TMXKAGK HOME Tt I.KNT. LOVELL'S series of school books. I r > X S NOCK’S IMPROVED EDITION' OF F-T: GOLDSMITH’S 1 ISTOIIY OF fxoland: FROM THE INVASION OF jri.’is rj.ssui v) thf, os 1 <>eoiu« if. WITH A OONT WIJATIO-V TO THE YEAR 185rt, \ WITH | I, Q U E S T I 0 N S FOR ~ X A M t N A T 1 0 N AT HE END OF EA II St-OTIOX, tv r>ES a ramErroK valuable ivvm’iw ation added TmtopoHorT TUJ4 WOI.K, W C*' • iating of Tables of Conte ’■i,'Hiarr Sovereigns and of Eminent Persons; r fik'us Exp.’nn 'torv >* •< : Keinacks on the Politics, Manners, and Literature of the Age; •. Oil l It tip of tin- Constitution, Sec., Ac. ,1 s Li 5 IU.mitATHi litTH X'MLRmPA ENORA VI NMS. * . '?• .V BY WM. C. TAYLOR, LL.D., OK TlilS ' iV PMT.ti.tt’ fiPULiy, -VVT >K OK MAXl'Af, OK A>’ * t€XT • ’i ’ ’ < 51. STORY ETC., BTC. Thlio C-«u . i» R’tntfca’ PRINTED AND PUBLISHED RV JOHN LOVELL. 1871. 4LXl . < V,. -fJi "’Ji t . . (’> j' rwrotfltABri tiil'I H yXOPSTKY. T.' ■ This is a reproduction of a book from the McGill University Library collection. Title: Pinnock’s improved edition of Dr. Goldsmith’s History of England : from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the death of George II, with a continuation to the year 1858. With questions for examination at the end of each section, besides a variety of valuable information added throughout the work, consisting of tables of contemporary sovereigns and of eminent persons, copious explanatory notes, remarks on the politics, manners, and literature of the age, an outline of the Constitution, &c., &c. Illustrated with numerous engravings Author: Goldsmith, Oliver, 17307-1774 Edition: 3rd Canadian ed. Publisher, year: Montreal : J. Lovell, 1866 The pages were digitized as they were. The original book may have contained pages with poor print. Marks, notations, and other marginalia present in the original volume may also appear. For wider or heavier books, a slight curvature to the text on the inside of pages may be noticeable. ISBN of reproduction: 978-1-926846-97-2 This reproduction is intended for personal use only, and may not be reproduced, re-published, or re-distributed commercially. For further information on permission regarding the use of this reproduction contact McGill University Library. McGill University Library www.mcgill.ca/library LOVELIES SERIES OF SCHOOL-BOOKS PINNOCK’8 IMPROVED EDITION OP DR. GOLDSMITH’S HISTORY OF ENGLAND, FROM THE INVASION OP JULIUS CiESAR TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II. WITH A CONTINUATION TO THE YEAR 1858, WITH QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION AT THE END OF EACH SECTION, BESIDES A VARIETY OF VALUABLE INFORMATION ADDED THROUGHOUT THE WORK : Consisting of Tables of Contemporary Sovereigns and of Eminent Persons; Copious Explanatory Notes; Remarks on the Politics, Manners, and literature of the Age; an Outline of the Constitution, &c., &c. ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. BY WM. C. TAYLOR, LL.D., OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, AUTHOR OF MANUAL OF ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY, ETC,, ETC. Third Canadian Edition. Pontnal : JOHN LOVELL, PRINTER AND PUBLISHER, AND FOR SALE AT THE BOOKSTORES. 1866 , PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION. Next to our own national history, it is incumbent on American youth to make themselves acquainted with that of the country from which we derive our political existence, and the most valuable of our cus- toms and institutions. The history of England will never cease to be interesting to us. It will never be other than a valuable and important branch of instruc- tion in our schools. Among all the histories of that country which have been written, none has been so long and so deservedly popular as that of Dr. Goldsmith. Whether this be owing to its attractive and perfectly intelligible style, or to the vivid impression which his simple and clear narrative of the facts never fails to leave, it is not now important to enquire. The fact of its established classical charac- ter, is sufficient to justify the publisher in selecting the most approved edition of this work, to be revised and adapted to the use of schools in our own country. The mass of illustrative matter, consisting of notes, tables, engravings, &e., which the reader will find in the present edition, may be regarded as adding greatly to its value ; and the complete and careful series of ques- tions appended to each section will claim the especial notice of teachers. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I.— The Ancient Britons* , . * II.— The Saxons III.— The Invasion op the Danes .—William the Conqueror V.— William Rufus VI. — Hekey I VII. — Stephen VIII. — Henry II IX. — Richard I X. — John XI.— Henry III XII.— Edward I XIII. — Edward II XIV. — Edward III. XV.— Richard II XVI. — Henry IV XVII.— Henry V XVIII.— Henry VI XIX.— Edward IV XX.— Edward V XXI. — Richard III XXII. — Henry VII XXIII.— Henry VIII XXIV.— Ed ward VI XXV.— Mary XXVI.— Elizabeth XXVII.— James I XXVIII.— Charles I XXIX.— Oliver Cromwell XXX.— Charles II XXXI. — James II XXXII.— William III XXXIII. — Anne XXXIV. — George I " XXX V.— George II .7 ...... .7 ... . XXXVI.— George III XXXVII.— George IV.‘ XXX VIII.— William IV XXXIX.— Victoria ’. XL.— Sketch op the Progress op Literature,’ Science, and the Arts, during the Present Century XLI.— The British Constitution Appendix 7 15 21 41 45 49 53 67 63 73 79 85 94 99 109 116 120 124 134 135 138 141 149 168 173 180 200 210 235 251 269 271 288 308 317 364 423 437 458 491 601 609 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Brief Sketch of the Saxon Idols from, which the Bays of the Week received their names. The idols which our Saxon ancestors worshipped were various; but those which are delineated in the Frontispiece, and from which the days of the week derive their names, were the principal objects of their adoration. The Idol of the SUN. This idol, which represented the glorious luminary of the day, was the Chief object of their adoration. It is described like the bust of a man, •et upon a pillar ; holding, with outstretched arms, a burning wheel be- fore his breast. The first day of the week was especially dedicated to its adoration, which they termed the Sun’s daeg; hence is derived the word Buhday. The Idol of the MOON. The next was the Idol of the Moon, which they worshipped on the second day of the week, called by them Mom’s daeg ; and since by us, Monday, The form of this Idol is intended to represent a woman, habited in a short coat and a hood, with two long ears. The moon which she holds in her hand designates the quality. The Idol of TUISCO. Tuisco was at first deified as the father and ruler of the Teutonic race, but in course of time he was worshipped as the son of the earth. From him came the Saxon words Tuisco’sdaeg, which we call Tuesday. He is represented standing on a pedestal, as an old venerable sage, clothed with the skin of an animal, and holding a sceptre in the right baud. The Idol WODEN, or ODIN. Woden, or ODira ¥/as the supreme divinity of the Northern nations. This hero is suppowfl to have emigrated from the East, but from what country, or at what time, is not known. His exploits form the greatest part of the mythological creed of the N orthern nations, and his achiev- ments are magnified beyond all credibility. The name ot the fourth day of the week, called by the Saxons Woden’s daeg, and by us Wee* nesday, is derived from this personage. Woden is represented in a bold and martial attitude, clad in armour, with a broad sword uplifted in his right hand. The Idol THOR. Thor, the eldest and bravest of the sons of Woden and Friga, was, after bis parents, considered as the greatest god among the Saxons and Y1 OF THE IDOLATRY OF THE SAXONS, ETO, Danes. To him the fifth day of the week, called by them 'Ihor’ a daeg, and by us Thursday, was consecrated. Thor is represented as sitting on a throne, with a crown of gold on his head, adorned with a circle in front, wherein were set twelve bright- burnished gold stars, and with a regal sceptre in his right hand. The Idol FRIG A, or FREA. Frtga, or Frea, was the wife of Woden or Odin; and, next to him, the most revered divinity among the heathen Saxons, Danes, and other Northern nations. In the most ancient times, Friga, or Frea, was the tame with the goddess Hertha or Earth. To her the sixth day of the week was consecrated, which by the Saxons was written Friya’s daeg, corresponding with our Friday. Friga is represented with a drawn sword in her right hand, and a bow in her left. The Idol SEATER. The Idol Seater is represented on a pedestal, whereon is plaoed a perch, on the sharp-prickled back of which he stood. His head was uncovered and his visage lean. In his left hand he held up a wheel, and in his right was a pail of water, wherein were flowers and fruits; and his dress consisted of a long coat, girded with linen. The appellation given to the day of his celebration is still retained. The Saxons named it Seater’ s daeg, which we call Saturday. It will be seen in our explanation of the Mythological plate, that the names of the days of the week owe their origin to the names given by the Saxons to their chief idols. We shall here observe, thatthe nameswhich they gave to the months were singularly descriptive of the seasons, and, therefore, we subjoin them: remarking, by the way, that the names of the months adopted by the French during the Revolution, though more elegant, were not more appropriate than those of the Saxons, whose ideas they appear to have borrowed. — Their first month was styled Midwinter Monath December. Aefter Tula (or after Christmas) Jahuary. Sol Monath (From the returning sun) February. Rethe Monath. . . .(Rugged Month) March. Easter Monath. . . [ ( Fr0 “ a Saxon goddess, whose name 1 ( we still preserve) j aprh.. Trimilchi (From cows being milked thrice a day).. .May. Sere Monath (Dry Month) Jure. Mad Monath (The meads being then in bloom) .'. .July. Weod Monath . . . .(From the luxuriance of weeds) August. Ecefast Monath . .(Harvest Month) September Winter Fyllish... { l Fr , om winter approaching with the) v ( full moon of that month). .7 \ October. Blot Monath ( (From the blood of cattle slain that 1 ( month and stored for winter provision) ) November. THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER L THE ANCIENT BRITONS. OF BRITAIN,* * * § PROM THE INVASION OF JULIUS Ch£SAR,f B, C. 54* TO -THE ABDICATION OF THE ROMANS. J SECTION I. Theirs was the science of a martial race. To shape the lance or decorate the shield ; E’en the fair virgin stain’d her native grace To give new horrors to the tented field. 1. Britain was but very little known to the rest of the world before the time of the Romans. The coasts oppo- site Gaul§ were frequented by merchants, who .traded thither for such commodities as the natives were able to produce, and who, it is thought, after a time, possessed themselves of all the maritime places where they had at first been permitted to reside. 2. Finding the country fertile, and commodiously situated for trade, they settled upon the seaside, and introduced the practice of agricul- ture ; but it was very different with the inland inhabitants of the country, who considered themselves as the lawful possessors of the soil, and avoided all correspondence with the new-comers, whom they viewed as intrdders upon their property, || and therefore harassed by repeated wars. * Britain, the name given to England, Scotland, and Wales, united. t J ulius Csesar was a most eloquent writer and successful warrior ; he assumed the title of emperor, which roused the jealousy of many of the principal Roman citizens, by whom he was assassinated in the senate- house, in the 56th year of his age. t The ancient inhabitants of Rome in Italy. § Gaul was the ancient name of France. II Geoffrey of Monmouth, an ancient English historian, says, that the British isles were first peopled 1100 years before Christ, and asserts that Brutus, the great grandson of jEneas, colonized them with the descend- ants of those Trojans, who, after the destruction of Troy, settled in Greece or Italy. This account is, however, unsupported by any genuine historical documents, and is, therefore, now treated as purely fabulous, though in les3 enlightened ages a story so romantic easily passed current. 8 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 3. The inland inhabitants are represented as extremelj numerous, living in cottages thatched with straw, and feeding large herds of cattle. They lived mostly upon milk, or flesh produced by the chase.* What clothes they wore to cover any part of their bodies, were usually the skins of beasts; but the arms, legs, and thighs were left naked, and were usually painted blue. 4. Their hair, which was long, flowed down upon their backs and shoul- ders; while their beards were kept close shaven, except upon the upper lip, where they were suffered to grow. The dress of savage nations is everywhere pretty much the same, being calculated rather to inspire terror than to excite Love or respect. 5. As to the government, it consisted of several small principalities, each under its respective leader ; and this seems to be the earliest mode of dominion with which man- kind are acquainted, and is deduced from the natural privi- leges of paternal authority. Upon great and imminent dangers, a commander-in-chief was chosen by common consent, in a general assembly; and to him was committed the conduct of the general interest, the power of making peace or leading to war, and the administration of justice. 6. Their forces consisted chiefly of foot, and yet they could bring a considerable number of- horse into the field upon great occasions. They likewise used chariots -in battle, which, with short scythes fastened to the ends of the axletrees, inflicted terrible wounds, spreading horror and devastation wheresoever they drove.f 7. Nor while the chariots were thus destroying, were the warriors who con- ducted them unemployed: they darted their javelins against the enemy, ran along the beam, leaped upon the ground, re- sumed their seat, stopped or turned their horses at full speed, and sometimes cunningly retreated to draw the enemy into confusion. 8. The religion of the Britons was one of the most con- siderable parts of their government; and the Druids, J * The ancient Britons were so habitually regular and temperate, that they only began to grow old at a hundred and twenty years. — Pltjtabch, De Placitis Philosopher. t Caesar gives a most animated description -of the dexterity of the Bri- tons in managing their war-chariots, which he ascribes to constant use and incessant exercise ; thereby intimating that the Britons were con- tinually engaged in intestine wars. — Cresar’s Corn., lib. iv. t The Druids were divided into three different classes ; the Bards, who were the heroic historians and genealogical poets ; theVates who were the sacred musicians the religious poets and the pretended prophets ;the third THE ANCIENT BRITONS, 9 who were the guardians of it, possessed great authority among them. No species of superstition was ever more terrible than theirs: besides the severe penalties which they were permitted to inflict in this world, they inculcated the eternal transmigration of souls, and thus extended their authority as far as the fears of their votaries.* 9. They class, which was by far the most numerous, and who performed al 1 the oth- er offices of religion, were called by the general name of Druids, which ap- pellation was commonly given to the whole fraternity. Theirsupreme chief was 6tyled the Arch-druia. To the priesthood were also attached a number of females called Druidesses, who were likewise divided into three classes. Those of the first vowed perpetual virginity, and lived together sequester- ed from the rest of the world : these were great pretenders to divination, prophecy, and miracles, and were highly venerated by the people. The second class consisted of certain devotees, who, though married, spent the greater part of their time with the Druids in assisting in the offices of religion, occasionally returning to their husbands. The third and lowest class waited on the Druids, and performed the most servile offices about the temples, &c. The priesthood, in the most ancient times, was heie- ditary in all countries, and was particularly so in the Celtic nations; where the order of Druids did not only descend to their posterity, but the office of priest was likewise hereditary in families. * Among a people so credulous as the ancient Britons, it is no wonder that those who possessed such high authority among them as the Druid's, practiced the greatest impositions : accordingly we read, that the Druids were in the habit of borrowing large sums of the people, which they promised to repay in the other world. — Druid® pecuniam mutqo acci- piebant in posteriore vita reddituri. — Farticius. 10 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. sacrificed human victims, which they burnt in large wicker- idois, made so capacious as to contain a multitude of per- sons at once, who were thus consumed together. To these rites, tending to impress ignorance with awe, they added the austerity of their manners and the simplicity of their lives. They lived in woods, caves, and in hollow trees ; their food was acorns and berries, and their drink water. These acts caused the people, not only to respect, but almost to adore them. The most remarkable Druidical monumen tin England i3 the circle of stones on Salisbury plains, called Stonehenge. It appears to have been a great' national temple. 10. It may be easily supposed that the manners of the people took a tincture from the discipline of their teachers. Their lives were simple, but they were marked with cruelty and fierceness ; their courage was great, but neither dignified by mercy nor perseverance. Caesar invading Britain. 11. The Britons had long remained in this rude but in- dependent state, when Caesar, having overrun Gaul with his victories, and willing, still further to extend his fame, determined upon the conquest of a country that seemed to promise an easy triumph ; accordingly , when the ' troops designed for the expedition were embarked, he set sail for Britain about midnight, and the next morning arrived on the coast near Dover, where he saw the rocks and cliffs covered with armed men to oppose his landing. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 11 12. The Britons had chosen Cassivelau'nus* * * § for their com- mander-in-chief ; but the petty princes under his command, either desiring his station, or suspecting his fidelity, threw off their allegiance. 13. Some of them fled with their forces into the internal parts of the kingdom, others submitted to Caesar, till at length Cassivelau'nus himself, weakened by go many desertions, resolved upon making what terms he was able while he yet had power to keep the field. 14. The conditions offered by Caesar, and accepted by him, were, that he should send to the continent double the number of hostages first demanded, and that he should acknowledge subjection to the Romans. Caesar, however, was obliged to return once more to compel the Britons to complete their stipulated treaties. Questions for Examination. 1. Was Britain well Known before the time of its invasion by the Romans ? By whom were, at that time, the coasts opposite Gaul frequented ? 2. Who introduced the practice of agriculture? 3, 4. Describe the inland inhabitants. 6. Of what did the Government of the ancient Britons consist? 6, 7. What was their chief force ? 8. Who were the ministers of their religion? 9. Did they ever sacrifice human victims? 10. What were the manners of the people? 11. Who first determined on the conquest of Britain ? 12, 13. Whom did the Britons choose for their leader? 14. What conditions were offered by Caesar, and accepted by Cassivelaimus ? SECTION II. Great Boadicea Thy very fall perpetuates thy fame, And Suetonius’ laurels droop with shame. — Dibdin. 1. Upon tbe accession of Augus'tus,f that emperor bad formed a design of visiting Britain, but was diverted from it by the unexpected revolt of the Panno'nians.t Tiberius, § wisely judging tbe empire already too extensive, made no attempt upon Britain. From that time the natives began to improve in all the arts which contribute to the advancement of human nature. 2. The wild extravagances of Calig'ula, || by which he * Sometimes written Cassibelau'nus, or Cassibe'lan. t Augustus was the son of Julius Caesar’s niece adopted by Caesar. He was the second emperpr of Rome. t The people of Hungary, which country was formerly called Pannonia, § The third emperor of Rome. V A Roman emperor, the successor of Tiberius. 12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. threatened Britain with an invasion, served rather to expose him to ridicule than the island to danger. At length, the Bomans, in the reign of Clau'dius,* began to think seri- ously of reducing them under their dominion. The ex- pedition for this purpose was conducted in the beginning by Plau'tius and other commanders, with that success which usually attended the Koman arms. 3. Carac'tacus was the first who seemed willing, by a vigorous effort, to rescue his country, and repel its insulting and rapacious conquerors. This rude soldier, though with inferior forces, continued, for above nine years, to oppose and harass the Bomans ; till at length he was totally routed and taken prisoner by Osto'rius Scap'ula, who sent him in triumph to Borne. 4. While Caractacus was being led through Borne, he appeared no way dejected at the amazing concourse of spectators that were gathered upon this occa- sion ; but casting his eyes on the splendours that surrounded him, u Alas!” cried he, “ how is it possible that a people possessed of such magnificence at home, could envy me a humble cottage in Britain 1” The emperor was affected by the British hero’s misfortunes, and won by his address. He ordered him to be unchained on the spot, and set at liberty with the rest of the captives. 5. The cruel treatment of Boadi'cea, queen of the Ice'ni, drove the Britons once more into open rebellion. Prasat'- agus, king of the Ice'ni, at his death had bequeathed one half his dominions to the Bomans, and the other to his daughters, thus hoping, by the sacrifice of a part, to secure the rest to his family. But it had a different effect; for the Boman procurator immediately took possession of the whole : and when Boadi'cea, the widow of the deceased, attempted to remonstrate, he ordered her to be scourged like a slave, and made slaves of her daughters. 