Cassell's History of England, Vol. 1 (of 8)

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Title: Cassell's History of England, Vol. 1 (of 8)

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[Illustration: _From the painting by W. H. Margetson._

HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII.]

CASSELL'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND

From the Roman Invasion to the Wars of the Roses

With Numerous Illustrations, Including Coloured and Rembrandt Plates

VOL. I

The King's Edition

Cassell and Company, Limited
London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne
MCMIX

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

THE ROMAN RULE IN BRITAIN. PAGE

Earliest Notices of the British Isles--The Celts--Their
Settlement in Britain--Their Character and Customs--Druidism--Its
Organisation and Authority--Its Tenets--Stonehenge and other
Remains--Cæsar's Preparations--The First Invasion--Peril of
the Romans and their Retirement--The Second Invasion--Cæsar's
Battles with Cassivelaunus--Claudius in Britain--The
Resistance of Caractacus--His Defeat and Capture--His Speech
before Claudius--The Conquest of Anglesea--Boadicea's
Rebellion--The Capture of Camulodunum and London--Her Defeat and
Death--Agricola in Britain--His Campaigns and Administration--His
Campaign against the Caledonians--His Recall--The Walls of
Hadrian and Severus--Rivals to the Emperor--Constantine's
Accession--Christianity in Britain--Invasions of the Picts and
Scots--Dismemberment of the Roman Empire and Departure of the
Romans--Divisions and Administration of Britain under the Romans 2

CHAPTER II.

ROMAN REMAINS IN BRITAIN.

Two Varieties of Masonry--Dover Castle--Richborough
Castle--Newport Gate, Lincoln--Hadrian's Wall--Its Direction and
Construction--Outworks--Ornamental Detail--Roman Roads and Camps 19

CHAPTER III.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE ENGLISH KINGDOMS AND THEIR CONVERSION TO
CHRISTIANITY.

The Jutes, Angles, and Saxons--Their Village Communities--Larger
Combinations, Gradations of Rank--Morality and Religion--Hengist
and Horsa found the Kingdom of Kent--The Kingdoms of Sussex,
Wessex, and Essex--The Anglian Kingdoms--Mercia--The
Welsh--Gregory and St. Augustine--Augustine and Kent--Conversion
of Northumbria--England becomes Christian--The Greatness of
Mercia--King Offa 25

CHAPTER IV.

RISE OF WESSEX AND OF THE SOCIAL SYSTEM OF ENGLAND.

Ceawlin and his Successors--Cedwalla--Ina--Subjection to
Mercia--Accession of Egbert--He subdues his Rivals--His Wars with
the Welsh and Danes--Land-owning System--Local Assemblies--The
Hundred Moot--The Shire Moot and its Business--Methods of Trial
and Punishments--The Wergild--The Witena-gemot--Its Powers--The
King--Class Distinctions--The Church 31

CHAPTER V.

THE DANISH INVASIONS AND THE REIGN OF ALFRED.

Character of the Invaders--Reign of Ethelwulf--Reigns of
Ethelbald and Ethelbert--The Conquest of East Anglia--Battles
near Reading--The Accession of Alfred--The Extinction of the
Kingdom of Mercia--The Invasion of Wessex--The Year 878--Alfred
at Athelney--Death of Hubba--Victory of Alfred and the Treaty
of Wedmore--Renewal of the War--Alfred's fleet--Expeditions of
Hastings--Remainder of the Reign--Character of Alfred--His Rules
of Life--His Legislation--Encouragement of Learning 38

CHAPTER VI.

EDWARD THE ELDER AND DUNSTAN.

Settlement of the Danes--Edward the Elder and his
Cousin--Reconquest of the Danelagh--Edward becomes King of
all England--Conspiracy of Alfred against Athelstan--Wars in
Northumbria--The Death of Edwin--The Battle of Brunanburgh--The
Power of Athelstan--Edmund's Wars with the Danes--Their
Submission to Edmund--Rebellion and Reconquest--The Conquest of
Cumberland--Death of Edmund--Final Conquest of Northumberland--The
Rise of Dunstan--His Banishment--Edgar's Rebellion--His Accession
to the Throne--Wars with the Welsh--Dunstan Archbishop of
Canterbury--His Ecclesiastical Policy--The Reign of Edward the
Martyr--Dunstan's Struggles with the Opposition--Death of the King
46

CHAPTER VII.

ETHELRED THE UNREADY.

The Retirement of Dunstan--Character of Ethelred--Sweyn in
Denmark--Character of the Invasions and the Resistance--The
Danegeld--The Arrival of Sweyn--Ethelred's Expedition--The
Massacre of St. Brice's Day--Return of Sweyn--Defeats of the
English--Edric Streona--Failure of the English Fleet--Treacheries
of Edric--Death of St. Alphege--Sweyn's Conquest of
England and his Death--Return of Ethelred and Departure of
Canute--Misgovernment of the King--Canute's Return and the Death
of Ethelred 57

CHAPTER VIII.

EDMUND IRONSIDE AND CANUTE.

A Double Election--Battles of Pen Selwood and
Sherstone--Treacheries of Edric--Division of the Kingdom--Death
of Edmund--Election of Canute--His Treatment of his Rivals--The
four Earldoms--Canute's Marriage with Emma--His Popular
Government--His Expeditions to Northern Europe--Submission of the
King of Scots--Canute at Rome--The Story of his Rebuke to his
Courtiers--His Death 63

CHAPTER IX.

EARL GODWIN AND HAROLD.

Harold and Harthacanute--The Murder of Alfred--Accession of
Harthacanute--His Reconciliation with Godwin--The Punishment
of Worcester--Edward the Confessor--His Election--Influx of
Normans--The Family of Godwin--Conduct of Sweyn--The Outbreak at
Dover--Godwin's Rebellion and Outlawry--William of Normandy's
Visit to England--Godwin's Attempt to Return--His Appearance
in the Thames--His Restoration to Power--Death of Godwin--His
Place taken by Harold--Siward's Invasion of Scotland and his
Death--Death of Leofric and Punishment of Ælfgar--Church Building
of Harold and Edward--Harold's Conquest of Wales--Turbulence of
Tostig--Death of the Atheling Edward--Candidature of Harold 66

CHAPTER X.

THE NORMAN INVASION.

The Normans--Their Settlement in France--Their Gradual
Civilization--Richard the Good--Robert the Devil--William's
earlier years--His Consolidation of Power--Harold's Adventures
in Normandy and the Story of his Oath to William--Death and
Character of Edward--Election of Harold--William's Claims--He
Obtains the Sanction of the Church--His Preparations--Proceedings
of Tostig--Harold's Forces dwindle--Invasion of Tostig and Harold
Hardrada--Battle of Stamford Bridge--Landing of William--Harold in
London--Desertion of Edwin and Morcar--Negotiations--Harold at
Senlac--Account of the Battle--Death of Harold and Discomfiture of
the English--His Burial--Legend of his Escape 75

CHAPTER XI.

ENGLISH AND NORMAN ARCHITECTURE AND CUSTOMS.

Saxon Architecture; Theories about it--Documentary
Evidence--Ancient Churches--Characters of the Saxon
Style--Illustrations from an Anglo-Saxon Calendar--Old
Manuscripts--English Scholarship--Music and the Minstrels--Musical
Instruments--Games and Sports--Costume--The Table--Household
Furniture--Material Condition of the People--Norman
Costumes--Condition of Learning and the Arts--Refinement of the
Normans--The Bayeux Tapestry 83

CHAPTER XII.

THE REIGN OF WILLIAM I.

After Hastings--Election of Edgar Atheling--Submission of London
and Accession of William--Tumult during his Coronation--Character
of his Government--Return to Normandy--Affairs during his
Absence--Suppression of the First English Rebellion--Rebellion in
the North--The Last National Effort--The Reform of the Church--The
Erection of Castles--Plan of a Norman Castle--End of Edwin and
Morcar--"The Last of the Saxons"--Affairs in Maine--Conspiracy of
the Norman Nobles--The Execution of Waltheof--Punishment of Ralph
the Wader--The Story of Walcher of Durham--Expeditions to Scotland
and Wales--Quarrels between William and his Sons--Domesday
Book--The Creation of the New Forest--Punishment of Odo of
Bayeux--The Death of William--Incidents at his Burial--Character
of William 107

CHAPTER XIII.

REIGN OF WILLIAM II.

William's Surname--How he obtained the Throne--Rising in favour
of his Brother Robert--Bishop Odo's Ill-fortune--Surrender of
Rochester Castle--Flight of Odo--Failure of the Conspiracy--Death
of Lanfranc--William's Misrule--Randolf the Firebrand--Appointment
of Anselm to Canterbury--Rufus Invades Normandy--Treaty between
the Brothers--Siege of Mount St. Michael--Malcolm Canmore's
Inroad into England--Building of Castle at Carlisle--Death of
Malcolm--Illness of William--His Treachery towards Robert--Welsh
Marauders--Earl Mowbray's Hard Fortune--The King's Exactions--He
obtains possession of Normandy--The Hunt in the New Forest--Death
of the Red King 123

CHAPTER XIV.

THE FIRST CRUSADE.

