Full text of "Retrospection; or, A review of the most striking and important events, characters, situations, and their consequences, which the last eighteen hundred years have presented to the view of mankind"

HANDUOUND
AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS

>7/ <(3

ty /..l'f,.,

A REVIEW

OP THE

MOST STRIKING AND IMPORTANT

EVENTS, CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS,

AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES,

WHICH
THE LAST EIGHTEEN HUNDRED YEARS HAVE PRESENTED

TO THI

VIEW OF MANKIND.

_ t tl , , m tm t | 1 1 i

-*^^^^^^^^^^^ ' -^-- - ^^^^^^^^^

A la verite ce n'est ici qu'im fragment, inais dans les travaux les plus achieves ilc<; hommes
il n'y a que des fragments. L'histoire d'un roi n'cst qu'un fragment de celle de sa dynastic,
ccllc dc sa dynastic de celle de fon royaume, celle de fon royaumc de celle du genre humain ;
qui n'est elle-memc qu'un fragment de celle des etres qui habitent le "lobe, dont 1'hiftoire uni-
verlelle ne serait apres tout qu'un bien petit chapitre de 1'histoire des astrcs innombrablc* qui
roulent sur nos tetes a des di--tanccs qu'on ne peut assigncr.

-- - T. ~ - -

BY HESTER LYNCH PIOZZL | (p3f J?

- ac^-eji . 2J ' k ' o? | '

WITH A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

.PRIKTED FOK JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILl^ -

1801.

B
|.6

T. Giilet, Printer, Salifoury- Square.

PREFACE

TF tlie Rambler is right when he fays, " That no man
" ever obtains more from his moft zealous endea-
' vours, than a painful conviction of his own defects/'
how ftrongly muft that conviction prefs upon her mind,
who having collected all thefe facts together, prcfents
them as an object of Retrofpe&ion to the Publick. Of
thofe who turn them over, how different, how numerous
will be the cenfuresl while each expects his favourite
hero, his beft-remembered incident to be dilated and
brought forward ; inftead of which others perhaps ap-
pear, and take the lead.

Different obfervers attach to every object, different
degrees of importance. Taking a country-walk one day
in a remote province, the fteward advifed fpeedy remo-
val of an ugly ftag-horned tree. " Oh!" cried out a gen-
tleman in company who was taking views " pray fpare

" the

VI PREFACE.

" the favourite feature in my landfcape." " You have
" been, fir, a friend to the diftreflcd," faid another of
our party, who profeffed natural philofophy " in fav-
" ing from the axe thofe old dry boughs, for there are
" birds which will not perch among thick foliage, mak-
" ing rather a ftag-horned tree like this, their feat of
" delight all fummer."

This converfation has come often to my mind, but the
die is now caft, and complaints are vain. If however,
I mould have made improper choice of facts, and if I
mail be found at length mofl to refemble Maifter Fabyan
of old, who writing the Life of Henry the Fifth, lays
heavieft ftrefs on a new weather-cock fet up on St. Paul's
fteeple during that eventful reign ; my book muft mare
the fate of his, and be like that forgotten : reminding
before its death perhaps, a friend or two, of a poor man
living in later times, that Doctor Johnfon ufed to tell us
of: who being advifed to take fubfcriptions for a new
Geographical Dictionary, haftened to Bolt-court and
begged advice. There, having liflened carefully for half
an hour " Ah, but, dear fir!" exclaimed the admiring
purafite, " if I am to make all this eloquent ado about
" Athens and Rome, where mail we find place do you
" think for Richmond or Aix la Chapelle?" The per-
plexity

PREFACE. vii

plcxity wa.s laughable enough yet fuch are the perplex-
ities of a compiler; and for a mere compilation ftrctchcd
to two quarto volumes, the apology muft be a ferious
one. It will be found however ; but among things and
fituations fo far from laughable and ludicrous, that they
appear even awfully impreflive.

To an age of profound peace and literary quiet I fhould
have considered fuch an abridgment as infulting : to our
difturbcd and bufy days abridgments only can be ufcful.
No one has leifure to read better books. Young people
are called out to act before they know, before they could
have learned how thofe have acted who have lived before
them. Hiftory is voluminous, and fafhionablc extracts
are fo perpetually feparated from each other by vcrfes or
by cilays, that they leave little trace of information on
the mind : a natural confequence, and manifcft diiadvan-
tage attendant upon all felections, where no one thing
having any reference to another thing, each lofes much
of its effect by Handing completely inliilated from all the
reft. Our Work, though but a frontifpieee and ruin,

stains between the two fome {haded drawings, fuch as
we find in rudiments of painting, and will, like them, be
good for young beginners. Perhaps too, thofe who long
ago have read, and long ago dciifted from re:i(li:
.lories well-known, may like to pleafc their

the

PREFACE.

the RelrofpeEl of what they feel connected in their minds
with youthful ftudv, and that fwect remembrance of

early-dawning knowledge on the foul.

Their criticifm I not only deprecate, but hope, by dint
of petty amufement, in fome meafure to difarm : a plea-
fant ftory will divert, a teftder tale affecl: them. No in-
folently obtrufive opinions through thefe pages, no air of
arrogance will offend, or provoke fuch readers to fay,
however they may think, that the neceffity of dilating,
as it advances, like an inverted cone or fugar-loaf, robs
rny whole building of that folid bafis which many fa-
bricks boaft, on which, after all, little fometimes is reared.
A moment's thought indeed will mew fuch criticks, that
any other way would have been worfe : and half a mo-
ment will fuffice to prove, that whilft the deep current
of grave hiftory rolls her full tide majefUck, to that ocean
where Time and all its wrecks at length are loft ; our
flamy RctrofpcB, a mere jet cTccm, may ferve to foothe
the heats of an autumnal day with its light-dripping fall,
and form a rainbow round. Did no fuch book catch the
occurrences, and hold them up, however maimed and
broken, before the eyes of our contemporaries, we really
mould very foon forget all that our anceftors had done or
fuffered. The fever of thefe laft ten or twelve years has
formed a heat fufficient to calcine the images upon our

minds

PREFACE. JX

minds to duft and afhes, which once feemed ftrong as if
engraved on marble ; and if fome fadls or characters have
been called back, 'twas for the ufe of confutation they
were fetched, then thrown again into the general heap,
like papers we have done with, doomed to burn. In fuch
a furnace, fuch an all-devouring crucible, events can
fcarcc retain their proper value, and the mufhroom of a
night has equal chance to come forth unhurt, as has the
oak of a century. Beiides that our motto fpeaks fairly
for the chapter it precedes, and fays,

" This work, I grant you, is at beft a fragment ; but what elfe (hall
we find in the moft finished labours of man ? The biography of one
particular fbvereign is a mere fragment, broken off from his own dy-
nafty. The revolutions of a peculiar {late form but a larger fragment ;
one piece, one page, torn from the great book, the general account of
all mankind ; which is itfelf at lalt no other than one fpecics, one
genus rather, among thofe uncounted millions that animate and people
the earth, air, and water, of our terraqueous globe. That globe a frag-
ment too, a trifling fpot, of which the moil exacl and faithful nar-
ration would be found but a fhort chapter in the grand hiftory, the
univerfal volume of our Creator's works, containing the changes and
chances of fyftems without number, rolling in illimitable fpace, at dif-
tanccs not to be judged of by humanity."

VOL. I. B But

X PREFACE,

But 'tis by darkening the glafTes that we look at
brighteft objects ; and fpots in the fun could never be dif-
cerned unlefs we firft abridged him of his fplendour. Old
Bradfhaw, who wrote upon the origin of Chefter, muft
in fome fort ferve as my model, who live near him,
when he fays in his prologue to a work rather hiftorical
than legendary, and more valuable (as Warton tells us)
for virtuous fentiments than fplendid diction ; how

To defcrybe hyc hiftorycs I dare not be to boldc,
Sithe fuche is a mater for clerkes conveynient;
As of the fevcnc ages and our parentes oldc,
Or of the foure empyrcs whiJom moft cxcelentc,
Knowinge my Icrnying thereto infufficyent.
And for wicket balades ye fhall have none from me,
Excyting lyght hertes to plefure and vanitye,

For though I borrow not the Doctor's chair, whence at my
eafe to dictate creeds and ethicks, 'tis my intent, that
from this book be drawn nothing that can prove detri-
mental to readers whofe attention I am defirous to lure
away from fiction to known truths, no lefs extraordinary,
and at this moment far more interefting. To this end I
have endeavoured not to prefs on them with my own re-
flections, rather fuggefling thoughts in their minds, than
forcing forward thofe entertained by the author : yet if

the

PREFACE. XI

the chain of events here untwifted mould lend them rea-
fon to be leis furpriied at what is paffing now, there's no
harm done ; the warnings have been given.

Here then begin we a fummary account of what has
happened in thefe eighteen centuries. I thought to have
given fome importance to the work, by prefixing on its
firfl page the name of one of my earlieft and moft refpecl:-
ed friends than whom no wit, no fcholar, nor no man
of general knowledge, ever had more reafon to delight in
Retrofpeftion : but Pennant is gone, and I will fearch no
further for a patron. The lame kind and encouraging
Publick which has ever looked upon my labours with a
tendernefs, and a good-natured defire of being pleafed,
more flattering far than hard-earned approbation, mail
take as it is; and if they feel themfelves pleafed with the
colours prefented in the varying changeful mafs, will try
to hinder fome critick's heavy hand from breaking it ; re-
membering that an opal lofes all power of playing be-
fore the eye, foon as a crack is made in its thin fur-
face.

But I will run down my own book no more. The
duty of an author is difcharged, when what the title pro-
mifes has been performed. Yet let it not be faid of Re-

B a trofpe&ioii,

xii PREFACE;

trofpe&ivn, as once by a French wit, when Ferrand's Ero-
tica, a dull dhTertation upon the paflion of love, came
out,

Ut tit alum vidi fum libri captus amore,
Ut librum legi, liber amore fui.

The title infpir'd me a ftrong inclination,

But reading the book, I was cur'd of my paffion.

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.

CHAP. I. Page

Containing the Fir/I Century; from Tiberius to Trajan. 17

CHAP. II.

Containing the Second Century, from Trajan to Caracafla. - 37

CHAP. III.

Front CaracaHa to tfie Death of Alexander Sever us. Ftrft Portion of
the Third Century. 5$

CHAP. IV.

From the Death of Alexander Severus to A. D. 300, the Retreat of

Diode/fan. - 71

CHAP. V.

Front the Death ofDhclefan to the Death of Conftantine the Great*
Part of the Fourth Century. 88

CONTENTS.

CHAP. VI. Page

From Conftantine to Theodofus, A. D. 400. - 101

CHAP. VII.

From Theodofius the Elder to the Death of Attila, about ffty Years 114

CHAP. VIII.
From the Death of Attila to A. D. 500. 134

CHAP. IX.

To the Expulfion of the Gothick Kings. Fir/I Portion of the Sixth

Century. 148

CHAP. X.

From the Expulfion of the Gothick Kings by Be/ifarius, to A. D. 600. 1 63

CHAP. XI.

From Good St. Gregory to the Death of Charles Martel, A. D. 700 1 80

CHAP. XII.

From the Birth of Charles Martel, A. D. 700, to Charlemagne,
A. D. 800. - - 198

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XIII.

Page
From the Crowning of Charlemagne 800, to th& Death of Alfred

A. D. 900. . - 21G-

CHAP. XIV.

From the Death of Alfred, A. D. 900, to the Foundation of the-
Ttirki/h Empire under Tangrolipix, A. D, 1000. 233

CHAP. XV.

From the jirjl Founding of the Turki/h Empire under Tangrolipix,
1000, to the Time of the Firjl Crufade, A. D. 1100. 24S

CHAP. XVI.

From the Year 1097, Firft Crufade, to the Middle of the Twelfth
Century i A. D. 1150. 2" I

CHAP. XVII.

To the Year of our Lord \200. - 289

CHAP. XVIII.

From the Year 1200 to 1230. - 31 D

CHAP. XIX.

Second Portion of the Thirteenth Century*

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAP. XX.

Page.

To the Year of our Lord 1300. - 359

CHAP. XXI.

From A. D. 1300, to the Year 1350, or nearly Jo. - 384

CHAP. XXII.

Ending with A. D. 1400. - -106

CHAP. XXIII.
From A. D. 1400, to the Year 1425. - 426

CHAP. XXIV.

To the Sacking of Conftantinople, A. D. 1455, and if s immediate
Con/equences. - - - 442

JIETRO-

RETROSPECTION.

CHAP. I.
CONTAINING THE FIRST CENTURY ;

FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN.

BEING arrived at a fixed period, whence a new century rifes to
purfue its courfe, my contemporaries will not, perhaps, feel dif-
pofed'to look with particular unkindnefs upon a writer who recom-
mends, and endeavours to facilitate, Retrofyeflion. When Rcgnard*
and his companions had made many voyages, had feen three conti-
nents, and wintered in three different zones, they came at laft to a
point in Lapland, beyond the Arclic Circle. There with no fmall
labour ereding a ruftic column, they engraved on it their names, and
the names of fome places they had vifited, ending the infcription with
this impreffive line

Hie tandem ftetimus, ubi nobis toto dcfuit orbis.

So.it appears to us : the vulgar aera (and I will not tei/e my readers
with any ftale arguments againft its authenticity) calls this the 1 80 ill
year fmce our redemption -was accomplished. That portion of our
time which is to come, rolls in a rapid defcent before Imagination's

lierc is a life of Regnard, with the ftory of Zulima in it, fomcwlicrc nnd tlicfe
lines; but I quote from memory alone, and Dr. Johnfon's repetition of them.
' Ciallia nos genuit, vidit ct indica tcllus," is another, or like it ; but the reft have llipt
my recollcftion, and I know not where to find them.

VOL. I, C

18 THE FIRST CENTURY; [CH. i.

eye, like earth viewed from its polar region by the travellers, and
whilft Hope and Fear, bent forward with anticipating hafte, are feen
explaining to their eager votaries the fhadows as they follow one ano-
ther faft into the impervious mifts of futurity ; Heic tandem Jiflimus
and caft a retrofpefJhe glance behind. That glance will, at our
Saviour's refurreclion, find the furface of our habitable globe deli-
neated by Strabo with deficiencies enough, but yet with care well
worthy admiration from its prefent race of inhabitants who will
obferve the great geographer's own country, Greece, with all her vir-
tues, arts, and arms, and excellence of every kind, loft, not quenched,
but like a fixed ftar by moonlight, fcarce difcernible through the fu-
perior blaze of Roman glory. Egypt and Babylon meanwhile ex-
tinguiflied, and Tyre even literally tumbled in the duft, exhibit proofs
that thofe fcriptures were indeed of divine infpiration, which promifed
Meffiah to a finful world a world become fo finful, that lefs than
the blood of Chrift could not have cleanfed it.

The characters of the fix firft Caefars, given by Tacitus, too clearly
fliew, that good parts act not as natural protectors to virtue, unlefs reli-
gion regulates their powers ; whilft in Julius the moft eminent orators
(fays he) found an illuftrious rival, and the dignity of Augustus's mind
was reverenced in his diction. Precife Tiberius too, though terfe in
his expreflion, never was undefignedly obfcure ; nor did the fiery tem-
per of turbulent and reftlefs Caligula difcover itfelf, in compofitions
previoutly written down and delivered before the Senate, where even
Claudius's difcourfes made no mean figure ; nor could hisy?y/ be
charged, even by thofe who laughed at his behaviour, with wanting
elegance, intereft or learning. That Nero's firft fpeech was dictated
by his tutors, the praifes beftowed on them in it, fufficiently evince ;
but Nero was then a boy : the tenor of his future life betrayed a
paflion for,the fine arts, which cruelty could not ftifle, nor vice diflblve.
But contradictions in thefe early days fo mingle, or at leaft fo crofs each
other, as greatly to difturb our general Retrofpetf, where the firft fact

that

C H. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. ]g

that offers may be called the conduct of the unbelieving Jews, who,
without fcruple, could condemn the Lord of Life and Glory, out of an
unmeaning zeal for Crcfar ; to whofe imperial ftandard they roughly
refufed admittance in their temple, and being prcffcd by Pilate for
compliance, offered him 'twas all they had their throats to cut.
Tiberius, indulgent of their antipathy, commanded his Governor to fee
the colours carried fafely to Ca-farea, and moved the Senate to deify
our Saviour, while he refufed divine honours to his own perfon, pol-
luted by a long courfe of far beyond brutal depravity. In this one
inftance the Patricians manifefted their ill-deferved independence ; in
this one inftance their diflembling mafter fliewed himfelf fmcere. He
never would be w orfliipped. It is from one of this Emperor's fpeechcs
that the allufion, now fo trite, was originally taken ; how the body
politic refembles the body natural ; and the ftate was by him firft
called the Conjiltution. To his good fenfc we owe the admirable
adage, fmce by imperial ufc well known That honefty's the beft
policy nor can more perfect teftimonial to its truth be found, than
that fuch was the fixed opinion of a prince, confummate mafter of
diflimulation. Machiavelli borrowed one of his earlier maxims ; Chi
non sa Jingcre, non st regnare ; and keeps, I think, poflcffion of the
fentence.

It is, perhaps, not lefs important what Pliny tells us, that the
difeafe, now called a bilious cholic, in his reign was new ; and he the
firft who fuffered by its rigour :* fome old phyflcians fpcak of the
chordapfas. Tiberius had bad health when he retired from bufmefs,
and probably his mode of life increafed it if half what is related of
him can be true. Voltaire, indeed, does doubt the poffibility of many
accufations, but Voltaire never was at Naples o: Caprasa. The general
Retrofpcft of evil however ; the ftrong mixture of madnefs with mif-

* Pliny fays it flole in upon us, irrcpjtt'n the word lie ufes ; and I have heard that
a famous paflage in Celfus tends to corroborate the opinion.

G 2 chief;

20 THE FIRST CENTURY; [CH. r.

chief: and of grofs folly with thofe falfe refinements upon fenfuat
pica fares praclifed in Rome ; head-quarters of human refidence, ex-
cite at prefent no fenfations but difguft, mingled with fome little
cfteem of modern manners, which thus could prompt a wit of our
own days to deny what ancient learning ib fteadily confirms. But
whilft he fought in groves and grottoes, a fhelter for his own depravity,
new cities rofe around the extended empire, and Ratifbon was named
Tiberii after him. Aventine avers, indeed, that it was originally the
work of Ingram, a Scythian chief, who, when Rhamefes ruled in
Upper Egypt, and Jofliua led the Ifraelites to war, laid the firft ftone,
and called it his Harminia, from Hermione, the wife of Cadmus,
names familiarized to us by Ovid, but who are considered by Fourmont,
and other antiquarians, as leaders of a troop of Hivites ferpent-wof-
ihippers, driven from the Promifed Land by Mofes' fucceflbr. Mr.
Bryant fays that Cadmus means oriental, the man who comes from
the eaft. The city called after his fair companion was afterwards better
known by the name of Rluztabona, from its inhabitants the Rhaetians,
and this appellation has been fcarcely changed. But we muft hold
our eye firm to the firft century, which has produced fuch deathlefs
writers, heirs of immortal praife

Whofe honours with increafe of ages grow,
As ftreams roll down enlarging as they flow.

Among thefe may be counted Pomponius Mela, though to that
great geographer the limits of the Cafpian Sea were all unknown,
and much of what we now call India was to him terra incognita.

The poliftied Romans feemed to care but little what thofe vaft
regions of the world contained, except wild bcafts to combat in their
amphitheatres ; yet had the fuprcme ftate commendable attention to
make a topographical furvey of the places they fubdued. Ciefar had
given an elegant account of his own conquefts long before, and Vel-
leius Patcrculus, with nice penetration, found the true caufe of Quin-

en. r.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TKAJAX. 21

tilius Virus's, fo ill fucccfs in the martial character of thofe Germans,
who, like their fucccfTors in later ages, dreamed not oi" judiciary de-
terminations, but ended private as public quarrels by the fvvord.
Feigning, however, to admire the newer mode of fettling between
plaintiff and deicndant, they contrived to occupy the Roman General's
mind with caufes of difputc ; then, fuddenly fetting on his legions in
a furious onfet, cut them all to pieces.

Hiftoric powers indeed were frequent in the age prefented to our
Refro/peff, that age which had fcen Livy and produced Tacitus, and
may be juftly confidered as fruitful beyond all others in genius, elo-
quence, and majefty. Although the account given of their own ori-
ginal, by the nrft named of thefe great men, is nothing lefs than accu-
rate, we own, while Strabo hirafelf fcruplcd not to tell mankind how
Pater ^Eneas ftirred not beyond the walls of Troy, as Bochart beft
confirms. That Livy gloried in his partialities ; that he adopted one
ftill nearer to felf-love, by clinging to his own provincial Jialcct, def-
pifmg, as do modern Venetians, the charge of patavinity, may Hand
as his excufe : but who (hall make apology for Tacitus, when he re-
lates peculiarities of the Jews which, we all know, could never have
had exiftence. Yet, in accounts of every other nation, we muft con-
tent ourfelves with fuch a portion of veracity as they, in their omni-
potence, ihall think proper to beftow ; for who can contradict Roman
hiftorians ? The world was then all Roman, born fo, or fo adopted,
fo become ; for conqueft led but to incorporation. In that enormous,
that amazing city, centered all knowledge, all pleafure, all wealth,
all power. What wonder then if, midft a heterogeneous mafs of in-
habitants, raked out from every country under heaven, plurality of
gods and variety of vvorlhips, licentious mafters and permitted Haves,
republican ideas and elective empire, all contrarieties of cuftom and
of climate, miraculoufly accumulated in one vaft fuelling town , which
Voflius fays, though I believe him not, contained at one time fourteen

millions

22 THE FIRST CENTURY; [CH. i.

millions of refidentiary dwellers ? What wonder then, fhould fermen-
tation aft upon the foul congeries ? What wonder then,

Should Nature breed

Perverfe ! all monftrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable ! unutterable ! and worfe, &c.

That fo me did breed, we are unable to doubt or to deny. Imperial
Rome having confented to his death who lived alone to blefs and
purify mankind, became herfelf accurfed, like fentenced Babylon, in
fcripture language, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird. A rapid
fucceffion of rulers now feemed ftriving for the palm of wickednefs.
Frantic Caligula, inverted on his grandfire's death with the long
fighed for purple, feemed chiefly diligent to dip it in human blood ;
and while he meditated its laft difgrace, by giving his country a fa-
vourite horfe for Conful, he robed himfelf in the drefs facred to divi-
nity, and pufhed to an unheard-of excefs his ftudied profanations. To
this mad mafter of an abjecl: world fucceeded heavy, fluggifh-minded
Claudius ; whofe foul, a fullen prifoner, feen but feldom, peeped out
unwilling from its cage of clay, and viewed, unmoved, the vices of his
Emprefs. When the laft agonies had firft broke in upon this preter-
natural tranquillity, the care of humankind, in evil hour, devolved
upon nefarious Nero, whofe name, firft on the rolls of guilt and in-
famy, was pufhed up by deliberate parricide to that abhorred pre-
eminence. The murder of a mother was, in thofe days, a crime
particularly detefted, even by thofe who, in Macbeth's phrafc, had
fupt full with horrors ; and when at laft this wretch difparched him-
iclf to avoid punifhment a more majorum, it was chiefly for Agrip-
phia's death he dreaded to meet his own. Rome looked on tamely,
while for his divcrfion he ftuck the Chriftian martyrs up alive, in
drcfTes daubed with tar, and fet on fire to illuminate the town, when
day hid his head indignant ; or when he hunted them about his Co-

lifleo,

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 2 3

lifleo, wrapt in the {kins of fome wild animal, thus to deceive the
dogs into a cruelty their gentler nature would have (hrunk from :
but hearts appeared abroad, as if permitted to reproach our fpecies
with their fuperior virtue. Aulus Gellius relates the ftory of the lion
whofe grateful recollection fpared the (lave, obferving, he had often
met them in the flreets together, during the reigns of Caligula and
Claudius, collecting money from children and paflers-by.

Mankind, meanwhile, was funk in fad degeneracy, and feemcd as
if deferving of thefe dreadful leaders, who, although tyrants in wick-
ednefs, could not boaft privileges exclufive of their fubjects. Caius
Cheraea, when he killed Caligula, maflacred, with unfeeling rage, his
infant daughter in her mother's arms. Tacitus relates of many nobles
a conduct little behind that of the Emperors themfelves ; and Pliny,
like a good naturalift, calls Aquileius Regulus omnium bipedum nequtf-
Jinius. Penurious Galba, and his gay fucccflbr, who had prefided long
in Nero's court as minifter of pleafure, fliewed, indeed, as fome odd
plants, molt beautiful in death ; for Otho, though immerfcd in fcn-
fuality, retained fome trace, fome latent fpark of Virtue's unqucnched
flame, when the furrounding gloom (hewed it to all advantage. He
alone, for the firft feventy years of Retrofpettton, he alone, till the tre-
mendous day when a licentious foldiery lorded it in the metropolis,
and tofled the bloated body of pampered Vitellius into Tybcr, had
proved himfelf not totally negligent of that overgrown ftate, which
their beft care could fcarce have rendered happy ; while ardent only
to chace affrighted Vice into the arms of impoffibility. In that ftrange
caufe they ruflied on fuicide, and braved aflaflmations, which few
efcaped, till Flav ius Vefpafian, rough, honed, artle(s ; born near the
Sabine farm, (b famed for the (implicity and temperance of its poffef-
fors, tried to recover the credit of humanity, and prove that a hot foil,
however ftrangled with its v.afte redundance, will yet, among the
weeds, produce fome flowers. Thus we (ee Titus, brother to Domi-
tian, and reflect that the wife of Paetus was cotemporary with Mefla-

24 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [CH. K

lina. Nor was depravity confined to fouthern climates. Our Britifh
Cartifmandua, juftly for other crimes buried alive by Corbred, exhi-
bited a fteady, cold perfidioufnefs, fcarce to be matched in any nation's
annals, when flic betrayed her gallant fon-in-law, Cara&acus, then
greateft when turning from the mows of Rome with fcorn, he
difplayed foul of fuperior mould, not to be awed by mere appearances,
after having contefted with and conquered rough realities. Let Retro-
fpeStion too furvey with pride the daring Boadicea's bold appeal for in-
jured innocence, when aided by the Scottilh hero, who puniflicd per-
fidy in Cartifmandua. She forced the Romans to confefs our ifland,
Ravage as it was, could not be fubjugated by lefs than their befl troops
and wifeft General, Agricola. That excellent commander, object of
Tacitus's perfonal regard, an Emperor's envy and a nation's gratitude,
after penetrating through the Caledonian forefts, paffing over what was
called the Dolorous Mountain, and building the bridge and caftle there
near Stirling ; after making way for the facred truths of Chriftianity,
by driving from druidic Mona its frantic fuperftitions, and foftening
the rugged Cambrian's fullen virtue by his urbanity ; this great Agri-
cola felected for himfelf the moft delightful fpot our variegated coun-
try boafts, and fixed his fettled refidence in Glo'fterfhire, leaving to
Mr. Lyfons' diligence the praife of having difcovered traces of his
grandeur, and giving to the retrofpeclivc eye an opportunity of ob-
ierving how much the prefent times exceed the paft, in powers of
bending divers latitudes to the conveniences of human life, and forcing
accommodation from rebellious climates, and feafons adverfe to our vain
defires. Voluptuous, rather than luxurious, an old Roman made fmall
provifion for his change of country, but fet his feet on federated marbles
alike at York or Baia. Accuftomed to feck pleafure from his icnles
rncrdy, he fa\v no Method but to fpur them forward: our Englifh,
A ho now \ifit every continent, learn to approximate their comforts by
-contrivance ; wifhing to gladden nature, not fatigue her. Pliny, indeed,
,'peaks of a J'nbtlc method that Nero took to cool his water, by finking

a glafs

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN 25

a glafs veflcl lull in fnow : but Nero did undcrftand j)hilofopliy.
and in the ceiling of his golden houfc difplaycd the planetary f\i"-
tcm. How little did he dream that not one ftone of it would now
be Handing, while the fine temple dedicated by brave Vefpanan to
peace fliould yet remain, like its great patron's virtuous character,
model of modcft excellence ! How little, too, did Columella think
his book on agriculture would be read in Britain, when that deep
fcience mould be grown a toy, fubfervient to elegance, almoft even to
caprice ! The fciences and arts, however, were not neglected, while
Seneca taught wifdom, and Pliny ftudied nature ; Lucan's bright
flyle gliftened in the beams of general illumination, and Perfius added
point to his fharp fatire. Medicine, though innocent of many late
difcoveries gained by direction, and waiting yet for Galen's fangui-
nary improvements, was well attended to ; Hippocrates's aphorifms
contained enough ; and though Macrobius fays too much of their per-
fection, that fecms to have been no bad fet of rules which could keep
men alive, who fapped and battered their conftitution by habits of
intemperate groflhefs. Let fomething however be allowed to different
cuftoms, and let the Refro/peffors of paft ages own, that thofe nightly
prowlers through our London ftreets, who dig up the peaceful man-
fions of the dead, and thofe unfeeling furgeons that difTcct them,
would, by their conduct, have awakened Claudius to command fomc
punilhment for fuch offence, and roufed Tiberius to refume his poft,
that impiety like theirs might not be paflcd over in filence. Thus,
though Celfus and Epictetus graced thefe times ; though Juvenal cen-
fured, and Jofcphus wrote ; though polifhed Martial feems particularly
to delight in difplaying a keennefs of remark and acutencfs of obferva-
tion, to which, by future ages, fo little can be added ; we fee the
fpirit of enquiry in fome things reprefled, from delicacy little to be
expected, and Ignorance laying her fuccefsful traps for Study to drop
into unawares. Suetonius, for example, whom Mr. Gibbon calls the
diligent and accurate, tells how a mule foaled on the inverting old
VOL. I. D Galba

26 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [CH. i.

Galba with the purple, a facl by which philofophy and common expe-
rience are alike infulted. But that biographer introduces no fove-
reign though but for weeks, not years, without a itring of prodigies
unworthy even of a woman's ftory over a winter's fire. Witnefs the
afs, whofe lucky name of Nicon * is brought in as omen of Augustus's
profperity. Tacitus's amazement at the lengthened nights in the
north, fa fweetly, fo poetically expreflcd, betrays his fcanty knowledge
of aftronomy ; f and Pliny verily believes the exiftcnce of a phoenix,
which was but going backward in difcovery: Herodotus defpifed
that fable long before. The jack-daw, well inftrucled by fome fhoe-
maker to compliment the Caefars with Good-day, Tiberius, Good-day,
Drufus, &c. was the true phoenix among birds in thofe times. A rival
ihoemaker, however, wrung his neck off, becaufc he had obtained the
Emperor's notice ; which the more liberal populace refenting, pulled
down the fpiteful fellow's houfe, burying the crow with great folem-
nity. That the Britifh channel ever flowed with blood, wiijl have
been falfe ; although related about the Goth year after our Lord's af-
cenfion, by hiftorians ; and at the very clofe of the firft century, it is
faid Decebalus deceived the warlike Romans, by caufing a foreft to be
felled in the night, and armour ftuck upon the ftocks of trees. Xipht
linus, patriarch of Conftantinople, is our authority for this facl, ap-
parently incredible, although fome flratagem of the kind feems to
have obtained belief in the world ever fince Abimelcch ; who made

* Nicon means victorious, I have heard. Do we call an afs Nicky, from this fortu-
nate one feen by O&avius ? The ftatue, recording both beaft and driver, was one
of the antiquities deftroyed at Conftantinople by the Latins, and lamented by Nici-
tas, in a fragment preferved in the Bodleian Library. It proves the accident known
to be no fable.

t Juvenal feems to have known the peculiarities of our iflands well enough.

Armo quid ultra

Lktora juverne promovimus et modo captas
Orcades, et minima contentos nodle Britannos.

his

en. ..] FROM TIBKKIUS TO TR UAX.

his foldicrs each of them cut a bough, and carry before them to
ccal their numbers; thus unpcrccivcd advancing to the tower lie
meant to deftroy, then throwing the wood at its feet, loon let the
place on fire. Shakefpcar makes this familiar to us on the fta^e ;
but Casfar's veterans could not furely ha\e been fo impofed upon.
Of the Chrillian perfecutions during all thefe reigns, more has not
been allertcd by hiftory, however, than daily examination amply con-
firms. Gibbon, with triumph, pretends to find out what Jortin, with
candour, had before allowed ; that the neglecl (hewn by bad princes
towards all religion was lefs unfavourable to the progrefs of ours, than
that active zeal for Paganifm which dittinguimed the pious ones.
Jortin is indeed generous to the fcorlers, and they have repaid him ;;
he fays the Romanifts did Grotius, with fuch gratitude as might be
well expected. He who delights in ftroking a tygcr with intention
to hear him pur, will probably lofe a finger in courfe of the experi-
ment. The ears and eyes of Englifh travellers to Rome, turn away
difgufted with the proofs of cruelty authorized by the mifchicvous
wantonnefs of wild Caligula upon a race of harmlefs mortals, who,
had they not been Chrillians, would have engaged the tender pity of
every modern infidel, for the difmtercfled bravery with which they
were well known to have (heltered one another, while they cxpofcd
themfelves ; contrafting the courage and virtue of St. Paul againft the
profligacy and cowardice of Nero, a diflimilitude not to be matched
for rcmotenefs within the limits of humanity. When that dctefted
wretch, however, deftroycd the houfe and lineage of Cacfar, by ftriking
with his heel his own half-formed image in the womb of his once-
loved Poppaa, who owed the dreadful death, it is faid, to her (oft
pleadings for a Chriilian martyr.* Offended heaven fent a fudden

* Thofe who attribute Nero's fudden fury to his wife's teizing him, hccaufe he
ibid too long at the chariot race, feem to think ihe took ftrangc liberties indeed with
fo tremendous a tyrant. I rather fancy, with our early church writers, that the poor
F.mprefs leaned towards Chriftianity. Be that as it will, the family cf Julius was

J) 2 extinguished

28 THE FIRST CENTURY; [cir. r.

thunderbolt, and daflied the gold cup from the tyrant's hand. Thun-
derbolts at Rome are certainly no prodigies, though that perhaps had
its peculiar commiffion. Unnatural fins cry out for vengeance out of
Nature's bounds ; and that portents do mark important incidents fome-
times, though many pafs without being fo noticed, it would be very
difficult and very ufelcfs to deny. All Titus's 'army faw the meteor
which, refembling u flaming fword, hung over Jcrufalem's devoted
walls ; the gates of whofe temple burft open feven years before at
Pentecoft, when voices were heard in the air, and evident miracles
proclaimed their definition who helped to crucify the Holy One of
Ifrael. The great prophetic WORD had faid exprefsly, that mortals
then alive {hould fee that temple's final end whence he, its SHEKI-
NAH, was chaced with ignominy; and before fourfcore years were yet
expired, one ftone was literally not ftanding on another ; whilft the
heroic youth appointed to deftroy it, refembling in character and
manners Cyrus, who overthrew the Babylon they hated ; was called,
in admiration of his fuperior excellence, Delight of human kind.
Now too, as if the world would fain repofe after the bloody contefts
between Otho and Vitellius, and after this ftill more ftriking ven-
geance on the Jews, 110,000 of whofe lives were loft during the
fiege, and 97,000 prifoners carried to Rome; Vefpafian fhut the temple
of Janus, and dedicated his heaven-permitted fpoils to peace. Much
of the fabrick where they were depofited is ftanding while I write ;
and the fine arch, perpetuating the triumph of Titus, feems to have
acquired beauties, not loft them, by time. Affifting Retrofpefliori 's
fight it ftands, and waits His fecond coming whofe former miffion it
confirms. Holinfhed and Buchanan fay, that Chriftianity was in
thefe days carried to Britain by St. Jofeph of Arimathea a tincture

i ~

extinguifhed by the blow which killed the unborn infant. Suetonius wrote the lives
cf twelve men, who have for ages fmce been called the twelve Cxfars ; but 'tis in com-
pliment to the wriier.

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 29

of whole love for riches pervades us ftill. That opulence overwhelmed
not his faith, but rather confirmed him in practice of beneficence,
fcems hitherto not wholly forgotten by thole who are defccnded from
his converts ; and if the religion he planted is really taking flight from
other countries of Europe, here may it leave its laft remains! and
angels roll the ftone to keep it in, till the great day of general refur-
reclion. Vefuvius meanwhile inflamed his neighbouring plains, Ib
juftly called Phlegrasan ; the mountain raged with unexampled fury ;
hot afhes, toft in air, darkened the fun at Rome, 1 1 3 miles from the
explofion, cauiing a temporary, and for fome time, an incomprchen-
iible eclipfc.

On the fame hour a dreadful pcftilence begun that wafte which
laftcd many weeks ; and, ranging through the contaminated town,
thinned in fome meafure the immenie numbers, and lightened the
mafs of mankind which tumefied it even to burfting. Such was the
ftate of the metropolis. Around warm Naples and her polluted envi-
rons, indignant earth is feen by Relrofpettiori s eye (much like the
deity they worshipped, Saturn) fwallowing her fons alive. The ihaggy
cavern which conceals a murderer, opens by power unfeen ; the
rocks divide ; fudden deftrucYion drops on the inhabitants. The peace-
ful villa, retreat perhaps of ftudy, finks below the ground : the
gaudy amphitheatre becomes a part of it ; nor lets one fruitful fcalbn
pafs away, before, new-clothed with ufeful vegetation, it learns to
fupply poilerity with food Comus and Momus fly difgraced away,
and laughing Ceres reafiumes the land. Eoundlefs curiolity too,
daughter of affluent wealth, and parent of general knowledge ; im-
patient of delay, and ardent for immediate gratification, now robbed
the world of Pliny's future labours : and while hot Parthenope panted
amid volcanic fires, and flames of accident or ftrange caprice devoured
the ftrcets of Rome, burning for three nights and days with unremitting
violence up from the cooler ocean in the north rofe the low rudiments
of Rotterdam, dcitmcd to be the birth-place of Erafmus. Nearly with

her

30 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [ui. i.

her coeval fprang in Spain the places now known by names of Bilbao
and St. Jago di Compoftella, firft fabricated however by Titus, who,
in honour of his father, called itFlavio Briga, and Flavio Brigantum.
Yet then, and before then, was London cop'ia negotiatorum, et com-
mcaiu mqx'ime cekbre.* Chefter and Leiccfter were in being, I believe,
and York a favourite refidence of Romans. Lanquet would make us
think that town cotemporary with Scfak, king of Egypt, and Jeroboam,
king in Ifrael ; he fays 'twas built by Ebranck, probably f Evanck,
a Britim leader, of whofe works yet remain part of the caftle of May-
den, in Edinburgh, and fome ftones at the caflle at Dunbar. Pliny
calls the firir. Caftrum alatum ; but 'tis beft worth Rctrojfieflions
glance to obfcrve, that this old chieftain's name isjyet prefcrved, in fig-
natures of our archbifhop.J Strabo places gold and filver among the
produces of Britain, and Polydore Virgil fays, that cherry-trees were
planted here in the days of Marius and Sylla. The building of Bil-
ling/gate by Belinus, brother to Brennus, who facked Rome, is not fo
Well authenticated ; but as the word Brennos means a king yet in the
old Britifh language, one may conclude that word was rather his
appellation than his name, among the Cimbri whom he led to Italy.
But our immediate eye is fixed on the Vefpafians, and on the joint
triumph ot father and fon, united in glory, in excellence, and in affec-
tion A light heart, and a fort of unimperial chearfulnefs feems to dif-
criminate the character of Flavius, among whofe odd replies, full of
foldicr-like humour, I cannot help relating, that when his courtiers
told him of the comet, and expreifed fears for him as a bad omen, I
rather think, fays he, it muft relate to the king of Parthia, for my own

* So fays Tacitus himfclf. A [place particularly celebrated for the number of its mer-
chants and for trade. This was in Nero's time, towards fifty years after our Lord's
afcenfion.

t Evancke, in Welch, means the young now.
% He figns his name John or Thomas Eboracenfis.

part :

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN.

part : you ice it has long red hair, juft like his and I am laid. A
freedman of Nero's too, Phoebus by name, had fccn the old General
faft aflcep while his mafter was afting a lady's part upon the ftage ;
and leave the city, faid the infolent fpy, or you'll repent this nap.
Where muft I go ? replied Vefpafian, waking. To the gallows, returned
the pandar, and faid no more. When Flavius was made Emperor
this fellow came cringing, and offered him his head. Leave the town,
faid Flavius, mimicking the voice he had fpoken in. Where would
C*far command me to retire ? To the gallows, anfwered the Emperor
in good humour, and forebore further to punim a creature, who, per-
haps, added he, faved my life from his tyrant's rage, by his negleft.*
So much for peculiarity of manners. His heart mewed refemblance to
that of his favourite fon, when, though Vitellius was his grcatcft
enemy, he fought out the daughter of his foe, and fortuned her, mar-
rying her fplendidly to a patrician houfe. Forgivenefs is a virtue too
good for Pagans fomchow I feel as if I grudged it them. Titus mean-
while ever ftudious to afcend the heights of moral perfe&ioh, lived in
the practice of felt-denying virtue from the firft day of his aflbciation
to power : he had, when prince, protected a favourite dancer, but
the figurante expecting marks of favour from paft fondnefs, was in-
ftantly difmhTcd ; that admirable youth thought only how to live and
how to reign, and drove feduclion from him with diligence, whether
it bore the form of Bathyllus or Berenice. f Having been faluted
imperator fifteen times, he died, exprefling regret for only one ac-
tion of his life. Hiftorians think that he repented pardoning his moft
degenerate brother, young Domitian, whofe impatience for the purple

* Vefpafian had little care for La petite Morale wifnefs the well-known tale of
his bidding Titus finell to the coin which was paid on his tax upon urine. And
when he was jEdile, in Caligula's time, he kept the ftreets of Rome fo dirty, that the
Emperor calling him up to his horfe's fide, purpofely fplafhed the mud into his face.

t Bathyllus 18 years old, Berenice 43 Gibbon fays 50. 10th vol. 8vo. edit. p. 129.

had

32 THE FIRST CENTURY; [cir. i.

had led him into plots againft the ftatc. On his acccffion, Rome with
furprife, beheld Agricola recalled from Britain, and heard her timorous
tyrant confefs his worth ; but fending him into retirement, poifoned
him (lily. This odious fovereign over haplefs humanity, hated all ex-
cellence, and feared all power. Lucullus, fent lieutenant into Albion,
inftead of feeking pearls, which were, I know not why, expected from
the coaft of NorthWales began a manufacture of fpears near Sheffield,
and thofe who ufed, called them LuculUans. This was enough ;
Domitian heard of it, and the poor deputy was ftrangled in his tent.
'Twas to the fame pufillanimity that fenatorial Glabrio owed his death
the lion he was thrown to yielded up the contefl, and the un-
worthy fon of brave Vefpafian had him immediately difpatched, for
fearhimfelf might fuffer by fuch giddy valour. St. John riling unhurt
out of the boiling cauldron might well amaze a mind fo meanly con-
ftrucied. An anecdote of that Apoftle, told by fome early ecclefiafti-
cal author,* will fhew that painting muft have been at a low ebb in
thofe days, although Domitian loved the arts, and was a literary cha-
radler. When the irrevocable fentence was gone forth, and our Lord's
favourite difciple was preparing for his banimment to Patmos, at one
of the chriftian houfes where he had vifited familiarly, and went of
courfe on the laft night to take leave of his friends he law a large
head hanging up. You will then never be weary of thefe frightful
figures, Jupiter or Pluto, or whatever you call them, cried he ; it
breaks my heart to fee this hideous face fet up fo, juft upon my going
away. Dear father ! exclaimed the miftrefs of the manfion, 'tis you
that break our hearts. This head is neither Jupiter nor Pluto, but
your own portrait in your own drefs ; drawn by my coufm Caius,
who is famed for never miffing a likenefs, and he did this by me-
mory knowing you would not fit. The Apoftle laughed, and begged
them to take it down. A ftory Hegefippus tells is better known ;
how reports having been long current, that from David a quondum

* Leucius.

king

CM. i.] FROM HBliRUIS TO TRAJAN'. 33

king of the Hebrews, fhould tyring in future times a fovcrcign of tin:
world and jiuka- of all mankind. Domitian felt himiclf tormented
by fulpicious fears, and caufed a clofe enquiry to be made, if any. of
that race yet remained alive : two grandfons or nephews of St. Judo
were found ; well plcafod to own the fon of JctTc for their ancertor, and
claiming kindred with Median's human nature. The Emperor called
them to his prcfence and was confolcd ; they poflcflcd thirty-nine acres
only of earth between them, their hands were hard with labour, their
backs bent with toil ; curiofity, however, prompted him to aik, of what
nature was the kingdom he had heard and read about. They replied that
it was neither terrcftrial nor tranfitory, but celellial and evcrlafting ; that
Chrifr., with whom their uncle had c -;,verfed on earth, fhould come
to it again at the confumrnation of all things, and judge mankind ac-
cording to their works.

Domitian thought little concerning heavenly kingdoms, and fent the
two men quietly away. Vices are often punifhed by their contraries, the
miler hoards againft a day of want, which he accelerates by felf-
denial : whilft wilfully pcrverfe, unbelief is frequently- the dupe to cre-
dulous fuperilition. Thus the notion of fecond fight was fondly re-
ceived by an anxious-minded fovereign, who rejected with fcorn the
truths of Chriftianity. A battle, for example, was fought upon the
Rhine, and on fome day, when all were expecting the event, a mad
fellow run naked through the principal flreets, crying viftoria as he
danced along. Domitian commanded rejoicings to be made, as if a
courier had come from Germany with the news ; which, on arrival,
did indeed confirm the crazy vagabond's early impreflion. Second
fight was now gaining ground among all ranks ; but the beft inftance
of it, for benefit of all his fubjecls, was that of their unworthy
Emperor's own death, prefented pretcrnaturally as many thought, be-
fore the eyes of Appollonius Tyana?us, then teaching philofophy in his
own fchool at Ephcfus ; where, flopping in the middle of the ledurc,
he fuddenly cried out, Now, courage SlcplKwns, and Jln\e the lyrant.
Stephanus, one of the chamberlains, had indeed, at that very moment,
VOL, I. E contrived

THE FIRST CENTURY ; [CH. r.

contrived admiffion to his prince's prcfence, wearing his arm in a fcarf
the better to prevent fufpicion, and conceal a dagger, which, while
Domitian was employed in reading over a lift of names, the bold af-
faflin {truck to his heart/and ended a life which had long kept man-
kind in perpetual alarm. The drolling conjurer, who faw in Afia
what was at the fame inftant acling in Rome, is the perfon to whom
we are obliged for the hack phrafe He has the black dog upon Jits lack,
when people are oppreiTed by melancholy and ill-humour. Dr. Henry
More fays, that this Appollonius told the Greeks he had a fpirit fol-
lowing him about in form of a black dog, which leaping on his
back, would make him atrabilious. The learned Hugo Grotius gives
credit to this fecond fight with regard to Domitian. I know not whe-
ther he believes in the black dbg. A better proof that the world was
grown weary of luch a ruler, was the frequent repetitions of the word
(j^li written on the Emperor's ftatues, triumphal arches, &c. it means
enough ; much like the modern Italian word Iwjla : and the trick was in
the fpirit of modern pafquinades.

And now the firft hundred years after our Saviour's appearance upon
earth drawing faft towards a conclufion, the retrofpeflhe eye views
with delight fome feeds of his newly founded worfhip, dropt almoft
into every country here in Europe ; fevcn churches of Afia too openly
profefling the faith, beudes Antioch, where Chriftians firft were called
fuch. That thefe feven churches, which were written to by Saint
John by name; and which ranked neither with thofe of Antioch or
of Rome, did actually at that time reprefent the feven Proteftant
churches, which have in later days diifented both from Greek and
Roman rituals ; profefling purer manners, and a lefs embarrafled
creed it is not my intention either to affert oY to deny. Certain it is,
that of thefe laft feven one has apoftatized, who once gloried in her
riches like that of Laodicea.* Our attention meantime being di-

* 'Tis odd enough that Laodicea, like Holland, was a maritime fituation its name
neans ad mare, as fcholars tell me.

reded

CH. i.J FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 35

reded to the firft century after our Lord's afcenfion, 'will obfcrvc that,
although perfccuted by repeated tyrannies without, and clouded by
acknowledged hcrefies within, the filent growth of that wide fprcatl-
ing tree beneath whofe (hade the world finds all repofe, worked im-
obferved its way. Trodden down by tyrants, warmed by the blood of
martyrs, the grain of muftard-feed caft into an unheeded fpotof that
vaft iron empire, which the firft Czefar and his fucceiTors fo lon

maintaioed over oppreffed mankind in Nerva's gentler day ventured
to unfold its beauties. The pall and crofs, now inftituted by Clemens,
adorned the infant church, where he firft fet the bifhop's ruftic throne
confpicuous from the reft ; and having preferred to himfelf that Linus,
mentioned by St. Paul in one of his epiftles, modeftly accepted the
dignity of prefident, and poft of peculiar care, juft time enough to
fufFer for his elevation, when Trajan exiled him into Iberia for not
having facrificed to the immortal memory of fbmc dead emperor,
raifed to the rank of gods by Pagan folly. Nerva was the firft we
read of who would have no ftatue at all creeled to commemorate his
foft fercnity. Rome had made great advances in her adulation fmce
Auguftus's time. When a player called him Dominus, we are told the
people all ftared and the fovereign chid ; but Martial fpeaks in another
ftrain to Domitian, and Pliny tires one with My Lording Trajan. Vi-
tellius had puflicd flattery as far as it would go, to ftupid Claudius and
crazy Caligula, whofe madnefs, when he made love to the moon, that
courtier contrived to encreafc, by fwearing he faw encouragement in
Phoebe's eyes ; to Nerva none could gain accefs by fuch tricks. Tran-
quillity of mind and unoffending meeknefs of fpirit marked his peace-
ful reign, yet he encouraged harmlefs fports, and called theatrical pro-
feflbrs home, who had fled affrighted from his predeceflbr. Character
is always uniform if well underftood. Nerva was a grave man, yet he
liked a pantomine ; Domitian was a proud man, he hated dancers and
actors, and ftage exhibitors of all kinds ; Nero was a vain man, he
would be a public performer himfelf.

E2 But

36 THE FIRST CENTURY. [CH.

But now St. John returned from banifhment in Patmos, published
thofe prophetic wonders which were there revealed to him ; leaving the
myftic veil that covers them from common fight, to be gently removed
or lifted up refpeclfully by Time's flow, certain hand, which gradually
difclofing fome feature yet unfeen; inclines mankind from obfervation of
what's already undcrftood, to venerate and expecl: confirmation of what
remains. Now too, a certain Jew, converted to our faith, feems to
have written, as it were, a commentary on the Apocalypfe, which
lofes credit among Chriftians chiefly becaufe compofed under the fic-
titious name of Efdras, and extant only in Arabic and Latin ; although
. many beautiful and evangelical fentences may certainly be found there,
and fome ftrange predictions, we muft not call them prophecies ; which
are in our own days as ftrangcly come to pafs. The large mixture of fables,
however, like thofe afterwards collected into the Thalmud, deftroying
all poffibility of the book's being authentic, and our church having
agreed with that of Rome to vote it as it furely is, apocryphal ; hinders
many from reading, what would at leaft, contribute to render the Re-
velations better underftood, as the eloquent author was coetaneous with
St. John. Here then may RetrofpeSiion reft awhile ; and if the next
chapter fhould prefent few things to the reader's eye, except fome
characters, and thofe comprejfed, of future emperors ; let us confefs they
are the leading features the luminous fpots: fmce upon them the
world, and all which it contained, depended. When the chain breaks
and the parts falling, fcparatc ; Rome will have fmallcr fliare of our
attention,

CHAP.

en. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 37

CHAP. II.
CONTAINING THE SECOND CENTURY;

FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA.

WHAT was once faid of the flyle of fome writer by his contem-
poraries, is true of the imperial throne of Rome, Ubi bette,
nemo me/his ; ubi male, nemo pcjus. We now are to enjoy the plealing
Retrofpctt of five princes in immediate fucceflion, who ran the race of
excellence with ardour, no way furpafled by that which their prede-
celTors (all but the two Vefpaiians) (hewed n the caufe of vice : nor
can the lofty powers of high-graced humanity be further carried to-
wards philofophical perfection, than thefe five admirable mortals pufhed
them. Had the laft public deed of Nerva been \i\sfole act of royal au-
thority, the world would have united to applaud and thank him ; when
he united with himfelf in all the honours and the cares of ftate, immortal
Trajan a Spaniard, like himfelf; but with more energy of mind and
character, to put his virtues into active motion. The pupil of Plutarch
then, the familiar correfpondent of the younger Pliny, the chearful
comrade of his gallant ibldiers, entered the world's metropolis on foot,
furrounded by his hardy veterans, vrho in a few years more attended
his triumph when Rome rejoiced 1 20 days together ; having feen her
fovereign, and that of the whole earth; to hb endowments in the
arts of peace, add a reputation for military glory, undiminilhed by the
fame of any who preceded, unrivalled by all who followed him. The
veneration confequent on fuch decided fuperlority was not a transient
or a temporary paffion. When Theodofius was inverted with the
purple, 30O years after the times we are reviewing, Sisfelicior Augiiflo,
mdlor TRAJANO, was the cry. His firm and fteady courage kept both

the

38 THE SECOND CENTURY ; [CH. n.

the capital and provinces in awe. No plots darkened his brilliant reign,
no cruelties (except againfl our Chriftian faith) were fuffered to ftain
it ; nor w r as the royal ear deaf to Applications, even for what his
flrong attachment to the religion of his anceftors forbade him to en-
courage. At fuit of Tyberianus, governor of Paleftine, he ftopt that
perfecution which Pliny had before then perfuaded him to relax ; al-
though too late to fave from the fury of wild beafts the good Bifhop
of Antioch, who was fent bound thence all the way to Rome, and
there thrown, with unrelenting feverity, to lions. Scaliger can fcarce
believe this poffible ; yet why not? In the year 1796, probably later
ftill, we know that Spaniards made it their fport to fee noble and in-
nocuous animals mangle each other ; when the generous horfe, return-
ing at command to face the horns of a juftly enraged bull, trailed his
long entrails after him round the arena, in confequence of the firft
wound, yet giving not the cruel conteft up till death. Lifbon too,
fcarce half a century ago, exhibited an Auto da Fe, where human cri-
minals were burned alive for entertainment of the firft nobility; when
Chriftian ladies exprefled their delight in fuch amufement, no lefs fen-
fibly than Roman matrons and virgins felt in Trajan's time, when
naked gladiators, groaning, died, and panthers tore each other's fpotted
ikins, to pleafe a multitude made more ferocious by the frequenting
of fuch exhibitions.

Rome qui prodiguait par un mepris bizarre

A tout peuple etranger le titre de barbare,

Ne repaissait fes yeux que des pleurs de mortels,

Et de fang inondait fes theatres cruels.

La, fous les dents d'un ours, 1'esclave meprisable,

Ne 59311 que faire entendre une voix lamentable ;

Mais le gladiateur mieux instruit a mourir,

Semble perce des coups expirer fans fouffrir :

Si la nature en lui plus long-temps vigoureuse

En retardant la mort la rend plus douloureuse ;

Hatez-vous d'applaudir avec une joie egale,

Vous graves fenateurs, et toi jeuae veftale. RACINE.

CK. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 39

And Lipfuis docs fay ferioufly, that no \var ever took as many lives off
in one year, as did the fhows of Rome under their favourite fovcrcian,
who was however, juftly denominated optimns bononnn.

It was he who threw the beautiful bridge over that branch of Da-
nube called lantra, of which fome fine remains are yet exifting ; it
once confided of no fewer than twenty arches, and, by Mr. Du Terns'
menfuration, exceeded ours at Weftminfter 2140 feet. He like wife
built the city Marcianopolis, called fo in honour of his fitter Marcia.
It is now known to the Bulgarians by name of Prebiflaw, but the Ve-
netians ftill fay Marzcnopoli. The town creded on purpofe to com-
memorate his truly warlike exploits retains its merited appellation Ni-
copolis, or, as we fhould fay, Victoria. The pillar fet up at Home for
him, adorned with all his feats of arms in Dacki, death never fuffcred
him to fee ; but before it had robbed the world of fuch a hero, he had
adopted, with judicious care, a fucccflbr from his own nation, which
may not only boaft the bed and bravefl of foldiers in him, whofe high,
renown will long outlaft the column erecled to his memory ; but alfo
may in Adrian, who fucceeded, admire, with equal juftice, the moft
eloquent and all-accomplifhed prince that ever adorned the imperial
purple. He, not content with common marks of efteem and grati-
tude (hewn to his predeceflbr, placed his beft ftatue in the curule
chair ; and, as the fad proceflion rolled along, Rome faw her favourite
warrior triumph after death. This duty once difchargcd, the prefent
Emperor being, as he faid, pcrfuaded that a fovereign was only made
fuch for the people's good, began his reign by inftantly forgiviug the
forty millions debt to "government. His next acl was to punifh the re-
bellious Jews, who really had ravaged the fine iflc of Cyprus with a
fury worthy beafts or birds of prey ; having not only wafted the whole
country, and maflacred 24O,OOO inhabitants, fparing neither age nor
fex ; but forcing thofe few wretches whom their rage had rolled over,
to eat their own dead friends ; and purchafe, by conceffions no Chrif-
tian can defcribe, a hated though fhort exiftence. Such conduct excited

Adrian's

40 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH, n.

Adrian's deteftation ; and he refolved not only to chaftife, but mortify
a people, whofe ill underftood religion he confounded with our own ; and
fet a fwine's effigies over the gate at Bethlehem, confecrating a grove
to Venus not far off, whilft he prophaned the fpot their temple ftood
on with every thing he heard the Hebrews mod abhorred ; rebuilding
fomc of the decayed fuburbs too, as an excufe for changing of its name
to (Ella* There he failed ; the name was never altered, nor the people
ever deftroyed. The bufli of Mofes ftill burns on from age to age, ftill
unconfumed, a beacon to the world. Let us a moment turn afide, like
Mofes, and take a Retrofiett of that great fight. When King Agrippa
went to Alexandria, about the year of our Lord 30 or -10, with a great
train and pomp, fomcwhat exceeding that of a tributary prince, the
people caught a fancy that his face refembled that of a tame ideot who
ran about the ftreets, his name Carabbas. The populace, fenfible that
fuch a joke would not difpleafe Caligula, drcffed up the wretch in a
long purple gown, and putting on his head a paper diadem, hunted
him up and down under Agrippa's windows, crying, Hail, King of the
Jews ! Hail, King of the Jews ! Ufher and Tillemont have not left
this circumftance without the remarks natural to a ChrifHan ; but a
worfe fate w r ould have befallen him, had not that Emperors's aflafiina-
tion prevented the punifliments deftined to Petronius for delaying, at re-
queft of Agrippa, to fet the tyrant's ftatue in the temple ; all Ifracl had
refolved on general migration, meaning to leave their province, fo pro-
phaned, for famine to defolate, or beafts poflefs. Titinius Rufus, next
after Vefpafian, trode down that diftricl in a dreadful manner; and
Adrian's governor, Julius Severus, fo wafted the whole territory, burning

* Jerufalem was known by the name of Cadytis to Herodotus. The word means
holy, or holy refidence, as I have been told ; perhaps they confidered it as facred,
from its being the dwelling place of Melchifedek. D'Anville tells us, that the Arabs
now call it Beitcl, Makdcs, and Kads She it, }

or Uethel, or (Jadytis. lhe Holy, in their language.

or God's Heufe, )

their

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 41

their caftlcs, and ploughing up their ftrong places, after difpatching
5 8,000 of the inhabitants that Fuller fays it never did recover ; and in
his book upon the Holy Warobfcrves, that " 'tis no marvel if fo thin a
meadow were quickly mown by him who had plenty of hands to work."
But -sve return and follow Adrian to Britain, which, to fay true, fuffered
fome little from his difpleafure ; though Selden fays his general, Coilus,
built Colchefter in Effex, if it was not even then known by name of
Caer Colin among the old inhabitants. Some traces too of his turf-
wall, or mound, may be feen in Cumberland (till : and perhaps he,
whofe fpirit of travelling prompted him to vifit fuch remote parts of
the Roman empire, might have been induced to pafs more time
amidft our northern provinces, had not his dainty minion, fair Anti-
nous, been haftily knocked down by fome rough Britifli hand ; an in-
fult his great matter could not be pleafed with, yet had more magna-
nimity than to refent, except by leaving the ifland. That tafte for
feeing various life, however, which fuggelled his journey hither,
prompted him to continue it through his own native country Spain,
to Afric, where he rebuilt Carthage, and vifited the Nile. But al p
though he creeled a monument for his horfe Boryfthenes, and fet up a
pillar to his memory near Barcelona, we muft remember that the an-
cients often paid funeral honours to their favourite animals. The epi-
taph on Craffus's mule is prefcrved by Porcacchi, aTufcan writer, who
found the llone between Rome and Tivoli. Her name was Cincia, if I
remember right : and although Adrian filled half Europe with fine fta-
tues of his lefs valuable favourite, the beautiful youth who fell into the
Nile, and there was drowned ; yet fuffered this philofophic fovereign
no idle whims, no vicious propenfitics, to mingle with his ftudies or
his ftate affairs ; but apparently triumphed in the almoft boundleft
capacity of a mind which could folve the hardeft problems of Euclid,
and pln with elegance of architecture a temple to Love : who encou-
raged all artifts, and was excelled by none : whofe powers of rhetoric
kept pace with the firmncfs of his logical deputations : and whofe
VOL. I. F progreft

42 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. a.

progrefs through his widely extended empire was marked in every part
of it by fome benefit conferred.

Adrianople, the old Oreftia, he repaired, and called it after himfelf ;
becaufe, having been built by parricide, he deemed it of ill omen.
But though he delighted in the baths of Aix la Chapelle, as Granus, a
general of fome former reign, had originally difcovercd the waters'
efficacy, he confirmed the appellation Aquis Gramim, and by that
name the town is ftill called by Italians, with very little alteration.
A defcendant of that General's (called Nero's half brother in Ifaacfon's
Chronology) Serenus Granus, wrote about the year 127 fo excellent
an apology for the poor Chriftians, that Adrian had thoughts of
building them a church, but fuffered other occupations to intervene.
Meanwhile Anacletus had prohibited, in Trajan's time, that any
bifhop mould wear long curling hair, as did the gay young Ro-
mans, upon which the clergy were foon diftinguifhed by a lonfure ;
and Alexander I., ftyled by his own decretary ^rc/zbifliop of Rome,
inftituted holy water for purification of thofe who mould come un-
prepared to church ; fome fait was added in a natural fpirit of imita-
tion ; the luftral water had fait mixed with it. By his command,
likewife, water was mixed with wine in the facrament, moft probably
becaufe from our Redeemer's fide flowed blood and water. This haplefs
primate was martyr'd, contrary to Government's intent, during fome
accidental abfence of the Emperor; who now caufed Pompey's tomb to
be repaired, fet up an honorary remembrance of Epaminondas in the
plains of Mantinaea, and erected for his own the Moles Adriani, now
Caftle St. Angelo ; whilft Sixtus I. in thankfulnefs to heaven for
that remiflion of mifery which our church enjoyed, fung the Trifagion,
or hymn, of Holy! Holy! Holy Lord God of Sabaoth ! in open day ;
and fent public miffionaries into Gaul for converfion of profelytcs, at
which the court connived. Ill health now ftopt the fovcreign's further
travels, yet would he not yield to its enfeebling power: he ftill, as
ufual, bathed in a crowd of people, where he one day perceived a poor

old

CH. a.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 43

old foldier (whom he had formerly obfervcd in his own legion) now fo
friendlefs, as to have no one to perform for him the common office of
a bathing guide, to fcrape or curry his back, as it was then the mode,
fo that he was obliged to rub himfelf againft the wall, as beads do.
Adrian, who recollected both his perfon and good fervices, afked him
the reafon why ? Tis, faid the foldier, Sir, becaufe I have no fervant.
The Emperor immediately fent him three flaves, and a fmall penlion
to maintain them. Such an aclion foon drew its natural confe-
quences ; for fafhions alter, but human nature is the fame. Num-
bcrlefs old men took the fame method of obtaining notice from fo
charitable a Prince. Our Spaniard, not duped however, nor as it ap-
pears much difgufted by fuch conduct, quietly provided thofe fellows
each 2ijlngil, and laughingly advifed them to curry one another* It was
time though to be ferious. Many diforders gathering round his con-
ftitution, he had, fome months before the time we treat of, adopted
Lucius Verus Commodus, who died before his friend, leaving an infant
ion. Of this man nothing is I think recorded, but that he lay on mat-
trefles of rofes, rendered elaftic by their quantity and number ; and that
he firft brought up the cuflom of making footmen run before a car-
riage. Thofe deftined for his ufe were boys, eminent in perfonal
beauty, drefled like the four winds, and their Lord called them Vo-
lanti they were lo drefled at Rome when I was there, and called fo
then. Adrian next fought an heir among the Stoics, though he him-
felf and his immediate favourites were of the Epicurean fchool. His
laft feleclion lighted on the man, whofe pure morality carts that of
every other monarch into fliadc ; and fearful left death fhould rob the
Romans foon of fuch a parent, he wiflied him to entail the fucceflion
on ftill further ; then, having provided pofterity with the protection of
the Antonines, retired to Baire, confulting his hearth only. In that

* The operation of champooing, in the eaft, feems another ma.iner of producing .1
like erica.

F 2 delightful

,11 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. 11.

delightful retreat it was, that he competed the \vell-known lines ad-
dreffed to his departing foul ; and as he had lived a philofopher, dc-
fired to die a poet.* His laft act of authority almoft, was fhipping off
incredible numbers of Jewifh captives into Spain, where they fubfifted
by working in the gold and filver mines, both in the character of la-
bourer and trader, till fome time about the year 1500 they were ex-
pelled either by Ferdinand or Emanuel. A ReirofpeSl of that peculiar
circumftance is ufeful, to elucidate the caufe of jealoufy which Spa-
niards have been always apt to difplay, concerning the antiquity of
their own families ; of which the true fource is, fear left they fhould
be fufpecled of fharing this old Jewifh, or elfe Moorifh blood. When
Sancho is afked about his matter's genealogy, De los Chriftianos mas
viejos, is his reply. That country, which was to Italy in Adrian's time
what Mexico has fmce been to all Europe, afforded no ill-devifed re-
treat to Hebrew avarice and genius for mean traffic ; but one wonders
why thofc mines fhould now reft quiet, whence Pliny fays 2O,ooo
pounds weight of gold were annually received at Rome. There is in-
deed a tradition, that the fhepherds who kept goats in Gallicia or
Afturia, having made a fire to burn fome flubbed rofemary, never
could quench it ; and having often tried, left it at length to end as
chance directed ; the fire then catching volcanic matter, fufed all the
metal by its violence, and carried away to fea. Some rivulets there,
is in Peru, are now called Lavaderos, from having warned ores and
minerals in their ftream : fome grains of gold are yet to be found too ;
but they confider the mines as ruined by fome accident, and can relate
none but this. Titus Antoninus meanwhile, fo juftly furnamed Pius,

* Animula vagula blandula, Gentle Soul ! a moment ftay,

Hofpes comefquc corporis, Whither wouldft thou wing thy way ?

Qua nunc abibis in local Cheer once more thy houfe of clay,

Pallidula rigida nudula, Once more prattle and be gay :

Nee ut foles dabis joca. See thy fluttering pinions play

Gentle Soul, a moment ftay !

the

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 45

the fucceflbr of Adrian, and the fixtccnth emperor of Rome, fought for
no treafures, except in hi.< own heart ; dcfired no conqueits, unlcls over
himfelf ; no wars, but with thofe appetites and pallions, which how-
ever he wifhcd not to annihilate but to reftrain; inafmuch as they
lead men to heroic adions, while under the dominion and guidance of
that reafon which, as heaven's laft, bcft gift, this wife and virtuous
Prince mifufed not in fubtle difputations or rhetorical flowers, but
exercifed in a perpetual attention to his duty, in an active and paternal
care of that ftate he was called to command preferring, on all occa-
fions, modefty to wit ; well-judged beneficence, to oftcntatious difplay
of fcntiment. In proof of his liberality, he gave up, on his acccflion,
the immenfe civil lift appointed for the maintenance of imperial fplcn-
dour ; defiring to live frugally, after the old Roman fafliion, with one
woman only, his wife, the firft Fauftina ; depending on his own fu-
perior merit to awe that world which he difdained to dazzle. But,
though he encouraged learned men, particularly Appollonius Chalcidi-
cus, his tutor, though he rewarded Juftin, and received, well plcafed,
the dedication of his epitome ; he confidered goodnefs as much nearer in
claim for favours, than either perfonal prowefs or mental endowment.
He would rather hear, he {aid, of one citizen favcd, than of a thoufand
enemies deftroyed. In his uncommon character was verified the faying
of that fagc, who pronounced her the beft woman of whom leaft could
be faid out of her own houfe while it is the reign of Titus that we
are told, affords of all others the fewcft materials for hiftory. In his
day Lent was firft inftituted, as an obfervation of our church ; Telcf-
phorus chanted the Gloria in Excei/ts ; and Hyginus, a Greek by birth,
called himfelf Pope, His fucceflbr, a native of Aquileia, confecrated
Chriflian virgins, in imitation of the veftals revered by Pagan fuper-
ftition : their having been priefts to fome heathen deity themfelves,
before convcrfion, might lead their thoughts perhaps in the fame track.
I take the commonly accepted chronology, and will not lofe my time
to prove or difavow it. Many miftakcs have been made by the wifcft,

concerning

4d THE SECOND CENTURY ; [CH. n.

concerning the years when fuch events befell ; and we are now at fuch
enormous diftance, that Retrofpettion may eafily be deceived. Remote-
nefs has the fame effecl: upon the mind as on the eye ; and as the
traveller to Italy looks back from the firft heights of Savoy he has
climbed, and fees the fertile provinces of France approximated by the
eminence from which he views them ; the Rhone contracted, till he
cries with Dyer,

A ftep, methinks, might pafs the ftream ;
So little diftant dangers feem.

So feels the reader of this trifling fummary. But let him, like the tra-
veller, feel good-humoured too, and fo amufed by the variety of ob-
jecls, as not to quarrel with the glafs he fees them through. Much
has been faid by authors about Quintilian, and whether he lived now
or long before ; but there were three of the fame name and family,
and all fupremely eminent for talents. He who faid, Natura nos ad
mentem optimum genuit, muft, one would think, have lived under the
Antonines. But if the baptifmal font was in their day, though not by
their defire, ereded to purify mankind from that original and native
iin, of which even they, tranfcendent creatures as they were, had fure
a taint ; we muft remember that Crefcens and Cerdon * flourifhed in
that century, and Apuleius wrote his Golden Afs. He wrote, befide,
a pretty allegorical fable of Cupid and Pfyche, in which the theory of
man's fall and reftoration are elegantly alluded to, with embellifhments
both from the true and falfe religions ; but Apuleius had been mucli
among the Platonifts, who myfticized every thing. Marino hands
down the fame tale to modern times ; Moliere took it from Marino,
and I have myfelf feen it reprefented in a pantomime ballet. Dio-
genes Laertius gave to mankind the lives of the philofophers during;
that century ; whence Menage's notes grew up in France, and Stanley's

* Two notorious heretics.

folio

CH.'II.] FROM TRAJAN 7 TO CARACALLA. 47

folio in Great Britain. Ptolemy too attracted notice from the world
in thofc days ; and if his new invented fyftem was not better than
that in ufe before, it had at leaft the merit of more deep rcfearch.
The old hypothecs however, gained more lafting praife, protracted
through Pythagoras, Copernicus, and Newton ; but Almagefl, fo the
Arabians afterwards called the Ptolomajan labours when digcfted,
continued the conteft many years. This writer drew from Egypt
his fkill in the fcience of aftrology. The rainbow and dove, fym-
bols of peace fince Noah left the ark, were known by familiar
names at Alexandria : Cleopatra's maids were called Charmion * and
Iras, even in Mark Antony's time ; and the favourite hieroglyphics
which thofe names denote, the dove and rainbow, may this day be
feen on the great obeliik brought by Caligula (chiefly for that reafon,
I believe) to Rome. Egyptian fupcrftitions obtained exceedingly
among the emperors. Adrian had one room filled with their deities ;
and Caligula had once a mind to maflacre the Roman fenate, quit
his country, and make himfelf a god in Alexandria, where, as they
worfhipt crocodiles, fays Crevier, they might perhaps have worfhipt
him. But we proceed to the progrefs of fcience ; for Jamblicus, in
the fecond century, wrote his Babylonica fo much praifcd, fo fa-
moufly abridged, and now fo completely forgotten : and Galen, called
to Rome upon an illnefs of the young Fauftina, daughter to Titus, and
lately married with his adopted heir, left it no more, till every effort had
been vainly tried to detain the invaluable life of Antoninus Pius, whofe
purity of morals, integrity of heart, and fpontaneous liberality, gave his
fubjed world a conftant and almoft a perfect example of confummatc
virtue for twenty years together : the greateft flrctch of it was, per-
haps, the adoption of Aurelius, in compliance to the will of the
deceafed Adrian, and the defired benefit of all mankind; in oppofition
to parental feeling, and the warm wifh, which he forbore to gratify,
of making the purple hereditary, by leaving it his own two fons.
It was by their hands, however, that the dying Emperor fent the
* Charmion means dove, and Iras is Iris dill.

46 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. it.

Jittlc golden image of good fortune to his beloved Fauflina and her
luifband ; commending it to their bed's head, as it had always flood up
at his own. The new Caefar haflened to receive his fovereign's lafl
command, and took upon himfelf to foothe thofe juftly afflicted multi-
tudes who lamented the death of their common parent and benefac-
tor, with piercing fhrieks along the flreets of Rome.

Hiflorians have observed how the different characters or modifications
of excellence prevailed in the firfl kings of that amazing nation, and
how the oppofition vifible in the manners of Romulus and Numa, of
Tullus Hoflilius, and Ancus Martius, promoted fenfibly the general
good, and matured the flatc's profperity. A like variety, for fpring and
autumn have aflrong refemblance ; may be faid to prefent itfelf to rea-
ders who contemplate the difpofitions of gentle Nerva, and of warlike
Trajan ; the fleady and domeflic habits of frugality practifed by grave
and pious Antonine, who never flept but two nights from his palace ;
and the high-polifhed elegance of travelled Adrian, whole voyages and
remarks would of themfelves create a ufeful volume ; but it is lefs
difficult to difcriminate the virtues of the good emperors, than it is
to feparate the vices of the bad ones. Thefe lafl are really fb much
alike, I never know which reign I have been reading, except by
fome trait more of the author than the man defcribed. A modern
writer fays the reafbn is this, " Virtue has proportions, but vice has
none." When in his Paul et Virginie, the old man teaches a young
fblitary what pafles in focial life ; the boy is at no lofs while they
are fpeaking of good people, but foon as he begins upon the wicked
ones, what could they mean by acting fb ? fays Paul ; I do not under-
ftand you. Our retrofpeSthc eye may now repofe on the great fiic-
cefTor of thefe great princes, who uniting every quality that can adorn
a throne, with every virtue that exalts humanity, has left the reign of
Aurclius a finifhed model for all future monarchs. Such were the
barriers lent by heaven awhile, to flop the progrefs of decay ; yet all
they did, and all they fuffered to fupport an empire, already grown

unwieldy

CH. n. j FROM TKAJAX TO CARACALLA. 4i)

unwieldy with age, and tottering under the weight of ills brought on
by a too rapid influx or" wealth, and a too wide dilatation ot" power,
evinces that they lived in ancient Rome's, autumnal day, when full
repletion finks into faticty, and the broad fun, tttough rich and radiant,
fcts at an early hour, leaving the fad horizon black with thick gather-
ing clouds, that fecm to prcfage a rough and llormy night. How, in-
deed, could it be otherwife, when pleafure was fo completely confi-
dcrcd as the fole buiinefs ot" the Senate's care ; that when Anrcliu.s
went out to war, he faid to them, I go to relieve Rome from all folici-
tude ; attend to your amufements, frequent your circus, let all an-
xiety be mine alone ; think you of felf gratification only. His colleague,
Lucius Verus, was indeed willing to pufli fuch pcrmiflion as far as it
would go ; for having thought it indifpcnfiblc to afTociatc him becauic
Adrian had chpien his father for a fucceilbr, and had recommended the
boy to Pius and himfelf ; the prefent Emperor found much embarrafT-
ment from a companion, whofe manners were in every way a contraft
to his own. Many fchemes of public benefit being fruftrated by one,
who, with equal power, ufed it fo pcrvcrfely, poifoning by his pernicious
example the conduct of thofe whom his virtuous partner was fludious to
reform ; among the reft Lucilla, daughter to our philofophic Marcus, but
difpofed to rcfemblc her hufband, not her father, \\ ho had vainly hoped
that marriage might perhaps reclaim them both, and tame a filly fpirit
of frolic gaiety, which overlcaptall bounds of duty and decorum. Thus
was renowned Aurclius, an example of his aiTertion, who fo feldom erred
in knowledge of life, or precepts of moralitv,* \\hcn he tells us that '" a-;
it is always lefs difficult to do evil than good ; although the \\ ifdom or
virtue of an individual can very rarely make many happy, yet may the
folly or wickedncfs of a fingle mind fer\e cafily to make all around him
wretched." Whilft, therefore, one imcreign mcritorioufly fought
to exhibit in his own conduct a pattern for pofterity to

* Dr. Johhfon.
VOL. 1. < though

50 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. n.

though ever at an immeafurablc diftance ; and the other as incef-
fantly difplayed mifchievous pranks, of eafier imitation and ftronger
allurement ; the wifer pait of the world faw its approaching change.
Cities fprung up in regions remote from common obfervation, and
Frankfort upon the Oder, was the work of Gauls; who wifhed to perpe-
tuate in that town's appellation, the memory of their favourite ge-
neral, Francus, fo called becaufe he freed them from Auguftus Caefar's
yoke, who permitted the family to take on them a name, by which they
are now but too well known, over the four continents ; and Turks
feem even -yet to fancy all Chriftians originally fprung from France.
'Till the time of Oclavius, part of what we now call fo, feems to have
been denominated Sicambria, from Cambria, wife of Antenor, fon to
the firft Marcomir. Her name was probably Gomaria, Gomrah,
Camrah, Cambria, from the great fountain of Teutonic families. Some
of the French yet retain words from the Welch, or Cambrian language.
The inhabitants of Bas Bretagne underftand a native of Anglefea or
Caernarvonshire, at the hour I am writing, and comprehend us when
we fay ycymrodorion, in Englifh, counlrymen ; or rather gomerodorion,
meaning brothers, defcended from one ftock Gomer. Brandenburg
likewife before this time had reared his gloomy front, and Brando,
their chief, fet up that flrange thing in the ftrect which flood there
fafe towards fifteen years ago ; of black bafalt it feemed, its fize colof-
fal ; I could get no one to tell me what it meant. The Germans had
no cities in Tacitus's time, but Marpurg now called itf elf capital of the
Cattians ; and CaJieUum has yet fcarce funk in the word CafTel, its an-
cient appellation. Horrid concuffions too (hook the wide empire on
its eaftern fide, and a portentous inundation of old Tyber frighting the
metropolis, left behind it a dangerous contagion. But Lucius Verus
at length failing a facrifice to his own mad exccfles, left his colleague
unfettered and aclive to provide for all. Defcended from Numa, he
like him delighted in all the tranquil and domeftic virtues ; fon by
adoption to Antoninus Pius, he defircd like him the civic crown ra-
ther

CH. n.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 51

ther than the laurel ; but the late Emperor's pacific temper produced
fbme confequent vexations to Aurelius. Nor fqueezed for tribute by
the hand of power, nor crulhed and trodden by the foot of defpotifm ;
the barbarous nations grew more infolcnt : while a revolt in Britain, and
a ftill more formidable rebellion againft the Emperor in Parthia, forced
out thofe talents for military glory which had till then, by his own wifli,
remained unknown. They fuccceded however, and he returned in
triumph to his capital : where the fine ftatue of him ftill remained in the
year 1 786, fublime in princely beauty ; difplaying ftill that dignity of
character which language labours vainly to exprefs, and fetting before
us the majeftic warrior, of whom thofe who have only read his acls
in ftory, form a too faint idea. And now believing that one of his
moil fignal victories had been won by the vaft efforts of his Chriftian
regiment, called on that great occafion Lcgio Fulminatrix, he liftened
the more willingly to Melito's apology, and feemed difpofed rather to
encourage than opprefs a faith he could not prevail uponhimfelf to cm-
brace. The cruelties exfercifed on Polycarp, however, were truly dread-
ful, and his endurance of them preternaturally, perhaps, heroic. When
urged to renounce our Saviour, thefe 86 years (faid he) do I ferve him ;
and I pray you bind me not to the ftake, for what you have power to
inflict, that will he give me ftrength to bear. Away with the impious !
exclaimed the proud Proconml ; away with the impious ! replied the
half-confumcd Chriftian from his flames; and if great Aurelius, when
he heard the talc, was moved to pity fuch behaviour, and to fay that
no more ot that fc-ct fhould be punifhcd for their opinions Jortin
need not have wondered fo, or tried to teach the Emperor four word>.
in which he might have comprifed with neatncfs the intent of hi--
decree.* Marcus Aurelius mult have undcrftood Latin as well as Dr.

* Nolumus Chriftianos ampl'ms rexari, are the words of our Doflor's prefaiptive Latin.
M.ircus Aurelius feems fated to occafion offence to modern pedantry. It was the
fport of the French wits to plague Monficur and Madame Dacier, by faying, Ay, ay,
your Marcus Aurelius was a fine man ; but by whole order was it that the laints were
martyred at Lyons ? to fee the comical rage into which they both would fly, particu-
larly the lady. Vide all the French // .

52 THE SECOND CENTURY ; [CH. n.

Jortin, we'll fuppofe, but retaliation joas the way in thofe days ;
and when the prince permitted rcfiftance, he knew his own people
would torment them no more. He therefore wrote, to afTure his too
zealous governours, that if they pcrfifted in difturbing innocent men
concerning crimes themfclves fcarcely pretended to underftand,
their bodies (hould be condemned to bear the pains that their feve-
rity fhould Jnfift on. New wars and new commotions meantime
calling him out once more to defend the limits of an empire, expofed
to hourly encroachments, and grieving his good fpirit with the
thoughts of obligation to lay on frefli taxes, he difpofed of the imperial
jewels for the payment of his troops, having reduced his own efta-
blifhment even to a primitive fnnplicity 'fpite of the Emprefs's ex-
travagant defires, which, though f uppofcd by all to have brought falle
heirs to his crown and dignity, he fuffcred not to difturb the public
welfare. As daughter to Titus he deified her when fhe died ; nor
would furFer any one's information to caufe a word between them
during the life of her, through whom he became the fon of Antoninus
Pius. Her genius for expence required his tightcft curb, and ibmc-
thing from the civil lift was ftill referved too for the reward of ufeful
talents ; witnefs Polyenus, the Macedonian, who for eight books, con-
taining an account of nine thousand ftratagems employed in the art of
war, received a royal prcfent. Cafaubon bought the Greek copies
many ages after, and I myfelf faw them advertifed in Englim notfevcn
years ago.

Such was the uniform excellence of this fovcrcign, that the com-
monwealth feemed revived under hisadminiftration; which always left
the fenate (as of old) to determine without appeal, and certain of their
preference in all matters of moment, he chofe rather to guide their
councils by influence of his fuperior intellect, than to rule their deter-
minations by dint of acknowledged authority. In return for fuch ad-
mirable, fiich exemplary conduct, the Fathers decreed him an enemy
to the ftate, whofe houie mould be found without a picture or ftatue

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 53

of their divine Marcus Aurelius; and it was then firft fettled to a com-
mon proverb

Libertas nunquam clariorextat quam fub regc pio.*

Speed fays that a Chriftian king at this time ruled in Britain; but Speed
is liafty in his firm aflertion, for Lucius, whom he fpeaks of, the Em-
peror's colleague, had long been dead, and never was baptized. Yet
that there was a king Lucius many old ballads atteft, and he, perhaps,
hearing of the miracle ihewn before two armies in favour of our faith,
might poffibly defire and receive baptifm. Pope Eleuthcrius is faid,
at his requeft, to have fent over miffionaries here, who, fbme think,
founded our firft bifhop's fees, where the Arch-Flamcns before them
refided ; at London, metropolis of Britannia prima ; at York, the
capital of Maxima Ccefarienfis, and at Caerleon-upon-Ufke, in Wales,
chief city of Britannia fccunda. Papal command near the fame time
prohibited the fuperftitious refufal of any thing that was man's meat,
and a church was built in Cornhill dedicated to St. Peter. Meanwhile
Rome's braveft General, yet unfatigued, purfued his conquefts over the
barbarians, which, like hydra's heads, rofe in ftill greater numbers to
his fword ; and having left a fet of political lectures behind him with
the fenate, for whofe ufe they were compofed, and who, when liftcn-
ing to his lail directions, interrupted them only by tears of anxiety or
acclamations of rapture he quitted Italy and returned to it no more ;
catching a fcarlet fever from fome prifoners in Pannonia, where the
phyficians, fee'd by Commodus, took care he never Ihould recover.
Suffering, however, no dangers to controul his truly intrepid fpirit, no
forrows to awaken his ftoical tranquillity, internal peace contemning
outward ills, beamed on his fercne majeftic countenance, till this frefh
proof of his young fucccflor's depravity ; then the fon's crime forced

An adage Claudian configncd to poetical remembrance, by adaptation, many ages

after. Xunquam llbc itas gratlor (xjlat quam fub rege fie.

from

54 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. n.

from the dying patriot a groan of anguifh To what a guide, faid he,
I leave the world ! and died. When Phoebus could but with difficulty
poife the feat indeed, well might light Phaeton fall headlong from the
car. The Roman power fliewed evident fymptoms of incipient decay :
corruption could no longer be reftrained, whilft opulence flowed in
with every tide, and vice as certainly fapped the now-foftened founda-
tions of a ftrudure, battered by invaders from undifcovered regions,
and barbarous multitudes who fought but to devour and deftroy.
Commodus cared little for their adls or their intentions. Herodian
defcribes, with great fpirit, the boyifh hafte he made to get to Rome,
where his uncommon beauty fecured him admiration. Effeminate and
gay, he foon difmiffed his father's mufty counfellors ; furnifhed his im-
perial houfe with fix hundred human creatures devoted to his pleafure ;
powdered his own fine auburn hair with gold duft, to encreafe its
brilliancy ; fpent on his toilet, in ten weeks, more than his predecef-
for's whole eftablifhment had coft the public in the laft ten years ; and
took arms in his white hand only to kill wild beafts withal a diver-
fion that difplayed his elegance of mien and accuracy of eye, and in
which he was eminently fkilful, cutting off the necks of oftriches as
they ran fwiftly round the arena, with arrows cunoufly conftrucled
and headed with a half-moon. It feems as if tyranny and archery had
fome unaccountable connection: not only this Emperor but Domitian
was furprizingly certain of his aim ; and it had been his fport to make a
child ftand with his little fingers ftretched open againfl a wall, and then
flick a dart between every two of them, fhot from prodigious diftance.
The ftory of William Tell preferves the memory of our laft renowned
Toxopholite and tyrant of modern times : there was an intermediate
tale of the fame kind told fomewhere about the tenth century ; and
our ballads celebrate their William of Cloudefelie for the fame acl: of
heroic flcill. Truth is, hiftorians ferve the dim up again and again,
and one facl: gains belief in very feparate ages. Philip of Macedon
puflied away a woman who was troublefome to him with fome peti-
tion,

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 53

tion, as he journeyed along: Be not our king then, if you will not
hear us, replied the woman : the monarch then granted her requcft.

Auguftan Hiftory relates this of Adrian, and it was told me for a
truth, at Vienna, of Jofeph II. Query, Was it ever true at all ? One
thing is Cure, however, that the church of Chrift gained firmnefs un-
der the reign of this light-hearted profligate, whofe beft praife is, that
he firft inftituted a company of corn merchants for the prevention of
famine at Rome, where a medal, ftill extant, was ftruck on the occa-
fion ; Africa prefenting the Emperor with ears of wheat, and a Greek
infcription, that all were happy under the reign of Commodus ; who,
among his numerous new titles, took the name of F<elix, and fays he
would renew the golden age. This fovereign erred lefs through ma-
lice than mere wantonnefs ; and when he flit an old fenator's ear, un-
der pretence of having his hair cut fafhionably, we muft needs know
that half Eton fchool would play the fame trick, were they, like this
boy, inverted with illimitable power. Making Aurclius's worthy old
prasfecl: dance naked among his young concubines, and letting them
hoot and ridicule, and at length throw him in the mote to feed tame
lampreys, was a little worfe. That poor fellow found his no golden
age. Oppian the poet, in thefe times, projected his well-known poem
on the Chacc, as likely to recommend him to Commodus's favour,
who was fo fuccefsful in the deftrudion of wild beads ; he afterwards
dedicated it to Caracalla, the dreadful hunter, whofc chief game wa-
man; while Julius Pollux compofed his Onomafticon, of which Pi-
nelli pofTeffed a fine edition, A. D. 1/80; and fomc Sclavonian tribes
laid the firft ftones of Utrecht. Nor were the fchools of religion or
learning difcouragcd, though whim, and gaiety, and filly pranks were
all the Emperor thought of. In order to fupport fuch profufe-
nefs, all places of truft were fet to fale, and trcafnrcs quite incon-
ceivable were lavimed upon the Prince's dhTolute companions ; among
whom all his lifters were comprized, except Lucilla, widow of Lucius
Verus : her hufband, a Roman fenator of ancient mould, and friend

to
*

56 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. n.

to philofophic Marcus, refufed her company to Commodus's com-
mand ; the next day, of courfe,, faw him and his wife expire upon a
fcaffold.

Lightning now ftruck, the capitol at Rome, and the great library
collected by Adrian, of immenfe value, was burned to the ground.
Two thoufand people died in one circle of twenty-four hours, from a
new peftilence, caufed by the heat and crowd in this thick -thronged
metropolis. Plagues raged at home, and famines wafted the limits of
the empire ; whilft the young fovereign, intent on a new frolic, pur-
pofed to fence naked in the amphitheatre, and there exhibit his fym-
metric form to forty thoufand admirers at once. This fhamelefs pro-
ject, this unheard-of folly, revolted the delicacy of his moft favoured
female, Marcia ; and prompted her to reprefent the meannefs of fuch
conduct, in terms her uncontradifted paramour was little likely to for-
give. He wrote her name on the dead lift immediately : but a fondled
baby picking up the paper as he played about the apartments, and
bringing it the lady by mere chance ; flie refolved to prevent her own
death by her mafter's ; and eafily engaging his chamberlains' affiftance,
who faw themfelves marked down with her for execution threw her
zone round his undefended neck while bathing, and, helped by two
aflaffins, foon deftroyed a prince who, had he met with any other
death, had fcarce deferved companion. Commodus feems to have ap-
proached modern exuberance more than any other fovereign we have
mentioned yet ; he had a genius for mechanic arts. Unlike Fhnius
Vefpafian, to whom, when fome one prefented a machine for ufeful
purpofes, the Emperor faw him rewarded, and the mcchanifm burnt ;
for how, faid he, muft my fubjecls live by labour, if all their work is
to be done by engines ? On the contrary, this youth, elaborately volup-
tuous, gave immenfe fums to the inventors of umbrella chariots, which,
I believe, had fprings to them betides. When Pertinax afterwards made
a falc of his effecis, the people, loft as they were to virtue (fay toilo-
rians), were alhamed to buy. Thus in this hccdlefs, though flagitious

reign,

en. ii.] FROM TRAJAX TO CARACALLA. 57

reign, more evil of every fort luid been diflcminatcd, that the paft five-
fcorc years of excellence could counteract : nor were his fucccflbrs.
rphemcron monarchs, likely to fupport the dignity of that dominion
which dropt from the hands of five or fix pretenders in courfc of only
eight months. Though this much muft be faid for Pertinax, that he
had been a fenator, a prefect, and a commiffary ; had taught language
in the fchools, and carried colours in the field; had fuffered hardfhips
without complaint, and acquired rank without meanncfs of folicita-
tion ; yet, though a man of incomparable underftandinc, ftyled by his
intimates the tennis-ball of fortune, and earned to Jhew me had at
length bccnjuft; his name would never have defcended to pofterity,
had he not worn the purple eighty-fix days, and feen it torn from him
on the eighty-fcventh, with life, which he valued lefs for no fault he
had committed, or was even fufpecled of. Mean Didius, who had
bought the feat of rule with money, parted from it, as might be ex-
peeled, with more reluctance, like a mifcr from his hoard ; which
Niger arrived not at pofTcffing, till after the Britifh and caftern gene-
rals had for a while difputed the dangerous pre-eminence. Accident,
concurring with the fpirit of riot and impetuofity that now determined
every great event, placed Septimus Severus on the throne. The reins
of government were held with difficulty even by this active and vigi-
lant commander, Vert Pertinax, Ver2 Severus, as he was called ; who
law aftonifhed, new tokens of rebellion mark various parts of the tu-
multuous world ; and had the afHi&ion to ufe, in his own camp,
coins with effigies of Donald, king in Scotland. Harafled on every
fide by a variety of opponents, who, though often conquered to out-
ward appearance, were never never again completely fubdued in re-
ality ; and, more attentive to retain the fovereignty for hirrrfelf and
his two fons, than to fupport the authority of the parent country over
nations rifing in refiftance every hour ; the gout feized and confined
him to a painful bed at York, when fome flatterer exprefling furprifc
that he could rule fo vaft an extent of dominion, being fo lame, fick^
VO-L. I. H and

5ft THE SECOND CENTURY; [en. n.

and unwieldy I manage the empire, faid Severus, with my head,
and, tender as they be, I will yet ftrive to keep it down with my feet.
The gout however laying hold upon a vital part, he died here in the
north of England, where he had long kept a fort of court, in order to
be near at hand in cafe of any difturbance from the Gauls : and though
an indefatigable general, eminent for the neceffary virtues of foldier-
like courage and manly fortitude, he felt in death the imperial power
crumbling from his throne, a feat more highly raifed than deeply fixed
in. his day; not as it flood in time of Auguftus Caefar, to all appear-
ance rooted in a firm and feemingly immoveable ftability. Two hun-
dred years about this time elapfmg fince our religion firft was founded,
the refro/peffive eye refts for a moment upon St. Irenaeus's martyrdom,
and will obferve Origen, furnamed Adamantius, adding new luftre to
his great profeffion, while the warm eloquence of bold Tertullian *
enforced thofe truths which neither herefy could choke, nor perfecution
kill ; though controverfy raged between the eaflern and the weftern
church with a degree of violence incredible. One may obferve, in-
deed, that early difcuffions in faith or politics add energy and ftrength
both to the church and ftate. When both are founded fafely howfo-
ever, he is the greateft blockhead who difturbs them, and tries to raife
a dangerous fermentation ; but when decay begins to taint, or atrophy
to numb their conftitution, talking their merits and their faults again
over, revives a latent fpark once more perhaps, and animates them to a
longer continuance.

* Of Tertullian's eloquence, fuffice the fine allufion to Chrift's miracle, when
fleeping in the little fhip betofled with ftorms he waked, rrtwked the winds, and
there was a great calm. So, fays the orator, 'tis with our Chriftian Church, beaten
by perfection's roughed waves. Let but our Redeemer arife and fpeak the word, all
lhall atonce be ftill. The affinity this has to Horace's ode, "Oh navis ret'ert in
mare, &c." is furely no difcredit to the paflage ; yet fays Balzac, " On appelle ob-
fcur ce genie enorme ; if faut pourtant avouer que 1'obfcuritc de Tertullien comme le
noirceur de 1'cbene jette un grand eclat." It is natural for Balzac to like Tertullian.

CHAP.

cir. ixi.j FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS.

CHAP. III.
FROM CARACALLA TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS.

FIRST PORTION OF THE THIRD CENTURY.

TT 7E ftill are chained to biographic anecdotes, few general facts oc-
curring in thefe tirrfts on which to fix our retrofycff'rue glafs,
through which .indeed the Goths are feen dividing on each fide the
Wefer, then Vifurgis ; and called <7/?phalians and ^/?phalians for that
caufe while the Jews clofed the book they called the Talmud, and
Chriflians openly and without fear celebrated the day the Saviour of
our world was born. Of politics, as of an art, little can be predicated,
while to the care of one mind only the great and general whole was
feen committed. Mankind had hitherto been influenced to good or
ill chiefly by the example fet them by their rulers,* on whofe imme-
diate fiat all depended ; nor did the befl among them fpend much time
in making laws which the next fbvereign's lips could on the infant
abrogate or confirm. The lex talionts was their beft fandard of moral
rectitude ; and when Auguftus, fupping with a fenator, had feen him
enraged againft a flave for breaking one of the glades that they drank
out of, he watched how far paflion would lead the man, refolvcd to
make him fuffer the next day, and fee how he mould like retaliation.
But when the poor flave was flung out of the window by his mailer's
order, the Emperor cbuofe not to go fo far, but fent an officer early the

* Caffiodorus, two hundred and fifty years after this period, fays,

Facilius crrare naturam eft, quam principem formare
RempubJicam diffimilem fibi.

H.2 next

60 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. in.

next morning to break every glafs in this fcnatorial houfe ; a punifli-
ment that makes a modem reader laugh. Nor could Aurelius ma-
nage any better, although his muft have really been a faultlefs charac-
ter, could he have prevailed upon himfelf to have fet worthlefs Corn-
modus afide. But if he fell in the fnare of fondnefs for his fon, how
muft mankind agree in condemnation of mean, felf-intereiled Sevcrus'
cares, when dying, he advifed his boys to love each other, to revere
his memory, to pay their foldiers well, and laugh at all the world be-
fides. Such counfels fure almoft deferved what followed ; when the
monfter Caracalla, foon as his father died, purfued into the weeping
widow's arms his brother Geta, whom he murdered there, forcing the
affrighted parent not long after into an impious marriage with him-
felf; and erafing every alto relievo in Rome, erected to perpetuate re-
membrance of him who had fliared the pleafures of his childhood. The
area degl orifici remains even now a monument of this unnatural
hatred, which the inhabitants of Alexandria, with more indignation
than it was prudent to exprefe, ventured to ridicule, and when the
Emperor came there in progrefs, OEdipus and Jocafta was acted for
his entertainment a jefl, faid he, for which I will foon make their
boafted river run red to the fea with blood. Nor was he backward to
execute the apparently exaggerated menace : when the next night the
theatre was opened, a band of fbldiers watched the audience out, and
murdered, without fparing age or fex, all who had feen the lucklefs re-
prefentation. When it is reflected on, that thefe old theatres held
from four to five thoufand fouls at once, we wonder not that fuch
tyrannic meafures foon taught the terrified fubjects a new leflbn ; they
hafted to take out the name of Geta from medals, coins, &c. nay even
from the comedies of Terence, fubftituting quickly fome other in its
room ; nor dared a private man, making his will, bequeath a legacy
to one who bore it. Yet could not Caracalla, though temperate in his
diet, and delighting in rough exercife, drive from his anxious mind the
horrors of a wild diftempered fancy : the figure of his father flill pur-
fued

CH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 61

fued him, and ftill the figure cried, Omniafui, nihil expcdit. Now, of
his brother's partizans and friends fell twenty thoufand in one night at
Rome : all who had ever ferved him as domeftics, all houfcs where he
ever vifited, were marked; yet, fpite of all that murder, all that maf-
iacre, fome courage and fome virtue yet remained. The ftoic advo-
cate Papinian, commanded to plead in public, and aflert the necefiity
of Geta's death, refufed to do fo offering his head to the executioner,
who cut it inftantly away, after having heard him obfervc only, that it
was eafier for an emperor to commit fratricide than for profeflbrs of the
law tojuftifyit. Helvetius Pertinax too, fon of the momentary mo-
narch, hearing how the name of Parthicus had been decreed to Cara-
calla, for fome advantages gained by grofs treachery over Artabanes,
faid, that he thought the appellation Geticus might not be much amils
(there were a barbarous people called the Getae), and for that witti-
cifm he was content to lofe his life. And now his favourite female was
no more, who partly had reftrained this rage for blood ; the lumber-
ing dead-cart, as in days of peftilence, knocked nightly at fome fena-
torial gate, demanding victims to his fell revenge ; who, after burning
Ariftotle's books, and putting down all fchools throughout the em-
pire ; after having long deferved and fecretly received the title oppofite
to that of Titus, accurfed of all mankind ; was at laft aflaflinated by
command of Macrinus the provoft, who fuccceded him, and reigned a
year and half. He was lamented by his foldiers however, who loved
a hard hand and a generous purfe, and dcfpifed effeminacy more than
they feared inexorable ftridnefs. The phyficians no doubt thought
his death their releafe : when teazed by ficknefs upon fome occafion he
had ordered three of them for execution, bccaufe, he faid, they did not
cure him fooner, who never retarded the fuccefs of medicine by habits
of intemperance; his paffion for the memory of Alexander was fup-
pofed to have infpired him with fome of thefe freaks. A man at
Home pleaded a caufc of property before him : Who are you ? faid
the Emperor. A Macedonian, Ccefar. And your father's name ?

Philip.

(52 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. in.

Philip. He railed that fellow to the rank of praetor, and gave hi>
corripetitor's fortunes into his hand. The fon, lays he, of Philip ot
Macedon, lhall never acknowledge a conqueror. In thclc dais the
village of Ernmaus, celebrated in facred writ from our Saviour's ap-
pearing there after his refurreclion, was made into a city by the Em-
peror's command, and called Nicopolis, in honour of a victory over
the barbarians : that name remains to it ftill. Of this unrelenting
Prince it is obferved, that all his bufts and ftatues have a mean cha-
racter. Though not deformed, he was particularly ugly ; and when
Italians employed to fhew foreigners the curiofities of Rome, clap a
round Englifh hat upon his head, as they delight exceedingly to do,
he looks like Tom Nero in Hogarth's prints, called the Four Stages of
Cruelty. Meanwhile it fignified every day lefs and lefs who was created
emperor. Severus was an African, Macrinus was a Moor ; and fincc
the nobleft Roman had taken on himfelf the character of gladiator, the
gladiators might, with not much lefs propriety, afpire to the firft offices
of the ftate. When high-born Commodus publicly took his title of Se-
cutor, and fighed to engage the Retiarius on a common ftage, remind-
ing men of his mother's paffion for a prize-fighter, perpetuated by ftill
exifting ftatues of Fauftina and her lover, with the infignia of Mars and
Venus ; difgracing the purple was no more a term, and it was of
fmaller consequence who wore it. Sciences too feemed to have paft
their acme ; and as the people grew flaviih. they grew dull. Critics
accufe their beft hiftorians of growing prolix and languid ; and though
Dion does certainly defcribc the dreadful eruption of Mount Vefuvius
with much fpirit, having himfelf heard, even to Capua, the hollow
prefaging roar, by which was followed an almoft unexampled burft
from the mountain ; we find convulfions of the ftate told tamely,
cither fpun out in tedious cold narration, or broken into points equally
ill-placed, by a puerile defire of becoming brilliant, which are as often
blunted too by native infipidity. The fifth edition of the Bible, com-
trjonly called the Vulgate, I believe, was about this time found near to

Jericho,

en. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 63

Jericho, hid in an empty wine cafk : church-yards were confccrated
for Chriftian burying-places ; Zcphirinus, a Roman Pope, made the
communion chalice glafs, which had till then been wood, and his
fucceflbr, Calixtus, ordered ember days to prepare clergy before their
ordination. He forbade marriage to the fourth degree. Thefe anec-
dotes we have from Platina and others, but that Caracalla was the
man mentioned in Offian's poems, as Caracul, fon to the King of the
world, merits, as the phrafe is, confirmation.

It is certain that the old records of our modern nations arc enve-
loped in mift, like the grey dawn when it rifes flow and fad from be-
hind the mountains of Morna ; when, feeble and blind, the bard liftens
to the wind as it drives on a low-hung cloud, and voices are heard
above. Dark among wintery ftorms, and difficult to underftand are
the tales of other times, while the echoing ftream of Duvranno feeks
the black-rolling fea, leaving no trace of the poet's pride. Macpherfon
is gone, and Johnfon went before him ; and to afcertain the authen-
ticity of Fingal, men of lefs genius than they were, muft be left. If
Scotland did then produce heroes and bards, it is ftrange that we fhould
read of them as cannibals in Campden or Ammianus Marccllinus, two
hundred years after Caracul is mentioned : but different diftrids might
have different manners, and barbarifm might return again whence it
had once been driven. It is ftrange too, that the Caledonians mould
call this Emperor by a foufbriquet, when Baffianus was his real name,
and Antonine his afTumed one. That appellation now went forward
as the name Auguftus had done before, exprefling the greateft ho-
nour a fubjecT: world could confer upon its prince. The filky Syrian
of Emefa, indeed, who, when Macrinus darned himfelf headlong from
his car in dcfperation, for the death of his only fon, mounted the
font of power at thirteen years of age, defpifed all nominal diftinc-
tions, except that of his own god Elagubalus Thammuz I believe ;
or Adonis, whofe abfence was wept by women, with a thoufand
ftralige polluted myfterics fliewn in vifion to E/ckicl. The icholiaft
upon Pindar fays, that the fun was of old called a ftone, and Anaxa-

goras

64 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. in.

goras of Clazomenas had prophefied, that a ftonc (liould fall from the fun ;
betros or pctros was fhown as the very ftonc ; perhaps by analogy or by
corruption, petra at length was name for any ftonc : there was a pro-
hibition given the early profelytes to Chriftianity no more ad petras
vota reddere : be this as it may, Rome faw aftonifhed her new fove-
reign bring his new deity, a great unformed ftone, with triumph to
their ancient capitol -backing the fix milk white fteeds that drew it
in, for purpofe of (hewing the idol more rcfpecl. The people gazed,
yet could not chufe but grieve to fee the tutelar divinities of Rome
neglected, while hecatombs were weekly offered to this eaftern in-
truder, by a weak, vicious boy, diflblved in vice, who praclifed de-
baucheries of every fenfc, in every pofiible, every wwpoffible mode, till
folly failed, and flavery could fupply no more. They would have
fooner fliewn their averfion to Elagabalus the pricft, had they not
feared to offend the god he brought with him : they recollected how
the famous Cybele was fetched from Peffmus, during the fecond punic
war, and fuppofed to bring happincfs in her train ; though, on arrival,
fhe, like this new comer, was found to be only a large conical ftone, called
of the place fhe came from, Peffinuntia. Such was the image that fell
down from Jupiter, the great Diana of the Ephefians effect of a vol-
canic explofion probably, ill underftood, and carried in the atmofphere
to fome fpot where ignorance regarded it as an objecl of fuperftition.
Shapelefs ftones had been fet up for worfhip in feveral places, and called
Betylia, probably from thofe the patriarch Jacob flept upon when on
his journey to Syria. The event happening at. Bethel confirms the idea
by its etymology, and it was in all times a Syrian object of adoration.
The Syrians of Emcfa were Surians, Surus was the Sun, Dea Suria
was Dca Solaris. This divinity ripened their gums, fruits, and fpices ;
and its abfence was mourned of courfe, though not of long continu-
ance ;* it was fometimes god, fometimes goddefs, but Adonis was<

* / thought it ftrange the Syrians Jfiould lament a lofs fo foon repaired : and
Monfieuv Bailly (as Sir William Jones tells us) faid the fame thing. Jones laughs at.

Bailly

CH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 65

the perfon chiefly alluded to, favourite of Venus, and Hcliogabalus
we muft acknowledge a proper prieft for him, who inftitutcd a fenate-
houfe for female debates, and entertained troops of bacchante girls
and empty parafites, with feafts which coft fixty thoufand guineas of
our money each, for many nights together, making a hair-drr/Tor
head of the privy council, a dancing-boy praefcd of the city, and at
length, forming a proceffion through the degraded (erects, drawn by
four women, the mod beautiful that could be found, in honour of an
idol to which he facrificed rarities of quite inordinate expence, while
he himfelf and his immediate favourites were diverted by weighing the
cobwebs of the capital, in order to judge the better of its population :
Many of his tricks and whimfies are recorded the dinner fet for eight
blind men, eight deaf, and eight fo fat they could not fit at table, was
given in the true fpirit of licentious childhood, laughing at human
infirmity ; and poffibly it might have been from his caprice of fufrb-
cating people with perfumes for fport, that modern ladies in Italy
have fuch a dread of fcented powder, and every kind of vegetable
fragrance. Till his time fweets were fafhionable in Rome ; Otho had
fo flung perfumes about the chamber, when Nero dined with him, as
to endanger his own fafety from the tyrant who had efleemed him-
felf happy in procuring a fmall phial of this incftimable odour, per-
haps the now well-known otto of rofes, extracted from thofe flowers
in the eaft even then. The eating rooms, we know, were ftrewed
with lilies, a very powerful and overbearing fmell, and they fate with
garlands of flowers on their heads at fupper, throwing them into the
bowl of wine for frolic and convivial merriment.

Thofe luxuries were driven down into fatuity by the weak head of

Bailly for fancying they worfhipped fire moft fervently in cold countries ; he fays,
Calcutta is cold enough in fome r""v.ths ; and that the tradition of a warrior bard,
named Antarah, expiring upon a high mountain in Arabia, for want of warmth to
drive the blood along, proves they had caufe enough for lamentation, when Tham-
muz, or the fun, kept out ef fight.
VOL. I. I childifh

6 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. nr;

chi'.difh Heliogabalu:;, who, whilft his cooks invented a new fauce,
more to the tafte of" the mad girls, his gay companions, forced them
to live on that they fent up laft, and faw that the command was
obeyed even to rigour. Till tired, at length, with repeating tales
true and falfe, concerning the marriage of this painted minion, who
certainly did at the altar wed in a female drefs his own he-Have, one
Hieroclcs, who was called publicly the Emprefs's hufband, by whom
they faid he was contented to be beaten too, that the wife's character
might be completely acled ; they maffacred the effeminate voluptuary
one day, under whofe horfe's feet they had ftrewn filver duft fomc
weeks before, that he might tread more fbftly. With him his mother
Soemis was killed, who held her darling clafped in her faithful arms,
when the indignant foldiery, enraged at hearing he designed to take
his coufm's life, young Alexander; fet him upon the throne, and
finiflicd the fanatic revels of defpicable fuperftition, by tying the filly
prieft and deity together, and throwing them into Tyber, where the
black ftone funk the fair youth at once ; leaving their common name
to fwim along the ftream of time, with that of Sardanapalus their
countryman, who died nine hundred or a thoufand years before.
Helvicus, the great theological profeffor, fays, that the Targum of Je-
rufalem was compiled about this time; but Scaliger fets it earlier,
and 1 fuppofe his is the leaft controvertible authority ; he tells us,
the Targumifts might have fcen Jefus Chrift if fo, we are a century
too forward here. The Targum was a collection of Chaldee para-
phrafes on the Old Teftament, of which Fourmont has given a very
curious extract ; but Retrofo&ion cannot turn afide, where learning
rails, though loudly; our little book muft gather common occur-
rences as it rufhes on, and ftraws will ftick fometimes inftead of pearls.
Meanwhile Baden was built in Germany, either by Septimius Severus,
lather to Caracalla, who had received benefit from the warm bathing
there ; or elfe by Alexander, kinfman, countryman, and fucceflbr to
Elagabalus. Thefe Syrian princes attraded the notice of a Roman

CH. IK.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SKVRRUS. 67

camp fixed at Emcfu ; and as they were nephews to Julia Domini,
-mother of murdered Gcta, were deemed worthy of the imperial
purple, which feldom defccndcd on in the fame family for any
length of lime. The emperors had fcldom fons to live, or if tru-y
.hud, fome accident almoft perpetually intervened, that caufed fuc-
^ceflion ftill to change its courfe, and this votary of foft Adonis was how
,no more. Thofe then who are Ikilled in the ftrangc mcchanifm of the
Jhuman mind, and tell us that every man, popularly fpeaking, would
-rather be called rogue than fool, may, from the horrible portraits
prefervcd in this laft chapter, deduce an obfcrvation not unlike it.
'Tis that the world feems to have felt more offence at having been,
.though but awhile, made miferably fubfcrvicnt to the grofs appetites
of brutal Vitelli us, the wild caprice of mad Caligula, or the depraved
wantonncfs of a wicked boy, their laft contemptible ruler, than they
appeared to feel under the iron fceptrc of timid and inhuman Domi-
tian ; or when the ftouteft heart palpitated with apprchcnfion under
the fanguinary reign of Caracalla, who, after his death, was quietly
enrolled among the gods, whilft his young fucceflbr was toft into the
river, as loathfome Vitellius had been long before. Like him too
was he followed by an exemplary prince, whofe purity of manners
needed no contraft to fet off its whitenefs ; on this luminous fpot the
ye of Retrofatfion refts delighed, and fees at length a worthy charac-
ter gracing the feat where fate the half celeftial Antonines ; but Alex-
ander Severus modcftly declined a name no mortal fliould he faid prc-
.fume to accept, but who had firft deferved it. The earlieft ftep taken
by him for that good purpofe, was to fcparate the male and female
bathers a meafure fet on foot by Domitian, and perfected, in fpitc
.of refiftance from the fcoffers, by Adrian's defirc of polifhing his
people. Till time of Elagabalus they had been kept apart; and his time
was but fhort. All his extravagance, and all his folly, was comprcfled
within the fpace of three years and ten months at moft, from his ri-
diculous entry into the city with his idol, to the bleft day, when the

I 2 Pnetorian

68 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. in.

Praetorian bands refcued his virtuous coufm from fears of execution,
and inverted him with the fupreme command. His next care was to
throw down the indecent ftatues fet up by his lafcivkms predeceflbr,
particularly one of exquifite workmanfhip and colofTal fize, reprefent-
ing Volupia trampling Virtue under feet. An old Greek Jupiter and
Leda was preferved, becaufe of its uncommon excellence and fmaller
fize ; 'twas taken care of once again when Attila facked Rome, and
carried to Venice, where the tale was told me. An hofpital was now
fet up, the firft upon record, like our Afylum, meant to preferve the
children of poor people from any neceffity of their proftitution. Mam-
masa the queen mother, was made prefident happy if her fon's pious
gentlenefs had carried filial consideration no further, than to have fur-
nifhed her with means of doing good : but to her avarice he yielded
fomewhat, and to her ambition facrificed himfelf, repudiating at her
command the lady he propofed to marry, and never taking to himfelf
another wife, for fear of giving her a moment of uneafinefs. Women
bore immoderate fway in Syria, where to refufe the fex regard, was
confidered as an offence to heaven. Masfa and Soemis had been ad-
mitted to councils of flate in the preceding reign, and that Mammaea
might be ftopt from requiring public honours, the Emperor loaded
her with private emoluments ; while ferious fludy or elegant arts di-
vided the days and nights of this praifeworthy Prince, who fought, as it
fhould feem, to refcue human nature from the difgraces brought upon
it by his coufm. His talents feconded his application, and he was
eminently fkilful in painting, fculpture and architecture ; yet, ever
ready at the call of war, he faced revolting provinces with active va-
lour, and by dint of a difcipline worthy Fabius or Fabricms, his camp
refembled a well-regulated city, till b^y, reduction of Ctefiphon and other
diftricts in the eaft, the Roman empire certainly refumed, with a falfc
fhow of priftine virtue, a fliort but fallacious hope of fpreading to its
ancient limits. Imitating, though diftantly, his admirable conduct, we
fee his general, like himfelf, victorious : Celfus drove back the Mauri-

tanians

CH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 69

tanians in Afric, and Palmatus returned with conqucfl from Armenia ;
but all except himfelf were weary of praclifing fclf- denial. The Ro-
mans had been temperate in old times, becaufe they could not be luxu-
rious ; but opulence like theirs is antidote to virtue, and it was to make
their court alone, that individuals had, under the Antonines, preferved a
fhow of it. Their ruler's fteady redlitude fprung from a nobler fburce ;
brave, chafte, and merciful, he fet the befl example to his fubjcds ; he
ftopt all perfecution of the unoffending Chriftians, and though a poly-
theift by proftffion, kept a picture of our Saviour always in his clofet,
a crucifix at his bed's head ; but better far than all exterior reverence,
he kept the divine precept, which he delighted to repeat, Do ye to others
as ye would have others do to you, not only in his lips but in his heart ;
not only in his heart, but in his aclions. Upon this great, this govern-
ing principle, the youthful monarch was firfl to refufe the flavifh
homage pradifed to his predeceflbrs, of kiffing the imperial toe or flip-
per ; a cuftom, as he faid, unworthy men, and Romans. He loved his
people, and lamented only that the time was paffc in which he could
have ferved them ; refblving however, that if they did wrong, he
would at leaft do right : this amiable, this incomparable character,
fet his doors open both in camp and town, nor feared the cenfurc of
obferving eyes upon a life fo blamclcfs. To him virtue proved, not-
withftanding, no invulnerable fhicld. From the rough violence of in-
fulting foldiers, Ulpian, the upright counfellor of his youth, vainly
fought fheltcr for his venerable age under his matter's robe, whither,
purfucd by cruelty inveterate, he at the laft retired to die, pierced by
a thoufand wounds ; in vain wrapt round by the now, no longer facred
purple. When rank feditionncxt appeared abroad, encouraged by this
ill-deferved fucccfs againft an honcft, rough, but ufeful minifter, it was
to attack the Emperor himfelf. He received the tumultuous, not unex-
pected roar, fitting on a temporary throne within his tent ; and for a
moment the effecT. appeared to juftify his confcious intrepidity. Citi-
zens ! cried he, unworthy the name of foldiers: Gitizens, I fay, defift,

and

70 THE THIRD CENTURY ; CH m.

and go back peaceably this moment. The Praetorian legion fliouted :
rcferve your fhouts, faid Alexander undifmayed, for victory over our
common enemies ; me you may deflroy, but never fhall intimidate.
Retire, I tell you : the impulfe of a cuftomary obedience conquered ;
they did retire ; but, in that fame night, under their favourite Maxi-
min's command, returned to kill, by black aflaflmation, the hero
whom they dared not face, though undefended, when in the fight of
open generous day. Thus, by the hand of a A'lle Goth, whom he had
jaifcd for perfonal courage fhewn in that German war, fell before the
town of Mentz, which they were then befieging, the all-accomplifhed
Syrian of Emefa. Like the palmetto, where his graceful fhade, well
fung by Thomfbn, hangs a high canopy betwixt the teeming earth
and burning fun, this gallant leader fhowed his fuperiority only in acls
>f beneficence to Rome unknown before. Like that fine tree too,
-round his roots, and under the protection of his Spreading boughs,
grew up all poifonous, all baneful weeds, thwarting the ends of his fo
fair creation, and leaving him an ornament for futurity to admire, but
Sundering immediate ufe from his example,

CHAP,

CH, iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 71

CHAP. IV.

FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS TO A. D. 300,
THE RETREAT OF DIOCLESIAN.

THE man who fell'd this cedar of Mount Lebanon; the fpoiler
before whofe grafp faded this bright rofe of Damafcus ; the
gigantic Thracian who fucceeded him, is called by all his hiftorians an
ufurpcr, Lguefs not why. Where no hereditary fucceffion is eftab-
liflied, a man may feize the fovereignty by force, or procure it by arti-
fice, or as Didius Julian did, purchafe it with' money; but it is not
eafy to fee how he can ufurp it. Maximin was made emperor by thofc
licentious foldiers, who were become fo radically corrupt, that tyranny
alone could reftrain them; for young Severus's exemplary virtue had
only fkinncd and filmed the ulcerous place, which on his death broke
out again directly. Not only members of the army were become vi-
tiated by thofe immenfe donations which, fince Aurelius, had been
lavifhed on them by each new candidate for public favour ; but every
rank in Rome partook the infection. Females fought guilty methods
to avoid being mothers, and men difgraced their own fex by effemi-
nacy, till they became objects of juft abhorrence to the other. Whilft
the mornings of rich people, no longer fpent in ftudy or improvement,
were confumed in riding up and down the ftreets, at rifk of breaking
their empty heads upon the pavement ; not in the fame manner as our
London youths gallop along Bond-ftrcet or Piccadilly, drciTed like
their grooms, but with a long train of domeftics after them, that fcarce
was the cook left at home to get dinner, fays the fatirical hiftoriaii,
or the buffoon to prepare new jokes for gracing of the feaft. This

bright

72 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

bright example was foon followed by ladies, who hurried from houfe
to houfe in open litters, with a deformed groupe of antique eunuchs
round them, returning late to drefs for the evening fliow, where public
dancing was fo prized by them, that when, for fear of famine, fo-
reigners were Ordered fuddenly to quit the city, three thoufand
were detained by the nobility, as having parts to perform in a new
ballet. The foldiers were no lefs difpofed to grofs voluptuoufnefs.
From a new fovereign they were in expectation of new largefTes, and
when handfuls of gold were to be thrown amongft them, he whofe
vaft palm was moft capacious beft fuited their idea of merit ; but the
perfections that are placed in bones and nerves, amaze the vulgar only,
and amaze them, only for a moment. Two years and a half ended
the reign of Maximin the wreftler, who fearful of nothing himfelf,
fported a while with the terrors of mankind ; and as he, waking, could
have overthrown any feven men at once, and broken a horfe's thigh by
one ftroke of his foot, the fly aflaffins Hole upon him fleeping, and
gave his body up to dogs and beads of prey : while the Senate, juftly
afliamed of fuch a ruler, caufed the two Gordians to be elected in his
Head. Defcended from the Gracchi by their father's fide, the people
willingly fupported their pretenfions, whilft every regiment in Roman
pay, took pleafure to relate how the mother of old Gordian was grand-
daughter to immortal Trajan, a name ftill dear to all. Faction and
fury, however, deprived the world of thefe commanders in lefs than
forty days. The fon fell in the field, covered with countlefs wounds ;
the father, feventy-fix years old, I think, unwilling to fee more forrow,
killed himfelf, leaving two others, equally impotent patricians, to dif-
pute the prize of momentary power. Yet perilous, as we fhould at this
diflance, feeing but with Relrofpetttori 's eye, deem the fad ftate of thofe
who flood, as it were, on tiptoe, with wild hafle to watch into whofe
hands the imperial fway fhould fall : Pupienus and Balbinus were fb
earneft, each to retain the whole without participation, that both
were maflacred, in three weeks time, by the Praetorian bands, who,

viewing

CH. iv.] FROM^ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 3OO. r;;

viewing their mean quarrels with almoft merited contempt, took up
another Gordian upon their moulders from college, where he was
placed by the dead uncles to finilh his education. About this time
Buda began, but not under that name, to difplay her growing graces ;
they now adorn the fine hill which overlooks the Danube, in that moft
beautiful part of its courfe between Hungary and Turkey ; while the
inhabitants pcrfift in faying Buda jugo, Vcnetas pelago, Florentia cara-
po ; and travellers fay they are right. 'Tis now called OfFen, I be-
lieve, a fort of fuburb 'tis to the great town, as Southwark to London,
or Pera to Conftantinople ; and in thefe warm pools which there receive
wafte water from the warm baths, I'm informed that many forts of fifli
live and grow fat, confirming Mr. Bruce's aflertion which, when he
publifhed it firft, revolted ib many readers. Herodian here concludes his
hiltory, and Dion Caflius ends with his own confulfhip, after which he
confidered all as of flight importance : like Cicero, who eager to be-
gin his own exploits, propofed writing his narration backward from the
time in which they were performed. The Roman commonwealth in-
deed, and thole of Greece, which I will call contemporary ftates ; as
Pericles and Coriolanus flourimed the fame year : like clumps ftrewed
over an immenfe large park, break in fbme meafure the tedious uni-
formity, and ferve to attract our mental telefcope to thofe particular
though tiny fpots, dropt as by accident upon the long flat profpecl: of
fingle and out-ftretched dominion, which formed one vaft, one widely
fpreading plain round the fble monarch's palace, to whofe care, whocu-r
he might be, the whole of our terraqueous globe leems to have been
configned for the firft four thoufand five hundred years of its exigence.
Of thcfc fo thinly fcattered clumps the boundaries were ncceflarily con-
traded, and the duration fliort : each from his fellow flirub draining that
general moifture given to fupport one fingle timber tree, fo that fuch
groupes could neither much afpire, nor fpread far.* A proof of their

* Lucumon was a Greek, he was fon to Demavatus, king of Corinth, with whom
having quarrelled, he left his own court indifguft, wandering away to Italy, where he
was well received, and called Lucius Tarquinius ; this was about the time when Jofiah

VOL. I. K

74 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

contraction lives in our laft fentence, that Coriolanus returned in
triumph from his exile, threatening the gates of Rome, while Pericles,
victorious in war, and promoting at polifhed Athens the arts of peace,
never fcems to have heard that fuch a man had being. Though grave
philofophy had then attained perfection, tragedy trod the ftage fup-
ported by her great mafter Sophocles ; and theatres for mufick, exhi-
bitions for painting were erected in Greece, the patronefs of fcience,
and model for fucceeding ages : foon ! how fbon ! to become fubfer-
\ient to a nation then fo barbarous, that although clofe to them
they thought not of; while the fine ftatues Flora, Venus, and Apollo,
were doomed to deck Italian palaces in future times, and witnefs
'the wondrous revolutions that took place in the next fhort, but
eventful period weft of the Adriatick. Among thefe cindering plan-
tations then it was the Roman rcpublick lafted longeft ; but conquefts
daily extending their pofleffions, all was again concentrated under one
fceptre's fway, of dignity inferior to thofe which had gone before it ;
but heavier far and harder of command. Thus Babyloniih Nebuchad-
nezzar was the true head of gold; rich, brilliant, powerful beyond all
the reft ; but having offended Heaven with his pride, Cyrus the Great
was called, and called by name, five hundred and forty years before
his birth ; when the almighty Spirit that fpake by the prophets, pre-
dicted that Jiher empire which Alexander clad in brazen arms de-
ftroyed.* A rougher metal reprefents the Roman power, which hung
her iron fetters on mankind ; and towards the year 25O after Chrift, the
eye of Retrojpetfion will be guided fo as to difccrn a new authority clofing
like potter's clay, in manner moft miraculous around the railing fteel.
Stability had lately been beftowed upon our church by partial ten-

was king of Jerufalem living very long, this Lurumon was flu-named Prifciis, which
n.eaos the old. He fcnt the fons of Ancus Marlins out o' hunting, and procured him-
felf to be elefled king in their abfcnce. He was hufband of Tanaquil, and grand-
father to Tarquin the Proud. Dionyfius of Halicaruafius, and all the old hiflorians,
tell the fame talc.

* See Daniel, chap. ii. vcrfe 31, to the end.

dcrnefs

m. iv.] FROM ALKX. SKVERUS TO A, D. 300.

dernefs from young Scvcrus, who, with his mother, favoured Chrittian
doclrine, and granted immunities to fomc of its profdVors. Urban the
Pope then fixed the dignitaries, and wifely appointed that no man
fhould be bifhop who had not firft been deacon. Some veflels be-
longing to our altars now were gilt, minifters were maintained, and
registers of martyrdoms kept, out of the money fpent on the ge-
neral (lock. That rapid fucccflion of fovereigns inverted with the
purple, llaincd by the blood of gentle Alexander, afforded in-
deed ample fcope for records of intolerable torture, praciifcd on
martyrs that prefled for the appellation ; and it was on this fixth
pcrfecution, if I am right, that the beautiful virgin Cnecilia was
ilaughtered. Whilft in more northern climes the Anglo-Italian Ca-
raufius called himfelf emperor, and killed Aleclus, though fomc defer
the exploits he did to Dioclefian's day. The medallifts are bed to
fettle thefe difputcs : they have prefcrved his effigies who, finding that
maritime ftrenth was the true vis Britannica, built fhips, and beficgcd
Boulogne-fur-Mer, the new-born daughter of our natural enemy : dif-
gracing his heroifm with cruelty however, the Britons fet up Afcle-
piodotus againft him. He fet his forces down encamped near Lon-
don, which was defended then by Livius Gallus, a Roman general,
whom the new-made Duke of Cornwall killed, and threw into the
running ftream, from him called Gallus' Brook or TVallbrook. Speed
places this event in A. D. 228, but Ifaacfon, from Cooper, fets it ear-
lier. Scotland, befide, was filled with ftrange occurrences. Athirco,
the prince, violated all laws of hofpitality, by forcibly carrying off with
him, next day, the two daughters of Natholocus, a dependent noble,
who had entertained one night the chieftain at his caftle : but who,
feeling no difpofition to forgive the infult offered to his houfc, rebelled
immediately ; and having driven his antagonift to fuicide, leized on
the power himfelf; and killed fo many of thofe Thanes that adhered
to Athirco, that a furious war was kindled againft htm. When eager
to know what chance he had for fuccefs, he difpatchcd a trufty, and.

K 2 as

7 <5 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. iv.

as he thought no doubt, a faithful mefTenger, into the Hebrides, for
the purpofe of learning his future deftiny from a witch or angekok
refiding there, who fold favourable winds and told fortunes. Her an-
fwer to the man who came for confutation, was fimply this 'Tis^yow
will kill Natholocus. The melTenger, who had not fuch a thought
before, now entertained it ; and fearing to relate the dangerous pre-
diction, refolved rather to accomplifli it, preventing his matter's anger
by his death whilft Oftrogotha, another tributary of the Romans,
drove all the Gepidze before him on the continent, chafed many Vandals
from their ancient feats, and fo increafed his wide and wild domain,
foon to be called after his name their founder ; that all the northern
diftricls of the empire felt juftly fearful of thefe gathering ftorms.
Nor was the eaft more quiet : Agathias, whofe Perfian hiftory ferves as
a fupplement to the works of Procopius, tells us the acl:s of Sapor, and
his battles oft repeated with young Gordian, a virtuous, literary, and
martial character, who folemnly opened the temple of Janus, and
wedding the daughter of his preceptor Mifitheus, conducted himfelf
with wifdom and propriety, till an Arabian chief, fkilled in the poifon-
ing arts, drugged the unhappy tutor's poflet ; little doubting but that
a boy of thofe years, let alone, would foon commit fome juvenile ex-
cefles, that might be urged to countenance rebellion. Gordian how-
ever did not difgrace his family, all three who bore the name were
fcholars and foldiers, magnificent in peace, and eminently fearlefs in
war. So that Philip the Arab was conftrained to excite the guards
by donatives, to murder a young man who defervcd better fate ; and
coming to the throne on his deceafc, kept it a while againft various
pretenders fet in oppofition by the fenate, who faw with no de-
light a Chriftian prince inverted with royal robes, and placed in the
firfl fituation of the ftate. Eufebius fays, the infant church even then
difplayed her power, denying entrance to their profelyte, though they
exifted but by his protection, till he had made a public penance for
his fms. As Scaliger however doubts this facl, we muft wait other

evidence.

en. iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 77

evidence. Truth is, the captain of a band of robbers, vvhofe name de-
notes merely t/ic krcr of a horje, did Imall credit to any faith, and
might poflibly have been miilaken for a profellbr of ours, if, liaving
been born an Ifhmaelitc, he had retained fomc traditionary belief in
the .Old Teftament for Pagans were perpetually confounding our
Chriltian creed with the Mofaic difpenfation. 1 gueis not indeed,
what could have deceived Eufebius. His celebration of the fecu-
lar plays, when in the general gaiety and riot Pompey's fine theatre
was burned to ground, prove him no very fcrupulous believer ;
fincc at thofe games (when the grave herald's voice called the whole
town together, crying, Come fee the fports which no man now alive
ever did or cvzxJJurU fee more) the Emperor himfelf acled as pontiff',
fprinkling the victim's head with fait and wine a ceremony no Chrif-
tian convert would have fubmittcd to, as for the non-performance of
fimihr rites numberlefs men were martyr'd every day. At thefc par-
ticular plays, exhibited once every hundred years, fapt facias ! an-
fwering to the oriental compliment of O King, Jive for ever ! was
loudly repeated to the prefiding prince, from the day when Vitellius,
then an adulator in his court, flattered lethargic Claudius with the
cxpreflion-i fince when it patted into a common form.* But Philip's
reign lailed five years only ; in which time, having taken from poets
fome old privileges, on account of their obfcenity, and built a town con-
fining upon his native country, which ftill retains the name Phillipo-
polis or Filliba ; revolting Decius called him to difpute the empire near
Verona, as the Turks call it, where the Arab, by forced marches, brought
Lis army, which on arrival fled trcacheroufly to the newer favourite,
bearing with them their general's head upon a pike, the better to fccure
pardon from the conqueror, who lived not indeed to enter his capital,
though by his order the hotteft perfecution ever feen was begun there,
infomuch that Nicephorus fays the crowd of martyrs grew fo truly im-
menfe, that fand on the fea-lhore might as eafily have been numbered.

* Ssepe facias means do it often : prefidc many times over this amufement.

St.

7 8 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

St. Lawrence's fuperior torments and conftancy give him peculiar claim
for diftinclion ; the gridiron's form on which he fuffered, is at this
day perpetuated in the Efcurial palace at Madrid.

Meanwhile the Roman empire paffed fwiftly through the hands of
the two Decii, Prifcus, Valens, Gallus and Volufian who feemed
vying with each other in cruelty towards our brethren, on whole ob-
ftinate denial of their gods and goddcfles, was now charged all the
mifery of Rome war, famine, peftilence, and dread of utter ruin
from the barbarous nations, vainly bought off by Gallus with difgrace-
ful gifts ; and ftill returning frefh to the attack, armed with new
powers, and eager for new plunder. Civil commotions too fhook the
metropolis, which, in the bofom of voluptuous folly, was enduring all
the horrors of a conteft caufed by ^Emilianus's revolt. It was not
then that the cxhaufted ftate required copious bleeding : Montefquieu
fays how fuch internal broils ftrengthen the nerves of government,
and tells how people accuftomed to difpute at home, become forfooth
invincible abroad. This doctrine men are preaching while I write ;
but the precept is dangerous and fallacious : Montefquieu meant a
young ftate, not an old one.

Our firft King James (I have read) was feized with an ague in the
clofe of life ; and feeling low-fpirited at death's approach, fome cour-
tiers reminded him of a proverb ufed in England ; and, Oh ! faid tliev,
your Majefty muft recollect, that mi ague injuring is phyficfor a king.
Aye, but the adage meant a young king, replied the expiring mo-
narch. The event in both thefe cafes is the fame.

Whilft one half of the Roman fubjecls, in all parts of the empire,
were diligently cutting the throats of the other half many falling
upon religious accounts and thofe who cared not about piety were
contending for power ; their hclplefs emperor, the once tyrannic Va-
lerian, ferved the Perfian prince Sapores for a footftool, whence every
day he mounted his horfe : till, tired with afferting this uncontefted
privilege, he flayed the wretched prifoner yet alive, and ftrewing
with fait, revenged unconfcioufly on his pampered body, the agonies

en. iv.] FROM ALFX. SF.VERUSTO A. D. 300. 79

he had delighted to inflict on Chriftians. The Roman empire next faw
itfelf fplit and ruled by thirty tyrants, who could not however protect
the limits of dominion, while each feparate general fought for himfelf,
not for his undone country and the bold Oftrogoths fpoilcd all Bi-
thy'nia, loading themfclvcs with treafures of which they could not
comprehend the value nor fcemed to know, while they were wafting
Macedonia, that in that country had been born the fovcrcign of the
world.

Gallienus meantime, a fenfual prince, held the flight reins of go-
vernment at home, and feemed (whilft flavery from mere habit mi-
niftered to his pleafures) fo little difturbed by what had chanced
abroad, that he gave himfelf wholly up to gay voluptuoufnefs, making,
as Shakefpear fays, his lofs his fport ; and fenfelefsly delighting to hear
his name recorded with that ofCommodus, his model. Let him not
lofe his well-acquired fame; 'tis to the fkill of Gallienus that we owe
the firft good plan of a fine hot-houfc, icc-houfe, and confervatory*-
but the rough Goths hindered its execution. And now, difgufted with
the fight and hearing of fuch ill-timed, flich furfciting abfurdity ;
which, not confined to courts or palaces, fpread among all the ranks
of men at Rome Paul, the firft hermit on record, retired ; fled from
fociety of human kind, and living in a defcrt upon herbs and fruits,
gave rife to the idea of obtaining favour from God, by voluntary exile
from the company of thofc who debafed their nature, and contradicted
their reafon ; rcfufmg the offered mercies of a Redeemer too, and de-
llroying the effects, fo far as in them lay, of his fo great falvation. On
this example afterwards were founded monadic orders within our
oVMi remembrance nearly innumerable ; and fubject, for that caufeand
many others, to inconceivable abufes. Meanwhile the hierarchy held

* I have read forncwherc, that Alexander had ihc frcrct of cooling his liquors by
ice, while he was in India, though Pliny fpeaks of it as new in Nero's time, and fays
that emperor boiled water firft, that it might freeze the eafier. If Alexander was
acquainted with ice, what couKi the (lory mean of the fpring Nicotris, whofc waters
were fo cold they buift all veflels but a mule's hoof???

firm

THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

firm within the church, and copes and holy veftmcnts now adorned it;
though various herefies difgraced thefe early times of Christianity,
when tares were fown which yet perplex the field. An enemy, our
Saviour told us, was the planter ; he faid they ihould grow up along
with the good corn, and who knows but that the harveft may be hard
at hand. But we're engaged not to anticipate, our bufmefs is with
RetrofpeSiion ; nor muft lofe fight of the vail Gothic irruptions which
at the hour we treat of, more frequent and in fuller tides, rolled o'er
the habitable globe, amazing all, but chiefly overwhelming Peloponas-
fus and its contiguous claffic countries. Athens and Argo ; Sparta,
Thebes, Dodona ; theatre of glory, virtue, valour, elegance : confe-
crated fcenes ! where Plato taught, where Sappho fung ; where Phidias
gave to their refemblances in marble fo warm an animation, fo difcri-
minating a character, they hoped from him a fecond immortality. But
from this flood of barbarifm, far worfe than that which their Deucalion
and Pyrrha were fabled to furvive not even jlones efcaped. The
temple of Ephefus, one of the feven wonders of the world, was burned
in this confufion ; and by a pillar which may be feen at Pifa yet, its
general merit may in fome meafure be estimated. But when the un-
feeling north poured forth her wafte inhabitants, and bid them roam
for prey, regardlefs of the ruin left behind : onward they prefs'd in
countlefs multitudes, unconfcious fhoals ; as when old Ocean half
acquires fblidity from life that ftirs within ; bringing, at ftated times,
innumerable fiih down from the fertile Baltic, to be loft in that capa-
cious aggregate of waters that clafp around the fouthern continent
fo burft thefe Goths and Vandals on mankind, fparing no place, no
fex, no age, and no opinion. The dragon then indeed difgorged a flood
out of his mouth to deftroy the woman, well reprefenting our Chrif-
tian church, but the earth helped the woman, as St. John faw in his
Apocalypfe ; and that religion meant to be fwept away, efcaped the
violence ; ftrengthening in fpite of oft repeated blows, profpering in
fpite of oft repeated plunder.

Councils had long been held, and fome few years before, under the

papacy

en. i*.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. si

papacy of Anterus, a Grecian martyr, had been made the rule of tranf-
lating from one bifhoprick to another, after the example' of St. Peter,
who (faid he) we know rofidcd firft at Antioch. Yet modern Ro-
manifts affert their church to be the very earliefl on record Strange,
wilful ignorance, or inconfiftcncy. Claudius meantime, a bold Dalma-
tian, who fucceedcd to the difTolute Gallienus, found bufinefs enough
to employ all his thoughts, without difturbing others in their worfhip.
Trebellius Pollio tells us how his general, ib juftly furnamcd Vitfar,
flew in one day by ftratagem and war three hundred thoufand Goths,
near Lacus Bcnacus, now Lago di Garda, in Italy. That the man
himfelf died of the plague there, is much lefs incredible ; fuch (laugh-
ter muft have infecled the air. Renowned Aurelian next inverted
with the purple, foon proved how well plebeians might defcrvc it : his
mercantile extraction, and inordinate love of wealth, prompted him to
gild the firft, and diiplay the power of the fecond. Orleans yet {lands
a monument of his munificence a golden city ftill, and ftill preferr-
ing his name who built it y/rleian 4nre\ian. It has perhaps in
thefe later ages given title to the beft and worft of all the princes pro-
felling Chriftianity. But Rome was not forgotten ; he compafs'd her
round with a wall fifty miles in circuit ; he numbered the people, re-
formed grofs abufes, pardoned with unexampled greatnefs of mind his
rival Tetricus, and fubdued the rebel Zenobia by his generofity, after
having triumphed over her armies by his fuccefs. 'Tis /aid her having
figned her own namejfrj/? in letters that pail between them, was the
original and deep-fcated caufe of Aurelian's rancour, though it appears
to our eyes on Retrofyeftion, that there was no need of aggravation
after me had erected an independent throne, and called hcrfelf folemnly
Queen of the Eaft. In times of refinement however, as there are
more vain men than intereftcd ones in the world, incivility produces
ftronger averfion than docs injury : among favages there is no offence
but a blow, and among mere monicd people, no offence but a rob-
bery.

VOL. I. I-

82 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

'Tis told by fome hiflorians how, when he would have figned an
edicl for persecuting the Chriftians, his uplifted hand was preterna-
turally arrefted : happy had fuch been the fate of that traitor's arm
who bafely aflaffinated this gallant fovereign, able to govern with dig-
nity and wifdom, although with rigour and roughnefs a world fo
turbulent, and fubje&s fo corrupt : a general who had driven the
invading Franks from before the gates of old Ravenna, and in the
courfe of many victories, had killed by his own perfonal prowefs nine
hundred enemies of Rome. Longinus, now infpired by the mufes,
wrote criticifm with poetic fire ; and Porphyry collected with fuch
fpider-like diligence every argument againft our faith, that no enemy
fmce his time has been able to find a new one

Deftroy their fib and fophiftry, in vain,
The creature's at his dirty work again.

Nor has the old cobweb, firft well fattened by this adhefive tormentor,
been ever (we muft avow) completely fwept away. But Tacitus and
Probus next for awhile detain the retrofpeflive eye ; as by their indefa-
tigable efforts they checked the progrefs of approaching ruin. Carus,
Carinus, Dioclefian too, delay our advance from thefe far diftant pe-
riods, by their fplendour ; while Gibbon, whofe fcruples of incredulity
never perplex him, when dilating upon the favourite theme of Pagan
virtue or of Pagan greatnefs, believes implicitly that the whole furni-
ture of that prodigious coloffeo, which he himfelf has feen, and known
to be 584 feet long, and 487 broad, was of folid gold, filver, and am-
ber; that a belt ftudded with precious ftones, divided there one rank
from another, reaching all round it, as do the boxes in our Englifh
theatres ; that nets to keep off the wild beafts were of gold wire, and.
that a filken canopy was drawn over the top to fhade performers and
fpeclators from the fun. This may be true, but nothing in Scripture
is fo hard to believe ; becaufe filk fold for its own weight in gold, when
Aurelian, who denied his Emprefs a robe of it as too coftly, led queen

Zenobia

CH. iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 8 3

Zenobia through the ftreets in triumph.* Tacitus, the hiftorian, in-
deed, does mention veftuferica, and Mr. Murphy tranflates it into filk
apparel ; but I fancy that muft have meant thin muflin, veflis bomby-
citia rather ; unlefs 'twas gauze ; for Mr. Murphy fays in a note, that
Seneca cenfured the Roman ladies for wearing tranfparent drefles, and
he knows perfectly that filk is not tranfparent ; he knows too, that
Engliihwomen, in his own time, rejcded filk clothes, becaufe they
were not fufficiently voluptuous or tranfparent, fubftituting muflins of
cotton fubftance in their (lead. As to the belt (Kidded with precious
ftones, I doubt whether the diamond mines of South America, then un-
difcovcred, could have furnilhed it. Baltheus in gemmis, et In litaport'tciif
auro, is to me no proof ; the poet would have faid with Prior Odtfs
my life, muft onejwear to the truth of afoug? Befides that, modern Ita-
lians have a way of calling many ftones gems, to which our Englifh.
annex no fuch idea. Jafper, granite, pavonazzo, and carnelion ;
nor are the writers of Auguftan hiftory fcrupulous, as it appears, when
relating the follies or gaieties of the moment. Who can believe their
tale, that Elagabalus built a lofty tower, whence to throw himfelf in
cafe of an attack : when we all know the creature reigned not four
years in all ; and of them furely was not in fear from rival power
four months, during which time no fuch high fabric could have been
conftrudled ; and they cover the fteps with gold and pearls too ; they
coft us authors nothing. If any fuch tower ever did exift, it was a
toy, I fancy, fit for an emperor of fourteen years old to play with.
The very extraordinary donative and fliow prefented to the Roman
people by Probus, appears lefs improbable, when he tranfplanted two
hundred foreft trees into the vaft arena ; then turning loofe to frolick
in their ihade one thoufand fallow deer, one thoufand boars, and half
as many oftriches, with many tropical birds from Africa, threw. the

* Vopifcus fays fo.

L 2 doors

64 THE THIRD CENTURY. [CH. iv.

doors open to permitted plunder, and diverted himfelf by feeing all
fuddenly devoured, and fwcpt away by an impetuous populace. Some-
thing of the fame fpirit of amufement fubfifted fince my time in Italy,
and called Coccagna. A light fcaffold is not feldom, even now, creeled
on a hpliday at Florence or Bologna ; and lambs, calves, kids, cakes,
loaves, fruits, &c. placed on its {helves, adorned with ribbons, flowers,
&c. on a fignal given, in burft the mob ; and 'tis the fport of more
elegant fpeclators to fee the havock that they make, all in a moment.
When Heliogabalus made a Coccagna, he fet up for pillage, fat oxen,
camels, horfes, afTes, flags : The Auguftan hiftory fays,fervos, fervants ;
but Salmafm3 wifely thinks they were notjlaiies, but rather cervos, deer.
I have feen a print of this diverfion in a houfe fbmewhere in the weft
of England. We have no entertainment of that kind, unlefs the fud-
den carrying off what was provided for our King's dinner at Weft-
minfter-hall, after the coronation, may be called fuch : or the taking
of Pocklington Ifland, upon Derwent-water-Lake, which every 28th
of Auguft may be feen covered with boats and barges for a mock at-
tack upon the little fort, raifed by its generous proprietor on the
morning when he puts his ramparts in a (late of defence, with barrels
of ftrong beer, hams, and pieces of beef for a while, then fuffers all
to be ftormed and plundered for the amufing of his rich neighbours,
and for benefiting his poor ones ; furrendering the caftle, after fix
o'clock, at difcretion of the ladies, for whom a ball and fupper is
prepared. But Dioclefian's ads recall us back to Rome, where, hav-
ing defeated all his competitors, extirpated the Quingcntiani legion,
and made a horrible (laughter of the Goths in Pannonia, found leifure
to fet on foot the fierceft perfecution againft Chriftianity which its
profeflbrs had till then endured. 'Twas he too inftituted or approved
the method of outlawing his fubjecls accufed of this perfuaiion, fo
thatjuftice could always be had againft them never for them: a
Chriftian's evidence was not to be accepted ; nor had they any protec-
tion

CH. IT.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 30O.

tion from fociety ; whence, hunted now in every lhape from every
place, throughout the empire, he deftroycd hundreds at once ; whole
clutters and communities, fired like to nefts of vermin or of infects,
and tortured individually bolide ; by governors willing to delight the
Emperor's fancy, encouraging in him falfe hope of their poflible ex-
tinction. Chriftians were now fcarce to be feen by day, during which
hour the catacombs and manfions of the dead concealed their pious
fervour : while Caius, a pope nearly related to Dioclcilan himfelf, re-
doubled his attention to keep within bounds of neceflary prudence,
that fpirit which prompted many to provoke the hand of power, and
feck the crown of martyrdom.

Perpetual pondering upon one fubject will produce fomething not
unlike infanity : our haplefs predeceflbrs meditating in folitude upon
thofe mj/fteries, for truth of which they fuffcred fo much fbrrow ended
their round of thought oft times in error ; and wandering in wilder-
neffes of conjecture, the Manicha^an herefy made itfclf known amongft
us. Manes, a Periian empiric, mingled the Zoroaftrian mythology
with our religion, and fet up a new origin of evil in contradiction to
Mofes's account, making two co-eternal principles in imitation of Or-
mufd and Ahrimanius. Had not this fellow, from want of fkill in
medicine, miftook the cafe of Prince Varanes, ion to the king of Perfia,
for which his father had him flayed alive, and his fkin fluffed with
chaff, more mifchief had been done : his errors have however lafted
long enough ; and Voltaire, perhaps in fport, appears by his romance
of Candide to have believed them. I mention of the many wild opi-
nions which prefled upon, and would have ftrangled our religion in its
cradle, had it not been truly of divine original, only thofe few which
have remained till now ; counting dead ferpents would be lois of time,

Tho' fwarming then

With complicated monfters head and tail,
Scorpion and afp, and amplufbxna dire.

The

8 6 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. iv.

The Python's felf however, paganifm, now fwelled even to burfting
with the divine honours lately afTumed by Dioclefian, made dangerous
attempts almoft untried before ; and fervile Rome faw that bright dia-
dem which fhe had reftifed to her frjl emperor's merits, tried on by
the irrefiftible defpotifm of her thirty-ninth, a plebeian by family, by
original profeffion a fcrivener, yet by the coincidence of military
prowefs, with uncommon turns of fortune in his favour, we fee the
artt actlatica in this reign put an end to ; and mankind counting all
events from his birth, who had no name but what the place fupplied
that he was born in Dioclea. This is ftrange ; but far more curious
ftill the tale told by Vopifcus, how Dioclefian, when in Mona once,
meeting a druidefs, gave her a fmall donation ; but the woman faid
he need not to be fo fparing of his money, for after he had killed a boar
he fhould be emperor. The young foldier delighting in field fports
killed many boars ; and laughing, ufed to fay, the fybil was miftaken ;
for his fortune mended flowly : I kill the boars, faid he, but others eat the
brawn. Time rolled away however, till at length Arrius Aper,* father-
in-law of Numerianus, treacherously grafping at the purple, murdered his
daughter's hufband. This traitor was configned to Dioclefian to difpatch,
who afking his name, and hearing it, foon fheathed his bright fword
in the aflaffin's bowels, crying, et hutic aprum cum caferis ;-j~ which
done, the foldiers without deliberation, praifing his decifive ftroke of
juftice, took him fuddenly upon their moulders, and faluted him 1m-
perator. The life of this man then was marked by wonders, among
which the ftrangeft far was the rare project he conceived of building
a new palace at Salona, whence to retire, like Sylla, from the adulation
of fubjecls whom he fufpefted, and from the vengeance that he dreaded
for his crimes. 'Tis faid the tafte in which his houfe was built, proves
that the arts as well as fciences decayed ; and when hiftorians relate
the wonderful occurrence, language itfelf, like other branches of lite-

* Aper means boar. f And this boar among the reft.

rature

CH. iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 87

raturc, feems finking under a rufliing torrent of barbarity, very difficult
to be accounted for even by the wifeft authors who have written upon
the decline and fall of the Roman empire : a theme of cavil now, a
fubjecl: of contention, for modern petty wits and demi fcholars ; an ob-
je<5t to be peeped at through my fmoaky glafs of wretched Retro/pec-
tion. Enormous land-flips thus confound the naturalift, and crufh
the farmer ; whilft vile attorneys only find account, by urging on di-
putes for deluged or for diilocated property.

CHAP.

THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. v.

CHAP. V.

FROM THE DEATH OF D1OCLESIAN TO THE DEATH OF
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT.

PART OF THE FOURTH CENTURY.

HAVING now climbed up the firft three hundred years after our
Chriftian sera, fpeculation begins to ftagger at the height ; and
Retrofreftion ftands herfelf at gaze. Lighter than Phaeton my whirl-
ing car feems making under me at every flep ;

Nor will my fteeds for obfervation flay,
But hurry on too faft to mark our way.

A moment however muft be beftowed on the retreat of Dioclefian ;
who, after reigning twenty years or more, whether fatiated with un-
availing triumphs over yet unfubdued barbarians, or difgufted by per-
ceiving that all his fubje&s blood fpilt in that fanguinary period availed
nothing towards preventing perpetual converfions from paganifm ; or
whether he was afraid of being aflaffinated like his predeccflbrs, an
apprehenfion by no means ill founded, quitted his crown, his purple,
and his pomp, and fettled at Salona as he had long intended. Let
the effect on us be what it will, the example ftruck his colleague Maxi-
mian with fuch force, that he, from imitation or caprice, adopted it,
having firft built the beautiful amphitheatre at Verona, which I faw
in admirable prefervation about the year 1786, and fome thermze at
Milan made with immenfe expence : thofe fabricated at Rome by
Dioclefian yet remain fo as to afford a very good idea of their gran-
deur. Caefars however had been long created by both Emperors, in

order

en. v.] TO CONST ANTINE THE GREAT. 99

order to divide the cares of government, fome time before their retiring
from its fatigues, and thofe two youths naturally and quietly afccndcd
the throne together. Galerius Armentarius, fo named of the flocks h<-
fed in early life, was choice of a prince fprung from plebeian {lock.
Conftaiitius Chlorus, a collateral dcfccndant of the active and fpirited
'emperor, Claudius, was the man chofen by Muximian a low-born fbl-
dier, and fo completely illiterate, that when his panegyrift compared
him and his colleague to Scipio and Hannibal : Thofe men, faid he,
I never heard about //'// now ; they fliould have likened Dioclcfian and
me to Jupiter and Hercules. Wit will fometimcs ftoop to fcrvility ;
the orators took the hint, and did actually, the next opportunity, fo
Compare them. The appellations remained in ufe ten years ago ; we
faw fome pillars in the ftreet at Milan belonging to a temple fet up in
honour of the Hercules Maximian. They were about removing them,
I remember, for purpofe of widening the way, {hewing no attention to
poor Aufonius's verfes

Et Regio Herculei Celebris, fub honore lavacii.

But that the battle of Adlium, fo long perpetuated by a calendar, fliould
now be expunged, and the aera of Dioclefian fubftituted in its place,
was a greater wonder, and a greater labour too, than any recorded of
Hercules or Jupiter. The Abyflinian Chriftians are faid to reckon b^
it ftill ; and Mr. Gibbon fays, that whole nations refiding in the in-
terior parts of Africa, do even yet retain many laws and ufagcs of a
much earlier date ; thole of the Mo&ic difpenfation. Should the ten
tribes at length burft from thofe regions yet unfearched by avarice,
yet unexplored by curiofity, more credit would be given to fictitious Ef-
dras, who plainly fays that they retired to Arfarcth ; and when the
flavc trade fliall be finally abolimcd, their fears of advancing to the
coaft may fade away, and the fea be in that fcnfe dried up for their re-
turn ; but we muft not forget our work of Refrojpeflion. Whether
our half countryman, the half emperor Caraufius, lived in thcfe days
VOL. I. M or

50 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCI ESIAN [CH. r,

or before them, Doctor Stukely and his antiquarians may determine,
Amphibalus, long fuppofed the friend and fellow martyr of St. Aiban
here in Britain, where he was put to death, about the year 3OO, or ibon
after, was A. D. 1 742, fuddenly found out by Conyers Middleton to
have been nothing more than an ecclefiaftick's cloak, from which cir-
cumftance the Doctor derives much fource of empty triumph : yet
now that the joke is over, fbme one will perhaps find out in their
turn, that he caught up this cloak of bifhop Uiher's fomewhat too
haftily ; for Frizius and Bale both fpeak of Amphibalus as of an au-
thor who left feveral tracls behind him ; and lure the laft named of
thefe writers, though not perhaps an acrimonious Calvinift, as French
biographers would wifh us to believe, was yet unlikely to lofe fb good
a ftory againft popery, by which he had himfelf been perfecuted under
the reign of Queen Mary. One may obferve indeed that all the argu-
ments urged by Doclor Middleton, have much left in them of learn-
ing than of fatire ; more of plagiarifm (I have heard) than of origina-
lity ; and much more gay afperity than folid good fenfe. A town made
famous in 1 529, when Lutherans entered their neceflary proteft againft
the tyrannous innovations of the Romiflr church, firft raifed its head
by command of Conftantius Chlorus ; 'twas called Nernetum thenj
the Germans name it Speyer Spires : and while this Emperor repaired
or fabricated new cities in Europe, Galerius his- colleague revenged
upon revolted Pcrfia fome of the indignities offered there to unhappy
Valerian. This Re Pajhre however feemed to poiTefs few of the fhep-
herd's qualities : implacable and fierce, the rigour of Aurelian's well-
judged punifhments became lharp cruelties when dictated by ferocious
Armentarius, who having fucceeded to a fceptre more glittering to
light than exttnfive in the ftretch, held it no long time ; and feemed
himfelf aware, that like an ifland of ice, though fun-beams played on
its top, and created colours of immenfc variety ; though the ftrufturc
ftill appeared rocky, and danger waited on its every ftroke againft thofc
whom accident flaould drive acrofs the courfe of its current ; his em-
pire

CH. v.] TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. O i

prre wafted imperceptibly below, and the world, waiting but a little
while, might fee it topple by its own weight, and pcrifh 1'rom internal
thaw, (jalvrius had however one amufcmcnt ; the groans of tortured
martyrs to Chriftianity diverted his cares of ftate, and coarfe feverities
difpenfcd among his own immediate fervants, fupplied fome momentary
gratifications to a temper made fourer by a loathfbme and incurable
ilik-afc. The ntorbus pedicnlofits, of which Sylla and Herod died, and
for which Galerius, finding no relief, killed himfclf in dcfpair, does
really fecm by all one hears or reads of it, a fingular judgment rcfervco*
for fingular offences againft Heaven. One hundred and fcvcnty-four
thoufand mortals were in this lafl reign fentenccd to die for religions
opinions merely ; but the world was either more thickly peopled then
than now, or population, like wealth, was more concentrated : indeed,
the great deftrudion of two hundred thoufand fouls by an earthquake
at Antioch ibmc time after thefe events, contributes to perfuadc me
that one town did, in thofe days, encircle a larger number of the hu-
man race than prefent modes admit of. Perhaps the country too was
more defertcd ; they are hot latitudes of which we fpcak, and readers
who have never left this ifland will fcarce conceive how vermin, in
feds, and other petty vexations of warm climates, drive men to feek
Ihelter in large cities from that fervid fun which glows in a wide ho-
rizon. Like that hot fun, fo blazing, fo intolerable, (hone the laft
years of this fuccefsful Emperor, whofe terrors drove our panting prc-
deceflbrs to feek, in caves and fubtcrrancau rcccflcs, fomc repofe for
their weary feet, fome quiet moments in which to model their then
plaftic church ; of whofe ftubility Caius, firft coufm to Diocletian, had
already been careful, and regular dignitaries had been by him appointed :
deans, and fub-deans, and prefbytcrs, as if fome fecret affurance had
been granted him that fuch would foon be wanted ; for little rcafon,
founded on fad, had they to hope deliverance was fo near. In thofe
black days when after Caius' death, forrow pervaded the damp vaults
where fad Marccllus fate, and mourned his murder'd friends : yet out
of thofe that Hill remained alive, cledcd fifteen mortified and melan-

M 2 choly,

92 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCLESIAN [CH. v.

choly, yet refolute and aclive fcrvants of their Saviour : thefe he called
cardinals, and put them on fcarlet {lockings for diftincHon's fake, and
likewife for propriety ; their office being not only to bury martyrs, but
of courfe to bathe their feet and legs in. blood of their companions,
among whom the inftitutor of their appropriated employment foort
was numbered, being by Galerius' command clofed up alive in human
excrement ; a new torture, chiefly inflided upon fuch offenders who
had refufed when called upon to incenfe or perfume the heathen
temples. How little did the Chriftians then forefee the changes to
be made in their temptation ! How little hope the happinefs at hand !
How little too did Dioclefian dream of finding at Salona the death he
had fo mercilefsly difpcnfed at Rome ! He died however, and the great
Conftantine, fearing fome treachery from Armentarius, efcaped to York,
where tidings were foon brought of that fuicide by which he reigned
fole emperor, Maxentius only at firft trying with any profpecl of fuc-
cefs to impede his pafiage to the purple. On his exploits, haw wil-
lingly will Retrofpeffiou s eye repofe ! On him who in the midft of vic-
tory thought on the God who gave it ; till the warm heart kindling in
religion's caufe, followed the viuonary banner through the world. In
hocjtgno vinces was verified whitherfoever he turned his arms. Maxi-
min, Maxentius, Licinius, funk before him. The moft renowned in
war were found unable to fupport the conteft : and Conftantine ac-
knowledged matter of mankind, now fought to civilize, convert, re-
form them. Proclaiming himfelf a Chriftian, all perfecution ended in
an inftant, and the forrows of our fuffcring fathers were turned into
encouragement. Servile Rome followed implicitly her leader's ex-
ample, nor could Jupiter and Juno afTert their caufe at all, when un-
protected by imperial power :

Nor all the gods befide,
Longer dar'd abide,

Not Typhon ending huge in fnaky train :
Our babe to fhuw his godhead true,
Could even in Twaddling bands controul the damned crew. MJUN.

CH. v.] TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. &3

No martyr, unlcfs Sopatcr the hillorian may be called fuch, offered
to feal his faith in pagan deities by blood, and all their worftiippers
dropt off apace. The fovereign called from banifhmcnt and drew forth
from obfcurity fuch as beft could teach and moft adorn the new re-
ligion, and his firft proof of being well confirmed in it was his refufal
of a Roman triumph ; loudly afcribing his apparently preternatural fuc-
ceilcs to a fuperior agency and power. The race of gladiators next
{lowly and fullenly withdrew Marcus Aurelius had endeavoured to
fupprcfs them, or make them fight at leaft with foils, not fwords
but his too feeling proportions were rejected. The Emprefs Helena,
of Cambrian origin and gentle blood, detefted thefe diverfions ; flic
had been long before baptifed in Britain, where the high road yet
remains called by her name Rhwydd yr Helena ending with the
place now called Pont Aberglaflyn ; then known by her having
crofs'd the water there, whence it was long denominated Fordgham
Helen yr Luedhog the ford of Helen the puiffant, near Kadcr Idris.
How peculiarly pleafing to us muft be the thought, that foftcning
the heroic bofom of her fon, 'twas^<? prepared it to receive with
eagernefs, the rnyftic truths he was now ardent to defend and propa-
gate. But ftill deftrudive inroads from the Goths difturbcd his

peaceful projects ; they invaded Thrace, they even approached Nyfla,
birth-place of our heaven-protected hero ; whofe rapid, well-concerted
march to meet them is celebrated, even by thofe who leaft delight
in doing juftice to his merit. One hundred thoufand barbarians how-
ever, hemmed round by ftratagcm, died nearly all at once, through
famine, in the plains of Theflaly, whilft Clodomir of France made
himfelf duke of all thofe diftricls now called Brabant, Holland, and
Weftphalia, and reigned there thirty years. The Allemanni or Ger-
mans refilling thefe incurfions, won fometimes, fometimcs loft ; but
the times we are reviewing confidered acquifition as the only right of
tenure ; and I have read that the name Geta, perhaps Got fit too,
formed itfelf from the verb jeran to get, got, gotten. Tis certain the
Brigantes of South Britain, Ireland, Spain, and the Alpine regions,

derived

94 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCLESIAN [CH. v.

derived their common name from Brigand, a robber, in Celtic lan-
guages ; and the Franks or French retain it as fuch rtill. Germans
or Jf-l'r Mans means a man of war, and Mr. Pinkcrton quotes Herodo-
tus to fav, that there was in his day a people fo called among the Per-
fians. There certainly were Teutons in Pcloponcefus but Teuton and
Titan mean fp readers over, or coverers of the earth.

Rebellions on the Rhine next called Rome's conquering general to
Cologne, where he obtained a fignal victory, and dcferr'd deftruction to
a future day. And now the church and ftate indhTolubly united, had
reafon to expect true happinefs from the alliance, had not fuch vifcous
and thorny hcrefies perplexed our Chriftian councils, each ftruggling
to gain over the Emperor to their opinions oft times, and indeed
chiefly dividing upon points which human reafon cannot fettle, becaufc
human compreheniion cannot reach : the Nicene Creed grew neccffary
for this caufe. Till Arius and Donatus arrogantly, with their frivo-
lous though daring difputations, difturbed the fweet comforts admi-
nifter'd by Conftantine, that comprehenfive fymbol of belief called
the Apoftle's Creed, contented all. St. Peter and St. John had re-
quired no more from their followers, who by fubfcription to the
articles of which it confifts, obtained originally at Antioch the honour-
able appellation of Chriftians ; and thofe who refufe that title to fuch
as willingly receive that creed, wrong them, and fhould be told fo.

Meanwhile great Conftantine's innumerable virtues, his high heroic
deeds, his glowing zeal, would furely have eifaccd ftill greater faults
than was his leaning towards the heterodox fide of a iharp controverfy
little underftood, concerning the grand myflery of hypoftatic union,
meant for man's veneration, not difpute. Lactantius now grown
old, publiflied his Inftitutions, confirming to himfclf the title of our
Chriftian Cicero Tullius Chriftianus ; he was preceptor to the youno-
prince Crifpus, whofe morals did the tutor little credit ; but manners
Jagg'd behind, while dodrine earneftly employed itfelf on points fo little
practical. Roftoch now raifed its head upon the Var, Jerufalem was re-

pair'd

cir. v.] TO eONSANTINE TIIK (JKF..YT. 95

pair'd,^. :ut in principle was gratefully added to our gloria patri, and the
liands of hangmen felt a long repofe. St. Anthony then fearing temp-
tation from a new quarter, profpcrity's \varm beam accelerated his depar-
ture ; and having collected other individuals feizcd with the fame pre-
fcntiment of danger, and the fame notion of cfcaping it as 'twere by-
force flew to the defert, where they erected the firft convent upon ro-
cord, calling its inhabitants Monks of St. Bafil, but binding them with
HO vows. Our Saviour's precept, Swear not at all, was as yet frclh in every
Chrillian's memory; the more fo, as he condefcended to give a rcafou
br his command becaufe you cannot, lays he, make even a hair of your
head white or black. The fudden and violent overthrow of convents in
our time proves our Lord's pofition ; men fhould not fwcar unlcfs they
knew that they could keep their oaths : for yourfelf you may promise,
but not for another; his power may compel the breach of them. A
literal obedience then is belt and fafeft, S'vear not at all. Merc mor-
tals indeed, without this injunction, might have been cafily juftificd in
thinking, that when they fwore to remain poor they would not have
been hindered, and hindered too by them who never wifhcd they ihou'd
be rich : experience, while I am writing, (hews the contrary ; but
we have here to do with Retro/peflion. The church meantime, foon
to be ftyl'd the Church of Rome ; refbunding with mufic and choral
fingers, illuminated by day as well as night with gaudy tapers cf-a
thoufand colours, and crouded by flatucs, emblems, pictures and de-
vices of various holy men and martyrs, departed this life in true faith
and fear, acquired foon not only ftrcngth but fplendour, not only
fplendour but a folid opulence, not only opulence but that which fol-
lows it influence ; hardening the potter's clay into a firm and fixt
authority. Living zealots poured their profufe donations on the altar,
and dying mifers bequeathed to a community the wealth they could'
not bear to part with during life, or leave to enrich any individual.

The general taftc too of times fo propitious to foftncis and luxurj,
infected even the good and wife among us, and gave a tincture of po~

hthcifm's

gC THE FOURTH CENTURY; FROM DIOCLESIAN [CIT. v.

lytheifm's ambitious gaiety to fabrics dcflincd for the vvorfliip of an
humble Saviour, who had not while on earth, though all his own, a
place where he might lay his facred head. While from fuch fcenes
St. Anthony, in pure averfion to their pomp, retired ; under imperial
protection now rofe up on every fide majeftic edifices, that vied in all ex-
terior ornament with pagan temples dedicated to tutelary faints be-
fidc, as they were to fubordinate divinities. Saints who had fung their
hymns in hollow catacombs, or wandering houfelefs among barbarous
nations, had difleminated with diligence that faith they were prepared
to die for ; propagating the moft dangerous of all truths from the moir
difintcrefted of all motives. Among thefe Kebius, fon to a duke of
Cornwall, and pupil to Hilary bifhop of Poidtiers, is thought to have
given the name of Hilary Point to a protuberance of rock, near Holy-
head in Anglefea, {till called Cacrgybi by the Welfli inhabitants, mean-
ing the camp, or caftle, or refidence of Keb'tus. Thefe taught a ftre-
nuous rejection of Arianifm in the north, 'fpite of all courtly terrors
but other fnares from that hour compafs'd Chriftianity around, and
the feducer took another method ;

For Satan now is wifer than of yore,
. And tempts by making rich, not making poor.

Having, as the famous fable well exprefTes, blown vehemently againft
our then erratic worfhip with the rough winds of cruelty and rage ;
and having found the cloak of righteoufnefs clapt clofer to meet every
blaft and brave it, the warm fun of feduclion now foothed the weary
votarift of virtue, and wooed him to throw off what fcem'd fuperfluous,
unneceflary defence. Set free by fupreme command, confoled by ma-
ternal fondnefs and perfonal indulgence, the Chriilians next (and furely
without impropriety) availed themfelves of Conftantine's pcrmiffion
and his mother's wifh ; and fet about removing the polluted flirine of
Venus, which Adrian had ere&cd on our Saviour's fcpulchre, purpofely
to prophane it. So far was well but when the venerated foot was

feen,

CH. v.] TO CONSTANT1XE THE GRKAT. 97

fcen, was vifited, a ftrong devotion, more fervent far than delicate,
kindled at the view. Refpect was loft in the wild burfts of paflion ;
nor could decorum's felf fubfift an inftant under the preflure of fuch
crowds that crumed it ; when hundreds being attracted by zeal, and
thoufands by curiofity, many unjuftifiable whims took place : till the
more prudent Emperor covered the ground, building upon its conic-
crated furface a beautiful church, exprefling at once his piety and his
munificence. St. Helena befide, by her unlucky, although natural
and even praife-worthy propenfity for collecting rcliques of the tor-
tured martyrs, while me furveyed their tombs with veneration ; en-
couraged various, vexatious, and to fay truth, numberlejs impoftures,
that have done more injury to our common caufe than her warm feel-
ings fuffercd her to fear, or the cold fcoffers of our later days could
wifh.

Among the countlels tricks and fraudulent devices of the time, I
will juft mention the idea of Jefus's fwaddling bands being found, be-
caufe the examiners fhe fet to work lighted on cloths which fire had
no effecl on. Thcfe were made of the afbeftos or linum vhum* fala-
mander's wool, as 'tis not improperly termed : this curious mineral
has, it mould fcem, in all ages feized ftrongly upon female attention ;
the lady of the manor of Auchindoir, near Strathbogie, had a petti-
coat made of it in 1 /Oo when firft difcovered among the Scottifh
rocks, and Ciampini gained a penfion from Chriftina queen of Sweden
by fliewing her its wondrous powers in 1678. Pliny defcribes it as
of intrinfic value, equal to pearls (Nat. Hift. lib. xix. chap. i.). Giam-
battifta Porta tells us, that an hundred and fifty years before his time
it was fb common in the ifle of Cyprus, that ignorant old women there
could fpin and manage it with great dexterity; and the oriental
Chriftians mewed rags of it in 32.5 from their dolorum archives, as re-
liqucs of ineftimable value ; but 'tis to be found in mines of old Mona,

* There is a way now of mak'ingfaflitious aftjeflos.
VOL. I. N as

QS THE FOURTH CENTURY; FROM DIOCXESIAN [en. v.

as eafily as in fublimcr or more claffic latitudes. The ancient Britons
underftood its ufe too, calling it maen yjl'mos, andwrae/; which laft
word gives me paufe, and makes one for a moment think that urael
might poffibly have fome reference or fome concealed analogy to Uriel,
the angel of the fun, who lives in fire ; but 'tis better- be deceived by
pious eafmefs of belief, than drawn out of our way by love of derivation.
While the good Emprefs then fought feduloufJy upon Mount Calvary
for fome remains of the true crofs, or any fuel to keep up the facred
flame fo kindled ; Conftantinc her fon made a decree to fuperfede the
ancient Jewifh Sabbath, and eftablim Sunday as our weekly feftival ;
preferring that day on which our Lord arofe to the original reft from
creation. He ordered Saturday to be a faft, bccaufe Chrift's body then
was in the grave ; and this drew a flrong line between onr new pro-
feflbrs of what was then called emphatically the New Religion, and
thofe who ftill obferved the law of Mofes. With them the heathen
for three whole centuries perfifted to confound us ; yet notwithftand-
ing all their efforts, nor foft credulity nor callous unbelief, neither the
biting frofts of iharp feverity, nor any idle channels cut by mild en-
couragement, have been permitted yet to check the progrefs of that
hallowed ftream, whereof who drinks, quaffs immortality and joy.
The fpring, like that of Nile, rofe filently and unperceived ; like that,
it has diffufed health, happinefs, and cultivation ; the mouths too
towards the end, are divided ; but acknowledge the fame head, and roll
to the fame ocean of everlafting blifs.

Among the numerous pilgrims which came flocking to the lately-
opened fepulchre, St. Jerome mentions Britons ; though partiality
muft own our iiland produced few inhabitants worth noticing in thefe
fo early ages. Moft of the Englifh youths had been drawn into Gaul
as recruits for Roman armies, ever fighting to retain provinces and
pofleffions that crumbled hourly from their grafp. Humanity could
do no more than Conftantine was doing, towards holding up a finking
fovereignty, which plunged a little deeper in its quaggy bottom every

day :

m. v.] TO CONSTANTIXE TI1F, GRK A

: and feeing that Rome was become no central poft where to ftan i
bell at bay, whilft kirbarifm burit in upon the limits of the empire on
every fide, and oftentimes on all; he turned his tliotidii's UJKHI re-
moval of the royal rcfidence to fomc place nearer the middle point of
his dominions, widely, but weakly extended towards the cart. It wtta
now little lefs than fcven hundred and forty years fincc the great Ge-
neral Camillus, by perfuafion, had hindered the people and fenatc of
Rome from tranfmitting to Veia the feat of that government, dcftincd
to bear rule over the whole earth : the charm was broken, fo were the
fpirits of the ancient inhabitants, whofe gay defccndants, far more
flexible, had learned to treat us vulgar prejudices all opinion of a local
influence ; their capitoline Jove too was quietly carried away ; and
where the court was, there would be the courtiers ; who willingly
abandoned the city of their anceftors under the conduct of Conftan-
tine their king. He, not a native, viewed rather with abhorrence than
delight, a land drenched in the blood of murdered innocents, and rank
with every noxious poifonous weed that could by him have been fup-
pofed to fpring from a warm foil fo watered : bcfides that, Mr. Gib-
bon obferves wifely, how the original profeflbrs of our faith lived and
expired in a firm perfuafion of Jefus's intent foon to deftroy the myf-
tic Babylon, they had fuch ample caufc to hate and fear. Add to
all this, Byzantium was acknowledged the nioft excellent and lovely
fituation in the world it is confcfled fo ftill, although another hcmi-
iphere has been difcovered, and that Chriftianity difpcrfed around it,
which coft the tyrants of mankind fuch vain, fuch endlefs labour to
deftroy. The new chofcn refidcricc, like Rome, was built upon leven
hills, and extended far beyond the ancient town that Byzas called
after his own name, when he led forth a colony out of Megara, in the
Peloponcefus what time Manafleh reigned over Judea, and Pfamme-
tichus drank out of his brazen helmet, by command of the oracle,
which foretold he mould be king of Egypt. Conftantinople, though
.now called by the Turks, Stampoul, has not quite loft the original dc-

X 2 fignation.

loo THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. v.

fignatlun. Poul comes from Polls, the generic term, as who mould
fay the city by way of eminence thus Nicopolis, Phillipo/w/w, and a
hundred more. To this great city then, was fbmewherc about the year
34O transferred, and carried clear away the imperial throne ; and from
that moment may we fafely date the impoffibility of Rome's recover-
ing the mode or fubftance of her priftinc fway. Near this Conftaa-
tinople too died, full of days and honours, her great founder, leaving
his name for ages to a town which, at the end of eleven centuries, we
fhall fee renouncing the religion Ihe received with it. From his death
likewife we muft add with forrow, that though future princes faintly
oppofed the infults and incroachments which profperous barbarifm
continued to repeat, their oppofition was too faint and feeble, whilft
from the abandoned weft fhrunk the once fwelling furge, the pleni-
tude of power.

Thus, when the fea ebbs on a fandy fhore, the watchful fimer fets
his mark of RetrofpeSlion ; and if fome bolder billow than the reft is
ibmetimes feen to warn up againft the pole, as if indignant at the
thought of leaving that place dry, which his preceding waves had co-
vered ; yet will the experienced mariner inform you, The tide is going

CHAP.

CH. vi.] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIIEODOSIUS. 101

CHAP. VI.

FROM CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS, A. D. 40O.

THE fuccefles of Conftantine fcduced Mr. Gibbon to an epifode;
his death irrefiftibly draws me into a digrcflion. Like Balaam,
bleffing where he meant to curfe, that great hiftorian's book is found
of ufe to thofe who defire and are earned to deduce the truth of pro-
phecy from ancient ftory, as an adverfary's teftimonial can never be
fufpe&ed. He has, indeed, given us many land-marks, or fet up ter-
mini, a phrafe he would like better, whence our rctrofyeft'rvc eye may
fee more clearly how religion and politicks have advanced, proceeding
flowly on from ftation to ftation, till they arrive at the place we now
find them. He fixes the time when oracles expired he points the
period when heathen Sacrifices ended he names the very day when
papal power begun ; and he aflerts with equal fenfe and truth, that
when contempt of the religion long eftablifhcd by law pervades a
whole community, revolution cannot long be kept away. He tells
from old times, what is completely verified by modern ones, that
when the majority fecretly lofes ftrength, however clear the numbers
may remain, without even poffibility of conteft; that flatc has fuf-
fered a moft fatal fymptom, and her dcftruclion cannot be far off.
His doclrine of the out-fpread labarum, or facred ftandard, faid to be
difplayed before the following eyes of highly favoured Conftantine,
and deeply venerated by all primitive Chriftians, evince the antiquity
of that form of words yet ufed by our Anglican church in baptifm,
when we promifc manfully tojight under his banner who redeemed
us ; on which I truft was fec-n thcjign of the Son vf Mar which \\ ill

appear

102 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vi.

appear again before his fccond coming. Vide St. Matthew, chap. xxiv.
yerle 30. The red crofs, the crofs of Chrift, dipt in his facrcd blood,
iilows on our Britifh. ftandards frill. Atheifts and infidels ftrike to it
as yet ; Oh, may we never defert it ! The words TSTU HX*, hac vhice
however appeared on the myftic colours, Ihewn in a dream to Con-
fbntinc : he told Eufebius the tale himfelf ; Eufebius faw the banner
that was made from his defcription of it, but fays not in what lan-
guage the encouraging fentence was written. Fabricius tells us, 'twas
in Greek as that was the Emperor's native tongue, it feems mofl
likely that it fhould be fo : Philoftorgius fays, the words were hi hoc
Jig/io "unices in this Jign tliou Jhalt conquer ; but he faw it not, and
perhaps only means himfelf to traiijlate the fentence, not to copy it.
Whether the fign was an illuminated crofs, as one would think by
Conftantine's placing one near every ftatue creeled to him in his life-
time, or whether the Chriftian's monogram,* with which the Em-
peror was well acquainted, having doubtlefs worne one about his per-
fon in his youth, much as the royalifts of France, in ] 794, carried in
their pockets feals or tobacco-ftoppers, wherein were concealed effi-
gies of their murdered prince, is not decided XPISTO2 being Chrift
in Greek, the firft followers of our Saviour took the two firft letters
of the name, and ftriking the fecond through the firft, made out this
little cypher V incomprehenfiblc to heathen examination ; for Jortin
fays, that many martyrs, who never, in days of perfccution, thrufl
ihemfelvcs forward to offend the civil power on purpofe, fuffcred
.death, when called upon, better than thofe, who to obtain fome no-
tice from the government, rufhed againft torments, which in the hour
.of agony they fhrunk from. This is natural, and Jefus feems on all
occafions to prefer a fearing to a prefumptuous difciple. Peter, who
promifed Joudeft, was firft of all the eleven to deny his Mafter.

But we return to our fummary. Lake Conftance, and the pretty

Tranfversa liter x fumixio qapite circumflexo Chriflo in fcutis notat.

town

CH. vr. ] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIJEOUOStUS. ioa

town upon its borders, built in Switzerland, perpetuates the name of
our greaf fovereign's eldejl fon the word Pagan, yet in common ufe,
records a practice of Coivftantius the younger fon, who, when he firft
cafhicrcd his heathen foldiers, quartered them upon the villages, Pagi,
and thus the appellation fpread from them to all who di {Tented from
the legal and authorized church, preferring the old mode of polvthcifm.
Oa^firs were in the days we treat of, and long before, created gcne-
raly. and considered as presumptive heirs ; and now the regular divi-
ium had taken place, and the two brothers fhared the world's troubles,
rather than its dominion between them. A proof that real power was
no longer concentrated, as once under one head, may be produced in
the numberlcfs Imperators, Casfars, Dottthii as they were ftyled fincc
DicK-leiian's reign. Monarchy, properly fo called, was fading off, and
a way } .iving faft for the new method by which mankind, weary of
early and rimple inilitutions, wilhed to be governed. Meanwhile a
ftrong concuffion of the earth, at Nicomedia, added to an eclipfc of
the fun, which quickly followed, with ftorms of unequalled hail, made
nvinv think that the laft day was coming, although St. Paul's Epiftles
had allured us, that Anti-Chrift muft firil appear on earth ; that Man
of Sin, who as God, fitteth in the temple of God, fhewing himfelf
that he is God ; and although good Laclantius bid them wait with
patience the expiration of the next two thousand years, from Chrift's
appearance in the flcfh until his coming again in glory. This laft
opinion, held by the earl} church, originated probably from St. Peter's
quotation of king David's words ; how to our Lord one day was as a
thoufand years, and a thoufand years as one day ; inferring thence,
that as creation ended with the fixth, fo would thefe periods of dura-
tion alfo, and the fabbatical, or fcventh millenary, be that of our Savi-
our's vilible reign on earth. Two thoufand years were certainly allot-
ted for obedience to the moral fenfe, and for conviction to fuch as fhould
come after, that this fame moral fcnfe or law of reafbn was infutficient.
Thele iccble fences againft fin and forrow being all fwept a\vay at once

104 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vi.

by the Deluge, mankind had Mofes and the Prophets for a guide about
two thoxifand more ; at which time Chrifl appeared, and the gofpel
difpcnfation has now, whilft I am writing, been ib long in force, that one
man and his fon both living to the utmoft ftretch of permitted exiftence
in this fublunary world, may fee that portion of eternity expire, which
reafon and prophecy, apoftlc and evangelift, feem leading us to confider
as the lajl allotted to the ufe of humanity. All this on fuppofition that
no miftakes are made in that chronology which well we know is mofi
exceedingly defective ; many years have been devoured and funk dur-
ing the dark night of thofe Gothick ages at which our Retrofpeffion
peeps, at beft through cloudy telcfcopes : when we reflect, beiide, on
the grofs errors entertained by ancients of the very firft rate abilities in
other fcienccs, fcicnces of far eafier attainment, 'twere difficult to be
quite fatisfied with their accounts of time. Wild opinions, ftrange
anecdotes, and almoft inconceivable facts ftrewed up and down the
Auguftan and Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, might ftagger many a reader.
We moderns are however, moft difpofed to fneer at what is related of
the Chriftlan martyrs, and think it witty to ridicule the idea of throw-
ing princeffes of that pcrfuafion virgins, to be deprived of that name
l>y the hangman, if they refufed burning incenfe upon a heathen altar,
Venus' s for the moft part : although Diana's proccffions at new and full
moon were often as great a fnare. Yet why controvert fo probable an
occurrence ! The great Sejanus's daughter, upon her father's fall from
imperial favour, was fo ferved, only becaufl^/7/<? icas his daughter ; nor
could the cradle's felf prove a lure fheltcr to the unhappy infant of Ca-
ligula. The common punifhments where no religious prejudices were
concerned, exceeded far our limited ideas of times in which vice and
virtue, feverity and fweetncfs, knowledge and ignorance, wxre alike
gigantic. A gentleman complained in Germany to Aurelian that one
of his officers had violated hofpitality by perfonal infults on the honour
of his wife, who entertained the General at her houfe no more was
ncceffary; this rough commander calling the wretched culprit before

him,

cit. vi.] FROM CONSTANTIXE TO THEODOSIUS. ios

him, had his two feet fattened to the top of two trees forcibly hcnt to-
gether, which being then fudclenly let loofc, tore the criminal afundcr
at the moment of recoil. Nor was young Alexander Ids fcvere, when
he caufcd the (mews of a judge's fingers to be all cut through for taking.
bribes, and as he had after all given the cauie againft the plaintiff
lady who had bribed him, the final punifhment was fuffocation ; for
fmoke he fold, obferved the Emperor, and with fmoke fhould he be
paid. A ftake being prepared tlicrefore, furrounded by wet wood,
Taurinus, though of confular dignity, was fattened to it, and fmothercd
in her's and her protector's fight. Conftantine threw fbme French-
men he had taken near the town of Bonne, in Germany, to be de-
voured alive by dogs, for theft and treachery : they deferred not, he.
{aid, to die the death of foldiers. But the time was faft approaching
when thcfe black clouds were doomed to roll away. The leucr light
of human rcafon, fays an admirable preacher, had been long appointed
to rule the night of darknefs, doubt, and gloom ; the greater light of
revelation's fun was fent at laft to illuminate our clearer day ; and He
who fent it, made the ftars alfo. Confucius, Epidctus, Plato, fhonc
but by his permiffion, whilft with acknowledged difficulty, and cau-
tious ftep, their followers ftumbling, trod a narrow path. But Julian
the apoftate preferred, upon mature deliberation, the pcrifhablc taper
of philofophical perplexity to the broad light of our rcvcal'd religion ;
his character arrefts our retrofyeftive eye, now for the firft time con-
templating the imperial purple clothing a difputant in deep theology.
A perfon of whom more contrarieties may be recounted than ever lodged
in any mind except his own ; a prince, who although personally va-
liant, fhrunk meanly, in his coufm's life-time, from avowal of that re-
ligion which he was afterwards ardent to clhiblifh, merely becaufc dan-
ger then attended its confeflion ; a man, who although bigottcd to his
own opinions, wilhcd not to pun if h thofc who differed from them ; and
who, though all muft own him a ftoic, a foldicr, a fcholar, and a wit,
had the ftrcmge \\eaknefs to endeavour at finding out future events, by
VOL. I. O marking

10') THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vr.

marking grains of barley with Greek characters, and throwing therrr 1
before a fowl to Ice which he v^ould pick up, and what \vords thole
letters left or taken would compofc. A kind of divmaticji had,
'tis true, been practifcd, by confidering, from time immemorial, fome-
times the corns of barley, fometimes the dough or matter of the cakes
offered in facrifice : it was called crithomancy. Virgil reprefents Dido
as offering up a barley cake in her laft rite, when Chaos, Erebus and
Hecate were invoked. This mode of forcery to which Julian was ad-
dicled, had for its object the infernal gods ; for Ceres ftill had influence
over Prefer pine; tiny were to tell who fought the Emperor's life, and
he was to fend fuch traitors, when hecaxight them, fwift to the fhadcs
below. Thence the fallacious as magical encouragement he thus re-
ceived, determined him notwithilanding, to rebuild the temple at Je-
rufalem, and by fo doing make our faith to its foundation, which had
fo completely in many parts of the empire diflodged his own. That
this temple mould have been twice deftroyed upon the fame day of the
year ; that day the very one upon which Mofes had broken the tables
of the law fo many ages pad ; that it was ilill venerated in its anniver-
fary as giving birth to that ever bleffed Virgin who, daughter to David,
was made mother to Jefus Chrift, efcaped not the notice of apoftate
Julian, well hvftructed in the religion he forfook. Inftead then of re-
newing perfecutions againft the profeflbrs of Chriftianity, he contented
himfelf with fhunning their fociety, laughing at their manners, and
pointing them out as objects of general and deferved contempt ; to in-
crcafe which, he employed all his imperial power to prove the fcatter-
ing and deftruction of the Jews merely accidental. Builders and archi-
tects in confequcnce began the work of fabrication ; but that itrange
hindrances rofe againfh it (even in the eyes of Pagan fpectators), nei-
ther ancient nor modern infidels deny. Julian, not eafily repulfed,
lent other men to Paleftine, whence they returned baffled in every at-
tempt by volcanic eruptions, -that like mafked batteries protected the
nan, prohibiting all approach, and rendering it incapable of repair ; a

circumftance

tai. vi.] FROM CONbT'vN 1'IM, I O TIlIiODOSli

rircumilanrc \\hich became (lull) more aftonilliing to the philolbphi-
cal apoitatc, from consideration of the neighbouring loll, that a lie
wcll-knew contained no fiery particles, nor \vas ever known to exhibit
appearance of being comuultible, except on that occasion. The la,
ran now againft the Emperor, and his project; polytlu-ifm had lolt her
charms, and Julian's efforts to reftorc it were in vain : his own ex-
ample, although fcconded by virtuous conduct, excited no contagion*
piety in the multitude, who looked upon his Slaughtered hecatomb>
with coldncfs, and only laid horned cattle Would be dear, when court
devotion grew fo liuiguinary. A man who knew the worM as Julian
did, mull have perceived this fatal fvmptom of his faith's decay ; be-
fore the iarcallic facer of derifion beauty fades, wit is filenccd, and
even wifdom's felt' k/l-s difcountenanced, and like folly Jhows. Our-
felves have in our own time fccn hifs'd forth fame, honour, excel-
lence of every kind from Paris ; when too foft Lutetia, known by that
name in the third century, corrupted funk into her deftined quagmire
of melting diflblution unlike the town preferred by Julian above
every other for its rough manners and bold honeily. Its then coarfe
but courageous inhabitants, formed a ftrong contrail to the voluptuous
Syrians, a race the Emperor delighted to fliovv his fcorn of ; purpofely
Shocking the dainty rcfidcnts of Antioch with his philofophic negli-
gence of their long robes and curls, and paint and perfumes ; adopt-
ing, in direcl: oppolkion to fuch manners, the uncouth cuftoms of thofe
rugged Gauls, which had the territorial appellation of Piirlfti, receiving
viiitants, petitioners, &c. with uncombed beard, tann'd ikin, and inky
fingers ; but forgetting the good precept ncquid n'tinis. 'Tis curious
meantime to fee France fet the falhionscvcn in this early age : Ihe fcts
the fafliion ftill. With levity unexampled having in thcie lait fifteen
years been confidered by all Europe as a model: firll of gay fplcndour and
oftentatious elegance ; next of brutality and ferocious rage; once eminent
for loyalty little ihort of partial foolimnefs ; then giving the aftoniflied
world a fudden exhibition of murder, rreaibn, regicide. May this laic

O 2 horrible

108 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [en. vr,

horrible fafhion find no followers ! Could her admirer Julian fee Parin
now again, he would again perhaps find out one quality worthy his
admiration, namely, her philofophical apoftacy from that religion
which he, with as little reafon as herfetf, was prompted to defert. But
the character of this Emperor has carried us too far ; the clofing fcene
is nigh. Sapores, king in Perfia, who called himfeW brother to the
fun and moon, had put the Romans to intolerable {traits, fince death
removed his great opponent Conftantine : and warlike Julian now, af-
ter menacing our predecciTors with the fevcrities they fhould fuller on
his return, fet forward to meet the llorm which gathered eaftward.
Eutropius the hiftorian, who followed him a foldicr, and fought by his
fide, law him fall before the fiege of Ctefiphon, and bears undoubted
teftimony to his martial conducl in the field, and to his courageous
death in the tent, many hours after the fatal wound was given. But
Julian confidered himfelf as going to unite his foul for ever with thofe
deities from whom he held it to have been an emanation, and hoped
reward for having promoted their fervice. As a philofopher he could
not be an atherft. For our age of reafon, as 'tis falfely called, was
finally referved renunciation of all future hope ; the confederation of
death as an eternal fleep was far from his opinion or belief.

Ah ! que fauffement, fauficment courageufe,
L'amc doit te trouver affreufe,

Quand Ic neant eft fon efpoir,
Quel efpoir de ne rlen pretendre !
Quel bonheur de n'en point attendre !

Quel fecours de n'en plus avoir !

'Tis mofl remarkable perhaps that Julian Ihould leave his life upon tho/e
plains of Dura where Nebuchadnezzar, juft a thoufand years before, had
fet up the famous golden image to Bel or Baal, but reprefenting, I fup-
pofe, the fun ; for not adoring which coloflus, the three Ifraelitifh cap-
tives were thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and came out thence
xmhurt, under the vifible protection of the Son of God, whofe eternal

filiation

en. vr.] FROM CONSTANTINO TO TI1EODOSIU5. w (J

filiation was become, -three hundred and iixty-fivc years after his appear-
ance upon earth, a caufe of fuch perpetual {tumbling to his followers,
that the heroic Bifliop Athanafms newly rcftored, after incredible
ftruggles and vexations, was at length half compelled to lend his name
to a new creed, a frefh compilation of articles, a fymbol of belief ftill upon
ftated days repeated in our church, though he himfelf aflurcd the Empe-
ror Jovian who fucceeded, that there were creeds enough already. This
truly Chriftian Prince, obliged to make fomewhat disgraceful terms with
haughty Sapor, reigned but afhort time, during which period hailftones
of enormous fize fell at Conftantinople, while ten cities in Crete were
overturned by an earthquake. Upon his death, dcfigned or acci-
dental, there is a curious letter from St. Chryfoftome, to the im-
perial widow Chariclo, a Grecian lady, faying, that of nine iuccef-
fors whom he had known inverted with the purple, two only could '
have been fuppofed to pay the debt of nature by a common courfc of
events. Jovian's demife however, might certainly have happened by
neglect or ignorance of thofe about him, who left a chafing di(h or
brazier filled with charcoal in the apartment where he flept : thus
making way for Valens and Valentinian, two brothers of oppofitc cha-
racters and manners, held together, as it fhould feem, by mere con-
venience of governing the empire by divifion. Its caftern poifeflions
fell to Valens' fhare ; while Valentinian refidcd at Milan, where his
excefs of veneration for good St. Ambrofe is ftill remembered by its rich
effects. The church, the library, filled with ineftimablc rarities, were
in high prefervation A. D. 1786 ; and 'twas remembered then among
them, how when the fiery fpirit of an emperor more zealous for the
honour of our meek religion, than ftudious to obey its gentle precepts,
was difturbed : it was St. Ambrofc only, the mellifluous doctor who
could footh it to a temporary calm, and mitigate its wrathful violence.
When that imperial anger was exerted againft the ftrange propensity
to witchcraft, which helped in thofc days to obfcure men's reafon und
obftrucl their virtue, one hardly can condemn it Icfs ftill when we

reflect

110 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; [en. vr.

rerkcl that Theoclofms the warlike, the pious and the wife, efcaped as
'twere by miracle from iharcs that were laid to difpatch him, only
bccaufo that fatal cock before whom the letters of the alphabet were
placed, had felected thofe with which his name begun. The town of
/"i/Av/cicnncs however, rofe to light about the time we fpeak of; and
Britain had well nigh been called Valentia. Should one be led to ob-
fcrve that there was a fate in it, for that Britannia could not change
her name, 'twere well we lived there in the prcfent day, not then ; this
zealous ruler of mankind would have accufcd and punifhed us perhaps
for onomantical propenlities. Truth is, Raff Allan, collector of the
tales of the Talmud, is anfwerablc for many of thefe filly fancies of
conjuring by names, which originated from that fource. Cabbala or
cabalillic myfterioufnefs has left the world- but a ftiort time. There is
a way of telling fortunes noiv in many parts of Italy called la cabala ;
and there was an odd lucky reference to the word in lotli fenfes of it,
when Clifford, Amburnham, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale,
in 'Charles the fccond's time, with the initial letters of their names,
formed the word CABAL. Addifon refers to it as familiarly known in
our Spectator's time, and the Abbe Villars alludes to it in the name of
]e Compte de Gabalis. What wonder then, if the fourth century found
it a ferious matter ? The Emperor Valcns was himfelf infecled, and put
many innocent mortals to death for no worfc crime than a truly luck-
lefs initial. The times were full of terror and of danger. Difputcs between
Urficinus and Damafus for the papal chair ran fo cxceffively high, that
an hundred and thirty-feven men were killed fighting in a Chriftian
church at Rome, with fury ill becoming either party, till the fove-
reign himfelf interfered, and confirmed Damafus in the fee. In gra-
titude for this event thcjiatt in pnncip'io was added to gloria pain after
every pfalm, which he commanded them to chant in alternate verfe,
as is the ufage ftill in all cathedrals. Damafus was a Portuguese by
birth, a poet and hiftorian, who wrote the ads and fufferings of his
prcdcceflbrs, and though accufed of fome moral faults, he cleared him-
felf;

CH. vi ] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIIF.ODOSrUS. 1 1 1

fclf; and St. Jerome, to whom he dedicates his book, records him as
of pious memory. The great Bafilica of St. Syricius where they
fought, is now Santa Maria mnggkre. But herefy and luxury did then
too fure combine to (hake the faith of fuch new profclytes as were
in oft eafily offended, and felt themfelves difpofed (as many fince) to
charge upon Religion's fclf the excefles committed by her profcHor--.
That Damafus fought not the good fight, Jortin confiders as fo good
a joke, he has it both in the preface and the work yet is there little
need to fuggeft fubjects of derifion to thofe who are ever willing to
deride us ; and if great Theodofius did afterwards approve the purity
of this Pope's faith, he certainly no more approved of battles in the
church than Dr. Jortin does. Irregularities of conduct, and haughti-
nefs of demeanour wholly incxcufublc, do doubtlefs mark the moments
we are writing of, when gilded cars, prancing fteeds, and numerous
retinue attendant upon Chriftian bifhops, began to fright St. Gregory
Nazianzen ; and ill-inftrudled votaries to the ever-blefled Virgin pro-
pagated collyridianifm in Brabant, where fhe was directly and po-
fitively adored not with dulia merely, but pure latria, and incenfe
offered to her as queen of heaven. The fource of that rnad mifchief"
rifes in polytheifm, whofe Mater Dcorum was eafilv confounded by
young converts with our Mater Dei, and there is now a bronze figure
of the Madonna in the Vatican or was in 1/86, with a high tower
on her head, and all the infignia of Cybele, to whofe honours (lie iuc-
cecded; and this explains the reafbn why mutilated pricfts officiate'
before her fhrine at Loretto, as eunuchs or femi-cunuchs were of old
appointed to ferve the mother of the gods. Thefe people had indeed,
during the times under our Retrofpettion, an almoft boundlcfs in-
fluence upon the world, which influence incrcafed fince Afia became-
feat of univcrfal empire : for no longer contented with fvvay obtained
as formerly through the vices of rronarchs addicled to criminal plea-
fures, they refolved to fecurc it now by means of ill-underftood devo-
tion, ruling the hearts and confciences of the religious princes, who

put

112 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vt.

put themfelves and families under tlieir common guidance. But whilff,
enervate foftnefs mark'd the eaft, a rougher fcenery displayed itfelf in
Scotland, whence Eugenius and Euthodius were cruelly thruft out,
and exiled to perifli with hunger in the Ifle of Man ; till Romachus,
the petty tyrant of Caledonia, having offended his barons by this adl
of treafon againft youths of a royal blood, they cut his head off, carry-
ing it in triumph upon a pike's end, according to the true fpirit of fuch
irregular and turbulent times. The fons meanwhile of Cynetha We-
ledig, whofe mother Gwawl* was fifter to St. Helena, ruled on the
lhaggy top of Mona high, where the L-oegrian Britons had retired
from fury and encroachment of the Saxon chiefs; having firft cleared
the ifland from piratic rovers from the Irim coaft, they fettled, and
Cafwallon then obtained (fome fay) the appellation of Draco Infula-
rum. I thought the dragon crejl and perhaps rouge dragon had been
derived from him ; but Pennant, who beft knows fuch matters, brings
them from Uther Pendragon : he has himfelf a right to bear it, as I
have read or heard, deriving his long-traced lineage from Vortigern;
and it mould feem that dragons were not new to the world after cru-
fading times, by this : though Warton thinks they were. Yet 'tis
hard to believe, becaufe Krcjc'ia Brixia gave it for an enfign in early
days, if we believe the tcftimony of Rubseus. Be this as it may,
Science had certainly begun to dawn among the barbarous nations ;
and a faint diilant light, as Rome began rolling back towards opacity,
might be difccrncd to promife day among the Goths, when Atha-
naricus, the Cecrops of modern ages, fixing in Thrace, encouraged
CJlphilus, an Ar'iau bifliop, to invent runic characters, and had the fa-
tisfaclion of feeing thofe arts of civilization fown, which were deftined
to revive after the grand deluge of darkncfs, urged onwards by the
Huns and Vandals, mould be dried off. But before then the timid
Vajens was confumed in a fmall houfc he had retired to from rage of

* Gwawl means Giulja, Julia, Juliana : the Gillian of our Englifh ballads.

war,

CH. vi.] FROM CONSTANTIXE TO TIIEODOSIUS. 113

vvar, which foon purfucd him there and burned with fire. His rugged
colleague Valentinian died in an agony of paffion, burfting a blood-vdlcl
with his own violence at feeing himfelf forced to receive ambafTador>
from favage leaders of armies he at once defpifed and feared ; but
having aflbciated Gratian his fon and fucccflbr, the lofs was felt the
lefs ; while furious Maximin, a name that ever calls to mind ideas of
tyranny, ruled but a little while. One of thefe fe mi -barbarous em-
perors, I forget which, had for his favourites two fhapclcfs bears, pro-
bably lefs ferocious than himfelf; and excellent at ridding their mafter
of friends or of petitioners he liked not. That nothing may appear
impoffible, I can myfelf recollect hearing of a country gentleman re-
fiding in Lancafhire or Cheshire fome threefcore years ago, who had
the fame tafle of domcftic amufement ; and when more wine wa*
called for than he wifhcd to give, Call Dolly in, faid he, to fwecrp the
room. Immediately a high huge female bear, walking on two hind-
feet, with a long broomftick between her fore-paws, entered the door,
and quickly fent away the terrified fpeclators. But v.-c return to feeble
Gratian, who, as might be expected, foon fell before fuch force as
Maximin's, but like Ncrva, he had been careful to provide the world
a mafter rich in every endowment, ftrong in every ingredient that
conftitutes true courage ; wife to conducl thcfc gifts to the bell pur-
pofc, and learned to obtain new lights from reading, fhould his own
prove infufficient. In Thcodofius, a Spaniard like himfelf, even the
remembrance of Trajan might be funk ; he was the laft emperor that
went out with the Roman armies, and he lived till four hundred years
were pad fince our redemption. Various in talents, though {ingle in
excellence ; he encouraged piety, he praclifed morality, he rewarded
valour, and fupported for a while expiring knowledge. He called the
Church of Chrilt the catholic, or general, or comprehenfive Church
Un'rverfaL Happy and pleafing and fortunate appellative ! which fhe
will wear yet to the end of time, and againft which the force of men
or of daemons never fhall prevail.

VOL. I. P CHAP.

THE FOURTH CENTURY ; [CH..VIU

CHAP. VII.
FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO THE DEATH OF ATTIL&,

ABOUT FIFTY YEARS.

THE new Emperor's earlieft cares were exerted to maintain unity
in the church, folidity, if poflible, in the ftate. He appointed
the Nieene Creed to be read after the Gofpel, as we have it now ; he
procured condemnation of the Macedonian herefy, and reconciled tha
bifhops Paulinus and Meletius, at Antioch. The Goths till his time
inflexible, humanized apace : Athanaricus felt the impulfe of tafte ;
refiding by the Emperor's particular invitation at Conftantinople, his
manners foftened, and having once been made fenfible of the charms
of civilization, he defired never to return, but died there, a convert to
Chriflian cuiloms ; and after the Arian mode of receiving it, to our
faith likewife. But no efforts of imperial power, no writing of St.
Gregory Nazianzen,- no eloquence of good St. Ambrofe, could root
out that firmly-fixed heretical opinion, which at firft feemed to have ,
originated from defipe of oppofing errors promulgated by Sabellius,
rather than with any intent of forming, a feparation in the church,
whence nothing has ever been able to diflodge it like the Jerufalem
artichoke, which once planted, keeps perpetual pofTeffion of the. ground.
The north now filled apace with bifhops and paftors, expelled from
the capital by orthodoxy, which we fliall foon fee ihrinking and ridi-
culed by triumphant Arianifm, that viewed with fcorn- thole who
ftrove to enter at the ftrait gate, while St. Auguftine lent his inimi-
table talents for a mort time to the Manichasans, and Syricius, the
Pope, paved the way for future pontiffs to require celibacy from their

clergy,

oi. vii.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 1 1 5

clergy, whom he firft rcftraincd from marrying widows, or taking a
fecond wife. Claudian, meantime, adorned thefe days with poetry,
which fcarce by us feems to have been praifcd enough he makes the
made between clafficks and moderns fomehow, and naturalifts fcom
the animal qni forme la nuance, as Buffon calls it, between one genus
and another. A Tufcan friend told me, that though his works were
firft printed at Florence, he was by birt'h a Spaniard. Viccnza dif-
putes the firft of thcfc claims however, and boafh the carlieil edition
1482, in folio : The younger Heinfius published an Elzevir, in 12mo.
lf)50 ; and having, in fome favourite verfes, called the Nile fuum,
critics believe that he was born in Egypt.

Theon, the fophift, flourifhed about this time ; he was a famous
mathematician, and Marcellinus, Ammianus Marccllimis wrote his
intcrefting ftory ; but controverfy began to fwallow up literature, and
a new fort of barbarifm deluged all works of fancy. The Emperor
tranflated from the Hebrew into Latin, a tract, called PfenJo Ei-att-
gellum, or the Fabulous Gofpel ; fuppofed to have been a compofition
of Nicodemus, the Jewifh Doctor, who came to Jefus by night :
Bifhop Turpin, in Charlemagne's time, tranflated this imperial work
into French, and from that verfion fprung llic mvftcries, acted in every
Cbriftian country, till about three hundred years back, from the mo-
ment in which I recommend Relro/peflion. Meanwhile, fuch was
Theodofius's attention to learning in all its branches, and fuch his
care for the dignity of its profeflbr?, that having obferved Arfcnius,
tutor to his fon, who was aflbciated at eight years old, teaching his
royal pupil bareheaded and {landing, while the young Caefar fate co-
vered at his cafe upon a chair ; the Emperor made them change
places inflantly, obliging the inftructor to fit, the learner to (land in
future.

Coeval with thcfe occurrences, King Snio ruled in Denmark, where
dreadful famines had prevailed fo long, a law was made to IclTcn the
number of inhabitants, by putting children and old women to death :

P 2 but

11(5 THE FQURTH CENTURY: [en. vir.

but by advice of Gambara, a lady much liltcncd to on account of lici
wifdom and virtue, milder mcafures were adopted, lots were drawn
and thofe on whom they fell, were driven from the country to feck
for themfelves other habitations. From families thus migrating fouth-
ward, fprung the Lombards, firft known by the term Winili, or
Wanderers ; but after, from their long beards, not trimmed upon
their march, ftyled Longobardi : The name of Gambara was not only
extant among them, but highly venerated as late as A. D. 1786.
Bafil, or Bafle, in Switzerland, was built about the time we are re-
viewing, and drew, from a Bafilifk killed by their new wall, the ap-
pellation it has never loft : but Cologne, where Marcomir defeated
haplcfs Gratian, whom Theodofius afterwards fo well revenged, was
even then a place of wonderful antiquity, having been only repaired
by Agrippa, who found the rains of an old town there fabricated, as
they told him, by Colonus, a Trojan chief, in almoft fabulous times,
for which the noble Spaniard felt fo much refpecl, he could not be in-
duced to change it ; and it is faid, that the yet common word to co-
lonize, in every language, comes from that ancient fource; 'Twas
Claudius added thofe few ftrudtures, of which fome veftiges even yet
remain ; hs called it Colonia Agrippina : That Mary de Mcdicis died*
and that the immortal Rubens was born there, are boafts of its later
cxiftence. It was a cuftom to nominate the conquered places anew,
in fign of fubjugation, and reverence fills our retrofpeftlve eye, when
it can fix on an original defignation given them by leaders long ago
laid in "earth, or by accidents as long ago buried under fiction. Such
is the word allemands, at this very moment the name by which an im-
menfe number of our braveft Europeans arc well known ; and Aven-
tine perfifts, and fo does Helvicus, their hiftorians, that the diilin-
guiming appellative came from Allemannus,* the Hercules of the

* Allemannus conquered a lion in fingle combat, tam'd him, and led him about
in a chain ; when amis were given in the holy wars, (for diftinftion's fake) the Ba-
varian Duke, or leader, chofe a chained lion for his device.

north,

CH. vii.] FROM TI1EODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATilLA. 117

north, from whofe chained lion the Bavarian nobles of this day cl;iiin
fome heraldic privileges, though he was contemporary with Mofcs,
and of courfe with Erichthonius. A more fafhionablc etymologiil
fays, they were firft called fo in the days when to oppofc the progrefs
of Caracalla, the Germans^ or 'war men, rofe in a mafs from all fur-
rounding diftridls, and gathered all men, alUniantii, together for their
own defence. This would do, but that Hunnus, Noricus, Boius, and
Helvetius, the four fons of the half- fabulous hero, ftill live in the
names of Hungary, Bohemia, and Helvetia. Noricum lailed a pretty
long while too, but 'tis now Stiria, or Carinthia, Mr. D'Anville fays,
or both. The true Sclavonians indeed, refident in what is now Bo-
hemia, claimed that their irruptions into Italy were founded upon an-
cient juft pretenflons ; nothing lefs than an old charter, faid to have
been extant in 1044, and running thus : " We, Alexander, founder
of the Grecian empire, conqueror of the Perfians, Medts, &c. and
of the whole world from eaft to weft, from north to fouth, Son of
great Jupiter, by fair Olympias, or fo called to you the noble ftock
of brave Sclavonians, and to all of your language ; becaufc you have
been a help to us in war, and valiant in faith and honour : we con-
firm all that tracl of earth from the north to the fouth of Italy, from
us and our fucceflbrs, to you and your pofterity for ever ; and if any
other nation be found there, let them be your Haves. Dated at Alex-
andria, the 1 2th of the Goddefs Minerva. Witnefs jKthra, with the
Eleven Princes, whom we appoint our fucceflbrs."

/Ethra, who is called to witnefs the deed, was mother to the Hy-
adcs, and daughter to Ocean and Tethys : it means, I fuppofe, that
all was figned in the rainy fealbn Pluviafque Hyadas, Virgil calls
them ; but they are more familiarly known by name of Pleiades, or
feven flara, in the neck of the conftellation Taurus, of which fix only
are ever vifible to the naked eye.

But an eftablifliment far different from any made by war or politics
claims, in the fifth century, a glance of Retro/pe&ion. St. Auguftinc

being

j 18 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vn.

being converted and baptized, obtained a garden plot without the
walls of Hrppo, in Africa, where he and eleven friends formed the firft
order of mendicant friars, from which innumerable ramifications
branched abroad, and made the world of monks a large and fcparate
cla-fs of humanity. So differently, and fo widely from the original in-
ilitution ranged this new current of imaginative piety, that ceafing to
murmur near the folitary paths of fcrious individuals, it came at laft to
roll in torrents of liccnfed beggary, and ftagnate in pools of offenfive
ignorance. How little did the great founder of this idle fancy dream
that iitch could ever have been the cafe ! when with his virtue, his
learning, and his leather girdle, he fought only to fhun the temptations
of riches, and obtain more time to converfe with heaven. But thefe
ftrange fads muft teach us to beware of human inftitutions, fpecious
though they be, when fuch genius, directed by fuch intentions, failed
of their purpofed effect:. St. Auguftin's conversion to orthodoxy by
St. Ambrofe, was however the moil deiirable of all triumphs to the
ehurch, which now difplaycd that influence and elderlhip over the ftate
which its great ruler willingly fubmittcd to. Some new but necef-
fary tax had been impofed ; the populace enraged, threw down the
Emperor's ftatues, infultcd his officers, and manifefted a difpofition
towards refittance, totally new to the world, which may be obferved
then^r// to have put forth the more than half invilible germ, encou-
raged by mildnefs in the fovereign power. Theodofius fent forces to
punifh the infurgents ; but Flavian, their gentle bifhop, interposed,
and laved them from the threatened refcntment. Frefli offence of the
fame nature was, in feven years after this indulgence, given by the
people of ThelTalonica, who finding refinance permitted at Antioch,
rcfolved to pufh the fame principles up to rebellion in their city, where
in a popular tumult they killed their governor, and, if I remember
right, fired his houfe, with other acts of unexampled infolence. Im-
perial dignity would brook no more, and Thcodofms, in the fpirit of his
predeccffors, permitted a malTacrc of the guilty town-folk by his foldiery.

St.

CK. vii.] FROM TIIEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATT1L A. 119

St. Ambrofe juftly alarmed at fo much bloodflicd, cenfurc'd the indig-
nant Emperor frum his pulpit, whence he admomlhed him of the wide
difference between a Chriftian and a Pagan fpirit ; and fcarlefs in the
caufe of true religion, inculcated the doctrine, of forgivcnefs, declaring
the cruelties lately performed criminal, without palliation or Ibftcniiv/.
Such truths affected the generous bofom of the fovercign, fuch con-
duel infpired refpect towards the prelate, inclining the prince to con-
demnation of his own behaviour. That his repentance might be
public he wore mourning eight months ; and when the double qua-
rantine was over, he was admitted as a penitent to the communion.
That compenfation might be made for that rafli llorm of anger in
which no fewer than ieven thoufand people pcrifhed, a law was made,
irrevocable from that day, that no execution mould again take place,
till four weeks after fentencc was pronounced. Thus had the world
long caufe to blefs the church, which for the nobleft of all human
purpofcs controH'd the kingly power. That monarch too, who being
fet by heaven high above all apprehcnfion of fublunary punifhmcnt,
fubmitted his imperial ftate to cenfure of a fubject, and humbled his
greatness before the throne of God. That Theodofius mould perform'
a moral act equal to this religious one is lefs furprifing : he fet Valen-
tinian (fecond of the name) upon the throne of the Weft, from mo-
tives of mere moderation ; and to revenge his death, faced with heroic"
coiirage the rebel captains Eugenius and Arbograftcs, whom he de-
feated by fupcrior knowledge in the arts of war ; for rebels were no
new phenomena; but they were individual chiefs who (lood in oppo--
iition each toother, and led th' imbattled multitudes along to pcrifli
in their caufe. Till Theodofius's reign, an infurrcction without a*
leader is not heard of; 'twas a non-dcfcript in hiftory or politicks ; but
experience has fmce made us acquainted with the beaft. And now*
Alaric and Rhadagiilus, who had been tearing each other to pieces-
during the life-time of this lull fovereign, watched the moment of
his death to fall otv,thc dcicrtcd world, and fright his dclpicabb'

fucccflbrs.

120 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vn.

fucccffors. Of thefc poor creatures, the eldeft Arcadius, found a trai-
tor in the man \vho mould have ferved him, one lluffinus, vsho
leagued with Alaric, but loft the reward of treachery ; he died, and
weak Honorius endeavoured to fecure his weftcrn divifion of imperial
power by wedding the daughter of victorious Stilicho, who had
killed 10,000 Goths under Fiefole, and was a character of energy
enough, but could not refift the temptation of endeavouring to obtain
the empire for himfelf, which he defended with fo much activity.
Meanwhile, Cedrenus fays, the olympiads ceafed in Greece ; new cuf-
toms, new terrors overwhelmed mankind ; new nations over-ran it,
and nothing proceeded forwards with any appearance of regularity, ex-
cept church eftablifhments. St. Jerome tranflated the Bible into
what is called the Vulgate vcrfion, about the time we fpeak of ; Pope
Anaftafms commanded the gofpel to be heard Handing, and the third
council of Carthage decreed, that the eucharift fhould be received
failing two good ufages, and as yet complied with both by Romanifts
and Lutherans. Stilicho burned the Sybil's books, on which, fays
Mr. Murphy, in a note on Tacitus, paganifm groaned and expired.
One wifhcs however, that the myftical acroftic of Erythraea had been
fpared, which began every line with the next letter of our Saviour's
name, and while fhe propheficd his birth, formed the words JESUS
CHRIST.

Aufonius lived in thefc days or near them ; he was a Frenchman,
born at Bourdcaux, then Burdigala, but of Roman parents ; his nati-
vity caft by Arborius early in life, determined pofiibly his future ftudics.
The grandfather was pcrfuaded he mitjl be a poet, and a poet he
became.

Judicial aftrology was believed in by all ranks through the fifth
century, men feem as if they would always take unlicenfed peeps be-
hind the curtain of futurity ; the Delphic oracle and Dodonrean grove
\vcre filcnced and as the eaft was the true feat of empire, oriental
magic arts fucceedcd to Pythian impofture and ambiguity. But Re-

trofpettlon

CH. vii.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA.

1roft>ettion muft be turned unwillingly towards the uxorious prince and
trifling boy that fwayed the world's great fceptre ; tor whilft Rome's
danger from .the Goths drew near, and Stilicho with all his adivc
genius could but procure a momentary armiftice, Honorius having
fought inglorious flielter among the deep morafles of Ravenna, built
him a terrace there and aviary; and equally incapable of virtue or
of vice, fed his favourite birds, dogs and poultry, in quiet, an uncon-
cerned hearer of all that paft. Arcadius, yet more con fcious than the
brother of his own fmall powers to fill up his rtation, committed his
infant fun to care of Ifdigerdes, the Perfian prince, for education ;
and put himfclf under tuition of Eutropius, the firft eunuch on record,
who arrived at the patrician and confular dignity, and who headed the
armies of now degenerate Rome. For though the hero that oppofed
the rum of Gothick fury feemed to revive fome hope from martial ar-
dour; while his panegyrift fhewed the fire of wit in epigram and my-
thologick verfe, not yet extinguifhcd, it was a paper flame, and plainly
by its Ihort and fudden blaze betrayed th'cxpiring taper's end, fait
following to utter abolition. Stilicho fed his ready-kindling heat
with the coarfe nutriment of perfonal intereft, and defire of empire
for his own worthlefs fon, inftead of his old matter's Theodofius : he
too was difappointcd in his aim by death but the bold Eunuch now
came forward, and in his confulfhip enaclcd a law againft protection of
civil offences by fandtuary. St. Chryfoftome, for this infult againft
church power, refufed him the communion ; and with a zeal lefs re-
gular than rapid, reproached the daring favourite from the altar. In
two years time his own cxcefles having armed fbmc injured hand
againft him, this Eutropius flew to the fhelter he had himfelf denied,
and from the church was dragged away to fuffer ; but Socrates, a
Greek writer of the fifth century, fays that St. Chryfoftome's true
charity rcfcucd the wretched life, forfeit to his own law, and fcnt
him fafe into perpetual baniftimcnt. The word majje was now firft
introduced into ecclcfiaftical ordinances ; we know not if it meant
VOL. I. Q oblation

THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. virv

oblation from the Hebrew mhTach, or from mifia and demiila mere
fmfh or dtfrmjfion. The Pelagian herefy meanwhile never difmiffed,
now raged with exceeding violence. It was firft founded by Pclagius,
a monk, born in Armorica, or Little Britain the province of Bre-
tagne, in France, and confifted chiefly in the denial of original fin,
and of there being any neceffity for the grace of God, fuppofing man
wholly fufficient to his own falvation.

This Pelagius was a Welchman, Howell fays, and his name Morgan ;
he was called Pelagius, a Pe/ago ; he was born by the fea-fide. There
were four kings of that province named Howell, and one of them was
called Howell the Great. They all derived from Adrian, whole family
name was vElia, fay the letters Hoaliana. But we return to Arcadius
and Honorius, who were compared by Gibbon at the end of his third
volume, fourth edition, to the kings of France and Spain, who, he faid
truly enough, flumbered upon their thrones. Louis XVI. lamented
the infult ; and our hiftorian good-naturedly declared in his memoirs,
that the offcnfive paffage was penned before he came to the crown
fo it might, and yet be intended for him ne'er the lefs. He was dau-
phin, he was uxorious, and apparently confcious of his own fmall
ftrength to hold in a headflrong people, irritated, although pampered
by his predeceflbrs. The fons of Theodofius, degenerate as they were,
had nothing to fear from their own fubjecls' averfion ; but Sueves,
Goths, Huns, and Vandals, kept pouring forward in repeated torrents
from the fame populous regions, whence had rufhed the Cimbri and
Teutons, repelled by Marius five hundred years before. What is moft
obfer\ able in this frefti fwarm of them, is the term Chagan or Khan,,
given to their leader. The word is yet familiar to us in Tartar annals,
if fuch they may be called.

Teutons have not forgotten their early defignation : I bought a map
at Lintz in Germany-^the corner calls it Teutcht land, and the people
exhorted me in vain to ftudy TeutJ'ch, now by corrupt and clofe pro-
nunciation become Dutch of courle divided into high Dutch and

low ;

CH. vn.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 123

!ow ; the languages of Holland and of Germany. Teuton however,
though an early appellative, was not the original one. Titans they
were, Dreading oer many a rood, and thought for that rcafon in early
days gigantic. Tud earth, and tail fprcading, are words yet under-
ftood on Mona, where they refided as I may fay metropolitarily. They
are ftill Cimbri, Cambrians there ; Cymri, (pronounce Coom y Gomeri)
perhaps from the fon of Japhet, the Japetus of hiftory and fable. Coom
means a valley in the Saxon language. Our anceftor chofe the vales pof-
fibly for refidencc ; he was a lowlander likely enough. But my readers
would rather get forwards with the ftory, and fee tremendous Alaric
return and blockade the city of Rome, then filled, as Gibbon and
Nardini think, with about 1,200,000 fouls, not more than London at
the prefent day, nor very, very much richer, I fliould fuppofe ; only
that their wealth, as ftill obtains in Italy, was concentrated in churches,
palaces, and fenatorial refidences ; unlike to ours, which from the na-
ture of our government is all diffufed, {battering its comforts upon
common life. The favage prince who facked it afterwards, once
raifed the fiege for 5,OOO pounds weight of gold, and 30,OOO pounds
weight of filver, to which other articles of luxury were added, that
bear in different times a different price ; and famine had fo wafted
the inhabitants, their deaths by hunger caufed a dreadful plague on
hearing which the fierce barbarian retired a while, obferving he was
forry for that peftilence, as thick grafs was eajter cut than thin. During
the dreadful fcarcity preceding it, muft be remembered the charity of
Laeta, widow of Gratian, who beftowed three parts of her princely re-
venue to feed the poor, and deferved better fate than death at laft by
hunger. Serena too was ftrangled by the populace, who hoped to
appeafe the treacherous Alaric by murdering the favourite wife of his
ally, brave Stilicho, who had before this been aflaflinatcd for his in-
tention to ufurp the diadem. Serena was a fecond confbrt to the Ge-
neral, not mother to the Emprefs Mary firft we read o(J}ie, as her
name implies, ftretched out her neck with fortitude to meet the blow,

Q 2 and

124 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [CH rir.

and follow, as flic faid, her warlike hufband. But women now prefs
forward on our notice : little is faid of them during the profperity of
ancient Rome, where they were confidered merely as appendages to
greatnefs, or neceflaries of domeftic life, or at mod as toys of pleafure
for the men : but confhant nature will prefcrve her level ; and as one
half the human race grew weaker, the other half appeared to ftrengthen
in proportion. Eudocia, Proba, Falconia, now wrote verfes, or at leaft
compiled verfes already written, and tacking them into centos, ob-
tained admiration for their wit whilft Hippacia taught the mathe-
maticks publickly in the fchools of Alexandria, after the death of her
father Theon ; for improvements in mechanifm flourifh as philofophy
decays, and tottering fcience clings clofe to demonflration. Hydraulic
organs had been long in ufe, fupplying the place of manual exertions
in mufick, whence tafte and feeling were of courfe precluded ; and poly-
graphic pictures helped to extinguifh the painter's art. Lazinefs is a
certain fymptom of ill health to any and to every ftate : and Ammia-
nus Marcellinus had, though himfelf a Syrian, reproached the Romans
before this period for being contented with having their game driven
into toils for them to catch more eafily, chace being become too great
a fatigue. The kings of Spain and Naples hunted juft fo in the year
1. 780 ; for though there has been much fluctuation In our globe, there
has been but little change. Italian ideas of juflice fifteen years ago,
were exactly like thofe the fatirical hiftorian defcribes in his own
time, when, fays he, Should a flave bring the warm water fomewhat
too cold to table, three hundred laihes on the back admoniih him to
Ihew more care for his fine mailer's nerves : mould the fame man
commit a wilful murder, provided always it was on his equal My
Lord will fay perhaps, He's a good fellow ; but we will punifh him if
he is catch' d repeating fuch offences. That fimilar opinions prevailed
at Milan A. D. 1786, I had myfelf opportunity to obferve. Two per-
fons there were committed for examination ; one had killed his fellow-
iervant in cold blood, the other was feen breaking fome new lamps

lately

an. vn.j FROM THEODOSIU3 THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 125

lately fct up to illuminate the ftreets and fquare. I hope, faid I, the
aiTalfin will be hanged. I had rather fee the other hanged, replied a
friend in company, for the firft only {tabbed his companion out of re-
venge, poor fellow ! whereas the wicked creature who broke our pretty
lamps, did it, I'm perfuaded, only to 'fpite the Archduke. To rectify
the Roman notions a merited and dreadful chaflifcmcnt was at hand.
Let the Milanefe determine if one much lefs fevere was hurled upon
their haughty nobles by Bonaparte, than when {tern Alaric, bought
off to temporary removal of his forces, returned again before their gates
for plunder; and as he had on his laft vifit demanded all their property,
they now, in a debate for peace, inquired not how much he would
take, but what he'd leave them. Their lives perhaps, replied the
rough barbarian, and prefs'd more clofely round Aurelian's wall ;
which, far too wide for their Ihrunk forces to defend, gave way ; and
faw the city it had once fcarcely furrounded, given up a helplcfs prey
to ignorance and groflhefs ; to Gothick grecdinefs of immediate gain,
and wanton delight in unneceflary deftrudHon. Amidft this mock of
contending paffions grief and rage, Chriftianity, and Chriftianity alone,
furvived. The foldiers who rcfpe&ed neither rank nor age, looked on
the church with reverence, and forbore to touch whatever had been
there depofited. The facking of the town laftcd three days, and in
that time innumerable were the precious monuments of fcicncc that
funk beneath the victor's fury : much was yet left for future pillagers,
who learned the road to riches from Alaric, while he contrived various
though unfuccefsful methods of carrying his fpoils away to Africa,
where, like a true favage, he had purpofed to retire, and growl over
his prey in folitude. The veflel they embarked in was however ftill
driven back by {forms, till over-laded with extortion, down flic funk ;
and the now difappointed conqueror, who had refufed granting ought
but life to thofe who had once employed him in then defence (when
Stilicho paid him as a fubfidized ally), left his own mipvvrcckt corpfe
at laft upon the fea-beat fliore of Calabria.

Thus

126 THE FIFTH CENTURY : [CH. VH.

Tligs unlamented pafs the proud away,

The gaze of fools, and pageant of a clay :

So pcrifh all whole breaft ne'er learn' d to glow

At other's good, or feel for other's woe. POPE.

So perifhcd arts and elegancies and knowledge ! Crevier fays haftily
there was no Roman orator after Pliny, no hiilorian after Tacitus, and
no poet after Juvenal , he might as well have faid there was no em-
peror after Marcus Aurclius. Crevier fays well however, that to po-
lite literature fuccceded empty and difputatious theology; and that for
Jove of fuch fubtleties barbarifm was contented to drive tafte and con-
venience, and common fcnfe quite away

A fecond deluge learning next o'er-run,

While the Monks finifh'd what the Goths begun.

.Athaulphus now (Adolphus in our clofer pronunciation) ruled over the
Vifigoths, and wifely fixed his feat at warm Thouloufe; while Britain,
now denied affiftance from the Romans, fuffered incredibly from bar-
barous invaders, and kept the Chriftian faith alive in the land, almoft
as we may fay, by miracle. Caerleon was even then an archbilhoprick,
with fuffragans : thefe, when they went to council at Avranches
(Araufmm then 'twas called) and Aries and Nice ; had honour paid
them there, and took precedence. For 'fpite of force, and fraud and
folly, the church of Chrrft flourifhed in every clime : that Hone not
made with human hands, could never be dillodged by human power.
Ignatius Auda with his hafty y.cal would have undone ail, had it been
poffible, when at the Perfian city Ecbatana he threw the old pyrceum
down and trampled on it, an infult that Warranes was not likely to
forgive ; and 'twas no time to force the empire upon wars, when every
battle tended to difmember it. But ecclefiafHcal affairs alone attract
our retrofpedi'rve eye, which turns difguftcd from the names of Maxi-
mus, Jovinus, Afpcr and John, of whom fome forgot the world, and
.others were forgotten by it; while Valentinian III. isbeft remembered

en. vn. j FROM TIIEODOSIITS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. j 27

by lib- worthldThefs and ill-timed triumph over the violated virtue of
his brave general's wife. Is is indeed much more remarkable, for ty-
rants were no phasnomena at Rome, that at the moment when Phara-
mond at <SWeheim made the /<//ique law to exclude females from the
Sovereignty of France, the aStonifhcd eaSt fawthe great fceptre of what
had formerly been called ihe whole world, fwayed by a virgin queen,
SiStcr to the fon of weak Arcadius, Thcodofius the younger ; who, bred
at Ifdigerdes' court, and of a flexible and tender nature, willingly funk
his own renown in hcr's, received correction at her hands, and even fub-
mittcd to accept a wife, the lovely Athcnais, by her choice ; while he,
fequeStcr'd from all cares of State, fought only to improve his talents for
theological fpeculations. The young Emprefs too after conversion, hav-
ing received the name Eudocia, turned all her thoughts to pilgrimage
and piety, and leaving Pulcheria in complete poSTcilion of all power,
died in a voluntary exile from her fine palace at Constantinople, to a
poor hut at Old Jerufalem, nearcSt the place where once was laid her
Saviour.

Events clapt clofe together thus in an abridgment or Short fum-
mary of historical occurrences, although the execution itfelf were good,
wear by neceffity on the firSt glimpfe, a fomewhat distorted appear-
ance. The picture of truth rising up to meet the morning fun, as
painted in the deling of the CoStaguti palace at Rome, is apt to revolt
curfory obfervers, who I have feen turn away difpleafed with the tbie-
fhortencd figure, till called back by the connoiSleur who better knows
t > value ufeful labour. 'Tis thus my work begins to Show already,
and almoSr. to repel me from performance. In a fmall field the figures
fcarcclv can appear proportionate, and a moment's consideration muSt
be allowed, that writer a*hd reader both may be convinced, how all is
in the inevitable State required by an epitome like this ; and how the
abrupt tranfition muSt be pardoned which brings us fuddenly from
fcenes of culpable and frantick violence, to characters of voluntary fecble-
nefs and half unaccountable fubmiSlion ; from manners, looSened b% a

groSs

128 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [CH. vn.

grofs indulgence, till nature daggering fought relief in phrcnzy ; to
modes of meagre melancholy exiftence, where we contemplate cold
humanity parched by repeated penances to dumb forgetfulnefs and
oblivious folitude; while caenobites and anchorites difputed the palm of
willing mifery with fo much eagernefs, that emperors and princes chiefly
fought renown by praclifmg feverities on their own filly perfons, and
paid regard to others chiefly as they excelled in arts of felf-tormenting.
Syrus and Silentiarius, which laft was fo abforbed in divine contempla-
tions, that Baronius tells us he never had been heard to fpeak at all. Si-
mon Sty lit es, fo called from his pillar, carried away the palm of wretch-
ednefs however, living on the top of fome tall column fixty feet high,
Evagrius fays, and drawing up his bread, his fruit, and his frefli water,
like a tame goldfinch on a perch, for thirty years fucceffively. The
weftern climate, lefs favourable to fuch folly, tried at other. Our Welfh
folks tell how one Siriolis, a Roman monk, lived upon Purlin Ifland,
or Prieftholmc, oppofite Penmaenmaur, twenty years ; Leland fays
'twas in 378, but moil authors make him of later exiftence : it was a
dreadful one all winter long. The tiny fpot, almoft of a circular form,
confifb of rock alone, yet bears the hermit's name ftill, Slriol ; fome
fcreaming fea-gulls haunt it for three months ; then leave the dafliing
waves to tofs around and celebrate his fell- created mifery. The head-
long Donatifts meantime more troublcfome, but not more lunatick than
thefe, with their unnatural defire of dying, frighted and plagued the
peaceful paffengers ; when meeting them they begged a blow or beat-
ing, with fuch inordinate and insupportable pertinacity, that they did
now and then obtain their wifh in dcfperate earneft from people who
could not efcape their importunities, nor keep their own paffions under
juft controul ; and had not St. Auguftine, with every argument of
reafon, fupported by learning, oppofed the wild fanaticks, their frantick
zeal would longer have difgraced Chriftianity. That great author hav-
ng tried all he could to confute by his books, de civitate Dei, the nu-
merous feels of polythcifb, who all united in fuppofing Rome's cala-
mities

MI.] FROM TIIEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. \i <}

mitics to have been caufcd by the ncglcft of heathen worfhip, and the
offences given to heathen gods : next turned his ftrength and fkiil to
weed the errors from our own religion, and pluck away the thorns or'
feparation which, hourly ilarting up under frcfh names, difbcu*ed
but never wearied this champion of our church. The monfter-tamers
of fabulous antiquity were but the types of thefe no Ids hcroical and
ufeful civilizers of the newly redeemed, as they were of the new cre-
ated world. Cadmus and Hercules who fow'd the warrior feed, liived
long-devoted fouls from hell ; and hapiefs in his likenefs Orpheus, who
fell a vidim to female refentment, as did St. Chryfoftome, dying in
exile by the bitternefs of Eudoxia's implacable and unforgiving fpirit.
About that time too, an sera pregnant with fanatieifm, the Jews, mif-
led to think the end of all was come, and that old Ocean would be
dried before them, made an enumeration of their trrbes collected from
a variety of countries into the We of Candia, and there, under com-
mand of a falfe Mofes, rufhed, like the herd of f wine poflefled by dae-
mons, into the fea, where funk the impoitor and his ftupid followers.
Meanwhile the Emprcfs Pulcheria fought an aflbciatc in thofe cares of
ftate from which her pious brother was abftradled, and pitched on
Marcian, a young Roman foldier, whom Genfcric the Goth found
fleeping under a tree, an eagle perched above him : he was a gallant
warrior, worthy of being born when hiflory was faithful to defert, and
of an appearance fo ftrikingly advantageous, that the rough chieftain
who furprifcd him in the hour of repofe, refolvcd to extort from fo
fymmctrical a creature, an oath that he would never be his enemy, re-
maining perfuadcd by his form alone, that beauteous Marcian was the
care ot heaven. Such too w r cre apparently the lady's fcntirncnts ; in
defiance of which, flic bound herfelf by vows of chaftity ; and though
(he wedded her ailbciate, nerccr broke them ; but the imperial votrefs

puffed on

In maiden meditalion fancy free.