6. These outrages were sufficient to produce a revolt throughout the island. The Ice'ni, as being the most deeply interested in the quarrel, were the first to take arms ; all the other states soon followed the example; and Boadi'cea, a woman of great beauty and masculine spirit, was appointed to head the common forces, which amounted to two hundred and thirty thousand fighting men. 7. These, exasperated by their wrongs, attacked several of the Boman settlements and colonies with success: Suetoni'us, who commanded the Boman forces, hastened to relieve London, which was al- * The son of Drusus, and successor of Caligula. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 13 ready a flourishing colony; but found on bis arrival, that it would be requisite for the general safety to abandon that place to the merciless fury of the enemy. 8. London was soon, therefore, reduced to ashes ; such of the inhabitants as remained in it were massacred, and the Romans, with all other strangers, to the number of seventy thousand, were cruelly put to the sword. Flushed with these suc- cesses, the Britons no longer sought to avoid the enemy, but boldly came to the place where Suetoni'us awaited their arrival, posted in a very advantageous manner with a body of ten thousand men. 9. The battle was obstinate and bloody. Boadi'cea herself appeared in a chariot with her two daughters, and harangued her army with masculine intrepidity ; but the irregular and undisciplined bravery of her troops was unable to resist the cool intrepidity of the Bomans. They were routed with great slaughter ; eighty thousand perished in the field, and an infinite number were made prisoners ; while Boadi'cea herself, fearing to fall into the hands of the enraged victor, put an end to her life by poison. 10. The general who firmly established the dominion of the Romans in this island was Ju'lius Agric'ola,* * * § who go- verned it during the reigns of Vespa'sian,t Ti'tus,t and Domi'tian,§ and distinguished himself as well by his cour- age as humanity. For several years after the time of Agric'ola, a profound peace seems to have prevailed in Britain, and little mention is made of the affairs of the island by any historian. 11. At length, however, Rome, that had for ages given laws to nations, and diffused slavery and oppression over the known world, began to sink under her own magnifi- cence. Mankind, as if by a general consent, rose up to vindicate their natural freedom; almost every nation as- serting that independence of which they had been so long unjustly deprived. 12. During these struggles the British youth were fre- quently drawn away into Gaul, to give ineffectual succour * Julius Agricola was the father-in-law of Tacitus, the celebrated his- torian. t Vespasian was the tenth Roman emperor, he was valiant, but very avaricious. X Titus was the eleventh Roman emperor, the son of Vespasian ; he was SO good a man that he was called “ the delight ol mankind.” § Domitian was the twelfth Roman emperor, and brother to Titus; he was a great persecutor of the Christians, and of a most cruel disposition. 14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. to tHe various contenders for tlie empire, who, failing in every attempt, only left the name of tyrants behind them.* In the mean time, as the Roman forces decreased in Britain, the Piets and Scots! continued still more boldly to infest the northern parts ; and crossing the friths, which the Ro- mans could not guard, in little wicker-boats covered with leather, filled the country, wherever they came, with slaugh- ter and consternation; 13. The Romans therefore finding it impossible to stand their ground in Britain, in the reign of the emperor Valen tin'ian took their last leave of the island, after being masters of it for nearly four hundred years, and now left the natives to the choice of their own government and kings. They gave them the best instructions the calamitous times would permit, for exercising their arms, and repairing their ram- parts $ and helped them to erect a new wall of stone across the island, for they had not at that time artisans skiful enough among themselves to repair that which had been built by the emperor Sev'erus*. The ruins of this wall, and the fortresses by which the Roman colonies were defended, are among the most interesting relics of antiquity in England. Questions for Examination. 1. What prevented Augustus from visiting Britain ? Did Tiberius make an attempt upon Britain ? U. What exposed Caligula to ridicule ? 3. Who was the first person that was willing to repel the invaders ? How long did Caractacus harass the Romans? 4. What remarks did Caractacus make on witnessing the splendour of Rome? -6. What caused the Britons to rebel ? Who commanded Boadicea to be ill-treated? 6. What were tho consequences? 7. Who commanded the Roman forces at that time? 8. What was the fate of London and its inhabitants? 9. Describe Boadicea’s conduct, and the result of this battle. 10. Atwhattimedidpeaceprevailin Great Britain? 11. What was tho situation of Rome at this time? 12. What were the nations that infested the northern parts? 13. When did the Romans take their leave of Britain? And howlov * had they been masters of it? ° * According to the “ Notitia Imperii," no less than twelve British corps of infantry and cavalry wero constantly dispersed in the distant provinces of tho empire ; while foreign soldiers were, according to the invariable policy of the Romans, stationed in Britain ° tThe names by which tho inhabitants of Scotland’ were at that, time distinguished. “The licts (so called from Pictish, a plunderer and not from Picti, painted), and the Scots, from Scuite, a wanderer in the Celtic tongue, were only different tribes of Caledonians.' ’—Dr henry THE SAXONS. 15 CHAPTER II. THE SAXONS. SECTION I. Bnt hark ! what foreign drum on Thanet’s isle Proclaims assistance ? 'Tis the Saxon band By Hengistled and Horsa; see they smile. And greet their hosts with false insiduous hand.— Dibdin* 1. (A. D. 447.) The Britons, being now left to them- selves, considered their new liberties as their greatest cala- mity. The Piets and Scots, uniting together, began to look upon Britain as their own, and attacked the northern wall, which the Romans had built to keep off their incursions, with success. Having thus opened to themselves a passage, they ravaged the whole country with impunity, while the Britons sought precarious shelter in the woods and moun- tains.* 2. It was in this deplorable and enfeebled state that the Britons had recourse to the Saxons, a brave people; who for their strength and valour, were formidable to all the German nations around them, and supposed to be more than a match for the gods themselves. They were a people restless and bold, who considered war as their trade ; and were, in consequence, taught to consider victory as a doubt- ful advantage, but courage as a certain good. 3. A nation however entirely addicted to war, has seldom wanted the imputation of cruelty ; as those terrors which are opposed without fear are often inflicted without regret. The Saxons are represented as a very cruel nation: but we must re- member that their enemies have drawn the picture. 4. It was no disagreeable circumstance to these ambitious people to be invited into a country upon whieli they had for ages been forming designs. In consequence, therefore, of the solemn invitation of Yor'tigern, who was then king of Bri- tain, they arrived with fifteen hundred men, under the com- mand of Hen'gist and Hor'sa, who were brothers, and * In this extremity, they made application for succour to JEtius, pre- fect of Gaul, in the following remarkable words: — “The groans of the wretched Britons, to the thrice-appointcd Consul iEtius, — Tlio barba- rians drive us into the sea, and the sea forces us hack on the swords of the barbarians, so that we have nothing left us but the wretched choice of beiDg either drowned or murdered.” -ZEtius was, however, too closely engaged in opposing Attila, the renowned king of the Huns (who, from the havoc he made wherever his sword was drawn, was denominated “ The scourge of God,”) to bestow any attention on the Britons. 16 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. landed on the Isle of Than’et.f 5 . There they did not long remain inactive ; but being joined by the British forces, they boldly marched against the Piets and Scots, who had advanced as far as Lincolnshire, and soon gained a complete victory over them. (A. D. 450.) The Saxons, however, being sensible of the fertility of the country to which they came, and the barrenness of that which they had left behind, invited over great numbers of their countrymen to become sharers in their new expedi- tion. 6. Accordingly they received a fresh supply of five thousand men, who passed over in seventeen vessels, and soon made a permanent establishment in the island. The British historians, in order to account for the easy conquest of their country by the Saxons, assign their treach- ery, not less than their valour, as a principal cause. 7. They allege, that Yor'tigern was artfully inveigled into a passion for Rowe'na, the daughter of Hen'gist ; and, in order to marry her, was induced to settle the fertile province of Kent upon her father, whence the Saxons could never after be removed.! It is alleged, also, that upon the death ofVor'timer, which happened shortly after the victory he gained at Eg'glesford, Yor'tigern, his fa- ther, was reinstated upon the throne. 8. It is added that this weak monarch, accepting of a festival from Hen'gist, three hundred of his nobility were treacherously slaugh- tered, and himself detained captive. After the death of Hen'gist, several other German tribes, allured by the success of their countrymen, went over in great numbers. 9. A body of Saxons, under the conduct of Ella and his three sons, had some time before laid the foundation of the kingdom of the South Saxons, though not without great opposition and bloodshed. This new kingdom included Surrey, Sussex, and the New Forest: and extended to the frontier of Kent. 10. Another tribe of the Saxons, under the command of Cerdic, and his son Kenrick, landed in the west, and from thence took the name of West Saxons. These met with towns' 6 *' an * s ^ an< ^ ■^ en t- Margate and Ramsgate are its principal t Our old English historians say, that when the beautiful Rowena was him on her knee with a ‘Be of health, Lord custom, answered, however, that some able historians have declared? that no authentic documents exist concerning these stones of Vortie-era and Rm^no of the slaughter of the British nobles; an d that g they aro fnclined to believe the whole a fiction, or at least very much exaggerated ° THE SAXONS. 17 a very vigorous opposition from the natives, but, being rein- forced from Germany,* * * § and assisted by their countrymen on the island, they routed the Britons, and although retarded in their progress by the celebrated king Arthur, t they had strength enough to keep possession of the conquest they had already made. Cerdic, therefore, with his son Kenrick, es- tablished the third Saxon kingdom in the island, namely, that of the West Saxons, including the counties of Hants, Dorset, Wilts, Berks, and the Isle of Wight. 11. It was in opposing this Saxon invader that the cele- brated prince Arthur acquired his fame. However unsuc- cessful all his valour might have been in the end, yet his name made so great a figure in the fabulous annals of the times, that some notice must be taken of him. 12. This prince is of such obscure origin, that some authors suppose him to be the son of King Ainbro'sius,t and others only his nephew ; others again affirm that he was a Cornish prince, and son of Gurlois, king of that province. However this may be, it is certain he was a commander of great valour ; and, could courage alone have repaired the miserable state of the Britons, his might have been effectual. 13. According to the most authentic historians, he worsted the Saxons in twelve successive battles. In one of these, namely, that fought at Caerbadon, in Berks, it is asserted that he killed no less than four hundred and forty of the enemy with his own hand. But the Saxons were too numerous and power- ful to be extirpated by the desultory efforts of single valour j so that a peace, and not a conquest, was the im- mediate fruit of his victories. 14. The enemy, therefore, still gained ground ; and this prince, in the decline of life, had the mortification, from some domestic troubles of his own, to be a patient spectator of their encroachments. His first wife had been carried off by Menlas, king of Somerset- shire, who detained her a whole year at Glastonbury, § until Arthur, discovering the place of her retreat, advanced with an army against the seducer, and obliged him to give her back. 15. In his second wife, perhaps, he may have been more fortunate, as we have no mention made of her ; but it was otherwise with his third consort, who was car- * A large country of Europe, comprising many kingdoms and states. t A British prince, who established Christianity at Y ork, in the room of paganism or worshipping of idols. + King of the Britons. § Glastonbury is a town in Somersetshire, noted for a famous abbey. B 18 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. ried off by his own nephew, Mordred. This produced a rebellion, in which the king and his traitorous kinsman, meeting in battle, slew each other. Questions for Examination. 1. Who ravaged England with impunity? ....... , 2. To whom did the Britons have recourse for assistance in their distress 7 3. What character is given of the Saxons’ 4. Where did the Saxons land? 5. Whom did the Saxons defeat? 6. By what means can the easy conquest of Britain be accounted for? 7. How did the Saxons obtain possession of the province of Kent? 8. Were not many of the British nobility treacherously slaughtered? 9. Who laid the foundations of the South Saxon kingdom? 10. Who gave rise to the name of the West Saxons? 11, 12. What celebrated British prince opposed the Saxons with success? 13. What extraordinary feat of valour is related of him ? 14. What domestic troubles afflicted Arthur in the decline of life? SECTION n While undecided yet which part should fall. Which nation rise, the glorious Lord of all. — Creech. 1. (A.D. 575.) In tbe meantime, while the Saxons were thus gaining ground in the west, their countrymen were not less active in the other parts of the island. Adventurers still continuing to pour over from Germany, one body of them, under the command of TJffa, seized upon the Counties of Cambridge, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and gave their com- mander the title of king of the East Angles,* which was the fourth Saxon kingdom founded in Britain. 2. Another body of these adventurers formed a kingdom under the title of East Saxony, or Essex, comprehending Essex, Middlesex, and part of Hertfordshire. This king- dom, which was dismembered from that of Kent, formed the fifth Saxon principality founded in Britain. 3. The kingdom of Mercia was the sixth which was es- tablished by these fierce invaders, comprehending all the middle counties, from the banks of the Severn to the frontiers of the two last-named kingdoms. The seventh and last kingdom which they obtained was that of Northumberland, f one of the most powerful and extensive of them all. This was formed from the union of * Comprehending Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and the Isle of Ely t Northumberland, that is the land north of the river Humber, contained six counties in England, and extended as far as the Frith of Edinburgh, in Scotland., THE SAXONS. •* r\ two smaller Saxon kingdoms, the one called Berni'cia, con- taining the present county of Northumberland and the bishoprick of Durham; the subjects of the other, called Dei'ri, extending themselves over Lancashire and York- shire. 4. These kingdoms were united in the person of Ethelred, king of Northumberland, by the expulsion of Edwin, his brother-in-law, from the kingdom of the Dei'ri and the seizure of his dominions. In this manner, the natives being overpowered or entirely expelled, seven king- doms were established in Britain, which have since been well known by the name of the Saxon heptarchy. 5. The Saxons, being thus well established in all the desir- able parts of the island, and having no longer the Britons to contend with, began to quarrel among themselves. A country divided into a number of petty independent princi- palities, must ever be subject to contention, as jealousy and ambition have more frequent incentives to operate. 6. After a series, therefore, of battles, treasons, and stratagems, all their petty principalities fell under the power of Egbert, king of Wessex, whose merits deserved dominion, and whose prudence secured his conquests. By him all the kingdoms of the heptarchy were united under one common jurisdiction ; but to give splendour to his authority, a gene- ral council of the clergy and laity was summoned at Win- chester, where he was solemnly crowned king of England, by which name the united kingdom was thenceforward called. 7. Thus about four hundred years after the first arrival of the Saxons in Britain, all the petty settlements were united into one great state, and nothing offered but prospects of peace, security, and increasing refinement. It was about this period that St. Gregory undertook to send missionaries among the Saxons, to convert them to Christianity. 8. It is said, that before his elevation to the papal chair he chanced one day to pass through the slave- market at Borne, and perceiving some children of great beauty, who were set up for sale, he enquired about their country, and finding they were English pagans, he is said to have cried out in the Latin language, Non Angli sed Angeli, forent, si essent Christiani , — u They would not be English, but angels, had they been Christians.”* 9. From * Inquiring further the name of their province, he was answered Deiri (a district of Northumberland). “Deiri,” replied St. Gregory, “that is good; they are called to the mercy of God from his anger, that is, db ira. But 20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. vkat time lie was struck with an ardent desire to convert that uirenhghtened nation, and ordered a monk named Augus- tine, and others of the same fraternity, to undertake the mission into Britain This pious monk, upon his first landing upon the Isle of Tlianet, sent one of his interpreters to Eth'elbert the Kent- ish king, declaring he was come from Rome with offers of eternal salvation. 10. The king immediately ordered them to be furnished with all necessaries, and even visited them, though without declaring himself as yet in their favour. Augustine, however, encouraged by this favourable recep- tion' and now seeing a prospect of success, proceeded with redoubled zeal to preach the gospel. 11. The king openly espoused the Christian religion, while his example wrought so successfully on his subjects that numbers of them came voluntarily to be baptized, the missionaries loudly declaring against any coercive means towards their conversion. In this manner the other kingdoms, one after the other, em- braced the faith : and England was soon as famous for its superstition, as it had once been for its averseness to Chris- tianity. The Saxon ecclesiastics were in general men of great piety and learning. The most celebrated among them was the venerable Bede, born A. D. 673, died A. D. 735, whose his- tory of the Anglo-Saxon Church was so highly valued by King Alfred, that he translated it from the Latin language, in which it was written, into the Saxon. Questions for Examination. 1. Whence did adventurers continue to come? What counties formed the fourth kingdom of the Saxons * 2. What counties did the fifth Saxon kingdom comprehend? 3. What was the sixth kingdom called? What was the seventh kingdom ? and how was it formed f- , was the § e “ e r al name given to the seven Saxon kingdoms? 5. What happened to the Saxons after the Britons were subdued? 6. Under whose power did all tho petty principalities fall? 7. At about what period were missionaries 6ent among the Saxons to convert them to Christianity ? “ 8. 9. VVhat was the circumstance which occasioned the sending mission- aries into Britain ? ttowwerethe missio naries received by the Saxon monarch * II. What eflect was produced by the king’s example? what isthe king of that province named?” He was told a nr a r t I • Alleluiah !” cried he, “ we must endeavour that the nrafsef sung in that country.”— Hume. praises of God be INVASION OF THE DANES. 21 CHAPTER III. THE INVASION OP THE DANES. FROM THE END OF THE HEPTARCHY TO THE REIGN OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. SECTION I. The Danes! the Danes!” the young and aged cry, And mothers press their infants as they fly.” — Dibdin. 1. (A. D. 832.) Peace and unanimity had been scarcely established in England, when a mighty swarm of those nations called Danes* * * § and Northmen, subsequently corrupted into Normen or Normans, who had possessed the country bordering on the Baltic,! began to level tbeir fury against England. A small body of them at first landed on the coasts, with a view to learn the state of the country ; and having committed some depredations, fled to their ships for safety. 2. About seven years after this first attempt they made a descent upon the kingdom of Northumberland, where they pillaged a monastery ; but, their fleet being shattered by a storm, they were defeated by the inhabitants and put to the sword. It was not till about five years after the accession of Egbert % that their invasions became truly formidable. From that time they continued with unceasing ferocity, until the whole kingdom was reduced to a state of the most distressing bondage. § 3. Though often repulsed, they always obtained their end of spoiling the country and carrying the plunder away. 'It was their method to avoid coming, if possible, to a general engagement ; but, scattering themselves over the face of the country, they carried away indiscriminately, as well the inhabitants themselves as all their movable possessions. 4. At length, however, they resolved upon making a settle- * The Danes were inhabitants of Denmark, a kingdom in the north of Europe. t The Baltic is an inland sea in the north of Europe. j Egbert was the first sole monarch in England. § Nothing could be more dreadful than the manner in which these fierce barbarians carried on their excursions ; they spared neither age nor sex, and each commander urged the soldiers to inhumanity. One of their celebrated chieftains, named Oliver, gained from his dislike to the favorite amusement of his soldiers (that of tossing children on the point of their spears), the contemptuous surname of Bumakal, or “ The Preserver of Children.” 