The Institution of Chivalry--Affairs in the Holy
Land--Pilgrimages--Persecution of Christians--Peter the
Hermit--Crusade Decided on--Progress of Peter's Mission--The
Council of Clermont--Attitude of Pope Urban--The Truce of
God--Expedition of Walter the Penniless--Excesses of the
Crusaders--Defeat of the Christians by the Turks--Conduct
of the Emperor Alexius--Disaster in Hungary--Geoffrey de
Bouillon--March of his Army--Robert of Normandy and his
Troops--Imprisonment of Hugh of Vermandois--Arrival of Godfrey
before Constantinople--The Byzantine Court--The Church of Santa
Sophia--Scenes of Magnificence--Reception of Godfrey by the
Emperor--Tancred's Army leaves Italy--Bohemond's Submission--Count
Raymond at Constantinople--Arrival of Robert of Normandy--Siege
of Nicæa--Treachery of the Emperor--Severe Struggle with the
Turks--Bravery of Robert--Flight of the Turks--Crusaders'
Sufferings on their March--Siege and fall of Antioch--Defeat
of the Persians--Pestilence at Antioch--Arrival of the
Crusaders before Jerusalem--Fall of the City--Vengeance of the
Crusaders--Godfrey elected King of Jerusalem--Hospitallers and
Templars--Close of the First Crusade 132

CHAPTER XV.

THE REIGN OF HENRY I.

Accession of Henry I.--Robert's Delay in Italy--The Charter
of Liberties--Henry's Popularity--Offers his Hand to
Matilda--Her Lineage--Obstacles to the Marriage--The Church
decides in Favour of it--London at this Period--Coronation
of Matilda--Roger of Salisbury--The Marriage--Punishment of
William's Favourites--Arrival of Robert in Normandy--Prepares
to Attack Henry--Anselm's Services to Henry--Peace effected
between the Brothers--Henry's Dispute with Anselm--Strange Policy
of the Pope--The Dispute Settled--Death of Anselm--The Earl of
Shrewsbury Outlawed--Visit of Robert to England--Campaigns in
Normandy--Robert and Edgar Atheling taken Prisoners--Fate of
Edgar--Captivity and Death of Robert--Normandy in Possession of
Henry--The English King and his Nephew--Return of the King to
England--Betrothal of Henry's Daughter Matilda to the Emperor
of Germany--War with the Welsh--Death of the Queen--Renewed
War in Normandy--Henry before the Council of Rheims--Battle of
Brenneville--Treaty of Peace--Shipwreck and Death of the King's
Son--Henry's Grief--Character of Prince William--More Trouble
in Normandy--The Empress Matilda declared Successor to the
Throne--Her Marriage with the Count of Anjou--Death of William of
Normandy--Last Years of the King's Life--Death of Henry 152

CHAPTER XVI.

REIGN OF KING STEPHEN.

Stephen of Blois--Arrival in England--His Coronation--Pope
Innocent's Letter--Claims of Matilda--The Earl of Gloucester's
Policy--Revolt of the Barons--The King of Scotland Invades
England--The Battle of Northallerton--Outrage on the Bishops of
Salisbury, Lincoln, and Ely--The Synod of Winchester--Landing
of the Empress Matilda--Outbreak of Civil War--Battle at
Lincoln--Defeat and Capture of Stephen--Matilda's Arrogant
Behaviour--Rising of the Londoners and Flight of Matilda--London
Re-occupied by the King's Adherents--Matilda Besieged in
Winchester--Exchange of the Earl of Gloucester for the
King--Stephen Resumes the Crown--Reign of Terror--Siege of
Oxford--Flight of Matilda--Desultory Warfare--Death of the
Earl of Gloucester--Stephen's Quarrel with the Church--The
Interdict Removed--Further Dangers from Normandy--Divorce of
Eleanor--Her Marriage with Prince Henry--Landing of Henry
in England--Unpopularity of the War--Violence and Death of
Eustace--Treaty Arranged between Henry and the King--Death of
Stephen 167

CHAPTER XVII.

THE REIGN OF HENRY II.

Accession of Henry Plantagenet--Royal Entry into
Winchester--Expulsion of the Flemings--Henry's Dealings with
the Barons--Siege of Bridgenorth Castle--The King's Quarrel
with Geoffrey--Henry's Magnificence--War with, and Submission
of, the Welsh--The King in Brittany--Alarm of the King of
France at Henry's Schemes of Aggrandisement--Henry's Designs
on Toulouse--Origin of _Scutage_--Peace with Louis--The People
of Languedoc--Louis' Third Marriage--Fresh Rupture between the
Two Kings--Marriage of Henry's Son and Louis' Daughter--The Two
Popes--Renewed Reconciliation 180

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE REIGN OF HENRY II.(_continued_).--CAREER OF THOMAS BECKET.

Early Life of Becket--Rapid Advance in the King's
Service--Magnificence of his Embassy to Paris--The King, the
Chancellor, and the Beggar--Depravity of the Clergy--Becket's
Reforming Zeal--Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury--Extraordinary
Change in his Habits--At Frequent Issue with the King--The
Council of Clarendon--Becket Defies the King--Popularity
with the People--His Flight from Northampton--Arrival at St.
Omer--Obtains the Support of Louis and the Pope--Henry's Edict
of Banishment--Defeat of the English by the Welsh--Insurrection
in Brittany--Becket Excommunicates his Opponents--Henry's
Anger--The Pope's Action against Becket--Interview between
Becket and the King--The Two Reconciled--Return of Becket
to England--His Christmas Sermon--The King's Fury--The Vow
of the Conspirators--Scene in Becket's House--Murder of the
Archbishop--Henry's Grief--Review of Becket's Career 187

CHAPTER XIX.

THE REIGN OF HENRY II. (_concluded_).

Events in Ireland--The Irish People--Henry's Designs in
Ireland--Nicholas Breakspeare (Pope Adrian IV.)--The King of
Leinster's Outrage--Dermot obtains Henry's Patronage--Siege of
Wexford--Strongbow in Ireland--Siege of Waterford--Henry and the
Norman Successes in Ireland--Arrival of Henry near Waterford--His
Court in Dublin--The King Returns to England--His Eldest Son
Rebels--The Younger Henry at the French Court--The English King's
Measures of Defence--Defeat of the Insurgent Princes--Success of
the King's Cause in England--Henry's Penance--Capture of King
William of Scotland--Revival of Henry's Popularity--The King
Forgives his Rebellious Sons--Period of Tranquillity--Fresh
Family Feuds--The King at Limoges--Death of Princes Henry and
Geoffrey--Affairs in Palestine--The Pope's Call to Arms for the
Cross--The Saladin Tithe--Richard's Quarrel with his Father--Henry
Sues for Peace--The Conference at Colombières--Death of the
King--Richard before his Father's Corpse--Character of Henry
II.--The Story of Fair Rosamond 199

CHAPTER XX.

NORMAN ARCHITECTURE.

Introduction of Norman Architecture--Remains of
Saxon Work--Canterbury Cathedral--St. Albans and
other Edifices--Periods of Norman Architecture--Its
Characteristics--Towers--Windows--Doorways--Porches--Arches--Piers
and Pillars--Capitals--Mouldings and Ornaments 212

CHAPTER XXI.

REIGN OF RICHARD I.: THE THIRD CRUSADE.

Richard's Show of Penitence--His Coronation--Massacre of the
Jews--Results of the Second Crusade--Richard raises Money
for the Third Crusade--The Regency--Departure for the Holy
Land--The Sicilian Succession--The Quarrel concerning Joan's
Dower--Richard's Prodigality--His Interview with the Monk,
Joachim--Treachery of Philip, and Richard's Repudiation of
Alice--Richard's Betrothal to Berengaria--Adventures on the
Coast of Cyprus, and the Conquest of the Island--The Siege of
Acre and its Fall--Dissension between Richard and Philip, and
Return of the Latter to France--Massacre of Prisoners on Both
Sides--The Battle of Azotus--Occupation of Jaffa--The Advance
towards Jerusalem--Quarrels among the Crusaders, and Negotiations
with Saladin--Chivalry of Saladin--Death of Conrad, and Charges
brought against Richard--Last Advance upon Jerusalem--Battle of
Jaffa--Truce with Saladin 217

CHAPTER XXII.

REIGN OF RICHARD I. (_concluded_).

Shipwreck of Richard--His Arrival in Austria--His Capture
by the Archduke Leopold--He is surrendered to the Emperor
of Germany--Events in England--Renewed Persecution of the
Jews--The Massacre at York--Quarrel between Longchamp and
Pudsey--Stories about Longchamp--His Rupture with John,
and Temporary Compromise--Imprisonment of Geoffrey of
York--Longchamp takes Refuge in the Tower--His Deposition and
Flight to France--Intrigues between John and Philip--Rumours of
Richard's Imprisonment--The Story of Blondel--Richard before
the Diet--Loyalty of Richard's Subjects, and Collection of
the Ransom--Richard's Reception in England--His Expedition
to France--Administration of Hubert Walter--William
Fitz-Osbert--Recommencement of Hostilities with France--The Bishop
of Beauvais--Defeat of Philip--Death of Richard before Chaluz--His
Character 235

CHAPTER XXIII.

JOHN AND THE GREAT CHARTER.

