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HE  SPARKS 

LIBRARY. 

[MISCELLANY.] 
Collected  by 

JARED  SPARKS,  LL.  Z>., 

President  of  Harvard  College. 

Purchased  by  the  Cornell  University, 

1875. 


RM^*9 

9  "->•• 


s^ 


A"*J' 


THE 

H  I  S  T  O  R  Y; 

OF 


,-  •  v  •  -v 

GREAT    BRIT  A  I  N^fv 

FROM   THE 

FIRST   INVASION    OF   IT   BY  THE   ROMANS 
UNDER    JULIUS    C.ESAR. 

WRITTEN   ON  A    NEW  PLAN. 


By  ROBERT   HENRY,  D.D. 

ONE    OF   THE    MINISTERS    OP    EDINBURGH,    MEMBER   OF   THK 

SOCIETY    OF   ANTIQUARIANS   OF   SCOTLAND,  AND   OF 

THK   BOYAL   SOCIETY    OF  EDINBURGH. 


THE   FIFTH  EDITION. 

IN  TWELVE  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  VI. 

LONDON: 

PRINTED  FOR  CADELL  AND  DAVIES;  F.C.  AND  J.RIVINGTON  ;  R.LEA;  J.CUTHELL; 
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AND  CO.;  E.  JEFFERY;  C.  LAW  ;  WHITE  AND  COCHRANE  ;  B.  AND  R.  CROSBY  ; 
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NIVEKS1TY 
LIBRARY^ 


Saahan  and  Preston, 
Printers-Street,  London. 


OF 


THE    SIXTH   VOLUME. 


BOOK    ffl.     Continued. 


CHAP.    III.  Page 

Hiftory  of  the  Conftitution,  Government,  and 
JLaws  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  landing  of 
William  Duke  of  Normandy,  A.  D.  1066., 
to  the  death  of  King  John,  A.  D.  1 2 16.  i 

Seft.  I.  Hiftory  of  the  changes  in  the  conftitution, 
government,  and  laws  of  England)  that  were  made 
in  the  reign  of  William  I.  from  A.  D.  1066.  to 
A.  D.  1087.  -  .  -a 

Seft.  2.  Hiftory  of  the  changes  in  the  conftitution, 
government,  and  laws  of  England,  in  the  reigns 
of  William  II.  Henry  I.  Stephen,  Henry  II. 
Richard  I.  and  John,  from  A.  D.  1087.  to  A.  D. 
1216.  -  -  '  F  f  54 

SOL.  VI.  * 


CONTENTS. 

CHAP.     IV. 

The  Hiftory  of  Learning  in  Great  Britain,  from 
the  landing  of  William  Duke  of  Normandy, 
A.  D.  1066.,  to  the  death  of  King  John, 
A.  D.  1216.  Page  87 

Seft.  i.  An  account  of  the  fciences  that  were  cul- 
tivated in  Great  Britain,  from  A.  D.  1066.  to  A.  D. 
1216, — of  the  improvements  that  were  made  in 
them, — and  of  the  reafons  of  thefe  improvements  8  8 

Seft.  2.  Hiftory  of  the  moft  learned  men  who  flou- 
rimed  in  Britain,  from  A.  D.  io6(x.  to  A.  D. 
1216.  121 

Sect.  3.  Hiftory  of  the  chief  feminaries  of  learning 
in  Great  Britain  from  A.  D.  1066.  to  A.  D.  1216.  155 

CHAP.     V. 

Hiftory  of  the  Arts  in  Great  Britain,  from  the 
the  landing  of  William  Duke  of  Normandy, 
A.  D.  1066.,  to  the  death  of  King  John, 
A.  D.  1216.  -,172 

Seft.  i.  Hiftory  of  the  neceflary  arts  in  Britain,  from 
A.  D.  1066.  to  A.  D.  1216.  -  -  -  173 

Seft.  2.  The  Hiftory  of  the  fine  or  pleafing  arts  of 
fculpture,  painting,  poetry  and  mufic,  in  Great 
Britain,  from  A.  D.  1066.  to  A.  D.  1216.  -  218 

CHAP.    VI.  , 

Hiftory  of  Commerce,  Coin,  and  Shipping 
in  Great  Britain,  from  the  landing  of  Wil- 
liam Duke  of  Normandy,  A.  D.  1066.,  to 
the  death  of  King  John,  A.  D.  1216.  -  255 


CONTENTS.  iii 

CHAP.    VII. 

The  Hiftory  of  the  Manners,  Virtues,  Vices, 
remarkable  Cuftoms,  Language,  Drefs, 
Diet,  and  Diver  (ions  of  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  from  the  landing  of  William  Duke 
of  Normandy,  A.  D.  1066.,  to  the  death  of 
King  John,  A,  D.  1216.  -  Page  313 


APPENDIX    to    BOOK    III. 

NUMBER  I.  Magna  Carta  Regis  Johannis,  xv  die  Junii 
MCCXV.  anno  regni  xvii  ...  381 

NUMBER  II.  Tranflation  of  the  Great  Charter  of  King 
John,  granted  June  I5th,  A.  D.  1215.  in  the  feven- 
teenth  year  of  his  reign  -  393 

NUMBER  III.  Epiftola  P.  Blefenfis  ad  Petrum  amicum 
medicum  -  -  407 

NUMBER  IV.  Permiffion  of  Richard  I.  for  holding  tour- 
naments in  England  -  -  409 


THE 


THE 

HISTORY 

OF 

GREAT    BRITAIN. 


BOOK    III. 

CHAP.  III. 

Hi/lory  of  the  Conjlitution,    Government,    and 
Laws  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  landing  of 
William  Duke  of  Normandy,  A.D.  1066.,  to 
the  death  of  King  John,  A.  D.  1216. 

npHOUGH  the  Norman  conqueft  was  not  Plan  of 
-A.  near  fo  fanguinary  as  the  Anglo-Saxon,  thischaP- 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  was  productive  of 
very  important  changes  in  the  Hate  of  England, 
and  particularly  in  its  conftitution,  government, 
and  laws,  the  fubje6l  of  the  prefent  chapter. 
To  prevent  the  repetition  of  the  delineation 
that  hath  been  already  given  in  the  third 
chapter  of  the  preceding  book,  of  thofe  parts 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  conftitution  that  were 
VOL.  vi.  B  ftill 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

flill  retained  in  this  period ;  it  is  propofed  to 
divide  this  chapter  into  two  feclions ;  and,  in 
the  firfl  of  thefe,  to  give  a  very  brief  account  of 
the  mod  confiderable  changes  that  were  intro- 
duced by  William  I.  into  the  conftitution, 
government,  and  laws  of  England ;  and,  in  the 
fecond,  to  defcribe,  with  equal  brevity,  the 
fuccefiive  alterations  in  all  thefe,  that  were  made 
by  the  other  princes  who  reigned  in  this  period. 
The  laws  of  hiftory  will  not  admit  into  thefe 
feclions  thofe  particular  details,  minute  diilinc- 
tions,  and  controverfial  difquifitions,  that  would 
be  proper  in  a  work  on  law  and  government ; 
and  I  am  fully  determined  that  they  fhall  not  be 
fwelled  with  unfriendly  depreciating  ftridlures  on 
the  labours  of  other  writers. 


SECTION  I. 

Hijlory  of  the  changes  in  the  Con/litutwn,  Govern- 
ment, and  Laws  of  England,  that  were  introduced 
in  the  reign  of  William  I.  from  A.  D.  1 066.  to 
A.D.  1087. 


Thofe  in     r  •  >HE  changes  in  the  ranks  and  degrees  of  men 

the  loweft 


„_  T1 

rank  info-  ^  *n  fociety,  that  were  introduced  into  Eng- 
ciety  were  land  at  the  Norman  conqueft,  feem  to  have  been 
rather  nominal  than  real.  Thofe  who  occupied 
the  loweft  rank,  dill  continued  in  a  flate  of 
flavery ;  and  we  have  good  reafon  to  believe, 
that  their  numbers  were  rather  increafed  than 

dimi- 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

diminifhed  by  that  event.  None  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  ferfs,  who  were  annexed  to  the  lands  which 
they  cultivated,  and  had  been  ufually  transferred 
with  them  from  one  proprietor  to  another,  could 
entertain  the  leafl  hopes  of  obtaining  freedom,  or 
even  a  mitigation  of  their  fervitude,  when  thefe 
lands  were  beftowed  on  the  enemies  and  con- 
querors of  their  nation r.  On  the  contrary, 
many  of  the  Englifh,  who  had  formerly  been 
free,  having  been  taken  prifoners  at  the  battle 
of  Haflings,  or  in  fome  of  the  fubfequent  revolts, 
were  reduced  to  flavery ;  and  thought  themfelves 
very  happy  if  they  preferved  their  lives,  though 
they  loft  their  freedom.  The  Norman  con- 
querors for  fome  time  treated  their  Englifli  flaves 
with  fo  much  feverity,  that  a  contemporary 
writer  declines  giving  any  defcription  of  it, 
"  becatife  its  inhuman  cruelty  would  appear  in- 
"  credible  to  pofterity." 2 

The  condition  of  all  thefe  unhappy  people,  in  Different 
this  period,  was  not  equally  abje6l  and  wretched.  j!jinds  of 
There  were  different  degrees  of  fervitude,  and  domeftic 
different   kinds  of  flaves   that   were  called   by  flaves* 
different  names,  viz.  —  i .  Villains  in  grofs,  who 
were  the  perfonal  property  of  their  mailers,  and 
performed  the  lowefl  and  mod  laborious  offices 
about  their  mailers  houfes 3.     This  clafs  of  flaves 
feems  to  have  been  very  numerous ;  for  Roger 
Hoveden  tells  us,  that  from  the  reign  of  Wil- 

'  Ingulph.  Hift.  fub  fin.        5  Hift.  Elienf.  apud  Gale,  t.i.  p.u6. 
3 'Sit  Thomas  Smith's  Commonwealth  of  England,  p.  133. 

?  2  liam 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Ham  I.  to  his  own  time  in  the  reign  of  King 
John,  there  was  hardly  a  houfe  or  even  cottage 
in  Scotland,  in  which  there  was  not  to  be  found 
an  Englifli  flave 4.  It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that 
their  more  opulent  neighbours  the  Normans  and 
Englifh  were  worl'e  provided  than  the  Scots  with 
domeflic  flaves.  They  had  indeed  fuch  great 
numbers  of  them,  that  they  exported  and 
fold  many  of  thefe  unhappy  perfons  in  foreign 
countries. s 

2.  Villains  regardant,  or  predial  flaves,  who 
lived  in  the  country,  and  cultivated  the  lands 
of  their  mafters,  to  which  they  were  annexed 6. 
Thefe  were  in  a  better  condition  than  domeftic 
flaves,  and  had  an  imperfect  kind  of  property 
in  their  houfes  and  furniture,  and  in  the  little 
gardens  and  fmall  pieces  of  ground  which  they 
were  allowed  to  cultivate,  at  leifure  times,  for 
their  own  fubfiftence.  But  dill  their  perfons  and 
properties  were  fo  much  in  the  power  of  their 
mafters,  that  they  granted  or  fold  them  to  whom 
they  pleafed 7.  Thefe  two  formed  a  very  nu- 
merous clafs  of  flaves,  by  whom  the  demefnes  of 
all  the  earls,  barons,  bifhops,  abbots,  and  great 
men  of  England,  were  cultivated.  The  villains 
belonging  to  fome  of  the  richeft  abbeys  amounted 
to  two  thoufand.8 

4  R.  Hoveden.  Annal  p.  360.  col.i. 

s  Girald.  Cambrenf.  Hlbernia  Expugnat.  p.  770. 

*  Sir  T. Smith,  p.  113.  7  Ingulph.  Hift.  p.jao.  col.i. 

*  Walfingham  Hift.  Aug.  p.  25  8. 

3.  Cottars 


Chap.  3.  Sea.i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

3.  Cottars  (who   in  the  barbarous  Latin  of  Cottar*, 
thofe  times  were  called  Cvttarii>  becauie  they 
dwelt  in   fmall  huts   or  cottages,  near  to   the 
manfions  oftheir  mailers)  compofed  another  clafs 

of  flaves  frequently  mentioned  in  Doomfday- 
book.  They  were  fuch  as,  by  the  direction  of 
their  owners,  had  been  inftru£led  in  fome  handi- 
craft art  or  trade,  as  that  of  fmiths,  carpenters, 
&c.  which  they  pra&ifed  for  the  benefit  of  their 
mafters,  and  were  on  the  fame  footing  in  all 
refpe6ls  with  villains  or  predial  flaves.9 

4.  Borders,    in    Latin    Bordarii,    frequently  Borders. 
occur  in  Doomfday-book,  as  diftinguiflied  from 
villains  and  cottars ;  but  in  what  refpe&s  they 
differed  from  them  is  not  clearly  afcertained. 

The  moft  probable  opinion  feems  to  be,  that 
they  were  a  kind  of  upper  domeftic  fervants, 
who  waited  at  table  (then  called  bord\  and  per- 
formed other  lefs  ignoble  offices  in  their  mafters 
houfes,  in  which  they  did  not  refide,  but  in 
fmall  huts  of  their  own,  to  which  little  gardens 
and  parcels  of  land  were  annexed,  as  the  fee  or 
reward  of  their  fervices I0.  From  this  fliort  and 
imperfec~l  enumeration  it  is  fufficiently  evident, 
that  a  very  great  proportion  of  the  people  of 
England,  in  this  period,  were  in  a  ftate  of  fervi- 
tude,  or  rather  in  a  ftate  of  flavery. 

As  all  the  children  of  flaves  were  by  their 
birth  in  the  fame  degrees  of  fubje&ion  to  the 
fame  mafters  with  their  parents,  this  order  of 

9  Spelnaan.     DuCange,  invoc,  '•  Spelman  Cloftin  voc, 

B  3  men 


g  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

men  muft  have  increafed  exceedingly,  if  many  of 
them  had  not  from  time  to  time  obtained  their 
freedom.  This  they  did  by  various  means,  but 
chiefly  by  uncommon  fidelity  and  diligence, 
which  excited  the  gratitude  of  their  matters,  and 
engaged  them  to  make  them  free  ".  The  grant- 
ing freedom  to  a  certain  number  of  flaves  was 
fometimes  enjoined  by  the  clergy,  and  fome- 
times  voluntarily  performed  by  penitents,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  their  fins,  and  for 
the  good  of  their  fouls.  The  ceremony  of  manu- 
miflion  was  commonly  performed  at  church,  or 
at  the  county-court,  when  the  mafler,  taking  his 
flave  by  the  hand,  declared  that  he  made  him 
free  ;  after  which  he  gave  him  a  fword  or  fpear, 
the  arms  of  a  freeman ;  and  then  commanding  all 
the  doors  to  be  thrown  o£en,  allowed  him  to  go 
where  he  pleafed  '2.  Thefe  freed-men  pofieffed 
the  fame  place  in  fociety  in  this  period,  that  the 
free-lazen  had  pofTefied  in  the  times  of  the  An- 
glo-Saxons. 

Defcrip.         The  middle  rank  in  fociety,  that  filled  up  the 

tionof       interval  between  the  freed-men  on  the  one  hand, 

the  middle  an(* tne  nobleffe  and  baronage  on  the  other,  was 

ranks  in     chiefly  compofed  of  three  different  bodies  of  men, 

which  had  been  formerly  very  diflincl;,  but  were 

now  united,     i.  Thofe  Anglo-Saxon  ceorlswho 

had  remained  neuter  in   the  quarrel  between 

William  and  Harold,  and  had  not  joined  in  any 

11  Glanvill  de  Confuetudini  Anglise,  1.5.  0.5. 
11  Leget  Willielmi  I.  L6j.     Henrici  1. 1.78,  &c. 

Of 


Chap.  3 .  Sea.  i .    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

I  of  the  fubfequent  revolts,  and  were  therefore 

allowed  to  retain  their  rank  as  well  as  their  pof. 
feflions,  though,  for  their  own  greater  fecurity, 
they  generally  put  themfelves  under  the  protec- 
tion of  fome  great  Norman  baron,  and  became 
his  focmen.     2.  Thofe  Anglo-Saxon  thanes  and 
noblemen  who  were  degraded  from  their  former 
rank,  and  divefted  of  all  power,  but  permitted  to 
retain  a  part  of  their  poffeflions,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  their  conquerors.     The   number  of 
thefe  degraded  nobles  was  not  inconiiderable ; 
for  before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  William  I. 
there  was  hardly  fo  much  as  one  Englifliman  who 
was  either  earl,  baron,  biftiop,  or  abbot13;  and 
for  more  than  a  century  after,  to  be  an  Engliih- 
man  was  an  effectual  exclufion  from  all  prefer- 
ment14.    3.  Thofe  Frenchmen,  Normans,  and 
others,  who  fought  under  their  feveral  leaders  in 
the  conqueft  of  England,  and  afterwards  fettled 
on  the  demefne  lands  of  thofe  leaders,  and  be- 
came their  farmers,  focmen,  and  fmaller  vafials. 
All  thefe  different  kinds  of  people  were  by  de- 
grees blended  together,  and  formed  a  body,  from 
which  the  yeomanry  and  many  of  the  gentry  of 
England  are  defcended.      The  inhabitants  of 
towns  and  cities  were  generally  of  this  middle 
rank. 

The  Norman  barons  formed  the  highefl  order  Norman 
of  the  ftate,  and  occupied  the  fame  place  in  nobility' 
fociety  after  the  conqueft,  that  the  Anglo-Saxon 

"  Ingulphi  Hift.  *4  Eadmer,  p.  94.  z  lo. 

B  4  thanes 


8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III- 

thanes  had  pofleffed  before  that  sera,  and  the 
nobility  and  principal  gentry  of  England  now 
poflefs  s.     They  were  a  numerous,  opulent,  and 
powerful  body  of  men,  and  (when  taken  in  the 
moil  extenlive  fenfe)  comprehended  all  the  con- 
fiderable  proprietors  of  land  in  England,  efpe- 
cially  all  thofe  who  held  immediately  of  the  king 
in  capite  by  military  fervices.     The  leffer  barons 
were  frequently  called  tm>«/drs,and  correfponded 
to  the  leffer  Anglo-Saxon   thanes,  and  to  the 
modern  Englifti  gentlemen  of  ancient  families 
and  large  eftates I6.     But  barons,  in  this  period, 
mod  properly  were  the  greater  or  king's  barons, 
who  held  immediately  of  the   king  an  entire 
barony,  confiding  of  thirteen  knights  fees,andthe 
third  part  of  a  knight's  fee,  yielding  an  annual 
revenue  of  £266  :  13:4,  or  400  marks  7 :  an 
ample  fortune  in  the  times  we  are  now  confider- 
ing.     Thofe  who  held  fuch  baronies  were  the 
fpiritual  and  temporal  lords  of  the  kingdom,  who 
enjoyed  many  fingular  privileges  and  immunities, 
and  in  their  own  territories  were  a  kind  of  petty 
princes  (too  often  tyrants),  poffeffing  both  civil 
and  military  jurifdiction  over  their  vafTals IS.    But 
we  (hall  meet  with  a  more  convenient  opportu- 
nity of  confidering  the  civil  authority  and  mili- 
tary power  of  the  Norman  barons. 

Great  Though   the   acceflion  of  William  Duke  of 

Normandy  to  the  throne  of  England  produced  no 

15  See  vol.  3.  p/529-  '*  Selden's  Titles  of  Honour,  p.5i8. 

17  Vid.  Spelman.     Du  Cange  Gloff.  in  voc.  Baro,  Baronia. 
*  Id.  ibid. 

very 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

very  remarkable  alteration  in  the  ranks  and 
orders  of  men  in  fociety  ;  it  produced  many  im- 
portant  changes  in  their  political  circmnftances,  land. 

—  in  the  tenures  by  which  they  held  their  lands, 

—  the  ftrvicesand  preftations  to  which  they  were 
fubjected,  —  the  magiftrates  by  whom  they  were 
governed,  —  the    courts   in   which   they   were 
judged, — and  the  laws  they  were  obliged  to  obey. 
Thefe  changes  were  chiefly  owing  to  the  efta- 
blimment  of  the  feudal  fyftem  of  police  and  go- 
vernment in  England  by  William  I.,  in  the  fame 
ftate  of  maturity  to  which  it  had  then  attained  in 
his  dominions  on  the  continent. 

In  the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  all  the  proprietors  The(eurfal 
of  land  (the  clergy  at  laft  excepted)  were  fub-  fy^ee™°f 
jeered  to  the  three  following  obligations,  com-  ment  not 
monly  called  the  trinoda  necefjitas:  —  i .  To  attend  alt°sether 

»  unknown 

the  king  with  their  followers  in  military  expedi-  before  the 

tions;  —  2.  To  aflift  in  building  and   defending 

the  royal  caftles ;  —  3.  To  keep  the  highways 

and  bridges  in  a  proper  ftate  '".     To  thefe  three 

obligations  a  fourth,  called  a  heriot,  was  added, 

by  the  laws  of  Canute  the  Great ;  which  con- 

fifted  in  delivering  to  the  king  the  horfes  and 

arms  of  his  earls  and  thanes  at  their  death,  with 

certain  fums  of  money,  according  to  their  rank 

and  wealth20.     That  thefe  may  be  called  feudal 

preftations,  and  conlidered  as  a  proof  that  the 

feudal  form  of  goverment  was  not  altogether 

">  Hickefii  Diflertat.  Epiftol.  p.  60.     Reliquiae  Spelman.  p.  2  a* 
J»  Wilkins  Leges  Saxon. 

unknown 


jo  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

unknown  to  the  Anglo-Saxons,  need  not  be  dif- 
ptited  but  to  thefe  William  I.  added  fo  many 
others,  which  fhall  be  prefently  def'cribed,  that 
he  may  be  juftly  faid  to  have  completed,  if  not 
to  have  erected,  the  fabric  of  the  feudal  govern- 
ment in  Britain. 

f         ^le  f°vereign  °f  a  feudal  Hate  was,  in  idea 
at  leaft,   the  proprietor  of  all  the  lands  in  his 
dominions71.    Part  of  thefe  lands  he  retained  in 
ettabiifhing  his  own  pofleffion  for  the  maintenance  of  his 
the  feudal  family  and  fupport  of  his  dignity  ;  the  reft  he 
granted  to  certain  of  his  fubjec"ls,  as  benefices  or 
fees  for  fervices  to  be  performed  by  them,  and  on 
fuch  other  conditions  as  he  thought  proper  to 
require,  and  they  to  accept.     By  the  numerous 
forfeitures  after  the  battle  of  Haftings,  and  the 
fubfequent  revolts,  and  by  the  abject  ftate  to 
which  even  thofe  of  the  Englim  who  had  not 
forfeited  were  reduced,   the  idea  of  a  feudal 
fovereign  was  almofl  realized  in  William  I.  and 
he  beheld  a  very  great  proportion  of  the  lands  in 
England  at  his  difpofal,  which  enabled  him  to 
eftablifh  the  feudal  fyflem  of  government  in  its 
full  extent,  with  little  or  no  difficulty.     Nor  did 
he  neglect  this  favourable  opportunity  of  intro- 
ducing into  his  new   dominions  that  form   of 
government,    to  which   he   and   his   followers 
had  been  long  accuftomed,  and  which  was  fo 
well  adapted  to  preferve  that  important  acqui- 
fition  he  had  made. " 

31  Somner  on  Gavelkind,  p.  109.       Smith  de  Republic.  1. 3.  c.io. 
"  Coke  on  Lit.  p.  i,  a.  ad  Se<3.  i.    Craig  de  Feudis,  l.z.  c.  7. 

William 


Chap.  3.  Sed.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  u 

William  I.  in  the  diflribution  of  the  territory  William  I. 

•^  I 

of  England,  was  not  unmindful  of  the  interefts  of  ™cle  very 
the  crown ;  but  retained  in  his  own  pofTem'on  no  grants  of 
fewer  than  1422  manors,  befides  a  great  number  kndtohls 
of  forefts,  parks,  chaces,  farms,  and  houfes,  in 
all  parts  of  the  kingdom23.     As  the  hopes  of 
obtaining  fplendid  eftablifhments  for  themfelves 
and    followers    had    engaged    many    powerful 
barons,  and  even  fome  fovereign  princes,  to  em- 
bark with  him  in  his  dangerous  expedition,  he 
was  induced,  both  by  the  dictates  of  honour  and 
prudence,  to  gratify  their  expectations  by  very 
liberal  grants  of  lands.     To  Hugh  de  Abrencis, 
his  fitter's  fon,  he  granted  the  whole  county  of 
Chelier  ;  —  to  Robert  Earl  of  Mortaigne,  and 
Odo  Bifhop  of  Bayeux,  his  two  uterine  brothers, 
he  gave,  to  the  former  973  manors,  to  the  latter 
439  j  —  to  Allen  Earl  of  Britanny  442,  —  to  Wil- 
liam de  Warrenne  298,  —  to  Geoffrey  Bifhop  of 
Coutance  280,  —  to  Roger  Bigodi23, — to  Wal- 
ter Giffard  107,  —  to  Richard  de  Clare  171,— 
to  William  de  Percy  119,  —  and  to  all  his  other 
chieftains  according  to  the  different  degrees  of 
their  power,  their  fervices,  and  their  favour. 24 

None  of  the  grants  of  land  made  by  William  I.  Obiiga- 
were  unconditional,  but  to  all  of  them  a  great  tlonsan* 

rtexed  to 

variety  of  obligations  was  annexed.     Thefe  ob-  thefe 
ligations  were  of  two  kinds,  viz.     i.  Services,  grants- 
which  contributed  to  the  fplendour  of  the  fove- 


2J  Doomfday-book  paffim. 

34  Id,  ibid.     Dugdale's  Baronage,  vol.i.  p.  60— 369. 

reign, 


12  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IIL 

reign,  and  fecurity  of  the  kingdom;  2.  Pretta- 
tions  of  various  kinds,  which  conftituted  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  royal  revenue. 
Military  i.  The  fervices  which  contributed  to  the 
fervices,  fplendour  of  the  fovereign,  and  fecurity  of  the 
kingdom,  to  be  performed  by  the  immedi- 
ate vaffals  of  the  crown,  were  chiefly  thefe 
three  :  i.  Homage  and  fealty.  2.  Perfonal  at- 
tendance upon  the  king  in  his  court  at  the 
three  great  feftivals  of  Chriftmas,  Eafter,  and 
Whitfuntide,  and  in  his  parliament,  at  other 
times,  when  regularly  called.  3.  Military  fer- 
vices in  the  field,  or  in  the  defence  of  caftles 
for  a  certain  time,  with  a  certain  number  of 
men,  according  to  the  extent  of  their  eftates. 
By  thefe  three  things  the  fovereign  of  a  feudal 
kingdom  was  fecured,  as  far  as  human  policy 
could  fecure  him,  —  in  a  fplendid  court  for  his 
honour,  —  a  numerous  council  for  giving  him 
advice  in  the  arduous  affairs  of  government,  — 
and  a  powerful  army  for  the  defence  of  his  per- 
fon  and  dominions. 

Pecuniary  2.  The  payments  or  preftations  to  which  the 
preftations.  immediate  vaffals  of  the  crown  were  fubjefted, 
and  which  conftituted  a  considerable  part  of  the 
royal  revenue,  were  chiefly  thefe  fix:  i.  Re- 
ferved  rents.  2.  Wardftiips.  3.  On  marriages. 
4.  Reliefs.  5.  Scutages.  6.  Aids.  It  is  necef- 
fary  to  give  a  very  brief  delineation  of  each  of 
the  above  fervices  and  preftations. 

Homage.        The  fovereign  of  a  feudal   kingdom  never 
appeared  in  greater  glory  than  when  he  received 

the 


Chap.  3,  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  -  13 

the  homage  of  his  immediate  vaflals,  in  his  great 
court  of  parliament.  Seated  on  his  throne, 
in  his  royal  robes,  with  his  crown  on  his  head, 
and  furrounded  by  his  fpiritual  and  temporal 
nobles,  he  beheld  his  greateft  prelates  and  moft 
powerful  barons,  uncovered  and  unarmed,  on 
their  knees  before  him.  In  that  humble  pofture 
they  put  both  their  hands  between  his,  and 
folemnly  promifed,  "  to  be  his  liege-men  of  life 
"  and  limb  and  worldly  worfliip,  to  bear  faith 
"  and  troth  to  him,  to  live  and  die  with  him 
"  againfl  all  manner  of  men." 2S 

2.  The  courts   of  the  Anglo-Norman  kings  Perfonai 
were  at  all  times  very  fplendid,  but  more  efpe-  ja 
cially  at  the  three  great  feftivals  of  Chrillmas,  king's 
Eafter,  and  Whitfuntide,  when  all  the  prelates,  court* 
earls,  and  barons  of  the  kingdom  were,  by  their 
tenures,  obliged  to  attend  their  fovereign,  to 
aifift  in  the  celebration  of  thefe  feftivals,  —  in 
the  adminiflration  of  juftice,  —  and  in  deliberat- 
ing on  the  great  affairs  of  the  kingdom.     On 
thefe  occafions  the  king  wore  his  crown,  and 
feafted  his  nobles  in  the  great  hall  of  his  palace, 
and  made  them  prefents  of  robes,  &c.  as  marks 
of  his  royal  favour;  after  which  they  proceeded 
to  bufinefs,  which  confifled  partly  in  determining 
important  caufes,  and  partly  in  deliberating  on 
public  affairs. 

25  Spelman,  Du  Caage,  in  voc.  Homagium,  Liglum.  Littleton) 
fed.  85.  Bracton,  1.2.0.35.  Glanville,  1. 9.  c.i.  Fleta,  l.j. 
c.x  6. 

=*  Du  Cange.  voc.  Curia.     Craig  de  Feudis,  La.  an. 

12  3.  Mill- 


14  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Military  3.  Military  fervice  was  the  greateft  and  moft 
important  obligation  annexed  to  the  grants  of 
lands  made  by  William  I.  and  other  feudal 
fovereigns,  whofe  chief  intention  was,  in  mak- 
ing thefe  grants,  to  fecure  a  fufficient  body  of 
troops  under  proper  leaders,  well  armed,  and 
always  ready  to  take  the  field,  for  the  defence 
of  the  kingdom  and  the  profecution  of  fuch  wars 
as  wrere  thought  neceflary  for  the  honour  of  the 
prince  and  the  profperity  of  the  ftate 2?.  Thefe 
lands,  fo  granted,  may  very  well  be  confidered 
as  the  daily  pay  of  a  certain  number  of  troops 
which  the  perfons  to  whom  they  were  granted 
were  obliged  to  keep  in  con  (Ian  t  readinefs  for 
fervice  ;  and  therefore  the  number  of  knights 
fees  or  ftipends  which  every  (late  comprehended 
was  carefully  afcertained.  To  add  dill  further 
to  the  ftrength  and  fecurity  of  the  kingdom, 
William  I.  fubje<Sled  the  lands  of  fpiritual  barons 
as  archbifhops,  bifliops,  abbots,  and  priors,  to 
the  fame  military  fervices  with  the  lands  of 
temporal  barons  and  knights13.  From  the 
famous  furvey  of  England,  made  by  the  direc- 
tion of  this  great  prince,  and  recorded  in  Doomf- 
day  book,  it  was  found,  that  the  whole  kingdom 
contained  60,2 1 5  knights  fees,  of  which  no  fewer 
than  28,115  belonged  to  the  church.29 

It  is  now  time  to  take   a  very  ftiort  view  of 
thofe  preftations  to  which  the  immediate  vaflals 

"  Coke  Inftit. 4.  p.i9Z.  l8  M.  Paris,  p. 5.  col.  i.  arm.  1070. 

19  Spelman.  GlofiT.  voc.  Feodum.  Diflertat,  de  Militi,p.  184,    Craig 
deFeudis,  1.2.  c.u. 

14  of 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  !5 

of  the  crown  of  England  were  at  this  time  fub- 
je6led,  and  which  conftituted  a  confiderable  part 
of  the  royal  revenue. 

1.  Though  William  I.  and  other  feudal  fove-  Referred 

ii 

reigns,  made  large  grants  of  lands  to  their  nobi- 
lity, clergy,  and  other  vaiTals,  they  did  not 
relinquifii  all  connection  with  and  interefl  in  thefe 
lands.  On  the  contrary,  they  granted  only  the 
right  of  uiing  thefe  lands  on  certain  conditions, 
ftill  retaining  the  property,  or  dominium  ctireftum, 
in  themfelves  :  and  to  put  their  vafials  con- 
ilantly  in  mind  of  this  circumftance,  they 
always  referred  certain  annual  payments  (com- 
monly  very  trifling)  that  were  collected  by 
the  Iheriffs  of  the  counties  where  the  lands 
lay. 30 

2.  When  an  earl,  baron,  or  other  vafial  of  the  Wardfhip. 
crown,   died,  and  left  his  heir  under  age,  and 
confequently  incapable  of  performing  thofe  per- 

fonal  fervices  to  his  fovereign  to  which  he  was 
bound  by  his  tenure^  the  king  took  pofl'effion  of 
his  eftate  ;  that  he  might  therewith  fupport  the 
heir,  and  give  him  an  education  fuitable  to  his 
quality,  and  at  the  fame  time  might  provide 
another  perfon  to  perform  his  fervices  in  his  room. 
This  right  of  being  the  guardians  of  all  minors, 
male  or  female,  who  held  their  lands  of  the 
crown  by  military  fervices,  brought  confiderable 
profits  into  the  royal  coffers,  or  enabled  the 

10  Madox,  Hilt.  Excheq.  c.  10.     Craig,  de  Ftud.  1. 1.  c.  9. 

prince 


1 6  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

prince  to  enrich  his  favourites,  by  granting  them 
the  guardianfhip  of  fome  of  his  molt  opulent 
wards. 3I 

Marriage.  3.  The  king's  female  wards  could  not  marry 
any  perfon,  however  agreeable  to  themfelves  and 
their  relations,  without  the  content  of  their  royal 
guardian ;  that  they  might  not  have  it  in  their 
power  to  beftow  an  eftate  that  had  been  derived 
from  the  crown  on  one  who  was  dilagreeable  to 
the  fovereign  3i.  This  was  a  cruel  and  ignomi- 
nious fervitude,  by  which  heireffes  of  the  greateft 
families  and  moft  opulent  fortunes  were  ex- 
pofed  to  fale,  or  obliged  to  purchafe  the  liberty 
of  difpofing  of  themfelves  in  marriage  by  great 
fums  of  money,  either  from  the  king,  or  from 
fome  greedy  courtier,  to  whom  he  had  granted 
or  fold  their  marriage 33.  No  lefs  a  fum  than 
ten  thoufand  marks,  equal  in  efficacy  to  one 
hundred  thoufand  pounds  of  our  money  at  pre- 
fent,  was  paid  to  the  king  for  the  waidfhip  and 
marriage  of  a  fingle  heirefs 34.  This  cruel  fervi- 
tude was  afterwards  extended  to  male  heirs. 

Relief.  4-  The  king  had  not  only  the  guardianfhip  and 

marriage  of  the  heirs  of  all  his  immediate  vaflals, 
but  he  demanded  and  obtained  afum  of  money  from 
them  when  they  came  of  age,  and  were  admitted 
to  the  pofieffion  of  their  eftates ;  and  alfo  from 

31  Craig  de  Feud.  1.  z.  c.  2.  Spelman  Reliquiae,  p.  25.  Glofl*. 
voc.  Warda.  Madox,  Ilift.  Excheq.  c.  10.  feft.  4.  Glanvil,  1.  7. 
0.9. 

12  Du  Cange,  voc.  Maritagium.     Glanvil,  1.  7.  c.  9. 

33  Madox,  Hift.  Excheq.  c.io,  fed.  4.  *  Id.  Ibid. 

thofe 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.       CONSTITUTION,  &c.  1 7 

thofe  heirs  who  had  been  of  age  at  the  death  of 
their  anceftors.  This  laft  was  callecl  relief,  be- 
caufe  it  relieved  their  lands  out  of  the  hands  of 
their  fovereign,  into  which  they  fell  at  the  death 
of  every  pofleffor 3S.  .  Reliefs  were  at  firfl  arbi- 
trary and  uncertain,  and  of  confequence  the 
occaiion  of  much  oppreffion.  They  were  after- 
wards fixed  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  (hillings  „ 
for  a  knight's  fee,  one  hundred  marks  for  a 
baron,  and  one  hundred  pounds  for  an  earldom, 
which  was  fuppofed  to  be  about  the  fourth  part 
of  the  annual  value  of  each. 36 

5.  Scutage,  or  fhield-money,  was  another  Scutage. 
preflation  to  which  the  military  vaffals  of  the 
crown,  both  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  were  fub- 
je6led.  It  was  a  fum  of  money  paid  in  lieu  of 
a6lual  fervice  in  the  field,  by  .thofe  who  were 
not  able  or  were  not  willing  to  perform  that 
fervice  in  perfon,  or  to  provide  another  to  per- 
form it  in  their  room.  The  rate  of  this  com- 
mutation was  not  always  the  fame,  but  moil 
commonly  it  was  two  marks  for  every  knight's 
fee,  though  fometimes  it  was  only  twenty  mil- 
lings, and  at  other  times  three  marks,  or  two 
marks  and  a  half37.  This  payment  became  the 
occafion  of  much  vexation  to  thofe  who  owed 
military  fervice  to  the  crown ;  becaufe  our 
monarchs  fometimes  engaged,  or  pretended  to 

*  Glaiml,  1.9.  c.4. 

34  Du  Cange,  voc.  Relevium,  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  c.lo.  fedl.4. 

37  Du  Cange,  voc.  Scutagium. 

VOL.  vi.  c  engage, 


IS  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

engage,  in  expeditions  into  diftant  parts,  or  at 
inconvenient  feafons,  that  they  might  have  a 
pretence  for  demanding  fcutage  from  their 
vafials. 33 

A"1*  6.  Befides  all  the  above  payments,  the  imme- 

diate varTals  of  the  crown,  who  were  prefumed  to 
be  poffeffed  of  much  affection  and  gratitude  to 
their  fovereign  for  the  favours  they  had  received 
from  him,  granted,  or  rather  complied  with  the 
demand  of  certain  pecuniary  aids,  on  fome  great 
occafions,  when  he  flood  in  particular  need  of 
their  affiftance.  The  occafions  on  which  thofe 
aids  were  demanded  and  granted,  were  thefe 
three:  i.  To  make  his  eldeft  fon  a  knight; 
2.  To  marry  his  eldeft  daughter;  3.  To  ran- 
fom  his  perfon  when  he  was  taken  prifoner  in 
war.  The  rate  of  thefe  aids  was  alfo  unfettled ; 
but  it  feems  to  have  been  moft  frequently 
one  mark,  or  one  pound,  for  every  knight's 
fee. 39 

Subinfeu-  There  is  fufficient  evidence,  that  all  thefe  fer- 
dation.  vices  and  preftations,  fo  troublefome  in  them- 
felves,  and  fo  liable  to  be  rendered  oppreffive  and 
intolerable,  were  brought  from  Normandy,  and 
impofed  by  William  I.  on  the  leaders  of  his 
victorious  army,  to  whom  he  granted  great 
eftates  in  England.  But  thefe  were  far  from 

^  Du  Cange,  voc.  Scutagium,     Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  c.i6. 

39  Spelman    Du  Cange,  GIofT.  voc.  Avxiltum.    WUdox  Hill.  Ex- 
«heq-  c  15.     Glanvil,  1.9.  c  8. 

being 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.       CONSTITUTION,  &c.  lg 

being  the  only  perfons  who  felt  the  weight  of 
thofe  feudal  fervitudes.  For  the  Norman  and 
other  barons,  who  received  extenlive  tra6ls  of 
land,  imitated  the  example  of  their  fovereign  in 
the  difpofal  of  thefe  lands.  They  retained  part 
of  them  lying  contiguous  to  their  caflles  in  their 
own  pofleffion,  which  were  called  their  demefnes; 
and  the  reft  they  granted  to  their  followers,  who 
had  fought  under  their  banners,  on  terms  exactly 
fimilar  to  thofe  on  which  they  had  received  them 
from  the  crown.  The  vafTals  of  every  baron  did 
him  homage,  with  a  refervation  of  their  homage 
to  the  king,  which  was  fometimes  not  much 
regarded. — They  gave  perfonal  attendance  in  his 
court  at  ftated  times,  or  when  regularly  called. 
— They  followed  him  into  the  field  with  a  certain 
number  of  troops,  according  to  the  quantity  of 
land  they  had  received. — They  paid  him  certain 
referved  rents. — Their  heirswere  his  wards  when 
under  age. — They  could  not  marry  without  his 
confent. — They  gave  him  a  relief  when  they 
obtained  porTeffion  of  their  eflates ; — and  aids  for 
making  his  eldeft  fon  a  knight,  for  marrying  his 
eldeft  daughter,  and  for  redeeming  his  perfon 
from  captivity.  In  a  word,  a  feudal  baron  was 
a  king  in  miniature,  and  a  barony  was  a  little 
kingdom.  Even  the  vaffals  of  barons  fometimes 
granted  fubinfeudations,  but  always  exactly  on 
the  fame  plan.  By  this  means  all  the  diftrefsful 
Servitudes  of  the  feudal  fyflem  defcended  from 
the  fovereign  to  the  meaneft  poffeffor  of  land  by 
c  3  military 


20  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

military  tenure,  becoming  heavier  as  they  de- 
fcended  lower. 40 

Socmen.  ft  js  true  that  thofe  poffeffors  of  land  who  were 
called  jbcmen,  becaufe  (as  many  think)  they  fol- 
lowed the  foe  or  plough,  were  not  fubjected  to 
fome  of  the  mod  vexatious  of  thofe  feudal  fervi- 
tudes,as  perfonal  attendance,  wardfhip,  marriage, 
&c.  But  this  feems  to  have  been  owing  to  the 
contemptible  light  in  which  they  were  viewed  by 
their  fovereign  and  his  haughty  martial  barons, 
who  would  not  admit  them  into  their  courts  and 
company;  and  confidered  the  education  and 
marriage  of  their  heirs  as  matters  of  fmall  im- 
portance, and  unworthy  of 'their  attention.  Nor 
were  many  of  thefe  focmen  more  free  and  happy 
than  the  military  vafTals  of  the  king  and  barons. 
On  the  contrary,  they  were  fubjected  to  lower 
and  more  laborious  fervitudes,  as  furnifhing  men, 
horfes,  and  carriages,  on  various  occafionsj 
ploughing  and  fbwing  the  lands  of  their  lords, 
&c. 4I  In  a  word,  the  feudal  fyftem  of  tenures 
eftabliihed  by  William  I.  in  England,  was  pro- 
ductive of  univerfal  diftrefs  and  fervitude ;  from 
which  even  thofe  of  the  higheft  ranks  were  not 


<*  Spelman.  Du  Cange,  GloflT.  voc.  Baro,  Feodvm,  Curia,  Homa- 
Warda,  Maritagium,  Relcvium,  Uxilium. 

41  Spelman.  Du  Cange,  voc.  Socmannus.  The  opinion  of  one  of 
*h«  moft  learned  writers  on  the  law  of  England, —  that  tenures  called 
free  foccage,  were  the  relics  of  the  allodial  tenures  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  is  not  difputed.  We  have  no  reafon  to  be  furprifed,  that  a 
few  fmall  eftates  efcaped  the  rapacity  of  tfce  Normans.  Judge 
Blackftontt  Commtnt,  b.  a,  c.6.  p.  Si. 

exempted, 


Chap. 3.  SeA.i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  21 

exempted,  though  they  were  moft  fev«rely  felt  by 
the  lower  orders  in  the  ftate. 

It  hath  been  the  fubject  of  much  difpute,when,  introduc- 
by  whom,  and  in  what  manner,  the  feudal  fyftern  *J°"°f  ff 

t*  •          c.        i        i  feudal  fyf. 

or  government  was  introduced  into  Scotland.  It  tem  into 
would  be  improper  to  revive  this  unimportant  Scotland. 
controverfy,  by  repeating  the  fentiments  of  dif- 
ferent authors,  and  their  arguments  in  fupport  of 
thefe  fentiments.  Upon  the  whole,  it  feems  to  be 
moft  probable,  that  Malcolm  III.,  furnamed  Can- 
more,  began  the  introduction  of  this  lyftem  into 
his  dominions,  in  imitation  of  his  neighbour  and 
contemporary,  William  I.  of  England  j  and  that 
his  plan  was  profecuted  by  his  fucceffors,  as  op- 
portunities offered,  until  it  came  to  be  univer- 
fally  eftablifhed.4* 

The  introduction  of  the  feudal  fyftem  was  pro- 
ductive of  feveral  other  changes  in  police  and 
government,  particularly  in  courts  and  magi£ 
trates. 

Nothing  could  be  more  regular,  or  more  admi- 
rably adapted  to  the  fpeedy,  eafy,  and  effectual 
administration  of  juftice,  to  perfons  of  all  ranks, 
than  the  conftitution  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  courts43. 
But  this  beautiful  fabric  was  not  refpected  by  the 
Norman  conquerors.  For  though  they  did  not 
pull  it  down  by  violence,  they  fuffered  it  to  fall 
into  ruins  by  neglect,  and  the  eftablifhment  of 
other  courts. 

42  See  Eflays  on  Britiih  Antiquities*  Eflay  z.     Sir  David  Dalrym> 
pie's  Annals  of  Scotland,  p«30j3l»32. 

43  See  vol.3.  $.3.  fa, 

c  3  In 


22  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Courts.  In  all  feudal  kingdoms  there  were  three  kinds 

of  perfons  that  bore  the  chief  fway,  both  in  peace 
and  war,  viz.  barons  in  their  baronies,  earls  in 
their  counties,  and  kings  in  their  kingdoms.  In 
confequence  of  this  there  were  three  kinds  of 
courts  of  chief  confideration — the  baron's  court, 
— the  earl's  court, — and  the  king's  court. 
Baron's  In  the  feudal  times,  every  barony  (as  hath 
court.  been  already  obferved)  was  a  little  kingdom,  and 
every  baron  was  a  petty  king ;  the  commander  of 
all  the  tenants  in  his  barony  (who  might  not  im- 
properly be  called  his  fubjecls)  in  time  of  war, 
and  their  judge  in  time  of  peace.  In  his  court, 
which  was  commonly  held  in  the  great  hall  of 
his  caftle,  and  to  which  all  the  tenants  of  his 
barony  owed  fuit  and  fervice,  he  adminiftered 
juftice  to  his  people,  in  perfon  or  by  his  bailiff; 
not  only  compelling  the  payment  of  debts  and 
the  performance  of  contracts,  but  alfo  redreffing 
wrongs  and  punifhing  crimes  even  with  capital 
punifhment?.  Archbifhops,  bilhops,  abbots,  and 
priors,  who  held  baronies  of  the  crown,  had  their 
courts  of  the  fame  kind  with  the  fecular  barons. 
Even  the  barons  of  barons,  or  thofe  who  held 
manors  by  military  fervice  of  the  king's  barons, 
had  fimilar  courts  within  their  reipective  manors, 
but  commonly  without  the  privilege  of  pit  and 
gallows,  i.  e.  the  power  of  inflicting  capital  pu- 
mlhments.44 


44  Spelman.    Du  Cange,  Gloff.  voc.  Barones,  Saronia,  Furca.  — 
Regiam  MajefUtem.  Glanvil.  Bra&on.  Fleta. 

15  The 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  23 

The  title  of  earl  before  the  conqueft,  and  for  County 
fbrne  time  after,  was  not  merely  honorary,  but  Court* 
official.  There  was  but  one  earl  in  every  county, 
who  was  properly  its  governor,  the  general  of 
its  forces  in  times  of  war,  and  its  chief  judiciary 
or  judge  in  times  of  peace.  The  court  in  which 
the  earl  prefided,  was  the  county-court;  and  as 
a  reward  or  falary  for  aeling  in  his  judicial  capa- 
city, he  received  the  third  penny  of  all  the  dues, 
amerciaments,  and  profits,  arifing  in  that  court 45. 
This  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  and  even  during 
fome  part  of  the  reign  of  William  L,  was  a  court 
of  great  power  and  dignity,  in  which  the  bifliop 
of  the  diocefs  fat  with  the  earl,  and  on  which  all 
the  abbots,  priors,  barons,  knights,  and  free- 
holders of  the  county,  were  obliged  to  attend. 
In  this  little  parliament  all  the  controverfies  arif- 
ing in  the  county,  the  mod  important  not  ex- 
cepted,  were  determined,  though  not  always 
finally,  becaufe  there  lay  an  appeal  from  its 
decrees  to  a  higher  court,  which  fhall  prefently 
be  defcribed.  In  a  county-court  of  Kent,  held 
in  the  reign  of  William  I.  at  Pinendine,  there 
were  prefent  one  archbifliop,  three  bilhops,  the 
earl  of  the  county,  the  vice-earl  or  (herirT,  a 
great  number  of  the  king's  barons,  befides  a  ftill 
greater  multitude  of  knights  and  freeholders, 
who  in  the  courfe  of  three  days  adjudged  feveral 
manors  to  belong  to  the  archbiihopric  of  Canter- 
bury, which  had  been  poffeffed  for  fome  time  by 

45  Sdden's  Titles  of  Honour,  p. 5*6,  &c. 

e  4  Qdo, 


24  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IIL 

Odo,  Bifhop  of  Baieux,  the  King's  uterine 
brother,  and  by  other  powerful  barons.46 
Separation  But  the  county-courts  did  not  continue  long 
of  the  after  the  conqueft  in  this  ftate  of  power  and  fplen- 
cai°from  dour.  For  William  I.,  about  A.  D.  1085.,  fepa- 
the  civil  rated  the  ecclefiaftical  from  the  civil  part  of  thefe 
county-  courts,  prohibiting  the  bifhops  to  fit  as  judges, 
courts,  the  clergy  to  attend  as  fuitors,  and  the  caufes  of 
which  oc-  ^  church  to  be  tried  in  them,  but  in  courts  of 

cafioned 

their  de-  their  own 47.  By  this  regulation,  which  is  faid 
clme'  to  have  been  made  in  a  common  council  of  the 
archbifhops,  bifhops,  abbots,  and  chief  men  of 
the  kingdom,  the  county-courts  were  deprived, 
at  one  blow,  of  their  mofl  venerable  judges, 
their  mofl  refpe6lable  fuitors,  and  mofl  important 
bufinefs.  Befides  this,  after  the  departure  of  the 
bifhops  and]  clergy,  the  earls  difdained  to  fit  as 
judges,  and  the  great  barons  to  attend  as  fuitors 
in  the  county-courts ;  which  by  degrees  reduced 
them  to  their  prefent  flate.  But  this  was  not  the 
worfl  effect  of  this  mofl  imprudent  and  pernicious 
regulation.  For  by  it  the  kingdom  was  fplit  afun- 
der  j  the  crown  and  mitre  were  fet  at  variance^ 
and  the  ecclefiaftical  courts,  by  putting  them- 
felves  under  the  immediate  protection  of  the 
pope,  formed  the  clergy  into  a  feparate  ftate 
under  a  foreign  fovereign,  which  was  productive 
of  infinite  mifchiefs  and  diforders.43 

45  Dugdale  Origines  Juridiciales,  p.  30.  Hickefii  Diflertat.  Epif- 
fol.  p.3i,  &c/ 

,«  Wilkin.' Concilia,  l.i.  p.  368,  369.  Kale's  Hiftory  of  the  Com- 
mon Law,  p. loa.  48  Judge  Blackftone's  Comment,  b.  3.  c. 5. 

The 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  25 

The  ecclefiaftical  courts,  that  ^yere  imme-  Ecciefiaf- 

tical 
courts* 


diately  creeled  in  confequence  of  this  fatal  fla-  ti 


tute,  were  thefe  three:  i.  The  archdeacon's 
court.  For  as  the  archdeacon  was  by  that  ftatute 
difcharged  from  fitting  as  a  judge  with  the  hun- 
dredary  in  the  hundred  court,  he  was  authorifed 
to  creel  a  court  of  his  own,  in  which  he  took 
cognizance  of  ecclefiaftical  caufes  within  his  arch- 
deaconry. 2.  The  biihop's  court,  or  confiftory, 
which  received  appeals  from  the  archdeacon's 
court,  and  whofe  jurifdiction  extended  over  the 
whole  diocefs.  3.  The  archbifliop's  court,  which 
received  appeals  from  the  confiftories  of  the  fe- 
veral  bifhops  of  the  province,  and  had  jurifdiclion 
not  only  over  the  particular  diocefs  of  the  arch- 
biihop,  but  over  all  the  dioceffes  in  the  province. 
From  this  higheft  ecclefiaftical  court  appeals  lay 
to  the  pope,  which  foon  became  very  frequent, 
vexatious,  and  expenfive.49 

As  the  king  was  the  chief  magiftrate  of  the  King's 
kingdom,  and   it  was  both  his  duty  and  prero-  cou 
gative  to  adminifter  juftice  to  his  fubjecis,  he 
had  a  court  which  was  the  chief  court  of  the 
kingdom  in  which  he  performed  that  duty  and 
exercifed  that  prerogative50.    This  fupreme  court 
was  commonly  called,  curia  or  aula  regis,  be- 
caufe  it  was  held  in  the  great  hall  of  the  king's 
palace,  wherever  he  happened  to  refide Sl.     In 


49  Jqdge  Blackilone's  Comment,  b.3.  0,5. 

50  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  0.3.  p. 58. 

51  JJradlon,  1. 3.  c.  7.     Glanvil,  de  Confuetud.  Anglisej  paflim. 

this 


26  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

this  court  the  king  was  prefumed  to  be  always 
prefent,  either  in  perfon,  or  by  his  reprefenta- 
tives,  the  judges  of  his  court,  to  whom  he  com- 
mitted the  performance  of  his  duty,  and  the  ex- 
ercife  of  his  prerogative  as  the  fupreme  judge  in 
his  kingdom.  The  judges  in  the  king's  court, 
as  it  was  conftituted  by  William  I.  and  continued 
till  near  the  end  of  this  period,  were,  —  the  great 
officers  of  the  crown, — the  king's  juflices,  —  to- 
gether with  all  the  great  barons  of  the  kingdom, 
both  temporal  and  fpiritual,  who  were  intitled 
to  feats  in  this  court. sa 

Great  of-  The  great  officers  of  the  crown,  who  were  alfo 
*^e  tending  members  of  the  king's  court,  were 
thefe  feven  :  i.  The  chief  jufticiary,  who  was 
an  officer  of  the  highefl  dignity  and  greatefl 
power,  the  prefident  of  the  king's  court  when 
the  prince  was  not  perfonally  prefent,  and  regent 
of  the  kingdom  when  the  fbvereign  was  beyond 
feas,  which  in  this  period  very  frequently  hap- 
pened. 2.  The  conftable  of  England.  3.  The 
marifchal  of  England,  who  were  both  military 
and  civil  officers :  when  acting  in  their  civil 
capacity,  as  members  of  the  king's  court,  their 
jurifdi£tion  chiefly  refpecled  matters  of  honour 
and  of  arms.  4.  The  high  fie  ward  of  England. 
5.  The  great  chamberlain  of  England.  Thefe 
two  great  officers  had  the  chief  direction  of  all 
things  in  the  king's  court  and  palace.  The  four 

"  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  c.a.  0.3.  p.  64.    Blackft.  Comment,  b.  3. 
6.4. 

laft 


Chap. 3.  SeA. i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  2? 

lafl  named  offices  were  for  the  moft.  part  here- 
ditary. 6.  The  chancellor  of  England,  who  had 
the  cuftody  of  the  great  feal,  and  the  infpe£lion 
of  all  grants  to  which  it  was  appended.  7.  The 
high  treafurer,  who  had  the  chief  direction  of  all 
things  refpe&ing  the  royal  revenues. i3 

The  king's  juftices  were  perfons  learned  in  the  Divifion  o£ 
laws,  who  had  feats  in  the  fupreme  court,  in  f^ns  * 
order  to  inform  the  other  members  what  the  law 
of  the  land  was  in  every  cafe.  This  great  court 
was  divided  into  feveral  chambers,  and  certain 
judges  fat  in  each  of  thefe  chambers,  at  parti- 
cular times,  to  take  cognizance  of  thofe  mat- 
ters with  which  they  were  befl  acquainted,  and 
in  which  they  were  mod  interefted.  Of  thefe 
chambers  the  exchequer  (fo  called  from  a  che- 
quered cloth  which  covered  the  table)  was  one, 
in  which  the  high  treafurer  and  certain  barons 
fat,  and  regulated  all  things  refpecting  the  reve- 
nues of  the  crown. 54 

The  jurifdiction  of  the  king's  court  was  uni-  Jurifdic- 
verfal,  extending  to  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  nendour 
and  over  all  the  fubje6ls  of  it,   till  the  clergy,  of  the 
after  long  and  violent  ftruggles,  emancipated 
themfelves  in  a  great  meafure  from  its  authority ss. 
As  the  Normans  were  remarkably  fond  of  pomp, 
fome  of  the  feffions  of  this  auguft  tribunal,  par- 
ticularly thofe  at  the  feftivals  of  Chriftmas,Eafter, 
and  Whitfuntide,  were  attended  with  much  pa- 

53  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  0.3.  5-  Dialogus  de  Scaccario. 

s'  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  0.3. 

rade 


28  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IIJ, 

rade  and  ;Qiow.  The  king,  on  thefe  occaflons, 
wore  his  crown  and  royal  robes  ;  the  great  offi- 
cers of  flate  appeared  with  the  enfigns  of  their 
refpective  offices  j  and  all  the  fpiritual  and  tem- 
poral barons,  in  their  richeft  ornaments.  At 
thefe  ceremonies  and  magnificent  meetings,  the 
ambaffadors  of  foreign  princes  were  introduced, 
that  they  might  be  ftruck  with  admiration  at  the 
opulence  and  grandeur  of  the  king  and  king- 
dom s6.  To  thefe  Hated  meetings  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  king's  court  came  of  courfe,  without 
any  fummons  57.  In  this,  and  in  feveral  other 
refpects,  they  differed  from  the  common  coun- 
cils of  the  kingdom.58 

Though  the  powers  of  this  fupreme  court  were 

great  and  various,  they  were  all  minifterial  and 

executive,  and   did  not  extend  to  the  making 

new  laws  or  impoling  new  taxes.     Thefe  two 

mofl  important  branches  of  police  and  govern- 

ment belonged  to  another  affembly,  that  was 

called  (commune  concilium,  or  magnum  concilium 

regni)  the  common  council,  or  great  council  of 

the  kingdom  ;  and  fometimes,  though  very  fel- 

•dom  in  this  period,  (parliamentum}  parliament, 

from  the  French  word  parler,  to  fpeak. 

Who  were      Who  were  the  conftituent  members  of  the 

tuent°        great  councils  or  parliaments  of  this  period,  is  a 

members    queflion  that  hath  been  differently  anfwered,  and 


56  W.  Malmf.  1.3.  p.  63.  w  Eadmer,  p.  15. 

'*•  Hen.  Hunt.  1.  8.    .zaa. 


warmly 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.      CONSTITUTION,  &c.  29 

warmly  agitated 50.  Though  the  nature  and  limits  of  the  par- 
of  this  work  will  not  admit  of  a  full  difcuffion 
of  this  queftion  (at  prefent  of  no  great  import- 
ance), yet  a  plain  and  ihort  expolition  of  what 
appears  to  be  the  truth  is  neceffary.     That  all 
archbifhops,  bifhops,  abbots,  priors,  earls,  and 
barons,   who  held  each  an  entire  barony  imme- 
diately of  the  king  in  capite,  were  conflituent 
members  of  thefe  great  councils,  hath  never 
been  denied,  and  needs  not  be  proved.     Befides 
thefe  great  fpiritual  and  temporal  barons,  there 
were  many  others,  who  held  fmaller  portions  of 
land,  as  one,  two,  three,  or  four  knights'  fees, 
immediately  of  the  king,  by  the  fame  honour- 
able tenure  with  the  great  barons,  who  were  alfo 
members  of  the  great  councils  of  the  kingdom, 
and  were  commonly  called  the  leffer  barons,  or 
free  military  tenants  of  the   crown.     Among 
many  evidences  that  might  eafily  be  produced  of 
this,  the  fourteenth  article  of  the  great  charter 
of  King  John  is  one  of  the  mod  decifive,  an'd 
feems  to  be  fufficient :    "  To  have  a  common 
"council  of  the  kingdom,  to  aflefs  an  aid  other- 
"  wife  than  in  the  three  forefaid  cafes,  or  to 
"  affefs  a  fcutage60,  we  will  caufe  to  be  fum- 
"  moned  the  archbifhops,   bifhops,   earls,  and 

59  Petyt's  Rights  of  the  Commons  afierted.    Jane  Anglorum  Fades 
nova.     Dr.  Brady's  Tradls,  &c.  &c. 

60  Thefe  three  forefaid  cafes  were,  I.  To  make  his  eldeft  fon  a 
knight ;  a.  To  many  his  eldeft  daughter ;  3.  To  redeem  his  own 
perfon.     In  all  which  cafes  aids  were  due  by  tenure,  without  an  aft 
of  parliament. 

*c  greater 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  greater  barons,  particularly  by  our  letters ; 
*f  and  befides,  we  will  caufe  to  be  fummoned 
"  in    general  by  our   iheriffs   and   bailiffs,    all 
"  thofe  who  hold   of   us    in   capite 6I."       The 
lefTer  barons  continued  to  lit  personally  in  the 
parliaments  of  Scotland  till  A.D.  1427.,  when 
an  acl;   was  made  exempting  them   from   per- 
foiial  attendance  in  parliament,  on  condition  of 
fending  reprefentatives ta.     But  befides  all  thefe 
great  and  ftnall  barons,  who  by  virtue  of  their 
tenures  were  obliged,  as  well  as  intitled,  to  fit 
aS  members  in  the  great  councils  of  the  king- 
dom ;  our  hiftorians  of  this  period  fometimes 
fpeak  of  great  multitudes  of  people,  both  of 
the  clergy  and  laity,  who  were  prefent  in  fome 
of  thefe  councils 63.     Eadmerus,  the  friend  and 
fecretary  of  Archbifhop  Anfelm,  thus  defcribes 
the   perfons   afiembled  in    a  great  council   at 
Rockingham,  A.D.  1095.,  to  whom  his  patron 
made  a  fpeech.     "  Anfelm  fpoke  in  this  manner 
"  to  the  bifliops,  abbots,  and  princes,  or  prin- 
"  cipal  men,  and  to  a  numerous  multitude  of 
<e  monks,    clerks,  and  laymen   {landing  by  6V 


61  Ad   habendum  commune  confilium  regni,  de  auxilio  aflidendo, 
aliter  quam  in  tribus  cafibus  prediclis,  vel  de  fcutagio  afiedendo,  fum- 
moniri  faciemus  archiepifcopos,  epifcopos,    abbates,  comites,  et  ma- 
jores  barones  figillatim,  per  literas  noftras  :  et  praeterea  faciemus  fum. 
moniri  in  generali,   per  vicecomites  et  balivos  noftros,  omnes  illos  qui 
de  nobis  tenent  in  capite.     Append.  No.  i. 

62  Eflays  on  Britifh  Antiquities,  p.  43. 
6?  Spelman.  Concil.  I.  2.  p.  33. 

64  Affiftentem,    monachoi  urn,  clericorura.    laicoruni;    numerofam 
,'aultitudinein.     Eadmeri  Hifl,  p.  26. 

By 


Chap.3.  Se£.  i.       CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

By  the  bifhops,  abbots,  and  princes,  we  are  cer- 
tainly to  underftand  the  fpiritual  and  temporal 
barons.  But  who  are  we  to  underftand  by  "  the 
"  numerous  multitudes  of  monks,  clerks,  and 
"  laymen  {landing  by  ?"  Were  they  members 
of  this  aflembly ;  or  were  they  only  fpec~lators 
and  by-ilanders  ?  If  by  the  multitue  of  thefe 
clerks  and  laymen,  the  hiftorian  did  not  mean 
the  letter  barons,  it  is  highly  probable  that  they 
were  only  fpe6lators.  We  are  told  by  feveral 
contemporary  hiftorians,  that  the  great  councils 
of  the  kingdom  in  thofe  times  were  very  much 
incommoded  by  crowds  of  fpeclators,  who 
forced  their  way  into  their  meetings.  One  of 
thefe  hiftorians  thus  defcribes  a  great  council 
held  by  King  Stephen  :  "  The  King,  by  an  edi6l 
"  publimed  through  England,  called  the  rulers 
"  of  the  churches,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  peo- 
"  pie,  to  a  council  at  London.  All  thefe 
"  coming  thither,  as  into  one  receptacle,  and 
"  the  pillars  of  the  churches  being  feated,  in 
"  order,  and  the  vulgar  alfo  forcing  themfelves 
"  in  on  all  hands,  confufedly  and  promifcuoufly, 
"  as  uliial,  many  things  were  ufefully  propofed, 
"  and  happily  tranfacted,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
"  church  and  kingdom 6I."  In  a  great  council 

fis  Edifto  per  Angliam  promulgate^  fummos  ecclefiarum  du&ores, 
Cum  primis  populi,  ad  confilium  Londonias  confcivit.  Illis  quoque, 
quail  in  unam  fentlnam,  illuc  confluentibus,  ecclefiarumque  columnis 
fedendi  ordine  difpofitis,  vulgo  etiam  confufe  et  permixtim,  ut  folet, 
uhique  fe  ingerentes,  plura  ecclefise  et  regno  profutura  fuerunt,  et 
Mtiliter  oftenfa,  et  falubriter  pertradlata. 

Gefta  Stephani  Regis,  apud  Duchine,  p.  93  »» 

held 


32  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN          Book-Ill. 

held  at  Weftminfter,  May  1 8th,  A.D.  1127., 
the  fpectators,  who  are  faid  to  have  been  innu- 
merable, were  fo  outrageous,  that  they  inter- 
rupted the  bufinefs  of  the  council,  and  pre- 
vented fome  things  from  being  debated65. 
Upon  the  whole,  it  feems  to  be  almofl  certain, 
that  though  great  numbers  of  people  of  all 
ranks,  prompted  by  political  curiofity,  or  in- 
tereiled  in  the  affairs  that  were  to  be  debated, 
attended  the  great  councils  of  the. kingdom  in 
this  period,  none  were  properly  members  ofthefe 
councils  but  thofe  described  in  the  great  char- 
ter of  King  John,  viz.  the  fpiritual  and  tem- 
poral barons,  who  were  perfonally  fummoned ; 
and  thofe  who  held  fmaller  parcels  of  land 
than  baronies,  immediately  of  the  king,  by 
knight's  fervice,  who  were  fummoned  edictally 
by  the  flieriffs  of  their  refpe6tive  counties. 
Great  Befides  all  the  prerogatives  that  had  been 

thTcrown.  enjoyed  by  ms  predeceffors  the  Anglo-Saxon  and 
Danifh  kings  of  England,  William  I.  acquired 
a  great  addition  of  power  by  the  introduction  of 
the  feudal  fyftem,  which  made  him  the  territorial 
lord  as  well  as  fovereign  of  his  greateft  fubjects. 
But  the  greatnefs  of  fome  of  theie  fubjects,  to- 
gether with  their  exteniive  influence  over  their 
vafials  and  tenants,  fortunately  formed  .a  kind 
of  counterpoife  to  the  exorbitant  power  of  the 
crown,  prevented  it  from  becoming,  or  at  lead 
.from  continuing  arbitrary  ^  and  at  length,  by 

™  Spelman.  Condi.  1.  a.  p.  35. 

12.  HOW 


Chap.  3.  8ed.  i.        CONSTITUTION,  &c.  33 

flow  degrees,  and  many  flruggles  (which  form 
the  mod  interefting  parts  of  our  hiftory),  re- 
duced it  within  proper  limits.  All  the  hifto- 
rians  of  this  period  are  full  of  the  moft  bitter 
complaints  of  the  tyranny  of  William  I.  and  of 
his  fon  and  fucceffor  William  II.,  reprefenting 
them  as  acting  on  many  occafions  in  the  moil 
defpotic  manner,  with  little  or  no  regard  to  law, 
juftice,  or  humanity67.  "  None  of  his  bifhops, 
"  abbots,  or  great  men  (fays  Eadmerus  of 
"  William  I.),  dared  to  difobey  his  will  on  any 
"  coniideration ;  but  all  things  divine  and  hu- 
"  man  depended  upon  his  nod."  "  Whoever 
"  (fays  Henry  of  Huntingdon,  fpeaking  of  the 
"  fame  prince)  defired  to  enjoy  money,  lands, 
"  or  even  life  itfelf,  was  under  a  neceffity  of 
"  obeying  the  king's  nod  in  all  things.  Alas  I 
"  how  much  is  it  to  be  lamented,  that  any  man, 
"  who  'is  but  a  worm  and  dud,  mould  forget 
"  death,  and  arrive  at  fuch  a  height  of  pride  as 
"  to  trample  on  all  the  reft  of  mankind68!" 
Of  the  ferocity  and  tyranny  of  his  fon  and  fuc- 
ceffor William  II.  the  hiftorians  of  thofe  times 
fpeak  in  ft  ill  ftronger  terms.  "  He  was  more 
"  fierce  (fays  one  of  them)  than  human  nature 
"  feemed  to  be  capable  of.  By  the  advice  of 


67  Eadmeri  Hift.  p.  6.  83.  94.  M.  Paris,  p.  4.  col.  i.  M.  Weft- 
monft.  l.a.  p.  3.  W.  Malmf.  1.3.  Simon  Dun.  p.  206.  Brompt. 
962.  Ingulph.  p. 516.  G.  Neubrigen.  p. 357.  Alurid.  Beverlien, 
p.  114.  Hen.  Hunt,  p, 213.  col.  i.  Anglia  Sacra,  1.  a.  p.4ij. 
Anglica  Normanica  Camdeni,  p.  3 a. 

63  Hen.  Hunt.  1,6.  p.aij.  col.  i. 

VOL.  vi.  D  "  the 


34  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  the  word  men,  which  he  always  followed,  he 
"  harafled  his  neighbours  with  war,  and  his  own 
"  fubjefts  with  armies  and  taxes  j  and  England 
"  was  fo  miferably  opprefied  that  it  was  brought 
"  to  the  very  brink  of  ruin."  6" 

©reatrfr-  The  great  revenues  of  thefe  princes  contri- 
thecrown  Duted  not  a  little  to  increafe  their  pride,  and 
fupport  their  power;  efpecially  as  thefe  reve- 
nues were  for  the  inofl  part  confidered  as  their 
undoubted  property,  and  did  not  depend  on  the 
generality  or  good-will  of  their  fubje6ls.  Befides 
all  the  revenues  arifing  from  the  royal  demefnes, 
and  from  the  rents,  aids,  wardfhips,  marriages, 
and  fcutages  of  all  the  immediate  vaflals  of  the 
crown,  which  have  been  already  mentioned  ; 
money  flowed  into  the  coffers  of  the  firft  Norman 
kings  of  England,  from  all  the  following  fources, 
efcheats,  vacancies,  tallages,  taxes,  tolls,  cuf- 
toms,  oblations,  amerciaments,  moneyage,  farms 
of  counties,  cities,  towns,  and  corporations, 
queen-gold,  impolitions  of  various  kinds  upon 
the  Jews,  &c.  &c. 

Efcheati  Efcheats  and  forfeitures  formed  a  great  branch 
and  for-  Of  flje  IOyai  revenue  in  thofe  turbulent  times, 
when  civil  broils  were  frequent,  when  eftates 
efcheated  into  the  king's  hands  on  the  failure  of 
lineal  defcendants  from  the  perfons  to  whom 
they  had  been  granted,  and  when  the  imme- 
diate vaflals  of  the  crown  forfeited  their  lands, 
not  only  for  treafon  againft  the  king  as  fovereign 

**  HfeH.  Hunt.  1.  7.  p.ai;.  col.  i. 

16  of; 


Chap.  3.  Sed.  i.        CONSTITUTION,  &c.  35 

of  the  flate,  but  for  various  offences  againft  hint 
as  their  feudal  lord,  —  fuch  as,  declining  to  do 
him  homage,  —  to  fwear  fealty  —  to  attend  his 
court,  —  to  ferve  him  in  the  field,  —  for  betray, 
ing  his  fecrets,  —  abetting  his  enemies,  • —  af- 
fronting his  perfon,  —  debauching  his  wife,  his 
daughters,  or  near  relations,  —  and,  in.  a  word, 
for  doing  any  thing  that  made  them  unworthy 
of  being  the  companions  of  their  fuperior  lord, 
the  members  of  his  court,  and  the  peers  of  his 
other  barons 70.  Thefe  efcheats  and  forfeitures 
formed  fo  capital  a  part  of  the  royal  revenue,  that 
a  particular  court  or  office,  called  the  cfcheatry, 
was  ere6led  for  the  management  of  them. 7I 

When  an  archbifhopric,  bifhopric,  abbey,  or  Ecciefiaf- 
priory  of  royal  foundation,  became  vacant,  the 
temporalities  were  feized  and  enjoyed  by  the 
king  during  the  vacancy.  This,  it  is  probable, 
was  intended  to  correfpond  to  the  profits  arifing 
from  the  wardlhip  of  the  temporal  barons,  and  in 
fome  reigns,  when  many  of  the  richeft  fees  were 
kept  vacant  feveral  years,  it  muft  have  made  a 
great  addition  to  the  revenues  of  the  crown. 7* 

The  kings  of  England,  in  this  period,  were 
not  always  contented  with  the  ordinary  annual 
rents  which  they  received  from  the  cities,  towns, 
focmen,  and  tenants  of  their  demefnes,  and  of 
the  efcheats  and  forfeitures  in  their  hands  j  but 

70  Lib.  Feud.  I.I.  tit.  ax.  1. 4-  tit.  »i.  1. 39.  44.  &c.  Craig,  de 
Feud.  1.  3.  pafiim. 

71  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  c.  10.  p. »o.      ?*  Id.  ibid.  p. 307.  &c.      , 

p  2  on 


$6  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

on  fome  occafions  they  exacted  certain  extraor- 
dinary payments,  called  tallages,  or  cuttings,  from 
the  French  word  tailler,  to  cut ;  becaufe  by 
them  a  certain  proportion  of  the  goods  of  thefe 
cities,  towns,  focmen,  and  tenants,  as  a  tenth,  a 
fifteenth,  a  twentieth,  or  thirtieth  part,  was  cut 
•  off  and  appropriated  to  the  king's  ufe  ".  As 
neither  the  frequency  nor  the  quantity  of  thefe 
tallages  were  afcertained  in  the  former  part  of 
this  period,  they  became  the  occafion  of  great 
oppreffion  to  the  fubjects,  and  a  fource  of  much 
treafure  to  the  crown. 74 

Taxes.  The  ignominious  tax  called  danegild,  though 

the  reafon  for  which  it  had  been  impofed  no 
longer  exifted,  continued  to  be  levied  through  a 
great  part  of  this  period.  It  feems  to  have  been 
a  ftated  article  in  the  annual  charge  againil  the 
(heriffs  of  the  feveral  counties,  who  collected 
and  paid  it  into  the  exchequer.  The  annual 
danegild  for  the  county  of  Surry  was  ^£185 :  6:  o, 
for  Effex  £  252  :  6  :  o  7S.  Thefe  appear  at  pre- 
fent  to  be  trifling  fums,  but  they  were  of 
confiderable  value  in  the  times  we  are  now 
confidering. 

Tolls  and        Tolls  levied  at  bridges,    and  in  fairs   and 

cuftoms.  c 

markets,  with  the  cuitoms  on  goods  exported 

and  imported,  made  apart  of  the  royal  revenue, 
that  will  be  more  particularly  defcribed  in  an- 
other place. ?e 

7i  Du  Cange  doff.  roc.   Tallagium.  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  0.17. 
«  Eadmeri  Hift.  p.  83.     7S  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  0.17.  p. 4 76. 
'«  See  chap.  6. 

Fines, 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.        CONSTITUTION,  &c.  37 

Fines,  freegifts,  and  oblations,  formed  one  of  Fines,  free 
the  moft  abundant  fources  of  the  riches  of  the  sifts>&c- 
kings  of  England  in  this  period.     It  is  hardly 
poffible  to  enumerate  all  the  various  occafions 
on  which  valuable  prefents  were  made  to  thefe 
princes.     No  franchife  or  privilege  of  any  kind 
could  be  obtained  from  the  crown  without  a  fine 
or  oblation  proportioned  to  its  value.     Great 
fines  were  paid  by  prodigious  numbers  of  people, 
in  order  to  obtain  juftice,  and  that  they  might  be 
allowed  the  benefit  of  a  legal  trial ;  while  others 
gave  great  gifts  to  procure  the  royal  interpofition 
for  preventing  law-proceedings  againft  them  ; 
and  not  a  few  agreed  to  give  one  half,  or  a  third 
or  fourth  part,  of  their  lawful  debts,  to  the 
king,  that  they  might  procure  payment  by  his 
authority77.     In  a  word,  juftice  was  openly  fold 
by  thefe  fovereigns  to  their  fubjects;  which  made 
the  famous  article  in  the  great  charter  againft 
felling,  delaying,  and  denying  juftice,  very  ne- 
ceffary.     No  office,  either  in  church  or  ftate, 
could  be  obtained  without  a  bribe  j  and  in  fome 
reigns,  even  bimoprics  were  expofed  to  fale,  and 
bellowed  on  the  higheft  offerers ?8.     There  was 
hardly  any  bufinefs  fo  contemptible,  or  fo  dif- 
honourable,  in  which  fome  of  our  princes  in  this 
period  did  not  engage  for  money ;  nor  did  they 
difdain  to  accept  of  dogs,  hawks,  hens,  lam- 
preys, fhads,  and  fuch  paultry  prefents,  when 
they  could  not  obtain   more  valuable  bribes. 

7J  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  c.ia.  7$  Eadmeri  Hifl  p.  14. 

D  3  For 


38  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

For  money  they  fold  even  their  love  and  hatred, 
and  were  pleafed  or  angry,  friends  or  enemies, 
as  they  were  paid.  To  complete  their  fhame,  all 
thefe  articles  of  their  revenues  are  regularly  en- 
tered in  the  public  records,  where  they  ftill  re- 
main undeniable  monuments  of  their  venality.79 
Amercia-  Amerciaments  formed  another  very  ample 
fource  of  wealth  to  the  kings  of  England  in  this 
period.  Thefe  were  often  exceffive,  and  were 
impofed  on  a  thoufand  different  occafions,  not 
only  for  real  crimes,  but  for  trivial  or  imaginary 
offences,  and  on  the  moil  frivolous  pretences. 
In  the  records  of  thofe  times  we  meet  with  many 
perfons  who  were  feverely  amerced  for  making 
foolifh  fpeeches,  or  returning  foolim  anfwers,  and 
even  for  having  ftiort  memories, or  being  ignorant 
of  things  which  they  could  not  poffibly  know 8o. 
On  thefe  accounts  amerciaments  were  the 
fources  of  infinite  vexations  to  the  fubje6ts,  as 
well  as  of  great  riches  to  the  fovereigns  of  Eng- 
land in  this  period.  They  fell  heavy,  not  only 
on  the  common  people,  but  upon  the  greateft 
prelates  and  moft  powerful  barons  of  the  king- 
dom ;  which  gave  occafion  to  the  27th  article 
of  the  great  charter,  in  which  it  is  declared,  — 
"  That  earls  and  barons  mail  not  be  amerced 
*e  except  by  their  peers,  and  according  to  the 
'*  degree  of  their  offence." 8l 


Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  chap.  13.  ^  Id.  ibid.  chap.  14- 

See  Appendix,  N°  i.  N°  z. 

Moneyage 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.       CONSTITUTION,  &c.  39 

Moneyage  was  a  tax  that  had  been  levied  in  Moneyage. 
Normandy  long  before  the  conqueft,  and  was 
levied  in  England  by  the  firft  and  fecond  Nor- 
man kings81.  By  it,  one  ihilling  was  paid  on 
every  hearth  once  every  three  years,  to  prevail 
upon  the  king  not  to  debafe  the  coin.  For  thefe 
princes  infilled  on  being  paid,  not  only  for  doing 
good,  but  for  not  doing  all  the  evil  that  was  in 
their  power.  This  tax  was  abolifhed  by  the 
charter  of  liberties  granted  by  Henry  I. S3 

The  farms  of  counties,  and  of  cities,  towns,  Farms  of 
and  corporations,  or  gilds,  brought  very  confi-  ^°unties> 
derable  fums  into  the  royal  coffers  in  this  period. 
The  profits  ariling  from  law  proceedings  in  the 
county-courts,  were  divided  between  the  king 
and  the  earls  of  the  county,  two-thirds  belonging 
to  the  former,  and  one-third  to  the  latter.     The 
king's  part  of  thefe  profits  was  farmed  from  year 
to  year  by  the  fheriffs,  together  with  fome  other 
fmall  articles  of  revenue,  for  a  certain  fum  of 
money,  which  they  paid   into  the   exchequer. 
The  far  greateft  part  of  the  cities  and  towns  of 
England  belonged  to  the  royal  demefnes,  and 
their  inhabitants  held  their  lands  and  houfes  im- 
mediately of  the  king ;  who  commonly  granted 
the  farm  of  all  the  rents  and  gilds  due  to  him 
from  all  the  citizens  or  burgefles,  for  their  lands 
and  houfes,  to  the  community,  or  to  the  chief 
magiftrate,  in  name  of  the  community,  for  a 

'*  Hole's  Hift.  Common  Law,  p.u$. 
*J  M.  Paris,  p.38.  col.  3. 

D  4  certain 


40  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III 

certain  rent  to  be  paid  yearly  into  the  exchequer. 
For  the  further  encouragement  of  towns  and 
cities,  and  for  promoting  commerce  and  arts, 
the  monarchs  of  England,  in  this  period,  formed 
the  inhabitants  of  thefe  towns  and  cities,  of 
certain  profeflions,  as  merchants,  goldfmiths, 
weavers,  &c.  into  corporations  or  gilds,  to 
whom  they  granted  various  privileges,  for  which 
they  paid  certain  fums  of  money  yearly  into  the 
exchequer. 84 
Queen-  When  a  fum  of  money  was  due  to  the  king, 

gold.  ....         .     _  • 

an  additional  lum  was  payable  to  the  queen- 
confort,  called  (aurum  reginaT)  queen-gold.  The 
proportion  in  fome  cafes,  perhaps  in  all,  was  one 
pound,  mark,  or  Ihilling,  on  every  hundred 
pounds,  marks,  or  (hillings ;  or,  as  we  now  ex- 
prefs  it,  one  per  cent. Ss 

impofi-  The  Jews  fettled  in  England  in  this  period 
thejews.  were  both  very  numerous  and  very  wealthy ;  but 
their  wealth  was  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
king,  who  feized  any  proportion  of  it  he  pleafed 
at  any  time  he  thought  proper.  A  degree  of 
power  which  is  feldom  ufed  with  moderation, 
and  which  was  much  abufed,  by  fome  of  our 
princes,  who  extorted  prodigious  fums  of  money 
from  the  Jews,  by  the  moil  cruel  and  violent 
methods.  Of  the  greatnefs  of  thefe  fums,  we 
may  form  fome  conception  from  the  following 
examples.  Ifaac,  the  Jew  of  Norwich,  was  fined 

*4  Madox  Hift.  Exchequer,  chap.  10.     Brady  of  Burghs,  pafiim. 
ts  Dialogus  de  Scaccario,  La.  c.  26. 

13  to 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.       CONSTITUTION,  &c.  4I 

to  King  John  in  the  enormous  fum  of  ten  thou- 
fand  marks  (equal  in  value  and  efficacy  to  one 
hundred  thoufand  pounds  of  our  money  at  pre- 
fent),  to  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  one  mark  a-day 
during  life.  A  considerable  part  of  this  fum 
was  accordingly  paid  by  Ifaac  in  his  lifetime, 
and  the  remainder  by  his  heirs86.  A  Jew  of 
Briflol  is  faid  to  have  paid  an  equal  fum  to  the 
fame  prince s?.  In  a  word,  the  revenues  fqueezed 
from  the  Jews  on  various  pretences,  were  fo 
great,  that  a  particular  exchequer,  called  the 
exchequer  of  the  Jews,  was  eftablifhed  for  their 
receipt,  and  a  number  of  officers  appointed  for 
their  management. 88 

From  the  above  enumeration  of  the  feveral  Annual 
fources  of  the  revenues  of  the  Norman  kings  of  revenue- 
England  in  this  period,  though  far  from  being 
complete,  it  is  fufficiently  evident  that  thefe  re- 
venues were  very  great.  We  are  affured  by  an 
author  who  was  born  in  England  only  nine  years 
after  the  conqueft,  that  thofe  of  William  I. 
amounted  to  the  incredible  fum  of  £  1 06 1 :  i  o :  1 f 
per  day,  which  (neglecting  the  fraction)  was  equal 
in  efficacy  to  *£  15,9 15  of  our  money  per  day, 
and  to  3^5,808,975  per  year59.  This  account, 
extravagant  as  it  may  appear,  is  not  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  is  given  by  Roger  Hove- 
den,  a  contemporary  hiftorian,  of  the  revenues 

86  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  chap.  7.  p.  153, 154. 

87  M.  Paris,  p. 1 60.  col.  i.  M  Id.  ibid.  chap.  7. 
"»  Orderic.  Vital.  apudDuchefn.  p. 5 43. 

of 


4$  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

of  England  in  the  reign  of  Richard  I.  When 
Hubert,  Arcbbifhop  of  Canterbury,  was  about  to 
refign  the  office  of  high  judiciary,  A.  D.  1196., 
he  proved  from  his  books,  that  the  revenue  he 
had  collected  in  England  in  the  two  preceding 
years,  was  no  lefs  than  eleven  hundred  thoufand 
marks  of  filver90.  A  great  fum,  equivalent  to 
£  1  1,000,000,  at  the  above  rate  of  computation, 
in  two  years,  or  j£  5,  500,000  in  one  year.  But 
though  it  fhould  be  allowed  that  both  thefe  ac- 
counts are  exaggerated,  we  have  dill  no  reafon 
to  be  furprifed,  that  the  kings  of  England  in 
this  period  kept  fuch  fplendid  and  numerous 
courts  —  lived  in  fo  much  affluence  —  entertained 
all  their  prelates  and  nobles  at  the  three  great 
feftivals  —  endowed  fo  many  monafteries,  built 
fo  many  flrong  caftles,  and  magnificent  churches 
—  carried  on  fo  many  wars  —  and  after  all,  left  fo 
much  money  in  their  treafury  whe,n  they  died. 
Changes  in  j^  fs  now  tjme  to  take  a  view  of  fome  of  the 
England.  mo^-  important  changes  that  were  made  in  the 
laws  of  England,  and  in  the  forms  of  judicial 
proceedings  in  the  reign  of  William  I.  It  is 
indeed  true,  that  William  at  his  coronation  took 
a  folemn  oath,  —  "  To  keep  and  edablifh  right 
"  laws,  and  to  prevent  rapine  and  unjud  judge- 
"  raent."  9I  But  he  either  paid  no  regard  to 
that  oath,  or  did  not  think  himfelf  bound  by  it, 
to  fupport  the  laws  which  he  found  edablifhed. 
For  we  have  the  cleared  evidence  that  he  had 


**  R.  Hoveden.  Annal.  p>4j7>  col.  i.  "  Id.  ibid. 

a  predi- 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

a  predilection  for  the  laws  and  cuftoms  of  his  na- 
tive country,  and  endeavoured  to  introduce  them 
into  England.  This  is  aflerted  in  the  plained 
terms  by  Eadmerus,  a  man  of  learning,  virtue,- 
and  integrity,  who  flourifhed  in  thofe  times. 
*'  William,  having  a  delire  that  the  cuftoms  and 
"  laws  which  his  anceftors,  and  he  himfelf,  had 
"  obferved  in  Normandy,  fhouldbe  obierved  in 
"  England,  made  thofe  men  biftiops,  abbots, 
"  and  princes  (earls  and  barons),  who  would 
"  efteem  it  diflionourable  to  oppofe  his  laws  in 
"  any  thing,  and  who  dared  not  to  lift  up  their 
"  heads  againil  him.  The  Englifti  (fays  In- 
"  gulphus,  who  had  been  fecretary  to  the 
"  conqueror)  were  fo  much  abominated,  that, 
"  whatever  their  merit  might  be,  they  were  de- 
"  prived  of  all  their  offices ;  and  ftrangers, 
*'  though  of  inferior  abilities,  were  put  into 
"  their  places9*."  In  confequence  of  this  con- 
duct, in  the  courfe  of  a  few  years,  all  the  arch- 
bifhops,  bifhops,  abbots,  earls,  and  barons,  to- 
gether with  all  the  judges  and  pleaders  in  all  the 
courts  of  England,  were  Normans.93 

This  naturally  produced  many  changes,  and 
introduced  many  Norman  laws  and  cuftoms, 
without  particular  ftatutes  for  that  purpofe.  One 
natural  confequence  of  this  total  change  of 
judges  and  pleaders  in  the  Englifli  courts,  was 
the  introduction  of  the  Norman  or  French  lan- 
guage into  thefe  courts,  becaufe  it  was  the  only 

»2  Eadmer.  Hift.  p.6.  *  Ingulphi  Hift.  p. 5 13.  col. i. 

language 


44  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IIL. 

language  the  pleaders  could  fpeak,  or  the  judges 
underftood94.  The  clerks  and  fcribes  alfo,  in 
all  thefe  courts,  were  neceffarily  Normans ; 
which  occalioned  the  difufe  of  the  Saxon  and 
the  introduction  of  the  French  manner  of  writ- 
ing. This  produced  various  changes  in  the 
forms  of  legal  deeds  and  charters,  particularly 
in  the  manner  of  their  confirmation,  which,  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  had  been  by  the  fub- 
fcriptions  of  many  witneiTes,  with  the  fign  of 
the  crofs  prefixed  to  each  of  their  names ;  but, 
in  the  Norman  times,  by  feals  impreffed  upon 
them  or  appended  to  them os.  Almoft  all  the 
advocates,  as  well  as  the  clerks,  in  the  courts  of 
England  in  this  period,  were  clergymen,  from 
which  the  clergy  got  the  name  of  clerks ;  and 
the  Anglo-Norman  clergy  were  fo  generally 
practitioners  in  law,  that  it  became  a  proverb, — 
"  There  is  no  clergyman  who  is  not  a  caufe 
"  pleader 96.  This,  however,  did  not  contribute 
much  to  the  impartial  adminiftration  of  juftice ; 
for  the  bed  writers  of  this  period  reprefent  thofe 
clerical  advocates  as  the  moil  covetous  and  venal 
of  all  men. « 

The  judl-       Fire  and  water  ordeals  had  been  ufed  in  Nor- 

ciaicom-     mfondy,  as  well  as  Britain,  before  the  conqueft, 

and  were  therefore  continued  in  England  after 

9+  Ingulphi.  Hlft.  p-513.  col.i.  »5  Id.  ibid. 

96  W.  Malmf.1.4.  p.  70.  col.  i. 

77  J.  Sarifburienfis,  p.  289.  293.     Petrus  Blifenfn,  Epift.  aj.  p.  45. 
Epift.  36.  p.  46* 

that 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

that  event98.     But  the  judicial  combat,  or  duel, 
though  it  had  been  long  eflablifhed  in  France 
and  Normandy,  and  other  countries  on  the  con- 
tinent, both  by  laws  and  cuftom,  was  firfl  in- 
troduced into  England  by  the  Normans".     This, 
like  other  ordeals,  was  an  appeal  to  the  judge- 
ment of  God  for  the  difcovery  of  the  truth  or 
falfehood  of  an  accufation  that  was  denied,  or  a 
fact  that  was  difputed,  founded  on  this  fuppofi- 
tion, — That  heaven  would  always  interpq/e,  and 
give  the  viftory  to  tlie  champions  of  truth  and  in- 
nocence.    As  the  judicial  combat  was  efleemed 
the  mofl  honourable,  it  foon  became  the  moft 
common  method,  of  determining  all   difputes 
among  martial  knights  and  barons,  both  in  cri- 
minal and  civil  caufes.     When  the  combatants 
were  immediate  vaflals  of  the  crown,  the  com- 
bat was  performed  with  great  pomp  and  cere- 
mony in  prefence  of  the  king,  with   the  con- 
ftable  and  marfhal  of  England,  who  were  the 
judges;  but  if  the  combatants  were  the  vaflals 
of  a  baron,  the  combat  was  performed  in  his 
prefence.    If  the  perfon  accufed  was  victorious, 
he  was  acquitted  of  the  crime  of  which  he  had 
been  accufed ;  if  he  was  defeated,  he  was  thereby 
convicted,  and  fubjected  to  the  punifliment  pre- 
fcribed  by  law  for  his  offence.     If  he  was  killed, 
his  death  was  confidered  both  as  the  proof  and 


98  Hoveden,  Annal.  p.  3 14.  col.i.     Eadmer,  p.48. 

99  Leg.  Aleman.  tit.  44.     Burgund.  111.45.    Bajwar,  tit.  a.    Cou- 
itumiere  de  Normand.  part. a.  c,a.    Hoveden,  Annal.  p. 343* 

punifh- 


46  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  HI. 

punifliment  of  his  guilt.  If  the  accufer  was  van- 
quifhed,  he  was,  by  the  laws  of  fome  countries, 
fubjedled  to  the  fame  punifliment  that  would 
have  fallen  upon  the  accufed  ;  but  in  England 
the  king  had  a  power  to  mitigate  or  remit  the 
punifliment.  In  civil  cafes  the  vi6lor  gained,  and 
the  vanquifhed  loft  his  caufe.  Many  wife  laws 
were  made  for  regulating  the  times  and  places 
of  fuch  judicial  combats,  the  drefs  and  arms  of 
the  combatants,  and  every  other  circumftance ; 
which  are  too  voluminous  to  be  here  inferted  I0°. 
Several  kinds  of  perfons  were  by  thefe  laws  ex- 
empted from  the  neceflity  of  defending  their  in- 
nocence,  or  their  properties,  by  the  judicial 
combat ;  as  women,  priefts,  the  fick,  infirm,  or 
maimed,  with  young  men  under  twenty,  and 
old  men  above  fixty  years  of  age.  But  all 
thefe  perfons  might,  if  they  pleafed,  employ 
champions  to  fight  in  their  caufes l01.  It  may 
not  be  improper,  for  the  further  illuftration  of 
this  fingular  mode  of  trial,  to  give  a  very  brief 
narration  of  two  judicial  combats  that  were 
fought  in  this  period,  one  in  a  criminal,  and  the 
other  in  a  civil  caufe. 

Judical  Henry  de  EfTex,  hereditary  ftandard-bearer  of 

combat  in    Engiand    fled  from  a  battle  in  Wales,  A.  D. 

a  criminal  ' 

eaufe.        1158.,  threw  from  him  the  royal  ftandard,  and 
cried  out,  with  others,  that  the  King  was  (lain. 


100  See  Du  Cange,  Gloff.  voc.  Dutllum.     Spelman,  Glofll  roc. 
Campus.     Bradon,  1.  a.  Traft.2.  c.ai.     Fleta,  l.i.  0.34,  35. 
"'  Glanvill.  de  Confuetud.  Angl.  1.14.  c.i. 

Some 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.        CONSTITUTION,  &c.  47 

Some  time  after,  he  was  accufed  of  having  done 
this  with  a  treafonable  intention,  by  Robert  de 
Montfort,  another  great  baron,  who  offered  to 
prove  the  truth  of  his  accufation  by  combat. 
Henry  de  Effex  denied  the  charge,  and  accepted 
the  challenge.  When  all  preliminaries  were  ad- 
jufted,  this  combat  was  accordingly  fought,  in 
the  prefence  of  Henry  II.  and  all  his  court. 
Eflex  was  defeated,  and  expected  to  be  carried 
out  to  immediate  execution.  But  the  King,  who 
was  no  friend  to  this  kind  of  trial,  fpared  his 
life,  and  contented  himfelf  with  confifcating  his 
eftate,  and  making  him  a  monk  in  the  abbey  of 
Reading. IOZ 

The  priority  of  Tinmouth,  in  Northumberland,  Judicial 
was  a  cell  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Alban's.     One  con*?  * 

*  a  civil 

Simon  of  Tinmouth  claimed  a  right  to  two  cor-  caufe. 
rodies,  or  the  maintenance  of  two  perfonsin  the 
priory,  which  the  prior  and  monks  denied.  This 
caufe  was  brought  before  the  Abbot  of  St.  Al- 
bans,  and  his  court-baron,  who  appointed  it  to 
be  tried  by  combat  on  a  certain  day  before  him 
and  his  barons.  Ralf  Gubion,  prior  of  Tin- 
mouth,  appeared  at  the  time  and  place  appointed, 
attended  by  his  champion,  one  William  Pegun, 
a  man  of  gigantic  ftature.  The  combat  was 
fought,  Pegun  was  defeated,  and  the  prior  loft 
his  caufe  ;  at  which  he  was  fo  much  chagrined, 
that  he  immediately  refigned  his  office  '°3.  This 
ft"' *  «*  *w  trt  •  f  '  - 

161  W.  Neubrigen.  1.  z.  c.j.     J.  Brompt  ad  arm.  1158.  p.  1048. 
K3  M.  Paris,  vita  Abbot  St.  Albaiii,  p.  78.  col.  2. 

judicial 


48  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

judicial  combat  is  the  more  remarkable,  that  it 
was  fought  in  the  court  of  a  fpiritual  baron,  and 
that  one  of  the  parties  was  a  prieft. 
introduc-        The  trial   of  criminal   and  civil  caufes  by  a 

tr°ai  °b  Jury  °f  twelye  men3  which  makes  fo  diftinguifhed 
jury.  a  figure  in  Englifti  jurifprudence,  feems  to  have 
been  introduced  in  the  reign  of  William  I.,  and 
was  probably  one  of  thofe  cuftoms  which  he  had 
feen  obferved  in  his  native  country,  and  which 
he  wifhed  to  fee  obferved  in  England I04.  For 
this  cuflom  had  prevailed  in  Scandinavia  in  very 
remote  ages,  was  brought  from  thence  into  that 
part  of  France  which  was  poflefTed  by  Hollo  and 
his  followers,  and  from  them  called  Normandy, 
where  it  was  preferved  till  it  was  imported  into 
England  at  the  conquefl I05.  This  cuftom  was 
not  eftablifhed  at  once  by  any  pofitive  ftatute, 
but  came  into  ufe  by  flow  degrees,  and  was  far 
from  being  common  in  the  former  part  of  this 
period,  when  almoft  all  caufes  were  tried  by 
ordeals  of  one  kind  or  other.  But  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  II.  after  a  law  was  made  allowing  the 
defendant,  in  a  criminal  or  civil  procefs,  to  de- 
fend his  innocence,  or  his  right,  either  by  battle, 
or  by  a  jury  of  twelve  men,  called  the  grand 
affize,  this  laft  method,  as  being  the  moli  ra- 
tional, became  more  and  more  frequent,  till  at 
length  it  obtained  a  complete  victory  over  the 
judicial  combat,  and  every  other  ordeal I06. 

le*  Eadmer.  Hift.  p.  *  'os  Hickefii  DilTertat.  Epift.  p.  37. 

""  Glanvill.  1.14.  c.i. 

This 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  i.       CONSTITUTION,  &c.  49 

This  victory  however  was  not  obtained  till 
long  after  the  conclulion  of  this  period. 

That  there  was  a  very  great  limilarity  between  Similarity 
the  laws  of  England  and  of  Normandy,  foon  ^land 
after  the  conqueft,  is  undeniable,  and  may  be  and  Nor- 
feen  by  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  of  mandy- 
comparing  the  work  of  Ranulph  de  Glanvill, 
chief  jufticiary  to  Henry  II.  of  the  laws  and  citf 
toms  of  England,  with  the  grand  couftumiere 
of  Normandy.  This  limilarity  doth  not  fubfiil 
only  in  matters  of  effential  juftice,  which  are  or 
ought  to  be  the  fame  in  all  countries ;  but  in  the 
rules  of  defcents,  the  terms  of  limitations,  the 
forms  of  writs,  and  many  other  things  of  an  in- 
different nature,  which  could  neither  have  arifen 
from  neceffity,  nor  have  fallen  out  by  accident I07. 
The  only  queftion  is,  how  this  limilarity  was 
produced ;  whether  by  the  exportation  of  th,e 
Englilh  laws  into  Normandy,  or  the  importation 
of  the  Norman  laws  into  England  ?  Something 
of  both  thefe  might  have  happened  in  the  courfe 
of  time ;  but  in  the  reign  of  William  I.,  it  is 
evident,  both  from  the  nature  of  things,  and  the 
teftimony  of  hiftorians,  that  the  current  of  the 
exchange  of  laws  and  cuftoms  run  Itrong  from 
Normandy  into  England. I08 

But  notwithftanding  all  the  changes  that  were  The  an- 
made  in  the  ancient  conflitution,  government,  ^^00"" 
and  laws  of  England  by  the  conqueft,  it  muft  andiawsof 

England 

107  Kale's  Hift.  of  the  Common  Law,  p.iao,  &c. 

108  Eadmeri  Hilt  p.  6. 

VOL.  vi.  E  not 


5o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

not  quite     not  be  imagined  that  they  were  quite  deftroyed. 

b^Tcon-  ^ms  was  verv  ^ar  fr°m  being  the  cafe.  Many  of 
queft.  them  were  preferved,  and  even  adopted,  by 
the  conquerors.  Roger  Hoveden,  and  feveral 
other  hiftorians  after  him,  tell  a  very  formal 
ilory  on  this  fubject100:  That  in  the  fourth  year  of 
his  reign,  William  the  Conqueror,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  his  barons,  fummoned  twelve  of  the  moft 
noble  and  learned  of  the  Englifh  out  of  every 
county,  and  that  when  they  were  afiembled,  he 
commanded  them  to  make  a  collection  of  the 
ancient  laws  of  their  country.  That  they  ac- 
cordingly performed  this,  and  collected  the  fol- 
lowing laws,  which  William  commanded  to  be 
obferved.  They  then  fubjoin  a  copy  of  thefe 
laws.  But,  to  fay  nothing  of  the  great  impro- 
bability that  Norman  barons  would  make  fuch  a 
propofal  in  favour  of  the  Englifh  and  their  laws, 
there  is  a  paffage  in  one  of  thefe  law&  them- 
felves,  which  demonftrates  that  this  Aory  can- 
not be  true  ;  for  in  the  eleventh  of  thefe  laws, 
concerning  the  tax  called  danegeld,  there  is  this 
paflage :  "  That  this  tax  had  never  been  levied 
"  on  the  lands  of  the  church  till  the  reign  of 
"  William  the  younger,  called  William  Ru- 
"  fus  l'°."  Now  it  is  perfectly  impoffible,  that 
a  tranfaction  which  happened  in  the  reign  of 
William  Ruf'us,  could  be  mentioned  in  a  col- 
lection of  laws  made  in  the  fourth  year  of  his 

109  R.  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.343«     Chron.  Ecclef.  Lichfiden.  apud 
Selden.     Spiceleg.  in  Eadmer.  p.  171.     Hen.  Knyght.  coLajjj. 