22 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. ment in the country; and landing on the Isle of Thanet stationed themselves there. In this place they kept their ground, notwithstanding a bloody victory gained over them by Eth'elwolf. The reign of Eth'elbald, his successor, was of no long continuance ; however, in a short space, he crowded together a number of vices sufficient to render hia •name odious to posterity. 5. This prince was succeeded by his brother Eth'elred, a brave commander, but whose valour was insufficient to repress the Danish incursions. In these exploits he was always assisted by his younger brother, Alfred, afterwards surnamed the Great, who sacrificed all private resentment to the public good, having been deprived by the king of a large patrimony. 6. It was during Eth'elred’ s reign that the Danes, penetrating into Mercia, took up their winter-quarters at Nottingham ; whence the king, attempting to dislodge them, received a wound in the battle, of which he died, leaving his brother Alfred the inheritance of a kingdom that was now reduced to the brink of ruin. 7. The Danes had already subdued Northumberland and East Anglia, and had penetrated into the very heart of Wes- sex. The Mercians were united against Alfred ; the depend- ence upon the other provinces of the empire was but precarious : the lands lay uncultivated, through fear of con- tinual incursions; and all the churches and monasteries were burnt to the ground. In this terrible situation of affairs, nothing appeared but objects of terror, and every hope was lost in despair. 8. The wisdom and virtues of one man alone were found sufficient to bring back happiness, security, and order ; and all the calamities of the time found redress from Alfred. 9. This prince seemed born, not only to defend his bleed- ing country, but even to adorn humanity. He had given very early instances of those great virtues which afterwards gave splendour to his reign ; and was anointed by Pope Leo as future king, when he was sent by his father, for his education, to Rome. On his return thence, he became every day more the object of his father’s fond affections; and that perhaps was the reason why his education was at first neglected. He had attained the age of twenty before he was made acquainted with the lowest elements of litera- ture ; but hearing some Saxon poems read, which recounted the praise of heroes, his whole mind was roused, not only to obtain a similitude of glory, but also to be able to transmit INVASION OP THE DANES. 23 that glory to posterity. 10. Encouraged by tbe queen his mother, and assisted, by a penetrating genius, he soon learned to read these compositions, and proceed thence to a knowledge of Latin authors, who directed his taste and rectified his ambition. He was scarcely come to the throne when he was obliged to oppose the Danes, who had seized Wilton,* and were exercising their usual ravages on the country around. 1 1 . He marched against them with the few troops he could assemble on a sudden, and a desperate battle was fought, to the disad- vantage of the English. But it was not in the power of misfortune to abate the king’s diligence, though it repressed his power to do good. He was in a little time enabled to hazard another engagement; so that the enemy, dreading his courage and activity, proposed terms of peace, which he did not think proper to refuse. 12. They, by this treaty, agreed to relinquish the kingdom ; but instead of complying with their engagements, they only removed from one place to another, burning and destroying wherever they came. CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. Gregory IV 823 Sergius n 844 Leo IV 847 Benedict III 855 Nicholas 1 858 Emperors of the East. Michael II 821 A.D. Theophilus 1 829 Michael III 842 Emperors of the West, and Kings of France. Lewis 1 814 Lolharius 840 Lewis II 855 Kings of Scotland. a.d. Congallus III 824 Dongallus 829 Alpinus 834 Kennethus II 849 Donaldus V 859 Constantius II 865 EMINENT PERSONS. In the reign of Egbert : Earls Osmond and Dudda. Bishops Wigfurth and Herefurth. — In the reigns of Ethelbald and Ethelbert: Swithun, bish- op of Winchester. Orsyck, earl of Hampton. Lambert and Ethelhard, archbishops of Canterbury. — In the reign of Ethelred : Osbricht and Ella, Northumbrian princes, who were killed while bravely opposing the Danes. Questions for Examination. 1. What enemies disturbed the tranquillity which England eDjoyed after the union of the seven Saxon kingdoms? What mode of warfare was practised by the Danes ? 2. What loss did the Danes suffer by sea? 3. What did the Danes carry away? 4. Where did they at length establish themselves? 5. Who succeeded Ethelbald? By whom was Ethelred assisted? * Wilton is the county town of Wiltshire, though Salisbury is now its principal place. 24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 6. What was the cause of Ethelred’s death? and to whom did he leave the kingdom? 7, 8 What was the cause of the lands remaining uncultivated? 9, 10. Wbat is related of Alfred’s youth and early disposition? 11. What was the success of this prince against the Danes ? 12. In what manner did the Danes observe their treaty with Alfred? SECTION II. Replete with soul, the monarch stood alone, And built on freedom’s basis, England’s throne: A legislator, parent, warrior, sage, He died, the light of a benighted age. — Dibdin. 1. (A. D. 877.) Alfred, thus opposed to an enemy whom no stationary force could resist, and no treaty could bifid, found himself unable to repel the efforts of those ravagers who from all quarters invaded him. New swarms of the enemy arrived every year upon the coast, and fresh invasions were still projected. Some of his subjects, therefore, left their country, and retired into Wales,* or fled to the con- tinent. Others submitted to the conqueror, and purchased their lives by their freedom. 2. In this universal defection, Alfred vainly attempted to remind them of the duty they owed their country and their king ; but, finding his remon- strances ineffectual, he was obliged to give way to the wretched necessity of the times. Accordingly, relinquish- ing the ensigns of jiis dignity, and dismissing his servants, he dressed himself in the habit of a peasant, and lived for some time in the house of a herdsman, who had been in- trusted with the care of his cattle. 3. In this manner, though , abandoned by the world, and fearing an enemy in every quarter, still he resolved to continue in his country, to catch the slightest occasion for bringing it relief. Ir his solitary retreat, which was in the county of Somerset, at the conflu- ence of the rivers Parretand Thone, he amused himself with music, and supported his humble lot with the hopes of better fortune. 4. It is said, that one day, being commanded by the herdsman’s wife, who was ignorant of his quality, to take care of some cakes which were baking by the fire, he happened to let them burn, on which she severely upbraided him for neglect. Previous to his retirement, Alfred had concerted measures for assembling a few trusty friends, whenever an opportunity should offer of annoying the enemy, who were in possession of the whole country. 5. This chosen band, still faithful ., * Wales consists of twelve counties on the west of England, annexed to it by Edward the First. ALFRED THE GREAT. 25 to their monarch, took shelter in the forest and marshes of Somerset, and thence made occasional irruptions upon straggling parties of the enemy, Their success in this rapa- cious and dreary method of living, encouraged 'many more to join their society, till at length, sufficiently augmented, they repaired to their monarch, who had by that time been reduced by famine to the last extremity.* 6. Meanwhile Ubba, the chief of the Danish commanders, carried terror over the whole land, and now ravaged the country of Wales without opposition. The only place where he found resistance was in his return from the castle of Kenwith, into which the Earl of Devonshire had retired with a small body of troops. Y. This gallant soldier, find- ing himself unable to sustain the siege, and knowing the danger of surrendering to a perfidious enemy, was resolved, by one desperate effort, to sally out and force his way through the besiegers, sword in hand. The proposal was embraced by all his followers: while the Danes, secure in their numbers, and in their contempt of the enemy, were not only routed with great slaughter, but Ubba, their gene- ral, was slain. 8. This victory once more restored courage to the dis- pirited Saxons ; and Alfred, taking advantage of their favour- * The life of Alfred is full of the most interesting events. Among nu- merous anecdotes related of him by the old English historians, the follow- ing we think worthy of a place in this work, as it affords a striking illustra- tion of his benevolence, and is a proof oi the privations, in common with his trusty adherents, underwent during their seclusion in Somersetshire: —“It happened one day during the win ter, which proved uncommonly se- vere, that he had sent all his attendants out to endeavour to procure lish, or some kind of provisions; so difficult was the enterprise esteemed, that the king and queen only were excusedfrom the employment. When they were gone, the king, .as was his custom, whenever he had an opportunity, took a book, and began reading, whilst Elswithawas employedin herdo- meslic concerns ; they had notlong continued thus engaged, before a poor pilgrim, accidentally passing that way, knocked at the gate, and begged they would givo him something to eat. The humane king called Elswitha, ana desired her to give the poor man part of whatpro vision there was in the fort ; tho queen, finding only one loaf, brought it to Alfred to show how Blender their store was, at the same time representing the distress the fa- mily would labour under, should they return from their foraging unsuc- cessful. The king, not deterred by this scanty view from his charitable purpose, butrather internally rejoicing at this trial of his humanity, cheer- fullygavetho poor Christian one half of the loaf; consoling the queen with this religious reflection : ‘ That he who could feed live thousand with five loaves and two fishes, could make (ifit so pleased Mm) that half of the loaf suffice for more than their necessities.' When the traveller departed, the king returned to Ms reading, and felt that satisfaction which most surely results from a beneficent action. Nor was it long unrewarded, for his companions returned with so great a quantity of provisions, that they were notexposed to any similar inconveniences during their seclusion.” 26 HISTORY OP ENGLAND ble disposition, prepared to animate them to a vigorous exertion of their superiority. He soon, therefore, apprized them of the place of his retreat, and instructed them to be ready with all their strength at a minute’s warning. 9. But still none Was found who would undertake to give intelli- gence of the forces and posture of the enemy. Not know- ing, therefore, a person in whom he could confide, he un- dertook this dangerous task himself. In the simple dress of a shepherd, with his harp in his hand, he entered the Danish camp, tried all his musical arts to please, and was so much admired, that he was brought even into the presence of Guthrum, the Danish prince, with whom he remained some days. 10. He there remarked the supine security of the Danes, their contempt of the English, their negligence in foraging and plundering, and their dissolute wasting of such ill-gotten booty. Having made his observations, he returned to his retreat; and, detaching proper emissaries among his subjects, appointed' them to meet him in the forest of Selwood, a summons which they gladly obeyed. 11. It was against the most unguarded quarter of the enemy that Alfred made his most violent attack ; while the Danes, surprised to behold an army of English, whom they considered as totally subdued, made but a faint resistance. Notwithstanding the superiority of their numbers, they were routed with great slaughter ; and though such as es- caped fled for refuge into a fortified camp in the neighbour- hood, yet, being unprovided for a siege, in less than a fortnight they were compelled to surrender at discretion, 12. By the conqueror’s permission, those who did not choose to embrace Christianity embarked for Flanders,* under the command of one of their generals, called Hastings. Guth- rum, their prince, became a convert, with thirty of his no- bles, and the king himself answered for him at the font. 13. Alfred had now attained the meridian of glory; he possessed a greater extent of territory than had ever been enjoyed by any of his predecessors; the kings of Wales did him homage for their possessions, the Northumbriansf received a king of his appointing, and no enemy appeared to give him the least apprehensions, or excite an alarm. 14. In this state of prosperity and profound tranquillity, which lasted for twelve years, Alfred was diligently em- ployed in cultivating the arts of peace, and in repairing the damages which the kingdom had sustained by war. *Now apart of the Netherlands, t The inhabitants of Northumberland. ALFRED THE GREAT. 27 15. His care was to polish the country by arts, as he had protected it by arms ; and he is said to have drawn up a body of laws.* His care for the encouragement of learn- ing did not a little tend to improve the morals and restrain the barbarous habits of the people. When he came to the throne, he found the English sunk into the grossest igno- rance and barbarism, proceeding from the continual dis- orders of the government, and from the ravages of the Danes. He himself complains, that on his accession, he knew not one person south of the Thames who could so much as interpret the Latin service. t 16. To remedy this deficiency, he invited over the most celebrated scholars from all parts of Europe ; he founded, or at least re-esta- blished, the University of Oxford, and endowed it with many privileges ; and he gave, in his own example, the strongest incentives to study. 17. He usually divided his time into three equal portions : one was given to sleep, and to the re- fection of his body by diet and exercise; another to the despatch of business ; and the third to study and devotion.^ He made considerable progress in the different studies of grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, architecture, and geometry. He was an excellent historian ; he understood music ; he was acknowledged to be the best Saxon poet of the age, and left many works behind him, some of which remain to this day. 18. To give a character of this prince would * Alfred established a regular militia throughout England, and raised a considerable naval force, by which means he was enabled to repel the future incursions of the .Danes. He afterwards established a regular police, dividing the kingdom into counties, and the counties into hundreds and tithings. So well regulated was the police which he established, that it is said he had golden bracelets hung up near the highways, which no robber dared to touch. Yet he never deviated from the nicest regard to the liberty of his people; and there is a remarkable sentiment preserved in his will, namely, that “ It is just the English should for ever remain as free as their own thoughts." t So little, indeed, was learning attended to by the great, that Asser, the biographer of Alfred, mentions with astonishment, that the king taught his youngest son, Ethelward, to read, before he made him acquainted with hunting. t The piety of Alfred was as conspicuous a3 his prowess; and, in those days of ignorance, he enlightened, by his pen no less than by his example, the people over whom he swayed the sceptre. One of his literary labours was the rendering the Holy Gospels into the Saxon tongue, from which we extract the Lord’s Prayer, and insert it here as a specimen of the language spoken by the English at that period : “ Fader ure thu the earth on heafenum, si thin mama gehagog, to be cumethin rice, Gevurthe hin willa on earthen swa .swa on heafenum, urne go daegwanlican hlaf syle us to dag ; and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgivath urum gyltendum, and ne geldde thu us on consenung ac alyse us of yfle.” (Si it 3wa . ) — Medullas Histories Anglicance. 28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND be to sum up those qualities which constitute perfection. Even virtues seemingly opposite were happily blended in his disposition; persevering, yet flexible; moderate, yet enterprising ; just, yet merciful ; stern in command, yet gentle in conversation. Nature also, as if desirous that such admirable qualities of mind should be set off" to the greatest advantage, had bestowed upon him all bodily accom- plishments, vigour, dignity, and an engaging, open counte- nance. 19. He died at Oxford on the 25th of October, 900 and was buried at Winchester. CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. John VIII 872 Martin II 882 Adrian III 884 Stephen VI. 885 Formosus 891 Emperors of the East. Basilus 1 867 A.n. Leo VI 886 Emperors of the West, and Kings of France. Lewis II. 855 Charles 1 873 Charles II 880 Arnold 888 A.X) Lewis HI 899 Kings of Scotland. Constantine II 863 Ethus 878 Gregory 880 Donaldus VI 898 EMINENT PERSONS. Oldune, earl of Devon, who killed Huhba the Dane, and took the famous Reafem, or enchanted standard. Ultredus, Trelotegaldus, Celnorth, Ethelred, and Flerumbus, were successively archbishops of Canterbury in this reign. Questions for Examination. 1. What effect had the continual ravages of the Danes upon the English ? 2, 3. How did Alfred act in this emergency? 4. What anecdote is related of Alfred during his concealment? 5. How did those who still remained faithful to Alfred conduct them- selves? 6. What benevolent act is related of this monarch? (See the Note.) 7. What desperate effort did the Earl of Devonshire resolve on? And what was the consequence? 8. What was the advantage gained by Alfred’s courage? 9. By what stratagem did Alfred get intelligence of the enemy’s situation ? 10, 11. What observations did he make during his stay in the Danish camp ? 12. What became of the Danes after their defeat - ? 13. What kings paid homage to Alfred? 14. 15, 16. How was Alfred employed during the peace? 17. For whatpurpose did Alfred dividehis time into three equal portions? And what were his accomplishments? 18. What is the general character given of Alfred? 19. Where did Alfred die, and at what place was he buried? EDWY. 29 SECTION HI. Priest-ridden by a man Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking Himself with princes .t— S hakespeare. 1. (A.D. 901.) His second son, Edward,* succeeded him on the throne. To him succeeded Athelstan, his natural son, the illegitimacy of his birth not being then deemed a sufficient obstacle to his inheriting the crown. He died at Gloucester, after a reign of sixteen years, and was succeeded by his brother Edmund, who, like the rest of his predeces- sors, met with disturbance from the Northumbrians on his accession to the throne ; but his activity soon defeated their attempts. 2. The resentment this monarch bore to men of an abandoned way of living was the cause of his death. He was killed by Leolff, a robber, at a feast, where this villain had the insolence to intrude into the king’s presence. His brother, Edred, was appointed to succeed him; and like his predecessors this monarch found himself at the head of a rebellious and refractory people. 3. Edred im- plicitly submitted to the directions of Dunstan the monk, both in church and state; and the kingdom was in a fair way of being turned into a papal province by this zealous ecclesiastic ; but he was checked in the midst of his career, by the death of the king, who died of a quinsy, in the tenth year of his reign. — A.D. 955. >• 4. Edwy, his nephew, who ascended the throne, his own sons being yet unfit to govern, was a prince of great per- sonal accomplishments, and of martial disposition. But he was now come to the government of a kingdom in which he had an enemy to contend with against whom all military virtues could be of little service. 5. Dunstan, who had governed during the former reign, was resolved to remit nothing of his authority in this; and Edwy, immediately upon his accession, found himself involved in a quarrel with the monks; whose rage neither his accomplishments nor his virtues could mitigate. 6. Among other instances of their cruelty, the following is recorded: — There was a lady of the royal blood named Elgiva, whose beauty had made a strong impression upon * Sumamed Edward the Elder, from being the first of that name who sat on the throne of England. He obtained many victories oyer the Northumbrian rebels, built several castles, and fortified different cities. He also founded the University of Cambridge, in 915. He is said to have been nearly equal to bis father in military courage, but greatly inferior to him in mental accomplishments. He reigned >4 years. 30 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. Dunstan separating Edwy and Elgiva. the young monarch’s heart. He had even ventured tc marry her contrary to the advice of his councillors, as she ■was within the degrees of affinity prohibited by the canon law. 6. On the day of his coronation, while his nobility were giving loose to the more noisy pleasures of wine and festivity in the 'great . hall, Edwy retired to his wife’s apartments, where, in company with her mother, he enjoyed the more pleasing satisfaction of her conversation. Dun- stan no sooner perceived his absence, than, conjecturing the reason, he rushed furiously into the apartment, and, upbraid- ing him with all the bitterness of ecclesiastical rancour, dragged him forth in the most outrageous manner. 8. Dunstan, it seems, was not without his enemies, for the king was advised to punish this insult by bringing Lim to account for the money with which he had been intrusted during the last reign. This account the haughty monk refused to give in ; wherefore he was deprived of all the •ecclesiastical and civil emoluments of which he had been in possession, and banished the kingdom. 9. His exile only served to increase the imputation of his sanctity with the people. Among the rest* Odo, archbishop of Canterbury,* was so far transported with the spirit of party, that he pro- nounced a divorce between Edwy and Elgiva. The king was unable to resist the indignation of the church, and con- sented to surrender his beautiful wife to its fury. Accord- * An ancient city of Kent, of which county it ia the capital. EDGAR. 