ANCIENT NORTHUMBRIA.
"Honour be with the dead! The people kneel
Under the helms of antique chivalry,
And in the crimson gloom from banners thrown,
And 'midst the forms in pale, proud slumber carved
Of warriors on their tombs. The people kneel
Where mail-clad chiefs have knelt--where jewelled crowns
On the flushed brows of conquerors have been set--
Where the high anthems of old victories
Have made the dust give echoes. Hence, vain thoughts!
Memories of power and pride, which long ago,
Like dim processions of a dream, have sunk
In twilight depths away. Return, my soul!
The Cross recalls thee!"--Mrs. Hemans.
Every part of our little island home has its history. The land is
small, but the changes among the inhabitants, and the achievements of
its heroes, have redeemed it from triviality, and made it among nations
great and important. The deeds Englishmen have done, the afflictions
they have suffered, the victories they have won, and the results that
they have brought about, conspire to make every county famous for
something. In one, the ashes of martyrs have consecrated the ground.
In another, the introduction of some special art or industry has been
its elevation. Another was the birthplace of some great man, whom the
world delighted to honour. Yet another was the scene of some great
battle, where the bones of the vanquished whitened in the sun. And yet
another is historic, because upon its soil the lovers of freedom have
stood, firm as English oaks, and contended, not for their own rights
only, but also for those of their sons and daughters. But few parts of
the land have such thrilling stories to tell as that of Northumbria.
Border ballads innumerable have been written, and there are old stones,
dark rocks, and picturesque glens, that are ever singing their songs of
the olden and far-away days, and singing them so that no pen can
reproduce them. If they could but speak a language that we could
understand, what crowds of eager students would gather about them, what
hosts of world-weary people would rest and listen! How many romantic
maidens and resolute youths would drink inspiration from them! But we
know a little of what was sinned and suffered, commenced and completed
there, in the North of our land, and though it is not a hundredth part
of what might be told, it is yet enough to fill us with thoughts of
God's care and goodness, and to stir us up to noble deeds.
No one can read and reflect on the history of any county without seeing
that places are almost entirely made famous by the people who have
lived upon them, and Northumberland has been enriched by some of the
best blood that ever flowed through mortal veins. That part with which
we have most to do is the group of islands lying off its coast, but
Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands are interesting, not so much because
of the wild and desolate grandeur of their rocks, as because two
persons have lived and wrought there. St. Cuthbert and Grace
Darling--two widely different persons indeed--the man, the dreamer and
the saint, and the simple strong-hearted maiden, living at long
distances from each other, but both doing the work possible to them
faithfully, will arise in all minds at the mention of the place. But
the Farne Isles belong to Northumbria, and its history is theirs also.
It will not therefore be out of place to make some reference, not only
to the rocky home in which the Darlings lived, but to the historic
scenes among which they worked.
First, the ancient Britons, with the Druidical temples, lived their
lives in Northumbria, making altars of rocks, and leaving their
barrows, or burial-mounds, to tell the story of how they too died and
passed away. Some ancient graves have been discovered, at little
Barrington, near Angerton, Kirkheaton, and other places. At this time,
the only teachers of the people were the Druids; and though students of
our day would not care to go to school to them, some of their lessons
at least would do no dishonour to these later times, for they taught
their scholars to worship the only gods they knew, to be brave and
courageous, and to do no evil. They offered human sacrifices, however;
and if they were brave, it cannot possibly be said that they were also
merciful. The women of the ancient Britons seem to have been better
treated than those of many uncivilised nations. Caesar misrepresented
them; but they were married; some of them officiated in the temples as
priestesses, and some led the people to victories. Widowed queens
ruled in place of their husbands; women were consulted about all
matters requiring wisdom, insight, and forethought; and, indeed, they
seem to have been placed on an equality with men.
Northumberland suffered, with other portions of the land, from the
invasions of the Romans, and succumbed with the rest; and, indeed, when
Agricola passed through, on his way to Scotland, they offered little
opposition. He proved himself their friend; for he built them a wall,
which stretched a distance of seventy-four miles, from beyond Newcastle
to twelve miles west of Carlisle, to protect them from the warlike
Picts and Scots.
When the Romans had left, and the Saxons taken possession, the first
king of Northumbria was Ida, who, it is said, landed at Flamborough,
and who first built the grand Castle of Bamborough, part of the
original of which remains to this day. The first Christian king of
Northumbria was Edwin. His life is a striking illustration of the
assertion, "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth,"
for he was but three years old when his parent died, and all his early
years were passed in exile, having been kept from the throne of which
he was the lawful heir. After the battle, however, fought on the banks
of the Idle, in Nottinghamshire, he was placed on the throne of
Northumbria, a courageous and noble king. He, having heard that there
had come to the land a missionary from Rome, who taught the people the
principles of religion, sent for him to come to Northumberland, that he
might judge for himself. The king loved Edilburga, the daughter of
Ethelbert of Kent, who was a devoted Christian; but she declined to
marry him, unless he became a Christian also. He replied that he was
willing to embrace the religion, if, on examination, he found it worthy
of his fealty. Paulinus, therefore, accompanied the queen. But the
king could not hastily decide; and it was not until he had been saved
from assassination, by a faithful servant rushing in between him and
the knife that was to slay him, that he was brought to a decision.
