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STUDENT'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND
_FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DEATH OF KING EDWARD VII_
BY
SAMUEL R. GARDINER, D.C.L., LL.D.
LATE FELLOW OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD ETC.
VOL. I.
B.C. 55--A.D. 1509
_NEW IMPRESSION (1915)_
REISSUE
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
FOURTH AVENUE & 30th STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS
1916
_All rights reserved_
WORKS BY SAMUEL RAWSON GARDINER.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND, from the Accession of James I. to the Outbreak of
the Civil War, 1603-1642. With Maps. 10 vols. crown 8vo. 5_s._ net
each.
A HISTORY OF THE GREAT CIVIL WAR, 1642-1649. With Maps. 4 vols. crown
8vo. 5_s._ net each.
A HISTORY OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE PROTECTORATE, 1649-1656. With
Maps. 4 vols. crown 8vo. 5_s._ net each.
THE LAST YEARS OF THE PROTECTORATE, 1656-1658. By CHARLES HARDING
FIRTH, M.A., Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of
Oxford. With 3 Plans. 2 vols. 8vo. 24_s._ net.
A STUDENT'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. From the Earliest Times to the Death
of King Edward VII.
Vol. I. B.C. 55-A.D. 1509. With 173 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 4_s._
Vol. II. 1509-1689. With 96 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 4_s._
Vol. III. 1689-1910. With 112 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 4_s._
_Complete in One Volume, with 381 Illustrations, crown 8vo. 12s._
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D.C.L., LL.D. With 66 Coloured Maps and 22 Plans of Battles and
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Oxford. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._
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THE FIRST TWO STUARTS AND THE PURITAN REVOLUTION, 1603-1660. 4 Maps.
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* * * * *
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PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION
The present work is intended for such students as have already an
elementary knowledge of the main facts of English history, and aims at
meeting their needs by the use of plain language on the one hand, and
by the avoidance, on the other hand, of that multiplicity of details
which is apt to overburden the memory.
At the close of the book I have treated the last eleven years, 1874 to
1885, in a manner which precludes all expression of my own views,
either on the characters of the actors or on the value of the work
performed by them; and something of the same reticence will be
observed in the pages dealing with the years immediately preceding
1874. We have not the material before us for the formation of a final
judgment on many points arising in the course of the narrative, and it
is therefore better to abstain from the expression of decided opinion,
except on matters so completely before the public as to leave no room
for hesitation. Especially is this rule to be observed in a book
addressed to those who are not yet at an age when independent
investigation is possible.
I hope it will be understood that in my mention of various authors I
have had no intention of writing a history of literature, however
brief. My object has been throughout to exhibit that side of
literature which connects itself with the general political or
intellectual movement of the country, and to leave unnoticed the
purely literary or scientific qualities of the writers mentioned. This
will explain, for instance, the total omission of the name of Roger
Bacon, and the brief and, if regarded from a different point of view,
the very unsatisfactory treatment of writers like Dickens and
Thackeray.
Those of my readers who have complained that no maps were to be found
in the book may now be referred to a 'School Atlas of English
History,' recently edited by me for Messrs. Longmans & Co. To include
an adequate number of maps in this volume would have increased its
size beyond all fitting limits.
In the spelling of Indian names I have not adopted the modern and
improved system of transliteration. Admirable as it is when used by
those who are able to give the right sound to each letter, it only
leads to mispronunciation in the mouths of those who are, as most of
the readers of this volume will be, entirely in the dark on this
point. The old rough method of our fathers at least ensures a fair
approximation to the true pronunciation.
My warmest thanks are due to Mr. GEORGE NUTT, of Rugby, and to the
Rev. W. HUNT. Mr. NUTT not only looked over the proof-sheets up to the
death of Edward I. with excellent results, but gave me most valuable
advice as to the general arrangement of the book, founded on his own
long experience of scholastic teaching. The Rev. W. HUNT looked over a
considerable portion of the remaining proof-sheets, and called my
attention to several errors and omissions which had escaped my eye.
The illustrations have been selected by Mr. W. H. ST. JOHN HOPE,
Assistant-Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries. He wishes to
acknowledge much valuable assistance given to him in the choice of
portraits by GEORGE SCHARF, Esq., C.B., F.S.A., who is recognised as
the highest authority on the subject.
I am indebted to Her Majesty the QUEEN for permission to engrave two
of the portraits appearing in the following pages--viz., those of
Bishop Fisher, on p. 393, and the Duke of Norfolk, on p. 410--the
originals in both cases being at Windsor Castle.
I have to thank Earl SPENCER for permission to engrave the portrait on
p. 362; the Earl of ESSEX for that on p. 476; the Earl of WARWICK for
that on p. 403; the Earl of CARLISLE for that on p. 459; the Viscount
DILLON, F.S.A., for that on p. 376; the Hon Sir SPENCER PONSONBY-FANE,
K.C.B., for that on p. 365; Sir JOHN FARNABY LENNARD, Bart., for that
on p. 463; Dr. EVANS for those on pp. 2, 4, 6; EDWARD HUTH, Esq., for
that on p. 387; Mrs. DENT, of Sudeley, for that on p. 395; H. HUCKS
GIBBS, Esq., for that on p. 419; T. A. HOPE, Esq., for that on p. 487;
E. B. NICHOLSON, Esq., for the portrait of Lord Burghley in the
Bodleian Library, Oxford, engraved at p. 479; the authorities of the
University of Cambridge for that on p. 477; of Jesus College,
Cambridge, for that on p. 414; and of Sidney Sussex College,
Cambridge, for that on p. 567; and the Treasurer of Christ's Hospital,
London, for the portrait of Charles II. on p. 579. I have also to
thank Mr. JOHN MURRAY for permission to engrave the figures on pp.
130, 150, 160, 166, 177, 188, 260; Messrs. PARKER & Co., Oxford, for
those on pp. 19, 51, 75, 91, 107, 128, 170, 192, 197, 230, 245, 246,
247, 253, 409, 451; Mr. W. NIVES for those at pp. 381, 409, 451; Mr.
J. G. WALLER for those on pp. 219, 229, 292, 298, 515; Mr. BRUCE for
those on pp. 17, 18, 21; Messrs. POULTON & SONS, Lee, for those on pp.
7, 132; Mr. G. A. NICHOLS, Stamford, for those on pp. 311, 316, Mr.
G. T. CLARKE, for that on p. 74; Messrs. CARL NORMAN & Co., Tunbridge
Wells, for that on p. 171; Mr. R. KEENE, Derby, for that on p. 318;
the Rev. H. H. HENSON, Vicar of Barking, Essex, for the photograph of
the monument of Sir Charles Montague on p. 507; the Science and Art
Department for those on pp. 371, 440, 518, 612; Mr. W. H. WHEELER, of
Oxford, for those on pp. 319, 384; Messrs. VALENTINE & SONS, Dundee,
for those on pp. 109, 206, 213, 238, 244, 276, 355, 378, 485, 662,
666, 668, 683, 907, 919, 937, 942; and Mr. R. KEENE, Derby, for those
on pp. 466, 467, 469, 471.
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME
PART I.
_ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST._
CHAPTER I.
PREHISTORIC AND ROMAN BRITAIN.
PAGE
1. Palaeolithic Man of the River-Drift 1
2. Cave-dwelling Palaeolithic Man 2
3. Neolithic Man 3
4. Celts and Iberians 5
5. The Celts in Britain 6
6. Goidels and Britons 6
7. Phoenicians and Greeks 7
8. Gauls and Belgians in Britain 8
9. Culture and War 9
10. Religion of the Britons 10
11. The Romans in Gaul B.C. 55 10
12. Caesar's First Invasion. B.C. 55 11
13. Caesar's Second Invasion. B.C. 54 11
14. South-eastern Britain after Caesar's Departure.
B.C. 54--A.D. 43 12
15. The Roman Empire 12
16. The Invasion of Aulus Plautius. A.D. 43 12
17. The Colony of Camulodunum 13
18. The Conquests of Ostorius Scapula 14
19. Government of Suetonius Paullinus. 58 14
20. Boadicea's Insurrection. 61 15
21. The Vengeance of Suetonius 15
22. Agricola in Britain. 78--84 16
23. Agricola's Conquests in the North 16
24. The Roman Walls 17
25. The Roman Province of Britain 19
26. Extinction of Tribal Antagonism 21
27. Want of National Feeling 22
28. Carausius and Allectus. 288--296 22
29. Constantius and Constantine. 296--337 22
30. Christianity in Britain 23
31. Weakness of the Empire 23
32. The Picts and Scots 23
33. The Saxons 24
34. Origin of the Saxons 24
35. The Roman Defence 24
36. End of the Roman Government. 383--410 25
CHAPTER II.
THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.
1. Britain after the Departure of the Romans.
410--449? 26
2. The Groans of the Britons 26
3. The Conquest of Kent. 449? 27
4. The South Saxons. 477 27
5. The West Saxons and the East Saxons 28
6. The Anglian Settlements 28
7. Nature of the Conquest 28
8. The Cultivators of the Soil 29
9. Eorls, Ceorls, Gesiths 29
10. The Gesiths and the Villagers 30
11. English and Welsh 31
12. The Township and the Hundred 31
13. Weregild 32
14. Compurgation and Ordeal 32
15. Punishments 32
16. The Folk-moot 33
17. The Kingship 33
18. The Legend of Arthur 33
19. The West Saxon Advance 34
20. Repulse of the West Saxons 35
21. The Advance of the Angles 36
22. The Kymry 36
23. Britain at the End of the Sixth Century 37
CHAPTER III.
THE STRIFE OF THE ENGLISH KINGDOMS.
1. England and the Continent 37
2. AEthelberht's Supremacy 38
3. Gregory and the English 38
4. Augustine's Mission. 597 39
5. Monastic Christianity 39
6. The Archbishopric of Canterbury 40
7. Death of AEthelberht. 616 41
8. The Three Kingdoms opposed to the Welsh 41
9. AEthelfrith and the Kymry 41
10. AEthelfrith's Victories 42
11. The Greatness of Eadwine 43
12. Eadwine's Supremacy 44
13. Character of the later Conquests 44
14. Political Changes 45
15. Eadwine's Conversion and Fall 46
16. Oswald's Victory at Heavenfield 47
17. Oswald and Aidan 47
18. Oswald's Greatness and Overthrow 47
19. Penda's Overthrow 48
20. The Three Kingdoms and the Welsh 48
21. The English Missionaries 49
22. Dispute between Wilfrid and Colman. 664 49
23. Archbishop Theodore and the Penitential System 50
24. Ealdhelm and Caedmon 51
25. Bede. 673--735 52
26. Church Councils 52
27. Struggle between Mercia and Wessex 52
28. Mohammedanism and the Carolingian Empire 54
29. Ecgberht's Rule. 802--839 54
CHAPTER IV.
THE ENGLISH KINGSHIP AND THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES.
1. The West Saxon Supremacy 55
2. The Coming of the Northmen 56
3. The English Coast Plundered 57
4. The Danes in the North 57
5. AElfred's Struggle in Wessex. 871--878 58
6. The Treaty of Chippenham, and its Results. 878 59
7. AElfred's Military Work 60
8. His Laws and Scholarship 60
9. Eadward the Elder. 899--925 62
10. Eadward's Conquests 62
11. Eadward and the Scots 63
12. AEthelstan. 925--940 63
13. Eadmund (940--946) and Eadred (946--955) 63
14. Danes and English 64
15. Eadwig. 955--959 64
16. Dunstan 65
17. Archbishop Oda 65
18. Eadwig's Marriage 67
CHAPTER V.
EADGAR'S ENGLAND.
1. Eadgar and Dunstan. 959--975 67
2. The Cession of Lothian 68
3. Changes in English Institutions 69
4. Growth of the King's Power 69
5. Conversion of the Freemen into Serfs 69
6. The Hundred-moot and the Lord's Court 72
7. The Towns 72
8. The Origin of the Shires 73
9. The Shire-moot 73
10. The Ealdormen and the Witenagemot 73
11. The Land 75
12. Domestic Life 75
13. Food and Drink 75
CHAPTER VI.
ENGLAND AND NORMANDY.
1. Eadward the Martyr. 975--979 78
2. AEthelred's Early Years. 979--988 79
3. The Return of the Danes. 984 79
4. The Norman Dukes. 912--1002 80
5. Political Contrast between Normandy and England 81
6. Svend's Conquest. 1002--1013 81
7. AEthelred Restored. 1014--1016 82
8. Eadmund Ironside. 1016 83
9. Cnut and the Earldoms. 1016--1035 83
10. Cnut's Empire 84
11. Cnut's Government 84
12. The Sons of Cnut. 1035--1042 85
13. Eadward the Confessor and Earl Godwine.
1042--1051 86
14. The Banishment of Godwine. 1051 87
15. Visit of Duke William. 1051 88
16. William and the Norman Church 88
17. The Return and Death of Godwine. 1052--1053 89
18. Harold's Greatness. 1053--1066 89
19. Harold and Eadward. 1057--1065 90
20. Death of Eadward. 1066 90
21. Harold and William. 1066 91
22. Stamford Bridge. 1066 93
23. The Landing of William. 1066 96
24. The Battle of Senlac. 1066 96
25. William's Coronation. 1066 98
PART II.
_THE NORMAN AND ANGEVIN KINGS._
CHAPTER VII.
WILLIAM I. 1066--1087.
1. The First Months of the Conquest. 1066--1067 101
2. The Conquest of the West and North. 1067--1069 102
3. The Completion of the Conquest. 1070 103
4. Hereward's Revolt and the Homage of Malcolm.
1070--1072 103
5. How William kept down the English 104
6. How William kept down the Normans 105
7. Ecclesiastical Organisation. 106
8. Pope Gregory VII. 107
9. William and Gregory VII. 108
10. The Rising of the Earls. 1075 110
11. The New Forest 110
12. Domesday Book. 1085--1086 111
13. William's Great Councils 112
14. The Gemot at Salisbury. 1086 113
15. William's Death. 1087 114
CHAPTER VIII.
WILLIAM II. 1087--1100.
1. The Accession of the Red King. 1087 114
2. The Wickedness of the Red King 115
3. Ranulf Flambard 116
4. Feudal Dues 116
5. Archbishop Anselm 117
6. The Council of Rockingham. 1095 118
7. William II. and his Brothers 118
8. William and Scotland. 1093--1094 119
9. Mowbray's Rebellion. 1095 120
10. The First Crusade. 1095--1099 120
11. Normandy in Pledge. 1096 121
12. The Last Years of the Red King 121
13. The Death of the Red King. 1100 122
CHAPTER IX.
HENRY I. AND STEPHEN.
HENRY I., 1100--1135. STEPHEN, 1135--1154.
1. The Accession of Henry I. 1100 122
2. Invasion of Robert. 1101 124
3. Revolt of Robert of Belleme. 1102 124
4. The Battle of Tinchebrai. 1106 124
5. Henry and Anselm. 1100--1107 125
6. Roger of Salisbury 126
7. Growth of Trade 127
8. The Benedictines 128
9. The Cistercians 129
10. The White Ship 129
11. The Last Years of Henry I. 131
12. Stephen's Accession. 1135 131
13. Civil War 133
14. Stephen's Quarrel with the Clergy. 1139 134
15. Anarchy. 1139 134
16. The End of the War. 1141--1148 135
17. Henry, Duke of the Normans. 1149 136
18. The Last Days of Stephen. 1153--1154 137
CHAPTER X.
HENRY II. 1154--1189.
1. Henry's Accession. 1154 138
2. Pacification of England 138
3. Henry and Feudality 140
4. The Great Council and the Curia Regis 141
5. Scutage 141
6. Archbishop Thomas. 1162 142
7. Breach between Henry and Thomas 143
8. The Constitutions of Clarendon. 1164 143
9. The Persecution of Archbishop Thomas. 1164 145
10. The Assize of Clarendon. 1166 146
11. Recognitions 147
12. The Germ of the Jury 147
13. The Itinerant Justices Revived 148
14. The Inquisition of the Sheriffs. 1170 148
15. The Nobles and the Church 149
16. The Coronation of Young Henry. 1170 149
17. The Return of Archbishop Thomas. 1170 149
18. Murder of Archbishop Thomas. 1170 149
19. Popular Indignation. 1171 151
20. State of Ireland 151
21. Partial Conquest of Ireland. 1166--1172 152
22. Young Henry's Coronation and the Revolt of
the Barons. 1172--1174 153
23. The Assize of Arms. 1181 154
24. Henry II. and his Sons 155
25. The Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 1187 156
26. The Last Years of Henry II. 1188--1189 157
27. The Work of Henry II. 157
CHAPTER XI.
RICHARD I. 1189--1199.
1. Richard in England. 1189 159
2. William of Longchamps. 1189--1191 159
3. The Third Crusade. 1189--1192 161
4. The Return of Richard. 1192--1194 161
5. Heavy Taxation 162
6. The Administration of Hubert Walter. 1194--1198 163
7. Death of Richard. 1199 165
8. Church and State under the Angevin Kings 165
9. Growth of Learning 167
10. The University of Oxford 167
11. Country and Town 168
12. Condition of London 169
13. Architectural Changes 170
PART III.
_THE GROWTH OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUTION._ 1199-1399.
CHAPTER XII.
JOHN. 1199-1216.
1. The Accession of John. 1199 173
2. John's First War with Philip II. 1199-1200 173
3. John's Misconduct in Poitou 1200-1201 174
4. The Loss of Normandy and Anjou. 1202-1204 174
5. Causes of Philip's Success 176
6. The Election of Stephen Langton to the
Archbishopric of Canterbury. 1205 176
7. Innocent III. and Stephen Langton. 1206 177
8. John's Quarrel with the Church. 1206-1208 178
9. England under an Interdict. 1208 178
10. John Excommunicated. 1209 178
11. The Pope threatens John with Deposition.
1212-1213 179
12. John's Submission. 1213 180
13. The Resistance of the Barons and Clergy. 1213 180
14. The Battle of Bouvines. 1214 181
15. The Struggle between John and the Barons.
1214-1215 181
16. Magna Carta. 1215 182
17. War between John and the Barons. 1215-1216 184
18. Conflict between Louis and John. 1216 184
CHAPTER XIII.
HENRY III. 1216-1272.
1. Henry III. and Louis. 1216-1217 185
2. The Renewal of the Great Charter. 1216-1217 185
3. Administration of Hubert de Burgh. 1219-1232 186
4. Administration of Peter des Roches. 1232-1234 188
5. Francis of Assisi 190
6. St. Dominic 190
7. The Coming of the Friars. 1220-1224 191
8. Monks and Friars 191
9. The King's Marriage. 1236 192
10. The Early Career of Simon de Montfort.
1231-1243 193
11. Papal Exactions. 1237-1243 194
12. A Weak Parliamentary Opposition. 1244 194
13. Growing Discontent. 1244-1254 195
14. The Knights of the Shire in Parliament. 1254 196
15. Fresh Exactions. 1254-1257 196
16. The Provisions of Oxford. 1258 198
17. The Expulsion of the Foreigners. 1258 199
18. Edward and the Barons. 1259 199
19. The Breach amongst the Barons. 1259--1261 199
20. Royalist Reaction and Civil War. 1261 200
21. The Mise of Amiens. 1264 200
22. The Battle of Lewes. 1264 201
23. Earl Simon's Government. 1264--1265 201
24. The Battle of Evesham. 1265 203
25. The Last Years of Henry III. 1265--1272 204
26. General Progress of the Country 206
CHAPTER XIV.
EDWARD I. AND EDWARD II.
EDWARD I., 1272--1307. EDWARD II., 1307--1327.
1. The First Years of Edward I. 1272--1279 208
2. Edward I. and Wales. 1276--1284 210
3. Customs Duties. 1275 210
4. Edward's Judicial Reforms. 1274--1290 212
5. Edward's Legislation. 1279--1290 212
6. Edward as a National and as a Feudal Ruler 212
7. The Scottish Succession. 1285--1290 214
8. Death of Eleanor of Castile. 1290 214
9. The Award of Norham. 1291--1292 215
10. Disputes with Scotland and France. 1293--1295 216
11. The Model Parliament. 1295 218
12. The First Conquest of Scotland. 1296 219
13. The Resistance of Archbishop Winchelsey.
1296--1297 220
14. The 'Confirmatio Cartarum.' 1297 220
15. Wallace's Rising. 1297--1304 221
16. The Second Conquest of Scotland. 1298--1304 221
17. The Incorporation of Scotland with England. 1305 222
18. Character of Edward's Dealings with Scotland 222
19. Robert Bruce. 1306 223
20. Edward's Third Conquest of Scotland and Death.
1306--1307 224
21. Edward II. and Piers Gaveston. 1307--1312 224
22. Success of Robert Bruce. 1307--1314 226
23. Lancaster's Government. 1314--1322 228
24. A Constitutional Settlement. 1322 228
25. The Rule of the Despensers. 1322--1326 228
26. The Deposition and Murder of Edward II. 1327 229
CHAPTER XV.
FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD III. TO THE TREATY OF BRETIGNI.
1327--1360.
1. Mortimer's Government. 1327--1330 231
2. The French Succession. 1328--1331 232
3. Troubles in Scotland. 1331--1336 232
4. Dispute with France. 1336--1337 234
5. Edward's Allies. 1337--1338 235
6. Chivalry and War 235
7. Commerce and War 236
8. Attacks on the North of France. 1338--1340 237
9. Battle of Sluys. 1340 239
10. Attacks on the West of France. 1341--1345 240
11. The Campaign of Crecy. 1346 240
12. The Tactics of Crecy. 1346 241
13. The Battle of Crecy. August 26, 1346 242
14. Battle of Nevill's Cross, and the Siege of
Calais. 1346--1347 242
15. Constitutional Progress. 1337--1347 243
16. Edward's Triumph. 1347 246
17. The Black Death. 1348 248
18. The Statute of Labourers. 1351 248
19. The Statute of Treasons. 1352 250
20. The Black Prince in the South of France. 1355 251
21. The Battle of Poitiers. 1356 251
22. The Courtesy of the Black Prince 252
23. Misery of France. 1356--1359 252
24. Edward's Last Invasion. 1359--1360 252
25. The Treaty of Bretigni. 1360 253
CHAPTER XVI.
REIGN OF EDWARD III. AFTER THE TREATY OF BRETIGNI.
1360--1377.
1. The First Years of Peace. 1360--1364 254
2. The Spanish Troubles. 1364--1368 254
3. The Taxation of Aquitaine. 1368--1369 256
4. The Renewed War. 1369--1375 256
5. Anti-Papal Legislation. 1351--1366 257
6. Predominance of the English Language 258
7. Piers the Plowman. 1362 258
8. The Anti-Clerical Party. 1371 259
9. The Duke of Lancaster. 1374--1376 260
10. John Wycliffe. 1366--1376 261
11. Lancaster and the Black Prince. 1376 261
12. The Good Parliament. 1376 262
13. The Last Year of Edward III. 1376--1377 262
14. Ireland from the Reign of John to that of
Edward II. 264
15. The Statute of Kilkenny. 1367 265
16. Weakness of the English Colony. 1367--1377 265
CHAPTER XVII.
RICHARD II. AND THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION.
1377--1381.
1. The First Years of Richard II. 1377--1378 266
2. Wycliffe and the Great Schism. 1378--1381 266
3. The Poll Taxes. 1379--1381 267
4. The Peasants' Grievances 268
5. The Peasants' Revolt. 1381 268
6. The Suppression of the Revolt 269
7. Results of the Peasants' Revolt 269
8. Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' 270
9. The Prologue of the 'Canterbury Tales' 270
10. Chaucer and the Clergy 271
11. Roads and Bridges 272
12. Modes of Conveyance 273
13. Hospitality and Inns 274
14. Alehouses 274
15. Wanderers 274
16. Robbers and Criminals 275
17. Justices of the Peace 277
CHAPTER XVIII.
RICHARD II. AND THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION.
1382--1399.
1. Progress of the War with France. 1382--1386 278
2. Richard's Growing Unpopularity. 1385--1386 278
3. The Impeachment of Suffolk and the Commission
of Regency. 1386 279
4. The Lords Appellant and the Merciless Parliament.
1387--1388 279
5. Richard's Restoration to Power. 1389 280
6. Richard's Constitutional Government. 1389--1396 280
7. Livery and Maintenance. 1390 281
8. Richard's Domestic Policy. 1390--1391 281
9. Richard's Foreign Policy. 1389--1396 282
10. Richard's Coup d'Etat. 1397 282
11. The Parliament of Shrewsbury. 1398 283
12. The Banishment of Hereford and Norfolk. 1398 283
13. Richard's Despotism. 1398--1399 283
14. Henry of Lancaster in England. 1399 284
15. The Deposition of Richard and the Enthronement
of Henry IV. 1399 285
16. Nature of the Claim of Henry IV. 286
PART IV.
_LANCASTER, YORK, AND TUDOR._ 1399--1509.
CHAPTER XIX.
HENRY IV. AND HENRY V.
HENRY IV., 1399--1413. HENRY V., 1413--1422.
1. Henry's First Difficulties. 1399--1400 289
2. Death of Richard II. 1400 291
3. Henry IV. and the Church 291
4. The Statute for the Burning of Heretics. 1401 292
5. Henry IV. and Owen Glendower. 1400--1402 292
6. The Rebellion of the Percies. 1402--1404 293
7. The Commons and the Church. 1404 294
8. The Capture of the Scottish Prince. 1405 295
9. The Execution of Archbishop Scrope. 1405 296
10. France, Wales, and the North. 1405--1408 296
11. Henry, Prince of Wales. 1409--1410 297
12. The Last Years of Henry IV. 1411-1413 298
13. Henry V. and the Lollards. 1413-1414 299
14. Henry's Claim to the Throne of France. 1414 300
15. The Invasion of France. 1415 301
16. The March to Agincourt. 1415 302
17. The Battle of Agincourt, October 25, 1415 302
18. Henry's Diplomacy. 1416-1417 303
19. Henry's Conquest of Normandy. 1417-1419 303
20. The Murder of the Duke of Burgundy and the
Treaty of Troyes. 1419-1420 304
21. The Close of the Reign of Henry V. 1420-1422 306
CHAPTER XX.
HENRY VI. AND THE LOSS OF FRANCE. 1422-1451.
1. Bedford and Gloucester. 1422 307
2. Bedford's Success in France. 1423-1424 307
3. Gloucester's Invasion of Hainault. 1424 308
4. Gloucester and Beaufort. 1425-1428 308
5. The Siege of Orleans. 1428-1429 309
6. Jeanne Darc and the Relief of Orleans. 1429 310
7. The Coronation of Charles VII. and the Capture
of the Maid. 1429-1430 311
8. The Martyrdom at Rouen. 1431 312
9. The Last Years of the Duke of Bedford. 1431-1435 312
10. The Defection of Burgundy. 1435 313
11. The Duke of York in France. 1436-1437 313
12. The English Lose Ground. 1437-1443 313
13. Continued Rivalry of Beaufort and Gloucester.
1439-1441 314
14. Beaufort and Somerset. 1442-1443 317
15. The Angevin Marriage Treaty. 1444-1445 317
16. Deaths of Gloucester and Beaufort. 1447 318
17. The Loss of the French Provinces. 1448-1449 318
CHAPTER XXI.
THE LATER YEARS OF HENRY VI. 1450-1461.
1. The Growth of Inclosures 320
2. Increasing Power of the Nobility 321
3. Case of Lord Molynes and John Paston 321
4. Suffolk's Impeachment and Murder. 1450 322
5. Jack Cade's Rebellion. 1450 322
6. Rivalry of York and Somerset. 1450-1453 323
7. The First Protectorate of the Duke of York.
1453-1454 323
8. The First Battle of St. Albans and the Duke
of York's Second Protectorate 324
9. Discomfiture of the Yorkists. 1456-1459 325
10. The Battle of Northampton and the Duke of
York's Claim to the Throne. 1460 326
11. The Battle of Wakefield. 1460 327
12. The Battle of Mortimer's Cross and the Second
Battle of St. Albans. 1461 328
13. The Battle of Towton and the Coronation of
Edward IV. 1461 328
CHAPTER XXII.
THE YORKIST KINGS.
1461--1485.
1. Edward IV. and the House of Commons. 1461 329
2. Loss of the Mediaeval Ideals 330
3. Fresh Efforts of the Lancastrians. 1462--1465 331
4. Edward's Marriage. 1464 331
5. Estrangement of Warwick. 1465--1468 332
6. Warwick's Alliance with Clarence. 1469--1470 332
7. The Restoration of Henry VI. 1470 333
8. Edward IV. recovers the Throne. 1471 334
9. Edward IV. prepares for War with France.
1471--1474 334
10. The Invasion of France. 1475 336
11. Fall and Death of Clarence. 1476--1478 336
12. The Last Years of Edward IV. 1478--1483 336
13. Edward V. and the Duke of Gloucester. 1483 337
14. Fall of the Queen's Relations. 1483 338
15. Execution of Lord Hastings 338
16. Deposition of Edward V. 1483 340
17. Buckingham's Rebellion. 1483 341
18. Murder of the Princes. 1483 342
19. Richard's Government. 1484--1485 342
20. Richard Defeated and Slain at Bosworth. 1485 343
CHAPTER XXIII.
HENRY VII. 1485--1509.
1. The First Measures of Henry VII. 1485--1486 343
2. Maintenance and Livery 345
3. Lovel's Rising. 1486 346
4. Lancaster and York in Ireland. 1399--1485 346
5. Insurrection of Lambert Simnel. 1487 347
6. The Court of Star Chamber. 1487 348
7. Henry VII. and Brittany. 1488--1492 348
8. Cardinal Morton's Fork. 1491 349
9. The Invasion of France. 1492 349
10. Perkin Warbeck. 1491--1494 350
11. Poynings' Acts. 1494 350
12. Perkin's First Attempt on England. 1495 351
13. The Intercursus Magnus. 1496 351
14. Kildare Restored to the Deputyship. 1496 352
15. Perkin's Overthrow. 1496--1497 352
16. European Changes. 1494--1499 352
17. Execution of the Earl of Warwick. 1499 354
18. Prince Arthur's Marriage and Death. 1501--1502 354
19. The Scottish Marriage. 1503 356
20. Maritime Enterprise 356
21. Growth of the Royal Power 356
22. Empson and Dudley 357
23. Henry and his Daughter-in-law. 1502--1505 357
24. The Last Years of Henry VII. 1505--1509 357
25. Architectural Changes and the Printing Press 358
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
1. Palaeolithic flint scraper from Icklingham, Suffolk 2
2. Palaeolithic flint implement from Hoxne, Suffolk 2
(_From Evans's_ 'Ancient Stone Implements')
3. Engraved bone from Cresswell Crags, Derbyshire 3
(_From the original in the British Museum_)
4. Neolithic flint arrow-head from Rudstone, Yorks 3
5. Neolithic celt or cutting instrument from Guernsey 3
6. Neolithic axe from Winterbourn Steepleton, Dorset 4
(_From Evans's_ 'Ancient Stone Implements')
7. Example of early British pottery 4
8. 9. Examples of early British pottery 5
(_From Greenwell's_ 'British Barrows')
10. Bronze celt from the Isle of Harty, Kent 6
11. Bronze lance-head found in Ireland 6
12. Bronze caldron found in Ireland 6
(_From Evans's_ 'Ancient Bronze Implements')
13. View of Stonehenge 7
(_From a photograph_)
14. Part of a British gold corselet found at Mold, now
in the British Museum 9
(_From the_ 'Archaeologia')
15. Bust of Julius Caesar 10
(_From the original in the British Museum_)
16. Commemorative tablet of the Second Legion found at
Halton Chesters on the Roman Wall 17
17. View of part of the Roman Wall 18
18. Ruins of a mile-castle on the Roman Wall 18
(_From Bruce's_ 'Handbook to the Roman Wall,' 2nd
edition)
19. Part of the Roman Wall at Leicester 19
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 6th edition,
by J. H. Parker)
20. Pediment of a Roman temple found at Bath 20
(_Reduced from the_ 'Archaeologia')
21. Roman altar from Rutchester 21
(_From Bruce's_ 'Handbook to the Roman Wall', 2nd
edition)
22. Plan of the city of Old Sarum 34
(_From the Ordnance Survey Plan_)
23. View of Old Sarum 35
(_Reduced from Sir R. C. Hoare's_ 'History of
Modern Wiltshire. Old and New Sarum')
24. Saxon church at Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts 51
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 6th edition,
by J. H. Parker)
25. Saxon horsemen 53
26. Group of Saxon warriors 53
(_From_ Harl. MS. 603)
27. Remains of a viking ship from Gokstad 56
(_From a photograph of the original at Christiania_)
28. Gold ring of AEthelwulf 57
29. Gold jewel of AElfred found at Athelney 59
(_From_ 'Archaeological Journal')
30. An English vessel 60
31. A Saxon house 61
(_From_ Harl. MS. 603)
32. A monk driven out of the King's presence 66
(_From a drawing belonging to the Society of
Antiquaries_)
33. Rural life in the eleventh century. January to June 70
34. Rural life in the eleventh century. July to December 71
(_From_ Cott. MS. Julius A. vi.)
35. Plan and section of a burh of the eleventh century
at Laughton-en-le-Morthen, Yorks 74
(_From G. T. Clark's_ 'Mediaeval Military Architecture')
37. Glass tumbler 76
38. Drinking-glass 76
39. Comb and case of Scandinavian type found at York 77
(_From the originals in the British Museum_)
40. Martyrdom of St. Edmund by the Danes 82
(_From a drawing belonging to the Society of
Antiquaries_)
41. First Great Seal of Eadward the Confessor (obverse) 86
(_From an original impression_)
42. Hunting. (From the Bayeux Tapestry) 87
(_Reduced from_ 'Vetusta Monumenta,' vol. vi.)
43. Tower in the earlier style, church at Earl's Barton 91
44. Tower in the earlier style, St. Benet's church,
Cambridge 91
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 6th edition,
by J. H. Parker)
45. Building a church in the later style 92
(_From a drawing belonging to the Society of
Antiquaries_)
46. Normans feasting; with Odo, bishop of Bayeux,
saying grace. 93
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
47. Harold swearing upon the Relics. 94
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
48. A Norman ship. 95
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
49. Norman soldiers mounted. 95
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
50. Group of archers on foot. 96
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
51. Men fighting with axes. 97
(From the Bayeux Tapestry)
52. Death of Harold. (From the Bayeux Tapestry) 98
(_Reduced from_ 'Vetusta Monumenta,' vol. vi.)
53. Coronation of a king, _temp._ William the Conqueror 99
(_From a drawing belonging to the Society of
Antiquaries_)
54. Silver penny of William the Conqueror, struck at
Romney 101
(_From an original specimen_)
54. Silver penny of William the Conqueror, struck at
Romney 101
(_From an original specimen_)
55. East end of Darenth church, Kent 107
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 6th edition,
by J. H. Parker)
56. Part of the nave of St. Alban's abbey church 109
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
57. Facsimile of a part of Domesday Book relating to
Berkshire 112
(_From the original MS. in the Public Record Office_)
58. Henry I. and his queen Matilda 123
(_From Hollis's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
59. Seal of Milo of Gloucester, showing mounted armed
figure in the reign of Henry I. 125
(_From an original impression_)
60. Monument of Roger, bishop of Salisbury, died 1139 127
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
61. Porchester church, Hampshire, built about 1135 128
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 7th edition,
by J. H. Parker)
62. Part of the nave of Durham cathedral, built about
1130 130
(_From Scott's_ 'Mediaeval Architecture,' London, J.
Murray)
63. Keep of Rochester castle, built between 1126 and
1139 132
(_From a photograph by Poulton & Sons, Lee_)
64. Keep of Castle Rising, built about 1140-50 133
(_From a photograph_)
65. Tower of Castor church, Northamptonshire, built about
1145 136
(_From Britton's_ 'Architectural Antiquities')
66. Effigies of Henry II. and queen Eleanor 139
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
67. Ecclesiastical costume in the twelfth century 142
(_From_ Cott. MS. Nero C. iv. f. 37)
68. A bishop ordaining a priest 144
69. Small ship of the latter part of the twelfth century 146
(_From_ 'Harley Roll,' Y. 6)
70. Part of the choir of Canterbury cathedral, in building
1175-1184 150
(_From Scott's_ 'Mediaeval Architecture,' London, J.
Murray)
71. Mitre of archbishop Thomas of Canterbury, preserved
at Sens 153
(_From Shaw's_ 'Dresses and Decorations')
72. Military and civil costume of the latter part of the
twelfth century 154
(_From_ 'Harley Roll,' Y. 6)
73. Royal Arms of England from Richard I. to Edward III. 159
(_From the wall arcade, south aisle of nave,
Westminster Abbey_)
74. The Galilee or Lady chapel, Durham cathedral,
built by bishop Hugh of Puiset, between 1180 and
1197 160
(_From Scott's_ 'Mediaeval Architecture,' London, J.
Murray)
75. Effigy of a knight in the Temple church, London,
showing armour of the end of the twelfth century 162
(_From Hollis's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
76. Effigies of Richard I. and queen Berengaria 164
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
77. Part of the choir of Ripon cathedral, built during
the last quarter of the twelfth century 166
(_From Scott's_ 'Mediaeval Architecture,' London, J.