31 ingly, Odo sent into the palace a party of soldiers, who seized the queen, and, by his orders, branded her on the face with a hot iron. 10. Not contented with this cruel vengeance, they carried her by force into Ireland, and there commanded her to remain in perpetual exile. This injunc- tion, however, was too distressing for that faithful woman to comply with; for being cured of her wound, and having obliterated the marks which had been made to deface her beauty, she once more ventured to return to the king, whom she still regarded as her husband. But misfortune continued to pursue her. 11. She was taken prisoner by a party whom the archbishop had appointed to observe her con- duct, and was put to death in a most cruel manner. The sinews of her limbs being cut, and her body mangled, she was thus left to expire in the most cruel agony. In the mean time a secret revolt against Edwy became almost ge- neral; and Dunstan put himself at the head of the party. 12. The malcontents at last proceeded to open rebellion ; and having placed Edgar, the king’s youngest brother, a boy of about thirteen years of age, at their head, they soon put him in possession of all the northern parts of the king- dom. Edwy’s power, and the number of his adherents, every day declining, he was at last obliged to consent to a partition of the kingdom ; but his death, which happened 30on after, freed his enemies from all further inquietude, and gave Edgar peaceable possession of the government. 13. Edgar being placed on the throne by the influence of the monks, affected to be entirely guided by their direc- tions in all his succeeding transactions. Little worthy of notice is mentioned of this monarch, except his amour with Elfrida, which is of too singular a nature to be omitted. 14. Edgar had long heard of the beauty of a young lady, whose name was Elfrida, daughter to the Earl of Devonshire; but unwilling to credit common fame in this particular, he sent Ethelwald, his favourite friend, to see and inform him if Elfrida was, indeed, that incomparable woman report had described her. 15. Ethel- wald, arriving at the earl’s, had no sooner set his eyes upon that nobleman’s daughter than he became desperately en- amoured of her himself. Such was the violence of his passion, that, forgetting his master’s intention, he solicited only his own interest, and demanded for himself the beau- tiful Elfrida from her father in marriage. The favourite oi a king was not likely to find a refusal ; the earl gave his 32 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. consent, and the nuptials were performed in private. 16. Upon his return to court, which was shortly after, he as* sured the king that riches alone, and her high quality, had been the cause of her high fame, and he appeared amazed how the world could tglk so much and so unjustly of her charms. The king was satisfied, and no longer felt any curiosity, while Ethelwald secretly triumphed in hi3 ad- dress. 17. When he had, by this deceit, weaned the king from his purpose, he took an opportunity, after some time, of turning the conversation on Elfrida, representing that, though the fortune of the earl of Devonshire’s daughter would be a trifle to a king, yet it. would be an immense ac- quisition to a needy subject. He therefore humbly entreated permission to pay his addresses to her, as she was the rich- est heiress in the kingdom. 18. A request so seemingly reasonable was readily complied with ; Ethelwald returned to his wife, and their nuptials were solemnized in public. His greatest care however, was employed in keeping her from court; and he took every precaution to prevent her from appearing before a king so susceptible of love, while she was so capable of inspiring that passion. But it was impossible to keep his treachery long concealed. 19. Edgar was soon informed of the whole, transaction; but' dissem- bling his resentment, he took occasion to visit that part oi the country where this miracle of beauty was detained, accom- panied by Ethelwald, who reluctantly attended him thither. Upon coming near the lady’s habitation, he told him thathe had a desire to see his wife, of whom he had formerly heard so much, and desired to be introduced as his acquaintance. 20. Ethelwald, thunderstruck at the proposal, did all in his power, but in vain, to dissuade him. All he could obtain was permission to go before, on pretence of preparing for the king’s reception. On his arrival, he fell at his wife’s feet confessing what he had done to be possessed of her charm?, and conjuring her to conceal as much as possible her beauty from the king, who was too susceptible of it? power. 21. Elfrida, little obliged to him fora passion that had deprived her of a crown, promised compliance ; but, prompted either by vanity or revenge, adorned her person with the most exquisite art, and called up all her beauty on the occasion. The event answered her expectations ; the king no sooner saw than he loved her, and was instantly resolved to obtain her. 22. The better to effect his inten- tions, he concealed his passion from the husband, and took EDGAR. 33 leave with a seeming indifference ; but his revenge was not the less certain and faithful. Ethelwald was sometime after sent into Northumberland, upon pretence of urgent affairs, and was found murdered in the wood by the 'way. 23. Some say he was stabbed by the king’s own hands; some that he only commanded the assassination. However this be, Elfrida was invited soon after to court by the king’s own order, and their nuptials were performed with the usual solemnity. This monarch died, after a reign of sixteen years, in the thirty-third year of his age, being succeeded by his son Edward, whom he had by his first marriage with the daughter of the earl of Ordmer.* CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. a. d. Benedict IV 900 Leo V 904 Sergius III 905 Anastasius III 910 Lado 912 John X 913 Leo VII 928 Stephen Till 929 John XI 931 Leo VI 936 Stephen IX 939 Martin III 943 Agapeptus 950 John XII .956 Benedict V 964 John XIII 965 A.D. Benedict YI 972 Donius II 972 Emperors of the East. Leo VI 886 Constantine Porphy- rogenitus 910 Iiomanus the young- er 959 Kicephorus .963 Zenrises 970 Emperors of the West. Lewis III 899 Conrad 1 912 Henry 1 919 A.D. Otho I 936 Otho II 973 Kings of France. Charles IH... 899 Lewis IV 936 Lothaire I 954 Kings of Scotland. Constantine III 909 Malcolm 1 943 Indulphus 958 Duffus 967 Culenus 972 EMINENT PERSONS. In the reign of Edivard: Ethelfrida, sister of Edward the Elder, a great warrior, and very instrumental in assisting to gain her brother’s victories. Atholme, archbishop of Canterbury. — In the reign oj Athelstan: Guy, earl of Warwick, who is said to have killed the Danish giant Colbrand in single combat at Winchester, and performed many other extraordinary actions. Terketyl, a successful warrior, an abbot of Crovland, and chancellor of England. Wolston, archbishop of Canterbury . — In the reign of Edred: Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury. Odo, archbishop of Canterbury . — In the reign of Edgar : Dunstan and Elsius, archbishops of Canterbury. * Until the reign of Edgar, England was much infested with wolves. The king, however, was indefatigable in hunting and destroying them: but finding that those which escaped took shelter in the mountains and forest of Wales, he changed the tribute of money imposed on that country into an annual tribute of 300 wolves’ heads; this produced such diligence in hunting them, that their extirpation, was soon effected. O 34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Questions for Examination. 2. What was the cause of Edward’s death? and who succeeded him? 3. To whose directions did Edred submit? 4. Who succeeded Edred? 6. Whom did Ed wy marry? 7. What happened on the day of his coronation? 8. On what account was Dunstan banished the kingdom? 9. By whose orders was the queen seized ? 14. Who was Elfrida, and whom did Edgar send to her? 15. How did Ethelwald perform his mission? 16. 17, 18. Relate what followed? 19. How did the king act on hearing the whole transaction? 20. What did Ethelwald request of his wife? 21. What was the result of her non-compliance? 22. How did Ethelwald die? 23. How long did Edgar reign? and by whom was he succeeded? SECTION IV. Cut off in all the blossom of my sin, Unhousel’d, unanointed, unanneal’d. No reck’ning made, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head . — Shale spear e. 1. (A. D. 975.) Edward, surnamed the Martyr, was made king by the interest of the monks, and lived but four years after his accession. In this reign there is nothing remarkable if we except his tragical, and memorable end. 2. Hunting one day near Corfe Castle, where Elfrida, his mother-in-law resided, he thought it his duty to pay her a visit, although he was not attended by any of his retinue. There desiring some liquor to be brought him, as he was thirsty, while he was yet holding the cup to his head, one of Elfrida’ s domestics, instructed for that purpose, stabbed him in the back. The king, finding himself wounded, put spurs to his horse; but fainting with the loss of blood, he fell from the saddle, and his foot sticking in the stirrup, he was dragged along by his horse till he died, 3. Ethelred the Second, 6urnamed the Unready, the son of Edgar and Elfrida, succeeded; a weak and irresolute monarch, incapable of governing the kingdom, or providing for its safety. During his reign the bold and terrible ene- mies, the Danes, who seemed not to be loaded with the same accumulation of vice and folly as the English, were daily gaining ground. 4. The weakness and inexperience of Ethelred appeared to give a favourable opportunity for renewing their depredations ; and, accordingly, they landed on several parts of the coast, spreading their usual terror and devastation. , A.D. 981. CANUTE. 35 As they lived indiscriminately among the English, a resolution was takefi for a general massacre ; and Ethelred, by a policy incident to weak princes, embraced the cruel resolution of putting them all to the sword. 5. This plot was carried on with such secrecy, that it was executed in one day, and all the Danes in England were destroyed without mercy. But this massacre, so perfidious in the contriving, and so cruel in the execution, instead of ending the long miseries of the people, only prepared the way for greater calamities. While the English were yet congratulating each other upon their late deliverance from an inveterate enemy, Sweyn, king of Denmark, who had been informed of their treacherous cruelties, appeared off the western coast with a large fleet, meditating slaughter and furious with revenge. Ethelred was obliged to fly into Normandy, and the whole country thus came under the power of Sweyn, his victo- rious rival. 7. Canute, afterwards surnamed the Great, succeeded Sweyn as king of Denmark, and also as general of the Danish forces in England. The contest between him and Edmund Ironside, successor to Ethelred, was managed with great obstinacy and perseverance ; the first battle that was fought appeared indecisive ; a second followed, in which the Danes were victorious ; but Edmund still having inter- est enough to bring a third army into the field, the Danish and English nobility, equally harassed by these convulsions, obliged their kings to come to a compromise and to divide the kingdom between them by treaty.* Canute reserved ,to himself the northern parts of the kingdom ; the southern parts were left to Edmund; but this prince being murdered about a month after the treaty, by his two chamberlains, at Oxford, Canute was left in peaceable possession of the whole kingdom. A. D. 1017, Canute f is represented, by some historians, as one of the first characters in those barbarous ages. The piety of the * In the battle which was fought at Athelmey, Edmund, perceiving Canute at the head of his forces, rode oil" from his own, and Canute advancing, a furious combat ensued, in which, according to the author of the Medullas Histories Anr/licaius, Canute was wounded, and first proposed forbearance; and this, it is said, led to tho division of the Kingdom. By Canute’s accession to tho throne, a termination was put to a war with the Banes, which had almost, without intermission, raged for 200 years. , , . , t In the latter part of his life, to atone for *his many a,cts of violence, he built churches, endowed monasteries, imported relics, and made a pilgrimage to Itome. 36 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. latter part of his life, and the resolute valour of the former, were topics that filled the mouths of his courtiers with flatr tery and praise. 9. They even affected to think his power uncontrollable, and that all things would be.obedient to his command. Canute, sensible of their adulation, is said to have taken the following method to reprove them. He ordered his chair to be set on the sea-shore while the tide was coming in, and commanded the sea to retire. 10. “ Thou art under my dominion,” cried he, “the land upon which I sit is mine ; I charge thee, therefore, to approach no farther, nor dare to wet the feet of thy sovereign.” He feigned to sit some time in expectation of submission, till the waves began to surround him, then turning to his courtiers, he observed, That the titles of Lord and master belonged only to Him whom both earth and seas were ready to obey. 11. Thus feared and respected, he lived many years, ho- noured with the surname of Great for his power, but de- serving it still more for his virtues. He died at Shaftes- bury,* in the nineteenth year of his reign, leaving behind him three sons, Sweyn, Harold, and Hardicanute. Sweyn was crowned king of Norway, Hardicanute was put in pos- session of Denmark, and Harold succeeded his father on the English throne. A. D. 1036. 12. To Harold succeeded his brother, Hardicanute, whose title was readily acknowleged both by the Danes and the English ; and upon his arrival from the continent, he was received with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy. This king’s violent and unjust government was of but short duration. He died two years after his accession in consequence of excess at the marriage of a Danish lord which was celebrated at Lambeth. 13. The disorders of the Danish monarchs once more induced the English to place a monarch of the Saxon line upon the throne, and accordingly Edward, surnamed the Confessor, was by the general consent crowned king A. D. 1041. The English, who had long groaned under a foreign yoke, now set no bounds to their joy, at finding the line of their ancient monarchs restored. 14. As he had been bred in the Norman court, he showed, in every instance, a predilection for the customs, laws, ana even the natives of that country; and among the rest of his faults, though he married Editha, the daughter of God- * A market town in Dorchester. HAROLD. 3? win, yet, either from mistaken piety or fixed aversion, during his whole reign he abstained from her society.* 15. Thus having no legitimate issue, and being wholly engrossed, during the continuance of a long reign, with the visions of superstition, he was at last surprised by sickness, which brought him to his end, on 5th of January, in the sixty-fifth year of his age and twenty-fifth of his reign. 16. Harold, the son of a popular nobleman, whose name was Godwin, and whose virtues seemed to give a right to his pretensions, ascended the throne without any opposition. But neither his valour, his justice, nor his popularity were able to secure him from the misfortunes attendant upon an ill-grounded title. His pretensions were opposed by Wil- liam duke of Normandy, who insisted that the crown be- longed of right to him, it being bequeathed to him by Edward the Confessor, f Questions for Examination. 1. By whose interest was Edward the Martyr crowned king? 2. Relate the circumstances attending the king’s death? 3. Who succeeded Edward? 4. What was the conduct of the Danes during Ethelred’s reign? 6. W hat method did Ethelred take to destroy the Danes? 6. What was the consequence of Ethelred’s perfidy? 7. Br whom was S weyn succeeded ? 9. Did Canute reprove his courtiers for their flattery? 10. Repeat the words Canute made use of on this occasion? 11. Where did Canute die? and what issue did he leave? 13. Whom did the English place on the throne upon the death of Har- dicanute? 14. Where had Edward the Confessor been bred ? and what predilections had he in consequence? 15. How long did Edward reign? 16. What were the pretensions of William duke Normandy to the Eng- lish throne? ° SECTION. V. Ah 1 who can tell the horrors of that day When Harold fell on the ensanguined field. Where rank 'gainst rank rushed on in dread array. With jav’lin, arrow, battle-axe, and shield. — Brown. 1. (A. D. 1066.) William, who was afterwards called the Conqueror, was natural son of Robert duke of Normandy. His mother’s name was Arlette, a beautiful maid of Falaise, whom Robert fell in love with as she stood gazing at the door while he passed through the town. William, who was * This contributed to gain him the title of Saint and Confessor, t Edward the Confessor converted a small monastery into the beau- tiful cathedral called Westminster Abbey, where he built his own sepulchre, and which, until very lately, has been the usual burial place or the English monarchs. 38 history of englaiiI). the offspring of this amour, owed a part of his greatness to his birth, but still more to his own personal merit. 2. Hia body was vigorous, his mind capacious and noble, and his courage not to be repressed by apparent danger. Upon coming to his dukedom of Normandy, though yet very young, he on all sides opposed his rebellious subjects, and repressed foreign invaders, while his valour and conduct prevailed in every action. 3. The tranquillity which he had thus established in his dominions induced him to extend his views 5 and some overtures made by Edward the Con- fessor, in the latter part of his reign, who was wavering in the choice of a successor, inliamed his ambition with a desire of succeeding to the English throne. 4. The pope himself was not behind the rest in favouring his pretensions; and, either influenced by the apparent justice of his claims, or by the hopes of extending the authority of the church, he immediately pronounced Harold a usurper. With such favourable incentives, William soon found himself at the head of a chosen army of sixty thousand men, all equipped in the most warlike and splendid manner. 5. It was in the beginning of summer that he embarked this powerful body on board a fleet of three hundred sail ; and after some small opposition from the weather, landed at Pevensey,* on the coast of Sussex, with resolute tranquillity. t>. Harold, who seemed resolved to defend his right to the crown and retain that sovereignty which he had received from the people, who only had a right to bestow it, was now returning, flushed with conquest, from defeating the Nor- wegians who had invaded the kindgdom, with ail the forces he had employed in that expedition, and all he could invite or collect in the country through which he passed. His army was composed of active and valiant troops, in high spirits, strongly attached to their king, and eager to engage. 7. On the other hand, the army of William consisted of the flower of the continent, and had long been inured to danger. The men of Brittany, Boulogne, Flanders, Poictou, Maine, Orleans, France, and Normandy, were all voluntarily united under his command. England never before, nor ever since, saw two such armies drawn up to dispute its crown. 8. The day before the battle, William sent an otter to Harold to decide the quarrel between them by single combat, and thus to spare the blood of thousands : but Harold re- fused, and said he would leave it to the God of armies to determine. Both armies, therefore, that night pitched in *A small town in Sussex. Harold. 39 sight of each other, expecting the aawmng of the day with impatience. The English passed the night in songs and feasting, the Normans in devotion and prayer. (Oct. 13, 1066.) 9. The ne^t morning, at seven, as soon as day appeared, both armies were drawn up in array against each other. Harold appeared in the centre of his forces, leading on his army on foot, that his men might be more encouraged by seeing their king exposed to an equality of danger. William fought on horseback, leading on his army, that moved at once, singing the songs of Roland, one of the famous chiefs of their country. 10. The Normans began to fight with their cross-bows, which, at first, galled and surprised the English ; and as their ranks were close, their arrows did great execution. But soon they came to closer fight, and the English with their bills hewed down their adversaries with great slaughter. Confusion was spreading among the ranks, when William, who found himself on the brink of destruction, hastened with a select band to the relief of his forces. 11. His presence restored the suspense of battle ; he was seen in every place, endeavouring to pierce the ranks of the enemy, and had three horses slain under him . At length, perceiving that the English continued impenetrable, he pretended to give ground, which, as he expected, drew the enemy from their ranks, and he was instantly ready to take advantage of their disorder. 1 2. Upon a signal given, the Normans immediately returned to the charge with greater fury than before, broke the English troops and pursued them to a rising ground. It was in this extremity that Harold was seen flying from rank to rank rallying and inspiring his troops with vigour; and though he had toiled all day, till near nightfall, in front of his Kentish men, yet he still seemed unabated in force or cou- rage, keeping his men to the post of honour. 13. Once more, therefore, victory seemed to turn against the Normans, and they fell in great numbers, so that the fierceness and obstinacy of this memorable battle was often renewed by the courage of the leaders, whenever that of the soldiers began to slacken. Fortune at length determined a victory that valour was unable to decide. 14. Harold, making a furious onset at the head of his troops against the Norman heavy-armed infantry, was shot into the Brains by an arrow ; and his two valiant brothers, fighting by his - i do, shared the same fate. He fell with his sword in his baud, admidst heaps of slain ; and after the bat- 40 Bistort of England. tie, the royal corpse could hardly be distinguished among the dead.