Even then, however, he would not forsake the old ways, nor lightly take
upon himself new vows, until he had called a council of priests and
nobles, to examine the merits of Paganism and Christianity. Coifi, the
high-priest, declared that he was tired of serving the gods, since they
had never done him any good, and if the new religion was likely to be
any more beneficial, he would be glad to know something about it. The
next to speak was one of the nobles, and the Dean of Westminster, in an
interesting and instructive lecture, thus beautifully gives the counsel
of this layman:--"You know, O king, how, when you sit at supper in your
great hall in the winter, with your commanders and ministers around
you, and a good fire blazing in the midst, whilst the storms of rain
and snow prevail outside, and the two doors are open at each end,
sometimes it happens that a poor little sparrow flies in at one door,
and immediately out at the other; but for the short space during which
he is in the hall, he enjoys the light and warmth, and is safe from the
wintry storms. The swift flight of the sparrow from one darkness to
another darkness, but with this brief intervening space during which we
see him, is like to the life of a man. What the life of man was,
before he came upon this earth, and what it is to be afterwards, we
know not. All that we know is, what we see of him during the time that
he is here. If, then, this new doctrine can tell us something more of
whence and whither man comes and goes, it is worth while to listen to
it." Paulinus was then called in, to answer these men, and we are sure
that he was able to say how the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ does
throw light on the dark before and behind of our sojourn in the world.
Not only did King Edwin become a loyal and devoted Christian, but
Coifi, the priest, at once went forth and began to demolish the idols
and their temples, which formerly he had worshipped. Edwin was
baptised, and so eagerly did the people embrace Christianity, that
crowds of them followed the example of their king. Paulinus is said to
have baptised many thousands in the river glen; and at another place,
Holy Stone, he baptised three thousand more. Nor was this mere
profession. The Northumbrians became mild instead of warlike; and the
terrible scenes of violence and cruelty with which the country had
abounded, gave place to far other and fairer experiences.
One chronicler, Fabyan, thus describes the change:--"So great peace
there came upon this kingdom, that a woman might have gone from one
town to another without grief or noyance." Edwin, too, seems, under
the influence of Christianity, to have established drinking fountains;
for we also read--"And for the refreshing of wayfarers this Edwin
ordained, at clear wells, cups or dishes, of brass or iron, to be
fastened to posts standing at the said well-sides; and no man was so
hardy as to take away these cups, he kept so good a justice."
After the death of Edwin, there was a struggle between Christianity and
Paganism, and many of the people went back to their former practices,
and a time of persecution set in, which obliged Paulinas to flee into
Kent for safety. After a time Oswald, the nephew of Edwin, became
Bretwalda. He was a Christian, and a wise and good prince, who loved
the people, and sought to bring them to the feet of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
A good and great man, Columba, an Irishman, of royal descent, was
residing, with other brethren, in the Island of Iona, and he travelled
to many places, in order to teach the people the principles of
Christianity. The Scotch Christians could not always agree with the
Romish ones, and, indeed, they had fierce differences respecting
shaving the head and keeping the Easter festival; but Columba, his
associates and successors, sowed seeds which have brought forth fruit a
hundredfold, for the nourishment of the spiritual life of the
Northumbrian Christians ever since.
One of the missionaries from Iona, however, whose name was Carman,
came, and failed to commend himself to the people. He returned,
disheartened and unsuccessful. His place was most worthily filled by
the good Aiden, who was then only an obscure monk, but his wise remarks
on the cause of his brother's failure caused him to be chosen as the
bearer of the Good Tidings. He travelled from his home, on the western
coast of Scotland, to Northumberland, bringing the bread of life to
many who were aware of the heart-hunger that consumed them. He is
described, in the "History of Northumbria," as "a man of truly noble
spirit, of deep learning, and the most devoted piety, energetic and
ardent in temperament, patient in the removal of obstructions to the
cause which he came to advocate; of deep humility, and earnest love."
But there was a grave difficulty in the way of his disseminating the
principles that he loved, for he could not speak the language. This
obstacle, however, was overcome, for the king, who loved him, became
his interpreter, and went with him on his missionary tours throughout
the kingdom. Oswald lived in Bamborough Castle, and Aidan selected, as
his residence, the Island of Lindisfarne, which was afterward called
Holy Island. Oswald was slain in battle while defending his castle
from the attacks of Penda, King of Mercia. Penda, the Pagan could not
obtain possession of the castle, though he slew its prince; for even
after his death, the people bravely defended the stronghold.