Of Roman characters however, and Roman names, as of old Roman

manners, take we leave, and bid a long adieu to the paft founds <>f

VOL. I. R Caius

130 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. vn.

Caius and Lucius, Titus and Sempronius ; now ill exchanged for
Alaric and Attalus, Hunncric and Genferic, who laid commercial Car-
thage in a ruin, deftroyed the triple geryon of the ifles Majorca, Mi-
norca, and Yvica, and fixed his Vandals in their favourite fpot, calling
the province after them V Andalufia : the word we lee has loft only
one letter yet. The Alans and Catti feized upon that diftricl: called
from their feizure of it, Catalonia ; and thefe enjoyed the beautiful
rich vineyards planted by the Emperor Probus long before ; when in
fome interval ofGaulifh conquefts, he fet his foldiers to adorn the
place fubdued. Unlike to him rude Genferic rufhed forward, and ra-
vaged helplefs Rome of all that Alaric had fpared. Implacable and
fierce, his foldiers mercilefsly deftroyed all public and all private pro-
perty ; nor fex nor age, nor rank, nor even religion protected ought
from his rapacious hand : for fourteen days thcfe horrid fcencs con-
tinued, while Gunderic profaned the church at Seville, birth-place of
immortal Trajan ; a town whofe firft foundations were coeval with
Lacedasmon, the Sparta of hiftorians, the Sarepta of the fcriptures.
Sevtlla la vieja ftill 'tis called by thofe who fay, and juftly,

Qui no ha vifta a Sevilla,
No ha vifta meravilla.

Juan Vafasus, in his Hifpania Illuftrata, tells us that the facrilege was
in the very fpot vifibly punifhed by vifitation of God on hoftile Gun-
deric. But all thefe names give place to Attila, fon of Mundizuchus,
grandfon to Nimrod the Great, King of Huns, Medes, Goths, Danes,
the terror of the world, and fcourge of God. He, like another Romu-
lus, at firft Ihared government and pofleffions with a brother, whom
like him he murder'd, changing the city's name he built, that fo poor
Bledt might be no more remember'd A neat-herd too, we're told,
found a rich fword under the earth when ploughing, and prefented it
to Attila, who in the fpirit of the times exclaimed, that 'twas the
very fword worn by Mars, and with it he would conquer all the world.
From this ferocious founder of new empires, the oldeft of the Roman

families.

CH. vii.] FROM TIIEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 131

families fled for refuge to the Adriatick Sea, and as the conqueror's boart
was, that no grafs grew where he turned his fteed, expiring freedom
fought another element, and like a fylvan flag hunted from earth,

Takes the deep foil, and plunges in the wave

Precipitant ; where on fome fandy ifle

Sure anchorage he finds, and fkulks immcrs'd.

The flatterer of Theodoric, Cafliodorus, calls the retreat of thcfe
{elf-exiled nobles a flight of water fowl ; be it fo : they fpread their
halcyon wings over the billows, and proved a prefage of fome happy
hours, when fcience fceking flicker in retirement, true liberty might
breathe in peace and fafety, carrying with them their old country's
favourite form of government, and juftly fick of emperors and kings,
they in a few years fixed a lading ariftocracy, and were, as Shakcfpcar
calls them,

The toged counfellors of Venice.

There are who fay the word Venetia derives from Heneti, an Afiatick
people led up to thefe lagoons by old Antenor after the fiege of Troy ;
but that ground finks under the antiquary's fpade ; and Mr. Bryant has
fhaken the foundation cruelly by faying, (for ought I know) by pr<n>-
ing that there was never any iiege of Troy at all : there was a port
called Venetus however, from time quite immemorial. While this
new town, rifing in beauty from her cluftcring ifles, feemed to inlay
the bofbm of the deep, haplcfs Britannia devoured by Picls and Scots,
and flioals of Saxons too, which never again quitted the country they
fet foot in, fent out their well-known melancholy mefTage to ^Etius
thrice conful, the groans of the Britons : nor was the difmal anfwcr
lefs impreflive ; that diftant colonies could have no help, while the
metropolis hcrfelf fubfifted but by pcrmiffion of thofe northern nations
who were expecled hourly at her gates. It muft be mentioned likewife
how in Africa the Vandals were renewing all that Paganifm could have
infliclcd on Chriftianity : Numidia had been beftowcd on thefc wild

R 2 creatures,

132 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. vii.

creatures, fierce as its aborigines, wolves, leopards, panthers ;* and 'twas
at that time that they tore in pieces that once well civilized Roman
province. It was the age of general invafion, and Attila, proud of his
ftyle -and title, did terrify the world which fhook before him ; and was
in very deed the fcourge of God. Epidaurum in Illyria, fuppofed by
Scaliger to have been built two thoufand years before, was now ipoil'd
by the' Goths ; when 'twas repaired the name was called Ragufa.
But above all the fiege of Aquileia affords a theme for bitter exclama-
tion. While that unhappy city fuffer'd forrows incredible, and a dif-
trefs unequall'd but by that of Jerufalem, Theodofms fent the viclor
GOOO Ib. weight of gold, a promife too from worthlcfs and tyrannick
Valentinian, of annual tribute Value 1000 Ib. weight of the fame pre-
cious metal, would he but fpare the capital. Attila laughed, but took
the fpoils of empire, whofe ftrange fall having produced a temporary
chaos, fhews to the retrofpettrue eye how the church flrengthencd as
the ftate decayed, and grave authority flipt almoft unperceived from
the ftretched diadem, to the clofe-clafping, high-afpiring mitre.

Whilfr. Attila then, ftriding o'er ravaged provinces, advanced to
Rome, upon his way the guardian of the holy fee oppofed him, great
Saint Leo ; not with fuch armour as the fierce barbarian was well ac-
quainted with, and of which he beft could know the force, and all the
force : but with a peaceful air of firm affurance, and truft in celeftial
aid ; with pious, and men may call them enthufiaftick threatenings,
which fo imprefled the headftrong conqueror, that he turned fud-
denly about we're told, with a face fuller of alarm and agitation, at
the ftrange thought of feeing the apoftles Peter and Paul come flying

* This Numidia was then the granary of the world ; but fo was it wafted by Vandal
fury, tearing vines and fruit trees, and devouring the green corn, &c. leaving cities
without one inhabitant, and fuffcring no country to efcape their hoflile rage, that 30,000
invaders completely finifhed the whole province, [t is now, and has been ever fince,
nearly a dcfm ; or only inhabited near the Ihores by pirates and banditti.

CH. vir.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 133

in the air to Rome's relief,* than all her troops could ever have pro-
duced, had they been general'd by Caefar's felf. Raphael has fo de-
figned this picture in the Vatican, that none can mifs an accidental
ftrong refemblance between the prefent pope Pius the fixth, and Leo
primus, fo truly termed the Great. Milan and Florence then endured
the Ihock of Gothick fury, but Attila went back, however fullenly
back to his native Scythia ; where, at his marriage with fair Ildico, he
drank fo freely of the nuptial bowl, that in the night he was found
fuffocatcd.* The wretched woman's dangerous fituation, reminds one
of the monk w ho was found locked in the ftudy, when our Charles
the fecond, during their talk together, fell in an apoplecfack fit : to his
innocence the monarch lived to bear a melancholy, but honourable
teftimony. Poor Ildico was torn to pieces between four wild horfes.

As Attila was frighted from Rome by the idea of St. Peter and St. Paul defend-
ing it, fo Zofimus fays, was Alaric long befoie driven from Athens, by thinking he faw
Achilles fhaking his fpear at him from the walls.

t Altila's nuptial howl was hydromel ; wine was a liquor not known in the north,
nor eafily obtained. From the Ghaelic cuftom of drinking a beverage made with
honey for thirty days feait after* a grand wedding, comes the exprcflion of the honey-
moon ; 'tis a. Teutonic phrafe, you have it not in the warm wine latitudes. Talieflin tells
of this infpiring cup ; csufefior mul/i, the confectioner of the cmulfion, was I believe,
a great officer of ftate in Wales, ranking with matter of the horfe, and the king's
bard. From Howel Ddha's laws, and our Saxon annals, much of this knowledge
may be drawn ; I quote only from quotation or memory. Mead however is dill drank
in our country, and I never taftcd it in any other, except one evening fomc in Polifh
Pruffia.

CHAP.

J34 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. vm.

CHAP. VIII.

FROM THE DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 500.

"TT 7"HILE Goths and Vandals wafted a willing world, that fcarcely
made refiftance to their power, pleafed Retrofpettion refts a
little moment upon the virtues of the prieftly character. Sixtus the
third, immediate predeceflbr to St. Leo, had been accufed by Baffius
or Baflianus, and accufed falfely, of a mortal fin ; from which the
fynod cleared their worthy primate, condemning his accufer, and
fentencing him to perpetual exile for the calumny. The gentle Pon-
tiff begged remittance of fo harm a punifhment, and when his enemy
died of a broken heart, buried him with his own hands. This man
had learned the hardeft precept of our meek religion ; he knew how
to love, and to forgive a foe. The inftitution of St. Peter ad vincula
is given to him. The Emprefs Eudocia fent from Jerufalem to
Rome, fomething which fhe was willing to believe were the true bonds
dropt from St. Peter's arm, when the releafing angel drew him from
prifon. 'Twas natural that fomething fhould be done to keep alive the
memory both of the faint and of the lady, and in thole days 'twould
have been difficult not to have done too much. This feems to be
the firft ftriking a& of devotion towards St. Peter, at leaft it is the
firft that ftrikes me : fcholars muft correct fuch miftakes when they
meet them : the correction of a fcholar is an honour, not difgrace.
Meanwhile a ftrange impofture took up that attention which had been
better paid to truth and virtue, yet 'twas not to be called impofture
cither, for there feemed no intention to deceive. The Emperor of
the Eaft, about the year 450, when Attila was employed in befieging

Aquileia,

CH. via.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 13*

Aquileia, and Rome was running haftily to beg retreat in Venice,
heard with more intereft a curious ftory, how feven men had been
feen wandering about the ftrcets of Ephcfus, drefled in ftrange dreiles,
and lueaking an obfolete, almoft an unintelligible language. On more
enquiry, coins of the Emperor Dccius were produced, faid to have
been prefented by thcfe men for food, which had no good effect on
them however, for they returned into a cave near to the town and
died, and there were buried. Thcodofius, delighting in a talc like
this, foon went to fee the bodies, and perfuaded himfelf that thefe
leven people had flept there for two hundred years ; in that lone hol-
low place, whither he thought they muft have run to hide themfelves
from the hot perfecution in Decius's reign ; and Leo the Great, juftly
fo called too, complying with the Emperor's fancy, canonized them
as faints,* becaufe of their apparently miraculous prcfervation ; al-
though we muft confefs that never mortal could attain that honour
by a lefs hazardous or painful conduct than that of flecping for fo
many years ; but to the deification of paganifm now fuccceded the
canonizations of popery, for men would have an apotheofis. Betides,
that in every ftrange thing there is fome odd appropriation of cha-
racter to make it the more eafily endured. Thefe lleepers would not
have been cared about, by Hanno and Hacko, Vortigern and Rowena,
had they been ever fo much difpofed to fuperftition : there has always
cxifted an obfcure credit, or rather a degree of voluntary fubmiflion to
the poffibility of thefe fufpenfions in ttie eajl. Addifon and Steele
have noticed one or two, of which the moft elegant advantage has

* The dog who followed thefe men was deemed holy all over the eaft, and in
Sir Paul Rycaut's time, who mentions him, was held facied by Turks, and confi-
dered as forming a venerable triumvirate with the afs ridden by Jcfus Chrift, and the
camel who carried Mahomet in the Hegira. Note, That whatever camel carries the
Alcoran in procefTion, is made happy here on earth, difinifled from all employment,
with this fpeech, Live long and merry under protection of the celeftial camel thy
brother, who carried the prophet Mahomet.

bee a

136 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [en. vm.

been taken; and Mrs. Sheridan's Nourjahad improves upon them all.
Poor England now (while thefe faints flept and waked) was become
quite a prey to her auxiliaries, the Saxon chiefs, whom fhe had called
to help her againft the fierce barbarians who drove her people to the
fca, while that rough element ftill drove them back again on the barba-
rians. Thofe who came laft however were moft welcome ; they refolvcd
never to leave a land they liked fo well, and fbon incorporated them-
felves with the fubdvied inhabitants, who quietly fubnaitted to their
tyranny, and learned their language. Englifh is ftill called Saxon
by the fmall remnant of the old inhabitants, the Welch, as we muft
now begin to call them. Dim fafneg, we fpeak no Saxon tongue, is
ftill the language of our Ordevices in the year 1 796 ; thefe, chufing
freedom on their barren foil rather than fervitude on the green banks
of the Thames, flew to their yet half inacceffible mountains, where,
building upon every rock a caftle, and almoft upon every hill a fort,
they made at laft their utmoft ftand, and found their final refuge in old
Mona ; where fettling the prince's feat at Aberfraw, they wept the
hafty and too fierce revenge taken by his indignant countrymen on
haplefs Vortigern, who, foothed by filly hopes of fair Rowena, made
friendmip with the faithlefs Saxons, and loft his honour and his life
at Nant yr Gwerthyn, in Caernarvonfbire, a . place named Gwerthyn
from a Britifh leader in Englifh, Ironfides. In Anglefey thefe re-
fuged few retained the Chriftian faith, as they ftill boaft, pure from all
innovation many years. Tertullian had faid long before that they
were among the firft to receive .Chriftianity. Britannornm /oca Ro-
manis maccejja Chrlflo, vero fubdita. That among us the Chriftian
doctrines anticipated the Roman fword, a cloud of witneffes do cer-
tainly atteft ; fo much fwifter were the dove's wings, carrying joyful
tidings of peace on earth, good will towards men ; than were thofe of
the eagle, who brought both war and defolation in his train. St.
Patrick, when the dreadful fiege of Aquileia frighted the Romans
from their capital, and fent the moft part of the fugitives to beg afylum

with

CH. vin.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 137

with the wife Venetians, fcorned all idea of flickering himfeif in
the fait court of Amphitrite, and fought a place where he might do
fome good as well asjind it. He came to Ireland where Gwillamorc
reigned king, and there converted the inhabitants to Chriftianity rhe
was a noble man as we believe, a holy patrician, who, in confequence
of a religious vow, wandered from home when the Goths plundered
Italy, having fworn to make profclytes wherever he fhould be received
with hofpitality. lerne's humid coaft is ftill fuper-emincnt for that
old fafliioned but rcfpeclable virtue. She entertained, and ftill reveres
his merit, and the Sanflus Patritianus became Saint Patrick by an cafy
corruption. He built a church on Anglcfcy, oppojtle Ireland, on the
fca more ; the town and parifh is called Llan Badrick now : but when
poflefled of the confiding hearts of his new converts in our fifter king-
dom, her beft hiftorians fay he burned three hundred volumes of heroic
fongs, written by their bards ; I fear he thought them poifonous as the
ferpents. They had been held in high and juft eftimation, wearing a
robe of royal colour it was not purple though, but green I think ;
our Welch protected their's for ages after. Trer Beird, the habitation
of the Bards, may yet be feen at Llanidan, and Bardfey liland is even
now covered with itinerant fingers. Tale-telling, however, kept its
ground in Ireland in fpite of St. Patrick, and that he could not
chafe all poetry away witnefs, my old familiar friends, Murphy
and Goldfmith ; but we are engaged in works of Retrojpefliott.

When thus the church of Rome had, by the interference of St. Leo,
deferred for a fliort time the ruin of the ftate, and freed its wretched
Emperor from fears of prefent deftrudion, he might perhaps have held
the fceptrc ftill, but vice, ftill more thanGenfcric or Attila, contributed
to fhake the feeble nerves of wicked Valentinian, who yet ruled the
weft, (if we may call him ruler who never unmeathed fword except
to ftab his own heroick General at a fcaft) ; and although Marcian
dreamed that the great Gothick bow was broken, on that fame night
excels had in reality ruptured the heart-firings of the chief who drew

VOL. I. S it ;

138 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. rirr.

it ; he had no power to lend his affiftance, for death fulfilled the oath
he took to Genfcric ; Marcian, the laft of Roman warriors died ; a
fhort but nominal fucceffion of princes, moft of them unworthy ofr
their fituation, though that was bad enough, difgraced even this laft
fhading off of the now faded purple, which Majoranus only wore
with dignity, and wore but a fhort time. Valentinian was not aflaf-
finated till in the thirtieth year of his reign ; but Majoranus ruled but
three, and after many a ufelefs victory won with hard toll, and cele-
brated with much elaboration, few traces yet remain of his renown, or
that of his panegyrift, Sidonius Apollinaris. The adls of many Roman
emperors, collected by Zofimus, are chiefly loft too, the French tranf-
lated what was left of it ; Poffidius Afer, better known perhaps by
name of Poffidonius, gave the world a life of St. Auguftine twenty
years before ; and Philoftorgius fulminated his thunders at the reputa-
tion of St. Athanafius : we muft recollect however that he wrote
againft Porphyry. Orion of Thebes compofed collections of wife fen-
tcnces, and dedicated them to Eudocia, Valentinian's emprefs ; but
little can be gleaned from thefe dull days to gratify a claffick reader
either in wit or hiftory. What ftrikes one moft in this fifth acT: of
Rome's amazing drama, is the growing afcendancy of her priefthood,
confpicuous on the inauguration of Anthemius crowned by Pope Leo,
and accepting the weftern empire as his gift, ftyling him Domimis el
Pater. When that unhappy prince was killed by Ricimer, the fame
Pontiff anointed, with more ceremony than hope of good fuccefs, the
young Olybrius, who held his feat about three months, I think, having
been tempted by Genferic into a fatal -war. He married Placidia
daughter to Valentinian, by Genferic's confent ; for the Goths now
endured a Roman on the throne while they were fettling their own
concerns, and trying to drive Leo I. a Thracian monarch, from Con-
ftantinople. But now Severus, the affaffin of that laft pleafing cha-
racter we read of, Majoranus, being himfelf poifoned, our attention
is arrefted chiefly, by the great fire at Conftantinople which burned

200,000

CH. via.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 139

200,000 volumes, among which was a Homer, which Cedrcnus favs
was written in letters in gold ; but BafihYcus, Zeno, and another Leo,
fon to the firft, difputed for the purple with fuch fury upon the hanks
of the Propontis, that Remifmund and Hildcroc had but to look on
while the Greek emperors injured their own dominions. Theodoric
now king of the Vifigoths compleated the expulfion of the Roman
arms from Spain, which they had held a tributary province for above
feven hundred years, till Torrifmond drove out the laft of them, and
then they even reqnefted Theodoric to take and keep that kingdom for
himfclf. He extended his kindncfs by perpetual extenfion of his do-
minions fb acquired in old Celtiberia, whence Euric had driven die
Catholics with violence, raifmg high quickfets round each place of
worfhip, as I can with difficulty undcrftand from Mariana, who fays
he kept them fafe with thorns. Julius Nepos, made Ca;far by Oly-
brius, or Glicerius whom the Goths permitted to rule at Ravenna, de-
pofed the laft of thefe, and fet up for himfclf: but Orcftes, king of the
Heruli, approved not his independent fpirit ; oppofing his prctcnfions
with a formidable army, Julius fled to Placcntia, and there loft his
life. The exploits of Odoacer, late 'fquire to Orcftes, now claim our
retro/peffive glance. He, though a tranfient, was a fhining light,
doomed to abfbrb and fvvallow up the weftcrn empire in his blaze.
That immenfe power then, founded in Romulus, and after feven hun-
dred and fixty-fix years receiving as it were new birth and a fixed feat
under the great Angiiftus, ended in a voluntary abdication of the man
who, by a curious combination of circumftances, pofTcfTed both //;</
mines : and we obferve Augitfluhis Romulus, laft of the Roman empe-
rors, quietly yielding up his no longer tenable dignity to the Scythian
hero, four hundred and eighty years after the birth of Chrift, five hun-
dred and twenty-four years after the battle of Pharfalia, and very near
one hundred and fifty years after the removal of the imperial refidencc
to Byzantium.

The very name of Rome was now loft to its conqueror, who flicked

S 2 and

140 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [CH. vnr.

and left it to fight the laft decifivc battle with Genferic, whom he de-
feated and killed ; and like a wife man, defpifing all ftyle and empty
title but the true ones, he flung afide the unimpreffive ornaments of
the no longer revered emperors and imperators, calling himfeli King
of Italy, the country he fubdued : out of which traci of land he chofe
Ravenna for his court and refidence, as beft provided with natural de-
fences, the ftrong fortification of a marfhy ground ; whilft Augujlulus
Romulus,* wretched proprietor of the two firft names on earth, ended
his tranquil exiftence in a half- forced half- voluntary confinement to
the demefne of Lucullus's villa, not far from Naples an interesting
fpot, ftill fhewn to travellers as the dwelling of rough Marius once,
and once of gay Lucullus. Yet fo were the Roman emperors faded to
a phantom before the Gothick chieftains fixed in Italy, that fcarce any-
one ever recollects its laft illuftrious inhabitant, or even beftows a paff-
ing figh upon its inoffenfiveprifoner, feldom prefented either by hifto-
rians or even by walking guides, to the eye of general or particular
Retrofyeffion. If we would follow this fun till it fets completely, it
will be neceflary to watch the gradual and gentle decay of light and
heat difpenfed from Conftantinople, where Zeno, at the time under
reviewal, ruled the eaft ; and received with juft indignation the offer
of the once confcript fathers to chufe a mafter for them himielf, or to
confirm the the patrician Odoacer in his dignity. The order had in-
deed been debafed by the admiffion of Moors, Goths, every fuc-
cefsful barbarian in his turn ; yet did the name of fenate languifh on,
nor pafs the limits of our camera obfcura till after Leo IV. in 75Q
I think, who put a final end to it. But it had then fcarce one true
fymptom of exiftence left, a mere half body and half corpfc, of which
the laft weak figh is fcarce difcernible to the tired and unfeeling at-
tendants. One thoufand two hundred and fixty years, or thereabouts,

* In the fame manner Philip, fon to Antiochus, in times long paft, eftablilhed the
Macedonian monarchy, and Philip Antigoni loft it irrecoverably.

CH. vin.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A 1). 5CK). H i

we may confidcr as the life of the Roman fcnatc ; who rcfigncd to
Zeno their laft privilege, that of appearing to approve their own tyrants.
But Zcno himfelf dcferved nor rule nor power. Cruel and riotous,
his wild exccfles ended at length in epileptic or apoplcclic fits; one of
which held him fo long that Ariadne, his unfaithful wife, dcfiring foon
to wed his favourite Chamberlain, buried him haflily ; nor regarded
the cries which, when he waked, iflucd from the coffin ; but heaped
earth on him to drown his fhricks. That earth being removed fome
years after, it was difcovered that the haplcfs prince had gnawed his
own arms under ground from hunger, grief and rage. But the con-
verfion of Clovis the Great, firll Chriftian king of France, allures our
retro frctttve eye : 'twas near the end of the fifth century when, in com-
pliance to his Queen's rcquefr., this barbarous ruler of a pagan hod re-
nounced the fupcrftition of his fathers, profeffing our purer faith. The
bifhop who baptized him had, we mult own, but little care for treating
him with delicacy, if it is certain that he ufed thefe words, " Come,
now kneel down Sicambrian, and learn to worfhip what you are ufcd
to defpife, and to defpife what you are ufcd to worfhip ;" the phrafe
accompanied by a contemptuous calling away fome images he wore
about his pcrfon, late objects of his aukward adoration. Such anec-
dotes evince at once the necdlefs roughnefs of the prelate, and the
drange flexibility of mind joined to untutored manners in the cate-
chumen.

'Twas now that bells were, among other ornaments and convc-
nicncies, introduced into the church by Paulinus bifhop of Nola in
Campania ; 'tis from the laft word they are fuppofed to take their name.
There were none known before his time at Rome, except the little
tintinnabula. Thefe were baptized formally, and bleft, in Italy and
Brabant, down to our own days ; and I have half a notion, that fincc
the Reformation, bells have been folcmnly and ferioufly chriftcncd here
in England. Two yet remain at Lincoln and at Oxford : their names
are Thomas ; I know not their age. Their ufes are not ill fummcd up

142 THE FIFTH CENTUPxY; [en. vm.

in the old Latin diftich written on fomc bell of great eminence, on
many perhaps,

Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum,
Defunflos ploro, peftem fugo, fefta decoro.

The baptifm of inanimate things Teems ftrange to us, yet 'tis certain
fwords* underwent the ceremony. King Arthur's exca/ibar is famed in
ballad ftory, though he lived not till the Jixth century. Uther Pen-
dragon was his father, and wore the dragon as a creft upon his head :
pen fignifics head in old Britifh, now Wcllli -language. He was
contemporary with Hengift and Horfa both which words mean a
"horfe, as I have been told, in different dialects of the Sclavonian
tongue : it may be fo. The houfe of Hanover has that old imprefe
on their coins and coat-armour {till ; and there are thofe who have
-fuggefted a poffibility that the great pile of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire,
was fet up as a monument of commemoration of the victory won upon
Salifbury plain over Aurelius Ambrofe. Polydore Virgil lays the firft
ftonc of this explanation, and I believe there is a place yet called
Ami res\)M.ry in the neighbourhood, which corroborates the notion.
Neckham and Camden tell however, that many natives fancy thofe
ftones fctup by Uther Pendragon himfclf, aided by his brother Merlin
the conjuror and famous mathematician. Bufy conjecture thus in our
cold latitude fills up with fable and wonder thofe blank years, of which
neat and connected accounts cannot be obtained : in like manner as
the geographical maps and globes of about threcfcore or fourfcorc years
back from the prefent day, were wont to have lions or elephants
painted upon thofe fpaces where little was known of cities, towns, and
fivers. The effect was certain the baby Undents nx'd attention there

Thif is aukwavdly expreffed ; fwords were baptized before bells were : thefe laft
came in ule about the year 468, but were not chriilened and folemnly confecraled till
97O, when John XIV. (not the wicked John) baptized the fine new bell in the Late-
ran, and called it after kh awn name, which it flill wears, with the above infcription.

c.i. mi.] FROM DEAT1 1 (;!' ATTILLA TO A. D. 5OO. I.J.T

Be this as it will, Hengift and Horfa laid the firft tfone of Ley den,
celebrated for her learning ; but whofe belt praifc is h.iving, in thefe
latter times, been Boerhaave's refidence, whence he difpenfcd health,
\vifdom, and an example of patient chcarfulnefs under bodily diftrefs,
which can be followed only by a few. Ella too laid foundation of a
kingdom called in our ifland that of the South Saxons, now the beau-
tiful counties of Surry and SiuTex. Sac an fjca were words expref-
fivc of that fpirit of wandering which in thofe days pofleflcd the
northern nations, and, as I have heard, were Synonymous to ivin'ili ;
whoever travels Saxony at prefent will think upon a nearer derivation.
The precious {tones abounding in that diftricl feem as if the Romans
had denominated the place from them, Saxa. Carnclions, opals, onyxes
are common, and fome extremely fine jafpers and agates. That the
phlogifton is liberally diftributed, although the region be a cold one,
is proved by that fine earth which forms the well-baked porcelain.

But the five hundredth year of our great Chriftian a^ra now ap-
proaches, fo does the term of Odoacer's power. Theodoric, long a
hoftage at Conltantinople, fent there in infancy as pledge of peace, by.
bold Theodomir his father, had been a thoufand times excited by Leo,
then emperor of the eaft, and afterwards by Zeno, to withftand in-
croachments from Oieftes' fquire. He, now returned to his own
court, came forward with rapid Itrides ; and while the laft named fo-
vercign was buried living by his queen's haite to get another hufband,
Odoacer who refufed not the challenge, went to meet him, was de-
feated terribly near Verona, and from thence, fled to his marfhy re-
fuge. Ravenna long refuted the conqueror's fword, which gained him
Italy's wide furface and long extent from Piedmont to Calabria, yet
could not make him happy or contented whilft his rival remained
alive. The bifliop of Ravenna offered his mediation, and drew up ar-
ticles of peace which, although neither party could read, both were
well pleafed to fign ; fo implicit was their confidence in ecclefiaftical
virtue, fo deep their ignorance in all but the art of war. A gold plate

u .u

M4 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. VIM.

was prepared to ftrike the papers, and theft chiefs who difputed the
feat of Julius Ccefar and Marcus Aurelius, drew the ftyle or pen, or im-
plement whatever it was, through the word fo marked, andfxore to if.
Their reconciliation was fealed by a banquet, they eat and drank to-
gether to cxcefs ; and the third day of this half favage half folemn feaft,
a fudden dagger ftabbcd the heart of brave and unfufpccting Odoacer.
His Heruli, driven back to the flat countries between Milan and Turin,
under the guidance of his only fon, found thofe plains occupied by
Lombard families, with whom they mixed, and loft their Scythian
appellation : that of their chieftain, foften'd into the name Udazio, was
fixed at Brefcia in 1 794 ; but our wand points to thofe days when
Gildas was born, abbot of Banchor Ifacoed : that place muft not be
confounded with the bifhop's fee, which lies in a different county ; he
was furnamed the Wife, and was confidcred by his countrymen as an
.oracle. Leonard Aretine too began his hiftory, Coluthus, and Can-
,didus Ifaurus by their writings evinced the ftrangc decay of ftyle and
fpirit in authors, which unaccountably kept pace with the decline of
empire ; and the flrange ficknefs that in a manner held down litera-
ture, and funk her almoft to deliquium, dates its commencement from
thefe Gothick kings. Thcodoric was often heard to fay he hated learn-
ing, and condemned all fchools : the boy who trembles at a rod, faid
he, will never make a man to make a fpear. The women then and
priefts, who only needed not to fight in battle, prefer ved alive the veftal
fire of fcience, which often finking to the fockct's edge, threatened its
total lofs ; yet glimmering on, in the fad fepulchre of general know-
ledge, waited a purer air, when its weak languid rays might try to ex-
pand, and chear benighted man with its revival. But Retrojpcciiou
now muft fix her glafs, for fight will hardly penetrate the gloom ;
upon the popes, not emperors of Rome : which city fince, under
another form, attracts and well deferves our notice of her conduct.
Like the galette or filk-worm, that ftrange town appeared at firft upon
the world's wide range, a fmall black fpcck, fcarcely difcerniblc ; a

creature

CH. viii.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 500. 145

creature next peculiar in its hunger, voracious and devouring every
tree, foon ftript by its predaceous habits, caufingan artificial winter
round. Laborious then, and ftudious to adorn its injured neighbours ;
but foon weary with that employ, we fee her next, torpid and dark,
and dull and fpiritlefs ; a fly at laft, feeking alone to propagate itfelf,
and to obtain pofleffion for its progeny, in every foil which can afford
them food.

Leo the Great, by whom two helplefs princes were inaugurated,
and one invading warrior driven back, was, if I am right, fucceedcd by
Pope Hilary, born in Sardinia, who filled with warm ideas of that high
independent fpirit which finds an ifland its propitious foil, made the
decree, and rendered it irrevocable, by which all future pontiffs fhould
be hindered from naming their own fucccfTors ; he left the fee elec-
tive. Till his time, ecclefiaftical like civil power, feemed by content
of all mankind, tranfmiflible by the command or dying breath of its
pofleffor ; and care of fouls, or empire of a univerfe, was given and ac-
cepted as a legacy. Breaking this link mewed men their chains were
fragile, and the fame liberal heart fuggcfted that they might not be
hindcr'd from knowing their fituation.

He was by no means of Theodoric's mind, he encouraged cultiva-
tion of literature in his clergy, and even infifted on their producing
fome proofs that they knew Jbniet king, before he permitted them to take
holy orders. Simplicius next fucceedcd to the papal chair, and wrote
to Zeno, endeavouring to procure the banimmcnt of hereticks, known
by the name of Eutyches* their founder, who troubled greatly by their
fubtle reafonings the uniformity of that church which he was chofen
to protect. Felix, from being cardinal, was next raifed to the firft ec-
clefiaftical dignity. I recoiled: no pope before him who went through

* Of thefe Chriftians fome yet remain in the world ; and it was to (hew their rejec-
tion of Kutychian hercfy that the very, very old painters reprefent our Saviour with two
fingers elevated in aft of benedi&ion, cxprefling his two natures; which they contro-
verted. The three depreffed fingers reprefent the Trinity.

VOL. I. T that

146 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. viu.

that new appointed ftage of preferment ; but veneration for martyrs
naturally ended in profound reverence towards thofe whofe bufmefs it
had been once to bury them, and fcarlet (lockings, linings, &c. for-
merly badges of mifery, and mere appendages to diftrefs, were now
become diftinclions of honour, and gradations towards magnificence.
The church had not as yet required celibacy from her members, and
Felix, juftly fo called, was immediate and lineal, not collateral anceftor
in the third degree to Gregory the Great. Gelafms upon his demife
enjoyed fupremacy over all his own clergy, and claimed it from the
patriarch at Conftantinople, but was refufed. He made a decree to
exclude lame and blind, &c. from the priefthood, he burned the Mar-
nichaean books, and banifhed thole who had been hopelefsly mifled by
them : but although he claimed, and perfuaded many to think him pof-
ferTed of infallibility, he tried, but was unable to abolilh the lupercal, a
grofs inftitution of pagan origin, which Chriftian emperors had vainly
endeavoured to annul, and 'twas Gelafms who diftinguimed canonical
books of fcripture from apocrypha. Meanwhile the retrofpeffive eye
will, in the days when Symmachus adorned the papal chair and
chanted aloud the gloria in exceljis, obferve the ftill blinded Jews col-
lecting their civil and canon laws into a thalmud or repofttory,* re-
gardful of the letter, but mindlefs of the fpirit in which they were at
firft compofed. Unobfervant alfo, or ftrangely prepoffefs'd againft the
true fenfe of thofe prophecies which long before had fo minutely de-
fcribed their miferable ftate ; and promifed future, -though diftant re 1 -
leafe from it ; a fure if late recall to their inheritance, from amongft all
the nations they are fcattered over ; a congregating of their tribes by a
greater than Rabbi Afler. Since his appearance upon earth incarnate,
and condemnation by thefe his infatuated, and every way peculiar
people, five hundred years have now been in this ' little fuperficial work

* Thalmud means (as Sir William Jones tells us) people exifting in fecret excava-
tions of rocks ; whence perhaps thalmud, a fecret repofitory for their law : thus thai-
mud of Babylon.

flightly

c. vin.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 117

flightly reviewed ; and the twelve vultures fccn by Romulus on his
Capitoline Hill, have winged their deftined flight twelve centuries with
the addition of about half another, pail fince his firft foundation of
the city, to that melancholy but fcarccly noticed day, when the laft
prince who ever bore his name, yielded that city tamely up to Odo-
acer ; but if I remember well the augury, thofe vultures* wheeling
round pafsd him again.

Rome while I write, has for twelve centuries more, and half another,
ruled o'er her fubjecl: world afecond time, and clothed in papal, as once
ki imperial purple, has again held in ievcrc fubje&ion princes, poten-
tates, warriors.
But we return to Rctro/peff.

* And I do fancy the'fe fwans were the old vultures whitened by Virgil, as a com-
pliment to Auguftus.

Ni fallor.

Nifrujlra augurium vani docuerc parentei,

Afpice bis ftnos lastantis agrnine cycnos

jEtheria quos labfa plaga Jovis ales aperto

Turbarat caelo ; nuiic terras ordine longo

Aut capere, aut captas jam defpe&are videntur.

Ut reduces ill! ludunt (Iridentibus alis,

Et cxtu cinxere polum, cantufque dedere :

Haud aliter, &c. &c. < \ ;

T2 CHAP.

MS FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [en. ix.

CHAP. IX. '
TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS.

FIRST PORTION OE THE SIXTH CENTURY.

WHILE Goths and Vandals, with devouring rage wafted the
once well-cultivated Roman empire, fo that fcarce a trace of
civilization remained either in Spain or Africa, our retrofpeffive eye
will be accounted happy in not having time to dwell upon fuch fcenes-
as Procopius (no fcrupulous hiftorian) forbears to relate ; left from my
book, fays he, mould in fome future day be learned, leflbns of yet un-
heard-of inhumanity : but 'tis agreed upon by all our writers, that no-
period of this globe's exiftence ever equalled, or even approached near
to the fifth and fixth centuries, for complicated afflictions, and diftrefs
flopping little fhort of defpair. Famine and peftilence followed the
Gothick wars, of which indeed they were confidered as inftruments ;
when, if a garrifon held out too long, the befiegers made no fcruplc
to kill all their prifoners in cold blood, and piling them up in heaps
poifon the wretched creatures of the town, and force them to de-
fert it.

Authors perfift in faying, and with truth, that every province un-
der Roman protection was grown effeminate, and in fome meafure,
we may fay enervated, by the free commerce entertained with the
capital, and thus fell unrefiftingly before the Barbarian troops : but
before fuch troops Caefar muft have fallen. There was no art of war,
no energy of mind, that could poffibly withftand enemies who pro-
fefled rapacity and murder, not conteft ; and who laughed at the
feeble ties of honour and humanity. When Stilicho had taken fome

Goths

en. ix ] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 149

Goths into his pay, hoping their affiftance againft invaders from other
countries, not their own, \\hat was the confequcnce ? Only this ; that
adding treachcroufncfs to ferocity, the brutal mercenaries turned all
that Ikill and difcipline they had learned, againil the people who cm-
ployed them : nor did their rage of dcvaftation ccafc, till all their
northern hive was drained of fwarms, that migrated like myriads of
ants in India, when the whole earth for miles appears to move ; and
while the lordly elephant is covered, incumbercd, and even his bones
picked by the black army, as 'tis emphatically called there, the ga-
zelle or the kangaroo alone efcape, by fwiftnefs and light bounds.

Thrace, Hungary, France, Spain, Italy now, and Greece were
gone, divided among thcfe nations of new names, new manners, new
ideas. A revolution was about to take place in men's minds, as well
as in their government. Oriental cuftoms had, fmce removal of the
royal refidence to Conftantinople, infected the fbuthern parts of Eu-
rope, but now the Septentrionilts came forward, and brought with
them other notions. A foldier and a freeman with them were fynoni-
mous ; and none were counted bafc but fuch as were inadive. Wo-
men too had privileges not dreamed on in the caft, where lome princes,
paffionatdy addicted to the fcx, began to take up thcfe opinions, and
releafe their female Haves from confinement. Cabadcs, who ruled in
Perfia, was of this mind : pleafed with the rcfpcd: paid to their domef-
tick companions by the Germans, he gave more open licence to the
ladies, and by that innovation, irritated fuch of his fubjects as were
attached to the old way ; till rebellion became the natural errect, and
Cabadcs was dethroned. Imprifbnment of courie followed degrada-
tion, but one of his women, who had early profited by thefe new re-
gulations, made herfelf an object intercfting to the gaoler, who could
refufe nothing to fuch a folicitrefs, and by her arts gained freedom for
her indulgent fovereign. Dreadful was the revenge he took on all
concerned, nor was his fury likely to fpare Anallafius, ill furnamed
Decor us, then emperor of the eaft, late chamberlain, now con fort to

hafty

l 50 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [en. ix.

huftv and unfeeling Ariadne, who having buried one hufband alive,
expoicd his fucccflbr to Cabades' refentment, by perfuading him to
rcfuie money rcquefled by that prince, for purpofc of reducing his
tumultuous fubjecls to obedience. This he effected foon, without
help from Conflantinople, towards -which he advanced, attacking the
ftrong fortrefs of T/undadaer, where much treafure was depofited ;
and 'tis, for ought I have learned, on this occafion that we are firft in-
troduced to the acquaintance of daemons and fpirits -poetical ma-
chinery ! which has Succeeded in a certain manner to the heathen

deities, in modern epick and dramatick tales : and which now with va-
rious devices,' and under innumerable forms, dragons efpecially, guarded
the rnagick caftle againlt Cabades. That king vmable to find out, he
faid, or Perfian foothfayer, or Jewifh rabbi, capable of breaking thefe
charms, and binding thefe aerial combatants ; had at length recourfe
to fome Chriftian bifhop, who by prayer put his army into immediate
pofTeffion of the fort ; on which, converted fuddenly of courfe, he
turned away his thoughts from hurting the profeflbrs of that religion
he had now adopted. Thus in thefe gloomy days did mifty fuperfti-
tion magnify each object, and caft a halo round each trifling or com-
mon occurrence, till our once pure and fimple worfhip dimmed,
though enlarged to eyes of common obfervers, feemed as if aiTuming
tantaitick fhapes, which frighted many, and confounded more.

The ftandard and criterion ot our faith, God's lioly word, was funk
or loll : difre-garded quite, and more than half abforbed in dull though
wild traditionary talcs, while fierce opinions battled in the dark. In
vain the virtuous -Pope employed his powers, relieved the bifhops
banifhcd to Sardinia, and fet up alms-houfes the firft upon record.
The Emperor himfelf was a fanatick, and accufed him of leaning to-
ward the Manichcean hcrefy. The Manichajans all were driven away,
no matter : Anaftafius's warm head could not be quiet. He wanted
Tribulation, a characljer in Ben Jonfon's comedy, to cry out, I do
command thee, fpirit of zeal but trouble, to peace within him. Like

Ananias

CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTIIICK KINGS. 15 1 "

Ananias in the lame play ho would not 'peace. The people looked
on images with too much veneration ; the Emperor tore them down,
but not content, he caufed a painter to make representation of mon-
fters, which he cxpofcd for adoration. Will the fools worfhip theft?'
cried he : the people were offended, not unjuftljr ; (editions were ex-
cited, which he could with difficulty quell. He had not yet enough.
To the fublime Trilagion Holy ! holy ! holy Lord God of Sabaoth,
ihcJantfnsDeus IJanQwfprtis ! fantfiiset immortaits miftrere nojlris, was
added, upon feeling (bmc (hocks of an earthquake under the reign of
the younger Thcodoiius, and had been annexed to the litany ever
fince ; but while 'twas tinging, AuallaSius in his fervour againft
Arianifm exclaimed aloud, Qui proptcr nos crucifxus eft words which
drew on him the appellation of patripaffian. The uproar was diS-
graceful, the inSurreclion dangerous, and feeing the Emperor not long
after this ftruck dead by lightning in a public place, many were con-
firmed in their ill opinion, although when firft inverted with the
purple, reign as you have lived was all the cry. So exemplary had been
for years the character of this too bufy and relllefs prince.

But nothing then was cared for fcarcely, except what it was ftridly
impofUbic for man to comprehend. HomoouStans and Scmi-Arians,
Sabelliaas and TritheiSts filled the mouths of all, though the minds of
few if any were capable of fplitting fuch differences, and explaining
fuch uurevealed niceties. Language, when at its beft perfection, Sink;,
under the difficulty of discriminating fubtlctics that efcape its greatelt
vigilance : and language now was Superannuated, and unable to follow -
metaphyfical arguments through all their labyrinths of perplexed en-
quiry ; yet nothing elfe employed men's minds, or was thought worthy
of their notice, while

Faith, gofpel, all fcem'd made to bedifputed,
And none were wife enough to he confuted.

'Twas in this reign, I think, we read that St. Matthew's Gofpel was
found hid in the Sepulchre of good St. Barnabus, held in his hand, (ays

one

152 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY. [CH. ix.

one writer ; lying on his bofom, fays another. Ill underftood devotion
went fo far, that many people prevailed upon furviving friends to bury
in their tombs with them the blcflcd facrament and all that was not
war was piety. But while compaffion of fuch error fills a modern
reader's breaft, difguft rankled in that of Proclus, who faw in living
truth the follies we only view in Retrofpeflions glafs. Proclus feems
to have been an ejfirit fort of the fixth century, w 7 ho collected the fun's
rays into a focus, and appeared, by his promife of fecuring the Empe-
ror's perfon from thunderbolts, to have fome notion of a conducting
rod. His project failed however ; Anaftaiius, who had always ex-
prcffcd his apprehcnfion that fuch would be his end, fell down lifelefs
during a great ftorm. The populace looked on Proclus with avcrfion,
and he on their credulity with contempt. Meanwhile Severus the
Eutychian bifliop of Antioch, fending fome miffionaries to gain over
Alamandurus to their newly-broached tenet of a quaternity, he told them
there was news which claimed their more immediate attention, for
that St. Michael the archangel was dead. Being replied to, that fuch
news was nonfcnfe, bccaufe angelic nature cannot die; nor can God
Almighty, rejoined the ready controvertift ; and if Chrift was pure
deity, as you fay he was, and not made man, he could not have been
erucificd tor us. Severus was condemned to lofe his tongue by a grand
council held at Illergetum, foon from its firft name corrupted to II-
Icrcla, and thence to Lcri.ui, by which appellation 'tis at this day fa-
miliar to us all. Chichcfcer and Abingdon were built about this time
by Cilia king of the South .Saxons, and Cambridge founded long after,
and enlarged by Sigebert ; but Camden rr Caio I believe, fays it may
boaft an earlier origin, even from Cantxbcr a Spaniard, born three
hundred and feventy-five years before Chrift. It is obfcrvable his name
is yet unwittingly tranfmitted down from generation to generation ;
young {Indents of that univerfity arc in colloquial chat ftill called Can-
tabs. Shoreluim is fcarce Ids ancient, the work of a Britith chieftain
Khrynncn Shore, perhaps Brcnuin Shore,, meaning King George. I

recollect

CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTIHCK KINGS. 153

recoiled; George II. prayed for in Welch churches by name of Bren-
rim Shore perfectly well, though now they leave it off, the Englifli
name being underftood in moft congregations. But Cherdicke con-
iblidated many counties under his wide domain, Wilts, Hants, Berks,
Devonfliirc, Dorfetmirc and Cornwall, befide Somcrfetfliire, all which
together formed the kingdom of Weft Saxons; whilll the half-fabu-
lous records of our half-known hiftory delight in ftorics of the fair
Igrene, and Merlin the magician, who flicwcd her in a ihadow that he
railed, the figure of her future hufband. This might perhaps give the
original rife to the trick of ladies looking in a darkened room to fee
the deftined lover in a glafs. I know not whether yet the Britifli or
Pidifh poem was compofed called Gododen, which celebrates the day
when the merry men, whole drink was mead, hurried to Cattraeth.
The adventure recorded was at beginning of the fixth century : they
had three hundred and fixty-five horn cups, one for ever}- day of the
year, and every cup had a chain of gold to the cover. " Fetch the
" drinking horns," they cry, " which are glofly like a wave of the fea :
" our Llewellyn is like a dragon in fight." Thele dragons, Warton
thinks, came from Armorica, propagated there by Arabs ; he fays that
ive had no allufion to dragons till after we were connected with the
eaft. Fairies came in at the fame time, but they profpercd beft in
Ireland : there is a tracl there called CfFcrri Land, or Fairy Land, at
this day. The Arabians faying how fairies built the city of Efthckar
is curious : that the famed Perfepolis, burned by Alexander at mitiga-
tion of Thais, fhould be rebuilt by fairies, ftrikes one as fingular
enough. The Elfin queen Morgain le Fay, who held her chief court
at Meffina, exhibiting from time to time the favourite vifion called
after her Fata Morgana ftill, and fo fwectly dcfcribed by Father An-
gelucci 10-13, prcferved Prince Arthur too on fomc occafion. Sec
learned notes on Upton's Fairy Queen. Meantime the death of honeft
favage Clovis divided once united France again, among four fons and
a daughter named Clotilde, She being wife to Amalaricus, leader of
VOL. I. LT the

J54 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [cir. ix.

the Vifigoths, had the rich province of Laugnedoc, poffibly Laitgue d<;
Got, affigned her as her portion ; and fixing her reiidence " at famed
Thouloufe, proved a fufpcnfion of the hi faliqne. But this fhcws
France to have enjoyed even then a form of eftablifhed government,
under their Merovingian race of kings ; and 'tis obfervable the jftr/2 has
been the favourite name of Gallic fovereigns through thirteen cen-
turies, Louis being different in nothing but mere pronunciation. Llovis
is the word, whether the U or V be upright or not ; and the original
manner of pronouncing double LI being difficult to Englifhmen, they
write Clovis as they write Child : the vale of Llwyd is the way we
natives fpell, and it occurs eafily to a Welfh reader that the French
monarchy began and ended jufl as the Roman empire did, with the
fame name. Clovis I. during his extreme long reign, on many occa-
fions interefts one's heart : his odd fcorn of St. Martin's miracle, who
for a furn of money moved the enchanted fteed, which he faw plainly
was a trick to plunder him, with his docility toward thofe very priefts
who were apparently parties in the impofture, fuggefted by what he
deemed indifpenfable reverence for the religion they profeffed, engages
one's tendernefs : and 'tis with grief we read of thofe excefles per-
mitted and pracYifed during a life of fourfcore years and more, which
ended at Paris, firft by him fettled into the metropolitan city of that
great empire. His bones remain there ftill, under the never-finiflied
church dedicated to la Saint e Genevieve, and lately profaned by infi-
dels unworthy fuch a king as Clovis ; falfe reafoners, who in cold
blood reject that bleft Redeemer, whofe bitter agonies endured for us,
roufed on firft hearing of them his lion fpirit to cry out, " Had I been
" near Mount Calvary that day, with but five hundred of my trufty
'" Franks, I would have foon revenged fuch fufferings, and taught thofe
' ; rafcals to repent their cruelty." Barbarian virtues are however of fmall
value, like wooden cuts, prized for their rarenefs and antiquity alone ;
they fail in ail the finer ftrokes of courfe, and leave the work imperfect.
Tirabofchi obicrves well, that barbarous eloquence is never clear, plain,

en. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 155

or perfpicuous ; 'tis the moft poliflicd nation that excels in pure in-
artificial brilliancy of language. The excellency of glafs, on this fame
principle, is to be tranfparent ; thofe who flourifh it, and wrinkle it,
and draw rofes on it, are doing fomcthing very pretty certainly, but
they are fpoiling the glafs. Rude Theodoric knew not how to write,
yet was he brave, honeft, and provident by nature ; honourable too,
and magnificent by ftarts. He fupplied Rome with corn, he conveyed
water to Ravenna ; and when a catholick courtier, in hopes of prefer-
ment, fuddenly profeflcd himfelf willing to renounce his belief in
Chriil's divinity and to turn Arian, becaufe that was the pcrfuafion of
the Prince, the generous though brutal Goth fpit in his face, faying,
that a man who was falfe to his God would never be true to his king.
Yet Clovis we know deluged his land with blood ; Theodoric fuffercd
Odoaccr to be ftabbed treacherously at a banquet ; and afterwards took
deliberately away that precious life which animated the pureft heart,
the wifeft head, perhaps the compleateft character that can be found,
if we except St. Gregory the Great, between the firft Theodofms and
Alfred. By death of Boethius was dimmed the bright flame of ge-
nuine patriotifm, of orthodox belief, of claffic elegance, and true phi-
lofophy. Learning, her laft clear light obfcured by interpofmg clouds
of black fufpicion, hung round the vaults of Symmachus and his great
fon-in-law, conglobed and red a meteor, not a ftar, lowering and

raylefs.

But Juftin's reign attracts our Retrofyeffion to the eaft, detaining it a
moment by his cunning in ufe of money given him by Amantius for pur-
pofes of chufmg another perfon,who, together with his ill-advifed friend,
were foon fecurcd and filenced, and Juftin fixed in the imperial feat.
Under this Emperor the General Belifarius began his great career, and
manifefted his future claim to laurels, which at length by too luxuriant
growth mailed his merits from favour of Juftinian, nephew and fuccciTor
tothe laft-mentioned ignorant though artful creature, bcft remembered
by his falfchood and fondncfs for the purple, which he grafped clofcly

U 2 even

156 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [en. m

even -in artkulo mortis. The Circus to which the new fovereign wa
carried- in triumph at his firit acceffion, proved, though he reigned
near forty years, I think, a perpetual plague to him and to his fucceflbrs,
with their blue and green factions fupporting one fet of chariot-drivers
againft another fet, who quarrek-d> fought, mutinied even in prefence
of a defpotic king that might, for all that has appeared to us, have
cruflied them in a moment. Thefe chariot-drivers fucceeded to the
gladiators, and I believe had fbmeWhat of a deeper meaning than one
is now aware of : contention poffibly between the land and fea, or
perhaps ftudents in alchemy might find out the allufion; common
fenfe can but revolt againft their factious folly. But grave Juftinian,
pious and orthodox (for many years at leaft , was eafily overpowered
by pantomime and fhow : he married a fille cC opera, as we mould calf
her now, the fafcinating Theodora ; raifed her to the rank and to
more than ufual privileges of emprefs, which fhe ufed as many a bella
Iniffa would have ufed them, protecting her own worthlefs friends
from juftice, her favourites from detection. Witnefs her partiality
ihewn to the unworthy wife of gallant Belifarius, who drove the Sy-
rians before him, brought Perfia once more under controul of Con-
stantinople, and performed prodigies of valour with his {ingle arm..
The Goths began to fear, the Vandals to feel his fury ; every baUl&
now produced a victory, and every victory paved the way to ufefui
conqueft, and hope of re-eftablifhing a folid lafting empire. While
the fovereign, attentive to propriety at home, thought proper to crufb
what was left of Paganifm by abolifhing the publick fchools for fo-
phifts, and what was called heathen philofophy ; he punifhed the vo-
luptuous clergy, whofe vile conduct brought a difgrace upon our own
religion, with unrelentlefs fternnefs; converted the publick ftcws into an
hofpital for penitents, a Magdalen like ours, and fubfcribed 1 8o,oool,
prefent currency out of his own privy purfe for the rebuilding of An-
tioch, nearly overthrown by an earthquake ; befides erecting pious
fabricks without end, and with a degree of magnificence furpaffing

afl

en. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTIIICK KINGS. J5;

all example. One million fterling was funk in the raft edifice dcdi -
cated to Santa Sophia, the facred wifdom of God. Nor was com-
mercial intereft "neglected ; Juftinian cftablifhcd trade with the caft
for filk, till then a rarity, even in the feat of univcrfal empire. He
did too what is not lefs worth recording, as it has more reference to
prcfcnt times lie inftitutcd the method of fwearing which we now
ufe in England on folemn occafions, by taking the four Gofpels, qnx
in manibus teneo, into both our hands, and making on them a fteady
affeveration before fbmc lawful magiftratc. 'Tis find too, that when
this ordonnance was effectuated, the Emperor obfervcd it never would
be abolifhed in the Chriftian world, for, added he, if this regulation
is once broken in upon, confufion will ncceffarily enfue. As this great
Icgiilator was furnamed Franciciis, it is particularly to be prcfumed
that he introduced the cuftom there whence we have feen it publicity
driven away in the year 1 793, and we have feen confufion follow after.
Mundus meantime, another fuccefsful general in the eventful period
we review, conquer'd the coafts of Tunis and Tripoli, left ill defended
by thofe loathfome Vandals, who had ravaged the northern provinces
of Africa with harpy-footed fury : and penetrating further into the de-
folutcd diftrid, once more fubdued it to the gentle dominion of Con-
ftantinople, and its fapicnt fovereign. Dalmatia next flew for protec-
tion to the fame ftrong fteady hand, who after extirpating the remains
of vandalifm, triumphed in that country whither Dioclefian had re-
tired two hundred and thirty years before, but which had been long
loft to the Roman empire, till this new leader of their adive armies
> with the celerity of thought itfclf traverfed the globe) reftorcd it
to fuch peace as poverty can give ; and having defeated the Bulgarian*
in Thrace, and having drawn his troops fbuthward once again; dial
bravely under the walls of Salona, His death relieved the anxiety of
multitudes, who witneffing fuch new and interefting changes in thi
torn fvftem of mundane affairs, failed not to recoiled the Sybil's words,

who faid, that when Afr-ic fhoukl recover Mundus fliould end ; a fcn-

tcnce

158 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [CH. vi

tence they explained by fuppofing that this whole fublunary world,
Mundus's fudden conflagration muft neccffarily follow the expulfion
of fuch invading powers in Africa, and its recovery from their galling
yoke, with a confolatory reiteration of thofe once fruitful territories to
their dominion, who were confidered as rightful poiTeflbrs and lords of
the whole earth the emperors of Rome. A narrow notion ! Could
\ve confide in oracles, 'twere wifer to think the word recovery implied
a making off of that hereditary oppreffion by which the black inhabi-
tants of one continent have fo long been held as flaves to their lighter-
coloured brethren in the three other quarters of our earth. In that
fenfc Africa may be recovering whilft I write, and Mundus daily does
give flgns of his approaching diflblution to all fuch as have not their
perceptions fwallowed up in appropriate diflrefs, or general aftonifh-
ment. But the grammarians Feftus and Prifcian, claim a retrofpefthe
glance ; Cappadox too, with his infidel aflociate Trebonianus, who af-
fifted in forming the celebrated code of Juflinian, fuffice to prove that
learning, as me fet weftward behind the mountains, dropt not down
all at once, below our fad horizon, but left a twilight mild at its com-
mencement, ufeful certainly, when Dionyfius made this reign remark-
able for wife difmiffion of all former chronology, and for the fixing a
true Chriftian asra, dating in future all events from his appearance in
the flefh, by whom, according to divine appointment all things 'were
made. Is it in this place worth our while to obferve, that the word
D'ion\Jius means, Dios, God Nufos, Rcftorer of Mankind in Noah. The
man who perfuaded Juftinian to adopt a new mpde of counting time,
was known by name of Diojivfiiis the Lcfs ; he was a Roman abate.
One might indeed wonder why Pagans called any man Dionyfius,
but we fee Chriftians daily calling men Emanuel and Salvador ;
though one means God with us, and the other Sav'mir ; and perhaps
it may be more to our purpofe to obferve that this sera, now kept facred
for 1200 years, a period marked by Pagans and by Chriftians, was only
.broken in upon by modern arrogance in l/y4. Theodoric, a far more
tender-hearted barbarian than Ilobefpierre, received it willingly ; and

lefs

en. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 159

kfs attached than formerly to Arianifm, felt fuch compunction for the
death of Symmachus, by him unjuftly doomed to fufFer torture, only
for having bewailed the ill fate of his accomplifhed fon-in-law Boe-
thius, that his ftrong northern nerves never recovered their due tone
again ; but ftrange thick-coming fancies robbed him of food and reft.
After fome weeks of dreadful perturbation, the Gothick fovereign
ftarting fuddenly from table, protefted that he faw and recognized, in
a large fifh ferved up at fupper-time, the features of unhappy Sym-
machus ; whofe innocent, and even praife-worthy conduct, feemed in
the pale bones of that dead animal to ftare on him with looks of fad-
nefs and reproach for the unfeeling hafte he was condemned with.
From that hour remorfeful Theodoric eat no more ; his death, pre-
ceded by imaginative terrors, grew even to himfelf dcfirable, and
Amalefontha fwayed the fceptre during the childhood of her fon ; for
whom flie, as fole parent, fought a literary education, providing tutors
and inftructors from all nations, language mafters in particular, adding
her own example, which ihe enforced by a ftyle of command that flic
expected not to fee or hear difputed. Gifted with a variety of en-
dowments, this lady's awful carriage claimed refpect from her young
pupil, as pofleflmg in her own perfon thofe talents fhe wifhed his heart
to figh for ; and fifter to Theodoric, her Scythian blood beftowed on
her but little flexibility of mind, or difpofition to procure by influence,
what her ftation gave her right to enforce by authority. Pulling her
knot too'tight however, the cord broke ; for Athalaricus at eleven years
old ftept forward, and complained to his Gothick nobles at a feaft, -
that his mother had that day dishonoured him, their lawful fo-
vereign, by a blow : a blow to me ! exclaimed the- fturdy prince, and
from the hand of a woman ! His chieftains praifed the premature ;
boldncfs, and the boy obtained inftant emancipation. Tutors mean-
time fetched in from Ibfter climates and of more fupple tempers than
the regent, fbon faw the way to hinder their diimrffion. - They then
began to teach their royal pupil leflbns lefs difficult, and more attratf

exciti

I Co ' FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [or. ix.

exciting and fupplying his precocity with pleafures fatal to virtue, and
ruinous to health.

Amalefontha firft indignantly withdrew, and wedding her firft cou-
fin Thcodatus, was with. him crowned queen to the king of Italy. In
two years fhe returned, and being once arrived at Ravenna, put her
fon's vile preceptors all to death : revenge was gratified, but nothing
rnore; young Athalaricus, debilitated by early debauchery, knew little
of what was going forward.; his powers ot mind and body all were
weakened, and a confumption, 'fpitc of his mother's care, deftroyed
him in fix months after flic came back. The lady tore her hair with
grief and rage, but Theodatus liking not an ailbciate of fuch fpirit,
tricked her into an ifland of the Lago Bolfena, ftrangled her there with
his own hands, and threw her into the water ; not without difficulty,
, and ill-applied violence ; fo rough and vigorous was her refiftance. Juf-
tinian took his time ; invincible Belifarius, after conquering in every
other corner of the world by his own valour, was made mafter of Ra-
venna by the Gothick dnTentions. Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia owned
his power ; and Gilimer, the Vandal, who had deluged whole provinces
.with blood, being dragged in chains to Conftantinople, declared be-
fore the throne there, that all was vanity.* The victorious warrior
uext attacked Thcodatus, whofe feeble and ill-managed oppofition
haftened his own end : he fell at laft in flight, not battle, and his un-
manly cries rendered his death defpicablc, whofe life had been mean
and treacherous : but Vitiges, who forcibly married Amalefontha's
daughter, kept up in her right for fome years longer the fhow of Go-
thick kings in Italy. This year, or about that time, was Paulinus con-
lul at Rome, and he was the laft. The eaftern empire chofe confuls
for ten or fifteen years afterwards, and then that dignity and the name
of it, Inirncd qu'iteaut. Vandalifm, completely driven from Numidia,
:hcrc they had forced the people even to eat each other, and where

* Vpnitas vanitatum ! exclaimed the captive et omnia vnitas*

the

CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 161

the conqueft of Belifarius over that fvvarm of locufts left only a fort of
defolate tranquillity, removed back to Europe, where they caft lots for
diftricls not only in Spain, as Idatius tells, who was eyc-witnefs of their
cruelties in that country, but in the north too. They cluttered in
large bodies along the banks of the White River, Alb'ts, the Elbe, and
beyond there among the Pruzzi or Borrufli : there is a province called
Vandal Pruflia yet ; while many Lombards fixed at Mecklcnburgh,
and many were fprcad over the Venetian terra firma. The laft ir-
ruption of a new Ihoal was under Totila, and Mr. Gibbon does not
wait for his arrival and failure, to pronounce Rome freed from her
runick tyrants, and rcpofing all confidence in the popes alone. This,
now more than ever, interesting epocha, he calculates to have happened
upon the 10th day of December, 536, when a ftrange mixture of
Christian and Pagan rejoicings fccm to have taken place, if we believe
that the old lupercal was not even then abolifhcd, and that the Savage
gaieties of fuch a feftival were going forwards even upon Chriftmas day
itfelf ; all this under the reign of a moSt pious emperor, and under the
aufpices of a general famous for Scrupulous orthodoxy. That it was
really in the year 536 the change was made, appears, fays our historian,
not only from Procopius, whoSe authority, the text having been cor-
rupted, is of fmall value ; but from the ferics of events. The month
December is afcertained, it feems by Evagrius ; and that Belifarius en-
tered the town upon t\icj}iorlcjl day is admitted upon the evidence of
Nicephorus Calixtus, 1 believe, a Greek hiStbrian of the fourteenth cen-
tury. I have myfclf Seen a remark fbmewherc how St. Peter s do-
minion began when the fun was in the fign pi/'ces, alluding to his em-
ployment as zfjlicrmzn ; but that fets it very little later. Jefus is re-
prefented with a fjli in the cathedral church of Ravenna ; with an
anchor on fome gems at Capodi Monte ; and the madonna del pefce is
a favourite picture of Raphael. A fubterranean temple difcovcred lately
in England led people to recoiled thefe occurrences ; all its ornaments
air fi/Ji, but the Christian monogram proves it to have been no Pagan
VOL. I. X place

162 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [CH. ix.

place of worfhip. They never admitted our infignia into their temples,
but the Bafilides held that it was not evil to fuffer heathen fymbols in
a Chriftian church. We are of their minds ftill as it appears, or fculp-
tors would not be encouraged to fet up Hercules and Minerva in W^cft-
minfter Abbey. Meanwhile St. Peter's profeffiori as ajj/her, and his
command from our Saviour to Jijh for men, naturally ftruck his at-
tentive followers ; and that the laft words of the feventeenth chapter
in the Greek Teftament mould be analogous both to the Apoftle's em-
ployment, and to his Mailer's name, produced this pretty epigram
printed in Walton's Angler.

Unicus eft medicus reliquorum PFfcis et ift'is

Fas quibus eft medicum tungere certa falus.

Hie typus eft Salvatoris mirandusjefu

Litera myfterium qiuelibet hujus habet,

Munc cupio, hunc capias bon frater arundinis ij^fliK

Solveret hie pro me debita teque Deo.
Pifcis is eft, et pifcator mihi credite qualem

Vel pifcatorem pifcis amare velit. ,

IX0T2,
I. Ino-aj .................. Jefus

X. Xpiro? . . . . ............ Cliriftus

. .................. Dei

T. 'T.o; ................. .Filius

. Salflf .................. Salvator.

But we are engaged in a reviewal of the fixth century; and if the
papal power really did commence when Echard and when Gibbon fay
it did, fmall calculation will fuffice to mew when it muft end. 12 Go
years fpecified by the prophet Daniel, and appropriated again by St.
John, may be eafily added to 536

126o they will make up the year

m which I am endeavouring, 1796, to form a fummary of events
for purpofe of Retrofpe&ion.

CHAP.

-CH. x.] EXPULSION OF THE GOTIIICK KINGS.

CHAP. X.

FROM THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS BY
BELISARUS TO A. D. 600.

muft now, fixing our glafs on the old metropolis, obfcrve rough
Boniface, a Roman pope, ftruggling, in fpite of new regulations,
to appoint as his fucceflbr in the chair Vigilius, who was however obliged
to wait the death of three predeceffors ; the laft of whom, Silverius,
was banifhed and even ftarved to death, in confequcnce of having dif-
obliged Theodora, by refuting to revoke the fentcnce of herefy pro-
nounced againft Anthimus her favourite bifhop. When he, Silverius,
was thus difpofed of, Vigilius bought the fee, paying for it two hun-
dred pounds weight of gold to the fair Emprcfs, whofe parafites and
pandars fpent it among them, while the new Primate ufed his ill-got-
ten power with zeal and diligence, denying however to reftore Anthi-
mus, though he had bought the fee on that condition. He was the
firft pope who commanded prayer to be made, and altars erected to-
wards the eaft ; but morals were run down fo very low, that it was
neceflary for a council, held at Maqon in thofe days, to decree that
bifhops fhould not keep great dogs to worry beggars, nor fee their fer-
vants kick the poor about for Chriftmas fports and gambols. Yet fuch
at the fame time was the fpirit of pious enthufiafm, that many bifhops
held a confultation, whether they might or might not, without offence
to God and fociety, pull a madman forcibly down, who would (land
upon a pillar night and day, near Treves in Germany, to imitate Si-
meon Stylites ; although fuch was the fcvcrity of that winter, that
fuch a refolution mufl fopn end in death. They got him away how-

X 2 ever,

j.64 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x.

ever, and put him in a monaftery, much to his own difquiet and that
of the people who delighted in fuch exhibitions of fandtity, and ccafed
not to lament our inclement feafbns, which hindered people from per-
forming penances fuch as oriental zeal inflicled on its votaries, and
eaftern climes more eafily permitted. Fakirs and Bonzees are at this
day trying to obtain future happinefs by voluntary and felf-impofed
wretchcdnefs in India ; and I think 'tis Anfon's Voyages which tell us
how pious women at Peru, in his day, dragged heavy crofles up and
down the ftreet, and wore a waiftcoat quilted with thorns within, to
keep their anguifh always alive ; fo favourable are hot climates to a
fpirit of deviation concerning fenual pleafures and fenfual punimments.
The women, in order to mortify themfelves, fought for deformities
which heaven had denied them, and to become loathfome, by never
having warned or combed, was confidered as a claim on Paradife. See
the ftory of St. Mary the Egyptian, and many more. Such things are
now nearly gone out of Europe, although I have myfelf feen ladies
perform odd penances enough at Naples and at Mantua ; and Jane
Rogers, of Cumberland, was well known in the eighteenth century, for
wandering about the north, in confequence of a religious vow ; (he
knitted every part of her own ftrange clothing upon two wooden pins :
the wool fhe gathered, carded herfelf, and fpun. She accepted no alms
except of food and tobacco, never touched money for fourteen years,
nor ever flept in a place fhe paid for ; but carried her whole poiTef-
fions at her back, in a large bag, which was fo neceflary to her exift-
ence, and to her comfort as it ihould feem, that when fhe had nothing
elfe to carry, Ihe filled the bag with fand. But private memoirs are
valuable, chiefly as they evince the flate of publick manners ; and what
has been mentioned of the popes in this chapter, militates againft the
notion which clofed our laft ; becaufe we find that although Rome,
now no longer the metropolis of a vaft empire, was dwindled down
into a mere bifhop's fee, Juftinian's fupremacy was no lefs acknow-
ledged ; on the contrary, it was fubmitted to with blind acquicfcence,

both

CH. x.] BY BELISARIUS TO A. D. <k)0. 165

both by the pontiff who protected Rome, and by the patriarch who
had the care of ecclcfiuftical matters at Conftantinoplc, and who, by
the Emperor's command, accepted the fecond place after St. Peter'*
fuccefibr. The fovercign however growing old, and his head weakened
by perpetual pondering upon incomprehenfible fpeculations, began to
think Chrift's human nature a mere phantom, and that he never had
eat and drank in reality. This herefy was called that of the Docetcs,
to which were likcwifc. joined the Monothclites, who faid that Jefus
had but one will as God, and no ideas as man. To thcfe fancies the
Metropolitan refufing his afTent, Juftinian dcpofed and banifhcd him
without confulting pope or patriarch, and worfe than all, growing
jealous of thofe acclamations that refounded wherever Belifarius turned
his fteps, and wholly governed by Theodora, who loved the general's
vc'ifc, not him ; he, after all his ferviccs, exiled that loyal unrefifting
chief, content to end his days in fuch obfcurity, that numbcrlefs fables
were fabricated concerning the manner in which he fpent his time.
The flrangc notion however of his begging at the gates of Rome, is
now confidered by fcholars as a mere fiction, ennobled by the rough
fublimity of Salvator Ilofa's pencil ; enriched by the glowing colours
of Vandyke ; and rendered with an exa<Snefs worthy truth alone, by
the minute nicety of Vanderwcrff. But Clothairc, in thcfc da^s ible
king of France, after fubduing Cranmufe, his haughty rival, burned
him to death in the poor peaiant's houfe, whither he run for refuge,
with his protecting friends; and having committed many other c.\-
ceffcs, .particularly the forcible fei/ure of a beautiful lady, wife to Gau-
ticr des Ivcteaux, was fuddenly ftruck with remorfe, and of his own,,
accord, made the lands of that nobleman, who died of grief, an inde-
pendent flate beftowed upon his fon, whofe family have enjoyed it
ever fmce. There were princes de Bellamy, the name of that territory
in the fcventeenth century ; and a Monficur des Yvetcaux flourifhcd
as a French wit in time of Louis XIV. A general famine that
affrighted all our continent however, lays clofer claim upon our/v//-o-

160 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH x.

fpeftive eye : it was foon followed by a univerfal plague, a new volcano
opened near the Rhone, and terrified the confcience of Clothaire, while
Totilas the Oftrogoth, fought to fubdue Rome by dint of ftarving out
the few inhabitants, and would have fuccceded, had not her active bifhop
Vigilius, gone himfelf to feek for corn to Conftantinople. He died on his
way home, if I remember, not without ftrong fufpicions of being poi-
foncd. A comet too marked thefe tremendous times, and that was fol-
lowed by an unufual palenefs of the fun. But a ftill ftranger meteor
than the comet, calls for our admiration. Not the wild northern con-
queror, who fcemed an ignis-fatuus alone, compared to his great prede-
ceffor Attila, whom he profefled to make the model of his conduct, in
attacking that venerable city, which now nearly defcrted, was like to
fall an eafy prey to every furious foe ; but a new character in life and
hiftory. Narfes, the far-famed eunuch of the eaft, by birth a Periian,
"by profeffion a courtier, bred literally to the loom and diftaff, when
in the female apartments of the palace, he had during his early youth
'held fuch of the fervile and fubaltern offices, as had been appointed
him by bed-chamber women and pages, little cognizant of the latent
warrior they were commanding. He meantime, at leifure moments
from his work, ftudied the art of war with fuch fuccefs, that he at
length obtained, from influence of ladies in the train of Theodora,
permrffion to attend in the new regiments levied forpurpofe of driving
the Oftrogoths from Italy. Once fettled in the army, Belifarius, who
faw and owned his merit, gave him command and power : which
poflcfled, Toti'a?, and Teias who fuccecded him when killed, foon funk
before the rcfiftlefs courage of Narfes, whofe high prowefs and vic-
torious deeds amazed mankind ; and tried at lead to teach them, that
foul, not body, conftitutes the hero. Some Franks oppofed, pretend-
ing to <lefpife him ; but all oppofition to fuch gallantry was vain, and
all contempt ill-founded. About that time or fooner 'twas, that an
internal cancer confcquent on her ill life, confumed the vitals of once
beautiful and lively Theodora ; who mingled virtue with her fharne-

lefs

en. x.J BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 600. 107.

lefs vices, had fliown fortitude on fome occafions, fidelity on others,
while grave Juftinian, having outlived friends and enemies, and cni-
prefs, expired with no difturbances at all, except thofe which the un-
fathomable and fruitlefs refearchcs of the times afforded, and which
thefe lines of Cowley feem made on purpofe to controul, when he
foys

In this wild maze let vain endeavours end,

How can the lefs the greater comprehend ?

Or finite rcafon reach infinity ?

Since who could fathom God were more than He.

Narfes meantime made proud Pelagius pope, who was fuppofcd to
have given poifon to his predeceflbr ; while Britain cultivated com-
merce under Ida and ^Ella, and Guthrie thinks London was even
then a place of much note for its riches. Carlifle's gaieties, led
by Queen Guinever, were, as w.e know, the theme of future fong.
That, literature ran low among us* may be proved by the lalt-
mentioned author's ending his lift of clafficks with Procopius, and
leaving a juft blank to venerable Bede. The monaftery and bifhop-
rick of St. Afaph in Flintshire, were however founded by Kenti-
gern bilhop of Glafgow, who having placed it on the river E/wy
was called Epifcopas Elweiifis for a time ; but being recalled to Scot-
land whence he came, refigned the fee to his difciple Afaph, from
whom it took its name. The tiny fpot called Icombkill this while,
difpcnfed from midft our ftormy Hebrides the northern lights of truth ;
irradiating Scots, Pi&s, and dwellers in thofe diftant regions, with
corufcations emanating from true religion, and confecrating the
feat of fcience; where, in her hairy gown and mofly cell, flic taught

* It fhould perhaps be mentioned here, that the great emperor Juftinian hirn-
felf never learned to write. His fecretary cut the letters for him to fign, in foft
wood ; then holding his matter's hand, drew the inftrument where the place was cut,
thus A V Thcfe, Jacques Augufte dc Chevancs thinks, were the toitftt tt raff

llttrtt. He takes all this -from Procopius.

and

168 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x.

and practifed virtue late rewarded by the pathetick praife of Samuel
Johnfon, when in the year 1772 he vifited thofe remote iflands, and
gave the beft account of them now extant. St. Columb was perhaps fb
called from his devotion to the holy dove, perhaps from his fpirit of ex-
ploration : C0/wftkill was Columb' s all, or cell very poffibly, and fome-
thing tells me I have heard as much. But Dr. Wallace, probably
from Heclor Boethius, has informed us, that the Orkney and Shetland
iflands were then occupied by two old nations, Papl and Pelt. The
firft of thefe poflefled the more northern iflands, in the appellations
of which the names are yet preferved : the lail inhabited the fouthem
-clufter, thence called Terra Petorutn; and the narrow fea dividing them
from Scotland Frcfum Pctlandicum, the Pitt Land, or rather Petland
Frith. Hence we believe that the young prince whom St. Columb
converted, when he met him at the wild court of King Budasus, was
chief of thefc Peti; and there are thofe who think (See Sibbald's In-
troduction to the Hiftory of ancient Scotland) that thefe are the fame
Peti named by Herodotus, when he enumerates the Thracian tribes
that went with Xerxes into Greece. Bif.ones and Saine are certainly
mentioned by him. The Biftons and Saters are among the oldcft
families in Shetland now, fays Campbell in his Survey, written about
the year 1 760, as I remember. But if few learned men graced theft:
dark days, Cedrenus contrives to amufe himfelf and his readers with
ilories of a learned dog, obiervable chiefly for this, that he played over
in the fixth century the fame identical tricks that we ourfelves have
feen performed fbme forty years ago by the chien fcuvanf, and fome
time after by an Englifli fpanicl. This is odder than the continued
exiftence of the Biftons and Satcrs : but perhaps a dog can be taught
only fuch tricks,- or perhaps the fame ideas occur to the preceptors of
dogs in every age ; fome narrownefs it certainly docs prove, either in
pupil or tutor. Giklas, furnamcd the Wife, however, fliould not be
forgotten ; nor mould it pafs unnoticed, that about that time the
fledded Polack, as our Shakefpeare calls him, began to feel the ani-

mating

OH. x.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 600.

mating principle ; and whilft one halt" of" the city Pompciopolis in
Myfia was fwallowed up by earthquakes, Gnefna in Polonia flatted up
dating its firft foundation from a neft of eagles found there as he was
hunting, by Lechus the legislator of the north : who took that bird
for his imprefe in future, and Poniatowfky painted it upon his coach
fo late as the year 1/Gl. The town deftroyed had formerly been
dedicated to the fun, and was called Soli, till Pompey changed its
name. 'Twas from an old infcription upon the cenotaph of Sarda-
napalus found there, that his name has been configned to infamy ever
fmce. But Juftin II. claims a momentary attention, as both the blue
and green fadiions united in their preference of him, the moft deferv-
ing nephew of Juftinian : and in the days we tell of, it was chiefly the
riotous partisans of different chariot-drivers in the arena, that difpofcd
of empires and difmembered ftates. Rome feemed herfelf annihilated,
but as the Pope Pelagius fupported in fomc meafure his facerdotal dig-
nity, he was the firft biihop elevated to the papal chair fincc great St.
Leo, without requiring the Emperor's confcnt ; and the neglect was now
more accidental than deflgncd, for the church had not yet as formally
ihaken off the flate's fupremacy. Pelagius owed his feat and dignity to
Narfes, and was the firft Pope, as Gibbon tells, who required celibacy ol
his clergy : he bid the deacons and fub-deacons leave either their wives
or their offices, and what deacon or fub-deacon was likely to hcfitate
in the choice ? His patron abhorred a married prieft, he faid, and thole
who were abhorred by Narfes lived not long. The new Emperor
however, wholly fvvaycd by his young confbrt Sophia the Proud, had
the imprudence, at her fuggcftions, to fend the gallant leader an in-
fulting letter; which the ill-advifed lady wrote herfelf, thinking it a
high ftrain of loftinefs perhaps to bid him return and fpin with her
maids in the palace, and not think of fetting himfelf up to rule tin-
weft. In effedl he was immediately fuperfeded, and his place rilled
up by a vicegerent, with the ftyle and title of Exarch, the Ji-jcnth form
of government in Rome. This officer held his court at Ravenna, and
VOL. J. Y ruled

170 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x.

ruled the ftatc after a new mode, which lafted on (nominally at Icaft)
till time of Charlemagne. But we muft follow the fortune of old
Narfes, who fent his thoughtlefs correfpondent word, that he would
fpin her fuch a thread anon as me and all her maids never mould un-
twift. To keep his word, he made immediate application to Alboin,
a fern i -barbarous prince, refiding in Hungary, where the rough natives
had with horror viewed him to their polluted altar drag by force his
promifed bride, the beauteous Rofmunda, whofe father Conimundus
having denied her to his arms after betrothment, he murdered even be-
fore the fhrieking daughter's eyes ; and forming his fcalped cranium
into a cup, obliged the wretched Princefs to drink out of her parent's
fkull the feflive, but to him, in future, the fatal marriage draught.
Encouraged by revolting Narfes, this pitilefs leader of Pannonian mul-
titudes prefled forward into Italy ; but the offended lady who followed
in his train, and loved his chamberlain Count Helmichis, watched an
unguarded hour, and betrayed her too-confiding fpoufe into the hands
of that lord and another, Peridseus, who {tabbed their mafter Alboin
when afleep. The afTaffins were obliged to run however ; and taking
flicker at Ravenna, a town inimical to Narfes, were received, and
Peridaeus propofed the celebration of his nuptials with the widow, who
.had promifed him her hand in order to obtain the benefit of his. Rof-
munda was no rigid obferver of her promifes; the Exarch, to whom me
applied for releafe of them, was himfelf fenfible to her charms, Longinus,
and fent his rival chained to Conftantinople, where Juftin and Sophia
caufmg him to be thrown to a lion, the brave Croatian killed the fa-
vage beaft, threatened the men who turned it out upon him, and
having ftabbed two noblemen at a time, ufing both hands at once, the
Emperor commanded his eyes to be put out, and caged him for the
remainder of his life. Count Helmichis meantime, her real favourite,
being too much in love to acl with prudence, faw the officious man-
ners of the Exarch, and viewed them with a jealous eye : but teazing
the lady too much with his fufpicions concerning Longinus's zeal in

her

CM. x.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. (joo. i r i

JUT fervicc, made him felt" inconvenient to Rofmunda's fchcmcs, and
fhc rcfuhcd upon Ins death immediately. Adding deceit to rrueltv,
ihe herielf prepared the poifon, and with an air of gaiety adminilhircd
it to him in ihcrbct. The llurdy officer however, familiar with
a Ulifii nation, on the firft talle doubted not the intent ; and feizing
his perfidious princcfs with a firm grafp. forced her to divide the fatal
potion with him, and then expired in her lifclcfs arms. Etmuller lav-
that foldiers have an idea whoever drinks out of a human fkull fliall
thereby grow invulnerable. They muft have been true defcendants of
the old Scandinavian deities who thought fo : but Etmuller* died onlv
in 1732. Perhaps at Lcipfick, his native place, they think fo Ji'ill. Then
are there, I believe, ftrong remains of runic and ccltic ideas. The
iublime ode compofcd by King Regner Lodbrog in the ninth century,
has a ftanza faying, " We fought with fvvords; I am (till full of joy
" when I think what a banquet is preparing for me in the palace or'
" the gods. Soon, foon in the fplendid abode of Odin mall we drink
" beer outofthejkulls of our enemies; this will fecure us immortality.
' A brave man ihrinks not from death, no coward enters the hall of
" Odin. Let no man utter cxpreffions of fear ; he mall perifli by the
" bites of ferpents; his abode fliall. be in Naftrandc, w r here drops of
" venom diftill through the lattices, &c. &c." But Retro/fieflioti calls
us off to Juftin, who now firfl perfuaded he had done a folly, began to
fear the confequences of his wife's imprudence, when th'trty tyrants of
the Lombard race divided Italy among them, leaving his Exarch far
lefs power than pomp, and only that midland territory in obedience,
which has been fmcc known by name of the Romagna. Old Narfes
too, returning next from Naples, which he had ftirred up to rebellion,
helped to perplex the Emperor, too How to take alarm : but age at

* Etmuller was no infidel phyfician : he thinks with all his heart, that if you gather
a root of cyanus upon Carpus Chrlfli day, you may, by holding it tight in your hancf,
flop a haemorrhage of the nofc.

Y 2 length

171 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTIIICK KINGS [en. x.

length checked, and death fruftratcd the projects of this indignant and
revengeful eunuch. Avarice is the folc paffion which can keep its
ground at ninety. Stimulated by that, he ftained his warrior fword ;
and having accumulated immenfe treafures, from plunder of the Ita-
lian ftates, he threw them altogether into a well, murdering the
wretched men who brought it thither, that they might tell no tales.
While Juftinopolis, now Capo Iftria, was built by the Emperor as a
fortrefs againft thefe barbarians, who under Clepho, fon to Alboin, but
not by fair Rofmunda, befieged Rome once again; but the imperial
troops foon routed them, and killed the chief of that invading army.
The thirty dukes now felt fo forcibly the effects confequent upon
divided power, they foon took up a new and ftrangc refolve, making
fubfcription for a king to whom they all fhould pay a voluntary ho-
mage. To this high ftation Anthans, a Lombard of venerable extrac-
tion, was elected, nor gave caufe of repentance or even regret to his
fubfcribers ; while Chilperic and Sigebert, Fredeguiid and Brunehault,
made France re-echo with wild tales of wickednefs, and vice yet un-
exampled. A dreadful fliock of earthquake in the eaft, announced
the birth of Mahomet the impoftor ; and Juftin fomewhere about this
period, I believe, fell into a ftate of mental incapacity. He had no
fon : his daughter named Arabia married a doge of Venice ; her de-
fcendants inhabited that gay town as late as 1785. Another daughter
married to Genoa : the houfefae fixed in, not being as noble or illuf-
trious as the Venetian, funk willingly its own original designation in
that of Juftmiani. I faw a lady of that family myfelf, and fancied me
derived from Juftinian I. till 1 w<as told what I ought to have known
before, that he had no child at all by Theodora. Cafa Badoera is the
name of Arabia's defcendants. Gibbon fays that is the greateft private
family in Europe ; but it is very difficult to be accurate in fuch affer-
tions, which Memmo, drawing his pedigree from the Roman consul
Mcmmius, difavowed in my hearing. Upon a peftilence happening
at Genoa long after this, the only furviving Juftiniani. was a prieft ;

and

CH. x.] BY BELTS ARIUS, TO A. D. 600. 173

and was, in confideration of his noble blood, permitted to marry and
continue the Emperor's race. He begged a female from Cafa Ba-
doera as alone worthy his addrefles : they wedded, after five ccnturio
had feparated their confanguinity ; and the old lady I faw at Genoa
(See Pioz/.i's Obfervations and Reflections) was lineally defccndcd from
that pair, connected A. D. 11 74.

Tiberius was now created Caefar Auguftus, fecond of the name for
near fix hundred years. He was a Thracian, as I think, by birth. His
firm behaviour, and above all his zeal for abihufc fpcculations, the
virtue of thofe times, dazzling the mole-eyed hiftorians, they tell no-
thing of him but what is good, and dwell with pleafurc on his fubmif-
fion to the priefthood then for the moft part deeply engaged in keen
difputes, and ever earneft in their endeavours to afcertain the prccife
moment when Meffiah was in heaven firjl cajledfo ; forgetful of his
precepts here on earth, while Chriftian love and charity were loft in
railing accufations of herefy, with which each combatant was hafty to
brand his warm competitor. It were however good to recollect, that
although council after council were fummoned to decide in what man-
ner Jefus was Chrift, i. e. both God and man ; and to make clear the
hidden myftery of hypoftatick union, by which a trinity of pcrfons
comprehends itfelfin unity of godhead ; the good bifliops who dili-
gently aflifted at and compofed thcfe councils, could not write, not even
their names ; as Clarkfon, Warton, Jortin, hundreds more inform us :
they very gravely fet their mark to their opinions ; while fbme at-
tendant clerk, paid for the purpofc, figned and fubfcribcd their an-
fwers to enquiries which Newton and which Pafchal chofe to leave un-
difcufled. So much more bold is ignorance than fcicnce. It likcwiu-
is obiervable enough, that as thefe biihops * moftly made a crnfs ft- rve

* Unlike to tbcfc our Hafaph Venedota, grandfon.as Mr. Pennant fays, to Pate p
Prydain or Prytan, Britain, a cultivated character, wrote and ftudied ; and left not only
his name to our Flintfhire bifhoprick St. Afaph, but has been celebrated by Voflius
among the Serif tret Britannicee,

for

IM FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x,

for the figuature on fuch occafions, poor folks who cannot write maka
a crofs Jllll.

The proper time for keeping Eafter fcrvcd as a new fubjecl of of-
fence, concerning which the French and Spaniards made a dreadful
conteft worthy a barharous age. Battles between Abares and Bulgarcr-,
ferocious tribes ! remind one of Voltaire's Candida, and RctrofpeSlion
in the ogres and ogrefles, recognizes the entertaining fables, called
Cotites de ma Merc fOve* which frighted and delighted our babyhood.
The Chagan too, no lefs detectable, who entering on the Venetian ter-
ritories with a troop of Huns, beiieged the beautiful Tomilda in Friuli ;
and promifmg her marriage, prevailed with her by meflages, expref-
iive of tendereft affection, to betray the town into his hands. Then
feizing on the citadel, performed the ceremony, and thruft the weak
deluded lady out to periih literally in the half-forfaken ftreets, of in-
fults committed by licentious foldiers on her perfon. Left we fhould
be led however to fuppofe, that the eaftern empire was in a ftate of
higher civilization than the weft, it will be neceflary to relate how ill-
advifed Hormifdas, monarch and tyrant of Perfia, enraged about the
lofs of a battle againft Germany, fent a woman's drefs, cap and gown,
to his general, Baza, by way of reproach for his having fliewn fo little
courage in the engagement. Baza rebelled in confequence of this
affront ; and aflifted by Ccfroe, the hereditary prince, to whom this
officer was a bofom friend ; they foon arrived at home, inverted the
palace with their foldiers, and fuddenly depofed the father and the
king. Making a mow of equity however, a council was called toge-
ther in the great fquare, and a propofal made there aloud by Baza, to
elec"l one of their mailer's fons. " Any of them but Cofroe /" exclaimed
the captive Sovereign from his balcony ; whence, though in irons, he
had the ftrange fearleflhefs to recommend his own particular favourite,
a youth, fbn to his bcft loved female. No more was necefTary, Cofroe
and Baza forced out the unfortunate fultana and her boy, who little

' confcious
* Mother Goofe's Tales,

CH. x.] BY BELISARIUS TO A. D. goo. 175

confcious of the given offence, vmrcfawed afundcr in each other's pre-
fencc ; and all before the face of agonized Hormifdas, who chained to
his fad ftation at the rails of his own balcony, curfcd and reviled their
horrid practices, with rage equally impoflible to curb, to cxprefs, or to
endure. His paffion fuffocating him at length, the rebel's club dafhcd
at his fwclling head, was by Cofroe confidered as a coup de grace.

Et la courroux du ciel pour en venger la terre
Nous donne un parricide en defaut du tonnerrc.

Thunder no more affrights the guilty lands,
Giv'n by avenging heav'n to parricidal hands.

A ftory of a gentler nature here makes a pleafmg break, or change
at leaft, amidft the annals of Gothick barbarity. Fair Theudelinda.
was the only child of Garibaldi, Duke and Prince of Bavaria, and the
fubfcription monarch we have read of, meant to make her queen of
Italy. He fent an embafly therefore to demand his bride, declaring
his purpofe to live the while himfelf in fbmc devout retirement. Bent
upon other thoughts however, he followed, clofely difguifed, the train
of his own envoy, ac"ling the part of fubaltern to him who had com-
miffion to fee, and to report the lady's charms. But when Theude-
linda came down to fuppcr with the nobles, and at her father's com-
mand, fubmitted thofe charms to view ; Antharis fcarce able to con-
troul his rapture, prefcnted the cup to his pretended lord, and when
his miftrefs pledged it, took it from her : filently at the fame moment,
but paffionately preffing her hand : and drawing the happy finger
crofs his lips, (hewed evident figns of paffion yet unobferved by all
except the Princefs, who when retired, told to her nurfe the dangerous
adventure ; lamenting in pathetic terms the officer's audacity, and her
own beauties, which had infpired fb inadmiffible, though not to her an
undelightful flame. The nurfc however, better ikilled in heroick
amours, confoled her patronefs with a conjecture, that it might be
the King of Italy himfelf. His port and peribnal accomplishments

made

176 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS] [CH. x.

made this conjecture probable the event next day proved her experi-
ence in affairs of gallantry, whilft the loves of Antharis and Theude-
linda were celebrated by the bards, and fanftified at the altar.

About this period 'twas that Livigild, a leader of great note in Cel-
tiberia, no longer to be called fo foon, but Spain ; feized with religious
phrenzy, put his own fon to death for being an Athanafian, not an
Arian ; to which opinion he was ftrongly biafled, as having been
newly converted to our faith from paganifm, he had received it in
that mode, examining no other ; but hating, as he faid, a confubflan-

tiolift.

Suffering himfelf afterwards however, to be inftrucled in thofe te-
nets, for which his matchlefs fon had fuffered martyrdom, repentance
foon returned in tides of pious grief ; and Livigild, made king and pro-
felyte, embraced our purer principles with warmth, and for the zeal
he mowed in propagating them, obtained the title of Catholicns ftyle
of the Spanifh monarchs to this day, in honour of a man who forgave
many taxes to the ftate, reduced his civil lift to bare fimplicity, and
by immenfe donations to the church, joined with an unremitting care
towards the poor, endeavoured through a long life of fevere penitence,
to perform that difficult talk of quieting his confcience for the mad
murder of an innocent, and praife- worthy child.

There are who fay, that having killed Hermenichis, the father ab-
dicated his 'command immediately, and Reccaredus, brother to the
martyred prince, performed thefe meritorious actions, and was the firft
catholic King of Spain, while Livigild buried his affliction in a mo-
naftery ; but thefe were days of darknefs, and Retrofpeffion muft for-
give the gloom.

Latin ceafed almofl to be underftood at Rome, once feat and even
throne of claffick elegance ; but quick returning to its former character
of an afylum rather than metropolis, all who were perfecuted in other
realms for their adherence to the true faith, according to the orthodox
opinions concerning the controverted myfteries of trinity and incar-
nation,

CH. x.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. Coo. 177

nation, refortcd thither ; and from the Prince's ncglecl of this once
fovcreign city, joined with its nearnefs to the Exarch's court, and im-
mcnfc diftance from imperial prefence, all care on't dropt infenfibly
upon the popes, who muft at length be cleared from any appearance
of fettled or original intention, to leize on or exert their temporal
power for any other purpofe than that truly blamelcfs and pious one,
of comforting fo fad a rcfidence of wretchednefs, and in fomc mcafurc
of maintaining a neceflary police for the fccurity of its few inhabitants.
John of Caftile, who finifhed two half-built churches be^un by hi*
predeceflbr, reigned thirteen years, I think, if reign it may be called ;
and Benedict, contemporary to the thirty Dukes, who fubfcribcd to
finifli their own tyranny, died of a broken heart from feeing the mifc-
ries of his native land

Qui mifcranda videt vcteris vcftigia Roma.
Ilia potcft merito dicere Roma fuit.

Among the various herefies infcfting the five or fix firft ages of our
church, one feel: I think retained the doctrine of Pythagoras, and
fancied they believed in a metempfychofis : fuch furcly muft have
thought the foul of the firft Antoninc tranfmigrated into the facrcd
perfon of Gregory the Great, for confolation of the Chriftian world,
and for the honour too of human nature. His unaffecled refufal of
earthly honours, his ferious refiftance againft fitting in the papal chair,
manifcfted a pure and humble heart ; his homilies, his fermons of
moral and religious inftruclion, to a befotted people ; the fwcct fami-
liar letters that are ftill extant, betray his inward feelings, and evince a
fmcerity of unfeigned virtue, almoft without an equal. While his ex-
tenfive liberality and redemption of captives, continually made by the
Lombard princes, particularly Agilulphus, merit the acknowledgment
ef all mankind.

His kind remembrance too of our poor ifland, remote in every fcnfc
from happinefs in this world ; and filled by pagan follies, barbarou?

VOL. I. Z pra<ftices

178 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [en. x,

practices that obftruclcd the foundation of true faith, and pcrfecutcd,
its profdTors who vainly promifed us felicity to come ; ought furely to
engage all Engli/fimcn to look on Jus life vvith peculiar pleafure : nor
did he limit his cares to the procuring necclTary comforts for a fuller-
ing world. He watched over the fine arts> paid money he could ill
fpare for drawings, to keep that fickening fcicnce from complete extinc-
tion ; and previoufly compofing airs well fiiited to. devotion, is faid to,
have pricked down with his own hand the antiphonar-ium centone.ni,,
by which the fmging in the Roman church is,. I believe, regulated to
this very hour. Whether he invented the lengthened notation or not.
may be difputed ; his uncommon talents, and verfatility of genius have
been proved. When he had once fixed in his mind that titles heaped-
on popes were antichriftian, we wonder not that 'twas by his com-
mand that he was called Servus Servorum Dei -fuch he was, without
hyperbole or exaggeration. His temperate life, marked by the love of.
God, and love of man, was fpent in fervice of all Chriftian creatures.
Yet did he take and tranfmit to his fucceflbrs the triple crown as bifhop
of Rome, primate of Italy, and apoftle of the Weft, called from that
day the three legations f and unabolifhed till A. D. 1800, and haughtily
condemned the patriarch of Conftantinople for reviving the diipute
about precedence, and for calling himfelf (impertinently enough we,
own] the univerfal bifhop : fb like Saint Peter in whofe chair he fate

He rather than not go before
Would forfeit heaven at the door..

We muft however recollect, that his opponent who occupied the refi-
dentiary and oriental fee, difputed for thepoft (as did Saint Gregory),
not for the individual. He was a mortified and almoft an emaciated
ikeleton, calkd Jean le Jeuneur par eminence, having never touched
meat or wine fmce his ordination ; fcarcc ever milk and eggs : fo vir-
tuous and fmcere were thefe good pontiff's. That in their day prayers
for the dead fliould be firft introduced is ftrange, and contradictory ;

becaufe

en. x.] . BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 600.

becaufe at the fame time other dead were now implored to bcftow
their prayers upon the living, who little reflcdcd that " it had coir
" more to redeem their fouls, fo that they muft let that alone for ever."
Thefe inftitutions afterwards degenerated into a commerce gainful to
the church, although avarice tainted not the mind of this great Pope,
who honeft in his folicitude for departed excellence, was praying for
the future happinefs of Trajan, at an altar fhcwn to this day at Rome,
whence people tell how a flrange voice proceeded, and in a preterna-
tural tone warned him to ceafe his unavailing fuit, afluring him the
object of his care was fafe, and in the hands of his Creator. What he
decreed, that images fhould neither be torn down, nor worshipped, but
held in decent veneration, fliould have been written down in letters of
gold : our commentators fay that was a command which could not
have been obeyed ; for fet up images once in your churches, they will
be worfhipped whether popes and councils will or not. In remote
times perhaps it might be fo ; but I law Notre Dame, at Drcfdcn,
loaded with devotional figures, paintings, and other ornaments, and
no one dreamed of paying them adoration. The Lutherans know
better ; had Gregory's fucceflbrs however, refemblcd ////;/, Luther's re-
formation would have been fuperfluous, and Calvin never would have
been heard <^f. With his pontificate we clofe this chapter, which
has brought out to Retrofyeclion s eye the firft Goo years after our
Lord's afcenfion ; and fliown how thofe wild rufhing inundations
from the north, ran as they fubfided into a vaft variety of fiflures great
and fmall ; formed by the fury of their firft onfct, and broke the uni-
formity of chi! life, as did the deluge 250O years before, crack the
fmooth furface of our natural world, and loofen the feparating parts
from each other. Manners followed the general alteration, and -dates
grew independent of their common lord.

CHAP.

180 FKOM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [en. xr.

CHAP. II.

FROM GOOD ST. GREGORY TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES

MARTEL, A. D. 700.

FROM that great character whofe Chriftian virtues relieve at length
our retro/pef/ive eye, fatigued by following the fierce barbarians
through indifcriminated fcenes of blood and flaughtcr : our Englifh
anceftors derived their hopes of happinefs in the next world, and of prof-
perity in this. The Saxons admitted no juries in criminal cafes; ftill
lefs in matters of property ; nor was there any aciion. fo horrible that it
could not be maintained by the fword, or compenfated by the purfe.
Gifts were omnipotent, and made commutation eafy to the rich for every
offence. Gwilt fatisfied all demands ; whence the word^^V/y, as I have
heard, in our Old Bailey pleadings. But Pope Gregory, who had before
his elevation pitied the poor children fet up for falc at Rome, of whom,
enquiring whence they came, he faid, non Angli fed angeti ; not Angles,
but angels would thefe boys and girls be called had they but baptifm
and educatioa; remembcr'd the pretty flaves he had obfcrved at mar-
ket, and fent over Augufline, a monk, with forne afllftant mimonaries
to England. To difpute whether or not we had at that time a church
independent of papal authority, is a mere jcft ; the bifliop of Caerlou
upon Ufke was, under God, our fpiritual overfeer, fays Spelman ; but
he was fo, I truft, bccaufe the ifland being forgotten and neglected, no
other perfon thought of feeing over them. Gregory the Great never
defircd rule fave for the purpofe of exercifing beneficence. A fhepherd
founded Rome at firft ; a fhepherd and paftor now faved it from
final ruin ; and Gibbon, owns what Howell had aflcrted, that in the

fifth,

CR. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. ]i

fifth, fixth, and fcvcnth centuries, the miftrefs of the world would have
been a heap of ftones, had not the popes prcfcrved it. How happy
had they kept the original characler'of their ftation according to this
excellent example let them ; then as kings have been compared to the
lion, they might in like manner have relcmbled the elephant ; m<v-
jcftic, grave, and wife, and whilft unoffended, innocuous. Meanwhile
his millionaries landed on our coafr., where Providence had prepared
for their reception the heart of a prince who had juft married a beau-
tiful defcendant of Clovis, and had agreed, with that fpirit of toleration
which ever marks an Englifliman, that me mould be allowed free ex-
ercifc of her religion, though differing eflcntially from his own. The
charms of Bertha added their influence to the preaching of Paulinus,
domellick chaplain to the young queen's houfehold, who felt himfcif
happy in affiftance from thcfc newly arrived rcligieux ; and as Can-
terbury was the place where Ethelbert kept his court, 'twas fbon be-
come the fcenc of his converfion, and then exalted into a bilhop's fee,
where Auftin was confccratcd primate. London quickly embraced
the faith, and St. Paul's cathedral was dedicated with due formality.
A church had been built to St. Peter long before, but the laft inun-
dation of barbarifm then flopt religion's progrcfs : things were maturcr
now : Northumberland caught the flame of profclytifm, and York was
made the fecond. refidence to Canterbury. The high pricft of the pa-
gan fupcrftition next, being from internal and external evidence pcr-
fuaded of our redemption by Jefus Chrift, facilitated the happy cre-
dence of an ifland, deftined for the defence of truth in 'future ages.
The Britons- fixed in Wales had long been converted, it w as the Angll
whofe ftate of ignorance and flavcry afre&ed the pope as he patted
through the ftreets at home. His miffionaries however, would not
confine their cares to England ; but not content to find our Welflimsn <
Chriftians, infilled on their being Romaniib, and juft as eager to fettle
the right day of keeping Eafter, as to overturn the worfhip of Woden,
their violence produced refiftance- ou the part of a people already well

inllrudcd

162 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

inftru&ed in the principles neceflary to Salvation, and fleady to their
primitive Simplicity. The verfes of Talicffin, then bard or poet laureat
to Maelgwyn, evince their fixed attention to preferve their Spiritual
pretenfions purchafed by long paft conteft with, and flight from fo-
reign invaders.

Gwae offeririad byd, nys anghreifFtia gwydd

An nys Prcgetha.
Gwae ny cheidw el Gail ac ef yn fugail

Ac nys areilia.
Gwae ny cheidw ei adefaid rhag Bleiddie Rhyfeniaid

Ay ffon guwppa.

Woe be to the prieft thal's born
Who will not duly weed his corn,

And root away the tares ;
Woe to the Ihepherd that's remifs
In watching of his flock and is

Unfaithful to his cares ;
Woe be to him who doth not keep
With's crooked ftaffhis harmlefs (heep

From Romim wolves and fnares.

Rowland's Mona Antlqua.

Their .refuSal of the tonSure however, their abhorrence of the new doc-
trine of unmarried priefthood, and their rejection of the tenets by which
the Sacerdotal drefles were conlidered as of ferious importance ; created
an antipathy towards them in the monks, who eafily incited their Saxon
converts to maflacre every ancient Briton who yet remained Scattered
up and down the richer provinces of an ifland once all their own, and
long protected in pofleflion of it by thofe Romans who now encouraged
the invading Saxons to extirpate them. From the ftate of hopelefs Servi-
tude thofe Welfh were placed in, who by infirmity or fubmiflion efcaped
this nearly general deftrjiction, derives the ancient villenage we read of:
the rightful lords of the country thus becoming its foil villains or

ilaves,

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. 1S8

flaves, a term in our happier days of mere reproach, both through the
kingdom and the principality. But thus we fee the feamlefs coat of
Chriir., faid to have been found about that time in the city Zaphat,
afterwards a Turkifh. relidence, and called Sapet ; but overthrown in
the Sixteenth century by an earthquake, infpiring the papifts with ad-
ditional zeal to preferve uniformity by any and by every method, wil-
lingly forgetting the adage often repeated by the old fathers of our pri-
mitive church, invejle'uarietasjjtfc'ijjhra nonjit ;* but I fuppofc the
colours all were faded. Be this as it may, that fovercignty which will
ever be obtained by fuperiority of knowledge amongft unenlightened
nations ilruggling for information, was here loon fettled into monkifh
influence ; and as power will be commonly abufed, the pofleflors of
that influence turned it to gainful purpofes ; what fhould they clfe ?
As religieux they could not reign thcmfelvcs, and when precluded
from the nobler paffions, avarice, which ever feeds on drofs and dregs,
devoured well-pleafed the leavings of ambition. Obedient Angles paid
chearfully a penny each houfe to their inftruclors ; a tax known by
the name of Peterpence : nor can we cftccm that a hard one, if it be
true that Withred, king of Kent, was able, not long after thcfe occur-
rences, to pay the king of Weflcx a fum in their filver equal to 90,000!.
Nor does ought in the Saxon chronicles give reafon we fhould doubt
it ; for though their coins are very mean and paltry, we read of a
Northumbrian prelate ferved in plate not long after the year /OO. Of
what \\\sferuice confifted, indeed I am at a lofs ; for filver hatted knives
i\ ere new at Edward the fecond's coronation: perhaps he had one
filver waiter or a cup. His feet were in the dirt we know, for fplcn-
dour will come in before convenience ; fo much more hafte mart"
jnakes to be diftinguifhed than to be happy. The famous church of
St. Peter's, Weremouth, built by Benedict Bifcopius, was never floored
or paved, though people were far fetched from Rome to build it ; and

* Let the vefturc of our Redeemer exhibit variety of tints, but let no fdrtars clivide-
the parts.

Eddius

184 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [en. xi

Eddius fays that bifliop Wilfrid glazed one fine window of a church in
Yorkshire as early as 669. The ftate of mufick in thefe days may be
gathered from aftory how Putta bifliop of Rochefter, being driven from
his fee by Ethelred king of Mercia, in 680, went about the country an
itinerant pfalm-fmger, teaching children, and people difpofed to learn,
the choral praifes of their Maker and his faints, according to the rough
melody then in ufe ; acquired probably from France, where Theodoric
had, at Clovis's requeft, long before, fent fomc of his beft performers
from Italy. In thefe days St. Dunftan too was fo exquifite a perfor-
mer, that his harp was accounted ccleftial, and capable of producing
founds without help of any hand at all : witncfs the old verfes mack-
ages after :

St. Dunftan's harp faft by the wall

Upon a pin did hang a;
The harp itfelf with lyre and all,
Untouch'd by hand did twang a.

And this fuperftition fetting fome fly fellow to tune two firings in uni-
fon, &c. putting the inftrumcnt in a place where the wind blew hard,
fuggefted the idea of vEolus's harp, defcribed by Kirchcr in Mufurgia.
It was no new dilcovery in our days. But our own ifland muft not
engrofs all powers of RelrofpeEtion : the plague which raged at Rome
may well detain it, perhaps to admire the courage of the pontiff, per-
haps in our prefent humour, to condemn as fuperftition what fcarcc
could even then have been enough praifcd as piety. When the meek
bifliop walked himfelf in proceffion, fcarlcfs for his fafcty, along the in-
fected ftrcets, fmging devout litanies to heaven, and rcquefting from
God, not requiring from man, ceflation of the dire calamity. " While
tlioufands literally fell bcfidc him, and ten thoufand at his right hand,
yet was he not afraid either for the pcfHlencc that walked in darkncfs,
nor for the fickncfs that dcftroycd at the noon day." So did true Chrif-
tian faith tramplti indeed upon the adder, and crufli the poifonous ba-
filifk under foot. The pathognomic fymptom of this difeafe was
fheezing, and 'tis not in. Europe totally forgotten. Some (till fay, God

blefs

CH. xr.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. 1 85

blefs you, upon fuch occafions ; others fignifying the fame intent,
commute their prayer with a bow. But fccncs of horror were not
confined to Rome. Cofroe the Pcrfian fpoiled Jerufalem, and maf-
facrcd, I think Cedrenus fays, 90,000 Chrillians ; as many Jews had
been, in confequence of Sifibetus's edift, forcibly baptized the year be-
fore. Famines too, confequent perhaps on fuch a lofs of men to till
the earth, drove feveral of the laft named race to feck a watery grave,
and leap from the high cliffs of Calabria into the fea, rather than (larve
upon its barren mores ; while fomething of a fimilar defperation is re-
corded of Anglo Saxons on the coaft of Suflex. When I read this to
an Italian friend however, and when he afked me why they did not
rather go o' fiming ? I had no anfwer ready. Hillory herfclf is often
ill prepared enough when fudden queftions interrupt her eloquence ;
and my poor fummary is willing to confcfs as controvertible the truth
of many a facl recorded here : but with the fads, except as a compiler,
myfelf have nought to do. 'Twas in this century at lead that Ifidore
Hifpalenfis wrote his books of Retrofyetfion, beginning with the earlieft
dawn of light, but leaving us in days of fad opacity. And how has
that vaporous effe<ft of diftance increafed fmce his time ! How is the
difficulty grown almoft infuperable, of finding through the gloom de-
cided objc&s on which to fix our mental telefcope. My terror is left
readers mould agree to throw it down at once, and think upon this
huddled work no more. The ages now under reviewal feem the No-
vember of our dcftined year ; in which we travel through dark ages,
and in the abyfs of chaos and old night meet often, as did Satan once,
a vaft vacuity;

Or clfe a univerfal hubbub wild

Of {tunning founds and voices all confus'd.

Monfieur dc Longucrue, fpeaking on this fubjcdl, fays truly, that
die firft kings of his native France were ftrangc creatures. Us ctaient
d'et ranges gciis, is the expreffion. Clovis and Clothaire (fays he),

VOL. I. A a Childcbcrt

185 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xr.

Childebert and Dagobert ; Cardan mould, for our fakes, have made
their pancgyrick inftead of Nero's. *Tis from him we learn however,
that St. Cloud was ib named after Clodoalde, who, to compenfate
the groiTefl poflible immoralities, made immenfe donations to the
church, and at fome future time was canonized. Ciothaire, made
king of France at four months old, under the regency of Gontr.tm
due d'Orleans and the old finner Brunhault, felt when the fhort mi-
nority was ended (for princes then were at fifteen emancipated) his
juftice and his power mature. He called his wicked grandmother to
trial ; and at an age almofl advanced to dotage and decrepitude, me
was found guilty of the death often kings, or at leaft heirs to royalty ;
and many accufations of inceft and cruelty being added, me was tied
by her remaining grey hairs to a wild horfe's tail, and gradually kicked
in pieces. Her charitable inftitutions however, when enumerated,
tempt fome historians to mollify her crimes, and fome readers to com-
paffionate fuch fufferings inflicled by that favourite child, for whofe
fake many of the fins had been committed.

Ciothaire was of a truly favage character : Dagobert his fon alone
could foften his furious temper ; and he forced or perfuaded him to
give up half his power, getting himfelf created independent fovereign
of Metz, with the title of king. The word duke had been difgraced
by a nobleman of that rank, having fubmitted to acl as preceptor to
young Dagobert, who cut off his beard as a punimment for having fate
down in his pretence So changed were the manners of princes fince
the reign of Theodofms !

This Dagobert, when feated \ipon an uncontrollable throne, over-
leaped all bounds of decency and honour, and at length tore Natildis,
a. beautiful young nun, out of her convent and married her, his own
wife being yet alive. The bifhop Amandus ventured to reprove him r
and Dagobert drove him into exile ; but on his fon's birth called him
back to chriften the boy Sigebert, thinking fuch virtue in the perfon
who adminiflered baptifm would be of fome advantage to the child.

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. 187

So fmall were the benefits accruing to mankind fince the difruption of
the once firm-fet world conglobed under one univerfal monarch ! But
'tis thus we obferve each paffion of humanity made fubfervient to the
new difpenfation, the great end of Providence, in breaking, dividing,
and parcelling out the earth, fo long under dominion of a fmglc mind.
The huge afpiring tree which once had ferved as ihudow for the
whole, although fallen down, ftill put forth boughs that yet retained
fome verdure, and in the form of a Greek empire leemcd " majeftick
*' tho' in ruin." A quick fuccemon of thofe rulers at Conftantinoplc,
Prifcus and Phillipicus, Mauritius and Commentiolus, with Phocas the
centurion, chofen in lieu of Mauritius, a pcrfon of fearful afpeft as 'tis
faid ; have fcarcely been refcued by their contemporary writers from
oblivion, though each was feverally inverted with the purple. The
vices of the times were black and fullen ; accufations of forcery and
magick arts, with unjuftifiable feverities pradlifed on fuch as gave ful-
picion of their future conduct by lucklefs names perhaps, dreams,* or
initials fuppofed to be inaufpicious. The principal virtue was re-
deeming captives catched up by the Huns, &c. Prifcus paid three
hundred pounds weight of gold to Chaganus for prifbncrs he had
taken; and Commentiolus refuting to give five millings each, of our
prefent money, for a large lot of them, a rebellion was the confc-
qucnce. The Pope faid, if he had not had three thoufand monks to
feed daily out of his own privy purfe, he could have bought more fouls
to orthodoxy ; for his exalted ftation would not permit him to imi-
tate the famous bimop of Nola, who, having nothing left to purcha/c
captives, at laft pawned linnfelf; and by that ftretch of heroifm, to a
poor widowed mother of mean rank reftored her only/on. The Croats,
ftruck with fuch unequivocal ilgns of a truly charitable fpirit, gave good
Paulinus almoft all he afkcd, and fent him home at the head of a fmall
army of unpaid-for countrymen. But ecclefiaftical, like Auguftan

* Phillipicus was exiled for dnatning that he was an emperor.

A a 2 hiftory,

188 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. x-.

hiftory, teems with ftrange tales, incredible almoft to us, who live in
days of more regularity than adventure ; while wonder glows up to
admiration one moment, and difgufl evaporates into contempt an-
other. Yet now and then

Bright angel forms athwart the fblemn dufk,
And voices more than human thro' the void
Deep founding, feize th'enthufiaftick ear.