Murray)
78. Lay costumes in the twelfth century 168
79. Costume of shepherds in the twelfth century 168
(_From_ Cott. MS. Nero C. iv. ff. 11 and 16)
80. Hall of Oakham castle, Rutland, built about 1185 170
(_From Hudson Turner's_ 'Domestic Architecture')
81. Norman house at Lincoln, called the Jews' House 171
(_From a photograph by Carl Norman, Tunbridge Wells_)
82. Effigies of king John and queen Isabella 175
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
83. Effigy of bishop Marshall of Exeter, died 1206 177
(_From Murray's_ 'Handbook to the Southern Cathedrals')
84. Parsonage house of early thirteenth-century date at
West Dean, Sussex 179
(_From Hudson Turner's_ 'Domestic Architecture')
85. Effigy of a knight in the Temple church, London,
showing armour worn between 1190 and 1225 182
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
86. Silver penny of John, struck at Dublin 184
(_From an original example_)
87. Effigy of Henry III. (From his tomb at Westminster) 186
88. Effigy of William Longespee, earl of Salisbury,
died 1227, from his tomb at Salisbury, showing armour
worn from about 1225 to 1250 187
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
89. Effigy of Simon, bishop of Exeter, died 1223 188
(_From Murray's_ 'Handbook to the Southern Cathedrals')
90. Beverley Minster, Yorkshire, the south transept;
built about 1220--1230 189
(_From Britton's_ 'Architectural Antiquities')
91. Longthorpe manor house, Northamptonshire, built
about 1235 192
(_From Hudson Turner's_ 'Domestic Architecture')
92. A ship in the reign of Henry III. 193
93. A bed in the reign of Henry III. 196
(_From_ Cott. MS. Nero D. i. ff. 21 and 22 _b_)
94. Barn of thirteenth-century date at Raunds,
Northamptonshire 197
(_From Hudson Turner's_ 'Domestic Architecture')
95. A fight between armed and mounted knights of the time
of Henry III. 201
(_From_ Cott. MS. Nero D. i. f. 4)
96. Seal of Robert Fitzwalter, showing a mounted knight
in complete mail armour; date about 1265 202
(_From an original impression_)
97. Effigy of a knight at Gosperton, showing armour worn
from about 1250 to 1300; date about 1270 203
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
98. Building operations in the reign of Henry III., with
the king giving directions to the architect 204
(_From_ Cott. MS. Nero D. i. f. 23 _b_)
99. East end of Westminster abbey church; begun by
Henry III. in 1245 205
(_From a photograph_)
100. Nave of Salisbury cathedral church, looking west;
date, between 1240 and 1250 206
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
101. A king and labourers in the reign of Henry III. 207
(_From_ Cott. MS. Nero D. i. f. 21 _b_)
102. Great Seal of Edward I. (slightly reduced) 209
(_From an original impression_)
103. Group of armed knights and a king in ordinary
dress; date, _temp._ Edward I. 211
(_From_ Arundel MS. 83, f. 132)
104. Nave of Lichfield cathedral church, looking east;
built about 1280 213
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
105. Effigy of Eleanor of Castile, queen of Edward I.,
in Westminster abbey 215
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
106. Cross erected near Northampton by Edward I. in
memory of queen Eleanor 217
(_From a photograph_)
107. Sir John d'Abernoun, died 1277, from his brass at
Stoke Dabernon; showing armour worn from about 1250
to 1300 219
(_From Waller's_ 'Monumental Brasses')
108. Edward II. from his monument in Gloucester cathedral 225
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
109. Lincoln cathedral, the central tower; built about
1310 227
(_From Britton's_ 'Architectural Antiquities')
110. Sir John de Creke, from his brass at Westley
Waterless, Cambridgeshire; showing armour worn
between 1300 and 1335 or 1340; date, about 1325 229
(_From Waller's_ 'Monumental Brasses')
111. Howden church, Yorkshire, the west front 230
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 7th
edition, by J. H. Parker)
112. Effigies of Edward III. and queen Philippa, from
their tombs in Westminster abbey 233
(_From Blore's_ 'Monumental Remains')
113. A knight--Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, who died
1345--receiving his helm and pennon from his wife;
another lady holds his shield 236
(_From the Luttrell Psalter_, 'Vetusta Monumenta')
114. William of Hatfield, second son of Edward III.,
from his tomb in York Minster 237
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
115. York Minster, the nave, looking west 238
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
116. Royal Arms of Edward III., from his tomb 239
(_From a photograph_)
117. Shooting at the butts with the long bow 241
118. Contemporary view of a fourteenth-century walled
town 243
(_From the Luttrell Psalter_, 'Vetusta Monumenta')
119. Gloucester cathedral church, the choir, looking east 244
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
120. The lord's upper chamber or solar at Sutton Courtenay
manor-house; date, about 1350 245
121. Interior of the hall at Penshurst, Kent; built about
1340 246
122. A small house or cottage at Meare, Somerset; built
about 1350 247
123. Norborough Hall, Northamptonshire; built about 1350 247
(_From Hudson Turner's_ 'Domestic Architecture')
124. Ploughing 248
125. Harrowing; and a boy slinging stones at the birds 248
126. Breaking the clods with mallets 249
127. Cutting weeds 249
128. Reaping 249
129. Stacking corn 250
130. Threshing corn with a flail 250
(_From the Luttrell Psalter_, 'Vetusta Monumenta')
131. West front of Edington church, Wilts; built about
1360 253
(_From Rickman's_ 'Gothic Architecture,' 7th edition,
by J. H. Parker)
132. Gold noble of Edward III. 255
(_From an original example_)
133. Effigy of Edward the Black Prince; from his tomb at
Canterbury 256
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
134. William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester
1367-1404; from his tomb at Winchester 260
(_From Murray's_ 'Handbook to the Southern Cathedrals')
135. Tomb of Edward III. in Westminster abbey 263
(_From Blore's_ 'Monumental Remains')
136. Figures of Edward the Black Prince and Lionel
duke of Clarence; from the tomb of Edward III. 264
(_From Hollis's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
137. Richard II. and his first queen, Anne of Bohemia;
from their tomb in Westminster abbey 267
(_From Hollis's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
138. Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer 270
(_From Harl MS. 4866_)
139. A gentleman riding out with his hawk 271
140. Carrying corn, a cart going uphill 272
141. State carriage of the fourteenth century 273
142. Bear-baiting 275
(_From the Luttrell Psalter_, 'Vetusta Monumenta')
143. West end of the nave of Winchester cathedral church 276
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
144. Meeting of Henry of Lancaster and Richard II. at
Flint 284
145. Henry of Lancaster claiming the throne 285
(_From Harl MS. 1319_)
146. Effigy of a knight at Clehonger, showing development
of plate armour; date about 1400 287
(_From Hollis's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
147. Henry IV. and his queen Joan of Navarre; from their
tomb in Canterbury cathedral church 290
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
148. Royal arms as borne from about 1408 to 1603 291
(_From a fifteenth-century seal_)
149. Thomas Cranley, archbishop of Dublin; from his
brass at New College, Oxford, showing the
archiepiscopal costume 292
(_From Waller's_ 'Monumental Brasses')
150. The Battle of Shrewsbury 294
151. Fight in the lists with poleaxes 297
(_From_ Cott. MS. Julius E. iv. ff. 4 and 7)
152. Costume of a judge about 1400; from a brass at
Deerhurst 298
(_From Waller's_ 'Monumental Brasses')
153. Henry V. 300
(_From an original portrait belonging to the Society
of Antiquaries_)
154. Effigy of William Phelip, lord Bardolph; from
his tomb at Dennington, Suffolk 304
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
155. Marriage of Henry V. and Catherine of France 305
(_From_ Cott. MS. Julius E. iv. f. 22)
156. Henry VI. 308
(_From an original picture in the National Portrait
Gallery_)
157. Fotheringay church, Northamptonshire; begun in 1434 311
(_From a photograph by G. A. Nichols, Stamford_)
158. and 159. Front and back views of the gilt-latten
effigy of Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, died
1439; from his tomb at Warwick 314, 315
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
160. Tattershall castle, Lincolnshire; built between 1433
and 1455 316
(_From a photograph by G. A. Nichols, Stamford_)
161. Part of Winfield manor-house, Derbyshire; built
about 1440 318
(_From a photograph by R. Keene, Derby_)
162. The Divinity School, Oxford; built between 1445 and
1454 319
(_From a photograph by W. H. Wheeler, Oxford_)
163. A sea-fight 325
(_From_ Cott. MS. Julius E. iv. f. 18 _b_)
164. Effigy of Sir Robert Harcourt, K.G., showing
armour worn from about 1445 to 1480 326
(_From Stothard's_ 'Monumental Effigies')
165. Edward IV. 330
(_From an original portrait belonging to the Society
of Antiquaries_)
166. A fifteenth-century ship 333
(_From_ Harl. MS. 2278, f. 16)
167. Large ship and boat of the fifteenth century 339
(_From_ Cott. MS. Julius E. iv. f. 5)
168. Richard III. 341
(_From an original portrait belonging to the Society
of Antiquaries_)
169. Henry VII. 344
170. Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII. 345
(_From original pictures in the National Portrait
Gallery_)
171. Tudor Rose; from the chapel of Henry VII.,
Westminster 346
172. Tower of St. Mary's church, Taunton; built about 1500 353
(_From Britton's_ 'Architectural Antiquities')
173. King's College Chapel, Cambridge; interior, looking
east 355
(_From a photograph by Valentine & Sons, Dundee_)
GENEALOGICAL TABLES
I
_ENGLISH KINGS FROM ECGBERHT TO HENRY I._
ECGBERHT
802-839
|
|
AETHELWULF
839-858
|
+---------------+--------+--------+-----------------+
| | | |
| | | |
AETHELBALD AETHELBERHT AETHELRED AELFRED
858-86 860-866 866-871 871-901
|
|
+---------------------------------------------+
| |
| |
EADWARD AEthelflaed = AEthelred
the Elder (the Lady of Ealdorman
899-924 the of the
| Mercians) Mercians
|
|
+--------------------+--------------------+
| | |
| | |
AETHELSTAN EADMUND EADRED
924-940 940-946 946-955
|
|
+---------------------------+
| |
EADWIG AEthelflaed = EADGAR = AElfthryth
955-959 | 959-975 |
| |
| | Richard I. Svend
| | Duke of |
| | Normandy |
| | | |
| | | |
+----------------+ | | |
| | | |
EADWARD AElfled = AETHELRED = EMMA = CNUT
the Martyr | the | 1016-1035
975-979 | Unready | |
| 979-1016 | |
+---------------------------------+ | |
| | +------+-----+
| | | |
EADMUND | | |
Ironside | HAROLD HARTHACNUT
1016 | 1036-1039 1039-1042
| |
| |
| | Godwine
| | |
| | |
| | +------------+
+----+-------+ +-------------+ | |
| | | | | |
Eadmund Eadward AElfred EADWARD = Eadgyth HAROLD
the AEtheling the the 1066
| AEtheling Confessor
| 1042-1066
+------+------+
| |
Eadgar Margaret = Malcolm Canmore
the AEtheling |
|
Eadgyth = HENRY I.
(Matilda) 1100-1135
II
_GENEALOGY OF THE NORMAN DUKES AND OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND FROM THE
CONQUEST TO HENRY VII._
Hrolf
912-927 (?)
|
|
William Longsword
927 (?)-943
|
|
Richard I., the Fearless
943-996
|
|
+-------------+----------------+
| |
| |
Richard II., the Good Emma = (1) AEthelred
996-1026 | the Unready
| |
| |
+-------+--------+ |
| | |
| | |
Richard III. Robert EADWARD
1026-1028 1028-1035 the Confessor
)
(
)
WILLIAM I
1035-1087
King of England
1066-1087
|
|
|
+--------------+---+-------+-----------------+
| | | |
| | | |
Robert WILLIAM II HENRY I. Adela = Stephen
Duke of 1087-1100 1100-1135 | Count of
Normandy | | Blois
1087-1106 | |
| |
Henry V. = Matilda = Geoffrey STEPHEN
Emperor | Count of 1135-1154
| Anjou
|
HENRY II.
1154-1189
|
+--------------+
|
+-----------+------+------+------------+
| | | |
Henry Geoffrey RICHARD I. JOHN
1189-1199 1199-1216
|
|
HENRY III.
1216-1272
|
+---------------+
|
EDWARD I.
1272-1307
|
|
EDWARD II.
1307-1327
|
|
EDWARD III
1327-1377
|
+---------------+----+------------------+----------------+
| | | |
| | | |
Edward the Lionel John of Gaunt Edmund
Black Prince Duke of Clarence Duke of Lancaster Duke of York
| | | |
RICHARD II. Philippa = Edmund HENRY IV. |
1377-1399 | Mortimer 1399-1412 |
| Earl of | |
| March HENRY V. |
| 1413-1422 |
Roger, Earl of March | |
| HENRY VI. |
| 1422-1461 |
| |
+--------+--+ +-------------------------+
| | |
| | |
Edmund Anne = Richard
Earl of March | Earl of Cambridge
|
Richard, Duke of York
|
|
+-----------+----------+
| |
| |
EDWARD IV. RICHARD III.
1461-1483 1483-1485
|
|
+------+------------+
| |
EDWARD V. Elizabeth = HENRY VII.
1483 1485-1509
(Descended from
John of Gaunt by
Catherine Swynford)
III
_GENEALOGY OF THE KINGS OF SCOTLAND FROM DUNCAN I. TO JAMES IV._
DUNCAN I.
(died 1057)
|
+--------+-----------------+
| |
Margaret = MALCOLM III.~~~~~~~~~ DONALD BANE
sister of | Canmore ) 1093-1094,
Edgar | 1057-1093 ( restored
AEtheling | ) 1095-1098
| (
| DUNCAN II.
+--------+--+-----------+ 1094-1095
| | |
EDGAR ALEXANDER I. DAVID I.
1098-1107 1107-1124 1124-1153
|
Henry
|
+-----------+-----------+--------+
| | |
MALCOLM IV. WILLIAM David
1153-1165 the Lion Earl of Huntingdon
1165-1214 |
| +--+---------------------+
| | |
ALEXANDER II. Margaret Isabella
1214-1249 | |
Devorguilla = John Balliol Robert Bruce
ALEXANDER III. | |
1249-1285 JOHN BALLIOL Robert Bruce
| 1292-1296 |
Margaret = Eric, ROBERT BRUCE
| King of 1306-1329
| Norway |
| +-------------+-+
| | |
Margaret DAVID II. Margaret = Walter
(the Maid of 1329-1370 | Stewart
Norway) |
+-------------------------+
|
ROBERT II., Stewart or Stuart
1370-1390
|
ROBERT III.
1390-1406
|
JAMES I.
1406-1437
|
JAMES II.
1437-1460
|
JAMES III.
1460-1488
|
JAMES IV.
1488-1513
IV
_GENEALOGY OF THE KINGS OF FRANCE FROM HUGH CAPET TO LOUIS XII._
Hugh the Great
(died 956)
|
HUGH CAPET
987-996
|
ROBERT
996-1031
|
HENRY I.
1031-1060
|
PHILIP I.
1060-1108
|
LOUIS VI.
1108-1137
|
LOUIS VII.
1137-1180
|
PHILIP II.
1180-1223
|
LOUIS VIII.
1223-1226
|
(St.) LOUIS IX
1226-1270
|
PHILIP III.
1270-1285
|
+---------------------------------+
| |
PHILIP IV. Charles
1283-1314 of Valois
| |
+---------------+---+--------+------------+ |
| | | | PHILIP VI
LOUIS X. PHILIP V. CHARLES IV. Isabella 1328-1350
1314-1316 1316-1322 1322-1328 m. Edward II. |
| | | |
+--+---+ | | |
| | Two Edward III. JOHN
Jeanne JOHN daughters 1350-1364
(died seven |
days old) |
+-----------------------------+---+
| |
CHARLES V. Dukes of Burgundy
1364-1380 Philip
| |
+---------------------+ |
| | John
CHARLES VI. Louis |
1380-1422 Duke of Orleans Philip
| | |
CHARLES VII. Charles Charles
1422-1461 Duke of Orleans
| |
LOUIS XI. LOUIS XII.
1461-1483 1498-1519
|
CHARLES VIII.
1483-1498
_SHORTER AND SOMETIMES MORE DETAILED GENEALOGIES will be found in the
following pages._
PAGE
Genealogy of the principal Northumbrian kings 41
" " English kings from Ecgberht to Eadgar 56
" " English kings from Eadgar to Eadgar the AEtheling 78
" " Danish kings 83
Genealogical connection between the Houses of England and
Normandy 84
Genealogy of the Mercian Earls 85
" " family of Godwine 89
" " Conqueror's sons and children 131
" " sons and grandchildren of Henry II. 156
" " John's sons and grandsons 208
" " claimants of the Scottish throne 216
" " more important sons of Edward III. 265
" " claimants of the throne in 1399 286
" " kings of Scotland from Robert Bruce to James I. 295
" " Nevills 324
" " Houses of Lancaster and York 327
" " Beauforts and Tudors 335
" " House of York 337
" " Woodvilles and Greys 338
Abbreviated genealogy of Henry VII. and his competitors 344
Genealogy of the Houses of Spain and Burgundy 349
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
PART I.
_ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST._
CHAPTER I.
PREHISTORIC AND ROMAN BRITAIN.
LEADING DATES
Caesar's first invasion B.C. 55
Invasion of Aulus Plautius A.D. 43
Recall of Agricola 84
Severus in Britain 208
End of the Roman Government 410
1. =Palaeolithic Man of the River-Drift.=--Countless ages ago, there
was a period of time to which geologists have given the name of the
Pleistocene Age. The part of the earth's surface afterwards called
Britain was then attached to the Continent, so that animals could pass
over on dry land. The climate was much colder than it is now, and it
is known from the bones which have been dug up that the country was
inhabited by wolves, bears, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and other
creatures now extinct. No human remains have been found amongst these
bones, but there is no doubt that men existed contemporaneously with
their deposit, because, in the river drift, or gravel washed down by
rivers, there have been discovered flints sharpened by chipping, which
can only have been produced by the hand of man. The men who used them
are known as Palaeolithic, or the men of ancient stone, because these
stone implements are rougher and therefore older than others which
have been discovered. These Palaeolithic men of the river drift were a
race of stunted savages who did not cultivate the ground, but lived on
the animals which they killed, and must have had great difficulty in
procuring food, as they did not know how to make handles for their
sharpened flints, and must therefore have had to hold them in their
hands.
[Illustration: Palaeolithic flint scraper from Icklingham, Suffolk.
(Evans.)]
[Illustration: Palaeolithic flint implement from Hoxne, Suffolk.]
2. =Cave-dwelling Palaeolithic Man.=--This race was succeeded by
another which dwelt in caves. They, as well as their predecessors, are
known as Palaeolithic men, as their weapons were still very rude. As,
however, they had learnt to make handles for them, they could
construct arrows, harpoons, and javelins. They also made awls and
needles of stone; and, what is more remarkable, they possessed a
decided artistic power, which enabled them to indicate by a few
vigorous scratches the forms of horses, mammoths, reindeer, and other
animals. Vast heaps of rubbish still exist in various parts of Europe,
which are found to consist of the bones, shells, and other refuse
thrown out by these later Palaeolithic men, who had no reverence for
the dead, casting out the bodies of their relations to decay with as
little thought as they threw away oyster-shells or reindeer-bones.
Traces of Palaeolithic men of this type have been found as far north as
Derbyshire. Their descendants are no longer be met with in these
islands. The Eskimos of the extreme north of America, however, have
the same artistic faculty and the same disregard for the dead, and it
has therefore been supposed that the cave-dwelling men were of the
race to which the modern Eskimos belong.
[Illustration: Engraved bone from Cresswell Crags, Derbyshire, now in
the British Museum (full size).]
[Illustration: Neolithic flint arrow-head from Rudstone, Yorks.
(Evans.)]
[Illustration: Neolithic celt or cutting instrument from Guernsey.
(Evans.)]
[Illustration: Neolithic axe from Winterbourn Steepleton, Dorset.
(Evans.)]
[Illustration: Early British Pottery.]
3. =Neolithic Man.=--Ages passed away during which the climate became
more temperate, and the earth's surface in these regions sank to a
lower level. The seas afterwards known as the North Sea and the
English Channel flowed over the depression; and an island was thus
formed out of land which had once been part of the continent. After
this process had taken place, a third race appeared, which must have
crossed the sea in rafts or canoes, and which took the place of the
Palaeolithic men. They are known as Neolithic, or men of the new stone
age, because their stone implements were of a newer kind, being
polished and more efficient than those of their predecessors. They
had, therefore, the advantage of superior weapons, and perhaps of
superior strength, and were able to overpower those whom they found in
the island. With their stone axes they made clearings in the woods in
which to place their settlements. They brought with them domestic
animals, sheep and goats, dogs and pigs. They spun thread with spindle
and distaff, and wove it into cloth upon a loom. They grew corn and
manufactured a rude kind of pottery. Each tribe lived in a state of
war with its neighbours. A tribe when attacked in force took shelter
on the hills in places of refuge, which were surrounded by lofty
mounds and ditches. Many of these places of refuge are still to be
seen, as, for instance, the one which bears the name of Maiden Castle,
near Dorchester. On the open hills, too, are still to be found the
long barrows which the Neolithic men raised over the dead. There is
little doubt that these men, whose way of life was so superior to that
of their Eskimo-like predecessors, were of the race now known as
Iberian, which at one time inhabited a great part of Western Europe,
but which has since mingled with other races. The Basques of the
Pyrenees are the only Iberians who still preserve anything like purity
of descent, though even the Basques have in them blood the origin of
which is not Iberian.
[Illustration: Early British Pottery.]
4. =Celts and Iberians.=--The Iberians were followed by a swarm of
new-comers called Celts. The Celts belong to a group of races
sometimes known as the Aryan group, to which also belong Teutons,
Slavonians, Italians, Greeks, and the chief ancient races of Persia
and India. The Celts were the first to arrive in the West, where they
seized upon lands in Spain, in Gaul, and in Britain, which the
Iberians had occupied before them. They did not, however, destroy the
Iberians altogether. However careful a conquering tribe maybe to
preserve the purity of its blood, it rarely succeeds in doing so. The
conquerors are sure to preserve some of the men of the conquered race
as slaves, and a still larger number of young and comely women who
become the mothers of their children. In time the slaves and the
children learn to speak the language of their masters or fathers. Thus
every European population is derived from many races.
[Illustration: Bronze celt from the Isle of Harty, Kent (1/2).]
5. =The Celts in Britain.=--The Celts were fair-haired and taller than
the Iberians, whom they conquered or displaced. They had the advantage
of being possessed of weapons of bronze, for which even the polished
stone weapons of the Iberians were no match. They burned instead of
burying their dead, and raised over the ashes those round barrows
which are still to be found intermingled with the long barrows of the
Iberians.
[Illustration: Bronze lance-head found in Ireland.]
[Illustration: Bronze caldron found in Ireland.]
6. =Goidels and Britons.=--The earliest known name given to this
island was Albion. It is uncertain whether the word is of Celtic or of
Iberian origin. The later name Britain is derived from a second swarm
of Celts called Brythons or Britons, who after a long interval
followed the first Celtic immigration. The descendants of these first
immigrants are distinguished from the new-comers by the name of
Goidels, and it is probable that they were at one time settled in
Britain as well as in Ireland, and that they were pushed across the
sea into Ireland by the stronger and more civilised Britons. At all
events, when history begins Goidels were only to be found in Ireland,
though at a later time they colonised a part of what is now known as
Scotland, and sent some offshoots into Wales. At present the languages
derived from that of the Goidels are the Gaelic of the Highlands, the
Manx of the Isle of Man, and the Erse of Ireland. The only language
now spoken in the British Isles which is derived from that of the
Britons is the Welsh; but the old Cornish language, which was spoken
nearly up to the close of the eighteenth century, came from the same
stock. It is therefore likely that the Britons pushed the Goidels
northward and westward, as the Goidels had formerly pushed the
Iberians in the same directions. It was most likely that the Britons
erected the huge stone circle of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, though
it is not possible to speak with certainty. That of Avebury is of an
earlier date and uncertain origin. Both were probably intended to
serve as monuments of the dead, though it is sometimes supposed that
they were also used as temples.
[Illustration: View of Stonehenge. (From a photograph.)]
7. =Phoenicians and Greeks.=--The most civilised nations of the
ancient world were those which dwelt round the Mediterranean Sea. It
was long supposed that the Phoenicians came to Britain from the coast
of Syria, or from their colonies at Carthage and in the south of
Spain, for the tin which they needed for the manufacture of bronze.
The peninsula of Devon and Cornwall is the only part of the island
which produces tin, and it has therefore been thought that the
Cassiterides, or tin islands, which the Phoenicians visited, were to
be found in that region. It has, however, been recently shown that the
Cassiterides were most probably off the coast of Galicia, in Spain,
and the belief that Phoenicians visited Britain for tin must therefore
be considered to be very doubtful. The first educated visitor who
reached Britain was Pytheas, a Greek, who was sent by the merchants of
the Greek colony of Massalia (_Marseilles_) about =330= B.C. to make
discoveries which might lead to the opening across Gaul of a
trade-route between Britain and their city. It was probably in
consequence of the information which he carried to Massalia on his
return that there sprang up a trade in British tin. Another Greek,
Posidonius, who came to Britain about two centuries after Pytheas,
found this trade in full working order. The tin was brought by land
from the present Devon or Cornwall to an island called Ictis, which
was only accessible on foot after the tide had ebbed. This island was
probably Thanet, which was in those days cut off from the mainland by
an arm of the sea which could be crossed on foot at low water. From
Thanet the tin was carried into Gaul across the straits, and was then
conveyed in waggons to the Rhone to be floated down to the
Mediterranean.
8. =Gauls and Belgians in Britain.=--During the time when this trade
was being carried on, tribes of Gauls and Belgians landed in Britain.
The Gauls were certainly, and the Belgians probably, of the same
Celtic race as that which already occupied the island. The Gauls
settled on the east coast as far as the Fens and the Wash, whilst the
Belgians occupied the south coast, and pushed northwards towards the
Somerset Avon. Nothing is known of the relations between the
new-comers and the older Celtic inhabitants. Most likely those who
arrived last contented themselves with mastering those whom they
defeated, without attempting to exterminate them. At all events,
states of some extent were formed by the conquerors. Thus the Cantii
occupied the open ground to the north of the great forest which then
filled the valley between the chalk ranges of the North and South
Downs; the Trinobantes dwelt between the Lea and the Essex Stour; the
Iceni occupied the peninsula between the Fens and the sea which was
afterwards known as East Anglia (_Norfolk_ and _Suffolk_); and the
Catuvellauni dwelt to the west of the Trinobantes, spreading over the
modern Hertfordshire and the neighbouring districts.
[Illustration: Part of a British gold corselet found at Mold.]
9. =Culture and War.=--Though there were other states in Britain, the
tribes which have been named had the advantage of being situated on
the south-eastern part of the island, and therefore of being in
commercial communication with the continental Gauls of their own race
and language. Trade increased, and brought with it the introduction of
some things which the Britons would not have invented for themselves.
For instance, the inhabitants of the south-east of Britain began to
use gold coins and decorations in imitation of those which were then
common in Gaul. Yet, in spite of these improvements, even the most
civilised Britons were still in a rude and barbarous condition. They
had no towns, but dwelt in scattered huts. When they were hard pressed
by an enemy they took refuge in an open space cleared in the woods,
and surrounded by a high earthwork crowned by a palisade and guarded
by felled trees. When they went out to battle they dyed their faces in
order to terrify their enemies. Their warriors made use of chariots,
dashing in them along the front of the enemy's line till they espied
an opening in his ranks. They then leapt down and charged on foot into
the gap. Their charioteers in the meanwhile drove off the horses to a
safe distance, so as to be ready to take up their comrades if the
battle went against them.
10. =Religion of the Britons.=--The Celtic races worshipped many gods.
In Gaul, the Druids, who were the ministers of religion, taught the
doctrine of the transmigration of souls, and even gave moral
instruction to the young. In Ireland, and perhaps in Britain, they
were conjurers and wizards. Both in Gaul and Britain they kept up the
traditional belief which had once been prevalent in all parts of the
world, that the gods could only be appeased by human sacrifices. It
was supposed that they needed either to drink human blood or to be
supplied with human slaves, and that the only way to give them what
they wanted was to despatch as many human beings as possible into the
other world. The favourite way of doing this was to construct a huge
wicker basket in the shape of a man, to cram it with men and women,
and to set it on fire. At other times a Druid would cut open a single
human victim, and would imagine that he could foretell the future by
inspecting the size and appearance of the entrails.
[Illustration: Julius Caesar. (From a bust in the British Museum.)]
11. =The Romans in Gaul.= B.C. =55=.--In the year =55= B.C. the Celts
of south-eastern Britain first came in contact with a Roman army. The
Romans were a civilised people, and had been engaged for some
centuries in conquering the peoples living round the Mediterranean.
They possessed disciplined armies, and a regular government. By the
beginning of the year the Roman general, Gaius Julius Caesar, had made
himself master of Gaul. Then, after driving back with enormous
slaughter two German tribes which had invaded Gaul, he crossed the
Rhine, not because he wished to conquer Germany, but because he wished
to strike terror into the Germans in order to render them unwilling
to renew their attack. This march into Germany seems to have suggested
to Caesar the idea of invading Britain. It is most unlikely that he
thought of conquering the island, as he had quite enough to do in
Gaul. What he really wanted was to prevent the Britons from coming to
the help of their kindred whom he had just subdued, and he would
accomplish this object best by landing on their shores and showing
them how formidable a Roman army was.
12. =Caesar's First Invasion.= B.C. =55=.--Accordingly, towards the end
of August, Caesar crossed the straits with about 10,000 men. There is
some uncertainty about the place of his landing, but he probably first
appeared off the spot at which Dover now stands, and then, being
alarmed at the number of the Britons who had crowded to defend the
coast, made his way by sea to the site of the modern Deal. There, too,
his landing was opposed, but he managed to reach the shore with his
army. He soon found, however, that the season was too advanced to
enable him to accomplish anything. A storm having damaged his shipping
and driven off the transports on which was embarked his cavalry, he
returned to Gaul.
13. =Caesar's Second Invasion.= B.C. =54=--Caesar had hitherto failed to
strike terror into the Britons. In the following year he started in
July, so as to have many weeks of fine weather before him, taking with
him as many as 25,000 foot and 2,000 horse. After effecting a landing
he pushed inland to the Kentish Stour, where he defeated the natives
and captured one of their stockades. Good soldiers as the Romans were,
they were never quite at home on the sea, and Caesar was recalled to
the coast by the news that the waves had dashed to pieces a large
number of his ships. As soon as he had repaired the damage he resumed
his march. His principal opponent was Cassivelaunus, the chief of the
tribe of the Catuvellauni, who had subdued many of the neighbouring
tribes, and whose stronghold was a stockade near the modern St.
Albans. This chief and his followers harassed the march of the Romans
with the rush of their chariots. If Cassivelaunus could have counted
upon the continued support of all his warriors, he might perhaps have
succeeded in forcing Caesar to retreat, as the country was covered with
wood and difficult to penetrate. Many of the tribes, however, which
now served under him longed to free themselves from his rule. First,
the Trinobantes and then four other tribes broke away from him and
sought the protection of Caesar. Caesar, thus encouraged, dashed at his
stockade and carried it by storm. Cassivelaunus abandoned the
struggle, gave hostages to Caesar, and promised to pay a yearly
tribute. On this Caesar returned to Gaul. Though the tribute was never
paid, he had gained his object. He had sufficiently frightened the
British tribes to make it unlikely that they would give him any
annoyance in Gaul.
14. =South-eastern Britain after Caesar's Departure.= B.C. =54=--A.D.
=43=.--For nearly a century after Caesar's departure Britain was left
to itself. The Catuvellauni recovered the predominance which they had
lost. Their chieftain, Cunobelin, the original of Shakspere's
Cymbeline, is thought to have been a grandson of Cassivelaunus. He
established his power over the Trinobantes as well as over his own
people, and made Camulodunum, the modern Colchester, his headquarters.
Other tribes submitted to him as they had submitted to his
grandfather. The prosperity of the inhabitants of south-eastern
Britain increased more rapidly than the prosperity of their ancestors
had increased before Caesar's invasion. Traders continued to flock over
from Gaul, bringing with them a knowledge of the arts and refinements
of civilised life, and those arts and refinements were far greater now
that Gaul was under Roman rule than they had been when its Celtic
tribes were still independent. Yet, in spite of the growth of trade,
Britain was still a rude and barbarous country. Its exports were but
cattle and hides, corn, slaves, and hunting dogs, together with a few
dusky pearls.
15. =The Roman Empire.=--The Roman state was now a monarchy. The
Emperor was the head of the army, as well as the head of the state.
Though he was often a cruel oppressor of the wealthy personages who
lived in Rome itself, and whose rivalry he feared, he, for the most
part, sought to establish his power by giving justice to the provinces
which had once been conquered by Rome, but were now admitted to share
in the advantages of good government which the Empire had to give. One
consequence of the conquest of nations by Rome was that there was now
an end to cruel wars between hostile tribes. An army was stationed on
the frontier of the Empire to defend it against barbarian attacks. In
the interior the Roman peace, as it was called, prevailed, and there
was hardly any need of soldiers to keep order and to maintain
obedience.
16. =The Invasion of Aulus Plautius.= A.D. =43=.--One question which
each Emperor had to ask himself was whether he would attempt to
enlarge the limits of the Empire or not. For a time each Emperor had
resolved to be content with the frontier which Caesar had left. There
had consequently for many years been no thought of again invading
Britain. At last the Emperor Claudius reversed this policy. There is
reason to suppose that some of the British chiefs had made an attack
upon the coasts of Gaul. However this may have been, Claudius in =43=
sent Aulus Plautius against Togidumnus and Caratacus, the sons of
Cunobelin, who were now ruling in their father's stead. Where one
tribe has gained supremacy over others, it is always easy for a
civilised power to gain allies amongst the tribes which have been
subdued. Caesar had overpowered Cassivelaunus by enlisting on his side
the revolted Trinobantes, and Aulus Plautius now enlisted on his side
the Regni, who dwelt in the present Sussex, and the Iceni, who dwelt
in the present Norfolk and Suffolk. With their aid, Aulus Plautius, at
the head of 40,000 men, defeated the sons of Cunobelin. Togidumnus was
slain, and Caratacus driven into exile. The Romans then took
possession of their lands, and, stepping into their place, established
over the tribes chieftains who were now dependent on the Emperor
instead of on Togidumnus and Caratacus. Claudius himself came for a
brief visit to receive the congratulations of the army on the victory
which his lieutenant had won. Aulus Plautius remained in Britain till
=47=. Before he left it the whole of the country to the south of a
line drawn from the Wash to some point on the Severn had been
subjugated. The mines of the Mendips and of the western peninsula were
too tempting to be left unconquered, and it is probably their
attraction which explains the extension of Roman power at so early a
date over the hilly country in the west.
17. =The Colony of Camulodunum.=--In =47= Aulus Plautius was succeeded
by Ostorius Scapula. He disarmed the tribes dwelling to the west of
the Trent, whilst he attempted to establish the Roman authority more
firmly over those whose territory lay to the east of that river.
Amongst these later were the Iceni, who had been hitherto allowed to
preserve their native government in dependence on the Roman power. The
consequence was that they rose in arms. Ostorius overpowered them, and
then sought to strengthen his hold upon the south-east of Britain by
founding (=51=) a Roman colony at Camulodunum, which had formerly been
the headquarters of Cunobelin. Roman settlers--for the most part
discharged soldiers--established themselves in the new city, bringing
with them all that belonged to Roman life with all its conveniences
and luxuries. Roman temples, theatres, and baths quickly rose, and
Ostorius might fairly expect that in Britain, as in Gaul, the native
chiefs would learn to copy the easy life of the new citizens, and
would settle their quarrels in Roman courts of law instead of taking
arms on their own behalf.
18. =The Conquests of Ostorius Scapula.=--Ostorius, however, was soon
involved in fresh troubles. Nothing is more difficult for a civilised
power than to guard a frontier against barbarous tribes. Such tribes
are accustomed to plunder one another, and they are quick to perceive
that the order and peace which a civilised power establishes offers
them a richer booty than is to be found elsewhere. The tribes beyond
the line which Ostorius held were constantly breaking through to
plunder the Roman territory, and he soon found that he must either
allow the lands of Roman subjects to be plundered, or must carry war
amongst the hostile tribes. He naturally chose the latter alternative,
and the last years of his government were spent in wars with the
Ordovices of Central Wales, and with the Silures of Southern Wales.
The Silures were not only a most warlike people, but they were led by
Caratacus, who had taken refuge with them after his defeat by Aulus
Plautius in the east. The mountainous region which these two tribes
defended made it difficult to subdue them, and though Caratacus was
defeated (=50=), and ultimately captured and sent as a prisoner to
Rome, Ostorius did not succeed in effectually mastering his hardy
followers. The proof of his comparative failure lies in the fact that
he established strong garrison towns along the frontier of the hilly
region, which he would not have done unless he had considered it
necessary to have a large number of soldiers ready to check any
possible rising. At the northern end of the line was Deva (_Chester_),
at the southern was Isca Silurum (_Caerleon upon Usk_) and in each of
which was placed a whole legion, about 5,000 men. Between them was the
smaller post of Uriconium, or more properly Viriconium (_Wroxeter_),
the city of the Wrekin.
19. =Government of Suetonius Paullinus.= =58.=--When Suetonius
Paullinus arrived to take up the government, he resolved to complete
the conquest of the west by an attack on Mona (_Anglesey_). In Mona
was a sacred place of the Druids, who gave encouragement to the still
independent Britons by their murderous sacrifices and their
soothsayings. When Suetonius attempted to land (=61=), a rabble of
women, waving torches and shrieking defiance, rushed to meet him on
the shore. Behind them the Druids stood calling down on the intruders
the vengeance of the gods. At first the soldiers were terrified and
shrunk back. Then they recovered courage, and put to the sword or
thrust into the flames the priests and their female rout. The Romans
were tolerant of the religion of the peoples whom they subdued, but
they could not put up with the continuance of a cruel superstition
whose upholders preached resistance to the Roman government.
20. =Boadicea's Insurrection.= =61.=--At the very moment of success
Suetonius was recalled hurriedly to the east. Roman officers and
traders had misused the power which had been given them by the valour
of Roman soldiers. Might had been taken for right, and the natives
were stripped of their lands and property at the caprice of the
conquerors. Those of the natives to whom anything was left were called
upon to pay a taxation far too heavy for their means. When money was
not to be found to satisfy the tax-gatherer, a Roman usurer was always
at hand to proffer the required sum at enormous interest, after which
the unhappy borrower who accepted the proposal soon found himself
unable to pay the debt, and was stripped of all that he possessed to
satisfy the cravings of the lender. Those who resisted this oppression
were treated as the meanest criminals. Boadicea, the widow of
Prasutagus, who had been the chief of the Iceni, was publicly flogged,
and her two daughters were subjected to the vilest outrage. She called
upon the whole Celtic population of the east and south to rise against
the foreign tyrants. Thousands answered to her call, and the angry
host rushed to take vengeance upon the colonists of Camulodunum. The
colonists had neglected to fortify their city, and the insurgents,
bursting in, slew by the sword or by torture men and women alike. The
massacre spread wherever Romans were to be found. A Roman legion
hastening to the rescue was routed, and the small force of cavalry
attached to it alone succeeded in making its escape. Every one of the
foot soldiers was slaughtered on the spot. It is said that 70,000
Romans perished in the course of a few days.
21. =The Vengeance of Suetonius.=--Suetonius was no mean general, and
he hastened back to the scene of destruction. He called on the
commander of the legion at Isca Silurum to come to his help. Cowardice
was rare in a Roman army, but this officer was so unnerved by terror
that he refused to obey the orders of his general, and Suetonius had
to march without him. He won a decisive victory at some unknown spot,
probably not far from Camulodunum, and 80,000 Britons are reported to
have been slain by the triumphant soldiery. Boadicea committed suicide
by poison. The commander of the legion at Isca Silurum also put an end
to his own life, in order to escape the punishment which he deserved.
Suetonius had restored the Roman authority in Britain, but it was to
his failure to control his subordinates that the insurrection had been
due, and he was therefore promptly recalled by the Emperor Nero. From
that time no more is heard of the injustice of the Roman government.
22. =Agricola in Britain.= =78--84.=--Agricola, who arrived as
governor in =78=, took care to deal fairly with all sorts of men, and
to make the natives thoroughly satisfied with his rule. He completed
the conquest of the country afterwards known as Wales, and thereby
pushed the western frontier of Roman Britain to the sea. Yet from the
fact that he found it necessary still to leave garrisons at Deva and
Isca Silurum, it may be gathered that the tribes occupying the hill
country were not so thoroughly subdued as to cease to be dangerous.
Although the idea entertained by Ostorius of making a frontier on land
towards the west had thus been abandoned, it was still necessary to
provide a frontier towards the north. Even before Agricola arrived it
had been shown to be impossible to stop at the line between the Mersey
and the Humber. Beyond that line was the territory of the Brigantes,
who had for some time occupied the position which in the first years
of the Roman conquest had been occupied by the Iceni--that is to say,
they were in friendly dependence upon Rome, without being actually
controlled by Roman authority. Before Agricola's coming disputes had
arisen with them, and Roman soldiers had occupied their territory.
Agricola finished the work of conquest. He now governed the whole of
the country as far north as to the Solway and the Tyne, and he made
Eboracum, the name of which changed in course of time into York, the
centre of Roman power in the northern districts. A garrison was
established there to watch for any danger which might come from the
extreme north, as the garrisons of Deva and Isca Silurum watched for
dangers which might come from the west.
23. =Agricola's Conquests in the North.=--Agricola thought that there
would be no real peace unless the whole island was subdued. For seven
years he carried on warfare with this object before him. He had
comparatively little difficulty in reducing to obedience the country
south of the narrow isthmus which separates the estuary of the Clyde
from the estuary of the Forth. Before proceeding further he drew a
line of forts across that isthmus to guard the conquered country from
attack during his absence. He then made his way to the Tay, but he had
not marched far up the valley of that river before he reached the edge
of the Highlands. The Caledonians, as the Romans then called the
inhabitants of those northern regions, were a savage race, and the
mountains in the recesses of which they dwelt were rugged and
inaccessible, offering but little means of support to a Roman army. In
=84= the Caledonians, who, like all barbarians when they first come in
contact with a civilised people, were ignorant of the strength of a
disciplined army, came down from their fortresses in the mountains
into the lower ground. A battle was fought near the Graupian Hill,
which seems to have been situated at the junction of the Isla and the
Tay. Agricola gained a complete victory, but he was unable to follow
the fugitives into their narrow glens, and he contented himself with
sending his fleet to circumnavigate the northern shores of the island,
so as to mark out the limits of the land which he still hoped to
conquer. Before the fleet returned, however, he was recalled by the
Emperor Domitian. It has often been said that Domitian was jealous of
his success; but it is possible that the Emperor really thought that
the advantage to be gained by the conquest of rugged mountains would
be more than counterbalanced by the losses which would certainly be
incurred in consequence of the enormous difficulty of the task.
[Illustration: Commemorative tablet of the Second Legion found at
Halton Chesters on the Roman Wall.]
24. =The Roman Walls.=--Agricola, in addition to his line of forts
between the Forth and the Clyde, had erected detached forts at the
mouth of the valleys which issue from the Highlands, in order to
hinder the Caledonians from plundering the lower country. In =119= the
Emperor Hadrian visited Britain. He was more disposed to defend the
Empire than to extend it, and though he did not abandon Agricola's
forts, he also built further south a continuous stone wall between the
Solway and the Tyne. This wall, which, together with an earthwork of
earlier date, formed a far stronger line of defence than the more
northern forts, was intended to serve as a second barrier to keep out
the wild Caledonians if they succeeded in breaking through the first.
At a later time a lieutenant of the Emperor, Antoninus Pius, who
afterwards became Emperor himself, connected Agricola's forts
between the Forth and Clyde by a continuous earthwork. In =208= the
Emperor Severus arrived in Britain, and after strengthening still
further the earthwork between the Forth and Clyde, he attempted to
carry out the plans of Agricola by conquering the land of the
Caledonians. Severus, however, failed as completely as Agricola had
failed before him, and he died soon after his return to Eboracum.
[Illustration: View of part of the Roman Wall.]
[Illustration: Ruins of a Turret on the Roman Wall.]
[Illustration: Part of the Roman Wall at Leicester.]
[Illustration: Pediment of a Roman temple found at Bath.]
25. =The Roman Province of Britain.=--Very little is known of the
history of the Roman province of Britain, except that it made
considerable progress in civilisation. The Romans were great
road-makers, and though their first object was to enable their
soldiers to march easily from one part of the country to another, they
thereby encouraged commercial intercourse. Forests were to some extent
cleared away by the sides of the new roads, and fresh ground was
thrown open to tillage. Mines were worked and country houses built,
the remains of which are in some places still to be seen, and bear
testimony to the increased well-being of a population which, excepting
in the south-eastern part of the island, had at the arrival of the
Romans been little removed from savagery. Cities sprang up in great
numbers. Some of them were at first garrison towns, like Eboracum,
Deva, and Isca Silurum. Others, like Verulamium, near the present St.
Albans, occupied the sites of the old stockades once used as places of
refuge by the Celts, or, like Lindum, on the top of the hill on which
Lincoln Cathedral now stands, were placed in strongly defensible
positions. Aquae Sulis, the modern Bath, owes its existence to its warm
medicinal springs. The chief port of commerce was Londinium, the
modern London. Attempts which have been made to explain its name by
the Celtic language have failed, and it is therefore possible that an
inhabited post existed there even before the Celts arrived. Its
importance was, however, owing to its position, and that importance
was not of a kind to tell before a settled system of commercial
intercourse sprang up. London was situated on the hill on which St.
Paul's now stands. There first, after the Thames narrowed into a
river, the merchant found close to the stream hard ground on which he
could land his goods. The valley for some distance above and below it
was then filled with a wide marsh or an expanse of water. An old track
raised above the marsh crossed the river by a ford at Lambeth, but, as
London grew in importance, a ferry was established where London Bridge
now stands, and the Romans, in course of time, superseded the ferry by
a bridge. It is, therefore, no wonder that the Roman roads both from
the north and from the south converged upon London. Just as Eboracum
was a fitting centre for military operations directed to the defence
of the northern frontier, London was the fitting centre of a trade
carried on with the Continent, and the place would increase in
importance in proportion to the increase of that trade.