110  Ingulphi  Hift.  ad  fin. 

father's 


Chap,  3.  Sea.  i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

father's  reign.  But  though  this  ftory  cannot  be 
true,  as  it  is  related  by  thefe  writers,  it  is  highly 
probable,  or  rather  certain,  that  William  I.  in 
fome  period  of  his  reign,  gave  his  fan6tion  to  a 
fyftem  of  ancient  Englifli  laws,  with  fome  addi- 
tions and  alterations  of  his  own.  For  we  are 
told  by  Ingnlphus,  a  writer  of  undoubted  credit, 
who  was  ani  ntimate  friend  and  favourite  of  the 
Conqueror,  "  I  brought  with  me,  at  the  fame 
"  time  (A.  D.  1081.)  from  London  to  my  mo- 
"  naftery,  certain  laws  of  the  moft  righteous 
"  King  Edward,  which  my  illuflrious  lord  King 
"  William  had  promulgated  as  authentic  and 
"  perpetual,  and  to  be  inviolably  obferved 
<6  through  the  whole  kingdom  of  England, 
"  under  the  fevered  penalties  "V  Thefe  laws 
are  published  by  the  learned  Mr.  Selden,  in  his 
notes  on  Eadmerus,  from  an  ancient  tranfcript 
of  the  original,  which,  he  fays,  was  ft  ill  pre- 
ferved  at*  Croiland  in  Lincolnfliire  IIZ.  Thefe 
laws  are  written  in  the  French  and  Norman  lan- 
guage of  the  eleventh  century;  and  confequently 
are  very  obfcure,  and  in  fome  places  hardly  in- 
telligible. They  are  all  of  a  penal  nature,  fifty 
in  number,  and  are  evidently  a  compilation 
from  feveral  fyftems  of  Anglo-Saxon  laws113. 
In  another  fyftem  of  laws  publiftied  by  the  Con- 
queror, there  is  one  commanding  all  the  laws  of 
Edward  the  Confeffor  to  be  obferved,  with  the 
additions  that  he  had  made  to  them,  for  the 

111  Eadmer,  p.  172.  m  Id.  ibid. 

1.3  id.  173—189. 

E  2  benefit 


52  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

benefit  of  the  Englifh I14.  This  probably  refers  to 
thofe  laws  which  Ingulphus  brought  with  him 
from  London, 

Great  at-  The  great  veneration  that  William  I.  profefled 
T^™?11  *°  enterta*n  f°r  tne  memory  of  Edward  the  Con- 
lifli  to  their  feflor,  from  whofe  laft  will  he  pretended  to  derive 

ancient  a  fa\e  to  the  Crown,  might  contribute  fome- 
bw* 

thing  to  preferve  fome  of  the  ancient  Englilh 

laws  and  cuftoms.  But  their  prefervation  was 
chiefly  owing  to  the  invincible  attachment  of 
the  native  Englifh  to  their  ancient  laws.  This 
was  fo  great,  that  they  feem  to  have  been  written 
on  their  hearts,  and  they  never  ceafed  to  cry  for 
their  reftoration.  On  fome  occafions,  when  their 
afliftance  was  wanted,  their  cries  were  heard  j  and 
from  time  to  time,  many  of  thofe  liberties  which 
had  been  torn  from  them  by  the  hand  of  violence, 
were  reftored.  This  will  appear  in  part  in  the 
fubfequent  fe6lion  of  this  chapter,  but  more  fully 
in  the  following  volumes  of  this  work.* 

Great  con-  It  is  uimeceflary  to  Ipend  anytime  in  deli- 
formityof  neating  the  conftitution,  government,  and  laws 

the  laws  of  °  . 

England     oi  Scotland,  in  this  period,  as  they  leem  to 
and  Scot-    have  Deen  the  fame  with  thofe  of  England  above 
period.       defcribed115.     This  we  learn  by  comparing  the 
treatife  of  Glanvill  with  the  moft  ancient  col- 
lection  of  the  Scotch  law,  called  regiam  ma- 
jeftatem.     From  thence  it  plainly  appears,  that 

"*  Eadmer,  p.  192. 

113  Kale's  Hift.  of  the  Common  Law,  c,  10.  p.  189—195. 

the 


Chap.3.SeA.i.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  53 

the  laws  of  the  two  Britilh  kingdoms  were  then 
the  fame  in  many  particulars,  in  which  they  are 
now  different,  though  under  the  fame  fovereign, 
and  forming  one  kingdom.  Of  this  remarkable 
circumftance  it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  a 
few  examples.  By  the  ancient  law  of  England, 
the  fubfequent  marriage  of  the  parents  did  not 
legitimate  the  children  of  the  fame  parents  born 
before  that  marriage ;  which  ftill  continues  to  be 
the  law  of  that  country  ll6.  This  was  alfo  the 
law  of  Scotland  in  the  period  we  are  now  con- 
iidering  "7 ;  but  the  contrary  rule  of  the  civil 
and  canon  law  hath  been  long  fince  adopted  in 
North  Britain.  The  trial  of  civil  caufes  by  a 
jury  of  twelve  men,  was  known  in  England  in 
this  period,  and  is  ftill  confidered  as  one  of  the 
moil  excellent  properties  of  Englifti  jurifpru- 
dence,  and  moft  valuable  privileges  of  Englifli 
fubje&s  "8.  Juries  of  twelve  men  were  alfo  ufed 
in  Scotland,  in  thofe  ancient  times,  in  civil  as 
well  as  criminal  caufes,  as  appears  from  the  au- 
thorities quoted  below,  and  examples  recorded  in 
hiftory  "9.  But  it  is  well  known,  that  the  ufe 
of  juries  in  civil  caufes,  except  in  the  court  of 
exchequer,  hath  been  long  fince  difcontinued  in 
Scotland.  Several  things  no  doubt  contributed 
to  this  remarkable  uniformity  between  the  laws 
of  the  two  Britifh  kingdoms  in  thofe  ancient 

116  Glanvill,  1. 7.  0.15.     Il?  Regiam  Majeftatem,  1.2.0.19.51. 
118  Glanvill>  1. 1.  0.14.  1.2.  0.13.  16.  18,19.  1.;.  c.iz,  <Scc.  &c. 
"9  Regiam  Majeftatem,  Li.  c.  u,  13,  14.  1.2.19.  32.  43.  Chron. 
Mailrofs,  p.i;6. 

E  3  times, 


54 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN. 


Book  lit. 


times,  but  one  of  the  chief  caufes  of  it  feems  to 
have  been,  —  that  the  kings  of  Scotland  were 
feudatories  to  the  kings  of  England  for  the  lands 
they  held  of  them  in  that  kingdom.  This  ob- 
liged thofe  princes  to  be  often  prefent  in  the 
courts  and  parliaments  of  England,  where  they 
became  acquainted  with, -and  contracted  a  fond- 
nefs  for,  Englifh  laws  and  cuftoms,  which  they 
introduced  into  their  own  dominions. 


Succeffion 
to  the. 
crown  of 
England 
unfettled. 


SECTION  II. 

Hi/lory  of  the  changes  in  the  Conjlitution^  Govern- 
ment^ and  Laws  of  England,  in  the  reigns  of  Williamll. 
Henry  I.  Stephen,  Henry  II.  Richard  I.  and  John,  from 
A.  D.  1087.  to  A.  D.  1216. 

A  S  the  mod  important  changes  in  the  Englifh 
•*•**  conftitution  were  made,  either  in  the  reign 
of  William  I.  by  the  eftablifhmentof  the  feudal 
fyftem  ;  or  in  the  reign  of  John,  by  the  limi- 
tation and  mitigation  of  the  feverities  of  that 
fyftem,  it  will  not  be  neceffary  to  dwell  long  on 
the  five  intermediate  reigns. 

The  fucceffion  to  the  crown  of  England,  after 
the  death  of  Edward  the  ConfefTor,  became  fo 
unfettled,  that  it  feemed  to  be  fet  up  as  an  ob- 
je6l  of  ambition  to  every  bold  invader,  who  had 
but  a  flight  pretence,  together  with  power  and 
courage  to  feize  the  glittering  prize,.  To  fay 

nothing 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  55 

nothing  of  Harold  and  the  Conquefor,  the  three 
fucceflbrs  of  this  laft,  William,  Henry,  and 
Stephen,  are  efteemedtby  many  no  better  than 
ufurpers,  and  moft  certainly  reigned  with  a  dif- 
puted  title. 

This  proved  a  moft  fortunate  circumftance  to  This  dr- 
the  native  Englifh,  and  to  their  pofterity,  as  it  ^™*anoe 
contributed  not  a  little  to  raife  them  from  that  tageous  to 
infignificancy  into  which  they  had  been  deprefled.  H16  Ancient 
It  even  contributed  to  the  prefervation  of  what 
was  left,  and  to  the  reftoration  of  what  had  been 
loft,  of  their  ancient   liberties.     For  the  Nor- 
man barons  having  eftates  both  in  Normandy 
and  England,  naturally  defired  to  fee  the  ducal 
and  royal  crown   on  the  fame  head,  that  they 
might   enjoy   their   eftates   in  both   countries. 
Many  of  thefe  barons   therefore  favoured  and 
were  ready  to  fupport  the  pretenfions  of  Robert 
Duke  of  Normandy,  eldeft  fon  of  William  I.,  to 
the  crown  of  England,  firft  againft  his  younger 
brother   William,    and   afterwards   againft    his 
youngeft  brother   Henry.     This  obliged  both 
thefe  princes   to  have  recourfe   to   the  native 
Englifh,    who  were   ftill    formidable    by  their 
numbers,  after  all  the  loffes  they  had  fuftained. 
"  William  Rufus  (fays  a  contemporary  hiftorian) 
"  feeing  almoft   all  the  Normans  in  England 
"  confpiring   againft  him,   invited,  by  letters, 
"  the  braveft  and  moft  refpedlable  among  the 
"  Englifli  who  were  yet  remaining,  to  come  to 
"  him  j  and  complaining  to  them  of  the  di£ 
**  loyalty  of  the  Normans,  he  prevailed  upon 

E  4  "  them. 


56  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  them  to  engage  in  his  quarrel,  by  promifing 
"  them  good  laws,  and  abatement  of  taxes,  and 
"  the  liberty  of  hunting. — He  called  them  his 
"  dear  Englifh,  exhorted  them  to  collect  their 
"  countrymen,  under  the  penalty  that  every 
"  one  who  did  not  come,  ihould  be  called  a 
"  Nidering,  a  name  which  he  knew  none  of 
"  them  could  endure.  In  confequence  of  this, 
"  fuch  multitudes  of  the  Englifh  crowded  to 
ct  the  King,  that  he  foon  formed  an  invincible 
"  army  '."  It  is  very  true,  that  as  foon  as  the 
ftorm  was  blown  over,  William  violated  all  his 
promifes,  and  proved  a  greater  tyrant  and  op- 
prefier  than  his  father ?.  But  Hill  this  tranfac- 
tion  was  of  fome  ufe,  as  it  raifed  the  Englim 
from  their  neglected  ftate,  and  taught  them  their 
own  importance. 

Charter  of  As  the  title  of  Henry  I.  was  liable  to  the 
Henry  I.  fame  objection  with  that  of  his  brother  Wil- 
liam ;  fo  he  was  expofed  to  the  fame  danger, 
on  his  acceffion  to  the  throne,  and  had  recourfe 
to  the  fame  expedient,  with  this  only  difference, 
that  he  put  his  promifes  in  writing,  in  the  form 
of  a  charter,  and  extended  them  to  all  his  fub- 
jects 3.  This  charter  contained  many  mitigations 
of  the  moft  diflreffing  articles  of  the  feudal  fyf- 
tem,  to  gain  the  Normans,  with  an  exprefs  re- 
iloration  of  the  laws  of  Edward  the  confeffor,  to 
pleafe  the  Englifh 4.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that 

1  W.MalmC  1.4.  p-68.  2  M.Paris,  p.3j.  colt. 

3  M.Paris,  p-38.     Richard  Hagulftad.  col^io. 

4  See  Appendix,  N°i. 

the 


Chap.  3.  Sad.  2.     CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

the  written  promifes  of  Henry  were^  fliamefully 
violated  as  well  as  the  verbal  ones  of  William ; 
but  his  charter  being  in  writing,  and  copies  of 
it  being  fent  into  every  county,  and  depofited  in 
every  monaftery,  had  greater  effects,  by  diffufing 
and  cheriming  the  love  of  liberty,  and  equal 
laws,  among  the  Normans,  as  well  as  Englifh 5. 
It  ferved  alfo  as  a  model,  on  which  the  great 
charter  of  liberties,  in  the  reign  of  King  John, 
was  formed.  Henry  I.  promulgated  alfo  a  fyftem 
of  laws  as  he  had  promifed  in  his  charter,  con- 
lifting  of  the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confefibr,  with 
fome  alteration  that  had  been  made  in  them  by 
his  father  the  Conqueror.0 

As  the  ufurpation  of  King  Stephen  was  more  Charter  of 
unjuftifiable  in  many  refpedls  than  that  of  the 
two  former  kings,  fo  he  was  more  liberal  of  his 
promifes  of  good  laws  and  good  government, 
than  any  of  his  predeceffors.  Thefe  promifes 
were  made  with  great  folemnity  on  the  day  of  his 
coronation,  and  were  foon  after  confirmed  by  a 
charter 7.  But  the  credit  of  royal  promifes  and 
royal  charters  was  now  become  fo  low,  that  the 
clergy  and  fome  of  the  barons  fwore  fealty  to 
Stephen,  only  as  long  as  he  kept  his  promifes 
and  obferved  his  charters 3.  His  conduct  foon 
juftified  their  fufpicions.  By  violating  all 


5  M.  Paris,  p-39-  coLx. 

fi  Lambard  Archaionom.  175.    Wilkin.  Leges  Anglo-Saxon,  p.  *3  3 . 
7  W. Malmf.    Hilt.  Novelise,  Li.  p.ioz.      R.Hoveden.  Annal. 
p. 276.     Hen.  Hunt,  p.azz.  col.i. 
*  W.  Malmf.  ibid.  p.ioa.  col.i. 

promifes, 


58  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

promifes,  he  excited  a  civil  war,  which  raged 
during  his  whole  reign,  and  effectually  prevented 
any  amendment  of  the  conflitution. 
introduo        It  was  in  this  turbulent  reign  that  the  pandects 
ftud°ofhe  of  Juftinian  were  brought  into  England  from 
the  civil      Rome  by  fome  of  Archbifliop  Theobald's  attend- 
ants ;  and  Roger  Vacarius,  Prior  of  Bee,  read 
lectures  upon  them  to  very  crowded  audiences, 
both  of  the  clergy  and  laity 9.     Great  oppofition, 
however,  was  made  to  the  introduction  of  thofe 
laws ;  and  John  of  Salifbury  tells  us,  that  he 
"  had  feen  fome  who  were  fo  much  enraged  againft 
them,  that  whenever  they  met  with  a  copy  of  the 
Roman  law,  they  tore  it  in  pieces,  or  threw  it 
into  the  fire.     King  Stephen,  out  of  hatred  (as 
the  learned  Mr.  Selden  thinks)  to  Archbimop 
Theobald,  joined  in  this  oppofition,  by  publifhing 
an  edict,  impofing  filence  on  Vacarius,  and  pro- 
hibiting any  one  to  read  the  books  of  the  civil 
law10.    But  this  edict  did  not  put  a  flop  to  the 
fludy  of  the  civil  law,  as  will  afterwards  appear. 
Charter  Of       Though  the  title  of  Henry  II.  to  the  crown  was 
Henry  II.    more  clear  and  unexceptionable  than  thofe  of  his 
three  predeceffors,  he  thought  it  prudent,  on  his 
acceffion,  to  conciliate  the  affections  of  his  fub- 
jects  by  granting  them  a  charter,  confirming 
that  of  his  grandfather  Henry  I. "     This  great 
prince,  in  the  courfe  of  his  long  reign,  made 

'  J.  Sarilburien,  1.8*  c.4z.  p.67Z. 

10  Id.  ibid.     Selden,  apudFletam,  €.7. 

11  Judge  Blackftone's  Law-trafts,  vol.  a.  p.n. 

feveral 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.      CONSTITUTION,  &c.  5 

feveral  improvements  in  the  law,  efp^cially  in  its 
forms,  in  the  manner  of  its  adminiftration,  and 
the  practice  of  its  courts.  This  appears  very 
plainly  from  that  moil  ancient  treatife  of  the 
laws  and  cuftoms  of  England,  written  by,  or  at 
lead  publifhed  under  the  name  of,  Ranulph  de 
Glanvill,  who  was  chief  jufticiary  to  this  king l2. 
Some  of  thefe  improvements  merit  a  place  in 
hiflory.  . 

The  unhappy  feparation  of  the  ecclefiaftical  Amend- 
from  the  civil  courts  made  by  William  I.  had  by  ^"^fi 
this  time  produced  the  mod  fatal  confequences.  the  reign 
For  the  former  of  thefe  courts  had  not  only  be-  ^ 
come  terrible  to  perfons  of  all  ranks,  by  their 
interdicts,  excommunications,  and  other  cen- 
fures ;  but  the  clergy,  in  confequence  of  this 
feparate  jurifdi6lion,  to  which  alone  they  pre- 
tended they  were  refponfible,  had  emancipated 
themfelves  in  a  great  meafure  from  all  fubjeclion 
to  civil  authority,  and  committed  the  moft  horrid 
crimes  with  impunity.     Henry  II.,  if  we  may 
believe  one  of  the  belt  of  our  ancient  liiftorians, 
was  affured  by  his  judges,  that  the  clergy,  in  the 
firft  ten  years  of  his  reign,   had  committed  no 
fewer  than  one  hundred  murders,  befides  many 
thefts,  robberies,  rapes,  and  other  crimes,  for 
which  they  could  not  punifti  them  '3.     To  put  a 
flop  to  thofe  intolerable  evils,  and  reduce  the 
clergy  to  the  rank  of  fubjects,  Henry,  in  a  great 


"  R.  de  Glanvilla  de  Legibus  et  Confuetud.  Anglise. 
13  W.  Neubrigen.  l.a.  c.i6.  tom.z.  p.  158. 


council, 


6o  .  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

council,  A.  IX  1 164.,  enacted  the  famous  confti- 
tutions  of  Clarendon  I4.  Thefe  were  lixteen  in 
number ;  and  though  they  cannot  be  inferted 
here  at  full  length,  it  is  proper  the  reader  fhould 
be  made  acquainted  with  their  fubftance,  which 
is  as  follows : 

Conftitu-  i.  All  pleas  between  clergymen  and  laymen 
aaren  fliall  be  tried  in  the  king's  courts.  2.  Churches 
don.  in  the  ting's  gift  mall  not  be  filled  without  his 
confent.  3.  All  clergymen,  when  accufed  of 
any  crime,  (hall  be  tried  in  the  king's  courts ; 
and  when  convicted,  mail  not  be  protected  from 
punifhment  by  the  church.  4.  Clergymen  mail 
not  go  out  of  the  kingdom  without  the  king's 
leave.  5,  6.  Regulate  the  manner  of  proceed- 
ings in  the  ecclefiaftical  courts.  7.  None  of  the 
king's  minifters  or  vaffals  fliall  be  excommuni- 
cated without  his  knowledge.  8.  Appeals  from 
the  archbifhop  to  be  made  to  the  king.  9.  Pleas 
between  a  clerk  and  a  layman,  whether  an  eftate 
was  in  free-alms  or  a  lay-fee,  to  be  tried  in  the 
king's  court  by  a  jury.  10.  One  of  the  king's 
tenants  might  be  interdicted,  but  not  excom- 
municated, without  the  confent  of  the  civil  judge 
of  the  place.  1 1 .  All  prelates,  who  hold  baronies 
of  the  king,  fliall  perform  the  fame  fervices  with 
other  barons.  12.  The  revenues  of  vacant  fees 
and  abbeys  belong  to  the  king.  The  election  of 
prelates  fhall  be  with  the  king's  confent ;  and 
they  fliall  fwear  fealty,  and  do  homage  to  the 

'•*  Gems  Chron.  col.  1386)  &c. 

king, 


Chap.  3.  Se<5t.  2.       CONSTITUTION,  &c,  6 1 

king,  before  their  confecration.  13^14,15.  Di- 
re6t  the  manner  of  proceeding,  in  cafe  any  of 
the  king's  barons  fliall  diffeife  any  of  the  clergy 
of  the  lay-fees  which  they  held  under  them. 
1 6.  The  fons  of  villains  mall  not  be  ordained 
without  the  leave  of  their  mailers IS.  But  the 
falutary  effects  of  thefe  conftitutions  were  in  a 
great  meafure  prevented  by  the  invincible  op- 
pofition  of  Thomas  Becket. 

Juftice  was  not  always  adminiftered  in  thofe  inftitution 
ancient  times,  by  the  barons  and  fheriffs  in  the  ^Juftice* 

J  ,  ,  itinerant. 

inferior  courts,  with  the  greateft  wifdom  and 
impartiality ;  partly  owing  to  the  ignorance  of 
the  judges,  and  partly  to  the  prevalence  of  fac- 
tion among  the  fuitors  in  thefe  courts I6.  Nor 
was  it  an  eafy  matter  to  procure  relief  from  an 
iniquitous  fentence  pronounced  by  a  baron  or 
iheriff,  on  account  of  the  great  diftance  and  un- 
fettled  (late  of  the  king's  court,  which  conftantly 
attended  his  perfon.  To  remedy  thefe  inconve- 
niencies,  Henry  II.  with  the  advice  of  a  great 
council  of  his  prelates,  earls,  and  barons,  at 
Northampton,  A.  0.1176.,  divided  the  whole 
kingdom  into  fix  parts  or  circuits,  and  appointed 
three  judges,  learned  in  the  law,  to  hold  courts 
in  each  of  thefe,  by  a  commiffion  from  the  king, 
impowering  them  to  hear  and  determine  allcaufes 
not  exceeding  the  value  of  one  half  of  a  knight's 
fee,  unlefs  the  matter  was  of  fuch  importance  or 

11  Gervas  Cliron.  001.1386,  &c. 

'*  Kale's  Hift.  Com.  Law,  p.  139,  &c.- 

difficulty 


62 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN. 


Book  III, 


difficulty  as  to  require  the  judgment  of  the 
king's  court  in  his  royal  prefence I?.  Thefe 
juftices  itinerant  took  an  oath,  to  adminifter  juf- 
tice  to  all  perfons  with  impartiality l8.  They 
had  alfo  authority  to  judge  in  all  criminal  caufes 
and  pleas  of  the  crown,  and  to  tranfacl  a  variety 
of  other  affairs  for  the  public  good.  A  fmall 
change  was  made  in  this  excellent  inftitution, 
A.  D.  1179.,  by  dividing  the  kingdom  into  four 
circuits,  and  allowing  a  greater  number  of  judges 
to  each  of  thefe  circuits  '9.  It  is  eafy  to  con- 
ceive how  great  a  check  the  circuits  of  thefe 
judges  of  fuperior  rank,  knowledge,  and  inte- 
grity, muft  have  given  to  the  wantonnefs  and 
partiality  of  the  inferior  courts,  and  how  great 
an  advantage  they  were  to  the  people,  by  bring- 
ing juflice  within  their  reach.  It  muft,  how- 
ever, be  confeffed,  that  though  the  honour  of 
bringing  this  wife  inftitution  to  a  fettled  ftate  is 
due  to  Henry  II.  there  is  fufficient  evidence 
that  courts  were  held,  occalionally  at  leaft,  by 
itinerant  judges  in  more  ancient  times. 20 
Henry  II.  This  wife  prince  was  no  friend  to  the  fuperfti- 
a  friend  to  tious  modes  of  trial  by  fire  and  water  ordeals,  nor 
to  the  barbarous  one  by  fingle  combat,  efpecially 
in  civil  caufes.  He  therefore  endeavoured  to 
introduce  trials  by  juries,  or  by  the  oaths  of 
twelve  men  of  the  vicinage,  called  the  grand 
qffize,  as  more  rational.  With  this  view  he 


trials  by 
juries. 


17  Hoveden.  Annal.  p. 3 13. 

19  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  3  3  7. 

20  Madox,  Hift.  Excheq.  p.86,  87, 

1O 


M.  Paris,  p.  9*.  col.  r. 


made 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

made  a  law,  allowing  the  defendant,  in  a  plea  of 
right,  to  fupport  his  title,  either  by  {ingle  com- 
bat, or  by  a  grand  afljze, "  which  (fays  Glanvill) 
"  is  a  benefit  granted  to  the  people  by  the  king's 
"  clemency,  upon  confultation  with  his  nobles, 
"  in  tendernefs  of  life,  whereby  men  might  de- 
"  cline  the  doubtful  fuccefs  of  battle,  and  try 
"  the  right  to  their  freehold  in  the  other  way21." 
This  was  a  great  improvement  in  Englifli  jurii- 
prudence,  and  from  hence  we   may  date  the 
more  frequent  ufe  ofjuries  than  in  former  times. 
"Though  Richard  I.  fpent  much  of  his  time  out 
of  the  kingdom,  and  in  the  toils  of  war,  he  was 
not  inattentive  to  matters  of  police  and  law.  The  by  Rich 
laws  which  he  made  for  the  government  of  his  atdL 
fleet  in  his  voyage  to  the  Holy  Land,  are  truly 
curious,  particularly  the  lad  of  thefe  laws,  which 
is  to  this  purpofe  :  —  "  If  any  one  is  convicted 
"  of  theft,  let  his  head  be  Ihaved  like  a  cham- 
"  pion's ;  let  melted  pitch  be  poured  upon  it, 
"  and  feathers  fhaken  over  it,  that  he  may  be 
"  known,  and  let  him  be  fet  on  more  at  the  firfl 
"  land  to  which  the  Ihip  approaches  "."    To  fay 
nothing  of  his  other  maritime  and  mercantile 
laws,  which  will  be  more  properly  coniidered  in 
another  place,  he  made  fome  excellent  regula- 
tions for  eftablilhing  an  uniformity  of  weights 
and  meafures  over  the   whole   kingdom  23 :    a 
thing  much  to  be  defired,  but  not  yet  accom- 

21  Glanvill,  1.  a.  c.;.. 

"  Chron.  J.  Brompt.  apud  X  Script.  001.1173* 

22  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  441. 

plifhed. 


64  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

plifhed.     This  prince  gave  alfo  very  long  and 
particular  directions  to  the  juftices  itinerant  for 
the  regulation  of  their  conduct  on  their  circuits. 
Thefe  directions  were  contained  in  two  capitu- 
laries, one  relating  to  the  pleas  of  the  crown, 
and  the  other  to  the  affairs  of  the  Jews,  who, 
on  account  of  their  numbers  and  riches,  were 
regarded  by  government  with  great  attention*4. 
Richard  I.  gave  alfo  very  particular  directions 
to  the  juftices  of  his  forefts,  who  held  forefl- 
courts  in   all  parts  of  England,  at  which  all 
archbifhops,  bifhops,  earls,  and  barons,  as  well 
as  perfons  of  inferior  rank,  were  obliged  to 
attend,  and  anfwer  to  interrogatories 2S.    Thefe 
directions,  which  are  too  long  to  be  here  in- 
ferted,  fet  the  rigour  of  the  foreft-laws  in  fo 
ilrong  a  light,  that  we  need  not  wonder  the 
barons  in  the  next  reign  infifted  upon  fome  ar- 
ticles being  inferted  in  the  great  charter  for 
mitigating  their  feverity. 
Meiiora-         Though  King  John  was  certainly  one  of  the 

tions  of      worft  princes  that  ever  filled  the  throne  of  Enff- 
the  confU-  |  .  .  _  _  .       ° 

tution  in     land,  his  reign  will  be  for  ever  memorable  for 

the  reign    fae  melioration  of  the  conftitution  by  the  great 

JohnT§      charter  of  liberties  that  was  then  obtained.   His 

merit,  however,  in  this  melioration  was  very 

fmall,  as  he  contributed  to  it  only  by  rendering 

himfelf  odious  by  his  vices,  contemptible  by  his 

follies,  and  impotent  by  his  lofles,  which  both 

conftrained  and    encouraged    his    fubjects   to 

34  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  424-  2S  W«  >bid. 

demand, 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  6 

demand,  and  enabled  them  to  obtain,  by  means 
already  related,  this  great  paladium  of  Englilh 
liberty. 26 

We  are  indebted  to  the  labours  of  a  learned  Magna 
judge  for  an  accurate  hiftory,  and  correft  edition,  Jj£*U^ 
of  the  Great  Charter  of  King  John,  and  of  the  Charter. 
iimilar  charters  of  his  fon  Henry  III.  and  grand- 
fon  Edward  1. 2?     From  that  edition  the  charter, 
in  the  Appendix,  No.  i.  is  printed;  to  which  a 
plain  and  almoft  literal  tranflation  is  fubjoined, 
No.  2.  which  may  be  agreeable  to  fome  readers. 

It  is  not  the  province,  though  it  were  in  the 
power,  of  an  hiilorian,  to  give  a  complete  com- 
mentary  on  this  famous  charter.  All  the  pur- 
pofes  of  general  hiflory,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  fuffi- 
ciently  anfwered  by  a  very  fhort  analyfis,  pdint- 
ing  out,  in  a  few  words,  the  grievances  and 
hardships  that  were  intended  to  be  removed, 
with  the  liberties  and  privileges  that  were  de- 
igned to  be  granted,  by  the  Great  Charter  o^ 
King  John. 

The  privileges  and  liberties  that  were  granted  Privileges 
or  confirmed  to  the  people  of  England  by  this  ft"a^eb 
charter,  may  be  divided  into  thefe  four  claffes  :  into  four 
i.  Thofe  that  were  granted  to  the   church  and  claffes* 
clergy.     2.  To  the  earls,  barons,  knights,  and 
others,  who  held  of  the  King  in  capite.     3.  To 
cities,  towns,  and  merchants,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  trade.     4.  To  the  whole  body  of  free- 
men.   For  none  of  the  parties  concerned  in  this 

16  See  vol. 5.  p.  25 4.  2?  Law-tra<5b,  vol.  3. 

VOL,  vi.  F  charter 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

charter  ever  entertained  a  thought  of  emanci- 
pating flaves  or  villains  ;  and  therefore  they  are 
mentioned  only  once,  and  that  for  the  benefit  of 
their  mafters. 

Privileges  As  Archbifliop  Langton,  and  fix  other  bifhops, 
were  at  tne  neac^  of  the  barons  who  procured  this 
charter,  we  may  be  certain  that  the  interefts  of 
the  church  would  not  be  forgotten.  But  the 
power  and  wealth  of  the  clergy  were  then  fo 
great,  and  their  grievances  fo  few,  that  they  had 
hardly  any  thing  to  complain  of  or  to  afk.  This 
is  no  doubt  the  reafon  that  there  are  fo  few  arti- 
cles in  the  charter,  particularly  refpecting  the 
church  and  clergy. 

The  famous  conflitutions  of  Clarendon,  made 
by  Henry  II.  A.  D.  1164.,  had  been  the  great 
object  of  the  execration  and  horror  of  the  popes, 
and  of  thofe  Englifh  clergy  who  were  of  their 
party,  for  half  a  century  before  the  granting  of 
the  Great  Charter.  There  is  hardly  a  name  in  the 
Latin  language,  expreffive  of  abhorrence  and 
detefiation,  which  is  notbeftowed  by  the  monkifh 
writers  of  thofe  times  on  thefe  hated  regula- 
tions 1S.  After  a  long  and  violent  ftruggle,  in 
which  Archbifliop  Becket  loit  his  life,  Henry  II. 
had  been  obliged  to  give  up  the  greateft  part  of 
his  favourite  conftitutions 29.  To  guard  againft 
the  reflonition  of  thofe  detefted  laws,  and  to 
eradicate  their  remains,  had  been  the  chief  con- 


18  Epift.S.  Thomae,  p.ja.  aio.  288.  450.  467.  499.  570,  &c. 
25  VitaS.Thomse,  p.  148; 


cern 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.      CONSTITUTION,  Ac. 

cern  of  the  Englifh  clergy  for  many  years.  It 
was  evidently  with  this  view  that  the  feveral 
articles  refpeeling  the  church  and  clergy  were 
inferted  in  the  Great  Charter,  which  feems  to  be 
the  true  key  for  the  right  underftanding  of  thefe 
articles. 

It  is  declared  in  the  firfl  article,  "  that  the 
"  Englifh  church  fhall  be  free,  and  have  her 
"  rights  entire,  and  her  liberties  unhurt30." 
By  the  freedom  here  flipulated  for  the  church  of 
England,  we  are  moil  probably  to  underftand  the 
exemption  of  the  clergy  from  the  jurifdielion  of 
the  civil  courts,  to  which  they  had  been  fub- 
jected  by  the  third  conftitution  of  Clarendon 3I. 
This  pernicious  exemption  was  contended  for  by 
Becket,  and  the  great  body  of  the  clergy,  as  if 
it  had  constituted  the  very  effence  of  Chriflianity, 
on  which  the  exiftence  of  the  church  depended; 
and  when  they  had  obtained  it,  they  defended  it 
with  equal  obftinacy.  One  of  the  rights  of  the 
church,  which  is  particularly  mentioned  in  this 
firft  article,  is  dire6lly  contrary  to  the  twelfth 
conftitution  of  Clarendon.  It  is  the  right  which 
John  had  granted  by  a  particular  charter  about  3, 
year  before,  to  the  monks  of  cathedral  churches 
and  abbeys,  freely  to  chufe  their  own  bifhops  and 
abbots. 32 

The  twenty-fecond  article  of  the  charter  feems 
to  indicate  very  plainly,  that  the  freedom  granted 

30  Appendix,  No.  i,  a.  JI  Gervas  Chron.  col.  1386. 

*'  Id.  col.  1388.     Kymeri  Foedera,  1. 1.  p.i97, 

F  a  to 


68  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

to  the  clergy  implied  an  exemption  of  their  per- 
fons  as  clergymen,  and  of  their  benefices  belong- 
ing to  the  church,  from  civil  jurifdiction.  For 
by  that  article  it  is  declared,  that  no  clergyman 
fhall  be  amerced  according  to  the  value  of  his 
ecclefiaftical  benefice,  but  according  to  his  fecu- 
lar eftate.  A  clergyman,  therefore,  who  had  no 
fecular  eftate,  was  not  liable  to  be  amerced.  One 
reafon  of  inferting  that  article  feems  to  have 
been,  that  fome  clergymen,  who  had  fecular 
eftates,  had  been  fo  unreafonable  as  to  plead, 
that  thefe  eftates  mould  be  exempted  from  civil 
jurifdi6lion,  as  well  as  their  ecclefiaftical  bene- 
fices. 

None  of  the  conftitutions  of  Clarendon  was 
more  difagreeable  to  the  Pope  and  clergy  than 
the  fourth,  which  prohibited  all  archbifliops, 
bifhops,  and  clerks,  from  going  out  of  the  king- 
dom without  the  king's  leave 33.  For  by  this 
law  the  clergy  were  prevented  from  profecuting 
their  appeals  and  other  affairs  at  the  court  of 
Rome,  and  that  court  was  deprived  of  much 
power  and  riches.  This  reftraint  was  effectually 
removed  by  the  forty-fecond  article  of  the  Great 
Charter,  which  permitted  all  perfons,  the  clergy 
not  excepted,  to  go  out  of  the  kingdom  and 
return  into  it  when  they  pleafed. 34 
Privileges  As  the  earls,  barons,  and  other  military  te- 
grantedto  nants  of  the  crown,  were  the  chief  inftruments  of 

the  barons,  . 

&c.  by  the  procuring  the  Great  Charter  ;  there  are  feveral 

Great 

Charter.  «  Gervas  Chron.i386.  *  Appendix,  No.  i,  a. 

articles 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.       CONSTITUTION,  &c.  69 

articles  in  it  particularly  calculated  for  their  re- 
lief and  benefit,  by  mitigating  fome  of  the  mod 
oppreffive  rigours  and  abufes  of  the  feudal  fyftem 
of  tenures,  under  which  they  groaned.  Thefe 
articles,  though  they  were  of  great  importance, 
will  not  require  much  illuflration;  as  the  remedy 
provided  by  the  charter,  clearly  enough  points 
out  the  evils  intended  to  be  remedied. 

By  the  fecond  article  of  the  charter,  the  reliefs 
of  the  heirs  of  earls,  barons,  and  other  military 
tenants  of  the  crown,  are  fixed  and  afcertained 
according  to  the  ancient  rate  of  reliefs. 3S 

By  what  means  this  ancient  rate  of  reliefs  had 
been  laid  afide,  we  are  not  informed.  But  there 
is  fufficient  evidence,  that  in  the  late  reigns,  as 
well  as  in  that  of  King  John,  the  reliefs  of  earls 
and  barons  had  been  arbitrary  and  uncertain. 
Henry  I.  fays,  in  his  charter  which  he  granted 
at  his  acceffion,  "  if  any  of  my  earls,  barons, 
"  or  other  vaiTals  die,  their  heirs  mail  not  be 
"  obliged  to  redeem  their  land,  as  they  were  in 
"  the  time  of  my  brother ;  but  they  mail  be  put 
"  in  pofleffion  of  it  on  paying  a  juft  and  reafon- 
"  able  relief36."  Glanvill,  who  flourifhed  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.,  acquaints  us,  "  that  the 
"  reliefs  for  baronies  were  not  fixed ;  but  were 
"  according  to  the  pleafure  and  mercy  of  the 
«  king  "."  This  was  alfo  the  law  of  Scotland 
in  this  period38.  It  is  eaiy  to  imagine  how 

35  Appendix,  No.  I,  a.  36  Appendix,  No.  i. 

37  Glanvill)  1.  9.  0.4.  *8  Regiam  Majeftatem,  1.  2.  0.71. 

>  3  great 


70  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

great  an  inftrument  of  oppreflion  the  uncer- 
tainty of  reliefs  might  be  in  the  hands  of  fuch 
princes  as  William  Rufus  or  King  John,  and  how 
great  an  advantage  it  was  to  the  military  tenants 
of  the  crown  to  have  them  afcertained. 

Though  the  king  reaped  great  profits  from  the 
wardfhip  of  the  heirs  of  his  earls,  barons,  and 
other  vafials,  when  they  were  minors,  and  ought 
therefore  to  have  put  them  in  pofleflion  of  their 
lands  when  they  came  of  age,  without  exa6ling 
any  relief  or  payment  of  any  kind,  it  appears  to 
have  been  common  to  demand  a  fine  proportioned 
to  the  value  of  the  eftate 39.  To  correct  this 
abufe,  it  is  declared,  (article  3.)  "  that  when 
*'  an  heir  who  had  been  a  ward,  comes  of  age, 
"  he  lhall  have  his  inheritance  without  relief  or 
"  fine." 

Sometimes  a  king  of  England,  in  this  period, 
appointed  the  meriff  of  the  county,  or  fome 
other  perfon,  to  manage  the  eftate  of  an  earl  or 
baron  who  was  his  ward,  and  to  pay  the  profits 
arifing  from  it  into  the  exchequer.  At  other 
times  he  fold  or  granted  the  wardfhip,  with  all 
its  profits,  to  fome  particular  perfon.  In  both 
thefe  cafes,  the  tenants  on  the  eftate  of  the  royal 
wards  were  often  much  opprefled,  and  the  eftates 
wafted,  by  the  managers,  the  grantees,  or  pur- 
chafers,  for  their  own  profit.  The  perfons  who 
had  the  cullody  of  thofe  eftates  alfo  permitted  the 
caftles,  houfes,  mills,  parks,  &c.  upon  them  to 

39  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  ch.  13.  fedt.  8.  p«333» 

14  go 


Chap.  3.  8ed. 2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

go  to  ruin,  becaufe  they  would  not  be  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  repairs.  By  the  fourth  and  fifth  articles 
of  the  Great  Charter,  fome  partial  remedies  are 
provided  againfl  thefe  abufes ;  in  which  the  moft 
remarkable  circumftance  is  this,  that  the  mana- 
gers of  thefe  eflates  are  prohibited  from  walling 
the  men,  as  well  as  the  cattle,  woods,  and  other 
things  upon  them 40.  This  {hews,  that  the  un- 
happy men  who  were  annexed  to  their  eftates, 
were  viewed  in  the  fame  light,  by  the  mighty 
champions  of  liberty,  the  authors  of  the  Great 
Charter,  as  the  negroes  in  our  plantations  are 
viewed  by  their  proprietors. 4I 

If  the  heirs  of  earls,  barons,  and  other  mili- 
tary tenants  of  the  crown,  were  liable  to  great 
lofles  in  their  fortunes  from  their  fovereign's  right 
of  wardfhip,  they  were  liable  to  flill  greater  in- 
juries from  his  right  of  difpofing  of  them  in  mar- 
riage. In  confequence  of  this  unnatural  right, 
the  heirs  and  heireffes  of  the  greateft  families  and 
fortunes  were  frequently  fold  or  granted  in  mar- 
riage to  perfons  difagreeable  to  them  or  un- 
worthy of  them ;  or  were  obliged  to  prefer ve 
themfelves  from  fo  great  a  calamity,  by  paying 
exorbitant  fines.  To  fet  fome  bounds  to  this 
intolerable  tyranny,  it  was  granted  by  the  fixth 
article  of  the  Great  Charter,  *6  that  heirs  fliould 
"  not  be  married  to  their  difparagement,  or 
"  without  the  knowledge  of  their  relations  4V 

40  Appendix}  No.  I,  a.  4'  See  Obfervations  upon  the 

Statutes,  p.  6.  4*  Appendix,  No.  i,  3. 

F  4  But 


72  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

But  this  was  evidently  too  general  and  indefinite 
to  be  an  effectual  remedy  to  fo  great  an  evil. 

Not  only  heirs  and  heireffes,  but  alfo  widows, 
were  fubjected  to  great  oppreffions  by  the  feudal 
jyflem.  They  were  often  obliged  to  pay  heavy 
fines  to  obtain  pofleffion  of  their  dower,  and  for 
liberty  to  remain  unmarried,  or  to  marry  whom 
they  pleafed.  Thus  Maud  Countefs  of  War- 
wick, in  the  thirty-firfl  year  of  Henry  II.,  gave 
feven  hundred  marks  to  the  King,  equal  in  value 
and  efficacy  to  feven  thoufand  pounds  of  our 
money  at  prefent,  that  fhe  might  have  her 
dower,  and  be  at  liberty  to  marry  whom  (he 
pleafed43.  Lucia 'Countefs  of  Chefter  paid  five 
hundred  marks  to  King  Stephen,  that  me  might 
not  be  compelled  to  marry  within  five  years 44. 
King  John  had  carried  this  part  of  feudal  op- 
preffion,  as  well  as  all  the  reft,  to  a  greater 
height  than  any  former  prince  ;  for  Alicia 
Countefs  of  Warwick  paid  him  no  lefs  than  one 
thoufand  pounds,  that  fhe  might  not  be  forced 
to  marry  till  fhe  pleafed45.  The  feventh  and 
eighth  articles  of  the  Great  Charter  were  in- 
tended to  reftrain  thefe  abufes. 46 

While  the  kings  of  England  acted  as  if  they 
had  been  the  fole  judges  both  of  the  quantity  of 
the  feudal  preftations,  of  aids,  fcutages,  and 
tallages,  and  of  the  frequency  of  exacting  them, 
(as  they  often  did  in  this  period,)  the  property 

*3  Madox  Hift.  JExcheq.  ch.  13.  fedt.  2.  «  Id.  ibid. 

v  Id.  ibid.  *«  Append.  No.  i,  2. 

of 


ehap.3.  SeA.2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  73 

of  their  vafTals  was  infecure.  For  when  the 
king  could  take  any  proportion  of  their  goods 
at  any  time  he  pleafed,  they  had,  properly  fpeak- 
ing,  nothing  that  they  could  call  their  own.  To 
prevent  this  moft  dangerous  abufe  in  the  fove- 
reign,  and  to  prevent  his  granting  permiffion  to 
inferior  feudal  lords  to  be  guilty  of  abufing,  in 
the  fame  manner,  their  power  over  their  vaf- 
fals,  is  the  intention  of  the  twelfth  and  fifteenth 
articles  of  the  Great  Charter  47.  Thefe  articles, 
however,  did  not  prevent  thofe  abufes,  which 
were  not  effectually  removed  till  long  after  the 
conclufion  of  this  period. 

So  very  tyrannical  and  encroaching  had  fome 
of  our  princes  been,  that  when  the  military  vaffal 
of  an  inferior  lord  happened  to  hold  a  fmall 
piece  of  land  of  the  crown  by  foccage,  or 
burgage-tenure,  they  claimed  the  wardfhip  and 
marriage  of  his  heir,  though  they  mofl  evidently 
belonged  to  the  lord  of  whom  he  held  by  mili- 
tary tenure.  This  moft  unreafonable  claim  was 
relinquiflied  by  the  thirty-feventh  article  of  the 
Great  Charter. 

Becaufe  it  would  have  been  impoffible  to 
enumerate  all  the  various  unjuft  vexations  to 
which  the  military  vaffals  of  the  crown  were 
liable,  and  to  provide  particular  remedies  for  each 
of  them,  a  general  provifion  is  made  in  the  fix- 
teenth  article,  —  "  that  no  man  (hall  be  con- 
"  ftrained  to  do  more  fervice  for  a  knight's  fee 

4?  Append,  No.  i,  a. 

«  than 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.        Book  in. 

"  than  what  is  due."  But  this  provifion  was 
too  general  to  be  of  much  life. 

Such  were  the  mitigations  of  fome  of  the 
greatefl  rigours  of  the  feudal  fyftem,  obtained 
from  King  John,  in  this  famous  charter,  by  the 
barons  j  but  none  of  them  were  capable  of  form- 
ing an  idea  of  the  perfect  freedom  from  all  the 
fervilities  of  that  fyftem,  which  their  poflerity 
now  enjoy. 

One  thing  which  feeined  at  leafl  to  render  the 
above  limitations  of  the  power  of  the  fovereign  as 
a  feudal  lord  of  greater  value,  and  more  univer- 
fal  benefit,  was  this,  that,  by  the  iixtieth  article 
of  this  famous  charter,  the  fame  limitations  are 
impofed  upon  all  inferior  feudal  lords  towards 
their  vaffals 4S.  This  article,  which  was  highly 
reafonable,  was  probably  inferted  at  the  defire  of 
the  King ;  and  in  the  event  was  fo  far  from 
extending  the  benefit  of  the  limitations  in  the 
charter,  that  it  contributed  not  a  little  to  render 
them  ineffectual.  For  though  the  great  barons 
were  very  delirous  to  prevent  the  tyrannical 
exercife  of  the  feudal  authority  of  the  fovereign 
towards  themfelves ;  many  of  them  were  much 
inclined  to  exercife  it  in  that  manner  towards 
their  vaffals,  and  continued  to  do  fo  after  this 
charter  was  granted.  This  both  encouraged  our 
kings  to  violate  all  its  limitations,  and  furnilhed 
them  with  a  ready  anfwer  to  all  the  complaints 
of  their  barons.  So  uncertain  are  the  effects  of 

48  Append.  No.  i,  a, 

political 


Chap.  3-  Sea.  2.      CONSTITUTION,  &c.  73 

political  regulations,  and  fo  different  do  they 
fometimes  prove  in  fact,  from  what  they  promifed 
in  theory. 

The  great  barons  in  this  period  had  in  general  Privileges 
little  knowledge  of  trade,  and  little  regard  for  grai«eato 

&  towns,  &c. 

merchants:    bendes,   the    cities   and  towns   of  by  the 
England,  for  almoft  a  century  after  the  con-  Great 

n      -r         i  i  Charter. 

quelt,  London  and  a  few  others  excepted,  were 
very  inconfiderable,  and  many  of  their  inha- 
bitants were  little  better  than  flaves  to  the  king, 
or  to  the  barons  in  whofe  territories  they  were 
fituated.  But  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century  they  began  to  emerge  from  this  obfcurity 
into  forae  degree  of  confideration.  Many  fmall 
towns  were  made  free  burghs  by  the  royal  char- 
ters of  Henry  II.,  Richard!.,  and  King  John  ; 
and  had  merchants,  guilds,  and  other  fraterni- 
ties eflablifhed  in  them,  with  various  privileges, 
which  foon  filled  them  with  inhabitants 45.  Many 
of  thefe  free  burghs  favoured  the  caufe  of  the 
barons.  The  citizens  of  London,  in  particular, 
embraced  their  party  with  fo  much  zeal,  that 
they  gave  them  pofTefrlon  of  their  city,  to  which 
they  were  chiefly  indebted  for  the  fuccefs  of  their 
enterprife  50.  This  was  probably  the  reafon  that 
the  privileges  of  cities  and  towns,  and  the  inte- 
refts  of  trade  were  not  quite  neglected  in  the 
Great  Charter. 

It  was  granted  by  the  thirteenth  article  of  that 
charter,  that  the  city  of  London,  and  all  the 

49  See  Brady  of  Burghs.  50  M.  Paris,  p.n;.  col.r. 

other 


7  6  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  II, 

other  cities,  burghs,  towns,  and  ports  of  the 
kingdom,  fhould  enjoy  all  their  liberties  and  free 
cuftoms,  both  by  land  and  water 5I.  In  times 
when  law  and  juftice  had  their  regular  courfe, 
fuch  a  ftipulation  would  have  been  thought  un- 
neceffary.  But  this  was  far  from  being  the  cafe 
when  fines  from  cities,  towns,  and  corporations, 
for  licence  to  ufe  their  legal  rights  and  liberties, 
conflituted  a  confiderable  branch  of  the  royal 
revenue52.  By  the  twenty-third  article  it  is 
declared,  that  towns  (hall  not  be  compelled  to 
build  bridges  or  embank  rivers,  except  where 
they  are  obliged  to  it  by  law.  It  was  probably 
at  the  defire  of  the  citizens  of  London  that  the 
thirty-third  article  was  inferted,  commanding 
all  cruves  or  wears  (then  called  keydels)  to  be 
removed  out  of  the  rivers  Thames  and  Medway, 
and  other  rivers ;  becaufe  they  obftrufted  the 
navigation  of  thefe  rivers.  This  appears  plainly 
from  a  precept  of  Henry  III.  granted  about 
twelve  years  after  this,  ftriclly  requiring,  "  that 
"  for  the  common  utility  of  the  city  of  London, 
"  all  keydels  in  the  rivers  Thames  and  Medway, 
"  and  particularly  thofe  near  the  tower  of  Lon- 
"  don,  be  immediately  removed s3.5'  It  is  alfo 
probable  that  the  thirty-fifth  article,  command- 
ing the  London  meafures  of  wine,  ale,  and  corn, 
with  an  uniformity  of  weights  to  be  obferved 
over  all  the  kingdom,  was  dictated  by  the  Lon- 

"  Appendix.  No.i,  a.  "  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  c.xx»x». 

^3  Coke's  Inftitutes,  partufecond,  p.38. 

10  tloners, 


Chap.3.  Sed.2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c.  77 

doners.  Lending  money  on  intereft}  was,  in  this 
period,  called  ufuiy,  and  prohibited  to  Chriftians 
by  the  canons  of  the  church,  and  even  by  the 
laws  of  the  land S4.  This  branch  of  bufinefs 
therefore  fell  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews, 
who  were  the  only  money  lenders,  and  commonly 
great  extortioners.  It  was  probably  at  the  fug- 
geflion  of  the  Londoners,  who  had  borrowed 
great  fums  of  the  Jews,  that  the  tenth  article  was 
inferted  in  the  charter,  "  that  money  owing  to 
"  Jews  mould  pay  no  intereft  during  the  mino- 
"  rity  of  the  debtor ;"  though  it  mud  be  con- 
ferred that  this  article  was  equally  advanta- 
geous to  feudal  fuperiors  who  had  the  wardfhip 
of  minors. 

One  of  the  greateft  obftrudlions  to  the  progrefs 
of  commerce  in  this  period,  was  an  impolitic  and 
ungenerous  jealoufy  of  ftrangers  in  general,  and 
of  foreign  merchants  in  particular,  that  prevailed 
in  England,  as  well  as  in  feveral  other  coun- 
tries ss.  In  confequence  of  this  thefe  merchants 
were  fubje6led  to  many  restraints  and  hardfhips. 
They  were  not  allowed  to  come  into  the  king- 
dom but  at  certain  times,  nor  to  ftay  above  forty 
days,  nor  to  expofe  their  goods  to  fale,  except 
at  certain  fairs s6.  They  were  often  obliged  to 
pay  great  fines  to  the  king  for  licence  to  trade, 
and  much  higher  cuftoms  and  tolls  of  all  kinds 

5*  Johnfon's  Canons,  A.D.  785. 17.  1064. 16. 

55  Obfervations  on  the  Statutes,  p. 31.     Leges  Wallic*,  p.  330. 

*6  Mirror,  c.i.  fedl»3. 

than 


7 8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

than  natives57.  Both  their  perfons  and  their 
goods  were  expofed  to  great  violences  when  a 
war  happened  to  break  out  between  England 
and  the  country  to  which  they  belonged.  But 
about  this  time  jufter  notions  of  trade  began  to 
be  entertained  by.fome  perfons,  molt  probably 
by  the  chief  citizens  of  London,  and  by  their 
influence,  an  article  (theforty-firil),  very  favour, 
able  to  foreign  merchants  both  in  times  of  peace 
and  war,  was  inferted  in  the  Great  Charter.  The 
language  of  this  article  is  fo  plain  that  it  needs 
no  ill  u  ft  ration.5* 

Privileges        The  great  barons,  who  were  the  chief  inftru- 
granted  to  menf-s  of  procuring  this  famous  charter,  may  be 

3.11  rrcc-  * 

men  by  viewed  as  a6ling  in  the  two  capacities,  i.  of  the 
the  Great  notary  vaffals  of  the  crown ;  2.  of  the  fubjefts 
of  the  kingdom.  They  confulted  their  intereft 
in  the  firft  capacity,  by  the  limitations  of  the 
rigours  of  the  feudal  tenures  which  they  procured, 
in  which  all  who  held  lands  by  military  fervices 
fhared  with  them.  They  confulted  their  intereft 
in  the  fecond  capacity  by  the  amendments  they 
procured  in  the  general  police  of  the  kingdom, 
in  which  all  their  fellow-fubj eels,  who  were  free- 
men, were  partakers.  Thefe  amendments  were 
numerous  and  important,  tending  to  remove  or 
alleviate  the  feveral  grievances  of  which  the 
people  in  general  complained. 


57  Madox  Hift.Excheq.  chap.i3.  fedl.  3.  p-323. 
118  See  Append,  No.  i,  a. 

The 


Chap.  3.  Sed.2.    CONSTITUTION,  &c. 

The  greateft  of  all  the  grievances  of  which 
the  people  of  England  complained  in  this  period, 
was,  —  That  the  mere  will  and  arbitrary  com- 
mands of  the  fovereign  were  fubflittited  in  the 
place  of  law,  and  men  were  feifed,  imprifoned, 
ftripped  of  their  eflates,  outlawed,  banifhed,  and 
even  deftroyed,  without  any  trial.  That  this 
complaint  was  not  without  foundation,  might  be 
proved  by  giving  examples  of  every  one  of  thefe 
tyrannical  acls ;  but  it  will  certainly  be  fufficient 
to  give  one  example  in  which  they  are  all  in- 
cluded, and  that  taken  from  the  hiilory  of  the 
beft  prince  who  reigned  in  this  period.  Henry  II. 
was  fo  much  enraged  againfl  Thomas  Becket 
Archbifliop  of  Canterbury  for  his  oppofition  to 
the  conftitutions  of  Clarendon,  and  his  flight  out 
of  the  kingdom,  that  he  apprehended  all  his  re- 
lations, friends,  and  dependants,  to  the  number 
of  four  hundred  perfons,  men,  women,  and 
children,  confifcated  all  their  eftates  and  goods, 
and  banifhed  them  out  of  the  kingdom  in  the 
middle  of  winter,  A.D.  1165.,  obliging  all  the 
adults  among  them  to  take  an  oath  at  their  de- 
parture, that  they  would  go  to  Sens,  and  prefent 
themfelves  to  the  Archbifhop S9.  All  this  was 
done,  not  only  without  any  trial,  but  even  with- 
out any  fufpicion  or  poffibility  of  guilt,  as  many 
of  the  fufferers  were  infants,  by  the  mere  arbi- 
trary command  of  the  King,  in  order  to  diftrefs 


5»  Vita  S.  Thornse,  1.  a.  0.14.  p.  82.      Epiftolae  S,  Thomaj,  1. 1. 
Ep.4».  1.3.  Ep.79. 

the 


8o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

the  Archbifhop  by  the  fight  of  fo  many  perfons 
connected  with  him  by  the  ties  of  blood  or 
friendfhip,  ruined  on  his  account,  and  to  op- 
prefs  him  with  the  charge  of  their  fupport.  To 
put  a  flop  to  fuch  outrageous  exertions  of  arbi- 
trary power,  the  following  conceffion  was  made 
by  King  John  in  the  thirty-ninth  article  of  his 
charter:  "  No  freeman  mall  be  apprehended, 
"  or  imprifoned,  or  difieifed,  or  outlawed,-  or 
"  banifhed,  or  any  other  way  deflroyed,  nor 
"  will  we  go  upon  him,  nor  will  we  fend  upon 
"  him,  except  by  the  legal  judgment  of  his 
"  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land60:"  —  the 
mofl  valuable  llipulation  in  the  whole  charter, 
and  the  grand  fecurity  of  the  liberties,  perfons, 
and  properties  of  the  people  of  England,  which 
cannot  be  unjuftly  invaded  if  this  law  is  not  vio- 
la"ted.  The  expreffions,  — we  will  not  go  upon 
him, — we  will  not  fend  upon  him,  — fignify,  that 
the  king  would  not  fit  in  judgment,  or  pro- 
nounce fentence,  on  any  freeman,  either  in  per- 
fon,  or  by  his  judges,  except  by  the  verdict  of  a 
jury,  or  by  a  procefs  conducted  according  to  the 
eftablifhed  laws  of  the  land.  By  this  lafl  expref- 
fion,  trials  by  ordeals,  by  judicial  combats,  and 
by  compurgators,  are  probably  intended,  as 
thefe  were  all  in  ufe  at  this  time,  and  agreeable 
to  law. 

Next  to  the  fubflitution  of  arbitrary  will   in 
the  place  of  law,  the  king's  perfonal  interfering 

60  Append.  No.i,  2. 

in 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.        CONSTITUTION,  &c.  8 1 

in  law-fuits  depending  before  his  courts,  in  order 
to  interrupt  or  pervert  the  regular  courfe  of  juf- 
tice,  was  one  of  the  greateft  grievances  of  this 
period.  This  was  done  in  fo  public  and  fhamelefs 
a  manner,  that  the  bribes  received  by  our  kings 
for  thefe  iniquitous  practices,  were  regularly  en- 
tered in  the  revenue-rolls  of  every  year,  and 
amounted  to  great  fums 6I.  To  put  a  flop  to  this 
great  abufe,  it  is  promifed  by  King  John,  in  the 
fortieth  article  of  his  charter,  — "  To  no  man 
"  will  we  fell,  to  no  man  will  we  deny  or  delay 
"  right  and  juftice." 62  i/ 

The  people  of  England  alfo  complained,  that 
too  many  of  the  judges  had  neither  a  competent 
knowledge  of  the  law,  nor  a  due  regard  to 
juftice.  To  remove  the  ground  of  thefe  com- 
plaints, King  John  engaged,  in  article  forty- 
fifth,  "  We  will  not  make  jufticiaries,  conftables 
"  of  caftles,  fheriffs,  or  bailiffs,  unlefs  of  fuch 
"  as  know  the  law  of  the  kingdom,  and  are  well 
"  inclined  to  obferve  it63."  Still  further  to  fe- 
cure  the  lives  of  the  fubjects  from  being  endan- 
gered by  the  ignorance  or  iniquity  of  inferior 
judges,  it  is  provided  by  article  twenty-fourth, 
"  That  no  fheriff,  conftable  of  a  caftle,  coroner,  , 
"  or  bailiff,,  fhall  hold  pleas  of  the  crown," 
i.  e.  try  capital  crimes,  or  inflicl;  capital  pu- 
niftiments. 

"  Madox.  Hift.  Excheq.  chap,  i  a.  "  Append.  No.  i,  a. 

63  Id.  ibid. 

VOL.  vi.  *  The 


82  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN,  Book  in. 

The  ambulatory  unfettled  (late  of  the  King's 
court,  which  conftantly  attended  the  royal  per- 
fon,  was  a  great  obftru6lion  to  the  regular  ad- 
miniftration  of  juftice,  and  made  a  revifal  of  the 
proceedings  of  inferior  courts  very  hard  to  be. 
obtained.  To  remove  this  inconveniency,  it  is 
declared  by  article  feventeenth,  —  "Common 
"  pleas  fhall  not  follow  our  court,  but  be  held 
<c  in  fome  certain  place64."  Amerciaments  far 
trivial  offences,  or  exorbitant  and  ruinous  ones 
for  real  delinquencies,  were  among  the  greatefl 
grievances  of  the  people  of  England  in  this  pe- 
riod. The  caufes  for  which  amerciaments  were 
impofed,  were  almoft  innumerable  ;  and  as  the 
rates  of  them  were  unfettled,  and  they  brought 
much  money  into  the  royal  coffers,  they  were 
frequently  exceffive65.  This  was  fo  much  the 
cafe,  that  thofe  who  were  amerced,  were  faid  to 
be  in  mifericordia  regis,  or  at  the  king's  mercy. 
To  fet  fome  bounds  to  thefe  oppreffions,  was 
the  intention  of  the  twentieth,  twenty-firft,  and 
twenty-fecond  articles  of  the  Great  Charter ;  by 
which  it  is  declared,  that  earls  and  barons  {hall 
not  be  amerced,  except  by  their  peers,  and  that 
according  to  the  degree  of  their  deliquencyj 
that  no  freeholder  or  freeman  fhall  be  heavily 
amerced  for  a  flight  default,  nor  above  meafure 
even  for  a  great  mifdemeanor ;  flill  faving  to  a 
freeholder  his  freehold,  to  a  merchant  his  mer- 

*4  Append.  No.  i ,  ».  "s  See  Madox.  Ilift.  Excheq.  chap.  14, 

chandife, 


Chap.  3.  SeA.2.    CONSTITUTION,  Ac.  83 

chandife,  and  to  a  ruflic  his  implements  of  huf- 
bandry 66.  The  favings  to  thefe  different  kinds 
of  perfons  are  called  in  the  charter  their  con- 
tenement  ;  which  fignifies  fuch  a  refervation  of 
their  eflate  and  goods,  as  enabled  them  to  keep 
their  countenance,  to  live  in  their  former  ranks, 
and  purfue  their  former  bufinefs 6?.  Thus  alfo 
his  arms  were  the  contenement  of  a  foldier,  his 
books  [of  a  fcholar,  and,  by  the  laws  of  Wales, 
his  harp  made  a  part  of  the  contenement  of  a 
gentleman. 6S 

The  prerogative  of  pre-emption  of  all  things 
necefiary  for  their  court  and  caftles,  commonly 
called  purveyance,  which  belonged  to  the  kings 
of  England  in  this  period,  was  a  fource  of  in- 
finite vexations  and  injuries  to  their  people. 
This  was  fometimes  owing  to  the  avarice,  and 
fometimes  to  the  official  infolence  and  cruelty, 
of  the  ''purveyors,  who  attended  the  court  in  all 
its  motions.  The  miferies  inflicted  on  the  coun- 
try by  thefe  petty  tyrants  in  the  reign  of  Wil- 
liam Rufus,  are  thus  pathetically  defcribed  by  a 
writer  of  undoubted  credit,  who  flourifhed  in 
thofe  times,  and  beheld  the  fcenes  he  reprefents: 
"  Thofe  who  attended  the  court,  plundered  and 
"  deftroyed  the  whole  country  through  which 
"  the  King  paffed,  without  any  controul.  Some 
"  of  them  were  fb  intoxicated  with  malice,  that 
"  when  they  could  not  confume  all  the  provi- 

46  See  Appendix,  No.i,  a. 

*7  Obfervations  on  the  Statutes,  p.  10. 

*  Glanvill,  1.9.  c.  8.    Bnufton,  1.3.  Trail,  a.  c.  a. 

G  2  "  lions     .- 1 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  fions  in  the  houfes  which  they  invaded,  they 
"  either  fold  or  burnt  them.  After  having 
"  waflied  their  horfes  feet  with  the  liquors  they 
"  could  not  drink,  they  let  them  run  out  on  the 
*e  ground,  or  deftroyed  them  in  fome  other  way. 
"  But  the  cruelties  they  committed  on  the  mat 
"  ters  of  families,  and  the  indecencies  they  of- 
6f  fered  to  their  wives  and  daughters,  were  too 
"  fhocking  to  be  decribed  69."  Under  better 
princes  thefe  enormities  were,  no  doubt,  in  fome 
degree  reftrained ;  but  we  can  hardly  fuppofe  that 
the  courtiers  and  purveyors  of  King  John  were 
much  more  modeft  than  thofe  of  William  Rufus. 
To  prevent  in  fome  meafure  thofe  intolerable 
oppreflions,  is  the  defign  of  the  twenty-eighth, 
the  thirtieth,  and  thirty-fiift  articles  of  the  Great 
Charter.  7° 

The  fondnefs,  or  rather  rage,  of  our  ancient 
kings,  for  hunting,  was  productive  of  many 
mifchiefs  to  their  fubje6ls.  Great  traces  of  coun- 
try, in  almoft  every  county  of  England,  were 
defolated,  and  converted  into  forefts,  for  their 
game;  and  thefe  forefts,  with  the  game  contained 
in  them,  were  guarded  by  the  mod  cruel  and 
fanguinary  laws 7I.  For  it  was  a  received  doc- 
trine in  this  period,  before  the  Great  Charter  was 
granted,  that  the  king  might  make  what  laws  he 
pleafed  for  the  protection  of  his  forefts ;  and 
that  in  making  and  executing  thefe  laws,  he  was 

69  Eadmer.  Hift.  Novorum,  1. 4.  p.  94.          7°  Appendix,  No.  i,  3. 
71  W.  Malmf.  1.3.  p. 63.     Hen.  Knyghton,  apud  X  Script,  col. 
4354. 

not 


Chap.  3.  Sea.  2.        CONSTITUTION,  &c.  85 

not  under  any  obligation  to  obferve  the  ordinary 
rules  of  juftice  72.  In  confequence  of  this  doc- 
trine, the  foreft-laws  were  dictated  by  fuch  a  fpi- 
rit  of  cruelty,  and  executed  with  fuch  feverity, 
that  they  were  great  objects  of  terror,  and  fources 
of  diftrefs  to  thofe  who  were  fo  unhappy  as  to 
live  near  the  precincts  of  any  royal  forefts.  To 
mitigate  in  fome  degree  the  cruelty  of  thefeforeft- 
laws,  and  the  feverity  with  which  they  were  exe- 
cuted, was  the  intention  of  theforty-fourth,forty- 
feventh,  and  forty-eighth  articles  of  the  Great 
Charter  of  King-John  ".  Thefe  articles,  however, 
were  foon  found  to  be  infufficient  to  anfwer  the 
ends  for  which  they  were  intended;  and  therefore 
the  barons,  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  next  reign, 
obtained  a  feparate  charter,  called  carta  dejb- 
refta,  or,  the  charter  qftheforejls,  containing  more 
precife  and  particular  regulations. 7* 

The  Great  Charter  of  King  John  contains  fe- 
veral  other  articles,  befides  thofe  on  which  obfer- 
vations  have  been  made  above ;  but  thefe  are 
either  of  a  temporary  or  private  nature,  or  relate 
to  law- writs,  and  forms,  long  ago  obfolete ;  or 
are  of  little  importance,  or  fo  plain  that  they 
need  no  illuftration.  . 

The  barons  who  procured  this  famous  charter,  Securities 
were  not  ignorant,  that  the  King  had  granted  it  f( 
with  the  mofl  extreme  reluctance  ;  and  therefore  the  Great 
they  took  every  precaution  they  could  invent  to  Ch2rter- 
render  it  effectual,  and  to  fecure  the  rights  and 

71  Dialogus  de  Scaccario,  1. 1.  c.n.  7i  Appendix*  No.  i,  a. 

74  S$e  Law-tra&s,  vol. a.  p-93« 

c  3  liberties 


86  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

liberties  they  had  obtained.  The  great  feal  was 
not  only  appended  to  it  in  due  form,  but  both 
the  King  and  the  barons  took  a  folemn  oath,  to 
obferve  it  in  all  particulars  with  good  faith,  and 
without  any  dilfimulation.  Not  contented  with 
this,  they  obtained  authority  to  elect  twenty-five 
barons  to  be  the  confervators  of  the  charter,  with 
power  to  compel  the  King,  and  his  minifters,  to 
fulfil  all  the  articles  of  it,  and  immediately  to  re- 
drefs  every  violation.  To  put  it  out  of  the  King's 
power  to  break  through  his  engagements,  and 
to  enable  the  confervators  effectually  to  fupport 
the  charter,  all  the  King's  foreign  auxiliaries, 
which  were  at  this  time  almofl  his  only  ftrength, 
were  immediately  fent  out  of  the  kingdom,  and 
the  tower  of  London  was  delivered  to  the  con- 
fervators. 7S 

Thefe  fe-  ^  w^  appear,  however,  in  the  third  chapter 
curitiesin-  of  the  eighth  volume  of  this  work,  that  all  thefe 
e  u  '  precautions  were  ineffectual  j  and  that  it  was  not 
till  after  a  very  long  and  bloody  ftruggle  that  the 
people  of  England  obtained  the  peaceable  enjoy- 
ment of  the  rights  and  liberties  contained  in  the 
Great  Charter  of  King  John,  and  in  the  fimilar 
charters  of  his  fucceflbrs.  With  fo  much  diffi- 
culty, by  fuch  flow  degrees,  and  at  fo  great  an 
expence  of  blood  and  treafure,  was  the  venerable 
fabric  of  the  Britifh  conftitution  erected.  Eflo 
perpetua.  May  it  remain  for  ever,  the  pride  and 
felicity  of  thofe  who  enjoy  its  bleflings,  the  envy 
and  admiration  of  furrounding  nations  ! 

75  Law-tradls>  vol. a.  p«39» 


THE 

HISTORY 


OF 


GREAT    BRITAIN. 


CHAP.  IV. 

The  Hi/lory  of  Learning  in  Great  Britain,  from 
the  landing  of  William  Duke  of  Normandy, 
A.D.  1066.,  to  the  death  of  King  John,  A.  D. 
1216. 

NATIONS  are  liable  to  various  revolutions  Nation* 
in  the  Hate  of  their  minds,  and  extent  of  u;bleto . 

'  changes 

their  knowledge,  as  well  as  in  their  power  and  their  in- 
wealth,  and  other  external  circumftances.     The  teiieftual 
fame  people,  who,  in  one  period,  are  grofsly  ig-  ment8. 
norant,  and  even  regard  all  literary  purfuits  with 
fupreme  contempt,  in  another  period  become 
ingenious  and  inquifitive,  and  apply  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  fciences  with  the  greateft  ardour. 
This  is  a  revolution  more  to  their  honour  than 
the  greateft  victories,  and  therefore  certainly 
G  4  merits 


88  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

merits  a  place  in  hiftory.  We  have  feen  the  in- 
habitants of  Britain  involved  in  that  profound 
darknefs  which  covered  the  face  of  Europe,  and 
almoft  of  the  whole  world,  for  feveral  ages  after 
the  fall  of  the  weftern  empire.  We  fhall  now 
fee  the  day  of  fcience  beginning  to  dawn  upon 
them  ;  faintly  indeed  at  h'rft,  and  liable  now  and 
then  to  be  overcaft,  but  never  quite  extin- 
guilhed. 

Plan  of  this  ^s  tne  period  we  are  now  considering  is  not 
chapter,  near  fo  long  as  any  of  the  two  former  periods,  it 
will  not  be  necefiary  to  divide  it  into  centuries, 
but  only  to  give  a  brief  account,  i.  Of  the  fe- 
veral fciences  that  were  cultivated — the  improve- 
ments that  were  made  in  them — and  the  reafons 
of  thefe  improvements ;  2.  Of  the  mod  conii- 
derable  men  of  learning  who  flourifhed :  3.  Of 
the  chief  feminaries  of  learning  that  were  found- 
ed, or  improved,  in  the  courfe  of  this  period. 


SECTION  I. 

An  account  of  the  Sciences  that  were  cultivated  in  Great 
Britain,  from  A.D.  1066.,  to  A.D.  1216. — of  the  im- 
provements that  were  made  in  them — and  of  the  reajbns 
of  thefe  improvements. 

Thefci-     HPHOUGH  the  ancient  divifion  of  the  fci- 
ences that     A    ences  into  the  trivium  and  quadrivium..  is 

were  cul-  .  J 

tivated.      frequently   mentioned  by   the  writers  of  the 
twelfth  century,  it  doth  not  feem  to  have  been 

1 2  flri6lly 


Chap. 4.  Se£.  i.        LEARNING, 

ftriclly  adhered  to  in  the  fchools '.  For  there  is 
fufficient  evidence,  that  all  the  following  parts  of 
learning  were  cultivated,  in  fome  degree,  in  Bri- 
tain, in  this  period,  viz.  Grammar,  rhetoric, 
logic,  metaphyfics,  phyiics,  ethics,  fcholaftic 
divinity,  the  canon  law,  the  civil  law,  the  com- 
mon law,  arithmetic,  geometry,  aftronomy, 
aftrology,  and  medicine.  Of  the  flate  of  all 
thefe  branches  of  learning  in  Britain  in  the  times 
we  are  now  delineating,  it  is  proper  to  take  a 
ihort  view. 

Grammar,  or  the  ftudy  of  languages,  was  pro-  Grammar, 
fecuted  by  many  perfons,  with  much  ardour  and 
no  little  fuccefs.  The  languages  that  were  chiefly 
fludied  in  England  in  this  period,  were  the 
French  and  Latin,  the  former  being  the  lan- 
guage of  the  court,  and  the  latter  that  of  the 
church.  "  William  the  Conqueror  (fays  In- 
"  gulphus,  who  was  his  friend  and  fecretary) 
"  had  fo  great  an  abhorrence  of  the  Englifh 
"  language,  that  he  commanded  all  the  laws 
"  and  law-proceedings  to  be  in  French ;  and 
"  even  the  children  at  fchool  were  taught  the 
"  firft  elements  of  grammar  and  letters  in  French, 
".  and  not  in  Englifli  V  All  Englifhmen  there- 
fore who  wiflied  to  appear  at  court,  to  converfe 
with  the  great,  or  to  be  fit  for  any  office,  were 
under  a  neceflity  of  acquiring  the  French  lan- 
guage. But  the  Latin  language  was  fludied 

1  J.  Sarifburienf.  Metalog.  1.2.  c.  12,  p.  75  8. 
1  Ingulph.  Hift.  p.513-  col.  I. 

with 


90  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

with  ftill  greater  keennefs  by  all  who  were  of  any 
learned  profeffion,  or  afpired  to  any  reputation 
.for  learning;  becaufe  it  was  not  only  the  lan- 
guage of  the  liturgies  of  the  church,  but  that  in 
which  all  the  fciences  were  taught,  all  books 
were  compofed,  all  accounts  were  kept,  all  let« 
ters.  of  bufinefs  or  compliment  were  written,  in 
'  which  all  fcholars  daily  converfed,  many  of  the 
clergy  preached,  not  only  before  fynods  and 
councils,  but  even  to  the  common  people3. 
Anfelm,  Archbiftiop  of  Canterbury,  in  a  letter 
to  his  nephew  of  the  fame  name,  writes  to  this 
purpofe :  "  I  command  and  charge  you  not 
"  to  be  idle,  but  to  ^profecute  daily  thofe  ftudies 
"  for  which  I  left  you  in  England.  In  parti- 
"  cular,  ftudy  to  know  all  the  elegancies  of 
"  grammar  j  accuflom  yourfelf  to  write  fome- 
"  thing  every  day,  efpecially  in  profe  j  and  la- 
*6  bour  to  acquire  a  plain  and  rational,  rather 
"  than  an  intricate  way  of  writing.  Speak  al- 
"  ways  in  Latin,  except  in  cafes  of  abfolute  n&- 
"  ceffity V  We  have  fome  reafon  to  believe, 
that  even  the  colloquial  Latin  of  fcholars  in  this 
period  was  tolerably  pure  and  elegant.  Giraldus 
Cambrenfis  mentions  it  as  a  very  uncommon 
thing,  that  an  old  hermit,  with  whom  he  fre- 
quently converfed,  did  not  fpeak  Latin  very 
correctly,  but  fometimes  violated  the  rules  of 

3  Girald.  Cambrenfig,  de  Rebus  a  fe  geffis.     Ang.  Sacr.  torn.  a. 
p. 491.     P.  Blefenf.  Opera,  p.  262— 400. 

4  Spicilegium  Acherii,  torn.  9.  p.  i»a. 

i 

xo  grammar. 


Chap. 4.  Sed.  i.        LEARNING,  &c. 

grammar5.  Some  of  the  learned  in  this  period 
had  attained  a  very  furpriling  facility  in  fpeaking 
and  writing  Latin.  Peter  of  Blois,  Archdeacon 
of  Bath,  afferts,  that  the  Bilhop  of  Bath,  to 
whom  he  writes,  the  Archbiihop  of  Canterbury, 
and  feveral  others,  had  feen  him  dictate  letters 
in  Latin,  to  three  different  fcribes,  on  different 
fubjects,  and  write  a  letter  in  the  fame  language 
himfelf,  at  the  fame  time 6.  It  appears  from  the 
writings  of  feveral  authors  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, particularly  .of  John  of  Salifbury  and 
Peter  of  Blois,  that  they  were  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  Latin  claffics,  as  they  not  only 
quote  them  very  frequently,  .and  with  great  pro- 
priety,  but  alfo  imitate  their  ftyle  and  manner 
with  confiderable  fuccefs.  Thefe  writers  too  re- 
commend the  ftudy  of  grammar  with  the  greateft 
warmth,  and  beflow  upon  it  the  higheft  praifes. 
"  Grammar,  which  is  the  fcience  of  fpeaking 
"  and  writing  well,  is  the  firft  of  all  the  liberal 
"  arts  and  fciences ;  the  nurfe,  if  I  may  fo 
"  fpeak,  of  all  philofophy,  and  of  every  literary 
"  ftudy.  She  receives  them  at  their  birth,  from 
"  the  womb  of  nature,  in  a  tender  ftate,  che- 
"  rimes  them  in  their  infancy,  with  a  mother's 
"  care,  gradually  improves  their  ftrength,  at- 
"  tends  and  adorns  them  in  every  period  of  their 

5  Oh!  oh!  noli  difcere  fcire,  fed  cuftodire:  vana  eft  fcire,  nifi 
cuftodiri.  Tails  enim  erat  ei  loquendi  modus  Temper  per  infmitivum 
nee  cafus  fervabat ;  &  tamen  fatis  intelligi  poterat.  Girald.  Cam* 
brenf.  Anglia  Sacra,  t.  a.  ^-497. 

'  Epift.  Pet.  Blefenf.  Ep.  94.  p.  143.  col.  a. 

"  progrefs. 


92  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

"  progrefs.  To  phildfophife  fuccefsfully,  with- 
"  out  grammar,  is  as  impoflible  as  without  both 
"  eyes  and  ears  7."  In  a  word,  whoever  hath 
perufed  the  works  of  the  divines,  hiftorians, 
and  philofophers,  who  wrote  in  France  and 
England  in  the  twelfth  century,  will  readily 
acknowledge  the  truth  of  the  following  declara- 
tion of  one  of  the  moft  learned  writers  of  literary 
hiftory :  "  Before  we  defcend  to  particulars,  we 
"  may  affirm  in  general,  that  the  latinity  of  no 
"  age,  from  the  decline  to  the  revival  of  learn- 
"  ing,  was  fo  terfe  and  elegant  as  that  of  the 
"  twelfth  century 8." 

The  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages  were  very 
far  from  being  fo  much  fludied,  fo  well  or  fo 
generally  underflood  in  Britain,  in  this  period, 
as  the  Latin.  But  as  many  Jews  refided  and 
taught  in  England,  their  ancient  language  could 
not  be  unknown.  Plain  evidences  of  fome  ac- 
quaintance with  it,  as  well  as  with  the  Greek, 
appear  in  the  works  of  Peter  of  Blois,  John  of 
Salifbury,  and  feveral  others9.  But  by  how 
many  and  in  what  degree  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
languages  were  then  underftood  in  Britain,  we 
are  not  well  informed.  We  meet  with  only  two 
Englishmen  in  this  period  who  were  famous  for 
their  knowledge  of  the  Arabian  language.  Thefe 
were  Adelard  of  Bath,  and  Robert  of  Reading, 


7 


J.  Sarifburienf.  Metalogicon,  1. 1.  0.13.  p.  759. 
8  Bulei  Hift.  Univerfitat.  Parifienf.  torn.  2.  p.  556. 
»  P.  Blefenf.  Opera,  p.596,&c.    J.  Sarilburienf.  Metalogicon,  1. 1. 
-.10.  p.  754. 

who 


Chap.  4.  Sed.  i.         LEARNING,  &c.  93 

who  returned  into  England  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  I.,  after  they  had  fpent  feveral  years  in 
the  Eaft  in  learning  that  language,  and  tranflat- 
ing  books  out  of  it  into  Latin. 10 

From  the  ftudy  of  grammar,  or  the  art  of  Rhetoric, 
fpeaking  correctly,  the  youth  of  thofe  times  ge- 
nerally proceeded  to  the  ftudy  of  rhetoric,  or  the 
art  of  fpeaking  eloquently.     This  part  of  learn- 
ing was  neglected,  and  even  reprefented  as  un- 
neceflary  and  ufelefs,  by  fome  philofophers  of  this 
period,  who  fpent  their  whole  time,  and  em- 
ployed all  the  powers  of  their  minds,  on  the 
fubtilties  of  Ariftotelian  logic,  which  was  then 
the  mod  admired  and  fafhionable  ftudy.    "  Elo- 
"  quence,"  faid  they, "  is  either  given  or  denied 
"  by  nature.     If  it  is  given,  all  pains  about  it 
*6  are  unneceflary ;  if  it  is  denied,  all  pains  to 
««  acquire  it  will  be  in  vain11."     But  the  ne- 
ceffity  and  many  advantages  of  the  ftudy  of  elo- 
quence were  moft  elegantly  difplayed  both  in 
profe   and  verfe,  by  feveral  writers  of  thofe 
times,  particularly  by  John  of  Salifbury  and 
Alan  de  Lifle.     "  The  gifts  of  nature,"  fays 
the  former,  "  are  neceffary ;  but  they  are  not 
"  fufficient  to  make  a  complete  orator  without 
"  art  and  ftudy.     There  is  no  natural  genius  fo 
"  ftrong,  that  negligence  will  not  enfefeble ;  nor 
"  fo  fublime,  that  it  not  will  deprefs.    No  man 
"  ever  attained  the  reputation  of  being  fuperla- 

10  Martini  &  Durand.  Thefaur.  Anecdot.  p.  393.    Wallis  Alge- 
bra, p.  5. 

11  J.  Sarilburienf.' MetalogicOD*  1.x.  c.;.  p. 749. 

"  tively 


94  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

"  tively  eloquent,  even  in  one  language,  by  the 
"  mere  force  of  natural  genius,  without  the  help 
"  of  art.  For  he  is  not  to  be  efteemed  eloquent 
"  who  can  fpeak  with  tolerable  eafe  and  fluency, 
"  and  fo  as  to  be  underftood.  He  alone  is 
*'  eloquent,  who  can  exprefs  the  thoughts  of  his 
"  mind,  and  the  feelings  of  his  heart,  with  fo 
"  much  fweetnefs,  power,  and  energy,  as  not 
"  only  to  convince  and  perfuade,  but  to  charm 
"  and  tranfport  his  hearers  with  delight. 
"  How  admirable  an  accoraplifh mentis  this!  If 
"  wifdom  and  virtue  merit  the  firft  place  in  our 
"  efteem,  eloquence  undoubtedly  claims  the 
"  fecond.  How  honourable  is  it  to  excel  in  the 
"  powers  of  reafon  and  perfections  of  fpeech, 
"  which  are  the  peculiar  excellencies  of  human 
<e  nature  ?  How  ornamental  is  eloquence  in 
"  youth  ?  how  venerable  in  old  age  ?  how  pro- 
"  fitable  in  every  flage  of  life  ?  Who  attain  to 
"  fame  and  admiration,  to  riches,  honours,  and 
"  preferments,  to  the  direction  of  all  aflemblies, 
**  and  fuccefs  in  all  undertakings,  with  fo  much 
"  eafe  and  certainty  as  the  eloquent rz?"  Bulaeus, 
in  his  hiitory  of  the  Univerfity  of  Paris,  gives 
feveral  examples  of  eloquence  from  the  French 
and  Engliih  writers  of  the  twelfth  century,  fome 
of  which  are  truly  excellent,  and  would  do 
honour  to  any  age ;  but  they  are  too  long  to  be 
here  inferted13.  The  verfes  of  Alan  de  Lifle, 


"  J.  Sarifburieaf.  Metalogicon,  1. 1.  0.7.  p.  749. 

15  Bulsi  Ujfi.  Uiiverfitat.  Paj-ifienf.  torn.  2.  p.  557,  &c. 


quoted 


Chap.  4.  Se<5t.i.  LEARNING,  &c. 

quoted  below,  will  ferve  as  a  defcription  of  the 
rhetoric,  and  as  a  fpecimen  of  the  Latin  poetry 
of  this  period,  and  will  give  the  candid  reader 
no  unfavourable  opinion  of  the  ftate  of  thefe 
parts  of  learning.14 

From  rhetoric  the  youth  of  this  period  pro- 
ceeded  to  the  ftudy  of  logic,  on  which  they 
employed  much  time  and  labour.  Ingulphus 
acquaints  us,  that  after  he  had  made  himfelf  a 
perfect  mafter  of  the  firft  and  fecond  book  of 
Tully's  Rhetoric,  he  applied  to  the  ftudy  of 
Ariftotle's  Logic,  and  made  greater  proficiency 
in  it  than  many  of  his  contemporaries Is.  This 
is  a  fufficient  proof  that  the  logic  of  Ariftotle 
was  ftudied  by  many  of  the  Englifti  youth  at  the 
very  beginning  of  this  period,  and  even  a  little 
before.  For  Ingulphus  had  left  Oxford,  and 
fettled  in  the  court  of  William  Duke  of  Nor* 


14  Adfunt  rhetoricse  cultus,  florefque  colorum, 

Verba  quibus  ftelata  nitent,  et  fermo  decorem 

Induit»  et  multa  candefcit  claui'ula  luce. 

Has  fermonis  opes  vultus  et  fidera  verbi, 

Copia  rhetoricae  jac~lat,  juvenifque  loquelam 

Pingit,  et  in  vario  prsefignit  verba  colore. 

Succincle  docet  ilia  loqui,  fenfufque  profundos 

Sub  fermone  brevi  concludere,  claudere  multa 

Sub  paucis,  nee  diffufo  fermone  vagari. 

Ut  breve  fit  verbum,  dives  fententia,  fermo 

Facundus,  multo  faecundus  pondere  fenfus. 

Vel  fi  forte  fluat  fermo,  fub  flumine  verbi 

Fluminet  uberior  fententia,  copia  fructus 

Excufet,  folii  filvam  paliafque  vagantes 

Ubertas  granis  redimat  fenfufque  loquelam. 

Alanut  de  Infulis  in  Antitfaudiano,  1. 6.  c.  6. 
Ingulph.  Hlft.  p.  j  14.  col.  i. 

mandy, 


96  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

mandy,  feveral  years  before  the  conqueft lf- 
The  truth  is,  that  from  about  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century,  the  philofophy,  and  particu- 
larly the  logic  of  Ariftotle,  became  fo  much  in 
vogue,  both  in  France  and  England,  that  it  was 
ftudied  with  great  ardour,  not  only  by  all  men 
who  made  any  pretenfions  to  learning,  but  even 
by  fome  ladies  of  the  highefl  rank.  The  fame 
Ingulphus  tells  us,  that  Edgitha,  the  amiable 
confort  of  Edward  the  ConfefTor,  after  flie  had 
examined  him  in  Latin  profe  and  verfe,  often 
proceeded  to  attack  him  with  the  fubtilties  of 
logic,  in  which  me  very  much  excelled  ;  and 
when  flie  had  entangled  him  with  her  acute  and 
artful  arguments,  and  obtained  the  victory,  fhe 
always  difmifled  him  with  a  prefent  of  fome 
pieces  of  money I7.  It  is  well  known,  that  the 
fair  unfortunate  Heloifa,  fo  much  beloved  by 
the  accomplifhed  Peter  Abelard,  was  one  of  the 
moft  acute  logicians  of  the  twelfth  century l8. 
The  fondnefs  of  the  learned  for  the  Ariftotelian 
logic  increafed  fo  much  in  the  courfe  of  this  cen- 
tury, that  many  perfons  fpent  their  whole  lives  in 
the  ftudy  of  it,  and  it  was  efteemed  the  mofl 
neceffary  and  excellent  of  all  the  fciences 19.  But 
very  unfortunately,  this  admired  fcience,  which 
had  the  difcovery  and  eftablifhment  of  truth  for 
its  profefled  object,  foon  degenerated  into  mere 

16  Ingulph.  Hift.  p. 5 1 4.  coLr.  '7  Id.  ibid.  p.  509. 

18  Bulsei  Hift.  Univer.  Parif.  torn.  2.  p.  42. 
'»  Id.  ibid.  p.  7  8,  79. 

fophiflry 


Chap. 4.  Sea.  i.        LEARNING,  &c.  07 

fbphiflry,  and  deferved  no  better  name  than  that 
of  the  art  of  quibbling20.     "  I  wifli  (fays  John 
"  of  Salilbury)  to   behold   the   light  of  truth, 
"  which  thefe  logicians  fay  is  only  revealed  to 
"  them.     I  approach  them,  I  befeech  them  to 
"  inflruct  me,  that,  if  poffible,  I  may  become  as 
"•  wife  as  one  of  them.     They  confent,  they  pro- 
"  mife  great  things;,  and  at  firfl  they  command 
"  me  to  obferve  a  Pythagorean  filence,  that  I 
"  may  be  admitted  into  all  the  fecrets  of  wifdom, 
"  which^  they  pretend  are  in   their   poiTeilion. 
*'  But  by  and  by  they  permit,  and  even  com- 
"  maud,  me  to  prattle  and  quibble  with  them. 
"  This  they  call  difputing,  this  they  fay  is  logic ; 
"  but  lam  nowifer2."     The  truth  feems  to 
be,  that  many  iludious  men,  in  this  period,  by 
fpending  too  much  time,  and  employing  too  in- 
tenfe  thought,  on  logical  fubtilties,  run  into  the 
two  extremes,  of  Speculating  fometimes  on  things 
too  high  and  difficult,  and  at  other  times  on 
things  too  low  and  contemptible,  for  human  in- 
veiligation.     That  they  run  into  the  firft  of  thefe 
extremes  there  is  the  cleared  evidence,  as  we 
find  among  the  fubjecls  of  their  invefligations 
and  difputes,  —  of  the  fubftantial  form  of  founds, 
—  of  the  eflence  of  univerfals,  &c.  &c. 2i     That 
they  fometimes  fell  into  the  latter  extreme,  is  no 
lefs  evident,  from  the  many  ridiculous  trifling 
queftions  that  were  keenly  agitated  by  them,  of 

30  J.  Sariftmrien.  Metalog.  l.z.  c.6.  p.  794,  &c. 

11  Id.  ibid.  "  Petri  Blefenf.  Ep.ioi.  p-ij;. 

VOL.  vi.  H  which 


£8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III- 

which  the  following  one  may  ferve  for  an  ex- 
ample :  When  a  hog  is  carried  to  market  with  a 
rope  tied  about  its  neck,  which  is  held  at  the  other 
end  by  a  man,  whether  is  the  hog  carried  to  mar- 
ket by  the  rope  or  by  the  man  *3  ?  This  appears 
to  us  to  be  too  ridiculous  to  be  mentioned  ;  but 
it  appeared  in  a  very  feriotis  light  to  the  logicians 
of  this  period,  who  declared  with  great  gravity, 
that  it  was  one  of  thofe  queftions  that  could  not 
be  folved,  the  arguments  on  both  fides  were  fo 
perfectly  equal.  In  a  word,  the  far  greateft  part 
of  the  queftions  that  were  investigated  by  the 
logicians  of  thofe  times,  as  John  of  Salifbury 
juflly  obferves,  "  were  of  no  ufe,  in  the  church 
"  or  the  ftate,  in  the  cloifter  or  the  court,  in 
"  peace  or  war,  at  home  or  abroad,  or  any  where 
"  but  in  the  fchools."  :4 

Metaphy-        The  mctaphyfics  and  natural  philofophy  of  this 
Datura?      period,  though  they  were  taught  with    much 
phiiofo-      parade,  and  ftudied  with  much  diligence,  do  not 
Phy*          deferve  the  name  of  fciences,  or  merit  the  atten- 
tion of  pofterity.     They  confided  of  a  prodi- 
gious number  of  abftra6l  and  fubtile  fpecula- 
tions,  about  entity  and  non-entity,  fpirit,  primary 
matter,  body,  fubftance,  accidents,  fubflantial 
forms,  occult  qualities,  folidity,  exteniion,  cohe- 
fion,  reft,  motion,  time,  place,  number,  magni- 
tude, &c.  which  contributed  nothing  to  the  real 
knowledge  of  nature,  or  benefit  of  human  life25. 


23  J.  Sarifbur.  Metalog.  l.j.  €.3.  p. 740.  *4  Id.  ibid.  p.8oi. 

25  Bruckeri  Hill.  Philofopb.  tom.^.  p. 894. 897. 

Adelard 


Chap.  4-  Sea.  i.        LEARNING,  &c. 

Adelard  of  Bath,  already  mentioned  for  his  (kill 
in  the  Arabian  language,  publifhed  a  dialogue,  on 
the  caufes  of  things,  between  him  and  his  nephew, 
who,  he  fays,  read  lectures  on  that  fubjec~l, 
rather  perplexing  than  inftrucling  his  hearers26. 
Philip  de  Tahun,  about  the  fame  time,  coin- 
pofed  a  work  on  the  nature  of  beads,  for  the  in- 
ftru6tion  of  Alicia,  the  fecond  queen  of  Henry  I., 
which  gives  a  very  unfavourable  view  of  the 
ftate  of  natural  philofophy,  as  it  is  wholly  fan- 
ciful, and  turns  every  thing  into  allegory 27. 
Henry  II.,  who  was  a  great  patron  of  learning 
and  learned  men,  fent  Giraldus  Cambrenfis  into 
Ireland,  to  examine  the  natural  hiilory  of  that 
country28.  His  topography  of  Ireland  (the 
writing  of  which,  he  fays,  was  the  labour  of 
three  years)  was  the  confequence  of  this  corh- 
miflion  ;  and  mews  how  ill  qualified  he  was  for 
the  tafk  in  which  he  was  engaged,  by  the  great 
number  of  ridiculous  incredible  flories  with 
which  it  abounds.  To  give  one  example  of  this, 
out  of  a  hundred  that  might  be  given  :  "  When 
"  St.  Kewen  (fays  he)  was  one  day  praying 
**  with  both  his  hands  held  up  to  heaven,  out  of 
"  the  window  of  his  chamber,  a  fwallow  laid  an 
"  eg§>  m  one  °f  them  ;  and  fuch  was  the  patience 
"  and  good-nature  of  the  faint,  that  he  neither 
"  drew  in  nor  ftiut  his  hand  till  the  fwallow  had 


'6  Martini  &  Durand.  Thefaur.  Anecdot.  tom.j.  p. 293. 

:7  Cotton  Bib.  p.  48. 

28  Expugnatio  Hibernise,  1.2.  0.31.  p. 806. 

H   3  "  bllilt 


100  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.           Book  III. 

*«  built  her  nefl,  laid  all  her  eggs,  and  hatched 
"  her  young.     To  preferve  the  remembrance  of 
"  this  fact,  every  flatue  of  St.  Kewen  in  Ireland 
"  hath  a  fwallow  in  one  of  its  hands." 29 
Ethics.  The  obfervations  that  have  now  been  made  on 

the  metaphylics  and  natural  philofophy,  may  be 
applied  to  the  ethics  or  moral  philofophy,  of  this 
period.  This  fcience  was  efteemed  an  important 
part  of  a  learned  education,  and  as  fuch  it  was 
taught  and  ftudied ;  but  in  fo  improper  a  man- 
ner  that  it  contributed  very  little  to  enlighten 
the  mind,  to  amend  the  heart,  or  to  regulate  the 
manners.  Taking  Ariftotle  for  their  guide  in 
this,  as  well  as  in  logics  and  phyfics,  they  dif- 
puted  with  much  warmth  and  fubtilty  about 
libertyand  neceflity, — about  the  means,the  ends, 
the  acts  of  moral  philofophy,  —  whether  it  was  a 
practical  or  fpeculative  fcience,  &c.  &c.  j  but 
took  little  pains  to  fliew  the  foundations  of  moral 
obligation,  or  to  illuflrate  the  nature,  limits,  and 
motives,  of  the  various  duties  of  men  and  citi- 
zens 30.  This  mode  of  philofophifing  was  feverely 
cenfured  by  John  of  Salifbury  in  many  places. 
"  They  err  (fays  he),  they  imprudently  err,  who 
"  think  that  virtue  confifts  of  words,  as  a  wood 
"  of  trees.  No !  good  actions  are  the  glory  of 
"  virtue,  and  the  infeparable  companions  of  true 
"  philofophy.  But  thofe  men  who  are  fonder 
"  of  the  reputation  than  the  reality  of  wifdom, 

29  Topographia  Hibernise,  c.  a8.  p«73?. 

30  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.;.  p.i88. 

"  are 


Chap.  4.  Secft.  i.        LEARNING,  Ac.  IOI 

"  are  noify  and  contentious  ;  they  Riri  about  the 
ce  ftreets,  they  frequent  the  fchools,  tliey  dart  a 
"  thoufand  frivolous  and  perplexing  quedions, 
"  and  confound  both  themfelves  and  others  by  a 
"  deluge  of  words."  3l 

That  extravagant  fondnefs  for  Aridotelian  Theology 
logic,  which  was  the  reigning  tafte  of  this  period,  °r  fchool- 
and  of  fome  fucceeding  ages,  infec~led  all  the 
fciences  in  fome  degree;  but  mod  of  all,  divinity. 
It  was  this  that  produced  that  fpecies  of  theology 
which  was  fo  long  admired,  and  is  fo  well  known 
by  the  name  of/chool-divinity,  and  its  teachers  by 
the  title  of  the  fchool-men.  When  thefe  divines 
compofecl  commentaries  on  the  Scriptures,  it  was 
not  with  a  view  to  explain  the  real  meaning  of 
the  words,  or  to  illuftrate  the  truths  that  they 
contained, but  in  order  to  extract  certain  myftical 
or  allegorical  fenfes  out  of  them,  and  to  found 
certain  curious  queftions  upon  them  for  fubjects 
of  difputation 31.  An  incredible  multitude  of 
fuch  commentaries  were  written  in  thofe  times, 
which  have  been  long  ago  configned  a  prey  to 
worms  and  duft.  But  the  chief  delight  and  bufi- 
nefs  of  the  fchool-men  was  to  write  voluminous 
fyftems  of  divinity,  confiding  of  a  prodigious 
number  of  quedions  on  all  fubjects,  which  they 
difcufled  with  the  greated  logical  acutenefs. 
Some  of  thefe  quedions  were  bold  and  impious, 
others  trifling  and  curious,  and  not  a  few  ob- 

31  J.  Sarifburienf.  Metalog.  apud  Bulaei  Hift.  Parif.  torn.  a.  p«597» 
31  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  7.  p.aoj. 

H  ^  fcene. 


102  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

fcene33.  With  their  obfcenities  and  impieties, 
which  are  truly  horrid,  thefe  pages  lhall  not  be 
ftained ;  and  their  frivolities  are  fo  ridiculous, 
that  they  are  quite  unworthy  of  a  place  in  hiftory. 
Their  curiofity,  though  exceffive,  and  far  from 
being  innocent,  was  neither  fo  criminal  as  the 
former,  nor  fo  ridiculous  as  the  latter,  and  there- 
fore a  few  examples  of  it  may  be  given.  They 
canvafled,  with  great  eagernefs,  the  following 
queftions,  among  a  thoufand  others  of  the  fame 
kind  :  Was  Chrift  the  fame  between  his  death 
and  refurrection,  that  he  was  before  his  death, 
and  after  his  refurre6lion  ?  Doth  the  glorified 
body  of  Chrift  ftand  or  fit  in  heaven  ?  Is  the 
body  of  Chrift  that  is  eaten  in  the  facrament, 
dreffed  or  undrefted  ?  Were  the  clothes  in  which 
Chrift  appeared  to  his  difciples  after  his  refur- 
rection  real  or  only  apparent  ?  &c.  &c. 34 
Canon  The  bifhops  of  Rome  had  long  been  engaged 

in  the  ambitious  project  of  eredling.a  fpiritual 
monarchy,  fuperior  to  all  others,  even  in  worldly 
power.  With  this  view  they  had  aflembled 
many  councils,  compofed  of  prelates  from  all 
Chriftian  countries,  in  which  they  had  enacted 
frmny  laws,  commonly  called  canons,  for  the 
government  of  that  monarchy.  This  obliged 
the  bifhops,  and  their  officials,  to  make  the 
canons  of  the  church  their  ftudy,  in  order  to 

33  Erafmi  Encomium  Moriae.    Launocus  de  Fortun.  Ariftot.  c.  14. 

p,  a73»  &c. 