The kingdom became divided shortly after. The good Aidan died in the
year 651, and was succeeded by Finan, who built a cathedral on the
Island of Lindisfarne, whose walls were of oak, and whose roof was
thatched.
At this time, the cause of Christianity appears to have been served by
the piety and zeal of an illustrious lady, named St. Hilda, who founded
abbeys, and, according to her admirers, did many miraculous works.
In the year 664, the yellow plague, which every summer had committed
sad ravages among the people, raged so fearfully that it swept away
Tulda, who was then Bishop of Lindisfarne, and nearly all his flock.
About this time the great St. Cuthbert, who has made the Farne Islands
famous, was made Prior of Lindisfarne. He was born about the year 635,
and was one of the most illustrious of the saints of the middle ages.
In 651, he was watching his flock by night, as a shepherd boy, when,
according to his own story, he saw, above the heights of Lauderdale,
the heavens opened, and a company of angels descend and ascend, bearing
with them the soul of St. Aidan, the pious Bishop of Holy Island. He
resolved that he would become a monk, and he entered the monastery of
Melrose. St. Boisal was the Prior, and, when he died of the plague,
St. Cuthbert was chosen to take his place. He filled the office well,
and was most assiduous in his attention to, and care of his flock. He
visited all the villages and mountain hamlets that were in the
neighbourhood, teaching the people, and endeavouring by all means in
his power to win them back from Paganism to Christianity.
It was after a time of great activity, and possibly of over-work, that
he left Melrose, and became Provost of the monastery at Lindisfarne.
After labouring there for a time, he longed for a position of yet
greater solitariness, and he therefore resigned his office. It was
then that he went to the Farne Islands, which offered loneliness enough
to satisfy even the austere recluse. He built himself a cell or
hermitage with his own hands, using such rough materials of wood and
stone as the islands afforded.
So highly was he esteemed that he was not permitted to remain in
obscurity for more than eight or nine years. He was needed to work in
the world still, and a deputation, consisting of Ecgfrid, King of
Northumbria, and many nobles and clergy, waited upon him in his
retirement and earnestly begged him to accept the Bishopric of Hexham.
Although he shrank from the irksome task, he was too good a man not to
yield to duty, though he did it reluctantly; but he so thirsted for
solitude, that Eata, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, exchanged with him. At
Easter, he was solemnly consecrated Bishop of Lindisfarne, at York, by
Thodore, Archbishop of Canterbury. He did not long continue in office.
His health failed, and he pined for the solitude of his beloved Farne
Island; and when he had been ten years in his bishopric, he again
resigned and sought the lonely rocks, which he did not leave until his
death. He died on the 20th of March, 687. He wished to be buried on
Farne Island, but had consented to have his remains taken to
Lindisfarne, after making the monks promise that, if ever the monastery
should be removed, his bones should be taken away also. His body was
placed in a coffin of stone, and he was buried near the high altar of
the Lindisfarne Cathedral.
Ten years later, the monks decided to enshrine the saint, and place him
above, instead of under the pavement. They opened the coffin, and
announced to the world that they had found the body "entire, flexible,
and succulent," and for eight hundred years it was supposed to remain
so.
Nearly two hundred years later, the circumstances which Cuthbert would
seem to have dimly foreseen occurred. Troublous times arose in
Northumbria. The nobles were at variance with each other, and two
rival kings ascended the throne. The wise saying, "a house that is
divided against itself cannot stand," was verified here. The wary
warlike Danes, seeing this, came trooping down upon the northern
district, and fierce and fearful battles were fought. The conquering
Norsemen took all the booty they could, plundered, destroyed and
desolated the monasteries, and murdered many of the monks. Among the
religious sanctuaries that were made desolate, were those of Tynemouth,
Jarrow, Monkchester (now Newcastle-on-Tyne), and Hexham. They came
again and again, and at last they went to Lindisfarne. The monks there
knew they were coming, and hastily prepared for flight. Remembering,
even in their time of peril, the dying words of St. Cuthbert, they took
his body from the shrine, put it into a coffin, and with it many of the
relics of the good Aiden. Besides these, they took, in a sort of ark,
"the famous illuminated and jewelled copy of the gospels, which
Eadfrith had written," and a few other treasures, and went away to seek
a place of safety.
Many miracles were ascribed to St. Cuthbert while living, but still
greater wonders are recorded as having taken place long after his
death. For seven weary years of wandering, the monks carried about his
body. At the beginning of their journey, the water was supernaturally
driven back, though, at the time, it was high tide, and they were able
to cross on dry land. They went among the hills of Kyloe, and
travelled about, through the south of Scotland, and north of England;
but though they were everywhere treated with respect, no one was able
to offer them a permanent place of safety. At last they decided that
they would go over to Ireland, and actually embarked, when a severe
storm arose and drove them back to the very spot from which they
started. They found that their precious copy of the gospels had been
destroyed, and mourned over its loss. But supposing the shipwreck to
be an indication that they must not go to Ireland, they went to
Scotland, and there, on the Galloway coast, they found their lost
treasure!