[Illustration: Roman altar from Rutchester.]
26. =Extinction of Tribal Antagonism.=--The improvement of
communications and the growth of trade and industry could not fail to
influence the mind of the population. Wars between tribes, which
before the coming of the Romans had been the main employment of the
young and hardy, were now things of the past. The mutual hatred which
had grown out of them had died away, and even the very names of
Trinobantes and Brigantes were almost forgotten. Men who lived in the
valley of the Severn came to look upon themselves as belonging to the
same people as men who lived in the valleys of the Trent or the
Thames. The active and enterprising young men were attracted to the
cities, at first by the novelty of the luxurious habits in which they
were taught to indulge, but afterwards because they were allowed to
take part in the management of local business. In the time of the
Emperor Caracalla, the son of Severus, every freeman born in the
Empire was declared to be a Roman citizen, and long before that a
large number of natives had been admitted to citizenship. In each
district a council was formed of the wealthier and more prominent
inhabitants, and this council had to provide for the building of
temples, the holding of festivals, the erection of fortifications, and
the laying out of streets. Justice was done between man and man
according to the Roman law, which was the best law that the world had
seen, and the higher Roman officials, who were appointed by the
Emperor, took care that justice was done between city and city. No one
therefore, wished to oppose the Roman government or to bring back the
old times of barbarism.
27. =Want of National Feeling.=--Great as was the progress made, there
was something still wanting. A people is never at its best unless
those who compose it have some object for which they can sacrifice
themselves, and for which, if necessary, they will die. The Briton had
ceased to be called upon to die for his tribe, and he was not expected
to die for Britain. Britain had become a more comfortable country to
live in, but it was not the business of its own inhabitants to guard
it. It was a mere part of the vast Roman Empire, and it was the duty
of the Emperors to see that the frontier was safely kept. They were so
much afraid lest any particular province should wish to set up for
itself and to break away from the Empire, that they took care not to
employ soldiers born in that province for its protection. They sent
British recruits to guard the Danube or the Euphrates, and Gauls,
Spaniards, or Africans to guard the wall between the Solway and the
Tyne, and the entrenchment between the Forth and the Clyde. Britons,
therefore, looked on their own defence as something to be done for
them by the Emperors, not as something to be done by themselves. They
lived on friendly terms with one another, but they had nothing of what
we now call patriotism.
28. =Carausius and Allectus.= =288--296.=--In =288= Carausius, with
the help of some pirates, seized on the government of Britain and
threw off the authority of the Emperor. He was succeeded by Allectus,
yet neither Carausius nor Allectus thought of making himself the head
of a British nation. They called themselves Emperors and ruled over
Britain alone, merely because they could not get more to rule over.
29. =Constantius and Constantine.= =296--337.=--Allectus was
overthrown and slain by Constantius, who, however, did not rule, as
Carausius and Allectus had done, by mere right of military
superiority. The Emperor Diocletian (=285--305=) discovered that the
whole Empire, stretching from the Euphrates to the Atlantic, was too
extensive for one man to govern, and he therefore decreed that there
should in future be four governors, two principal ones named Emperors
(_Augusti_), and two subordinate ones named Caesars. Constantius was
first a Caesar and afterwards an Emperor. He was set to govern Spain,
Gaul, and Britain, but he afterwards became Emperor himself, and for
some time established himself at Eboracum (_York_). Upon his death
(=306=), his son Constantine, after much fighting, made himself sole
Emperor (=325=), overthrowing the system of Diocletian. Yet in one
respect he kept up Diocletian's arrangements. He placed Spain, Gaul,
and Britain together under a great officer called a Vicar, who
received orders from himself and who gave orders to the officers who
governed each of the three countries. Under the new system, as under
the old, Britain was not treated as an independent country. It had
still to look for protection to an officer who lived on the Continent,
and was therefore apt to be more interested in Gaul and Spain than he
was in Britain.
30. =Christianity in Britain.=--When the Romans put down the Druids
and their bloody sacrifices, they called the old Celtic gods by Roman
names, but made no further alteration in religious usages. Gradually,
however, Christianity spread amongst the Romans on the Continent, and
merchants or soldiers who came from the Continent introduced it into
Britain. Scarcely anything is known of its progress in the island.
Alban is said to have been martyred at Verulamium, and Julius and
Aaron at Isca Silurum. In =314= three British bishops attended a
council held at Arles in Gaul. Little more than these few facts have
been handed down, but there is no doubt that there was a settled
Church established in the island. The Emperor Constantine acknowledged
Christianity as the religion of the whole Empire. The remains of a
church of this period have recently been discovered at Silchester.
31. =Weakness of the Empire.=--The Roman Empire in the time of
Constantine had the appearance rather than the reality of strength.
Its taxation was very heavy, and there was no national enthusiasm to
lead men to sacrifice themselves in its defence. Roman citizens became
more and more unwilling to become soldiers at all, and the Roman
armies were now mostly composed of barbarians. At the same time the
barbarians outside the Empire were growing stronger, as the tribes
often coalesced into wide confederacies for the purpose of attacking
the Empire.
32. =The Picts and Scots.=--The assailants of Britain on the north and
the west were the Picts and Scots. The Picts were the same as the
Caledonians of the time of Agricola. We do not know why they had
ceased to be called Caledonians. The usual derivation of their name
from the Latin _Pictus_, said to have been given them because they
painted their bodies, is inaccurate. Opinions differ whether they were
Goidels with a strong Iberian strain, or Iberians with a Goidelic
admixture. They were probably Iberians, and at all events they were
more savage than the Britons had been before they were influenced by
Roman civilisation. The Scots, who afterwards settled in what is now
known as Scotland, at that time dwelt in Ireland. Whilst the Picts,
therefore, assailed the Roman province by land, and strove, not always
unsuccessfully, to break through the walls which defended its northern
frontier, the Scots crossed the Irish Sea in light boats to plunder
and slay before armed assistance could arrive.
33. =The Saxons.=--The Saxons, who were no less deadly enemies of the
Roman government, were as fierce and restless as the Picts and Scots,
and were better equipped and better armed. At a later time they
established themselves in Britain as conquerors and settlers, and
became the founders of the English nation; but at first they were only
known as cruel and merciless pirates. In their long flat-bottomed
vessels they swooped down upon some undefended part of the coast and
carried off not only the property of wealthy Romans, but even men and
women to be sold in the slave-market. The provincials who escaped
related with peculiar horror how the Saxons were accustomed to torture
to death one out of every ten of their captives as a sacrifice to
their gods.
34. =Origin of the Saxons.=--The Saxons were the more dangerous
because it was impossible for the Romans to reach them in their homes.
They were men of Teutonic race, speaking one of the languages,
afterwards known as Low German, which were once spoken in the whole of
North Germany. The Saxon pirates were probably drawn from the whole of
the sea coast stretching from the north of the peninsula of Jutland to
the mouth of the Ems, and if so, there were amongst them Jutes, whose
homes were in Jutland itself; Angles, who inhabited Schleswig and
Holstein; and Saxons, properly so called, who dwelt about the mouth of
the Elbe and further to the west. All these peoples afterwards took
part in the conquest of southern Britain, and it is not unlikely that
they all shared in the original piratical attacks. Whether this was
the case or not, the pirates came from creeks and inlets outside the
Roman Empire, whose boundary was the Rhine, and they could therefore
only be successfully repressed by a power with a good fleet, able to
seek out the aggressors in their own homes and to stop the mischief at
its source.
35. =The Roman Defence.=--The Romans had always been weak at sea, and
they were weaker now than they had been in earlier days. They were
therefore obliged to content themselves with standing on the
defensive. Since the time of Severus, Britain had been divided, for
purposes of defence, into Upper and Lower Britain. Though there is no
absolute certainty about the matter, it is probable that Upper
Britain comprised the hill country of the west and north, and that
Lower Britain was the south-eastern part of the island, marked off by
a line drawn irregularly from the Humber to the Severn.[1] Lower
Britain in the early days of the Roman conquest had been in no special
need of military protection. In the fourth century it was exposed more
than the rest of the island to the attacks of the Saxon pirates.
Fortresses were erected between the Wash and Beachy Head at every
point at which an inlet of the sea afforded an opening to an invader.
The whole of this part of the coast became known as the Saxon Shore,
because it was subjected to attacks from the Saxons, and a special
officer known as the Count of the Saxon Shore was appointed to take
charge of it. An officer known as the Duke of the Britains (_Dux
Britanniarum_) commanded the armies of Upper Britain; whilst a third,
who was a civilian, and superior in rank over the other two, was the
Count of Britain, and had a general supervision of the whole country.
[Footnote 1: There were also four smaller divisions, ultimately
increased to five. All that is known about their position is that
they were not where they are placed in our atlases.]
36. =End of the Roman Government.= =383--410.=--In =383= Maximus, who
was probably the Duke of the Britains, was proclaimed Emperor by his
soldiers. If he could have contented himself with defending Britain,
it would have mattered little whether he chose to call himself an
Emperor or a Duke. Unhappily for the inhabitants of the island, not
only did every successful soldier want to be an Emperor, but every
Emperor wanted to govern the whole Empire. Maximus, therefore, instead
of remaining in Britain, carried a great part of his army across the
sea to attempt a conquest of Gaul and Spain. Neither he nor his
soldiers ever returned, and in consequence the Roman garrison in the
island was deplorably weakened. Early in the fifth century an
irruption of barbarians gave full employment to the army which
defended Gaul, so that it was impossible to replace the forces which
had followed Maximus by fresh troops from the Continent. The Roman
Empire was in fact breaking up. The defence of Britain was left to the
soldiers who remained in the island, and in =409= they proclaimed a
certain Constantine Emperor. Constantine, like Maximus, carried his
soldiers across the Channel in pursuit of a wider empire than he could
find in Britain. He was himself murdered, and his soldiers, like those
of Maximus, did not return. In =410= the Britons implored the Emperor
Honorius to send them help. Honorius had enough to do to ward off the
attacks of barbarians nearer Rome, and announced to the Britons that
they must provide for their own defence. From this time Britain ceased
to form part of the Roman Empire.
CHAPTER II.
THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.
LEADING DATES
Landing of the Jutes in Thanet A.D. 449?
The West Saxons defeated at Mount Badon 520
The West Saxons take Sorbiodunum 552
Battle of Deorham 577
The West Saxons defeated at Faddiley 584
1. =Britain after the Departure of the Romans.= =410--449=?--After the
departure of the Romans, the Picts from the north and the Scots from
Ireland continued their ravages, but though they caused terrible
misery by slaughtering or dragging into slavery the inhabitants of
many parts of the country, they did not succeed in making any
permanent conquests. The Britons were not without a government and an
armed force; and their later history shows that they were capable of
carrying on war for a long time against enemies more formidable than
the Picts and Scots. Their rulers were known by the British title
Gwledig, and probably held power in different parts of the island as
the successors of the Roman Duke of the Britains and of the Roman
Count of the Saxon Shore. Their power of resistance to the Picts and
the Scots was, however, weakened by the impossibility of turning their
undivided attention to these marauders, as at the same time that they
had, to defend the Roman Wall and the western coast against the Picts
and Scots, they were exposed on the eastern coast to the attacks of
the Saxon pirates.
2. =The Groans of the Britons.=--In their misery the thoughts of the
Britons turned to those Roman legions who had defended their fathers
so well. In =446= they appealed to Aetius, the commander of the Roman
armies, to deliver them from their destroyers. "The groans of the
Britons" was the title which they gave to their appeal to him. "The
barbarians," they wrote, "drive us to the sea; the sea drives us back
to the barbarians; between them we are exposed to two sorts of death:
we are either slain or drowned." Aetius had no men to spare, and he
sent no help to the Britons. Before long the whole of Western Europe
was overrun by barbarian tribes, the title of Emperor being retained
only by the Roman Emperor who ruled from Constantinople over the East,
his authority over the barbarians of the West being no more than
nominal.
3. =The Conquest of Kent.= =449=?--It had been the custom of the Roman
Empire to employ barbarians as soldiers in their armies, and
Vortigern, the British ruler, now followed that bad example. In or
about =449= a band of Jutish sea-rovers landed at Ebbsfleet, in the
Isle of Thanet. According to tradition their leaders were Hengist and
Horsa, names signifying the horse and the mare, which were not very
likely to have been borne by real warriors. Whatever may have been the
names of the chiefs, Vortigern took them into his service against the
Picts, giving them the Isle of Thanet as a dwelling-place for
themselves. With their help he defeated the Picts, but afterwards
found himself unable to defend himself against his fierce auxiliaries.
Thanet was still cut off from the mainland by an arm of the sea, and
the Jutes were strong enough to hold it against all assailants. Their
numbers rapidly increased as shiploads of their fellows landed, and
they crossed the strait to win fresh lands from the Britons on the
mainland of Kent. In several battles Vortigern was overpowered. His
rival and successor, Ambrosius Aurelianus, whose name makes it
probable that he was an upholder of the old Roman discipline, drove
back the Jutes in turn. He did not long keep the upper hand, and in
=465= he was routed utterly. The defeat of the British army was
followed by an attack upon the great fortresses which had been erected
along the Saxon Shore in the Roman times. The Jutes had no means of
carrying them by assault, but they starved them out one by one, and
some twenty-three years after their first landing, the whole of the
coast of Kent was in their hands.
4. =The South Saxons.= =477.=--The conquests of the Jutes stopped at
the inlet of the sea now filled by Romney Marsh. To the south and west
was the impenetrable Andred's Wood, which covered what is now known as
the Weald. At its eastern extremity stood by the sea the strong
fortified town of Anderida, which gave its name to the wood, the most
westerly of the fortresses of the Saxon Shore still unconquered by the
Jutes. It was at last endangered by a fresh pirate band--not of Jutes
but of Saxons--which landed near Selsey, and fought its way eastwards,
conquering the South Downs and the flat land between the South Downs
and the sea, till it reached Anderida. Anderida was starved out after
a long blockade, and the Saxons, bursting in, 'slew all that dwelt
therein, nor was there henceforth one Briton left.' To this day the
Roman walls of Anderida stand round the site of the desolated city
near the modern Pevensey. Its Saxon conquerors came to be known as the
South Saxons, and their land as Sussex.
5. =The West Saxons and the East Saxons.=--Another swarm also of
Saxons, called Gewissas, landed on the shore of Southampton Water.
After a time they were reinforced by a body of Jutes, and though the
Jutes formed settlements of their own in the Isle of Wight and on the
mainland, the difference of race and language between them and the
Gewissas was not enough to prevent the two tribes from coalescing.
Ultimately Gewissas and Jutes became known as West Saxons, and
established themselves in a district roughly corresponding with the
modern Hampshire. Then, having attempted to penetrate further west,
they were defeated at Mount Badon, probably Badbury Rings in
Dorsetshire. Their overthrow was so complete as to check their advance
for more than thirty years. Whilst the coast line from the inlet of
the sea now filled by Romney Marsh to the western edge of Hampshire
had thus been mastered by Saxons, others of the same stock, known as
East Saxons, seized upon the low coast to the north of the Thames.
From them the land was called Essex. Neither Saxons nor Jutes,
however, were as yet able to penetrate far up the valley of the
Thames, as the Roman settlement of London, surrounded by marshes,
still blocked the way.
6. =The Anglian Settlements.=--The coast-line to the north of the East
Saxons was seized at some unascertained dates by different groups of
Angles. The land between the Stour and the great fen which in those
days stretched far inland from the Wash was occupied by two of these
groups, known as the North folk and the South folk. They gave their
names to Norfolk and Suffolk, and at some later time combined under
the name of East Anglians. North of the Wash were the Lindiswara--that
is to say, the settlers about the Roman Lindum, the modern Lincoln,
and beyond them, stretching to the Humber, were the Gainas, from whom
is derived the name of the modern Gainsborough. To the north of the
Humber the coast was fringed by Angle settlements which had not yet
coalesced into one.
7. =Nature of the Conquest.=--The three peoples who effected this
conquest were afterwards known amongst themselves by the common name
of English, a name which was originally equivalent to Angle, whilst
amongst the whole of the remaining Celtic population they were only
known as Saxons. The mode in which the English treated the Britons was
very different from that of the Romans, who were a civilised people
and aimed at governing a conquered race. The new-comers drove out the
Britons in order to find homes for themselves, and they preferred to
settle in the country rather than in a town. No Englishman had ever
lived in a town in his German home, or was able to appreciate the
advantages of the commerce and manufacture by which towns are
supported. Nor were they inclined to allow the inhabitants of the
Roman towns to remain unmolested in their midst. When Anderida was
captured not a Briton escaped alive, and there is good reason to
believe that many of the other towns fared no better, especially as
the remains of some of them still show marks of the fire by which they
were consumed. What took place in the country cannot be certainly
known. Many of the British were no doubt killed. Many took refuge in
fens or woods, or fled to those portions of the island in which their
countrymen were still independent. It is difficult to decide to what
extent the men who remained behind were spared, but it is impossible
to doubt that a considerable number of women were preserved from
slaughter. The conquerors, at their landing, must have been for the
most part young men, and when they wanted wives, it would be far
easier for them to seize the daughters of slain Britons than to fetch
women from the banks of the Elbe.
8. =The Cultivators of the Soil.=--When the new-comers planted
themselves on British soil, each group of families united by kinship
fixed its home in a separate village or township, to which was given
the name of the kindred followed by 'ham' or 'tun,' the first word
meaning the home or dwelling, the second the earthen mound which
formed the defence of the community. Thus Wokingham is the home of the
Wokings, and Wellington the 'tun' of the Wellings. Each man had a
homestead of his own, with a strip or strips of arable land in an open
field. Beyond the arable land was pasture and wood, common to the
whole township, every villager being entitled to drive his cattle or
pigs into them according to rules laid down by the whole township.
9. =Eorls, Ceorls, Gesiths.=--The population was divided into Eorls
and Ceorls. The Eorl was hereditarily distinguished by birth, and the
Ceorl was a simple freeman without any such distinction. How the
difference arose we do not know, but we do know that the Eorl had
privileges which the Ceorl had not. Below the Ceorls were slaves
taken in war or condemned to slavery as criminals. There were also men
known as Gesiths, a word which means 'followers,' who were the
followers of the chiefs or Ealdormen (_Eldermen_) who led the
conquerors. The Gesiths formed the war-band of the chief. They were
probably all of them Eorls, so that though every settler was either an
Eorl or a Ceorl, some Eorls were also Gesiths. This war-band of
Gesiths was composed of young men who attached themselves to the chief
by a tie of personal devotion. It was the highest glory of the Gesith
to die to save his chief's life. Of one Gesith it is told that, when
he saw a murderer aiming a dagger at his chief, he, not having time to
seize the assassin, threw his body between the blow and his chief, and
perished rather than allow him to be killed. It was even held to be
disgraceful for a Gesith to return from battle alive if his chief had
been slain. The word by which the chief was known was Hlaford
(_Lord_), which means a giver of bread, because the Gesiths ate his
bread. They not only ate his bread, but they shared in the booty which
he brought home. They slept in his hall, and were clothed in the
garments woven by his wife and her maidens. A continental writer tells
how a body of Gesiths once approached their lord with a petition that
he should take a wife, because as long as he remained unmarried there
was no one to make new clothes for them or to mend their old ones.
10. =The Gesiths and the Villagers.=--At the time of the English
settlement, therefore, there were two sorts of warriors amongst the
invaders. The Ceorls, having been accustomed to till land at home,
were quite ready to till the lands which they had newly acquired in
Britain. They were, however, ready to defend themselves and their
lands if they were attacked, and they were under the obligation of
appearing in arms when needed for defence. This general army of the
villagers was called the Fyrd. On the other hand, the Gesiths had not
been accustomed to till land at home, but had made fighting their
business. War, in short, which was an unwelcome accident to the Ceorl,
was the business of life to the Gesith. The exact relationship between
the Gesiths and the Ceorls cannot be ascertained with certainty. It is
not improbable that the Gesiths, being the best warriors amongst their
countrymen, sometimes obtained land granted them by their chiefs, and
were expected in consequence to be specially ready to serve the chief
whom they had followed from their home. It was from their relation to
their chief that they were called Gesiths, a name gradually abandoned
for that of Thegns, or servants, when they--as was soon the
case--ceased to live with their chief and had houses and lands of
their own, though they were still bound to military service. How these
Thegns cultivated their lands is a question to which there is no
certain answer. In later days they made use of a class of men known as
bondmen or villeins. These bondmen were not, like slaves, the property
of their masters. They had land of their own which they were allowed
to cultivate for themselves on condition of spending part of their
time in cultivating the land of their lords. It has been supposed by
some writers that the Thegns employed bondmen from the earliest times
of the conquest. If, however, this was the case, there arises a
further question whether the bondmen were Englishmen or Britons. The
whole subject is under investigation, and the evidence which exists is
excessively scanty. It is at least certain that the further the
conquest progressed westwards, the greater was the number of Britons
preserved alive.
11. =English and Welsh.=--The bulk of the population on the eastern
and southern coasts was undoubtedly English. English institutions and
English language took firm root. The conquerors looked on the Britons
with the utmost contempt, naming them Welsh, a name which no Briton
thought of giving to himself, but which Germans had been in the habit
of applying somewhat contemptuously to the Celts on the Continent. So
far as British words have entered into the English language at all,
they have been words such as _gown_ or _curd_, which are likely to
have been used by women, or words such as _cart_ or _pony_, which are
likely to have been used by agricultural labourers, and the evidence
of language may therefore be adduced in favour of the view that many
women and many agricultural labourers were spared by the conquerors.
12. =The Township and the Hundred.=--The smallest political community
of the new settlers was the village, or, as it is commonly called, the
township, which is still represented by the parish, the parish being
merely a township in which ecclesiastical institutions have been
maintained whilst political institutions have ceased to exist. The
freemen of the township met to settle small questions between
themselves, under the presidency of their reeve or headman. More
important cases were brought before the hundred-moot, or meeting of
the hundred, a district which had been inhabited, or was supposed to
have been inhabited, either by a hundred kindred groups of the
original settlers or by the families of a hundred warriors. This
hundred-moot was held once a month, and was attended by four men and
the reeve from every township, and also by the Eorls and Thegns living
in the hundred. It not only settled disputes about property, but gave
judgment in criminal cases as well.
13. =Weregild.=--In early days, long before the English had left their
lands beyond the sea, it was not considered to be the business of the
community to punish crime. If any one was murdered, it was the duty of
the kinsmen of the slain man to put to death the murderer. In course
of time men got tired of the continual slaughter produced by this
arrangement, and there sprang up a system according to which the
murderer might offer to the kinsmen a sum of money known as weregild,
or the value of a man, and if this money was accepted, then peace was
made and all thought of vengeance was at an end. At a later time, at
all events after the arrival of the English in this country, charges
of murder were brought before the hundred-moot whenever the alleged
murderer and his victim lived in the same hundred. If the accused
person did not dispute the fact the moot sentenced him to pay a
weregild, the amount of which differed in proportion to the rank of
the slain man, not in proportion to the heinousness of the offence. As
there was a weregild for murder, so there was also a graduated scale
of payments for lesser offences. One who struck off a hand or a foot
could buy off vengeance at a fixed rate.
14. =Compurgation and Ordeal.=--A new difficulty was introduced when a
person who was charged with crime denied his guilt. As there were no
trained lawyers and there was no knowledge of the principles of
evidence, the accused person was required to bring twelve men to be
his compurgators--that is to say, to hear him swear to his own
innocence, and then to swear in turn that his oath was true. If he
could not find men willing to be his compurgators he could appeal to
the judgment of the gods, which was known as the Ordeal. If he could
walk blindfold over red-hot ploughshares, or plunge his arm into
boiling water, and show at the end of a fixed number of days that he
had received no harm, it was thought that the gods bore witness to his
innocency and had as it were become his compurgators when men had
failed him. It is quite possible that all or most of those who tried
the ordeal failed, but as nobody would try the ordeal who could get
compurgators, those who did not succeed must have been regarded as
persons of bad character, so that no surprise would be expressed at
their failure.
15. =Punishments.=--When a man had failed in the ordeal there was a
choice of punishments. If his offence was a slight one, a fine was
deemed sufficient. If it was a very disgraceful one, such as secret
murder, he was put to death or was degraded to slavery, in most cases
he was declared to be a 'wolf's-head'--that is to say, he was outlawed
and driven into the woods, where, as the protection of the community
was withdrawn from him, anyone might kill him without fear of
punishment.
16. =The Folk-moot.=--As the hundred-moot did justice between those
who lived in the hundred, so the folk-moot did justice between those
who lived in different hundreds, or were too important to be judged in
the hundred-moot. The folk-moot was the meeting of the whole folk or
tribe, which consisted of several hundreds. It was attended, like the
hundred-moot, by four men and the reeve from each township, and it met
twice a year, and was presided over by the chief or Ealdorman. The
folk-moot met in arms, because it was a muster as well as a council
and a court. The vote as to war and peace was taken in it, and while
the chief alone spoke, the warriors signified their assent by clashing
their swords against their shields.
17. =The Kingship.=--How many folks or tribes settled in the island it
is impossible to say, but there is little doubt that many of them soon
combined. The resistance of the Britons was desperate, and it was only
by joining together that the settlers could hope to overcome it. The
causes which produced this amalgamation of the folks produced the
king. It was necessary to find a man always ready to take the command
of the united folks, and this man was called King, a name which
signifies the man of the kinship or race at the head of which he
stood. His authority was greater than the Ealdorman's, and his
warriors were more numerous than those which the Ealdorman had led. He
must come of a royal family--that is, of one supposed to be descended
from the god Woden. As it was necessary that he should be capable of
leading an army, it was impossible that a child could be king, and
therefore no law of hereditary succession prevailed. On the death of a
king the folk-moot chose his successor out of the kingly family. If
his eldest son was a grown man of repute, the choice would almost
certainly fall upon him. If he was a child or an invalid, some other
kinsman of the late king would be selected.
18. =The Legend of Arthur.=--Thirty-two years passed away after the
defeat of the West Saxons at Mount Badon in =520= (see p. 28) before
they made any further conquests. Welsh legends represent this period
as that of the reign of Arthur. Some modern inquirers have argued that
Arthur's kingdom was in the north, whilst others have argued that it
was in the south. It is quite possible that the name was given by
legend to more than one champion; at all events, there was a time when
an Ambrosius, probably a descendant of Ambrosius Aurelianus (see p.
27), protected the southern Britons. This stronghold was at
Sorbiodunum, the hill fort now a grassy space known as Old Sarum, and
his great church and monastery, where Christian priests encouraged the
Christian Britons in their struggle against the heathen Saxons, was at
the neighbouring Ambresbyrig (_the fortress of Ambrosius_), now
modernised into Amesbury. Thirty-two years after the battle of Mount
Badon the kingdom of Ambrosius had been divided amongst his
successors, who were plunged in vice and were quarrelling with one
another.
[Illustration: _Walker & Boutallse._
Plan of the city of Old Sarum, the ancient _Sorbiodunum_. The
Cathedral is of later date.]
19. =The West Saxon Advance.=--In =552= Cynric, the West Saxon king,
attacked the divided Britons, captured Sorbiodunum, and made himself
master of Salisbury Plain. Step by step he fought his way to the
valley of the Thames, and when he had reached it, he turned eastwards
to descend the river to its mouth. Here, however, he found himself
anticipated by the East Saxons, who had captured London, and had
settled a branch of their people under the name of the Middle Saxons
in Middlesex. The Jutes of Kent had pushed westwards through the
Surrey hills, but in =568= the West Saxons defeated them and drove
them back. After this battle, the first in which the conquerors strove
with one another, the West Saxons turned northwards, defeated the
Britons in =571= at Bedford, and occupied the valleys of the Thame and
Cherwell and the upper valley of the Ouse. They are next heard of much
further west, and it has been supposed that they turned in that
direction because they found the lower Ouse already held by Angle
tribes. However this may have been, they crossed the Cotswolds in
=577= under two brothers, Ceawlin and Cutha, and at Deorham defeated
and slew three kings who ruled over the cities of Glevum
(_Gloucester_), Corinium (_Cirencester_), and Aquae Sulis (_Bath_).
They seized on the fertile valley of the Severn, and during the next
few years they pressed gradually northwards. In =584= they destroyed
and sacked the old Roman station of Viriconium. This was their last
victory for many a year. They attempted to reach Chester, but were
defeated at Faddiley by the Britons, who slew Cutha in the battle.
[Illustration: Old Sarum from an engraving published in 1843, showing
mound. (It is now obscured by trees from this point of view.)]
20. =Repulse of the West Saxons.=--After the defeat at Faddiley the
West Saxons split up into two peoples. Those of them who settled in
the lower Severn valley took the name of Hwiccan, and joined the
Britons against their own kindred. This alliance could hardly have
taken place if the Hwiccan, in settling in the Severn valley, had
destroyed the whole, or even a considerable part, of the Celtic
population, though there can be little doubt that there was still
slaughter when a battle was fought or a town taken by storm; as it is
known that the magnificent Roman buildings at Bath were standing in
ruins and the city untenanted many years after the capture of the
city. At all events, the Britons, now allied with the Hwiccan,
defeated Ceawlin at Wanborough. After this disaster, though the West
Saxon kingdom retained its independence, it was independent within
smaller limits than those which Ceawlin had wished to give to it. If
he had seized Chester he would have been on the way to gain the
mastery over all England, but he had tried to do too much in a short
time. His people can hardly have been numerous enough to occupy in
force a territory reaching from Southampton Water to Bedford on one
side and to Chester on another.
21. =The Advance of the Angles.=--Whilst the West Saxons were
enlarging their boundaries in the south, the Angles were gradually
spreading in the centre and the north. The East Anglians were stopped
on their way to the west by the great fen, but either a branch of the
Lindiswara or some new-comers made their way up the Trent, and
established themselves first at Nottingham and then at Leicester, and
called themselves the Middle English. Another body, known as the
Mercians, or men of the mark or border-land, seized on the upper
valley of the Trent. North of the Humber the advance was still slower.
In =547=, five years before the West Saxons attacked Sorbiodunum, Ida,
a chieftain of one of the scattered settlements on the coast, was
accepted as king by all those which lay between the Tees and the
Forth. His new kingdom was called Bernicia, and his principal fortress
was on a rock by the sea at Bamborough. During the next fifty years he
and his successors enlarged their borders till they reached that
central ridge of moorland hill which is sometimes known as the Pennine
range. The Angles between the Tees and the Humber called their country
Deira, but though they also united under a king, their progress was as
slow as that of the Bernicians. Bernicia and Deira together were known
as North-humberland, the land north of the Humber, a much larger
territory than that of the modern county of Northumberland.
22. =The Kymry.=--It is probable that the cause of the slow advance of
the northern Angles lay in the existence of a strong Celtic state in
front. Welsh tradition speaks of a ruler named Cunedda, who after the
departure of the Roman legions governed the territory from the Clyde
to the south of Wales, which formed the greater part of what had once
been known as Upper Britain. (See p. 25.) This territory was inhabited
by a mixed population of Britons and Goidels, with an isolated body of
Picts in Galloway. A common danger from the English fused them
together, and as a sign of the wearing out of old distinctions, they
took the name of Kymry, or Comrades, the name by which the Welsh are
known amongst one another to this day, and which is also preserved in
the name of Cumberland, though the Celtic language is no longer spoken
there.
23. =Britain at the End of the Sixth Century.=--During the sixth
century the Kymry ceased to be governed by one ruler, but the
chieftains of the various territories all acknowledged the supremacy
of a descendant of Cunedda. For purposes of war they combined
together, and as the country which they occupied was hilly and easily
defended, the northern English discovered that they too must unite
amongst themselves if they were to overpower the united resistance of
the Kymry.
CHAPTER III.
THE STRIFE OF THE ENGLISH KINGDOMS.
LEADING DATES
Augustine's mission 597
AEthelfrith's victory at Chester 613
Penda defeats Eadwine at Heathfield 633
Penda's defeat at Winwaed 655
Theodore Archbishop of Canterbury 668
Offa defeats the West Saxons at Bensington 779
Ecgberht returns to England 800
Death of Ecgberht 839
1. =England and the Continent.=--Whatever may be the exact truth about
the numbers of Britons saved alive by the English conquerors, there
can be no doubt that English speech and English customs prevailed
wherever the English settled. In Gaul, where the German Franks made
themselves masters of the country, a different state of things
prevailed. Roman officials continued to govern the country under
Frankish kings, Roman bishops converted the conquerors to
Christianity, and Roman cities maintained, as far as they could, the
old standard of civilisation. All commercial intercourse between Gaul,
still comparatively rich and prosperous, and Britain was for some time
cut off by the irruption of the English, who were at first too rude
and too much engaged in fighting to need the products of a more
advanced race. Gradually, however, as the English settled down into
peaceful industry along the south-eastern shores of the island, trade
again sprang up, as it had sprung up in the wild times preceding the
landing of Caesar. The Gaulish merchants who crossed the straits found
themselves in Kent, and during the years in which the West Saxon
Ceawlin was struggling with the Britons the communications between
Kent and the Continent had become so friendly that in =584=, or a
little later, AEthelberht, king of Kent, took to wife Bertha, the
daughter of a Frankish king, Charibert. Bertha was a Christian, and
brought with her a Christian bishop. She begged of her husband a
forsaken Roman church for her own use. This church, now known as St.
Martin's, stood outside the walls of the deserted city of Durovernum,
the buildings of which were in ruins, except where a group of rude
dwellings rose in a corner of the old fortifications. In these
dwellings AEthelberht and his followers lived, and to them had been
given the new name of Cantwarabyrig or Canterbury (_the dwelling of
the men of Kent_). The English were heathen, but their heathenism was
not intolerant.
2. =AEthelberht's Supremacy.=--AEthelberht's authority reached far
beyond his native Kent. Within a few years after his marriage he had
gained a supremacy over most of the other kings to the south of the
Humber. There is no tradition of any war between AEthelberht and these
kings, and he certainly did not thrust them out from the leadership of
their own peoples. The exact nature of his supremacy is, however,
unknown to us, though it is possible that they were bound to follow
him if he went to war with peoples not acknowledging his supremacy, in
which case his position towards them was something of the same kind as
that of a lord to his gesiths.
3. =Gregory and the English.=--AEthelberht's position as the over-lord
of so many kings and as the husband of a Christian wife drew upon him
the attention of Gregory, the Bishop of Rome, or Pope. Many years
before, as a deacon, he had been attracted by the fair faces of some
boys from Deira exposed for sale in the Roman slave-market. He was
told that the children were Angles. "Not Angles, but angels," he
replied. "Who," he asked, "is their king?" Hearing that his name was
AElla, he continued to play upon the words. "Alleluia," he said, "shall
be sung in the land of AElla." Busy years kept him from seeking to
fulfil his hopes, but at last the time came when he could do something
to carry out his intentions, not in the land of AElla, but in the land
of AEthelberht. He became Pope. In those days the Pope had far less
authority over the Churches of Western Europe than he afterwards
acquired, but he offered the only centre round which they could rally,
now that the Empire had broken up into many states ruled over by
different barbarian kings. The general habit of looking to Rome for
authority, which had been diffused over the whole Empire whilst Rome
was still the seat of the Emperors, made men look to the Roman Bishop
for advice and help as they had once looked to the Roman Emperor.
Gregory, who united to the tenderheartedness of the Christian the
strength of will and firmness of purpose which had marked out the best
of the Emperors, now sent Augustine to England as the leader of a band
of missionaries.
4. =Augustine's Mission. 597.=--Augustine with his companions landed
at Ebbsfleet, in Thanet, where AEthelberht's forefathers had landed
nearly a century and a half before. After a while AEthelberht arrived.
Singing a litany, and bearing aloft a painting of the Saviour, the
missionaries appeared before him. He had already learned from his
Christian wife to respect Christians, but he was not prepared to
forsake his own religion. He welcomed the new-comers, and told them
that they were free to convert those who would willingly accept their
doctrine. A place was assigned to them in Canterbury, and they were
allowed to use Bertha's church. In the end AEthelberht himself,
together with thousands of the Kentish men, received baptism. It was
more by their example than by their teaching that Augustine's band won
converts. The missionaries lived 'after the model of the primitive
Church, giving themselves to frequent prayers, watchings, and
fastings; preaching to all who were within their reach, disregarding
all worldly things as matters with which they had nothing to do,
accepting from those whom they taught just what seemed necessary for
livelihood, living themselves altogether in accordance with what they
taught, and with hearts prepared to suffer every adversity, or even to
die, for that truth which they preached.'
5. =Monastic Christianity.=--These missionaries were monks as well as
preachers. The Christians of those days considered the monastic life
to be the highest. In the early days of the Church, when the world was
full of vice and cruelty, it seemed hardly possible to live in the
world without being dragged down to its wickedness. Men and women,
therefore, who wished to keep themselves pure, withdrew to hermitages
or monasteries, where they might be removed from temptation, and might
fit themselves for heaven by prayer and fasting. In the fifth century
Benedict of Nursia had organised in Italy a system of life for the
monastery which he governed, and the Benedictine rule, as it was
called, was soon accepted in almost all the monasteries of Western
Europe. The special feature of this rule was that it encouraged labour
as well as prayer. It was a saying of Benedict himself that 'to labour
is to pray.' He did not mean that labour was good in itself, but that
monks who worked during some hours of the day would guard their minds
against evil thoughts better than if they tried to pray all day long.
Augustine and his companions were Benedictine monks, and their
quietness and contentedness attracted the population amidst which they
had settled. The religion of the heathen English was a religion which
favoured bravery and endurance, counting the warrior who slaughtered
most enemies as most highly favoured by the gods. The religion of
Augustine was one of peace and self-denial. Its symbol was the cross,
to be borne in the heart of the believer. The message brought by
Augustine was very hard to learn. If Augustine had expected the whole
English population to forsake entirely its evil ways and to walk in
paths of peace, he would probably have been rejected at once. It was
perhaps because he was a monk that he did not expect so much. A monk
was accustomed to judge laymen by a lower standard of self-denial than
that by which he judged himself. He would, therefore, not ask too much
of the new converts. They must forsake the heathen temples and
sacrifices, and must give up some particularly evil habits. The rest
must be left to time and the example of the monks.
6. =The Archbishopric of Canterbury.=--After a short stay Augustine
revisited Gaul and came back as Archbishop of the English. AEthelberht
gave to him a ruined church at Canterbury, and that poor church was
named Christ Church, and became the mother church of England. From
that day the Archbishop's See has been fixed at Canterbury. If
Augustine in his character of monk led men by example, in his
character of Archbishop he had to organise the Church. With
AEthelberht's help he set up a bishopric at Rochester and another in
London. London was now again an important trading city, which, though
not in AEthelberht's own kingdom of Kent, formed part of the kingdom of
Essex, which was dependent on Kent. More than these three Sees
Augustine was unable to establish. An attempt to obtain the friendly
co-operation of the Welsh bishops broke down because Augustine
insisted on their adoption of Roman customs; and Lawrence, who
succeeded to the archbishopric after Augustine's death, could do no
more than his predecessor had done.
7. =Death of AEthelberht. 616.=--In =616= AEthelberht died. The
over-lordship of the kings of Kent ended with him, and Augustine's
church, which had largely depended upon his influence, very nearly
ended as well. Essex relapsed into heathenism, and it was only by
terrifying AEthelberht's son with the vengeance of St. Peter that
Lawrence kept him from relapsing also. On the other hand, Raedwald,
king of the East Anglians, who succeeded to much of AEthelberht's
authority, so far accepted Christianity as to worship Christ amongst
his other gods.
8. =The Three Kingdoms opposed to the Welsh.=--Augustine's Church
was weak, because it depended on the kings, and had not had time to
root itself in the affections of the people. AEthelberht's supremacy
was also weak. The greater part of the small states which still
existed--Sussex, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, and most of the small
kingdoms of central England--were no longer bordered by a Celtic
population. For them the war of conquest and defence was at an end.
If any one of the kingdoms was to rise to permanent supremacy it
must be one of those engaged in strenuous warfare, and as yet
strenuous warfare was only carried on with the Welsh. The kingdoms
which had the Welsh on their borders were three--Wessex, Mercia, and
North-humberland, and neither Wessex nor Mercia was as yet very
strong. Wessex was too distracted by conflicts amongst members of
the kingly family, and Mercia was as yet too small to be of much
account. North-humberland was therefore the first of the three to
rise to the foremost place. Till the death of AElla, the king of
Deira, from whose land had been carried off the slave-boys whose
faces had charmed Gregory at Rome, Deira and Bernicia had been as
separate as Kent and Essex. Then in =588= AEthelric of Bernicia drove
out AElla's son and seized his kingdom of Deira, thus joining the two
kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia (see p. 36) into one, under the new
name of North-humberland.[2]
[Footnote 2: Genealogy of the principal Northumbrian
kings:--[_Note._--The names of kings are in capitals. The figures
denote the order of succession of those who ruled over the whole of
North-humberland. Those whose names are followed by a B. or D. ruled
only over Bernicia or Deira respectively.]
_House of Bernicia_ _House of Deira_
IDA B. Iffa D.
| |
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1. AETHELRIC AELLA D. AElfric
| | |
| --------------------------- |
| | | |
2. AETHELFRITH = Acha 3. EADWINE OSRIC D.
| |
-------------- |
| | |
4. OSWALD 5. OSWIU OSWINI D.]
9. =AEthelfrith and the Kymry.=--In =593=, four years before the
landing of Augustine, AEthelric was succeeded by his son AEthelfrith.
AEthelfrith began a fresh struggle with the Welsh. We know little of
the internal history of the Welsh population, but what we do know
shows that towards the end of the sixth century there was an
improvement in their religious and political existence. The
monasteries were thronged, especially the great monastery of
Bangor-iscoed, in the modern Flintshire, which contained 2,000 monks.