Accession of John--His Position--Arthur of Brittany--Peace
between John and Philip of France--John's Marriage with
Isabella of La Marche--Rupture with France--The Struggle
Begins--Capture of Arthur--The Stories of his Death--The Loss
of Normandy--Peace with Philip--Quarrel with the Pope--The
Kingdom Laid under an Interdict, and Excommunication of
John--John's Desperate Measures--Expedition to Ireland--John
is deposed--Arrival of Pandulph in England--Surrender of the
Kingdom to the Pope--Successes of John--Langton Arrives in
England--He Becomes Leader of the Baronial Party--The Battle of
Bouvines--Insurrection in England--The Barons Confront John--His
Intrigues--Meeting at Brackley--Occupation of London--The
Meeting at Runnymede--Greatness of the Occasion--Provisions of
the Charter--Duplicity of John--Siege of Rochester--John in the
North--His Cause Supported by the Church--The Crown offered
to Louis of France--He Enters London--Sieges of Dover and
Windsor--Reported Conspiracy--John's Disaster at the Wash--His
Death and Character 251

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE REIGN OF HENRY III.

Accession of the King--Renewal of the Great Charter--Messages
of Conciliation--Battle of Lincoln--Destruction of the French
Fleet--Departure of Louis--Reduction of Albemarle--Resumption
of the Royal Castles--War with France--Characters of Richard
of Cornwall and Henry III.--Fall of Hubert de Burgh--Peter des
Roches--Henry is his own Minister--The House of Provence--The
King's Marriage Articles--The Marriage and Entry into
London--Influx of Foreigners--Papal Aggressions--Persecution of
the Jews--Oppression of the Londoners--A Religious Ceremony 277

CHAPTER XXV.

THE REIGN OF HENRY III. (_concluded_).

The King's Misfortunes Abroad and Exactions at Home--Ambition
and Rapacity of the Church of Rome--The Council of Lyons--The
Kingdom of Sicily--Henry Accepts the Crown for his Son--Consequent
Extortions--Richard becomes King of the Romans--Disputes between
the King and the Barons--Simon de Montfort--He becomes Leader
of the National Party--The Mad Parliament and the Provisions of
Oxford--Banishment of Aliens--Government of the Barons--Peace
with France--Henry is Absolved from the Provisions of Oxford--The
Barons Oppose Him--Outbreak of Hostilities--The Award of
Amiens--The Battle of Lewes--The Mise of Lewes--Supremacy of
Leicester--The Exiles Assemble at Damme--The Parliament of
1265--Escape of Prince Edward--Battle of Evesham and Death
of De Montfort--Continuance of the Rebellion--The Dictum de
Kenilworth--Parliament of Marlborough--Prince Edward goes on
Crusade--Deaths of Henry D'Almaine, Richard of Cornwall, and the
King--Character of Henry 290

CHAPTER XXVI.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

Transition from Norman to Gothic Architecture--The Period of
Change--The Early English Style--Examples and Characteristics
of the Style--Towers--Windows--Doorways--Porches--Buttresses
--Pillars--Arches--Mouldings and Ornaments--Fronts 314

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE REIGN OF EDWARD I.

Accession of Edward--His Adventures while on Crusade--Death of
St. Louis--Arrival of Edward at Acre--Fall of Nazareth--Events
at Acre--Departure from Palestine--Edward in Italy--The
"Little Battle of Châlons"--Dealings with the Flemings--Edward
lands at Dover--Persecution of the Jews--Edward's Designs on
Wales--Character of the Welsh--Rupture with Llewelyn--Submission
of the Welsh--Conduct of David--Second Welsh Rising--Death
of Llewelyn--Execution of David--Annexation of Wales--Edward
on the Continent--Sketch of Scottish History--Attack of
the Norwegians--Deaths in the Royal Family--Death of
Alexander--Candidature of Robert Bruce--Death of the Maid of
Norway--Candidates for the Throne--Meeting at Norham--Edward's
Supremacy Acknowledged--He Decides in Favour of Balliol 319

CHAPTER XXVIII.

REIGN OF EDWARD I. (_concluded_).

Banishment of the Jews--Edward's Restorative Measures--Edward's
Continental Policy--Quarrel with France--Undeclared War--Edward
Outwitted by Philip--Re-conquest of Wales--The War with
France--Position of Balliol--He is placed under Restraint--Edward
Marches Northwards--Fall of Berwick--Battle of Dunbar--Submission
of Balliol and Scotland--Settlement of Scotland--Sir William
Wallace--He heads the National Rising--Robert Bruce joins
him--Submission of the Insurgents--Battle of Stirling
Bridge--Invasion of England--Edward Defeats Wallace at
Falkirk--Regency in Scotland--Oppression of the Clergy--The
Barons refuse to help Edward--The Expedition to Flanders--A
Constitutional Struggle--Peace with France--The Pope claims
Scotland--Defeat of the English--Edward's Vengeance--Capture
and Death of Wallace--Bruce takes his place--Death of
Comyn--Defeats of the Scots--Death of Edward--His Character and
Legislation--Sketch of the growth of the English Parliament 335

CHAPTER XXIX.

REIGN OF EDWARD II.

Character of the new King--Piers Gaveston--The King's
Marriage--Gaveston is Dismissed to Ireland--His
Return--Appointment of the Lords Ordainers--Their
Reforms--Gaveston Banished--His Reappearance--Rebellion of
the Nobles and Death of Gaveston--Successes of Bruce in
Scotland--The Battle of Bannockburn--The Establishment of
Scottish Independence--Edward Bruce in Ireland--Power of
Lancaster--The Despensers--They are Banished--Sudden Activity of
the King--Battle of Boroughbridge--The King's Vengeance--Peace
with Scotland--Conspiracies against Edward--Machinations
of the Queen--She Lands in England--Edward is Deserted and
taken Prisoner--Dethronement of Edward--Indignation against
Isabella--Murder of Edward--The Lessons of the Reign--Abolition of
the Templars 363

CHAPTER XXX.

THE REIGN OF EDWARD III.

The Regency--War with Scotland--Edward is Baffled--Peace with
Scotland, and Death of Bruce--Kent's Conspiracy--Overthrow
of Mortimer--Edward assumes Authority--Relations with
Scotland--Balliol Invades Scotland--Battle of Dupplin
Moor--Edward supports Balliol--Battle of Halidon Hill--Scottish
Heroines--Preparations for War with France--The Claims
of Edward--Real Causes of the Quarrel--Alliances and
Counter-Alliances--Edward Lands in Flanders--Is Deserted by
his Allies and Returns to England--Battle of Sluys--Dispute
with Stratford--The Breton Succession Question--Renewal of the
War--Derby in Guienne--Edward Lands in Normandy--Battle of Creçy
387

CHAPTER XXXI.

EDWARD III. (_concluded_).

Siege of Calais--Battle of Neville's Cross--Capture of
the Scottish King--Institution of the Garter--The Black
Death--Disturbances in France excited by the King of
Navarre--Battle of Poitiers--The King of France taken Prisoner
and brought to England--Disorders in France--Affairs in
Scotland--Fresh Invasion of France--The Peace of Bretigny--Return
of King John to France--Disorders of that Kingdom--The Free
Companies--Expedition of the Black Prince into Castile--Fresh
Campaign in France--Decline of the English Power there--Death of
the Black Prince--Death of Edward III.--Character of his Reign and
State of the Kingdom 420

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE REIGN OF RICHARD II.

Accession of the King--Attitude of John of Gaunt--Patriotic
Government--Insurrection of the Peasantry--John Ball--The
Poll-tax--Wat Tyler--The Attack on London--The Meeting
at Mile End--Death of Wat Tyler, and Dispersion of the
Insurgents--Marriage of the King--Expedition of the Bishop of
Norwich--Death of Wycliffe--Unpopularity of Lancaster--He Retires
to Spain--Gloucester Attacks the Royal Favourites--Committee of
Reform--The Lords Appellant--The Wonderful Parliament--Richard
sets Himself Free--His Good Government--Expedition to
Ireland--Marriage with Isabella of France--The King's
Vengeance--Banishment of Hereford and Norfolk--Arbitrary
Rule of the King--His Second Visit to Ireland--Return of
Hereford--Deposition and Murder of Richard 449

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

Power of the Church--Ecclesiastical Legislation--Rapacity
of the Papacy--Resistance of the Clergy--The Bull "Clericis
Laicos"--Contests between the Civil and Ecclesiastical
Power--The Scottish Church--Literature, Science and Art--State
of Learning--The Nominalists and Realists--Medicine--The
Universities--Men of Learning and Science--Roger Bacon
and his Contemporaries--Historians--Growth of the English
Language--Poetry--Architecture--The Early Decorated Style
and its Characteristics--Domestic Buildings--Sculpture and
Painting--Music--Commerce, Coinage, and Shipping--Manners,
Customs, Dress, and Diversions 486

CHAPTER XXXIV.

REIGN OF HENRY IV.