Sabinian now fucceeded to the popedom, and dying, left the fee
vacant eleven months. Of Boniface III. 'tis beft worth noting, that
he obtained an imperial grant confirming his fupremacy, likewife a
claim to exclude other bifhops from the title of pope : till then the
word was not confined to one.* Guthrie dates all their power from
that day, but Gibbon fets it earlier. In Diodati's time a marriage
with godfon or mother w r as made criminal ; and although guilt in
every poflible modification infefted the Chriftian world, this pontiff
thought the dreadful earthquake which fhook all its Italy to it foun-
dation, was fent in punimment of fome fuch nuptials. Such were the
ideas, fuch the ftate of Rome. England, more rational, records a de-
cree made about that time, that no bifhop fhould keep glee-maids,
clthartedes ne quecumque Jymphoniaca, to fing him to fleep, or play to
him on the harp after he was in bed. Such was the flate of morals,
when looking back we may obferve, that as political life feemed never
tired of multiplying its petty objecls of divided attention, religion on
the contrary fimplified apace, and hafted to a fixed pofition, finifhing
all worfhip in a fingle point. Mankind apparently grew weary of
kneeling to works of their own hands, wood and ftone. Whilft they
could be perfuaded that thefe idols did actually reprefent fome celeftial
agent, aon, divinity or emanation of invifible power, veneration was
eafily fuppofed their due ; but when the mere creature was expected

* 'Tis fo in Ruflia ftill.

ctt. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700.

to occupy the whole of the adorer's mind, the mcaneft of thofe minds
felt half repelled, and was without difficulty attracted to a more in-
telligent mode of preferring petitions to Providence. Thus difpofed,
the world divided quickly into three opinions ; the Athanalian doc-
trine, the Arian fyftcm, and the Mahometan impofturc : nor could
Paganifm ftand its ground at all, which once had filled the earth with
fancied deities innumerable. Of the others fomcthing has already
been told, the third claims more than a glance of Ret rofpef lion. Of
this fec^ then, of this religion rather, the very extraordinary founder
was born of idolatrous parents at Mecca in Arabia Felix, an old town,
half confecrate to unity of godhead ; where the retreat of Hagar is ftill
(hewn, and Iflimael's fountain watering the fquare is dedicated to
truth. There the numerous fcrvants of a rich merchant's widow,
Cadiga, commanded Mahomet as flavc to the houfe : and her eye
alone difccrned his fupcrior genius through all the disadvantages of
fituation. Yet though to his marriage all future advancement was
originally owing, his laws, when promulgated, funk the female lex fo
low in the fcale of creation, that their ftate in the call juft forms a-
fhade between mankind and brutes. Cadiga's choice jufliiied no fucli
degradation : me was perfuadcd he had fome peculiar communication
with the world of fpirits, and when apprized of his immcnfe deligns,
ftie faw him fall in real or pretended trances, her heart would not
permit her to doubt or to deny that they were caufcd by oppreflion of
angelic prefence. Chriftians have called thefe perturbations upon
commencement of his celebrity mere epileptic fits; but as we hear no
more of them at all, either when he fled before his new-railed ene-
mies,* or when he drove before his conquering army all who oppofed
his new-formed legislature ; I rather think they were a true and for-
cible imprelfion on the brain, heated to agony by hopes and fears, of
what he wifhed and what he dared to do, operating upon an ima-

* Whence Turks date all events from Hegira or the Flight.

gination

100 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

gi nation naturally combufHblc. The Turks have to this hour an un-
common and peculiar veneration for madmen, among whom Mahomet,
had he only projected his future elevation, mult have been ranked : but
a 61 ion, bufmefs, buftle, foon kept every moment employed, and to
liich energy of character fuch plans were alone proportionate ; till not
Cadiga alone, but Mecca herfelf, received the flave born under her
protection as lord and lawgiver ; fole fovereign in this world and in
the next, mediator between God and man. The Jews call his religion
IfJimad/Jlii, with no great impropriety. He was a Koraite himielf,
descended from Korai or Koraifh, a fon of Ifhmael ; the nobleft of
their tribes, but fallen into decay. His avowed purpofe was to re-
eftablifh the wormip of their patriarch, and abolifh plurality of gods.
His earlieft followers puflied the new principles into what has been
fince called Spinozifm, but they were known by name of Zendikites,
believing God to be the four elements, and denying Providence and
tlie refurrcciion, having mingled fome Zoroaftrian tenets with thofe
of Mahomet. He then found it necelTary to publifli his Koran, and
proclaim his code of laws, which he maintained by his fword ib well,
that thoufands fell before his conquering arm. That he was affifted
in compiling the Alcoran, &c. by a Neftorian. monk, may or may not
be true; it takes but little from that amazing power of invention dif-
played in the ftory of Mifra, or his journey to the fevcn heavens, per-
formed in the tenth part of one night, borne on the beaft Alborak to
Jerufiilem, and thence conducted by the angel Gabriel through fix in-
ferior heavens to God's throne. Aftronomy was at a low ebb then we
find ; for from the fail heaven of pure filvcr, he law the ftars hang
down in golden chains, as they do in Homer, and each ftar was lar^e
as Mount l\obo ; but Adam there, on feeing him, gave God thanks for
fo great a fon, and fhewcd him the rarities of the place, among which
the radiant chanticleer mines brighten^, when ftrctching liis white neck
up to the fecond heaven, he claps his rubied wings and crows aloud :
heard by his fellow birds on earth they anfwer him, and fing the matin

fong,

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. j r, i

fonjr, plcafmg to God. Next in the golden fhgc Noah prefidcs. An
angel of death, there defcribed with wonderful fublimity, fpins, draws,
and cuts our thread of life, like the three fitters in pagan mythology. A
heaven of adamant ferves as the refidencc of Mofes. Jcfus dwells all
in divine light, and to his prayers Mahomet commends hinifelf; the
others all prefs him to pray for them. Once arrived however at the
throne of Omnipotence, he heard thefe words, which to imprcfs upon
his followers' minds was indeed the whole bent of his mifiion There,
is but one God (faid the voice), and Mahomet is his prophet. The fen-
tence was befidcs delivered to him written, upon the fkin of that
fame ram which Abraham offered in exchange for his fon. So docs
the fubtle Ifhmaelite againft his will acknowledge the progeny of his
preferred brother Ifaac, and the merit of his typical facrifice ; although
the fiift tenet of Mahometan ifm teaches that Jefus was a prophet, not
a Chrift ; nor in any wife to be called or confidered as Son of God.

Concerning other parts of this extraordinary Mifra, Hali and Omar
iplit into two feels, the firft who married Fatima the Impoftor's
daughter, fcems to have been the lawful fucccflbr ; his motto was,
I adore. God with a Jinccre heart. Omar however caufed him to be
ailaffinated ; and that great Caliph 'twas who took Jcrufalcm, which
then was given up to infidels for four hundred years ; he conquered
Ifdigerdcs, and put an -end to that dynafty, finishing likewifc the old
Perlic, or Perczic fuperftition. They had worfhipped the fun fince
Zoroailer's time, fourteen centuries at lead. Perez means the fun ;
they were Perezians, or Pcriians, now no more: 'twas time they were
deftroycd. The monfler Cofroe had fackcd Jerufalem not twenty
years before, killing innumerable Jews, Chriftians, all he found ; and
carried Zachary, the primate, and the crofsof Chrift away. He flayed
his own general, Sain, alive, and ftrcwed him over with fait ; he pro-
faned the temple of the fun, and tried to make his foldicrs worfhip
him in it. The emperor, Heraclius, defeated him however, and he,
too old to make more head, appointed his youngcft fon as fucccflbr.

Si roe

FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

Siroc enraged at that, as being eldeft, killed all his brothers in his father's
li jht, who died of parental pain ninety-eight years old, remembering
how himfclf had ferved Hormifdas. Siroe, the fon, reigned but a fhort
time, and 'twas his fucceflbr Ifdigerdes that loft that country to the
Saracens. Meanwhile the Exarch of Ravenna, concluding that his
ibvereign would find employment in thefe eaftern wars, fet himfelf
up for king of Italy, without fuccefs indeed ; he loft his head, and it
w r as fcnt off to Constantinople, whither young Theodore, the Em-
peror's brother, was juft returned from recovering the crofs, carried for
ihow of more refpect by Heraclius himfelf, and placed with no fmall
pomp at poor Jcrufalem, which in eight years afterwards was loft irre-
trievably to all-fubduing Omar. 'Twas ftrange however, that a Chrif-
tian Prince who had himfelf on that occafion borne home the crofs of
Chrift in a proccffion, mould in a little time fo heat his fancy as to
think he who fuffered on it a mere phantom, raifed by Omnipotence for
purpofes of our falvation. This herefy of the Docetes owed its endur-
ance (nor went it without punifhment and heavy cenfure) chiefly, if
not wholly to the juft abhorrence in which true Catholicks muft ever
hold the contrary extreme ; maintained at firft by Ebionites, who early
learned a bold denial of their Saviour's godhead, and limitation of
his powers ; and which opinion, modified by Anus, drew after it in-
numerable fecedcrs from our church.

Among the Lombard dilTenters, the ftory of Anowaldus here de-
ferves a glimpfe of Retrofpetiion. He had a chamberlain, his name
Adolphus, whom the young queen, fair Gundibert, commending for
his uncommon beauty ; this bold youth fuppofed her paffionatclv in
love with him, and offered careffes, which Ihe repulfcd with fuch dif-
dain as to provoke his malice and refentment. Ariowaldus was foon
informed his wife was falfc, and thofe who had accufcd her of adul-
tery, added a feigned confpiracy agreed upon with Taflb, governor of
Tufcany, to poifon her huiband. The lady was imprisoned, but at
requeft of Clothaire, king of France, the Lombard leader granted her

a cham-

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MAKTEL, A. D. 700. 193

a champion, the firfl 1 read of; and her near kinfman, Aribert, ac-
cepting the office, difarmed the groom, who now confeft his guilt,
and faid, her fpitting in his face incenfcd him. Aribert was a catho-
lick the Arian Prince feeing him victorious in the duel was converted,
and Gundibert rcftored to favour, after four years imprifomcnt, for
having beenfiifycfled, though unjuftly. To Ariowaldus Rotharis fuc-
cecded ; he took Oderzo, then called Opitergium, and was the firft of
thcfe who ruled by written laws ; till his reign they repeated by me-
mory what was called edids of the Lombard juftice, difcountenancing
all but active virtue, and fcorning all but oral knowledge. Meanwhile
the names of Marcello and Grimaldi grace the Venetian records,
though Fortunatus, an Arian bimop of Aquileia, took fome towns from
them, and forced the young republick to requeft fuccours from Con-
ftantinople. The Emperor, to repair their loflcs, fent them a prefcnt
of St. Mark's chair from Alexandria, where, to fay truth, few rarities
remained ; and Omar now had burned the famous library, containing
trcafures of fcience, relicks of ancient learning, all that efcaped from Go-
thick fury, while the great work of feparation ftill went forward ; Spain
afTumed in fome refpeds the form ive fee it in ; our own kingdom was
a fettled heptarchy, and Lent was rigidly obferved in England, where
Cambridge boafts enlargement by king Sigibcrt. Warton fays too, that
we poffefled a Homer the pope Vitalian, fent us here a prelate, rich
in found literature and valuable books : he had the homilies of good
St. Chryfoftome, he had Jofephus too, and Warton does fay his Homer
was written on paper. Adrian, who came over with him, brought us
two filken palls, and an arch chanter from Naples, and Bale very feri-
oufly cenfures our voluptuoufnefs. But thcfe events, although confi-
derable in their effects on civil and on focial life, are far too faint to
hold the eye of Retrojpeflion fixed on them, while giant forms come
forward on our canvas, and names all new to fame fill her wide trum-
pet's mouth, which will refound with Othman and Abdallah, Hali and
Saladin, down to the fullen echoes of latcft pofterity. Mcfopotamia
VOL. I. B b conquered,

1 9 4 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

conquered, ./Egypt fubdued, Arabia all aftonilhed, Antioch reduced,
and a new mofque built at Jerufalem for the Mahometan worfliip,
might have made men juftly regret their long-loft Bibles, where would
have been foon found the prophecy of locufts by Joel, who lived near
800 years before and revelations of ftrange vifions mown St. John gO
years after our Saviour's sera. Such pens alone could poffibly defcribe
this cloud of warriors as they rolled along, blackening the fun with
their numbers, and afflicting the earth with their oppreffion, fcorpions
from the fandy defarts, flinging mankind to madnefs. " A fire devour-
cth before them, and behind them a flame burneth ; the land is as the
garden of Eden before them, and behind them a defolatc wildernefs ;
the earth fliall quake, the heavens mall tremble, and before their face
the people fliall be much pained." So are they defcribed by the prophet.
St. John's vifionary view of thefe invaders colours, has fixed interpre-
tation upon them ; for I faw, fays he, the horfes and thofe who fate there-
bn ; having bfeaft-plates of fire, of jacincl:, and of brimftonc ; the heads
of their horfes are as the heads of lions, and they have a leader over
them whofe name is the dejlroyer. Scholars aflure us, that fuch were
in fact the decorations of thefe Saracens in war ; and that flame co-
lour and pale yellow were their diftinguiflung colours in the battle.
A ftridl inveftigation of their leader's name might poflibly throw light
on that enquiry. I never heard the etymology of Mohammed. His
followers' appellations were nearly Jewifh. JuflufTand Ibrahim are
fcarcely changed from Abraham and Jofeph ; Solyman and Zara have
Buffered ftill lefs alteration from the fcripture names Sarah and Solo-
mon ; Turkifli Abdalla means fervant of God we know ; and Abdiel
has the lame fenfe appropriated to it in Hebrew. Milton, ever atten-
tive to learning, makes the reception of his faithful angel, fo called,
echo his name ; when a Voice from the throne pronounces the hoped-
for fentence Servant of God, well done, &c.

Pope Severinus was faid to have died of grief at hearing the pro-
grcfs made by thefe Saracens, though others fay his health was
mofl impaired by the Emperor's refufal to confirm him in the fee,

becaufe

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. 195

becaufc he fct his face againft Monothelites. His prcdeccflbr, Ho-
norius, had before this covered St. Peter's church with brafs tiles,
torn from the temple of Romulus ; and Vitalian, who fent u-
the arch chanter, had in his zeal for mufick fct up organs in
feveral places of worfhip at Rome. Yet were things ftill in a
rugged ftate. Eugenius IV. who acted as vicar for unhappy Martin,
did build indeed fomc facerdotal prifons, that? pricfts, if guilty of a
mifdcmeanour, might not be confounded with common felons : yet
Martin, a Tufcan pontiff, was, in dcfpite of decency, fcized by the
Exarch, upon an order from Pyrrhus, baniflied, and llarvcd to death for
having oppofcd him arid his emperor, Conftans, when they perfifted
in the heretical opinion of the Docctcs. A patriarch of Conftanti-
noplc thus infulting St. Peter's fucceflbr, was certainly not foon, if
ever quite forgotten : and Theodore, in his fhort papacy, wrote the
anathema of the bold Pyrrhus, with a pen dipt in the cuchariilick cup,
the cup of general blefling ; by this we learn at leaft, that the wine
was red then ; the Romanifts ufe white now, and I think mix that
with water. Meanwhile the emperors, enfeebled by domeftick quar-
rels, for Conftans reigned but by fevcrities praclifed upon his guilty
aunt Martina, who ioft her nofe and tongue for plots and poifbnings,
grew daily weaker ; while the fierce Saracens incrcafed in ftrcngth.
Among their various exploits, our retrojpcfiive eye now fees the old
Coloflus of Rhodes fall before thefe invaders, who fold the bright
Apollo to a Jew ; and he, loaded, 'tis faid, nine hundred .camels with
its no longer wafte folidity. Thus ended .the fmh wonder of the
world thus dropt at once from its prepofterous elevation, the now
more than ever inanimate mafs of paganifm, and funk before the
unity of godhead. Chriftians believed the end of all was near ; and
Gregory meditated dcfertion from his imperial feat, inverted by thcfc
warriors apparently irrefiftible : his plan was to have retired to Syra-
cufe, foon to be called Mctfina, but all the .people rofe up and detained
him. Callinicus, a Greek pricft^ on this occafion found or revived
the dreadful plague of wild -.11 re, and with it burned their fleet in tlie

B b 2 Propontis.

jgfi* FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

Propontis. Africa, next invaded, gave itfclf up again a conquered
province : Spain, Sicily, and Aiia's beft pofleffions followed ; but no
diftrefles cured the Greek emperors of exercifing fenfelefs cruelties on
their own family : Gregory killed his brother Theodofius, only becaufe
he thought the people loved him ; and they juftly confidered this fra-
tricide more black, as Theodofius was a prieft and deacon, and the
Emperor had only a week before received the blefled facrament at his
hand. Seeing their fixed diflike, he flew to Sicily, having made mo-
mentary peace with the Saracens ; and there his chamberlain or page
afTaffinated him. A fucceflbr, Mezentius, chofen by the army, was
quickly killed by a new Conftantine, called Pogonatus ; becaufe, hav-
ing no beard when he went to Sicily he brought one home with him
to Conftantinople ; having firft cut off his two brothers' nofes, that
they might not not be called to fliare that power he was unable to de-
fend, although the ignis gracus flood him in good ftead, having de-
ftroyed thirty thoufand Saracens at once in fome great fea engagement.
Broke down by foreign lofles, he however refolved to think no more
about the popedom, and fignified to Benedict II. fuccefTor to Adeo-
datus, Donus, Agatho and Leo, all exemplary characters ; that the
election of fupreme bifhop at Rome mould flill fland good, whether
or not confirmed by mandate from Conjiantinople. This decree con-
tributed to caufe, not cure, confufion : the Exarch of Ravenna now
chofe one pope, the people another : difgraceful fcenes and fharp de-
bates, called the ninth fchifm, followed ; till Conon was inaugurated,
and on his death Sergius was forced, with J oo Ibs. weight of gold, to
buy zjujl election, and appeafe Pafchal the petty tyrant of Romagna.
This Sergius was the firfl who ordered the Blefled Virgin's nativity to
be kept holy, and added thefe words to the communion fervice " Oh
" Lamb of God, who takeft away the fins of the world ;" keeping by
this means Monothelites and Docetes out of the church, and obliging
Chriftian people to reflect, that their Redeemer, though perfect God,
was perfect man too, of the fubftance of his mother born in the world,
when thus her birth-day was commanded to be held holy.

Juftiniaii;

CH. XT.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. 197

Juftinian, fucceflbr to Pogonatus, difgraced the purple, not only by-
cutting off the nofcs, and thrufting out the eyes of his opponents,
but finally, by having his own face disfigured by Lcontius, who
afterwards ended his life in a halter, while Juftinian III. not dif-
pofed to hide, as it was hoped, his uglinefs in a monaftery, after death
of Tiberius Abfimarus reigned again ; till now the birth of Charles Mar-
tel at Paris, gives us a glimpfe of nafcent civilization and recovering de-
corum, towards the year 700. Yet even then was Europe threatened
with frcfli calamity, the Normans, or Norwegians, buriling in full
tides on France, retarded their felicity, and fuggefted to them a new
deprecatory fentence, which they added to their litanies, and faid
' From plague, peftilence, and fury of the Normans, good Lord de-
" liver us." With this fad and neceflary petition we will dole this
long chapter ; for now Pomponius Laetus leaves us, all is dark and
cheerlcfs, and like the embarrafs'd knight in fome old cattle, when his
fole lamp is blown out with a fudden wind, we w ander over mofs-
grown fragments, watching deceitful lights through ivy'd crevices,
yet ftepping cautioufly ; for though our laft faint glimmering guide is
gone, readers will laugh, not pity when we ftumblc.

CHAP.

'FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. [CH. xn.

CHAP. XII.

FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. TO
CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800.

AN incomplete hiftory is a poor thing, fays the Jefuit Le Moine,
and a complete hiftory, adds he, mall not appear but in that year
which fhall difcover the perpetual motion and the philofopher's {tone.
We fay with equal truth, a perfect fummary of events and circum-
ftances fmcc the Chriftian a;ra would be, although a ufeful, no very
fplendid or refpcctable performance, while an imperfect one is good for
little indeed. We promifed only Retrofpettion, and even that grows
difficult of performance. Yet a word muft be faid concerning lan-
guage, that firft gift of God, created fmgle, but afterwards, to punifh
our mifufe, broken into an endlefs variety. The early fcheme of po-
liticks however, while the fupreme command lodged in a fmgle breaft,
tended in fome meauire to fynthetize what had been fuddenly and
preternaturally decompofed ; and when the fpirit of Omnipotence again
defcended 225O years after, 'tis thought the variety was much di-
minimed, by numbers crouding round one vaft metropolis, as Niniveh
or Rome. The laft of thefe having fubdued Greece, grew eafily ena-
moured of the lovely captive, admired the arts and elegant fpeech of
their newly incorporated citizens, and polifhed their old language by
thefe models, till the tongue fpoken 150 years before Cicero's time
could hardly, in the days of Antonine, be underftood without a com-
ment ; witnefs the columna roftrata fet up to commemorate the deeds
of Duilius in the fecond Punic war, with an infcription puzzling com-
mon obfervers, of which bifhop Walton gave a copy and explanation
not very long ago ; but as the Romans took a tincture of the Greek
cxpreffion into theirs, fo they bellowed in return, corruption to that

tongue

CM. xn.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 80O. log

tongue which Ariftotle taught, and Xenophon adorned ; till at kft,
mixing with various nations, and fuffering barbarians to break in upon
them from unknown, unintelligible regions, the Latin language funk
into decay ; le and lo came in as abbreviations of tile and tllo, giving
the modern caft to fpeech that daily grew more and more crouded
with articles, whilft us being cut away from the ends of proper names
by Apocope, Theodor/V flood for Thcodoricxw, &c. giving them a
Ghaelic termination. Abbreviating words is ftill a mark of illiterate
groffnefs in Italy, where Tufcans tell how a foreigner obfcnrcd that
bread was called pane at Florence, at Milan pan, at Turin pa, at Brefcia
p only : I fliall, fays he, lofe my bread entirely if I go further north-
ward, we drop a letter almoft every ftage. But we return to the
eighth century, when Greek, by the translation as we term it of Rome
to Conftantinoplc for fo many years, began to lofc her fupcriority, and
fink into vulgar ufe ; "while the bad Latin lately introduced, became the
court language, and the law language, and kept the command where
it did not dcfervc the dominion. Thus like a pure frrcam turned
through a reedy pool ftagnant and mantling, a portion of the polluted
mafs remained, vulgarizing that currency of flowing fpccch that had
charmed Tully's ear, and excited Virgil's emulation : till Crufms, in
the true fpirit of a fcholar, faid that it would even pity a man's heart
to fee poor Athens, once fo renowned for eloquence and learning, be-
come the very head quarters of barbarous and corrupt philology.
Crufms indeed, lived not till the fixteenth century, and we have now
the eighth under reviewal, when Greek was ilill a living language to
the Arabs. The accounts of their caliph's treafury and houfehold
were kept in Greek then ; the library of Saxc Gotha Ihows many ra-
rities of this kind, and proves, from Rcinefms's collection of valuable
MSS. tlmt in the year 758, Homer and Pindar were tranflated by
the ftudious Immaclitcs, while Frankis Jfreche is calt Romance, fo fit
ckrcs et mm of Trance. Till knowledge, like a well-pieced ftatue of an-
tiquity was once more broken again, not in the old places merely, but
in many other parts till then uninjured. Fragments were however here

and

200 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. [CH. xir.

and there picked up ; Morienus, a hermit near Jerufalem, wrote oa
the tranfmutation of metals ; Boerhaave fays it was tranllated into Latin
about the year 1 182. Some few devotional trads poorly written, per-
petuate the name of an old Saxon monk or two ; and fome romances,
to the reading of which Damafcius, who lived under the laft Juftinian,
had given mankind a tafte by his four books of Incredibilities ; for fo
i'uch things were called, till towards the period we are treating of,
they acquired the name romant, perhaps from having been compofed
,in the court dialed of the original metropolis, ruined as 'twas ; in con-
tradiftindion to the Walloon or Gaulifh dialecl. We are told of a fy-
nod fuppreffing fome of theie romances very early, as being too loofely
written : they were the compofition of fome bilhop of Tricca, w ho
was informed that he muft either burn his book publickly, or renounce
his church dignities ; like a true author, he preferred the laft.* That
fome derive the word from romanfero, I invent orjind, in old Spanilh ;
(whence troubadours or finders) few are ignorant ; but fcholars muft in-
form us whether that word was early enough incorporated into Caftilian
didion for fuch an etymology to be poffible. On my epitome indeed,
fcholars will fcarcely be induced to look : 'tis from their labours that I
light my little twift of fwift-confuming candle to guide fuch only as have
juft: curiofity enough to wifh, and juft time enough to try for aglimpfe
of Retrofpeflion. That glimpfe difcovers Cracow in Poland ftarting up
early in this 8th century, and named after Cracus, a noble Pole, chofen
king by the people, becaufe he alone was found able to deftroy a wild
beaft which, living in a cave (ftill mown to travellers) burft out at call
of hunger from time to time, and did incredible mifchief ; till this bold
leader conquered him by ftratagem, ftuffing the fkin of a dead calf
with fome poifoned force meat, which the monfter greedily devour-
ing, died. This feems a relapfe into the old ftate of fabulous anti-

* This fear poffefling the mind of Caftaiieda, who lived in 1547, he made him a
book of albeftos for fear of the inquifition : it contained an account of his travels to
eaft India. Grouchy tranflated it from Portugeze to French, but it was little worth
that trouble.

quity ;

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. .

quity ; but I fuppofe Poland now was hardly as near civilization as
Crete was at the time when Thefcus killed the minotaur. Spain,
Scarcely lefs barbarous, faw about that period Roderick the Vifigoth, put
out his father's eyes ; and Julian, fo juftly called the traitor, fetch in
the Saracens who over-run the country, pcrfccuted the Chriftian re-
ligion, and fo completely fettled in their kingdom, that it took fix cen-
turies at lead to drive them out: all were not gone till 11'.) 2. The Pope
and the Venetians were amufed meantime by reciprocating prcfents of
reliqucs and of palls, and trying to keep peace between the contending
bi/hops of Grada and Aquileia. While the young Duke of Frifia, a
new convert, requcfted baptifm, which was preparing, but as he put
his firft leg into the. font, having unluckily afked where they fuppofed
his late good father was an exemplary prince ; and the unfeeling
priefts bluntly replying Why in hell to be Jure ! Iladbold was fliocked,
and not proceeding further with the ceremony, enquired again con-
cerning fbme old anceftor of eminence for virtue, although ignorant of
Chriftian obligation receiving the fame unqualified anfwer then, that
all were damned', he drew his leg quickly out of the water, protefting
he preferred, in the next world, their company to that of men fo harfli
and fo intolerant. The ftory fays he died in three days after. While
Venda, princefs of Polonia refufed all converfation on religious fub-
jeds ; and when hard prefled, to avoid further controvcrfy devoting
lierfclf to her own pagan deities, flew to the river's brink, and head-
long dafhed into the Vittula. She was daughter to the monfter Tamer,
whofe two fons killing each other, left the realm to Venda their filler,
who by this raflmefs ended the (hort dynafty.* A Syrian importer now

* Venda flew from difputes to death ; but flic fled from tongue difputantsonly : in
contorts the better underftood, Rittogarus, a German Prince, acknowledged her fuperi-
ovity : He had invaded her dominions under pretence of her having broken a contraft
of marriage with him ; but the Amazonian dame defended herfelf fo well, and de-
feated his troops fo fliamefully, that unable to endure the difgi ace of flying from a wo-
man in battle, he ftabbed himfclf in the field.

VOL. I. C c prevailed

202 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xn.

prevailed on many to think him the Meffiah ; he pcrfuaded Ifgird the
Saracen to pull down images, promifmg that prince a reign of forty years.
Ifgird fet bravely to work, but dying the tenth day by hand of an af-
iaffin, his fon in revenge flabbed the impoftor on the fpot. This was
not the wretch called Eon or D'Eon, a very proper appellation for
dubious and myfterious characters. Jortin mentions one fo called,
but fubfequent to this, four centuries at leafr, who fet himfelf up for
the Son of the Moft High ; but thefe were days of darkndi, and me-
teors, kindled by putrefying credulity, were eafily mistaken for ftars.
Such was the melancholy ftate of general knowledge, that a prieft of
no final! dignity did, in Bavaria, chriften a profelyte in nomine patria ei
JH'ia et fpirita fanSia. Some one who had more fcholarfhip told the
Pope on't, requefting that the perfon fhould be rebaptized ; but Za-
chary faid it was no matter, the clergyman was orthodox and meant
well. Meanwhile Gervilius, who had committed murder with im-
punity, was deprived and imprifoned for keeping a tame hawk. Eng-
land feemed to enjoy more illumination than Mentz in this century
however ; while venerable Bede gave us a bright example of blame-
lefs conduct, and of calm refearch into the deep- hidden ftores of learn-
ing. Ceolfrid his tutor walked to Rome to get books for him, yet his
chief care was about the proper day for keeping Eafter. The pupil's
fancy was not fo rcftrained : his beautiful defcription of hell has been
fuppofed to have been read with care by Milton and by Dante ; where
he tells how a Northumberland monk died, and came back to life ;
but in the interval a young man in fhinmg apparel appeared to him,
and filently led him to a deep valley, one fide formed of an entire iheet of
flames, the other, enormous glacieres of piled up fnow and ice. The
reftlefs fouls with which the valley fwarmed, were everlaftingly fhift-
ing fides. This valley ended in a plain of folid fire we read : a large
well in the midft, fpouting flames up to the high vaulted roof; this
fountain furrounded too by daemons who drew delinquents in, with
fiery forks, whilft the refluent and fierce volcano forc'd them up again.

I have

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. sop. o o .i

I have fccn a pifture of Old Frank reprefcnting Hchis drear abode
much in this manner ; the name too is Runic : Italians, and the na-
tions near, all fay Inferno; but painters are obliged to Bcdc for
another common fubjeft, as Marvilliana tells. He nrft, diflerting on
the three kings offering, obfervcd that Melchior being old and having
d long beard, prefented gold to Chrift as King ; Gafpar being young,
brought frankinccnfe to him as God ; and Balthazar, of dark com-
plexion, made his tender of myrrh as to a man of \voes.* They are
thus reprefented almoft in every picture through the world even now ;
but after a laborious life well fpent, exciting and communicating thofe
ideas which, fpringing up in fuch a mind, fertilized all around him ;
our venerable Bede expired in /35, 1 think, and a poor pnpil of his be-
ing defirous to compofe an epitaph worthy fo valuable a pcrfbnagc,
and finding after long fludy, that

Hzc funt in foflu
Beda- prefbytcri ofla,

was no good verfe, he rcfolved (as a likely method) to faft till he had
found one ; when having been much troubled in his deep, the word
uenerabilis came luckily into his head ; whereupon he waking, fmilhcd
the nicely accompliflied work with

Msec funt in fofla
Bedoe venerabilis ofla.

It was then but fair that he fhould go to brcakfaft ; yet was it to that
filly accident, Calvifius thinks, that the honourable appellation was
beftowcd which our fage had fo ferioufly defervcd.

Such were the times with us and with the Germans, while the
gay Franks enlarged their wide domain, improved their language, re-
fined their manners, and were governed in much happinefs and daily

There is a manufciipt in the Harician colleflion refolving the fiery of the three
Kings into alchunv. They oiFer'd Chrift, 'tis faid, the animal, vegetable, and mi-
iv. al kingdoms. The i:iccu!c muft have been mujk by that explanation.

C c 2 encreaiing

204 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [cir. xn.

cncreafmg fplendour by the famed Mairc du Palais, Charles Mur'cl,
furnamed fo from his martial qualities, which infpired him, after ad-
ing the part of an illuftrious general, by conquering Saxons, Bavarians,
and a long et cetera, to ieize upon Provence and Burgundy, and de-
fying Rainfroi to fingle combat, put all upon the ifTue and after his
victory to rule the conquered nations with prudence ; for Charles
Martel, although never king, bore fway more abfolutc than ever king
did, while Pepin's fame was loft in his fupcrior blaze, and no man's
fvvord furpafs'd his long-rcmember'd hammer.* Mayor of Paris was
his only title ; but mayor, or major, or greatcji in every fenfc, was the
fit title for fo adlive and ardent a character. He inftituted the Order
of Genette in honour of his wife, whole name Janette he took de-
light in perpetuating ; and when Pope Gregory III. and he corre-
fponded, the pontiff put his own name Lift. A new dynafty however
begins in Pepin I. of the Carlovingians, who loft his fifter to Odilo
duke of Bavaria, but retook her, and fubdued her hafty lover ; while
the emperors of the weft, if fuch they might now be called, amufed
thcmfelves with knocking down images inftead of enemies, obtaining
the foufbriquet of Iconoclaftes rather than heroes or legislators. They
had to lament befides a great deftruclion among their fubjecls, who
dropt down ftruck by peftilencc, as their images fell before ftruck by
the axe, and the priefts cried A judgment ! but in vain. Luit-
prand, now wearied with the fight of exarchical tyranny, drove Eu-
tychius the eunuch from his ufurpation at Ravenna, and fo the ieventh
form of government ceafed, after remaining in force one hundred and
eighty-two years. The popedom is the laft. Sec chap. xvii. of St.
John's Apocalypfe, l oth and 1 1 th vcrfes. " For there arcjhwt rulers ;

' five are lallen, and one is, and the other is not come ; and when he
" cometh he will continue but a fhort fpace. And the beail which
" was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the feven, and goeth

" into perdition." St. John wrote under the emperors. The firft five

; Some fay he was fo named of his battle-axe, which refembled that inflrument ;
but martel was not the French word for a hammer in T50.

forms

err. xn.'J TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. SOO. 205

forms of government were paft: the exarchate did, as he prophcficd,
continue but a fhort fpace : the papacy came laft. That all referred
to Rome we have the angel's word ; for fays he, " The woman that
" tliou fecit is that great city which reigns over the kings of the
" earth." Kings, confuls, dictators, decemvirs, triumvirs, emperors,
exarchs, popes, were the eight rulers that he faw in vifion, I fuppofe.
Eight has been always a marked number.* Eight fouls were favcd from
univerfal definition at the Flood, and eight more (of which thofe
were perhaps a type) we fee appointed to preach falvation to the
ne\\ly regenerated world after our Saviour's death. Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John, James, Judc, Peter and Paul, are the men whole writings
have within them the key of our falvation. Their works were how-
ever ftrangely neg'ecled, and I might almoft fay forgotten, in the fa-
vagc century now under Reirofpttion, when a council held fomcwhcre
in Germany prohibited the eating of horfc-flclh among Chriftians,
and cutting off the ears and tail of cattle yet alive for men's meat.
Slitting nofcs was a common practice. Anfprand, the Lombard prince,
had a (on whofc eyes were thruft out by Aripert his rival; almoft in
mercy that he Ihould not fee his mother and his fitters' nolcs flit, fo as
completely to divide the feature into two equal parts. The Greek
emperor Juftinian's prcdccellor, Lcontius, had his face thus disfigured
by Abfimarus, who reigned feven years ; and while the Saracens were
wafting llomaacliola and preparing to bcfiegc Conftantinople, thcic
infatuated rulers of what they called the world, introduced a new cul-
tom of killing the Pope's toe. A Syrian pontiff, Conftantine by name,
firft fuffered the ceremony to be performed at Nice, A. D. /JO, by
Jultinian III. His fucccffors of courfe continued it. And Stephanu-
III. a Roman pope, was borne upon mcns' fhouldcrs with new and ex-
traordinary pomp. Nor did he reft contented \\ith mere Ihow, having

* We find the caliph Motaflcm long afterwards. A. i: .-'0, afiumingthc name of

,:ian-> upon this not quite expire J principle of eight being a lucky number. That

its ^ood fortune referred to fcripture re.ifons originally, Mr. Gibbon will not inform

us of courfe.

obtained

200 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700, [cii. xn.

obtained no fewer than twenty-two cities from Pcpin king of France,
by threatening him with damnation on refufal. Fleury himfclf blames
this proceeding, and fays 'twas aclual robbery, no better. But every
thin/ continued to fwell the now returning tide of Roman grcatr.efs,
which foon drove Aftolpho forcibly from the Piomagna, and poflef-
fnig itfelf of Corfica, Parma, Rhegio, Mantua, with the duchies of
Spoleto arid Bcnevento, grew up into a folid and formidable power ;
whilil on the other hand Mahometanifm inundated all Perfia and Ar-
menia, threatening the empire's capital, where Leo Ifaurus reigned
twenty-four years, father to Conitantine Copronymus,* whom he-
married to the beautiful and wife daughter of Chaganus the Hunne.
She was converted and baptized by name of Irene ; but Leo, thougii
an orthodox believer, .was warm in the belief of forcery, and fcourged
an officer of Hate altnoft to death for not condemning to die three
haplefs wretches accufed of making a child, whom they never faw,
deaf and dumb; and if fuch follies prevailed near to the feat of em-
pire, well might our northern climates be infected.

Franckfort upon the Main was built about this time, and Cimbric
Cherfoncfus grew better known as Denmark, divided into two duke-
doms Blaking and Ilallant, while Scotland exhibited fcenes of tragical
diftrefs from Fergus their king's loofe conduct, and the bitter revenge
of his too jealous queen, who ftrangled him in his fleep, nor would con-
fefs her favagc cruelty till many innocent fubjccb had been tortured.
When her own favourite was brought forward to examination, flie
however owned her guilt, took all upon herfelf, and ended the dreadful
drama by uicide. Their nearcft neighbours followed the fell example,
and Brithric, a king of Weflcx, as I remember, was poifoned by his
wiie Edburga.f This horrible event had indeed no confequcnces ; for

1 So called from an accident which happened to the font whilfl the infant prince
was baptising.

t Kdburga meant the poilbn for her rival, and the king took it by tr.ifiake; ytt
inch was the Saxons' horror of this crime, (hey made a law immediately that no
female ihould reign in //<;, country.

Egbert

CM. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. sot). 207

Egbert, fole furviving defccndant of the old race, who boafted their
defcent from Woden, now was culled from France, and conlldcred as
chief of the Saxon heptarchy. Stern in the field, and fubtle in the clo-
fet, that prince vanquifhed them that oppofed, and baffled thofc that
confpired againft him. The Britons in Cornwall and the ever hardy
Northumbrians fcem to have held out longeft, but at length all fub-
initted, and Egbert reigned fole monarch, being folemnly crowned
king of Angle Land or England, by which name our nation has ever
fiace been known. But Wales, protected by its mountains, remained
unfubducd : and Egbert, though a wife and valiant, was I conceive a
truly illiterate fovcreign, over a people yet fo generally unlearned, that
an cclipfc was reckoned ominous among 'em, and an idea of witch-
craft poifoned that peace of mind which privation of luxury ought to
have beftowed.

Incapable of intellectual pleafurcs, our unwatchcd nobles however
rioted in fenfual indulgence ; and focial forrows being then unknown,
they wept misfortunes caufed by inevitable neceffity as the work of fame
fecret enemy, and punifhcd an innocent neighbour for magick, if the
heir of a great houfe became deformed or fickly : the bad Being was
thought to have, and to exert prodigious power in oppofltion to the
good one ; who now and then rcftorcd a man to life by miracle, the
grand proof of his fuperiority. All this was oriental fupcrftition ; but
every thine; mews that refurrecYioii of a human body is accounted the
.teft, as moil defircd, ftretch of power. Medea's kettle, (a Chal-
dean incantation, as I've read) and Odin's fong, all labour to effect
that purpofe. Abdalh the Saracen, indeed, fct his face refblutcly
againft thefe whimfies, and prohibited the fludy of demonology ; nor
can we deny that, after the calamities faitained by literature in confc-
uuence of thofe incurfions which overwhelmed learning and almoft
common fenfe ; the Arabs led the way to light again, and the liar
once more flione from the ealtcrn world. The caliphs now procured
Greek writers, \\hidi \\crc translated into Arabick ; not poets, except

Homer,

20S FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xn.

Homer, which Eddlenus, a Maronitc allronomcr, rendered into Sy-
riack in 7/0 ; nor orators, for what had a Bafia to do with Athenian
exclamations in praifc of liberty ! Political reading intcrefted them
ftill Ids, and c thicks were fupcrfeded by the Koran. Mathematical,
metaphyiical, and phyfical knowledge, was however not unwelcome,
and Bocrhaavc has borne tcftimony to the exaclnefs of Jeber's experi-
ments ; but we return to our fummary. Alphonfo of Spain refumcd
the long dormant title of Catholicus ; he drove out Arianifm from his
dominions, to which he added newly recovered Navarre, and many
val uable towns in Portugal. His fon Froila was the firft who, abbre-
viating the title Dominus, changed it to Dom or Don ; but Poland
yet remained far, far behind. When Lefcus Primiflaus died, who had
Succeeded upon the felf-dcftrucT:ion of Venda, a controverfy arofe con-
cerning the fucceffion ; nor could the diet, for there was a diet then,
contrive a more equitable mode of dccifion than that of creeling a
pillar on a high plain, and fixing likewife the ftarting poft, they next
ifTucd a proclamation for all candidates to repair thither, and whoever
ihould gallop firft to the column on a given morning, was to recehe
the crown as his reward. Many nobles prepared to run for fuch a
plate, and one of them named Lefcus, coufin to the laft king, having,
lays the ftorv, mod his horfe ivilh iron, a new invention, and throw-
ing little fpikcd balls like hedge-hogs out of his pocket to embarrafs and
retard his competitors, won the nice ; but a young man keeping dole
to his fide, difcerned the fraud, and Lefcus was condemned to be torn
to pieces by four wild horfcs ; and did not, like Darius Hyftafpes ten
centuries before, obtain a kinsdom by his mean deceits. 'Tis ftraniie

^_- J *. . '

that fuch a method of election mould have been twice adopted by
mankind ; nor can we fufpccl; the Poles of imitation. They had, I
think, never heard of the occurrence as 'tis related in the Pcrfian hif-
tory, fo that the fancy muft have been original the fecond time as well
as the firft. Let its repetition reconcile thofe who read on't to quiet
iicquicfccncc in hereditary right ; fince people who try to hinder God

Almighty

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 209

Almighty from appointing them a ruler, only put their choice as it ap-
pears into the power "of their horfe. About that period was built or
r. paired; for it was Seleucia* before, the well-known city of Bagdat, and
diftant far, and far lefs famous, was founded our beautiful cathedral of
Wells, in Somerfetfhire, dedicated to St. Andrew. Valois fccms to
think that 'twas about this time Ifnard, a monk, wrote his martyro-
logy, a book eftecmed in that day, and defpifed in this beyond its real
ftandard of dcfert. An odd thing too was related and believed near
this period how a ftone coffin was dug up in Thrace, containing a
man's body quite entire this infcription lying on his bofom, in cha-
racters completely legible, C/iri/ins nafcetur ex Virgine Maria, ct ego
credo in eum. Sub Conftantino et Irene impp. Ofol! iterttm mevidebis.
" Chrift was born of the Virgin Mary, and I believe in him. Oh
" fun ! thou fhalt fee me again under the reign of Conftantinc and
" Irene." That hour was arrived, and Leo their fon, ~was born two
years after the dreadful peftilence ; when the difputes concerning
images ran high, and Waliph, a Saracen leader, cut out the tongue of
Peter, bifhop of Damafcus, for preaching againft Mahomctanifm.
Conftantine had more fuccefs againft the images than againft the in-
fidels however ; the Bulgarians beat him fhameiully by land, and his
fleet againft the Saracens was loft in a tempeft ; he aflbciatcd his foil
Leo, commanded the monks at Ephefus to marry or lofe their eyes,
and died univerfally detefted and defpifed. His fon reigned only a few
years after : he too wedded a princeis named Irene, eminent for love-
linefs and wifdom, a native of Athens, and known to hiftory by
name of Irene the Cruel : by her he had a fun called Conftantinc, whofc
fucceflion was accelerated by his father's avarice; for Leo the fourth ice-
ing a rich jewel given as a votive offering in the church, feizcd it

* Perhaps it was not actually Seleucia neither ; Scleucus Nicator built his city a little
lower ; but I fuppofe that does not fignify. Bagdat was called Medinet, or Satatn, the
city of peace, by the Caliphs afterwards. Salai, the oiicntal falutation, means ftate be
to you. Ircnopolis is another of its names, for the lame reafon. Irene means peace
too. Pato y Ganfoy Anferon, tres cofas fuencn mas unafun, fays the Spanilh proverb.

VOL. I. Dd himfelf,

210 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xn.

himfelf, and putting it on his head within the cap of ftate, fell down
apopleclick : the priefts conlldered this death as a judgment from God,
and his phyficians attributed it to the fudden cold. By that accident
the power dropt into Irene's hands, who, during her foil's long mino-
rity, rendered herfelf juftly famous for having fitted out a powerful fleet
to check the Saracens' progrefs by fea. She likewife recovered the
old Peloponnefus (now to be called Morea) from the Sclavonians, who
then were wafting Theflaly and Thrace : in that province fhe repaired
the city Berb'e or Beraea, mentioned in the Afts of the Apoftles as one of
the towns converted by St. Paul, A. D. 53, and called it after herfelf,
Irenopolis : 'tis EJktzadra at the time I am writing, and in pofleffion
of the Grand Signor. Her imprifonment of Helpidius, governor of
Sicily, in a deep dungeon, where he, his wife and children, pcrimcd
altogether, was but a flight fpecimen of this Princefs's cruelty. She
caufed her hufband's half brothers, fons of Copronymus by Eudocia, to
be all killed or banimed, or incapacitated, by which that race was ren-
dered extinct which had fo long ruled the eaft. Attempts were made
at fetting up the progeny of fome remoter fovereign, long deceafed ;
Irene blinded them and flit their nofes. That me might, in Mac-
beth's phrafe, " fup full with horrors," fhe next thruft out the eyes of
Conftantine her only fon, and that in a manner fo needlefsly painful,
that he furvived the lofs of them a few weeks only, and died, obferving
'twas on that day five years he had himfelf, with her confent, fo ferved
his two afpiring uncles. 'Tis told us how the fun darken'd fourteen
days together at that period ; and if he did indeed withdraw his head
not to behold fuch crimes, who can wonder ? When the command
to maflacrc a thoufand men in one night, was by the fame female
fiend added to the mutilation and confequent death of her only child.

Fugit aurea Ccelo

Luna ; tcgunt nigrce latilantia fidera nubes,

fays Ovid, on the idea of guilt purfuing its nocturnal gratifications ;
and though hiftory may term that mere poetick exclamation, yet furely

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. SOO. -211

to relate of Chriltian potentates, actions which would pollute even ;i
pagan page, muft tend to fill the mind with ilrong conviction, that
no hopes even of heaven itfelf, can allure fallen humanity to virtue, no
terrors of eternal punifliment itfelf fright us from vice, without that
fpccial grace preventing us, which good difpofitions only can receive,
and humble fouls alone will pray for. Succefsful fovercigns arc ukwr. s
favourites with their people. The fair Irene was eminently lo ; and
had me forborne interfering with her Ion's love-affairs, flic miu:ht have
reigned long fole Emprefs of the Eaft notwithstanding her known cha-
racter for crueltv. But Conftantinc, in the true fpirit of vouthful in-

dependence, refufed to accept his mother's choice, and wed at her
command a bafe-born, though beautiful Armenian. He Ici/ed the
reins of government himfelf, provoked by that encroachment on his
free-will, and hearing that her forces had been defeated in Italy, catch'd
the kind moment when minds were discontented ; then gaining caly
accefs to the Queen, dragged her away, dcpofed, confined, and would
have banifhcd her, but that the nobles rofe up in a mafs, and threat-
ened the young Emperor with inftant defection, if Irene the lovely and
beloved was not immediately aflbriutciL Their prince complied ; the
lady once releafed, let loofe her ftrong revenge ; and Gmltantinc's
agoni/.ing death follow'd fwift on her reiteration. But whilft morality
appeared in this ftatc of more than difmal decay, religious feuds dif-
tracted all mankind, and numberlefs lives were loit in the contcft,
whether the holy Spirit of God mould be laid to proceed from or by
the operation of the fccor.d pcrfon in the trinity. Severities, autho-
rized by a council at Friuli, alienated many, and caufed the death of
more : people were killed, they fcarccly knew for why ; till the Greek
and Roman churches at length Separated with a rancour unworthy
Chriftians, upon a difference of opinion fcarcc dilcermblc, and molt dif-
ficult to be defined even by dcepeft reafoncrs ; yet daily then difcufled
by ignorance, and pronounced upon by rafh and precipitate piety, un-
knowing where 'twould lead to. If however, the Greeks could not

D d 2 exact! v

212 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xir.

exactly comprehend their brethren's, nor nicely explain their own ideas
of" hypoftatick union, all could now fee and feel the vaft encroachments
of the papal power. The head of your church faid the Patriarch of
Constantinople mall never be fupreme over ours; he is not now a bi-
fhop, but an emperor. The Turk's turban is as welcome to us as is
is the pope's tiara. This fpeech was grofs, and infolent, and criminal,
and has been feverely punifhed by Providence; but the provocation was
too great to bear. Pope Adrian however, difplaycd even in thefe days
much of uieful and undeniable merit ; his nominal diftinclion was
yet dear to Rome or what was left of it : and to convince them
he deferved his name, when Tyber made a furious inundation, this
Pontiff fpent his own wealth to repair the walls, as far as loolbs. weight
of gold would go ; whilft in the Lateran, he daily fed one hundred
poor folks from his own privy purfe. He protected the arts too, mu-
fick efpecially ; and promoted literature, fuch as it was : his letters* are
flill extant I'm informed, and prove his elegance fcarce inferior to his
virtue. Organs were now heard in feveral churches both of France
and Italy ; a bifhoprick was fixed at Ofnaburgh ; the univerfity of
Pavia was founded, and Magdeburgb, fpoiled by the Vandals, was re-
paired by Charles, foon to be called Charlemagne. This city ftands
upon the Elbe, and was called Parthenopolis in heathen days, from
Venus, who had there a Ihrine of peculiar notoriety. She left none of
her beauty in the place, I think, when her fine ftatue was taken away.
'Tis obfervable that Flanders began to break and divide now into
Teutonic, Gallic, and Imperial ; but England was a prey to Danifh
ravagers, who wafted the little Ifland of Shepey, returning quickly to
their fhips indeed, but heavy laden with fpoil. They came again of
courfe, making their landing good in Cornwall, where traces yet re-
main of their oppreffive cruelty. I know not why invafion was fo

In Adrian's letters to Charlemagne it is obfervable that he figns his own name lair ;
this was no trifling etiquette : Zenobia put her name firft in her correfpondcnce with
Atirclian He faid fhe fhould repent it and Jo fie did,

eafy;

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 213

cafy ; England had been envied long before Egbert's time for naval
Superiority, yet thefc idolatrous and favage Danes made perpetual and
fuccefsful incurfions on our ifland, as it" the fea had then been no fecu-
rity. Though King Offa, who died, as fay fomc of the little books,
at dear Offlcy, in Hertfordfhire, \vhere we ufed to try at tracing me-
morials of him in my early youth, had entered into a commercial
treaty with France, -whence Pepin font him two lilkcn vefts, I think,
and a Hungarian fvvord ; all infufficient to keep out the Danes, \\lio
teazed a prince more powerful than he was, and retarded by incciTant
hoftilities, the confolidation of our realm under Egbert himfelf ; but
Don Froila of Spain, here claims attention, as he not only took that ap-
propriate appellative himfelf, but beftowed it on all his nobles, partly to
diftinguiih them from Moors and Jews, who occupied large part of his
dominions. The Spaniards ftill calling our blefled Saviour Don Chrifto,
feems to us, at firft fight, ridiculous ; they mean however neither more
nor lefs than we do by Lord Jefus. In old editions of Molicre we fee
it printed Dom Juan, (hewing that the word is a mere abbreviation
ofDomhins. This Froila had the epithet chaftc bellowed on him for
living (although married) in a flate of celibacy, after the birth of his
only child Alphonfo, during whofe reign the Moors, who defervcd no
fuch epithet, made war againft his fubje<fts for the demanded tribute
of Celtiberian virgins, ftipulated by fome old treaty to be given up to
them every year. Alphonfo took up arms againft thefe barbarians
deftroyed /OOO of them, raifed the fiege of Lifbon, and made a league
with Charles. To this young hero, fon of Pcpin the Short, and Ber-
thalde the Fair, who won viftory after vidory from Saracens, Saxons,
Lombards all who oppofed him, the feme of Charles Martel fecmed a
prsecurfor, not a rival ; like the aurora of Guido,when flie fcatters flowers
before the glowing car of day, fwift following where Ihe leads and points
his path. Barcelona and Huefca owned his power, the Huns and Abarcs
trembled at his arm ; Sweden and Norway blefled his miffionarics, Pope
Adrian begged to be godfather to his fon, whofe mother lived not to fee

half

2 1 4 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [cu. x n ,

half his glories; and Charlemagne, juftly fo called, took folemnly the
names of Casfar Auguftus. Thefc heroick exploits, with his repairing
the Roman eagle, firft Splitting it in two, that the heads might look
both ways, in compliment to the exifting powers at Constantinople,
with his Severities to fome unhappy Lombards, of which 'tis faid, he
decollated 400O* in one day, might eafily recommend his perfbn to
Irene, who offered him marriage, on which he, though the lady was
much older than himfelf, took time to deliberate ; when her Steward,
or chamberlain, by a fudden and fuccefsful conspiracy, fei/,ed on that
cruel princefs, and forced her into an ifland of the archipelago, Mity-
lene, I believe, the Lefbos of antiquity ; where fhe expired of grief,
and with her death, however well-deferved, died much of glory to
the eaftern empire. Some fay that Charlemagne was the firft Charles
who ever wrote his name with a C. 'twas Karrulus before : but Meze-
ray thinks his name muft have been engraved, for that he could not
write or read at all, and faid on fome occafion " There, I have iigned
" the treaty with the pommel of my fword, and promife to maintain
" it with the point." This might, however, be mere fafoii de parler ;
I can fcarce think that man fo ignorant, who caufed to be written the
famous MS. of Terence's Comedies, ftill to be feen, or lately, in the
Vatican. Mailros, a Scotfman, who had in his youth been pupil to
venerable Bede, became in his age a fort of preceptor, affiftant at leaft
to Charlemagne : and when he founded the univerfity of Pavia, this
diftinguimed North Briton aded as his agent.

The year 80O then faw England united under one monarch ; the
cities of Drefden and Nuremberg, built by the King of France, and
that Prince folemnly crowned by Pope Leo III. at Rome, as Emperor
of the Weft, upon Chriftmas-day. The old Spanilh hiftorians mcn-

* Say it who will, it muft neceflarily be a lie : the fwift fpeeding guillotine alone
could make difpatch like this. There are but 1440 minutes in a day, aud 'tis eaficr
to utter a falfehood every fixty feconds, than it is to take away the life of a man.

tioning

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 213

tioning thefc events, clofe them with an intended climax, that on the
fame great day of the fame memorable year, St. Jago was acknow-
ledged tutelar faint and patron of all Spain. Italians recoiled how the
Doge of Venice threw the Bifhop of Grada from a high tower, bc-
caufe he rcfufed confederation to that prince's favourite ; and Frcniji-
mcn tell of the inftitution of their twelve peers.

3 1 6 FROM THE CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xnr.

CHAP. XIII.

FROM THE CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE 800, TO THE
DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900.

LIFE takes a new appearance under the reign of Charlemagne.
Knights, joufts, tournaments, minftrels, ladies ; characters which
have yet fcarcely crofled over our little camera obfcura, now ad their
parts, and croud forward to the view of Retrofpeflion. Yet this new
colour, if we call it fuch, that gives a future tint to manners and to
life, is but the lhading off to gentler orange of that blood red, which
marked fo long the now merely nominal Roman empire. When the
inhabitants of Germany's black forefts firft left their native woods for
the rich vales of Italy, they carried to the fcene of action, with their
refiftlefs genius for conqueft, a fettled intent to beftow modes of living,
not accept them. Their purpofe did fucceed furprizingly, old cufloms
were broken up and died away, and a new fyflem was eftablifhing it-
felf apace in all the nations of Europe. The earth was parcelled out to
various individuals, who maintained their portions independent of fupe-
rior power, and Charlemagne fwayed a fceptre fupported by barons
he fliook not his truncheon over trembling flaves the form of things
was changed

The ceafe of Majefty

Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw

What's near it, with it. 'Tis a mafiy wheel

Fix'd on the fummit of the higheft mount,

To whofe huge fpokes ten thoufand lefler things

Are mortic'd and adjoin'd. SHAKESPEAR.

The

c:i. xin.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 217

The fcudatorial fyftem of high-fpiritcd nobles, who each com-
manded a large troop of vaflals, and bound themfelvcs to bring them
forth at a great leader's call, for defence of their own territories, or for
the acquifition of new ones, had a ferocious appearance upon the
whole ; but the general inclination for war was foftcncd by the refpecl
paid to beauty, which they conudcred as their juft and bright reward.
Each generous bofom beat at the call of valour, but could not by his
own authority fei/e on the fighcd for privilege, or bear arms without
permiflion. Birth, age, and qualifications were to be examined, and
while difficulty irritated defire, the lady languished for a gallant lover,
diftinguifhed by his martial talents, and the youth panted for the
happy moment when once adorned by the bright lance and fliicld, he
fhould throw at her feet a hero, acknowledged fuch by his comrades,
a knight refpeded even by his fovereign. Chriftianity was likewife
young in the world, openly and with violence attacked by Saracens,
tacitly fneered at by unbelieving Jews, deteftcd as a fucccfsful enemy
by Pagans. The votaries of religion thought it was man's firft duty
to protect her ; Turpin, Archbifliop of Ilheims, fought valiantly in the
field, by fide of Charlemagne, and 'tis on that principle that we even
yet fee the fword drawn in Poland at the moment of pronouncing the
creed.

Theology thus mingling itfelf with perfonal courage, and cnthu-
fiaftick piety cnflamed by romantick love, not only fent innumerable
warriors to contend in the field of battle, for palms of valour and pri/.cs
of beauty ; but dilpofed mankind to think bcfidc that conqueft denoted
the approbation, as well as the care of heaven. Private quarrels were
adjufted, not by cold equity, but martial prowefs ; a champion was
granted to females, who could not defend themfelvcs from injury,
and the next kinfman commonly prevTed forward to take on him the
commendable office. Single combats whetted the general keenncfs
for renown, and all concluded, that he who fell had merited his fate.
When fword and fliield were thus eflential to cxiftence, when they

Vox,. I. EC v>crc

218 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [OH. xm.

were confidered as fole arbitrators of honour, ible instruments of hap-
pinefs ; what wonder if we find them cherifhed to abfurdity. Marks
of diftin&ion, devices, and imprefes, were affixed upon the fecond, by
which to know each other in the battle ; and baptifm was, I fear,
very folemnly beftowed upon the firft. Thus Roland called his fa-
vourite fword Durandal, we know Joyeufe was the name of that
worne by Charlemagne. Hamburgh was built by this extraordinary
character, and Halberftadt famed for its pied Piper in 1376. Charle-
magne's twelve peers are, by romance, given to our Arthur ; they are
indeed fo neceflary to the old writers of thefe times, that I queftion
whether Sir Thefeus and Sir Alefaundre had not twelve peers each.
Thefeus indeed, thofe authors made a faint of; but faints and knights
were all that polTefled mens minds

With ftore of ladles, whofe bright eyes
Rain influence and judge the prize,
In wit or arms, whilft all contend
To win her grace whom all commend.

The peers were twelve, becaufe the apoftles had been twelve, ap-
pointed by our Saviour to fit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Ifrael. Chriftening fwords* was fcarcely left of? till towards
the time of our Queen Elizabeth ; our tutelary faint made his full
famous in all ballad flory,

When George, he fhaved the dragon's beard,
And AJkelon was his razor.

But it was not peculiar to Chriftianity. Mahomet had nine fwords,
the name of one was death, of another piercing nun ; and Odegir, the

* Odin's horfe, and Odin's fword, had names ; Slcipner (Jleep n'ecr} and Tirfing ; I
don't know what tirfmg meant. The daughter of Hialmar comes in the night for
Tirfing ; it was made by the dwarfs, and had peculiar properties, difpofing her to dif-
turb the dead that flie might obtain it.

Dane ;

CH. xni.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900.

Dane, a Pagan I believe, called his keen weapon fyatha : whence
fpada, and efpada, andjpath buckler, corrupted in our old plays to
fwajh ~buckler. Charlemagne meanwhile, though a mere foldier,
fcorned not thofe arts which he forbore to cultivate ; but brought to
France maftcrs of arithmetick, and fome fay grammar. He was like-
wife, although a warlike prince, eminently gentle tempered * and in-
dulgent to his children. A pretty ftory ofprincefs Imma and her
lover is related in the Spectator from Marquahand Freher. The gal-
lant was Eginhart, who fays of his fovereign when he writes his life,
that he could fpeak Latin as eafily as his own native Frankifh, but that
in Greek he had a bad pronunciation. When at the death of this
great man the empire was again divided among his children, he
charged them to live well with one another; and having fpilt deluges
of blood in order to unite the weft under one head, he willingly by
teftament parted it among his fons, giving to Pepin Italy alone, to
Louis le Debonnaire, France, with the exception of Normandy, which
went with Auftria, Saxony, and Bavaria, to Charles. That there
might be no murderous difputes among them after his deccafc, he left
a ftricl: command behind, that if they differed about any thing, the
youth who fhould be able and willing longeft to fupport the pofture
in which our Saviour fuffered crucifixion, was to obtain without fur-
ther enquiry the purpofe they contended for. This mode of dccifion
afterwards grew common, and was called jugement de la croix. The
French language now began to fupplant the Latin, on whofc wreck
'twas railed ; verfes were written and fongs were fung in praifc of lo\c
and valour ; while bards, troubadours, tale-tellers and minltrels, Ibftcn-
ing the ferocious temper of the times, foon taught each warrior-lpirit
how to bend before a diftant and difficultly-acquired fair one ; mufick
lent her aid befide to animate and to inlpirc devotion. The French

* Charlemagne was himfclf of an amorous difpofition, had many miftrcfles, and
two or three wives. L,\imtur tic Dleu et da dames went together in iholc days.

E e 2 finger?

220 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xnr.

fingers however, even then, had the chara&eriftick roughnefs peculiar
to their nation, and made the tojje di capra, as Italians ftill call a coarfe
bad (hake. Trilletaccio ! fay they : at Paris Gluck in my own time
faid to his fcholars, ne chevrotez pas* Our Englifli have a joke on
Wales and Welfhmen that expreffes this fault with much accuracy.
Waaaales, replies the goat, when his Anglo Saxon neighbours travelling
over Snowdon, afk him " How d'ye call this country ?" and at the
fame time fhake him by the beard. While thus the weft began, at
leaft in fome refpecls, to emerge out of that fad Cimmerian dark-
nefs in which me had long dropt inert and lifelefs, Irene's death hung
heavy on her fucceflbr, who, born her vaffal, was never by the Queen's
fubjeclis willingly obeyed. Bardanes was proclaimed emperor, but foon,
after a fruitlefs conteft for the purple, funk his pretenfions iu a monaf-
tery. The rebel chamberlain however fared no better, and Michael,
Leo, and Theophilus, were only other names for wickednefs and im-
pious folly. This laft being born of mean parents, fired a rich fliip
loaded with merchandize, that no one might fufpecl: his natural inclina-
tion for commerce, and made his fubjecls cut the hair from their heads,
becaufe his own was thin. Notwithstanding thefe mad caprices, he
made war not unfuccefsfully againft the Saracens, although in thefe
days they built Candy, and gave new name to ancient Crete, head-
quarters of pagan mythology. The labyrinth however yet remained
upon their coins and arms : Rubasus fays 'twas their device in his time,
and he lived lOyo. The popes meanwhile increafed their influence
daily ; nor was it influence now, but firm authority. Charlemagne's
fons could not agree, and Gregory IV. like Chaos umpire fate, and
by decifion more imbroil'd the fray.

Louis le Debonnaire, of gentle manners but refolute temper, who
never had been feen to laugh at any ftory his tale-teller could recite, had
nothing of his native country's levity This wife Judith of Bavaria,
though a German, had too much. Their fon was Charles the Bald ;
but in confequence of this meeknefs, not agreeable to the fpirit of fuch

times,
* Don't ling like a goat.

CH. xiii.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 221

times, Louis iflucd a decree that no ecclcfiaftick fliould wear fpurs.
Gregory was difpleafed, and to evince his difplcafure publickly wore
JJjnrs himfelf. This Pope certainly cxcrcifcd papal or parental power
with little prudence and with Icfs controul. But to every other force,
force might be oppofcd ; the church was unrcfiftcd, becaufe it was
confidered as infallible. Scrgius II. availed himfelf of mankind's dif-
pofition to revere the vifible head of it, rcfiding at Rome : he built caftle
Stf. Angelo, altering it from the moles Adriani to a ufeful fortrefs : nor
was the ftep unneceflary, when Moorifli plunderers fpoiled the fuburbs
of the once-rcnown'd metropolis, and robbed the churches dedicated
to St. Peter and St. Paul. Sergius's name was Porci : his family ftill
fubfiils at Rome now, and a fubjccl of Great Britain married into it
about twenty years ago. In the ninth century however he did well to
change it, and accept a fort of ccclefiaftical appellative, a practice fu-
ture popes adopted willingly. His fucceflbr Leopold IV. joined the
Neapolitans, and beat the Saracens by fca. He built Leopolis, now
Civita Vecchia, and even forces himfelf to be a favourite \vith Voltaire
and Gibbon, During that time a monftcr of impiety, Michael by
name, ruled with his mother Theodora at Conftantinople. This wretch
profaned the Eucharift, ridiculed the facrcd office of carrying it to-
fick and dying perfons ; killed his innocent old tutor, and thruft his
mother into a monaftery, all before he was eighteen years old. Venice
joined the general league againft the Arabian locufts, and Alphonfo of
Spain married Chimene a French princefs ; he called her Ximena of
courfe. And having heard that a human body was dug up near Com-
poftella, the king and queen aflured themfelves it was St. James; he
was therefore St. Jago di Compoitella : and ftory tells that a church
of Jlone, not earth, was immediately dedicated to his peculiar fer-
vice. This was the feafon for unchecked imagination. Cromcrius
and other Polifli writers tell of their leader Piaftus Rufticus, who was
promoted to fovereignty, and lived an hundred and twenty years, in
confequence of his having, when a Pagan, entertained two Chriitian

pilgrims

FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [en. xni.

pilgrims with fhare of a fat hog killed in honour of his fon's birth.
The faints, in return for fuch good cheer, hindered the hog from Icl-
fening. This was a ufeful miracle, in Poland ; and flufticus was con-
verted, and in due time chofen chief. That fuch tales fhould be cre-
dited is ftrange ; 'tis ftranger far that invention mould be fo confined,
and when men are not retrained by even a de/ire of telling truth,
that no new fables ever can be found. Another duke of Poland, Po-
pielus by name, ufed to wifh himfelf and his children devoured by
mice, when he meant to enforce belief by ftrong afleveration. And
the good bimop of Varna, who wrote in the fifteenth century, tells
gravely how the wife of this king's fon, a German princefs, advifed her
hufband when he came to the throne to feign illnefs, and fend for all
his uncles to a council : me there took care to poifon them in drink,
nor would permit their being even buried, having accufed them of in-
tent to murder the reigning prince. Out of their bodies however, adds
the bimop, grew mice innumerable, which followed the young Popielus
wherever he went ; and notwithstanding all that could be done, at
length devoured him and his wicked confort.

Denmark went on no better : Olaus there encouraged civil wars to
'fpite his mother, whom he fufpedled of having hired an aflaffin to
murder his good father in the garden as he flept, and of rewarding him
afterwards with her hand. 'Tis poffible this tale, better known then
than now, gave Shakefpear his idea of Hamlet. Thefe {lories, with our
Englifh law that whofocver killed a cat mould lofe his right hand, whi-le
to purchafe fo valuable an animal as much wheat was required as
would cover the cat when held by the tip of her tail, prove the mul-
titudes of mice in the ninth century to have been a ferious and in-
tolerable plague. Deftruclion of predatory beafts great and fmall \\ as
once more, as in the fabulous ages, become a duty : and fo was the
world thinned of human inhabitants fmce the clays of Conttantinc
Copronymus, that inftead of puni (hing prelates for keeping a tame
hawk, Charlemagne, towards the end of his reign, granted .a right of

.hunting

CH. xiii.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. <5oo. 223

hunting to the abbots and monks of Sithiu, partly for the fake of
clearing the country, and partly that the ikins of wild animals might
ferve, he faid, as covers to their books. They had been rolled before ;
whence the word volume ftill ; and literature now excited care from
royalty. The race of Abbas too, being caliphs of the Saracens, en-
couraged literature in Arabia ; and while commerce was carrying on
at Bagdat chiefly by Jews, attempts were made by thcfc orientals at re-
new ing fome tafte of poetick imagery. Under this warm fkv grew up
the new machinery, phantom forms of giants, dwarfs, genii, and en-
chanters, which followed and fucceeded to the old heathen gods in every
work of fancy. Spain got them firft of European nations, becaufe of its
connection with the Moors. France chanted the praifes of hcrpick Ro-
land, and told the truly romantick tale of Charles the Bald. His daugh-
ter Judith, in her fifteenth year, was deftincd to have married an Eng-
lifli prince ; but he dying, the lady on her way back to Paris being too
flightly guarded, wifhed to walk among the fhady trees fomcw here in
Picardy, and was indulged. A young forefter ftruck with her beauty,
unknowing who fhe was, feized and carried her off. This was Bald-
win of Flanders, who took her to his caftle near St. Omer's. Charles
having found it out by ftratagem fome years after, and finding they
had children, fubdued his refentmcnt and made her hufband Erie.
But his defcendants were not efteemcd of the true kingly blood : and
we {hall fee the Emprefs Maude, mother to our Henry the firft, defpif-
ing one of this man's progeny for want of noble birth-. The famous
quatrain,

Cloth of gold do not defpife
Tho' thou be join'd to cloth of frize ;
Cloth of frize be not too bold,
Tho' thou be join'd to cloth of gold :

was made many centuries after, when Charles Brandon, wedded to
royalty, took thofc lines for his legencLi, and tne ballad- makers adapted
them to this much older ftory. (See Percy's llcliqucs). Whilft manly

vices,

2 1 1 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xm,

vices, manly virtues, thus cbaracterifed the dwellers in the north, fuch
was the effeminacy of Pope John VIII. that he was called in derifion
Pdpe Joan by his contemporaries ; and when the encroachments of that
holy fee grew hateful, and its tyranny oppreffive, under the harfli reign
of many of his fuccefibrs, a {lory was circulated that a woman had
certainly fate in the papal chair. When they were got fo far, 'twas
moft eafy to add how Ihe was detected by labour-pains, as fhe was car-
ried in proceflion to the Vatican. This tale though Spanheim be-
lieves, Scaliger thinks incredible, becaufe he fays her voice would have
betrayed her ; and Baronius denies it of courfe. Our beft writers re-
jccl fuch fluff with indignation : yet was it flrange, and ten times
ilrange to think, that fo late as in the year 1-034 there did moil furely
cxift a ftatue of her in the cathedral church of Sienna, among the
popes, {landing in her place : for Colomefms challenged Monfieur
de Launoi about it at Menage's apartments, where llacan the poet
and the Abate Marucelli the Tnfcan rejident^ were prefent, and heard
M. dc Launoi confefs that with his own eyes he had feen the ftatue
in Sienna cathedral in 163-1, notwithftanding Baronius's folcmn letter
of thanks to Florimond for taking it down twenty-eight years before;
and notwithftanding Pere Alexander, in his Ecclefiaftical Hiflory, af-
firms it was then no longer in exiftence. It might indeed have been
taken down before his death, which was not till 1.7 1 0. No .modern
travellers remarking it, I fuppofe it is gone now. My own empty
head forgot to examine ; but I remember obferving that John VIII.
had a particularly effeminate caft of countenance in St. Paolo fuordelle
Mure at Rome, where their pictures in oil hang round the wall ;
and Porcacchi's edition of Gamucci's Antiquities mentions his tomb?
Senza alcuno artificio o archittetura ed in fomma molto diverfo delle fe-
pohure degli altri pontifici without any device or architectural diftinc-
tion, and, in a word, extremely unlike the other papal fepulchres.
Enough of this nonfenfe. Be Pope John what elfe he will, he
ordered the Holy Scriptures to be promulgated in the Sclavonian
tongue A. D. 880. But .Lothaire (whence derive our Lowther

family)

CH. xm.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600. 225

family) duke or king of Lorraine, arrefts our Retrofpcfiion for a mo-
ment. He being of the conftitution of our Henry VIII. perfuaded
Guntharis bifhop of Cologne to divorce him, on frivolous pretences,
from his confort, promifing in return to marry the bilhop's filler ; and
Pope Nicholas, an exemplary pontiff, confented, though with diffi-
culty ; and then Lothaire married his favourite miitrefs la belle Val-
drade. Excommunication juftly followed fuch conducl ; but the king,
hardened in wickednefs, derided all fuch puniflnncnts, and profcflcd
obedience to the Pope in fpiritual matters only. The Valefiana fays
however, that this Pope, in his correfpondeiicc with the King of
France, put his own name firft, a cuftom never after hnd afide. The
patriarch at Constantinople tried the fame trick with Louis VII. Va-
lefius tells us, but the experiment did not anfwer, Le rot sat offcnfa
et le patriarchc corrigea fa fautc. The king was difplcafed, and the
prelate mended his manners'.

Photius the patriarch, to whom John VIII. had meanly fubmitted,
was now depofed by the new Casfar whom wretched Michael had ap-
pointed to govern the cad, while he himfelf was funk in debauchery ;
and the Pope, once firmly fixed in his feat, anathematized Photius,
making thereby a lading and incurable breach between the Greek
and Latin churches ; forced wild Lothaire to take his wife again, and
when he went to Rome for reconcilement, gave him in pledge of peace
the euchariftick cup, not then denied to the laity. The young Doge of
Venice now, John Badoera, wedded the niece of the Greek emperor,
and fent his brother to the reigning Pope, Martin, I think, a French-
man, to rcqueft that Comachia might be added to the territories of
the republick. The ambaflador's being treachcroufly murdered on his
way home, whither he returned only to die, did but accelerate the
feizure of Comachia, which Badoera took by force. Anaftafius wrote
the lives of the popes about this time, and Heinfius prints a letter from
Sarrau, faying that there was a copy of that work in the Ambrofian
library at Milan then, mentioning the female fex of Giovatini ottavo.
Thofe' in the Vatican were all torn, he fays, in that place where the

VOL. I. F f difputed

226 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH xnr.

disputed lite occurs. Salmafms had a copy, but it was got from the
French king's collection of books, and fuppofed to have been interpo-
lated by Martinus Polonus, who, though a learned Dominican, be-
lieved the tale, and told it clearly in his chronicle.

Wonders were eafily credited in thofe days. That it rained blood
at Brefcia was nothing doubted : the writers of the ninth century
faithfully record that event, and 'twas as likely that Pope John fhould
be a woman. Among the marvels of the moment Motauem the
oftonary now flione a glittering caliph amidft the admiring beauties of
Circaffia. He was the eighth of the Abaffides, had eight fons and
eight daughters by eight wives not concubines, princefTes. He pof-
fefTed eight thoufand Haves body-guard, and eight millions of gold.
When he had reigned eight years, eight months, and eight days, he
faid it is enough, my race is run, and died. His Saracens meantime
burned the fine monaftery at Monte Caffino, and exercifed fad cruel-
ties upon the catholicks. But Bafil, emperor of the eaft, kept them a
little in check, till feized with a fudden fury on feeing his fon Leo
wear a dagger, he felt perfuaded that he meant to murder him ; and
without giving any notice of his intentions, put the innocent heir of
his crown in prifon, whence he would never have come out alive, but
for one of thofe combinations which all men now agree to call acci-
dental. The young prince lately marrie4, had diverted himfelf with
teaching a favourite parrot to fay Leo loves yon, whenever his fair bride
entered the apartments, whither , the king hafted in great wrath, and
called the terrified lady to examination. On her appearance the bird
with an impreffive voice cried from his perch Leo laves you. Such a
fentence fb pronounced {truck forcibly upon the Emperor's feelings.
He doubted not the words being miraculoufly addrerTed to himfelf,
when the parrot once more gravely repeating Leo loves you, Bafil em-
braced his daughter-in-law with a tranfport of fondnefs, called out her
hufband from confinement, reftoring him to even more than priftine
favour. A hunting match was made to celebrate their reconciliation,
when the flag fuddenly turning upon Bafil gored him to death, and

delivered

CH. xin.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600.

delivered the eaftern world from his caprices ; while the travelling of
Danielis, a Greek matron, from Peloponcfus on men's Ihoulders (as in
a modern palanquin) ftrikes one with rcfemblance of manners be-
tween thefe days and thofe, when this lady waited upon prince Leo
with prefents out of the Morea, fit only for oriental luxury to accept,
and complcatly diftant from the fpirit of ancient times, the times of
Solon or Lycurgus, to beftow ; but even the name of Pcloponefus
was forgotten.

In Mefbpotamia, about this period, Al Batcgnius obfcrvcd, 'tis faid,
the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, A. D. 882 ; Dr. Halley calls him
uir admirandi acuminis. He wrote a neglected treat! fe De Sctentlu
Stellamtn, which Plato Tiburtinus tranflatcd into barbarous Latin ; it
was printed at Nuremberg 1537- I have read fbmewhere that it was
this miferable performance which infpired Tycho Brahe with a defire
of ftudying aftronomy. The fcience of the ftars was, to fay truth, not
ftudied at all in thefe early ages, except as in the eaft there had been
always a difpofition to confult them about men's fortunes, and find
out who was to be {tabbed, or who poifoned, by the pofition of the
planetary worlds. The tyrant Bafil was deep in thefe conjurations,
while runic forcery ftill kept pofleffion of the unfeeling north, where
Gothick bards and fcalds had taken faft hold upon people's imagina-
tion, who willingly wifh'd to drink beer from the fkulls of their ene-
mies, and hoped a future fcaft of cerevtfiam, the barley drink, from
Ceres, in Odin's hall. His fearful engagement with the wolf Fenris
was eafily credited by his defcendants, who even after converfion to
Chriftianity ftill appropriated a peculiar hell to cowards, and thought
with horror of the hideous Naftrand, where filthy fcrpents vomit fb
much venom that it forms a river of blue poifbn prepared for perjured
fouls and liars, and black aflaffins, who feek a fafe refuge, declining
open battle.

Warton fays wifely, that this train of ideas flicws lefs affinity to
oriental enchantments, caftles, dragonsy &c. than to the magick of Ca-

F f 2 nidia

228 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xin.

uidia in Horace ; and 'tis poffible that the barren black heifer facri-
ficed to Proferpine in the old Greek mythology, and that mufick by
which Orpheus forced her to give baok Eurydice from the difmal do-
main, might be originally of the fame dark complexion as Odin's
wondrous fong, that made all chains to fall from him that heard it,
whether on earth- or Hellas drear abode,

Where the fell Prophetefs abides,
And Lok his horrid lhadovv hides.

Bartholin tells of a fong called Vardloker which Godreda fung to Earl
Thorchill by command of a witch, youngeft of nine weird fitters, as full
of prophecy, fomewhat like the Sybilh'ne oracles. Befides that Mount
Ida is named in the Icelandick poetry as refidence of gods and heroes.
Ida and Edda might poffibly be fynonimous, and that name given to the
ttrange collection, becaufe it treated of celeftial and infernal deities, as
we might fay the olympiad of fuch a work, had it been written in Greek.
Bartholine cites an ode that fays exprefsly, how when the twilight of the
gods mall be ended, and the new world appear, the agas lliall meet in the
fields of Ida, and fell of the deftroyed inhabitants. In the proem, or pre-
lude to Refelius's Edda it is related too that Odin appointed twelve
peers or judges at Sigtune in Scandinavia, as erft at Troy. Thus then
the Romans, Britons, Franks, all loved to deduce from Troy, and now
Mr. Bryant pulls down ,our original feat. Such is the certainty of
deep refearch. Let the thought reconcile readers to fuperficial infor-
mation, and make them lefs faftidious, lefs offended at the thoufand
inaccuracies their eyes will foon difcover in this imperfect Retrojfieffion.
One fure proof of a connection between the old Saxon and Greek my-
thologies in our little ifland yet remains in the names of every day
throughout the week ; Woden, Tlwr, and Frey holding poffeffion of
three, the Sun, the Moon, and Saturn keep three more. But England
was the feat of mixture always, and in the century we are reviewing
yas crouded with flrange nations, ftrange opinions Danes, Saxons,

Romans,

CH. xni.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 229

Romans, Britons: and from the vigorous fermentation of fouthern
foftnefs with old runic barbarifm, levigated and fublimed by a warm
portion of true Chriftian zeal, the generous foil teemed with that rare
and glorious product,- a patriot king. Alfred the foldier, the fcholar,
the legislator and the poet, whofe character unites the fcparate merits
of all other princes, as does the country he adorned the feparatc ex-
cellencies of every other nation. He formed alliance with the Scottish
kings his neighbours, the better to make head againft our new invaders.
He fought feven battles with thole pertinacious enemies, and when
defeated found rcfources that {hewed him no lefs formidable than be-
fore. When prcfs'd by numbers and betrayed by treachery, he was
compelled to bow before the ndcetfity of the times, he with a band of
faithful followers lived in the forcfts of Somerfet and Wiltfhire, fting
to his pipe the praifes of his anceftors, and animating himfelf by their
example, refolved to vifit in the <!refs of a minftrel the Dnnilh camp.
There he tried all his arts of pleafmg, there he acquainted himfclf with
all their fehemes, witnefled their fupinc fecurity in the thoughts of his
own death, and after fix months fpent among his adverfaries returned .
and called his friends to the attack. Sarprizc and terror went before
Alfred's army, valour and virtue followed it. He remained victor
over all his foes, made their converfion to Christianity his fole con-
dition of peace with Some, and drove the reft to Flanders. Then, to
prevent further depredations, we fee him next equip a powerful rlccl.
and vanquifh by fea fuch of them as tried to return. Prosperity and
pe;'.re were the reward of glory, and Alfred ufed them to each patri-_>t
purpofe ; it was his only aim, he (aid, fo to fccure his fubjects' profpcrity,
that a fair maid might walk unmolcftcd with a bag of uncounted gold
in her hand from one extreme of his dominions to the other. To thrs
end he revived the ufe of juries, dropt into defuetude ; with the divi-
fion of England into hundreds and ty things ; he encouraged bulinefs,
and fuch extenfive commerce, that merchants of London traded in his
reign for Eaft India jewels, whilft his difcoverer Octhcr explored at his

command

230 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xni.

command the coafts of Lapland and Norway, and eftablifhed a whale-
fifhery in the icy feas. At home he founded the Univerlity of Oxford,
built the towns of Shaftelbury and Godmanchefter ; and whereas on
his acccffion to the throne he had fcarce one lay fubjeci that could
read Englifh, and fcarce ten ecelefiafticks who underiiood Latin, fo
much was literature cultivated under his aufpices, that before his death
one of his lecturers translated from the Greek original fome treatifes of
Dionyfms the Areopagite, into Latin, and dedicated his work to Charles
the Bald, whilft Alfred himfelf gave an elegant verfion of Orofms's
hiftory of the Pagans and of Boethius's Confolations of Philofophy,
befide other ufeful labours. He patronized the art of mufick which
he pradlifed, and called profeflbrs from the continent to perfecl his at-
tempts at compofition ; while AfTer afTerts with rapture his abilities as
a fportfman, and proves that though he led a ftudious, it was in no
fenfe a fedentary life ; for, fays he, our king caught more game than
any of his contemporaries ; a circumftance the more to be credited, as
the brightnefs of his eyes and adbive powers of his perfon are well
known. To mew however in what a piteous ftate flood the me-
chanick arts at this period, we are conftrained to obferve, that Alfred
had no nearer method of counting time, than by caufing fix waxen
tapers to be made twelve inches long, and of as many ounces weight.
On thefe he marked the inches, and finding one of thefe to burn two
hundred and forty minutes, he had horn lanterns made to keep the wind
away ; and committed the care of all to his clerk of the chapel, whofe
place it was to tell him how the hours went. Abdalla king of Perfia
had indeed prefented Charlemagne with the firft Unking * clock upon
record, a fort of clepfydra, fuch as the ancients ufed. The machine
worked with water ; which upon this occafion being, by oriental in-

* Eginhart fays he faw this clock himfelf, adorned with twelve figures of horfemen
rufliing out at twelve openings like windows, when the twelve hours were completed,
then returning in again, as if alive.

genuity,

CH. xin.J TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 23 1

gcnuity, furnifhed with twelve little brafs balls, dropt one of them
upon a hollow plate below, and gave due notice when the hour was
ended.

We take no note of time but by its lofs ;
To give it then a tongue was wife in man.

Charlemagne was one of the few who could hear its folemn voice
without a confcioufnefs of felf-reproach. To Alfred fuch an inftru-
ment would have founded, even in this world, the fcntence he per-
haps of all men is fureft to hear in the other : " Well done thou good
" and faithful fervant: thou haft been faithful over few things, I will
" make thee ruler over many things." But although Alfred died not
till the year 900, he never faw fo complicated a machine.

CHAP.

232 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, f CH. xiv.

CHAP. XIV.

FROM THE DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. goo,

TO THE FOUNDATION OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE UNDER

TANGROLIPIX, A. D. 1000.

Retrofpettion will have little pleafure hereabout in contem-
plating the affairs of the weftern empire and kingdom of France,
where the progeny of hcroick Charlemagne, Caroloman, and Charles,
poifoned and thruft out one another's eyes, while Louis le Begue fuc-
ceeded to that throne which Charles the Simple fate on at the time o;
Alfred's death. That Arnulph, a little time before that event, fixed his
rcfidence, and that of future emperors in Germany, is beft worth not-
ing. 'Twas he befieged fair Algitrude, widow of his competitor
Guido, in Spoleto ; but the revengeful lady, gaining accefs to his pcr-
lon, admimfter'd him fuch a cup as kept him waking in delirious hor-
ror, I forget how many dreadful nights and days. Meanwhile the Em-
prefs Zoe ruled the eaft, alTociating her -young fon Conftantine, fcarce
fevcn years of age, who growing older put her in a nunnery, whence
flic was taken out no more. He was advifed to blind her, but refufed
to commit fuch brutal folly ; mowing the world that all decorum had
not wholly left it, although the examples now fet by Rome were ter-
rifying to virtue, and even to mere decency. Towards the end of the
laft century, Formofus, a young bifhop of confummate beauty, had
been elected pope, and crowned the afpiring leader Guido in Italy : but
Sergius difputing the papacy w ith him, a dreadful fchifm enfucd ; and
Boniface VI. enjoyed the dignity twenty-fix days only : during which
time his own befl friends, frighted at his criminal excelTes, lent their

affiftancs

CH. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. 233

affiftance to turn him out, and fet Stephanus VI. in the chair. He,
with unexampled barbarity, dug up the body of Formofus, drcffcd it
in pontificalibus, produced it in fynod, ftript, cut its fingers off, and
toiled it into Tybcr, \\hcrc he himfclf deferred to have been thrown;
but Aldebert, marquis of Tufcany, had him ftrangled in prifon. A
quick fucceffion of perverfe rulers followed, till the infolent mittrefs of
Aluebert, a haughty though infmuating Florentine, governed the fee
and city in face of all mankind, giving her daughter, Marozia to Ser-
gius III. by whom me had John XII. Anaftafius would have re-
deemed the honour of the priefthood, but his death made room for
John XI. a martial pontiff, who crowned Bercngarius for his good fer-
vices againfl the Saracens, but quarrelled with his brother Alberic,
and made a difgraceful league with the Hungarians. He firft confe-
crated as bifhop a baby five years old, the fon of Herbert Comte dc
Vermandois : this offended all the world in thofe days, and John loft
his life as his predeceflbr had done. Yet though its profcflbrs feemed
as if confpiring to take away all reverence for the facerdotal office, no
virtue was eflcemed truly meritorious, except bounty towards the
church, where outward refpcct paid to reliques of departed faints made
eafy compenfation for prefent finncrs, among whom John XII. Hands
foremoft, pejjimns malorwn, like Nero among the Roman emperors.
What wonder ! vetted with unlimited power* at fevcnteen or eighteen
years of age, his fport was to exceed in wickcdnefs and folly whatever
went before him. Among other frolicks he was accufed, I think, of
drinking the devil's good health ; but he cut the accufers' tongues out,
flit their nofes, and committed fo many acls of libertinifm and riot,
that an injured hufband, or his hired ruffian, killed him before he ar-
rived at twenty-three years old. Indulgcncies for every crime had now
their fettled price from fuch a priefthood, and Rome became a cuftom-
houfe as it had long been a fink for fin.

* Qucre, Was it not from him the charafler of Don Juan, or the Libertine, was taken ?
VOL. I. G g Henry,

234 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [CH. xiv.

Henry, meantime, a German prince, nephew, I think, to Arnulph,
dreamed of an admonition given him while fleeping, that fhould he
walk to an old wail hard by, he would find fomething there to touch
him nearly. Impatient for morning-light he haftened to the fpot,
with which he was well acquainted, and examining found on a bat-
tered ftone thefe words po/i fe. His firft conclufion being that in
the courfe of a week he mufl die, Henry fet his mind in a new train,
making good refolutions as to morals, and ftudying to perform fuch
acls of piety as might beft enfure his falvation. The time however,,
pafled by, and nothing happened ; fo did fix weeks, fix months : good
habits grew agreeable, and though he now difmifled the dream from
preffing on his memory, the love of virtue yet remained, and inftead
of voluptuous pleafures he recreated himfelf with the innocent and
healthful fports of the field. Poft fex however, when fix years after
the admonition were completed, Henry was, while hawking on his
own grounds, fuddenly prefented with the imperial robes, and hiftory
knows him by name of Henry the Fowler. He firft inilituted grand
and regular tournaments, which, though afterwards a matter of mere
ihow, ferved at beginning fo to difcipiine and train the warriors, that
by this method the Emperor was fuppofed to gain thofe advantages
which in due tim,e cleared his country of invading Huns. Whilft thcfe
events pafled in our neighbourhood, England was ruled by Edward,
e.ldeft of immortal Alfred's fons, and Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, mar-
ried his daughter, Adelfrid : from her, fifth in immediate defccnt, was
long after born, Maud or Matilda, wife to William the Norman ; fo
that Rufus had Englifh blood of its greatcft native running in his
veins, and that blood has been tranfmitted forwards through male or
female even to the moment of this fummary's being written, through
all the families who have fince his time fate on the Britilh throne,
each having power to boaft defcent from him, vvhofe benefits to our
ifland could not perhaps in this world have been more vifibly, or more
fmgularly rewarded, than by providing it with fovereign princes for

niae

CH. xiv.J TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. Mi

mne centuries out of his own illuftrious progeny. It is perhaps no Ids
odd or remarkable, that none of them ever thought to call a child after
the name of Alfred, till George the third did about twenty years ago,
and that royal infant died. But -we return to Athclftan, the natural
ion and fucceflbr of Edward, who left in him fuch an encouragcr of
commerce, that conferring to knight any merchant who fliould make
three voyages to the Mediterranean, Several attempts were made, but
troubles from the pertinacious Danes diiturbed and frustrated every
great undertaking. A treacherous nobleman being accufcd of intent
to blind this prince, and deliver him up to the enemy, he appealed to
Rome, and there fblemnly attefting his innocence before the altar,
dropped down dead, confirming all Europe in fufpicion of his guilt,
and giving the firft example of what grew common afterwards, and
was called compurgation.

Edmund, Edred, and Edwy, fucceflbrs to Athelftan, were, if not
weak, at bed inglorious monarchs : every day fixed more firmly the
power of the pricfts, every year faw frefli encroachments made by the
Danes, till Edgar in fome meafurc revived the naval glory of England :
his adventures with fair Elfrida, concealed wife of Athclwold, and
daughter to vindictive Orgar, an old Earl of Mercia, have given occa-
fion to an elegant modern drama, where the conclufion is made more
to the lady's honour than hiftory admits : no matter. His fon by a
former marriage, Edward furnamcd the Martyr, owed his death to
that ambitious lady's cruelty. She, a true ftcp-dame, defirous that
her own fon fliould fuccecd, inftrucled one of her domcfticks to ftab
the gentle prince while he .was drinking ; and Etheldrcd the unready
fprung from Edgar and Elfrida, having thus bafely obtained a crown ;
as bafely ufcd it : buying off the hungry Danes with lO,oool. to in-
fcft his realms no more. A vain and idle purchafe, to which, though
Clave and though Sweyn feigned to accede, the compofition gave but
a fliort and reftlefs interval to England's forrovvs and increafing cares.
The Danes returned in flioala more dreadful and more numerous, and

G g 2 now

236 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [CH. xrv .

now demanded 25,oool. which our prince, unable to pay down, com-
menced a treaty, and I fear countenanced a mafTacre. This meafure, too
perfidious to relate, though executed with the utmoft rigour, failed of
fuccefs, and but prepared the ifland and its prince for new, and from
that moment, well deferred calamities. St. Omer's now was built by
Baldwin, and Brunfwick by Bruno, kinfman to Henry the Fowler ;
Maldon, in EfTex, has nearly the fame date, and arts of civilixed life
did certainly creep on, though flowly. An old mifTal in the church
of Modena mows how mufick now called in diftinclion from colours,
and the univerfity of Louvain, founded by John of Brabant, offered
premiums for thofe \vho mould excel in mathematicks. Knights of
St. Andrew and Knights of the Thiftle were inftituted early in this
century, while Helena, queen of the Scythians, was folemnly baptized
at Conftantinople, and requefted of Otho I. furnamed the Great, who
then ruled the weflern empire, that he would fend mimonaries to con-
vert her fubjeds, foon to be known by name of Ruffians. This fo-
vereign made Old Cologne an Imperial city, and marrying Adelaide,
became King of Italy. Harold, of Denmark, furnamed Blaatant, or
Blue Tooth, oppofed him, but in vain : after a furious battle 'twas
agreed that Harold mould receive the faith ; he did fo, and Otho few
his boy chriftened and flood - godfather. In a fportive humour too,
and trial of fkill, the Emperor {landing with the King on the fea-
fhore, launched his javelin from a ftrong arm into the gulph of Jut-
land ; it {tuck upon a place called Otho's Ifland from that day to this.
Otho reigned more than forty years, and died at Magdebourg, where
he was fucceeded by the fon he had afTociated fome years before, fo-
lemnly crowning him at Aix la Chapelle. After intolerable vexations
in the fouth, he faw John XIII. fettled in the papal chair, and had the
fatisfaftion to hear of bifhopricks eftablifhed in Denmark, where his
friend Harold Blaatant, or Blue Tooth (whence envy with her blue
tooth churning venom is by our Spenfer called the blatant beaftj
founded the fociety of Jomfberg in Pomerania, and fuch was the re-

fpecl

CM. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. 237

fpccl paid to their founder's memory, who had haniflied the -word fear
from his martial univerfity, that fometime about the year 998, having
made an unfucoe&ful irruption upon the territories of Haquin, another
femi-barbarous leader, his general, Thorchill, took two or three of them
prifoners, notwithflanding their vigorous refinance, and putting them
to death in cold blood, ten days after the battle, the firft and fecond
died fmiling, and faying to each other, " Let's be mindful, brother,
" of the laws of Jomfberg:" but the third, adding curiofity to forti-
tude, obferved to. Thorchill, that they often disputed among them-
felves at home, whether reflection could or could not, even for a mo-
ment, furvive decapitation ; " And now," fays he, " you may com-
" modioufly make the experiment upon my neck : I will therefore
" grafp this knife firmly in my hand, and if, after my head is fevered
" from my body, I make a movement direciing it towards you, that
" motion of my hand will fliow that all remembrance is not wholly
" loft. If I let it fall, oh then affaire yourfelf that Suatho is no more."
Thorchill, fays Bartholin, who tells the ftory, hafted to decide ; but
the knife, as might be ezpeded, dropped from the hero's hand. Mu-
nich, in Bavaria, was built in thcfe days, and called Monaco, from a
monk's head being dug up when the foundations were making. Ipres
in Flanders, bears nearly the fame date, fb named from the river Ipra.
Its manufactures, elegant as they are, have been well known for many
ages. Diaper, of which our table-cloths are even yet made, had the
appellation from the town d'Iper : but a coetaneous city of higher note
claims our attention, drawing it an inftant tow'rd the Saracen em-
pire, which, by the time we are reviewing, had been divided into fc\cn
kingdoms, ruled by feven ufurpers, as they are called, I know not why,
for all were alike ufurpers. The only place they did no lulling injury
to is England. They brought to us the Arabick and more commo-
dious characters to count by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 7, 8, 9. Letters of the al-
phabet were in ufe before, according to the Roman fafliion ; and that
mode went on upon clocks and watches till quite the other day.

Mean

238 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. QOO, [CH. xiv.

Meanwhile one of thefe ufurpcrs, Alcahir, about the year 9/0, laid
the firft ftone of what is now fojuftly called Grand Cairo, calling it
after his own name ; it bears the appellation ftill, cutting but off the
firft fyllable, by aphoercfis, and adding an o to the end by paragoge,
Cahiro. Bohemia exhibited fcencs of horror in this period, or imme-
diately before Otho the Great fubdued it: when wretched Wen-
ceflaus was invited by his mother and brother to a banquet held in
the church, where they treacheroufly murdered him, in order that
Boleflaus, afterwards furnamcd the Cruel, might fucceed. Some con-
folation however, is afforded by hearing Dubravius Scala tell how the
lady was ftruck by lightning, and funk into a fiffure made in the earth
as fhe was hunting, fuppofed to have been a fudden effect from thun-
derbolts, or concealed volcano. The fratricide fucceeded better, had

a beautiful daughter named Dumbraca, wedded to Miefko, a Polifh
ruler, who instituted the cuftom of crying out, Glory be to thee, oh
Lord ! on hearing the evangelifts read in church. Hatto meantime,
prince and bifliop of Mentz, hard prefTed by famine, ihut up fix hun-
dred haplefs wretches in a barn, and fet the place on fire, that fo there
might be more meat left for thofe that remained : when their fhrieks
reached the palace, " 'Tis only my flarving mice" he cried. This
was not worfe than Sylla, who butchered as many thoufands in cold
blood, and laid they were his pigs or lambs o'fticking. The pagan
dictator was eaten alive by worms. Trithemius tells how our Chrif-
tian bifliop was purfued by mice, which following him even to a cattle
he had built upon a fmall ifland in the Rhine, there fvvam after and
devoured him. A fecond Otho now made Italy refound with his ex-
ploits againft the Sclavonians, Saracens, &c. but dying of a poifoned
arrow, Ihot by fbmc treacherous enemy, was buried at Rome, leaving
a fon, Otho III. for his confummate wifdom called Mirabilc Mundi.
He fubdued all opponents, he inftitutcd the Palatinate of the Rhine,
and from Henry the Lion, third of the new ellablifhcd princes, fprung
the Dukes of Bavaria, who count no higher than the year y8o. A

memorable

CH. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. 239

memorable aera for royal genealogies; yet they take the lion of Allc-
mannus as coat armour, and confider him as the remote founder of
their houfe. About this time Lothairc's difturbances fplit France in
many parts, and at length by death of Lewis V. (called Louis lc
Faineant) poifoned by his wife Blanche, ended the Carlovingian race
in that country. Charles, Duke of Lorraine, and ion to Louis outrc-
mer, having rendered himfelf odious and contemptible to the nobles
by doing homage to Otho for his dukedom, the barons fct up Hugh
Capet, fon of Hugucs le Blanc, or Hughes le Grand : he was chofcn for
merit more than birth, although his being great grandfon to a butcher or
blackfmith was impoflible ; and Princefs Anna Commena defcribes his
progeny as proud of their high delccnt. Witichind, Duke of Saxony,
had a daughter who married fomewhat beneath herfelf, and offended
Odo the regent, and Robert her proud brothers : her fon by that mar-
riage was father to Hugh Capet, fo called from being head and leader
of his faction : though others fay 'twas from a hood he wore, whence
cape to this day ; but although Caligula and other princes were fomc-
times denominated from their drcfles, 'tis more likely that the hood
was called cape from Hugh, I think, than Hugh from his cape. His
family has given kings to France ever fince: Q87 faw him crowned at
Paris ; 1 7Q2 faw the laft fpark of his illuftrious line expire in a pri/bn,
with the glory and honour of their once loyal and gallant nation ; and
'tis obfervable that Louis XVII. united the old Capetian and Carlo-
vingian families in himfelf, Mnrie Antoinette being lineally defcended
from Charlemagne. Hugh Capet had his twelve peers: they are
ipoken of by Flodoard, of Rheims ; but as his chronicle comes down
only to yOC), one cannot be fure. Fuller fays prettily, that every hilto-
rian keeps a clock of his own, and lets events to it ; though Baker is
very ferious about chronological miftakcs. My own poor dial, ill lit
up at firft, for want o'' Wronger funfhir.c, and difficult to adjuft for luck
of a better quadrant, and fkill in mechanifm fuperior to what I pofllfe,
may fhew feme few things perverfely, but the reader was promifed
only a flight RetroJ'pettion ; and otthat Otho III. claims a proportionate

fill

-240 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [CH. xiv.

fhare. He fet up Gregory V. a Saxon, in the papal chair, Cref-
centius rebelling, fet up John XVII. againft him ; but the Emperor
cut Crefcentius into quarters ; and took his handfome widow for a mif-
trefs. He gave the Venetians a fort of independency no other Euro-
pean nation enjoyed, that of keeping their own churches under their
own jurifdiclion, appointing a patriarch, as at Conftantinople. That
office in the eaft was not however, of the pope's appointing at any
time, and Venice foon learned to chufe the head of her own church.
The Morofini and Caloprini meantime, difturbed the happinefs of that
republick with their factious contefts, of which Rome, to fay truth,
fet the example ; and Otho, having burned his wife alive for making
love to a nobleman of the court, and then accufing him of ill intent
towards her, found himfelf no happier in his illicit connection : for
Crefcentius's widow, ever refenting though fecretly her hufband's
death, and her own degradation, poifbncd the Emperor in a pair of
perfumed gloves, and Henry, the limping duke of Bavaria, fuccceded.

The Sweno, baptized in Denmark by the preceding Otho, not the
wife one, did his royal fponfor but little credit ; he foon apoftatized
from Chriftianity, and fought a famous battle with the Vandals, who
took him prifoner, and as ranfom, demanded his own weight in gold,
Crantz fays, and twice his weight in filver. Such was the fondnefs
fhownjpr his return, that all the Danifh ladies fold their finery, and
in a proceffion went to pay for and fetch him home.

Saxe Gotha was built fome time in this century, while Mahomet,
a Moorifh prince, reigned in Corduba ; but other provinces of Spain
exhibited no fewer inftances of vile depravity than Saracens or Pagans
could have fhown.* Ramirez however, took pofleffion of Madrid, 955 ;

* A ftrange cheat is recorded by Vafcus, how Ferdinand of Caftile bought a hawk
and a horfe for a maravidi, of Sancho, king in Leon ; the fmall coin, a fixteenrh of
our farthing, I believe, was to be doubled by arithmetical progreffion (which Ferdi-
nand underftood, but the buyer could not be made to comprehend) as often as the
feller could tic knots on the jefibs. The firing held thirty knots ; and the king was
forced to pawn all his crown jewels for the payment of this filly purchafe.

and

CH. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. 241

and whereas his predeceflbrs had been kings of Leon, or Caftilc, or
Arragon, he fixed the metropolis where it is ftill acknowledged. Ma-
drid was one of thofe early aggregates of dwelling feleded in the fa-
bulous ages for its fine air and wholefome foil ; Jo wholefome, that 'tis
ud there never \vas a plague there; which privilege can, I think,
fcarcely be fuppofed to have been granted to its refidents for their pe-
culiar cleanlinefs or virtue. Sancho the Fat now poifoncd his mother
with an envenomed cup flic had prepared for him ; and Avicenna the
oriental phyfician, or his recipes (for the man himfclf muft have been
dead furc) could not fave her. He came originally from Sinai, Evi
Sinai, cafily changed to Avicenna, and I have read that it was he
brought the Arabick characters among us firft. They were very long
rn travelling, for Montfaucon fays they were in common ufe when
Egypt was made firft a province of the Roman empire ; yet England
had not wholly adopted them in the twelfth century. Dr. Wallis in
his algebra, chap. -1th, tells of a chimney hefaw at Hclmclon in North-
amptonfliire with the mixt characters thus, M 133 for 1133. The
adventure of Sancho and his mother Elvira is yet remembered in
Spain, where I believe it is the cuftom ftill for women to drink frjl.
when the cool cup goes round.

But the Greek emperors have been too long forgotten. We have
indeed feen poor Zoe, fo called from tendernefs of her hufband Leo
VI. perhaps, for Zoe means my life, fent off" to a convent by Conftan-
tine VIII. and with her the old parrot who had favcd his father's life.
He, wedding a daughter of ambitious Romanus, aflbciatcd him in the
government, who foon made his own two eldeft fons Casfars, and fc-
cured the patriarchate for his youngeft Theophilad, only fifteen years
old. He lived a gay life, we are told, and kept two thoufand horfcsfor
his plcafure ; and having had the news brought him to church that a
favourite mare had foaled,, he fet down the facramental cup, threw off
his robes, and ran away to the ftable, where giving proper orders for
the new-delivered animal's mafh of wine and piftachio nuts, he rc-
. I. H h turned

242 FROM DEATH OP ALFRED, A. D. 900. [OH. xiv.

turned to the aftonifhed congregation and finifhed the fervice for '. i
Thurfday, that being the day of this extraordinary occurrence. 1VL
while his brother Stephen thruft unpiticd Romanus into a mo: i-
tery for life ; Conftantine banifhed the infolent Ccefars, and reigned
alone, alluring learned men to his capital, till another Romanus,
Conftantine's own fon, thinking his father had lived long enough,
gave him poifon ; but the cup fpilling he recovered, and lived two
years longer : after which the parricide fucceeded to the purple. His
widow Theophania marriedPhocas Nicephorus, hated for grovelling ava-
rice by all, moft by his wife, who leagued with John Zimifces and dc-
ftroyed him. This Emperor complained that foldiers were ill pro-
vided at Conftantinoplc, and eunuchs alone regarded ; he fet his face
againft that intriguing fet of people, and was in fix years murdered by
one of the very famous ones, Balilius by name. Here might ine fill,
or rather dazzle the retrofpeftive eye, with the gold and glitter of thofe
Saracen caliphs who were deftroyed by Theophania's hufbands. The
accounts however both of their riches and their population, ftagger
much more than they inform fuch readers as will turn over thefe in-
accurate pages, ill able to fettle controverfies concerning the old word
Ecbatana, or decide if that could or could not be the capital of the
Abaflides ; more willing to believe that dreadful earthquake which
fignalized the reign of Bardes, if reign it might be called, for he was
emperor only over his own army which befieged Conftantinople, but
never took it from Bafil, whofe daughter married to the Doge of Ve-
nice, and was fo proud, fays Damian, that ihe warned herfelf in deiv.
It muft have been her fon, I think, to whom Otho as fponfor gave
fuch rich prefents of robes all cloth of gold. But Pietro Urfiolo's gifts
to the church were greater : he beftowed on it one altar of pure gold,
befide innumerable jewels to San Marco. The treafures of that build-
ing were unknown except to few : while I am writing we hear of its
being plundered by Bonaparte.

The cold north now teemed with unattractive vices. One of the

Norwegian

CH. xtv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000.

Norwegian leaders denied tribute to the Danes : they fent a fleet
againft him ; and in order to obtain from the angekoks a temped to
dcftroy thefe invaders, they made him facrificc his ion to devils.
Crantz tells another ftory hereabouts, late in the tenth century, how
a bold archer there, boafting his fkill in fome rude chieftain's prefence
(Harold or Olaus), the prince fet an apple on his little boy's head and
bid the fellow Ihoot : he did fo, and cleft the apple -with its point.
Our favage ruler obferving two more arrows in his hand, afkeci their
purpofe. " With one of them," replied the bowman, " had my
" child's life been loft, yourfelf mould have been fliot, and with the
" next fliould have been killed he who firft ftirred to defend fuch a
" tyrant." Thefe ftories came to England, we may fee, with little
alteration. Fortunatus's cap is Prince Eric's cap, who had the winds
he w i(hed for : he was fortunate in not. being facrificed when his bro-
ther went to't : but Eric was a favourite with the wizards of the
ftorm ; they gave him a cap which, by turning, procured for him the
winds he had occafion to ule. The other talc we adapt to William of
Cloudefelyc (See Percy's Reliques) ; but 'tis an older edition only of
William Tell, anticipated by four centuries, and with a lefs fatal end-
ing ; for the Norwegian king heard himfelf called a tyrant patiently,
and filled the archer's bag with filver too.

And now, as Dr. Young lays, What is the hiftory of humankind ?
A haceldama fure, a field of blood ; darkened with clouds denoting
its uncertainty, through which, if any fliining character beams forth
from time to time, it fliincs but as the lightning docs, leaving like
that not feldom dreadful efFeds. If fuch be hiftory, and fuch it h;i<
appeared on Retrofpettion, flic fliould be painted as the Wanderer de-
fcribcs his allegorical figure, where he fays,

A robe fhe wore,

\Vkh life's calamities cmbroider'd o'er ;
A mirror in her hand collective fliows,
Varied and multiplied, that group of \v

H h 2 Such

244 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, &c. [CH. xiv.

Such is our fmall epitome, a convex glafs ; and what, excepting for-
rows, have we reviewed in thefe few pages which prefent a miniature
and fummary of ten centuries, one thoufand years on earth, with their
moft flriking names, events, occurrences ! Some admirable mortals
have indeed appeared upon the tiny ftage, too clofe confined for fuch
exalted characters, ten characters perhaps, not more in the ten ages ;
fent however to fliow what men by ftrenuous exertion might be ; lent
us to fee how lovejy human nature looks when animated by virtue, fet
but a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honour.

CHAP,

CH, xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A, D. 1 loo. 245

CHAP. XV.

FROM THE FIRST FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE

UNDER TANGROLIPDC, 10OO,
TO THE TIME OF THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1100.

ANEW defcription of men begins a new chapter; while the
Turks, fince then fo famed in ftory, claim here a glance from
Retrofyetfion s eye. In the year 1060 after our Lord's appearance
upon earth, that formidable though dubious tribe of warriors, deduced
from Hebrew origin by fome, from Trojan {lock by others ; fhewcd
themfelves of infinite confequence to all. They had two centuries
back quitted the Riphaean mountains and heights of Imaiis, which I
am told means Snowdon in fbme oriental dialect, and left the cold
abodes of Scythia for warmer climates. They too were wanderers*
which the word Turk implies. But whilft the Vandals fettled weft-
ward of their native regions, thefe wifely faftencd upon fair Armenia;
where once eftablifhed, feeing the caliphs or fucccfTors of Mahomet
dividing their imperial power, and by divifion falling into decay, feizcd
their opportunity, and being called in as auxiliary troops to affift the
Sultan of Perfia, Togra Mucalet made himfelf too ufeful ; and having
by his archers driven out the Arabs, became a dangerous friend, if
friend, to the prince who had entreated his aid, but could not now
obtain what he more wifhed-r-his abfence. The great hcroick leader
Tangrolipix placed his Scdluccian or Selduzzian family in Perfia, keep-
ing the ftrongeft caftlcs for their fecurity. The Sultan, weary of this

unrequeftcd

FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. XT.

unrequefted refidence, attempted next to drive him out by force. The
Turkim bowmen made a feigned retreat ; but lurking in the woods,
burft fuddenly upon the Saracen camp ; deftroyed in that one battle
the flower of their army, their poffibility of efcape, and their hopes of
conqueft upon a future day. The invaders however made themfelves
lefs unwelcome in the domain which they thus wrefted from its late
poflevTors, by profeffing themfelves defcendants of Zadock or Sydyck,
fuppofed Noah, from whom we are all defcended, and by profeffing
the faith of Iflimael as modified by Mahomet. Mount Ararat, they
faid, was one of the heights of Cathay, the northern diflricl, and now
fcarce a diftricl of China, which boafts Fohe or Noe likevvife for anceftor,
and fince his facrifice they feemed in that country to have been fire*
worfhippers ; yet with peculiar veneration to the ferpent, of whofc
adorers Bryant gives fo fuccincl and yet fo clear account in his mytho-
logy ; the contemplation of the fun's path probably ferved for both.
The zodiack being in a *^-/~\_^ ferpentine form, one god moved in
the other god's track, and confirmed them in their reverence for each.
Diaci means path, as I have been told ; twelve divifions of which
with twelve figns annexed portioned out the year, and twelve years
formed their cycle, jehach, giack, or (Rack, each year bearing an ani-
mal's form and name, thus, Moiife,. Bull, Lynx, Hare, Crocodile, Ser-
pent, Horfe, Sheep, Monkey, Dog, Bear, Hen ;* the favourite in the

* Mr. Samuel Turner, whom Nambar Deo, the moft high and mighty lion in the
world, ftyles prote&or of the humble, from whofe boundlefs knowledge nothing is
concealed, publifhes a lift of names for the years compofing this cycle, fomewhat dif-
ferent as to the manner of placing them ; but the Snake keeps its poft of pre-emi-
nence. And by the cauldron of fire produced for recovery of Mr. Saunders, and the
never-dying flame of their lamps in Rootan or Thibet, I gather, that the religion of
which Grand Lama is the perpetual prieft, has for its objeft the renovating power
which, having once furvived the defhuftion by water in the perfon of Zadyck, Noah -,
will again preferve us from the expefted deftruftion by fr.e under the perfon of Dalai
Lama,, whofe firft minifter is even now in. the year 1800 fly led Sadyck or Sadeek, as
Mr. Turner lays.

middle

en. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. 1-17

middle for pre-eminence, or nearly To. AI Suphi, the Sophy I
pofc, who died juft as thcfe Turks came in ; was faid to have com-
pofcd a catalogue of fixed ftars too,, but as he had no inftrumcnts that
\vc know of wherewith to obfcrvc them, it was probably a fchcmc for
cafting nativities, rather than any attempt towards aftronomy ; though
Coftard thinks he fitted the old Ptolomiean catalogue to his own time,
allowing for the preccflion of the equinox.

While the world's notice was ftrongly attracted towards this new
tribe of wanderers, a wild enthufiaft ftartcd up among them, predict-
ing the felicity of Tnrct/m, and extent of their domains, which fhall not
(fays the man) be taken from them, until they fcoop away the blood-
red apple, and wrap their heads round in its fcarlct fkin. A modern
reader coming to this paflagc exclaims, " Oh, let them then beware the
bonnet rouge /" But we arc engaged in Retrofpeft. Conftantine IX.
now ruled the eaftcrn empire, and although worthlefs enough while he
was alive and well, fuch was the (late of matters on his fickncfs, that
the fucceflbr, Romanus Argirus, found himfclf compelled either at
once to give up his pretenfions, or elfc to lofe his eyes, or to repudiate
his W 7 cll-deferving wife, and wed young Zoe, daughter of the emperor.
Few men would, I luppofe have hefitated, and this prince had in his
confbrt a convenient friend ; flic faved her own difgracc by voluntary
retirement, ending her ftill life in a nunnery, and fliutting out all
troublcfbme intelligence concerning the nuptials of Zoc and Argirus ;
who, though he in compliance with court etiquette was married to
one princefs of royal race, banifhed her filter Theodora, and paiTcd his
time uncafily with Zoe, who fell in love with Michael Paphlago ; and
the firft hufband liv'd not long in thofc days when ladies fixed their
fancy on another. This Emperor was very fuccelsful againft the Sa-
racens, but having ill health, dropfy, and cpilcptick fits, the monks
got round him, and prompted his repentance of Romanus's murder ;
to penitence for fuch a fin was eafily added averfion for his aflbciate ;
and Zoe felt the punilhment of feeing herfelf hated by him for whom

alone

248 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. xv.

alone me became guilty. Death broke her fecond chain, but a new
Michael, furnamed Calaphatcs, fet up for emperor, ihaved the once
lovely daughter of Conftantine IX. and banifhed her by a decree for
ever. The people ftrongly attached to the old houfe, took up her
quarrel, and rebelled immediately; feized the ufurping prince, put
out his eyes, and called their favourite Zoe home again. She was next
married to Conftantine Monomachus, who ruled the eaft in her name ;
but keeping a miftrefs with more pomp than prudence, the nobles,
ever true to their firft choice, refented this infult to the dignity of a
family they revered, and fetting people on to (lone the emperor, re-
fblved to vindicate thofe old authorities which they conceived to be
ignobly trampled on, when the confort of a fovereign princefs coha-
bited openly with a lady belonging to the court. The lady however,
prevailed on Zoe, now old and blind, infirm, and almoft in a ftate of
fatuity, to mew herfelf in publick ; protefting to the citizens that
all was by her own confent, her own defire. This pacified the
tumult, and Conftantine reigned quietly twelve years, his favourite
enjoying her poft in peace ; and both contributing to keep alive
the emprefs, upon whofe breath their dignity depended. When
{he died her hufband was himfelf in articulo mortis, and the fubjccls
fetched home Theodora from banifhment, and although at this time
the flagellants were fo efteemed that rods were wanting to the fcve-
rities of convent difcipline ; fuch was the difpenfing power of the
popes, that Zoe's death induced them to exert it, and force her fad
lifter out from that laft refuge of piety and forrow, to take (when-
icarce alive) the care of the Greek empire on herfelf. Her firft acT: of
power was exiling her ancient enemy Nicephorus, and mowing that
revenge was not, by twenty-eight years confinement, extinguished in
her bofom. The next ftep was aflbciating Michael Stratioticus, who
had not fpirit to keep the feat flie gave him ; but dying within the
year, a new dynafty was at length begun in Ifaac Comnenius, firft of a
family, rendered illuftrious afterwards by talents as by virtue : but we

mufl

CH. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. noo. 249

muft not forget Henry the Limping, fb called, bccaufc in a fedition at
Pavia he leaped a wall, and diflocated his thigh, which never could be
fet. His generals however, made fucccfsful wars for him ; but a great
peftilence fb wafted Germany, that the old writers fay fcrpents grew
out of the dead bodies ; worms I fuppofe, and frighted thofe who were
yet alive from burying them. This might have cured their quarrel-
fome difpofition, and given them all enough to do at home ; but Con-
rad, fucceflbr to Henry, had no quiet reign : he crowned his fon king
of the Romans however, and that cuftom has gone forward ever fincc.
Henry the Black was called to the Empire upon his deccafe at Mae-
ftricht : this Henry's confort is the firft I read of who purged herfelf
of all accufmg ftains by fire ordeal. Pontanus tells the tale, and adds
how no repentance on her hufband's part could pacify her injured ho-
nour ; but rclentful of an accufation me dcferved not ; that queen hid
her vexations in irrevocable confinement, while her hufband confbled
himfelf by marrying fair Agnes, daughter to the Prince of Aquitaine,
who reigned, or at leaft governed as regent to her fon Henry IV, till
being arrived at years of emancipation, fifteen, he thruft her into
a convent. The rebellion of King Aba in Croatia however, had made
a little change here in the weftern empire, where Henry the Black
gave part of the re-conquered provinces to Albert, duke and prince of
Bavaria, who from its fituation towards the other imperial provinces,
named his new acquisition Anjirhi. T/iat name remains to it ftill.
Meanwhile the papal chair, which at the very beginning of this cen-
tury had been adorned by Silvefter II. a bifliop qualified for his mod
facred office by all that ftudy could teach, or capacity retain, now
groaned under ambition, ignorance, and folly, when after the death of
John, and the dcpofmg of Benedict, three pretenders lived at once
in Rome, and Clement, who was elected in their defpite was poifbned ;
but Benedict returning to the charge, next difpatched Damafus IL
.and Leo who reigned longcft, was after five years imprifoncd at Benc-
VOL. I. I i \ento.