-»•»  Bulsei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parifienf.  torn.  a.  p.  613.    Hiiloire  Literaire 
de  la  France,  torn.  7.  p.  zo8,  209. 

direct 


Chap,  4.  SeA.  i.        LEARNING,  *c,  ri  i  i  1 03 

direct  them  when  they  acted  as  judges  in  their 
fpiritual  courts.     But  it  was  not  till  after  the 
publication  of  the  decretals  of  Gratian,  about  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  that  the  canon . 
law  attained  the   rank  of  a  fcience,  and  was 
taught  and  ftudied  in   the  fchools35.     It  ibon 
became  the  moll  fafhionable  ftudy  among  the 
clergy,  as  it  was  found  to  pave  their  way  to  the 
higheil  honours  and  the  rich  eft  benefices.    Long 
before  tke  end  of  this  period,  it  was  taught  with 
great   applaufe   and    profit   at   Oxford,    Paris, 
Orleans,  and  many  other  places 36.     But  the  fub- 
tilties  of  the  Ariftotelian  logic  gave  a  tincture  to 
this  as  well  as  to  the  other  fciences,  which  made 
John,  of  Salifbury  complain,  — "  That  the  laws 
"  themfelves  were  become  traps  and  fnares,  in 
"  which   plain    honeft   men,    who    were    unac- 
"  quainted  with   logical    quirks  and  fubtilties, 
"  were  catched  -"."     Peter  of  Blpis  fpeaks  with 
ftill  greater  feverity  of  fome  ftudents  and  practi- 
tioners in  the  canon  law  :   "  It  is  the  chief  ftudy        / 
"  of  the  eccleiiaftical  judges  of  our  days,  to  mul- 
tiply litigations,  to  invent  delays,  to  invali- 
"  date  contracts,  to  fupprefs  truth,  to  encourage 
"  falfehood,  to  increafe  extortions,  and,  in  a 
"  word,  to  confound  all  law   and  juftice,   by 
"  their  quirks  and  fubtilties."  3§ 

35  Hift.  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9  p. 415. 

36  Hugo  Sacra  Antiq.  Monument,  torn.  i.  p.  505.     Bul«e  Hift. 
Univerf.  Parifien.  torn.  2.  p.jSo. 

37  J.  Sarifburienf.  de  Nugis  Curialium,  1.  5.  c.i6.  p.  3 14. 
&  P.  Blefenf.  Ep.  25.  p. 45-  col.i. 

H  4  The 


104  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Civil  law.        The  ftudy  of  the  Roman  or  civil  law,  was  in- 
troduced into  England  about  the  fame  time  with 
that  of  the  canon  law.     From  the  departure  of 
the  Romans,  their  laws  were  little  known,  and 
of  no  authority  in  this  ifland,  for  more  than  feven 
hundred  years 30.     But  the  fludy  of  them  having 
.   been  revived  at  Bononia,  Paris,  and  other  femi- 
naries  of  learning  on  the  continent,  about  A.D. 
1130.,  it  foon  after  made  its  way  into  England. 
A  copy  of  the  Juftinian  code,   as  hath  been 
already  obferved,  was  brought  from  Rome  by 
fome  of  the  family  of  Archbifliop  Theobald,  A.D. 
1 140. ;  and  a  few  years  after,  Roger  Vacarins, 
prior  of  Beck  in  Normandy,  opened  a  fchool  at 
Oxford,  in  which  he  read  lectures  on  the  civil 
law  to  very  crowded  audiences'10.     But  King 
vStephen,  A.D.  1149.,  impofed  filence  on  Vaca- 
rins ;  who  returned  into  Normandy,  and  was 
chofen  abbo<*bf  Beck 4I.     A  kind  of  pei  fecution 
was  raifed  againft  the  profedbrs  and  Itudents  of 
the   civil  law,  by  the   common   lawyers,    and 
others  ;    but  John  of  Salilbury  fays,  "  That,  by 
"  the  blefiing  of  God,  the  more  the  fludy  of  it 
"  was   perfecuted,   the   more  it   flourifhed  4V 
Henry  II.,  who  fucceeded  Stephen,  being  a  much 
greater  politician,  was  far  from  difcouraging  the 
ftudy  of  the  civil  law  ;  which,  in  conjunction 
with  that  of  the  canon  law,  prevailed  very  much 
in  the  univeriities,  but  ftill  more  in  the  cathedral 

3'  Seldeni  Not.  Flet.  c.  7.  fe&.  z. 

•«•  A. Wood  Hift.  Oxon.  p.ja.  col.i. 

*'  J.  Sarifburienf.  Policrat.  1.8.  c.  ^^.  p.6?2.  4J  Id.  ibid. 

fchools. 


Chap.4.  SeA.i.        LEARNING,  &c. 

fchools.    We  learn  from  a  very  curious  letter  of 
Peter  of  Blois,    that    the    moft   intricate   and 
knotty  queftions  in  law  and  politics  were  fomer 
times  referred  to  the  teachers  and  fludents  of  the 
civil  and  canon  law  in  the  family  of  Archbiihop 
Theobald,   or  archiepifcopai  fchool  of  Canter- 
bury :  "  In  the  houfe  of  my  mailer,  the  Arch- 
"  bifliop  of  Canterbury,  there  are  feveral  very 
"  learned  men,  famous  for  their  knowledge  of 
"  law  and  politics,  who  fpend  the  time  between 
"  prayers  and  dinner  in  lecturing,  difputing, 
"  and  debating  caufes.     To  us  all  the  knotty 
"  queftions  of  th.e  kingdom  are  referred,  which 
"  are  produced  in  the  common  hall,  and  every 
"  one  in  his  order,  having  firft  prepared  himfelf, 
"  declares,  with  all  the  eloquence  and  acutenefs 
"  of  which  he  is  capable,  but  without  wrang- 
"  ling,  what  is  wifeft  and  fafeft  to  be  done.     If 
"  God   fuggefts   the   founded   opinion  to   the 
"  youngeft  amongft  us,  we  all  agree  to  it  with- 
"  out  envy  or  detraction."  43 

Though  the  common  law  of  England  was  not  Common 
yet  taught  in  the  fchools  as  a  fcience,  it  was  Iaw- 
ftudied  with  great  diligence  as  a  profeffion  ;  and 
many  perfons,  by  their  Ikill  in  it,  acquired  both 
fame    and    wealth,    and   obtained    the    higheft 
offices  in  the  flate.  The  greateft  number  of  thefe 
profeffionai   lawyers   were    clergymen,   though 
fome  of  the  laity,  as,  particularly,  Aubury  de 
Vere,   who    flourifhed   in    the   reign  of  King 

43  P*  Blefenf.  Ep.  6.  p.  8.  col.  ^. 

Stephen, 


io6  .  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN,         Book  III. 

Stephen,  and  Ranulph  de  Glanville,  who  was 
chief  judiciary  to  Henry  II.  and  Richard  I.,  are 
much  celebrated  for  their  knowledge  of  the  com- 
mon law 44.  The  laft  of  thefe  fages  compofed  a 
kind  of  fyflem  of  the  common  law,  with  this 
title,  De  legibus  et  confitetudinibus  Anglice 4S.  But 
it  was  not  till  fome  time  after  the  concluh'on  of 
this  period  that  the  law-college  of  London,  com- 
monly called  The  inns  of  court,  was  eftablifhed; 
which  contributed  very  much  to  the  improve- 
ment of  this  ufeful  and  lucrative  branch  of 
learning.  46 

As  the  fubtilties  of  Aristotelian  logic  could 
not  be  applied  with  fuccefs  to  numerical  calcu- 
lations or  mathematical  demonstrations,  thefe 
fciences  do  not  feem  to  have  been  much  (tudied, 
or  improved,  in. this  period;  and  therefore  a 
few  fliort  obfervations  on  the  date  of  them  will 
be  fufficient. 

Arith-  Nothing  ever  contributed  fo  much  to  facili- 

tate  arithmetical  operations,  as  the  invention  of 
the  Arabian  figures  for  reprefenting  numbers. 
But  whether  thefe  figures  were  known  and  ufed 
in  Britain  in  this  period,  is  a  little  doubtful. 
From  the  revenue-rolls  of  Henry  II.,  Richard  I., 
and  King  John,  it  appears  that  they  were  not 
then  ufed  in  the  exchequer ;  for  all  the  fums  in 
thefe  rolls  are  marked  in  Roman  letters  47.  But 


«  W.  Malmf.  Hift.  Novel.  1.  2.  p.  104. 

*5  Dugdale's  Origines  Juridicales,  p. 56.  col. 2. 

46  Id.  ibid.  p.  141.  47  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  paflim. 

the 


Chap.  4.  SeA.  i.         LEARNING,  &c.  107 

the  learned  Dr.  Wallis  hath  produced  feveral  au- 
thorities, which  make  it  very  probable,  that  the 
Arabian  arithmetic,  called  algorifm,  performed 
by  the  Arabian  figures,  was  known  to  fome 
learned  men  in  England  in  the  twelfth  century; 
and  indeed  it  is  hardly  poflible  that  Adelard  of 
Bath,  Robert  of  Reading,  and  feveral  others, 
who  travelled  into  Spain,  Egypt,  and  other 
countries,  in  the  courfe  of  that  century,  to  make 
themfelves  matters  of  the  Arabian  language  and 
learning,  could  have  returned  without  fome 
knowledge  of  thefe  figures.  4S 

Though  the  Elements  of  Euclid,  and  feveral  Geometry. 
other  treatifes  on  geometry,  were  tranflated 
out  of  the  Greek  and  Arabian  languages  into 
Latin  in  this  period,  wre  have  the  cleared  evi- 
dence that  this  mod  ufeful  fcience  was  very 
little  ftudied.  "  The  fcience  of  demonftration 
"  (fays  John  of  Salifbury)  is  of  all  others  the 
"  moft  difficult ;  and,  alas !  is  almoft  quite 
"  neglected,  except  by  a  very  few  who  apply  to 
c<  the  ftudy  of  the  mathematics,  and  particularly 
"  of  geometry.  But  this  laft  is  at  prefent  very 
"  little  attended  to  amongft  us,  and  is  only 
"  ftudied  by  fome  people  in  Spain,  Egypt,  and 
"  Arabia,  for  the  fake  of  ailronomv.  One 

7  •/ 

"  reafon  of  this  is,  that  thofe  parts  of  the  works 
"  of  Ariftotle  that  relate  to  the  demonftrative 
"  fciences,  are  fo  ill  tranflated,  and  fb  incor- 
"  re6lly  tranfcribed,  that  we  meet  with  infur- 

*  Wallis  Algebra,  ch.  4- 

"  mountable 


io8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  mountable  difficulties  in  every  chapter59." 
After  fo  decifive  a  teftimony  of  one  who  was  fo 
well  acquainted  with  the  Hate  of  learning  in  the 
age  in  which  he  flourifhed,  it  is  in  vain  to  look 
for  any  great  improvements  in  geometry  in  this 
period. 

Aftrono-         When  geometry  was  fo  much  neglected,  aftro- 
my'  nomy  could  not  be  fuccefsfully  cultivated.  There 

is,  however,  fufficient  evidence,  that  a  confider- 
able  degree  of  attention  was  paid  to  the  motions, 
fituations,  and  afpecls,  of  the  heavenly  bodies ; 
though  it  is  probable  that  this  was  done  rather 
with  a  view  to  aflrological  predictions,  than  to 
difcover  the  true  fyflem  of  the  univerfe.  Several 
treatifes  on  aftronomy  were  tranflated  out  of  the 
Greek  and  Arabian  languages  into  Latin,  par- 
ticularly the  planifphere  of  Ptolemy  by  Ralf  of 
Bruges,  and  a  treatife  on  the  aflrolabe  by  Ade- 
lard  of  Bath  s°.  The  aflrolabe,  which  feems  to 
have  been  much  the  fame  with  the  armillary 
fphere  of  the  moderns,  was  ufed  in  taking  obfer- 
vations  of  the  fun  and  ftars SI.  Ingulphus  laments 
the  lofs  of  an  aftronomical  table,  more  than  of 
any  thing  elfe,  that  was  deflroyed  when  his  abbey 
of  Croyland  was  burnt,  A.  D.  1091.  He  calls 
it  a  Nadir,  and  defcribes  it  in  this  manner : 
"  We  then  loft  a  mofl  beautiful  and  precious 
"  table,  fabricated  of  different  kinds  of  metals, 
"  according  to  the  variety  of  the  ftars  and 

<•  J.  Sarifburienf.  Metalog.  1.4.  c.  6.  p.  8 8 7. 

*•  Voflius  de  Math.  c.  63.       5'  Du  Cange  GlofT.  voc.  AJtrolabium 

"  heavenly 


Chap.  4.  Se<a.  i.         LEARNING,  &c. 

"  heavenly  figns.  Saturn  was  of  copper,  Jupi- 
"  ter  of  gold,  Mars  of  iron,  the  Sun  of  latten, 
"  Mercury  of  amber,  Venus  of  tin,  the  Moon 
"  of  iilver.  The  eyes  were  charmed,  as  well  as 
"  the  mind  inftrucled,  by  beholding  the  colure 
"  circles,  with  the  zodiac  and  all  its  figns,  formed 
"with  wonderful  art,  of  metals  and  precious 
"  flones,  according  to  their  feveral  natures, 
"  forms,  figures,  and  colours.  It  was  the  mod 
"  admired  and  celebrated  Nadir  in  all  England52." 
From  the  above  defcription  of  this  curious  table, 
it  appears  to  have  been  a  delineation  of  the 
Ptolemsean  fyftem,  the  centre  of  it  reprefenting 
the  earth,  and  the  planets  placed  around  it 
exactly  in  the  order  of  that  fyftem. 

None  of  the  mathematical  fciences  were  culti-  Aftrology. 
vated  with  fo  much  diligence,  in  this  period,  as 
the  fallacious  one  of  judicial  aftrology.  None 
indeed  were  honoured  with  the  name  of  mathe- 
maticians but  aftrologers,  who  were  believed  by 
many  to  pofiefs  the  precious  fecret  of  reading  the 
fates  of  kingdoms,  the  events  of  war,  and  the 
fortunes  of  particular  perfons,  in  the  face  of  the 
heavens.  "  Mathematicians  (fays  Peter  of  Blois) 
"  are  thofe  who,  from  the  pofition  of  the  ftars, 
"  the  afpeet  of  the  firmament,  and  the  motions 
"  of  the  planets,  difcover  things  that  are  to 
"  come  "."  Thefe  pretended  prognoflicators 
were  fo  much  admired  and  credited,  that  there 

"  Hift.  Ingulph.  Oxoniae  edit.  A.  D.  1685.  tom.i.  p.pg. 
Si  P.  Blefenf.  Opera,  p. 596.  col.i. 

was 


no  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

was  hardly  a  prince,  or  even  an  earl  or  great 
baron,  in  Europe,   who  did  not   keep  one   or 
more  of  them  in  his  family,  to  caft  the  horofcopes 
of  his  children,  difcover  the  fuccefs  of  his  de- 
figns,    and   the    public   events,    that    were    to 
happen54.    The  moil  famous  of  thefe  aflrologers 
pubiiflied  a  kind  of  almanacs  every  year,  con- 
taining fchemes  of  the  planets  for  that  year,  with 
a  variety  of  predictions  concerning  the  weather, 
and  other  events.     We  have  the  following  quo- 
tation from  one  of  thefe  almanacs,  in  a  letter  of 
John  of  Salifbury :     "  The  aftrologers  call  this 
"year   (1170.)   the  wonderful  year,   from   the 
"  fingular  fituation  of  the  planets  and  conftella- 
"  tions,  and  fay  —  that  in  the  courfe  of  it   the 
"  councils  of  kings  will  be  changed,  wars  will 
"  be  frequent,  and  the  world  will  be  troubled 
"  with  (editions ;  that  learned  men  will  be  dif- 
"  couraged  ;  but  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
"  they  will  be  exalted  55."     From  this  {pecimen 
we  may  perceive,   that  their  predictions  were 
couched  in  very  general  and  artful  terms.     But 
by  departing  from  this  prudent  conduct  not  long 
after  this,  and  becoming  a  little  too  plain  and 
pofitive,  they  brought  a  temporary  diigrace  on 
themfelves  and  their  art.     For,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1 186.,  all  the  great  aftrologers  in  the 
Chriftian  world  agreed  in  declaring,  that,  from 
an  extraordinary  conjunction  of  the  planets  in  the 

54  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  356. 

*»  Epiftol.  T.  Cantuar.  1.  a.  Ep.48.  p. 388,  389.    ' 


Chap. 4.  Sea.  i.         LEARNING,  &c. 

fign  Libra,  which  had  never  happened  before, 
and  would  never  happen  again,  there  would  arife, 
on  Tuefday,  September  1 6th,  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  a  moil  dreadful  ftorm,  that 
would  fweep  away  not  only  fingle  houfes,  but 
even  great  towns  and  cities;  —  that  this  ftorm 
would  be  followed  by  a  deftruetive  peftilence, 
bloody  wars,  and  all  the  plagues  that  had  ever 
afflicted  miferable  mortals  5°.  This  direful  pre- 
diction fpread  terror  and  confternation  over 
Europe,  though  it  was  flatly  contradicted  by  the 
Mahometan  aftrologers  of  Spain,  whofaid,  there 
would  only  be  a  few  fbipwrecks,  and  a  little 
failure  in  tiie  vintage  and  harveft57.  When  the 
awful  day  drew  near,  Baldwin  Archbifhop  of 
Canterbury,  commanded  a  folemn  fafl  of  three 
days  to  be  obferved  over  all  his  province.  But 
to  the  utter  confufion  of  the  poor  aftrologers,  the 
i6th  of  September  was  uncommonly  ferene  and 
calm,  the  whole  feafon  remarkably  mild  and 
healthy ;  and  there  were  no  ftorms  all  that  year 
(fays  Gervafe  of  Canterbury),  but  what  the 
Archbifhop  raifed  in  the  church  by  his  own  tur- 
bulence sa.  In  the  midft  of  the  general  wreck  of 
aftrological  reputation,  William,  aftrologer  to 
the  conftable  of  Chefter,  faved  his  character,  by 
fubjoining  to  his  prediction  this  alternative, — "  If 
"  the  nobles  of  the  land  will  ferve  God,  and  fly 
"  from  the  devil,  the  Lord  will  avert  all  thefe 

56  Hovedeo.  Annal.  p.356.  "  Id.  £.358- 

58  Gerva?  Chron>  apud  X  Script,  col,  1479. 

"  impend- 


H2  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IIL 

"  impending  plagues SV  But  though  adrology 
was  in  itfelf  deceitful,  and  fometimes  involved  its 
profeflbrs  in  difgrace,  it  contributed  greatly  to 
promote  the  dudy  of  adronomy  ;  and  there  is 
the  cleared  evidence,  that  the  adrologers  of  this 
period  could  calculate  eclipfes,  could  find  the 
fituation  of  the  planets,  and  knew  the  times  in 
which  they  performed  their  revolutions,  &c.'° 
Medicine.  Medicine  had  been  practifed  as  an  art  in  Bri- 
tain in  the  darked  ages.  In  this  period  it  began 
to  be  dudied  as  a  fcience.  The  medical  fchools 
of  Salernum  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and  of 
Montpelier  in  France,  were  famous  in  thofe 
times,  and  frequented  by  many  perfons  from  all 
parts  of  Europe  6l.  This  fcience  was  alfo  taught 
and  dudied  in  the  univerfities  of  Paris  and 
Oxford".  But  the  following  defcription  of 
the  theoretical  and  practical  phyficians  of  the 
twelfth  century,  given  by  one  of  the  mod  learned 
and  ingenious  men  who  flourifhed  in  that  age, 
will  prefent  us  with  a  more  fatisfaftory  view  of 
the  date  of  medicine  in  this  period,  than  any- 
thing that  can  be  faid  by  any  modern  writer. 
"  The  profeflbrs  of  the  theory  of  medicine  are 
"  very  communicative ;  they  will  tell  you  all 
"  they  know,  and  perhaps,  out  of  their  great 


V)  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.35?.  col.i.  6n  Id.  ibid.  p.  358. 

*'  Opera  J.  Freind.  p.  535.     J.  Sarifburienf.    Metalog.  l.r.  0.4. 
P-  743- 

62  Bulsei  Hiih  Univerf.  Parif.  torn.  2.  p.  5  75.     A  Wood.  Hift.Uni- 
erf.  Oxon.  p.  46.  col.  a. 

16  "  kindnefs, 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  i.        LEARNING,  &c, 

"  kindnefs,  a  little  more.  From  them  you  may 
"  learn  the  natures  of  all  things,  the  caufes  of 
"  ficknefsand  of  health,  how  to  banilh  the  one 
"  and  to  preferve  the  other ;  for  they  can  do 
"  both  at  pleafure.  They  will  defcribe  to  you 
"  minutely  the  origin,  the  beginning,  the  pro- 
"  grefs,  and  the  cure  of  all  difeafes.  In  a  word, 
"  when  I  hear  them  harangue,  lam  charmed,  I 
"  think  them  not  inferior  to  Mercury  or  Efcu- 
*'  lapius,  and  almoft  perfuade  myfelf  that  they 
"  can  raife  the  dead.  There  is  only  one  thing 
"  that  makes  me  hefitate.  Their  theories  are 
"  as  directly  oppofite  to  one  another  as  light  and 
"  darknefe.  When  I  refle6l  on  this  1  am  a  little 
"  flaggered.  Two  contradictory  propofitions 
"  cannot  both  be  true.  But  what  mall  I  fay  of 
"  the  practical  phyficians?  I  muil  fay  nothing 
"  amiis  of  them;  It  pleafeth  God,  for  the  pu- 
"  nimment  of  my  fins,  to  fuffer  me  to  fall  too 
"  frequently  into  their  hands.  They  mud  be 
"  foothed,  and  not  exafperated.  That  I  may 
"  not  be  treated  roughly  in  my  next  illnefs,  I 
"  dare  hardly  allow  myfelf  to  think  in  fecret 
"  what  others  fpeak  aloud 63."  In  another  work 
this  writer  picks  up  more  courage,  and  fpeaks 
his  mind  of  the  practical  phyficians  with  equal 
freedom.  "  They  foon  return  from  college,  full 
"  of  flimfy  theories,  to  practife  what  they  have 
"  learned.  Galen  and  Hippocrates  are  conti- 
"  nually  in  their  mouths.  They  Ipeak  apho- 

63  J.  Sariiburieof.  Policrat.  1. ».  0.49.  p.  147. 

VOL.  vi.  i  "  rifms 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  rifins  on  every  fubjec~l,  and  make  their  hearers 
"  ftare  at  their  long,  unknown,  and  high  found- 
"  ing  words.  The  good  people  believe  that  they 
"  can  do  any  thing,  becaufe  they  pretend  to  all 
"  things.  They  have  only  two  maxims  which 
"  they  never  violate ;  never  mind  the  poor — 
"  never  refufe  money  from  the  rich." 64 
The  clergy  The  clergy  were  almoft  the  only  perfons  m 


the  chief    ^g  periO(j  who  taught  and  pra&ifed  phyfic,  as 

phyficians. 

well  as  the  other  iciences ;  and  we  meet  with, 
very  few  celebrated  for  their  medical  knowledge 
who  were  not  priefts  or  monks.  This  profeffion 
became  fo  lucrative,  and  fo  many  monks  applied 
to  the  ftudy  and  practice  of  it,  deferting  their 
monafteries,  and  neglecting  their  own  profeffion, 
that  a  canon  was  made  in  the  council  of  Tours, 
A.  0.1163.,  prohibiting  monks  to  flay  out  of 
their  monafteries  above  two  months  at  one  time, 
teaching  or  praetifing  phyfic 6s.  No  reftraint  of 
this  kind  was  laid  on  the  fecular  clergy,  and 
many  of  the  bifhops  and  other  dignitaries  of  the 
church  acled  as  phyficians  in  ordinary  to  kings 
and  princes,  by  which  they  acquired  both  riches 
and  honour"1.  Thefe  very  reverend  phyficians 
drew  much  of  their  medical  knowledge  from 

O 

the  writings  of  Rhazes,  Avicenna,  Avenzoar, 
Averhois,  and  other  Arabians,  whofe  works  had 
been  tranflated  into  Latin  by  Conftantine,  a 

64  J.  Sarifburienf.  Metalog.  1. 1.  0.4.  p.  743. 

65  Bukei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parifien.  torn.  a.  p.  575.     Condi,  tom.io. 
p.  986.  1004. 14^1. 

tft  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p-i93»  194. 

monk 


Chap. 4-  Sed. i.        LEARNING,  &c. 

monk  of  Mount  Cafine,  near  Salermim,  and 
others67.  It  will  not  perhaps  be  difagreeable  to 
fome  medical  readers  to  fee  the  defcription  and 
treatment  of  a  particular  difeafe  by  one  of  their 
predeceffors  in  the  art  of  healing  in  England, 
about  fix  hundred  years  ago,  which  they  will 
find  in  the  Appendix  No.  3. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  fcientific  way  of  Diftinc- 
teaching  and  ftudying  phyfic,  which  was  intro-  tion  be" 
duced  by  the  medical  fchools  of  the  eleventh  and  p 
twelfth  centuries,  gave  rife  to  the  diflinclion  be-  and  fur 
tween  phyficians  and  furgeons,  which  appears  to  £e°' 
have  taken  place  towards  the  end  of  this  period. 
For  a  contemporary  poet  in  defcribing  the  at- 
tempts that  were  made  to  cure  the  wound  which 
Richard  I.  received  before  the  caftle  of  Chalus, 
A.D.  1 199.,  plainly  diftinguifhes  thefe  two  pro- 
feifions,  and  the  different  parts  they  acted  on  that 
occafion68.     There  is  even  fufficient  evidence, 

w 

that  fome  perfons  about  the  fame  time,  applied 
more  particularly  to  the  fludy  of  the  materia 
medica,  and  the  compofition  of  medicines,  and 
were  on  that  account  called  apothecaries.  We 
are  told  in  the  annals  of  the  church  of  Win- 
chefter,  that  Richard  Fitz-Nigel,  who  died  bi- 
fhop  of  London  A.D.  1198.,  had  been  apothe- 


67  Opera  J. Freind,  p. 533,  &c. 

*3  Interea  regem  circumftant  uiidique  mixtim, 

Apponunt  medici  fomenta,  fecantque  chirurgi 

Yulnus,  ut  inde  trahant  ferrum  leviore  periclo. 

Pafquier  RethcrcheS)  l,<).  c.^i, 

i  z  cary 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

cary  to  Henry  II. 6g  Whoever  will  give  bimfelf 
the  trouble  to  perufe  the  prefcriptions  of  the  Sa- 
lernian  fchool,  which  were  written  in  the  eleventh 
century  for  the  ufe  of  a  king  of  England,  will 
perceive,  that  the  materia  medica  of  thofe  times 
was  far  from  being  fcanty,  and  that  they  were  ac- 
quainted with  fome  very  complicated  and  artifi- 
cial mixtures,  particularly  theriac,  which  confifts 
of  above  fifty  ingredients.  7° 
Sciences  It  feems  to  be  impoffible  to  give  any  fatisfac- 


hat  ™el"j  tory  account  of  the  ftate  of  experimental  philofo- 
phy,  anatomy,  chemiflry,  botany,  and  fome  other 
parts  of  learning,  from  the  genuine  monuments 
of  this  period ;  which  plainly  indicates  that  thefe 
fciences  were  then  either  totally  neglected,  or 
very  little  cultivated. 

The  clr-  By  comparing  the  above  delineation  of  the 
(late  of  learning,  with  that  which  was  given  of 

enlarged,  it  in  the  former  period,  we  cannot  but  obferve, 
that  the  circle  of  the  fciences  was  now  confi- 
derably  enlarged,  and  that  fome  of  them  were 
cultivated  with  greater  diligence  and  fuccefs71. 
This  is  agreeable  to  the  teftimony  of  the  bed 
contemporary  hiftorians.  "  Before  the  arrival 
"  of  the  Normans  (fays  William  of  Malmf- 
"  bury),  learning  was  almoft  extin6l  in  Eng- 
"  land.  The  clergy  contented  themfelves  with 
*'  the  flighted  fmattering  of  letters,  and  could 
**  hardly  flammer  through  the  offices  of  the 

*9  Anglia  Sacra,  tom.i.  p.  304. 

70  Medidna  Salernitana,  0.15.  p.  119.  7'  See  book  2.  ch.*. 

1 6  ««  church. 


Chap.4.  Sea.  i.        LEARNING,  &c.  nj 

"  church.  If  any  one  amongft  them  underftood 
"  a  little  grammar,  he  was  admired  as  a  pro- 
<-  digy 7V  But  fo  fudden  and  advantageous  a 
change  in  this  refpe6l  took  place  after  the  con- 
queft,  that  the  fame  fenfible  writer  acquaints  us, 
that  learning  was  in  a  more  flourifliing  flate  in 
England  and  Normandy,  fo  early  as  the  reign 
of  Henry  I.  than  it  was  in  Italy 73.  This  happy 
change  feems  to  have  been  owing  to  the  follow- 
ing caufes  : 

The  acceffion  of  William  Duke  of  Normandy  Caufes  of 
to  the  throne  of  England,  contributed  in  feveral  the  im' 

°  prove- 

ways  to  the  revival  of  learning  in  Britain.  That  mentof 
prince  had  received  a  good  education,  was  fond  learning- 
of  reading,  and  the  converfation  of  learned  men, 
to  whom  he  was  a  mod  munificent  patron,  ad- 
vancing them  to  the  higheft  dignities  and  richefl 
benefices  in  the  church  74.  This  had  excited  an 
extraordinary  ardour  for  literary  purfuit,  among 
the  clergy  in  Normandy,  and  had  afterwards  the 
fame  effe£l  in  England.  Befides  this,  many  of 
the  moft  learned  men  on  the  continent  came 
over  into  Britain,  after  the  conqueft,  and  by 
their  example  and  inftru6lions  diffufed  the  love 
and  knowledge  of  letters.  William  took  great 
care  of  the  education  of  his  royal  offspring,  and 
Henry  I.,  his  youngeft  fon,  became  the  mod 
learned  prince,  and  the  greateft  promoter  of 
learning,  of  the  age  in  which  he  flourished. 

?'  W.Malmf.  1.3.  p. 57.  73  Id.  I.j.  p. 90. 

"  W.  Gemitens>  p.  604.  edit,  a  Camdeno.  Orderic.  Vital,  p.  65  6. 

i  3  This 


Il8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

This  procured  him  the  furname  of  Beauclerk, 
or  the  fine  fcholar75.  He  married  his  only 
daughter,  the  heirefs  of  all  his  dominions,  to 
Geoffrey  Plantagenet,  Earl  of  Anjou,  who  is 
greatly  celebrated  for  his  learning 76.  The  eldefl 
fon  of  this  marriage,  Henry  II.,  received  a 
learned  education,  under  the  dire6tion  of  his 
excellent  uncle,  Robert  Earl  of  Glocefter,  who 
was  more  illuftriotis  for  his  knowledge  and  virtue 
than  his  royal  birth 77.  Henry  II.  never  loll 
that  tafte  for  letters  he  had  acquired  in  his 
youth ;  and  through  his  whole  life,  as  we  are 
allured  by  one  who  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  him,  he  fpent  his  leifure  hours,  either  in 
reading,  or  in  difcuffing  fome  literary  queftion 
in  a  circle  of  learned  men ?s.  His  three  fons, 
Henry,  Geoffrey,  and  Richard,  had  all  a  confi- 
derable  tincture  of  letters,  and  a  tafte  for  poe- 
try79. Under  the  patronage  of  thefe  great 
princes,  learning  could  hardly  fail  to  revive, 
and  in  fome  degree  to  flourifh. 

±he  in-  The  ereclion  of  above  one  hundred  monaf- 
creafe  of  ^er{GS  in  England,  in  the  courfe  of  this  period, 

monafte-  r 

ries  one  may  be  reckoned  among  the  caules  of  the  re- 
caufe  of  vival  of  learning,  —  by  increafing  the  number 
prove-  both  of  teachers  and  fludents,  —  by  multiplying 

tnents  in 
learning. 

75  Martin.  Anec.  1.  3.  p.  345.     J.  Brompt.  apud  X  Script,   p. 978. 
H.  Knighton.     Ibid.  p.  2374. 

76  D.  Acherii  Spicileg.  1. 10.  p.  508. 

77  Gervas  Chron.  p.  1358.     W.  Malmf.  1.5.  p«96. 

78  P.  Blefenf.  Ep.  66.  p',98. 

n  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn,  9.  p.  175. 

the 


Chap.  4.  Sed.  i.        LEARNING,  &c.  119 

tlie  inducements  to  purfue,  and  the  opportuni- 
ties to  acquire  knowledge,  —  but  chiefly  by  mak- 
ing books  much  more  common  and  attainable 
than  they  had  been  in  any  former  period.     It 
will  by  and  by  appear  that  every  convent  was  a 
kind  of  college  in  which  feveral  parts  of  learn- 
ing were  taught  and  fludied80.     The  govern- 
ment of  thefe  religious  houfes  was  commonly 
bellowed  on  men  of  learning;    and  being  at- 
tended with  confiderable  degrees  of  power  and 
dignity,  afforded  flrong  incentives  to  ftudy.     A 
library  was  then  efteemed  fo  effential  to  a  mo- 
naftery,  that  it  became  a  proverb,  "  A  convent 
«  without  a  library,  is  like  a  caftle  without  an 
"  armory81."     Some  of  thefe  monaftic  libraries 
were  very  valuable.    Though  the  abbey  of  Croy- 
land  was  burnt  only  twenty-five  years  after  the 
conqueft,  its  library  then  confided  of  nine  hun- 
dred volumes,  of  which  three  hundred  were  very- 
large  **.     To  provide  books  for  the  ufe  of  the 
church,  and  for  furnifhing  their  libraries,  there 
was  in  every  monaftery  a  room  called  the  Smp- 
torium,  or  writing  chamber,  in  which  feveral  of 
the  younger  monks  wrere  constantly  employed  in 
tranfcribing  books  ;   and  to  which,  in  fome  mo- 
naileries,    confiderable    revenues   were   appro- 
priated83.    A  noble  Norman,  who  was  a  great 
encourager  of  learning,   left  his  own  library  to 
that  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Albans,  A.D.  1086., 

80  See  Se&ion  3.  Sl  Martin.  Anec.  torn,  i,  col.5il. 

82  Hiftoria  Ingulphij  Oxon.  edit.  p.gS. 

83  Du  Cange  doff,  voc.  Scriptorium. 

i  4  and 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III 

and  granted  two-thirds   of  the  tithes  of  Hat- 

lield,  and  certain  tithes  in  Redburn,  to  fupport 

the  writers  in  the  fcriptoriuin  of  that  abbey84. 

Where  there  were  no  fixed  revenues  for  defray- 

ing the  expences  of  procuring  books  for  the 

library,  the  abbot,  with  the  confent  of  the  chap- 

ter, commonly  impofed  an  annual  tax  on  every 

member  of  the  community  for  that  purpofe85. 

The  monks  of  fome  monafteries,  in  this  period, 

were  bitterly  reproached  for  the  extravagant 

fums  they  expended  on  their  libraries.86 

Art  of  The  art  of  making  paper,  which  was  invented 

lupeTano-  *n  tne  cour^e  °f  tms  period,  contributed  alfo  to 

ther  caufe  the  revival  of,  and  more  general  application  to, 

thls'       learning,  by  rendering  the  acquifition  of  books 

much  lefs  difficult  and  expenfive  than  it  had  for- 

•     merly  been.     We  have  not  the  fatisfa&ion  of 

knowing  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  that  moft 

ufeftil  invention.     But  it  appears  that  our  paper 

was  at  firft  made  of  cotton  ;  and,  on  that  account, 

called  charta  bombycina,  or  cotton  paper  ;  and 

that  towards  the  end  of  the  eleventh  or  begin- 

ning of  the  twelfth  century,  it  began  to  be  made 

of  linen  rags,  as  it  is  at  prefent.  8? 

Though  the  learned  authors  of  the  literary 


another      hiftory  of  France  are  of  opinion  that  the  Croi- 

cauie  or  J  . 

this.          fades  proved  an  impediment  to  the  progrefs  of 
learning,  I  am  more  inclined  to  think,  with  the 

**  M.  Paris  Vita  Abbatum,  p.  3  2. 
*s  Mabell.  Annal.  torn.  6.  p.  651,  652. 
*'-  Martin.  Col.  Script,  torn.  i.  p.ioao,  lozi. 
**  Murator.  Antiq.  torn.  3.  col.  871, 

judicious 


Chap. 4-  Sed.  2.  LEARNING,  &c. 

judicious  and  elegant  hiftorian  of  Charles  V. 
that  they  had  a  contrary  effect58.  That  the 
fciences,  as  well  as  the  arts,  were  in  a  more 
flourilhing  (late  in  the  Greek  empire,  and  the 
Eaft,  than  in  thofe  countries  which  had  com- 
pofed  the  weftern  empire,  is  acknowledged  on 
all  hands.  It  feems  therefore  highly  probable, 
that  fome  of  thofe  ingenious  and  inquifitive  men, 
of  which  the  number  was  not  fmall,  who  accom- 
panied the  Croiiaders  in  their  expeditions  into 
the  Eaft,  acquired  fome  fciences  which  they  could 
not  have  acquired  in  their  own  countries,  and 
that  they  communicated  their  acquifitions  to  their 
countrymen  on  their  return  home. 


SECTION  II. 

Hiftory  of  the  mojl  learned,  men  whojlouri/hed  in  Britaifi, 
from  A.  D.  1066.  to  A.  D.  1216. 

r  I  CHOUGH   the   circle  of  the  fciences  was  Learning 
-*-    enlarged,  and  learning  was  cultivated  with  c      ythe 
greater  affiduity  in  this  than  in  the  former  pe-  clergy. 
riod  ;  yet  this  was  chiefly,  or  rather  almofl  only 
by  the  clergy.     The  great  body  of  the  people, 
and  even  the  far  greateft  part  of  the  nobility, 
ftill  continued  illiterate,  or  had  but.  a  very  flight 
acquaintance  with  letters.     Of  this,  if  it  were 


48  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  1 6.     Dr.Robertfon's 
Hiftory  of  Charles  V.  vol.  i.  p.  16. 

necefiary, 


122  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  "          Book  III. 

neceflary,  many  proofs  might  be  produced  ;  but 
the  following  one,  it  is  prefumed,   will  be  fuffi- 
cient.   After  the  flight  of  Archbiftiop  Becket  out 
of  England,  A.D.  1164.,  Henry  II.  fent  a  moil 
fplendid  embafly  to  the  Pope,  confiding  of  one 
archbifhop,  four  bifhops,  three  of  his  own  chap- 
lains, the  Earl  of  Arunclel,  and  other  three  of  the 
greateft  barons  of  the  kingdom.     When  thefe 
ambaffadors  were  admitted  to  an  audience,  and 
four  of  the  prelates  had  harangued  the  Pope  and 
cardinals  in  Latin,  the  Earl  of  Arundel  flood 
up,  and  made  a  fpeech  in  Englifh,  which  he 
began  in  this  manner  :    "  We  who  are  illiterate 
"  laymen  do  not  underftand  one  word  of  what 
"  the  bifliops  have  faid  to  Your  Holinefs '."  We 
may  be  almofl  certain,  that  if  Henry,  who  was  a 
learned  prince,  could  have  found  men  of  learn- 
ing amongfl  his  nobility,  he  would  have  fent  them 
on  this  embafly.    The  truth  is,  that  the  general 
ignorance  of  the  laity  of  all  ranks  was  fo  well 
known,   that  the  hiflorians  of  this  period  fre- 
quently diftinguim  the  clergy  from  the  laity,  by 
calling  the  former  literati,  and  the  latter  laid2. 
Our  readers  therefore  need  not  be  furprifed  to 
find,  that  all  the  learned  men  mentioned  in  this 
fetlion  belonged  either  to  the  fecular  or  regular 
clergy. 

The  laws  of  general  hiftory,  and  the  limits  of 
this  work,  will  admit  only  of  a  very  brief  ac- 

1  Vita  S.  Thomse,  l.a.  0.9.  p.  74. 
3  Ingulph.  Hift.  edit.  Oxon.  p.  102. 

count 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  2.        LEARNING,  &c.  ,23 

count  of  a  few  who  were  mofl  eminent  for  their 
learning  in  every  period. 

Ingulph,  Abbot  of  Croyland,  and  author  of  the 
hiflory  of  that  abbey,  was  born  in  London  about 
A.  D.I  030.  He  received  the  firft  part  of  his 
education  at  Weftminfler  ;  and  when  he  vifited 
his  father,  who  belonged  to  the  court  of  Ed- 
ward the  Confeffor,  he  was  fo  fortunate  as  to 
engage  the  attention  of  Queen  Edgitha.  That 
amiable  and  learned  princefs  took  a  pleafure  in 
examining  our  young  fcholar  on  his  progrefs  in 
grammar,  and  in  difputing  with  him  in  logic; 
nor  did  me  ever  difmifs  him  without  fome  prefent 
as  a  mark  of  her  approbation3.  From  Weft- 
minfler he  went  to  Oxford,  where  he  applied  to 
the  ftudy  of  rhetoric  and  of  the  Ariftotelian 
philofophy,  in  which  he  made  a  greater  profi- 
ciency than  many  of  his  contemporaries 4.  When 
he  was  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  was 
introduced  to  William  Duke  of  Normandy  (who 
vifited  the  court  of  England  A.  D.  1051.),  and 
madehimfelf  fo  agreeable  to  that  prince,  that  he 
appointed  him  his  fecfetary,  and  carried  him  with 
him  into  his  own  dominions.  In  a  little  time  he 
became  the  prime  favourite  of  his  prince,  and 
the  difpenfer  of  all  preferments,  humbling  fome 
and  exalting  others  at  his  pleafure;  in  which  dif- 
ficult flation,  he  confefled  he  did  not  behave 
with  a  proper  degree  of  modefty  and  prudence*. 

'  Ingulph.  Hlft.  edit.  Oxon.  l.r.  p.6a.    Tanner  Bibliothec.  p.  419. 
4  Ibid.  p.  73.  *  Id.  ibid. 

This 


X24  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

This  excited  the  envy  and  hatred  of  many  of  the 
courtiers :  to  avoid  the  effects  of  which,  he  ob- 
tained leave  from  the  Duke  to  go  in  pilgrimage 
to  the  Holy  Land,  which  was  then  become 
fafhionable.  With  a  company  of  thirty  horfe- 
men,  he  joined  Sigfrid,  Duke  of  Mentz,  who, 
with  many  German  nobles,  bifhops,  clergy,  and 
others,  was  preparing  for  a  pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
falem.  When  they  were  all  united,  they  formed 
a  company  of  no  fewer  than  feven  thoufand 
pilgrims.  In  their  way  they  fpent  fome  time  at 
Conllantinople,  performing  their  devotions  in  the 
feveral  churches.  In  their  paffage  through 
Lycia,  they  were  attacked  by  a  tribe  of  Arab?, 
who  killed  and  wounded  many  of  them,  and 
plundered  them  of  a  prodigious  mafs  of  money. 
Thofe  who  efcaped  from  this  difafter,  at  length 
reached  Jerufalem,  vifited  all  the  holy  places, 
and  bedewed  the  ruins  of  many  churches  with 
their  tears,  giving  money  for  their  reparation. 
They  intended  to  have  bathed  in  Jordan,  but 
being  prevented  by  the  roving  Arabs,  they  em- 
barked on  board  a  Genoefe  fleet  at  Joppa,  and 
landed  at  Brundufium,  from  whence  they  tra- 
velled through  Apulia  to  Rome.  Having  gone 
through  a  long  courfe  of  devotions  in  this  city, 
at  the  feveral  places  diftinguifhed  for  their  fanc- 
tity,  they  feparated,  and  every  one  made  the 
beft  of  his  way  into  his  own  country.  When  In- 
gulph  and  his  company  reached  Normandy,  they 
were  reduced  to  twenty  half-flarved  wretches, 
without  money,  clothes,  or  horfes.  A  faithful 

picture 


Chap.  4.  Sed.  2.         LEARNING,  &c.  12J, 

picture  of  the  fooliih    difaftrous  journies   into 
the  Holy  Land,  fo  common  in  thole  times.     In- 
gulph   was   now   fo   much   dilgufted   with   the 
world,  that  he  refolved  to  forfake  it,  and  be- 
come a  monk  in  the  abbey  of  Fontenelle  in. 
Normandy  ;  in  which,  after  fome  years,  he  was 
advanced  to  the  office  of  prior.     When  his  old 
mafter  was  preparing  for  his   expedition  into 
England,  A.D.  1066.,  he  was  fent  by  his  abbot 
with  one  hundred  marks  in  money,  and  twelve 
young   men,    nobly  mounted   and   completely        4: 
armed,  as  a  prefent  from  their  abbey.     Ingulph, 
having  found  a  favourable  opportunity,  prefented 
his  men  and  money  to  his  prince,  who  received 
him  very  gracioufly ;  fome  part  of  the  former 
affection  for  him  reviving  in  his  bofom.     In  con- 
fequence  of  this  he  raifed  him  to  the  government 
of  the  rich   abbey  of  Croyland  in  Lincolnfhire, 
A.D.  1076.,  in  which  he  ipent  the  lad  thirty- 
four  years  of  his  life,  governing  that  fociety  with 
great  prudence,  and  protecting  their  poffeffions 
from  the  rapacity  of  the  neighbouring  barons  by 
the  favour  of  his  royal  mafter.     The  lovers  of 
Englifh  hiftory  and   antiquities   are   much   in- 
debted to  this  learned  abbot  for  his  excellent 
hiftory  of  the  abbey  of  Croyland,  from  its  foun- 
dation, A.D.  664.,  to  A.D.  1091.,  into  which 
he  hath  introduced  much  of  the  general  hiftory 
of   the   kingdom,   with    a   variety   of    curious 
anecdotes  that  are  no  where  elfe  to  be  found6. 

6  Vide  Hift.  Ingulph.  a  Sarilio  edit.  London  1594.    Oxon.  1684. 

Ingulph 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

Ingulph  died  of  the  gout,  at  his  abbey,  id  De- 
cember A.  D.  1 109.,  in  the  feventy-ninth  year  of 
his  age. 7 

Lanfranc.  Lan  fran  c,  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury,  was  born 
atPavia,  A.D.  1005.,  where  he  was  educated  in 
grammar  and  logic5.  After  the  deatli  of  his 
father,  he  fpent  fome  years  in  the  tludy  of  rhe- 
toric and  civil  law,  at  Bolognia  j  from  whence 
he  returned  to  his  native  city,  and  commenced 
an  advocate  in  the  courts  of  law*.  Thinking 
this  too  narrow  a  fphere,  he  removed  into  France, 
and  opened  a  fchool  at  Avranehe,  which  was 
foon  crowded  with  {Indents  of  high  rank  10.  In 
a  journey  to  Roane,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
robbed,  and  left  bound  in  a  wood,  where  he  was 
found  next  morning  by  fome  peafants,  who  car- 
ried him,  almoft  dead,  to  the  abbey  of  Bee. 
Here  he  was  treated  with  fo  much  tendernefs 
that  when  he  recovered,  he  became  a  monk  in 
that  abbey,  A.D.  1041.  u  At  the  end  of  three 
years  lie  was  chofen  prior  of  his  convent,  and 
opened  a  fchool,  which  in  a  little  time  became 
very  famous,  and  was  frequented  by  Undents 
from  all  parts  of  Europe12.  Amongft  others, 
fome  of  the  fcholars  of  Berenger,  Archdeacon  of 
Angers,  and  matter  of  the  academy  of  Tours, 

7  Continuat.  Hift.  Croyland,  p.  113. 

8  Mabil.  Aft.  torn.  9.  15.659.  9  Id.  ibid.  p. 360. 
"I0  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  8.  p.  261. 

11  Du  Pin  Ecclef.  Hift.  cent.  n.  €.3.     Gervas,  apud  X  Script, 
col.  1652. 

"  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  tom.8.  p. 263. 

1 4  left 


Chap.  4.  Seel.  a.         LEARNING,  &c. 

left  that  fchool,  and  went  to  finely  at  the  abbey 
of  Bee.  This,  it  is  faid,  excited  the  envy  of 
Berenger,  and  gave  rife  to  that  long  and  violent 
controverfy  between  him  and  Lanfranc,  on  the 
fubje6l  of  the  eucharift,  which  made  a  mighty 
noife  in  the  church I3.  When  our  author  re- 
fided  in  the  abbey  of  Bee,  his  literary  fame  pro- 
cured him  the  favour  of  his  fovereign,  William 
Duke  of  Normandy,  who  made  him  one  of  his 
counfeliors,  employed  him  in  an  important  em- 
baffy  to  the  Pope,  and  appointed  him,  A.  D. 
1062.,  abbot  of  his  newly  creeled  monaftery  of 
St.  Stephen's,  at  Caen  '4.  Here  he  eftabliihed  a 
new  academy,  which  became  no  lefs  famous  than 
his  former  one  at  Bee.  When  the  fee  of  Canter- 
bury became  vacant  by  the  depolition  of  Sti- 
gand  the  Conqueror  procured  his  election  to 
that  fee,  Auguft  i5th,  A.  D.  1070.,  and  with 
fome  difficulty  prevailed  upon  him  to  accept 
of  that  high  flation IS.  He  proved  a  great  bene- 
factor to  the  church  of  Canterbury,  by  afTerting 
its  right  to  the  primacy  of  England,  —  by  reco- 
vering many  of  its  pofleffions, —  and  by  rebuild- 
ing the  cathedral I6.  He  enjoyed  a  high  degree 
of  the  favour  of  William  I.,  and  had  the  chief 
direction  of  all  affairs,  both  in  church  and  flate, 
under  William  II.  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  happened  May  a8th,  A.D.  1089.,  in  the 

13  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  tom.8.  p.  263. 
'*  Id.  ibid.  p.  366.  '5  Eadmer.  Hift.  Novel,  l.i.  p.6. 

16  Id.  ibid.  p.  7.     Gervas,  col.    1653.  1292.     J.  BrompU     Ibid, 
cpj.  970 — 974. 

eighty- 


128  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

eighty-fourth  year  of  his  age  '7.  Several  of  our 
ancient  hiftorians  who  were  almoft  his  contempo- 
raries, fpeak  in  very  advantageous  terms  of  the 
genius  and  erudition  of  Lanfranc  j  and  ibme  of 
them  who  were  perfonally  acquainted  with  him, 
reprefent  him  as  the  mod  learned  man  of  the 
age  in  which  he  flouriftied IS.  His  writings  con- 
lift  of  commentaries  on  St.  Paul's  epittles,  fer- 
mons  on  various  fubjedls,  letters,  and  his  famous 
treatife  on  the  eucharift  againft  Berenger,  in 
which  he  employed  all  his  abilities  in  fupport  of 
that  opinion  which  had  been  broached  by  Paf- 
chafius  Radbertus,  in  the  gloom  of  the  ninth 
century,  had  been  gradually  gaining  ground 
among  the  clergy  through  the  tenth  and  ele- 
venth, and  terminated  in  tranfubiiantiation  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  twelfth  '9.  This  treatife 
had  rendered  Lanfranc  a  prodigious  favourite 
with  the  literary  hiftorians  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  who  load  him  with  the  moft  extravagant 
and  lavifti  praifes. 20 

Anfelm.  Anfelm,  Archbifliop  of  Canterbury,  the  dif- 
ciple  and  fucceflbr  of  Lanfranc,  was  born  at 
Aouft  in  Piedmont,  A.  D.  1034.,  of  noble  and 
pious  parents,  who  were  at  great  pains  to  give 
him  a  good  education2'.  Having  loft  his  mo- 

17  J.  Brompt.  col.  986.     Gervas,  p.  1655. 

18  Anglia    Sacra,    torn.  a.    p.  423.      Eadmeri  Hift.  p.6.       W. 
Malmf.  1.3.  p.6i.  col. 2. 

"  Opera  Lanfran.  a  d'Acher.  edit.  Paris,  1*48.     Du  Pin,  Ecclef. 
Hift.  cent.  9.  €.7.     Opera  P.  Blefenf.  p.zig.  col.i.  p. 644.  col.  x. 
20  Hiftoire  Literaire  dela  France,  1.8.  p.  260— 305. 
"  Anfehni  Vita,  l.i.  p.  2. 

ther 


Chap.4-  Sed.2.          LEARNING,  &c. 

ther  Ermengarda,  when  he  was  about  feventeen 
years  of  age,  he  abandoned  his  ftudies,  and  in- 
dulged his  youthful  paffions  to  fuch  a  degree, 
that  his  father  refilled  to  fee  him,  or  admit  him 
into  his  houfe  ;  on  which  he  left  his  native  coun- 
try and  travelled  into  France.  After  fome  time, 
attracted  by  the  fame  of  Lanfranc,  he  fettled  at 
the  abbey  of  Bee,  and  profecuted  his  ftudies  with 
fo  much  ardour  tinder  that  great  matter,  that  he 
excelled  all  his  fellow-ftudents  in  learning  2\ 
Having  become,  a  monk  in  that  abbey,  A.  D. 
1060.,  he  was  chofen,  three  years  after,  to  fuc- 
ceed  Lanfranc,  both  as  prior,  and  teacher  of  the 
fciences  ;  in  both  which  Rations  he  acquitted 
himfelf  fo  much  to  the  fatisfa6lion  of  the  fociety, 
that  he  was  unanimoufly  elected  abbot,  on  the 
firil  vacancy,  A.  D.  1078. 23  The  abbey  of  Bee 
had  feveral  eftates  in  England,  which  obliged 
our  abbot  fometimes  to  vifit  this  kingdom  ;  and 
in  thefe  vifits  he  gained  the  friendfliip  of  fome 
of  the  greater!  men.  He  happened  to  be  here 
A.  D.  1193.,  when  William  II.,  in  a  fit  of  fick- 
nefs,  was  prevailed  upon  to  fill  the  fee  of  Can- 
terbury, which  he  had  kept  four  years  vacant, 
and  nominated  him  to  that  high  office.  After 
a  long  and  obflinate  oppofition  to  his  own  ad- 
vancement, in  which  fome  perfons  fufpected  his 
fincerity,  he  was  confecrated  December  4th, 
A.  D.  1093.  *4  r^ne  quan'els  of  this  prelate 

"  Anfelmi  Vita.  1.  i.  p.3.  *•'  Id.  ibid.  p.  9. 

a"+  Eadmer.  Hift.  p.i6 — ai. 

VOL.  vi.  K  -with 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book.  III. 

with  William  II.,  and  afterwards  with  Henry  I., 
about  inveftitures,  ,have  been  already  men- 
tioned as.  Thefe  obliged  him  to  fpend  much  of 
his  time  on  the  continent,  and  rendered  his  pon- 
tificate uncomfortable  to  himfelf  and  hurtful  to 
the  kingdom.  After  a  tedious  indifpofition,  he 
expired  at  Canterbury  April  21  ft,  A.  D.  1109., 
in  the  fixty-fixth  year  of  his  age26.  Anfelm  was 
one  of  the  moft  voluminous  writers  of  the  age 
in  which  he  flourifhed,  as  any  one  may  be  con- 
vinced, by  perufing  the  catalogue  of  his  works 
in  the  books  quoted  below  *7.  He  excelled 
chiefly  in  logic  and  metaphyfics,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  them  to  theological  fubjecls ;  which 
made  him  to  be  confidered  as  one  of  the  fathers 
of  fcholaftic  divinity. 

Eadmcrus.  Eadmerus,  the  faithful  friend  and  hiftorian  of 
Archbifhop  Anfelm,  was  an  Englifhman ;  but 
his  parents,  and  the  particular  time  and  place 
of  his  nativity,  are  not  known.  He  received 
a  learned  education,  and  very  early  difcovered  a 
tafte  for  hiftory,  by  recording  every  remarkable 
event  that  came  to  his  knowledge  *'.  Being  a 
monk  in  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury,  he  had 
the  happinefs  to  become  the  bofom-friend  and 
infeparable  companion  of  two  archbifhops  of 
that  fee,  St.  Anfelm,  and  his  fucceflbr  Ralph. 
To  the  former  of  thefe  he  was  appointed  fpiritual 

31  See  vol.  5.  chap.  a.  p.  193,  &c.  *  Eadmer.  p.  ioa. 

17  Hiftorie  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  416 — 465.  Tanner. 

p.44>45>  46. 

-  Eadmer.  Hift.  Novar.  p.io. 

director, 


Chap. 4.  Sed.z.          LEARNING,  &c. 

director,  by  the  Pope ;  and  that  prelate  would 
do  nothing  without  his  permiffion 19.  His  elec- 
tion to  the  fee  of  St.  Andrews,  in  Scotland, 
and  its  confequences,  have  been  already  men- 
tioned 30.  But  Eadmerus  is  mod  worthy  of  the 
grateful  remembrance  of  pofterity  for  his  hifto- 
rical  work,  particularly  for  his  excellent  hiftory 
of  the  affairs  of  England  in  his  own  time,  from 
A.  D.  1066.  to  A.  D.  1 1 22. ;  in  which  he  hath 
inferted  many  original  papers,  and  preferved 
many  important  fa6ls  that  are  no  where  elfe  to 
be  found  3I.  This  work  hath  been  highly  com- 
mended, both  by  ancient  and  modern  writers, 
for  its  authenticity,  as  well  as  for  regularity  of 
competition  and  purity  of  ftyle 32.  It  is  indeed 
more  free  from  legendary  tales,  than  any  other 
work  of  this  period  j  and  it  is  impoffible  to  perufe 
it  with  attention,  without  conceiving  a  favour- 
able opinion  of  the  learning,  good  fenfe,  fince* 
rity,  and  candour  of  its  author. 

Turgot,  a  contemporary  of  Eadmerus,  was  an  Turgot. 
Anglo-Saxon,  of  a  good  family  in  Lincolnfhire,     • 
and  received  a  learned  education.    When  he  was 
a  young  man,  he  was  delivered  by  the  people  of 
Lindfay,  as  one  of  their  hoilages,  to  William 
the  Conqueror,   and  confined  in  the  caftle  of 
Lincoln  33.     From  thence  he  made  his  efcape 


*9  W.  Malmf.  de  Geft.  Pontif.  Angl.  l.i.  p.  130. 

io  See  vol.  j.  chap.  a.  p.  331. 

31  Eadmer  Hift.  Novar.  a  Selden.  edit.  London,  A.  D.  16*3. 

31  W.  Malmf.  Leland,  Cave,  Nicolfon,  Selden,  &c. 

34  Simeon  Dunelm.  Hift.  apud  X  Script,  col.  306,  207. 

K  2  into 


132  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III. 

into  Norway,  and  refided  feveral  years  in  the 
court  of  King  Olave,  bv  whom  he  was  much 

O  '         •/ 

careffed  and  enriched.  Returning  to  his  native 
country,  he  was  fhipwrecked  on  the  coaft  of 
Northumberland,  by  which  he  loft  all  his  money 
and  effects,  efcaping  death  with  great  difficulty. 
He  travelled  to  Durham  ;  and  applying  to  Wal- 
ter, bifliop  of  that  fee,  declared  his  refolution 
to  forfake  the  world,  and  become  a  monk ;  in 
which  he  was  encouraged  by  that  pious  prelate, 
who  committed  him  to  the  care  of  Aldwine,  the 
firft  prior  of  Durham.  Being  admitted  into  that 
priory,  he  recommended  himfelf  fo  much  to  the 
•whole  fociety,  by  his  learning,  piety,  prudence, 
and  other  virtues,  that,  on  the  death  of  Aldwine, 
A.  D.  1087.,  he  was  unanimoufly  chofen  prior, 
and  not  long  after  was  appointed  by  the  bifliop 
archdeacon  of  his  diocefs  34.  In  the  faithful  dii- 
charge  of  the  duties  of  theffe  two  offices,  he  fpent 
the  fucceeding  twenty  years  of  his  life,  fometimes 
reliding  in  the  priory,  and  at  other  times  vin'ting 
the  diocefs,  and  preaching  in  different  places. 
Some  of  his  leifure  hours  he  employed  in  collect- 
ing and  writing  the.hiftory  of  the  church  of  Dur- 
ham or  Northumberland,  from  A.  D.  635.  to 
A.  D.  1096.,  in  four  books35.  But  not  having 
publiflied  this  work,  or  made  many  tranfcripts 
of  it,  according  to  the  cuftom  of  thofe  times,  it 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Simeon,  precentor  of  the 


i+  Simeon  Dunelm.  Hift.  apud  X  Script,  col.  53,  54.. 
»  Id.  col.  j— 5. 


church 


Chap. 4.  Sed.  2.        LEARNING,  Ac.  133 

churchof  Durham, whopublifhed  it  miderhisown 
name,  expunging  only  a  few  paflages  that  would 
have  discovered  its  real  author.  This  curious 
fact  is  demonflrated  by  the  learned  Mr.  Selden, 
in  his  preface  to  the  ten  ancient  hiftorians,  pub- 
liflied  by  Sir  Roger  Twyfden  ;  and  fhows  that 
literary  fame  was  even  then  an  object  of  ambi- 
tion 36.  The  promotion  of  Turgot  to  the  fee  of 
St.  Andrew's,  in  Scotland,  A.  D.  1 107.,  and  his 
death  at  Durham,  A.  D.  1115.,  have  been 
already  recorded37.  Turgot  compofed  feveral 
other  works,  particularly  the  lives  of  Malcolm 
Canmore,  King  of  Scotland,  and  of  his  pious 
confort  Queen  Margaret,  from  which  John 
Fordun  hath  quoted  feveral  facts. 38 

Robert  White  (in  Latin,  Robertus  Pullus)  was  Robert 
born  in  England  toward  the  end  of  the  eleventh 
century  ;  and  having  received  a  learned  educa- 
tion in  his  own  country,  he  went,  as  was  ufual 
in  thofe  times,  to  the  univerfity  of  Paris  for  his 
further  improvement30.  Here  he  continued 
feveral  years,  and  acquired  a  mining  reputation 
by  his  learned  lectures  in  philofophy  and  theo- 
logy, which  were  attended  by  crowded  audiences. 
He  was  invited  by  Afceline,  Bilhop  of  Rochefter, 
A.  D.  1136.,  to  return  into  his  own  country, 
where  his  labours  were  much  wanted  for  the  re- 
vival of  learning;  and  no  lefs  earneilly  preffed  by 

36  Prefat.X  Script,  poft  Bedam,  p.4. 

37  See  vol. 5.  chap. a.  p«33O. 

38  Fordun,  Schotichron.  1.5.  0.14,  15, 16.  18,  19,  20,  21. 

39  Simeon  Dunelm.  Continual,  apud  X  Script.  001,275. 

K  3  the 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

the  famous  St.  Bernard  to  continue  at  Paris, 
where  he  did  fo  much  good40.  But  he  complied 
with  the  invitation  of  the  Bifhop,  who  had 
appointed  him  as  archdeacon ;  and  read  lectures 
on  the  fcriptures  at  Oxford  five  years,  which 
attracted  prodigious  numbers  of  fludents  to  that 
univerfity 4I.  Being  of  a  fludious  unambitious 
difpofition,  he  declined  a  bifhopric  that  was 
offered  him  by  Henry  1. 42  At  length  he  became 
fo  famous,  that  he  was  called  to  Rome,  A.  D. 
1143.,  by  Celeftinc  IL,  appointed  a  cardinal  by 
Lucius  II.,  and  made  chancellor  of  the  holy  fee 
by  Eugenius  III. ;  and  was  efteemed  the  mod 
learned  of  all  the  college  of  cardinals 43.  He  is 
believed  to  have  died  about  A.  0.1150.  He 
compofed  many  theological  works  ;  but  none  of 
them  have  been  printed,  except  his  book  offen- 
tences,  which  is  a  body  of  fcholaflic  divinity, 
written  in  a  better  ftyle,  and  with  greater  per- 
ipicuity,  than  was  common  in  thofe  times. 44 
Nicolas  Nicolas  Breakfpear,  the  only  Englifhman  who 
ever  fat  in  St.  Peter's  chair,  was  born  near  St. 
Albans,  and  in  his  youth  performed  the  meanefl 
menial  offices  about  the  abbey  of  that  place,  in 
which  his  father  was  a  monk 4i.  Being  rejected, 
for  want  of  learning,  by  the  abbot,  when  he 


40  Bulsei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parif.  torn.  a.  p.  153. 
+*  A.  Wood.  Hift.  Univerf.  Oxon.  p.  49. 
*'  Simeon  Dunelm.  col.  a  75. 

43  Bulsei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parifien.  torn.  a.  p.344« 

44  Du  Pin.  Hift.  cent.  13.  chap.  15. 

«  M.Paris,  Hift.  Abbat.  St.  Albani,  p.  4  a.  col.  a. 

defired 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  2.          LEARNING,  &c. 

defired  to  become  a  monk,  and  reproached  by 
his  father  for  his  indolence,  he  left  England,  and 
went  to  Paris,  where  he  applied  to  ftudy  with  the 
greateft  ardour46.  From  Paris  he  travelled  into 
Provence,  and  was  admitted  a  monk  in  the  abbey 
of  St.  Rufus,  where  he  ftill  continued  to  pro- 
fecute  his  ftudies,  and  recommended  himfelf  fo 
effectually,  that  on  the  firfl  vacancy,  he  was 
chofen  abbot.  The  monks,  however,  foon  be- 
came weary  of  the  government  of  a  foreigner, 
and  made  bitter  complaints  againft  their  new 
abbot  to  Pope  Eugenius  III.  This  proved  a 
very  fortunate  event  to  our  countryman.  For 
the  Pope  was  fo  much  pleafed  with  the  learning 
and  eloquence  he  difplayed  in  his  own  defence, 
that  he  thought  him  worthy  of  a  higher  llation 
in  the  church,  made  him  bifhop  of  Alba,  A.  D. 
1 146.,  and  a  cardinal 47.  Not  long  after  he  was 
fent  as  papal  legate  into  Denmark  and  Norway  ; 
and  acquitted  himfelf  fo  well  in  that  ftation,  that 
a  vacancy  happening  in  the  papal  throne  about 
the  time  of  his  return  to  Rome,  he  was  unani- 
moufly  chofen  pope  in  November  1154.,  and 
took  the  name  of  Adrian  IV.  4S  Henry  II. 
pleafed  with  the  elevation  of  one  who  had  been 
his  fubje6l,  fent  three  bifliops  and  the  abbot  of 
St.  Albans,  to  congratulate  the  new  pope  on  his 
election  49.  The  ambafladors  met  with  a  moft 


46  M.Paris,  Hift.  Abbat.   St.Albani,  p.  42.  col.  a.     W.  Neubri- 
genf.  1.2..  c.  6.  47  Id.  ibid. 

«»  Platina  in  Vit.  Adrian.  I V.    W.  Neubrigenf.  1. 2.  c.  6. 
*>  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  St.Albani,  p.4$. 

K  4  gracious 


136  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

gracious  reception,  and  obtained  from  His  Holi- 
nefs  every  favour  the  King  of  England  defired, 
particularly  a  grant  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
in  which  grant  the  high  pretenfion  to  the  pro- 
perty of  all  the  iilands  in  the  fea  was  advanced50: 
a  proof,  that  though  Adrian's  origin  was  low, 
his  ipirit  and  his  claims  were  as  high  as  any  of 
his  predeceffors.  But  this  pontiff  foon  found  the 
vanity  of  ambition  even  when  it  is  molt  fuc- 
cefsful ;  for  his  pontificate,  which  lailed  only 
four  years  and  ten  months,  was  one  continued 
fcene  of  difquiet  and  trouble ;  and,  if  we  may 
believe  fome  writers,  his  death  was  violent, 
A.D.  1159. 5t  Though  Adrian  was  a  man  of 
genius  and  learning,  none  of  his  works  have  been 
publifhed,  except  his  letters. 

Hiftorians.  England  produced  a  greatnumber  of  hiflorians 
in  the  twelfth  century,  and  it  may  not  be  im- 
proper to  give  a  very  brief  account  of  the  mod 
conliderable  of  them,  without  interruption, 
though  it  fhould  make  us  depart  a  little  from  the 
exa6t  order  of  time. 

William  of  William  of  Malmlbury,  who  is  well  entitled 
Maimf-  to  ftand  at  the  head  of  our  hiftorians  of  the 
twelfth  century,  was  born  in  Somerfetlhire,  and, 
on  that  account,  is  fometimes  called  William 
Somerfet.  When  he  was  but  a  child  (as  he  him- 
felf  acquaints  us),  he  discovered  a  fondnefs  for 
learning,  which  was  encouraged  by  his  parents, 

50  Rymeri  Feed.  t.  i.  p.ij. 

*'  Baron.  Annal.  torn.  ia.  an.  1154.     M.  Paris,  Vita  Abbat  p.48. 

if  and 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  2.        LEARNING,  &c. 

and  increafed  with  his  years 5*.  "  I  applied 
"  (fays  he)  to  the  ftudy  of  feveral  fciences,  but 
"  not  with  equal  diligence.  I  went  through  a 
"  courfe  of  logic,  but  profecuted  it  no  further ; 
"  with  phyfic,  or  the  art  of  curing  difeafes  and 
"  preferving  health,  I  was  at  more  pains ;  for 
"  ethics,  which  lead  to  a  good  and  happy  life, 
"  I  had  ftill  a  higher  veneration ;  but  hiftory, 
*c  which  is  equally  pleafant  and  profitable,  was 
"  my  favourite  ftudy.  Having,  at  my  own  ex- 
"  pence,  procured  the  copies  of  fome  foreign 
"  hiftories,  I  then,  at  my  leifure,  began  to 
"  enquire  into  the  memorable  tranfaclions  of  my 
"  own  country ;  and  not  finding  any  fatisfa6tory 
"  hiftory  of  them  already  written,  I  refolved  to 
"  write  one,  not  to  difplay  my  learning,  which 
*'  is  no  great  matter,  but  to  bring  things  to 
"  light  that  are  covered  with  the  rubbifh  of  an- 
"  tiquity"."  This  defign  he  executed  with  great 
ability  and  diligence,  by  writing  a  general  hiftory 
of  England  in  five  books,  from  the  arrival  of  the 
Saxons,  A.D.  449.,  to  the  26th  of  Henry  I., 
A.D.  ii 26. ;  and  a  modern  hiftory  in  two  books, 
from  that  year  to  the  efcape  of  the  Emprefs  Maud 
out  of  Oxford,  A.D.  1143.;  w*tn  a  church- 
hiftory  of  England  in  four  books S4.  In  all  thefe 
hiftorical  works  (which  are  written  in  a  Latin 
ftyle  more  pure  than  that  of  any  of  his  contem- 
poraries), he  difcovers  great  diligence,  much 


^  W.  Malmf.  Prolog.  1.  II.  p.  19.  "  Id.  ibid. 

st  ,R.erum  Anglicar.  Script,  a  Hen.  Savile  edit.  London,  1596. 

good 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III. 

good  fenfe,  and  afacred  regard  to  truth,  accom- 
panied with  uncommon  modefty.  "  I  do  not 
"  (fays  he)  fet  a  very  high  value  on  the  applaufe 
"  of  my  contemporaries,  which  I  hardly  expect  ; 
"  but  I  hope,  that  when  both  favour  and  male- 
"  volence  are  dead,  I  mall  obtain  from  poflerity 
"  the  character  of  an  induftrious,  though  not  of 
"  an  eloquent  hiftorian  ss."  This  excellent  per- 
fon,  to  whom  all  the  lovers  of  Englifh  hiftory 
are  fo  much  indebted,  fpent  his  life  in  the 
humble  ftation  of  a  monk  and  library-keeper  in 
the  abbey  of  Malmfbury,  where  he  died,  A.D. 


Simeon  of  Simeon  of  Durham,  the  contemporary  of  Wil- 
&"r  liam  of  Malmfbury,  merits  a  place  among  the 
hiftorians  and  antiquaries  of  this  period,  for  the 
great  pains  he  took  in  collecting  the  monuments 
of  our  hiftory,  efpecially  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land, after  they  had  been  fcattered  by  the  Danes 
in  their  devaftations  of  that  country  57.  From 
thefe  he  compofed  a  hiftory  of  the  kings  of  Eng- 
land, from  A.D.  616.  to  A.D.  1130.,  with  fome 
fmaller  hiftorical  pieces  s\  Simeon  both  ftudied 
and  taught  the  fciences,  and  particularly  the 
mathematics,  at  Oxford,  and  became  precentor 
of  the  church  of  Durham,  where  he  died,  pro- 
bably (bon  after  the  conclufion  of  his  hiftory, 
which  was  continued  by  John,  prior  of  Hexham, 
to  A.  D.  1  1  56.  S9  Richard,  who  fucceeded  John 

*  Prolog,  ad  lib.  i.  5fi  Cave  Hift.  Literaire,  p.66l. 
57  Leland  de  Script.  Brit.  torn.  i.  p.  188. 

*  ApudX  Script,  p.67  —  456.  *'  Id.  p.»57—  »8». 

10  in 


Chap.  4-  Sea.  2.        LEARNING,  &c.  139 

in  the  government  of  the  priory  of  Hexham, 
wrote  the  hiftory  of  the  bifliops  of  that  church, 
and  of  four  years  of  the  reign  of  King  Stephen, 
from  A.D.  1135.  to  A.D.  1139. 6o 

Ailred,  abbot  of  Revelby  in  Lincolnfhire,  was  Ailredu* 
born  of  noble  parents,  and  educated  in  the 
court  of  David  King  of  Scots,  with  his  fon 
prince  Henry,  who  was  one  of  the  mod  ftudious, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  bravefl  princes  of  his  age. 
After  the  death  of  Henry,  Ailred  retired  into 
the  abbey  of  Revefby ;  and  became  fo  famous 
for  his  piety  and  learning,  that  he  might  have 
attained  to  the  higheft  dignities  of  the  church, 
if  he  had  not  modeftly  declined  them,  and  con- 
tented himfelf  with  the  government  of  his  own 
abbey,  where  he  died  A.  D.  1 1 66.  He  left  be- 
hind him  many  monuments  of  his  piety  and 
learning,  betides  his  hiftorical  works,  for  which 
he  is  introduced  in  this  place 6z.  Several  of  his 
theological  treatifes  are  printed  among  the  works 
of  his  friend  St.  Bernard,  and  his  hiftorical  pieces 
in  the  collection  of  the  ten  ancient  hiftorians 
publifhed  by  Sir  Roger  Twyfden,  London,  A.D. 
1652. 

Henry  of  Huntingdon  was  the  fon  of  one  Henry  of 

Nicolas,  a  married  priefl,  and  was  born  about  Huntms- 

ton. 
the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  or  end  of 

the  eleventh.     For  he  acquaints  us,  that  he  was 
made  an  archdeacon  by  Robert  Bloet  Bifhop  of 

e°  Apud  X  Script,  p.  286—330. 
61  Biographia  Britan.  vol.  I.  p.  73. 
*  X  Script,  p.  338— 443. 

Lincoln, 


140  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Lincoln,  who  died  A.  0.1123. C3  He  was" 
educated  by  Albinus  of  Anjou,  a  learned  canon 
of  the  church  of  Lincoln,  and  in  his  youth  dif- 
covered  a  great  tafte  for  poetry,  by  writing  eight 
books  of  epigrams,  as  many  of  love- verfes,  with 
three  long  dida6lic  poems,  one  of  herbs,  another 
of  fpices,  and  a  third  of  precious  ftones fr4.  In 
his  more  advanced  years  he  applied  to  the  ftudy 
of  hiftory ;  and  at  the  requefl  of  Alexander 
Bifhop  of  Lincoln,  who  was  his  great  friend  and 
•  patron,  he  compofed  a  general  hiftory  of  Eng- 
land, from  the  earlieft  accounts  to  the  death  of 
King  Stephen,  A.D.  1154.,  in  eight  books65. 
In  the  dedication  of  this  work  to  Bifhop  Alexan- 
der, he  tells  us,  that  in  the  ancient  part  of  his 
hiftory  he  had  followed  venerable  Bede,  adding 
a  few  things  from  fome  other  writers;  that  he  had 
compiled  the  fequel  from  feveral  chronicles  he 
had  found  in  different  libraries,  and  from  what 
he  had  heard  and  feen66.  Towards  the  conclu- 
fion  of  this  work,  he  very  honeftly  acknowledges, 
that  it  was  only  an  abridgment ;  and  that  to 
compofe  a  complete  hiftory  of  England,  many 
more  books  were  necefiary  than  he  could  pro- 
cure 67.  Mr.  Wharton  hath  publilhed  a  long 
letter  of  this  author  to  his  friend  Walter,  abbot 
of  Ramfey,  on  the  contempt  of  the  world,  which 

63  Anglia  Sacra,  torn.  a.  p.  695. 

64  Leland  de  Script.  Britan.  torn.  i.  p.  197. 

's  Vide  Rerum  Anglicarum  Scriptores  poft  Bedam  a  Hen.  Savile 
edit.  London,  A.D.  1596.  p.  169 — 228. 

66  Id.  p.  169.  ei  Id.  p.  328. 

contains 


Chap.  4- Sea.  2.          LEARNING,  &c. 

Contains  many  curious  anecdotes  of.  the  kings, 
nobles,  prelates,  and  other  great  men,  who  were 
his  contemporaries. £S 

Roger  de  Hoveden  was  born  in  Yorkfliire,  Roger  . 
mod  probably  at  the  town  of  that  name,  now  Hovedeiu 
called  Howden,  fometimein  the  reign  of  Henry  I. 
After  he  had  received  the  firft  parts  of  educa- 
tion in  his  native  county,  he  lludied  the  civil 
and  canon  law,  which  were  then  become  the 
moft  faihionable  and  lucrative  branches  of  learn- 
ing50. He  became  domeflic  chaplain  to  Henry  II., 
who  employed  him  to  tranfact  feveral  eccleliaf- 
tical  affairs :  in  which  lie  acquitted  himfelf  with 
honour.  But  his  moft  meritorious  work  was* 
his  annals  0f  England,  from  A.  D.  731.,  when 
Bede's  eccleiiaftical  hiftory  ends,  to  A.  D. 
1202. '°  This  work,  wjhich  is  one  of  the  mod 
voluminous  of  our  ancient  hiftories,  is  more 
valuable  for  thelincerity  with  which  it  is  written 
and  the  great  variety  of  facls  which  it  contains, 
than  for  the  beauty  of  its  ftyle,  or  the  regularity 
of  its  arrangement. 

William  Little,  who  is  better  known  by  his  William 
Latin  name  Gulielmm  Neubrigenfis,  was  born  at  Lltdc* 
Bridlington   in   Yorkfliire,    A.  D.    1136.,    and 
educated  in  the  abbey  of  Newborough  in  the 
fame  county,  where  he  became  a  monk71.     In 


^  .Anglia  Sacra,  torn.  *.  p.  694 — 702. 
*9  Leland  de  Script.  Brit.  1. 1.  p.  249. 
w  Vid  Rerura  Anglicar.  a  Savileo  edit.  p.»3o— 471. 
71  Hiftoria  G.  Nubrigen.  a  T.   Hearne  edit.  Oxon.  1^19.  1. 1. 
c.  15.  p. 5 3.     Ibid,  in  fine  Frooemii. 

his 


I42  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

his  advanced  years  he  compofed  a  hiftory  of 
England  in  five  books,  from  the  Norman  con- 
queil,  to  A.  D.  1197.,  which,  for  veracity,  re- 
gularity of  difpofition,  and  purity  of  language, 
is  one  of  the  moil  valuable  productions  of  this 
period.  In  his  preface  to  this  work,  he  made 
fome  very  fevere  ilric"lures  on  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth's  Britiih  hiftory,  which  have  drawn  upon 
him  the  difpleafure  of  feveral  ancient  Britons, 
though  it  cannot  be  denied  that  his  ftriclures 
were  in  general  well-founded,  and  difcover  a 
degree  of  critical  difcernment  that  was  not  very 
common  in  thofe  times. 

Gervafe  ^  Gervafe  of  Canterbury,  a  monk  of  the  mona- 
ftery  of  ChrihVs  church  in  that  city,  was  one  of 
the  moil  voluminous  hiftorians  of  this  period. 
His  chronicle  of  the  kings  of  England,  from 
A.D.  1 122.  to  A.D.  1200.,  and  his  hiftory  of  the 
archbimops  of  Canterbury,  from  St.  Auguftine 
to  Archbiihop  Hubert,  who  died  A.  D.  1205., 
are  his  two  moil  coniiderable  performances  of 
this  kind,  and  are  publiihed,  together  with  his 
fmaller  pieces,  in  the  collection  quoted  below72. 
A  ftricl;  attention  to  chronology  in  the  difpofi- 
tion of  his  materials,  is  one  of  the  chief  excel- 
lencies of  this  hiilorian. 

Ralph  de        Ralph   de  Diceto,  Archdeacon  of  London, 

Diceto.      was  the  contemporary  of  Gervafe,  and  compofed 

alfo  two  hiftorical  works,  intitled,  Abbrevationes 


71  Hift.  Anglican.  Script.  X  a  R.  Twifden  edit.  London,  165*., 
col.  1290 — 1683. 

chroni- 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  2.  LEARNING,  &c.  143 

chronicorum,  and  Imagines  hi/ioriarum*  which  are 
publiflied  in  the  fame  collection.  " 

Benedict,  abbot  of  Peterborough,  was  edu-  BenedlA 

CJ        *  »  •  i 

cated  at  Oxford,  became  a  monk  in  the  monaftery 
of  Chrift's-church  in  Canterbury,  and  fome 
time  after  was  chofen  prior  by  the  members  of 
that  fociety.  Though  he  had  been  a  great  ad- 
mirer of  Archbifhop  Becket,  and  wrote  a  life  of 
that  prelate,  he  was  fo  much  efteemed  by 
Henry  II.,  that  by  the  influence  of  that  prince 
he  was  elected  abbot  of  Peterborough,  A.  D. 
ii77.74  He  affiftedat  the  coronation  of  Rich- 
ard I.  A.  D.I  1  89.,  and  was  advanced  to  be. 
keeper  of  the  great  feal  A.  D.  1191.  "  But  he 
did  not  long  enjoy  this  high  dignity,  as  he  died 
on  Michaelmas-day  A.  D.  1193.  76  Befides  his 
life  of  Archbifliop  Becket,  he  compofed  a  hiftory 
of  Henry  II.  and  Richard  I.  from  A.  D.  1170. 
to  A.  D.  1192.;  which  hath  been  much  and 
juftly  efteemed  by  many  of  our  greateft  anti- 
quaries, as  containing  one  of  the  beft  accounts 
of  the  tranfactions  of  thofe  times.  A  beautiful 
edition  of  this  work  was  publiflied  at  Oxford, 
in  two  volumes,  by  Mr.  Hearne,  A.  0.1735. 
My  gratitude  for  the  information  I  have  received 
from  the  perufal  of  the  Englifh  hiftorians  of  the 
twelfth  century,  who,  in  merit,  as  well  as  in 


73  Hift.  Anglican.  Script.  X  a  R.  Tvrifden.  edit.  Condon, 
col.  429—  710. 

74  Benedidlus  Abbas  a  T.  Hearne  edit.  Oxon.  1735.,  tom.i-  p.  aio. 
"  Id.  ibid.  p.  55  6.  714. 

76  Robert!  Swaphami  Hift.  Ccenob.  Burgen.  a  Jofepho  Sparki  edit. 
London,  1743.  p.zoj. 

number, 


I44  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

number,  are  fuperior  to  thofe  of  any  other  nation 
t)f  Europe,  in  that  period,  is  in  danger  of  making 
me  forget  the  proportion  that  muft  be  obfervecl 
in  the  feveral  parts  of  this  work,  or  negle6t  thofe 
who  were  the  chief  ornaments  of  their  country 
in  other  branches  of  learning. 

SaUfhu°f  John  of  Salisbury  was  born  at  Old  Sarum, 
*.  from  which  he  derived  his  name,  about  A.  D. 
i ii 6.  For,  according  to  his  own  account,  after 
he  had  gone  through  a  courfe  of  education  in 
England,  he  went  to  the  univerfity  of  Paris,  for 
his  further  improvement,  A.  D.  1 136.,  at  which 
time,  it  is  probable,  he  was  at  leaft  twenty  years 
of  age 77.  In  this  famous  feat  of  learning  he  fpent 
no  fewer  than  twelve  years,  attending  the  lec- 
tures of  the  moil  celebrated  profeflbrs  of  the 
feveral  fciences,  particularly  grammar,  rhetoric, 
the  Ariftotelian  philofophy,  and  theology 7S.  At 
bis  return  into  England  he  ftudied  the  civil 
law  under  Vacarius,  who  taught  with  great 
applauie  at  Oxford,  A.  D.  1149.™  By  this 
long  and  ardent  application  to  ftudy,  under  the 
bed  mailers,  he  acquired  a  prodigious  fund  of 
knowledge,  and  became  one  of' the  moil  learned 
men  of  the  age  in  which  he  fiourilhed.  Em- 
bracing the  monaltic  life  at  Canterbury,  he  was 
the  bofom-friend  and  chief  confident  of  two  fuc- 
cefiive  archbifliops  of  that  fee,  Theobald  and 


«  J.  Sarifburien.  Metalog.  l.a-  c.  10.  p. 802.  7'  Id.  Ibid. 

79  J.  Sarifburien.  Policraticon,  1.8.  c.  aa.  p.6;a.     Seldeni  Diflertat. 
mFlet.c.7.  fed.  3. 

Thoma* 


Chap.  4.  Setf.  2.        LEARNING,  &c.  , 

Thomas  Becket 8o.  To  the  laft  of  thefe,  while 
he  was  chancellor  of  England,  our  author  dedi- 
cated his  famous  work,  De  nugis  curialium,  et 
vejligiis  philofophorum  (of  the  fopperies  of  cour- 
tiers, and  the  footfteps  of  philofophers),  in  an 
elegant  Latin  poem,  containing  fome  of  the 
politeft  compliments  to  his  patron.  This  work 
is  indeed  the  mod  curious  and  valuable  monu- 
ment of  the  Englifli  literature  of  the  twelfth 
century ;  and  it  is  impoffible  to  perufe  it  without 
admiring  the  virtue  and  good  fenfe,  as  well  as 
the  genius  and  erudition  of  its  author81.  His 
connection  with  Archbifhop  Becket  involved 
him  in  many  troubles  ;  and  he  was  the  very  firfl 
perfon banifhed out  of  Englandby  Henry  II.  A.D. 
j  164.,  for  his  attachment  to  that  prelate82.  He 
continued  almofl  feven  years  in  exile,  though  he 
had  the  mod  inviting  offers  made  him,  not  only 
of  leave  to  return  home,  but  alfo  of  the  royal 
favour  and  preferment,  if  he  would  abandon  the 
party  of  the  Archbimop.  But  to  this  he  never 
would  confent,  declaring  his  refolution  to  die  in 
exile,  rather  than  forfake  his  friend  and  patrqn  in 
his  adverlity  ;  though  he  was  far  from  approving 
of  his  conduct  in  every  particular 83.  His  friend- 
fliip  for  Becket  was  as  active  as  it  was  fteady, 
and  prompted  him  to  undertake  no  fewer  than 

60  Bubei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parifien.  torn.  a.  p.  751. 

81  Vid.  J.  Sarifburien.  Prolicraticon,  five  de  Nugis  Curialiura  et 
Veftigiis  Philofophorum,  lib.  o<Sh  ImprelT.  Lugduni  Batavorum, 
1639.  b2  Epift.  S.  Thorn*  Cant.  Ep. ».  Lx.  p. 8, 

**  Id.  ibid.  p.  137.  330. 

VOL.  vi.  L  ten 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

ten  journies  into  Italy,  befides  many  others 
into  different  parts  of  France,  in  negotiating  his 
affairs Si.  At  length  he  obtained  permiffion  to 
return  into  England  a  little  before  the  Arch- 
bifhop,  A.  D.  1171.,  and  was  a  mournful  fpec- 
tator  of  the  murder,  of  his  beloved  friend  and 
patron  8s.  In  the  time  of  his  exile  our  author 
had  gained  the  favour  of  many  perfons  of  the 
highefl  rank,  particularly  of  Pope  Alexander  III., 
of  the  King  of  France,  and  of  the  Archbifhop  of 
Sens,  by  whofe  interefl  he  was  elected  bifhop  of 
Chartres  in  that  province,  A.  D.  1172. 86  Hav- 
ing enjoyed  this  dignity  almofl  ten  years,  he 
died  A.  D.  1182.  John  of  Salifbury  compofed 
many  other  works,  befides  that  already  men- 
tioned,  particularly  a  very  learned  defence  of 
grammar,  rhetoric,  and  logic,  againft  one 
whom  he  calls  Cornificius,  which  contains  a 
mod  curious  account  of  the  flate  of  thefe 
fciences  in  this  period 8?.  A  collection  of  his 
letters,  confifting  of  above  three  hundred,  with 
a  life  of  Thomas  Becket,  were  publifhed  at 
Paris,  A.  D.  1611. 

Peter  of         Peter  of  Blois   (Petrus  Blefenfis)  was  born 

Kois*        about  A.  D.  ii  20.,  at  the  city  of  Blois  in  France, 

from  whence  he  derived  his  name.    His  parents, 

being  opulent,  gave  him  a  learned  education S8. 


**  J.  Sarifburienf.  Metalog.  1.3.  init.  p.  83  8. 
•s  Epift.  S.  Thornse,  1.5.  Ep.64. 
*  Bulaei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parif.  torn.  2.  p.  3  94. 
87  Vid.  J.   Sarilburienf.   Metalog.  lib.  Quart»  Irnprefll  LugdunI 
Batav.  1639.  *"  Epift*  P«  Blefen.  Ep.  90.  93. 

In 


Chap.  4.  8ed.  2.        LEARNING,  &c. 

In  his  youth,  when  he  fludied  in  the  univerfity  of 
Paris,  he  was  exceffively  fond  of  poetry ;  and 
when  he  was  a  little  further  advanced  in  life,  he 
became  no  lefs  fond  of  rhetoric,  to  the  fludy  of 
which  he  applied  with  the  greateft  ardour 8p. 
From  Paris  he  removed  to  Bononia  in  Italy,  to 
acquire  the  civil  and  canon  law,  in  the  know- 
ledge of  both  which  he  very  much  excelled  9°. 
He  appears  from  his  writings  to  have  cultivated 
medicine,  and  feveral  branches  of  the  mathe- 
matics, with  no  little  care  and  fuccefs 9I.     The 
fludy  of  theology  was  the  chief  delight  and  bufi- 
nefs  of  his  life,  in  which  he  fpent  the  greateft 
part  of  his  time,  and  made  the  greateft  progrefs. 
But  unfortunately  it  was  that  fcholaftic  theology, 
which  confifted  in  vain  attempts  to  prove  and 
explain  the  many  abfurd  opinions  which  then 
prevailed  in  the  church,  by  the  fubtilties  of 
Ariftotelian  logic 92.     In  attempting  to  explain 
in  this  manner  the  moft  abfurd  of  all  opinions 
that  ever  exifted  amongft  mankind,  he  was  the 
very  firft  perfon  who  employed  the  famous  word 
tran/ub/lantiation,  which  was  foon  after  adopted 
by  the  church  of  Rome,  and  hath  ever  fince 
made  fo  great  a  noife 93.     Being  appointed  pre- 
ceptor to  William  II.,  King  of  Sicily,  A.  D. 
1 167.,  he  obtained  the  cuftody  of  the  privy  fealj 
and  next  to  the  Archbilhop  of  Palermo,  the 
prime  minifter,  had  the  greateft  influence  in  all 


89  Epift.  P.  Blefenf.  Ep.  76.  36.  *>  Ep.  6.  8. 

»'  Ep.  43-  92  Ep.  140.  »}  Id.  ibid. 

L  2  affairs. 


148  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

affairs 94.     But  his  power  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion ;  for  the  Archbifhop  being  baniftied,  A.  D. 
1 1 68.,  our  author  foon  after  left  the  court  of 
Sicily,  and  returned  into  France.     He  was  not 
long,  however,  without  a  royal  patron,  being 
invited  into  England  by  Henry  II.,  who  employed 
him  as  his  private  fecretary,  made  him  Arch- 
deacon of  Bath,  and  gave  him  fome  other  .bene- 
fices os.  When  he  had  fpent  a  few  years  at  court, 
he  conceived  a  difguft  at  that  way  of  life  (of 
which  he  hath  drawn  a  very  unpleaiing  picture  in 
one  of  his  letters),  and  retired  into  the  family  of 
Richard  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury,  who  made 
him  his  chancellor  about  A.  D.  1 176. 96     In  this 
ftation  he  continued  to  the  death  of  the  Arch- 
bifliop,    A.  D.    1183.,    enjoying    the    highefl 
degree  of  favour  with  that  prelate,  though  he 
ufed  much  freedom  in  reproving  him  for  his 
remifinefs  in  the  government  of  the  church 97. 
Our  author  remained  in  the  fame  ftation  in  the 
family  of  Archbifhop  Baldwin,  who  fucceeded 
Richard,  acting  both  as  his  fecretary  and  chan- 
cellor.    He  was  alfo  fent  by  that  prelate  on  an 
embafiy  to  Rome,   A.  D.  1187.,  to  plead  his 
caufe  before  Pope  Urban  III.,  in  the  famous  con. 
troverfy  between  him  and  the  monks  of  Canter, 
biiry,  about  the  church  of  Hackington 9S.   After 
the  departure  of  his  friend  and  patron  Baldwin 
for  the  Holy  Land,  A.  D.  1 190.,  our  author  was 

*  Epilt  P.  Bkfenf.  Ep.  131.  #  Ep.  '149. 

'<  Ep.  14.  38-  130.  *7  Ep.  j. 

**  Gervas  Cbron.  col.  1498)  1499. 

involved 


Chap. 4-  Sea.2.        LEARNING,  &c. 

involved  in  various  troubles  in  his  old  age,  the 
caufes  of  which  are  not  di(lin6lly  known,  and 
died  about  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century.     He 
appears  from  his  works,  which  may  be  juftly 
reckoned  among  the  mod  valuable  monuments 
of  the  age  in  which  he  flourifhed,  to  have  been  a 
man  of  great  integrity  and  lincere  piety,  as  well 
as  of  a  lively  inventive  genius,  and  uncommon 
erudition.     His  printed  works  confifl  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  letters,  which  he  collected 
together  at  the  defire  of  Henry  II. ;  of  fixty-five 
fermons,  delivered  on  various  occafions ;  and  of 
feventeen  tra6ls  on  different  fubjects  ".     Of  the 
quicknefs   of  our   author's   invention,    a  very 
remarkable  example   hath   been  already  men- 
tioned ;  and  whoever  will  give  themfelves  the 
trouble  to  perufe  his  works,  will  meet  with  many 
proofs  of  his  erudition.  I0° 

Girald  Barry,  commonly  called  Giraldus  Cam-  Girald 
In-enfis,  i.  e.  Girald  of  Wales,  was  born  at  the  Ban7- 
caflle   of  Mainarper,    near   Pembroke,    A.  D. 
1 146. 10t     By  his  mother  he  was  defcended  from 
the   princes  of  South  Wales;    and   his  father, 
William  Barry,  was  one  of  the  chief  men  of  that 
principality.     Being  a  younger  brother,  and  in- 
tended for  the  church,  he  was  fent  to  St.  David's, 
and  educated  in  the  family  of  his  uncle,  who 
was  biftiop  of  that  fee.     He  acknowledges,  in  his 

99  Vid.  Opera  P.  Blefenf.  Parifiis  edit.  A.D.I66;. 

100  See  fe(5h  i.  of  this  chap.  p.  91. 

101  Praefat  ad  Ang.  Sacr.  torn.  2.  p.ao.     Id.  p.  466. 

L  3  hiftory 


150  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

hiftory  of  his  own  life  and  actions,  that  in  his 
early  youth  he  was  too  playful ;  but  being  fe- 
verely  reproached  for  it  by  his  preceptors,  he 
became  a  very  hard  (Indent,  and  greatly  excelled 
all  his  fchool-fellows  in  learning :oz.  When  he 
was  about  twenty  years  of  age,  he  was  fent, 
A.  D.  1 166.5  for  his  further  improvement,  to  the 
univerfity  of  Paris ;  where  he  continued  three 
years,  and  became,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, a  moll  excellent  rhetorician  ;  which  ren- 
dered him  very  famous I03.  On  his  return  into 
Britain,  he  entered  into  holy  orders,  and  ob- 
tained feveral  benefices  both  in  England  and 
Wales.  Obferving,  with  much  concern,  that 
his  countrymen,  the  Wellh,  were  very  back- 
ward in  paying  the  tithes  of  wool  and  cheefe, 
which  he  was  afraid  would  involve  them  in 
eternaldamnation,  he  applied  to  Richard  Arch- 
bifhop  of  Canterbury, 'and  was  appointed  his 
legate  in  Wales  for  rectifying  that  diforder,  and 
for  other  purpofes.  He  executed  this  com- 
miffion  with  great  fpirit,  excommunicating  all 
without  diflinction  who  refufed  to  fave  their 
fouls,  by  furrendering  the  cithes  of  their  cheefe 
and  wool l04.  Not  fatisfied  with  enriching,  he 
alfo  attempted  to  reform  the  clergy,  and  dilated 
the  Archdeacon  of  Brechin  to  the  Archbifhop,for 
the  unpardonable  crime  of  matrimony ;  and  the 
poor  old  man  refuting  to  put  away  his  wife,  was 

'"  Girald.  Cambren.  de  Rebus  a  fe  geftis,  1. 1.  c.  a.  apud  Angl. 
Sacr.  torn.  a.  p  467.  103  Id,  ibid. 

104  Id. ibid.  0.3.  p. 468. 

deprived 


Chap. 4.  Se<a.2.        LEARNING,  &c. 

deprived  of  his  archdeaconry ;  which  was  be- 
ftowed  upon  our  zealous  legate IOS.     In  difcharg- 
ing  the  duties  of  this  new  office,  he  acted  with 
great  vigour,  which  involved  him  in  many  quar- 
rels :  but  if  we  may  believe  himfelf,  he  was  al- 
ways in  the  right  and  always  victorious.     His 
uncle  the  Bifhop  of  St.  David's,  dying  A.  D.  1 176., 
he  was   elected   his  fiicceflbr  by  the  chapter : 
but  this  election  having  been  made  without  the 
permiffion,  and  contrary  to  the  inclination,  of 
Henry  II.,  our  author  prudently  declined  to  infift 
upon  it,  and  went  again  to  Paris  to  profecute  his 
ftudies,  particularly  in  the  civil  and  canon  law 
and  theology I06.     He  {peaks  with  great  raptures 
of  the  prodigious  fame  he  acquired  by  his  elo- 
quent declamations  in  the  fchools,  and  of  the 
crowded  audiences  who  attended  them,  who  were 
at  a  lofs  to  know  whether,  the  fweetnefs  of  his 
voice,  the  beauty  of  his  language,  or  the  irre- 
fiftible  force  of  his  arguments,  were  moil  to  be 
admired I07.     Having  (pent  about  four  years  at 
Paris,  he  returned   to  St.  David's ;   where  he. 
found  every  thing  in  confufion  ;  and  the  JSifliop 
being  expelled  by  the  people,  he  was  appointed 
adminiftrator  by  the  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury, 
and  governed  the  diocefs  in  that  capacity  to 
A.  0.1184.,  when  the  Bifhop  was  reitored Io8. 
About  the  fame  time  he  was  called  to  court  by 


105  Girald.  Cambren.  de  Reims  a  fe  geftis,  l.i.  0.4,  5,  6. 

106  Id.  ibid.  1.1.  0.9,  lo>  II.  1. 3.  c.i.  "7  Ibid.  L  a.  c.i,  z. 
te*  Ibid.  c.  6, 7. 

L  4  Henry 


152  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III, 

Henry  II.,  appointed  one  of  his  chaplains,  and 
fent  into  Ireland  A.D.  1185.,  with  Prince  John109. 
By  this  prince  he  was  offered  the  united  bifliop- 
tics  of  Femes  and  Leighlin  ;  but  declined  them, 
and  employed  his  time  in  collecting  materials  for 
his  topography  of  Ireland,  and  his  hiftory  of  the 
conqueft  of  that  ifland.  Having  finiflied  his  to- 
pography, which  confifled  of  three  books,  he 
publifhed  it  at  Oxford  A.D.  1187.,  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner,  in  three  days.  On  the  firft  day 
he  read  the  firft  book  to  a  great  concourfe  of 
people,  and  afterwards  entertained  all  the  poor 
of  the  town ;  on  the  fecond  day  he  read  the 
fecond  book,  and  entertained  all  the  doctors  and 
chief  fcholars ;  and,  on  the  third  day,  he  read 
the  third  book,  and  entertained  the  younger 
fcholars,  foldiers,  and  burgeffes "°.  "  A  mofl 
"  glorious  fpectacle !  (fays  he)  which  revived 
"  the  ancient  times  of  the  poets,  and  of  which 
"  no  example  had  been  feen  in  England."  He 
attended  Baldwin  Archbilhop  of  Canterbury,  in 
his  progrefs  through  Wales,  A.  D.  1186.,  in 
preaching  a  croifade  for  the  recovery  of  the 
Holy  Land,  in  which,  he  tells  us,  he  was  far 
more  fuccefsful  than  the  primate ;  and  particu- 
larly that  the  people  were  prodigioufly  affected 
with  his  Latin  fermons,  which  they  did  not  un- 
derftand,  melting  into  tears,  and  coming  in 
crowds  to  take  the  crofs111.  Although  Henry  II., 

'•*  GIrald.  Cambren.  de  Rebus  a  fe  gcftis,  l.i.  c.  8.  10. 
"•  Ibid.  c.i6.  IH  Ibid.  c.i8. 

as 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  2.         LEARNING,  &c.  153 

as  our  author  aflures  us,  entertained  the  higheft 
opinion  of  his  virtues  and  abilities  ;  yet  he  never 
would  advance  him  to  any  higher  dignity  in  the 
church,  on  account  of  his  relation  to  the  princes 
and  great  men  of  Wales.    But  on  the  acceffion 
of  Richard  I.  A.  D.  1 189.,  his  profpects  of  pre- 
ferment became  better ;  for  he  was  fent  by  that 
prince  into  Wales  to  preferve  the  peace  of  that 
country,  and  was  even  joined  in  commiffion  with 
William  Longchamp  Bifliop  of  Ely,  as  one  of 
the  regents  of  the  kingdom  "2.     He  did  not, 
however,  improve  this  favourable  opportunity  ; 
refufing  the  bifhopric  of  Bangor  in  A.  D.  1 190., 
and  that  of  Landaff,  the  year  after,  having  fixed 
his  heart  on  the  fee  of  St.  David's,  the  biihop  of 
which   was  very  old   and  infirm  "3.     In  A.  D. 
1192.,  the  ftate  of  public  affairs,  and  the  courfe 
of  intereil  at  court,   became  fo  unfavourable  to 
our  author's  views,  that  he  determined  to  retire. 
At  firft  he  refolved  to  return  to  Paris,  to  profe- 
cute  his   ftudies  ;  but  meeting  with  fome  diffi- 
culties in  this,  he  went  to  Lincoln  ;  where  Wil- 
liam de  Monte  read  lectures   in  theology  with 
great  applaufe  "4.    Here  he  fpent  about  fix  years 
in  the  fludy  of  divinity,   and  in  compofing  fe- 
veral  works.      The   fee  of  St.  David's,  which 
had  long  been  the  great  object  of  his  ambition, 
became  vacant  A.  D.  1198.,  and  brought  him 
again  upon  the  ftage.     He  was   unanimoufly 

111  Girald.  Cambren.de  Rebus  a  fe  geftis,  l.i.  c.  ax.  p.  495. 
"•  Ibid;  c.*a.a4.  II4  Ibid.  1.3.  0.3. 

%     elected 


154  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

elected  by  the  chapter  ;  but  met  with  fo  powerful 
an  adverfary  in  Hubert  Archbilhop  of  Canter- 
bury  (who  oppofed  his  promotion  with  great 
violence),  that  it  involved  him  in  a  litigation, 
which  laded  five  years,  coft  him  three  journies 
to  Rome,  at  a  great  expence,  and  in  which  he 
was  at  laft  defeated,  A.  D.  1203  "s.  Soon  after 
this  he  retired  from  the  world,  and  fpent  the  laft 
feventeen  years  of  his  life  in  a  (ludious  privacy, 
compofing  many  books  of  which  we  have  a  very 
correct  catalogue  in  the  work  quoted  below  "6. 
That  Girald  of  Wales  was  a  man  of  uncommon 
activity,  genius,  and  learning,  is  undeniable ;  but 
thefe  and  his  other  good  qualities  were  much  tar- 
nifhed  by  his  infufferable  vanity,  which  muft  have 
been  very  oflfenfi ve  to  his  contemporaries,  as  it  is 
highly  difgufting  to  his  readers. 

