of  Liucohi,  had  got  together  the  scattered  forces 
of  the  Bishop  of  Ely  in  those  parts,  and,  in  alli- 
ance with  the  Earls  of  Lincoln  and  Chester,  was 
making  himself  very  formidable.  The  castle  of 
Lincoln  was  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies;  but  the 
town's- people  were  for  Stephen,  and  assisted  him 
in  layuig  siege  to  the  fortress.  On  the  2d  of 
February,  a.d.  1141,  as  Stephen  was  prosecuting 
this  siege,  the  Earl  of  Gloucester,  who  had  got 
together  an  array  10,000  strong,  swam  across  the 
Trent,  aud  apjieared  in  front  of  Lincoln.  Stephen, 
however,  w:us  pi'epared  to  receive  liim:  he  had 
drawn  out  his  forces  in  the  best  position,  and, 
dismounting  from  his  vrar-horse,  he  put  himself 
at  the  liead  of  his  infantry.  But  his  army  was 
unequal  in  number,  and  contained  many  traitors; 
the  whole  of  his  cavahy  deserted  to  the  enemy, 
or  fled  at  the  first  onset;  and  after  he  had  fought 
most  gallantly,  and  broken  both  his  sword  aud 
battle-axe,  Stephen  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Earl  of  Gloucester.     Matilda  was  incapable  of 

'  Gesta  Stcpliani.    Tliis  military  spirit  of  tlie  ecclesiastics  liad 
b.^en  greatly  increasoJ  by  the  Crosades. 
Vol.  I. 


imitating  his  generosity;  but  her  partizans  landed 
licr  mercy,  because  she  only  loaded  him  with 
chains,  and  threw  him  into  a  dungeon  in  Bristol 
Ca.stle.  The  empress  does  not  ajipear  to  have 
encountered  much  difficulty  in  per-suading  the 
Bishop  of  Wincliestcr  wholly  to  abandon  his  un- 
fortunate brotlier,  and  acknowledge  lier  title. 
The  jjrice  paid  to  the  bishop  was  the  promise, 
sealed  by  an  oath,  that  lie  should  have  the  chief 
direction  of  her  aftaii-s,  and  the  disposal  of  all 
vacant  bishoprics  and  abbacies.  The  scene  of 
the  bargain  was  on  the  downs,  near  Winchester, 
and  the  day  on  which  it  was  concluded  (the  2d 
of  March)  was  dark  aud  tempestuous.  The  next 
day,  accompanied  l>y  a  great  body  of  the  clergy, 
the  brother  of  Ste]ilicu  conducted  the  enijiress  in 
a  sort  of  triumph  to  the  cathedi-al  of  Winchester, 
within  which  he  blessed  all  who  should  be  obe- 
dient to  her,  and  denounced  a  curse  against  all 
who  refused  to  submit  to  her  authority.  As 
legate  of  the  pope,  this  man's  decision  had  the 
force  of  law  with  most  of  the  clergy;  and  several 
bishops,  and  even  Theobald,  the  new  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  followed  his  example.-  At  Win- 
chester, Matilda  took  possession  of  the  royal 
castle,  the  crown,  with  other  regalia,  and  such 
treasure  as  Stejjheu  had  not  exhausted.  On  the 
Ttli  of  April,  she,  or  the  legate  acting  for  her, 
convened  an  assembly  of  chm-chmen  to  ratify 
lier  accession.  The  members  of  this  s^Tiod  were 
divided  into  three  classes — the  bishops,  the  abbots, 
and  the  archdeacons.  The  legate  conferred  with 
each  class  separately  and  in  private,  and  his  argu- 
ments prevailed  with  them  all.  On  the  following 
day  they  sat  together,  and  the  deliberations  were 
public.  AVilliam  of  Malmesbury,  who  tells  us 
he  was  present,  and  heard  the  opening  speech 
with  great  attention,  jirofesses  to  give  the  very 
words  of  the  legate.  The  brother  of  Stephen  be- 
gan by  contrasting  the  turbulent  times  they  had 
just  witnessed,  with  the  tranquillity  and  hap])i- 
ness  enjoyed  under  the  wise  reign  of  Henry  I.;  he 
glanced  lightly  over  the  repeated  vows  made  to 
Matilda,  and  said  the  absence  of  that  lady,  and 
the  confusion  into  which  the  country  was  thrown, 
had  comjielled  the  jirelates  aud  lords  to  crown 
Stephen;  —  that  he  blushed  to  bear  testimony 
against  his  own  brother,  but  that  Stephen  had 
violated  all  his  engagements,  particularly  those 
made  to  the  church; — that  hence  God  had  pro- 
nounced judgment  against  him,  and  placed  them 
again  under  the  necessity  of  providing  for  the 
tranquillity  of  the  kingdom  by  ajjpointing  some 
one  to  fill  the  throne.  "  And  now,"  said  the 
legate,  in  conclusion,  "in  order  that  the  kingdom 
may  not  be  without  a  ruler,  we,  the  clergy  of 
England,  to  whom  it  chiejly  belongs  to  elect  kinjs 


31 


Qei'vate. 


2-1.2 


HISTORY  OK  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militauy. 


and  ordain  them,  having  yesterday  deliberateil  on 
tliis  great  cause  in  private,  and  invokeil,  as  is  fit- 
ting, the  direction  of  tlie  Huly  Spirit,  did,  and  do, 
elect  Matilda,  the  daughter  of  the  pacific,  rich, 
glorious,  good,  and  incomparable  King  Henry,  to 
be  sovereign  lady  of  England  and  Normandy." 
Many  persons  present  listened  iu  silence  —  but 
silence,  as  usual,  was  interpreted  into  consent; 
and  the  rest  of  the  assembly  hailed  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  speech  with  loud  and  repeated  accla- 
mations. The  deliberations  of  the  synod,  and  the 
proclamation  of  Matilda,  were  hurried  over  be- 
fore the  deputation  from  the  city  of  Loudon 
could  reach  Winchester;  but  such  was  the  respect 
they  imposed,  that  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
hold  an  adjourned  session  on  the  following  morn- 
ing. Y^hen  the  decision  of  the  council  was  an- 
nounced to  them,  the  deputies  said  they  did  not 
come  to  deliate,  but  to  petition  for  the  liberty  of 
their  king;  that  they  had  no  powers  to  agree  to 
the  election  of  this  new  sovereign;  and  that  the 
whole  community  of  Loudon,  with  all  the  barons 
lately  admitted  into  it,  earnestly  desired  of  the 
legate,  the  archbishop,  and  all  the  clergy,  the  im- 
mediate liberation  of  Stephen.  When  they  ended, 
Clu-istian,  the  chaplain  of  Stephen's  queen,  rose 
to  address  the  meeting.  The  legate  endeavoured 
to  impose  silence  on  this  new  advocate;  but,  hi 
defiance  of  his  voice  and  authority,  the  chaplain 
read  a  letter  from  his  royal  mistress,  in  which 
she  called  upon  the  clergy,  by  the  oaths  of  allegi- 
ance they  had  taken  to  him,  to  rescue  her  hus- 
band from  the  imprisonment  in  which  he  was 
kept  by  base  and  treacherous  vassals.  But  Ste- 
phen's brother  was  not  much  moved  by  these 
measures;  he  repeated  to  the  Londoners  the  argu- 
ments he  had  used  the  day  before;  the  deputies 
departed  with  a  promise,  in  which  there  was 
probably  little  sincerity,  to  recommend  his  view 
of  the  case  to  their  fellow-citizens;  and  the  legate 
broke  up  the  council  with  a  sentence  of  excom- 
munication on  several  persons  who  still  adhered 
to  his  brother,  not  forgetting  a  certain  William 
Martel,  who  had  recently  made  free  on  the  roads 
with  a  part  of  his  (the  legate's)  baggage. 

If  popular  opinion  can  be  counted  for  anything 
in  those  days — and  if  the  city  of  London,  together 
with  Lincoln  and  other  large  towns,  may  be  taken 
as  indexes  of  the  popular  will — we  might  be  led 
to  conclude  that  Stephen  was  still  the  sovereign 
of  the  people's  choice,  or,  at  least,  that  they  pre- 
feiTed  him  to  his  competitoi-.  The  feelings  of 
the  citizens  of  London  were  indeed  so  decided, 
that  it  was  not  until  some  time  had  passed,  and 
the  Eai'l  of  Gloucester  had  soothed  them  with 
pi'omises  and  flattering  prospects,  that  Matilda 
ventm'ed  among  them.  She  entered  the  city  a 
few  days  before  Midsummer,  and  made  prepara- 
tions for  her  immediate  coronation  at  Westmin- 


ster. But  Matilda  herself,  who  pi-etended  to  an 
indefeasible,  sacred,  hereditary  right,  would  jier- 
forin  none  of  the  promises  made  by  her  half- 
brother;  on  the  contrary,  she  imposed  a  heavy 
tallage  or  tax  on  the  Londoners,  as  apunishinent 
for  their  attachment  to  the  usm-per;  and  arro- 
gantly rejected  a  petition  they  presented  to  her, 
praying  that  the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confessor 
might  be  restored,  and  the  changes  and  usages 
introduced  by  the  Normans  aliolished.  Indeed, 
whatever  slight  restraint  she  had  formerly  put 
on  her  haughty,  vindictive  temper,  was  now 
entirely  removed;  and  in  a  surprisingly  shoi't 
space  of  time  she  contrived  not  only  to  irritate 
her  old  opponents  to  the  veiy  utmost,  but  also 
to  convert  many  of  her  best  friends  into  bitter 
enemies.  When  the  legate  desired  that  Prince 
Eustace,  his  nephew,  and  Stephen's  eldest  son, 
should  be  put  iu  possession  of  the  earldom  of 
Boulogne  and  the  other  patrimonial  rights  of  his 
father,  she  gave  him  a  dii'ect  and  insulting  re- 
fusal. [In  dethroning  his  brother,  this  prelate, 
who  was,  perhaps,  the  most  extraordinary  actor 
in  the  drama,  had  not  bargained  for  the  impo- 
verishment of  all  his  family,  and  an  insult  was 
what  he  never  could  brook.]  When  Stephen's 
wife,  who  was  her  own  cousin,  and  a  kind- 
hearted,  amiable  woman,  appeared  before  her, 
seconded  by  many  of  the  nobility,  to  petition  for 
the  enlargement  of  her  husband,  she  showed  the 
malignancy  and  littleness  of  her  soid  by  personal 
and  most  unwomanly  upbraidings. 

The  acts  of  this  tragedy,  in  which  there  was  no 
small  mixture  of  farce,  passed  almost  as  rapidly 
as  those  of  a  drama  on  the  stage;  and  before  the 
coronation  clothes  could  be  got  readj',  and  the 
bishops  assembled,  Matilda  was  driven  from 
London  without  having  time  to  take  with  her  so 
much  as  a  change  of  raiment.  One  fine  summer's 
day,  "  nigh  on  to  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist," and  about  noon-tide,  the  dinner  hour  of  the 
court  in  those  times,  a  body  of  horee  bearing  the 
banner  of  Queen  Maud  (the  wife  of  Stephen) 
appeared  on  the  southern  side  of  the  river  oppo- 
site the  city;  on  a  sudden  all  the  church-bells  of 
London  sounded  the  alarm,  and  the  people  ran 
to  arms.  From  every  house  there  went  forth 
one  man  at  least  with  whatever  weapon  he  could 
lay  his  hand  upon.  They  gathered  in  the  streets, 
says  a  contemporary,  like  bees  rushing  from  their 
hives.'  Matilda  saved  herself  from  being  made 
prisoner  by  rushing  from  table,  mounting  a  horse, 
and  galloiung  oft".  She  had  scai-cely  cleared  the 
western  suburb  when  some  of  the  populace  buret 
into  her  apai'tment,  and  pUlaged  or  destroyed 
whatever  they  found  in  it.  Such  was  her  leave- 
taking  of  London,  which  she  never  saw  again. 

'  Gc&ia  StepJuini. 


A.D.  1135—1151.] 


STEPHEN'. 


243 


Some  few  of  her  frieiuls  jiccomnaiiioil  her  to  Ox- 
ford, but  others  left  her  on  the  route,  ;iuil  tied 
singly  by  cross  country  roads  and  unfrequented 
paths  towards  their  respective  castles." 

Matilda  had  not  been  long  at  Oxford  when  she 
conceived  suspicions  touching  the  tidelity  of  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  whom  she  had  oU'endcd 
beyond  redress,  and   wlio   had  taken  liis  mea- 
sures accordingly,  absenting  liimself  from  court, 
and   manning  the  castles  which  he   had   built 
within  his  diocese — asat  Waltham,  Fai-uham,  and 
other  places.     He  had  also  an  interview  with  his 
sister-in-law,  Maud,  at  the  town  of  Guildford, 
where  he  probably  arranged  the  plans  in  favour 
of  his  brother  Stephen,  which  were  soon  carried 
into  execution.     Slatilda  sent  him  a  rude  order 
to  appear  before   her   forthwith.     The   cunning 
churchman  told  her  messenger  that  he  was  "get- 
ting himself   ready   for  her;"    which   was   true 
enough.      She  then  attempted  to  seize  him  at 
Winchester;  but,  having  well  fortified  his  episco- 
pal residence,  and  set  up  his  brother's  standard 
on  its  roof,  lie  rode  out  by  one  gate  of  the  town 
as  she  entered  at  the  other,  and  then  proceeded 
to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  armed  vassals 
and  the  friends  who  had  engaged  to  join  him. 
Matilda  was  admitted  into  the  royal  castle  of 
Winchester,  whither  she  immediately  summoned 
tlie  Earls  of  Gloucester,  Hereford,  and  Chester, 
and  her  uucle  David,  King  of  Scots,  who  had 
been  for  some  time  in  England  vainly  endeavour- 
ing to  make  her  follow  mild  and  wise  counsel. 
While  these  personages  were  with  her,  slie  laid 
siege  to  the  episcopal  palace,  which  was  in  every 
essential  a  castle,  and  a  strong  one.     The  legate's 
garrison  made  a  sortie,  and  set  fire  to  all  the 
neighbouring  houses  of  the  town  tliat  miglit  have 
weakened  their  position,  and  then,  being  confi- 
dent of  succour,  waited  the  event.     The  bishop 
did  not  make  them  wait  long.     Being  reinforced 
by  Queen  Maud  and  tlie  Londoners,  who,  to  the 
nimiber  of  a  thousand  citizens,  took  the  field  for 
Stephen,  clad  in  coats  of  mail,  and  wearing  steel 
casques,  like  noble  men  of  v/ai',-  he  turned  rapidly 
back  upon  Winchester,  and  actually  besieged  the 
besiegers  there.     By  the  Isfc  of  August  he  had 
invested  the  royal  castle  of  Winchester,  whei-e, 
besides  the   empress-queen,  there  wei-e  shut  up 
the  King  of  Scotland,  the  Earls  of  Gloucester, 
Hereford,  and  Chester,  and  many  other  of  the 
noblest  of  her  jjartizans.     When  the  siege  had 
lasted  six  weeks,  all  the  provisions  in  the  castle 
were  exhausted,  and  a  desperate  attempt  at  tiight 
was  resolved  upon.     By  tacit  consent  tlie  belli- 
gerents of  those  times  were  accustomed  to  sus- 
pend their  operations  on  the  gi-eat  festivals  of 
the  chui-ch.     The  14th  of  September  was  a  Sun- 

1  Malriuai.;  Gala  Stejp!i.;  £,omi>i.;  Fhr.  Wig.       -  Gala  Stcp/i. 


day,  and  tlie  festival  of  tlie  Holy  Rood  or  Cross. 
At  a  very  early  hour  of  the  morning  of  tliat  day, 
Matilda  mounted  a  swift  horse,  and,  accompanied 
by  a  strong  and  well-mounted  escort,  crejit  iis 
secretly  and  quietly  as  w:is  possible  out  of  the 
castle:  her  half-brother,  the  Earl  of  Gloucester, 
followed  at  a  short  distance  with  a  number  of 
knights,  who  had  engaged  to  keep  between  her 
and  her  pursuers,  and  risk  their  own  liberty  for 
the  sake  of  securing  the  queen's.  These  move- 
ments were  so  well  timed  and  executed,  that  they 
broke  through  the  beleaguerers,  and  got  upon 
the  Devizes  i-oad,  before  the  legate's  adherents, 
who  were  thinking  of  their  mass  and  prayei-s, 
could  mount  and  follow  them.  Once  in  the 
saddle,  however,  they  made  hot  pm-suit,  and  at 
Stourbridge,  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  and  liis  gal- 
lant knights  were  overtaken.  To  give  Matilda, 
who  was  only  a  short  distance  in  advance,  time 
to  escape,  they  formed  in  order  of  battle  and 
offered  an  obstinate  resistance.  In  the  end  they 
were  nearly  all  made  prisoners;  but  their  self- 
devotion  had  the  desired  efl'ect,  for  the  cjneen, 
still  pressing  on  her  steed,  reached  the  castle  of 
Devizes  in  safety.  That  fortress,  the  work  of 
Bisliop  Roger,  was,  we  know,  very  strong;  but  it 
is  said  that,  not  finding  herself  in  security  even 
there,  Matilda  almost  immediately  resumed  her 
journey,  and,  the  better  to  avoid  danger,  feigned 
herself  to  be  dead,  and  being  placed  on  a  bier 
like  a  corpse,  caused  herself  to  be  drawn  in  a 
hearse  from  Devizes  to  Gloucester.  Of  all  who 
formed  her  strong  rear-guard  on  her  Uight  from 
Winchester,  the  Earl  of  Hereford  alone  reached 
Gloucester  castle,  and  he  arrived  in  a  wretched 
state,  being  almost  naked.^  The  other  barons  and 
knights  wdio  escajjed  from  the  field  of  Stourbridge 
threw  away  their  arms,  disguised  themselves  like 
peasants,  and  made  for  their  own  homes.  Some 
of  theiu,  betrayed  by  their  foreign  accent,  were 
seized  by  the  English  peasantry,  who  bomid  them 
with  cords,  and  drove  tlie  proud  Normans  before 
them  with  whips,  to  deliver  them  up  to  their 
enemies.*  The  King  of  the  Scots,  Matilda's 
\incle,  got  safe  back  to  his  own  kingdom;  but  her 
half-brother,  the  Eai'l  of  Gloucester,  who  was  by 
far  the  most  important  prisoner  that  could  be 
taken,  was  conveyed  to  Stephen's  queen,  who 
secured  him  in  Rochester  Ca.stle.^ 

Both  jiarties  were  now,  as  it  were,  without  a 
head,  for  Matilda  was  nothing  in  the  field  in  the 
absence  of  her  half-brother.  A  negotiation  was 
therefore  set  ou  foot,  and,  on  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, it  was  finally  agi-eed  that  the  Earl  of  Glou- 


3  Conthi.  Wifj.  ^ 

*  At  diflerent  times  tlio  .Vrclibishop  of  Cant^iibury  aiut  seve- 
ral of  the  Nonnan  bisliops  and  ablwts  were  stripped  by  the  Eng- 
lish peasants — "  f^ui,*  ti.  vtstitjus  ab  istis  caplis,  ab  ittis  horrfiuU 
utidractif.^'—GeHa  i>trp/t.        *  Malmcfb.;  Gcsta  Steph.;  Brompt. 


2U 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


cester  .slioulil  be  exclmnjieil  for  King  Steiihcii. 
Tlie  interval  h;ul  been  ttJleel  up  by  unspeakable 
misery  to  the  people;  but,  as  far  as  the  principals 
were  concerned,  the  two  parties  now  stood  as 
they  did  previously  to  the  battle  of  Lincoln.  The 
clergy,  and  paaticidarly  the  legate  who  had  alter- 
nately sided  with  each,  found  themselves  in  an 
embarra-ssiug  position;  but  the  brotherof  Stejihen 
had  an  almost  unprecedented  strength  of  face. 
He  summoned  a  great  ecclesiastical  council, 
which  mot  at  Westminster  on  the  7th  of  Decem- 
ber, and  he  there  produced  a  letter  from  the 
pope,  ordering  him  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  effect 
the  liberation  of  his  brother.  This  letter  was 
held  as  a  sufficient  justification  of  all  the  measures 
he  had  recently  adopted.  Stephen  then  addi-essed 
the  assembly,  brielly  and  moderately  complain- 
ing of  the  MTOngs  and  hardships  he  had  sustained 
from  his  vassals,  unto  whom  he  had  never  denied 
justice  when  they  asked  for  it;  and  adding,  that 
if  it  would  please  the  nobles  of  the  realm  to  aid 
him  with  men  and  money,  he  trusted  so  to  work 
as  to  relie.ve  them  from  the  fear  of  a  shameful 
submission  to  the  yoke  of  a  woman ;  a  thing 
which  at  first  they  seemed  much  to  mislike,  and 
which  now,  to  then-  great  grief,  they  had  by  ex- 
perience found  to  be  intolerable.  At  last  the 
legate  himself  rose  to  speak,  and,  as  he  had  with 
a  very  few  exceptions  the  .same  audience  as  in 
the  synod  assembled  at  Winchester  only  nine 
months  before,  when  he  pronounced  the  dethrone- 
ment of  his  own  brother,  and  hurled  the  thunders 
of  excommunication  against  his  friends  and  ad- 
herents, his  speech  must  have  produced  a  singular 
effect.  He  pleaded  that  it  was  through  force, 
and  not  out  of  conviction  or  good-will,  that  he 
had  supported  the  cause  of  Matilda,  who  subse- 
quently had  broken  all  her  engagements  with 
him,  and  even  made  attempts  against  his  liberty 
and  life.  He  was  thus,  he  maintained,  freed 
from  his  o.aths  to  the  Countess  of  Anjou,  for  he 
no  longer  deigned  to  style  her  by  a  higher  title. 
The  judgment  of  Heaven,  he  said,  w;is  visible  in 
the  punishment  of  her  perfidy,  and  God  himself 
now  restored  the  rightful  King  Stephen  to  his 
throne.  Though  there  were  some  jealousies 
already  existing  between  him  and  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbmy,  the  council  went  with  the  legate, 
and  no  objection  was  started  save  by  a  solitary 
voice,  which  boldly  asserted,  in  the  name  of 
Matilda,  that  the  legate  himself  had  caused  all 
the  calamities  which  had  hajjpened — that  he  had 
invited  her  into  England — that  he  had  planned 
the  expedition  in  which  Stejihen  was  taken — 
and  that  it  was  by  his  advice  that  the  empress 
had  loaded  his  brother  with  chains.  The  imper- 
turbable legate  heard  these  ojien  accusations 
without  any  apjiarent  emotion  either  of  .shame 
or  anger;  and  with  the  gi-eatest  composure  pro- 


ceeded to  excommunicate  all  those  who  remained 
attached  to  the  party  he  had  just  quitted.  The 
curse  and  interdict  were  extended  to  all  wlio 
should  build  new  castles,  or  invade  the  rights  and 
pi-ivileges  of  the  church,  and  (a  most  idle  pro- 
vision!) to  all  who  should  wrong  the  poor  and 
defenceless.' 

No  compromise  between  the  contending  parties 
was  as  yet  thought  of  ;  the  smouldering  ashes  of 
civil  war  were  raked  together,  and  England  was 
tortured  as  if  with  a  slow  fire;  for  the  llaines 
were  not  brought  to  a  head  in  any  one  place,  and 
no  decisive  action  was  fought,  but  a  succession  of 
skirmishes  and  forays,  petty  sieges,  and  the  burn- 
ing of  defenceless  towns  and  villages  kept  people 
on  the  rack  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  land  at 
once.  "All  England,"  says  a  contemporary, 
"wore  a  face  of  woe  and  desolation.  Multitudes 
abandoned  their  beloved  country  to  wander  in  a 
foreign  land:  others,  forsaking  their  own  houses, 
built  wretched  huts  in  the  church-yards,  hoping 
that  the  saeredness  of  the  place  woidd  afibrd  them 
some  protection."'  This  last  miserable  hojie  was 
generally  vain,  for  the  belligerents  no  more  re- 
spected the  houses  of  God  than  they  did  the 
abodes  of  humble  men.  They  seized  and  fortified 
the  best  of  the  churches;  and  the  belfry  towers, 
from  which  the  sweet  sounds  of  the  chm-ch-bells 
were  wont  to  proceed,  were  converted  into  for- 
tresses, and  furnished  with  engines  of  war;'  they 
dug  fosses  in  the  very  cemeteries,  so  that  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  brought  again  to  light, 
and  the  miserable  remains  of  mortality  trampled 
upon  and  scattered  all  about.  At  ;xu  early  period 
of  the  contest  both  parties  had  engaged  foreign 
mercenaries;  and,  in  the  absence  of  regular  pay 
and  provision,  and  of  all  discipline,  bands  of  Bra- 
banters  and  Flemings  prowled  through  the  land, 
satisfying  all  their  appetites  in  the  most  brutal 
manner.  So  general  was  the  discouragement  of 
the  suffering  people,  that  whenever  only  two  or 
three  horsemen  were  seen  approaching  a  village 
or  open  burgh,  all  the  inhabitants  fled  to  conceal 
themselves.  So  extreme  were  their  sufferings  that 
their  complaints  amounted  to  imjiiety,  for,  seeing 
all  these  crimes  and  atrocities  going  on  without 
check  or  visible  judgment,  men  said  openly  that 
Christ  and  his  saints  had  fallen  asleep.' 

Dm-ing  Stejihen's  captivity,  Ma- 
tilda's husband,  Geofl:'rey  of  Anjou, 
reduced    nearly  the  whole    of   Normand}',   and 

'  Gervane ;  Mabnoib.  The  honest  and  judicious  monk  of 
Malniesbui-y  sjiys,  "I  cannot  relate  the  transactions  of  this  coun- 
cil with  that  exact  veracity  with  wluch  I  did  the  former,  as  I 
teas  not  present  at  it."  He  tells  us  that  the  legate  "  comm-inded, 
therefore,  on  the  part  of  God  an<l  the  pope,  that  they  should 
strenuously  assist  the  king,  anointed  by  tlit  Kill  of  the  nation  and 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Ilolfj  S^e:  and  that  such  as  disturbed 
the  peace  in  favour'  of  the  Countess  of  Anjou  should  be  excoin- 
miulicated,  with  the  ejcception  of  herself,  uho  ictis  sovereign  of 
the  Angevins."  •  Gesta  Steph.        ^  Ibid.        *  Chron.  Sax. 


A.D.  1142. 


AD.  1135     1154. 


STEPHEN. 


245 


prevailed  upon  the  majority  of  tlie  resident  iio- 
lile.s  to  acknowledge  Prince  Henry  (his  son  by 
Matilda)  ;ls  tlieir  legitimate  duke.  The  king's 
party  thua  lost  all  hojie  of  aid  and  assistance  from 
beyond  sea ;  but,  ius  they  were  masters  of  the 
coasts  of  the  island,  they  were  able  to  ])revent 
the  arrival  of  any  considerable  reinforcement  to 
theu'  adversaries.  Matilda  pressed  her  husband 
to  corae  to  her  a.ssistance  with  all  the  forces  he 
could  raise;  but  GeoftVey  declined  the  invitation 
on  tlie  ground  that  he  had  not  yet  made  himself 
sure  of  Normandy;  but  he  oft'ered  to  send  over 
Prince  Henry.  Even  on  this  point  he  showed  no 
great  readiness,  and  several  months  were  lost  ere 
he  would  intrust  his  son  to  the  care  of  the  Earl 
of  Gloucester,  whom  Matilda  had  sent  into  Nor- 
mandy. 

Meanwhile  Stephen,  who  had  recovered  from 
a  long  and  dangerous  illness,  marched  in  person 
to  O.xford,  where  the  empress  had  fixed  her  court, 
and  invested  that  city,  with  a  firm  resolution  of 
never  moving  thence  until  he  had  got  his  trouble- 
some rival  into  his  hands.  At  his  first  approach, 
the  garrison  came  out  to  meet  him:  these  enemies 
he  put  to  tbght,  and  pursuetl  tliera  so  hotly,  that 
he  entered  the  city  pell-mell  with  them.    Matilda 


ToWEK  OF  0.\FORD  CASTLE. '—J.  S.  Fiout,  from  liis  sketch  oil 
the  apot. 

tlien  retireil  into  the  castle,  and  the  victor's  troops 
set  tire  to  the  town.     Stephen  invested  the  cita- 

'  Oxford  Ca-stle  wiw  situated  at  the  weit  end  of  the  city;  its 
site  is  now  occupied  by  the  county  jail.  A  ciatle  was  founded 
hero  in  lOTl  by  Robert  D'OiUi,  at  the  command  of  William  the 


del,  and  persevered  in  the  operations  of  the  siege 
or  blockade  in  a  winter  of  extraordinary  severity; 
and  so  intent  was  he  on  his  jiurpose  that  he  would 
not  ]iermit  his  attention  to  be  distracted  even 
when  informed  that  the  Karl  of  Gloucester  and 
Prince  Henry  had  landeil  in  England.  Thfl 
castle  w;us  strong,  but  when  the  siege  had  lasted 
some  three  months,  MatiMa  again  found  hei-self 
in  danger  of  starvation,  to  escape  which  she  had 
recourse  to  another  of  her  furtive  Hights.  On 
tlie  iOth  of  December,  a  little  after  midnight, 
she  dressed  herself  in  white,  and,  accompanied 
by  three  knights  in  the  same  attire,  stole  out  of 
the  castle  by  a  postern  gate.  The  ground  being 
covei-ed  with  deep  snow,  the  party  passed  unob- 
served, and  the  Thames  being  frozen  over,  af- 
forded them  a  safe  and  direct  passage.  Matilda 
pursued  her  com-se  on  foot  as  far  as  the  town 
of  Abingtlon,  where,  finding  horses,  the  party 
mounted,  and  she  rode  on  to  Wallingford,  at  or 
near  to  which  place  she  was  soon  after  joined  by 
the  Eai'l  of  Gloucester  and  her  young  son,  who 
were  now  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force. 
The  day  after  Matilda's  flight  Oxford  Castle  siu'- 
rendered  to  the  king ;  but  the  king  himself  was 
defeated  by  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  at  Wilton, 
in  the  following  month  of  July,  and,  with  his 
brother  the  legate,  narrowly  escaped  being  made 
prisoner. 

After  the  aftair  of  Wilton  no  military  opera- 
tion deserving  of  notice  occurred  for  three  years, 
during  which  Stephen's  party  prevailed  in  all  the 
east;  Matilda's  maintained  their  gi-ound  in  the 
west;  and  the  young  prince  was  shut  up  for  safety 
in  the  strong  castle  of  Bristol,  where,  at  his  lei- 
sure moments,  his  uncle,  the  Earl  of  Gloucester, 
who  enjoyed,  like  his  father,  Henry  Beauclerk,  the 
reputation  of  being  a  learned  person,  attended  to 
his  education.  The  presence  of  the  boy  in  Eng- 
land was  of  no  use  whatever  to  his  mother's  or 
his  own  cause,  and  about  the  fe:xst  of  Whitsun- 
tide, 1147,  he  returned  to  his  father  Geotirey  in 
Normandy.  Gloucester  died  of  a  fever  in  the 
mouth  of  October;  and  thus,  deprived  of  son  and 
brother,  and  depressed  also  by  the  loss  of  the  Earl 
of  Hereford,  and  other  stanch  partizans,  who 
fell  the  victims  of  disease,  the  masculine  resolu- 
tion of  Matilda  gave  way,  and,  after  a  struggle 


Conqueror,  and  finished  in  1073.  By  digging  deep  trenches  he 
caused  the  river  to  surround  it  like  a  moat;  and,  .iccording  to 
Agaa's  ra.ap,  it  appears  to  have  been  a  fortress  of  extraordinary 
stiength  ;md  extent.  .\t  its  entrance  from  the  city,  which  w;u 
on  the  south-e.ast  side,  wjis  a  large  bridge,  which  led  by  a  long 
and  broad  entry  to  the  chief  gate  of  the  cistle.  On  one  aide  of 
the  castle  was  a  barbican  or  w.atch-tower;  and  within  the  w.alls 
were  a  church  and  convent  dedicated  to  St.  Geoi-ge,  founded  by 
Robert  D"Oilli.  The  towers  at  the  west  end  were  pulled  down 
when  the  castle  was  made  a  garrison  liy  the  Parliament,  durirg 
the  gre.1t  Civil  W.ar;  and  the  whole  lortilication,  wiMi  the  ex 
ception  of  the  tower  represented  in  the  cut,  was  demolished  m 
1052. 


24G 


niSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militauv. 


of  eight  years,  slie  quitted  Euglaml  and  retired  1  a  state  of  tliiiiga  whicli  men  could  not  bear,  and 
to   Normandy.     After   lier   departure,   Stephen  !  Stephen  was  coini)elled  to  seelc  a  reconciliation 

with  the  archbisiiop.     Aliout 
two  years  after  this  reconcili- 
ation, a  general  couiK-il  of  the 
high  clergy  was  held  at  Lon- 
don: and  Stephen,  who,  in  the 
interval,  had  endeavoured  to 
win  the  hearts  of  the  bishops 
and  abbots  with  donations  to 
the  church,  and  promises  of 
much  greater  things  when  the 
kingdom  should  be  settled,  re- 
quired them  to  recognize  and 
anoint  his  eldest  son,  Eustace, 
as    his   successor.     This    the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  re- 
solutely and  most  unceremo- 
niously   refused   to    do.     He 
had    consulted,   he   said,   his 
spii-itual  master,  and  tlie  pope 
had    told   him    that  Stephen 
was  an  nsurper,  and  therefore 
could  not,  like  a  legitimate  sovereign,  transmit 
his  crown  to  his  posterity.     It  was  quite  natu- 
ral,  and   perhaps   excusable,   that    Stephen,  on 
thus   hearing   his  rights  called   in  question  l:)y 
a  man  who  had  sworn  allegiance  to  him,  should 
be  overcome  by  a  momentary  rage  (and  it  was 
not   more   in  effect),   and   order   liis   guards   to 
arrest  the  bishops  and  seize  their  temporalities. 
But  putting  aside  the  question  of  right,  and  how- 
ever much  they  may  have  failed  in  the  respect 
due  to  one  who  was  their  king  at  the  time,  the 
prelates,  in  acting  as  they  did,  indubitably  took 
a  most  prudent  and  wise  view  of  the  case,  and 
adopted  a  system  which  was  calculated  to  narrow 
the  limits  of  civil  war. 

As  long  as  the  contest  lay  between  Stephen  on 
the  one  side  and  a  woman  and  a  boy  on  the  other, 
it  was  likely  to  be,  on  the  whole,  favourable  to 
the  former.  But  tune  had  worked  its  changes; 
Prince  Henry  was  no  longer  a  boy,  but  a  hanil- 
some,  gallant  young  man,  capable  of  performing 
all  the  duties  of  a  knight  and  soldier,  and  gifted 
with  precocious  abilities  and  political  acumen. 
He  had  also  become,  b}'  inlieritauce  and  mar- 
riage, one  of  the  most  powerful  princes  on  the 
Continent.  When  Henry  Plaiitagenet  left  Bris- 
tol Castle  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age. 
In  A.D.  1149,  having  attained  the  military  age  of 
sixteen,  he  recrossed  the  seas  and  landed  in  Scot- 
land, in  order  to  receive  the  honour  of  kuiglit- 
hood  at  the  hands  of  his  mother's  uncle.  King 
David.  The  ceremony  was  performed  with  great 
pomp  in  "  merry  Carlisle,"  where  the  ScottL-jli 
king  then  kept  his  court:  crowds  of  nobles  from 
most  parts  of  England,  as  well  as  from  Scotland 
and  Normandy,  were  present,  and  had  the  oppor- 


Crypt  of  Bristol  Castle.'— J.  S.  Prout,  from  his  sketch  on  the  spot, 

endeavoure<l  to  get  possession  of  all  the  baro- 
nial castles,  and  to  reduce  the  nobles  to  a  proper 
degree  of  subordination;  but  the  measures  he 
adopted  were,  in  some  instances,  characterized 
by  craft,  if  not  treachery ;  and  his  too  openly 
avowed  purpose  of  curbing  the  power  and  license 
of  the  nobility  was  as  unpalatable  to  his  own 
adherents  as  to  the  friends  of  Matilda.  At  the 
same  time  he  involved  himself  in  a  fresh  quarrel 
with  the  church,  and  that,  too,  at  a  moment 
wlien  his  brother,  the  legate,  and  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  had  lost  his  great  authority  through 
the  death  of  the  pope,  who  patronized  him,  and 
the  election  of  another  pope,  who  took  away  his 
legatine  office,  and  espoused  the  quarrel  of  his 
now  declared  enemy,  Theobald,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury. 

For  attending  the  council  of  Eheims,  against 
the  express  orders  of  tlie  king,  the  archbishop 
was  exiled.  Caring  little  for  this  sentence,  Theo- 
bald went  (a.d.  1148)  and  put  himself  under  the 
pi'otection  of  Bigod,  Earl  of  Norfolk,  who  was  of 
the  Angevin  faction,  and  then  publislied  a  sen- 
tence of  interdict  against  Stephen's  party  and  all 
that  part  of  the  kingdom  that  acknowledged  the 
rule  of  the  usurper.  Instantly,  in  one  half  of  the 
kingdom,  all  the  churches  were  closed,  and  the 
priests  and  monks  either  withdrew,  or  refused  to 
perform  any  of  the  offices  of  religion.     This  was 

'  The  only  surviving  vestige  of  Bristol  Castle  is  the  crypt, 
llie  castle  is  not  specified  in  Dooimday  Booh,  and  the  period  of 
its  origin  is  unknown ;  but  it  is  surmised  to  have  been  budt, 
together  with  the  second  wall  round  the  town,  by  Gotl&ey, 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  one  of  the  followers  of  the  Conqueror.  The 
first  historical  notice  of  it  occui-s  on  the  death  of  William  I., 
when  it  was  fortified  and  held  by  Godfrey  on  behalf  of  Robert, 
the  Conqueror's  eldest  son. 


A.T).  1 13  J— 1154.] 


STEPHEN. 


247 


tuuity  of  remarking  Henry's  many  eminent  ipia- 
lities;  and  a.s  tliat  prince  had  only  lieen  returned 
to  the  Continent  .some  twelve  months  when  Sle- 
)ihen  as.'iemliled  the  council  for  the  anointing  of 
his  son,  the  impressions  made  by  the  fortunate 
Plantagenet  were  still  fresh,  and  his  character 
was   naturally  contrasted   with   that  of   Prince 
Eustace,  who  was  about  his  own  age,  but  who 
does  not  appear  to  have  had  one  of  his  high  en- 
dowments.    Shortly  after  his  retiu-n  from  Cai-- 
lisle,  Henry  was  put  in  full  possession  of  the 
government  of  Normand y ;  by  the  decease  of  his 
father  Geoflrey,   who  died  in  the  course  of 
the  same   year  (1150),  he  succeeded  to  the 
earldom  of  Anjou;  and  in  1152,  together  with 
the  hand  of  Eleanor,  the  divorced  queen  of 
Louis  VII.  of  France,  he  acquired  her  rights 
over  the  earlilom  of  Poictou  and  the  vast  duchy 
of  Guienne  or  Aquitaine,  which  had  descended 
to  her  from  her  father.   The  Plautagenet  party 
in  England  recovered  their  spirits  at  the  pro- 
spect of  this  sudden  aggi-audizemeut,  and  think- 
ing no  more  of  the  mother,  they  determined 
to  call  in  the  son  to  reign  in  his  own  right. 
The  Eai'l  of  Chester  passed  over  to  Normandy, 
to  express  what  he  called  the  unanimous  will 
of  the  nation ;  but  the  King  of  France  formed 
an  alliance  with  King  Stejihen,  Theobald,  Earl 
of    Blois,    and    Geoffrey   of    Anjoii,   Henry's 
younger  brother,  and  marched  a  French  army 
to  the  confines  of  Normandy.    This  attempt  oc- 
casioned some  delay ;  but  as  soon  as  Henry  ob-     ;  ; 
tained  a  truce  on  the  Continent,  he  sailed  for 
England  with  a  small  fleet.  The  army  he  brought 
over  with  him  did  not  exceed  14U  knights  and       ■',: 
3000  foot,  but  it  was  well  appointed  and  discip- 
lined ;  and  as  soon  as  he  landed  in  England  most 
of  the  old  friends  of  his  family  flocked  to  join 
his  standard.   It  was  unexpectedly  found,  how-      G 
ever,  that  Stepjheu  was  still  strong  in  the  affec- 
tions and  devotion  of  a  large  party.     The  armies 
of  the  competitors  came  in  sight  of  each  other  at 
Wallingford — that  of  Stephen,  who  had  marched 
from   London,  occujiying  the  left   bank  of  the 
Thames,  and  that  of  Henry,  who  had  advanced 
from  Marlborough,  the  right.     They  lay  facing 
each   other  diu-ing  two   whole  days,  and  were 
hourl}'  expecting  a  sanguinary  engagement;  but 
the  pause  had  given  time  for  salutary  reflection, 
and  the  Earl  of  Arundel  had  the  boldness  to  say 
that  it  was  an  unreasonable  thing  to  prolong  the 
calamities  of  a  whole  nation  on  account  of  the 
ambition  of  two  princes.      Many  lords  of  both 
])ai'ties,  who  were  of  the  same  opinion,  or  wearied 
at   length  with  a  struggle   wdiich   had   already 
lasted  fifteen  years,  laboured  to  persuade  both 
princes  to  come  to  an   amicable  arrangement. 
The  two  chiefs  consented;  and  in  a  short  conver- 
eation  which  thev  can'ied  on  with  one  another 


across  a  narrow  part  of  tlu'  Thames,  Stejiliea  and 
Ileni-y  agreed  to  a  truce,  during  which  eacli  ex- 
jircssed  his  readiness  to  negotiate  a  lasting  jieace. 
On  this.  Prince  Eustace,  wlio  was  |>robabl\'  well 
aware  that  the  fii-st  article  of  tlie  treatv  woidd 
seal  his  exclusion  from  the  throne,  biu'st  away 
from  his  father  in  a  paroxysm  of  rage,  and  went 
into  the  east  to  get  u])  a  w;ir  on  his  own  account. 
The  rash  young  man  took  forcible  possession  of 
the  abbey  of  St.  Edmuudsbury,  and  laid  waste  or 
plundei-ed  the  country  round  about,  not  except- 
ing even  the  lauds  of  the  abbot.     His  licentious 


ATE  or  THE  Abbey  Church.  St.  Edmimdsbur)'.'— From  a  view- 
by  Mackenzie. 

careei"  was  very  brief,  f<.>r,  as  he  was  sitting  down 
to  a  riotous  banquet,  lie  was  suddenly  seized  with 
a  frenzy,  of  which  he  soon  died." 

