I LIE EAR! OF CONGRESS.*; w ■ w ^ %i\x.vl^%.. lopTjrigM ?\'o % I J7^e//8^.h^ ! /' J UNITED- S-TATES OF ^AMKliiCA j HISTORY ENGLAND, SEPARATE HISTORICAL SKETCHES SCOTLAND, WALES, AND IRELAND; THE INVASION OF JULIUS C^SAR UNTIL THE ACCESSION OF aUEEN VICTORIA TO THE BRITISH THRONE. DRAWN FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES, AND DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. ILLUSTRATED BY NXJIVIEROUS ENGRAVINGS. WITH QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. BY JOHN RUSSELL, A. M., Author of " History of the United States," and " History of France." PHILADELPHIA : PUBLISHED BY HOGAN & THOMPSON, No. 30 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 1838. of WAS; Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1 838, by Hogan & Thompson, in the clerk's office of the district court of the eastern district of Pennsylvania. 3 r /?- Ij(X (4) P R E FA C E . Next to the history of our own country, that of the British Empire, from which we derive the principal part of our population, as well as our civil institutions and our language, forms the most interesting and appropriate study for the rising generation. A general knowledge of it is indeed requisite to the proper understanding of our own annals; and forms a necessary part of a good education, such as every intelligent American deems essential for his children. In preparing the history now oflfercd to the public, the author has endeavoured to present as full and complete a view of the succession of events, as could be comprised in the limited space permitted to a volume intended for the use of schools. In addition to a complete history of England, he has given histories of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, from the earhest period to the times when these countries, originally independent, became integral portions of the British empire. The information contained in this supplementary part of the volume could not have been given in the body of Ihe work without unpleasantly interrupting the course of the narrative, and disturbing that unity which is so essential to a well- compacted and continuous narrative. But it was deemed of sufficient importance and interest to claim distinct notice; and the author trusts that it will be considered a valuable addition to the history. 1* (5) vi PREFACE. In submitting this work to the notice of parents, teachers, and others, interested in the cause of general education, the author cannot but express his gratitude for the favour extended to his former productions, and his hope that the present effort may not be deemed unworthy of the same degree of approbation. CONTENTS. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER I. — ANCIENT BRITONS, SAXONS, DANES. Section I. The Ancient Britons Page 11 2. Oi" England under the Saxona 13 3. The lieptarchy 13 4. England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings. — A. D. 827 l(j 6. Edward, Athelstan, Edmund 21 6.- Edward, Ethelred, Edmond, Sweyn 24 7. Canute, Harold, Hardicanute, Edward 25 CHAPTER ir. — THE NORMANS; BLOIS. Section Jl. William the Conqueror. — A. D. 1066 28 2. William Rufus. — A. D. 1087 30 3. Henry i. — A. D. 1100 34 4. Stephen. — House of Blois. — A. D. 1135 36 CHAPTER HI. — PLANTAGENET& Section 1. Henry II. — A. D. 1155 37 2. Henry II., contmued 40 3. Richard I. — A. D. 1189 42 4. John. — A. D. 1199 46 5. Henry III. — A.D. 1216 49 6. Edward I. — A.D. 1272 54 7. Edward ![. — A.D. 1307 55 8. Edward III. — A.D. 1327 57 9. Richard II — A.D. 1377 62 CHAPTER IV.— HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK. Section 1. Henry IV. — A. D. 1399 65 2. Henry V. — A.D. 1413 66 3. Henrv VI. — A.D. 1422 68 4. Edward IV. — A.D. 1461 71 5. Edward V. — A. D. 1483 ; Richard III. — A. D. 1483 73 CHAPTER v. — HOUSE OF TUDOR. Section 1. Henry VII. — A.D. 1485 75 2 Henry Vill. — A.D. 1509 77 3. Henry VI H., continued 80 4. Henry VIII., continued 84 5. Edward VI. — A. D. 1547 87 6. Mary. — A. D. 1553 90 7. Mary, continued 92 8. Elizabeth. — A. D. 1558 93 9. Elizabeth, continued 96 10. Elizabeth, continued 98 11. Elizabeth, continued , 103 CHAPTER VI. — HOUSE OF STUART. Section 1. James I. — A. D. 1603 105 2. James I., continued 107 3. Charles I. — A.D. J625 109 4. Charles I., continued 112 (?) Vm CONTENTS. Section 5. Charles I., continued ...,,..,,.., « , < 114 6. Charles I., continued , , v. ., 117 7. Charles I., continued 120 8. The Commonwealth.— A. D. 1649 124 9. The Commonwealth, continued 126 10. Richard Cromwell 129 11. Charles II. — A. D. 1660 130 12. Charles II., continued 132 13. Charles II., continued 134 14. Charle.s II., continued 136 15. Charles 11., continued •....,. 138 16 James fl.- A. D. 1685 140 17. James II., continued 143 18 William III. and Mary. — A. D. 1688 147 19. William and Mary, continued 150 20. Anne. — A. D. 1702 153 21. Anne, continued 156 CHAPTER VII. — HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. Section 1. George I. — A. D. 1714 158 2. George I., continued 161 3. George II.— A. D. 1727 , 163 4. George II., continued 165 5. George III. — A.D. 1760 168 6. George III., continued 171 7. George III., continued 174 8. George III., continued 176 9. George III., continued 181 10. George III., continued 185 11. George III., continued 186 12. George IV. — A.D. 1820 189 13. WilliamlV. — A. D. 1830 191 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Chapter 1. Ancient Inhabitants 195 2. David II 197 3. Mary. Queen of Scots, &c 201 4. James VI 203 5. On the Ancient Constitution of the Scottish Government 206 HISTORY OF WALES. Chapter 1. Ancient Britons 207 2. Roderic Moehvynoc 212 3. Jeuav and Jago, Howel Dha 213 4. Trahaearn, Gryffydh, Owen . 215 6. Llewelyn, David 217 HISTORY OF IRELAND. Chapter 1. The original inhabitants 220 2. Evidences of iis antiquity 223 3. Ollamh Fodlila : 225 4. Tnathal, Keidlim, Con 227 5. Pelagius, St. Patrick 229 6. Brien Boiroimhe 2.S2 7. Edward I. and II., Richard II 237 8. Henry IV.andV 239 9. The doctrines in the Irish church 241 10. Elizabeth, James 1., Charles I., &c 243 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Landing of Julius Cassar .- Page 2 Alfred in the Neatherd's Hut 19 William I. wounded by his Son 31 Richard I. in Palestine 43. Henry III. entering the Armed Parhament 61 Great Naval Engagement off Sluys 59 Execution of Anne Bullen 82 Elizabeth haranguing her Troops at Tilbury 100 Exficulion of Charles I 122 Landing of the Prince of Orange at Torbay 145 Death of Sir Ra.*^ Abercrombie 179 Mary, Queen of Scots, embarking for Scotland 198 Caractacus before Claudius 207 Dermot MacMurrough carrying off the Princess Dovergilda 231 (9) HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER I. SECTION I. Among all the ancient historians, but little light has been shed on Britain, till Julius Caisar, fifty-five years before Christ, attempted the conquest of it; except that the Britons were of Gauiic or Celtic origin, that they enjoyed a free government, and were remarkable for their ferocity and barbarism. Those of them, however, that inhabited the south-east part of the island, had become acquainted with agriculture ; and the southern coast, opposite Gaul, was frequented by merchants, who traded thither for such commodities as the natives were able to produce. The other inhabitants maintained themselves by pasturage, removing perpetually their seats, and raising temporary huts in their forests and inarslies. The Britons, addicted to war, and jealous of their liberty, were divid- ed into small nations, under the government of kings, or rather of chief- tains, who possessed a precarious authority ; but in great and imminent dangers, a commander-in-chief was chosen by common consent, in a general assembly. Of their mode of warfare, Caesar gives a descrip- tion ; and their dexterity in managing their war-chariots he ascribes to constant use and incessant exercise ; thereby intimating that the Britons were perpetually engaged in intestine wars. The priests, whom they called Druids, were the guardians of their religion, and enjoyed the greatest influence in their States. The ascendant they obtained tliey had procured by the terrors of superstition. Exempted from taxes and from military service, intrusted witii the edu- cation of their youth, the judges of all matters, civi) or criminal, and respected as oracles, they punished the refractory by terrible penalties. Among their religious tenets they maintained the eternal transmigra- tion of souls, and human sacrifices and other barbarous rites made a part of tiie religion which they inculcated. That the s-'perstition of the What was the probable origin of the '"ritnns? — What their employment ? — What their government ? — What their mode of warfare? — Who the guardians of their jeiigion ? (11) 12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Druids was of singular force, we may easily conceive, since the Ro- mans employed against it the rigour of penal laws. Impelled by the love of glory, Csesar attempted the invasion of Britain, and obliged the inhabitants to promise submission, which they violated the moment his departure allowed them an opportunity to resume their arms. The next year he returned, with a greater army, and exacted from them new acknowledgements. It was not, however, till the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius, nearly a century after the first landing of CiEsar, that the Romans possessed any real dominion over the Britons. Claudius made an expedition in his own person to Britain, and the brave Caractacus was led captive to Rome. Suetonius Paulinus, under the reign of Nero, gave the Britons a severe blow by attacking Mona, now Anglesey, the principal retreat of the Druids. He destroyed their altars and consecrated groves ; but no sooner was he removed to a distance, than they returned to hostilities imder the conduct of Boadicea, queen of the Iceni ; a heroine, whom the indignities offered ,to her person by the Romans, had stimulated to revenge. London, then a considerable colony, she reduced to ashes, and put the Romans there, with all other strangers, to the sword. Suetonius in his turn gained a decisive victory; and Boadicea, that she might not tall into his hands, put an end to her life by poison. The glory of subduing Britain was reserved for Julius Agricola, of whom Tacitus, his son-in-law, has immortalized the virtues and the talents. This great man governed it during the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian *. Having first subjugated the southern parts of the island, Agricola advanced northward, driving before him the fiercer tribes ; and having chased them into the mountains of Caledonia, he erected a rampart to set bounds to their violent incursions. He intro- duced among them the arts of peace, and reconciled them to more culti- vated manners. Adrian, Antoninus, and Severus added new fortifications to the wall of Agricola, and the country enjoying during a long period an uninterrupted peace, its inhabitants seem to have relinquished the hope, if not the desire, of independence. The Roman empire had at length grown feeble under the weight of its conquests. A deluge of barbarians pouring from the north attacked a power that oppressed the world, and it was necessary to recall the legions who were defending the frontier provinces; on which the Picts and Scots broke over the wall of separation, and ravaged the fields of their effeminate neighbours. The Britons implored the protection of the Romans, who sent them a single legion. This force was suflncient to disperse the enemy ; but, immediately on its departure, they returned to distress the Britons. But the Romans, in the reign of the Emperor Valentinian, after en- couraging the Britons to defend themselves, and assisting them to rebuild * Tliese emperors reigned between the years a.d. 70 and 96. What their influence? — What was effected by Julius Caesar? — By Claudius? — What did Suetonius effect? — Who was boadicea? — Who fullysubdued the Bri- tons ? — And in whose reigns ? — What oc'/nsioned the recal of the Roman legions from Britain ? — What were the last acts of the Romans in Britain ? — What followed their departure ? SAXONS. 13 the wall of Sev'erus, bade them a final adieu, a. d. 448. The pusillani- mous Britons soon became a prey to the rapacity of the Scots and Picts, and by the advice of Vortigern, one of their princes, they despatched an embassy to Germany, and invited over the Saxons, a people that were soon to enslave them. SECTION 2. OF ENGLAND UNDER THE SAXONS. The Saxons inhabited the north and north-western parts of Germany. They were possessed of great martial ardour, and nothing could be more acceptable to them than the deputation of the Britons. Hengist and Horsa, two brothers, respectable from their birth and authority, arrived with fifteen hundred men and landed on the Isle of Thanet. They were soon followed by five thousand more, and being joined by the British forces, they gained a complete victory in Lincolnshire over the Picts and Scots, a. d. 450. It is related that Hengist derived singular advantage from the charms of his sister, Rowena, who had drawn to her the affections of Vortigern. Hengist, with the recruits he received from Germany, spread rapidly his conquests. The Britons, in great numbers, fled to Armorica, now Brittany. After the death of Vortimer, Amhrosius was promoted to the chief authority, but his courage, and the efforts of his unfortunate coun- trymen, were unable to expel the usurpers. — -Hengist founded the king- dom of Kent, His success drew over other adventurers from Germany, and the Britons, after several defeats, took refuge in the inaccessible mountains of Cornwall and Wales. Ella, a Saxon chief, arrived in a. d. 477, and having established him- self on the southern coast, became King of Sussex. Cerdic, another Saxon conqueror, was opposed with more vigour. The famous King Arthur, whose achievements have given occasion to so many fables, and who is celebrated in romances, as the founder of the Round Table, defeated him in several battles, Cerdic, however, assisted by his son Kenric, established the kingdom of Wessex, comprehending the counties of Hants, Dorset, Wilts, Berks, and the Isle of Wight. About the same time were established the kingdom of the East Angles, that of Mercia, and that of Essex. The kingdom of Northumberland was not founded till the year 547. In this manner was the Heptarchy, or the seven Saxon kingdoms, es- tablished in Britain ; and, having subdued their common enemy, the Britons, they soon began to turn their arms against each other, SECTION 3. % THE HEPTARCHY. ' Kent. — The two immediate successors of Hengist chose to enjoy his conquests, rather than imitate his example. Ethelbert, his grand- Who were the Saxons ? — Who were their leaders ? — Where did the Britons flee for refuge ? — Who opposed the establishments of the Saxon chiefs ? — What Saxon kingdoms were finally established ? 2 14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. son, seems, liowever, to have inherited his valour and his ambition. The event which particularly distinguished the reign of this prince was the introduction of Christianity into his kingdom ; though this system of faith had, long before this period, been embraced by the Britons. The Saxons had lived in the grossest idolatry : their principal deity was Woden, whom they considered as presiding over war ; and from whom they conceived their ancestors were descended. The hope of being admitted into his hall or palace, in recompense for their valour, and of drinkmg ale from the skulls of their enemies, induced them to expose themselves to the greatest dangers. But the example of the Franks, Burgundians, and other German nations who had been convert- ed to the Christian religion, had already contributed to produce in them a contempt of pagan superstitions. Gregory, surnamed the Great, sent Augustin on a mission to Britain, but so great was the stupidity of the Saxons, that Ethelbert, afraid lest these foreign priests should employ magic and sorcery against him, received them in the open air, in order to interrupt the force of their enchantments. Augustin explained the truths of the gospel, and obtain- ed permission to preach them publicly. The austerities of his life con- firmed his doctrines. The king allowed himself to be baptized, and a great number of his subjects followed his example. Augustin was after- wards consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. Northumberland. — This kingdom, which comprehended the north- ern counties of England, was originally divided into two independent governments, the Deiri and the Bernici. Adelfrid, king of the latter, possessed himself of the former. This conquest rendered him formida- ble to the Picts and Scots. The Welsh also were bold enough to attack him near Chester; and a body of monks from the monastery of Bangor accompanied the army. Adelfrid, perceiving them at some distance from the field of battle, enquired the meaning of so unusual an appear- ance. He was told that a body of priests were come out to pray against him. "Then," said he, "they are as much our enemies as those who fight against us ;" and he sent a detachment to cut in pieces the monkish battalion. The Welsh, seized with consternation, took flight; Chester was taken, and the monastery of Bangor demolished. The young Edwin, whom Adelfrid had dispossessed of the crown of Deiri, afterwards recovered it by the assistance of Redwakl, King of the East Angles, who, marching against Adelfrid, defeated and slew him. Edwm, becoming King of Northumberland, distinguished himself by the strict execution of justice. The arguments of Paulinus induced him to renounce idolatry, and both king and people opened their eyes to the light of the gospel. Paulinus was the first Archbishop of York. East Anglia. — This kingdom comprehended the provinces of Cam- bridge, Suffolk, and Norfolk. A long catalogue of obscure and con- temptible princes, who were either expelled or murdered, tills the annals What is said of F.thelbert's reign? — Wlio was the principal deity among ihe Saxons ? — Whom did Gregory send on a mission to Britam ? — What was his snc- cess?"-^How did Adelfrid treat ihe monks of Bangor? — What followed ? — Whom did Paulinus, Archbishop of York, convert to Christianity? — What provinces did East Anglia comprehead ? SAXONS. 15 of this kingdom. The last of these princes, Ethelbert, was assassinated by Offa, King of the Mercians, a. d. 792. Mercia. — This kingdom, the most extensive of the heptarchy, incUided all the interior counties of England. Offa, the most distinguished of the Mercian princes, ascended the throne in a. d. 755, but the lustre of his victories was tarnished by the murder of Ethelbert, King of East Anglia, who had come to his court to espouse his daughter, and he then possessed himself of his dominions. Remorse for his crime induced him to enrich the cathedral of Hereford, to erect a magnificent mon- astery at Verulam, to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome, with other like acts. Moral excellence in those times was deemed less meritorious than the founding of religious houses and the exterior practices of devotion. This prince died a. d. 794. He was acquainted with Charlemagne. The other Kings of Mercia are not worthy of particular notice. Essex and Sussex were the most inconsiderable kingdoms of the heptarchy. That of Essex, or the East Saxons, was but of small extent ; and that of Sussex, or the South Saxons, contained only the provinces of Sussex and Surrey. The annals of both the one and the other are barren and defective. Wessex. — This kingdom, which lay westward of the principalities of Kent and Sussex, had its name from the people who founded it. Con- tinual wars fostered their military genius. Ceaulin, their third king, oppressed the ancient Britons who had taken shelter in Cornwall, and was ambitious to extend his conquests over the heptarchy. Becoming odious to his subjects, he was expelled from the throne, and died in exile and in misery. Ina, one of his successors, deserves to be mentioned with honour. He united in his person the civil and military virtues. Having conquer- ed the Britons in Somerset, he treated them with humanity, permitted them to retain possession of their lands, incorporated them with his sub- jects by intermarriages and equal laws. After a glorious reign of thirty- ' seven years, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome, and then retired to a cloister ; a species of devotion then very common. The immediate successors of Ina were obscure and undistinguished, and we pass from them to Egbert, after making mention of Brithric, who, with a title inferior to that of Egbert, possessed himself of the throne in 784. He was taken off by poison, which the jealousy of his queen had prepared for another. Egbert was called to the vacant throne. Great objects opened them- selves to his ambition. The royal families, in all the kingdoms of the heptarchy, had become entirely extinguished. Devotion had buried many of them in cloisters, and the rivalship of many princes had led to the extermination of others; so that Egbert was the sole descendant of those princes who first subdued Britain; and he enhanced his authority by claiming a pedigree from Woden. What did Of!a to atone for the murder of Ethelbert? — What is worth}' of note in Essex, Sussex, and Wessex ? — Relate the characters of Ina and his successors. — What prospects opened to Egbert's ambition ? 16 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. The Mercians, who at that time possessed great power, attacked him and were defeated. The kingdoms of Kent, Essex, and East Anglia, had become tributary to him ; and two successful battles put him in possession of Mercia. Then marching towards Northumberland, that people, tired of anarchy, came out to do him homage. Thus the hep- tarchy was consolidated into one kingdom called England, from the name of one of the Saxon tribes who, four hundred years before, had made a settlement in this country. SECTION 4. I ENGLAND UNDER THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGS. A. D. 827. Under Egbert, a king powerful and warlike, and the only remaining descendant of the founders of the heptarchy, England seemed likely to be formidable to its neighbours, and to remain undisturbed by foreign incursions. But the North of Europe was ever producing numerous armies of barbarians, whom the desire of settlements, or the hopes of plunder, urged to the invasion of countries more fertile than their own. After having overrun the North of France, they threw themselves upon England. Their first inroads into this country were made as early as the year 787, in the decline of the Saxon Heptarchy; and they renewed their visits in the reign of Egbert. Nor were they discouraged, though defeated by this prince in a great battle. They penetrated into Devon- shire, and were again vanquished. But Egbert died too soon for his people ; leaving the crown to his son, who was but little able to sustain its weight. Ethelwolf, the successor of Egbert, in 838, had the virtues of a monk, not those of a king. He began his reign by dismembering the monarchy, by delivering to his eldest son, Athelstan, the provinces of Essex, Kent, and Sussex. The Danes took advantage of his weakness ; and though they were sometimes defeated by the valour of the English, the kingdom was yet laid waste and ravaged. Their small vessels ran easily up creeks and rivers, and spreading themselves on the coast, they carried off men and cattle and their moveable possessions. They exer- cised their rage against churches, priests, and monks, and hastening to their ships, they immediately disappeared. When chased from one place, they presented themselves in another. Inquietude and terror became general over the whole island ; every season of the year was dangerous. A fleet of 350 sail having brought them a strong reinforce- ment, they advanced from the Isle of Thanet, burnt the cities of Lon- don and Canterbury, and penetrated into Surrey. Ethelwolf 's ineffec- tual opposition, or partial victories, afforded but a short interruption to their devastations. In the midst of these dangers, this weak prince set out on a pilgrim- age to Rome, and his liberality to the Romish Church was great; on How was the heptarchy consolidated, and by whom? — What people disturbed the country in the time of Egbert? — Who succeeded him? — Describe the ravages of the Danes. ALFRED. 17 his return home, he married the daughter of Charles the Bald. About the same time this prince conferred a donation on the clergy, which has been entailed on posterity. The Jewish law, which had bestowed a tenth of all the produce of the land on the Levites, was universally regarded by the clergy as obligatory on Christians; and they were inclined to extend it to the tenth of all industry, merchandize, wages of labourers, and pay of soldiers. After much resistance from the laity, Ethel wolf granted their request; and the States of the kingdom consented to the establishment of tithes. The king died in 857, two years after this concession, and his will divided the kingdom between his sons, Ethelbald and Ethelberl ; but the reign of these princes was short, and much molested by the irrup- tions of the Danes. They were succeeded by their brother, Ethelred, in 866, who, several times, assisted by his brother Alfred, signalized himself by his valour against these pirates. He died of a wound received in another action with the enemy. Alfred, his successor, was the fifth son of Ethelwolf ; and was born to support the tottering throne, and to establish the felicity of his nation. Alfred, in 872, and when twenty-two years of age, was called to the exercise of royalty. Ethelred left issue, but the vows of the whole nation, and the distresses of the kingdom, required an arm of known prowess to wield the sceptre ; and the order of succession was not nicely observed, in these times, provided the prince was of the royal line. We are assured that in a journey to Rome, whither his father had sent him, he had received the royal unction from the hands of Leo IV. Parental indulgence had suffered him to pass his twelfth year without instruction ; but, the hearing of some Saxon poems read, which recounted the praise of heroes, awaked his genius, and made him emulous to attain to the like fame. The study of the Latin tongue opened to him more abundant sources of improvement, and the early taste he discovered for works which inspired him with heroic sentiments, prognosticated his future greatness. In Alfred's first encounter with the Danes, they were discomfited, and became bound never to return to the kingdom. But oaths could not bind men who had never submitted to laws. They soon renewed their depredations, and Alfred was again under the necessity of opposing their ravages. In one year he fought eight battles against them, and having reduced them to the utmost extremity, he made them an offer of a settlement in England, if they would defend it against the incur- sions of future invaders; but, while deliberating concerning it, being reinforced by new bodies of their countrymen, they proceeded to exer- cise their usual depredations. The courage of the English sunk under this new misfortune ; and in their distress many abindoned their country, and others submitted to servitude. The king, finding himself without troops and without hope, dismissed his attendants, and in the disguise of a peasant, concealed When and by whom were tithes first established ? — Name the sons and succes- sors of Kthelwolf" — Describe the characterof Alfred. — The events of his childhood. — What engagement took place between hirn and the Danes? — What occurred to him, in the disguise of a peasant? 