Many  other  men  of  genius  and  erudition  flou- 
rifhed  in  Britain  in  this  period  ;  but  to  give  a 
full  account  of  them,  belongs  rather  to  the  bio- 
grapher than  to  the  general  hiftorian. 

115  Girald.  Cambren.  de  Rebus  a  fe  geftis,  1.3.  0.4 — 19. 
u6  Biographia  Britannica>  yol.i.  p.  51  a. 


Chap.  4.  Sea.  3.        LEARNING,  &c.  155 

i. 


SECTION  III. 

fit/lory  of  the  chief  Seminaries  of  Learning  in  Great 
Britain,  from  A.D.  1166.  to  A.D.  1216. 


o 


INE  caufe    of   the    improvements    in    the  Different 
o  •  i  •   i  11  i  •  •     i     kinds  of 

fciences  which  took  place  in  this  period,  fchoois. 
was  the  increafe  of  feminaries  of  learning.  Thefe 
may  be  divided  into  five  claffes,  viz.  i.  General 
ftudies  or  univerfities;  2.  Epifcopal  or  cathedral 
fchools ;  3.  Monaftic  or  conventual  fchools ; 
4.  The  fchools  of  cities  and  towns  ;  and,  5.  The 
fchools  of  the  Jews.  Of  each  of  thefe  claffes  we 
fhall  give  a  brief  account. 

That  thofe  feats  of  learning  which  are  now  Univerfi- 
called  univerfities  were  anciently  called  Jludies,  ties' 
is  well  known  ;  as,  the  iludy  of  Oxford,  the 
ftudy  of  Paris,  &c. x  But  about  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  or  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
the  modern  name  feems  generally  to  have  pre- 
vailed, either  becaufe  all  kinds  of  learning  were 
taught  in  them,  and  iludents  of  all  countries  were 
welcome  to  them,  or  becaufe  they  were  formed 
into  legal  communities,  which,  in  the  Latin  of 
thofe  times,  were  called  univerjitates*.  Of  fuch 
univerfities  there  were  only  two  in  Britain,  Ox- 
ford and  Cambridge. 

1  J.  Brompt.  Chron.  col.  814. 

2  A.  Wood)  Hift.  Uoiverf.  Qxon,  p.iS. 

The 


156  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

Oxford.  The  ftate  of  public  affairs  was  fo  unfettled  for 
a  confiderable  time,  both  before  and  after  the 
conquefl,  and  the  city  of  Oxford  in  particular 
fuffered  fo  much,  firft  from  the  Danes,  and  after- 
wards from  the  Normans,  that  it  could  not  be 
in  a  flourifhing  condition  as  a  feat  of  learning 3. 
From  Doomfday-book  we  find,  that  A.  D.  1086., 
there  were  no  fewer  than  five  hundred  and 
twenty-two  ruinous  or  empty  houfes  in  Oxford, 
and  only  two  hundred  and  forty -three  inhabited. 
It  hath  been  warmly  agitated,  whether  the  Con- 
queror's  youngefl  fon,  afterwards  Henry  I.,  was 
educated  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge,  without  fa- 
tisfa6lory  evidence  on  either  iide  4.  That  he 
built  a  palace,  and  fometimes  refided,  in  the 
firft  of  thefe  places,  is  better  attefted  5.  It  is 
alfo  faid,  that  Robert  White,  of  whom  an  ac- 
count hath  been  already  given,  taught  with  great 
reputation  at  Oxford  in  the  reign  of  that  learned 
prince «.  But  this  feat  of  the  mufes  was  taken 
by  ftorm,  and  reduced  to  afhes,  A.  D.  1141.,  by 
King  Stephen;  which  difperfedboth  teachersand 
fcholars.  In  a  little  time,  however,  they  returned 
to  their  favourite  relidence  ;  which,  before  the 
end  of  that  reign,  became  famous  for  the  ftudy 
of  the  civil  law 7.  This  univerfity  became  ftill 
more  flourifhing  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  who 
was  a  learned  prince,  and  a  great  patron  of 

3  A.  Wood,  Hift.  Univerf.  Oxon.  p.  44 — 46. 

*  Id.  p-46.  col.  a.     J.Caius  in  Antiq.  Cantab,  p-9?. 
5  A.  Wood,  Hift.  Univerf.  Oxon.  p.  49- 

•  Id.  ibid.  7  Id-  P-5*« 

learning  ; 


Chap.  4.  SeA.  3.        LEARNING,  &c.  157 

learning ;  though  a  great  part  of  the  city,  and 
feveral  fchools  or  halls,  were  deilroyed  by  an 
accidental  fire,  A.  D.  1 190. 8  Before  that  time 
the  houfes  and  halls  of  Oxford  had  been  built  of 
wood,  and  covered  with  draw  j  but  after  this 
fire,  many  of  them  were  built  of  Hone,  and  co- 
vered with  tiles  or  lead.  As  Richard  I.  had  been 
born  at  Oxford,  he  dill  retained  an  affection  for 
it,  and  granted  it  fo  many  privileges,  that,  in 
his  reign,  it  became  a  rival  to  the  univerfity  of 
Paris9.  In  the  reign  of  King  John,  when  the 
univerfity  was  in  a  profperous  ftate,  an  unfortu- 
nate event  happened,  A.  D.  1209.,  which  threat- 
ened it  with  deftruclion.  A  fcholar,  engaged  in 
his  diverfion,  accidentally  killed  a  woman,  and 
made  his  efcape,  for  fear  of  punifhment.  A 
prodigious  mob,  with  the  mayor  of  the  city  at 
their  head,  immediately  affembled,  and  fur- 
rounded  the  hall  to  which  the  unfortunate  fcholar 
belonged  ;  and  not  finding  him,  feized  and  im- 
prifoned  other  three,  who  were  entirely  innocent, 
and  obtained  an  order  from  King  John,  who 
hated  the  clergy,  to  put  them  to  death  j  which 
was  executed  without  delay.  The  greateft  part 
of  the  profeffors  and  fcholars,  enraged  at  this  * 
a6l  of  cruelty  and  injuftice,  abandoned  Oxford 
to  the  number  of  three  thoufand,  and  retired, 
fome  to  Cambridge,  fome  to  Reading,  and  fome 
to  Maidftone  in  Kent.  They  complained  alfo  to 

*  A.  Wood.  Hift.  Univerf  Oxon.  p.  5  7. 

9  Bulsei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parifienf.  torn.  2.  p. 544*  &c. 

the 


158  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

the  Pope,  and  obtained  a  bull,  laying  the  city 
under  an  interdict,  and  difcharging  all  profef- 
fors  from  teaching  in  it.    Their  fuperftitious  ter- 
rors and  fecular  loffes  foon  brought  the  people  of 
Oxford  to  repent  of  the  cruelty  they  had  com- 
mitted ;  and  they  fent  a  deputation  of  their  moft 
refpe6lable  citizens  to  Nicolas   Bilhop  of  Tuf- 
culum,  the  Pope's  legate,  to  make  their  fubmi£ 
lions,  and   promife  obedience   to  all  his  com- 
mands.    In  confequence  of  this  the  legate  iffued 
a  bull,  dated  atRamfey,  26th  June  A.  D.  1214., 
fufpending  thofe  profeffors  who  had  not  left  Ox- 
ford, from  teaching  for  three  years  j  prefcribing 
the  moil  humiliating  penances  to  the  inhabitants, 
and  ftipulating  manyadvantages  for  the  members 
of  the  univerfity  ;  and  obliged  the  mayor,  with 
fifty  of  the  chief  citizens,  to  take  a  folemn  oath, 
in  the  name  of  all  the  reft,  that  they  would 
comply  with  every  article  in  that  bull.     When 
all  thefe  preliminaries  were  fettled,  the  profeffors 
and  fcholars  returned  in  fuch  multitudes,  and 
were  fo  joyfully  received  by  the  citizens,  that  the 
univerfity  became  more  flourishing  than  it  had 
ever  been  ;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  this  period 
confided  of  about  fourthoufand  members. 10 
Cam-  Cambridge  fuffered   ftill  more  than  Oxford, 

bridge.  \^o^\i  from  the  Danes  before,  and  the  Normans 
after,theconqueft;  and  feemsto  have  been  longer 
and  more  entirely  deferted  as  a  feat  of  learning  ". 

10  Wood,  Hift.  Ant.  Univerf.  Oxon,  p.  60,  6r. 

11  J.  Brompt.  Chron.  col.  887,  888.     Chron.  Saxon,  p. 140. 

10  This 


Chap.  4.  Se&.  3.        LEARNING,  &c.  159 

This  appears  from  the  following  diftin6l  account 
of  its  revival,   given  by  a  writer  of  undoubted 
credit:    "  Joffrid,  Abbot   of  Croyland,   A.D. 
"  1109.,  fent  to  his  manor  of  Cottenham,  near 
"  Cambridge,  mailer  Giflebert,  his  fellow-monk,     * 
"  and  profeffor  of  theology,  with  three  other 
"  monks  who  had  followed  him  into  England ; 
"  who  being  very  well  inftrucled  in  philofophical 
"  theorems,  and  other  ancient  fciences,  went 
"  every  day  to  Cambridge  j  and  having  hired  a 
"  certain    public    barn,    taught    the    fciences 
"  openly,  and  in  a  little  time  collected  a  great 
"  concourfe  of  fcholars.    For  in  the  very  fecond 
"  year  after  their  arrival,  the  number  of  their 
"  fcholars  from  the  town  and  country  increafed 
"  fo  much,  that  there  was  no  houfe,  barn,  nor 
"  church,   capable   of  containing  them.     For 
"  this  reafon  they  feparated  into  different  parts 
"  of  the  town,  and  imitating  the  plan  of  Or- 
"  leans,  brother  Odo,  a  famous  grammarian  and 
"  fatirift  of  thofe  times,  read  grammar,  accord- 
*«  ing  to  the  doctrine  of  Prifcian9  and  Remigius 
"  upon  him,  to  the  boys  and  younger  ftudents 
"  afligned  to  him,  early  in  the  morning.     At 
"  one  o'clock  brother  Terricus,  an  acute  fo- 
"  phift,  read  Ariftotle's  logics,  according  to  the 
"  introductions  and  commentaries  of  Porphyry 
"  and  Averrois,  to  thofe  who  were  further  ad- 
"  vanced.     At  three,  brother  William  read  lec- 
"  tures  on  Tully's  rhetoric  and  Quintilian's  in- 
"  ftitutions.     But  mafter  Giflebert,   being  ig- 
**  norant  of  the  Englifli,  but  very  expert  in  the 

«  Latin 


l6"o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  Latin  and  French  languages,  preached  in  the 
"  feveral  churches  to  the  people  on  Sundays  and 

"  holidays. From  this  little  fountain,  which 

"  hath  fwelled  into  a  great  river,  we  now  behold 
"  the  city  of  God  made  glad,  and  all  England 
"  rendered  fruitful,  by  many  teachers  and  doc- 
"  tors  iffuing  from  Cambridge,  as  from  a  moft 
"  holy  paradife l2."  This  laft  obfervation  Ihews, 
that  the  univerfity  of  Cambridge,  after  its  re- 
vival by  thole  learned  monks  in  the  beginning 
of  the  twelfth  century,  made  fuch  rapid  progrefs 
that,  before  the  end  of  that  century,  when  Peter 
of  Blois  wrote,  it  had  attained  to  a  very  flourifh- 
ing  condition.  The  town,  and  confequently  the 
univerfity,  fuffered  much  in  the  civil  war  be- 
tween King  John  and  his  barons,  having  been 
taken  and  plundered  by  both  parties,  A.D. 
1215. 13 

So  many  of  the  ingenious  youth  of  Britain,  in 
this  period,  finimed  their  education  in  the  uni- 
verfity of  Paris,  that  it  merits  a  little  of  our 
attention,  though  not  ftriftly  within  our  plan14. 
It  was  unqueftionably  the  mofl  celebrated  feat  of 
learning  in  Europe  in  thofe  times,  and  was  called 
by  way  of  eminence,  The  city  of  letters ls.  All 
who  excelled  as  teachers,  or  wifhed  to  improve 
as  ftudents,  crowded  to  Paris,  as  the  mofl  proper 
place  for  difplaying  or  acquiring  talents.  In  the 

"  P.  Blefenf.  Continuatio  Hift.  Ingulph.  ann.  1109.  p.  H4>  «5« 

13  Fuller's  Hift.  Camb.  p.  8- 

14  Bulaei  Hift.  Univerf.  Parifien.  1.  11.  p.  399. 

15  Id.  ibid.  p.aj3»     Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  7?. 

13  twelfth 


Chap. 4.  Sed.  3.        LEARNING,  &c. 

twelfth  century  we  are  allured,  that  the  Undents 
in  the  univerfity  conftituted  one  half  of  the  in- 
habitants  of  that  city 16.  The  Englifli  in  par- 
ticular were  fo  numerous,  that  they  occupied 
feveral  fchools  or  colleges  ;  and  made  fo  diftin- 
guifhed  a  figure  by  their  genius  and  learning,  as 
well  as  by  their  generous  manner  of  living,  that 
they  attracted  the  notice  of  all  ftrangers.  This 
appears  from  the  following  verfes,  defcribing  the 
behaviour  of  a  ftranger  on  his  firft,  arrival  in 
Paris,  compofed  by  Negel  Wircker,  an  Englifli 
ftudent  there,  A.  D.  1170. 

Pexus  et  ablutus  tandem  progrdTus  in  urbem, 

Intrat  in  ecclefiam,  vota  precefque  facit. 

Inde  fcbolas  adiens,  fecum  deliberat,  utrum 

Expediat  potius  ilia  vel  ifta  fchola. 

Et  quia  fubtiles  fenfu  confident  Anglos, 

Pluribus  ex  caufis  fc  fociavit  iis. 

Moribus  egregii,  verbo  vultuque  venufti, 

Ingenio  pollent,  confilioque  vigent. 

Dona  pluunt  populis,  et  deteflantur  avaros, 

Fercula  multiplicant,  et  fine  lege  bibunt.  '7 


The  ftranger  drefs'd,  the  city  firft  furveyj, 

A  church  he  enters,  to  his  God  he  prays. 

Next  to  the  fchools  he  haftens,  each  he  views, 

With  care  examines,  anxious  which  to  chuie. 

The  Englifli  moft  attract  his  prying  eyes, 

Their  manners,  words,  and  looks  pronounce  them  wif«. 

Theirs  is  the  open  hand,  the  bounteous  mind, 

Theirs  folid  fenfe,  with  fparkling  wit  combin'd. 

Their  graver  ftudies  jovial  banquets  crown, 

Their  rankling  cares  in  flowing  bowls  they  drown. 


15  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9t  p>  663. 
17  A.  Wood,  Antiq.  Oxon.  p.jj. 

vi.  M 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Adanv-  Thefe  general  ftudies  or  univerfities,  as  Paris, 
Si  Oxford,  Cambridge,  Bologna,  &c.  poffefled  fe- 
ties.  veral  advantages,  which  attracted  greater  num- 

bers of  (Indents  to  them  than  to  other  feats  of 
learning.  They  had  not  only  the  bed  libraries, 
and  moft,  famous  profeflbrs  in  all  the  fciences, 
but  being  incorporated  focieties,  they  were  go- 
verned by  their  own  magiftrates,  and  enjoyed 
feveral  peculiar  privileges,  particularly  that  of 
conferring  academical  honours  or  degrees. 
Thefe  were  introduced  in  the  courfe  of  this 
period,  and  foon  became  great  objects  of  ambi- 
tion, and  incitements  to  learning. IS 
Cathedral  In  the  darkeft  of  the  middle  acres,  the  families 

•T  V%       1  ^^ 

of  bifliops  were  the  chief  feminaries  of  learning, 
in  which  young  perfons  were  educated  for  the 
fervice  of  the  church  ".  Thefe  epifcopal  or 
cathedral  fchools  ftill  continued  in  this  period. 
They  were  even  better  regulated,  and  confe- 
quently  more  ufeful  and  more  famous.  In  the 
moft  ancient  times,  the  bifhop  was  commonly 
the  chief,  if  not  the  only  teacher,  of  his  cathe- 
dral fchool ;  the  faithful  difcharge  of  which 
laborious  office  was  hardly  compatible  with  the 
other  duties  of  his  function  20.  But  in  this 
period  thefe  fchools  were  put  under  the  direction 
of  men  of  learning,  who  devoted  their  whole 
time  and  ftudy  to  the  education  of  youth,  and 
had  certain  eftates  or  prebends  afligned  for  their 

18  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  80— 84. 
'»  Bulaei  Hift,  Univerf.  Parif.  torn.  I.  p.  151,  Jja. 
•  Id.  ibid. 

15  fupport. 


Chap.  4,  Sea.  3.         LEARNING,  &c.  ••*  163 

fupport.  Thefe  teachers  of  the  cathedral  fchools 
were  called  The  Jcholqftics  of  the  diocejs  ;  and  all 
the  youth  in  it  who  were  defigned  for  the  church 
were  intitled  to  the  benefit  of  their  inftruc- 
tions".  Thus,  for  example,  William  de  Monte, 
who  had  been  a  profeffor  at  Paris,  and  taught 
theology  with  fo  much  reputation,  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  II.,  at  Lincoln,  was  the  fcholaftic  of 
that  cathedral  ?\  By  the  eighteenth  canon  of 
the  third  general  council  of  Lateran,  A.D.  1  179., 
it  was  decreed,  that  fuch  fcholaftics  fhould  be 
fettled  in  all  cathedrals,  with  fufficient  revenues 
for  their  fupport  j  and  that  they  mould  have 
authority  to  fuperintend  all  the  fchoolmafters  of 
the  diocefs,  and  grant  them  licences,  without 
which  none  mould  prefume  to  teach  23.  The  la- 
borious authors  of  the  literary  hiflory  of  France, 
have  collected  a  very  diftinc"l  account  of  the 
fcholaftics  who  prefided  in  the  principal  cathe- 
dral fchools  of  that  kingdom  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, among  whom  we  meet  with  many  of  the 
moil  illuftrious  names  for  learning  of  that  age  24. 
To  attempt  this  with  refpe6l  to  England,  would 
be  quite  unfuitable  to  the  nature  of  general  hif- 
tory.  The  fciences  that  were  taught  in  thefe 
cathedral  fchools,  were  fuch  as  were  mofl  necef- 
fary  to  qualify  their  pupils  for  performing  the 


21  Du  Cange  Glofs.  voc.  Scholafticus. 

22  Girald.  Cambrenf.  de  Rebut  a  fe  geftis,  1.  3.  c.  3.  apud  Ang. 
Sac.  torn.  2.  p.  499. 

n  Concil.  torn.  10.  p.ijiS.  c.i8. 

14  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.3i  —  64. 

M  2  duties 


1 64  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

duties  of  the  facerdotal  office,  as  grammar, 
rhetoric,  logic,  theology,  and  church-mufic. 
Conven-  The  great  increafe  of  religious  houfes  in  this 
fchooi*.  period,  very  much  increafed  the  number  offe- 
minaries  of  learning,  as  there  was  a  fchool  more 
or  lefs  famous  in  al mod  every  convent15.  We 
may  form  fome  idea  of  the  number  added  to 
the  fchools  of  England  by  this  means,  if  we 
confider,  that  there  were  no  fewer  than  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty-feven  religious  houfes  of  different 
kinds  founded  in  it  between  the  conqueft  and 
the  death  of  King  John zf>.  One  defign  of  thefe 
monadic  fchools  was,  to  inftruct  the  younger 
monks  in  thofe  branches  of  learning  that  were 
necefiary  to  their  decent  performance  of  the  fer- 
vice  of  the  church,  particularly  in  the  Latin 
language  and  church-mufic.  Some  degree  of 
knowledge  of  thefe  parts  of  learning  was  fo  ne- 
ceflary, that  without  it  none  could  be  admitted 
into  the  monadic  order  in  any  of  the  chief  ab- 
beys ;  and  the  famous  Nicolas  Breakfpear,  after- 
wards Pope  Adrian  IV.,  was  rejected  by  Richard 
Abbot  of  St.  Alban's,  for  want  of  a  fufficient 
{hare  of  learning a?.  In  thefe  conventual  fchools 
the  young  monks  were  carefully  indructed  in  the 
art  of  fair  and  beautiful  writing ;  and  thofe  who 
excelled  in  that  art,  were  for  fome  years  em- 
ployed in  thejcriptorium,  or  writing-chamber,  in 


Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  90 — 132. 
See  Preface  to  Tanner's  Notitia  Monaftica. 
M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  St.AIbani,  p.  45.  col.  a. 

10  tranfcrib- 


Chap.  4.  §ed.  3,        LEARNING,  &c. 

tranfcribing  books  for  the  life  of  the  church  and 
library28.  There  were  fuch  fchools  alfo  in  nun- 
neries for  the  in(lru6tion  of  the  younger  nuns ; 
and  in  fome  of  thefe  fchools  they  did  not  confine 
themfelves  to  fuch  parts  of  learning  as  were  ab- 
folutely  neceffary,  but  ftudied  alfo  the  Greek 
and  Hebrew  languages,  philofophy,  phyfic,  and 
divinity29.  In  the  fchools  of  all  the  larger  mo- 
nafleries,  belides  the  neceffary  parts  of  learning, 
feveral  other  fciences  were  taught,  as  rhetoric, 
logic,  theology,  medicine,  with  the  civil  and 
canon  law.  Thefe  two  laft  branches  of  learning, 
law  and  phyfic,  being  very  lucrative,  were  fo 
diligently  ftudied  and  praftifed  by  the  monks, 
that  they  were  almoft  the  only  pleaders  and  phy- 
ficians  of  thofe  times.  The  abbey  fchool  of  St. 
Alban's,  for  example,  was  a  famous  feminary  of 
learning  in  this  period,  in  which  all  the  fciences, 
particularly  theology,  law,  and  phyfic,  were 
taught ;  as  appears  from  the  verfes  of  Alexander 
Neicham,  one  of  the  moil  learned  men  of  the 
twelfth  century,  who  was  educated,  and  after- 
wards  prefided  in  that  fchool.  They  were  ad- 
dreffed  to  his  friend  Germunde,  Abbot  of  Glo- 
cefter,  and  may  be  feen  below  3°.  Many  per- 

fons 

'a  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  St.Albani,  p.3a.  col.a. 
39  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  117— -134. 
"  Quod  (i  forte  foras  claudat  tibi  Claudia,  clauftrum 
Martyris  Albani  fit  tibi  tuta  quies. 
Hie  locus  aetatis  noftrse  primordia  novit, 
Annos  felices,  laetitiaeque  dies. 
Hie  locus  ingenuis  pueriles  imbuit  anaos 
Artibus,  «t  noftrse  laudis  origo  fuit. 

MI  Hie 


t66  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

fbns  of  rank  and  fortune  were  educated  in  tbefe 
conventual  fchools,  to  which  they  frequently 
became  benefactors. 3l 

Schools  in  Befides  all  thefe  feminaries  of  learning  already 
towns  and  mentioned,  there  were  ertabliftied  in  this  period, 
in  all  the  chief  cities  and  towns  of  England,  a 
kind  of  illuftrious  fchools,  in  which  the  youth 
were  inftru6led  not  only  in  reading,  writing,  and 
grammar,  but  alfo  in  feveral  other  branches  of 
learning,  as  rhetoric,  logic,  &c.  We  are  told 
by  William  Fitz-Stephens,  who  flourifhed  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.,  that  there  were  three  of  thefe 
illuftrious  fchools  in  London,  firmly  eftabliflied ; 
befides  feveral  others  that  were  occalionally 
opened  by  fuch  mailers  as  had  obtained  a  high 
reputation  for  their  learning 32.  "  On  holidays 
"  (fays  he)  it  is  ufual  for  thefe  fchools  to  hold 
"  public  afTemblies  in  the  churches,  in  which 
*'  the  fcholars  engage  in  demonflrative  or  lo- 
"  gical  difputations,  fome  ufing  enthymems, 
"  and  others  perfect  fyllogifms ;  fome  aiming 
"  at  nothing  but  to  gain  the  victory,  and  make 
"  an  oftentatious  difplay  of  their  acutenefs, 
"  while  others  have  the  inveftigation  of  truth 
*'  in  view.  Artful  fophifts,  on  thefe  occafions, 


Hie  artes  didici,  docuique  fideliter ;  inde 
Acceffit  ftudio  leclio  facra  meo. 
Audivi  canones,  Hippocratem  cum  Galieno> 
Jus  civile  rnihi  difplicuifie  neges. 

Lfland  de  Script.  Brit.  t.i.  p.  2,40. 
31  Hiftoria  Ramfienf.  . chap.67.  p. 430. 

12  W.  Stephanid.  Defcript.  Civitat.  l-ondon.  edit.  Oxon.  1723.,  a 
Jof.  Sparko,  p.  4. 

"  acquire 


Chap.4.  Sea.3.        LEARNING,  &c.  167 

"  acquire  great  applaufe ;  fome  by  a  prodigious 
"  inundation  and  flow  of  words,  others  by  their 
"  fpecious  but  fallacious  arguments.  After  the 
"  difputations,  other  fcholars  deliver  rhetorical 
"  declamations,  in  which  they  obferve  all  the 
"  rules  of  art,  and  neglect  no  topic  of  perfua- 
"  fion.  Even  the  younger  boys  in  the  different 
"  fchools  contend  againft  each  other  in  verfe, 
"  about  the  principles  of  grammar,  and  the 
''preterites  and  fu pines  of  verbs"."  There 
was,  about  the  fame  time,  a  very  famous  aca- 
demy in  the  town  of  St.  Alban's  (befides  that  in 
the  abbey),  under  the  government  of  Matthew 
a  phyfician,  who  had  been  educated  at  Salernum, 
and  of  his  nephew  Garinus,  who  excelled  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  civil  and  canon  law.  Of  this 
academy  Matthew  Paris  affirms,  "  That  there  was 
"  hardly  a  fchool  in  allEngland,at  that  time,  more 
"fruitful  or  more  famous,  either  for  the  number 
"  or  proficiency  of  its  fcholars 34."  This  plainly 
intimates,  that  there  were  many  fchools  of  the 
fame  kind  in  England  j  which  is  further  evident 
from  the  lad  canon  of  the  council  of  Weft- 
minfter,  A.D.  1138.,  prohibiting  the  fcholaflics 
of  cathedral  churches  from  taking  money  for 
granting  licences  to  the  teachers  of  the  fchools 
in  the  feveral  towns  and  villages/35 


3}  W.  Stephanid.  Defcript.  Civitat.  London.  Edit.  Oxon.  1715.1  a 
Jof.  Sparke,  p.  4. 

3<  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  St.Alban,  p.6».  col.  I. 
35  J.  Brompt.  Cbron.  p.  1348. 

M   4  That 


i68  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN".  Book  lit 

jewifh  That  prodigious  numbers  of  Jews  crowded 

into  England  foon  after  the  conquefl,  and  re- 
fided  in  all  its  principal  towns  for  foine  ages,  is 
attefted  by  all  the  hiftorians  of  thofe  times. 
Their  numbers  and  riches  were  indeed  fo  great, 
and  the  revenues  derived  from  them  by  govern- 
ment fo  confiderable,  that  (as  we  have  already 
feen)  a  particular  exchequer  was  appointed  for 
their  reception 36.  Among  thefe  Jews  there  were 
many  rabbies,  and  men  of  learning,  who  offi- 
ciated as  priefts  in  their  fynagogues,  and  pro- 
feflbrs  in  their  fchools,  which  they  had  in  Lon- 
don, York,  Lincoln,  Linn,  Norwich,  Oxford, 
Cambridge,  and  every  other  town  where  any 
confiderable  number  of  them  refided37.  For 
though  the  fciences  had  been  much  neglected  by 
the  Jews  for  five  or  fix  centuries,  they  were  cul- 
tivated by  them  in  the  twelfth  with  furprifing 
ardour,  and  many  of  their  rabbies  of  that  age 
made  a  diftinguifhed  figure  in  the  world  of  let- 
ters39. In  their  fchools,  befides  the  rites  of 
their  religion,  they  taught  the  Hebrew  and  Ara- 
bic languages,  arithmetic,  for  which  they  had 
much  ufe  in  their  money-tranfadlions  j  and  me- 
dicine, by  which  many  of  them  acquired  both 
riches  and  reputation 39.  Nor  were  the  acade- 
mies of  the  Jewifh  rabbies  fhut  againft  the  Chrif- 

34  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  p.  150 — 173. 

37  M.Paris,  p. 5 96.    A.  Wood,  Antiq.  Oxon.  p. 4.  6.   GuLNew- 
brigenf.  1.4.  c.  7.  p.  368.  c.  10.  p«379- 

38  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  13  a,  &c. 
5»  Id.  ibid. 

tian 


Chap.  4.  Se6t.3>        LEARNING,  &c. 

tian  youth,  but  open  to  all  who  chofe  to  take 
the  benefit  of  their  inflru6lions. 

From  this  brief  account  of  the  feminaries  of 
learning  eflablimed  in  Britain  in  the  period  we 
are  now  examining,  it  is  abundantly  evident, 
that  the  general  ignorance  of  the  laity  was  owing 
rather  to  the  tafle  and  manners  of  the  times, 
than  to  the  want  of  opportunities  of  acquiring 
at  leaft  a  moderate  degree  of  knowledge.  But 
the  truth  feems  to  be,  that  this  ignorance  pre- 
vailed moil  amongft  thofe  in  the  higheft  and 
thofe  in  the  loweft  ranks  of  life ;  which  was 
occafioned  by  the  extreme  diffipation  of  the 
former,  who  fpent  almoft  all  their  time,  when 
they  were  not  engaged  in  war,  in  rural  diver- 
lions  or  domeftic  riots ;  and  by  the  no  lefs  ex- 
treme deprefiion  of  the  latter,  who  were  doomed 
to  perpetual  fervitude  and  hard  labour.  For  it 
is  well  known,  that  thefe  two  extremes  are 
equally  unfriendly  to  intellectual  purfuits. 


THE 

HISTORY 


OF 


BOOK    III. 

CHAP.  V. 

Hifiory  of  the  Arts  in  Great  Britain,  from  the 
landing  of  William  Duke  of  Normandy,  A.D. 
1066.,  to  the  death  of  King  John,  A.D.  1216. 

HPHE  arts  and  fciences  are  fo  nearly  con-  The  arts 
-A-    needed,  and  have  fo  great  an  influence  upon  ™Prpved 

i       m  thi- 

one  another,  that  they  commonly  flourifh  or  de-  nod. 
cline  together.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have 
feen,  that  the  circle  of  the  fciences  was  enlarged, 
and  that  fome  of  them  were  cultivated  with 
greater  care  and  fuccefs  in  this  than  they  had 
been  in  the  former  period.  In  this  chapter  we 
fhall  perceive  that  a  fimilar  improvement  took 
place  at  the  fame  time,  both  in  the  necefiary 
and  pleafing  arts,  of  which  we  Ihall  give  a  plain 
and  fuccincl;  account  in  two  feclions. 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.           Book  III. 


SECTION  I. 

HiJIory  of  the  neceffary  Arts  in  Britain,  from  A.D. 
to  A.D*  12164 

What  are  T}  Y  the  neceffary  arts,  we  underftand  fuch  as 
^^  A3  are  employed  in  procuring  nourifhment, 
lodging,  clothing,  and  defence,  which  are  juftly 
efteemed  neceffary  to  the  prefervation  and  com- 
fortable enjoyment  of  human  life.  Of  this  kind 
are,  agriculture,  architecture,  the  clothing  arts, 
and  thofe  of  defenfive  and  offenfive  war,  together 
with  the  various  arts  that  are  neceffary  to  theif 
operations.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  architecture 
and  the  clothing  arts,  after  they  have  paffed  a 
certain  point  of  perfection,  may  be  termed  orna- 
mental rather  than  neceffary.  But  as  it  is  im- 
poffible  to  fix  that  point ;  and  as  their  primary 
object  was  to  adminifter  to  our  neceffities,  there 
can  be  no  great  impropriety  in  arranging  them, 
in  every  period  of  this  work,  under  the  divifion 
of  neceffary  arts.  On  the  other  hand,  fome  arts, 
as  thofe  of  catching  beads  and  birds,  which,  in 
the  infancy  of  fociety,  were  of  all  others  the  moft 
neceffary,  in  a  more  advanced  period  become  the 
favourite  amufements  of  the  great,  and  are  pro- 
hibited to  the  common  people.  Thefe  therefore 
in  this  and  the  fucceeding  periods  of  this  work, 

are 


Chap.  5.  SeA.  i,  THE  ARTS.  j75 

are  to  be  omitted  in  the  hiftory  of  arts,   and  in- 
troduced only  in  the  article  of  diverfions. 

Though  pafturage  and  fifliing  were  exercifed  Pafturage 
as  necefiary  arts  in  this  as  in  every  other  period,  andfiflun£- 
we  know  of  no  important  improvement  that  was 
made  in  either  of  them  that  merits  a  place  in  hi£ 
tory.     Thofe  who  exercifed  them  were  in  ge- 
neral of  fervile  condition,  and  were  transferred 
from  one  proprietor  to  another,  with  the  eftates 
to  which  they  were  annexed. l 

As  agriculture,  in  its  feveral  branches,  is  the  Agricul- 
mod  ufeful  of  all  arts,  it  merits  our  particular  ture' 
attention  in  every  period.   That  the  conqueft  of 
England  by  the  Normans  contributed  to  the  im- 
provement of  this  art  in  Britain,  is  undeniable. 
For  by  that  event  many  thoufands  of  hufband- 
men,  from  the  fertile  and  well-cultivated  plains 
of  Flanders,  France,  and  Normandy,  fettled  in 
this  ifland,  obtained  eftates  or  £irms,  and  em- 
ployed the  fame  methods  in  the  cultivation  of 
them  that  they  had  ufed  in  their  native  countries. 
Some  of  the  Norman  barons  were  great  im- 
provers of  their  lands,  .and  are  celebrated  in. 
hiftory  for  their  fkill  in  agriculture.     "  Richard 
"  de  Rulos,  Lord  of  Brunne  and  Deeping,  (fays 
"  Ingulphus)  was  much  addicted  to  agriculture, 
"  and  delighted  in  breeding  horfes  and  cattle. 
"  Befides  inclofing  and  draining  a  great  extent 
<c  of  country,  he  imbanked  the  river  Wielland 

1  Rymeri  Fcedera,  torn.  I.  p.  8.   Hift.  Ingulphi,  Oxon.  edit.  1684. 
torn,  i/  P'8;. 

"  (which 


1 74  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  (which  ufed  every  year  to  overflow  the  neigh- 
"  bouring  fields)  in  a  moft  fubftantial  manner, 
"  building  many  houfes  and  cottages  upon  the 
"  bank ;  which  increafed  fo  much,  that  in  a 
"  little  time  they  formed  a  large  town  called 
"  Deeping,  from  its  low  lituation.  Here  he 
"  planted  orchards,  cultivated  commons,  con- 
"  verted  deep  lakes  and  impafTable  quagmires 
"  into  fertile  fields,  rich  meadows,  and  paftures; 
"  and,  in  a  word,  rendered  the  whole  country 
"  about  it  a  garden  of  delights  V  From  the 
above  defcription,  it  appears,  that  this  noble- 
man (who  was  chamberlain  to  William  the  Con- 
queror) was  not  only  fond  of  agriculture,  but 
alfo  that  he  conducted  his  improvements  with 
{kill  and  fuccefs. 

The  cler-        The  Norman   clergy,    and   particularly  the 
gymade     m0nks,   were  flill  greater  improvers  than  the 

improve- 
ments in  nobility;  and  the  lands  of  the  church,  efpecially 
agricul-  of  jjjg  convents,  were  confpicuous  for  their  fupe- 
rior  cultivation.  For  the  monks  of  every  mo- 
naftery  retained  fuch  of  their  lands  as  lay  moft 
convenient  in  their  own  poffeffion,  which  they 
cultivated  with  great  care,  under  their  own  in- 
fpection,  and  frequently  with  their  own  hands. 
It  was  fo  much  the  cuftom  of  the  monks  of  this 
period  to  affift  in  the  cultivation  of  their  lands, 
efpecially  in  feed-time,  hay-time,  and  harveft, 
that  the  famous  Thomas  Becket,  after  he  was 
Archbilhop  of  Canterbury,  ufed  to  go  out  to  the 

•"  Hift.  Ingulphi,  Oxon.  edit.  1684.  tom.i.  p.  77,78. 

fields, 


Chap. 5.  Sea. i.  THE  ARTS. 

fields,  with  the  monks  of  the  monafteries  where 
he  happened  to  refide,  and  join  with  them  in 
reaping  their  corns  and  making  their  hay 3. 
This  is  indeed  mentioned  by  the  hiftorian  as  an 
act;  of  uncommon  condefcenlion  in  a  perfon  of 
his  high  ftation  in  the  church ;  but  it  is  a  fuffi- 
.  cient  proof  that  the  monks  of  thole  times  tiled  to 
work  with  their  own  hands,  at  fome  feafons,  in 
the  labours  of  the  field.  And  as  many  of  them 
were  men  of  genius  and  invention,  they  no 
doubt  made  various  improvements  in  the  art  of 
agriculture.  The  2 6th  canon  of  the  general 
council  of  Lateran,  held  A. D.  1179.,  affords  a 
further  proof  that  the  protection  and  encourage- 
ment of  all  who  were  concerned  in  agriculture, 
was  an  object  of  attention  to  the  church.  For 
by  that  canon, it  is  decreed,  "  That  all  prefbyters, 
"  clerks,  monks,  converts,  pilgrims,  and  pea- 
"  fants,  when  they  are  engaged  in  the  labours  of 
"  husbandry,  together  with  the  cattle  in  their 
"  ploughs,  and  the  feed  which  they  carry  into 
"  the  field,  mail  enjoy  perfect  fecurity ;  and  that 
"  all  who  moleft  or  interrupt  them,  if  they  do 
"  not  defift  when  they  have  been  admonifhed, 
"  mall  be  excommunicated." 4 

The  implements  of  husbandry  were  of  the  fame  impie 
kind,  in   this  period,  with   thofe  that  are  em- 
ployed  at  prefent ;  but  fome  of  them  were  lefs 
perfect  in  their  conflruclion.     The  plough,  for 
example,  had  but  one  ftilt  or  handle,  which  the 

3  Chron.  Gervas,  col. 1400.  4  Id.  col.  1456. 

plough- 


176  HISTORY  OT  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

ploughman  guided  with  one  hand,  having  in  his 
other  hand  an  inftrument  which  ferved  both  for 
cleaning  and  mending  his  plough,  and  breaking 
the  clods5.  The  Norman  plough  had  two 
wheels ;  and,  in  the  light  foil  of  Normandy,  was 
commonly  drawn  by  one  ox,  or  two  oxen  ;  but 
in  England  a  greater  number,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  foil,  was  often  necefiary 6.  In 
"Wales  the  perfon  who  conducted  the  oxen  in  the 
plough,  walked  backwards 7.  Their  carts,  har- 
rows, fcythes,  fickles,  and  flails,  from  the  figures 
of  them  ftill  remaining,  appear  to  have  been 
nearly  of  the  fame  conflru6lion  with  thofe  that 
are  now  ufed s.  In  Wales  they  did  not  ufe  a 
fickle  in  reaping  their  corns,  but  an  inftrument 
like  the  blade  of  a  knife,  with  a  wooden  handle 
at  each  end9.  Water-mills  for  grinding  corn 
were  very  common  ;  but  they  had  alfo  a  kind  of 
mills  turned  by  horfes,  which  were  chiefly  ufed  in 
their  armies,  and  a.t  fieges,  or  in  places  where 
running  water  was  fcarce.10 

Opera-  Though  the  various  operations  of  hufbandry, 

as  manuring'  ploughing,  fowing,  harrowing, 
reaping,  tbrefhing,  winnowing,  &c.  are  inci* 
dentally  mentioned  by  the  writers  of  this  period, 

5  See   Mr.  Strutt's  compleat  View  of  the  Manners,  &c.   of, Eng- 
land, vol. a.  p. i a. 

6  M.  Montfau9on    Monumens    de   Monarchic   Francoife,   tom.i. 
pkte47-     Girald.  Cambrenf.  Defcript.  Cambriae,  0.17. 

7  Id.  ibid.  s  Mr.  Strutt's  View,  vol.  i.  plate  a6.  plate  3 a,  33. 

9  Girald.  Cam.  ibid. 

10  Gaufrid  Vinifauf.  iter  Hierofolymit.  l.i.  0.33.     M.  Paris.  Vit, 
Abbat.  p.  94.  col.  a. 

it 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.  THE  ARTS. 

it  is  impoffible  to  collect  from  them,  a  diftincl; 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  thefe  operations 
were  performed.  Marl  feems  ftill  to  have  been 
the  chief  manure  next  to  dung,  employed  by  the 
Anglo-Norman,  as  it  had  been  by  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Britiih  hufbandmen11.  Summer- 
fallowing  of  lands  defigned  for  wheat,  and 
ploughing  them  feveral  times,  appears  to  have 
been  a  common  practice  of  the  Engliih  farmers 
of  this  period.  For  Giraldus  Cambrenh's,  in  his 
defcription  of  Wales,  takes  notice  of  it  as  a 
great  lingularity  in  the  hufoandmen  of  that 
country,  "  that  they  ploughed  their  lands  only 
"  once  a-year  in  March  or  April,  in  order  to 
"  fow  them  with  oats ;  but  did  not,  like  other 
"  farmers,  plough  them  twice  in  fummer,  and 
"  once  in  winter,  in  order  to  prepare  them  for 
t(  wheat"1."  On  the  border  of  one  of  the  com- 
partiments  in  the  famous  tapeftry  of  Baieux,  we 
fee  the  figure  of  one  man  fowing,  with  a  fheet 
about  his  neck,  containing  the  feed  under  his 
left  arm,  and  fcattering  it  with  his  right  hand ; 
and  of  another  man  harrowing  with  one  har- 
row, drawn  by  one  horfe  '3.  In  two  plates  of 
Mr.  Strutt's  very  curious  and  valuable  work, 
quoted  in  the  next  page,  we  perceive  the  figures 
of  feveral  perfons  engaged  in  mowing,  reaping, 
threfhing  and  winnowing ;  in  all  which  opera- 

"  M.  Paris,  Hift.  p.  181.  col.i.     In  Vit.  Abbat.  p.ioi.col.i. 
11  Giral.  Cambrenf.  Defcript.  Cambrize,c.  8.  p. 887. 
13  Montfau9on    Monumens    de    Monarchic    Frai^oife,    torn.  i. 
plate  47. 

VOL.  vi.  N  tioris 


178  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

tions  there  appears  to  be  little  fingular  or  dif- 
ferent from  modern  practice. I4 
state  of          Agriculture  feems  to  have  been  in  a  very  im- 

Agriculture 

in  Scot-  perfect  ftate  in  Scotland  towards  the  end  of  this 
land.  period.  For  in  a  parliament  held  at  Scone,  by 
King  Alexander  II.  A.D.  1214.,  it  was  enacted, 
that  fuch  farmers  as  had  four  oxen  or  cows,  or 
upwards,  mould  labour  their  lands,  by  tilling 
them  with  a  plough,  and  fhould  begin  to  till 
fifteen  days  before  Candlemas  j  and  that  fuch 
farmers  as  had  not  fo  many  as  four  oxen,  though 
they  could  not  labour  their  lands  by  tilling, 
mould  delve  as  much  with  hand  and  foot  as 
would  produce  a  fufficient  quantity  of  corn  to 
fupport  themfelves  and  their  families IS.  But 
this  law  was  probably  defigned  for  the  high- 
lands, and  moft  uncultivated  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. For  in  the  fame  parliament,  a  very  fevere 
law  was  made  againfl  thofe  farmers  who  did  not 
extirpate  a  pernicious  weed  called  guilde  out  of 
their  lands,  which  feems  to  indicate  a  more  ad- 
vanced ftate  of  cultivation. l6 

Garden-  All  the  the  branches  of  gardening  were  much 
improved  in  England  by  the  Normans,  who  com- 
ing from  a  country  abounding  with  gardens, 
orchards,  and  vineyards,  naturally  laboured  to 
introduce  the  fame  accommodations  in  their  new 
fettlements.  William  of  Malmfbury,  who  flou- 
riftied  in  the  f  o  rmerpart  of  the  twelfth  century, 

1+  Mr.  Strutt's  compkat  View  of  the  Manners,  Cuftoms,  &c.  of 
England,  vol.i.  plates  n,  12. 

15  Regiam  Majeftatem,  9.307,  "  Id.  p.  335* 

celebrates 


Chap.  5.  Sea.  r.  THE  ARTS. 

celebrates  the  vale  of  Glocefter,  near  to  which 
he  fpent  his  whole  life,  for  its  great  fertility 
both  in  corn  and  fruit-trees,  fome  of  which  the 
foil  produced  fpontaneoufly  by  the  way-fides, 
and  others  were  cultivated,  yielding  fuch  prodi- 
gious quantities  of  the  fineft  fruits  as  were  fuffi- 
cient  to  excite  the  moil  indolent  to  be  induflri- 
ous ll.  "  This  vale  (adds  he)  is  planted  thicker 
".  with  vineyards  than  any  other  province  in 
"  England ;  and  they  produce  grapes  in  the 
"  greatefl  abundance,  and  of  the  fweeteft  tafte. 
"  The  wine  that  is  made  in  thefe  vineyards  hath 
"  no  difagreeable  tartnefs  in  the  mouth,  and  is 
"  very  little  inferior  in  flavour  to  the  wines  of 
"  France  "."  This  is  a  decifive  proof  that  vine- 
yards were  planted  and  cultivated  in  England,  in 
this  period,  for  the  purpofe  of  making  wine. 
Many  of  thefe  vineyards  were  planted  by  abbots 
and  bifhops  for  the  benefit  of  their  monks  and 
clergy.  Martin,  for  example,  Abbot  of  St. 
Edmundfbury,  planted  a  vineyard  for  the  ufe  of 
his  abbey,  A.  D.  1 140. ;  and  Hugh  Bifhop  of 
Lincoln  paid  a  fine  to  the  King  of  no  lefs  than 
five  hundred  marks,  that  the  crops  of  corn  pro- 
duced on  the  eftates,  and  wine  made  in  the  vine- 
yards, together  with  the  wine-prefles,  belonging 
to  that  fee  in  the  year  in  which  a  bifhop  died, 
mould  be  the  property  of  the  bifliop,  though  he 
fhould  happen  to  die  before  Martinmas ".  This 

i  W.Malmf.  de  Pontific.  AngL  1.4. fol. i6r.  l8  Id. ibid. 

19  Chron.  Saxon.  p.24O.     Hift.  Canob.  Burgenf.  p.8g.     Madox. 
Hift.  Excheq.  p.  289. 

N  2  fine, 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III 

fine,  it  is  true,  was  paid  to  Henry  III.  about 
fourteen  years  after  the  conclufion  of  this  period; 
but  the  vineyards  had  been  planted  long  before, 
and  our  kings  had  been  accuftomed  to  claim  the 
produce  of  them  when  a  bifliop  died  before  Mar- 
tinmas. 

Famines  But  notwithftanding  all  the  improvements  that 
were  made  in  agriculture,  and  that  England,  was 
reputed  the  moft  fertile  country  in  Europe,  it  can- 
not be  denied,  that  there  were  fome  very  fevere 
famines  felt  in  it  in  the  courfe  of  this  period 20. 
An  attentive  examination,  however,  of  the  cir- 
cumftances  of  thefe  famines  will  ferve  ftill  fur- 
ther to  convince  us,  that  agriculture  was  much 
improved,  and  a  more  conftant  fupply  of  the  ne- 
ceflaries  of  life  provided,  by  the  Normans,  after 
they  had  obtained  a  firm  eilablifliment.  For  of 
the  five  great  famines  that  raged  in  this  period, 
four  happened  within  a  few  years  after  the  con- 
queft,  and  were  partly  produced  by  the  dreadful 
devaftations  of  war ;  and  the  only  deftru&ive  fa- 
mine that  fell  out  in  the  twelfth  century  (A.  D. 
1125.)  was  occalioned  by  prodigious  rains  and 
floods  in  harvelt ;  againft  the  fatal  effects  of 
which  no  fkill  or  induftry  of  the  hufbandmen 
can  guard. 2I 

ArcHtec-        Architecture,  in  all  its  branches,  received  as 

ture.         great  improvements  in  this  period  as  agricul* 

ture.    The  truth  is,  that  the  twelfth  century  may 

very  properly  be  called  the  age  of  architecture, 

*  Chron.  Sason,  p.  178. 184.  188.  204.  a»9-  "  Id.  ibid. 

in 


Chep-5-  Sea.  i.  THE  ARTS. 

in  which  the  rage  for  building  was  more  violent 
in  England  than  at  any  other  time.  The  great 
and  general  improvements  that  were  made  in  the 
fabrics  of  houfes  and  churches  in  the  firft  years 
of  this  century,  are  thus  defcribed  by  a  con- 
temporary  writer :  "  The  new  cathedrals  and  in- 
"  numerable  churches  that  were  built  in  all  parts, 
"  together  with  the  many  magnificent  cloifters 
"  and  monafteries,  and  other  apartments  of 
"  monks,  that  were  then  eredled,  afford  a  fuffi- 
"  cient  proof  of  the  great  felicity  of  England  in 
"  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  The  religious  of  every 
"  order  enjoying  peace  and  profperity,  dif- 
"  played  the  moil  aftoniming  ardour  in  every 
"  thing  that  might  increafe  the  fplendour  of 
"  divine  worfhip.  The  fervent  zeal  of  the  faith- 
"  ful  prompted  them  to  pull  down  houfes  and 
"  churches  every  where,  and  rebuild  them  in  a 
ce  better  manner.  By  this  means  the  ancient 
"  edifices  that  had  been  raifed  in  the  days  of 
"  Edgar,  Edward,  and  other  Chriflian  kings, 
"  were  demolifhed,  and  others  of  greater  magni- 
"  tude  and  magnificence,  and  of  more  elegant 
"  workmanfliip,  were  erected  in  their  room  to 
«  the  glory  of  God."  " 

As  the  prodigious   power  of  religious  zeal,  Arts  of  the 
whatever  turn  it  happens  to  take,  when  it  is  clersy- 
thoroughly  heated,  is  well  known,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  give  one  example  of  the  arts  em- 
ployed by  the  clergy  and  monks  of  this  period, 

beo'fdk  '         '*. 

*  Orderic.  Vital.  Hift.Eccle£'l.io.  p. 788. 

N  3  to 


182  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

to  inflame  the  pious  ardour  of  the  kings,  nobles, 
and  people,  for  building  and  adorning  churches. 
When  Joffred,  Abbot  of  Croyland,  refolved  to 
rebuild  the  church  of  his  monaftery  in  a  moft. 
magnificent  manner,  A.D.  1106.,  he  obtained 
from  the  Archbifhops  of  Canterbury  and  York, 
a  bull  difpenling  with  the  third  part  of  all  pe- 
nances for  fin  to  thofe  who  contributed  any  thing 
towards  the  building  of  that  church.  This  bull 
was  directed  not  only  to  the  King  and  people  of 
England,  but  to  the  Kings  of  France  and  Scot- 
land, and  to  all  other  kings,  earls,  barons,  arch- 
bifhops,  bilhops,  abbots,  priors,  rectors,  prefby- 
ters,  and  clerks,  and  to  all  true  believers  in 
Chrift,  rich  and  poor,  in  all  Chriflian  kingdoms. 
To  make  the  bed  ufe  of  this  bull,  he  fenttwo  of 
his  moft  eloquent  monks  to  proclaim  it  over  all 
France  and  Flanders,  two  other  monks  into 
Scotland,  two  into  Denmark  and  Norway,  two 
into  Wales,  Cornwall,  and  Ireland,  and  others 
into  different  parts  of  England.  "  By  this  means 
"  (fays  the  hiflorian)  the  wonderful  benefits 
"  granted  to  all  the  contributors  to  the  building 
"  of  this  church  were  publiflied  to  the  very  ends 
"  of  the  earth  ;  and  great  heaps  of  treafure  and 
"  maffes  of  yellow  metal  flowed  in  from  all 
*'  countries,  upon  the  venerable  Abbot  Joffred, 
"  and  encouraged  him  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
"  his  church."  Having  fpent  about  four  years 
in  collecting  mountains  of  different  kinds  of 
marble  from  quarries  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
together  with  great  quantities  of  lime,  iron, 

brafs, 


Chap. 5.  Se<a.  i.  THE  ARTS.  183 

brafs,  and  other  materials  for  building,  he  fixed  a 
day  for  the  great  ceremony  of  laying  the  found- 
ation, which  he  contrived  to  make  a  very  effec- 
tual mean  of  raifing  the  fuperftru6lure.  For  on 
the  long-expected  day,  the  feafl  of  the  holy 
virgins  Felicitas  and  Perpetua,  an  immenfe  mul- 
titude of  earls,  barons,  and  knights,  with  their 
ladies  and  families,  of  abbots,  priors,  monks, 
nuns,  clerks,  and  perfons  of  all  ranks,  arrived 
at  Croyland,  to  aflifl  at  this  ceremony.  The 
pious  Abbot  Joffred  began  by  faying  certain 
prayers,  and  fhedding  a  flood  of  tears,  on  the 
foundation.  Then  each  of  the  earls,  barons, 
knights,  with  their  ladies,  fons,  and  daughters, 
the  abbots,  clerks,  and  others,  laid  a  ftone,  and 
upon  it  depofited  a  fum  of  money,  a  grant  of 
lands,  tithes,  or  patronages,  or  a  promife  of 
ftone,  lime,  wood,  labour,  or  carriages,  for 
building  the  church.  After  this  the  Abbot  en- 
tertained the  whole  company,  amounting  to  five 
thoufand  perfons,  at  dinner 23.  To  this  enter, 
tainment  they  were  well  entitled ;  for  the  money, 
and  grants  of  different  kinds,  which  they  had 
depofited  on  the  foundation-ftones,  were  alone 
fufficient  to  have  raifed  a  very  noble  fabric.  By 
fuch  arts  as  thefe  the  clergy  infpired  kings, 
nobles,  and  people  of  all  ranks,  with  fo  ardent  a 
fpirit  for  thefe  pious  works,  that  in  the  courfe  of 
this  period  almoft  all  the  facred  edifices  in  Eng- 
land were  rebuilt,  and  many  hundreds  of  new 

21  P.  Blefenf.  Continuat.  Hift.  Ingulph.  p.  113— uo. 

N  4  ones 


184  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

ones  raifed  from  the  foundation.  Nor  was  this 
fpirit  confined  to  England,  but  prevailed  as  much 
in  Scotland  in  proportion  to  its  extent  and  riches, 
King  David  I.  alone,  beiides  feveral  cathedrals 
and  other  churches,  built  no  fewer  than  thirteen 
abbeys  and  priories,  fbme  of  which  were  very 
magnificent  ftructures. 24 

Sacred  ar-       The  facred  architecture  of  the  Anglo-Normans 
c  iteaure.   -n  ^  beginnjng  of  tm's  period,  did  not  differ 

much  in  its  flyle  and  manner  from  that  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons  ;  their  churches  being  in  general 
plain,  low,  ftrong,  and  dark ;  the  arches  both 
of  the  doors  and  windows  femicircular ;  with  few 
or  no  ornaments 2S.  By  degrees,  through  much 
practice,  our  architects,  who  were  all  monks  or 
clergymen,  improved  in  their  tafte  and  fkill,and 
ventured  to  form  plans  of  more  noble,  light, 
and  elevated  ftructures,  with  a  great  variety  of 
ornaments  ;  which  led  to  that  bold  magnificent 
ftyle  of  building,  commonly,  though  perhaps 
not  very  properly,  called  the  latter  Gothic.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  our  monkifli  architects  were 
affifted  in  attaining  this  ftyle  of  building  by 
models  from  foreign  countries,  or  by  inftructions 
from  fuch  of  their  own  number  as  had  vifited 
Italy,  France,  Spain,  or  the  Eafl.  But,  with- 
out entering  into  uncertain  difputes  about  the 
origin  of  this  ftyle  of  architecture,  it  is  fufficient 

14  Spottifwonde's  Religious  Houfes. 

15  Dr.  Ducarel's   Anglo-Norman   Antiquitiei,    p.  ioa.,  &c.    Mr. 
Strutt's   Manners,   &c.    of    England,  vol.  i.     p.  104.       Benthatn's 
Hift.  Ely.  pref.  Grofe's  Antiquities  of  England,  pref.  p.  63.  &c. 

to 


Chap. 5.  Sea. i.  THE   ARTS.  185 

to  obferve  that  it  began  to  appear  in  England 
in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  and  was  diftinguifhed 
from  the  more  ancient  Gothic  by  the  following 
marks.  The  walls  were  much  higher  though 
not  fo  thick  and  fupported  on  the  outfide  by 
buttrefies; — the  doors  and  windows  were  wider 
and  loftier,  and  the  arches  of  both  were  no 
longer  femicircular,  but  pointed;  and  were 
fometimes  ornamented  with  clufters  of  pillars  on 
each  fide,  and  great  variety  of  carvings — the 
larger  windows  had  mullions  of  flone  for  orna- 
ment ;  and  for  the  conveniency  of  fixing  the 
glafs,  the  pillars  that  fupported  the  roof  were 
lofty  and  flender,  and  frequently  furrounded 
with  fmall  pillars  that  made  them  appear  like  a 
clufler; — the  arches  of  the  roof,  like  thofe  of  the 
doors  and  windows,  were  pointed; — the  roof 
was  covered  with  lead,  and  the  fabric  orna- 
mented on  the  top  at  each  end  with  pinnacles, 
and  with  a  tower  over  the  middle  of  the  crofs ;  on 
which  about  the  end  of  this  period,  very  lofty 
fpires  of  wood  and  flone  began  to  be  erected 26. 
This  mode  of  architecture,  which,  with  fome 
variations,  flourifhed  more  than  three  centuries, 
produced  many  ftupendous  edifices,  which  are 
flill  viewed  with  pleafure  and  admiration.  Many 
of  thefe  magnificent  ftructures  were  built  with 
ftones  brought  from  the  quarries  near  Caen  in 


56  Sir  Chrift.  Wren's  Parentalia,  p.  498.      Bentham,  Hift.   Ely* 
pref.  Grofe's  Antiquities,  pref.  p. 70. 

10  Normandy, 


1 86  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Normandy,  which  very  much  enhanced  the  ex- 
pence  of  their  erection. 2? 

Civil  ar-  The  houfes  of  the  common  people  in  the  coun- 
try,  and  of  the  lower  burgeffes  in  towns  and 
cities,  were  very  little  improved  in  their  ilruc- 
ture  in  the  courfe  of  this  period ;  that  molt 
numerous  and  ufeful  order  of  men  being  much 
depreffed  in  the  times  we  are  now  delineating, 
Even  in  the  capital  city  of  London,  all  the 
houfes  of  mechanics  and  common  burgefles  were 
built  of  wood,  and  covered  with  flraw  or  reeds, 
towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century 1S.  But 
the  palaces,  or  rather  caftles,  of  the  Anglo- 
Norman  kings,  barons,  and  prelates,  were  very 
different  from  the  refidences  of  perfons  of  the 
fame  rank  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  times.  For  this 
we  have  the  teftimony  of  a  perfon  of  undoubted 
credit,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  them  both. 
"  The  Anglo-Saxon  nobles  (fays  William  of 
"  Malmfbury)  fquandered  away  their  ample 
"  revenues  in  low  and  mean  houfes ;  but  the 
"  French  and  Norman  barons  are  very  different 
"  from  them,  living  at  lefs  expence,  but  in 
«'  great  and  magnificent  palaces 29."  The  truth 
is,  that  the  rage  of  building  fortified  caftles 
was  no  lefs  violent  among  the  Norman  princes, 
prelates,  and  barons,  than  that  of  building 
churches.  To  this  they  were  prompted,  not 
only  by  the  cuflom  of  their  native  country,  but 

17  Grofe's  Antiquities,  pref.  p.  7  7. 

38  Stow's  Survey  of  London,  vol.i.  p.  69. 

*»  W.Malmf.  p. 5 7.  col.*. 

alfo 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.          THE  ARTS.  187 

alfo  by  their  dangerous  fituation  in  this  ifland. 
Surrounded  by  multitudes,  whom  they  had  de- 
preffed  and  plundered,  and  by  whom  they  were 
abhorred,  they  could  not  think  themfelves  fafe 
without    the   protection   of   deep   ditches   and 
ftrong  walls.     The  conqueror  himfelf  was  fen- 
iible,  that  the  want  of  fortified  places  in  Eng- 
land had  greatly  facilitated  his  conqueft,    and 
might  facilitate  his  expulfion ;  and  therefore  he 
made  all  poflible  hafte  to  remedy  this  defe<5l,  by 
building  very  magnificent  and  ftrong  caftles  in 
all  the  towns  within  the  royal  demefnes.     "  Wil- 
"  liam  (Tays  Matthew  Paris)   excelled  all  his 
"  predecefibrs  in  building  caftles,  and  greatly 
"  haraffed  his  fubjects  and  vaiTals  with   thefe 
"  works30.*'     All  his  earls,  barons,   and  even 
prelates,  imitated  his  example ;  and  it  was  the 
firft  care  of  every  one  who  received  the  grant  of 
an  eftate  from  the  crown  to  build  a  caftle  upon 
it  for  his  defence  and  refidence.     The  difputes 
about  the   fucceffion  in  the  following  reigns, 
kept  up  this  fpirit  for  building  great  and  ftrong 
caftles.      William    Rufus   was   ftill    a    greater 
builder  than  his  father.     "  This  William  (fays 
"  Henry   Knyghton)    was   much    addicted   to 
«*  building   royal   caftles    and  palaces,   as  the 
"  caftles  of  Dover,  Windfor,  Norwich,  Exeter, 
"  the  palace  of  Weftminfter,  and  many  others, 
"  teftify  j  nor  was  there  any  king  of  England 

90  M.  Paris,  Hift.  p.  8.  col.  2.    Simeon  Dunelm.  Hift.  001.197,  I9^» 
R.  de  Diceto  Chron.  col. 48 a. 

"  before 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

"  before  him  that  erected  fo  many,  and  fuch 
"  noble  edifices 3'."  Henry  I.  was  alfo  a  great 
builder  both  of  caftles  and  monafleries 3Z.  But 
this  rage  for  building  never  prevailed  fo  much  in 
any  period  of  the  Englifti  hiflory  as  in  the  tur- 
bulent reign  of  King  Stephen,  from  A.  D.  1135. 
to  A.  D.  1 154.  "  In  this  reign  (as  we  are  told 
"  by  the  author  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle)  every 
c<  one  who  was  able,  built  a  caftle  ;  fo  that  the 
"  poor  people  were  worn  out  with  the  toil  of 
"  thefe  buildings,  and  the  whole  kingdom  was 
"  covered  with  caftles 33."  This  laft  expreffion 
will  hardly  appear  too  ftrong,  when  we  are  in- 
formed, that  befides  all  the  caftles  before  that 
time  in  England,  no  fewer  than  eleven  hundred 
and  fifteen  were  raifed  from  the  foundation  in  the 
ihort  fpace  of  nineteen  years. 34 

MUitary  An  art  fo  much  practifed  as  architecture  was 
arehitec-  jn  this  period,  muft  have  been  much  improved. 
That  it  really  was  fo,  will  appear  from  the  fol- 
lowing very  brief  defcription  of  the  moft  com- 
mon form  and  ftructure  of  a  royal  caftle,  or  of 
that  of  a  great  earl,  baron,  or  prelate,  in  this 
period ;  and  as  thefe  caftles  ferved  both  for 
refidence  and  defence,  this  defcription  will  ferve 
for  an  account  both  of  the  domeftic  and  military 
architecture  of  thofe  times,  which  cannot  well 
be  feparated, 

JI  Hen.  Knyghton,  col.  2373. 

3J  R.deDiceto  Chron.  coLjoj.'  *  Chron.  Saxon,  p. 33 8. 

*  ft.  deDkcto,  col.jag. 

The 


Chap.  5-  Sedt.i.  THE  ARTS. 

The  fituation  of  the  caftles  of  the  Anglo-  Defcrip- 
Norman  kings  and  barons  was  moil  commonly  tlcnofa 

.    '  .  .    J   caftle* 

on  an  eminence,  and  near  a  river ;  a  ntuation 
on  feveral  accounts  eligible.     The  whole  fite  of 
the  caftle  (which  was  frequently  of  great  extent 
and  irregular  figure)  was  furrounded  by  a  deep 
#nd  broad  ditch,  fometimes  filled  with  .water,, 
and  fometimes  dry,  called  thefoffe 3S.    Before  the 
great  gate  was  an  outwork,  called  a  barbacan, 
or  antemural,  which  was  a  ftrong  and  high  wall, 
with  turrets  upon  it,  defigned  for  the  defence  of 
the  gate  and  drawbridge 36.    On  the  infide  of  the 
ditch  flood  the  wall  of  the  caflle,  about  eight  or 
ten  feet  thick,  and  between  twenty  and  thirty 
feet  high,  with  a  parapet,  and  a  kind  of  embra- 
fures,  called  crennels,  on  the  top.    On  this  wall 
at  proper  diflances  fquare  towers  of  two  or  three 
flories  high  were  built,  which  ferved  for  lodging 
fome  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  proprietor  of 
the  caftle  and  for  other  purpofes  j  and  on  the 
infide  were  erected  lodgings  for  the  common 
fervants  or  retainers,  granaries,  florehoufes,  and 
other  neceffary  offices.    On  the  top  of  this  wall, 
and  on  the  flat  roofs  of  thefe  buildings,  flood  the 
defenders  of  the  caftle,  when  it  was  belieged,  and 
from  thence  difcharged  arrows,  darts,  and  ftones, 
on  the  befiegers.     The  great  gate  of  the  caftle 
flood  in  the  courfe  of  this  wall,  and  was  flrongly 
fortified  with  a  tower  on  each  fide,  and  rooms 
over  the  paflage,  which  was  clpfed  with  thick 

3*  Du  Cange  Gloff.  voc.  Foffatum.  36  Id.  voc.  Barbacana. 

folding 


I90  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

folding  doors  of  oak,  often  plated  with  iron, 
and  with  an  iron  portcullis  or  grate  let  down 
from  above.  Within  this  outward  wall  was  a 
large  open  fpace  or  court,  called  in  the  largefl 
and  moft  perfect  caftles,  the  outer  bayle  or 
ballium,  in  which  flood  commonly  a  church  or 
chapel.  On  the  infide  of  this  outer  bayle  was 
another  ditch,  wall,  gate,  and  towers,  inclofing 
the  inner  bayle,  or  court,  within  which  the  chief 
tower  or  keep  was  built.  This  was  a  very  large 
fquare  fabric,  four  or  five  ftories  high,  having 
fmall  windows  in  prodigious  thick  walls,  which 
rendered  the  apartments  within  it  dark  and 
gloomy.  This  great  tower  was  the  palace  of  the 
prince,  prelate,  or  baron,  to  whom  the  caftle 
belonged,  and  the  refidence  of  the  conftable  or 
governor.  Under  ground  were  difmal  dark 
vaults,  for  the  confinement  of  prifoners,  which 
made  it  fometimes  be  called  the  dungeon.  In 
this  building  alfo  was  the  great  hall,  in  which 
the  owner  difplayed  his  hofpitality,  by  enter- 
taining his  numerous  friends  and  followers 37. 
At  one  end  of  the  great  halls  of  caftles,  palaces, 
and  monafteries,  there  was  a  place  raifed  a  little 
above  the  reft  of  the  floor,  called  the  deis,  where 
the  chief  table  ftood,  at  which  perfons  of  the 
highell  rank  dined 3S.  Though  there  were  un- 
queftionably  great  variations  in  the  ftructure  of 

i7  See  Mr.  Grofe's  Preface,  p.  5,  6,  7,  8.  to  his  Antiquities  of 
England  and  Wales,  from  which  I  gratefully  acknowledge  the  above 
defcription  is  chiefly  taken. 

3'  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat,  p.  gz.  col.  i.  p.  148,  col.  z. 

1 6  caftles 


Chap.  5.  Sea.  i.  THE  ARTS. 

caftles  and  palaces  in  this  period,  yet  the  moft 
perfect  and  magnificent  of  them  feem  to  have 
been  conftrudted  nearly  on  the  above  plan. 
Such,  to  give  one  example,  was  the  famous 
caftle  of  Bedford,  as  appears  from  the  following 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  it  was  taken  by 
Henry  III.,  A.D.  1224. 39.  The  caftle  was  taken 
by  four  affaults.  "  In  the  firft  was  taken  the 
"  barbacan  ;  in  the  fecond  the  outer  ballia  ;  at 
"  the  third  attack,  the  wall  by  the  old  tower 
"  was  thrown  down  by  the  miners,  where,  with 
"  great  danger,  they  poflefled  themfelves  of  the 
"  inner  ballia,  through  a  chink  ;  at  the  fourth 
"  affault,  the  miners  fet  fire  to  the  tower,  fo 
"  that  the  fmoke  burft  out,  and  the  tower  itfelf 
'*•  was  cloven  to  that  degree,  as  to  Ihew  viiibly 
*fc  fome  broad  chinks;  whereupon  the  enemy 
"  furrendered."  *° 

The  caftles,  monafteries,  and  greater  churches  Famous 
of  this  period,  were  generally  covered  with  lead, 
the  windows,  glazed  j  and  when  the  walls  were 
not  of  afhler,  they  were  neatly  plaftered  and 
whitewafhed  on  both  fides 4t.  The  doors,  floors, 
and  roof,  were  commonly  made  of  oak  planks 
and  beams,  exactly  fmoothed  and  jointed,  and' 
frequently  carved 4i.  It  is  hardly  neceflary  to 
obferve,  that  the  building  one  of  thefe  great  and 
magnificent  caftles,  monafteries,  or  churches,  of 

39  M.  Paris,  Hift.  Ang.  p.  zai,  saz. 

40  Camden's  Britannia,  vol.i.  p.  3 14.  col.  a. 

41  M.Paris,  Vit.Abbat.  p-4».  col.».         4I  Id,  ibid,  p. 79.  col. a. 

which 


I92  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

which  there  were  many  in  England,  mull  have 
been  a  work  of  prodigious  expence  and  labour; 
and  that  the  architects  and  artificers,  by  whom 
that  work  was  planned  and  executed,  mufl  have 
attained  confiderable  dexterity  in  their  refpeelive 
arts.  Several  ofthefe  architects  have  obtained 
a  place  in  hiftory,  and  are  highly  celebrated  for 
their  fuperior  fkill.  William  of  Sens,  architect 
to  Archbifhop  Lanfranc  in  building  his  cathedral, 
is  faid,  by  Gervafe  of  Canterbury,  to  have  been 
a  moft  exquifite  artift  both  in  ftone  and  wood. 
He  made  not  only  a  model  of  the  whole  ca- 
thedral, but  of  every  particular  piece  offculp- 
ture  and  carving,  for  the  direction  of  the  work- 
men ;  and  invented  many  curious  machines  for 
loading  and  unloading  fliips,  and  conveying 
heavy  weights  by  land,  becaufe  all  the  flones 
were  brought  from  Normandy 43.  Matthew 
Paris  fpeaks  even  in  a  higher  ftrain  of  Walter  of 
Coventry,  who  flouriflied  towards  the  end  of 
this  period,  when  he  fays,  that  "  fo  excellent 
u  an  architect  had  never  yet  appeared,  and  pro- 
"  bably  never  would  appear,  in  the  world  4V 
This  encomium  was  undoubtedly  too  high  ;  but 
it  is  impoffible  to  view  the  remains  of  many 
magnificent  fabrics,  both  facred  and  civil,  that 
were  erected  in  this  period,  without  admiring  the 
genius  of  the  architects  by  whom  they  were 

43  Gervas   de  Combuftione  et  Reparatione  Dorobernenf.  Ecclef. 
€01.1290,  1291. 

**  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p.  79.  col.  a, 

planned, 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.  THE  ARTS.  193 

planned,  and  the  dexterity  of  the  workmen  by 
whom  they  were  executed. 

Though  the  arts  of  refining  and  working  me-  Metallic 
tals,  which  are  fo  ufeful  in  themfelves,  and  fo  arts* 
necefiary  to  the  practice  of  the  other  arts,  were 
very  far  from  being  in  an  imperfect  (late  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  they  certainly  received  fome 
improvements  in  the  prefent  period 4S.  The  art 
of  making  defenfive  armour,  in  particular,  was 
brought  to  (uch  perfection,  that  a  knight  com- 
pletely armed  was  almoft  invulnerable 46.  A  fuit 
of  this  armour  confided  of  many  different  pieces, 
for  the  fevcral  parts  of  the  body,  nicely  jointed, 
to  make  them  fit  eafy,  and  allow  freedom  of  mo- 
tion and  exertion  of  ftrength ;  the  whole  was 
well  tempered,  finely  poliftied,  and  often  beau- 
tifully gilt,  which  are  fufficient  evidences  of  the 
dexterity  of  the  artifts 47.  But  thofe  who  wrought 
in  the  more  precious  metals  of  gold  and  filver, 
had  attained  to  ftill  greater  perfection  in  their 
art.  This  appears  from  the  direct  teftimony  of 
contemporary  writers,  and  from  the  defcriptions 
of  fome  of  the  works  of  theie  artifts.  When 
Robert,  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's,  fent  a  prefent  of 
two  candlefticks  made  of  gold  and  filver,  with 
wonderful  art,  to  his  country-man  Pope  Adrian 
IV.,  A.  D.  1 158.,  they  were  greatly  admired  and 
praifed  by  that  pontiff  and  his  courtiers,  who 
acknowledged  they  had  never  beheld  any  pieces 

«  See  vol.  4.  chap.  5.  p.  127.  &  Orderic.  ViuLp.Sj*. 

47  Martin.  Anecdot.  torn.  i.  col.  1306. 

VOL.  VI.  O  Of 


194  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  lit. 

of  \vorkmanfhip  of  that  kind  fo  exquifitely  beau- 
tiful 4S.  '  A  goldfmith*  named  Baldwine,  who 
flourifhed  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  was  very 
famous,  and  made  many  admirable  pieces  of 
plate  for  the  ufe  of  churches.  "  Simon,  Abbot 
"  of  St.  Alban's,  (fays  Matthew  Paris,)  dedi- 
'*  cated  to  God,  and  the  church  of  the  holy 
"  martyr  Alban,  for  the  perpetual  prefervation 
"  of  his  own  memory,  a  very  large  cup  of  gold, 
"  than  which  there  was  not  one  more  noble  or 
"  beautiful  in  all  England.  It  was  made  of  the 
"  purefl  gold,  by  that  renowned  goldfmith, 
"  Matter  Baldwine,  adorned  with  flowers  and 
"  foliages  of  the  mofl  delicate  workmanfliip, 
6<  and  fet  around  with  precious  Hones  in  the 
"  mod  elegant  manner.  Befides  this,  he  gave 
"  to  that  church  a  veffel  for  keeping  the  eu- 
"  charifl,  which  was  fufpended  over  the  high 
"  altar,  and  excited  univerfal  admiration.  It 
*'  was  made  by  the  hand  of  the  fame  Baldwine; 
"  and  though  it  was  of  the  finefl  gold,  and  en- 
"  riched  with  precious  ftories  of  ineflimable  va- 
"  lue,  the  workmanfliip  was  more  excellent  than 
"  the  materials  4V  Thefe  artifls  alfo  excelled 
in  carting  figures  of  all  kinds,  in  brafs,  filver, 
and  gold,  for  ornamenting  cabinets,  flirines,  al- 
tars, and  the  like.  There  was  in  the  fame  abbey 
of  St.  Alban's  a  flirine  adorned  with  the  whole 
hiftory  of  our  Saviour's  paflion,  in  fuch  cafl 
figures  s°.  The  exceffive  riches  of  the  church  in 

-"  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p.  47.  col.  I. 

*'J  Id.  ibid.  p.6o.  col.  z.  w  Id.  ibid.  p.6i.  col.  I. 

this 


Chap,  5.  Sea.  i.  THE  ARTS. 

this  period,  and  the  ambition  of  many  prelates 
and  abbots,  to  difplay  their  piety  and  gratify 
their  pride,  by  adorning  their  cathedrals  and 
abbeys,  contributed  very  much  to  the  improve- 
ment of  this,  and  of  feveral  other  arts,  by  af- 
fording the  higheft  encouragement  to  the  artifts. 
The  truth  is,  that  many  of  the  mofl  curious  ar- 
tifts of  this  period  were  ecclefiaftics,  and  fome  of 
them  even  prelates ;  and  that  in  fome  churches 
there  were  certain  prebends  appropriated  to 
thofe  of  their  clergy  who  excelled  a$  architects, 
workers  in  (lone,  wood,  or  metals,  and  fuch 
arts  as  were  neceffary  in  building  and  adorning 
monafteries  and  cathedrals. SI 

The  arts  of  dreffing  and  fpinning  wool  and  flax-,  clothing 
weaving  both  linen  and  woollen  cloth,  and  fe-  arts* 
veral  other  clothing  arts,  were  well  known  to 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  and  practifed  by  them  with 
no  little  fuccefs,  before  the  conqueft sz.  There 
is,  however,  fufficient  evidence  that  all  thefe  arts 
were  improved  after  that  event,  in  the  courfe  of 
our  prefent  period.  This  was  partly  owing  to 
the  great  multitude  of  manufacturers  of  cloth, 
who  came  from  Flanders,  and  fettled  in  Eng- 
land, in  thofe  times.  The  people  of  that  coun- 
try were  then  fo  famous  for  their  fkill  in  the 
woollen  manufactory,  that  one  of  our  ancient 
hiftorians  favs,  "  the  art  of  weaving  feemed  to 

V  *  \J 

"  be  a  peculiar  gift  beftowed  upon  them  by 

51  Hiftoire  Liteiaire  de  la  France,  torn.  7.  p.  141,  141;  torn.  9. 
p.  221,  &c.  .      5J  See  vol.4,  chap.  5.  p.132 — 137- 

02  "  nature." 


I96  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  nature  "."  By  this  they  were  fo  much  en- 
riched, that  fome  of  their  manufacturers  and 
merchants  rivalled  princes  in  wealth  and  luxury. 
Befides  the  great  number  of  Flemings  who  came 
over  in  the  army  of  the  Conqueror,  there  were 
feveral  confiderable  emigrations  of  them  from 
their  own  country  into  England,  particularly  in 
the  reigns  of  Henry  I.-  and  King  Stephen  s\ 
After  their  fettlement  in  this  ifland,  which 
abounded  in  the  beft  materials  for  their  manu- 
factories, they  purfued  their  former  occupation 
•with  great  advantage  to  themfelves  and  to  the 
kingdom.  Giraldus  Cambreniis,  in  his  Itinerary 
of  Wales,  obferves,  that  "  the  inhabitants  of 
"  the  diftrict  of  Rofs  in  Pembrokefhire,  who 
"  derived  their  origin  from  Flanders,  were 
"  much  addicted  to,  and  greatly  excelled,  in 
"  the  woollen  manufactory."  " 

Weavers'  For  the  improvement  of  the  clothing-arts  the 
gUd».  weavers  in  all  the  great"  towns  of  England  were 
formed  into  gilds  or  corporations,  and  had  va- 
rious privileges  beftowed  upon  them  by  royal 
charters,  for  which  they  paid  certain  fines  into 
the  exchequer.  The  weavers  of  Oxford  paid  a 
mark  of  gold  for  their  gild,  in  the  fifth  of  King 
Stephen ;  thofe  of  London  paid  fixteen  pounds 
for  theirs  in  the  fifteenth,  and  thofe  of  Lincoln 
fined  two  chafeures  or  hounds  for  theirs  in  the 


53  Gervas  Chron.  col.  1349. 

54  J.  Brompt.  Chron.  icoj.     Gervas,  col.  1349. 

"  -Girald.  Cambrenf.  Itinerariura  Walliae,  Li.  ch.  n.  p. 848. 

twelfth 


Chap.  5.  Se&.  i.          THE  ARTS.  197 

twelfth  of  the  fame  reign  s6.  In  the  twelfth  of 
Henry  II.  the  weavers  of  Winchefter  paid  one 
mark  of  gold  as  a  grefome,  and  two  marks  as 
their  annual  rate,  for  enjoying  the  rights  of  their 
gild,  and  the  privilege  of  chufing  their  own 
aldermen ;  and  in  the  fame  year,  the  fullers  of 
the  fame  city,  who  formed  another  corporation, 
paid  fix  pounds  for  their  gild. 57 

ln«the  reign  of  Richard  I.  the  woollen  manu-  Law«re- 
faftory  became  the  fubje&  of  legiflation  ;  and  a 
law  was  made,  A.D.  1197.,  for  regulating  the 
fabrication  and  fale  of  cloth.     By  that  law,  "  it 
"  was  enacted, — That  all  woollen  cloths  ihall 
"  every  where  be  made  of  the  fame  breadth, 
"  viz.  two  ells  within  the  lifts  j  and  of  the  fame 
"  goodnefs  in  the  middle  as  at  the  fides. — 
"  That  the  ell  mail  be  of  the  fame  length  over 
**  all  the  kingdom,  and  that  it  (hall  be  made  of 
"  iron. — That  no  merchant  in  any  part  of  the 
**  kingdom  of  England  mall  ilretch  before  his 
"  fhop  or  booth,  a  red,  or  black  cloth,  or  any 
"  other  thing,   by  which  the   fight  of  buyers 
"  is  frequently  deceived  in  the  choice  of  good 
"  cloth. — That  no  cloth  of  any  other  colour 
"  than  black  fhall  be  fold  in  any  part  of  the 
"  kingdom,  except  in  cities  and  capital  burghs ; 
"  and  that  in  all  cities  and  burghs,  four  or  fix 
"  men,  according  to  the  fize  of  the  place,  Ihall 
"  be  appointed  to  enforce  the  obfervation  of 
"  thefe  regulations,  by  feizing  the  perfons  and 

ifi  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  ch.i3.  fedl.  3.  p.^aj.  S7  Id.  ibid. 

03  "  goods 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN,  Book  IK- 

"  goods  of  all  who  tranfgrefs  them  s\"  This  re- 
markable law demonftrates,  that  the  manufactory 
of  broad  cloth  was  not  only  eftablifhed  in  Eng- 
land in  this  period,  but  that  it  had  arrived  at 
confiderable  maturity,  and  had  become  an  objecl; 
of  national  attention.  There  is  evidence  Itill 
remaining  that  this  law  was  for  fome  time  very 
ftrictly  executed  ;  but  that  in  the  reign  of  King 
John,  when  every  thing  became  venal,  the  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  purchafed  licences  to 
make  their  cloth  either  broad  or  narrow  as  they 
pleafed,  which  brought  confiderable  fums  into 
the  royal  exchequer. " 

Tapeftry.  That  tapeflry  hangings,  with  hiflorical  figures 
woven  in  them,  were  ufed  in  England  in  this 
period,  we  have  the  clearefl  evidence.  Richard, 
vrho  was  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's  from  A.  D.  1088. 
to  A.  D.  1119.,  made  a  prefent  to  his  monaftery 
of  a  fuit  of  hangings,  which  contained  the  whole 
hiftory  of  St.  Alban60.  But  whether  thefe  hang- 
ings had  been  made  in  England  or  not  is  uncer- 
tain, although  it  is  not  improbable  that  this  cu- 
rious art  might  be  introduced  by  fome  of  the 
many  manufacturers  from  the  Netherlands,  who 
fettled  in  Britain  in  this  period. 

Silks.  Silks  of  various  kinds  are  frequently  mentioned 

both  in  the  records  and  by  the  hiftorians  of  this 
period,  and  even  feem  not  to  have  been  very 

5*  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  440.  col.  2.     M.  Paris  Hift.  Ang.  p.  134. 
s*  Hoveden.  Annal.  p. 467.  col.  2. 
*°  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p-3j.  col.  i. 

uncommon. 


Chap.  5.  Sea,  i.          THE  ARTS. 

uncommon.  For  we  often  meet  with  accounts  of 
filk  veftments,  cops,  altar-cloths,  hangings,  &c. 
in  great  quantities,  purchafed  by  prelates,  for 
the  ufe  of  themfelves,  their  clergy,  and  their 
churches61.  Nor  was  the  ufe  of  filks  confined 
to  the  church  and  clergy.  They  were  worn  alfo 
by  kings,  queens,  princes,  and  other  perfons  of 
high  rank,  efpecially  on  folemn  occafions6*. 
But  it  is  much  more  probable,  that  thefe  filks 
were  imported  from  Spain,  Sicily,  Majorca, 
Ivica,  and  other  countries,  than  that  they  were 
manufactured  in  Britain.  The  filk  manufactory 
feems  to  have  flouriflied  greatly,  at  this  time,  in 
the  two  laft-mentioned  iflands,  as  each  of  them 
paid  an  annual  tribute  of  two  hundred  pieces  of 
filk  to  the  King  of  Arragon  *3.  Roger  King  of 
Sicily  having  taken  the  cities  of  Corinth,  Thebes, 
and  Athens,  A.  0.1148.,  got  into  his  hands  a 
great  number  of  filk  weavers,  brought  them, 
with  the  implements  and  materials  for  the  exer- 
cife  of  their  art,  and  fettled  them  at  Palermo  in 
Sicily64.  A  writer  who  vifited  this  manufactory, 
A.D.  1169.,  reprefents  it  to  have  been  then  in 
a  mod  flourifhing  condition,  producing  great 
quantities  of  filks,  both  plain  and  figured,  of 
many  different  colours.  "  There  (adds  he)  you 
"  might  have  feen  other  workmen  making  filks 

61  Anglia  Sacra,  tom.a.  p.  416.  421.    W.  Malmf.  p.n8.  Hiftoria 
Coenobii  Burgenf.  a  Jofepho  Sparke  edit.  London  1723.  p.ioo,  &c» 

62  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  chap.io.  fedl.ia. 
•   6i  R.  Hoveden.  Annal.  p-sSy.  col.  a. 

64  Otto  Frifingenf. .Hift.  Imp.  Frederic.  Lif  .€.33,     . 

04  ««  inter- 


200  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III- 

"  interwoven  with  gold,  and  adorned  with 
"  figures,  compofed  of  many  fparkling  gems 6s." 
It  will  afterwards  appear,  that  thofe  elegant  arts 
were  not  long  confined  to  Sicily. 

Embroid-  We  have  already  feen  that  the  Anglo-Saxon 
ery*  ladies  before  the  conqueft,  excelled  in  the  art  of 
embroidery66.  This  art  was  rather  improved 
than  injured  by  that  event,  and  the  Englifli 
ladies  ftill  maintained  their  fuperiority  in  this 
refpect.  When  Robert  Abbot  of  St.Alban's 
vifited  his  countryman  Pope  Adrian  IV.,  he  made 
him  feveral  valuable  prefents,  and,  amongft  other 
things,  three  mitres,  and  a  pair  of  fandals,  of 
moft  admirable  workmanlhip.  His  Holinefs  re- 
fufed  his  other  prefents,  but  thankfully  accepted 
of  the  mitres  and  fandals,  being  charmed  with 
their  exquifite  beauty.  Thefe  admired  pieces  of 
embroidery  were  the  work  of  Chriftina  Abbefs  of 
Markgate67.  Another  pope,  not  long  after,  ad- 
mired the  embroidered  veilments  of  fome  Eng- 
lifli clergymen,  afked  where  they  had  been  made; 
arid  being  anfwered — in  England, — he  cried  out, 
i — "  O  England!  thou  garden  of  delights,  thou 
"  inexhauflible  fountain  of  riches,  from  thee  I 
"  never  can  exact  too  much ;"  and  immediately 
difpatched  his  bulls  to  feveral  Engliih  abbots, 
commanding  them  to  procure  him  fome  ofthefe 
embroidered  cloths  and  filks  for  his  own  drefs  es» 

<•  v 

*5  Falcaldus  Hiftoria  Sicula,  Praefat. 

96  See  vol. 4.  ch.  5.  p.J33.  ^  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p.  46. 

**  Spelnaan.  Gloff.  voc.  Aurifrifia.     M.Paris  Hift.  p.473- 

rom 


Chap.  5.  Sea.  i.          THE  ARTS,  2OI 

From  the  defcriptions  of  thefe  facerdotal  veft- 
ments  in  our  ancient  writers,  they  feem  to  have 
merited  the  admiration  which  they  excited. 
Some  of  them  (as  we  are  informed  by  contem-  . 
porary  writers)  were  almoft  quite  covered  with 
gold  and  precious  ftones,  and  others  adorned 
with  the  mod  beautiful  figures  of  men,  beads, 
birds,  trees,  and  flowers 69.  It  may  not  however 
be  improper  to  fugged,  that  if  thefe  and  other 
works,  which  appeared  fo  exquifitely  beautiful 
to  the  writers  of  this  period,  were  now  extant, 
it  is  probable  that  they  would  not  excite  fo  much 
admiration  in  the  prefent  age,  when  the  arts 
are  fo  much  improved. 

No  art  was  more  neceflary,  more  cultivated,  Art  of  war. 
or  more  improved,  in  Britain,  in  this  period, 
than  that  of  war.  "  The  Normans  (fays  Wil- 
"  liam  of  Malmlbury)  are  a  people  who  delight 
"  in  war,  and  are  unhappy  when  they  are  not 
"  engaged  in  fome  military  operation.  They 
"  excel  in  all  the  arts  of  attacking  their  enemies 
"  when  their  forces  are  fufficient ;  and,  when 
"  thefe  are  defective,  they  are  no  lefs  expert  iii 
"  military  ftratagems,  and  the  arts  of  corruption 
"  by  money."  7° 

The  armies  of  Britain,  and  of  all  the  nations  Their 
of  Europe,  in  the  feudal  times,  confided  chiefly  armies- 
of  cavalry,  compofed  of  earls,  barons,  knights, 
and  others,  who  held  their  lands  by  knights'  ier- 

^  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p.4Q.  col.  i.     Hiftoria  Coenobii  Burgenf. 
p.ioo,  loi.  °  W.Malmf.  1.3.  p.j;.  col.  a. 

ii  t  vice, 


202  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

vice,   or  of  their  fubftitutes.     All  thefe  were 
obliged,  by  their  tenures,  to  take  the  field  when 
called  upon  by  their  fovereign,  together  with  a 
certain  number  of  knights,  well  mounted  and 
properly  armed,  and  to  ferve  a  certain  number 
of  days  at  their  own  expence,  their  lands  being 
confidered  as  their  pay.     As  it  often  happened, 
that  many  who  held  lands  by  knights*  fervice, 
were  fuperannuated,  or  infirm,  or  otherwife  in- 
capable of  performing  that  fervice  in  perfon, 
they  were  permitted,  or  rather  obliged,  to  per- 
form it  by  proper  fubftitutes.     The  clergy  alfo, 
who  poffefled  a  great  proportion  of  lands,  for 
which  they  could  not  in  perfon  perform  the  mi- 
litary fervices,  becaufe  they  were  prohibited  by 
the  canons,  were  fubjecled  to  the  fame  neceflity 
of  performing  thefe  fervices  by  fubftitutes,  that 
the  national  defence  might  be  complete.     As 
many  of  the  wars  of  the  kings  of  England,  in 
this  period,  were  carried  on  in  Normandy  and 
France,  the  perfonal  performance  of  their  mi- 
litary  fervices  became  very  inconvenient  and 
expenfive  to  the  poil'efiTors  of  lands  in  England  ; 
which  induced  many  of  them  to  redeem  thefe 
fervices,  by  paying  the  tax  catted  Jcutage.    With 
the  money  arifing  from  this  tax,  the  kings  en- 
gaged ibldiers  of  fortune  to  perform  the  fervices. 
The  cavalry  therefore  of  the  Britilli  armies,  in 
this  period,  conh'fted  of  fuch  earls,  barons,  and 
knights,  as  were  able  and  willing  to  perform  the 
•military  fervices  for  their  lands  in  perfon,  and 
of  the  fubftitutes  of  the  clergy  and  others,  either 
t8  provided 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.  THE  ARTS.  203 

provided  by  tliemfelves,  or  hired  by  the  king.  If 
all  tliefe,  belonging  to  England,  had  been  col- 
lected together,  they  would  have  formed  a  body 
of  fixty  thoufand  horferaen,  as  there  were  fixty 
thoufand  knights'  fees  in  that  kingdom,71 

The  defenfive  armour  of  the  Britifli  cavalry  Defenfive 
have  been  already  defcribed,  except  their  fhields,  armour- 
which  they  carried  on  their  left  arms,  and  with 
which  they  warded  off  the  blows  of  their  ene- 
mies 71.  Thefe  fhields  were  of  an  oval  form, 
confiderably  broader  at  the  top  than  at  the  bot- 
tom. Even  the  horfes  of  fome  of  the  princes, 
earls,  barons,  and  chief  knights,  were  covered 
with  armour  of  fteel  or  iron  ".  The  offenfive 
arms  of  the  cavalry  were,  i.  long  fpears,  or 
lances,  made  of  fome  light  flrong  wood,  as  fir 
or  afh,  and  pointed  with  fleel,  very  fharp,  and 
well  tempered ;  2.  long  and  broad  fwords, 
double-edged,  and  fharp-pointed ;  3.  a  fhort 
dirk  or  dagger. 74 

The  infantry  of  the  Britifh  armies  of  this  infantry. 
period  confided  of  the  freemen  of  the  feveral 
Britifh  flates,  who  did  not  hold  lands  of  the  fove- 
reign  by  knights'  fervice,  but  were  pofTefled  of 
property  to  a  certain  extent,  for  which  they  were 
obliged  to  contribute  to  the  public  defence. 
By  the  famous  affize  of  arms  made  by  Henry  II.j 
A.D.  1 1 8 1.,  every  freeman  who  was  poffefled  of 
fixteen  marks,  either  in  lands  or  goods,  was  ob- 

71  Ordcric.  Vital,  p.  5*3.  7*  Seep.  193. 

"  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.44.  col.  2.  74  Hoveden.  p.  350.  col.t. 

liged 


204  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  Hf. 

liged  to  provide  the  armour  and  weapons  of  a 
man  at  arms ;  and  every  freeman  and  burgefs 
who  pofleffed  ten  marks  was  obliged  to  pro- 
vide the  armour  and  arms  of  an  ordinary  foot- 
foldier75.  The  defenfive  armour  of  a  man  at 
arms  was  a  coat  of  mail,  a  helmet,  and  a 
Ihield ;  and  his  ofFenfive  weapons,  a  fpear  and 
a  fword.  The  defenlive  armour  of  an  ordinary 
foot-foldier  was  a  wambois,  or  jacket  twilted 
with  cotton,  and  an  iron  fcull-cap;  his  offeniive 
arms,  a  fpear,  or  a  bow  and  arrows,  or  a  fling, 
with  a  fword.  Thefe  arms,  by  the  fame  affize, 
were  neither  to  be  fold,  nor  pledged,  nor  feized 
for  debt,  nor  any  way  alienated,  but  tranfmitted 
by  every  man  to  his  heir ;  and  if  any  one  who 
poflefled  them  was  not  capable  of  ufing  them,  he 
was  obliged  to  provide  one  who  was  capable, 
when  he  was  called  into  the  field 76.  By  thefe 
wife  regulations  every  man  who  had  any  valu- 
able flake  in  the  flate  was  obliged  to  contribute 
to  the  public  fafety,  and  was  conftantly  provided 
with  the  means  of  doing  it. 

Mercenary  Befides  thefe  national  forces,  there  were,  in 
this  period,  feveral  bands  of  mercenary  foldiers 
of  fortune,  who  made  a  trade  of  war,  and  were 
occafionally  taken  into  the  pay  of  the  kings  of 
England.  Thefe  were  called  by  various  names, 
as,  Ruptarii,  Bragmanni,  Coterelli,  and  mod  com- 
monly  Brabanzons,  becaufe  many  of  them  were 

75  Hoveden  p«35O.  col.  i.  l6  Id.  ibid. 

natives 


Chap.  5.  8ed.  i.  THE  ARTS.  . 

natives  of  Brabant 77.  They  are  painted  by  the 
hiftorians  of  thofe  times  in  the  moft  odious  co- 
lours,  as  a  collection  of  defperate  lawlefs  ruf* 
flans,  who  lived  by  plunder,  when  they  were  not 
employed  in  war73.  Stephen  feems  to  have  been 
the  firft  Englifti  king  who  took  thefe  mifcreants 
into  his  pay  j  and  his  example  was  imitated  by 
his  three  fuccefibrs,  Henry  II.,  Richard  I.,  and 
John  79.  But  it  was  only  in  times  of  great  con- 
fufion,  when  many  of  their  own  fubjefts  had 
revolted,  that  our  princes  had  recourfe  to  fuch 
deftru6live  auxiliaries.  Thefe  troops  of  ban- 
ditti, rather  than  of  foldiers,  became  at  length 
fo  terrible,  efpecially  to  the  clergy,  that  they 
were  folemnly  excommunicated  by  the  third  ge- 
neral council  of  Lateran,  A.D.  1179.,  and  a 
croifade  was  fet  on  foot  for  their  extermination80. 
One  Durand,  a  common  carpenter,  pretending 
to  have  received  a  comraiffion  from  the  Virgin 
Mary  in  a  vifion,  A.D.  1182.,  put  himfelf  at 
the  head  of  this  croifade,  and  formed  a  military 
fociety  for  the  deflru&ion  of  the  Brabanzons  5 
which,  after  a  long  and  bloody  ftruggle,  was  ac- 
complifhed. 8t 

The  fovereign  of  every  feudal  ftate  was,  by  Military 
the  conftitution,  generaliflimo  or  commander  in  office«- 


77  Du  Gauge  Gloff.  voc.  Ruptarii,  Coterelli,  Brabantes.  Anglia 
Sacra,  torn.  a.  9.391.  78  Gervafii  Chron.  col.  1461. 

79  J.Hagulftad,  col.aSz.  W.  Neubrigen.  1.3.  c.a?.  Anglia  Sa- 
cra) tom.  a.  p.  391.  M.  Paris>  Vita  Abbat.  p. 77.  col.  a. 

*°  Benedict  Abbas,  torn. i.  p. 3 19.  ad  ann.  1179. 

91  Gerva«  Chroh.  col.  1461. 

chief 


206  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III. 

chief  of  its  forces  ;  and  all  the  Britifli  princes  of 
this  period  performed  that  office  in  perfon,  ap- 
pearing conftantly  at  the  head  of  their  armies. 
This  was  not  altogether  owing  to  the  martial 
character  of  thefe  princes,  but  was  abfolutely 
neceffary  to  preferve  fome  degree  of  difcipline  in 
armies  compofed  of  haughty  independent  barons 
and  their  followers.  The  conflable,  who  was 
the  higheil  military  officer,  commanded  under  the 
king,  and,  with  the  affiftance  of  the  marflial  and 
his  officers,  fuperintended  the  mutters,  regu- 
lated the  quarters,  marches,  and  incampments  ; 
determined  all  difputes,  and  appointed  the  pu- 
nimment  of  delinquents,  according  to  martial 
law Sl.  Every  earl  commanded  the  troops  of  his 
county,  and  every  baron  thofe  of  his  barony. 
AU  thefe  offices  or  commands  were  hereditary ; 
which,  as  John  of  Salisbury  obferves,  was  a  de- 
feel;  in  the  military  fytteia  of  the  middle  ages, 
becaufe  by  this  means  many  perfons  were  in- 
verted with  offices  of  great  importance,  for  which 
they  were  naturally  unqualified.  "  In  our  time 
"  (fays  he)  military  (kill  and  difcipline  have 
"  much  declined,  and  are  almoft  quite  de- 
"  ftroyed ;  becaufe  many  poilefs  the  higheft  of- 
"  fices,  without  having  patted  through  the  fub- 
*c  altern  degrees  ;  who  are  proud  indeed  of 
44  their  commands  and  titles,  but  defpife  the 
"  moil  neceffary  qualifications.  Young  men 


Sl  Pafquier  Recherches,  p.  104.     Speknan  Gloflf.  voc.  Conjtabula- 
rius,  Marif callus. 