* This was the end of the Saxon monarchy in England, which had continued for more than six hundred years. CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. Benedict VII 975 John XIV 984 John XV 985 Gregory V 996 Silvester II 999 John XVI 1003 John XVII 1004 Sergius IV 1009 Benedict VIII 1012 John XVIII 1024 Benedict IX. 1033 Gregory VI 1044 Clement II 1046 Damascus II 1048 Leo IX 1049 Victor II 1055 Stephen X 1057 Nicholas II 1059 Alexander II 1061 Emperors of the East. A.D. Basilius II 975 Constantine X 1025 Romanus III 1028 Michael IV 1034 Michael V 1041 ConstaptineXI. . . .1042 Theodore (emp) . . .1054 Michael VI 1056 Isaac Comnenus. . .1059 Constantine XII.. .1059 Emperors of the West. Otho II 973 OtholII 983 Henry II 1002 Conrad II 1024 Henry III 1039 Henry IV 1056 Kings of I< ranee. A.D. Lothaire 1 954 Louis V 986 Hugh Capet 987 Robert II 997 Henry 1 1031 P hili p 1 1060 Kings of Scotland. Culenus 972 Kenneth III 977 Constantine IV — 1002 Grimus 1005 Malcolm II 1054 Duncan I.. 1031 Macbeth 1040 Malcolm III 1057 EMINENT PERSONS. In the reigns of Edward the Martyr, Etheired II- and Edmund: the duke of Mercia, who took part with Elfrida and the clergy, against the king. Dunstan, Etbelgar, Eifric, Siricus, Alphage, and Livingus, arch- bishops of Canterbury. — In the reigns of Canute, Harold, Hardicanute, and Edward the Confessor : Elnothus, Edsino, and Robert, archbishops of Canterbury. Goodwin, earl of Kent, whose estates, being afterwards swallowed by inundations ofthesea, are now denominated the Goodwin Sands .—In the reign of Harold II: Leofwin and Gurf, brothers to the king. Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury. Tosti, earl of N orthumber- land. Questions for Examination. 1. Who was William the Conqueror? 2. When and where did William land? 6, 7. Of what were the armies of Harold and William composed? 8. How did the two armies pass the night previous to the battle? 9. In what way did Harold and William lead their respective armies to battle? 11, 12, 13. Describe the conduct of William and Harold? 14. How did Harold 1 all ? How long did the Saxon monarchy continue in England ? *The English in this battle neither used the long-bow nor cross-bow, but both were used by the Normans. I he English forces were nearly all infantry, while by far the e i eater part of the Norman army was com- posed of cavalry. It is therefore probable, that to the waLt of cavalry, and the not using any missive weapons, may be in a great measuro attri- buted the defeat of Harold’s armv. Certain it is, that tho victory remained undecided from nine in the morning till the close of the day when the death of the king, who had slain many Normans with his own hand, finally turned the scale. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 41 CHAPTER IV WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. Born 1024. Died Sept. 9, 1087. Began to reign Dec.25th, 1066. Reigned 21 years. William the Conqueror receiving the crown of England. A furious victor’s partial will prevailed, All prostrate lay ; and in the secret shade. Deep stung but fearful indignation gnashed His teeth. Thomson. 1. (A. D. 1066). As soon as William passed the Thames at Wallingford, Stigand, the primate, made submission to him in the name of the clergy : and before he came within sight of the city, all the chief nobility came into his camp, and declared their intention of yielding to his authority. William was glad of being peaceably put in possession of a throne which several of his predecessors had not gained without repeated victories. 2. But, in order to give his invasion all the sanction pos- sible, he was crowned at Westminster by the archbishop of York, and took the oath usual in the times of the Saxon and Danish kings : which was to protect and defend the church, to observe the laws of the realm, and to govern the people with impartiality. Having thus secured the govern- ment, and, by a mixture of rigour and lenity, brought the English to an entire submission, he resolved to return to. the continent, there to enjoy the triumph and congratulations of his ancient subjects. 42 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. 3. In the meantime the absence of the Conqueror iu England produced the most fatal effects. His officers, being no longer controlled by his justice, thought this a fit oppor- tunity for extortion ; while the English, no longer awed by his presence, thought it the happiest occasion for vindicating their freedom. 4. The English had entered into a conspiracy to cut off their invaders, and fixed the day for their intended mas- sacre, which was to be on Ash-Wednesday, during the time of divine service, when all the Normans would be unarmed as penitents, according to the discipline of the times. But William’s return quickly disconcerted all their schemes : and from that time forward he began to loste all confidence in his English subjects, and to regard them as inveterate and irreconcilable enemies. 5. He had already raised such a number of fortresses in the kingdom, that he no longer dreaded the tumultuous or transient efforts of a discontented multitude ; he therefore determined to treat them as a con- quered nation •* to indulge his own avarice, and that of his followers, by numerous confiscations ; and to secure his power by humbling all who were able to make any resist- ance. 6. He proceeded to confiscate all the estates of the English gentry, and to grant them liberally'to his Norman followers. Thus all the ancient and honourable families were reduced to beggary, and the English found themselves entirely excluded from every road that led either to honour or preferment. f. To keep the clergy as much as possible in his interests, he appointed none but hi3 own countrymen to the most considerable church dignities, and even displaced Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, upon some frivolous pretence. William having crushed several conspiracies, and, by punishing the malcontents, thus secured the peace of his dominions, now expected rest from his labours j and, find- * So mercilessly did the treat the people whom he had coquered, and bo determined was he to incapacitate them from future resistance to his power, that on the N orthumbrians having revolted in 1070, he gave orders to lay waste the fine fertile lands between the rivers Humber and Tees, for the extent of sixty miles. Many flourishing towns, fine villages, and noble country seats were accordingly burnt down ; the implements of husbandry destroyed and the cattle driven away. The great Lord Lyttleton, speaking of these cruel devastations, and those occasioned by the “ Forest laws,” observes that Attila did no more deserve the name of the “ Scourge of God ” than this merciless tyrant, nor did he, nor any other destroyer of nations make more havoc in an enmy's country thau William did in his own. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 43 mg none either willing or powerful enough to oppose him, he hoped that the end of his reign would be marked with prosperity and peace. 8. But such is the blindness of human hope, that he found enemies where he least expected them ; and such, too, as served to imbitter all the latter part of his life. His last troubles were excited by his own children, from the opposing of whom he could expect to reap neither glory nor gam. He had three sons, Robert, William, and Henry, besides several daughters. 9. Robert, his eldest son, surnamed Curthose from the shortness of his legs, was a prince who inherited all the bravery of his family and nation, but was rather bold than prudent ; and was often heard to express his jealousy of his two brothers, William and Henry. These, by greater assiduity, had wrought upon the cre- dulity and affections of the king, and consequently were the more obnoxious to Robert. 10. A mind, therefore, so well prepared for resentment soon found or made cause for an open rupture. The princes were one day in sport together, and in the idle petulance of play, took it in their heads to throw water over their elder brother as he passed through the court, on leaving their apartment. Robert, all alive to sus- picion, quickly turned this frolic into studied indignity ; and having these jealousies further inflamed by one of his favour- ites, he drew his sword, and ran up stairs, with intent to take revenge. 11. The whole castle was quickly filled with tumult, and it was not without some difficulty that the king himself was able to appease it. But he could not allay the animosity which, from that moment, ever after prevailed in his family. Robert, attended by several of his confederates, withdrew to Rouen that very night, hoping to surprise the castle, but his design was defeated by the governor. 12. The flame being thus kindled, the popular character of the prince, and a sympathy of manners, engaged all the young nobility of Normandy and Maine, as well as Anjou and Brit- tany, to espouse his quarrel ; even hiv mother it is said sup- ported him by secret remittances, and aided him in this ob- stinate resistance by private encouragement. This unnatural- contest continued for several years to inflame the Norman state, and William was at last obliged to have recourse to England, for supporting his authority against his son. 13. Accordingly, drawing an army of Englishmen together, he led them over to Normandy, where he soon compelled Robert and his adherents to quit the field, and he was quickly reinstated in all his dominions.* * In one of the battles between tha forces of William and his son Robert, 44 HISTORY OP ENGLAND* William had scarcely put an end to this transaction, when he felt a very severe blow in the death of Matilda his queen ; and in addition to this domestic calamity, he received infor- mation of a general insurrection in the Norman government. 14. Upon his arrival on the continent, he found that the insurgents had been secretly assisted and excited by the king of France, whose policy consisted in thus lessening the Nor- man power, by creating dissensions among the nobles of its different provinces. William’s displeasure was not a little increased by the account lie received of some railleries which that monarch had thrown out against him. _ This so pro- voked the English monarch, that he sent him word, that he should soon set the kingdom of France in a flame. 15. In order to perform this promise, he levied a strong army, and, entering the isle of France, destroyed and burned all the villages and houses without opposition, and took the town of Mantua, which he reduced to ashes. But the pro- gress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident, which shortly after put an end to William’s life. His horse chancing to place his fore-foot on some hot ashes, plunged so violently, that the rider was thrown for- ward, and bruised upon the pommel of the saddle to such a degree, that he suffered a relapse, of which he died, shortly after, at a little village near Rouen. Sept. 9, 1087.* CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. Alexander II 1061 Gregory YII 1073 Victor HI 1086 Emperors of the East. Constantine XH. . 1059 A.D. Romanus IV 1083 Michael VII 1071 Nicephorus 1 1078 Alexis 1 1081 Emperor of the West. Henry IV 1056 King of France. AD. Philip 1 1060 Kings of Scotland. Malcolm III 1059 Donald VUI 1068 the latter happened to engage the king, whose face was concealed by his helmet, and both of them being valiant, a fierce combat ensued till the young prince wounded his father in the arm, and unhorsed him. On his calling out for assistance, his voice discovered him to be his son, who, struck with remorse, threw himself at hisfather’s feet and craved pardon for his offence, but William, who was highly exasperated, gave him his malediction. He was, however, afterwards reconciled to him, and on his return to England, Robert was successfully employed in retaliating an invasion of Malcolm, king of Scotland. * * In this reign justices of the peace were first appointed in England. The Tower of London was built. A general survey of all the lands'of the kingdom made, their value, proprietors, quality of the soil &o and entered in a register, called Doomsday-book, which is still’ preserved in the exchequer, and is considered the most valuable monument of antiquity, possessed by any nation. Ihe curfew (or cover fire) bell established, at which signal all fires and candles were arbitrarily extinguished at eight o’clock in the evening. 3 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 45 EMINENT PERSONS. Prince Edsar Atheling, Stigand and Lanfranc, archbishops of Can* terbury. Edwin and Mocar, earls of Northumberland and Mercia. Questions for Examination. 1. In what manner was William received by the nobility and clergy? 2. Where and by whom was he crowned? 4. What conspiracy did the English enter into? 6. In what way did William determine to treat his English subjects? 6, 7. What measures did he adopt to degrade the English ? 9. What were the troubles which afflicted William? 10, 11. What frolic was it that led to the serious consequences that fol- lowed ? 12. Who espoused Robert’s cause? 13. What happened in one of the en gagements between the forces of the king and his son ? ( See the Note. ) 14. What inducement had the king of France to assist the insurgents? 16. What caused William’s death? What valuable ancient record is preserved in the exchequer, and what was its use? {See the Note,) CHAPTER Y. WILLIAM RUFUS. Bom 1060. Died August 2nd, 1100. Began to reign Sept. 9th, 1087. Reigned 12f years. And that Red King, who, while of old Through Boldrewood the chase he led, By his loved huntsman’s arrow bled. — Walter Scott. 1. (A. D. 1087.) William, surnamed Rufus, from the colour of his hair, was appointed, by the king’s will, his successor, while the elder son, Robert, was left in possession of Normandy. Nevertheless, the Norman barons were from the beginning displeased at the division of the empire by the late king : they eagerly desired a union as before, and looked upon Robert as the proper owner of the whole. A powerful conspiracy was therfore carried on against William ; and Odo, the late king’s brother, undertook to conduct it to maturity. 2. William, sensible of the danger that threatened him, endeavoured to gain the affections of the native English, whom he prevailed upon by promises of future good treat- 46 HISTORY or ENGLAND. ment, and preference in the distribution of his favours, to espouse his interests. 3. He was soon, therefore, in the field ; and at the head of a numerous army, showed himself in readiness to oppose all who should dispute his pretensions. In the mean time Robert, instead of employing himself in levies, to support his friends in England, squandered his resources away in idle expenses and unmerited benefits, so that he procrastinated his departure till the opportunity was lost ; while William exerted himself with incredible activity to dissipate the confederacy before his brother could arrive. 4. Nor was this difficult to effect. The conspirators had, in consequence of Robert’s assurances, taken possession of some fortresses ; but the appearance of the king soon reduced them to implore his mercy. He granted them their lives; but confiscated all their estates and banished them the kingdom. 5. A new breach was made some time after between the brothers, on which Rufus found means to encroach still farther upon Robert’s possessions. Every conspiracy thus detected served to enrich the king, who took care to apply to his own use those treasures which had been amassed for the purpose of dethroning him. 6. (A. D. 1097.) But the memory of these transient broils and unsuccessful treasons, was now totally eclipsed by one of the most noted enterprises that ever adorned the annals of nations, or excited the attention of mankind : I mean the crusades, which were now first projected. Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens, in Picardy, was a man ol great zeal, courage, and piety. 7. He had made a pilgrimage to the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, and beheld with indigna- tion the cruel manner in which the Christians were treated by the infidels, who were in possession of that place. He preached the crusade over Europe, by the pope’s permission, and men of all ranks flew to arms with the utmost alacrity to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels, and each bore the sign of the cross upon his right shoulder, as a mark of their devotion to the cause. 8. In the midst of the universal ardour that was diffused over Europe, men were not entirely forgetful of their temporal interests ; for some, hoping for a more magnificent settlement in the soft regions of Asia, sold their European property for whatever they could obtain, contented with receiving anything for what they were predetermined to relinquish. 9. Among the princes who felt and acknowledged this general spirit •WILLIAM RUFUS. 47 of enterprise, was Robert duke of Normandy. The cru- sade was entirely adapted to his inclinations and his circum stances; he was brave, zealous, covetous of glory, poor; harassed by insurrections, and, what was more than all, na- turally fond of change. In order therefore to supply money to defray the necessary charges of so expensive an under- taking, he offered to mortgage his dukedom in Normandy to his brother Eufus for a stipulated sum of money. 10. This sum, which was no greater than ten thousand marks, was readily promised by Rufus, whose ambition was upon the watch to seize every advantage. But though the cession 'of Maine and Normandy greatly increased the king’s territories, they added but little to his real power, and his new subjects were composed of men of independent spirits, more ready to dispute than to obey his commands. Many were the revolts and insurrec- tions which he was obliged to quell in person ; and no sooner was one conspiracy suppressed than another rose to give him disquietude. However, Rufus proceeded careless of approbation or censure ; and continued to extend lais dominions, either by purchase or conquest. 12. The earl of Poictiers and G-uienne, inflamed with a desire of going upon the cru- sade, had gathered an immense multitude for that expedi- tion, but wanted money to forward his preparations. He had recourse, therefore, to Rufus, and offered to mortgage all his dominions, without much considering what would become of his unhappy subjects that he thus disposed of. 13. The king accepted this offer with his usual avidity, and had prepared a fleet and an army in order to take pos- session of the rich provinces thus consigned, to his trust. But an accident put an end to all his ambitious projects : he was shot by an arrow that Sir Walter Tyrrel* discharged at a deer in the New Forest, which, glancing from a . tree, t struck the king to the heart. 14. He dropped dead instan- taneously ; while the innocent author of his death, terrified * A French gentleman, remarkable for his skill in archery, t It is a no less interesting historical fact, ^ botanical curiosity abundantly proving the longevity of the oak, that this celebrated tree now standing, though in the last stage of decay, near Mal«ood Castle, the centre of the New Forest. It was hrst paled round by an order of C Th r e e rampart which surrounds the Tower of London and Westimnster Hall, are the principal monuments which remain f. •’ pf i the time of his death he was forty-two years of ago, and had leigned thirteen. 48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. at the accident, put spurs to his horse, hastened to the sea- shore, embarked for France, and joined the crusade that was then setting out for Jerusalem. CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. Victor III 1086 Urban II 1088 Pascal II 1099 Emperors of the East. A. I). Alexis 1 1081 Emperor of the West. Henry IV 1056 King of France. A.D. Philip 1 1060 King of Scotland. Donald VLLL... 1060 EMINENT PERSONS. Lanfranc and Anselm, archbishops of Canterbury. Bayeux. Flanxlard, bishop of Durham. Odo, bishop of Questions for Examination . 1. Who succeeded William the Conqueror ? 2. By what means did Rufus induce the English to support his interest? 3. How did Robert employ his money ? 6. What was the conduct of the king on the detection of conspiracies against him ? 7. Relate the origin of the crusades. 9. What is the character of the duke of Normandy ! 12. Who offered to mortgage his dominions to Rufus ? 13. What caused the death of Rufus t henry I. 49 CHAPTER VI. HENRY I. Bora 1068. Died December 2d, 1135. Began to reign August 5th, 1100 Reigned 35 years, Hut who shall teach my harp to gain A sound of that romantic strain; Whose Anglo-Norman tones whilere Could win the royal Henry’s ear? —Dibdin. 1. (A. D. 1100.) Henry, sur named Beauclere,* the late king’s younger brother, who had been hunting in the New Forest when Rufus was slain, took the earliest ad- vantage of the occasion, and, hastening to Winchester, re- solved to secure the royal treasures, which he knew to be the best assistant in seconding his aims. The barons, as well as the people, acquiesced in a claim which they were unprovided to resist, and yielded obedience, from the fear of immediate danger. 2. Henry, to ingratiate himself with the people, expelled from court all the ministers of his brother’s debauchery and arbitrary power. One thing only remained to confirm his claims without danger of a rival. The English remembered the Saxon monarchs with gratitude, and beheld them ex- cluded the throne with regret. 3. There still remained some of the descendants of that favourite line ; and amonst others, Matilda the niece of Edgar Atheling; which lady, having declined all pretension to royalty, was bred in a convent, and had actually taken the veil. 4. Upon her Henry first fixed his eyes as a proper consort, by whose means the long breach between the Saxon and Norman in- terest would be finally united. It only remained to get over the scruple of her being a nun ; but this a council devoted to his interests readily admitted, and Matilda being pro- nounced free to marry, the nuptials were celebrated with great pomp and solemnity.! 5. It was at this unfavourable juncture that Robert re- turned from abroad j and, after taking possession of his * “Henry was called ‘Beauclere’ from his attention to learning; he had heard his father say, that ‘ Illiterate kings were little better than crowned asses,’ and determined not to come under that description. ’ — Camden. - „ ,, , , t Queen Matilda was the delight of the English, both on account of her descent and goodness of heart. To her we owe the firststone arched bridges England ever possessed ; she built two at Stratford, in Essex, (thence called De Arcubus, or Le Bow), where she had nearly been drowned for want of such a convenience. 