250 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [en. XT.

vento. Succeeding princes, all of noble blood, coufms to the Em-
peror, or brothers to the Dukes of Lorraine, difputed for the fee with
fury ill becoming ecclefiafticks. Honorius attacked Rome fword in
hand, fighting for the popedom, and was repulfed, although he held
the Lateran two years : but we fhall foon fee the tiara on a head
able to keep it faft ; at prefent Spain requires a glimpfe of Retrofpeffian.
'Twas early in the eleventh century that King Ramirez fettled at
Madrid, lamented the difturbed court of his coufm Sancho, then King
of Navarre, who gave up his innocent and well-meaning queen to the
intrigues of his and her fon Garcia, who with unnatural violence ac-
cufed his mother of adultery with the mafter of the horfe, becaufe that
officer had on forne occafion denied the bold and young prince accefs
to the ftable, and refufed him a favourite palfrey of his father's, on
which he wifhed to purfue fome adventure. His revenge however,
drawing on the Queen's difhonour, with Carlos's decapitation, fhe de-
mands the combat, and young Ramirez, a natural fon of the King, of-
fered to fight his half-brother, in defence of an injured lady. The
lifts were drawn, but guilt, and confcioufnefs of a bad caufe, difarmed
and overpower' d Garcia : he fell down fuddenly at Sancho's feet, con-
feffing his crime, and relating the provocation. To pacify Elvira was
not however, an eafy matter ; fhe refolved to quit both court and king-
dom ; nor could the enamour'd, though jealous king, retain her near
his perfon, till he had taken a folemn oath to difinherit Garcia, and
leave all he poffefled to Ramirez. Such hard conditions broke the pa-
rent's heart ; but he fubmitted, and the young prince was lent to ex-
piate his fins in folitude, while generous Ramirez fucceeded to the
fceptre, and was called king of Arragon. He reigned thirty-eight
years, and left his dominions to Ferdinand the firft, king of Caftile
and Leon. Seville now boafled a univerfity, and literature was fe-
cretly working up towards the light. Guido Aretine, a native of
Tufcany, and monk of the Benedi&ine order, being blefled with an ear

particularly

OH. xv.] TO THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. a -, i

particularly attentive to harmony, had the ftrangc nicety to obfc TVT.
in * a popular hymn to St. John, the emphatick fyllables,

U.t queant laxls fonare fabris,
jl//ra geftorum, /amula tuorum,
Suite polluti /abi reatum

Sanfle Johannes !

Thefe emphatick fyllables which had (truck him as they chanted or
bawTd out the litanies and Latin hymns, in an odd monotonous tone,
much like blind men who beg alms ; he had the curiofity to mark
wTth points thus, and put a letter to each, A.B.C.D.E.F.

ut. re. mi. fa. fol. la.

but becaufe here were only fix notes after all, his car led him to add
another ; and having marked that with a Greek G, called Gamma,
the fcale obtained the name of Gamut, and keeps it ftill. This is
Monfieur de Menage's account, but I believe Hawkins and Burney
tell the fame tale. The tuono dt chiefa, is yet a word or expreflion
common in Italy for that fame chanting tone : and deo auxiliante, as
one of the old writers fays, we have obtained, through their toil a
plcafure to our fcnfe, which hardly can be made a vice of. Writing
too, was facilitated by the commoner ufe of cotton paper than for-
merly an improvement which probably travelled into Europe from
the caft : though it is hard to fay when it was ufed firft. Perc Ma-
billon fays, it was an old invention revived, becaufe St. Mark's gofpel
of the 5th century, kept in the Archiviaj Venetians, is on cotton pa-
per ; but all the arts almoft were rather revived than in\ cntcd, except
a few, of which we fliall have occafion to fpeak in courfe of this

* The vcrfes were written by Paul Diaconus a little before the days of Chalemagnc.
It was called centrafunto or cwntirpeint very properly, becaufe the fyllables were fet
fouuter, or agalnjl the points.

1 i 2 fummarv.

'251 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, ]OOO, [en. xw

fummary. Pens were made of quills now, as my competitors the
little tablets of* memory and fuch books tell ; and I cannot contradict'
them. It feems as if they and the paper came in together, for pens
write very ill on parchment, or pergamino, as Italians {till call it, from
Attalus, the king of Pergamus, its original inventor. France civi-
lized apace, particularly in language, which is after all the leading
feature the ftrong band of focial life ; but the imperial ink, of u
purple colour, with green to mark the dates, was ufed only in the eaft,
I believe. Conftantine Porphyrogenitus, begotten in the purple, i. e.
after his father was emperor, and born in the porphyry chamber, ufed
tl^s ink for common purpofes. I have read fomewherc, that other
oriental fovcreigns dipt their pens in it, only for afts of publicity. The
Diclionnaire Diplomatique, tells a hundred fiich old tales, and there
was a very fine one in the library at Vienna, ] 786, but Ducange fays
enough to make authority.

A foreigner once allied me, why we called our country in tendernefe
Old England always ? It is, added he, in my opinion, fomewhat lefs
old than any other country. Northern nations were certainly behind
hand in the belles-letters, but their romances celebrated virtue and
valour and early among thefe we read the hiftory of Hialmar, in
the year looo, relating a challenge between two champions for the
fair daughter of fome fern i^ barbarous king, who fearful left the world
mould lofe two fuch warriors, neither of them being likely to relin-
quifh his prize except with life; at length compofed the fatal difference
between them, by beftowing the lady without even a flock of fheep as
a dowry, upon Hialmar, preienting Ulpho his rival, at the fame mo-
ment, with a horn of ineftimable value, on which was engraved the
figures of Odin, Thar and Frey ; which figures properly confulted (the
liars being in favourable pofitions) wxmld yield a found from which fu-
ture events might be on great occafions cafily deduced. So here is
the lady and the tripod again, as in the days of Homer, and the tri-
pod went to the winner then.

CH. xv.] TO THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1100. 253

It appears that there is a circle of ideas in which mankind miift
move. Cr.nefus publifhed a reward for novelty, but no one claimed it ;
and Retrofpettion of human affairs fmce his time, (hows how few pre-
tenders have appeared that could, fmce Homer's day, find out an inci-
dent that has not its original, either in his Iliad or his Odyfiey. Butob-
fcrvations mult give way to facls for the prcfent : in coarfe ages we judge
of manners by their hiftory refinement melts down hiftory to manners,
fufing fadls into a ftream of general Similitude, or frittering the aggre-
gate of information into particular and trivial anecdotes, like thofe of
the Babylonian caliphs and Byzantine monarchs, dwelt on by Mr.
Gibbon, with even prolix delight. Bringing together a profufion of
learning, however, is always great, and in the eyes of unlearned people
like myfelf, it is always plcajing to fee the poflibility of thofc old
Arabian tales which charmed our early babyhood, lately confirmed by
the mature knowledge or teftimony of fcholars, andfuch and fo glitter-
ing, was certainly, in oriental annals, that eleventh century, which
owned no merit but of a rude caft among our cold feptcntrionifts the
while; where Frotho, king of Denmark, had ordained, that whofoevcr
folicited a port in his army, ought upon all emergencies to attack one
enemy, to face two, to retire only one ftcp back from three, and
never to make retreat till fet upon by four. Thcfe rules he faid, he
had always been careful to obferve himfelf, whofe common cxpreflion
was, that Heaven muft ncceflarily be taken by ftorm, and that the
violent did indeed literally fecure it by force ; for, fee you not, faid
he, how in judiciary combat, God "always goes with the ftrongeft.
Frotho was fon to that Sweno, whom the ladies ranfomcd by fale of
their ornaments, in return for which kindnefs, he enacted a law that
woman might (in defect of male heirs) reign in Denmark, a place of
no new name, but called fo (lomDantz, contemporary, as I havefomc-
where read, with Romulus ; and Dantzig boafts the fame far diftant
origin. Sweden had a like truft in faith and valour thefe were in-
deed the Scandinavian virtues ; a Swede fights beft, fay they, when he

fees

254 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000, [CH.C/.

fees his own breath, meaning in frozen latitudes. The ode recited by
the three bards of Jomfberg, is a characleriftick poem they were be-
ginning theaclion: " You mall, fays Hacko to them, not relate after
this battle, tales you have heard, but fights you have feen." The con-
teft was with Fairlocks, king of Norway, he was called Harfagre :
llegner Lodbrog boafts in his famous ode, 'twas he that killed him :
" We fought, fays he, with fwords, in that day when I made to ftruggle
in the twilight of death, that young chieftain fo proud of fair flowing
locks ; he that loved to converfe with the handfbme widows. We
fought with fwords, for a man of arms marches early to the conflict,
and makes ample food for the yellow-footed eagle he who afpires to
the love of a princcfs, will be dauntlefs in the claili of fwords." Of
this complexion too was Harold, the hardy brother to Olaus. He to
efcape afl affiliation, walked out of his own country as far as Conftan-
tinople ; two ruffians watched him on the way, but he deftroyed them
both ; finding however how things flood at home, no intentions of
return entered his thoughts, and after a prodigious time fpent on fuch a
journey, Harold the Hardy entered the eaftern capital ragged and
wretched, as Ulyffes arrived in Ithaca.

Little attracted by the gay appearance of a place fo new and ftrange to
.him, our northern chieftain's character broke forth by fudden quarrel with
.a nobleman in the frreet, whom having killed, the emperor unknow-
ing, or unheeding of "his quality, threw him in a dungeon where was
kept an African ferpent of enormous fize, fuch as this northern leader
never could have feen ; they grappled, and the bold Norwegian flew
him alter Ihort conteft. Leo Tornititius then ruled at Conftantinople,
and hearing what had paft, releafed his valiant prifoncr, .and informed
him of Hardiknute's deceafc juft learned from Hamburgh ; offering
him money to provide his paflage home, with juft regard to rank ib
elevated, and prowcfs fo prodigious. Harold however, diiliking all he
had feen of foftcr climates, and hearing of agreeable changes in his

native

CH. xv.] TO THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1101, 255

native north, walked him difdalnfully back to the arctick circle, and
gained there the juft appellation of Harold the Hardy.

Such were the men who conquered England ; where not unjuftly
provoked by a feigned peace and real maflacre, Swcyn or Sacno,
nephew, I think, to Frotho, and like him a new converted Chriftian,
now began to meditate, as Milton fays dreadful revenge, and battle
dangerous to lefs than gods. They had erecied bilhopricks in Denmark,
and given a filver candleftick to the church ; and having no doubts, of
courfe, that they fhould receive heavenly aid, they drove our treacherous
Ethelrcd down to their finely imagined hell for cowards, and forced him
to drink of the hideous naftrande (whence iiajty, I believe,) and though
by dying, he left a moffc heroick fon to contend with them, and well
difpute poflcffion of his kingdom, the genius of Canute the Great*
who followed his predeceflbr's fteps, acYmg with more fkill and equal
pertinacity, foon grew too powerful for Edmund, though furnamcd
Ironfides, to ftrive with : a famine too, occafioncd by bad feafons, put
his troops out of heart, and being at length murdered by his perfidi-
ous chamberlains at Oxford, Canute was left in afhiaJ, though we
will not call it peaceable, poflefllon of England, Denmark, and Nor-
way, affifted ever by Earl Godwin, a nobleman, whofe vaft domain
confifting of all WefTex, and I believe much more, rendered him of
immenfe confequence to whoever fhould fit upon our Britilh throne.
This was in the year 1010, when the king proved that his rough fa-
vage manners had given way to Chriftian humility, by the known
fpeech addreiTed to his flattering courtiers, who as he late upon the
fhore near Hallin^s, exprefled llieir admiration at his grcatncfs, who
thus fubdued, they faid, both land and fea. Canute replied, "I'll iflue
a command then, that thefe waves touch not my feet," and fo he did,
fitting quite ftill, till a high tide came and \\afhed over them: then
riling, cried, " Now fee, my right good lords, what little pow'r your
" king hath, and make no more blafphemous fpceches in his prcfcncc,
" who feeth and ordaineth, and hath created all things." This

prince

256 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. xv.

prince however, although humble before God, encouraged in himfelf
a lofty concioufnefs of Superiority over other men, for Loftunga, the
bard or fcald, the laureate of the day, having prefented his fovereign
with an anagram and acroftick, curioufly devifed on ibme great fefti-
val, when it was his place to celebrate his matter's merits ; Canute
bid him do better, or lofe his head, for daring to employ no more words
in his praife, and for fuppofing fuch exploits could be contained in ten
lines. The poet foon amplified his commendations, and fb extended
them on the fccond trial, that he received a cow for his reward, -be-
fides fome marks in filver.

But Scotland now exhibited fcenes of wickcdnefs infuffcrable,
brought daily before our r&rofieffive eye by Shakefpear's wonder-work-
ing pen, and Siddons's unequalled powers of reprefcntation. Macbeth's
murder of exemplary Duncan, and fubfequent usurpation of the throne
there, marks thefe perturbed moments ; nor can we fufficiently ad-
mire our great poet's ufe of the tale fo generally believed, that witches
firft excited his ambition. Such fcenes of fuperftitious credulity are
with great judgment fet forth, when he recalls to our amazed imagi-
nation runic talcs and terrifying occurrences, fuggefted by Holinfhed,
Buchanan, or Saxo Grammaticus. Attentive to propriety, he calls no
fpiritsfrom the uafty deep, when Cyprus is the theatre of aclion, or Ju-
liet's warm and faithful paffion brings early-blooming Verona to our
view. But we proceed in our fummary, which fhews fome alteration
in the affairs of England, where by Canute's death and divifion of his
empire among three fons, no fmall confufion followed. The attach-
ment which our iflanders felt for the father's merits was quickly re-
moved by the \oung mens' conduct, Harold, Harefoot, and Hardik-
nute. The third youth owed his deftrucliion to Earl Godwin. Ill
chance and little fkill on all their parts however, left the crown vacant,
which was foon fet upon the head of a moft pious prince, Edward fur-
named the Confeffor, of Saxon blood, and manners eminently gentle ;
although his reign commenced with -fuch an ad; as we fliould efteem

cruelty

CH. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. 257

cruelty intolerable, forcing Queen Emma, widow of Canute the Great,
to prove her chaftity by fire ordeal. Leofrid, lord of Coventry the
while, in order to mew himfclf no lefs fevcre, levied a tax upon his
town, fuch as it could never have been able to pay. The lady Go-
cliva intreated for her native city, but its tyrant would remit the ini-
poft upon one condition only, that the fuppliant fhould ride along the
open ftreet without any clothes at all on ; and (he complied, covering
herfclf with her hair, the people, out of refpecT: and gratitude, keeping
clofe within their houfes, that flic might not be looked at ; although
fuch was the fmall fize of Godiva, and fuch the immenfe quantity of
her hair, that nothing, if they had looked, could have been feen. This
ftory, told by Matthew of Weftminftcr in his Florilegus, is apparently
taken verbatim from the Golden Legend, where the fame tale is related
of St. Agnes ; and there arc many pictures in Italy confirming my charge
of plagiarifm : but facls are fcarce, and the fame narration fcrves to hafh
up again perpetually. I know not where I have read, but fomewherc I
have read of an accident fimilar to that which befell the turbulent earl
Godwin. Harold taunting him at a feaft with fomc words exprcfiinj;
fufpicion of his having caufed young Alfric's death, brother of the
reigning fovereign, that arrogant nobleman denied it, with oaths and
ftrong afleveration, adding, he wifhed the bread then in his mouth
might choke him, if ever he had cognizance of that tragical event.
Anxious to be heard, and fpeaking haftily with his mouth full, the bread
did choke him, and convinced all pre/ent of his guilt. St. Edward,
though married to this earl's daughter, liked the family fo little that
he refolutely forebore to continue it, although diftrefs'd to an extreme
upon account of the fucceflion, and fcnt for his nephew, fon to Iron-
fides, from the continent. This prince unhappily catching a fever and
dying ten days after his arrival, left his prctenfions to a confumptive
boy, unequal to the tafk of well maintaining them. The Confeflbr
looked with grief on a namelefs and famclefs {tripling as his fucccflbr,
who has been known to hiflory, I think, by no other appellation than
VOL I. K k Athcling;

258 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. xv.

Athcling ; Edgar Articling, as we mould fay Edgar the Prince; Articling
meaning one of royal blood. Whoever killed an atheling was obliged
to pay a fum as great as one who killed a bi/liop by miltake ; but the
primate's life was of equal value to that of the king, when taken wil-
fully, and bore as high a price. Our fovereign therefore, ill, timid,
and irrefolutc ; hung back from naming any heir at ali ; yet caft his
eyes on William duke of Normandy, who being lately manicd to Ma-
tilda, fifth in defcent from Alfred the Great, was likehcft to fecure the
crown and dignity from Godwin's infolent aipiring fons, who feemed
to inherit that genius of turbulent and reftleis ambition which had in-
Ipired their father, and allied them all to the throne, pufhing their filler
to fit on it, however unwelcome to her royal confort. Grown fick
and feeble, he but lived to hear that Harold was on his march to Lon-
don, then died in the arms of his confoling monks ; a race become fb
numerous in our ifle, that they outnumbered the military even in Ca-
nute's days, who laid 'twas upon that afTurance he had grounded his hopes
of a fuccefsful invafion. Thus ended the reign of gentle Edward, who,
when one of his pages, thinking his mafter flept, applied himfelf to
robbing the ftrong box kept near his bed, cried out, " Thou hadft belt
" take care of Hugo the Lord Chamberlain, for if he catch thee, thou
" art a dead dog ; I myfelf however will tell no tales," and kept his
word. Yet little as this king confided in his own ftrength of body or
powers of mind, he was, as it appears, firmly perfuaded that touch of
his hand would cure the fcrophula, a difeafe which threatens to out-
live monarchy itfelf, which Harold now came forward and boldly
claimed, as a ling chofen of the citizens of London. Nor were his early
a c-b unworthy .their approbation. Harold rcvifed, reformed, and put
in execution thofe laws which flept under St. Edward's half-railed
fceptre, whilft a rebellion excited by his brother Tofti, called forth his
martial prow-efs, mewing mankind that England had now no fleepy
fovereign to protect her. William the Norman however, not fo de-
ferred, refolved to invade and conquer this fair ifland. He brought

with

CH. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100.

with him fons to inherit his acquisitions, fons too who boafted high
defccnt from the fafe fide (he was himfclf a baftard) ; he brought
with him a heart full of hope, a hand excelling in all valiant deeds ; he
brought too what was then incftimable, almoft irrcfiftible, he brought
the good pope's blefling and a confecratcd banner touched by fomr
facred reliques kept at Rome. Prctenfions had he none, but through
his duchefs and dying Edward's dubious approbation. Harold how-
ever had ftill fewer claims ; arms could alone decide the contcft, and
to that decifion both brave generals haftcned their laft appeal. That
the Englifli pafs'd the night before that battle which was to determine
their fate, in feafting ; and the Normans in devotion and prayer ; firil
gives an impreffion in favour of the invaders, with whom came viftblc
improvement in all the arts and elegancies of life. The court of Wil-
liam contained volunteer princes and barons from every nation, cadets
of every family, illuftrious by birth and filled with martial ardour.
Among them anccftors of various houfcs ftill fubfifting among us, and
various others of which the male heirs are extinct. Richard de Cave
and Adam de Saltfburg, fon to Alexander then reigning duke of Ba-
varia ; thcfe waited on the pcrfon of their leader William, who arm-
ing early on the decisive morning, reproved the fellow who, prefenting
him the breaft- plate, for want of good light to fee by, was fixing it
between the flioulders. " Gramercy ! good my liege," exclaimed the
ready dreflcr, " this lhall be accounted for high fortune to us, feeing
" you came hither but a duke, ye fliall depart a king, for I put that
" which ufed to be before, behind" The event fucceeding, William
remembered what had happened, and the thing pafTed into a kind of
proverb. It was a bloody conteft. The Normans moving on at dawn
f day, fung the gay fong of Roland, and begun : Harold received the
Ihock with valour, no lefs well tried and perfect than their own.
When fuch chiefs meet, difputing fuch a prize, night-fall and death
alone can end the ftrugglc ; among fifteen thoufand faithful followers
breathlefs upon the field on the next day the royal corpfe was found, and

K k 2 gallant

200 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. xv.

gallant William, juftly called the Conqueror, gave it with decent forrow
to the countefs. Bards, fcalds, and minftrels, proclaimed their own and
their new king's felicity ; for good St. Edward had difgraced that tribe
by prohibition of the poet's exercife by priefts or princes : although
a profeffion confecrated by Alfred's ufe fhould not, methinks, have
been defpifed by any. When learning however, long pent up in the fmall
ark almoft miraculoufly contrived for confervation of thofe feeds foon-
to be fown on the regenerated earth, began to look out of her window
with impatience upon the wild chaotic waves of ignorance and folly ;
firft on excurfive projects (he appears to have fent forth her black crow
Alchemy. After fome unfuccefsful trials he found footing, but not fo-
Urania. Aftronomy yet peeped unwillingly from flicker, returning
foon again opprefled by clouds, that damped encouragement, and
dimm'd enquiry- When fhe brought back the olive it was dufky,.
tinged with the brown hue of gloomy {peculation : feeking rather to.
find out earthly events from afpecl: of the heavenly bodies, than for-
warding our fublunary knowledge by obfervation of their invariable
courfes. Aftrology was fuited to the temper of fuch times ; and-
fcience, on her firft attempt at re-appearance, was in danger of being
feduced to ferve in a bad caufe, by the refemblance this branch of her
tree bears to the magician's wand. Arabian literature was of moft
worth. Perhaps the Arabs introduced fome pleafures too, unknown,
in our rough regions ; chefs,, for example, invented by a.Jheik of their
country, and thence called echecs in French ; but they themfelves had-
it from Greece, I've heard; and Draco, the ievere lawgiver of Athens,
was faid to have taught it to Dionyfius, as an amufement to divert his
mind from cruelty. Happy if fo, had Rome brought that with other
luxuries from Sicily; it might have faved fome lives from Nero and Do
mitian. Nicephorus and. Irene the Cruel are reprefented as alluding to-
this game in their correfpondence, by Mr. Gibbon ;. but though he is
ufually liberal in quotations of authority, I can find none to that.
Soon after the acceffion of our Conqueror however, Johannes Gram-

maticus.

CM. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 K.O. 261

maticus, having ftudicd polite literature at Paris, where the young men
of rank from other nations were in his time lent for education, let up
a fort of academy at Oxford, and took pupils from noble houfes, in
order to inftruct them in the belles-lettres, explaining to them Ovid's
Metamorphofes, and writing a fmall treatifc upon verification. Lan-
franc likewife did his part with fpirit ; for whereas one book then ferved
many monafteries in Spain, this prelate, A. D. 10"2, enjoined his li-
brarian here in England to deliver each of our religieux a book, and
allow each man a year to read it in, and thofe who had neglected it fa
much, as at the twelvemonth's end to know nothing of its contents,;
were to do penance with other delinquents, in the church upon Afli-
Wednefday. Of what was known concerning Greek in thefe days I can-
give little account : Hebrew had kept itfelf alive by William's edict,
calling over Jews to fettle here with a view chiefly to promote com-
merce ; it had however fomc effect on learning. Painting was com-
pletely a dead letter ; mufic breathed more freely ; the difference be-
tween b natural and b flat extended her powers a little. The Gothick
b was natural to us, no doubt ; the Roman b was fofter, and Italians
call it b molle. Faux bourdon is a mere French term for a humming
noife V ons bonrdonnez toujours is their word yet, for one who hums
a dull drony tune to himfelf as he walks along. But facts demand our
retrofpettrve glance, which, while it finds the fterile world effete almoll
to the production of either elegance or fcience, fees its rough rulers re-
create their minds, wearied with plans of war and felf-aggrandizement,
by imitation of like fatal ftruggles, by tournaments without doors, by
chefs within. In evil hour did the Conqueror of England's two fierce
fons, Robert and William, who had fo often quarrelled with each
other, fit down to this laft game with Louis le Gros, hereditary prince
of France. The youth who had unhorfed in fight even his own va-
liant father, was not of a turn to yield at chefs ; and Robert rofe from,
table fworne enemy to Lewis VI. furnamed the Fat, nor did the con-
fequences of the difpute end for three centuries after it commenced.

R>_

262 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000, [CH. xv.

Robert Courthofe however, neither depofed the Conqueror, nor even
fuccecdcd to him, who, as he him felt" exprelled it, meant in no wife to
put off his clothes until he went to bed. Lanfranc, the archbifhop, who
was fo great a benefaclor to the fees of Canterbury and Rochcfler, was
much in the king's favour, and recommended him to chufe William,
furnamcd Rums, as his heir. He did fo ; but being grown fat and
unwieldy, having firit built the Tower of London, fettled the Doomf-
day book, and received homage from the King of Scots, found him-
felf ill and confined: yet when Philip of France, hearing the news,
faid favagely " That ufurper of Britain, methinks, lies long in child-
" bed:" our Conqueror replied " Ay, marry ! and when I have been
" churched once, there lhall be much light feen at Paris." Ke kept
his word, and on recovering, wafted the French territories with fire
and fword, till the metropolis, as he had predicted, prepared for his ap-
proach, which a fall from his too fiery charger alone prevented ; and
our Englim people cried a judgment for having deftroycd thirty-fix
churches and villages between Salifbury and the fea, merely that he
might have more room to hunt in. Such was the character of this
rough chieftain. Baldwin, of Flanders, who built Dunkirk, lived a
life contrafting thefe harfh warriors : he made a vow never to wear a
weapon. Godfrey o'Lorreyne had gentler manners than his coarfe
contemporaries. He built Delft, in Holland, fo called of the deep
ditches he delved round her : but having no fbns, left his polTeffions
to a beautiful filter, Countefs de Blois, and mother to Godfrey of
Boulogne, of whom much hereafter.

Gregory VII. meanwhile reigned at Rome, refolving even with
Caefarian boldnefs, to reftore all the temporal dominions ihc had once
polYefTed, to that proud city ; whofe devouring vultures, feen by old
Romulus, when leaft expecled turn'd at a diftance, and pafs d by once
more, promifing a frefh career of power and rule over a fubmiffive
world. Of that world, half Europe and fomc parts of Afia trembled
before the nod of Gregory the fevcnth. Michael Ducas, Emperor of

the

CH. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE A. D. 1 100. 2 fi3

the Eaft, was depofed ; the King of Poland was excommunicated ; fb
was every eccletiaftick too, who meanly held a benefice in any realm
obtained by lay friendship, or confirmed by lay authority. Bolcflaus,
ion of" fair Dumbraca, was degraded, and his land declared no longer
a io\crcignty : England was threatened with invafion for having long
ncgL-ctcd to pay tribute. The l'ope fei/.ed Spain as his entire pro-
perty, fharing it out among adventurers, who undertook its refcuc
from the Saracens, agreeing to hold it themfelves in vaflalagc of the
facrcd fee. Againft proceedings which fo ftunned mankind, none
dared proteft but Henry IV. who called himfclf Emperor of the Weft,
and felt enraged by thelc encroachments ; but Gregory, difclaining to
hold dignities under his jurifdiclion, prepared for war, abiblvcd the
Hungarian fubjcfts from allegiance, and took care to remind men that
Rome alone was miftrefs of the world. Thus after many princes had
been baffled in trying to obtain and keep the papal chair, this haughty
Hildebrand, fon of a Tufcan carpenter, taught all his fucccflbrs to
fcorn imperial confirmation in their office, when, by that office, he
could force the nominal ruler of our wcftern empire to crofs the
Alps amid the mows of winter, and fitting barefooted and bareheaded
for three nights and days at the unop'ning door of Caftlc St. Angelo,
there folicit that abfolution and reconcilement, which Gregory, after
long panic and various ceremonies, at length condefccnded to bcftow.
Thoufands of lives indeed, were loft in thefe hot contefts ; for Henry,
burning with revenge and lhame, fet up an anti-pope, who drove his
enemy before him to Salerno; yet nothing defirous to lofe the tem-
poral powers or poffeffions annexed by the laft bifhop to the fee of
Rome, he confirmed all his predeccflbr's decrees, which were collected
now and called Diffattis Piip,r. Among them perhaps, is recorded the
verfe woven into that diadem with which Gregory prcfented Rodol-
phus, Duke of Suabia

Petrus deJit Pctro

Pctrus diadama Rodolpho.

The

264 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000, [CH. xv.

The duke put it on, fwearing to hold it on his head or cut his hand
off. In confcquence of fuch a vow, he did fight no fewer than nine
battles to maintain it ; then finding himfelf hard prefled, chopt his right
hand away, and with the other flung from him haftily the fatal gift,
fubmitting to his lawful fovereign Henry. Meanwhile the active Gil-
bert, of Ravenna, fet up by that Emperor againft the Pope, performed
in his turn prodigies of valour, yet never got himfelf confirmed in the
fucceflion, which Victor, their next choice, found fo turbulent and
dangerous, that he moft earneflly requefted their permifllon to retire
and end his days in St. 'Girolamo's monaftery. The event fliews how
wife was his determination, by which indeed he was not fufFered to abide.
Contending fpirits forced him out again, and ill fuccefs drove him for
laft refuge to the Moles Adrians, or Caftle St. Angelo, where he foon
died of poifon, and a Frenchman, Urban II. fucceeded to the chair, not
unmolefted by ftill refllefs Gilbert, who called himfelf Clement HI. till
in the papacy of Pafchal II. he died, leaving the popedom fo increased
in power, that this laft prelate made no fcruple to fubfcribe and date
all public acts, the year of his own reign, not the emperor's; which
anecdote ferves as a little mark among the many crouding events that
in this interefting century perplex the retrofpeftive eye, which fees with
wonder here reviv'd, a characteriftick peculiar to the Roman ftate,againtl
which all foreign efforts to obftruct her growing greatnefs, whether
under Pagan or Chriftian difpenfation, were found equally inane, inert,
inadequate ; while civil diflention's fclf had no effect in reftraining
the rapid progrcfs of her conquefts, either when Marius and Sylla dif-
puted the dictatorfhip, or when, as in the times we tell of, fchifm dif-
turbed her church, and ignorance fcemed likely to undermine it. Ill
conduct in the fovereigns of other ftates are apt to bring difgrace on
their authority ; not fo in Rome. The temper of the eleventh
century fo vifibly co-operated with that martial fpirit, that refiftlefs
vigour feemingly inherent in her princely city, that once more arrayed
in pomp and pride, in p.urple and in fcarlet, flic faid to the fubjected

world,

en. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. ite

world, with confidence, I fit as a qnccn, IJluill kno'jc no forro'jc.
muft however look back for a moment, and fee why Gregory unki
the flcdded Polack. Staniflaus, bilhop ot" Cracovia, and a ma:
teaming, had Itept in between that petty tyrant and his vices. Bulcf-
laus had torn from one of hh nobles a wile whofc affcclions her huf-
band had till then enjoyed, and the pope's legate infilled very properly
that to his penance mould be added retribution. Stung with rc-
vcngc, the favagc prince, in his own chapel, caufed to be allailinateJ
a monitor whofc conduct dcfervcd prailc, not death ; nor yet contented
\sith excrcifmg fuch facrilcgious brutality, ordered the i.orplc to be
carried up a hiil without the city and cut in quarters. An eagle there,
lefs inattentive to his fullering virtue, (fays Cromcrius) hovered around
the palpitating members, protected them from further infult, and il*
amazed thofc who prefided at the horrid ceremony, that they forcbore
th' entire execution on't, and Boleflaus yielded a fullen confent that
the body mould be buried. " The familhcd eagle fcrcams and paiTci by,"
is then a beauty borrowed from hiftorick facl. What wonder ! Fic-
tion never fo impreflcs the mind, as when reality aflifts the engraver ;
and few fituatkms afford a finer fubjecl for the pencil than does old
Rome's ever majeftick emblem, thus even I'ttcrMy defending her fu-
cerdotal dignity. Such kings required fuch popes to controul their
cruelty ; but when the power of inveititure was loft, the fovercigns of
Europe dropt into ilavcs apace, without mucl: need of arms the quicker
to fubdue them. All learning too, polFeiTed by churchmen merely,
they grew the natural refuge of the poor, the terror of the rich in
ovrry country; and to that mental fupqriority, which by it* own na-
ture will procure command, and infurc ready obedience, they often
added fuperior merit too, and daz/.lcd mankind by their appropriate
excellence.

The city of Lorctto now was built, at lealt was founded; Suidas
was fuppofed to have lived in thefe days, though the reign of Alcxi.--
Commenus boafts his writings. The hiltorical and ucc-raphical !.

VOL. I. L 1

2C6 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, JOOO, [CH. xv.

con of this author was edited by Kufter with immenfe care and notes
befide, in the year 1 700, and dedicated to the King of PrinTia. 'Twas
about this time too, that Spain caft afidc her Gothick characters, Al-
phonfo having commanded there the ule of Roman letters. Urban II.
now founded the univerfity of Pifa; the order of Carthufians was in-
ftituted by St. Bruno, who wrote the ftory of the Saxon war, while
.Robert, of Hereford, in our own country, taught mathcmaticks, and
diffufed a fpirit of knowledge through his dioccfe. The Norman
kings, addicled all to war, or favage fports refembling it, bowed down
before the fenfe of higher intellect, and William was even happy to
look on, whilft .Lanfranc, a Milanefe, was primate of all England.
Our old Saxon nobles now were roughly treated, and numbers of them
forced to fly the realm, while not a ringer was lifted up againft eccle-
fiafticks of whatever origin, for in thofe days they only could not of-
fend. The pope fent nuncios into every nation, protecting his own
dependents againft the laws of the place, compenfating the celibacy
which he ftridly required of them, with private indulgencies and pub-
lick fupport. Alphonfo, of Caftile, was a favourite with his clergy. ;
but Cid ruy Dias affiftcd Ferdinand of Arragon againft his father Ra-
mirez, and difturbed all that part of the world with his exploits, the
theme of every fong, the admiration of a wondering age. His being
made governor of Toledo increafed his renown. The Moors having
had long pofleffion of Valentia, could hold it fail from every force
but his, and the Cid's entry is not yet forgotten. 1 have myfelf
feen it reprefented in* a ballet: Don Quixote makes his name
familiar to us all, and Corneille has immortalized the llory of Xi-
mena. Thefe were the days of artificial paffions, and fentiment pre-
vailing over nature. We have feen honour in Elvira of Spain triumph
over and trample upon maternal tenderncfs : we now obfcrve the hc-
roick daughter of the Count de Gcrmaz in love almoft to madnefs
with the Cid; yet when fhe heard her father was fallen by his arm,
regardlcfs of all feeling, except filial fondnefs, flic flew to demand his

death

i-ii. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. -267

death from Ferdinand, purfuing her point with a vindictive fury that
convinced all the world fhe was in earneft. That Prince however, re-
commended marriage rather than revenge, and affiftcd her \aliant
lover to intreat his pardon. She refitted their united /applications
and the Cid's merits, and her own heart fix years ; and hiftory tells us
that the Pope's command was added to the K'uig's rcqueft before Xi-
mena would confcnt to the connection, or accept a hand ftained,
though by chance, with a dear parent's blood.

Such were the times, and conduct, and opinions, when Alnwick
Caftle was bcfieged in Weftmoreland, and battled for between die-
King of Scots and King of England; when famine wafted the inha-
bitants of Denmark ; when William Rufus rebuilt merry Carlillc, and
proved he underftood the Englifli character, eafily led as now by a
iingle word, though difficult to be driven. He bid all loyal hearts
repair to him, and fworc he would himfelf call that lad a niding who
Ihould refolvc to ftay at home that day. Campden fays, fuch was the
crowd, that the place could not hold them : no man would be called
a Hiding by his fovereign : it means a neftl'tng, I believe, one who keeps
home for fear. We fay a m'tlkfop ; but Rufus's word is nearer. This
Prince now offered Robert his brother GCO Ibs. weight of filver for a
mortgage of the duchy of Normandy : a cruel bargain we mould now
efteem it, but plate was fcarce then, and one pound weighed fifty-two
ounces.

A flight Retro/Peyton of oriental affairs will bring us to the clofe of
this long century and tedious chapter. Ifaac Comnenus being rtruck
with lightning, was at the fame moment ftrongly imprcfled with the
ncceflity of a peculiar thankfulnefs due to God : he therefore devoted
himfelf wholly to prayer, turned friar, and inverted Conftantinc Duca>
with the imperial purple. This Prince was called Po/^Ayrogcnitu.-,
having been born after his father Ifaac was inverted w ith the purple.
He married Eudocia, by whom he had three fons, Michael, Androni-
cus, and Conrtantine. The fecond was of a gay temper, kept fourteen

L 1 2 hundred

268 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000, [CH. xv.

liundrcd hawks, I think, and fcven hundred men to wait on them ;
and was the iirft who introduced the place of grand falconer. The
cldeft was the man expelled by Gregory. Their father finding he
had not long to live, made his wife fvvear upon his death-bed tha!
flic would never marry ; but in two years fhe begged the patriarch
would difpenfe her oath, promifing in return file would wed hh
nephew, and affociatc him to the prejudice of all her fbns. Conic at
was foon obtained upon fuch terms, but the falfe lady called out lio-
manus from his prifbn, where he was put for treafonable practices
againft her hufband Conftantine, and celebrated her nuptials with him
publickly. The new Emperor however, ufed her ill, which young
Andronicus refenting, fei/ed the ufurper, and put out his eyes, placed
his brother Michael on the throne, of which indeed he could not keep
pofleffion, and hid his filly mother's fhame and forrow in a convent.
Turkifh Axalla now braved the Greek emperors, and wafted all the fron-
tiers of their once wide-ftretched domain : Eudocia's valiant fons died
in battle defending it, and Michael Ducas, the pious one, hearing their
ill fuccefs, expired in his monaftery of a broken heart.

Alexis * Comnenus, next heir to Ifaac's poffeffions, and uncle to the
late princes, was now called to rule. He ereded fchools, hofpitals,
and afylums for the poor, and educated his daughter, the accomplifhed
Princefs Anna, in every branch of knowledge. The eaftern world did
indeed poffefs all the learning that there was in thofe days, for al-
though William of England faid on fbme occafion that an ignorant
monarch was no better than a crown'd afs, which fcntence Camden
records among his wife fpecches, few other princes were perfuaded of
fuch truths. Theodorie's ^othick notion that valour and philofophy
were incompatible, vent uu from father to fon with few exceptions,
and the popular fong of lloland evinces that females alone lamented
the literary famine which followed thofe dark ages. Ambitious Rome

* Alexis means the lion.

promoted

CB. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. EX noo. _.,

promoted that opinion, bccaufc mankind's general want of light drove
them to her as folc feat of illumination. She had even theu (fiwr
Boleflans' fault) forced all his iubjecb to pray in Latin only, and had
prohibited the Scriptures in his realm (aiirangc method of curing im-
morality) but obliging the people'? private as welt as puhlick
to be made in that tongue, kept its life aJroc. Proportionate
ranee, flourifhed credulity ; dreams were rather more thought of than
realities, and when our Rufus died of an arrow fhot by chance as he
was hunting, it aftonifhed no one who remembered how he told the
pages when he waked that morning of a ftrange fancy which, poffcffed
his fleeping hours ; having it feems dreamed that a cold wind fuddenly
pierced through his fide. The lofs of thcfe rude leaders was indeed
little felt among their followers, nor docs it appear that fubjecls then
thought unyJJiow of affliclion neceflary to decorum. His body, found
by fome fellows croffing the foreft, was flung on a horfe's back, and
interred with little care at Wincheftcr next morning. Future atten-
tion recorded the accident by a ftone fet up where grew the tree on
which the arrow glanced. Lord Delaware creeled the memorial, and
Mr. J. P. Andrews drew the fccncry for the Gentleman's Magazine,
September, 1/80, adding, that the family of Purkefs, who carried the
corpfe acrofs the foreft then, inhabit to this day the neighbouring cot-
tages.

England, though coarfe, was not however poor in thofe days : the
Conqueror's income was 4OO,OOOl. o'year, in thofe days, I've read, and
his fon William had not diminilhed but increafed it. The cinque
ports were begun, gold coin grew into ufe, corporations were efta-
blifhed, the odious taxes laid on by Danifh tyranny remitted, and
though the curfew, or couvre-feu, revolts Polydore Virgil fo, it was not
firll invented to torment our ifland : the Normans had fubmitted long
before to put out their fires at their king's command. Domcboc, or
Doomfday-book, had been begun, I think, in 1081, finifhed in 1087-
It exifts full, as I have been told, fair and legible. King Alfred made

one

270 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000, [CH.

XV.

one long before, which, if yet in being, mull be looked for at Win-
ch efter. 'Tis called Rotulus Winton, and refers T R E for Tern pus
Regis Ethelredi. William the Conqueror, in his newer work, refers
T R E likewife ; but that means Edward the Confeflbr. Vakbat fo
much for example T R E Tentpus Regis Edwardi. It was worth fuch
a fum in King Edward's time. The inftitution of our Court of Chan-
cery, final divifion of England into baronies, and completion of Bevef-
ton Caftle, in Gloucefterfhire, with the buildings of Weftminfter Hall
and London Bridge, all done before the acceffion of Henry the firft,
alone ihall-delay me from the Holy Land.

CHAP.

CH.xvr.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 474

CHAP. XVI.

FROM THE YEAR 1097, FIRST CRUSADE, TO THE MIDDLE
OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY, A. D. 1150.

AND now the troubled waters, which had deluged our world with
barbarifm, like thofc that drowned it in the days of Noah, fub-
fided not all at once. A rufhing and a mighty wind drove them into
a new current, and its fupcrnatural impetuofity was reafonably enough
afcribed to the immediate hand of God. Gregory the feventh's power-
ful and perfifHng ambition firft dug the channel ; but the breath of a
mean fanatick was employed to blow forward the tide that filled it.
Peter the Hermit, born at Amiens in Picardy, made, as did many
more, a devotional pilgrimage to Jerufalcm, where it began to be fup-
pofed in Europe that Chrift would, at the clofc of the thoufand
years mentioned by Saint John, appear once more on earth and
judge the world. He faw there how the Turks, after \> retting Syria
from the Saracens, treated our brethren with peculiar cruelty upon
that fpot where their great Saviour's fufferings led many to con-
template the fcene of their completion ; nor will I much extend my-
ielf in arguments to prove, what in this day none will difputc, ho\\
men had better ferve the Lord at home, obeying his precepts, and imi-
tating his example; than by undertaking a tedious journey for the fake
of feeing the place vyhcre his crofs was firft creeled. Manners ;////// in
fomc mcafure change with times. There were then no fcriptures pub-
iickly read and known, nor were the limits of duty afcertained as n<
within the well-known precinds of the gofpel ; but piety delighted to

warm

272 FROM THE YEAR iot)7, [en. xvi.

warm her languid virtue by clofer approaches to the Sun of Righteouf-
ncfs, and forrovv haftened to that luillow'd fpot, where firft flic rofe
with healing in her wings. Curiofity, eldcft child of learning, was
not then born, to turn the traveller's attention upon objects which, to
the minds of pilgrims in thofe centuries, had no attractive power ; nor
did they dream, in the year 11 on, of fimpling upon Mount Sinai,
where early man received the law from everlafting God, in thunder-
ings, and lightnings, and voices. Peter the Hermit then returned to
Europe, flufh'd with a generous and natural indignation at feeing that
his Redeemer's fervants were infulted, his holy fepulchre .profaned, and
all the myfteries of our religion derided, where their facrcd inftitutiou
firft began. Hafting to Rome, where Urban II. filled the papal chair,
he poured forth his torrent of complaints before it, and the pope called
a council at Piacenza : no hall however was found that could contain
the flocking multitudes, and their convention was held upon a plain.
Such were the tranfports excited by one .pilgrim's warm pathetick elo-
quence, that all prefent devoted themfclves folemnly, though fud-
dcnly, to refcuc Jerusalem from Turkifh tyranny and vile opprcffion :
and Urban, (whom Hume and Goldfmith call Martin, by miftakc)
defirous to engage the rich and powerful in fuch a caufe, fummon'd
another council at Clermont d'Auvergne. Peter, whofe vigour felt
like that of fabled Antaeus, renewed by touch of his own parent earth,
there ftill more loudly reiterated his exhortations to a crowd of liftening
princes, prelates, nobles, knights, and pious women, who with one ac-
cord, as if infnircd, cried out all at once " God wills it fo, God wills it."
Words from that hour confecrated as a fignal of rendezvous and battle,
whilft all united and prepared for war under the bloody crofs, fixed as a
badge upon the right fhoulder, and painted on every ilandard through
the continent. Artizans, priefts, peafants, enrolled their names ; and
although our iflanders feemed the leaft heated by this contagious calen-
ture of enthufiafm of any European inhabitants, many barons and no-
bility, high in both power and wealth through England, fold their pof-

feffions

en. xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 273

feffions off, broke up houfe-kccping, and away for the Holy Land.
Thofe who declined the fervice were foon branded with ignominy as
avaricious, heretical, or pufillanimous. Nit/ings perhaps, till in thofc
daysoffcanty population, when Domefday-book declares York to have
contained but 1-118 families, Norwich 738 lionfes, only, with others in
proportion, an army of 700,000 combatants from all countries were
colleded, fighting men : thofe who affumed the crofs, and followed as
affiftant reinforcements, &c. were fix millions. Of thefe, 300,000
troops went firft with Peter to conduct them ; while Godfrey, of Bou-
logne, who commanded -100,000 more, began to feel uncafy left the
armament fhould by its magnitude defeat its own great purpofe. " All
" Europe (fays the Princefs Anna Comnena) torn up from the foun-
" dation, feemed ready to precipitate itfclf on Afia in one united mafs."
Gibbon derides the female eloquence which thus exprefles itfclf in
warmth, yet figure ; but fuch occurrences dcfcribed by thofe who faw
and felt them, will feldom be related neatly or terfely, or with that
French tournure and delicacy of quick finifli, that is no lefs remote from
manly character and unaffected fimplicity, than is the natural fublimity
of the princcfs. Europe did indeed precipitate itfelf on Afia, like a
vaft avalanche tumbling from her fnowy Alps ; like that it fuffocatcd
for a time, but not deftroyed, the foes on which it fell ; like that too,
it in due time diflblved away, leaving no trace of its own violence.
That violence however, was not unprovoked : Fuller, whom we will
not fufpecl; of foolifli warmth in a caufe which he firft ventured to ri-
dicule, feels himfclf honeftly obliged to confefs that the Bofphorus was
too narrow a ditch, and the Grecian empire too low a hedge for keep-
ing out thcfe aftoniming invaders, who had already wafted Italy, con-
quered Spain, made inroads upon Aquitaine, and poflcflcd many iflands
in the Mediterranean Sea. The war therefore (adds he) was partly
offenfive, partly dcfcnflve too, like a weapon fix'd in the bofle of a.
fhield. Silvefter II. tutor to Otho, had in the year g86, written a fort
of paftoral letter, elegantly lamenting the fate of Jcrufalem, but \
VOL. I M m liften'd

274 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [en. xvi.

liftcn'd to by the inhabitants of Pifa alone, who armed againft the Ma-
hometans, but being {ingle had no fuccefs. The truth is, Silvefler
pofTefled too much literature tor the times he lived in : the mafs of
mankind did not underftand him. Peter the Hermit's louder cries,
and ruder manners, awakened thofe who flept at the- call of rational
and well-informed piety : befidcs that, at the clofe of the tenth cen-
tury, a fudden alarm fei/.ed people's fancy, and many thought the w T orld
was in its laft convulfions. L'Hiftoirc de Languedoc, by Vaifettc,
preferves a French charter, beginning thus : Appropinquante mundi ter-
mino, 6JV. As the end of the world approaches, &c. and individuals made
themfelves fo certain that the clofmg fcenes were near, it was a com-
mon ^practice to throw up all, and run to meet their Saviour where he
fuffered. Such divmterefted conduct mud clear them at worft from
all fufpicion of hypocrify ; but what was begun in honour was con-
tinued afterwards by many, certainly through a Ipirit of mean pru-
dence, as coarfe fewel ferves to keep alive that flame which touch
ietherial lighted. Thofe who aflumcd the crofs were exempted from
profecutions for debt ; they paid no taxes for a confiderable time : they
were not bound to plead in civil courts, but were put wholly under
care of the church, and thus almoft emancipated from the then hard
preflure of forrue fuperior lord. Thefe ftrange immunities were caufe
of temporary union ; for debtor and creditor, plaintiff and defendant,
baron and vaiTal, took the common badge ; and flaaking hands in
friendmip, fet off together for Paleftine. Our elegant hiftorian Hume
tells us befide, that the great nobles then poffeffcd in every country the
right of making peace and war, which above all other privileges they
valued, and that they were engaged in perpetual hostilities with each
other. He might have added, that as marriage w r as then forbidden as
far as to the feventh degree of confanguinity, and all within that pale
were relations, bound by blood to fupport family quarrels, fb that the
open champagnes were become theatres of conteft, between bands of
fubjec'ls fighting in their own caules, without the fmalleft regard to

CH. xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELITII CENTURY- 275

law,jufticc, or kingly authority. Every man, popularly fpcak in j, being
by this fyftem dependant either on his own, or on a.kinfman's ivvord
What wonder it" valour was confidcrcd as the onlv excellence ? When
civil fports were all connected too with myilick devotion, and fccnick
rcprcfcntation, returned to its firft fwaddling bands, attempted nothing
but the narration of a facrcd ftory, oddly afiifted by grimaces of the rc-
lator, and fighed for a long procdfion, not yet in ufc, but half in con-
templation what marvel, or what harm indeed, if fupcrftitious
phrcnzy did for a moment fcizc upon mankind, and let on foot one vaft
one ferious and fublimc procefTion in order to regain the Holy Land ;
the attendant multitude is at this dirtancc of time difficult to conceive ;
women not mean of rank followed in the train for devotion's fake ; and
the word volunteer, then firft adopted, fcemed to include every dcfcrip-
tion of men, from pardon'd criminals to barons of high birth ; giving
for benefit of all at once, to every idle individual a centre of union, and
binding the irregular and lhapclefs mafs into a determined, though
ill-tafliioned form. Arpin now fold the Vicomtc de Bourges to Phi-
lip I. king of France, in full pcrfuafion that our world was ending ;
but he who bought did homage to the Comte Sanccrrc, in whom 'tis
plain piety had not deadened that fcnfc of equality, as a knight and
gentleman, in which nobles of thofe days flood to their nominal fo-
vcreign, who was only, as it were in {bme rcfpects, fuperior lord at
home. Europe was broken into various but tyrannick ariftocracies,
where the chieftain, whether king, duke, or baron, was judge in civil
cafes, and the church in all the reft. Reading was yet of difficult at-
tainment, and no written laws could have had much effect, fo that 1

barbarifm would have lafted longer among us, had not this fuddcn im-
petus driven, they fcarcc knew why, all conditions of humanity in one
enormous aggregate to Afia. The Grecian Emperor there however,
little delighting at fight of fuch a univcrfal movement, began to fear
left they fhould lofe their way, and fall upon Conftantinople inftcad of
Jcrufalcm. Had he been fkilful in fuch things as we are now, ho
might have honeftly enriched himfelf by contract ; for 'twas agreed

M m 2 that

276 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [en. xvi.

that Alexis (hould fapply the army, and have all they mould win, ex-
cept the fepulchre : but this prince, mean and treacherous and hafty
to be fate where there was no danger, after they had torn Nice and
Exorgum, and Antioch from the infidels, bafely betrayed their armies
more than once, and forced rough Boemund to turn his fword upon
our eaftern brethren in belief, to the perpetual fcorn of thofe who
write in latter times on the crufadc. When this bold prince was taken
by the Turks, Tancred, immortalized by Taflb's pen, fuppl-ied his
place and freed EdelTa, native town of Hefler the patriotic Jewefs, who
was known to Artaxerxes only by that name Hadaffa* in the feraglio.
The word means fecret : me had been fworn not to reveal her birth
till, for the fafety of her friends, 'twas neceffary.

But Antioch, the city where Chriftians firfl were called fo, where
Peter, the apoftle of pur Lord, was firft inftalled a bimop Antioch
was the fcene which witnefled the difgrace of his molt wretched name-
fake, who having conducted millions to that fpot, left it at fight of
war and ran away ; mewing how ill a hermit's education forts with a
foldier's coat. The fpear, however, which had pierced our Saviour's
fide, found by fome chance in a church dedicated to his earliefl dif-
ciple, ferved as a rallying flandard to our army, who fought valiantly
to free the tomb of their Hedeemer, while they openly difobeyed all his
commands. In this caufe it has been obferved that Chriftians fought
really lefs like men than lions, whofe fanguinary rage was feeble when
compared with theirs. The Amazon tribe were on this occafion dif-
tinguifhed, Fuller fays, by carelelYnefs of life, and ferocity in conqueft ;
and where 100,000 Turks lay dead one day upon a field, to which we
know that no artillery was brought, their favage valour muft have been
beyond conception. The Venetians fignalized themfelves among theie
combatants, 'twas they took Afkclon, and did prodigious fen ice at
Ptolemais, Sidon, &c. When Baldwin was made King of Jerufalem,
be prcfented them with the bronze horfes which had drawn the car qf

* Pronounce Atoffa. She was the firft lady celebrated for epiftolary writing : flic
vrote upon {"mail leaves of wood clofed with bees wax.

Apollo

en. xiv.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 277

Apollo in pagan days; they had a flrcct, a church, and other privileges, but
the Genocfe enjoyed more folid profit in being recompcnfed with the
third part of all the maritime towns. I muft here fhock the retro/Re-
tire eye, by placing before it for an inilant only, the fierce alTault on tru-
ck-voted city which was taken by ftorm, Friday, 5th of July, lall year
ot" the eleventh century, after an obftinatc and' pertinacious defence
That the flaughtcr of refitting warriors mould be immcnlc, furprizcs
no one ; but the decree of mercilefs fcvcrity, itTued out by conquering
Chriftians, to deftroy every infidel found there on the third Jay after it '
was taken, drives the blood backward in a reader's veins. When pagan
Rome had facked Jerufalem, the gallant Titus gave command to fpare,
but the inhabitants forced on their own ruin. When papal Rome
triumphed over the fame guilty town, Godfrey and Euftace gave com-
mand to kill ; nor turned their fight away when fucking babes, and
fuppliant mothers, fullied the pikes of foldicrs v\ith their blood. The
inhuman mafTacre was Sunday's work, and the. day on which our
blefled Lord rofe from the dead, was the time chofen to make a
Shambles of his facrcd fepulchre. Yet although we confefs thcfc
heroes difgraced Chrift's doclrine while they avowed their faith in his
divinity, let us be candid to their brave difmtercftcdncfs. Godfrey de
Boulogne, when the crown was offered him, fwore he'd not wear a coro-
net of gold where his Redeemer's brows were pierced with thorn : and
Baldwin, whom they forced into the throne, faid he would fit in it
but to ferve his brethren. A reign of fourteen years fpcnt on that bu-
fmefs only, proved they were no difTcmblers, nor no hypocrites. En-
thufiafm ading upon ignorance, produced a flame as when the chy-
mift pours his aromatick oil on nitrous acid : the burft will not be hin-
der'd even by vacuum.

Rome heard the news with indecorous joy, and whilft (as a nation.)
they exprefled dclire of revenge infatiable upon the infidels, each indi-
vidual now began to feel continuance of fuch deftrucYion, as a cordial
adminiftered to meaner pailions. Avarice prompted the Pope to per-

fuade

278 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [OH. xvx.

fuade fecuiar princes, nobles, &c. to fet forward on the bloody pilgrim-
age ; teaching the fick or lazy to commute their journey by large fums
paid to his treafury for fervice of the holy crofs.

All the eflates fold up by madly pious adventurers, fell quickly into
hands of churchmen, who by thefc falcs became temporal barons, pof-
iefTed of fiefs to an immcnfe amount, particularly in France and Eng-
land, where fovcreigns, by this new iignal for a general chacc, were
eafily diverted from all thought of ftruggling to retain the right of
inveftiture, now no longer in their power, or to fay truth, no longer in
their heads.

Places of accuftomed worfliip were deferted, cathedrals dropt into
decay, prayers were no longer faid in publick as they had been ; and even
private devotion was fo much difufed, that repetition of Pater-nofter.
and Ave Maria then fupplied the place of thofe petitions to the Al-
mighty, now known by the name of Liturgies, digefted into fettled
forms of prayer ; beads, therefore, grew needful, to remind people how
often they faid over the fame thing.

The elegant word rofary, means a firing of thofe beads like dea--
drops, counted by morning light amid the fields, by innocent fimpli-
city courting the ear of Heaven, when it flieds on wood and bladcd
grafs rofdda mella.

New dreffes of a fcarlet colour meanwhile adorned the ecclefiafticks
upon days of gala,* fwelling their full-blown dignities, and exprefiive
of firm refolution to maintain them as fuch with their blood; and if
any high {pint was obferved likely to oppofe, or even complain of in-
novations, the Pope had a fure place to fend them to ; the pilgrimage
to Afia was in fuch cafes compelled; as Saul fcnt David againft the Phi-
liftinestobe rid of him, fays Fuller. All this time Pruffia, and part of
Lithuania, were in aftate of barbarifm ; that they had never been con-
verted is not true : they, like the Danes, had in the very early ages

* So called from ca!a, Arabick perhaps, meaning a robe of henntr, as I have read.

been

c. xvi.] TO MIDDLE OP TWELFTH CENTURY. 179

been taught true faith by an old fet of miffionarics devoted to St. Vi-
tus ; they therefore founded fomewhat like a church, and dedicated
it to him : but having never learned to read, fucceeding generations
loft the true meaning, and eafily rclapfing into idolatry, they made a
gigantick figure of the faint with four frightful heads, and called \tSu-
anfovif, dancing round when Chriftian ftrangers were facrificcd, all
this in fo extravagant a manner, and accompanied by gcfturcs fo wild
>and without meaning, that northern nations called by the name of St.
Vitus's dance, a nervous affection, inducing odd vagaries of the limbs.
A fpecies of the epilepfy, is, I believe, called fo ftill in England, Den-
mark and Norway.

When the crufadcs had taught mankind, however, that force might
be applied with good fucccfs to propagate our religion, fbme was lent
out againft thefe wretched pagans, who difliking this fecond mode of
converfion, oppofed it floutly ; and treated thofe who now tried to in-
flrucl them, with no fmall degree of brutality. Military orders were
therefore inftitutcd, brethren of the fword, knights of Chrift, of St.
John of Jcrufalem, with numberlefs others. The Templars devoted
themfclvcs to care of the police ; all highways being infefted with
banditti, and thefe gentlemen protected paffcngcrsfabre a la main.

A Neftorian heretick, however, as 'tis laid, regardlefs of thefe or-
thodox afTociations, fet up for himfclf fomcwherc in Cathay, he called
his rank that of a Prefbytcr, but his rule was, in his circle, no lefs dc-
fpotick than that of the pope at Rome : and Milton faid moft wifely,

ages after ;

" That you may read full clearly in your charge,
" New ptefbyter is but old pricft wrote large."

Wherever power is, 'twill make itfelf be felt. This man is known
to hiftory by name of Preftcr John; his feel: grew numerous, and his
fucceflbrs fo well knew how to maintain their ground, that they re-
mained a body of themfclves, firmly incorporated, till down to the later
days of Gengis Khan. When after manygehacks or zodiacks had been

run

FROM THE TEAR 1097, [en. xvi.

run through, they feparated ; and are now fcarcely remembered in In-
dia. Quere indeed Whether the Dalay Lama of our prefcnt day, is
not the Prefer John of former times ? Monf. de la Croze thinks fo ;
and we knew nothing about the Gylongs of Thibet in the year 1 100,
I believe ; but fmce commerce has made us acquainted with their
ceconomy and priefthood, we have known lefs, or talked Icfs about
Prefter John. Perhaps his connection with Christianity, as it was ori-
ginally flight, merged with a lapfe of time in thegulph of Unitarianifm,
and finking there, regenerated in the Grand Lama; who, by Mr.
Turner's account, confiders fome particular places to be facred, as
witneffing his Jirft appearance in our world. Marco Polo feems to
have derived the word prefter from prefbyter, naturally enough ; but
there is a fiery meteor fo called in the eaft, which the orientals pof-
fibly connected with the man's title, and the more willingly obeyed
his behefls.

The bifhop of Chichefter has the figure of Prefter John for his coat
armour : I have enquired the reafon, but in vain. If however, one
fquadron deferted the true flandard, another returned to obedience.
Monothelites, who held only one will and action in our Saviour, tired
of thofe fubtleties they never underftood, were reconciled in the
twelfth century, and came pouring down in troops from the top of Li-
banus, where they had retired from perfecution in days of controverfy,
to join the general crufade, by name of Maronites. After Saladin's
conqueft, they indeed lapfed again, probably from too much talk with
the Mahometans, into heretical unitarianifm ; but Clement VIII.
brought them once more to renewed communion with Rome, and I
myfelf faw their venerable bifhop diftributing his palm branches the
Sunday before Eafter, ] /86. Whilft oriental echoes, however, re-
peat the heroifm of Baldwin and Boemund, Godfrey and Euftace,
with praifes not yet forgotten ; the meannefs and duplicity of Alexis,
the Greek emperor, form a very ftriking contraft to their characters.
He would do nothing for the caufe which could in any wife be avoided,

and

CH. xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CKKNTURY. 281

and for the little he did do, prcfTcd the pope to unite both empires
in lus perfon. On rcfufal, this intercfted prince fcruplcd not the be-
traying a large body of leagued Chriftians into the hand* of highly-
provoked infidels. His ion Emanucl too, having one day fet upon a
detachment of Turks, ibmewhcrc in Paphlagonia, putting them to the
rout, and making a great ilaughtcr: Alexis thought it neccflary to
make publick rejoicing, and create the youth a knight ; but when tlu-
farce was fmiihed, taking him flily to his own tent, he beat the bov
with his two fifts, calling him afs and gull, for doing the Latins work
for them.

Truth is the Latins, fo they called our weflcrn army, were mucli
detected and defpifcd by Greeks, who fpoke of them on all occafions
with diflike ; and even complained that they had cauled a plague in
Afia, when from the fcent of putrid carcafes, joined to unufual heat,
contagious fevers fwept off no fewer than 50,000 Chriftians, the firft
half year after Jerufalem was taken. But we muft fee what follies
were committing in Europe by thofe who (laid at home : Retrofyeflion
will there be led to think, that people had a fixt dcfign to make the
world end by flopping future population, and murdering the prcfent
inhabitants. Twelve thoufand Jews were mafTacrcd upon fome flight
pretence, and Bniges, in Flanders, not long built, was burned to
ground, with a vaft number of inhabitants. Yet no effecls cnfucd:
Fribourg was founded, and Utrecht was feen daily increasing ; Dant-
/ick too, muft have been a place famous for trade, or clfe the ftory
would foon fall to ground of the rich widow related in Annalcs
Belgicas, who gave the mafter of fbme fhip commiffion to bring her
thence, the moft valuable commodity that could be, found in that vaft
general mart. Her lover, the captain, loaded his veflcl with -wheat,
which the proud dame difdaining, caufed it all to be thrown over-
board: heavy judgments, fay the old books, followed fuch arrogance
and folly. The haven grew a flat where they threw out the corn, at
Staveren, a little port in Friezland ; and made it dangerous landing
VOL. I. Nn for

282 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [CH. xvr.

for the future. A ftrange ciiforder narrowed the widow's throat, and
fhe was puniflicd by being ftarved to death. The afreding ftory of
Fagel, giving his lady her lover the brave Coucy's heart to eat, is of
this period, if I remember rightly ; fhe eat no more, but refufed food
and died. I fear the gallant Tancred fet the example by his lefs jufti-
fiable cruelty. Fagel had jealoufy to inflame his paffions, yet Sigif-
munda's innocent attachment had fcarce a lighter chaftifement affigned
her. Drydcn and Furino have immortalized her fufferings Howel
and Burney vindicate la dame aimee de Coney, from all but fentimental
preference of her accomplished troubadour.

The names of Ubbo and Ingo, Nicholas, &c. fill up all Danifli re-
cords with their ftruggles, to wreft that fnowy region each from other.
Ingo was a youth of flow parts, and his bafe uncle fet him on a bough,
which bending far over a rapid ftream, broke with his weight, and he
fell in the river ; but having Ycaped with life from this misfortune, his
tutor, bribed for the cruel purpofe by Nicholas the heir, advifed him to
ride out upon a horfe he could not rule, and by his death, in confe-
quence of this experiment, made way for his patron. I well remem-
ber tales to this cfTecl told here in England twenty years ago, when a
young Irifhman was tried for murder.

One worth ie character relieves our Retrofpefl which fees with
pleafure Charles furnamed the Good, firft coufin to king Baldwin of
Jerufalem,diftributing at Ipres in a famine feventy-eight thoufand loaves
with his own hand, forbearing to touch bread himfelf feven weeks ;
and for thisgreateftof all publick benefits, becaufe fome private families
were forced to furFer rough retrenchments on their luxuries, private re-
fentment followed, and the Stratenfes caufed this incomparable prince
to be affaffinated in the market-place. The word affaffin brings us
back to the eaft. The name was new, and in that country coined :
the thing had, I fear, always exifted fmce the fecond man was born
into the world. But about A. D. 1 14O dwelt in fix cities of Syria a
band of Mahometan owning no lord, and paying no fubjedion ex-
cept

CH. xvr.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY.

ccpt to their grand-maftcr, who lived at Antaradus, a cluftcr of fn^all
habitations upon a hill, and was called by his congregated aflcmbly the
Old Man of the Mountain ; a name fmce given by Voltaire, in undc-
fervcd dcrifion, to the pope. At his command the dwellers in thofe
tents ran and returned, and his commands were feldom iflucd but for
murder, as he lived fafe in AJJaffinia, fuch was the name of this lawlefs
diftricl:, and no power dared approach the fpider in his web. This
monftrous engine levelled at human fociety lafted as far as to the year
1257 ; till when moft of the deaths which could not be accounted for
among the great men, were juftly enough attributed to thcfe ajfa/jins,
who ftabbed in the dark and poifoned for hire, retreating to their in-
acccflible mount when the black deed was done. King Almcrick
once hoped to have converted the grand -matter, and was about to en-
tertain his ambafiador for that purpofe ; but a hot-headed templar,
little fufpe&ing the purport of his coming, killed the affiijfin, and from
that hour it was fettled hoflility. To contend for our faith, but yet
contend with charity ; to hate the error, but pity thofe who had been
led aftray, endeavouring to convince, convert, confole them ; arc qua-
lities which literally could not then have had exiftencc : fuch virtues
were referred for Fenclon, for Flcury, dwellers in a gentler foil, and
times grown temperate by the experience of fruitlefs concuffions. A
character like theirs, while thefe concuffions lafled, mufl have been
cruflied at once, its merits all unknown. And on that principle Peter
Waldcnfis, a merchant of Lyons, having taught his followers a fort of
quietifm, wifliing to reform their own manners and let their neigh-
bours' opinions quite alone, could not keep out of harm's way in the
Pays dc Vaud. Witnefs the provc^al verfes quoted by Voltaire and
Mr. Gray in the notes to his Bampton Leclurcs.

Que non volia niaudir, ne jaara nc menti,
N'occir, n'avroutar, nc prenne de altry,
Ne s'avcngear de fuo enemy,
Los ciibns qu' es Vauda et \osfeftn mini .

Nn 2 And

284 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [CH. xvi.

And witnefs the terrible crufadc fet on foot agninft thefe fame inno-
cents long afterwards, by name of Albigeois ; they were the rclicks
of the Vaudois : their fe6l never critically known, perhaps ; but
when they laboured for peace, like king David, the others made them-
fclves ready to baltle.

Peculiarities of good or ill practices feem entailed upon particular
nations for a valt length of time. Alphonfo Henriquez was the firft
fovereign who ftyled himfclf Duke of Portugal ; but after the bloody
battle of Orichia, where he overcame Ifmarus and three other Moorifh
kings, Vv hofe heads at the moment I am writing adorn the arms of
Marie Franqoife Ifabella, he was faluted king by his whole army.
This man married his aunt by papal difpenfation, and me, when a
widow, wedded his brother Ferdinand ; who, when flie died, took
Thcrefa, that very brother's daughter, to be his fecond wife. It is
obfervable how fuch connection between degrees of kindred ufually
forbidden obtain in that flill, more than in an}- other Chriftian land.
Alphonfo Henriquez had a fabulator, whofe bufmefs in his bed-chamber
every evening was to tell {lories (fabula) till he fell afleep. Complaining
however that the ftories were too fhort, the difour invented one fo long
that during the recital he fell afleep as well as the king : " We will, fays
" Henriqxiez, have this talc every night." The harper had a privilege
to fit down, but the fabulatory?ooJ always when in royal prefence ;
fuch was the etiquette. Phyficians had fate down before the king ever
fince the year -12-1. (See Warton). Contes a donnir devout is an expref-
non growing out of this cuftom, when the tale-teller himfelf dropt
afleep thoughjlmidhig. Spain and Portugal were always nearly allied.
Farinelli, almofl in our own time, fung the fame fong, Per 'quel caro
ampJeJJb, every night ta the king of Spain for eight years together : the
Italians call the air by his Majefty's name at this moment. That pom-
pous felf-fufficicncy which is fuppofed to diftinguim Spaniards from
other Europeans, was firil obferved in the twelfth century. Alphonfo
of Arragon was called Alphonfo the Arrogant, par equivoque, and his

fucceflbr,

en. xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. -285

fucccflbr, Peter dc Taros was dcpofed in four months for czccfs of
pride. From Ramirez, gentler manners were cxpedcd, but he proved
as haughty as his prcdecctibrs. A fevere illncfs indeed brought him to
humbler thoughts ; he made long penance, and at length turned
monk. But health and fupercilioufnefs returned together, and the
diftich

Daemon languebut, monachus tune efle volebat ;

Aft ubi convaluit, nianlit ut ante fuit.

When the devil was fick, the devil a monk would be ;
But when the devil was well, the devil a monk \vus he

was made on that occafion. A daughter of his, before he turned
friar, named Petronilla, married the Earl of Catalonia, and added that
province to the crown lands. Soon after which Alphonfb, furnamed
the Good and Wife, king of Caftile and Leon, who being prefent at
many battles law the death of one hundred and twenty thoufand Sa-
racens, and who regained from his ambitious neighbours all they had
torn from him, inftituted the order of Cnlatrcrca or Slip Fetter, upon
taking that town, by which a<S he confidercd his dominions as finally
refcued from fetters long impofed on them. This prince made Toledo
the metropolis ; and calling it an imperial city, wifhcd, but in vain, to
be acknowledged emperor ofCaftile, &c. another curious proof of Spa-
nidi pride. Alphonfo was oddly jealous of a lady whom he loved, and
fet a nobleman of high rank to court her; but the experiment being
likely to end ill for all, it was put a finifli to as oddly as it begun ; for
a troubadour who came to divert the king and grandees upon his
birth-day, recited a tale like that in Don Quixote called El Cnriofb
Impertinent c\ with which his Majefty being much ftruck, faid to him,
" Minftrel, your tale has good fharp fait in it, and excellent morality,
" it mail be called Le Jaloux C/iatie :" and fo it was, and fen ed the
great Cervantes as a model. We ought to add how Alphonfo pre-
fcntcd the bard a bag of crowns ; changed his conducl towards the

lady,

286 FROM THE YEAR 1097, [CH. xvx.

lady, who married her new lover the nobleman, with a. large dower
bellowed by the fbvercign, on condition they fliould neither of them
ever more appear at court.

But Venice attracts more than a glimpfe of Retrofpection. While
fhe was gaining laurels at the Holy Land, her province of Dalmatia re-
belled ; Michael! and Bolani his fon-in-law, dukes and doges of that
day, reduced them however in a fhort time to obedience, Spalatro
being taken ; although the Padoani mifchievouily endeavoured to for-
ward the evil by changing the courfe of the Brenta, then better known
by name of Medoacus. After a flight punifhment they too returned
to their duty, and the republick kept profpering exceedingly, keeping
in their own hands all trade with Grand Cairo, and having clofc con-
nection befide with other powers, to whom they fold fpices from the eafl
with very great advantage. Gems now grew into an article of luxury in
Europe, and to the Venetian fhips or gallics all merchandize and all naval
refiftance to the common enemy was confided. At thefe crufades much
therefore was found which our weflern inhabitants went not thither to
look for, and fome of their importations are now unobferved, becaufe
they are grown fo common. But 'twas in opposition to thefe Venice
gallies that the Turks always fent out an emir or emeral, whence
Chriftians from that time called him an amiral* or admiral, who head-
ed and commanded any fleet. Mofaick work was new learned on thefe
oriental excurlions ; and Italy, ever firffc to adopt the elegancies of life,
displayed fuch diligence, that old Falcandus the hiftorian of Sicily in-
forms us, how in this century the cathedral church at Palermo had
its walls decorated with that ornamental incruflation. But Conftanti-
nople had prefervcd many arts after Rome had loft all fight of them,
the fovereign ftill refiding fafely there, while Goths and Vandals facked
the defertcd city, and left few traces of its prifline greatncfs. About
this period .likewife, upon fome difpute between the Duke of Bavaria

* Milton fays a>ui>'(t/, without the d.

and

CH. xvi.] TO MIDDLE OF TWELFTH CENTURY. 287

and Conrad III. emperor of the weft, fprung the firft germ of that
long-lafting feud between the Gwelphs and Gibclincs, which, though
it diftracled and even defblated Europe for fo many years together,
fecms to have left at laft only a taint remembrance of the folly upon
the mind of an hiftorick reader, like the old contcft of the centaurs
and lapitha; upon that of a claffick and mythological ftudcnt. Con-
rad meantime, who built Ulm in Suabia, fo called ab ulliglnc, from
the quantity of elm trees that grew there on the banks of the Danube,
took the town of Winfberg in Germany, granting only the women's
lives, and as much houfehold ftuff as they could carry away with them.
Thofe who were married coming out each of them loaded with a rebel
hufband to fling at the king's feet, the gallant fovereign rewarded their
fidelity by pardoning all the inhabitants of a town pofTefTmg fuch con-
jugal virtue. Our fweet Spectator calls the city Henjberg, and m;ikcs
the prettieft ftory of it imaginable ; but he, as John/on fays of Gold-
fmith, touched nothing he did not improve.

Nullum quod tctigit non ornavit.

Had I their powers to make Retro/fieflion pleafing, I would endeavour
to draw on my readers fo as to give the remaining part of this long
chapter to the affairs of France, whofe king Philip went not to Palc-
fline, detained by Bertrade wife to Fulke of Anjou, who had left
her own hufband and prevailed upon her lover to betray his fon Lewi-*
le Gros, whom fhe dofed afterwards with ineffectual poilbn, and vvas for-
given. This Lewis difplayed the ftandard of St. Denys, the celebrated
oriflamme, in his difputcs with neighbouring nations, and on his death-
bed drew his ring from off his finger and put it on that of his fon Louis
le Jeune, who married Eleanor of Guienne and Poiclou; and accepted
the truft of a great kingdom, which his father told him fhould be govern-
ed only for the people's good. Truth is, they had as yet little to do with
any arts of government. The barons there, as in England, were all feu-
dal lords; but the crufading fever and confequent delirium having im-
pelled

288 FROM THE YEAR 1 097, [CH. xvi.

polled many of them to fell up their poiTeffions, Lewis purchafed ; and
the fmall towns having befides bought their freedom from their chiefs,
dropt to the king of courfe, who becoming protector to them, became
maftcr too ; and the chain of ariftocracy began to ruft in that country
before any other throughout Europe. The Franks were from the be-
ginning firft to be free ; and now in an old deed, preferred till lately
among the the treafures of St. Denys, appears for the firft time to our
retro/peffive eye the word from whence comes the dauphin of France :
Gu'igo conies qui vocafnr DELPHINUS made fome exchange of lands
with Hugh Comte de Grenoble ; the date was 1 142, and after the middle
of the 1 2th century the title was become fixt and hereditary. Soon after
this, or perhaps feven years before, the houfe of Bourbon took its rife
from Archibald Comte de Bourbon, or Borbon'ms. His device when
in the wars of Paleftine was a globe, and written round it orbi bonus.
But we muft not forget old England.

CHAP.

CH.XVII.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. 289

CHAP. XVII.

TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1-200.

T1T7HEN the foul of our fecond William, furly to maintain his
rights, and faucy with hope of extending them, was fled ; his
next brother, and heir of courfe to a prince who had no children, was
Robert duke of Normandy, who had approved his valour both in Eu-
rope and Afia ; but he being engaged among the chiefs who leagued
for the recovery of Paleftine, heard not what patted, in the New Foreft
Hamplhire ; while Henry, the Conqueror's youngeft fbn, was, happily
lor him, upon the fpot. Active and vigilant, and as it appears wholly
unrcftrained by fraternal affcclion, or principles of jufticc, from fcizing
what of right belonged to another, he hurried to Wincheftcr, and
flernly demanded the keys of a caillc there, where the regalia were
in thofe days kept. Bretcuil, to whom the dead king had confided his
treafure, rcmonftrated a while and then rcfifted ; but Henry drew his
fword, and the Earls of Warwick and Meulant fworc to abet his pre-
tcnfions, which Bretcuil dared no longer difpute, and the coronation
was (bon performed in St. Peter's church, now Wcftminfter Abbey.
A general council, the origin of parliament, was fummoncd ; and to
thofe who compofed it the new fovereign made a fpccch, giving as a
reafon for his afpiring to command them, that he was born after his
father was crowned here and acknowledged, alluding perhaps to the
favourite diftinclion among the Greek emperors, when they had a fbn
born in the purple, as they called it, porphyrogetiitits. Henry- was graced
with learning, and knew thefc things ; he had been furnamcd Bcau-
clerc for his accompliflimcnts ; but his auditors found themfclves more
VOL. I. O o cafijy

ago TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [en. xvir.

cafily pcrfuacled by an argument of greater folidity : he offered them a
charter, mitigating in Ibmc mcafure the royal prerogative, and annul-
ling as it was exprefs'd, evil cuftoms and illegal exactions, by that vcry
epithet expreffmg that there were cxiftent laws, and that his father
broke them. Princes well aflured of their own juit title, are fetdom
forward in appealing thus to the immediate interefts of their people,
while thofe who accidentally, or by favour of concurring circumftances,
come in to fuddenly acquired or fcarcely expecled dignity, willingly
part with a fmall mare of power to prefcrvc the reft inviolate ; nor
does this trick of conciliation often anfwer as to purchafing 'affectionate
regard, which ever naturally follows the true heir ; and the refiliency
towards Robert of Normandy was fcen the moment he arrived in
France; but by loitering on his journey with the fair daughter of
Converfana, the foft climate of Naples relaxed his martial fpirit ; and'
though many barons from here defertcd to his ftandard, he wifhed only
for peace he faid, and that on almoft any terms. Whoever fays fo,
ihall be furc of bad ones ; he loft England and Normandy both ; but
1 believe, although he died in Wales, that he was buried at Glo'fter :
there is a recumbent figure of him there in the cathedral. Henry
meanwhile fhewed himlelf no hypocrite ; he granted a charter and pri-
vileges to the city of London, which they have kept with more atten-
tion than our kings beftowed on prerogatives imagined lefs liable to
violation ; he willingly gave up the right of inveftilurc, which placed
all power over churchmen in Rome alone ; and flattered by Pope In-
nocent's admiration of his literary abilities, cornpromifed the matter
by making the bifhops pay homage to him as their liipcrior lord for their
temporal baronies only. Much was enjoyed by individuals under this
reign, which had been harfhly enough denied in the foregoing ; for we
fee Rufus difpofe of ecclefiaftical preferments plainly in the old ftory
of two monks coming to court for purpofe of purchasing an abbot's
place, offering each of them magnificently, icdulous to outbid each
other, nothing doubting but he fliould have it who gave moft. A

third

TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200.

third ftood by however, and faid nothing : " And what wouldft than do
' to obtain this rich living ?" faid the king. " My duty," replied the
friar. " And what wouldft^/t* then ?" " Not a penny, my liege, fuch
" gifts are againft my confcience ; but here I ftand to wait on him
" whom my lord lhall ordain abbot." " Now by my foul thod only
*' deferv'fl it," cried William, and fent the other two to rcait on him.
But thefe prerogatives no more exifted, and Henry never fcemcd to re-
gret their lofs. It is the nature of knowledge to wifh its own diffufion,
and 'tis its nature when diffufed, to feek an empire over the minds of
men, forgetful of all rights over their perfons. Innocent II. had in-
dulged this prince with a difpenfation to marry Matilda, only child of
Malcolm, King of Scots, by a daughter of Edgar Atheling. This united
the Norman and Saxon blood once more ; and the old Englim families
found daily caufc of rejoicing in the Queen's influence, who brought
from her convent a ftrong attachment to family notions, and who
brought an heir of uncommon promife for our future fovereign.
Henry recollecting how eafily crowns may be ufurpcd, fent this youth
to the continent for education, and likewife for the purpofc of having
him recognized as lawful heir in Normandy; Duke Robert's valiant
fon, William Longfword, who raifed rebellion there, and is fomc-
times called Clito by hiftorians, having been at length fubdued.
As they came home however, in order to be happy, a boat overloaded
with princes of the blood founder'd at fca, and not one foul was laved
except a butcher from Rouen. Fitzftephen the Captain, called out to
that fellow " Is the Prince fafe ?" Hearing him anfwcr no " Then I
" will not furvivc him," was the reply : when quitting fuddenly the
maft to which he had clung, the faithful loyalift dropt in defpair amidft
thofe flafhing billows, which fwallow'd up a parent's, and a nation's hopes.
Henri de Bcauclerc never fmiled more ; his various acquirements fup-
plied him with no comforts for fuch an unexpected, unprepar'd for
(hock ; but piety foothed what learning could not divert : he founded
the monaftery at Reading, in Berks, the priory of Merton, in Surrey,
and built the church at Chichefter, part of which fHll fubfifts ; then

O Q 2 dying.

292 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD i?oo. [CH. xv:i,

dying, bequeathed his kingdom to a daughter Matilda, now his only
child, and married to the emperor, but left by him a widow without
children. This lady, though her father's fole furviving progeny,
never gained fettled poflcfiSon of her inheritance, to which Stephen
carl of Blois pretended, being grandfon to the Conqueror by Adda :
lie fucceeded ; and like his predeceilbr, tried at iccunng his new power
by conceffions. But Henry, a wife and politick prince, deiirous to
control his barons' infolence, had freed of thofe below them all he.
could, and granted immunities to commercial corporations ; fure check
on ariflocratick pride ; while Stephen, perpetually harafTed by his coufin
and her partizans, courted the nobles to fupport his claim, and wil-
lingly tolerated that injuftice and oppreffion in others, by which he
himfelf had rifen to the throne. Truth is, la lot du plus fort was beft
worth liftening to in days like thofe, when biihops, lords, &c. built
caftles for defence, and dug dungeons in which to throw fuch haplefs
mortals as ventur'd to oppofc their tyrannous proceedings. Hume
fays all England was then filled with petty fortreilcs, of which I be-
lieve fbme yet remain as fpecimens, particularly Arundel Caftlc, where
the queen dowager refided, widow to Rufus, having honoured the Earl
of Suflex with her hand, confidering that connexion as no difgracc at
all, while proud Matilda* wedded to Geoffrey Plantagcnet, fon of the
Duke d'Anjou, feemed to confider her own fecond marriage as a ferious
misfortune, although her hufband was a fovereign prince, lineally dc-
fcended from Charles Mart el. His mother had fome cloth of frieze.
about her indeed, being of the family of Baldwin earl of Flanders, be-
fore the arrival in it of Judith, daughter to Charles the Bald, and
Matilda had a fon by his defcendant : for whofe fake, after battling
againft Stephen unfuccefsfully for eighteen or twenty years, fhe re-
figned thofe pretensions fhe never could maintain. David king of
Scots abetted his great nephew in his claim, and 'tis aflonifhing to

* But although he, Maire de Paris, was the firft man of the eighth century, this lady
liked a lance, Ihc faid, better than a hammer.

think

CH. xvii.] TO THE YEAR OF OITR LORD 1200. 293

think how our own warlike fovereign fupported himfelf through a 1
reign of evcilafting contention. When his fole offspring Eiiftacc died
however, there was no more to contend for ; and the emprefs thought
when //(/ Jbn was promi-feJ the fuccdTion, her toils to -obtain aprefent
crown might ccafe.. Stephen was permitted to enjoy it for his life,
which laftcd but a fhort time after his child's dcccafc ; and Maude, or
Matilda, made her own epitaph before her haughty fpirit fled, and left
the imperial clay. The words cxprcfs what probably was all flic ever
thought upon, her own dignity ; but they exprcfs> it very neatly

Wagna ortu, magnoquc viro, fed maxima partu,
Hicjacct Hcnrici I ilia, ft onfa, parcns.

Young Henry now married to Eleanor, divorced wife of Louis le
Jcune, King of Fiance, who brought with her an enormous fortune,
Guicnnc and Poidou, which her firlr. hufband gave back to be rid of
her, afcendcd our throne \\ ith wifhcs of profperity from all, and fuch
advantages by his queen's vaft dower, that he refolvcd to have rich
pageants exhibited, and talcs told at his coronation both of Wepying
and of Game. Hiftorians therefore, jongleurs and difeurs, (jcfters were
not come in) aflembled at the Englifli court in troops minftrcls and
troubadours. The king himfclf knew how to touch a mufical inftru-
mcnt ; he had a harp value 12O pence, and the tuning hammer coft
2O pence more ; and both were kept with the drinking horn and chefs
board, as fccondary to the regalia alone. Thcfe drinking horns had
tuvnes given them, as we fee by Hirlas, celebrated in a poem of Oiriiin
Cyreillog, Prince of Powys, in the- year 1 160. The fong is like thofc
of Offian. " Puur out, oh cup-bearer, fwcet and pleafant mead from
" the horn of wild oxen ; Hir'as mining with brightnefs : we will drink
" to the fouls of departed heroes." The bugle or hcngle horn is fo called
from the lowing of oxen. Beugler is to low ; an ox's horn is a bfttglt
horn. Such was the ftate of belles-lettres and fociety, while caftlcs ot
independent barons, bold and turbulent, maintained whole armies ot

fighting

20,4 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [en. xvn.

fighting men for their defence, long trains of people too for their di-
verfions ; wretches \vho lived but by foftening the ferocity of then'
benefactors : fools, dwarfs, and monitors increafcd the domcftic groupe,
till he who owned the houfc was even unable to enumerate his own
dcvourcrs. Internal commerce was then fcarcc a name ; connexion
with the metropolis was difficult ; friends who rcfidcd in Wiltshire
fent a token* to tell thofe in Norfolk that they were yet living ; and
little was known in one county of what exccflcs were committed in
another. Famines, consequent on fuch a fyftem of life and manners,
happened frequently ; and the wonder is how Henry mould have felt
a wim of adding Ireland to his already extenfive but ill-governed do-
main. Whilfr. other princes however were engaged in the crufadc,
our young monarch thought lefs of empty honour than of folid profit.
His rich wife, although much older than himfelf, brought fons ; and for
ibft moments, the bower of fair Rofamond at Woodftock was con-
ftrucled : Eleanor was of a jealous temper however, and having been
in former times mfpecled of fondncfs for a young Saracen, when fhe
accompanied her firft hufband to Paleftinc, Ihe watched the fecond
with unremitting diligence, and poifoned his pleafures if fhe did not
difpatch his miftrefs. Louis le Jeune was the gayeft among the
leagued princes : Fauchct tells how he took a troubadour to the Holy
Land among other genlillfffes and expenfive articles of mow. The
gems he brought home with him were feen by me at St. Denys in
J7/4. His queen Alicia, who furvived him after his long reign, in-
clofed his body in a illver coffin, knowing the king's tafte for fplen-
; dour, and forgetting, fays Fauchet, the fimplicity of our anceilors. Our
Knglifli monarch meanwhile, preparing to fubjugate Ireland, obtained
a bull from the Pope, with permifiion to convert them, his holincfs not
knowing that they had long been Chriftians, and Henry fuppreffing

* There is a tradefman's token (or was in 1T86) {till extant in the cabinetof a Mr.
Southgate ; the figure is in a Gentleman's Magazine of that year, but I faw no date to
it.

the

CH? xvrr.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1 200. -295

the intelligence, that he might be furer of leave to invade them. The
pontiff indeed, happy to find that this young fovereign, though negli-
gent of religion's intcrefts in Afia, was watchful over them at home,
granted him all he ailced, and charged the Irifh to receive Henry as
their liege lord, paying the regular tax of a penny a houfe to Rome.
Tiiis bull was accompanied by a ring in fign of inveftiture like that
Pope Alexander gave the Venetians ; but although we were not then
married to Ireland, it appears that our union with that ifland will long
outlive theirs to the Adriatick.

At this critical moment, O'Rourk and O'Connor, Dermot the boif-
terous, and TorlogVfurnamcd Righ O'Frefaura, u k nig with rclncliincc,
or but halt-willingly obeyed, were princes of BrcfFncy, Lcinfter, and
Connaught. They were engaged in furious contcih about the beauteous
coquet Dervoghral, daughter of Meath, but wife of O'Rourk, mean-
ing Roderick : from whofe arms the noify valour and pretended piety
of Dcimot had fedticed her affection. When this laft named chief
had fecured Heaven's bleffings by enormous donatives to fame reli-
gious houfes, he, with help of a baftard brother, confederate in his
fchcmes, put the lady in a fack, her head only out, threw her acrofs a
horfc, and rode away with her, whofe faint cries, fay hiftorians, evinced
the feeblenefs of her refinance. O'Rourk, however was not inclined
fo to fubmit, or endure without re/entment the tyranny of gigantic
Dermot ; feventeen of whofe lords, we arc told, had died by his
cruelty, or loft their eyes, whilft O'JLoglan protecled him in his pride-
The BrefFnian chief then relented, oppofcd and conquered; and baffled
Dermot fled to England, giving Henry the opportunity he had long
fighcd f ;r. Troops were prepared and fent, but our king had no lei-
fure to put himfclfat their head, although the falfe pretence of rein-
ftating the prince of Leinfter covered his real dcfigns commodioufly
enough. Stron^bow was fent over, and our king remained at ho:
having quarrc'led v\ith Thomas o'Bcckct, companion of his youth, and
friend to his riper years.

This

2y<5 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 120O. [en. xviu

This nobleman, of ancient lyneagc and good Saxon blood, had long
enjoyed court favour.; having been made provoft of the Tower, fecrc-
tary of Hate, and high chancellor of England. Happy for both had his
preferment ftoptevcn there but being fcnt arnbaffador to France, he
amazed all Paris with .his pomp and opulence, making himfclf fervcd
with a degree of fplendour never obfcrved before in any fubjccl's retl-
mie. Yet although for forty days Becket maintained upon the fron-
tiers .of Normandy 12OO knights and 400O vaflals which compofed
their train, Fitz-Stcphen tells us, that his apartments here at home
were covered with good hay alone in winter, and in fummer
green ruflies, which he coniiders too as no fmall luxury : for fear no
doubt is his ,expreffion, left the great nobles who paid court to him,
being too numerous to fit down at table, mould foil their gay clothec
fitting on a dirty floor ; by which we learn that benches were the fole
accommodations .then even in a .houfe of fuch magnificence.

Wales feems to have been more civilized Watibn quotes Powell
to prove, that at the .caroufal made by Rhees ap Gryfydd, A. D. 11/6,
.in the caftlc of Cardigan *, Jlooh were fet ; when the bards tried their
wit and ftrcngth of fong againft each other, and rich gifts rewarded
the overcomcrs. Jlhces's own folks were obfcrved to win moll prizes,
and the next year he attended the parliament at Oxford, where with
.his numerous retinue he was magnificently entertained by Henry,
who loved the bards, and was the firft of all our kings who kept a re-
gular poet-laureate : he was called Maiftre Henri d'Avranches, his grace's
verjificator, and had 1 oos. a year pcnfion from the privy purfe, more
than lool. now. North Britain was behind hand; when Alexander,
furnamcd the Fierce, was called fo for endeavouring to fupprcfs a band
of half-licenced robbers., called the Thieves of Rofs : he might with
.greater propriety have been c'A\\c& Alexander the Jiift. A poor woman
having on his return from this .expedition begged a boon at his feet,

* Abertivi.

faying

!. xvii.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200.

laying that the young foil of the carl of Mornai had killed her hufband.
man of mean degree, only for his amufcment, that he might ice what
death was : Alexander fworc he would not leave the fpot he flood on, till
the youth had been very fevcrcly/>;///7W, and kep this word. Coming
home fatigued from his long journey he fell aflcep, but waking, f<.
the bed-chamber all filled with the fnrviving thieves of Rode, who, in
revenge for that roughncfs with which he had ufed their fdbw.s,
rupted the king's chamberlain, and were about to murder .///;//, had he
not, with fierccnefs and ftrcngth equal to his courage and wifcl
feized the traitor by the throat, ftrangling him inftantly by the firm
and fudden grafp : then falling on the others fword in hand, killed fix
before afliftance was collected, and two fled.

This brave prince, hufband to Sybilla daughter of William the
Conqueror, was by her father to David, w ho built Holyrood -houfe,
punifhed corrupt judges, and in his difpute with Stephen king of
England, obtained a grant of Cumberland, which had been fmce Mac-
beth's time loft to the Scots, and which his fun Malcolm, furnamcd
the Maiden, loft again to Henry II. of England, ofwhofe kindneflcs to
Becket we have taken a fhort Retro/pefl, without obtaining yet one
glimpfe of reafon for them. But to fuperfluous and uncommon bounty,
fome undiscovered motive may be almoft always fufpeclcd. Europe
mcau time polifhcd apace; Haffnia in Denmark was built, fincc called
Copenhagen, or the town of trade. Coplien means cheapening, I've
heard, and hagen a fmall aggregate of houfes, whence llu- Hngnc ip
Holland, firft village of the world : qucrc, notwithstanding, if it was
not Copcn/<v/7r;/, a nearer etymology, and I fuppofe it was.

Alexandria in Lombard)-, was founded and named by Pope Alexan-
der III. who gave the ring to the Venetians, and refcrvcd the right of
canonizing departed faints to the fee of Rome ; but from the days of
Pafchal II. who firft figned the year of his own reign not the empe-
ror's; papal power had been every day increafing, 'fpite of pretenders,
anti-popes and fchifms, which, though they troubled the peace, were
not permitted to check the profpcrity of the church. Some of them
VOL. I. Pp indeed

ig8 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, i'2oO, [CH.XVIJ.

indeed appear to have increafed it. John dc Gacta, otherwife Gclafnis
II. reigning but fix weeks, prevailed upon a princefs of Etruria to Icavo
her whole poneffions to the holy fee. Calixtus learned to laugh at im-
perial power ; Innocent II. took towns and changed the forms of go-
vernment at his plcafure Lucius was killed in an affray fighting for
his prerogatives, and Eugenius maintained and augmented them by in-
trigue. The king of England fuppofed to be a penetrating character,
(though 'tis plain he knew not the heart of either his fon or his friend)
faw with alarm, that Rome was about to govern the whole world, a
difcovery which needed no penetration ; and he refolved to make
Becket a {tumbling block to its advancement. The chancellor became
archbifhop of Canterbury by his defire, who from that moment gave
himfelf a competitor, not a companion.

Filled with ideas of his new duties and a deep reverence for his high
and facred office, Becket now thought all complaifance derogatory to
the ftation he was placed in, and confidered himfelf as guardian to
rights more important than thofeof a monarch. His gaiety was fled,
and his good humour dried away by pious aufterities, which Henry,
his old intimate and playfellow could fcarcely believe fincere; but
which were dictated by the moft fblemn opinion of their being indif-
penfable, and were at laft of all fealed with his blood. The pope had
long been appealed to in all ecclefiaftical cafes, and of late his decifion
had been fought in civil difputes, which when Becket was chancellor,
l>e joined the king in objecting to, and figned with all his heart thofc
councils of Clarendon forbidding fuch appeals, of which the moment
he was made archbifhop, he claimed the refumption. His mafter was
enraged the more enraged becaufq duped by himfelf and grievoufly
difappointed ; but the prelate now openly declared, he owned no
mafter except God and the pope, who was himfelf an Englifhman,
Adrian IV. furnamed Breakfpear : of whom there is now in the
lib/ary at Lambeth, a paraphrafe of the pater-nofter, beginning

Ure fadyr in hefen riche,.
Thi nam be halyed ever liche ;

and

CH. xvii.] TO HIE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200.

and who ex^c&ed compliance, not refinance from his countryman,
Henry ; his conduct towards Beckct now was fuch however, that he left
the kingdom in difguft, and retired to Rome. The king more irritated
by this ftep, drove all his domefticks and relations after him prohibited
all future appeals to the holy fee, making himfelf fupreme head of ht.s
own church, and cutting off the feet or thrufting out the eyes of refrac-
tory priefts, enforced by cruelties a momentary obedience. Adrian 'tis
true, meditated a rough revenge, but fwallowing a wafp in his glafs of
wine, left the execution of it to his fucccflbr, who received Beckct
with more than equal politenefs, appointed him a refidencc, penfion,
&c. ; but what provoked his fovereign moil of all, he fent him back
to England once again, commanding him to refume there all his for-
mer functions. Henry now tried to terrify the pontiff, by leaguing
with his worft enemy Frederick Barbarofla, emperor of Germany, and
by mewing fymptoms of intent to fupport Pafchal III. as anti-pope.
But Alexander having triumphed over all his foes, and made Frederick
hold the ftirrup while he mounted his mule, as protoftrator, fo the
Greek emperors called that office, 'twas the king of England's turn to
feel alarmed, left by excommunication all his projects might be ruined.
To fecure his throne then, although his perfon might be infulted, he
haftened to aflbciate his cldeft fon; not doubting but it would always be
in his power to direct the boy, and ice things going his own way at
leaft, if not by his own immediate authority. But Henry was again the
dupe of his own refinement in politicks, for in order to give additional
fplendour to a ceremony by which thistrry young prince was to receive
into his hand the reins of government, his father waited on him pro
fjnnd in the hall, where 'twas remarked by fbmc of the courtiers, that
never mortal could have been more royally attended : " Why mar-
" vel ye, lords ? (was the youth's prompt reply) ye fee the fon of a
" count do ye not ? fen ing the fon of a king."

Thus every thing tended to force refractory Henry into a reconci-
liation with his bifliop, who having had the better through the whole

P p 2 conteft,

300 TO THE YEAR OF CUR LORD, i _><,(>, [CH. xvn.

conteft, wiflied it fincerely : they met therefore, and parted civilly, not
kindly; the monarch's fullen foul refufed the kifs of peace. He went
to his occasional court at Baieux in Normandy, and Becket fettled on
his diocefe in Kent. Hitherto our hearts have gone againft the fove-
reign, for one can on no occafion pity him, who fecking to make a
man his tool, finds him his fcourge : but Becket now accuftomed to
church fplendour buftlc in a new character, had loft all tafte for tran-
quil duties and an evangelical life : he felt that part of his office as
moft important which beft fuited his own reftlefs and impatient fpirit :
fbme errors had been committed in his abfence, and eager at leaft, if
not criminally hafty to evince his fiery zeal; he drove out and confif-
cated the effects of all the lucklefs ecclefiafticks who had been tem-
porizing no doubt, perhaps resigning fome privileges which they ought
to have retained. The banifhed clergy haftened to Baieux, and
kindled Henry's temper to a flame : in the firft tranfport of his anger
he exclaimed " Have I no friend to free me from this haughty pre-
" late ?" and perhaps thought no further on the words he had uttered.
By four gentlemen of his bedchamber however, they were conftrued
into a fignal for aflaffination : they fwore fecrecy to each other, and
revenge of their matter's quarrel ; took fhip immediately, and pro-
ceeding to the archiepifcopal palace at Canterbury, followed, and with
inextinguimable rage, murdered the heaven-confiding prieft of God
upon his altar.

Whoever was in fault before, this ftroke united all men's minds
againft Henry, who had encouraged a black and facrilegious maflacre,
and it is above all things curious to obferve, how by his death the
bilhop gained that ground, which his hot fpirit was in danger of lofing
to the church, like Sampfon killing more enemies in his laft moments,
than in all the tenor of his hoftile conduct ; but the king was in
earneft mocked at this proceeding: the recollection of paft friendfhip, and
their youthful intimacies all recurred, and whilft a character fo open and
intrepid claimed admiration from a warrior-prince, a fandity once pure,
and always venerable/ demanded it of every Chriftian hearer. Henry

endured

CH. xvn.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. 301

endured the heavicfl penaces without repining, fubmitted his hitherto
inflexible fpirit to Pope Alexander's difcrction, gave up at once all he
had gained of independence from the fee, and glad to efcape perfonal
pilgrimage to Palcftine, commuted his journey with enormous fums,
and turned his thoughts once more to the fubjugation of Ireland.

Frederick Barabarofla meanwhile, emperor of the weft, having long
contended in vain againft the eftablifhment of that power to whole
dominion over the whole world force, fraud and accident alike com-
bined ; began to figh for peace, feeing that whatever iide Rome took,
fhe as of old was furc to be victorious. St. Mark's church Venice was
the theatre of his fubmiflions. Having borne up the Pope's train to
the altar, he proftrated himfclf there before it and before him, re-
ceived the holy facramcnt at his hand ; and in that place is the ftone
yet to be fecn where Alexander III. lG8th bilhop of Rome, fct his foot
on the throat of Frederick emperor of Germany, faying, " It is written
" that thou flialt tread upon the afy and the bafililk, and trample the
" lion under thy feet." The potentate iaft trampled on, manifefted a
lion's fpirit. When Saladinc had retaken Jcrufalcm after the death
of Godfrey, Euftace, and Baldwyn, Frederick, by command of the
Holy Sec, and to atone for former oppofition to its authority, took the
field for Afia, covering its plains with one hundred and fifty thoufand
followers. He defied the fultan to finglc combat, took Iconia by af-
fault, and after performing prodigies of valour, died bathing in the river
Cydnus, where he was feized with a fudden cramp and drowned in
fight of numbcrlefs friends who thought he was diving, as he often
did, to Ihcw them his dexterity. The King of France meanwhile,
fomewhat difguftcd of thefe oriental expeditions by the part gallantries
of queen Eleanor, and fomewhat weary of fubmitting to that whim-
fical tyranny of the monks who made him lhave his beard, and by that
means revolt the faflidious heirefs of Guienne and Poidou from his
disfigured pcrfon, returned to Paris ; there cultivating the fine arte,
and filling his realm with poets, minftrels, troubadours, &c. A court

302 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD iloo. [CH. xvii.

of love, and 1 believe a court of honour too were instituted : knighthood
was the fole happinefs defired by men of rank, and amorous paffion
the grand pledge of their exigence. Romance, and love and chivalry
were the paftimes of a gay nation, vf\io, in the days we fpeak of, gave
the ton to Europe ; whilft old Rome, completely revived under ambi-
tious Alexander, gave the law. The mixture of devotion with worldly
intereft produced the colouring we have fcen given to political lite,
and Retrofpettion will obferve the tint taken by literature from the
odd effervefence of piety and romance, in the prelude to the epiftlc
upon St. Stephen's day.

Entendes toutes a cheft fermon,
Et clair et lai tutes environ ;
Contes vous vueille la pation,
De Saint Eftieul le baron.

Liften to this difcourfc profound,
Ye clerks and laymen all around ;
For here St. Stephen will be found
A baron fuff'ring many a wound.

'Tis curious enough to fee that not even a faint could excite their
compaffion in thofe days, if he were not a nobleman, a knight, or a
hero ; nor could the mofl eminent character of antiquity engage their
attention, if he was not a faint. Thus, in defiance of Anachronifm,
they had St. Thefeus, and St. Alexander, and the Baron Stephen, who,
while Count Paul took charge of the knight's garments vihojoufted
with him, was unfairly robbed of his life in an appropriate field, not
Campo Franco : fuch was the {late of belles-lettres under Louis le Jeune.
Our Temple church yet {landing was dedicated in this reign by He-
raclius, patriarch of Jerufalem; and when King Henry w^ent through
Wales to Ireland, he was entertained at Pembroke caftle by a company
ofWelfh bards, whofung, as Selden tells us, extemporaneous compo-
fitions of their own, in praife of King Arthur and his exploits. As

they

CH. xrii.] 10 THE YEAR 6F OUR LORD 1200. 303

they muft have known that the fovercign was on his march, I would
not be fure that all was iinprovifo. There was a metrical hiftory of
faints' lives however compiled now, or within a few years after this time,
for St. Thomas o' Becket is among them, and our rainy patron too,

Scinte Swippin $ confcffbure was here of Engellhonde,
Bcfide Wyncheftme was iborc as ic undciftonde.

The MS. was given to the Bodleian library by a Mr. Vernon in
Charles the firft's reign, as I remember, and is eminently curious and
beautiful. 'Tis cMcdfavIhele orfalus animi, foul-heal ; and fbmc odd
accounts of the female faints, their temptations and efcapcs, were fe-
lecled thence by the tale-tellers for recital, when their patrons were
fick or low-fpiritcd, or going early to bed could not flccp. The
Golden Legend was written afterwards by Giacomo di Voraginc a
noble Genoefe. He borrowed fome fads from Sowlhelc, and Matthew
of Weftminfter in 1375 made a fort of rccucil, or, as we call them
now, beauties, from both, and entitled it aptly enough Florilcgus.
But the faints began a little to leflen in number, and of courfc the
talcs ; for Pope Alexander wifely decreed, that no one mould canonize
except himfelf, a flep become quite indifpenfablc : for till his time all
the high-church dignitaries beftowed this honour at their own dif-
cretion ; and Hugh, archbifhop of Rouen, had folemnly commanded
Gualtcrius to be prayed to, and his reliques to be worfhipped, though
a man in many refpccls objectionable ; befidcs that the fovercign pon-
tiff found it impoflible to enumerate, much lefs judge the merits of
candidates fo diflant and fo various. This ariflocratick privilege there-
fore of his ecclefiafticks he very difcreetly broke, and ended the cata-
logue with our St. Thomas. And now Roma trhimphans law her
unoppofed dominion over thefra completely acknowledged by the rc-
publick of Venice, on receiving the famous ring with which their doge
for fix fuccecding centuries annually cfpoufcd the Adriatick, upon the

day

304 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [en. xvrr.

day and with the words fuggefted by Alexander III. Heaven was
become by this laft act of {electing and arranging its inhabitants, this
pope's exclufive territory, and thofe who had tried to refift the papal
power on earth were not likely to refift it long. The lordly lion thus di-
vides a llaughtered bull : " The fore-quarters are mine, you fee (fpeak-
" ing to the beafts who hunted in his train), becaufe I am ftrongcft to
" ftruggle with a prey ; the hind-quarters, becaufe I am fvvifteft to
" fcize upon it ; the head and neck are mine in right of fovereignty,
" being acknowledged head over all quadrupeds ; and for the reft, if
" any yet remains, difpnte it you ti'/w dare" Alphonfo Henrique/ was
a favourite with the lion ; he had a paffion for being emperor, at Icaft
king of Portugal : they were all dukes till then. This fancy found
encouragement at Rome, whence a grant. w r as made out to this wife-
fellow, bellowing on him his own dominions as a gift, and permitting
other potentates to flyle him king.

At no diilant period one of the Alphonfos of Caftile was inflam-
ed with a lucklefs paffion for a Jezve/s, lurnamed Hermofa, of her
aftonifhing beauty. When the nobles however had agreed to maf-
facre this new Either, from horror at the idea of a Chriftian prince'.-
conneftion with one whofe anceftors were ftained with their Re-
deemer's blood, they entered her chamber, and felt them felvcs nearly
difarmed by her foft fupplications. Death or immediate baptifm were
offered her: but the warm-headed infidel, Heady to her ftrong perfuafion,
fprung up from the humiliating pofture me had been ufmg,and when flic
heard the word Baptifm, ruflied with fudden violence upon their fwords.
Her royal lover hearing how all had ended, put on a friar's coat, leaving
the world and throne, and died of grief arid abftinence in feven months.
Pope Alexander, in confideration of his penitence, permitted his corpfc
burial in the royal vault ; and received with no fmall plcafure the applica-
tion of his mortified opponent, Henry of England, who was unwillingly
forced to recur for Roman aid againft the turbulent and ambitious ions

brought

CH. xvn.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1 200. 305

brought him by Elinor, who having injured her firft hufband by her
intrigues, perplexed her fecond with that fpirit of jealoufy which na-
turally difturbs the peace of a woman wedded to a man fifteen years at
leaft younger than hcrfelf. She infpired the two cadets with an idea
that her pofleffions were at her own difpofal, and promifed to place
them as independent earls of Guicnne and Poidou, her own hereditary
dominions, if they would favour and accompany her flight from a
country me detefted. Geoffrey and Richard agreed ; and the queen'>
difguife, a man's coat, was prepared and even put on, when fhe was
feized by King Henry's orders, and conducted to a merited confine-
ment. The youths, already poflefled of her inftruments to concede
the provinces for their ufe, and happy to leave fo troublefome a com-
panion behind, fpurred forward, and were foon in a ftate of open re-
bellion ; nor did the pope hurry himfelf to check the progrcfs of what
was likely to torment his old antagonift, who turning on his enemies,
faced them on every fide ; fell on his falfe friend Louis of France, who
aflifted the children of his quondam wife ; defeated him more than
once, defended from all their attempts his Norman dominions, and
entered Rouen in fight of the French army, where were his two fons
armed in the field againft him. William of Scotland meantime, at
their inftigation, making a terrible inroad upon the north, advanced to
Alnwick, and was fo completely routed, that as a puniflimcnt for hav-
ing invaded England in her king's abfence, Henry infifted on his pay-
ing homage to him as liege lord of the "johole ifland, and even kept
Edinburgh caftle for a fliort time in his own hands, to prove his (bvc-
rcignty over both realms.

Ireland was fubdued meantime by Strongbow, earl of Strigul; but
our monarch, jealous from proof of what mankind had mown thcm-
lelvcs towards him at leaft, fancied the Earl's intent might be to con-
quer for hinifclf and not his mafter. This fufpicion being further con-
firmed by Strongbow's marriage with proud Dermot's daughter, he
haftencd over with five hundred knights, in order to receive that fealty

VOL. I. Qq which

306 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [CH. xvir.

which on his approach was inftantly bcftowed, and the ifland annexed >
for ever to our crown.

Hume gives the wifeft reafon poffible why this acquifition was of
fo little advantage: " Few people, fays he, could be perfuaded to go
" live on this, new neighbour nation ; fo that men born there and
" never finally fubdued, retained animonty towards thofe conquerors
" who only jufl kept them down, and not deftroyed them ; over-
" whelming by fuperiority of numbers, as was the true method in.
" thole barbarous times, fo as to put it completely out of their power
" ever to rife again." The times were even yet very barbarous. Wit-
nefs the ftpry of Lech Lavar, a large flat ftoue, which had ferved as
the top of a cromlech in druidical days, and to which a woman wildly
apparell'd made a loud and fudden appeal for juftice, as King Henry
pafs'd near St. David's in his return from Ireland.. Her fearful cries
and mad gefticulations affedled our liege's fpirits very ftrongly, adds
Giraldus Cambrenfis,* who tells the tale. But fuch ftones were not
peculiar to Wales. Borlafe, in his account of Cornwall, tells a ftory
of a hooting karn, fo called even in his time, from the prophetick founds
it was fuppofed to utter,, when, as our fweet poet Thomfon fays,

Sighs the fad genius of the coming ftorm,
And up amongft the toofe disjointed cliffs
And fraftur'd mountains wild, the brawling brook
And cave prefageful fend a hollow moan,
Refounding long in lift'ning Fancy's ear,

The learned Keyfler, fetting forth the fuperftitious notions of our.
feptentrionifls much later than this period, fays with what folemnity

* Giraldus Cambrenfis, who is furely as proud of his family as any Welfhman can
be, fays that Henry II. was jealous of him, and ftopt his preferment becaufe he was of
a line fo long traced and fo princely. His tale of the biihop's difour diverting his
matter with ftories of facred hiftory, which after all were never to be found when
fought for in the Bible, is exquifitely pretty and good for illuflration. The fervant
turned out a devil. after all : fuch tricks are always dtvilljh,

they

CH. xvn.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200. 307

they approached black and conical {tones,* abodes and oracles of
demons, as they deemed them. We read in the Holmcria Saga of
Norway, how Indridus, their chieftain, lay in wait for his enemy
Thorftenus ; and feeing him come out to confult the ftone deity, he
couch'd dole behind it, and heard thele words pronounced to his foe
before the morning cock crew.

Tii hue Ilcedlefs of thy approaching fate,

Ultima vice Thou treadft this holy ground ;

Morti vicinis pedlbus Laft ftep of life ! thy guilty breaft,

Ten-am calcafti : E'er Phoebus gilds the ruddy caft,

Ccrte enim antequam Muft expiate

Sol iplendeat Thy murderous hate,

Animofus Indridus With many a mortal wound.
Odium tibi rependet.

'Tis needlefs to fay how Indridus, ftarting up, flew to the combat,
and fulfilled the prophecy. Poland was a little and but a little more
enlightened. When Miceflaus reigned, the barons fpiritual and tem-
poral, butchered his peafant fubjecls for their iport, and the king
laughed at it. A woman was fuborned to beg a boon of him when
granted, fhe told him, that her fen-ants were fo negligent and cruel,
they fufFered all her Iheep to be devoured by wolves. The Servants
Hood up and faid it was her fault ; her fon kept hounds, and they
killed fliecp with impunity. Miceflaus, like David of old, gave fen-
tence againft himfelf, condemning the w r oman and her fbn ; but when
his worthy confeflbr applied the dreadful ftory to the ftatc of fbcicty
in Poland, its brutal Prince ordered him fome punifhment, from whence
a popular commotion favcd him : and Miceflaus, dcpofed afterwards

* Thefe ftoncs were then fuppofed to have fallen down from heaven: and Sir Jo-
feph Banks, even at this day, fays there are exifling proofs that Hones tlo fall. See
Mr. King's ingenious publication for conjectures how and where they are genc-
rated.

Q q 2 tot

308 TOTHE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200, [CH. xvn.

for ordering an ecclefiaftick's perfon into cuftody, left Cafimir the
Humble to reign in his ftead, who reinftated his predeceflbr in all
things but the throne. So fared it in the north of Europe : and its
fecond crufade, under the Emperor Conrade, in the fouth, was an un-
fuccefsful one. Two hundred thoufand Chriftians perifhed in the field,
dhTention and difeafe filled their whole camp ; while Saladine, a vir-
tuous and- martial prince, helped by that treachery which prevailed
among his enemies, gained a great victory at Tiberiade, retook Jerufa-
lem, after fomc weak refiftance, fubducd Antioch, and contrived fo as
to annihilate each trace of all the boafted conquefts which fo many
nations had united to acquire. Emanuel, Emperor of the Eaft, had
proved falfe to our common caufe, fupplied the army with bad pro-
vifion, and poifoned their water, having adopted his father's mean po-
licy after inheriting his throne. That throne now again empty, was
foon filled by young Alexis, twelve years of age only, but already mar-
ried to Agnes, the French King's daughter, not yet eleven. He had
an' excellent preceptor, and tender furviving parent, but his father's
firft coufm, Andronicus, actuated by mad ambition, ftrangled the queen
mother, poifoned the tutor, hafhed poor little Alexis in pieces, mur-
dered an innocent fifter of that moft innocent child, and feizing the
virgin widow young Agnes, forcibly married her. This tyranny lafted
not long : Ifaac Angelo rebelled ; Andronicus caught fits brothers and
put them to cruel tortures ; Ifaac fled to fanduary, whence the nobles
took and crowned him emperor, putting Andronicus to death. Henry
the lion, meantime, hufband to our Matilda, fon to Frederick, and affo-
ciated with him in the government, merited his title to the wcftern em-
pire by ads of the moft diftinguifhed valour ; and from fome ruins of old
Lunenburgli, where the moon had been worfhipped in pagan days, he
built a new town, but did not change its name, though Bardewic, a
lortrefs there, might have afforded one. It was he who, feeing a young
Italian in his court bribing the pages, for no goodpurpofe, as he deemed,

cut

cu. xvn.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, ]200. 309

cut off his nofc, and fent him home fo mutilated to the pope. Urban
III. prepared to revenge the infult, but hearing at Ferrara of Sal ad in \s
fuccefles, he was fci/.cd with a fudden fhuddcring, and died of grief.
Our Henry in this pontiff loft an indulgent friend, who had fhown
him many marks of partiality, and had prefented him a crown of pea-
cocks' feathers, interwoven with gold, permitting him to bellow it,
with the newly conquered ifland, on whichfoever of his fons he loved
beft.. The King, reflecting how the other two had openly and in arms
fought his life upon the continent, turned his thoughts towards John,
and found, upon examining his pretenfions, that young prince's name
firft on a long lift of barons confederated againft his perfon and govern-
ment at home. The cup was full, and this addition made it run over.
In 1 190 therefore, died at Saumur Henry II. of England his corpfc at-
tended by one natural fon, properly fo called, the offspring of fair llolu-
mond. Richard, afterwards furnamed Coeur de Lion, ftruck with the
news, ran to Fontevrault in all fpced, to iee his father ; and fomc blood
at that inftant ifluing from the dead body's mouth and noftrils, a thought
ftruck the youth that he had furcly been his father's murderer, and
that to expiate fuch an offence, he muft immediately fct forward for
the Holy Land. Gregory VIII. employed his fhort pontificate in
fharpening all princes' refblutions for that purpofe, and Philip Auguftus
Deodatus, of France, after having driven Jews, Mimes, and many
other descriptions of men whom he deemed heirs to cverlafting perdi-
tion, away from his kingdom, where he endeavoured at a thorough
reformation of manners, took the ihcrcd banner himlelf, and fell upon
the Turks with luccelJful courage.

