THE NORMAN CONQUEST.
[Illustration: DEATH OF HAROLD.]
1. As soon as the Duke of Normandy knew that Edward the Confessor
was dead, and Harold made king, he called his friends together, and
promised to bestow lands and honors in England on all who would
assist him to win the crown; which, he said, was his by right, and
that Harold was an usurper.
2. Now this is a doubtful question; for, although the king could
appoint a successor, if he thought proper; yet it was necessary
that his choice should have the approval of the Witenagemote,
which had not been given in this case; so the English said that,
notwithstanding king Edward’s will, the Duke of Normandy had no right
to the throne.
3. I cannot pretend to say which was right; but, as it is of more
consequence to know how the dispute ended, we will proceed to the
history of the conquest.
4. The Normans were great warriors; so that even many of the clergy
would sometimes put on armour under their robes, and lead their own
vassals to battle; and they had as much interest in the dispute as
the nobles, for they expected to come into possession of some of the
Bishops’ sees and rich abbey lands, provided Duke William should
succeed in his enterprise.
5. While all this was going on in Normandy, Harold’s brother, Tosti,
had raised a rebellion in the north of England, and was joined by the
king of Norway, who landed with an army in Yorkshire: so Harold had
to go and fight with them, and there was a great battle at Stamford
Bridge, where the king gained a complete victory.
6. Two or three days after this he was enjoying himself at a great
feast, at York, when news was brought to him that the Normans had
landed in Sussex, where they were doing all manner of mischief,
driving the people away from the towns and villages, and taking every
thing they could lay their hands on.
7. The king made all the haste he could to get his soldiers together,
and began his march to oppose the invaders, but it took nearly a
fortnight to get to where they were; and all that time the invaders
were making dreadful havoc for miles round their camp, so that the
terrified people fled to the woods, or shut themselves up in the
churches, for fear of being killed.
8. At last, Harold came, and a battle was fought near Hastings, on
the 14th of October, 1066, where the king and two of his brothers,
with a great many of the English nobles, were slain, and the
conqueror from that day looked upon himself as the master of the
country.
9. But the English had seen enough of the Normans to know that
they should be very badly treated if they once suffered a Norman
government to be established, so they resolved to do their utmost to
prevent it, and thus the Normans had to fight for every town, and
castle, before it was given up to them.
10. William had marched to London, and laid siege to it, soon after
the battle of Hastings, and the people having submitted to him, he
was crowned in Westminster Abbey, on Christmas day.
11. A few of the English nobles went to offer their submission, that
is, they agreed to obey him as their king, since he had promised that
all who did so should be permitted to enjoy their rank and property
undisturbed.
12. But it was only a few who trusted to these promises, and they
were deceived in the end, for it is almost certain that the Conqueror
intended, from the first, to take every thing from the English to
give to the Normans.
13. I mean the English lords; for he meant to make the common people
remain on the estates to which they belonged, that the new masters
might have vassals and slaves to cultivate their lands.
14. Now the poor people did not like this any more than the nobles
themselves, so they fought bravely for their masters in many places;
but it was all to no purpose; for, at the end of seven years, the
Normans were in possession of all the land in the country, and most
of its former lords had either been killed, or were reduced to such
a state of poverty and wretchedness that it is melancholy to think of.
15. I will not attempt to describe the sufferings of the people
during that long period, but you may imagine how very miserable they
must have been, for the Normans got the better of them all over the
country, and took delight in robbing and insulting their unhappy
victims.
16. I told you that the design of the Conqueror was to take all the
land, and divide it among his followers, except what he chose to keep
for himself, as crown lands.
17. Now there were many Saxon ladies who possessed estates, in
consequence of their fathers or brothers having been killed at the
battle of Hastings; and most of these heiresses were compelled,
against their will, to marry Norman lords, who thus gained lands as
well as brides.
18. Then the estates of all those who had not submitted to the king
were declared to be forfeited, and William gave them to the Normans,
or, more properly speaking, he gave the Barons leave to take them by
force; so the English lords had to fight for their houses and lands,
and many were killed, and many fled to other countries.
19. The rustics, on these forfeited estates, would fight for their
lord to the last; but, when he was forced to yield, they had no
choice but to submit to the new lord, or to see their cottages set
on fire, and their wives and children perhaps murdered before their
eyes.
20. Some of the English nobles hid in the forests with their
families, and as many of their vassals as would go with them, where
they made habitations, and supported themselves by robbery and
hunting; and this was the origin of the numerous bands of robbers
that, in after times, were the terror of the country.
21. The famous Robin Hood, who lived in the reign of Richard the
First, is supposed to have been a descendant of one of these
unfortunate English nobles.
22. The Bishops’ sees and abbey lands were seized in the same violent
manner, as the estates of the nobles, and given to the Norman clergy;
and many of the monasteries, after being broken open and plundered,
were taken for the abode of monks who came over from Normandy in
great numbers.
23. The Normans built a great many castles in different parts of
the country; and, if they wanted to build one on a spot where there
happened to be houses, they thought nothing of turning out the
inhabitants, and pulling down the houses, to make room: and they
pressed the poor people, both men and women, to do all the labour,
without pay, and treated them very cruelly besides; for, if they did
not work hard enough, these unfeeling taskmasters would urge them on
with blows.
24. Then wherever the Norman soldiers stayed, they went and lived in
the houses of the people, took what they pleased, and made the family
wait upon them.
25. The king, himself, cruelly laid waste different parts of the
country in revenge for the opposition made to his progress by some of
the English earls, especially in the north, where, about three years
after the battle of Hastings, such a scene of desolation was made by
fire and sword, that, from York to Durham, the houses, the people,
and all signs of cultivation, were utterly destroyed.
26. The last stand made against the Normans was in a little island,
formed by bogs and lakes, in Cambridgeshire, and still called the
Isle of Ely. There, a brave chief, named Hereward, set up a fortified
camp, and was joined by other noblemen, and many of their dependents,
who, with the ceorls, or tenants, belonging to the Abbey of Ely, made
quite an army.
27. It was a secure place of refuge, because the only safe paths into
the island were unknown to the Normans, who would most likely have
been lost in the bogs, if they had ventured to approach.
28. But they had built a castle close by, at Cam Bridge, and they
brought boats and tried to make causeways by which they might get
into the camp of refuge; but the English would go out in bands
at night and destroy all that their enemies had done, and kept
constantly on the watch for straggling parties, who were often
attacked unawares, and many of them killed, while the English could
always retreat to their camp, where they were safe from pursuit.
29. At last the Normans established a blockade of boats round the
island, and provisions began to get scarce within it; so two or three
bad selfish men, who lived in the abbey, went to the Normans at Cam
Bridge, and said, they would show them the way into the island, if
they would promise not to meddle with the abbey.
30. These men led the Normans secretly into the island, and a
terrible battle was fought, in which almost all the English were
killed.
31. When Hereward saw it was useless to fight any longer, he made his
escape, and went to his own castle of Bourn, in Lincolnshire; where I
believe, he afterwards made peace with the king, and was allowed to
keep his estate.
32. I have given you a long history of the Conquest, because it
was the most important event that ever occurred in the history of
England, and was the last sudden and violent change made in this
country by foreign invasion.
QUESTIONS.
1. Explain the cause of the Norman invasion.
8. What was the battle of Hastings, and where was it fought?
9. Did the English make any further resistance?
14. How long was it before the conquest was completed?
18. How did many of the Norman lords obtain their estates?
20. What became of the English nobles?
23. How were the English treated by the Norman soldiers?
26. What was the Camp of Refuge, and by whom established?
31. What became of Hereward?