It is said that the body of the saint floated down the Tweed in its
stone coffin. Sir Walter Scott has referred to this legend in
Marmion:--
"From sea to sea, from shore to shore,
Seven years St. Cuthbert's corpse they bore.
They rested them in fair Melrose;
But though alive he loved it well,
Not there his relics might repose,
For--wondrous tale to tell!
In his stone coffin forth he rides,
(A ponderous bark for river-tides),
Yet light as gossamer it glides,
Downwards to Tillmouth's cell."
Surtees wrote on the subject of the coffin itself:--"It is
finely-shaped, ten feet in length, three feet and a half in diameter,
and only four inches thick, and has been proved by experiments to be
capable of floating with a weight equal to the human body."
The remains of St. Cuthbert rested at length at Chesterle-Street, where
Guthrun, the Christian king, built a church for the wanderers, and
richly endowed it. Both Athelstane and "Edmund, the Magnificent,"
visited the tomb, and rendered homage to the saint. The latter brought
valuable presents to the shrine, consisting of Byzantine workmanship,
and two bracelets, which he took from his own arms. Edred also
followed their example.
In the year 995, the Danish pirates again compelled the monks of
Lindisfarne to leave their resting place, taking with them the precious
relics of their saint. They sent to Ripon, where they remained for a
few months, and then were making their way back when, as they said, in
a certain fertile spot, the body became immovable.
Not knowing what to make of this they held a solemn fast, and, on the
third day, the saint communicated his wish that they should go to
Dunholme, where a permanent church should be built for him. There,
accordingly, they went; first erecting a temporary booth to contain
their treasure, and afterward building the first Durham Cathedral.[1]
The remains of St. Cuthbert were then enclosed in a costly shrine, and
placed in the Cathedral, where they remained until the Reformation.
In 1827, the grave was opened, when, in the innermost of three coffins,
his skeleton was found, wrapped in five robes of embroidered silk, some
of the fragments of which may still be seen in the Cathedral library.
A cloth, which it is said he used in celebrating mass, was made into a
standard, which was believed to bring victory. That gained at Flodden
Field was ascribed to it. The banner is said to have been burnt by the
sister of Calvin, who was the wife of the first Protestant Dean of
Durham Cathedral. No one in our day can read of all the wonders
ascribed to St. Cuthbert without incredulous and pitying smiles; and it
is very amusing to see how one of his peculiarities has been avenged in
later times.
He was an intense woman hater, and his antipathy to the gentle sex was
so great, that he would not allow one of them to come near to him, and
scarcely tolerated their presence in the religious services which he
performed; and he actually built a chapel for them at the extreme end
point of the Island of Lindisfarne, where they might worship, instead
of presuming to enter his church. He does not seem to have accepted of
any favours from them but one. Veria, who was Abbess of Tynemouth at
the time that he was at Lindisfarne, gave him a piece of fine linen or
silk, which he condescended to keep for his winding sheet. It was a
little too bad of him to keep up his antipathy even after his death;
but he seems to have done so, for until the Reformation no woman was
permitted to approach his shrine. A cross of blue marble was let into
the Cathedral floor, beyond the limits of which no female foot might
pass under pain of immediate severe punishment. _And yet it was a
woman who drew the admiring eyes of the modern world to the Farne
Islands, where the remains of his priory are still to be seen_.
Bound about the story of Grace Darling no particular odour of sanctity
gathers; and yet she, according to her light, served the same cause of
humanity as St. Cuthbert, and performed a deed of which even he would
not need to have been ashamed.
Very little indeed would be known of this most famous saint, but for
one whose name must be mentioned with all honour and reverent
admiration--_the Venerable Bede_. He twice wrote St. Cuthbert's life,
first in hexameters, in his "Liber de Miraculis, Sancti Cuthberchti
Episcopi," and in prose, in his "Liber de Vita et Miraculis Sancti
Cudbercti Lindisfarnensis Episcopi."
It is not known with any certainty where Bede was born, but it was
probably at Jarrow, in the year 673. When he was seven years old, he
was sent to the monastery of St. Peter, at Wearmouth, to be educated.
He was placed under the care of the Abbott Benedict and Ceolfrid. He
received his religious instruction from the monk Trumberct, and his
music lessons from John, chief singer in St. Peter's at Rome, who had
been summoned to England by the Abbott Benedict. While he was there a
great pestilence broke out, and every monk died, excepting Bede and
another. The boy, through all the death and mourning of that terrible
time, still chanted the service and songs of the church. From seven to
twelve or thirteen, he was a diligent student. Writing of himself at
this early age, he says, "It was always sweet to me to learn to teach
and to write."