2* lO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. himself in the house of a neatherd, whose wife exacted his assistance in her domestic affairs. Finding an opportunity to collect a number of his partisans, he retired to an inaccessible morass in the county of Somerset, and erected a fortification. From these he made frequent and unexpected sallies upon the barbarians, who felt the vigour of his arm, but Icnew not from what quarter they received the blow. The news that the Earl of Devonshire had obtained a victory over the enemy, and had even got possession of their enchanted standard, drew this hero from his retreat, and in order to assure himself of the probability of success, he entered the camp of the enemy in the disguise of a harper. He was introduced into the tent of their prince, Guthrum, where he remained several days. Observing their negligence and supine security, he returned to his followers with the hopes of a certain victory. Emissaries being despatched, the soldiers flocked to his standard, and the enemy was surprised and routed. The fugitives he besieged in a fortified town, to which they had retired. The Danes, oppressed by famine, submitted to the victor. The conditions of Alfred were accept- ed, one of which was that they should embrace the doctrines of Chris- tianity ; and the kingdom was not for many years infested with the rav- ages of the Danes. This interval of tranquillity he employed in restoring order to the State, and in establishing salutary institutions. His prudence suggested to him the most proper expedient for uniting the English and the Danes. He governed them by equal laws, and made no difference between them in the administration of civil or criminal justice. The cities which had been desolated, were repaired ; and that of London in particular, which became the capital of the kingdom. A regular and formidable militia was judiciously stationed throughout the country for the national defence. But of all his establishments, the most useful were his naval preparations. A hundred and thirty vessels of war, stationed along the coast, kept at defiance those fleets of pirates which had before invaded the island without opposition. He instructed his subjects in the art of navigation. Who would have thought that an art at that time so little known in England, was one day to be the foundation of its power ! These wise expedients, however, conld not secure the tranquillity of the kingdom. Hastings, the celebrated Danish pirate, having ravaged a part of France, prepared to invade England, with a fleet of three hun- dred and thirty sail. The terrible outrages they committed served to augment the glory of Alfred. After a g-reat slaughter the rebels were defeated and put to flight, and tranquillity was again restored. He divided the kingdom into counties, subdividing the counties into hundreds, and these again into tithings. In cases of great moment, the hundreds assembled, and twelve freeholders were chosen. This proceed- ing gave rise to juries, calculated for the security of liberty, and the equal administration of justice. Alfred appointed also a sheriff in each In what disguise did Alfred enter the Danish camp? — What followed ? — ^To what terms did the Danes submit?— -Describe Alfred's government, — What Danish pirate committed great outrages ? — How did Alfred divide and subdivide the country ? ( 19 ) ALFRED.-'— ED WAED. ATHELSTAN. 21 county. He framed a body of laws for the magistracy, and reformed and extended previous institutions. He invited learned men from every part of Europe ; and established schools for the instruction of youth. He either founded, or at least rebuilt the University of Oxford, and endowed it with many privileges. I This great prince divided his time into three equal portions; one he dedicated to study, and the exercises of piety ; another to the despatch of business; and a third to the refection of his body. He measured his hours by burning tapers of equal length. By such a regular distribution of time, he became one of the most learned men of his age. He trans- lated into the Saxon language the Fables of ^Esop, the History of Bede, and other works. He composed parables and short poems, to communi- cate the duties of morality to a people not yet susceptible of speculative instruction. The attention of Alfred was extended to every object interesting to society. He encouraged the mechanic arts, agriculture, navigation, and commerce. The English began to carry their trade into distant countries, and to import the productions of the Indies. A seventh part of the revenue of the Crown was set apart for the repair of ruined cities, castles, palaces, and churches. In short, the admirable institutions he put in execution, during a reign of no great length, cannot be enumerated in the compressed limits of this work ; they are beyond all eulogiums. No king had ever a better title to the surname of Great. Alfred died in the fifty-second year of his age. a. d. 900. SECTION 5. Edward, surnamed the Elder, because he was the first king of England of that name, was the second son of Alfred ; and though he was inferior to his father in mental accomplishments, he equalled him in military skill and conduct. Ethelwald, his cousin-german, disputed with him the succession to the throne, but in a terrible battle fought in Kent he perished. Northumberland, East Anglia, and Mercia sent out bands of robbers, who desolated the kingdom. Edward entered the field against them, and defeated them. During the whole of his reign he was engaged in wars, either with the Danes, who had settled in England, or with those bands whose object was plunder; and he had the good fortune to subject the former, and to expel the latter. He died in 925. Athelstan, his natural son, succeeded him, (the legitimate offspring of the last king being too young for the cares of government,) his illegitimacy not being in those times a sufficient obstacle to exclude him from the succession. The Danes in Northumberland were constantly in a disposition to revolt, but Athelstan successfully opposed them, and thjus gave tranquillity to the kingdom. The valour and the ability of this prince, have procured him the highest encomiums. He encouraged commerce by promulgating a law, " that every merchant who had made How did he divide his time ? — ^What were his studies ? — What institutions did he establish ? — What was his character? — What was the character of Rd ward, Alfred's Bon? — Describe the character of Athelstan. — Give an account of his reign. 22 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. two long voyages should be advanced to the rank of nohiTity." The same honour was given " to a ceorle or farmer, who had acquired five hides of land ; and who possessed a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a bell." Athelstan died at Gloucester, after a reign of sixteen years, and was succeeded by his brother Edmund, in 941. Edmund, as valiant a prince as his immediate predecessors, had very soon after his accession to oppose the Northumbrians. He made them embrace anew the Christian faith. A tragical death put a period to his expeditions. One day, while celebrating a festival and perceiving that a notorious robber had intruded into his presence, he ordered him to retire. The offender refusing to obey the command, a struggle ensued, and the king received a mortal wound. He was succeeded, in 946, by his brother Edred. Edred, like his predecessors, was engaged in repressing the ravages of the NorthumbrianDanes, and after succeeding in this object, he station- ed garrisons to overawe them. Devotion was the chief feature in the character of Edred ; and Dunstan, the abbot, who was his adviser and director, governed the kingdom. The great object of this minister was to extend the law of celibacy among the ecclesiastics throughout the kingdom. And with such warmth of invective and abuse were their disputes carried on among the different orders, that popular commotion was excited. The death of the king, a. d. 955, in the tenth year of his reign, interrupted awhile these contentions. Edwy, his nephew, succeeded him, Edred's own sons being yet unfit to govern. Edwy was possessed of great personal accomplishments, and a martial disposition. Elgiva, a princess of the royal blood, had made a strong impression on his heart, and he had ventured to marry her, contrary to the advice of the ecclesiastics, though she was related to him in the third or fourth degree. The monks concerted his disgrace, and Dunstan could not confine his resentment within due bounds. On the day of his coronation, while his nobility were at table, Edwy retired into the apartments of Elgiva. Dunstan, and Odo, the archbishop of Canterbury, followed him, and»bursting into his presence, carried off by force the object of his affection, and treated her with the grossest violence. Edwy, in revenge, called upon Dunstan to render an account of his administration of the treasury under the preceding reign ; and this minister refusing to comply, was pronounced guilty of malversation in his office, and banished the kingdom. Dunstan's partisans complained loudly of this exertion of the royal authority ; and Odo sent a party of soldiers into the palace, who, seizing Elgiva, disfigured her face with a red-hot iron, and then carried her into Ireland. Some time after, being cured of her wounds, she returned to England, but she was intercepted by the emissaries of the archbishop and put to death. It was no difficult matter to arm a superstitious people against a prince whose aversion to the monks was so generally known. A party declared Relate the tragical death of Edmund. — What was the chief feature in Edred's character? — Describe his reign. — Edwy. — How was the princess Elgiva treated by the monks ? — And how by Odo and Dunstan's partisans ? EDGAR. 23 in favour of his brother Edgar, a boy not thirteen years of age. Dunstan returning from exile, embraced the interest of this prince, and was pro- moted to the sees of Worcester, of London, and of Canterbury, all three of which benefices he enjoyed at the same time. Edwy's power and adherents every day declining, after being obliged to consent to a parti- tion of the kingdom, he died in misfortune and disgrace, a. b. 960. Edgar, on coming to the throne, stationed a body of disciplined troops to repel the inroads of the Danes and Scots. He ordered a formi- dable navy, also, from time to time, to make the circuit of his dominions; and by these and other regulations, conceived with prudence and exe- cuted with vigour, made himself the terror of his enemies. But the favour which he showed to the monks, was the most powerful means he employed to establish the public tranquillity. Edgar's amour with Elfrida, the daughter and heiress of the Duke of Devonshire, cannot be passed over in silence. Though Elfrida had never appeared at court, the reputation of her beauty had filled all England. Edgar had conceived a design of espousing her, but lest her charms should not be equal to her fame, he desired Ethelwald, his favour- ite, to pay a visit under same specious pretence to her father, and bring an account of the beauty of his daughter. The ardent passion which Ethelwald conceived stifled in his mind the sentiment of duty. He returned to Edgar, represented her as a woman of ordinary beauty, but insinuated, that though she was unworthy of a king, yet her riches would make her a suitable match for a subject; and therefore entreated permission to pay his addresses to her. This request the king readily complied with, and their nuptials were solemnized. Ethelwald's greatest solicitude was to keep her from court, but Edgar was soon made acquainted with the transaction; and, dissembling his anger, told Ethelwald that he intended to pay a visit to his castle, and was desirous to be introduced to his wife. The favourite, setting out a few hours before the king, under pretence of making needful prepara- tions, discovered the whole matter to Elfrida, and conjured her to use her utmost ingenuity to conceal her beauty. His request required too much heroism for a woman so circumstanced. Elfrida, ambitious that her beauty should captivate Edgar, or stung with resentment against the man that had deprived her of a crown, studiously displayed all the graces of her person. Love and fury took possession of the insulted monarch. Ethelwald was seduced into a wood, under pretence of hunt- ing, and there assassinated, some say by the king's own hand. Elfrida was soon after invited to court, and their nuptials were performed with the accustomed solemnity. Among the incidents of this reign may be mentioned the extirpation of wolves from England; tijey were pursued with so much assiduity, that they were forced to take shelter in the forests and mountains of Wales ; and the king changed the tribute-money imposed upon the Welsh into an annual tribute of three hundred heads of wolves. In a little time, their extirpation was effected. What means did Edgar lake to establish tranquillity? — Relate Eklgar's amour with Elfrida. — What are the chief incidents of Edgar's reign ? 24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Edgar died in the thirty-third year of his age, after a reign of sixteen years, and was succeeded, in 975, by his son Edward. SECTION 6. Edward, surnamed the Martyr, was made king by the favour of the monks. The archbishop persevered in this reign to exercise the author- ity he had acquired in the last. His zeal in extending celibacy, though opposed by many, he maintained and confirmed by pretended miracles. Edward lived but about four years after his accession. Hunting one day near the castle of Elfrida, his mother-in-law, he paid her a visit. After mounting his horse to depart, he desired some liquor to be brought him; and while in the act of drinking, one of her servants stabbed him in the back. Finding himself wounded, he put spurs to his horse; but fainting through loss of blood, he fell from the saddle, and his foot stick- ing to the stirrup, he was dragged along till he died. Elfrida built monasteries to expiate this murder, but was never able to recover her reputation. Etheleed the Second, the son of Edgar and Elfrida, succeeded. He was young, and possessed neither genius, capacity, nor courage. Una- ble to govern even in a state of peace, he was totally unqualified to oppose a deluge of barbarians, who assailed his kingdom. Ethelred, on one of these occasions, so far from taking the field in his own defence, purchased their departure at the price of ten thousand pounds. Not long after, Sweyn, King of Denmark, and Olave, King of Norway, headed a descent and defeated the English arm)'-. London saved itself by a vigorous resistance. At length a treaty was concluded. The bar- barians received sixteen thousand pounds, and retired. But peace was not of long duration ; several bodies of the Danes had remained in Eng- land, and there formed settlements, and Ethelred conceived a design of making a general massacre of them. The plot was carried on with such secresy, that it was executed in one day. The day in which the Danes usually bathed themselves was chosen, and they were slaughtered without pity and without distinction of age or sex. But this massacre, 60 perfidious and cruel, was productive of greater calamities. Sweyn, impelled by revenge, renewed his invasion, and desolated the kingdom by the most cruel ravages. An uncertain peace, purchased by the payment of 30,000L, was followed by new hostilities. "The.nobility submitted at length to the Danish monarch, swore alle- giance to him, and delivered him hostages for their good behaviour. Ethelred fled with his family to Normandy. On the death of Sweyn, which happened about six months after, Ethelred was invited by his sub- jects to return, and after an inglorious reign of thirty-five years, he expired. He was succeeded by his son Edmund, who had already given proofs of heroic bravery. Edmund the Second came to the throne in 1016, and he hastened to bring about a decisive battle with the enemy, conducted by Canute, Who was Edgar's successor? — Relate the circumstances of Edward's murder. — Mention Ethelred's incapacity and his cruehies. — How were they revenged by Sweyn, the Danish king ? CANUTE. 25 who succeeded his father as general of the Danish forces. Edric, a traitor to Edmund, had joined himself to Canute, and to his treachery may be ascribed Edmund's unsuccessful resistance of the Danes, after three successive battles. But both parties being by this time equally fatigued with undecisive war and bloodshed, the nobility obliged their leaders to come to a compromise. Canute reserved to himself North- umberland, Mercia, and East-Anglia; the southern parts were left to Edmund. The English monarch survived not this treaty above a month, being murdered at Oxford by his two chamberlains, the accomplices of Edric ; and Canute succeeded to the kingdom. Thus a termination was put to a war with the Danes, which had raged, with little intermis- sion, for 200 years. SECTION 7. Canute, afterwards surnamed the Great, assembled the States of the kingdom, and covered his usurpation of the whole kingdom under the appearance of justice. The two sons of Edmund had a title to the throne, and Canute, to prevent their succession, sent them to his ally, the king of Sweden, desiring they should be put to death. The Swede, revolting at so great a crime, sent them to the king of Hungary, who generously educated them in his court. The first care of Canute was to confirm his power. He sacrificed to his interest a great number of English, and rid himself of several of the nobility who continued to express attachment to the ancient blood of their kings. England in general, and London in particular, was loaded with imposts. He had no other means of rewarding his officers and partisans ; and necessity, rather than tyranny, it is said, led him to exer- cise a severity, the remembrance of which he soon defaced by the wis- dom of his administration. Canute confirmed the Saxon laws and institutions, and impartially distri- buted justice, making no distinction between the English and the Danes. The duke of Normandy, who had given protection to Ethelred, with his two sons, was disposed to support the claims of his nephews; but Can- ute prevented the danger, by espousing Emma, the duke's sister, and the mother of the young princes. The king paid a visit to Denmark, and profiting by the opportunity it afforded him, made a conquest of Norway. The possession of three great kingdoms rendered him the most powerful monarch in Europe, and satisfied with human grandeur, he devoted the latter part of his life to the concerns of religion. The founding of churches and monasteries exercised the piety of Canute. He even undertook a pilgrimage to Rome, and imported reliques, and performed such ceremonies as the custom of the timea required to atone for former acts of violence and injustice. All historians relate the circumstance of his ordering his chair to be Who was Canute? — How was the contest between Edmund and Canute decid- ed ? — What betame of the two sons of Edmund ? — How did Canute confirm his power? — Whom did Canute espouse? — What is said of his power? — How did Canute manifest his piety ? — What anecdote is related of him ? 3 26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. placed on the sea-shore while the tide was approaching, and his com- manding it not to approach, nor wet the feet of its sovereign, in order to impress on his courtiers the insignificance of human power, and to reprove them for their servile adulation. Canute died at Shaftsbury, in the 19th year of his reign, a. d. 1036, leaving behind him three sons, Swein, Harold, and Hardicanute. Swein was Kmg of Norway. To Hardicanute was given Denmark, and Har- old succeeded to the English throne. Harold. — Canute had a son by Emma, called Hardicanute, or Canute II., who, according to the treaty with Richard, Duke of Normandy, should have succeeded to the crown of England ; but he had appointed by will that it should devolve on Harold, his son by a former marriage. The English declared for Hardicanute ; and to prevent a civil war, a compromise was made, and all the provinces north of the Thames were assigned to Harold. But he reigned only four years. Hardicanute, or Canute II. succeeded in 1039, and his title was readily acknowledged by the whole kingdom ; and on his arrival from the continent, he was received with such extravagant demonstrations of joy as his future conduct proved him unworthy of; for his violence and inhumanity lost him, in the beginning of his reign, the affections of the English, and the exaction of heavy imposts increased their discontents. The populace, in Worcester, rose and put to death two of the collectors ; and the enraged monarch ordered the city to be pillaged and burned to the ground. Happily for England, two years put a period to his reign, in consequence of excess at the marriage of a Danish lord, which was celebrated at Lambeth. Edward, surnamed the Confessor, the only prince of the Saxon line, was raised to the throne in a. d. 1041 ; and the English, who had so long been subject to a foreign yoke, were rejoiced at finding the line of their ancient monarchs restored. He had been educated in Normandy, and had forined many strong attachments to that country. Hence his court was filled with Normans; and the French language, customs, and laws, became fashionable in England. The principal dignities of the church were given to strangers. Edward had no legitimate issue; and, after much deliberation about a successor, he turned his thoughts towards William, Duke of Normandy, and secretly communicated to him his design, but died without naming his successor, a. d. 1065. Harold, the son of a popular nobleman, who was the son-in-law of Canute, and whose daughter, Editha, was Edward the Confessor's con- sort, ascended the throne without opposition. Harold had previously attempted to draw to him the affections of the English, by a conduct which was popular and prudent ; and the glory he had acquired by the subjection of the Welsh, who had constantly been molesting the king- dom with their incursions, increased the reputation of his valour. Cer- tain of the suffrages of the people, and possessed of great influence in the State, he openly aspired to the succession. His pretensions were opposed by Duke William, who insisted that Who succeeded Canute on the English throne? — Describe the character of Har- dicanute.^His cr\ielties. — Relate the reign of Edward the Confessor. — Who next aspired to the succession 1 — By whom were his pretensions opposed ? HAKOLD. 27 Edward the Confessor had bequeathed to him the crown. William was the natural son of Robert, Duke of Normandy ; he owed part of his greatness to his birth, but yet more to his own personal merit. His heroism had triumphed over the efforts of France and its vassals ; and he drew into Normandy the most celebrated warriors of Europe, and seized with ardour every opportunity of signalizing his valour. When the fame of his intended expedition had spread, multitudes crowded to his standard. The Emperor Henry IV. declared in his fa- vour ; Pope Alexander II. sent him a consecrated banner, and pronounced Harold an usurper. The States of Normandy, however, were reluctant- ly brought to grant to William the great sums he required. At length he found himself at the head of sixty thousand men, which he embarked on board a fleet of three hundred sail ; and after some small opposition from the weather, landed at Pevensey, on the coast of Sussex, without opposition. The duke happening to stumble and fall as he leaped on shore, cried aloud, " that he had taken possession of the country ;" and this circumstance his army considered as a favourable omen. The least unexpected event strikes superstitious minds with joy or with horror, Harold, since his accession, had been called to oppose the Norwegians, who had spread alarm over the kingdom. He was now returning, after obtaining a decisive victory. He lost, however, many of his bravest officers and soldiers in the action ; and upon receiving false intelligence that William, discouraged by contrary winds, had abandoned the enter- prise, Harold dismissed his fleet, which he had collected to oppose the Normans, and by this means facilitated their invasion. Had Harold followed the advice of his brother, Gurth, he might have saved the kingdom. He thought that the enemy, if harassed by frequent skirmishes, and straitened for provisions, would be compelled to yield to the rigours of winter ; whereas, in a situation where they must conquer or die, they would fight with an irresistible courage. Harold was pre- cipitate, though deserted by many of his old soldiers. William proposed to him, by some monks, that he should fight him by single combat, or that they should submit their cause to the arbitration of the Pope. Harold replied, that " The God of battles should be the arbiter of their differences." The night preceding this important decision was passed by the Nor- mans in prayer, and by the English in riot. On the morning, William made a speech to his soldiers, in which he did not fail to urge the Pope's anathema against Harold, and the consecrated banner he had himself received. Harold led on his army on foot, William fought on horseback ; the Norman forces were mostly cavalry, while the English forces were nearly all infantry. The Normans, in this battle, used both the long bow and the cross bow; which missive weapons did, at a distance, great execution. The English had neither ; but as soon as they came to close fight, with their bills they hewed down their adversaries with great slaughter. The victory remained undecided from nine in the morning till the close of the day. William, perceiving that the English remain- What crowned heads declared in William's favour? — What happened as William landed? — What weakened Harold's powers of resistance ? — What was Gurth's judicious advice ? — What did Williarn offer ? — Was it accepted ? 28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. ed impenetrable, ordered his troops to make a hasty retreat ; and the English pursuing with an irregular impetuosity, which threw them into disorder, the Normans faced about, and repulsed them with great slaugh- ter. King Harold and his two brothers perished in the action. William had three horses killed under him, and obtained not the victory but with the loss of fifteen thousand of his men. This event put a period to the dominion of the Anglo-Saxons, which had continued for more than six hundred years. CHAPTER IL— THE NORMANS. SECTION 1. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. A. D. 1066. Though the English had lost much of their independent spirit, in con- sequence of their submitting to the Danes, and though the prosperous reign of Canute had familiarized them to the dominion of strangers, they, notwithstanding, made some efforts in favour of Edgar Atheling, the only remaining prince of the Saxon line. The Archbishop of Can- terbury declared him king, and endeavoured to excite the people in his favour; but the activity of William increased the consternation which his victory had occasioned. He made himself master of Dover ; and immediately advanced to London, which was full of confusion. The more dignified ecclesiastics, who were Frenchmen or Normans, began to declare in favour of an enterprise consecrated by papal authority. The primate at length, the nobility, and even Edgar himself, went out to his camp, requesting him to accept the crown. The coronation was performed in Westminster Abbey, by the Arch- bishop of York; and William took the oaths usual in the times of the Saxon and Danish kings; namely, to protect the church, to observe the laws of the realm, and to govern with impartiality. The first acts of his government were wise and politic, calculated to engage the affec- tions of the conquered, and to prevent the dangers incident to sudden revolutions. The ecclesiastics who had favoured his cause he did not neglect to reward ; his own army, in particular, he soflened by affability and presents. He confirmed to London and other places the privileges they enjoyed. Edgar and the chief nobility he affected to treat with kindness, and the people flattered themselves with the prospect of peace, and a wise and equal administration. William, however, was more attentive to his own interest than to the happiness of his new subjects. He distributed estates among his officers ; he erected fortresses to keep the kingdom in subjection, and made use of the sword to uphold his power. Having provided for the security of Describe the battle fought between Harold and William. — What was done in behalf of Edgar Atheling? — What prevented his success?- -What methods did William take to establish himself? — What were the first acts of his government?— How did he keep the English in a state of subjection? WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 29 his conquests, he resolved to revisit Normandy. The English nobility who accompanied him displayed a mag^nificence which did him honour, and struck foreigners with astonishment. But the absence of William produced in England the most violent agitations. It was impossible to restrain the insolence of the Normans, who, proud from the victory they had gained, greedy of plunder, and despismg a people who could be so easily subdued, were induced to com- mit the greatest disorders. The spirit of the English was exasperated, and mutual jealousies and animosities between them and the Normans rose to the greatest height. The inhabitants in several counties had recourse to arms, and appeared in open rebellion. The English had entered into a conspiracy to cut off the Normans ; and Ash- Wednesday, during divine service, was fixed upon for the mas- sacre, when all the Normans would be unarmed, as penitents, according to the custom of the Romish Church ; but William's return disconcerted their schemes, and from that time forward he began to lose all confidence in his English subjects, and to treat them as a conquered nation. He established the tax on Dane-gell, which had been abolished by Edward the Confessor, and exercised the most severe and arbitrary measures. So mercilessly did he treat the people whom he had con- quered, that on the Northumbrians having revolted in 1070, he laid waste their fine fertile lands for the extent of sixty miles. Flourishing towns, fine villages, and noble seats, were burned down, the implements of husbandry destroyed, and their cattle driven away. The most ancient . and opulent families in the state were reduced to indigence. He adopt- ed the institutions of the feudal policy, already established in France. He therefore portioned the kingdom into baronies which he bestowed on his partisans ; into which rank no Englishman was admitted. Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, v^'ho had given offence to the king, was deposed, sent to prison, and his estates were confiscated ; and all the English prelates, except one, were at the same time removed from their preferments. After robbing the English of their wealth, he attempted to abolish their language. He ordered French to be the language in all the schools ; and to be employed in all acts, contracts, deeds, and courts of jus- tice. Hence arose the peculiar mixed character of the English language. No station, however elevated, is secure against misfortune; and Wil- liam found in his own family a source of inquietude. He had three sons, Robert, William, and Henry, besides several daughters ; and he had settled the succession of Normandy on Robert, his eldest son, who, impatient of all restraint, demanded immediate possession of his herit- age, and on his father's refusal, Robert withdrew to Normandy, and broke out into open rebellion. After several years of animosity had passed, the king transported an English army into Normandy, to bring his son back to his allegiance. The interposition of the queen, and the submis- sion of Robert, produced, at length, a reconciliation. What was the behaviour of the Normans in William's absence ? — Relate the conspiracy of the Knglish to cut them otf — To what severe and arbitrary measures did William resort? — What attempts were made to abolish the English language? — What son rebelled aeainst his lather \ 3* 30 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. In one of the battles between the forces of William and his son Rob- ert, the latter happened to engage the king, whose face was concealed by his helmet, and both of them being valiant, a fierce combat ensued, till the young prince wounded his father in the arm, and unhorsed him. On his calling out for assistance, his voice discovered him to his son, who, struck with remorse, threw himself at his father's feet, and craved pardon for his offence; but William, who was highly exasperated, gave him his malediction. He was however, afterwards, reconciled to him, and on his return to England, Robert was successfully employed in retaliating an invasion of Malcolm, king of Scotland. An event of more importance happened soon after, and served to shorten the days of William. In consequence of an insurrection in Normandy, and the incursions of the Trench barons, William had gone over to the continent. A misunderstanding also had broken out between him and Philip I. of France, and his displeasure was increased by the account he received of some railleries which that monarch had thrown out against him. William, who had become corpulent, had been detain- ed in bed sometime by sickness; upon which Philip was heard to utter a coarse sarcasm on William's corpulence. This so provoked the Eng- lish monarch, that he sent him word, he would soon be up, and would celebrate his recovery at Notre Dame, with ten thousand lances instead of lights. In fulfilment of his promise, he marched into France, and laid every thing waste by fire and sword. The town of Mante he reduced to ashes ; but there his progress was arrested by an accident which put a period to his life. His horse, happening to place his foot on some hot ashes, plunged violently; the rider was thrown forward and bruised on the pommel of the saddle, to such a degree, that he suffered a relapse, of which he died shortly after, near Rouen, in the sixty-third year of his age. A. D. 1087. In this reign Justices of the Peace were first appointed in, England, and the Curfew (or cover-fire bell) was established, at eight o'clock in the evening, by which he obliged all the inhabitants of the kingdom to extinguish their fires, and to put out their lights. A general register of all the lands, &c., called Doomsday Book, was also made, and the Tow- er of London in part erected in this reign. SECTION 2. WILLIAM RUFUS. A. D. 1087. William II. was surnamed Rufus from the colour of his hair. His claim to the succession was founded on a letter which the late king wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury. William hastened to secure a throne which ought to have descended to Robert, his eldest brother. He made himself master of his father's treasure, and of the most import- ant fortresses ; and obtained the sanction of the archbishop, who brought What happened in one of the engagements between the forces of the king and his son ? — Who passed a jest on William, and what was his renly ? —What was the fatal result of the monarch's jest ? — What new laws were passed in this reign ? — Who succeeded him ? ( 31 ) WILLIAM KUFUS. 33 about his coronation. But many of the barons, who possessed estates in both kiagdoms, beheld with regret the disjunction of England and Nor- mandy ; and to William they were averse, on account of his violent and tyrannical spirit. A powerful confederacy was therefore formed against him, and the bishop of Bayeux put himself at the head. Wil- liam, when informed of this confederacy, endeavoured to gain the affec- tions of the native English ; he raised troops, marched suddenly against the rebels ; and having dispersed and vanquished them, he confiscated their estates. Robert, whom the Norman barons would have placed upon the throne of England, was destitute of policy and firmness. His administration was loose and negligent, and Normandy was torn with the violence of civil wars. An accommodation however was negotiated between the two brothers ; in which it was stipulated, that on the demise of either without issue, the survivor should inherit all his dominions. Although Duke Robert had ceded some towns to William, he could neither regard William as a friend, nor as a faithful ally. The British monarch made a second invasion of Robert's dominions: in order to exact money, he ordered an army of twenty thousand men to be levied in England. From these troops, when about to embark, he demanded 10s. a head, in lieu of their services, and then dismissed them. This money he so employed that it rendered him better service than he could have expected from the army. But the incursions of the Welsh caused him to return to England sooner than he expected. He repulsed these invaders, who retreated, as usual, to their mountains. While all Europe was disturbed with the disorders of the feudal gov- ernment, vassals making war against their sovereigns, and sovereigns against their vassals, the madness of the Crusades, a.d. 1097, spread everywhere, with amazing rapidity. Peter the Hermit, who had made a visit to the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and beheld the cruel manner in which the Christians were treated by the infidels, proposed to Urban II., the then pope, a project of leading armies into Asia, and conquering the Holy Land. A council was summoned at Placencia, and another at Clermont; and on hearing the exhortations of the pope and the hermit, the whole assembly cried out, " Jf is the will of God!" and each cham- pion devoted himself to the holy war by affixing a cross to his right shoulder. The kingdom of heaven was promised to all who fell in the war against the infidels; the acquisition of earthly kingdoms in Asia, of whose wealth and fertility they had heard so much, was to crown suc- cess ; and all sins were forgiven to the crossed. Among their chief leaders were Robert, Duke of Normandy ; Hugh, brother to the King of France; Raymond, Count of Toulouse; Godfrey of Bouillon, &c. ; and an immense number of all ranks and ages crowded to the sacred stand- ard. Three hundred thousand, under the guidance of Peter the Hermit, Did not William find his claim difficult to establish ? — What was Robert's general character? — What transactions occurred between the brothers? — By whom was the crusade preached over Europe ? — What were the rewards offered to the adven- turers ? 34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Walter the Moneyless, and others, straggled on before. The great army followed, ready to precipitate themselves upon Asia. Robert, in order to raise a supply of money to appear in a manner suitable to his rank at the head of" his vassals, offered to mortgage his dukedom in Normandy to his brother Rufus, for ten thousand marks. This sum William raised by contribution on his subjects. Not long after, the Earl of Poictiers and Duke of Guyenne, inflamed with the glory of the enterprise, and wanting money to forward his preparations, had recourse to Rufus, and offered to mortgage all his dominions. The king accepted the offer, and was preparing for his departure, in order to take possession of the provinces. But taking the diversion of the chase in the New Forest, he was shot by an arrow that Sir Walter Tyrrel discharged at a deer, which, glancing from a tree,* struck the king to the heart. William was in the fortieth year of his age, and had reigned thirteen. The monuments which remain of him are the ramparts which surround the Tower of London, Westminster Hall, and London Bridge. His character has been transmitted to posterity, in most odious colours, by the clergy, who were his enemies; but though their representations are exaggerated, there is undoubted evidence of his licentiousness, his per- fidy, his rapaciousness, and his tyranny. SECTION 3. HENRY I. A.D. 1100. As William Rufus had never been married, the crown of England belonged of right to Duke Robert, in consequence of the treaty he had concluded with the late king. Robert had acquired great reputation in the East, and on his return had espoused a princess of Italy, and was enjoying in that delicious climate the sweets of repose, when the crown of England became vacant. Prince Henry, his younger brother, was hunting with Rufus in the New Forest, when that prince was killed. He immediately hastened to London, secured the royal treasure, gained over to him the nobility and the bishops, and was advanced to the royal dignity. His first care was to colour his usurpation with the appearance of justice. He passed a charter by which he restrained himself from seizing the revenues of abbeys and bishoprics ; and became bound to admit the heirs of barons to the possession of their estates without the usual exorbitant exactions. But Henry, notwithstanding, kept the see of Durham vacant five years, and retained possession of its revenues. Henry drew to him the affections of the English by espousing Matilda, the daughter of the King of Scotland, and the mother of Edgar Atheling, The English were extremely attached to this princess, who was descend- * This tree is still standing, though in the last stage of decay. Who mortgaged their dominions to raise money ? — Where was the king shot, and by whom ? — What is the character of William Rufus? — Who had a right to the crown ? — And who succeeded ? — What were Henry's first conciliatory measures ? — Whom did Henry espouse ? - HENRY I. 35 ed from their ancient kings. She had worn the veil, though she had not taken upon her the vows. It had been questioned whether it was law- ful for her to marry, but a convocation of the clergy pronounced a deci- sion conformable to the desires of the king and the people. Duke Robert, supported by several Anglo-Norman barons, soon arrived in England to recover the crown of which he had been unjustly deprived ; and the armies of the two brothers were on the point of coming to an engagement, when an accommodation was entered into between the two princes. Robert was to receive annually a pension of three thousand marks. No treaty could have been more advantageous to Henry. They mutually agreed to grant pardon to their adherents, and to assist each other against their enemies. But Henry was the first to violate these engagements, in confiscating the rich possessions of the barons; and Robert had the imprudence to come to England to remonstrate against this severity. Perceiving his danger, he purchased his escape by resign- ing his pension. This prince was candid and brave, but incapable of governing his dominions. Abandoned alternately to devotion and to dissolute pleasures, he neglected his affairs : his servants pillaged him with impunity. Nor- mandy, notwithstanding his mild disposition, became a scene of outrage and depredation ; and his example furnishes a proof, that a prince with good-nature and affability, but wanting wisdom and discernment, is inca- pable of acting for the happiness of his people. The discontented Nor- mans applied to the King of England to use his authority for the sup- pression of these disorders. He passed the sea, and in a great battle took the Duke of Normandy prisoner, made himself master of the whole duchy, and returned triumphant to England. Robert was detained in prison till his death. Henry's usurpation of Normandy involved him in frequent wars. William, the son of Duke Robert, a prince of great hope, had excited the compassion of many princes, who resolved to reinstate him in his dominions, in which even Louis the Gross, King of France, united. But Henry gained a manifest superiority over them. But a domestic calamity, about this time, threw a cloud over Henry's prosperity. His only son, William, who had been recognized as his suc- cessor to the English throne, he had carried over to Normandy, to receive the homage of the States. On his return to England, the vessel in which Henry had embarked was soon carried, by a fair wind, out of sight of land. The prince was detained by some accident, and the sail- ors, having spent the interval in drinking, were unable to manage the vessel, and she foundered upon a rock. The prince, in this extremity, had recourse to the long boat, and had got clear of the ship, when, hear- ing the cries of the Countess of Perche, his natural sister, he ordered the seamen to row back and take her in. Numbers crowded into the bqat, and the whole went down. A hundred and forty young noblemen of the principal families in England and Normandy, perished on this occasion. The king was inconsolable for the loss of his son ; and being What accommodation did dnke Robert and Henry enter into? — What character is given of duke Robert ? — What was the result of Henry's usurpation? — What domestic calamity clouded Henry's days ? 36 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. at this time a widower, and having no legitimate male issue, he was induced to marry, in the hope of having a successor. But Adelais, his second queen, brought him no children. His legal heir was his daughter Matilda, the widow of the emperor Henry V., who afterwards was mar- ried to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, by whom she had several children. The last years of Henry's reign were distinguished by a profound tranquillity. In preparing to return from Normandy, whither he had gone to visit his daughter Matilda, he was seized with a violent illness; and finding it necessary to make his will, he named Matilda heiress to all his dominions. England lost this brave and able monarch in the sixty-seventh year of his age, and after a reign of thirty-four years, a. d. 1135. If his con- duct towards his brother and his nephew throws a stain upon his memory, he might be said in some degree to have atoned for it by the vigour and wisdom of his administration. Henry was fond of literature ; on this account he acquired the name of Beau Clerc, or the Scholar. During his reign, London obtained a charter which is considered as the founda- tion of its privileges. SECTION 4. STEPHEN. A.D. 1135. The succession of Henry ought legally to have devolved to Matilda, but Stephen, son of Adela, the king's sister, and the Count of Blois, was ambitious to secure to himself the possession. He hastened to England, from Normandy, and was elected king by the lower orders of the peo- ple. His brother, the Bishop of Winchester, exerted all his influence with the primate, that he should be crowned. The primate, who, as well as the bishops, had sworn fealty to Matilda, refused to perform this ceremony, till Hugh Bigod, steward of the household, made oath that the late king, on his death-bed, had expressed his intention of leaving Stephen his dominions. To secure his tottering throne, Stephen passed a charter — permitting the nobility to hunt in their forests, — and conceding to the people, that the tax of Danegelt should be remitted, and the laws of Edward restored. These acts were but the artifices of his ambition. He seized the royal treasure at Winchester, amounting to a hundred thousand pounds ; and part of it he employed in gaining partisans, hiring merce- nary troops, extending his power, and having his title ratified by the pope. Matilda, however, did not long delay to assert her claim to the crown. She landed upon the coast of Sussex, assisted by Robert, Earl of Glouces- ter, natural son to the late king, and took possession of Arundel cas- tle; and her partisans grew every day more numerous. After much destructive hostility and many fruitless negotiations, the army of Ste- Whom did Henry appoint as his heir? — What was his aee? — How long did he reign? — From whom was Stephen descended ? — What did he, to secure his totter- ing throne ? — Who asserted her claim ? STEPHEN. HENRY II. 37 phen was defeated by Gloucester, and Stephen himself taken prisoner. Matilda was crowned at Winchester. The imperious spirit of the queen soon disgusted her turbulent sub- jects. The Londoners entered into conspiracy to seize her person, she fled to Winchester, where she was besieged and reduced to great extremities. She, however, found means to escape, but the Earl of Gloucester fell into the hands of the enemy. He was exchanged for Stephen, who had continued a captive. The death of this brave noble- nian, which happened soon after, gave a mortal wound to the interests of his party ; and Stephen was again placed on the throne. But not- withstanding the war in which lie was engaged, he had the imprudence to involve himself in a quarrel with the pope, and the pontiff took re- venge by laying his party under an interdict. By this sentence, which was now first known in England, divine service was prohibited, and all the functions of religion ceased. To remove these restraints, it was necessary to make concessions to the pope. But an enemy, the most formidable, perhaps, of all those with whom btephen had yet engaged, soon entered the lists against him. This was Frince Henry, the eldest son of Matilda, who had reached his sixteenth year, and was destined to become one of the most illustrious princes of Juirope. For his early feats of chivalry he had received the honours of knighthood. His conduct gave the most flattering presages of his future merit ; and Henry, informed of the dispositions of the people in his favour, made an invasion on England, and a decisive battle was every day expected. To prevent the prospect of farther bloodshed, the great men on both sides interposed between the rival princes. It was stipulated between them that Stephen should possess the crown during his life, and that Henry should succeed him. This afforded joy to the whole nation. Stephen's reign was short; he died the year after the treaty, •' CHAPTER III— PLANTAGENET RACE. SECTION 1. HENRY ir. A.D. 1155. The house of Plantagenet, when established on the throne, became a power formidable to the other states of Europe, both on account of its extent of territory, and the superior abilities of Henry. He possessed above a third of the whole French monarchy. The first acts of his reign justified the idea that had been conceived of him. The merce- nary soldiers of Stephen were dismissed, the laws were armed with And with what success ?_In what difficulties was the queen involved ?-Upon Srthr.2t f ^^-^'T, ^Zr'^J' '"terdict?-Who was Stephen's rival ?-And how was the contest decided ?-What acts gave a presage of Henry's wisdom? 38 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. authority, the fortresses were demolished, and the discontented barons reduced to obedience. The expeditions which Henry took against the inhabitants of Wales, made his power known. Of the fortress of Gisors, he possessed him- self by a stratagem ; and the King of France so resented the act, that had it not been for the mediation of Pope Alexander III., a war would have ensued. This pontiff (who a year before had been chased from Rome by the Anti-Pope, Victor IV.) had retired to France ; and it is remarkable that the two kings, meeting him at the castle of Torci, on the Loire, they dismounted to receive him; and each of them holding one of the reins of his bridle, walked on foot by his side ; and conducted him in this manner into the castle. This circumstance may give us some idea of the authority possessed by the Roman pontiff during those ages. But Henry began to think of confining the ecclesiastical jurisdiction ■within proper bounds, and of repressing the licentiousness of the clergy, who had arrogated to themselves privileges which were totally subver- sive of the peace of society. In executing this design, he thought he could command the assistance of his chancellor, but was thwarted by a pertinacious opposition on his part. Thomas a Becket was of English pedigree. He was endowed with singular capacity ; he had studied the civil and canon law at Bologna. Henry conferred upon him distinctions and honours , and while chancel- lor, Becket distinguished himself not more by his talents than by the extraordinary splendour and gaiety with which he lived. Henry, full of confidence in a minister apparently so devoted, promoted him to be Arch- bishop of Canterbury, not doubting that, as primate of the kingdom, he would as effectually support his measures as he had done while chan- cellor. From this moment Becket totally altered his conduct. He retired from the court, resigned his commission of chancellor, and renounced all secular concerns. By the austerities and mortifications to which he submitted, and by a lavish generosity to the poor and the monasteries, he drew to him the veneration of the people. He was now a saint, and not a minister; and set up for being a defender of the privileges of the clergy. It was not long before he thought to overawe the king by the boldness of his measures. He summoned the Earl of Clare to surren- der to him certain lands which had formerly belonged to the see of Can- terbury ; he disposed of a living without regard to the rights of a patron ; a murder, also, which a clergyman had committed, Becket refused to have tried or punished by the civil magistrate, insisting on the immuni- ties of the church. To determine these matters, the king summoned a general council of the nobility and clergy, at Clarendon, by whose concurrence might be ascertained the proper limits of the civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. And it was there enacted, that ecclesiastics accused of any crime should Relate the interview of the two kings with the pope. — What attempts did Flenry make to restrain the influence of the clergy ? — What was thf> character of Becket, while chancellor?