Venice was however the grcatcft gainer by theie buries ot fury,
which dcfolated Alia and cxhauftcd Europe. The commodities they
Imported and exported v\crc- exempt from duties ; their city was the
place of general rendezvous for the cruladers, who appointed them vail
polleffions in the conquered country, and made the old Morea all their
own. It is obfcrvable, that while I am writing no trace of what they

gained

.310 TOTIIE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200. [en. XVH.

Drained fccms left in their now ruined and degraded city, unlefs the
pillars yet Hand upon La Riva de' Schiavoni, which were brought from
Greece in the twelfth century, when the third fell in the fea. They
were called Marco and Teodoro, and I believe chrtflened with no Imall
formality. Bonaparte has fcnt the bronze horfes to Paris which once
drew Apollo's car, and which efcaped the deftruclion of many curious
llatues by the Latins, who in their turns acled a gothick part, plun-
dering Conilantinople as Rome had been plundered fo many cen-
turies before. But all the Italian ftates were, in the days here fubmit-
ted to our Retrofpeff, enriched by thefe expeditions, and improved by
them : lettered Pi fa tailed the fweets of commerce, Florence felt the
reanimating warmth of fciencc, and Viterbo was built, or at leaft beau-
tified by the popes ; whilft Genoa, who feemed to live only on the
pleafure of plaguing the Venetians, enjoyed that happinefs in full per-
feclion during thole contefts which impaired the Greek empire, and
.paved the way for its final capture by the Turks. Berne, in Switzer-
land, was founded by Bertoldo, and Flenlburgh and Riga raifed their
heads in the north, where the two fons of Boleflaus, PrimiHaus and
Ladiflaus, difputed the fovereignty of Bohemia, after Cafimere the
good bilhop of Prague's demife. After fomc ftruggles the firft of
thefe competitors was loft to Europe, and concluded dead upon the
fields of Paleftine ; where baffled politicians, beaten warriors, and un-
fuccefsful lovers in thole days all ran, either to repair or lofe the me-
mory of their misfortunes, and many years elapfed before this prince
was found. His brother Ladiflaus however, feeling in advanced age
the natural bent towards fraternal fondnefs, defired carncllly to fee
once more that figure which he had loved in childhood as companion
of his fports, and feared in youth as candidate for his kingdom. He
caufcd diligent fcarch to be made, and having, in confequence of his
daily encreafing anxiety, been difturbcd by nightly dreams, in which
this figure prefcntcd itlclf perpetually to his fancy, inquifition was
Uriel at home, and rcquelts preferred to every court abroad, for the

purpofe

CH. xvii.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200. 311

purpofc of forwarding inquiry. Alliduous application is fcldom fruit-
lels ; Primiflaus was difcovcrcd at length turning a fpit in the kitchen
of" Philip the emperor at Itatifbon. Ladiilaus, old and childlcfs, font
for him home fortkwfth, embraced him tenderly, and dying in his
arms within a week, confirmed him in the fucccffion. And now
Philip, aflillcd by one half the world, conteftcd the wcftern empire*
againft Otho, fon to Henry the Lion, while Alexis Angelas in the call
had the ftrange cruelty to blind his brother liaac, who had faved him
from Andronicus's tyranny, for which this worthless wretch dcpofcd
and mutilated, and thruft him in a convent. We read with delight
however, that the earth opened with a fuddcn fillurc and fw allowed
the uiurper as he furvcyed fome bujldings intended for his palace.
The Mamalucchi too, apoftate Chriftians, were formed about this time-
into a body by Saladin, imitating the orders of knights, Teutons, &c.
with which the world fwarmed, and which, to fay truth, contributed
exceedingly towards its civilization. Univcrfitics were founded every-
where, and at Montpelicr was conftruclcd a college for phyficians*
Their art indeed was deformed by magick, and airy notions of fympa-
thetick powers, picked up in Arabia, where gems were recommended
in medicine very ftrongly, fomctimes for curing, fomctimes for point-
ing out the pathognomick fymptoms of difeafc, and treatifes were
written in rhyme upon fubjccls little fufccptible of poetick bcar.tv ;
but then 'jvounds, the confequence of valour, w ere admitted to invi-
gorate the defign, and atrophy, produced by love, was called in to
foften it. Learning too, aflTiftcd not a little the operations of phyfick,.
if we believe yrras Silvius, afterwards pope, who tells how fome
hifhop was cured of dropfy by reading Quintus Curtius, \\hofe book
they all pflembled round on eve of fome great battle, to confult ; open-
ing it cafually, as in old times were ufed the fortes Homcriat at I irgi-
liance. Euftathius however, bifhop of ThelTalonica, of whom we all
hear fo much in the notes upon Pope's Homer, feems to have been an-
aftonilhing fcholar for his day. Geoffrey, of Monmouth, a contem-
porary

312 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200. [en. xvn.

porary writer, tells how Homer tejltfies that Brutus, having ravaged the
province of Aqiiitaine with fire and fword, came at lalfc to the c'ttv of
Tours ; and Warton fays that they confidered Virgil as a magician.
This may be fo ; but 'tis poffible it might be a fort of compliment, as
we fay Shakefpears magick pen, &c. They hardly could think his ^ncid
a work of forcery, fare but fetting limits to long paft abfurdities is
beyond the power of RetrofpeStlon, which will be better amufed by
feeing Philip, affifted by his turnfpit ally, attacking Otho fuccefsfully
on every fide, till being tolerably certain of his feat, he made him king,
not marquis of Bohemia ; and Pope Innocent confirmed the gift.
They have been kings ever fmce Primiflaus, and the diadem with
which he was crowned at Mentz is yet to be feen among the rarities
at Vienna.

We muft now return to England, where King Richard was never
weary of making generous atonement for all his paft offences towards
a father whom he exceedingly refembled and efteemed, and imitated
in exprefiing penitence, half unrequired, as Henry himfelf had done
in Bccket's cafe. But 'tis confoling to a reader's mind that thefe rude
crimes of femi-barbarous Chriftians polluted not the foul, as did the
ftudicd debaucheries of pagan wickcdnefs. Our prince's difpofition,
bent backward by afpiring beyond its ftrength, felt the elaftick force,
and quick returned to virtue, foon as the chord was cut that held it
down ; where principle, the germ of excellence, remains unputrefied
by mean voluptuoufnefs, the heart will clear itfelf of other ftains,
and regain its priftine purity. Queen Elinor was inftantly releafed,
and Jews, who often fuffered from fudden emotions of the fovereigns
they fcrved, were ordered never to appear at court: fomc rich ones,
offering money however, (hewed their fneering faces at the corona-
tion ; Richard was enraged at their appearance, contrary to his exprefs
command, and his cxpreffion of difpleafure was confidered as a fignal
for maffacre. The rabble hunted them from place to place, nor did
this phrenzy end in the metropolis : difgraceful barbarities were prac-

tifed

CH. xvn.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1-200, 313

tifed on them in every country, and 500 of them refusing in York
caftle from the attempts of a licentious mob, fet thcmfelves on fire
there, like Dcccbalus of old, and were every one confumcd. MOIY
honourable victories were won over the infidels in Afia : the kings of
Trance and Kngland there, panting for military glory, and \varm witli
the romantick fpirit of the times, tore do\vn many a Turkilh crcfccnt,
and Richard gained his appellation Cceur de Lion. To reward thole
who fought bravely by his fide, the privilege of u hat is now called < oat
armour was invented. The half moons were bellowed on thole who
had fubducd infidels, wearing that badge of Mahome'anifm, and gryf-
fons adorned the fhields of fuch as leized a Saracen Ib called. Our
monarch's battle-axe was named mate gryphon.

lid kynge Richarde I underftondc,

Or lie went forth from fair F.ngelhondc,

Let him make an axe for nones,

To brake thcrcwylhc fum Sarafyn's bones.

The Grecian fire was now ufed on the Turks' fide, and w ith dread-
mi effect : it was an incxtinguilhable naptha on which water had no
power. Beaujtre ! exclaimed our fovereign in prayer to Jclus C^rilt,
when he heard the fatal bags burft among his lubjccis ; bean Jire !
iweriit le feu gregeois ! Againft that dreadful weapon, indeed, not c\cn
Richard's lion fpirit could ftand firm ; though he amazed both armies
with his valour, took the ifland of Cyprus, and feizcd a fliip (Fuller
fays) with 250 fcorpions on board for purpofe of poifoning Chrif-
tians. A curious prize ! but perhaps the fcorpions were figurative,
and meant Mohammedan inftructors I guefs not mylelf what they
were. Certain it is that Alkelon was taken, chiefly by our king's per-
fonal prowefs, which carried the crofs once more clofe to the walls of
Jerufalem. There, a fudden flop was put to their career the cru-
faders thcmfelves were weary and worn out ; a large jar was carried
about the field with this infcription / came out fill/, I go home cmpt\.
VOL. I. R t The

314 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD J200. [en. xvn.

The Italians, hafty to enjoy their gains the Germans, half dcfirous at
length to heal their wounds, patched up a truce for three years, three
months, three weeks and three days, a number fuppofed fingularly
lucky and fortunate.

Richard indeed, butchered 500O Saracen prifoners in cold blood,
and thereby offended Philip of France, on whofe fubjecls Saladin
vs reaked inftant revenge. Leopold, duke of Auftria, had likewife been
offended by our martial monarch as they lay before the trenches of
Acre, and he meanly excrciled his vengeance upon an undefended pil-
grim, for 'twas in that difguife that Coeur de Lion travelled home
through his dominions, not trufting to the honour of Dcodatus. At
Vienna however, he was feizcd and put in prifon, while his two ene-
mies leaguing with ever-treacherous John, his youngeft brother, in-
vaded the Roman domain. Queen Eleanor wrote to Pope Celefline,
lamenting loudly the indignities her Ion fuftained in his captivity ; but
her activity in raifing money to pay down that ranfom which fhe car-
ried to the continent herfelf, was far more efficacious than any corrcf-
pondence held with Rome, which looked very quietly on, whilft Phi-
lip, and his worthlefs affociates were laying fnarcs for the perpetual
detention of fo troublefome a neighbour. By a happy combination of
chance and dexterity, Richard cleaned ; and a letter from the king of
France to John, has thefe words : " Take care of yourfelf, for the
" devil is broken loofe." His corrc/pondcnt profited, but not in the
way he wifhed, by this advice ; for being at Evreux, he invrted the
French princes and officers who thought him firm in frienufhip with
their fovereign, to a great dinner, and maffacred them fitting round his
own table ; then feizing the citadel, put every Frenchman in it to the
fword ; and running next to meet his brother, threw himfclf at his feet.

Coeur de Lion abhorred fuch mean and cowardly behaviour, yet
.pardoned all at intcrceffion of their mother, a lady, whofe maternal
affection feems to have been ever liberally and impartially divided
among her children, although infenfible to all tics of conjugal tcnder-

nefs,

CH. x vii. J TO TH E YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1 200 315

nefs, and equally a fcourge to the amiable hufband of her youth, and
the unconftraincd choice of her maturer years. Duke Leopold mean-
while crufhed his leg in a tournament, and the fever confequent on
fuch an accident produced reflexion, and of courfc remorfe. He or-
dered the Englifh hoftagcs to be releafcd, and his furrounding ccclefiaf-
ticks forced the luccefTor to comply with the dictates of a death-bed
repentance he did ftill more ; he forgave the yet remaining fum
which was to have been paid for Richard's ranfom, and they agreed to
fall on Philip of France with newly-revived violence. Frefh fieges,
battles, blows, diftain the page of hiftory, and make us avert the glance
of Rctrofyeftion.

D'teu et man droit, was firft ufcd as a motto by Richard in one of
tliefe victories, where a warlike bifhop of Bcauvais, named Dreux,
whence our Englifh Drax derives his pedigree; advanced towards the
front where our bold monarch mowed doun whole ranks as ufual
with his fvvord; he was related to Auguilus, therefore found no mercy:
the rough king fei/.ed him as he dipt, daggering on the bloody grccn-
Ivvord, and threw him into prifon where he died. Pope CclciVme de-
manded the liberation of his fon, but Richard recollecting the cold-
nefs fhewn by Rome when Ms : freedom w as folicitcd, favagcly
fent the ftaincd armour thither, with the rclcntlefs words emploved In
Jofcph's no lefs cruel brethren. " This have we found ; know thou,
" and fee whether it be thy fon's coat or no ?" This anecdote how-
ever, proves that the Icripturcs were known to prince and pope at Icaft,
and there was a Lombard doctor in the fame century, called Peter
me/lor, becaufc fuch was his knowledge of every chapter and c\er\
text, that it fccmed, they laid, as if he had eaten the \\hole Bible,
and William of Sicily made Gualtcrius Anglicus archbifhop of Pa-
lermo, only becaufc he had taught him to make Latin verfes ; while
John of Salisbury here in England vcrllficd, rather than tranflatcd into
our rough language, the famous apologue of The Belly and the Mem-
ber?. All ccclefiafticks therefore were not warriors, though Drcux

R r U

yiO TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [en. xi i;

was one : but in the year 11/0, the pope's legate did obtain a grant, that
clergy in this ifland needed not be compelled to fingie combat for a
lady's reputation : thofe who took advantage of the grant, were not-
withftanding, very meanly thought of.

The world w r as all romance, and love, and valour ; our martial fove -
reign made as fine poetry in praife of beauty, as anie minftrel or trou-
badour, fays Savarie de Maelon, unlefs perhaps Faydit. Faydit indeed
was highly famed in ilory : Dante has placed him in his paradifo, and
Petrarch tells us, that his tuneful tongue w r as more than fhield and
helmet, fvvord or fpcar. He prevailed on a profefled nun of Provence
to quit her convent and follow him as glee-maid through the world on
foot for twenty years of her life. He only was found worthy to make
the chant funcbre of Rndelle, the noble bard itinerant, who died for
love of the Comteffe de Tripoli, having become enamoured from mere
warmth of imagination only, and written the paffionate and beauti-
ful fong of Du Luench, or Jo far away. Having walked from Picar-
dy into Africa for the fake of viewing the object of his bright and
faithful flame, he arrived there feeble and emaciated ; but on behold-
ing the countefs, clafped his hands in thankfulnefs and expired ; his
laft words, like thofe of general Wolfe, were, " I die fatisfied." To
ihew her fenfibility of fuch merit, his lady placed his reliques in a por-
phyry vafe, gilt the words of his fo famous fonnet with gold, borrowed
King Richard's Faydit to fmg his requiem, and then fhut herfelf up for
ever in a cloifter. Some fuch adventures, but not fo well authenti-
cated as the ftory told by Beauchamps, befell our royal minftrel in the
ifle of Cyprus, whence he brought a large cheft of martyrs' bones
Ji tamen mariynim,* as St. Auguftine faid of fuch another prize, ages
before : and whence he brought fome gems excellent for foreknowledge.
'Twas an Arabian fuperftition, originating probably from the Urim and
Thummin, two ftones in Aaron's breaft plate. Hawkefworth has made
elegant ufe of the idea, where Sultan Amurath's ring is reprefented to
blufli or fade according to the emotions of its wearer's confcience.

While
* If indeed martyrs they were.

CH. XVII.]

TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200.

While Genoa, Venice, Pifa, therefore enriched their towns and po-
liflied their manners in confequencc of thefe crufades, William the
Lion of Scotland, and Richard Coeur de Lion of England, came home
together loaded only with laurels, arid David, William's brother, not
only accompanied them to Syria, Surrye, as 'twas then called ; but had
as many adventures to boaft, as any warrior of them all when he re-
turned : having been taken by the Egyptians, rcfcued by the Vene-
tians, and brought to Scotland from Conftantinople by an Englifli or
Hamburgh merchant.

Thefe events, with the death of brave Richard and greater Saladinc
mall clofe this chapter, as they happened juft in time to wind up the
12OO years we have reviewed fmce Chrift's refurredion, and Chriftian
princes might well learn humility from that virtuous and noble-
minded Saracen, when by his laft command they faw a winding-
meet borne before his dead corpfe carried to interment, and heard his
herald with impreffive voice proclaim, " This Ihirt alone, after all his
" viclories, could Saladinc take with him to the grave."

STANZAS DULUENCH.

Irat et dolent piez en partray,
S'ycu nonveyeft amour lucnch,
!'. non fay q'uouras la veyray,
Carfon noftras turras luench.

Dieu que fez tou, quant ven e vray,
El forma eft amour luencli,
My don poder al cor que hay,
Kfper vezcr amour du Luench.

Segnour tcncr mcs perils vray,
L'atnour qu'ay vers alladc lucnch,
Car per un ben my oril verog
llai mils mals tan fuy de lucnch.

IMITATION.

How will thcfe vagrant feet be worne,
That feek fo wide from home to ftray,

Ere by tbeir force I can be borne,
To find my love fo far away.

How often will my panting heart,
Requeftfrom heav'n afmilingray

Of hope, which heav'n can beft impart,
To cheer me while fo far away.

in.

How will thefe eyes before whofe fight
Dangers their various forms difplay ;

Bear with th' excefcof beauty bright,
Beaming from hers fo far away.

318 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1200 [CH. xvu.

IV.

Ja d'otr' amour non j'auzivray, Unrivall'd excellence ! to fhine,
S'wray je veu le amour de lucncli, Be yours thro' many a diftant day>

Qui nay plu bella brileray To follow and adore be mine,
En luec <jue fia pres ni luench. Till found my love fo far away.

CHAP.

CH.XVIU.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 319

CHAP. XVII.
FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230.

opening of the thirteenth century found the world recovered
-*- from that general panick which was fuppolcd immediately to
precede her diflblution. It might perhaps occur to fbmc of thofe who
fearched the Scriptures, that neither at evening, nor at night, nor at
cock-crowing,* nor in the morning was the hour appointed. The
evening was paft, and night came gradually on, ending in utter dark-
nefs during the gothick ages. Robcrtfon points out the moment of
deeped obfcuxation, which returned, he fays, with redoubled gloom
after Alfred and Charlemagne had mown the dawn at diftancc. The
crufading times might be, I think, confidered as the moment of cock-
crowing, from which hour light made her gradual though flow ad-
vances towards that morning which feems to me ended with the
eighteenth century.

This light broke from the caft: the Latin writers loft in wonder at
the fupcrior glories of Conllantinople, make ufc of exclamation to cx-
prefs their fcnfe of furprize, and hardly can drop into cold narrative of
matters which amazed them. Benjamin the Jew, and Gonthier the
monk, faymy readers, might be cafily daz/.lcd and amazed by fight,
or even hearing of the golden tree filled with mechanick iinging birds,
coloured with precious Hones after nature, which was faid to adorn the
Greek emperor's palace ; while lions formed of the fame precious metal,
(there fo near its birth-place) roared by inventive luxurious artifice at

* Fuller in his Life of Hildcgardis, calls the twelfth century cock-crowing time.
I know not why, but his manner of underftanding the paflage was diftin&irom mine.

loot

320 FROM THE YEAR 12OO, TO 1230. [CH. xvm.

foot of his fplcndid throne. True ; but THtftoire de la Cotiqitete par
Geoffrey de ViHehardou'm, one of the higheft noblemen in France, and
accuftomed to all the magnificence which our weftern hemifphcre
could fliow ; bears teftimony to that admiration which even French-
men felt, and Italians haftened to prove, by carrying thence to their
own country, thofe arts of life which had in all ages found the foil of
Florence and of Rome propitious. Innocent III. encouraged excellence
in others, and in himfelf united various qualities which cannot without
difficulty inhabit the fame heart : but fuch was his peculiar care for juf-
tice, that by frequent recitation he learned to repeat over the preten-
fions of contending claimants, that he might be enabled to judge w r ith
perfect equity between them. The times were indeed paft when perfbns
aggrieved, ran to the fovereign's or pontiff's palace, and with loud out-
cries forced him to hear and to redrefs ; men now decided every thing
by the fword: which Innocent the Hid. lamented, and endeavoured to
render unneceffary by hearing and getting every one's ftory by me-
mory : yet was it no eafy matter to adjuft affairs between debtor and
creditor, which laft had no power of touching the horfes, arms or
hawks of a gentleman equal with himfelf; and as for artizans or
traders, they came not within idea of receiving juftice : and when we
read of charters, immunities and franchifes, we muft annex no other
notion to the words, than merely manumiflion from actual flavcry.
Under Frederick BarbarofTa indeed, Otho Frifmgenfis complains that
there began to grow up free cities in Italy, that affected to be governed
by their own magiftrates ; but in a century more, the emperors feeing
fome great lords living among thefe burgefTes, and fwearing now and
then to protect them with their fwords, began to form palaces for
themfelves at the gates, with intent to awe the inhabitants and hold
them in due fubjection. The free cities however, would be flavcs no
more : after a thoufand contefls, they fhook off all Sovereignty except
what they created for themfelves, and at laft ended in independent,
though petty republicks.

Italy

en. xvm.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 321

Italy, with much addition to her wifdom, made much increafe to
her wealth* Companies of merchants and traders from Lombard)',
fettled in various nations ; a bank had been fome time eroded at Ve-
nice ; plants of the fugar cane had been brought from Afia, and cul-
tivated in Sicily, whence they were carried to Spain, where we lhall
leave them till the woody iflands, thence called by Spaniards Madcra,
by Portuguefe Madeiras, were discovered : but Roger I. carried oft"
many artificers in the filk trade from the crulkdes to Palermo ; and
while they were at work to adorn our wcllcrn world, the Italians,
trading in money, were diligent to corrupt it ; cxacTmg twenty per
cent, intcreft. at the lowed, and fomc times thirty in France and
England, where people had little notion of punifliing fuch crimes
except by excommunication, for the criminals were too mean to be
called out for duel. Foreigners indeed devoured England quite at
their pleafure, and our commerce \vas yet at a low ebb ; no treaty
of that nature appearing, till one was made \\ith liacquin king in
Norway, about 1215. London, roofed with thatch, and containing
only 40,OOO inhabitants, as Peter de Blois aflcrts, who lived there
long, could fcarce deferve Fitzftephen's pompous dcfcription of it I
think, while chimneys were unknown even to houfcs where the baron
drank from out his filvcr cups. Day was howcu-r beginning to
break even in the north : the coaft of Schonen was obferved to fwarni
with herrings ; and Arnold de Lubcc thanks God very properly for
that difcovcry, which, as he faid, fed the fouthcrn nations of Europe,
and clothed the northern ones with manufactures not with fkins as
formerly. Literature kept pace in advancement ; and whereas a book
had till near the year J 20O been eftecmed a commutation for fin, it
bequeathed to a church library, where many had been prelentcd/ro
remcdio aniwu-fiue, in order to obtain peace for the foul of him who gave
it : the countefs of Anjou paid 200 fliccp, 5 quarters of wheat only,
and 5 quarters of rye and millet for lomc fermons written by the
bifhop of Ilalberltadt ; and j uper bcu.g grown of common ufe, people
were no longer obliged to i',;atch out Livy's Decades in order to copy

VOL. I. S s ovcr

FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. [CH. xnn.

over on the fame parchment the legend of Cecilia perhaps, or the ro-
mance of Sir Alifandre. Innocent III. was himfelf a fcholar, and wrote
a Treatife de Contemptu Mundi, befide the Stabat Mater, which is not
even yet forgotten ; the Spanifh Saracens, and even Jews, contributed to
dig up the germ of philofophy, the feed of which was after fb well
diflcminated ; and Martinus Scotus lent 'his affiftance in the ufeful
work of tranflating ; and alt/hough private wars, carried on with ran-
corous hatred between private families in every nation, ftill fubfifled,
and quarrels of individuals were decided by {ingle combat, fame law
was known, andjome was accepted, and men did not in this century,
as in the preceding one, when two grandfons difputed fucceffion in a
barony again!! their uncles, brothers to the deceafed, look with per-
plexity on a cafe fo intricate, and refolve that the gordian knot, which
hone could untie, fhouldjit length be -cut ; when choofing two cham-
pions, one far the uncles, the other for the grandfons, their relations
let them out armed cap-a-pee, to fettle it with their lives. Happily
the right heirs' combatant fucceded, and brothers of a dead baron con-
tended for his eftate no more againft the immediate defcendants of his
perfon. Riga and Flenfburg had in the laft century rear'd up their
rough heads ; the firft (tone of this laft named city was laid by Wal-
tlemar, grandfather to Margaret, know^n afterwards to hiftory by name
of the Scmiramis of the north : and univerfities ftarting up daily in
various countries, fhewed that war alone was not completely and pofi-
tive'ly, in the days w r e are reviewing, die fole concern of man.

Our own country's lituation, brought nearer to Relrojpettions eye
;by the approximating powers of Shakefpear, makes one feel as if lefs
far removed from learning's reftoration than we really were in the days
of King John, under whofe reign flourifh'd Bifhop Grtxfthead, a man
whofe rugged manners, and cruel punifhment of light carnaged or re-
fractory nuns, was well counterbalanced by deep and wide erudition,
and by his commendable fpirit of battling in favour of the Englifh
-clergy againft foreigners, for which he was very near incurring fcntence
of excommunication : although 'tis now fuppofed that the caufc of ge-
neral

cm xvm.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1-230. 3-23

neral literature was in fuch times rather promoted than impeded by
rendering our ifland a fort of mart for diftant profeflbrs, and encou-
raging that commerce in every branch of knowledge which importa-
tion naturally tends to produce. Yet Fleury, candid, elegant and ami-
able Fleury, whofe piety emanates ia gcntlenefs, whofe fcholarihip, a
comment upon common fenfc, never yet overlaid one grain of it with
learned lumber ; laments the ill fuccefs and danger of a prelate, who in
this early dawrt of future day daxcd cry aloud againft papal ufurpations ;
in confequence of which, mod of our rich benefices were occupied by
Italians, notwithftanding the vigorous- efforts of our own people, who
now gave much of their time to ftudy. Ariftotle's cthicks, and I bc-
Keve politicks had worked their way through Arabick vcrfions from the
eaft to England, and were at the time we fpeak of, translating into
Latin : yet my readers muft not fuppofe all the clergy could write and
read that language familiarly : they were for the moft part of a dif-
ferent caft; an old entry (hows how an archdeacon of Richcmont, in
Yorkshire, came to Bridlington priory with ninety-fix fine horfc-,
twenty-one dogs, and three hawks afalre eftabliffemente is the cxprel-
fwn he had alfo one large book, unborrowed: yet Velley fays that can-
tadours and mufars, violars and tale-tellers, were beyond all enumera-
tion in thefe days. Thibaut, king of Navarre, compofcd and fet the
pretty verfes preferved by Dr. Burney, and translated tot'uient Jyllabts,.
containing his adventure with a country girl, which I have heard an
eld Frenchman, native of le Gevaudan, Sing to the tune printed in
Burney's Hiftory of Mufick. He was in love with Queen Blanche, a>
I remember, although 'tis plain he could not boaft a rigid conftancy
like that of Rudelle. The kings of France and England fct bad ex-
amples of conjugal deportment ; and Innocent III. himfclf a French-
man, defcended from Lothaire, endeavoured a long time, with fruit-
less pains, to reconcile Philip Auguftus with his confort Ingelburgha,
whom he kept confined in her own private palace, whilft he lived pub-
lickly with Mar)', daughter to the Duke of Bohemia, who ufurped
regal houourb, tind behaved as if actually queen. The Pope however,

S s 2- finding

324 FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. [en. xvni.

finding no remonftrance, or even cenfure, had the Icaft effect upon
their manners, laid (as he had threatened) their whole land under an
interdict, forbidding all ecdefiaftical functions for fix months, except
baptifm of infants, and absolution of ^penitents at point of death. Every
thuroh was hung with black, and the fame colour cover'd all devotional
pillars in the ftreet : the crucifixes and images were laid on the floors,
and a fable pall thrown over them. No preaching heard, no prayers
read, no pfalms fung, no facramcnt adminifter'd, no proceffion per-
mitted, no holiday kept. The people were {hocked, were terrified ;
and flocked in frighted crowds about the palace, demanding their fo-
vercign lady's reftoration, and the difmiffal of adulterous Mary. While
fuch incidents are objects of Retrofpeft alone, readers will paufe perhaps,
and wonder why but in the thirteenth century bufinefs and pleafure
both depended on devotion. Thofe artificers who were not kept in
fome great baron's cafble to work for li'im, derived their fubfiftence
chiefly by labouring for the decoration of ecclcfiaftical dignity ; all fuch
were flarving for employment therefore, a circumftance which might
affect even an Englifli bofom : while thofe who relied on feftive mows
for their amufement, fat pining and nervelefs, and found no means of
paffing away the time, a cafe that Ihould excite companion in my fe-
male readers, for ladies loved diverfion then as now, and were detained
from it by the unpleafing carefulnefs of mothers A Northfolke dame's
counfille to hyr childe, written not long after, advifes her thus :

And goe notte to the vvreftlinge or fhootinge of the coc,
An as it werre a madde wenche or a giglotte ;
And lough notte to fcorne nodir olde, nodir yong,
But be of good berving, and have a good tonge,

were injunctions as it appears ever needful in England, where to fa-
tyrize their companions feemed always to cbnftitutc much of the wo-
men's pleafure in public places. A papal interdict was in fhort, fuch
.a calamity as no nation would long endure, and Philip felt himfelf
.forced by it to recal Ingclburgha, and .drive the beautiful fupplanter

from

en. xvirr.] 1 :iOM THE YEAK [ " ;o.

from his ,vv/w, however he might retain her in his t iff:\
it i , lie never received the patient queen to perfonal favour 1 or even
durance, till new.; was brought him that Bohemian Man,' had ac<\-
another lover. The French natro'n meanwhile, partial to D;i.
blood, would not receive the king's fon by that lady, as heir to their
crown. He was made Earl of Boulogne, and his filler, firft affiai
to our young Prince Arthur, was after his death, Duchcfs of Lorraine ;
during which time Lewis, Ible child of Ingclburgha, was folemnh
cogni/.ed Dauphin of France, and compenfated his father's unlumlncli
by every mark- of filial affecYion to the Princcfs of Denmark,' whofe na-
ture was fofter than her name. The fame year Innocent had the fa-
tisfa&ion of feeing Bulgaria and Wallachia, long under the patriarchal
fee of Conftantinople, united to Rome ; if fubmiffion may be termed
a union. He fent his 'legate to reward their leader, Calo Johannes,*
with a diadem which I fiiv among the imperial trcafurcs in 1786,
adding permiffion for the new monarch to coin money, as a privilege
obtained from papal authority, which had til! then quietly looked on and
feen every petty prince throughout Europ6 exerting that power as a
prerogative inherent in the dignity they afTumcd. And now Peter of
Arragon, infpired with like fentimcnts of reverence for the miftrefs of
mankind, earneftly, though fpontancoufly, rcqucftcd leave to wait
upon his Holincfs, and receive from his hand the facred ceremony of
coronation at the capital. The Pope, for fomc reafbn however, chofc
to perform this function at San Pancrazio monaftcry, where the youth
fwore faith and obedience to \\lsfnperior lord, and promifed to pcrfecutc
all fuch as he deemed hcrcticks with rigour. This was an unlucky
oath for the Albigcnfes ; a dreadful crufade was fet on foot againft
thofe Proteftants, who, becaufe they would not acknowledge that fu-
premacy which they were unable to refill, were foon confidercd as in-
fidels, and ranked with Jews, Turks, every denomination of men moft
obnoxious to Chriltiunity. The Comte dc Thouloule, where they

* Calo Jthttnncs means Johannes or John the beautiful, like Philip le Be', &c.

chiefly

32-fi FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO I23O. [CH. xvrn

chiefly rcfided, became a fcene of blood and (laughter. Numbers of
harmlefs believers in our Lord were murdered, mangled, and thrown
unburicd to the dogs ; while the red banner of that bloody crofs firft
carried forth to redeem our Saviour's fcpulchre from his proiefs'd foes,
was on this cruel occafion unfurled for the deftruction of men, who
died crying to him for mercy, and who had lived in peaceable obe-
dience of his gentle precepts. Haymond* requefted the Pope for very
pity, to forbear this defblation of his fmall domain, protefting his own
allegiance to the Ilomim fee, and his apprdaching ruin confequent on
this crufade. For having thus remonftrated, the Count was, by a
nuncio from Innocent III. required to do public penance : it was al-
leged that fome monk had been killed by fome of his fubjedls, and no
atonement made ; Raymond fvvore on the corpus Domini his ignorance
of any fuch event : no matter the legate faw him ftript from head
to foot, and fcourged upon his naked back nine times round the pre-
tended martyr's grave. Not yet contented on his unhealed wounds
was buckled armour, in which he was condemned to follow the cru-
fade himfelf, before he could obtain abfblution, which arrived not 'ere
he had wept the fate of Bezieres, a new built town in his dominions,
which, though divided between catholicks and thefe imprudent fec-
taries, was fet on fire, and, with its inhabitants, completely burned to
the ground.

Peter II. of Arragon meanwhile incurred the Pope's ccnfure for
immorality, although to his religion nothing could be objected. He,
like Deodatus, took an ill-placed aversion to his confort ; but Spain
was faved from punrmment for her fovereign's folly, by one of thofe
uncommon occurrences which keep the writers of dramatick works in
countenance, by mowing that among the combinations of this world
fcarce any event is impoffible. Peter, young, amiable, and valiant,

* This Raymond (fo called by Pietro della Valle) is named Sigifmund by Raynal
in his account of Tholoufe the ftory is the fame. Bc/.ieres is 5 miles from Nar-
bonne, 157 from Paris.

feduced

CH. xvm.] FROM THK YE\R 1200, TO 1230. 327

feduccd a lady of the court who had been kindly treated by the
queen on fomc occafion, and was fuppofed to rdcmbic her in pcrfon.
She feigned to accept his Majefty's addrciles, but told her miftrcfs ol"
his falfchood, proving her own trutli and gratitude : they plotted a
fchcme like that in two of Shakefpear's comedies, then Icfs improbable
than now perhaps; and like fair Helen in All's Well that ends Well,
the long-dcferted queen proved pregnant : Peter accufed her, and /In-
called a champion when he had difarmcd his antagonist, and was on
the point of taking his life, the lady rulhed from her leat between their
fwords, fworc to her own purity N/nn them, and revealing the whole
myftcry, Alphonfo II. fon to this ftolen though lawful embrace, wa.<
born ; and made himfelf renowned in war and wifdom. Here was an
extraordinary talc for thofe who related fad or merry {lories ; and I
doubt not but from) the minftrels, troubadours, &c. much anecdote for
hillory as well as drama has been collected. In the account given by
Bonfinius, and the Hungarian chronicles, of what pall there in the
early part or period of this century, may be traced Lillo's imprcfiivc
tragedy, called Elnicnc. He was no better fcholur than myfclf, and
never fought for talcs of claflick woe ; nor needed, while the adven-
tures of Gertrude, wife to King Andrew, remained credible, and even
generally believed.

Her huiband refolving on a warlike journey to Paleftine, felt de-
ilrous to leave his dominions in care of Count Peter, a character of
rigid and untainted excellence, who promifed to maintain the laws of
chivalry, and fupport the adminillration of juftice fo far as it was there
imdcrftood. Protection was even claimed by the queen hcrfclf, who
fubmittcd to receive it from the regent rather than accompany her
confort to the Holy Land, as ladies for the moft part were accullomed
to do. Her motive was little fulpected : fhc fecrctly hated Andrew
and adored the hufband of her couiin, who was united with Peter by
every tie of duty and affeclion : fuch love was then considered as in-
ccftuous. Yet when the king was at a convenient diftaucc fhc made
her mad propofals to his fubftitute ; and on his ftcady and fcvere re-

fufal

328 FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO mo; [CH. xvin.

fufal vowed vengeance on the wife whom he preferred to her, and fet
her brother on to (hake that lady's allegiance. The regenr learned the
truth : the brother fled to a monastery confeffing his impious intent;
and rejoicing at his deliverance from the guilt. Count Peter then re->
lating all to the wife bifhop of Strigonia, received from him the half
exprefled permiffion to difpatch Gertrude by aflaffi nation. It was a
fhdrt fentence, written without flop or point Reginam ocadcre noliie
tlmere bonnm eft.* I have fomewhcre read this very thing related of
our Edward fecond's murder, but Hungary lays claim to the original
device. The Venetians and Genoefe about this time were quarrelling
for the iiland of Candia ; but Tpite of petty wars 'mongft one another
all Italy was growing rich, and Rome was once more arrived at its
maturity of power. Jortin, in his coarfc way, fays papal impudence
was at its height in 1228 ; an inquifition had been eftablifhed in France
in 122/ ; and in I22Q the Scriptures were prohibited in vulgar tongue.
A pfaltcr and breviary were by the council of Tholoufe permitted to
laymen, but he who had a Hebrew Bible in poiTeffion ran rifk of being
fufpected for a Jew, and tortured as fuch by this new inquifitorial
court. Cardinals were now made with the new brevet, Creamus ie
fociumregibns,Jiiperioremducibusetfratrem noflruni' we create thee a
companion for kings, a fuperior to dukes, and broilier to ourfclf- and if
a cardinal was accufed of any fault, no fewer than twenty-four ocular
witnefTes were ncceflary to his condemnation. The^cW popes were dili*
gent to crufh incipient error as they deemed it, and perfecuted Protellants
as their predeceflbrs the emperors, particularly the good ones, had in pail
days perfecuted Chriftianity : but trampling camomile only makes it
grow. Innocent was really an exemplary pontiff, and his dorncltick
gentlenefs more than equalled his publick feverity ; though Almeric
was depofcd, as it appears, from reigning in Cyprus, merely by his
caprice, who chofc to fet up Jean de Brenne as ibvercign there. He

* By placing a comma, or rather femicolon at i'nncrc ; tliefe words contain command
to kill the queen 'lisa good deed, lonwn eft. If you put the Hop at nolitc, 'tis a di-
rcft prohibition ; and timcic bsnum c/t 'tis good to be cautious.

married

CH. xviii.] FROM THE YFAR 1200, TO 1330. .

married the daughter of the Marquis dc Montfcrrat by the Pope's com-
mand, and was crowned at Ptolcmais ; while Ifaac the caftern cmpe-
ror broke his heart, andDucas battled it a fhor.t moment againft all his
foes, till the Venetians threatening dreadful revenge for the death of
their protege young Alexius, Ducas attempted flight, but was brought
back, I think, and thrown from a high tower; alter \\hich Laiearis, a
name dear to literature, was inverted with the purple. His efforts to
defend his dignity from Chriftian enemies were ineffectual ; Venice
covered the fea with fhips, and having ftormed Conftantinoplc gave it
up to plunder. Baldwin carl of Flanders reigned in the call a while,
and that divided throne now faw its end approaching. The Latins, as
our European troops were called, controulcd every election, and the
Greek empire, dwindled almoft to nothing, made to every frcfli attack
a more feeble and wretched refiftancc. Morofini confiitutcd patriarch,
fliared a large portion of imperial power; and Innocent III. faw with
no approbation the crufadcrs thus turning thofe arms meant to ex-
tirpate Saracens, againft catholic Chriftians, more tradlablc and obe-
dient than themfelves. The Venetians too had torn a miraculous
image of our Lady from the famed temple of Santa Sophia, and had
fcnt it to adorn St. Mark's church in their own city : <i rajh Jlep ! bc-
caufe that image had brought victory with it wherever it was carried,
and had appeared upon the field of battle on every trying occalion
fmcc A.D. 973. So here's a fecond feizurc of the palladium; a new
proof that nothing new can be either done or found, read or related ;
nothing new but as the moon is new, I mean the old moon with her
face t'other way. Twas near this fame eventful period that Philip
and Otho difputcd the poirefliou of our weftcrn empire with no fmall
degree of fury, till Innocent III. good-naturedly accommodated all
their differences, by granting a d-ifpenfation for the marriage of Philip's
daughter with the bold duke of Saxony, his rough competitor ; al-
though many and ferious were the Pope's fcruples, for they \\cicfottrth
coufins. A more terrifying calamity followed the match however, than
VOL I. T t what

330 FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1930. [CH. xvin,

what could have arifen from mingling blood fo diftant. Another
Otho, palatine of Witelfpacli, to whom the princefs had before been
promifed, waylaid her father, and revengefully murdered him as he
walked undefended through the ftreets in proceffion, without any-
other benefit accruing from his treachery than that of gratifying a vin-
dictive fpirit ; her hufband' being inftantly, by papal decree, acknow-
ledged as fovereign in Germany and king in Italy, in which character
Otho was crowned by Archbifhop Hubert at Milan' with the iron
crown, according to ancient ufage, and I believe it ftill remains there
to this day ; a proof of the Prophet Daniel's heavenly infpiration.

But our retrofpeSii've eye has been too long detained from England;
where felfim and ufurping John obtained on Coeur de Lion's death
that throne which ought to have been filled by their own brother's fon-,
young Arthur Due de Bretagne, whofe fhort appearance on the ftage
ef life mewed him well calculated to have acted a longer part on it.
I know not why Shakefpear rcprefents him of fo tender and flexible a
temper, unlefs to excite companion for his fate and for his haplefs
mother's. Lady Conftance. Hume draws the portrait of a martial
youth, who half provoked his own afl'afmiation by warm expreffions of
unyielding fpirtt ; whilfb the vile uncle, and mean dejerter of his brc<-
thers blood, after having vainly fought a hand that would difpatch him-,
ufed his own. To murder he likewifc added infolent felf-gratification ;
repudiating his queen, he had already married Ifabella affianced wife to
the Earl of March, as ibon as the crown was warm upon his head :
nor d.id that nobleman, joining with Arthur's party in revenge, fright
or turn him from an ailault upon the lady of Euflace de Vefey, a bold
baron, who firft excited his fellows to rebellion, while Conftance,
mother to the murdered prince, and widow of faucy Geoffrey that de>-
fpifed King Henry, related to Philip of France how her falfe brother-
in-law fent his own barge by night for the young boy, feigning inten-
tions to treat with him ; how at that difmal moment he had over-
powered his weak years with brutal ftrength, mangled the body with

repeated.

CH. xvin.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 331

repeated blows, and thrown it into Seine. The King of France, as
his Jiiperior lord in that country, fummoned, tried, and proclaimed
John guilty both of felony and parricide, endeavouring to detach his
dominions from fubmiflion to England, however that fubmitfion-might
be modified.

Againft this enemy our worthlefi; fovcreign applied to Rome for
help, offering the meancft fubmiffions ; nor was Pope Innocent a mo-
ralift fo fturdy as to forbear accepting any terms which might incrcale
the papal power in England. He then who we have fecn lay France
under an interdid for the ill ufage of Ingclburgha daughter to Canute the
fourth, contented himfelf with fending four myftcrious rings to John ;
a fapphire, reprefcnting faith he faid ; a ruby, exprcffive of general cha-
rity ; a topaz, whofe fplendour might imprefs on the king's mind the
beauty of good works; and an emerald, the verdure of which was con-
fidered as an emblem of hope. Their number too, he bid him obfcm-
contained a fymbol of four cardinal virtues, and the gold they were
iet in fignified the immutability of truth.

Of all thefe good qualities John pofleflcd fo few however, that when
in want of money for his vices he pawned the gems, fent knights to
make forcible entry on fomc monaftcrics, diflodged the rclifr'teux with
violence, and fcized their property, threatening to burn the convent if
refifted. This outrage provoked the pontiff, and moft juftly. Our
hind was now laid under an interdict, and the dead were refufed burial
in confecrated ground. Lamentation pervaded every place, com-
plaints againft King John filled every ear. The prelates proftratc be-
fore him requefled his fubmifiion to the Holy Sec ; and one of them
protcfting he could not officiate in a realm of which the prince lay
under an anathema, found himfelf, as he returned home, fuddenly
crufli'd under a leaden cope conftruclcd by the tyrant's command to
kill an innocent and praife-worthy fcrvant of God for having done his
duty. The Pope now fet his fubjcds free from their allegiance, and
put our ifland up to auction. John drove forward, and called his ba-

T t '2 ron! >

332 FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. [cir. xviu.

rons to affift his caufe. They, as he might have been affur'd, com-
plied not. He had dishonoured their families by licentious amours ;
he had endeavoured to reftrain them in their favourite amufement,
hunting ; he had demanded hoftages for their allegiance, and feized
upon one contumacious lady who had refufed to truft him with her
fon, heir to immenfe cftates, which John confifcatcd, ftarving the
youth and widowed mother in a prifon, the Baronefs de Braouze.

Philip of France meantime, newly reconciled to Rome, prepared
with what was then called paternal confcnt, and under papal auipices,
t'invade this feemingly devoted country ; and not one baron rouzcd
in its defence, though feventeen hundred veflels covered our channel,
and manifefted iincerc intentions of immediate defcent. Our worth-
lefs monarch now having long infulted that power which none dared
oppofe, and even half oppofed what he was unable to fubdue, caught
the alarm ; and fpiritlefs in war as tyrannical in peace, began to depre-
cate the clergy's vengeance. Thus after having imprifoned all their
' concubines, forcing them to pay enormous fums for their releafe, with
twenty tricks meant for the plunder of a body of men he detefted ; the
time was at length arrived that he faw his very exiftence depending on
their fidelity, which, with a fpiffitude of intellect peculiar to himfelf,
he told them he expected at their hands. The clergy laughed at him ;
the barons flood immovable, but filent. Urged by Pandolpho, legate,
from all-conquering Rome, the tide of ruin rolled along, and fure de-
tlruciion followed.

By the mo ft ignominious ceremony John fuddenly rcfolvcd to avert
it. Under an agony ofprefcnt terror, he without fcruple or objection
publickly refigncd all his dominions, and by a fblcmn t&gave them to
Pope Innocent, dsfiring rather than cotifenlhig to hold them in future
as mere feudatories of the apoftolic chair; and ftipulating, that fhould
lie or any of his fuccefTors revoke what he not unjuftiy termed a vo-
luntary grant and chapter, all claim to thofe dominions fhould be for-
feited.

This

CH. xviii.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 333

This melancholy function once performed, the quoniLim king con-
tinuing on his knees, prefentcd a purfe containing all his ill-gotten
wealth as part of immediate tribute. This the proud nuncio trampled
under feet, but ftopt the progrefs of the French invaflon ; fhewing th<;
whole fubjecl world at once the vaft extent of faccrdotal power.
Philip then, his prey thus pulled out of his mouth, churned at home
his venomous ambition ; and John, relieved from panic fears, fent to
his favourite admiral the Earl of Salifbury, who was a baftard fun of
Coeur de Lion, and told him he was at libcrtv now to fight the French
invaders if he would. Richard's brave progeny defircd no more ; he
followed and attacked them in their very harbours ; burned and de-
ftroyed three hundred fail one day of mips or tranfports, or whatever
name the veflels of thofe times were known by : but the marine of
Philip was deftroyed. The exiled prelates next, led on by Langton,
made up their quarrel with the tributary tyrant, who, to prove how
well he had defcrved every mortification that man can receive, dragged
a poor wretch to death at his horfes' tail, for having predicted the lofs
of England's crown to the wearer, two years before it was laid at the
pope's feet.

'Twas foon to be endangered from a caufc which, although dormant
during the greater difpute's continuance, revived with vigour foon as
that was ended. Euftace de Vefey inflamed all the barons, and formed
a powerful confederacy againft the king; of whofe bchauour com-
plaints were carried to Rome by a large deputation, of which he was
head.

Innocent 'wrote letters to his degenerate protege, and charged him
mend his manners, but in vain. Submiffion may be extorted from a
coward, but virtue cannot be hoped for where honour lies effete. Lang-
ton lent his aid, and fhewed the charter obtained by Henry I. War
was foon levied ; and John had recourfe to a banditti named Bra-
barujons, which in thofe lawlcfs days had no fmall power. The ba-
rons however continued to rofift, and conqueft followed their perti-
nacious efforts. The dominion which John had exercifed fo cruelly, all

.rope

334 FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. [CH. xvnr.

Europe was rejoiced to fee curtailed ; and the indecent fury he cxprefled
incrcafcd the nobles' joy to find him humbled; while the leading ar-
ticles of their demands only transferred to them a king's authority,
without much benefit to England as a nation, or to the inhabitants of
it as a mafs. To colour their oppofition however, other claufes were
inferted ; and to fay truth, relieving the peafantry from royal oppref-
fion was a large Hep towards Bearing them from any oppreffion at
all ; as people will not be very long in learning, when once protected
from the lion's paw, that they arc at worft too good to be devoured by
the wolf. At Runnymead then the king and barons met for .confe-
rence, as it was called, but ended in fubmiffion of our irrefolute fove-
reign, who on that fpot fworc pofitively to render them co-ordinate
with himfelf, and equal certainly, if not fuperior, in every exercifc of
the executive power. All men were HOW bound, in pain of confifca-
tion, to fwear allegiance to their new lords ; but the freeholders were
in every county to choofe tw r elve individuals for report of grievances
felt by the fubjcd ; and from this embryon atom (fuch it was when
Magna Charta was firft figned and fealed) grew up within its egg to
full maturity the animated aggregate fince known to all the world,
a Britim Houfe of Commons.

Itinerant judges had long gone a kind of circuit to the diftant pro-
vinces once in three or four years ; but a vaft number of what we
fhould at this time deem dreadful crimes, laughed at all laws, and
fought decifion only by the fword. And it was, I think, after John's
degradation, that the realm' looked on quietly enough, when requiring
an exorbitant fum of money from a rich .unoffending Jew, the tyrant
forced him to lofe a tooth every day till the cam was paid. It was
with greater provocation, though with no lefs injuftice, that our vin-
didive monarch, flattered by his Brabancons, made himfelf fuddcnly
mafter of Rochester, and letting loofe thcfe ravening and barbarous
mercenaries upon the too confiding lords, laid their lands wafte from
Povcr to Berwick, whence many refuged with the unhappy king of Scots,
Alexander, who Had married John of England's daughter, who re-built

Perth,

CH. xviii.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 12.30. 335

Perth, a Saxon town till then, and named from Bertha ; and who had
the fingular misfortune to lofe a young child, that perimed with his
nurfe in a great inundation of the Tay. Our fovcrcign however burn-
ing with revenge, which feemed, like the Greek fire, wholly incxtin-
guifhable, carried on his internal -war with fo good profpccl of fucccfs,
that the barons fcnt to requeft help from Philip of France, who was
once more tempted to invade us. He fent the dauphin over with
troops ; but our old Englifh families looked upon Louis with a jealous
eye ; ami having heard that he had from his father fecrct orders to
extirpate them all, they turned their thoughts to feeking better terms
from treacherous John, vvhofe death happening juft at the moment of
dccifion, relieved both parties from anxiety, and confirmed his infant
ion and fucceflbr in the throne. Inncocnt III. died about the fame
time. Thofe two princes began and ended their reigns together; and
furely two characters more completely oppofitc never met upon the
page of hiftory. Violent, yet fcrvile, one gave or threw unthank'd
away his juft prerogatives; the other, gentle, yet firm and rcfolutc,
increafed the power confided to his charge till it was really fwellcd
nearly to burfting. His laft illnefs was occafioned by his kind hafte to
reconcile the Pifans with the Gcnocfe ; fo that one died from raging
hurry to deftroy, the other from defirc to prevent dcftrucYion. But it
will intercft a modern Rctro/peffor more to obferve this pontiff infti-
tuting, from zeal towards religion in France, the order of jacobin friars,
appointing for their ufo thofe very convents which have within thcfe
lall ten years been made the rcfort of atheifm and nurfe of anarchy.

But Poland deferves not to be quite forgotten, although the prince
vvliu ruled there was chiefly remarkable, eminent we muft not Jay, for
his diminutive ftature : an unconquerable intrepidity in war proved
however, that heroifm has little .to do with fizc. Ladiflaus Lalconi-
gus was a creature refernbling Count Borolowki,* I believe : and 'tis

* A famous dwarf, exhibited in England towards the end of the eighteenth century.

obfervablc

.'336 ' I ROM THE YEAR 120O, TO 1230. [cu. xvm.

oblervable that almoft all the dwarfs were of their country, when, as
fome of our old writers lament, men difproportionately fraall were
fought for to ferve as pages to great ladies, and men difproportionately
large were chofen as porters to great lords, fo that honeft fellows of a
common height lacked mafters. When fovereigns indeed chanced
thus to be curtailed of human nature's regular prctenfions, they were
obliged to \indicate their claims by valour ; and Charlemagne had al-
ways delighted himfelf to relate, ho\v when his father Pcpin the Short
was crowned, they let loofe a lion to feize a bull for diverfion of the
French court : " And now," exclaims the king, " who will take that
" bead off" the bull ?" Nobody ftirred ; but their young monarch leap'd
himfelf into the arena, and with his fvvord ftabbcd the unfufpecting
lion to the' heart, releafing the fcarce lefs enraged victim to his fury.
Oncques fo'i dign ! was the royal exclamation, while applaufe and admi-
ration filled the whole afTembly. And the fine ftatue reprcfenting this
event was, in the reign of Robefpierrc, flung under heaps .of rubbifh,
Mercier fays, and broken in thofe paroxyfms of rage againft every king
alive or dead, which diftinguifhed Frenchmen in ] 7Q-i.

But we return to Poland, which was in the thirteenth century
fcarcely as much civilized as France was in the eighth ; and though
Lafconigus fought no lions, he made head againft innumerable foes,
and came off conqueror in fourteen engagements. Poetry did not
profper in the north like perfonal bravery. Warton gives to the reign
of Henry III., I think, our firil love fong in England: it is a very
cold one, and its burthen " Blou, blou, blou northerne wyndc, blou,
" blou, blou," is favage enough. Thiboult de Navarre and lludelle
were before hand with us ; and if King Richard wrote gay verfes, it
was becaufe had he kept gay company and lived among the crufaders.
Wit wants more fire to warm it than does learning or courage :
they are of every climate. But Louis IX. of France, fon to the dau-
phin who invaded England, collected in his character a conftellation of
excellence, not to be comprized in what remains of this chapter, which

fees

en. xvin.] FROM THE YEAR 1200, TO 1230. 337

fees the great church at Toledo built and decorated by the fucccflor
of Sanclius the Idle, Ferdinand IV. by name, \vho drove the Moors
from Andalufia, united the kingdoms of Caftile and Leon, and was
related to the dowager queen of France, widow to Louis VIII., he who
is faid to have been fon to an admirable father, and father to an in-
comparable fon. The fiege of Cairo by the leagued fovereigns in the
eaft, and their diftrcfs arifing from ignorance of thofc periodical inun-
dations that fertilize and protect old Egypt ; with the taking Damictta
by Andrew, hufband to intriguing Gertrude, (hall clofe this portion of
the thirteenth century, adding only a flight and curlbry review of thofe
foi-difant emperors in the eaft, who reigning after the time when Theo-
dore Lafcaris and Henry parted the dominion ; one living at Adrianoplc
and the other at Conftantinople, no hope could be entertained of any but
a lingering and feeble exiftence to both. lolanta, daughter to this lad
named fovereign, reigned with her hufband Peter comtc d'Auxerrc,
and during his imprifbnmcnt fwayed the fceptre alone ; but the Greeks
could not endure to fee Latins as they called them, ruling at old By-
zantium. They weakened the throne daily by their difputcs, and
fbmetimes injured it by their union; when a new Lafcaris, married
to the daughter of Bulgaria, and named Theodore Angelus, wifhed to
take up only the title of king, and fling the faded purple quite away.
John Ducas however was of another mind ; he took the Ifle of Cyprus
in 1230, where we will finifh our Retro/fietfion of a portion of time
peculiarly unfavourable and perplexing to epitome.

VOL. I. U u CHAP.

338 SECOND PORTION OF [CH xix.

CHAP. XIX.

SECOND PORTION OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

MR. GRAY fays fomcwhere, and fays very wifely, that the Refro-
fpett of error is ferviceable when it tends to vindicate the leffons
of truth. Our King John's ftrange behaviour contributed againil his
own intention to afcertain his people's future liberties a baby fucceflbr
coming to the throne fomewhat accelerated the then diftant moment ;
for although governed by the wife earl of Pembroke, juftly fo called,
that earl of Pembroke was at molt a fteward ; and who ever faw a
fteward yet, that would not favour tenants rather than their landlord ?
The tender prince willingly confirmed our famous Magna Charta,
wherein claufes were added propitious to the poor, and of confolatiort
to the people, not then deemed dangerous by their haughty lords, who
each kept up a fhow of royalty within their feparate caftles, where the
Senefchal* and Chancellor, Conftable and Chamberlain, lived as in petty
courts ; while mercenary exactions were by them practifed on inferior
clafles, as [by the fovereign himfelf on the nobility ; till the bribes
openly given and received even fhock a modern reader with recital r
witnefs the ftory how Hugh de Oyfcl prefented King Henrye with.
two robes of a grene colore, for the fake of obtaining, through his in-

* The Senefchal was a perfon of no fmall confequence. There Is an old tale in
Gefta Romancrum, how an old Baron left his favourite child and dog, both creatures
of ineflimable value, under the care of five knights, to be fed by the Senefchalle. 1 his
officer neglectful of his charge, and going out to vitit a neighbouring female, the ftarved
blood-hound devours the baby, whilft the knights were fallied forth in queft of food.
The nobleman returning, and hearing this talc, burns the Senefchalle alive.

flucncc

CH. xix.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 33$)

flucncc over fomc Flcmifh. merchants, looo marks which the faid Oyfcl
had left in Flanders, and could not get agaync : and Ilovedcn tell
how Richard de Neville gave one of our kings 20 palfreys for his grace's
good word with Ifolda Bigct, a beautiful French lady whom he wiflicd
to marry. King John had three greyhounds given on a like account,
if I remember, and they had claflick names, Achilles, Hannibal, and
Hector : the laft has been a common name for greyhounds ever fmcc.
We read like wife in fome of the old books that dame Nichole paid loo
marks for pcrmifilon to marry her daughter to whoever flic pleafed, the
king's mimicks alone exceptcd ; nor can I find whether the exception
was made bccaufc of royalty or conference, for it had been decreed fomc
years before, that mimicks muft not be admitted to receive the holy
facramcnt. Such fordid defirc of accumulating wealth forts but ill, as it
fliould feem, with military pride ; and even I 'iwionr des dames, of which
fo much was faid, appears to have been fvvallow'd up in avaricious rapa-
city, when records inform us how Robert de Vcaux gave our fovercign
fix Lombardy deeds, and a famous hawk befide, to make him hold his
tongue, and tell no tales of Henri de Pinel's wife, whofe reputation
fcems to have depended on his filcncc. Such indeed was the fre-
quency of bribes in thofe days, and fuch the necefllty of an inferior's
offering vifible inducements to pcrfuadc nobles or princes to act as it
is now deemed indifpcnfable for every man of honour to do without
perfuafion, that Saint Lewis of France was canonized for having taken
no prefents to pervert the courfe of law ; and Innocent III. had been
juftly enough half adored for a like delicacy in all civil cafes, although
he fcrupled not to fell indulgences without hefitation : angelick Flcury
blames fuch conduct, but foftens down the facts he is unable to deny.
He fays too, with what unjuftifiable fevcrity the court and church of
Rome acted towards Bifhop Groflhcad, who oppofcd their ufurpations
about 1235. The pope of that day thirftcd for his blood, fays he ; and
was difluaded by a favourite cardinal from going to extremes, chiefly
becaule the fubtlc and penetrating Italian had obferved to him that Eiv_,-

U u 2

3 10 SECOND PORTION OF [CH. xix.

Jand even then fate loofer than other realms did towards the fee, add-
ing, my heart tells me that ifland will quit or break from us one day ;
and fb it did, continues Fleury, 300 years after his true prediction.
Warton mentions a book, called Roman (fAntichrtfl, about this period ;
and Grofthead gave broad hints that the character was faft filling up
at Rome, which was now certainly become the fcarlet city, as fhe had
long been the fanguinary. Red hats were beftow'd as a new diftinc-
tion upon cardinals, and the three pontiffs who followed each other in
fucceffion after Innocent, added fplendour to their city without lofing
ought of her authority. But every high mountain has a plain upon its
top, where you run level for a while before defcent commences ; and
there feems to be a fort of iblftitial paufe in governments, when they
have reached their utmoft elevation : perhaps the appearance may be
fallacious, owing to the obliquity of the fphere ; thofe who live under
the equator are not confcious of it ; yet it was undoubtedly fo with
pagan, and I think with papal Rome. Contentions concerning the
blefled Trinity, and its inexplicable nature, had ended fome time fmce ;
yet were thofe difputes rather finiihed by fatigue at laft, than recon-
ciled by reafon or reflexion : for hoAvever we iee fire, water, and air,
creatures expofed to conftant obfervation, fubuiling in and for and
through and by each other all day long ; there never was wife mortal
eould tell how : and yet this limited and arrogant animal, this flill more
unaccountable man, will daringly prefume to pry into his Maker's ef-
fence, and refift redemption till he is made acquainted with the con-
fHtuent fubftance of his Redeemer, never difcovering by common fcnfc,.
what indifference and apathy embraced as foon as found :

That points obfcure 'twere of fmall ufe to learn,
But common quiet was mankind's concern.

Oh wretched {late of poor humanity ! While I am lamenting the fer-
vour which glowed up into madnefs in the early ages of Christianity,
infulting heaven by trying to tear down the myftick veil that keeps

our

CH. xix.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 341

our fight from agony of knowledge, I am forced to regret that in the
days I am writing no fpark of fervour fccms to remain at all ; no
warmth of love, no zealous fpirit of defence, no defire of impreflin? our
truly petrified hearts either with ideas of the glorious majcfty of a judg-
ing God, or fweet remembrance of a meek and gentle Saviour. The
fandifying fpirit fecmsfar off too : is it too late to pray the Comforter
for confolation ? Let us make hafte before the doors be fhut. But I
return to the thirteenth century ; when tranfubftantiation firft infiftcd
on, roufcd up anew the fleeping genius of contention ; and ftrange to
think, thofe who accounted themfelves good Athanafians were the moft
willing to adopt this notion, although the dodrinc was moft natural
to Docetes, who held it not unworthy the God of truth to impofe fal-
lacious appearances on man, and cheat his creatures into faith and obe-
dience. The Homooufians were, as the name implied, cowfubftantia-
lifts ; and fuch the Lutherans of Saxony to this day remain, perfuaded
that Chrift does certainly unite his own corporeal body to the eucharift
for our falvation, which firft induced him to aflume it ; but refolutely
denying that at the prieft's touch all particles of bread and wine for-
fake the cup and patera. Jefus on many occafions appealed to the
fenfes of his followers, commanded them to touch him that they might
be fure he was not a fpirit, and even, for' further convidion, eat with
them after he was refufcitated. Yet the Docetes thought 'twas all il-
lufion, and thofe who admit tranfubftantiation are as clearly of opinion
as they were, that our own fenfes are not to be trufted. But there
were other reafons for this credence ; the court of Rome more than the
church promoted the idea ; priefts were more refpeded when at their
command a prefent miracle was wrought, and men were willing for
their fakes to forget that our blefled Saviour's flcfh is meat indeed, and
his blood drink indeed, without intcrpofition of inferior agency. The
Roman fenate now was once again a fenate of which Honorius and
Gregory, fucccflbrs to Innocent III. were in every fcnfe didators, and
to chufe a prefed the head of the empire was no more confultcd : Pon-

tifex

34* SECOND PORTION OF [CH. xix.

tifex Maximus was folc governor and happy 'twas for him who ef-
Caped the Dolabra. Romagna, Umbria, territory of Ancona, Orbt-
tello and Viterbo, all rich and profperous places, acknowledged thcm-
felves immediate fubjedls to the Pope, and every other nation was ruled
remotely by his agents. Leipfic meanwhile, and Gravelines, were added
to the cities of Europe ; Padua and Naples beaded their univcrfities
founded by Frederick II. Glanville's laws were read ; Vienna would not
remain behind ; the college of Sorbonne was inftitutcd, and learning
ftruggled hard with her oppreffors. Albertus Magnus enter'd the lifts
of improvement, and made an automaton of great celebrity, a man of
brafs, who fpoke, and it was eafy for contemporary wonderers to tell in
addition, how he both afked and anfwered queftions ; till at length he
grew ib talkative, that Thomas Aquinas, afterward the feraphic Doc-
tor, well known to fame, but then pupil to Albertus Magnus, knocked
him down for difturbing his fludies. Don Quixote's adventure of the
brazen head alludes perhaps to this incident, and the belief on't by vul-
gar readers ; perhaps the intended inference at firft was, that mathema-
ticks take a man off from metaphyfical refearches, and plague him by
driving all things up to a demonftration, till the enraged ontologift
Silences their fuggeftions by violence. Be that as it may, civilization
and improvement were furely creeping on ; the windows in England
were all glazed, and wind-mills creeled for the purpofe of grinding
corn : while commerce might be difcerned fvvelling the w r aves of
fcience as Ihe returned towards that coaft where we fet up our tele-
graph of Retrofpefiion. The widow' d queen of Scotland had a jointure
of loool. o'year appointed her in this century : and although Guthrie
fays that w r ine was fold at the apothecary's fhops as a cordial fo late as
1 270, we know that William king of Scots, when he paid homage to
Coeur de Lion, was allowed from our fovereign's table four quarts of
wine every day, befides twelve Jtmne/s, a fort of plumb-cake with faf-
fron cruft, yet known by that name at Shrewfbury. I believe the
wine was hock and rhenifh, becaufe fweeter and heavier produce

from

en. xix.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY!

from fouthcrn vintages was fcarcc arrived among us, although the
cuftoms brought loool. into the port of London, during one of the
many years Henry III. reigned in our land : then honoured by the
birth and labours of immortal Bacon, flilcd, as he well dcfcrved to be,
Doctor Mirabilis, when like another Archimedes he difcovcrcd the
occult powers of nature in her dccpeft rcccfTcs, with fcarce a light to
guide or to aflift hislearch, fave what irradiated his own fupcrior foul;
kindled by that unquenched fpark of general knowledge, never yet to-
tally, though often hopehfsly funk in the focket of decay, and long kept
from expanfion by the foul air of barbarick tyranny. This genius of
gigantick mold lifting his head above furrounding vapours, faw foon
how chemiftry might be applied to her bcft ufes, medicine. He dif-
covercd the powers of a burning glafs and the proportions of a ca-
mera-obfcura: he knew the fpherical figure of our earth, and was (as one
would think) by intuition well perfuaded of what experience has fincc
confirmed. He looked on fcience as Mofes on the Promifed Land from
Pifgah, and difcerncd effects in their poffibilitics. His fkill in mechanifm
may have been too highly praifed ; his conviction of its efficacy to pur-
pofo then unknown, cannot be fufficiently admired. We have done
nothing fince the time of Roger Bacon beyond Air capacity of hope
and of belief. Gunpowder, aether, electricity, are but new names tor
things cafily, though faintly to be defcried, by thole who carefully ex-
amine his opus magnus, w here it appears that he knew every thing ex-
cept the vaft extent of human folly, which after wondering at fuch
wifdom, deemed it madnefs : and after mature deliberation, rcfolvcd
to denounce it as witchcraft.

Thofe dubious days could not diftinguifh Superiority from eccen-
tricity of character. Five funs fuppofed to have appeared all at once,
difgrace the remarkable occurrences of this reign, and dilgracc it the
more, becaufe the grand conjunction of planets in Libra had been ob-
ferved all over Europe in 1180. But the world, as Fuller fays, fees

molt

344 SECOND PORTION OF [CH. xix.

moil villons when me is moft blind ; and fairies now, a new importa-
tion of femi-deities from the eaft, were ferioufly believed in. This is
fo true, that the Alhmolean collection of MSS at Oxford, exhibits
" A fare way to bind a faery, Elaby Gat/ion by name, and hold her to
" a Venice glafs meekly and mildly, till me have anfwered all lawful
" queftions." Ireland, where this folly flourifhed ftill better than
with us, is faid to have named a whole diftricl; from thcfe tripping
elves ; dferri land, or land of aerie, as Gatton in Surrey was called after
Elaby*

There is a humorous ftory recorded too, how the earl of Devon-
fhire, A. D. ] 240, afked a farmer of his how he could bear his fitua-
tion, feeing that his grange was reported to be much troubled by faeries,
which, adds the nobleman, may peradventure be Spirits from hell.
" Right honoured lord, (replied the quaint fellow) there be verily two
, " faints blefled in heaven which do trouble me more than all the de-
" vils in hell, and in true fadnefs thofe be the Mother of our Lord and
" St. Michael the archangel, becaufe it is on their days that I am
" bound to pay his dues to the good earl of Devonlhire."

If Bryant's derivation of the gryphons be a true one, ktr-oupn-on
pronounced quick and fhort, as is moft likely : the ouph comes from
the fame country as that compofite animal, which Milton, ever accu-
rate though fublime, defcribes fo properly :

" As when a gryphon thro' the wildernefs
" With winged courfe o'er hill or moory dale
" Purfues the Arimafpian, who by Health
" Had from his wakeful cuftody purloin'd
" The guarded gold," &c.

* From Elaby comes lullaby, Velaby, invoked by mothers and nurfes to watch over
the fleeping babe, who fafe in her proteftion, was in no danger of being changed by
wicked fpirits into an idttt, whence changtllng.

About

CH. xix.] THE THIRTEENTH CKNinKY. 345

About the year 1230 was publifhcd a romance called Alifaunder or
Efcander's Atchicvcmcnts of" Knighthood; he ibarcd in the air by help
f gryphons coming very near the moon, and with aid of a magical
glafs, dived in the deep and faw the fiflics fwim ; perhaps Shakclpcar
alluded to this fluff when Hot/pur fays

" Rv licavcn mcthinks it were ancafy leap

" To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon,

" Or dive into the bottom of" the deep

" And drag up drowned honour by the locks."

The fcholars fay indeed, that even this book was borrowed from
a Pcrftan manufcript, and wits tell one that Scuderi drew many inci-
dents from thence. Certain it is, that Alexander's exploits were re-
membered in the eaft a prodigious time, and with unobliterated vene-
ration : his hiftory by Quintus Curtius, although unmentioned for
] ooo years after the author's death, was one of the carlieft books on the
revival of literature, and Montfaucon mentions a copy in the Colbcr-
tine library, as early as the year 800 ; the following extract from which,
may be cited to cxcufc the numbcrlefs things to be forgiven in this
Nummary: "Eqntdeni pi lira tranfcrlbo quant credo; nam nee ajfirmarcfuf-
" tinco J(' qinbus dub it o, necfubducere qua accept" but the aukward imi-
tators add a ftory of Alexander's bugle-horn^ which no wight but
himfelf could wield, and might be heard lixty miles. Boyardo and
Berni enjoyed this horn too ; it dropt to them, but not till Robin
Hood had done with it. He was a fort of fecondary hero among us in
the thirteenth century : Dr. Stukely thinks he was an outlaw'd earl of
Huntingdon FitzOolh, eafily corrupted to Fit/hood, and mentions his
coat-armour. Whatever he was before, he' was after his outlawry, as
I imagine, Robin otliood, meaning of the ivooJ corrupted to Hood, and
the manner in which he and his companions lived among fircfts, de-
(Vnding and providing for thcmlelves with their bow, is intcrciling and
YOJ... I. X x curious^,

346 SECOND PORTION OF [CM. xix.

curious, and ftrongly marks the manners of the times.* That 'twas by
a gradual and long courfe of experiments that men's eyes opened to
\vifdom and decorum, may be exemplified by recollecting how Lewi*
the dauphin, (he who had invaded England) defiring a marriage
with Urraca, daughter of Alphonfo king of Spain, by a fifter of Coeur
de Lion, was turned from his purpofe on its being reprefented to him
that the princefs, though fair, had a very unlucky name, and would

* The old ballad which tells how

The father of Robin a forcjfirr was,
And mot in a luftie long bo\y ;

muft, if this account be true, fuffer difmiffal from our Rcttoffeflion, and I fhould con-
fefs myfelf forry, becaufe, when they brought

Adam Bell and Clym of the clougli,

And William of Cloudeflye,
To fhoot with our forefter for forty marks,
Our forefler beat them all three.

Though the laft faved hisown and his companions lives long after by his archery, when
the king hearing that his fheriff and juftices were all fhot at mcrye Carliflc, attempting to
take thefe outlaws, fent troops to bring them to London, but they were come of them-
felves, or at leaft bold William of Cloudeflye who brought his little boy betide, to beg
a charter of peace, and now fays king Henry they fhall fure be hanged ; but the queen
requefted their life ; and her hufband faid> let us fee them moot which have coft us all
this care. Affer many feats, William fet an apple upon his own child's head, and
ftanding 1 20 yards diftance, cleft it with an arrow. The king had fworne that if he
mifs'd, the attempt mould revoke his pardon.

For if thou touch his head, or gown-,

In fyghte that men may lee,
By all the fayntes that fit in heaven,

I'll hang you up all three.

.Succefs in that bufmefs faved and advanced them all, and the youth was made cellar,,
keeper to the queen

certainly

en. xix.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 347

certainly bring him no children. He accordingly wedded her fifter
Lady Blanche, of fewer charms buttiappier appellation, and on her
was made the vcrfc preferred by Camden in his remaynes of a greater
work.

Candida, candcfcem, candor e in cordis tt oris.

While Urraca rejected by all, hid her unfortunate name in a nun-
nery, where (he was called fifter Tcrefii ; and her fponfors' cruelty lay
unremembered in men's minds, till her death, by fall of a flate or tile as
ihc was walking in the convent garden, revived the recollection that
'twas indeed unlucky. Lady Blanche meanwhile, made mother of St.
Louis, an exemplary prince, confirmed mankind in thcfe fantaftick
notions ; the more perhaps as being regent in her fon's minority, flu-
foon fupprefled the barons' bold rebellion headed by Philip, the firft duke
of Orleans, uncle and competitor to his lawful king ; from whom her
forces took the caftle of Blois, forcing him into fubmiffion, and I think
to banifhment. A marriage between her incomparable fon Lewis the
IXth. and the daughter of unhappy Raymond Comtc de Thouloufc,
produced another bleffing to all Europe, the end of a truly favage war,
long carried on in his dominions againft the Albigenfes. Languedoc,
fo named from Lnigue de got, as many think, being from that time
united to the crown of France, fome Huguenots have always Iheltcred
there ; we law them inhabiting Grenoble and its environs when the
communion was adminiftercd in a cave for privacy, fb late as ] ;\st.

But this inimitable fovereign turned his arms only againft the Turks
and Saracens ; to them he mewed himfelf fon of Lewis, furnanvd
the Lion, performing acts worthy a hero, while his own country flou-
rilhed at home as under the protection of a faint. Such was his iaith.
fays BofTuet, that one would have thought him eye-witncfs of his Sa-
viour's fufferings, and fuch his works, as if he had made him the im-
mediate, not remote model for his imitation. ^

X x 2 Anoth

348 SECOND PORTION OF [OH.

Another of his panegyrifts fays " I have myfelf fcen the faint fit
" under a fpreading tree-, and patiently hearing liis fubjccls complain
" of mutual oppreffion or offence, render them the ftricleft juflicc."

He publiflied likevvife a wife ordonnancc, known by the name of
Royal Truce, prohibiting all pcrfons from commencement of hofti-
lities a<rainft an adverfary till forty days had elapfed flnce the caufc of
quarrel had been given or found : this gave time for friends to intcr-
pofe, and for the parties thcmfclves to cool ; and greatly contributed
to reftrain thofc internal and private wars which thinn'd population,
drenched all lands with blood, and difgraced humanity during the
llth, 12th and 13th centuries. Monarchs were indeed diligent to
flop a practice fo ruinous to their realms, and fo infulting to their au-
thority ; and the invention of giving bonds not to draw out their
forces for fuch or fuch a limited time began to be adopted, to the no
final I confolation of vaflals, who were till then obliged to follow their
fuperior lord into the field, and fight againft their neighbours in his
quarrel. 'Twas kings who civilized the world a fecond time, by fyn-
thetizing what had been too much broken into fmall parts, and the
peafant, aftizan, &c. felt relieved from his too nearly approximated
tyrant, in proportion as monarchy gained afcendance over the nobles,
and kept their cruelties in check.

To accelerate that happy moment, we find Ferdinand of Caftile
fixing a yet exifting feminary at Salamanca, and Alphonfo the Xth .
brother to Lady Blanche, fccking renown for his knowledge in aftro-
nomy, and compofmg tables for that fcience, which to this hour go
by his name. The impious fpeech concerning his knowing better
how to conftrucl a folar fyftem than God Almighty, was, we hope,
only a ftrong and coarfe expreffion of contempt for the Ptolemaic hy-
pothefis. A prince who was faid to pofTcfs a fine copy of the Holy
Scriptures, which he had read fix times through, was moft unlikely
fure to be an infidel, and he who made it hispleafure to contemplate

the

CH.XIX.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 349

the {tarry heavens, could never have been an atheift : while his quiet
unrcfifting fpirit of humility when his favourite fon Don Sancho depofcd
and drove him into retirement, manlfefted lefs of haughtmeis or vam
glorv, than of Chriftian refignation to an enemy ftill dear and cherifhed,
however rebellious and unworthy.

Northern nations retained the froft upon their literature longer. The
violent out-break of Gillcfpey Rofle (tains the Scottifh annals, when
Caithncfs all rofc up at once, and burned the bifhop in his bed for hav-
ing exacled too large a bribe from one of their nobility. Private wars
went on fiercely in thofe countries, where the exploits of Percy and Dou-
glas yet fervc happily as materials for two beautiful modern dramas, and
Thomas, a baftard of the high conftable, Alan of Galway, invaded his
half-fillers, to whom their father had left his inheritance, with no fewer
than a thoufand men, armed in his caufc, who wafted their lands with
fire and fword, much to the fliame of gallantry and knighthood; till
Roger de Quincy, married to one of the ladies, fought and killed this
ihirdy marauder, and in the fame battle difpcrfed his adherents for
ever. Women, not feldom enough to excite wonder, appeared on
horfeback, -uoithfpurrisjharpc, as Chaucer afterwards defcribes his Wife
of Bath, animating the men who combated in their defence ; and if
they were feudatorial inheritors, wore their father's device, or, as we
call it, coat armour, emblazoned in a lozenge, (they were afhamed to
bear a Jiiiehf) on their brcaft. Hume fays they acled, if pofleflcd of
lands, as fhcriffs of that county they inhabited, and to fay truth, Spen-
fer's Lady of the Caftle glances at this old cuftom. Meanwhile out
third Henry difplcafed his fubjects much by his offensive preference of
foreigners, or as they were then ft\ led, aliens ; and I think we may date
from his reign that fpirit of claiming cxclufive attention from their
fovercign which in Succeeding times has always marked an Englifli-
man. When in the year 1L\"O he held a fhowy fcftival in France, a
joculator, born in Hampfhire, ftept forward, as we're told, and with a,
permitted gibe, laid " Send away Coeur de Lion's Ihield out of the

" hall,

350 SECOND PORTION OF [CH.XIX.

" hall, my liege, elfe your fine dinner will have no digeftcrs. You fee
" thefe French fellows are afraid to look on it : the thoughts of Ri-
" chard takes away their appetite." This was more than a biting jeft,
for 'twas' a true one : Joinvillc acknowledges that when a French-
man's horfe ftarted under him, the common exclamation of anger
was, " Qu'as tn? vois tu le Rol Richard?" What ails you? do you
fee King Richard coming ? Such pageauntes had been exhibited in
Weftmirifter however, in honour of the marriage between Henry III.
of England and Eleanor de Provence*, as made all Europe marvel :
fuch pypinge and tabouringe, as the old bookes cxprcfs it, with fports,
geftes and difeurs innumerable. Tales befide, new and old, of St.
Thefeus and his hunting match, (whence Shakefpear's dcfcription
of his hounds) and Launcelot du Lac, a ftory in high vogue, with a
fpirityal remembrancer of Jefus hanginge on a roode, whilit a bale and
recreant knight came forth and joiifted with him, fetching blood and
water from his fide with his lance ; but Jofeph of Arimathea, creeping
out, holdeth a bottle under, and bringeth into Albion to cure all dif-
eafes, that precious relique.

Such was the renown of thefe celebrations, and fo were the ex-
pences of their decorations admired at, that although the birth of Ci-
mabue announced the nafcent arts budding in Italy, Pope Innocent
the fourth faid that he half lamented that new dismity which hindered

O J

him from attending fo very elegant and edifying a fhow : finding it
however, wholly impoffible to come over himfelf in pcrfon, he fent his
old favourite fool to partake the feftivitics, and who received thirty mil-
lings befide from our fovereign royal gift : nor was it merely for the
fake of fuch nonfenfe that the learned Genoefe, fo refpedcd for his
knowledge and virtue, while Cardinal St. Lorenzo, wifhcd to witnefs
our improvements in Great Britain ; he defired to behold Divitias Lon-
dini as well as Delicias Weftmonaffcerii, as he faid. We had a mayor and
aldermen eftablifhed then for confcrvation of our city's peace, and fter-

* Second daughter, I think, to Raymond, Count dc Thouloufe.

ling

CH.XIX] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 351

ling money coined for common ufe, called fo, as fomc fay, from the
figure of a darling imprcft upon the metal. Reading glafles and fpec-
tacles facilitated every branch of fciencc, and commerce began to call
in the arts and luxuries of other realms. The detractions of Ireland
indeed, torn by the factious quarrels of Mac Arthys and Geraldino,
yielded the conquering country little fave di'fquicr, evincing ever the
fad effects of a too feeble government, that wiihed for plunder rather
than authority ; while Wales, unwilling to yield up her independence,
continued to oppofe what flic was unable to fubdue, and the Dictum
of Kennelworth confefles the melancholy ftate of fociety in provinces
far removed from the capital even of England, where knights and
'{quires caught in robbery, if they had no land, were doomed to give
half their goods to the king, and find fecurity for future good beha-
viour. This however was better than the mode adopted in the cen-
tury before this, when no nearer method could be found to keep people
fate from fuch banditti, than the fetching out Ibmc biihop who lived
near, to mrfe the thieves, which he did by faying, " May your eyes be
" be blind who fee but to covet your neighbours' goods, and may your
" hands be difablcd that feck to (leal them." If this had no effect,
the matter was hopelefs, and the plunderers could be fubducd only by
fuperior force. Softer manners were gaining ground in France, where
to the court of love and honour, now lo long erected, all high and
grave difputcs of gallantry and heroifm appealed, as the head quarters
of amorous and valiant etiquette. Fontenelle acknowledges that the
records of this court were the legitimate parents of French pocfv , and
that Scudert a puife bien la dedans, when the romances of Clelia and the
Grand Cyrus were compofed. But Lew is the ninth was born to confer
happiaefs in this world, and receive it in the other : he maintained
every inftitution likely to difpenfe comforts and bleflings among his
own fubjccts, and heard not without horror how the Emperor had
corrupted Pietro di Vinci, page to Pope Innocent, and prevailed on
him to feek his fovercign's life ; but being detected by the fool before-
mentioned,

3 5 a SECOND PORTION OF [CH. xix.

mentioned, he had the flrange prefcnce of mind to cfcape punilbment
by running fuddenly againft the wall, and darning his brains out before
the pontiff's face.

But 'tis time to turn our Retroftcflton eaftward, and obfervc Zin-
gis Khan little aware that the days were gone by when universal mo-
narchy was like to be endured, prcffing forward with a conqueror's
rapidity, paffmg Mount Caucafus, and having already fubjcclcd to his
arms all Media, Parthia, Perfia, and Armenia, began, when ftruggling in
the fens of Mcotis, to confidcr what next fhould be done by force, to
which he had hitherto found little or no refiftancc. The remit was
founding a new empire, ftill known by the name of the Mogul's Em-
pire, which owed its origin to this Tartar chief; nor were his defcen-
dants difpoflefled of many valuable pofleffions in its vicinage, till Ta-
merlane arofe, nearly two centuries after, and made a change in oriental
hiftory. The two fons of his firft born Tou\\c/um however, he who
was left by Zingis or Gengis upon the throne of Perfia, made a fuc-
cefsful War on the Chinefe, and Coblachan of the fame line w r as (if I
miftake not) ruler of that populous region in 1280. During the courfe
of exploits which fettled an imperial court at Agra and Delhi, under
an emperor who profefled unitarianifm, and was, Mr. Gibbon fays, of
the fame religion as our philofopher Locke, many believing ChriiHans
of the Greek church fuftercd extreme diftrefs, though Ducas conti-
nued to fit faft at Adrianople, and even increased his dominions and
authority ; notwithstanding which Nicephorus the patriarch -would
not permit him to enter the church over which he prefided, whilir. a
female favourite kept him from marrying and continuing the fuccef-
fion in a legitimate way, with Princefs Ann, daughter of Frederick II.
to Avhom he had been long contracted. The fuccefsful rival endeavoured
but in vain to iet her paramour againft the patriarch. Ducas, more li-
taral, acknowledged the fault his paffions permitted him not to amend,
and quietly returned home from the church door, faying that Nicephorus
had done his duty. She had better fuccefs in civil than in ecclefiaf-

tick

CH.XIX.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 353

tick affairs her lover making, at her requcft, dcjfots, as they were
called, of Angelo and his fon, who obtained the favour through their
influence with this pernicious beauty. A famine felt by the adjacent
regions, from which the dominions of Ducas were exempt, gave him
courage, as it appears, to continue in his courfe, notwithstanding his
own difapprobation ; and the profits made by fale of eggs alone, when
they became fo dear, grew in fuch a degree cxtenfu e, that Ducas made
from them alone a diadem of prodigious value, and called it an vuata*
Finding his fubjecls much difpofed meanwhile, to barter away the
folid gold gained of his neighbours' mifery for fhowy apparel brought
from far diftant regions, this Emperor, often called in hiftory Vataces,
made a decree that all fhould wear the manufactures of their own
country, obliging even the favourite lady to fet an example, fmcc imi-
tated by many prudent and judicious fovereigns. 'Twas nearly coeval
with thefe events, I think, that Baldwin II. pupil and fon-in-law to
John de Brienne, whom Innocent the third had made King of Jerula-
1cm, prefented the Venetians with the lance, fuppofed to have pierced
our Saviour's fide, the fpongc dipt in vinegar at his crucifixion, and a
piece of the true crofs. Thefc the rcpublick fold to St. Lewis for an
immcnfe fum of money, and he depofited them among the trefors de
St. Denis, where they were regularly fhewn to travellers, with the
fhicld fifhed out of the Rhone in time of Charlemagne, having the
continence of Scipio chafed upon it, and being for that reafon ima-
gined, abfurdly enough, to have belonged to Scipio himfelf. Their
dcfr.ru dlion by frantick rioters however, within thcfe lafl ten years,
affords fmall triumph to the levelling caufe. For though mm wlu>
defpifc all facred relicks may laugh, and thofe who delight in rare an-
tiquities may weep ; though cool examiners may reafbnably doubt the
genuincncfs of many and the value of all, yet will each feeling heart
figh at feeing time-honoured trifles thus fuddenly although delibe-
rately deilroyed. What Charlemagne had prelerved, and Lewis the
ninth had venerated, was it for Robefpierre and Marat to deftroy ?
VOL. I. Y y But

354 SECOND PORTION OF [CH. xix.

BuJ, 'tis time to contemplate another character. Frederick II. Em-
peror of the Weft, whole long reign of forty years almoft was marked
with many extraordinary events, began to attract attention from his
contemporaries, and claims a glance of our Relrofpefl fmce the year
1230, when he had already driven the Saracens from Sicily, punifhed
in a ftrange and cruel manner Pope Innocent the third's two brothers,
French noblemen, who held fome places in Apulia, and broke the
great Count d'Ifemberg upon the wheel. Eager to reign if poffible in
more forms than one, he crowned his forward boy Henry at nine years
old, aflbciating him in the empire, while Pope Honorius III. hoping
to unite the three fceptres in one command once more, and by that
means check the progrefs of Mahometanifm in the eaft, propofcd a
match between Frederick and lolanta, daughter to Brennc, commonly
called King John of Jerufalem, and who had herfelf ruled at Conftan-
tinople during the imprifonment of Peter Count d'Auxerre, her firft
hulband, who, after many viciflitudes of fortune, was at length
Itrangled at a feaft by Theodore Lafcaris. In order to give additional
fplendour to fuch nuptials, Frederick and lolanta met at Rome, where
Pope Honorius himfelf performed the ceremony, all the clergy attend-
ing in pont'tftcaJibus, the magiftrates in fcarlet robes. The project
failed however, the lady died in child-bed, in ten months, leaving an
infant fon ; John Ducas ftirred not from his feat at Adrianople, and
all the effect produced was, that the Emperor called himfelf King of
Sicily and of Jerufalem, and his defcendants took the title as in courfe.
'Tvvas now high time that Frederick fliould fet forward for the Holy
I^and, and fee the mifery that had befallen the leagued princes (of
whom an army always remained in the environs) fmcc the Sultan of
Egypt had called them to attempt the Nile-defended city of Grand
Cairo in vain. The king of floods furrounding that place with his
protecting arms, fruftrated completely fuch mad defigns, obtaining
the reftoration of Damietta too, while Pope Gregory IX. fucceflbr to
Honorius, excommunicated our weflern emperor Frederick, for feign-
ing

CH. xjx.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. . 35*

ing ficknefs in order to avoid the journey. He had however many
cogent rcafons for delay. The duke of Lknaria, on whom he chiefly
relied for care of his home -concerns, was dead; ii> was lulimta, oa
whofe account he expected to receive homage in the call: v\!ii!c
Henry, the youth he was in fuch hafte to crown, had contracted a
marriage with the daughter of Leopold, arc ft Juke of Aitjlna, a new
title conferred by Gregory, who looked without difplcafure on his at-
tempts to dcpofe his fath'.-r, and reign himfelf alone, although not yet
iixteen years of age.

Strong meafures were now neceflary. Frederick, with one hundred
and twenty thoufand ounces of gold, purchafed his ablblution from the
pope ; and after feeing his own aclive and dangerous fbn fafe in a clofe
confinement, fet out for Syria, where during his abfence Gaza, Atke-
Ion, and Jcrufalem had fubmitted, and the Lord's fepulchrc, till then, un-
polluted, had been purpofely defiled: notwithstanding that theTemplars
difplayed even ferocious valour. Thibault of Navarre lent for a fliort
time his afliftance, and our Richard carl of Cornwall diftinguifhcd him-
felf among the forcmoft for high heroick deeds. 'Spite of all x this how-
ever, victorious Turcifm entered triumphantly the holy city; whilftour
wcflern emperor was, I believe, not unjuftly accufed of loitering his
time away, though late in life, and widower to two Chriftiah prin-
cefles, with the Circaffian beauties of the eaft. Such was the ill-
will of the Pope to this prince and his conduct, that he even wrote to
the fultan not to treat with him. A truce of ten years was concluded
notwithftanding ; and Frederick having flung a young pike into the
pool of Hebron, faid he would return to that country no more. The
fifli had a gold ring round it with the date ; and being caught alive
one hundred and fifty years after, weighing fourfcorc pounds, is brought
forwards as a proof how long fuch animals will live. The ftory how-
ever mujl be falfe, fo far as relates to its immenfc growth at lead, for
the ring would not ftretch, I fuppofe, and \\ ithout that the fifli's iden-
tity could not have been afcertained. Many lies have indeed been told

Y y 2 of

350 SECOND PORTION OF fc.xix.

of this brave but Impious, and ofccn perjured fovcrcign, who now in-
vaded Italy fword in hand, and being equally related to Gwclphs and
Gibcllines, expected the leaders of both factions would be with him.
The firft-named party, in contradiction to his ill-placed hopes, fidcd
with Gregory in this unnatural conteft : fo did the Venetians, who
burned all his {hips, and pofTefied themfelvcs of Apulia. For their
good fervices againft infidels of all denomination, as the Pope expreffed
it, he granted their patriarch a power of wearing a mitre of peculiar
fhapc, and bearing upon folemn occafions in his hand a fort of paftorai
IrarF. Meanwhile the Genocfe, having fomented infurrcctions in
Candia, Regncr Dandulo went thither and foon quelled it. Morofmi
was elected doge, and is the firft upon record chofen to that dignity by
ballot : but his republick increafed in riches and power every day, while
commerce feemed to confidcr their port as the general mart of all
Europe.

Primiflaus of Bohemia indeed, furnamed Ottocar, from Othifgar,
meaning, as Dubravius fays, a partisan of Otho, who had oppofed Fre-
derick II. in his early days, endeavoured to extend his dominions
nearer the Adriatick, and purchafed Carinthia, Carniola, and other
territories, of a childlefs Prince who had no heirs ; his only brother
being bifhop of Saltzburg. Such a neighbour was not agreeable to
Venice, as the fame Ottocar tried likewife for Stiria, but was diverted
from his purpofe by jealoufy of his queen, filler to Frederick : her he
repudiated firft, then poifoned, and took another princefs who was
barren. His laft lady was Cunegund, daughter to the Duke of Maffo-
via, the French writers call him Rot des Bnlgares. Ottocar was about
to difpatch her likewife ; but hearing fhe was pregnant, fpared her
life, which fhe owed to her unborn fon ; while Margaret, wife to Viri-
bolaus an earl of Cracovia, I think a Chriftian, was delivered, as Cro-
merus and Yagouin both tell us, of thirty-fix boys at one birth. But
much of Poland and of Pruffia was relapfed into idolatry fince the
crufades had carried away their inflrudors ; and Lefco, furnamed the

Black,

cir.xtx.] THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 357

Black, \vas a fcourgc rather than a ruler in that haplefs countrv/
winch he delighted to clclblatc by hunting, chudng beafb for hi:> iub-
jcdlfi as it appear?, rather than men.

The Semiramis of the north however muft not be forgotten. About
the year Ji'.'JO Margaret de Waldcmar had married William of Dam-
picre, and bought the government of Bruges, which was burned doun
to the ground, and Antwcrpen fbon followed. Joan her original com-
petitor in Flanders drove that whole party out, and reigned alone a.
while : but wedding Thomas duke of Savoy, he, though victorious,
was in haftc to return home after his wife's death, and Margaret
reigned again, being a widow, with the young boy fhc had by Dam-
pterc, named after his father William, John, her fon by the duke of
Hainault, rebelled, and after deluges of blood fpilt in this quarrel the
pope was appealed to, and confirmed King WiUuvii, giving to John his
father's dukedom only. Another contcft followed, and Margaret loft
Nemours to her cldeil fon, from whom me was forced to purchafe peace
with an immcnfe fum of money. William earl of Holland, meantime,
no longer Hiilhint, who built his palace at the Hague, and w as fct up by
the pope as emperor againft Frederick, having been crowned by his com-
mand in Syria, after his taking Aken from the Saracens ; fided with
John againf}: Queen Margaret, and was loon ftruck at a banquet by
an unknown hand with a poniard. The life which cfcaped that ac-
cident was loft by another : after this lucklefs feftival at Utrecht, Wil-
liam went on a winter campaign againfl the Frizons, and riding away
from his company upon the ice, his horfe {luck with him, and they
were not difentangled till after death. A marriage between his fon
and Margaret's daughter Beatrice, who brought with her all Zealand
in dower, compofcd the publick contentions in that part of the world,
where in a private war about the fame period, the warlike bifliop of
Utrecht bcficging a rebellious vaflal in his houfe, was unhappily taken
in arms by the enemy, his head ftruck off and nailed to the callle
wall, as we do kites in remote parts of England.

TIu>

358 SECOND PORTION, &c. [ CH . xix.

The firft league of Swiflcs marked thcfc annals alfo. Avcritinc
places the inftitution of the feven electors early in the papacy of Gre-
gory X : and wearied with vexatious occurrences in our own neigh-
bourhood, if Relrofpeffion turns her eyes towards the eaft, what fees
me there but the fierce fultan in pofleffion of that hallowed fpot, fanc-
tified firft by our Redeemer's fufferings, kifs'd with warm veneration
by his fervant Conftantine, and refcued by Godfrey de Boulogne with
millions of human lives ? Sees too a nafcent empire born with Otto-
man its founder, deftined when adolefcent, to deftroy and wholly ex-
tirpate all remains of Chriftianity at and around its firft imperial feat.
Here then let bluming narrative be ftill, or taking breath in a new
chapter, feek for fome fcenes lefs likely to afflict our powers of Retro-
fyetf'ton.

CHAP.]

CH.XX.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD J300. 3,39

CHAP. XX.
TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300.

IF we would confole the Retrojpeflor 's eye, we muft not let it turn
to men but things : not to the blood-red page of hiftorick annals,
but to the verdant field where fpringing arts and growing fciences pro-
mife, by ftill frefli improvement, perpetual green. No period of time
will mew people much better than thofe of another period : but the
laft years of the thirteenth century contributed exceedingly to make
them happier than they had been, and give them opportunity of pro-
curing knowledge and wealth, thofe great inftruments of good to man;
if for good purpofe he will pleafe to ufe them. About the year 126o
'twas that Marco Paulo, a Venetian, having made a journey to China,
brought home with him the ineftimable invention called the mariner's
compafs, a felicity fo envied, that almoft every nation in Europe has
laid claim to the merit of firft difcovering a fecret which they are now
fuppofed to have pofTefTcd fmce the days of their famous aftrologer
Chiningus, who is computed to have lived eleven hundred and twenty
years before the birth of Chrift ; coetaneous with Homer, and I think
with Solomon. What confirms the conjecture of Paulo's importation
is, that his countrymen continued for many years to ule the compuls
in the manner the Chinefc ufe it ftill, letting it rloat upon a little piece
of cork, inftead of fufpcnding it to a pivot. Flavio Givia di Melfi,
in the Territorio di Principato, forty years after, taught the prefent me-
thod ;

3(50 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD isoo. [CH. xx.

thod ; and to him has the original invention been afcribed ; as Ame-
rica was named after the fecond, not the firft adventurer who touch'd
her fliores. 'Tis certain that the diftricl: where Flavio was born, tho'
a fmall portion of the Neapolitan ftate, has fmce that time given the
compafs for coat armour. But France claims the honour of the dif-
covcry too, and brings in proof of her pretenfions, that every country
as well as her own makes ufe of njleur de Us to diftinguifh the north
point of the card; and fome old verfes of Guyot de Provence, preferved
by Fauchet, do certainly mention the' marmelte or manner's Jlone, as
early as the year 1202, or thereabouts.

That England might not be left out, Doctor Wallis makes us obi'crve,
that our word compafs is the ivord by which all other nations know the
thing ; and as he fays, to take a compafs, means to make a circle cer-
tainly. Thefe are however mere fports of learning ; for if France
knew fo long ago, why was it not ufed ? and as to the word, boujjbk or
buffola are oftener faid than compafs by all foreign failors. Italy, where
every thing either firft fprung or was reftored to fecond life, has the
true claim to this invention, which facilitates commerce between dif-
tant nations, makes communication eafy between friends, and propa-
gates the gofpel in regions far remote.

Poetry followed muthematicks at a diftance : for cmbellifhment
is not fought for till neceffity is fatisfied. Our earliefl love-fbng is a
mean competition enough ; our earlieft paftoral ballad is pretty for
the time 'twas written in ; but there was no affectation in the joy ex-
prefs'd to fee tokens of a bright feafon in latitude 54 ; all the thoughts
are natural, and the dcfcnption true. Hawkins has preferved the
mufical notes to thefe pretty lines : they were more complicated than
the words, but mufick had the Itart of both her fitters ; me revived
long before either painting or poefy raifed their weak heads ; and archi-
tecture, broken into fmall parts by the Goths, was hardly yet beginning
to put thofe parts neatly together.

Sumer

CH. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 130O.

361

Sumer is i cumcn

Llud ling cuccu:

Groweth fed and blowcth med

And fpringcth the vide nu.

Sing cuccu cuccu.

Awe bletetli after lombe,

Louth after calve cu ;

Bullock flerteth

Bucke verteth,

Murie fing cuccu.

Wei fing thu cuccu,

Ne fwik thou never nu.

Summer is coming

Sing cuckoo fing ;

The meadows are blooming

The hedges in fpiing.

Hark ! the wes and lambs are bleating,
Calves the parent call repeating ;
Anfwer cuckoo to their loo.
See our lufty bullock flart
AVhile to harbour hies the hart :
Cuckoo ! be thou merry too,
Sing my bird, and cry cuckoo.

While thefe improvements cheer one's remembrance of England "and
Italy, Fleuri affrights one by faying, that in the year 12/0, after St.
Louis died, there we fet up a feel: of men in France who found out
forfooth that the world was a b eterno ; that in the Deity was no trinity,
that a refurreclion of the body was impoffible, and that death was an
eternal deep. In 5OO years this feel, which it appears ncvcrjlept at all,
burft out to the confufion of all human kind : 'twas reading Ari-
ilotle firft turned their heads, and the prefcnt boobies, who fcarce ever
heard his tenets, take them up upon truft ; but we muft return from
wicked and foolifh opinions to facls not more confolatory. 1 /0,000
Chriftians being flaughter'd in the eaffc within one week or lefs, the
pope made offer of Jcrufalem to Louis le Pieux, which he rcfufed ;
and our Henry of England faid that perchance devotion had dried up
all his coufm's ambitious humours if it was offer' d to his fon, the
honour mould not be dcfpifed. The Tartars meantime, under Haalon
their chief, made fhcw of affifting the Chriitian potentates, and in pure
good will toward them, as 'twas allcdged, fci/ed on Aleppo ; but our
people, nothing aware that the belt temper is an afiimilating one, and
that gold, the richcft of all metals, is m</it willing to amalgamate witli
others, chofc rather to difpute and quarrel \\ith thefe haughty Ilhmac-
iitcs, than to conciliate their affeclions and convert them to our laith.
VOL. I. Zz After

362 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1300. [CH. xx.

After committing a thoufand rakifli follies, they at length killed the
nephew of Guirboca, lieutenant to Prince Haalon, in a drunken broil
or frolick, fet on foot by over-fwilled Danes, and hot-headed Englifh-
men, amid the ftrects of Damafcus : by this mad action provoking the
deputy, who was beginning to folicit baptifm, and making the man
fwear to renounce in future all communication with {hangers whole
morality tallied fo ill with the religion they profefled.

Guirboca therefore haftened to revenge his kinfman's murder, and

falling upon Ciefarea fword in hand, burned it, and delivered up the

inhabitants to plunder. Nor were our Europeans better treated by the

Mameluc princes in Egypt, who took and deftroyed the city of Joppa,

having with fome difficulty forced Antioch, the place where Chrif 1

tians firft were called fuch, flaughtering no fewer than 20,000 in her

ftreets. Such dreadful tidings from the Holy Land rouzed the laft

efforts of expiring heroifm in. the foul of Lewis, beft, braveft, wifeft,

greateft'amongft his contemporary fovereigns. The hoary warrior

would immediately to Paleftine, and with him take along his fons, his

brother, and Guy earl of Flanders, likewife young Edward, eldeft-born

and heir to England, furnamed Longflianks, who had been prefentcd

to the throne of Sicily by Alexander that fucceeded Innocent IV. at

Rome. Whilfl he and Lewis were upon their voyage, Prince Coa-

rade, fon to Frederick and lolanta, difputcd the fucceffion of the weftern

empire with Henry Landgrave of Thuringia, and William Earl of

Holland : in thefe ftruggles Capua was difmantled, and Naples nearly

deftroyed by this ambitious youth, who not contented with fuccefs

again!! his foes, murdered his' elder brother Henry, once haughty and

afpir'ing as himfclf, but become by time and forrow a truly inoffenilve

creature; many years detained in clofe confinement, tillfick and old and

helplefs, incapable of giving umbrage, he was at length forced to yield

up his throat to an affaffm : for this Superfluous, as finful fratricide.

Conrade became an object of deteftation to all Europe, moft fo to

Manfred, fon of Frederick the long-lived by an eaftern fav'rite, a fair

Georgian or Circaffian lady, with whom he had palled his time in Pa-

en. xx.] TO THE YEAE. OF OUR LORD, 1 300. 3G3

leftine and Syria. This prince, under pretence of prefenting Conradc
with refreshment, adminiftcred poifon to him in a bowl of llierbet,
and looked on the tortures it occafioncd with a favage delight. Such
luccels had the progeny of impious Frederick ! to whom vsas attri-
buted the famous book de Tribits Impojloribiis, always talked of but
never fccn ; and which if it ever was competed at all, mull have been
a much more modern compofition.* At Adrianoplc now reigned a
baby Ducas, fon, as I think, to Lafcaris the younger ; but Palieologus
his preceptor, after defeating Angclo the Greek Emperor, in the lad's
name, put his eyes out, and fent his infant fitters into Italy. Dante's
-birth there announced the quick reviving flame of literature at Flo-
rence, where painting refolvcd not to be left behind. All Europe gave
ilgnsof refufcitation ; arts, manufactures, commerce, felt the quickening
fpirit, and a new city, Stockholm, adorned the banks of the Baltic fca.
The laft of the cruiadcs was now on foot, kings found employment
growing up at home; the world had been compofed at firft like fine Greek
architecture of large mafles, which with fmall pains produce a fudden
and fublime effect. The feudal fyflem broke it into fmall independent
pieces; gothick ideas in building run quite parallel; vet when with
ages of heavy toil they have at length formed their firm let and
fliarply pointed arches, and brought their numerous angles to cement
'the whole makes no unvenerable appearance and to lament its ruin is
but natural. Towards the laft years of the eventful period, which
holds our Retro/faff to 1250, and from thence forward till A. D. 1 3oo,
the laft effort of union was made for purpofe of regaining Pakftine ;
nor did the king of France find even /:is devotion fw allow up all pru-
dence, or care for his own dominion and that of his country. Ed-
ward .of England had an active fpirit, and fbon was likely to poll els a
crown which had fate loofely on weak Henry's head lor more than half

* The king did indeed fay that if God Almighty had ever feen Naples, he would
not furc have bellowed that odious country Paleftine on his pmfi fs'd favourites; bbt
'- i'ount little on fuch indecorous fpccchcs, as proofs of infidelity in rough days.

Z z 2 a century :

36-f TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1300. [CH. xx.

a century : Lewis for that, as well as for more pious reafbns, had pru-
dently excited him on to the holy war, and to fecure the Chriftians'
paflage forth and back from pirates, propofed that they mould take and
gar/ifon Tunis by the way. That ftubbed elder then, fprung from
old ground where the majeftick oak of Carthage had in former times
been fell'd, was now to be cut up if poffible ; but by its filth defended,
lafted ftill. A plague fbon feized on the confederate army, of which
thoufands and ten thoufands died ; and greater, more regretted than
them all, the French Jofiah. Like him in martial and pacifick virtues,
like him in a life fpent in learning and promulgating the laws of the
mofl High ; not very unlike him in his death either, engaged in fruit-
lefs, uncommanded war. . His fbn, though juftly enough furnamed
Philip the Bold, or Hardy, mocked at fuch a lofs, and that of his brave
brother too on the fame day, was overwhelmed with unaffecled grief,
and refolved not to go further on a journey fo unprofperous : although
the town did furrender on conditions, agreeing to pay the king of
Sicily and Jerufalem a fixed annuity of 40,000 crowns.

Theobald de Navarre, and William of Holland, were foon in the
fame mind for meaner reafons ; they gained fome pillage, and thought
fo little about honour, that they refolved to draw their legions back ;
but carrying the ill health of the country with them, died in a Ihort
time at Trapani, on their way home. Our Longmanks meanwhile
ftruck his valiant bofom, and fwore that he would enter Ptolemais in
company of his armor-bearer only, if all the allies left him, ay, and the
Englifh too. His faithful and admiring confort, then big with child,
followed his fteps ; fome trufty battalions accompanied them to Ptole-
mais, where had he not arrived that -very day, the city would have
iigned capitulating articles. The prince's prefence however, gave new
hie and vigour to the eaufe, he marched his few men to Nazareth, and
took the town, killing 1000 Saracens ; whilft Lady Elinor, daughter to
Alphonfo, king of Spain, lay in, and called her daughter Joan of Acres,
in allufion to the place of her nativity. Such were the exploits of this

young

CH. xxr.J TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1300. 365

young hero, that an a/fnjfin, difpatched by the Old Man of the Moun-
tains, having obtained his confidence by frequent vifits, for he proteflcd
himfclf a Chriflian fpy, flruck at his heart as he lay reclining on a day-
bed ; Edward's quick arm alert in the hour of danger, being fuddenly
railed, received the defperate wound ; while with his foot he felled the
intended murderer, and wrefting the knife from him, cut open his
belly. The bard in waiting, or harper, now burft in, and found our
Britifh warrior bleeding almoft to death upon the body of the not yet
expiring Saracen, whofe life was finally finifhed by the minftrel.* To
the dagger of this refolute aflfaffin hiftorians have added poifbn, and
poets have reprefented the pious wife extracting from her hufband's
wounded arm a venom fatal to her own exiftence : but 'tis enough
that Edward was fo (tabbed, recovered, and recalled to England, where
the old king his father, and an infant boy left at home under female
care, both died upon one day. Hearing this news fo ftriking and af-
flictive, our gallant prince lefs naturally than truly, and with good fenfe
exclaimed, that children of fuch a tender age were a lofs eafy to be re-
paired ; but that parental tcndernefs could never be fupplied by any
future friend or fervant, fubjedl or fon. The fame poft brought men
and money for the holy war, 1OOO marks I think from Scotland too,
which had been invaded by the Norwegians with iCo fail, but thofe,
brave Alexander happily difperfcd, having baffled their leader, and re-
took the ftormy Hebrides.

While now the eaftern emperor meditated to make the long-fighcd
for fubmiffion to the Holy See, as beft ;md likelicft method of confirm-

And thofe who wifh to draw a parallel between our Edward I. and Alexander,
the Great, will be pleated with relating ho\v Mu/reanus, the r.-ir.flrd of t/iofe days,
offended tbut capricious hero, who nufiacred, in confequnce, all the Bramins or
Brachmans he could find, as Kdward did fo many centuries afterwards the Welch Cards;
fuppofing their enthufiaftic finging animated their countrymen to defence againfl in-
vaders. Shaersor Pcrfian poets, even in the nth century, wore a peculiar drefs, as in
Darius's time, and recited extempore verfes in the maidan or market places, likt
lian improvifatoii.

ing

TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1200. [ C;I . xx.

ing him in his fo ill -obtained authority; a quick fucceffion of popes,
already mentioned, followed on death of -Innocent IV. Alexander,
\vlio created not a fingle cardinal, for fear (faid he) of increafing our
domeftick feuds ; Urban, fon to a French cobler, who took for his le-
genda the words virtus eftfola nobilitas ; who vainly drove to quiet the
fierce tempers of Manfred and Conradine, Richard and Alphonfo : and
who is better known to fame for having inlrituted the feftival of Cor-
pus Ghrifti, in honour of a miracle tranfmittcd to all Europe by the
pencil of HarFaelle, when fome prieft doubting the real prefence in the
fccrament, fuddenly exclaimed and fancied that he faw, the confecrated
wafer drop with blood. After thefc Clement IV. who had been a
lawyer and a foldier, had acled as a page in Lewis the ninth's court, had
been fome years married, and had two daughters living, Mabelle and
Cecile ; for they and he were French, of a good family in the Nar-
bonnois : his charming letter is yet extant, to his nephew Pierre le
Gros. " Learn (fays he in it) to be more humble than you have been ;
" promotion to the popedom is a :burden, not an advantage to thofe
" who underftand it rightly : congratulate me not therefore, but obey
" my commands, and dream not of gifts or preferments on account of
" your uncle's advancement to the papacy, although I love you and fliall
" ever. Tell to your fifter if flie weds z. foldier Miletes; I'll give her 3OO
"crowns, no more : if any man, except a foldier, milling. As for my
" truly dear ones, bid them be good girls ; Cecile has well beftowcd
" her heart I know, let her hand follow it ! I fliall defpife her elfe ;
" and let no female of my name, Le Gros, meanly feck 'matches with
" men far above them, leaving their own worthy fweet-hearts, becaufe
" marauding noblemen will ftrivc to marry the pope's daughter."
Readers will wifli to fee how all this .ended ; Madcmoifelle Cecilc's
brave lover fell in a private war, and flic retiring to a convent, died
there. Mabelle fct out -with her hufband for the Holy Land, but loft
'her life by a mifcarriage on the journey. And though their admirable
father's merit was .greatly wanted upon earth for an example, heaven

impatient

en. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1300. 367

impatient to reward it fnatched him foon away ; but not before Charles
of Anjou did homage for his kingdom, being called Sicily on this and
the other fide the Pharos ; and thcfe words ufcd at his invcftiture gave
rife to the well known ftyle and title, King of the tii'o Sicilies. He
agreed at the fame moment that his fucceflbrs mould hold their crown
no longer than they were punctual in paying, upon St. Peter's day every
year, 8000 ounces of gold to whoever was fitting in St. Peter's chair ;
with a white palfrey, good and beautiful. There is a coin called an
ounce at Naples now ; its value about a guinea or louis d'or : but thcfe
articles were figncd in May, 1205, to the comfort of all who had fccn
the rapid ftrides made by ambitious Marffred, who was well known to
have difpatched Prince Conradc, and half fufpecled of haftening, fomc-
what unfairly, his father's death, which was fo ill accounted for and
unafcertained, that an impoftor was publickly burn'd fomc years after
it happened, for having perfbnated Frederick with fuccefs in Savoy and
other courts. The city bearing his name, Manfredonia, is however all
that's left of this tyrant, who was at length afluffinatcd by an earl of
Rota, whofe wife he had feduced or carried off by force. The death of
Clement IV. happening not long after kept the pontificate in a fort of
inconvenient {late, not ill denominated abeyance, in which cafe re-
mained likewise the weflern empire ; while the cardinals fate fo long
in conclave, unable to fix upon a fucceffor, that the magiftratcs of tin-
town until' d the place they fate in, but in vain. After three years
more fpent in fruitlefs and difgraceful contcfts \\ Inch of them fhould
be placed in the papal chair, the townfmcn fhut them up and kept
them without food till they hud quieted the minds of men and g'ncn
the church a pallor : one only cardinal was abient, and he was pitched
upon. When notification of the honour was com eyed to him, he v\;.-
ftepping into a pulpit at Ptolemais, the Chriltian rendc/.votis in Syria,
and with a true Italian promptitude, changed his fubjed of difcourfe.
and took his text from that verfe in the pfalms, which fays, "*If I for-
" getthce, oh Jerufalem I let my right hand forget her cunning ; let my

" ton.

308 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. [CH. xx.

" tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, yea, if I prefer not Jerufalan in
" my mirth." Gregory X. did indeed keep the promife made that day
by Ubaldo di Piaccnza, and fbon as he arrived in Italy, fent ftores of men,
money, and .hades, to the holy war : having obferved while in the eaft,
that the Greek Emperor Paleologus was well difpofcd to unite the two
churches and end the fchifm which had too long kept them feparate ; he
without entering into motives took Michael at his word, and had the
comfort of hearing in a fhort time that the Nicene creed had been quietly
lung without objection, in the church of Santa Sophia at Conftantinople,
whither the feat of empire had been once more fix'd and fettled. Ro-
dolph of Hapftmrgh now, defcendant of the Gordians, and anceftor to
Francis II. in a right line, was patronized by this pope againft Ottoca-
rus, king of .Bohemia, who after much ado, at length confented to fwear
fealty to his competitor, provided the function might be performed in
private : Rodolph confented, but at the critical moment a high and
unexpected wind blew off the canopy of that tent where the princes
were, and beating down the fides at the fame time, difcovered the Pan-
nonian chief on both knees before \\\s fcrvereign andfaperior lord, per-
forming a vaflal's obeifance : enraged, and as his paffion led him to
fuppofe, tricked by Rodolpho, he fuddenly rofe up and called to arms ;
fome of his faithful followers attended, and the Duke of Auftria hafted
to quell the revolt, which ended in an hour's fcuffle only, over the body
of Ottocarus, who lay pierced with a thoufand wounds upon the fpot
where he was feen in acl of humiliation. Gregory grieved but little at
an event fb favourable to the general welfare, and immediately con-
firmed the count of Hapfburgh in his new dignities, emperor of the
weft, and duke of Auftria for ever. The pope having thus made his
power refpecled, gave occafion likewife that his juftice fhould be vene-
rated, by depriving Henry, the famous wicked bifhop of Liege, whole
crimes ftand recorded in a letter from Rome, exhorting him to mend
his manners ; fuch a heart however, no exhortations could reclaim ; he
was at length killed by a nobleman whofe orphan niece he had vio-
lated.