His Coronation--The Insecurity of his Position--He courts the
Clergy and the People--Sends an Embassy to France--Conspiracy
to Assassinate him--Death of King Richard--Rumours of his
Escape to Scotland--Expedition into Scotland--Revolt of
Owen Glendower--Battle of Homildon Hill--The Conspiracy
of the Percies--The Battle of Shrewsbury, where they are
Defeated--Northumberland Pardoned--Accumulating Dangers--Second
Rebellion of the Percies with the Archbishop of York--The
North Reduced--The War in Wales--Earl of Northumberland flies
thither--The Plague--Battle of Bramham Moor--Reduction of the
Welsh--Expedition into France--Death of Henry 515

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE REIGN OF HENRY V.

Character of the King--Oldcastle's Rebellion--Attempts
to Reform the Church--Henry's Reasons for the French
War--Distracted Condition of France--Henry's Claims on the French
Throne--Conspiracy of Cambridge--Fall of Harfleur--The March to
Calais--The Battle-field of Agincourt--Events of the Battle--Visit
of Sigismund to England--French Attack on Harfleur--Anarchy in
France--Alliance between the Queen and the Burgundians--Henry's
Second Invasion--Final Rebellion and Death of Oldcastle--Reduction
of Lower Normandy--Siege and Capture of Rouen--Negotiations for
Peace--Henry Advances on Paris--Murder of Burgundy--His Son Joins
Henry--Treaty of Troyes--Defeat of the English at Beaugé--Henry in
Paris--His Death 545

CHAPTER XXXVI.

HENRY VI.

Arrangements during the Minority--Condition of France--Death of
Charles VI.--Bedford's Marriage--Battle of Crévant--Release of
the Scottish King--Battle of Verneuil--Gloucester's Marriage
and its Consequences--Rivalry of Gloucester and Beaufort--Siege
of Orleans--Battle of the Herrings--Joan of Arc--The March to
Orleans--Relief of the Town--March to Rheims--Coronation of
Charles--The Repulse from Paris--Capture of the Maid--Her Trial
and Death--Coronation of Henry--Bedford Marries again--Congress
of Arras--Death of Bedford--The Tudors--Contests between Beaufort
and Gloucester--Henry's Marriage--Deaths of Gloucester and
Beaufort--Disasters in France--Fall and Death of Suffolk 576

[Illustration: IONA CATHEDRAL.]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Landing of the Romans on the Coast of Kent 1

Stonehenge 4

Stonehenge (restored) 4

Druids inciting the Britons to oppose the Landing of the Romans 5

Julius Cæsar 8

Caractacus before Claudius 9

Britons with Coracle 12

Roman Soldiers passing over a Bridge of Boats 13

Roman Soldiers leaving Britain 17

Coins of the Roman Republic and the Empire 20

Newport Gate, Lincoln 21

Transverse Section of the Roman Wall 22

Longitudinal View of the Roman Wall 22

Cornice from Vendalana (Chesterholm) 22

Capital from Cilurnum (Walwick Chesters) 23

Doorway from Bird-Oswald 23

Roman Masonry at Colchester 23

Basement of Station on the Roman Wall 23

Roman Urns 24

Glastonbury Abbey 25

Treaty of Hengist and Horsa with Vortigern 28

Edwin of Northumbria and the Christian Missionaries 32

Meeting of the Shire-Moot 33

Map of England showing the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and
Danish Districts 37

Danish Ships 40

Alfred in the Neat-Herd's Hut 41

The "Lady of the Mercians" Fighting the Welsh 45

Ethelwulf's Ring 48

Anlaff entering the Humber 49

Dunstan rebuking Edwy in the Presence of Elgiva 52

Edgar the Peaceable being rowed Down the Dee by eight
Tributary Princes 53

Assassination of Edward the Martyr 56

Crucifixion of St. Peter and Martyrdom of other Saints 57

Martyrdom of Alphege 61

Meeting of Edmund Ironside and Canute on the Island of Olney 64

The Riot at Dover 69

The Death of Siward 72

Taking Sanctuary 73

Harold taken Prisoner by the Count of Ponthieu 76

Pevensey Castle 77

William I., surnamed the Conqueror 80

Death of Harold at the Battle of Hastings 81

Gateway of Battle Abbey 84

Building of the Tower of Babel 85

Tower of Sompting Church 86

Window (Saxon) of Deerhurst Church, Gloucester 87

Window (Saxon) of Jarrow Church, Durham 87

Doorway (Saxon) of Barnack Church, Northamptonshire 87

Anglo-Saxon Calendar 88

Anglo-Saxon Calendar 89

Anglo-Saxon Calendar 90

Saxon Calendar 91

Fragment of Copy of the Evangelists, in Latin 91

First Two Lines of Horace's Ode to Mæcenas 92

English Writing of the Sixth Century 92

English Dinner Party 92

Gleemen Juggling 93

Balancing 93

Musical Instruments 93

Dance with Lyre and Double Flute 93

Grand Organ, with Bellows and Double Keyboard 94

Harp of the Ninth Century 94

English Game of Bowls 95

Ladies Hunting 95

Norman Costumes of the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries 96