When nineteen years of age, he took deacon's orders; and when he was
about thirty, was ordained priest by John of Beverley, then Bishop of
Hexham. He lived in Jarrow monastery a quiet and retired life, and
spent his whole time in the eager pursuit of knowledge. He questioned
all who came to him; he collected all stray facts and incidents; he
took care of, and wrought into his book all records of events that
floated to him, or that he was able to save from oblivion, and he it is
to whom we are indebted for almost all the information we possess of
the history of our country down to the year 731. His greatest work was
the "Ecclesiastical History of England," of which many versions have
been issued, and which was first translated into Anglo Saxon by King
Alfred the Great. One edition of the "History" was published at
Strasburg, in 1500; another by Smith of Cambridge, in 1722; another by
Stevenson of London, in 1838; another by Dr. Hussey at Oxford, in 1864;
another in the "Monumenta Historica Britannica," and yet another by Dr.
Giles, with the whole of Bede's writings.[2]
Not only was the industry of Bede most extraordinary, but his character
and disposition were most lovely. It demanded no small amount of moral
strength, concentration of mind, and tenacity of will and purpose, as
well as ardent consecration to a good cause, thus quietly to pursue
studies, and remain at work, while all around was confusion and strife,
violence and slaughter. So little was the spirit of his age in him,
that it has been well said of him, he was like "a light shining in a
dark place." His life was holy, his temper calm and gentle, and all
his works humanising and instructive.
Dean Stanley's remarks upon him, are so very beautiful and appropriate,
that we may be pardoned for extracting some of them:--"Two names only
from the Anglo Saxon period are still held in unquestioned and
universal reverence. One is the Great Alfred, the illustrious king and
lawgiver, in the south of England; the other is Bede, the venerable
father of English history and English learning, in the North of
England. Venerable he truly was. We need not go back to the legend
which supposed that he received the title from the Roman Senate for
having solved a strange riddle which they could not answer; nor to the
other legend, which tells us that, on his grave-stone at Durham, you
can still read the inscription in which it is said that an angel in the
night filled up the blank space with _Venerabilis_. He is venerable
for the much more solid reason, that he has won the veneration of all
Englishmen--we may say of all the world--as an example of the faithful
student of truth. His old oaken chair at Jarrow may be still chipped
away, as it has been for many years, for healing relics. But no
miracle, no wonder, is ever recorded of him in his lifetime. Nay, he
was even accused before the Archbishop of York, on a charge of heresy
on account of some of his views on chronology. He never was formally
acknowledged as a saint. Yet in spite of this, the instinct of mankind
has gradually given to him the superiority and pre-eminence over those
eccentric missionaries whose wonders for the moment dazzled, but whose
special work has long ago passed away. A foreign ambassador (says
Fuller) visited the high sumptuous shrine of St. Cuthbert: '_If_ thou
be a saint, pray for us;' then turning to the plain, lowly, little tomb
of Bede, he said, '_Because_ thou art a saint, good Bede, pray for us."
"His last days were spent in the noblest of tasks--in the task which
afterwards engaged the best days of Luther and the best days of
Wickliffe, that of translating the Bible into his own language. 'I am
unwilling,' he said, 'that my children should read what is not true,
and should, after my death, in this matter, spend their labours to no
profit. That is the fine sentiment of a man who really cares for
truth, and really cares for his country.
"There are many other beautiful sayings during those last hours; but I
fear to encroach too much on a theme which, perhaps more properly
belongs to Jarrow, and which also perhaps is too solemn for this place.
Still, as his boyhood was at Monkwearmouth, and as his end reminds us
of what he himself must have been when he was pursuing his tasks on the
banks of your own River Wear, I will give you the very last moments.
There was a little boy who was copying out for him his translation of
the Gospel of St. John, and who said 'Still one more sentence, dear
master, remains unwritten.' He replied, 'Write quickly.' After a
little while the boy said, 'Now the sentence is finished.' He
answered, 'You have spoken the truth. It is finished. Raise up my
head in your arms, for I should like to lie opposite that holy place
where I used to pray, so that resting there I may call on God my
Father;' and being placed there he said, 'Glory to the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit;' and as he named the name of the Holy Spirit, he breathed
out his own spirit and departed." [3]
From those early days to the time of our heroine, the story would be
too long to insert here, and we must pass over centuries with only a
word or two. Northumbria has taken a noble part in the struggles and
victories, the sufferings and progress of our country, and she reaps,
as she deserves to do, a rich reward.
When the decisive battle of Hastings had been fought, and the Norman
conqueror had overcome the Saxons, the people in the North were
determined not to yield. The sorrow which the patriotic northern
hearts felt was increased and stirred into active resentment by the
treachery of William.
We learn from the "History of Northumbria," that Edwin, Earl of Mercia,
brother to the Northumbrian Earl Morcar, was promised one of the
daughters of William as his bride; and, blinded by this promise, he was
induced to render important services to William at this critical
juncture. A little time, however, passed away, in which William and
the south-western Saxons, coming to open war, and the Norman arms being
victorious, William refused to give the promised bride to Earl Edwin,
and accompanied the refusal with insult to the suitor. Fired with
indignation, both of the young Saxon nobles departed immediately for
Northumbria, and joined heart and hand with their countrymen against
the foreigners.