CH. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. 3(50

latcd, with circumftances aggravating even that offence, and Gregory
gencroufly abfolved the nobleman, although to aflaflmatc even a de-
prived bifliop was in thofe days a fin extremely difficult to be forgiven.
Another tale of equal horror marks this pontificate, and fliows the Itate
of fociety about the year 12/2, which Relrofpeflion mufl not let pafs
unnoticed. Simon de Montfort, earl of Leiceftcr, who inhabited the
Savoy, his palace, who called our Henry III. a liar, whofe wild adven-
tures and various exploits have ferved as the foundation of many a bal-
lad, and many a romance, had two fons, Simon, and Guy ; who after
the well known battle of Evefham fled to Italy, and finding at Viterbo
young Henry, heir to Richard carl of Cornwall, their's, and, their la-
ther's enemy of courfc, being allied to the Englifh throne fo cloiely :
they watched him to a church, and killed him undefended at the altar,
during the elevation of the hoft. Edward, returning from Paleftinc upon
his father's death, waited upon Gregory, with whom in Syria he had
been intimately acquainted, and begged for vengeance on the bold af-
faffins who had thus fpilt the royal blood of unoffending Britain, adding
the moft impious facrilcge to murder : but Simon died before fentcnce
could be pronounced, and Guy fled to the Aldobrandini palace for pro-
tection. The count, his father-in-law, when called to examination,
fatisned all parties that he at Icaft was in no wife privy to the deed.
Pope Gregory then with le verity as unaccultomcd as the occafion of it
was dreadful, drove Guy, like the firft homicide, from man's focicty,
rendered his defccndants to the fourth generation infamous, anathema-
ti/,cd whoever Ihould receive him to their houfe, and laid whatever
land he lived in under an interdict. With thefc proceedings Edward's
grief and anger were appeafed ; he went home to take pofleilion of his
crown, and in due time forgot his valiant coufin's death. The pontiff
then put himfelf upon a journey to Florence, where Gwelphs and Gib-
bclines battled in the ftrcets, and cruel contcft with its fharpeft thorns
choked the young germ of literature at its revival. To quell thefe tur-
bulent, thefc tcmpeftuous fpirits, as he joumied on upon his milk-
VOL I. 3 A white

370 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD J300. [CH. xx.

white mule prefented by Charles of Anjou, in a clofe lane a human
figure ftood, half overgrown with hair, naked and wild, and ftopt the
aftonifhed travellers. His right hand grafp'd a rope, his left a crucifix ;
while mute amazement held the march fufpended Guido de Montfort,
thus (exclaim'd a voice) greets Gregory his perfecutor ; hut take the
cord and ftrangle, or the crucifix and blefs me, for life's a burden 1 no
more will bear. The venerable bifhop alighting on the inftant, and
praying fervently to heaven for direction, would make a noble fubjeci
for a painter, to whom a contraft more fublime could fcarcely be ex-
hibited. RetrofpeSi'ton has but juft time to fee the culprit tranquillized,
and fent to Sicily, where faithful Charles had orders to detain him.
the interdict for that purpofe being taken off, and the good patriarch
of Aquileia was permitted, in his dying moments, to abfolve him. A
reconcilement 'twixt the Gwelphs and Gibclincs however, was what ap-
peared on trial wholly impoffible. Compefcuit ignibus ignes Jupiter, faid
the Pope, and laid gay Florence under interdiction, though he himfelf
delighted in the place, and zneant to have palled fome time there.
Milan meanwhile was equally diftra&ed ; Torriani and Vifconti there,
tore each other's family to pieces, till after many years the latter at
length prevailed, and the coiled ferpent fwallowing a child is yet the
arms of Milan. The odd practice of borrowing devices from a con-
quered enemy, ferves only to confound the antiquary, and diftrefs the
herald. Vifconti had in the wars of Syria flain a Saracen of high re-
nown, and prowefs much efteemed, who had himfelf, or Ibrne brave
anccftor, pulled out an infant from a ferpent's mouth, and killing the
vile beall, refcued its helplefs prey from dangers not unfrequcnt in hot
countries : but though our Chriftian warrior had, to commemorate his
victory, taken the Saracen's imprefe, and put on his own fhield, pro-
priety is violated, and enquiry perplex'd till the true tale is told. Can-
dia indeed ftill gives the labyrinth of Crete as her coat armour, fuppofed
the oldeft in the world; and although fuch devices may be changed,
crefts have remained unalter'd even by the houfes of Brunfwick and

Cologne,

en. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1 300. 37 1

Cologne, for example, as the horfe yet remains with the firft the mer-
maid with the latter.

Our Rt'trofpeffiion has however been too long detained from Britain,
\vhereEdwardhangcd 2oo Jews one day for altering and falfifying the
king's coin. Hume fays, his Chriftian fpirit led him to tyranny, but
'twas no fpirit of piety led him to another act which ftaincd our ifland
with its pureft blood, and configns his hated name for ever to all poetic
curfes. After ambition had excited him to enter Wales with unpro-
voked hoftility, and with foldiers who purfued the brave pofleflbrs of
fterility from rock to rock, refolving that no {belter fliould fuffice to
fave, what could produce no benefit when once obtained ; he deter-
mined to tear from them even the pleafures of memory, the fweet re-
collection of what once they were ; and fraudulently aflcmbling their
bards in Conway caftle, there maflacred the unrefiiling recorders of ex-
cellence, the living rcgifters of piety and \alour, forgetful how to the
faithful minftrel's hand his vital pow'rs were owing. Againft this cold-
blooded cruelty towards men refpe&ed, fo that they fat next the
princes at a feaft, and had their harps prefented by a royal hand, for
whom the cup-bearer poured out in his king's prefence the fweet me-
theglin from a gilded horn, to the health of departed heroes : againft
the mean murder of thefe guiltlefs bards, lit plan for fouls unfoftened
even by mufic, let Retrofpttiion next contraft a fccne exhibited in the
fouth of Europe : where John of Procida, and Peter of Arragon, who
had already drowned his own elder brother with their father's confcnt,
refolved to drive from his feat as king of Sicily the pope's tributary
prince Charles of Anjou and Maine, who was at this time on a vifit to
Martin IV. at Rome, wholly unfufpicious of the meditated confpiracv.
Conftantia however, daughter to ambitious Manfred, delighting to
revenge her father's caufe, and let her hufband Peter on the throne,
heard with complacency the horrid talc, how on the bell ringing for
vefpers upon Eaftcr Tuefday evening 1282. a general and inhuman
Daughter of all the French upon the place began, but ended not till

3 A 2 midnight

3tt TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. [CH. xx.

midnight. With fuch unbounded rage the fierce Italians leaped upon
their prey, that in thofe lew fhort hours throughout the ifland, 8000
human creatures, women and infants, noblemen and vaflals, fell a
i'udden indifcriminated facrifice to faction and confederated fury.

When we are told that Charles was feizcd with paralytick ftupor
on hearing fo dreadful and unprepared-for an event; no reader of the
ilory can be much furprizcd, but fome perhaps will wonder that Pope
Nicholas, immediate predeceflbr to Martin, and fucceffor of Adrian
and Innocent, who came to the papal chair on death of Gregory,
mould have been capable of giving his confent. to fo enormous and hor-
riblea tranfaftion, onlybecaufe being a man of mean extraction, he had
fought to give his niece to Charles of Anjou, who replied " No, no,
" though Gaetan d'Urfmo Joes wear red flippers now, and people kifs
" them his blood (hall never mix with mine depend on't." This in-
civility however, this poignant and fuperfluous reproach, coft him the
lofs of crown and dignity ; feparated the fouls of 8000 helplefs French
from their defencelefs bodies, loaded with heavy guilt the con-
fciences of many clergy, who lent their aid in thefe tremendous fcencs,
but never would have lifted under the bloody-banner without their
vindictive fovereign's approbation, and gave to lafting infamy the
narrative of the Sicilian ve/pers.

For thefe occurrences fo full of guilt and horror will Strafburgh
fteeple, 580 feet high, make us any compenfation ? A little it will,
by Ihewing that fome men muft have been employed in fomewhat
lefs mifchievous than throat-cutting : although no nearer method
was found out to induce the wide dHlricl: of Lithuania to prefer the
Catholick religion to idolatry, than the old mode of forcing them into
our pale by the valour of the military Chriflians. Till fome fuch
clofe-clapt fummary as this be prefentcd to a modern reader ; he does
not eafily figure to himfelf that paganifm was fo near us in days
wLcn Dante fung and Cimabue painted, when Guido di Colonna
wrote his Hiftoria di Bella Trojano, whence in much later times our

Boke

cm. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. 373

Bokc of Troye pillaged a multitude of incidents, mingling Arabian
ornaments with Grecian fable, to the cotifnfion of antiquarians and
annoyance of common readers. While Vafco de Lobeyra wrote his
far-famed Amadis, the laughing ftock of this age, but much more
juitly the admiration of that in which 'twas written; when a mirror
of manners very little exaggerated, was held up for amufement of liich
who, tired of truth's uniformity, delighted as now in ficlion ; but felt
their pleafure arife from exalting their imaginative powers to fbmewhat
above humanity, and not as we do in fomc modern no\cls, feck in the
dcprcffion of our reafon, the entertainment of a dreaming fancy.

Tafte certainly did in its early culture, for want of {kill in the
agricolift, run all to feed as foon as 'twas out of the ground, and
fciencc was already grown fo fancy, that when Taddeo the celebrated
phyfician was called to the fick pope from Florence, he aiked, and
Trithemius fays, that he received one hundred crowns o'day, befides a
prefent when the cure was perfected. Some change in the value of
money however, muft neceiTarily have taken- place, for we fee Edward
allowing his prifoner, the earl of Murray, twenty (hillings per week,
when in the beginning of his father's reign, the primate of Scotland
had fixpence per day only allowed him in the fame fituation. Our
fraudulent, though valiant fovereign, having now pacified the Welfli
with folemn promife of a prince born in their own country, and of
an innocent at leafr., if not a virtuous converfation, fent his queen
Eleanor of Caftile, to lye-in at Caernarvon caftle, and then mewed
them the royal infant as future Prince of Wales.

Swift fays, and fays very fweetly, that " Wtfdoms above fujfiefling
" wiles ;" and confcious valour naturally Ibftens into fentimcnts of
loyalty at fight of high birth \vu , luirmlefs lovelinefs combined ; fo-
liciting protection, and en-furim' obedience by fmiles that muft of pure
ncceffity be genuine. Tn ':K>rn fon of England from that hour,

has been acknowledged as our Prince of Wales. Meantime the king
tried to fubdue or cheat his Scottifh neighbours, while feuds and

broils

074 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. [CH. xx.

broils between the Bruce and Baliol parties fcourged their whole
.country with domeftick war, and prompted them to acquiefce in Ed-
ward's arbitration. That he fhould coldly give a falfe award, tells
meanly of fuch times, and fhows that the old adage dolus an virtus,
ftill maintained its ground in certain hearts, while chivalry, with its
nonfenfical affectation of honour, did little towards purifying men from
thofe bafe paffions which will cling to fome of us, in 'fpite of edu-
cation or defcent.

It will however be proper to recall Retrofpettion to that field, where
Charles of Anjou called out Peter of Arragon to fmgle combat, foon
as recovered from the altonitus occafioned by his people's maflacre. All
fovereigns then protected a campo-franco, or free-fpot, where to decide
queftions by the fword : and this was appointed in Gafcony. The
challenger and judge appeared before the moment, but he who did the
wrong lingered till the time was pall. Pope Martin's ideas of ho-
nour being hurt by this conduft difgraceful to knighthood, as fmcerely
as his good heart was fhocked by the ftrange murder of 8000 inno-
cents at once : deprived Peter of his dominions fo obtained, and fet
the ifland up for fale or conteft, according to the genius that in thofe
days prevailed. Poor Sicily was now again deluged in blood a gene-
ral crufade having been fet on foot againft Conftantia after her huf-
band's death, for fteadily, againft the pope's confent, maintaining her
fon James upon the throne, till a marriage between Idlanta, daughter
of that prince, and Robert, great-nephew to unhappy Charles, fettled
the crown xipon their offspring's head ; and left on Europe no effeci
of the Sicilian vefpers, except that frightful wafte of human life,
which was too little then an objecl: of confideration. My wonder on
reviewing of fuch fcenes, is chiefly, that Europe was not totally depopu-
lated : the Annales Fuldenlis do indeed relate, (refolving not to be out-
done by Polifh wonders) that Margaretta, countcfs of Henneburg,
brought forth 365 children all at once, like the queen ant :* and this

* Among the termites bcllicoji, mentioned by Smcathman.

remarkable

CH. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. 375

remarkable occurrence is attributed very ferioufly to the bitter curfe
of a pregnant beggar; but natural philofophy was at a low ebb, while
other arts made fuch furprizing progrefs, that Tafi had already let uj>
the very beautiful mofaick work over St. Mark's church, Venice,
which one would think was then completely civilized, did not we
know that manners yet were regulated even there by the old Lom-
bard code, making a man pay three crowns if he fo beat a fervant
\vench or a fine mare, that they mifcarried in confequence of the
cruelty. So much more flow of growth are morals than mechanicks
in this world : and if fuch reftraints were needful in the more delicate
divifions of Europe, Retro/petition will fcarce wonder to fee rough La-
diflaus dragging his rude opponent Oldamir around the field at Peft,
not like Achilles at his chariot wheels but by the locks held in the
hand of his vanquifher, who (hook him up in air from time to time,
glorying in brutal ftrength before two armies A.D. 12QO. Bonfinius
regrets indeed, rationally enough, that fuch gigantick powers of
body, mould be wafted in exertions of fenfuality, and clogged by glut-
tonous exccfs : but even the good pope's repeated exhortations, all
were loft on this unheeding animal ; he died among the women he
confided in, leaving the crown, to Andrew, furnamcd the Venetian-,
whofe grandfather returning from Syria, wedded a daughter of the
Houfe of Efte, and Stephen her fon by him, connecting himfelf with
the Morofmi family, brought gentler manners into rugged Pannonia,
where Andrew fwayed the fceptre peaceably, fbftening his court with
cantadours and violars, and polifhing his people by degrees.

Andronicus the emperor in the eaft, meanwhile who blinded and
imprifoned his brother John, only becaufe the people faid they loved
him ; after his firft wife's death, married Irene, widow to Paleologus,
who being attached to her firft husband's children, loft the heart of her
fecond, by too much care for their advancement : and Andronicus,
chiefly to fpite her, and fliew contempt for them, created Ron/erius a

common

376 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. [en. xx.

common pirate Czefar; by this ftep offending all mankind, ami draw-
ing on himfelf a war in which the Turks were conftantly victorious.
This new race of wanderers, for fo the name of Turk implies ; whe-
ther originally Scythians or captive Jews, loft to all gazer's eyes when
Pfalmanaflbr carried many away and kept confined in Media, as Knol-
lys thinks, who feems to have thought much about them, were firfl
known to us as Turks, when Tangrolipix was called in fatal auxili-
ary ! after which event, Mamalucks and Saracens, caliphs of Syria,
and fultans of Egypt, fought under their hot fun, which ftill renewed
the flames of fierce difTention half a century. Neither mogul nor
grand-fignior, nor cham of Tartary however, could quite fuccecd in
ought, except a general depreffion of Chriftianity, which daily loft
ground in the eaft, as if to fliow mankind that very ftrange phaehornc-
non which no one could have credited, had he not feen, for union is
recommended by theorifts of every age, who tell us 'tis invincible :
once it appeared on earth never but once ; the grand crufade exhi-
bited a union of compacted millions pouring forth from kingdoms,
provinces, diftricls the phalanx of the weft : yet, all which that
ftrange aggregate performed, was fo perpetually, fo miraculoufly coun-
teracted by treachery and feuds, by accidental diftreffes on our part,
and by that valour which none have ever yet denied the opponents on
the other, that Syria, after all our efforts, all our conqucfts, fell into
and remained in their hands near to20Oyears after Godfrey de Boulogne
made his grand exploit. The conquerors could not however, as they
then propofed, conquer the world and keep it : metals once feparated
from their ores, may defy chemiftry herfelf to make them any more
amalgamate ; the arfenical particles completely ronflcd out oil, earth
fpirit and fait, maintain their feveral ftations, but never can be made
cohere again. God had exprefsly declared by his prophets, that Rome
fliould be the laft nation indulged with enjoyment of univerfal fway,
and Retrofpe&iort may obferve, that Jhe had now for the fecond time,

paft

CH. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD isoo. 3^7

paft the precifc point or fummit of her power : when Boniface VIII. of
that name, and lQOr.li bifhop, in his quarrel with Philip le Bel king of
France, received from de hi Flotte, the French ambaflador, a ftrange
and finking reply; his Holinefs during a conference maintained by that
nobleman with what he thought an unbecoming fpirit, threatened to
cut o/f, that was his expreflion, from the body of the church, fuch a&
would not inftantly acknowledge her dominion.

Your fword (replied the malapert Frenchman) is only verbal and
figurative, 1 believe, but ours is real, and is Jliarp. The wary pon-
tiff, who had not as 'tis fuppofcd arrived at his high dignity without
iomc frauds- practifed on his weak-minded competitor Cacleftine.
wifhcd to call in afliftance from men's feelings, when he perceived
their tnterejls oppofcd him ; endeavouring to ftrengthen authority by
influence, a trick not tried by fovereigns, till the firft gives indication
of certain, although diftant decay. An old vinonary was therefore,
perhaps, introduced about this period ; and in the prefcnce of the
pope, told how the BlefTed Virgin had appeared to him, foliciting her
n\\n removal, and that of the holy-houfc where flic had born her fon,
trom Bethlehem, which was about to be profaned by muiTulmen.
The pope fent mcflengers into the eaft, and foon proclaimed the ar-
rival of our Redeemer's mother, borne by angels, as 'twas find, then
through the air, and let down near the habitation of Lauretta, a pious
lady, living on the Adriatic fhore of the Romagna. That place has
Irom that day been venerated with prcfents, and looked up to with
pious awe for 500 years exactly; the figure was fet up in 12Q6, and
and in 1 7yf>, was torn away with infults Ottoman never would have
added for Mahomet's followers revere bled Mary as parent of a pro-
phet fent from God, though they deny her crucified fon's divinity.
VV hen Rome then gave fome fign of approaching change, what won-
der England felt the fpirit of emancipation ! The fiory of Edward
lending the earl of Norfolk on fomc errand, and his rcfufal to go, is
urged as proof of the fpirit being kindled but that tale is no proof
VOL. I. 3 B on't:

378 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 130O. [ CH . xx,

on't : the barons knew their power long before, and it was now (lika
the pope's) beginning rather to weaken ; " Sir erle Bygod*, you mall
go or hang By God, fir king, will neither go nor hang," was our king's
fpeech to him, and Norfolk's anfwer ; fir erle and fir king were com-
mon expremons all were knights, and as fuch equals ; according to
the gothick fyilem, fliewn in France when Clovis rcquefted a vafc
from out fome plundered city, and a chieftain fprung up, fwearing he
mould have nothing but what fell by lot ; fhewn in Spain by the Ar-
ragon oath of allegiance preferred to us by Antonio Perezf, where th
nobles fay to their fovereign,

" Nos que valemos tanto coma vos, as ffazcmos nucjlro rey c fcnor "
fliewn again in England when Henry confirmed Magna Chart a, and fworc
to obferve its contents as Jie was a gentleman, a king, and a knight.
The change in Europe's fyftem firft appears when Edward, unable to
compel the barons' obedience, yielded to their demand of a new char-
ter, iccuring our nation from further taxes without confent of Par-
liament. By parliament they meant a congrefs of nobility ; but the
fubtle prince, as a new check on them, encouraged" the boroughs to
fend up fbme deputies, who would of courfe be firmly attached to //////,
and give a willing fupport to his authority againft thefe haughty ba-
rons bold and free, who living nearer, opprefs'd fmall folks more than
any king could have temptation to. Edward found' out therefore,
on this occafion, that what concerned all mould be approved by all';
thus bringing a new maxim into play, which has of late carried men
more lengths and greater, than the wifeft of thofe days could have
wifhed, hoped, or feared.

Difcoveries indeed arc feldom made by virtue. The improvement
adopted at the time I am writing by every common fire engine thro'
Great Britain, was firft contrived by a boy ten years old, whole bufi-

* We muft remember the man's name was Bygod, without that there's neither joke
nor quibble.

t Sec. to Philip II,

nefs

i. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300.

'twas to watch the communication of the boiler and cylinder,
opening and clofmg the fame with his hand alternately. Of this
charge however the lad being foon weary, and wifhing rather to
go out and play among his young companions, very wifely fattened a
llring from the handle of the valve to another part of the machine,
where he had obfervcd a corrcfpondcnt motion : the valve then per-
formed its office without manual help. He gained his anntfcmcnt by
lofing his livelihood, and mcchanifm obtained a valuable improvement.
When kings called in their commons to controul the nobility, they
forefaw the end on't no better than the boy did. Meanwhile luxury
increafed prodigiously in this reign. Witnefs an acl of parliament com-
manding gravers and cutters of ftoncs for leals to give due weight in
gold : witnefs too the amufementl of the court, while deputies were
fetched from the country to do our nation's bujinefs. Roger dc Morti-
mer, knowing the king's tafte, gave him a magnificent and martial mow
at Kcnnelworth in Warwickfliire, whither one hundred armed knights
with their ladies were invited, and all that romance could dictate was
<lcvifed for their entertainment.

Banieres ils avoycnte cointee et parce
De or ct dis fur routes exchcqucrce,

fays an old French poem. King Eric of Denmark had ibme time
before given a match of martial fports, as it was called, at Roftoch,
where cavaliers came from all parts of Europe to an incredible number.
The Dane's carouful was famous for the drinking horns, and loud re-
peated healths of their numerous and brilliant dames aroufed the mid-
night echo. One French knight, renown'd for prowefs, was abfcnt and
was miffed : he was employed upon a great adventure.

Henri dc Navarre died in 12/4; and his only daughter Joan, by
Blanch d'Artois, niece to St. Louis, was now thirteen years old, and
many difputes arofe concerning her education at betrothment. Two
kings, Arragon and Caftilc, prepared to fcizc her ; but the courageous

3 B 2 queen

.180 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1300. [CH. xx.

queen, fupported by this one brave knight her kinfman, carried her
daughter off by mingled fraud and force, bringing her fafely, after
many perils, into her own country, where in due time flic married
Philip le Bel, then fils dc France only, and by thofe nuptials added.
Navarre to the French crown ; for Philip the Hardy had been long dead ;
of a malignant fever, the feeds of which it was fuppofed he brought
from Syria, where fimilar putridity {till taints the air. His fepulchrc
was lately to be feen at Perpignan, where he died, having refcued Gi-
ronne from Peter, the prince in whofe favour w r as made the maflacrc
of the Sicilian vefpers. This king of France had given to his fon
Philip the Fair, when dauphin, an Italian preceptor of the Cohnna
family ; fo called becaufe his anceftors had, in the firft memorable
crufadc, refcuod the column to which our Lord had been tied. Againft
this noble houfe however, Boniface VIII. had fet his face completely ;
and great, and grofs, and bitter was their revenge ; exciting, powerful
enemies againft the See, till fuch and fo great were their conflicts and
disturbances, they at length broke the pontiff's heart, which would
not bend even before fo rough a ftorm. " Since I am betrayed (faid
he at length) I will die at my poft ;" and putting on the old crown
prefented by Comtantine the Great to Pope Sylvcfter, awaited the tu-
mult in his papal chair. If it can le true, that when the enemy feized
Boniface fo attired in the Vatican, Sr'iarra di Colonna {truck" him on
the face ; it may be true that the fame nobleman, upon the pope's ref-
titution to dignity and pow r er, difguifed himfelf like a galley-flave, and
worked on the fea three years to -avoid the fiercenefs of his foe's refent-
ment, from which no then known nation could have prote&ed him.
Although the papal feat, as erft the imperial, {hewed evident fymptoms
of its being fomewhat fhaken, when Boniface ifTued his bull prohibit-
ing princes to levy without his confent any tax or im poft on the clergy,
Kdward of England openly fcorned the command, and outlawed thofe
whorefufed contribution, faying, if they would not lend afliftance to
his government, they ftiould have no protection from it. He proceeded

therefore

en. xx.] TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 130O. 381

therefore againil the prieilhood, as fomc of the emperors had in old times
proceeded againil the Chritlians; doing juilice to every body againil them,
and for them no redrefs-againit any poffible injury. The Archbifliop of
Canterbury, for example, was robbed and beaten upon the highway ; the
delinquents were not profecuted. Hume rejoices in this contrivance, as
Gibbon docs in that of Dioclefian, it was (fay they) a fpecies of martyr-
dom ib mortifying to fpiritua.1 pride. It was indeed : but hiilorians
ihould recoiled:, whether rulers will or no, that when the church falls
the ilate will not long remain behind. Edward tried the fame virtuous
method in Scotland too, denying the benefit of law or fecurity for their
-eilates to all who refufed him fealty. But Sir William Wallace, great
patriot hero ! ill-requited chief ! coloffal in ii/.e, intrepid in fpirit, and
for perfonal bravery renowned above his fellows ; undertook the Scots
deliverance from an iniidious tyrant, who detaining their lawful king
in his own camp, and relying on the weaknefsof his unfuccefiful rival,
pretended that he was guardian to a nation which he had tricked by
falfe awards when they had. committed themfclvcs to his decifion, as
arbitrator for their crown and dignity. Againil a character fo fclfiih"
and unfeeling, this Caledonian warrior's wonderful and ever difintcreilcd
exploits might well detain our relrofyctttve eye ; but it would fbon
ihed tears for his hard fate. Edw r ard returned from Flanders flumed
with victory, and ready. to difpute nearer pofleffions with a wilder foe.
He foon, by dint of difcipline, defeated Sir William Wallace, who,
vanquifhed and taken prifoner, was fhortencd of his head on Tower-
hill.

The non-fubmitting. fpirit of the Soots revived in Robert Bruce, fon
to the competitor of unwarlike Baliol ; and our military monarch,
though he added policy the moil refined to a difpofition naturally va-
liant, was forced to die, and leave them unfubducd. Difeafe drove
him from life's large theatre at fixty-nine years old, when like Camilla
he might have faid,

Haftenus acca foror i potui ; nunc volrius aceibum
Conficit, ac tenebris nigrefcunt omnia circum,

I am-'

382 TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD isoo. -[CH. x.

I am difpofcd enough to think with Hume, that the crufades under-
taken in early, and lighcd after in maturer years, by this active prince,
were lefs infpircd by religious zeal than by defire of that martial fame,
'fcld honour (he poileflcd none in civil or judiciary tranfactions), which
'mark the manners of a Sanguinary age. This fpirit-fb -bewitched the
Comtc d'Artois in the year 13OO, as I think, when Philip le Bel
gave battle to the Englifh and Flamands near Courtray ; that he pro-
pofed to llalphc de Neflc, his conftablc and kinfman, a brave device of
galloping forward and breaking the enemy's ranks. The ether gentty
advifcd'reconnoitring ; but no : invoking D'teu et fa belle, according to
the fafliion of the times, this fool-hardy youth rufhcd forward on the
inflant, making an immcnfc daft on that open plain, and hiding from
his own eyestfhc broad ditch behind which a corps of Flemings had
rtaken poll, and which received his brave detachment to their ruin.
The troops with one voice 'Crying out Ha! Ha! when they faw count
and cavalry all icruflied together in a concealed fofle ; the memory of
this incident has been perpetuated till this hour by .the French name
of a funk fence Ha! .Hal

And now Europe, amufed by advcnt'rous deeds of fcarlefs indivi-
duals, reflected little on thofe hot convuHions which had fo broken up
the whole. continent into fmaH feparatc parts. Still lefs were its inha*
.bitants aware, that after the fierce fpirits oncfi began to cool, com-
.mercc -would with her gently flowing lava connect, though diftantly,
each fragment with the other, till all our neighbouring dates cement-
ed, not united, mould at length form a fort of turbulent republick,
rough, not free ; and faucy flill, but never independent, from that
.hour when trade, though of a coalefcing nature, fhewed each its con^
Sequence to all .the reft; and put into the mind of every (hare apart,
rthut application to enrich itfelf which has fmcc given to the fignories
.-of Europe an air of purie-proud fclf-fufficiency.

In Afia meanwhile, Ottoman the firft, fun to Ertogrul, and father
to a new and formidable empire, aflurned the ftyle and title of Sultan
in the Eaft; fixing his feat of dominion at foot of Mount Olympus,

regardlefs

CH. xx.l TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1 300. 383

rcgardlefs of the Greek emperor and his new Czefar, who bar-
gained with them for his worthlefs fovereign, now ferving merely as a
mark for fcorn to point the flow and moving finger at ; " till all Nato-
" lia foon revolting from him, funk into mifcry of its own creating:" and
this new power rofc, in the fcripturc language, from the fca, or uni-
verfal aggregate of all things, a new devouring beaft, unconquercd vet,,
though many times confined.

CHAP.

384 'FROM A. D. 1 300, TO THE YEAR 1 3 SO. [CH. xx.

C HAP. XXI.

;FROM A.D. 1300 TO THE YEAR 1350, on NEARLY so.

HHE Emperors of the Weft have fcarce engaged our retrofpeffive
J- eye fmce Rodolph, who liked Italy fo little he would never go
thither, bccaufe he had obferved, -he faid, that thofe who went there
.merrily difpofed, feldom returned home otherwife than fad. His
own employment at home was no unufcful one : he deftroyed flxty
caftles of the Brabancons, a fort of femi-noblc and lawlcfs banditti,
-whom the fovereigns had till his time in fomc fort encouraged, at leaft
connived at, hoping they might prove a kind of check on the afpiring
.barons, that in each land thwarted the king's authority. This gene-
rous prince, difdaining fuch auxiliaries, tried to extirpate them entirely,
which muft have been no fmall ftcp towards general civilization ; not
long retarded by the pope's choice of a Polifh bifhop for the fee of Straf-
burgh. This prelate -.coming to Vienna, called for fome ale, and being
offered wine inftead, fwore ; he would go home again, and fo /te did.
.But Mcntz boafted a more polimcd fupcrintendant of their religious
concerns. When Rodolph died, whofc lofs was long felt and lament-
ed, the bifhop's influence got them to cledl Adolphus of Naflau, and
Albert of Bavaria refufed him fealty : our Edward fent him a large
fum of money, for having accepted which, as well as for facrilege and
adultery, he was dethroned and flain by Albert, the worthy and war-
like heir of Rodolph, who never would conlent to pay him homage,
and at whofe coronation fuch was the crowd, that the Duke of Saxony
flipping his foot, fell, and was trampled inftantly to death. His foil
married Blanche, daughter of the French king : but an occurrence calls
our Retrofteft to Spain, where Lewis had lately taken Gibraltar from

the

en. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 385

the Moors, and was confidering himfelf as happy in that event, when
his deleft fon fuddenly accufed two of the younger ones, pofitivcly
fwearing that he knew the time and place, and could prove they had
imagined and contmed their fovereign's death by iorcery. The princes
fummoned Ferdinand to appear before what was then called the tri-
bunal of Chrift, and challenged him to judgment by the crofs, a cere-
mony inftitutcd firft by Charlemagne, and already dcfcribcd in this
book. Ferdinand accepted it, and went in good fpirits to reft at his
ufual hour, but rofe no more, being found dead in his bed, though
without marks of violence next morning. The accufed brothers went
into a monaftery, and the good king died in ten days of grief and ter-
ror, appointing for his fucceflbr an infant in the cradle, Alphonfo XI.
who reigned forty years. The royal children have in Spain been
known by name of infants ever fince.

The gentle Benedict meantime, maintained the papal dignity at
Rome, while he forbore all claim to pomp or pride as individual. He
was a man of merit, not of birth, and when, on his acceffion to the
popcdom, his mother came to court in robes of gold tiffue, with or-
naments of jewels blazing round her head, to him who introduced
her he turned round and faid, " My mother is no princefs ; guard this
" lady home again : my mother, I know, will come to-morrow moin-
" ing : me has more fenfc than be in all this throng." She had in
effect fenfe enough to take the hint, and waiting upon his Holinefs
next morning in her accuftomed drefs, Benedict ran to meet her, and
threw himfelf into her arms with affectionate tranfport, requefting
her to pardon what he had done as a duty due to his fituation and to
himfelf the day before.* When this amiable pontiff, by intriguing

* Gregorio Lcti relates tliis fame tale of Sextus Quintus and his filter Camilla, but
without probability ; for he eftabliflied that lady a palace and a court, and delighted
much in advancing his family a thing ftudioufly avoided by this humble-hearted
Chriftian, whofe character was oppofite to that of Sextus V. in almoft every parti-
cular.

VOL. I. 3 C courtiers,

3S6 FROM A. D. 1 300, TO THE YEAR 1 35O. [_CH. XXT.

courtiers, was removed by fending him a bafket of envenomed figs.
Clement V. whofe active reign was filled by a variety of ftrange events,
found himfelf forced to fct a fort of crufade on foot againft the order
of Knights Templars, meant in their original inftitution to keep peace
and protect pure religion, but who, by various crimes, had fo difgraced
their order, that to reprefs and punim them fufficed not ; it became
necefl'ary wholly to deftroy them. A council for this purpofe was
therefore held at Vienna, and I believe the pope returned to Italy no
more. He was a Frenchman born, had a ftrange horror of Rome's
Mai Aria, and was the firft man who refolved to change the fee's place
to Avignon. Upon his journey thither the large carbuncle dropt out
of the tiara, and could never more be found. This was confidered as
an unlucky omen by his Roman courtiers, but the memory of fuch an
accident was fbon effaced by his triumphal march from Lyons to
Avignon, on which road the King of France led the Pope's mule five
miles on foot, the crown and fleurs de lys upon his head. When that
ceremony was ended, Charles de Valois and the Due de Bretagne took
the bridle by turns bare-headed, while Philip followed firft of the train
on horfeback ; and 'twas in this ftate that Bertrand de Gouth (fo was
Clement called before his pontificate) entered his native town of
Avignon.

The progrcfs of Turcifm in the eaft however, having been accele-
rated by the mad conduct of the Knights Templars, an expedition was
foon made to Syria, where Philo, coufin to the weak Andronicus, had
happily faved Rhodes from being a prey to Ottoman. That ifland
was therefore configned to Hofpitaliers, a new order, and fifty delin-
quents of the old one being dragged to Paris, were there burned alive,*

* Of thcfe knights certainly ftrange tales were told, and ftranger punifliments fuf-
fered by them. Two that were roafted alive challenged Clement V. and Philip Ic
Bel to meet them in our Saviour's prefence on a given day. This appeal was loud,
diftin&ly heard by all, and both thefe princes dying clofe to the days prefcribed them,
many hearts were fmitten, and many ideas of cruelty mingled with the fear of a Tem-
plar

CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THETEAR 1350. 387

Their phrcnzics, whether exaggerated or no, were foon forgotten ; whilft
Italy, being become a nearer theatre of horrors, occupied men's minds
in that period, and claims from us in this a glance of Retrofpeffion.

'Twas in or about the year 1312 when Henry VII. crowned at Mi-
lan, at Pifa, and at Rome, reigned a fhort time, and that moil turbu-
lently ; burning Brefcia, difmantling Cremona, and caufmg the prince
bifliop of Liege to be flain, with no fewer than two thoufand followers.
To thefe excefles more would have been added, but that a monk of
Benevento, by a new deed of adventurous wickednefs, poifoned him in
the facrament. Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Auilria were now
both of them crowned by adverfe electors, while Gwelphs and Gibel-
lines eagerly taking fides, increafed the flaughter of thefe fierce con-
tentions, and left one thoufand lives upon the field. Venice indeed
having been interdicted by the pope for calmly looking on while fuch
fcencs were exhibiting, of which her nobles were accufed befide of
taking cruel and mean advantage, refented this a<ft of power in the
.popedom : they had already feized forcibly upon Ferrara, and now af-
fronted by their city's interdiction, rofe againft Clement's nuncio in a
rage, excited by the fcnate, which tried not to appeafe them, till
Home's ambaffador was obliged to run from what he called the refufe
of her empire. The papal army however put itfelf into motion,
headed by Cardinal Pellegrue, a warlike Frenchman, who at Franco-
lino defeated the republican troops, retook by ftorm what they had
loft, and killed fix thoufand Italians in Ferrara ftreets, forcing the in-
habitants, generals, &c. to acknowledge .themfelves vaflals of the Holy
See, and recognize the Pope as univerfal lord in temporal, as in fpi-
ritual authority. To hinder the Venetians from forgetting this their
duty, Clement commanded them to fend him Francefco Dandulo,

pier in men's minds. Pennant thinks their .wealth was their worft crime ; but I fear
fome grofs exceffes were committed. It has been lately urged that the free-mafons
of the prefent day derive fomewhat from thefe people ; but the refearches into deep
iniquity afford lefs information than difguft.

3 C 2 their

388 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [CH. xxi.

their doge, to Avignon, where he was chained like a dog under
the pontiff's table while he dined. That ignominious ceremony
fihifhed, the quarrel was made up, and the kifs of peace beftowcd.
Clement's death following clofely upon thefe events threw our whole
continent into new convuliions, more if poffible than did the demil'c
of his great anti-predeceflor Boniface, whofe memory Philip of France
very officioufly contributed to blacken, without being able to fubftan-
tiate the charges againft him.

But Carpentras now witneffed difgraceful fcenes indeed ; where,
while the cardinals were difputing within doors, all fail confined in
conclave, their domefticks, adopting the prejudices of their mafters,
quarrelled, fought, and at length fell to plundering houfes belonging
to rich men, fhopkeepers in the town; fbmc vowing vengeance againil
French, fome againft Italian partizans, till the dead bodies lay heaped
about the ftreets, which catching fire by fquibs flung about, the flames
reached that palace where the elcdlors were fhut up, fo that it
was with difficulty they efcaped. Lyons next, appointed to decide
the dangerous queftion, Wliojhoidd lie pope ? had at laft the honour of
chufing John XXII. celebrated by Petrarch as a man whofe bufmefs
was devotion, and whofe pleafure was ftudy. His firft care was to
compofe the German diflentions, which had fo torn the weftern empire
into pieces ; while Lewis and Frederick contended for the fway. Find-
ing however that gentle means would have fmall effect on fuch fierce
fpirits, and that diftraclion feemed to threaten Europe on every fide
through their vexatious feuds, John fairly told them they were neither
of them emperors, and named himfelf vicar of th' imperial throne.

Sanuto, a fubtle Venetian, now informed the pontiff that a new cru-
fade would be the only method to unite all parties againft a common
enemy ; but John liftening a while, foon found his fole motive towards
a holy war was bringing treafures quite enormous into Venice, the
commerce of which ftate rendered already but too formidable a city,
lately become the central point of trade, and likely enough to make

herfelf

CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 339

herfcll" the focus of dominion. This fon of a French vintner therefore
felt no natural defire to aid intents or mercenary projects formed by
Italian Hates. He faw with pleafure his court fixed at Avignon or at
Carpentras, and meant to turn his arms 'gainft European hereticks, he
laid, regnrdlefs of oriental infidelity; which in the year 1320 flourished
under protection of refiftlefs Ottoman, to the complete undoing of our
work in Syria, where fome fad exiles from their native land were
doomed to perifh, forming the fcarce-lamented or even remembered
remainder of thofe multitudes which had inundated the eaft two cen-
turies before, a deluge now dried off. John XXII. had however, in
order to conciliate thofc who repined at the See's tranflation, as it were,
to France ; fvvorn folemnly while he was yet cardinal, that fhould the
Holy Spirit chufe him pope, he never would mount horfe or mule but
for the purpofe of being carried to Rome. Defiring, notwithstanding
this vow, to be crowned, and to refide conftantly at Avignon, he went
by water to his coronation ; and ftirring from that town no farther
than his legs would bear him out and home again for nineteen years
together, kept his oath. Italy's improvements meanwhile depended
not upon the court of her fbvereign ; flie had her artifts now, and un-
derneath the pencils of Taddeo Gaddi and Buonamico detto il Buftal-
macco, painting had made incredible advances. Befides that, while
Englifli, and French rhymifts too, Ihock the cars and eyes of modern
readers, Petrarch and Boccacio continue ilandards in elegance, and
fhew that Florence had nearly reached the goal before they had arrived
at the firft marking poll. More than that, before the year 1 35O no
fewer than one thoufand citizens of Genoa appeared in Jilk robes ;
when if our poor kings or queens had one drefs of fuch precious ma-
terials made up for their coronation only, it was inftantly laid by with
the other regalia for days of pomp, and entailed forward to the fuccef-
for with his crown and jewels. Drumatick powers likewise halted be-
hind moft flrangely. The fpiritual fliow in the beginning of this
fourteenth century, defcribed by Vafari as a prodigious exhibition on

the

FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1 350. [CH. xxr.

the Arno, muft neceflarily have been a very grofs and very tedious pa-
geant, reprefenting hell and the whole ftory of Lazarus called by our
Saviour from his grave. 'Twas at the jubilee celebrated by Boniface
fome few years before, that the fraternity of Gonfalone amufed all
Rome by giving the paffion of our Lord as an entertainment, where a
live man was expofed naked on the crofs, and a beautiful Magdalen
weeping at his feet in the open fquare, caufed great and fliamelefs in-
decorums. Why plays fhould linger fo long, after novels like thofo
of the Decameron came in familiar ufe, I know not : but Boniface
had his mind occupied with other cares than thofe for poetry and the
fine arts. He apprehended fome abridgment of that power to which
he had been chofen guardian and protector ; and in order to attract
notice from exteriors, while yet exteriors might recall attention, he de-
corated the old cuftom of granting indulgencies upon the laft year of
every century, with all that fplendor and gaiety could perform : and
'twas his having two fvvords carried before him in proceffion that day
that offended Philip le Bel, as he knew perfectly how they were
meant in allufion to the fpintual and temporal command of Rome over
her fubject world ; whereas he broached the doctrine more agreeable
to princes, that they ruled by divine right alone, and held their crowns
from none but God Almighty ; transferring the majeftick claims of
monardhs on whofe heads heaven' had indeed laid the bright burden at
our world's commencement, to their inferior fceptres barons and
dukes, iiich as the anceftors of Philip were, warriors and chieftains
merely, gothick leaders of banded multitudes their vaflals ; for Clovis,
founder of his petty throne, pretended to no more, when curbed and
thwarted by his equals in degree, even at the hour he was inaugu-
rated.

Clement V. however, a countryman and creature of the King of
France, forbore the bearing of two fwords to pleafe him, and in re-
turn Philip, without objecting, led his horfe ; willingly giving up to
the -vanity of a fhort-lived individual what he fleadily refufed to the

pride

nr. xxi.] FROM A. D. 130O, TO THE YEAR 135O. 391

pride of that individual's office and high ftation, which was no longer
recognized as fovcrcign over a willing world. And we may here ob-
fcrve, that whilft John XXII. a learned pope, the fucceflbr to Cle-
ment, was writing upon the (late of departed Ibuls, and whether thofe
who left the world worthy of all praife, fhould or Ihould not fee their
Rccl'-emer before the rcfurrection ; Ockham, an Englifh cordelier, con-
troverted his power over living princes, from whom of courfe the con-
troverter began to receive encouragement, and foon obtained the name
of the invincible Doctor. His works were full of wit and fubtlety,
learned from his matter Scotus, whofc acumen baffled thofc he could
not convince, when he difputed againft the followers of Thomas Aqui-
nas, called the eagle of theologians by Romanifts to this day, and of
whom Warburton fays " that he was a truly great genius, the fame in
" thofc blind ages for divinity that Friar Bacon was for natural philo-
" fbphy. Lefs happy though in this, that he loon became furrounded
" with deep goffers, who never left him till they had extinguifhed the
" radiance of that great light which had pierced through the thickeft
v< night of monkery, the thirteenth century, w hen the Waldenfcs were
*' lupprcflfed, and Wickliffe not yet rifen." But although taftc and
learning now revived apace, and Giotto, Cimabue's favourite buffoon,
took up his maftcr's pencil when he died, delighting to tell all man-
kind how he was taken firft into his fervice ; by having chalked a draw-
ing of fome lambs while he kept fheep on Cimabue's paternal cftate,
and cut fome beads in turf upon the mountain, like that on White-
horfe Hill going to Bath. It was his honeft drollery, more than merit,
which intcrefted nobles and ladies in his favour. Giotto had {truck
by chance upon that leaft valuable branch of the painter's art, decep-
tion ; and when Cimabue was from home, he drew a fly upon the
picture of Benedict ninth's nofe, and jumped about for joy to fee his
mafter go to blow it off when he came into the room again. The
ftory of his tying up a live man to a crofs when he was about to paint
the crucifixion, was a trick worthy Giotto; and when the pope

threatened

302 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [CH. xxr.

threatened him with punifhment for endangering a fellow creature's
life fo, his drawing a dirty brufh over the work was in the fame vein,
of humour; he knew the fovereign would pardon, and fet him to do
it all over again.

The marble church we travellers all admire, now reared her head
at Florence; but will not outlaft the fame of her contemporaries Dante
and Petrarcha ; though architecture fuffered not her fiftcrs to leave
her far behind, while thofe twin geniufes Nicola and Giovanni Pifani
left to the temple they were baptized in, a pulpit, yet exifting, though
finifhed the laft day of 1304, ornamented with allegorical and devo-
tional figures, to a perfection that might aftonifli a civilized, much
more a barbarous age. That the verfes on it fhould be no better
than they are is fcarcely lefs furprizing.

Laudo Deum verum per quern funt optima rerum,
Qui dedit has puras hominem formare figuras.

But we muft turn our tclefcope towards Britain, where commerce
yet ill underftood, as Hume lays, cramped (by an acl of her expiring
fovereign) the Lombard merchants Frefcobaldi; and under a pretence
that the excheqvier had been robbed, drove many of them away. The
fon who fucceeded to the throne however, made his brave father foon
and fmcerely regretted. Elegant, not warlike, and pofleffing more de-
licate beauty than becomes a foldier, Edward of Caernarvon was little,
difpofed to enter lifts with Robert Bruce, and to maintain thofe ill-
gotten provinces which once acknowledged Longfhanks for their liege.
Our prince however was obferved to prize in his firft favourite Gave-
fton, that bravery he boafted not himfelf. The gay Gafcon came off
conqueror in every tilt and tournament : graceful as Paris, valiant as
Troilus, and infolent beyond endurance of Englifh nobility, they there-
fore planned and accomplifhed his banimment, but after a few years
thought it not worth their while to hinder his return. The king, who
had long pined in fecret for his company, met him at Chcfter; melted to

tears

CH. xxi.] FROM A.D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 303

tears by the very firft embrace, the cordiality of which cnfurcd his
ruin. Guy earl of Warwick, in a (hort time feized on and dragged
the haplefs youth to his caftlc ; and near that fpot where he received
the final blow, a ftone yet {lands perpetuating the baron's triumph.
Edward foon comforted, fought his next minion among the fons of
thofe very men who had oppoled his early choice ; but then Queen
Ifabclle objected, and that loudly, running to her brother's court,
Charles the Fair, with her complaints: (he had laid nothing while his
and her own countryman Gaveflon had poiTcffion of all that England
could beftow. Hugh Spencer, on the other hand, who had lamented
his king's flrange propeniity towards favouritifm, whilft it was all
heaped on a foreigner, found it not ill conferred on his ovs u fon, whofe
avarice, no lefs than Gavefton's pride, difgufled all the reft of our no-
bility.

Lewis Hutin and Philip the Long, who had in turn fucceedcd to
the French crown after their father Philip le Bel, were dead ; and
Charles their younger brother willingly took up his fubtle filler's
quarrel. Edward endeavoured to oppofe the invaders ; while the po-
pulace being let loofe plundered London, and maflacred every loyal
fubjccl: who fupported, or even wifhed to fupport the king's caufe, pro-
claiming young Spencer a publick enemy, and joining the lords in a
general cry for his extinction.

Againil the royal family itfelf, followed by 3 or 4000 armed rebels
from abroad, againft the barons' power and the people's cry no per-
fonal courage, no treafures could prevail. The victims of this .uproar,
Spencer and his father, were favagcly murdered, and their bodies
thrown to dogs, while the wife who firft deicrted, next invaded, and
then dethroned her hufband, lived in notorious intimacy with Roger
de Mortimer, of ancient family but infamous character ; who in fome
former riot had broke prifon and followed Ifabella to Paris, where me
firft placed him amongft her fon's attendants, when his bctrothment to
.Philippa of Hainault took place at the French court in 1325, although
VOL. I. 3D the

3Q4 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [CH. xxi.

the prince was then but thirteen years old I think ; and the intended
bride but nine. Edward meanwhile fought 'mong the mountains of his
native foil, an unfound refuge. Wales, by mere inftinft, refufed her
protection to a fovereign given in contemptuous cruelty to a country
which yet had too much virtue to infult or to betray him. Hunted
however by the carl of Leicefter with fatal fkill, his vafTals found and
carried him to Kennclworth, whence he was driven forward to Berk-
ley cattle : there the vile fiends of power forced from him fhrieks that
betrayed the horrid deed not new, for fuch had been the meed of
many a wretch belonging to the odious court of Heliogabulus in early
times, and fuch in nearer days the fate of Godfrey due de Lorraine,
uncle to the far-famed Godfrey of Boulogne : when Thierri, by the
aid of Robert recovered Holland and killed the bifhop of Utrecht.
But we muft follow up the gentler deftiny of Ifabella and her worth-
lefs Mortimer, now pampered with indulgencies arriving nearly to the
fame excefs as thofe fo momentarily enjoyed by Gavefton or by Spen-
cer, till the young king, uniting maternal energy of mind with the ac-
complifhments paternal refemblance had conveyed, refolved to rule
alone, and rid the land alike of female influence and tyrannick favour-
itifm ; he feized the earl therefore in his miftrefs's apartment, tried,
legally condemned, and flruck his head off, confining the queen-mo-
ther to her country-houfe, where fhe enjoyed the liveliefl and the
moft innocent of all delights hearing her fon for many years extolled
by every rank of men, yet not forgetful of her loved companion,
called the place Mortimer, after the name which fhe preferred* to Va-
lois or Plantagcnet : the name remains to it (till. Generous and juft,
beneficent and brave, upon our young king's princely character would
Retro/peffion dwell for ever, and fr.il! for ever find new themes ot
praife but fuch a fummary as this waits not for epifode or for reflec-
tion. Coarfe facls which fhow progreffive civilization will not how-
ever be unwclcomc^queen Ifabella had an allowance then of 40001.
o'ycar, and when the elder Spencer's larder was given up to pillage, it

contained

CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 130O, TO THE TEAR 135O. 395

contained 600 falted hogs, as many fheep, and 80 carcaflcs of powdered
beeves. Stowe tells us in his Survey, that the earl of Leicefter's an-
nual account with his cofferer, was 7300!. of our prefent money the
expences of the wardrobe not included. Pofleflions were concentred
then in England, as now they are perhaps in Tranfylvania : and I
mould feel myfelf little amazed, if in Prince Efterhazy's larder, fome-
thing like this gigantick plenty might have been found in 1775 ; but
our tired eyes muft crofs the channel now, and obferve Charles IV. upon
his death-bed he who protected his fifter Ifabclla, and who refufed
the pope's grant of the wcftern empire. This prince leaving his con-
fort pregnant, fettled a regency for his fon, if he mould have one,
othcrwife confirming the fucceffion to Philip de Valois his firft-coufin,
whofe father was Charles de Valois, brother of Philip le Bel, by the
beautiful Joan of Navarre, and who, although father, fon, brother,
uncle, and firft coufm to a king never was king himfelf. The royal
widow produced a pofthumous princefs, and upon the head of Philip
VI. was theFrench crown of courfe moft rightcoufly placed, according
to ancient ufages, confirmed by the teftamcntary difpofition of expir-
ing Charles. Our Edward alone refufed to acknowledge him, and
fitting out a navy of 240 (hips, faw himfelf defpifed by the new king
of France, who ftationed 40,000 men in 4oo vefTels, to prevent the
Englim invaflon. Our troops and failors were however fb completely
victorious, that ten of the enemy's fhips alone remained : while Froif-
fart owns the lofs on our fide fo fmall, that no man dared report the
news at court and Philip's fool was the fole perfon who had courage
to let his fovereign be truly acquainted with the fad difaftcr. Our
king encouraged by fuch vaffc fuccels, began the fiege of Tournay, and
in the true fpirit of chivalry, hurled his defiance at de Valois' head,
challenging him out to fmgle combat, and felt perhaps this martial
mood more irritated by the French monarch's angrily reminding Ed-
ward, how he had once done homage for the dutchy of Guienne, and
that 'twas contrary to ev'ry rule for a liege lord to due! with inferiors ;

3D 2 but

396 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [en. xxi;

but adding, " That if he would increafe the flake, and fet his ifland on
" the combat's ifTue the challenge might in honour be accepted."
Thefe reciprocities of empty infult were put an end to by interference
of Jane, countefs of Hainault, mother to Edward's queen-, filter to
Philip. The pope difpenfed with her requeft on this occafion to quit
her convent and its habit. She came arrayed in royal fpendour, FroiA
iart fays,, and with her beauty, elegance and wifdom, charmed thofs
too fiery fpirits into peace.

Th' enchantment was not indeed of very long continuance : another
lady, more powerful perhaps, becaufe more young lighted the flames
of war once more in Europe. The countefs de Montfort finding her
husband imprifoned and opprefled by Philip, fled with her infant fon
to England, foliciting affiftance from our warlike fovereign. Beauty
in thofe days never folicited in vain : he fent her back with troops
flie well knew how to nfe; on every trying, every dangerous occafion ;
the countefs charged her enemies on horfeback, furrounded by knights
devoted to her fervice, and when confined in Henneborne by Charles-
de Blois, till gallantry kfelf was wearied, and began to think of yield-
ing up the town; mounting a- high tower, flic defcried the Englifti
fleet " And now no more capitulation, no more cowardice, no more
" debates," exclaimed the voice of female fortitude from off the walls,
where fhe contended for a fon's, an infant fon's fucceffion. " They
"come the fuccours are arrived," fhe cried, foon as- they were in
fight. Henneborne heard, and her grave magiftrates fwore to endure
famine till our viciorious admiral fir Walter Manny fhould arrive in-
deed, and open, their unhappy city's gates to plenty. Five hundred
chofen archers next followed the courageous countefs in a fally, timed
with confummate wifdom ; our Britilh hero flormed the place mean-
while, crying, " May I never be beloved of my heart's miftrefs, if I
' right not this beauteous dame !" Charles and his armies were foon
beaten back the lady accompanied fir Walter to her caftle, and kitted
him in. face of all the troops, fays FroifTart, comme noble et vail/anfe dame.

'Twa?

rn. xxi.] FROM A. D. 130O, TO THE YEAR 135O. 397

"Fwas this fir William Manny that firft founded the Chartcrhoufc
(Chartrcux in London) for twenty-four Carthufian monks whence
the name. He had firft bought the ground for a burying place in time
of peftilencc, then not unfrequent. He afterwards built a convent on
the fpot. When monasteries were duToived, a Mr. Thomas Button
purchafed it for the charitable ule it is (till put to ; giving for it 1 300()1.
loool. an acre : for the original ground was no more. Such circum-
ftances and fuch a&ions, fix the relrofpeflhe eye, but had no influence
on- the fate of Europe, unlefs perhaps by whetting Edward's appetite to
feize the throne of France for ever, abolifhing the falique law. Do-
meftick difturbances might with more prudence and propriety have
vailed him back to London but London was fafe in queen Philippa's
care, who had repelled one Scotch kivafion in his abfencc, and was
again prepared to give her dangerous neighbours a reception they little
dreamed on, though fo well deferred. The prince of Wales too, Eng r
land's glory, England's heir, then half adored, yet unforgottcn among
us -flic fivffered to go learn upon the continent, to earn his fpurs and
emulate his father.

Philippa had more fonsthan one all heroes. The cldcit fignalized
himfelf fo at the battle of Creffy, though a youth, that at the engage-
ment's clofe, our martial monarch leaped into his arms, fcarcc able to
articulate " Mon fh, man ijral Jils, digue de T empire du tnoudc. My
fbn, my true fon, worthy to rule the world." Upon that bloody field,
in fad fell the whole flower of the French nobility, and their king,
ill denominated Philippe le Fortune, was borne forcibly from the battle
covered with wounds. Retiring he faw the blind Bohemian John,
expofmg his venerable perfon in defence of the Houfc of Yalois :
" When even the blind remain," exclaimed Philip aloud, '' Why will
" you drag me hence ?" " Becai/Jewe can fee," calmly replied his brother
John of Hainault, and guided the king's courier to a place of fafety.

The Scots during this period, had recalled David Bruce, long ba-
nifhed, who had married the late king Edward's daughter. Robert

was

39)8 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR isso. [CH.XXI.

was dead ; and fent his haul under the care of Douglas to Jerufalem ;
whither he wiflied, but was unable to go. The faithful meffenger af-
fifted Arragon againft the Saracens, and willing to retain memorial of
his expedition into Paleftine, bore from that day upon his fhield a
bleeding heart crowned; the arms of Douglas to this very hour.

The incurfion through Northumberland to Durham, was notwith-
ftanding ftoptat Neville's Crofs, where the queen met, vanquiftied, and
made David prifoner ; then feeing him fafely lodged within the tower,
haftened away to grace her husband's camp, where all that military
fplendour could effeft, was put in ufe for her reception. Edward was
.at that inftant befieging Calais, and the brave governor's expoftulation
with Sir Walter Manny, {lands on record in all hiflorick annals. The
high heroick fervour of the times infpired fix felf-devoted burgeiTes to
claim the meed of dying for their town's deliverance ; when march-
ing up to Edward's royal tent bareheaded and barefooted ropes
round their necks, and the keys of Calais in their hands ; our fove-
reign would have taken their forfeit lives, had not his lovely confort,
new-arrived, made their forgivenefs her fincere requcil : and given the
eye of 'Retrofpettion a fweet pleafure ; the fight of fortitude and female
interference triumphing over pride and barbarous policy for honour
in thofe days was flill fuppofed to reft in noble bofoms only and Ed-
ward half-hated thefe gallant burgefles for flepping into lifts marked
-for high birth alone. In proof it was not their refiftance that pro-
voked him, when iu a future conteft for that city, Euftace de Ribau-
.mont* llcpt forward in the field, and fought a dreadful duel with him
:hand to hand ; after his conqueft, Edward invited the bold youth to
fupper, and threw a firing of pearl about his neck : bidding him pre-
fent that to his fair miftrefs as an acknowledgment of his vail prowefs,
bellowed by England's king. Things were however filently and fe-

* Kuttace Je Ribuumont, when he gave up the ft~ugg!e called aloud tsf

" Sir knight, I yield mykJr" your pvifoner."

cretly

on. xxi.] FROM A. D. J300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 399

crctly in fomc parts of Europe ; openly and madly in fomc others;
working round towards a new modification of its government. Dur-
ing the lajl portion of the circle round which our world had run for
near five thoufand years, and the laft half of the Jixth not far off:
monarchy, properly fo called, had degenerated ; and had been over-
thrown. Even the haughty baronial ariftocracies were in the fourteenth
century paffing their meridian. The commons were obtaining
wealth in England, and wealth (excepting in defpotick* dates) leads
diftantly and unfufpedledly to power. The popes had been op-
pofed in their authority, and Boniface's character was even openly ao
cufed of impofture, fimony, and crimes of blacker dye, which had
been patiently endured in perfon of his predeceflbrs : who at worfl
felt the cenfure fall upon themfehes, not on the fee, deemed till thcfe
later times impeccable. But money now was neceflary to a pontiff,
and John XXII. left behind him eight millions of our prefent ftcrling
pounds to him BcnedicT: the Xllth fuccecded, a gentle inoffenfive
character; and of his fucceffor, Clement dc Rofiere, is related, the tale
how when he was a travelling monk, he had been robbed and ftript
upon the road : but a charitable prieft patting by, took care of him,
and fupplied all his wants. " How fhall I ever make you amends,
" dear fir ?" fays Clement " Oh, oh !" replies the other, laughing
" Make me a bifliop when you become pope, to be fure." The
event he thought impoflible came true ; and la Rofiere was no fooner
inaugurated, than he looked out his old and worthy friend, and made
him archbifhop of Aries.

Neither virtue nor money however, were fufficicntly powerful to
reprefs enquiry, or to blind detection. Ulric the Dane had written
fome letters wherein were mentioned the beaft with feven heads, the
woman fitting upon fcvcn hills, and various other texts terrible in

* By defpotick flates I mean fuch as Turkey, where wealth is dangerous and not
de/irablc.

their.

400 "FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350, [c;i. xsi.

tlicir nature and confequcnccs, during the reign of John XXII. who
tried, but could not fdencc the murmurs which (lowly, but certainly
gathered in the wind. The Lollards made themfelvcs remarkable in
1328, and wit lending his affiftance to fharpcn the arrows of learning,
delighted to fee Dante on the now popular fide. In a diet at Mentz^
it had been fblemnly concluded, that the emperor held his right from
God alone, and that a council was above the pope. The ariftocracy
which had long ruled the Hates of Europe, by this decree gave figns of
intention to engrofs the church authority likewife, while the fierce
fchifms between popes and anti-popes, which in paft times excited a
fpirit of conteft merely, now appeared half-ridiculous to many, and
perfectly and rationally offenfivc to all mankind. The removal of
court refidence to Avignon, was a preparatory ftcp to all that followed,
and the ignorance in which Rome had dcfircd to detain her religious
votaries, was now likely to prove dangerous to that religion's original
feat when Nicola, a mean citizen, was found almoft the only per-
fon who could read, and explain the antiquities of the place, old epi-
taphs, &c. by ftudying which, he heated up his fancy to endeavour at
rcftoring the old form of government, and was a formidable meteor
for a moment. Mr. Gibbon has expatiated on the five years buftle
made by this man, known by name of the place he was born in Ri-
-enzi ; but 'twere fuperfluous for an epitome like this to notice it,
except as a proof that all were glad to fee the cardinals Colonna and
Urfmi trampled on, and murdered with fome mew of juuHce by a
mean demagogue, whom they were likewife glad to fee difplaced
again and banifhed, when count Minorbini reftored things to their
priftinc order, and Clement VI. juftly fo called, poured the oil of
tranquillity upon the fwelling furges of rebellion. Petrarch, roman-
tick in his love and ardent in his patriotifm, aflifted with even more
than good wifhes, this ill-condudcd attempt at innovation : his far
more reafonable, as more humble hope, was by his poetick eloquence
.to recall the bilhops of Rome to their fee, which feemed to be neg-

ledcd

CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1330. 4(>i

glccled now by them as it was erft deferted by its emperors, the pre-
vious and remote, but certain prognoftick and caufc of its decay. It'
things do not go forward they recede : it was no longer high tide
with the papal power. A diet held at Franckfort had decreed, that
any bifhop might crown the emperor as well as the pope : but what
the ecclefiaftick authority loft, the regal fway fought to procure for
itfelf in vain. The kings got nothing yet but fuch empty fplcndour
as would have been juftly derided by their anceftors, bold barons, who
led embattled followers to the field.

Arts, fcicnces, elegancies, conveniencies, comforts, luxuries, really in-
creafed, and fpread over Europe their foftening, and at the fame time
their diflblving warmth. The firft offspring of commerce, curiofity,
fprung from the union fhe had made with learning on her late vilits
to the eaft ; turned over with reftlefs fingers leaves fhe could not yet
perufe in the vaft book of fate, and drove enquiry forward ; nor could
the ftrange calamities which depopulated Europe flop, except perhaps
for now and then a moment, her rapid course : although five thoufand
fouls periflied in an inundation that overfpread Holland, while the
carl and countefs amufed themfclves by feeking out a giant and
giantefs which they were told had amazed the furrounding provinces,
and obliging them to marry, took them in their train to the marriage
of Philip de Valois who toft the battle of CrefTy, and who firft laid a
heavy tax on fait, inducing our Edward to call him le Hot du loi
&//que, a regulation he had no fmall intereft in wi filing to overturn
and to deride.

Things were beginning to give -Hgns of a diftant change in favour of
the commonalty. William the Good, who made an advantageous
peace v, ith Flanders, obliged his governor or bailiff of South Holland
to pay one hundred crowns to a poor woman whofe only cow he had
taken from her by force ; and then beheaded him for having by that
crucit} reduced her to want bread, and fo fubmit her daughter to his ill-
ured c;ircfil\s. A century before this flie would have obtained fmall

VOL. I. 3 E red

402 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [CH. xxr,

redrefs by appealing to the fovereign ; but now the pcafants began to
-jfind protection under a higher power, from the immediate and preffing
tyranny of the nobleman next them. The Turks meanwhile, under
victorious Ottoman, prefled forward, nor did his death relieve the
Chriftians fo completely as they hoped for. Orchanes took Nice by
ftratagem, and wafted the fine iflands of the Mediterranean fea, feiz-
ing on Nicomedia, and at length marrying the daughter of Cantacuze-
nus, tutor to helplefs John, fon of the old Andronicus, who fate in
Conftantine's feat indeed, but was unable to poife the fceptre ; while
his falfe but powerful preceptor aflbciating himfelf with his pupil,,
fecmed as if felling the city to Orchanes, now become fon-in-
law to the Greek emperor. Gregory, furnamed the anthentick doftor
in the fchools, tells us how a horfe painted on the walls of the palace
neighed three times at Conflantinople this year, and well might he
neigh at fuch news ! The patriarch's excommunication of thofe who
made this impious marriage, was difregarded as much as the dumb and
painted fteed : Venice alone ventured to attack the profperous infidels,
and the Venetian fleet was beaten at the Bofphorus. The Genoefe,
who always wimed to thwart their immediate rival, joined with the
Turk to teaze her : Lewis king of Hungary called her attention home-
wards by his encroachments, and Solyman, fon to Orchanes, reprefs'd
their ardour in the eaft. Venice herfelf was fhaken by a tcmpeft. Her
annals now record how fancy faw St. Mark, St. George, and the pro-
tecior of babies St. Nicholas, uniting to fink a huge Ihip loaded with devils
which were coming forward to deftroy her. The great hall at Padua was
built about this time however; for nothing retarded tafte in its progrefs;
and our Edward inftituted, with martial pomp, the order of the garter.
Learning faw her univerfities fpring up on every fide, and that of Pifa
will be long remembered. Petrarch had been crowned in the capitol
at Rome by the pope's vicar fome few years before ; and that trade
might leave fomc lading monuments of her improvements, the famous
tun of Heidelbergh was conftruded ; although peftilence and locufts,

and

CH. xxi.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. 403

and other national evils, were ftrangely depopulating Europe. The
world was even yet flow to confider thefe calamities as unconnected
with blame; and the wretched Jews being always at hand, upon
whofe fhoulders to lay every imputation, many were put to death un-
der pretence that they had poifoned the waters ; had men accufed
them of felling old clothes, ftolen or purchafed from infected houfes,
they had perhaps been nearer to the truth. But a Jew doctor, lefs
difcreet than greedy of immediate gain, had in the year 1339 under-
taken to cure John of Bohemia, whofe unhappy blindnefs had come
upon him by degrees, a cataract perhaps, or gutta fercna, which by the
aukwardnefs of his unfkilful though precipitate operator, was fo in-
creafed that light was wholly loft. We have feen upon the plains of
Crefly that his courage yet remained : not fo the common fenfe of all
his courtiers, who falling on the unfuccefsful practitioner, hewed him
in pieces, mafTacred many of his tribe, and drove the reft completely
out of their dominions. On the king's death in battle his fon Charles
IV. was chofen emperor by fbme of the electors, who depofed Lewis
of Bavaria, and broke his heart. No competitor rifing except the
Marquis of Mifnia, he was bought off by a fum of money, and Bo-
hemia confblidated as part of the weftern empire in pcrfon of this
Charles ; whofe marriage with Anne, daughter to Count Palatine of
the Rhine, extended its limits. About this time too the famous Wil-
liam Tell produced the freedom of Switzerland, by one bold though
not original act of fteady courage, when Grifler, governor of thofe pro-
vinces for the emperor Albert, had commanded him to fhoot an apple
let on his fbn's head. Tell remonftrated a while, but at length com-
plied ; and Meichtol his hiftorian fays, that Grifler obfcrving in his
hand a fecond arrow, afked its ufe. " For your extirpation," replies
Tell, " had I been fo unlucky as to have killed my fon." I think the
very firft infurrection in the caufe of liberty faw this tyrant fall by a
fliot of the fame quiver.

Lewis of Hungary maintained his independence however, and

3 E 2 fought

404 FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 1350. [CH. xxi.

fought to obtain Naples by invasion. The pope would not endure to
fee fuch bold injuftice, and protected that the plagues which defo-
lated our continent, efpecially thofe caterpillars by which every green
leaf in Hungary was eaten, proceeded from that wickednefs which
marked a degenerate age. Clement made peace, and by fo doing-
gained Avignon for himfelf, annexing it to the Holy See of Rome for
ever. He had before offended all the world by purchafmg that town
with money and flatteries from Joan the wicked ComtelTe de Pro-
vence and Queen of Naples; who flrangled her amiable hufband An-
drew in a filk thread of her own twifting. I think 'tis Collomeuus
that relates how this unhappy prince, coming to her apartment, faid
to her fondly, " How are thefe pretty fingers now employed ?" " In
" forming a rope worthy to hang a king," faid flic laughing ; and in
effecl that very night while he flept, flie had the heart to flip it round
his neck, fo that he never fpoke another word. The body being
thrown out of a window in the city of Averfa where they then refided,
Joan wedded her new flame the beautiful prince of Tarent, whom flie
permitted to die a natural death, confumption killing him in three
years time. James of Majorca was her next confort ; but him un-
feeling intereft foon beheaded, under pretence of jealoufy, fays Fuller :
but it was hafte to aflbciate Otho of Brunfwick, who adored her fo,
although then paft her prime, that he folicited her hand with ardour
equal to her own, and ventured upon a folemnization of her fourth
dangerous nuptials. Her charms however could not operate againft
heroick Charles, poor Andrew's neareft kinfman. He vowing ven-
geance for his uncle's murder, and hoifting a black flandard befieged
the city of Dyrrachium, fo gallantly defended by Otho, that thoufands
of lives were loft in the hot conteft ; beheld with agonizing anxiouf-
nefs by Joun ; who encouraged her brave defender from the walls, till
breathlefs with his wounds, he looked up to the miftrefs of his affec-
tions and expired. Charles feeing this occurrence, cried out Peace !
" Throw me (faid he) the bright but impious caufe of all this blood-

" ihed

CH. xjci.] FROM A. D. 130O, TO TJiE YEAR 1350. 405

" fhcd from her tower, and let fair Italy be healed from its fierce an-
" guim." Some pages to her perfon took his word, and threw the
guilty princefs from the battlements, when fadly contemplating her
hufband's corpfe : " Sure ntver, faid the vidor, did a knight fo va-
" liant combat in the caufe of fo truly vicious a lady." She fell like
Jezebel of old, and was, like her, devoured by the dogs. Her death,
which happened in her forty-eighth year, reftored the world to peace ;
and though the event happened five years or more beyond th' intended
limits of this chapter, I could not bear to keep fo horrible a tragedy
from its cataftrophe told in fuch various ways, but ending always
with the merited extinction of fuch a character ; whether effected by
fufFocation or poifon, by an aflaffinating hand, or by the Tarpeian me-
thod, as I have chofen to relate it.

CHAP.

406 FROM A. D. 135O, TO THE YEAR UOO. [CH. xxir.

CHAP. XXII.

ENDING WITH A. D. 1400.

THE death of Philip de Valois marks the year 1350. He was fur-
named the Prudent and the Fortunate ; but neither fagacity nor
good luck could enable him to make head any longer againft the fu-
perior genius of Edward III. whofe fccond attempt on France was but
delayed, not fet afide entirely, even by the contagious ficknefs which
Stowe tells us difmiffed fifty thoufand fouls at once from the city and
environs of Norwich, an alTertion which we will rather relate than
inveftigate. A retrojpeflive glance like ours affords no time for cal-
culations, which are ever unfavourable to round pofitions confidently
maintained. The plague in England certainly lengthened our fuf-
penfion of arms againft France, and that kingdom had a moment's
time to breathe under their new king John ; while Peter the Cruel,
who fucceeded in the fame year to the throne of Caftile, made Eu-
rope ring with his enormities, worthy of pagan days and Roman em-
perors. He married Blanche de Bourbon, and drove her from his pa-
lace the fourth morning after their nuptials, in a manner difgraceful to
knighthood, fay his contemporary hiftorians. Her fnccellbr was the in-
famous Maria de Padilla, who lived with" him as a miftrcfs ; but Jeanne
de Caftro had the misfortune to be his queen, and felt her days endan-
gered by oft-repeated poifonings. His brother Frederick, who counfelled
other condudt, next fell a facrifice to his vindictive fury: fo did the great
officers of ftatc, and not a few prelates of the church, particularly the
good archbifhop of Toledo, who mildly and heroically had admonimed
himirom the pulpit. That Chriilianity however might not be polluted

CH.XXII.] FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR MOO. 407

by fueh a character of fanguinary defpotifm, Peter renounced it;
joined with the Moors to wafte his own dominions, and provoked his
nobles to take up arms againffc him, under the conduct of Henry de
Triftemar, his father's natural fon. Peter now fled to the protection
of our Edward, who wiflied to reinftate him in his dominions :
but mankind would be no longer ruled by monfters ; all ranks of
people deferted the ftandard of avowed impiety, and fome advent' rous
cavalier or baron faved the imprifoned and perifhing queen Jeanne from
her dungeon to die at her father's houfe, in confequencc of thofe cruel-
ties which flie had fuffered during her long confinement. Though
fbmewhat out of place, we won't lofe fight of this infufterable fovc-
reign till we fee him, after five battles bravely fought, beheaded at
length by Henri de Triftemar, who thus revenged his mother's death
'mong many others, and ruled in lieu of Peter on the throne ; but died
fbon after he had freed Spain from her favage tyrant.

From fuch fcenery our eye turns, not ill pleafed, to Turkifli Orchanes,'
happier in his native difpofition to do good, and flattered by his Ion
Solyman's ready obedience to a loved parent's order. Equally fired by
ambition to extend their dominions, and carry their crcfcent's honour
into Europe ; returning, though late, the vilit of the invading cru-
faders, 'twas agreed that the young man fliould explore the moil agree-
able fituations on the other fide thofe limits which had till then con-
fined the Turks to Afia. Such was prince Solyman's behaviour that
he conciliated many Europeans to his intereft, and fuch was his valour
that he awed the murmurers into obedience. Confiding in their kind-
nefs, or at worft fecure of their acquiefcence, he took up a temporary
refidence among them, and diverted himielf with innocent amufe-
ments, till hawking at a heron one day, his eye fixed on the quarry,
his horfe fell with him, and broke his neck upon the inftant. Or-
chanes, as might be expeded, died of grief ; and Amurath, furnamed
the Great, reigned in his ftcad. Hf fixed his feat of empire at Adria-
nople, and was the firft inftitutor of guards about his perfon picked

from

403 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR MOO. [CH xxrt.

from male infants required of Chriftian parents for the purpofe, and
called Janiffcirics, a name well known and formidable fince that period.
Amurath made peace with the Greek emperor at his acceffion, and
font two hundred of his fubjecls to afiifr. the Thracians in creeling a
pillar at Didymotichos, now Dimotuc. Thefe traitors managed fo
well for a month, that the unfufpccling Chriftians requefted fifty more.
With thefc picked men the Sultan rcfolved to poffefs himfelf of the
city ; and having placed an ambufh of valiant Turks near to the fub-
urbs, the workmen pretended a quarrel among themfelves ; then leap-
ing fuddcnly upon the warders of the armoury, who were at fupper
near the caille gate, feized weapons more in number than were want-
ed ; and having given the fignal to their companions without, begun a
fierce aflault and took the town. It has belonged fince that day to
the Ottomans, although Amurath underwent many and bitter re-
proaches for the treachery, which he took care to lay upon his general
Chafis, and offered the Europeans his head. They were more cla-
morous for reinftatement than revenge however, and infifted upon
having their city again ; but the proud Sultan told them then, " That
" where truth had been once propagated by the followers of Mahomet,
" error fhould no more return to plant her thorns." And to confcfs
the truth, our Chrifdan caufe derived no dignity from its profeflbrs in
thofe days, when the Genoefe, ever ardent to gain all the trade of Afia
to themfelves, and diligent to diitrcfs Venice, who was purfuing the
fame plan, were bale enough to help the Turks againft us, and even
affiiled Amurath to poffefs himfelf of Phillipopolis, now Filiba ; fo
deeply was bafenefs rooted in the world, even at a time when ro-
mantick ideas of honour pviHicd to exccfs, prevailed over its moft en-
lightened-continent.

Faufto the Italian relates many ridiculous tales of chivalry excrcifccl
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; but when military or-
ders were firil inititutcd, they had not always employment /';/ thc'ir pro-
f f/ion \ and 'twas not much amifs that young nobility, armed, mounted,

and

CH. xxii.] FROM A. D. 135O, TO THE YEAR uoo. 409

and provided with 'fquires, did for amufement, or elle in confe-
qucnce of fome religious vow, wander about the femi- barbarous coun-
tries feeking adventures, which the ftate of things in fuch wild times
did but too often afford them. Rich heirs were not fcldom forcibly
conveyed away, that another more diftant kinfman might fucceed ;
while women were perpetually made the tools of avarice, or inftruments
of ambition, againft their own confent. The oath of inftallation which
thefe nobles took, obliged them to liberate fuch captives, and to re-
drefs fuch wrongs : when laws afford no protection the military mnjl
take up domeftick quarrels, or {till more dreadful fcenes, and cruelties
infpired by revenge will follow. Thus private wars, which had dcfb-
lated Europe, feem'd as if dropping into defuetude, when rapine and
infult began to expect due punimment from {ingle hands, and when
he who committed the violence no longer engaged all his relations to
fupport it, but rather preferred anfwering the charge in duel, or flirink-
ing by flight from the difgrace of refufal.

But every inftitution, however laudable, degenerates : what once
was virtue faded into folly ; and commerce regulated morals before the
manners could prevail upon themfelvcs to change. Gay amorous
knights, warm in the caufe of innocence and beauty, began therefore,
when real occafions presented not, to offer voluntary combat in de-
fence of qualities which cannot be afcertained by victory ; and rillted
their lives, that futurity might acknowledge one lady more lovely or
deferving than another. Not content even with this, another century
faw what was now but empty vapour degraded to abfurd and poifonous
mifchief; fo that when legal ties grew firmer, and females of nice
honour had fewer opportunities of imagining their delicate fenfe of it
in earneft offended, the young and idle cavaliers, who burned for com-
bat, carried their fighting humour to fuch a laughable exccfs, that
fome would go about with a company of damfels on pal fries along
with them, and ufed to flake one againft his opponent, whom he
fought for purpofcly to prove their mutual valour. Some letters of

VOL. I. 3 F defiance

410 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. [CH. xxrr.

defiance have been recorded, but would in this chapter be out of place,
as they belong fomewhat to a later period. 1 cannot however refift
inferring this, knowing it to be genuine.

" Not out of envy to your glory, Sir, but from defire to fhare it, I
et beg the favour of you to fight me, and am your moft humble fer-
" vant." The reply was " Pray, Sir, dine in my hall to-morrow,
" and fee my court-yard : we will meet at two o'clock and examine
" the lifts; I attend you after the banquet to victory or death."

Can madnefs or fatuity go further ? This difpolition was however
parent of many books, which kept up the echo when the Ibund and
fury of the ideot tale was paft : Don Quixote had the honour of finifh-
ing it for ever.

What chiefly may be learned by the ufe of Retrofpeffion, is to ob-
ferve, that wifdom as feldom cures folly as virtue diflodges vice. The
firft runs itfclf out of breath, and (lands ItiM only becaufe it can drive
forwards no further : the laft is, I fear, never eradicated at all, but
hunted down in one fhape, efcapes like Proteus under another. As a
proof, Pope Clement VI. fucceflbr to Benedict, was obliged to fup-
prefs the feet of Whippers or Flagellants about the year 1350, becaufe
of the grofs improprieties committed under this pretext, while he fup-
ported another order which gave offence to the rich cardinals, &c. in
confidcration of their care of fouls during the time of peftilence, from
which, when all fccular priefts and bifhops ran away, fome Franclfcans
remained on whatever fpot was feized with infection, doing their duty,
towards fick and dying; many of whom, ftruck with a fenfe of grati-
tude, and deprived by death of all near relations, left to that order their
eftates or money ; and 'twas this conduct which occafioned complaints
difregarded by Clement VI. Of this pontiff much has been recorded
good and bad, but all agree that he was wife and learned. My readers
and myfelf Ihould love a man fo partial to abridgments, that he caufed
many great works to be epitomized, " that the biifieft, he faid, might
" not be ignorant of what had chanced before their own times."

The

cH.xxir.] FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 14OO. 4H

The Canary Iflands being difcovered during his pontificate, Petrarch
tells how he appointed Lewis earl of Clermont king of them, ftyling him
Prince of Fortunia, and crowning him with his own hand : as the day
proved rainy, our Italian poet puns and quibbles about the watry domain.
Such however was the fuperiority of Italy to England, both in point of
literature and general knowledge, that when our ambaiTador at Avijrnon,
hearing thofe iflands were beftowed upon aSpaniard, he fell into an agony
of paffion, thinking the pope had given away England and Ireland ; and
difficult enough was it to perfuade him that any except the Britt/h
ifles could with propriety be termed the fortunate ones a better tef-
timonial of his patriotifm than of his geographical fkill certainly; tho'
\ve muft not forget, that in a very few years after this event, 3O,OOO
itudents were enumerated as appertaining to our univerfity at Oxford.
What they were ftudying indeed did not immediately tend to any
purpofe of benefiting this life, or obtaining happinefs in the next : for
notwithftanding fcholars had left offdifputing, and fools forbore to in-
vefligate their arguments, concerning the nature of the holy and in-
comprehenfible Trinity, they wrangled in the days we are defcribing,
whether, if one angel could ftand upon the apex of a pyramid, many
might not ftand there too, and haw many ? This, though more in-
nocent, was fcarce lefs abfurd than the recorded controverfy of the
fame times, whether God beft loved in his heart a poffible fpirit of
great dignity, or an actually cxiftent infect of the meaneft and minutefl
kind ? Science however, if me did walk along angular paths, or in a
ferpentine direction, kept walking forward in every country. The
king of Hungary was a good aftronomer, fo was the Genocfe mafler
to Boccacio. Prague and Cracow boafted a univerfity, and Cantacuze-
ntis, the Greek emperor, undertook a hiftory of his predeceflbrs, at leafl
fonie of them. Higden and Mandeville grace our Englifh annals ; and
although towns feem to fpring up more flowly, we fee Stutgard en-
larged by John, the firft elector (as I think) of Brandenburgh. The
year of jubilee was that in which Philip of France died, 135O: Cle-
ment VI. would have it pompoufly celebrated ; but the people mur-

3 F 2 mured

413 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. [CH.XXII.

mured at Rome's rapacity : and as not above one in ten returned alive
to their own houfes, thofe few returned thither in ill humour, relating
how travellers and pilgrims were plundered in the grofleft manner by
the Italians, who fold their food and let their lodgings at a price few
could pay, fo that rich people only could fee the reliques, or partake
the bleffings held out to them as an inducement to flock thither.
When once it had been faid that abfolution's felf might be too dearly
purchafed, a keen obferver could have defcried, that by unforefeen and
fcarcely noticed occurrences, the way was preparing for Wickliffe.
This great man had, during the reigns our Retrofpeflion has ran through^
been employed at Oxford in carefully watching the moment fitteft
for his broaching doclrines not yet unlocked. He faw that they
would now be not unwelcome to a large portion of the Chriftian
world : he told them therefore what they till then had fcarcely dared
to tell themfelves, that the Romifh church claimed her fupremacy to
others under no better than falfe or feigned pretences ; that Chrift be-
llowed no temporal power on his apoftles, and that he had exprefslj?
difclaimed riches and honours for himfelf; that prelates offending
againft God and man by their corrupt and wicked lives ought not to
be protected from punifhmcnt by the veftments which their vices ful-
lied, or the profeflion which their principles profaned. He fulmi^
nated predictions of ruin to thofe, who in defiance of our Saviour's
precepts, ftrove for the higheft place, and he taught how every
king fhould be head of his own realms, independent of eccle-
fiaftical authority, which extended no farther than fpiritual matters ;
and fhewed that auricular confeffion was infifted on only for the pur-
pofe of extending church power. Wickliffe had feen the blefled far
crament adminiftered in both kinds to Philip king of France, to Joan
his queen, and to John duke of Normandy their eldeft fon, by virtue
of diploma from Clement VI. in the third year of his pontificate ; the
date, Avignon, 2lft June 13-44. The French monarchs have fince
that time availed themfelves of this privilege at their coronation and
at their death ; but this new reformer found out that popes had no juft

right

cu. xxrr.] FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR l-JOO.

right to reftrain any pcrfon from partaking the blood his Saviour
ftied freely for all. Thefe opinions publiflicd abroad, won the hearts
of many who groaned under papal and pricitly oppreflion; and fevcral
princes caught the new flame, lighted indeed from that fmall inextin-
guifhable fpark which had remained warm in the world fince the
Waldenfcs, and after them the Lollards, with indignity, but without
adequate effect, had been trodden down.

John of Gaunt, heroick Edward's fbn, fa\v, as 'tis faid, his father's
death approaching in an illnefs which many years preceded it hie
was, if not afpiring, at leaft turning his thoughts towards the crown of
England, and he avowed himfelf convinced by Wickliffc, who found
fo many powerful protectors, that the pope was accounted wife in
puniming him only by command of perpetual filcncc: although Gre-
gory XI. was no pufillanimous character. That he removed the fee
back from Avignon to Rome, although himfelf a Frenchman, nephew
to Clement VI. is a proof of his good fenfe; he faw the necefuty of
rcfiding at the centre of his dominions: the dreadful fchifms had, by
itarting up in various places, probably reminded Gregory of the old
Prince in profane (lory and early days, who planning a removal of his
royal court, a trufty favourite begged leave to bring a dried ox's hide
into the chamber, and threw it down : then (landing on it at the
four corners alternately, obferved he could not keep it to lie quiet and
itcady ; but fixing his pofition in the middle of the flun, he (hewed
the king that none of the parts were then difpofcd to ftart up and be
troublefomc. In fhort, prudence became now a neceifary qualification
to the pontiffs. Urban, the loft pope intermediate between the two
of the family de la Rofierc, had exerted that quality with regard to John
Paheologus, the Greek emperor, who came to Europe and fubmitted
his opinions in theology to Rome, uniting as far as in him lay the long
(eparated Greek and Latin churches. He had married Helena, daugh-
ter to Cantacuzenus, and Orchanes the Turk had taken her fifter into
his fcraglio his death however, and the (ucceffion of Amurath as

fultan,

414 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 14OO. [CH. xxn,

fultan, gave the Chriftians little hope of mercy. Thofe who refided in
JServia were all driven out, while the Grand Signor,.fo he began to be
called by the Gcnoefe, increafing in power and wealth by conquefts
almoft incredible, tore all the diftricts of Thrace and Myfia from their
original pofiefTors; took Gallipolis, defied the prince of Bulgaria to
{ingle combat, rallied his new militia of apoflates round his perfon*,
chaftifed his infolent baflas, put out the eyes of the rebel prince
young Aladine, who had abetted their feditious fpirit ; and after per-
fonally gaining thirty-feven battles, and marrying his favourite fon
Bajazet to the daughter of Jermenogli, died in the year 13QO, and was
fucceeded, as he wilhed to be, by the furious youth celebrated, or at
leaft configned to long remembrance by Rowc's delightful play. 'Twas
at his wedding that Eurenofes fent as a prefent one hundred beaute-
ous boys, as many girls, the firft eighteen, the laft fifteen years of age,
all richly drefled, each with a cup in hand containing of fome rarity:
gems, fpices, pearls, worthy fo great a fovereign's acceptance; while
poor Conftantinople, in a miferable ftate as Rome was under her laft
emperors, looked tamely on to fee who next would invade, or who
protect the fading purple once fo venerated by mankind, but now
fcarce an object worthy general compaffion, when weak Andronicus
went into Afia, a willing penfioner upon the Turkifh court, leaving
Emanuel, who fucceeded Palasologus, as a kind of tributary fovcreigtv
tied to a poft no longer tenable, and feebly feigning to fupport a
fceptre which daily fhrunk from grafp of Chriftian princes. Among all
thefe, England with juftice names her own the greateft. Incompa-
rable Edward's triumphant lucccfs at Poicliers over John of France,
who inherited his country's prejudices againft our ifland with his pre-
deceflbrs' obftinate valour in defending his own, fettled thofc difputes
which the cardinal de Perigord vainly attempted to compofe before
beginning of the combat.

The young hero's behaviour when he brought his royal prifbncr to

* The Jamffaiics.

that

cw. xxir.j FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR HOO. 415

that tent where victory late on his brave parent's head, arrcfts, wcll-
pleafed, the tetrofpettrue eye, which fees, upon that memorable occa-
fion, difplayed all thofe delights that valour and virtue can cither ex-
hibit or beftow. Our Prince of Wales, warm with ideas of duty due
to exalted rank, and full of tender feelings for dignity in diftrefs,
waited himfelf behind his captive's chair, while John in return, re-
pofmg upon his heroick foe's high fcnfe of honour, willingly accom-
panied the Englifh conquerors to London, where we read of his din-
ing with our city magiftrate, who had invited to meet him, David
king of Scots, taken by queen Philippa and her confort, Edward
himfelf, firft among the fovereigns of his century. Many gay tilts and
tournaments were fliewn in honour of fuch guefts : a folemn challenge,
thirty knights againft thirty, was given and accepted, and the count
de Beaumanoir cried out aloud " It Jlionld be fuen that duy ivho had.
" the faireji nti/lreffes" 'Twas feen indeed when only fixtcen of the
whole fixty combatants were left alive, and they fore wounded, fays
Knyghton. Yet 'twas to this fpirit of chivalry we owed the gallant
conduct of our Black Prince, fo named, 1 think, from the colour of his
arms in war : he married his coufm the Fair Maid of Kent, who
brought him only one fon and died; but among all the annals of
mortality, none fo affeds an Englifh heart as that of her valiant huf-
band or fills the Britifh eye with genuine tears, like that death which
defalcated our happinefs, and threw a gloom over all our glories.
King Edward could furvive it but a year he left the infant Richard
fucceflbr, appointing a regency among his uncles: he left our lan-
guage fpoken in courts of juflice, fomc new coins invented, and a
great advance made in woollen manufactures. With the affiitance of
his commons, he prevailed on the nobility no longer to abet rapine
and robbery, by affording open protection to thieves or murderers be-
longing to their numerous dependants ; and was publickly applied to
(but without fucccfs) to make no churchman chancellor or fecretary
of ftate ; under pretence that they had no leifure to attend in both

capacities.

416 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR uoo. [CH. xxn.

capacities. Windfor's proud turrets now lifted their heads on high,
and every thing evinced the progrefs of authority from barons
independent of their fovercign, to a confolidated mafs of king and
commons, fupporting royalty againft the nobles of the land. Many
things however retarded, though many contributed to accelerate thefe
events, and RetrofpeStiou will need little more than one facl to mew,
that if fuch a change was indeed coming forward, it was coming very
flowly. This may be proved by my Lord Morley's killing the bifhop
of Worcefter's deer in this reign, and the bifhop making him do pe-
nance for it in Worcefter cathedral, bare-headed and bare-footed:
while the king interceded for him in vain, and even offered the bifhop
a prefent if he would remit the punifhment. A continuance of the
ariftocracy for more years than it had reafon to hope for, was afforded
by the reign and character of Richard II. whofe propenfity to fa-
vourites, and whofe rapacity for money to fupply their requefts, turned
his thoughts to fuch practices as highly and even juftly offended the
old barons, and half forced them upon afferting their ancient privi-
leges, infolently broken in upon by a king, who, though he could con-
.troul a lawlefs and fenfelefs rabble, as in the cafe of Wat Tyler's in-
furreclion, knew not either to conciliate by fweetnefs, or overawe by
virtue, the nobles who had not yet forgotten their original equality
with princes, who could not count anceftry higher than their own.
Added to thefe demerits, Richard had no children ; and Lionel, duke
of Clarence, next brother to the Black Prince, had only one child, a
daughter, of whom little feems to have been thought, while the great
duke of Lancafter, third fon of Edward and Philippa was cruelly and
foolifhly infultcd by his reigning nephew, who bamfhed the young
earl of Hereford, his only fon, and then feixcd the eftates and pcrfon-
iilty of the offended and expiring parent fuch conduct could not long
.be tolerated : Henry, upon pretence of rcfuming his rights, and claim-
ing the juft inheritance of his father, hurried from his exile, and
Lraved king Richard on .his .own ifland where, fupported by many of

the

en. xxii.] FROM A. D. 133O, TO THE YEAR MOO. 417

the barons, and at the head of numerous and powerful partisans, the
duke of Lancaftcr ftrctchcd his prctcnfions loon, and feizcd that
crown, which his uncle knew not how to keep, how to enjoy, or how
to defend ; and from Henry of Hereford, bccame-in a few months, with-
out any oppofition, king of England. That his weak predeccllbr fhouid be
.killed in prilbn furprix.es no one now, and it appears that few were
affected by it when the affair happened. That his youthful con fort
was rcftored to her own country, where after only half a year's
mourning, ilic wedded le due d'Orlcans, was another proof of tile
low ftandard our Richard had rifen to, but that no one ftirrcd in fa-
vour of the right heir, is ihanger ; tor I'hilippa, fole daughter of brave
Lionel, Edward the third's next fon, had married Edmund Mortimer,
icarl of March, and their boy ought afluredly to have fucceeded upon
<lcmife of Richard. The young duke of Lancaftcr however, with
ay de of k\n, as he called it, and good friends, obtained the throne
about the year 1 1OO.

Before that time fir John Philpot, citizen and merchant of London,
had undertaken to clear the Channel of pirates at his own expence,
evincing the fpirit and opulence of our nation, while Germany boafted
the birth of Bcrthold Swart/,, whofc inventive head found out new
modes for the dcftruclion of his lellow creatures : the ufe of ordnance
in war is attributed to him, who firft proved his cannon at Venice,
where he refidcd during the time Germany was divided into factions
concerning the choice of an emperor. That country had never been
at reft fince Charles IV. fon to John of Bohemia had bought off Fre-
derick the marquis of Mifnia, with 1 0,000 marks, and made com-
pofition with Guntheris, earl of Swart/burgh, who was fuppofcd
to die poifoned, bccaufe four of the electors had preferred him to his
opponents in 1 35o,. when Mccklcnburgh was iirft creeled into a
duchy : though Martinus Polonus tells of a brave leader from that
dilcrid- in 11* 7 I, or then abouts, who fighting in the 'holy wars, was
detained prifoivr at Grand Cairo twenty-fix years, and being then re -

Voi. I.' 3 G leafed,

A 1 8 FROM A. D. 1 350, TO THE YE All MOO. [CH. xxn.

leafed, went home and was obeyed by his fubjecls as uftial. But our
eye muft be a moment kept on Charles, who reigned thirty years 1
think, having ridded himfeli" of all competitors ; and fattened his fuu
Wenceflaus the ugly and the indolent, upon the fuccefiion, by mak-
ing him in early youth king of the Romans. The odd feizure of his
emprefs Anne, daughter to Count Palatine; of the Rhine at Pifa, by
fome young madmen enamoured of her beauty, is related only by Du-
bravius ; I believe it was in order that the valorous knights who rcfcued
her with the young princefs, might be duly celebrated. Such an occur-
rence, however, fhews the backward ftate of civilization in Germany and
Italy, about the middle of the fourteenth century, which witnefled a
violent infurreclion of the French peafantry near Beauvoiii, and faw
them burn, as FroifFart fays, fixty caftles belonging to nobles who had
offended, and grofsly injured them, before the tumult was quelled: in
this laft occurrence, and in the manner of their behaviour, when for
a moment the fword was their own, might have been traced the even
then quickening fpirit of democracy in France ; but penetration had
little place in thofe days, while the arts were making aftonifhing, the*'
half unheeded progrefs poetry gave hopes of perfection in a latent
Ariofto, and painting threatened to fhew in a few years more, that
point of excellence which none have power topafs over.

Thefe probabilities of future fkill foon to be arrived at fupreme emi-
nence, were however contemporaneous with the tale of the py'd Piper :
and fuch was the credulity of mankind in thefe times, that it was
univerfally believed how a ftrange perfbn appeared in the town of Ham-
melin, drefled in a ftrange drefs of various colours how he would
neither eat nor fpeak, but played upon his pipe a ftrain fo fweet and
fo uncommon, that while all eyes were turned to gaze upon him,
rats were obferved running from their holes, and fitting in the
fquare, carelefs of men or dogs, obfervant of his mulick. This eveat
feized on the imagination of the magiftrates, and they bargained with
fuch a piper for a fum of money, if he would call the rats out of the

town

CH. xxii.] FROM A. D 1350, TO THE YEAK 140O. 419

town by figns the contract was fbon made, and the mufician rifmg
and walking towards a large cave juft at the entrance of the city,
playing as he walked, the creatures followed after him, and he feduced
them on to their dcftruclion. Claiming his meed however, 'twas
rcfufed; the plague of rats infeftcd them no more, and the old ma-
giftrates, like Pharaoh, being relieved, hardened their hearts but like
him they were puniflicd. The py'd Piper flood once more in the
fquare, and changed his mode of playing but Co celeftial, fb perfua-
five were the notes, from every houfc rufhcd forth a troop of children,
and furrounded him ; nor could the mayor keep his own fons at
home every infant from two years old to twelve, followed the pre-
ternatural mufick to the cave, where the mufician himfclf walked in
with all his train of innocents : the mouth of the place clofcd, and
they came out no more.

Such a tale fliould not have croflcd our retrofyettrve eye however,
had not the writings of the town borne date even to the year 1 700,
ab exilii puerorum, and was there not even yet a pillar of (tone with
the ftory engraven on it at the cave's mouth. Mufick was perhaps
lefs underftood than were other arts, or elfe her powers were thought
lefs limited than thofe of her fitters. King Eric the Good, had a har-
per in Denmark, who boafted uncommon and immediate influence
over his hearers ; it is related of him, that the mild monarch chal-
lenged him to exert his energy to the utmoft, confiding in his own
philofophical evenncfs of temper. The mufician however, like Timo-
thcus of old, is faid by his hiftorians to have fo tranfportcd the king,
(and courtiers of courfe) that Eric leaping from his feat, threw himfelf
upon the harper fword in hand, and the attendants pretending equal
paffion with the prince, difpatched him in an inftant ; leaving an ex-
ample for future artifts to fupprcfs fuch dangerous powers, and con-
fine themfelves to amufe their fuperiors, not drive them quite dif-
tracled. 'Twas after Eric's death and that of his fuceeflbr, that time
labouring with new births, produced the Semiramis of the north,

3 G 2 Margaret

420 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. [CH. xxn.

Margaret of Waldemar, who we have feen uniting under her own
government the frozen realms of" Denmark, Sweden and Norway:
endeavouring, as it mould appear, to fyrtthetize fome parts of Europe,-
and cement them; while the fouthern nations were breaking into parts.
The death of Gregory XI. threw all Italy, and thole countries im-
mediately connected with it into terrible confufion. The fchifm was
tremendous. Urban VI. was inaugurated at Rome, to- which place
the late pope had transferred the feat of majefty ; Clement VII.
reigned at Avignon. The Italian populace had befieged and cla-
moured round the conclave, " No Frenchman, no Frenchman a.
" Roman fovercign or death," till the cardinals were frighted into
their firft election of Bartolo Bari, a native of Naples, but refpected by
the whole peninfula for his flrict life and manners. His unfeafonable
feverities however, incenfcd many nobles> who then complained of the
undue election, and favoured the caufe of a gentler and politer Cle-
ment, whofe pretenfions were abetted by Charles the Wife of France,
a man of eloquence and learning like himfelf, and who collected nine
hundred books placed in the library at the Louvre. The kings of
Caftile and Scotland declared for this party, while England remained
with the Roman pontiff refidcnt in Italy. Urbanifts and Clementines
divided all Chriftendom between them, and tearing the ecclcfiaftical
power in pieces, tore likewife the veil which had till then concealed
much milconduct. Difgraceful truths were told on both fides, and
while the partizans of one pope thought they were only tormenting
his rival all aided in reality the feet of Wickliffe, which fparcd no-
pains in pulling out the black deformities of the pupal power, rcgardlefs
of any particular individual, and cxpofing them to open view. The
commons too, in ours and other countries, filently won their way
through this whole century, (for church and ftate are neceflarily con-
nected) and as the tiers etat of clergy gradually weakened, the plebeian
order ftrengthened in proportion : for king and barons found their af-
iiflance ufcful, to counteract what each termed incroachment in the

other.

CH. xxn.J FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. 421

other. Nor were the characters of thofe who now contended for the
command of every prince's confcicnce, lefs luckily defigncd lor pro-
moting the deftruclion of both.

When John XXII. had been oppofcd and thwarted many years by
Corbarius the anti-pope, hf ordered him on the very firft appearance of
fubmiffion, to be absolved and brought before him, when he received
tiie kifs of peace beftowcd with kind and Chriftian hafte for reconcile-
ment, maniiefled by that meek Spirited and exemplary pontiff: thefe-
men on the contrary, had no fpirit of yielding or of forgiving, and
ftood upon their own independence completely, rccklefs of the com-
mon caufe, and perfuaded of their own right to the fubmiffion of man--
kind.

Urban, who wore a hair-fhirt next his fkin, and mortified his flem
by voluntary torments, took feven rebellious cardinals, and tying them
in fevcn lacks, threw them into Tyber; Clement received with,
elegance and fplendour, thofe who inclined to run from fo rongh a
mafter, and the fchifm lafted I think, fifty years. . Meantime Spain,
feemed' as if recovering from Peter's cruelty, her wounds clofed under
Henry's reign, fornamed the Gracious : but Mahomet, the Moor of
Granada, poifbned him in a pair of envenomed boots : his /on John,
who fuccccded, fell from his horfe and died in lefs than twelve years
after his father, and one of his unhealthy progeny, Henry, furnarncd'
the Sick, wore Arrag'onia's crown, when the year 140O faw England's
peers dilgraced by a new power, exerciied now for the firtr. time by
kings, the making nobles by royal patent : a dreadful blow upon the
arrftocracy, admiffion to which body was till that hour denied to every
pofiible merit, fave defcent- 1 a prodigious prerogative acquired by mo-
narchs, who in the beginning, as we may fwppofe, uicd'it fparingly.
and with caution : but while fbvcreigns of <<-paruted dates grew
powerful, the weftern, and infinitely more ftill the caftern empire, was
frittering faft away. Robertfon obfcrves, that although much fplcn-
dour of appearance graced the court of Vienna, the princes and inferior

ftates

422 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR 1400. [CH. xxn.

{bites of the empire were fubjecls only in name, each of them poffefs-
ing a complete municipal jurifdiftion within the precinds of his own
territory. All thefe accidents combined to encreafe the power of the
Turk, who, when he heard that the young king of France had taken
the lilies (fleur delys) for his device in coat armour, becaufe embk-
matick of his youth and innocence ; laughed and obferved, " That the
" young king of England was fending over his uncle Thomas of
" Woodftock to mow them down." In effccl, Bajazet, fucceffor to
Amurath, took that method with all whom he fufpecled of oppofition,
and his ftrangling Jacup, the next brother to the throne, fet a favage
fafhion, foon imitated by fucceeding Ottomans. The ftory of this ty-
rant allowing court fees for adminiftration of juftice, is likewife ftrik-
ing enough. His favoured fool Sinam, being excited to the work by
Ali Bafla, one day when he thought his mafter in good humour, drcfled
himfelf up as an ambaflador, and begged to be fent as fiich to the
Greek emperor" For what purpofe ?" faid Bajazet " To requefl
" fome of his poor miferable bare-footed friars for us to make judges
" of now my dear lords are fcnt to prifbn," fays the jefter : " I can,
replied the fultan, " fupply their places with my own fubjecls"
" We have none as learned in our realms," anfwered the fool
" Well, well, you loved them," cried the fovereign, " but they took
*' fees, and I will have their heads fent me to-morrow." " 'Tis juft
** for that reafon," fays the fly Ethiopian,. " that I am going to fetch
" thofe foolifh Chriftians hither, as no men but they who take an
" oath to flarve themfelves, will forbear accepting fees when you give
" them no falary." " The child is right," rejoined the Turk after a
moment's paufe, " 'tis a falfe prejudice ; I'll make my cadis, or
" crown-lawyers, a handfome appointment in future, and till I have
" done fo they may take the fees bring the lords here again."
But Tamerlane's* exploits attraft more forcibly the momentary glance

* Timur feems to hare been this great man's real name, but his dependents called
ham Timur Beg> lord Timur of courfe his enemies feeing him halt like Agefilaus of

CH. xxti.] FROM A, D, 133O, TO THE YEAR 1400. 423

of Retrofpeftion. A bright illuminated fpot is he, irradiated by glories
of fupcrior worth to all the oriental heroes. A new character palling
too quick acrofs the confined field of our mental telefcope. Nor Pagan
nor Mahometan, nor Chriftian nor Jew ; this wondrous pattern of ex-
celling virtue, buril fuddenly upon the aftonifhed world ; and added to
his conquefts the merit of difcovery. An immcnlc tracl of eaftem
Scythia had, during all the ages we have reviewed, lain far remote and
heedlefs of thofe ftruggles which changed the face of Europe, and dil-
iurbcd thcnat'ral apathy of Afia, ever difpofed to flu m her lite away in
the dull round of fenfual pleafures, and to exclude care from heir
ilrong-built feraglio. The Chinefe empire creeled on her confines by
FoheorNoe, had rarely been approached, and little thought on. Trajan
himfelf tried not to pafs the facred Ganges, though he had thrown a
bridge over Donaw, and Pompey was eafily contented with thofe li-
mits which Alexander had been taught to think reflrained the race of
man. But Tamerlane now fliook thofe worlds, the Macedonian chief
once wept for, and fhone a prodigy of valour and good fortune. He
fell upon the unprepared and vainly- wife Chinefe, won from them
many provinces and diltrids, and on his return through eaftern Scy-
thia, or in more modern language Mufcovy, he dropt down unex-
pectedly on the Greek empire, vifited with admiration the neglecledi
city of Constantinople, and meditated her prefervation from, the up-
lifted arm of Bajazet, jufl terror of terreftrial multitudes. John Pa-
laeologus had aflbciated his third fon in 1384, which preference having
irritated the elder brother, he had declared war of courfe, and weak-
ened the fceptre by civil diflention that ended in imprifbnment of
thofe who bore it-
old, furnamed him Tamurfang Polignac fays ; Timur the Lame, as in our weftern an-
nals, Henry the Limping. This French writer fets his meridian later than does Lfaac-
fon, whofe chronology from Berg. Ann. Turc. was in high reputation in days lefs
dillant than our own from the event.

The

42-4 FROM A. D. 1350, TO THE YEAR J400. jcu. xxn.

The Turks however, on pretence of taking fides in this family-
quarrel for fcarccly-exiftent power, pulled the princes out again by
threats, and Andronicus was given up to repent in the fultan's
-court, his hafty rcfentments againft Emanuel. In this ftate were the
affairs of Chriitianity in the eaft, when its tyrannick matter had fub-
mittcd all Theffaly and Thrace, and the Morea to his fway: not
contented to conquer the king of Caramania, Bajazet hung him up
on his own palace walls, and being as.Knollys:fays, furious of nature,
and in anger dreadful, was, notwithstanding, defied by the brave
Comte de Nevers, who brought. into the field 2000 chofen knights,
Frenchmen, to -fight againft as many infidels, their tyrant at their
L head. The event was. fatal to our fcarlefs Europeans, llelentlefs Ba-
jazet deftroyed them all, and cropt the flower of Catholick nobility.
In this courageous chief the virtuous Tamerlane defcried an enemy fit
/for his fword to conquer and correct : upon the plains of Stella 'twas
they .met, .where Mithridates had been beat .by Pompey, and Beli-
farius, fix hundred years after that, had. drenched the arid foil with
.Gothick blood. The Turk and Tartar here fought hard for victory,
which fixed at-*length upon the'Creft of honour ; and Bajazet, yet un-
fubmitting to his fate, w r as feized, while his opponent fcorned to
take his life but in a movingiprifon brought him on, caged as a
\vild deftruclive animal, not to be tamed by mild or gentle ufagc. No
entry was ever feen more glorious than that of Tamerlane into Con-
ftantinople, .which fince the days of itsfirft founder, had never yet be-
held fo great a man. With matchlefs probity he there refulcd the
offer of a town he fo admired, a linking empire he had fo prefcrved ;
and leaving Palaeologus in the throne, returned to admiuiftcr ftrict
juftice in his native country, and keep his own perfualion unprofaned.
'Twas in or near A. 1). 1-10O, when this brave prince refigncd his foul
.-into the hands of that Creator whom alone he worihipped, being in the
moil abfolutc fenfe a deift, theofophite or Unitarian : without religion
therefore, though graced w-ith virtues that would have adorned the

bcft

CH. xxii.] FROM A. D. 1300, TO THE YEAR 135O. 421

beft : it is however, exceedingly obfervable, that as this heroick cha-
racter tolerated all opinions, although his own led him to think no
ecclefiaftical eftablifliments neceflary, fo with him his empire fecms
to have extinguiflied. A folitary ftar he fhone,but unfupported by bor-
rowed light, his own not being eternal, though inherent ; heaven re-
fumed it : left his example might be followed by thofe who would
have imitated his errors not his conduct.

VOL. I. 3 H CHAP,

420 FROJM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1 425. [CH. xxm.

CHAP. XXIII.
FROM A. D. 14X50, TO THE YEAR 1425.

WE mufl now turn our retrofpeftive eye back to the weftern em-
pire, where Wenceflaus, feized with a new humour of pro-
tecting the hitherto hated Jews from maflacre in Bohemia, and not in
the leail ftudious to fupport, by ftrictnefs of morals, that extraordinary
liberality which he profeffed in matters of religion ; became ill thought
on, and was at length driven out. His various efcapes and odd ad-
ventures, marked with his own hand on his own Bible, I had the fm-
gular pleafure of feeing and examining at Vienna ; where the pretty
washerwoman's tenderly- requited kindnefs to her fbvereign, remains
recorded in a very neat miniature on a margin of the NewTeftament,
with lefs propriety than gratitude. Wenceflaus therefore, though ugly,
found friends among the fex ; and although furnamed the Indolent
when feated on his throne, ceafed not by reftlcfs endeavours to regain
it, after he had provoked his fubjects to withdraw their allegiance. He
died king of Bohemia in 1-118. A terrible pcftilence during this pe-
riod wafted Polonia ; and Cafimir's unkindnefs to his queen, daughter
to a landgrave of Hefle, was fuppofed to have called this vengeance
down on a yet unenlightened nation. Her death gave him an oppor-
tunity of leading a life lefs pffenfive with Hedwigis, a confort of his
own country, who was lefs irkfome to him with complaints of the
coarfe manners in Polonia, and the preference flic gave to a more po-
lifhed though lefs powerful court. By this lady however Cafimir left
only two daughters, whom Lewis of Hungary foon threw into confine-
ment,

CH. xxin.J FROM A. D. HOC, TO THE YEAR U23. 427

meat, leaving their aunt, his mother, guardian over tlicm, and return-
ing fouthward himfelf in fearch of pleafures, which Buda could better
bellow than melancholy Cracow. There however the 'queen regent,
funk in fenfuality, hid her enormous vices from mankind, while taxes
and tortures fo worried the poor fubjefts, that fome lords fent a monk
to let Lewis know that a rebellion was inevitable. He, at the inftiga-
tion of his wicked mother, poifoned the monk, and made the vile
bifhop, her confeflbr, regent ; afTociating him in power, with the lady;
who died in confequence of her excefles, whilft her colleague ran
madly up a hayftack after fome peafant wench who fled his violence,
and breaking his neck by a fall flie gave him from the top, completed
the averfion taken to Lewis and his friends. Some noble Poles now
met on horfeback, and refolved to pull the princefTes from prifon.
Hedwigis the elder was married to Ladiflaus, and reigned in peace over
her native country ; while Mary, fcarce fourteen, was given to Sigif-
mund, the impious but powerful emperor of the weft. -

John the Delicate and Henry the Sickly, had during this time feebly
fupportcd the Spanifh fceptre ; but Ferdinand, furnamed the Honeft,
brother to this laft-named fovereign, redeemed the honour of the old
Celtiberians, and taking Anquiterra, drove the Moors before him.
Flufhed with conqueft, he attempted Sicily, and added it to the pof- '
feflions of the houfe of Arragon. This fovereign encouraged learning
and learned men, and had the happincfs of feeing the Bible tranflated
into the Portugueze tongue. \

France meanwhile was a prey to civil commotions. Charles VI.
furnamed le Bicn-aime, felt his reign in early days difturbed by a fedi-
tion of the Maillotins ; for in every nation now fymptoms appeared of
firength and a refilling power in the people, not dreamed of by the
antecedent princes of Europe, and too little dreaded even by thole that
in this fifteenth century courted their kindnefs, in order to balance
them againft the barons' power. The Flemings had revolted too,
fcorning their fovereign ; and Charles the Well-beloved met and chaf-

3 H 2 tifed

428 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. [CH. xxiit.

tiled them on the plains of Rofbach, where Frederick of Pruffia gain-
ed a famous battle in our own times. The fame places are naturally
fought out for the fame purpofes, and more than one vicldry is boafted
by many fituations convenient for mutual hoftility. A fun-ftroke on
the king's return to Paris robbed him for many weeks, months I be-
lieve, of his fine intellects, by bringing on a phrenzy fever, which left
his nerves fo mattered that he never more poileffed the powers of mind
or body necefTary for governing a great nation. His fitter Ifabella,*
married to our Richard II. was fent home by the fucceflbr, and wedded
in happier nuptials to the Due d'Orleans. Henry 'IV. meanwhile
pufhed condefcenfion to the lower orders further than any Englifh
prince before had done ; and Shakefpear I fuppofe exaggerated but
little when he faid, that

A brace of draymen bid God fpeed him well,
And had the tribute of his fupple knee,
' With thanks my countrymen, rny loving friends, &c.

But Henry's title being more than weak, he made it a point to con-
ciliate thofe whom Richard, more confident and fecure, had fcrupled
not to opprefs. His reign, like thofe of moft ufurpers, fcems wholly
fpent in efforts to keep himfelf upon that throne by force, to which
he had been raifed by fraud and accident. Another circumftance arofc
to keep the right heir from his crown, by the hot paffions of Owen
Glendour, who in a private war upon the earl of March's territories,
took the boy prifoner ; for he, although but thirteen years old, was
fighting befide his uncle and guardian, Sir Edmund Mortimer, in the
field; and Henry, happy he was thus difpofed of, went on to punifli
other rebels, the Archbifhop of York being one. To the aftonifliment
of mankind, fie was executed, and WicklinVs notions were vifibly prac-
tifed and realized in his execution.

* It was King Richard's firft queen, Anne, that introducedyTdV-faddles for ladles to
ride upon in England.

The

CH. xxin.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. 42cj

The Commons, under this democratically- difpofed fovereign, began
to feel their own increafing confequence ; and if, in order to tread
down the nobles, they now and then did make unwary conceffions to
their fubtle monarch, they proved their fenfe of fuch conceflions' dan-
ger by diligent retradlion of them. Againft his deareft hope of new-
eftablifhing the crown upon heirs-male, thereby tacitly t'cxclude the
houfe of Mortimer, the Houle of Commons, fcar'd at the idea of a
ialique law, infiftcd on the fucceffion of princeflcs and their iflue ; nor
durft the king oppofe fuch a requeft, for fear the earl of March's pre-
tenfions might be fpoken of.

Churchmen next lent an excufe for their ill-gotten wealth to be
examined into. It was their way in England to oblige their villain*
or vaflals to marry free heireffes ; by which collufion numberlefs fmall
ellates came into their hands. The people made a calculation of all
the ecclefiaftical property, and offered to pofTefs Henry of 20,oool.
o'year, dividing the reft among fifteen hundred new carls whom he
was to create ; and found out that the clerical functions would be
better performed by fifteen thoufand parifli priefts, paid at the rate of
feven marks o'year. The prudent prince however faw plainly that
things were not ripe as yet for fuch large depredations : he knew the
papal power was not fo declined as to have fufFered thefe immcnfe en-
croachments ; he feared left all the world mould cry againft him as a
Wickliffite, and raife commotions that perhaps would end in fetting
youthful Mortimer upon the throne. He therefore burned a wretched
Lollard of no .family, as proof of his catholicifm ; rejecting the propofal
of the Commons, and conciliating, in fome meafure, the half alarmed
and much offended clergy.

One other incident demands a moment's glance of Retrofyeftion,
merely to prove the prodigious advances made by freedom under the
reign of this great duke of Lancafter. His eldeft fon protected a riotous
companion, who had been condemned by Gafcoigne, the chief-juftice,
; '>r ibmc enormous offence, and found no fafeguard from young Henry's

favour.

430 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. [OH. xxnr.

favour. The prince, amazed to hear a man he countenanced was ftill
detained in prifon by the laws, flew to the bench and ilruck the judge
who fate there. The judge however had fo profited by the new doctrines,
that much more mindful of his own place's dignity than of the petu-
lant fally of a hot-headed youth ; he gravely proceeded to commit the
prince him/elf, and the king praifed his noble-minded conduct. While
by fuch methods our Henry IV. be/lowed that independence which he
fought to obtain, and beftowed it too on thofe who had been hitherto
looked down upon as mere appendages to greatnefs, and treated like
the cattle which their paftures fed ; the commons of the realm rofe
each moment in refpectability : their agriculture improved, their fheep
increafed ; corn was exported, wool was manufactured ; and when
they grew important, they found out they were aggrieved. A reader
of hiftory, from this hour will find the lower order ever reftlefs, ever
uneafy : they had tafted the tree of knowledge, and knew all their
wants. The folitary Indian thus, among the Cordilleras de los Andes>
worfhipt the irivifible Naiad of the flream which cooled his grot and
gratified his thirft ; but tracing the rivulet up to its origin, which he
expected to find paradifaical, he came, after long toil, to the foot of a
tremendous glacier, the rough cataract pouring floods of foam down a
black rock. " And is it fo indeed, (fays he) that keen refearch repays
" her votaries ?" It is fo-: Oh then let the fpirit of inveftigating deeply
reft a while : act well your parts, readers, each in your feparate fphere;
and for knowledge of pail times, fpare from the prefent only a mo-
mentary grance of general Retrofpeftton. The irregular behaviour of
an eldeft fon was not a misfortune confined to England's king : Ro-
bert earl of Fife, made regent of Scotland during his father's ftate of
imbecility, imprifoncd Alexander, a younger brother, for burning the
cathedral church of Murray; and when at length he came himfelfto
reign, the ftrange licentious manners of his heir, young David duke ot
Rothfay, were fo offenfive and intolerable, that he was forced to banifh
the boy, and fome old authors fay he died of want. The Irifli had

been.