<c  who 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.  THE  ARTS.  207 

"  who  are  gamefters,  hunters,  hawkers,  and 
"  even  natural  fools,  who  have  never  handled 
"  arms,  or  acquired  any  knowledge  of  the  arts 
"  of  war,  take  upon  them  to  a6l  the  part  of 
"  generals." S3 

The  royal  ftandard  was  confidered  as  the  cem  Standardr. 
tre  of  the  whole  army.  In  the  day  of  battle  it  was 
carried  by  fome  great  baron,  who  was  flandard- 
bearer  of  the  kingdom,  whofe  office  was  very 
honourable,  and  commonly  hereditary.  Henry 
de  Effex  was  ftandard-bearer  of  England  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.,  but  in  a  battle  againfl  the 
Welfh,  A.  D.  ii  57.,  he  was  feized  with  a  panic, 
and  threw  down  the  royal  ftandard  ;  on  which 
the  whole  army  concluded  that  the  King  was 
killed.  Being  tried  for  this  crime,  and  con- 
victed, he  was  condemned  to  lofe  his  office,  his  *r> 
fortune,  and  his  life  ;  which  laft  was  fpared  by 
the  clemency  of  the  King S4.  Every  earl  and 
baron  had  his  particular  ftandard  painted  wijth 
the  armorial  enfigns  of  his  family  j  and  even 
bifhops  and  abbots  had  alfo  ftandards,  with  dif- 
ferent devices,  that  accompanied  their  troops 
when  they  took  the  field85.  Thefe  ftandards 
ferved  not  only  to  diftinguifli  one  body  of  troops 
from  another,  and  to  be  a  centre  of  union  to 
each,  but  they  alfo  contributed  to  animate  the 
foldiers  to  fight  with  courage  for  their  preferva- 


8J  J.  Sarifburienfis  de  Nugis  Curialium,  1.6.  c.  16.  p.  366. 
84  J.  Brornpt.  Chron.  col.  1048.  Gervas  Chron.  col.  1380. 
;i  Simeon  Dunelm.  Ilift.  col.  262. 


tion  ; 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

tion;  becaufe  to  lofe  their  ftandard,  was  efteemed 
the  greateft  difgrace.  The  ftiapes  and  devices  of 
thefe  ftandards  may  be  feen  in  the  works  quoted 
below. S6 

Martial  The  feveral  corps  in  the  army  had  bands  of 
martial  mufic,  which  ferved  to  cheer  them  in 
their  marches,  to  roufe  and  inflame  their  courage 
in  battle,  and  to  drown  the  cries  and  groans  of 
the  wounded.  Thefe  martial  muficians  made 
ufe  of  various  inllruments,  as  horns,  trumpets, 
drums,  flutes,  fifes,  and  heroins  ;  the  lad  of 
which  are  now  unknown 8?.  The  charge  to  battle 
was  given  by  the  found  of  all  the  inllruments  of 
martial  mufic  in  both  armies,  commonly  accom- 
panied with  the  fliouts  or  martial  ibngs  of  the 
combatants. 8S 

Order  of  It  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  any  particular  rule 
was  fixed  for  the  arrangement  of  the  troops  in 
the  order  of  battle.  This  muft  at  all  times  be 
liable  to  great  variations,  arifing  from  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  the  quality  of  the  troops,  the 
genius  of  the  commanders,  the  difpofitions  of  the 
enemy,  and  other  circumftances.  In  general, 
however,  the  Normans  feem  to  have  drawn  up 
their  different  kinds  of  troops  in  different  lines, 
rather  than  to  have  formed  them  into  one  folid 


815  Mr.  $trutt'«  regal  and  ecclefiaftlcal  Antiquities  of  England, 
plate  3.  His  complete  View  of  the  Manners,  &c.  of  England,  vol.  i. 
plates  38. 46, 47- 

*'  Vifcefeuf.  Iter  Richard!  Regis,  l.j.  c.a. 

*8  W.  Pidavien.  p.  aoi.    Orderic.  Vital.  p.50l.    Hen.  Knyghton, 

compact 


-Chap. 5.  SeA.  i.  THE  ARTS.  209 

compact  body,  which  was  the  mofl  common 
method  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  In  the  famous 
battle  of  Haftings,  the  different  practice  of  the 
two  nations  was  mod  confpicuous.  King  Ha- 
rold formed  his  whole  army  into  one  folid  body, 
which  made  a  kind  of  caftle,  impenetrable  on 
all  fides,  of  which  the  royal  flandard  was  the 
centre 89.  The  Duke  of  Normandy,  on  the  con- 
trary, drew  up  his  army  in  three  lines,  according 
to  the  cuftom  of  his  country.  "  In  the  firfl 
"  line  (to  ufe  the  words  of  a  contemporary  hif- 
"  torian,  who  was  a  witnefs  of  what  he  relates) 
"  he  placed  the  foot,  who  were  armed  with  bows 
"  and  arrows,  or  with  flings ;  in  the  fecond  line 
"  he  placed  the  heavy  armed  foot,  who  were 
**  defended  with  coats  of  mail ;  and  in  the  third 
**  line  he -placed  his  cavalry,  in  which  his  chief 
"  flrength  confifted,  and  among  whom  he  was  in 
"  perfon 90."  Agreeable  to  this  difpofition  of 
the  Norman  army,  the  battle  was  begun  by  the 
firft  line,  with  a  fhower  of  arrows  and  flones  from 
their  bows  and  flings ;  which  did  confiderable 
execution,  but  could  not  break  the  folid  phalanx 
of  their  enemies,  who  repulfed  them  by  throwing 
darts,  javelins,  and  flones.  The  fecond  line  then 
advanced  to  the  attack  ;  and  was  in  the  fame 
manner  repulfed.  At  lad  the  cavalry  advanced 
in  a  deep  and  heavy  body,  and  with  their  lances 
and  fwords  made  a  moll  furious  afiault  upon  the 

"o  R.  de  Diceto,  col.  480.     J.  Brompt.  <#1.  960. 
90  W.  Pi&avien.  p.  201. 

VOL.  vi.  P  Englifh; 


210  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Englifh  ;  who  ftill  flood  firm  like  a  wall  com- 
pofed  of  fliields  and  fpears  ;  and  if  they  had  not 
been  tempted,  by  the  pretended  flight  of  their 
enemies,  to  depart  from  their  original  difpofition, 
they  would  have  been  invincible 9I.    But  though 
the  above  feems  to  have  been  the  moil  common 
method  ufed  by  the  Normans  in  the  arrangement 
of  their  troops  ;  yet  fo  many  deviations  from  it 
occur  in  the  defer iptions  of  the  battles  fought  in 
Britain  and  Normandy  in  this  period,  that  they 
cannot  be  enumerated.     In  the  famous  battle  of 
the  Standard,  for  example,  they  adopted  the 
Anglo-Saxon  method,  and  formed  their  forces 
into  one  compact  body,  with  the  ftandard  in  the 
centre91.     In  the  great  battle  (to  give  only  one 
example  more)  that  was  fought  between  Henry  I. 
and  the  King  of  France  at  Brenneville  in  Nor- 
mandy, A. D.  1119.,  a  different  difpofition  was 
made  by  Henry,  who  formed  the  firft  and  fecond 
lines  of  cavalry,  and  the  third  of  infantry.93 
Artillery.         Befides  their  lances,  fpears,  darts,  crofs  bows, 
arrows,  flings,   which  may  be  called  the  fmall 
arms  of  the  middle  ages,   they  had  a  kind  of 
field-artillery  which  they  ufed  in  battle.     This 
artillery  confifted  of  certain  machines  made  of 
wood,    which,   by    various    contrivances,    and 
combinations  of  the  mechanic  powers,   threw 
darts  and  ftones  with  great  force  to  a  great  dif- 

91  W.  Pidayien,  p.aoi. 

91  R.  Hagulftad  de  Bello  Standard!,  col.  322. 

03  J.  Brompt.  Chron.  col.  1007. 

12  tancc. 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.  THE  ARTS.  211 

tance.  Such  machines  were  ufed  with  fuccefs  in 
the  famous  battle  of  Haftings,  and  in  feveral 
other  battles  °4.  The  darts  that  were  fliot  from 
thefe  machines,  as  well  as  from  the  crofs  bows, 
were  called  quarrels;  and  were  pointed  with 
heavy  pieces  of  fteel,  fhaped  like  pyramids,  and 
very  fliarp,  which  made  them  very  defiructive9*. 
This  kind  of  artillery  was  more  frequently  ufed 
in  fea-fights,  than  in  battles  on  more  ;  and  in 
thefe  fights  they  difcharged  not  only  Hones  and 
dartSj  but  alfo  pots  full  of  Greek-fire,  quick-lime, 
and  other  combuftible  materials.  ^ 

As  fea-fights  have  been  mentioned,  it  may  not  Sea-fights. 
be  improper  to  give  the  following  defcription  of 
one  that  was  fought  in  this  period,  between  the 
Chriftian  and  Turkifh  fleets,  before  Ptolemais, 
tranflated  from  an  author  who  was  an  eye-witnefs 
of  what  he  defcribes  :  "  Modern  {hips  of  war 
"  (fays  Geoffrey  de  Vinefauf)  are  either  galleys 
"  or  galliots.  Galleys  are  long,  low,  and  nar- 
"  row,  with  a  beam  extended  from  the  prow, 
"  which  is  commonly  called  thejpur,  with  which 
"  they  pierce  the  mips  of  the  enemy.  Galliots 
"  have  only  one  bank  of  oars,  are  much  fhorter, 
"  more  eafily  wrought,  and  fitter  for  throwing 
"  fire.  When  both  parties  prepared  for  battle, 
"  our  men  drew  up  their  mips,  not  in  a  ftraight 
"  line,  but  bending  a  little  like  a  crefcent, 


54  W.  Pi<ftavien,  p.  201.          95  Du  Cange  GloiE  voc.  Quadrillus. 
)S  G.  Vinefauf.  Jter.  Richard!  Regis,  L  j.  0.34.      Hoveden.  Annal. 
col.  394. 

p  2  "  placing 


212  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

"  placing  the  flrongefl  Ihips  on  the  points,  that 
"  if  the  enemy  attempted  to  break  our  line, 
"  they  might  be  furrounded.  The  fea  was  per- 
"  fedlly  calm  and  fmooth,  as  if  it  had  been  pre- 
"  pared  for  the  occafion,  that  neither  the  rowers, 
"  nor  combatants,  might  mifs  their  flrokes. 
"  The  lignal  of  battle  was  given  by  the  found 
"  of  the  trumpets  on  both  lides,  followed  by 
"  dreadful  Ihouts  and  fhowers  of  darts.  Our 
"  men  imploring  the  divine  affiftance,  plyed 
"  their  oars,  and  puihed  the  fpurs  of  their  gal- 
"  leys  againfl  the  (hips  of  their  enemies.  Now 
"  the  battle  raged.  —  Oars  are  entangled  with 
"  oars,  —  grappling-irons  fix  one  Ihip  to  another, 
" — the  combatants  engage  hand  to  hand, — 
"  and  the  boards  are  fet  on  fire  by  a  flaming 
"  oil,  which  is  commonly  called  Greek-fire.  This 
"  fire  hath  a  moft  fetid  fmell,  with  livid  flames, 
"  and  confumes  even  flints  and  iron :  water 
"  makes  no  impreifion  upon  it ;  a  fprinkling  of 
"  fand  abates  it ;  but  it  can  only  be  extinguished 
"  by  vinegar.  O  how  terrible,  how  cruel,  is  a  fea- 
"  engagement !  Some  are  tortured  by  fire,  — 
"  fome  abforbed  by  the  waves,  —  and  others  ex- 
"  pire  with  wounds.  One  of  our  galleys  was  fet 
"  on  fire  and  boarded  by  the  Turks.  The  rowers 
"  plunged  into  the  fea,  to  fave  their  lives  by 
"  fwimming;  but  a  few  knights,  who  were  heavy- 
"  armed,  fought  in  defpair,  flew  all  the  Turks, 
"  and  brought  their  galley  half-burnt  to  land. 
«*  In  another  of  our  galleys,  the  Turks  feized 
"  the  upper  bank  of  oars,  while  the  Chriftians 

"  kept 


Chap.5- Sea.i.          THE  ARTS.  213 

"  kept  pofTeffion  of  the  lower,  and  by  their 
({  pulling  different  ways,  it  was  tofied  in  a 
"  miferable  manner.  In  this  engagement  the 
"  Turks  loft  one  galley  and  one  galliot,  with 
"  their  crews,  while  we  came  off  triumphant  and 
"  victorious."97 

The  Greek-fire,  mentioned  in  the  above  de-  Greek- 
Icription,  feems  to  have  been  one  of  the  mod 
terrible  inflruments  of  deftrudlion  employed  in 
military  operations,  before  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder. It  was  called  Greek-Jire,  becaufe  it  was 
invented  by  the  Greeks  of  the  Eaftern  empire, 
who,  for  feverat  centuries,  kept  the  compoiition 
of  it  a  profound  fecret.  In  that  period,  the 
emperors  of  Conftantinople  ufed  to  fend  quan- 
tities of  this  fire  to  princes  in  friendfhip  with 
them,  as  the  mofl  valuable  prefent  they  could 
give  them,  and  as  the  greatefl  mark  of  their 
favour98.  But  the  compofition  of  this  liquid 
fire,  as  it  is  fometimes  called,  feems  to  have 
been  no  longer  a  fecret  in  the  twelfth  century,  as 
it  was  then  ufed  in  very  great  quantities,  not 
only  by  the  Chriftians  of  all  nations  in  the  Holy 
Land,  but  alfo  by  the  Turks ".  It  is  faid  to 
have  been  a  compofition  of  fulphur,  bitumen, 
and  naphtha  I0°.  It  had  a  very  ftrong  and  dif- 
agreeable  fmell,  as  we  may  eafily  fuppofe  from 

*  Vinefauf.  Iter  Richardi  Regis,  I.r.  c.  34. 
»*  Luethprand,  l.j.  0.4.     Delmar.  1.3.  p.  33. 
*»  N.  Trivet.  Chron.  ad  ann.  1191. 
*°*  Du  Cange  Not,  ap  Joinvil.  p.  71. 

• 

p  3  its 


2i4  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

its  ingredients ;  burnt  with  a  livid  flame,  and  fo 
inteni'e  a  heat,  that  it  confumed  not  only  all  loft 
combuflible  fubftances,  but  even  Hones  and 
metals'01.  When  it  fell  in  any  confiderable 
quantity,  upon  a  warrior,  it  penetrated  his 
armour,  and  peeled  his  flefti  from  his  bones  with 
exquifite  pain,  which  made  it  an  object  of  great 
terror10*.  This  liquid  fire  was  kept  in  phials 
and  pots,  and  in  thefe  was  difcharged  from 
machines  on"  the  enemy IS3.  One  of  its  moil 
fingular  properties  was,  that  it  burnt  in  water, 
which  did  not  in  the  lead  abate  its  violence  ;  but 
it  yielded  to  feveral  other  things,  particularly  to 
fand,  urine,  and  vinegar,  according  to  the 
monkifti  verfes  quoted  below l04.  For  this  reafon, 
when  an  army  made  an  aflault,  in  which  they 
expected  to  be  oppofed  by  Greek-fire,  they 
provided  themfelves  with  thefe  things  for  its  ex- 
tinction. "  Greek-fire  (fays  Geoffrey  de  Vine- 
"  fauf,  in  defcribing  an  aflault)  was  difcharged 
"  upon  them  from  the  walls  of  the  caftle  and 
(e  city,  like  lightning,  and  ftruck  them  with 
"  great  terror;  but  they  endeavoured  to  pre- 
"  ferve  themfelves  from  it,  by  fand,  vinegar,  and 
"  other  extinguifliers." IOS 


'•'  Vmefauf.  l.i.  c.a4-  '"  Id.  1.  2.  c.i4. 

1-3  Du  Cange,  voc.  Ignis  Gr&cus. 

164  Pereat,  O  Utinam,  ignis  hujus  vena ; 

Non  enim  extinguitur  aqua,  fed  arena; 

Vixque  vinum  acidum  arftat  ejus  frjena, 

Et  urina  ftringitur  ejus  vix  habena. 
I<1S  G.  Vinefauf.  Hiftoria  Captionis  Damutse,  ch.  9. 

As 


Chap.  5.  Sea.  i.  THE  ARTS.  215 

As  Britain  abounded,  in  this  period,  in  fortified  Attack 
towns  and  caftles,  much  of  the  art  of  war  con-  ^ct^f 
filled    in    defending   and    affaulting  places   of  ftrong 
ftrength.     The  manner  in  which  thefe  fortifica-  placc8' 
tions  were  conftrufted  hath   been  already  de- 
fcribed106.     They  were  defended  by  difcharges 
of  the  various  kinds  of  fmall  arms  and  artillery 
then  in  ufe,  from  the  ramparts,  and  by  counter- 
acting all  the  arts  and  efforts  of  the  befiegers.    It 
would  be  a  very  tedious  work  to  enumerate  all 
the  arts  and  all  the  machines  that  were  employed 
in  this  period  in  aflaulting  and  defending  places. 
For  as  the  combinations  of  the  mechanic  powers 
in   forming   engines  for  burfting   open   gates, 
undermining,     fcaling,     and    battering    walls, 
throwing  ttones,  darts,  and  fire,  and  for  oppo£ 
ing  all  thefe  efforts,   are  almofl  innumerable, 
great  fcope  was  given  to  the  genius  and  invention 
both  of  the  befiegers  and  befieged.     The  con- 
fequence  of  this  was,  that  there  were  few  lieges 
of^  great  importance  in  which  fome  new  machine 
was  not  invented.     Of  thefe  machines  above 
twenty  different  kinds  are   mentioned  by  the 
writers  of  this  period 107.     But  a  plain  defcription 
of  a  liege,  given  by  a  contemporary  writer,  will 
probably  be  more  fatisfaetory  to  the  reader,  and 
give  him  a  clearer  idea  of  the  means  employed  in 
attacking  and  defending  places,  than  the  molt 

'•*  See  p.  1 89. 

I0*  For  the  names  and  figures  of  fome  of  thefe  machines,  fee 
the  Preface  to  Mr.  Grofe'i  Antiquities  of  England,  Camden's  Re- 
mains, p.  200. 

p  4  laborious 


2l6  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

laborious  inveftigation  of  the  cotiflru6bions  and 
ufes  of  all  thefe  machines.  For  this  purpofe  I 
have  chofen  the  relation  given  by  an  eye-witnefs 
of  the  liege  of  the  caftle  of  Exeter  by  King 
Stephen,  A.D.  1 136  :  "  The  caftle  of  Exeter  is 
"  built  on  a  lofty  mount,  furrounded  with  im- 
"  penetrable  walls,  ftrengthened  with  Caefarean 
"  towers.  In  this  caftle  Baldwin  de  Redvers 
*'•  placed  a  garrifon  compofed  of  valiant  youths, 
"  the  flower  of  all  England,  to  defend  it  againfl 
"  the  King,  to  which  he  bound  them  by  a  folemn 
"  oath,  and  by  putting  under  their  protection 
"  his  wife  and  children.  When  the  King  in- 
"  vefted  the  caftle,  they  mounted  the  walls  in 
"  mining  armour,  and  treated  him  and  his  army 
"  with  fcorn  and  defiance.  Sometimes  they 
"  fallied  out  from  fecret  paffages,  when  leaft 
"  expected,  and  put  many  of  the  befiegers  to 
«e  the  fword;  fometimes  they  poured  down 
"  fliowers  of  arrows,  darts,  and  other  weapons 
"  on  the  afTailants.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
"  King  and  his  barons  laboured  with  the 
«e  greateft  ardour  to  diftrefs  the  garrifon.  Hav- 
<£  ing  formed  a  very  ftrong  and  well-armed  body 
"  of  foot,  he  afTaulted  the  barbican,  and,  after  a 
"  fierce  and  bloody  ftruggle,  carried  it.  He 
"  next  beat  down,  with  his  engines,  the  bridge 
"  of  communication  between  the  caftle  and  the 
"  town  :  after  which  he  erected  lofty  towers  of 
"  wood,  with  wonderful  art,  to  protect  his  men, 
"  and  enable  them  to  return  the  difcharges  from 
"  the  walls.  In  a  word,  he  gave  the  befieged 

"  no 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  i.  THE  ARTS. 

"  no  reft,  either  day  or  night.  Sometimes  his 
"  men  mounted  on  a  machine  fupported  by  four 
"  wheels,  approached  the  walls,  and  engaged 
*'  hand  to  hand.  Sometimes  he  drew  up  all  the 
"  flingers  of  the  army,  and  threw  into  the  caftle 
"  an  intolerable  mower  of  ftones.  Sometimes  he 
*'  employed  the  moil  fkilful  miners  to  undermine 
*'  the  foundations  of  the  walls.  He  made  ufe  of 
"  machines  of  many  different  kinds  j  fome  of 
"  which  were  very  lofty,  for  infpecling  what  they 
"  were  doing  within  the  caftle ;  and  others  very 
"  low,  for  battering  and  beating  down  the  walls. 
"  The  befieged,  making  a  bold  and  mafterly  de- 
*'  fence,  baffled  all  his  machinations  with  the 
"  mod  aftoniihing  dexterity  and  art IoS.  After 
this  fiege  had  lafted  three  months,  and  King 
Stephen  had  expended  upon  it,  in  machines, 
arms,  and  other  things,  no  lefs  than  fifteen  thou- 
fand  marks,  equal  in  efficacy  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thoufand  pounds  of  our  money,  the 
befieged  were  obliged  to  furrender  for  want  of 
water.109 

*•*  GeftaRegUStephaoi,  apud.Duchenf.  p. 934.         "»  Id.}bid. 


2 1 8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.           Book  III. 


SECTION  II. 

The  hi/lory  ofthejine  or  plea/ing  arts  of  Sculpture,  Paint- 
ing, Poetry,  and  Mtific,  in  Great  Britain,  from  A.D. 
1066.  to  A.D.  1216. 

The  pieaf-  IV  ft  ANKIND,  in  every  ftage  of  fociety,  have 

IVX 


fome  taftc  and  capacity  for  the  imitative 
tention.  afid  pleafing  arts  ;  and  from  the  indulgence  of 
that  tafte,  and  exertion  of  that  capacity,  they 
derive  many  of  their  moft  rational  enjoyments. 
On  this  account,  the  flate  of  thefe  arts  is  an  ob- 
ject worthy  of  attention  in  every  period  of  the 
hiftory  of  our  country. 

Sculpture.  Sculpture,  or  the  art  of  forming  the  figures  of 
men,  birds,  beads,  &c.  in  metal,  flone,  wood, 
or  other  materials,  flourilhes  moft  under  the 
patronage  of  riches  and  fuperftition,  among  a 
wealthy  people  addicted  to  idolatry.  As  Britain 
was  one  of  the  richeft  countries  of  Europe,  in  the 
period  we  are  now  delineating,  and  its  inhabit- 
ants were  much  addicted  to  a  fuperftitious  vene- 
ration for  the  image  of  their  faints,  we  have 
good  reafon  to  believe  that  fculpture  was  much 
cultivated  and  encouraged.  Every  church  had 
a  ftatue  of  its  patron  faint,  while  cathedrals  and 
conventual  churches  were  crowded  with  fuch 
flatues1.  We  may  form  fome  judgment  of  the 

1  Gervafius  de  Combuftione  et  Reparatione  Dorobernenfis  Ecclcfiae, 
col.  1  294,  &c. 

number 


Chap.  5.  Sed.a.  THE  ARTS.  219 

number  of  thefe  ftatues  in  conventual  churches 
from  the  following  account  given  by  Matthew 
Paris,  of  thofe  that  were  creeled  in  the  abbey- 
church  of  St.  Alban's  by  one  Abbot :  "  This 
"  Abbot  William  removed  the  ancient  ftatue  of 
"  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  placed  it  in  another 
"  part  of  the  church,  erecting  a  new  and  more 
"  beautiful  one  in  its  room.  He  did  the  fame 
"  with  refpecl  to  the  ancient  crucifix,  which 
"  flood  aloft  in  the  middle  of  the  church,  and 
"  another  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  that  flood 
"  over  the  altar  of  St.  Blafius,  removing  them 
"  into  the  north  fide  of  the  church,  and  fubfti- 
"  tuting  others  of  more  excellent  workmanfhip 
"  in  their  places,  for  the  edification  and  confo- 
"  lation  of  all  the  laity  who  entered2.  This 
"  abbot  alfo  fet  up  the  great  crucifix  with  its 
"  images  over  the  great  altar 3."  Some  of  thefe 
ftatues,  if  we  may  believe  this  hiflorian,  were 
executed  in  a  very  maflerly  manner.  "  It  mufl 
"  be  mentioned  alfo,  (fays  he)  to  the  praife  of 
"  Abbot  William,  that  the  new  ftatue  of  the 
"  Virgin  Mary,  which  he  prefented  to  jour. 
"  church,  is  admirably  beautiful,  having  been 
"  made  by  Mr.  Walter  de  Colchefter,  with  the 
"  moll  exquifite  art  and  fkill." 4 

Befides  ftatues  the  fculptors  of  this  period  Baflband 
executed   many    figures,    and    even    hiftorical 
pieces,  in  bafTo  and  alto  relievo,  as  ornaments 


2  M.  Paris  Vit.  Abbat.  p.8l.  col.  I.  3  Id.  p. 80.  col*  I. 

4  Id.  p.8i.  coLi. 

Of 


<c 
<c 


220  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

of  churches,  and  objects  of  fuperftitious  venera- 
tion. In  the  fame  abbey  church  of  St.  Alban's, 
we  are  told  by  the  fame  hiftorian,  who  was  a 
monk  of  that  abbey,  there  was  a  curious  piece  of 
this  kind  in  wood,  over  the  high  altar :  "  In  the 
middle  (fays  he)  of  this  piece,  was  a  reprefen- 
tation  of  the  Divine  Majefty,  with  that  of  a 
"  Chriftian  church  and  of  a  Jewifli  fynagogue. 
•'  On  one  hand  was  a  feries  of  figures  repre- 
<f  fenting  the  twelve  patriarchs,  and  on  the 
"  other  hand  another  feries  reprefenting  the 
"  twelve  apoftles s."  In  a  word,  when  architec- 
ture was  cultivated  with  fo  much  ardour,  fculp- 
ture  could  not  be  neglected ;  and  when  fo  many 
noble  and  magnificent  churches  were  built,  ar- 
tifts  could  not  be  wanting  to  adorn  and  furnifh 
them  with  images,  which  were  efteemed  fo  ef- 
fential  to  the  worfhip  that  was  to  be  performed 
in  thefe  facred  ftruetures. 

Painting.  ^he  art  of  painting  was  never  wholly  lofl  in 
any  of  thofe  countries  of  Europe  which  had  been 
provinces  of  the  Roman  empire.  For  though 
the  barbarous  conquerors  of  thofe  countries  de- 
ftroyed  many  magnificent  edifices  and  beauti- 
ful paintings,  not  a  few  of  both  efcaped  their 
ravages,  and  became  the  objects  of  their  admi- 
ration. Some  of  thefe  conquerors  alfo,  when 
the  rage  of  war  was  at  an  end,  difcovered  a 
tafte  for  the  fine  arts,  and  became  their  patrons6. 


%  M.  Paris  Vit.  Abbat.  p.  8 1.  col.  a. 
'  Muratori,  torn.  a.  p.  354. 


Even 


Chap.  5.  Sed. 2.  THE  ARTS. 

Even  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who  were  amongfl  the 
mod  deftruc~live  of  the  northern  conquerors  who 
overturned  the  Roman  empire,  did  not  continue 
long  to  defpife  the  pleafing  arts,  particularly  that 
of  painting,  which  was  prae~lifed  by  them  with 
confiderable  fuccefs 7.  But  the  Norman  conqueft 
contributed  not  a  little  to  the  improvement  of 
the  art  of  painting,  as  well  as  of  architecture,  in 
Britain  j  for  the  Normans  being  as  fuperftitious, 
and  more  magnificent  than  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
they  built  more  beautiful  churches,  and  adorned 
them  with  a  greater  profulion  of  paintings.    The 
roof,  for  example,  of  the  cathedral  church  of 
Canterbury,  built  by  Archbifhop  Lanfranc,  was 
painted,   if   we   may   believe   a   contemporary 
author,  in  the  moft  elegant  manner s.     Aldred 
Archbifhop  of  York,  who  put  the  crown  on  the 
head  of  William  the  Conqueror,  added  much  to 
the  magnitude  and  beauty  of  the  church  of  St. 
John  of  Beverley.     "  He  enlarged  (fays  his 
<c  hiftorian)  the  old  church,  by  adding  a  new 
"  prefbytery,  which  he  dedicated  to  St.  John  the 
"  Evangelift ;  and  he  adorned  the  whole  roof, 
"  from  the  prefbytery  to  the  great  tower,  with 
««  the  moft  beautiful  paintings,  intermixed  with 
"  much  gilding  of  gold,  performed  with  admir- 
"  able  art9."    In  a  word,  it  feems  to  have  been 
the  conftant  cuftom  of  this  period,  to  paint  the 


7  See  vol.  4.  chap.  5.  p.i6o. 

*  Gervas  de  Combufttone  &  Reparatione  Ecclefize  Dorobernienf. 
.tol.  1394.  »  T.  Stubbs  Adi.  Poutific.  Ebor.  col.  1704. 

"      ' 

inner 


222  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

inner  roofs  or  ceilings  of  cathedrals  and  con- 
ventual churches;  but  of  what  kind  thefe  paint- 
ings were,  and  with   what  degree  of  delicacy 
they  were  executed,  we  have  now  no  means  of 
judging,  as  we  cannot  depend  very  much  on  the 
tafte  of  the  monkifli  writers  of  thofe  times,  who 
fpeak  of  them  in  the  higheft  flrains  of  admira- 
tion.    It  is  however  highly  probable,  that  thefe 
paintings  were  of  the  historical  kind,  the  fub- 
jefts  of  which  were  taken  from  the  Scriptures  : 
for  Dudo  of  St.  Quintin  tells  us,  that  Richard  I. 
Duke   of  Normandy,   who   died  A.  D.   1002., 
painted  the  infide  of  a  magnificent  church,  which 
he  built  at  Rouen,  with  hiftorical  paintings. I0 
Portrait-         Portrait-paintings  appear  to  have  been  very 
painting,     common  in  this  period  ;  and  it  is  probable  that 
there  were  few  kings,  queens,  or  princes,  who 
had   not  their  pictures  drawn.      The  learned 
Montfau9on  hath  publifhed  prints  of  four  pic- 
tures  at  full  length,  reprefenting  William  the 
Conqueror,  his  Queen  Matilda,  and  their  two 
fons  Robert  and  William JX.      Thefe  pictures, 
which  are  believed  by  many  to  have  been  drawn 
from  the  life,  were  painted  in  frefco,  on  the  walls 
of  a  chapel  belonging  to.  the  abbey  of  St.  Stephen 
at  Caen,  which  was  built  A.  D.  1064.     They 
are  thus  defcribed :  "  The  Conqueror  was  drawn 
"  as  a  very  tall  man,  clothed  in  a  royal  robe, 

"  Dudo  de  A6Hs  Norman.  1.  3.  p.i53. 

11  Montfau9on  Monumens  de  la  Monarchic  Franyoife,  torn.  i. 
plate  55.  p.4oa. 

"  and 


Chap. 5.  Sea.  2.  THE  ARTS.  223 

"  and  (landing  on  the  back  of  an  hpund  couch- 

ft  ant :  on  his  head  was  a  diadem,  ornamented 

"  with  trifoils ;    his   left   hand   pointed  to   his 

"  breaft,  and  in  his  right  he  held  a  fceptre  fur-  , 

"  mounted  with  a  fleur  de  lys.     Queen  Matilda 

"  was  dreffed  in  a  kirtle  and  mantle ;  and  had 

"  on  her  head  a  diadem,  fimilar  to  that  of  her 

"  hufband  ;  from  the  under  part  whereof  hung 

"  a  vail,  which  was  reprefented  as  falling  care- 

"  lefsly  behind  her  moulders ;  in  her  right  hand 

"  was  a  fceptre,  furmounted  with  a  fleur  de  lys, 

<c  and  in  her  left  a  book :  her  feet  were  fup- 

"  ported  by  the  figure  of  a  lion.     Duke  Robert 

«'  was  reprefented  as  flanding  on  a  hound,  and 

"  clad  in  a  tunique,  over  which  was  thrown  a 

"  fhort  robe  or  mantle:  his  head  was  covered 

"  with  a  bonnet ;  upon  his  right  hand,  .clothed 

"  with  a  glove,  flood  a  hawk,  and  in  his  left 

"  was  a  lure.    The  picture  of  Duke  William  re- 

"  prefented  him  as  a  youth,  bare-headed,  dreffed 

"  in  the  fame  habit  as  his  brother,  and  flanding 

"  on  a  fabulous  monfter :  the  left  hand  of  this 

"  prince  was  clothed  with  a  glove,  andfupported 

"  a  falcon,  which  he  was  feeding  with  his  right. 

"  Thefe  paintings  are  fuppofed  to  have   been 

"  coeval  with  the  foundation   of  the  abbey  of 

"  St.  Stephen,  and  to  have  been  drawn  from  the 

"  life"."  The  learned  Montfaugon  fays,  "That 

"  thefe  four  pictures  have  all  the  air  and  appear- 

"  ance  of  originals." 

"  Doflor  Ducarel's  Anglo-Norman  Antlquitiei,  p.  6r. 

There 


a  44  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Remark-         There  is  an  anecdote  preferved  by  William  of 
oefto'f C"     Malmfbury,  which  feemsto  indicate  that  portrait- 
fomepor-    painting  was  practifed  in  great  perfection  in  this 
period.       A  company  of  banditti  in  Flanders, 
who  pretended  to  be  adherents  of  Guibert  the 
anti-pope,  had  formed  a  plot  to  intercept  and 
rob  Anfelm  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury,  in  his 
way  to  Rome,  A.  0.1097.      The  Archbilhop 
having   received   intelligence  of  their  defign, 
efcaped  by  means  of  a  difguife.     That  he  might 
not  efcape  in  the  fame  manner  on  his  return,  the 
banditti  fent  an  excellent  painter  to  Rome  to 
draw  his  picture  fo  exactly,    that  they  might 
know  him  under  any  difguife.     Of  this  alfo  the 
Archbifhop  received  intelligence ;  and  was  fo 
much  alarmed  that  he  went  a  great  way  out  of  his 
road,  to  avoid  the  danger I3.     About  the  fame 
time  the  pope  and  clergy  employed  the  art  of 
painting  in  promoting  a  croifade  for  the  recovery 
of  the  Holy  Land,  by  fending  certain  irritating 
pictures  to  the  courts  of  princes,  and  expofing 
them  to  the  view  of  the  people.     In  one  of  thefe 
pictures,  Chrift,  was  reprefented  tied  to  a  flake, 
and  fcourged  by  an  Arabian,   fuppofed  to  be 
Mahomet ;    and    in    another  an   Arabian    was 
painted  on  horfeback,  with  his  horfe  ftaling  on 
the  holy  fepulchre.     Thefe  pictures,  it  is  laid, 
excited  the  indignation  both  of  princes  and  peo- 
ple, in  a  very  high  degree,  and  contributed  not 
a  little  to  their  taking  the  crofs. I4 

13  W.  Malmf.  de  Geftis  Pontific.  Angl.  p.  127.  col.  2. 
ltt  Abulfeda,  1. 1.  €.3.     Bohadin  Vit.  Salidini,  ch.  80.  p.  136. 

1 1  Paint- 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  2.  THE  ARTS.  225 

Painting,  in  this  period,  was  not  confined  to  Paintings 
the  ufe  of  the  church,   or  to  the 'portraits  of  ofvariou» 

.  ,          ,  kinds. 

great  men,  but  was  employed  to  various  other 
purpofes;  particularly  to  ornamenting  the  apart- 
ments, furniture,  fhields,  &c.  of  perfons  of  rank 
•and  fortune.  In  the  feventeenth  of  Henry  III. 
a  precept  was  directed  to  the  fheriff  of  Hamp- 
fhire,  commanding  him,  "  to  caufe  the  King's 
"  wainfcotted  chamber  in  the  caftle  of  Win- 
"  chefter  to  be  painted  with  the  fame  hiflories 
"  and  the  fame  pictures  with  which  it  had  been 
"  painted  before I5."  This  is  an  authentic 
proof  that  wainfcotting  chambers,  and  painting 
the  wainfcot  with  hiflorical  paintings,  was  prac- 
tifed  in  England  fo  long  before  the  feventeenth 
of  Henry  III.  A.D.  1233.,  that  the  paintings 
were  fo  much  faded  or  tarnifhed  that  they  needed 
to  be  renewed.  Peter  de  Blois,  Archdeacon  of 
Bath,  and  chaplain  to  Henry  II.,  acquaints  us, 
in  one  of  his  letters,  that  the  great  barons  and 
military  men  of  his  time,  had  their  fhields  and 
faddles  painted  with  the  reprefentations  of 
battles.  In  that  letter  he  cenfures  the  vices,  and 
particularly  the  oftentatious  vanity,  of  thefe 
barons,  with  no  little  feverity;  and,  amongft 
other  things,  fays,  "  They  carry  fhields  into 
"  the  field  fo  richly  gilded,  that  they  prefent  the 
"  profpect  of  booty  rather  than  of  danger  to  the 
"  enemy;  and  they  bring  them  back  untouched, 
«  and,  as  I  may  fay,  in  a  virgin  flate.  They 

15  See  the  Honourable   Mr.  Walpole's  Anecdotes   of   Painting, 
page  3. 

VOL.  vi.  Q  "  alfo 


226  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

"  alfo  caufe  both  their  fhields  and  faddles  to  be 
"  painted  with  reprefentations  of  battles  and 
"  equeftrian  combats,  that  they  may  pleafe  their 
"  imaginations  with  the  contemplation  of  fcenes 
"  in  which  they  do  not  chufe  to  engage."  IS 
Painting  The  art  of  painting  glafs  was  known  and 
practifed  in  France,  and  very  probably  in  Eng- 
land, in  this  period.  Father  Montfai^on  hath 
given  feveral  plates  of  the  paintings  in  the  win- 
dows of  the  abbey  of  St.  Dennis  that  were  painted 
in  the  twelfth  century,  particularly  a  reprefenta- 
tion  of  the  progrefs  of  the  firfl  croifade,  in  ten 
compartments  '7.  This  art,  it  is  believed,  was 
brought  into  England  in  the  reign  of  King 
John. l8 

lilumina-  There  was  a  kind  of  miniature  painting  much 
dons  of  practifed  in  Britain  in  this  period,  and  of  which 
many  curious  fpecimens  are  flill  remaining.  This 
was  called  illuminating  (from  which  limning  is 
derived)  ;  and  was  chiefly  ufed,  as  we  now  ufe 
copper-plates,  in  illuftrating  and  adorning  the 
Bible  and  other  books.  This  art  was  much 
practifed  by  the  clergy,  and  even  "by  fome  in 
the  higheft  ftations  in  the  church  :  "  The  famous 
"  Ofmund  (fays Brompton),  who  was  confecrated 
"  bifhop  of  Salifbury  A.D.  1076.,  did  not  dif- 
*'  dain  to  fpend  fome  part  of  his  time  in  writing, 
"  binding,  and  illuminating  books  'V  Mr. 

16  Opera  Petri  Blefenfis,  Ep.  94.  p.  146, 147. 

17  Montfaugon  Monuments,  &c.  torn.  i.  p-384. 

18  Mr.Walpole's  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  p.5.  note. 

19  J.Brompt.  Chron.  col.  977. 

Strutt 


Chap. 5.  Sad. 2.  THE  ARTS.'  227 

Strutt  hath  given  the  public  an  opportunity  of 
forming  fome  judgment  of  the  degree  of  deli- 
cacy and  art  with  which  thefe  illuminations  were 
executed,  by  publifhing  prints  of  a  prodigious 
number  of  them,  in  his  two  works  quoted  be- 
low 20.  In  the  firft  of  thefe  works,  we  are  pre- 
fented  with  the  genuine  portraits,  in  miniature, 
of  all  the  kings,  and  feveral  of  the  queens,  of  Eng- 
land, from  Edward  the  Confeflbr  to  Henry  VII. 
moftly  in  their  crowns  and  royal  robes,  together 
with  the  portraits  of  many  other  eminent  perfons 
of  both  fexes. 

The  illuminators  and  painters  of  this  period  Artofpre- 
feem  to  have  been  in  poffeffion  of  a  confiderable 
number  of  colouring-materials,  and  to  have 
known  the  arts  of  preparing  and  mixing  them, 
fo  as  to  form  a  great  variety  of  colours.  In  the 
fpecimens  of  their  miniature-paintings  that  are 
ftill  extant,  we  perceive  not  only  the  five  primary 
colours,  but  alfo  various  combinations  of  them. 
There  is  even  fome  appearance  that  they  were 
not  ignorant  of  the  art  of  painting  in  oil,  from 
the  following  precept  of  Henry  III.,  dated  only 
twenty-three  years  after  the  conclufion  of  this 
period  :  "  Pay  out  of  our  treaftiry  to  Odo  the 
"  goldfmith,  and  Edward  his  fon,  one  hundred 
"  and  feventeen  millings  and  ten  pence,  for  oil, 
"  varnifh,  and  colours  bought,  and  pictures 
"  made,  in  the  chamber  of  our  queen  at  Weft- 


50  The  Regal  and  Ecclefiaftical  Antiquities  of  England,  London 
1771*  View  of  the  Cuftoras,  &c.  of  England,  1774- 

Q  2  "  minfter, 


228  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

»  "  minder,  between  the  o6laves  of  the  Holy 
"  Trinity,  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  our  reign, 
"  and  the  feaft  of  St.  Barnabas  the  apoltle,  in 
"  the  fame  year,  which  is  fifteen  days*'."  This 
was  a  confiderable  fum  (equal  in  quantity  of 
filver  to  feventeen  pounds  fourteen  {hillings  of 
our  money,  and  in  efficacy  to  eighty-eight 
pounds)  to  be  expended  in  painting  one  cham- 
ber in  fo  (hort  a  time. 

Poetry.  As  the  Normans  were  more  learned,  and  no 

lefs  fond  of  poetry  than  the  Anglo-Saxons,  that 
mod  pleafing  and  delightful  art,  efpecially  Latin 
poetry,  was  cultivated  with  no  lefs  ardour,  and 
with  greater  fuccefs,  in  this  than  in  the  former 
period.  On  this  account  it  may  be  proper  to 
pay  a  little  more  attention  to  this  than  to  any  of 
the  other  arts. 

The  vernacular  language  of  England,  in  this 
eri°dj  was  *n  fucn  an  imperfecl  and  unfettled 

language,  ilate,  that  it  was  hardly  fit  for  tranfacting  the 
common  bufinefs  of  fociety,  and  very  improper 
for  the  fublime  and  melodious  drains  of  poetry. 
No  fciences  were  taught,  few  letters  were  written, 
few  accounts  were  kept,  few  treatifes  in  profe, 
on  any  fubjecl;,  were  compofed  in  that  lan- 
guage ".  But  fo  drong  a  propenfity  to  poetry 
prevailed,  that  a  prodigious  number  of  poems 
on  different  fubjecl;s,  and  in  various  kinds  of  verfe, 
were  written  in  that  crude  unformed  tongue. 


11  Mr.  Walpole's  Anecdotes  of  Painting,  vol.  i.  p.  6. 
"  See  chap.  7. 


Many 


Chap.5-  SeA.  2.  THE  ARTS.  429 

Many  of  our  heft  poets  indeed  in -this  period, 
fenfible  of  the  imperfection  of  their  native  lan- 
guage, wrote  their  poems  in  Latin,  and  fome  in 
the  Romance  or  Proven9al  tongue.  This  makes 
it  neceflary  to  give  a  very  brief  account,  i.  of 
the  Englifh ;  2.  of  the  Latin ;  and  3.  of  the 
Proven9al  poetry  of  this  period. 

As  many  of  the  poets  of  this  period  were  clerks 
and  monks,  many  of  their  poems  were  on  reli- 
ligious  fubje&s.  Of  this  kind  is  a  tranflation 
of  the  Old  and  New  Teftament  into  Englifh. 
verfe,  fuppofed  to  have  been  made  before  the 
year  1200., — a  verfion  of  the  pfalms,  made  about 
the  fame  time,  —  and  a  large  volume  of  the  lives 
of  the  faints23.  The  only  fpecim«n  of  thefe 
poems  our  limits  can  admit,  is  the  following 
verfion  of  the  hundredth  pfalm : 

Mirthes  to  God  al  erthe  that  es 

Serves  to  Louerdin  faines. 

In  go  yhe  ai  in  his  fiht, 

In  gladnes  that  is  fo  briht. 

Whites  that  louerd  god  is  he  thus 

He  us  made  und  our  felf  noht  us, 

His  folk  and  fhep  of  his  fode  : 

In  gos  his  y  hates  that  are  gode  : 

In  fchrift  his  worches  belive, 

In  ympnes  to  him  yhe  fchrive. 

Heryhcs  his  name  for  Louerde  is  hende, 

In  all  his  merci  do  in  ftrende  and  firande.  '* 

The  minftrels  of  thofe  times  had  a  fet  of  fongs  Sunday* 
of  a  religious  caft,  and  on  religious  fubjects,  fon6»' 

13  Mr.  Warton's  Hiftory  of  Englifh  Poetry,  p.  19.  93.  it. 

14  Id.  ibid.  p.  i jt 

Q  3  which 


230  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

which  they  fung  to  their  harps,  in  the  courts  of 
kings,  and  in  the  halls  of  barons,  on  Sundays, 
inflead  of  thofe  on  love  and  war,  and  fuch  fub- 
jects,  which  they  fung  on  other  days.  The  fol- 
lowing lines  are  the  exordium  of  one  of  thefe 
Sunday -fongs : 

The  •vijions  ofSeynt  Paul  won  be  was  rapt  into  Paradjs. 

Lufteneth  lordynges  leof  and  dere, 

Ze  that  wolen  of  the  Sonday  here : 

The  Sonday  a  day  hit  is 

That  angels  and  archangels  join  i  \vis> 

More  in  that  like  day 

Than  any  odur,  &c. 2S 

Hymns.  The  monks  and  other  clerical  poets  of  this 
period,  compofed  many  fliort  hymns,  in  various 
kinds  of  verfe.  The  following  flanza  of  one  of 
thefe  hymns  may  ferve  as  a  fpecimen.  The  fub- 
jecl;  of  it  is  our  Saviour's  crucifixion  : 

I  fyke  when  y  finge  for  forewe  that  y  fe 
When  y  with  wypinge  bihold  upon  the  tre> 
Ant  fe  Jhefu  the  fuete 
Is  hert  blod  for  lete, 

For  the  love  of  me ; 
Ys  woundes  waxen  wete, 
Thei  wepen,  ffill  and  mete, 

Marie  reweth  me.25 

Love-  Religion  was  not  the  onlyfubjecl;  of  the  Englifli 

poetry  of  this  period.  Love,  the  favourite  theme 


25  Mr.  Warton's  Hiftory  of  Englifli  Poetry,  p.  19.  note. 
j6  Id.  ibid.  p.  3  3. 


Of 


Chap. 5-  Sed.z.          THE  ARTS. 

of  many  poets,  produced  its  fhare  of  verfes.  The 
following  little  poem,  in  which  the  poet  com- 
pares his  miftrefs  to  a  great  variety  of  gems  and 
flowers,  may  ferve  as  a  Ipecimen  of  this  kind 
of  poetry,  and  of  that  alliteration  which  was 
efteemed  a  great  beauty  in  this  period  : 

Ic  hot  a  burde  in  a  hour,  afe  beryl  fo  bryght, 

Afe  faphyr  in  felver  femely  on  fyght, 

Afe  jafpe  the  gentil  that  lemeth  with  lyght, 

Afe  gernet  in  golde  and  rubye  wel  ryht, 

Afe  onycle  he  is  only  holden  on  hyht : 

Afe  a  diamand  the  dere  in  day  when  he  is  dyht : 

He  is  coral  yend  with  Cayfer  and  knyght, 

Afe  emeraude  a  morewen  this  may  haveth  myht. 

The  myht  of  the  margaryte  haveth  this  mai  mere, 

Ffor  charbocele  iche  hire  chafe  bi  chyn  and  bi  chere> 

Hire  rede  ys  as  rofe  that  red  ys  on  ryfe, 

With  lilye  white  leves  lofliim  he  ys, 

The  primros  he  pafleth,  the  penenke  of  prys, 

With  alifaundre  thareto  ache  and  anys  : 

Coynte  as  columbine  fuch  hire  cande  as, 

Glad  under  gore  in  gro  and  in  grys 

Heo  is  blofme  upon  bleo  brighteft  under  bis 

With  celydone  ant  fange  as  thou  thi  felf  fys, 

From  Weye  he  is  wifift  into  Wyrhale, 

Hire  nome  is  in  a  note  of  the  nyghtigale ; 

In  a  note  is  hire  nome  nampneth  hit  non 

Who  fo  ryht  redeth  ronne  to  Johon.  *7 

Several  fatirical  poems  appear  among  the  re-  Satirical 
mains    of  the  Englifli  poetry   of  this   period.  Poems' 
Some  of  thefe  are  general  fatires  againft  monks, 
bifliops,  lawyers,  phyficians,  and  people  of  other 

'7  Mr.  Warton's  Hiftory  of  Englifli  Poetry,  p. 3*. 

Q  4  profef- 


232  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

profefiions.  That  part  of  a  very  curious  fatire 
againft  monks,  in  which  the  author  laflies  them 
for  their  incontinence,  may  ferve  as  an  example 
of  this  kind  of  poetry.  After  the  fatirift  had 
defcribed  the  delightful  lituation,  magnificent 
fabric,  and  great  provifion  of  meats  and  drinks 
of  an  abbey,  with  the  indolence,  gluttony, 
and  drunkennefs  of  its  monks,  he  proceeds 
thus: 

An  other  abbai  is  ther  bi 

For  foth  a  great  nunnerie  ; 

Up  a  river  of  fwet  milk 

Whar  is  plente  grete  of  filk. 

When  the  fummeris  dai  is  hote, 

The  yung  nunnes  takith  a  bote, 

And  doth  ham  forth  in  that  river 

Both  with  oris  and  with  ftere: 

Whan  hi  beth  fur  from  the  abbei 

Hi  makith  him  nakid  for  to  plei, 

Arid  leith  dune  into  the  brimme 

And  doth  him  fleilich  for  to  fwimme : 

The  yung  monkes  that  hi  feeth 

Hi  doth  ham  up,  and  forth  he  fleeth, 

And  comith  to  the  nunnes  anon, 

And  euch  monk  him  takith  on, 

And  fnellich  berith  forth  har  prei 

To  the  mochill  grei  abbei, 

And  techith  the  nonnes  an  oreifun 

With  jambleus  up  and  dun. 

The  munke  that  wol  be  ftaluu  gode, 

And  can  fet  a  riyt  his  node, 

He  fchal  hab  withoute  danger 

xii  wives  each  yer, 

Al  throy  riyt  and  noyt  throy  grace, 

For  to  do  himfelf  folace. 

And 


Chap.  5.  SeA.2.  THE  ARTS. 

And  thilk  monk  that  clepeth  beft 
And  doth  is  likam  all  to  reft, 
Of  him  is  hope,  God  hit  wote, 
To  be  fone  vader  abbot.  *"* 


It  was  far  from  being  fafe  at  this  time  to  write  Danger  of 
fatirical  verfes  againft  particular  perfons,  efpe-  ^in5 
cially  againft  thofe  in  power.  Henry  I.,  A.  D.  poems. 
1124.,  condemned  one  Luke  de  Barra  to  have 
his  eyes  pulled  out,  for  having  written  defama- 
tory ballads  againft  him  ;  and  when  the  Earl  of 
Flanders  very  warmly  interceded  for  the  un- 
happy poet,  the  King  replied,  "  This  man, 
"  being  a  wit,  a  poet,  and  a  minftrel,  hath 
"  compofed  many  indecent  fongs  againft  me, 
"  and  fung  them  openly,  to  the  great  enter- 
"  tainment  and  diverfion  of  my  enemies.  Since 
"  it  hath  pleafed  God  to  deliver  him  into  my 
"  hands,  he  mail  be  punifhed,  to  deter  others 
"  from  the  like  petulance29."  This  cruel  fen- 
tence  was  accordingly  executed  on  the  unfortu- 
nate fatirift  j  who  died  of  the  wounds  he  re- 
ceived in  ftruggling  with  the  executioner. 

But  though  the  kings  and  great  men  of  thofe  Panegy- 
times  were  thus  impatient  of  fatire,  they  were  ""• 
fond  enough  of  panegyrics  ;    which  produced 
poems  of  that  kind  in  great  abundance.     The 
famous  William  Longchamp,  Bifhop  of  Ely,  chan- 
cellor and  chief  jufticiary  of  England,  the  Pope's 


"  Hickefii  Thefaur.  torn.  i.  p.  x^aj  133.    Warton's  Hiftory  of 
Englilh  Poetry,  p.  u. 

*  Orderic  VitaL  p.88o,  881. 

legate, 


234  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN-  Book  III. 

legate,  and  the  great  favourite  of  Richard  I. 
(if  we  may  believe  his  brother  Hugh  Nunant 
Bifhop  of  Chefter),  "  kept  a  number  of  poets 
"  in  his  pay,  to  make  fongs  and  poems  in  his 
"  praife ;  and  allured  the  beft  fingers  and  min- 
"  flrels  by  great  gifts,  to  come  over  from 
"  France,  and  fing  thefe  fongs  in  the  flreets  of 
"  the  feveral  cities  of  England30."  Matilda, 
Queen  of  Henry  I.,  was  fo  generous,  or  rather  fo 
profufe  a  patronefs  of  poets,  that  they  crowded 
to  her  court  from  all  parts  to  prefent  her  with 
their  panegyrics  3t.  So  much  were  the  mufes 
both  courted  and  dreaded  by  the  great  in  this 
period ! 

Elegies,  Among  the  remains  of  the  Englifli  poetry  of 
paftorais,  the  twelfth  century,  are  feveral  elegiac,  paftoral, 
and  defcriptive  poems;  but  for  fpecimens  of 
thefe,  I  muft  refer  the  reader  to  the  very  curious 
work  quoted  below,  to  which  I  have  been  fo 
much  indebted  in  this  article. 3Z 

Latin  The  unfcttled  ftate  of  the  Englifli  language, 

poetry,  fluctuating  between  the  Norman  fpoken  by  one 
part  of  the  people,  and  the  Saxon,  by  another, 
was,  no  doubt,  one  reafon  why  the  Latin  lan- 
guage was  flu  died  with  fo  much  ardour  in  Eng- 
land in  this  period ;  and  that  not  only  all  our 
divines,  philofophers,  and  hiftorians,  but  alfo 
many  of  our  poets,  wrote  in  that  language* 

39  Benedict  Abbas,  ad  ann.  1191. 

41  W.  Mahnf.  1.5.  p.  93.  col.i. 

11  Mr.  Warton's  Hiftory  of  Engliih  Poetry,  p.  29,  &c. 

10    /  Several 


Chap.  5.  Se&.  2.          THE  ARTS.  235 

Several  learned  men,  whom  we  have  already 
mentioned  for  their  other  works,  were  excellent 
Latin  poets,  and  in  that  capacity  claim  a  little 
of  our  attention. 

Henry  of  Huntington,  the  hiftorian,  was  alfo  Henry  of 

a  voluminous  Latin   poet,   and  wrote  feveral  ^untins- 

ton. 
books  of  epigrams  and  love-verfes,  and  a  poem 

upon  herbs.  This  we  are  told  by  himfelf,  in 
the  conclufion  of  his  curious  letter  on  the  con- 
tempt of  the  world : 

Henricus  tibi  ferta  gerens}  epigrammata  primum, 
Praelia  mox  Veneris  gramina  deinde  tuli. 33 

His  invocation  of  Apollo,  and  the  goddefles  of 
Tempe,  in  the  exordium  of  his  poem  on  herbs, 
may  ferve  as  a  fpecimen  of  his  poetry : 

Vatum  raagne  parens,  herbarum  Phoebe  repertor, 
Vofque,  quibus  refonant  Tempe  jocofa,  Dese  ! 
Si  mihi  ferta  prius  hedera  florente  paraftis, 
Ecce  meos  flores  ferta  parate,  fero. 34 

The  famous  John  of  Salifbury  was  not  only  John  of 
well  acquainted  with  the  beft  Roman  poets,  as  Saliftury- 
appears  from   the    numerous  quotations  from 
them   in   his  works,  but  was  himfelf  no  con- 
temptible Latin  poet.    His  poem  prefixed  to  his 
book,  De  nugis  curialium,  is  equally  elegant  and 
witty.     It  is  an  addrefs  to  his  book,  containing 
many  directions  for  its  conduct;  from  which 

33  Anglia  Sacra,  torn.  a.  p.  703. 

34  Leland.  de  Script.  Britan.  torn.  ».  p.  198. 

the 


236  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

the  following  verfes,  alluding  to  the  title  of  his 
work,,  may  be  given  as  a  fpecimen  : 

Nufquam  divertas  ne  quis  te  laedat  euntemj 
Nugarum  luat  garrula  lingua  notas. 
Oninia,  fi  nefcis,  loca  funt  pleniflima  nugis  ; 
Quarum  tota  cohors  eft  inimica  tibi. 
Ecclefia  nugse  regnant,  et  principis  auli; 
In  clauftro  regnant,  pcntificifque  dome. 
In  nugis  clerus,  in  nugis  militis  ufus  ; 
In  nugis  juvenes,  totaque  turba  fenum. 
Ruilicus  in  nugis,  in  nugis  fexus  uterque ; 
Servus  et  ingenuus,  dives,  egenus,  in  his. JS 

Eadmer,  Eadmer,  William  of  Malmfbury,  Peter  of 
*<:•  Blois,  Girald  Barry,  and  feveral  others  of  whom 
we  have  already  given  fome  account,  have  left 
proofs  of  their  proficiency  in  Latin  poetry,  as 
well  as  in  other  parts  of  learning ;  but  extracts 
from  their  works  would  fwell  this  fection  beyond 
its  due  proportion.  It  will  be  more  proper  to 
take  a  little  notice  of  a  very  few  of  the  Latin 
poets  of  this  period,  who  addicted  themfelves 
chiefly  to  poetry,  and  who  have  not  yet  been 
mentioned. 

Hanvill.  John  Hanvill,  or  Hautvill,  a  monk  of  St. 
Alban's,  flouriftied  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century,  and  was  far  from  being  a  contemptible 
Latin  poet.  His  chief  work  was  a  kind  of  moral 
heroic  poem,  in  nine  books,  the  hero  of  which 
he  calls  Architriemus,  who  travelled  over  the 
world,  and  every  where  found  reafon  to  lament 
the  follies,  vices,  and  miferies  of  mankind.  He 

31  J.  Sarilburien.  ad  opus  fuurn. 

dedicated 


Chap.  5-  Sea.z.  THE  ARTS. 

dedicated  this  work  to  his  great  friend  and  patron 
Walter  de  Conflans,  who  was  made  bifliop  of 
Lincoln  A.  D.  1183.  A  few  lines  from  the 
dedication  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  fome 
idea  of  his  ftyle  and  manner  : 

O  cujus  ftudio,  quo  remige  navigat  aeftu, 
Mundanoque  mari  tumedis  exempta  procellis, 
Lincolnniae  fedes  !   O  quern  non  preterit  aequi 
Calculus  !   O  cujus  morum  redolentia  ccelum 
Spondet,  et  efle  nequit  virtus  altiflima  major* 
Indivifa  minor :  cujus  fe  nomen  et  aftris 
Inferit,  et  famoe  lituo  circumfonat  orbem. 36 

Befides  his  Architrienius,  he  wrote  a  volume  of 
Latin  epigrams,  epiftles,  and  fmaller  poems, 
which  (as  an  excellent  judge  who  perufed  them 
declares)  have  coniiderable  merit.37 

Jofephus  Ifcanus  (Jofeph  of  Exeter)  was  the  Jofeph  of 
prince  of  Latin  poets,  in  this  period  we  are  now  Exeter* 
examining,  and  wrote  two  heroic  poems.  The 
Trojan  war  was  the  fubject  of  one  of  thefe 
poems,  which  confifted  of  fix  books,  and  was 
dedicated  to  Baldwin  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury. 
The  fubje6l  of  the  other,  which  was  called 
Antiocheis,  was  the  croifade,  in  which  his 
fovereign  Richard  I.  and  his  patron  Archbifhop 
Baldwin  were  engaged.  Of  the  beauty  and  ex- 
cellence of  the  firfl  of  thefe  poems  we  have  an 
opportunity  of  judging,  becaufe  it  is  ftill  extant, 
and  hath  been  publifhed38.  "  The  dic~lion  is 

36  Bulaei  Hift.  Univerfitat.  Pat-men,  torn.  a.  £.458. 

*>  Mr.  Wharton's  Hift.  of  Englifli  Poetry,  diflertation  a. 

*  At  Bafil,  8vo.  1541.     At  Amfterdam,  4to.  1702. 

"  generally 


238  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

"  generally  pure,  the  periods  round,  and  the 
"  numbers  harmonious;  and,  on  the  whole, 
"  the  ftrufture  of  the  verfification  approaches 
"  nearly  to  that  of  polifhed  Latin  poetry 39." 
It  is  hardly  poffible  to  dip  into  any  part  of  this 
poem,  which  confifls  of  no  fewer  than  three 
thoufand  fix  hundred  forty-fix  lines,  without 
finding  paffages  that  will  juftify  this  favour- 
able opinion  of  its  merit ;  and  therefore  I  mall 
go  no  further  for  an  example  than  to  the  exor- 
dium, in  which  the  fubject  is  propofed  with 
great  plainnefs  and  fimplicity : 

Iliadum  lachrymas,  conceflaque  Pergama  fatis, 
Prcelia  bina  ducum,  bis  adadtam  cladibus  urbem, 
In  cineres,  querimur :  flemufque  quod  Herculis  ira, 
Hefiones  raptus,  Helense  fuga  fregeret  arcem, 
Impulerit  Phrygios  Danaas  exciverit  urbes.  4° 

The  Antiocheis  is  unhappily  loft,  except  a  final! 
fragment,  in  which  the  ancient  heroes  of  Britain 
are  celebrated  in  a  flrain  not  unworthy  of  the 
Mantuan  bard.  Of  the  famous  Prince  Arthur 
our  poet  fings  thus : 

Hinc,  celebri  fato,  felici  floruit  ortu, 

Flos  regum  Arthurus  * 

##*****# 

*         *         *         *         Quemcunque  priorum 
Infpice :  Pellaeum  commendat  fama  tyrannum, 
Pagina  Csefareos  loquitor  Romana  triumphos : 


39  Mr.  Wharton's  Hift.  Eng.  Poet,  difiertat.  2. 

40  Jofepbi  Ifcani  de  Bello  Trojana,  Libri  Sex,  cum  notis  Drefe- 
mii,  Amftelsed.  1702. 

Alciden 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  2.  THE  ARTS.  236 

Alciden  domitis  attolit  gloria  monftris ; 
Sed  nee  pinetum  coryli,  nee  fydera  folem 
JEquant.     Annales  Graios  Latiofque  revolve, 
Prifca  parem  nefcit,  cequalem  poftera  nullum 
Exhibitura  dies.     Reges  fupereminet  omnes : 
Solus  praeteritis  melior,  majorque  futuris. 4I 

Alexander  Necham  was  another  elegant  Latin  Alexander 
poet,  who  flouriftied  in  England  at  the  lame  time  Necham> 
with  Jofeph  of  Exeter.     He  was  born  and  edu- 
cated at  St.  Alban's,  as  appears  from  the  follow- 
ing verfes,  which  may  ferve  alfo  as  a  fpecimen  of 
his  poetry : 

*         *  Clauftrum 

Martyris  Albani  fit  tibi  tuta  quies. 
Hie  locus  setatis  noftne  primordia  novit, 
Annos  Felices,  laetitiseque  dies. 
Hie  locus  ingenuis  puerilis  imbuit  annos 
Artibus,  et  noftrae  laudis  origo  fuit. 
Hie  locus  infignes  magnofque  creavit  alumnos, 
Felix  eximio  martyre,  gente  fitu. 
Militat  hie  Chrifto,  nocluque  dieque  labori 
Indulgit  fanclo  religiofa  cohors.42 

Walter  Mapes,   the  jovial  and  witty  Arch-  Walter 
deacon  of  Oxford,  and  chaplain  to  Henry  II.,  MaPes* 
was  a  good  Latin  poet,  and  a  voluminous  writer. 
His  poems  were  chiefly  of  a  fatirical  or  feftive 
flrain,  and  in  the  rhyming  kind  of  verfes,  com- 
monly called  Leonine,  which  were  much  ufed  by 
the  minor  poets  of  thofe  times.     Three  ftanzas 
from  his  fatire  on  Pope  Innocent,  for  prohibiting 

41  Camden's  Remains,  p.  3 14.     Warton.  Hift.  Poet.  duTertat.z. 

42  Id.  ibid. 

the 


24o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  will  give  us  fome 
idea  of  his  fatirical  vein  ;  and  his  famous  ode  on 
drinking,  will  be  a  fufficient  fpecimen  of  his 
feftive  lays : 

O  quam  dolor  anxius,  quam  tormentum  grave, 
Nobis  eft  dimittere  quoniam  eft  fuave  ! 
O  Romane  pontifex,  ftatuifti  prave, 
Ne  in  tanto  crimine  moriaris  cave. 
Non  eft  Innocentius,  immo  nocens  vere, 
Qui  quod  facto  docuit,  ftudet  abolere  : 
Et  quod  olim  juvenis  voluit  habere, 
Modo  vetus  pontifex  ftudet  prohibere. 
Ecce  jam  pro  clericis  multum  allegavi, 
Necnon  pro  prefbyteris  plura  comprobavi. 
Pater  nq/ier  nunc  pro  me,  quoniam  peccavi, 
Dicat  quifque  prefbyter,  cum  fua  fuavi. 43 

Ode  on  Drinking. 

Mihi  eft  propofitum  in  taberna  mori, 
Vinum  fit  oppofitum  morientis  ori : 
Ut  dicant,  cum  venerint,  angelorum  chori, 
Deus  fit  propitius  huic  potatori. 
Poculis  accenditur  animi  lucerna. 
Cor  imbutum  nec"lare  volat  ad  fuperna ; 
Mihi  fapit  dulcius  vinum  in  taberna, 
Quam  quod  aqua  mifcuit  praefulis  pincerna. 
Suum  cuique  proprium  dat  natura  munus> 
Ego  nunquam  potui  fcribere  jejunus ; 
Me  jejunum  vincere  poffit  puer  unus  ; 
Sitim  et  jejunium  ode  tanquam  funus. 
Unicuique  proprium  dat  natura  bonum, 
Ego  verfus  faciens,  vinum  bibo  bonum, 
Et  quod  habent  melius  dolia  cauponum* 
Tale  vinum  general  copiam  fermonum. 

44  Camden's  Remains,  p.334,  335. 

Tales 


Chap.  5.  Sea.  2.  THE  ARTS.  241 

Tales  verfus  facio,  quale  vinum  bibo, 
Nihil  poflum  fcribere,  nifi  fumpto  cibo ; 
Nihil  valet  penitus,  quodjejunus  fcribo, 
Nafonem  poft  calices  carmine  prseibo. 
Mihi  nunquam  fpiritus  prophetise  datur 
Nifi  tune  cum  fuerit  renter  bene  fatur ; 
Cum  in  arce  cerebri  Bacchus  dominatur, 
In  me  Phoebus  irruit,  ac  miranda  fatur.  ** 

Among  the  Englifh    monks   of    this    period,  Epigram- 
there  were  many  fmart  fatirical  epigram  matifts ;  matift?' 
aconfiderable  number  of  their  epigrams,  which 
are  far  from  being  contemptible,  are  flill  pre- 
ferved.     Our  limits  will  only  allow  us  to  admit 
one  of  Godfrey's,  who  was  Prior  of  Winchefter 
A.  D.I  i  oo.,  on  an  abbot  who    protected   his 
monks  from  others,  but  oppreffed  them  himfelf : 

Tollit  ovem  de  fauce  lupi  perfsepe  moloflus 

Ereptamque  lupo  ventre  rccondit  ovem. 
Tu  quoque  Sceva  tuos  prsedone  tueris  ab  orani, 

Unus  praedo  tamen  perdis  ubique  tuos.  4I 

Latin  elegies  and  epitaphs  were  written  upon  Elegies, 
almofl  all  the  kings,  princes,  prelates,  and  other  &c* 
eminent  perfons  who  died  in  England  in  this 
period ;  and  not  a  few  of  thefe  performances  ap- 
proach to  claffical  purity  of  diction 46.  In  a  word, 
every  kind  of  Latin  poetry  was  cultivated  by  the 
clergy  and  monks  of  the  twelfth  century,  with  a 
degree  of  fuccefs  that  will  hardly  be  credited  by 
thofe  who  are  not  acquainted  with  their  writings. 

*  Camden's  Remains,  p.  334,  333.  4S  Id.  p-3*5. 

46  Oderic.  Vital,  paffim.  Camden's  Remains,  p.3si.  &c.  360.  &c. 

VOL.  vi.  R  The 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

The  language  which  the  Normans  brought  with 
them  into  England,  was  that  which  was  called 
lingua  Romana,  or  the  Romance  language,  which 
was  the  vulgar  tongue  of  all  the  provinces  of 
France  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  47. 
In  this  language  the  Normans  had  already  com- 
pofed  many  poems  and  fongs,  one  of  which  was 
fung  by  the  champion  Taillifer,  at  the  head  of 
the  Norman  army,  before  the  battle  of  Haftings, 
as  we  learn  from  the  following  lines  of  Mailer 
Wace,  an  Anglo-Norman  poet  of  this  period : 48 

Taillifer,  qui  moult  bien  chantoit, 
Sur  un  cheval  qui  toft  alloit, 
Devant  eus  alloit  chantant 
De  1'Allemaigne  et  de  Reliant, 
Et  d'Oliver,  et  de  Vaflaux, 
Que  moururent  a  Rainfchevaux.  <9 

It  was  in  this  lingua  Romana,  or  Romance  tongue, 
(the  daughter  of  the  Latin,  and  mother  of  the 
French)  that  many  metrical  romances  were 
compofed  by  the  French  and  Normans  of  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries :  and  it  was  from 
the  language  in  which  they  were  written,  rather 
than  from  the  extravagant  fables  which  they 
commonly  contained,  that  thefe  poems  were 
called  Romances  5°.  In  the  exordium  of  a  metri- 
cal life  of  Tobiah,  written  by  a  monk  at  the 
defire  of  the  Abbot  of  Kenelworth,  the  language 


*»  See  chap.  7.  +s  W.Malmf.  1.3.  p^.col.i. 

49  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  7.  Advertiflemeni,  p.  73. 
^  Id.  ibid.  Du  Cange  Gloff.  voc.  Romances,  l.j.  p.  1489. 

16  in 


Chap.  5.  Sect.  2.  THE  ARTS.  443 

in  which  it  is  compofed  is  called  the  Roman  or 
Romance  : 

Le  prior  Gwilleyme  me  prie> 
De   1'eglyfe  feynte  Marie 
De  Kenel worth  an  Ardenne, 
Ki  porte  le  plus  haute  peyne 
De  charite,  ke  nul  eglyfe 
Del  reaume  a  devyfe 
Ke  jeo  liz  en  romaunz  le  vie 
De  kelui  ki  ont  nunTobie,  &c.SI 

Some  of  the  French  and  Norman  poets  of  this  Romances. 
period  pretended,  at  leafl,  that  their  poems 
were  true  hiftories,  though  they  gave  them  the 
title  of  Romances,  on  account  of  the  language 
in  which  they  were  written.  Of  this  kind  was 
the  long  hiftorical  poem  of  Maifter  Robert  Wace, 
chaplain  to  Henry  II.,  which  is  fometimes  called 
Roman  de  Rois  a" Angleterre,  and  fometimes  Ro- 
man le  Rou,  et  les  vies  des  Dues  de  Normandie  sz. 
Robert  de  Brunne,  in  the  prologue  to  his  tranf- 
lation  of  one  of  thefe  metrical  hiftorical  poems, 
written  by  an  Anglo-Norman,  fays  the  language 
of  his  original  was  called  Romance  : 

Frankis  fpech  is  cald  Romance, 
So  fais  clerkes  and  men  of  France. 
Pers  of  Langtoft,  a  chanon 
Schaven  in  the  houfe  of  Bridlyngton 
On  Frankis  ftyle  this  ftorie  he  wrote 
Of  Inglis  kings,  &c. 53 

Many  of  thefe  poems,  which  were  originally 
writen  in  Romance,  becauie  it  was  the  language 

51  Wartoni  Hift.  Poet.  p.  85.  »  Id.  p.  6»,  63.    "  Id.  p.  66. 

R  2  Of 


344  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

of  their  authors,  and  of  the  court  and  nobility, 
to  whom  they  were  addrefied,  were  fbon  after 
tranflated  into  the  Englifti  of  thofe  times,  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  native  Englifti,  who  were 
r  called  lewed,  i.  e.  ignorant  men.  This  is  the 

motive  afligned  by  Robert  de   Brunne  for  his 
translating  one  of  thefe  poems : 

For  lewed  men  I  undyrtoke. 

In  Englyflie  tongue  to  make  this  boke : 

For  ma»y  beyn  of  fuch  manere 

That  talys  and  rymys  wyle  bleihty  here.  " 

The  Prove^al  poets  were  very  famous  in  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  not  only  in  their 
own,  but  in  feveral  neighbouring  countries. 
They  were  called  Troubadours,  or  Finders,  from 
the  fertility  of  their  invention  ;  and  were  in  rea- 
lity the  fathers  of  modern  poetry.  No  poets 
were  ever  more  loved,  admired,  and  cherifhed, 
than  thefe  Provencal  bards.  They  were  invited 
to  the  courts  of  the  greatefl  princes,  where  they 
became  the  delight  of  the  brave,  and  the  favour- 
ites of  the  fair,  by  celebrating  the  atchievements 
of  the  one,  and  the  charms  of  the  other,  in  their 
poems.  In  a  word,  the  admiration  which  they 
acquired  was  fo  flattering,  that  feveral  fovereign 
princes  became  Troubadours,  and  wrote  poems 
in  the  Prove^al  language,  which  was  then  the 
moft  perfect  of  all  the  modern  languages  of 
Europe  54.  Richard  I.  of  England  was  one  of 

M  Wartoni  Hift.  Poet,  p.  5  9. 

54  Hiftoire  Literaire  des  Troubedours,  a  Paris,  1774. 

thefe 


Chap.  5.  Sea.  2.  THE  ARTS. 

thefe  royal  fongfters ;  forae  of  whofe  poems,  in 
the  Prover^al  tongue,  are  ftill  extant ;  and  one 
of  them  hath  been  publimed  in  the  very  curious 
work  quoted  below  ss.  The  firft  ftanza  of  that 
poem,  which  was  compofed  in  prifon  in  Germany, 
with  a  tranflation,  is  all  the  Ipecimen  of  this  kind 
of  poetry  that  our  limits  will  admit : 


Ja  mis  horn  pris  non  dira  fa  raifon, 
Adreitament  fe  com  horn  dolent  non : 
Ma  per  conort  pot  il  faire  chanfon. 
Pro  a  d'amis,  mas  poure  ion  li  don. 
Ontai  i  auron  fe  por  ma  reezon, 
Sois  fait  dos  yver  pris. ss 

No  prifoner  his  condition  can  explain, 

But  he  will  fall  into  a  plaintive  {train. 

Yet  to  divert  his  forrows  he  may  fing, 

Though  he  have  friends,  how  poor  the  gifts  they  bring  ! 

Shame  be  on  them !  my  ranfom  they  deny, 

And  I  in  prifon  two  long  winters  lie. 


In  times  when  poetry  was  fo  much  cultivated, 
we  may  be  certain,  that  mufic  could  not  be 
neglected,  efpecially  when  we  confider,  that  the 
union  between  thefe  two  arts  was  much  greater 
in  thofe  times  than  it  is  at  prefent.  For  in  the 
middle  ages,  almoft  all  the  poets  of  France  and 
England,  like  the  ancient  bards  of  Gaul  and 
Britain,  were  muficians,  and  fung  their  verfes  to 
the  mufic  of  their  harps  s7.  Thefe  poetical  mufi- 

'  '••  A  Catalogue  of  the  Royal  and  Noble  Authors  of  England, 
vol.  i.  p.  6. 

56  Hiftoire  de  Traubodours,  torn.  z.  p.  5  9. 

57  See  Dr.  Percy's  curious  Preface  to  his  Reliques  of  Antient  Eng- 
Kh  Poetry. 

B  3  cians, 


346  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

cians,  commonly  called  minjlrels^  were  the  de- 
light of  princes,  prelates,  and  barons,  who  en- 
tertained them  in  their  courts  and  cailles,  and 
lavifhed  upon  them  much  of  their  wealth 5*. 
Matilda,  queen  of  Henry  I.,  was  fo  fond  of 
mufic,  and  fo  profufely  generous  to  muficiafis 
and  poets,  that  fhe  expended  almofl  all  her 
revenues  upon  them,  and  even  opprefled  her 
tenants,  in  order  to  procure  money  to  reward 
them  for  their  fongs 59,  John  of  Salifbury  cen- 
fures  the  great  people  of  his  time,  for  imitating 
Nero  in  his  extravagant  fondnefs  for  muficians ; 
and  fays  that  "  they  proftituted  their  favour, 
"  by  beftowing  it  on  minftrels  and  buffoons ; 
ce  and  that,  by  a  -certain  foolifh  and  fhameful 
"  munificence,  they  expended  immenfe  fums  of 
**  money  on  their  frivolous  exhibitions50'"  "  The 
"  courts  of  princes  (fays  another  contemporary 
"  writer)  are  filled  with  crowds  of  minftrels, 
"  who  extort  from  them  gold,  filver,  horfes, 
"  and  veftments,  by  their  flattering  fongs.  I 
<c  have  known  fome  princes  who  have  bellowed 
**  on  thefe  miniflers  of  the  devil,  at  the  very 
"  firft  word,  the  moft  curious  garments,  beau- 
"  tifully  embroidered  with  flowers  and  pictures, 
"  which  had  cod  them  twenty  or  thirty  marks 
"  of  filver,  and  which  they  had  not  worn  above 
"  feven  days"."  An  art  that  was  fo  highly 

58  M.  Paris,  p.  114.  col.  i.  59  W.  Malmf.  p,93-  coL'i. 

*°  J  Sanfbi  ri.-n.  Policrat.  1.1.  C.8,  p. 32. 
81  Rigordus  ad  an.  1185. 

honoured, 


Chap.  5.  Sed  2.  THE  ARTS.  247 

honoured,  and  fo  liberally  rewarded,  could  not 
fail  to  flourifli. 

Both  the  vocal  and  instrumental  mufic  of  this 
period  was  of  three  kinds,  viz.  facred,  civil,  and 
martial.  Of  the  laft,  enough  hath  been  already 
faid61.  Of  the  ilate  of  the  other  two  it  maybe 
proper  to  give  a  very  brief  account. 

Sacred  or  church  mufic  was  cultivated  with  church 
great  ardour  by  the  Britifli  clergy  of  all  ranks  in  muflc> 
this  period,  both  becaufe  it  attracted  the  people- 
to  the  church,  and  becaufe  it  rendered  the  per- 
formance of  the  public  fervice  more  agreeable  to 
themfelves.  The  Anglo-Norman  clergy,  in  par- 
ticular,  applied  with  much  diligence  and  fuccefs 
to  this  delightful  art :  of  which  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  give  one  example,  out  of  many  that 
might  be  given.  Thomas,  the  fir  ft  Norman 
archbifhop  of  York,  who  was  advanced  to  that 
fee  by  William  the  Conqueror,  A.D.  1070.,  was 
one  of  the  moil  pious  and  learned  prelates  of  the 
age  in  which  he  flourifhed63.  Having  a  fine 
voice,  and  a  great  tafte  for  mufic,  he  made  that 
art  his  particular  ftudy,  and  attained  to  great 
perfection  in  it,  both  in  theory  and  practice64. 
He  compofed  many  pieces  of  mufic  for  the  ufe 
of  his  cathedral,  in  a  grave,  folemn,  manly  ftyle, 
avoiding  all  light  effeminate  airs,  as  unfuitable 
to  the  nature  of  religious  worfhip.  When  he 
heard  any  of  the  fecular  minftrels  fing  a  tune 

62  See  p.  ao8.  63  T.  Stubbs  de  Pontific.  Ebor.  col.  1705. 

64  W.  Malmf.  de  Geftie  Pontific.  Angl.  p.  155.  col.». 

R  4  which 


248  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

which  pleafed  him,  he  adopted  and  formed  it 
for  the  ufe  of  the  church,  by  fome  necefiary  va- 
riations 6S.  "  There  was  nothing  (fays  one  of  his 
"  hiflorians) which  Archbiihop Thomas  ftudiedfo 
"  much  as  to  have  a  good  and  virtuous  clergy 
"  in  his  cathedral.  With  them  he  fometimes 
"  read,  fometimes  difputed,  fometimes  lung,  or 
"  played  upon  the  organ :  he  even  fpent  fome  of 
"  his  leifure  hours  in  making  organs,  and  in 
"  teaching  his  clergy  to  make  them,  and  to  fet 
"  hymns  both  in  profe  and  verfe  to  mufic  "V 
When  fo  great  and  learned  a  prelate  employed 
fo  much  of  his  time  in  the  (ludy  and  practice 
of  church-mufic,  and  was  fo  highly  commended 
for  it,  we  have  reafon  to  think  that  it  was  an 
object  of  great  and  general  attention  among  the 
clergy. 

The  ga-  The  invention  of  the  new  muiical  fcale,  or 
mutin-  modern  gamut,  by  an  Italian  monk  named 
Guido  Aretine,  a  native  of  Arezzo,  about  A.  D. 
1 022.,  contributed  not  a  little  to  increafe  the 
ardour  of  the  clergy  in  their  application  to  mufic, 
by  facilitating  the  acquifition  of  mufical  know- 
ledge. This  invention  made  a  mighty  noife  in 
the  church  at  that  time.  The  author  of  it  was 
fent  for  thrice  to  Rome,  to  explain  and  teach  it 
to  the  clergy  of  that  city 67.  Aretine,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Pope,  affirms,  that  any  perfon,by  the  help, 

*s  W.  Malmf.  de  Geftis  Pontific.  Angl.  p.  155.  col.  z. 

*6  Stubbs  de  Pontific.  Ebor.  001.1709. 

61  See  Bayle's  Di&ionary,  article  Guido  Aretine, 

Of 


Chap.  5.  Sea.2.  THE  ARTS.  249 

of  his  invention,  may  make  as  great  proficiency 
in  mufic  in  one  year,  as  before  he  could  have 
made  in  ten.  He  infinuates  to  His  Holinefs,  that 
he  had  been  infpired  by  Heaven  with  this  happy 
thought,  which  had  atoned  for  all  his  fins,  and 
fecured  the  falvation  of  his  foul68.  There  is.no 
room  to  doubt  that  this  invention  was  well 
known  to  Archbifhop  Thomas,  who  had  fpent 
fome  time  at  Rome  foon  after  his  elevation  to 
the  fee  of  York,  and  that  it  was  by  this  fcale 
that  he  and  the  other  Englifh  compofers  of  this 
period  regulated  their  mulical  compofitions. 

The  church  mufic  of  Britain  did  not  continue  Corruption 
long  in  the  grave  and  folemn  ftyle.  Before  the  of  <Jurch" 
end  of  the  twelfth  century  it  had  loft  the  primi- 
tive fimplicity  of  plain  fong,  and  become  foft, 
effeminate,  and  artificial,  in  a  very  high  degree. 
Of  this  change  in  the  church-mufic  of  his  time, 
John  of  Salisbury  thus  complains :  "  This  foft 
"  effeminate  kind  of  mufic  hath  even  debafed 
"  the  dignity,  and  ftained  the  purity  of  religious 
"  worfhip.  For  in  the  very  prefence  of  God, 
"  and  in  the  centre  of  his  fandluary,  the  fingers 
"  endeavour  to  melt  the  hearts  of  the  admiring 
"  multitude  with  their  effeminate  notes  and 
««  quavers,  and  with  a  certain  wanton  luxuriancy 
"  of  voice.  When  you  hear  the  foft  and  fweet 
*'•  modulations  of  the  choirifters ;  fome  leading, 
"  others  following;  fome  finging  high,  others 
M  low;  fome  falling  in,  others  replying;  you 

"  Baron.  Annal.  ad  aim.  roaa. 

&  "  imagine 


350  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  imagine  you  hear  a  concert  of  firens,  and  not 
"  of  men  ;  and  admire  the  wonderful  flexibility 
"  of  their  voices,  which  cannot  be  equalled  by 
"  the  nightingale,  the  parrot,  or  any  other  crea- 
"  ture,  if  there  be  any   other  more   mufical. 
"  Such  is  their  facility  in  riling  and  falling,  in 
"  quavering,  making,  and  trilling,  in  blending 
"  and  tempering  all  the  differentkinds  of  founds, 
'•  that  the  ear  lofes  its  capacity  of  diftinguiming, 
"  and  the  mind,  overpowered  with  fo    much 
"  fweetnefs,  cannot  judge  of  the  merit  of  what 
"  it  hears.     When  they  have  thus  far  departed 
"  from  the  bounds  of  moderation,  they  are  more 
"  apt  to  excite  unhallowed  paflions  than  devout 
"  affections  in  the  hearts  of  men  *»."     Though 
this  mufic  was  certainly  very  much  mifplaced 
when  it  was  introduced  into  the  church  ;  yet  if 
it  really  anfwered  the  defcripton  which  is  here 
given  of  it,  we  cannot  entertain  a  very  contemp- 
tible opinion,  either  of  the  {kill  of  the  compofers, 
or  of  the  ability  of  the  performers. 
civil  By  civil  mulic  is  to  be  underftood  that  which 

was  in  common  ufe  in  civil  fociety,  for  alleviat- 
ing the  cares  and  labours  of  the  poor,  and  exhi- 
larating the  feftivities  of  the  rich.  The  min- 
ftrels,  a  very  numerous  and  much-refpecled 
order  of  men,  were  the  profeffors  and  practi- 
tioners of  this  pleating  art,  from  their  excellence 
in  which  they  derived  all  their  honours  and  ad- 
vantages. Not  being  under  the  fame  reflraint 

19  Sarifburien.  Policrat.  1. 1.  c.  6.  p.  z8,  49. 

with 


Chap.  5.  Sed.  2.  THE  ARTS. 

with  the  compofers  for  the  church,  they  indulged 
their  imaginations,  and  invented  tunes  of  many 
different  kinds  from  the  moil  flow  and  folemtf, 
to  the  moft  quick  and  joyous. 

In  general,  as  we  are  told  by  Giraldus  Cam-  Genhwof 
brenfis,  the  genius  of  the  Englifh  mufic  was  ff\™^ 
flow  and  grave,  while  that  of  the  Scotch,  Irifh,  ferent 
and  Welfh  mufic,  was  quick  and  gay  7°.  The  BrUyh 
fame  writer  exprefles  great  furprife  at  the  mafterly 
execution  of  thefe  three  lad  nations  on  the  harp  : 
"  It  is  wonderful,  that  in  fuch  quick  and  rapid 
"  motions  of  the  fingers  any  mufical  proportion 
"  is  preferved,  and  that  without  violating  any  of 
"  the  rules  of  art,  the  mufic  is  rendered  harmo- 
"  nious,  in  the  midfl  of  warbling  and  intricate 
"  modulations,  by  founds,  rapid  yet  fweet,  un- 
"  equal  yet  proportioned,  difcordant  yet  confb- 
"  nant,  and  the  harmony  is  completed,  whether 
*•  they  play  upon  fourth  or  fifths.  They  always 
"  begin  upon  B  flat,  and  return  upon  the  fame, 
"  which  makes  the  whole  uniformly  fweet  and 
"  fonorous.  They  begin  and  end  their  modula- 
"  tions  with  fo  much  delicacy,  and  intermix  the 
"  founds  of  the  bafs  firings,  with  the  wanton 
"  and  fportive  tinklings  of  the  treble,  in  fuch  a 
"  manner  that  by  the  excellency  of  their  art, 
"  they  even  conceal  their  art.  Hence  it  is 
"  that  thofe  who  are  intimately  acquainted  with 
"  the  theory  of  mufic  are  penetrated  and  tranf- 
"  ported  with  delight,  while  thofe  who  are 


70  G.  Cambreaf.  Topograph.  Hibtfrtu  Lj.  c.i. 

"  ignorant 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

"  ignorant  of  the  rules  of  art  are  apt  to  be  teafed 
"  and  wearied  with  what  appears  to  them  a 
*'  confufed  and  noify  jumble  of  difcordant 
"  founds."71 

Counter-  From  the  account  which  is  given  by  the  fame 
point.  writer,  of  the  manner  in  /which  the  people  of 
Wales,  and  of  the  north  of  England,  fung  their 
fongs,  it  feems  to  be  very  evident  that  they  were 
not  unacquainted  with  the  laws,  or  at  lead  with 
the  practice,  of  harmony,  or  counter-point :  "  In 
"  Wales  (fays  he)  they  do  not  ling  in  one  uni- 
"  form  mufical  modulation,  as  in  other  places, 
"  but  in  feveraL  different  tones  or  modulations, 
<e  in  fo  much  that  in  a  company  of  lingers  you 
"  hear  almoft  as  many  different  parts  as  there 
"  are  voices,  all  forming  one  pleafing  delightful 
"  harmony  in  B  flat.  The  Englifti  alfo,  in  the 
"  country  about  York,  and  beyond  the  Hum- 
"  ber,  ufe  a  fimilar  fymphonious  harmony  in 
"  linging,  confifting  only  of  two  parts,  the  one, 
"  the  deep  murmuring  bafs,  the  other,  the  high 
"  and  fweet-founding  treble."  7Z 

Mufical  The  chief,  if  not  the  only  inftrument  that  was 
inftru-  ufed  in  facred  mufic,  was  the  organ.  We  have 
already  heard  of  a  great  and  learned  prelate,  and 
his  clergy,  who  fpent  fome  part  of  their  time  in 
making  thefe  inftruments,  which  indicates  that 
they  were  efteemed  neceffary  at  leaft  in  cathedral 
churches.  The  figures  of  two  organs,  of  this 

71  J.  Sarifburien.  Policrat.  1.  x.  c.  6.  p.  a8,  29. 
71  G.Cambrenf.  Defcript.  Camb.  c.ij.  p. 890. 

period, 


Chap. 5.  Sea.  2.          THE  ARTS. 

period,  differing  confiderably  in  their  ftru6ture 
from  one  another,  and  from  thofe  now  in  ufe, 
may  be  feen  in  the  work  quoted  below 63.     In 
civil  mufic,  if  we  may  believe  Giraldus  Cam- 
brenfis,  the   Scots,  Irifli,  and  Welfh,  ufed  but 
few  inftruments  :  "  The  Irifli  (fays  that  author) 
"  ufe  only  two  mufical  inftruments,  the  harp 
"  and   the   timbrel ;   the  Scots  ufe  three,  the 
"  harp,    the  timbrel,   and  the  bag-pipe ;   the 
"  Welfh  alfo  ufe  three,  the  harp,  the  pib-corn, 
"  and  the  bag-pipe.     The  Irifli  harps  have  brafs 
"  firings.     It  is  the  opinion  of  many,  that  the 
"  Scotch  mufic  at  prefent  not  only  equals,  but 
"  even  very  much  excels  the  Irifli  j  for  which 
"  reafon  they  go  to  Scotland  as  to  the  fountain- 
"  head  of  perfection  in  that  art71.*'     The  Eng- 
lifh  feem  to  have  been  acquainted  with  a  greater 
variety  of  mufical  inftruments,  fome  of  which, 
it  is  probable,  were  introduced  by  the  Normans. 
The  violin  is  mentioned  in  books  written  in  this 
period,    and    reprefented    in    illuminations75. 
Some  of   their  violins   had  five  firings.     Mr. 
Strutt  hath  collected  from  illuminations,   the 
figures  of  no  fewer  than  fixteen  different  kinds 
of  mufical  inftruments,  if  fome  of  the  figures  do 
not  reprefent  different  fizes  of  the  fame  inflru- 

7J  Mr.Strutt's  View  of  the  Manners,  &c.  vol.i.  plate  3 3.  fig.  ia. 
vol.  z.  plate  6.  fig.  ay. 

74  Girald.  Cambren.  Topograph.  Hibern.  1.3.  c.n.  p. 739. 

75  Du  Cange  doff.     Voc.  Vltula.     Vita  eft  Thomae  Cant.  p.  14. 
Mr.Strutt's  View  of  the   Manners,  vol.i.  plate  33.  fig.  7.  vol.  z. 
plate  i.  fig.  9. 

ment. 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

ment 76.  The  harp,  however,  feems  to  have  been 
the  favourite  and  mod  admired  inftrument  of 
the  Englifh,  as  well  as  of  the  other  Britifh  na- 
tions in  this  period.  That  was  the  inftrument 
to  the  found  of  which  the  minftrels,  the  admired 
muficians  of  this  period,  fung  their  fongs  and 
poems. " 

76  Mr.  Strutt's  View  of  the  Manners,  vol.  a.  plate  6. 

77  See  Dr.  Percy's  excellent  Eflay  on  the  ancient  Englifh  Minftrels. 


THE 


HISTORY 


OF 


GREAT    BRITAIN. 


BOOK    III. 

CHAP.  VI. 

The  Hiftory  of  Commerce,  Coin  and  Shipping,  in 
Great  Britain,  from  the  landing  of  William 
Duke  of  Normandy,  A.D.  ic>66.,  to  the  death 
of  King  John,  A.  D.  1216. 

NO  apology  is  neceffary  for  introducing  the  Hiftory 
hiftory  of  Commerce  into  the  hiftory  of  of  com; 
Britain,  which  hath  derived  fo  many  advantages  perfe(St. 
from  that  fource.     But  it  is  much  to  be  re- 
gretted, that  genuine  authentic  materials,  for 
executing  this  part  of  my  plan  in  this  period,  to 
the  entire  fatisfaclion  of  the  reader,  are  very  dif- 
ficult, if  not  impoffible,  to  be  collected.     All 

our 


256  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

our  ancient  hiilorians  being  monks,  they  paid 
little  attention  to  the  affairs  of  trade,  and  drop- 
ped only  a  few  incidental  hints  on  this  important 
fubjec~l.  Let  us  attend  to  the  information  which 
thefe  hints  convey. 

Commerce  It  hath  been  already  obferved, — that  the  foreign 
fiderabiTat  trac^e  °f  Britain  was  almoft  annihilated  by  the 
the  con-  departure  of  the  Romans, — that  it  continued  in 
queft"  a  very  languid  ftate  in  the  times  of  the  hep- 
tarchy,— that  it  gradually  revived  after  the  efla- 
blifliment  of  the  Englim  monarchy,  —  and  that 
towards  the  end  of  the  laft  period  it  was  not  in- 
confiderable  \  This  laft  circumflance  is  con- 
firmed by  the  teftimony  of  a  contemporary  hif- 
torian,  William  of  Poi6lou,  who  was  chaplain 
to  the  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  attended  him  in 
his  expedition  into  England.  "  The  Englilh 
"  merchants  add  to  the  opulence  of  their  coun- 
"  try,  rich  in  its  own  fertility,  ftill  greater 
"  riches,  and  more  valuable  treafures,  by  im- 
"  portation.  Thefe  imported  treafures,  which 
*'  were  confiderable  both  for  their  quantity  and 
"  quality,  were  either  to  have  been  hoarded  up 
"  to  gratify  their  avarice,  or  to  have  been  diffi- 
"  pated  to  fatisfy  their  luxurious  inclinations. 
"  But  William  feized  them,  and  beflowed  part 
"  of  them  on  his  victorious  army,  and  part 
"  of  them  on  churches  and  monafteries.  To 
"  the  Pope  and  church  of  Rome  he  fent  an  in- 
"  credible  mafs  of  money  in  gold  and  filver, 

'  See  vol.  4.  chap.  6. 

10  "  and 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  257 

"  and  many  ornaments  that  would  have  been 
"  admired  even  at  Conftantinople.'*2 

It  hath  been  difpnted,  whether  the  Norman  The  con- 
conqueft  was  .an  event  favourable  or  unfavour-  <iueft  in 
able  to  the  foreign  commerce  of  Britain.  The  fpeas  un- 
truth feems  to  be,  that  in  fome  refpecls  it  was,  favourable 
and  in  others  it  was  not  favourable.  Every  mer°™ 
violent  revolution  muft  give  a  temporary  check 
to  commerce,  by  fixing  the  attention  of  all  the 
members  of  fbciety  on  other  objects,  and  by 
rendering  property  precarious.  The  feudal  form 
of  government  that  was  eftabliftied  in  England 
foon  after  the  conqueft,  had  more  of  a  martial 
than  of  a  mercantile  fpirit  in  it ;  and  was  better 
calculated  for  defending  a  kingdom  by  arms, 
than  for  enriching  it  by  commerce.  The  Conr 
queror  himfelf  having  obtained  his  crown,  and 
the  great  Norman  barons  their  princely  fortunes, 
by  the  fword,  arms  became  the  moft  honourable 
and  lucrative  profeffion  ;  trade  was  held  in  Httle 
eftimation,  and  thofe  who  were  engaged  in  it, 
were  expofed  to  many  injuries.  Many  of  the 
chief  towns  in  England,  the  greateft  feats  of 
trade,  fuffered  much  between  the  conqueft,  and 
the  time  when  Doomfday-book  was  compofed  3. 
In  all  thefe  refpe6ls  the  conqueft  was  unfriendly 
to  commerce,  and  obftrucled  its  progrefs  for  fome 
time. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  conqueft  contri-  in  other 
buted  to  increafe  the  trade  of  England,  in  fe- 

2  W.  Pi&aven.  Geft.  Gul.  Duels  Norman,  p.  206. 

3  See  Brady  on  Burghs. 

VOL.  vi.  s  veral 


favourable. 


25 8  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

veral  ways,  after  the  diforder  infeparable  from 
fuch  revolutions  was  at  an  end.    It  opened  a  free 
communication  with  Normandy,  and  afterwards 
with  feveral  other  rich  provinces  of  France,  which 
came  under  the  dominion  of  our  Anglo-Norman 
kings  ;  and  this  foon  produced  a  brifk  and  con- 
ftant  trade  between  England  and  thefe  provinces. 
It  made  alfo  a  very  great  addition  both  to  the 
{hips  and  failors  of  England,  which  are  the  chief 
inftruments  of  foreign  trade.  For  William  was  fo 
far  from  burning  the  fleet  in  which  he  brought 
his  army  into  England,  as  fome  modern  writers 
have  affirmed,  that  his  firft  care  was  to  erect  for- 
tifications for  its  protection 4.    The  frequent  ex- 
peditions of  the  Conqueror  and  his  fucceffors  to 
the  continent,  obliged  them  to  give  conftant  at- 
tention to  trade  and  maritime  affairs.     The  fet- 
tlement  of  the  Jews  in  England  about  the  time  of 
the  conqueft,  brought  great  fums  of  money  into 
the  kingdom, and  contributed  to  increafe  both  its 
internal  and  foreign  commerce,  in  which  they 
were  conftantly  employed. s 

Internal  It  is  quite  unneceffary  to  fpend  any  time  in 
delineating  the  internal  trade  of  Britain  in  this 
period,  as  there  was  little  or  nothing  remarkable 
in  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted. 
Fairs  and  markets,  which  are  the  principal  fcenes 
of  internal  commerce,  continued  to  be  held  in 
many  places  on  Sundays 6,  in  fpite  of  all  the  ca- 

4 

4  W.  Piflaven.  p.  199.  .       V  Anglia  Judaica. 

4  See  vol.4.  p.io4. 

nons 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  259 

nons  that  had  been  made  againft  it.  This  was 
one  of  the  abufes  which  the  famous  preacher 
Euftace,  Abbot  of  Flay  in  Normandy,  came  over 
into  England  to  correct,  A.  D.  1200. ;  and  he 
was  fo  fuccefsful,  that  he  prevailed  upon  the 
people  of  London,  and  of  feveral  other  towns, 
not  to  hold  their  markets  on  Sundays  7.  Brit  we 
are  informed  by  one  of  our  bell  hiftorians,  that 
fome  of  thefe  towns  foon  after  returned  to  their 
former  practices. 8 

To  prevent  any  degree  of  obfcurity  or  confu-  Plan  of 
fion  in  our  delineation  of  the  foreign  trade  of 
Britain  in  this  period,  it  may  be  proper  to  con- 
fider  the  following  particulars  in  the  order  in 
which  they  are  here  mentioned,  i.  The  chief 
feats  of  trade  ;  —  2.  The  mod  valuable  articles  of 
its  exports  and  imports;  —  3.  The  perfons  by 
whom  it  was  conducted  ;  — 4.  Laws  and  regula- 
tions refpe&ing  trade;  —  5.  Shipping;  — 6.Coin^ 
— 7.  The  comparative  value  of  money,  prices  of 
commodities,  and  expence  of  living; — 8.  The 
balance  of  trade. 

London  was  unqueftionably  the  chief  feat  of 
trade  in  this,  as-  it  had  been  in  the  former  pe- 
riod.  Situated  on  the  noble  river  Thames,  at 
no  great  dittance  from  the  fea,  amidft  the  moft 
•fertile  plains  of  this  ifland,  it  enjoyed  every  ad- 
vantage for  importing  the  commodities  of  other 
countries,  and  exporting  thofe  of  Britain  in  re- 
turn. Theie  advantages  were  not  negle6ted  by 

*  R,  Hoveden*  p.  457.  col.  a.  8  M.  Paris,  ad  ann.  iaoo. 

s  2  its 


26o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.           Book  III. 

its  citizens,  who  were  much  addicted  to  trade, 
and*  acquired  fo  much  wealth  and  influence  by 
it,  that  they  were  called  barons,  and  refpe6led  in 
the  public  affemblies  of  the  kingdom,  as  pof- 
fefling  a  kind  of  nobility9.  "  London  (fays 
"  William  of  Malmfbury)  is  but  about  twenty- 
"  five  miles  diftant  from  Rochefter.  It  is  a 
"  noble  city,  renowned  for  the  riches  of  its 
"  citizens,  and  crowded  with  merchants,  who 
"  come  from  all  countries,  and  particularly 
"  from  Germany,  with  their  merchandife 10." 
"  In  this  city,  (fays  William  Fitz-Stephen,  in 
"  his  defcription  of  London,)  merchants  from 
"  all  nations  under  heaven  refide,  for  the  fake 
"  of  trade11."  The  great  multitude  of  Jews 
who  refided  in  London,  and  pofTefTed  feveral  en- 
tire ftreets,  afford  a  further  proof  of  the  flourifh- 
ing  ftate  of  trade  in  that  city,  in  this  period  12. 
For  trade  was  almofl  the  only  occupation  of  that 
people ;  and  they  never  fettled  in  great  num- 
bers in  any  place,  but  where  they  either  found 
or  brought  commerce. 

Briftol.  As  Briftol  had  been  a  place  of  confiderable 

trade  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  times  '3,  it  continued 
to  be  fo  in  the  prefent  period.  This  we  learn 
from  William  of  Malmfbury,  in  his  defcription 
of  the  vale  of  Gloucefler.  "  In  the  fame  vale, 
'*  is  a  very  famous  town  named  Briftow,  in  which 

»  W.Malmf.Hift.  Novel.  La.  p.io6.  coLj. 

"  W.  Malmf.  de  Pontific.  Angl.  1.2.  p.  133.  p. a. 