Terrible battles were fought, in one of which the Saxons slew three
thousand of the Normans at York, for which the infuriated William
punished Northumbria with a horrible slaughter. "From York to Durham
not an inhabited village remained; fire, slaughter, and desolation,
made a vast wilderness there. . . . . From Durham right on to Hexham,
from the banks of the winding Wear to those of the Tyne, Jarrow,
Monkchester, with all the dwellings, homesteads, and happy places, were
deluged with the people's blood; even the monasteries and religious
houses shared the same fate as the common dwellings."
William Rufus was not liked better in Northumbria than his father had
been, and Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, had especial reason to
dislike him, on account of his appropriation of the forest lands. He
was a powerful chief, possessing two hundred and eighty manors, but he
did not attend the Court. This displeased William, who sent forth a
decree that every baron who did not attend the festival at Whitsuntide
should be outlawed. The Earl paid no attention to this; and as he was
engaged with other nobles in a conspiracy to dethrone William, the
monarch brought his army into Northumbria, besieged and took the
fortress at Newcastle, went on to Tynemouth, and then to Bamborough
Castle, to which the Earl had escaped. This castle was impregnable,
but the Earl was decoyed from it, and after going again to Tynemouth,
he was wounded and taken prisoner. But William coveted the Castle of
Bamborough, which was still held by the wife of the Earl. He, Mowbray,
was taken to an eminence in front of the castle, while the Normans
demanded parley with the Countess. She, to save her husband from
having his eyes put out before her face, surrendered the castle to
them, and the Earl was taken to the dungeons of Windsor Castle, and
kept there for thirty years.
In the year 1094 the little Island of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, had
built upon it a beautiful church and priory, for the Normans introduced
a very superior style of architecture. Edward, one of the monks of
Holy Island, was rich enough to undertake this work. It is said by an
imaginative or credulous historian, that St. Cuthbert still worked
miracles there. "The crowds of thirsty labourers, who had passed over
to the island with materials for the new building, were, by Edward's
interest with St. Cuthbert, enabled for a whole day to drink from a cup
which was never once replenished by mortal hand. And multitudes were
fed by this same Edward without materials."
During the reign of Henry the First a bridge was built at Durham, the
ruins of Hexham were restored, a Leper Hospital was built at Newcastle,
and Northumberland and Durham were generally enriched.
In Stephen's reign, David, King of Scotland, fought a battle with the
English king in Northumberland; and, indeed, the history of the
centuries, to the seventeenth, is full of the accounts of battles on
the border with the English and Scotch, the Dukes of Northumberland
being often at war with the Scottish kings. The battles were
frequently on a large scale, and the bloodshed was frightful, while the
ill-will begotten on both sides of the border was most bitter. King
John met the Scottish king on the borders in the year 1213, and then
the two professed to be reconciled, but very little good came of it.
In the year 1215, the barons of Northumberland went to Alexander II. of
Scotland, and implored his protection against their own king, which so
incensed John, that he marched to the borders, and burned Wark,
Alnwick, Mitford Castle, and Morpeth.
In the year 1226, Henry of England, and Alexander of Scotland, entered
into an agreement, by which he was to give up Northumberland, and
receive a yearly rent of two hundred pounds.
In 1241, a terrible fire broke out in Newcastle, which destroyed a
great part of the town. In 1282, Newcastle first sent members to
Parliament.
In 1297, the Scottish people again entered England under Sir William
Wallace. In 1305, the Countess Buchan was punished for having placed
the crown upon the head of Robert Bruce. She was confined in an iron
cage, and permitted to speak to no one but her female attendant, for
four years.
In 1312, the Scots, headed by Robert Bruce, made a desperate foray into
Northumbria, and in 1314, Edward II. marched into Newcastle, on his way
to Berwick, with an army of ninety thousand soldiers, which was beaten
at the battle of Bannockburn. In 1516, the Scots again invaded
England, and famine and pestilence followed in their track. In 1327,
Bruce came again and laid siege to the castles of Norham and Alnwick.
A truce was concluded afterward, and in 1328, David, son of Robert
Bruce, who was in his fifth year, was married to Joanna, sister of King
Edward, who was in her seventh year. The marriage was celebrated with
great pomp, and the Scots afterward called the princess Joan Makepeace.
King David, however, again returned to England at the battle of
Nevill's Cross, and was taken prisoner.
In 1362 John Wickliffe was doing his noble work as a reformer. And
Percy, the Lord Marshall of England, was one of his supporters.
In 1388, the battle of Chevy Chase was fought, the two sons of the Duke
of Northumberland, Sir Henry Percy Hotspur and Sir Ralph Percy, leading
the English forces. The battle of Hamildon Hill was fought on the day
of Holyrood in 1402. King Henry IV. having offended the Percys, the
Duke of Northumberland gave up the Castle of Berwick to the Scots; to
punish which the king brought one of the newly-invented cannon, with
which he struck down one of its towers, and then took possession of
Alnwick and other fortresses and estates.