CH. xxni.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR U25. 431

been firmly hold together by Richard II. in defpite of deeds which
hourly provoked and invited infurreclion. Our fovcreign's daughter
was the wife of Eric, the nephew and aflbciate heir of warlike Mar-
garet de Waldemar; while Joan, daughter to the earl of Holland,
queen of Bohemia and emprefs by her marriage with Wenceflaus, left
a fon William, furnamed the Young. This prince, wedded with Phi-
lippa of Flanders, being at dinner in the French court, au officer came
forward and cut off the table-cloth before him, to feparate his feat in
a difgraceful manner from that of the company ; becaufe the death of
Count William II. which happened only one hundred and forty years
before, had never been revenged by his family. " It was pardonable,
" cried the herald, that his fucceflbr mould forget an offence by which
" he came to the crown at fix months old. William the Good like-
" wife might have flood excufed : his fcrupulous mind, ever em-
" ployed in framing penances for imaginary faults and fancied crimes,
" was unlikely to have profecuted fuch an affair as that. William the
" Mad could not be trufted with the fvvord of juftice ; but that none
" fliould for a century and a half have undertaken to wield it, was a
" fliame to chivalry." In confequence of this harangue the youth re-
turned home, called together friends and followers, and Simulating
them to the enterprife by an account of his own ill ufage when at Paris,
a war againft the Frifons was begun fuccefsfully; the body of this in-
jured anceftor was dug up, and brought in triumph to Valenciennes,
where it was buried with pomp and pageantry, according to the fpirit
of the times. That fpirit doubtlefs was excited and kept warm by
metrical chronicles and pedigrees in rhyme, which Warton tells us of
in thehiftory of poetry, and which tended no little towards keeping in
all countries the afpiring flame alive. 'Twas to extinguilh fuch recol-
lection in poor Cambria that cruel Edward I. had killed the bards.
But Chaucer now refined our language, and wrote vcrfes for the cour-
tiers, of which he was one, being a kinfman to the houfe of Lancafter,
drove forward every poffible improvement. The genius lor de-
votion

432 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 14*5. [CH. xxin.,

motion, however, feems oddly mingled with all his ideas, though light
and playful, often indecently fo ; but 'tis pretty and curious when the
birds are made by him to fing mafs xipon May-day, the eagle taking
Vent Creator, a popingjay CaK enarrant, the owl Benedicite, whilft
Te Deum is chanted in alternate ftanzas by a thrujh. Quere whe-
ther nightingales were then known in Great Britain ? her (trains
would mrely not have been forgotten. Our rougher dialecl indeed now
fmoothed apace, and fhewed itfelf capable of wit and elegance. There
was a flrong pufh made for a change of manners in mankind. Weft-
minfter Abbey was enlarged, about that time, oil-painting arrived in
fight of its uttermoft point of perfection, and fculpture feemed revived
in Italy, as once in Greece, where figures firft began to live, and
ftruggle too for immortality, fo long as this g)obe fliall laft.

A company of linen-weavers meantime increafed Great Britain's
growing opulence, and London found herfelf well fupplied with coals.
The German genius hovering over the mines of fulphur and faltpetre,
dug up deftru&ion to the fons of earth, while cards were invented or
imported from the eafb for amufement of the French king. This is
national character. But the rebuilding Weftminfter hall, and the
newly introduced ufagc of pleading in Englifh an Englifhman's caufe,
arrefts our hurried fight more forcibly, becaufe it paves- the way, 'tis
plain, for ampler reformation. He who can ufe his tongue to plead
for property before his prince, will learn to plead for mercy in't before
his God ; nor long remain confined to utter founds, of which himfclf .
knows not the meaning. Univerfities indeed were fpringing up on
every fide : St. Andrew's, Leipfick, Salamanca, diftufed reviving know-
ledge round the world ; and even northern nations now flickered her
fhrinking branches : when lovely Hedwigis, the queen of Poland, left
a large legacy for colleges at Cracow.

Alexander V. who attained the dignity of pope only through his
virtue and learning, and- who confidered himfelf merely as an inftru-
ment of Providence to unite once more under one head a church lately

divided

CH. xxiii.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. 433

divided againft 'hcrfclf, and in greater danger of falling than thofe
who headed cither party could forefce ; contributed fo largely to the
caufe of literature, that from a rich bifhop (as he faid) he became a
poor cardinal, and was contented to die a very beggarly pope : efcaping
eafily the charge of ncpotifm, for he had never known parent or bro-
ther, fifter, uncle, or any tie of blood, nearer than fome one who pre-
tended to be his coufin, becaufe like him he had been born in Candia ;
and Alexander, laughing, drove him from the door.

Such characters were now neceflary to maintain the papacy, which
Benedict and Boniface had fhaken by their ill-timed contefts ; and
which Innocent and Gregory had as vainly ftrugglcd to fupport with
empty menaces and fallacious miracles. The firft had been derided by
the Florentines, who, when they refufed corn to Rome, were threatened
with an interdict, which never was laid on, for fear it mould be laughed
at inftead of regarded : and as to the falfe miracles, they had been de-
tected by John Huft, confeflbr to Sophia of Bavaria, whom Alexander
mildly exhorted to filence, but in vain. This bufy fpirit, warm with
the notions that Wickliffe had inftilled, fcarcely dcfpaired of convert-
ing the pope himfelf ; whofc candour and fciencc laid him open to
conviction, and who had himfelf written a beautiful treatife on the
immaculate conception of our bleficd Lady, which Luther many years
after could not, and did not difappro\c.

Cardinal Coffa however, the trufted friend and favourite of thi-
mild and virtuous fbvcreign, lured him away from Rome to Bologna,
where he foon died, in tortures not much inferior to thofe fuffcrcd by
Edward II. of England, having had death adminiftered to him in a
pfs'i/biu'd enema : while Cofla was quietly elected pope, under the well-
known name of John. XXIII. His election was fingularly bold, as his
life was eminently wicked : he threw St. Peter's mantle over his fhoul-

dcrs, and cried " Tis 7 who am chofcu now to the pontificate." Ego

fiim ptipii. The conclave was awed, and the unhappv choice confirmed.

Sigifmund, a character of no more virtue than Coifa, elected himfelt

VOL. J. 3 I to

434 FROM A. D. 1400> TO THE YEAR 1425. [CH. xxm

to the empire in a mode not much diffimilar. When Rupert of Ba-
varia died, and the'eleclors met, he -was firft, as Marquis of Branden-
bourg enquired of, whom he preferred as worthy of the imperial
crown. " Myfelf, Lords !" was the haughty and little expected reply ;
" for Sigifrnund is able (continued he) to rule the world, and I know
" not of whom elfe I can fo fay." Sigifrnund however was apt to mif-
take confidence for ability. Surveying his army and that of the allied
Chriftians near Nicopolis, " What need have we to fear the Turks
" falling onus," exclaimed this impious prince ; " if heaven itlelf were
" to fall, here are troops that could hold it up with their halberts.'*
From thofe plains however he made hafte to run, when heaven, to
punifh fuch mad pride, forced his fine foJdiers to fly before the infi-
dels : yet was this emperor ftill felf-fufficient, obtruilve, and injurious.
When he was vifiting poor Charles VI. at Paris, his curiofity led him
to the courts of juftice, where a caufe of confiderable property was ac-
cidentally trying before the judge, one Sigrit having endeavoured to
wreft it from the right pofleflbrs, but was at length baffled, bc-
caufe having made fome pretence which none but knights could
claim, the bufinefs ended, and fentence was about to be pronounced;
but Sigifmurid, who fate as a fpeclator, and till then incognito, leaped
forward and fuddenly knighted the fellow, putting on his fpurs him-
felf, and fwearing he mould not lofe his caufe for want of that cere-
mony being performed. 'Twas cm the honour of this emperor, who
had'ln no tranfacliou of his life fhewn any care for juftice or decorum,
that John Hufs and Jerome of Prague, the new reformers, depended
for prote&ion ; when by a folemn command, fjgned by himfelf, in a
fafe conduct given them to arrive at the council of Conftance without
let or hindrance, and with full permiffion to pafs, ftop, flay or return
freely; he figncd the fame with his own fignet^and pledged imperial
faith for their kind treatment. All hiftories record the horrid perfidy ;
all nations acknowledge thefe unhappy men as martyrs to opinions
now thought wifely of,, even by thofe regions who then looked with

calmnefs

CH. xxni .] FROM A. D. 1 400, TO THE YEAR 1452. 433

calmnefs on the flames which burned the profeflbrs of them. Huff
had for three days preached againft the enormous wickednefs of the
clergy, and maintained the right which all alike .pofleflcd to the re-
ceiving of the euchariftick cup ; yet had he never prefumed to admi-
niftcr it, though he faid mafs publickly at Conftance, where pope and
emperor, and four patriarchs, twenty-nine cardinals, three hundred
and fixty-five archbifhops and biihops, five hundred and fixty-five ab-
bots and doctors, with no fewer than fixteen thoufand princes, nobles
and knights, made a temporary rcfidence. That three hundred and
twenty minftrels, troubadours and jongleurs, fix hundred barbers and
feven hundred common courtezans, fliould follow fuch an aflemblage
of nobility, need not be wondered at ; but I think little Conftance
never could have held one half of them. Hiftory indeed makes flender
refiftance againft the gripe of a rigorous computift. We will try to
accommodate all fides, by fuppofing fome buildings to have been
eredled which time or hands, the purpofe once effected, have thrown
down. There is a mention of the horfes being in danger of ftarving
for want of fodder ; whilft all gravely attended the ftake, and heard
Hufs finging pfalms in the midft of the fire, profeffing to obfcrve the
town's appellation in his own coitftant endurance of the torments foolilh
zeal inflicted, and telling his companion that the fathers were only
roafting an old goq/e now (alluding to his name pronounced in the Bo-
hemian dialect*) but that from his afhes fhould in future days fpring
up a white fivan, who fhould fly over all their heads. Protcftants
have fincc applied that happy prediction to Luther.

Something retributive however ought to be told, before we turn
from fuch RetrofyeB away ; and it fhould above all things be remem-
bered, that Gregory XII. anti-pope, and rcfident, I think, at Avignon,
accufed John XXIII. of a long lift of heinous and truly atrocious
crimes before this very council, adding the murder of his amiable pre-

Hufs, lutturally pronounced like C/ioss, Gcofe.

3 I 2 deceflbr

436 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. [CM. xxnr.

deccflbr to the number. John generoufly offered to plead guilty, and
confefs all the charges ; perfuaded that popes could only be depofed for
herejy. In this howe\er his friends over-ruled him, and he fled the
town difguifed as a poflillipn.

Sigifrnund meanwhile, who betrayed the men this cruel pontiff
martyred, had an Italian favourite, one Pipo, a Florentine by birth,
and whom no friendfhip could cure of prejudices againft a German
ibvereign. This man, that he made general in his wars againft the
Venetians, underftanding their language, as he comically ur s red, better
than the emperor s guttural pronunciation, took a long purfe from Mo-
cenigo, then doge, and gave him an opportunity of cutting off the
whole army. His perfidious prince however, detefting treachery in-
any one except himfelf, melted fome gold in a crucible, and pouring it
hot down wretched Pipo's throat, punifhed a traitor, and at the fame
time condemned his own paft conduct. A five years truce with Venice
ended the difpute, and gave that republick leifure to adorn its growing
greatnefs. Part of St. Mark's church was burned by accident, and
part of the ducal palace. It was decreed that none mould, upon pain
of paying 1000 ducats, move for the building them anew. Mocenigo
paid the fine, and began the beautiful fabrick at his own expence,
which I faw exifling in the year 1/86. " Whatever this happy ftate
" undertook," fays 1'Iftoria Fiorentina, " commonly fucceded even be-
" yond its hopes; and if they loft by war they won by negociation ;
" fo that peace ftill found Venice happier, richer, wifer than before."
Venczia, rtcca,Jaggui, cjtgnortle. The Florentines too, under their pa-
triot ruler John de Mcdicis, were cultivating arts and fciences, not
arms. Their dread of the Bifc'ione, or Milancfe, ib called from the
coiled ferpent worn as coat-armour by Vifconti, made them cling
clofer to that ftate which had wedded and could rule the Adriatick fea,
and called in commerce with every gale that blew. Their Tufcan
artift Michelozzi was employed in making drawings from Venetian
architecture. Their learned Traverfari played the interpreter in con-
ferences

CH. xxm.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. 437

ferences with the Greeks ; and every ilate of Italy, although in politi-
cal interefts difunited, appeared of one accord to refolvc, that the pe-
ninfula which once had ruled the world fhould now enlighten, civilize,
reftore it.

Poggio* dug out the claffick authors from thofe ruins which go-
thick barbarifm had heaped upon their heads, with diligence rarely
attendant on genius like his own ; and Aretine's aqulla volante began
to fly. His pretty quaint epitaph fhews the efteem his countrymen
had of him, when they tell us how eloquence was ftruck dumb by his
.death ; hiitory put on a black roue, and the mufes ceafed not to ihed
tears upon his tomb. Andrea Verocchio meantime employed his pen
and ink in Jrazvhtgs, which will live as long as writing would have
lived, had printing never been discovered. But this vaft genius ftudied
engraving too, and there are many pictures of his painting : every in-
vention was welcome to his mind which could contribute to retain,
memorial of the human face divine, which tells the gazer that foul
dwells within. 'Twas he firft found the method of taking perfect rc-
femblances with plafter of Paris ; and late to rccompcncc fuch powers
fo applied, his is the boaft that Peter Perugino, a name for ever to be
revered,- and Leonardo da Vinci, philofophcr, profeflbr, father of the
nafccnt arts ; ftudied their rudiments under Verocchio's eye. Martin V.
a noble pope of the Colonna family, confirmed the paffion for know-
ledge by his example ; and by a long exertion of mingled princely
with Chriftian virtues, fupported the authority whillr. he increafed

the influence of the papal chair. But whilft the laurel new revived

.
t

* lie found Quintilian, Silius Italicus, and Valerius Flaccus, underground at Porto
St. Gallo, where he'ufed to go out at Florence, per pigliar frcfct (to lake the cool air)
as the Tufcans call it. His letter giving an account how thole tluce MSS. were dit-
covetcd under the tower 'if a monafh-ry, erefted on what was left of an old calUc
built in pagan days.y?;// exijls. 'Tis dated 1417, and direfted to the Council of Con-
ftance, where all the wife men were aifeuibled, to prevent (had it been polTiblc) the
revival of learning and of tafte.

put

438 FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. [CH. xxnt.

put forth frefh beauties from the layers which had fo long lain con-
cealed under a weight of earth, that branch, (in our day become fo
luxuriant) called fcenick or dramatick reprefentation ; ftill lingered far
behind. When to the great council of Conftance flocked half Europe
for curiofity and entertainment, great fhows and feafts of courfe were
made in the town; one of which being recorded for its magnificence,
fhews us the pitiable ftate of fuch diverfions. A theatre however was
here creeled for the firft time after the Vandal irruptions, and the firft
ftagc play exhibited had for its fubject Herod and the Innocents. A
knight came forward and begged the monarch's leave to take the ad-
venture : the fool laughs at him ; the women with their diftaffs beat
' him off the ftage ; fome children fliriek, and then their mothers,
making ufe of flrange methods, drive away the baffled adventurer ;
and the king lays he will commit the murders himfelf. Even this
however was nearer to modern manners, than were the pageants fet
on foot in Italy fome years before, when at Epiphany a large body of
mendicant friars at Milan made the whole town fubfervient to their
fhow, reprefenting the three kings' offering to our blefled Saviour :
an immenfe proceffion of horfe and foot filling the ftreets, which were
ftrcwn with rulhes for the purpofe, pacing on to where the caftle
ftands. ; and on that eminence a group was placed, habited in imita-
tion of a holy family, deftincd to receive the prefents of thefe magi.
When I was laft in Italy, 1786, the idea was not worn out:
ISIaples exhibited the felf-fame device ; but then the figures were hi
wood, or ivory, or lilver, very fmall ; but wonderfully elegant, neat,
.and expenfive ; whole terraces or fuits of large apartments being al-
lotted to this odd contrivance, and called Prefepio. This one at Milan,
related of by Flamma, muft have been only a like fancy realized, a
live. Prefepio, acled all by friars, inftcad of little figures from fix to
twelve inches high.

Edward the third of England's reign, famous forfhowand gala, pro-
duced at Coventry the Creation of the World, played by a fociety of

grey

CH. xxni.] FROM A. D. 140O, TO THE YEAR 1425. 439

grey monks ; one of whom was drcfs'd up in a laced robe for God
the Father, with a triple crown of gilt leather on his head : and the
market crofs fenced round ferved as a theatre. But Retrofpettions
eye is better engaged by his great-grandfon Henry, the once wild
Prince of Wales, who on his father's death leaped into his feat, like
feathered Mercury, and nothing fcrupulous to feize that crown which
of due right belonged to his young coufin, heirefs and daughter of the
earl of March ; invaded France, and fb completely dazzled England
by the bright fplendour of his martial glories, that all objections to his
title were forgotten, and the defects of it fwallowed up and loft in
the exceflive perfonal regard paid to a youthful hero moft rcfembl-
ing the never yet forgotten uncle to his father, Edward our Black
Prince. There is a curious MS. extant at Cambridge, faying, upon the
teftimony of one Maidftone, that Henry the fourth's body was flung
into the fea, and nothing buried but an empty coffin, which was fo-
lemnly interr'd, I think, at Canterbury. But I quote only from me-
mory, and that imperfect.

Hume fays, and' wifely, that the prcdeceflbr of this military mo-
narch, being incefTantly employed to keep a throne on which he knew
he was no more than an ufurper, laid out much time in holding faft
his friends ; and furTercd no man to enjoy court favour, but parti zans
of the Lancaftrian houfe. Henry V. more confident and kind, threw
open his protecting arms to all of honourable characters ; and fb
ftrong feemed to be the fond attachment ihe\vn his perfon and go-
vernment, that when France bribed fbme nobles to aflaflinate him,
the earl of March was foremoft to detect the confpiracy. If iuch the
fact, we plainly fee how Henry was adored : if, as fbme authors fay,
the earl involved in it was freely pardoned by his generous fovcrcign,
we fee ftill plainer he deferved their love.

Unhappy Charles de Valois meanwhile, a prey to illnefs and inex-
tricable confufion, which probably contributed to increafe it ; faw his
once-lovely kingdom torn by factions, his family embroiled in dan-
gerous

410 FROM A. D. MOO, TO THE YEAR 1425. [CH. xxur.

gcrous contentions ; the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Orleans,
armed all againft each other, and Henry of England preparing to invade
and claim the throne of France, regardlefs of their lot fatigue, efta-
blifhed for fo many centuries : although willing enough to wear the
Britifh crown himfelf, which in pure ftriclnefs did belong to Anne,
Surviving filter of forgiven Mortimer, who died unmarried, and was
foon forgotten. But, like the gay rake in a modern comedy, our youth-
ful king confidered generofity as the firft virtue, and left lame juftice
to halt after in the rear. That fpirit of chivalry however, and genius
for the field, which had outgrown and {lifted the vices of his youth,
conquered likewife or fupprefled ambition in his kindred ; and Henry
felt himfelf truly refiftlefs both at home and abroad, whilft Edward
Langley, earl of Cambridge, fon to the duke of York, and hufband to
Anne Mortimer, fought by his fide upon the plains of Agincourt. The
victory won that day was fo furprizing, that no annals within the
reach of Retrofpefl pretend to equal it. The king appeared a prodigy
of perfonal valour ; and Frenchmen, difcoura^ed by their own haplels
fovereign's incapacity, looked on affrighted and amazed, as at a comet;
till ours had dictated the terms of peace, and had taken quiet poffef-
fion of their princefs, and in her (by new appointment) of the fuc-
ceffion ; to the ftrange detriment of their young dauphin's right. But
Paris was in the victor's hands, and 'twas he there prefcribed his own
conditions; when on Whitfunday 1421 poor Charles VI. infirm and
powerlcfs, fate down to dine with him, too much difordered in his
fpirits even to obferve the marked diiVmclion in the honours paid to
Henry from thofe few conferred upon himfelf; and in a few months
more, too ill to tecl the advantage when his fuccefsful rival died, leav-
ing a new-born fon, unable to protect the conqucfts made for him ;
conqucfh in themfelves glorious, but wholly ufelefs ; ferving to drain
our nation of its heroes, and what an Englifliman much more laments,
its rn'enue : that had been calculated at 5(5,OOol. o'year in Henry
the third's time: and although laterrcigns had fecn trade flourifh and

increafe,

CH. xxin.] FROM A. D. 1400, TO THE YEAR 1425. 441

increafc, young Henry, fifth of the name drove the national income
back to the fame fum, during the ten years that he held the fceptre.
He pawned his jewels, and even pledged his crown, for money to fup-
ply his ruling paffion ; and carelcfs of inducement or provocation to
the battle, was with, or without reafon, bent on war. His motto
ihould have been the bullying vcrfe in Congreve,

Fighting for fighting's lake's fufficient caufe ; _.J

Fighting's to me religion and the laws.

VOL. I. 3 K CHAP.

PROM A. D. 1/125, TO THE YEAR 1455.

CHAP. XXIV.
TO THE SACKING OF CONSTANTINOPLE, A. D. 1455,

AND ITS IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES.

IN this fhort period many chara&ers prominent beyond all the reft,
pafs through the field of our reviewing telefcope, and croud the
glafs of wearied Retrofpeftion. But unity died with the definition of
monarchick government : and although the general blaze is heightened
by the cluftering of various qualities in numerous perfons; 'tis but fuch
effecl: as is produced by breaking a large diamond into fmall bits, and
fetting them the modern way, irsnfparent. Circumstances make great
men in little times, and 'tis the facl that forces out the character.

Our infant Henry being crowned at Paris, and his brave uncles in-
verted with the regency, war entertained ambition with wide profpcfts,
contracting on approach indeed, but ftill fpreading again before the
eyes of the great duke of Bedford, whofe valour and accomplifhments
furpafs'd his fellows, and crowded knights and 'fquires round his ftan-
dard. The duke of Glo'ftcr, his brave brother, ruled at home ; and to
the cardinal de Beaufort, legitimated fon to John of Gaunt, was con-
"figned the baby king for education. The Houfc of Commons, grow-
ing in w-eight and wifdom every day, faw that a long minority might
tend to incrcafe the nafcent power of the nation, while quarrels for
high place amufed thofe nobles who had not Icifure to obfervc their
own declenfion. Befidcs that, Charles le Bicn-aime being dead, and
the young dauphin in no wife difpofed to fee his country loft, his claims

forgotten,

CH. xxiv.j FROM A. D. M:J, TO THIC YEAR 1433. 413

forgotten, gave the bold Englifh innnite vexation, by drawing their
armies clov\n among thofe provinces where loyalty to the old houfc flill
refided, and every day produced new difficulty in keeping what or.r
conquering king had gained. Charles VII. was, in addition to all this,
a man every way pleafing to the French by character : his love of fcaft-
ing, his romantick pafiion for Agnes de Sorel, his cvcr-unfubdued ge-
nius for hoping, and the vigorous renewal of hostilities after every de-
feat, endeared him to the nobles who furrounded his perfbn ; although,
when one of them faw him looking over his bill of fare upon the plain-*
of Vernceuil, he drew a deep figh "Why, what d'ye think of it?'
exclaimed the monarch. " I think, Sir," replied Louis de la Hire,
" that never kingdom was more merrily loft."* In effect, the victory,
and tract of country loft that day to his enemies, might reafbnably
have difcouraged the bravcft campaigner; and 'twas- an accident, it'
ought in this world fhould be termed fuch, faved his crown.

Jaqueline, countefs of Hainault and Holland, whofe father, old
count Egmund, died hydrophobous by the biting of a favourite dog ;
was left by him fole poffcffor of thofe realms, upon condition that fhe
fhould marry the young duke of Brabant, firft coufm to ambitious Bur-
gundy. She Submitted, and fblemnizcd nuptials which fhe could not pcr-
fuade herfelf to endure even three weeks, with a boy not quite fifteen
years old. Forefeeing that his relations would confine her, fhe took
the ftrangc rcfolution of flying to England, and throwing herfelf on
the protection of our duke of Glo'ftcr, a man (lie never faw ; but
who, charmed with the adventure, and feizcd with a violent paffion.
for the countefs, a beautiful woman of fix and twenty years old, mar-
ried her inftantly, even without papal difpenfation, and prepared to
put himfelf at the head of an army to re-inftate his fatal bride in her
dominions. Such a ftep was certain to offend the court of Rome, and
difobligc for ever the duke of Burgundy, on whofe alliance our affairs

* Je penfe qu'on nc faurait perdre fon royaume plus gaiement.

3K2.

444 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH. xxiv.

in France chiefly depended. It had ftill worfe effect. The cardinal
de Beaufort, our intriguing bifhop of Winchefter, had long watched a
moment to attack the Lord Protector, and his mad marriage with
Jaquelinc afforded it. Feuds o' this confequence called Bedford from
his army at Vernceuil to quiet chem, and the affairs of France bore a
much better appearance.

We will not yet however lofe fight of the lady, whofe connection
with England was, before a year expired, diflblved, by an exprefs com-
mand of Martin V.; and me accepting her fecrelary's hand, the lord
of Borfcllc, he was foon apprehended, put in prifon, and threatened
with immediate execution, if the countefs would not make her will
directly, declaring Philip duke of Burgundy, firft coufin to the duke
of Brabant, her heir. She iigned the teftamentary difpofition, and
died of grief. The youth who had originally caufed all thefe diforders
was already dead of that confumption which he was ftruggling with
at the time he wedded Jaquelinc ; and the good duke of Glo'fter
(fo he was called) comforted hiinfclf in the embraces of dame Eleanor,
made odious to us by Shakcfpear, and pleafing to no one by the pen
of any hiftorian.

Charles meanwhile, well named Ic Bien-fervi, found himfelf a fe-
cond tirneaffifled by a woman, towards the regaining his original right.
It fecms as if the higheft and lowcft of our fex had been, without their
expectation, oddly enlhted to fervc as inftruments towards this man's
re-inftatement on the, throne of his anceftors : for in this place a ftrange
phenomenon prefles upon our powers of Retrofpeff, and claims a tran-
fient glance for Joan of Arc. This artlefs and illiterate maid, born
in a cottage, bred a cow- keeper, and at the age ot twcnty-icven years
advanced to menial fcrvicc in a coarfe country inn; after fume
nights pailed in ftrange perturbation, was fuddcnly, find, as Hie laid,
involuntarily impelled to leek the tent of an old French officer,
then upon guard, and to demand of him fafc convoy and entrance into
a far diftant church, St. Catharine, Fier a Bois, where, flic informed

him,

ca. xxrv.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. 443

him, was dcpofited a fword and flandard fcvenfcore years before, with
which fhe was commiffioncd to defeat the Englilli army, then lying
entrenched before the town of Orleans ; raife its fiege certainly, and
fee the rightful monarch crowned at Rheims. Baudricourt, the fe-
cond ,,eneral in command, hefitated ; but awed by fuperftitious vene-
ration, after a fhort paufe granted her requeft, and introduced her to
his roval chieftain, who was no lefs aftouifhed in his turn at her dif-
cerfcing him from all his courtiers, dreifed in the fame uniform ; and
at her fteady and minute defcription of this all-conquering fword
and banner brought from the Holy Lund fo long ago, upon a great
occafion flie ne'er heard of, and laid up in a place ihe never could have
vifitcd. The fame of Joan's ftrange cnterprize and errand to the
church at Fier a Bois, flew to the Englifh camp, and facilitated her
future vidory by previous amazement. A fupply of provifion was
{ighcd for by the garrifon : the warrior maid covered its embarkation,
and got in with her convoy. She next harangued both armies from
the tower, and with impreilive eloquence pcrfuaded the duke of Bur-
gundy's defection from the Engliih. Enthufiafm infpired her hopes
and feconded her views ; at the warm inftant flie with joy difplayed
her heaven-fcntftandard from the wails of Orleans, and in a happy fallv
faved the town. Charles, freed from immediate preflure, purfued with
fpirit all his advantages ; Joan too performed her miflion in due time,
and faw -her lawful fovereign's coronation performed, as flie had pro-
mifed him, at R/ieiws. There Ihe rcquelled that her courfe might
end, and begged retirement to her cot again. Not being permitted,
flic aflurcd the king that victory would not in any preternatural mode
further attend her Itcps. This fad allertion, never believed or liicened
to in the French camp, was notwithftanding verified too early ; and
our fhockcd fight fees with affliction their long-drradcd antagonist"
made prifoncr by fume Frcnrh troops in Englifh pay, \\lio; under
pretence of here!) and witchcraft, burned her al\ .

m fuccds followed their fav age -de cifion : our inv.; ' rftjiefi were

d;i

446 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR U55. [CH. xxr.v

driven home baffled, or cut to pieces on the continent ; and while
Charles wifely employed, regulated the affairs of his own kingdom, and
endeavoured to reprefs the rifing infolencc of his young fon: our tutored
monarch now married to Margaret, daughter of Regner, king of Sicily r
deemed as if transferred over ,to her care, rather than emancipated from>
that of his uncles ; whofe mad quarrel and everlafting bickerings,
ended but in the cruel death of Humphry, lord protedtor. This
dreadful event to which it was fuppofed, that Suffolk, the queen's fa-
vourite was privy, roufed the lords who loved the flock of Mortimer,
to excite Richard, fon of Anne, by Edward earl of Cambridge, to
claim the crown : he was then duke of York in right of his father,
who died before the title came to him,, and he was only child befides
of the immediate heirefs to our throme ; yet was he loth to ftir in
his own caufe, or make pretenfions which his nearer anceftors had
waved : a Prince of Wales being born too within the laft feven years,
Richard lay dormant till provoked paft bearing by the proud duke of
Somerfet, who fince the death of Suffolk had alone poflefTed court fa-
vour, both from king and queen.

England meantime, wearied with continuing to lofe in France what
" {he of right ought never to have gained there, grieved and growled ;
and fhowed fure fymptoms of that internal war, which rendered our
ifland afterwards a prey to its own teeth. Her haplefs fovereign ill-
aiTured of loyalty among the lower ranks, or of any, except partial
fondnefs from the higher, felt the enfeebling power of fcruplcs creep
on him, and; gave the houfe of York fpirit to difpute with pious
Henry, that dominion it had contentedly yielded to the hand of his
warlike father. What appears moft offensive on a Retrofpeff, is to ob-
ferve Richard the true heir of our crown, meanly fomenting popular
infurreftions under Jack Cade, the demagogue of thofe days, in order
to fright his coufin from a throne the gentle prince had no flrong in-
clination to contend for : while the Lancaflrian partizans, not urged
by iuftice, but heated with defire of rejecting diclates from other

nobles,

CM. xxiv.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. > ;.

nobles, no way their fuperior, took the new-fafhioned method of red-
ing their king's title on the people s choice, when by 'a fort of national
acceptance, his anti-predeceflbr came to the regal feat. 'Tis thus we
fee the barons on both fides engaged, as 'twere without their own
confent, to pull down their own power, and fubflitute that of the
commons. While the yet unregarded peafantry, who were fuppofed
to be reprefented by that houfc of parliament, ranged thcmfclves under
their fuperior lords, and took the field as Yorkifts or Lancaftrians
the leaders of one party, Margaret and her fon, with Clifford, Somerfet,
and many more ; Richard of York upon the other fide, fupported by
the earls of Salifbury and Warwick a white rofe being the badgr
of honour on their part, a red rofc on the other, according to
the fpirit of the times. By letters which paft then in private
families, we learn how high fubordination was kept up : Suf-
folk, in fbme hot battle on the continent, ' was ftruggling in the
fofle of a fortified town, and forced to yield to his antagonill. Eft*
vous noble ? was the queftion -Ji fait the reply; but the Frenchman
confeft himfelf no knight. Our duke then fainting with the lofs of
breath and blood, begged his antagonift to kneel a moment, whilit he
dubbed him chevalier with his fword ; then yielding himfelf his pri-
foner, was borne off the field. The ftyle of married women of the
higheft rank, writing to their hufbands was, moft worfhipful lord, and
I humbly and reverently rcqueil your lordfhip, to give me order and
iull confent for a new gown, in which to greet queen Margaret on
her progrefs, &c. But we mud leave our little ifland to itfelf ; on
the firil blood being drawn in that fierce conteft, which was on the
22d. of May, 1-15.T, at the battle of St. Alban's, where Henry was
taken by the duke of York, and yielded up to him his v\hole autho-
rity ; but his proud con fort was not fo content : fhe and her friends
continued this divifion ot the rofes for thirty years from its beginning;
and in the courfe of thole years \sevc fought, \\Jth various fuccefs, no
fewer .than twelve battles, in which, and in their confcquenccs, were

loft

448 FROM A. D. 12-15, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH. xxi?.

loft the lives of fourfcore princes of the blood, with fuch a fall of
Britifh nobility, as nearly annihilated their exiftence in England, and
effectually ruined their power. But whifft our Britifh heroifm thus
partially, thus pcrverfely wafted, unconfcioufly contributed to change
the world's acknowledged authorities, and fap the feudal fyftem long
eftablifhed ; the growing elegance of the Florentine ftate, the accu-
mulating riches of the Venetian dominants, and above all, the mean
jealoufy of the Genoefe, promoted the fame caufe upon the continent ;
where that improvement, by which all others are recorded, that re-
gifter of virtue and terror of vice ; that beft reward of every human
excellence, ike art of printing, now began to employ the mind of Fauf-
tus, a townfman of Mayence, who in partnerlhip with Gutterberg,
made fome attempts, which for the firft fifteen years hard ftudy, ended
ut laft in copper-plates. Schasffcr their clerk however, infpired by his
paffion for Fauft's haadfome daughter, after his mafters had long
toiled in vain, about the year 1448 obtained the girl's hand from her
father, in cheap exchange for a difcovery of moveable letters, and a
new mode of inking them. Their method was at firft to make fac fi-
milcs from the MSS they were wifhing to perpetuate, and fome were
fold for fuch, till copies being multiplied, Fauftus was put in prifon as
a necromancer he faved himfelf indeed, but with fome difficulty, and
our hack phrafe " The devil and Dr. Faujlns^ bears yet continued tefti-
mony to his danger. The Mazarin library at Paris, fhewed in the year
1 7/.5, a Latin Bible of this kind, two volumes folio a fac fimile faid
to have been done in 1450 : but Tully's Offices was the earlieft book
printed, as all agree. Thus Germany contributed to immortalize the
praifes of Italians, who under Cofmo de Medicis were trying to make
young Florence rival ancient Rome ; while nothing was wanting to
his confummate, though temporary and unconfined dominion, except
the title of king, to which he preferred that of pater pat ria, the father
of his country.

But Spain and Portugal feemed now left fmgle to go on quite in

the

en. xxii.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. , , j

the old way : Henry of Arragon having married Catharine of Caftile
by force, and difobliged his nobles who- imprifoned him, many dif-
putes arofe, till John's fucceffion calmed them for a time, and all
united to obtain a victory over the Moors, who were terribly worded
at Figuera. Under Edward of Portugal indeed they regained their
ground, and Alphonfo's long reign kept them in check only, till the
famous battle fought by Don Pedro with them in Andalufia, about
1450, feemcd to threaten their total extirpation. The title of Sicily
having been refufed by Pope Martin the Vth. to Alphonfo, the Spa-
niards thought of it no more. That pontiff who fwayed the world by
his virtue and wifdom thirteen years, and on whofe tomb 'twas re-
corded, that he was the felicity of his times, had fo fct his faceagainft
the ancient and dangerous fuperftitions, that when a half-mad mi-
norite ran about Rome, expofmg for adoration the holy name ofJefus,
and calling on his companions and upon paflengers in the ftrcet for
fudden and immediate proftrations, the fovercign ordered him to be
taken care of, but faid, " The adoration of our bleffed Saviour was
" not to be thus transferred from himfelf to a painted board, which
" ferved only as a fnare to weak underflandings ;" and he puniflicd
the minorites by taking every picture from their convent, left, as he
faid, " they Ihould be tempted to idolatry." His death was a hard
blow r upon the court of Rome, whofe power had been fhaken even by
his election : the general councils gaining every day influence, feemed
upon that late occafion to have afferted authority too, and evince the
incroachments of that ariftocracy upon the church, which had long
been in pofleffion of the ftate of Europe; and which at this moment
was beginning to yield in its turn to democratick principles, faintly dif-
cerned, and hitherto at no fmall diftance. Amadeus of Savoy, un-
der the aflumed title of Felix V. contefted the popedom with Condo-
lirio, a low Venetian of Gondolier extraction, as his name imports.
But Felix was unhappily worftcd in the ftruggle, which foon terminated
in favour of his antagonift, an active, though irrefolute character; and
VOL. I. 3 L known

450 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH. xxiv.

known to hiftory by the ill-chofen appellation of Eugenius IV. for
eugentus means high-born.

This pontiff, ever iccking to recover fome lands loft to the church,
and ever fixing on the minute moft unfavourable for his purpofe, not-
withftanding his having bribed the Greek emperor to acknowledge
papal fupremacy, by exalting his two favourites, Ifidore and Beflarion,
to the dignity of cardinal, was at length depofed. A council having
now clearly decreed, that they had power to depoie popes who- pof-
fefled in turn no power at all to reverie decrees of council ; a new
doctrine, and dangerous in its nature to the effence of monarchick
government. Be this as it may, Eugenius by their many mortifica-
tions impofed on his impatient endurance, loft his life : and that awful
moment which feldom fails to make a man fincere, however hypocri-
tical it may find him ; forced from this primate the fingular confeffion,
that had he never been exalted to fupreme power in this world, he
never Ihould have felt reafon to fear for his fituation in the next. Soon
after his demife, the beautiful library of the Vatican was erected by
his learned fucceffor, Nicholas V. who had the addrefs to perfuade the
duke of Savoy into the truly wife meafure of withdrawing his preten-
fions, and fending him into Germany as legate with an immenfe re-
tinue the prince tranquillized his haughty fpirit into peace. A jubilee
announced the end of thefe fchifmatical contentions, and five hundred
and fixty people perifhed paffing over Ponte St. Angelo, fo immoderate
was the heat, and fo prodigious the throng. Holland about the fame
period, faw no fewer than 100,000 of her fubjecls fwal lowed up in
the remarkable inundation of Dort, and 'tis obfervable, that at no dif-
tant moment, a new phenomenon appeared in Europe, viz. a wander-
ing tribe of people fpcaking in an unknown language, who peacefully,
but reiblutely, overflowed many parts of Europe, occupying the w 7 afte
lands, and pra&ifmg chiromancy on fuch as would lend their palms,
in which thefe travellers pretended to forefee future events. Pafquier
lays, " They were originally 1 2,000 fouls ; Chriftians they called them-

" felves,

CM. xxiv.] FaOM A. D. 1425, TO THE YLAR 1 1 >:.. -131

" felvcs, from the Lower Egypt, who had vowed a long pilgrimage ;
" aod fome (hewed pafiports figned by Sigifmund, a cireumftance
'* which afterwards induced the French to name them Bohemians. Other
" countries agree to call them, and thofe who imitate their mode of
" life, by the appellation of Gypfies ; but fomc who being connected
" with them, learned their tricks, fhowing flight of hand, and telling
" fortunes as they drolled along, were excommunicated by an active
" bifhop of Paris." Bohemia was however, become odious to all Ro-
manifts, fince John Hufs and Jerome of Prague, had found and ren-
dered it ftHl more the focus of what one party naturally termed rebel-
lions the other reformation. Both were true.

The felling of indulgences, the preferment of boys to the higheft
dignities of the church wiinefs Gregory XI. who was made cardinal
at fifteen years old, becaufc he was brother's fon to the fovereign ; with
the refulal of the facramental cup to the laity, for the fake of augment-
ing church influence, had revolted many : the cruel murder of two
innocent men who only preached againft thefe and other enormities,
never pretending to juftification by works revolted more. Wickliffe
had translated the New Tcftament, and from that hour none would
be forcibly kept ignorant of their Saviour's general doiflrine.

The Germans ftudied with peculiar plealurc every text that mili-
tated againft ecclefiaftical aggrandifcmcnt reciprocal abufc between
contending pontiffs too, fcrved to dctccl many an artifice by which
the world had long been kept in darknefs. The blue mould of inci-
pient putridity appeared at Rome, and Zifca was rcfolvcd to cut it out.
Lefs a theologian than a warrior, this bold aflcrtor of his and all his
countrymen's pretenfions, had taken the field with 4O,ooo men, fome
&w months after the council of Conftance, and had fet mankind againft
the emperor and pope, for decreeing death to thofe who really fought
reform only not reliftance. John of Bohemia laid, "That his com-
" miftion was to revenge their death :" I cannot find the true name
of his family, which was ibon funk in that Jbnsbriqitet by which he

3 L 2 claims

452 FROM A. D. J425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH. xxiv.

claims our glance of Retro/peffion, and which conveys his moft illuftri-
ous deeds to late pofterity, perpetuating the remembrance of his eye-
loft, and his victories won againft the abhorred and faithlefs Sigifmund,
whole mean defertion of the fubjefts he had fworn to protect, roufed
warm refentment in his angry bofbm, while negligent of Jefus's com-
mand at the laft fupper, to love all thofe who called themfelves difci-
ples of the fame crucified mailer he refolved rather to wreak ven-
geance upon the Catholicks for paft abufes, and made it his immediate
pretence, that he would never more lay down thofe arms he had taken
up, till in both kinds the eucharifts mould be adminiftered in Bohemia.

Thefe were no empty threats, John Zifca kept his word, built cities
too in feveral parts of Germany where Proteftant fettlers yet maintain
themfelves ; one of thefe towns he called Tabor, and when he died,
his followers were known by name of Thaborites : he died not how-
ever, till after a decifive victory won by him upon the plains of Auf-
fig, where having performed feats of renown fo as to amaze the enemy,
he loft his fight at once by an arrow's point piercing that angle eye
which feemed almoft to penetrate futurity.

Sigifmund now propofed a conference ; but on the road to where
they meant to hold it, his great opponent worn with toils expired :
leaving ftricl: orders that his body fliould be flayed, and the {kin made
a drum of: afluring his friends, that the weak emperor's armies would
fly on every fide when they fliould hear Zifca, though dead, founding
the fatal fignal. I had the pleafure to be fliewn an autograph written
in a beautiful character upon ill-coloured paper, by this extraordinary
perfon at Prague, in the year 1 78/. He figned his name, as 'tis tranf-
mitted down to us by the epithet one-eyed : Guercino the painter, who
like himfelf immortalized a fimilar defect, figned his own family ap-
pellation Barbieri, in letters 1 have feen preferved of his. The Orphan
Legions, fo Proteftants were called when their chief was no more,
rained many great advantages in fight. The drum did in effect terrify
the imperial troops, who tired of the conteft, prevailed upon the em-
peror

CH. xxiv.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. 453

peror and legate, after a long difpute, to pronounce at length thefc bold
Bohemians true fons of the church, although they fhould receive the
facrament in both kinds, for which they obtained leave befide, and the
pragmatick fanclion confirming this decree, was publilhed afterwards
at Paris : while marble monuments at Prague itfelf, gave local perpe-
tuity to this triumph over the Romim fee : which could alone revenge
itfelf in future, by calling all its Chriftian opponents Picards, a name
of great to all, to them but undeferved reproach Zifca had extermi-
nated that whole feel as a difgrace to religion, and a fhame to human
reafon, referving only two to tell their opinions and vindicate their
maflacre. Sleidan fays indeed, that his own followers were divided
upon many dogma but Picards were they not all Europe frighted
at their frantic behaviour, rejoiced to fee them either cloathed or
killed. But while fedition, fchifm, cruelty, combined with good
fenfe, decency, and fpirit of reformation to cut frefh channels in the
weftern world, for the full dream of Chriftianity to flow in ; by which,
though it apparently refined its courfe, the tide loft much of weight
and general force and power ; we muft confefs that unity itfelf could
not preferve the Greek church from being devoured in the caft, where
fmce the day that Morofini crowned earl Baldwin in Sta. Sophia's tem-
ple, A. D. 1205, the current even uifibly leflcned and failed, and gra-
dually mrunk away under a ieries of emperors, fome not unworthy of
the place they fate in.

Theodore Lafcaris, John of Jerufalem, with other names of note,
brave though they were, could not withftand the crefcent fplendour
cf the Sultan's glory : which as we have feen blazed up to fuch a
height in the year MOO, that no hero of inferior virtues and courage
to Tamerlane, had it in their power by any means to keep them in
check; and he couched only, not extirpated the rifing cataracl dcftincd
to put out the fight of ancient Greece and Afia, Egypt and Paleftine..
His vigorous arm removed the fatal film an inftant only : but under.
I&, John Vllth, and VHIth ; Emanuel, and all the reft of the An-

dronici.

454 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH. xxiv.

iSronici and Palzeologi, with mortal and dcftruclive fury it returned,
when Mahomet, fon to Bajazet the Proud, fpared not the brothers of
his blood, but following a horrible and newly fct example, murdered
the youthful princes in the feraglio, who flood the neareft to their fa-
ther's throne, .and hewed a paflage through his next of kin. His feat
once well allured, however, the fubjecl had no reafon to complain.
Victory in war, liberality in time of peace, marked the long reign of Ma-
homet the firft, and rendered him fo perfectly obeyed by miniflers, that
when he on his death-bed gave them a folemn charge to hide his ill-
nefs till the favourite fultana's fon mould come to Adrianople, where
his father fickened, thofe faithful fervants, Ibrahim and Bajazet, fent
for the deftined heir immediately ; and although Mahomet expired
fome days before his fwifteft fpeed could reach the town, thefe baflas,
with a Perfick furgeon's help, deceived the anxious populace, by fhew-
ing them their darling fbvereign's robes covering a well inftrucled mi-
mick, who, thoroughly acquainted with his matter's manners, per-
^fonated to perfection the royal invalid ; till Amurath arriving, reward-
ed a deceit by which he rofe without oppofition to fortune and to
fame. A falfe Muflapha but ftopt his progrefs for a moment : fooa
as great Mahomet's intentions were divulged, the trembling competi-
tor offered his own head to the Sultan, and was fpared. His genius
was awake to larger views : it foon impelled him on to conquer Hun-
gary, where Albert duke of Auftria, who had married Sigifmund's
daughter, and fucceeded to his dignity, fcemed incapable of making
much rcfiftance.

Turkifh power being quite uncontroll'd by any fecondary or inter-
mediate rank in the ilate, which, like the Babylonim empire of old,
admits but of two characters, mafter and flave ; feems at firil glance a
moft enormous body, a monftrous weight of ruin to fall upon and
crufh a finking continent. But to all poifons fomc latent antidote re-
mains. This huge mafs feels its diffufed animation flowing from one
Springing mind alone ; and if that foul lie long fmothcred in ftupefac-

tion

CH. xxiv.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 14*5. 4:-3

tion or dillblved in voluptuoufnefs, the whole remains inert, innocuous-,
a compleat capnt mortuitm. That difpenfation too, under which all
the inhabitants of earth exifted not uncomfortably during the infancy
of this our world, was little likely to fpread far a fecond time, when
one whole quarter of it, broken by violence, had been again ftrongly
cemented in fmall bits by commerce, gaining an artificial firm-
nefs beyond even its original ftrength. To fuch opponents Amu-
rath difplayed a temper of mind which made him very formidable;
Inflamed with martial ardour, he prefs'd on ; and fure of perfect and
implicit obedience, was followed with alacrity by his incomparable
captain the valiant Carambey. Thofc who withftood a torrent fo tre-
mendous, mould not be fliaded from our Retrojfrefl. Huniades, well-
named the Hungarian Hector, tempering valour with clemency, and
animating the courage of his Chriftian legions by an example few
could follow, was then Vay vod of Tranfylvania : his right arm railed
by principle alone, fell not till it had gained from the Turks fifteen
victories, chiefly by pcrfonal prowefs, and an activity almoft un-
equalled, h Was he faved Belgrade long afterwards from the fvvift
fword of Mahomet II. and fignalized himfelf chiefly at the fatal, the
memorable battle of Varna, where his endeavours to refcue the royal
corpfe (for Ladiflaus fell early in the engagement) fo attracted the no-
tice of Amurath, that he'erected a column on the fpot, celebrating the
courage of a white knight who bore no device upon his armour, but
whofe dauntlefs fervour in a fbvereign's caufe merited the praifes even
of an enemy.

It was however at Cunobiza where Mount Hasmus refbunded with
the clam of arms, that Ctiftriot, by his defection from the infidels, who
brought him up and called him Scanderbcg, meaning Lord Alexander,
ftopt for a time the progrefs of their hourly-exteixling empire. This
young prince, an early prifoncr from the Europeans, had been bred up
a trufted favourite in the Sultan's court, where his perfonal graces and
brilliant qualities had fixed the affections of brave Amurath during his

father's

456 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH. xxiv.

father's reign, and heaped upon his head fmce the acceffion of fuch a
friend to the throne, every pleasure that boundlefs power can beftow.
His birth, hisbaptifm, and precepts heard in infancy however, although
fmothered under loads of kindnefles, were never forgotten, or oblite-
rated from a mind glowing with concealed defire to revenge his fa-
ther's death, his own vile degradation, and the flavery of his country,
which in him ought to have refpecled the blood of Pyrrhus and obey-
ed their fovereign. To accomplifh thefe purpofes, he maintained
a private correfpondence with Huniades and warlike Julian, our Chrif-
tian commanders ; told them the unfufpecling Sultan's aims, putting
it often in their power to thwart them ; and in the decifive day at
Cunobiza, watched for the moment of defeat and left the field, hurry-
ing with him the re'is effendi, an old iecretary who kept the fignet of
the Grand Signer, and who, confiding in their conftant intimacy, little
fufpecled the motive of fuch kindnefs, and clung clofe to the fide of his
imagined protector. Soon as they were out of fight however, Scaa-
derbeg roughly feized his companion, forced him to fign forged letters
from the king, demanding of the governor of Croya that he fhould
give the garrifon up to him, on pain of inftant and imminent difplea-
jfure. This performed, he plunged his knife into the faithful fecre-
tary's heart, whofe laft crime towards his prince had been his firft ;
and having hid the body, marched on fwiftly to Croya with his coun-
terfeited orders ; where the governor, concluding himfelf fuperfeded
by Lord Alexander, quitted the city, and our artful Caftriot taking pof-
feflion, let in the Chriftian troops, who facked the place, and left not
there an infidel alive. Shall we lament that fad ncceflity which forced
our hero on fuch treacherous conducl ? and at commencement of his
courfe obliged him

To wade thro' ways obfcene, his honour bend,

And lliock e'en nature to obtain his end;

or (hall we turn the indignant eyes of Relrofpeff away, and fix them
rather upon generous Amurath, who after the great viclory at Varna,

when

CH. xxn-.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR U55. 457

when his mean courtiers afked him why he was fo fad, the brave Turk,
ftroking his white beard, replied, " Becaufe whoever triumphs here,
" I find ; 'tis death alone that conquers. How many gallant warriors,
" Chriftians and MufTulmen, lie this day mute beneath his cruel
" fcythe !" The letter too from this wife fultan to his old acquain-
tance breathes warm a manly tcnderncfs that gliftens through all the
odd inveclive it abounds in, and begins, " Amurath Ottoman, Empe-
" ror of the Eaft; to the moft hollow and ungrateful Scanderbeg, fends
" neither health nor welfare though once love." To which the
wording of the anfwer is no lefs obfervable ; but we can only note the
fuperfcription : " The fbldier of Chrift Jefus, George Caftriot, Prince
" of Epirus and Albania, to Amurath Ottoman, King of the Turks,
" fends greeting." Of fuch a controverfy the termination is lefs un-
pleafing than the continuance : all charge of black ingratitude how-
ever ends with the life of the Grand Signior, who was particularly his
friend, companion and protector. After his death, our honeft admi-
ration willingly follows the valorous champion of truth, the ftrcnuous
opponent of Mahomet the fecond, fb truly termed the Great. We
hear no talk of Scanderbeg indeed when that victorious monarch, his
royal father's obfequies performed, fet fleadily to obey his laft injunc-
tions, and drive Christianity from Conftantinoplc, which Palasologus
endeavoured to defend ; and fuch were the advantages of fituation,
that lefs than a defpotick power, that power by willing multitudes
obeyed, could never have reduced it to fubmiflion : for though the
haven was obtained through treachery, it was induftrious fortitude that
took the due advantage of the foe's perfidioufnefs, and drew a line of
gallies over land ; a plan fuggefted by the fraudful Genoefe, who
lived in conftant fear left the Venetians mould gain or fhould enjoy
that confidence from Conftantine which he was not likely long to
have in his difpofal. They ftrove to burn this battery by night; but
that the Ottoman vigilance prevented ; and the next morning forty
noble youths, natives of Venice, were, as a punifhment for fuch at-
VOL. I. 3 M tempt..

458 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [en. xxiv.

tempt, maflacred in the Turkifh. camp, where they were prifoners, by
Mahomet's command. The Greek emperor retaliated this cruelty,
by {ticking on the points of pikes the heads of two hundred MufTul-
men, captives within the town, and fet them on the walls for him to
fee : he faw and laughed, and looked with confidence upon two hun-
dred and fifty thoufand Turks bound to revenge their countrymen.
And now, after a fiege of forty days, a memorable number to both
fides in thole times,* the town was taken by a fierce aflault, for which
prodigious preparations had been made.

Our previous meafures bore another form. The Chriftian Empe-
ror entered the dome of Santa Sophia's temple by torch light : through
the vaft edifice a folemn filence, a univerfal gloom ftruck to the heart:
from the high altar only beamed thofe rays meant to illuminate the
fad repofitory of our Lord's body, whofe laft fupper was now, for the
laft time, celebrated there by his difciples. When the imperial lips
had been thus comforted, thus ftrengthened, he addrefled his followers,
who recollecting they were fpoken toby Conftantine the fonof Helena,
burft into tears and audible laments ; and proftrating themfelves, fwore
all to perifti in defence of the great name that founded their now-
falling city, the fecond Rome, the aggregate of excellence, the envy of
the eaftern world. Juftiniani only feemed obdurate : his private
wrongs, fancied or real, rankled in his heart even at that awful mo-
ment ; and hiftory attributes the failure of the day to his defertion on
the firft wound received. A moft unyielding fpirit poflefled the other
allies, and caufcd the infidels incredible annoyance ; while our brave
Europeans fold their lives at a high price, and every fofle was filled
with murdered Mufiulmen, whofe bold companions made of their

* For forty days deluge was acknowledged by Turks and Chriftians;

forty days of faft had been obferved by Mofes, Elias, and Jefus Chrift ;
forty days of penitence were allowed the Ninevites, not then forgotten ; and
forty years war is, I believe, even yet expe&ed by orientals before the end
of the world.

bodies

CH. xxiv.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. 459

bodies aftep to raife them on, and fcale the walls ; in vain. No Chrif-
tian arrow, no ftone miffed its mark: flung by our gallant knights, the
invaders tell, heaped on their bleeding brethren ; till great Mahomet,
like Homer's heroes, rcfiftlefs in war, drove to the breach, and with
his iron mace burft every barrier between him and victory. 'Twas
then from a high tower his dreadful voice proclaimed a three days
pillage of the place to troops who Ihould bear him in conqueror, and
feat him on the throne of Palaeologus. Conftantine heard ; and doubt-
ing not his deftiny, tore the once facrcd purple from his moulders, the
white plume from his head, and plunging unknown amidft a hofl of
foes, foon found the honourable death he fought for.

Such deeds denote and render mod remarkable the 29th of May
1-153, when the great city, founded juft 1 1 2O years before, yielded her-
felf up to victorious Turcifm ; and the fine church raifed with incre-
dible expences by Juftinian was doomed to fuffer horrible profanation,
a turban being placed upon the crucifix, which they fliot at with ar-
rows, carrying it round in impious proceffion : while the great temple's
felf was made a (table of, only referving the richly- adorned chancel for
a mofque, according to their own fuperftition.

In the general confufion, while plunder, cruelty and murder ftalkcd
around the defolated habitations of the rich, the publick libraries by
chance caught fire, and no fewer than one hundred and twenty thou-
fand volumes were deftroycd. Mahomet, although no literary cha-
racter, exprefled his concern ; he grieved at the excefles confequent
upon his oath to yield fuch elegancies into brutal hands, and often cx-
prefled his wifh that the three days were over. Obferving in the in-
terim a (lave or bufy Muflulman, breaking for fport the inlaid pave-
ment of fome church or palace, he ftruck him on the face with his flat
fcymitar, and bid him go feek fome fenfual pleafure for himfelf, and
not fpoil things which could alone delight that intellect lie ought not
to pretend to. " It makes a man's heart figh (faid he) to fee the fpider
" weave her web in palaces, and hear the owls hoot from the foldier's

" watch-

460 FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR 1455. [CH.XXIV.

" watch-tower." This is the common feeling of humanity, cxprefled
by oriental language. Mahomet had not ftudied the philofophy of our
days ; he had not hardened his mind by atheifm to infenfibility.

Conftantine's corpfe was his firfl objecl of enquiry : it was difcovered
by the Roman eagles embroidered on his (hoes. The viclor faw it
buried decently, and turned his thoughts to enjoyment of the con-
quefts he had made. In company of one diftinguifhed female all that
enjoyment for two years concentered ; and his hard-earned reward of
toil and danger, was only found in a Greek flave, Irene; whofe powers
of pleafing, and confummate beauty ; whofe noble birth and elegance
of manners, proved his difcernment and fuperior tafte : whilft warm
returns of the moft tender paffion upon the part of a Pheacian fair one,
fhewed all mankind how Mahomet, in peace, could lay afide the ter-
rors of his name, and charm thofe hearts which were born hoftile to
him. But the flern JanifTaries, grieving to fee their fpirit of a univerfal
conqueft checked by the tranlports of voluptuous love, began to growl :
a Chriftian captive now ruled over the Ottomans, they faid, and
fighed indignant ; and not unlike to the praetorian bands fome cen-
turies before, murmured at diftance from the throne their fullen but
dangerous difcontents. A trufty BafTa well-informed of this, and
heedlefs of his own life when put in competition with his mafter's,
now threw himfelf uncalled at the proud Sultan's feet, who liftening
to his tale with varying expreffion, told him he fhould not die, but
call the troops to-morrow to a general and plenary review. Inftant
obedience followed this command, and Mahomet pafs'd the remaining
hours with more than ufual gaiety and fplcndour in the apartments of
his fvveet Irene ; where favourites alone partook a feafl, made fafci-
nating by talents and lafting by luxury. Their revels ended not till
morning called ; and the enamoured emperor befought his fair com-
panion to hailen then, and adjuft all her ornaments ; for that Ihe was to
fhine brighteft at the review, and every eye bear witnefs to her
charms. The hour arriving, to a temporary feat high-raifed above the

crowd

cir. xxiv.] FROM A. D. 1425, TO THE YEAR U55. *6i

crowd Irene came, led by her royal lover, and fparkling in all the jewel <
of Golconda. When filcnt wonder held the aflembly mute, mixed as
it was of warriors and of citizens, the monarch thus addreiTcd them :
" Servants and foldiers ! from this hour confefs you arc not Haves to
" an unworthy fbvcreign : behold this model of perfection here, and
" learn, that he who can thus maftcr his own paffions, delerves to rule
" the world, and with your help will conquer it." So faying, with
his left hand he feized Irene by the flowing hair, and with one fudden
ftroke of his true fcymitar cut off her head, and toiled it to the terrified
fpeclators.

On this ftrange acl of favagc magnanimity muft Retrojpeftion paufc
a while ; reflecting, that as it confirmed the Sultan in his dear-bought
power, fo it extinguiflied every diftant hope of Chriftianity's revival in
the eaft.

KXD OF VOL. I.

(. Printer,

RETROSPECTION:

A REVIEW

OF THE

MOST STRIKING AND IMPORTANT

EVENTS, CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS,
AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES,

WHICH

Till LAST EIGHTEEN HUNDRED YEARS HAVE PRESENTED

TO THE

I'lEJV OF MANKIM).

A la verite ce n'est ici qu'un fragment, mais dans les travaux les plus achevcs des hommrs
il n'y a que des fragments. L'histoire d'un roi n'est qu'un fragment de celle de sa dynastic,
celle de sa dynastic de celle de fon royaume, celle de fon royaume de celle du genre hutnain ;
qui n'est elle-meme qu'un fragment de celle des etrcs qui babitent le globe, dont 1'hiftoire uni-
verfelle nc serait apres tout qu'un bicn petit chapitre de 1'histoire des astrcs innotnbrablcs qui
roulent sur nos tetes a des distances qu'on ne peut assignor.

BY HESTER LYNCH PIOZZI.

WITH A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

ritrxTED FOU JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY.
1801.

vi CONTENTS.

CHAP. VI. Page

Progrefs of Science, Progrefs ofDifcovery, and Turki/h Empire re-
viewed, from 1550 to ] 600. 112

CHAP. VII.

Italy, Germany, Spain, England, France, and the North. Progrefs
of Reformation From A. D. 155O to iGoo. 133

CHAP. VIII.

Firjl Portion of the Seventeenth Century ; its Effects on England,
Scotland, Holland, France, and Portugal ; with a Sketch of the
Changes in common Life, and Progrefs of Science, 1 Go

CHAP. IX.

Portugal, Perjia, India, China, Turkey, Africa, and Rome, to 1 650. 181

CHAP. X.

Sweden, Germany, France, and America, down to 1650. 205

CHAP. XI.

Great Britain only, to 1650. 224

CHAP. XII.

France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, from 1650 to ] 700. 248

CONTENTS. vii

CHAP. XIII.

Page
Eaft, Weft, and North, from 1050 to 1700 Progrcfs of Science,

Manners, &c. - - 2/5

CHAP. XIV.

Spain, Portugal, Germany, Holland, and Great Britain, from lG50
to 1700. 298

CHAP. XV.

Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Rujpa, and Turkey, from \ 700 to 1 725. 321

CHAP. XVI.

France, England, Spain, Holland, Italy, and Aujlna,from \ 700
to 1725. - 345

CHAP. XVII.

America^ AJia, Africa, and General Sketch of Improvements in Eu-
rope, from 1725 to 1750. 372

CHAP. XVIII.

Sketch of the Situation of Auftria, Turkey, RuJJia,' France, and
Italy, from 1725 to 1750. 3Q6

CHAP. XIX.
Great Britain, Ireland, and America, from 1750 to 1780. 418

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XX.

Page.

Sketch of the Situation of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Ger-
many, from 1750 to 1780.

CHAP. XXI.

Review of TranfaStiotu In the Eajl and North, from 1 750 to 1 780. 45

CHAP. XXII.
General Retrofrefl, from 1780 to 1790.

CHAP. XXIII.

Sketch of Events from 1790 to 1796.

CHAP. XXIV.

Loft four Years of the Century, from 1796 to 180O.

RETRO-

RETROSPECTION.

CHAPTER I.

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND ROMAN EMPIRE..
FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS.

FROM 1455 TO 14Q2.

FT is faid, that thofe land journies are moft pleafant, which ofteneft
-*- treat us with a fight of fea ; and that fea voyages are lead fatiguing
when broken by a frequent view of different, but not far diftant coun-
tries. Thofe fadls are, in like manner, moft agreeable, which feem to
border on Truth's utmoft limits, and give a glimpfe, or fomcthing like
a glimpfe, of Fancy's boundlefs reign : whilft all agree, that Fiction
never knows to charm us fo, as when fhe feeks refemblance with
reality.

The events we have recorded in our laft volume, gleaned from hif-
ftoric annals, all are true ; at worft, accounted fo for eighteen centuries.
Although fuch is their character, and fuch their fhape, that cluftered
clofely as our book prefents them, they certainly do fecm almoft in-
credible ; and, what is worfe, they now and then appear thick and
impervious to a common eye. This is not quite the look I wifh they
had ; but things will not look well when fo much crowded, and I
cannot enlarge the room they ftand in without manifeft inconvenience.
If Milton, then, was forced to make his devils fhrink, that they might
VOL. II. B b<-

10 ACCOUNT OP JEWS, TURKS, AND [en. r.

be contained in that great. Pandemonium he provided them, I may,
nay, ninft be pardoned for compreffing all thefe gigantic fhadows of
long-paft occurrences into my glafs of general RetrofyeSilon. Nor will
my readers require to be oftentimes reminded, through the courfe ot a
work fo truly fuperficial, that they are not reading hiftory at all, but
only looking back, as from an eminence, upon the leading features of
thofe hiftories which they have read full many a year ago. That few
obfervations or reflections have been interfperfed, will, I much fear, be
no lefs eafily forgiven, though nothing is more flattering to an author
than that his own opinions fhould be called for. The fcientific gar-
dener thus is feen to recommend his hot-houfe bouquet, by feparating
carefully each rare exotic, and keeping them diligently disjoined from one
another, with a profufion of leaves, for the moft part, foreign to them
all. My wilder nofegay blooms a mere rofe campion, eafily found, or
in the field or fhrubbery, whofe genuine blufh alone attracts the eye
to where each independent flower fprings up, fole on its fingle ftalk,
and, unadorned with intermingling foliage, rears the head too near its
equally alluring neighbour.

Among the nations which have been reviewed, not quite enough
has yet, perhaps, been told of that furprizing, that feleclcd people,
who, on the firft grand mufter of mankind, flood foremoft in the
ranks of Humanity. Although their hiftory is earlieft, and beft au-
thenticated, their limited geography was firft afcertained, though law
had not a name in other countries when their code, yet extant, was
compiled ; and although commerce amongft them mentioned traffick-
ing and paying, in times when they had not exifted, we fhould have
heard but little, I believe, concerning fhekels of filvcr, current money
with the merchant.

Voltaire was ftrangely overfecn, to fay, that Jewifh annals muft of
neceflity be falfe, becaufe fo little in their records may be read con-
cerning monarchies of more importance : as for example, the old Afly-
rian, Chincfc, and other oriental ftatcs, of dignity fo far beyond poor Pa-

leftinc.

CH.I.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. n

Icftine. He might have feen that no ftate was important, cfcccpt as it
related to that one. He might have known that the Aflyrian, Baby-
loniih, and Syrio-Maccdonian empires are no more ; faded like phan-
toms, melted like ice in fummer ; whilft the fmall family which they
infultcd, conquered, and carried away captives, ftill remain a people ;
and more numerous were they when Benjamin the traveller, of the
twelfth century, journeyed the eaft over in fearch of their remains,
than when they lived under their own kings, in their own land ; a
people peculiarly favoured by their God, who will once more, in the
latter times reaflume his bcft-loved title, and be once more acknow-
ledged of his fervants the Holy One of Ifrael. That wondrous family,
confounded among all nations, and yet diftinct from any : which
thriving in opprcflion now, as in the days of Pharaoh, is fuppofed by
Bilhop Law, to be even at this moment more populous than ever ;
carrying our Bibles for us, as St. Auftin fays, reverent, although un-
confcious of its veiled contents, myfterious tenets ! to them dark and
cloudy, yet ftill confiding in its hitherto wwaccomplimed predictions,
though unobfervant that the greateft is fulfilled, and fenfelefs to the
guilt of murdering their own Meffiah when he came. Strange ! pre-
ternatural infatuation ! yet fcarce left ftrange or vain the weak at-
tempts made by fome modern Chriilians to convert them. God, who
with his own hand blinded the Hebrews, will, in his own time and
place, as fuddenly reftore their long loft fight, and they mail look on
him whom they pierced. Soon as the call is heard, their tribes will
congregate ; no kindred, no connexions will detain them ; they arc a fe-
parate fet, unmixed with other mortals. No lands do they poflefs, no of-
fices do they difcharge, which can require their prefence in countries,
where to amafs money for the deftined journey feems all their occupa-
tion. No honourable badge of heraldic diftinclion was ever known to
adorn a Jew, in any kingdom or government, although, unlike to every
other aggregate of men, each individual may lay honeft claim to thole
refpeds which were long thought due to high birth alone, and long

B 2 traced

12 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [CH, t.

traced lineage. He who has feen a Jew, has feen a gentleman, if an-
ceftrv can make him fuch, unaided by education. Their land is like
themfelves, defpifed, not defpicable; miflaid, not loft; forfaken or
uncultured, yet not barren. The Greek ProfefTor, Doctor Shaw, faid,
that the foil was far more rich and fine than the beft parts of Syria and
Phoenicia ; fertile enough, fays Wood, to tempt the hufbandman to
fow, although while fowing he is forced fometimes to take an armed
friend with him to protect the feed bag. Such is the tyranny of their
prefent mafters men who, in fpite of a leagued continent, tore and
held down the Holy City and the pleafant land, loading themielves and
their pofterity with the grand malediction firft pronounced upon the
newly regenerated race of mankind after the Deluge, when God appeared
to Abraham, and promifed, that whofo blefled him, fhould be blefled
on earth ; and thofe who curfed him, mould be themfelves accurfed. His
progeny, who are, even at this moment that I write, numerous as
the ftars of heaven, have already feen that curfe moft powerfully ac-
complifhed ; feen their oppreffors' vaft eftates deftroyed. The Roman
empire rots to nothing while we read this book ; but the Chinefe,
who alone never offended them, 'remains apparently fecure, firm fixed,
and happy. The Turk fubfifts, indeed, but, as an old writer faid
judicioufly, he is not fo formidable as Chriftians think for ; his head
is lefler far than is his turban, and even that fliews for much more
than it is, fwelling and puffing without, but hollow and empty within.
Truth is, the Turks coming at firft from Scythia, were abftemious
and hard livers ; but now that they have anticipated their Impoftor's
paradife, they become far lefs to be feared by foes of our perfuafion,
than when great Mahomet, fecond of the name, proved his mag-
nanimous trmmph over a paffion which boafts itfelf to have cajoled the
wifeft man recorded on the world's wide annals, enfeebled the ftrongeft,
and undone the firft. Amante barbaro ! Soldato inumano ! exclaims
Sagrcdo, when he tells tht tale ; but we muft recollect the Sultan's
principles : Irene was to him'but as a favourite, a fondled animal; and,

en. i.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SliVKX YEARS. is

at requeft of fubjecls who had fouls, he fuddcnly, as lie believed, anni-
hilated (however dear to him) a creature which had none. That tafk
performed, to lofe in war the weight of grief which will opprefs the
noblcft minds, this fcourge of Chriftians and of Jews, this Mahomet,
ruflied to the hoped-for conqucft of Belgrade. Defended by our
Hungarian Hedor, that fine city, key as 'twas then acknowledged of
the Danube, refufed to yield ; and round its walls were piled a heap
of dead, by which the aflailants thought to fcale their heights : but
after deluges of blood fpilt in the druggie, while dubious Victory flut-
tered from fide to fide, tempting men's hopes to madnefs of conten-
tion, the Turkifh Emperor received a wound his followers thought
fatal, and retired : upon recovery, he felt the impoffibility to gain his
point, and leaving innumerable foldiers, with all the flower of his Ot-
toman court dead on the field of battle, retreat was founded, and Chrif-
tianity took breath once more. Human profperity, however, {till is
found to confine clofely on the limits of misfortune. Huniades re-
ceived in this engagement his fentence of difmiffion from the hard
poft he had maintained fo long, and Pope Calixtus, when the news
was brought him that the fierce Sultan turned his thoughts from land,
to maritime contentions with all Europe, heard, at the fame inftant,
that Europe's brave defender was no more. Morea now, in figure like
the leal ot a plane tree, began to fliake like one ; but Scanderbcg,.
Prince of Epirus, for awhile protecled with his arm his native Greece.
Renowned rather for courage than Sentiments of nice honour, he no
iboner faw the iflands of the Archipelago in danger, than haftening to
break a truce, long time fubfiiling between his kingdom and the
Turkifh empire, he attacked them in every place, on every fide ; ami
having performed prodigies of perfonal valour in no fewer than twenty-
eight bloody battles, began, after he had purchafed the admiration, while
meriting the enmity, of Mahomet II. to think ferioufly of converting
his valiant antagonift to our Chriftian faith. The letters written on.
this occafion are exceedingly curious, and though, as a controvcrtift,

many

14 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [en. i.

many might outfliine Lord Alexander, who dared not even have looked
on his exploits in war, they prove his zeal to have been in no fcnftf
hypocritical, and Ihcw the tenor of the times to great perfection : fo
does the tale of Mahomet's dcfiring to fee the fey mi tar with which, at
three ftrokss only, this hero cleft three men down to the middle, as
Pope's Homer relates of Pandarus, while the Jftar d vifagc hung on equal
fides. He did not wifh to fee the arm that wields it, replied our Caf-
triot ; and without that, the -weapon is inert and good for nothing.
This brave prince died, at length, in his bed at Liffa, a town of the
Venetian {late, bequeathing to that republic he fb favoured, his fixed
inveteracy againft Mahometanifm, which, to fay true, they never loft
at all ; he left them, befides that, an infant boy, whom they could not
protecl, however, in his hereditary dominions fo difputed. It is thus,
therefore, that Retro/peffion fees the boafted defcendant of Pyrrhus, fon
to Scanderbeg, quitting his firft afylum for diftrefs, living a penfioned
courtier to the King of Naples, and laftly, dying without iilue to re-
deem the honour of his race. Stcmmata quid faclunt ? 'Tis almoft
always fo. Aulis and Athens, Eubasa, now called Negropont, with every
place almoft that hiftory loves to record, or pocfy delights to adorn,
fell flat, during the next ten years, before all conquering Turcifm ;
which, after our Chriftian hero was no more, found little oppofition,
fave from Venice ; and her beft troops cut all to pieces round Barba-
rigo and Bragadin, the Ottomans feized, and, to confound his followers
the more efficacioufly, impaled the laft named warrior in their prefence.
Yet though affairs never went worfe than, at this period, in the Le-
vant ; the King of Cyprus left his widowed queen and ifland all ex-
haufted to the Venetians, who gave her, as it were, her life in the eftate,
and then pofleffed it as true and lawful heirs. Whatever chanced, in-
deed, to other nations, this profperous republic ftill increafed in wealth
and pride, in opulence and power. Milan was fallen to the Sforza fa-
mily, when Mahomet II. firft began to fix himfelf upon the throne of
Conftantine, laft of that no longer dreaded name, and Phranza, the phi-

lojophical

CH. i.J ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 15

lofophical hiftorian willingly lived on, to dcfcribe thofc horrors his no-
bler-minded boy, although a child of thirteen years only, ftabbcd him-
fclf before the Sultan's face rather than endure. But if by fuicidc he
fared his perfon from pollution, that of fair Anna, daughter to high-
born and valiant Erizzo, was freed from dilhpnour by a Turkifh fcy-
mitar, on which fhe ran with hatly relblution, impelled by dread of a
long life in the Seraglio. It was the age of fearlcfTnefs and fortitude.
When women and boys fet fuch examples, what wonder the Grand
Mafter of Rhodes mould follow them, and, warm with zeal, refift the
Ottoman army, though prodigioufly fuperior in force and numbers to
his own ? Summoned by Cali Bafla, he replied, that he was ready to
give up his life to God, for it was to him he owed it, but that he never
would give up that fort to Anti-chriftian powers while Jife was lent
him ; and, in effect, by vigorous repulfes, and oft-repeated fallies from
the walls, his fierce invaders, wearied out at length, were called by Ma-
homet another way, for purpofe of recruiting his own army, which he,
and not unjuftly, called invincible ; and with which it was his intent
to punifh, if not dcftroy the King of Caramania. A grain of fand,
however, as Pafchal fays, faved Europe from thcvaft defigns of Crom-
well ; that grain of fand how truly unimportant in any place but that,
where it obflruclcd life's ncceiTary functions. A fmall llone in the
kidneys ilopt, on the fame principle, this Emperor's courfe, againft
which, when he moved forward in the elevation of confcious great-
ncfs, like a vaft elephant inflamed to rage by opium, mountains might
have oppofed themfelves in vain. Will it amufe my reader's Relrofpett
to paint this Prince after Bellino's portrait, which (hews him a flout
fcparc figure, not much beyond the common height, but broad made,
and of robuft and vigorous beauty. .His odd tranfaclion with this
Venetian artift mall clofc the fubjccl:, and we'll talk no more on't.
Giacomo Bellino's reputation had been carried, with fome of his hif-
toric pieces, to Conftantinople ; and Mahomet the Second fent for him
to court, where he had apartments, often vifitcd by this Sultan, who

talked

\i) ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [CH. i.

talked with him familiarly, employed his talents upon various fubjecls,
and not unfrequcntly fat to him himfelf. Bcllino had one day, for his
own particular {ludy, painted a decollation of St. John. The So-
vereign praifed its peculiar elegance of colouring, admired the difpofi-
tion of its light and fhade, but told the artift how much too long the
neck was ; adding, that all men's finews fhrunk immediately, when
once the head was fevered from the fpine. Bellino defended his error,
till the King faid he would convince him in a moment ; and, afking
how old St. John was fuppofed to be, bid his attendant nobles bring
him up a man exactly of thole years. They did fo, whilil Giacomo
and his royal critic ftript his neck, examining the mufcles, and con-
verfing about their length, their elafticity, &c. Strike off the head
now ! was the next command ; which, being fcarce pronounced, was
executed. " And come here, Chriftian," continued Mahomet coldly ;
" obferve and look, but how the fibres all contract. " He turned, and
feeing his painter in a fwoon, threw a gold collar of great value round
his neck, and laughing, faid, " Thou fhouldft not, child, have repre-
" fcnted that which thy poor heart makes thee afraid to look on."
The artift's nerves, however," were fo lhaken, it was long before they
could regain their tone, fo as to enable him to beg for leave, on fome
pretence, to fee again his native country, Venice ; where, in his gar-
rulous old age, he told the tale to thofe who lived in the next cen-
tury. When to this prince Bajazet fucceeded, he placed, it is faid, on
his dead father's tomb thefe words :

Mens erat expugnare Rhodum, bellare fuperbam Italiam.

Sagredo is, however, I believe miftaken, becaufe Paul Jovius outlived
Bujazct ; and this line feems to me taken from a long copy of verfes,
made either by that panegyrift of illuftrious men, or poffibly from
Jean de Vitel, who dedicated them, with other Poems, to Cardinal de
Vendofme, fo late as 1588. Be this as it may (and I would rather
truft our Knollys than Sagredo), great Bajazet kept the example of his

proud

CH. i."] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 17

proud predeccflbr. full in view, chaftifed his enemies, and gained, by
invafion, the kingdom of Caramania : after which, he attacked Caith-
beius, Sultan of Egypt, in the famed fpot where Alexander conquered
Darius ; and for three whole days, Mamalukes and Janiffaries difputed
with fuch fury every inch of ground, that of 1 78,000 fighting men,
brought by their leaders into the lifts of death, not 34,000 ever fa\v
again their native homes ; nor could the Turkifh Emperor refolve,
from his own perfon, to difmifs (as had been his intention) a corps fo
valiant, and fo loyal too, as the brave Janiffaries proved themfelves
through thofe days contcfl, when night fervcd only as a breathing
time, and hours of repofe were ufed but to excite defire of frcfh
Slaughter. From fcenes like thefe let us withdraw our eyes, which,
through the red-ftained glafs of RetrofpeSlion have looked too long, till
fight itfelf grows fick.

The Critical Reviewers, fome Month in 1 70,8 horrefco referens >
told us, and told us truly, " That to trace back the hiftory of any
" country to a remote asra, to times which, from the prevalence of
" fiction and romance, can only be elucidated by the faint glimmerings
" of tradition, and the feeble aid of conjecture, to carry on a feries of
" hiftorical events through ages darkened by ignorance and fupcrfli-
" tion, and fupplying little more than a rcgifter of names, and a cata-
" logue of enormities, mujl prove equally unpleajing both to the writer
" and the render" This is difcouraging indeed ; and fuch is my own
perfuafion of the fad, that had I not /(^performed the frightful taflc
before this fad conviction crofTed my path, 1 fhould have turned about
and burned my book : but fmce we have together toiled through one
quarto volume of a work, which has all thefe vile di fad vantages to
itrugglc with, we muft now mount, the modern fide our hill, lefs like
Parnaflus, God knows, than Vefuvius, where all the various views a
tnuellcr hopes for, is change from flame to fmoke, from flowing lava
to internal fire ; from paft cjfetfs to future fears of ruin : hot afhes too,
ot late departed heroes, fcholars, wits, will foon begin to burn, as ftand-
Voi.. II. C

18 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [CH. i.

ing firm we trample them with our feet, or taking long ftrides, flrive
to avoid them. 'Tis thus, I am told, that they teach bears to dance ;
fo when the ground grows treacherous and impracticable, a quicker
pace will beft relieve fenfations too uneafy to be borne. When we
have Ihewn, then, the ftill blinded Jews, near the clofe of this long
1 5th century, following fome fenfelefs Rabbi Lemlem as their prince,
and after him vainly imagining the Sophi Ifmael, fo called from his
great wifdom, to be their Meffiah, we will have done with oriental
follies ; obferving only, that it was from this Ifmael Shah, as Prince
Cantemir tells us, that the Perfian fovereigns of his royal houfe were
al! 4 called Sophies afterwards; a fact which Sir John Chardin has denied
jfince, and fays it would be laughed at in Perfia, could they be informed
we thought that their appellation. Mr. Gray mentions how, in
Hebrew, the word Sopher implies one fkilful in the interpretation
of fcripture, or facred wifdom, and we ftill call a young ftudent
of divinity at Oxford or Cambridge, a College Soph. Mr. Pope ufes
the phrafe deridingly in his Dunciad. But fuch reflections draw us
too fpon from Bajazet, whom we muft leave employed in fubjugating
the eaft, while his accompliflied brother, Zimzim, exiled, remained in
Rome, and not ill treated : while the artful Sultan having made peace
with all the Chriftian powers, or almoftall, paid to the Pope an annual
ft.ipend of 40,000 gold crowns for his fubfiftence, betides the famous
relique of the fpear head, which pierced our Saviour's fide when on the
crofs ; and Zimzim, conveyed from Rhodes by Daubuiflbn, its valiant
mafter, into Italy, was feen to kifs the flipper for protection. Bajazet
felt a peculiar refpect toward this young Zimzim, as fome authors
fancy, becaufe he was porphyrogenitus, eldeft fon to his father after he
came to the throne, a recommendation yet warm at Conftantinople ;
but that diftindtion merely relative to the old Roman purple, was no
longer regarded on the banks of Bofphorus. In Italy was now concen-
trated all that was left of empire, which, born at Rome, feemed deftined
to die there ; but, before death, to bloom and flower again, reaping the

richi

CH. i.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 19

rich fruits of autumnal fulnefs, in this its fecond fcafon. There, under
the protection of Nicholas V. the fciences were rifen to a degree of
fudden perfection, hopelefs to paft ages, and totally invifible, unlefs
looking from his Pifgah, like Mofes at the Promifed Land, our Roger
Bacon, through his new-invented glafles, might have, perhaps, dif-
tantly defcried them : but printing now facilitated the progrefs of
every branch of learning. Ficinusand Politian, then known by name
of Mefler Angelo di Monte Pulciano ; Naldus, the phyfician ; Lau-
rentius Valla, who traflated the old Greek hiftorians ; ./Eneas Sylvius,
afterwards pope ; and Platina, who wrote the lives of the Roman
pontiffs ; all flourifhed in or about the time we are reviewing ; and
Retrofyeffion has chiefly to lament, that Nicholas himfelf, who built
the Vatican Library, and fpared no pains, no money, in reftoring and
rekindling the generous flame of literature, expired with grief in 1455,
at hearing that Conftantinople was not only loft, but that all Europe
blamed him as an accomplice, an accefTary, at leaft, though prefeclly
without his knowledge, and certainly without his confent. Truth is,
Nicholas had provided a fufficient fleet and army, ready for relief of
the befieged city, but delayed fending them, in hopes the diftreffed.
Greeks would, for the fake of receiving thofe fuccours more fpeedily,
accede to terms propofed long fince by the Latin Church, and fign the
defired union, without further conditioning or objections. In the
mean while, however, Mahomet fackcd the city, and the remorfeful
pontiff was never feen to fleep or fmile again. His laft fhort portion
of exiftcnce was employed in feeking from piety that comfort which
talents and learning never can beftow ; in reforming court abufes,
feeding poor families, attending devout exercifes, and giving an ex-
ample of every chriftian virtue. To him fucceeded a more worldly
character, the firft Borgia Pope ; who, by Alphonfb, King of Spain's
intrigues, was raifed to power, and whofe firft ufe on't had for object
to check Caftilian pride. His fecond thoughts turned to the eaft of
courfe, found that the time for hot crufades was over, and that from

C 2 European

20 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [CH. r.

European zeal or diligence, but little could be hoped againft the
growing empire of Mahomet. Calixtus, therefore, fuch was the name
he took, fent Lewis of Bologna, an artful friar, with rich prefents, to
the Khan of Tartary, the Sultan of Egypt, and to the Perfian Princes
above all, with ftrong infinuations againft the overwhelming genius of
an individual, likely to make himfelf their fovereign. Thefe hints
were not wholly without effect, and the fly primate was fbon heard to
fay, that if he could not unite Chriftians in one pure and honourable
caufe, he could, at leaft, divide Mahometans, and by that means leflen
the tide of incroachment. His death, in three years after his eleva-
tion, flopped many a half-hatched project, good and bad ; and made
unexpected way for that great ornament of literature, -^Eneas Silvius,
who had not only been for a long time bufied in cultivating fcience,
but politics ; had taken the opposition fide in all matters of govern-
ment ; had talked aloud how letters form a republic, not a monarchy ;
how knowledge and freedom were obfcrved to grow together ; and
having been crowned with laurel in the court of Frederick, where he
was poet laureatj often made himfelf remarkable for ailerting boldly,
that councils were above the Pope.

From fuch a head to the old Romifli church, both all profeiTcd,
and likewife all Kwprofefled reformers, which were numerous, expected
many and very great conceffions, and felt, of courfe, furprife, added
to difappointment, when the long hoped for bull at length appeared,
beginning thus : " Whereas an execrable, and, in old times, an un-
" heard of opinion fubfifts in the world, concerning the legality of
" appeals from fovereign Rome, fettitig up councils as fuperior to the
" Pope, &c." It was, befides, obferved by all his courtiers, friends,
and companions, that, true to the feat he fat in, Piccolomini refolved
to maintain what was then left of papal dignity ' without diminution ;
when, with the quick turn of a wit, rather than the modeft deference
of a fcholar, he haftily retracted all his former pofitions, or almoft all,
and folemnly charged men who wifhed the preference of truth before

error,

CH. i. ] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 21

error, to forget the arguments of ./Eneas Sylvius, now no more, in the
commands of Pius Sccundus, who knew how to enforce their obedience.
Proteftants, notwithftanding, perfifted in belief that he was ftill half
a Huffite in his heart. Where love of power (fay they) had no
place, that heart was found and pure. He ftill continued to hate, as
he confefled, the filly rule by which ecclefiaftics were forbidden to
marry ; he abhorred all fimoniacal practices, and fet h's face againft
abnfe of that church power, which his fituation compelled him to
protetf. He fet on foot an army for the eaft, and purpofed animating
it with his prefence and example, who willingly engaged to fight
literally, no lefs than figuratively, under the banner of Jefus Chrift,
againft the growing ftrength of infidelity ; but at Ancona, in fight of
the fleet he had intended to embark upon, a fuddcn fever caught and
killed this amiable fovereign, whofe temperance and frugality teemed
to dcferve a longer life, and of whofe reign each reader will have wifhcd
a longer continuance. The lampoons which were levelled at his
perfon, came not into the noble mind of Piccolomini, except to move
his laughter : he faid, upon his death bed, that he ihould have 'epi-
grams enough, with fharp ftings, provided for his tomb-ftone, as all
the wits would naturally be bufy to break their jokes upon a brother
bard. Yet, though invulnerable to affronts of that kind, did any
writings during his pontificate appear, which he could fufpeft of
glancing at the authority he deemed it now his duty to defend, Pius
Secundus never pardoned them ; and, it is fuppofed by fbme, that
although literature had been his bii/tne/s in early life, and the chief
folace of his happieft days, 'twas no unpleafant reflection, jiifl at loft,
that the cardinal he ufed jeftingly to call our Lady of Pity, becaufe he
hud always fighs and tears at command, was likely to fucceed him :
in effect, this laft-named noble Venetian is even yet recorded by the
name of Paulus Sccundus, the Enemy of Learning.

Under his jurifdiftion Platina was racked for a pretended confpi-
racy, and Pomponius Lctus was fufpefted for fitting very loofe indeed

22 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [CH. i.

to the Chriftian faith, becaufe, in fome academy where he prefided,
the members had taken up a childifh cuftom of calling themfelves all
by Greek and Roman names Cato or Ulyfles. Such a fufpicion
made it unfafe for the hiftorian to keep in fight, fo he retired into ob-
fcurity, and took the appellation of Julius Sabinns ; with better adap-
tation, we muft confefs, than the cognomina of Laetus or Fortunatus.
This Pope, however, fhould have recollected, that his own mother was
baptized Polyxena, a name of no great credit to a lady ; but he was ig-
norant and jealous, and terrified at the progrefs of Mahometanilm in
the eaft ; and, what he thought as ill of, incipient reformation in the
weftern world.

Whilft I write this, however, 1 feel ftruck with the ftrange fimilarity
of humour between the fourteenth and the eighteenth century, in
which a horrible confpiracy againft all religion, all learning, and all
virtue, has been difcovered latent among a fet of impious men, calling
themfelves (as thefe did) by old appellations, Spartacus and Scipio,
Thrafybulus or Plato ; and can fcarce help reflecting, as ^Eneas Sylvius
did, that the Barbo Pope of noble birth, but confined notions as to li-
terature, might be a fit man enough for the times he lived in, and
reigned as 20Qth bifhop of Rome ; where, in order to attracl notice,
and that {hare of refpecl: his talents had no claim to, Paulus Secundus
increafed the pomp of his houfehold and fhow of his palace beyond all
preceding example : decorated his cardinals' horfes with fcarlet capa-
rifbns enriched with gold, entertained foreign princes with a dazzling
fplendor, and adorned the papal tiara, till its brilliancy furpafled even
oriental embellishments, and dijlanced the regalia of every European
fovereign: fo that being himfelf of elegant, not to fay effeminate
beauty, he appeared more like the Phrygian goddefs Cybele, fay fome of
his biographers, than like the vicar of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Platina
might juftly be enraged againft him, and heap on farcafms, as lie
heaped gems, for a purpofc ; but every government when it firft feels
itfelf beginning to grow weak, grows fliowy j and ornament, on almoft

all

CH. i.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 23

all occafions, is ufecl to fupply want of ftrength. No matter ! For*
mnfus the Second, as both his lovers and his haters called him, died of a
furfeit, having fupt on melons, and drank too copiously of iced water
after them, one hot fummer evening, when the Genoefe pontiff, known,
by nominal diftinclion of Sextus Quartus, fucccfsfully prepared to
reign in his ftead. His firft employment was to fell the gems which
had blazed round his beautiful predeceHbr, and with \vhat money they
produced, adorn the city, reftore the aqueducts, and purchafe books for
his beloved library at the Vatican, of which he is revered as founder,
though Nicholas V. projected the edifice, and laid the firft ftone him-
felf. The new Pope quarrelled, however, with Lorenzo de Medici
about another purcha/e, in which (as for books too) they had been
often competitors ; and felt the paffions of mean minds tormenting
their philofophic fouls into a peevimnefs beneath their rank in life a
rancour ill according with the friends and fellow citizens of this newly
arranged republic of letters, which they had fo taught each other to ve-
nerate. The fuperior lord of Imola was, by his exceffes and expences,
forced about this period, 1 "47 1 , to fet his barony to fale in the Romagna,
and both thefe princes were difpofed to buy, when Montefecco, a man
employed by Rome, thinking his matter tricked out of the purchafe,
began to engage, with or without his principal's confent, in a grofs
plot againft the whole Medicean family. Lorenzo's brother was aflaf-
iinated in the church, before the very altar. The people (who adored
their patrons and protectors) flew to arms, feized the confpirators,
racked Montefecco the agent, and hanged up the Archbifhop of Pifa,
with half a dozen more confederates, upon thejpof. Thefe laft were
chiefly of the Pazzi family, related to Sextus Quartus, whofe attach-
ment to any one partaking his blood was ridiculous, even in thofe days,
when no other cement of friendfhip was acknowledged to come ia
competition with kindred and alliance. This congiurazione de Pazzi,* as

* faxzi means mad. It was, indeed, the Mad Confpha.-;\

24 - ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [cu. i.

in Italian annals it is called, was therefore without much dubiety at-
tributed to the Pope, who, inftead of repenting his horrible intents, (if
fuch they were) began anathematizing the Florentines for death of
his archbifliop ; and excommunicated Lorenzo's (elf, whofe modera-
tion had really favcd the boy-cardinal, Riario, nephew to Sextus, from
being literally torn in pieces by a loyal, and active, and grateful po-
pulace, who even doated on their rulers ; furrounded them in the hour
of diflrefs, and fucked the flight wound which cut their favourite in
the neck, left, peradvcnture, the weapon (hould have been poifoned.
So earneft were they to fecure, after his brother's murder, the invalu-
able life of Lorenzo, whom they confidered as a mirror of excellence, a
model by which to regulate not only public but private behaviour; and
J'o abfurdly wicked was the man who thus provoked half Italy to frenzy,
by threatening the darling of this Tufcan ftate with what appears quite
undeferved deftruction. The ftory has been, however, fo lately told in
language that might have graced Lorenzo's literary court itfelf, by Mr.
Ilofcoe, whofe fine book is now in every Engliih hand that can hold
one I (hall not add a word to this rough fummary, except to fay, that
it was Mahomet's death alone faved the peninfula from annihilation : as
his fleet was, at the. very time of thefe filly tumults, hovering Hke a
hawk over the devoted diftricl of Calabria whence that event happily
called it away, and left the Florentines at leifure to refume their claf-
fical celebrations of old Plato's birth-day, in honour of which the Me -
dicean family, fafcinated by the new-rifmg bloom of ancient learning,
and captivated by all her collateral charms, falfc as well as true, had
inftituted a fort of jubilee, fome few years before this difturbance.

Sforza, meanwhile, Regent of Milan, upon the Turks' retreat, pre-
pared for war againft his neighbours of Venice and Genoa ; forgetting
that the family de Ilovere, an ancient one in that laft mentioned city,
had given birth to bold Francefco, who, though a Friar and a Cordelier,
forgot not for a moment that he was a man, bound by the ties of blood
to all his kin ; a fovereign invefhed with power to protect them.

Sextus

en. i.] ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 25

Scxtus Quartus, for thcfe rcafons, (to which the Tufcans added an-
other, by taking fides with Sforza) made himfclf ready for battle, re-
folving to defend the free dates, as they were called ; and had not the
dcfertion of his allies brought, or rather driven, the gout into his fto-
mach, all Italy would foon have been in arms at once. He died,
however ; and his dread of peace took from him, even in death,
that decent tranquillity which fhould prevail, at leaft, in the lad mo-
ments. But

Pacis ut hoftis eras, pace peretnptus obis,

faid the wits ; and Innocent VIII., of difpofition far lefs fevcre and
warlike, was his fucccfTor. It was to his care Zimzimjthe brother of
Bajazet, was configncd ; and we leave it for Boffi and Spondanus to
difpute, whether he actually and pofitively did kifs the flipper, or whe-
ther he only made believe, as children fay the debate being fomewhat
a childifh one, and to the Pope perfectly uninterefting, while he had
the annuity paid regularly from Conftantinople, and delighted to pro-
vide for fome of his numerous offspring out of the Turkifh treafury.
Thefe young people he, for form's fake, publicly called his nephews,
but laughed when he heard others call them fo. The merry men, of
courfe, broke their jcfts openly, faying, that Sextus Quartus had em-
bellifhcd Rome, but Innocent VIII. did moft towards peopling it. It
was he, however, built the palace Belvedere, repaired a fine old church
founded by Valentinian, and finding, or fancying that he found in the
w all fome of the genuine title, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, originally
placed upon our Saviour's crofs he called the edifice by that name,
Temple of the Holy Crofs of Jcrufalem, and decorated it with great
munificence. Innocent was of a gentle, generous temper, and only
wifhed to cultivate the arts of peace ; fcorning the libels made upon his
loofe character, w hen Pafquin called him father of his country : but
though not eminent for care concerning literature, when a French friar
came to him from Paris, with a long panegyric on a Pope dead feveral
VOL. II, D centuries

2(3 ACCOUNT OF JEWS, TURKS, AND [CH. i,

centuries before " Well ! what have you (aid of St. Marccllus ?" en-
quired he. " I have obferved," replies the Monk, " how happily he
" was named; feeing that Mar meant, no doubt, un mcr dc charitc ;
" eel mewed that he had le vraijcl ; and his was a proof qu'il avait les
" lumieres" " Get thee back, Tranfalpine dolterhead !" exclaimed the
Pontiff, " and 'difgrace not our daw T n of fcicnce with thy folly. Get
" thee back to thy convent, I fay ; and if thou wilt take a pen in hand,
" copy fome other's writing, but prefume not to publifh thy own."
To copy, however, became daily a lefs ufeful and a lefs neceflary art ;
and we may accordingly obferve, that the manufcripts, after the year
] 500, when printing was familiar to mankind, attract our notice lefs by
their beauty and neatnefs, than thofe which were written before then
fo does one human invention ftop the progrefs of another but chiro-
graphy is, at any rate, a petty perfection when at beft ; and for the noble
art which fuperfeded it, we are indebted to German patience, German
induftry : nor has Retro/pttfion often contemplated a truer model of thefe
his countrymen's peculiar merits than Frederick the Fourth, juftly fur-
named the Philofopher. He had fuccceded Albert, the fbn-in-law of
faithlefs Sigifmund, in 144O ; and had now, for more than half a cen-
tury, witnefled, with a fteady eye, the convulfions of Italy and Au-
ftria : a long reign, as he himfelf considered it ; and one, as he ob-
ferved, that another man would have called turbulent. But when
Constantinople unwillingly received the crefcent on her brows in lieu
of the crofs, and Turkifli terrors quitted the affrighted eaft only to dif-
play their Standard over the Mediterranean Sea, when Sextus Quartus
ihook the peninfula of Italy from her centre, nay, when Mathias,
King of Hungary, invaded Poland, beat the Bohemians, feizing, at
length, upon Vienna's felf, and keeping pofleffion of his conqueft ; this
truly philofophic Emperor betrayed no change of temper, nor no Signs
of paffion. Renim irrecupcrandarum fumma f elicit as dbl'ru'io, was his fa-
vourite fentence, and he wrote it on the walls of every bed-chamber
he flept in : nor was he a flothful or flow-minded man, although the

Italians,

CH. i.J ROMAN EMPIRE, FOR FORTY-SEVEN YEARS. 27

Italians, who never could provoke him, faid he was an'ima morta in
corpo vivente. He was alive to that partiality which makes every pa-
rent think their own progeny of fuperior excellence ; and when he
contemplated his daughter's charms, it came into the mind of Fre-
derick, that with them he might purchafe the whole world's peace .and
felicity. In confequence of this idea a meflenger was, early in his
reign, difpatched to inform Mahomet II. that if he would turn Chrif-
tian in good time ! and that forthwith ; the lovely Sigifmunda fliould
be his queen, uniting the empires of the eaft and weft. Mahomet
laughed, and faid he had fix hundred virgins then to choofe out of, and
had no fancy to increafc the lift ; but would receive the princefs wil-
lingly, without conditioning, to his feraglio. When even fuck a reply
failed to affecl the Emperor's good humour, the title of Philofopher muft
be confcft his due. The Popes had all acknowledged his piety, and faw
he knew how to appreciate merit in the pcrfon of ^Eneas Sylvius, whom
he firft fent ambaflador to Rome, where Nicolas the Fifth crowned him
with his confort Eleanora, in 1-152 ; nor would Pius II. quarrel with
him, as he did with Alphonfo of Spain, whofe haughtinefs required a
check from papal power. Frederick IV. lived on through fix pontifi-
cates, nor died till after Innocent VIII., who lay fo long in a fit once
before, that all around him thouglit his life irrecoverably loft. On his
demife was feated in St. Peter's chair the profligate Rodcrico Borgia,
well known in the annals of infamy by name of Alexander VI. At
his acccffion Retraced (hull reft, although the century is not quite
clofed ; becaufe Columbus gave to that period power to imprefs the
minds of men ; and make the year 1 4Q2, an epoch for fucceeding gene-
rations, far more remarkable than would round numbers, A. D. 1500.
But we ftep back a while to fetch into our foc"us the more northern
nations, France, Spain, Holland, and Denmark, with England, Scot-
land, &c. too long left out of light.

D 2 CHAP.

26 A REVIEWAL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, f CH. n.

CHAP. II.

CONTAINING

A REVIEW AL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, HOLLAND, DENMARK,
SCOTLAND THEIR ADVANCEMENTS

PROM 1455 TO 14Q2.
THE SAME PERIOD OF FORTY-SEVEN YEARS.

THIS period, although turbulent, will be found, on Retrofpeffion,
to have thrown up from the yefty waves of its chaotic violence
fbme ufeful improvements, and given rife to fome agreeable ideas. But
the brighteft day is obferved to commence with the fainteft glimmer,
and whilfr. in effect their fine capital inundated robbed Venice of valu-
ables worth a million fterling by one unexpected influx of the fea not
then as afterwards regularly fubmitting to all creation's delegated
Lord ; and whilft in rough Bohemia the bold Thaborites fought to fet
up one Podiebrand for prince, becaufe he was of their perfuafion,
Chriftiern, the King of Denmark, kindly confirmed the privileges of
Hamburgh, fpontaneoufly relinquifhed his pretenfions to the Orkney
and Shetland Ifles, in favour of James IV., newly born, and hoped, he
faid, to fee the time when not only nobles but good burghers, through
his land, mould feed on a fat goofe every St. Martin's day.

Reformation and civilization thus walked forward hand in hand ;
but they received fome checks. The Popes excited Mathias, nephew
to Huniades, the Hungarian He&or, againft Podiebrand, becaufe he
had been a follower of Zifca ; and as the northern nations now feemed
all difpofed to claim a Chriftian's ihare in Jefus' blood, Innocent the
Eighth had the addrefs to perfuadc them how wine would not keep
good in fuch cold latitudes, and that to infift upon this empty privi-
lege

CH. ii.] HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND. 29

lege would but produce fome horrid profanations. Meanwhile baro-
nial power began in its own native foil to mew fure fymptoms of
having patted its prime. Margaret de Waldemar had made her fub-
jedls find that a crown differed greatly from a coronet. They had feen
her wear one with three points, expreffive of the three realms me con-
fblidated in her own perfon, under her own government ; teaching, at
the fame time, the increafed diftance now firft acknowledged between
prince and noble, who, till thefe days, thought that fuch a title was to
be confidered but as the mark of a fuperior lord, and fcarcely that,
when, as it fometimes chanced, chieftains did homage for a town or
diftricl, to barons better in defcent than they, though weaker in the
number of adherents.

Thefe new principles made, as may be imagined, a gradual but cer-
tain alteration in the manners of all Europe ; and manners altering
confirmed the principles, which commerce wafted quick from more to
more. Science too fapped, while bold ambition battered the rufly pha-
lanx of that old Gothic ariftocracy which, feven or eight centuries before,
had broken Rome's royal empire by its wafteful inroads. The compafs
too had, in thefe later days, been difcovered ; and traffic, though intend-
ing at firll mere exchange of vendible commodities, found himfelf in-
ienfibly engaged as active agent in the caufe of fentiment. Looking -
glafles were brought from Venice, at an immenfe price, to this country,
when one mould have thought men's minds, occupied about civil war
and difcord hourly increafing, could have cared little for fuch articles of
luxury. A book, indeed, dill fetched thirty or forty pounds:' but he-
raldry was grown a fludy> and the famed collar of SS's, inftitutcd in
honour of St. Simplicius, if I remember right, was by none of Edward
the Third's defcendants held in higher eftimation than by Henry the
Sixth, who neglected not things of more folid importance, having no
k-wer than half a dozen wool-houfes in New Palace-yard, Wcftminfter,
and having arranged the wakes and fairs firft let on foot by Alfred, con-
fining them to market-towns. Henry VI. exalting Leadcnhall as the

firft

30 A REVIEW AL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, [CH. n.

firft public granary, is likewife remarkable in our capital fo is the
firft inftitution of our Lord Mayor's fhow while a fort of elegant
pottery had been invented at Florence, called terra cotta, which
being ufed for fculpture imitation, found its way into common life,
and they made jars there not very unlike their ancient amphora.
Mean time our cerevifiam here in Britain was kept from quick decay
only by wormwood ; for hops were, about this time, prohibited as an
ill weed thought to poiTefs ftrange deleterious qualities ; and wine, a
coftly cordial yet, was deemed fitting only for princely palates. Who
Ihould be prince over all, now grew a queftion of ftill more importance
among us. Men cared but little who they called the King, when dukes,,
and earls, and all were petty fovereigns ; but in as much as their privi-
leges decayed, and greater preference graced the royal feat, incitements
to the conteft grew in ftrength and power. Since our firft Edward
too had told his people, that what concerned all fhould be by all ap-
proved ; the realm feemed fet for univerfal fuffrage, and votes in fuch
cafe will be always given with moft effect upon the points of pikes.
Sicilian Margaret, well aware of tkis, refolved that her fon fhould not
lofe his juft inheritance, for fuch fhe deemed it, by his foft father's
flexibility. In vain did gentle Henry, fixth of the name, refign autho-
rity and power to his coufin. The blood befpotted Neapolitan, as
Shakefpear calls her, fummoned Earl Clifford to the field, with other
partisans, and forced on the mild monarch, by their means, that dignity
his unrefifting heart defired not. Richard of York reproached him
firft, and then oppofed, when with the Lords of Salifbury and War-
wick, army met army in the field at Bloreheath. Sir Andrew Trol-
lope there deferted fuddenly from the Duke's caufe, and with a body
ofdiftinguimed veterans, changed fides, and threw himfelf at the King's
feet, who pardoned all his foes, and heard with pleafurc that his rebel-
lious coufin had retired, feigning how Ireland required his prefence*
while Warwick went to France and flickered there.

Our people, however, hated, as it appears, the unhappy connection

made

.CH. ii.] HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND. 31

made with Rcgnicr, the king of Naples, and viewed, with pity bor-
dering on contempt, their. fovereign's fubmiffion to his dowerlefs queen,
whofe conduct toward good Humphrey, Duke of Glo'fter, had never
been forgiven here in England ; and Lancafter's weak title to the
crown grew daily more and more obfervablc, as men's ' eyes opened
againft prejudices, recovering from the fplcndors thrown around it by
their courageous King Henry V. Diforders, consequent upon a feeble
adminiftration, now filled the realm : to remedy thefe mifchiefs, War-
wick, half called from Calais, marched through Kent, and the bold Duke
of York haftened to meet him. Margaret, taken fomewhat unawares,
loft, at Northampton, \vhat tlie had won at Blorcheath ; her hufband
being, bcfidcs, made prifoner there, his coufin openly, and for the firft
time, claimed the throne, whilft all his peers and partisans diiputed man-
fully at Weftminfter againft thofe of the reigning prince, who fhould
be found the proper man to fit in it. That any arguments fliould
have any weight, whilft the whole nation thus was armed, is ftrange ;
and, to the- credit of that nation, certainly the refult of their debates
ftill more fo : every thing ending in a peaceful compromife, which
allowed Henry his life in the royal feat, to which Duke Richard was
named lawful fucccflbr by an unanimous vote of all the lords arTcmbled
at that council : but no decrees could filence Margaret, while her fon
lived to -whet her keen ambition. She roufed the barons in the North
to action, and brought large reinforcements up from Wales, where her
foft husband's mother had, by her fecond marriage with brave Tudor,
formed a connection for her former family, that never would forfake
them in diftrefs. She gave anticipating York the meeting, and drove
his troops before her conquering arms; killed him, and cut away his
head at Wakefield ; his youngeft fon, the fcarce -fledged Earl of Rut-
land, being the fame day favagcly murdered in cold blood by Clifford.
But Warwick hearing how the tide of war rolled forward towards our
mad metropolis, drew out the Londoners, ever attached to him and to
young Edward, who now inherited the duke's pretenfions. They met

the

32 A REVIEWAL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, [CH. n.

the Queen, fatigued, although victorious, and at St. Alban's gave her
army battle. There fortune once more favoured the Lancaftrians, and
our meek monarch found himfelf releafed by the Amazonian fpirit of
his wife : their fon too, who refembled Margaret in valour, and hoped
to emulate Henry V. in fame, difplayed that day proofs of high
prowefs in the fierce engagement, as did their coufm on the other
fide, young Edward ; who, in defpite of this advantage loft, was pro-
claimed king within the capital, while the Queen's troops retreated
towards thofe provinces which had enabled her to fetch her hufband,
detained till then amid the Yorkifts' army. The grand, decifive blow
was fought at Towton, and Scotland then received the royal fugitives,
after a fight, where Edward gave no quarter, fired with revenge, and
raging round the field. The gentle king again was caught and fpared :
the prince and Margaret efcaped to Regnier, with the good Duke of
Exeter their uncle ; and there it was that Philip de Comines faw this
unhappy nobleman ferving the Duke of Burgundy as groom.* Ed-
ward the IVth. meantime, remained in fomething like peaceful pof-
feflion of thofe dominions he had the beft right to : and the brave Earl
of Warwick, whofe affiftance lifted him to the enjoyment of that
right, lhared all his confidence, or thought he did ; while our new
ibvereign, given up to pleafure, fought among the high born beauties
of his court, thofe who were kindeft, and complied moft readily. The
carl, however, prudently conceived that good alliances mould firft be
fixed on ; and folicited an appointment by which he might demand the
Lady Bona of Savoy, nearly connected with France, as wife to Ed-
ward, who, in his abfence, courted Lady Gray de Wodevile ; and fhe ; .
refolving to accept no other terms, was queen of England iin a fort-
night's time. This dame was daughter to Sir Richard Wodevile, by
Jaqueline de Luxembourg, laft wife to the great Duke of Bedford;

* He came home, however, after fome time ; and Pennant fays, that he lies buried
3t St. Catharine's church, Eaft Smithfield. His widowed duchefs married Sir Henry
Jpnes, of Caermailhen, from whom defcends the prefent Bilhop of Kildare.

CH. ii.] HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND. 33

and being left of him a widow, wedded that brave young knight ; by
whom me was mother to Edward the Fourth's new queen, whofe firft
hufband, Sir John Gray of Grofeby, was killed fighting for the Houfe
of Lancafter, and came to beg her fons might not, for his fault, lofe
their cftate ; when the King loved, and raifed her to that royalty, which
fmothered, though it never quite extingut/hed her prejudices in favour of
the other family. Warwick, enraged at this intelligence, for every
reafon, menaced his fender with a dreadful vengeance ; and to affright
him more, as he believed, gave his own daughter to the banifhed
prince, and made a league with Margaret his mother ; who, with her
dear loved fbn, was then foliciting her caufe and his at Paris, when
the account was brought to all, of thefe unhappy nuptials. Thole
times were paft, however, when bold barons defied their kings to fingle
combat, and called them liar or traitor to their face. Edward the
Fourth of England knew his power, and was determined that it fliould
\)tfelt ; he laughed at rebel Warwick, as he called him, and mentioned
with contempt his new allies; prepared for war, and though he loft
one battle to his old opponent Margaret, who once more brought her
pious hufband out from prifon to a throne, 'twas not one victory
could keep the Yorkifts' power completely down, after it had been by
all fully acknowledged. The plains of Barnet faw the fall of Warwick }
whofe death drew the firft tears ('tis laid) from her eyes that long had
looked on him as her worft foe. So Sifygambis mourned the death of
Alexander ! But Tewkcfbury's calamities foon from the mind of
Margaret obliterated each fenfe of what was found moft Ibrrowful at
Barnet. The Jon, for whom me fought, for whom fhe mourned a
father in meek Henry, a father-in-law next in gallant Warwick, lay
{tabbed by his relcntlefs coufm's fword in Glo'fterfhire ; and the
Queen's fpirit of refinance died with ///'///. Her heart thus broken, her
\\rctched huiband, alter his efcapes, killed in the Tower of London,
while me fled to France, left Edward no competitor to cope with ; nor
ought to conquer lave his own hot paffions, and thofc of both his
VOL. II. E brothers,

34 A REVIEW AL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, [CH. n.

brothers, fullen and difcontcntcd at his marriage with Lady Gray,
who every year brought forth fome princely baby, yet feemed by
that means only to accelerate her own, and her whole family's deftruc-
tion. After his royal father's death indeed, the eldeft was called king
a while, Edward V. by name : but rugged Richard, fecond fon to
the great Duke of York, would not permit fuch puny obftacles to
ftand between him and the fucceffion. Murder to his mind brought
no qualms of confcience. He had difpatched the pious king in prifon,
and his fword helped to maflacre, in cold blood, after his brother's
victory, the gallant prince of Wales : as for the girls, they feem to have
been forgotten ; and the Queen-mother, that they might be wholly
fo, put young Cecilia early in a convent, and ftarted when report was
brought her that King Richard had thoughts of getting papal difpen-
fiition to wed the eldeft child Elizabeth, foon as his little nephews
were removed, and his firft wife put out of the way. This character,
however, this third Richard, firft the protestor of our realms, then the
ufurping fovereign, made good laws ; and feemed to have funk every
private virtue only to fill the flowing tide of general beneficence. This,
though a common ftratagem of crowned heads, feldom prospers : the
Llood-ftained prince foon found himfelf abhorred, even by that public,
for whofe fake he faid he had renounced all ties of tendernefs. They
called him Crook-back'd Dick, and turned their eyes from England
into Brittany, where the laft remnant of the Houfe of Lancafter,
defcended from a daughter of old John of Gaunt, lived in a fort of
honourable retreat, rather than downright obfcurity : and holy Henry
the Sixth had fold, " That youth will wear the crown which we
contend for." Such odd predictions then were counted prophe-
cies, and a wild Irifh bard had told King Richard he mould not live
long after he faw 'Richmond ; in confequence of which he ftudioufly
avoided, both in Surrey and in Yorkshire, ever going near a place
which bore that name ; but he was forced to recollect at laft, the
Earl, and not the Town, was fatal to him. At the firft found of ho-
nour's

CH. ii. HOLLAND, DENMARK, SCOTLAND. 35

nour's call, he came, warm with a pafllon for fair Anne of Brittany,
idol of thofe times ! \vhofc profeHed knight he was ; and Bof worth
field witnefled young Richmond's triumph. That his father was fon
of Owen Tudor, by Catharine of France, widow to Harry V. accounts
for the partiality Wales always fhcwcd the red rofe ; and in the
Moftyn family even now remains (in form of a caudle cup) the gold
hilt of that fword with which he pierced the brave ufurpcr's breaft on
that day ; which leaving him the power, and poor Elizabeth of York
the right, to reign over us, a marriage was proposed between her and
the conqueror, fo to unite their feparate pretensions, and end thofe
feuds which had fo long diftraclcd our dominions. It conferred few
domeftic joys indeed. What wonder ! that Henry the Seventh fhould
love Anne de Bretagnc, in whofe fociety he fpent his youth, was na-
tural ; that he fhould hate the heirefs of the rival houfe, is no lefs con-
fonant to common feelings ; and flic, perhaps, would have liked him
no better, had not her mother, Lady Gray de Woodville, infpired her
Hill with moft refpcclful Sentiments towards the defendants of time-
honoured Lancafter ; who having wedded Mary de Padilla's daughter,
by Peter the Cruel, their daughter, wife to Beaufort, Duke of Somerfet,
was mother to the Countefs of Richmond, whofe only offspring by the
earl, her fecond hufband, was Henry VII. She had a boy by her
third marriage with Stanley, Earl of Derby, after whofe death Jfie en-
dowed C/iri/f's College, Cambridge, and wore a nun's drefs ; but Hume
tells us how Henry VIII. confulted and refpefted her; and Campden
relates how this fo mighty prince/I had been heard to fay, that if the
Chriftian kings would once again fall on the Turk, and win the Holy
Land, fhe would hcdHf be laundreSs to their tents, and follow them
on foot to Palcitinc ; all which could not be true, mcthinks had She
turned nun, indeed, and left the world. However this be, the world
was improving dailv, and England's union of the holtik- mil's, foon
healed the wounds of forty years civil war ; during \\hich time, it is to
be fuppoled that laws, arts and commerce, muft have been neglcded;

E 2 whilft

36 A REVIEW AL OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, [CH. n.

whilft he who wielded the heavieft battle-axe, or drew the fureft bow,
was the beft man. The clergy acknowledged, as authentic, none but
Juftinian's code ; and laics held themfelves firmlieft bound by good
old ufages. The Plantaganet monarchs had, indeed, made fome good
ftatutes, efpecially Richard III. but ftill la lot du plus fort always
prevailed ; till the whole nation feeing a fon born to the united houfes,
began to think the ftorm completely over. Meanwhile, the greateft mi-
racle, in my mind, which ever came within our common eye, or fixed
the wandering glance of Retrofyeftion, is, that in A. D. 1377 England
ihould not enumerate many more fouls than two millions through the
realm ; andin A.D. 1487, four millions and a half were found upon enu-
meration, as if, like polypi, they had increafed by cutting : but I fuppofe
the incipient Reformation, though not begun here, had a fhare in this
otherwife incredible phenomenon. Emigrants muft have reforted hi-
ther from other countries, where perfecution had begun ; and Pafquier,
in his Rechcrches, docs tell a tale, how medical profeflbrs obtained
leave to marry as early as 1452, when Cardinal d'Etourville brought
from Rome permiffion of the Pope for this infringement of an old
cuftom, hitherto held facred ; perhaps that edidl might affed: our land,
where literature would not, any more than population, be repreiTed.
Let the fpring be ever fo backward, the frofts ever fb cruc\,Jbme leaves
will lhoot,yow flowers will appear in May. The Earl of Rivers, be-
headed by Richard in 1483, becaufe