From the Britons the city in 577 was captured by the Saxons. They called
it Gleauanceaster, which exists to this day under the contracted form of
Gloucester. At that time it was included in the kingdom of Wessex, and
was afterwards annexed to that of Mercia. In the meanwhile tradition
says that a bishop's see was founded at Gloucester in the second
century. Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain, is held to be the
founder, and is also supposed to have been buried in the Church of St.
Mary de Lode of this city. With all respect to tradition, this can
only be accepted with reservation. If true, the present church of St.
Mary de Lode deserves far greater recognition than it receives. Though
evidently an old foundation much restored, it can hardly lay claim to
such antiquity. In all probability a temple to some Roman deity existed,
which, by conflicting accounts of historians, gave rise to the
supposition of an early established see. Though there is proof that
Christianity existed during the Roman occupation of England, it seems
more likely that, after their general exodus from the island in 418, a
diocese, if any, was soon after established at Gloucester, over which
Eldad presided in 490.
This first bishopric, on the subversion of the country by the
Anglo-Saxons, must have become extinct; for the next we hear of it is
when, as part of the kingdom of Mercia, the entire county of Gloucester
is included in the diocese of Lichfield at the time of the introduction
of Christianity. However, the first authentic evidence of monasticism
appears in the year 679, when the holy brethren founded their
establishment. Under the auspices of Wulfhere, then King of Mercia, this
priory was dedicated to St. Oswald, and in the same year was annexed to
the newly established see of Worcester. It afterwards became the abbey.
The city's importance in the same year was considerably increased by the
royal patron. The King's brother and successor, Ethelred, nevertheless,
completed the ecclesiastical building, which some contend was a nunnery.
This the Danes destroyed. It was then refounded for the reception of
secular priests in 821, by Bernulf, King of Mercia.
As early as 964, in a charter to the monks of Worcester dated at
Gloucester, Edgar styles this a "royal city." Several times it suffered
from the incursions of the Danes in the eighth century, and more
especially so in the tenth, when it was taken and nearly destroyed by
fire in the reign of Ethelred II. This monarch's reign seems to have
been a disastrous one for the kingdom. In the first place, through the
ambitious schemes of his mother Elfrida, who caused his stepbrother
Edward to be murdered, he wrongfully occupied the throne in 979. On
account of his tragic death Edward came to be styled "the Martyr." A
reign thus inauspiciously commenced proved to be a constant struggle
against the Danes. The King acquired the name of Ethelred the Unready;
for when the Danes attacked the kingdom, instead of being prepared to
repel them, he endeavoured to counteract the evil with large sums of
money. As this only served as a further incentive to fresh invasions,
Ethelred eventually compounded with them in 994. On condition that these
plundering expeditions should cease, he offered them tribute. This is
the first mention we get of the "danegelt," as it was called. With the
exception of the reign of Edward the Confessor, it continued to be
levied almost without interruption till the time of Henry II. The only
benefit that Ethelred's reign conferred upon his subjects was the act of
atonement made by Elfrida.
To ease her conscience and remorse for the murder of Edward, she caused
the foundation of several monasteries, and performed penances. Edmund
Ironsides, who succeeded in 1016, was the exact opposite in character to
his father Ethelred.
He continued a serious obstacle to Canute and his Danes. After the last
of five pitched battles Canute and he agreed to divide the kingdom
between them: Canute to have Mercia and Northumberland, and Edmund the
remainder. However, through the murder of Edmund a few days after, at
Oxford, Canute usurped the throne of England in 1017. During his reign
of eighteen years, except for a dispute with Scotland over Cumberland,
the country enjoyed peace at home.
This peaceful term, in conjunction with the passing over of the dreaded
millennium, when the end of the world had been expected, caused the
great building activity which, under the Norman Conquest, attained such
wonderful results.
In the meanwhile the trade resources of Gloucester, even before the
Conquest, had greatly advanced, and had probably outdistanced in ratio
those of more important commercial centres of England. No doubt the
natives had learned many hitherto unknown industrial arts from the
Romans.
[Illustration: GLOUCESTER