— What when raised to the archbishopric of Canterbury ? HENEY II. 39 be tried in the civil courts; that no appeals from sentences pronounced in England should be made to the pope ; that all matters regarding the revenues of the church should be decided by the king's judges, &c. These enactments got the name, from the place where they were formed, of the Constitutions of Clarendon. These, with others, to the number of sixteen, were subscribed to by all the bishops present ; and Becket himself, after a vigorous resistance, set his seal to the number. But Pope Alexander III., to whom they were sent, condemned and annulled them, as incompatible with the rights of the church. After the abrogation of the pope, Becket expressed the deepest sor- row for having given the laws his sanction. This inflamed the haughty and violent disposition of Henry II. to an unjustifiable extremity. He ordered Becket to be tried on a frivolous pretence, and then confiscated his wealth. The archbishop, pushed to extremity, exerted the vigour of an inflexible mind. He presented himself at court, with the cross in his hands and arrayed in his sacred vestments, in order to intimidate the king ; and he appealed to the supreme pontiff" against the sentence pronounced against him. He soon after found means to leave the king- dom. Unfortunately, the obstinacy of Becket was equal to the stateliness of Henry. A compromise was at last suggested, which the king hoped would secure a lasting peace; but he deceived himself; for Becket had scarcely set foot in England, when he issued new censures against the Archbishop of York, who had crowned Henry's son in his absence ; and he excommunicated the Bishops of London and Salisbury, besides com- mitting other acts equally arbitrary. The king was informed of these violent measures, at Bayeux, in Normandy. " What ! " cried he, " will no one rid me of this ungrate- ful and imperious prelate I" This passionate exclamation was a suffi- cient hint for his courtiers. Four gentlemen secretly withdrew from court, and proceeded to Canterbury. During the time of vespers, as soon ELS the primate reached the altar, they fell on him. Becket thus became a victim to his intrepid and inflexible spirit, in a cause in which he was guided by the most destructive prejudices. On receiving the news of this catastrophe, the king was seized with despair, and refused all nourishment for three days. He despatched eight persons to Rome, to clear him of all suspicion of concern in it, and to avert from him the thunders of the Vatican. The assassinated archbishop passed for a saint and a martyr ; pilgrimages were under- taken to his tomb from all parts, and miracles were supposed to be per- formed by his relics. In this critical juncture of aflTairs, Henry undertook an expedition to Ireland, the conquest of which had long excited his ambition. How- ,ever true may be the accounts which boast of the learning, the arts, the piety, and polished manners of Ireland in earlier times, there were but few traces left at the period we are now speaking of They appeared What enactments were termed the Constitutions of Clarendon ? — How did Becket appear at court ? — What censures did he utter ? — What was the fatal result ? — What effect had Becket's death on the king and the people ? 40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. destitute of laws, of manners, and of arts. They were even unac- quainted with agriculture, and were divided into small principalities, which exercised perpetual violence and hostility against each other. SECTION 2. Adrian III., an Englishman by birth, was at this time pontiff; and he, (according to the system of the papacy, which aspired to the confer- ring of empires,) as early as the year 1156 had made a grant of Ireland to Henry ; and an occasion for asserting it now presented itself. One of the chiefs of Ireland, being expelled from his dominions by a neigh- bouring prince, whose wife he had carried off, implored the protection of the English monarch. Henry empowered the chief to levy troops in England for the recovery of his principality. Several adventurers en- gaged to give him assistance, and with a small body of soldiers he was enabled to overthrow the numerous forces of the native Irish. Henry himself went in person to attack Ireland, but he had little more to do than to receive the submissions of a vanquished people ; and the country has ever since been united to England, But the conquest was of little use till the reign of James I., to whom the Irish were in- debted for the security and advantages of order and laws. Meanwhile, Pope Alexander III. had sent two legates into Normandy, to examine into the king's conduct with regard to the death of Becket; and historians ascribe great dexterity to Henry, in extricating himself so easily from so difficult a situation. Henry is said to have been of a very amorous disposition; and his- torians mention two of his natural sons, by Rosamond, the fair daughter of Lord Clifford — namely, Richard, called Longsword, who married the heiress of Salisbury; and Geoffrey, first bishop of Lincoln, and afterward Archbishop of York. The other circumstances told of that lady seem to be fabulous, though adopted by many historical writers — namely, of her concealment in a labyrinth in Woodstock Park, and of the queen being guided to her retreat by a clue of silk, holding a dag- ger to her breast, and obliging her to swallow poison. Of one thing we are sure, that the personal charms of Fair Rosamond, as the most beau- tiful woman in England, were celebrated in the ballads and romances of the time. This monarch seemed to have reached the pinnacle of human gran- deur, to be thrown from it into the abyss of misfortunes. He had proved superior to his enemies; he was happy in his political government; and in his domestic situation he was surrounded with children from whom he expected satisfaction and comfort. But his family proved to him a source of severe inquietude. His eldest son, Henry, on the very day of his consecration, discovered the arrogance of his temper. The king, in order to give the greater dignity to the ceremony, submitted to ofiiciate What circumstances opened Henry's prospects of conquering Ireland ? — Did he not go thither to receive their submission ? — What is related of Henry and Fair Rosamond ? — What inquietude did Henry experience from Ms family ? HENRY II. 41 at table, as one of the retinue ; and observed to his son, that never mon- arch was more royally served. " It is nothing astonishing," said the young prince, to one of his courtiers, " that the son of a count should serve the soa of a king." The young prince soon after going over to Normandy, Louis, the King of France, persuaded him that in consequence of the ceremony, he was entitled to an immediate possession of part of the kingdoms of his father. The queen favoured his pretensions, and persuaded his bro- thers, Geoffrey and Richard, to assert their titles to the territories assign- ed them. Not only the King of France, but many of his barons, and William, King of Scotland, openly declared their intentions to support the cause of young Henry ; but the English monarch, by his expeditions on the continent, weakened the hopes of those combined against him ; and conferences were held to terminate differences and to establish peace. The invasion of the Scots, in 1174, occasioned fresh alarms, and Henry hastened from Normandy, and sent his generals to oppose them. Know- ing the influence of superstition over the minds of the people, and in order to gain their affections, (for to no other motive can we ascribe his condescension,) he submitted to an act of humiliation, which all the power and authority of the church could not impose upon him. He set out for Canterbury, advanced barefoot towards the church, prostrated himself before the tomb of Becket, remained in prayer during a whole day, watched all night the holy relics, and in the morning, assembluig a chapter of the monks, he disrobed himself, and presented his shoulders to their discipline. Next day he received absolution. True devotion is more decent, and less ostentatious. He soon after received intelligence of a victory over the Scots. This success was attributed to the protec- tion of the saint ; and this opinion spreading through the kingdom, con- tributed to soften the spirit of discontent. Henry now passed over into Normandy ; the revolting barons made submission : his three rebellious sons submitted to him, and tranquillity was restored to his government. Young Henry, however, at length began to renew his pretensions and revolts; but while preparing for hostilities, he fell ill of a fever at Martel, and being seized with remorse, he sent a messenger to his father, entreating the favour of a visit, that he might die with the satisfaction of having received his forgiveness. The father, suspecting deceit, re- fused to entrust himself to his son. But soon after, receiving intelligence of his death, he was affected with the deepest sorrow ; he thrice fainted away, and was inconsolable for having refused his dying request. Young Henry leaving no issue, Richard became heir to the throne, and he soon discovered the same solicitude for dominion that had misled his brother ; and the king of England was obliged to defend his conti- nental dominions by arms. At last, however, a treaty was concluded, in which he was obliged to submit to many mortifying concessions ; and ' when he demanded a list of those barons to whom he was to grant a pardon, he found his favourite son John among the number. Who favoured young Henry's pretensions? — To what act of humiliation did Henry submit ? — Mention Young Henry's compunction before his death. — Did not Richard and John rebel against their father ? 4* 42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. These afflictions were too powerful for him to bear ; he cursed the day of his birth, and his undutiful children. The agitation of his spirits threw him into a slow fever, of which he expired, after a reign of thir- ty-four years, and in the fifty-eighth year of his age. a. d. 1189. This prince possessed great virtues, not without the alloy of some vices. He was ambitious, passionate, and vindictive ; but brave, gene- rous, and politic. He holds the first rank among the kings of England. So high an opinion was entertained of his wisdom and justice, that the kings of Castile and Navarre submitted their differences to his decision ; and the sentence he pronounced was respected by both parties. He is said to have been the author of the establishment of the circuit courts. SECTION 3. RICHARD I. A.D. 1189. When Richard came to view the dead body of his father, he was struck with remorse for his undutiful behaviour ; and the compunction he felt had an influence in directing his future conduct. Those who had countenanced his rebellion were discarded from his friendship; while he gave his confidence to those ministers who had distinguished themselves by their zeal and fidelity to Henry. Richard, impelled with military glory, was impatient to signalize his courage in Palestine. He was more a soldier than a devotee ; of this we may judge from his reply to Fulk, a zealous preacher of the crusade. This missionary advised him, one day, to rid himself of his vices, par- ticularly his pride, avarice, and voluptuousness, which he called the king's three favourite daughters. " You counsel well," said Richard, "I give my pride to the templars, — my avarice I bestow upon the monks, — and my voluptuousness I resign to my prelates." To gratify his passion for the crusade, he sacrificed the interests of his crown and of his people. He exacted rigorous imposts, borrowed immense sums, put to sale the manors of the crown, and said that he would sell London itself if he could find a purchaser. In fine, he sold to the king of Scotland, for ten thousand marks, his right of supe- riority over that kingdom ; and then set out for the Holy Land, whither he was impelled by repeated messages from the kmg of France, who waited for him at Vezelay on the borders of Burgundy. Here they re- newed their promises of friendship and of mutual fidelity during their crusade. As they conducted their forces to the Holy Land by sea, dis- tress of weather obliged them to put into Sicily. On their arrival at Palestine, the emulation between these rival princes produced extraor- dinary deeds of valour; for the particulars of which the reader is referred to the History of the Turks. Philip, from the bad state of his health, returned to France, leaving Richard ten thousand of his troops, and he being left conducter of the war, augmented his reputation by singular What is the character usually given of Henry IF. ? — What effect had his father's death upon Richard ? — What reply did he make to Fulk's advice i — What sacrifices did he make to gratify his desire to join the crusade ? ( 43 ) - RICHARD I. 45 acts of personal prowess. He even gained a great victory over Saladin, with whom a truce of three years was concluded. The expedition being terminated, the king of England, in returning home, was shipwrecked at Aquilia, and taking the route of Germany, in the disguise of a pilgrim, he was arrested by the Duke of Austria, who sent him loaded with shackles to the emperor, Henry VI. Richard in this situation, suffered every indignity. He was accused before the diet of the empire of several crimes. The pope, at length, began to declare loudly in his favour, and the emperor entered into negotiations with him for his ransom, and for which he demanded no less a sum than 150,000 marks ; of which 100,000 were to be paid before he was released from prison. The English, with great promptitude, levied the sum requisite to procure his liberty. Richard made his entry into London in triumph ; and was soon after crowned anew at Winchester. During Richard's absence, his brother John proved himself a most unnatural brother and a perfidious subject. He stipulated to deliver into Philip's hands a great part of Normandy, and received in return the investiture of all Richard's transmarine possessions. Richard, on his return, convoked a general council, at which he confiscated all his brother John's possessions. However, by the intercession of Queen Eleanor, he pardoned him soon after. "I forgive him," said Richard, "and I. hope to forget his injuries as easily as he will my clemency." Richard's death was occasioned by the following incident. To recov- er a treasure that had been found, and that was retained by his vassal, Vidomar, Viscount of Limoges, he laid siege to the castle of Chalus. The garrison offered to surrender, but he replied, that since he had ta- ken the trouble to come in person, he would enter by force and hang them upon its walls. The same day he received a wound from an arrow ; he gave orders, notwithstanding, for the assault, took the castle, and hanged all the garrison, except Jourdan, the person who had wounded him, for whom was reserved a more cruel death. The wound became mortal, and Jourdan was called before him. " Wretch," said the monarch, " what have I done to you, that you have sought my life I" The archer replied, " You killed with your own hands my father and my two brothers, and you intended to hang me; I am now in your power, I shall willingly submit to all the tortures you can inflict, since I have rid the world of a tyrant." Richard pardoned him, and. ordered him to be set at liberty, but Marcade, the general, caused him to be flayed alive, and then hanged. This prince left no legitimate issue, and died in the forty -second year of his age, and the tenth year of his reign, a.d. 1199. He obtained the appellation of Cozur de Lion, or lion-hearted, for his heroic valour ; a quality less to be admired than dreaded, when associated with the vices of a tyrant. His reign was a continued series of oppression and rnisfortunes. In the ninth year of his government he levied five shil- lings on each hide of land in the kingdom. He merits no encomium, What fate awaited his return through Germany? — How did John conduct him- self in his brother's absence? — What incident was the cause of Richard's death? — Relate the reply of the archer that shot him. — Describe his character, and the nature of his government. 46 HISTOHY OP ENGLAND. except for having established one weight and measure throughout the kingdom. But this useful institution was of short continuance. Lon- don had no regular police ; robberies and murders were committed in it in open day ; and there were societies of banditti and malefactors, whom no force could control. Richard bequeathed the kingdom, with all its treasure, to his brother John ; except a fourth part, to be distributed among his servants. SECTION IV. JOHN. A.D. 1199. This prince, surnamed Sans Terre, or Lack-land, would have had a powerful competitor to the throne in his nephew, Arthur, duke of Brit- tany, the son of Geoffrey, if the rights of succession had been duly ob- served in that age. But John was of maturer age than his competitor, and Richard had made a testament in his favour. The English readily acknowledged him as their sovereign ; but in the transmarine domin- ions, the pretensions of Arthur were considered as the more just. John called an assembly of his vassals to suppress an insurrection in Poic- tiers and Normandy ; and young Arthur, who was now in his sixteenth year, joined himself to Philip, king of France, and received from him the investiture of Anjou and Maine. Everything was giving way to the French army, when unhappily Arthur fell into the hands of his uncle John. Soon after, accounts were received of his death, and no one doubted that he perished by assassination. Philip was desirous of expelling the English from France, nor could a more favourable opportunity present itself. He carried his victorious arms into Normandy. John affected to express his gaiety on the suc- cess of Philip. " Let him go on," said he, " I shall retake in a day what has cost him years to acquire." But he made not good his boast. The inhabitants of Rouen and other cities capitulated. Thus was Nor- mandy annexed to the crown of France, three centuries after it had been disunited from it by Charles the Simple. John retreated into Eng- land, and was loaded with disgrace and infamy, in an age when valour was esteemed above every other accomplishment. To complete his ruin, he involved himself by his imprudence in a quarrel with the church. In consequence of the death of the arch- bishop of Canterbury, in 1205, the monks chose a successor to the va- cant dignity ; John objected to the choice, and proposed to them the bishop of Norwich, and twelve of their number were dispatched to Rome, to justify this measure to the pope ; who, far from confirming the new election, ordered them to advance Stephen Langton to the see of Canterbury. With a view to soften the resentment of John on this occasion, the pope sent him a present of four gold rings; but nothing could appease the rage of John. He expelled all the monks from the cathedral of By what testament did John substantiate his claim? — Was not Normandy lost to England in tliis reign ? — What involved John in a quarrel with the church? JOHN. 47 Canterbury, and seized upon their revenues. The menaces of Innocent, and the entreaties of the bishops, who conjured him to avert the thun- ders of the Vatican, served only tlie more to inflame him. He threat- ened that if the pope should put the kingdom under an interdict, he would put out the eyes, and cut off the noses, of all the Romans in his dominions. The pontitF, knowing the king's unpopularity v/ith his sub- jects, issued the sentence of interdict. The altars were stripped of their ornaments; the images, the statues, and the relics were laid on the ground ; divine service was suppressed ; the churches were shut against the laity ; communion was refused, except to the dying ; the dead were not interred in consecrated ground ; melancholy penances were commanded ; and the commerce and intercourse of life were in- terrupted. The king opposed it with an ill-timed inflexibility ; all who submitted to the orders of the pope he punished rigorously. An exer- tion of prudent vigour might have dissipated the tempest; but John, listening only to his passions, ran headlong to a. precipice. During several years that these quarrels subsisted, he attempted to recover his honour, by engaging in expeditions against Ireland, Scot- land, and Wales ; but there was little glory to be gained against feeble enemies, and his natural propensity to tyranny was increased by the danger to which his government was exposed. Cardinal Langton being still withheld from the see of Canterbury, the pope commanded the English bishops to give the last blow to their monarch, by fulminating against him the sentence of excommunication ; and though a few of them only obeyed, it effected its purpose. The barons entered into cabals against him ; his fury softened into fear; he demanded an inter- view with Langton, offered to acknowledge him as primate, to submit to pope Innocent, and to pay a fine of compensation. An excommunicated prince was, in those days, nearly in the same situation as one that is dethroned. A bull from Rome was now only wanting to deprive John of his crown. The pope made an offer of it to Philip, who collected a great army, and a fleet of seventeen hundred sail, to put in execution the orders of Rome. The excommunication of John had rendered him an object of horror and detestation to his people; and his ruin now had been inevitable, had not the power that oppressed him found it his interest to preserve him. The pope made use of Pliilip's power to intimidate his refractory son, not to destroy him. The legate, Pandolf, desired an interview with John, at Dover ; and so strongly re- presented to him his lost state, that he submitted to all the conditions required of him. He consented to reacknowledge Langton as primate, resign his two kingdoms to the holy see, and acknowledge himself the vassal of the pope. This disgraceful treaty was followed by the humi- liating ceremony of homage. The king, unarmed and on his knees, ap- peared before Pandolf, who was seated on a throne, and swore fealty to .the pope; and promised to pay the tribute of 100,000 marks, or, as some say, of a thousand marks yearly. Thus, by this most disgraceful con- cession, he received his crown, and averted the threatened blow. Relate the result of the pope's interdict. — What effect had the pope's excommu- nication on John ? — By what concessions did John retain his crown ? 48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Pandolf, on returning to the court of France, found it no easy matter to appease Philip, who had reckoned upon the conquest of England. The legate represented to him that, by John's submission, England had become a fief to the church ; and, consequently, that no enterprise could be taken against it without being guilty of impiety, and subject to ex- communication. Philip declared he would not submit to be the dupe of such perfidy. He assembled his vassals, and roused them to revenge. His attempts, however, were soon frustrated ; the earl of Salisbury, John's natural brother, came by surprise on the French fleet, and took and destroyed the greater part. But new storms were gathering in his dominions. The charter passed by Henry I., and confirmed by Stephen, had flattered the people, but had long remained unexecuted. The barons, under the influence of the primate, Langton, insisted on the re- newal and observance of it. When they read over the articles, John burst into a furious passion, and asked, "Why they did not also demand from him his crown 7" He swore he would not grant it to them. The malcontent barons then entered into a confederacy, and chose Robert Fitzwalter for their general, under the title of " The Marischal of the army of God, and of the holy church." They issued a proclamation, requiring the other nobles to join them, and advanced towards London, which they entered without opposition. Abandoned by his subjects, John found himself constrained to submit at discretion. A conference was accordingly appointed. The ground where this most important treaty took place, was at Runnimede, be- tween Staines and Windsor ; where John was compelled to sign the famous bulwark of English liberty, the magna charta. This deed either granted or secured freedom and numerous privileges to the higher orders ; but as for the lower classes, they had very little participation of legal protection. The better to insure the execution of this charter, the barons elected twenty-five of their own number, who, under the title of conservatives, were invested with great authority. Provided his person was in safety, John could bear the most humiliating indigni- ties; but he secretly waited for an opportunity to violate all his en- gagements. He retired to the Isle of Wight, where he meditated the most fatal vengeance against his enemies. The pope, too, issued a bull, condemning and annulling the charter, as derogatory to the dignity of the apostolic see. The king now venturing to take off the mask, re- voked all the liberties he had granted, and carried fire and devastation from one end of the kingdom to the other. The barons, in the urgency of despair, had recourse to France for assistance. Thus England saw nothing but the prospect of being either way undone ; when John's unexpected death dissipated the threatened storm. Passing from Lynn to Lincolnshire, the king's road lay along the sea shore, which was overflowed at high water ; and not being ap- prised of this, or being ignorant of the tide of the place, he lost, by the influx, all his treasure and baggage, and escaped with difficulty with his troops. His grief for the loss he sustained, threw him into a fever, How did Pandolf appease Philip of France ? — Where was John compelled to sign the Magna Charta ? — What circumslance was the occasion of his death ? - HENRY III. 49 which soon appeared to be fatal. He died in the fifty-first year of his age, and the eighteenth of his reign, a. d. 1216. There is scarcely any species of infamy, or of crime, with which the memory of this prmce has not been loaded. SECTION 5. HENRY III. A.D. 1216 Henry was but eight years old when he came to the throne. The earl of Pembroke, a nobleman of great fidelity, prudence, and courage, supported the interest of the young prince, and ordered him to be crowned at Gloucester, in presence of the legate ; and there he swore fealty to the pope. A general council of the barons nominated Pembroke pro- tector of the kingdom ; a charter of liberties was granted, differing in some particulars from that of John, and more adapted to the present views of the people. For the barons perceived that no exactions, un- less they were evidently reasonable, could be levied on men determined to repel any act of oppression. The earl of Pembroke had produced a general pacification by the wisdom of his conduct, but he survived it only a short time. He was succeeded in the government by Hubert de Burgh and the bishop of Winchester. The councils of the former were at first chiefly followed, and they were every way worthy of the trust reposed in him, had he possessed equal authority with Pembroke .; but he was unable to repress the licentiousness of the barons. The character of Henry, unfolding with his years, gave the expecta- tion of a feeble and disturbed administration. He was naturally of a mild disposition, and possessed no vigour of mind, and no political dis- cernment. His resentments were violent and transitory, and excited no apprehensions; his attachments were sudden, and never consolidated into friendship. The disgrace of Hubert de Burgh, who was a faithful and intelligent minister, is a strong proof of his inconstancy. The bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roches, a Poictevin by birth, who had been the chief instrument of the disgrace of Hubert, gained the supreme authority, and employed it to the worst of purposes. The tyranny of his temper, and his prepossession in favour of the Poictevins, could not accord with an equitable administration. The court was filled with these strangers, and every office of the crown conferred on them. The jealousy of the English was alarmed, and the insolence of the Poicte- vins caused it to break out into acts of violence. The barons presented themselves in parliament clad in armour. The primate, attended by many of the prelates, threatened Henry with excommunication, if he refused to gratify the wishes of the people and the church. The dread _^of this censure produced the effect they desired. The bishop of Win- chester was degraded, and the Poictevins were banished. What was Henry's age on coining to the throne ? — Who were the conductors of the government during the minority? — How did Henry's character untold itself ■with his years ? 