11  W.  Stephaned.  in  Vita  T.  Cant.  Lond.  edit.  17*3.  p.  6. 

12  Stow's  Survey,  b.3-  p.j4,  '--  See  vol.  4.  p.asS. 

"  there 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  261 

"  there  is  a  fea-port,  a  fafe  receptacle  for  fhips 
"  from  Ireland,  Norway,  and  other  foreign  conn- 
"'  tries  j  that  this  happy  region,  which  abounds 
"  fo  much  in  its  native  riches,  might  not  be  de- 
"  ftitute  of  the  commodities  procured  by  com- 
"  merce  14."  The  trade  between  England  and 
Ireland,  which  was  for  the  mod  part  carried  on 
by  the  merchants  of  Briftol,  was  fo  great  and 
fo  effential  to  the  fupport  of  the  Irilh,  that  when 
it  was  interrupted,  they  were  reduced  to  great 
diilrefs.  "  Murcard,  monarch  of  Ireland,  be- 
"  haved  a  little  haughtily  towards  Henry  I. 
"  I  know  not  for  what  reafon  ;  but  he  was  foon 
"  humbled  by  a  prohibition  of  all  trade  between 
"  England  and  hisdominions.  For  how  wretched 
"  would  Ireland  be  if  no  goods  were  imported 
"  into  it  from  England." IS 

The  Flemings,  who  were  fettled  in  the  fine  Rofs. 
country  of  Rofs  in  Pembrokeshire  by  Henry  I. 
were  bold  adventurous  lailors,  and  much  ad-  . 
di6led  to  commerce.  "  They  are  (fays  Giraldus 
"  Cambrenfis)  a  people  much  ufed  to  the  woollen 
<*  manufacture,  and  to  foreign  trade ;  and  in 
"  order  to  increafe  their  (lore,  they  fpare  no 
"  pains  either  by  fea  or  land  'V  The  vicinity 
of  the  fpacious  harbour  of  Milford-haven  was 
probably  a  great  advantage  to  this  induftrious 
colony. 

1    W.  Malmf.  de  Pontific.  Angl.  1.4.  p.  161. 

1S  Id.  1.5.p.9i. 

"'  Oirald.  Camhren.  Itin.  Camb.  p.  848. 

s  3  The 


36*  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III. 

Exeter.  The  city  of  Exeter  appears  to  have  been    a 

place  of  confiderable  trade  at  the  conqueft,  and 
continued  to  enjoy  that  advantage  through  the 
whole  of  this  period.  When  it  was  befieged  by 
the  Conqueror,  A.  D.  1068.,  the  inhabitants  com- 
pelled a  great  number  of  foreign  merchants  and 
mariners,  who  were  then  in  their  harbour,  to 
afiift  them  in  their  defence  7.  William  of  Malm£ 
bury  acquaints  us,  that,  in  his  time,  though  the 
foil  about  Exeter  was  fo  barren  that  it  hardly  pro- 
duced a  meagre  crop  of  oats,  yet  its  extenfive 
trade  made  it  abound  in  every  thing  that  contri- 
buted to  the  comfort  of  human  life.  3 
Cinque  The  five  towns  on  the  coafts  of  Kent  and 

P0"8'  Suflex,  commonly  called  the  cinque  ports ,  were 
certainly  among  the  moft  confiderable  i'eats  of 
foreign  commerce  in  England,  in  this  period. 
Their  merchants,  like  thofe  of  London,  en- 
joyed the  honourable  appellation  of  barons, 
which  their  reprefentatives  in  parliament  itili 
enjoy10.  Government  depended  very  much  upon 
them  for  a  fleet  on  any  emergency ;  and  they 
were  obliged  to  furnim  no  fewer  than  fifty-fey  en 
mips  for  the  public  fervice,  at  forty  days  notice, 
to  continue  fifteen  days  in  that  fervice,  with  their 
crews,  at  their  own  charges  °.  This  is  a  fuffi- 
cient  proof  that  they  abounded  in  (hipping  and 
failors,  which  they  could  not  have  done  without 

17  Orderic  Vital,  p.  5 10. 

18  W.  Malmf.  Pontific.  Angl.  La.  p.  145.  coL  2. 

'*  Spelman.  doff.  p.  71.  ro  Liber  Rub.  Scaccarii. 

a  flourim,- 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  Ac.  265 

a  flourishing  trade.  The  five  towijs  which  ori- 
ginally formed  the  cinque-ports,  were  Haftings 
in  SufTex,  Dover,  Hythe,  Romuey,  and  Sand- 
wich in  Kent ;  to  which  were  added  Winchelfea 
and  Rye  as  principals,  and  fome  other  towns  an 
members,  though  they  ftill  retained  the  name  of 
the  cinque-ports  from  their  original  number21. 
We  may  form  fome  idea  of  the  comparative, 
trade  of  thefe  towns,  by  observing  the  number 
of  mips  which  each  was  obliged  to  furnifh. 
Haftings  (with  its  members)  was  obliged  to 
furnim  twenty-one  mips; — Romney  (with  its 
members)  five ;  —  Hythe  and  Sandwich  (with 
their  members)  each  five;  —  and  Dover  (with 
its  members)  twenty  one-2.  For  this  important 
fervice  to  the  ftate,  the  people  of  the  cinque- 
ports  had  various  honours  and  privileges  con- 
ferred upon  them.  Their  merchants  were  not 
only  ilyled  barons,  but  four  of  thefe  barons  had 
a  title  to  fupport  the  canopy  over  the  king  on  the 
day  of  his  coronation,  and  to  dine  at  a  table  on 
his  right  hand.  The  inhabitants  of  thefe  towns 
were  exempted  from  the  feveral  feudal  fervitudes 
and  preflations,  and  could  be  fued  only  in  their 
own  court  *3.  Thefe  honours  and  privileges  afford 
a  proof,  that  the  government  of  England,  in  this 
period,  was  not  inattentive  to  the  encouragement 
of  trade  and  {hipping. 

21  Camden  Britan.  vol.  i.  p.  254. 
"  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.i.  p.ig. 
'•'•  Camb.  Britan.  vol.  i.  p.  2541 

s  4  When 


264  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  111. 

Norwich,  When  Bifliop  Herebert,  in  the  reign  of  Wil- 
Lynn.OU  *'  ^am  Rurus?  removed  the  feat  of  his  fee  from 
Thetford  to  Norwich,  that  town,  as  we  are  told 
by  William  of  Mahnfbury,  was  famous  for  the 
number  of  its  inhabitants  and  the  greatnefs  of 
its  commerce24.  In  the  fame  county,  the  town 
of  Yarmouth  abounded  in  (hips,  and  was  a  for- 
midable rival  in  power  and  commerce  to  the 
cinque-ports,  though  both  its  commerce  and  its 
(hipping  increafed  very  much  in  the  fucceeding 
period zs.  The  town  of  Lynn  feelns  to  have 
poffeffed  a  flill  greater  (hare  of  foreign  trade 
than  Yarmouth,  if  we  may  rely  on  the  teflimony 
of  William  of  Newborough,  who  redded  at  no 
great  diftance.  That  author  tells  us,  that  in  the 
reign  of  Richard  I.  the  town  of  Lynn  was  fa- 
mous for  its  riches  and  commerce,  and  was  in- 
habited by  many  wealthy  Jews  ;  who,  being  en- 
raged againft  one  of  their  nation  who  had  em- 
braced Chriftianity,  attempted  to  kill  him,  and 
afiaulted  a  church  in  which  he  had  taken  fhelter. 
This  raifed  a.  tumult.  A  great  multitude  of  fo- 
reign failors  who  were  in  the  harbour,  attacked 
the  Jews,  and  beat  them  from  the  church  with 
fome  (laughter.  Not  contented  with  this,  they 
plundered  and  then  burnt  feveral  of  their  houfes, 
and  having  carried  the  plunder,  which  was  of 
great  value,  on  board  their  (hips,  they  imme- 


W.  Malmf.  Pontific.  Angl.  p.136. 
Camb.  Britan.  vol.  t.  p-379. 


diately 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  265 

diately  fet  fail,  in  order  to  fecure,  their  booty,  • 
and  efcape  puni(hment. 26 

Several  places  in  Lincolnshire  hadaconfiderable  Lincoln, 
(hare  of  trade,  in  this  period,  which  fome  of  them  &c* 
have  (ince  loll,  by  the  choking  of  their  harbours, 
and  other  accidents.  Lincoln,  the  capital  of  the 
county,  was  a  rich  and  populous  city  ;  and, 
though  at  a  diftance  from  the  fea,  was  not  defti- 
tute  of  foreign  trade,  which  was  carried  on  by 
the  navigable  canal  between  the  rivers  Trent 
and  Witham,  made  A.D.  1121.,  by  order  of 
Henry  1. 2?  The  towns  of  Grimfby,  Saltfleet, 
Waynfleet,  and  Bofton,  though  they  had  much 
declined  from  what  they  had  been  in  this  period, 
fent  fome  Ihips  to  the  fleet  of  Edward  III.,  A.D. 
1359. zs  Bollon,  in  particular,  was  a  very  rich 
and  flouri thing  place  before  it  was  plundered  and 
burnt  in  the  reign  of  Edward  1. 29  The  great 
numbers  and  riches  of  the  Jews  who  relided  at 
Lincoln,  Stamford,  and  other  towns  in  this 
county,  plainly  indicate  that  there  was  then  a 
flouriming  trade  in  thofe  towns. 30 

York,  the  northern  capital  of  England,  and  York- 
relidence  of  Roman  emperors,  made  a  diftin- 
guithed  figure  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  but 
was  much  reduced  foon  after  the  conqueft 3I.    It 

•••    "-;JS 

-*6  Gul.  Neubrigen.  1.4.  €.7.  p. 367. 
-7  Simeon  Dunelra.  col  243. 
1S  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  i.  p.izo- 
a*  Camden  Britan.  vol.  i.  p.4*3- 

30  Gul.  Neubrigen.  1.4.  0.8,9. 

31  Simeon  Dunelm.  001.39.      J.  Brompt.  col.  965.      Drake's  Hif- 
tory  of  York. 

revived 


266  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

revived  however  in  a  little  time ;  and  William  of 
Malmfbury  tells  us,  that  in  the  reign  of  King 
Stephen,  when  he  wrote,  it  was  become  a  place 
of  great  trade  ;  and  that  mips  from  Ireland  and 
Germany  failed  up  the  river  Oufe  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  city31.  Great  numbers  of  Jews 
fettled  in  York  about  this  time,  and  acquired 
immenfe  wealth  by  ufury  and  commerce,  which, 
together  with  their  magnificent  houfes  and 
fplendid  way  of  living,  excited  the  envy  and 
indignation  of  the  people  to  fuch  a  degree  that 
they  determined  to  deflroy  them.  As  foon  as 
the  news  of  the  flaughter  of  that  people  at  the 
coronation  of  Richard  I.  reached  York,  the  mob 
arofe,  affaulted  the  Jews,  plundered  and  burnt 
their  houfes,  killed  many,  and  drove  others  in 
defpair  to  kill  themfelves,  after  they  had  dif- 
patched  their  wives  and  children  with  their  own 
hands33.  This  outrageous  tumult,  in  which 
fome  hundreds  of  Jews  were  killed,  and  their 
houfes,  furniture,  and  riches,  reduced  to  afties, 
feems  to  have  been  fatal  to  the  trade  of  York, 
which  declined  fo  faft,  that  it  was  able  to  fend 
only  one  fmall  fhip,  with  nine  mariners,  to  the 
fleet  of  Edward  III. 34 

Many  Many  other  towns  fituated  on  the  fea-coafts 

Ca~  anc^  naviga°le  rivers  of  Britain,  had  their  fhare 
of  foreign  trade  in  this  period.  But  a  more 
particular  enumeration  of  them  is  unneceffary, 

32  W.  Malmf.  Pontific.  Angl.  1.3.  Prolog,  p.  147. 

3)  G.  Neubrigen.  1.4.  0.9,10. 

34  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  i.  p.  120. 

and 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &o. 

and  would  be  tedious.  One  of  our  ancient  hifto- 
rians,  referring  to  the  times  we  are  now  deli- 
neating, hath  the  following  exclamation  :  "  Q 
"  England !  thou  waft  lately  equal  to  the  an- 
"  cient  Chaldeans  in  power,  profperity,  and 
"  glory.  The  ihips  of  Tarihilh  could  not  be 
"  compared  with  thy  fhips,  which  brought  thee 
"  fpices,  and  every  precious  thing,  from  the 
"  four  corners  of  the  world.  The  fea  was  to 
"  thee  an  impregnable  wall,  and  thy  ports  on 
"  all  fides  as  the  well-fortified  gates  of  a  ftrong 
«  caftle." 35 

It  is  curious,  and  may  be  ufeful,  to  know  what  chief  ar. 
were  the  mod  valuable  articles  of  the  foreign  *lcle.s  of 
trade  of  Britain  in  every  period.     By  this  we  trade. 
fhall  at  Jeail  difcover  wherein  the  fuperfluities 
and  neceffities  of  our  country  confided  from 
time  to  time,  and  in  what  manner  the  former 
were  difpofed  of,  and  the  latter  were  fupplied. 

Slaves  ftill  continued  to  be  a  capital  article,  Slaves  ex- 
both  in  the  internal  and  foreign  trade  of  Britain.  Ported- 
When  an  eflate  was  conveyed  from  one  pro- 
prietor to  another,  all  the  villains  or  flaves  an- 
oexed  to  that  eftate,  were  conveyed  at  the  fame 
time,  and  by  the  fame  deed J6.     When  any  per- 
fon  had  more  children  than  he  could  maintain, 
or  more  domeftic  flaves  than  he  chofe  to  keep, 
he  fold  them  to  a  merchant,  who  difpofed  of 
them  either  at  home  or  abroad,  as  he  found 

35  Matth.  Weftminft.  p.  240,  241. 

36  Liber  Niger  ScaccarH,  art.  de  Danegeldo.  Regiam  Majeftat.  1.  a. 
c.  ia»  $  3.     kymer  Feed.  toin.  t.  p. 90. 

would 


26S  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

would  be  moft  profitable.  "  It  was  a  common 
"  vice  (fays  Giraldus  Cambrenfis)  of  the  Eng- 
"  lifh,  when  they  were  reduced  to  poverty,  that 
"  rather  than  endure  it  patiently,  they  expofed 
"  their  own  children  to  Me 37."  Many  of  thefe 
unhappy  perfons  were  carried  into  Ireland,  and 
no  doubt  into  other  countries,  and  there  fold 38. 
A  ftrong  law  was  made  againft  this  barbarous 
kind  of  commerce,  in  a  great  council  held  at 
St. Peter's,  Weftminfter,  A.D.  1102.  "Let 
"  no  man,  for  the  future,  prefume  to  carry  on 
"  the  wicked  trade  of  felling  men  in  markets, 
"  like  brute  beafts,  which  hitherto  hath  been  the 
"  common  culiom  of  England 39."  But  this  law 
'did  not  put  an  end  to  this  trade  in  flaves.  For 
in  the  great  council  held  at  Armagh,  A.D.  1171., 
the  whole  clergy  of  Ireland,  after  having  deli- 
berated long  concerning  the  caufe  of  the  cala- 
mities with  which  they  were  threatened  by  the 
invafion  of  the  Englifh,  at  length  agreed,  that 
this  great  judgment  had  been  inflicted  upon 
them  by  the  difpleafure  of  God,  for  the  fins  of 
the  people,  particularly  for  their  having  bought 
fo  great  a  number  of  Englifli  flaves  from  mer- 
chants, robbers,  and  pirates,  and  for  detaining 
them  dill  in  bondage.  To  appeafe  therefore  the 
divine  difpleafure,  which  had  been  excited  againft 
them  on  that  account,  they  decreed, — "  That  all 
"  the  Englifh  flaves  in  the  whole  ifland  of  Ire- 


37  Girald.  Cambrenf.  Hiberniae  Expugnat,  l.i.  c.  18.  p.  770. 

38  Id.  ibid.  39  Eadmer.  Hift.  Novor.  1.3.  p. 68. 


"  land 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c. 

"  land  mould  be  immediately  emancipated,  and 
"  reftored  to  their  former  liberty."  40 

Englifh  horfes  had  been  long  admired  and  Horfes. 
coveted  on  the  continent ;  and  fuch  multitudes 
of  them  had  been  exported,  that  a  law  was  made 
by  King  Athelftan,  —  "  That  no  man  (hall  ex- 
"  port  any  horfes  beyond  feas,  except  fuch  as  he 
"  defigns  to  give  in  prefents 4l."  But  this  law, 
it  is  probable,  did  not  continue  long  in  force, 
efpecially  after  the  conqueft,  when  the  inter- 
courfe  between  this  ifland  and  the  continent  was 
under  no  reftriclions,  and  our  great  barons  had 
eftates  in  both  countries.  The  very  high  price 
of  horfes,  efpecially  of  thofe  which  were  ufed  by 
the  nobility  in  war  and  tournaments,  is  a  pre- 
fumption  that  they  were  exported.  A  great 
baron  named  Amphitil  Till,  agreed  to  pay  to  King 
John,  A.  D.  1207.,  as  a  part  of  his  ranfom,  ten 
horfes,  each  worth  thirty  marks,  equivalent  to 
three  hundred  pounds  of  our  money  at  prefent42. 
Whether  any  other  animals  were  exported  in 
this  period  or  not,  we  are  not  informed. 

Wool  was  for  feveral  centuries  the  moft  va-  wooland 
luable  article  of  the  Britifli  exports.    Gervafe  de  leather. 
Aldermanbury,  in  his  accounts  of  the  chamber- 
lainfliip  of  London,  A.  D.  1199.,  charges  him- 
felf  with  twenty-three  pounds  twelve  (hillings, 
which  he  had  received  from  feveral  merchants, 

40  Wilkin.  Concil.  torn.  i.  p.  47 1. 

41  Wilkin.  Saxon.  Legis,  p. 52. 

"'  Rymeri  Feed.  torn.  i.  p.  146.  col.  a. 

for 


270  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book-Hi. 

for  leave  to  export  wool  and  leather  out  of  Eng- 
land 43.  He  alfo  accounts  for  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  marks,  which  had  arifen  from  the 
fale  of  forty-five  facks  of  wool  feized  from  the 
merchants,  for  attempting  to  export  them  with- 
out leave 44.  Many  other  proofs,  if  it  were  ne- 
cefiary,  might  be  produced,  of  the  exportation 
of  wool,  woolfels,  and  leather,  in  this  period. 
Woollen  it  is  highly  probable,  if  not  abfolutely  certain, 
doth.3"  tnat  woollen  yarn,  and  even  woollen  cloth,  were 
exported  from  England  in  this  period.  In  the 
tenth  year  of  Richard  I.,  the  chamberlain  of 
London  accounted  for  eleven  marks,  which  had 
arifen  from  the  fale  of  a  parcel  of  woollen  yarn 
feized  from  John  de  Birchamftede,  becaufe  he 
had  attempted  to  export  it  to  Flanders,  contrary 
to  the  liberties  of  the  city  of  London 4S.  From 
this  it  appears,  that  woollen  yarn  was  exported, 
and  that  the  privilege  of  exporting  it  had  been 
granted  to  the  merchants  of  London.  That  the 
manufacture  of  woollen  cloth  was  in  a  much  more 
flourifhing  flate  in  England  in  this  than  in  the 
fucceeding  period,  there  is  the  cleared  evidence; 
which  induced  a  well  informed  writer  to  fay, — 
"  That  in  the  time  of  Henry  II.  and  Richard  I., 
"  this  kingdom  greatly  flourilhed  in  the  art  of 
**  manufacturing  woollen  cloth  ;  but  by  the 
"  troublefome  wars  in  the  time  of  King  John 
"  and  Henry  III.,  and  alfo  of  Edward  I.  and 

43  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  «  Id.  ibid.  *  Id.  ibid. 

lot  "  Edward 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  Ac.  57! 

"  Edward  II.,  this  manufacture  was  wholly  loft 
"  and  all  our  trade  ran  out  in  wool,  woolfels, 
"  and  leather,  carried  out  in  fpecie46."  The 
Flemings  fettled  in  England  feem  to  have  ex- 
ported fome  of  the  woollen  cloths  which  they 
manufactured.  For  we  are  told  by  a  contem- 
porary writer,  that  they  applied  with  equal  ar- 
dour to  the  woollen  manufacture  and  to  foreign 
trade. 47 

Although  agriculture  was  far  from  being  in  a  Com. 
flourifhing  ftate  in  Britain,  in  this  period  j  yet, 
in  favourable  feafons,  the  natural  fertility  of  the 
foil,  even  with  imperfect  cultivation,  made  it 
produce  more  corn  than  was  neceffary  for  home 
confumption,  and  at  thofe  times  conliderable 
quantities  of  it  were  exported.  "  Then  (lays 
"  one  of  our  ancient  hiflorians)  England  might 
"  be  called  the  ftore-houfe  of  Ceres,  out  of 
"  which  the  world  was  fupplied  with  corn48." 
Many  examples  are  to  be  found  in  the  records 
of  this  period,  of  fines  paid  to  the  King,  for 
licences  to  export  corn ;  which  is  a  fufficient 
proof  that  it  was  at  fome  times  an  article  of 
exportation. 49 

Metals,  particularly  lead  and  tin,  conftituted  Metals. 
one  of  the  moil  valuable  articles  of  exportation 
in  the  times  we  are  now  delineating.    Almoft  all 
the  cathedral  and  abbey  churches,  together  with 

46  Sir  Matth.  Hale's  primitive  Original  of  Mankind,  p.  167. 

47  Girald.  Cambren.  Itin.  Camb-  p.848. 

48  Gul.  Pidlaven.  p.  no. 

49  Madox  Hifi.  Excheq.  p-313-  530,  &c. 

many 


272  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III. 

many  palaces  and  caftles  in  France,  and  other 
countries  on  the  continent,  are  faid  to  have  been 
covered  with  lead  brought  from  England  5\  We 
may  form  fome  idea  of  the  great  quantities  of 
tin  that  were  exported,  from  an  article  in  the 
accounts  of  Henry  de  Cafteilun,  chamberlain  of 
London,  A.  D.  1198.,  in  which  he  charges  him- 
felf  with  three  hundred  and  feventy-nine  pounds 
eighteen  millings,  which  he  had  received  in 
fines  from  the  merchants  of  London,  for  leave 
to  export  tin  5'.  The  royal  revenues  arifing 
from  the  tin-mines  of  Cornwall  and  Devonfhire, 
were  valued  at  two  thoufand  marks  a-year,  equi- 
valent to  ten  thoufand  pounds  of  our  money ; 
and  were  granted,  at  that  rate,  to  Queen  Beren- 
garia,  widow  of  Richard  I.  y 

Other ar-        Befides  thefe  capital  articles  of  exportation, 
exporta-     there  were  many  others  of  fmaller  value,  as  fait, 
tion.          falmon,   cheefe,  honey,   wax,   tallow,  &c.  &c. 
as  appears  from  the  licences  granted  for  export- 
ing them,  which  are  dill  extant  in  our  records  s?. 
But  it  is  not  neceflary  to  make  this  enumeration 
more  perfect. 

Imports.  In  return  for  the  goods  which  they  exported, 
the  Britifti  merchants  of  this  period  imported  not 
only  gold  and  filver,  in  coin  and  bullion,  but 
feveral  other  commodities,  for  which  they  found 

5  Hiftoire  Literaire  de  la  France,  torn.  9.  p.  221, 

51  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  p. 531. 

• l  Rymer.  Feed.  torn.  i.  p.  443. 

Vf  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  p. 530,  &c, 

a  de- 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c. 

a  demand  at  home.  It  is  proper  to  mention  fome 
of  the  mofl  valuable  of  thefe  commodities. 

As  the  EngliQi  were  not  very  famous  for  their  Winei. 
fobriety  in  this  period,  we  may  be  certain  that 
wine  was  a  faleable  commodity,  and  made  one 
of  the   mofl  valuable   articles   of  importation. 
"  The  French  (fays  William  Fitz-Stephen)  im- 
"  port  their  wines  into  London,  which  they  ex- 
"  pofe  to  fale  both  in  their  fhips  and  in  their 
"  wine-cellars  near  the  river 54."     The  duties 
payable  on  wines  imported,  called  prifa  vinorum 
(the  price  of  wines),  conflituted  no  inconfider- 
able  branch  of  the  royal  revenue  j  and  particular 
officers  were  appointed  for  collecting  thefe  du- 
ties ss.     The  importation  of  wines  increafed  very 
much    after    the    marriage  of   Henry  II.  with 
Eleanor,  heirefs  of  fome  of  the  fineft  provinces 
in  the  fouth  of  France,  where  the  beft  wines 
were  produced  s6.     The  wine-trade  was  become 
a  matter  of  fo  much  importance  in  the  begin- 
ning of  King  John's  reign,  that  a  law  was  made 
for  regulating  the  prices  of  all  the  different  kinds 
of  wine,  and  twelve  men  appointed  in  each  city, 
town,  and  borough,  to  fuperintend  the  execution 
of  that  law.     *c  By  this  means  (fays  a  contem- 
"  porary  hiftorian)  the  land  was  filled  with  drink 
"  and  drunkards."  " 

54  W.  Stephaned.  Defcript.  Civitat.  London,  p.5>  6. 

55  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  p.  525,  ja6. 

56  Anderfon's  Hift.  Com.  vol. I.  p.  83. 

57  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  45  3. 

VOL.  vi.  T  Spiceries, 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Spiceries,  Spiccries,  drugs,  and  aromatics,  of  various 
kinds,  the  productions  of  the  Eaft,  were  im- 
ported in  considerable  quantities  in  this  period ; 
becaufe  they  were  much  ufed  by  perfons  of  rank 
and  fortune  in  their  meats  and  drinks,  as  well  as 
by  phyiicians  in  the  compolition  of  their  medi- 
cines s8.  "  The  Sabeans  (fays  Fitz-Stephen)  im- 
"  port  into  London  their  frankincenfe  and  other 
"  fpices  j  and  from  the  rich  country,  about 
"  Babylon,  they  bring  the  oil  of  palms 5  ."  The 
fpice-trade  formed  fo  capital  a  branch  of  the 
commerce  of  this  period,  that  merchants  in  ge- 
neral are  often  called  Jpeciarii  in  the  barbarous 
Latin  of  thofe  times. 60 

Gold  and  Gold  and  precious  ftones  were  imported  from 
precious  Egypt,  Arabia,  and  other  eaftern  countries  6I. 
For  though  no  gold  was  ufed  at  this  time  in 
coinage,  much  of  it  was  ufed  in  manufactures  of 
various  kinds,  by  goldfmiths,  jewellers,  gilders, 
embroiderers,  illuminators,  and  painters.  The 
monks,  in  particular,  were  bitterly  reproached 
by  feveral  writers,  for  expending  fo  much  gold 
in  gilding  and  illuminating  books 6z.  Many 
precepts  of  our  ancient  kings  are  dill  extant, 
directing  certain  perfons  to  buy  gold  from  the 
merchants  for  their  ufe 63.  The  fheriiis  of  Lon- 

18  Du  Cange  doff.  voc.  Species  Aromata* 

»  W.  Stephaned.  p.  6. 

*•  Muratcr.  Antiq.  tom.a.  DifTertat.  30.  tora.a.  p.$2i. 

•'  W.  Stephaned.  p.  6. 

fl  Martin.  Ann.  torn. 5.  p.  1584.  i6*j. 

'*  Anglia  Judaica,  p.ija. 

don, 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c. 

don,  in  the  fecond  year  of  Henry  II,,  paid  fifty-. 
fix  (hillings  for  gold  to  gild  the  King's  bridles.  64 

Silks,  and  other  fine  fabrics  of  the  Eaft,  were  Silks. 
alfo  imported  ;  but  not  in  very  great  quantities,  . 
becaufe  they  were  ufed  only  by  the  church,  the 
royal  family,  and  perhaps  by  a  few  of  the  mofl 
wealthy  barons  6s.  Many  cathedral  and  abbey 
churches  were  adorned  with  altar-cloths,  veils, 
and  curtains  of  filk,  and  had  alfo  veftments  of 
it,  in  which  their  clergy  officiated  on  fome  oc- 
cafions  6S.  It  appears  from  the  records  of  this 
period,  that  filks  were  purchafed  from  time  to 
time  for  the  ufe  of  the  royal  family67.  At  the 
conquefl,  and  for  fome  time  after,  filks  were 
very  dear  and  fcarce  ;  but  manufactories  of  them 
having  been  eftabliflied  in  Sicily,  Spain,  Ma- 
jorca, and  Ivica,  in  the  courfe  of  the  twelfth 
century,  they  became  much  cheaper  and  more 
common.  e8 

Tapeftry,   together  with  linen  and   woollen  Tapcfiry, 
cloths  of  the  finer  kinds,  were  among  the  Bri-  linen»*c- 
tifli  imports  of  this  period.     For  though  great 
quantities  of  woollen  cloths  were  manufactured 
in  England,  and  fome  of  them  were  exported  ;. 
yet  they  feem  to   have  been  generally  of  the 
coarfefl  kinds,  and  moll  common  colours  ;  while 
thofe  of  a  finer  texture,  and  more  delicate  co- 


*4  Madox.  Hift  Exdieq.p.  230. 

'*  W.  Stephaned.  p.  6.  Anderfon's  Hift.  Com.  vol.i.  p.  ?f. 

66  Anglia  Sacra  pafGm.  ('7  Madox  Hilr.Excheq.  c.io,  §  la. 

*  HeTeden.  Annal.  p.jSa.  col.  a. 

T  2  lours, 


276  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

lours,  for  the  ufe  of  perfons  of  high  rank,  were 
imported  from  Flanders ;  which  was  then  fo  fa- 
mous for  the  woollen  manufacture,  that  it  was 
called  Flandria  Textrix t9.  Tapeftries  for  hang- 
ings were  manufactured  in  the  city  of  Arras, 
even  in  this  period,  and  from  thence  imported 
into  England  7°.  Though  linen,  as  well  as 
woollen  cloths,  were  manufactured  in  Britain ; 
yet  it  feems  probable  that  the  fineft  linens  were 
imported,  as  the  firft  notice  we  meet  with  of  fine 
linen  made  in  England  is  in  the  thirty-feventh  of 
Henry  IIL  7I 

Furs.  Furs  of  various  kinds,  and  in  great  quanti- 

ties, were  imported  from  Norway,  Ruffia,  and 
other  northern  countries  7*.  For  furs  were  very 
much  ufed,  both  by  the  clergy  and  laity :  and 
all  perfons  who  could  afford  to  purchafe  them 
had  their  winter  garments  lined  with  them  73. 
Some  of  thefe  furs,  particularly  fables,  bore  a 
very  high  price,  and  could  only  be  obtained  by 
princes  or  prelates  of  the  greatefl  wealth.  Ro- 
bert Bloit,  Bifhop  of  Lincoln,  made  a  prefent  to 
Henry  I.  of  a  cloak  of  the  fined  cloth  lined  with 
fables,  which  cod  no  lefs  than  one  hundred 
pounds,  equivalent  to  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of 
our  money.  '4 

Dye-ftuffs,  Dye-fluffs,  particularly  woad,  may  be  reck- 
oned among  the  imports  of  Britain  in  this  pe- 

69  Gal.  Vinefauf.  p.  433.     Gervas  Chron.  col- 1348. 
'°  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  p.  25  4. 

•    7I  Id.  p. 359.  noteg.  ?J  W.  Stephaned. 

w  Anglia  Sacra,  toiii.a.  p.499.  74  Id.  ibid.  p. 417. 

riod, 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  277 

riod,  which  is  an  additional  proof  that  the  woollen 
manufacture  was  not  neglected.  Henry  deCaftei- 
lun,  who  was  chamberlain  of  the  port  of  London, 
charged  himfelf,  in  his  accounts  for  A.D.  1197., 
with  the  fum  of  ninety-lix  pounds  fix  (hillings 
and  eight-pence,  which  he  had  received  from 
certain  merchants,  for  licences  to  import  woad, 
and  fell  it  in  England ?6.  The  quantity  of 
woad  imported  by  thefe  merchants  mud  have 
been  very  great,  when  they  could  afford  to 
pay  a  fum  equivalent  to  more  than  fourteen 
hundred  pounds  of  our  money  at  prefent,  for 
their  licences. 

Befides  gold  and  filver,  other  metals,  particu-  Metaii. 
larly  iron  and  (leel,  were  imported  into  Britain 
from  Germany,  and  other  countries,  in  this  pe- 
riod ?6.  The  German  merchants  of  the  Steel-yard 
in  London,  are  thought  by  fome  to  have  derived 
that  name  from  the  great  quantities  of  iron  and 
Heel  which  they  imported,  and  fold  at  a  place 
called  the  Steel-yard. 71 

Though  corn  was  exported  from  Britain  in  Corn' 
years  of  plenty,  we  have  good  reafon  to  believe 
that  it  was  imported  in  flill  greater  quantities  in 
times  of  fcarcity,  which  were  but  too  frequent 
in  our  prefent  period.  The  merchants  of  Lon- 
don fee  m  to  have  been  the  chief  importers  of 
corn  ;  for  we  are  told  by  a  contemporary  writer, 
that  they  kept  many  granaries  full  of  it  in  that  , 

?s  Madox  HHLExcheq.  p. 351.  53*'  7*  W.  Stephaned,  p.6. 

11  Anderfon's  Hift.  Com.  voLi.  p.  113. 

T   3  Cltyj 


278  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

city  ;  and  that  from  thefe  granaries  all  parts  of 
the  kingdom  were  ftipplied  78.  Several  other  ar- 
ticles of  importation,  as  arms,  books,  pictures, 
&c.  might  be  mentioned  ;  but  it  feems  to  be 
unnecefTarv,  and  would  be  tedious,  to  make  this 

•/  J 

enumeration  more  particular. 

Merchants-  The  internal  trade  of .  England  was  managed 
chiefly  by  Anglo-Saxons  and  Anglo-Normans,who 
were  natives  of  the  country,  and  members  of  the 
.  merchant  guilds  eftabliflied  in  the  feveral  towns 
and  cities  of  the  kingdom  :  but  they  do  not  feein 
to  have  had  a  great  fliare  in  its  foreign  com- 
merce, which  was  for  the  mofl  part  in  the  hands 
of  foreigners.  Fitz-Stephen,  who  flourifhed  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  acquaints  us,  in  his  de- 
fcription  of  London,  that "  in  this  city  all  nations 
"  under  heaven  had  factors  redding  for  the  ma- 
"  nagement  of  their  commerce."  79 

J«ws.  Great  Numbers  of  Jews  came  from  Normandy, 

and  other  countries  of  the  continent,  foon  after 
the  conqueft,  and  fettling  in  all  the  trading  towns 
of  England,  got  pofleffion  of  a  very  great  pro- 
portion of  the  commerce  of  the  kingdom  *•. 
Having  larger  capitals,  greater  knowledge  of 
trade,  and  a  more  extenfive  correfpondence  with 
thofe  of  their  own  nation  in  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope, than  the  native  Englifli  merchants,  they 
were  able  to  underfell  them  in  every  market  *'. 
By  thefe  means  they  acquired  great  riches  j  but 

^  W  Malmf.  dePontifi:.  Angl.  1.2.  p.  133.  col. a. 

•»  W.  Stepluned.  p.  6.  te  Aiiglia  Jodaica,  p.  4. 

•'  Jd.p.So. 

at 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &e. 

at  the  fame  time  drew  upon  themfelves  the  indig- 
nation of  the   public,  and  the  mofl  opprefiive 
exactions  of  the  government.    For  they  and  their 
families  were  confidered  as  the  flaves,  and  all 
their  poffeffions  as  the  property,  of  the  fovereign, 
which  he  might  feize  at  pleafure,  which  he  might 
even  fell  or  mortgage  like  any  other  eftate8*. 
We  may  form  fome  idea  of  the  great  trade  and 
riches  of  the  Jews  of  this  period,  as  well  as  of 
the  oppreffions  of  the  government,  by  obferving, 
that  a  particular  exchequer,  called  the  Exchequer 
of  the  Jews,  was   eflablifhed  for  receiving  the 
prodigious  fums  extorted  from  them  in  cuftoms, 
fines,  forfeitures,   tallages,   and  various  other 
ways83.     To  give  one  example,  out  of  many, 
of  the  cruelty  of  the  government  towards  the 
Jews,  and  of  the  great  fums  extorted  from  them, 
we   are  told,  "  That  the   King,  A.  D.  1210,, 
"  commanded  all  the  Jews  in  England,  of  both 
"  fexes,  to  be  imprifoned,  in  order  to  compel 
"  them  to  pay  him  great  fums  of  money.     Some 
"  of  them,  after  they  had  been  grievoufly  tor. 
*'  tured,  furrendered  all  the  money  they  had, 
"  and  even  promifed  more,  to  preferve  them* 
*'  felves  from  further  tortures.    Amongft  others, 
"  the  King  demanded  ten  thoufand  marks  (equi- 
"  valent  to  one  hundred  thoufand  pounds  at 
"  prefent)  from  a  certain  Jew  of  Briftol,  and 
14  commanded  one  of  his  teeth  to  be  pulled  out 

**  Anglia  Judaica,  p.  132.     Wilkin.  Concil.  t.I.  p.  313. 
*»  Madox  Hift.Excheq.  chap.  7.  p.ijo,  &c. 

T  4  "  every 


28o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

*e  every  day  till  he  paid  that  fura.  The  Jew  held 
"  out  feven  days,  but  fubmitted  on  the  eighth, 
"  and  parted  with  his  money  to  preferve  the 
*'  remainder  of  his  teeth."  84 

Chriftians  All  Chriflians,  in  this  period,  were  prohibited, 
mittecUo  both  by  the  laws  of  the  church  and  flate,  from 
take  in-  lending  money  at  intereft,  which  was  called  ufury; 
mone  Or  anc^  thofe  wno  were  convicted  of  it  were  punifhed 
by  excommunication,  and  the  forfeiture  of  all 
their  goods85.  By  thefe  imprudent  laws,  the 
bufinefs  of  lending  money  was  thrown  into  the 
hands  of  the  Jews,  from  whence  they  derived 
the  moft  exorbitant  profits,  and  in  which  they 
practifed  the  moft  cruel  exactions.  For  as  the 
rate  of  intereft  was  not  regulated  by  any  law, 
they  fet  no  bounds  to  their  avarice,  and  took 
every  advantage  of  the  neceffities  of  thofe  who 
applied  to  them  for  a  loan  of  money.  On  fome 
occafions,  if  we  are  not  mifinformed,  they  took 
no  lefs  than  fifty  per  cent,  per  annum.  This, 
though  almofl  incredible,  is  highly  probable, 
from  an  order  of  Henry  III.  reftraining  them 
from  taking  more  than  two  pence  in  the  week 
for  every  twenty  millings  they  lent  to  the 
fcholars  of  Oxford,  which  is  a  little  more  than 
forty-three  per  cent. S6  From  the  following  letter 
of  the  famous  Peter  of  Blois,  Archdeacon  of 
Bath,  to  his  friend  the  Bifhop  of  Ely,  we  may 

**  M.Paris,  arm.  liio.  p.  160. 

Ss  Wilkin.  Concil.  tora.i.  p.  313.      M.  Paris,  p.  250.     Hoveden. 
Anaal.  p.  335.  86  Anglia  Judaica,  p.iaa. 

form 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c. 

form  fome  idea  of  the  extreme  feverity  of  the  Jews 
to  their  unhappy  debtors :  "  I  am  dragged  to 
"  Canterbury  to  be  crucified  by  the  perfidious 
"  Jews,  amongft  their  other  debtors,  whom  they 
"  ruin  and  torment  with  ufury.  The  fame  fuf- 
"  ferings  await  me  alfo  at  London,  if  you  do 
f<  not  mercifully  interpofe  for  my  deliverance. 
"  I  befeech  you  therefore,  O  moll  reverend 
"  father,  and  moft  loving  friend,  to  become 
"  bound  to  Sampfon  the  Jew,  for  fix  pounds, 
"  which  I  owe  him,  and  thereby  deliver  me 
"  from  that  crofs *7."  After  this  we  need  not 
be  furprifed,  either  at  the  prodigious  opulence 
of  the  Jews,  or  at  the  univerfal  execration  in 
which  they  were  held. 

The  German  merchants  of  the  Steel-yard,  Germans, 
who  had  been  fettled  in  London  before  the  con- 
queft,  continued  in  the  fame  place,  and  enjoyed 
the  fame  privileges,  after  that  event 8S.  For  Fitz- 
Stephen,  who  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century,  fays,  in  his  defcription  of  Lon- 
don, that  the  merchants  of  all  nations  had  their 
diftant  keys  and  wharfs  in  that  city ;  and,  parti, 
cularly,  that  the  Germans  had  the  Steel-yard 89. 
But  as  the  fociety  of  the  merchants  of  the  Steel- 
yard made  a  more  confpicuous  figure  in  the  next 
period,  we  fhall  infert  a  more  particular  ac- 
count of  it  in  our  next  book. 

87  Epiftolse  P.Blefenf.  Ep.I56.  p. 242. 

K  See  vol.  4«  p.  *3 1.         •» .  W.  Stephancd.  Defcript.  Lond.  p.  5. 

The 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Italians.  The  trade  of  Venice,  Pifa,  Genoa,  Amalphi, 
and  fome  other  cities  of  Italy,  was,  in  this 
period,  in  a  very  flouriming  (late90.  The  truth 
is,  that  almoft  all  the  commerce  between  Aria, 
.  Africa,  and  Europe,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
merchants  of  thefe  cities,  who  exported  the 
fuperfluities  of  Europe,  and  brought  home  the 
fpices,  gold,  filks,  and  other  precious  commo- 
dities of  the  Eaft,  which  they  fent  into  every 
country  where  they  could  find  a  market,  and 
particularly  into  Britain.  For  the  management 
of  this  trade,  companies  of  Italian  merchants 
were  fettled  in  London,  and  perhaps  in  fome 
other  towns. 

Caurfmi.  Amongfl  thefe  companies  the  Caurfini  were 
the  moft  famous  about  the  end  of  this  and  the 
beginning  of  the  next  period.  It  is  imagined, 
that  they  were  called  Caurfini,  becaufe  many  of 
them  belonged  to  a  numerous  and  opulent  family 
of  that  name  in  Italy 9I.  However  this  may  be, 
the  Caurfini  in  England,  by  departing  from  the 
proper  bufinefs  of  merchants,  and  becoming 
agents  for  the  Pope  in  his  ufurious  tran factions, 
rendered  themfelves  as  odious  as  the  Jews92. 
But  a  more  full  account  of  this  fociety,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  Lombards,  lhall  be  given  in  the 
fixth  chapter  of  our  next  book. 

Barons  Some  of  the  great  barons  of  England,  among 

merchants,  the  officers  of  their  lioufehold,  had  one  who  wai 

JCV  Murator.  Antiq.  torn.  2.  p.  88.3,  &c. 

9'   Du  Cange  doff.  voc.  Caurfini. 

»'  M.  Paris,  p.  a86.     M.  Weftrainft.  aim.  1135.  p.  134. 

called 


tions. 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  283 

called  the  Merchant,  who  tranfacled  all  the  mer- 
cantile bufinefs  of  the  baron  to  whom  he  be- 
longed; difpofing  of  his  corn,  cattle,  and  every 
thing  he  had  to  fell ;  and  purchafing  cloths, 
wines,  fpices,  and  every  thing  elfe  he  wanted  to 
buy.  It  appears  from  records,  that  thefe  baro- 
nial merchants  even  engaged  in  foreign  trade, 
and  imported  wines  and  other  goods,  for  which 
they  were  liable  to  pay  cuftoms.  °3 

Commerce  had  been  an  object  of  the  attention  Mercan- 
of  government,  and  a  fubject  of  legiflation,  in  4ile  resu1*- 
the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  and  continued  to  be  fo 
in  the  prefent  period 94.  It  was  one  of  the  firft 
cares  of  the  Conqueror  to  encourage  trade. 
With  this  view  he  publiihed  a  proclamation,  in- 
viting foreign  merchants  to  frequent  the  ports  of 
England,  and  promifing  them  the  moft  perfect 
fecurity  for  their  goods  and  perfons95.  This 
prince  adopted  feveral  Anglo-Saxon  regulations, 
with  refpect  to  trade,  into  his  own  laws,  and  in- 
forced  them  by  his  authority.  By  one  of  thefe 
laws,  it  is  decreed,  —  "  That  no  live  cattle  lhall 
"  be  bought  or  fold,  but  in  cities,  and  before 
"three  creditable  witnerTes  ;"  by  another, — • 
"  That  all  fairs  and  markets  fhall  be  kept  in 
"fortified  cities,  towns,  or  caftlesg(."  Thefe 
laws  were  inconvenient ;  but  they  were  neceffary 
in  thofe  turbulent  times.  The  Conqueror  alfo 

"  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  p-ja9.  note  (*). 

»*  See  book  2.  chap.  6.  *5  W.  Pi<5taven.  p.  ao8. 

*5  Selcieni  Spicilegium  in  Eadmcr,  p,  191. 

prohi- 


.284  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

prohibited  the  felling  of  Chriftian  flaves  to  in- 
fidels :  but  this  prohibition,  it  is  probable,  was 
not  much  regarded97.  We  know  of  no  laws 
refpe&ing  trade  made  by  William  II.  j  but  his 
fucceffor  Henry  I.,  was  more  attentive  to  that 
important  object.  By  the  ancient  law  and  cuf- 
tom  of  England,  when  a  (hip  was  wrecked  on  the 
coafl,  if  thofe  who  efcaped  from  it  did  not  re- 
turn to  it  within  a  limited  time,  the  fhip  and 
cargo  became  the  property  of  the  lord  of  the 
manor.  This  moft  unjuil  and  cruel  law  was 
abrogated  by  Henry  I.,  who  decreed,  that  if  one 
man  efcaped  alive  out  of  the  wreck,  the  lord  of 
the  manor  mould  have  no  claim  either  to  the 
fhip  or  cargo. 98 

But  this  juft  and  merciful  regulation  was  very 
difagreeable  to  many  of  the  rapacious  barons, 
and  was  quite  difregarded  after  the  death  of  the 
prince  by  whom  it  was  made,  till  it  was  revived 
by  his  grandfon  Henry  II.  "  That  prince  (as 
"  we  are  told  by  one  of  our  ancient  hiftorians), 
"  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  reign,  aboliflied 
"  the  cruel  cuftom  toward  fhipwrecked  failors, 
"  which  had  too  long  prevailed ;  and  com- 
"  manded  that  thofe  who  efcaped  from  the 
"  dangers  of  the  fea,  mould  be  treated  with 
"  kindnefs ;  and  that  fuch  as  did  them  any  in- 
*e  jury,  or  feized  any  of  their  goods,  fhould  be 
"  feverely  punifhed  "."  A  law  which  doth 

91  Seldeni  Spicilegium  in  Eadmer,  p.  191. 
»*  Seldeni  Opera,  torn.  4.  p.  1009. 
*  W.  Neubrigen,  1.2.  c.a6.  p«34i. 

much 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  285 

much  honour  both  to  the  wifdom  and  humanity 
of  its  author.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  Henry  II.,  A.  D.  1174.,  promulgated 
the  three  following  regulations  on  this  fubje6l : 
i.  That  if  but  one  man  efcaped  from  a  fhip 
alive,  that  fhip  and  cargo  could  not  be  con- 
fidered  as  a  wreck,  but  mould  be  kept  for  the  ufe 
of  the  owners.  2.  Though  no  man  efcaped  alive, 
yet  if  any  animal  efcaped,  or  was  found  in  a  fhip 
alive,  the  fhip  and  cargo  mould  be  committed 
to  the  cuftody  of  four  perfons  of  credit,  to  be 
kept  three  months,  to  be  delivered  to  the  owners 
if  they  appeared  within  that  time,  or  to  the  King 
at  the  end  of  it,  if  the  owners  did  not  appear. 
3.  But  if  neither  man  nor  beaft  efcaped  alive,  the 
fhip  and  cargo  mould  belong  to  the  King,  or 
to  the  perfon  having  right  to  wreck  at  that 
place  I0°.  This  prince  cultivated  the  friendfhip 
of  the  Emperor  Frederick  BarbarofTa,  to  whom 
he  fent  a  fplendid  embafiy,  with  magnificent 
prefents,  A.  D.  1 157.,  with  a  view  to  promote  a 
free  trade  between  their  fubje6ls  I01.  To  prevent 
the  diminution  of  the  mips  and  failors  of  his 
kingdom,  which  he  knew  to  be  fo  neceflary  both 
for  its  defence  and  trade,  Henry  II.,  A.D.  1181., 
commanded  his  juflices  itinerant,  "  to  give  a 
*6  ftri6t  charge  in  every  county,  that  no  man,  as 
"  he  valued  his  life  and  fortune,  mould  buy  or 
"  fell  any  fhip  to  be  carried  out  of  England,  or 

"•  Rym.  Feed,  tom.i.  p.  36. 

101  Radevic.  Frifingcnf.  1,1.0.7.  P-a^j. 

« fhould 


286  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IH. 

Cfi  fhould  fend,  or  cauf'e  to  be  fent,  any  mariner 
"  out  of  England."  I0* 

By  Rich-  The  importance  of  trade  to  the  profperity  of  the 
kingdom  becoming  more  confpicuous,  Richard  I. 
paid  great  attention  to  it,  and  made  many  mer- 
caatile  regulations.  The  laws  and  regulations, 
publiflied  by  this  prince  at  Chinon  in  France, 
A.  D.  1189.,  for  the  government  of  his  great 
fleet  in  his  expedition  into  the  Holy  Land,  are 
very  curious,  but  too  long  to  be  here  inferted  ; 
and  being  rather  of  a  martial  than  a  mercantile 
nature,  do  not  fo  properly  belong  to  our  prefent 
fubje6l.  By  the  lafl  of  thefe  laws,  it  is  decreed, 
"  That  whoever  is  convicted  of  theft,  lhall 
"  have  Ixis  head  fhaved,  melted  pitch  poured 
"  upon  it,  and  the  feathers  from  a  pillow  fliaken 
"  over  it,  that  he  may  be  known  j  and  mail  be 
"  put  on  more  on  the  fir  ft  land  at  which  the  fliip 
"  touches  IC-."  The  famous  maritime  laws  cal- 
led The  Laws  of  Oleron,  as  it  is  aflerted  by 
many  modern  authors,  were  promulgated  by 
this  prince  on  that  ifland,  at  his  return  from  the 
Holy  Land.;  but  on  what  foundation  this  affer- 
tion  is  built,  I  have  not  been  able  to  difcover I04. 
Thefe  laws,  which  are  forty-feven  in  number, 
are  evidently  very  ancient,  and  no  lefs  prudent, 
humane,  and  jufl ;  though  feveral  of  them, 
from  a  change  of  manners  and  circumftances, 

'•'  Benedi&.  Abbas,  torn.  r.  p.  3  68. 

103  Rym.  Feed.  torn. 4.  p.  65.     Brompt.  Chron.  001.1173. 
Ie*  Godolphin's  View  of  the  Admiral  Jurifdi&ion,  p.  14.     Ander- 
fon's  Hift.  Cora.  vol.  i.  p.  96. 

14  are 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  Set.  2g/ 

are  now  obfolete Ios.  We  have  better  evidence 
that  Richard  I.  made  various  mercantile  regula-. 
tions,  foon  after  his  return  into  England  from 
his  unfortunate  expedition  into  the  Earl.  By  the 
firft  of  thefe  regulations  he  commanded  the  fea- 
ports  to  be  carefully  guarded  that  no  corn  or 
provilions  of  any  kind  might  be  exported  either 
in  Englifh  or  foreign  bottoms.  But  this  was 
only  a  temporary  prohibition,  to  prevent  a  fa- 
mine, with  which  England  was  then  threatened. 
Having  fet  forth  the  great  inconveniencies  arif- 
ing  from  the  diverfity  of  weights  and  meafures 
in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  he,  by  a  law, 
commanded  all  meafures  of  corn,  and  other  dry- 
goods,  as  alfo  of  liquors,  to  be  exactly  the  fame 
in  all  his  dominions  ;  and  that  the  rim  of  each  of 
thefe  meafures  ihould  be  a  circle  of  iron.  By 
another  law,  he  commanded  all  cloth  to  be 
woven  two  yards  in  breadth  within  the  lifts,  and 
of  equal  goodnefs  in  all  parts  j  and  that  all  cloth 
which  did  not  anfvver  this  defcription,  fhould  be 
feized  and  burnt.  He  enacted  further,  That 
all  the  coin  of  the  kingdom  mould  be  exactly  of 
the  fame  weight  and  finenefs,  —  that  no  Chriftian 
fliould  take  any  intereft  for  money  lent  j — and  to 
prevent  the  extortions  of  the  Jews,  he  com* 
manded  that  all  compacts  between  Chriflians 
and  Jews  mould  be  made  in  the  prefence  of 
witneffes,  and  the  conditions  of  them  put  in 
writing,  of  which  three  copies  ihould  be  made, 

us  Qodolphin  Append,  p.  163. 

one 


288  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

one  to  be  lodged  in  a  public  repofitory,  and  one 
to  be  given  to  each  party  ie6.  Many  of  thefe 
regulations  were  wife  and  ufeful,  but  forne  of 
them  were  tinctured  with  the  prejudices  of  the 
times. 

ReguU-          If  there  was  any  thing  commendable  in  the 
King  John,  character  of  King  John,  it  was  his  attention  to 
maritime  and  mercantile   affairs.      Of  this  he 
gave  a  proof,  foon   after  his  acceffion  to  the 
throne,    by    publifhing    the    famous    edict    of 
Haftings,  A.  D.  1200.,  in  which  he  afTerted  his 
dominion  over  the  Britifti  feas  in  the  ftrongeft 
terms,  and  commanded  his  captains  to  feize  all 
fliips  which  did  not  flrike  their  topfails  to  them, 
to  confifcate  their  cargoes,  and  imprifon  their 
crews,   even  though  they  were  the  fubjects  of  a 
power   in  friendfhip    with   England IC7.      In  a 
word,  the  attention  of  this  prince  to  maritime 
affairs  was  fuch,  that  he  was  ferved  with  zeal  and 
fidelity  by  his  failors,  when  he  was  abandoned 
by  almoll  all  his  other  fubjects lo8.     It  is  a  fuffi- 
cient  evidence  of  this,  that,  at  a  time  when  his 
affairs  were  in  the  moil  defperate  flate  on  fhore, 
his  fleet  deftroyed  the  whole  naval  power  of 
France,    and  fent  home  no   fewer  than  three 
hundred  fail  of  French  fhips  which  had  been 
taken I09.     King  John  contributed  alfo  to  the  im- 
provement of  commerce,  by  eftablifhing  guilds 

106  Hoveden.  Annal.  p.  440.  col.  a.     Brompt.  Chron.  col.  1258. 
1<rj  Seldeni  Mare  claufum,  1. 2.  c.a6.  p. 265. 
101  M.Paris,  p.  184.     Campbell's  Lives  of  the  Admirals,  rol.  i. 
€.4.  £.146.  IC»  M,  Trivet.  Annal.  ad  ann.i»i4. 

ii  or 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  589 

or  focieties  of  merchants,  with  various  privileges 
and  immunities,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
where  there  was  any  confiderable  trade  II0.  By 
the  forty-firft  article  of  Magna  Charta,  foreign 
merchants  are  fecured  againll  all  violence,  arid 
every  illegal  exaction,  in  times  of  peace ;  and 
it  is  declared,  that  when  a  war  breaks  out,  they 
lhali  be  treated  in  England  in  the  fame  manner 
in  which  the  Englifh  merchants  are  treated  in 
the  enemy's  country. '" 

As  mips  are  the  chief  inftruments  of  foreign  Shipping, 
trade,  the  ftate  of  the  fhipping  of  this  ifland  is 
an  object   worthy  of  fome  attention  in  every 
period  of  its  hiftory. 

We  conjectured,  rather  than  affirmed,  that 
the  fhipping  of  England  amounted  to  two  or 
three  thoufand  vefiels,  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  tons,  at  the  conclufion  of  the  former 
period II2.  Whatever  may  be  in  this  conjecture, 
there  is  fufficient  evidence,  that,  in  the  courfe 
of  the  period  we  are  now  delineating,  the  fhips 
belonging  to  Britain  became  more  numerous,  of 
a  larger  lize,  and  better  conflruction,  than  they 
had  been  before  the  conquefi. 

The  very  fleet  which  brought  over  the  Duke  of  More  nu- 
Normandy  and  his  army  into  England,  made  a  "jj6™"5^ 
great  addition  to  the  Englifh  fhipping.     Some  former 
of  our  ancient  hiftorians  affirm,  that  this  fleet  Period* 
confrfted  of  no  fewer  than  three  thoufand  fliips1'3. 

IIO'Brady  on  Burghs,  pafTim.  '"  Magna  Charta,  ch.4i. 

112  See  vol.4,  p. 234-  "'  Ypodigma  Neuftm?,  p.436. 

VOL,  vi.  tf  Though 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

Though  this  may  be  an  exaggeration,  we  may 
be  certain  that  the  tranfportation  of  fixty  thou- 
fand  men,  with  their  horfes,  arms,  and  other 
neceflaries,  required  a  very  numerous  fleet  of 
fuch  fmall  mips  as  were  then  in  ufe.  Some  of 
thefe  fliips  were  carried  back  to  the  continent ; 
but  the  greatefl  part  of  them,  together  with 
their  crews,  remained  in  England,  and  made  a 
great  addition  to  its  naval  power.  The  frequent 
voyages  of  our  Anglo-Norman  kings,  between 
this  ifland  and  their  dominions  on  the  continent, 
attended  by  large  armies,  chiefly  compofed  of 
cavalry,  rendered  numerous  fleets  abfolutely  ne- 
ceflary.  Thefe,  it  is  true,  bore  a  greater  re- 
femblance  to  fleets  of  tranfports,  than  to  the 
royal  navies  of  the  prefent  times.  For  they 
confided  chiefly  of  merchant-lhips,  collected 
together  when  it  was  neceffary,  and  difmifTed 
as  foon  as  the  fervice  was  performed  II4.  But 
the  very  poffibility  of  collecting  together  a  fleet 
of  feveral  hundred  mips,  in  a  few  weeks,  affords 
a  dcmonflration  that  England  abounded  in  fhip- 
ping  in  this  period. 

Defcrip-  The  Anglo-Saxon  mips  were  very  fmall,  and 
th°"  ft1  ^ai  fr°m  being  perfect  in  their  conftruction  ll*. 
But  the  Engliih  mips  of  this  period  appear  to 
have  been  both  larger  and  better  built.  Thofe 
of  the  largeft  iize,  and  ftrongeft  conftrudlion, 
were  called  dromones116.  The  famous  Saracen 

II+  M.  Paris,  ad  an.  1213,  p.  i6z. 

115  Mr.  Strutt's  View,  &c.  vol.  i.  plate  9.  fig.  i.     , 

*16  Gauf.  Vinefauf.  l.a.  c.z6.  p.  31 6. 

14  fliip 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c. 

fliip  which  was  taken  by  Richard  I.  fiear  the  port 
of  Aeon,  was  of  this  kind  ;  and  mud  have  been 
of  an  enormous  magnitude,  as  it  contained  no 
fewer  than  fifteen  hundred  men  "7.  Thofe  dro- 
mones  had  three  mails,  and  are  faid  to  have  failed 
very  flowly,  being  too  lofty  to  make  ufe  of  oars. 
Ships  of  the  fecond  rate,  called  vuffce  or  buccce, 
were  alfo  large  veflels,  and  had  three  mafts ll8. 
Galleys  were  of  various  kinds,  and  different  de- 
grees of  magnitude ;  but  they  all  made  ufe  of 
oars  as  well  as  fails II9.  The  (hips  mod  com- 
monly uied  in  trade,  both  at  fea  and  on  large 
rivers,  were  called  barcce,  or  barks ;  and  thofe 
of  them  which  were  of  the  fmallefl  fize  were 
called  barbottce  li°.  All  thefe  veflels  had  decks, 
for  lecuring  the  goods  with  which  they  were 
loaded,  from  the  injuries  of  the  fea.  Belides 
thefe,  they  had  boats  of  different  kinds  and 
dimenfions,  for  plying  on  rivers,  for  fiming,  and 
for  other  purpofes.111 

That  the  Engliih  fhips  of  this  period  had  the  Engiifh 
reputation  of  being  excellent  in  their  feveral  vs™uc 
kinds,  is  at  leaft  highly  probable,  from  the  law 
of  Henry  II.  which  prohibited  the   felling  of 
them  to  foreigners  I2i.     We  are  told  by  a  con- 
temporary author,  who  was  prefent  at  Meffina, 
in  Sicily,  with  Richard  I.,  in  his  way  to  the 

117  M.  Paris,  p.  115.  col.  I.  "'  Du  Cange  GloJT.  voc.  BuJJa. 

09  Id.  ibid.  voc.  Galea.         '"  Id.  ibid,  in  voc.  Bare*,  Barbotta* 
'"  See  Mr.  Strutt's  View,  &c.  vol.  I.  plate  3*.  .  . 

*"  Benedidl.  Abbas,  p.  368. 

u  2  Hply 


292  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN,  Book  IIL 

Holy  Land,  —  that  the  people  of  that  city  were 
filled  with  admiration  at  the  number,  beauty,  and 
magnitude,  of  the  fhips  of  which  that  monarch's 
fleet  was  compofed  ;  and  declared,  that  fo  fine  a 
fleet  had  never  been  feen,  and  probably  never 
would  be  feen  in  the  harbour  of  Medina123.  This 
was  indeed  a  very  gallant  fleet.  It  confuted  of 
thirteen  fhips  of  the  largefl  kind,  called  dromones, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  fecond  rate,  called 
btt/fte,  fifty-three  galleys,  befides  a  great  number 
of  tenders  l24.  Such  a  fleet  would  make  no  con- 
temptible appearance  even  in  modern  times. 
As  the  Britifli  fhips  were  better  built,  fo  they 


ceied  C:     were  alfo  better  navigated,  in  this  than  in  the 
thofeof      preceding  period.      The   Englifh  failors   were 
countries     mucn  admired,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  for 
their  dexterity  and  courage  j  which  produced 
'  the  law  of  Henry  II.,  prohibiting  them  from 
entering  into  foreign  fervice  12S.     Geofrey  of 
Vinefauf,  who  accompanied  Richard  I.  in  his 
expedition  into  the  Holy  Land,  afcribes  the 
prefervation  of  that  prince  from  fhipwreck  in  a 
llorm,  to  the  uncommon  fkill  and  courage  of 
his  failors,  "  who  did  every  thing  that  it  was 
"  poffible  for  human  art  to  do,  to  refifl  the  fury- 
"  of  the  winds126."     This  character,  which  the 
Englifli  failors  fo  early  acquire^,  they  have  long 
retained,  and  I  hope  will  never  forfeit. 

113  Gauf.  Vinefauf.  1.2.  c.  a6.  p.  316. 

"4  J.  Brompt.  col.  1197.     R.  de  Diceto,  col.  65?. 

125  Benedia.  Abbas,  p-363. 

126  G.  Vinefauf.  J.  a.  c.jy.  p-31?, 

II  It 


Chap. 6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  293 

It  is  a  little  uncertain,  whether  or  not  the  Mariners 
Englifh  failors  towards  the  end  of  this  period,  compaf9' 
had  the  advantage  of  the  mariners  compafs  to 
guide  them  in  their  voyages.  For  neither  the 
perfon  who  invented  that  moft  ufeful  inllrument, 
nor  the  time  when  it  was  invented,  are  ve'rj 
well  known.  It  is  however  certain,  that  it  had 
been  difcovered  about  the  end  of  the  twelfth,  or 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  that  a 
needle  touched  with  a  loadftone  pointed  towards 
the  north ;  and  that  endeavours  were  then  ufed 
to  apply  this  difcovery  to  navigation,  though  the 
mod  convenient  way  of  doing  it  was  not  then 
invented.  For  Hugh  de  Bercy,  a  French  poet, 
who  flourimed  in  the  former  part  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  mentions  this  property  of  a 
needle  touched  with  a  loadftone  very  plainly,  and 
defcribes  an  inftroment  called  la  mari?iiere,  ufed 
by  the  failors  of  his  time,  in  which  the  needle 
was  placed  upon  a  board  that  floated  in  a  veffel 
of  water.  "7 

If  fhips  and  failors  are  neceffary  to  foreign  Money. 
trade,  efpecially  in  an  ifland,  money  is  no  lefs 
neceffary  both  to  foreign  and  internal  commerce. 
It  hath  long  been  the  common  meafure  of  all 
commodities,  and  the  chief  inftrument  of  their 
circulation,  and  muft  therefore  never  be  ne- 
glected in  the  hiftory  of  trade. 

"?  Pafquier  Recherches  dela  France,  1,4.  c.  25.  p. 405. 

u  3  Living 


294  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

Living  Living  money,  which  made  fo  great  a  figure 

in  the  former  is  feldom  or  never  mentioned  by 
the  writers  of  the  prefent  period  128.  For  when 
coin  became  common,  the  conveniency  of  it,  as 
a  reprefentative  of  all  commodities,  appeared  fo 
great,  that  all  others  were  foon  laid  afide. 

Changes  The  full  account  that  hath  been  given  of  the 
feveral  denominations  of  money,  and  of  the  real 

queft.  coins  that  were  ufed  in  Britain  in  the  preceding 
period,  makes  it  unneceffary  to  fay  much  on 
thefe  fubjecls  in  the  prefent;  becaufethe  changes 
made  in  them  by  the  conqueft  were  but  few  and 
inconfiderable.  Thefe  changes  were  the  follow- 
ing I29.  Some  denominations  of  money,  as  man- 
cuffes,  oras,  and  thrimfas,  that  were  common  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  times,  fell  into  difufe,  and  are 
feldom  mentioned  by  the  writers  after  the  con- 
queft. If  the  mancus  of  gold  was  a  real  coin 
among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  which  is  not  very  cer- 
tain, it  ceafed  to  be  coined  after  the  conqueft ; 
for  there  is  not  the  lead  veftige  of  fuch  a  coin 
among  the  Anglo-Normans :  nor  do  we  hear  any 
thing  of  the  copper-coin  called  a  Jiica  after  the 
conqueft. 

Pound.  The  Tower  pound,  which  had  been  the  money 

pound  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  continued  to  be 
the  money  pound  of  England  for  feveral  centu- 
ries after  the  conqueft  13°.  This  pound  was  three 
fourths  of  an  ounce  lighter  than  the  Troy  pound* 

la8  See  vol.  4.  p.  243^  "»  Id.  p.  345—379. 

v*  FoHces  on  Coins,  p.  2» 

to 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  295 

to  which  it  was  in  the  proportion  of  fifteen  to 
lixteen.  It  was  divided  into  twelve  ounces,  each 
ounce  weighing  450  Troy  grains,  which  made 
5400  fuch  grains  in  the  pound131.  Whenever 
therefore  a  pound  of  money  is  mentioned  by  the 
writers  of  this  period,  it  fignifies  as  many  iilver 
coins  as  weighed  5400  Troy  grains  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  a  Tower  pound  weight  of  iilver  coins. 
The  pound  was  both  the  largeft  and  mod  com- 
mon denomination  of  money. 

The  mark  is  another  denomination  of  money,  Mark. 
which  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  hiftories 
and  records  of  this  period.  It  weighed  exactly 
two  thirds  of  a  Tower  pound ;  and  was  the  fame 
with  the  Anglo-Danifh  mark,  which  hath  been 
fully  defcribed  already. 13Z 

The  milling  was  not  a  real  coin,  but  only  a  de-  Shilling. 
nomination  of  money,  in  this  period,  whatever  it 
might  have  been  in  the  former.  The  Anglo- 
Norman  milling  was  alfo  very  different  in  its 
weight  and  value  from  the  Anglo-Saxon.  The 
largeft  of  the  latter  weighed  only  112$  Troy 
grains,  whereas  the  former  reprefented  as  many 
Silver  coins  as  weighed  270  of  the  fame  grains,  or 
the  twentieth  part  of  a  Tower  pound. 

The  penny  was  by  far  the  mod  common  real  Penny. 
coin  in  the  prefent  period.     Every  Tower  pound 
of  lilver  was  coined  into  two  hundred  and  forty 
of  thefe  pennies,  each  weighing  22*  Troy  grains. 
Twelve  of  thefe  pennies,  weighing  270  grains, 

131  See  vol.  4.  p.  251.  vt  Id.  p.*jg. 

u  4  were 


296 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN. 


Book  III. 


Halfpen- 
nies and 
farthings. 


were  paid  for  one  fhilling I33.  In  a  word,  the 
Anglo-Norman  penny  was  the  fame  in  weight 
with  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Many  of  the  former,  as 
well  as  fome  of  the  latter  are  dill  preferred,  and 
have  been  publifhed. I34 

Though  the  filver  penny  of  this  period  wasl>ut 
a  fmall  coin  ;  yet  it  was  of  confiderable  value,  and 
would  have  purchafedas  much  provifions,  or  other 
goods,  as  four  or  five  of  our  millings  will  do  at 
prefent.  To  have  had  no  fmaller  coins  than  pen- 
nies, would  have  been  very  inconvenient  to  the 
poor  in  the  purchafe  of  provifions  and  other  ne- 
cefTaries.  We  may  be  certain,  therefore,  that 
filver  half-pennies  and  farthings  were  coined  in 
this,  as  well  as  in  the  former  period ;  though  few 
or  none  of  thefe  fmall  coins  of  fome  of  our  Nor- 
man kings  have  been  preferved.  It  feems  proba- 
ble, however,  that  the  fmaller  coins  were  fome- 
times  very  fcarce,  and  that  the  people  had  been 
accuftomed  to  cut  or  break  filver  pennies  into 
halves  and  quarters,  which  pafled  for  half-pennies 
and  farthings.  For  Henry  L,  A.D.  1 108.,  prohi- 
bited this  practice ;  and  commanded,  that  all  half- 
pennies and  farthings,  as  well  as  pennies,  fhould 
be  entire  and  round I3S.  It  appears  alfo,  that  this 
law  did  not  put  an  end  to  the  practice  of  cutting 
pennies  into  halves  and  quarters,  but  that  it 
continued  through  the  whole  of  this  period ; 
becaufe  we  meet  with  a  law  againfl  it  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  I.  A.D.  1279. '36 


133  Folkes  on  Coins,  p.j. 
*JS  Simeon  Dunelm.  col.  331. 


'^  Id.  vol.  «. 

Ij6  M.Weftminft.p.367- 

In 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  2Q7 

In  the  courfe  of  this  period,  thejilver  penny  Sterling 
is  fometimes  called  an  efterling  orjferling ;  and  money* 
good  money  in  general  is  fometimes  called  e/ler* 
ling  or  Jlerling  money I37.  It  is  unneceffary  to 
mention  the  various  conjectures  of  antiquaries 
about  the  origin  and  meaning  of  this  appellation. 
The  moft  probable  opinion  feems  to  be  this,  that 
fome  artifts  from  Germany,  who  were  called 
IZ/ierlings,  from  the  iituation  of  their  country, 
had  been  employed  in  fabricating  our  money, 
which  confided  chiefly  of  filver  pennies ;  and 
that  from  them  the  penny  was  called  an  efterling, 
and  our  money  efterling  or  Jlerling  money. I3S 

As  the  filver  coins  of  England  in  this  and  the  Standard. 
former  period,  were  of  the  fame  kinds,  and  of 
the  fame  weights,  they  were  alfo  of  the  fame 
ftandard  or  degree  of  finenefs.  Both  our  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Anglo-Norman  princes  paid  great  at- 
tention to  the  purity  of  their  coin,  and  punilhed 
thofe  who  attempted  to  debafe  it,  with  great  fe- 
verity139.  Henry  1L,  A.D.  1180.,  called  in  all 
the  coin,  bccaufe  fome  of  it  had  been  debafed  j 
and  iflued  new  money,  which  was  to  be  the  only 
current  coin  of  the  kingdom.  *** 

Coining  money  was  not  confined  to  one  place  Money 
in  England,  as  it  is  at  prefent,  but  was  pra&ifed  ™ntjS  "J 
in  every  town  of  any  confiderable  trade.     The 

137  Spelman.  Gloff.  voc.  Eflerlingus.  '3*  Id.  ibid. 

139  See  vol.  4.  p-a77«  Hen.  Knyghton>  col.  2377.     Gerva*  Chron. 
«ol.  1457- 

HO  Benedidl.  Abbas,  ad  aim.  1 1 80. 

workmen, 


298  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III, 

workmen,  however,  who  were  employed  in  coin- 
ing, did  not  enjoy  the  fame  liberty  with  other 
artifts,  of  following  their  own  fancies,  and  mak- 
ing fuch  coins  as  they  pleafed;  but  they  received 
all  their  dyes  from  the  exchequer,  and  they 
wrought  under  the  infpe6lion  of  officers,  who 
were  called  examinatores  monetce,  and  cujlodes 
cuneorum,  "  Efiayers  and  keepers  of  the  dyes," 
,  whofe  bufinefs  it  was,  to  take  care  that  their 
coins  were  of  the  ftandard  weight  and  finenefs. 
All  thefe  workmen,  together  with  the  eflayers 
and  keepers  of  the  dyes,  in  all  the  different 
mints,  were  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
the  barons  of  the  exchequer ;  who,  from  time 
to  time,  commanded  them  to  appear  before  them 
with  their  implements  of  coining.  Thus,  in  the 
9th  of  King  John,  writs  were  iffued  by  the  ba- 
rons of  the  exchequer,  commanding  all  the  mo- 
neyours,  efTayers,  and  keepers  of  the  dyes,  in 
London,  Winchefler,  Exeter,  Chichefter,  Can- 
terbury, Rochefter,  Ipfwich,  Norwich,  Lynn, 
Lincoln,  York,  Carlifle,  Northampton,  Ox- 
ford, St.  Edmunds,  and  Durham,  to  appeal- 
before  them  at  Weftminfter,  in  the  quinzieme 
of  St.  Denys,  and  to  bring  with  them  all  their 
dyes  fealed  up  with  their  feals. 141 

Coins  of  Though  it  is  highly  probable  that  money  was 
thefame  coined  in  Scotland  before  the  beginning  of  this 
with  thofe  period ;  yet  as  none  of  that  ancient  money  hath 
i°arJnS~  keen  difcovered,  nothing  certain  can  be  faid  on 

'*'  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  chap.  9.  p.  198. 

that 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  299 

that  fubjecV41.  Nor  have  any  coins  of  Mal- 
colm Canmore,  or  of  his  three  fucceflbrs,  Do- 
nald, Duncan,  and  Edgar,  kings  of  Scotland, 
yet  appeared ;  the  moft  ancient  Scotch  coins  that 
are  known  being  thofe  of  Alexander  L,  who 
began  his  reign  A.  D.  no/.143  From  that  sera 
the  femes  is  almofl  complete144.  It  is  unne- 
ceffary  to  fpend  one  moment  in  defcribing  the 
money  of  Scotland,  in  this  period,  as  it  was 
exactly  the  fame  in  weight,  finenefs,  and  fabrica- 
tion, with  that  of  England,  already  defcribed. 

If  any  gold  was  coined  in  Britain  in  the  times  NO  gold 
we  are  now  confidering,  it  hath  difappeared.  cojned  itt 
For  no  gold  coins  of  any  of  the   kings    who  r;od.pe 
reigned  in  England,  in  this  period,  have  been  yet 
difcovered,  nor  are  any  fuch  coins  mentioned  by 
the  contemporary  hiflorians.     But  foreign  gold 
coins,  of  the  fame  kinds  which  had  circulated 
among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  ftill  continued  to  cir- 
culate through  the  whole  of  this  period.    Thefe 
were  commonly  called  Byzants,  or  Byzantines, 
and  have  been  defcribed  in  the  fixth  chapter  of 
the  fecond  book  of  this  work. I4S 

The  proportion  of  gold  to  filver  appears  to  Propor- 
have  been  as  one  to  nine.  The  Abbot  of  Thorney  tion  of 
being  obliged  to  pay  to  King  Stephen  yearly,  for  elver, 
the  privilege  of  a  market  at  Jakefley,  one  mark 
of  gold,  paid  nine  marks  of  (ilver,  and  was  di£ 

142  See  vol.  4.  p.  282. 

1+3  Anderfon  Diplomata  Scoti*;  Prsefat.  p. 5  7. 

•**  Id.  plate  157,  &c.  '43  gee  vol. 4.  p.374- 

• 

charged. 


300  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

charged148.  The  fame  proportion  was  obferved 
in  the  fucceeding  reign.  For  Peter  Turk  paid 
fix  pounds  of  filver  into  the  exchequer,  for  one 
mark  of  gold,  which  he  owed  to  Henry  II.  I47 
The  cheapnefs  of  gold,  in  this  period,  feems  to 
be  an  indication  of  its  abundance  in  proportion 
to  filver. 

Different        The  moft  natural  and  eafy  way  of  paying  any 
paying       fu^i  of  money,  is  to  pay  as  many  real  coins  of 


or  filver  as  are  nominally  and  legally  con- 
tained in  that  fum.  This  is  called  paying  by 
tale  j  and  is  almoft  the  only  method  now  in  ufe. 
But  as  the  real  value  of  coins,  in  fome  periods, 
may  fall  confiderably  fliort  of  their  nominal  va- 
lue, either  by  a  deficiency  in  their  weight,  or 
finenefs,  or  in  both,  it  becomes  neceflary,  at 
thofe  times,  to  contrive  fome  method  to  guard 
againft  this  deception.  Several  methods  were 
ufed  for  this  purpofe,  in  the  times  we  are  now 
confidering,  by  thofe  who  received  the  royal  re- 
venues at  the  exchequer,  and  probably  by  all 
who  had  extenfive  dealings  in  money. 
Increment.  When  the  coins  offered  to  the  receivers  at  the 
exchequer  appeared  to  them  fufficiently  pure, 
but  a  little  lighter  than  the  ilandard,  they  con- 
tented themfelves  with  demanding  and  receiving 
fix  filver  pennies  in  every  pound,  more  than  was 
nominally  contained  in  it,  to  make  up  the  fup- 
pofed  deficiency  in  the  weight.  For  example, 
they  demanded  and  received  two  hundred  and 

«*  Madox  Hift.  Excheq;  '«'  Id.  ibid. 

forty- 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  301 

forty-fix  filver  pennies  for  one  pound,  inftead  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  pennies,  which  made  a 
nominal  pound.  The  fix  filver  pennies  extraor- 
dinary were  called  the  increment ;  and  this  way 
of  paying  was  called  paying  adjcalam,  and  was 
an  eafy  and  amicable  method  of  adjufting  the 
difference  between  the  legal  and  real  weight  of 
coins. I4S 

When  the  coins  prefented  in  payment  at  the  By  weight, 
exchequer  appeared  to  be  fo  much  diminimed 
that  the  ordinary  increment  would  not  make  up 
the  deficiency,  they  were  put  into  the  fcales, 
and  taken  by  weight,  without  any  regard  to 
number.  This  was  called  payment  ad  pen/umt 
and  was  certainly  the  moll  juft. 149 

But  as  coins  might  be  defective  in  finenefs  as  By  com- 
well  as  in  weight,  the  receivers  at  the  exchequer  buftion* 
fometimes  melted  a  few  of  them  by  way  of  trial, 
and  calculated  the  value  of  the  whole,  according 
to  the  iffue  of  that  trial.  This  was  called  pay. 
ment  by  combuftion ;  and  when  a  quantity  of  coins 
had  undergone  this  trial,  they  were  faid  to  be 
blanched.  To  prevent  the  trouble  of  melting, 
a  certain  allowance,  as  one  milling  in  the  pound, 
was  fometimes  offered,  and  accepted,  to  make 
up  the  deficiency  in  finenefs  15°.  There  were 
proper  officers  in  the  exchequer  for  performing 
thefe  operations,  fuch  as  a  pefour  for  weighing, 
a  fufor  for  melting  the  coins  that  were  to  be 


148  Madox  Hitt.  Excbeq.  ch-9.  p.  187.  '*»  Id.  ibid. 

lio  Id.  ibid. 


tried ; 


202  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

tried ;  and  thefe  officers  were  furnifhed  with 
proper  inflruments  and  conveniences  for  their 
refpe6live  works. ISI 

Manner  of  It  will  readily  occur  to  every  reader,  that 
payments  ^efe  different  modes  of  payment  made  a  very 
effential  difference  both  to  the  debtor  and  cre- 
ditor, efpecially  in  large  linns;  becaufe  it  re- 
quired a  greater  number  of  the  fame  kind  of 
coins  to  pay  the  fame  debt  in  one  way  than 
another.  For  this  reafon  in  making  bargains, 
and  fettling  the  rents  of  farms,  &c.  it  was  ufual 
to  ftipulate  in  which  of  thefe  ways  the  money 
was  to  be  paid,  by  tale,  by  fcale,  by  weight,  or 
by  combuftlon. JS* 

Compara-       If  the  fame  nominal  fum  of  money  had  always 
tive  value    contained  the  fame  quantity  of  the  precious  me- 

of  money. 

tals,  of  the  fame  finenefs,  we  might  ealily  and 
certainly  have  difcovered  the  comparative  value 
of  money,  and  expence  of  living,  at  any  two 
periods,  only  by  comparing  the  nominal  prices 
of  labour  and  commodities  at  thefe  different 
times.  But  this  hath  not  been  the  cafe.  The 
fame  nominal  fum  of  money,  as  a  pound,  a 
mark,  a  milling,  &c.  hath  at  fome  periods  con- 
tained a  greater,  and  at  others  a  fmaller  quan- 
tity of  lilver,  to  fay  nothing  of  its  different  de- 
grees of  finenefs.  In  order  therefore  to  difcover 
the  comparative  value  of  money,  and  expence  of 
living,  at  any  two  periods,  two  things  muft  be 
taken  into  the  account:  ift,  The  quantity  of 

151  Madox  Hift.  Excheq.  ch.  9.  p.  197.  «*  Id.  ibid. 

filver 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  303 

lilver  contained  in  the  fame  norm'nal  fum  at 
each  of  thefe  periods ;  and,  2ndly,  the  efficacy 
or  power  of  the  fame  quantity  of  filver  in  pur- 
chafing  labour  and  commodities  of  all  kinds  at 
each  period. 

Any  nominal  fum  of  money,  or  number  of  Thefame 

_  ....  .         ,  .     ,  nominal 

pounds,  marks,  or  millings,  in  the  period  we  fum  con- 
are  now  delineating,  contained  nearly  thrice  as  talj}ed 
much  filver,  as  the  fame  nominal  fum,  or  number  quantity 
of  pounds,  marks,  or  fhillings,  contain  at  pre-  of  filver. 
fent.     Whenever  therefore  we  meet  with  any 
fum  of  money,  or  number  of  pounds,  marks, 
or  fhillings,  in  the  hiflories  or  records  of  this 
period,  faid  to  be  the  price  of  any  commodity, 
we  mufl  multiply  it  by  three  to  difcover  how 
many  of  our  pounds,  marks,  or  fhillings,  it  con- 
tained.    Thus,  for  example,  we  are  told  by  fe- 
veral  of  our  ancient  hiftorians,  that  there  was  fo 
great  a  fcarcity  of  corn  in  England,  A.  D.  1 126., 
that  a  quarter  of  wheat  fold  for  fix  fhillings,  that 
is,  for  eighteen  fhillings  of  our  money. Ii3 

The  fame  nominal  fum  of  money  not  only  Same 
contained  a  much  greater  quantity  of  filver  than  ^ JjJ^ 
it  doth  at  prefent,  but  the  fame  quantity  of  filver  more  va- 
was  alfo  much  more  valuable  than  it  is  at  pre-  luable* 
fent.     It  is  difficult,  if  not  impoffible,  to  dif- 
cover the  difference  in  this  refpe6l  with  certainty 
and  exaclnefs.     This  difficulty  is  occafioned  by 
two  things:  i.  becaufe  we  are  not  fufficiently 
informed  of  the  common   prices  of  the  mofl 

li}  Hen.  Hunt.  p.  219.     R.  Hoveden,  Annal.  p.*74« 

necefTary 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  IIL 

necefiary  and  ufeful  commodities,  particularly  of 
corn,  in  this  diflant  period ;  2.  becaufe  the  prices 
of  fome  commodities,  as  of  books,  filks,  and 
(pices,  bore  a  much  higher  proportion  than  the 
prices  of  fome  others,  as  of  corn,  cattle,  and 
wine,  to  the  prices  of  the  fame  commodities  in 
the  prefent  times.  Accordingly  \ve  find,  that 
the  mod  ingenious  and  bed-informed  writers 
have  entertained  very  different  fentiments  on  this 
fubjecl; ;  fome  eflimating  the  value  or  efficacy  of 
any  given  weight  of  filver  coins  in  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries,  to  the  value  or  efficacy  of 
the  fame  weight  of  our  filver  coins  at  prefent,  to 
have  been  in  the  proportion  of  ten  to  one,  and 
fome  eflimating  it  to  have  been  only  in  the  pro- 
portion of  five  to  one  154.  That  is  to  fay,  fome 
of  thefe  writers  think,  that  a  quantity  of  filver 
coins,  of  an  equal  weight  with  one  of  our 
crown-pieces,  would  have  purchafed  ten  times 
as  much  labour,  meat,  drink,  and  clothing,  in 
the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  as  one  of 
our  crown-pieces  can  purchafe  at  prefent,  while 
others  of  them  think  that  it  would  have  pur- 
chafed  only  five  times  as  much. 

The  fame  If  we  could  difcover  the  average  price  of  corn 
of  fiiver  *n  ^ne  times  we  are  now  examining,  we  might 
five  times  determine  this  queilion  with  tolerable  certainty  j 
the  value  becaufe  £ne  price  of  corn  hath  a  confiderable  in- 

it  is  at 

prefent.      fluence  on  the  price  of  labour,  and  the  expence 

154  Mr.  Hume's  Hiftory  of  England,  vol.  i.  p.  170.  edit.  1762. 
Lord  Lyttelton's  Hifiory  of  Henry  II.  vol.  i.  page  406.  o&avo  ediu 
1769. 

of 


Chap.6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  305 

of  living.  The  hiftorians  of  this  period  re- 
prefent  it  as  a  great  dearth,  or  rather  as  a 
famine,  when  wheat  was  fold  for  fix  of  their 
Ihillings  (containing  as  much  filver  as  eighteen 
of  our  (hillings)  the  quarter.  "  This  year,  A.D. 
"  1126.,  (fays  Henry  of  Huntingdon)  was  the 
"  greateft  dearth  in  our  times,  when  a  quarter 
"  of  wheat  was  fold  for  fix  fhillings155."  If 
we  fuppofe  the  fame  quantity  of  filver  to  have 
been  ten  times  as  valuable  then  as  it  is  now,  this 
makes  the  dearth,  A.D.  1126.,  to  have  been  as 
great  as  it  would  be  at  prefent,  if  wheat  was 
fold  for  nine  pounds  the  quarter,  or  £i  12:6 
the  bufhel :  a  dearth  that  would  be  quite  ruinous 
and  infupportable.  But  if  we  fuppofe  the  value 
or  efficacy  of  the  fame  quantity  of  filver  to  have 
been  only  five  times  as  great  then  as  it  is  now, 
this  makes  the  dearth,  A.D.  1126.,  to  have  been 
as  great  as  it  would  be  at  prefent  if  a  quarter  of 
wheat  was  fold  for  £4.  i  os.9  or  a  bufhel  for  ;  , 
ii5.  %d.  a  dearth  fufficiently  diftrefsful,  and 
of  which  we  have  few  examples.  We  can 
hardly  imagine  that  our  hiftorians  would  have 
mentioned  this  dearth  in  fuch  ftrong  terms,  if 
the  price  of  corn  had  not  then  been  the  double  ., 
of  its  common  or  average  price.  On  the  other 
hand,  our  hiftorians  fpeak  of  it  as  a  proof  of 
uncommon  plenty  and  cheapnefs,  when  wheat 
was  fold  for  two  of  their  Ihillings  (containing  as 
much  filver  as  fix  of  our  fhillings)  the  quarter. 

155  Hen.  Hunt.  p.  a  19. 

VOL,  vi.  x  "  This 


306  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN'.  Book  III, 

"  This  year,  A.D.  1244.,  (fays  Matthew  Paris) 
"  was  fo  fruitful,   that  a  quarter  of  wheat  was 
"  fold  for  two  {hillings  I5V     Upon  the  whole, 
it  feemsto  be  no  improbable  conjecture,  that  the 
moft  common  price  of  wheat  in  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries,  was  about  three  of  their  fhil- 
lings,  or  nine  of  our  {hillings,  the  quarter.     If 
we  fuppofe  the  fame  quantity  of  filver  to  have 
been  then  ten  times  the  value  it  is  now,  we  mud 
alfo  fuppofe,  that  the  moft  common  or  average 
price   of  wheat  in  our   times  is  £^.  los.  the 
quarter :  a  fuppofition   which  we  know  to  be 
very  remote  from  truth.     But  if  we  eftimate  any 
given   quantity  of  filver,  as  nine   of  our  fhil- 
Jings,  the  average  price  of  a  quarter  of  wheat 
in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  to  have 
been  only  five  times  the  value  of  the  fame  quan- 
tity of  filver  at  prefent ;    this  correfponds  with 
the  fuppofition,    that  the  average  price  of  a 
quarter  of  wheat,  in  modern  times,  is  £2,  55. 
or  5s-  7i.d"  the   buihel.     This  is  evidently  riot 
far  from  the  truth.    The  juftnefs  of  this  fuppo- 
fition, that  any  given  quantity  or  weight  of  fil- 
ver coins,  in  the  period  we  are  now  delineating, 
was  equal  in  value  and  efficacy  to  five  times  the 
fame  weight  or  quantity  of  our  filver  coins  at 
prefent,  might,  if  it  was  neceflary,  be  confirmed 
by  many  other  arguments. ls7 

J*6  M.  Paris,  ad.  an.  1144. 
57  See  Lord  Littelton's  Hift.  of  Hearyll.  vol.  I.  p.  404 — 410. 

According 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  dtc.  307 

According  to  this  fuppofition,  a  perfon  who  Rate  of 
had  a  nominal  income  of  ^io.a-year,  in  thishving' 
period,  received  as  much  filver  as  one  who  hath 
a  nominal  income  at  prefent  of  ^30.  a-year;  and 
could  have  lived  as  well,  purchafed  as  much 
labour,  meat,  drink,  and  clothing,  as  one  who 
hath  an  income  of  ^150.  at  prefent.  A  conflant 
attention  to  thefe  two  things,  the  different  quan- 
tity of  filver  in  the  fame  nominal  fum  of  money, 
and  the  different  value  of  the  fame  quantity  of 
filver,  is  neceffary  to  our  underftanding  the 
meaning  of  our  ancient  hiflorians  on  many  oc- 
cafions,  and  particularly  to  our  comprehending 
the  real  value  of  the  feveral  fums  ef  money 
that  are  mentioned  by  them. 

The  materials  of  our  commercial  hiflory,  in  Balance  of 
this  period,  are  not  fo  perfect  as  to  enable  us  to  favour  of 
form  a  judgment,  or  even  a  guefs,  concerning  England. 
the  balance  of  trade  between  Britain  and  any 
one  particular  country.     But  we  have  good  rea- 
fon  to  believe,  that  the  balance  of  trade,  upon 
the  whole,  was  in  favour  of  Britain  ;  or  in  other 
words,  that  the  Britifh  exports  were  more  valu- 
able than  the  Britifh  imports  ;  and  that  to  make 
up  the  deficiency  in  the  imports,  Britain  received 
a  balance  in  cafli  or  bullion. 

This  may  be  proved  in  this  manner.     We  had  This 
no  mines  of  gold  or  filver  in  this  ifland,  in  thofe  Proved* 
times,  to  fupply  the  daily  diminution  of  the  na- 
tional flock  of  the  precious  metals,  by  manufac- 
tures, —  by  the  wear  and  lofs  of  plate  and  coin, 

x  2  — and 


308  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

—  and  by  the  great  fums  of  money  which  were 
carried  out  of  the  kingdom  from  time  to  time  ; 
yet  this  diminution  was  actually  fupplied,  and 
the  national  flock  was  kept  up,  if  not  increafed ; 
which  muft  have  been  by  cafli  or  bullion  brought 
home  by  the  balance  of  trade. 

No  mines  That  no  mines  of  gold  or  filver  were  wrought 
in  Britain  in  this  period,  the  filence  of  all  our 
records,  hiftorians,  and  other  writers,  feems  to 
be  a  fufficient  proof.  That  the  national  flock  of 
the  precious  metals  mufl  have  been  gradually  di- 
minimed —  by  the  quantities  of  them  that  were 
ufed  in  illuminating,  gilding,  and  other  manu- 
factures, —  and  by  the  neceflary  wear  and  lofs 
of  plate  and  coins,  is  too  evident  to  need  any 
proof. 

Much  mo-  That  very  great  fums  of  money  were  carried 
oufofEne!  out  °^  Britain  m  ^e  courfe  of  this  period,  we 
land.  '  have  the  cleareft  evidence.  .What  prodigious 
fums  of  money  were  carried  to  Rome  alone  by 
the  clergy,  in  purchafing  their  palls,  profecuting 
their  appeals,  and  procuring  favours  of  various 
kinds,  to  fay  nothing  of  the  annual  payment  of 
Peter-pence !  Many  of  our  writers  in  this  period 
complain  bitterly  of  the  avarice  of  the  pope  and 
cardinals,  and  of  the  great  fums  of  money  which 
they  extorted  from  the  Englifh  clergy,  and 
others  ls8.  Nay,  King  John,  in  a  letter  which 

"8  P.  Blefenf.  Epift.  153.  p.i43»  144.      Epiftolae  S.  Thonue  Cant. 
I.  Ep.  179.  p.  306.    M.  Pari%  Vit.  Abbat.  p,46t  89.  9*. 

he 


Chap.  6.  COMMERCE,  &c.  309 

he  wrote  to  the  Pope  A.D.  1208.,  affirmed, 
that  the  court  of  Rome  received  more  money 
from  England  than  from  all  the  other  king- 
doms on  this  fide  of  the  Alps IS9.  The  long 
refidences  of  our  kings  upon  the  continent,  and 
their  frequent  wars  with  the  kings  of  France 
and  other  princes,  mud  have  occafioned  a  great 
drain  of  money  from  England.  The  unfortu- 
nate expedition  of  Richard  I.  into  the  Holy 
Land,  together  with  his  ranfom  from  his  cap- 
tivity, carried  out  an  incredible  mafs  of  mo- 
ney I6°.  To  fay  nothing  of  the  great  fums  which 
the  prelates,  nobles,  and  others,  who  embarked 
in  that  expedition,  carried  with  them,  the  King 
not  only  expended  on  it  all  his  father's  treafures, 
but  all  the  money  which  he  collected  from  the 
fale  of  every  thing  belonging  to  the  crown  for 
which  he  could  find  a  purchafer. I61 

But  notwith (landing  all  thefe  drains,  and  others  Much  mo. 
which  might  have  been  mentioned,  England  flill  ^y^11 "» 

....  ,'        5T  England. 

continued  to  be  rich  in  money.  It  the  Jews,  in 
particular,  who  were  fettled  in  Britain,  had  not 
been  very  rich  in  money,  they  could  not  have 
paid  the  heavy  and  frequent  demands  that  were 
made  upon  them  by  government I6z.  All  our 
kings  were  rich  in  gold  and  filver ;  and  great 
fums  of  ready  money,  as  well  as  great  quanti- 


'»  M.  Paris  Hifh  Ang.  p.  156. 

160  Chron.  J.  Brompt.  col.  n6a.     Knyghton,  col.»40JU 

161  W.Neubrigen,  1.4.0.5. 

'*'  Madox  HiO.  Excheq.  chap.;. 

x  3  ties 


310  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

ties  of  plate  and  jewels,  were  found  in  their  re- 
pofitories  when  they  died  16\  Many  fubjecls 
alfo,  particularly  among  the  prelates,  poffefTed 
great  quantities  of  the  precious  metals,  both  in 
coin  and  plate.  No  lefs  than  forty  thoufand 
marks,  equal  in  quantity  of  filver  to  £80,000., 
and  in  value  or  efficacy  to  ,§£400,000.  of  our 
money,  were  found  in  the  caftle  of  the  Devizes, 
when  it  was  taken  from  Roger  Bifhop  of  Sa- 
lifbury,  A.  D.  1139.  l04  Eleven  thoufand  pounds 
of  filver,  and  three  hundred  pounds  of  gold 
coins,  befides  great  quantities  of  gold  and  filver 
plate,  were  found  in  the  treafury  of  Roger  Arch- 
fnihop  of  York  at  his  death,  A.  D.  nai.l6s 
The  filver  coins  alone  in  this  archiepifcopal  trea- 
fury were  equal  in  value  to  ^165,000  of  our 
prefent  money  ;  and  if  we  reckon  one  pound  of 
the  gold  to  have  been  worth  only  nine  pounds  of 
iilver,  the  gold  coins  were  equal  in  efficacy  to 
^40,500  of  our  money.  Many  other  examples, 
if  it  was  necefiary,  might  be  given,  from  the 
genuine  monuments  of  this  period,  of  particular 
perfons,  and  of  focieties,  who  pofleffed  great 
quantities  of  the  precious  metals,  both  in  coins 
and  plate.  In  a  word,  there  is  fufficient  evi- 
dence, that  though,  great  fums  of  money  were 
annually  carried  out  of  England,  to  Rome,  to 


1C3  Hoveden  Annal.  p.  374.       Bqnedia.   Abbas*  torn,*,   p.  553. 
M.  Paris,  p.  107. 

164  J.  Brompt.  col.  1027.  '  Chron.  Gervas,  col.  1346. 
145  M.  Paris  Hift.  AngL  p.  9  7. 

Normandy, 


Chap.  6,  COMMERCE,  &c. 

Normandy,  and  other  places,  the  national  Hock 
of  gold  and  filver  was  not  diminrfhed,  but  rather 
increafed,  in  the  courfe  of  this  period.  This 
cannot  be  accounted  for,  but  by  fuppofing,  that 
conliderable  quantities  of  coin  and  bullion  were 
imported  by  the  merchants  as  the  balance  of 
their  trade  with  foreign  nations.  All  the  gold 
coins,  in  particular,  which  appear  to  have  been 
numerous,  muft  have  been  imported,  as  no  gold 
was  coined  in  Britain  in  this  period, 


THE 

HISTORY 


or 


BOOK    III. 
CHAP.  VII. 

MtcuuB 

Hi/lory  of  the  Manners,  Virtues,  Vices,  remark' 
able  Cuftoms,  Language,  Drefs,  Diet,  and 
Diver/ions,  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain, 
from  the  landing  of  William  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, A.D.  1066.,  to  the  death  of  King  John, 
A.D.  1216. 

i 

NATIONS  which  have  been  long  feated  in  Somena. 
the  fame  country,  and  have  had  little  in-  nadouTof 
tercourfe  with  flrangers  commonly  retain  the  thecuf- 
fame  national  characters,  manners,  and  cuftoms,  'f™  of 

%  '  their  an- 

through  a  long  fuccemon  of  ages.     They  be-  ceftors. 
come  proud  of  their  antiquity,  fond  admirers  of 
their  anceftors,  and  warmly  attached  to  all  their 
fentiments  and  practices  j  their  follies,  errors, 

and 


3i4  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

and  vices,  not  excepted.  The  inhabitants  of 
Wales,  for  example,  and  of  the  greateft  part  of 
Scotland,  the  defcendants  of  the  ancient  Britons 
and  Caledonians,  feem  to  have  had  the  fame 
national  characters,  manners,  and  cuftoms,  the 
fame  religion,  laws,  language,  drefs,  diet,  and 
diverfions,  with  very  little  variation,  for  more 
than  a  thoufand  years.  As  all  thefe  have  been 
already  defcribed  at  great  length  in  this  work, 
it  will  not  be  neceflary  to  fay  much  concerning 
them  in  this  chapter,  except  to  take  notice  of 
fuch  lingularities  on  any  of  thefe  fubje6ls  as  are 
mentioned  for  the  firft  time  by  the  writers  of 
this  period.  * 

Manners         The  manners,  virtues,  vices,  remarkable  cuf- 

o{  the        toms,  &c.  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  Danes,  who 

&Sonl       conquered  and  peopled  the  beft  and  greateft 

dunged,    part  of  Britain  in  the  preceding  period,  have 

been   alfo  delineated  2.     If  thefe   nations  had 

continued  in  the  peaceable  pofleffion  of  their 

country,  they  would  probably  have  retained  the 

fame  national  character  and  manners,  with  fome 

flight  and  almoft  infenfible  alterations,  in  the 

prefent  period.     But  by  their  fubjection  to  and 

intermixture   with    their   Norman   conquerors, 

very  great  changes  were  made  in  their  manners, 

cuftoms,  and  ways  of  living,  which  claim  our 

attention  ift  this  part  of  our  work. 

Manner*         But  as  the  Normans  firft  appeared  upon  the 

Normans    ftage»  an^  became  the  governing  arid  predomi- 

*  See  vol.  a.  chap*  7.  Vol.  4*  chap.  7.    z  See  vol.  4.  chap.  7. 

nant 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  31  5 

nant  people  of  England,  in  our  prefent  period, 
their  manners,  &c.  mull  be  the  principal  fubje6t 
of  this  chapter. 

Thofe  definitive  bands  of  piratical  adven-  Name  of 
turers  which  iffued  from  Scandinavia,  and  in-  ' 


fefled  all  the  feas  and  coafts  of  Europe,  in  the 
ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries,  were  fome- 
times  called  Saxons^  fometimes  Danes,  and  fome- 
times  Normans.  "  From  the  fury  of  the  Nor- 
"  mans,  Good  Lord  deliver  us,"  was  then  a 
petition  in  the  litanies  of  all  the  nations,  which 
dreaded  the  depredations  of  thofe  northern 
plunderers,  who  were  called  Normans  from  the 
fituation  of  the  countries  from  whence  they 

came3.     "  In  thofe  davs  (favs  the  author  of  the 

^     \    <j 

"  Saxon  Chronicle,  A.  D.  787.)  came  the  firft 
"  three  mips  of  Northmen  from  Herethaland. 
"  Thefe  were  the  firft  (hips  of  Danifhmen  that 
"  came  into  England."  4 

About  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century,  a  Origin  of 
very  numerous  band,  or  rather  army,  of  thefe 
northern  adventurers,  under  the  conduct  of 
Hollo,  a  Norwegian  chieftain,  invaded,  and 
almoft  dcfolated  the  fine  province  of  Neuilria. 
This  province,  extending  from  the  river  Ept  to» 
the  confines  of  Britanny,  was  at  length  granted, 
A,  D.  911.,  by  Charles  the  Simple,  King  of 
France,  to  Rollo  and  his  followers,  on  condi- 
tion. that  they  became  Chriftiang,  and  that  they 
held  the  ceded  territories  of  the  crown  of 

3  See  vol.  4.  p.  314.  note.  4  Chron.  Saxoru  p.6*. 

France. 


31 6  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

France s.  With  thefe  conditions  they  complied ; 
and  having  obtained  poffeffion  of  fo  fine  a  coun- 
try, they  abandoned  their  former  roving  and 
predatory  courfe  of  life,  and  began  to  rebuild 
the  cities  which  they  had  deflroyed,  and  to  cul- 
tivate the  fields  which  they  had  defolated.  From 
that  time  the  country  which  had  formerly  been 
called  Neujlria,  was  called  Normandy,  from  its 
.  new  mailers ;  who  were  called  Normans,  becaufe 
all  the  different  countries  from  whence  they  came 
lay  to  the  north  of  France. 