Hawking Party in the Eleventh Century 97

Hawking 98

Harold 98

Umbrella for Hawks 98

The Lure 99

Sword Play 99

Ancient Quintain 99

Bob Apple 100

Saxon Costumes 100

English Crowns 100

English Shoes 101

English Dinner Party 101

Cloak-pin, Buckle, and Pouch of the Twelfth Century 101

Early English Candlestick 102

English Bed 102

Chairs 102

Saxon Comb and Comb-Case 102

Norman Vessel of the Twelfth Century 103

Norman Soldiers 103

Norman Bowmen of the Eleventh Century 103

Woman Spinning 104

Sacramental Wafer Box of the Twelfth Century 104

Incidents copied from the Bayeux Tapestry 105

Incidents copied from the Bayeux Tapestry 106

Great Seal of William I. 109

Plan of a Norman Castle 112

Norman and Saxon Arms 114

Waltheof's Confession 116

Robert asking His Father's Pardon 120

Fitz-Arthur forbidding the Burial of William 121

Departure of Bishop Odo from Rochester 124

William II., surnamed Rufus 125

Great Seal of William II. 128

Surrender of Bamborough Castle 129

St. Helena discovering the True Cross 132

Initiation into the Order of Knighthood 133

Pope Urban II. preaching the First Crusade in the Market-Place
of Clermont 136

The Mosque of Santa Sophia, Constantinople 137

Bird's-Eye View of Christian Constantinople 140

Circus and Hippodrome of Christian Constantinople 141

Statue of Godfrey de Bouillon, Brussels 144

Robert of Normandy rallying the Crusaders 145

Throne of the Emperor of Constantinople 147

Costume of Empress of Constantinople 147

Procession of the Crusaders round the Walls of Jerusalem 148

Pilgrim, Palmer, Hospitaller, Templar Knight, and Conventual
Templar 149

Great Seal of Henry I. 153

Robert of Normandy paying Court to the Lady Sibylla 156

Marriage of Henry I. and Matilda 157

Duke Robert's Son before King Henry 161

Shipwreck of Prince William 164

Henry I. 165

Stephen 168

Great Seal of Stephen 169

Silver Penny of Stephen 172

Interview between the Empress Matilda and Queen Maud 173

Flight of Matilda from Oxford Castle 176

Great Seal of Henry II. 177

English Costumes in the Time of Henry II. 181

Silver Penny of Henry II. 183

Heroism of St. Clair at the Siege of Bridgenorth Castle 184

Becket before his Enemies in the Council Hall at Northampton 185

Henry II. 189

Repulse of the English at Corwen 192

Interview between Becket and King Henry 193

The Murder of Becket in Canterbury Cathedral 197

The Siege of Waterford 200

Henry on His Way to Becket's Tomb 205

Henry receiving the News of John's Treachery 209

Crown of the Twelfth Century 211

St. Clement's, Sandwich, showing the Norman Tower 212

The Chapel in the White Tower, Tower of London 213

Portion of Doorway, Durham Cathedral 215

Castle Rising, Norfolk 216

Richard I. 217

Coronation of Richard in Westminster Abbey: the Procession
along the Aisle 220

View in Genoa: the Dogana 221

Isaac of Cyprus begging for the Release of His Daughter 225

Richard at the Battle of Azotus 228

Fountain near Jaffa 229

Jaffa, from the Sands 232

Richard landing at Jaffa 233

Richard assailed by the Austrian Soldiers 237

Arrest of Archbishop Geoffrey in a Monastery at Dover 240

South-West View of Old St. Paul's, showing the Chapter-House,
&c. 241

Great Seal of Richard I. 244

Reception of Richard on His Return from the Continent 245

Map of the English Possessions in France 248

Bertrand in Presence of Richard 249

John 253

Great Seal of John 256

Murder of Prince Arthur 257

Interior of Rouen Cathedral 261

John doing Homage to the Pope's Legate 264

St. Peter's Church, Northampton 265

John refusing to sign the Articles of the Barons 269

Runnymede, from Cooper's Hill 272

Specimen of the Writing of the Great Charter 273

The Disaster to John's Army at the Wash 276

Winchester Cathedral 277

Defeat of the French Fleet in the English Channel 281

Great Seal of Henry III. 284

Banquet at the Marriage of Henry and Eleanor of Provence 285

Henry III. 288

Silver Penny of Henry III. 292

Gold Penny of Henry III. 292

View in Sicily: the Amphitheatre, Syracuse 293

Henry's Quarrel with De Montfort 296

The Barons submitting their Demands to Henry 297

Oxford Castle 301

Flight of Queen Eleanor: the Scene at London Bridge 304

Lewes (Sussex) 305

Battle of Evesham: King Henry in Danger 309

Prince Edward introducing Adam Gourdon to the Queen 312

Interior of the Temple Church, London 313

The Choir of Lincoln Cathedral 317

Capital from Salisbury Cathedral 318

Capital from Lincoln Cathedral 318

Tooth Ornament from Lincoln Cathedral 318

View in Tunis 321

Great Seal of Edward I. 324

Edward I. 325

Llewelyn's Last Fight 328

Edward presenting his Infant Son to the Welsh 329

Norham Castle 333

Earl Warrenne showing his Title to his Estates 336

The Sailors' Quarrel near Bayonne 337

The Coronation Chair and "Stone of Destiny," Westminster Abbey 341

The Abbot of Arbroath before King Edward 344

The Abbey Craig and Wallace Monument, near Stirling, with the
Ochil Hills 345

Revolt of the Barons against the King 349

Penny of Edward I. Groat of Edward I. Halfpenny of Edward I. 352

Dunfermline Abbey and Church 353

Wallace on his Way to Westminster Hall 356

Capture of Bruce's Wife and Daughter at Tain 357

South Transept, Westminster Abbey 361

Great Seal of Edward II. 364

Edward II. 365

Piers Gaveston and the Barons 368

Piers Gaveston before the Earl of Warwick 369

The Bore-Stone, Bannockburn, in which Bruce planted his
Standard 372

Bannockburn: Bruce reviewing his Troops before the Battle 373

The Auld Brig, Stirling 376

Halfpenny of Edward II. Penny of Edward II. 377

Escape of Roger Mortimer from the Tower 381

Berkeley Castle 385

Great Seal of Edward III. 388

Robert Bruce's last Orders to Douglas 392

Melrose Abbey 393

Edward III. 396

Interrupting Balliol's Christmas Dinner 397

Black Agnes at the Siege of Dunbar Castle 401

Porch of the Golden Virgin: Amiens Cathedral 404

The Countess De Montfort inciting the People of Rennes to
resist the French King 409

The Church of St. Etienne: Caen 413

Edward the Black Prince 416

The Black Prince at the Battle of Creçy 417

View in Calais: Rue de la Citadelle showing the Belfry 421

Queen Philippa interceding for the Burgesses of Calais 425

Edward receiving King John of France 429

Coins of the Reign of Edward III. 432

The Church of Notre Dame, Calais 433

The Cathedral, Coutances 436

Marcel and the Dauphin of France 437

The Black Prince and the French King's Herald 441

John Wycliffe appearing in St. Paul's Cathedral to answer the
Charge of Heresy 445

Alice Perrers at the Death-bed of Edward III. 448

John Wycliffe 453

Great Seal of Richard II. 456

One of Wycliffe's "Poor Priests" preaching to the People 457

Coins of the Reign of Richard II. 461

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster 465

Betrothal of the Princess Isabella to Richard 469

Arrest of the Duke of Gloucester 473

The Tower of London: the White Tower 480

Conway Castle 481

Arrest of King Richard 485

Costume of Bishop of the Fourteenth Century 488

Facsimile of part of the First Chapter of St. John's Gospel in
Wycliffe's Bible 489

The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century Colleges of Oxford
University 493

Geoffrey Chaucer 497

Queen Eleanor's Cross, Northampton 499

Window from Meopham 500

Window from St. Mary's, Beverley 500

Decorated Capital, from Selby 501

Ball Flower, with Roll Moulding and Hollow 502

Four-leaved Flower, with Filleted, Round, and Hollow moulding 502

Minstrels at a Banquet in the Fourteenth Century 504

Fair at Westminster in the Fourteenth Century 505

English Ships of the Fourteenth Century 509

Costumes of the Fourteenth Century 512

English Merrymaking in the Fourteenth Century: riding at the
Quintain 513

Henry IV. 517

Great Seal of Henry IV. 520

Arrest of the Conspirators at Cirencester 521

Charge of the Scots at Homildon Hill 525

Warkworth Castle 529

Shilling of Henry IV. 532

The French Fleet arriving at Milford Haven 533

The Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy, at the Church of the
Augustines 537

Prince Henry before Judge Gascoigne 541

King at Table (Fourteenth Century) 544

Great Seal of Henry V. 545

Henry V. 549

The English before Harfleur 553

The Thanksgiving Service on the Field of Agincourt 557

Reception of the Emperor Sigismund 561

Rouen from St. Catherine's Hill 564

Cardinal Orsini's Visit to Henry 565

Henry's Wooing of the Princess Catherine 569

Monmouth Castle (Birthplace of Henry V.) 573

Henry VI. 577

Rothesay Castle 581

Great Seal of Henry VI. 584

Escape of Jacqueline 585

Joan of Arc before Charles 589

The Cathedral, Rheims 593

Trial of Joan of Arc 596

Place de la Pucelle, Rouen 597

Denbigh 601

Angel of Henry VI. 604

Arrest of the Duke of Suffolk 605

LIST OF PLATES

ILLUMINATED TITLE PAGE.

KING JOHN GRANTING MAGNA CHARTA. (_By Ernest Normand_) _Frontispiece_

PHŒNICIANS BARTERING WITH THE ANCIENT BRITONS.
(_By Lord Leighton_) _To face p._ 2

"THE ROMANS CAUSE A WALL TO BE BUILT FOR THE PROTECTION
OF THE SOUTH." (_By W. Bell Scott, R.H.A._) " 15

THE DANES SAILING UP THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.
(_By Herbert A. Bone_) " 41

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR GRANTING A CHARTER TO THE CITIZENS
OF LONDON. (_By J. Seymour Lucas, R.A._) " 118

PETER THE HERMIT PREACHING THE FIRST CRUSADE.
(_By James Archer, R.S.A._) " 135

CRUSADERS ON THE MARCH.
(_By Sir John Gilbert, R.A., P.R.W.S._) " 150

THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD.
(_By Sir John Gilbert, R.A., P.R.W.S._) " 177

MAP OF THE PLANTAGENET DOMINIONS IN FRANCE, A.D. 1185 " 206

ST. BERNARD PREACHING THE SECOND CRUSADE.
(_By James Archer, R.S.A._) " 219

PRINCE ARTHUR AND HUBERT. (_By W.F. Yeames, R.A._) " 257

THE TRIAL OF SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.
(_By Daniel Maclise, R.A._) " 354

QUEEN PHILIPPA INTERCEDING FOR THE BURGHERS OF CALAIS.
(_By J.D. Penrose_) " 426

INTERVIEW OF RICHARD II. WITH HIS UNCLE, THE DUKE OF
GLOUCESTER, AT THE CASTLE OF PLESHY, IN ESSEX.
(_From the Froissart MS. in the British Museum_) " 449

TOURNAMENT AT ST. INGLEVERE, NEAR CALAIS.
(_From the Froissart MS. in the British Museum_) " 465

THE CHARITY OF WHITTINGTON.
(_By Henrietta Rue--Mrs. Normand_) " 478

THE CORONATION OF HENRY IV. IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
(_From the Froissart MS. in the British Museum_) " 515

THE MORNING OF AGINCOURT.
(_By Sir John Gilbert, R.A., P.R.W.S._) " 554

[Illustration: _From the Design for the Cartoon in the Royal Exchange._

KING JOHN GRANTING MAGNA CHARTA.

BY ERNEST NORMAND.]

CASSELL'S ILLUSTRATED

HISTORY OF ENGLAND

[Illustration: LANDING OF THE ROMANS ON THE COAST OF KENT. (_See p._ 6.)]

CHAPTER I.

THE ROMAN RULE IN BRITAIN.

Separated from the continent of Europe by the sea, the British isles
were not known to the nations of antiquity until a somewhat late date.
Herodotus was ignorant of their existence; but Strabo, a contemporary of
Cæsar, tells us that the Carthaginians had for a long period carried on
a considerable commerce with the Cassiterides, or tin-islands, which are
usually identified with the Scilly islands, and doubtless included also
part of the Cornish coast. Again, Pytheas, a merchant of Marseilles, who
lived about 332 B.C., visited this country in the course of his life, and
fragments of his diary are still extant. He seems to have coasted round a
considerable portion of what is now England, and his observations on the
inhabitants are singularly acute. About two centuries later, Posidonius,
another Greek traveller, visited Belerion, as he called it--that is,
Cornwall; but, until the invasion of Cæsar, the extent of these islands,
their main geographical features, and the tribes that inhabited them,
were practically a matter of more or less complete ignorance to the
civilised world that dwelt round the shores of the Mediterranean.

From the narrative of Cæsar, we gather that the bulk of the population of
England, Scotland, and Wales at the time of his invasion was of Celtic
origin; that is, it belonged to one of the branches of the great family
of nations which is commonly known as the Indo-European, or Aryan, and
which includes the Celts, the Greeks and Italians, the Germans, the
Lithuanians and Slavs in Europe; and in Asia the Armenians, Persians,
and the chief peoples of Hindustan. Of the Aryan nations, the Celts were
probably the first to arrive in Europe from the East, though the date
of their migration is purely conjectural. They pushed across the great
central plateau, until the vanguard reached the ocean; and at first
probably occupied a very large portion of Europe, but, being driven
out by the stronger Germans, were gradually confined to the Iberian
peninsula, France, Switzerland, and the British isles.