St. David and other bishops gave examples of piety. In fighting
against AEthelfrith the warriors of the Britons were fighting for their
last chance of independence. They still held the west from the Clyde
to the Channel. Unhappily for them, the Severn, the Dee, and the
Solway Firth divided their land into four portions, and if an enemy
coming from the east could seize upon the heads of the inlets into
which those rivers flowed he could prevent the defenders of the west
from aiding one another. Already in =577=, by the victory of Deorham
(see p. 35), the West Saxons had seized on the mouth of the Severn,
and had split off the West Welsh of the south-western peninsula.
AEthelfrith had to do with the Kymry, whose territories stretched from
the Bristol Channel to the Clyde, and who held an outlying wedge of
land then known as Loidis and Elmet, which now together form the West
Riding of Yorkshire.
10. =AEthelfrith's Victories.=--The long range of barren hills which
separated AEthelfrith's kingdom from the Kymry made it difficult for
either side to strike a serious blow at the other. In the extreme
north, where a low valley joins the Firths of Clyde and Forth, it was
easier for them to meet. Here the Kymry found an ally outside their
own borders. Towards the end of the fifth century a colony of Irish
Scots had driven out the Picts from the modern Argyle. In =603= their
king, Aedan, bringing with him a vast army, in which Picts and the
Kymry appear to have taken part, invaded the northern part of
AEthelfrith's country. AEthelfrith defeated him at Degsastan, which was
probably Dawstone, near Jedburgh. 'From that time no king of the
Scots durst come into Britain to make war upon the English.' Having
freed himself from the Scots in the north, AEthelfrith turned upon the
Kymry. After a succession of struggles of which no record remains, he
forced his way in =613= to the western sea near Chester. The Kymry had
brought with them the 2,000 monks of their great monastery
Bangor-iscoed, to pray for victory whilst their warriors were engaged
in battle. AEthelfrith bade his men to slay them all. 'Whether they
bear arms or no,' he said, 'they fight against us when they cry
against us to their God.' The monks were slain to a man. Their
countrymen were routed, and Chester fell into the hands of the
English. The capture of Chester split the Kymric kingdom in two, as
the battle of Deorham thirty-five years before had split that kingdom
off from the West Welsh of the south-western peninsula. The Southern
Kymry, in what is now called Wales, could no longer give help to the
Northern Kymry between the Clyde and the Ribble, who grouped
themselves into the kingdom of Strathclyde, the capital of which was
Alcluyd, the modern Dumbarton. Three weak Celtic states, unable to
assist one another, would not long be able to resist their invaders.
11. =The Greatness of Eadwine.=--Powerful as AEthelfrith was, he was
jealous of young Eadwine, a son of his father's rival, AElla of Deira.
For some years Eadwine had been in hiding, at one time with Welsh
princes, at another time with English kings. In =617= he took refuge
with Raedwald, the king of the East Angles. AEthelfrith demanded the
surrender of the fugitive. Raedwald hesitated, but at last refused.
AEthelfrith attacked him, but was defeated and slain near the river
Idle, at some point near Retford. Eadwine the Deiran then became king
over the united North-humberland in the place of AEthelfrith the
Bernician, whose sons fled for safety to the Picts beyond the Forth.
Eadwine completed and consolidated the conquests of his predecessors.
He placed a fortress, named after himself Eadwinesburh, or Edinburgh,
on a rocky height near the Forth, to guard his land against a fresh
irruption of Scots and Picts, such as that which had been turned back
at Degsastan. He conquered from the Kymry Loidis and Elmet, and he
launched a fleet at Chester which added to his dominions the Isle of
Man and the greater island which was henceforth known as Anglesea, the
island of the Angles. Eadwine assumed unwonted state. Wherever he went
a standard was borne before him, as well as a spear decorated with a
tuft of feathers, the ancient sign of Roman authority. It has been
thought by some that his meaning was that he, rather than any
Welshman, was the true Gwledig, the successor of the Duke of the
Britains (_Dux Britanniarum_), and that the name of Bretwalda, or
ruler of the Britons, which he is said to have borne, was only a
translation of the Welsh Gwledig. It is true that the title of
Bretwalda is given to other powerful kings before and after Eadwine,
some of whom were in no sense rulers over Britons; but it is possible
that it was taken to signify a ruler over a large part of Britain,
though the men over whom he ruled were English, and not Britons.
12. =Eadwine's Supremacy.=--Eadwine's immediate kingship did not reach
further south than the Humber and the Dee. But before =625= he had
brought the East Angles and the kingdoms of central England to submit
to his over-lordship, and he hoped to make himself over-lord of the
south as well, and thus to reduce all England to dependence on
himself. In =625= he planned an attack upon the West Saxons, and with
the object of winning Kent to his side, he married AEthelburh, a sister
of the Kentish king. Kent was still the only Christian kingdom, and
Eadwine was obliged to promise to his wife protection for her
Christian worship. He was now free to attack the West Saxons. In
=626=, before he set out, ambassadors arrived from their king. As
Eadwine was listening to them, one of their number rushed forward to
stab him. His life was saved by the devotion of Lilla, one of his
thegns, who threw his body in the way of the assassin, and was slain
by the stroke intended for his lord. After this Eadwine marched
against the West Saxons. He defeated them in battle and forced them to
acknowledge him as their over-lord. He was now over-lord of all the
English states except Kent, and Kent had become his ally in
consequence of his marriage.
13. =Character of the later Conquests.=--Eadwine's over-lordship had
been gained with as little difficulty as AEthelberht's had been. The
ease with which each of them carried out their purpose can only be
explained by the change which had taken place in the condition of the
English. The small bodies of conquerors which had landed at different
parts of the coast had been interested to a man in the defence of the
lands which they had seized. Every freeman had been ready to come
forward to defend the soil which his tribe had gained. After tribe had
been joined to tribe, and still more after kingdom had been joined to
kingdom, there were large numbers who ceased to have any interest in
resisting the Welsh on what was, as far as they were concerned, a
distant frontier. Thus, when Ceawlin was fighting to extend the West
Saxon frontiers in the valley of the Severn, it mattered little to a
man whose own allotted land lay on the banks of the Southampton Water
whether or not his English kinsmen won lands from the Welsh near Bath
or Gloucester. The first result of this change was that the king's
war-band formed a far greater proportion of his military force than it
had formed originally. There was still the obligation upon the whole
body of the freemen to take arms, but it was an obligation which had
become more difficult to fulfil, and it must often have happened that
very few freemen took part in a battle except the local levies
concerned in defending their own immediate neighbourhood. A military
change of this kind would account for the undoubted fact that the
further the English conquest penetrated to the west the less
destructive it was of British life. The thegns, or warriors personally
attached to the king, did not want to plough and reap with their own
hands. They would be far better pleased to spare the lives of the
conquered and to compel them to labour. Every step in advance was
marked by a proportionately larger Welsh element in the population.
14. =Political Changes.=--The character of the kingship was as much
affected by the change as the character of the population. The old
folk-moots still remained as the local courts of the smaller kingdoms,
or of the districts out of which the larger kingdoms were composed,
and continued to meet under the presidency of ealdormen appointed or
approved by the king. Four men and a reeve, all of them humble
cultivators, could not, however, be expected to walk up to York from
the shores of the Forth, or even from the banks of the Tyne, whenever
Eadwine needed their counsel. Their place in the larger kingdoms was
therefore taken by the Witenagemot (_The moot of the wise men_),
composed of the ealdormen and the chief thegns, together with the
priests attached to the king's service in the time of heathendom, and,
in the time of Christianity, the bishop or bishops of his kingdom. In
one way the king was the stronger for the change. His counsellors,
like his fighting force, were more dependent on himself than before.
He was able to plan greater designs, and to carry out military
enterprises at a greater distance. In another way he was the weaker
for the change. He had less support from the bulk of his people, and
was more likely to undertake enterprises in which they had no
interest. The over-lordships of AEthelberht and Eadwine appear very
imposing, but no real tie united the men of the centre of England to
those of Kent at one time, or to those of North-humberland at another.
Eadwine was supreme over the other kings because he had a better
war-band than they had. If another king appeared whose war-band was
better than his, his supremacy would disappear.
15. =Eadwine's Conversion and Fall.=--In =627= Eadwine, moved by his
wife's entreaties and the urgency of her chaplain, Paulinus, called
upon his Witan to accept Christianity. Coifi, the priest, declared
that he had long served his gods for naught, and would try a change of
masters. 'The present life of man, O king,' said a thegn, 'seems to me
in comparison of that time which is unknown to us like to the swift
flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in
winter, with your ealdormen and thegns, and a good fire in the midst,
and storms of rain and snow without.... So this life of man appears
for a short space, but of what went before or what is to follow we are
utterly ignorant. If therefore this new doctrine contains something
more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.' On this
recommendation Christianity was accepted. Paulinus was acknowledged as
Bishop of York. The new See, which had been originally intended by
Pope Gregory to be an archbishopric, was ultimately acknowledged as
such, but as yet it was but a missionary station. Paulinus converted
thousands in Deira, but the men of Bernicia were unaffected by his
pleadings. Christianity, like the extension of all better teaching,
brought at first not peace but the sword. The new religion was
contemptible in the eyes of warriors. The supremacy of Eadwine was
shaken. The men of East Anglia slew their king, who had followed his
over-lord's example by accepting Christianity. The worst blow came
from Mercia. Hitherto it had been only a little state on the Welsh
border. Its king, Penda, the stoutest warrior of his day, now gathered
under him all the central states, and founded a new Mercia which
stretched from the Severn to the Fens. He first turned on the West
Saxons, defeated them at Cirencester, and in =628= brought the
territory of the Hwiccas under Mercian sway. On the other hand, East
Anglia accepted Eadwine's supremacy and Christianity. Penda called to
his aid Caedwalla, the king of Gwynnedd, the Snowdonian region of
Wales. That he should have done so shows how completely AEthelfrith's
victory at Chester, by cutting the Kymric realm in two, had put an end
to all fears that the Kymry could ever make head against England as a
whole. The alliance was too strong for Eadwine, and in =633=, at the
battle of Heathfield--the modern Hatfield, in Yorkshire--the great
king was slain and his army routed.
16. =Oswald's Victory at Heavenfield.=--Penda was content to split up
Bernicia and Deira into separate kingdoms, and to join East Anglia to
his subject states. Caedwalla had all the wrongs of his race to avenge.
He remained in North-humberland burning and destroying till =635=,
when Oswald, who was a son of AEthelfrith and of Eadwine's sister, and
therefore united the claims of the rival families, gathered the men of
Bernicia round him, overthrew Caedwalla at Heavenfield, near the Roman
Wall, and was gratefully accepted as king by the whole of
North-humberland.
17. =Oswald and Aidan.=--In the days of Eadwine, Oswald, as the heir
of the rival house of Bernicia, had passed his youth in exile, and had
been converted to Christianity in the monastery of Hii, the island now
known as Iona. The monastery had been founded by Columba, an Irish
Scot. Christianity had been introduced into Ireland by Patrick early
in the fifth century. Ireland was a land of constant and cruel war
between its tribes, and all who wished to be Christians in more than
name withdrew themselves into monasteries, where they lived an even
stricter and more ascetic life than the monks did in other parts of
Western Europe. Bishops were retained in the monasteries to ordain
priests, but they were entirely powerless. Columba's monastery at Hii
sent its missionaries abroad, and brought Picts as well as Scots under
the influence of Christianity. Oswald now requested its abbot, the
successor of Columba, to send a missionary to preach the faith to the
men of North-humberland in the place of Paulinus, who had fled when
Eadwine was slain. The first who was sent came back reporting that the
people were too stubborn to be converted. "Was it their stubbornness
or your harshness?" asked the monk Aidan. "Did you forget to give them
the milk first and then the meat?" Aidan was chosen to take the place
of the brother who had failed. He established himself, not in an
inland town, but in Holy Island. His life was spent in wandering
amongst the men of the valleys opposite, winning them over by his
gentleness and his self-denying energy. Oswald, warrior as he was, had
almost all the gentleness and piety of Aidan. 'By reason of his
constant habit of praying or giving thanks to the Lord he was wont
whenever he sat to hold his hands upturned on his knees.' On one
occasion when he sat down to a feast with Aidan by his side, he sent
both the dainties before him and the silver dish on which they had
been served to be divided amongst the poor. "May this hand," exclaimed
the delighted Aidan, "never grow old!"
18. =Oswald's Greatness and Overthrow.=--As a king Oswald based his
power on the acknowledgment of his over-lordship by all the kingdoms
which were hostile to Penda. In =635= Wessex accepted Christianity,
and the acceptance of Christianity brought with it the acceptance of
Oswald's supremacy. Penda was thus surrounded by enemies, but his
courage did not fail him, and in =642= at the battle of Maserfield he
defeated Oswald. Oswald fell in the battle, begging with his last
words for God's mercy on the souls of his enemies.
19. =Penda's Overthrow.=--After Oswald's fall Bernicia was ruled by
his brother Oswiu. Deira, again divided from it, was governed first
by Eadwine's cousin Osric, and then by Osric's son, Oswini, who
acknowledged Penda as his over-lord. Oswini was a man after Aidan's
own heart. Once he gave a horse to Aidan to carry him on his mission
journeys. Aidan gave it away to the first beggar he met. "Is that
son of a mare," answered Aidan to the reproaches of the king, "worth
more in your eyes than that son of God?" Oswini fell at the bishop's
feet and entreated his pardon. Aidan wept. "I am sure," he cried,
"the king will not live long. I never till now saw a king humble."
Aidan was right. In =651= Oswini was slain by the order of King
Oswiu of Bernicia, who had long engaged in a struggle with Penda.
Penda had for some years been burning and slaughtering in Bernicia,
till he had turned a quarrel between himself and Oswiu into a
national strife. Oswiu rescued Bernicia from destruction, and after
Oswini's murder joined once more the two kingdoms together. Oswini
was the last heir of AElla's house, and from that time there was but
one North-humberland. In =655= Oswiu and Penda met to fight, as it
seemed for supremacy over the whole of England, by the river Winwaed,
near the present Leeds. The heathen Penda was defeated and slain.
20. =The Three Kingdoms and the Welsh.=--For a moment it seemed as if
England would be brought together under the rule of Oswiu. After
Penda's death Mercia accepted Christianity, and the newly united
Mercia was split up into its original parts ruled by several kings.
The supremacy of Oswiu was, however, as little to be borne by the
Mercians as the supremacy of Penda had been borne by the men of
North-humberland. Under Wulfhere the Mercians rose in =659= against
Oswiu. All hope of uniting England was for the present at an end. For
about a century and a half longer there remained three larger
kingdoms--North-humberland, Mercia, and Wessex, whilst four smaller
ones--East Anglia, Essex, Kent, and Sussex--were usually attached
either to Mercia or to Wessex. The failure of North-humberland to
maintain the power was no doubt, in the first place owing to the
absence of any common danger, the fear of which would bind together
its populations in self-defence. The northern Kymry of Strathclyde
were no longer formidable, and they grew less formidable as years
passed on. The southern Kymry of Wales were too weak to threaten
Mercia, and the Welsh of the south-western peninsula were too weak to
threaten Wessex. It was most unlikely that any permanent union of the
English states would be brought about till some enemy arose who was
more terrible to them than the Welsh could any longer be.
21. =The English Missionaries.=--Some preparation might, however, be
made for the day of union by the steady growth of the Church. The
South Saxons, secluded between the forest and the sea, were the last
to be converted, but with them English heathenism came to an end as an
avowed religion, though it still continued to influence the multitude
in the form of a belief in fairies and witchcraft. Monasteries and
nunneries sprang up on all sides. Missionaries spread over the
country. In their mouths, and still more in their lives, Christianity
taught what the fierce English warrior most wanted to learn, the duty
of restraining his evil passions, and above all his cruelty. Nowhere
in all Europe did the missionaries appeal so exclusively as they did
in England to higher and purer motives. Nowhere but in England were to
be found kings like Oswald and Oswini, who bowed their souls to the
lesson of the Cross, and learned that they were not their own, but
were placed in power that they might use their strength in helping the
poor and needy.
22. =Dispute between Wilfrid and Colman. 664.=--The lesson was all the
better taught because those who taught it were monks. Monasticism
brought with it an extravagant view of the life of self-denial, but
those who had to be instructed needed to have the lesson written
plainly so that a child might read it. The rough warrior or the rough
peasant was more likely to abstain from drunkenness, if he had learned
to look up to men who ate and drank barely enough to enable them to
live; and he was more likely to treat women with gentleness and
honour, if he had learned to look up to some women who separated
themselves from the joys of married life that they might give
themselves to fasting and prayer. Yet, great as the influence of the
clergy was, it was in danger of being lessened through internal
disputes amongst themselves. A very large part of England had been
converted by the Celtic missionaries, and the Celtic missionaries,
though their life and teaching was in the main the same as that of the
Church of Canterbury and of the Churches of the Continent, differed
from them in the shape of the tonsure and in the time at which they
kept their Easter. These things were themselves unimportant, but it
was of great importance that the young English Church should not be
separated from the Churches of more civilised countries which had
preserved much of the learning and art of the old Roman Empire. One of
those who felt strongly the evil which would follow on such a
separation was Wilfrid. He was scornful and self-satisfied, but he had
travelled to Rome, and had been impressed with the ecclesiastical
memories of the great city, and with the fervour and learning of its
clergy. He came back resolved to bring the customs of England into
conformity with those of the churches of the Continent. On his
arrival, Oswiu, in =664=, gathered an assembly of the clergy of the
north headed by Colman, Aidan's successor, to discuss the point.
Learned arguments were poured forth on either side. Oswiu listened in
a puzzled way. Wilfrid boasted that his mode of keeping Easter was
derived from Peter, and that Christ had given to Peter the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. Oswiu at once decided to follow Peter, lest when he
came to the gate of that kingdom Peter, who held the keys, should lock
him out. Wilfrid triumphed, and the English Church was in all outward
matters regulated in conformity with that of Rome.
23. =Archbishop Theodore and the Penitential System.=--In =668=, four
years after Oswiu's decision was taken, Theodore of Tarsus was
consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury at Rome by the Pope himself. When
he arrived in England the time had come for the purely missionary
stage of the English Church to come to an end. Hitherto the bishops
had been few, only seven in all England. Their number was now
increased, and they were set to work no longer merely to convert the
heathen, but to see that the clergy did their duty amongst those who
had been already converted. Gradually, under these bishops, a
parochial clergy came into existence. Sometimes the freemen of a
hamlet, or of two or three hamlets together, would demand the constant
residence of a priest. Sometimes a lord would settle a priest to teach
his serfs. The parish clergy attacked violence and looseness of life
in a way different from that of the monks. The monks had given
examples of extreme self-denial. Theodore introduced the penitential
system of the Roman Church, and ordered that those who had committed
sin should be excluded from sharing in the rites of the Church until
they had done penance. They were to fast, or to repeat prayers,
sometimes for many years, before they were readmitted to communion.
Many centuries afterwards good men objected that these penances were
only bodily actions, and did not necessarily bring with them any real
repentance. In the seventh century the greater part of the population
could only be reached by such bodily actions. They had never had any
thought that a murder, for instance, was anything more than a
dangerous action which might bring down on the murderer the vengeance
of the relations of the murdered man, which might be bought off with
the payment of a weregild of a few shillings. The murderer who was
required by the Church to do penance was being taught that a murder
was a sin against God and against himself, as well as an offence
against his fellow-men. Gradually--very gradually--men would learn
from the example of the monks and from the discipline of penance that
they were to live for something higher than the gratification of their
own passions.
[Illustration: Saxon church at Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts.]
24. =Ealdhelm and Caedmon.=--When a change is good in itself, it
usually bears fruit in unexpected ways. Theodore was a scholar as well
as a bishop. Under his care a school grew up at Canterbury, full of
all the learning of the Roman world. That which distinguished this
school and others founded in imitation of it was that the scholars did
not keep their learning to themselves, but strove to make it helpful
to the ignorant and the poor. They learnt architecture on the
Continent in order to raise churches of stone in the place of churches
of wood. One of these churches is still standing at Bradford-on-Avon.
Its builder was Ealdhelm, the abbot of Malmesbury, a teacher of all
the knowledge of the time. Ealdhelm, learned as he was, let his heart
go forth to the unlearned. Finding that his neighbours would not
listen to his sermons, he sang to them on a bridge to win them to
higher things. Like all people who cannot read, the English of those
days loved a song. In the north, Caedmon, a rude herdsman on the lands
of the abbey which in later days was known as Whitby, was vexed with
himself because he could not sing. When at ale-drinkings his comrades
pressed him to sing a song, he would leave his supper unfinished and
return home ashamed. One night in a dream he heard a voice bidding him
sing of the Creation. In his sleep the words came to him, and they
remained with him when he woke. He had become a poet--a rude poet, it
is true, but still a poet. The gift which Caedmon had acquired never
left him. He sang of the Creation and of the whole course of God's
providence. To the end he was unable to compose any songs which were
not religious.
25. =Bede. 673--735.=--Of all the English scholars of the time Baeda,
usually known as 'the venerable Bede,' was the most remarkable. He was
a monk of Jarrow on the Tyne. From his youth up he was a writer on all
subjects embraced by the knowledge of his day. One subject he made his
own. He was the first English historian. The title of his greatest
work was the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. He told how
that nation had been converted, and of the fortunes of its Church; but
for him the Church included the whole nation, and he told of the
doings of kings and people, as well as of priests and monks. In this
he was a true interpreter of the spirit of the English Church. Its
clergy did not stand aloof from the rulers of the state, but worked
with them as well as for them. The bishops stepped into the place of
the heathen priests in the Witenagemots of the kings, and counselled
them in matters of state as well as in matters of religion.
26. =Church Councils.=--Bede recognised in the title of his book that
there was such a thing as an English nation long before there was any
political unity. Whilst kingdom was fighting against kingdom, Theodore
in =673= assembled the first English Church council at Hertford. From
that time such councils of the bishops and principal clergy of all
England met whenever any ecclesiastical question required them to
deliberate in common. The clergy at least did not meet as West Saxons
or as Mercians. They met on behalf of the whole English Church, and
their united consultations must have done much to spread the idea
that, in spite of the strife between the kings, the English nation was
really one.
[Illustration: Saxon horsemen (Harl. MS. 603.)]
[Illustration: Group of Saxon warriors. (Harl. MS. 603.)]
27. =Struggle between Mercia and Wessex.=--Many years passed away
before the kingdoms could be brought under one king. North-humberland
stood apart from southern England, and during the latter half of the
seventh century Wessex grew in power. Wessex had been weak because it
was seldom thoroughly united. Each district was presided over by an
AEtheling, or chief of royal blood, and it was only occasionally that
these AEthelings submitted to the king. From time to time a strong king
compelled the obedience of the AEthelings and carried on the old
struggle with the western Welsh. It was not till =710= that Ine
succeeded in driving the Welsh out of Somerset, and about the same
time a body of the West Saxons advancing through Dorset reached
Exeter. They took possession of half the city for themselves, and left
the remainder to the Welsh. Ine was, however, checked by fresh
outbreaks of the subordinate AEthelings, and in =726= he gave up the
struggle and went on a pilgrimage to Rome. AEthelbald, king of the
Mercians, took the opportunity to invade Wessex, and made himself
master of the country and over-lord of all the other kingdoms south of
the Humber. In =754= the West Saxons rose against him and defeated him
at Burford. After a few years his successor, Offa, once more took up
the task of making the Mercian king over-lord of southern England. In
=775=, after a long struggle, he brought Kent as well as Essex under
his sway. In =779= he defeated the West Saxons at Bensington, and
pushed the Mercian frontier to the Thames. Further than that Offa did
not venture to go, and, great as he was, the West Saxons within their
shrunken limits continued to be independent of him. He turned his
arms upon the Welsh, and drove them back from the Severn to the
embankment which is known from his name as Offa's Dyke. The West
Saxons, being freed from attack on the side of Mercia, overran Devon.
Then there was a contest for the West Saxon crown between Beorhtric
and Ecgberht. Beorhtric gained the upper hand, and entered into
alliance with Offa by taking his daughter to wife. Ecgberht fled to
the Continent.
28. =Mohammedanism and the Carolingian Empire.=--A great change had
passed over Europe since the days when a Frankish princess, by her
marriage with the Kentish Ethelberht, had smoothed the way for the
introduction of Christianity into England. In the first part of the
seventh century Mohammed had preached a new religion in Arabia. He
taught that there was one God, and that Mohammed was his prophet.
After his death his Arab followers spread as conquerors over the
neighbouring countries. Before the end of the century they had subdued
Persia, Syria, and Egypt, and were pushing westwards along the north
coast of Africa. In =711= they crossed the Straits of Gibraltar. All
Spain, with the exception of a hilly district in the north, soon fell
into their hands, and in =717= they crossed the Pyrenees. There can be
little doubt that, if they had subdued Gaul, Mohammedanism and not
Christianity would for a long time have been the prevailing religion
in Europe. From this Europe was saved by a great Frankish warrior,
Charles Martel (_the Hammer_), who in =732= drove the invaders back at
a great battle between Tours and Poitiers. Charles's son, Pippin,
dethroned the reigning family and became king of the Franks. Pippin's
son was Charles the Great, who before he died ruled over the whole of
Gaul and Germany, over the north and centre of Italy, and the
north-east of Spain. His rule was favoured both by the Frankish
warriors and by the clergy, who were glad to see so strong a bulwark
erected against the attacks of the Mohammedans. At that time the Roman
Empire, which had never ceased to exist at Constantinople, fell into
the hands of Irene, the murderess of her son. In =800= the Pope,
refusing to acknowledge that the Empire could have so unworthy a head,
placed the Imperial crown on the head of Charles as the successor of
the old Roman Emperors.
29. =Ecgberht's Rule. 802--839.=--Though Charles did not directly
govern England, he made his influence felt there. Offa had claimed his
protection, and Ecgberht took refuge at his court. Ecgberht doubtless
learned something of the art of ruling from him, and in =802= he
returned to England. Beorhtric was by this time dead, and Ecgberht
was accepted as king by the West Saxons. Before he died, in =839=, he
had made himself the over-lord of all the other kingdoms. He was
never, indeed, directly king of all England. Kent, Sussex, and Essex
were governed by rulers of his own family appointed by himself.
Mercia, East Anglia, and North-humberland retained their own kings,
ruling under Ecgberht as their over-lord. Towards the west Ecgberht's
direct government did not reach beyond the Tamar, though the Cornish
Celts acknowledged his authority, as did the Celts of Wales. The Celts
of Strathclyde and the Picts and Scots remained entirely independent.
CHAPTER IV.
THE ENGLISH KINGSHIP AND THE STRUGGLE WITH THE DANES.
LEADING DATES
First landing of the Danes 787
Treaty of Wedmore 878
Dependent alliance of the Scots with Eadward the Elder 925
Accession of Eadgar 959
1. =The West Saxon Supremacy.=--It was quite possible that the power
founded by Ecgberht might pass away as completely as did the power
which had been founded by AEthelfrith of North-humberland or by Penda
of Mercia. To some extent the danger was averted by the unusual
strength of character which for six generations showed itself in the
family of Ecgberht. For nearly a century and a half after Ecgberht's
death no ruler arose from his line who had not great qualities as a
warrior or as a ruler. It was no less important that these successive
kings, with scarcely an exception, kept up a good understanding with
the clergy, and especially with the Archbishops of Canterbury, so that
the whole of the influence of the Church was thrown in favour of the
political unity of England under the West Saxon line. The clergy
wished to see the establishment of a strong national government for
the protection of the national Church. Yet it was difficult to
establish such a government unless other causes than the goodwill of
the clergy had contributed to its maintenance. Peoples who have had
little intercourse except by fighting with one another rarely unite
heartily unless they have some common enemy to ward off, and some
common leader to look up to in the conduct of their defence.[3]
[Footnote 3: Genealogy of the English kings from Ecgberht to
Eadgar:--
ECGBERHT
802-839
|
AETHELWULF
839-858
|
-----------------------------------------
| | | |
AETHELBALD AETHELBERHT AETHELRED AELFRED
858-860 860-866 866-871 871-901
|
-------------------------------------------
| |
Eadward AEthelflaed = AEthelred
899-925 (the _Lady of the
| Mercians_)
--------------------------
| | |
AETHELSTAN EADMUND EADRED
925-940 940-946 946-955
|
------------
| |
EADWIG EADGAR
955-959 959-975]
[Illustration: Remains of a Viking ship, from a cairn at Gokstad. (Now
in the University at Christiania.)]
2. =The Coming of the Northmen.=--The common enemy came from the
north. At the end of the eighth century the inhabitants of Norway and
Denmark resembled the Angles and Saxons three or four centuries
before. They swarmed over the sea as pirates to plunder wherever they
could find stored-up wealth along the coasts of Western Europe. The
Northmen were heathen still and their religion was the old religion of
force. They loved battle even more than they loved plunder. They held
that the warrior who was slain in fight was received by the god Odin
in Valhalla, where immortal heroes spent their days in cutting one
another to pieces, and were healed of their wounds in the evening that
they might join in the nightly feast, and be able to fight again on
the morrow. He that died in bed was condemned to a chilly and dreary
existence in the abode of the goddess Hela, whose name is the Norse
equivalent of Hell.
[Illustration: Gold ring of AEthelwulf.]
3. =The English Coast Plundered.=--Since Englishmen had settled in
England they had lost the art of seamanship. The Northmen therefore
were often able to plunder and sail away. They could only be attacked
on land, and some time would pass before the Ealdorman who ruled the
district could gather together not only his own war-band, but the
fyrd, or levy of all men of fighting age. When at last he arrived at
the spot on the coast where the pirates had been plundering, he often
found that they were already gone. Yet, as time went on, the Northmen
took courage, and pushed far enough into the interior to be attacked
before they could regain the coast. Their first landing had been in
=787=, before the time of Ecgberht. In Ecgberht's reign their attacks
upon Wessex were so persistent that Ecgberht had to bring his own
war-band to the succour of his Ealdormen. His son and successor,
AEthelwulf, had a still harder struggle. The pirates spread their
attacks over the whole of the southern and the eastern coast, and
ventured to remain long enough on shore to fight a succession of
battles. In =851= they were strong enough to remain during the whole
winter in Thanet. The crews of no less than 350 ships landed in the
mouth of the Thames sacked Canterbury and London. They were finally
defeated by AEthelwulf at Aclea (_Ockley_), in Surrey. In =858=
AEthelwulf died. Four of his sons wore the crown in succession; the two
eldest, AEthelbald and AEthelberht, ruling only a short time.
4. =The Danes in the North.=--The task of the third brother,
AEthelred, who succeeded in =866=, was harder than his father's.
Hitherto the Northmen had come for plunder, and had departed sooner or
later. A fresh swarm of Danes now arrived from Denmark to settle on
the land as conquerors. Though they did not themselves fight on
horseback, they seized horses to betake themselves rapidly from one
part of England to the other. Their first attack was made on the
north, where there was no great affection for the West Saxon kings.
They overcame the greater part of North-humberland. They beat down the
resistance of East Anglia, and, fastening its king, Eadmund, to a
tree, shot him to death with arrows. His countrymen counted him a
saint, and a great monastery arose at Bury St. Edmunds in his honour.
Everywhere the Danes plundered and burnt the monasteries, because the
monks were weak, and their houses were rich with jewelled service
books and golden plate. They next turned upon Mercia, and forced the
Mercian under-king to pay tribute to them. Only Wessex, to which the
smaller eastern states of Kent and Sussex had by this time been
completely annexed, retained its independence.
5. =AElfred's Struggle in Wessex. 871--878.=--In Wessex AEthelred strove
hard against the invaders. He won a great victory at AEscesdun
(_Ashdown_, near Reading), on the northern slope of the Berkshire
Downs. After a succession of battles he was slain in =871=. Though he
left sons of his own, he was succeeded by AElfred, his youngest
brother. It was not the English custom to give the crown to the child
of a king if there was any one of the kingly family more fitted to
wear it. AElfred was no common man. In his childhood he had visited
Rome, and had been hallowed as king by Pope Leo IV., though the
ceremony could have had no weight in England. He had early shown a
love of letters, and the story goes that when his mother offered a
book with bright illuminations to the one of her children who could
first learn to read it, the prize was won by AElfred. During AEthelred's
reign he had little time to give to learning. He fought nobly by his
brother's side in the battles of the day, and after he succeeded him
he fought nobly as king at the head of his people. In =878= the Danish
host, under its king, Guthrum, beat down all resistance. AElfred was no
longer able to keep in the open country, and took refuge with a few
chosen warriors in the little island of Athelney, in Somerset, then
surrounded by the waters of the fen country through which the Parret
flowed. After a few weeks he came forth, and with the levies of
Somerset and Wilts and of part of Hants he utterly defeated Guthrum at
Ethandun (? _Edington_, in Wiltshire), and stormed his camp.
[Illustration: Gold jewel of AElfred found at Athelney. (Now in the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.)]
6. =The Treaty of Chippenham, and its Results. 878.=--After this
defeat Guthrum and the Danes swore to a peace with AElfred at
Chippenham. They were afterwards baptised in a body at Aller, not far
from Athelney. Guthrum with a few of his companions then visited
AElfred at Wedmore, a village near the southern foot of the Mendips,
from which is taken the name by which the treaty is usually but
wrongly known. By this treaty AElfred retained no more than Wessex,
with its dependencies, Sussex and Kent, and the western half of
Mercia. The remainder of England as far north as the Tees was
surrendered to the Danes, and became known as the Danelaw, because
Danish and not Saxon law prevailed in it. Beyond the Tees Bernicia
maintained its independence under an English king. Though the English
people never again had to struggle for its very existence as a
political body, yet, in =886=, after a successful war, AElfred wrung
from Guthrum a fresh treaty by which the Danes surrendered London and
the surrounding district. Yet, even after this second treaty, it might
seem as if AElfred, who only ruled over a part of England, was worse
off than his grandfather, Ecgberht, who had ruled over the whole. In
reality he was better off. In the larger kingdom it would have been
almost impossible to produce the national spirit which alone could
have permanently kept the whole together. In the smaller kingdom it
was possible, especially as there was a strong West Saxon element in
the south-west of Mercia in consequence of its original settlement by
a West Saxon king after the battle of Deorham (see p. 35). Moreover,
AElfred, taking care not to offend the old feeling of local
independence which still existed in Mercia, appointed his son-in-law,
AEthelred, who was a Mercian, to govern it as an ealdorman under
himself.
[Illustration: An English vessel. (Harl. MS. 603.)]
7. =AElfred's Military Work.=--AElfred would hardly have been able to do
so much unless his own character had been singularly attractive. Other
men have been greater warriors or legislators or scholars than AElfred
was, but no man has ever combined in his own person so much excellence
in war, in legislation, and in scholarship. As to war, he was not only
a daring and resolute commander, but he was an organiser of the
military forces of his people. One chief cause of the defeats of the
English had been the difficulty of bringing together in a short time
the 'fyrd,' or general levy of the male population, or of keeping it
long together when men were needed at home to till the fields. AElfred
did his best to overcome this difficulty by ordering that half the men
of each shire should be always ready to fight, whilst half remained at
home. This new half-army, like his new half-kingdom, was stronger than
the whole one had been before. To an improved army AElfred added a
navy, and he was the first English king who defeated the Danes at sea.
[Illustration: A Saxon house. (Harl. MS. 603.)]
8. =His Laws and Scholarship.=--AElfred was too great a man to want to
make every one conform to some ideal of his own choosing. It was
enough for him to take men as they were, and to help them to become
better. He took the old laws and customs, and then, suggesting a few
improvements, submitted them to the approval of his Witenagemot, the
assembly of his bishops and warriors. He knew also that men's conduct
is influenced more by what they think than by what they are commanded
to do. His whole land was steeped in ignorance. The monasteries had
been the schools of learning; and many of them had been sacked by the
Danes, their books burnt, and their inmates scattered, whilst others
were deserted, ceasing to receive new inmates because the first duty
of Englishmen had been to defend their homes rather than to devote
themselves to a life of piety. Latin was the language in which the
services of the Church were read, and in which books like Bede's
Ecclesiastical History were written. Without a knowledge of Latin
there could be no intercourse with the learned men of the Continent,
who used that language still amongst themselves. Yet when the Danes
departed from AElfred's kingdom, there were but very few priests who
could read a page of Latin. AElfred did his best to remedy the evil. He
called learned men to him wherever they could be found. Some of these
were English; others, like Asser, who wrote AElfred's life, were Welsh;
others again were Germans from beyond the sea. Yet AElfred was not
content. It was a great thing that there should be again schools in
England for those who could write and speak Latin, the language of the
learned, but his heart yearned for those who could not speak anything
but their own native tongue. He set himself to be the teacher of
these. He himself translated Latin books for them, with the object of
imparting knowledge, not of giving, as a modern translator would do,
the exact sense of the author. When, therefore, he knew anything which
was not in the books, but which he thought it good for Englishmen to
read, he added it to his translation. Even with this he was not
content. The books of Latin writers which he translated taught men
about the history and geography of the Continent. They taught nothing
about the history of England itself, of the deeds and words of the men
who had ruled the English nation. That these things might not be
forgotten, he bade his learned men bring together all that was known
of the history of his people since the day when they first landed as
pirates on the coast of Kent. The Chronicle, as it is called, is the
earliest history which any European nation possesses in its own
tongue. Yet, after all, such a man as AElfred is greater for what he
was than for what he did. No other king ever showed forth so well in
his own person the truth of the saying, 'He that would be first among
you, let him be the servant of all.'
9. =Eadward the Elder. 899--925.=--In =899= AElfred died. He had
already fortified London as an outpost against the Danes, and he left
to his son, Eadward, a small but strong and consolidated kingdom. The
Danes on the other side of the frontier were not united. Guthrum's
kingdom stretched over the old Essex and East Anglia, as well as over
the south-eastern part of the old Mercia. The land from the Humber to
the Nen was under the rule of Danes settled in the towns known to the
English as the Five boroughs of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Stamford,
and Nottingham. In the old Deira or modern Yorkshire was a separate
Danish kingdom. Danes, in short, settled wherever we now find the
place-names, such as Derby and Whitby, ending in the Danish
termination 'by' instead of in the English terminations 'ton' or
'ham,' as in Luton and Chippenham. Yet even in these parts the bulk of
the population was usually English, and the English population would
everywhere welcome an English conqueror. A century earlier a Mercian
or a North-humbrian had preferred independence to submission to a West
Saxon king. They now preferred a West Saxon king to a Danish master,
especially as the old royal houses were extinct, and there was no one
but the West Saxon king to lead them against the Danes.
10. =Eadward's Conquests.=--Eadward was not, like his father, a
legislator or a scholar, but he was a great warrior. In a series of
campaigns he subdued the Danish parts of England as far north as the
Humber. He was aided by his brother-in-law, AEthelred, and after
AEthelred's death by his own sister, AEthelred's widow, AEthelflaed, the
Lady of the Mercians, one of the few warrior-women of the world. Step
by step the brother and sister won their way, not contenting
themselves with victories in the open country, but securing each
district as they advanced by the erection of 'burhs' or
fortifications. Some of these 'burhs' were placed in desolate Roman
strongholds, such as Chester. Others were raised, like that of
Warwick, on the mounds piled up in past times by a still earlier race.
Others again, like that of Stafford, were placed where no fortress had
been before. Towns, small at first, grew up in and around the 'burhs,'
and were guarded by the courage of the townsmen themselves. Eadward,
after his sister's death, took into his own hands the government of
Mercia, and from that time all southern and central England was
united under him. In =922= the Welsh kings acknowledged his supremacy.
11. =Eadward and the Scots.=--Tradition assigns to Eadward a wider
rule shortly before his death. In the middle of the ninth century the
Picts and the intruding Scots (see p. 42) had been amalgamated under
Keneth MacAlpin, the king of the Scots, and the new kingdom had since
been welded together, just as Mercia and Wessex were being welded
together by the attacks of the Danes. It is said that in =925= the
king of the Scots, together with other northern rulers, chose Eadward
'to father and lord.' Probably this statement only covers some act of
alliance formed by the English king with the king of Scots and other
lesser rulers. Nothing was more natural than that the Scottish king,
Constantine, should wish to obtain the support of Eadward against his
enemies; and it was also natural that if Eadward agreed to support
him, he would require some acknowledgment of the superiority of the
English king; but what was the precise form of the acknowledgment must
remain uncertain. In =925= Eadward died.
12. =AEthelstan. 925--940.=--Three sons of Eadward reigned in
succession. The eldest, of illegitimate birth, was AEthelstan. Sihtric,
the Danish king at York, owned him as over-lord, and on Sihtric's
death in =926=, AEthelstan took Danish North-humberland under his
direct rule. The Welsh kings were reduced to make a fuller
acknowledgment of his supremacy than they had made to his father. He
drove the Welsh out of the half of Exeter which had been left to them,
and confined them to the modern Cornwall beyond the Tamar. Great
rulers on the Continent sought his alliance. The empire of Charles the
Great had broken up. One of AEthelstan's sisters was given to Charles
the Simple, the king of the Western Franks; another to Hugh the Great,
Duke of the French and lord of Paris, who, though nominally the vassal
of the king, was equal in power to his lord, and whose son was
afterwards the first king of modern France. A third sister was given
to Otto, the son of Henry, the king of the Eastern Franks, from whom,
in due time, sprang a new line of Emperors. AEthelstan's greatness drew
upon him the jealousy of the king of the Scots and of all the northern
kings. In =937= he defeated them all in a great battle at Brunanburh,
of which the site is unknown. His victory was celebrated in a splendid
war-song.
13. =Eadmund (940-946) and Eadred (946-955).=--AEthelstan died in
=940=. He was succeeded by his young brother, Eadmund, who had fought
bravely at Brunanburh. Eadmund had to meet a general rising of the
Danes of Mercia as well as of those of the north. After he had
suppressed the rising he showed himself to be a great statesman as
well as a great warrior. The relations between the king of the English
and the king of the Scots had for some time been very uncertain.