Settled  in  Duke  Rollo,  and  his  Normans,  though  they 
France  had  been  as  great  barbarians  as  any  of  the  other 
came6"  fwarms  of  favages  which  had  iffued  from  Scandi- 
French-  navia,  gradually  became  a  civilized  and  polifhed 
people,  after  their  fettlement  in  Normandy. 
This  was  owing  to  feveral  caufes.  The  Chriftian 
religion,  which  they  then  embraced,  was  of  a 
more  humane  and  peaceful  fpirit  than  the  bar- 
barous fuperftition  in  which  they  had  been  edu- 
cated—  The  mild  climate  and  fertile  foil  of 
Normandy  infpired  them  with  the  love  of  home, 
and  of  a  quiet  and  fettled  way  of  life  —  Their  in- 
tercourfe  and  intermarriages  with  the  French  in- 
habitants, made  them  adopt  the  manners,  cuf- 
toms,  language,  and  drefs  of  that  people.  This 
was  fo  much  the  cafe,  that  the  Normans,  when 
they  invaded  England,  called  themfelves,  and 
were  called  by  others,  Frenchmen.  They  are  fo 

s  W.Gimitlcenf.  l.a.  c.i;.    Dudo  SanAi  Quint,  p. 84.  P.  Wal- 
finghara  Tpodigma  Neuftrise,  p. 417. 

called 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  317 

called  in  the  laws  of  William  the*  Conqueror, 
and  in  the  charters  of  that  prince  and  of  his  fuc- 
cefibrs  for  a  century  after  the  conqueft 6.  In  a 
word,  the  manners,  cuftoms,  virtues,  vices, 
language,  drefs,  diet  and  diverfions  of  the 
predominant  people  of  England,  through  the 
greateil  part  of  this  period,  were  exactly  the 
fame  with  thofe  of  perfons  of  the  fame  rank  on 
the  continent  of  France.  A  very  brief  delinea- 
tion of  thefe  muft  now  be  given. 

There  is  hardly  any  thing  more  remarkable  in  Contempt 

A  *II 

the  manners  and  cuftoms  of  this  period,  than  f 

*  *  treatment 

the  fovereign  contempt  in  which  the  name  of  an  of  the 
Englifhman  was  held,  and  the  cruel  indignities  Ensiuh- 
with  which  the  perfons  of  Englifhmen  were 
treated.  William  of  Poi6lou,  in  defcribing  the 
battle  of  Haftings,  at  which  he  wasprefent,  fre- 
quently denominates  the  Englifh, — thebarbarians* 
"  The  cries  (fays  he)  of  the  Normans  on  one 
"  fide,  and  of  the  barbarians  on  the  other,  were 
"  drowned  by  the  claming  of  arms,  and  the 
"  groans  of  the  dying7."  After  that  fatal  battle, 
and  a  few  unfortunate  revolts,  the  native  Englifh 
funk  into  great  contempt  and  wretch ednefs8. 
Their  eftates  were  confifcated,  their  perfons  in- 
fulted,  their  wives  and  daughters  diflionoured 
before  their  eyes.  "  The  Normans  (fays  an  an- 
"  cient  hiflorian)  were  aftoniftied  at  their  own 


*  Seldeni  Spicilegia  ad   Eadmerum,  p.  193.      Charta  Henrici  II. 
in  libro  Rubro  Scaccarii. 

a  Duchen.edit.  p. 302.       8  logulph.  liift.  p.  70. 

"  power, 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  power,  became  as  it  were  mad  with  pride, 
"  and  imagined  that  they  might  do  whatever 
"  they  pleafed  to  the  Englifh.  Young  ladies 
"  of  the  higheft  rank  and  greateft  beauty  having 
"  loft  their  fathers,  brothers,  and  protectors, 
"  and  being  violated  by  armed  ruffians,  called 
"  upon  death  to  come  to  their  relief8."  In  a 
word,  the  name  of  an  Engliihman  became  a  term 
of  reproach.  "  The  Normans  (lays  Brompton) 
"  reduced  almoft  all  the  Englifh  to  fuch  a 
"  flate  of  fervitude,  that  it  was  a  reproach  to 
"  be  called  an  Englifhman9."  This  infolence 
of  the  Normans,  and  depreffion  of  the  Engliih, 
continued  almoft  to  the  very  conclufion  of  our 
prefent  period.  For  we  are  told  by  Giraldus 
Cambrenfis,  who  flourished  in  thofe  times,  that 
in  the  reign  of  Richard  I.  when  a  Norman  was, 
accufed  of  any  thing  which  he  thought  dii- 
honourable,  and  chofe  to  deny,  he  commonly 
laid, —  What!  do  you  imagine  I  am  an  Engli/fiman  ? 
— or — May  I  become  an  EngliJJiman  if  I  did  it !  ™ 
By  flow  degrees,  however,  the  animofity  be- 
tween the  Normans  and  the  Englifli  abated,  and 
they  coalefced  into  one  powerful  people,  who 
have  long  been,  and  ilill  are,  juftly  proud  of  the 
honourable  name  of  Engli/limen. 

Method  of       A  new   mode  of  education  wras  one  of  the- 

education.   many  changes  introduced  into  England  by  the 

Normans.     For  the  Conqueror  having  formed 

8  Orderic.  Vital.  523.  9  J.  Brompt.  p.  962. 

Ie  Anglia  Sacra,  torn. 2.  p.4o6. 

ii  the 


MANNERS,  dc. 

the  defign  of  extirpating  the  Englifli  language, 
and  making  the  French  the  vulgar  tongue  of  all 
his  fubje6ls,  commanded,  that  the  children  of 
the  Englifh  mould  be  taught  the  firft  rudiments 
of  grammar  at  fchool  in  French,  and  not  in  Eng- 
lim ".  This  mode  of  education,  introduced  by 
the  Normans  with  a  defign  to  eftablifh  their 
own  language  on  the  ruins  of  the  Anglo-Saxon, 
continued  more  than  three  centuries  after  the 
conqueft.  This  we  learn  from  Trevifa,  a  writer 
who  flouriflied  in  the  fourteenth  century,  whofe 
teflimony  we  lhall  give  in  his  own  words  :  "  For 
*'  John  Cornwaile,  a  mafter  of  grammar,  changed 
"  the  lore  in  grammar  fcole,  and  conflru6lion  of 
"  Frenche  into  Englifche  ;  and  Richard  Pin- 
"  criche  lerned  the  man  ere  techynge  of  him, 
"  as  other  men  of  Pencriche.  So  that  now,  the 
*'•  yere  of  our  Lorde  a  thoufand  three  hundred 
"  and  four  fcore  and  five,  and  of  the  feconde 
"  kyng  Richard,  after  the  conqueft  nyne,  and 
"  alle  the  gram  ere  fcoles  of  Engilond,  children 
"  leveth  Frenfche,  and  conftrueth  and  lerneth 
"  an  Englifche,  and  haveth  thereby  advantage 
"  in  oon  fide,  aod  difadvantage  in  another  fide. 
"  Here  advantage  is,  that  they  lerneth  her 
"  gramer  in  lafle  tyme,  than  children  were 
"  woned  to  doo  ;  difadvantage  is,  that  now 
"  children  of  gramer  fcole  conneth  na  more 
. "  Frenfche  than  can  her  lift  heele,  and  that  is 
"  harm  for  him,  and  they  fchulle  paffe  the  fee, 

"  IngOlph.  Hift.  p.  7 JE. 

"and 


320  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

'*  and  travaille  in  ftrange  landes,  and  in  many 
"  other  places.  Alfo  gentilmen  havith  now 
"  moche  left  for  to  teche  here  children 
'*  Frenche  "."  Thus  the  long  ftruggle  between 
the  French  and  Englifh  languages,  after  it  had 
continued  more  than  three  centuries,  drew  to- 
.wards  a  conclufion,  and  victory  began  to  declare 
in  favour  of  the  Englifh. 

introduc-        The  very  fingular  fpirit  of  chivalry  which  be- 
tion  of      gan  to  difplay  itfelf  about  the  beginning  of  this 


period,  and  was  introduced  into  England  by  the 
Normans,  gave  a  new  turn  to  the  education  of 
the  young  nobility  and  gentry,  in  order  to  fit 
them  for  obtaining  the  honour  of  knighthood, 
which  was  then  an  object  of  ambition  to  the 
greateft  princes13.  Thofe  noble  youths  who 
were  deiigned  for  the  profeffion  of  arms  and  the" 
honours  of  knighthood,  were  early  taken  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  women,  and  placed  in  the  fa- 
mily of  fome  great  prince  or  baron,  who  was  alfo 
efteemed  an  expert  and  valorous  knight. 
Pages  or  At  their  firft  entrance  into  this  fchool  of  chi- 
vaiet*.  valry,  they  acted  in  the  capacity  of  pages  or 
valets  14.  For  thofe  names  which  are  now  appro- 
priated to  domeftic  fervants,  were  then  fome- 
times  given  to  the  fons  and  brothers  of  kings15. 
In  this  flation  they  were  inftructed  in  the  laws  of 


"  Hickefii  Thefaur.  tom.i.  Prefat.  p.  17,  18. 

13  Simeon  Dunelm.  p.  177.      Ailredi  Abbat.  Rieval.  p.  347. 

14  Memoire  fur  L'Ancienne  Chevalerie,  par  M.  cli  Sainte  Paylaye* 
torn.  i.  p  6. 

15  Les  Mceurs  de  Fraiif oisj  par  Le  Geudre,  p.  63. 

courtely 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  .  .. . . ,  -521 

courtefy  and  politenefs,  and  in  the*  firft  rudi- 
ments of  chivalry,  and  martial  exercifes ;  to  fit 
them  for  mining  in  courts,  at  tournaments,  and 
on  the  field  of  battle.  Henry  II.  received  this 
part  of  his  education  in  the  family  of  his  uncle, 
Robert  Earl  of  Gloucefter,  who  was  one  of  the 
moft  accomplifhed  knights  of  the  age  in  which 
he  flouriflied.16 

After  they  had  fpent  a  competent  time  in  the  Efquires. 
ilation  of  pages,  they  were  advanced  to  the 
moft  honourable  rank  of  efquires.  Then  they 
were  admitted  into  more  familiar  intercourfe  with 
the  knights  and  ladies  of  the  court,  and  per- 
fected in  dancing,  riding,  hawking,  hunting, 
tilting,  and  other  accomplifhments  neceffary  to 
fit  them  for  performing  the  offices,  and  becoming 
the  honours,  of  knighthood,  to  which  they 
afpired17.  In  a  word,  the  courts  of  kings, 
princes,  and  great  barons,  were  a  kind  of  col- 
leges of  chivalry,  as  the  univerfities  were  of 
the  arts  and  fciences ;  and  the  youth  in  both  ad- 
vanced through  feveral  degrees  to  the  higheft 
honours. 

The  exercifes  of  the  youth  in  thefe  fchools  of  Their  ex- 
chivalry,  are  thus  defcribed  by  Fitz-Stephen,  who 
flourifhed  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  "  Every 
"  Sunday  in  Lent,  immediately  after  dinner, 
"  crowds  of  noble  and  fprightly  youths,  mounted 
"  on  war  horfes,  admirably  trained  to  perform 

16  Gervas  Chron.  p.  135  8.     W.  Malmf.  p.  98. 

17  Memoires  fur  Chevalerie,  part  I.  v 
VOL.  VI.                               Y                                           "   all 


322  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

"  all  their  turnings  and  evolutions,  ride  into  the 
"  fields  in  diftin6l  bands,  armed  with  lances  and 
"  fhields,  and  exhibit  reprefentations  of  battles, 
"  and  go  through  all  their  martial  exercifes. 
"  Many  of  the  young  nobility,' who  have  not 
46  yet  received  the  honour  of  knighthood,  iffue 
"  from  the  king's  court,  and  from  the  houfes 
"  of  bilhops,  earls,  and  barons,  to  make  trial 
"  of  their  courage,  flrength  and  fkill  in  arms. 
"  The  hope  of  victory  roufes  the  fpirits  of  thefe 
*'  noble  youths  j  —  their  fiery  horfes  neigh  and 
"  prance,  and  champ  their  foaming  bits.  At 
"  length  the  lignal  is  given,  and  the  fports 
"  begin.  The  youths,  divided  into  oppofitc 
"  bands,  encounter  one  another.  In  one  place 
te  fome  fly  and  others  purfue,  without  being 
"  able  to  overtake  them.  In  another  place, 
"  one  of  the  bands  overtakes  and  overturns  the 
"  other."18 

Sworn  The  noble  youth  in  thofe  fchools  of  chivalry, 

brothers.     fometimes  contracted  the  mod  fincere  and  lafting 

friendmips,  and  became  what  they  then  called 

Jworn  brothers.    Thofe  who  were  fworn  brothers., 

cemented  their  friendfhip  with  vows  of  inviolable 

attachment  to  each  other,  in  peace  and  war,  in 

profperity  and  adverfity ; — that  they  would  mare 

the  fame  dangers,  and  divide  equally  all  their 

acquifitions I9.     Of  this   cuftom  it  may  not  be 

improper  to  give  one  example.     Robert  de  Oily, 

1S  W.  Stephaned.  Defcript.  Lond.  a  J.  Sparke,  edit,  1723.  p.  7,  8. 
'   '9  Du  Cange  Gloff.  voc.  Fratrts  conjurati. 

and 


chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  323 

and  Roger  de  Ivery,  two  young  gentlemen  who 
came  into  England  with  the  Duke  of  Normandy, 
were  fworn  brothers.  Some  time  after  the  con- 
queft,  King  William  granted  the  two  great  ho- 
nours of  Oxford  and  St.  Waleries  to  Robert  de 
Oily,  who  immediately  beftowed  one  of  them, 
that  of  St.  Waleries,  on  his  fworn  brother  Roger 
de  Ivery 20.  A  cuftom  flmilar  to  this  prevailed 
in  Wales.  The  princes  of  that  country  placed 
one  of  their  fons  in  the  family  of  one  chieftain, 
and  another  in  the  family  of  another,  where  they 
were  educated  with  the  fons  of  thefe  chieftains, 
who  became  the  fworn  brothers  of  the  young 
prince  who  had  been  educated  with  them.  This 
produced  frequent  civil  wars,  each  of  the  great 
families  endeavouring  with  all  their  power  to  raife 
their  fworn  brother  and  favourite  prince  to  the 
government. 2I 

It  was  alfo  in  thefe  fchools  of  chivalry,  the  The  fpirft 
courts  of  kings,  princes,  and  great  barons,  that  °/  r°™an- 
the  youth  of  this  period  imbibed  that  fpirit  of 
romantic  gallantry  and  devotion  towards  the 
ladies,  which  was  efteemed  the  moft  neceflary 
qualification  of  a  true  and  gentle  knight.  Thefe 
courts  were  the  fchools  in  which  the  ladies,  as 
well  as  the  gentlemen,  received  their  education. 
Both  were  often  the  wards  of  the  prince  or  great 
baron  j  and  while  thofe  of  the  one  fex  were  edu- 
cated with  his  fons  under  his  own  eye,  thofe  of 


30  Kennet's  Parochial  Antiquities,  p.  57. 

;i  Girald.  Cambrenf.  apud  Angl.Sacm,  torn.  ».  \>> 

y  2 


324  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  BookllL 

the  other  fex  were  educated  with  his  daughters 
under  the  infpection  of  his  lady.  In  this  fitua- 
tion  it  was  natural  for  the  young  perfons  of  each 
fex  to  cultivate  thofe  qualities  which  would 
render  them  moft  acceptable  to  the  other.  Thefe 
were  gentlenefs,  modefty,  and  virtue,  in  the 
ladies ;  courtefy,  valour,  and  gallantry,  in  the 
gentlemen.  Accordingly  we  are  told,  that  in 
thefe  fchools  of  chivalry,  the  youth  were  care- 
fully inftru6ted  in  the  arts  of  love,  and  in  all, 
the  rules  and  punctilios  of  a  virtuous  and  ho- 
nourable gallantry".  To  render  thefe  leffons 
more  effectual,  the  young  gentlemen  chofe  mif- 
trefles  among  the  young  ladies  of  the  courts  in 
which  they  refided,  to  whom  they  addreffed  all 
their  vows,  and  practifed  all  their  arts  of  pleaf- 
ing  *3.  They  became  their  conftant  attendants 
in  aflemblies,  their  champions  at  tournaments, 
the  protectors  of  their  perfons,  fame,  and  for- 
tune, and  the  avengers  of  their  wrongs. 
Knights.  When  the  youth  in  thefe  fchools  of  chivalry 
had  fpent  feven  or  eight  years  in  the  ftation  of 
efquires,  they  received  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood, moft  commonly  from  the  hands  of  the 
prince,  earl,  or  baron,  in  whofe  court  they  had 
fpent  their  youth  and  received  their  education. 
That  honour  was  preceded  by  various  prepara- 
tions, and  accompanied  with  feveral  pompous 
ceremonies ;  which  are  thus  defcribed  by  the  bed 
modern  writers  on  this  fubject,  who  hath  con- 

"  Memoires  fur  la  Che  valeric,  part  i.  *3  Id.  ibid. 

firmed 


Chap.  7-  MANNERS,  &c.  325 

firmed  every  article  of  his  description  by  the 
mod  folid  proofs.  "  Severe  fadings,  —  nights. 
"  fpent  in  prayer  in  a  church  or  chapel,  —  the  fa- 
"  craments  of  penance,  and  the  eucharift  re- 
*{  ceived  with  devotion,  —  bathing  and  putting 
"  on  white  robes,  as  emblems  of  that  purity  of 
"  manners  required  by  the  laws  of  chivalry, — 
"  confeffion  of  all  their  fins,- — with  ferious  at- 
"  tention  to  feveral  fermons,  in  which  the  faith 
"  and  morals  of  a  good  Chriftian  were  explained, 
"  were  the  neceflary  preparations  for  receiving 
"  the  honour  of  knighthood.  When  a  candi- 
"  date  for  that  honour  had  performed  all  thefe 
"  preliminaries,  he  went  in  proceffion  into  a 
tc  church,  and  advanced  to  the  altar,  with  his 
"  fword  flung  in  a  fcarf  about  his  neck.  Hepre- 
"  fented  his  fword  to  a  pried  j  who  blefied  it, 
"  and  put  it  again  into  the  fcarf,  about  the  neck 
"  of  the  candidate ;  who  then  proceeded  in  a  fo- 
"  lemn  pace,  with  his  hands  joined  to  the  place 
"  were  he  was  to  be  knighted.  This  auguft 
"  ceremony  was  mod  commonly  performed  in  a 
"  church  or  chapel,  in  the  great  hall  of  a  pa- 
"  lace  or  cadle,  or  in  the  open  air.  When  the 
*'  candidate  approached  the  perfonage  by  whom 
"  he  was  to  be  knighted,  he  fell  on  his  knees  at 
"  his  feet,  and  delivered  to  him  his  fword. 
"  Being  afked  for  what  end  he  defired  the  ho- 
"  nour  of  knighthood  ?  and  having  returned  a 
"  proper  anfwer,  the  ufual  oath  was  adminider- 
"  ed  to  him  with  great  folemnity.  After  this, 
"  knights  and  ladies,  who  affifted  at  the  cere- 
¥3  "  mony, 


326  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  III. 

ts  mony,  began  to  adorn  the  candidate  with  the 
"  armour  and  eniigns  of  knighthood.  Firit, 
"  they  put  on  his  ipurs,  beginning  with  the  left 
"  foot ;  next  his  coat  of  mail ;  then  his  cuirafs ; 
"  afterwards  the  feveral  pieces  of  armour  for  his 
"  arms,  hands,  legs,  and  thighs ;  and,  lafl  of 
**  all,  they  girt  him  with  the  fword.  When  the 
"  candidate  was  thus  dubbed,  as  it  was  called, 
"  the  king,  prince,  or  .baron,  who  was  to  make 
"  him  a  knight,  defcended  from  his  throne  or 
"  feat,  and  gave  him,  flill  on  his  knees,  the 
"  accolade,  which  was  three  gentle  ftrokes,  with 
**  the  flat  of  his  fword  on  the  fhoulder  or  with 
"  the  palm  of  his  hand  on  the  cheek  ;  faying  at 
"  the  fame  >time, —  In  the  name  of  God,  St.  Mi- 
"  chael,  and  St.  George,  I  make  thee  a  knight ;  be 
"  thou  brave,  hardy,  and  loyal.  The  new  knight 
"  was  then  raifed  from  the  ground,  his  helmet 
"  put  on,  his  fhield  and  lance  delivered  to  him 
"  and  his  horfe  brought ;  which  he  mounted 
"  without  ufing  the  flirrup,  and  performed  fe- 
"  veral  courfes,  difplaying  his  dexterity  in  horfe- 
"  marifhip,  and  in  the  management  of  his  arms, 
"  amidft  the  acclamations  of  great  multitudes 
"  of  people,  who  had  affembled  to  behold  the 
46  ceremony24."  Could  any  infiitution  be  better 
adapted  to  inflame  the  ardour  of  the  young  nobi- 
lity in  acquiring  'the  accomplifliments  neceffary 
to  obtain  an  honour  which  was  courted  by  .the 
greatefl  monarchs  ? 

I;  Memoires  fur  1'ancienne  Chevaliere,  par  M.  de  la  .Gurne  de 
Sainte'Paylaye,  tom.i.  p.ja,  &c. 

ii  The 


Chap. 7.  MANNERS,  &c.  327 

The  virtues  and  endowments  that  were  necef-  Qualities 
fary  to  form  an  accompliflied  knight  in  the  flou-  "eceffary 

•n  •  n      i  •       i  in  to  knight- 

iMrmng  times  or  chivalry,  were  luch  as  theie,  —  hood, 
beauty,  ftrength,  and  agility  of  body,  —  great 
dexterity  in  dancing,  wreilling,  hunting,  hawk- 
ing, riding,  tilting,  and  every  other  manly  ex- 
ercife ;  —  the  virtues  of  piety,  chafiity,  modefty, 
courtefy,  loyalty,  liberality,  fobriety  ;  and  alcove 
all,  an  inviolable  attachment  to  truth,  and  an 
invincible  courage. 

To  perform  the  duties  of  a.  good  arid  valiant  Duties  of 
knight,  not  one  of  thefe  virtues  and  endowments  aknisht« 
was  unneceffary.  For  he  was  not  only  to  be  the 
delight  and  ornament  of  courts  by  his  gallantry 
and  politenefs,  but  he  was  bound  by  oath  —  to 
ferve  his  prince,  —  to  defend  the  church  and 
clergy,  —  to  protect  the  peribns  and  reputations 
of  virtuous  ladies,  —  and  to  refcue  the  widow 
and  orphan  from  oppreffion,  with  his  fword,  at 
the  hazard  of  his  life Z5.  Few,  we  may  prefume, 
poflerTed  all  thefe  qualifications,  and  performed 
all  thefe  duties  in  perfection.  But  dill  an  infti- 
tutiqn  fo  virtuous  in  its  principles,  and  honour- 
able in  its  ends,  mufl  have  done  much  good, 
and  prevented  many  evils.  We  have  even  reafon 
to  believe,  that  chivalry,  which,  under  the  name 
of  knight  errantry,  hath  long  been  an  objeet  of 
ridicule,  was  one  of  the  happieft  inventions  of 
the  ages  in  which  it  flouriihed. 

JS  Memoires  fur  1'ancienne  Chevalerie,  par  M.  de  la  Curne  da 
Sainte  Paylaye,  torn^l.  p.72,&c. 

Y  4  The 


328  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III' 

Surnames.  The  ufe  of  family-furnames,  defcending  from 
father  to  fon,  feems  to  have  been  introduced  into 
Britain  by  the  Normans  at  the  beginning  of  this 
period.  For  among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  perfons 
who  bore  the  fame  Chriftian  name,  were  diftin- 
guilhed  from  one  another  by  defcriptive  epithets, 
as  the  black,  the  white,  the  long,  the  ftrong,  &c., 
and  thefe  epithets  were  not  given  to  their  fons  if 
they  did  not  poflefs  their  properties 26.  Family- 
furnames,  at  their  firft  introduction,  like  family- 
arms,  were  confined  to  perfons  of  rank  and  for- 
tune, who  mod  commonly  took  their  furnames 
from  the  caftles  in  which  they  refided,  or  the 
eftates  which  they  poffefTed 37.  This  is  the  true 
reafon  of  the  furnames  of  fo  many  of  the  noble 
and  honourable  families  in  England,  being  the 
fame  with  the  names  of  certain  towns,  caftles, 
and  eftates  in  Normandy,  France,  and  Flanders. 
The  anceftors  of  thefe  families  were  lords  of 
thefe  eftates  and  caftles ;  and  being  proud  of 
their  native  country  and  family  poflefiions,  they 
retained  their  names  after  they  had  fettled  in  Eng- 
land, and  tranfmitted  them  to  their  pofterity 2S. 
It  was  not  till  after  the  conclulion  of  this  period 
that  furnames  were  univerfally  affumed  by  the 
common  people. 

Coat-ar.  The  ufe  of  coats  of  arms,  diftinguifliing  one 
great  family  from  another,  and  defcending  from 
father  to  fon,  appears  to  have  been  introduced 

56  See  vol.4,  chap.  7.  p.  351.     Verftigan,  ch.  8. 

31  Camden's  Remains,  p.  113.  2S  Id.  ibid. 

10  into 


mour. 


Chap. 7.  MANNERS,  &c.  329 

into  Britain  about  the  fame  time  -with  family, 
furnames,  and  by  the  fame  noble  Normans. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  warriors  adorned  their  Qiields 
and  banners  with  the  figures  of  certain  animals, 
or  with  other  devices ;  but  in  doing  this  every 
particular  perfon  followed  his  own  fancy,  without 
any  regard  to  the  figures  or  devices  that  had 
been  borne  by  his  anceftors29.  But  about  the 
time  of  the  firft  croifades,  greater  attention  be- 
gan to  be  paid  to  thefe  devices,  when  it  was  dif- 
covered  that  they  might  be  ufeful  as  well  as  or- 
namental. "  About  this  time  (fays  one  of  our 
"  befl  antiquaries)  the  eftimation  of  arms  began 
"  in  the  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land  j  and 
**  afterwards  by  little  and  little  became  here- 
"  ditary ;  when  it  was  accounted  moil  honour- 
**  able  to  carry  thofe  arms  which  had  been  di£ 
"  played  in  the  Holy  Land,  in  that  holy  fer- 
"  vice  againft  the  profefled  enemies  of  Chriftia- 
"  nity  3V  Jufts  and  tournaments,  the  favourite 
diverfions  of  the  great  and  brave  in  this  period, 
contributed  not  a  little  to  render  arms  here- 
ditary. For  a  noble  fon,  proud  of  the  honours 
that  had  been  gained  by  an  illuftrious  father  in 
thofe  fields  of  fame,  delighted  to  appear  with 
the  fame  devices  on  his  fhield  at  the  like  folemni- 
ties 3I.  It  was  only,  however,  by  flow  degrees, 
and  in  the  courfe  of  almoft  two  centuries,  that 


59  Camden's  Remains,  p.  206.     Les  Mceurs  de  Francois,  par  M.  le 
firendre,  p.  88. 

3t  Camden's  Remains,  p.aoS.  3I  Le  Gendre,  p.  88. 

this 


330  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

this  cuflom  became  conftant  and  univerfal  even 
in  noble  families. 

Norman  Xbe  many  noble  Normans  who  fettled  in  Eng- 
«nce!  lw&  after  tlie  conqueil,  introduced  a  more  mag- 
nificent and  fplendid  manner  of  living  than  had 
been  known  among  the  AnglorSaxons.  This 
we  learn  from  a  writer  who  flouriflied  foon  after 
the  conqueft,  and  had  the  bed  opportunities  of 
being  well  informed ;  who  tells  us,  that  the 
Englifli  nobles  were  univerfally  addicted  to  ex- 
ceffive  drinking,  and  fpent  their  ample  revenues 
in  a  fordid  manner,  in  mean  and  low  houfes ; 
but  that  the  Norman  barons  dwelt  in  (lately  and 
magnificent  palaces,  kept  elegant  tables,  and 
were  very  fplendid  in  their  drefs  and  equipage32. 
William  Longchamp,  Biihop  of  Ely,  had  no 
fewer  than  a  thoufund,fome  contemporary  writers 
fay  fifteen  hundred,  horfemen  in  his  retinue:  and 
to  furnifh  his  table,  fays  a  prelate  who  was  his 
contemporary,  all  the  different  kinds  of  beafts 
that  roam  on  the  land,  of  fifties  that  fwim  in  the 
waters,  and  of  birds  that  fly  in  the  air,  were 
collected 33.  The  Norman  kings  and  nobles  dif- 
played  their  tafte  for  magnificence,  in  the  moft 
remarkable. manner,  at  their  coronations,  their 
royal  feafts  of  Chriftuias,  Eafter  and  Whitfun- 
tide,  and  at  their  tournaments,  which  were  all  ce- 
lebrated with  incredible  expence  and  pomp. 34 


32  W.Malmf.  1.3.  p.j7.  col. a. 

33  J.  Brompt.  p. 1193.     Benedict.  Abbas,  p.  701.     Anglia  Saqp, 
torn. 2.  p.  407. 

*  M.  Paris,  p.ioS. 

One 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  33 1 

One  thing  that  contributed  very  much  to  Great  re- 
fwell  the  retinues  of  the  Norman  kings,  prelates,  Jj™^^ 
and  nobles,  was  the  neceffity  they  were  under  man  kings 
of  carrying  with  them  not  only  their  provifions, 
but  even  a  great  part  of  the  furniture  of  their 
houfes,  in  their  journies.  Peter  of  Blois,  who 
was  chaplain  to  Henry  II.,  in  his  curious  deierip- 
tion  of  a  court-life,  paints  the  prodigious  crouds, 
confufion,  and  buftle,  with  which  the  royal  pro- 
greffes  were  attended,  in  very  ftrong  colours. 
"  When  the  King  fets  out  in  the  morning,  you 
'*  fee  multitudes  of  people  running  up  and  down 
"  as  if  they  were  diflracted  ;  horfes  jrufliing 
"  again  ft  horfes  ;  carriages  overturning  car- 
"  riages ;  players,  whores,  gamefters,  cooks,  con- 
"  fe6tioners,  mimics,  dancers,  barbers,  pimps, 
*c  and  paratites,  making  fo  much  noife,  and,  in  a 
"  word,  fuch  an  intolerable  tumultuous  jumble 
"  of  horfe  and  foot,  that  you  imagine  the  great 
"  abyfs  hath  opened,  and  that  hell  hath  poured 
"  out  all  its  inhabitants  »."  William  -Fitz- 
Stephen  prefents  us  with  a  very  curious  defcrip- 
tion  of  the  retinue  and  parade  with  which  the 
famous  Thomas  Becket  ufed  to  travel,  whan  .he 
was  chancellor  of  England.  "  iHc^was  attended 
"  with  about  two  hundred  knights,  efquiFes, 
"  young  noblemen,  pages,  clerks,  and  officers  of 
*£  his  houfehold,  who,  together  with  their  attend- 
**  ants,»were  well  armed,  drefled,.and  mounted, 
*'  every  one  according  to  his  rank.  He  had  in 

*«  P.  Blefenf.  Epift.  14. 

«  his 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

cf  his  train  eight  waggons,  each  drawn  by  five 
"  of  the  ftrongeft  horfes  ;  two  of  thefe  waggons 
"  contained  his  ale,  one  contained  the  furniture 
"  of  his  chapel,  another  the  furniture  of  his 
"  chamber,  and  another  the  furniture  of  his 
"  kitchen ;  the  other  three  were  filled  with  pro- 
"  vifions,  clothes,  and  other  necefiaries.  He 
"  had  befides  twelve  pack-horfes,  who  carried 
"  trunks,  containing  his  money,  his  gold  and 
"  filver  plate,  his  books,  his  apparel,  and  the 
"  ornaments  of  the  altar.  To  each  of  the  wag- 
"  gons  was  chained  a  fierce  and  terrible  mafliff, 
"  and  on  each  of  the  pack-horfes  fat  an  ape  or  a 
*6  monkey 36."  In  the  expedition  of  Henry  II. 
againft  Thouloufe,  his  chancellor  Becket  had 
feven  hundred  knights  in  his  pay,  who  dined 
every  day  at  his  own  table,  or  at  other  tables 
provided  for  them. " 

Some  But  in  the  midft  of  all  this  magnificence  in 

thmgs  m    which  the  Norman  kings  and  nobles  lived,  there 

their  way  .  . 

of  living  were  fome  things  in  their  domeitic  oeconomy, 
mean  and  which  muft  appear  to  us  exceedingly  mean  and 
fordid.  Several  eftates  in  England  were  held  by 
the  tenure  of  finding  clean  ftraw  for  the  King's 
bed,  and  litter  for  his  chamber,  as  often  as  he 
lodged  at  a  certain  place  38.  Fitz-Stephen,  in 
his  life  of  Thomas  Becket,  mentions  this  as  a 
proof  of  his  elegant  manner  of  living,  —  "  That 
"  he  commanded  his  fervants  to  cover  the  floor 


36  W.  Stephaned.  Vita  S.  Thorn*,  p.  ao.  37  Id.  ibid.  p.  43. 

38  Blount's  Fragments  Antiquiutis*  p>a8.    Camd.  Brit.  vol.  i. 
p. 311. 

«   Of 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  233 

"  of  his  dining-room  with  clean  ftraw  or  hay 
"  every  morning  in  winter,  and  with  frefti  bul- 
"  rufhes  and  green  branches  of  trees  every  day 
"  in  fummer,  that  fuch  of  the  knights  who 
"  came  to  dine  with  him,  as  could  not  find 
"  room  on  the  benches,  might  fit  down  and 
"  dine  comfortably  on  the  floor,  without  fpoil- 
"  ing  their  fine  clothes." 39 

The  cuftom  of  covering  up  their  fires  about  Curfew 
fun-fet  in  fummer,  and  about  eight  or  nine  at  bel1' 
night  in  winter,  at  the  ringing  of  a  bell  called 
the  couvre-feu9  or  curfew-bell,  is  fuppofed  by 
fome  to  have  been  introduced  by  William  I., 
and  impofed  upon  the  Englifh  as  a  badge  of 
fervitude.  But  this  opinion  doth  not  feem  to  be 
well  founded.  For  there  is  fufficient  evidence, 
that  the  fame  cuftom  prevailed  in  France,  Spain, 
Italy,  Scotland,  and  probably  in  all  the  other 
countries  of  Europe,  in  this  period ;  and  was 
intended  as  a  precaution  againft  fires,  which 
were  then  very  frequent,  and  very  fatal,  when 
fo  many  houfes  were  built  of  wood 40.  Henry  I. 
reftored  the  ufe  of  lamps  and  candles  at  court 
in  the  night,  after  the  ringing  of  the  couvre-feu 
bell,  which  had  been  prohibited  by  his  prede- 
ceflbr  William  Rufus. 4I 

Piety,  or  a  regard  to  religion,  may  not  im-  Virtues  of 
properly  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  national  Norman«T 
virtues  of  the  Anglo  Normans.  The  beft  of  our 

39  W.  Stephaned,  p.  14. 

40  Obfervations  on  the  Statutes,  p.n6.     Du  Cange  GlofT.  roc. 

Ignetegium.  *'  W.  Malraf.  p.  88. 

ancient 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.         Book  IIL 

ancient  hiftorians  make  great  complaints  of  the 
decay  of  piety  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  imme- 
diately before  the  conqueft,  and  afcribe  that  great 
calamity  to  the  wrath  of  heaven  againft  them  on 
that  account  *\  Nothing  can  exhibit  a  ftronger 
picture  of  the  different  characters  of  the  two  na- 
tions in  this  refpe6l,  than  the  different  behaviour 
of  the  Norman  and  Saxon  armies  in  the  night 
before  the  famous  battle  of  Haftings.  The  Nor- 
mans fpent  that  awful  night  in  confeflion,  prayer, 
and  other  acts  of  devotion  ;  while  the  Englilh 
wafted  it  in  noife  and  riot 43.  "  Religion  (fays 
"  William  of  Malmfbury),  which  was  almoft  ex- 
"  tin6l  in  England,  revived  after  the  fettlement 
"  of  the  Normans.  Then  you  might  have 
"  feen  magnificent  churches  and  monafteries 
*'  arifing  in  every  village,  town,  and  city.  In 
«e  a  word,  fo  much  did  religious  zeal  flourifh  in 
"  our  country,  that  a  rich  man  would  have  ima- 
"  gined  he  had  lived  in  vain,  if  he  had  not  left 
ct  fome  illuftrious  monument  of  his  pious  muni- 
«<  ficence  44."  The  religion,  however,  of  the 
Anglo-Normans,  in  this  period,  was  not  of  the 
moft  pure  and  rational  kind.  On  the  contrary, 
it  confided  chiefly  in  building,  adorning,  and 
endowing  churches,  in  performing  certain  fuper- 
ftitious  ceremonies,  in  believing  all  the  opinions, 
and  obeying  all  the  commands,  of  the  clergy. 

<2  W.  Malmf.  p.  5  7.  col.  a.     M.  Paris,  p.  4.  coL  z. 

43  W.  Pnftaven.  p.  201.     Oderic  Vkal.  p.  501. 

44  W.  Malmf.  p. 5 7.  col.  a. 

There 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c. 

There  was  no  virtue  of  which  the  Normans  Valour  of 
who  fettled  in  England  were  fo  proud,  and  to 
which  they  made  fuch  high  pretenfions,  as  mar- 
tial courage  and  valour.  This  they  claimed  in  a 
degree  peculiar  to  themfelves,  above  all  other 
nations.  The  fpeech  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
to  his  army,  before  the  battle  of  Haftings,  was 
in  this  boailful  llraih  :  "  I  addrefs  you,  O  Nor- 
"  mans !  the  mod  valiant  of  all  nations,  not  as 
"  doubting,  but  as  fecure  of  victory,  which  nei- 
"  ther  force  nor  fortune  can  wreft  out  of  your 
"  hands.  O  ye  bravefl  of  mortal  men  !  what 
"  availed  the  King  of  France  at  the  head  of  all 
"  the  nations  between  Lorrain  in  Spain,  againfl 
"  your  anceflor  Hailing,  who  feized  as  much  of 
"  France  as  he  pleafed,  and  kept  it  as  long  as  he 
"  thought  proper  ?"  &c.  &c. 4S  Almoft  a  cen- 
tury after  the  conqueft,  the  Normans  Hill  con- 
fidered  themfelves  as  a  diftinct  people  from  the 
Englifli,  and  had  loft  nothing  df  their  high  opi- 
nion df  their  own  valour.  This  appears  from  the 
Ipeech  df  that  venerable  warrior  Walter  Efpec, 
before  the  battle  of  the  Standard  :  Why  fhould 
"  we  defpair  of  victory,  though  we  are  few  in 
"  number  ?  Hath  riot  the  Almighty  beftowed 
"  victory  itpdn  our  nation,  as  its  peculiar  pro- 
"  perty  ?  HdW  often  have  fmall  bodies  of  bi'ave 
"  Normanis  obtained  glorious  victories  over  great 
"  armies  of  the  peojple  of  France,  Maine,  Anjou, 
"  and  Aquitaine  ?  Did  not  our  own  fathers 

<5  J.  Brom^t. 

<c  conquer 


336  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

**  conquer  this  ifland  at  one  blow,  on  which  the 
"  invincible  Julius  bellowed  fo  much  time  and 
"  blood  ?  We  have  feen,  my  brave  Normans, 
"  we  ourfelves  have  feen,  the  King  of  France, 
"  and  his  whole  army,  flying  before  us,  many 
"  of  his  greatefl  barons  flam,  and  others  taken 
"  prifoners.  Who  were  the  conquerors  of 
"  Sicily,  Apulia,  and  Calabria,  but  the  valiant 
"  Normans  ?"  &c.  &c. 46 

S«briety.  Sobriety  may  not  improperly  be  reckoned 
among  the  national  virtues  of  the  Anglo-Nor- 
mans, efpecially  at  the  time  of  their  fettlement 
in  England.  The  moft  ancient  of  our  hiftorians 
who  had  opportunities  of  converfing  with  the 
Normans  and  Englifli,  before  they  were  fo 
blended  together  as  to  form  one  people,  com- 
mend the  former  for  their  fobriety,  as  much  as 
they  condemn  the  latter  for  their  intemperance. 
"  The  Englifh  (fays  William  of  Malmfbury) 
*<  were  much  addicted  to  exceffive  eating  and 
"  drinking,  in  which  they  fometimes  fpent  both 
"  day  and  night,  without  intermiffion.  The 
"  Normans  were  very  unlike  them  in  this  refpecl;, 
"  being  delicate  in  the  choice  of  their  meats  and 
"  drinks,  but  feldom  exceeding  the  bounds  of 
"  temperance.  By  this  means  the  Normans 
"  lived  with  greater  elegance,  and  at  lefs  ex- 
"  pence,  than  the  Englifh 47."  The  cuftom, 
however,  of  drinking  to  pegs,  which  had  been 

46  Ethelredus  de  bello  Standard!,  p«339>  340. 
«  W.Malmf.  1.3.  p.57,  col.j. 

intro- 


chap.  y.  MANNERS,  &c.  337 

introduced  by  a  law  of  Edgar  the  Peaceable, 
ftill  continued  in  this  period48.  For  by  a  canon 
of  the  council  of  ^eftminfler,  held  A.  D.  1 102., 
the  clergy  are  prohibited  to  frequent  ale-houfes, 
or  to  drink  to  pegs49.  It  appears  alfo,  that 
before  the  conclufion  of  this  period,  many  of  the 
Normans  had  adopted  the  manners  of  the  Eng. 
lifh,  and  departed  from  the  fobriety  of  their  an- 
ceftors.  "  When  you  behold  (fays  Peter  of 
'*  Blois)  our  barons  and  knights  going  upon  a 
*'  military  expedition,  you  fee  their  baggage- 
"  horfes  loaded,  not  with  iron  but  wine,  not 
"  with  lances  but  cheefes,  not  with  fwords  but 
"  bottles,  not  with  fpears  but  fpits.  You  would 
"  imagine  they  were  going  to  prepare  a  great 
"  feaft  rather  than  to  make  war  s°.  There  are 
"  even  too  many  who  boaft  of  their  exceffive 
"  drunkennefs  and  gluttony,  and  labour  to 
w  acquire  fame  by  fvvallowing  great  quantities 
"  of  meat  and  drink."51 

The  point  of  honour  was  very  much  refpected  Gallantry 
by  the  Normans  in  this  period,  and  they  paid  ^^gard 
much  regard  to  their  plighted  faith,  efpecially  to  point  of 
the  ladies.     A  moft  remarkable  example  of  this  hpnour- 
occurs  in  the  hiftory  of  King  Stephen.     The 
Emprefs  Maud,  from  whom  Stephen  had  ufurped 
the  crown  of  England,  was  befieged  by  him  in 
Arundel  caftle,  the   refidence  of  the  queen- 

4J  See  vol.  4.  p.  341.  *  Eadmerus,  p.6?. 

*°  P.Bleienf.  Ep.34»  p.  146-  col.», 
51  Id.  Ep.  86.  p.  130.  col.  I. 

VOL.  vi.  z  dowager, 


338  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

dowager,  A.D.  1 139.,  and  might  eafily  have  been 
taken  prifoner.  But  Stephen  was  prevailed  upon 
to  refpect  the  ties  of  blood,  and  the  honour  due 
to  ladies  of  fo  high  a  rank.  He  did  not  pufti  the 
liege,  but  gave  his  word  of  honour  to  the  Em- 
prefs,  that  he  would  caufe  her  to  be  conducted 
in  fafety  to  the  caflle  of  Briftol,  the  reiidence  of 
Robert  Earl  of  Glocefter,  her  natural  brother 
and  mod  powerful  partizan.  Though  the  Em- 
prefs  knew  that  Stephen  had  violated  the  mod 
folemn  oaths  which  he  had  taken  to  fupport  her 
fucceffion  to  the  crown,  fhe  relied  upon  his  word 
of  honour,  put  herfelf  under  his  protection,  and 
was  fafely  conducted  to  the  caftle  of  Briftol. 
"  The  King  (fays  William  of  Malmfbury)  gave 
"  to  his  brother  Henry  Biihop  of  Winchefler, 
"  and  Walleran  Earl  of  Millent,  the  charge  of 
"  conducting  the  Emprefs ;  an  office  which  no 
"  gallant  and  true  knight  could  refufe  to  perform 
"  to  his  greateft  enemy." s* 

Witand  The  Normans  appear  to  have  been  a  cheerful, 
imour'  witty,  and  facetious  people,  delighting  much  in 
innocent  frolics  and  convivial  jocularity.  No 
qualities  were  more  admired  amongft  them  than 
thole  of  wit  and  humour.  It  was  to  thefe  quali- 
ties chiefly  that  King  Stephen  owed  his  popula- 
rity, and  the  fuccefs  of  his  ufurpation.  "  Stephen, 
"  when  he  was  an  earl  (fays  William  of  MalmC- 
"  bury,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  him), 
<{  gained  the  affections  of  the  people  to  a  degree 

52  W.Malmf.  1. a.  p.  104. 

«  that 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  239 

«c  that  can  hardly  be  imagined,  by  the  affability 
"  of  his  manners,  and  the  wit  and  pleafantry  of 
"  his  converfation.    Hecondefcendedfometimes 
"  to  chat  and  joke  with  perfons  in  very  humble 
"  Rations,  and   the   nobility   were   in  general 
"  charmed  with  him,  and  embraced  his  party"." 
Our  hiftorians   of  this  period  have   taken  the 
trouble  to  record  many  of  the  frolics  and  repartees 
of  our  princes,  prelates,  and  great  men  ;  which 
is  a  fufficient  proof  that  they  were  confidered  as 
matters  of  importance,  and  not  unworthy  of  a 
place  in  hiflory.    Nay,  fo  fond  were  the  Normans 
of  the  innocent  conflicts  of  wit  and  humour,  that 
the  greateft  enemies,  in  the  very  heat  of  a  liege, 
fometimes  fufpended  their  hoftilities,  in  order  to 
engage  in  a  more  harmlefs  combat  of  banter  and 
repartee.     When  one  of  the  contending  parties 
deligned  this,  he  appeared  in  fight  of  the  other, 
dreffed  in  white ;    which  was  underflood  and 
accepted  as  a  challenge  to  a  trial  of  wit 54.     John 
of  Salifbury  cenfures,  with  great  feverity,  the 
exceflive  fondnefs  of  his  countrymen  and  con- 
temporaries for  profeffed  wits  and  jeflers,  and 
reproaches  them  for  fpending  too  much  time,  and 
taking  too  much  delight,  in  their  company. Ss 

The  Normans  feem  alfo  to  have  been  a  gene-  GeneroCtyi 
rous  open-hearted  people,  capable  of  very  noble 
a6ls  of  bounty  and  liberality.     Their  profufe 

Si  W.  Malmf.  Hift.  Novel,  l.i.  p.ioi.  col.  z. 

S4  Orderic.  Vital,  p.  784. 

"  J.  Sariftjurien.  Policrat.  1.x.  ch.8.  p.j8.  . 

z  2     '..."•,  donations 


34o  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

donations  to  the  church  are  well  known,  and 
were  certainly  far  too  great  and  numerous.  Few 
princes  have  had  more  to  give,  or  were  more  libe- 
ral in  their  donations,  than  the  Norman  kings  of 
England.  To  fay  nothing  of  the  ineftimable 
grants  made  by  William  I.  to  his  followers,  all 
his  fucceffors  in  this  period  difplayed  both  their 
wealth  and  liberality  at  the  three  great  feftivals 
of  ChriftmaSjEafter,  and  Whitfuntide,  every  year, 
and  on  many  other  occafions.  "  In  the  month 
"  of  February,  A.D.  1191.  (fays  John  Bromp- 
"  ton),  when  Richard  I.  was  at  Melfina  in  Sicily, 
"  he  made  a  prefent  of  feveral  mips  to  the  King 
"  of  France  and  his  nobles.  He  alfo  opened 
*'  his  treafures,  and  diflributed  to  the  earls, 
"  barons,  knights,  and  efquires  of  the  army, 
<e  greater  fums  of  money  than  any  of  his  prede- 
"  ceflbrs  had  ever  diflributed  in  one  year." s6 
Anecdote  The  fame  hiftorian  hath  preferved  the  follow- 
of  Robert  jng  curious  anecdote,  which  may  ferve  both  as  a 
Norman-  proof  and  illuftration  of  the  wit,  politenefs,  and 
d7'  generofity  of  the  Normans.  When  Robert  Duke 

of  Normandy,  father  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
was  at  Conilantinople,  in  his  way  to  the  Holy 
Land,  he  lived  in  uncommon  fplendour,  and 
was  greatly  celebrated  for  his  wit,  his  affability, 
and  other  virtues.  Of  thefe  many  remarkable 
examples  were  related  to  the  Emperor ;  who  re- 
folved  to  put  the  reality  of  them  to  a  trial.  With 
this  view  he  invited  the  Duke  and  all  his  nobles 

"  J»Brojnpt»  Chron,  pa  193. 

to 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  341 

to  a  feaft  in  the  great  hall  of  the  Imperial  palace, 
but  took  care  to  have  all  the  tables  and  feats 
filled  with  guefts,  before  the  arrival  of  the  Nor- 
mans, of  whom  he  commanded  them  to  take  no 
notice.  When  the  Duke,  followed  by  his  nobles 
in  their  richeft  dreffes,  entered  the  hall  j  obferv- 
ing  that  all  the  feats  were  filled  with  guefts,  and 
that  none  of  them  returned  his  civilities,  or 
offered  him  any  accommodation,  he  walked,  with- 
out the  leaft  appearance  of  furprize  or  difcompo- 
fure,  to  an  empty  fpace,  at  one  end  of  the  room, 
took  off  his  cloak,  folded  it  very  carefully,  laid 
it  upon  the  floor,  and  fat  down  upon  it ;  in  all 
which  he  was  imitated  by  his  followers.  In  this 
pofture  they  dined,  on  fuch  dimes  as  were  fet 
before  them,  with  every  appearance  of  the  molt 
perfect  fatisfaftion  with  their  entertainment. 
When  the  feaft  was  ended,  the  Duke  and  his 
nobles  arofe,  took  leave  of  the  company  in  the 
moft  graceful  manner,  and  walked  out  of  the  hall 
in  their  doublets,  leaving  their  cloaks,  which 
were  of  great  value,  behind  them  on  the  floor. 
The  Emperor,  who  had  admired  their  whole 
behaviour,  was  quite  furprifed  at  this  laft  part  of 
it ;  and  fent  one  of  his  courtiers  to  intreat  the 
Duke  and  his  followers  to  put  on  their  cloaks. 
"  Go  (faid  the  Duke),  and  tell  your  mafter,  that 
"  it  is  not  the  cuftom  of  the  Normans  to  carry 
"  about  with  them  the  feats  which  they  ufe  at  an 
"  entertainment s7."  Could  any  thing  be  more 

57  J.Brompt.  Chron.  p.  911. 

z  3  delicate 


342  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III- 

delicate  than  this  rebuke,  or  more  noble,  polite, 
and  manly,  than  this  deportment  ? 
Foibles          Thefe  are  the  moil  remarkable  of  the  national 
of  the       virtues  and  agreeable  qualities   of  the  Anglo- 
Normans.  Normans  which  are  mentioned  by  our  hiftorians 
of  this  period.     We  muft  not  imagine  that  thefe 
virtues  were  either  unmixed  or  univerfal.   A  re- 
gard to  truth  obliges  me  to  reverfe  the  medal, 
and  take  a  view  of  their  moft  confpicuous  foibles 
and  prevailing  vices.     But  on  this  unpleafant 
fubjecl;,  the  reader's  attention  mall  not  be  long 
detained. 

Their  ere-       The  Normans  were  no  lefs  credulous  than  the 
Jjty*       Anglo-Saxons.     This  is  evident  from  the  prodi- 
gious number  of  miracles,  revelations,  vifions, 
and  inchantments,  which  are  related  with  the 
greateft  gravity  by  the  bed  of  their  hiftorians 
and  other  writers.   "  In  this  year  (1171.),  about 
"  Eafler  (fays  Matthew  Paris,)   it  pleafed  the 
"  Lord  Jefus   Chrift  to   irradiate  his  glorious 
"  martyr  Thomas  Becket  with  many  miracles, 
"  that  it  might  appear  to  all  the  world  he  had 
"  obtained  a  victory  fuitable  to  his  merits.    None 
"  who  approached  his  fepulchre  in  faith,  re- 
"  turned  without  a  cure.     For  ftrength  was  re- 
"  ilored  to  the  lame,  hearing  to  the  deaf,  fight 
"  to  the  blind,  fpeech  to  the  dumb,  health  to 
"  lepers,  and  life  to  the  dead.     Nay,  not  only 
"  men  and  women,  but  even  birds  and  beails, 
"  were  raifed  from  death  to  life s3."     Giraldus 

53  M.  Paris,  p,  87. 

Cam- 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  343 

Cambrenfis,  who  was  one  of  the  mod  learned 
and  ingenious  men  of  the  twelfth  century, 
amongfl  many  ridiculous  ftories  of  miracles, 
vifions,  and  apparitions,  tells  of  one  devil  who 
a6led  a  confiderable  time  as  a  gentleman's  butler 
with  great  prudence  and  probity;  and  of  another 
who  was  a  very  diligent  and  learned  clergyman, 
and  a  mighty  favourite  of  his  archbifliop.  This 
laft  clerical  devil  was,  it  feems,  an  excellent 
hiftorian,  and  ufed  to  divert  the  archbifliop  with 
telling  him  old  ftories.  "  One  day  when  he  was 
'*  entertaining  the  archbifhop  with  a  relation  of 
*'  ancient  hiftories  and  furprifing  events,  the 
«'  converfation  happened  to  turn  on  the  incar- 
"  nation  of  our  Saviour.  Before  the  incarnation, 
"  faid  our  hiftorian,  the  devils  had  great  power 
"  over  mankind ;  but  after  that  event  their 
"  power  was  much  diminished,  and  they  were 
"  obliged  to  fly.  Some  of  them  threw  them- 
"  felves  into  the  fea ;  fome  concealed  themfelves 
"  in  hollow  trees,  or  in  the  clifts  of  rocks ;  and 
"  I  myfelf  plunged  into  a  certain  fountain.  As 
"  foon  as  he  had  faid  this,  finding  that  he  had  dif- 
**  covered  his  fecret,  his  face  was  covered  with 
"  blufties,  he  went  out  of  the  room,  and  was  no 
"  more  feen." S9 

The  Normans  were  as  curious  as  they  were  Their  cu- 
credulous.      This    prompted    them  to  employ 
many  vain  fallacious  arts  to  difcover  their  future 
fortunes,  and  the  fuccefs  of  their  undertakings. 

s>  Girald.  Cambrenf.  Itin.  Camb.  1.  r.  ch.ia.  p. 853. 

z  4  John 


344  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

John  of  Salifbury  enumerates   no  fewer  than 
thirteen  different  kinds  of  diviners  or  fortune- 
tellers, who  pretended  to  foretell  future  events  ; 
fome  by  one  means,   and  fome  by  another60. 
Nor  did  this  paffion  for  penetrating  into  futu- 
rity prevail  only  among   the   common  people, 
but  alfo  among  perfons  of  the  higheft  rank  and 
greateft  learning.     All  our  kings,  and  many  of 
our  earls  and  great  barons,  had  their  aftrologers, 
who  refided  in  their  families,  and  were  confulted 
by  them  in  all  undertakings  of  importancce 6l. 
We  find  Peter  of  Blois,  who  was  one  of  the 
moft  learned  men  of  the   age    in    which    he 
flourifhed,  writing  an  account  of  his  dreams  to 
his  friend  the  Bifhop  of  Bath,  and  telling  him 
how  anxious  he  had  been  about  the  interpretation 
of  them ;  and  that  he  had  employed  for  that 
purpofe  divination  by  the  pj alter62.    TheEnglilh, 
it  feems  probable,  had  Hill  more  fuperftitious 
curiofity,  and  paid  greater  attention  to  dreams 
and  omens    than    the  Normans.     For    when 
William  Rufus  was  diffuaded  from  going  abroad 
on  the  morning  of  that  day  on  which  he  was 
killed,  becaufe  the   Abbot  of  Gloucefter  had 
dreamed  fomething  which  portended  danger,  he 
is  faid  to  have  made  this  reply,  — "  Do  you 
"  imagine  that  I  am    an  Englifhman,    to  be 
"  frighted  by  a  dream,  or  the  fneezingofan 
"  pld  woman 63  ?"     But  the  truth  is,  that  ex- 

*°  J.  Sarifburienf.  de  Nugig  Curialium,  1. 1.  ch.  13.  p«36. 

"  See  chap.  6.  p.  109.  "  P.  Blefenf.  Ep.  30.  p.  51. 

*»  Orderk.  Vital,  p.  78*. 

ceffive 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  345 

ceffive  credulity  and  curiofity  were  the  weak- 
nefles  of  the  times,  rather  than  of  any  particular 
nation. 

If  we  give  entire  credit  to  the  furious  decla- 
mations of  fome  of  our  hiftorians,  and  other 
writers  in  this  period,  againft  the  vices  of  their 
countrymen,  we  Ihould  be  conftrained  to  believe, 
that  the  Anglo-Normans  were  a  mod  profligate, 
vicious,  and  abandoned  people.  But  fuch  de- 
clamations of  reclufe  and  melancholy  men  have 
abounded  in  every  age,  and  are  always  to  be  read 
with  fome  degree  of  caution  and  diftruft.  We 
have,  however,  the  fulled  evidence,,  that  viola- 
tions of  the  laws  of  humanity,  chaftity,  and 
juftice,  prevailed  fo  much  amongil  that  people  in 
this  period,  that  they  may  juftly  be  called  their 
national  vices. 

Though  the  Normans  were  a  brave  and  Their 
generous,  they  were  alfo  a  haughty,  paffionate,  cruelty*. 
and  fierce  people,  and  their  fiercenefs  fometimes 
degenerated  into  cruelty.  "  When  it  pleafed 
"  God  (fays  one  of  our  ancient  hiftorians)  to 
"  bring  deftruction  upon  the  Englilh,  he  em- 
"  ployed  the  Normans  to  execute  his  vengeance, 
"  becaufe  he  knew  that  they  delighted  more  in 
"  blood  and  daughter  than  any  other  nation **.*' 
Nothing  could  be  more  deplorable  than  the  de- 
vadations  of  William  the  Conqueror,  in  his 
expedition  into  Northumberland,  A.  D.  1 070. 
He  fet  out  on  that  expedition,  with  a  declared 

64  Hen*  Huntingdon;  p.  su. 

intention 


-46  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

intention  to  deftroy  the  whole  country  with  fire 
and  fword,  and  exterminate  all  its  inhabitants, 
men,  women,  and  children ;  and  he  executed 
that  barbarous  intention  with  a  favage  perfever- 
ing  cruelty,  of  which  there  are  not  many  ex- 
amples in  the  hiftory  of  mankind65.  The  de- 
fcription  given  by  the  author  of  the  Saxon 
Chronicle  of  the  cruelties  exercifed  in  the  reign 
of  King  Stephen,  by  the  great  barons  and  lords 
of  caftles,  who  were  all  Normans,  affords  a  ftill 
flronger  proof  of  the  excefles  of  which  they  were 
capable,  when  their  paflions  were  inflamed: 
"  They  grievoufly  oppreffed  the  poor  people  with 
"  building  caftles ;  and  when  they  were  built, 
"  they  filled  them  with  wicked  men,  or  rather 
"  devils,  who  feized  both  men  and  women  who 
<e  they  imagined  had  any  money,  threw  them 
"  into  prifon,  and  put  them  to  more  cruel  tor- 
"  tures  than  the  martyrs  ever  endured.  They 
*'  fuffocated  fome  in  mud,  and  fuipended  others 
'« by  the  feet,  or  the  head,  or  the  thumbs ; 
"  kindling  fires  below  them.  They  fqueezed 
"  the  heads  of  fome  with  knotted  cords,  till  they 
"  pierced  their  brains,  while  they  threw  others 
"  into  dungeons  fwarming  with  ferpents,  fnakes, 
"  and  toads 66."  But  it  would  be  cruel  to  put 
the  reader  to  the  pain  of  perufing  the  remainder 
of  this  defcription. 

Their  The  great  profperity  of  the  Normans  in  Eng- 

oTchat8    land>  feems  to  have  contributed  not  a  little  to 

thy. 

**  See  vol.  5.  p. ao.  K  Chron.  Saxon.  p« 238* 

14  inflame 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  347 

inflame  their  paflions  and  corrupt  their  manners. 
This  is  directly  afferted  by  one  of  our  ancient 
hiflorians,  in  a  paffage  already  quoted  in  this 
chapter 67.  Their  great  power  and  profperity,  in 
particular,  appears  to  have  rendered  them  re- 
gardlefs  of  that  refpect  and  decency  with  which 
the  fair  fex  was  commonly  treated  in  thofe 
times,  and  made  them  wanton  and  licentious  in 
their  behaviour  to  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
Englifh.  This  licentioufnefs  was  fo  great,  that 
the  Princefs  Matilda,  daughter  of  Malcolm  Can- 
more,  King  of  Scotland,  and  afterwards  Queen 
of  Henry  I.,  being  educated  in  England,  was 
obliged  to  wear  the  veil  of  a  nun,  to  preferve  her 
honour  from  being  violated  by  the  Normans. 
The  Princefs  herfelf  affirmed,  before  a  great 
council  of  the  clergy  of  England,  that  this  was 
the  only  reafon  of  her  having  worn  the  veil :  and 
the  council  admitted  the  validity  of  her  plea,  in 
thefe  remarkable  words:  —  "When  the  great 
<e  King  William  conquered  this  land,  many  of 
"  his  followers,  elated  by  fo  great  a  victory,  and 
"  thinking  that  every  thing  ought  to  be  fubfer- 
"  vient  to  their  will  and  pleafure,  not  only  feized 
"  the  poffeflions  of  the  conquered,  but  invaded 
"  the  honour  of  their  matrons  and  virgins,  with 
<e  the  mod  unbridled  wantonnefs,  whenever 
"  they  had  an  opportunity.  This  obliged  many 
"  young  ladies,  whd  dreaded  their  violence,  to 
"  take  fhelter  in  nunneries,  and  to  put  on  the  veil, 

"  See  p.  3 1 7. 

"to 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  IIL 

"  to  preferve  their  honour 6g."  When  this  diflb- 
lution  of  manners  was  introduced,  it  was  not 
eafily  corrected, but  continued  through  the  whole 
of  this  period,  though  direct  violence  was  re- 
ftrained.  It  would  be  highly  improper  to  ftain 
the  pages  of  hiftory  with  proofs  and  examples  on 
this  fubject,  which  might  eafily  be  produced.  Of 
the  licentioufnefs  of  manners  in  this  refpect,  it 
will  probably  be  thought  fufficient  evidence  that 
public  Hews  were  eftablifhed  by  law  in  London, 
and  probably  in  other  cities,  in  this  period; 
and  that  the  ladies  of  pleafure  who  followed  the 
camps  and  courts  of  the  kings  of  England  in  all 
their  motions,  were  formed  into  regular  incorpo- 
rations, and  putunder  the  government  of  officers, 
who  were  called  the  mar/hols  of  the  whores  6<\ 
Thefe  officers,  both  in  the  camp  and  court,  had 
eftates  annexed  unto  them,  and  were  here- 
ditary. 

Unnatural  Several  of  our  hiflorians,  and  other  writers  in 
crime.  fcnis  period,  reproach  the  Normans  in  the  fevered 
terms  for  introducing  and  pradtifing  an  unnatu- 
ral crime,  which  is  too  deteftable  to  be  named. 
To  fupport  the  truth  of  this  affertion,  a  few  of 
thefe  reproaches  in  the  original  language,  may 
be  feen  below.  7° 

That 


68  Eadmeri  Hiih  1.3.  p.j;. 

69  Stoves  Survey  of  London,  vol.  a.  p.;.     Blount's  Fragment* 
Antiquitatis,  p.  8.  80.  8a.  85.  tz6. 

7"  Nefandiffimum  Sodom:e  fcelus  (ut  illicka  confanguineorurw 
connuhia,  et  alia  multa  rerum  deteftandarum  facinorofa  negotiav 
taceam),  fcelus  inquam  Sodoraje,  noviter  in  hac  terra  divulgatum*. 

jaia 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  349 

That  profperity  which  plunged  the  Normans  Tyranny 
into  thefe  licentious  courfes,  prompted  them  to 
various  acts  of  tyranny  and  oppreffion,  and  em- 
boldened them  to  invade  the  rights  and  injure  the 
perfons  of  others,  efpecially  of  the  unhappy 
Englifh.  Some  of  the  tyrannical  defpotic  actions 
of 'the  fovereigns  who  reigned  in  this  period, 
have  been  occalionally  mentioned,  to  which 
many  more  of  the  fame  kind  might  eafily  be 
added  7I.  But  the  fovereigns  were  not  the  only 
tyrants  in  the  times  we  are  now  delineating. 
Many  earls,  barons,  fheriffs,  foreilers,  and  judges, 
were  petty  defpots  in  their  feveral  diftricts.  One 
of  our  ancient  hiftorians  defcribes  the  ftate  of 
England,  at  the  death  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
in  this  manner  :  "  The  Normans  had  now  fully 
"  executed  the  wrath  of  Heaven  on  the  Englifh. 
tc  For  there  was  hardly  one  of  that  nation  who 
"  poiTefied  any  power,  but  they  were  all  involved 
"  in  fervitude  and  forrow,  infomuch  that  to  be 

"  called  anEngli(hman,was  a  reproach. In 

'«  thofe  miferable  times,  many  oppreffive  taxes 
"  and  tyrannical  cufloms  were  introduced.    The 


jam  plurimum  pullulavit,  multofque  fuo  immanitatse  foedavit.  Ead- 
meri  Hift.  /.  I.  ^.14. 

Nefandum  egitur  illud  et  enorme  nimis  Normannorum  crimen, 
quod  olim  a  Francis  mutuati,  nunc  fibi  velut  proprium  vindicant. 
Anglia  Sacra,  torn.  2.  p.  406. 

Sed  quid  filias  et  uxores  (quod  licet  jura  prohlbeant,  tamen  quo- 
cunque  modo  natura  permittit)  exponi  queror  aut  proftitui  ?  In 
ipfam  naturam,  quafi  gigantes  alii,  Theomachiam  novam  exert  entes 
infurgunt.  Filios  offerunt  Veneri,  &c.  /.  Sarijburlenf.  l.$.p.iy$. 

71  See  p.  79,  80. 

«  king 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

"  king  himfelf,  when  he  had  let  his  lands  at  their 
"  full  value,  if  another  tenant  came  and  offered 
"  more,   and  afterwards  another,    and  offered 
"  flill  more,  violated  all  his  former  pactions,  and 
"  gave  them  to  him  who  offered  moll.     The 
"  great  men  were  inflamed  with  fuch  a  violent 
*c  rage  for  money,  that  they  cared  not  by  what 
"  means  it  was  acquired.   The  more  they  talked 
"of  juftice,   the  more  injurioufly   they  acted. 
"  Thefe  who  were  called  jufticiaries,  were  the 
"  fountains  of  all  iniquity.    Sheriffs  and  judges, 
*c  whofe  duty  it  was   to  pronounce   righteous 
"  judgments,  were  the  mod  cruel  of  all  tyrants, 
"  and  greater  plunderers  than  common  thieves 
"  and  robbers  "*."     The  truth  is,  that  the  caftles 
of  fome  of  the  great  barons  were  no  better  than 
dens  of  thieves  and  robbers, who  extorted  money 
from  the  unfortunate  people  who  fell  into  their 
hands,    by   the  moft   cruel  methods73.      The 
woods  alfo  were  haunted  by  troops  of  banditti, 
who  were  fo  terrible  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
furrounding  countries,  that  they  had  a  form  of 
prayer  againft  robbers,  which  they  faid  every 
evening  when  they  fliut  their  doors  and  win- 
dows 74.     In  a  word,  there  is  the  fulleft  evidence, 
that  in  this  period,  both  the  lives  and  properties 
of  the  people  of  England  were  expofed  to  many 
injuries    and    dangers   from    feveral    different 
quarters. 

72  Hen.  Hunt.  1. 8.  p.  aia. 

7J  See  p.345>  346.     W.  Malmf.  l.a.  p.  105. 

74  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p.  29.  col.  i. 

The 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  351 

The  inhabitants  of  Wales,  and  of  the  far  Language. 
greateft  part  of  Scotland,  ftill  continued  to  fpeak 
the  languages  of  their  anceflors,  the  ancient 
Britons  and  Caledonians;  an  account  of  which 
hath  been  already  given  7S.  As  the  people  of 
England  confifted  of  two  different  nations,  the 
Normans  and  Anglo-Saxons,  they  fpoke,  for  a 
confiderable  time  at  leaft,  two  different  lan- 
guages, the  Norman-French  and  the  Saxon. 
The  obfervations  which  have  been  made  on  the 
former  of  thefe  languages,  commonly  called  the 
Romance  tongue,  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  chapters  of 
this  book,  together  with  the  fpecimens  which  have 
been  given  of  it  in  the  laft  of  thefe  chapters,  will, 
it  is  hoped,  be  thought  fufficient  to  give  a  tole- 
rable view  of  its  origin  and  ftructure,  and  prevent 
the  neceffity  of  faying  any  thing  further  upon  it 
in  this  place  '/6.  A  ftill  more  extended  defcrip- 
tion  of  the  Saxon  tongue  hath  been  given  in  the 
feventh  chapter  of  the  fourth  volume,  to  which 
the  reader  is  referred  77.  In  fpite  of  all  the 
efforts  that  were  made  by  the  Norman  con* 
querors  to  abolifli  this  language,  and  introduce 
their  own  in  its  room,  it  ftill  continued  to  be 
the  vulgar  tongue  of  the  great  body  of  the  people 
of  England  through  the  whole  of  this  period, 
with  fuch  flight  and  gradual  changes  as  time  and 
other  circumftances  are  apt  to  make  in  all  living 

75  See  rol.  *,  p.  336,  &c.     Appendix,  No.  10.  p.  486. 
7*  Seechap.4.  p.  89.  chap.  5.  p.  338. 
77  See  vol.  4.  p.36a— 373. 

languages. 


352  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

languages.  Thefe  changes  appear  to  have  been 
very  flow,  and  almofl  imperceptible,  in  the 
courfe  of  a  whole  century  after  the  conqueft.  Of 
this  we  may  be  convinced,  by  comparing  the 
charter  of  King  Harold ?s,  written  a  little  after 
the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  with  the  lail 
paragraph  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  written  a 
little  after  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century.  To 
enable  us  to  make  this  comparifon,  that  para- 
graph, with  a"  literal  tranflation  interlined,  is 
here  fubjoined : 

Specimen        An.  MCLIV.     On  this  yaer  waerd  the  King 
sLronof        A.J).     1154.     In  this  year  was    the  King 

this  period. 

Stephen  ded ;  and  bebyried  there  his  wif  and 
Stephen  dead ;  and  buried  where  his  wife  and 

his  fune  waeron  bebyried  set  Tauresfeld.  That 
his  Jon  were  buried  at  Touresfield.  That 

minftre  hi  makiden.  Tha  the  king  was  ded, 
minfter  he  made.  When  the  king  was  dead, 

tha  was  the  eorl  beionde  fae.  And  ne  durfle 
then  was  the  earl  beyond  fea.  And  not  durjl 

nan  man  don  other,  bute  god  for  the  micel  ™ 
no  man  do  other ,  but  good  for  the  great 


"  See  vol.4-  p.37* — 373- 

79  This  word  is  ftill  ufed  in  Scotland  in  the  fame  fenfe. 

eie 


Chap.  y.  MANNERS,  &c. 

eie  of  him. 
awe  of  him. 

was  he  under-fangen  mid  micel  wartfcipe  ;  and 
was  he  received          with  great  worj/iip  ;     and 

to  king  bletcsed         in   Lundine,  on  the 

to     be     lung  confecrated  m  London,      on    the 

Sunnen  daei  beforen  mid-winter-daei. 
Sunday          before    mid-winter-day. 

From  the  above  fpeciraen  it  appears,  that  the  oi>fenra- 
chief  difference  between    the  Saxon  that  was  tlons  on 

the  above 

fpoken  in  England  at  the  conqueft,  and  that 
which  was  fpoken  a  century  after,  confided  in 
this,  that  the  latter  approached  a  little  nearer  to 
modern  Englifli  than  the  former,  and  differed 
from  it  rather  in  the  difpolition  and  fpelling  of 
the  words,  than  in  the  words  themfelves.  For 
in  this  fpecimen  there  are  not  above  three  of 
four  words  that  are  abfolutely  unintelligible  to  an 
Engliih  reader.  This  fragment  alfo  affords  a 
further  evidence  of  a  very  curious  facl,  which 
might  be  proved  by  many  other  arguments,  — 
that  the  enmity  between  the  Normans  and 
Anglo-Saxons  continued  very  long,  and  that 
they  mingled  as  little  as  poffible  in  converfation 
during  the  firft  century  after  the  conqueft.  For, 
in  the  above  fpecimen,  there  is  not  fo  much  as 
one  word  derived  from  the  language  of  the  Nor- 
mans. By  flow  degrees,  however,  this  enmity 
abated,  and  the  two  nations  began  to  converfe 
VOL.  vi.  A  A  more 


354  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

more  familiarly  together ;  which  naturally  pro- 
duced this  effeft,  that  the  language  of  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  became  the  prevailing  and 
vulgar  tongue  of  the  whole,  but  mixed  with  a 
tincture  of  the  language  of  the  minority.  The 
Heps  by  which  this  effe6l  was  produced  will  be 
traced  in  the  next  period  of  this  work. 
Drefg.  The  people  of  Normandy  and  Flanders,  of 

which  great  numbers  followed  the  Conqueror 
into  England,  were  remarkable  for  the  beauty 
and  elegance  of  their  perfons 8o.  They  were  alfo 
very  oftentatious  and  fond  of  pomp.  Thefe  two 
things  prompted  them  to  pay  great  attention  to 
their  drefs  ;  of  which  it  is  proper  to  give  a  very 
brief  defcription. 8I 

Long  curl-  There  was  hardly  any  thing  againft  which  the 
ed  hair,  clergy  in  this  period  declaimed  with  greater  ve- 
hemence, than  the  long  curled  hair  of  the  laity, 
efpecially  of  the  courtiers 82.  Deprived  of  this 
ornament  themfelves,  by  their  clerical  tonfure, 
they  endeavoured  to  deter  others  from  enjoying 
it,  by  reprefenting  it  as  one  of  the  greateft 
crimes,  and  moft  certain  marks  of  reprobation. 
Anfelm  Archbifhop  of  Canterbury  even  pro- 
nounced the  then  terrible  fentence  of  excommu- 
nication againft  all  who  wore  long  hair,  for 
which  pious  zeal  he  is  very  much  commended 83. 
Serlo,  a  Norman  bifhop,  acquired  great  honour 


80  W.  Malmf.  1.5.  p. 98.  coLi.  8I  Hen.  Hunt.p.aa».  col.i. 

82  Eadmeri  Hift.  p.  23.     Orderic.  Vital.  p.68a. 

83  Eadmer.p.Si. 

by 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  355 

by  a  fermon  which  he  preached  before  Henry  I., 
A.D.  1104.,  againft  long  and  curled  hair,  with 
which  the  King  and  all  his  courtiers  were  fo  much 
affected,  that  they  confented  to  refign  their 
flowing  ringlets,  of  which  they  had  been  fo  vain. 
The  prudent  prelate  gave  them  no  time  to 
change  their  minds,  but  immediately  pulled  a 
pair  of  {hears  out  of  his  fleeve,  and  performed 
the  operation  with  his  own  hand  84.  Another 
incident  happened  about  twenty-five  years  after ; 
which  gave  a  temporary  check  to  the  prevailing 
fondnefs  for  long  hair :  it  is  thus  related  by  a 
contemporary  hiftorian :  "  An  event  happened, 
"A. 0.1129.,  which  feemed  very  wonderful 
"  to  our  young  gallants  ;  who,  forgetting  that 
"  they  were  men,  had  transformed  themfelves 
"  into  women  by  the  length  of  their  hair.  A 
"  certain  knight,  who  was  very  proud  of  his 
"  long  luxuriant  hair,  dreamed  that  a  perfon  fuf- 
"  focated  him  with  its  curls.  As  foon  as  he 
"  awoke  from  his  fleep,  he  cut  his  hair  to  a 
*c  decent  length.  The  report  of  this  fpread 
"  over  all  England,  and  almoft  all  the  knights 
"  reduced  their  hair  to  the  proper  ftandard.  But 
"  this  reformation  was  not  of  long  continuance. 
"  For  in  lefs  than  a  year  all  who  wifhed  to  appear 
"  fafliionable,  returned  to  their  former  wicked- 
"  nefs,  and  contended  with  the  ladies  in  length 
**  of  hair.  Thofe  to  whom  nature  had  denied 
"  that  ornament,  fupplied  the  defect  by  art." 8i 

*4  Orderic  Vital.  p.8i6. 

«  W.  Malmf.  Hift,  Novel.  1. 1.  p.. 99.  col. ». 

A  A  2  •'  The 


356  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III 

Shaved  The  Normans  had  as   great  an  averfion  to" 

beards.  beards  as  they  had  a  fondnefs  for  long  hair. 
Among  them,  to  allow  the  beard  to  grow,  was 
an  indication  of  the  deeped  diftrefs  and  mifery  *'• 
They  not  only  fhaved  their  beards  themfelves, 
but,  when  they  had  authority,  they  obliged  others 
to  imitate  their  example.  It  is  mentioned  by 
fome  of  our  ancient  hidorians,  as  one  of  the  mod 
wanton  ac~ls  of  tyranny  in  William  the  Con- 
queror,—  that  he  compelled  the  Engliih  (who 
had  been  accuftomed  to  allow  the  hair  of  their 
upper  lips  to  grow)  to  fhave  their  whole  beards 87. 
This  was  fo  difagreeable  to  fome  of  that  people, 
that  they  chofe  rather  to  abandon  their  country 
than  refign  their  whifkers. S8 

Veftments.  The  veftments  of  the  Normans  at  the  conqueft, 
and  for  fome  time  after,  were  fimple,  convenient, 
and  even  graceful;  but  before  the  end  of  this 
period  they  degenerated  not  a  little  from  their 
iimplicity,  and  became  fantaftical  enough  in 
fome  particulars.  Thole  of  the  men  were  —  caps 
or  bonnets  for  the  head,  —  fhirts,  doublets,  and 
cloaks,  for  the  trunk  of  the  body, — and  breeches, 
hofe,  and  (hoes,  for  the  thighs,  legs,  and  feet.  It 
may  be  proper  to  take  a  little  notice  of  what  was 
mod  remarkable  in  each  of  thefe. 

Their  caps      Thetcaps  or  bonnets  of  the  Anglo-Normans 
and  boa-    were  made  of  cloth,  or  furs.     They  were  of  va- 
rious fliapes  and  colours,  and  differently  orna- 

*6  Orderic.  Vital,  p.  84 7-  *7  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.p.29. 

f  Id.  ibid.  p.  30. 

mented. 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  357 

mented,  according  to  the  tafle,  i^nk,  and  cir- 
cumftances  of  the  wearers.  The  Jews  were 
obliged  to  wear  fquare  caps  of  a  yellow  colour, 
to  diftinguifh  them  from  other  people8^.  The 
bonnets  of  kings,  earls,  and  barons,  efpecially 
thofe  which  they  ufed  at  public  folemnities, 
were  of  the  fineft  cloths,  or  richeft  furs,  and 
adorned  with  pearls  and  precious  flones. «° 

The  ftrirts  of  all  perfons  of  rank  and  fortune,  Their 
and  even  of  the  great  body  of  the  people,  were  fllirts* 
of  linen ;  which  was  now  become  fo  common, 
that  it  was  no  longer  taken  notice  of  by  our 
writers  as  a  fingularity.     As  this  part  of  drefs  is 
not  much  feen,  it  hath  not  been  much  affected 
by  the  tyranny  of  caprice  and  fafhion. 

Doublets  or  circoats  were  worn  next  the  fliirt,  Their 
and  made  to  fit  the  fliape  of  the  body.  This  doublets- 
veflment  appears  to  have  been  ufed  fhorter  or 
longer,  at  different  times,  and  even  at  the  fame 
time,  by  perfons  of  different  ranks.  For  while 
the  circoats  of  kings,  and  perfons  of  quality, 
reached  almofl  to  their  feet,  thofe  of  the  com- 
mon people  reached  no  lower  than  the  middle  of 
the  thigh,  that  they  might  not  incommode  them 
in  labouring91.  The  ileeves  of  thefe  doublets 
reached  to  the  wrifts.  They  were  put  on,  over 
the  head,  like  a  fliirt,  and  made  faft  about  the 


89  Du  Cange  Gloff.  torn.  8.  p-483- 

90  See  Mr.  Strutt's  View  of  the  Manners>  Cuftoins,  &c.  voL  I. 
plates  4z.  44.  49. 

91  Id.  ibid,  vol.i.  plates  8,  9,  10,  n,  12,  13. 

A  A  3  waift 


358  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

waift  with  a  belt  or  girdle.  The  girdles  of  kings 
were  commonly  embroidered  with  gold,  and  Jet 
with  precious  Hones. ^ 

Mantles.  The  cloak  or  mantle  was  one  of  the  chief  veft- 
ments  of  the  Anglo-Normans.  The  mantles 
worn  by  kings,  and  other  great  perfons,  were 
very  valuable,  being  made  of  the  fined  cloths, 
embroidered  with  gold  or  iilver,  and  lined  with 
the  mod  coftly  furs.  Robert  Bloet,  the  fecond 
BHhop  of  Lincoln,  made  a  prefent  to  Henry  I., 
of  a  cloak  of  exquifitely  fine  cloth,  lined  with 
black  fables,  with  white  fpots,  which  cofl  *£ioo 
of  the  money  of  thofe  times,  equal  in  efficacy  to 
£  1500.  of  our  money  at  prefent93.  The  cloak 
of  Richard  I.  was  ftill  more  fplendid,  and  pro- 
bably more  expenfive.  It  is  thus  defcribed  by 
his  hiflorian  :  "  The  King  wore  a  cloak,  ftriped 
(C  in  itraight  lines  adorned  with  half-moons  of 
'*  folid  iilver,  and  almoft  covered  with  Ihining 
"  orbs,  in  imitation  of  the  fyftem  of  the  hea- 
"  venly  bodies94."  The  fafhion  of  their  cloaks 
changed  oftener  than  once  in  this  period,  parti- 
cularly as  to  their  length.  Henry  II.  introduced 
the  ihort  cloak  of  Anjou,  from  which  he  got 
the  furname  of  Court-Mantle  9S.  At  another 
time  the  fafhion  was  in  the  other  extreme.  •"  In 
"  our  days  (fays  Ordericus  Vitalis)  they  fweep 
"  the  ground  with  their  long  cloaks  and  gowns, 

92  See  Mr.  Strutt's  View  of  the  Manners,  Cuftoms,  &c.  vol.  a.  p.  16. 

93  Anglia  Sacra>  torn.  a.  p. 417. 

54  Vinifauf.  Iter.  Hierofolymit.  La.  0.36.  p. 335. 
95  J.  Brompt.  col.  1150. 

"  whofe 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  359 

"  whofe  long  and  wide  fleeves.  cover  their 
"  hands,  fo  that  they  can  neither  walk  nor  a6l 
"  with  freedom." 96 

Kings,  earls,  and  great  barons,  ufed  a  gar-  Rheno. 
ment  in  this  period,  called,  in  Latin,  rheno,  for 
which  I  do  not  know  an  Englifh  name.  It  was 
made  of  the  fined  furs;  covered  the  neck,  bread, 
and  ftioulders ;  and  was  equally  comfortable  and 
ornamental. 9? 

It  is  unnecefiary  to  detain  the  reader  with  a  Breeches 
defcription  of  the  breeches  and  dockings  of  the  fnd  ftock~ 
Anglo-Normans.     They  were  both  of  cloth,  of 
different  colours,  and  different  degrees  of  fine- 
nefs,  according  to  the  different  fancies  and  cir- 
cumdances  of  the  wearers.    William  Rufus  dif- 
dained  to  wear  a  pair  of  dockings  which  cod  lefs 
than  a  mark,  equivalent  to  about  ten  pounds  of 
our  money  at  prefent. 98 

The  (hoes  of  the  Normans,  when  they  fettled  Shoe*. 
in  England,  feem  to  have  had  nothing  remark- 
able in  their  make.  But  before  the  end  of  this 
period,  a  very  ridiculousand  inconvenient  fafliion 
of  fhoes  was  introduced.  This  fafhion  made  its 
firft  appearance  in  the  reign  of  William  Rufus; 
and  was  introduced  by  one  Robert,  furnamed 
tJte  florned,  from  the  fadiion  of  his  (hoes.  He 
was  a  great  beau  in  the  court  of  that  prince,  and 
ufed  fhoes  with  long  fharp  points,  fluffed  with 

96  Orderic.  Vital,  p.  68a. 

*>  Id.  p.  5  35.    Du  Cange  CldF.  voc.  Rheno. 

»3  W.  Malmf.  p.  69. 

A  A  4  tOW, 


3^0  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

tow,  and  twifted   like  a   ram's   horn  «»..    This 
ridiculous  faihion,  fays  the  hiftorian,  was  ad- 
mired as  a  happy  invention,  and  adopted  by  al- 
moft  all  the  nobility  '°°.     The  clergy  were  of- 
fended at  this  fafhion,  and  declaimed  againft 
thefe  long-pointed  flioes  with  great  vehemence  ; 
but  to  no  purpofe.     For  the   length  of  thefe 
points  continued  to  increafe  through  the  whole 
of  this  period,  and  the  greateft  part  of  the  next; 
when  we  Ihall  find  them  arrived  at  a  degree  of 
extravagance  which  is  hardly  credible. 
Women's        The  two  fexes  did  not  differ  very  much  from 
each  other  in  their  drefs,  in  the  prefent  period. 
The  inner  garments  of  women  were  more  large 
and  flowing  in  the  under  part,  than  thofe  of  men, 
and  reached  to  the  ground.     Their  mantles  had 
commonly  hoods  annexed  to  them,  which  fome- 
times  hung  down  behind  as  an  ornament,  and  at 
other  times  covered  their  heads.    The  girdles  of 
princeffes  and  ladies  of  quality  were  richly  orna- 
mented with  gold,  pearls,  and  precious  ftones, 
and  at  their  girdles  they  had  a  large  purfe  or 
pouch  fufpended.  Both  their  inner  garments  and 
their  mantles  of  Hate  were  embroidered  with 
various  figures,  and  lined  with  furs.    They  wore 
collars  of  pearls  or  precious  ftones  about  their 
necks,  and  rings  of  great  value  on  their  fingers. 
The  above  defcription  is  chiefly  taken  from  the 
prints,  of  Eleanor,  Queen  of  Henry  II.,  Beren- 


W.  Malmf.  p.  69.  col.  2.     Orderic.  Vital,  p.  682. 
Id.  ihicL 


gana, 


Chap.;.  MANNERS,  &c.  361 

garia,  Queen  of  Richard  I.,  andElizabeth,  Queen 
of  King  John,  in  the  work  quoted  below. lot 

The  Anglo-Normans  are  faid  to  have  been  Diet, 
more  delicate  in  the  choice  and  dreffing  of  their 
victuals  than  the  Anglo-Saxons I:*.  It  may  ap- 
pear fanciful  to  fugged,  that  the  art  of  cookery 
was  improved  by  the  introduction  of  feudal 
tenures,  and  yet  this  fuggeilion  is  very  probable. 
For  after  thefe  tenures  were  introduced,  the 
office  of  cook,  in  great  families,  became  heredi- 
tary, and  had  an  eflate  annexed  unto  it ;  which 
naturally  engaged  fathers  to  inftruc~l  their  fons 
with  care,  in  the  knowledge  of  an  art  to  which 
they  were  deftined  by  their  birth I03.  We  even 
meet  with  eftates  held  by  the  tenure  of  dreffing 
one  particular  dim  of  meat. 1C4 

The  Anglo-Normans  had  only  two  dated  Only  two 
meals  a  day,  which  were  dinner  and  fupper.  ™alsa 
By  the  famous  laws  of  Oleron,  thofe  failors  who 
were  allowed  ftrong  drink  of  any  kind  at  the 
{hip's  expence,  were  to  have  onjy  one  meal  a  day 
from  the  kitchen  j  but  the  Norman  failors  were 
to  have  two  meals  a  day,  becaufe  they  had  only 
water  at  the  (hip's  allowance IOS.  Robert  Earl  of 
Millent,  the  prime  minifter  and  great  favourite 
of  Henry  I.,  laboured  earneltly,  both  by  his  ex- 
ample and  exhortations,  to  perfuade  the  nobility 

1CI  Les  Monumens  de  la  Monarchic  Fran9oife,  par  Montfaujon, 
torn.  a.  plate  15.  p.  114. 

102  W.Malmf.  p.  5 7.  col.  a.  '«  Pleta,  U.  0.75. 

104  Blount's  Fragmenta  Antiquitatis,  p.x. 

**5  Godolphin's  View  of  the  Admiral  Jurifdiclion,  p.  1 7  7. 

Of 


362  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN,          BookllL 

of  England  to  have  only  one  formal  dated  meal 
a  day  in  their  families  °6.  Henry  of  Hunting- 
ton  complains  very  feelingly,  that  this  parfimo- 
nious  cuflom  prevailed  too  much  in  his  time ; 
and  that  many  great  men  had  only  one  meal  a 
day  in  their  houfes,  which  he  imagined  proceeded 
from  their  avarice  rather  than  from  their  love  of 
temperance,  as  they  pretended  '°7.  This  ftated 
meal,  where  there  was  only  one,  was  an  early  and 
plentiful  fupper ;  but  the  mod  common  cuftom 
was  to  have  two  meals,  a  dinner  and  a  fupper. 
The  times  The  time  of  dinner,  in  this  period,  even  at 
of  dinner  court,  and  in  the  families  of  the  greatefl  barons, 
*  u  was  at  nine  in  the  forenoon,  and  the  time  of 
fupper  at  five  in  the  afternoon.  Thefe  times 
were  very  convenient  for  difpatching  the  moft 
important  bufinefs  of  the  day  without  interrup- 
tion j  as  the  one  was  before  it  begun,  and  the 
other  after  it  was  ended.  They  were  alfo  thought 
to  be  friendly  to  health  and  long  life,  according 
to  the  following  verfes,  which  were  then  often 
repeated : 

Lever  a  cinq,  dinner  a  neuf, 
Souper  a  cinq,  coucher  a  neuf, 
Fait  vivre  d'ans  nonante  et  neuf. Io9 

To  rife  at  five,  to  dine  at  nine, 
To  fup  at  five,  to  bed  at  nine, 
Makes  a  man  live  to  ninety-nine. 


>c6  W.Malmf.  p.  90.  col.  2.  '°7  Hen.  Hunt.  1.6.  p.  109. 

108  Recreations  Hiftoriques,  tom.i.  p.  170. 

At 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  363 

At  dinner  and  flipper,  but  efpecially  at  the  Their pro- 
lafl,  the  tables  of  princes,  prelates,  and  great  viflons' 
barons,  were  plentifully  furnifhed  with   many 
diihes  of  meat  dreffed  in  feveral  different  ways. 
William  the  Conqueror,  after  he  was  peaceably 
fettled  on  the  throne  of  England,  fent  agents 
into  different  countries,  to  collect  the  mofi  ad- 
mired and  rare  difhes  for  his  table ;  by  which 
means,  fays  John  of  Salifbury,  this  ifland,  which 
is  naturally  productive  of  plenty  and  variety  of 
provifions,  was  overflowed  with  every  thing  that 
could   inflame   a   luxurious   appetite109.       The 
fame  writer  tells  us,  that  he  was  prefent  at  an 
entertainment  which  lafledfrom  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  to  midnight;  at  which  delicacies 
were  ferved  up,  which  had  been  brought  from 
Conflantinople,  Babylon,  Alexandria,  Paleftine, 
Tripoli,    Syria,   and    Phenicia  ll°.     Thefe   deli- 
cacies we   may  prefume  were  very  expenfive. 
Thomas  Becket,  if  we  may  believe  his  hiflorian . 
Fitz-Stephen,  gave  five  pounds,  equivalent  to 
feventy-five  pounds  at  prefent,  for  one  difh  of 
eels  "l.     The  fumptuous  entertainments  which 
the  kings  of  England,  and  of  other  countries, 
gave  to  their  nobles  and  prelates,  at  the  feftivals 
of  Chriftmas,  Eafter,  and  Whitfuntide,  in  which 
they  fpent  a  great  part  of  their  revenues,  contri- 
buted very  much  to  diffufe  a  tafte  for  profufe  and 
expenfive  banquetting.  It  was  natural  for  a  proud 

109  J.  Sarifburien.  $.553.  "9  Id.  p. 555. 

111  W.Stephaned.  Vita  S.  Thorns,  p.ai. 

and 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.          Book  III. 

and  wealthy  baron  to  imitate,  in  his  own  caftle, 
the  entertainments  he  had  feen  in  the  palace  of 
his  prince.  Many  of  the  clergy  too,  both  fecu- 
lars  and  regulars,  being  very  rich,  kept  ex- 
cellent tables.  The  monks  of  St.  Swithins,  at 
Winchefler,  made  aformal  complaint  to  Hemyll. 
againfl  their  abbot,  for  taking  away  three  of 
the  thirteen  dimes  they  ufed  to  have  every  day  at 
dinner  m.  The  monks  of  Canterbury  were  dill 
more  luxurious ;  for  they  had  at  leafl  feventeen 
dimes  every  day,  befides  a  deffert ;  and  thefe 
dimes  were  drafted  with  fpiceries  and  fauces, 
which  excited  the  appetite  as  well  as  pleafed 
the  tafte. II3 

Great  men  had  fome  kinds  of  provifions  at 
unknown,  ^gjj.  tables,  that  are  not  now  to  be  found  in 
Britain.  "When  Henry  II.  entertained  his  own 
court,  the  great  officers  of  his  army,  with  all 
the  kings  and  great  men  of  Ireland,  in  Dublin, 
at  thefeaft  of  Chriftmas,  A.  D.  1171.,  the  Irifti 
princes  and  chieftains  were  quite  aftoniihed  at 
the  profufion  and  variety  of  provifions  which 
they  beheld,  and  were  with  difficulty  prevailed 
upon  by  Henry  to  eat  the  flefli  of  cranes,  a 
kind  of  food  to  which  they  had  not  been  accuf- 
tomed  "4.  In  the  remaining  monuments  of  this 
period,  we  meet  with  the  names  of  feveral 
dimes,  as  dellegrout,  maupigyrnun,  karumpie, 

112  Giraldus  Cambrenf.  de  Rebus  a  fe  geftis,  La.  0.5. 

113  Id.  ibid. 

114  Girald.  Cambrenf.  Expugnatio  Hibernise,  l.i.  0.3  a. 

&C. 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  365 

&c.  the  competition  of  which,  I  imagine,  is  now 
unknown.  "s 

The  people  of  Britain,  efpecially  perfons  of  Their 
rank  and  fortune,  had  feveral  kinds  of  bread  in 
this  period.  That  which  is  called  in  Latin  panis 
piperatus,  was  made  of  the  finefl  flour  mixed  with 
fpices,  and  is  fometimes  mentioned  by  our  an- 
cient hiftorians II6.  Simnel  and  waflel  cakes 
were  made  alfo  of  the  finefl  flour,  and  were 
feldom  feen,  except  at  the  tables  of  kings,  pre- 
lates, barons,  or  monks.  When  the  King  of 
Scotland  refided  in  the  court  of  England,  he 
was,  by  charter,  allowed  twelve  of  the  King's 
waftel  cakes,  and  twelve  of  his  fimnel  cakes, 
every  day  for  his  table  "7.  But  the  mod  com- 
mon bread  ufed  by  perfons  in  comfortable  cir- 
cumflances,  was  made  of  the  whole  flour,  coarfe 
and  fine,  the  price  of  which  was  very  early  fettled 
by  law  in  proportion  to  the  price  of  wheat II8. 
The  common  people  had  bread  made  of  the  meal 
of  rye,  barley,  or  oats.  "9 

Perfons  of  high    rank  and  great    fortunes  Their 
had  variety  of  liquors,    as  well   as  of  meats.  drinks< 
For,  befides  wines  of  various  kinds,  they  had 
pigment,  morat,  mead,  hypocras,  claret,  cyder, 
perry,  and  ale.     Some  of  thefe  liquors,  as  pig- 
ment and  morat,  have  been  already  defcribed ; 

115  Fragraenta  Antiquitatis,  p.i.      M.JParis.   Vit.  Abbat.  p.  32. 
*ol.  2.  "6  Gervas  Chron.  col.  1540. 

"7  Rymeri  Foedera,  tom.i.  p. 87.  -"*  M.  Park,  p.  145. 

"9  Spelmanni  GlofT.  p.  467.  col.  2. 

and 


366  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

and  others  of  them,  as  mead,  cyder,  perry,  and 
ale,  are  fo  well  known,  that  they  need  no  de- 
fcription lzo.  The  claret  of  thofe  times  was  wine 
clarified,  and  mixt  with  fpices ;  and  hypocras 
was  wine  mixed  with  honey.  The  curious  reader 
may  find  directions  for  making  both  thefe  liquors 
in  the  work  quoted  below. iai 

Diverfions.  As  ^he  Anglo-Norman  nobles  were  neither 
men  of  bufinefs  nor  men  of  letters,  they  had 
much  leifure,  and  fpent  much  time  in  their  di- 
veriions ;  which  were  either  martial  —  rural  — 
theatrical  —  or  domeftic. 

The  martial  fports  of  the  middle  ages,  com- 
monly called  tournaments,  were  the  favourite 
diveriions  of  the  princes,  barons,  and  knights  of 
thofe  times.  They  had  indeed  the  moft  power- 
ful motives  to  be  fond  of  thefe  diveriions. 
For  it  was  at  tournaments  that  princes,  earls^ 
and  wealthy  barons,  appeared  in  the  greateft 
pomp  and  fplendour.  Tournaments  were  the 
beft  fchools  for  acquiring  dexterity  and  fkill  in 
arms,  and  the  moft  public  theatres  for  difplay- 
ing  thefe  accomplifhments,  and  thereby  gaining 
the  favour  of  the  fair  and  the  admiration  of  the 
world. '" 

Origin  of       Tedious  inveftigations  of  the  origin  of  thefe 

touma-      martial  fports,  are  neither  fuited  to  the  nature  of 

general  hiftory,  nor  the  limits  of  this  work.     It 

120  See  vol.4,  p. 395.  "'  Du  Cange  doff.  torn. a.  p.66z. 

'"  Du  Cange  GlofT.  voc.  torneamentum.  Memoires  fur  Chevalerie} 
torn.  i.  p.27-  88.  100.  154.  211.  263.  torn.  2.  p.23«  75,  &c. 

12  is 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  ; 

is  fufficient  to  take  notice,  that  they  began  to  be 
more  famous  and  better  regulated  in  France  and 
Normandy,  a  little  before  the  conqueft,  than 
they  had  been  in  former  times.  Geoffrey  de 
Pruilli,  who  was  killed  A.D.  1066.,  contributed 
fo  much  to  this,  that  he  is  reprefented  by  feveral 
authors  as  the  inventor  of  tournaments IZ3.  That 
thefe  military  fports  were  introduced  into  Britain 
by  the  Normans,  is  highly  probable.  But  they 
do  not  feem  to  have  prevailed  very  much  in 
England  for  a  confiderable  time  after  the  con- 
queft, having  been  difcouraged,  on  account  of 
the  great  danger  and  ruinous  expence  with  which 
they  were  attended.  "  After  this  truce  (fays 
"  William  of  Newborough)  between  the  kings 
"  of  France  and  England,  A.D.  1194.,  the  mi- 
"  litary  fports  and  exercifes,  which  are  com- 
"  monly  called  tournaments,  began  to  be  cele- 
"  brated  in  England  by  the  permiffion  of  King 
"  Richard,  who  impofed  a  certain  tax  on  all  who 
*e  engaged  in  thefe  diverfions.  But  this  royal 
"  exaction  did  not  in  the  lead  abate  the  ardour 
"  with  which  the  youth  of  England  crowded  to 
"  thefe  exercifes.  Such  conflicts  in  which  the 
"  combatants  engaged  without  any  animofity, 
"  merely  to  difplay  their  dexterity  and  ftrength, 
"  had  not  been  frequent  in  England,  except  in 
"  the  reign  of  King  Stephen,  when  the  reins  of 
"  government  were  much  relaxed.  For  in  the 
"  times  of  former  kings,  and  alfo  of  Henry  II., 

"3  Chron.  Touronen.  A,D.  1066. 

"  who 


368 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III- 

"  who  fucceeded  Stephen,  tournaments  were 
"  prohibited  ;  and  thofe  who  delired  to  acquire 
"  glory  in  fuch  conflicts,  were  obliged  to  go 
"  into  foreign  countries.  King  Richard,  there- 
*e  fore,  obferving  that  the  French  were  more 
"  expert  and  dexterous  in  the  ufe  of  their  arms 
"  in  battle,  becaufe  they  frequented  tourna- 
"  ments,  permitted  his  own  knights  to  celebrate 
"  fuch  martial  fports,  within  his  own  territories, 
*c  that  they  might  no  longer  be  infulted  by  the 
"  French  I2V  The  reader  will  find  a  tranfla- 
tion  of  this  edict  of  King  Richard  in  the  Ap- 
pendix, No.  4. 