50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. native dominions, laid Ms claim to the crown of England. But proposals for an accommodation being made, it was stipulated that Robert, upon the payment of a certain sum, should resign his pretensions to England; and that, if either of the. princes died without issue, the other should succeed to his dominions. This treaty being ratified, the armies on each side were disbanded: and Robert, having lived two months in the utmost harmony with his brother, returned in peace to his own dominions. 6. But Robert’s indiscretion soon rendered him unfit to govern any state ; he was totally averse to business, and only studious of the more splendid amusements or enjoy- ments of life. His servants pillaged him without compunc- tion ; and he is described as lying whole days in bed for want of clothes of which they had robbed Mm. 7. Hip sub- jects were treated still more deplorably; for, being under the command of petty and rapacious tyrants, who plundered them without mercy, the whole country was become a scene of violence and depredation. It was in this miserable exi- gence that the Normans at length had recourse to Henry, from whose wise administration of his own dominions, they expected a similitude of prosperity, should he take the reins of theirs. Henry very readily promised to re- dress their grievances, as he knew it would be the direct method to second his own ambition. The year ensuing, therefore, he landed in Normandy, with a strong army, took possession of the principal towns; and a battle ensuing, Robert’s forces were totally overthrown, and he himself taken prisoner, with nearly ten thousand of his men, and all the considerable barons who had adhered to his misfor- tunes. This victory was followed by the final reduction of Normandy, while Henry returned in triumph to England, leading with him his captive brother, who, after a life of bravery, generosity, and truth, now found Mmself deprived, not only of his patrimony and friends, but also his freedom. Henry, unmindful of his brother’s former magnammity with regard to him, detained him a prisoner during the remainder of Ms life, which was no less than twenty-eight years; and he died in the castle of Cardiff, GlamorgansMre. 10. It is even said by some that he was deprived of his sight by a red-hot copper basin applied to his eyes ; while his brother attempted to stifle the reproaches of his conscience, by founding the abbey of Reading, wMch was then considered a sufficient atonement for every degree of barbarity. HENRY I. 51 11. Fortune now seemed to smile upon Henry, and pro- mise a long succession of felicity. He was in peaceable possession of two powerful states, and had a son, who was acknowledged his undisputed heir, arrived at his eighteenth year, whom he loved most tenderly. His daughter Matilda was also married to the emperor Heni’y V. of Germany, and she had been sent to that court, while yet but eight years old, for her education. 12. All his prospects, however, were at once clouded by unforeseen misfortunes, and acci- dents, which tinctured his remaining years with misery. The king, from the facility with which he usurped the crown, dreading that his family might be subverted with the same ease, took care to have his son recognized as his successor by the states of England, and carried him over to Normandy, to receive the homage of the barons of that duchy. 13. After performing this requisite ceremony, Henry, returning triumphantly to England, brought with him a numerous retinue *of the chief nobility, who seemed to share in his success. In one of the vessels of the fleet, his son and several young noblemen, the companions of his pleasures, went together, to render the passage more agree- able. The king set sail from Harfleur,* and was soon carried by a fair wind out of sight of land. 14. The prince was detained by some accident ; and his sailors, as well as their captain, Fitz-Stephen, having spent the interval in drinking, became so disordered, that they ran the ship upon a rock, and immediately it was dashed to pieces. The prince was put into the boat and might have escaped, had he not been called back by the cries of Maud, his natural sister. He was at first conveyed out of danger himself, but could not leave a person so dear to perish without an effort to save her. He therefore prevailed upon the sailors to row back and take her in. 15. The approach of the boat giving several others, who had been left upon the wreck, the hopes of saving their lives, numbers leaped in, and the whole went to the bottom. About a hundred and forty young noblemen of the principal families of England and Nor- mandy, were lost on this occasion. A butcher of Rouen was the only person on board who escaped ; he clung to the mast and was taken up the next morning by some fish- ermen. 16. Fitz-Stephen, the captain, while the butcher was thus buffeting the waves for his life, swam up to him and enquired if the prince was yet living ; when being told * A town of Normandy in France. 52 HISTOET Off ENGLAND that he had perished, “ then I will not outlive him, said the captain, and immediately sunk to the bottom. Ihe shrieks of these unfortunate people were heard, from the shore, and the noise even reached the king’s ship, but the cause was then unknown. 17. Henry entertained hopes, for three days, that his son had put into some distant port in England; but when certain intelligence of the calamity was brought to him he fainted away, and was never seen to smile from that moment till the day of liis death, .which followed some time after at St. Denis, a little town in Nor- mandy, from eating too plentifully of lampreys, a dish he was particularly fond of. He died> in the sixty-seventh year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign,, leaving by will his daughter Matilda heiress of all his dominions. Questions for Examination. 1. On the death of Rufus, what was the conduct of Henry? 2. What method did Henry take to ingratiate himself in his subjects, favour? 4. To whom was Henry married? 5. Was there any other claimant to the crown of England? C, 7. What was the conduct of Robert, at this time, and to what disasters did it lead? 9. In what way was the captive Robert treated by his brother? 11. What was the situation of Henry at this time ? 12. For what purpose did Henry carry his son to Normandy ? 15. Relate tho fatal accident that befel many of the nobility ? 17. What was the cause of the king’s death? CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. Pascal II 1099 GelastiusII 1118 Calixtus II 1119 Honorius II 1124 Innocent H 1130 Emperors of the East. Alexis 1 1081 A.D. John Comnenus.. 1118 Emperors of the West. Henry IV 1056 Henry V 1106 Lotharius 1125 Kings of France. Philip 1 1060 A.D. Louis IY 1108 Kings of Scotland. Donald Vin 1068 Edgar. 1108 Alexander 1117 David 1124 EMINENT PERSONS. Anselm and Radulph, archbishops of Canterbury. William Crito, son of duke Robert of Normandy. Robert earl of Shrewsbury. Tho Empress Matilda.* * She was fhe only daughter and surviving legitimate child of Henry • ehe was married to Henry V. emperorof Germany, but having become a widow in the year 1126, she returned to her father’s court and continued to receive the honorary title of empress. In the following year Henry, while STEPHEN. 53 CHAPTER VII. STEPHEN. Bom 1104. Died Oct. 25th, 1154. Began to reign Dec. 26, 1135. Reigned 18f years. Contending armies now for empire fight. And civil war distracts Britannia’s isle; Matilda now asserts her regal right, — -Now dauntless Stephen’s causo is seen to smile. Thus mad ambition prompts to desperate deeds. And, for a phantom, thus a nation bleeds.— Macdcmald 1. (A. D. 1135.) No sooner was the king known to be dead, than Stephen, son of Adela, the king’s sister, and the count of Blois,* conscious of his own power and influence, resolved to secure himself the possession of what he so long desired. He speedily hastened from Normandy, and, ar- riving at London, was immediately saluted king by all the lower ranks of people. 2. Being thus secure of the peo- ple, his next step was to gain over the clergy ; and, for that purpose, his brother, the bishop of Winchester, exerted all his influence among them with great success.! Thus was Stephen made king by one of those speedy revolutions which ever mark the barbarity of a State in which they are customary. 3. The first acts of a usurper are always popular. Ste- phen, in order to secure his tottering throne, passed a char- ter granting several privileges to the different orders of the state : — To the nobility a permission to hunt in their own forests; to the clergy, a speedy filling of all vacant bene- fices; and to the people, a restoration of the laws of Ed- ward the Confessor. To fix himself still more securely, he took possession of the royal treasures at Winchester, and had his title ratified by the pope with a part of the money. 4. It was not long, however, that Matilda delayed assert- ing her claim to the crown. She landed upon the coast of inNormandy, became attached to GeoffryMartel.tbe young countof Anjou, who had changed his name to Flantagenet, from his custom of wearing in his helmet a bunch of flowering broom ( plante-de-genet ,) instead of a plume ; not content with becoming his godfather in chilvary, the king re- solved that Matildashould receive the young count of Anjcu as her second husband. This marriage was contracted without the conseutof the estates of the realms of England and N ormandy ; being therefore deemed illegal, it afforded Stephen a pretext for usurping the throne. — William, of Malmesbury. * A city, of France. t “Stephen was a man of great facetiousness, and much of his success is to be imputed to the familiar pleasantry of his conversation,— William of Malmesbury. 54 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Sussex, assisted by Robert, earl of Gloucester, natural son of the late king. The whole of Matilda’s retinue upon this occasion amounted to no more than one hundred and forty knights, who immediately took possession of Arundel castle ; but the nature of her claim soon increased the num- ber of her partisans, and her forces every day seemed to gain ground upon those of her antagonist. 5. Meantime Stephen being assured of her arrival, flew to besiege Arun- del, where she had taken refuge, and where she was pro- tected by the queen dowager, who secretly favoured her pretensions. This fortress was too feeble to promise a long defence ; and would have soon been taken had it not been represented to the king, that as it was a castle belonging to the queen dowager, it would be an infringement on the re- spect due to her to attempt taking it by force. 6. There was a spirit of generosity mixed with the rude- ness of the times that unaccountably prevailed in many transactions. Stephen permitted Matilda to come forth in safety, and had her conveyed with security to Bristol, another fortress equally strong with that from which he permitted her to retire. 7. It would be tedious to relate the various skirmishes on either side, in pursuance of their re- spective pretensions ; it will suffice to say that Matilda’s forces increased every day, while her antagonist seemed every hour to become weaker ; and a victory gained by the queen threw Stephen from the throne into a prison, and exalted Matilda in his room. Matilda was crowned at Winchester with all imaginable solemnity. 8. Matilda, however, was unfit for government. She affected to treat the. nobility- with a degree of disdain to which they had long been unaccustomed ; so that the fickle nation once more began to pity their deposed king, and repent the steps they had taken in her favour. The bishop of Winchester was not remiss in fomenting these discon- tents; and when he found the people ripe for a tumult, detached a party of his friends and vassals to block up the city of London, where the queen then resided. At the same time measures were taken to instigate the Londoners to a revolt, and to seize her person. Matilda, having timely notice of this conspiracy, fled to Winchester, whither the bishop, still- her secret enemy, followed her, watching an opportunity to ruin her cause. His party was soon suf ficiently strong to bid the queen open defiance, and to be- siege her in the very place where she first received b|s STEPHEN' 55 Imprisonment of King Stephen. benediction. 10. There she continued for some time ; but the town being pressed by a famine, she was obliged to escape; while her brother, the earl of Gloucester, endea- vouring to follow, was taken prisoner, and exchanged for Stephen, who still continued a captive. Thus a sudden revolution once more took place ; Matilda was deposed, and obliged to seek for safety in Oxford. Stephen was again recognised as the king, and taken- from his dungeon to be replaced on the throne. 11. But he was now to enter the lists with a new op- poser, who was every day coming to maturity, and growing more formidable. This was Henry, the son of Matilda, who had now reached his sixteenth year; and gave the greatest hopes of being one day a valiant leader and a con- summate politician. 12. With the wishes of the people in his favour young Senry was resolved to claim his hereditary -kingdom, and r the Holy Land, where the French arrived long before the English. 4. Upon the arrival of the English army in Palestine, however, fortune was seen to declare more openly in favour of the common cause. The French and English princes seemed to forget their secret jealousies, and to act in concert. But shortly after, Philip, from the bad state of his health, returned to France, leaving Richard ten thousand of his troops, under the command of the duke of Burgundy. 5. Richard, now left conductor of the war, went on from vic- tory to victory. The Christian adventurers, under his com- mand, determined to besiege the renowned city of Ascalon, in order to prepare the way for attacking Jerusalem with greater advantage. Saladin, the most heroic of the Saracen monarchs, was resolved to dispute their march, and placed himself upon the road with an army of three hundred thou- sand men. This was a day equal to Richard’s wishes; this an enemy worthy his highest ambition. 6. The Eng- lish crusaders were victorious. Richard, when the wings of his army were defeated, led on the main body in person, and restored the battle. The Saracens fled in the utmost confusion, and no less than forty thousand of their number perished on the field of battle.* Ascalon soon surrendered after this victory ; other cities of less note followed the ex- ample ; Richard was at last able to advance within sight of Jerusalem, the object of his long and ardent expectations. 7. But just at this glorious juncture, his ambition was to suffer a total overthrow; upon reviewing his forces, and considering his abilities to prosesute the siege, he found that his army was so wasted with famine, fatigue, and even vic- tory, that they were neither able nor willing to second the * So celebrated was the courage of the English king, even in the enemy 's army, and so dreaded was his name, that the Saracens would say to their restive horses, “What do you start at? do you think you see king Richard?” Nor was his zealous industry less remarkable than his cou- rage. To encourage tho soldiers in repairing the ruined walls of Acre, Coeur de Lion not only laboured in person, but appointed hours for other leaders to work at the head of their men. All cheerfully obeyed, except the duke of Austria, who sent word that his father having been neither bricklayer nor mason, he had not learned either business. The English king hearing this insolent speech repeated to his face by the haughty duke, kicked him out of his tent, and ordered his banner to be disgraced. — Brampton. 70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. views of their commander. 8. It appeared, therefore, abso- lutely necessary to come to an accommodation with Saladin, and a truce for three years was accordingly concluded; in which it was agreed, that the sea-port towns o'l Palestine should remain in the hands of the Christians ; &nd that all of that religion should be permitted to make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem in perfect security.* 9. Richard having thus concluded his expedition with more glory than advantage, began to think of returning home ; but being obliged to return through Germany, in the habit of a pilgrim, lie was arrested by Leopold, duke of Austria, who commanded him to be imprisoned, and loaded with shackles, to the disgrace of honour and humanity. The emperor soon after required the prisoner to be delivered up. to him, and stipulated a large sum of money to the duke as a reward of his services. 10. Thus, the king of England, who had long filled the world with his fame, was basely thrown into a dungeon, and loaded with irons, by those who expected to reap a sordid advantage from his misfortunes. It was a long time before his subjects in England knew what was become of their beloved monarch. 11. So little intercourse was there between different nations at that time, that this discovery is said by some to have been made by a poor French minstrel, who, playing upon his harp, near the fortress in which Richard was confined, a tune which lie knew that unhappy monarch was fond ofj he was an- swered by the king from within, who, with his harp, played the same tune, and thus discovered the place of his confine- ment. 12. However, the English at length prevailed upon this barbarous monarch, who now saw that he could no longer detain his prisoner, to listen to terms of accommodation. A ransom was agreed upon, which amounted to a hundred and fifty thousand marks, or one hundred thousand pounds of our money, upon the payment of which, Richard was once more restored to his expecting subjects. 13. Nothing could exceed the joy of the English upon seeing their monarch return, after all his achievements and sufferings. * There was a magnanimity and generosity in Saladin rarely seen. It is recorded, that once during this campaign, Richard was dangerously sick, and his disorder requiring fresh fruit, and snow to render it cool the generous Saracen sent both in profusion, and thus saved the life of the only foe he dreaded.— ( Vita Saladina.) RICHARD I. 71 He made his entry into London in triumph; and such was the profusion of wealth shown by the citizens, that the German lords who attended him were heard to say, that if the emperor had known of their affluence he would not so easily have parted with their king, He soon after ordered himself to be crowned anew at Winchester. He convoked a general council at Nottingham, at which he confiscated all his brother John’s possessions, who had basely endeavoured to prolong his captivity and gone over to the king of France with that intent. However he pardoned him soon after, with this generous remark: “I wish I could as easily for- get my brother’s offence as he will my pardon.” 14. Richard’s death was occasioned by a singular acci- dent. A vassal of the crown had taken possession of a treasure, which was found by one of the peasants in dig- ging a field in France ; and to secure the remainder, he sent part of it to the king. Richard, as superior lord, sensible that he had a right to the' whole, insisted on its being sent to him ; and upon refusal, attacked the castle of Chalus, where he understood this treasure had been deposited. 15. On the fourth day of the siege, as he was riding round the place to observe where the assault might be given with the fairest probability of success, he was aimed at by Bertrand de Goiirdon, an archer from the castle, and pierced in the shoulder with an arrow. The wound was not in itself dan- gerous; but an unskilful surgeon, endeavouring to disen- gage the arrow from the flesh, so rankled the wound, that it mortified, and brought on fatal symptoms. 16. Richard, when he found his end approaching, made a will, in which he bequeathed the kingdom, with all his treasure, to his brother John, except a fourth part, which he distributed among his servants. He ordered also that the archer who had shot him should be brought into his presence, and de- manded what injury he had done him, that he should take away his life ? The prisoner answered with deliberate intre- pidity: 17. “You killed, with your own hand, my father and my two brothers, and you intended to have hanged me. I am now in your power, and my torments may give you revenge; but I will endure them with pleasure, since it is my consolation that I have rid the world of a tyrant.” Rich- ard, struck with this answer, ordered the soldier to be pre- sented with one hundred shillings, and set at liberty ; but M&reade, the general under him, like a true ruffian, ordered him to be flayed alive, and them hanged. Richard died in 72 HISTORY OF ENGLAND the tenth year of his reign and the forty-secoud of his age, leaving only one (natural) son, named Philip, behind him. Questions for Examination. 1. With whom did Richard embark for the crusades ? 2. Of what numbers did the armies consist? i. On Philip’s return to France, who was left to 'conduct the war? 5. Who opposed Richard on his march to besiege Jerusalem? 6. Can you repeat the particulars of the battle ? 8. What circumstance induced Richard to come to an accommodation with Saladin? 9. In returning home, what happened to Richard? 11. How was it discovered that Richard was a prisoner? 12. By what means did Richard recover his liberty? 13. Who endeavoured to prolong Richard’s captivity? and what was his remark on this occasion? 15. Can you relate the singular accident which caused the death ol Richard? 17. What was the answer of the person who shot the king? CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes A.D. Clement 111 1188 Celestine HI 1191 Innocent III 1198 Emperors of the East. Isaac II 1186 A.D. Alexis IH 1195 Emperors of the West. Frederic 1 1152 Henry VI 1190 Philip 1 1197 Kings of A.D. France. Phillip II. 1180 Portugal. San. I. 1180 Denmark. Can. V. 1182 Scotland. William 1165 EMINENT PERSONS. Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury ; Henry Fitzalwyn, first lord mayor of London ; William Longcharaps, bishop of Ely, regent in Richard’s absence; Robin Hood and Little John, the celebrated outlaws JOHN. 73 CHAPTER X. JOHN. Born 1165. Died October 7th, 1216. Began to reign April 6th, 1199, Reigned 17J years. SECTION I. When faithless John usurped the sullied crown, What ample tyranny ! Six tedious years Our helpless fathers iu despair obey’d The Papal interdict : and who obey’d The Sovereign plundered?— Shenstone. 