Little is definitely known about them but it looks as if they joined
the English whenever they were afraid of the Danes, and joined the
Danes whenever they were afraid of the English. Eadmund took an
opportunity of making it to be the interest of the Scottish king
permanently to join the English. The southern part of the kingdom of
Strathclyde had for some time been under the English kings. In =945=
Eadmund overran the remainder, but gave it to Malcolm on condition
that he should be his fellow-worker by sea and land. The king of Scots
thus entered into a position of dependent alliance towards Eadmund. A
great step was thus taken in the direction in which the inhabitants of
Britain afterwards walked. The dominant powers in the island were to
be English and Scots, not English and Danes. Eadmund thought it worth
while to conciliate the Scottish Celts rather than to endeavour to
conquer them. The result of Eadmund's statesmanship was soon made
manifest. He himself did not live to gather its fruits. In =946= an
outlaw who had taken his seat at a feast in his hall slew him as he
was attempting to drag him out by the hair. The next king, Eadred, the
last of Eadward's sons, though sickly, had all the spirit of his race.
He had another sharp struggle with the Danes, but in =954= he made
himself their master. North-humberland was now thoroughly amalgamated
with the English kingdom, and was to be governed by an Englishman,
Oswulf, with the title of Earl, an old Danish title equivalent to the
English Ealdorman, having nothing to do, except philologically, with
the old English word Eorl.
14. =Danes and English.=--In =955= Eadred died, having completed the
work which AElfred had begun, and which had been carried on by his son
and his three grandsons. England, from the Forth to the Channel, was
under one ruler. Even the contrast between Englishmen and Danes was
soon, for the most part, wiped out. They were both of the same
Teutonic stock, and therefore their languages were akin to one another
and their institutions very similar. The Danes of the north were for
some time fiercer and less easily controlled than the English of the
south, but there was little national distinction between them, and
what little there was gradually passed away.
15. =Eadwig. 955--959.=--Eadred was succeeded by Eadwig, the eldest
son of his brother Eadmund. Eadwig was hardly more than fifteen years
old, and it would be difficult for a boy to keep order amongst the
great ealdormen and earls. At his coronation feast he gave deep
offence by leaving his place to amuse himself with a young kinswoman,
AElfgifu, in her mother's room, whence he was followed and dragged back
by two ecclesiastics, one of whom was Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury.
16. =Dunstan.=--Dunstan in his boyhood had been attached to Eadmund's
court, but he had been driven off by the rivalry of other youths. He
was in no way fitted to be a warrior. He loved art and song, and
preferred a book to a sword. For such youths there was no place
amongst the fighting laymen, and Dunstan early found the peace which
he sought as a monk at Glastonbury. Eadmund made him abbot, but
Dunstan had almost to create his monastery before he could rule it.
Monasteries had nearly vanished from England in the time of the Danish
plunderings, and the few monks who remained had very little that was
monastic about them. Dunstan brought the old monks into order, and
attracted new ones, but to the end of his days he was conspicuous
rather as a scholar than as an ascetic. From Glastonbury he carried on
the work of teaching an ignorant generation, just as AElfred had done
in an earlier time. AElfred, however, was a warrior and a ruler first,
and then a teacher. Dunstan was a teacher first, and then a ruler.
Eadred took counsel with him, and Dunstan became thus the first
example of a class of men which afterwards rose to power--that,
namely, of ecclesiastical statesmen. Up to that time all who had
governed had been warriors.
17. =Archbishop Oda.=--Another side of the Church's work, the
maintenance of a high standard of morality, was, in the time of
Eadred, represented by Oda, Archbishop of Canterbury. The accepted
standard of morality differs in different ages, and, for many reasons,
it was held by the purer minds in the tenth century that celibacy was
nobler than marriage. If our opinion is changed now, it is because
many things have changed. No one then thought of teaching a girl
anything, except to sew and to look after the house, and an ignorant
and untrained wife could only be a burden to a man who was intent upon
the growth of the spiritual or intellectual life in himself and in
others. At all times the monks, who were often called the regular
clergy, because they lived according to a certain rule, had been
unmarried, and attempts had frequently been made by councils of the
Church to compel the parish priests, or secular clergy, to follow
their example. In England, however, and on the Continent as well,
these orders were seldom heeded, and a married clergy was everywhere
to be found. Of late, however, there had sprung up in the monastery of
Cluny, in Burgundy, a zeal for the establishment of universal clerical
celibacy, and this zeal was shared by Archbishop Oda, though he found
it impossible to overcome the stubborn resistance of the secular
clergy.
[Illustration: A monk driven out of the King's presence. (From a
drawing belonging to the Society of Antiquaries.)]
18. =Eadwig's Marriage.=--In its eagerness to set up a pure standard
of morality, the Church had made rules against the marriage of even
distant relations. Eadwig offended against these rules by marrying his
kinswoman, AElfgifu. A quarrel arose on this account between Dunstan
and the young king, and Dunstan was driven into banishment. Such a
quarrel was sure to weaken the king, because the support of the
bishops was usually given to him, for the sake of the maintenance of
peace and order. The dispute came at a bad time, because there was
also a quarrel among the ealdormen and other great men. At last the
ealdormen of the north and centre of England revolted and set up the
king's brother, Eadgar, to be king of all England north of the Thames.
Upon this, Oda, taking courage, declared Eadwig and his young wife to
be separated as too near of kin, and even seized her and had her
carried beyond sea. In =959= Eadwig died, and Eadgar succeeded to the
whole kingdom.
CHAPTER V.
EADGAR'S ENGLAND.
1. =Eadgar and Dunstan. 959--975.=--Eadgar was known as the Peaceful
King. He had the advantage, which Eadwig had not, of having the Church
on his side. He maintained order, with the help of Dunstan as his
principal adviser. Not long after his accession Dunstan became
Archbishop of Canterbury. His policy was that of a man who knows that
he cannot do everything and is content to do what he can. The Danes
were to keep their own laws, and not to have English laws forced upon
them. The great ealdormen were to be conciliated, not to be repressed.
Everything was to be done to raise the standard of morality and
knowledge. Foreign teachers were brought in to set up schools. More
than this Dunstan did not attempt. It is true that in his time an
effort was made to found monasteries, which should be filled with
monks living after the stricter rule of which the example had been set
at Cluny, but the man who did most to establish monasteries again in
England was not Dunstan, but AEthelwold, Bishop of Winchester.
AEthelwold, however, was not content with founding monasteries. He also
drove out the secular canons from his own cathedral of Winchester and
filled their places with monks. His example was followed by Oswald,
Bishop of Worcester. Dunstan did not introduce monks even into his own
cathedrals at Worcester and Canterbury. As far as it is now possible
to understand the matter, the change, though it provoked great
hostility, was for the better. The secular canons were often married,
connected with the laity of the neighbourhood, and living an easy
life. The monks were celibate, living according to a strict rule, and
conforming themselves to what, according to the standard of the age,
was the highest ideal of religion. By a life of complete self-denial
they were able to act as examples to a generation which needed
teaching by example more than by word. How completely monasticism was
associated with learning is shown by the fact that the monks now
established at Worcester took up the work of continuing the Chronicle
which had been begun under AElfred (see p. 61).
2. =The Cession of Lothian.=--It is said that Eadgar was once rowed by
six kings on the river Dee. The story, though probably untrue, sets
forth his power not only over his own immediate subjects but over the
whole island. His title of Peaceful shows that at least he lived on
good terms with his neighbours. There is reason to believe that he was
able to do this because he followed out the policy of Eadmund in
singling out the king of Scots as the ruler whom it was most worth his
while to conciliate. Eadmund had given over Strathclyde to one king of
Scots. Eadgar, it is said--and probably with truth--gave over Lothian
to another. Lothian was then the name of the whole of the northern
part of Bernicia stretching from the Cheviots to the Forth. In
Eadred's time the Scots had occupied Eadwinesburh (_Edinburgh_), the
northern border fortress of Bernicia (see p. 43), and after this the
land to the south of that fortress must have been difficult to defend
against them. It is therefore likely that the story is true that
Eadgar ceded Lothian to Kenneth, who was then king of the Scots,
especially as it would account for the peaceful character of his
reign. Kenneth in accepting the gift no doubt engaged to be faithful
to Eadgar, though it is impossible to say what was the exact nature of
his obligation. It is of more importance that a Celtic king ruled
thenceforward over an English people as well as over his own Celtic
Scots, and that ultimately his descendants became more English than
Celtic in character, through the attraction exercised upon them by
their English subjects.
3. =Changes in English Institutions.=--The long struggle with the
Danes could not fail to leave its mark upon English society. The
history of the changes which took place is difficult to trace; in the
first place because our information is scanty, in the second because
things happened in one part of the country which did not happen in
another. Yet there were two changes which were widely felt: the growth
of the king's authority, and the acceleration of the process which was
reducing to bondage the ceorl, or simple freeman.
4. =Growth of the King's Power.=--In the early days of the English
conquest the kings and other great men had around them their
war-bands, composed of gesiths or thegns, personally attached to
themselves, and ready, if need were, to die on their lord's behalf.
Very early these thegns were rewarded by grants of land on condition
of continuing military service. Every extension of the king's power
over fresh territory made their services more important. It had always
been difficult to bring together the fyrd, or general army of the
freemen, even of a small district, and it was quite impossible to
bring together the fyrd of a kingdom reaching from the Channel to the
Firth of Forth. AElfred's division of the fyrd into two parts, one to
fight and the other to stay at home, may have served when all the
fighting had to be done in the western part of Wessex. AEthelstan or
Eadmund could not possibly make even half of the men of Devonshire or
Essex fight in his battles north of the Humber. The kings therefore
had to rely more and more upon their thegns, who in turn had thegns of
their own whom they could bring with them; and thus was formed an army
ready for military service in any part of the kingdom. A king who
could command such an army was even more powerful than one who could
command the whole of the forces of a smaller territory.
[Illustration: January--Ploughing and sowing.]
[Illustration: February--Pruning.]
[Illustration: March--Sowing and digging.]
[Illustration: April--Feasting.]
[Illustration: May--Sheep-tending.]
[Illustration: June--Cutting wood.]
[Illustration: Rural life in the eleventh century. January to June.
(Cott. MS. _Julius A._ vi.)]
[Illustration: July--Mowing.]
[Illustration: August--Harvesting.]
[Illustration: September--Feeding swine.]
[Illustration: October--Hawking.]
[Illustration: November--Making a bonfire.]
[Illustration: December--Threshing and Winnowing.]
[Illustration: Rural life in the eleventh century. July to December.
(Cott. MS. _Julius A._ vi.)]
5. =Conversion of the Freemen into Serfs.=--It is impossible to give a
certain account of the changes which passed over the English freemen,
but there can be little doubt that a process had been for some time
going on which converted them into bondmen, and that this process was
greatly accelerated by the Danish wars. When a district was being
plundered the peasant holders of the strips of village land suffered
most, and needed the protection of the neighbouring thegn, who was
better skilled in war than themselves, and this protection they
could only obtain on condition of becoming bondmen themselves--that is
to say, of giving certain days in the week to work on the special
estate of the lord. A bondman differed both from a slave and from a
modern farmer. Though he was bound to the soil and could not go away
if he wished to do so, yet he could not be sold as though he were a
slave; nor, on the other hand, could he, like a farmer, be turned out
of his holding so long as he fulfilled his obligation of cultivating
his lord's demesne. The lord was almost invariably a thegn, either of
the king or of some superior thegn, and there thus arose in England,
as there arose about the same time on the Continent, a chain of
personal relationships. The king was no longer merely the head of the
whole people. He was the personal lord of his own thegns, and they
again were the lords of other thegns. The serfs cultivated their
lands, and thereby set them free to fight for the king on behalf of
the whole nation. It seems at first sight as if the English people had
fallen into a worse condition. An organisation, partly military and
partly servile, was substituted for an organisation of free men. Yet
only in this way could the whole of England be amalgamated. The nation
gained in unity what it lost in freedom.
6. =The Hundred-moot and the Lord's Court.=--In another way the
condition of the peasants was altered for the worse by the growth of
the king's power. In former days land was held as 'folkland,' granted
by the people at the original conquest, passing to the kinsmen of the
holder if he died without children. Afterwards the clergy introduced a
system by which the owner could grant the 'bookland,' held by book or
charter, setting at nought the claim of his kinsmen, and in order to
give validity to the arrangement, obtained the consent of the king and
his Witenagemot (see p. 45). In time, the king and the Witenagemot
granted charters in other cases, and the new 'bookland' to a great
extent superseded the old 'folkland,' accompanied by a grant of the
right of holding special courts. In this manner the old hundred-moots
became neglected, people seeking for justice in the courts of the
lords. Yet those who lived on the lord's land attended his court,
appeared as compurgators, and directed the ordeal just as they had
once done in the hundred-moot.
7. =The Towns.=--The towns had grown up in various ways. Some were of
old Roman foundation, such as Lincoln and Gloucester. Others, like
Nottingham and Bristol, had come into existence since the English
settlement. Others again gathered round monasteries, like Bury St.
Edmunds and Peterborough. The inhabitants met to consult about their
own affairs, sometimes in dependence on a lord. Where there was no
lord they held a court which was composed in the same way as the
hundred-moots outside. The townsmen had the right of holding a market.
Every sale had to take place in the presence of witnesses who could
prove, if called upon to do so, that the sale had really taken place,
and markets were therefore usually to be found in towns, because it
was there that witnesses could most easily be found.
8. =The Origin of the Shires.=--Shires, which were divisions larger
than the hundreds, and smaller than the larger kingdoms, originated in
various ways. In the south, and on the east coast as far north as the
Wash, they were either old kingdoms like Kent and Essex, or
settlements forming part of old kingdoms, as Norfolk (the north folk)
formed part of East Anglia, and Dorset or Somerset, the lands of the
Dorsaetan or the Somersaetan, formed part of the kingdom of Wessex. In
the centre and north they were of more recent origin, and were
probably formed as those parts of England were gradually reconquered
from the Danes. The fact that most of these shires are named from
towns--as Derbyshire from Derby, and Warwickshire from Warwick--shows
that they came into existence after towns had become of importance.
9. =The Shire-moot.=--Whilst the hundred-moot decayed, the folk-moot
continued to flourish under a new name, as the shire-moot. This moot
was still attended by the freemen of the shire though the thegns were
more numerous and the simple freemen less numerous than they had once
been. Still the continued existence of the shire-moot kept up the
custom of self-government more than anything else in England. The
ordeals were witnessed, the weregild inflicted, and rights to land
adjudged, not by an officer of the king, but by the landowners of the
shire assembled for the purpose. These meetings were ordinarily
presided over by the ealdorman, who appeared as the military commander
and the official head of the shire, and by the bishop, who represented
the Church. Another most important personage was the sheriff, or
shire-reeve, whose business it was to see that the king had all his
rights, to preside over the shire-moot when it sat as a judicial
court, and to take care that its sentences were put in execution.
[Illustration: _Walker & Boutallse._
Plan and section of a burh of the eleventh century at
Laughton-en-Le-Morthen, Yorks.]
10. =The Ealdormen and the Witenagemot.=--During the long fight with
the Danes commanders were needed who could lead the forces of more
than a single shire. Before the end of Eadred's reign there were
ealdormen who ruled over many shires. One of them for instance,
AEthelstan, Ealdorman of East Anglia, and of the shires immediately to
the west of East Anglia, was so powerful that he was popularly known
as the Half-King. Such ealdormen had great influence in their own
districts, and they also were very powerful about the king. The king
could not perform any important act without the consent of the
Witenagemot, which was made up of three classes--the Ealdormen, the
Bishops, and the greater Thegns. When a king died the Witenagemot
chose his successor out of the kingly family; its members appeared as
witnesses whenever the king 'booked' land to any one; and it even, on
rare occasions, deposed a king who was unfit for his post. In the
days of a great warrior king like Eadward or Eadmund, members of the
Witenagemot were but instruments in his hands, but if a weak king came
upon the throne, each member usually took his own way and pursued his
own interest rather than that of the king and kingdom.
11. =The Land.=--The cultivated land was surrounded either by wood or
by pasture and open commons. Every cottager kept his hive of bees, to
produce the honey which was then used as we now use sugar, and drove
his swine into the woods to fatten on the acorns and beech nuts which
strewed the ground in the autumn. Sheep and cattle were fed on the
pastures, and horses were so abundant that when the Danish pirates
landed they found it easy to set every man on horseback. Yet neither
the Danes nor the English ever learnt to fight on horseback. They rode
to battle, but as soon as they approached the enemy they dismounted to
fight on foot.
12. =Domestic Life.=--The huts of the villagers clustered round the
house of the lord. His abode was built in a yard surrounded for
protection by a mound and fence, whilst very great men often
established themselves in burhs, surrounded by earthworks, either of
their own raising or the work of earlier times. Its principal feature
was the hall, in which the whole family with the guests and the thegns
of the lord met for their meals. The walls were covered with curtains
worked in patterns of bright colours. The fire was lighted on the
hearth, a broad stone in the middle, over which was a hole in the roof
through which the smoke of the hall escaped. The windows were narrow,
and were either unclosed holes in the wall, or covered with oiled
linen which would admit a certain amount of light.
[Illustration: Glass tumbler. (British Museum.)]
[Illustration: Drinking glass. (British Museum.)]
13. =Food and Drink.=--In a great house at meal-time boards were
brought forward and placed on tressels. Bread was to be had in plenty,
and salt butter. Meat too, in winter, was always salted, as turnips
and other roots upon which cattle are now fed in winter were wholly
unknown, and it was therefore necessary to kill large numbers of sheep
and oxen when the cold weather set in. There were dishes, but neither
plates nor forks. Each man took the meat in his fingers and either bit
off a piece or cut it off with a knife. The master of the house sat at
the head of the table, and the lady handed round the drink, and
afterwards sat down by her husband's side. She, however, with any
other ladies who might be present, soon departed to the chamber which
was their own apartment. The men continued drinking long. The cups or
glasses which they used were often made with the bottoms rounded so
as to force the guests to keep them in their hands till they were
empty. The usual drink was mead, that is to say, fermented honey, or
ale brewed from malt alone, as hops were not introduced till many
centuries later. In wealthy houses imported wine was to be had.
English wine was not unknown, but it was so sour that it had to be
sweetened with honey. It was held to be disgraceful to leave the
company as long as the drinking lasted, and drunkenness and quarrels
were not unfrequent. Wandering minstrels who could play and sing or
tell stories were always welcome, especially if they were jugglers as
well, and could amuse the company by throwing knives in the air and
catching them as they fell, or could dance on their hands with their
legs in the air. When the feast was over, the guests and dependents
slept on the floor on rugs or straw, each man taking care to hang his
weapons close to his head on the wall, to defend himself in case of an
attack by robbers in the night. The lord retired to his chamber,
whilst the unmarried ladies occupied bowers, or small rooms, each with
a separate door opening on to the yard. Their only beds were bags of
straw. Neither men nor women wore night-dresses of any kind, but if
they took off their clothes at all, wrapped themselves in rugs.
[Illustration: Comb and case of Scandinavian type, found at York. (Now
in the British Museum.)]
CHAPTER VI.
ENGLAND AND NORMANDY.
LEADING DATES
Death of Eadgar 975
Accession of AEthelred 979
Accession of Cnut 1016
Accession of Eadward the Confessor 1035
Banishment of Godwine 1051
Accession of Harold and Battle of Senlac 1066
1. =Eadward the Martyr. 975--979.=--Eadgar died in =975=, leaving two
boys, Eadward and AEthelred.[4] On his death a quarrel broke out
amongst the ealdormen, some declaring for the succession of Eadward
and others for the succession of AEthelred. The political quarrel was
complicated by an ecclesiastical quarrel. The supporters of Eadward
were the friends of the secular clergy; the supporters of AEthelred
were the friends of the monks. Dunstan, with his usual moderation,
gave his voice for the eldest son, and Eadward was chosen king and
crowned. Not only had he a strong party opposed to him, but he had a
dissatisfied step-mother in AElfthryth, the mother of AEthelred, whilst
his own mother, who had probably been married to Eadgar without full
marriage rites, had been long since dead. After reigning for four
years Eadward was murdered near Corfe by some of the opposite party,
and, as was commonly supposed, by his step-mother's directions.
[Footnote 4: Genealogy of the English kings from Eadgar to Eadgar
the AEtheling:--
EADGAR
959-975
|
-----------------------
| |
EADWARD AETHELRED
the Martyr the Unready
975-979 979-1016
|
-----------------------
| |
EADMUND EADWARD
Ironside the Confessor
1016 1042-1066
|
Eadward
the AEtheling
|
Eadgar
the AEtheling]
2. =AEthelred's Early Years. 979--988.=--AEthelred, now a boy of ten,
became king in =979=. The epithet the Unready, which is usually
assigned to him, is a mistranslation of a word which properly means
the Rede-less, or the man without counsel. He was entirely without the
qualities which befit a king. Eadmund had kept the great chieftains in
subordination to himself because he was a successful leader. Eadgar
had kept them in subordination because he treated them with respect.
AEthelred could neither lead nor show respect. He was always picking
quarrels when he ought to have been making peace, and always making
peace when he ought to have been fighting. What he tried to do was to
lessen the power of the great ealdormen, and bring the whole country
more directly under his own authority. In =985= he drove out AElfric,
the Ealdorman of the Mercians. In =988= Dunstan died, and AEthelred had
no longer a wise adviser by his side.
3. =The Return of the Danes. 984.=--It would have been difficult for
AEthelred to overpower the ealdormen even if he had had no other
enemies to deal with. Unluckily for him, new swarms of Danes and
Norwegians had already appeared in England. They began by plundering
the country, without attempting to settle in it. In =991= Brihtnoth,
Ealdorman of the East Saxons, was defeated and slain by them at
Maldon. AEthelred could think of no better counsel than to pay them
10,000_l._, a sum of money which was then of much greater value than
it is now, to abstain from plundering. It was not necessarily a bad
thing to do. One of the greatest of the kings of the Germans, Henry
the Fowler, had paid money for a truce to barbarians whom he was not
strong enough to fight. But when the truce had been bought Henry took
care to make himself strong enough to destroy them when they came
again. AEthelred was never ready to fight the Danes and Norwegians at
any time. In =994= Olaf Trygvasson, who had been driven from the
kingship of Norway, and Svend, who had been driven from the kingship
of Denmark, joined forces to attack London. The London citizens fought
better than the English king, and the two chieftains failed to take
the town. 'They went thence, and wrought the greatest evil that ever
any army could do, in burning, and harrying, and in man-slaying, as in
Essex, and in Kent, and in Sussex, and in Hampshire. And at last they
took their horses and rode as far as they could, and did unspeakable
evil.' The plunderers were now known as 'the army,' moving about where
they would. AEthelred this time gave them 16,000_l._ He got rid of
Olaf, who sailed away and was slain by his enemies, but he could not
permanently get rid of Svend. Svend, about the year =1000=, recovered
his kingship in Denmark, and was more formidable than he had been
before. Plunderings went on as usual, and AEthelred had no resource but
to pay money to the plunderers to buy a short respite. He then looked
across the sea for an ally, and hoped to find one by connecting
himself with the Duke of the Normans.
4. =The Norman Dukes. 912--1002.=--The country which lies on both
sides of the lower course of the Seine formed, at the beginning of the
tenth century, part of the dominions of Charles the Simple, king of
the West Franks, who had inherited so much of the dominions of Charles
the Great as lay west of a line roughly drawn from the Scheldt to the
Mediterranean through the lower course of the Rhone. Danes and
Norwegians, known on the Continent as Normans, plundered Charles's
dominions as they had plundered England, and at last settled in them
as they had settled in parts of England. In =912= Charles the Simple
ceded to their leader, Hrolf, a territory of which the capital was
Rouen, and which became known as Normandy--the land of the Normans.
Hrolf became the first Duke of the Normans, but his men were fierce
and rugged, and for some time their southern neighbours scornfully
called him and his descendants Dukes of the Pirates. In process of
time a change took place which affected both Normandy and other
countries as well. The West Frankish kings were descended from Charles
the Great; but they had failed to defend their subjects from the
Normans, and they thereby lost hold upon their people. One of their
dependent nobles, the Duke of the French, whose chief city, Paris,
formed a bulwark against the Normans advancing up the Seine, grew more
powerful than themselves. At the same time the Normans were becoming
more and more French in their speech and customs. At last an alliance
was made between Hugh Capet, the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the
French (see p. 63), and Richard the Fearless, Duke of the Normans. The
race of Charles the Great was dethroned, and Hugh became king of the
French. In name he was king over all the territory which had been
governed by Charles the Simple. In reality that happened in France
which AEthelred had been trying to prevent in England. Hugh ruled
directly over his own duchy of France, a patch of land of which Paris
was the capital. The great vassals of the crown, who answered to the
English ealdormen, only obeyed him when it was their interest to do
so. The most powerful of these vassals was the Duke of the Normans.
In =1002= the duke was Richard II.--the Good--the son of Richard the
Fearless. In that year AEthelred, who was a widower, married Richard's
sister, Emma. It was the beginning of a connection with Normandy which
never ceased till a Norman duke made himself by conquest king of the
English.
5. =Political Contrast between Normandy and England.=--The causes
which were making the English thegnhood a military aristocracy acted
with still greater force in Normandy. The tillers of the soil, sprung
from the old inhabitants of the land, were kept by their Norman lords
in even harsher bondage than the English serfs. The Norman warriors
held their land by military service, each one being bound to fight for
his lord, and the lord in turn being bound, together with his
dependents, to fight for a higher lord, and all at last for the Duke
himself. In England, though, in theory, the relations between the king
and his ealdormen were not very different from those existing between
the Norman duke and his immediate vassals, the connection between them
was far looser. The kingdom as a whole had no general unity. The king
could not control the ealdormen, and the ealdormen could not control
the king. Even when ealdormen, bishops, and thegns met in the
Witenagemot they could not speak in the name of the nation. A nation
in any true sense hardly existed at all, and they were not chosen as
representatives of any part of it. Each one stood for himself, and it
was only natural that men who during the greater part of the year were
ruling in their own districts like little kings should think more of
keeping up their own almost independent power at home than of the
common interests of all England, which they had to consider when they
met--and that for a few days only at a time--in the Witenagemot.
AEthelred at least was not the man to keep them united.
6. =Svend's Conquest. 1002--1013.=--AEthelred, having failed to buy off
the Danes, tried to murder them. In =1002=, on St. Brice's Day, there
was a general massacre of all the Danes--not of the old inhabitants of
Danish blood who had settled in AElfred's time--but of the new-comers.
Svend returned to avenge his countrymen. AEthelred had in an earlier
part of his reign levied a land-tax known as the Danegeld to pay off
the Danes--the first instance of a general tax in England. He now
called on all the shires to furnish ships for a fleet; but he could
not trust his ealdormen. Some of the stories told of these times may
be exaggerated, and some may be merely idle tales, but we know enough
to be sure that England was a kingdom divided against itself. Svend,
ravaging as he went, beat down resistance everywhere. In =1012= the
Danes seized AElfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury, and offered to set him
free if he would pay a ransom for his life. He refused to do so, lest
he should have to wring money from the poor in order to pay it. The
drunken Danes pelted him with bones till one of the number clave his
skull with an axe. He was soon counted as a martyr. Long afterwards
one of the most famous of his successors, the Norman Lanfranc, doubted
whether he was really a martyr, as he had not died for the faith. 'He
that dies for righteousness,' answered the gentle Anselm, 'dies for
the faith,' and to this day the name of AElfheah is retained as St.
Alphege in the list of English saints. In =1013= Svend appeared no
longer as a plunderer but as a conqueror. First the old Danish
districts of the north and east, and then the Anglo-Saxon realm of
AElfred--Mercia and Wessex--submitted to him to avoid destruction. In
=1013= AEthelred fled to Normandy.
[Illustration: Martyrdom of St. Edmund by the Danes. (From a drawing
belonging to the Society of Antiquaries.)]
7. =AEthelred Restored. 1014--1016.=--In =1014= Svend died suddenly as
he was riding at the head of his troops to the attack of the monastery
of Bury St. Edmunds. A legend soon arose as to the manner of his
death. St. Edmund himself, the East Anglian king Eadmund who had once
been martyred by Danes (see p. 58), now appeared, it was said, to
protect the monastery founded in his honour. 'Help, fellow soldiers!'
cried Svend, as he caught sight of the saint. 'St. Edmund is coming to
slay me.' St. Edmund, we are told, ran his spear through the body of
the aggressor, and Svend died that night in torments. His Danish
warriors chose his son Cnut king of England.[5] The English
Witenagemot sent for AEthelred to return. At last, in =1016=, AEthelred
died before he had conquered Cnut or Cnut conquered him.
[Footnote 5: Genealogy of the Danish kings:--
Svend
|
(1) AElfgifu = CNUT = (2) Emma
| 1016-1035 |
| |
HAROLD HARTHACNUT
Harefoot 1040-1042
1035-1040]
8. =Eadmund Ironside. 1016.=--AEthelred's eldest son--not the son of
Emma--Eadmund Ironside, succeeded him. He did all that could be done
to restore the English kingship by his vigour. In a single year he
fought six battles; but the treachery of the ealdormen was not at an
end, and at Assandun (? _Ashington_), in Essex, he was completely
overthrown. He and Cnut agreed to divide the kingdom, but before the
end of the year the heroic Eadmund died, and Cnut the Dane became king
of England without a rival.
9. =Cnut and the Earldoms. 1016--1035.=--Cnut was one of those rulers
who, like the Emperor Augustus, shrink from no barbarity in gaining
power, but when once they have acquired it exercise their authority
with moderation and gentleness. He began by outlawing or putting to
death men whom he considered dangerous, but when this had once been
done he ruled as a thoroughly English king of the best type. The Danes
who had hitherto fought for him had come not as settlers, but as an
army, and soon after Eadmund's death he sent most of them home,
retaining a force, variously stated as 3,000 or 6,000, warriors known
as his House-carls (_House-men_), who formed a small standing army
depending entirely on himself. They were not enough to keep down a
general rising of the whole of England, but they were quite enough to
prevent any single great man from rebelling against him. Cnut
therefore was, what AEthelred had wished to be, really master of his
kingdom. Under him ruled the ealdormen, who from this time were known
as Earls, from the Danish title of Jarl (see p. 64), and of these
Earls the principal were the three who governed Mercia,
North-humberland, and Wessex, the last named now including the old
kingdoms of Kent and Sussex. There was a fourth in East Anglia, but
the limits of this earldom varied from time to time, and there were
sometimes other earldoms set up in the neighbouring shires, whereas
the first-named three remained as they were for some time after Cnut's
death. It is characteristic of Cnut that the one of the Earls to whom
he gave his greatest confidence was Godwine, an Englishman, who was
Earl of the West Saxons. Another Englishman, Leofwine, became Earl of
the Mercians. A Dane obtained the earldom of the North-humbrians, but
the land was barbarous, and its Earls were frequently murdered.
Sometimes there was one Earl of the whole territory, sometimes two. It
was not till after the end of Cnut's reign that Siward became Earl of
Deira, and at a later time of all North-humberland as far as the
Tweed. The descendants of two of these Earls, Godwine and Leofwine,
leave their mark on the history for some time to come.
10. =Cnut's Empire.=--Beyond the Tweed Malcolm, king of the Scots,
ruled. He defeated the North-humbrians at Carham, and Cnut ceded
Lothian to him, either doing so for the first time or repeating the
act of Eadgar, if the story of Eadgar's cession is true. At all events
the king of the Scots from this time ruled as far south as the Tweed,
and acknowledged Cnut's superiority. Cnut also became king of Denmark
by his brother's death, and king of Norway by conquest. He entered
into friendly relations with Richard II., Duke of the Normans, by
marrying his sister Emma, the widow of AEthelred.[6]
[Footnote 6: Genealogical connection between the Houses of England
and Normandy:--
_Dukes of Normandy_
Richard I.
the Fearless
|
-----------------------------
| |
Richard II. (1) AETHELRED=Emma = (2) CNUT, 1016-1035
the Good the Unready | Godwine
| 979-1016 | |
--------------- -------- ----------
| | | | | |
Richard III. Robert AElfred EADWARD=Eadgyth HAROLD
| the Confessor 1066
WILLIAM 1042-1066
the Conqueror
1066-1087]
11. =Cnut's Government.=--Cnut had thus made himself master of a great
empire, and yet, Dane as he was, though he treated Englishmen and
Danes as equals, he gave his special favour to Englishmen. He
restored, as men said, the laws of Eadgar--that is to say, he kept
peace and restored order as in the days of Eadgar. He reverenced
monks, and once as he was rowing on the waters of the fens, he heard
the monks of Ely singing. He bade the boatmen row him to the shore
that he might listen to the song of praise and prayer. He even went on
a pilgrimage to Rome, to humble himself in that city which contained
the burial places of the Apostles Peter and Paul. From Rome he sent a
letter to his subjects. 'I have vowed to God,' he wrote, 'to live a
right life in all things; to rule justly and piously my realms and
subjects, and to administer just judgment to all. If heretofore I have
done aught beyond what is just, through headiness or negligence of
youth, I am ready, with God's help, to amend it utterly.' With Cnut
these were not mere words. It is not likely that there is any truth in
the story how his flattering courtiers told him to sit by the
sea-shore and bade the inflowing tide refrain from wetting his feet,
and how when the waves rose over the spot on which his chair was
placed he refused to wear his crown again, because that honour
belonged to God alone, the true Ruler of the world. Yet the story
would not have been invented except of one who was believed to have
been clothed with real humility.
12. =The Sons of Cnut. 1035--1042.=--Cnut died in =1035=. Godwine and
the West Saxons chose Harthacnut, the son of Cnut and Emma to take his
father's place, whilst the north and centre, headed by Leofwine's son,
Leofric,[7] Earl of the Mercians, chose Harold, the son of Cnut by an
earlier wife or concubine. Godwine perhaps hoped that Harthacnut would
make the West Saxon earldom the centre of the empire which had been
his father's. Cnut's empire was, however, breaking up. The Norwegians
chose Magnus, a king of their own race, and Harthacnut remained in
Denmark to defend it against the attacks of Magnus. In Normandy there
were two English Ethelings, AElfred and Eadward, the sons of AEthelred
by Emma, who seem to have thought that the absence of Harthacnut gave
them a chance of returning to England. AElfred landed, but was seized
by Harold. He was blinded with such cruelty that he died. His death
was, truly or falsely, attributed to Godwine. As Harthacnut still
remained in Denmark, the West Saxons deposed him and gave themselves
to Harold, since which time England has never been divided. In =1040=
Harold died, and Harthacnut came at last to England to claim the
crown. He brought with him a Danish fleet, and with his sailors and
his house-carls he ruled England as a conquered land. He raised a
Danegeld to satisfy his men, and sent his house-carls to force the
people to pay the heavy tax. Two of them were killed at Worcester, and
he burnt Worcester to the ground. In =1042= he died 'as he stood at
his drink' at a bridal.
[Footnote 7: Genealogy of the Mercian earls:--
Leofwine
|
Leofric
|
AElfgar
|
---------------------------
| |
Eadwine, Morkere,
Earl of Mercia Earl of North-humberland]
[Illustration: First Great Seal of Eadward the Confessor (obverse).]
13. =Eadward the Confessor and Earl Godwine. 1042--1051.=--The English
were tired of foreign rulers. 'All folk chose Eadward king.' Eadward,
the son of AEthelred and the brother of the murdered AElfred, though an
Englishman on his father's side, was also the son of the Norman Emma,
and had been brought up in Normandy from his childhood. The Normans
were now men of French speech, and they were more polite and
cultivated than Englishmen. Eadward filled his court with Normans. He
disliked the roughness of the English, but instead of attempting to
improve them as the great AElfred had formerly done, he stood entirely
aloof from them. The name of the Confessor by which he was afterwards
known was given him on account of his piety, but his piety was not of
that sort which is associated with active usefulness. He was fond of
hunting, but was not active in any other way, and he left others to
govern rather than himself. For some years the real governor of
England was Earl Godwine, who kept his own earldom of Wessex, and
managed to procure other smaller earldoms for his sons. As the Mercia
over which Leofric ruled was only the north-western part of the old
kingdom, and as Siward (see p. 84) had enough to do to keep the fierce
men of North-humberland in order, Godwine had as yet no competitor to
fear. In =1045= he became the king's father-in-law by the marriage of
Eadward with his daughter, Eadgyth. Eadward, however, did his best for
his Norman favourites, and appointed one of them, Robert of Jumieges,
to the bishopric of London, and afterwards raised him to the
Archbishopric of Canterbury. Between Godwine and the Normans there was
no goodwill, and though Godwine was himself of fair repute, his eldest
son, Swegen, a young man of brutal nature, alienated the goodwill of
his countrymen by seducing the Abbess of Leominster, and by murdering
his cousin Beorn. Godwine, in his blind family affection, clung to his
wicked son and insisted on his being allowed to retain his earldom.
[Illustration: Hunting. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
14. =The Banishment of Godwine. 1051.=--At last, in =1051=, the strife
between the king and the Earl broke out openly. Eadward's
brother-in-law, Eustace, Count of Boulogne, visited England. On his
return his men made a disturbance at Dover, and in the riot which
ensued some of the townsmen as well as some of his own men were slain.
Eadward called on Godwine, in whose earldom Dover was, to punish the
townsmen. Godwine refused, and Eadward summoned him to Gloucester to
account for his refusal. He came attended by an armed host, but
Leofric and Siward, who were jealous of Godwine's power, came with
their armed followers to support the king. Leofric mediated, and it
was arranged that the question should be settled at a Witenagemot to
be held in London. In the end Godwine was outlawed and banished with
all his family. Swegen went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and died on
the way back.
15. =Visit of Duke William. 1051.=--In Godwine's absence Eadward
received a visit from the Duke of the Normans, William, the bastard
son of Duke Robert and the daughter of a tanner of Falaise. Robert was
a son of Richard II., and William was thus the grandson of the brother
of Eadward's mother, Emma. Such a relationship gave him no title
whatever to the English throne, as Emma was not descended from the
English kings, and as, even if she had been, no one could be lawfully
king in England who was not chosen by the Witenagemot. Eadward,
however, had no children or brothers, and though he had no right to
give away the crown, he now promised William that he should succeed
him. William, indeed, was just the man to attract one whose character
was as weak as Eadward's. Since he received the dukedom he had beaten
down the opposition of a fierce and discontented nobility at
Val-es-dunes (=1047=). From that day peace and order prevailed in
Normandy. Law in Normandy did not come as in England from the
traditions of the shire-moot or the Witenagemot, where men met to
consult together. It was the Duke's law, and if the Duke was a strong
man he kept peace in the land. If he was a weak man, the lords fought
against one another and plundered and oppressed the poor. William was
strong and wily, and it was this combination of strength and wiliness
which enabled him to bear down all opposition.
16. =William and the Norman Church.=--An Englishman, who saw much of
William in after-life, declared that, severe as he was, he was mild to
good men who loved God. The Church was in his days assuming a new
place in Europe. The monastic revival which had originated at Cluny
(see p. 67) had led to a revival of the Papacy. In =1049=, for the
first time, a Pope, Leo IX., travelled through Western Europe, holding
councils and inflicting punishments upon the married clergy and upon
priests who took arms and shed blood. With this improvement in
discipline came a voluntary turning of the better clergy to an ascetic
life, and increased devotion was accompanied, as it always was in the
middle ages, with an increase of learning. William, who by the
strength of his will brought peace into the state, also brought men of
devotion and learning into the high places of the Church. His chief
confidant was Lanfranc, an Italian who had taken refuge in the abbey
of Bec, and, having become its prior, had made it the central school
of Normandy and the parts around. With the improvement of learning
came the improvement of art, and churches arose in Normandy, as in
other parts of Western Europe, which still preserved the old round
arch derived from the Romans, though both the arches themselves and
the columns on which they were borne were lighter and more graceful
than the heavy work which had hitherto been employed. Of all this
Englishmen as yet knew nothing. They went on in their old ways, cut
off from the European influences of the time. It was no wonder that
Eadward yearned after the splendour and the culture of the land in
which he had been brought up, or even that, in defiance of English
law, he now promised to Duke William the succession to the English
crown.
17. =The Return and Death of Godwine. 1052--1053.=--After William had
departed Englishmen became discontented at Eadward's increasing favour
to the Norman strangers. In =1052= Godwine and his sons--Swegen only
excepted--returned from exile. They sailed up the Thames and landed at
Southwark. The foreigners hastily fled, and Eadward was unable to
resist the popular feeling. Godwine was restored to his earldom, and
an Englishman, Stigand, was made Archbishop of Canterbury in the place
of Robert of Jumieges, who escaped to the Continent. As it was the law
of the Church that a bishop once appointed could not be deposed except
by the ecclesiastical authorities, offence was in this way given to
the Pope. Godwine did not long outlive his restoration. He was struck
down by apoplexy at the king's table in =1053=. Harold, who, after
Swegen's death, was his eldest son, succeeded to his earldom of
Wessex, and practically managed the affairs of the kingdom in
Eadward's name.[8]
[Footnote 8: Genealogy of the family of Godwine:--
Godwine
|
+------+-------+--------+---+----+-------+---------+
| | | | | | |
Swegen HAROLD Tostig Leofwine Gyrth Wulfnoth Eadgyth = Eadward
1066 the
Confessor]
18. =Harold's Greatness. 1053--1066.=--Harold was a brave and
energetic man, but Eadward preferred his brother Tostig, and on the
death of Siward appointed him Earl of North-humberland. A little later
Gyrth, another brother of Harold, became Earl of East Anglia, together
with Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, and a fourth brother, Leofwine,
Earl of a district formed of the eastern shires on either side of the
Thames. All the richest and most thickly populated part of England was
governed by Harold and his brothers. Mercia was the only large earldom
not under their rule. It was now under AElfgar, the son of Leofric, who
had lately died.