Defcrip-  The  moft  fplendid  tournaments  were  cele- 
touma-  brated  by  fovereign  princes  of  a  martial  cha- 
ments-  racier,  at  their  coronations,  marriages,  victories, 
or  on  other  great  occafions.  When  a  prince  had 
refolved  to  hold  a  tournament,  he  fent  heralds  to 
the  neighbouring  courts  and  countries  to  publifh 
his  defign,  and  to  invite  all  brave  and  loyal 
knights  to  honour  the  intended  folemnity  with 
their  prefence.  This  invitation  was  accepted 
with  the  greateil  joy  ;  and  at  the  time  and  place 
appointed,  prodigious  numbers  of  perfons  of 
high  rank,  and  of  both  fexes,  commonly  aflem- 
bled.  Judges  were  chofen  from  among  the 
moll  noble  and  honourable  knights,  who  were 
inveiled  with  authority  to  regulate  all  prelimi- 
naries and  determine  all  difputes.  Some  days 
before  the  beginning  of  the  tournament,  all  the 


W.  Neubrigen.  1.  5. 


knights 


Chap. 7.  .MANNERS,  &c.  369 

knights  who  propofed  to  enter  the  lifts,  hung  up 
their  fhields  in  the  cloifter  of  a  neighbouring 
monaftery,  where  they  were  viewed  by  the  ladies 
and  knights.  If  a  lady  touched  one  of  the 
fhields,  it  was  confidered  as  an  accufation  of  its 
owner,  who  was  immediately  brought  before  the 
judges  of  the  tournament,  tried  ^vith  great  fo- 
lemnity,  and  if  found  guilty  of  having  defamed 
a  lady,  or  of  having  done  any  thing  unbecoming 
the  character  of  a  true  and  courteous  knight,  he 
was  degraded,  and  expelled  the  affembly  with 
every  mark  of  infamy.  The  lifts  were  efFe6lually 
fecured  from  the  intrufion  of  the  fpeetators,  and 
furrounded  with  lofty  towers  and  fcaffolds  of 
wood  in  which  the  princes  and  princeffes, 
ladies,  lords,  and  knights,  with  the  judges, 
marlhals,  heralds,  and  minftrels,  were  feated  iri 
their  proper  places,  in  their  richeft  drefles.  The 
combatants,  nobly  mounted,  and  completely 
armed,  were  conducted  into  the  lifts  by  their 
refpeetive  miftrefies,  in  whofe  honour  they  were 
to  fight,  with  bands  of  martial  mufic,  amidft 
the  acclamations  of  the  numerous  fpeetators. 
It  would  be  tedious  to  defcribe  all  the  different 
kinds  of  combats  that  were  performed  at  a  royal 
tournament,  which  continued  feveral  dajs.  It 
is  fufficient  to  take  notice,  that  reprefentations 
were  exhibited  of  all  the  different  parts  of  actual 
war,  from  a  fingle  combat  to  a  general  action, 
with  all  the  different  kinds  of  arms,  as  fpears, 
fwords,  battle-axes,  and  daggers.  At  the  con- 
clufion  of  every  day's  tournament,  the  judges 
VOL.  vi.  B  B  declared 


270  -HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

declared  the  vi6lors,  and  diftributed  the  prizes, 
which  were  prefented  to  the  happy  knights  by  the 
greateft  and  mofl  beautiful  ladies  in  the  affembly. 
The  victors  were  then  conducted  in  triumph  to 
the  palace  ;  their  armour  was  taken  off  by  the 
ladies  of  the  court ;  they  were  dreffed  in  the 
richeft  robes,  feated  at  the  table  of  their  fove- 
reign,  and  treated  with  every  poffible  mark  of 
diftinction.  Befides  all  this,  their  exploits  were 
inferted  in  a  regifter,  and  celebrated  by  the  poets 
and  minftrels  who  attended  thefe  folemnities. 
In  a  word,  the  victors  became  the  greateft  fa- 
vourites of  the  fair,  and  the  objects  of  univerfal 
admiration.  It  is  eafy  to  imagine  with  what 
ardour  young  and  martial  nobles  afpired  to  thefe 
honours,  fo  flattering  to  the  flrongeft  paffions  of 
the  braveft  hearts.  The  moft  magnificent  tour- 
nament celebrated  in  this  period,  was  that  pro- 
claimed  by  the  King  of  England,  Henry  II. 
A.  D.  ii  74.,  in  the  plains  of  Beaucaire,  at 
which  no  fewer  than  ten  thoufand  knights,  be- 
fides  ladies  and  other  fpectators,  are  faid  to  have 
been  prefent. 12S 

Quintain,  No  perfon  under  the  rank  of  an  efquire  was 
permitted  to  enter  the  lifts  at  tournaments  ; 
which  gave  occafion  to  limilar  fports  among 

125  For  the  proofs  of  this  delcription,  and  for  a  fuller  account  of 
the  martial  fports  of  the  middle  ages,  the  reader  may  confult  — 
Memoires  fur  1'Ancienne  Chevalerie,  par  M.  de  Sainte  Palaye.  — 
Moeurs  de  Fran£ois,  par  M.  le  Gendre.  —  Du  Cange  GlofT.  voc. 
Tournamentum.  —  Le  P.  Meniftrier  Traites  fur  la  Chevalerie,  Honorc 
de  St.  Marie  Diflertat.  fur  la  Chevalerie. 

10  burgefles 


Chap.  y.  MANNERS,  &c. 

burgeffes  and  yeomen.  Of  this  kind  was  the 
game  called  the  quintain,  which  is  thus  defcribed: 
A  flrong  poll  was  fixed  in  the  ground,  with  a 
piece  of  wood,  which  turned  on  a  fpindle  on  the 
top  of  it.  At  one  end  of  this  piece  of  wood  a 
bag  of  fand  was  fufpended,  and  at  the  other  end 
a  board  was  nailed.  Againft  this  board  they 
tilted  with  fpears,  which  made  the  piece  of  wood 
turn  quickly  on  the  fpirtdle,  and  the  bag  of  fand 
ftrike  the  riders  on  the  back  with  great  force,  if 
they  did  not  make  their  efcape  by  the  fwiftnefs  of 
their  horfes I26.  Of  this  kind  alfo  was  the  Iport 
on  the  Thames,  which  is  thus  defcribed  by  Fitz- 
Stephen  :  "  A  fhield  is  nailed  to  a  pole  fixed  in 
"  the  midft  of  the  river.  A  boat  is  driven  with 
"  violence  by  many  oars  and  the  flream  of  the 
"  river.  On  the  prow  of  the  boat  Hands  a 
"  young  man,  who,  in  paffing,  tilts  againfl  the 
"  ftiield  with  a  fpear.  If  the  fpear  breaks  and 
"  he  keeps  his  ftation*  he  gains  the  prize  j  but 
"  if  the  fpear  doth  not  break  he  is  thrown  into 
"  the  river.  To  prevent  his  being  drowned,  a 
"  boat  is  moored  on  each  fide  of  the  fhield, 
"  filled  with  young  men,  who  refcue  him  as 
"  foon  as  pofiible.  The  bridge,  wharfs,  and 
66  houfes,  are  crowded  with  fpeftators  ready  to 
"  break  out  into  loud  burfts  of  laughter  l27." 
The  youth  in  towns  and  villages  diverted  them- 
felves  on  holidays  with  running,  leaping,  wreft- 

116  Stow's  Survey  of  London,  vol.  i.  p.  449.   Rennet's  Parochial 
Antiquities,  p.  19.  "7  W.  Stephaned.  Defcript.  Lond.  p.8. 

B  B  2  ling, 


372  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

ling,  throwing  ftones  and  darts,  and  ihooting 
with  bows  and  arrows,  which  were  ufeful  amufe- 
ments,  and  fitted  them  for  acting  their  parts  in 
time  of  war.  In  great  cities,  particularly  in 
London,  wild  boars  and  bulls  were  baited  by 
dogs  for  the  entertainment  of  the  populace  128. 
Cock-fighting  and  horfe-racing  were  not  un- 
known in  this  period;  but  they  feem  to  have 
been  confidered  as  childifh  rather  than  manly 
amufements  1Z9.  In  frofl  the  youth  diverted 
themfelves  in  various  ways  upon  the  ice,  parti- 
cularly by  Ikating  with  the  fliank-bones  of  Iheep 
tied  under  their  (hoes,  and  at  the  fame  time  tilt- 
ing againft  each  other  with  pointlefs  fpears.  13° 
Hunting  It  is  hardly  poffible  for  the  keeneil  fportfman 
and  hawk-  of  ^he  prefent  age  to  form  any  idea  of  the  ex- 
ceflive  fondnefs  of  the  Anglo-Norman  kings  and 
nobles,  for  the  rural  diverfions  of  hunting  and 
hawking.  In  thefe  they  fpent  the  greateft  part 
of  their  time  and  of  their  revenues ;  and  to 
their  fondnefs  for  them  they  too  often  facrificed 
their  intereft,  their  honour,  and  their  humanity. 
*'  In  our  times  (fays  John  of  Salisbury)  hunting 
"  and  hawking  are  efleemed  the  moil  honour- 
"  able  employments,  and  mod  excellent  virtues, 
"  by  our  nobility :  to  fpend  their  whole  time  in 
"  thefe  diveriions,  they  think  is  the  fupreme 

"  felicity  of  life. They  prepare  for  thefe 

<c  fports  with  more  anxiety,  expence,  and  buftle, 


"•  W.  Stephaned  Defcript.  Lond.  p.  8.  I2»  Id.  ibid. 

130  Id.  ibid. 


than 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  373 

"  than  they  do  for  war  ;  and  purfue  wild  beafts 
"  with  greater  fury  than  they  do  the  enemies  of 

"  their  country. By  their  conftant  purfuit  of 

"  this  way  of  life,  they  lofe  the  beft  part  of  their 
"  humanity,  and  become  almoft  as  great  monflers 
"  and  favages,  as  the  animals  which  they  hunt. 

"  Hufbandmen  with  their  harmlefs  herds  " 

"  and  flocks  are  driven  from  their  well-cultivated 
"  fields,  their  meadows,  and  their  pad ures,  that 

"wild  beafts  may  range  in  them  at  large.-^ If 

"  one  of  thefe  great  and  mercilefs  hunters  pafs 
**  by  your  habitation,  bring  out  quickly  all  the 
"  refreftiments  you  have  in  your  houfe,  or  you 
-"  can  buy  or  borrow  from  your  neighbours,  that 
"  you  may  not  be  involved  in  ruin,  or  even 
"  accufed  of  treafon  IJI."  It  would  be  eafy  to 
produce  many  other  proofs  of  the  fondnefs,  or 
rather  rage,  of  the  Anglo-Norman  kings  and 
nobles  of  this  period  for  the  fports  of  the  field ; 
but  this  feems  to  be  as  unnecefiary  as  it  is  to 
defcribe  thefe  diverfions,  which,  are  fo  well 
underftood.  So  general  was  this  rage  for  thefe 
rural  fports,  that  both  the  clergy  and  the  ladies 
were  feized  with  it,  and  many  of  them  fpent 
much  of  their  time  in  hunting  and  hawking. 
Walter  Bifliop  of  Rochefter,  as  we  learn  from  a 
letter  of  Peter  of  Blois,  was  fo  fond  of  hunting, 
that  when  he  was  eighty  years  of  age,  it  was  the 
only  employment  of  his  life,  to  the  total  neglecT; 

'."  J.  Sariflburienf.  de  Nugis  Curialium,  1. 1.  0.4. 

B  B   3  Of 


374  HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III. 

of  the  duties  of  his  office I32.  The  Englifh  ladies 
of  this  period  applied  fo  much  to  hawking,  that 
they  excelled  the  gentlemen  in  that  art ;  which 
John  of  Salifbury,  very  unpolitely,  produces  as 
a  proof,  that  hawking  was  a  trifling  and  frivolous 
amufement. I33 

Theatrical  Though  theatrical  entertainments  in  Britain 
merits!"1  were  fo  imperfect  in  this  period,  that  they 
might,  without  much  impropriety,  have  been 
omitted  in  this  place ;  yet  there  is  fufficient 
evidence  that  they  were  not  unknown,  or  even 
uncommon.  They  were  of  two  kinds,  ecclefi- 
aflical and  fecular. 

Ecclefiaf-  The  ecclefiaflical  plays  of  this  period  were 
caiLcfmi-  compofed  by  the  clergy,  and  acted  by  them  and 
racles.  their  fcholars ;  and  confifted  of  reprefentations 
of  events  or  actions  recorded  in  the  Scriptures, 
or  in  the  lives  of  the  faints.  When  Geoffrey,  t&e 
fixteenth  abbot  of  St.  Alban's,  was  a  young  rnan, 
and  prefided  ia  the  i'chool  of  Dunilaple,  about 
A.  D.  1 1 10.,  "  he  compofed  (fays  Matthew 
"  Paris)  a  certain  Play  of  St.  Katherine,  of  that 
"  kind  which  we  commonly  call  miracles,  and 
«  borrowed  from  the  facrift  of  St.Alban's  fome 
"  of  the  facred  veftments  of  that  abbey,  to 
<c  adorn  the  perfons  who  acted  his  play  I3V 
Peter  of  Blois  congratulates  his  brother  William, 
who  was  an  abbot,  on  the  fame  he  had  acquired 

131  P.  Blefenf.  Ep-56.  p.8z. 

133  J.  Sarifburienf.  l.i.  0.4.  p.  13,  14. 

134  M.  Paris,  Vit.  Abbat.  p.35.  col.z. 


Chap.  7-  MANNERS,  &e.  375 

by  his  tragedy  of  Flaura  and  Marcus,  and  by 
his  other  theological  works 13S.  "  London  (fays 
"  Fitz-Stephen),  for  theatrical  fpeclacles,  hath 
*e  religious  plays,  which  are  reprefentations  of 
"  the  miracles  which  holy  confefibrs  had  wrought, 
<*  and  of  the  fufferings  by  which  martyrs  had 
"  difplayed  their  conflancy." I36 

The  fecular  plays  of  this  period  feem  to  have  Secular 
been  of  a  very  different  nature  and  tendency  from  plays< 
the  eccleliaflical.  The  clergy  were  prohibited 
from  frequenting  them,  by  the  fixteenth  canon 
of  the  fourth  general  council  of  Lateran,  A.D. 
1215. I37  They  feem,  indeed,  to  have  been  very 
improper  entertainments  for  the  clergy.  For, 
according  to  the  defcriptions  given  of  them  by 
contemporary  writers,  they  appear  to  have  con- 
fifted  of  comic  tales  or  ftories,  intermixed  with 
coarfe  jefts,  and  accompanied,  in  the  acting, 
with  inftrumental  mufic,  finging,  dancing,  gefti- 
culations,  mimicry,  and  other  arts  of  railing 
laughter,  without  much  regard  to  decency138. 
They  were  aclred  by  companies  of  ftrollers,  com- 
pofed  of  minftrels,  mimics,  fingers,  dancers, 
wrefllers,  and  others,  qualified  for  performing 
the  feveral  parts  of  the  entertainment IS9.  Such 
companies  conftantly  followed  the  courts  of  the 
kings  of  England,  and  from  time  to  time  vifited 

135  P.Blefenf.  Ep.  93.  p.i45- 

136  W.Stephaned.  Defcript.  Lond.  p.;. 

137  DuPin,  EccleF.  Hift.  cent.  13.  c-4.  p.  98. 
IJ*  J.  Sarifburienf.  l.i.  c.  8.  p.  34,  33>  34. 

^'»  Id.  ibid.  p.  34. 

B  B   4  the 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  "Book  III. 

the  caftles  of  earls  and  great  barons,  where  they 
were  well  entertained  and  generoufly  reward- 
ed I4°.  The  reader  will  perceive,  from  the  quo- 
tation below,  how  little  regard  thefe  ancient 
players  paid  to  decency  in  their  exhibitions,  and 
how  indelicate  our  anceflors  were  in  their  diver- 
fions I4t.  I  chufe  rather  to  give  this  quotation  in 
the  original  language  than  in  a  tranflation,  for 
very  obvious  reafons. 

DomeiHc  A  minute  defcription  of  all  the  domeftic  diver- 
dnrerfions.  flons  of  t^e  kingSj  nobles,  and  people  of  Britain, 
in  this  period,  is  not  neceffary,  and  would  fwell 
this  article  beyond  its  due  proportion.  The  fol- 
lowing very  brief  account  of  the  two  mofl  ad- 
mired and  fafhionable  domeftic  games,  thofe  of 
chefs  and  dice,  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  thought 
futficient. 

Chefs  and  The  game  of  chefs,  and  feveral  games  at  dice, 
were  much  ftudied  and  practifed  by  perfons  of 
rank  and  fortune  in  this  period.  Some  know- 
ledge of  thefe  games  was  fo  neceffary  to  every 
gentleman,  efpecially  if  he  afpired  to  the  honour 
of  knighthood,  that  they  were  commonly  made  a 

140  J.  Sarifburienf.   1. 1.  c.  g.  p.  34.       P.  Blefenf,  Ep.  14.  p.  24. 
'-     col.  a. 

141  Hinc  mimi,  fall!  vel  faliares,  balatrones,  amiliani,  gladiatores, 
palseftritae,  gignadii,   preftigiatores,    malefici   quoque  muki,  et    tota 
joculatorum   fcaena   procedit.     Quorum   adeo    error   invaluit,    ut   a 
prseclaris   domibus    non   arceantur,    etiam   illi    qui    obfcaenis    parti- 
bus  corporis,    oculis    omnium    earn    ingerunt    turpitudinem,    quam 
erubefcat   videre    vel   Cynicus.     Quodque  magis    mirere,    nee  tune 
.ejiciuntur,  quando  tumultuantes   inferius  crebo  fonitu  aerem  foedant, 
&  turpitur  inclufum,  turpius  produnt.   /.  Suri/burifnf.  Jc  Nugh  Curia- 
Hum,  Li.  c.  8.  p.  34. 

part 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.,  -win  '  377 

part  of  his  education  I4i.     Peter  of  Blois,  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  a  friend,  who  had  a  very  profli- 
gate young  man  under  his  care,  afcribes  the 
profligacy  of  the  youth  to  the  education  he  had 
received   from   his   father,  who  ,  being  a  great 
gamefter,  had  taught  his  fon  to  play  at  dice 
when  he  was  but  a  child  :  "  For  I  do  not  won- 
"  .  der  (fays  he),  that  he  is  a  vicious  young  man, 
"who  in  his  childhood  was  taught  to  play  at 
"  dice,  which  is  the  mother  of  perjury,  theft, 
"  and    facrilege  I43."      "  In    our    times    (fays 
"  another  writer  of  this  period)  expertnefs  in 
"  the  art  of  hunting,  dexterity  in  the  damnable 
"  art  of  dice  playing,  a  mincing  effeminate  way 
"  of  fpeaking,  and  great  Ikill  in  dancing  and 
"  mufic,  are  the  moil  admired  accompliftiments 
et  of  our   nobility.     In   thefe  arts,   our  young 
"  nobles  imitate  the  examples,  and  improve  by 
"  the  inilructions,  of  their  fathers  I4V   Matthew 
Paris  blames  the  Englifh  barons  who  had  revolted 
from   King  John,  for   fpending   their  time  in 
London,    in   eating,  drinking,  and  playing   at 
dice,  when  they  mould  have  been  in  the  field145. 
Nor  was  this  fondnefs  for  dice  confined  to  the 
nobility  ;   for  we   meet  with  fome  clergymen, 
and  even  bimops,  who  are  faid  to  have  fpent 
much  of  their  time  in  thefe  games  I46.     It  appears 
alfo    that  the  gamefters   of  this  period   were 


• 

Memoires  fur  la  Chevalerie,  parM.de  St.  Palaye,  torn.  I.  p.136. 
^  P.  Blefenf.Ep.  74.  p.iii. 

'*  J.Sarifburienf.  l.i.  c.j.  p.aj.  l#  M.  Paris,  p.  187.  col.i. 

*  Orderic.  Vital,  p.  550. 

acquainted 


HISTORY  OF  BRITAIN.  Book  III, 

acquainted  with  many  different  games  at  dice, 
of  which  a  writer  of  thofe  times  gives  us  the 
Latin  names  of  no  fewer  than  ten I47.  But  I 
confefs  my  incapacity  to  defcribe  the  games  in- 
tended  by  thefe  names. 

Laws  This  too  violent  paffion  for  games  of  chance 

againft       Was  then  (as  it  has  always  been)  attended  with 

gaming.  .  .  v  .         ••,•,-, 

various  mconvemencies,  both  to  the  gamefters 
themfelves  and  to  fociety.  To  the  gamefters, 
—  by  diffipating  their  fortunes,  —  by  confuming 
their  moft  precious  hours, — and  by  making  them 
neglect  their  moft  important  duties.  To  fociety, 
— by  depriving  it  of  the  advantages  it  might 
have  derived  from  a  better  application  of  the 
time  and  talents  of  many  of  its  members.  To 
prevent  thefe  inconveniencies,  by  laying  this 
dangerous  paffion  under  fome  reftraints,  feveral 
canons  and  laws  were  made.  A  tranflation  of 
one  of  thefe  laws  will  form  no  improper  conclti- 
fion  to  this  article.  This  remarkable  law  was 
one  of  thofe  promulgated  by  the  united  authority 
of  Richard  I.  King  of  England,  and  Philip- 
Auguftus  King  of  France,  with  the  advice  and 
confent  of  their  archbifhops,  bifhops,  earls,  and 
barons,  for  the  government  of  their  forces,  in 
their  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land,  A.D.  1190. 
It  is  the  fecond  in  that  fyftem  of  laws,  and  is  to 
this  purpofe :  '*  Befides,  none  in  the  whole  army 
*'  fhall  play  at  any  kind  of  game  for  money, 
"  except  knights  and  clerks  j  who  fhall  not  lofe 

147  J.  Sariiburienf.  l.i.  c.  5.  p.  33. 

"  above 


Chap.  7.  MANNERS,  &c.  379 

"  above  twenty  (hillings  (equal  in  efficacy  to 
"  about  fifteen  pounds  of  our  money  at  prefent) 
"  in  one  day  and  one  night.  But  if  any  knight 
*'  or  clerk  ftiall  lofe  more  than  twenty  (hillings 
'*  in  one  day,  he  (hall  pay  one  hundred  millings 
"  (equivalent  to  about  feventy-five  pounds  of 
"  our  money)  for  every  fuch  offence,  into  the 
"  hands  of  the  above-named  comrniffioners,  who 
"  (hall  have  the  cuftody  of  that  money 14S.  But 
"  the  two  kings  (hall  be  under  no  reftriftions, 
"  but  may  play  for  as  much  money  as  they 
"  pleafe.  The  fervants  who  attend  upon  the 
"  two  kings  at  their  head-quarters  may  play  to 
"  the  extent  of  twenty  (hillings.  But  if  any 
"  other  foldiers,  fervants,  or  failors,  (hall  be 
"  found  playing  for  money  among  themfelves, 
"  they  (hall  be  punrfhed  in  the  following  man- 
"  ner,  unlefs  they  can  purchafe  a  pardon  from 
"  the  commiffioners,  by  paying  what  they  (hall 
"  think  proper  to  demand:  —  Soldiers  and  (er- 
"  vants  (hall  be  dripped  naked,  and  whipt 
"  through  the  army  three  days.  Sailors  (hall  be 
".  as  often  plunged  from  their  (hips  into  the  fea, 
"  according  to  the  cuftom  of  mariners." 149 

148  Thefe  commiffioners  are  named  in  the  preceding  law. 

*"  J.Brompt.  Chron.  p.iiSa.  Benedift.  Abbas,  torn. 2.  p.  610. 


APPEN. 


APPENDIX 


TO    THE 


THIRD    BOOK. 


NUMBER  I. 

Magna  Carta  Regis  Johannis,  xv  die  Junii 
MCCXV.  Anno  Regni  xvii. 

JOHANNES  Dei  gratia  rex  Anglie  dominus  Hybernie     No.  I. 
«  ^          —    -— — 

dux  Normannie  Acquitanie  et  comes  Andegavie  archie- 
pifcopis  epifcopis  abbatibus  comitibus  baronibus  jufticiaf  iis 
foreftariis  vicecomitibus  prepofitis  miniflris    et  omnibus 
ballivis  et  fidelibuS  fuis  falutem  Sciatis  nos  intuitu  Dei  et 
pro  falute  anime  noftre  et  omnium  ariteceflbrum  et  here- 
dum  noftrorum  ad  honorem  Dei  et  exaltationem  fanfte 
ecclefie  et  emendationem  regni  noftri  per  confilium  vene- 
rabilium  patrum  noftrorum  Stephani  Cant'  archiepifcopi 
totius  Anglie  primatis  et  fandte  Romane  ecclefie  cardinalis 
Henrici  Dublin'  archiepifcopi  Willielmi    London'  Petri 
Winton'    Jofcelini    Bathon'  et  -Glafton'   Hugonis    Lin- 
coln' Walreri  Wygorn'  Willielmi  Coventr'  et  Benedict! 
RoiF  epifcoporum  magiftri  Pandulfi  domini  pape  fubdia- 
coni  et  familiaris  fratris  Eymerici  magiftri  militie  templi 
in  Anglia    et    nobilium    virorum    Willielmi    Marifcalli 
comitis  Penbrok  Willielmi  comitis  Sar'  Willielmi  comitis 
Warenn'  Willielmi  comitis  ArundeU'  Alani  de  Galweya 

confta- 


382  APPENDIX. 

No.  I.  conftabularii  Scottie  Warini  filii  Geroldi  Petri  filii  Here- 
berti  Hubert!  de  Burgo  fenefcalli  Pi&avie  Hugonis  de 
Nevill'  Mathei  filii  Hereberti  Thome  Baflet  Alani  BaiFet 
Philippi  de  Albin'  Roberti  de  Roppel'  Johannis  Marif- 
calli  Johannis  filii  Hugonis  et  aliorum  fidelium  noftrorum 
In  primis  conceflifle  Deo  et  hac  prefenti  carta  noftra 
confirmafle  pro  nobis  et  heredibus  noftris  in  perpetuum 
quod  Anglicane  ecclefia  libera  fit  et  habeat  jura  fua  inte- 
gra  et  libertates  fuas  illefas  et  ita  volumus  obfervari  quod 
apparet  ex  eo  quod  libertatem  eleclionum  que  maxima  et 
magis  neceflaria  reputatur  ecclefie  Anglicane  mera  et  fpon- 
tanea  voluntate  ante  difcordiam  inter  nos  et  barones 
noftros  motam  conceflimus  et  carta  noftra  confirmavimus 
et  earn  optinuimus  a  domino  papa  Innocentio  tertio  con- 
firmari  quam  et  nos  obfervabimus  et  ab  heredibus  noftris  in 
perpetuum  bona  fide  volumus  obfarvari  Conceflimus 
etiam  omnibus  liberis  hominibus  regni  noftri  pro  nobis  et 
heredibus  noftris  in  perpetuum  omnes  libertates  fubfcriptas 
habendas  et  tenendas  eis  et  heredibus  fuis  de  nobis  et  here- 
dtbus  noftris  Si  quis  comitum  vel  baronum  noftrorum 
five  aliorum  tenentium  de  nobis  in  capite  per  fervitium 
railitare  mortuus  fuerit  et  cum  deceflerit  heres  fuus  plene 
etatis  fuerit  et  relevium  debeat  habeat  hereditatem  fuam 
per  antiquum  relevium  fcilicet  heres  vel  heredes  comitis  de 
baronia  comitis  integra  per  centum  libras  heres  vel  heredes 
baronis  de  baronia  integra  per  centum  libras  heres  vel 
heredes  militis  de  feodo  militis  integro  per  centum  folidos 
adplusetqui  minusdebueritminusdetfeccundum  antiquam 
confuetudinem  feodorum  Si  aurem  eres  alicujus  talium 
fuerit  infra  etatem  et  fuerit  in  cuftodia  cum  ad  etatem 
pervenerit  habeat  hereditatem  fuam  fine  relevio  et  fine 
fine  Cuftos  terre  hujufmodi  heredis  qui  infra  etatem 
fuerit  non  capiat  de  terra  heredis  nifi  rationables  exitus  et 
rationabiles  confuetudines  et  rationabilia  fervitia  et  hoc 
fine  deftru£tione  et  vafto  hominum  vel  rerum  et  fi  nos 
commiferimus  cuftodiam  alicujus  tails  terre  vicecomiti  vel 

alicui 


ajicui  alii  qui  de  exitibus  illius  nobis  refpoqdere  debeat  et  No.  I. 
ille  deftruftionem  de  cuftodia  fecerit  vel  vaflum  nos  ab 
illo  capiemus  emendam  et  terra  committatur  duobus  lega- 
libus  et  difcretis  hominibus  de  feodo  iilo  qui  de  exitibus 
refpondeant  nobis  vel  ei  cui  eos  aflignaverimus  et  fi  dede- 
rimus  vel  vendiderimus  alicui  cuftodiam  alicujus  talis  terre 
et  ille  deftru£lionem  inde  fecerit  vel  vaflum  amittat  ipfam 
cuftodiam  et  tradatur  duobus  legalibus  et  difcretis  homi- 
nibus de  feodo  illo  qui  fimiliter  nobis  refpondeant  ficut  pre- 
diftum  efl  Guftos  autem  quamdiu  cuftodiam  terre  ha- 
buerit  fuftentet  domos  parcos  vivaria  ftagna  molendina  et 
cetera  ad  terram  illam  pertinentia  de  exitibus  terre  ejuf- 
dem  et  reddat  heredi  cum  ad  plenam  etatem  pervenerit 
terram  fuam  totam  inftauratam  de  carrucis.et  wainnagiis 
fecundum  quod  tempus  wainnagii  exigit  et  exitus  terre 
rationabiliter  poterunt  fuftinere  Heredes  maritentur 
abfque  difparagatione  ita  tamen  quod  antequam  contra- 
hatuf  matrimonium  oftendatur  propinquis  de  confanguini- 
tate  ipfius  heredis  Vidua  poft  mortem  mariti  fui  ftatim 
et  fine  difficultate  habeat  maritagium  et  hereditatem  fuam 
nee  aliquid  det  pro  dote  fua  vel  pro  maritagio  fuo  vel  here- 
ditate  fua  quam  hereditatem  maritus  fuus  et  ipfa  tenue- 
rint  die  obitus  ipfius  mariti  et  maneat  in  domo  mariti  fui 
per  quadraginta  dies  poft  mortem  ipfius  infra  quos  affig- 
netur  ei  dos  fua  Nulla  vidua  diftringatur  ad  fe  maritan- 
dum  dum  voluerit  vivere  fine  marito  ita  tamen  quod  fecu- 
ritatem  faciat  quod  fe  non  maritabit  fine  afienfu  noftro  fi  de 
nobis  tenuerit  vel  fine  aflenfu  domini  fui  de  quo  tenuerit  fi 
de  alio  tenuerit  Nee  nos  nee  ballivi  noftri  feifiemus  ter- 
ram aliquam  nee  redditum  pro  debito  aliquo  quamdiu 
catalla  debitoris  fufEciunt  ad  debitum  reddendum  nee 
pleggii  ipfius  debitoris  diftringantur  quamdiu  ipfe  capitalis 
debitor  fufficit  ad  folutionem  debiti'et  fi  capitalis  debitor 
defecerit  in  folutione  debiti  nonhabens  unde  folvat  pleggii 
refpondeant  de  debito  et  fi  voluerint  habeant  terras  et  redr 
ditus  debitoris  donee  fit  eis  fatisfaclum  de  debito  quod  ante 

pro 


APPENDIX. 

pro  eo  folverint  nifi  capitalis  debitor  monftraverit  fe  efle 
quietum  inde  verfus  eofdem  pleggios  Si  quis  mutuo 
ceperit  aliquid  a  Judeis  plus  vel  minus  et  moriatur  ante- 
quam  debitum  illud  folvatur  debitum  non  ufuret  quamdiu 
heres  fuerit  infra  etatern  de  quocumque  teneat  et  fi  debi- 
tum illud  incident  in  manus  noftras  nos  non  capiemus 

1 1  nifi  catallum  contentum  in  carta     Et  fi  quis  moriatur  et 
debitum  debeat  Judeis  uxor  ejus  habeat  dotem  fuam  et 
nichil  reddat  de  debito  illo  et  fi  liberi  ipfius  defuncti  qui 
fuerint  infra  etatem  remanferint  provideantur  eis  neceflaria 
fecundum  tenementum  quod  fuerit  defun£ti  et  de  refiduo 
folvatur  debitum  falvo  fervitio  dominorum  fimili  modo  fiat 

12  de  debitis  que  debentur  aliis  quam  Judeis     Nullum  fcuta- 
gium  vel  auxilium  ponatur  in  regno  noftro  nifi  per  com- 
mune confilium  regni  noftri  nifi  ad  corpus  noftrum  redi- 
mendum  et  primogenitum  filium  noftrum  militem  facien- 
dum et  ad  filiam  noftram  primogenitam  femel  maritandum 
et  ad  hec  non  fiat  nifi  rationabile  auxilium  fimili  modo  fiat 

13  de  auxiliis  de  civitate  London*     Et  civitas  London'  habeat 
omnes  antiquas    libertates  et    liberas  confuetudines  fuas 
tarn  per  terras  quam  per  aquas     Preterea  volumus  et  con- 
cedimus  quod  omnes  alie    civitates  et  burgi  et  ville  et 
portus  habeant  omnes  libertates  et  liberas  confuetudines 

14  fuas      Et  ad   habendum  commune  confilium    regni    de 
auxilio  affidendo  aliter  quam  in  tribus  cafibus  predicts  vel 
de  fcutagio  affidendo  fummoneri  faciemus  archiepifcopos 
epifcopos  abbates  comites  et  majores  barones  figillatim  per 
litteras  noftras  et  preterea  faciemus  fummoneri  in  generali 
per  vicecomites  et  ballivos   noftros    omnes  illos  qui   de 
nobis  tenent  in  capite  ad  certum  diem  fcilicet  ad  terminum 
quadraginta  dierum  ad  minus  et  ad  certum  locum  et  in 
omnibus  litteris  illius  fummonitionis  caufam  fummonitio- 
nis  exprimemus  et  fie  fa£ta  fummonitione  negotium  ad 
diem  affignatum   procedat    fecundum   confilium  illorum 
qui  prefentes  fuerint  quamvis  non  omnes  fummoniti  vene- 

15  riut     Nos  non  concedemus  de  cetero  alicui  quod  capiat 

auxilium 


APPENDIX.  385' 

auxilium  de  liberis  hominibus  fuis  nifi  ad  corpus  fuum  redi-      No.  I. 
mendum  et  ad  faciendum  primogenitum  filium  fuum  mill-       ~-~— ' 
tern  et  ad  primogenitam  filiam  fuam  femel  maritandam  et 
ad  hec  non  fiat  nifi  rationabile  auxilium     Nullus  diftrin-   16 
gatur  ad  faciendum  majus  fervitium  de  feodo  militis  nee 
de  alio  libero  tenemento  quam  inde  debetur     Communia   i  j 
placita  non  fequantur  curiam  noftram  fet  teneantur  in 
aliquo  loco  certo     Recognitiones  de   nova  dilTaifina  de   1 8 
morte  anteceflbris  et  de  ultima  prefentatione  non  capiantur 
nifi  in  fuis  comitatibus  et  hoc   modo     Nos  vel  fi  extra 
regnum  fuerimus  capitalis  jufticiarius   nofter    mittemus 
duos  judiciaries  per  unumquemque  comitatum  per  qua- 
tuor  vices  in  anno  qui  cum  quatuor  militibus  cujuflibet 
comitatus  ele6tis  per  comitatum  capiant  in  comitatu  et  in 
die  et  loco  comitatus  aflifas  prediftas    Et  fi  in  die  comi-    ip 
tatus  affife  predi&e  capi  non  poflint  tot  milites  et  libere 
tenentes  remaneant  de  illis  qui  interfuerint  comitatui  die 
illo  per  quos  poffint  judicia  fufficienter  fieri  fecundum 
quod  negotium  fuerit  majus  vel  minus     Liber  homo  non  20 
amercietur  pro  parvo  deli<5to  nifi  fecundum  modum  delicti 
et  pro  magno  deli&o  amercietur  fecundum  magnitudinem 
delicti  falvo  contenemento  fuo  et  mercator  eodem  modo 
falva  merchandifa  fua  et  villanus  eodem  modo  amercietur 
falva  wainnagio  fuo  fi   inciderint  mifericordiam  noftram 
et  nulla  prediclarum   mifericordiarum  ponatur'nifi   per 
facramentum  proborum  hominum  de  vifneto     Comites  et  21 
barones  non  amcrcientur  nifi  per  pares  fuos  et  non  nifi 
fecundum  modum  dclicli     Nullus  clericus  amercietur  de  22 
laico  tenemento  fuo  nifi  fecundum  modum  aliorum  pre- 
diftorum  et  non  fecundum  quantitatem  beneficii  fui  eccle- 
fiaftici     Nee  villa  nee  homo  diftringatur  facere  pontes  ad  33 
riparias    nifi    qui   ab   antique  et  de  jure   facere   debent 
Nullus  vicecomes  conftabularius  coronatores  vel  alii  ballivi  ^ 
noftri   tencant  placita  corone  noftre     Omnes    comitatus  25 
hundredi  wapentak'  et  trething'  fint  ad  antiquas  firmas 
abfque    ullo    incremento    evceptis    dorninicis    maneriis 
VOL.  vi.  •  c  c  noftris 


3*6  APPENDIX. 

No.  I.  noftris  Si  aliquis  tenens  de  nobis  laicum  feodum  moria- 
tur  et  vicecomes  vel  ballivus  nofter  oftendat  litteras  noftras 

26  patentes  de  fummonitione  noftra  de  debito  quod  defundlus 
nobis  debuit  liceat  vicecomiti  vel  ballivo  noftro  attachiare 
et  inbreviare  catalla  defundli  inventa  in  laico  feodo  ad 
valentiam  illius  debiti  per  vifum  legalium  hominum  ita 
tamen  quod  nichil  inde  amoveatur  donee  perfolvatur  riobis 
debitum  quod  clarum  fuerit  et  refiduum  relinquatur  execu- 
toribus  ad  faciendum  teftamentum  defun&i  et  fi  nichil 
nobis  debeatur  ad  ipfo  omnia  catalla  cedant  defunclo  falvis 

2*  wxori  ipfius  et  pueris  rationabilibus  partibus  fuis  Si 
aliquis  liber  homo  inteftatus  deceflerit  catalla  fua  per 
manus  propinquorum  parentum  et  amicorum  fuorum  per 
vifum  ecclefie  diftribuantur  falvis  unicuique  debitis  que 

28  defun£tus  ei  debebat  Nullus  conftabularius  vel  alius  bal- 
livus nofter  capiat  blada  vel  alia  catalla  alicujus  nifi  ftatim 
inde  reddat  denarios  aut  refpe&um  inde  habere  poffit  de 

20  voluntate  venditoris  Nullus  conftabularius  diftringat 
aliquem  militem  ad  dandum  denarios  pro  cuftodia  caftri  fi 
facere  voluerit  cuftodiam  illam  in  propria  perfona  fua  vel 
per  alium  probum  hominem  fi  ipfe  earn  facere  non  poffit 
propter  rationabilem  caufam  et  fi  nos  duxerimus  vel  mife- 
rimus  eum  in  exercitum  erit  quietus  de  cuftodia  fecundum 
quantitatem  temporis  quo  per  nos  fuerit  in  exercitu 
Nullus  vicecomes  vel  ballivus  nofter  vel  aliquis  alius  capiat 
equos  vel  caretas  alicujus  liberi  hominis  pro  cariagio 
faciendo  nifi  de  voluntate  ipfius  liberi  hominis  Nee  nos 
nee  ballivi  noftri  capiemus  alienum  bofcum  ad  caftra  vel 
alia  agenda  noftra  nifi  per  voluntatem  ipfius  cujus  bofcus 
ille  fuerit  Nos  non  tenebimus  terras  illorum  qui  con- 
vi£ti  fuerint  de  felonia  nifi  per  unum  annum  et  unum 
diem  et  tune  reddantur  terre  dominis  feodorum  Omnes 


33 

kydelli  de  cetero  deponantur  penitus  de  Thamifia  et  de 

Medewaye  et  per  totam  Angliam  nifi  per  cofteram 
maris  Breve  quod  vocatur  Precipe  de  cetero  non  fiat 
•alicui  dc  aliquo  tenemento  unde  liber  homo  amittere 

poffit 


APPENDIX.  387 

poiTit  curiam  fuam.     Una  menfura  vini  fifr  per  totum  reg-      No.  I. 
num  noftrum  et  una  menfura  cervifie  et  una  menfura  bladi      — Y— • 
fcilicet  quarterium  London'  et  una  latitude  panorum  tine-  35 
torum  et  ruflettorum  et  halbergettorum  fcilicit  due  ulne 
infra  liftas  de  ponderibus  autem  fit  ut  de  menfuris     Nichil  36 
detur  vel  capiatur  de  cetero  pro  brevi  inquifitionis  de  vita 
vel    membris   fet  gratis  concedatur  et  non  negetur     Si  37 
aliquis  teneat  de  nobis  per  feodifirmam  vel  per  fokagiura 
vel  per  burgagium  et  de  alio  terram  teneat  per  fervitium 
militare  nos  non  habebimus  cuftodiam  heredis  nee  terre 
fue  que  eft  de  feodo  alterius  occafione  illius  feodifirma  vel 
fokagii  vel  burgagii  nee  habebimus  cuftodiam  illius  feodi- 
firme  vel  fokagii  vel  burgagii  nifi  ipfa  feodifirma  debeat 
fervitium  militare     Nos  non  habebimus  cuftodiam  heredis 
vel  terre  alicujus  quam  tenent  de  alio  per  fervitium  militare 
occafione  alicujus  parve  fergenterie  quam  tenet  de  nobis 
per  fervitium  reddendi  nobis  cultellos  vel  fagittas  vel  hu- 
jufmodi   Nullus  ballivus  pon.at  de  cetero  aliquem  ad  legem  38 
fimplici  loquela  fua  fine  teftibus  fidelibus  ad  hoc  induftis 
Nullus  liber  homo  capiatur  vel  imprifonetur  aut  difiaifiatur  39 
aut  utlagetur  aut  aliquo  modo  deftruatur  nee  fuper  eum 
ibimus  nee  fuper  eum  mittemus  nifi  per  legale  judicium 
parium  fuorum  vel  per  legem  terre     Nulli  vendemus  nulli  46 
negabimus  aut  differemus  rec~lum  aut  jufticiam     Omnes  41 
mercatores  habeant  falvum  et  fecurum  exire  de  Anglia  et 
venire  in  Angliam  et  morari  et  ire  per  Angliam  tarn  per 
terram  <juam  per  aquam  ad  emendum  et  veudendum  fine 
omnibus  malis  tokis  per  antiquas  et  rectas  confuetudines 
preterquam  in  tempore  gwerre  et  fi  fint  de  terra  contra  nos 
gwerriva  et  fi  tales  inveniantur  in  terra  noftra  in  principio 
gwerre    attachiantur    fine   dampno    corporum    et   rerum 
donee  fciatur  a  nobis  vel  capital!  jufticiario  noftro  quo- 
modo  mercatores  terre  noftre  tradtentur  qui  tune  imre- 
nientur  in  terra  contra  nos  gwerriva  et  fi  noftri  falvi  fint 
ibi  alii  falvi  fint  in  terra  noftra  Liceat  unicuique  de  cetero 
exire  de  regno  noftro  et  redire  falvo  et  fecure  per  terram  ^ 
c  c  2  et 


388  APPENDIX. 

No.  I.      et  per  aquam  falva  fide  noftra  nifi  tempore  gwerre  per 

u— ~*"~ ~"  aliquod  breve  tempus  propter  communem  utilitatem  regni 

exceptis  imprifonatis  et  utlagatis  fecundum  Icgem  regni  et 

gente  de  terra  contra  nos  gwerriva  et  mercatoribus  de 

43  quibus  fiat  ficut  predict um  eft     Si  quis  tenuerit  de  aliqua 
efcaeta  ficut  de  honore  Walingeford  Notingeham  Bon' 
Lainkaftr*  vel  de  aliis  eflcaetis  que  funt  in  manu  noftra  et 
funt  baronie  et  obierit  heres  ejus  non  det  aliud  relevium 
nee  facial  nobis  aliud  fervitium  quam  faceret  baroni  fi 
baronia  ilia  eflet  in  manu  baronis  et  nos  eodem  modo  earn 

44  tenebimus  quo  baro  earn  tenuit     Homines  qui  manent 
extra  foreftam  non  veniant  de  cetero  coram  jufticiariis 
noftris  de  forefta  per  communes  fummonitiones  nifi  fint 
in  placito  vel  pleggii  alicujus  vel  aliquorum  qui  attachiati 

45  fint  pro  forefta     Nos  non  faciemus  jufticiarios  conftabu- 
larios  vicecomites  vel  ballivos  nifi   de   talibus  qui  fciant 

46  legem  regni  et  earn  bene  velint  obfervare     Omnes  ba- 
rones  qui  fundaverunt  abbatias  unde  haberit  cartas  rcgum 
Anglie  vel  antiquam  tenuram  habeant  earum  cuftodiam 

4.,  cunt  vacaverint  ficut  habere  debent  Omnes  forefte  quo 
aforeftate  funt  tempore  noftro  ftatim  deafforeftentur  et  ita 
fiat  de  ripariis  que  per  nos  lempore  noftro  pofite  funt  in 

4g  defenfo  Omnes  male  confuetudines  de  foreftis  et  warennis 
et  de  foreftariis  et  warrenariis  vicecomitibus  et  corum 
miniftris  ripariis  et  earum  cuftodibus  ftatim  inquirantur  in 
quolibet  comitatu  per  duodecim  milites  juratos  de  eodem 
comitatu  qui  debent  eligi  per  probos  homines  ejufdem  co- 
rhitatus  et  infra  quadraginta  dies  poft  inquifitionem  fatlam 
penitus  ita  quod  numquam  revocentur  deleantur  per  eofdem 
ita  quod  nos  hoc  fciamus  prius  vel  jufticiarius  nofter  fi  in 

40  Anglia   non  fuerimus     Omnes  obfules    et    cartas   ftatim 

^o  reddemus  que  liberate  fuenmt  nobis  nb  Anglicis  i'n  fecuri- 
tatem  pacis  vel  fidelis  fervitii  Nos  amovebiinus  penitus 
de  balliis  parentes  Gerard i  de  Athyes  quod  de  cetero 
nullara  habeant  balliam  in  Anglia  Engelardum  de  Cygony 
Andream  Petrum  et  Gyohem  de  Cancell'  Gyonem  de 

Cygony 


APPENDIX.  389 

Cygony  Galfridum  de  Martyni  et  fratres  ejus  Philippum      No.  I. 
Mark  et  fratres  cjus  et  Galfridum  nepotem  ejus  et  totam  *— — \r-— ' 
fequelam  eorumdem     Et  flatim  pod  pacis  reformationem  5 1 
amovebimus  de  regno  omnes  alienigenas  milites  baliftarios 
fervientes  ftipendiaros  qui  venerint  cum  equis  et  armis  ad 
nocumentum  regni    Si  quis  fuerit  defTeifitus  vel  elongatus  52 
per  nos  fine  legali  judicio  parium  fuorum  de  terris  caftallis 
libertatibus  vel  jure  fuo  ftatim  ea  ei  reftituemus  et  fi  con- 
tentio  fuper  hoc  orta  fuerit  tune  inde  fiat  per  judicium  yi- 
ginti  quinque  baronum  de  quibus  fit  mentio  inferius  in 
fecuritate  pacis  de  omnibus  autem  illis  de  quibus  aliquis 
difieifitus  fuerit  vel  elongatus  fine  legali  judicio  parium 
fuorum  per  Henricum  regem  patrem  noftrum  vel  per  Ri- 
cardum  regem  fratrem  noilrum  que  in  manu  noftra  ha- 
bemus  vel  que  alii  tenent  que  nos  oporteat  warantizare 
refpectum  habebimus  ufque  ad  communem  terminum  cru- 
cefignatorum  exceptis  illis  de  quibus  placitum  motum  fuit 
vel  inquifitio  fa£ta  per  preceptum  noftrum  ante  fufcep- 
tionem  crucis  noftre  cum  autem  redierimus  de  peregrina- 
tione  noftra  vel   fi  forte  remanferimus  a  peregrinatione 
noftra  ftatim  inde  plenam  jufticiam  exhibebimus   Eundem  53 
autem  refpedtum  habebimus  et  eodem  modo  de  jufticia 
exhibenda  de  foreftis  de  affbreftandis  vel  remanfuris  foreftis 
quas  Henricus  pater  nofter  vel  Ricardus  frater  nofter  affb- 
reftaverunt  et  de  cuftodiis  terrarum  que  funt  de  alieno  feodo 
cujufmodi  cuftodias  hucufque  habuimus  occafione  feodi 
quod  aHquis  4e  nobis  tenuit  per  fervitium  militare  et  de 
abbatiis  que  fundate  fuerint  in  feodo  alterius  quam  noftro 
in  quibus  dominus  feodi  dixerit  fe  jus  habere  et  cum  re- 
dierimus vel  fi  remanferimus  a  peregrinatione  noftra  fuper 
hiis  conquerentibus  plenam  jufticiam  ftatim  exhibebimus 
Nullus  capiatur  nee  imprifonetur  propter  appellum  femine  54 
de  morte  alterius  quam  viri  fui    Omnes  fines  qui  injufte  $$ 
et  contra  legem  terre  facli  fuijt  nobifcum  et  omnia  amer- 
ciamenta  facia  injufte  et  contra  legem  terre  omnino  con- 
donentur  vel  fiat  inde  per  judicium  viginti  quinque  ba- 
c  c  3  ronum 


39°  APPENDIX. 

No.  I.  ronum  de  quibus  fit  mentio  inferius  in  fecuritate  pacis  vel 
per  judicium  majoris  partis  eorumdem  una  cum  prediclo 
Stephano  Cant'  archiepifcopo  fi  interefle  poterit  et  aliia 
quos  fecum  ad  hoc  vocare  voluerit  et  fi  interefle  non  po- 
terit nichilominus  procedat  negotium  fine  eo  ita  quod  fi 
aliquis  vel  aliqui  de  predidYis  viginti  quinque  baronibus 
fuerint  in  fimili  querela  amoveantur  quantum  ad  hoc  ju- 
dicium et  alii  loco  illorum  per  refiduos  de  eifdem  viginti 
quinque  tantum  ad  hoc  faciendum  electi  et  jurati  fubfti- 

56  tuantur     Si  nos  diflaifivimus  vel  elongavimus     Walenfes 
de  terris  vel  libertatibus  vel  rebus  aliis  fine  legali  judicio 
parium  fuorum  in  Anglia  vel  in  Wallia  eis  ftatim  red- 
dantur  et  fi  contentio  fuper  hoc  orta  fuerit  tune  inde  fiat 
in  marchia  per  judicium  parium   fuorum  de  tenementis 
Anglic  fecundum  legerh  Anglie  de  tenementis  Wallie  fe- 
c'undum  iegem  Wallie  de  tenementis  marchie  fecundum 
legem  marchie  idem  facient  Walenfes   nobis  et   noftris 

57  De.  omnibus  autem  illis  de  quibus  aliquis  Walenfium  dif- 
faifitus   fuerit   vel    elongatus   fine  legali   judicio  pariurn 
fuorum  per  Henricum  regem  patrem  noflrum  vel  Ri- 
cardum  regem  fratrem  noftrum  que  nos  in  manu  noftra 
habemus  vel  que  alii  tenent  que  nos  oporteat  warantizare 
refpeclum  habebimus  ufqixe  ad  communem  terminum  cru- 
cefignatorum  illis  exceptis  de  quibus  placitum  motum  fuit 
vel  inquifitio  facia  per  preceptum  noftrum  ante  fufcep- 
tionem  crucis  noftre  cum  autem  redierimus  vel  fi  forte 
remanferimus    a    peregrinatione    noftra    ftatim    eis    inde 
plenam  jufticiam   exhibebimus   fecundum   leges  Walen- 

58  fium  et  partes  predicts    Nos  reddemus  filium  Lewelini 
ftatim  et  omnes  obfides  de  Wallia  et  cartas  que  nobis 

59  liberate  fuerunt  in  fecuritatem  pacis    Nos  faciemus  Allex- 
andro  regi  Scottorum  de  fororibus  fuis  et  obfidibus  red- 
dendis  et  libertatibus  fuis  et  jure  fuo  fecundum  formam  in 
qua  faciemus  aliis  baronibus  noftris  Anglie  nifi  aliter  efle 
debeat  per  cartas  quas  habemus  de  Willielmo  patre  ipfius 
quondam  rege  Scottorum  et  hoc  erit  per  judicium  parium 

13  fuorum 


APPENDIX.  391 

fuorum  in  curia  noftra  Omnes  autem  iftas  confuetudines  No.  I. 
predidtas  et  libertates  quas  nos  conceffifllmus  in  regno 
noftro  tenendas  quantum  ad  nos  pertinet  erga  noftros  60 
omnes  de  regno  noftro  tarn  clerici  quam  laici  obfervent- 
quantum  ad  fe  pertinent  erga  fuos  Cum  autem  pro  Deo  61 
et  ad  emendationem  regni  noftri  et  ad  melius  fopiendum- 
difcordiam  inter  nos  et  barones  noftros  ortam  hec  omnia- 
predi&a  conceflerimus  volentes  ea  integra  et  firma  ftabi- 
litate  gaudere  in  perpetuum  facimus  et  concedimus  eis  fe- 
curitatem  fubfcriptam  videlicet  quod  barones  eligant  vi- 
ginti  quinque  barones  de  regno  quos  voluerint  qui  debeant 
pro  totis  viribis  fuis  obfervare  tenere  et  facere  obfervari 
pacem  et  libertates  quas  eis  conceflimus  et  hac  prefenti 
carta  noftra  C9n  firmavimus  ita  fciiicet  quod  fi  nos  vel 
jufticiarius  nofter  vel  ballivi  noftri  vel  aliquis  de  miniftris 
noftris  in  aliquo  erga  aliquem  deliquerimus  vel  aliquem 
articulorum  pacis  aut  fecuritatis  tranfgrefli  fuerimus  et 
deli&um  oftenfum  fuerit  quatuor  baronibus  de  predi£tis 
viginti  quinque  baronibus  illi  quatuor  barones  accedant  ad 
nos  vel  ad  jufticiarium  noftrum  fi  fuerimus  extra  regnum 
proponentes  nobis  exceflum  petent  ut  exceflum  ilium  fine 
dilatione  faciamus  emendari  et  fi  nos  exceflum  non  emen- 
daverimus  vel  fi  fuerimus  extra  regnum  jufticiarius  nofter 
non  emendaverit  infra  tempus  quadraginta  dierum  compu- 
tandum  a  tempore  quo  monftratum  fuerit  nobis  vel  jufti- 
ciario  noftro  fi  extra  regnum  fuerimus  predi6H  quatuor 
barones  referant  caufam  illam  ad  refiduos  de  viginti 
quinque  baronibus  et  illi  viginti  quinque  barones  cum  com- 
muna  totius  terre  diftringent  et  gravabunt  nos  modis  om- 
nibus quibus  poterunt  fciiicet  per  captionem  caftrorum 
terrarum  pofleflionum  et  aliis  modis  quibus  poterunt  donee 
fuerit  emendatum  fecundum  arbitrium  eorum  falva  perfona 
noftra  et  regine  noftre  et  liberorum  noftrorum  et  cum 
fuerit  emendatum  intendent  nobis  ficut  prius  fecerunt  Et 
quicumque  voluerit  de  terra  juret  quod  ad  predi£ta  omnia 
exequenda  parebit  mandatis  predi&orum  viginti  quinque 
c  c  4  baronum 


392  APPENDIX. 

No.  I.  baronum  et  quod  gravabit  nos  pro  pofle  fuo  cum  ipfis  et 
non  publice  et  Hbere  damus  licentiam  jurandi  cuilibet  qui 
jurare  voluerit  et  nulli  umquam  jurare  prohibebimus 
Omnes  autem  illos  de  terra  qui  per  fe  et  fponte  fua  no- 
luerint  jurare  viginti  quinque  baronibus  de  diftringendo 
et  gravando  nos  cum  eis  faciemus  jurare  eofdem  de 
mandate  noftro  ficut  predi&um  eft  Et  fi  aliquis  de  vi- 
ginti  quinque  baronibus  deceflerit  vel  a  terra  receflerit  vel 
aliquo  alio  modo  impeditus  fuerit  quo  minus  ifta  predicta 
poflcnt  exequi  qui  refidui  fuerint  de  prediclis  viginti  quin- 
que baronibus  eligant  alium  loco  ipfius  pro  arbitrio  fuo 
qui  fimili  modo  erit  juratus  quo  et  ceteri  In  omnibus 
autem  que  iftis  viginti  quinque  baronibus  committuntur 
exequenda  fi  forte  ipfi  viginti  quinque  prefentes  fuerint  et 
inter  fe  fuper  re  aliqua  difcordaverint  vel  aliqui  ex  eis 
fummoniti  nolint  vel  nequeant  interefle  ratum  habeatur  et 
firmum  quod  major  pars  eorum  qui  prefentes  fuerint  pro- 
viderit  vel  preceperit  ac  fi  omnes  viginti  quinque  in  hoc 
confenfiflent  et  predi£ti  viginti  quinque  jurent  quod  omnia 
antedifta  fideliter  obfen'abunt  et  pro  toto  pofle  fuo  facient 
obfervari  Et  nos  nichil  impetrabimus  ab  aliquo  per  nos 
nee  per  alium  per  quod  aliqua  iftarum  conceflionum  et 
libertatum  revocetur  vel  minuatur  et  fi  aliquid  tale  im- 
petratum  fuerit  irritum  fit  et  inane  et  numquam  eo  utemur 

62  per  nos  nee  per  alium   Et  omnes  rmlas  voluntates  indigna- 
tiones  et  rancores  ortos  inter  nos  et  homines  noftros  cle- 
ricos  et  laicos  ct  tempore  difcordie  plene  omnibus  remi- 
fimus  et  condonavimus    Preterea  omnes  tranfgrefliones 
fa£tas  occafione  ejufdem   difcordie  a  pafcha   anno  regni 
noilri  fextodecimo  ufque  ad  pacem  reformatam  plene  re- 
mifimus  omnibus  clevicis    et   laicis  et  quantum  ad  nos 
pertinet  plene  condonavimus     Et  infuper  fecimus  eis  fieri 
litteras  teftimoniales  patentes  domini  Stephani  Cant'  ar- 
chiepifcopi  domini  Henrici  Dublin'  archiepifcopi  et  epif- 
coporum  preditlorum  et  magiftri  Pandulfi  fuper  fecuritate 

63  ifta  et  conceflionibus  prefatis    Quare  volumus  et  firmiter 

1 1  precipimus 


APPENDIX.  393 

precipimus  quod  Anglicana  ecclefia  libera  fit  et  quod  No.  I. 
homines  in  regno  noftro  habeant  et  teneant  omnes  prefatas  ' — ^ "* 
libertates  jura  et  concefliones  bene  et  in  pace  libere  et 
quiete  plene  et  integre  fibi  et  heredibus  fuis  de  nobis  et 
heredibus  noftris  in  omnibus  rebus  et  locis  in  perpetuum 
Gcut  predictum  eft  Juratum  eft  autem  tarn  ex  parte 
noftra  quamex  parte  baronum  quod  hec  omnia  fupradi6ta 
bona  fide  et  fine  malo  ingenio  obfervabuntur  Teftibus 
fupradi£tis  et  multis  aliis  Data  per  manum  noftram  in 
prato  quod  vocatur  Runingmed'  inter  Windeleforum  et 
Stanes  quinto  decimo  die  Junii  anno  regni  noftri  feptimo 
decimo. 


NUMBER  II, 

Tranflation  of  the  Great  Charter  of  King  John, 
granted  June  i5th,  A.  D.  1215,  in  the  feven- 
teenth  Year  of  his  Reign. 

JOHN,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  lord  of 
Ireland,  duke  of  Normandy  and  Aquitaine,  and  earl 
of  Anjow,  to  all  his  archbiihops,  bifhops,  abbots,  earls, 
barons,  jufticiaries,  forefters,  fheriffs,  commanders, 
officers,  and  to  all  his  bailiffs  and  faithful  fubje&s,  -wifheth 
health.  Know  ye,  that  we,  from  our  regard  to  God  and 
for  the  falvation  of  our  own  foul,  and  of  the  fouls  of  our 
anceftors,  and  of  our  heirs,  to  the  honour  of  God,  and 
the  exhaltation  of  holy  church  and  amendment  of  our 
kingdom,  by  the  advice  of  our  venerable  fathers,  Stephen 
archbifhop  of  Canterbury,  primate  of  all  England,  and 
cardinal  of  the  holy  Roman  church,  Henry  archbifhop  of 
Dublin,  William  of  London,  Peter  of  Winchefter,  Joce- 
line  of  Bath  and  Glaftonbury,  Hugh  of  Lincoln,  Walter 

of 


394  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.  of  Worcefter,  William  of  Coventry,  Benedict  of  Ro- 
'— ~T~ chcfter,  bifhops,  mafter  Pandulph,  the  pope's  fubdeaeon 
and  familiar  brother  Eymeric  mafter  of  the  knights- 
templars  in  England,  and  of  thefe  noble  perfons,  Wil- 
liam Marifchal  earl  of  Pembroke,  William  earl  of  Salif- 
bury,  William  earl  of  Warren,  William  earl  of  Arundel, 
Allan  of  Galloway  conftable  of  Scotland,  Warin  Fitz- 
Gerald,  Peter  Fitz-Herbert,  Hubert  de  Burgh  fteward 
of  Poi&ou,  Hugh  de  Nevil,  Matthew  Fitz-Herbert,. 
Thomas  Baflet,  Allan  Baflet,  Philip  de  Albany,  Robert 
de  Roppel,  John  Marifchal,  John  Fitz-Hugh,  and  of 
others  of  our  liegemen,  have  granted  to  God,  and  by  this 
our  prefent  charter,  have  confirmed,  for  us  and  our 

1  heirs  for  ever : — Firft,  that  the  Englifli  church  fhall  be 
free,  and  mail  have  her  whole  rights   and  her  liberties 
unhurt ;  and  I  will  this  to  be  obferved  in  fuch  a  manner 
that  it  may  appear  from  thence,  that  the  freedom  of  elec- 
tions, which  was  reputed  moft  neceflary  to  the  Englifh 
church,  which  we  granted,  and  by  our  charter  confirmed, 
and  obtained  the  confirmation  of  it  from  pope  Innocent  III. 
before  the  rupture  between  us  and  our  barons,  was  of 
our  own  free  will.    Which  charter  we  fhall  obferve  ;  and 
we  will  it  to  be  obferved  with  good  faith,  by  our  heirs 

for  ever. We  have  alfo  granted  to  all  the  freemen  of 

our  kingdom,  for  us  and  our  heirs  for  ever,  all  the  under- 
written liberties,  to  be  enjoyed  and  held  by  them   and 

2  their  heirs,  of  us  and  our  heirs. If  any  of  our  earls  or 

barons,  or  others  who  hold  of  us  in  chief  by  military 
fervice,  fhall  die,  and  at  his  death  his  heir  fhall  be  of  full 
age,  and  fhall  owe  a  relief,  he  fhall  have  his  inheritance 
for  the  ancient  relief,  viz.  the  heir  or  heirs  of  an  earl,  a 
whole  earl's  barony,  for  one  hundred  pounds ;    the  heir 
or  heirs  of  a  baron,  a  whole  barony  for  one  hundred 
pounds  a ;  the  heir  or  heirs  of  a  knight,  a  whole  knight's 

*  This  is  marks  in  Matthew  Paris,  which  is  probably  the  right 
reading.     M.  Paris,  p.  178.  col.  i. 

fee, 


APPENDIX.  395 

fee,  for  one  hundred  (hillings  at  mod  ;  and  he  who  owes      No.  II. 
lefs,  Ihall  give  lefs,  according  to  the  ancient  cuftom  of  *— v— — ' 

fees. But  if  the  heir  of  any  fuch  be  under  age,  and  in  3 

wardmip,  when  he  comes  to  age  he  (hall  have  his  inherit- 
ance without  relief  and  without  fine. The  warden  4 

of  an  heir  who  is  under  age,  (hall  not  take  of  the  lands  of 
the  heir  any  but  reafonable  iffues  and  reafonable  cuftoms, 
and  reafonable  fervices,  and  that  without  deftru&ion  and 
wafte  of  the  men  or  goods  :  and  if  we  commit  the  cuftody 
of  any  fuch  lands  to  a  (heriff,  or  to  any  other  perfon  who 
is  bound  to  anfwer  to  us  for  the  iffues  of  them,  and  he 
(hall  make  deftru&ion  or  wafte  upon  the  ward-lands,  we 
will  recover  damages  from  him,  and  the  lands  fhall  be 
committed  to  two  legal  and  difcreet  men  of  that  fee,  who 
(hall  anfwer  for  the  iffues  to  us,  or  to  him  to  whom  we 
have  afligned  them  :  and  if  we  granted  or  fold  to  any  one 
the  cuftody  of  any  fuch  lands,  and  he  (hall  make  deftruc- 
tion  or  wafte,  he  (hall  lofe  the  cuftody  ;  and  it  (hall  be 
committed  to  two  legal  and  difcreet  men  of  that  fee,  who 

(hall  anfwer  to  us  in  like  manner  as  was  faid  before. 

Befides,  the  warden,  as  long  as  he  hath  the  cuftody  of  £ 
the  lands,  (hall  keep  in  order  the  houfes,  parks,  warrens, 
ponds,  mills,  and  other  things  belonging  to  them,  out  of 
their  iffues ;  and  (hall  deliver  to  the  heir,  when  he  is  at 
age,  his  whole  eftate  provided  with  ploughs  and  other  im- 
plements of  hu(bandry,  according  to  what  the  feafon 
requires,  and  the  profits  of  the  lands  can  reafonably 

afford. Heirs  (hall  be  married  without  difparagement,  6 

and  fo  that  before  the  marriage  is  contracted,  it  (hall  be 

notified  to  the  relations  of  the  heir  by  confanguinity. 

A  widow,  after  the  death  of  her  hufband,  (hall  imuie-  7 
diately,  and  without  difficulty,  have  her  marriage  goods 
and  her  inheritance  ;  nor  (hall  (he  give  any  thing  for  her 
dower,  or  her  marriage  goods,  or  her  inheritance,  which 
her  hu(band  and  (he  held  on  the  day  of  his  death.  And 
(he  may  remain  in  her  hu(band's  houfe  forty  days  after 

his     - 


396  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.      his  death,  with  which  time  her  dower  {hall  be  affigned. 
No  widow  lliall  be  compelled  to  marry  herfelf  while  flic 

8  chufes  to  live  without  a  hufband,  but  fo  that   me  mail 
give  fecurity  that  Ihe  will  not  marry  herfelf,  without  our 
confent,  if  ihe  holds  of  us,  or  without  the  confent  of  the 
lord  of  whom  fhe  holds,  if  (he  holds  of  another. 

9  Neither  we  nor  our  bailiiFs  fliall  feize  any  land  or  rents 
for  any  debt,  while  the  chattels  of  the  debtor  are  fufficient 
for  the  payment  of  the  debt ;  nor  fliall  the  fureties  of  the 
debtor  be  diftrained,  while  die  principal  debtor  is  able  to 
pay  the  debt :  and  if  the  principal  debtor  fail  in  payment 
of  the  debt,  not  having  wherewith  to  pay,  the  fureties 
(hall  anfwer  for  the  debt ;   and  if  they  pleafe,  they  fhall 
have  the  lands  and  rents  of  the  debtor,  until  fatisf action  be 
made  to  them  for  the  debt  which  they  had  before  paid  for 
him,  unlefs  the  principal  debtor  can  fhew  that  he  is  dif- 

10  charged  from  it  by  the  faid  fureties. If  any  one  hath 

borrowed  any  thing  from  the  Jews,  more  or  lefs,  and 
dies  before  that  debt  is  paid,  the  debt  fhall  pay  no  intereft 
as  long  as  the  heir  fhall  be  under  age,  of  whorafoever  he 
holds  $   and  if  that  debt  fhall  fall  into  our  hands,  we  will 
not  take  any  thing,  except  the  chattels  contained  in  the 

1 1  bond.  •         And  if  any  one  dies  indebted  to  the  Jews,  his 
wife  fhall  have  her  dower,  and  fhall  pay  nothing  of  that 
debt ;  and  if  children  of  the  defundt  remain  who  are  un- 
der age,  neceflaries  fhall  be  provided  for  them,  according 
to  the  tenement  which  belonged  to  the  defunft  ;  and  out 
of  the  furplus  the  debt  fhall  be  paid,  faving  the  rights  of 
the  lords  of  whom  the  lands  are  held.     The    fame   rules 
fhall  be  obfenred  with  refpeft  to  debts  owing  to  others 

12  than  Jews. No  fcutage  or  aid  fhall  be  impofed,  except 

by  the  common  council  of  our  kingdom,  but  for  redeem- 
ing our  body,  —  for  making  our  eldeft  fon  a  knight,  and 
for  once  marrying  our  eldeft  daughter;  and  for  thefe  only 
a  reafonable  aid  fhall  be  demanded.     This  extends  to  the 
aids  of  the  city  of  London.— —And  the  city  of  London 

fhall 


APPENDIX. 


397 


ihall  have  all  its  ancient  liberties,  and  its  fr«e  cuftoms,  as      No. II. 
•well  by  land  as  by  water.     Befides,  we  will  and  grant, 
that  all  other  cities  and  burghs,  and  towns  and  fea-ports,   J3 

/hall  have  all  their  liberties  and  free  cuftoms. And  to  *4 

have  a  common  council  of  the  kingdom,  to  aflefs  and  aid, 
otherwife  than  in  the  three  forefaid  cafes,  or  to  affefs  a 
fcutage,  we  will  caufe  to  be  fummoned  the  archbifhops, 
bifhops,  earls,  and  greater  baron?,  personally,  by  our 
letters ;  and  befides,  we  will  caufe  to  be  fummoned  in 
general  by  our  (heriffs  and  bailiffs  all  thofe  who  hold  of 
us  in  chief,  to  a  certain  day,  at  the  diftance  of  forty 
days  at  leaft,  and  to  a  certain  place;  and  in  all  the 
letters  of  fummons,  we  will  exprefs  the  caufe  of  the  fum- 
mons ;  and  the  fummons  being  thus  made,  the  bufinefs 
(hall  go  on  at  the  day  appointed,  according  to  the  advice 
of  thofe  who  {hall  be  prefent,  although  all  who  had  been 

fummoned  have  not  come. We  will  not  give  leave  to   I5 

any  one,  for  the  future,  to  take  an  aid  of  his  freemen, 
except  for  redeeming  his  own  body,  making  his  eldeft 
fon  a  knight,  and  marrying  once  his  eldeft  daughter ;  and 

that  only  a  reafonable  aid. Let  none  be  diftrained  to   16 

do  more  fervice  for  a  knight's  fee,  nor  for  any  other  free 

tenement,  than  what  is  due  from  thence. Common   17 

pleas  (hall  not  follow  our  court,  but  (hall  be  held  in  fome 

certain  place. Affixes  upon  the  writs  of  Novel  defleifin,   1 8 

Mortdancefter  (death  of  the  anceftor),  and  Darrien  pre- 
fentment  (laft  prefentation),  fhall  not  be  taken  but  in 
their  proper  counties,  and  in  this  manner.-— We,  or  our 
chief  judiciary  when  we  are  out  of  the  kingdom,  fhall 
fend  two  judiciaries  into  each  county,  four  times  a-year, 
who,  with  four  knights  of  each  county,  chofcn  by  the 
county,  {hall  take  the  forefaid  afiizes,  at  a  ftated  time 

and  place,  within  the  county. And   if  the   forefaid   19 

aflizes  cannot  be  taken  on  the  day  of  the  county-court, 
let  as  many  knights  and  freeholders,  of  thofe  who  were 
prefent  at  the  county-court,  remain  behind,  as  by  them 

the 


398  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.     the  forefaid  aflizes  may  be  taken,  according  to  the  greater 
oslefs  importance  of  the  bufmefs. A  freeman  lhall  not 

20  be  amerced  for  a  fmall  offence  ;  but  only  according  to  the 
degree   of   the   offence ;    and   for  a   great    delinquency, 
according  to  the  magnitude  of  the  delinquency,   faving 
his  contenementb:  a  merchant  mall  be  amerced  in  the 
fame  manner,  faving  his  merchandife,  and  a  villain,  fav- 
ing his  implements  of  hufbandry.     If  they  fall  into  our 
mercy,  none  of  the  forefaid  amerciaments  (hall  be  aflefled, 

21  but  by  the  oath  of  honed  men  of  the  vicinage. Earls 

and  barons  mail  not  be  amerced  but  by  their  peers,  and 
that  only  according  to  the  degree  of  their  delinquency. 

22  No  clerk  {hall  be  amerced  for  his  lay-tenement,  but 
according  to  the  manner  of  others  as  aforefaid,  and  not 
according  to  the  quantity  of  his  ecclefiaftical  benefice. 

23  Neither  a  town  nor  a  particular  perfou  mall  be  dif- 

trained  to  build  bridges  or  embankments,  except  thofe 

24  who  anciently,  and  of  right,  are  bound  to  do  it. No 

{heriff,  conftable,  coroner,  or  bailiff  of  ours,  (hall  hold 

25  pleas  of  our  crown. All  counties,  hundreds,  wapon- 

tacks,  and  trithings,  fhall  be  at  the  ancient  rent,  without 

26  any  increment,  except  our  demefn-manors. If  any 

one  holding  of  us  a  lay-fee  dies,  and  the  fheriff  or  our 
bailiff  fhall  {hew  our  letters-patent  of  our  fummons  for  a 
debt  which  the  defunft  owed  to  us,  it  fhall  be  lawful  for 
the  fheriff  or  our  bailiff  to  attach  and  regifter  the  chattels 
of  the  defunct  found  on  that  fee,  to  the  amount  of  that 
debt,  at  the  view  of  lawful  men,  fo  that  nothing  fhall  be 
removed  from  thence  until  our  debt  is  paid  to  us.     The 
clear  overplus  (hall  be  left  to  the  executors  to  fulfil  the 
laft-will  of  the  defun£t  j  and  if  nothing  is  owing  to  us 
by  him,  all  the  chattels  fhall  fall  to  the  defunct,  faving 

27  to  his  wife  and  children  their  reafonable  {hares. If  any 

freeman  fhall  die  inteftate,  his  chattels  fhall  be  diftributed 

b  See  p.  83.  of  this  volume. 

by 


APPENDIX.  395, 

^y  his  neareft  relations  and  friends,  at  the  view  of  the     No.  II. 
church,  faving  to  every  one  the  debts  which  the  defuucl: 

owed  to  him. No  conftable  or  bailiff  of  ours  fhall  28 

take  the  corn  or  other  goods  of  any  one,  without  inftantly 
paying  money  for  them,  unlefs  he  can  obtain  refpite  from 

the  free  will  of  the  feller. No  conftable  (governor  of  29 

a  caftle)  fhall  diftrain  any  knight  to  give  money  for 
caftle-guard,  if  he  is  willing  to  perform  it  by  his  own 
perfon,  or  by  another  good  man  if  he  cannot  perform  it 
himfelf,  for  a  reafonable  caufe.  Or  if  we  have  carried  or 
fent  him  into  the  army,  he  fhall  be  excufed  from  caftle- 
guard,  according  to  the  fpace  of  time  he  hath  been  in  the 

army  at  our  command. No  fheriff  or  bailiff  of  ours,  30 

or  any  other  perfon  fhall  take  the  horfes  or  carts  of  any 
freeman,  to  perform  carriages,  without  the  confent  of  the 

faid  freeman. Neither  we,  nor  our  bailiffs,  fhall  take  31 

another  man's  wood,  for  our  caftles  or  other  ufes,  without 

the  confent  of  him  to  whom  the  wood  belongs. We  32 

will  not  retain  the  lands  of  thofe  who  have  been  convicted 
of  felony,  above  one  year  and  one  day,  and  then  they 

fliall  be  given  «p  to  the  lord  of  the  fee. All  kydells  33 

(wears)  for  the  future  fhall  be  quite  removed  out  of 
the  Thames,  the  Medway,  and  through  all  England, 

except  on  the  fea-coaft. The  writ  which  is  called  34 

Precipe  for  the  future  fhall  not  be  granted  to  any  one 
concerning  any  tenement  by  which  a  freeman  may  lofe 

his  court. There  fhall  be  one  meafure  of  wine  through  3 § 

all  our  kingdom,  and  one  meafure  of  ale,  and  one  meafure 
of  corn,  viz.  the  quarter  of  London  ;  and  one  breadth  of 
dyed-cloth  and  of  ruflets,  and  of  halberje&s,  viz.  two  ells 
within  the  lifts.  It  (hall  be  the  fame  with  weights  as 

with  meafures. Nothing  (hall  be  given  or  taken  for  36 

the  future  for  the  writ  of  inquifition  of  life  or  limb  ;  but 

it  fliall  be  given  gratis ,  and  not  denied. If  any  hold  of  37 

us  by  fee-farm,  or  foccage,  or  burgage,  and  holds  an 
eftate  of  another  by  military  fervice,  we  fhall  not  have 

the 


400  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.  the  cuflody  of  the  heir,  or  of  his  land,  which  is  of  the  fee 
of  another,  on  account  of  that  fee-farm,  or  foccage,  or 
burgage,  unlefs  the  fee-farm  owes  military  fervice.  We 
fhall  not  have  the  cultody  of  the  heir,  or  of  the  land  of 
any  one,  which  he  holds  of  another  by  military  fervice, 
on  account  of  any  petty  ferjeantry  which  he  holds  of  us 

38  by  giving  us  knives,  arrows,  or  the  like. No  bailiff, 

for  the  future,  {hall  put  any  man  to  his  law,  upon  his  own 
fimple  affirmation,  without  credible  witnefles  produced  to 

30  that  purpofe. No  freeman  fhall  be   feized,  or  im- 

prifoned  or  difleifed,  or  outlawed,  or  any  way  deftroyed, 
nor  will  we  go  upon  him,  nor  will  we  fend  upon  him, 
except  by  the  legal  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law 

40  of  the  landc. To  none  will  we  fell,  to  none  will  we 

4 1  deny,  to  none  will  we  delay  right  or  juftice. All  mer- 
chants {hall  be  fafe  and  fecure  in  coming  into  England, 
and  going  out  of  England,  and   flaying  and  travelling 
through  England,  as  well  by  land  as  by  water,  to  buy  and 
to  fell,  without  any  unjuft  exa&ions,  according  to  ancient 
and  right  cuftoms,  except  in  time  of  war,  and  if  they  be 
of  a  country  at  war  againft  us.     And  if  fu>eh  are  found  in 
our  dominions  at  the  beginning  of  a  war,  they  {hall  be  ap- 
prehended without  injury  of  their  bodies  and  goods,  until 
it  be  known  to   us,  or  to   our  chief  jufliciary  how  the 
merchants  of  our  country  are  treated  in  the  country  at 
war  againft  us;  and  if  ours  are  fafe  there,  the  others  {hall 

42  be  fafe  in  our  country. It  {hall  be  lawful  to  any  per- 

fon,  for  the  future,  to  go  out  of  our  kingdom,  and  to  re- 
turn, fafely  and  fecurely,  by  land  and  by  water,  faving  his 
allegiance,  except  in  time  of  war,  for  fome  fhort  fpace, 
for  the  common  good  of  the  kingdom,  except  prifoners, 
outlaws  according  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  people  of 
the  nation  at  war  againft  us,  and  merchants  who  (hall  be 

treated  as  is  faid  above. If  any  one  holdeth  of  any 

efcheat,  as  of  the  honour  of  Wallingford,  Nottingham, 

'  See  p.  80.  of  this  volume. 

Boulogne, 


APPENDIX. 

Boulogne,  Lancaftre,  or  of  other  efcheats  which  are  in 
our  hands,  and  (hall  die,  his  heir  fhall  not  give  any  other 
relief,  or  do  any  other  fervice  to  us,  than  he  mould  have 
done  to  the  baron,  if  that  barony  had  been  in  the  hands  of 
the  baron ;  and  we  will  hold  it  in  the  fame  manner  that 

the  baron  held  it. Men  who  dwell  without  the  foreft,      44. 

(hall  not  come,  for  the  future,  before  our  judiciaries  of 
the  forefl,  on  a  common  fummons,  unlefs  they  be  parties 
in  a  plea,  or  fureties  for  fome  perfon  or  perfons  who  are 

attached  for  the  foreft. We  will  not  make  men  jufti-      ^ 

ciaries,  conftables,  ftieriffs,  or  bailiffs,  unlefs  they  under- 
ftand  the  law  of  the  land,  and  are  well  difpofed  to  obferve 

it. All  barons  who  have  founded  abbeys,  of  which      46 

they  have  charters  of  the  kings-  of  England,  or  ancient 
tenure,  fhall  have  the  cuftody  of  them  when  they  become 

vacant,  as  they  ought  to  have. All  forefts  which  have       ,- 

been  made  in  our  time,  {hall  be  immediately  disforefted ; 
and  it  {hall  be  fo  done  with  water-banks,  which  have  been 

made  in  our  time,  in  defiance. All  evil  cuftoms  of       .g 

forefts  and  warrens,  and  of  forefters  and  warreners,  {he- 
riffs  and  their  officers,  water-banks,  and  their  keepers, 
(hall  immediately  be  inquired  into  by  twelve  knights  of 
the  fame  county,  upon  oath,  who  (hall  be  chofen  by  the 
good  men  of  the  fame  county;  and  within  forty  days 
after  the  inquifition  is  made,  they  {hall  be  quite  deftroyed 
by  them  never  to  be  reftored ;  provided  that  this  be  no- 
tified to  us  before  it  is  done,  or  to  our  jufticiary,  if  we 

are  not  in  England. We  will  immediately  reftore  all      49 

hoftages  and  charters,  which  have  been  delivered  to  us  by 
the  Englifh,  in  fecurity  of  the  peace,  and  of  their  faithful 

fervice. We  will  remove  from  their  offices  the  rela-      e& 

tions  of  Gerard  de  Athyes;  that,  for  the  future,  they 
(hall  have  no  office  in  England,  Engelard  de  Cygony, 
Andrew,  Peter,  and  Gyone  de  Chancell,  Gyone  de 
Cygony,  Geoffery  de  Martin,  and  his  brothers;  Philip 
Mark,  and  his  brothers ;  and  Geoffery  his  grandfon ; 
VOL.  vi.  D  D  and 


402  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.  and  all  their  followers.— —And  immediately  after  the 
conclufion  of  the  peace,  we  will  remove  out  of  the  king- 
dom all  foreign  knights,  crofs-bow-men,  and  ftipendiary 
foldiers,  who  have  come  with  horfes  and  arms  to  the  mo- 

$2  leftation  of  the  kingdom.— —If  any  have  been  difieifed 
or  difpoffeffed  by  us,  without  a  legal  verdict  of  their 
peers,  or  their  lands,  caftles,  liberties  or  rights,  we  will 
immediately  reftore  thefe  things  to  them  ;  and  if  a  queftion 
(hall  arife  on  this  head,  it  (hall  be  determined  by  the  ver- 
dict of  the  twenty-five  barons,  who  {hall  be  mentioned 
below,  for  the  fecurity  of  the  peace.  But  as  to  all  thofe 
things  of  which  any  one  hath  been  difieifed  or  difpofiefled, 
without  a  legal  verdict  of  his  peers,  by  king  Henry  our 
father,  or  king  Richard  our  brother,  which  we  have  in 
our  hand,  or  others  hold  with  our  warrants,  we  (hall  have 
refpite,  until  the  common  term  of  the  Croifaders,  except 
thofe  concerning  which  a  plea  had  been  moved,  or  an  in- 
quifition  taken,  by  our  precept,  before  our  taking  the 
crofs.  But  as  foon  as  we  (hall  return  from  our  expedi- 
tion, or  if,  by  chance,  we  {hall  not  go  upon  our  expedi- 
tion, we  {hall  immediately  do  complete  juftice  therein. 

5J  But  we  {hall  have  the  fame  refpite,  and  in  the  fame 

manner,  concerning  the  juftice  to  be  done  about  dif- 
forefting  or  continuing  the  forefts  which  Henry  our  father, 
or  Richard  our  brother,  had  made ;  and  about  the  ward- 
fliip  of  lands  which  are  of  the  fee  of  fome  other  perfon, 
but  the  wardfliip  of  which  we  have  hitherto  had,  on  ac- 
count of  a  fee  which  fome  one  held  of  us  by  military  fer- 
vice ;  and  about  abbeys  which  had  been  founded  in  the 
fee  of  another,  and  not  in  ours,  in  which  abbeys  the  lord 
of  the  fee  hath  claimed  a  right.  And  when  we  {hall  have 
returned,  or  if  we  {hall  ftay  from  our  expedition,  we  {hall 

54  immediately  do  complete  juftice  in  all  thefe  pleas. No 

man  {hall  be  apprehended  or  imprifoned  on  the  appeal  of  a 
•woman,  for  the  death  of  any  other  man  than  her  hufband. 

55  All  fines  that  have  been  made  with  us  unjuftly,  or 

contrary 


APPENDIX. 

contrary  to  the  law  of  the  land ;  and  all  amerciaments 
that  have  been  impofed  unjuftly,  or  contrary  to  the  law  of 
the  land,  fhall  be  remitted,  or  difpofed  of  by  the  verdict  of 
the  twenty-five  barons  of  whom  mention  is  made  below 
for  the  fecurity  of  the  peace,  or  by  the  verdi£t  of  the 
major  part  of  them,  together  with  the  forefaid  Stephen, 
archbifhop  of  Canterbury,  if  he  can  be  prefent,  and  others 
whom  he  may  think  fit  to  bring  with  him  ;  and  if  he  ean- 
not  be  prefent,  the  bufinefs  (hall  proceed  notwithftanding 
without  him  :  but  fo,  that  i£  one  or  more  of  the  forefaid 
twenty-five  barons  have  a  fimilar  plea,  let  them  be  re- 
moved from  that  particular  trial,  and  others  elected  and 
fworn  by  the  refidue  of  the  fame  twenty-five,  be  fubfti- 
tuted  in  their  room,  only  for  that  trial. — : — If  we  have  56 
difieifed  or  difpoflefled  any  Welfhmen  of  their  land,  lir 
berties  or  other  things,  without  a  legal  verdidT:  of  their 
peers,  in  England  or  in  Wales,  they  fhall  be  immediately 
reftored  to  them ;  and  if  a  queftion  fhall  arife  about  it, 
then  let  it  be  determined  in  the  marches  by  the  verdift  of 
their  peers  ;  if  the  tenement  be  in  England,  according  to 
the  law  of  England :  if  the  tenement  be  in  Wales,  ac- 
cording the  law  of  Wales :  if  the  tenement  be  in  the 
marches,  according  to  the  law  of  the  marches.  The 
Welfh  fhall  do  the  Came  to  us  and  our  fubje&s.  •  'But  57 
concerning  thofe  things  of  which  any  Welfhman  hath  been 
dJiTeifed  or  difpofiefied  without  a  legal  verdict  of  his  peers, 
by  king  Henry  our  father,  or  king  Richard  our  brother, 
which  we  have  in  our  hand,  or  others  hold  with  our  war- 
ranty, we  fhall  have  refpite,  until  the  common  term  of 
the  Croifaders,  except  thofe  concerning  which  a  plea  had 
been  moved,  or  an  inquifition  taken,  by  our  precept,  before 
our  taking  the  crofs.  But  as  foon  as  we  fhall  return  from 
our  expedition  ;  or  if  by  chance,  we  fhall  not  go  upon 
our  expedition,  we  fhall  immediately  do  complete  juftice 
therein,  according  to  the  laws  of  Wales,  and  the  parts 

aforefaid. We  will  immediately  deliver  up  the  fon  of      58 

D  D  2  Leweline, 


404  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.     Leweline,  and  all  the  hoftages  of  Wales,  and  charters 
which  have  been  given  to  us  for  fecurity  of  the  peace. 

59      -We  fhall  do  to   Alexander  king  of  Scotland,  con- 
cerning the  reftoration  of  his  fifters  and  hoftages,  and  his 
liberties   and  rights,  according  to  the  form  in  which  we 
a£t  to  our  other  barons  of  England,  unlefs  it  ought  to  be 
other  wife  by  charters  which  we  have  from  his  father  Wil- 
liam late  king  of  Scotland,  and  that  by  the  verdict  of  his 

60  peers  in  our  court. But  all  thefe  forefaid  cuftoms  and 

liberties  which   we  have   granted  in  our  kingdom,  to  be 
held  by  our  tenants,  as  far  as  concerns  us,  all  our  clergy 
and  laity  (hall  obferve  towards  their  tenants,  as  far  as  con- 
cerns them. But  fince  we  have  granted  all  thefe  things 

aforefaid,  for  God,  and  to  the  amendment  of  our  king- 
dom, and  for  the  better  extinguishing  the  difcord  arifen 
between  us  and  our  barons,   being  defirous  that  thefe 
things  (hould  poflefs  entire  and  unfliaken  (lability  for 
ever>  we  give  and  grant  to  them  the  fecurity  underwritten, 
viz.  That  the  barons  may  ele£t  twenty-five  barons  of  the 
kingdom,  whom  they  pleafe,  who  (hall  with  their  whole 
power,  obferve  and  keep,  and  caufe  to  be  obferved,  the 
peace  and  liberties  which  we  have  granted  to  them,  and 
have  confirmed  by  this  our  prefent  charter,  in  this  man- 
ner.    That  if  we,  or  our  jufticiary,  or  our  bailiffs,  or  any 
of  our  officers,  fhall  have  injured  any  one  in  any  thing,  or 
(hall  have  violated  any  article  of  the  peace  or  fecurity, 
and  the  injury  fhall  have  been  fhown  to  four  of  the  aforefaid 
twenty-five  barons,  thefe  four  barons  fhall  come  to  us, 
or  to  our  jufticiary  if  we  are  out  of  the  kingdom,  and 
making  known  to  us  the  excefs  committed,  require  that 
we  caufe  that  excefs  to  be  redrefTed  without  delay ;  and 
if  we  fhall  not  have  redrefled  the  excefs,  or,  if  we  have 
been  out  of  the  kingdom,  our  jufticiary  fhall  not  have  re- 
drefled it  within  the  term  of  forty  days,  computing  from 
the  time  in  which  it  fhall  have  been  made  known  to  us,  or 
to  our  jufticiary  if  we  have  been  out  of  the  kingdom,  the 

forefaid 


APPENDIX.  405 

forefaid  four  barons  fhall  lay  that  caufe  before  the  refidue  of  ]vj0<  u. 
the  twenty-five  barons  ;  and  thefe  twenty-five  barons,  with 
the  community  of  the  whole  land,  (hall  diftrefs  and  harafs 
us  by  all  the  ways  in  which  they  can,  that  is  to  fay,  by  the 
taking  of  our  caftles,  lands,  and  pofleflions,  and  by  other 
means  in  their  power,  until  the  excefs  (hall  have  been  re- 
drefied,  according  to  their  verdict ;  faving  our  perfon,  and 
the  perfon s  of  our  queen  and  children  ;  and  when  it  hath 
been  redrefled,  they  (hall  behave  to  us  as  they  had  done 
before  :  and  whoever  of  our  land  pleafeth,  may..£wear, 
that  he  will  obey  the  commands  of  the  forefaid  twenty- 
five  barons,  in  accomplifhing  all  the  things  aforefaid, 
and  that  with  them  he  will  harafs  us  to  the  utmoft  of  his 
power  :  and  we  publickly  and  freely  give  leave  to  every 
one  to  fwear  who  is  willing  to  fwear;  and  we  will  never 
forbid  any  man  to  fwear.  But  all  thofe  of  our  land, 
who,  of  themfelves,  and  their  own  accord,  are  unwilling 
to  fwear  to  the  twenty-five  barons,  to  diftrefs  and  harafs 
us  together  with  them,  we  will  compel  them  by  our 
command,  to  fwear  as  aforefaid.  And  if  any  one  of  the 
twenty-five  barons  (hall  die,  or  remove  out  of  the  land, 
or  in  any  other  way  (hall  be  prevented  from  executing  the 
things  above  faid,  thofe  who  remain  cf  the  twenty-five 
barons  fhall  elecl:  another  in  his  place,  according  to  their 
pleafure,  who  (hall  be  fworn  in  the  fame  manner  as  the 
reft.  But  in  all  thofe  things  which  are  appointed  to  be 
done  by  thefe  twenty-five  barons,  if  it  happen  that  all  the 
twenty-five  have  been  prefent,  and  have  differed  in  their 
opinions  about  any  thing,  or  if  fome  of  them  who  had 
been  fummoned,  would  not,  or  could  not  be  prefent, 
k'  .  that  which  the  major  part  of  thofe  who  were  prefent  (hall 

have  provided  and  decreed,  (hall  be  held  as  firm  and 
valid,  as  if  all  the  t-.venty-five  had  agreed  in  it.  And  the 
forefaid  twenty-five  fhall  fwear,  that  they  will  faithfully 
obferve,  and,  to  the  utmoft  of  their  power,  caufe  to  be 
obferved,  all  the  things  mentioned  above.  And  we  will 
DD  3  obtain 


406  APPENDIX. 

No.  II.  obtain  nothing  from  any  one,  by  ourfelves,  or  by  another, 
by  which  any  of  thefe  conceflions  and  liberties  may  be 
revoked  or  diminiftied.  And  if  any  fuch  thing  hath  been 
obtained,  let  it  be  void  and  null ;  and  we  will  never  ufe  it, 
cither  by  ourfelves  or  by  another.  And  we  have  fully 
remitted  and  pardoned  to  all  men,  all  the  ill-will,  ran- 
cour, and  refentments  which  have  arifen  between  us  and 
our  fubje&s,  both  clergy  and  laity,  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  difcord.  Befides,  we  have  fully  remitted  to 
all  tfte-  clergy  and  laity,  and  as  far  as  belongs  to  us,  we 
have  fully  pardoned  all  tranfgreffions  committed  on  occa- 
fion  of  the  faid  difcord,  from  Eafter,  in  the  fixteenth  year 
of  our  reign,  to  the  conclufion  of  the  peace.  And, 
moreover,  we  have  caufed  to  be  made  to  them  teftimonial 
letters-patent  of  my  lord  Stephen  archbifhop  of  Canter- 
bury, my  lord  Henry  archbifhop  of  Dublin,  and  of  the 
forefaid  bifhops,  and  of  Mr.  Pandulf,  concerning  this 
fecurity,  and  the  forefaid  conceflions.  Wherefore,  our 
will  is,  and  we  firmly  command,  that  the  church  of  Eng- 
land be  free,  and  that  the  men  in  our  kingdom  have  and 
hold  all  the  forefaid  liberties,  rights,  and  conceflions, 
well  and  in  peace,  freely  and  quietly,  fully  and  entirely, 
to  them  and  their  heirs,  of  us  and  our  heirs,  in  all  things 
and  places  for  ever  as  aforefaid.  An  oath  hath  been 
taken,  as  well  on  our  part,  as  on  the  part  of  the  barons, 
that  all  thefe  things  mentioned  above  (hall  be  obferved  in 
good  faith,  and  without  any  evil  intention,  before  the 
above-named  witnefles,  and  many  others.  Given  by  our 
hand  in  the  meadow,  which  is  called  Runingmed,  between 
Windfor  and  Stains,  this  fifteenth  day  of  June,  in  the 
feventeenth  year  of  our  reign. 


APPENDIX.  407 

NUMBER     III. 
AD  PETRUM  AM1CUM  MEDICUM. 

ARGUMENTUM.}  Indicat  Petro  Medicinae  perito  fe  ex  intinere 
aegrum  nobilem  virum  invififle,  &  medicinam  illi  fecifle  :  ra- 
tionem  morbi  &  medicinae  exponit  ;  ac  de  caetero  zgnim 
illius  curae  committit. 

Charffimo  amico  fuo  PETRO,  Magijier  P.  Blefenfts,  faluteiti 
in  -uerofalutari. 

U  P  E  R  ingrediebar  Ambafiam,  ubi  vir  nobilis  No.  III. 
Geldewinus  graviter  aegrotabat ;  occurritque  mihi 
dominus  catlri,  rogans  humiliter  &  obnixe,  ut  diverterem 
ad  infirmum.  Aflerebat  enim  quod  etfi  manum  curationis 
ei  non  apponerem,  haberet  tamen  ex  vifitatione  mea 
qualecumque  folatium.  Ad  inftantia  mitaque  magnatum, 
qui  pro  infirmo  devotiffime  fupplicabant,  triduum  ibi  feci. 
Et  quia  propter  occupationes  meas,  quas  ipfe  noviftis, 
moram  non  poteram  ibi  facere  longiorem,  confilium  meum 
fuit,  ut  vocarent  vos  ;  pinguique  retributione  veftram  circa 
infirmum  diligentiam  excitarent.  Licet  autem  fitis  cir- 
cumfpeftus  in  his,  tanquam  fimilia  frequenter  expertus  : 
quia  tamen  teftimonio  Hippocratis  eft  experimentum 
fallax,  &  quandoque  uni  revelat  Dominus,  quod  abfcon- 
dit  ab  aliis :  non  tsedeat  vos  audire  hujus  aegritudinis 
modum  :  fymptomata  etiam,  quae  plenius  vos  inftruent : 
et  quibus  auxiliis  in  argritudine  fit  utendum.  Commune 
quidem  medicorum  vitium  eft,  Temper  circa  aegritudines 
variare  :  unde  fi  tres  aut  quatuor  ad  infirmum  veniunt, 
nunquam  in  aflignatione  caufae,  vel  exhibitione  curae  con- 
veniunt.  Porro,  ficut  nos  duo  fumus  conformes  in  votis, 
fie  &  decet,  ut  identitas  fit  in  noftris  operibus,  &  in  verbis. 
Ego  fiquidem  primitias  curationis  adhibui :  certufque 

fum, 


4o8  APPENDIX. 

No.  III.    fum>  quod  afiequetur  de  facili  fanitatem,  fi  fit  qui  pru- 
*— — v — *  denter   continuet   manum  fuam.     Noveritis  autem  cer- 
tiflime,  quia   medium   hemetritaeum  patitur:    cum  enim 
patiatur  continue  de  tertio  in  tertium,   magis  affligitur. 
Scitis  autem  quod  fi  minor  hemitritaeus  eflet,  cum  habeat 
generari  ex  phlegmate  putrefa&o  in  vafis,  &  extra,  fuos 
numquam  tertiaret  aflultus.     Qiiod  fi  major  hemitritaeus 
eflet,  propter  putrefa&ionem  melancholias  intus  &  extra 
in  motu  materiae  interioris,  aeger  etiam  motum  &  aptitudi- 
nem  membrorum  amitteret :  dentes  etiam  ipfius  ad  fe  in- 
vicem    clauderentur.     Quae   omnia,    quia  in    hac    febre 
minime  accidunt,  conftat  medium  efle  hemitritseum  pro- 
venientem  ex   cholera  in  vafis   &   ftomacho  putrefa£la. 
Nam  fi  in  hepate  putrefadia  eflet,  quod  quandoque  folet 
accidere,  urina  rubea  &  tenuis  minaretur  aduftionem,  & 
ad  nigredinem  pertineret :  quod,  quia  non  aceidit  videtis 
materiam  in  vafis  &  ftomacho  refidere.     Ex  quo  igitur 
veni,  quia  ipfa  die   cum  febris  invaferat,  feci  ei  venam 
hepaticam  aperiri.     Et  quia,  dum  morbus  in  augmento 
eft    (quod  ex  eo  liquet,   quia   adhuc  eft   urina  rubea  & 
tenuis),  nondum  eft  purgatione  utendum,  ufus  fum  repref- 
fivis,  oleumque  violaceum  fuper  cor  &  hepar,  ac  front! 
ejus  appofui.     Reftat  igitur,  ut  cum  urina  fpiflior  plense 
digeftionis  tempus  nuntiaverit,  detis  ei  frigidum  caphonis 
quod  dare  tutius  eft,  quam  oxi,  vel  aliud  :    nam  in  illo 
tota    malitia    fcammoneae  beneficio    deco£tionis  evanuir. 
Optima  etiam  ei  eflet  deco£Uo  cafliae  fiftulae  myrobala- 
norum  citrinorum  cum  capillis  Veneris  et  feminibus  citroli, 
cucurbitae,  &  melonis :  fi  tamen  infirmi  vires  haec  vide- 
ritis  pofle  pati.     Dietam,  ficut  fcitis,  oportet  efle  perte- 
neum  :  ptifanam  fcilicet,  &  micam  panis  ter  in  aquis  aut 
quater  ablutam,  fomentationefque  de  maluis,  &  violis,  & 
papavere,  non  deficiant  circa  pedes :  nam  ibi  calor  pluri- 
mum  invalefcit.     Si  vero  vehemens  calor  arcem  capitis, 
ficut  evenire  folet,  invaferit,  radatur   caput,  atque  aqua 
rofacea,  &  fucco  folatri,  ac  femper  vivae,  craflulae  etiam, 
9  &  ver- 


APPENDIX.  409 

Sc  vermicularis,  atque  plantaginis,  pannorum  intin&ione,  No.  III. 
caput,  frons,  &  tempora  mulceantur.  Propter  ingruen- 
tiam  fitis  lingua  lavetur,  ficut  fcitis,  cum  pfyllio,  lignoque 
radatur.  Ad  infomnitates,  papaveris  nigri,  maluse,  violae 
hyofcyami  decoftio  pedibus,  herbseque  deco&ae  capiti 
apponantur.  Contra  inobedientiam  ventris  fiat  fuppofito- 
rium,  aut  clyftere.  Haec  ideo  fcribo  vobis,  non  ut  in- 
digeatis  inftrui,  fed  ut  vobis  fecurior,  &  segroto  acceptior 
fit  medicina,  quse  de  noftra  communi  deliberatione  pro- 
cedit.  Frequenter  enim  ex  aptitudine  medici  gratiofa,  ex 
quadam  confidentia  quam  aegrotus  inde  concipit,  natura 
jam  deficiens  convalefcit.  Oportet  igitur  vos  circa  hunc 
circumfpe&um  efie  ac  ftrenuum,  de  cujus  convalefcentia, 
&  magni  titulus  honoris  vobis  accrefcet,  &  utilitas  refpon- 
debit  ad  votum. 


NUMBER     IV. 

Permiffion  of  Richard  I    for  holding  tournaments 
in  England. 

RICHARD,  by  the  grace  of  God,  &c.  to  the  reverend  No.  IV. 
father  in  Chrift,  Hubert,  Arch,  of  Cant.  &o  " 
greeting.  Know  that  we  have  permitted  tournaments  to 
be  held  in  England,  in  five  places ;  between  Sarum  and 
Wilton,  between  Warewicke  and  Kenelingworthe,  be- 
tween Stamford  and  Warrinford  [Wallingford],  between 
Brakeley  and  Mixebery,  between  Blie  and  Tykehill ;  yet 
fo  that  the  peace  of  our  land  be  not  broken,  nor  juftice 
hindred,  nor  damage  done  to  our  forefts.  And  an  earl 
who  fhali  turney  there,  fhall  pay  us  20  marcs,  and  a  baron 
10  marcs,  and  a  knight  who  has  land,  4  marcs,  and  a 
knight  who  has  no  land,  2  marcs.  No  foreigner  fhall 

turney 


4io  A  P  P  E  N  D  I X. 

No.  IV.  turney  there.  Wherefore  we  command  you,  that  on  the 
day  of  the  tournament  you  (hall  provide,  at  each  place, 
two  clerks  and  [your]  two  knights,  to  receive  the  oaths 
from  the  earls  and  barons,  for  their  fatisfa£tion,  concern- 
ing the  aforcfaicl  fums,  &c. 


END   OF    THE    SIXTH   VOLUME. 


Strahan  and  Prefton, 
Winters-Street,  London. 


J  -ft 


30 
H4 

1* 

v.6 


Henry,  Robert 

Th«  history  of  Great 
Britain  5th  ed. 


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