1. (A. D. 1199.) John,* who was readily put in pos- session of the English throne, lost no time to second his interest on the continent ; and his first care was to recover the revolted provinces from young Arthur, his nephew. Bui from the pride and cruelty of his temper, he soon be- came hateful to his subjects ; and his putting his nephew, who had a right to the crown, to death, with his own hand in prison, served to render him completely hateful. 2. Hitherto John was rather hateful to his subjects than contemptible; they rather dreaded than despised him. But he soon shewed that he might be offended, if not without resentment, at least with impunity. It was the fate of this vicious prince to make those the enemies of himsel whom he wanted abilities to make the enemies of each other. The clergy had for some time acted as a community independent of the crown, and had their elections of each other generally confirmed by the pope, to whom alone they owed subjection. 3. However, the election of archbishops had for some time been a continual subject of dispute between the suffragan bishops and the Augustine monks, and both had precedents to confirm their pretensions. John sided with the bishops, and sent two knights of his train, who were fit instruments for such a prince, to expel the monks from their convent, and to take possession of their revenues. 4. The pope was not displeased with these divisions ; and instead of electing either of the persons appointed by the contending parties, he nominated Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. John, however, refusing to admit the man of the pope’s choosing, the king- dom was put under an interdict. This instrument of terror, in the hands of the sec of Rome, was calculated to strike the senses in the highest degree, and to operate upon the * Sumamed Sans Terre, or Laclcland. 74 ' HISTORY OF ENGLAND. superstitious minds of the people. 5. By it a stop was im- mediately put to divine service, and to the administration of all the sacraments but baptism. The church-doors were shut; the statues of the saints were laid on the ground; the dead were refused Christian burial, and were thrown into ditches on the highways, without the usual rites or any funeral solemnity. 6. No situation could be more deplorable than that of John upon this occasion — furious at his indignities, jealous of his subjects, and apprehending an enemy in every face. It is said that, fearing a conspiracy against his life, lie shut himself up a whole night in the castle of Nottingham, and suffered none to approach his person. But what was his consternation when he found that the pope had actually given away his kingdom to the monarch of France, and that the prince of that country was actually preparing an army to take possession of his crown ! 7. John, who, unsettled and apprehensive, scarcely knew where to turn, was still able to make an expiring effort to receive the enemy. All hated as he was, the natural enmity between the French and the English, the name of king, which he still retained, and some remaining power, put him at the head of sixty thousand men — a sufficient number indeed, but not to be relied on — and with these he advanced to Dover. 8. Europe now regarded the important pre- parations on both sides with impatience; and the decisive blow was soon expected, in which the church was to triumph or to be overthrown. But neither Philip nor John had ability equal to the pontiff by whom they were actuated; who appeared on this occasion too refined a politician for either. He only intended to make use of Philip’s- power to intimidate his refractory son, not to destroy him. 9. He intimated, therefore, to John, by his legate, that there was but one way to secure himself from impend- ing danger ; which was to put himself under the pope’s protection, who was a merciful father, and still willing to receive a repentant sinner to his bosom. John was too much intimidated by the manifest danger of his situation not to embrace every means offered for his safety. He assented to the truth of the legate’s remonstrances and took an oath to perform whatever stipulation the pope should impose. 10. John having thus sworn to the performance of an unknown command, the artful Italian so well managed the barons, and so effectually intimidated the king that ha JOHN. 75 persuaded him to lake the most extraordinary oath in all the records of history, before all the people, kneeling upon his knees, and with his hands held up between those of the legate. \ l : “J-j J . Innocent III 119S Honorius HI 1215 Emperors of the East. Alexis HI 1195 Alexis IV 1203 A.D. Alexis V 1204 Theodore 1 1205 Emperors of the West. Philip 1187 Otho IV 1208 Frederick II 1211 Kings of A.o. France. Philip H. 1189 Portug. Sancho 1. 1185 Adolphus II. . 1212 Den. Waldemar 11.1202 Scotland. WiUiam.1105 Alexander II. 1214 EMINENT PERSONS. Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury; he divided our Bible into chapters and verses. JtoDert Fitzwalter, general of the barons’ army. John de Courcy, earl of Ulster, famous for his strength and prowess. Prince Arthur, nephew to the king, by whom he is supposed to have been murdered. CHAPTER XL HENRY III. Bom 1207. Died Nov. 16th,1272. Began to reign October the 17th, 1216. Reigned 56 years. SECTION I. Humane, indulgent, kind ev’n to a fault; Yet wanting energy when cares assault. His reign, though turbulent, an instance brings Of “Mercy throned in the heart of Rings.”— Dibdin. 1. (A. D. 1216.) A claim was made, upon the death ol John, in favour of young Henry, the son of the late king, wbo was now but nine years of age. The earl of Pem- broke, a nobleman of great worth and valour who had 80 HISTORT OF ENGLAND. faithfully adhered to John in all the fluctuations of his for- tune, determined to support his declining interests, and had him solerpnly crowned by the bishops of Winchester, Bath, and Gloucester. 2. The young king was of a character the very opposite to his father • as he grew up to man’s estate, he was found to be gentle, merciful, and humane ; he appeared easy and good-natured to his dependents, but no way formidable to his enemies. Without activity or vigour, he was unfit to govern in war ; without distrust or suspicion, he was imposed upon in times of peace. 3. As weak princes are never without governing favour- ites he first placed his affections ori Hubert ae Burgh, and he becoming obnoxious to the people, the place was soon supplied by Peter Des Roches, bishop of Winchester, a Poictevin by birth, a man remarkable for his arbitrary con- duct, for his courage, and his abilities. Henry, in pursuance of this prelate’s advice, invited over a great number of Poic- tevins; and other foreigners, who, having neither principles nor fortunes at home were willing to adopt whatever schemes their employers should propose. 4. Eyery office and com- mand was bestowed on these unprincipled strangers, whose avarice and rapacity were exceeded only by their pride and insolence. So unjust a partiality to strangers very naturally excited the jealousy of the barons ; and they even ventured to assure the king, that, if he did not dismiss all foreigners from court, they would drive both him and them out of the kingdom ; but their anger was scarcely kept within bounds when they saw a new swa-^ of these intruders come over from Gascony, with Isabella, the king’s mother, who had some time before been married to the Count de la Marche. 5. To these just causes of complaint were added the king’s unsuccessful expedition to the continent, his total want°of economy, and his oppressive exactions, which were t|ut the result of the former. ' The kingdom therefore waited with gloomy resolution, determined to take vengeance when the general discontent arrived at maturity. 6. This imprudent preference, joined to a thousand other illegal evasions of justice, at last impelled Simon Montford, earl of Leicester, to attempt an innovation in the government and to wrest the sceptre from the feeble hand that held it! This nobleman was the son of the famous general who com- manded against the Albigenses, a sect of enthusiasts that had been destroyed some time before in the kingdom of Sa~ HENRY III. 81 toy. He was married to the king’s sister ; and by his power and address was possessed of a strong interest in the nation ; having gained equally the affections of the great and the little. 7. The place where the formidable confederacy which he had formed first discovered itself was in the parliament house, where the barons appeared in complete armour. The king, upon his entry, asked them what was their intention ; to which they submissively replied, to make him their sovereign by confirming his power, and to have their grievances re- dressed. 8. Henry, who was ready enough to promise whatever was demanded, instantly assured them of his inten- tion to give all possible satisfaction ; and, for that purpose, summoned a parliament at Oxford, to digest a new plan of government, and to elect proper persons who were to be in- trusted with the chief authority. This parliament, after- wards called the “mad parliament,” went expeditiously to work upon the business of reformation. 9. Twenty-four barons were appointed, with supreme authority, to reform the abuses of the state, and Leicester was placed at their head. The whole state in their hands underwent a complete alteration ; all its former officers were displaced j and crea- tures of the twenty-four barons were put into their room. They not only abridged the authority of the king, but the efficacy of parliament, giving up to twelve persons all parlia- mentary power between each session. Thus, these insolent nobles after having trampled upon the crown, threw pros- trate the rights of the people, and a vile oligarchy was on the point of being established for ever. 10. The first opposition that was made to these usurpa- tions was from a power which but lately began to take a place in the constitution. The knights of the shire, who for some time had begun to be regularly assembled in a se- parate house, now first perceived these grievances, and com- plained against them. They represented that their own interests and power seemed the only aim of all their decrees j and they even called upon the king’s eldest 6on, prince Ed- ward, to interpose his authority, and save the sinking nation. Questions for Examination. 1. By whom was the interest of the young king secured 2. What is tho character given of him? 8. Who were his favourites? V 82 , (HISTORY. OF ENGLAND. 4. By what means did he excite the jealousy of the barons? 6. Who attempted an innovation in the government? ,,, 7. What are the particulars of the conspiracy formed by the bat*< ii ,■ 9. In whom was the supreme authority vested? 10. By whom were these usurpations opposed, and of what did OV(fc* plain?. SECTION n. The fate of war, capricious, now ordains That Edward, Henry’s son, shall break his chains . — Jwt tin. 1. (A. D. 1264.) Prince Edward was at this *hae at /ut twenty-two years of age. The hopes, which were concei fed of his abilities and his integrity rendered him important personage in the transactions of the times, and in some o.ea- sure atoned for the father’s imbecility. He h*J, at a very early age, given the strongest proofs of courage, of wisd om, and of constancy. At first, indeed, when applied to, ap- pearing sensible of what his father had suflTered by le vity and breach of promise, he refused some time to listen to the people’s earnest application; but, being at 1**4 persuaded to concur, a parliament was called, in which tW king assumed his former authority. 2. This being considered as a breach of the late conven- tion, a civil war ensued, in which, in a pished battle, the earl of Leicester became victorious, and tfte king was taken prisoner, but soon after exchanged for Pnuce Edward, who was to remain as a hostage to ensure the p* actual observance of the former agreement. With all these advantages, however, Leicester w»s not so entirely secure but that he still feared th# combination of the foreign states against him, as well as th : internal machina- tions of the royal party. In order, tb* efore, to secure his ill-acquired power, he was obliged to base recourse to an aid till now entirely unknown in England, namely, that of the body of the people. 4. He called a parliament, where, be- sides the barons of his own party, and several ecclesiastics, who were not immediate tenants of t\e crown, he ordered returns to be made of two knights from every shire ; and also deputies from the boroughs, which had been hitherto consi- dered as too inconsiderable to have a voice in legislation. This is the first confused outline of an English house of commons. The people had been gaining some consideration since the gradual diminution of the force of the feudal system. 5. This parliament, however, was found not so very com HENRY III. 83 plying as he expected. Many of the barons who had hi- therto steadfastly adhered to his party, appeared disgusted at his immoderate ambition ; and many of the people, who found that a change of masters was not a change for hap- piness, began to wish for the re establishment of the royal family. 6. In this exigence, Leicester, finding himself unable to oppose the concurring wishes of the nation, was resolved to make a merit of what he could not prevent; and he ac- cordingly released prince Edward from confinement, and had him introduced at Westminster-hall, where his freedom was confirmed by the unanimous voice of the barons. But though Leicester had all the popularity of restoring the prinee, yet he was politic enough to keep him still guarded by his emis- saries, who watched all his motions and frustrated all his aims. 7. The prince, therefore, upon hearing that the Duke of Gloucester was up in arms in his cause, took an opportunity to escape from his guards, and put himself at the head of his party. A battle soon after ensued ; but the earl’s army hav- ing been exhausted by famine on the mountains of Wales, were but ill able to sustain the impetuosity of young Ed- ward’s attack, who bore down upon them with incredible fury. During this terrible day, Leicester behaved with as- tonishing intrepidity ; and kept up the spirit of the action from two o’clock in the morning till nine at night. 8. At. last his horse being killed under him, he was compelled to fight on foot ; and though he demanded quarter, yet the ad- verse party refused it, with a barbarity common enough in the times we are describing. The old king, who was placed in front of the battle, was soon wounded in the shoulder ; and, not being known by his friends, he was on the point ot being killed by a soldier; but crying out, “I am Henry ot Winchester, the king!” he was saved by a knight of the royal army. 9. Prince Edward, hearing the voice of his father, instantly ran to the the spot where he lay, and had him conducted to a place of safety. The body ot Leicester being found among the dead, was barbarously mangled by one Ro- ger Mortimer; and then, with an accumulation of inhuma- nity, sent to the wretched widow as a testimony of the royal party’s success. . . 10. This victory proved decisive ; and the prince, having thus restored peace to the kingdom, found his affairs so firmly established, that he resolved upon taking the cross, which was at that time the highest object- of human ambitioni 84 HISTORY OB’ ENGLAND., In pursuance of this resolution, Edward sailed fro™ land with, a large army, and arrived at the camp of Lewis, king of France, which lay before Tunis, where he had the misfortune to hear of that good monarch’s death before his arrival. The prince, however, no way discouraged by this event, continued his voyage, and arrived at the Holy Land in safety. 11. He was scarcely departed upon this pious expedition when the health of the old king began to decline j and he found not only his own constitution, but also that of the state, in such a dangerous situation, that he wrote letters to his son, pressing him to return with all dispatch. 12. At last, being overcome with the cares of government, and the infirmities of age, he ordered himself to be removed by easy journeys, from St. Edmunds to Westminster, and that same night expired, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and in the fifty-seventh of his reign, the longest to be met with in the annals of England, until that of George the Third.* Questions for Examination. 1. What were the circumstances which warranted the hopes conceived by prince Henry? 2. What was the result of the battle between the king and Leicester? 3. 4. By what means did Leicester endeavour to secure his power? 5. Did the Parliament comply with his wishes? 6. Why did Leicester resolve to release prince Edward? 7. 8, 9. Can you relate the circumstance which took place in the action between prince Edward and Leicester? 10. What were Edward’s determination and conduct after this victory? 11. During Edward’s absence, what was the situation of the king and the nation? 12. At what age did Henry die? and how long did he reign? *The interest paid in this reign for money in the East Indies, amounted, it is said, to twenty-five, and even sometimes to thirty-six percent. But instances occurred in England of fifty per cent, being paid for money. No wonder, therefore, that the Jews, who were tlie only money-lenders, should be tempted to stay in the kingdom, notwithstanding the grievous extor- tions that were practiced on them. Henry granted a charter to the town of Newcastle, in which he gave the inhabitants a license to dig coal. The houses of the city of London were, till this period, mostly thatched with straw, for it appears that an order was issued, that all houses there- in should be covered with tiles or slate, instead of straw ; moreespecially such as stood in the best streets, which were then but few in comparison with the present, for where Clieapside now stands (which is the heartoi the city), was at that timea field, the principal part of thecity lying more eastward. From Temple Bar to the city (then the village, )of YVestminster, where 1 he Strand nowstands, was no more than a mere highway or coun- try road, having, however, many noblemen’s houses and gardens adjoining to it, which have since given names to streets there erected. This indeed was the case in several subsequent reigns. EDWARD I. 85 CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A.D. Honorious III 1216 Gregory IX 1227 Celestine IT 1241 Innocent IV 1243 Alexander IV 1254 Urbain IV 1261 Clement IV. 1265 Gregory X 1271 Emperors of the East. Theodore 1 1204 John III 1222 Theodore II 1225 John IV 1259 A.D. Michael VIII 1259 Emperor of the West. Frederick II 1211 Kings of France. Philip II 1280 Louis VIII 1223 St. Louis IX 1226 Philip III 121D Kings of Portugal. Alphonso III 1202 Sancho II 1233 A.D. Alphonsus IV 1247 Kings of Denmark. iWaldemar 1202 Eric VI 1240 Abell 1250 Christopher 1 1252 Eric VIII 1258 King of Sweden. Waldemar 1250 Kings of Scotland. Alexander II 1214 Alexander III 1249 EMINENT PERSONS. Richard Magnus, Edmund of Abingdon, Boniface, and Robert Kil- warby, archbishops ot Canterbury. Ees Roches, bishop of Winchester, and Lord Chancellor.* Earl of Pembroke, protector. Montfoid, Earl of Leicester, general of the barons. CHAPTER XII. EDWARD I. Born 1236. Died July 7th, 1307. Began to reign Nov. 16th, 1272. Reigned 34 years. The red cross flies in holy land, The Saracen his crescent waves. And English Edward's gallant band Seek proud renown or glorious graves.— Dibdin. 1. (A. D. 1272.) While the unfortunate Henry was thus vainly struggling with the ungovernable spiritof his subjects, his son and successor, Edward, f was employed in the holy wars, where he revived the glory of the English name, and made the enemies of Christianity tremble. He was stabbed, however, by one of those Mahometan enthusiasists, called Assassins, as he was one day sitting in his tent, and was cured, not without great difficulty. 2. Some say that he * In the reigns of the earlier Norman kings the Lord Chancellor was usually a clergyman, and was frequently styled the keeper of the king’s conscience The Court of Chancery did not exist under the Saxon ^t*From the great length and slenderness of his legs, he was surnamed Longshanks. B6 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. owed hie safety to the piety of Eleanora, his wife, who sucked the poison from the wound, to save his- life at the hazard of her own. Though the death of the late king happened while the successor was so far from home, yet measures had been so well taken, that the crown was transferred with the greatest tranquillity. 3. As Edward was now come to an undisputed throne, the opposite interests were proportionably feeble. The barons were exhausted by long and mutual dissensions ; the clergy were divided in their interests, and agreed only in one point, to hate the pope, who had for some time drained them with impunity: the people, by some insurrections against the convents, appeared to hate the clergy wdtli equal animosity. But these disagreeing orders concurred in one point, that of esteeming and reverencing the king, who therefore thought this the most favourable conjuncture for uniting England with Wales. 4. The Welsh had for many ages enjoyed their own laws, language, customs, and opinions. They were the remains of the ancient Britons, who had escaped Roman and Saxon invasions, and still preserved their free- dom and their country uncontaminated by the admission of foreign conquerors. 5. But as they were, from their num- ber, incapable of withstanding their more powerful neigh- bours on the plain, their chief defence lay in the inaccsesible mountains, those natural bulwarks of the country. When- ever England was distressed by faction at home, or its forces called off by wars abroad, the Welch made it a constant practice to pour in their irregular troops, and lay the open country waste wherever they came. 6. Nothing could be more pernicious 'to a country than several neighbouring independent principalities, under different commanders, and pursuing different interests ; the mutual jealousies of such were sure to harass the people ; and whenever victory was purchased, it was always at the expense of the general wel- fare. 7. Sensible of this, Edward had long wished to reduce that incursive people, and had ordered Llewelyn to do ho- mage for his territories: which summons the Welsh prince refused to obey, unless the king’s own son should be deli- vered as a hostage for his safe return. The kino- was not displeased at this refusal, as it served to give him 5 a pretext for his intended invasion. He therefore levied an army against Llewelyn, and marched into his country with certain assurance of success. EDWARD I. 87 8. Upon the approach of Edward, the Welsh prince took refuge among the inaccessible mountains of Snowdon,* and there resolved to maintain his ground, without trusting to the chance of a battle. These were the steep retreats that had for many ages defended his ancestors against all the attempts of the Roman and Saxon conquerors. But Edward, equally vigorous and cautious, having explored every part of his way, pierced into the very centre of Llewelyn’s ter- ritories, and approached the Welsh army in its vast retreats. 