But only to mention the names and the times of the border forays and
quarrels, would be wearisome. It was a happy thing, indeed, for both
England and Scotland when the two were at last united, and the
strong-hearted men who had hated each other so sincerely, and committed
such terrible deeds of devastation and cruelty, began gradually to
forgive the past, and look upon each other as brethren. It was good,
indeed, when the beautiful hills and valleys of Northumberland, instead
of being deluged with blood, wore the look of calm prosperity which
always attends peace. And it is a pleasant consideration for true
patriots, and one which should send them to the throne of God with
words of hearty thanksgiving upon their lips, that our Queen Victoria,
whom both nations conspire to love and revere, passes from south to
north, through sunny landscapes of bountiful corn-fields and golden
orchards, when she takes her annual holiday in the Highlands of
Scotland, the land which is peculiarly dear to her. No sounds of
widows weeping for their slain husbands and sons--no fierce
battle-cries--no terrible wailings over slaughtered families and ruined
homes--startle the still air. But, instead, the children sing the
national anthem, as if they knew all that it means; and wherever, on
this or the other side of the Tweed, the dear familiar face, with its
crown of silvering hair, is seen, the people cry, with leaping hearts
and happy tears, "God save the Queen!"
It is impossible not to contrast the new with the old; but as we do so,
we shall be forced to acknowledge that the new is, after all, the child
of the old, born amid throes of anguish to live a free glad after-life
of liberty and honour. It is because our fathers fought that we
possess so many privileges. It is because they struggled and died that
we have risen and prospered. And while we render them the thanks that
are due to them, it behoves us sacredly to guard all rights, and
diligently to carry on all good works which they commenced.
It would not be right to give even a short history of Northumberland,
without making some special reference to Alnwick, and the Percy family.
Alnwick, the county-town of Northumberland, is delightfully situated on
the south of the River Aln. It is about half-way between Newcastle and
Berwick. It is not now an important town, having only about eight
thousand inhabitants, but it has a history which few towns surpass in
interest. Old customs linger long here. The curfew-bell is still
tolled; and, until the year 1854, the custom of "leaping the well" was
observed. This absurd, though amusing ceremony, was performed by all
young freemen previous to their being admitted to the corporate
privileges of the town. They used to ride on horseback, carrying
swords in their hands. They went in procession through the town until
they came to a field called the Handkerchief, where each one dismounted
and turned a stone. The Freemen's Well is four miles from Alnwick, and
is fed by a spring, but to stop the freeman from succeeding well in his
plunge, dykes were made, and ropes stretched across, while the mud at
the bottom was industriously stirred up. There was a race to see which
young freeman should be first at the well, and the foremost was most
heartily cheered. Arrived there, each freeman took off his ordinary
dress and clothed himself in white, putting on a white cap ornamented
with ribbons. At a sign, the oldest son of the oldest freeman sprang
into the well, the others after him, and then they made their way as
best they could to the opposite side of the well. Even then the work
was not done, and all started again to "win the boundaries."
Tradition says that the custom of "leaping the well" was instituted by
King John, who, when he was hunting near, got into a bog, and was so
angry with the inhabitants of the town for not attending to it better,
that he took away the charter, and only granted a new one on condition
that every burgess, before he was admitted to the freedom of the town,
should plunge through the bog on the anniversary of the day when he had
himself been so unfortunately compelled to do so.[4]
Alnwick is a place of great antiquity. It is supposed that the Romans
had a fort here, and that the Saxons built a castle on its site.
Before the Conquest, the castle and barony were owned by Gilbert Tyson;
and after the battle of Hastings, it came into the possession of the
Norman Lords de Vescy. They remained in the family till 1297, when
they were bequeathed to the Bishop of Durham by Edward I. Soon after,
they were purchased by Lord Henry de Percy, from whom it descended to
the present Duke of Northumberland.
Alnwick Castle is a noble seat, and stands where once was a Roman camp,
to the north-west of the town. It was of great importance as a border
castle; but a hundred years ago it was very considerably changed. In
1858, however, the noble owner had it repaired, and at a great cost
caused it to be made as nearly as possible as it was at first. It is
perhaps the finest feudal fortress in the kingdom. Five acres are
enclosed by the walls, and the grounds are five miles in length. The
castle is beautifully and romantically situated. The family residence
is in the centre of the inner court, and its decorations are
extraordinarily magnificent. The ceiling is constructed like that of
King's College Chapel, Cambridge, and the paintings on the walls are
copies of those in Milan Cathedral. The castle-walls are flanked by
sixteen towers. The park abounds in rare scenery, and contains ruins
of two abbeys. Malcolm's Cross was rebuilt by the Duchess of
Northumberland to commemorate the fall of King Malcolm and his son, at
the siege of Alnwick, in 1093.
