who was actuated by an ambition equal to that of his father, and was superior to him in virtue and address. Edward, who felt the approach of age and infirmities, and had no issue himself, began to think of appointing a successor to his kingdom; and, at length, he fixed his choice on his kinsman, William, duke of Normandy.

This celebrated prince was natural son of Robert, duke of Normandy, by Harlotta, daughter of a tanner in Falaise. The illegitimacy of his birth had not prevented him from being acknowledged by the Normans as their duke; and the qualities which he displayed in the field and the cabinet, encouraged his friends, and struck terror into his enemies. Having established tranquility in his own dominions, he visited England; where he was received in a manner suitable to the reputation he had acquired, and to the obligations which Edward owed to his family. Soon after his return, he was informed of the king's intentions in his favour; and this first opened the mind of William to entertain such ambitious hopes. Harold, however, openly aspired to the succession; and Edward, feeble and irresolute, was afraid to declare either for or against him. In this state of uncertainty, the king was surprised by death, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and the twentytifth of his reign.

A. D.

1066

On the death of Edward, the last of the Saxon princes, Harold ascended the throne with little opposition; and the whole nation seemed to acquiesce in his elevation. The duke of Normandy, however, received the intelligence with the greatest indignation. No sooner had he proclaimed his intention of attempting the conquest of England, than he found less difficulty in completing his levies, than in rejecting those who were desirous of serving under him. The duke of Normandy speedily assembled a fleet of three thousand vessels, in which to transport an army of sixty thousand men, whom he had selected from the numbers that courted his service. Among these were found the high names of the most illustrious nobles of Normandy, France, Brittany, and Flanders. To these bold chieftains William held up the spoils of England as the prize of their valour; and pointing to the opposite shore, he told them, that there was the field on which to erect trophies to their name, and fix their residence. The Norman armament arrived, without any ma

terial loss, at Pevensey, in Sussex; and the troops were disembarked without meeting any obstacle. The duke himself, as he leaped on shore, happened to stumble and fall; but he had the presence of mind to turn the omen to his advantage, by calling aloud that he had taken possession of the country.

Harold had just gained a great and important victory over the Norwegians, who had invaded the kingdom, when he received the intelligence that the duke of Normandy had landed with a numerous army in the south of England. He resolved to give battle in person, and soon appeared in sight of the enemy, who had pitched their camp at Hastings. So confident was Harold of success, that to a message sent by the duke, he replied, “The God of battles should soon be the arbiter of all their differences."

1066

Oct. 14.

In

Both parties immediately prepared for action; but the English spent the night previous to the battle in A. D. riot and jollity; whilst the Normans were occupied in and in the duties of religion. prayer the morning, the duke assembled his principal officers, and harangued them in a set speech, in which he used every argument that could stimulate their courage and repel their fears. He then ordered the signal of battle to be given; and the whole army, moving at once, and singing the hymn or song of Roland, the famous peer of Charlemagne, advanced in order and with alacrity towards the English.

Harold had seized the advantage of a rising ground, and having secured his flanks with trenches, he resolved to stand on the defensive, and to avoid an engagement with the cavalry, in which he was inferior. The Kentish men were placed in the van, a post of honour which they always claimed as their due. The Londoners guarded the standard; and the king himself, accompanied by his two valiant brothers, Gurth and Leofwin, dismounting from his horse, placed himself at the head of his infantry, and expressed his resolution to conquer or to die. The first attack of the Normans was desperate, but was received with equal valour by the English; and the former began to retreat, when William hastened to their support with a select band. His presence restored the action; and the English in their turn were obliged to retire. They

rallied again, however, assisted by the advantage of the ground; when William commanded his troops to allure the enemy from their position, by the appearance of flight. The English followed precipitately into the plain; where the Normans faced upon them, and forced them back with considerable slaughter. The artifice was repeated a second time with the same success; yet a great body of the English still maintained themselves in firm array, and seemed resolved to dispute the victory. Harold, however, was slain by an arrow, whilst combatting at the head of his men; and his two brothers shared the same fate. The English, discouraged by the fall of their princes, fled on all sides; and the darkness of the night contributed to save those who had survived the carnage of the battle.