As it is impossible to fix the date of the Celtic migration into Europe,
so it is equally impossible to conjecture the when and why of the Celtic
invasion of Britain. It is pretty certain that they found other races
here on their arrival; and that they did not succeed by any means in
thoroughly exterminating them. It has been surmised, indeed, that the
Silures, who played a prominent part in the resistance to the Romans, and
who inhabited the south of Wales and Monmouthshire, belonged to some more
primitive race than the Celts. After the Celts, in the same way came the
Belgæ, who were of German origin, and who settled on the southern coast.
But the mass of the population was, as we have said, purely Celtic, and
was composed of two large divisions--the Gaels, who dwelt on the northern
and western coasts of what are now called England and Scotland, and over
the great part of Ireland; and the Britons, who occupied the country
south of the Friths of Forth and Clyde, with the exception of what is now
Hampshire and Sussex, where dwelt the Belgæ.

It was with the Britons, therefore, that the Romans were chiefly
concerned, and we would fain have some information of their manners and
customs other than that derived from the enemy, impartial though Cæsar
and Tacitus were. But there was no British historian to chronicle the
mighty deeds of the Celtic warriors, or to describe the home-life of
the people. The picture we are able to construct, therefore, is derived
almost entirely from the Romans; nevertheless, it is a fairly complete
one. They describe a tall and finely built race, recklessly brave,
strikingly patriotic, and faithful to the family tie; courteous also in
manner, and eloquent of speech, and very fond of novelty, especially
when it took the form of the arrival of a stranger in the village. At the
same time the Britons were an unpractical race, never constant to any one
object, quarrelsome amongst themselves, and utterly unable to combine
against a common enemy.

[Illustration: PHŒNICIANS BARTERING WITH THE ANCIENT BRITONS.

FROM THE WALL PAINTING BY LORD LEIGHTON, IN THE ROYAL EXCHANGE.]

Such was the moral character of the Britons. They dwelt in villages, in
which the cottages were wattled and thatched with straw, and in time of
danger repaired to a fortified and entrenched stronghold, or _dun_. The
name of London records the site of one of these ancient places of refuge.
They had large quantities of cattle, and grew corn, which they stored,
in some districts at any rate, underground. Their breed of hunting dogs
was also celebrated. Pytheas informs us that they made a drink of mixed
wheat and honey, which is still drunk in part of Wales under the name of
mead; while other writers, probably deriving their information from him,
tell us that they drank another liquor made of barley, which is also not
unknown in these days. They fought under their kings and chiefs, and were
well armed with sword, spear, axe, and shield. The chiefs also fought
from chariots, which they managed with great skill, and the onslaught of
the British host was accompanied by loud cries and the blowing of horns,
with which each man was provided.

Religion was in the hands of the Druids, who combined the character of
prophet and priest. It was dark and mysterious as the gloomy forests in
which it first drew birth, and in whose deepest recesses they celebrated
their cruel rites. Its ministers built no covered temples, deeming it an
insult to their gods to attempt to enclose their emblems in an edifice
surrounded by walls, and erected by mortal hands; the forest was their
temple, and a rough unhewn stone their altar. They worshipped a god of
the sky and thunder, whom they identified with Jupiter; a sun-god, whom,
when they were Romanised, they called Apollo; a god of war, afterwards
called Mars; and a goddess who presided over births, like the Latin
Lucina; and Andate, the goddess of victory. Besides these, who may be
regarded as their superior deities, they had a great number of inferior
ones. Each wood, fountain, lake, and mountain had its tutelary genius,
whom they were accustomed to invoke with sacrifice and prayer.

The Druids were ruled by a chief whom they elected; they were the
interpreters of the laws, which they never permitted to be committed
to writing, the instructors of youth, and the judges of the people--a
tremendous power to be lodged in the hands of any peculiar class. There
were also Bards, whose duty it was to preserve in verse the memory of any
remarkable event; to celebrate the triumph of their heroes; and, by their
exhortation and songs, excite the chiefs and people to deeds of courage
and daring on the day of battle.

It is impossible not to be struck by the profound cunning which presided
over the organisation of this terrible priesthood, and concentrated all
authority in its hands. Its ministers placed themselves between man
and the altar, permitting his approach only in mystery and gloom. They
wrought upon his imagination by the sacrifice of human life, and the most
terrible denunciations of the anger of their gods on all who opposed
them. As the instructors of youth, they moulded the pliant mind, and
fashioned it to their purpose; as the judges of the people, there was no
appeal against their decisions, for none but the Druids could pronounce
authoritatively what was the law, there being no written code to refer
to; they alone possessed the right to recompense or punish: thus the
present and future welfare of their followers alike depended upon them.

The severest penalty inflicted by the Druids was the interdiction of the
sacrifice to those who had offended them. Woe to the unhappy wretch on
whom the awful sentence fell! He ceased to be considered a human being.
Like the beast of the forest, his life was at the mercy of any one who
chose to take it. He lost all civil rights, and could neither inherit
land nor sue for the recovery of debts; every one was at liberty to spoil
his property; even his nearest kindred fled from him in horror. They were
also accustomed to sacrifice human victims on their altars, or burnt them
as offerings to the gods, in wicker baskets.

It is now time to give some account of the dogmas of this extinct
religion, once the general faith of Britain. Like the monks of the
Middle Ages, the Druids of the higher orders lived in community in the
remote depths of the vast gloomy forests, where they celebrated their
rites. In these retreats they initiated the youthful aspirants for the
priesthood, who frequently passed a novitiate of twenty years before
being admitted. Disciples of all ranks flocked to them, despite the
severity of the probation, tempted, no doubt, by the honours and great
privileges attached to the order, amongst which exemption from taxation
and servitude was not the least. The mistletoe is said by Pliny to have
been a peculiarly sacred plant in their rites.

The Druids taught the immortality of the soul, and its transmigration
from one body to another, till, by some extraordinary act of virtue
or courage, it merited to be received into the assembly of the gods.
Cæsar, in his "Commentaries," also informs us that they instructed their
pupils in the movements of the heavenly bodies, and the grandeur of the
universe. Their knowledge of mathematics must have been considerable,
since we find it applied to the measurement of the earth and stars. In
mechanics they were equally advanced, judging from the monuments which
remain to us. Of these, the most remarkable in England are Stonehenge,
consisting of 139 enormous stones, ranged in a circle; and that of
Avebury, in Wiltshire, which covers a space of twenty-eight acres of
land. But the largest of all the Druid temples is situated at Carnac,
in the department of Morbihan, in France. It is formed of 400 stones,
varying from five to twenty-seven feet in height, and ranged in eleven
concentric lines. It should be mentioned, however, that some authorities
consider these erections to belong to a period anterior to the arrival of
the Celts in Europe, though they were probably utilised by them.

[Illustration: STONEHENGE FROM THE NORTH-WEST. (_From a Photograph by
Frith & Co, Reigate._)]

[Illustration: STONEHENGE (RESTORED).

(_From the Model in the Blackmore Museum, Salisbury, after the
Restoration by Dr. Stukeley._)]

Such was the country and such the condition of its inhabitants when in
55 B.C. Cæsar undertook its invasion, to which he was led not so much
by the thirst of dominion as by the necessity he found himself under of
doing something to acquire a great name at Rome. He had already partially
subdued the Gauls, and determined on striking a blow at Britain. Having
decided on the expedition, the victorious general commenced his
preparations with his accustomed energy. His first care was to obtain
hostages from the Gauls: he questioned the merchants and others who
had visited Britain as to its resources and extent, the natives which
inhabited it, their manners, customs, and religion, and sent Commius,
whom he had created King of the Atrabates in Gaul, to demand the
submission of the islanders.

[Illustration: DRUIDS INCITING THE BRITONS TO OPPOSE THE LANDING OF THE
ROMANS. (_See p._ 6.)]