9. Here, after extorting submission from the Welsh prince, the king retired. But an idle prophecy, in which it was foretold by Merlin that Llewelyn was to be the restorer of Bruton’s empire in Britain, was an inducement sufficiently strong to persuade this prince to revolt once more, and hazard a decisive battle against the English. 10. With this view he marched into Radnorshire, and, passing the river Wye, his troops were surprised and defeated by Edward Mortimer, while he himself was absent from his army upon a confer- rence with some of the barons of that country. Upon his return, seeing the dreadful situation of his affairs, he ran desperately into the midst of the enemy, and quickly found that death he so ardently sought for. David, the brother of this unfortunate prince, soon after fell in the same cause ; and with him expired the independence of the Welsh nation, A. D. 1282. 11. It was soon after united to the kingdom of England, and made a principality, and given to the eldest 6on of the king. Foreign conquest might add to their glory, but this added to the felicity of the kingdom. The Welsh are now blended with the conquerors, and in the revolution of a few ages, all national animosity was entirely forgotten. 12. Soon after, the death of Margaret, queen of Scotland, gave him hopes of adding Scotland also to his dominions. The death of this princess produced a most ardent dispute about the succession to the Scottish throne, it being claimed by no less than twelve competitors. The claims, however, of all the other candidates were reduced to three, who were the descendants of the Iilarl of Huntingdon by three daugh- ters: John Hastings, who claimed in right of his mother, as one of the co-heiresses of the crown; John Baliol, who alleged his right, as being descended from the eldest daugh- ter, who was his grandmother ; and Robert Bruce, who was * From the summit of which may be seen part of Ireland, Scotland, England, and all North Wales. 88 HISTOEY OT ENGLAND, Baliol surrendering his crown to Edward I* the actual sou of the second daughter. This dispute being referred to Edward’s decision, with a strong degree of as- surance he claimed the crown for himself, and appointed Baliol his deputy. 13. Baliol being thus placed on the Scottish throne, less a king than a vassal, Edward’s first step was sufficient to con- vince that people of his intentions to stretch the prerogative to the utmost. Upon the most frivolous pretence, he sent six different summonses for Baliol to appear in London, . at different times in one year; so that the poor Scottish king soon perceived that he was possessed of the name only, but not the authority of a sovereign. Willing, therefore, to shake off the yoke of so troublesome a master, Baliol re- volted, and procured the pope’s absolution from his former oath of homage. 14. But no power the Scots could bring into the field was able- to withstand the victorious army of Edward. He overthrew their forces in many engagements ; and thus be- coming undisputed master of the kingdom, he took every precaution to secure his title, and to abolish those distinc- tions which might be" apt to keep the nation in its former independence. Baliol was carried a prisoner to London and compelled to surrender his crown; and Edward care- fully destroyed all records and monuments of antiquity that inspired the Scots with a spirit of national pride. HDWARD I. 89 Questions for Examination. 1. What disaster hefell Edward in the Holy Land? 2. To whose care is it said he owed Lis life? 3. What was the situation of the kingdom at Edward’s accession? 4. What was the state of the Welsh at this time? 5. What was the constant practice of the Welsh towards England * 7. What method did Edward pursue to reduce Wales? 8. What was its success ? 9. What induced Llewelyn again to revolt? 10. What followed this defeat ? 1L To whom was the principality of Wales given after its union with Eng;and? 12. What happened, at this time, that gave Edward hopes of adding Scotland to his dominions? 6 How many competitoi s claimed the Scottish throne? and what were the names of the three principal? 13. What method did Baliol take to shake off the yoke of Edward? 15. What was the result oi this struggle for independence ? SECTION II. Still are the Scots determined to oppose And treat intruding Edward’s friends as foes; Till the revengeful king, in proud array, Swears to make Scotland bend beneath his sway.— Macdonald. 1. (A. D. 1296.) These expeditions, however, terminated rather in glory than advantage; the expenses which were requisite for carrying on the war were not only burdensome to the king, but even, in the event, threatened to shake him on his throne. In order at first to set the great machine in motion, he raised considerable supplies by means of his parliaments, and that august body was then first modelled by him into the form in which it continues to this day. 2. As a great part of the property of the kingdom was, by the in- troduction of commerce and the improvement of agricul- ture, transferred from the barons to the lower classes of the people, so their consent was now thought necessary for the raising any considerable supplies. For this reason he issued writs to the sheriffs, enjoining them to send to parliament along with two knights of the shire (as in the former reign) two deputies from each borough within their county ; and these provided with sufficient power from their constituents to grant such demands as they should think reasonable for the safety of the state. 3. One of the first efforts, therefore, was to oblige the king’s council to sign the Magna Charta, and to add a clause to secure the nation forever against all impositions and taxes without the consent of parliament. This the king’s council (for Edward was at that time in Flanders) readily agreed to sign; and the king himself, when 90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. it was sent over to him, after some hesitation thought pro- per to do the same. These concessions he again con- tinued after his return ; and though it is probable he was averse to granting them, yet he was at last brought to give a plenary consent to all the articles which were demanded of him. Thus, after the contest of an age, the Magna Charta wa§ finally established ; nor was it the least circumstance in its favour, that its confirmation was procured from one of the greatest and boldest princes that ever swayed the Eng- lish sceptre. 5. In the mean time William Wallace,* so celebrated in Scottish story, attempted to rescue Scotland from the Eng- lish yoke. He was a younger son of a gentleman who lived in the western part of the kingdom. He was a man of a gigantic stature, incredible strength, and amazing intrepidity ; eagerly desirous of independence, and possessed with the most disinterested spirit of patriotism. To this man had resorted all those who were obnoxious to the English govern- ment ; the proud, the bold, the criminal, and the ambitious. 6. These, bred among dangers and hardships themselves, could not forbear admiring in their leader a degree of pa- tience under fatigue and famine, which they supposed beyond the power of human nature to endure ; he soon, therefore, became the principal object of their affection and their esteem. His first exploits were confined to petty ravages, and occa- sional attacks upon the English; but he soon overthrew the English armies and slew their generals. 7. Edward, who had been over in Flanders while these misfortunes happened in England, hastened back with im- patience to restore his authority, and secure his former con- quest. He quickly levied the whole force of his dominions, and at the head of a hundred thousand men directed his course to the north, fully resolved to take vengeance upon the Scots for their late defection. A battle was fought at Falkirk, in which Edward gained a complete victory, leaving twelve thousand of the Scots, or, as some will have it, fifty thousand, dead upon the field while the English had not a hundred slain. A blow so dreadful had not as yet entirely crushed the spirit of the Scottish nation; and after a short interval they began to breathe from their calamities. 9. Wallace, who had gained * He was of an ancient family, and was chosen during the captivity of Baliol. regent of Scotland EDWARD I. 91 all their regards by his valour, shewed that he still merited them more by his declining the rewards of ambition. Per- ceiving how much he was envied by the nobility, and know- ing how prejudicial that envy would prove to the interests of his country, he resigned the regency of the kingdom, and humbled himself to a private station. 10. He proposed Cummin as the most proper person to supply his room ; and that nobleman endeavoured to show himself worthy of this pre-eminence. He soon began to annoy the enemy; and not content with a defensive war, made incursions into the southern counties of the kingdom, which Edward had im- agined wholly subdued. They attacked an army of English lying at Roslin, near Edinburgh, and gained a complete victory. 11. But it was not easy for any circumstances of bad fortune to repress the enterprising spirit of the king. He assembled a great fleet and army ; and entering the frontiers of Scotland, appeared with a force which the enemy could not think of resisting in the open field. Assured of suc- cess, he marched along, and traversed the kingdom from one end to the other, ravaging the open country, taking all the castles, and receiving the submissions of all the nobles. 12. There seemed to remain only one obstacle to the final destruction of the Scottish monarchy, and that was William Wallace, who still continued refractory; and wandering with a few forces from mountain to mountain, preserved his native independence, and usual good fortune. But even their feeble hopes from him were soon disappointed; he was betrayed into the king’s hands by Sir John Monteith, his friend, whom he had made acquainted with the place of his concealment, being surprised by him as he lay asleep in the neighbourhood of Glasgow. 13. The king, willing to strike the Scots with an example of severity, ordered him to be conducted in chains to London, where he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, with the most brutal ferocity. Robert Bruce, who had been one of the competitors for the crown, but was long kept prisoner in London, at length escaping from his guards, resolved to strike for his country s freedom. 14. Having murdered one of the king’s servants, he left himself no resource but to confirm by desperate valour what he had begun in cruelty, and he soon expelled such of the English forces as had fixed themselves in the kingdom. Soon after, he was solemnly crowned king, by the bishop of St. Andrew’s, in the abbey of Scone; and 92 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. numbers flocked to his standard, resolved to confirm his pretensions. 15. Thus, after twice conquering the king- dom, and as often pardoning the delinquents ; after having spread his victories in every quarter of the country, and receiving the most humble submissions; the old king saw that his whole work was to begin afresh, and that nothing but the final destruction of the inhabitants, could give him assurance of tranquillity. But no difficulties could repress the ardent spirit of this monarch, who, though now verging towards his decline, yet resolved to strike a parting blow and to make the Scots once more tremble at his appearance. 16. He vowed revenge against the whole nation ; and averred that nothing but reducing them to the completest bondage could satisfy his resentment. He summoned his prelates, nobility, and all who held by knight’s service, to meet him at Carlisle, which was appointed as the general rendezvous: and in the mean time he detached a body of forces before him to Scotland, under the command of Aymer de Valence, who began the threatened infliction by a complete victory over Bruce, near Methven, in Perthshire. 17. Immediately after this dreadful blow, the resentful king appeared in person, entering Scotland with his army di- vided into two parts, and expecting to find, in the opposi- tion of the people, a pretext for punishing them. But this brave prince, who was never cruel but from motives of policy, could not strike the poor submitting natives, who made no resistance. His anger was disappointed in their humiliation; and he was ashamed to extirpate those who only opposed patience to his indignation. 18. His death put an end to the apprehensions of the Scots, and effectually rescued their country from total subjection. He sickened and died at Carlisle, of a dysentery : enjoining his son with his last breath, to prosecute the enterprise, and never to desist till he had finally subdued the kingdom. He ex- pired July 7, 1307, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign ; after having added more to the solid interests of the kingdom than any of those who went before or succeeded him. Questions for Examination. 1. What circumstances led to the modelling the parliament into its V present form? hat was the manner observed in framing the parliament? 3. What was one of their first efforts ? EDWARD I. 93 4 . 5 . 6 . 7. 8 . 9. 12 . 13. 14. 15. 18. ^ a whnm k !£f Rt fir ?t favourable to the measure? yoke? aa attempt made t0 rescue Scotland from the English with ZZV he S l st ad . h erents of Wallace? Did any ensa™™? Ut°° P i did Edward march towards the north? Wallace ° ement take place between the forces of Edward and What was the issue of this engagement? F“'! as the conduct of Wallace afterwards? Wlm? wa™th? er Was Wallace afterwards surprised? W hat was the manner of his death ? Whot t°° kplace a f ter Druce’s escape from London? Whe£e ^d t th° 0 C v- Ddu ^ °» f th 5 kin = on this occasion? prosecute? 6 UD ^ dl0? and wkat enterprise did he enjoinhis son to CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS. Popes. A/D. Gregory X 1271 Innocent V 1276 Adrian V 1276 JohnXXI 1276 Nicholas in 1277 Martin IV 1281 Honorius IV 1285 Nicholas IV 1288 Celestine V 1294 Boniface VIII 1294 Benedict IX 1303 Clement V 1305 Emperors of the East. Michael VIII 1259 Andronicus II 1283 Emperors of the West. Frederick II* 1212 Rodolphus 1 1273 Adolphus of Nassau 1291 Albert 1298 Kings of France. Philip III 1270 Philip IV 1285 Kings of Portugal. Adolphus III 1247 Denni3 1275 Kings of Denmark. A.D. Eric VII 1259 Eric VIII 1283 Kings of Sweden-. Magnus II 1279 Birger 11 1299 Kings of Scotland. Alexander 111 1246 John Baliol 1293 Robert Brace 1306 EMINENT PERSONAGES. JohnPeckham, Robert Winchelsea, Walter Reynolds, and John Strat* ford, archbishops of Canterbury. Richard, earl of Cornwall. Rodger Bigod, earl of Norfolk. Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford. John Plantagenet, earl of Warwick. Roger Bacon. Wickliffe.t •After the death of Frederick II. there was an interregnum in the Western empire until Rodolphus, during which the following princes either reigned or were elected : Conrad III. ; William, earl of Holland ; Richard, earl of Cornwall; Edward IV.; and AlphonsO, king of Castile. —Lochman . t Wickliffe was the first preacher of the reformed doctrines in Eng- land ; he was the author of a valuable translation of the New Testament, and of several able tracts on the usurpations of the Romish Church. 94 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER XIII. EDWARD II. Bom 1281. Died Sep. 21, 1327. Began to reign July 7, 1307. Reigned 20 years. SECTION I. Immersed in soft effeminacy’s down, The feeble prince his subjects’ good neglects For minions, who monopolize the crown. And stain the sceptre which their vice protects.— Dibdin. 1. (A.D. 1307.) Edward, surnamed Caernarvon,* was in the twenty-third year of his age when he succeeded hi8 father; of an agreeable figure, of a mild, harmless disposi- tion, and apparently addicted to few vices. Rut he soon gave symptoms of his unfitness to succeed so great a mo- narch as his father; he was rather fond of the enjoyment of his power, than of securing it, and, lulled by the flattery of his courtiers, he thought he had (lone enough for glory when he accepted the crown. 2. Instead, therefore, of prosecuting the war against Scotland, according to the in- junctions he had received from his dying father, he took no steps to check the progress of Bruce : his march into that country being rather a procession of pageantry than a warlike expedition. 3. Weak monarchs are ever governed by favourites; and the first that Edward placed his affections upon was Piers Gavestone, the son of a Gascon knight, who had been employed in the service of the late king. The young man was adorned with every accomplishment of person and mind that was capable of creating affection ; but he was utterly destitute of those qualities of heart and understanding that serve to procure esteem. He was handsome, witty, brave and active; but then he was vicious, effeminate, de- bauched, and trifling. These were qualities entirely adapted to the taste of the young monarch, and he seemed to think no rewards equal to his deserts. 4. Gavestone, on the other hand, intoxicated with his power, became haughty and overbearing, and treated the English nobility, from whom it is probable he received marks of contempt, with scorn and derision, A conspiracy, therefore, was soon formed against him, at the head of which queen Isabel and the earl o< Lancaster, a nobleman of great power, were associated. 5. It was easy to perceive that a combination of the nobles, while the queen secretly assisted their designs, * From the place of his birth, Caernarvon Castle, in Wales. EDWARD II. 95 would be too powerful against the efforts of a weak king and a vain favourite. The king, timid and wavering, banished him, (A. D. 1312) at their solicitation, and recalled him soon after. . This was sufficient to spread an alarm over the whole kingdom : all the great barons flew to arms, and the earl of Lancaster put himself at the head of this irresistible _ confederacy. The unhappy Edward, instead of attempting to make resistance, sought only for safety. Ever happy in the company of his favourite, he embarked at Teignmouth, and sailed with him to Scarborough, where he left G-avestoue as in a place of safety, and then went back to York himself, either to raise an army to oppose his enemies or by his presence to allay their animosity. 6. In the meantime, Gravestone was besieged in Scarborough by the earl of Pembroke ; and had the garrison been sufficiently supplied with provisions, the place would have been im- pregnable. But Gavestone, sensible of the bad condition of the garrison, took the earliest opportunity to offer terms of capitulation. He stipulated that he should remain in Pem- broke’s hands as a prisoner for two months ; and that endeavours should be used in the meantime for a general accommodation. 1 . But Pembroke had no intention that he should escape so easily ; he ordered him to be conducted to the castle of Deddington, near Banbury, where, on pre- tence of other business, he left him with a feeble guard, of which the earl of Warwick having received information, attacked the castle in which the unfortunate Gavestone was confined, and quickly made himself master of his person. The earls of Lancaster, Hereford, and Arundel were soon apprised of Warwick’s success, and informed that their common enemy was now in custody in Warwick castle. 8. Thither therefore they hastened with the utmost expe- dition to hold a consultation upon the fate of their prisoner. This was of no long continuance , they unanimously resolved to put him to death, as an enemy to the kingdom, and gave him no time to prepare for his execution. They instantly had him conveyed to a place called Blaeklow-hili, where a Welsh executioner, provided for that purpose, severed his head from his body. 9. To add to Edward’s misfortunes, he soon after suf- fered a most signal defeat from the Scots’ army under Bruce, near Bannockburn;* and this drove him once more to seek ♦ Hear Stirling. Edward was so sure of conquest that he brought with aim Boston, a Carmeitte, and a iamous poet, to celebrate bis victory. 96 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. for relief in some favourite’s company. 10. The name of his new favourite was Hugh de Spenser, a young man of a noble English family, of some merit, and very engaging accomplishments. His father was a person of a much more estimable character than the son ; he was venerable for his years, and respected through life for his wisdom, his valour, and his integrity. 11. But these excellent quali- ties were all diminished and vilified from the moment he and his son began to share the king’s favour, who even dis- possessed some lords unjustly of their estates, in order to accumulate them upon his favourite. This was a pretext the king’s enemies had been long seeking for; the earls of Lancaster and Hereford flew to arms ; sentence was pro- cured from parliament of perpetual exile against the two Spensers, and a forfeiture of their fortunes and estates. 12. The king, however, at last rousing from his lethargy, took the field in defence of his beloved Spenser, and at the head of thirty thousand men pressed the earl of Lan- caster so closely, that he had not time to collect his forces together, and, flying from one place to another, he was at last stopped in his way towards Scotland by Sir Andrew Harcla, and made prisoner. 13. As he had formerly shown little mercy to Gavestone, there was very little extended to him upon this occasion. He was condemned by a court-martial : and led, mounted on a lean horse, to an eminence near Pomfret, in circumstances of the greatest indignity, where he was beheaded by a Londoner. 14. A rebellion, thus crushed, served only to increase the pride and rapacity of young Spenser; most of the forfeitures were seized for his use — and in his promptitude to seize the delinquents, he was guilty of many acts of rapine and injus- tice.* Questions for Examination. 1. What was the disposition of Edward II? 2. What was his conduct in regard to Scotland? 3. What was the character ofGavestone, the king’s first favourite? 4. Who formed a conspiracy against the kin