The  principal  obstacle  to  concession  from  Ste- 
phen was  thus  removed,  for  though  he  had  another 
legitimate  son,  Prince  William,  he  was  but  a  boy, 
and  was  docile  and  unambitious.  The  princijjal 
negotiatoi's,  who  with  great  ability  and  addi'ess 
reconciled  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  two  fac- 
tions, were  Theobald,  the  Ai'chbishop  of  Canter- 


'  This  fine  structure  was  the  portal  opposite  to  the  west  oii- 
ti-ance  to  the  monastery  chiirch.  It  is  a  quad  ran  g^iilar  biiilduis. 
SO  ft.  liigh.  Near  the  base  on  thu  weateni  faco  are  two  basa-reliefs, 
one  representing  mankind  after  the  fall  by  the  figxu'ea  of  Adam 
and  Eve  entwined  with  a  serjwnt,  and  tlie  other,  typical  of  the 
(loliverance  nf  mankind,  represents  God  the  Father  wurrouuded 
by  clionibim.     Within  the  arch  are  varioiLs  grotesque  figures. 

-  Writers  ot  a  later  period  introduced  some  confusion  m  this 
matter  by  accounting  for  his  death  in  difloront  ways.  Some  of 
them  said  Eustace  was  drowned. 


2iS 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  Axn  Militauy. 


lmrv,;uKlHein-y,  Bisliop  of  Winchestor,  Stephen's  I  visited  together  tlie  cities  of  Wincliester,  Lon- 


brother,  who  played  so  many  parts  in  this  long 
and  checkered  drama.     On  tlie  7th  of  November, 
1153,  a  great  council  of  tlie  liingdom  w.as  held  at 
AVinchester,  where  a  peace  was  finally  adjusted 
on  thefollowing  conditions : — Stephen,  who  wasto 
retain  undi.sturbed  possession  of  the  crown  durinn- 
his  life,  adopted  Henry  as  his  sou,  apjiointed  him 
his  successor,  and  r/aoe  the  kingdom,  after  his  own 
death,  to  Heni-y  and  his  heirs  for  ever.    In  return 
Henry  did   present  homage, 
and  swore  fealty  to  Stephen. 
Hem-y  received  tl.e  homage  of 
the  king's  sun'i\-ing  sou  Wil- 
liam, and,  in  return,  gave  that 
young  prince  all  the  estates 
and  honoui-s,  whether  in  Eug 
land   or   on    the    Continent 
■which  his  father  Stejjhen  ha  1 
enjoyed   before  he  ascende  1 
the  throne;  and  Ilenr}'  pro 
mised,  as  a  testimonial  of  his 
own  ali'ection,  the  honour  of 
Pevensey,  together  with  some 
manors  in  Kent.    There  then 
followed  a  mighty  interchange 
and     duplication     of     oatlis 
among  the  earls,  barons,  bi 
shops,  and  abbots  of  both  fac 
tions,  all  sweai'ing  present  allegiance  to  Stephen, 
and  future  fealty  to  Henry.' 

After  signing  the  treaty,  Stephen  and  Henry 


don,  and  Oxford,  in  which  places  solemn  proces- 
sions were  made,  and  both  princes  were  received 
with  acclamations  liy  the  jjeople.  At  the  end 
of  Lent  they  parted  with  exjiressions  of  mutual 
friendship. 

Henry  returned  to  the  Continent,  and  on  the 
following  25th  of  October  (1154),  Steplieu  died 
at  Dover,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  He  was 
buried  by  the  side  of  his  wife,  Maud,  who  died 


Faversham  Abbl^  "— Tiom  in  old  vww  m  the  Br  tish  Ma  eum 

tlu-ee  years  before  him,  at  the  monastei-y  of  Fa- 
versham, in  the  pleasant  county  of  Kent,  which 
she  had  loved  so  much  while  living. 


-      CHAPTER  v.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY.— a.d.  11.54— 1]  72. 

HENRY  II..  SUEN.WIED  FL.'VKTAGEJ.'ET. ACCESSION,  A.D.  1151-   DEATH,  A.D.   11S9. 

Succession  of  Henry  IT.,  purnanied  Plaritageuet — History  of  his  queen,  Eleanor — Henry's  reforms  at  the  begin- 
ning of  bis  reign — His  resumption  of  crown  lands,  and  suppression  of  the  barons — He  invades  Maine  and  Anjou 
— His  successful  war  in  Wales— His  acquisitions  on  the  Continent — His  war  with  the  French  king — Exploits 
of  Tliomas  a  Becket  in  the  war — Previous  career  of  Becket — He  becomes  Archbisliop  of  Canterbury — His 
altered  behaviour  on  becoming  primate— Commencement  of  his  quarrels  with  Henry — Struggles  of  Becket  for 
the  privileges  of  the  clergy — He  is  worsted  by  the  king — Becket's  strange  visit  to  the  court  at  Northampton — 
He  retreats  to  France — Henry's  vindictive  proceedings  against  him — Henry's  unsuccessful  campaign  in  Wales 
. — His  successes  on  the  Continent — He  is  e.xcommunicated  by  Becket — Attempts  of  the  French  king  to  recon- 
cile Henry  and  Becket — Becket  returns  to  England — His  triumphant  reception  by  the  people — Henry's  rage 
at  the  tidings — -\ssassination  of  Tiiomas  a  Becket — Henry's  attempts  to  free  himself  from  suspicion. 


HEN  Henry  Plantagenet  re- 
ceived the  news  of  Stephen's 
death,  he  was  engaged  in  the 
siege  of  a  castle  on  the  frontiei-s 
of  Normandy.  Eelyuig  on  the 
situation  of  ailairs  in  England, 
and  the  disposition  of  men's  minds  in  his  favour, 
he  prosecuted  the  siege  to  a  successful  close,  and 


reduced   some  turbulent   continental   vassals  to 
obedience,  before  he  went  to  the  coast  to  embai'k 

'  Rymer's  Fcedera, 

-  This  abbey  was  built  and  endowed  by  Stephen  ;  and  himself, 
his  queen  Jlaud,  and  liis  eldest  son  Eustace  of  Boulogne,  were 
buried  witUiji  its  walls.  At  the  dissolution  this  abbey  was  held 
by  monks  of  the  Benedictme  order.  After  the  suppression  the 
remahis  of  Stephen  were  thro\vn  into  the  river,  for  the  value  of 
the  leaden  ootfin  in  which  they  were  contained. 


A.D.  1154-1172.] 


IIF.XRV   11 


2VJ 


fur  his  new  kiiiy:'lniii.      Ilo  was  detained  some    about  a  yeai'  after  their  roturu  from  the  Holy 


time  at  Barfleur  by  storms  and  contrary  winds; 
and  it  was  not  till  six  weeks  after  the  deatli  of 
Stephen,  that  he  lauded  in  England,  where  lie 
was  i-eceived  with  enthusiastic  joy.  He  brought 
with  him  a  splendid  retinue,  and  Eleanor,  his 
wife,  whose  inheritance  had  made  him  so  power- 
ful on  the  Continent.  This  mar- 
riage pi'oved,  that  if  the  young 
Henry  had  the  gallantry  of  his 
age  and  all  the  knightly  accom- 
plishments then  in  vogue,  he  was 
not  less  distinguished  by  a  cool 
calculating  head,  ;iiid  the  faculty 
of  sacrificing  romantic  or  delicate 
feelings  for  political  advantages. 
The  lady  he  espoused  was  many 
years  older  than  himself,  and  the 
repudiated  wife  of  another. 

Eleanor,  familiarly  called  in  her 
own  country  Aauor,  was  daughter 
and  heiress  of  William  IX.,'  Eajl 
of  Poictou  and  Duke  of  Aquitaine ; 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  sovereign 
chief  of  all  the  western  coast  of 
France,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Loii-e  to  the  foot  of  the  Pyrenees. 
She  was  married  in  1137  to  Louis 
VII.,  King  of  France,  who  was  not 
less  enchanted  with  her  beauty 
than  with  the  fine  j>rovinces  .she 
brought  him.  When  the  union 
had  lasted  some  years,  and  the 
queen  had  given  birth  to  two 
daughters,  the  princesses  Marie 
and  Alix,  Louis  resolved  to  make 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land, 
and  to  take  along  with  him  his 
wife,  whose  uncle,  Eaymond,  was 
Duke  of  Antioch.  The  general 
morality  of  the  royal  and  noble 
crusaders  and  pilgrims  is  repre- 
sented in  no  very  favourable  b'glit 
by  contemporary  w-riters;  and  it 
is  easily  understood  howcampsand 
marches,  and  a  close  and  constant 
association  with  soldiers,  shouKl  not  be  favour- 
able to  female  virtue:  Suspicion  soon  fell  u]:on 
Eleanor,  who,  aecording  to  her  least  unfavourable 
judges,  was  guilty  of  gi'cat  coquetry  and  freedom 
of  manners;  and  her  conduct  in  the  gay  and  dis- 
solute court  of  Antioch  at  last  awakened  the  in- 
dignation of  her  devout  husband.  She  was  very 
generally  accused  of  an  intrigue  with  a  young 
and  handsome  Turk,  named  Saladin.^     In  1152, 


Henry  ir,  from  his  tomb  at  Fonte 

vrjiiid. — Btotharvrs  Moimnien- 

tul  Kltigies. 


'  Tills  Duke  William  was  a  troubadour  of  high  renown,  and  the 
most  ancient  of  that  class  of  poets  whose  works  have  been  pre- 
served. 

2  Some  old  writers  confound  this  Saladin  with  the  Great  Sala- 
Vol..  I. 


Ijand,  Louis  summoned  a  council  of  jirelates  for 
the  intrjiose  of  di\-oreiiig  him  from  a  woman  who 
hail  piiblicly  dishonoured  him.  The  Bisho])  of 
Langres,  pleading  for  tlie  king,  gra\-ely  announced 
that  his  royal  master  "  no  longer  jilaced  faith  in 
his  wife,  and  could  never  be  sure  of  the  legitimacy 
of  her  progeny."  But  the  Ai-eh- 
bishop  of  Bordeaux,  desirous  that 
the  separation  should  be  effected 
in  a  less  scandalous  manner,  pro- 
[losed  to  treat  the  W'liole  question  on 
very  diS'erent  grounds -namely, 
on  theeon.sanguinityof  the  parties, 
which  might  have  been  objected 
by  the  canonical  law  as  an  insu- 
perable barrier  to  the  mai-riage 
when  it  was  contracted  fifteen 
yeai's  before,  but  which  now 
seemed  to  be  remembered  by  the 
clergy  somewhat  tardily.  This 
com-se,  however,  relieved  them 
from  a  delicate  dilemma;  and  as 
Eleanor,  who  considered  Louis  to 
be  "  rather  a  monk  than  a  king,"' 
voluntarily  and  readily  agreed  to 
the  dissolution  of  the  marriage, 
the  councildi-ssolvedit  accordingly 
— on  the  pretext  that  the  con- 
sciences of  the  parties  reproached 
them  for  living  as  man  and  wife 
when  they  were  cousins  within 
the  prohibited  degree.  This  de- 
cent colouring,  however,  deceived 
nobody;  but  the  good,  simple 
Louis  wonderfully  deceived  him- 
self, when  he  thought  that  no 
prince  of  the  time — no,  not  a  pri- 
vate gentleman — woidd  be  so 
wanting  in  delicacy,  and  regard- 
less of  his  own  honour,asto  mai'ry 
a  divorced  wife  of  so  defamed  a 
reputation.  According  to  a  con- 
tem])orary  authority,  Eleanor'.s 
only  dithculty  was  in  making  a 
choice,  and  escaping  the  too  for- 
cible addresses  of  some  of  her  suitors.  Henry 
soon  jiresented  himself,  and,  "  with  more  policy 
than  delicacy,"  wooed,  and  won,  and  married 
her  too,  within  six  weeks  of  her  divorce.'  King 
Louis's  conduct  was  directly  the  opposite  of 
Henry's,  for  he  had  been  more  deliciito  than 
politic;  and,  however  honourable  to  him  indi- 
vidually, his  delicacy  w-as  a  great  misfortune  to 
Fi'auce,  for  it  dissevered  states  which  had  been 


din,  the  heroic  opiwnent  of  Eleanor's  son,  Richard ;  but  this  is 
a  great  mistake,  involving  an  anachronism. 

^  Slczer.ii,  Hist.  cie.  France. 

*  Script.  Rin-.  Franc. 

32 


250 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  axd  7\Iii.rTAr.r. 


unitefl  by  the  niarriage — retarded  tluit  fusion 
and  integration  which  alone  could  render  the 
French  l<ingdom  respectable,  and  throw  the 
finest  territories  of  France  into  the  hands  of  his 
most  dangerous  enemies.  If  ho  could  have  freeil 
himself  of  his  wife,  without  resigning  her  states, 
the  good  would  have  been  unmixed ;  but  this 
was  impossible.  His  discarded  wife,  who  seems 
to  have  been  dear  to  her  people,  in  spite  of  her 
irregularities,  encountered  little  or  no  difficulty 
in  inducing  them  to  admit  the  garrisons  of  her 
now  husband,  the  young  and  popular  Ilenrv. 
When  it  was  too  late,  Louis  saw  the  great  error 
in  policy  lie  had  committed,  and  made  what 
efforts  he  could  to  pi-eveut  the  by  him  most  un- 
expected marriage.  He  prohibited  Henry,  as 
his  vassal  for  Normandy  and  Aiijou,  to  contract 
any  such  union  without  the  consent  and  autho- 
rity of  his  suzerain  lord,  the  King  of  France;  but 
Henry,  who  was  soon  by  far  the  more  powerful 
of  the  two,  cared  little  for  the  prohibition,  and 
Louis,  in  the  end,  was  obliged  to  content  himself 
with  receiving  the  empty  oaths  of  allegiance 
which  the  fortunate  Plantagenet  tendered  for 
Guienne  and  Poictou,  in  addition  to  those  he  had 
ab-eady  pledged  for  Anjou  and  Normandy.  The 
old  French  historians  cannot  relate  these  transac- 
tions without  losing  their  temper.' 

The  sacrifice  was  indeed  immense.  The  French 
kingdom  almost  ceased  to  figure  as  a  maritime 
state  on  the  Atlantic;  and  when  Eleanort  posses- 
sions were  added  to  those  Henry  already  pos- 
sessed on  the  Continent,  that  prince  occupied  the 
whole  coast  line  from  Dieppe  to  Bayonne,  with 
the  exception  only  of  the  great  promontory  of 
Brittany,  where  a  race  of  semi- independent 
princes  were  established  that  had  sometimes  sup- 
ported the  interests  of  the  French  kings,  and  at 
others  allied  themselves  with  the  Anglo-Norman 
sovereigns.  Henry,  in  fact,  was  master  of  one- 
fifth  of  the  territories  now  included  in  the  king- 
dom of  France;  and,  deducting  other  separate  and 
independent  sovereignties,  Louis,  driven  back 
from  the  Atlantic,  and  cooped  up  between  the 
Loii-e,  the  Saone,  and  the  Mouse,  did  not  possess 
half  so  much  land  as  his  rival,  even  leaving  out 
of  the  account  the  kingdom  of  England,  to 
which  he  succeeded  about  two  years  after  his 
marriage. 

'  Ce  qui  nf>m  couta  bon. — Brantome.  M^zerai  and  Larrey 
[Hffretiert  di  Guknne)  agree  in  attributing  Louis's  error  to  tlie 
want  of  the  wise  counsels  of  Suger.  Larrey  and  Bouchet  (An- 
nales  d'AquUaiiu),  with  some  other  writers,  natives  of  Aquitaijie 
or  Poictou,  maintained  that  Eleanor  was  unjustly  calumniated; 
but  the  weight  of  contemporary  evidence  is  on  the  other  side. 

-  William  and  Henry.     WilUam  died  in  his  childliood. 

^  "  Under  the  turbulent  and  miserable  usurpation  of  Stephen, 
neither  government  nor  law  existed  iu  England.  The  realm 
was  entirely  given  up  to  violence ;  every  powei-fal  m,an  built  his 
castle,  wliich  became  a  den  of  robbers ;  the  towns  and  the  open 
country,  the  clergy  and  the  peaa.antry— all  suffered  equally  from 


Eleanor  was  soon  as  jealous  of  Henry  as  Louis 
had  been  of  her.  The  Plantagenet  had  not  mar- 
ried with  a  view  to  domestic  liapijiness,  but  he 
was  probably  far  from  expecting  the  wi-etchcd- 
ness  to  which  the  union  would  condemn  his  latter 
days.  At  their  first  arrival  in  England,  however, 
everything  wore  a  bright  aspect.  The  queen 
rode  by  the  king's  side  into  the  ro3'al  city  of  Win- 
chester, where  they  both  received  the  homage 
of  the  nobility;  and  when,  on  the  19th  of  Decem- 
ber, Henry  took  his  coronation  oaths,  and  was 
crowned  at  Westminster  by  Theobald,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  Eleanor  was  crowned  with 
him,  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  people.  Not 
a  shadow  of  opposition  was  oflered ;  the  English, 
still  enamom-ed  of  their  old  dynasty  or  traditions, 
dwelt  with  complacency  on  the  Saxon  blood, 
which,  from  his  mother's  aide,  flowed  in  the  veins 
of  the  youthful, the  handsome,  and  brave  Henry; 
and  all  classes  seemed  to  overlook  the  past  his- 
tory of  the  queen  in  her  graudem-  and  magnifi- 
cence, and  present  attachment  to  their  king.  The 
court  pageantries  were  splendid,  and  accompanied 
by  the  spontaneous  rejoicings  of  the  citizens. 
Henry  did  not  permit  his  attention  to  be  long 
occupied  by  these  pleasures,  but  proceeded  to 
business  almost  as  soon  as  the  crown  was  on  his 
head.  He  assembled  a  great  council,  appointed 
the  crown  oflioers,  issued  a  decree,  promising  his 
subjects  all  the  rights  and  liberties  they  had  en- 
joyed under  his  grandfather,  Henry  I. ;  and  he 
made  his  barons  and  bishops  swear  fealty  to  his 
infant  children,  his  wife  Eleanor  having  already 
made  him  the  happy  father  of  two  sons." 

Henry  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  correct- 
ing of  those  abuses  which  had  rendered  the  reign 
of  Stephen  a  long  agony  to  himself  and  a  curse 
to  the  nation.  His  reforms  were  not  completed 
for  several  j'ear.s,  and  many  events  of  a  foreign 
nature  intervened  during  their  progress;  but  it 
will  render  the  narrative  clearer  to  condense  our 
account  of  these  transactions  in  one  general  state- 
ment.' 

Henry  appointed  the  Earl  of  Leicester  gi-and 
justiciary  of  the  kingdom,  and,  feeling  that  the 
office  had  hitherto  been  insufficiently  supjiorted 
by  the  crown,  he  attached  to  it  more  ample 
powers,  and  provided  the  means  of  enforcing  its 
decisions.    As  happened  in  all  seasons  of  trouble 


spoil  and  rapine ;  pestilence  and  famine  swept  away  the  people, 
and  the  laboius  of  agriculture  were  abandoned  in  despair ;  to 
till  the  gi'ound  was  to  plough  the  sea ;  the  earth  bore  no  com, 
for  the  land  was  all  wa.sted  by  these  deeds.  '  Such  things,'  con- 
tinue the  monks  of  Peterborough,  '  did  we  suH'er  for  nineteen 
years  for  our  sins,'  until  the  accession  of  '  Heni-y  Fitz-Empress,' 
considered  by  the  English  as  representing  the  ancient  national 
dynasty.  They  traced  liis  descent  to  Alfi-ed  .and  to  Cerdic ;  but 
the  Bon  of  Geoffrey  Plantagenet  w.ia  a  stranger  by  birth  and 
education;  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  jurisprudence  was  finally  sub- 
verted by  the  restorer  of  the  Anglo-.S.axon  line." — Palgrave,  Rist 
and  Progress  of  the  English  Commonwealth,  part  i.  p.  240. 


A.D.  1154-1172.] 


HENRY  II. 


,\ 


iiiiil   Jistross  in  those  a.^es,  the  coin  h;ul  liecii 
alloyed  and  tampered  with  under  Stephen ;  and 


Silver  Pen.vy,  Heiiry  11.— Weighs  22  grs. 

now  Henry  issued  an  entirely  new  coinage  of 
skmdai'd  weight  and  pm-ity.     The  foreign  merce- 


SlLVElt  Coin,  Hoiiry  II. 

naries  and  companies  of  adventure  that  came 
over  to  England  during  the  long  civil  war  be- 
tween Stephen  and  MatiUla  had  done  incalculable 
mischief.  Many  of  these  adventurers  liad  got 
possession  of  the  castles  and  estates  of  the  Anglo- 
Norman  nobles  wlio  adhered  to  Matilda,  and  liad 
been  created  earls  and  barons  by  Stephen ;  but, 
treating  all  these  as  acts  of  usurpation,  Henry  de- 
termined to  di-ive  every  one  of  them  from  the 
land,  and  their  expulsion  seems  to  have  afforded 
almost  as  much  joy  to  the  Saxon  population  as  to 
the  Normans,  who  raised  a  shout  of  triumph  on  the 
occasion.  "  We  saw  them,"  says  a  contemporary, 
"we  saw  these  Brabancons  and  Flemings  cross 
the  sea,  to  return  from  tlie  camp  to  the  plough- 
tail,  and  become  again  serfs,  after  liaviug  been 
lords."'  Up  to  this  point  'the  operations  were 
easy,  and  the  king,  unopposed  by  the  conflicting 
interest  of  any  important  party  in  the  state,  or 
by  claims  on  his  own  gi-atitude,  was  carried  for- 
ward on  the  high  tide  of  popidar  opinion;  but  in 
what  still  remained  to  do  were  great  and  obvious 
difficulties,  and  feelings  of  a  private  uatiu-e,  which 
might  have  overcome  a  less  determined  and  poli- 
tic prince,  for,  in  tlae  impartial  execution  of  his 
measm-es  lie  had  to  despoil  those  who  fought  his 
mother's   battles   and  supported  his  own   cause 


wlicn  he  was  a  helpless  infant.  TIio  generous 
romantic  virtues  natni'al  to  youth  might  have 
been  fatal  to  him;  but  Henry's  heart  in  some  re- 
spects seems  never  to  luive  been  young,  and  his 
head  was  cool  and  calculating.  In  a  treaty  made 
at  "Winchester,  shortly  after  his  pacification  with 
Stejjhen,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  king  (Stephen) 
should  resume  all  such  royal  castles  and  lauds  as 
had  been  alienated  to  the  lay  nobles  or  usurped 
by  them.  Among  the  resnmable  gifts  were  many 
made  by  Matilda.  Stephen,  poor  as  he  was,  had 
neglected  this  resumption,  or  made  no  progress 
in  it  during  the  few  months  that  he  survived  the 
treaty.  But  Hem-y  was  determined  not  to  be  a 
pauper  king,  or  to  tolerate  that  widely-stretched 
aristocratic  power  which  at  once  ground  the  peo- 
ple and  bade  fair  to  reduce  royalty  to  an  empty 
shadow.  Ill  the  absence  of  other  fixed  revenues, 
the  sovereigns  of  that  time  depended  almost  en- 
tirely on  the  produce  of  the  crown  lands;  and 
Stephen  had  allowed  so  much  of  these  to  slip 
from  him,  that  there  romaiBed  not  sufficient  for 
a  decent  maintenance  of  royal  dignity.  Besides 
the  numerous  castles  which  had  been  built  by  the 
turbulent  nobles,  royal  fortresses  and  even  royal 
cities  Iiad  been  gi'anted  aw.ay;  and  these  could 
hardly  be  permitted  to  remain  in  the  hands  of 
the  feudal  lords  without  endangering  tlie  peace 
of  the  kingdom."  Law  was  brought  in  to  the  aid 
of  policy,  and  it  was  now  established  as  a  legal 
axiom,  that  the  ancient  demesne  of  the  crown  was 
of  so  sacred  and  inalienable  a  nature,  that  no 
length  of  time,  tenure,  and  enjoyment  could  give 
a  right  of  prescription  to  any  other  possessors, 
against  the  claim  of  succeeding  princes,  who  might 
(it  was  laid  down)  at  any  time  resume  possession 
of  what  had  formerly  been  alienated.^ 

Foreseeing,  however,  that  this  step  would  create 
much  discontent,  Henry  was  cautious  not  to  act 
without  a  high  sanction ;  and  he  therefore  sum- 
moned a  gi-eat  coimeil  of  the  nobles,  who,  after 
hearing  the  urgency  of  his  necessities,  concurred 
pretty  generally  in  the  justice  of  his  immediately 
resuming  all  that  had  been  held  by  his  grand- 
father Henry  I.,  with  the  exception  of  the  aliena- 
tions or  gi-ants  to  Stephen's  son  and  the  church. 
As  soon  as  he  was  armed  with  this  sanction  the 


'  R.  de  Dic«to. 

2  "The  judicial  entries  on  the  fly-leaves  of  the  Exeter  nnnw- 
script,  written  before  and  after  the  Cou(iuest,  show  us  th.at  the 
municipal  forms  and  conditions  of  that  city  underwent  no  change 
upon  the  transfer  of  the  English  crown  to  a  Norman  line  of  sove- 
reigns ;  and  such  w.a3  probably  the  cise  in  aU  other  cities  and 
towns  then  in  existence.  But  although  their  privileges  and  con- 
stitution were  in  principle  untouched,  in  practice  they  were  fre- 
quently trespassed  upon.  A  new  race  of  feudal  lords  had  entered 
upon  the  land,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  customs  of  the  people 
over  whom  they  had  intruded  themselves,  and  who  liad  little 
respect  for  .any  customs  wliich  stood  as  obstacles  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  their  views  of  aggrandizement.  This  must  have  led  to 
continual  riots  and  disturbances  in  the  old  Saxon  towns,  and  to 


infringements  of  their  privileges  whore  they  had  little  power  to 
obtain  permanent  redress.  After  undei-going  all  these  vex.ations 
during  a  few  years,  they  saw  the  advantages,  or,  wo  may  perhaps 
better  say,  the  necessity,  of  purchasing  fi-om  the  king  %vritten 
charters  confirming  their  old  rights,  which  became  an  effective 
protection  in  courts  of  law.  Thus  originated  municipal  charter, 
wliich  are  rather  to  be  considered  as  a  proof  of  tlie  antiquity, 
tlian  of  the  novelty  of  the  privileges  they  grant.  Thoy  were 
given  most  abundantly  under  Henry  II.  and  his  sons,  when  it 
became  the  jjolicy  of  the  English  raonarchs  to  seek  tho  support 
of  the  independent  burghers  .ag-ainst  a  turbulent  feudal  aristo- 
cracy."—Wright,  The  Cdl,  the  Roman,  and  the  Saxon,  p.  449. 

2  Lord  Lyttleton's  Ilmrt/  I/.    Contemporary  details  are  foimd 
in  Gervate  of  CatUerUur;/,  Win.  qf  Ncwburii,  and  Roger  of  Ifvutdai. 


252 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mii.ix.AnT. 


young  king  ]nit  liimself  at  tlie  he:ul  of  a  formiil- 
aVile  army,  kuowing  right  well  tliat  there  were 
many  who  would  not  consider  themselvea  bound 
liy  the  voices  of  the  assemldy  of  nobles,  and  who 
would  only  cede  their  castles  and  lands  by  force. 
In  some  instances  the  castles,  on  being  closely 
beleaguered,  surrendered  without  bloodshed;  in 
others,  they  wei-e  taken  by  storm,  or  reduced  by 
famine.  In  nearly  all  cases  they  were  levelled 
to  the  ground,  and  about  1100  of  these  "dens  of 
thieves"  were  blotted  out  from  the  fair  land  they 
defaced.  At  the  siege  of  tlie  castle  of  Bridge- 
north,  in  Shropshire,  which  Hugh  de  Mortimer 


BridOenorcu  Ca'^tle  ' — Fiom  ui  old  view 

held  out  against  the  king,  Henry's  life  was  pre- 
served by  the  aft'eetion  and  self-devotion  of  one 
of  his  followers,  his  faithful  vassal  Hubert  de  St. 
Clair,  who  stepped  forward  and  received  in  his 
own  bosom  an  arrow  aimed  at  the  king.  After 
many  toils,  and  not  a  few  checks,  Henry  com- 
pleted his  purpose;  he  di'ove  the  Earl  of  Notting- 
ham and  some  other  dangerous  nobles  out  of  the 
kingdom;  he  levelled  with  the  gi-ound  the  six 
strong  castles  of  Stejiheii's  brother,  the  famous 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  who,  placing  no  confidence 
in  the  new  king  whom  he  had  helped  to  make, 
fled  with  his  treasures  to  Clugny;  he  reduced  the 
Earl  of  Albemarle,  who  had  long  reigned  like  an 
independent  sovereign  in  Yorkslm-e,  to  the  pro- 
per state  of  vassalage  and  allegiance ;  and  he 
finally  obliged  Malcolm,  King  of  Scots,  to  resign 
the  three  northern  comities  of  Northumberland, 
Cumberland,  and  Westmoreland,  for  the  bond 
fide  possession  of  the  eaiddom  of  Huntingdon, 
wliich  tlie  Scottish  princes  claimed  as  descendants 
of  Earl  Waltheof.  Heniy  was  not  less  eager  to 
recover  everything  than  wisely  anxious  to  avoid 
the  a])]ieai'auce  of  acting  from  motives  of  Jiarty 

*  Tlie  remaining  fi-agraeut  of  Bridgenorth  Castle  has,  from  ex- 
cavations at  its  base,  inclined  so  far  from  the  perpendicular,  .ts 
to  have  obtained  the  title  of  the  Leaning  Tower.  It  is  situateil 
at  the  south  aide  of  the  town. 


revenge;  and  by  his  equal  and  impartial  jiroceed- 
ing,  he  left  the  adherents  of  Stephen  no  more 
reason  to  complain  than  his  mother's  or  his  own 
])artizans.  Among  the  latter  were  several  who 
lost  their  all  by  these  resumptions;  but,  steady  to 
his  pm'))ose,  the  king  would  make  no  exceptions, 
not  even  in  favour  of  those  who  had  succoured 
his  mother  in  the  hour  of  need,  and  made  the 
greatest  sacrifices  for  his  family.  He  evaded  the 
most  earnest  applications  by  a  courtesy  of  de- 
meanour, and  a  prodigality  of  promises  for  the 
future,  which  seldom  lay  heaA'y  on  his  conscience. 
Before  these  measures  were  completed  Henry's 
active  mind  was  occujiied  by  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Continent,  for  his  younger 
brother  Geoffrey,  advancing  a  title 
to  Anjou  and  Maine,  had  invaded 
those  provinces.  A  short  time  after 
his  maiTiage,  which  made  him  Duke 
of  Aquitaine  and  Earl  of  Poictou, 
Hemy  became  Eaid  of  Anjou  by  the 
death  of  his  fatlier,  but  under  the 
express  condition,  it  is  said,  of  resign- 
ing that  earldom  to  his  younger 
brother  if  he  ever  should  become 
King  of  England.  That  young  prince 
was  now  encouraged  by  the  French 
^i-,F^  com-t,  which  was  still  smarting  under 

-T^--'  the  injui'ies  received  from  Heme's 

marriage ;  and  he  seems  to  have  had 
a  strong  party  in  his  favour  in  the 
provinces  of  Maine  and  Anjou. 

The  King  of  England  crossed  the  seas  in  llSfi, 
and  again  did  homage  to  Louis  VII.,  for  Nor- 
mandy, Aquitaine,  Poictou,  Auvergne,  the  Li- 
mousin, Anjou,  Touraine,  and  a  long  train  of 
dependent  territories  ;  and  by  this  and  other 
means,  the  nature  of  whicli  is  not  explained,  he 
induced  the  French  king  to  abandon  the  cause  of 
his  younger  brother.  He  then  threw  himself  into 
the  disputed  territory,  at  the  head  of  an  array 
consisting  almost  entirely  of  native  English,  who 
soon  reduced  Chinon,  Mirabeau,  and  the  other 
castles  which  held  for  his  brother.  The  people 
returned  to  their  allegiance  to  Henry,  and  Geof- 
frey was  soon  obliged  to  resign  all  his  claims  fur 
a  pension  of  1000  English  and  2000  Angevin 
pounds.  Having  triumphed  over  evei-y  opposi- 
tion, as  much  by  policy  as  by  force  of  arms,  Henry 
made  a  magnificent  progi-ess  through  Aquitaine 
and  the  other  dominions  he  had  obtained  by  his 
mai-riage,  and  received  the  fealty  of  his  chief  vas- 
sals in  a  gi-eat  council  held  in  the  city  of  Bordeaux. 
Wherever  he  appeai-ed  he  commanded  respect,  and 
no  sovereign  of  the  time  in  Europe  could  equal 
the  power  and  siileudour  of  this  young  king. 

On  his  return  to  England  in  1157,  he  engaged 
in  hostilities  with  the  Welsh.  Feeling  ovei'-con- 
fident  in  the  number  and  quality  of  his  ai'my,  he 


A.D.  1154—1172.] 


HENRY    II. 


253 


crossed  FliuUhire,  and  threw  himself  among  the 
mountains.  The  Welsh  let  hira  penetrate  as  fiu- 
as  the  difficult  counti-y  about  Colesliill  Forest, 
when,  issuing  from  their  concealment,  and  pour- 
ing down  in  torrents  from  the  uplands,  they  at- 
tacked Henry  in  a  narrow  defile  where  his  troops 
could  not  form.  The  slaughter  was  prodigious. 
Eustace  Fitz-John  and  llobert  de  Courcy,  men  of 
gi'eat  honour  and  reputation,  together  with  seve- 
ral other  nobles,  were  dismounted  and  cut  to 
/)ieces;  the  king  himself  was  in  the  gi-eatest  dan- 
ger, and  a  nimour  was  raised  that  he  had  fallen. 
Henry,  Earl  of  Esses,  the  hereditary  standard- 
beai-er,  threw  down  the  royal  standard  and  fled. 
The  panic  was  now  uuivei-sal ;  but  the  king  rushed 
among  the  fugitives,  showed  them  he  was  unhurt, 
rallied  them,  and  finally  fought  his  way  through 
the  mountain-pass.  The  serious  loss  he  sufl'ered 
made  him  cautious,  and  instead  of  following  Owen 
Gw^tTined,  who  artfully  tried  to  draw  him  into 
the  defiles  of  Snowdon,  he  changed  his  route,  and 
gaining  the  open  sea-coast,  marched  along  the 
shore,  closely  attended  by  a  fleet.  He  cut  down 
some  forests,  or  opened  roads  through  them,  and 
built  several  castles  in  advantageous  situations. 
There  was  no  second  battle  of  any  note,  and,  after 
a  few  months,  the  AVelsh  were  glad  to  purchase 
peace  by  resigning  such  portions  of  their  native 
territory  as  they  had  retaken  from  Steplieu,  and 
giving  hostages  and  doing  feudal  homage  for  what 
they  retained.  Six  years  after  the  battle  of  Coles- 
hill,  the  Earl  of  Essex  was  publicly  accused  of 
cowardice  and  treason  by  llobert  de  Montfort. 
The  standard-bearer  appealed  to  the  trial  of  arms, 
and  was  vanquished  in  the  lists  by  his  accuser. 
By  the  law  of  the  times,  death  should  hare  fol- 
lowed, but  the  king,  qualifying  the  rigour  of  the 
judgment,  gi-anted  him  liis  life,  appointing  him 
to  be  a  shorn  monk  in  Reading  Abbey,  and  taking 
the  earl's  possessions  into  his  hands  as  forfeited 
to  the  crown.' 

Geoffi-ey  did  not  live  long  to  exact  payment  of 
his  annuities  from  his  brother.  Soon  after  con- 
cluding the  treaty  with  Hemy,  which  left  him 
without  any  territory,  the  citizens  of  Nantes,  in 
Lower  Brittany,  spontaneously  oflered  him  the 
government  of  their  city,  just  as  the  people  of 
Domfront  had  done  by  Hemy  Beauclerk,  when 
under  similar  depressed  circumstances.  But 
Geoffrey  died  in  1158,  and  the  citizens  of  Nantes, 
returning  to  their  old  connection  with  the  rest  of 
the  country,  were  governed  by  C'onan,  who  was 
Earl  of  Richmond  in  England,  .as  well  as  the 
hereditary  C'oimt  or  Duke  of  Brittany.  To  the 
siu'prise  of  eveiybody.  King  Henry  claimed  the 
free  city  of  Nantes  as  hereditaiy  property,  de- 
volved to  him  by  his  brother's  death.     It  was  in 


'  DiCito. 


vain  the  citizens  represented  that  they  hail  not, 
by  choosing  Geoffrey  to  be  their  governor,  re- 
signed their  independence,  or  converted  them- 
selves into  a  property  to  be  hereditiiry  in  his 
fiimily.  Hemy  wanted  to  fill  up  the  only  great 
gap  in  his  continental  territories,  and,  cai-eless  of 
right  or  appearances,  he  resolved  to  seize  Nantes, 
hoping,  that  if  once  he  gained  a  firm  footing 
there  he  should  soon  extend  his  dominion  over 
the  rest  of  Brittany.  Ho  aifected  to  treat  the 
men  of  Nantes  as  rebels,  and  C'onan  as  an  usurper 
of  Ids  rights;  he  confiscated  his  eai-ldom  of  Rich- 
mond, in  Yorkshh-e,  and  crossing  the  Chdnnel 
with  a  formidable  ai-my,  spread  such  terror  that 
the  people  submitted,  and,  renouncing  C'onan, 
received  his  garrison  within  the  walls  of  Nantes.'- 
He  then  quietly  took  possession  of  the  whole  of 
the  country  between  the  Loii'e  and  the  Vilaine, 
relying  on  his  art  and  address  for  quieting  the 
alarms  these  encroachments  could  not  fail  to  create 
in  the  French  coiu-t.  He  dispatched  Thom:is  h 
Becket,  then  the  most  skilfid  and  accommodating 
of  all  his  ministers,  to  Paris,  the  volatile  inhabi- 
tants of  which  capitfd  were  dazzled  and  delighted 
by  the  ambassador's  magn'ficence.  Hemy  soon 
followed  in  person,  and,  between  them,  these  two 
adroit  negotiators  completely  won  over  the  obtuse 
French  king.  The  price  paid  for  his  neutrality 
was,  Hemy's  aftiancing  his  eldest  son  to  Margaret, 
an  infant  daughter  Louis  had  had  by  his  wife, 
Constance  of  Castile,  who  had  succeeded  Eleanor. 
Henry  then  prosecuted  his  views  on  the  rest  of 
Brittany,  and  concluded  with  Conan,  whom  he 
had  cb-iven  from  Nantes,  a  compact  which  threat- 
ened the  independence  of  the  whole  coimtiy. 
He  affianced  his  then  youngest  son  Geofii-ey  to 
Constantia,  an  infant  daughter  of  Conan,  the 
latter  engaging  to  bequeath  to  his  daughter  all 
his  rights  in  Brittany  at  his  death,  and  Hemy 
engaging  to  support  him  in  his  present  power 
duriug  his  life.^ 

If  this  treaty  was  kept  secx-et  for  a  time  from 
King  Louis,  Hemy's  ambition  hm-ried  him  mto 
other  schemes,  which  interrupted  then-  good  un- 
dei-standing  before  it  had  lasted  a  year.  N  ot  satis- 
fied  with  the  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  states  he 
had  proem-ed  by  his  marriage,  he  advanced  fresh 
claims,  iu  right  of  his  wife,  to  territories  which 
neither  she  nor  her  father  had  ever  enjoyed,  and, 
by  obtaining  the  gi-eat  earldom  of  Toulouse,  ho 
hoped  to  spread  his  power  across  the  whole  of 
the  broad  isthmus  that  joins  France  to  Spain,  and 
to  range  along  the  French  coast  on  the  jMediter- 
I'anean,  as  he  already  did  along  the  whole  Atlantic 
sea-boai'd.  William,  Duke  of  Aquitaine,  grand- 
father of  Queen  Eleanor,  Henry's  wife,  and  a  con- 
temporary of  the  Conqueror,  manied  Philippa, 


2  Neiobrig,;  Script.  Rtr.  Franc. 

■*  Vkron.  Jfonti.;  iYcic6riy,;  Darn,  Iligf.  tic  la  Brttai/nc. 