19. =Harold and Eadward. 1057--1065.=--It became necessary to arrange
for the succession to the throne, as Eadward was childless, and as
Englishmen were not likely to acquiesce in his bequest to William. In
=1057= the AEtheling Eadward, a son of Eadmund Ironside, was fetched
back from Hungary, where he had long lived in exile, and was accepted
as the heir. Eadward, however, died almost immediately after his
arrival. He left but one son, Eadgar the AEtheling (see genealogy at p.
78), who was far too young to be accepted as a king for many years to
come. Naturally the thought arose of looking on Harold as Eadward's
successor. It was contrary to all custom to give the throne to any one
not of the royal line, but the custom had been necessarily broken in
favour of Cnut, the Danish conqueror, and it might be better to break
it in favour of an English earl rather than to place a child on the
throne, when danger threatened from Normandy. During the remainder of
Eadward's reign Harold showed himself a warrior worthy of the crown.
In =1063= he invaded Wales and reduced it to submission. About the
same time AElfgar died, and was succeeded by his son, Eadwine, in the
earldom of the Mercians. In =1065= the men of North-humberland
revolted against Tostig, who had governed them harshly, and who was
probably unpopular as a West Saxon amongst a population of Danes and
Angles. The North-humbrians chose Eadwine's brother, Morkere, as his
successor, and Harold advised Eadward to acquiesce in what they had
done. Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire were committed to Waltheof,
a son of Siward (see p. 84), and the modern Northumberland was
committed to a native ruler, Oswulf.
20. =Death of Eadward. 1066.=--England was therefore ruled by two
great families. Eadwine and Morkere, the grandsons of Leofric,
governed the Midlands and almost the whole of North-humberland. Harold
and his brothers, the sons of Godwine, governed the south and the
east. The two houses had long been rivals, and after Eadward's death
there would be no one in the country to whom they could even nominally
submit. Eadward, whose life was almost at an end, was filled with
gloomy forebodings. His thoughts, however, turned aside from the
contemplation of earthly things, and he was only anxious that the
great abbey church of Westminster, which he had been building hard by
his own new palace on what was then a lonely place outside London,
should be consecrated before his death. The church, afterwards
superseded by the structure which now stands there, was built in the
new and lighter form of round-arched architecture which Eadward had
learned to admire from his Norman friends. It was consecrated on
December 28, =1065=, but the king was too ill to be present, and on
January 5, =1066=, he died, and was buried in the church which he had
founded. Harold was at once chosen king, and crowned at Westminster.
[Illustration: Tower in the earlier style. Church at Earl's Barton.
(The battlements are much later.)]
[Illustration: Tower in the earlier style. St Benet's Church,
Cambridge.]
[Illustration: Building a church in the later style. (From a drawing
belonging to the Society of Antiquaries.)]
21. =Harold and William. 1066.=--William, as soon as he heard of his
rival's coronation, claimed the crown. He was now even mightier than
he had been when he visited Eadward. In =1063= he had conquered Maine,
and, secure on his southern frontier, he was able to turn his
undivided attention to England. According to the principles accepted
in England, he had no right to it whatever; but he contrived to put
together a good many reasons which seemed, in the eyes of those who
were not Englishmen, to give him a good case. In the first place he
had been selected by Eadward as his heir. In the second place the
deprivation of Robert of Jumieges was an offence against the Church
law of the Continent, and William was therefore able to obtain from
the Pope a consecrated banner, and to speak of an attack upon England
as an attempt to uphold the righteous laws of the Church. In the third
place, Harold had at some former time been wrecked upon the French
coast, and had been delivered up to William, who had refused to let
him go till he had sworn solemnly, placing his hand on a chest which
contained the relics of the most holy Norman saints, to do some act,
the nature of which is diversely related, but which Harold never did.
Consequently William could speak of himself as going to take vengeance
on a perjurer. With some difficulty William persuaded the Norman
barons to follow him, and he attracted a mixed multitude of
adventurers from all the neighbouring nations by promising them the
plunder of England, an argument which every one could understand.
During the whole of the spring and the summer ships for the invasion
of England were being built in the Norman harbours.
[Illustration: Normans feasting; with Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, saying
grace. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
[Illustration: Harold swearing upon the Relics. (From the Bayeux
Tapestry.)]
22. =Stamford Bridge. 1066.=--All through the summer Harold was
watching for his rival's coming. The military organisation of England,
however, was inferior to that of Normandy. The Norman barons and their
vassals were always ready for war, and they could support on their
estates the foreign adventurers who were placed under their orders
till the time of battle came. Harold had his house-carls, the constant
guard of picked troops which had been instituted by Cnut, and his
thegns, who, like the Norman barons, were bound to serve their lord
in war. The greater part of his force, however, was composed of the
peasants of the fyrd, and when September came they must needs be sent
home to attend to their harvest, which seems to have been late this
year. Scarcely were they gone when Harold received news that his
brother Tostig, angry with him for having consented to his deposition
from the North-humbrian earldom, had allied himself to Harold
Hardrada, the fierce sea-rover, who was king of Norway, and that the
two, with a mighty host, after wasting the Yorkshire coast, had sailed
up the Humber. The two Northern Earls, Eadwine and Morkere, were hard
pressed. Harold had not long before married their sister, and,
whatever might be the risk, he was bound as the king of all England to
aid them. Marching swiftly northwards with his house-carls and the
thegns who joined him on the way, he hastened to their succour. On
the way worse tidings reached him. The Earls had been defeated, and
York had agreed to submit to the Norsemen. Harold hurried on the
faster, and came upon the invaders unawares as they lay heedlessly on
both sides of the Derwent at Stamford Bridge. Those on the western
side, unprepared as they were, were soon overpowered. One brave
Norseman, like Horatius and his comrades in the Roman legend, kept the
narrow bridge against the army, till an Englishman crept under it and
stabbed him from below through a gap in the woodwork. The battle
rolled across the Derwent, and when evening came Harold Hardrada, and
Tostig himself, with the bulk of the invaders, had been slain. For the
last time an English king overthrew a foreign host in battle on
English soil.
[Illustration: A Norman ship. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
[Illustration: Norman soldiers mounted. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
23. =The Landing of William. 1066.=--Harold had shown what an English
king could do, who fought not for this or that part of the country,
but for all England. It was the lack of this national spirit in
Englishmen which caused his ruin. As Harold was feasting at York in
celebration of his victory, a messenger told him of the landing of the
Norman host at Pevensey. He had saved Eadwine and Morkere from
destruction, but Eadwine and Morkere gave him no help in return. He
had to hurry back to defend Sussex without a single man from the north
or the Midlands, except those whom he collected on his line of march.
The House of Leofric bore no goodwill to the House of Godwine. England
was a kingdom divided against itself.
[Illustration: Group of archers on foot. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
[Illustration: Men fighting with axes. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
24. =The Battle of Senlac. 1066.--=Harold, as soon as he reached the
point of danger, drew up his army on the long hill of Senlac on which
Battle Abbey now stands. On October 14 William marched forth to attack
him. The military equipment of the Normans was better than that of the
English. Where the weapons on either side are unlike, battles are
decided by the momentum--that is to say, by the combined weight and
speed of the weapons employed. The English fought on foot mostly with
two-handed axes; the Normans fought not only on horseback with lances,
but also with infantry, some of them being archers. A horse, the
principal weapon of a horseman, has more momentum than an armed
footman, whilst an arrow can reach the object at which it is aimed
long before a horse. Harold, however, had in his favour the slope of
the hill up which the Normans would have to ride, and he took
advantage of the lie of the ground by posting his men with their
shields before them on the edge of the hill. The position was a strong
one for purposes of defence, but it was not one that made it easy for
Harold to change his arrangements as the fortunes of the day might
need. William, on the other hand, had not only a better armed force,
but a more flexible one. He had to attack, and, versed as he was in
all the operations of war, he could move his men from place to place
and make use of each opportunity as it arrived. The English were brave
enough, but William was a more intelligent leader than Harold, and his
men were better under control. Twice after the battle had begun the
Norman horsemen charged up the hill only to be driven back. The wily
William, finding that the hill was not to be stormed by a direct
attack, met the difficulty by galling the English with a shower of
arrows and ordering his left wing to turn and fly. The stratagem was
successful. Some of the English rushed down the hill in pursuit. The
fugitives faced round and charged the pursuers, following them up the
slope. The English on the height were thus thrown into confusion; but
they held out stoutly, and as the Norman horsemen now in occupation of
one end of the hill charged fiercely along its crest, they locked
their shields together and fought desperately for life, if no longer
for victory. Slowly and steadily the Normans pressed on, till they
reached the spot where Harold, surrounded by his house-carls, fought
beneath his standard. There all their attacks were in vain, till
William, calling for his bowmen, bade them shoot their arrows into the
air. Down came the arrows in showers upon the heads of the English
warriors, and one of them pierced Harold's eye, stretching him
lifeless on the ground. In a series of representations in worsted
work, known as the Bayeux Tapestry, which was wrought by the needle of
some unknown woman and is now exhibited in the museum of that city,
the scenes of the battle and the events preceding it are pictorially
recorded.
[Illustration: Death of Harold, who is attempting to pull the arrow
from his eye. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]
25. =William's Coronation. 1066.=--William had destroyed both the
English king and the English army. It is possible that England, if
united, might still have resisted. The great men at London chose for
their king Eadgar the AEtheling, the grandson of Eadmund Ironside.
Eadwine and Morkere were present at the election, but left London as
soon as it was over. They would look after their own earldoms; they
would not join others, as Harold had done, in defending England as a
whole. Divided England would sooner or later be a prey to William. He
wanted, however, not merely to reign as a conqueror, but to be
lawfully elected as king, that he might have on his side law as well
as force. He first struck terror into Kent and Sussex by ravaging the
lands of all who held out against him. Then he marched to the Thames
and burnt Southwark. He did not, however, try to force his way into
London, as he wanted to induce the citizens to submit voluntarily to
him, or at least in a way which might seem voluntary. He therefore
marched westwards, crossed the Thames at Wallingford, and wheeled
round to Berkhampstead. His presence there made the Londoners feel
utterly isolated. Even if Eadwine and Morkere wished to do anything
for them, they could not come from the north or north-west without
meeting William's victorious army. The great men and citizens alike
gave up all thought of resistance, abandoned Eadgar, and promised to
take William for their king. On Christmas Day, =1066=, William was
chosen with acclamation in Eadward's abbey at Westminster, where
Harold had been chosen less than a year before. The Normans outside
mistook the shouts of applause for a tumult against their Duke, and
set fire to the houses around. The English rushed out to save their
property, and William, frightened for the only time in his life, was
left alone with the priests. Not knowing what was next to follow, he
was crowned king of the English by Ealdred, Archbishop of York, in an
empty church, amidst the crackling of flames and the shouts of men
striving for the mastery.
[Illustration: Coronation of a king, _temp._ William the Conqueror.
(From a drawing in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries.)]
_Books recommended for further study of Part I._
DAWKINS, W. Boyd. Early Man in Britain.
RHYS, J. Early Britain.
ELTON, C. J. Origins of English History.
GUEST, E. Origines Celticae. Vol. ii. pp. 121-408.
FREEMAN. History of the Norman Conquest. Vols. i.-iii.
GREEN, J. R. The Making of England.
---- The Conquest of England.
---- History of the English People. Vol. i. pp. 1-114.
BRIGHT, W. Chapters of English Church History.
STUBBS, W. The Constitutional History of England. Chaps. I.-IX.
CUNNINGHAM, W. The Growth of English Industry and Commerce during the
Early and Middle Ages. pp. 1-128.
HODGKIN, T. The Political History of England. Vol i. From the Earliest
Times to 1066.
PART II.
_THE NORMAN AND ANGEVIN KINGS._
CHAPTER VII.
WILLIAM I. =1066--1087.=
LEADING DATES
William's coronation 1066
Completion of the Conquest 1070
The rising of the Earls 1075
The Gemot at Salisbury 1086
Death of William I. 1087
[Illustration: A silver penny of William the Conqueror, struck at
Romney.]
1. =The First Months of the Conquest. 1066--1067.=--Though at the time
when William was crowned he had gained actual possession of no more
than the south-eastern part of England, he claimed a right to rule the
whole as lawful king of the English, not merely by Eadward's bequest,
but by election and coronation. In reality, he came as a conqueror,
whilst the Normans by whose aid he gained the victory at Senlac left
their homes not merely to turn their Duke into a king, but also to
acquire lands and wealth for themselves. William could not act justly
and kindly to his new subjects even if he wished. What he did was to
clothe real violence with the appearance of law. He gave out that as
he had been the lawful king of the English ever since Eadward's death,
Harold and all who fought under him at Senlac had forfeited their
lands by their treason to himself as their lawful king. These lands he
distributed amongst his Normans. The English indeed were not entirely
dispossessed. Sometimes the son of a warrior who had been slain was
allowed to retain a small portion of his father's land. Sometimes the
daughter or the widow of one of Harold's comrades was compelled to
marry a Norman whom William wished to favour. Yet, for all that, a
vast number of estates in the southern and eastern counties passed
from English into Norman hands. The bulk of the population, the
serfs--or, as they were now called by a Norman name, the
villeins--were not affected by the change, except so far as they found
a foreign lord less willing than a native one to hearken to their
complaints. The changes which took place were limited as yet to a
small part of England. In three months after his coronation William
was still without authority beyond an irregular line running from the
Wash to the western border of Hampshire, except that he held some
outlying posts in Herefordshire. It is true that Eadwine and Morkere
had acknowledged him as king, but they were still practically
independent. Even where William actually ruled he allowed all
Englishmen who had not fought on Harold's side to keep their lands,
though he made them redeem them by the payment of a fine, on the
principle that all lands in the country, except those of the Church,
were the king's lands, and that it was right to fine those who had not
come to Senlac to help him as their proper lord.
2. =The Conquest of the West and North. 1067--1069.=--In March =1067=
William returned to Normandy. In his absence the Normans left behind
in England oppressed the English, and were supported in their
oppression by the two regents appointed to govern in William's name,
his half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, whom he had made Earl of
Kent, and William Fitz-Osbern, Earl of Hereford. In some parts the
English rose in rebellion. In December William returned, and after
putting down resistance in the south-eastern counties, set himself to
conquer the rest of England. It took him more than two years to
complete his task. Perhaps he would have failed even then if the whole
of the unconquered part of the country had risen against him at the
same time. Each district, however, resisted separately, and he was
strong enough to beat them down one by one. In the spring of =1068= he
besieged and took Exeter, and subdued the West to the Land's End. When
this had been accomplished he turned northwards against Eadwine and
Morkere, who had declared against him. William soon frightened them
into submission, and seized on York and all the country to the south
of York on the eastern side of England. In =1069= the English of the
North rose once more and summoned to their aid Svend, king of
Denmark, a nephew of the great Cnut. Svend sent a Danish fleet, and
the Danes were joined by Eadgar the AEtheling and by other English
chiefs. They burnt and plundered York, but could do no more. Their
great host melted away. The Danes went off with their booty to their
ships, and the English returned to their homes. William found no army
to oppose him, and he not only regained the lands which he had
occupied the year before, but added to them the whole country up to
the Tweed.
3. =The Completion of the Conquest. 1070.=--William was never cruel
without an object, but there was no cruelty which he would not commit
if it would serve his purpose. He resolved to make all further
resistance impossible. The Vale of York, a long and wide stretch of
fertile ground running northwards from the city to the Tees, was laid
waste by William's orders. The men who had joined in the revolt were
slain. The stored-up crops, the ploughs, the carts, the oxen and sheep
were destroyed by fire. Men, women, and children dropped dead of
starvation, and their corpses lay unburied in the wasted fields. Some
prolonged life by feeding on the flesh of horses, or even of men.
Others sold themselves into slavery, bowing their heads, as was said,
in the evil days for meat. "Waste! waste! waste!" was the account
given long afterwards of field after field in what had once been one
of the most fertile districts in England. William's work of conquest
was almost over. Early in =1070= he crossed the hills amidst frost and
snow, and descended upon Chester. Chester submitted, and with it the
shires on the Welsh border. The whole of England was at last subdued.
4. =Hereward's Revolt and the Homage of Malcolm. 1070--1072.=--Only
one serious attempt to revolt was afterwards made, but this was no
more than a local rising. The Isle of Ely was in those days a real
island in the midst of the waters of the fens. Hereward, with a band
of followers, threw himself into the island, and it was only after a
year's attack that he was driven out. When the revolt was at its
height, Eadwine and Morkere fled from William's court to join the
insurgents. Eadwine was murdered by his own attendants. Morkere
reached Ely, and when resistance was at an end was banished to
Normandy. No man ever deserved less pity than these two brothers. They
had never sought any one's advantage but their own, and they had been
faithless to every cause which they had pretended to adopt. Before
Hereward was overpowered, Malcolm, king of the Scots, ravaged northern
England, carrying off with him droves of English slaves. In =1072=
William, who had by that time subdued Hereward, marched into Scotland
as far as the Tay. Malcolm submitted to him at Abernethy, and
acknowledged him to be his lord. Malcolm's acknowledgment was only a
repetition of the acknowledgment made by his predecessors the Scottish
kings, to Eadward and Cnut (see pp. 63, 84); but William was more
powerful than Eadward or Cnut had been, and was likely to construe the
obligation more strictly.
5. =How William kept down the English.=--William, having conquered
England, had now to govern it. His first object was to keep the
English in subjection.
_(a) The Confiscation of Land._--In the first place he continued to
treat all who had resisted him as rebels, confiscating their land and
giving it to some Norman follower. In almost every district there was
at least one Norman landowner, who was on the watch against any
attempt of his English neighbours to revolt, and who knew that he
would lose his land if William lost his crown.
_(b) Building Castles._--In the second place William built a castle in
every town of importance, which he garrisoned with his own men. The
most notable example of these castles is the Tower of London.
_(c) The Feudal Army._--In the third place, though the diffusion of
Norman landowners and of William's castles made a general revolt of
the English difficult, it did not make it impossible, and William took
care to have an army always ready to put down a revolt if it occurred.
No king in those days could have a constantly paid army, such as
exists in all European countries at the present day, because there was
not much money anywhere. Some men had land and some men had bodily
strength, and they bartered one for the other. The villein gave his
strength to plough and reap for his lord, in return for the land which
he held from him. The fighting man gave his strength to his lord, to
serve him with his horse and his spear, in return for the land which
he held from him. This system, which is known as feudal, had been
growing up in England before the Conquest, but it was perfected on the
Continent, and William brought it with him in its perfected shape. The
warrior who served on horseback was called a knight, and when a knight
received land from a lord on military tenure--that is to say, on
condition of military service--he was called the vassal of his lord.
When he became a vassal he knelt, and, placing his hands between those
of his lord, swore to be his man. This act was called doing homage.
The land which he received as sufficient to maintain him was called a
knight's fee. After this homage the vassal was bound to serve his
lord in arms, this service being the rent payable for his land. If the
vassal broke his oath and fought against his lord, he was regarded as
a traitor, or a betrayer of his trust, and could be turned out of his
land. The whole land of England being regarded as the king's, all land
was held from the king. Sometimes the knights held their fees directly
from the king and did homage to him. These knights were known as
tenants in chief (_in capite_), however small their estates might be.
Usually, however, the tenants in chief were large landowners, to whom
the king had granted vast estates; and these when they did homage
engaged not merely to fight for him in person, but to bring some
hundreds of knights with them. To enable them to do this they had to
give out portions of their land to sub-tenants, each engaging to bring
himself and a specified number of knights. There might thus be a
regular chain of sub-tenants, A engaging to serve under B, B under C,
C under D, and so on till the tenant-in-chief was reached, who engaged
to bring them all to serve the king. Almost all the larger
tenants-in-chief were Normans, though Englishmen were still to be
found amongst the sub-tenants, and even amongst the smaller
tenants-in-chief. The whole body, however, was preponderantly Norman,
and William could therefore depend upon it to serve him as an army in
the field in case of an English rising.
6. =How William kept down the Normans.=--William was not afraid only
of the English. He had cause to fear lest the feudal army, which was
to keep down the English, might be strong enough to be turned against
himself, and that the barons--as the greater tenants-in-chief were
usually called--might set him at naught as Eadwine and Morkere had set
Harold at naught, and as the Dukes of Normandy had set at naught the
kings of France. To prevent this he adopted various contrivances.
_(a) Abolition of the great Earldoms._--In the first place he
abolished the great earldoms. In most counties there were to be no
earls at all, and no one was to be earl of more than one county. There
was never again to be an Earl of the West Saxons like Godwine, or an
Earl of the Mercians like Leofric.
_(b) The Estates of the Barons scattered._--- Not only did William
diminish the official authority of the earls, he also weakened the
territorial authority of the barons. Even when he granted to one man
estates so numerous that if they had been close together they would
have extended at least over a whole county, he took care to scatter
them over England, allowing only a few to be held by a single owner in
any one county. If, therefore, a great baron took it into his head to
levy war against the king, he would have to collect his vassals from
the most distant counties, and his intentions would thus be known
before they could be put in practice.
_(c) The Fyrd kept in readiness._--Still more important was William's
resolution to be the real head of the English nation. He had weakened
it enough to fear it no longer, but he kept it strong enough to use
it, if need came, against the Norman barons. He won Englishmen to his
side by the knowledge that he was ready to do them justice whenever
they were wronged, and he could therefore venture to summon the fyrd
whenever he needed support, without having cause to fear that it would
turn against him.
7. =Ecclesiastical Organisation.=--Before the Conquest the English
Church had been altogether national. Its bishops had sat side by side
with the ealdormen or earls in the shire-moots, and in the Witenagemot
itself. They had been named, like the ealdormen or earls, by the king
with the consent of the Witenagemot. Ecclesiastical questions had been
decided and ecclesiastical offences punished not by any special
ecclesiastical court, but by the shire-moot or Witenagemot, in which
the laity and the clergy were both to be found. William resolved to
change all this. The bishops and abbots whom he found were Englishmen,
and he replaced most of them by Normans. The new Norman bishops and
abbots were dependent on the king. They looked on the English as
barbarians, and would certainly not support them in any revolt, as
their English predecessors might have done. Thurstan, indeed, the
Norman Abbot of Glastonbury, was so angry with his English monks
because they refused to change their style of music that he called in
Norman archers to shoot them down on the steps of the altar. Such
brutality, however, was exceptional, and, as a rule, even Norman
bishops and abbots were well disposed towards their English
neighbours, all the more because they were not very friendly with the
Norman nobles, who often attempted to encroach on the lands of the
Church. Many a king in William's position would have been content to
fill the sees with creatures of his own, who would have done what they
were bidden and have thought of no one's interest but his. William
knew, as he had already shown in Normandy, that he would be far better
served if the clergy were not only dependent on himself but deserving
the respect of others. He made his old friend Lanfranc (see p. 88)
Archbishop of Canterbury. Lanfranc had, like William, the mind of a
ruler, and under him bishops and abbots were appointed who enforced
discipline. The monks were compelled to keep the rules of their
order, the canons of cathedrals were forced to send away their wives,
and though the married clergy in the country were allowed to keep
theirs, orders were given that in future no priest should marry.
Everywhere the Church gave signs of new vigour. The monasteries became
again the seats of study and learning. The sees of bishops were
transferred from villages to populous towns, as when the Bishop of
Dorchester, in Oxfordshire, migrated to Lincoln, and the Bishop of
Thetford to Norwich. New churches were built and old ones restored
after the new Continental style, which is known in England as Norman,
and which Eadward had introduced in his abbey of Westminster. The
Church, though made dependent on William, was independent, so far as
its spiritual rights were concerned, of the civil courts.
Ecclesiastical matters were discussed, not in the Witenagemot, but in
a Church synod, and, in course of time, punishments were inflicted by
Church courts on ecclesiastical offenders. The power of William was
strengthened by the change. That power rested on three supports--the
Norman conquerors, the English nation, and the Church, and each one of
these three had reason to distrust the other two.
[Illustration: East end of Darenth Church, Kent. Built about 1080.]
8. =Pope Gregory VII.=--The strength which William had acquired showed
itself in his bearing towards the Pope. In =1073= Archdeacon
Hildebrand, who for some years had been more powerful at Rome than the
Popes themselves, himself became Pope under the name of Gregory VII.
Gregory was as stern a ruler of the Church as William was of the
State. He was an uncompromising champion of the Cluniac reforms (see
p. 67). His object was to moderate the cruelty and sinfulness of the
feudal warriors of Europe by making the Church a light to guide the
world to piety and self-denial. As matters stood on the Continent, it
had been impossible for the Church to attain to so high a standard.
The clergy bought their places and fought and killed like the laymen
around them. The Cluniac monks, therefore, thought it best to separate
the clergy entirely from the world. In the first place they were to be
celibate, that they might not be entangled in the cares of life. In
the second place they were to refrain from simony, or the purchase of
ecclesiastical preferment, that they might not be dependent on the
great men of the world. A third demand was added later, that bishops
and abbots should not receive from laymen the ring and staff which
were the signs of their authority--the ring as the symbol of marriage
to their churches; the staff or crozier, in the shape of a shepherd's
crook, as the symbol of their pastoral authority. The Church, in fact,
was to be governed by its own laws in perfect independence, that it
might become more pure itself, and thus capable of setting a better
example to the laity. As might have been expected, though the internal
condition of the Church was greatly improved, yet when Gregory
attempted entirely to free ecclesiastics from the influence and
authority of the State, he found himself involved in endless quarrels.
Clergy and laity alike resisted him, and they were supported by the
Emperor Henry IV., whose rule extended over Germany and the greater
part of Italy. Gregory next claimed the right of excommunicating kings
and emperors, and of deposing them if they did not repent after
excommunication. The State, he declared, was as the moon, receiving
light from the Church, which shone like the sun in heaven. The whole
of the remainder of Gregory's life was spent in a struggle with the
Emperor, and the struggle was carried on by the successors of both.
[Illustration: Part of the nave of St. Alban's Abbey Church. Built by
Abbot Paul between 1077 and 1093.]
9. =William and Gregory VII.=--It is remarkable that such a Pope as
Gregory never came into conflict with William. William appointed
bishops and abbots by giving them investiture, as the presenting of
the ring and staff was called. He declared that no Pope should be
obeyed in England who was not acknowledged by himself, that no papal
bulls or letters should have any force till he had allowed them, and
that the decrees of an ecclesiastical synod should bind no one till he
had confirmed them. When, at a later time, Gregory required William to
do homage to the see of Rome, William refused, on the ground that
homage had never been rendered by his predecessors. To all this
Gregory submitted. No doubt Gregory was prudent in not provoking
William's anger; but that he should have refrained from even finding
fault with William may perhaps be set down to the credit of his
honesty. He claimed to make himself the master of kings because as a
rule they did not care to advance the purity of the Church. William
did care to advance it. He chose virtuous and learned bishops, and
defended the clergy against aggression from without and corruption
within. Gregory may well have been content to leave power over the
Church in the hands of a king who ruled it in such a fashion.
10. =The Rising of the Earls. 1075.=--Of the three classes of men over
which William ruled, the great Norman barons imagined themselves to be
the strongest, and were most inclined to throw off his yoke. The chief
feature of the reigns of William and of his successors for three
generations was the struggle which scarcely ever ceased between the
Norman barons on the one side, and the king supported by the English
and the clergy on the other. It was to the advantage of the king that
he had not to contend against the whole of the Normans. Normans with
small estates clung for support, like their English neighbours, to the
crown. The first of many risings of the barons took place in =1075=.
Roger, Earl of Hereford, in spite of William's prohibition, gave his
sister in marriage to Ralph of Wader, Earl of Norfolk, who, though of
English birth on his father's side, had fought for William at Senlac,
and may practically be counted as a Norman. As the chronicler
expressed it:
There was that bride-ale
To many men's bale.
The two earls plotted a rising against William and the revivals of the
old independent earldoms. They took arms and were beaten. Ralph fled
the country, and Roger was condemned to perpetual imprisonment. His
followers were blinded or had their feet cut off. It was the Norman
custom not to put criminals to death. To this rule, however, William
made one exception. Waltheof, the last earl of purely English race,
had been present at the fatal bride-ale, but though he had listened to
the plottings of the conspirators, he had revealed all that he knew to
William. His wife, Judith, a niece of the Conqueror, accused him of
actual treason, and he was beheaded at Winchester. By the English he
was regarded as a martyr, and it was probably his popularity amongst
them which made William resolve upon his death.
11. =The New Forest.=--Only once did William cause misery amongst his
subjects for the sake of his own enjoyment. Many kings before him had
taken pleasure in hunting, but William was the first who claimed the
right of hunting over large tracts of country exclusively for himself.
He made, as the chronicler says, 'mickle deer-frith'--a tract, that is
to say, in which the deer might have peace--'and laid laws therewith
that he who slew hart or hind that man should blind him.... In sooth
he loved the high deer as though he were their father.' He forbade, in
short, all men, except those to whom he gave permission, to hunt
within the limits of the royal forests. In the south-west of
Hampshire, near his favourite abode at Winchester, he enlarged the New
Forest. The soil is poor, and it can never have been covered by
cultivated fields, but here and there, by the sides of streams, there
were scattered hamlets, and these were destroyed and the dwellers in
them driven off by William's orders, that there might be a 'mickle
deer-frith.' We may be sure that there was not nearly as much misery
caused by the making of the New Forest as was caused by the harrying
of the Vale of York, but popular tradition rightly held in more
abhorrence the lesser cruelty for the sake of pleasure than the
greater cruelty for the sake of policy. It told how the New Forest was
accursed for William's family. In his own lifetime a son and a
grandson of his were cut off within it by unknown hands, probably
falling before the vengeance of some who had lost home and substance
through the creation of the Forest, and in due time another son, who
succeeded him on the throne, was to meet with a similar fate.
12. =Domesday Book. 1085--1086.=--It was to William's credit that his
government was a strong one. In William's days life and property and
female honour were under the protection of a king who knew how to make
himself obeyed. Strong government, however, is always expensive, and
William and his officers were always ready with an excuse for getting
money. "The king and the headmen loved much and overmuch covetousness
on gold and on silver, and they recked not how sinfully it was gotten,
if only it came to them.... They reared up unright tolls, and many
other unright things they did that are hard to reckon." Other men, in
short, must observe the law; William's government was a law to itself.
It was, however, a law, and not a mere scramble for money. Though
there were no Danish invaders now, William continued to levy the
Danegeld, and he had rents and payments due to him in many quarters
which had been due to his predecessors. In order to make his exactions
more complete and more regular, he resolved to have set down the
amount of taxable property in the realm that his full rights might be
known, and in =1085=, "He sent over all England into ilk shire his
men, and let them find out how many hundred hides were in the shire,
or what the king himself had of land or cattle in the land, or whilk
rights he ought to have.... Eke he let write how mickle of land his
archbishops had, and his bishops, and his abbots and his earls, and
what or how mickle ilk man had that landholder was in England in land
and in cattle, and how mickle fee it was worth. So very narrowly he
let speer it out that there was not a single hide nor a yard of land,
nor so much as--it is a shame to tell, though he thought it no shame
to do--an ox nor a cow nor a swine was left that was not set in his
writ." The chronicler who wrote these words was an English monk of
Peterborough. Englishmen were shocked by the new regularity of
taxation. They could hardly be expected to understand the advantages
of a government strong enough through regular taxation to put down the
resistance of rebellious earls at home and to defy invasion from
abroad. The result of the inquiries of the king's commissioners was
embodied in Domesday Book, so called because it was no more possible
to appeal from it than from the Last Judgment.
[Illustration: Reduced facsimile of part of Domesday Book.]
13. =William's Great Councils.=--Though William was himself the true
ruler of England, he kept up the practice of his predecessors in
summoning the Witenagemot from time to time. In his days, however, the
name of the Witenagemot was changed into that of the Great Council,
and, to a slight extent, it changed its nature with its name. The
members of the Witenagemot had attended because they were officially
connected with the king, being ealdormen or bishops or thegns serving
in some way under him. Members of the Great Council attended because
they held land in chief from the king. The difference, however, was
greater in appearance than in reality. No doubt men who held very
small estates in chief might, if they pleased, come to the Great
Council, and if they had done so the Great Council would have been
much more numerously attended than the Witenagemot had been. The
poorer tenants-in-chief, however, found that it was not only too
troublesome and expensive to make the journey at a time when all long
journeys had to be made on horseback, but that when they arrived their
wishes were disregarded. They therefore stayed at home, so that the
Great Council was regularly attended only by the bishops, the abbots
of the larger abbeys, and certain great landowners who were known as
barons. In this way the Great Council became a council of the wealthy
landowners, as the Witenagemot had been, though the two assemblies
were formed on different principles.
14. =The Gemot at Salisbury. 1086.=--In =1086=, after Domesday Book
had been finished, William summoned an unusually numerous assembly,
known as the Great Gemot, to meet at Salisbury. At this not only the
tenants-in-chief appeared, but also all those who held lands from them
as sub-tenants. "There came to him," wrote the chronicler, "... all
the landowning men there were over all England, whose soever men they
were, and all bowed down before him and became his men, and swore
oaths of fealty to him, that they would be faithful to him against all
other men." It was this oath which marked the difference between
English and Continental feudalism, though they were now in other
respects alike. On the Continent each tenant swore to be faithful to
his lord, but only the lords who held directly from the crown swore to
be faithful to the king. The consequence was that when a lord rebelled
against the king, his tenants followed their lord and not the king. In
England the tenants swore to forsake their lord and to serve the king
against him if he forsook his duty to the king. Nor was this all. Many
men break their oaths. William, however, was strong enough in England
to punish those who broke their oaths to him, whilst the king of
France was seldom strong enough to punish those who broke their oaths
to him.
15. =William's Death. 1087.=--The oath taken at Salisbury was the
completion of William's work in England. To contemporaries he appeared
as a foreign conqueror, and often as a harsh and despotic ruler. Later
generations could recognise that his supreme merit was that he made
England one. He did not die in England. In =1087= he fought with his
lord, the king of France, Philip I. In anger at a jest of Philip's he
set fire to Mantes. As he rode amidst the burning houses his horse
shied and threw him forward on the pommel of his saddle. He was now
corpulent and the injury proved fatal. On September 9 he died. When
the body was carried to Caen for burial in the abbey of St. Stephen,
which William himself had reared, a knight stepped forward and claimed
as his own the ground in which the grave had been dug. It had been
taken, he said, by William from his father. "In the name of God," he
cried, "I forbid that the body of the robber be covered with my mould,
or that he be buried within the bounds of my inheritance." The
bystanders acknowledged the truth of his accusation, and paid the
price demanded.
CHAPTER VIII.
WILLIAM II. =1087--1100.=
LEADING DATES
Accession of William II 1087
Norman rebellion against William II. 1088
Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury 1093
The Council of Rockingham, and the First Crusade 1095
Conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders 1099
Death of William II. 1100
1. =The Accession of the Red King. 1087.=--In Normandy the Conqueror
was succeeded by his eldest son, Robert. Robert was sluggish and
incapable, and his father had expressed a wish that England, newly
conquered and hard to control, should be ruled by his more energetic
second son, William. To the third son, Henry, he gave a sum of money.
There was as yet no settled rule of succession to the English crown,
and William at once crossed the sea and was crowned king of the
English at Westminster, by Lanfranc. William Rufus, or the Red King,
as men called him, feared not God nor regarded man. Yet the English
rallied round him, because they knew that he was strong-willed, and
because they needed a king who would keep the Norman barons from
oppressing them. For that very reason the more turbulent of the Norman
barons declared for Robert, who would be too lazy to keep them in
order. In the spring of =1088= they broke into rebellion in his name.
William called the English people to his help. He would not, he said,
wring money from his subjects or exercise cruelty in defence of his
hunting grounds. On this the English rallied round him. At the head of
a great army he marched to attack the rebels, and finally laid siege
to Rochester, which was held against him by his uncle Odo, Bishop of
Bayeux, whom he had released from the imprisonment in which the
Conqueror had kept him. William called upon yet greater numbers of the
English to come to his help. Every one, he declared, who failed him
now should be known for ever by the shameful name of _Nithing_, or
worthless. The English came in crowds. When at last Odo surrendered,
the English pleaded that no mercy should be shown him. "Halters, bring
halters!" they cried; "hang up the traitor bishop and his accomplices
on the gibbet." William, however, spared him, but banished him for
ever from England.
2. =The Wickedness of the Red King.=--William had crushed the Norman
rebels with English aid. When the victory was won he turned against
those who had helped him. It was not that he oppressed the English
because they were English, but that he oppressed English and Normans
alike, though the English, being the weaker, felt his cruelty most. He
broke all his promises. He gathered round him mercenary soldiers from
all lands to enforce his will. He hanged murderers and robbers, but he
himself was the worst of robbers. When he moved about the country with
the ruffians who attended him, the inhabitants fled to the woods,
leaving their houses to be pillaged. William allowed no law to be
pleaded against his own will. His life, and the life of his courtiers,
was passed in the foulest vice. He was as irreligious as he was
vicious. It was in especial defiance of the Christian sentiment of the
time that he encouraged the Jews, who had begun to come into England
in his father's days, to come in greater numbers. They grew rich as
money-lenders, and William protected them against their debtors,
exacting a high price for his protection. Once, it is said, he invited
the Jewish rabbis to argue in his presence with the bishops on the
merits of their respective creeds, and promised to become a Jew if
the rabbis had the better of the argument. His own mouth was filled
with outrageous blasphemies. "God," he said, "shall never see me a
good man. I have suffered too much at His hands."
3. =Ranulf Flambard.=--The chief minister of the Red King was Ranulf
Flambard, whom he ultimately made Bishop of Durham. He was one of the
clerks of the king's chapel. The word 'clerk' properly signified a
member of the clergy. The only way in which men could work with their
brains instead of with their hands was by becoming clerks, the
majority of whom, however, only entered the lower orders, without any
intention of becoming priests or even deacons. Few, except clerks,
could read or write, and whatever work demanded intelligence naturally
fell into their hands. They acted as physicians or lawyers, kept
accounts, and wrote letters. The clerks of the king's chapel were the
king's secretaries and men of business. These ready writers had taken
a leading part in the compilation of Domesday Book, and they were
always active in bringing in money. Under the Conqueror they were
expected to observe at least something of the rules of justice. Under
the Red King they were expected to disregard them entirely. Of all the
clerks Ranulf Flambard was the most unscrupulous; therefore he rose
into the greatest favour. The first William had appointed high
officers, known as Justiciars, to act in his name from time to time
when he was absent from England, or was from any cause unable to be
present when important business was transacted. Flambard was appointed
Justiciar by the second William, and in his hands the office became
permanent. The Justiciar was now the king's chief minister, acting in
his name whether he was present or absent. Flambard used his power to
gather wealth for the king on every side. "He drave the king's
gemots," we are told, "over all England;" that is to say, he forced
the reluctant courts to exact the money which he claimed for the king.
4. =Feudal Dues.=--It was Flambard who systematised, if he did not
invent, the doctrine that the king was to profit by his position as
supreme landlord. In practice this meant that he exacted to the full
the consequences of feudal tenure. If a man died who held land by
knight service from the crown, leaving a son who was a minor, the boy
became the ward of the king, who took the profits of his lands till he
was twenty-one, and forced him to pay a relief or fine for taking them
into his own hands when he attained his majority. If the land fell to
an heiress the king claimed the right of marrying her to whom he
would, or of requiring of her a sum of money for permission to take a
husband at her own choice, or, as was usually the case, at the choice
of her relations. Under special circumstances the king exacted aids
from his tenants-in-chief. If he were taken prisoner they had to pay
to ransom him from captivity. When he knighted his eldest son or
married his eldest daughter they had to contribute to the expense. It
is true that this was in accordance with the principle of feudality.
Neither a boy nor a woman could render service in the field, and it
was therefore only fair that the king should hold the lands at times
when no service was rendered to him for them; and it was also fair
that the dependents should come to their lord's help in times of
special need, especially as all that the king took from them they in
turn took from their own sub-tenants. Flambard, however, did not
content himself with a moderately harsh exaction of these feudal dues.
The grievance against him was that he made the king 'to be every man's
heir, whether he were in orders or a layman,' that is to say, that
Flambard so stripped and exhausted the land belonging to the king's
wards as to make it almost worthless, and then demanded reliefs so
enormous that when the estate had at last been restored, all its value
had passed into the hands of the king. When a bishop or an abbot died,
the king appointed no successor, and appropriated the revenues of the
vacant see or monastery till some one chose to buy the office from
him. The king alone grew rich, whilst his vassals were impoverished.
5. =Archbishop Anselm.=--In =1089= Lanfranc died, and the
archbishopric of Canterbury was then left vacant for nearly four
years. The Archbishop of Canterbury was more than the first of English
bishops. He was not only the maintainer of ecclesiastical discipline,
but also the mouthpiece of the English people when they had complaints
to make to the king. Men turned their thoughts to Anselm, the Abbot of
Bec. Anselm was a stranger from Aosta, on the Italian side of the
Alps. He was the most learned man of the age, and had striven to
justify the theology of the day by rational arguments. He was as
righteous as he was learned, and as gentle as he was righteous. Tender
to man and woman, he had what was in those days a rare tenderness to
animals, and had caused astonishment by saving a hunted hare from its
pursuers. In =1092= the king's vassals assembled in the Great Council
urged William to choose a successor to Lanfranc, and asked him to
allow prayers to be offered in the churches that God might move his
heart to select a worthy chief pastor. "Pray as you will," said the
king, scornfully. "I shall do as I think good; no man's prayers will
do anything to shake my will!" In the spring of =1093= William fell
sick. Believing himself to be a dying man, he promised to amend his
life, and named Anselm archbishop. On his refusal to accept the
nomination, Anselm was dragged to the king's bedside, and the pastoral
staff, the symbol of the pastoral office of a bishop, was forced into
his hands by the bystanders.