On the first news of the intended descent, the Britons, excited by the
Druids and Bards, assembled in arms, in order to defend their coasts, but
at the same time did not neglect other means of warding off the danger
which threatened their independence, and despatched ambassadors to Cæsar
with offers of alliance. They were received courteously, although the
wily Roman knew that, incited by their priests, they had arrested his
messenger, and kept him in chains. Meanwhile Cæsar prepared his fleet,
and assembled his soldiers for the expedition. He embarked the infantry
of two of his legions in eighty vessels, which he assembled at Itius
Portus, supposed by some writers to be Calais, by others the village of
Wissant, between that place and Boulogne. He divided the vessels amongst
his principal officers, and set sail with a favourable wind during the
night. Eighteen galleys at a distant part of the coast had received his
cavalry, and sailed about the same time. At ten the following morning
the expedition appeared off the coast, where the inhabitants were seen
in arms, ready to receive it. The spot, it would seem, was unfavourable
for landing, and Cæsar hesitated, and dropped anchor till three in the
afternoon, hoping for the arrival of his other galleys. Disappointed
in this expectation, he sailed along the coast, and finally decided
on disembarking at Deal, where the shore was comparatively level,
and presented less difficulty for such an enterprise. But here, too,
the Britons were prepared, a considerable force being collected to
oppose him. The galleys drew too much water to permit the invaders to
land at once upon the beach, and the soldiers hesitated. There was a
momentary confusion amongst them. "Follow me, comrades!" exclaimed the
standard-bearer, "if you would not see the eagle in the hands of the
enemy. For myself, if I perish, I shall have done my duty to Rome and to
my general." At these words he plunged into the waves, and was followed
by the men, who leaped tumultuously after him, ashamed, most likely, of
their previous cowardice and hesitation. On reaching the shore, they fell
with the utmost fury on the enemy, whose undisciplined ranks could ill
sustain the shock of the Roman legion; still, they fought desperately,
incited by their bards and priests, who sang the songs of victory, and
exhorted them to renew the combat each time they seemed to waver. At last
they were compelled to give way, and retreat to the shelter of the woods,
with their chariots and broken ranks. Cæsar himself informs us that he
was prevented from pursuing the victory by the absence of his cavalry,
a circumstance which he bitterly laments, since its presence alone was
wanting to crown his fortune.

Although he did not venture to follow the fugitives, they sent
ambassadors, accompanied by Commius, whom the Britons released from
prison and chains, to sue for peace. The victor complained, and with some
show of justice, of the reception he had met with, after they had sent
envoys to him in Gaul with offers of submission, and also of the arrest
of his ambassador; and lamented the blood that had been shed. To this
harangue the Britons artfully replied that they had imprisoned Commius in
order to preserve him from the fury of the people, and with this excuse
Cæsar either was, or affected to be, content. He granted the peace they
came to solicit, and demanded hostages, which were promised, for the
future.

A storm dispersed the eighteen galleys which were to transport the
cavalry of Cæsar, and drove them back upon the coast of Gaul. This was
not the only misfortune the Romans endured. That same night the moon
was at its full; it was the season of the equinox, and the tide rose to
an unusual height, filling the vessels which Cæsar had drawn out of the
reach of danger, as he imagined, on the sands. The larger ships, which
had served him as a means of transport, were driven from their anchors,
and many of them wrecked.

Although perfectly aware of the perils which menaced their invaders,
the Britons appear to have proceeded with the utmost caution. Whilst
a league was secretly being formed to crush the Romans, their chiefs
appeared daily in their camp, professing unbroken friendship. Suddenly
they fell upon the seventh legion, which had been sent to a distance
to forage. The plan was well contrived to defeat the enemy in detail.
Many of their leaders remained in camp, in order to lull suspicion,
whilst their confederates surprised the Romans, who, having laid aside
their arms, were soon surrounded, and must have been cut off but for the
timely arrival of Cæsar, who, warned by his outposts that a cloud of dust
thicker than usual had been seen at a distance, guessed immediately what
had occurred. With a portion of his army he fell upon the assailants,
and, after a desperate struggle, disengaged the threatened legion, and
returned with it to the camp in safety. The lesson was a sharp one, and
the rains soon afterwards setting in, the invader did not attempt to
renew the battle.

The islanders, meanwhile, had not been idle: messengers had been
despatched in every direction, calling on the various nations to take
arms; the Druids preached war to the death; and a sufficient force was
soon assembled to attack the Romans in their camp. Discipline, however,
again prevailed against the courage of the barbarians, as Tacitus
contemptuously calls them; although he admits at the same time their
bravery, and adds that it was a fortunate thing for Cæsar that the
country was so divided into petty states that the jealousies of their
respective rulers prevented the unity of action which alone could ensure
success. Had the Britons been united, they might have bid defiance to
the legions of Rome. Once more the islanders demanded peace, which Cæsar
granted them; in fact, he was scarcely in a position to do otherwise,
for he already meditated a retreat. He embarked the army suddenly in the
night, and retired to Gaul, taking the hostages he had received with him.
Although the senate of Rome ordered a thanksgiving of twenty days for the
triumph of the Roman arms, the first expedition against the island cannot
be regarded as other than a failure.

For the second invasion, which took place in the following year,
preparations were made commensurate with the importance of the task
proposed. Cæsar having assembled 800 vessels, on board of which were five
legions, and 2,000 horsemen of the noblest families in Gaul, set sail,
and landed without opposition at Ryde. This time there was no enemy to
oppose him; for the Britons, terrified at the appearance of this immense
armament, had retreated to their natural fastnesses, the forests. Leaving
ten cohorts and 300 horsemen to guard the camp and fleet, under the
orders of Quintus Atrius, Cæsar set forward in search of the enemy, whom
he discovered, after a march of twelve miles, on the banks of a river,
where they had drawn up their chariots and horsemen. Profiting by their
elevated position, they accepted, or rather engaged, the combat, and when
repulsed withdrew into an admirably fortified camp, which was not taken
without much difficulty. The Britons, as usual after a defeat, retreated
once more to their woods, where it was impossible for the legions of Rome
to follow, or the cavalry to act against them.

On the following morning, just as the victorious leader was about to
re-commence his march, news arrived from the camp that a violent tempest
had seriously damaged the fleet. Many of his vessels were wrecked, and
others rendered unfit for service. Like a prudent general, Cæsar at once
returned to the camp, to assure himself of the extent of the injury done
to his fleet, and found it more considerable than he imagined. Forty
vessels were lost; the rest could be repaired, though not without great
labour and time. Every artificer in his army was set to work; others were
sent for from the continent; and instructions written to Labienus in Gaul
to construct new galleys to replace those which were lost. The next step
was worthy the genius and reputation of Cæsar. After having repaired his
ships, he caused his legions to draw them out of reach of the tide, high
up on the shore, and enclosed the whole of them in a fortified camp--an
immense work, when we consider that it was executed in an enemy's
country, and the scanty means at his command for such an undertaking.

Meanwhile the Britons had united under Cassivelaunus, head-king of the
tribes north of the Thames, and Cæsar advanced to meet him. The king
proved a doughty opponent, seldom venturing upon a pitched battle, but
harassing the Romans by sudden attacks, in which the chariots proved
particularly formidable. At length Cæsar managed, with difficulty,
to cross the Thames somewhere above London, and ravaged the king's
territory. Fortunately the powerful tribe of the Trinobantes, who
inhabited part of Middlesex and Essex, came over to him at this juncture,
having old scores to pay off against Cassivelaunus, and they were
followed by other tribes. Cæsar was therefore able to storm Verulam,
the stronghold of the British king, and then, finding that his camp on
the coast was being besieged by the four kings of Kent, that his troops
were being wearied out by the constant alarms, and having, in addition,
received unpleasant news from Gaul, he accepted the offers of peace made
by Cassivelaunus, and departed. So ended Cæsar's invasions of Britain.

For nearly a century, that is, until A.D. 43, Britain remained
undisturbed by the Romans; but at length the Emperor Claudius determined
that the island should be thoroughly conquered. Accordingly his general,
Aulus Plautius, landed with an army, and, after gaining considerable
successes, wrote to Claudius inviting him to pass over to the island and
conclude the war himself. The emperor accepted the invitation, and took
the command of his legions in Britain. He crossed the Thames, and seized
upon the fortress of Camulodunum (Colchester or Malden, authorities
are divided as to which), receiving in his progress the submission of
a number of petty kings and chiefs. This had been the stronghold of
Cunobelinus, the Cymbeline of Shakespeare. Having reduced a part of the
country to the condition of a Roman province, Claudius returned to enjoy
the honours of a triumph in Rome. It was celebrated with a degree of
unusual magnificence, splendid games, and rejoicings.

[Illustration: JULIUS CÆSAR.

(_From the Bust in the British Museum._)]

After passing four years on the island, Plautius was recalled to Rome,
where the jealousy of the emperor limited the honours decreed to the
victorious general to a simple ovation. He was succeeded by Ostorius
Scapula, who found, on his arrival, the affairs of his countrymen in the
greatest disorder. The Britons, trusting that a general newly arrived in
the island would not enter on a campaign in the beginning of winter, had
divided their forces, to plunder and lay waste the territories of such
persons as were in alliance with Rome. Ostorius, however, contrary to
their expectations, pursued the war with vigour, gave the dispersed bands
no time to unite or rally, and commanded the people whom he suspected of
disaffection to give up their arms. As a further precaution, he erected
forts on the banks of the Avon and the Severn.

[Illustration: CARACTACUS BEFORE CLAUDIUS. (_See p._ 10.)]