So-t 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mu.itarv. 


the  ouly  child  of  William,  the  fourth  Earl  of 
Toulouse.  As  a  female  succession  was  contrary 
to  the  laws  or  usages  of  the  country,  the  Earl 
William,  Philippa's  father,  conveyed  the  princi- 
pality, by  a  contract  of  sale,  to  his  brother,  Ray- 
mond de  St.  Gilles,  who  succeeded  at  his  death, 
and  transmitted  it  to  his  posterity  in  the  male 
line,  who  had  held  it  many  years,  not  without 
cavil  on  the  part  of  the  house  of  Aquitaine,  but 
without  any  successful  challenge  of  their  title. 
Eleanor  conveyed  her  right.?,  such  as  they  were, 
and  which  she  was  determined  not  to  leave  dor- 
mant, to  Louis  VII.,  by  her  first  marriage;  and 
diu-ing  their  union  the  French  king  sent  forth  an 
army  for  the  conquest  and  occupation  of  Toulouse. 
But  the  expedition  ended  in  a  treaty,  and  Ray- 
mond de  St.  Gilles,  the  grandson  of  the  first  earl 
of  that  name,  was  confirmed  in  possession  of  the 
country,  and  released  from  all  claims  to  it, 
whether  on  the  pai-t  of  the  French  king  or  his 
wife  Eleanor,  by  marrying  Constance,  the  sister 
of  Louis.  Hem-y  now  urged,  that  by  her  subse- 
quent divorce  from  Louis,  Eleanor  was  restored 
to  her  original  rights;  and  after  some  cm-ious 
correspondence,  he  demanded  the  instant  sur- 
render of  the  earldom  of  Toulouse  upon  the  same 
grounds  as  Louis  had  done  before  him.  The 
Earl  Raymond  raised  his  banner  of  war,  and  ap- 
plied for  aid  to  his  brother-in-law  of  France. 
"The  common  council  of  the  city  and  suburbs," 
for  such  was  the  title  borne  by  the  municipal 
government  of  Toulouse,'  seconded  Raymond's 
negotiations  with  the  French  court,  and  raised 
their  banner  as  a  free  and  incorporated  commu- 
nity. On  this  occasion  Louis  broke  through  the 
fine  meshes  of  Henry  and  Becket's  diplomacy, 
and  roused  himself  to  a  formidable  exertion. 
Perceiving  that  the  struggle  would  be  serious, 
and  that  success  could  only  be  obtained  by  the 
keeping  on  foot  a  large  army  very  diflerent  in  its 
constitution  and  terms  of  service  fi-om  his  feudal 
forces,  Hem-y  resolved,  by  the  advice  of  Becket, 
to  commute  the  personal  services  of  his  vassals 
for  an  aid  in  money,"  with  which  he  trusted  to 
procure  troops  that  would  serve  like  modern  sol- 
diers for  their  daily  pay,  obey  his  orders  directlj' 
without  the  often  troublesome  intermission  of 
feudal  lords,  and  have  no  objection  either  to  the 
distance  of  the  scene  of  hostilities,  or  the  length 
of  time  they  were  detained  from  their  homes. 
The  teiTu  of  forty  days,  to  whicli  the  seiwices  of 
the  vassals  were  limited,  would  have  been  in  good 
part  consumed  in  the  march  alone  from  England 
and  the  noi-th  of  France  to  Toulouse.  He  began 
by  levying  a  sum  of  money,  in  lieu  of  their  pre- 

1  Commune  conclliiun  ui'bis  Tholosai  et  subxu'bii. — Scrijit.  Rtr. 
Franc. 

^  This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  introduction  of  a  practice 
wli:ch  tended  gradually  to  the  overthrow  of  the  feudal  system. 


senee  and  services,  upon  his  vassals  iu  Nonnandv, 
and  other  provinces  remote  from  the  seat  of 
action ;  the  commutation  was  agreeable  to  most 
of  them;  and  when  it  was  proposed  in  England, 
it  was  still  more  acceptable,  on  account  of  the 
greater  distance,  and  the  laudable  anxiety  of 
many  of  the  nobles  to  take  care  of  their  estates, 
which  had  suffered  so  much  during  the  intestine 
wars  of  the  preceding  reign.  The  scuiage,  as  it 
is  called,  was  levied  at  the  rate  of  three  pounds 
in  England,  and  of  forty  Angevin  shillings  in  the 
contmental  dominions,  for  every  knight's  fee. 
There  were  60,000  knights'  fees  in  England  alone, 
which  would  produce  £180,000.  But,  whatever 
was  the  sum,  it  sufficed  Hemy  for  the  raising  of 
a  strong  mercenary  force,  consisting  chieily  of 
bodies  of  the  famous  infantry  of  the  Low  Coun- 
tries. With  these  marched  Malcolm,  King  of 
Scotland,  who  com-ted  the  close  alliance  of  Henry; 
Raymond,  King  of  Ai-ragon  (to  whose  infant 
daughter  Henry  had  affianced  his  infant  son 
Richard);  one  of  the  Welsh  princes,  and  many 
English  and  foreign  barons  who  voluntarily  en- 
gaged to  follow  the  king  to  Toulouse.  Thomas  4 
Becket,  now  chancellor  of  England,  and  the  in- 
separable comi^aniou  of  his  royal  master,  attended 
in  this  war,  and  none  went  in  more  warlike  guise. 
He  marched  at  the  head  of  700  knights  and  men- 
at-arms,  whom  he  had  raised  at  his  own  expense; 
and,  when  they  reached  the  scene  of  action,  he 
distinguishedhimself  by  his  activity  and  gallantry, 
not  permitting  the  circumstance  of  his  being  in 
holy  orders  to  prevent  him  from  charging  with 
the  chivalry,  or  mounting  the  deadly  breach. 
After  taking  the  town  of  Cahors,  Hem-y  marched 
upon  the  city  of  Toulouse.  But  the  French  king, 
crossing  Berry,  which  belonged  to  him  in  good 
part,  and  the  Limousin,  which  gi-anted  him  a  free 
passage,  threw  himself  with  reinforcements  into 
the  threatened  city,  where  he  was  received  with 
extreme  joy  by  Earl  Raymond  and  the  citizens.^ 
The  force  which  Louis  brought  with  him  was 
small,  and  the  energetic  Becket  advised  Henry  to 
make  an  immediate  assault,  in  which  the  chm-ch- 
man  judged  he  could  hardlj-  fail  of  reducing  the 
town  and  taking  prisoner  the  French  king,  whose 
captivity  might  be  turned  to  incalculable  advan- 
tage. But  Hem-y  v.-as  cool  and  cautious  even  in 
the  midst  of  his  greatest  successes:  he  did  not 
wish  to  drive  the  French  nation  to  extremities — 
he  was  so  woven  up  in  the  complicated  feudal 
system,  and  so  dependent  himself  on  the  faithful 
observance  of  its  nice  gradations,  that  he  wished 
to  avoid  outraging  the  great  principles  on  which 
it  rested ;  and  being  himself  vassal  to  Louis,  and, 
in  his  quality  of  Earl  of  Anjou,  hereditary  senes- 
chal of  France,  he  declared  he  could  not  show 


3  Script.  Rer.  Franc. 


A.D.   llJl-1172.] 


HENRY   II. 


such  disrespect  to  his  superior  lord  as  to  besiege 
him.  While  he  hesitated,  a  French  army  marched 
to  the  relief  of  their  king.  Heiiry  then  trans- 
ferred the  war  to  another  part  of  the  earldom, 
and  soon  after,  leaving  the  supreme  cominaud  to 
Becket,  returned  with  p;u-t  of  his  army  to  Nor- 
mandy. The  clerical  chancellor  continued  to  ap- 
peiu-  as  if  in  his  proper  element:  he  fortified  C'a- 
hors,  took  three  castles,  which  had  been  deemed 
impregnable,  and  tilted  with  a  French  knight, 
whose  horse  he  carried  away  as  the  proof  of  his 
victory.  But  Henry  could  not  do  without  his 
favom-ite;  and  a  French  force  having  made  a 
diversion  on  the  side  of  Normandy,  Becket  also 
I'eturned  thither,  lea\"ing  only  a  few  insignificant 
garrisons  on  the  banks  of  the  Garonne  and  jilea- 
sant  hills  of  Lauguedoc.  The  political  condition, 
however,  of  that  favoured  i-egion — the  sunny  land 
of  the  troubadours — declined  from  that  hour. 
The  haV>it  of  imploring  the  protection  of  one  king 
against  another  became  a  cause  of  dependence; 
and  with  the  epoch  when  the  King  of  England, 
as  Duke  of  Aquitaine  and  Eai-1  of  Poictou,  ob- 
tained an  influence  over  the  affiiu-s  of  the  south 
of  Fi-ance,  commenced  the  decline  and  misery  of 
a  most  iuterestiug  population.  Thenceforward, 
placed  between  two  great  powers,  the  rivals  of 
each  other,  and  both  equally  ambitious  and  en- 
croaching, they  sought  the  protection,  now  of  the 
one,  and  now  of  the  other,  according  to  circum- 
stances; and  were  alternately  supported  and  aban- 
doned, betrayed  and  sold  by  both. 

In  the  brief  war  which  ensued  on  the  frontiers 
of  Normandy,  after  the  expedition  to  Toulouse, 
Becket  maintained  1200  knights,  with  no  fewer 
than  4000  attendants  and  foot  soldiers;  and  when 
the  King  of  Finance  was  induced  to  treat,  the 
eloquent  and  versatile  churchman  wius  charged 
\vith  the  negotiations  on  the  part  of  his  friend 
and  master.  A  truce  was  concluded  at  the  end 
of  the  3'ear,  and  a  few  months  after,  when  the 
rival  kings  had  an  interview,  the  truce  was  con- 
verted into  a  forma!  peace  (a.d.  1160),  Henry's 
eldest  son  doing  homage  to  Louis  for  the  duchy 
of  Normandy,  and  Henry  being  permitted  to  re- 
tain the  few  places  he  had  conquered  in  the  earl- 
dom of  Toulouse.  This  precious  peace  did  not 
last  quite  one  month.  Constance,  the  French 
queen,  died  without  leaving  any  male  issue;  and 
Louis,  anxious  for  an  heir,  as  his  daughters  could 
not  succeed,  in  about  a  fortnight  after  her  decease, 
married  Adelais,  niece  of  the  late  English  king, 
Stephen,  and  sister  of  the  three  Earls  of  Blois, 
Champagne,  and  Sanserre.  This  union  with  the 
old  enemies  of  his  family  gi-eatly  troubled  Henry, 
who,  foreseeing  a  disposition  in  the  French  court 
to  break  off  the  alliance  with  him,  which  might 
give  his  progeny  a  hold  upon  France,  secretly 
secured  a  dispen.sation  from  the  pope,  and  solem- 


nized the  contract  of  marriage  between  his  son 
Henry,  who  was  seven  years  old,  and  the  daugh- 
ter of  Louis,  the  Princess  Margaret,  who  had  been 
placed  in  his  power  at  the  conclusion  of  the  oi-i- 
ginal  treaty,  and  who  had  attained  the  matronly 
age  of  thfca  years.  Becket,  the  prime  mover  in 
all  things,  brought  the  royal  infant  to  London, 
whei'e  this  strange  ceremony  was  performed. 

Another  war  ensued,  but  of  too  insignificant  a 
chai-acter  to  demand  our  notice,  and  it  was  soon 
concluded  through  the  mediation  of  the  pope. 

At  this  time,  as  at  several  other  periods  in  the 
middle  ages,  there  were  two  pojies,  each  calling 
the  other  auti-po])e  and  anti-Christ.  Victor  IV. 
was  established  at  Rome  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa;  and  Alexan- 
der III.  was  a  fugitive  and  an  exile  north  of  the 
Alps,  where  both  Louis  and  Henry  bowed  to  his 
spiritual  authority,  and  rivalled  each  other  in 
tlieu-  offers  of  an  asylmu  and  succom",  and  in  their 
reverential  demeanour.  When  the  two  kings  met 
him  in  person  at  Courcy-sui'-Loire,  they  both  dis- 
mounted, and  holding  each  of  them  one  of  the 
bridle-reins  of  his  mule,  walked  on  foot  by  his 
side,  and  conducted  him  to  the  castle.' 

A  short  period  of  tranquillity,  both  in  England 
and  Henry's  continental  dominions,  followed  this 
reconciliation ;  and  when  it  was  disturljed,  the 
storm  proceeded  from  a  most  unexpected  quarter 
— from  Thomas  a  Becket,  the  king's  bosom  friend. 

Becket  was  born  at  London,  in  or  about  the 
year  1117.  His  father  was  a  citizen  ;md  trader, 
of  the  Saxon  race — circumstances  which  seemed 
to  exclude  the  son  from  the  career  of  ambition. 
The  boy,  however,  was  gifted  with  an  extraordi- 
nary intelligence,  a  handsome  person,  and  most 
engaging  manners;  and  his  father  gave  him  all 
the  advantages  of  education  that  were  within  his 
reach.  He  studied  successively  at  Morton  Abbey, 
London,  Oxford,  and  Paris,  m  which  last  city  he 
applied  to  civil  law,  and  acquired  as  perfect  a 
mastery,  and  as  pure  a  pronunciation  of  the  French 
language,  as  any  the  best  educated  of  the  Norman 
nobles  and  officers.  Wliile  yet  a  young  man,  he 
was  employed  as  an  under-clerk  in  the  office  of 
the  sheriff  of  London,  where  he  attracted  the 
attention  of  Theobald,  Ai'chbishoi)  of  Canterbury, 
who  sent  him  to  complete  his  stndy  of  the  civil 
law  at  the  then  famous  school  of  Bologna.  After 
profiting  by  the  lessons  of  the  learned  Gratian, 
Becket  recrossed  the  Alps,  and  staid  some  time 
at  Auxerre,  in  Bm'gundy,  to  attend  the  lectures 
of  another  celebrated  law  professor.  On  his  re- 
turn to  London,  he  took  deacon's  orders,-  and  his 
powerful  patron  the  ai'chbishop  gave  him  some 
valuable  church  preferment,  which  neither  neces- 
sitated a  residence,  nor  the  performance  of  any 


'  Ncwbriff.;  Chron.  Norm. 

-  He  iie%'er  took  the  m^or  orders  till  ho  became  .archbishop. 


5.5C 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Mii.itahv. 


chui-ch  duties;  ami  lie  soon  aftLn-wards  sent  him, 
as  the  best  qualified  persou  he  knew,  to  conduct 
some  important  negotiations  at  the  court  of  Rome. 
The  young  dijjlomatist  (for  he  was  then  only 
thirty-two  yeai-s  old)  acquitted  himself  with  great 
abilitj'  and  complete  success,  obtaining  from  the 
pope  a  prohibition  that  defeated  the  design  of 
crowning  Prince  Eustace,  the  son  of  Stephen — 
an  important  service,  which  secured  the  favour 
of  the  Empress  Matilda  and  the  house  of  Plau- 
tagenet.  On  Henry's  accession,  Ai-chbishop  Theo- 
bald had  all  the  authority  of  prime  minister,  and, 
being  old  and  infirm,  he  delegated  the  most  of  it 
to  the  active  Backet,  who  was  made  chancellor 
of  the  kingdom  two  years  after,  being  the  first 
Englishman  since  the  Conquest  that  had  reached 
sjiy  eminent  oflice.  As  if  to  empty  the  lap  of 
royal  bounty,  Hemy  at  the  same  time  appointed 
him  ]:ireceptor  of  the  heir  to  the  crown,  and  gave 
him  the  wardenship  of  the  Tower  of  London,  the 
castle  of  Berkhampstead,  and  the  honour  of  Hye, 
with  340  knights'  fees.  His  revenue,  flowing  in 
from  many  sources,  was  immense ;  and  no  man 
ever  spent  more  freely  or  magnificently.  His 
house  was  a  palace,  both  in  dimensions  and  ap- 
pointments. It  was  stocked  with  vessels  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  constantly  frequented  by  number- 
less guests  of  all  goodly  ranks,  from  barons  and 
earls  to  Icnights  and  pages,  and  simple  retainers 
— of  which  he  had  several  hundreds,  who  acknow- 
ledged themseh'es  his  immediate  vassals.  His 
tables  were  spread  with  the  choicest  viands;  the 
best  of  wines  were  poured  out  with  an  un.sparLng 
hand;  the  richest  dresses  allotted  to  his  pages  and 
serving  men.'  The  chancellor's  out-door  appear- 
ance was  still  more  splendid,  and  on  great  public 
occasions  was  carried  to  an  extremity  of  pomp 
and  magnificence.  When  he  went  on  his  embassy 
to  Paris  he  was  attended  by  200  knights,  besides 
many  barons  and  nobles,  and  a  complete  host  of 
domestics,  all  richly  armed  and  attired,  the  chan- 
cellor himself  having  fom--and-twenty  changes  of 
apparel.  As  he  travelled  through  France,  his 
train  of  waggons  and  sumpter-horses,  his  hounds 
and  hawlvs,  his  huntsmen  and  falconers,  seemed  to 
announce  the  presence  of  a  more  than  king. 
Whenever  he  entered  a  town,  the  ambassadorial 
procession  was  led  by  250  boys  singing  national 
songs;  then  followed  his  hounds,  led  in  couples; 
and  these  were  succeeded  by  eight  waggons,  each 
with  five  large  horses,  and  five  drivers  in  new 
frocks.  Eveiy  waggon  was  covered  with  skins, 
and  guarded  by  two  men  and  a  fierce  mastiff.  Two 
of  the  waggons  were  loaded  with  ale,  to  be  dis- 
tributed to  the  people ;  one  carried  the  vessels 
and  furniture  of  his  chapel;  another  of  his  bed- 
chamber; a  fifth  was  loaded  with  his  kitchen  ap- 


paratus; a  sixth  carried  his  abundant  plate  and 
wardrobe;  and  the  other  two  were  devoted  to  the 
use  of  his  household  servants.  After  the  waggons 
came  twelve  sumpter-horaes,  a  monkey  riding  on 
each,  with  a  groom  behind  on  his  knees.  Then 
came  the  esquires,  carrying  the  shields,  and  lead- 
ing the  war-hoi'ses  of  their  respective  knights; 
then  other  esquires  (youths  of  gentle  bu-th),  fal- 
coners, officers  of  the  household,  knights,  and 
priests;  and  last  of  all  apjieared  the  gi'eat  chan- 
cellor himself,  with  his  familiar  friends.  As 
Becket  passed  in  this  guise,  the  French  were 
heard  to  exclaim,  "What  manner  of  man  must 
the  King  of  England  be,  when  his  chancellor 
travels  in  such  state!"-  Hemy  encom-aged  all 
this  pomp  and  magnificence,  and  seems  to  have 
taken  a  lively  enjoyment  in  the  spectacle,  though 
he  sometimes  twitted  the  chancellor  on  the  finery 
of  his  attire.  All  such  ofiices  of  government  as 
were  not  performed  by  the  ready  and  indefatig- 
able king  himself  were  left  to  Becket,  who  had 
no  competitor  in  authority.  Secret  enemies  he 
had  in  abundance,  but  never  even  a  momentary 
rival  in  the  roy;d  favoui-.  The  minister  and  king 
lived  together  like  brothei-s;  and  according  to  a 
contemporary,^  who  knew  more  of  Henry  than 
any  other  that  has  written  concerning  him,  it 
was  notorious  to  all  men  that  they  were  cor  vnum 
el  animam  unam  (of  one  heart  and  one  mind  in 
all  things).  With  his  chancellor  Henry  gave  free 
scope  to  a  facetious,  frolicsome  humour,  which 
was  natural  to  him,  though  no  prince  could  as- 
sume more  dignity  and  sternness  when  necessary. 
The  chancellor  was  an  admirable  horseman,  and 
expert  in  hunting  and  hawking,  and  all  the  sports 
of  the  field.  These  accomplishments,  and  a  never- 
failing  wit  and  vivacity,  made  him  the  constant 
companion  of  the  king's  leism-e  hours,  and  the 
sharer  (it  is  hinted)  in  less  innocent  jjleasures; 
for  Henry  was  a  very  inconstant  hu.sliaud,  and 
had  much  of  the  Norman  licentiousness.  At  the 
same  time,  Becket  was  an  able  minister,  and  his 
administration  was  not  only  advantageous  to  the 
interests  of  his  master,  but,  on  the  whole,  ex- 
tremely beneficial  to  the  nation.  Most  of  the 
useful  measures  which  distinguished  the  early 
part  of  the  king's  reign  have  been  attributed  to 
his  advice,  his  discriminating  genius,  and  good 
intentions.  Such  were  the  restoration  of  inter- 
nal tranquillity,  the  curbing  of  the  baronial  ])ower, 
the  better  aj^pointment  of  judges,  the  reform  in 
the  currency,  and  the  encouragement  given  to 
trade.  He  certainly  could  not  be  accused  of  en- 
tertaining a  low  notion  of  the  I'oyal  prerogative, 
or  of  any  luke-warmness  in  exacting  the  rights 
of  the  king.  He  lunnliled  the  lay  ai-istocracy 
whenever  he  could,  and  more  than  once  attacked 


'  Fitz-Stejihen. 
tary. 


This  .imusing  biosi-apher  was  Becket's  secre- 


2  FiU-Step)un. 

'  Petrus  Blesenis,  or  Peter  of  Plois.     See  liis  Litters. 


A.v.  iLJ-i— iirr.j 


HENRY  II. 


'■■Ji 


the  extravagant  privileges,  imiimnilies,  ami  ex- 
emptions claimed  by  the  aristocracy  of  tlie  clmrch. 
He  insisted  that  tlie  bisliops  and  abbots  slioiiUl  pay 
the  soutage  for  tlie  war  of  Toulouse  like  the  lay 
vassals  of  the  crown,  and  tliis  drew  upon  him  the 
violent  invectives  of  many  of  the  hierarchy,  (Jil- 
bex-t  Foliot,  the  Bishop  of  Hereford,  among  othei-s, 
accusing  him  of  plunging  the  sword  into  the 
bosom  of  mother  church,  and  threatening  him 
with  excommunication.  All  this  tended  to  con- 
vince Henry  that  Becket  was  the  proper  person 
to  nominate  to  the  primacy,  as  one  who  had 
already  given  proofs  of  a  spirit  greatly  averse  to 
ecclesiastical  encroachments,  and  that  promised 
to  be  of  the  gi-eatest  service  to  him  in  a  project 
which,  in  common  with  other  European  sove- 
reigns, he  had  much  at  heart — namely,  to  check 
the  growing  power  of  Home,  and  curtail  the  privi- 
leges of  the  priesthood.  Although  his  conduct 
had  not  been  very  priest-like,  he  was  popular;  the 
king's  favom-  and  intentions  were  well  known, 
and  accordingly,  in  1161,  when  his  old  patron, 
Theobald,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  died,  the 
public  voice  designated  Becket  as  the  man  who 
must  uievitably  succeed  him ;  and  after  a  vacancy 
of  about  thirteen  months,  dui-ing  which  Henry 
drew  the  revenues,  he  was  appointed  Primate  of 
all  England. 

From  that  moment  Becket  was  an  altered 
man:  the  soldier,  statesman,  huntei-,  courtier, 
man  of  the  world,  and  man  of  pleasure,  became 
a  rigid  and  ascetic  monk,  renouncing  even  the 
innocent  enjoyments  of  life,  together  with  the 
service  of  his  more  friend  than  master,  and  re- 
solving to  perish  by  a  slow  martjTdom  rather 
than  suffer  the  king  to  invade  the  smallest  privi- 
lege of  the  church.  Although  he  then  retamed, 
and  afterwai'ds  showed  a  somewhat  inconsistent 
anxiety  to  keep  certain  other  worldly  honours 
and  places  of  trust,  he  resigned  the  chancellor- 
shijj  in  spite  of  the  wishes  of  the  king — he  dis- 
carded all  his  fonner  companions  and  magnificent 
retinue — he  threw  off  his  splendid  attire — he  dis- 
charged his  choice  cooks  and  his  cup-bearers,  to 
surround  himself  with  monks  and  beggara  (whose 
feet  he  daily  washed),  to  clothe  himself  in  sack- 
cloth, to  eat  the  coarsest  food,  and  drink  water 
rendered  bitter  by  the  mixture  of  unsavom-y 
herbs.  The  rest  of  his  penitence,  his  prayers, 
his  works  of  chai-ity  in  hospitals  and  pest-houses, 
soon  caused  his  name  to  be  revered  as  that  of  a 
saint,  and  his  person  to  be  followed  by  the  prayers 
and  acclamations  of  the  people.  With  the  views 
the  king  was  known  to  entertain  in  church  mat- 
ters, the  collision  was  inevitable;  yet  it  certainly 
was  the  archbishop  who  began  the  contest,  and 
it  is  most  unfair  to  attempt  to  conceal  or  slur 
over  this  fact.  In  1163,  about  a  year  after  his 
elevation,  Becket  raised  a  loud  comi)laint  on  the 

Vol.  I. 


usurpations  by  the  king  and  laity  of  the  riglits 
and  property  of  the  church.  He  claimed  houses 
aiul  lands  which,  if  they  ever  had  been  included 
in  the  endowments  of  the  see  of  Canterljurv,  had 
been  for  generations  in  the  possession  of  lay  fa- 
milies. It  is  curious  to  see  castles  and  places  of 
war  figuring  in  his  list.  From  the  king  himself 
he  demanded  the  important  castle  of  Eochester. 
From  the  Eaid  of  Clare — whose  family  had  pos- 
sessed them  in  fief  ever  since  the  Conquest — he 
demanded  the  strong  castle  and  the  bai-ony  of 
Tunbridge;  and  from  other  barons,  possessions 
of  a  like  nature.  But  to  complete  the  indigna- 
tion of  Henry,  who  had  laid  it  down  as  an  indis- 
pensable and  unchangeable  rule  of  government, 
that  no  vassal  who  held  in  capite  of  tho  crown 
shoidd  be  excommunicated  without  his  previous 
knowledge  and  consent,  he  hiu'led  the  thunders 
of  the  church  at  the  head  of  William  de  Eyns- 
ford,  a  military  tenant  of  the  crown,  for  forcibly 
ejecting  a  priest  collated  to  the  rectory  of  that 
manor  by  the  archbishop;  and  for  pretending,  as 
lord  of  the  manor,  to  a  right  over  that  living. 
When  Henry  ordered  him  to  revoke  the  sen- 
tence, Becket  told  him  that  it  was  not  for  the 
king  to  inform  him  whom  he  should  absolve  and 
whom  excommunicate — a  right  ami  faculty  ap- 
pertaining solely  to  the  church.  The  king  then 
resorted  from  remonstrances  to  threats  of  ven- 
geance; and  Becket,  bending  for  awhile  before 
the  storm,  absolved  the  knight,  but  reluctantly, 
and  with  a  bad  grace.'  In  the  course  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  king  matured  his  i>roject  for 
subjecting  the  clergy  to  the  authority  of  the  civil 
cotu'ts  for  murder,  felony,  and  other  civil  crimes; 
and  to  this  i-eform,  in  a  council  held  at  West- 
minster, he  formally  demanded  the  assent  of  the 
ai'chbishop  and  the  other  prelates.  The  leniency 
of  the  ecclesiasticiil  courts  to  ofienders  in  holy 
orders,  seemed  almost  to  give  an  immunity  to 
crime;  and  a  recent  case,  in  which  a  clerg^'man 
had  been  but  slightly  punished  for  the  most  atro- 
cious of  offences,  called  aloud  for  a  change  of 
com-t  and  practice,  and  lent  unanswerable  argu- 
ments to  the  ministers  and  advocates  of  the 
king.  The  bishops,  however,  with  one  voice, 
rejected  the  proposed  innovations ;  upon  which 
Henry  asked  them  if  they  would  merely  jn-omise 
to  observe  the  ancient  customs  of  the  realm. 
Becket  and  his  brethren,  with  the  exception  only 
of  Hilary,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  answered  that 
they  would  observe  them,  "  saving  their  order." 
On  this  tlie  king  immediately  deprived  the  arch- 
bishop of  the  manor  of  Eye,  and  the  castle  of 
Berkhampstead.  Finding,  however,  that  the 
bishojjs  fell  from  his  side,  and  being  on  one  hand 
menaced  by  the  king  and  la}'  nobles,  and  oa  the 

'  Gcrva-ie  of  CanUybl'.ri/;  Dktto;  Fitz-Stoph.  Eimt.  St.  Thorn.: 
IlUt.  Quad. 

33 


2.58 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


other,  it  is  said,  a<lviserl  to  suliinit  by  the  pope 
himself,  Beclvet  shortly  afterwards,  at  a  great 
council  held  at  Clarendon,'  in  Wiltshire  (25th 
January,  1164),  consented  to  sign  a  series  of 
enactments  embodying  the  several  points  insisted 
upon  by  the  king,  and  hence  called  the  "  Con- 
stitutions of  Clarendon;"  but  he  refused  to  put 
his  seal  to  them,  and  immediately  after  with- 
drew from  the  court,  and  even  from  the  service 
of  the  altar,  to  subject  himself  to  the  harshest 
penance  for  having  acted  contrary  to  his  inward 
conviction.  Subsequently  the  pojie  rejected  the 
"Constitutions  of  Clarendon,"  with  the  excep- 
tion only  of  sis  articles  of  minor  importance;  and 
the  archbishop  was  then  encouraged  to  persist 
by  the  only  superior  he  acknowledged  in  this 
world.' 

The  king  being  now  determined  to  keep  no 
measures,  assembled  a  gi'eat  council  in  the  to\\^l 
of  Northampton,  and  summoned  the  archbishop 
to  appear  before  it.  He  was  charged,  in  the  fu-st 
place,  with  a  breach  of  allegiance  and  acts  of  con- 
tempt against  tlie  king.  He  offered  a  plea  in  ex- 
cuse, but  Henry  swoi-e,  "  by  God'.s  eyes,"^  that 
he  would  have  justice  in  its  full  extent,  and  the 
court  condemned  Becket  to  forfeit  all  his  goods 
and  chattels;  but  this  forfeitm-e  was  immediately 
commuted  for  a  fine  of  £500.  The  next  day  the 
king  requii-ed  him  to  refund  .£300  which  he  had 
received  as  warden  of  Eye  and  Berkhampstead, 
and  i£500  which  he  (the  king)  had  given  him  be- 
fore the  walls  of  Toulouse;  and,  on  the  third  day, 
he  was  required  to  render  an  account  of  all  his 
receipts  from  vacant  abbeys  and  bishoprics  dur- 
ing his  chancelloi'ship,  the  balance  due  thereon 
to  the  crown  being  set  down  at  the  enormous 
sum  of  44,000  marks.  Becket  now  perceived 
that  the  king  was  bent  on  his  utter  ruin.  For  a 
moment  he  was  overpowered ;  but,  recovering 
his  firmness  and  self-possession,  which  never  for- 
sook him  for  long  intervals,  he  said  he  was  not 
bound  to  plead  on  that  coimt,  seeing  that,  at  his 
consecration  as  archbishop,  he  had  been  publicly 
released  by  the  king  from  all  such  claims.  He 
demanded  a  conference  with  the  bishops;  but 
these   dignitaries  had  ah'eady  declared  for  the 

'  "  The  assembly  at  Clarendon  seems  to  have  been  the  most 
considerable  of  those  which  met  under  the  name  of  the  Great  or 
the  Common  Council  of  the  Realm  since  the  Norman  invasion. 
They  were  not  yet  called  by  the  name  of  a  parliament.  But 
whatever  difficulty  may  exist  concerning  the  qualifications  of 
their  constituent  members,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
fulness  of  legislative  authority  was  exercised  by  the  king  only 
when  he  was  present  in  such  assemblies,  and  acted  with  their 
advice  and  consent." — M'icttiUosk, 

^  Dr.  Lingard  admits,  in  speaking  of  the  articles  of  Clarendon, 
that  "sentences  of  excommunication  had  been  greatly  multi. 
plied  and  abused  during  the  middle  ages."  Ho  admits  tliat 
"  they  were  the  principal  weapons  with  which  the  clergy  sought 
to  protect  themselves  and  their  property  fi-om  the  cnielty  aud 
rapacity  of  the  banditti  in  the  service  of  the  barons.  They  were 
feared  by  the  most  powerful  and  unprincipled ;  because,  at  tlie 


court,  and  the  majority  of  them  now  advised 
him  to  resign  the  primacy  as  the  only  step  which 
could  restore  peace  to  the  church  and  nation. 
His  health  gave  way  under  these  troubles,  and 
he  was  confined  to  a  sick  bed  for  the  two  following 
days.  His  indomitable  mind,  however,  yielded 
none  of  its  firmness  and  (we  must  add)  its  pride. 
He  considered  the  bishops  as  cowards  and  time- 
servers;  and  resolved  to  retain  that  post  from 
which,  having  once  been  placed  in  it,  it  was  held, 
by  all  law  and  custom,  he  could  never  be  deposed 
by  the  temporal  power.  On  the  morning  of  the 
decisive  day  (Octolier  18,  1164),  he  celebrated 
the  mass  of  St.  Stephen,  the  first  martyi-,  the 
office  of  which  begins  with  these  words :— "  Sede- 
runt priucipes  et  advei-sum  me  loquebantm-" 
(Princes  also  did  sit  and  speak  against  me,  Ps. 
cxix.  23).  After  the  mass,  he  set  out  for  the 
com-t,  arrayed  as  he  was  in  his  pontifical  robes. 
He  went  on  horseback,  bearing  the  arcliiepisco- 
pal  cross  in  his  right  hand,  and  holding  the  reins 
in  his  left.  When  he  dismounted  at  the  palace, 
one  of  his  suffragans  would  have  borne  the  cross 
before  him  in  the  usual  manner,  but  he  would 
not  let  it  go  out  of  his  hands,  saying,  "  It  is  most 
reason  I  should  bear  the  cross  myself;  under  the 
defence  thereof  I  may  remain  in  safety;  and,  be- 
holding this  ensign,  I  need  not  doubt  under  what 
prince  I  serve."  "  But,"  said  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  an  old  rival  and  enemy  of  Becket,  "  it  is 
defying  the  king,  om-  lord,  to  come  in  this  f;ishion 
to  his  court;  but  the  king  has  a  sword,  the  point 
of  which  is  sharper  than  that  of  thy  pastoral 
staff."  As  the  primate  entered,  the  king  rose 
from  his  seat,  and  withdrew  to  an  inner  apart- 
ment, whither  the  barons  and  bishops  soon  fol- 
lowed him,  leaving  Becket  alone  in  the  vast  hall, 
or  attended  only  by  a  few  of  his  clerks  or  the  in- 
ferior clergy,  the  whole  body  of  which,  unlike 
the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  inclined  to  his  per- 
son and  cause.  These  poor  clerks  trembled  and 
were  sore  dismayed;  but  not  so  Becket,  who 
seated  himself  on  a  bench,  and  still  holding  his 
cross  erect,  calmly  awaited  the  event.  He  was 
not  made  to  wait  long:  the  Bishop  of  Exeter, 
terrified  at  the  excessive  exasperation  of  the  so- 
same  time  that  they  excluded  the  culprit  from  the  offices  of 
religion,  they  also  cut  him  off  from  the  intercourse  of  society." 
These  remarks  involve  two  singular  admissions ;  fii-st,  that  the 
Romanist  clergy  had  faUed  to  make  society  Christian  enough  to 
secure  the  safety  of  them  and  their  property ;  second,  that  over 
this  really  heathen  society,  they  exercised,  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
a  tremendous  power  of  coercion.  Both  confirm  Lappeuberg's 
remark,  that  the  Romish  hierarchy  had  fallen  heii-s  to  their 
predecessors — the  heathen  priesthood.  Their  influence  was  im- 
mense ;  but  when  we  analyze  it,  we  find  it  not  the  proper  influ- 
ence of  Christian  pastoi-s  over  really  converted  flocks,  but  of  a 
pagan  priesthood  over  unconverted  "banditti." 

3  Tills  was  Henry's  usual  oath  when  much  excited.  The  oaths 
of  all  these  kings  would  make  a  curious  collection  of  blasphemy. 
The  chroniclers  have  been  careful  to  preserve  them,  and,  accord- 
ing to  their  recortls,  nearly  every  king  had  his  distinctive  oath. 


A.D.  1154—117:2.] 


ITEKRY  II. 


259 


vereigii,  came  forth  from  tlie  iaiier  apart luont, 
and  tlirowing  liinisolf  on  his  knees,  implored  the 
jirimate  to  have  pity  on  himself  and  his  brethren 
the  bislio]is,  for  the  king  had  vowed  to  slay  the 
firet  of  them  that  shonld  attempt  to  exeuse  his 
eonduet.  '' Thon  fearest,"  replied  Becket;  "(Ice 
then !  thou  canst  not  undei-stand  the  things  that 
are  of  God!"  Soon  afterwards,  the  rest  of  the 
bishops  appeared  in'a  body,  and  Hilai'y  of  Chi- 
chester, speaking  in  the  name  of  all,  said,  "  Thou 
wast  onr  ])rimate,  but  now  we  disavow  thee,  be- 
cause, after  having  pi-omised  faith  to  the  king,  our 
common  lord,  and  sworn  to  maintain  his  royal 
customs,  thou  hast  endeavoured  to  destroy  them, 
and  hast  broken  thine  oath.  We  jjroclaim  thee, 
then,  a  traitor,  and  tell  thee  we  will  no  longer 
obey  a  perjured  archbishoji,  but  place  ourselves 
and  oui-  cause  under  the  protection  of  our  lord 
the  pope,  and  summon  thee  to  answer  us  before 
him."  "I  hear,"  said  Becket;  and  he  deigned  no 
fm-ther  reply. 

According  to  Eoger  of  Hoveden,  the  arch- 
bishop was  accused  m  the  council  chamber  of  the 
impossible  crime  of  magic;  and  the  bai-ons  pro- 
nounced a  sentence  of  imprisonment  against  him. 
The  door  of  that  chamber  soon  opened,  and 
Robert,  Earl  of  Leicester,  followed  by  the  barons, 
stepped  forth  into  the  hall  to  read  the  sentence, 
beginning  in  the  usual  old  Norman-French  form 
— "Oyez-ci."  The  archbishop  rose,  and,  inter- 
rupting him,  said,  "Son  and  earl,  hear  me  iii'st. 
Thou  knowest  with  how  mvich  faith  I  served  the 
king — with  how  much  reluctance,  and  only  to 
]>lease  him,  I  accepted  my  present  charge,  and 
in  what  manner  I  was  dechu'ed  free  from  all  se- 
cular claims  wliatsoever.  Touching  the  things 
which  happened  before  my  consecration,  I  ought 
not  to  answer,  nor  will  I  answer.  You,  more- 
over, are  all  my  children  in  God;  and  neither  law 
nor  reason  permits  you  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
your  father.  I  forbid  you  therefore  to  judge  me; 
I  decline  your  tribunal,  and  refer  my  quarrel  to 
the  decision  of  the  pope.  To  him  I  appeal:  and 
nov7,  under  the  holy  protection  of  the  Catholic 
church  and  the  apostolic  see,  I  depai't  in  peace." 
After  tills  counter-ajipeal  to  the  power  which  his 
adversaries  had  been  the  first  to  invoke,  Becket 
slowly  strode  through  the  crowd  towards  the  door 
of  the  hall.  When  near  the  threshold,  the  spirit 
of  the  soldier,  which  was  not  yet  extinguished  by 
the  aspirations  of  the  saint,  blazed  forth  in  a 
withering  look  and  a  few  hasty  but  impa?sioned 
words.  Some  of  the  courtiers  and  attendants  of 
the  king  threw  at  him  straw  or  rushes,  which 
they  gathered  from  the  floor,  and  called  him 
traitor  and  false  perjurer.  Turning  round  and 
drawing  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  he  cried, 
"If  my  holy  c:vlling  did  not  foiiiid  it,  I  would 
make  my  answer  with  my  sword  to  those  cowards 


who  call  me  traitor!"'  ITe  then  mounted  his 
horse  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  lower  clergy 
and  common  peojilo,  and  rode  in  a  sort  of  triumph 
to  his  lodgings,  the  populace  shouting,  "Blessed 
be  God,  who  hath  delivered  his  servant  from  the 
hands  of  his  enemies ! "  The  strength  of  Becket's 
party  was  in  the  jiopular  body;  and  it  has  been 
supposed,  with  some  reason,  that  his  English 
birth  and  Saxon  descent  contributed  no  less  than 
his  sudden  sanctity,  to  endear  him  to  the  people, 
who  had  never  since  the  Conquest  seen  one  of 
their  race  elevated  to  such  dignities.^  Aban- 
doned by  the  gi-cat,  both  lay  and  clerical,  wdio 
had  hitherto  been  proud  to  wait  upon  him,  his 
house  was  empty ;  and  in  a  sj)irit  of  inulation 
which  some  will  deem  presumptuous,  he  deter- 
mined to  fill  it  with  the  paupers  of  the  town, 
and  the  lowly  wayfarers  from  the  road-side. 
"Suffer,"  said  he,  "all  the  poor  people  to  come 
into  the  place,  that  we  may  make  meny  together 
in  the  Lord."  "And  having  thus  spoken,  the 
people  had  free  entrance,  so  that  aU  the  hall  and 
all  the  chambers  of  the  house  being  furnishe<l 
with  tables  and  stools,  they  were  con\-eniently 
placed,  and  served  with  meat  and  drink  to  the 
full,"'  the  archbishop  supping  with  them,  and 
doing  the  honours  of  the  feast.  In  the  course  of 
the  evening  he  sent  to  the  king  to  ask  le;ive  to 
retire  beyond  sea,  and  he  was  told  that  he  should 
receive  an  answer  on  the  following  morning. 
The  modern  historians  who  take  the  most  un- 
favourable view  of  the  king's  conduct  in  these 
particulars,  intimate,  more  or  less  broadly,  that 
a  design  was  on  foot  for  preventing  the  arch- 
bishop from  ever  seeing  that  morrow;  but  the 
circumstances  of  time  and  place,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  Hem'y,  are  opposed  to  the  belief  that  secret 
assassination  was  contemplated ;  nor  does  any  con- 
temporary writer  give  reasonable  grounds  for 
entertaining  such  a  belief,  or,  indeed,  say  more 
than  that  the  ai'chbishoiD's  friends  were  sorely 
frightened,  and  thought  such  a  tragical  termina- 
tion of  the  quarrel  a  probable  event.  Becket, 
however,  took  his  departure  as  if  he  himself 
feared  violence.  He  stole  out  of  the  town  of 
Northampton  at  the  dead  of  night,  disguised  as 
a  simple  monk,  and  calling  himself  Brother 
De.arman;  and  being  followed  only  by  two  clerks 
and  a  domestic  servant,  he  In^stened  towards  the 
coast,  hiding  by  day  and  pursuing  his  journey  bj' 
night.  The  season  was  far  advanced,  and  the 
stormy  winds  of  November  swept  the  waters  of 
the  Channel  when  he  reached  the  coast;  but 
Becket  embarked  in  a  small  boat,  and  after  many 


1  Fitz-Stcph.;  Gervau;  Qrjrm.:  Dicdo.  Diceto,  wo  know,  waa 
at  this  meeting;  and  wh.it  gives  singular  interest  to  the  accounts 
of  it  is,  tliat  it  is  pvobablo  tlio  other  thi-ee  chroniclers,  wlio  wcro 
all  closely  connected  with  Becket,  were  also  present. 

-  M.  Thierry.  *  lldinshul. 


2(50 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  axd  Militari-, 


perils  and  fatigues,  lauded  at  Gravelines,  iu 
Flanders,  on  the  fifteenth  day  after  his  depai'ture 
from  Northampton. 

From  the  seaport  of  Gravelines  he  and  Ins 
companions  walked  on  foot,  and  in  very  bad  con- 
dition, to  the  monastery  of  St.  Bertin,  at  St. 
Omer,  ^here  he  waited  a  short  time  the  success 
of  his  applications  to  the  King  of  Franco,  and  the 
pope,  Alexander  III.,  who  had  fixed  his  residence 
for  a  time  iu  the  city  of  Sens.  Their  answers 
were  most  favourable;  for,  fortunately  for  Becket, 
the  jealousy  and  disunion  between  the  Kings  of 
France  and  England,  disposed  Louis  to  protect 
the  obnoxious  exile,  in  order  to  vex  and  weaken 
Henry;  and  the  pope,  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  a 
magnificent  embassy  despatched  to  him  by  the 
English  sovereign,  determined  to  support  the 
cause  of  the  primate  as  that  of  truth,  of  justice, 
and  the  church.  The  splendid  abbey  of  Pontigny, 
in  Burgundy,  was  assigned  to  him  as  an  honour- 


able and  secure  asylum;  and  the  pope  reinvested 
him  with  his  archiepiscopal  dignity,  which  ho 
had  surrendered  into  his  hands. 