5 50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Henry's conduct soon convinced them that a similar result may be produced by different means. He had married Eleanor, the daughter of the count of Provence, and he now lavished all his favours on the Pro- vencals and Savoyards who were attached to that princess. The dis- contented barons again threatened to rise in open rebellion ; and he was forced at length to ratify the great charter, and the ceremony was per- formed with much religious ostentation. About the year 1258, Simon de Montford, a foreigner, was created earl of Leicester; and taking advantage of the situation of the times, formed a dangerous conspiracy against the crown. The king had given him his sister in marriage. His address and intrigues conciliated to him not only the affections of the people, but the friendship of the pre- lates and the nobility. He engaged the barons to unite with him, in the pretence of reforming the government; but in reality tor the pur- pose of usurping the supreme authority. In the parliament, the barons appeared in arms. The king upon his entry demanded to know their intentions, to which they submissively replied, to make him their sove- reign by confirming' his power, and to have their grievances redressed. An accommodation speedily followed. They promised to grant Henry supplies, provided he would remedy the public disorders, by giving authority for that purpose to men of trust and capacity. He acquiesced, and a parliament was called at Oxford, to digest the new plan of go- vernment. A council of twenty-lour was constituted, invested with unlimited powers, to reform the state ; and Leicester, at the head of the council, governed the kingdom with supreme sway. Their first regulations were favourable for the public, but the subsidies which the king expected were postponed. They required that every individual in the nation should take an oath to obey them. They banish- ed several of the queen's relatives from the kingdom ; even tlie offices of the king's household were filled by persons interested with the coun- cil. They established a committee of twelve persons, who, in the inter- val of the sessions, should exercise the authority of parliament; and by these and other regulations, they totally annihilated the feeble remains of the royal power. The people complained loudly of their tyranny ; and the knights of the shires invited prince Edward to take upon him the defence of the public liberties, and the rights of the crown. Henry perceiving that the dispositions of the people had taken a turn to his advantage, and hoping to re-establish his authority, applied to pope Alexander IV.,' who threatened the king's enemies with excom- munication. Henry, upon this, issued a proclamation, and resumed the government of the kingdom. But the ambitious Leicester, renewing his intrigues, soon found himself at the head of a formidable party ; and the king being obliged to confirm anew the statutes of Oxford, was again deprived of his rights. Hostilities were again commenced, and prince Edward found it needful to undertake the defence of the crown. The torch of civil discord being again kindled, it burned with more fury than ever. London declared for Leicester ; and both parties being What caused him to ratify the great charter? — Who aspired, artfully, lo the supreme authority ? — How were the remains of the royal power anniliilated ? — What induced Henry to issue his proclamation ? ( 51 ) prepared for a contest, their armies encountered at Lewes, in Sussex. In the beginning' of tiie engagement, prince Edward put to rout the Londoners ; but pursuing them too tar, Leicester made himself master of the person of the king. He was soon after exchanged for prince Edward, who was to remain a hostage, to ensure the observance of the statutes of Oxford. Nothing but the ceremony of coronation was wanting to make Leicester king of England ; and, that he might secure his popularity, he ordered returns to be made of two knights for every shire, and of depu- ties from the boroughs. This period is commonly esteemed as the epoch of the first outline of the House of Commons in England, a. d, 1265. Leicester, finding he could not longer oppose the wishes of the na- tion, set prince Edward at liberty, but gave his emissr ries a charge to keep a guard upon him. Edward, pretending to take the air with some of Leicester's retinue, made matches between the horses ; after he had tired them, he mounted a horse of extraordinary swiftness, bade his attendants adieu, and effected his escape. Finding himself soon at the head of an army, he took the field against Leicester, at Evesham, in Worcestershire. Leicester's army, which had been much weakened by living in the mountains of Wales, made but a feeble resistance. The Welsh fled in the utmost disorder, and Leicester himself fell in the action. He had all the qualities of a hero, and the sagacity of a statesman ; but was carried beyond his sphere by his insatiable ambition. The activity and valour of Edward easily subdued the remains of the rebel army. This revolution was attended with the most salutary consequences. The king respected the charter of liberties ; and his clemency allowed him to shed no blood on the scaffold. Those who had borne arms against him he punished by pecuniary confiscations; and these he exacted with great moderation. Edward, after having rendered these important services to the king and the crown, being excited by the solicitations of St. Louis, undertook a crusade. He sailed from England to meet the French king on the coast of Africa, but u'hen arrived at that monarch's camp, he found him dead. Edward continued however his voyage to the Holy Land, and while he struck terror into the infidels, and revived the glory of the English name, Henry was experiencing the oppressions of the barons, and the disorders of anarchy. He therefore recalled a son without whose assistance he was unable to support the regal dignity. At last, being overcome with the cares of government and the infirmities of age, he expired, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and the fifty-sixth of his reign, a. d. 1272. No king was naturally more averse from ty- ranny, but his want of firmness produced, at times, all the evils of des- ■potism. Name the epoch of the first outline of the house of commons. — Where was the first ennoiinier between the king and Leicester? — Where did Leicester foil, and what was his characler? — With what moderation did ihe king punish the refrac- tory? — Relate Edward's crusade, and the death of King Henry. 5* 54 HISTORY OP EHGLAWD. SECTION 6. EDWARD ]. A. D. 1272. The absence of this prince, at such a juncture, would doubtless have given occasion to convulsions and civil wars, if the highest opinion had not been entertained of his wisdom and valour. The council, in his absence, proclaimed him king ; the estates of the kingdom promised allegiance to him, and the crown was transferred with the greatest tranquillity. When he appeared in England, he was received by the people with joyful acclamations. His administration soon taught his subjects, that the happiness and glory of a state are the consequence of the wisdom and capacity of the sovereign. The charter of liberties he made the rule of his conduct, with regard to the barons ; and he obliged them to observe its provisions in relation to their own vassals. He was attentive to appoint judges who were able to maintain the execution of the laws. The prejudices entertained against the Jews were at this time so violent, that the laws of humanity were not thought to extend to them ; and multitudes were either hanged, or ruined by the confiscation of their property; and in the year 1290, fifteen thousand were banished from England. Having established order in his own coimtry, Edward thought it a favourable opportunity of uniting Wales with England. The Welsh had been deeply engaged with the Montford faction in the late reign; and Llewellyn refusing to come to England, to do homage for his prin- cipality, which Henry HI. had subjected to that crown, the king pene- trated into his dominions, ascended the mountains, which had hitherto been deemed inaccessible to English troops, and Llewellyn, reduced by famine, submitted at discretion. The Welsh, harassed by the oppres- sive exactions of the English, soon after revolted; and Edward availed himself of the opportunity of making an entire conquest of the princi- pality. Llewellyn perished in the action ; and l)avid his brother, chased from mountain to mountain, was at last treacherously delivered up to Edward; and such was still the ferocity of the times, that David was ordered to be hanged as a traitor. The bards, or Welsh poets, were also devoted to death ; and with them expired the independence of the Welsh nation, a. d. 1332. The principality, now annexed to the crown, became the title of the eldest sons of the kings of England. Edward afterwards passed over to the continent, to accommodate a difference which had happened between Philip le Bel and Alphonso of Arragon, about the kingdom of Sicily. He continued abroad above three years ; and the laws, unprotected by his authority, lost their force. His judges had become entirely corrupted ; he brought most of them to trial ; and the amount of their fines, above one hundred thousand marks, was a strong proof of their guilt. He made the new judges take an oath that they should receive no bribes or presents. In the absenre of the king, how did the council act? — What was the nature of his administration? — Relate his conquest of the Welsh nation. — During his- absence, how did the judges act ? bdw'akd Ik— EmvASo II. 55 The dispute which arose about the succession to the Scottish throne, opened a field to the ambition of Edward, and, as will be seen detailed under the head of Scotland, terminated in Baliol being- carried a pri- soner to London. The Scots, in the absence of Edward, made an effort under the celebrated "William Wallace, to recover their liberty, and a battle, was fought at Falkirk in which Edward gained a complete vic- tory. Wallace was at length betrayed into the king's hands, who put hhn to death. Bruce, who had been long kept prisoner in London, effected his escape., and presenting himself in Scotland before a meet- ing of the Scottish nobles, exhorted them to break the chains of their servitude. He was soon after crowned king, and chased the English out of the kingdom. Edward dispatched a considerable body of troops against him, and ob- tained a victory ; and he v/as preparing to enter Scotland himself, when he sickened and died at Carlisle; charging his son, with his dying breath, to prosecute the enterprise. He expired in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign, a. d. 1307. Edward has been called "the English Justinian." His activity, his courage, his policy, and his prudence, procured the most lasting advantages to his kingdom. SECTION 7. EDWARD ir. A. D. 1307. Edward, surnamed Caernarvon, was in the twenty-third year of hig age when he succeeded his father, and known only by the mildness of his disposition. He was soon found to be weak, indolent, and without capacity or virtues; born to obey minions and favourites, not to govern a great kingdom. Robert Bruce, having collected his followers, appeared again in the field. Edward, in compliance with the wishes of the late king, marched against him, but he returned with precipitation, dreading the fatigues of victory. He soon abandoned the care of public affairs for the company of favourites; one of whom was Piers Gaveston, a gen- tleman of Guienne, possessed of a handsome person, an engaging ad- dress, insinuation, and wit, well calculated to attract the notice of Ed- ward and abuse his confidence. The late king had banished him the kingdom, but the son now recalled him, created him earl of Cornwall, gave him his niece in marriage, and invested him in a measure with the government of England. Gaveston becam-; biughty and overbearing towards the English, who in return formed a conspiracy against him, at the head of which was the yoimg Queen Isabella, and the earl of Lancaster, the first prince of the blood. They demanded of Edward that he should be banished; and engaged the bisliops to threaten him with excommunication if he should Remain longer in the kingdom. Edward banished his favourite by ap- pointing him lord-lieutenant of Ireland ; but he recalled him some time Relate what, or^curred in Sooiland to Baliol, &c. — VVhfire did Rdward die? What was his age ? — How long his reign ? — What was Kd ward's rharacter? Who was his favourite .' — What offence did Piers Gaveston give the barons I 56 HISTORY OF flNGLAWD* after, and the arrogance of Gaveston excited anew their indigl^atiott. The feebleness of the English government could not resist a contederacy of powerful and turbulent barons. Tliey gave the lavs^ to their prince compelling him to surrender his authoj-ity into the hands of twelve per- sons, whose ordinances were to have the force of statutes. This coun- cil exercised the supreme povt^er during a twelve-month, reformed abuses, and banished evil counsellors, particularly Gaveston. The king removed himself to York, and sheltered the object of his regard in the castle of Scarborough. The offended barons flew to arms, and their monarch having recourse to flight, they pursued him. The earl of Pembroke besieged the castle of Scarborough, and Gaveston submitted, stipulating that if a general accommodation should not take place within two months, the castle should be restored to him. Pem- broke conducted him to the castle of Dedington, near Bambury. It be- ing left with a feeble guard, the earl of Warwick attacked the castle, and carried off" Gaveston. The earls of Lancaster, Warwick, Hereford, and Arundel, in violation of the laws, ordered him to be beheaded England's attention was now turned to Scotland. Robert Bruce, by his late achievements there, had proved himself to be no less a politician than a hero. Edward, at the head of his army, marched against him. Bruce was encamped at Bannockburn, near Stirhng, and his stratagems were no less useful to him than his valour. The deep pits which he caused to be dug, and which were carefully cpvered over with turf, broke the career of the English cavalry. He obtained a complete vic- tory, and flxed himself on the throne of Scotland. Edwatd escaped with difficulty. The king now attached himself to a new favourite — Hugh de Spen- ser, a young man of a noble English family and some accomplishments. Hugh had prevailed on the weak monarch to confer on him a barony, which it was pretended had reverted to the crown. This created an insurrection in the kingdom, Lancaster and several of the barons had recourse to arms, and they sent a message to Edward, requiring him to banish his favourite the kingdom, and even the elder De Spenser, his father, a person respectable by his v^isdom and integrity. Upon the king's refusal, they presented to the Parliament an accusation against them, and procured a sentence of perpetual exile. The king declared the sentence illegal, recalled the exiles, pursued the conspirators, and possessed himself of the person of Lancaster. A court-martial, not a jury of his peers, pronounced the sentence of death against him, and he was beheaded near Pomfret. A rebellion, thus crushed, increased the haughtiness and rapacity of young De Spenser, who was guilty of many acts of rapine and injustice. The Queen Isabella, a cruel, haughty woman, who had gone over to France, and who had secretly formed a criminal connexion with a no- bleman of the name of Mortimer, refused to return while De Spenser remained in England. The king's brother, the Arclibishop of Canter- Where was Gaveston taken ? — By whom tried ? — What was the result of the battle of Bannockburn ? — How did the nation receive the king's new favourite? — Who joined the cause of Queen Isabella ? EDWAED II. EDWARD III. 57 bury, with other prelates, and several of the most potent barons, ap- proved her measures. At length, having received a military force, she landed in Suffolk, where she was joined by the princes of the blood, and the other factious nobles. London revolted from Edward, and the provinces soon followed the example. The king, disappointed with regard to the loyalty of his subjects, took to flight. The elder De Spenser was delivered up to the enemy by the garrison of Bristol, which he commanded, and was hanged as a malefactor. The young De Spenser perished by a similar fate. Edward endeavoured to conceal himself in the mountains of Wales, jDut he was discovered and taken prisoner. Queen Isabella convoked a parliament, which was to dethrone him. He was accused, not of crimes, but of incapacity, of weakness, indolence, and love of pleasure ; and a message was sent him to resign his crown to his son. Menaces and terror soon extorted from him his resignation. He was sent to Berkeley castle, and consigned to the care of lords Berkeley, Montravers, and Gournay, who were to guard him month about ; and by the two latter persons he was treated with every indignity, and then they accelerated his death by the most cruel sufferings. This prince expired in the forty- third year of his age, and the twentieth of his reign, a. d. 1327. SECTION 8. EDWARD III. A. D. 1327. The young king, who had been thus prematurely advanced to the throne of his father, possessed those qualities which announce a glorious reign, and the prosperity of a state. The council of regency, composed of twelve persons, six prelates, and six lay peers, governed, as yet, the kingdom ; but the prince, burning with a passion for military fame, put himself at the head of the armies. The Scots had made incursions into the kingdom, and Edward marched twenty thousand men against them; but the Scotch leaders, the earl of Murray and lord Douglas, encanjped with so much judgment that Edward found it unsafe to attack them ; and in the darkness of the night, Douglas penetrated into the English camp, and had nearly carried off the kmg, who made a vigorous resist- ance. The Scots' army soon after decamped, and arrived, without re- ceiving any check, in their own country. The blame of the ill success of this expedition fell on Mortimer, who had usurped the chief authority of the government. Edward was now in his eighteenth year, and determined to rid him- self of this insolent minister. He surprised him in the castle of Not- tingham, where he had shut himself up with Queen Isabella. The parliament called for his trial. He was sentenced to be hanged. The _ queen was afterwards confined in the castle of Risings, where her son paid her the compliment of a visit once or twice a year. The ardour of youth and ambition excited Edward to make an irrup- In what castle was Rdward If. confined? — What was his fate ? — Who succeed- ed him? — Of whom was the council of regency composed ? — How were Mortimer and the queen disposed of ? 58 HISTOET OF ENGLAND. tion into Scotland, to encourage the pretensions of Baliol, who, after several battles, was crowned king ; but the Scots chased him from the kingdom. The English monarch, after obtaining a great victory over them, replaced him on the throne. About 1339, Edward turned his arms against France. The first pre- paration for this campaign led to nothing decisive. The year following the naval engagement off Sluys was disastrous to France. Philip's fleet, which was composed of 400 sail, and manned with 40,000 men, was stationed there with a view of intercepting the king of England. The English fleet was much inferior in the number of ships, but they conquered. The French had thirty thousand of their seamen and two of their admirals slain ; and more than half of their ships of war were taken. Edward thus opened to himself a way into France, with a hundred thousand men, where he first laid siege to Tournay ; and he sent a herald to Philip, challenging him to single combat. Philip wisely declined the contest. The Countess of Hainault, their common relation, though she had taken the vows in a convent, yet left her retreat to inspire them with pacific sentiments. Her zeal produced a cessation of hostilities. This truce the pope in vain endeavoured to convert into a peace. Intestine commotions which had taken place in Brittany, induced Ed- ward to recommence hostilities against France. He made a descent into Normandy, (1346,) took several towns, and carried his ravages to the gates of Paris. Pressed by Philip, who had collected a great army, Edward was desirous of retiring to Flanders, but the bridges of the Somme were either broken down or strongly guarded. In this condi- tion a peasant saved him and his army, by pointing out to him a ford. He gained an eminence near the village of Crecy, ranged his army in order of battle, and prepared for an action which he could not avoid. Philip, with an army four times more numerous than that of Edward, was impatient to take revenge of the English. *He gave orders to mar- shal his troops, but the vivacity of the French nobility rendered it im- practicable: one division drove upon another, without order, thinking itself secure of victory while rushing to certain destruction. Edward communicated to his troops the courage with which he him- self was inspired. Fifteen thousand crossbowmen, the vanguard of the French army, yielded on the first charge of the English archers. Their rout threw the French cavalry into confusion. The Prince of Wales* attacked these, and sustained, with prodigious valour, a hot and furious engagement ; nothing was seen among the French troops but hurry, terror, and dismay. There was no longer any equality in the action. The count Alen^on, the French king's brother, the Kings of Bohemia and Majorca, an immense number of princes and great barons, 1,200 knights, 4,000 men-at-arms, besides about 30,000 men of inferior rank, * Commonly known by the appellation of the Black Prince. Mention the naval engagement that took place with France? — Who attempted to reconcile the kings of France and England 1 — Where did Edward prepare for battle ?— Describe the result of the battle of Crecy, ( 59 ) If} I \ I"'' , EDWARD III. 61 perished in the field of battle ; while the English lost only one squire, three knights, and a few inferior combatants. Edward now invested Calais, with a view in future to secure an easy entrance into France. The siege lasted nearly a twelvemonth. At length the necessities of the garrison induced the governor to capitulate. The patriotism of Eustace de St. Pierre and five other burgesses of Ca- lais, on this occasion, merits the highest encomiums. The inhabitants were expelled, the town was peopled with English, and a truce between Edward and Philip was concluded. In the year 1346, the Scots, headed by David Bruce, their king, in- vaded the frontiers; and as Edward was then on the continent, Philippa, his queen, prepared to repulse the enemy in person; and having made Lord Percy general, met the Scots at Nevil's Cross, near Durham. Bruce and his army were routed, 15,000 of his men cut to pieces, and himself and many of his nobles and knights taken prisoners and carried in triumph to London. The year following, (a.d. 1347,) the Black Prince, with an army of 12,000 men, extended his ravages as far as Berry ; when, on his return, he was met near Poictiers by King John, with 60,000 men. It seemed impossible that the English could escape ; and the Prince of Wales offered to abandon his conquest, and to sign a truce for seven years; but John would not comply with the request, insisting on his surrendering himself a prisoner. His reply to John was that of a hero. The English prepared for an engagement. The impatience of the French, and their blind confidence of success, precipitated them into danger. Their first line was thrown into confusion by a body of English archers ; and the Prince of Wales, following up these advantages, attacked and dis- comfited it. The sudden flight of the Dauphin added to the confusion and terror of the French army. John found himself suddenly sur- rounded with the enemy, and was forced to surrender himself a prisoner. The generosity of the Black Prince to his captive has been much eulo- gized. A two years' truce was concluded with France, and the captive king being conducted to England, Edward received him with the same courtesy as if he had been a neighbouring potentate come to pay him a friendly visit. It was in this reign (a.d. 1349) that the Order of the Garter was in- stituted. It is said to have owed its origin to the love which Edward bore to the Countess of Salisbury. At a court ball, this lady happening to drop her garter, the king took it up; and observing some of the cour- tiers smile, he presented it to her with these words, "■ Honi soil qui mal y pense,'' " Evil be to him that evil thinks." These words became the device of the order. The order was to consist of twenty-four persons besides the king. In a little time the zeal and valour of the French in general producpd an important revolution ; and of the many provinces that the English •possessed, they retained only Bourdeaux, Bayonne, and Calais, when the Relate the particulars of the siege of Calais. — Did not Edward's queen, Phi- Uppa, oppose the Scots?— Relate the victory obtained by the Black Prince at Poictiers — What is said to have given rise to the Order ol' the Garter ? 