THE FEUDAL SYSTEM: SUCCESSFUL INAUGURATION OF HOMOGENEAL METHODS FOR
RESTRICTING INCOMPATIBLE DEMAGOGUES.
At this time, under the reign of William, a year previous to his death,
an inventory was taken of the real estate and personal property
contained in the several counties of England; and this "Domesday-book,"
as it was called, formed the basis for subsequent taxation, etc. There
were then three hundred thousand families in England. The book had a
limited circulation, owing to the fact that it was made by hand; but in
1783 it was printed.
William II., surnamed "Rufus the Red," the auburn-haired son of the
king, took possession of everything--especially the treasure--before his
father was fully deceased, and by fair promises solidified the left wing
of the royal party, compelling the disaffected Norman barons to fly to
France.
William II. and Robert his brother came to blows over a small rebellion
organized by the latter, but Robert yielded at last, and joined William
with a view to making it hot for Henry, who, being a younger brother,
objected to wearing the king's cast-off reigning clothes. He was at last
forced to submit, however, and the three brothers gayly attacked
Malcolm, the Scotch malecontent, who was compelled to yield, and thus
Cumberland became English ground. This was in 1091.
[Illustration: WILLIAM II. TAKES POSSESSION OF THE ROYAL TRUNK AND
SECURES THE CROWN.]
In 1096 the Crusade was creating much talk, and Robert, who had
expressed a desire to lead a totally different life, determined to go if
money could be raised. Therefore William proceeded to levy on everything
that could be realized upon, such as gold and silver communion services
and other bric-à-brac, and free coinage was then first inaugurated. The
king became so greedy that on the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury
he made himself _ex-officio_ archbishop, so that he might handle the
offerings and coin the plate. When William was ill he sent for Father
Anselm, but when he got well he took back all his sweet promises, in
every way reminding one of the justly celebrated policy pursued by His
Sulphureous Highness the Devil.
The capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders very naturally attracted the
attention of other ambitious princes who wished also to capture it, and
William, Prince of Guienne, mortgaged his principality to England that
he might raise money to do this; but when about to embark for the
purpose of taking possession of this property, William II., the royal
note-shaver, while hunting, was shot accidentally by a companion, or
assassinated, it is not yet known which, and when found by a passing
charcoal-burner was in a dead state. He was buried in 1100, at
Winchester.
[Illustration: RUFUS FOUND DEAD IN THE FOREST BY A POOR
CHARCOAL-BURNER.]
Rufus had no trouble in securing the public approval of his death. He
was the third of his race to perish in the New Forest, the scene of the
Conqueror's cruelty to his people. He was a thick-set man with a red
face, a debauchee of the deepest dye, mean in money matters, and as full
of rum and mendacity as Sitting Bull, the former Regent of the Sioux
Nation. He died at the age of forty-three years, having reigned and cut
up in a shameful manner for thirteen years.
Robert having gone to the Holy Land, Henry I. was crowned at
Westminster. He was educated to a higher degree than William, and knew
the multiplication table up to seven times seven, but he was highly
immoral, and an armed chaperon stood between him and common decency.
He also made rapid strides as a liar, and even his own grocer would not
trust him. He successfully fainted when he heard of his son's death,
1120 A.D.
His reign closed in 1135, when Stephen, a grandson of the Conqueror,
with the aid of a shoe-horn assumed the crown of England, and, placing a
large damp towel in it, proceeded to reign. He began at once to swap
patronage for kind words, and every noble was as ignoble as a
phenomenal thirst and unbridled lust could make him. Every farm had a
stone jail on it, in charge of a noble jailer. Feudal castles, full of
malaria and surrounded by insanitary moats and poor plumbing, echoed the
cry of the captive and the bacchanalian song of the noble. The country
was made desolate by duly authorized robbers, who, under the Crusaders'
standard, prevented the maturity of the spring chicken and hushed the
still, small voice of the roast pig in death.
[Illustration: HENRY FAINTED WHEN HE HEARD THE SAD NEWS.]
William the Conqueror was not only remembered bitterly in the broken
hearts of his people, but in history his name will stand out forever
because of his strange and grotesque designs on posterity.
In 1141 Stephen was made prisoner, and for five years he was not
restored to his kingdom. In the mean time, Matilda, the widow of Henry
I., encouraged by the prelates, landed in England to lay claim to the
throne, and after a great deal of ill feeling and much needed
assassination, her son Henry, who had become quite a large
property-owner in France, invaded England, and finally succeeded in
obtaining recognition as the rightful successor of Stephen. Stephen died
in 1153, and Henry became king.
[Illustration: MATILDA LANDING IN ENGLAND.]
The Feudal System, which obtained in England for four hundred years, was
a good one for military purposes, for the king on short notice might
raise an army by calling on the barons, who levied on their vassals, and
they in turn levied on their dependants.
A feudal castle was generally built in the Norman style of architecture.
It had a "donjon," or keep, which was generally occupied by the baron as
a bar-room, feed-trough, and cooler between fights. It was built of
stone, and was lighted by means of crevices through the wall by day, and
by means of a saucer of tallow and a string or rush which burned during
the night and served mainly to show how dark it was. There was a front
yard or fighting-place around this, surrounded by a high wall, and this
again by a moat. There was an inner court back of the castle, into which
the baron could go for thinking. A chapel was connected with the
institution, and this was the place to which he retired for the purpose
of putting arnica on his conscience.
Underneath the castle was a large dungeon, where people who differed
with the baron had a studio. Sometimes they did not get out at all, but
died there in their sins, while the baron had all the light of gospel
and chapel privileges up-stairs.
The historian says that at that time the most numerous class in England
were the "villains." This need not surprise us, when we remember that it
was as much as a man's life was worth to be anything else.
There were also twenty-five thousand serfs. A serf was required to be at
hand night or day when the baron needed some one to kick. He was
generally attached to the realty, like a hornet's nest, but not
necessary to it.
In the following chapter knighthood and the early hardware trade will be
touched upon.
[Illustration: "IN HOC SIGNO VINCES."]