As  soon  as  Henry  was  informed  of  these  par- 
ticulai-s,  he  issued  wi-its  to  the  sheriffs  of  Eng- 
land, commanding  them  to  seize  all  rents  and 
possessions  of  the  primate  within  their  jurisdic- 
tions, and  to  detain  all  bearers  of  appeals  to  the 
pope  till  the  king's  pleasure  should  be  made 
known  to  them.  He  also  commanded  the  jus- 
tices of  the  kingdom  to  detain,  in  like  manner,  all 
bearers  of  papers,  whether  from  the  pope  or 
Becket,  that  purported  to  pronounce  excommimi- 
cation  or  interdict  on  the  realm — all  persons, 
whether  lay  or  ecclesiastic,  who  should  adhere  to 
such  sentence  of  interdict — and  all  clerks  attempt- 
ing to  leave  the  kingdom  without  a  pas.sport  from 
the  king.  The  primate's  name  was  struck  out  of 
the  liturgy,  and  the  revenues  of  every  clergy- 
man who  had- either  followed  him  into  France,  or 


Abbey  of  Pontignt.'— Cli,aillou  Desbarres,  L'Abbaye  de  Pontigiiy. 


had  sent  him  aid  and  money,  were  seized  by  the 
crown.  If  Henry's  vengeance  had  stopped  here 
it  might  have  been  excused,  if  not  justified;  but, 
irritated  to  maduess  by  the  tone  of  defiance  his 
enemy  assumed  in  a  foreign  country,  he  proceeded 
to  further  vindictive  and  most  disgracefid  mea- 
sm-es,  issuing  one  common  sentence  of  banish- 
ment against  all  who  were  connected  with  Becket, 
either  by  the  ties  of  relationship  or  those  of 
friendship.  The  list  of  proscrijjtion  contained 
four  hundred  names,  for  the  wives  and  children 


of  Becket's  friends  were  included;  and  it  is  said 
that  they  were  all  bound  by  an  oath  to  show 
themselves  in  then*  miserable  exile  to  the  cause 
of  their  ruin,  that  his  heart  might  be  wrung  by 
the  sight  of  the  misery  he  had  brought  down 
upon  the  heads  of  all  those  who  were  most  dear 
to  him.  It  is  added  that  his  cell  at  Pontigny 
was  accordingly  beset  by  these  exiles,  but  that 
he  finally  succeeded  in  relieving  then-  immediate 
wants  by  interesting  the  King  of  Fi-ance,  the 
Queen  of  Sicily,  and  the  pojje,  in  their  favour.- 


1  This  abbey  was  suppressed  in  1790.  Tlie  churcli  lias  been 
preserved,  ajid,  after  tlie  catliedrals  of  Sens  and  of  Aiixen-e,  and 
the  church  of  Vezeiay,  is  tlie  finest  and  larsest  religious  edifice 
in  the  department  of  Yonne.  The  length  of  its  interiorisoo-tft., 
breadth  77  ft. ;  height  of  centre  of  transept,  69  ft., 

-  "  Odo  of  Kent  was  one  of  the  intimate  friends  of  Thomas 
Eecket  and  of  John  of  tialisbui-y,  and  is  mentioned  with  expres- 
sions of  gi-eat  esteem  by  the  latter  writer.  He  appears  fiist  iu 
history  in  1172,  as  prior  of  Canterbury,  when  he  distinguished 
himself  by  a  protracted  resistance  to  the  attempts  of  the  crowu 
to  usurp  the  right  of  electing  the  archbishop.     In  1175  he  was 


made  abbot  of  Battle;  and  in  the  time  of  Leland  a  handsome 
marble  tomb  marked  the  place  of  his  bm-ial  in  the  abbey  church." 
AVright's  Bio^i.  Brit.  Liter,  ii.  22i.  From  the  specimen  given 
in  Latin  of  the  kind  of  preaching  with  which  tliis  Odo,  Jolm 
of  Abbeville,  and  Roger  of  Salisbury  enlightened  such  of  their 
hearers  as  understood  Latin,  one  cannot  form  any  high  estimate 
of  the  improvement  introduced  by  the  Norman  clergy  into  the 
pulpits  of  England,  or  consider  that  much  was  lost  by  those  plain 
Anglo-Saxons  who  could  not  understand  them.  Aii3'thing  more 
silly  than  the  story  introduced  to  iUustrate  how  the  devils  aie 
to  spit  on  the  faces  of  fops  in  hell,  can  hardly  be  imagined. 


A.D.  11.34— 1172.' 


ITENRV  II. 


2G1 


In  1165,  the  yeai-  after  Backet's  flight,  Heniy 
sustained  no  small  disgi'ace  from  the  result  of 
a  campaign,  in  which  he  personally  commanded, 
against  the  Welsh.  That  hardy  jicople  had  risen 
once  more  in  arms  in  1 1(13,  but  had  been  defeated 
by  an  Anglo-Norman  army,  which  subsequently 
]ilundered  and  wasted  with  tire  the  county  of 
Cwmarthcn.  Somewhat  more  thp.n  a  year  later 
a  nephew  of  Eees-ap-Gryffiths,  Prince  or  King 
of  South  AVales,  was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  and 
the  uncle,  asserting  he  had  been  assassinated  by 
the  secret  emissaries  of  a  neighbouring  Norman 
baron,  collected  the  mountaineers  of  the  south, 
and  began  a  fierce  and  successful  warfare,  in 
which  he  was  presently  joined  by  his  old  allies, 
GwjTaned,  the  Prince  of  North  W:des,  and  Owen 
Cy^'elioch,  the  leader  of  the  clans  of  Powisland. 
One  Norman  casUe  fell  after  another,  and,  when 
hostilities  had  continued  for  some  time,  the  Welsh 
pushed  their  incursions  forward  into  the  level 
country.  The  king,  turning  at  length  his  atten- 
tion from  the  chiu-ch  quai-rel,  which  had  absorbed 
it,  drew  together  an  army  "  as  well  of  English- 
men as  strangers,"  and  hastened  to  the  Welsh 
marches.  At  his  approach  the  mountaineers 
withdrew  "  to  their  starting-holes  " — their  woods 
and  strait  passages.  Henry,  without  regai-d  to 
difficulties  and  dangers,  followed  them,  and  a 
general  action  was  fought  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cieroc.  The  Welsh  were  defeated,  and  fled  to  their 
uplands.  Heniy,  still  following 
them,  peneti-ated  as  far  as  the 
lofty  Berwin,  at  the  foot  of  which 
he  encamped.  A  sudden  storm 
of  rain  set  in,  and  continued  until 
all  the  streams  and  torrents  were 
fearfully  swollen,  and  the  valley 
was  deluged.  Meanwhile  the 
natives  gathered  on  the  ridges 
of  the  mountain  of  Berwin;  but 
it  appears  to  have  been  more 
from  the  war  of  the  elements 
than  of  man  that  the  king's  army 
letreated  in  gi'cat  disorder  and 
with  some  loss.  Henry  had 
hitherto  showedhimseKremai'k- 
ably  free  from  the  cruelty  of 
his  age,  but  his  mind  was  now 
embittered,  and  in  a  hasty  mo- 
ment he  resolved  to  take  a  bar- 
barous vengeance  on  the  persons  of  the  hostages 
whom  the  Welsh  princes  had  placed  in  his  hands, 
seven  years  before,  as  pledges  of  their  tranquillity 
and  allegiance.  The  eyes  of  the  males  were  picked 
out  of  theii-  heads,  and  the  noses  and  ears  of  the 
females  were  cut  off.  The  old  clu-oniclers  hardly 
increase  our  hoiTor  when  they  tell  us  that  the 
victims  belonged  to  the  noblest  families  of  Wales." 

1  Gervast;  Newbrifj.;  Gixald  Camb.  Uin.:  Dicdo. 


This  revei-se  in  England  was  soon  followed  by 
successes  on  the  Continent.  A  fornudable  insur- 
rection broke  out  in  Brittany  against  Henry's 
subservient  ally  Conan,  who  applied  to  him  for 
succour,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of 
alliance  subsisting  between  them.  The  troops  of 
the  king  entered  by  the  frontier  of  Normandy, 
mnler  pretext  of  defending  the  legitimate  Earl  of 
the  Bretons  against  his  revolted  subjects.  Henry 
soon  made  himself  master  of  Dol,  and  several 
other  towns,  which  he  kept  and  garrisoned  with 
his  own  soldiers.  Conan  had  shown  himself 
utterly  incajiable  of  managing  the  fierce  Breton 
nobles,  by  whose  excesses  and  cruelties  the  poor 
people  were  ground  to  the  dust.  Henry's  power 
and  abilities  were  well  known  to  the  suffering 
Bretons,  and  a  considerable  party,  including  the 
priests  of  the  country,  rallied  round  him,  and 
hailed  him  as  a  deliverer.-  Submitting  in  part 
to  the  force  of  circumstances  and  the  wishes  of 
Heniy,  and  in  part,  perhaps,  following  his  own 
indolent  inclinations,  Conan  resigned  the  remnant 
of  his  authority  into  the  hands  of  his  protector, 
who  governed  the  state  in  the  name  of  his  son 
Geoffrey,  and  Conan's  heiress  Constantia,  the 
espousals  of  these  two  children  being  prematurely 
solemnized.  In  the  month  of  December,  116C, 
Henry  kept  his  court  in  the  famed  old  castle  on 
Mount  St.  Michael,  whence  his  eye  could  range 
over  the  long  and  extending  land  of  Brittanv;  and 


Mount  St.  Michael,  Normandy.'— Cotman's  Anti<imtics  of  Nonnandy. 

there  he  was  visited  by  William  the  Lion,  who 
had  recently  ascended  the  Scottish  throne  on  the 
death  of  his  brother,  Malcolm  IV. 


2  Script.  Rer,  Franc.;  Dani,  Hist,  de  la  Bretagne. 

3  This  singxilar  rock  is  situated  in  the  pi-oviiicso  of  Nonu-indy 
and  tlie  modem  department  of  Manche  iu  France,  seven  miles 
soutli  west  from  Avianclica.  It  is  about  400  ft.  high,  ijicluding 
the  building;  above  five  miles  iu  ciixumference;  and  lies  threo 
miles  from  the  coast,  on  sandy  flats  that  are  covered  each  tide, 
and  thus  isolate  it  from  the  m.-unland.     It  was  once  strongly 


262 


niSTOEY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  akd  Milit.\ry. 


While  still  abroad,  he  ordered  a  tax  to  be  levied 
on  all  liis  subjects,  whether  English  or  foreign, 
for  tlie  support  of  the  war  in  the  Holy  Laiul, 
wliich  was  taking  a  turn  more  and  more  unfa- 
vourable to  the  Christians;  but  at  that  very  time 
his  peace  was  broken  by  his  own  war  with  the 
church  and  the  unremitting  hostility  of  Becket. 
In  the  month  of  May  the  banished  archbishop 
went  from  Pontigny  to  Vezeley,  near  Auxerre, 
and,  encouraged  by  the  pope,  he  repaired  to  the 
church  on  the  gi'eat  festival  of  the  Ascension,  and 
mounting  the  pulpit  there,  "  with  book,  bell,  and 
candle,"  solemnly  ciu'sed  and  pronounced  the  sen- 
tence of  excommunication  against  the  defenders 
of  the  Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  the  detainers 
of  the  sequestrated  property  of  the  churcli  of 
Canterbury,  and  those  who  imj^risoned  or  perse- 
cuted either  laymen  or  clergy  on  his  account. 
This  done,  he  more  particulai-ly  excommunicated 
by  name  Richard  de  Lucy,  Joycelin  Baliol,  and 
four-  other  of  Henry's  corn-tiers  and  prime  favour- 
ites.' The  king  was  at  Chinon,  in  Anjou,  when 
he  was  startled  by  this  new  sign  of  life  given  by 
his  adversary.  Though  in  general  a  great  mas- 
ter of  his  feelings,  Henry  was  subject  to  excesses 
of  ungovernable  fury,  and  on  this  occasion  he 
seems  fairly  to  have  taken  leave  of  his  senses. 
He  cried  out  that  they  wanted  to  kill  him,  body 
and  soul — that  he  was  wretched  in  being  sm-- 
rounded  by  cowards  and  traitors,  not  one  of 
whom  thought  of  delivering  him  from  the  insuji- 
jiortable  vexations  caused  him  by  a  single  man. 
He  took  off  his  cap  and  dashed  it  to  the  ground, 
undid  his  girdle,  threw  his  clothes  about  the 
room,  tore  off  the  silk  coverlet  from  his  bed  and 
rolled  upon  it,  and  gnawed  the  straw  and  rushes 
— for  it  appears  that  this  mighty  and  splendid 
monarch  had  no  better  bed."  His  resentment 
did  not  pass  away  with  this  paroxysm ;  and  after 
writing  to  the  pope  and  the  King  of  France,  he 
tlireatened  that,  if  Becket  should  retm-n  and  con- 
tinue to  be  sheltered  at  the  abbej'  of  Pontigny, 
which  belonged  to  the  Cistercians,  he  would  seize 
all  the  estates  appertaining  to  that  order  within 
his  numerous  dominions.  The  threat  was  an 
alarming  one  to  the  monks,  and  we  find  Becket 
removing  out  of  Burgundy  to  the  town  of  Sens, 
where  a  new  asylum  was  ajipointed  him  by 
Louis.  A  paltry  war  was  begun  and  ended  by 
a  truce,  all  within  a  few  months :  it  was  fol- 
lowed the  next  year   by  another  war,  equally 


fortified,  but  is  now  used  as  a  state  prison.  Duke  Eollo  of  Nor- 
mandy is  said  to  liave  endowed  the  monastery  whicli  crowns  St. 
Michael's  Jlouut  on  the  fourth  day  after  his  baptism  into  tlie 
Christian  faith.  Richard  I.  of  England  greatly  enlarged  the 
church,  and  added  spacious  buildings  for  a  body  of  monks  of  the 
Benedictine  order.  The  base  of  tlie  mount  is  surrounded  with 
high  thick  walla,  fl.anked  with  semicircular  machicol.ated  towei-s 
and  bastions.  Toward  the  west  end  its  sides  present  only  steep, 
black,  bare,  pointed  rocks.    The  portions  lying  in  an  opposite  di- 


short  and  still  more  inglorious  for  the  French 
king;  for  although  he  had  excited  fresh  dis- 
turbances in  Brittany  and  Maine,  and  leagued 
himself  with  some  of  Henry's  revolted  barons 
of  Poietou  and  Aquitaine,  he  gained  no  ad- 
vantage whatever  for  himself,  was  the  cause  of 
ruin  to  most  of  his  allies,  and  was  compelled  to 
conclude  a  peace  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
IICO.  Nothing  but  an  empty  pride  could  have 
been  gratified  by  a  series  of  feudal  oaths;  but 
the  designations  given  to  his  sons  on  this  occa- 
sion, by  the  English  king,  contributed  to  fatal 
consequences  which  hapjiened  four  j'ears  later. 
Prince  Henry  of  England,  his  eldest  son,  did 
homage  to  his  father-iu-law,  the  King  of  France, 
for  Anjou  and  Maine,  as  he  had  formerly  done 
for  Normandy;  Prince  Eichard,  his  second  son, 
did  homage  for  Aquitaine;  and  Geofii-ey,  his 
third  son,  for  Brittany:  and  it  was  afterwai'ds 
assumed  that  these  ceremonies  constituted  the 
boys  sovereigns  and  absolute  masters  of  the  seve- 
ral dominions  named.  At  the  same  time  the  two 
kings  agreed  upon  a  marriage  between  Prince 
Eichard  of  England,  and  Alice,  another  daughter 
of  the  King  of  France,  the  previous  treaty  of 
matrimony  with  the  King  of  Arragon  being  set 
aside.  Sixteen  months  before  these  events  Henry 
lost  his  mother,  the  Empress  Matilda,  who  died 
at  Rouen,  and  was  buried  in  the  celebrated  ab- 
bey of  Bee,  which  she  had  enriched  with  the  do- 
nations of  her  piety  and  penitence. 

About  this  time  Henry  was  prevailed  upon  by 
the  pope,  the  King  of  France,  and  by  some  of  his 
own  friends,  to  assent  to  the  return  of  Becket 
and  his  jjarty.  The  Kings  of  France  and  Eng- 
land met  at  Montmirail,  and  Becket  was  admitted 
to  a  conference.  Henry  insisted  on  qualifying 
his  agreement  to  the  proposed  terms  of  accom- 
modation by  the  addition  of  the  words,  "  saving 
the  honour  of  his  kingdom,"  a  salvo  which  Becket 
met  by  another  on  his  part,  saying  that  he  was 
willing  to  be  reconciled  to  the  king,  and  obey  him 
in  all  things,  "  saving  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
chui'ch."  Upon  this,  Henry,  tm-niug  to  the 
King  of  France,  said,  "  Do  you  know  what  would 
happen  if  I  were  to  admit  this  reservation?  That 
man  would  interpret  everything  displeasing  to 
himself  as  being  coutraiy  to  the  honour  of  God, 
and  would  so  invade  all  my  rights:  but  to  show 
that  I  do  not  withstand  God's  honour,  I  will  here 
offer  him  a  concession — what  the  greatest  and 


rection  incline  in  a  comparatively  easy  slope,  and  are  covered  w  ith 
houses  that  follow  in  successive  lines,  leaving  but  a  scanty  space 
for  some  small  gardens,  in  which  the  vine,  the  fig-tree,  and  the 
almond  flourish  in  great  luxm-iance.  The  waUs  of  the  castellated 
abbey  impend,  and  jut  out  in  bold,  decided  masses;  and  the 
whole  is  crowned  by  the  florid  choir  of  the  abbey  chm-ch. 

I  Ejiist.  S.  Thomcv;  liog.  Hove.;  Gervam. 

"  Scrijit.  Rer.  Franc.  Henry  seems  to  have  acted  in  this  ra.ad 
way  on  more  than  one  occasion. 


A.D.  IhU  — 1172.J 


UENKY   II. 


2(1 3 


lioliest  of  Ills  predecessors  ditl  unto  tlie  least  of 
mine,  that  let  him  do  vnito  me,  and  I  am  con- 
tented thcrewitli."  All  present  exclaimed  that 
this  was  enough— that  the  king  liad  humbled 
himself  enough.  But  Beclcet  still  insisted  on  his 
salvo;  upon  which  the  King  of  France  said  he 
seemed  to  wish  to  Be  "  gi'eater  than  the  saints, 
and  better  than  St.  Peter;"  and  the  nobles  pre- 
sent murmured  at  his  unbending  pride,  and  said 
he  no  longer  merited  an  asylum  in  France.  Tlie 
two  kings  mounted  their  horses  and  rode  away 
without  saluting  Becket,  who  retired  much  cast 
down.  No  one  any  longer  offered  him  food  and 
lodging  in  the  name  of  Louis,  and  on  his  Journey 
back  to  Sens  he  was  reduced  to  live  on  the  cha- 
rity of  the  common  people.' 

In  another  conference  the  obnoxious  clauses 
on  either  side  were  omitted.  The  business  now 
seemed  in  fair  train;  but  when  Becket  asked 
from  the  king  the  kiss  of  peace,'  which  was  the 
usual  termination  to  such  quai-rels,  Henry's  ir- 
ritated feelings  prevented  him  from  granting  it, 
and  he  excused  himself  by  saying  it  was  only  a 
solemn  oath  taken  formerly,  in  a  moment  of  pas- 
sion, never  to  kiss  Becket,  that  hindered  him 
from  giving  this  sign  of  perfect  reconciliation. 
The  primate  was  resolute  to  waive  no  privilege 
and  no  ceremony,  and  this  conference  was  also 
broken  off  in  auger.  Another  quarrel  between 
the  two  kings,  and  an  impotent  raising  of  ban- 
ners on  the  part  of  Louis,  which  thi'eatened  at 
first  to  retard  the  reconciliation  between  Henry 
and  his  primate,  were  in  fact  the  cavises  of  has- 
tening that  event;  for  hostilities  dwindled  into  a 
truce,  the  truce  led  to  another  conference  between 
the  sovereigns,  and  the  conference  to  another 
peace,  at  which  Henry,  who  was  apprehensive 
that  the  pope  would  finally  consent  to  Becket's 
aa-dent  wishes,  and  permit  him  to  excommuni- 
cate his  king  by  name,  and  pronounce  an  inter- 
dict against  the  whole  kingdom,  slowly  and  re- 
luctantly pledged  his  word  to  be  reconciled  forth- 
with to  the  dangei-ous  exile.  On  the  22d  of  July, 
1170,  a  solemn  congi-e.ss  was  held  in  a  spacious 
and  most  pleasant  meadow,^  between  Freteval 
and  La  Fertc-Bernard,  on  the  borders  of  Tour- 
aine.  The  king  was  there  before  the  archbishoji ; 
and  as  soon  as  Becket  appeared,  riding  leisurely 
towards  the  tent,  he  spurred  his  horse  to  meet 
him,  and  saluted  him,  cap  in  hand.  They  then 
rode  apart  into  the  field,  and  discoursed  toge- 
ther for  some  time  in  the  same  familiar  manner 
as  in  by-gone  times.  Then  retui-ning  to  his  at- 
tendants, Henry  said  that  he  found  the  arch- 

'  Vila  S.  Tlioma;  Script.  Rer.  Franc;  Oervase:  BpUt.  S. 
T/io]tue. 

^  See  a  curious  discourse  on  kisses  of  peace  in  Ducuiigo,  Gloss, 
in  voc.  Osciduni  Pads. 

*  In  pi-ato  aiiuxnUshito.     Script,  iit-r.  Franc. 


bishop  in  the  best  possible  disposition,  and  that 
it  would  be  sinful  in  him  to  nourish  rancour  any 
longer. 

The  primate  came  up,  accompanied  by  tlie 
Archbishop  of  Sens  and  other  piiests,  and  the 
forms  of  reconciliation  were  completed;  always, 
however,  excepting  the  kiss  of  peace,  which, 
according  to  some,  Henry  promised  he  would 
give  in  England,  where  they  would  soon  meet.' 
The  king,  however,  condescended  to  hold  Becket's 
stirrup  when  he  mounted.  By  their  agi-eement, 
Becket  was  to  love,  honour,  and  serve  the  king 
in  a.s  far  as  an  archbishop  could  "  render  in  the 
Lord  service  to  his  sovereign;"  and  Henry  was 
to  restore  immediately  all  the  lands  ami  livings, 
and  privileges  of  the  church  of  Canterbury,  and 
to  furnish  Becket  with  funds  to  discharge  his 
debts,  and  make  the  journey  into  England. 
These  terms  were  certainly  not  all  kept:  the 
lands  were  not  released  for  four  moutlis;  and, 
after  many  vexatious  delays,  Becket  was  obliged 
to  borrow  money  for  his  journey.  While  tan-y- 
ing  on  the  French  coast,  he  was  several  times 
warned  that  danger  awaited  him  on  the  opposite 
shore.  This  was  not  improbable,  as  many  reso- 
lute men  had  been  suddenly  driven  from  the 
church  lands  on  which  they  had  fattened  for 
years,  and  as  he  was  kno'mi  to  carry  about  his 
person  letters  of  excommunication  from  the  pope 
against  the  Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Bishops 
of  London  and  Salisbmy,  whom  he  held  to  be 
his  chief  enemies,  and  who  were  men  likely  to 
adopt  strong  measures  to  prevent  his  promulgat- 
ing the  ten-ible  sentence.  He  was  even  assured 
that  Eanulf  de  Broc,  a  knight  of  a  family  who 
all  hated  him  to  the  death,  and  who  had  himself 
boasted  that  he  would  not  let  the  archbishop  live 
to  eat  a  single  loaf  of  bread  in  England,  was 
lying  with  a  body  of  soldiers  between  Canterbury 
and  Dover,  in  order  to  intercept  him.  But 
nothing  could  move  Becket,  who  said  seven  years 
of  absence  were  long  enough  both  for  the  shep- 
herd and  his  flock,  and  that  he  would  not  stop 
though  he  were  sure  to  be  cut  to  pieces  as  soon 
as  he  landed  on  the  opposite  coast.  The  only  use 
he  made  of  the  warnings  he  received,  was  to  con- 
fide the  letters  of  excommunication  to  a  skilful 
and  devoted  messenger,  who,  preceding  him  some 
short  time,  stole  into  England  without  being  sus- 
pected, and  actually  delivered  them  publicly  to 
the  three  bishops,  who  were  as  much  startled  as 
if  a  thunderbolt  had  fallen  at  their  feet.  This 
last  measure  seems  to  have  had  as  much  to  do 
with  Becket's  death  as  any  anger  of  the  king's. 
As  he  was  on  the  point  of  embarking,  a  vessel 
arrived  from  England.  The  sailoi-s  were  asked 
what  were  the  feelings  of  the  good  English  people 

'  Filz-Stcphin;  Epist.  S.  Thoiiiai. 


2()l 


lllbTOItY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  axd  Mimtart. 


towards  their  archbishop.  They  repHed,  that  the 
people  would  hail  his  return  with  transports  of 
joy.  This  was  a  good  omen,  and  he  uo  doubt 
relied  much  more  on  the  po])uhir  favour  than  on 
the  protection  of  John  of  Oxford,  one  of  the  royal 
chajjlains,  and  some  others  whom  Hemy  liad 
sent  to  accompany  him.  He  sailed  from  France 
in  the  same  gloomy  month  of  the  year  in  which 
he  had  begun  his  exile,  and,  avoiding  Dover, 
landed  at  Sandwich  on  the  1st  of  December.  At 
the  news  of  his  arrival,  the  marineM,  the  peasants, 
and  the  working  people  generally,  and  the  Eng- 
lish burgesses  flocked  to  meet  him ;  but  none  of 
the  I'ich  and  powerful  welcomed  him;  and  the 
fu-st  persons  of  rank  he  saw  presented  themselves 
in  a  menacing  attitude.  These  latter  were  a 
sheriff  of  Kent,  Eeginald  de  Warenne,  Ranulf  de 
Broc  (who  had  ridden  across  the  country  from 
Dover),  and  some  relatives  and  allies  of  the  three 
excommunicated  bishop.s,  who  carried  swords 
under  their  tunics,  and  drew  them  when  they 
approached  the  primate.  John  of  Oxford  con- 
jm'ed  them  to  be  quiet,  lest  they  should  make 
their  king  pass  for  a  traitor;  but  it  is  probable 
that  the  determined  countenance  of  the  English 
multitude  made  more  impression  on  them  than 
his  peaceful  words.  They  retired  to  their  castles, 
and  spread  a  report  among  their  feudal  compeers 
that  Becket  was  liberating  the  serfs  of  the  coun- 
try, who  were  marching  in  his  train,  drunk  with 
joy  and  hopes  of  vengeance.  At  Canterbury,  the 
primate  was  received  with  acclamations ;  biit  still 
it  was  only  the  poor  and  lowly  that  welcomed 
him.  A  few  days  after  he  set  out  for  Woodstock, 
to  visit  the  king's  eldest  son,  Prince  Henry,  who 
had  formerly  been  his  pupil.  Becket  counted 
much  on  his  influence  over  the  young  prince,  but 
the  party  opposed  to  him  succeeded  in  preventing 
his  having  an  opportmiity  to  exert  that  influence. 
A  royal  messenger  met  him  on  his  journey,  and 
ordered  him,  in  the  name  of  the  prince,  not  to 
enter  any  of  the  royal  towns  or  castles,  but  to 
return  and  remain  within  his  own  diocese.  The 
primate  obeyed,  and  returning,  spent  some  days 
at  Hai-row-on-tlie-Hill,  which  belonged  to  the 
church  of  Canterbury  a  considerable  time  before 
the  Norman  conquest.  During  his  stay  at  Har- 
row, Becket  kept  great  hospitality;  but  this  virtue 
wa.s  probably  exercised  in  regard  to  persons  of  a 
condition  resembling  those  whom  he  had  bidden 
to  his  memorable  feast  at  Northampton,  and  the 
only  ecclesiastic  of  rank  mentioned  as  doing  liim 
honour,  was  the  abbot  of  the  neighbouring  mo- 
nastery of  St.  Alban's.  Two  of  his  own  clergy, 
Nigellus  de  Sackville,  who  was  called  "the  usiu-p- 
ing  rector  of  Harrow,"  and  Robert  de  Broc,  the 
vicai",  a  relation  of  his  determined  foe,  Ramdf  de 
Broc,  treated  him  with  great  disrespect,  and  when 
he  was  departing,  maimed  the  horse  which  cai-- 


ried  his  provisions— an  offence  which  was  not  for- 
gotten by  one  who  presumed  to  hurl  the  thun- 
derbolts of  damnation.  Becket  returned  to  Can- 
terbury, escorted  by  a  host  of  poor  people,  armed 
with  rustic  targets  and  rusty  lances.  On  Christ- 
mas Day  he  ascended  the  pulpit  in  the  gi-eat 
cathedral  church,  and  delivered  an  eloquent  ser- 
mon on  the  words,  "  Venio  ad  vos  mori  inter  vos" 
(I  come  to  die  among  you).  He  told  his  congi'c- 
gation  that  one  of  their  archbishops  had  been  a 
martyr,  and  that  they  would  probably  soon  see 
another;  "  but,"  he  added,  "  before  I  depart  hence 
I  will  avenge  some  of  the  wrongs  my  chiu'ch  has 
sufl'ered  dm-ing  the  last  seven  years;"  and  he 
forthwith  excommunicated  Eanulf  and  Robert 
de  Broc,  and  Nigellus,  the  rector  of  Harrow.' 
This  was  Becket's  last  pulilic  act.  As  soon  as 
his  messenger  from  the  Fi'ench  coast  had  de- 
livered his  letters,  the  three  bishops  excommuni- 
cated by  them  hastened  to  Prince  Henry,  to  com- 
plain of  his  insatiate  thirst  of  revenge,  and  to 
accuse  him  of  a  fixed  plan  of  violating  all  the 
royal  privileges  and  the  customs  of  the  land;  and 
almost  immediately  after  they  crossed  over  to 
the  Continent,  to  demand  redress  from  the  king. 
"  We  implore  it,"  said  the  bishops,  "  both  for  the 
sake  of  royalty  and  the  clergy — for  your  own  re- 
pose as  well  as  ours.  There  is  a  man  who  sets 
England  on  fire;  he  marches  with  troops  of  horse 
and  armed  foot,  prowling  round  the  fortresses, 
and  trying  to  get  himself  received  within  them."^ 
The  exaggeration  was  not  needed;  Heni-y  was 
seized  with  one  of  his  most  violent  fits  of  fury. 
"  How ! "  cried  he,  "  a  fellow  that  hath  eaten  my 
bread — a  beggar  that  first  came  to  my  court  on 
a  lame  horse — dares  insult  his  king  and  the  royal 
family,  and  tread  upon  the  whole  kingdom;  and 
not  one  of  the  cowards  I  nourish  at  my  table — • 
not  one  will  deliver  me  from  this  turbulent 
priest ! " '  There  were  four  knights  present,  who 
had  probably  injuries  of  their  own  to  avenge,  and 
who  took  this  outburst  of  temper  as  a  sufficient 
death-warrant;  and,  without  communicating  their 
sudden  determination  to  the  king  (or,  at  least, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  they  did),  hurried  over 
to  England.  Their  names  were  Reginald  Fitz- 
Urse,  William  Tracy,  Hugh  de  Morville,  and 
Richard  Brito  ;  and  they  are  described  by  a  con- 
temporary as  being  bai'ons,  and  servants  of  the 
king's  bed-chamber.  Their  intention  was  not 
suspected,  nor  was  their  absence  noticed ;  and 
while  they  were  riding  with  loose  rein  towards 
the  coast,  the  king  was  closeted  with  his  council 
of  barons,  who,  after  some  discussion,  which 
seems  to  have  occupied  more  than  one  day,  ap- 


1  Fitz-Sleph.:    Vita  i 
Paris. 

2  Scrii>t.  Rer.  Franc. 


Thomce;    Gcrvase;  Ro^j.  Hove.:    Malt. 
^  Vita  Qiiadripart. 


A.D.   115i— 11:2' 


HENRY  II. 


265 


jioiuted   three   commissioners   to  go   and   seize, 

according   to  the   forms  of  law,  the  person  of 

Thomas  k  Becket,  on  tlie  charge  of  high  treason. 
But  the  couspiratoi-s,  who  had 

bound  themselves  together  by 

an  oath,  left  the  commissioneis 

nothing  to  do.    Three  days  after  ,; 

Christmas  Day  they  arrived  se- 
cretly at  Saltwood,  in  the  neigh 

bourhood  of  Canterbury,  where 

the  De  Broc  family  had  a  house 

and   here,  under  the  cover  of 

night,  they  arranged  their  plans 

On  the  29th  of  December,  having 
collected  a  number  of  adherents 
to  quell  the  resistanceof  Beckett 
attendants  and  the  citizens,  in 
case  any  should  be  oflcred,  they 
proceeded  to  the  monastery  of 
St.  Augustine's,  at  Canterbury, 
the  abbot  of  which,  like  nearly 
all  the  superior  churchmen,  was 
of  the  king's  party.     From  St 
Augustine's  thej^  went  to  the  ai-ch- 
bishop's  palace,  and  entering  his 
apartment  abruptly,  about  two  hours  after  noon, 
seated  themselves  on  the  floor  without  saluting 
him,  or  offering  any  sign  of  respect.     There  was 
a  dead  pause — the  knights  not  knowing  how  to 
begin,  and  neither  of  them  liking  to  speak  firat. 
At  length  Becket  asked  what  they  wanted;  but 
still  they  sat  gazing  at  him  with  haggard  eyes. 
There  were  twelve  men  of  the  party,  besides  the 
four  knights.      Eeginald  Fitz-Urse,  feigning   a 
commission  from  the  king,  at  last  spoke.     "  We 
come,"  said  he,  "that  you  may  absolve  the  bishops 
whom  you  have  excommunicated,  re-establish  the 
bishops  whom  you  have  suspended,  and  answer 
for  your  ofi'ences  against  the  king."     Becket  re- 
]'Iied  with  boldness  and  with  great  warmth,  not 
sparing  taunts  aud  invectives.     He  said  that  he 
had  published  the  Papal  letters  of  excommunica- 
tion with  the  king's  consent;  that  he  could  not 
absolve  the  Archbishop  of  York,  whose  heinous 
case  was  reserved  for  the  pope  alone;  but  that  he 
would  remove  the  censures  from  the  two  other 
bishops,  if  they  would  swear  to  submit  to  the 
decisions  of   Rome.     "But  of  whom  then,"  de- 
manded Eeginald,  "  do  you  hold  your  archbishop- 
ric— of  the  king,  or  of  the  pope  i"     "  I  owe  the 
spii-itual  rights  to  God  and  the  pope,  and  the 

^  St.  Augiistme,  having  converted  King  Ethelbort  from  p.igan- 
ism  to  the  Christian  faith,  obtauiod  of  liim  both  permission  and 
lands  for  the  erection  of  a  monastery,  whicli  was  also  to  bo  the 
f  iture  burial-place  of  the  Kings  of  Kent  and  Archbishops  of 
Canterbury.  For  tliis  purpose  Ethelbert  granted  liini  his  palace, 
wliich  stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  city  oi  Canterbm-y,  aud  just 
without  the  walls.  Here  St.  Augustine  founded  his  raon.i-steiy, 
A.D.  GO.i.  It  was  firet  dedicated  to  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul, 
but  Archbishop  Dunstan  (a.d.  987)  added  St.  Augustine,  by 
Vol.  I. 


temporal  rights  to  the  king."  "  How !  is  it  not 
the  king  that  liath  given  you  all  J"  Becket's  de- 
cided negative  was  received  with  murnmrs,  and 


Rem-^ins  of  the  St.  Augustine  Monastery,  Canterbury.! — Brittou's  Canterbury. 

the  knights  furiously  twisted  their  long  gloves, 
Tlu-ee  out  of  the  four  cavaliers  had  followed 
Becket  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity  and  vain- 
glory, and  vowed  themselves  his  liege  men.  He 
reminded  them  of  this,  and  observed,  it  was  not 
for  such  as  they  to  threaten  him  in  his  own  house; 
adding  also,  that  if  he  were  threatened  by  all  the 
swords  in  England,  he  would  not  yield.  "We 
will  do  more  than  threaten,"  replied  the  knights, 
and  then  departed.  When  they  were  gone,  his 
attendants  loudly  expressed  theii'  alarm,  and 
blamed  him  for  the  rough  and  provoking  tone 
by  which  he  had  inflamed,  instead  of  pacifying 
his  enemies;  liut  the  prelate  silenced  the  latter 
part  of  their  discourse  by  telling  them  he  had 
no  need  of  their  advice,  and  knew  what  he  ought 
to  do.  The  barons,  with  their  accomplices,  who 
seem  to  have  wished,  if  they  could,  to  avoitl  blood- 
shed, fintling  that  threats  wei-e  inellcctual,  put  on 
theii'  coats  of  mail,  and  taking  each  a  sword  in 
his  hand,  retm-ned  to  the  palace;  but  finding  that 
the  gate  had  been  shut  and  barred  by  the  terri- 
fied servants,  Fitz-Urse  tried  to  break  it  open,  and 
the  sounds  of  his  ponderous  axe  rang  through  the 
building.  The  gate  might  have  oH'cred  some  con- 
siderable resistance,  but  Robert  de  Broc  showeil 

which  name  it  has  been  since  commoidy  called.  In  1011  the 
hou^e  waji  plundered  by  the  Danes;  in  lltiS  the  chui'ch  w.ia 
almost  destroyed  by  fire;  and  in  1271  tho  monastery  was  ne.arly 
ruined  by  tloods,  occasioned  by  a  prodigious  storm.  In  tho  year 
lOlii  the  back  part  of  tho  building  adjoining  tho  great  gate  was 
repaii-od  with  brick.  At  this  place  it  is  siiid  Charles  I.  con- 
summated his  marriage  with  the  Princess  llenrietta  of  Fi-anco 
^auno  i02ji,  at  which  time  it  was  the  mansion  of  tho  Lord  Wot- 
tou  of  Eactou-JIalherbe.— Grose's  AntifjuUks. 
34 


2CG 


IIISTOUY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


them  tlie  way  in  at  a  wiujow.  The  people  about 
Becket  had  in  vain  urged  him  to  talce  refuge  in 
tlie  church ;  but  at  this  moment  the  voices  of  the 
monks,  singing  vesijers  in  the  choir,  striking  liis 
ear,  he  said  he  would  go,  as  his  duty  called  him 
tliither;  and,  making  his  cross-bearer  precede  him 
with  the  crucifix  elevated,  he  traversed  the  clois- 
ter with  slow  and  measured  steps,  and  entered 
the  church.  His  sei-vants  would  have  closed  and 
fastened  the  doors,  but  he  forbade  them,  saying 
that  the  house  of  God  was  not  to  be  barricaded 
like  a  castle.  He  had  passed  through  the  north 
transept,  and  was  ascending  the  steps  which  led 
to  the  clioir,  when  Reginald  Fitz-Urse  appeared 
at  the  other  end  of  the  church,  wavmg  his  sword, 
and  shouting,  "  Follow  me,  Io_yal  servants  of  the 
king!"  The  other  conspii-ators  followed  him 
closely,  armed  like  himself  from  liead  to  foot, 
and  brandishing  their  sw^ords.  The  shades  of 
evening  had  fallen,  and  in  the  obscurity  of  the 
vast  church,  which  was  only  broken  here  and 
there  by  a  lamp  glimmering  before  a  shrine, 
Becket  miglit  easily  have  hid  himself  in  the  dark 
and  intricate  crypts  mider  gi-oimd,  or  beneath 
the  roof  of  the  old  church.  Each  of  these  courses 
was  suggested  by  his  attendants,  but  he  rejected 
them  both,  and  tui'ned  boldly  to  meet  the  intru- 
ders, followed  or  preceded  by  his  cross-bearer, 
the  faithful  Edward  Gryme,  the  only  one  who 
did  not  flee.  A  voice  shouted,  "  Where  is  the 
traitor?"  Becket  answered  not;  but  when  Regi- 
nald Fitz-Urse  said,  "Where  is  the  archbishop  V' 
he  leplied,  "Here  am  I,  an  archbishojj,  but  no 
traitor,  ready  to  sutler  in  my  Saviour's  name." 
Tracy  pulled  him  by  the  sleeve,  saying,  "  Come 
hither,  thou  art  a  prisoner."  He  j^ulled  back  his 
arm  in  so  violent  a  manner,  that  he  made  Tracy 
stagger  forward.  They  advised  him  to  fiee  or  to 
go  with  them;  and,  on  a  candid  consideration, 
it  seems  to  us  that  the  conspirators,  after  all,  are 
entitled  to  a  doubt  as  to  whether  they  really  in- 
tended a  murder,  or  were  not  rather  hui-ried  into 
it  by  his  obstinacy  and  provoking  language. 
Addi'essing  Fitz-Urse,  he  said,  "  I  have  done  thee 
many  pleasures;  why  comest  thou  with  armed 
men  into  my  chm-ch  V  They  told  him  that  he 
must  instantly  absolve  the  bishops.  "  Never, 
until  they  have  ofl'ered  satisfaction,"  was  his 
answer;  aud  he  applied  a  foul  vituperative  term 
to  Fitz-Urse.  "Then  die!"  exclaimed  Fitz-Uree, 
striking  at  his  head.  The  faithful  Gryme  inter- 
posed his  arm  to  save  his  master;  the  arm  was 

1  Gervase:  Fitz-Steph.;  Gf^Jiie  (who  was  present,  and  Euifered 
on  the  occasion) ;  Neicbfig. 

-  The  piece  represents  tlie  sufferer  on  his  knees  after  the  fii-st 
Etroke  he  received  from  Tracy,  who  is  represented  by  the  figure 
witli  the  shield  and  the  uplifted  sword  tinged  with  blood.  The 
kniglit  who  is  plunging  his  sword  into  the  prelate's  brains  ap- 
l)ear3  to  be  Fitz-Urse,  by  the  bears  depicted  on  his  surcoat.  The 
other,  distinguished  by  the  muzzled  boars'  or  bears'  heads,  with 


broken,  or  nearly  cut  off,  and  tlie  stroke  descended 
on  the  primate's  liead,  .and  slightly  wounded  him. 
Then  another  voice  cried,  "  Flee,  or  thou  diest;" 
but  still  Becket  moved  not,  but  with  the  blood 
i-unning  down  his  face,  he  clasped  his  hands,  and 
bowing  his  head,exclaimed,  "To  God,  to  St.  Mary, 
to  the  holy  patrons  of  this  church,  and  to  St.  Denis, 
I  commend  my  soul  and  the  church's  cause."  A 
second  stroke  brought  him  to  the  gi-ound,  close 
to  the  foot  of  St.  Bennet's  altar;  a  tliird,  given 
with  such  force  that  the  sword  was  broken 
against  the  stone  pavement,  cleft  his  skull,  and 
his  brains  -were  scattered  all  about.  Ore  of  the 
conspirators  put  liis  foot  on  his  neck,  and  cried, 
"Thus   perishes  a  traitor!"'     The  conspirators 


Assassination  of  Beceet.2 — From  an  ancient  painting  on  a 
board  hung  at  the  head  of  the  tomb  of  Hemy  IV.  in  Can- 
terbury Cathedral. 

then  withdrew,  without  encountering  any  hinder- 
ance  or  molestation;  but  when  the  fearful  news 
spread  tlirougli  Canterbiuy  and  the  neighbour- 
ing country,  the  excitement  was  prodigious;  and 
the  then  inevitable  infei'ence  was  drawn  that 
Becket  was  a  martyi',  and  miracles  would  be 
wrought  at  his  tomb.  For  some  time,  however, 
the  superior  orders  rejected  this  faith,  and  made 


the  hoiTzontal  sword,  must  be  Moi-viUe,  as  the  lower  figure,  by 
the  position  of  his  sword  and  appai'ent  inactivity,  certaiidy  is 
Brito,  the  last  actor  in  tliis  bloody  tragedy.  Edward  Gi'yme,  with 
ten-or  strongly  marked  in  liis  countenance,  a])pe.ars  behind  the 
altar  with  the  episcopal  cross  in  liis  hand,  which  histoiy  men- 
tions to  have  been  cai-ried  before  our  prelate  as  he  entered  the 
cliurch,  and  liis  cap  besprinkled  with  blood  lies  on  the  middle  step 
of  the  altar. — Milner's  AccouiU  o/tlie  Murder  0/  Ttiomasa  BcckU, 


A.I).  11.5-1—1172.] 


m:Ni!V  n. 