6 62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. necessities of Edward oblijs^ed him to conclude a truce. Prosperity had impaired his prudence ; and the Prince of Wales was languishing un- der a mortal disease, which terminated in hia death, in the forty-sixth year of his age, leaving behind him a character unblemished. This event cast a gloom over the latter part of this splendid reign. The king was most sensibly affected by the loss, and tried every means to allay his un- easiness. He died about a year after the prince, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and the fifty-first of his reign, 1377. His reign was the noon of chivalry, of which himself and his son, the Black Prince, were the mirrors. Edward left three sons; the Dukes of Lancaster, York, and Glouces- ter. Richard, the son of the Prince of Wales, succeeded to the throne. SECTION 9. RICHARD 11. A.D. 1377. Richard II. was but eleven years old when he came to the throne. The parliament established a council of regency; but the power of the king's three uncles moved, for some years, the system of government. In the present situation of affairs, war was unavoidable. Robert Stuart, successor to David Bruce, had entered into alliance with France against England. France was attacked by Calverly, the Governor of Calais, and by the Dukes of Lancaster and Gloucester ; but they pro- duced no events of great lustre or renown. The expensive armaments and a want of economy had exhausted the treasury ; and a new tax, called a poll-tax, of three groats, upon every person above fifteen, was granted by parliament. A tax so unequitable excited the most violent commotions. A turbulent preacher at this time inculcated on liis audience the maxim of equal right to all the goods of, nature, and declared that all artificial distinction was tyranny. His tenets were greedily received by the multitude, and the inhumanity of the tax-gatherers served to scatter still farther the seeds of sedition. One of these, by his brutal insolence, so much incensed a blacksmith, Wat Tyler, in Essex, that he knocked out his brains with a hammer. The by-standers applauded the action and flew to arms, and the whole neighbourhood joined in the rebellion. The insurgents soon amounted to 100,000 men, bent upon levelling all inequalities of rank, and com- mitting the most horrible excesses: they burnt the Duke of Lancaster's palace ; massacred the primate, the chancellor, and a great number of the most distinguished personages. The young kmg, who had taken refuge in the Tower, had the courage to go out and meet the rioters in Smithfield, headed by Wat Tyler. The mayor of London, William Walworth, who accompanied him, offended with Tyler's insolence, struck him to the ground with his mace, while one of the king's knights riding up dispatched him with his sword. This was a moment of ex- treme peril ; the mutineers, seeing their leader fall, were preparing for Whose death affected the health of the king? — What wars did the council of regency carry on? — What commotions resulted from the new tax ? - EICHAED II. 63 revenge, when Richard, with admirable presence of mind, rode up to the rebels, and cried out, " What, my people, is the meaning of this disorder? I am your king, and will be your leader. Follow me into the field, and I will grant you what you desire." They implicitly fol- lowed him, and the charter which they demanded, he granted them ; but he soon after revoked it by parliament. This behaviour of Richard, who was now only a youth of sixteen, discovered so much presence of mind and address, that high expecta- tions were formed of his future conduct But the presages of early youth are often deceitful. As this prince advanced in years, his conduct discovered want of capacity and judgment. The Scots having made incursions into England, Richard marched an army and occasioned great devastation, but returned with precipitation, before he had effected any- thing important or decisive, to enjoy his pleasures and amusements. The passion of Richard for favourites became a source of division and discord. Unwilling to be governed by his uncles, he delivered him- self over to the direction of Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, a young nobleman of an agreeable figure, but of dissolute manners. The king knew no bounds to his affection, and created him Duke of Ireland; in- deed, the whole authority of government was gradually conferred upon him. The princes of the blood and the chief nobility entered into a formidable league against him, and prepared to control the royal au- thority. The exercise of sovereign power was entrusted to commis- sioners, whose jurisdiction was limited to a twelvemonth. The monarch was obliged not only to sign this commission, but to take an oath never to infringe it. Ricliard entered a protest against this violence, in which he was supported by a council of his judges and lawyers. The Duke of Gloucester and his partisans accused the king's ministers and coun- cillors, as enemies to the state. Force became the only rule of law, when the passions of the great seemed to have annihilated every idea of justice. At length civil order established itself; and the king, now in his twenty-third year, a. d. 1389, declared his intention to exercise his right of sovereignty. He proceeded to change all the officers of the crown; passed a general amnesty, and remitted some subsidies ; and by these and other moderate measures, he drew to him the affections of the people. From this period the kingdom enjoyed a long tranquillity, and Rich- ard, who was now a widower, was affianced to the daughter of Charles VI., though that princess was only seven years of age. This alliance gave great offence to the English. In 1397, the Duke of Gloucester renewed his intrigues, which made a deep impression on a people dis- posed at all times to revolt. To prevent the machinations of Gloucester, the king ordered him to retire to Calais, where he was carried off sud- _denly, either by apoplexy or by assassination. That party was scarcely suppressed, when there arose another, which Did not Rioliard's behaviour then raise high expectations ? — What distinctions did the king heap on his favourite? — What steps did the king take in his 23d year ? — Which of tlie king's uncles was removed to Calais ? 64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. proved fatal to Richard. Henry, Duke of Hereford, son to the Duke of Lancaster, accused, in parliament, the Duke of Norfolk of having spoken slanderous words of the king. Norfolk gave him the lie, and offered to prove his innocence by duel. This defiance, which was then authorized by law, was accepted, and the time and place appointed. The champions were on the point of engaging, when Richard inter- posed and ordered both to leave the kingdom. Hereford's exile was limited to ten years, and he was presented with letters patent, insuring to him any inheritance which should fall to him during his absence ; but upon the death of the Duke of Lancaster, his father, Richard retained the estates for his own use. a. d. 1398. Hereford had been the idol of the nation. His reputation and his valour had made him regarded as almost the only English prince worthy of the public confidence and esteem. His misfortunes were lamented, and the injustice which he suffered was the subject of general complaint. In this critical period the king embarked for Ireland, to revenge the death of his cousin, Roger, Earl of Marche. The new Duke of Lan- caster hastened to return to England, pretending no other design than to recover the duchy of Lancaster. In a few days he was at the head of a great army. The Duke of York joined himself to the party. Richard returned on the first intelligence, and landed in Wales, but was abandoned by his soldiers, betrayed and arrested by the Earl of Northumberland, and conducted to London, where he was accused be- fore the Parliament. His accusation turned chiefly on arbitrary acts, of which his reign furnished many strong instances ; and the barons, though guilty themselves of so many illegal violences, unanimously deposed their sovereign and placed Lancaster on the throne, by the title of Henry IV. Richard had been compelled to sign a deed, by which he renounced his crown, as being unqualified for governing the kingdom ; and upon this resignation Henry founded his principal claim. The unfortunate Richard, whose sufferings exceeded his offences, was sent to Pomfret Castle, and perished soon after by a violent death. He left behind him no posterity. It was in this reign that Wickliffe, a secular priest, educated at Ox- ford, and distinguished by learning and integrity of character, put forth his English Bible ; and inculcated tenets that have paved the way for the present reformation in religion. The old Duke of Lancaster was favourable to the doctrines of Wickliffe. The proselytes of this reformer were called Lollards. What judgment did the king pronounce on the dukes of Hereford and Norfolk? — How fell the king into Heref()rd's power? — Upon what deed did Hereford found his claim ? — Did not WickhfTe put out his bible in this reign ? HENRY IV. 65 CHAPTER IV.— HOUSE OF LANCASTER. SECTION 1. HENRY IV. A. D. 1399. Henry of Lancaster had courage, capacity, and discernment, and was placed on the tiirone by the unanimous voice of lords and commons ; but the right of the Earl of Marche appeared so clear, that the com- mencement of this reign could not but be attended with faction and dis- order. A conspiracy was entered into by the nobility, which was ter- minated by many illegal executions. In order to give security to his throne, the new king sacrificed the Lollards to the resentment of the clergy ; and the parliament passed a law by which heretics were to be committed to the flames. This is the first example in England of penal laws enacted against heresy. Henry IV. was, notwithstanding, sus- pected of having strongly imbibed all the principles of his father, the Duke of Lancaster, in favour of the Lollards. But policy and faith are often at variance. Glendour, a descendant of the ancient princes of Wales, took advan- tage of the disorders of the kingdom to make incursions into it. The Earl of Marche was taken prisoner by him ; and the king allowed him to remain in captivity, and refused permission to the Earl of Northum- berland, who was nearly allied to that nobleman, to treat for his ransom with Glendour. The earl, highly incensed at the refusal, was induced to revolt and join himself to the Scots and Welsh ; a scheme being laid to unite their forces, and elevate young Mortimer, Earl of Marche, a boy of but seven years of age, as the true heir to the crown. When all things were prepared for the intended insurrection, the earl was sud- denly taken ill at Berwick, and his son Percy, surnamed Hotspur, was placed at the head of his troops, and advanced as far as Shropshire to join Glendour. The king, upon the first intelligence, hastened down to Shrewsbury to give them battle. The two armies were nearly equal, each consisting of about twelve thousand men ; and the contest was per- haps the most furious that had happened during the civil wars of England. Hotspur fell in the action, and the fortune of Henry prevailed. While this transaction was going forward, Northumberland was so far recovered as to be able to advance with a body of troops to reinforce his party ; but hearing, by the way, of his son's misfortune, he at first attempted to find safety by flight, but afterwards threw himself on the king's mercy and received a pardon. A fresh revolt, excited two years after, was suppressed with less diffi- culty, when the Archbishop of York, one of the heads of the insurrec- tion, was put to death. Henry having thus prevailed over his domestic enemies, secured himself against the enterprises of the Scots, by retain- ing in custody Prince James, the heir of Robert III., who had fallen into his hands. Mention the first example of penal laws against heresy. — Relate the engage- ment in which Hotspur fell. — What revolt was next suppressed ? — and what prince detained ? 6* 66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. The parliamentary proceedings under the administration of Henry claim more particularly our notice. The commons had now attained such iuiportance, that it became an object of policy to direct their elec tions; and Henry, being obliged to court popularity, allowed the com- mons to assume new powers, and they advanced greatly in importance and influence. In a. d. 1406, when they voted him supplies, they ap- pointed treasurers to attend to its disbursement, and ordered them to deliver in their accounts to the house ; they proposed regulations for the government, which were agreed to; and they obliged all the mem- bers of council, and all the judges, to swear to the observance of them. While the king, by his firm, vigorous, yet conciliatory mode of go- vernment, was acquiring popularity, his son Henry plunged himself into all the extravagances of debauchery, so that the distrust of his father had removed him from all share in public business, and from all com- mand in the armies. One of his dissolute companions having been brought to trial before Sir William Gascoigne, Chief Justice of tiie King's Bench, for some misdemeanor, the prince became exasperated, and struck the judge in open court. The magistrate behaved with a dignity that became his office, and ordered the prince to be committed to prison. When the king was informed of the transaction, he expressed himself happy in having a magistrate endowed with such firmness in the execution of the laws, and a son willing to submit to such a chastisement. The king died of a malady that made him subject to fits, in the forty-sixth year of his age, and the fourteenth of his reign. He left four sons, and was succeeded by the eldest. SECTION 2. HENRY V. A.D. 1413. Henry was scarcely seated on the throne, when his vices were ex- changed for virtues. He called together his associates, and exhorted them to follow his example; but prohibited them, at the same time, from appearing any more in his presence if they continued their licen- tious conduct. Gascoigne, who dreaded lest he should be disgraced,^ was rewarded with honours and distinctions. The Earl of Marche he treated with so much attention and respect, that he forgot the rights to which he was entitled by his birth ; the family of Percy he restored to its fortune and honours; and the nation conceived the most flattering hopes from his administration. Meanwhile the Lollards were increasing in the kingdom, and ap- peared even dangerous to the church and formidable to the civil autho- rity. Sir John Oldcastle, Baron of Cobham, was at the head of this sect. Henry was inclined to support the hierarchy and the established faith, without having recourse to persecution. The primate, notwith- standing, indicted this nobleman, and he was condemned, as a heretic, to be burnt alive. Having, however, made his escape from the Tower, he entered into open rebellion against the king; but failing in his enter- VVhat new powers did ihe commons now assume ? — For what conduct was the frince sent to prison ? — When did Henry IV. die ? — Who was his successor ? — low (lid Henry V. address his former associates? — Who nowsuflered for the cause of Lollardism ? HENEY V. 67 prise, he again saved himself by flight. It was not till four years after that he was brought to justice, and hanged as a traitor. So great an impression had the system of the Lollards, even on those that detested their heresy, that the clergy ceded a great number of benefices to the kinu-. The kingdom of France was at this time in the utmost confusion, and Henry took advantage of it. It was the dying injunction of the late king, not to allow the English to remain long in peace, which was apt to breed intestine commotions. This advice, joined to that of the pri- mate, determined him on hostilities. He assembled a fleet and army at Southampton, and disembarked at Harfleur, in Normandy, at the head of six thousand men-at-arms, and twenty-four thousand foot, mostly archers, and immediately began the siege of the place, which he took by assault, after having lost a considerable part of his forces. Fatigue and sickness had contributed also to waste the English army; and Henry found himself enclosed in an enemy's country, like Edward III., without knowing how to escape. Having discovered a ford near St. Quentin, he passed the Somme and marched towards Calais, watched by a French army, four times, or, as some say, ten times more numerous than his own. Having now no resource but in courage and prudence, he seized an advantageous ground, between two woods, in the plains of Agincourt. The constable D'Albert was for waiting till the enemy, who were in want of provisions, should abandon their post ; but the temerity and im- prudence of the French army renewed the disasters of Crecy and Poictiers. They attacked the English, notwithstanding the advantages of their situation ; and some rain having fallen, the ground was so moist that the French cavalry were unable to act eflfectually. The English archers, defended by palisadoes, plied the enemy with showers of ar- rows, which nothing could resist, and having broken tbejr ranks, rushed upon them with their battle-axes, and hewed them in pieces without re- sistance. The whole French army was a scene of confusion, terror, and dismay. The constable, several princes of the blood, and above nine thousand knights or gentlemen, lay dead on the field, and many of the nobility were taken prisoners. Of the English, only about forty perished, and among these the person of most note was the Duke of York. Henry immediately marched his army to Calais, where he con- cluded a truce with France. Want of funds prevented Henry, like his predecessors, from taking advantage of this victory. During this truce, the animosities of different parties in France raged with the greatest violence. Henry collected an army of twenty-five thousand men, and landed in Normandy: several towns surrendered. The north of France submitted to him, and he advanced to the gates of Paris. In the midst of his successes, his enemies, instead of combining against him, abandoned to him the kingdom. He presented himself at ,Troyes, to conclude that famous treaty, by which a weak monarch, a furious queen, and a prince of the blood enraged against his country, acknowledged him as the heir of the crown of France, and entrusted Describe the preparations for a war with France. — Relate the memorable battle of Agincourt. — What events followed ? — What treaty was made ? 68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. him with the administration of the government, under the title of re- gent. This treaty was followed by his marriage with Catharine, the daughter of Charles VI., and the estates of the kingdom swore obedi- ence to him. But Henry was soon obliged to pass over to England and apply for subsidies, and his parliament granted him only a small supply, notwith- standing the exultation which the people discovered on account of his victories. During his absence, the dauphin, seconded by a body of seven thousand Scots, discomfited the Duke of Clarence at Bauge, in Anjou. Henry hastened with a considerable army to repair this loss. A son, who was born at this time to Henry, seemed to be a pledge of his future success; but the glory of this prince had now arrived at its height, and his death put a period to his mighty projects. He died of a fistula, in the thirty-fourth year of his age, after having named his eldest brother, the Duke of Bedford, Regent of France, and his youngest brother, the Duke of Gloucester, Regent of England. Catharine of France, his widow, espoused soon after his death a Welsh gentleman. Sir Owen Tudor, who was supposed to be descended from the ancient princes of Wales. We shall soon see this family, in consequence of this alliance, ascending the throne of England. The ordinary revenues of the crown, during this reign, amounted only to £55,714 sterling ; and the ordinary expenses of government are stated at £52,507 ; so that the king, in order to support the expenses of his wars, was often obliged to pawn his jewels, and even the crown itself. None of the Lancastrian princes ventured to impose laws with- out the consent of parliament. The rights of the people, with regard to this circumstance, were then ascertained, and could not be violated. SECTION 3. HENRY Vr. A.D. 1422. The long minority which the English had now in prospect, seemed to threaten them with intestine commotions. The parliament changed the name o^ regent into that o? protector. To this dignity they ad- vanced the Duke of Bedford, and, during his absence, permitted the Duke of Gloucester to discharge its duties, and they appointed a coun- cil, without whose advice no measure of importance could be deter- mined. The care of the infant king they entrusted to the Bishop of Winchester. Charles VI. of France died a few weeks after his son-in-law. The dauphin was crowned at Poictiers, under the name of Charles VII., and attached to his causeagreatnumberof partisans, for the purpose of throw- ing off the English dominion. Bedford foresaw a revolution, and the celerity and vigour of his measures were hardly able to prevent it. He What resulted from Henry's becoming regent of France ? — Of what disease did he die? — Whom did his queen marry? — What were then the ordinary revenues of the crown? — To whom was the care of the infant king entrusted? — What changes took place in France ? HENRY VI. 69 prevailed on the Dukes of Burgundy and Brittany, and his brother, the Count of Richmond, to enter into an alliance with him ; and he per- suaded the Eng-lish council to give liberty to James II. of Scotland, who had been detained in captivity from his infancy ; and thereby to deliver the kingdom from the danger of incursions from Scotland. After these preca,utions, Bedford renewed hostilities. The French army of fourteen thousand men, under the command of the Earl of Buchan, took Verneuil, in Normandy, (a. d. 1424,) and might have retired in safety, but he thought it dishonourable to turn his back on the English ; and the experience of former battles could not restrain the impetuosity of tlie French. The Viscount Narbonne, in his hurry to charge the English, broke his ranks, and drew after him the first line. The English archers signalized themselves with their usual dexterity and courage. The Duke of Bedford, meanwhile, at the head of the men-at-arms, rendered the victory complete and decisive. Many of the nobility, and above four thousand private men,- perished in the action. The French seemed, by a kind of fatality, to sacrifice themselves to the fortune and glory of the English. The Duke now found the city of Orleans the chief barrier to the con- quest of France, and he determined to besiege it. The besiegers and the besieged performed acts of astonishing heroism. The city was at length reduced to the utmost extremity, and Charles meditated an in- glorious retreat; when a country girl appeared at this critical period, delivered him from the danger that threatened him, and re-established the throne of France.* A secret horror thrilled the English soldiers, which their officers either shared or could not remove; defeat attended them everywhere ; the provinces and towns of France returned joy- fully to their allegiance, and the English were in a few years driven out of every part of France but Calais. Thus, happily for both coun- tries, ended all the magnificent projects of the conquest of France. Foreign war being now extinguished, the incapacity of Henry seemed to encourage the seditious spirit of his subjects. After the death of the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Gloucester and the Bishop of Winches- ter, now a cardinal, contended for the direction of the king's councils. The cardinal was victorious, and married him to iVTargaret Anjou, daughter of Regnier, titular King of Naples, a princess of masculine spirit, great ability, and address. The Duke of Gloucester was afterwards thrown into prison and mur- dered. This prince had cultivated letters with success; was much above the credulity and weakness of the age ; and his popularity and the lustre of his birth and superior qualities were so great, that his ene- mies did not think themselves safe while he lived. The Cardinal of Winchester did not survive him above six months. • A claimant to the crown nov; appeared. Richard, Duke of York, • was son to the Earl of Cambridge, by Anne, sister of the late Earl of *For a particular account of the Maid of Orleans, the reader is referred to the au- thor's History of France, published by Hogan & Thompson, Philadelphia. Relate the victory achieved by the English. — What occurred to defeat the siege of Orleans? — Who, after the death of the Duke of Bedford, directed the councils? 70 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. Marche, in whom ended the males of the house of Mortimer; the rights of that family, therefore, centred in the Duke of York, who was thus descended by his mother from the only daughter of the Duke of Cla- rence, second son of Edward III. ; whereas, the king was descended from the Duke of Lancaster, third son of that monarch. A large body of the nobility, and the commons in general, sided with the Duke of York, and recourse was had to arms. The battle of St. Albans, gained by the Yorkists, was the commencement of a struggle which lasted thirty years, and in which were fought twelve pitched battles. The battle of Bloreheath, on the borders of Staffordshire, 1459, was gained by the York party. Affairs, however, did not immediately pro- ceed to extremities. The vigour of the queen, Margaret of Anjou, sup- ported in some measure the tottering throne. The parliament renewed to the Duke of York the dignity of protector, and he renewed to the king his oath of fidelity. In 1460, however, he presented to the peers his pretensions to the crown, submitting them to their judgment. The peers called to their aid the principal members of the house of com- mons, and after several days passed in deliberation, they declared his title to the crown certain and indefeasible ; but as Henry had enjoyed the crown without dispute for thirty-eight years, they determined that he should possess the title and dignity during his life, and that the Duke of York, meanwhile, should be acknowledged his heir, and should govern the kingdom. Margaret, a woman whom no dangers could intimidate, had taken refuge in Scotland. Intelligence was soon received that she was ad- vancing at the head of twenty thousand men. The Duke of York, with only five thousand, imprudently marched out to oppose her at Wake- field, where he was defeated and slain. The head of the duke was fixed on the gates of York ; his son, the Duke of Rutland, was mur- dered in cold blood ; the Earl of Salisbury and other noblemen were beheaded by martial law. The claims of the duke descended to his son Edward, who gained the battle of Mortimer's Cross, but the queen repaired the loss by a ' second victory at St. Alban's gained over the Yorkists. The army of young Edward, however, was soon superior to that of the queen ; she therefore, with Henry, retreated to the North, while Edward entered London amidst the acclamations of the people. Edward now assumed the crown, by a somewhat irregular popular election, and was proclaimed king by the title of Edward IV. A law was enacted in this reign to limit the number of electors for members of Parliament, to persons possessed of forty shillings a-year in land ; a sum equivalent to nearly twenty pounds a-year of the present money of Great Britain. What new claimant appeared for the crown ? — Whose title to the crown was declared indefeasible? — In what battle did the Duke of York meet his death? — To whom did the duke's claims descend ? — What events followed ? EDWARD IV. 71 SECTION 4— HOUSE OF YORK. EDWARD IV. A.D. 1461. The two implacable factions, the houses of York and Lancaster, de- luged England with blood. Queen Margaret had assembled in the North an army of 60,000 men, and the new king, aided by the Earl of Warwick, hastened to check her progress. The two armies met at Towton, in the county of York, and a most desperate engagement en- sued. The queen, though superior in numbers, was put to the rout; and Edward issued orders to give no quarter. Thirty-six thousand men are said to have perished on this occasion. Edward sought to establish by blood, a throne which he had procured by violence. An act of for- feiture and attainder was passed against Henry, Queen Margaret, their infant son prince Edward, and their principal partisans. Margaret escaped out of the kingdom, and took refuge with her father in Flan- ders. She obtained from Louis XL of France" a body of 2000 men-at- arms, and with these and a numerous band of adventurers from Scot- land, she was enabled again to take the field. Henry concealed him- self for a twelvemonth in the county of Lancaster, but he was at length taken and thrown into the Tower. His imbecility was so great, that no attempts were made against his life. Edward, in the quiet possession of his throne, delivered himself over to the indulgence of his passions, and while the Earl of Warwick had a commission to negociate for him, an alliance with Bona of Savoy, sis- ter to the Queen of France, he happened to form an unconquerable attachment to Elizabeth Woodville, and he offered to share with her his crown. Their marriage was celebrated privately. Warwick, on receiv- ing the intelligence, was filled with indignation, and soon formed such a combination against Edward, that he was, in his turn, obliged to fly the kingdom. Louis XI. finding that Warwick had broken with Ed- ward, attempted to reconcile the Earl with Queen Margaret, and never did policy connect two persons of greater animosity. They united, not- withstanding, for the purpose of dethroning Edward, and re-establishing Henry VI. Edward's vain confidence in his own prowess, allowed him not to see the danger that threatened him. Warwick's popularity drew to him, soon after his landing, an army of sixty thousand men. The two armies met near Nottingham. Edward's quarters were attacked in the night time, his troops were thrown intoconfusion, and he escaped with difficulty. Warwick, in eleven days after his landing, was left entire master of the kingdom. He delivered Henry VI. from the Tower, proclaimed him. king, and a parliament was called which confirmed the title. But Edward's party though repressed was not destroyed, and after an absence of nine months in Holland, he set sail for England, and landed •his troops at Ravenspur in Yorkshire, declaring that he came not to kindle anew the flame of civil discord, but to possess himself of the What factions now deluged England with blood ? — What occasioned a quarrel between Edward and Warwick ? — What resulted from the battle of Nottingham ? 