6. =The Council of Rockingham. 1095.=--To this well-meant violence
Anselm submitted unwillingly. He was, he said, a weak old sheep to be
yoked with an untamed bull to draw the plough of the English Church.
Yet, gentle as he was, he was possessed of indomitable courage in
resistance to evil. William recovered, and returned to his blasphemy
and his tyranny. In vain Anselm warned him against his sins. A fresh
object of dispute soon arose between the king and the new archbishop.
Two Popes claimed the obedience of Christendom. Urban II. was the Pope
acknowledged by the greater part of the Church. Clement III. was the
Pope supported by the Emperor. Anselm declared that Urban was the true
Pope, and that he would obey none other. William asserted that his
father had laid down a rule that no Pope should be acknowledged in
England without the king's assent, and he proposed to act upon it by
acknowledging neither Clement nor Urban. His object was, perhaps, to
prevent the enforcement of ecclesiastical discipline by temporarily
getting rid of the papal authority. Anselm wanted the authority of the
Pope to check vice and disorder. The question was set aside for a
time, but in =1095= Anselm, tired of witnessing William's wicked
actions, asked leave to go to Rome to fetch from Urban the pallium, a
kind of scarf given by the Pope to archbishops in recognition of their
office. William replied that he did not acknowledge Urban as Pope. A
Great Council was summoned to Rockingham to discuss the question. The
lay barons, who liked to see the king resisted, were on Anselm's side.
The bishops, many of whom were creatures of William, appointed from
amongst his clerks, took the side of the king. Anselm stated his case
firmly and moderately, and then, caring nothing for the angry king,
retired into the chapel and went quietly to sleep. The king, finding
that the barons would give him no support, was unable to punish
Anselm. Two years later, in =1097=, Anselm betook himself to Rome, and
William at once seized on his estates.
7. =William II. and his Brothers.=--Normandy under Robert was even
worse off than England under William. William was himself a tyrant,
but in Normandy there were at least a hundred tyrants because Robert
was too easy-tempered to bring any one to justice. The land was full
of violence. Each baron made war on his neighbour, and, as usual, the
peasant suffered most. Robert's own life was vicious and wasteful, and
he was soon in debt. He sold the Cotentin and the territory of
Avranches to his youngest brother, Henry. Henry was cool-headed and
prudent, and he kept order in his new possession better than either of
his elder brothers would have done. The brothers coveted the
well-ordered land, and in =1091=, two years before Anselm became
archbishop, they marched together against Henry. Henry was besieged on
St. Michael's Mount, a rocky island surrounded by the sea at high
water. After a time water ran short. The easy-tempered Robert sent in
a supply. "Shall we let our brother die of thirst?" he said to
William. Henry was in the end forced to surrender, and the land which
he had purchased was lost to him for a time. In =1095= Henry was again
in Normandy. Robert of Belleme, the lord of Domfront, was the most
cruel of the cruel barons. Once he had torn out with his own hands the
eyes of his godson, merely because the child's father had displeased
him. The people of Domfront called on Henry to deliver them from such
a monster. Henry seized Domfront, ruled its people with justice, and
soon recovered the possessions from which his brothers had driven him.
8. =William and Scotland. 1093--1094.=--William's attention was at
this time drawn to the North. Early in his reign he annexed
Cumberland, and had secured it against the Scots by fortifying
Carlisle, which had been desolate since the Danish invasion in the
reign of AElfred. Malcolm, king of the Scots, was a rude warrior who
had been tamed into an outward show of piety by his saintly wife,
Margaret, the sister of Eadgar the AEtheling. Though he could not read
her books of devotion, he liked to look at the pictures in them and to
kiss the relics which she honoured. Margaret gathered Englishmen round
her, and spread abroad something of southern piety and civilisation
amongst the fierce Celtic warriors of her husband. She could not teach
them to change their natures. In =1093= Malcolm burst into
Northumberland, plundering and burning, till an Englishman slew him at
Alnwick. Queen Margaret died broken-hearted at the news, and was
before long counted as a saint. For the moment the Scottish Celts were
weary of the English queen and her English ways. They set up Malcolm's
brother, Donald Bane, as their king, refusing to be governed by any
of Margaret's sons. Donald at once 'drave out all the English that
before were with King Malcolm.' In =1094= Duncan, Margaret's step-son,
gained the crown from Donald with the aid of a troop of English and
Norman followers. The Celts soon drove out his followers, and after a
while they slew him and restored Donald.
9. =Mowbray's Rebellion. 1095.=--William had as yet too much to do at
home to interfere further in Scotland. The Norman barons hated him,
and in =1095= Robert of Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland--the name was
now confined to the land between the Tweed and the Tyne--refused
obedience. William at once marched against him, and took from him the
new castle which he had built in =1080=, and which has ever since been
known as Newcastle-on-Tyne. Robert held out long in his stronger
fortress of Bamborough, which was only taken at last by fraud. He was
condemned to a lifelong imprisonment, and it is even said that the
Pope, seeing his case hopeless, allowed his wife to marry again as
though her husband had been dead. Mowbray's rebellion, like the
conspiracy of the Earls against the Conqueror, shows how eagerly the
Norman barons longed to shake off the yoke of the king, and how
readily Englishmen and the less powerful Normans supported even a
tyrannical king rather than allow the barons to have their way.
10. =The First Crusade. 1095--1099.=--These petty wars were
interrupted by a call to arms from the Pope. For centuries Christians
had made pilgrimages to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the holy places where
their Lord had been born and had been crucified. When the Arabs
conquered the Holy Land, Mohammedans as they were, they gave
protection to the pilgrims from the West. The Turks, who were also
Mohammedans, had lately obtained the mastery over the Arabs, and had
secured dominion over the Holy Land. They were fierce warriors,
ignorant and cruel, who either put the pilgrims to death or subjected
them to torture and ill-usage. In =1095= Pope Urban II. came to
Clermont to appeal to the Christians of the West to set out on a
Crusade--a war of the Cross--to deliver the Holy City from the
infidel. After he had spoken the multitude burst out with the cry, "It
is the will of God!" Men of every rank placed on their garments a
cross, as the sign of their devotion to the service of Christ. In
=1096= a huge multitude set forth under Peter the Hermit, who had been
active in urging men to take part in the Crusade. They believed it to
be unnecessary to take money or food, trusting that God would supply
His warriors. All these perished on the way. A better-equipped body
of knights and nobles set out later under Godfrey of Bouillon. They
fought their way through Asia Minor and Syria to Jerusalem, and in
=1099= the Holy City was taken by storm. Godfrey, though he became its
first Christian king, refused to be crowned. "I will not," he said,
"wear a crown of gold where my Saviour wore a crown of thorns." The
piety of the Christian warriors was not accompanied by mercy to the
vanquished. Holding Mohammedans to be the special enemies of God, they
treated them as no better than savage beasts. There was a terrible
butchery when Jerusalem was taken, and Christian men fancied that they
did God service by dashing out the brains of Mohammedan babes against
the walls.
11. =Normandy in Pledge. 1096.=--Robert was amongst the Crusaders. To
raise money for his expedition he pledged Normandy to his brother
William. William had no wish to take part in a holy war, but he was
ready to make profit out of those who did. Normandy was the better for
the change. It is true that William oppressed it himself, but he saved
the people from the worse oppression of the barons.
12. =The Last Years of the Red King.=--The remaining years of
William's reign were years of varying success. An English force set up
Eadgar, the son of Malcolm and Margaret, as king of the Scots, and
Eadgar consented to hold his crown as William's vassal. William's
attempts to reduce the Welsh to submission ended in failure, and he
was obliged to content himself with hemming them in with castles. In
=1098= the wicked Robert of Belleme succeeded his brother as earl of
Shrewsbury. Robert robbed and tortured Englishmen as he had robbed and
tortured Normans. He was a great builder of castles, and at
Bridgenorth he raised a fortress as the centre of a group of strong
places which could defy the Welsh and form the basis of his operations
against them. In the same year William captured Le Mans, the capital
of Maine, which had recovered its independence from Robert, which was
held against him by Helie de la Fleche, one of the few unselfish men
of the day. Unlike his father, the Red King often began enterprises
which he did not finish. In =1099= he had all his work to do over
again. He was hunting in the New Forest when he heard that Helie had
regained Le Mans. He rode hard to Southampton, and, leaping on board a
vessel, bade the sailors put to sea. A storm was raging, and the
sailors prayed him to wait till the wind fell. "I never heard," he
answered, "of a king being drowned." The next morning he was in
Normandy. He recovered Le Mans, but returned to England without
conquering Maine.
13. =The Death of the Red King. 1100.=--On August 2, =1100=, the Red
King went out to hunt in the New Forest. In the evening his body was
found pierced by an arrow. Who his slayer was is unknown. The blow may
have been accidental. It is more likely to have been intentional. In
every part of England were men who had good cause to hate William, and
nowhere were his enemies in greater numbers than round the New Forest.
Whoever was his slayer, the body of the tyrant was borne to the
cathedral of Winchester and buried as the corpse of a wild beast,
without funeral rites or weeping eyes. When, after a few years had
passed, the tower above the unhallowed tomb fell in, men said that it
had fallen because so foul a body lay beneath it.
CHAPTER IX.
HENRY I. AND STEPHEN.
HENRY I., =1100--1135=. STEPHEN, =1135--1154=.
LEADING DATES
The Accession of Henry I. 1100
Battle of Tinchebrai 1106
Death of Henry I. and Accession of Stephen 1135
The Civil War 1139
Treaty of Wallingford 1153
Death of Stephen 1154
[Illustration: Henry I. and his queen Matilda. (From the west front of
Rochester Cathedral.)]
1. =The Accession of Henry I. 1100.=--When the news spread that the
Red King had been slain in the New Forest, his younger brother, Henry,
hastened to Winchester, where he was chosen king by the barons who
happened to be there. At his coronation at Westminster he swore to
undo all the evil of his brother's reign. The name by which he came to
be known--the Lion of Justice--shows how well he kept his promise. He
maintained order as his father had done, and his brother had not done.
Flambard, the wicked minister of the Red King, was imprisoned in the
Tower, and Anselm, the good archbishop, recalled to England. Henry's
chief strength lay in the support of the English. To please them he
married Eadgyth, the daughter of Malcolm and Margaret, the descendant
through her mother of the old English kings. Through Eadgyth the
blood of Alfred and Ecgberht was transmitted to the later kings. It
was, however, necessary that she should take another name. Every one
at Henry's court talked French, and 'Eadgyth' was unpronounceable in
French. The new queen was therefore known as Matilda, or Maud. The
English called her the good queen. The Normans mocked her husband and
herself by giving them the English nicknames of Godric and Godgifu.
2. =Invasion of Robert. 1101.=--One danger at least Henry had to face.
The Norman barons yearned after the weak rule of Robert, who was again
in possession of Normandy. Once, we are told, he had to stay in bed
till noon, because his favourites had carried off his clothes, and he
had no others to put on. A duke who could not keep his own clothes was
not likely to be able to rule his duchy, and Normandy was again the
scene of fightings and plunderings which he made no effort to
suppress. Flambard, having escaped from prison, fled to Normandy, and
urged Robert to claim England as the heritage of the eldest son of the
Conqueror. Robert listened to the tempter and sailed for England. When
he landed at Porchester he found that the Church and the English had
rallied to Henry. Robert's position was hopeless, and he made a treaty
with his brother, abandoning all claim to the crown.
3. =Revolt of Robert of Belleme. 1102.=--Henry knew that the great
barons wished well to Robert, and on one pretext or another he
stripped most of them of power. Robert of Belleme, the strongest and
wickedest of them all, rose in revolt. After capturing many of his
castles, Henry laid siege to his great fortress at Bridgenorth. The
barons who served under Henry urged him to spare a rebel who was one
of their own class. The Englishmen and the inferior Norman knights
thought otherwise. "Lord King Henry," they cried, "trust not those
traitors. They do but strive to deceive you, and to take away from you
the strength of kingly justice.... Behold, we all stand by you
faithfully; we are ready to serve and help you in all things. Attack
the castle vigorously; shut in the traitor on all sides, and make no
peace with him till you have him alive or dead in your hands."
Bridgenorth was taken, and Robert of Belleme, having been stripped of
his English land, was sent off to Normandy. Henry was now, in very
truth, king of the English. "Rejoice, King Henry," ran a popular song,
"and give thanks to the Lord God, because thou art a free king since
thou hast overthrown Robert of Belleme, and hast driven him from the
borders of thy kingdom." Never again during Henry's reign did the
great Norman lords dare to lift hand against him.
4. =The Battle of Tinchebrai. 1106.=--It was impossible for Henry to
avoid interference in Normandy. Many of his vassals in England
possessed lands in Normandy as well, where they were exposed to the
violence of Robert of Belleme and of others who had been expelled from
England. The Duke of the Normans would do nothing to keep the peace,
and Henry crossed the sea to protect his own injured subjects. Duke
Robert naturally resisted him, and at last, in =1106=, a great battle
was fought at Tinchebrai, in which Robert was utterly defeated. Duke
Robert was kept for the remainder of his life a prisoner in Cardiff
Castle, where he died after an imprisonment of twenty-eight years.
Henry became Duke of the Normans as well as king of the English, and
all Normandy was the better for the change. Robert of Belleme was
thrown into prison, and the cruel oppressor thus shared the fate of
the weak ruler whose remissness had made his oppressions possible.
[Illustration: Seal of Milo of Gloucester, showing mounted armed
figure in the reign of Henry I.]
5. =Henry and Anselm. 1100--1107.=--Though Anselm had done everything
in his power to support Henry against Robert of Belleme, he was
himself engaged in a dispute with the king which lasted for some
years. A bishop in Anselm's time was not only a great Church officer,
whose duty it was to maintain a high standard of religion and morality
amongst the clergy. He was also one of the king's barons, because he
was possessed of large estates, and was therefore bound like any other
baron to send knights to the king when they were needed. Consequently,
when Anselm became archbishop he had not only received investiture
from William II. by accepting from him the ring and the staff which
were the signs of ecclesiastical authority, but also did homage, thus
acknowledging himself to be the king's man, and obliging himself, not
indeed to fight for him in person, but to send knights to fight under
his orders. When, however, Henry came to the throne, and asked Anselm
to repeat the homage which he had done to William, Anselm not only
refused himself to comply with the king's request, but also refused to
consecrate newly-chosen bishops who had received investiture from
Henry. During the time of his exile Anselm had taken part in a council
of the Church, in which bishops and abbots had been forbidden by the
Pope and the council either to receive investiture from laymen or to
do homage to them. These decrees had not been issued merely to serve
the purpose of papal ambition. At that time all zealous ecclesiastics
thought that the only way to stop the violence of kings in their
dealings with the Church was to make the Church entirely independent.
Anselm's experience of the Red King's wickedness must have made him
ready to concur with this new view, and there can be no doubt that it
was from the most conscientious motives that he refused to do homage
to Henry. On the other hand, Henry, wishing to rule justly, thought it
very hard that the archbishop should insist upon the independence of
the bishops, especially as in consequence of their large estates they
had so many knights to send into the field. Though the dispute was a
hot one, it was carried on without any of the violence which had
characterised the dispute between Anselm and the Red King, and it
ended in a compromise. Henry abandoned all claim to give the ring and
the pastoral staff which were the signs of a bishop's or an abbot's
spiritual jurisdiction, whilst Anselm consented to allow the new
bishop or abbot to render the homage which was the sign of his
readiness to employ all his temporal wealth and power on the king's
behalf. The bishop was to be chosen by the chapter of his cathedral,
the abbot by the monks of his abbey, but the election was to take
place in the king's presence, thus giving him influence over their
choice. Whether this settlement would work in favour of the king or
the clergy depended on the character of the kings and the clergy. If
the kings were as riotous as the Red King and the clergy as
self-denying as Anselm, the clergy would grow strong in spite of these
arrangements. If the kings were as just and wise as Henry, and the
clergy as wicked as Ralph Flambard, all advantage would be on the side
of the king.
6. =Roger of Salisbury.=--After the defeat of the Norman barons the
Great Council ceased for a time to have any important influence on the
government. Henry was practically an absolute king, and it was well
that he should be so, as the country wanted order more than
discussion. Henry, however, loved to exercise absolute power in an
orderly way, and he chose for his chief minister Roger, whom he made
Bishop of Salisbury. Roger had first attracted his notice when he was
going out hunting, by saying mass in a shorter time than any other
priest, but he retained his favour by the order and system which he
introduced into the government. A special body of officials and
councillors was selected by the king--perhaps a similar body had been
selected by his predecessor--to sit in judgment over cases in which
tenants-in-chief were concerned, as well as over other cases which
were, for one reason or another, transferred to it from the Baronial
Courts. This council or committee was called the _Curia Regis_ (the
King's Court). The members of this _Curia Regis_ met also in the
Exchequer, so called from the chequered cloth which covered the table
at which they sat. They were then known as Barons of the Exchequer,
and controlled the receipts and outgoings of the treasury. The
Justiciar presided in both the _Curia Regis_ and the Exchequer.
Amongst those who took part in these proceedings was the Chancellor,
who was then a secretary and not a judge, as well as other superior
officers of the king. A regular system of finance was introduced, and
a regular system of justice accompanied it. At last the king
determined to send some of the judges of his court to go on circuit
into distant parts of the kingdom. These itinerant Justices
(_Justitiarii errantes_) brought the royal power into connection with
the local courts. Their business was of a very miscellaneous
character. They not only heard the cases in which the king was
concerned--the pleas of the crown, as they were called--but they made
assessments for purposes of taxation, listened to complaints, and
conveyed the king's wishes to his people.
[Illustration: Monument of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury (died 1139), in
his cathedral church.]
7. =Growth of Trade.=--Though Henry's severe discipline was not liked,
yet the law and order which he maintained told on the prosperity of
the country, and the trade of London flourished so much as to attract
citizens from Normandy to settle in it. Flemings too, trained in
habits of industry, came in crowds, and with the view of providing a
bulwark against the Welsh, Henry settled a colony of them in South
Pembrokeshire, which has since been known as Little England beyond
Wales. The foreigners were not popular, but the Jews, to whom Henry
continued the protection which William had given them, were more
unpopular still.
[Illustration: Porchester Church, Hampshire. Built about 1135.]
8. =The Benedictines.=--In the midst of this busy life the Benedictine
monasteries were still harbours of refuge for all who did not care to
fight or trade. They were now indeed wealthier than they had once
been, as gifts, usually of land, had been made to the monks by those
who reverenced their piety. Sometimes these gifts took a shape which
afterwards caused no little evil. Landowners who had churches on their
lands often gave to a monastery the tithes which had hitherto been
paid for the support of the parish priest, and the monastery stepped
into the place of the parish priest, sending a vicar to act for it in
the performance of its new duties. As the monks themselves grew richer
they grew less ascetic. Their life, however, was not spent in
idleness. They cared for the poor, kept a school for the children, and
managed their own property. Some of their number studied and wrote,
and our knowledge of the history of these times is mainly owing to
monastic writers. When Henry I. came to the throne the Chronicle was
still being written in the English tongue by the monks of Worcester,
and for some years after his death was still carried on at
Peterborough. The best historical compositions were, however, in
Latin, the language understood by the clergy over all Western Europe.
Amongst the authors of these Latin works, the foremost was William of
Malmesbury.
9. =The Cistercians.=--Useful as the Benedictines were, there were
some monks who complained that the extreme self-denial of their
founder, St. Benedict, was no longer to be met with, and the
complainants had lately originated a new order, called the Cistercian,
from Citeaux, in Burgundy, the site of their first abbey. The
Cistercians made their appearance in England in =1128=. Their
buildings and churches were simpler than those of the Benedictines,
and their life more austere. They refused to receive gifts of tithes
lest they should impoverish the parish clergy. They loved to make
their homes in solitary places far from the haunts of men, and some of
the most beautiful of the abbeys which remain in ruins--those, for
instance, of Fountains and Tintern--were Cistercian abbeys. They are
beautiful, not because the Cistercians loved pleasant places, but
because they loved solitude, whilst the Benedictines had either
planted themselves in towns or had allowed towns to grow up round
their monasteries.
[Illustration: Part of the nave of Durham Cathedral. Built about
1130.]
10. =The White Ship.=--Henry, in consequence of the possession of
Normandy, had been frequently involved in war with France. Robert's
son, William Clito, claimed Normandy, and his claim was supported by
Louis VI. the Fat, who was styled king of France, though the territory
which he actually ruled was no larger than Normandy. In these wars
Henry was usually successful, and at last, in =1127=, William was
killed, and Henry freed from danger. His own son, also named William,
had already been drowned on the voyage between Normandy and England in
=1120=. The ship in which he sailed ran upon a rock, and the young man
was placed in a boat, and might have escaped if he had not returned to
save his half-sister, the Countess of Perche, who was still on board.
As soon as he approached the sailors and passengers crowded into the
boat and swamped it. Only one man, a butcher, was saved, by clinging
to the mast of the ship when it sank. The captain, who was with him
on the mast, threw himself off as soon as he learned that the king's
son had been drowned, and perished in the water. It is said that no
man dared to tell Henry that his son was drowned, and that at last a
little child was sent to inform him of his misfortune.
11. =The Last Years of Henry I.=--Henry had many illegitimate
children, but after William's death the only lawful child left to him
was Matilda. She had been married as a child to the Emperor Henry V.,
but her husband had died before she was grown up, and she then
returned to her father, as the Empress Matilda. There had never been a
queen in England, and it would have been very hard for a woman to rule
in those times of constant war and bloodshed. Yet Henry persuaded the
barons to swear to accept her as their future sovereign. He then
married her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, who came of a brave and
active race, and whose lands, which lay to the south of Normandy,
would enlarge the French possessions of Henry's descendants. In =1135=
Henry died. The great merit of his English government was that he
forsook his brother's evil ways of violence, and maintained peace by
erecting a regular administrative system, which kept down the outrages
of the barons. One of the English chroniclers in recording his death
prayed that God might give him the peace that he loved.[9]
[Footnote 9: Genealogy of the Conqueror's sons and grandchildren:--
WILLIAM I. = Matilda of Flanders
1066-1087 |
+------------+--------+---+---------+
| | | |
Robert, Duke of WILLIAM II. HENRY I. Adela = Stephen of Blois
Normandy 1087-1100 1100-1135 |
| | |
| | | STEPHEN
William Clito William | 1135-1154
|
(1) The Emperor Henry V. = Matilda = (2) Geoffrey Plantagenet
|
HENRY II.
1154-1189]
[Illustration: Keep of Rochester Castle. Built between 1126 and 1139.]
12. =Stephen's Accession. 1135.=--Among the barons who had sworn to
obey Matilda was Stephen of Blois, a son of the Conqueror's daughter
Adela, and a nephew of Henry I. As soon as Henry's death was known
Stephen made his way to London, where he was joyfully received as
king. The London citizens felt that their chief interest lay in the
maintenance of peace, and they thought that a man would be more likely
than a woman to secure order. The barons chose Stephen king at
Winchester, where his brother, Henry of Blois, was the bishop. Shortly
afterwards some of these very barons rose against him, but their
insurrection was soon repressed. More formidable was the hostility of
David, king of the Scots. David was closely connected with the family
of Henry I., his sister having been Henry's wife, the Empress Matilda
being consequently his niece. He also held in right of his own wife
the earldom of Huntingdon. Under the pretext of taking up Matilda's
cause he broke into the north of England. Though he himself carried on
the work of introducing English civilisation into Scotland, his Celtic
followers were still savage, and massacred women and infants. In
=1137= Stephen drove David back. In =1138= David reappeared, and this
time the aged Thurstan, Archbishop of York, sent the levies of the
North against him. In the midst of the English army was a cart bearing
a standard, at the top of which the banners of the three great
churches of St. Peter's of York, St. John of Beverley, and St. Wilfrid
of Ripon, waved round the consecrated Host. The battle which ensued,
near Northallerton, has consequently been known as the battle of the
Standard. The Scots were completely defeated, but Stephen, in spite of
the victory gained for him, found himself obliged to buy peace at a
heavy price. He agreed that David's son, Henry, should hold
Northumberland, with the exception of the fortresses of Bamborough and
of Newcastle, as a fief of the English Crown. David himself was also
allowed to keep Cumberland without doing homage.
[Illustration: Keep of Castle Rising. Built about 1140-50.]
13. =Civil War.=--It would have been well for Stephen if he had learnt
from the men of the North that his strength lay in rallying the
English people round him against the great barons, as the Red King and
Henry I. had done when their right to the crown had been challenged by
Robert. Instead of this, he brought over mercenaries from Flanders,
and squandered treasure and lands upon his favourites so as to have
little left for the hour of need. He made friends easily, but he made
enemies no less easily. One of the most powerful of the barons was
Robert, Earl of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of Henry I., who held
the strong fortress of Bristol, and whose power extended over both
sides of the lower course of the Severn. In =1138= Stephen, who
distrusted him, ordered his castles to be seized. Robert at once
declared his half-sister Matilda to be the lawful queen, and a
terrible civil war began. Robert's garrison at Bristol was a terror to
all the country round. He, too, gathered foreign mercenaries, who knew
not what pity was. Other barons imitated Robert's example, fighting
only for themselves whether they nominally took the part of Stephen or
of Matilda, and the southern and midland counties of England were
preyed upon by the garrisons of their castles.
14. =Stephen's Quarrel with the Clergy. 1139.=--Evil as were the men
who fought on either side, it was to Stephen and not to Matilda and
Robert that men as yet looked to restore order. The port towns,
London, Yarmouth, and Lynn, clung to him to the last. Unfortunately
Stephen did not know how to make good use of his advantages. The
clergy, like the traders, had always been in favour of order. Some of
them, with the Justiciar, Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, at their head,
had organised the Exchequer of Henry I., had gathered in the payments
due to the Crown, or had acted as judges. Yet with all their zeal in
the service of the Crown, they had not omitted to provide for their
own interests. Roger in particular had been insatiable in the pursuit
of wealth for himself and of promotion for his family. One of his
nephews, Nigel, Bishop of Ely, was Treasurer, whilst another,
Alexander, was Bishop of Lincoln, and his own illegitimate son, Roger,
was Chancellor. In =1139= Stephen, rightly or wrongly, threw him into
prison with his son and Alexander of Lincoln. The other nephew, Nigel,
escaped to his uncle's castle at Devizes, in which was the younger
Roger's mother, Matilda of Ramsbury. Stephen brought her son before
the castle, and put a rope round his neck to hang him unless the
castle was surrendered. The unhappy mother could not bear the sight,
and opened the gates to Stephen. It might have been wise to deprive a
too ambitious bishop of his castle, but it was not wise personally to
maltreat the clergy. Every priest in England turned against Stephen.
His own brother, Henry, Bishop of Winchester, declared against him,
and Stephen was obliged to do penance for his offence. The
administration of the Exchequer was shattered, and though it was not
altogether destroyed, and money was brought to it for the king's use
even in the worst times, Stephen's financial resources were from
henceforth sadly diminished.
15. =Anarchy. 1139.=--The war now lapsed into sheer anarchy. The
barons on either side broke loose from all restraint. "They fought
amongst themselves with deadly hatred; they spoiled the fairest lands
with fire and rapine; in what had been the most fertile of counties
they destroyed almost all the provision of bread." All goods and money
they carried off, and if they suspected any man to have concealed
treasure they tortured him to oblige him to confess where it was.
"They hanged up men by the feet and smoked them with foul smoke; some
were hanged up by their thumbs, others by their head, and coats of
mail were hung on to their feet. They put knotted strings about men's
heads, and twisted them till they went to the brain. They put men into
prisons where adders and snakes and toads were crawling; and so they
tormented them. Some they put into a chest, short and narrow and not
deep, and that had sharp stones within; and forced men therein, so
that they broke all their limbs. In many of the castles were hateful
and grim things called neckties, which two or three men had enough to
do to carry. This instrument of torture was thus made: it was fastened
to a beam, and had a sharp iron to go about a man's neck and throat,
so that he might no way sit or lie or sleep, but he bore all the iron.
Many thousands they starved with hunger.... Men said openly that
Christ and His saints were asleep."
16. =The End of the War. 1141--1148.=--In the autumn of =1139=,
Matilda appeared in England, and in =1141= there was a battle at
Lincoln, in which Stephen was taken prisoner. Henry of Winchester (see
p. 131) acknowledged Matilda as queen, and all England submitted to
her, London giving way most reluctantly. Her rule did not last long.
She was as much too harsh as Stephen was too good-natured. She seized
the lands of the Church, and ordered the Londoners to pay a heavy fine
for having supported Stephen. On this the Londoners rang their bells,
and the citizens in arms swarmed out of their houses 'like bees out of
a hive.' Matilda fled to Winchester before them. Bishop Henry then
turned against her. Robert of Gloucester was taken prisoner, and after
a while Matilda was obliged to set free King Stephen in exchange for
her brother. Fighting continued for some time. On all sides men were
longing for peace. The fields were untilled because no man could tell
who would reap the harvest. Thousands perished of starvation. If peace
there was to be, it could only come by Stephen's victory. It was now
known that Matilda was even less fit to govern than Stephen. Stephen
took one castle after another. In =1147= Earl Robert died, and in
=1148= Matilda gave up the struggle and left England.
[Illustration: Tower of Castor Church, Northamptonshire. Built about
1145. (The parapet and spire are later.)]
17. =Henry, Duke of the Normans. 1149.=--Whilst Matilda had been
losing England her husband had been conquering Normandy, and for a
little while it seemed possible that England and Normandy would be
separated; England remaining under Stephen and his heirs, and
Normandy united with Anjou under the Angevin Geoffrey and his
descendants. That the separation did not yet take place was partly
owing to the different character of the two heirs. Stephen's son,
Eustace, was rough and overbearing. Geoffrey's son, Henry, was shrewd
and prudent. Henry had already been in England when he was still quite
young, and had learnt something of English affairs from his uncle,
Robert of Gloucester. He returned to his father in =1147=, and in
=1149= Geoffrey gave up to him the duchy of Normandy. He was then sent
to try his fortune in England in his mother's stead, but he was only a
boy of sixteen, and too young to cope with Stephen. In =1150= he
abandoned the struggle for a time. In his absence Stephen had still
rebels to put down and castles to besiege, but he had the greater part
of the kingdom at his back, and if Henry had continued to leave him
alone he would probably have reduced all his enemies to submission.
18. =The Last Days of Stephen. 1153--1154.=--In =1150= Geoffrey died,
and Henry became Count of Anjou as well as Duke of Normandy. Before
long he acquired a much wider territory than either Anjou or Normandy.
Louis VII. of France had to wife Eleanor, the Duchess of Aquitaine,
and through her had added to his own scanty dominions the whole of the
lands between the Loire and the Pyrenees. Louis, believing that she
was unfaithful to him, had divorced her on the pretext that she was
too near of kin. Henry was not squeamish about the character of so
great an heiress, and in =1152= married the Duchess of Aquitaine for
the sake of her lands. Thus strengthened, he again returned to
England. He was now a young man of nineteen; his vigour was as great
as that of Stephen, and his skill greater. He won fortress after
fortress. Before the end of =1153= Eustace died, and Stephen had no
motive for prolonging the strife if his personal interests could be
saved. It was arranged by the treaty of Wallingford that Stephen
should retain the crown for life, and that Henry should be his heir.
The castles which had sprung up during the civil war without the
licence of the king--the 'adulterine castles,' as they were
called--and there were no less than 365[10] of them--were to be
destroyed, and order and good government were to return. For five
months Henry remained in England. The robber barons could not hold out
against the two rivals now united. Many of the castles were
demolished, and 'such good peace as never was here' was established.
In =1154= Stephen died, and young Henry ruled England in his own name.
[Footnote 10: The number usually given, '1,115,' is probably an
error.]
CHAPTER X.
HENRY II. =1154--1189=.
LEADING DATES
Accession of Henry II. 1154
Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury 1162
The Constitutions of Clarendon 1164
Murder of Archbishop Thomas 1172
The Assize of Arms 1181
Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1187
Death of Henry II. 1189
1. =Henry's Accession. 1154.=--Henry II. was but twenty-one when he
returned, after Stephen's death, to govern England. He had before him
the difficult task of establishing order where anarchy had prevailed,
but it was a task for which he was specially suited. His frame was
strong and thick-set, and he was as active as he was strong. His
restlessness was the dismay of his courtiers. Eager to see everything
for himself, and having to rule a territory extending from the
Pyrenees to the Scottish border, he was always on the move. His
followers were not allowed to know till he started in the morning
where he intended to sleep at night, and he frequently changed his
mind even after he had set out. He was as busy with his mind as he was
with his body, as fond of a book as of a horse, and ready to chat with
any one of whatever rank. Even when he was at mass he either drew
pictures to amuse himself or conversed in whispers with his
neighbours. His ceaseless energy was combined with a strong will, a
clear perception of the limits beyond which action would be unwise, a
good eye for ability in others, and a power of utilising their ability
in his own service. On the Continent his sagacity appeared in his
resolution to be content with the dominions which he had acquired
without making further conquests. In England his main object was the
same as that of his predecessors, to establish the king's authority
over the great barons. What especially distinguished him was his clear
perception of the truth that he could only succeed by securing, not
merely the passive goodwill, but the active co-operation of those who,
whether they were of Norman or of English descent, were inferior in
wealth and position to the great barons.
[Illustration: Effigies of Henry II. and Queen Eleanor at
Fontevrault.]
2. =Pacification of England.=--Henry's first year was spent in
completing the work which he had begun after the treaty of
Wallingford. He sent Stephen's mercenaries over the sea and
completed the destruction of the 'adulterine castles.' One great rebel
after another was forced to submit and have his strong walls pulled
down. There were to be no more dens of robbers in England, but all men
were to obey the king and the law. What castles remained were the
king's, and as long as they were his rebellions would not be likely to
be successful. Henry even regained from Malcolm IV., king of the
Scots, Northumberland and Cumberland, which had been surrendered by
Stephen (see p. 133). In his government Henry did his best to carry
out the plans of his grandfather, Henry I. It was perhaps because he
was afraid that one Justiciar would be too powerful, that he appointed
two, Richard de Lucy and the Earl of Leicester, to see that justice
was executed and the government maintained whether the king were
absent or present. The old Bishop Nigel of Ely was reappointed
Treasurer, and presided over the Exchequer at Westminster. Thomas of
London, known in later times by the name of Becket,[11] an active and
vigorous man, fifteen years older than the king, who had been ordained
a deacon, but had nothing clerical about him except the name, was made
Chancellor. Thomas was the king's chosen friend, and the two together
delighted in the work of restoring order. Thomas liked sumptuous
living, and the magnificence of his housekeeping and of his feasts was
the talk of the whole country. Yet though he laughed and jested in the
midst of his grandeur, he kept himself from every kind of vice. Henry
was fond of horseplay, and once on a bitter winter's day, when he was
riding with Thomas, he snatched at a fine new scarlet mantle from the
Chancellor's neck to throw to a beggar. Thomas struggled hard, and the
two men nearly pulled one another off their horses, but in the end the
beggar got the mantle.
[Footnote 11: His father's name was Becket, but at that time
hereditary surnames had not come into use. He was once called Thomas
Becket in his lifetime by one of his murderers as an insult.]
3. =Henry and Feudality.=--It was principally with Thomas the
Chancellor that Henry consulted as to the best means of establishing
his authority. He resolved not only to renew but to extend the
administrative system of Henry I. The danger which threatened him came
from the great barons, and as the great barons were as dangerous to
the lesser ones and to the bulk of the people as they were to the
king, Henry was able to strengthen himself by winning the affections
of the people. Feudality in itself was only a method of owning land;
but it was always threatening to pass into a method of government. In
France the great feudal lords ruled their own territories with very
little regard for the wishes of the king, and the smaller feudal lords
had their own courts in which they hanged and imprisoned their
villeins. In Stephen's time an attempt had been made to introduce this
system into England, with evil consequences both to king and people.
Before the Conquest great landowners had often received permission
from the king to exercise criminal jurisdiction in the Manor Courts on
their own estates, whilst the vast extent of their landed property
gave them a preponderant voice in the proceedings of the shire-moots,
now known by the Normans as County Courts. Henry resolved to attack
the evil at both ends: in the first place to make the barons support
the king's government instead of setting up their own; in the second
place, to weaken the Manor and County Courts and to strengthen courts
directly proceeding from himself.
4. =The Great Council and the Curia Regis.=--Henry in the early years
of his reign revived the importance of the Great Council, taking care
that it should be attended not only by the great barons, but by
vassals holding smaller estates, and therefore more dependent on
himself. He summoned the Great Council oftener than his predecessors
had done. In this way even the greater barons got the habit of sharing
in the government of England as a whole, instead of seeking to split
up the country, as France was split up, into different districts, each
of which might be governed by one of themselves. It was in consequence
of the increasing habit of consulting with the king that the Great
Council, after many changes, ultimately grew into the modern
Parliament. It was of no less importance that Henry II. strengthened
the _Curia Regis_, which had been established in the reign of Henry I.
(see p. 127) to collect the king's revenue, to give him political
advice, and to judge as many questions as it could possibly get hold
of. It was especially by doing justice that the _Curia Regis_ was
likely to acquire strength, and the strength of the _Curia Regis_ was
in reality the strength of the king.
5. =Scutage.=--If Henry was to carry out justice everywhere it would
be necessary for him to weaken still further the power of the barons.
He reintroduced a plan which had been first adopted by his
grandfather, which had the double merit of strengthening the king upon
the Continent and of weakening the barons in England. Henry needed an
army to defend his Continental possessions against the king of France.
The fyrd, or general levy of Englishmen, was not bound to fight except
at home, and though the feudal vassals were liable to serve abroad,
they could only be made to serve for forty days in the year, which
was too short a time for Henry's purposes. He accordingly came to an
agreement with his vassals. The owner of every knight's fee was to pay
a sum of money known as scutage (_shield-money_) in lieu of service.
Both parties gained by the arrangement. The king got money with which
he paid mercenaries abroad, who would fight for him all the year
round, and the vassal escaped the onerous duty of fighting in quarrels
in which he took no interest. Indirectly the change weakened the
feudal vassals, because they had now less opportunity than before of
acquiring a military training in actual war.
[Illustration: Ecclesiastical costume in the twelfth century.]
6. =Archbishop Thomas. 1162.=--Henry, who meditated great judicial
reforms, foresaw that the clergy would be an obstacle in his way. He
was eager to establish one law for his whole kingdom, and the clergy,
having been exempted by the Conqueror from the jurisdiction of the
ordinary law courts in all ecclesiastical matters, had, during the
anarchy of Stephen's reign, encroached on the royal authority, and
claimed to be responsible, even in criminal cases, only to the
ecclesiastical courts, which were unable to inflict the penalty of
death, so that a clerk who committed a murder could not be hanged like
other murderers. As large numbers of clerks were only in the lower
orders, and as many of them had only taken those orders to escape from
the hardships of lay life, their morals were often no better than
those of their lay neighbours. A vacancy occurring in the
Archbishopric of Canterbury, Henry, who wished to make these clerks
punishable by his own courts, thought that the arrangement would
easily be effected if Thomas, who had hitherto been active as a
reformer in his service, were Archbishop as well as Chancellor. It was
in vain that Thomas remonstrated. "I warn you," he said to Henry,
"that, if such a thing should be, our friendship would soon turn to
bitter hate." Henry persisted in spite of the warning, and Thomas
became Archbishop.
7. =Breach between Henry and Thomas.=--The first act of the new
Archbishop was to surrender his Chancellorship. He was unable, he
said, to serve two masters. It is not difficult to understand his
motives. The Church, as the best men of the twelfth century believed,
was divinely instituted for the guidance of the world. It was but a
short step for the nobler spirits amongst the clergy to hold it
necessary that, in order to secure the due performance of such exalted
duties, the clergy should be exempted from the so-called justice of
laymen, which was often only another name for tyranny, even if the
exemption led to the infliction upon wicked clerks of lesser
punishments than were meet. In this way the clergy would unconsciously
fall into the frame of mind which might lead them to imagine it more
to the honour of God that a wicked clerk should be insufficiently
punished than that he should be punished by a layman. Of all men
Archbishop Thomas was the most likely to fall into this mistake. He
was, as Chancellor, prone to magnify his office, and to think more of
being the originator of great reforms than of the great reforms
themselves. As Archbishop he would also be sure to magnify his office,
and to think less, as Anselm would have thought, of reconciling the
true interests of the kingdom with the true interests of the Church,
than of making the Archbishop's authority the centre of stirring
movement, and of raising the Church, of which he was the highest
embodiment in England, to a position above the power of the king. All
this he would do with a great, if not a complete, sincerity. He would
feel that he was himself the greater man because he believed that he
was fighting in the cause of God.
[Illustration: A bishop ordaining a priest. (From a MS. of the latter
part of the twelfth century.)]
8. =The Constitutions of Clarendon. 1164.=--Between a king eager to
assert the rights of the crown and an archbishop eager to assert the
rights of the clergy a quarrel could not be long deferred. Thomas's
first stand, however, was on behalf of the whole country. At a Great
Council at Woodstock he resisted the king's resolution to levy the old
tax of Danegeld, and in consequence Danegeld was never levied again.
Henry had for some time been displeased because, without consulting
him, the Archbishop had seized on lands which he claimed as the
property of the see of Canterbury, and had excommunicated one of the
king's tenants. Then a clerk who had committed a rape and a murder had
been acquitted in an ecclesiastical court. On this, Henry called on
the bishops to promise to obey the customs of the realm. Thomas, being
told that the king merely wanted a verbal promise to save his dignity,
with some reluctance consented. He soon found that he had been
tricked. In =1164= Henry summoned a Great Council to meet at
Clarendon, and directed some of the oldest of his barons to set down
in writing the customs observed by his grandfather. Their report was
intended to settle all disputed points between the king and the
clergy, and was drawn up under sixteen heads known as the
Constitutions of Clarendon. The most important of them declared that
beneficed clergy should not leave the realm without the king's leave;
that no tenant-in-chief of the king should be excommunicated without
the king's knowledge; that no villein should be ordained without his
lord's consent; that a criminous clerk should be sent to the
ecclesiastical court for trial, and that after he had been there
convicted or had pleaded guilty the Church should deprive him and
leave him to the lay court for further punishment. It was for the
_Curia Regis_ to determine what matters were properly to be decided by
the ecclesiastical courts; and no appeal to Rome was to be allowed
without its permission. To all this Thomas was violently opposed,
maintaining that the sentence of deprivation, which was all that an
ecclesiastical court was empowered to inflict, was so terrible, that
one who had incurred it ought not to be sentenced to any further
penalty by a lay court. After six days' struggle he left the Council,
refusing to assent to the Constitutions.