2C7 


efforts  to  sujipress  the  venor.ation  of  tho  coiuiaun 
people.  An  edict  was  published,  proUibitinjf  all 
men  fiom  jn-eachiug  in  the  cliurclies  or  reijortiii;^ 
in  the  public  places  that  Bccliet  was  a  mai-tyr. 
Ilis  old  foe,  the  Archbishop  of  York,  ascended 
tlie  pulpit  to  announce  his  dcatli  as  an  infliction 
of  Divine  vengeance,  saying  that  he  had  perished 
in  his  guilt  and  jiride  like  Pharaoli.'  Other  eccle- 
siastics preaclied  that  the  body  of  the  traitor  ought 
not  to  be  allowed  to  rest  in  consecrated  gi'ound, 
but  ought  to  be  thrown  into  a  ditch,  or  hung  on 
a  gibbet.  An  attempt  was  even  made  to  seize 
the  body,  but  the  monks,  who  received  timely 
warning,  concealed  it,  and  hastily  buried  it  in 
the  subterranean  vaults  of  the  cathedral.  But  it 
was  soon  found  that  the  public  voice,  echoed,  for 
its  own  purposes,  by  the  coui-t  of  France,  was  too 
loud  to  be  drowned  in  this  manner.  Louis,  whom 
Henry  had  so  often  humbled,  wrote  to  the  pope, 
imploring  him  to  di-aw  the  sword  of  St.  Peter 
against  that  horrible  persecutor  of  God,  who  sur- 
jiassed  Nero  in  cruelty,  Julian  in  apo.stasy,  and 
Judas  in  treachery.  He  chose  to  believe,  and  the 
French  bishops  believed  with  him,  that  Henry 
had  ordered  the  murder. 

On  receiving  the  intelligence  of  Becket's  assas- 
smatiou,  Hemy  expressed  the  greatest  grief  and 
horror,  shut  himself  up  in  his  room,  and  refused  to 
receive  either  food  or  consolation  for  three  days; 
and  if  he  took  care  to  have  a  touching  detail  of 
his  distressed  feelings  transmitted  to  the  pope,  in 
which  he  declared  his  innocence  in  the  strongest 
terms,  and  entreated  that  censure  miglit  be  sus- 
pended till  tlie  facts  of  the  case  were  examined, 
such  a  measure  is  not  to  be  taken,  in  itself,  as  indi- 
cating tlie  insincerity  of  his  grief  and  horror.  He 
must  have  felt  that  his  own  liasty  exclamations 
had  led  to  the  deed,  and  that  all  the  penalties  of 
a  deliberate  crime  would  be  exacted  at  his  hand. 

When  Hem-y's  envoys  fii-st  ajipeared  at  Eome 
— for  the  pope  (Alexander)  was  no  longer  a  de- 
pendent exile — they  were  coldly  received,  and 
everything  seemed  to  threaten  that  an  interdict 

*  Einsl.  Joan.  Sarist}. 


1  would  be  laid  U]jon  the  kingdom,  and  the  kin" 
excommunicated  by  name.  In  the  end,  however, 
Alexander  rested  satistied  with  an  exconnnuni- 
cation,  in  general  terms,  of  the  murderers  and  the 
abettors  of  the  crime.  It  is  said  tliat  Ileni-y's 
gold  wa.s  not  idle  on  this  occasion;  but  the  em- 
])loyment  of  it  is  rather  a  proof  of  the  notorious 
rapacity  of  the  cardinals,  than  of  his  having  a 
bad  cause  to  plead.  In  the  month  of  May,  1172, 
in  a  council  held  at  Avranches,  at  which  two 
legates  of  the  pope  attended,  Henry  swore,  on  the 
holy  gospels  and  sacred  relics — a  great  concourse 
of  the  clergy  and  people  being  present — that  he 
had  neither  ordered  nor  desired  the  murder  of 
the  archbishop.  This  o.ath  wafi  not  demanded 
from  him,  but  taken  of  liis  own  free  will.  As, 
however,  he  could  not  deny  that  the  assassins 
might  have  been  moved  to  the  deed  by  his  wrath- 
ful words,  he  consented  to  maintain  200  knights 
during  a  year,  for  the  defence  of  the  Holy  Land ; 
and  to  serve  himself,  if  the  po]ie  should  require 
it,  for  throe  years  against  the  infidels,  either  tho 
Saracens  in  Palestine  or  the  IMoors  in  Spain,  as 
the  church  should  appoint.  At  the  same  time, 
he  engaged  to  restore  all  the  lands  and  posses- 
sions belonging  to  the  friends  of  the  late  arch- 
bishop; to  permit  appeals  to  be  made  to  the  pope 
in  good  faith,  and  without  fraud,  reserving  to 
himself,  however,  the  right  of  obliging  such 
appellants  as  he  suspected  of  evil  intentions  to 
give  security  that  they  would  attempt  nothing 
abroad  to  the  detriment  of  him  or  his  kingdom. 
To  these  conditions  he  made  an  addition  too 
vague  to  have  any  practical  efi'ect — that  he  would 
relinquish  such  customs  against  the  church  as 
had  been  inti-oduced  in  his  time.  The  legates 
then  fully  absolved  the  king;  and  thus  terminated 
this  quarrel,  less  to  Henry's  disadvantage  than 
might  have  been  expected.^ 

In  the  short  interval  of  this  negotiation  he  had 
added  a  kingdom  to  his  dominions.  The  year 
that  followed  the  death  of  Becket  was  made 
memorable  by  the  conquest  of  Ireland. 

-  Ilovedeii;  Epist.  S.  Thoma;.;  Ejnst.  Joan.  SarUb.;  ffertuse. 


2(JS 


UISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  MiLiTAuy, 


CHAPTER  VI.— CIVIL  AND  MILITARY  HISTORY.— ad.  10G1-11S9. 

HENRY    II.,    SURNAMED    PL.WTAGENET. ACCESSION,  A.D.  1154— DE.\TII,  A.D.  1189. 

Summary  of  Irisli  hi.story  to  the  time  of  Henry  II. — Slight  connection  between  Enjland  and  Ireland — Adrian  IV. 
grants  Ireland  to  Henry  II.  by  a  Papal  bnU — The  King  of  Leinster  driven  from  bis  throne — He  applies  to 
Henry  for  aid — Obtains  assistance  from  the  Earl  of  Pembroke — Tlie  conquest  of  Ireland  commenced  by  tlio 
En^^lish — They  take  Wexford — Their  successes — Pembroke  arrives  in  Ireland — Takes  Waterford  by  storm — The 
Irish  everywliere  defeated — Henry  arrives  to  secure  Ireland  to  the  English  crown — Tlie  Irish  chiefs  tender 
tlieir  submission — The  whole  country  except  Ulster  conquered — Dissensions  in  tlie  family  of  Henry  11. — Prince 
Henry,  his  eldest  son,  commences  a  rebellion — His  brotliers  join  him — They  are  aided  by  the  King  of  France 
and  other  foreign  princes — The  Scots  invade  England — Henry  II.,  in  his  distress,  does  petiance  at  the  tomb  of 
Becket — Tlie  King  of  Scots  taken  prisoner — Henry  subdues  his  sons  and  their  allies — AVisdom  and  prompti- 
tude of  Henry's  proceedings — His  sons  again  rebel — Conflicts  on  the  Continent — Prince  Henry  dies — Bertrand 
de  Born,  the  head  of  the  confederacy,  taken  prisoner — Death  of  Geoffrey,  Henry's  second  son — Pvicbard,  the 
third  son,  compelled  to  submit — Commencement  of  the  Crusades — Preparations  in  France  and  England — Fresli 
rebellion  of  Richard,  son  of  Henry  II. — Its  cause — He  is  countenanced  by  Philip  of  France — Henry  II.  obliged 
to  submit  to  humbling  conditions — He  dies  brokendiearted  at  Chinon — P.ichard'6  conduct  at  bis  father's  fune- 
ral—Character of  Henry  II. — His  family — The  story  of  "Fair  llosamoud." 


N  the  preceding  Book,  the  sketch  of 
Irish  history  was  brought  down  to 
the  reigu  of  Tui-logh,  the  commence- 
ment of  which  is  assigned  to  the  year 
1064.  Turlogh,  however,  like  his 
uncle  Donchad,  whom  he  had  suc- 
ceeded, and  Donch.ad's  fatlier,  the  gi-eat  O'Brien, 
is  scarcely  acknowledged  by  the  old  annalists  as 
having  been  a  legitimate  king,  not  being  of  the 
blood  of  the  O'Niells  of  Ulster,  in  which  line, 
say  the  rather  inventive  Irish  historians,  the 
supreme  sceptre  had  been  transmitted,  with 
scarcely  any  interruption,  till  its  seizure  by  Brien, 
from  the  time  of  O'Niell  or  Nial  of  the  Nine 
Hostages,  who  flom-ished  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century.  The  long  acquiescence  of  the  other 
provincial  regal  houses  in  the  superiority  thus 
assumed  by  that  of  Ulster  was  broken  by  the 
usurpation  of  the  Munster  O'Briens,  and  we  shall 
find  that  ere  long  both  the  O'Connors  of  Con- 
naught  and  the  MacMurroghs  of  Leinster  made 
tlieir  apjiearance  on  the  scene,  as  competitors  for 
the  prize  of  chief  dominion,  along  with  the  other 
two  families.  The  whole  history  of  the  country 
from  this  date  is  merely  the  history  of  these  con- 
tests for  the  cro\^-n,  of  which  contests  we  confine 
oui'selves  to  the  following  summary. 

Tm-logh,  who  kept  his  court  in  the  palace  of 
his  ancestors,  the  Kings  of  Munster,  at  Kinkora, 
in  Clare,  died  there  in  July,  1086.  His  second 
son,  Murtach  or  Murkertach,  acquired  the  sole 
possession  of  the  throne  of  Munster  by  the  death 
of  one  of  his  two  brothers,  and  the  banishment 
of  the  other;  but  his  attempt  to  retain  the  su- 
preme monarchy  in  his  family  was  resisted  by 
the  other  provincial  kings,  who  united  in  sup- 


porting, against  his  claims,  those  of  Domnal  Mac- 
Lochlin,  or  Donald  MacLachlan,  the  head  of  the 
ancient  royal  house  of  O'NieU.  At  last,after  much 
fighting,  it  was  arranged,  at  a  solemn  convention 
held  in  1094,  that  the  island  should  be  divided 
between  the  two  competitors — the  southern  half, 
called  Leath  Mogh,  or  Mogh's  Half,  remaining 
subject  to  Murtach,  and  the  northern,  called 
Leath  Cuinn,  or  Conn's  Half,  being  resigned  to 
the  dominion  of  MacLochlin.  This  was  a  well- 
known  ancient  division,  which,  in  former  times, 
even  wlien  the  nominal  sovereignty  of  the  whole 
country  was  conceded  to  the  Kings  of  Ulster, 
had  often  left  those  of  Munster  in  possession  not 
only  of  the  actual  independence,  but  of  a  shai-e  of 
the  supremacy  over  both  Connaught  and  Lein- 
ster; for  the  line  of  partition  was  drawn  right 
across  the  island  from  tlue  neighbom'hood  of  the 
town  of  Galway  to  Dublin,  and  consequently  cut 
through  each  of  these  provinces.  With  this  real 
equality  in  extent  of  dominion  and  authority  be- 
tween the  two  houses,  one  circumstance  chiefly 
had  for  a  long  period  held  in  check  the  rising 
fortunes  of  that  of  Munster,  the  law  or  custom, 
namely,  of  the  succession  to  the  crown  in  that 
province,  which  was  divided  into  two  jjrineijjali- 
ties,  Desmond  or  South  Munster,  and  Thomond 
or  North  Munster,  the  reigning  families  of  which, 
by  an  arrangement  somewhat  similar  to  that 
which  has  been  described  as  anciently  subsisting 
in  the  Scottish  monarchy,'  enjoyed  the  supreme 
sovereignty  alternately.  The  two  lines  of  jirinces 
derived  this  right  of  equal  jjarticipation  from  the 
will  of  their  common  ancestor  Olill  Ollum;  those 

■  See  vol.  i.  p.  141. 


A.D.  1064—1189.1 


HENRY   II. 


269 


of  Desmoiul,  wliieh  coniprelieiuled  tlie  prospiit 
comities  of  Kerry,  Cork,  and  Waterford,  being 
descended  from  that  lying's  eldest  son  Eog.an, 
whence  the  people  of  that  principality  were  called 
Eog;xnactha  or  Eugeni.ans;  while  tlie  princes  of 
Tbomoud,  which  consisted  of  Clare,  Limerick,  and 
the  gi-eater  part  of  Tipperary,  were  sprung  from 
his  second  son  Cormac  Cas,  whence  their  subjects 
took  tlie  name  of  Dalgais  or  Dalcassians.  But 
Brien  Boru,  liimself  of  the  Dalcassian  family, 
had  begun  his  course  of  inroad  upon  the  ancient 
institutions  of  his  country  by  setting  at  defiance 
the  rights  of  his  Eugeuiau  kindred,  and  had  pos- 
sessed himself,  by  usurpation,  of  the  provincial 
throne  of  Munster,  before  he  seized  u]ion  the 
supreme  power.  The  Munster  kings  had  ever 
since  continued  to  be  of  his  race. 

The  compact  between  MacLochlin  and  Mur- 
tach  did  not  put  an  end  to  their  contention.  Se- 
veral more  battles  were  fonght  between  them, 
till  at  length,  in  1103,  Mm-tach  sustained  a  defeat 
at  Cobha,  in  Tyi-one,  which  so  greatly  weakened 
his  power  as  to  prevent  him  from  ever  after 
giving  his  adversary  any  serious  annoyance. 
They  continued  to  reign,  however — MacLochlin 
at  Aileach  or  Alichia,  in  Donegal,  Murtach  at 
Cashel— till  the  death  of  the  latter,  in  1119,  after 
he  had  spent  the  last  three  or  four  years  of  his 
life  iu  a  monastery,  the  management  of  affairs 
having  been  meanwhile  left  in  the  hands  of  his 
brother  Dermot.  From  the  date  of  the  death  of 
Murtach,  MacLochlin  is  regarded  as  having  been 
sole  monarch;  but  he  also  died  in  1121. 

Fifteen  years  of  confusion  followed,  during 
which  a  contest  between  vai-ious  competitors  for 
the  supreme  authority  spread  war  and  devasta- 
tion over  every  part  of  the  country.  At  last,  in 
1136,  Turlogh  or  Tordelvao  O'Connor,  King  of 
Connaught,  was  acknowledged  monarch  of  all 
Ireland;  the  ancient  sceptre  of  the  O'Niells  thus 
passing  a  second  time  into  a  new  house.  O'Con- 
nor, however,  had  to  maintain  himself  on  the 
throne  he  had  thus  acquired  by  a  great  deal  of 
hard  fighting  with  his  neighbours  and  rivals. 
Connor  O'Brien,  the  King  of  Munster,  who  had 
vigorously  opjiosed  his  elevation,  and  his  succes- 
sor Turlogh  O'Brien,  did  not  cease  to  dispute  his 
power,  till  the  overthrow  of  the  latter  at  the 
great  battle  of  Moinmor,  fought  in  1151,  placed 
Munster  for  the  moment  completely  under  the 
tread  of  the  victor.  O'Brien  was  driven  from 
his  kingdom,  and  the  territory  was  again  divided 
into  two  principalities,  over  which  O'Connor  set 
two  princes  of  the  Eugenian  house,  that  had 
some  time  before  joined  him  in  his  contest  with 
the  Dalcassians.  A  few  years  after,  however, 
the  expelled  king  was  restored  by  the  interfer- 
ence of  Murtogli  O'Lochliu,  or  Murtach  Mac- 
Lachlan,  O'Niell,  the  King  of  Ulster,  and  the 


legiliniate  heir  of  the  ancient  nionarclis  of  Ire- 
land, who  now  also  took  arms  to  recover  for  liim- 
self the  throne  of  liis  ancestors.  With  this  new 
rival,  O'Connor,  for  whom  his  martial  reign  has 
procured  from  the  annalists  the  title  of  The 
Cireat,  continued  at  war  during  the  remainder  of 
his  life;  and  at  his  death,  in  11.56,  O'Locblin  was 
acknowledged  supreme  king.  Some  opposition 
was  made  to  his  accession  by  Roderick  O'Connor, 
the  son  of  the  late  king,  and  liis  successor  to  the 
provincial  throne  of  Connaught;  but  he  also,  at 
hust,  as  well  as  the  Princes  of  ^lunster  and  Lein- 
ster,  acquiesced  in  the  restoration  of  the  old 
sovereign  house,  and  submitted  to  O'Niell. 

The  rule  of  ISIm-togh  O'Lochlin  was  distin- 
guished by  vigour  and  ability;  but  its  close  was 
unfortunate.  He  was  killed  along  with  many  of 
his  nobility,  in  1166,  in  a  battle  with  some  in- 
surgent chiefs  of  his  own  province  of  Ulster;  to 
whom  he  had  given  abundant  cause  for  taking 
up  arms  against  him,  if  it  be  true  that,  after 
having  been  professedly  reconciled  to  one  of 
them,  with  whom  he  had  had  a  quarrel,  and 
sealing  the  comp.act  by  the  acceptance  of  host^ 
ages,  he  had  suddenly  seized  the  unfortunate 
chief,  together  with  three  of  his  friends,  and 
caused  his  eyes  to  be  put  out,  and  them  to  be  put 
to  death.  On  his  decease  the  sovereignty  of  Ire- 
land devolved  upon  his  rival,  Roderick  O'Connor, 
of  Connaught,  the  son  of  its  former  possessor, 
O'Connor  the  Great. 

Up  to  this  time  almost  the  only  connection  be- 
tween England  and  Ireland  was  that  of  the  com- 
merce carried  on  between  some  of  the  opposite 
ports;  scarcely  any  political  intercom-se  had  ever 
taken  place  between  the  two  countries.  Her 
church,  indeed,  attached  Ireland  to  the  rest  of 
Christendom;  and  some  correspondence  is  still 
preserved,  that  passed  between  her  kings  and  pre- 
lates and  the  English  archbislio]>s  Laufranc  and 
Aiiselm,relating  chiefly  to  certain  points  in  which 
the  latter  conceived  the  ecclesiastical  discipline 
of  the  neighbouring  island  to  stand  in  need  of  re- 
formation. The  bishops  also  of  the  Danish  towns 
in  Ireland  appear  to  have  been  usually  conse- 
crated by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  But 
almost  the  single  weU-autheuticated  instance  of 
any  interference  by  the  one  nation  in  the  civil 
affairs  of  the  other  since  the  Norman  conquest, 
was  in  the  rebellion  of  Robert  de  Belesme,  iu  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  I.,  when  that 
nobleman's  brother,  Arnulph  de  Montgomery,  is 
said  by  some  of  the  Welsh  chroniclers  to  have 
passed  over  to  Ireland,  and  to  have  there  ob- 
tained from  King  Miu-taeh  O'Brien,  both  sup- 
plies for  the  war  and  the  hand  of  his  daughter 
for  himself.  It  is  saiil,  indeeil,  that  both  the 
Conqueror  and  Heniy  I.  had  mcilitated  the  sub- 
jugation  of  Ireland;  and   i\Ialmesbury   alhrma 


270 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaky. 


that  the  latter  English  king  had  Murtach  and 
his  successora  so  entirely  at  liia  devotion,  that 
they  wrote  nothing  but  adulation  of  Idni,  nor 
did  anything  but  what  he  ordered. 

It  would  ajipear  that  a  project  of  conquest  had 
been  entertained  by  Hemy  II.,  from  the  very 
commencement  of  his  reign.  The  same  year  in 
which  he  came  to  the  throne,  witnessed  the  ele- 
vation to  the  popedom  of  the  only  Englishman 
that  ever  wore  the  triple  crown — Nicholas  Break- 
spear,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Adrian  IV. 
Very  soon  after  his  coronation,  Henry  sent  an 
embassy  to  Borne,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the 
learned  John  of  Salisbury,  ostensibly  to  congra- 
tulate Adrian  on  his  accession,  but  really  to  so- 
licit the  new  pope  for  his  sanction  to  the  scheme 
of  the  conquest  of  Ireland.  Adrian  granted  a 
bull,  in  the  terms  or  to  the  efl'ect  desired,  and 
before  the  end  of  the  same  year,  the  matter  was 
submitted  by  Hemy  to  a  gi'eat  council  of  his 
bax-ons ;  but  the  imdertaking  was  opposed  by 
many  of  those  present,  and  especially  by  his 
mother,  the  empress ;  and  in  consequence  it  was 
for  the  time  given  up. 

Henry's  attention  was  not  recalled  to  the  sub- 
ject till  many  yeai-s  after.  The  com-se  of  the 
story  now  carries  us  back  again  to  Ii-eland,  and 
to  another  of  the  provincial  kings  of  that  country 
of  whom  we  have  yet  said  nothing — Dermond 
MaoMurrogh,  or  Dermot  MaoMuvchad,  King  of 
Lageuia  or  Leinster.  This  prince  had  early  sig- 
nalized himself  by  his  sanguinary  ferocity,  even 
on  a  stage  where  all  the  actors  were  men  of  blood. 
So  far  back  as  the  year  1140,  in  order  to  break 
the  power  of  his  nobility,  he  had  seventeen  of 
the  chief  of  them  seized  at  once,  all  of  whom 
that  he  did  not  put  to  death  he  deprived  of  then- 
eyes.  His  most  noted  exploit,  however,  was  of 
a  different  character.  Dervorgilla,  a  lady  of 
gi-eat  beauty,  was  the  wife  of  Tiernan  O'Euarc, 
the  Lord  of  Breffuy,  a  district  in  Leinster,  and 
the  old  enemy  of  MacMm-rogh.  The  sworn  foe 
of  her  husband,  however,  was  the  object  of  Der- 
vorgilla's  guilty  passion;  and,  at  her  own  sug- 
gestion, it  is  said,  when  her  husband  was  absent 
on  a  military  expedition,  the  King  of  Leinstci' 
came  and  carried  her  off.  This  happened  in  the 
year  1153,  when  the  supreme  sovereignty  was  in 
the  possession  of  Tm-logh  O'Connor.  To  him 
O'Euai-c  applied  for  the  means  of  avenging  his 
wi'ong,  and  received  from  him  such  effective  as- 
sistance as  to  be  enabled  to  recover  both  his  wife 
and  the  property  she  had  cai-ried  off  with  her. 
But  from  this  time  Macilurrogh  and  O'Ruarc 
kept  up  a  spiteful  contest,  with  alternating  for- 
tunes, for  many  years.  So  long  as  Turlogh  lived, 
O'Ruarc  had  a  steady  ally  in  the  common  sove- 
reign, and  the  King  of  Leinster  was  effectuallj' 
kept  in  check  by  their  imited  power.     The  suc- 


ceeding reign  of  O'Lochlin,  on  the  other  hanil, 
was,  for  the  whole  of  the  ten  yeai-s  that  it  lasted, 
a  jieriod  of  triumphant  revenge  to  JNlacMurrogh. 
But  the  recovery  of  the  supremacy,  on  O'Loch- 
lin's  death,  by  the  house  of  O'Connor,  at  last 
put  an  end  to  the  long  and  bitter  strife.  A 
general  combination  was  now  formed  against 
the  King  of  Leinster;  King  Roderick,  the  Loixl 
of  Breffuy,  and  his  father-in-law,  the  Prince  of 
Meath,  united  their  forces  for  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  driving  him  from  his  kingdom;  they 
were  joined  by  many  of  his  own  subjects,  both 
Irish  and  Danish,  to  whom  his  tj'rauny  had  ren- 
dered him  odious;  and  O'Ruarc  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  whole.  MacMurrogh  made  some 
effort  to  defend  himself ;  but  finding  himself  de- 
serted by  all,  he  sought  safety  in  flight,  and  left 
his  kingdom  for  the  present  to  the  disposal  of  his 
conquerors.  They  set  another  prince  of  his  own 
family  on  the  vacant  throne.  Meanwhile  the 
deposed  and  fugitive  king  had  embai'ked  for 
England,  to  seek  the  aid  of  King  Hemy,  in  re- 
turn for  which  he  was  ready  to  acknowledge 
himself  the  vassal  of  the  English  monarch.  On 
landing  at  Bristol,  some  time  in  the  summer  of 
1167,  he  found  that  Henry  was  on  the  Continent, 
and  thither  he  immediately  proceeded.  Hemy, 
when  he  came  to  him  in  Aquitaine,  was  "busied," 
says  Gu-aldus,  "in  gi-eat  and  weighty  affairs,  yet 
most  courteously  he  received  him  and  liberally 
rewarded  him.  And  the  king,  having  at  ku'ge 
and  orderly  heard  the  causes  of  his  exile,  and  of 
his  repair  unto  him,  he  took  his  oath  of  allegi- 
ance and  swore  him  to  be  his  true  vassal  and 
subject,  and  thereupon  granted  and  gave  him 
letters-patent  in  manner  and  form  as  followeth: 
'  Henry,  King  of  England,  Duke  of  Normandy 
and  Aquitaine,  and  Eai-1  of  Anjou,  unto  all  his 
subjects.  Englishmen,  Normans,  Scots,  and  all 
other  nations  and  people  being  his  subjects,  send- 
eth  greeting.  Whensoever  these  our  letters  shall 
come  unto  you,  know  ye  that  we  have  received 
Dermond,  Prince  of  Leiustei-,  into  our  protec- 
tion, grace,  and  favour;  wlierefoi'e,  whosoever 
within  our  jurisdiction  will  aid  and  lieliJ  him, 
our  trusty  subject,  for  the  recovery  of  his  land, 
let  him  be  assiu-ed  of  oui-  favour  and  license  in 
that  behalf."" 

It  would  scai'cely  appear,  from  the  tenor  of 
these  merely  permissive  letters,  that  Hemy  looked 
forward  to  any  result  so  important  as  the  conquest 
of  Ireland;  the  other  "great  and  weighty  allairs" 
had  long  withdi-awn  his  thoughts  from  that  pro- 
ject; and  embarrassed  both  by  his  wai'  with  the 
French  king,  and  his  more  sex-ious  contest  with 


'  ffiraWtts  Cambrensis  (Gerald  the  WelskmaH).  This  ^mte^■'3 
real  name  was  Gerald  Barry.  He  was  nearly  related  to  some 
of  the  chief  pereonages  who  figui-e  in  the  story  of  the  conquest 
of  Ireland,  and  he  was  living  in  Ireland  at  the  time. 


A.v.  10G4-1189.] 


HENRY  IT. 


271 


Beeket  at  home,  he  was  at  present  as  little  as  ever 
in  a  condition  to  resume  the  serious  consideration 
of  it.  MacMurrof;li,  however,  returned  to  Kng- 
laud,  well  satisliod  with  what  he  had  got.  "j\nd 
by  his  daily  journeying,"  jiroceeds  Giraldus,  "he 
came  at  length  unto  the  noble  town  of  Bristow 
(Bristol),  wdiere,  because  shijJS  and  boats  did 
daily  repair,  and  come  from  out  of  Ireland,  he, 
very  desirous  to  hear  of  the  state  of  his  people 
and  countiy,  did,  for  a  time,  sojourn  and  make 
his  abode;  and  whilst  he  was  there,  he  would 
oftentimes  cause  the  king's  letters  to  be  openly 
read,  and  did  then  offer  great  entertainment  and 
jiromised  liberal  wages  to  all  such  as  would  help 
or  ser\-e  him ;  but  it  served  not."  At  length,  how- 
ever, he  chanced  to  meet  Richard  de  Clare,  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  surnamed  Strongbow,  with  whom 
he  soon  came  to  an  agreement.  Strongbow,  on 
the  promise  of  the  hand  of  Dermoud's  eldest 
daughter,  Eva,  and  the  succession  to  the  throne 
of  Leinster,  engaged  to  come  over  to  Ireland,  with 
a  sufficient  military  force  to  effect  the  deposed 
king's  restoration,  in  the  following  spring.  A 
short  time  after  this,  Dermond,  having  gone  to 
the  town  of  St.  David's,  there  made  another  en- 
gagement with  two  young  noblemen,  Maurice 
Fitz-Gerald  and  Robert  Fitz-Stephen,  both  sons  of 
tlie  Lady  Nesta,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  Welsh 
]irinces,  who,  after  having  been  mistress  to 
Henry  I.,  married  Gerald,  governor  of  Pembroke 
Castle,  and  Loi'd  of  Carew,  and  finally  became 
mistress  to  Stephen  de  Marisco  or  Maurice,  con- 
stable of  the  castle  of  Cardigan :  Fitz-Gerald  was 
her  son  by  her  marriage,  and  Fitz-Stephen  by  her 
Last-mentioned  connection.  To  these  two  half- 
Ijrothers,  in  consideration  of  their  coming  over 
to  him  with  a  certain  force  at  the  same  time  with 
Strongbow,  Bermond  engaged  to  grant  the  town 
of  Wexford,  with  two  cantreds  (or  hundi-eds)  of 
land  adjoining,  in  fee  for  ever.  These  aiTange- 
ments  being  completed,  "Dermond,"  continues 
the  historian,  "  being  weary  of  his  exiled  life  and 
distressed  estate,  and  therefore  the  more  desirous 
to  draw  homewards  for  the  recovery  of  his  own, 
and  for  which  he  had  so  long  travelled  and  sought 
abroad,  he  first  went  to  the  church  of  St.  David's 
to  make  his  orisons  and  prayers,  and  then,  the 
weather  being  fair  and  wind  good,  he  adventiu-ed 
the  seas  about  the  middle  of  August,  and  having 
a  merry  passage,  he  shortly  landed  in  his  ungrate- 
ful country;  and,  with  a  very  impatient  mind, 
hazarded  himself  among  and  through  the  middle 
of  his  enemies;  and,  coming  safely  to  Ferns,  he 
was  very  honourably  received  of  the  clergy  there, 
who  after  their  ability  did  refresh  and  succour 
him.  But  he  for  a  time  dissembling  his  princely 
estate,  continued  as  a  private  man  all  that  winter 
following  among  them."  It  would  ajipear,  how- 
ever, that  he  was  rash  enough  to  show  himself  in 


arms  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1160,  before 
any  of  his  promised  English  succours  had  arrived; 
ami  that  the  result  of  this  premature  attempt  was, 
that  he  was  again  o:usily  beaten  by  King  Roderick 
and  O'Ruarc. 

His  allies  in  England  meanwhile  did  not  for- 
get him.  Robert  Fitz-Stephen  w:is  the  first  to  set 
out  about  the  beginning  of  May,  accompanied 
with  thirty  gentlemen  of  his  own  kindred,  sixty 
men  in  coats  of  mail,  and  300  picked  archers; 
they  shipped  themselves  in  three  small  ves.sels, 
and  sailing  right  across  from  St.  David's  Head, 
landed  at  a  creek  now  called  the  Bann,  about 
twelve  miles  to  the  south  of  the  city  of  Wexford. 
Along  with  them  also  came  the  i>aternal  uncle  of 
Strongbow,  Hervey  de  Montemarisco  or  Mouut- 
maiirice.  On  the  day  following,  two  more  vessels 
arrived  at  the  same  place,  beai-ing  Maurice  of 
Prendergast,  "a  lusty  and  a  hardy  man,  born 
about  Milford,  in  West  Wales,"  with  ten  more 
gentlemen  and  sixty  archers.  MacMurrogh  was 
not  long  in  hearing  of  their  arrival,  on  which  he 
instantly  sent  500  men  to  join  them,  under  his 
illegitimate  son  Donald,  and  "  very  shortly  after, 
he  himself  also  followed  with  great  joy  and  glad- 
ness." ' 

It  was  now  determined  to  niai'cli  upon  the  town 
of  Wexford.  "  When  they  of  the  town,"  jn'oceeds 
the  narrative,  "  heai-d  thereof,  they  being  a.  fierce 
and  unridy  people,  but  yet  much  trusting  to  their 
wonted  fortune,  came  forth  about  2000  of  them, 
and  were  determined  to  wage  and  give  battle." 
On  beholding  the  imposing  armour  and  array  of 
the  English,  however,  they  drew  back,  and,  setting 
the  suburbs  on  fire,  took  refuge  within  the  walls 
of  the  town.  For  that  day  all  the  efforts  of  the 
assailants  to  effect  an  entrance  were  vain.  The 
next  morning,  after  the  solemn  celebration  of 
mass,  they  made  ready  to  renew  the  assault  upon 
the  town;  but  the  besieged,  seeing  this,  lost  heai-t, 
and  saved  them  further  trouble  by  offering  to 
surrender.  Fom-  of  the  chief  inhabitants  were 
given  up  to  MacMurrogh  as  pledges  for  the  fide- 
lity of  their  fellow-citizens ;  and  he,  on  his  jiai-t, 
immediately  performed  his  promise  to  his  English 
friends,  by  making  over  to  Fitz-Stephen  and  Fitz- 
Gerald  the  town  that  had  thus  fallen  into  his 
hands,  with  the  territories  thereunto  adjouiing 
and  appertaining.  To  Hervey  of  Mountmam-ice 
he  also  gave  two  cantreds,  lying  along  the  sea- 
side between  Wexford  and  Waterford. 

This  first  exploit  was  followed  up  by  an  incur- 
sion into  the  district  of  Ossory,  the  jirince  of 
which  had  well  earned  the  enmity  of  MacMur- 
rogh by  having  some  yeai'S  before  seized  his  eldest 
son,  and  put  out  his  eyes.  The  Ossorians  at  fii-st 
boldly  stood  their  gi-ound,  and  as  long  as  they 

1  GiraUlus  CatiibrensU. 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militap.t. 


kept  to  tlpir  bogs  and  woods,  the  invading  force, 
tliougli  now  increased  by  an  accession  from  the 
town  of  Wexford  to  about  3000  men,  made  little 
impression  upon  tliem;  but  at  last  they  were  im- 
prudent enough  to  allow  themselves  to  be  di-awn 
into  the  open  country,  wlien  Robert  Fitz-Stephen 
fell  upon  them  with  a  hodj  of  horse,  and  threw 
down  the  ill-ai-med  and  unprotected  multitude, 
or  scattered  them  in  all  directions ;  those  that 
were  thrown  to  the  ground  the  foot  -  soldiei-s 
straight  despatched,  cutting  off  their  heads  with 
their  battle-axes.  Three  hundred  bleeding  heads 
were  laid  at  the  feet  of  MacMurrogh,  "who,  turn- 
ing every  of  them,  one  by  one,  to  know  them,  did 
then  for  joy  hold  up  both  his  hands,  and  with  a 
loud  voice  thanked  God  most  highly.  Among 
these  there  was  the  head  of  one  whom  especially 
and  above  all  the  rest  he  mortally  hated;  and  he, 
taking  up  that  by  the  hair  and  ears,  witli  his  teeth 
most  horribly  and  cruelly  bit  away  his  nose  and 
lips!"  So  nearly  did  an  Irish  king  of  the  twelfth 
century  resemble  a  modern  savage  chief  of  New 
Zealand.  After  this  disaster,  the  people  of  Ossory 
made  no  fiu-ther  resistance ;  they  suffered  their 
invaders  to  march  across  the  whole  breadth  of 
their  country,  mui-dering,  spoiling,  burning,  and 
laying  waste  wherever  they  passed. 

All  this  had  taken  place  befoi-e  anything  was 
heard  of  MacMui-rogh's  old  enemies.  King  Ro- 
derick and  O'Ruarc,  whom  surprise  and  alarm 
seem  to  have  deprived  at  first  of  the  power  of 
action.  But  news  was  now  brought  that  the 
monarch  was  levying  an  army,  and  that  the 
princes  and  nobility  of  the  land  were,  at  his  call, 
about  to  meet  in  a  great  council  at  the  ancient 
royal  seat  of  Tara,  in  Meath.  On  receiving  this 
intelligence, MacMurrogh  and  his  English  friends, 
withdrawing  from  Ossory,  took  up  a  position  of 
great  natui-al  strength  in  the  midst  of  the  hills 
and  bogs  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ferns.  Their 
small  force  was  speedily  surrounded  by  the  nume- 
rous ai-my  of  King  Roderick,  and  it  would  seem 
that,  if  they  could  not  have  been  attacked  in 
their  stronghold,  they  might  have  been  starved 
into  a  sm-reuder,  at  no  great  expense  of  patience. 
But,  notwithstanding  the  inferiority  of  their 
numbers,  Roderick  appears  to  have  been  a  good 
deal  more  afraid  of  them  than  they  were  of  him; 
disunion  had  broken  out  in  the  council,  which, 
after  assembling  at  Tara,  had  adjourned  to  Dub- 
lin; and  the  Irish  king  had  probably  reason  to 
fear  that,  if  he  could  not  bring  the  affair  to  a 
speedy  termination,  he  would  soon  be  left  in  no 
condition  to  keep  the  field  at  all. 

In  this  feeling  he  attempted,  by  presents  and 
promises,  to  seduce  Fitz-Stephen;  failing  in  that, 
he  next  tried  to  persuade  MacMm-rogh  to  come 
over  and  make  common  cause  with  his  country- 
men against  the  foreigners;  at  last,  when  there 


was  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  enemy,  encou- 
raged by  these  manifestations  of  timidity,  were 
about  to  come  out  and  attack  liim,  he  actually 
sent  messengers  to  sue  for  peace;  on  which,  after 
some  negotiation,  it  was  agreed  that  MacMurrogh 
should  be  reinstated  in  his  kingdom. 

It  does  not  appear  what  terms  MacMurrogh 
professed  to  make  in  liis  treaty  for  his  English 
allies.  It  is  affirmed,  that  it  was  agreed  between 
him  and  Roderick,  that  he  should  send  them  all 
home  as  soon  as  he  had  restored  his  kingdom  to 
order,  and  in  the  meantime  should  pi-ocure  no 
more  of  them  to  come  over.  But  other  forces 
were  already  on  their  way  from  England,  and 
those  in  Ii-eland  looked  to  remain  there.  This 
was  soon  proved  by  the  an-ival  at  Wexford  of 
two  more  ships,  bringing  over  Maurice  Fitz-Ge- 
rald,  with  an  additional  force  of  ten  gentlemen, 
thirty  horsemen,  and  about  100  archers  and  foot 
soldiers.  On  receiving  this  accession  of  strength, 
MacMurrogh  immediately  cast  his  recent  engage- 
ments aud  oaths  to  the  wands.  His  firet  move- 
ment with  his  new  auxiliaries  was  against  the  city 
of  Dublin,  which  had  not  fully  returned  to  its 
submission :  he  soon  compelled  the  citizens  to  sue 
for  peace,  to  swear  fealty  to  him,  and  to  give 
ho.stages.  He  then  sent  a  party  of  lys  English 
friends  to  assist  his  son-in-law,  the  Prince  of 
Limerick,  whose  territory  had  been  attacked  by 
King  Roderick.  The  royal  forces  were  speedily 
defeated. 

From  this  time  MacMurrogb  and  the  English 
adventurers  seem  to  have  raised  their  hopes  to 
nothing  short  of  the  conquest  of  the  whole  coun- 
try. By  their  advice,  he  despatched  messengers 
to  England  to  urge  the  Earl  of  Pembroke  to  come 
over  with  his  force  immediately.  All  Leinster, 
he  said,  was  completely  reduced,  and  there  could 
be  no  doubt  that  the  eai-l's  presence,  with  the 
force  he  had  engaged  to  bring  with  him,  would 
soon  add  the  other  provinces  to  that  conquest. 

Strongbow  deemed  it  prudent,  before  he  took 
any  decided  step,  to  inform  King  Henry  of  the 
proposal,  and  obtain  the  royal  sanction  to  com- 
ply \vith  it.  Henry,  with  his  usual  deep  policy, 
would  only  answer  his  request  evasively;  but  the 
earl  ventm-ed  to  understand  him  in  a  favom-able 
sense,  and  returned  home  with  his  mind  made  u]) 
for  the  venture.  As  soon  as  the  winter  was  over, 
he  sent  to  Ireland,  as  the  first  portion  of  his  force, 
ten  gentlemen  and  seventy  archers,  under  the 
command  of  his  i-elatious,  Raymond  Fitz- William, 
sm-named,  from  his  corpulency,  Le  Gros,  or  the 
Gross,  afterwards  altered  into  the  Anglo- Irish 
name  of  Grace.  He  and  his  company  landed  at 
a  I'ock  about  four  miles  east  from  the  city  of 
Waterford,  then  called  Dundonolf,  afterwai-da 
the  site  of  the  castle  of  Diindorogh,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  May,  1170.     They  had  sciu'cely  time  to 


A.D.  10C4— 1189.] 


nENRY  n. 


273 


cast  a  tvoncli  and  to  build  themselves  a  tempo- 
rary fort  of  turf  and  twigs,  when  they  were  at- 
tacked by  a  body  of  3000  of  the  people  of  Water- 
ford;  but  this  mob  were  scattered  with  frightful 
slaughter.  Five  hundred  of  them  wei-e  cut  down 
in  the  pursuit;  and  then,  as  Girahlus  asserts,  the 
"  victors,  being  weary  with  killing,  cast  a  great 
number  of  those  whom  they  had  taken  prisoners 
headlong  from  the  rocks  into  the  seas,  and  so 
drowned  them." 

