First published in 1881 in the volume called _Ballads and Sonnets_.
Henry the First, the third son of William the Conqueror had, on the
death of his brother William the Second (William Rufus) in 1100, seized
the crown of England by force from his other elder brother, Robert, Duke
of Normandy. In 1106, after overthrowing Robert at Tenchebray, he became
also Duke of Normandy, thus uniting under himself the two nations. This
bond of union he further strengthened by marrying Mathilda, an English
princess. His reign, which lasted until 1135, marked a revival in
English national feeling, and a long step was taken toward the
assimilation of the victorious Normans by the people whom they had
conquered.
Henry and Mathilda had only one son, William, who was born in 1103. The
following account of his death is given by William of Malmesbury (edited
by J. C. Giles): "Giving orders for returning to England, the king set
sail from Barfleur just before twilight on the seventh before the
kalends of December; and the breeze which filled his sails conducted him
safely to his kingdom and extensive fortunes. But the young prince, who
was now somewhat more than seventeen years of age, and, by his father's
indulgence, possessed everything but the name of king, commanded another
vessel to be prepared for himself; almost all the young nobility
flocking around him, from similarity of youthful pursuits. The sailors,
too, immoderately filled with wine, with that seaman's hilarity which
their cups excited, exclaimed, that those who were now ahead must soon
be left astern; for the ship was of the best construction and recently
fitted with new materials. When, therefore, it was now dark night, these
imprudent youths, overwhelmed with liquor, launched the vessel from the
shore.... The carelessness of the intoxicated crew drove her on a rock
which rose above the waves not far from shore.... The oars, dashing,
horribly crashed against the rock, and her battered prow hung immovably
fixed. Now, too, the water washed some of the crew overboard, and,
entering the chinks, drowned others; when the boat having been launched,
the young prince was received into it, and might certainly have been
saved by reaching the shore, had not his illegitimate sister, the
Countess of Perche, now struggling with death in the larger vessel,
implored her brother's assistance. Touched with pity, he ordered the
boat to return to the ship, that he might rescue his sister; and thus
the unhappy youth met his death through excess of affection; for the
skiff, overcharged by the multitudes who leaped into her, sank, and
buried all indiscriminately in the deep. One rustic alone escaped; who,
floating all night upon the mast, related in the morning the dismal
catastrophe of the tragedy."
[266] Henry never recovered from the shock of this disaster; and
although he married again, he left at his death no direct male heir to
the throne.
[267] 2. =Rouen=; a city in northwest France on the river Seine.
[268] 14. =Clerkly Henry.= In his youth Henry had been a student and
scholar--hence his early nickname "Henry Beauclerc."
[269] 15. =Ruthless=; pitiless.
[270] 17. =Eyes were gone.= According to a legend, which, however, has
no historical foundation, Henry had put out the eyes of his brother
Robert.
[271] 26. =Fealty.= Under the feudal system each vassal or dependant was
required to take an oath of allegiance to his overlord.
[272] 35. =Liege=; having the right to allegiance.
[273] 36. =Father's foot.= William the Conqueror, Henry's father,
defeated Harold, the English king, at Hastings in 1066 and thus became
master of England.
[274] 39. =Rood=; the fourth part of an acre.
[275] 45. =Harfleur's harbor.= Harfleur is a seaport town on the north
bank of the outlet of the river Seine in northwest France.
[276] 59. =Hind=; servant.
[277] 98. =Moil=; wet.
[278] 138. =Maugre=; notwithstanding.
[279] 163. =Honfleur=; a town on the south bank of the outlet of the
river Seine, opposite Harfleur.
[280] 166. =Body of Christ=; the procession of the Holy Communion.
[281] 178. =Hight=; called.
[282] 198. =Foredone=; gone.
[283] 211. =Shrift=; the confession made to a priest.
[284] 214. =Winchester=; a cathedral city in southern England, the
ancient capital of the country.
[285] 233. =Pleasaunce=; pleasure.
[286] 236. =Pardie=; certainly or surely. It was originally an oath from
the French _par Dieu_.
[287] 260. =Dais=; the platform on which was the king's throne.
[288] 268. =Rede=; story.