9. =The Persecution of Archbishop Thomas. 1164.=--Unluckily for
himself, Henry could not be content firmly and quietly to enforce the
law as it had been declared at Clarendon. He had in his character much
of the orderly spirit of his grandfather, Henry I., but he had also
something of the violence of his great-uncle, William II. A certain
John the Marshal had a suit against the archbishop, and when the
archbishop refused to plead in a lay court, the king's council
sentenced him to a fine of 500_l._ Then Henry summoned the archbishop
to his castle at Northampton to give an account of all the money
which, when he was Chancellor, he had received from the king--a claim
which is said to have amounted to 30,000_l._, a sum equal in the money
of these days to not much less than 400,000_l._ now. Thomas, with the
crucifix in his hand, awaited in the hall the decision of Henry, who
with the council was discussing his fate in an upper chamber. When the
Justiciar came out to tell him that he had been declared a traitor he
refused to listen, and placed himself under the Pope's protection. Hot
words were bandied on either side as he walked out of the hall. "This
is a fearful day," said one of his attendants. "The Day of Judgment,"
replied Thomas, "will be more fearful." Thomas made his way to the
coast and fled to France. Henry in his wrath banished no less than
four hundred of the archbishop's kinsmen and friends. Thomas found
less help in France than he had expected. There were once more two
rival Popes--Alexander III., who was acknowledged by the greater part
of the clergy and by the kings of England and France, and Calixtus
III., who had been set up by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
Alexander was too much afraid lest Henry should take the part of
Calixtus to be very eager in supporting Thomas. He therefore did his
best to effect a reconciliation between Henry and Thomas, but for some
years his efforts were of no avail.
[Illustration: Small ship of the latter part of the twelfth century.]
10. =The Assize of Clarendon. 1166.=--Henry, being temporarily
disembarrassed of Thomas's rivalry, was able to devote his time to
carrying out still further the judicial organisation of the country.
In =1166= he held a Great Council at Clarendon, and with its approval
issued a set of decrees known as the Assize of Clarendon. By this
assize full force was given to a change which had for some time been
growing in the judicial system. The old English way of dealing with
criminals had been by calling on an accused person to swear to his own
innocence and to bring compurgators to swear that his oath was true.
If the accused failed to find compurgators he was sent to the ordeal.
According to the new way there was to be in each county juries
consisting of twelve men of the hundred and of four from each township
in it to present offences--felonies, murders, and robberies--and to
accuse persons on common report. They were sworn to speak the truth,
so that their charges were known as verdicts (_vere dicta_). No
compurgators were allowed, but the accused, after his offence had been
presented, had to go to the ordeal, and even if he succeeded in this
he was, if his character was notoriously bad, to abjure the
realm--that is to say, to be banished, swearing never to return. If he
came back he was held to be an outlaw, and might be put to death
without mercy by any one.
11. =Recognitions.=--A very similar system to that which was thus
adopted in criminal cases had already in the early part of Henry's
reign been widely extended in civil cases. When, before the Conquest,
disputes occurred amongst the English as to the possession of
property, each party swore to the justice of his own case, brought
compurgators, and summoned witnesses to declare in his favour. There
was, however, no method of cross-examination, and if the hundred or
shire court was still unsatisfied, it had recourse to the ordeal. The
Normans introduced the system of trial by battle, under the belief
that God would intervene to give victory to the litigant whose cause
was just. This latter system, however, had never been popular with the
English, and Henry favoured another which had been in existence in
Normandy before the Conquest, and was fairly suited to English habits.
This was the system of recognitions. Any freeholder who had been
dispossessed of his land might apply to the _Curia Regis_, and the
_Curia Regis_ ordered the sheriff of the county in which was the land
in dispute to select four knights of that county, by whom twelve
knights were chosen to serve as Recognitors. It was the business of
these Recognitors to find out either by their own knowledge or by
private inquiry the truth of the matter. If they were unanimous their
verdict was accepted as final. If not, other knights were added to
them, and when at last twelve were found agreeing, their agreement was
held to settle the question.
12. =The Germ of the Jury.=--Thus, whilst in criminal cases the local
knowledge of sworn accusers was treated as satisfactory evidence of
guilt, in civil cases a system was growing up in which is to be traced
the germ of the modern jury. The Recognitors did not indeed hear
evidence in public or become judges of the fact, like the modern jury;
they were rather sworn witnesses, allowed to form an opinion not
merely, like modern witnesses, on what they had actually seen or
heard, but also on what they could gather by private inquiry.
13. =The Itinerant Justices Revived.=--To carry out this system Henry
renewed his grandfather's experiment of sending members of the _Curia
Regis_ as itinerant justices visiting the counties. They held what
were called the pleas of the crown--that is to say, trials which were
brought before the king's judges instead of being tried either in the
county courts or the manorial courts. Both these judges and the king
had every interest in getting as much business before their courts as
possible. Offenders were fined and suitors had to pay fees, and the
best chance of increasing these profits was to attract suitors by
administering justice better than the local courts. The more thronged
were the king's courts, the more rich and powerful he became. The
consequent growth of the influence of the itinerant justices was no
doubt offensive to the lords of the manor, and especially to the
greater landowners, as diminishing their importance, and calling them
to account whenever they attempted to encroach on their less powerful
neighbours.
14. =The Inquisition of the Sheriffs. 1170.=--It was not long before
Henry discovered another way of diminishing the power of the barons.
In the early part of his reign the sheriffs of the counties were still
selected from the great landowners, and the sheriff was not merely the
collector of the king's revenue in his county, but had, since the
Conquest, assumed a new importance in the county court, over which in
the older times the ealdorman or earl and the bishop had presided.
Since the Conquest the bishop, having a court of his own for
ecclesiastical matters, had ceased to take part in its proceedings,
and the earl's authority, which had been much lessened after the
Conquest, had now disappeared. The sheriff, therefore, was left alone
at the head of the county court, and when the new system of trial grew
up he as well as the itinerant justices was allowed to receive the
presentments of juries. When, in the spring of =1170=, the king
returned to England after an absence of four years, he held a strict
inquiry into the conduct of them all, and deposed twenty of them. In
many cases, no doubt, the sheriffs had done things to displease Henry,
but there can be no doubt that the blow thus struck at the sheriffs
was, in the main, aimed at the great nobility. The successors of those
turned out were of lower rank, and therefore more submissive. From
this time it was accepted by the kings of England as a principle of
government that no great noble should serve as sheriff.
15. =The Nobles and the Church.=--Henry knew well that the great
nobles were indignant, and that it was possible that they might rise
against him, as at one time or another they had risen against every
king since the Conquest. He knew too that his predecessors had found
their strongest support against the nobles in the Church, and that the
Church was no longer unanimously on his side. He could indeed count
upon all the bishops save one. Bishops who were or had been his
officials, bishops envious of Thomas or afraid of himself, were all at
his disposal, but they brought him no popular strength. Thomas alone
amongst them had a hold on the imagination of the people through his
austerities and his daring. Moreover, as the champion of the clergy,
he was regarded as being also the champion of the people, from whose
ranks the clergy were recruited.
16. =The Coronation of Young Henry. 1170.=--At the moment of Henry's
return to England he had special need of the Church. He wished the
kingdom of England to pass at his death to his eldest son, Henry, and
since the Conquest no eldest son had ever succeeded his father on the
throne. He therefore determined to adopt a plan which had succeeded
with the kings of France, of having the young Henry chosen and crowned
in his own lifetime, so that when he died he might be ready to step
into his father's place. Young Henry was chosen, and on June 14,
=1170=, he was crowned by Roger, Archbishop of York; but on the day
before the coronation Roger received from Thomas a notice of his
excommunication of all bishops taking part in the ceremony, on the
ground that it belonged only to an Archbishop of Canterbury to crown a
king, and this excommunication had been ratified by the Pope. It was
therefore possible that the whole ceremony might go for nothing.
17. =The Return of Archbishop Thomas. 1170.=--To obviate this danger
Henry again sought to make peace with Thomas. An agreement was come to
on the vague terms that the past should be forgotten on both sides.
Henry perhaps hoped that when Thomas was once again in England he
would be too wise to rake up the question of his claim to crown the
king. If it was so he was soon disappointed. On December 1, =1170=,
Thomas landed at Sandwich and rode to Canterbury amidst the shouts of
the people. He refused to release from excommunication the bishops who
had taken part in young Henry's coronation unless they would first
give him satisfaction for the wrong done to the see of Canterbury,
thus showing that he had forgotten nothing.
[Illustration: Part of the choir of Canterbury Cathedral (in building
from 1175-1184).]
18. =Murder of Archbishop Thomas. 1170.=--The aggrieved bishops at
once crossed the sea to lay their complaint before Henry. "What a
parcel of fools and dastards," cried Henry impatiently, "have I
nourished in my house, that none of them can be found to avenge me on
one upstart clerk!" Four of his knights took him at his word, and
started in all haste for Canterbury. The Archbishop before their
arrival had given fresh offence in a cause more righteous than that of
his quarrel with the bishops. Ranulf de Broc and others who had had
the custody of his lands in his absence refused to surrender them,
robbed him of his goods, and maltreated his followers. On Christmas
Day he excommunicated them and repeated the excommunication of the
bishops. On December 29 the four knights sought him out. They do not
seem at first to have intended to do him bodily harm. The
excommunication of the king's servants before the king had been
consulted was a breach of the Constitutions of Clarendon, and they
bade him, in the king's name, to leave the kingdom. After a hot
altercation the knights retired to arm themselves. The archbishop was
persuaded by his followers to take refuge in the church. In rushed the
knights crying, "Where is the traitor? Where is the archbishop?"
"Behold me," replied Thomas, "no traitor, but a priest of God." The
assailants strove to lay hands upon him. He struggled and cast forth
angry words upon them. In the madness of their wrath they struck him
to the ground and slew him as he lay.
19. =Popular Indignation. 1171.=--Archbishop Thomas did not die as a
martyr for any high or sacred cause. He was not a martyr for the
faith, like those who had been thrown to the lions by the Roman
emperors. He was not a martyr for righteousness, like Archbishop
AElfheah. He was a martyr for the privileges of his order and of his
see. Yet if he sank below the level of the great martyrs, he did not
sink to that lowest stage at which men cry out for the preservation of
their own privileges, after those privileges have ceased to benefit
any but themselves. The sympathy of the mass of the population shows
the persistence of a widespread belief that in maintaining the
privileges of the clergy Thomas was maintaining the rights of the
protectors of the poor. This sentiment was only strengthened by his
murder. All through Europe the news was received with a burst of
indignation. Of that indignation the Pope made himself the mouthpiece.
In the summer of =1171= two Papal legates appeared in Normandy to
excommunicate Henry unless he was able to convince them that he was
guiltless of the murder. Henry was too cautious to abide their coming.
He crossed first to England and then to Ireland, resolved to have
something to offer the Pope which might put him in a better humour.
20. =State of Ireland.=--In the domain of art, Ireland was inferior to
no European nation. In metal-work, in sculpture, and in the skilful
illumination of manuscripts it surpassed them all. It had no mean
school of music and song. In political development it lagged far
behind. Ireland was still in the tribal stage, and had never been
welded into unity by foreign conquerors, as Gaul had been welded into
unity by the Romans, and as England had been welded into unity by the
Normans. Tribe warred with tribe and chief with chief. The efforts of
chiefs to attain supremacy over the whole island had always ended in
partial or complete failure. The Danes had made settlements in Dublin,
Wexford, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick, but though the native Celtic
population was not strong enough to expel them, neither were they
strong enough to conquer the Celts. The Church was as disorganised as
the State, and there was little discipline exercised outside the
monasteries. For some time the Popes and the Archbishops of Canterbury
had been anxious to establish a better regulated Church system, and in
=1154= Adrian IV.--the only Englishman who was ever Pope--hoping that
Henry would bring the Irish Church under Papal order, had made him a
present of Ireland, on the ground that all islands belonged to the
Pope.
21. =Partial Conquest of Ireland. 1166--1172.=--Henry, however, had
too much to do during the earlier years of his reign to think of
conquering Ireland. In =1166= Dermot, king or chief of Leinster,
having been driven out of his dominions, appealed to Henry for aid.
Henry gave him leave to carry over to Ireland any English knights whom
he could persuade to help him. On this a number of knights from South
Wales, of whom the most important was Richard de Clare, afterwards
known as Strongbow, flocked across the Irish Sea (=1169--1170=). They
fought and conquered, and Strongbow, who married Dermot's daughter,
gave himself the title of Earl of Leinster. The rule of these knights
was a rule of cruelty and violence, and, what was more, it might well
become dangerous to Henry himself. If feudal nobles established
themselves in Ireland, they might soon be holding out a hand to help
the feudal nobles who were Henry's worst enemies in England. When
Henry landed in Ireland in =1171= he set himself to restore order. The
Irish welcomed him because he alone could bridle the invaders, and the
invaders submitted to him because they dared not resist him. He
gathered a synod of the clergy at Cashel, and arranged for the future
discipline of the Church. Unhappily he could not remain long in
Ireland, and when he left it the old anarchy and violence blazed up
again. Though Henry had not served Ireland, he had gained his own
personal ends. He had frightened Strongbow and his followers, and had
shown the Pope, by his proceedings at Cashel, that his friendship was
worth having.
[Illustration: Mitre of Archbishop Thomas of Canterbury preserved at
Sens.]
22. =Young Henry's Coronation and the Revolt of the Barons.
1172--1174.=--In the spring of =1172= Henry was back in Normandy. The
English barons were longing to take advantage of his quarrel with the
Church, and his only chance of resisting them was to propitiate the
Church. He met the Papal legates at Avranches, swore that he was
innocent of the death of Thomas, and renounced the Constitutions of
Clarendon. He then proceeded to pacify Louis VII., whose daughter was
married to the younger Henry, by having the boy recrowned in due form.
Young Henry was a foolish lad, and took it into his head that because
he had been crowned his father's reign was at an end. In =1173= he
fled for support to his father-in-law and persuaded him to take up his
cause. "Your master," said Louis to the ambassadors of the father, "is
king no longer. Here stands the king of the English." These words were
the signal for a general attack on the elder king. Headed by Louis,
his neighbours and discontented subjects took arms against him, and it
was not till September that he prevailed over them. In July the great
English barons of the north and centre rose in insurrection, and
William the Lion, king of the Scots, joined them. De Lucy, the
Justiciar, stood up for Henry; but, though he gained ground, the war
was still raging in the following year, =1174=. In the spring of that
year the rebels were gaining the upper hand, and the younger Henry was
preparing to come to their help. In July the elder Henry landed in
England. For the first and only time in his life he brought to England
the mercenaries who were paid with the scutage money. At Canterbury he
visited the tomb of Thomas, now acknowledged as a martyr, spent the
whole night in prayer and tears, and on the next morning was, at his
own request, scourged by the monks as a token of his penitence. That
night he was awakened by a messenger with good news. Ranulf de
Glanvile had won for him a great victory at Alnwick, had dispersed the
barons' host, and had taken prisoner the Scottish king. About the same
time the fleet which was to bring his son over was dispersed by a
storm. Within a few weeks the whole rebellion was at an end. It was
the last time that the barons ventured to strive with the king till
the time came when they had the people and the Church on their side.
William the Lion was carried to Normandy, where, by the treaty of
Falaise, he acknowledged himself the vassal of the king of England for
the whole of Scotland.
[Illustration: Military and civil costume of the latter part of the
twelfth century.]
23. =The Assize of Arms. 1181.=--In September =1174= there was a
general peace. In =1181= Henry issued the Assize of Arms, organising
the old fyrd in a more serviceable way. Every English freeman was
bound by it to find arms of a kind suitable to his property, that he
might be ready to defend the realm against rebels or invaders. The
Assize of Arms is the strongest possible evidence as to the real
nature of Henry's government. He had long ago sent back to the
Continent the mercenaries whom he had brought with him in the peril of
=1174=, and he now entrusted himself not to a paid standing army, but
to the whole body of English freemen. He was, in truth, king of the
English not merely because he ruled over them, but because they were
ready to rally round him in arms against those barons whose ancestors
had worked such evil in the days of Stephen. England was not to be
given over either to baronial anarchy or to military despotism.
24. =Henry II. and his Sons.=--In England Henry ruled as a national
king over a nation which, at least, preferred his government to that
of the barons. The old division between English and Norman was dying
out, and though the upper classes, for the most part, still spoke
French, intermarriages had been so frequent that there were few
amongst them who had not some English ancestress and who did not
understand the English language. Henry was even strong enough to
regain much that he had surrendered when he abandoned the
Constitutions of Clarendon. In his Continental possessions there was
no such unity. The inhabitants of each province were tenacious of
their own laws and customs, and this was especially the case with the
men of Aquitaine, the country south of the Loire, who differed in
habits, and even in language, from the Frenchmen of Normandy and
Anjou. They therefore found it difficult to give a share of the
allegiance which they owed to their own duchess, Eleanor, to her
Angevin husband, the king of England. Henry in =1172= having appointed
his eldest son, Henry, as the future ruler of Normandy and Anjou as
well as of England, thought it wise to recognise this feeling by
giving to his second son, Richard, the immediate possession of
Eleanor's duchy of Aquitaine. In =1181= he provided for his third son,
Geoffrey, by a marriage with Constance, the heiress of Brittany, over
which country he claimed a feudal superiority as Duke of the Normans.
Yet, though he gave away so much to his sons, he wished to keep the
actual control over them all. The arrangement did not turn out well.
He had set no good example of domestic peace. His sons knew that he
had married their mother for the sake of her lands, that he had
subsequently thrown her into prison and had been faithless to her with
a succession of mistresses. Besides this, they were torn away from
him by the influence of the men whom they were set to rule. Richard
was dragged away from his father by the interests and feelings of the
men of Aquitaine, Geoffrey by the interests and feelings of the men of
Brittany. John, the fourth son, who was named Lackland from having no
territory assigned to him, was, as yet, too young to be
troublesome.[12] Both Richard and Geoffrey had taken part with their
brother Henry in the great revolt of =1173=. In =1177= they were again
quarrelling with their father and with each other. "Dost thou not
know," was the message which Geoffrey sent to his father, "that it is
our proper nature, planted in us by inheritance from our ancestors,
that none of us should love the other, but that ever brother should
strive with brother and son against father? I would not that thou
shouldst deprive us of our hereditary right nor vainly seek to rob us
of our nature." Henry loved his children, and could never bring
himself to make war very seriously against them. Henry died young in
=1183=, and Geoffrey in =1185=. Richard was now the heir of all his
father's lands, from the Tweed to the Pyrenees. Henry made an effort
to provide for John in Ireland, and in =1185= he sent the youth--now
eighteen years old--to Dublin to rule as king of Ireland. John soon
showed his incompetence. He was rude to the English barons, and still
ruder to the Irish chiefs, amusing himself by laughing at their dress
and pulling the hairs out of their beards. Before the end of the year
his father was obliged to recall him.
[Footnote 12: Genealogy of the sons and grandchildren of Henry
II.:--
HENRY II.
1154-1189
|
---------------------------------------------------
| | | |
Henry RICHARD Geoffrey JOHN = (1) Avice of
_m._ Margaret 1189-1199 _m._ Constance 1199-1216| Gloucester
of France _m._ Berengaria of Brittany | (2) Isabella of
of Navarre | | Angouleme
| |
Arthur HENRY III.
1216-1272]
25. =The Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 1187.=--The divisions in
Henry's family were stirred up afresh by the new king of France,
Philip II., who had succeeded his father, Louis VII., in =1179=.
Philip was resolved to enlarge his narrow dominions at the expense of
Henry. He was Henry's feudal lord, and he was crafty enough to know
that by assisting Henry's sons he might be able to convert his nominal
lordship into a real power. News, however, arrived in the midst of the
strife which for a little time put an end to the discords of men and
peoples. The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been established
after the first crusade, had only maintained itself because the
Mahommedan rulers of Egypt were the rivals and enemies of the
Mahommedan rulers of Syria. Yet even with the advantage of divisions
amongst their enemies, the Christians had only defended themselves
with difficulty. A second crusade which had gone out to relieve them
in Stephen's reign, under the Emperor Conrad III. and Louis VII. of
France, had accomplished nothing. Their real defenders were two bodies
of soldiers, known as the Knights Templars and the Knights of St.
John, who were bound, like monks, to vows of celibacy, so that they
might always be free to defend Jerusalem. At last a great Mahommedan
warrior, Saladin, arose, who ruled both Egypt and Syria, and was
therefore able to bring the united forces of the two countries against
the Christian colony. In =1187= he destroyed the Christian army at
Tiberias, and in the same year took Jerusalem and almost every city
still held by the Christians in the East. Tyre alone held out, and
that, too, would be lost unless help came speedily.
26. =The Last Years of Henry II. 1188--1189.=--For a moment the rulers
of the West were shocked at the tidings from the East. In =1188=
Philip, Henry, and Richard had taken the cross as the sign of their
resolution to recover the Holy City from the infidel. To enable him to
meet the expenses of a war in the East, Henry imposed upon England a
new tax of a tenth part of all movable property, which is known as the
Saladin tithe, but in a few months those who were pledged to go on the
crusade were fighting with one another--first Henry and Richard
against Philip, and then Philip and Richard against Henry. At last, in
=1189=, Henry, beaten in war, was forced to submit to Philip's terms,
receiving in return a list of those of his own barons who had engaged
to support Richard against his father. The list reached him when he
was at Chinon, ill and worn out. The first name on it was that of his
favourite son John. The old man turned his face to the wall. "Let
things go now as they will," he cried bitterly. "I care no more for
myself or for the world." After a few days of suffering he died. The
last words which passed his lips were, "Shame, shame upon a conquered
king."
27. =The Work of Henry II.=--The wisest and most powerful ruler can
only assist the forces of nature; he cannot work against them. Those
who merely glance at a map in which the political divisions of France
are marked as they existed in Henry's reign, cannot but wonder that
Henry did not make himself master of the small territory which was
directly governed, in turn, by Louis VII. and Philip II. A careful
study of the political conditions of his reign shows, however, that he
was not really strong enough to do anything of the kind. His own power
on the Continent was purely feudal, and he held authority over his
vassals there because they had personally done homage to him. Henry,
however, had also done homage to the king of France, and did not
venture, even if he made war upon his lord, the king of France, to
push matters to extremities against him, lest his sons as his own
vassals might push matters to extremities against himself. He could
not, in short, expel the king of France from Paris, lest he should
provoke his own vassals to follow his example of insubordination and
expel him from Bordeaux or Rouen. Moreover, Henry had too much to do
in England to give himself heart and soul to Continental affairs,
whilst the king of France, on the contrary, who had no foreign
possessions, and was always at his post, would be the first to profit
by a national French feeling whenever such a feeling arose. England
under Henry II. was already growing more united and more national. The
crown which Henry derived from the Conqueror was national as well as
feudal. Henry, like his predecessors, had two strings to his bow. On
the one hand he could call upon his vassals to be faithful to him
because they had sworn homage to him, whilst he himself, as far as
England was concerned, had sworn homage to no one. On the other hand,
he could rally round him the national forces. To do this he must do
justice and gain the goodwill of the people at large. It was this that
he had attempted to do, by sending judges round the country and by
improving the law, by establishing scutage to weaken the power of the
barons, and by strengthening the national forces by the Assize of
Arms. No doubt he had little thanks for his pains. Men could feel the
weight of his arm and could complain of the heavy fines exacted in his
courts of justice. It was only a later generation, which enjoyed the
benefits of his hard discipline, which understood how much England
owed to him.
CHAPTER XI.
RICHARD I. =1189--1199=.
LEADING DATES
Accession of Richard I. 1189
Richard's Return to England from the Crusade 1194
Death of Richard I. 1199
1. =Richard in England. 1189.=--Richard was accepted without dispute
as the master of the whole of the Angevin dominions. He was a warrior,
not a statesman. Impulsive in his generosity, he was also impulsive in
his passions. Having determined to embark on the crusade, he came to
England eager to raise money for its expenses. With this object he not
only sold offices to those who wished to buy them, and the right of
leaving office to those who wished to retire, but also, with the
Pope's consent, sold leave to remain at home to those who had taken
the cross. Regardless of the distant future, he abandoned for money to
William the Lion the treaty of Falaise, in which William had engaged
to do homage to the English king.
[Illustration: Royal arms of England from Richard I. to Edward III.
(From the wall arcade, south aisle of nave, Westminster Abbey.)]
[Illustration: The Galilee or Lady Chapel, Durham Cathedral. Built by
Bishop Hugh of Puiset between 1180 and 1197.]
2. =William of Longchamps. 1189--1191.=--To secure order during his
absence Richard appointed two Justiciars--Hugh of Puiset, Bishop of
Durham, and William of Longchamps, Bishop of Ely. At the same time he
attempted to conciliate all who were likely to be dangerous by making
them lavish grants of land, especially giving what was practically
royal authority over five shires to his brother John. Such an
arrangement was not likely to last. Before the end of =1189= Richard
crossed to the Continent. Scarcely was he gone when the populace in
many towns turned savagely on the Jews and massacred them in crowds.
The Jews lived by money-lending, and money-lenders are never popular.
In York they took refuge in the castle, and when all hope of defending
themselves failed, slew their wives and children, set fire to the
castle, and perished in the flames. The Justiciars were too much
occupied with their own quarrels to heed such matters. Hugh was a
stately and magnificent prelate. William was lame and misshapen,
quick of wit and unscrupulous. In a few weeks he had deprived his
rival of all authority. His own power did not last long. He had a
sharp tongue, and did not hesitate to let all men, great and small,
know how meanly he thought of them. Those whom he despised found a
leader in John, who was anxious to succeed his brother, and thought
that it might some day be useful to have made himself popular in
England. In the autumn of =1191= William of Longchamps was driven out
of the country.
3. =The Third Crusade. 1189--1192.=--Richard threw his whole
heart--his lion's heart, as men called it--into the crusade. Alike by
sea and by land, he knew better than any other leader of his age how
to direct the operations of war. He was too impetuous to guard himself
against the intrigues and personal rancour of his fellow-Crusaders. At
Messina he quarrelled with the wily Philip II. of France, while he
gave offence to all Germans by upholding the claims of Tancred to the
crown of Sicily, which was also claimed by the German king, who
afterwards became the Emperor Henry VI. In the spring of =1191=
Richard sailed from Sicily for the Holy Land, conquering Cyprus on the
way, where he married Berengaria of Navarre. Passing on to the coast
of Syria, he found the Crusaders besieging Acre, and his own vigour
greatly contributed to its fall. When Acre was taken Philip slipped
home to plot against Richard, and Richard found every French Crusader
and every German Crusader banded together against him. When he
advocated the right of Guy of Lusignan to the crown of Jerusalem, they
advocated the claim of Conrad of Montferrat. Jerusalem was not to be
had for either of them. Twice Richard brought the Crusading host
within a few miles of the Holy City. Each time he was driven to
retreat by the failure of the Crusaders to support him. The last time
his comrades invited him at least to reach a spot from which a view of
the city could be gained. Richard refused. If he was not worthy, he
said, to regain the city, he was not worthy to look on it.
4. =The Return of Richard. 1192--1194.=--In =1192= there was nothing
for it but to return home. Enemies were watching for him on every
shore. Landing at the head of the Adriatic, he attempted to make his
way in disguise through Germany. With characteristic want of
reflection, he roasted his meat at a village inn near Vienna with a
jewelled ring on his finger. Attention was aroused, and he was
arrested and delivered up to Leopold, Duke of Austria, who had been
his bitter antagonist in the Holy Land, and Leopold delivered him up
to his own feudal superior, the Emperor, Henry VI.
[Illustration: Effigy of a knight in the Temple Church, London,
showing armour of the end of the twelfth century.]
The imprisonment of Richard was joyful news to Philip and John. John
did his best to get into his hands all the English and Continental
dominions of his brother. His meanness was, however, by this time well
known, and he was repelled on all sides. At last in =1193= the Emperor
consented to let Richard go on payment of what was then the enormous
ransom of 150,000 marks, or 100,000_l._ "Beware," wrote Philip to John
when he heard that the Emperor's consent had been given; "the devil is
loose again," Philip and John tried to bribe the Emperor to keep his
prisoner, but in February =1194= Richard was liberated, and set out
for England.
5. =Heavy taxation.=--Before Richard reappeared in England each
tenant-in-chief had to pay the aid which was due to deliver his lord
from prison (see p. 117), but this was far from being enough. Besides
all kinds of irregular expedients the Danegeld had been practically
revived, and to it was now given the name of carucage, a tax of two
shillings on every plough-land. Another tax of a fourth part of all
movable goods had also been imposed, for which a precedent had been
set by Henry II. when he levied the Saladin tithe (see p. 157).
Richard had now to gather in what was left unpaid of these charges.
Yet so hated was John that Richard was welcomed with every appearance
of joy, and John thought it prudent to submit to his brother. Philip,
however, was still an open enemy, and as soon as Richard had gathered
in all the money that he could raise in England he left the country
never to return. On the Continent he could best defend himself against
Philip, and, besides this, Richard was at home in sunny Aquitaine, and
had no liking for his English realm.
6. =The Administration of Hubert Walter. 1194--1198.=--For four years
the administration of England was in the hands of a new Justiciar, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Hubert Walter. He was a statesman of the
school of Henry II., and he carried the jury system yet farther than
Henry had done. The immense increase of taxation rendered it the more
necessary to guard against unfairness, and Hubert Walter placed the
selection of the juries of presentment (see p. 147) in the hands of
four knights in every shire, who, as is probable, were chosen by the
freeholders in the County Court, instead of being named by the
sheriff. This was a further step in the direction of allowing the
counties to manage their own affairs, and a still greater one was
taken by the frequent employment of juries in the assessment of the
taxes paid within the county, so as to enable them to take a prominent
part in its financial as well as in its judicial business. In =1198=
there was taken a new survey of England for taxable purposes, and
again elected juries were employed to make the returns. In this year
Archbishop Hubert retired from the Justiciarship, and was succeeded by
Geoffrey Fitz-Peter. Archbishop Hubert's administration marks a great
advance in constitutional progress, though it is probable that his
motive was only to raise money more readily. The main constitutional
problem of the Norman and Angevin reigns was how to bring the national
organisation of the king's officials into close and constant
intercourse with the local organisation of the counties. Henry I. and
Henry II. had attacked the problem on one side by sending the judges
round the country to carry the king's wishes and commands to each
separate county. It still remained to devise a scheme by which the
wishes and complaints of the counties could be brought to the king.
Hubert Walter did not contrive that this should be done, but he made
it easy to be done in the next generation, because before he left
office he had increased the powers of the juries in each county and
had accustomed them to deal independently with all the local matters
in which the king and the county were both interested. It only
remained to bring these juries together in one place where they might
join in making the king aware of the wishes and complaints of all
counties alike. When this had been accomplished there would, for the
first time, be a representative assembly in England.
[Illustration: Richard I. From his tomb at Fontevrault.]
[Illustration: Berengaria. From her tomb at Espan.]
7. =Death of Richard. 1199.=--It was not only Richard's love for his
old home which fixed him on the Continent. He knew that the weakest
part of his dominions was there. His lands beyond sea had no natural
unity. Normans did not love Angevins, neither did Angevins love the
men of Poitou or Guienne. Philip was willingly obeyed in his own
dominions, and he had all the advantage which his title of king of the
French could give him. Richard fought desperately, and for the most
part successfully, against the French king, and formed alliances with
all who were opposed to him. He built on a rock overhanging the Seine
above Les Andelys a mighty fortress--the Chateau Gaillard, or Saucy
Castle, as he called it in jest. With characteristic haste he
completed the building in a few months. "How fair a child is mine!" he
called to his followers, "this child but a twelvemonth old." Other
child he had none, and he had but the miserable John to look to to
hold his dominions after he was gone. He did not live long enough to
see whether his new castle could stand a siege. A peasant dug up a
treasure on the land of the lord of Chalus in the Limousin. Richard
claimed it as his right because he was the over-lord. On the refusal
of the lord to surrender it he laid siege to Chalus. An arrow from the
castle struck him on the shoulder. The wound rankled, and
mortification followed. As Richard lay dying the castle surrendered,
and the man who had aimed the fatal shot was brought before him. "What
have I done to thee," asked Richard, "that thou shouldest slay me?"
"Thou hast slain my father and two of my brothers with thy own hand,"
said the prisoner, "and thou wouldest fain have killed me too. Avenge
thyself upon me as thou wilt. I will gladly endure the greatest
torments thou canst devise, since I have seen thee on thy deathbed."
Richard, generous to the last, bade his attendants set the prisoner
free. They kept him till Richard was dead, and then tortured him to
death.
[Illustration: Part of the choir of Ripon Cathedral: built during the
last quarter of the twelfth century.]
8. =Church and State under the Angevin Kings.=--During the forty-five
years of the reigns of Richard and his father the chief feature of
English history is the growth of the power of the state. There was
more justice and order, and also more taxation, at the end of the
period than at the beginning. During the same period the influence of
the Church grew less. The character of Thomas's resistance to the king
was lower than that of Anselm, and not long after Thomas's murder
Henry indirectly regained the power which he had lost, and filled the
sees with officials and dependents who cared little for the higher
aims of religion. The evil consequences of making the Church
dependent on the king were at least as great as those of freeing the
political and social life of the clergy from the control of the State.
Even monasticism ceased to afford a strong example of self-denial. The
very Cistercians, who had begun so well, had fallen from their
original purity. They were now owners of immense tracts of
pasture-land, and their keenness in money-making had become notorious.
They exercised great influence, but it was the influence of great
landlords, not the influence of ascetics.
9. =Growth of Learning.=--The decay of asceticism was to some extent
brought about by the opening of new careers into which energetic men
might throw themselves. They were needed as judges, as administrators,
as councillors. A vigorous literature sprung up in the reign of Henry
II., but at the end of the reign most of it was connected with the
court rather than with the monasteries. Henry's Justiciar, Ranulf de
Glanvile, wrote the first English law-book. His Treasurer, Richard
Fitz-Nigel, set forth in the _Dialogus de Scaccario_ the methods of
his financial administration, and also produced 'The Deeds of King
Henry and King Richard.' William of Newburgh, indeed, the best
historian of these reigns, wrote in a small Yorkshire monastery, but
Roger of Hoveden and Ralph de Diceto pursued their historical work
under the influence of the court. Still more striking is the
universality of the intellectual inquisitiveness of Walter Map. On the
one hand, in his _De Nugis Curialium_ he chattered over the manners of
his contemporaries, and in his satirical poems scourged the greed and
vices of the clergy, whilst on the other hand he took a principal part
in spreading a knowledge of the legend of the high-souled King Arthur
and of the quest of the Holy Grail. Giraldus Cambrensis again, or
Gerald of Wales, wrote on all sorts of subjects with shrewd humour and
extensive knowledge.
10. =The University of Oxford.=--There was already in England a place
where learning was cherished for its own sake. For some time there had
been growing up on the Continent gatherings for the increase of
learning, which ultimately were known as universities, or corporations
of teachers and scholars. One at Bologna had devoted itself to the
study of the civil or Roman law. Another at Paris gave itself to the
spread of all the knowledge of the time. In these early universities
there were no colleges. Lads, very poor for the most part, flocked to
the teachers and lodged themselves as best they could. Such a
university, though the name was not used till later, had been
gradually forming at Oxford. Its origin and early history is obscure,
but in =1186= Giraldus, wishing to find a cultivated audience for his
new book on the topography of Ireland, read it aloud at Oxford, where,
as he tells us, 'the clergy in England chiefly flourished and excelled
in clerkly lore.' It appears that there were already separate
faculties or branches of study, and persons recognised as doctors or
teachers in all of them.
[Illustration: Lay costumes in the twelfth century.]
[Illustration: Costume of shepherds in the twelfth century.]
11. =Country and Town.=--Intellectual progress was accompanied by
material progress. In the country the old system of cultivation by the
labour service of villein-tenants still prevailed, but in many parts
the service had been commuted, either for a money payment or for
payments in kind, such as payments of a fixed number of eggs or fowls,
or of a fixed quantity of honey or straw. Greater progress was made in
the towns. At the time of the Conquest there were about eighty towns
in England, most of them no larger than villages. The largest towns
after London were Winchester, Bristol, Norwich, York, and Lincoln, but
even these had not a population much above 7,000 apiece. In the
smaller towns trade was sufficiently provided for by the establishment
of a market to which country people brought their grain or their
cattle, and where they provided themselves in turn with such rude
household necessaries as they required. Even before the Conquest port
towns had grown up on the coast, but foreign trade was slight,
imports being almost entirely confined to luxuries for the rich. The
order introduced by the Normans and the connection between England and
the king's Continental possessions was followed by an increase of
trade, and there arose in each of the larger towns a corporation which
was known as the Merchant Gild, and which was, in some instances at
least, only a development of an older association existing in the
times before the Conquest. No one except the brothers of the Merchant
Gild was allowed to trade in any article except food, but any one
living in the town might become a brother on payment of a settled fee.
The first Merchant Gild known was constituted in =1093=. A little
later, Henry I. granted charters to some of the towns, conferring on
them the right of managing their own affairs; and his example was
followed, in far greater profusion, by Henry II. and Richard I. Though
the organisation of the Merchant Gild was originally distinct from the
organisation of the town, and the two were in theory kept apart, the
Merchant Gild, to which most of the townsmen belonged, usually
encroached upon the authorities of the town, regulated trade to its
own advantage, and practically controlled the choice of officers, the
principal officer being usually styled an Alderman, with power to keep
order and generally to provide for the well-being of the place. In
this way the tradesmen and merchants of the towns prepared themselves
unconsciously for the time when they would be called on to take part
in managing the affairs of the country. Even in these early times,
however, the artisans in some of the trades attempted to combine
together.
12. =Condition of London.=--Of all the towns London had been growing
most rapidly in wealth and population, and during the troubles in
which John had been pitted against William of Longchamps it had
secured the right of being governed by a Mayor and Aldermen of its
own, instead of being placed under the jurisdiction of the King's
sheriff. The Mayor and Aldermen, however, did not represent all the
townsmen. In London, though there is no evidence of the existence of a
Merchant Gild, there was a corporation composed of the wealthier
traders, by which the city was governed. The Mayor and Aldermen were
chosen out of this corporation, as were the juries elected to assess
the taxes. Artisans soon came to believe that these juries dealt
unfairly with the poor. One of the Aldermen, William Longbeard, made
himself the mouthpiece of their complaints and stirred them up against
the rest. Hubert Walter sent a messenger to seize him, but William
Longbeard slew the messenger and fled into the church of Mary-at-Bow.
Here, according to the ideas of his age, he should have been safe, as
every church was considered to be a sanctuary in which no criminal
could be arrested. Hubert Walter, however, came in person to seize
him, set the church on fire, and had him dragged out. William
Longbeard was first stabbed, and then tried and hanged, and for the
time the rich tradesmen had their way against the poorer artisans.
[Illustration: Hall of Oakham Castle, Rutland: built about 1185.]
13. =Architectural Changes.=--Even in the most flourishing towns the
houses were still mostly of wood or rubble covered with thatch, and
only here and there was to be found a house of stone. So slight,
indeed, were the ordinary buildings, that it was provided by the
Assize of Clarendon that the houses of certain offenders should be
carried outside the town and burnt. Here and there, however, as in the
case of the so-called Jews' house at Lincoln, stone houses were
erected. In the larger houses the arrangements were much as they had
been before the Conquest, the large hall being still the most
conspicuous part, though another apartment, known as the solar, to
which an ascent was made by steps from the outside, and which served
as a sitting-room for the master of the house, had usually been
added. The castles reared by the king or the barons were built for
defence alone, and it was in the great cathedrals and churches that
the skill of the architect was shown. An enormous number of parish
churches of stone were raised by Norman builders to supersede earlier
buildings of wood. For some time the round-arched Norman architecture
which had been introduced by Eadward the Confessor was alone followed,
such as may be studied in the Galilee of Durham (see p. 160) the nave
of St. Albans (see p. 109) and the tower of Castor (see p. 136).
Gradually the pointed arch of Gothic architecture took its place, and
after a period of transition, of which the nave of Durham, and the
choirs of Canterbury and of Ripon afford examples (see pp. 130, 150,
166), the graceful style now known as Early English was first used on
a large scale in =1192= in the choir of the cathedral of Lincoln.
[Illustration: Norman House at Lincoln, called the Jews' House. Built
about 1140. The square windows are of later date.]
_Books recommended for further study of Part II._
STUBBS, W. (Bishop of Oxford). Constitutional History of England. Vol
i. chaps. ix.-xiii.
FREEMAN, E. A. History of the Norman Conquest. Vols. iv. and v.
History of William Rufus.
GREEN, J. R. History of the English People. Vol. i. pp. 115-189.
NORGATE, Miss K. England under the Angevin Kings. Vols. i. and ii. pp.
1-388.
CUNNINGHAM, W. Growth of English Industry and Commerce during the
Early and Middle Ages, pp. 129-173.
WAKEMAN, H. O., and HASSALL, A. Constitutional Essays.
ADAMS, G. B. The Political History of England. Vol. ii. From the
Norman Conquest to the Death of John (1066-1216).
PART III.
_THE GROWTH OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUTION._ =1199-1399=.