The  Earl  of  Pembroke  did  not  set  sail  till  the 
beginning  of  Sejatember.  He  then  embarked  at 
Milford  Haven,  with  a  force  of  200  gentlemen, 
and  1000  inferior  fighting  men,  and  on  the  vigil 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  landed  in  the  ueighbom-hood 
of  the  city  of  Waterford,  which  still  remained 
unreduced.  On  the  following  day,  Raymond  le 
Gros  came  with  gi-eat  joy  to  welcome  him,  at- 
tended by  forty  of  his  company.  "  And  on  the 
morrow,  upon  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  being 
Tuesday,  they  displayed  their  bannera,  and  in 
good  array  they  marched  to  the  walls  of  the  city, 
being  fully  bent  and  determined  to  give  the  as- 
sault." The  citizens,  however,  defended  them- 
selves with  gi-eat  spirit;  and  the  assailants  were 


Eegih\u>  3  on  THE  Ring  Totter,  Waterfoid  * — From  the  Pictoi'esque  AJmuaJ 

tmce  driven  back  from  the  w;Jls.  But  Ray- 
mond, who,  by  the  consent  of  all,  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  command,  now  "  having  espied  a 
little  house  of  timber,  standing  half  upon  posts 
without  the  walls,  called  his  men  together,  and 
encouraged  them  to  give  a  new  assault  at  that 
place;  and  having  hewed  down  the  posts  where- 
upon the  house  stood,  the  same  fell  down,  to- 


'  The  Irish  name  of  this  tower  is  Dundery,  or  the  King's  Fort. 
Its  history  is  brieBy  recorded  in  the  following  inscription  placed 
over  the  doorway  : — ■'  In  the  year  1003,  this  Tower  was  erected 
by  Reginald  the  Dane— in  1171,  was  held  as  a  fortress  by  Strong- 
bow,  Earl  of  Pembroiie— in  1463,  by  statute  3d  of  Edward  IV.,  a 
mint  was  established  here— in  ISl'J,  it  was  re-edified  in  its  ori- 
ginal form,  and  appropriated  to  the  police  establishment  by 
the  corporate  body  of  the  city  of  Waterford." 

Vol.  I. 


gether  with  a  piece  of  the  town  wall;  and  then, 
a  way  being  thus  opened,  they  entered  into  the 
city,  and  killed  the  iieojile  in  the  streets  without 
pity  or  mercy,  leaving  them  lying  in  great  heaps; 
and  thus,  with  bloody  hands,  they  obtained  a 
bloody  victory."  MacMurrogh  arrived  along  with 
Fitz-Gerald  and  Fitz-Stejjhen  while  the  work  of 
plunder  and  carnage  was  still  proceeding;  and  it 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  desolation  which  fol- 
lowed the  sacking  of  the  miserable  city,  that, 
in  fulfilment  of  his  compact  with  Strongbow,  the 
maiTiage  ceremony  was  solemnized  between  his 
daughter  Eva  and  that  nobleman. 

Immediately  after  this  they  again  spread  their 
banners,  and  set  out  on  their  march  for  Dublin. 
The  inhabitants  of  that  city,  who  were  mostly 
of  Danish  race,  had  taken  the  precaution  of 
stationing  troojjs  at  different  points  along  the 
common  road  from  Waterford ;  but  INIacMur- 
rogh  led  liis  followers  by  another  way  among 
the  mountains,  and,  to  the  coustemation  of  the 
citizens,  made  his  appearance  befoi-e  the  walls 
ere  they  were  aware  that  he  had  left  Water- 
ford. A  negotiation  was  attempted,  but,  while  it 
was  still  going  on,  Raymond  and  his  friend,  Miles 
or  ililo  de  Cogan,  ''  more  wil- 
-___^_^*^  -  ling  to  purchase  honour  in  the 

>5?*^S^*f  V-  wars  than   gain   it  in  peace, 

with  a  company  of  lusty  young 
gentlemen,  suddenly  ran  to  the 
walls,  and,  giving  the  assault, 
brake  in,  entered  the  city,  and 
obtained  the  victory,  making 
no  small  slaughter  of  their 
enemies."  Leaving  Dublin  in 
charge  of  IMilo  de  Cogan, 
Strongbow  next  proceeded,  on 
the  instigation  of  MacMm-- 
rogh,  to  invade  the  district  of 
r  ileath,  anciently  considered 
the  fifth  province  of  Ireland, 
and  set  apart  as  the  peculiar- 
territory  of  the  supreme  sove- 
reign, but  which  King  Rode- 
rick had  lately  made  over  to  his  friend  O'Ruarc. 
Tlie  Anglo-Norman  chief,  although  he  seems  to 
have  met  with  no  resistance  from  the  inhabitants, 
now  laid  it  waste  from  one  end  to  the  other.  While 
all  this  was  going  on,  the  only  effort  in  behalf 
of  his  crown  or  his  country  that  Roderick  is  re- 
corded to  have  made,  was  the  sending  a  rhetorical 
message  to  ISIacMurrogh,  commanding  him  to  re- 
tiu-n  to  his  allegiance  and  dismiss  Ids  foreio'n 
allies,  if  he  did  not  wish  that  the  life  of  his  son, 
whom  he  had  left  in  pledge,  should  be  sacrificed. 
To  this  threat  MacMurrogh  at  once  replied  that 
he  never  would  desist  from  his  enterprise  until 
he  had  not  only  subdued  all  Connaught,  but  won 
to  himself  the  monarchy  of  all  Irekuid.  Infu- 
35 


274 


HISTORY  Of  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Military. 


riated  by  Ibis  defiance,  the  other  savage  instantly 
gave  orders  to  cut  off  MacjMurrogh's  son's  head. 

But  now  the  adventurers  were  struck  on  a  sud- 
den with  no  little  perplexity  by  the  arrival  of  a 
proclamation  from  King  Henry,  prohibiting  the 
passing  of  any  more  ships  from  any  port  in  Eng- 
land to  Ii-eland,  and  commanding  all  his  subjects 
now  in  the  latter  country  to  return  from  thence 
before  Easter,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  all  their  lands 
and  being  for  ever  banished  from  the  realm.  A 
consultation  being  held  in  this  emergency,  it  was 
resolved  that  Raymond  le  Gros  should  be  des- 
patched to  the  king,  who  was  in  Aquitaine,  with 
letters  from  Strongbow  reminding  Henry  that 
he  had  taken  up  the  cause  of  Dermond  MacMur- 
rogh  (as  he  conceived)  with  the  royal  permission; 
and  acknowledging  for  himself  and  his  com- 
panions, that  whatever  they  had  acquired  in  Ire- 
land, either  by  gift  or  otherwise,  they  considered 
not  their  own,  but  as  held  for  him  then-' liege 
lord,  and  as  being  at  his  absolute  disposal.  The 
immediate  effect  of  the  proclamation  was  to  deal 
a  hea^'j  blow  at  their  cause,  by  the  discourage- 
ment it  spread  among  their  adherents,  and  by 
cutting  off  tlie  supplies  both  of  men  and  victuals 
they  had  counted  upon  receiving  from  England. 

Things  were  in  this  state  when  a  new  enemy 
suddenly  appeared — a  body  of  Danes  and  Nor- 
wegians brought  to  attack  the  city  of  Dublin  by 
its  former  Danish  ruler,  who  had  made  his  escape 
when  it  was  lately  taken,  and  had  been  actively 
employed  ever  since  in  preparing  and  fitting  out 
this  armament.  They  came  in  sixty  ships,  and 
as  soon  as  they  had  landed  proceeded  to  the 
assault.  "  They  were  all  mighty  men  of  war," 
says  the  description  of  them  in  Giraldus,  "  and 
well  appointed  after  the  Danish  manner."  The 
attack  was  made  upon  the  east  gate  of  the  city, 
and  Milo  de  Cogan  soon  found  that  the  small 
force  under  his  command  could  make  no  effective 
resistance.  But  the  good  fortune  that  had  all 
along  waited  upon  him  and  his  associates  was 
still  true  to  them.  His  brother,  seeing  how  he 
was  pressed,  led  out  a  few  men  by  the  south 
gate,  and  attacking  tlie  assailants  from  behind, 
spread  such  confusion  tlu'ough  their  ranks,  that 
after  a  short  effort  to  recover  themselves,  they 
gave  way  to  then-  panic  and  took  to  flight.  Gre.at 
numbers  of  them  were  slain,  and  their  leader 
himself,  being  taken  prisoner,  so  exasperated  the 
Anglo-Norman  commander  when  he  was  brought 
into  his  pi-esence,  that  Milo  de  Cogan  ordered  his 
head  to  be  struck  off  on  the  spot. 

It  would  appear  to  have  been  not  long  after 
this  that  Dermond  MacMuiTogh  died,  on  which 
it  is  said  that  Strongbow  took  the  title  and  as- 
sumed the  authority  of  King  of  Leinster  in  right 
of  his  wife.  Raymond  le  Gros  had  now  also  re- 
turned from  Aquitaine ;    he  had    delivered  the 


letter  with  which  he  was  charged,  but  Henry 
had  sent  no  answer,  and  had  not  even  admitted 
him  to  his  presence.  Meanwhile,  on  the  side  of 
the  Irish,  there  was  one  individual,  Laurence, 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  who  saw  that  the  moment 
was  favourable  for  yet  another  effoi-t  to  save  the 
country.  Chiefly  by  his  exertions,  a  great  con- 
federacy was  formed  of  all  the  native  princes, 
together  with  those  of  Man  and  the  other  sur- 
rounding island.s,  and  a  force  was  assembled 
ai-ound  Didjlin,  witli  King  Roderick  as  its  com- 
mander-in-chief, of  the  amount,  it  is  affirmed, 
of  30,000  men.  Strongbow  and  Raymond,  and 
Maurice  Fitz-Gerald  had  all  thrown  themselves 
into  the  city,  but  their  united  forces  did  not 
make  twice  as  many  hundreds  as  the  enemy 
numbered  thousands.  For  the  space  of  two 
months,  however,  the  investing  force  appears  to 
have  sat  stiU  in  patient  expectation.  Their  hope 
was,  that  want  of  victuals  would  compel  the  gai-ri- 
son  to  surrender ;  and  at  length  a  message  came 
from  Strongbow,  and  a  negotiation  was  opened; 
but  before  any  arrangement  was  concluded,  an 
extraordinai-y  turn  of  fortune  suddenly  changed 
the  whole  jjosition  of  affau-s.  While  the  besieged 
were  anxiously  deliberating  on  what  it  woidd  be 
best  for  them  to  do,  Donald  Kavenagh,  a  son  of 
the  late  King  MacMurrogh,  contrived  to  make 
his  way  into  the  city,  and  informed  them  that 
their  friend,  Fitz-Steplien,  was  besieged  by  the 
people  of  Wexford  in  his  castle  of  Carrig,  near 
that  place,  and  that,  if  not  relieved  within  a  few 
days,  he  would  assuredly,  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, and  the  few  men  who  were  with  him,  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Fitz-Gerald  pro- 
posed, and  Ra3'mond  seconded  the  gallant  coun- 
sel, that,  rather  than  seek  to  jn'eserve  their  lives 
with  the  loss  of  all  besides,  they  .should  make  a 
bold  attempt  to  cut  their  way  to  their  distressed 
comi-ades,  and,  at  the  worst,  die  like  soldiers  and 
knights.  The  animating  appeal  nerved  every 
heart.  With  aU  speed  each  man  got  ready  and 
buckled  on  his  armour,  and  the  little  band  was 
soon  set  in  array  in  three  divisions.  All  things 
bemg  thus  arranged,  about  the  horn-  of  nine  in 
the  morning,  they  suddenly  rushed  forth  from 
one  of  the  gates,  and  threw  themselves  upon  the 
vast  thi'ong  of  the  enemy,  whom  their  sudden 
onset  so  bewildered  and  confounded,  that,  while 
many  were  killed  or  tlirown  to  the  ground,  the 
bold  assailants  scarcely  encountered  any  resist- 
ance, and  in  a  short  time  the  scattered  host  was 
flying  before  them  in  all  directions.  King  Ro- 
derick himself  escaped  with  difficult}',  and  almost 
undi'essed,  for  he  had  been  regaling  himself  with 
the  luxm-y  of  a  bath.  Great  store  of  victuals, 
armour,  and  other  spoils  was  found  in  the  de- 
serted camp,  with  which  the  victors  returned  at 
night  to  the  city,  and  there  set  everything  in 


A.D.  10G4— 11S9.] 


UENUY  II. 


275 


order,  and  left  a  garrison  well  prov 
necessaries,  before  setting  out  the  next  morning 
to  the  relief  of  theii-  frieads  at  Wexford. 


%^ 


tn'it»ttif-'.u**> 


Site  of  Carrick  or  Carrig  Castle,  near  Wexford.* — From  Hall's  Ireland, 

The  earl  and  his  company  marched  on  unop- 
posed till  they  came  to  a  narrow  pass  in  the  midst 
of  bogs,  in  a  district  called  the  Odrone  or  Idi-one. 
Here  they  found  the  way  T>locked  up  by  a  nume- 
rous force,  but  after  a  sharp  action,  in  which  the 
Irish  leader  fell,  they  succeeded  in  overcoming 
this  hinderance,  and  were  enabled  to  pursue  their 
joiu-ney.  They  had  neai'ly  reached  Wexford 
when  intelligence  was  received  that  Fitz-Stephen 
and  his  companions  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  After  standing  out  for  several  days 
against  the  repeated  attacks  of  3000  men,  he  and 
those  with  hira,  consisting  of  only  five  gentlemen 
and  a  few  archers,  had  been  induced  to  deliver 
up  the  fort,  on  receiving  an  assurance,  solemnly 
confirmed  by  the  oaths  of  the  Bishops  of  Kildare 
and  Wexford,  and  others  of  the  clergy,  that  Dub- 
lin had  fallen,  and  that  the  earl,  with  all  the  rest 
of  their  friends  there,  were  Idlled.  They  promised 
Fitz-Stephen  that,  if  he  would  sm-render,  they 
would  conduct  him  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  se- 
cure him  and  his  men  from  the  vengeance  of 
King  Roderick.  But  as  soon  as  they  had  got 
possession  of  their  persons,  "  some,"  according  to 
Gh-aldus,  "they  killed,  some  they  beat,  some  they 
wounded,  and  some  they  cast  into  prison."    Fitz- 


I  "  A  little  further  on  and  we  arrive  at  a  most  interesting  relic 
of  ancient  days — the  site  of  CaiTick  Cattle,  the  first  castle  that 
wa3  built  by  the  Anglo- Xonnans  in  Ireland — not  the  small  an- 
tique tower  which,  situated  on  the  pinnacle  of  a  rock,  foi-ms  one 
of  the  most  strikingly  picturesque  objects  in  the  kingdom,  and 
which  has  long  usurped  the  name  and  '  honoui-s'  of  the  fortress 
of  Fitz-Stephen.  The  true  castle  of  the  first  Anglo-Norman 
'adventurer  and  conqueror' — was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
fiver,  a  stately  pile  that  cro^vned  the  summit  of  a  nigged  hill, 
barely  enough  of  which  now  remains  to  mark  the  space  it  occu- 
pied— fur  the  plough  has  passed  over  nearly  the  whole  of  it." — 
Hall's  Irelaiul. 


.•ided  with  all  !  Stephen  himself  they  carried  away  wilh  them  to 
an  island  called  Bcg-Eri,  or  Little  Erin,  lying  not 
f;u-  from  Wexford,  having  fled  thither,  after  set- 
ting tliat  town  ou  fire,  when 
they  he;u'd  that  Strongbow 
had  got  out  of  Dublin,  and 
was  on  his  raai'ch  to  their  dis- 
trict. They  now  sent  to  in- 
form the  earl  that,  if  he  con- 
tinued his  approach,  they 
would  cut  off  the  heads  of 
Fitz-Stephen  and  his  com- 
panions. DcteiTcd  by  this 
threat,  Strongbow  deemed  it 
best  to  turn  aside  from  Wex- 
ford, and  to  take  his  way  to 
Waterford. 

Meanwhile,  it  had  been  de- 
termined to  make  another  ap- 
plication to  Henry;  and  Her- 
vey  of  Mountmaurice  had  been 
despatched  to  England  for 
that  purpose.  On  reaching 
Waterford,  Strongbow  found  Hervey  there,  just 
returned,  with  the  king's  commands  that  the  earl 
should  repair  to  him  without  delay.  He  and 
Hervey  accordingly  took  ship.  As  soon  as  they 
landed,  they  proceeded  to  where  Henry  was,  at 
Ne^vnham,  in  Gloucestershire.  He  had  returned 
from  the  Continent  about  two  months  before,  and 
had  ever  since  been  actively  employed  in  collect- 
ing and  equipping  an  army  and  fleet,  and  making 
other  preparations  for  passing  over  into  Ireland. 
When  Strongbow  jiresented  himself,  he  at  first 
refused  to  see  him;  but  after  a  short  time  he  con- 
sented to  receive  his  offei'S  of  entire  submission. 
It  was  agi-eed  that  the  earl  should  suiTcnder  to  the 
king,  in  full  possession,  the  city  of  Dublin,  and  all 
other  towns  and  forts  which  he  held  along  the 
coast  of  Ireland;  on  which  condition  he  should 
be  allowed  to  retain  the  rest  of  his  acquisitions 
under  subjection  to  the  English  crown.  This 
arrangement  being  concluded,  the  king,  attended 
by  Strongbow  and  other  lords,  embai-ked  at  Mil- 
ford.  His  force  consisted  of  500  knights  or 
gentlemen,  and  about  4000  common  soldiers.  Ho 
lauded  at  a  place  now  called  the  Crook,  near 
Waterford,  ou  the  18th  of  October,  1171. 

In  the  short  interval  that  had  elajised  since 
the  departm-e  of  Strongbow,  another  attack  had 
been  made  upon  Dublin  by  Tieruan  O'lluare;  but 
the  forces  of  the  Ii-ish  prince  were  dispersed  with 
great  slaughter  in  a  sudden  sally  by  Milo  de 
Cogan.  This  proved  the  last  efibrt,  for  the  pre- 
sent, of  Irish  independence.  When  the  English 
king  made  his  appearance  in  the  country,  he 
foimd  its  conquest  already  achieved,  and  nothing 
remaining  for  him  to  do  except  to  receive  the 
eagerly-oflered  submission  of  its  various  princes 


27(5 


HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 


[Civil  asd  Miutaky. 


and  chieftains.  Tlie  fii-st  that  presented  them- 
selves were  the  citizens  of  Wexford,  wlio  had  so 
treacherously  obt;uncd  ])ossession  of  the  person 
of  Fitz-Stephen ;  .and  they  endeavoured  to  make  a 
merit  of  this  discreditable  exploit — bringing  tlieir 
prisoner  along  with  them  as  a  rebellious  subject, 
whom  thuy  had  seized  while  engaged  in  making 
war  Avithout  the  consent  of  his  sovereign.  Before 
Henry  removed  from  Waterford,  the  King  of 
Cork,  or  Desmond,  came  to  him  of  his  own  accord, 
and  took  his  oath  of  fealty.  From  "Waterford  he 
proceeded  with  his  army  to  Lismore,  and  thence 
to  Cashel,  near  to  which  city,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Suir,  he  received  tlie  homage  of  the  other  chief 


Cashzl.'— Drairn  by  J.  S.  Prout,  from  his  sketch  on  the  bpoi. 

Munster  prince,  the  King  of  Thomond  or  Lime- 
rick. The  Prince  of  Ossoiy,  and  the  other  in- 
ferior chiefs  of  Munster,  hastened  to  follow  the 
example  of  their  betters;  and  Henry,  after  receiv- 
ing then-  submission,  and  leaving  gai-i-isons  both 
in  Cork  and  Limerick,  retm-ned  through  Tippe- 
rary  to  Waterford.  Soon  after,  leaving  Robert 
Fitz-Bei-nard  in  command  there,  he  set  out  for 
Dublin.  Wherever  he  stopped  on  his  march,  the 
neighbouring  princes  and  chiefs  i-epaired  to  him, 
and  acknowledged  themselves  his  vassals.  Among 
them  was  Tieman   O'Ruare.     "But  Roderick, 


'  On  the  rock  of  Cruihel,  which  rises  boldly  from  a  fei-tUe 
plain,  formerly  was  Bitu,ated  the  residence  of  the  Kings  of  Mun- 
ster. Hero,  in  10G6,  we  ,ire  informed  by  Sir  James  Ware  (Ware's 
works!,  that  he  has  seen  the  stone  on  which  those  reguli  were 
inaugurated,  and  where  tliey  are  said  to  have  received  their 
subordinate  toparchs.  The  tomi,  now  much  decayed,  is  chiefly 
phlnted  roimd  the  southern  and  eastern  sides  of  a  mass  of  lime- 
stone. .4.  remarkable  stone-roofed  chapel,  and  a  round  tower 
adjoining,  are  ascribed  to  Cormac,  son  of  Cullenan,  King  of 
Munster  and  Bishop  of  Cashel,  about  the  beginning  of  the  tenth 
century,  whose  ancestor,  Angus,  was  a  disciple  of  the  famous 
Patric  at  the  period  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ire- 
land i  but  the  chapel  is  considered,  upon  better  authority,  to 


the  monarch,''  it  is  added,  "  came  no  nearer  than 
to  the  side  of  the  river  Shamion,  which  divideth 
Connaught  from  Meath,  and  there  Hugh  de  Lacy 
and  William  Fitz-Aldelm,  by  the  king's  command- 
ment, met  him,  who,  desh'ing  peace,  submitted 
himself,  swore  allegiance,  became  tributary,  and 
did  put  in  (as  all  others  did)  hostages  and  pledges 
for  the  keeping  of  the  same.     Thus  was  all  Ire- 
land,  saving    Ulster,   brought    in    subjection." 
After  this,  Henry  kept  his  Christmas  in  Dublin, 
the  feast  being  held  in  a  temporary  erection,  con- 
structed, after  the  Irish  fashion,  of  wicker  work, 
while  the  L-ish  princes,  his  guests,  were  aston- 
ished at  the  sumptuousness  of  the  entertainment. 
Hemy  remained  in  Ireland 
for  some  months  longer,  and 
during  his  stay,  called  toge- 
ther a  council  of  the  clergy  at 
Cashel,  at  which  a  number  of 
constitutions  or  decrees  were 
passed  for  the   regulation  of 
the  chm-ch,  and  the  reform  of 
the  ecclesiastical  discipline,  in 
regard  to  certain  points  where 
its  laxity  had   long   afl'orded 
^^  matter  of  complaint   and   re- 

proach.     He  is  also  said,  by 
Matthew  Paris,  to  have  held 
a  lay  council  at   Lismore,   at 
which  provision  was  made  for 
the  exteusion  to  Ireland  of  the 
English  laws.  Henry  employed 
aU  his  arts  of  policy  to  attach 
Raymond    le   Gros,   and    the 
other  principal  English  adven- 
turers settled  in  Ireland,  to  his 
interest,  that  he  might  thereby  the  more  weaken 
the  Earl  of  Pembroke  and   strengthen  himself. 
At  last,  about  the  middle  of  Lent,  ships  arrived 
both  from  England  and  Aquitaine,  and  brought 
such  tidings  as  determined  the  king  to  lose  no 
time  in  again  taking  his  way  across  the  sea.     So, 
having  appointed  Hugh  de  Lacy  to  be  governor 
of  Dublin,  and,  as  such,  his  chief  representative 
in  his  realm  of  Ii-eland,  he  set  sail  fi-om  Wexford 
at  sunrise  on  Easter  Monday,  the  17th  of  April, 
1172,  and  about  noon  of  the  same  day,  landed  at 
Portfiiman,  in  Wales. 


have  been  founded  by  Cormac  MacCarthy,  King  of  Munster  and 
Bishop  of  Cashel,  in  the  eleveath  century.  Both  the  chapel  ai.d 
the  round  tower  were  evidently  erected  prior  to  the  foimdation 
of  the  cathedral,  which  wai  built  by  Donald  O'Brien,  King  of 
Limerick,  immediately  before  the  arrival  of  the  English,  towL-ds 
the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  centmy.  The  cathedral  is  cruci- 
form, the  choir  and  southern  transept  embracing  Cormac's 
chapel  on  two  sides.  The  abbey  of  the  rock  of  Cashel,  of  which 
some  remains  still  exist,  was  founded  by  David  MatCarweU 
about  1260.  A  wall,  intended  for  defence,  surroimds  the  plat- 
form on  which  the  nuns  stand.  Some  of  the  bastions  belong- 
ing to  tliis  waU  were  standing  at  the  beguming  of  the  present 
century. 


A.D.  1064 


-1180.' 


IIENUY   II. 


277 


It  ia  probable  that  Henry's  very  imperfect 
occupation  of  Ii'clauil  did  not  greatly  increase 
his  resoiu'ces,  but  it  added  to  his  reputation  both 
in  England  and  on  the  (Continent.  The  envy  that 
accompanied  his  successes,  and  the  old  jealousy 
of  his  power,  might  have  failed  to  do  him  any 
serious  injury,  or  touch  any  sensitive  i)art,  but 
for  the  dissensions  existing  in  liis  own  family. 
At  this  period  the  king  had  four  sons  living — ■ 
Heni-y,  Kichard,  Geo&ey,  and  John — of  the  re- 
spective ages  of  eighteen,  sixteen,  fifteen,  and  five 
years.  He  had  been  an  indulgent  father,  and 
had  made  a  splendid,  and  what  he  considered  a 
judicious  provision,  for  them  all.  His 
eldest  son  was  to  succeed,  not  only  to 
England,  but  to  Normandy,  Anjou, 
Maine,  and  Touraiue;  Eichaj-d  was 
invested  with  the  states  of  his 
mother,  Aquitaine  and  Poictou ;  Geof- 
frey was  to  have  Brittany,  in  right  of 
his  wife,  the  daughter  of  Conan ;  and 
Ireland  was  destined  to  be  the  ap- 
panage of  John. 

At  the  coronation  of  Prince  Henry 
by  the  Archbishop  of  York,  w-hich 
had  ah-eady  occasioned  much  trouble, 
his  consort,  the  daughter  of  the 
French  king,  was  not  allowed  to  be 
crowned  with  him;  and  this  omission 
being  resented  by  Louis,  led  to  fresh 
quai-rels.  The  king  at  last  consented 
that  the  ceremony  should  be  repeated ; 
and  Margaret  was  then  crowned  as 
well  as  her  husband.  Soon  after  this, 
the  yoimg  couple  visited  the  French 
com-t,  where  Louis  stimulated  the 
impatient  ambition  of  his  youthful 
son-in-law,  and  incited  him  to  an 
unnatural  rebellion  against  his  own 
father.  It  had  been  the  practice  in 
France,  ever  since  the  estalvlishmont 
of  the  Capetian  dynasty,  to  crown  the 
eldest  son  during  the  father's  life- 
time, without  giving  him  any  present 
share  of  the  territories  or  government; 
but  young  Hemy  was  persuaded  by 


niandy.  Henry  rejected  this  strange  demand, 
telling  the  youth  to  have  patience  till  his  deatli, 
when  he  would  have  states  and  power  enough. 
Ilis  son  expressed  astonishment  at  the  refusal, 
used  very  undutiful  language,  and  never  more 
exchanged  words  of  real  love  or  sincere  jieace 
with  his  parent.  The  vindictive  Eleanor  gave 
encouragement  to  her  son,  and  fomented  his  hor- 
rible hatred;  and  the  "elder  king,"'  as  Henry 
was  now  called,  was  punished  for  the  infidelities 
which  had  long  since  alienated  the  allections  of 
his  wife.  Being  at  Limoges,  Raymond,  the  Karl 
of  Toidouse,  who  had  quarrelled  with  the  King 
of  France,  and  renounced  his  alle- 
giance, went  suddenly  to  Henry,  and 
warned  him  to  have  an  eye  on  his 
wife  and  son,  and  make  sure  of  the 
castles  of  Poictou  and  Aquitaine. 
Without  showing  his  suspicions  to 
5'oung  Henry,  who  was  with  him,  the 
king  contrived  to  provision  his  for- 
tresses, and  assure  himself  of  the 
fidelity  of  the  commanders.  On  their 
l^turn  from  Aquitaine,  he  and  his 
son  stopped  to  sleep  at  the  town  of 
Ohinon;  and  during  the  night  the  son 
fled.  The  father  jiursued,  but  could 
not  overtake  the  fugitive,  who  reached 
Argenton,and  thence  passed  by  night 
into  the  territories  of  the  French 
king. 

,  ,         A  few  davs 
A.D.  11-3  (March),    ^^er  the  flight 

of  Henry,  his  brothers,  Richai'd  and 
Geoftrev,  also  fled  to  the  French 
court,  aud  Queen  Eleanor  herself, 
who  had  urged  them  to  the  step, 
absconded  from  her  husband.  Though 
not  for  any  love  that  he  bore  her, 
the  king  was  anxious  to  recover  his 
wife;  aud  at  his  orders  the  Norman 
bishojis  threatened  her  with  the  cen- 
sures of  the  church,  imless  she  re- 
turned and  brought  her  sons  with 
her.  She  was  seized  as  she  was  try- 
ing to  find  her  way  to  the  French 


Louis,  thiit  by  being  crowned,  lie  Eleanor.  Queen  of  ncNTtT  II. '^  com-t  (where  she  must  have  met  her 
obtained  a  right  of  immediate  pai*-  From  the  effigy  at  Fontevraud.  f^j.^^^  husband),  dressed  in  man's 
ticipation;  and,  as  soon  as  he  returned,  he  ex-  'clothes.  Henry,  the  husband  of  her  old  age,  was 
pressed  his  desire  that  the  king,  his  father,  not  so  soft  and  meek  towiirds  her  as  Louis,  the 
would  resi^  to   him  either  England  or  Nor-    consort  of  her  youthful  yeara.     He  committed 


•  Rex  senior. 

2  It  wa3  commonly  understood  that  the  royal  effigies  at 
Fontevraud  were  destroyed  diu'ing  the  French  revolution.  The 
depository  of  our  early  kings  was  found  by  Stothard,  in  the  | 
course  of  his  researches,  in  a  state  of  ruin;  but  proceeding 
further,  ho  found  the  whole  of  the  effigies  in  a  cellai-  of  one  of 
the  buildings  adjoining  the  abbey.  When  the  fury  of  the  Revo- 
lution had  subsided,  they  were  removed  from  the  ruined  church 
to  a  building  called  the  Tour  d'Evraud,  where  they  remained 


for  eighteen  years;  but  this  being  converted  into  a  prison,  they 
were  again  removed  to  the  place  where  they  were  discovered  by 
Stothaid.  The  effigies  are  four  in  number:— Henry  If.,  hia 
queen  Eleanor  de  Guienne,  Richard  I.,  and  Isabel  d'Aiigoul^me, 
the  queen  of  John.  They  have  all  been  i)aiuted  and  gilt  tliroe 
or  four  times;  and  from  the  style  of  the  last  painting,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  it  was  executed  when  the  effigies  were  removed  from 
their  original  situation  in  the  choir. — Stothard's  Monum&Uai 
Ejfigks  of  Great  Britain. 


278 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaht. 


hvv  to  the  custody  of  one  of  liis  most  trustwortliy 
chatelaius;  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  weeks, 
when  her  -presence  was  necessary  for  a  political 
object,  she  was  kept  in  confiuement  for  sixteen 
years,'  and  not  liberated  till  after  his  death.  Be- 
fore matters  came  to  extremities,  Hemy  despatched 
two  bishops  to  the  French  court  to  demand,  in  the 
name  of  paternal  authority,  that  his  fugitive  sons 
should  be  deli\'cred  up  to  him.  Louis  received 
these  ambassadors  in  a  public  manner,  ha\dng  at 
his  right  hand  young  Henry,  who  wore  his  crown 
as  King  of  England;  and  when  they  recapitu- 
lated, as  usual,  the  titles  and  style  of  their  em- 
ployer, they  were  told  that  there  was  no  other 
King  of  England  than  the  one  beside  him.  In 
fact,  j-oung  Hemy  was  recognized  as  sole  King 
of  England  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  barons 
and  bishops  of  the  kingdom  of  Fi-ance.  King 
Louis  swore  fii'st,  and  his  lords  swore  after  him, 
to  aid  and  assist  the  son  with  aU  theii-  might  to 
expel  his  father  from  his  kuigdom;  ;md  then 
young  Hemy  swore  iii'st,  and  his  brothers  swoi-e 
after  him,  in  the  order  of  their  seniority,  that 
they  would  never  conclude  peace  or  truce  with 
their  father  without  the  consent  and  concurrence 
of  the  barons  of  France."  A  gi'eat  seal,  like  that 
of  England,  was  maiiufactiu-ed,  in  order  that 
young  Hemy  might  affix  it  to  his  treaties  and 
charters.  By  the  feast  of  Easter  the  plans  of  the 
rebellious  boy  and  his  confederates  weve  ma- 
tured. The  scheme  was  bold  and  extensive;  the 
confederates  were  numerous,  including,  besides 
the  King  of  France,  whose  reward  was  not  com- 
mitted to  a  written  treaty,  William,  King  of 
Scotland,  who  was  to  receive  aU  that  his  prede- 
cessor had  possessed  in  Northuiaberland  and 
Cumberland,  in  payment  of  his  sendees,  and 
Philip,  Earl  of  Flanders,  who  was  to  have  a 
grant  of  the  eai-ldom  of  Kent,  with  the  castles  of 
Dover  and  Rochester,  for  his  share  in  the  pai-ri- 
cidal  war. 

Like  the  great  Conqixeror  under  similar'  cu-- 
cumstances,  Henry  saw  himself  deserted  even  by 
his  favom-ite  courtiers,  and  by  many  of  the  men 
whom  he  had  taught  the  art  of  war,  and  invested 
with  the  honoui-s  of  chivahy  with  his  own  hands. 
According  to  a  contemporaiy,  it  was  a  painful  and 
desolating  sight  for  him  to  see  those  whom  he 
had  honoured  with  his  confidence,  and  intrusted 
with  the  care  of  his  chamber,  his  person,  his  very 
life,  deserting  him,  one  by  one,  to  join  his  enemies; 
for  neaa-ly  eveiy  night  some  of  them  stole  away, 
and  those  who  had  attended  him  in  the  evening 
did  not  appear  at  his  call  in  the  morning.^  But 
Henry's  strength  of  character  and  consummate 
abilities  were  quite  equal  to  the  difficidties  of  his 
situation,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  gi-eatest  trouble 


'  Hoved.;  It.  Diceto; 
2  Gervase. 


Neub.; 


Script.  Rer.  Franc. 
3  Ibid. 


he  maintained  a  cheerful  couiitenaiice,  and  pur- 
sued his  xisual  amusements,  hunting  and  hawk- 
ing, even  more  than  hia  wont,  and  was  more  gay 
and  aflable  than  ever  towai-ds  the  companions 
that  remained  with  him.*  His  courtiers  and 
knights  might  flee,  but  Hemy  had  a  strong  party, 
and  wise  ministers  and  commanders,  selected  by 
his  sagacity,  in  most  of  his  states,  and  in  Eng- 
land more  than  all;  he  had  also  money  in  abun- 
dance; and  these  circumstances  gave  him  con- 
fidence, without  relaxing  his  precaution  and 
exertions.  Twenty  thousand  Br.aban9ons,  who 
sold  their  services  to  the  best  bidder,  flocked  to 
the  standai'd  of  the  richest  monarch  of  the  west 
of  Europe.  Not  relying  wholly  on  arms,  he  sent 
messengers  to  all  the  neighboui'ing  princes  who 
had  sons,  to  interest  them  in  his  favour;  and,  as 
his  case  might  be  their  own,  should  encourage- 
ment and  success  attend  filial  disobedience,  then- 
sympathy  was  tolerably  complete.  In  adch'ess- 
iugthe  pope,  he  worked  upon  other  feelings;  and 
here  his  present  object  hvirried  him  into  expres- 
sions of  submission  and  vassalage,  which  contri- 
buted no  doubt  to  form  the  gromids  of  f  utui-e  and 
dangerous  pretensions.  He  declai-ed  that  the 
kingdom  of  England  belonged  to  the  jm-isdiction 
of  the  pope,  and  that  he,  as  king  thereof,  was 
bound  to  him  by  all  the  obligations  imposed  by 
the  feudal  law;  and  he  implored  the  pontiff  to 
defend  with  his  spiritual  arms  the  patrimony  of 
St.  Peter.  The  rebellious  son  applied  to  the 
coiu't  of  Rome  as  well  as  his  father;  and  it  may 
be  stated  generally,  that  if  the  pojies  meddled 
largely  with  the  secular  aflau-s  of  princes,  it  was 
not  without  theii'  being  tempted  and  invited  so  to 
do.  The  letter  of  the  "  junior  king,"  as  the  yoimg 
Hemy  was  called,  was  a  composition  of  singulai- 
impudence  and  falsehood.  He  attributed  his 
quarrel  with  his  father  to  the  interest  he  took 
in  the  cause  of  Becket,  and  his  desh-e  of  avenging 
his  death.  "The  villains,"  he  said,  "who  mm-- 
dered  within  the  walls  of  the  temple  my  foster- 
father,  the  glorious  martjT  of  Chi'ist,  St.  Thomas 
of  Canterbury,  remain  safe  and  sound ;  they  still 
strike  their  roots  in  the  earth,  and  no  act  of  royal 
vengeance  has  followed  so  atrocious  and  unheai-d- 
of  a  crime.  I  could  not  sufl'er  this  criminal  ne- 
glect, and  such  was  the  fii-st  and  strongest  cause 
of  the  present  discord;  the  blood  of  the  mai'tyr 
cried  to  me;  I  could  not  render  it  the  vengeance 
and  honom-s'that  were  due  to  him,  but  at  least 
I  showed  my  reverence  in  visiting  the  tomb  of 
the  holy  martyr  in  the  view  and  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  whole  kingdom.  My  father  was 
wrathful  against  me  therefore,  but  I  fear  not 
oflending  my  father  when  the  cause  of  Christ  is 
concerned."^     The  youthful  hypocrite  made  most 


^  noved.;  Mait.  Par.:  Gere.  Vorob. 
*  Scrijit.  Rer.  Fraiic. 


A.D.  10G4-11S9.] 


HENRY  II, 


279 


liberal  offers  to  the  clnirch;  but  the  pope  rejected 
his  application,  and  even  confirmed  the  sentence 
of  exeonimimication  pronounced  by  the  bishops 
of  Normandy  against  the  king's  revolted  subjects. 
At  the  same  time  a  legate  was  despatched  across 
the  Alps  with  the  laudable  object  of  putting  an 
end  to  the  unnatural  quarrel  by  exhortation  and 
friendly  mediation;  but  before  he  arrived,  the 
sword  Wius  drawn  which  it  was  diflicult  to  sheathe; 
for  national  antipathies,  and  jiopular  interests 
and  passions  were  engaged,  that  would  not  follow 
the  uncertain  movements  of  paternal  indulgence, 
on  one  side,  or  fdial  repentance  on  the  other.  In 
the  month  of  June,  the  wai-  began  on  several 
points  at  once.  Philip,  Eai-1  of  Flanders,  entered 
Normandy,  and  gained  considerable  advantages; 
but  his  brother  and  heir  being  killed  at  a  siege, 
he  thought  he  saw  the  hand  of  God  in  the  event, 
and  he  soon  left  the  coimtry,  most  bitterly  re- 
penting having  engaged  in  such  an  impious  war. 
The  King  of  France,  with  his  loving  son-in-law. 
Prince  Henry  of  England,  were  not  more  suc- 
cessful than  the  Earl  of  Flanders,  and  were  first 
checked  and  then  put  to  rapid  flight  by  a  division 
of  the  Brabangons.  Prince  Geoifi-ey,  who  had 
been  joined  by  the  Eiu-l  of  Chester,  was  equally 
unfortunate  in  Brittany,  and  the  cause  of  the 
confederates  was  covered  with  defeat  and  shame. 
King  Louis,  according  to  his  old  custom,  soon 
gi-ew  weary  of  the  w.ar,  and  desired  .an  interview 
with  Henry,  who  condescended  to  gi-ant  it.  This 
conference  of  peace  was  held  on  an  open  plain, 
between  Gisors  and  Trie,  under  a  venerable  elm 
of  "  most  grateful  aspect,"  the  branches  of  which 
descended  to  the  earth,'  the  centre  of  the  primi- 
tive scene  where  the  French  kings  and  the  Nor- 
man dukes  had  been  accustomed  for  some  gene- 
rations to  hold  their  parleys  for  truce  or  peace. 

Instead  of  leading  to  peace,  the  present  con- 
ference embittered  the  war,  and  ended  in  a  dis- 
gi-aceful  exhiljition  of  violence.  The  Earl  of 
Leicester,  who  attended  with  the  princes,  insidted 
Henry  to  his  face,  and,  drawing  his  sword,  woidd 
have  killed  or  wounded  his  king  had  he  not  been 
forcibly  prevented.  Hostilities  commenced  forth- 
with; but  when  Louis  was  a  principal  in  a  war 
against  Henry,  it  was  seldom  prosecuted  with 
any  vigour,  and  the  rest  of  that  year  was  spent 
on  the  Continent  in  insignificant  operations.  In 
England,  however,  some  important  events  took 
place;  for  Richard  de  Lucy  repulsed  the  Scots, 
who  had  begun  to  make  jncm'sions,  burned  their 
town  of  Ber^vick,  ravaged  the  Lothians,  and, 
on  his  return  from  this  victorious  expedition, 
defeated  and  took  prisoner  the  gi-eat  Earl  of 
Leicester,  who  had  recrossed  the  Channel,  and, 
in   alliance   with  Bigod,   Earl   of   Norfolk,  was 

'  Ulmiis  erat  visu  gratissima,  ramis  ad  terram  rodeuntibus. — 
Script.  Her.  Franc. 


A.D.  1174. 


attempting  to  light  the  flames  of  ciril  war  in  tho 
heart  of  England.  It  is  honourable  alike  to 
Henry  and  his  government  and  the  jieople,  that 
the  insurgents  never  had  a  chance  of  success  in 
England. 