Thus was gained by William, duke of Normandy, the great and decisive victory of Hastings, after a battle fought from morning to sun-set, in which the valour of the vanquished, as well as of the victors, was highly conspicuous. In this engagement nearly fifteen thousand Normans fell; and William had three horses killed under him. But the victory, however dearly purchased, was decisive, as it paid the price of a kingdom. The body of Harold was brought to William, who generously restored it without ransom to his mother. The Norman army gave thanks to heaven for their success ; and their prince pressed forward to secure the prize he had won.

CHAP. III.

The Reigns of William the Conqueror, William Rufus, Henry I., and Stephen.

As soon as William passed the Thames at Wal- A. D. lingford, Stigand, the primate, made submission to 1066. him and before he came in sight of London, all the chief nobility entered his camp, and requested him to mount the throne, declaring that, as they had always been ruled by regal power, they desired to follow, in this instance, the example of their ancestors, and knew of no one more worthy than himself to hold the reins of government. Though William feigned to hesitate, and wished to obtain a more formal consent of the English nation, yet he dreaded the danger of delay, and accepted of the crown which was thus tendered him. He was consecra

ted in Westminister abbey by Alfred, archbishop of York; and he was attended, on this occasion, by the most considerable of the nobility, both English and Norman.

Thus, by a pretended destination of king Edward, and by an irregular election of the people, but still more by force of arms, William seated himself on the English throne. He introduced into England that strict execution of justice for which his government had been much celebrated in Normandy. He confirmed the liberties and immunities of London, and the other cities of England, and appeared desirous of replacing every thing on ancient establishments. His whole administration had the semblance of that of a lawful prince, not of a conqueror; and the English began to flatter themselves that they had changed only the succession of their sovereigns, and not the form of their government. But amidst this confidence and friendship which he expressed for the English, the king took care to place all real power in the hands of the Normans. He built citadels in London, Winchester, Hereford, Oxford, and the towns best situated for commanding the kingdom, all of which he garrisoned with Norman soldiers.

By this mixture of vigour and lenity, William had so soothed or humbled the minds of the English, that he thought he might safely revisit his native country, and enjoy the congratulations of his ancient subjects. Accordingly he set out for Normandy, and carried over with him the chief of the English nobles, who, whilst they served to grace his court by their magnificence, were in reality hostages for the fidelity of the nation.

During the absence of William, affairs took a very unfavourable turn in England. It is probable that the Normans, despising a people who had so easily submitted to the yoke, and envying their riches, were desirous of provoking them to rebellion. Certain, however, it is, that their arrogance multiplied discontents and complaints every where; that secret conspiracies were entered into against the government; and that every thing seemed to threaten a revolution. The disaffection of the English daily increased; and a secret conspiracy was entered into to perpetrate in one day a general massacre of the Normans, like that which had been formerly executed upon the Danes. The return of the king, however, disconcerted the plans

of the conspirators; and the confiscation of their estates enabled the king still farther to gratify the rapacity of the Normans. Though naturally violent and severe in his temper, yet William still preserved the appearance of justice in his oppression; he restored to their inheritance such as had been arbitrarily expelled by the Normans during his absence; but he imposed on the people the tax of Danegelt, which had been abolished by Edward the Confessor, and which was extremely odious to the nation.

The English now clearly foresaw that the king intended to rely entirely on the support and affection of foreigners, and that new forfeitures would be the result of any. attempt to maintain their rights. Impressed with this dismal prospect many fled into foreign countries. Several of them settled in Scotland, and founded families which were afterwards illustrious in that country. But whilst the English suffered under these oppressions, the Normans found themselves surrounded by an agreeable people, and began to wish for tranquility. However, the rage of the vanquished English served only to excite the attention of the king and his warlike chiefs to suppress every commencement of rebellion.

which

William introduced into England the feudal law, had some time been established in Normandy and France. He divided, with very few exceptions, besides the royal demesnes, all the lands of England into baronies; and he conferred them with the reservation of stated services and payments, on the most considerable of his adventurers. These barons made a grant of a great part of their lands to other foreigners, under the denomination of knights or vassals, who paid their lord the same duty and submission which the chieftains paid to their sovereign. The whole kingdom contained about 700 chief tenants, and 60,215 knights-fees; and as none of the native English were admitted into the first rank, the few who retained their landed property were glad to be received into the second, under the protection of some powerful Norman.

The doctrine which exalted the papacy above all human power, had gradually diffused itself from Rome; but, at this time, was more prevalent in the southern, than in the northern kingdoms of Europé. Pope Alexander, who had assisted William in his conquest, naturally expected that he would extend to England the reverence for this sacred