72 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. county of York, the estate of his family. He avoided encountering Warwick, and hastened to present himself before the gates of London, where he found the inhabitants favourable to his restoration. Queen Margaret was every day expected with her forces to unite with War- wick. But he, perhaps ambitious of having all the glory of the victory, waited not for her reinforcement. The battle was fought at Barnet. Edward was victorious, and Warwick was slain. The same day Mar- garet arrived with her son, prince Edward. Though at first over- whelmed at the tidings of the defeat and death of Warwick, she resumed her wonted spirit, collected an army, and marched to Tewkesbury. Here fortune proved once more adverse ; the Lancastrian army was totally routed, the queen and prince taken, and the latter murdered, almost in the presence of Edward. Shortly after, Henry VI. expired in the Tower, murdered, as was said, by the Duke of Gloucester ; and the hopes of the Lancastrians now seemed extinct. Of all those that were taken, none were suffered to survive but Margaret herself After so many scenes of barbarity and outrage, the king devoted him- self to pleasure and amusements rather than to remedy the complaints and grievances of his subjects. His gay and familiar manners rendered him, notwithstanding, extremely popular. But the prospect of a French war roused him from his voluptuous pursuits. His parliament granted him a large subsidy, and he entered into a league with Charles, Duke of Burgundy, in order to dismember the French monarchy. Louis XL, however, disdained military glory, and a treaty was entered into between the two princes at Pecquigni, near Amiens. It was also stipulated, that Louis should pay 50,000 crowns for the ransom of Margaret. This ex- traordinary woman, after having sustained the cause of her husband in twelve battles, after having astonished the world by her courage and resolution, passed the remainder of her days in France, in privacy and retirement, till the year 1482, when she died. Edward, during the course of his reign, appears to have been cruel and voluptuous; his treatment of his brother, the Duke of Clarence, is remarkable. The king hunting one day in the park of Thomas Burdet, killed a white buck, a great favourite of its owner, and Burdet, trans- ported with rage, wished the horns of the deer in the belly of the per- son who advised the king to shoot it. For this expression he was pub- licly beheaded at Tyburn. Clarence remonstrated against the injustice of the sentence, and the king ordered him to be arrested. The peers proceeded to his trial, and some rash expressions were the groimd of his condemnation. The king left to him the choice of his death, and he desired that he might be drowned in a butt of Malmsey, in the Tower. Edward had four daughters, and though yet in their infancy, he had affianced them to great princes. The dauphin, who had been engaged to espouse the eldest, married a daughter of the Emperor Maximilian, and Edward was impatient to revenge the insult. Louis XI. bad the address to arm against him the king of Scotland. Gloucester made an iavasion of that kingdom, took Berwick, and obliged the Scots to accept Where was the last battle fought between York and Lancaster?— What events occurred between Edward and Louis? — What was the king's treatment of the Duke of Clarence ? — How came Berwick to be attached to England ? EDWARD V. 73 of a peace, by which they resigned that fortress to England. Elevated with this success, Edward prepared to invade France ; but being seized with a mortal distemper, he expired in the forty-second year of his age ; and left a throne polluted with blood to his son, the young Prince of Wales, whose reign lasted not two months. Among the number of Edward's mistresses was the wife of one Shore, a merchant in the city, a woman of exquisite beauty, who sur- vived the king many years, and was reduced to extreme indigence. SECTION 5. EDWARD V. A. D. 1483 The Duke of Gloucester, a prince cruel, ambitious, and capable of every crime, who covered his dark purposes under the mask of pro- found dissimulation and policy, was made regent of the kingdom. The Earl of Rivers, a man of remarkable merit, was entrusted with the pro- tection and education of the young king, his nephew, who resided with him at the castle of Ludlow on the borders of Wales. The Queen was desirous that this nobleman should levy a body of troops to escort the young king to London. But Gloucester objected to it, as quite unneces- sary, and liable to prove dangerous. Rivers was received by him with much apparent affection, but he was arrested the next day by Glouces- ter's orders. He ordered the Ea.rl of Rivers and Richard Gray, one of the sons of the queen by a former marriage, to be executed, and he easily gained the consent of Buckingham to this extraordinary measure; but finding himself unable to gain over Lord Hastings, he meditated his destruction. Having summoned a council in the Tower, he asked them what pun- ishment those deserved who had plotted against the life of a protector ; upon which he laid bare his arm all shrivelled and decayed, but the counsellors knew that this infirmity had attended him from his birth; and he accused Jane Shore and her accomplices of having produced this deformity by their sorceries. " Certainly, my lord," said Hastings, " if they be guilty of these crimes they deserve punishment." — " If," said the protector, " do you reply to me with ifs ? — You are the chief abettor of that witch Shore, and I swear by St. Paul, I will not dine before your head be brought to me." He then struck the table with his hand, and the room was filled with armed men. Hastings was instantly carried off and beheaded. Jane Shore was next seized and summoned to answer before the council for sorcery and enchantment, but no proofs were found against her. She was therefore ordered to be tried in the spiritual courts for adultery, and she did penance in a white sheet at St. Paul's, before thousands of spectators. This woman had been seduced by Edward, and though she had greatly recommended herself by many acts of be- neficence and humanity, she found no friends in her adversity, and died in indigence and misery. What is said of Jane Shore ? — Who was made regent of the kingdom ? — Whose destruction did he meditate ? — How was it effected ? 7 74 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. Gloucester at length took off the mask and aspired openly to the crown; havhig propagated doubts with regard to the validity of Edward's marriage, and tliat both Edward and the Duke of Clarence were illegiti- mate. These assertions were promulgated from the pulpit; Dr. Shaw having been appointed to preach at St. Paul's, selected a text, from which he attempted to discredit the birth of these princes, and he eulogized the protector, whom he represented as the legal heir to the crown. He even called out " God save King Richard," but the audi- ence kept a profound silence. The bad success of this stratagem abashed the protector and his panegyrist. The Duke of Buckingham, also, a man of talents and influence, was induced to favour Richard's claim. He addressed the populace and citizens at St. Paul's Cross, in which he was joined by the lord mayor. He asked them whether they would have the duke for their king. They discovered their sentiments liy their silence. At length some ap- prentices, incited by Buckingham's servants, raised a feeble cry of " God save King Richard," and he hastened to inform the duke that he was called upon to assume the government. Richard appeared before the people, and consented, with seeming reluctance, to accept the crown. Edward V. and the Duke of York were soon after, by the order of Richard, assassinated in the Tower. RICHARD III. A. D. 1483. The short reign of this prince is stained with atrocious and execrable deeds. He had promised rewards to the Duke of Buckingham for his services, but not receiving any, the duke meditated revenge, and invited over the earl of Richmond, who was heir by the female line to the house of Somerset, and grandson to Owen Tudor, who had married Catharine of France, the widow of Henry V. Richmond had retired to Brittany, in the reign of Edward IV., who regarded him as a dangerous rival. These intrigues escaped npt the vigilance of Richard, and he hastened to put the kingdom in a posture of defence. Buckingham levied troops in Wales, to co-operate with Richmond when he should arrive, but the heavy and incessant rains at that time prevented his crossing with his army into England, and the Welsh, moved by superstition at this extraordinary event, or distressed by fa- mine, abandoned his camp. In this extremity he put on a disguise, and took shelter with an old servant of his family, where being discovered, he was brought to the king, and executed without any form of trial. The fleet of the earl of Richmond having been shattered by a tempest, he was obliged to return to the coast of Brittany ; but afterwards, having received some troops from Charles VIII., lie set out from Harfleur with a retinue of two thousand men ; and having disembarked on the coast of Wales, he was there joined by a considerable number of both Welsh and English, and advancing with about six thousand towards Leicester, By what means did he attempt to obtain the throne? — What became of Edward V. and the Duke of York ? — By whom was the Earl of Richmond invited over? — What was the fate of Bucldngham? — Give an account of Richmond's operations? HENRV VII. 75 he encountered the army of Richard in Bosworth Field, and obtained over it a decisive victory ; for which he was chiefly indebted to Stanley, who deserted to him with seven thousand of the Royalists. Richard fell in the action, and Richmond was saluted king, by the title of Henry VII. CHAPTER v.— HOUSE OF TUDOR. SECTION 1. HENRY VIL A.D. 1485. The earl of Richmond's title to the crown was by no means free from objections. The title of the house of York was the most valid, and Henry's intended marriage with Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Ed- ward IV., was the only proper method to overcome the difficulty ; as by this means the rights of the two houses would be united. His jealousy against the family of York induced him to commit to the Tower the Earl of Warwick, the son of the duke of Clarence ; and his animosity, or policy, induced him to engage the parliament to pass an act of attain- der against Richard III., and the principal partisans of the house of York ; even the princess Elizabeth, whom he espoused, a woman equally amiable and virtuous, felt the influence of the prejudices he had con- ceived against her family. This unpopular conduct somewhat disturbed the tranquillity of the government, but the wars of the Roses had so greatly thinned the English nobility, that they were weary of civil con- flict, and quietly submitted to the arbitrary rule of Henry. The duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV., raised up two im- postors against him, each pretending to be Richard, Duke of York, who had escaped from the Tower. Richard Simon, a priest of Oxford, in- duced one Simnel, a youth of fifteen years of age, to personate the Duke of York. The first scene of the imposture was opened in Ire- land, Simnel was received as a true Plantagenet, and some persons of high rank had entered into the conspiracy. Simnel then intended to invade England, and disembarked in Lancashire. Henry was impatient to give him battle. The two armies encountered at Stoke, in the county of Nottingham, and the rebels were defeated. Simnel and his tutor Simon were taken prisoners ; the latter was condemned to close custody, and the former pardoned, as too contemptible to excite farther appre- hension. He was made a scullion in the king's kitchen, and afterwards rose to the dignity of a falconer. Henry, established on the throne, respected by his subjects, and for- midable to neighbouring kingdoms, turned his attention to the affairs of Europe. Those of Brittany in particular were interesting to England. The king of France was for annexing it to his crown. Henry, seeing Who was victorious, and who fell, in Bosworth field ? — Was the Earl of Rich- mond's title valid ? — What impostors did the Duchess of Burgundy raise ? — How was a war between England and France averted ? 76 HISTOEY OF ENGLAND. the importance of such a union, was desirous to oppose it. A war with France was always agreeable to the English, and Henry hastened to raise supplies. He assembled a parliament, harangued it in person, spoke of the victories of Crecy, Poictiers, and Agincourt ; by this means he procured a considerable subsidy. The English flattered them- selves with the triumphs they were to acquire, and many sold their estates, that they might appear in this enterprise with the greater lustre. They embarked in October, 1492, and arrived at Calais. " It is of little consequence," said Henry, " at what season the invasion is begun, as one summer will not be sufficient for the conquest of France." Mean- while he was privately negotiating a treaty of peace, and the conditions of the treaty were soon adjusted. Henry wanted nothing but money ; and the French king, who was impatient to undertake the conquest of Naples, was easily disposed to give him forty-five thousand crowns, with an annual pension of twenty-five thousand crowns to himself and his heirs. Thus, as Bacon has observed, peace and war contributed equally to fill his coffers ; the first giving him the money of his subjects, and the latter that of his enemies. Meanwhile the duchess of Burgundy meditated another imposture, in the person of a young Jew, born in London, of the name of Peter, or Per- kin Warbeck. The comeliness of his person, his insinuating manners, and the versatility of his genius, suited well with the part he was to act, to counterfeit the young Duke of York, who had been assassinated in the Tower by Richard III. Perkin made his first appearance in Ireland, under the name of Richard Plantagenet. Charles VIII. of France in- vited him to his court, and from thence after visiting the duchess of Bur- gundy, he appeared on the coast of Kent, with six hundred men ; but the people were not now disposed to favour him. A hundred and fifty persons, however, were taken, tried, and executed. He next, by the recommendation of the king of France, visited James IV. of Scotland, who gave him one of his kinswomen in marriage. Perkin, after retir- ing to Ireland, was advised to try the affections of the Cornish men, who possessed the spirit of discontent and sedition. The king marched to oppose his progress, and the moment he appeared he disarmed the rebels. Perkin took refuge in a church, but was prevailed upon to sur- render himself to Henry, who promised him his life. The lady Catha- rine Gordon, his wife, fell into the conqueror's hands, and was treated with generosity. This rebel was conducted to London in a species of mock triumph, and was forced to make a public recital of his adventures, and thrown into prison. Having made his escape, he was retaken, and sent to the Tower ; and on account of carrying on there some intrigues, he was condemned and executed. The king arrested almost at the same instant a number of distinguished individuals, who were arraigned, convicted, and condemned for high treason ; a few were executed, the rest received a pardon. The king's eldest son, Arthur, espoused Catharine of Arragon, but died soon after, and without having consummated the marriage. The Relate the adventures of Perkin, the impostor. — To whom was Catharine of Arragon affianced ? — To whom was she afterwards married ? HENJIY Vir. HENRY VIII. 77 young prince of Wales, afterwards Henry VIII., now in liis thirteenth year, was forced by the king to espouse the widow of his brother; and a dispensation for this purpose was procured from the pope. Every thing yielded to the views of the English monarch, and Europe admired his political discernment. Ferdinand of Spain was connected with him from interest. The archduke Philip, Ferdinand's son-in-law, paid court to him. Pope Alexander VI. cultivated his friendship. Hav- ing no enemy to fear, Henry gave himself up to his reigning passion. His avarice made him unjust and cruel, and led him to oppress his sub- jects. Arbitrary judgments, fines, compositions, and taxes augmented his treasure to £2,750,000. His rigid economy added to it from day to day, and the more he advanced in years the more detestable was he by his avarice. His activity and firmness, his prudence, his love of peace, and his courage in war, cannot wipe away the stain. On the approach of death, he thought to expiate his injustice by acts of charity. But such measures are more efficacious in lulling^ the consciences of the unjust than in satisfying the Deity. He expired in the fifty-second year of his age, and the twenty-third of his reign, a. d. 1509. No monarch, from the concession of the great charter, had reigned in England with so much authority as Henry VII. One great object of his policy was to humble the nobility, and hold them in subjection. He gave liberty to the nobles to dispose of their estates ; a circumstance which added to the riches of the people, and diminished that of the barons. The arts, commerce, and industry were advancing in their progress, and many wise laws were pa^ed for the execution of justice. The discovery of the New World in 1492 by Columbus, and the pas- sage discovered by the Portuguese to the East Indies round the Cape of Good Hope, were followed by the revival of literature in Europe. The art of printing was invented ; artillery and engineering were brought to greater perfection ; and these events announced the approach of great revolutions. SECTION 2. HENRY VIII. A. D. 1509. The English, dissatisfied with the severe government of Henry VIL, beheld with pleasure the elevation of a prince of sixteen years of age, agreeable from his figure and his manners, and from the candour and gaiety of his temper. It was not immediately seen that his passions would make him a tyrant. The first steps of his administration were answerable to the public expectation. He promoted those to be his ministers who had served him with the greatest zeal during his father's reign. The king consummated at length his marriage with Catharine of Arragon, a princess of great virtue and sweetness of disposition. Henry loved pleasure and entertainments, and his expense was in pro- f)ortion to the treasure left by the late king. Music and literature were in the number of his pursuits. Mention Henry the Seventh's influence in Europe, his avarice, his decease. — What were the great objects of his pohcy ? — What great discoveries and arts now appeared ? — What were the first occurrences of Henry the Eighth's reign ? 7* 78 HISTOKV OF ENGLAND. Thomas Wolsey, who had recommended himself hy his address to Henry VII., and who had been employed by him in some difficult com- missions, was now prosecuting with vigour the intentions of Henry VIII., and rising to a height of grandeur. Wolsey's insinuating man- ners, his taste tor pleasure, and his love of letters, rendered him most acceptable to the king. A vast career opened to his ambition, and Henry, having made him a member of the council, constituted him his sole and absolute minister. But an excessive haughtiness, an insatiable rapacity, and an insolent* parade of expense, raised him more enemies than he could conciliate friends by his generosity and his policy. As Henry was ardent for war, Wolsey gave it all his attention. An English squadron presented itself before Brest, but was obliged to retire. A French fleet that attempted a descent on the coast of Sussex, had no better success. The English penetrated into France, by the way of Calais. The emperor Maximilian joined the English forces in the Low Counti'ies with some German and Flemish soldiers, and he blushed not, in return for his services, to take a hundred crowns a day. At the battle of Guinegat the French, who had behaved with so much courage in many encounters, were seized with an unaccountable panic, and took to flight ; and this action is commonly called the battle of the spurs, the French making more use of them than of their swords. The king of Scotland, James IV., ravaged Northumberland, at the head of fifty thousand men : but the English gave him battle at Flod- den, where that monarch and the flower of the Scotch nobility perished, Henry enjoyed his victory with moderation, and entered into a treaty of peace with the queen of Scotland, who now acted as regent. The princess Mary, Henry's sister, was married to Lewis XII. king of France. Mary was in her twentieth year, and Lewis in his fifty- fourth. England enjoyed at this time (a. d. 1515) a tranquillity which it had long required ; and Wolsey, while he affected to follow the incli- nations of Henry, and to enter into all his views, governed with the more authority. He seemed to be only the companion of his pleasures, but was in reality the absolute master of his kingdom. Church prefer- ments were presented to him with the most profuse liberality. To these honours and possessions he joined the dignity of cardinal. The desires of Wolsey increased with his power; at length the complaints of the people against the minister, reached the ears of the sovereign ; he dis- covered his dissatisfaction, and Wolsey set bounds to his authority. Charles V., emperor of Germany and king of Spain, arrived at Dover to pay a visit to Henry, and on his return to the continent Henry went over to Calais, with the queen and his whole court. Francis, the French king, similarly attended, had come to Ardres. The two monarchs vied in displays of magnificence, and in bestowing mutual marks of their respect and confidence They visited each other without guards or attendants ; and passed their time, in tilts and tournaments, in which What the elevation and the demeanour of Wolsey ? — Relate what warfare oc- curred at this time. -^ What was the result of the battle of Flodden ? — Whom did the King of France marry ? — Who ruled the King ? — What interview had the monarchs of England, France, &e. ? . HENRV viir. 79 they respectively distinguished themselves. Henry soon after paid a visit to the emperor Charles, at Gravelines. Tor some time past, Europe had been agitated with those religious disputes which were to produce tlie reformation. Leo X., who was a great prince but a bad pope, having exhausted his treasury, had recourse to an expedient. He circulated indulgences, under pretence of a war against the Turks, and for subduing schismatics. These were sold pub- licly in Germany by the Dominicans. The Augustin friars were jeal- ous of them on this account, and Martin Luther, a theologian of their order, declaimed against the church of Rome. He was keen and in- flexible. Many vain and superstitious ceremonies had been introduced into the exercise of religion; theology was corrupted with subtleties; religion had become a cloak for the most sordid ntpaeity, and the most unpardonable ambition. An incessant cry of reformation resounded from all quarters. Luther took advantage of it. After railing against abuses in the sale of indulgences, he attacked indulgences themselves, the dogmas of thfe church, and the power of the pope. His writings spread over Europe. The elector of Saxony, and other German princes, were favourable to the reformer. England had also many Lollards, who inculcated nearly the same tenets. The English monarch, who had been educated in the doctrines of the Romish church, and had contracted an aversion to Luther, wrote a book against him ; and received from Leo on this account the title of " De- fender of the Faith," an appellation which was long after retained by the kings of England. Lutheranism, notwithstanding, made not the less progress ; persecution brings its proselytes. As the vast treasure amassed by his father had been for some time dissipated, Henry had recourse for supplies to arbitrary exactions and imposts; and in place of a subsidy which he demanded, the commons could be prevailed upon only to grant a moiety. The more illegal the imposts he levied, the more the people were enraged. The time now approached when the passions of Henry were to pro- duce cruel and fatal scenes. Catharine of Arragon, who was six years older than the king, had lost his affections. He pretended to entertain doubts of the validity of his marriage, notwithstanding the dispensation of pope Julius. But Anna Bullen, the daughter of Sir Thomas Bullen, had acquired an ascendant over his affections, and not being able to in- duce her to comply with his desires, he removed the obstacle by making her his wife. But it was necessary that the bull of Julius should be an- nulled at Rome ; a circumstance to which it was not probable that any pope would submit. The pope, however, granted a commission, in which Cardinal Campeggio was joined with Wolsey, for the trial of the king's marriage. The trial was industriously prolonged ; Campeggio, by the pope's order, prorogued the court, and the cause was evoked to Rome. What resulted from the indulgences of Pope Leo X. ? — What title did the king receive for opposing Luiher ? — What change took place in the king's aflectiuns ? — How did he endeavour to annul his marriage with queen Catharine of Arragon ? — How was he foiled in this design? 