The  allies  now  showed  more  re- 
solution than  during  the  preceding 
ycai-,  and  acted  upon  a  jilan  which  was  well  cal- 
culated to  embarrass  Henry.  Louis,  with  the 
junior  King  of  England,  attacked  the  frontiers  of 
Normandy.  Geoli'rey  tried  his  fortune  again  in 
Brittany.  Prince  Richard,  who  began  his  cele- 
brated warlike  career  by  fighting  against  his  own 
father,  headed  a  formidable  insurrection  in  Poic- 
ton  and  Aquitaine.  Relying  on  the  Norman 
barons  for  the  defence  of  Normandy  and  Brit- 
tany, Henry  m.arehed  against  his  son  Richard, 
and  soon  took  the  town  of  Saintes  and  the  for- 
tress of  Taillebom'g,  drove  the  insurgents  from 
several  other  castles,  and  partially  restored  order 
to  the  country.  Returning  then  towai-ds  Anjou, 
he  devastated  the  frontier  of  Poictou,  and  was 
pi-eparing  to  reduce  the  castles  there,  when  the 
Bishop  of  Winchester  arrived  with  news  which 
rendered  the  king's  jjresence  indispensable  on  the 
other  side  of  the  sea.  The  Scots,  as  had  been 
preconcerted,  were  again  pouring  into  the  north- 
ern counties,  and  had  already  taken  several  towns. 
Roger  de  Mowbray  had  raised  the  standard  of 
revolt  in  Yorkshire;  Earl  Ferrers,  joined  by  Da- 
vid, Earl  of  Huntingdon,  brother  to  the  Scottish 
kuig,  had  done  the  same  in  the  central  counties. 
In  the  east,  Hugh  Bigod,  with  700  knights,  had 
taken  the  castle  of  Norwich;  and  at  the  same 
time  a  formidable  fleet,  prepared  by  his  eldest 
son  and  the  Earl  of  Flanders,  was  ready  on  the 
opposite  coast  to  attempt  a  descent  on  England, 
where  endeavours  were  again  making  to  alienate 
the  alTections  of  the  people  by  the  old  story  of 
the  king  being  guilty  of  Becket's  murder.  The 
bishop  had  scai-cely  finished  his  dismal  news  ere 
the  king,  with  his  com-t,  was  on  horseback  for 
the  coast,  and,  embarking  in  the  midst  of  a  storm, 
he  sailed  for  England,  taking  with  him,  as  pri- 
sonei's,  his  own  wife  Eleanor,  and  his  eldest  son's 
wife  Margaret,  who  had  not  been  able  to  follow 
her  husband  to  the  court  of  her  father.  Although 
he  had  still  maintained  an  outward  appearance 
of  tranquillity,  his  heart  was  aching  at  the  re- 
bellion of  his  children  and  the  treachery  of  his 
friends.  Son-ow  disposes  the  mind  to  devotional 
feelings,  and  Henry's  liigh  powera  of  intellect 
did  not  exempt  him  from  the  superstition  of  the 
times.  Some  sincerity  may  possibly  have  min- 
gled in  the  feelings  and  motives  that  dictated 
the  extraordinaiy  course  he  now  pursued,  though, 
seeing  the  political  expediency  of  resorting  to  a 
striking  measure  to  remove  all  doidits  from  the 
people,  and  bring  their  devotional  feelings  to  his 


280 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[UlVIL  AND  MiLlTABr. 


8ide,  we  would  not  venture  to  affirm  that  this 
sincerity  was  very  great,  or  was  the  sole  motive 
of  his  conduct.  All  attempts  to  depress  the  fame 
of  Becket  had  failed — the  pope  had  recently  in- 
scribed his  name  in  the  list  of  saints  and  mai-tyrs 
— the  miracles  said  to  be  worked  over  his  fester- 
ing body  were  now  recognized  by  bishojjs  and 
priests,  and  reported  with  amplifications  which 
grew  in  proportion  to  their  distance  from  the 
spot,  by  the  credulous  multitude.  The  English 
had  not  had  a  native  saint  for  a  long  time,  and 
they  determined  to  make  the  most  of  him.  It 
was  on  the  8th  of  July  that  Henry  landed  at 
Southamjjton.  He  had  scarcely  set  foot  on  shore, 
when,  without  waiting  to  refresh  himself  after 
the  fatigiies  and  discomforts  of  a  rough  sea  voy- 
age, he  mounted  his  horse  and  took  the  neai'est 
road  to  Canterbury,  performing  his  pilgrimage 
in  a  manner  far  from  being  so  agi-eeable  as  those 
jocund  expeditions  described  by  Chaucer  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  later.  He  took  no  refreshment 
save  bread  and  water,  and  rode  on  his  way  by 
night.  As  the  day  dawned  he  came  in  sight  of 
the  towers  of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  still  at  the 
distance  of  some  miles,  and  instantly  dismount- 
ing from  his  horse,  he  threw  off 
his  royal  dress,  undid  his  san- 
dals, and  walked  the  rest  of  his 
way  barefoot  like  the  veriest 
penitent.  The  roads  were 
rough,  and  as  the  king  passed 
through  the  gateway  of  Canter- 
bury, his  subjectswere  touched 
and  edified  by  the  sight  of  his 
blood,  which  fell  at  every  step 
he  took  from  his  wounded  feet, 
When  he  ai-rived  at  the  cathe- 
dral, he  descended  at  once  intc 
the  crypt,  and,  while  the  bells 
tolled  slowly,  he  threw  himself 
with  sobs  and  tears  upon  the 
grave  of  Becket,  and  there  re- 
mained with  his  face  pressed 
to  the  cold  earth  in  the  pre- 
sence of  many  people  ;  an  atti- 
tude more  affecting  and  con- 
vincing perhaps  than  the  dis- 
course of  the  bishop  overhead. 


ingly  caused,  or  even  f!esired  the  death  of  the 
saint;  but,  as  possibly  the  murderers  took  advan- 
tage of  some  words  imprudently  pronounced,  he 
has  come  to  do  penance  before  the  bishops  hero 
assembled,  and  has  consented  to  submit  his  naked 
flesh  to  the  rods  of  discipline."  The  bishop  con- 
jured the  people  to  believe  the  assertions  of  then- 
king;  and,  as  he  ceased  speaking,  Henry  arose 
like  a  spectre,  and  walked  through  the  church 
and  cloisters  to  the  chapter-house,  where,  again 
prostrating  himself,  and  throwing  off  the  upper 
part  of  his  dress,  he  confessed  to  the  minor  of- 
fence, and  was  scourged  by  all  the  ecclesiastics 
present,  who  amounted  to  eighty  pei-sons.  The 
bishops  and  abbots,  who  were  few,  handled  the 
knotted  cords  first,  and  then  followed  the  monks, 
eveiy  one  inflicting  from  throe  to  five  lashes,  and 
sa}"ing,  as  he  gave  them,  "  Even  as  Christ  was 
scoiu-ged  for  the  sins  of  men,  so  be  thou  sco\irged 
for  thine  own  sin."  The  blows,  no  doubt,  were 
dealt  with  a  light  hand,  but  the  whole  show  was 
startling,  and  such  as  had  never  before  been 
heard  of.  Nor  was  the  penance  of  the  king  yet 
over.  He  retm-ned  to  the  subterranean  vault, 
and  a^aii.  pro  ti  i*in_,'  liii  i^^U  by  Becket's  tomb. 


Crytt  ok  CAXiraBunv  r.iniFPr  m..  looKing  nonh-wfHt.-Blittous  CanteibiUT. 

Gilbert  Foliot,  I  he  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  and  the  following 


formerly  Bishop  of  Hereford,  now  of  London,  and  |  mght  in  prayers  and  tears    taking  ^o  nouri^>- 
■'  '  '     '•  ment,  and  never  quitting  the  spot;      but  as  ne 


the  same  who,  tlu-ee  years  and  a  half  before,  had 
proposed  to  throw  the  body  of  Becket  into  a 
ditch,  or  hang  it  on  a  gibbet,  but  who  now,  with 
the  rest,  acknowledged  him  to  be  a  blessed  and 
glorious  mai-tyi-,  ascended  the  pulpit  aud  ad- 
dressed the  multitude.  "  Be  it  known  to  you, 
as  many  as  ai-e  here  present,  that  Hem-y,  King 
of  England,  invoking,  for  his  soul's  salvation, 
God  and  the  holy  martyrs,  solemnly  protests 
before  you  all  that  he  never  ordered,  or  know- 


came  so  he  remained,  without  carpet  or  any  such 
thing  beneath  him.'"  At  early  da.vni,  after  the 
service  of  matins,  he  ;.scended  from  the  vault 
and  made  the  torn-  of  the  upper  church,  praying 
before  all  the  altars  aud  relics  there.  When  the 
■ose  he  heard  mass,  and  then,  having  drunk 
holy  water  blessed  by  the  martyr  huiiself, 


sun  r 
some 


1  Gcrv.  Borob. 


A.D.  1064—1189,] 


IIENBY  II. 


281 


,ind  having  filled  a  small  botlle  with  the  iireci<nia 
fluid,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  to  London 
with  a  light  and  joyous  heart.  A  burning  fever, 
however,  followed  all  this  fatigue  and  penance, 
and  confined  him  for  several  days  to  his  chamber.' 
On  the  fifth  night  of  his  malady,  a  messenger 
arrived  from  the  north,  and  announced  himself 
to  the  suflVring  monarch  as  the  servant  of  Rauulf 
de  Glanville,  a  name  memorable  in  the  history 
of  our  laws  and  constitution,  and  a  most  dear 
friend  of  Henry.  "Is  Glanville  in  health  ?"  said 
the  king.  "  My  lord  is  well,"  replied  the  servant, 
"  and  your  enemy,  the  King  of  Scots,  is  his  pri- 
soner." Starting  upright,  Henry  cried,  "  Repeat 
those  words."  The  man  repeated  them,  and 
delivei-ed  his  master's  lettei-s,  which  fully  in- 
formed the  overjoyed  king  of  the  fact.  On  the 
morning  of  the  12th  of  July,  Glanville  had  sur- 
prised William  the  Lion  as  he  was  tilting  in  a 
meadow  near  Alnwick  Castle,  with  only  sixty 
Scottish  lords  near  him,  and  had  made  the  whole 
party  captives.  By  a  remarkable  coincidence, 
this  signal  advantage  was  gained  on  the  very 
day  (it  was  said  by  some  on  the  very  hour)  on 
which  Heniy  achieved  his  reconciliation  with 
the  martyr  at  Canterbury." 

Indisposition,  and  the  languor  it  leaves,  soon 
departed,  and  Henry  was  again  on  horseback, 
and  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  and  enthusiastic 
army;  for  the  people  of  England  flocked  to  his 
standai'd,  and  filled  the  land  with  an  indignant 
cry  against  the  leaders  and  abettors  of  an  unna- 
tiu-al  revolt.  The  insui-gents  did  not  wait  the 
coming  of  the  king,  but  dispersed  in  all  direc- 
tions, their  chiefs  purchasing  their  pardon  by 
the  surrender  of  their  castles.  According  to  a 
French  clu-onicler,  so  many  were  taken  that  it 
was  difficult  to  find  prisons  for  them  all.'  The 
Scots,  disheartened  by  the  captm-e  of  their  sove- 
reign, retreated  beyond  the  border,  and  peace 
being  restored  at  home,  the  -active  Henry  was 
enabled,  within  thi-ee  weeks,  to  cany  the  army 
which  had  been  raised  to  subdue  the  revolt  in 
England,  across  the  seas  to  Normandy. 

When  the  Earl  of  Flanders,  who  was  now  the 
soul  of  the  confederacy,  had  made  ready  to  invade 
England,  he  counted  on  the  absence  of  the  king, 
whose  prompt  return  disconcerted  that  raeasui-e. 
Changing  his  plan,  therefore,  he  repaired  to  Nor- 
mandy, and  joining  his  forces  with  those  of  King 
Louis  and  Henry's  eldest  son,  laid  siege  to  Rouen, 
the  capital.  But  he  was  scarcely  there  when  the 
King  of  England  was  after  him,  and  surprised 

^  Ga-xase:  Ikn.  Hunt,:  Gh-ald.;  BicHo;  Jlovcd.;  Neub.  Pre- 
vions  to  tliis  pilgrimago  to  Canterbury,  Henry  liad  done  pen-inco 
for  Backet's  murder  in  the  cathedral  of  Avranches  in  Normandy. 
The  church  is  now  a  ruin,  but  according  to  ti-adition,  a  Hat 
ptone,  with  a  cup  engraved  upon  it,  still  marks  the  spot  of  kingly 
Immiliation. — Stothard's  Tour  iti  Norraambj. 

■  Kmh.:  Hovcj.;  Gervase.  '  kcrijit.  Scr.  Franc. 

Vol  I. 


all  his  stores  and  provisions.  In  a  few  days  the 
allied  army  was  not  only  obliged  to  raise  the 
siege,  but  also  to  retreat  out  of  Normandy. 
Humbled  by  the  rapidity,  the  geniu.s,  and  good 
fortune  of  the  English  monai-ch,  the  confederates, 
following  the  advice  of  Ijouis,  the  very  king  of 
conferences,  requested  an  ai-mistice  and  a  meeting 
for  the  arrangement  of  a  general  peace.  Of  his 
rebellious  children,  Henry  and  Geoffrey  offered 
to  submit  to  these  arrangements;  but  young 
Richard,  wlio  had  begun  to  taste  the  joys  of  war, 
and  the  "  raptures  of  the  fight,"  which  were  to 
be  his  greatest  pleasures  till  the  hour  of  Ids  death 
— and  who  was  supported  by  the  restless  uobUity 
of  Aquitaine,  and  was  led  by  the  counsels  of  the 
indefatigable  lord  who  held  Hautefort,'  the  fa- 
mous Bertrand  de  Born — refused  to  be  included, 
and  persisted  in  open  war  against  his  father. 
But  the  rash  boy  lost  castle  after  castle,  and,  at 
the  end  of  six  weeks,  was  fain  to  throw  himaclf 
at  the  feet  of  his  forgiving  parent,  and  accom- 
pany liim  to  the  congress  or  conference. 

The  conditions  of  the  peace  were  made  easy  by 
the  mildness  and  moderation  of  Hemy.  He  re- 
ceived from  the  French  king  and  the  Flemish 
earl  all  the  ten-itories  they  had  overrun  since  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  and  he  restored  to 
those  princes  whatever  he  had  conquered  or  occu- 
pied himself.  With  07ie  important  exception,  he 
also  set  at  liberty  all  his  prisoners,  to  the  number 
of  969  knights.  To  his  eldest  son  lie  assigned, 
for  present  enjoyment,  two  castles  in  Normandy, 
and  a  yearly  allowance  of  £15,000  Angevin 
money;  to  Richard,  two  castles  in  Poictou,  with 
half  tlie  revenue  of  that  cai-ldom;  to  Geoffrey, 
two  castles  in  Bi-ittany,  with  half  the  rents  of  the 
estates  that  had  belonged  to  his  father-in-law 
elect  (for  the  mai-riage  was  not  yet  consummated) 
Earl  Conan,  with  a  promise  of  the  remainder. 
With  these  conditions  the  impatient  youths  pro- 
fessed themselves  satisfied,  and  they  engaged 
henceforth  to  love,  honour,  and  obey  theii-  father. 
Richard  and  Geoffrey  did  homage,  and  took  the 
oaths  of  fealty;  but  Henry,  the  eldest  son,  was 
exempted  from  these  ceremonies.  The  exception 
made  in  liberating  the  prisoners,  was  in  the  im- 
portant person  of  the  Scottish  king,  who  had 
been  carried  over  to  the  Continent,  .and  thrown 
into  the  strong  castle  of  Falaise,  where  he  was 
kept  until  the  following  month  of  December, 
when  he  obtained  his  enlargement  by  kneeling  to 
Henry,  and  acknowledging  himself,  in  (lie  set 
forms  of  vassalage,  his  "  Uege  man  against  all 
men."  By  the  degrading  treaty  of  Falaise,  the 
independence  of  Scotland  wa-s  nominally  sacri- 
ficed; and  from  the  signing  of  it  in  December, 
1 174,  to  the  accession  of  Richard  I.,  in  December, 


*  "  Colui  oho  gi?i  tenne  Altaforte.' 
36 


-Dante's  /n/enio. 


282 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  asd  Military. 


A.D.  1175. 


1189,  viieii  a  formal  release  from  all  oblioiations 
was  granted  for  the  sum  of  10,000  marks,  sLe' 
may  be  said  to  have  figured  as  a  dependent  pro- 
vince of  England.' 

Hem-y  now  enjoyed  about  eight 
years  of  profound  peace;  but,  as 
active  in  civil  affairs  aa  in  those  of  war,  he  de- 
voted this  time,  and  all  his  energies,  to  the 
i-cform  of  the  intei-nal  administration  of  his  do- 
minions. His  reputation  for  wisdom,  judicial 
ability,  and  power,  now  stood  so  high  in  Europe, 
that  Alfonso,  Bang  of  Castile,  and  his  uncle, 
Sancho,  King  of  Navan-e,  who  had  been  disput- 
ing for  some  years  about  the  boundaries  of  their 
respective  territories,  turning  from  the  uncertain 
arbitrament  of  the  sword,  referred  their  differ- 
ence to  the  decision  of  the  "just  and  impartial" 
English  monarch,  binding  themselves  in  the  mo.st 
solemn  manner  to  submit  to  his  award,  be  it 
what  it  might.  And  in  the  month  of  Mai-ch, 
1177,  Hemy,  holding  his  eoiu-t  at  Westminster, 
attended  by  the  bishops,  earls,  barons,  and  jus- 
tices, both  of  England  and  Normandy,  heard  and 
discussed  the  ai-guments  proposed  on  the  pai-t  of 
King  Alfonso  by  the  Bishop  of  Palencia,  and  on 
the  part  of  King  Sancho  by  the  Bishop  of  Pam- 
pelima;  and,  after  taking  the  opinion  of  the  best 
and  most  learned  of  the  court,  pronounced  a  wise 
and  conciliating  award,  with  which  both  ambas- 
sadors expressed  then-  entire  satisfaction .- 

We  have  some  cm-ious  evidence  of  Henry's 
pei'sonal  activity,  as  evinced  by  his  rapid  change 
of  residence,  just  at  this  period  of  peace  and  tran- 
quillity, in  a  letter  addressed  to  him,  in  the  most 
familiar  terms,  by  his  confidential  friend,  Peter 
of  Blois.  Peter,  who  was  not  a  timid,  loitering 
wayfarer,  or  a  luxurious,  ease-loving  chm'chman, 
but  a  bold  and  experienced  traveller  himself,  see- 
ing that,  in  the  disch.arge  of  his  duty,  he  had 
fought  his  way  more  than  once  across  the  then 
pathless  Alps,  in  the  heart  of  winter,  braving  the 
snow  hurricane  and  the  tremendous  avalanches, 
seems  to  h.ave  been  lost  in  amazement  at  the  in- 
cessant and  untirmg  progresses  of  the  king.  He 
had  just  retui'ned  from  a  royal  mission  to  King 
Louis,  the  results  of  which  he  was  anxious  to  re- 
port. He  tells  Henry  that  he  has  been  hunting 
after  him  up  and  down  England,  but  in  vain ! — 
that  when  Solomon  set  down  four  things  as  being 
too  hai-d  for  him  to  discover,  he  ought  to  have 
added  a  fifth — and  that  was,  the  path  of  the 
King  of  England !  Poor  Peter  goes  on  to  say, 
that  he  really  knoweth  not  whither  he  is  going 
— that  he  has  been  laid  up  with  the  dysenteiy  at 
Newport,  from  fatigue  in  travelling  after  his 
majesty,  and  has  sent  scouts  and  messengers  on 
all  sides  to  look  for  him.    He  proceeds  to  express 

'  Allen's  yindication  of  the  Ancient  Independence  of  ScoUand. 


A.D.  1183. 


an  earnest  wish  that  Henry  would  let  him  know 
where  he  is  to  bo  found,  as  he  really  has  imjwr- 
tant  affairs  to  treat  of,  and  the  ambassadors  of 
the  Kings  of  Spain  have  .arrived  with  a  great 
retinue,  in  order  to  refer  the  old  quarrel  of  their 
masters  to  his  majesty. 

The  moment  was  now  approaching  when  those 
energies,  as  yet  undiminished  by  age  or  the  pre- 
mature decay  which  they  probably  caused  in  the 
end,  were  again  to  be  called  into  full  exercise; 
for  foreign  jealousies  and  intrigues,  the  name  and 
history  of  his  captive  wife  Eleanor,  and  the  un- 
])opularity  of  the  Anglo-Norman  rule  in  the  pro- 
vinces of  the  South,  contributed,  with  their  own 
impatience,  turbulence,  and  presumption,  to  di-ive 
his  children  once  more  into  rebellion. 

Richard,  who  was  the  darling  of 
his  imprisoned  mother,  and  who,  on 
account  of  the  more  general  unpopularity  of  his 
father  in  Aquitaine  and  Poictou,  w;is  stronger 
than  his  brother.?,  was  the  first  to  renew  the 
family  war.  When  called  upon  by  his  father  to 
do  homage  to  his  elder  brother,  Hem-y,  for  the 
duchy  of  Aquitaine,  which  he  was  to  inherit,  he 
arrogantly  refused.  Upon  this,  young  Henry,  or 
the  junior  king,  allied  himself  with  Prince  Geof- 
frey, and  marched  with  an  army  of  Bretons  and 
Brabancons  into  Aquitaine,  where  Richard  had 
published  his  ban  of  war.  The  king  flew  to  put 
an  end  to  these  disgraceful  hostilities,  and  having 
induced  his  two  sons  to  come  into  his  presence, 
he  reconciled  them  with  one  another.  But  the 
i-econciliation  was  rather  apparent  than  real,  and 
Prince  Geoffrey  had  the  honnble  frankness  to 
declai'e,  shortly  after,  that  they  could  never  J30S- 
sibly  live  in  peace  with  one  another,  unless  they 
were  united  in  a  common  war  against  then'  own 
father.  The  recorded  gallantries,  and  the  worse 
whispered  ofiences  of  Eleanor,  did  not  alienate 
the  affections  of  the  people  of  Poictou  and  Aqui- 
taine, among  whDm  she  had  been  born  and 
brought  up.  In  their  eyes  she  was  still  theii- 
chieftainess  —  the  princess  of  their  old  native 
stock;  and  Henry  had  no  right  over  them  ex- 
cept what  he  could  claim  through  her,  and  by 
his  affectionate  treatment  of  her.  Now,  he  had 
kept  her  for  years  a  prisoner,  and  in  their  esti- 
mation it  was  loyal  and  right  to  work  for  her  de- 
livex-ance,  and  punish  her  cruel  husband  by  what- 
ever means  they  could  command,  even  to  the 
arming  of  Eleanor's  sons  against  then-  sii-e.  In 
the  fervid  heads  and  hearts  of  these  men  of  the 
South  such  feelings  became  absolute  passions; 
and  the  graces  as  well  as  the  ai'dour  of  their 
popular  poetry  wei-e  engaged  in  the  service  of 
their  c.ajrtive  princess.  The  troubadours,  with 
Bertrand  de  Born  at  then-  head,  never  tired  of 
this  theme;  and  oven  the  local  chroniclers  raised 
their  monkish  Latin  into  a  sort  of  ]igetical  jirosc, 


A.D.  10(U— 1189.] 


HEXKY  II. 


2'''3 


whenever  they  touehcd  on  the  woes  aiul  wrongs 
of  Eleanor — for  iu  Poictou  ami  Aquitaino  the 
manifolJ  provocations  she  had  given  her  husband 
were  all  unknown  or  forgotten. 

With  the  exception  of  Richard,  whose  liery 
nature  now  and  tlien,  for  transitory  intervals, 
gave  access  to  the  tenderer  feelings,  the  ambitious 
3'oung  men  seem  to  have  cared  little  about  their 
mother;  but  they  could  raise  no  such  good  excuse 
for  being  in  arms  against  one  parent  as  that  of 
their  anxiety  to  pi-ocure  better  treatment  for  the 
other;  and  Henry,  and  Geofii-ey,  and  Eichard,  at 
times  in  unison,  and  at  times  separately,  con- 
tinued to  take  the  name  of  Eleanor  as  their  cri 
de  guerre  in  the  South.  These  family  wars  were 
more  frequent,  of  longer  duration,  and  of  far 
gi-eater  importance  than  would  be  imagined  from 
the  accounts  given  of  them  in  our  popular  Eng- 
lish histories. 

The  reconciliation  which  took  place  in  1183-4 
was  speedily  interrupted;  for  Bertrand  de  Born, 
nearly  indifferent  as  to  wdiicli  prince  he  acted 
with,  but  who,  of  the  three,  rather  prefen-ed 
Henry,  on  seeing  that  Richard  was  inclined  to 
keep  his  oaths  to  his  father,  renewed  his  in- 
trigues with  the  eldest  sou,  and  got  ready  a  for- 
midable party  in  Aqultaine,  who  pressed  Prince 
Henry  to  throw  himself  among  them.  Henry 
consequently  revolted  again,  and  his  brother 
Geoffi'ey  soon  followed  his  example.  The  French 
sovereign  openly  announced  himself  aa  the  ally 
of  the  junior  king  and  the  nobles  of  Aquitaine. 
As  Richard  continued  steady  for  a  while,  the 
King  of  England  joined  his  forces  with  his,  and 
they  marched  together  to  lay  siege  to  Limoges, 
which  had  opened  its  gates  to  Henry  and  Geof- 
frey. In  little  more  than  a  month,  however,  the 
younger  Henry  deserted  his  pai'tizans  of  Aqui- 
taine, and  submitted  to  his  father,  who  forgave 
him  as  he  had  forgiven  him  before,  and  once 
more  accepted  his  oath  of  fealty.  Geoffrey  did 
not  on  this  occasion  follow  his  elde.st  brother's 
example;  and  the  men  of  Aquitaine  and  Poictou, 
now  regarding  him  as  then-  chief,  confirmed  him 
in  his  resistance,  apprehending  that  the  King  of 
England  would  not  extend  the  remarkable  cle- 
mency he  had  shown  to  his  children,  to  men  who 
were  strangers  to  his  blood,  and  who  had  incensed 
him  by  repeated  revolt.  Prince  Henry  kept 
up  a  private  correspondence  with  Bei-trand  de 
Bom  and  others  of  the  insui^ents,  and  this  en- 
abled him  to  arrange  a  meeting  for  the  purpose 
of  conciliation.  The  King  of  England  rode  to 
Limoges,  which  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  in- 
surgents, to  keep  his  appointment  with  his  son 
Geoffrey  and  the  Aquitaine  barons:  to  his  sur- 
prise he  found  the  gates  of  the  town  closed  against 
him,  althougli  he  had  taken  only  a  few  knights 
with  him,  and  when  he  applied  for  admittance. 


he  was  answered  by  a  flight  of  aiTows  and  cross- 
bow bolts  from  the  rampai'ts,  one  of  which  pierced 
his  cuu'ass,  while  another  of  thcni  wounded  a 
knight  at  his  side.  This  treacherous-looking  oc- 
cm-rence  was  explained  away  as  being  a  mere 
mistake  on  the  part  of  the  soldiery,  and  it  was 
subsequently  agi-ced  that  the  king  should  have 
free  entrance  into  the  town.  He  met  his  son 
Geoffrey  in  the  midst  of  the  max-ket-place  of  Li- 
moges, and  begun  the  conference  for  peace;  but 
here  again  he  was  saluted  by  a  fliglit  of  arrows 
from  the  battlements.  One  of  these  arrows 
wounded  the  horse  he  rode.  He  ordered  an  at- 
tendant to  pick  up  the  arrow,  and  presenting  it 
to  Geoffrey  with  sobs  and  tears,  he  said — "  O,  son  ! 
what  hath  thy  imhappy  father  done  to  deserve 
that  thou  shouldost  make  hun  a  mark  for  thine 
arrows?'" 

This  foul  attempt  at  assassination  is  laid  by 
some  wTiters  to  the  chai-go  of  Geoffrey  himself; 
but  it  is  quite  as  probable  that  the  bows  were 
drawn  without  any  order  from  the  prince,  by  some 
of  the  fiery  spnits  of  Aquitaine,  labom'ing  under 
the  conviction  that  their  interests  were  about  to 
be  sacrificed  in  the  accommodation  between  father 
and  son.  Prince  Henry,  who  accompanied  his 
fathei',  expressed  horror  at  the  attempt,  and  dis- 
gust at  the  ob.stinacy  of  the  men  of  Aquitaine; 
and  he  declared  he  would  never  more  have  alli- 
ance, or  peace,  or  truce  with  them."  Not  many 
days  after,  he  once  more  deserted  and  betrayed 
his  sire,  and  went  to  join  the  insurgents,  who 
then  held  their  head-quarters  at  Dorat,  in  Poic- 
tou. The  bishops  of  Normandy,  by  command 
of  the  pope,  fuhninated  their  excommunications; 
but  as  Prince  Henry  had  been  excommunicated 
before  this,  it  was  probably  not  the  thunders  of 
the  church,  but  other  considerations,  that  in- 
duced him  to  abandon  the  insurgents  at  Dorat  as 
suddenly  e,.=;  he  had  abandoned  his  father,  and  to 
return  once  more  to  the  feet  of  the  king,  who,  with 
unexampled  clemency  or  weakness,  once  more  par- 
doned him,  and  not  only  permitted  him  to  go  at 
large,  but  to  meddle  again  with  political  afiairs. 
Having  persuaded  his  father  to  adopt  measures 
which  cost  him  the  lives  of  some  of  his  most 
faithful  followers,  this  manifold  traitor,  or  veriest 
wheel-about  that  ever  lived,  again  deserted  his 
banner,  and  prepared,  with  his  brother  Geoffrey 
and  the  insm'gent  barons  of  the  South,  to  give 
him  battle.  A  short  time  after  this  revolt,  whicli 
was  destined  to  be  his  last,  and  before  his  pre- 
parations for  aiming  at  his  father's  life  or  thr-one, 
or  both,  were  completed,  a  messenger  announced 
to  the  king  that  his  eldest  son  had  fallen  danger- 
ously sick  at  Chateau-Marcel,  near  Limoges,  and 
desii-ed  most  earnestly  that  Ids  father  would  for- 


^  Script.  Rev.  Franc. 


»  Uoved. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  anu  Military. 


give  him  and  visit  him.  The  king  would  have 
gone  forthwith,  but  liis  friends  implored  him  not 
to  hazard  his  life  again  among  men  who  had 
proved  themselves  capable  of  so  much  treachery 
and  cruelty;  and  they  represented  that  the  ac- 
coimts  he  had  i-eceived  might  be  all  a  feigned 
story,  got  up  by  the  insurgents  of  Aquitaiue  and 
Poictou,  for  the  worst  of  purposes.  Taking,  then, 
a  ring  from  his  finger,  he  gave  it  to  the  Ai-ch- 
bishop  of  Bordeaux,  and  begged  that  prelate 
to  convey  it  with  all  speed  to  his  repentant 
son,  as  a  token  of  his  forgiveness  and  paternal 
affection.  He  cherished  the  hope  that  the  youth 
and  robust  constitution  of  the  invalid  would 
triumph  over  the  disease;  but  soon  there  came  a 
second  messenger,  to  anuoimce  that  his  son  was 
uo  more. 

Prince  Hemy  died  at  Chateau-Marcel,  on  the 
11th  of  Jime,  1183,  in  the  twenty-seventh  year 
of  his  age.'  In  his  last  agony  he  expressed  the 
deepest  contrition ;  he  pressed  to  his  lips  his 
father's  ring,  which  had  mercifully  been  delivered 
to  him;  he  publicly  confessed  his  imdutifulness 
to  his  indulgent  parent,  and  his  other  sins,  and 
ordered  the  priests  to  di-ag  him  by  a  rope  out  of 
his  bed,  and  lay  him  on  a  bed  of  ashes,  that  he 
might  die  in  an  extremity  of  penance.- 

The  heart  of  the  king  was  divided  between 
grief  at  the  death  of  his  fii'st-born  and  rage 
against  the  insurgents,  whom  he  held  to  have 
been  not  only  the  cause  of  his  son's  decease,  but 
the  impediment  which  had  prevented  him  from 
seeing  and  embracing  him  in  his  last  moments. 
The  feeling  of  revenge,  however,  allying  itself 
with  the  sense  of  his  immediate  interests,  soon 
obtained  entii'e  masteiy,  and  he  proceeded  with 
all  his  old  activity  against  the  barons  of  Aqui- 
taiue and  Poictou.  The  veiy  day  after  his  son's 
fimeral  he  took  Limoges  by  assault;  then  castle 
after  castle  was  stormed  and  utterly  destroyed; 
and  at  last  Bertraud  de  Born — the  soul  of  the 
conspiracy,  the  seducer  of  his  children — fell  into 
his  hands.  Never  had  enemy  been  more  per- 
severing, insidious,  and  dangerous— never  had 
vassal  so  outraged  his  liege  lord,  or  in  such  a 
variety  of  ways;  for  Bertrand,  like  Luke  de 
Barre,  was  a  jjoet  as  well  as  knight,  and  had 
cruelly  satirized  Hemy  in  productions  which 
were  populai'  wherever  the  langiie  d'  Oc^  was 
imdei-stood.  All  men  said  he  must  surely  die, 
and  Hemy  said  so  himself.  The  troubadour  was 
brought  into  his  presence,  to  hear  his  sentence; 
the  king  taunted  him  with  a  boast  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  make — namely,  that  he  had  so 


'  Jtog.  Hovcd.  2  IbiJ.;  also  Dicdo. 

^  The  dialect  spoken  in  the  south  of  France,  where,  instead  of 
oui  (yes)  they  said  oc:  hence  the  name  of  the  part  of  this  district, 
etni  called  Languedoc.  The  rest  of  France  was  called  Langus- 
(Toui,  or  Langue-d'o^t. 


much  wit  in  reserve  as  never  to  have  occasion  to 
use  one-half  of  it,  and  told  him  he  w;is  now  in  a 
plight  in  which  the  whole  of  his  wit  would  not 
serve  him.  The  troubadour  acknowledged  lie 
had  made  the  boast,  and  that  not  without  trutli 
and  reason.  "  And  I,"  said  the  king — "  I  think 
thou  hast  lost  thy  wits."  "  Yes,  sire,"  replied 
Bertrand,  mom'nfully;  "  I  lost  them  that  day  the 
valiant  young  king  died! — then,  indeed,  I  lost 
my  wits,  my  senses,  and  all  wisdom."  At  this 
allusion  to  his  son,  the  king  bm-st  into  tears,  and 
nearly  swooned.  When  he  came  to  himself  his 
vengeance  had  departed  from  him.  "  Sir  Ber- 
trand," said  he,  "Sir  Bertraud,  thou  mightest 
well  lose  thy  wits  because  of  my  son,  for  he  loved 
thee  more  than  any  other  man  upon  earth ;  and 
I,  for  love  of  him,  give  thee  thy  life,  thy  pro- 
perty, thy  castle."  '  The  details  of  this  singular 
scene  may  have  been  slightly  over-coloured  by 
the  warm  poetical  imagination  of  the  South,  but 
that  Henry  pardoned  his  inveterate  enemy  is  an 
historical  fact. 

If  Bertraud  de  Born  was  a  vUlain,  he  was  a 
most  accomplished  one;  he  ajjpears  to  have  ex- 
celled all  his  coniemporaries  in  insinuation,  ele- 
gance, and  addi'es.3 — in  versatility  of  talent,  and 
abimdance  of  resource.^  Attempts  have  been 
made  by  M.  Thierry  to  set  off  his  patriotism 
against  his  treachery;  and  it  has  been  hinted, 
that  while  labouring  to  free  his  native  country 
from  the  yoke  of  the  English  king,  he  was  justi- 
fiable in  making  use  of  whatever  means  he  could. 
It  is  perhajjs  ditficult  to  fix  precise  limits  to  what 
may  be  done  in  such  a  cause;  but  though  we  may 
affect  to  admire  the  conduct  of  the  elder  Brutus, 
who  slew  his  own  son  for  the  liberties  of  Rome, 
we  doubt  whether  the  sympathies  of  our  natm-e 
will  not  always  be  against  the  man  who  armed 
the  sons  of  another  against  theii-  father's  life. 
Such  appears  to  have  been  the  sentiment  of  the 
time;  and  Dante,  who  wrote  about  120  years  after 
the  event,  and  who  merely  took  up  the  popular 
legend,  placed  Bertrand  de  Born  in  one  of  the 
worst  ch-cles  of  hell." 

Prince  Geoffrey  sought  his  father's  pardon  soon 
after  the  death  of  his  brother  Hemy,  and  aban- 
doned the  insurgents  of  Aquitaiue,  who  then  saw 
themselves  opposed  to  a  united  family  (for  Richard 
was  as  yet  true  to  his  last  oaths)  whose  luiuatural 
divisions  had  hitherto  proved  their  main  strength 


*  Poesies  dcs  TroubadouTS,  Collection  de  Rmjnov/ird:  Millot, 
Hist.  Litteraire  diS  Trouljadours, 

^  We  learn  fi-om  Dante,  who  seems  to  have  been  forcibly  im- 
pressed with  his  strange  character,  that  besides  x^oems  on  other 
subjects.  Sir  Bertrand  "treated  of  wax,  which  no  Italian  poet 
had  yet  done  " — {Arma  vero  nullum  Italum  adhuc  poetasse  ia- 
venio}. — Be  Vulg.  Eloq.  Bei-trand  left  a  son  of  the  same  name, 
who  was  also  a  poet,  and  who  satii-ized  King  John. 

fi  Inferno,  canto  xxviii.  The  passage  is  terrific,  and  one  of 
the  most  characteristic  in  the  whole  poem. 


^.n.  10U4— US9.] 


HENRY  II. 


285 


and  eiicounigement.  The  confederacy,  no  longer 
formidable,  was  paitly  broken  up  by  the  victo- 
rious lU'ius  of  the  king,  and  jiartly  dissolved  of 
itself.  A  momentary  reconciliation  took  place 
between  Henry  and  Eleanor,  who  was  released 
for  a  shoi-t  time  to  be  present  at  a  solemn  meet- 
ing, wherein  "peace  and  final  concord"  was  estab- 
lished between  the  king  and  his  sons,  confirmed 
by  "writing  and  by  sacrament."  '  In  this  trans- 
action Prince  John  was  included,  who  had  hitherto 
been  too  young  to  wield  the  sword  against  his 
father.  The  family  concoi-d  lasted  only  a  few 
months,  when  Geofl'rey  demanded  the  earldom 
of  Anjovi;  and  on  receiving  his  father's  refusal, 
wthdrew  to  the  French  court,  to  prepare  for 
another  war.  But  soon  after  (in  August,  1186), 
his  tm'buleut  career  was  cut  short  at  a  toui-na- 
ment,  where  he  was  dismounted  and  trampled  to 
death  under  the  feet  of  the  horses.  Louis  VII., 
the  soft  and  incompetent  rival  of  Hemy,  had  now 
been  dead  several  years,  and  his  son,  Philip  II., 
a  young  and  active  prince,  sat  on  the  throne  of 
France.  He  buried  Gooftrey  with  great  pomp, 
and  then  invited  to  his  com-t  his  brother  Eichai'd, 
the  Lion-hearted,  wlio  was  to  hate  him  with  a 
deadly  hatred  in  after  yeai-s,  but  who  now  ac- 
cepted his  invitation,  and  lived  with  him  on  the 
most  afiectionate  terms,  "eating  at  the  same  table 
and  out  of  the  same  dish  by  day,  and  sleeping  in 
the  same  bed  by  night."-  King  Henry  well  knew 
that  this  friendship  betokened  mischief  to  him, 
and  he  sent  repeated  messages  to  recal  Eichai'd, 
who  always  replied  that  he  was  coming,  without 
hastening  his  departiu'c.  At  last  he  moved,  but 
it  was  only  to  surprise  and  seize  a  treasm'e  of  his 
father's,  deposited  at  Chinon,  and  then  to  raise 
the  banner  of  revolt  once  more  in  Aquitaine. 
But  this  time  his  standard  failed  to  attract  a 
dispii-ited  people,  and  he  was  fain  to  accept  his 
father's  pardon.  Henry,  who  had  seen  so  many 
oaths  disregarded,  made  liim  swear  fealty,  upon 
this  occasion,  on  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Evangelists, 
in  the  presence  of  a  great  assembly  of  chvu-ch- 
men  and  laymen. 

The  misfortimes  of  the  Christians 
A.D.  1188.  ;^  ^Yie  Holy  Land  were  the  means 
of  producing  a  brief  peace  between  Henry  and 
Philip,  who  had  been  waging  an  insignificiuit  war 
with  each  other,  and  preparing  for  more  decisive 
hostilities.  Jerusidem  had  fallen  again  before 
the  Mahometan  crescent,  in  the  September  of  the 
preceding  year;  the  reigning  pontiff  was  said  to 
have  died  of  grief  at  the  news;  and  the  new  pope 
called  upon  all  Christian  princes  to  rescue  the 
tomb  of  Christ  and  the  wood  of  the  true  cross, 
which  latter,  it  was  said,  had  been  carried  away 

•  Scripto  et  Sacramento. — Rog.  Iloved. 

-  yingulia  diebus  in  una  mensa  ad  unum  catiniun  manduca- 
taut  et  in  noctibus  non  separabat  eo3  lectiia. — Rog.  Hovcd. 


by  the  victorious  Saladin.  No  one  resjwuded  to 
the  appeal  more  promptly  and  entluisiastically 
than  Henry,  who  at  once  declared  himself  willing 
to  proceed  with  an  army  to  Asia.  A  well-settled 
peace  with  Fi-ance  wa.s,  however,  an  indispensable 
preliminary;  and  Philij)  being  also  pressed  by  the 
pope  to  take  the  cross,  an  interview  for  the  settle- 
ment of  all  diflerences  was  easily  ai-ranged.  The 
two  kings  met  in  the  month  of  January,  at  tlie 
usual  place  between  Trie  and  Gisors,  near  to  the 
old  elm-tree.  William,  the  eloquent  and  enthu- 
siastic Archbishop  of  Tyre,  attended  the  meeting, 
with  many  bishops  and  priests,  of  whom  some  had 
witnessed  the  reverees  of  the  Christians  in  Pales- 
tine. Henry  and  Philip  swore  to  be  "brothers 
in  ai-ms  for  the  cause  of  God ;"  and  in  sign  of  their 
voluntary  engagement,  each  took  the  cross  from 
the  hands  of  the  Ai'chbishop  of  Tyre,  and  attached 
it  to  his  di'ess,  swearing  never  to  quit  it  or  neglect 
the  duties  of  a  soldier  of  Christ,  "  either  upon  land 
or  sea,  in  town  or  in  the  field,"  until  his  victorious 
retm-u  to  his  home.  Many  of  the  gi-eat  vassals 
of  both  mouarchs  followed  their  masters'  example, 
and  took  the  same  oaths.' 

The  crosses  given  to  the  King  of  France  and  his 
people  were  red;  those  distributed  to  the  King  of 
England  and  his  people  were  white.  Richai'd, 
who  was  to  connect  his  name  inseparably  with 
the  subject  of  the  Crusades,  had  neither  waited 
for  his  father's  example  nor  pei-mission,  but  had 
taken  the  cross  some  time  before.*  The  old  elm- 
tree  witnes.sed  another  solemn  peace,  which  was 
about  as  lasting  as  its  predecessors;  and  Henry 
i-eturned  to  England,  evidently  with  a  smcere 
desii-e  of  keeping  it  on  his  part,  and  making  ready 
for  the  Holy  War.  In  the  month  of  February 
he  called  together  a  gi-eat  council  of  the  kingdom 
at  Gidington,  in  Northamptonshii-e,  to  provide 
the  means  of  such  a  costly  expedition.  The 
bai'ous,  both  lay  and  ecclesiastic,  readily  enacted 
that  a  tenth  of  all  rents  for  one  year,  and  a  tenth 
of  all  the  moveable  property  in  the  land,  with  the 
exception  of  the  books  of  the  clergy,  and  the  anns 
and  horses  of  the  knights,  should  be  levied  to 
meet  the  expenses.  The  lords  of  manors  who 
engaged  to  accompany  the  king  in  person  were 
permitted  to  receive  the  assessments  of  then'  own 
vassals  and  tenants ;  but  those  of  all  others  were 
to  be  paid  into  the  royal  exchequer.  It  appears 
that  no  more  than  .£70,000  was  raised  in  this 
manner.     To  make  up  the  deficiency,  Henry  had 


*  Rog.  Uoud.;  Script,  Rer.  Franc, 

*  Nor  was  this  tlio  first  time  the  king  talked  of  going  to  the 
Holy  Land.  Sovcnol  years  before,  the  Patriareh  of  Jenituilem 
offered  him  that  kingdom,  with  the  keys  of  tlio  eity  and  of  the 
holy  sepulehi-G.  Henry,  who  was  not  then  cai'ried  away  by  tho 
popular  enthusiasm,  referred  tho  matter  to  an  assembly  of  his 
bishops  and  barons,  who,  jnost  wistl^,  determined  that  *'  for  tho 
good  of  his  omi  soul,^'  ho  would  do  much  better  by  remaining 
at  homo  .md  taking  care  of  liis  own  subjects. 