The Percy family has been closely associated with the history of our
land. The head of the noble house, William de Percy, who came with the
Conqueror to England, obtained from the king thirty knight's fees in
the north of England. Agnes, daughter of the third baron, married
Josceline of Lovaine, who was descended from Charlemagne, on condition
that he should adopt either the arms, or the name of Percy. There are
some lines under a picture of hers, that describe his choice--
"Lord Percy's heir I was, whose lasting name
By me survives, unto his lasting fame
Brabant's Duke's son I wed, who for my sake
Retained his arms, and Percy's name did take."
In King John's reign, the head of the family was one of the chief
barons who demanded Magna Charta from him, and resisted the Pope when
he made demands that would have been derogatory to the spiritual
independence of the English Crown. The great grandson of this nobleman
was a distinguished commander under Edward III. He acted as Marshal of
England at the coronation of Richard II., and was created Earl of
Northumberland, though he afterwards took up arms against Richard, and
placed the crown upon the head of Henry of Lancaster. Not satisfied
with his government, he joined in rebellion with Hotspur. He fell at
Bramham Moor, and his titles were forfeited, but were restored in the
time of his grandson, who became Lord High Constable of England. He
was killed at the battle of St. Alban's. The fourth Earl was murdered
by the Northumberland populace, who were enraged with him, because he
levied a tax upon the people in aid of Henry VII. The funeral of this
nobleman cost about 15,000 pounds of our present money. The life of
Henry Algernon Percy, the sixth Earl, and his love for Anne Boleyn, are
matters of history. The Earl who headed the rebellion in Elizabeth's
time and who was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, and afterwards
beheaded as a traitor at York, was the seventh. The eighth Earl was
not less unfortunate, for he was accused of being actively engaged in a
plot, on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots, and taken to the tower, where
he died a violent death. The daughter of the eleventh Earl married the
Duke of Somerset, and became the mother of Algernon, who was created
Earl of Northumberland. Sir Hugh Smithson, his son-in-law, succeeded
to the Earldom, and became Duke of Northumberland, and the present
noble family represent the ancient Percys in the female line. The
fourth Duke was princely in his benefactions. He spent 40,000 pounds
in the improvement of cottages on his estate, and 40,000 pounds in
building and endowing churches. In 1857, he offered a prize for the
best model of a life-boat, and he afterwards supplied several stations
on the coast with these invaluable adjuncts. At North Shields, he
erected "The Sailor's Home," making provision for both the temporal and
spiritual wants of the seamen, a class, in whom he felt great interest,
having, himself, in early life, served as a midshipman on board the
Tribune frigate.
The story of the years, though too often blotted and spoiled by the
passions of men that have wrought cruelty, and the sins of men, which
have brought tempests of sorrow, is yet the story of the goodness and
mercy of God. Through all the changes that have taken place, there has
been a gradual growth of commercial power, of civilisation, morality,
and religion. The times have always been progressive, there has been
no going back, but a continual, persistent, onward tendency, is
evident. And though the progress may be slow, it is nevertheless very
sure. There _is_ a Power that has said to the evil influences that in
the times of long ago desolated Northumbria, even as it has often said
to the raging billows that wash its shores, "Hitherto shalt thou come,
but no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." And that
Power it is which has kept always burning brightly the lamp which
Paulinas lighted in dark places in those far off ancient times.
To-day, indeed, no worshippers bow at the shrines of the saints, and
many things that our forefathers thought sacred are treated lightly by
their posterity. But the real has taken the place of the unreal; truth
reigns where fiction lived, and the substance is grasped, while the
shadow is left to fade away. The people, indeed, kneel today where
their fathers knelt, but many of them, at least, care less for gorgeous
ceremonial than their fathers cared. And crowds have learned to
consecrate themselves to the God for whom they, in the darkness, longed
and cried. And he who came as the Lamb of God that taketh away the
sins of the world, has, in our day, thousands, where before were only
tens. Let us thank God and take courage. "The Lord hath done great
things for us, whereof we are glad." The good times have come; and yet
they are only earnests of better days still that are on their way. Let
the children, not only of Northumbria, but of every part of our land,
sing Christian songs, and live Christian lives. And let all the people
unite in the old, but ever new prayer "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be
done on earth, as it is in Heaven."
[1] Surtees says that the whole population of Northumbria, from the
Tees to the Coquet, lent a helping hand.
[2] The subjoined list of his works will show how marvellous was his
diligence and perseverance:--
Commentaries on most of the Books of the Old and New Testaments.
A Commentary on the Apocrypha.
Two Books of Homilies.
A Martyrology.
A Cronological Treatise, which he entitled, "On the Six Ages."
A Book of Autography.
A Book on the Metrical Art.
A Book of Hymns.
A Book of Epigrams, and various other Theological and
Biographical Treatises.
[3] Dean Stanley's Lecture on the "Early Christianity of Northumbria,"
delivered in the Victoria Hall, Sunderland, on April 6, 1875.
[4] "Tate's History of Alnwick."