80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. SECTION 3. Henry was mortified with this cruel disappointment. In the height of his rage he suspected Wolsey of treachery ; and Anna BuUen being prepossessed against this minister, his fall approached. The great seal was taken from him, and entrusted to Sir Thomas More. The palace in which Wolsey resided in London, was seized by an order from the court, and became afterwards the residence of the kings of England, under the title of Whitehall. A cupboard of massy gold, a thousand pieces of holland, and all his sumptuous furniture, were appropriated by Henry. The house of lords presented against him an accusation of for- ty-four articles. Thomas Cromwell, formerly one of his domestics, de- fended him there with a force and courage which, instead of injuring his fortune, laid the foundation of that favour which he afterwards en- joyed with the king. Wolsey had retired to his see of York, where he was arrested for high treason, in order to take his trial in London. Du- ring his journey he stayed a fortnight at the Earl of Shrewsbury's, where one day at dinner he was taken ill, not without suspicions of having poisoned himself. Being conveyed onward, he reached Leicester abbey, where the monks coming out to meet him, he said, "Father Ab- bot, I am come to lay my bones among you." He was seized with a dysentery, and afler having expressed his regret that he had been less careful to serve his God than his king, he expired. Henry regretted his death, and spoke of him in terms of the highest praise. The policy of Clement VII. deprived Henry of every hope of accomplishing his divorce; and Dr. Cranmer suggested an expedient, which was, to consult all the universities of Europe concerning the controverted point, and if they declared the marriage with Catharine illegitimate, the Pope could jiot easily refuse a divorce. The court was delighted with this proposal, and it is certain that the universities of France, those of England, and those of Italy, pronounced a decision conformable to his wishes, and the judgment of the universities he con- sidered as decisive. These measures could not fail of diminishing the authority of the church ; and although Henry shuddered at the thoughts of heresy, he had more than once determined to break with the court of Rome. He required a confession from the clergy, " That the king was the protector and supreme head of the Church of England, so far as is permitted by the law of Christ." The year following, the parliament went still further; they made an act against levying the annates, or first fruits, a tax which was paid to the pope; and it was even voted that all censures from Rome should be totally disregarded. The chancellor. Sir Thomas More, foreseeing that these measures tended to a schism with Rome, begged permission to resign the seals. Unable to prevail with the queen to consent to his marriage with Relate the splendour and the fall of Wolsey? — ^y whom was Catharine's mar- riage deemed illegitimate? — What steps were taken by the clergy and the parlia- ment ? — What was the effect of these measures ? ( 82 ) - HENRY viir. 83 Anna Bullen, Henry privately espoused that lady, and soon after, he ac- knowledged her as queen. Cranmer pronounced against Catharine the sentence of divorce, a. d. 1533 ; the ceremony of the coronation of the new queen was celebrated, and the birth of Elizabeth was an additional source of satisfaction to Henry. The pope, Clement, fulminated his excommunication against Henry, but it added to the general ferment, and advanced the reformation. It had already been maintained that the pope was only a bishop, that the bounds of his authority extended no further than those of his diocese. The people and the parliament received these doctrines, and the clergy conformed to them. The clergy declared that the Bishop of Rome had no authority in England, and the king was, at length, by a public act, constituted head of the church. Though Henry entertained an aversion to the reformers, all ranks of men throughout England were disposed to embrace their opinions. His principal enemies were the monks, and it is jjrobable that Henry re- garded with an envious eye the riches of the Catholic clergy. As su- preme head of the church, he granted a power to his secretary, Crom- well, and to other commissioners, to visit the different monasteries of the kingdom, and to make a scrutiny into the lives of the friars. This inquiry furnished occasion for their dissolution. The grossest abuses were said to have been discovered; whole convents of men and wo- men abandoned to frauds, idleness, and licentiousness. The report was published, and the horror and detestation of the people were excited. All the lesser monasteries, amounting to three hundred and seventy-six, were suppressed by the parliament, and their revenues, which devolved to the king, amounted to thirty-two thousand pounds a-year. This paved the way for the dissolution of the greater monas- teries. The convocation or assembly of the clergy held this season, passed an act which the Protestants highly extolled ; which was, to publish a version of the Scriptures in the mother tongue. Three years were em- ployed in ^his undertaking, and it contributed greatly to advance the progress of the reformation. The decline of the Romish religion in England may be traced from the passion of Henry VIII. for Anna Bullen. His violent love for this lady, which six years of opposition could not stifle, suddenly subsided when it had no longer any opposition to contend with. The king turned his affections upon Jane Seymour, one of the maids of honour to the queen, and he sacrificed his wife to a mistress. The king allowed him- self to be persuaded of the infidelity of his queen, and laid hold on the slightest circumstances to her prejudice. She strongly protested her innocence. Her trial was conducted with the utmost precipitation, and she submitted with intrepidity to the stroke of the axe. Henry married Jane Seymour, the day after Anna's execution. Whom did the king privately espouse? — What doctrines were avowed against the pope's authority? — Relate the abuses that occurred in the monasteries. — By what convocation was a version of the scriptures published in the mother tongue ? — Upon whom did the king next fix his affections ■ — What followed ? 84 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. To the new parliament which was now called, new oaths were ad- ministered against the power of the Pope, and every door to a recon- ciliation with the church was closed. The convocation of the clergy, which sat at the same time, complied in every respect with the will of Henry, whose violence could not brook the smallest contradiction. Cromwell, as vicar-general, exercised absolute power. He suppressed many of the ancient holidays, prohibited pilgrimages and other supersti- tions. This was the source of the murmurs of the secular priests. In- surrections were raised in the counties of Durham, York, and Lancaster, which were suppressed. Henry's power was too firmly established to be shaken by petty insurrections. SECTION 4. Henry regarded the monks as irreconcilable enemies, and he was now inclined to suppress the greater monasteries, that he might enrich himself with their spoils. He had recourse to his former expedient, and a visitation of the monasteries was first appointed. Time, and the bad passions, had doubtless introduced corruptions into the cloisters; but the accusations of the visitors confounded guilt and innocence. Inven- tions, it must be confessed, were discovered, calculated to impose on popular credulity ; false relics were employed, false miracles were per- formed. It was asserted that the saints were presented with frequent and rich presents, while the Deity was neglected.* The annual reve- nues arising from these establishments destroyed, amounted to one hun- dred and sixty-one thousand pounds. In order to reconcile the people to these innovations, the king erected six new bishoprics, and settled sala- ries on the abbots and monks; and it was given out that the crown would never more have occasion to levy taxes, but that the church lands would be sufficient to discharge all the expenses of the govern- ment. In this manner were all the monastic orders abolished in Eng- land. Notwithstanding the censures of the Pope, which were violent and indignant, and vented in holy execrations and anathemas, still Henry piqued himself on his zeal for the Romish faith, and was ambitious to defend it, as well by disputation as by persecution. In an assembly at Westminster, in which the prelates, the nobility, and gentlemen of dis- tinction attended, Henry was charmed with the opportunity for signal- . izing his theological talents; and disputing with Lambert, on the sub- ject of the eucharist, seemed to him no derogation from his dignity. His new parliament, A. D. 1539, was an instrument of his dominion rather than the council of the nation; and he failed not to avail himself of their abject servility. " It is his majesty's pleasure," said the chan- cellor, " to extirpate from his kingdom all diversity of opinion with re- * Burnet has related that, one year, at the Church of St. Thomas, of Canterbury, there was not one penny oifered at Goil's altar, anil that the Virgin's gained only four pounds, but that of the saint acquired nine hundred and fifty-four pounds. What further resistance was made to popery ? — What transfer took place from abbeys to bishoprics ? — With what zeal did Henry still defend the Romish faith? - HENRY VIII. 85 gard to religion ;" and the famous bill of " Six Articles," was passed, termed by the Protestants, " the bloody bill," as enforcing the observ- ance of the principal doctrines of the Romish church, under the most cruel punishments of confiscation, imprisonment, or death. The parlia- ment, by an act still more ridiculous, gave these edicts of the king the same force with statutes enacted by the three estates. Thus the con- stitution of England was entirely overthrown. Jane Seymour, the most beloved of all his wives, had died in the year 1537, after having given birth to Edward. The king, therefore, began to think of a new marriage, and his minister, Cromwell, engaged him to address Anne of Cleves ; but he never bore her any affection, and the king's resentment soon fell upon his minister. The parliament, who had flattered Cromwell in his prosperity, insulted him in his disgrace. They accused him of heresy and treason, and condemned him without examination and without evidence. His sentence was executed with- out delay. Cromwell was a man of industry and ability, and deserved a better fate. Henry was now induced to repudiate Anne of Cleves upon frivolous pretences; and Anne, on receiving a settlement of three thousand pounds a-year, consented to the divorce. Her place was filled by Catharine Howard, whose vices soon after conducted her to the scaffold. The statute of the Six Articles was vigorously executed, and many Protestants acquired the glory of martyrdom. But Henry was no less rigid against the Catholics, who refused to take the oath of his su- premacy. A foreigner at that time in England, had reason to say, that "those who were against the Pope were burned, and those who were for him were hanged." About this time came out, by the sanction or caprice of Henry, a small work, entitled " The Institution of a Christian Man,^^ which con- sisted partly of Protestant and partly of Catholic doctrines. Some time after, he published a different rule of orthodoxy. He again restrained the reading of the Scriptures, made alterations in the Missal, and ordained that the name of the Pope should be erased out of every book ; but, however versatile were his own opinions, he inculcated upon his sub- jects the most passive obedience to his power. In about a year after the death of the late queen, Henry once more changed his condition, by marrying his sixth and last wife, Catharine Parr. She had been the wife of Lord Latimer, and was considered a woman of discretion and virtue. Catharine made good what had been said in jest, that he would be obliged to marry a widow. She favoured the doctrines of the reformers. In the year 1-545, a French fleet, of about a hundred sail, made a de- scent upon England, but performed nothing decisive. The cannon, at this time, were so ill served that it was thought a circumstance some- what wonderful, that each fleet, in the course of two hours, should fire three hundred shot. One small ship in our time, could, without diffi- Mention the parliament's servility to the " Six Articles." — Whom did the king marry, aCter the death of Jane Seymour ? — What was the fate of Cromwell ? — What, of Anne of Cleves ? — Name the various changes in Henry's religious no- tions. — Who was Henry's sixth and last wife ? 8 86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. culty, do thrice as much. The succours of parliament in 1546, enabled him again to prepare for war ; but Henry finding his health began to decline, concluded a truce with the King of France; nothing, however, could cure the king of the madness of introducing new systems of faith. He now permitted the Litany to be celebrated in the vulgar tongue, and he added a prayer to it, "to be delivered from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and from all his detestable enormities." Queen Catharine had nearly been sacrificed to the dogmatical zeal of her husband. The extreme corpulency of Henry, joined to an ulcer in his leg, endangered his life. The queen soothed his discontented and peevish humour. But his favourite topic was theology, and she en- tertained sentiments very different from his. A suspicion of her being heretical induced Ihe king to order articles of accusation to be drawn out against her. Apprised of her danger, she lost not her courage, but visited the king as before. The conversation failed not to turn upon theology, and Catharine affected to excuse herself, and said if she had ever spoken upon such subjects, it was merely to amuse his majesty or animate his conversation, that she might profit by his reflections. " By St. Mary," said Henry, " you are now become a doctor, and are better fitted to give than to receive instruction." He then embraced her with great affection, and gave her assurances of his kindness. The next day, while they were conversing with great cordiality, the chancellor, who knew nothing of what had passed, arrived with forty of the pursuivants, to convey her to the Tower : the king spoke to him at some distance from her, treated him very roughly, calling him knave, fool, beast, and ordered him to begone. The nearer Henry approached to his end, the more violent and ty- rannical were his acts. The Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey were the last that fell under his resentment. On some frivolous accu- sations, Surrey was condemned and executed. The parliament meeting in January, 1546, a bill of attainder was found against the Duke of Norfolk ; the death-warrant was made out, and sent to the lieutenant in the Tower. The duke prepared for deatli, but an event of greater con- sequence intervened to prevent his execution. The king, who had been for some time past approaching fast towards his end, died the night pre- ceding the day appointed for the duke to suffer, and it was thought im- proper to stain, by an act of tyranny, the commencement of the new reign. Henry reigned thirty-seven years and nine months, and died in the fifty-sixth year of his age. Henry had ability, resolution, and talents ; but his reign is a series of the most tyrannical acts. Amidst all the cruelties of this reign, literature made a considerable progress. The commerce of the English, during this period, was chiefly confined to the Netherlands. What change took place in Henry's health and principles? — What precanlion of the queen averted her danger? — Who were the last that felt the king's resent- ment? — Describe Henry's character, conduct, and cruelties. EDWARD VI. 87 SECTION 5. EDWARD VI. A. D. 1547. Edward VI., the only son of Henry VIII., succeeded to the throne in the ninth year of his ag-e. Henry had appointed sixteen executors to take the charge of the prince during his minority, and had invested them with the administration of the kingdom. To these he added twelve coimcillors, to assist with their advice in cases of difficulty. No sooner was the king dead, than it was deliberated whether a protector ought not to be chosen who should possess the exterior symbols of royal dignity, and yet be bound in the exercise of power to follow the opinion of the executors. Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, maternal uncle to the king, was appointed to this dignity, and created Duke of Somer- set. The chancellor, at the same time, was created Earl of South- ampton. The ambition of Somerset grew with his power. He procured a patent from the king, which invested him with full regal authority. The council he appointed consisted of the former persons, except South- ampton. The disgrace of the chancellor was a fatal blow to the Catho- lics. Somerset dissembled not his inclination to extend the reformation. The education of Edward he entrusted to men of the same principles. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was a Protestant as well as the protector, gave his opinion for moderate measures, and that it would be dangerous to introduce a change of religion by violence and perse- cution. A general visitation was made of all the dioceses of England. Those who were charged with this duty had directions to proceed with cau- tion and prudence, and to continue such usages as had no superstitious tendency. Their authority was chiefly to be exerted against sprinkling of beds with holy water, the ringing of bells, and the using of blessed candles in order to drive away the devil. The intemperate zeal of the old monks, who inveighed with much spleen against the reformation, was to be restrained, and certain homilies were published which were to be read to the people. Gardiner, the head of the Catholic party, remonstrated against these innovations. Somerset, having regulated the affairs of the kingdom, raised an army of ten thousand men, determined to make war upon Scotland, and produce, if possible, an union with England, by the marriage of the princess Mary with Edward ; and he published a manifesto, in which he set forth many arguments to engage them to the measure. The Scots, with an army double the number, waited for them. A movement of the English towards the sea, as if intending flight, drew the Scots into an engagement, when ten thousand of the Scots fell in the action. During the king's minority, who was appointed protector? — To whom was the education of Edward entrusted ? — What popish ciisioms were forbidden to be con- tinued ? — • What marriage was projected ? — What battle was fought ? 88 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. This action is called the battle of Pin key, and cost the English only about two hundred men. The Earl of Huntly, who had at first been disposed to favour the proposal of Somerset, said pleasantly, that he was not averse to the match, but that he much disliked the manner in which the princess was courted, A cabal in London hastened the protector's return. He summoned a parliament, and its authority completed the reformation. Many laws of the imperious Henry were abrogated, particularly those which ex- tended the crime of treason ; the statute of the six articles and private masses were abolished ; the use of the cup was restored to the laity. Candles were forbidden to be carried about on Candlemas and other set days. No images were to appear in churches; auricular confession was left free, to be used or not, at the discretion of the people ; priests were permitted to marry ; and a liturgy was framed for the service of the church. It was also enacted that mass should be celebrated in the vulgar language, and that the prayers to the saints, and some other cere- monies, should be retrenched from it. The doctrine of the real presence in the eucharist was the last tenet of popery that was abandoned by the people. Still, however, the government was in its nature arbitrary ; it punish- ed those whose sentiments accorded not with the creed of the day. A woman who did not conform to the ritual respecting the incarnation of Christ, was condemned to be burnt! The nation in general, however, submitted to the new doctrine and the new liturgy. The Lady Mary alone continued to adhere to the mass, and refused to admit the estab- lished mode of worship. The suppression of abbeys and monasteries had not only deprived the poor and idle of a great resource, but also the peasants in the neigh- bourhood ; and the spirit of revolt spread itself in the interior, where the people were in extreme indigence. In some of the counties, par- ticularly Devon and Norfolk, the spirit of rebellion threatened the most fatal consequences. The insurgents demanded the re-cstablishment of the mass, holy bread and holy water, and the redress of other grievances ; marching with crosses and banners before them, and other implements of the ancient religion. Others went so far as to require the suppres- sion of the gentry, and new councillors about the king. Somerset dispatched troops to oppose them, and they were at length dispersed. A violent faction was now formed against Somerset in the council. The haughtiness of his carriage, his ambition, and the contempt and resentment he expressed for those who refused to be directed by his sentiments, the immense riches he had acquired, and the magnificent palace he had built, on ground taken from the church, irritated the dis- contented. Warwick, the most dangerous of these, influenced the council, who magnified his imprudences into crimes, and set aside his authority. The protector, finding that he was abandoned by his parti- sans, submitted to his enemies. They informed the young king that What further popish customs did the parliament abolish ? — How weVe the new doctrine and the new liturgy received ? — What peasants raised a clamour for the mass, &c.? — What faction was raised against Somerset I EDWAKD Vli 89 ■the ptotector, instead of being guided by their direction, had usurped the whole sovereign authority. Their remonstrances were heard ; Bjmerset was thrown into prison, and an accusation framed against him. Dejected and humbled, he confessed himself guilty in a manner that disgraced hun. The parliament deprived him of all his offices, and subjected him to a large line. But Warwick, thinking that he was now sufficiently humbled, re-admitted him into the council. Warwick, though inditferent on the head of religious disputes, de- clared for the Protestants, as the king had imbibed their principles. Se- veral bishops, notwithstanding their compliance with the court, remained Btili in the Romish faith; and as they had agreed to hold them only during the king's pleasure, the council determined to seize on their re- venues. The prosecution was commenced on the famous Gardiner, bishop of Winchester. In vain he agreed to subscribe a declaration, that the king was head of the church, &c.j the more he acquiesced, the more they multiplied their demands. He then refused to subscribe any articles they should submit to him, and lie was deposed. Several other bishops underwent the same fate. If ambition could prescribe bounds to itself, Warwick had been happy. He directed the council, he had vast possessions, and had been created Duke of Northumberland. But his prosperity, instead of satisfying, in- creased his desires. The Duke of Somerset, although degraded, ap- peared to him a rival, and he conspired his destruction. By working on his temper and chagrin, Northumberland provoked him to commit im- prudences, and thus furnished himself with accusations against him. Somerset was charged with the guilt of high treason, and of having meditated the murder of Northumberland and several members of the council ; and the king, prepossessed against his uncle by the enemies of that nobleman, permitted his execution. The Duke of Northumberland, no less rapacious than ambitious, formed the project of seizing for his use the revenues of the bishopric of Durham, one of the richest in the kingdom. Tonstal, who had been promoted to this dignity, and who was possessed of distinguished merit, had opposed all innovations in religion; though, when established, he had, from a sense of duty, submitted to them. Notwithstanding, a bill of attainder was passed against him in the House of Peers, by means of the Duke of Northumberland. Tonstal was deposed, and the dignity of earl palatine, connected with his see, was conferred on Northumber- land, and two subsidies and two-fifteenths were granted to the king. The debts of the crown, though the sale of the manors and the plun- der of the churches had been great, amounted to three hundred thou- sand pounds sterling. Edward was an economist, but the rapacity of his courtiers was insatiable. As the health of the young monarch now visibly declined, Northum- berland hastened to execute a project which he imagined would conduct his family to the throne. He married Lord Guilford Dudley, one of his sons, to Lady Jane Grey, the heir of the Marchioness of Dorset, niece What bishops still adhered to the Romish faith ? — What was the fate of the Duke of Somerset? — On what bishopric did Northumberlajid seize ? 8* ' 90 HISTORY OP ENGLAND. to Henry VIII, in the hope of making the crown pass immediately to Jane. Edward, wasted with disease, and afraid of the zeal of Mary for the Romish taith, allowed himself to be overcome by the artifices of Northumberland, and expedited letters patent conformable to his desires. The chancellor and the other members of the council subscribed them with extreme reluctance, and yielded to menaces, and the violence of present power and authority. A few days after, Edward expired at Greenwich, in the sixteenth year of his age. This prince was of a mild disposition, and possessed of application, a capacity to learn and to judge, and a scrupulous attachment to equity and justice; and had he been favoured with a longer life, he might have rendered his people happy by a wise and equitable administration. SECTION 6. MARY. A. D, 1553. Mary's title to the crown was indisputable ; nothing could have con- tested it but the criminal policy of Northumberland, who was ambitious to reign under the name of his daughter-in-law. Therefore, before he published the last will of the king, he was solicitous to secure the per- sons of the two princesses ; but Mary, apprised of the plot, retired pre- cipitately into Suffolk. From thence she wrote, in character of queen, to the council and to the nobility, demanding to be acknowledged and proclaimed. The minister offered the crown to Lady Jane Grey. The young lady was, indeed, highly worthy of it, had personal merit been a sufficient title : to the natural virtues and charms of her sex, she united knowledge, and talents of the highest order. Struck with surprise and consternation at this unexpected overture, she refused a sceptre to which she had no right, insisting on the rights of the two princesses ; nor was it till after the most urgent remonstrances that she could be made to yield. Orders were given for proclaiming her throughout the kingdom, but she was nowhere proclaimed, except in London. The people gave not their assent to the measure, though sanctioned by some of the Protestant clergy and the bishop of London. Mary, in the meantime, was collecting forces ; and as she promised not to reverse the laws of Edward, the nobility and the people flew to her standard. Mary was proclaimed, and Northumberland, who had put himself at the head of six thousand men, was ordered to lay down his arms ; and when he found himself abandoned, he lost his hopes and his courage. When the Earl of Arundel put him under arrest, he meanly threw himself at his feet and begged his life. When on the scaffold, the people, who had lamented the Duke of Somerset, beheld with joy the punishment of his oppressor. Jane Grey and her husband were capitally convicted, but the queen, for the present, suspended their execution. The Duke of Norfolk, who had been a prisoner since the reign of Henry VIIL, and the bishops With what disease, and at what age did the l