2S6 


nisTonv  OF  kngland. 


[ClVlt,  AND  MlI.ITAr.T, 


recourse  to  exloi-tioii  and  \  iflent  measures  against 
the  Jews,  wliom  he  liad  hitherto  treated  with 
leniency;  and  from  that  oppressed  fragment  of 
an  unliap]\v  pco])U'  lie  procured  i^GO,000,  or  almost 
as  much  money  as  he  got  from  all  the  rest  of  las 
kingdom  put  together.  Auothercouneilof  bishops, 
abbots,  and  lay  barons,  held  at  Mans,  regulated 
the  tax  for  Heme's  continental  dominions. 

But  the  money  w^^mg  from  Jew  and  Gentile 
was  never  spent  against  the  Turk.  "  The  malice 
of  the  ancient  enemy  of  mankind,"  says  the  ho- 
nest chronicler,  "was  not  asleep;"'  and  he  goes 
on  to  deplore  how  that  infernal  malice  turned 
the  oaths  of  Christian  princes  into  a  mockery, 
and  relit  the  flames  of  war  among  Christian 
people  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  fiery 
Eichard  appears  to  have  been  the  first  cause  of 
this  new  commotion,  in  which  the  Fi'ench  king 
soon  took  a  part.  Another  conference  was  agi-eed 
upon,  and  the  two  kings  again  met  under  the 
peaceful  shadow  of  the  elm ;  they  could  not,  how- 
ever, agree  as  to  terms  of  accommodation;  and 
Philip,  venting  his  spite  on  the  tree,  swore  by 
all  the  saints  of  France,  that  no  more  parleys 
shoidd  be  held  there,  and  cut  it  down.-  Had 
causes  of  dissension  been  wanting,  the  ingenuity 
of  the  King  of  France,  and  the  jealous  impatience 
of  Eichard,  would  have  raised  imaginary  wrongs; 
but  unfortunately  for  the  fame  of  Hemy,  there 
was  a  real  existing  cause,  and  one  singularly  cal- 
culated to  excite  and  combine  those  two  princes 
against  him.  Eichard,  when  a  child,  had  been 
affianced,  as  already  mentioned,  to  the  infant 
Aliz,  or  Adelais,  of  France.  Henry  had  obtained 
possession  of  the  person  of  the  royal  infant,  and 
of  part  of  her  dowry,  and  had  kept  both.  By 
the  time  the  pai'ties  were  of  proper  age  for  the 
completion  of  the  mai-riage,  Eichai-d  was  at  open 
war  with  his  father;  but  it  is  curious  to  remark, 
that  at  none  of  the  numerous  peaces  and  recon- 
ciliations was  there  any  deep  anxiety  shown, 
either  by  her  affianced  sjiouse  Eichard,  or  her 
father  King  Louis,  or  her  brother  Philijj,  about 
the  fate  of  the  fair  Adelais,  who  i-emained  some 
time  ostensibly  as  a  hostage,  but,  of  late  years, 
in  a  very  ambiguous  situation,  at  the  court  of 
Henry.  A  report,  true  or  false,  had  got  abroad 
that  the  king  was  enamoured  of  her  person;  and 
when  he  made  an  unsuccessful  application  to  the 
Church  of  Eome  for  a  divorce  from  Eichard's 
mother,  Eleanor,  it  was  believed  that  he  had 
taken  the  step  in  order  to  espouse  Eichard's  afli- 
anced  bride.  Of  late,  however.  King  Philip, 
feeling  that  the  reputation  of  his  sister  waa  com- 
mitted, had  repeatedly  lu-ged  that  Adelais  should 
be  given  to  Eichard,  and  the  mai'riage  comjileted; 
and  the  Chm-ch  of  Eome  had  even  tlu-eatened 


'  Ro(f.  HovecT. 


2  Ibid.;  Script.  Rer.  Franc. 


Henry  with  its  severest  censures  in  case  of  his 
resisting  this  demand.  An  air  of  mystery  iri- 
volvcs  the  whole  story  and  every  part  of  it:  how 
Henry  evaded  the  demand  we  know  not,  but  of 
this  we  are  perfectly  well  informed,  that  he  had 
detained  the  lady — that  no  consequences  had  en- 
sued therefrom  on  the  part  of  the  pope — and 
that  Philip  had  even  made  peace  more  than  once, 
and  had  vowed  eternal  friendship  to  him  wliile 
he  was  thus  detaining  her.  If  Eichard  credited 
the  worst  part  of  the  cm-rent  reports  (as  he  after- 
wards averred  he  did),  he  was  not  likely  to  feel 
anything  but  the  strongest  aversion  to  the  mar- 
riage. Affection  for  his  affianced  bride  was, 
however,  a  very  colom-able  j^retext;  and  as  he 
was  now  haunted  by  a  more  real  and  serious  un- 
easiness— namely,  by  the  belief  tliat  his  father 
destined  the  English  crown  for  his  youngest  son 
John — he  set  this  plea  forward  in  justification  of 
his  rebellion,  and  co-operated  heart  and  hand 
with  the  French  king.  In  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber in  this  same  year  (a.d.  1188)  another  confer- 
ence was  held,  not,  however,  between  Trie  and 
Gisors,  but  near  to  Bonsmoulins  in  Normandy. 
Philip  proposed  that  Adelais  should  be  given  up 
to  Eichai'd,  and  that  Henry  should  declare  that 
prince  heu-,  not  only  to  his  kingdom  of  England, 
but  also  to  all  his  continental  dominions,  and 
cause  his  vassals  immediately  to  swear  fealty  to 
Eichard.  Henry,  who  could  not  forget  the 
miseries  he  liad  suffered  in  consequence  of  ele- 
vating his  eldest  son  in  this  manner,  resolutely 
refused  the  latter  proposition.  A  violent  alter- 
cation ensued,  and  ended  in  a  manner  which 
sufficiently  proved  that  Eichard  was  thinking 
little  of  the  first  proposition  or  of  his  bride. 
Turning  fi'om  his  father,  he  furiously  exclaimed, 
"  This  forces  me  to  believe  that  which  I  before 
deemed  impossible"  (that  is,  the  report  concern- 
ing his  younger  brother  John).  He  then  un- 
girded  his  sword,  and  kneeling  at  the  'eet  of 
King  Philip,  and  placing  his  hands  between  his, 
said,  "  To  you,  sire,  I  commit  the  protection  of 
myself  and  my  hereditary  rights,  and  to  you  I 
do  homage  for  aU  my  father's  dominions  on  this 
side  the  sea."  Philip  ostentatiously  accepted  his 
homage,  and  made  him  a  present  grant  of  some 
towns  and  castles  he  had  captiu-ed  from  his 
father.  Henry,  violently  agitated,  rushed  from 
the  scene,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  rode  away  to 
Saumur,  to  prepare  for  the  further  prosecution 
of  the  interminable  war.'  But  his  iron  frame 
now  felt  the  ini-oads  of  disease  and  grief;  his 
activity  and  decision  at  last  forsook  him,  and, 
relying  on  exertions  making  in  his  favom-  by  the 
pope's  legate,  he  remained  supine  while  Philij) 
and  Eichard  took  several  of  his  towns  and  se- 


'  IJovcd.:  Bkclo:  Script.  Rer.  Franc. 


A.D.  lOGJr-nso.' 


HKNin   jr. 


287 


duced  many  of  his  kniyhts.  Even  at  this  extre- 
mity the  good  people  of  Normandy  were  faithful 
to  him,  and,  wishing  to  secure  that  diu-hy  for 
his  favourite  sou,  of  whose  love  and  faith  he  had 
never  doubted,  he  was  careful  to  procure  an  oath 
from  the  seneschal  of  Normandy,  that  he  would 
deliver  the  fortresses  of  that  pi-ovince  to  John  in 
case  of  his  death.  The  church  was  on  this 
occasion  zealously  engaged  on  the  side  of  Henry; 
Richard  and  the  French  king  were  menaced  with 
excommunication,  and  though  elated  by  unusual 
success,  Philip  was  obliged  to  consent  to  another 
conference.  The  meeting  took  jjlace  iu  the 
month  of  June  in  the  following  yeai"  (a.d.  1189), 
at  La  FertS-Beruai'd ;  and  Richard,  John  of 
Anagni,  cardinal  and  legate,  the  Archbishops 
of  Canterbury,  Rouen,  Rheims,  and  Bourges, 
were  present.  Philip  proposed  the  same  condi- 
tions as  at  the  conference  of  Bonsmoulins  seven 
months  before ;  Hemy,  who  had  been  hurt  in 
every  feeling  by  Richai'd,  iu  the  interval,  rejected 
them,  and  proposed  that  Adelais  should  be  un- 
ited to  his  dutiful  son  John — au  overture  that 
tends  to  shake  the  credibility  of  the  existing 
scandal  even  more  than  does  the  circumstance  of 
Henry's  advanced  age.  Should  Philip  agi-ee  to 
this  arrangement,  he  declared  his  i-eadiness  to 
name  Prince  John  heir  to  his  continental  do- 
minions— a  distribution  which  he  seems  to  have 
long  contemplated.  Bat  Philip  would  not  enter 
into  the  new  plan,  or  abandon  Richard,  who  was 
present,  and  who  joined  the  French  king  iu 
violent  abuse  of  his  father.  John  of  Anagni, 
the  cai'dinal-legate,  then  threatened  to  put  the 
kingdom  of  France  under  an  interdict;  but  these 
menaces  depended  much  for  their  effect  on  cir- 
cumstances and  the  character  of  the  princes  to 
whom  they  were  addressed.  Philip  had  boldness 
enough  to  despise  them:  he  even  accused  the 
legate  of  partial  and  venal  motives;  telling  him 
it  was  easy  to  perceive  he  had  already  scented 
the  pounds  sterling  of  the  English  king.'  Rich- 
ard, who  was  never  exemplary  for  command  of 
temper,  went  still  further :  he  di-ew  his  sword 
against  the  canlinal,  and  would  have  cut  him 
down  but  for  the  timely  interposition  of  some 
more  moderate  members  of  the  party. 

Henry  again  rode  away  fi-om  the  conference, 
and  this  time  with  a  desponding  heart.  The 
people  of  Aquitaine,  Poictou,  and  Brittany  were 
induced  to  rise  in  mass  against  then-  now  falling 
master;  and,  under  the  command  of  Richard, 
they  fell  upou  him  on  the  west  and  south,  Thile 
the  French  king  attacked  him  in  Anjou,  on  the 
north.  He  had,  on  former  occasions,  made  head 
against  almost  equally  formidable  confederacies; 
but  the  strength  of  frame,  the  eagle-glance,  and 


'  Jam  sterlingos  resis  AngUsQ  olfec3rat. — Rog.  Hoved.;  Matt. 


the  buoyancy  of  spirits  which  had  then  carried 
him  through  a  victor,  were  now  crippled  and 
dimmed  by  sickness  and  sorrow.  His  bai-on-s 
continued  their  open  desertions  or  secret  treach- 
ery; and  at  last  he  was  induced  to  solicit  peace, 
with  the  offer  of  resigning  himself  to  whatever 
terms  Philip  and  Richard  should  propose.'-'  The 
two  monarclis  met  on  a  plain  between  Tours  and 
Azay-sur-Cher.  It  appears  that  Richard  did  not 
attend  to  witness  the  humiliation  of  his  father, 
but  expected  the  issue  of  the  negotiations  at  a 
short  distance.  AVhile  the  kings  were  conversing 
together  in  the  open  field  and  on  horseback,  a 
loud  peal  of  thunder  was  heard,  though  the  sky 
appeared  cloudless,  and  the  lightning  fell  between 
them,  but  without  hurting  them.  They  separated 
in  great  alarm,  but  after  a  brief  space  mot  again. 
Then  a  second  peal  of  thunder,  more  awful  than 
the  first,  roUed  over  their  heads.  The  state  of 
Henry's  health  I'endered  him  more  nervous  than 
his  young  and  then  triumphant  rival ;  he  di'opped 
the  reins,  and,  reeling  in  his  saddle,  would  have 
fallen  from  his  horse  had  not  his  attendants  sup- 
ported him.'  He  recovered  his  self-possession, 
but  he  was  too  ill  to  renew  the  conference,  and 
the  humiliating  conditions  of  peace,  i-educed  to 
writing,  were  sent  to  his  quarters  for  his  signa- 
ture. It  was  stijiulated  that  Henry  should  pay 
an  indemnity  of  20,000  marks  to  Philip,  renounce 
all  his  rights  of  sovereignty  over  the  town  of 
Berry,  and  submit  in  all  things  to  his  decisions;' 
that  he  should  permit  all  his  vassals,  both  Eng- 
lish and  continental,  to  do  homage  to  Richard; 
that  all  such  barons  as  had  espoused  Richard's 
party  should  be  considered  the  liege  men  and 
vassals  of  the  son,  unless  they  voluntarily  chose 
to  return  to  the  father;  that  he  should  deliver 
Adelais  to  one  out  of  five  jiereons  named  by  Rich- 
ard, who,  at  the  return  of  Philip  and  Richard 
from  the  crusade,  on  which  they  proposed  to  de- 
part immediately  (there  was  no  longer  any  talk 
of  Henry's  going),  would  restore  her  in  all  honour, 
either  to  her  brother  or  her  affianced;  and,  finally, 
that  he  should  give  the  kiss  of  peace  to  Richard, 
and  banish  from  his  heart  all  sentiments  of  anger 
and  animosity  against  him.'^  The  envoys  of  the 
French  king  read  the  treaty,  ai-ticle  by  article, 
to  Henry  as  he  lay  suffering  on  his  bed.  When 
they  came  to  the  article  which  regarded  the 
vassals  who  had  deserted  him  to  join  Richard,  he 
asked  for  a  list  of  their  names.  The  list  was  given 
him,  and  the  vei-y  first  name  upou  it  which  struck 
his  eye  was  that  of  his  darling  son  John,  of  whose 


-  Rt>ger  lined.:  Script,  liar.  J'mnc.  ^  JJ»(7.  Uoved. 

■*  "  Ex  toto  se  poswit  iii  volunUito  regis  Francias,"  says  Roger 
of  Hovodeii.  Except  ill  one  clause  the  uaiiie  of  Englaud  seems 
hardly  to  h.avo  been  mentioned;  and  tlus  submission  was  evidently 
limited  to  tlie  continental  dominions,  over  which  (at  least  in 
theory)  tlie  authority  of  the  French  crown  was  always  cxteiisivi\ 

5  Rog.  lloi-ed.:  Script.  Ret:  Franc. 


288 


HISTORY'  OF  ENGLAND. 


[Civil  and  Militaut. 


base  treachery  lie  had  hitherto  been  kept  happily 
iffnorant.  Tiic  broken-hearted  king  started  up 
fi-oni  his  bed  and  gazed  wildly  around.  "  Is  it 
true,"  he  cried, "  that  Jolm,  the  child  of  my  heart 


Castle  of  Chinon. — TcucLai-d  Lafosse,  La  Loii-e  Hiatorique,  Pittorosque,  &c. 

— he  whom  I  have  cherished  more  than  all  the 
rest,  and  for  love  of  whom  I  have  drawn  down 
on  mine  own  head  all  these  troubles,  hath  vei'ily 
betrayed  me?"  They  told  him  it  vras  even  so. 
"Now,  then,"  he  exclaimed,  falling  back  on  his 
bed,  and  turning  his  face  to  the  wall,  "  let  every- 
thing go  a.s  it  will — I  have 
no  longer  cai-e  for  myself 
or  for  the  world !' ' 

Shortly  after,  he  caused  -iS^i 
himself  to  be  transported 
to  the  pleasant  town  of 
Chinon;-  but  those  favourite 
scenes  made  no  impression 
on  his  profound  melancholy 
and  hopelessness  of  heai-t, 
and  in  a  few  days  he  laid 
himself  down  to  die.  In 
h's  last  moments,  as  his  in- 
tellects wandered,  he  was 
heard  uttermg  imconneoted 
exclamations.  "  O  shame!" 
he  cried,  "  a  conquered  king ! 
I,  a  conquered  king !  .  . 
.  .  .  .  Cursed  be  the  day  on  which  I  was 
born,  and  cursed  of  God  the  children  I  leave 


behind  me!"  Some  priests  exhorted  the  disor- 
dered, raving  man  to  retract  these  curses,  but  he 
would  not.  He  was  sensible,  however,  to  the 
aftection  and  unweaiying  attentions  of  his  na- 
tural son,  Geoffrey,  who  had 
Ijeen  faithful  to  him  through 
life,  and  who  received  his 
last  sigh.  As  soon  as  the 
breath  was  out  of  his  body, 
all  the  ministers,  priests, 
bishops,  and  barons,  that  had 
waited  solong,  took  a  hurried 
departure,  and  his  personal 
attendants  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  their  betters,  but 
not  before  they  had  stripped 
his  dead  body,  and  seized 
everything  of  any  value  in 
the  apartment  where  he 
died. 

The  disrespect  and  utter 
abandonment  which  had  fol- 
lowed   the    demise    of    the 
gi-eat  Conqueror  102  years 
before,  were  repeated  towards  the  corpse  of  his 
great-gi-andson.     It  was  not  without  delay  and 
diiSculty  that  people  were  found  to  ■rn-ap  the 
body  in  a  winding-sheet,  and  a  hearse  and  horses 
to  convey  it  to  the  abbey  of  Fontevraud.^    While 
it  was  on  its  wnv  to  rpceive  the  last  rites  of  se- 


ABbET  OF  FoNTKTF.Ain>.*~Mrs.  Stotliaid's  Normandy. 

pulture,  Richard,  who  had  learned  the  news  of 
his  father's  death,  met  the  procession  and  accom- 


^  ScHpt.  Rer.  Franc.  "  Iterura  se  lecto  reddens,  et  facLem 
Euam  .Id  parietem  verteus,"  &c. 

2  Chinon,  beautifully  situated  on  the  river  Loire,  was  the 
French  Windsor  of  oxir  Korman  kings;  and  ITontevraud,  at  the 
distance  of  about  seven  miles,  their  favourite  place  of  burial. 

^  Script.  Jler.  Franc;  Gii-ald.;  Anff.  Sac;  Rag.  Uovcd. 

*  Fontevraud,  or  Fontrevauld  (anciently  Fons  Ebraldi).  a 
town  of  France,  in  the  department  of  the  Maine  and  Loire. 
Tlio  abbey,  to  whicl^  it  owes  its  origin,  was  most  richly  en- 
dowed, and  \va3  the  he.ad  of  an  order  in  which  the  men  of  the 


establisliment  were  subservient  to  the  women.  It  was  founded 
in  1099,  Ijy  Robert  d'Ai-brissel,  a  celebrated  preacher  in  Brit- 
tany, charged  by  Pope  Urban  II.  to  preacli  in  favour  of  the 
second  erus.adM.  His  popularity  induced  so  many  of  all  classes 
to  follow  him,  that  he  resolved  to  choose  a  spot  where  he  might 
establish  them  in  regular  order.  The  wild  forest  of  Fontrev.aud, 
watered  by  a  piu-e  fountain  that  issued  from  a  reck,  was  selected 
.as  a  suitable  retreat,  .and  a  Lady  named  Aramburge  gave  them 
the  valley  in  which  the  great  church  w.as  afterwards  erected. — 
Mrs.  Stothard's  Tour  in  France. 


BLACKIE  AND   SON: 


GLASGOW: 

3fi,  FREDEUICK  STIIEET. 


^*»s. 


iai»-,^  EDINBURGH: 


LONDON:    44,    PAXEKNOSTER    KOW,    E.G. 


Just  completed,  in  SQ  Piirts,  imperial  4to,  2s.  6d.  each  ;  or  elegantly  half-bomnl,  morocco,  gilt  edges,  £.j,  5«. 

THE    IMPERIAL    ATLAS 

OF  MODERN  GEOGEAPIIY; 


A    Series  of  One   Hundred   carefully  coloured  JIaps, 
Political  Divisions  of  Territory  iu  all  parts  of  the  Wor 
Eupervisiou  of  AV.  G.  Blackie,  Ph.D.,  F.ll.G.S.      W 
Places. 

In  fulness  ami  accuracy  of  information,  largeness  of  scale,  and 
cleaniess  of  enj^raving.  this  Atlas  will  compare  favourably  with 
the  must  costly  works  of  the  kind  extant.  It  is  jiortable,  and 
can  be  consulted  with  ease,  being  an  imjierial  4to,  nieasunng 
when  closetl  15  inches  by  11  inches.  The  Maps  ai-e  printed  ou 
paper  measuring  22  inches  by  15,  and  carefully  coloured.  The 
tilii'ies  extends  to  Seventy-eight  such  Sheet-s,  comprising  above 
One  Ilundreil  different  Jlaps. 


cmbracins  the  most  recent  Discoveries,  and  the  latest 
Id.  Compiled  from  the  most  authentic  sources,  under  tlie 
ith  au  Index,   containing  References  to  nearly  120,tX)0 

*'  After  a  careful  perusal  of  the  whole  work,  we  can  safely  say 
that  we  know  of  uo  Atlas,  published  at  the  same  low  price, 
which  is  so  copious  and  acciu'ate  in  detail,  so  clearly  printed, 
and  so  well  engraved;  that  no  maps  liave  been  hitherto  con- 
structed on  scjUes  so  carefully  adapted  to  the  relative  import- 
ance of  countries,  as  viewed  from  the  stand-point  of  English 
merchants  and  general  readera." — London  lixvicw. 


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THE    IMPEPJAL    GAZETTEER: 

A  GENERAL  DICTIONARY  OF  GEOGRAPHY, 

PHYSICAL,  POLITICAL.  STATISTICAL,  and  DESCRIPTIVE;  inclndin-  comprehensive  Accounts  of  Uie 
Countries,  Cities,  Principal  Townis,  Villaj;es,  Seas,  Lakes,  lUvcrs,  Islands,  Monntains.  Valleys,  kc,  in  the  "World. 
Edited  by  W.  G.  Blackie,  Ph.D.,  F.K.G.S.  Illustrated  by  nearly  SEVEN  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY 
ENGFvAVINGS,  printed  in  the  Text,  comprising  Views,  Costumes,  Maps,  I'lans,  kc.  Two  larj^^e  Volumes, 
2670  pages,  imperial  Svo,  cloth,  £4,  Gs. 

*'This  excellent   Itook   of  reference All   tlie     I     have   thought    practicable    in    so   comprehensive  a   work." — 

articles  we  have  examined,  whetlier  long  or  short,  exhibit  a         Afic'itn-nni. 

greater  degree  of  correctness  in  minute  detail  thau  wo  should    |        *'  By  far  the  best  Gazetteer  in  our  langi^iage." — Critic. 


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THE  IMPERIAL  DICTIONARY, 

ENGLISH,    TECHNOLOGICAL,    AND    SCIENTIFIC; 

On  the  Basis  of  Webster's  English  Dictionary,  with  the  addition  of  many  Thousand  TYords  and  Phrases,  including 
the  most  generally  nsed  Technical  and  Scientific  Terms,  together  with  tiieir  Etymology  and  their  Pronunciation. 
Also  a  Sdpplfment,  containing  an  extensive  collection  of  "Words,  Terms,  and  Phrases,  not  included  in  previous 
English  Dictionaries,     By  J.  Ogilvie,  LL.D.     Illustrated  by  above  2500  Engravings  on  AVood, 

"Dr.  Ogilvie  h;is  not  only  produced  the  best  English  Die-  I         ''The  most  comprehensive  work  of  the  kind  we  possess,     "Wo 
tionary  that  exist.'*,  but,  bo  far  as  the  actual  state  of  knowledge  have  examined  attuntivoly,  and  can  report  most  favourably 

permitted,   liaa  made  some  approach   towards  perfection," —         of  its  execution." — AtUis, 

British  Qiiarterli/  Revu^ic,  \ 


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A  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  IMPERIAL  DICTIONARY, 

Containing  an  Extensive  Collection  of  "Words,  Terms,  and  Plirasos,  in  the  various  departments  of  Literature, 
Science,  and  Art;  together  witli  numerous  Obsolete,  Obsolescent,  and  Scottish  Words,  found  in  Cliaucer,  Spenser, 
Khakspeare,  and  Scott,  not  included  in  previous  Englisli  Dictionaries.  By  John*  Ogilvie,  LL.D.  Illustrated  by 
350  Engravings  on  Wood-. 

The  number  of  additional  words,  including  additional  signifi-  1  '*  Tho  Imperial  Dictinnnrj/,  with  its  Supplement,  ought  to  Iw 
cations  to  words  already  given,  amount  to  nearly  Ticmt^  foimd  in  every  library  of  books  of  reference." — Litt^-ari/ Gazette, 
Iftomand. 


No.  XX. 


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THE  COMPREHENSIVE  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND, 

CIVIL  and  MTLTTAKV,  RELIGIOUS.  INTELLECTUAL,  and  SOCIAL:  from  the  Earliest  Period  to  tlie 
Suppression  of  the  Sepoy  Revolt.  By  Charlks  Macfaulane  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thomson.  Illustrated 
by  above  Eleven  Hundred  Engravings  on  Wood  and  Steel — Views,  Coatunies,  Portraits,  Maps,  Plans,  &c.,  &c. 

'*W©  roa;anl  this  publication  as  by  far  the  most  bcnutiful,  I         **An  lulmiralilo  record,  not  only  of  militiry  and   iKiIiiii;;il 

cheap,  and  rc;illy  'compreh'-nsive'  history  of  the  nation  which  events,  but  of  moral  and  intellectual  projjrcHs,  thus  comprising, 

h;w*  over  yet  appeared." — Ji^fm  Jiffl.  in  fact,  a  real  Ilibtory  of  Kii^'land." — Chnl  Sdrvtcc  Gazaite. 

"This  ought  em7»hatically  to  bu  entitled  the  FaT)>ily  Ilistory  "This  will  bo  regarded  by  many — and  with  reason — as  the 

of  England." — Muniiiif;  Herald.  \    best  existing  Ilistory  of  Kughmd."— T/tt  Dial. 


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A  COMPREHENSIVE  HISTORY  OF  INDIA, 

CIVIL,  iJILITARV,  and  SOCIAL,  from  the  first  landing  of  the  English,  to  tlie  snppression  of  the  Sepoy 
Itevolt,  including  an  Outline  of  the  Early  History  of  Ilindoostan.  By  H.ENRT  Beveridge,  Esq.,  Advocate. 
Illustrated  by  above  Five  Hundred  Engravings  on  Wood  and  Steel.     It  will  extend  to  27  Parts. 


"This  elaborate  and  .able  work  is  indeed  more  comprehen- 
sive than  its  title  would  imply,  for  it  gives  us  with  pliilosophical 
discrimination  the  ancient,  medieval,  and  modein  Ilistory  of 
a  most  sin^ilar  people,  who  were  well  fed  and  well  clad,  who 
had  a  wi-itteu  language,  and  composed  metaphysical  troatiseo, 
when  the  forefathera  of  the  race  that  now  bears  sway  over  two 


hundred  millions  of  them  were  still  wandering  in  the  woods  of 
Britain  and  Germany,  all  of  them  savages,  and  some  perhaps 
cannil>als.  .      .      The  numerous  engravings  on  wood  and 

steel,  remarkable  for  tlieir  beauty  and  fidelity,  cmtribute 
greatly  to  the  interest  and  even  to  the  instnictive  power  of  the 
work."' — Examiner. 


New  and  revised  edition,  in  Parts,  2.'.,  and  Divisions,  105.  each. 

THE    POPULAR    ENCYCLOPEDIA; 

Or,  CONVEESATIONS  LEXICON. 

r.eing  a  General  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Sciences,  Literature,  Biograpliy,  History,  and  Politics;  with  Preliminary 
Dissertations  by  distinguished  Writers. 

The  PopuLATi  E>fCTCLorEDiA  has  been  before  the  public  for  many  years  past,  and  has  met  with  a  large  measure  of  acceptance. 
The  alterations  and  corrections  made  for  the  pi-esent  edition  render  the  Work  a  satisfactory  exponent  of  the  state  of  knowledge  in 
the  present  day.  The  articles  on  Botany,  Chemistry,  and  Geologj-  have  been  wholly  re-^vritteu,  and  the  scientific  articles  generally 
have  lieen  carefully  revised;  and  those  on  Geography,  Topograjihy,  History,  Theology,  and  Biograpliy  have  been  subjected  to  a 
rigid  examination. 

An  entirely  new  Suppt.ement  has  been  written,  containing  additional  bio^aphies,  notices  of  localities  newly  discovered,  or  that 
have  risen  recently  into  importance — of  siibstances  and  processes  new  in  science  and  the  ai-ts — of  the  great  events  of  the  world 
during  the  last  twenty  years — and  other  subjects  of  general  interest. 

The  Illustrations  of  the  PorcL.\R  Excvclopkdia  have  been  augmented  fully  a  half,  and  extend  to  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-four 
Pages  of  Steel  Engravinc^s,  and  Fourteen  Coloured  Maps,  besides  many  Engravings  on  Wood.  The  wliole  Work,  including  Supple- 
ment, will  be  comx>leted  in  63  Parts,  piace  2s.  each ;  or  h\  14  Divisions,  Ite.  each. 


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THE  IMPERIAL   FAMILY  BIBLE, 

Containing  the  OLD  and  New  Testamknts,  according  to  the  most  Correct  Copies  of  the  Authorized  Version, 
With  many  Thousand  Critical,  Explanatory,  and  Practical  Xotes;  also,  References,  Readings,  Chronological 
Tables,  and  Inde.Kes.     Illustrated  by  a  Superb  Series  of  Engravings. 

The  Engraved  Illustrations,  7\  in  number,  consist  of  a  Series  I  existing  Schools  of  Painting  on  the  Continent  and  in  Britain, 
of  Historical  Subjects,  nt^lected  uith  much  care  and  research  and  a  Series  of  Views  of  importvint  Bible  Localities,  fi-om  authcn- 
from  the  Works  iif  the  Old  Masiers,  and   from  those  of  the     I    tic  drawings;  the  wlioIe  engraved  in  the  most  finished  manner. 

\*  .-1  separate  issue  is  in  prof/ress,  having  40  Engravings  only,  selected  exclusively  from  the  Historical  Subjects^ 

in  39  Paris.  2s.  each. 


In  "5  Parts,  imperial  Svo,  Is.  each;  or  2  Vols.,  cloth  extra,  3S5. 

THE  HISTORY   OF  THE   BIBLE, 

From  the  Beginning  of  tlie  World  to  the  Establishment  of  Christianity;  and  a  connection  of  Profane  with  Sacred 
History.  By  tlie  Rev.  Thomas  Stackhouse,  JI.A.  With  copious  additions  from  recent  Commentators,  Critics, 
and  Eastern  Travellers;  and  Complete  Indexes.  Also,  an  Appendix  on  tlie  Illustrations  of  Scripture  derived  from 
the  Egj'ptian  and  Assyrian  Monuments,  kc.     Illustrated  by  Eifty  highly-finished  Engravings. 

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BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY  OF  EMINENT  SCOTSMEN. 

Originally  Kiliteil  liy  Kobkrt  Chambers.  In  Four  Volumes.  New  and  reviscil  Edition.  \\"M\  a  Supideincntnl 
Volume,  continuing  tlie  Diograjdiies  to  tlie  Present  Time.  By  tho  Kev.  Thomas  'i'liuMSJN.  Illustrated  Ijy 
Eighty-seven  highly-finished  I'ortraits,  and  I'lvo  Engraved  Titles. 


To  Ikj  completed  in  about  30  Parts,  medixim  -Ito,  \s.  uaoli. 

ITALY: 

ILLUSTRATED   AND   DESCRIBED. 

A  Series  of  Views,  engraved  in  the  moat  finished  manner,  from  Drawings  by  StanfieM,  U.A.;  llohcrts,  K.A.; 
Harding,  I'ront,  Leitch,  lirockedon,  Barnard,  iK:c.,  S:c.  "With  Descriptions  of  the  Scenes.  I'receded  by  a  Keview 
of  tlie  Past  (.'ondition  and  Fntnre  rrospccts  of  Italy  and  the  Italians.  Each  Part  will  contain  Two  larj^o  and 
Lighly-finished  Engravings,  with  descriptive  text. 

*' We  do  not  know  a  more  delightfid  drawing-room  book  than  I  world,  with  corresponding  descriptions  to  reconl  the  natunil 
this  work  on  Italy,  which  comprises  npwanls  of  sixty  exquisite  features,  and  the  poetical  and  lustorical  associations  of  each 
illnstratious  of  tho  noblest  and  most  intercoting  sceueiy  in  the     |     sjiot." — Jnvanicss  Coui'itr. 


Ke-issue,  with  Coloured  Plates.    In  30  Parts,  super-royal  Svo,  I5.  each. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH  AND  ANIMATED  NATURE. 

r.y  Oliver  Goldsmith.    AVith  numerous  Notes  from  the  Works  of  the  most  distinguished  British  and  Foreign 
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A  HISTORY  OF  THE  VEGETABLE  KINGDOM; 

Embracing  the  Physiology,  Classification,  and  the  Culture  of  Plants;  with  their  various  xiscs  to  Man  and  the 
Lower  Animals,  and  their  application  in  tlie  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Domestic  Economy.  Illustrated  by  Seven 
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D'AIJBIGNE'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Trinslated  by  D.  D.  ScOTT,  and  H.  White,  E.A.     Tho  Tr.anslation  carefully  revised  liy  Dr.  Merle  D'AnniONE. 
Large  tyiie,  numerous  Notes,  not  in  any  otiier  Edition,  and  Forty  Illustration.':,  beautifully  Engraved  on  Steel. 
The  Emerald  Edition,  small  Svo,  in  17  Nos.,  Price  Gd.  each. 


lu  20  Parts,  1^«.  each;  or  2  Vols.,  clotli,  £1,  1*. 

A  HISTORY   OF   THE   PAPACY, 

Political  and  Ecclesiastical,  in  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  Centuries.  By  Leopold  Ranke.  With  Notes 
by  the  Translator,  and  an  Introductory  Essay  by  J.  H.  MuRLE  D'Adbigne,  D.D.  Illustrated  by  Twenty  higlily- 
finished  Portraits.  ' 


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THE  GARDENER'S   ASSISTANT. 

PitACTiCAL  and  Scientific.  A  Guide  to  the  Formation  and  Management  of  the  Kitclien,  Fruit,  and  Flower 
Garden,  and  the  Cultivation  of  Conservatory,  Green-house,  an<l  Ilot-lionse  Plants.  By  Robert  Thomi'son,  Super- 
intendent of  the  Horticultural  Society's  Garden,  Chiswick.  lUualrated  by  Twelve  beautifully-coloured  Engravings, 
each  representing  two  or  more  choice  Flowers  or  Fruits,  and  nearly  Three  Hundred  Engravings  on  Wood. 

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THE  WORKS  OF  JOHN  BUNYAN, 

PRACTICAL,  ALLEGORICAL,  AND  MISCELLANEOUS; 

First  Complete  Edition.  Carefully  collated  and  printed  from  the  Autlioi-'s  own  Editions.  "With  Editorial 
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SEPAEATE  ISSUES. 
I.  The  Experimental,  Doctkinal,  and  Practical  Wokks.    Illustrations.    In  32  Parts,  Is.  eacli. 
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LADIES   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 

MEMOIRS   OF  DISTINGUISHED  FEMALE  CHARACTERS, 

Belonging  to  the  Period  of  tlie  Reformation  in  the  Sixteenth  Century.  By  the  llev.  James  A  NDEUSON,  Autlior  of 
Ladies  of  the  Covenant,  &o.  Nearly  Two  Hundred  Illustrations,  from  Drawings  by  J.  Godwin,  G.  Thou.as, 
J.  W.  Archer,  E.  K.  Johnson,  &c. 

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LADIES    OF    THE    COVENANT; 

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THE  SHEEPFOLD  AND  THE  COMMON; 

Ok,  WITHIN    AND    WITHOUT. 

Being  Tales  and  Sketches  illustrating  the  Power  of  Evangelical  Religion,  and  the  Pernicious  Tendency  of  the 
Heresies  and  Errors  of  the  Day.     Illustrated  by  a  Series  of  Thirty-two  Page  Engravings. 

This  Work  is  a  new  and  much  improved  Edition  of  the  Emu-    I     borne  to  its  excellency  when  flrat  put  forth,  and  its  re-appoar- 
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Tlio\i;i;ind  copies  of  it  were  sold.    The  hijjhest  testimony  was    \    approval. 


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THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS   CHRIST, 

With  the  Live.?  of  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists.  By  the  Rev.  John  Fleetwood,  D.D.  Also,  the  Lives  of  the 
most  Eminent  Fathers  and  Martyrs,  and  tlie  History  of  Primitive  Christianity,  by  William  Cave,  D.D.  'With 
an  Essay  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  numerous  Notes  not  to  be  found  in  any  other  Edition.  'Jo  which 
is  subjoined,  A  Concise  History  of  the  Christiau  Church,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Sims,  M.A.  Illustrated  by  Forty 
lieautiful  Engravings. 


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THE    CHRISTIAN    CYCLOPEDIA; 

OE,   REPERTORY    OF   BIBLICAL   AND   THEOLOGICAL   LITERATURE. 

By  the  llev.  James  Gardnek,  M.D.,  A.M.    TVith  numerous  Illustrations. 

This  "Work  is  designed  to  be  a  popular  compemlium  of  what  tionary,  and  a  compreliensive  digest  of  the  Literature  and 

has  hitherto  been  T^ritten  on  all  those  subjects  winch  are  either  i  Biography  connected  with  Christianity.     It  must  be  regai-ded 

involved  in,  or  allied  to  Christianity.     It  embraces  in  its  plan  !  p.a  a  Work  of  high  value  to  the  readers  and  students  of  the 

the  general  features  botli  of  a  Biblical  and  Theological  Die-  I  Scriptures. 

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THE  COMPREHENSIVE  FAMILY 

BIBLE;  with  Not^s  and  Practical  Uefloctioiia;  lUso,  Refoi-ouccs, 
Readings,  Chronolojjical  and  other  Tables.  IJy  I^avid  David- 
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COOKE'S  BROWN'S  SELF-INTER- 

PRKTING  lilULK.  With  Introduction,  M;n-in;U  Itefei-yncas, 
and  Copious  Notea,  E.xplauatoiy  and  Practical.  IJy  tlm  liuv. 
Henry  Cookk,  1).D.,  Belfast.  Illustrated  witli  Historical  De- 
signs, and  a  Series  of  Views,     In  44  Parts,  royal  4to,  I*.  Ctach. 

BROWN'S   POPULAR  FAMILY 

BIBLE;  with  many  additional  Xotes,  References,  and  Read- 
ings ;  also,  Memoir  of  the  Author,  and  Barr's  Index  of  Subjects. 
Illustrated  by  Historical  Designs  and  Family  Register.  Tlie 
Self-Intkrpretino  Bible,  complete  aud  unabridged,  in  '20 
Parts,  demy  4to,  Is.  each. 

HAWEIS'  EVANGELICAL  EXPO- 

SITOR  ;  a  Commentary  on  the  Holy  Bible,  with  Tntrndnction, 
Slarginal  References  and  Readings,  and  a  Complete  Index  and 
Concise  Dictionary,  by  the  Rov.  John  Bauu.  M'ith  lHap.s, 
Plans,  aud  other  Eugraviuga.    65  Farts,  Is,  each. 

ILLUSTRATED  POCKET  BIBLE; 

Containing  nearly  0000  Critic;il  and  Explanatory  NotL^s,  and 
80,000  References  aud  Readings;  also,  TuiuTV-siiVEN  beautiful 
Eugrayings.     In  24  Nos.,  6d.  each. 

THE  BOOK  of  COMMON  PRAYER. 

TVith  Notes  compiled  from  the  Writings  of  tlio  m(»;,t  oniinent 
Commont;itors.  Illustrated  by  20  beautiful  Engravings,  inchul- 
ing  Eight  Designs  for  the  Offices,  by  H.  C.  Selous.  The  Rubrics 
prinltd  in  litd.     Itj  Nos.,  Od.  each  ;  and  iu  mor.,  flexible,  155. 

BARNES'  NOTES  ON  THE  NEW 

TESTAMENT.  lUustrated  and  Annotated  Edition.  W'ith  3S 
Steel  Plates,  22  Maps  and  Plans,  aud  2S  Engravings  on  Wood — 
in  all,  Sevenl!/  separate  Plates,  from  the  most  authentic  soui'ces, 
illustrating  the  principal  Scriptiire  Scenes,  and  Sites  of  Cele- 
brated Cities,  To\nis,  Arc,  The  whole  complete  in  33  Parts,  Is. 
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FARMER'S  GUIDE.     A  Treatise  on 

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THE    HAY    and    CATTLE    MEA- 

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Eccentric  Curves,  the  various  forms  of  Gearing,  Keciprocating 
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ENGINEER    and    MACHINIST'S 

ASSISTANT :  Being  a  Series  of  Plans,  Sections,  and  Elevations 
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and  a  vnriety  of  other  questions  Learins  upon  the  ecotioriiic;iJ  workins  and  im- 
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RECENT  PRACTICE  in  the  LOCO- 

MOTIVE  ENGINE  iTieinga  Supplement  to  Ra'dicmi  Marhincry) ; 
Comprising  the  most  Recent  Improvements  in  English  Practice, 
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LAND  -  MEASURER'S     READY- 

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Joinery,  and  Hand  liailing;  also,  a  Course  of  Instruction  in 
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and  Pei-spective.  and  an  lllustrited  Olossjiry  of  Terms  it^ed  in 
Architecture  and  Building.  By  James  Nkwi>and.s,  Borough 
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and  foreign  Iansua;^e3,  are  inaccc-silile  to  workmen. 

"  It  will  be  for  a  Ions  time  to  come  the  standard  treatise  on  Carpentry  and 
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CABINET-MAKER'S  ASSISTANT. 

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