The moment appeared favourable to the victorious general to subdue the
Silures, a fierce and warlike nation, who, under their king, Caractacus,
still held out against the Roman arms (A.D. 50). Hitherto clemency and
force had alike proved unavailing to reduce them to submission, and
Ostorius prepared his expedition with a prudence and foresight worthy of
the struggle on which the establishment of the supremacy of Rome in the
island, in a great measure, depended. He first settled a strong colony of
his veteran soldiers at Camulodunum, on the conquered lands, to keep in
check the neighbouring tribes, and spread by their example a knowledge
of the useful arts. He then set forth at the head of his bravest legions
in search of Caractacus, who had retreated from his own states, and
transported the war into the country of the Ordovices, in the middle
of Wales. The warlike Briton had assembled under his command all who
had vowed an eternal resistance to the invaders, and fortified his
position by entrenchments of earth, in imitation of the Roman military
works. In Shropshire, where the great struggle is supposed to have taken
place, there is a hill which the inhabitants still call Caer Caradoc.
It corresponds exactly with the description which Tacitus has given of
the fortifications erected by Caractacus, and answers to the Latin words
_Castra Caractaci_. This warrior, whose devotion to the liberties of his
country merited a better fate, did all that a patriot and a soldier could
do to excite the spirit of his countrymen. He reminded the chiefs under
his command that the day of battle would be the day of deliverance from a
degrading bondage, and at the same time appealed to their patriotism, by
reminding them that their ancestors had defeated the attempts of Cæsar.
The address was received with acclamation, and the excited Britons bound
themselves by oaths not to shrink from the darts of their enemies.

The cries of rage with which the invaders were received, the resolute
bearing of the Silures, astonished the Roman general, who examined with
disquietude the river which defended the rude entrenchment on one side,
the ramparts of earth and stone, not unskilfully thrown up, and the
rugged rock, which towered above them, crowned with numberless defenders.
His soldiers demanded to be led on, urging that nothing was impossible
to true courage; the tribunes held the same language, and Ostorius led
on his army to the attack. Under a shower of arrows it crossed the
river, and arrived at the foot of the rude entrenchment, but not without
suffering severely. Then was seen the advantage of discipline over
untrained courage. The Roman soldiers serried their ranks, and raising
their bucklers over their heads, formed with them an impenetrable roof,
which securely sheltered them whilst they demolished the earthworks. That
once accomplished, the victory was assured. The half-naked Britons, with
their clubs and arrows, were no match against the well-armed legions of
Rome; but from the summit of the rocks still poured death upon their
enemies, till the light troops succeeded in slaying or dispersing
them. The victory of the Romans was complete. The wife and daughter
of Caractacus were taken prisoners, and the illustrious chief of the
Silures soon afterwards shared a similar destiny. His mother-in-law,
Cartismandua, Queen of the Brigantes, to whom he had fled for shelter,
delivered him in chains to his enemies. Ostorius sent him and his family
to Rome, as the noblest trophies of his conquest.

The fame of Caractacus had penetrated even to Italy. The Roman citizens
were anxious to behold the barbarian who had so long braved their power.
Although defeated and a captive, the natural greatness of his soul did
not abandon him. Tacitus relates that his first remark on beholding the
imperial city was surprise that those who possessed such magnificent
palaces at home should envy him a poor hovel in Britain. He was conducted
before the Emperor Claudius, who received him seated on his throne, with
the Empress Agrippina by his side. The prætorian guard were drawn up in
line of battle on either side. First came the servants of the captive
prince; then were borne the spoils of the vanquished Britons; these were
followed by the brothers, the wife, and daughter of Caractacus, and last
of all by Caractacus himself, calm and unsubdued by his misfortune.

Advancing to the throne, he pronounced the following remarkable
discourse, which Tacitus has preserved for us:--"If I had had, O Cæsar,
in prosperity, a prudence equal to my birth and fortune, I should have
entered this city as a friend, and not as a captive; and possibly
thou wouldest not have disdained the alliance of a man descended from
illustrious ancestors, who gave laws to several nations. My fate this
day appears as sad for me as it is glorious for thee. I had horses,
soldiers, arms, and treasures; is it surprising that I should regret the
loss of them? If it is thy will to command the universe, is it a reason
we should voluntarily accept slavery? Had I yielded sooner, thy fortune
and my glory would have been less, and oblivion would soon have followed
my execution. If thou sparest my life, I shall be an eternal monument of
thy clemency." To the honour of Claudius, he not only spared the life
of his captive, but the lives of his brothers, wife, and daughter, and
treated them with respect. Their chains were removed, and they expressed
their thanks, not only to the emperor, but to Agrippina, whose influence
is supposed, not without reason, to have been exerted in their favour.

The public life of Caractacus ended with his captivity; for the tradition
that he afterwards returned to Britain, and ruled over a portion of the
island, rests on so uncertain a foundation as to be unworthy of belief.
The senate, in its pompous harangues, compared the subjection of this
formidable chief to that of Syphax by Scipio, and decreed the honours
of a triumph to his conqueror, Ostorius, who died, however, shortly
afterwards, worn out by the perpetual attacks of the Silures.

Ostorius was succeeded in the government of Britain by Avitus Didius
Gallus, who, unlike his warlike predecessor, sought to establish the
Roman dominion in the island by fomenting internal dissension. He made an
alliance with the perfidious mother-in-law of Caractacus, Cartismandua,
Queen of the Brigantes, whose subjects had revolted. His government
lasted but four years, during which period the armies of Rome made but
little progress on the isle. Nero assigned the government of Britain to
Veranius, who died a year afterwards, in a campaign he had undertaken
against the Silures.

Suetonius Paulinus, who was despatched to Britain by Nero in 58, proved
himself fully equal to the task he had undertaken. Hitherto the Britons
had been excited to revolt by the exhortations of the Druids, whose
principal sanctuary was in the island of Anglesea, which, up to the
period of his government, had preserved its independence, and served
as a refuge to the malcontents and vanquished. Of this important spot
Suetonius resolved to obtain possession, as the most effectual means of
crushing the spirit of resistance still existing amongst the people. By
means of a number of flat-bottomed boats, which he had constructed for
the purpose, he crossed the arm of the sea which separates Anglesea from
Britain. Tacitus has left a vivid description of the effect produced
upon the Romans on approaching the island: the army of the enemy drawn
up like a living rampart on the shore, to oppose their landing; the
women, in mournful robes of a sombre colour, rushing wildly along the
sands, brandishing their torches and muttering imprecations; the Druids,
with their arms extended in malediction. The invaders were appalled;
and, but for the exhortations of their leaders, the expedition, in all
probability, must have suffered a defeat. Excited by their reproaches,
the standard-bearers advanced, and the army, ashamed to desert their
eagles, followed them, striking madly with their swords, and crushing all
who opposed them. Finally, they succeeded in surrounding the Britons, who
perished, with their wives and children, in the fires which the Druids
had commanded to be kindled for their hideous sacrifices. The victory
was a terrible blow to the influence of the Druids, who never recovered
their power in the island; and its consequences would have been even more
severely felt, but for an insurrection which shortly afterwards broke out
in that portion of Britain which had been reduced to the condition of a
Roman colony.

The imposts were excessive, and exacted with rigour. Hundreds of
distinguished families saw themselves reduced to indigence, and,
consequently, to servitude. Their sons were torn from their hearths, and
compelled to serve on the continent in the auxiliary cohorts. All these
evils, great as they were, might have been borne, had not an outrage
been added more infamous than any the insolent invaders had yet ventured
to perpetrate: an outrage which filled the hearts of the Britons with
fury, and drove them once more to rebellion. Prasutagus, a king of the
nation of the Iceni, had for many years been the faithful ally of Rome;
on his death, the better to ensure a portion of his inheritance to his
family, he named the emperor and his daughters as his joint heirs. The
Roman procurator, however, took possession of the whole in the name of
his imperial master, a proceeding which naturally aroused the indignation
of Boadicea, the widow of the deceased prince. Being a woman of resolute
character, she complained bitterly of the spoliation, and for redress
was not only beaten with rods like a slave, but her daughters were
dishonoured before her eyes. On hearing of these indignities, the Iceni
flew to arms; the Trinobantes and several other tribes followed their
example, and a league was formed between them to recover their lost
liberties.

The first object of their attack was the colony of veterans established
at Camulodunum, where a temple, dedicated to Claudius, had been raised,
the priests of which committed infamous exactions, under the pretence of
thus honouring religion. It was affirmed, as is generally the case on the
eve of any great event, that numerous omens preceded the catastrophe.
The statue of Victory fell in the temple with its face upon the ground;
fearful howlings were heard in the theatre; and it is even pretended that
a picture of the colony in ruins had been seen floating in the waters of
the Thames. The report of all these prodigies, which, if they really took
place, were doubtless the contrivances of the Druids, froze the veterans
with terror, and raised the courage of the Britons to the highest pitch.
In the absence of Suetonius, the colonists demanded succour of the
procurator, who sent them only 200 men, and those badly armed; and with
this feeble reinforcement, the garrison shut themselves up in the temple.

With the cunning which seems peculiar to all semi-barbarous nations, the
Britons continued to reassure their enemy of their pacific intentions.
The consequence was that instead of raising a rampart and digging a
ditch round the building, which they might easily have done, the Romans
remained in a state of fancied security, neglecting even to send away
their women and children, and such as from age and sickness were unable
to bear arms. Suddenly the mask was thrown off. The insurgents, who had
gained sufficient time to collect their forces and mature their plans,
fell upon the colony, destroying everything before them, and sparing
neither sex nor age. After a siege of several days, the temple was taken
by assault, and the garrison put to the sword.

[Illustration: BRITONS WITH CORACLES.]

Emboldened by their success, the victors marched to meet Petillius
Cerealis, who, at the head of the ninth legion, was hastening to the
assistance of his countrymen. After a bloody battle, in which the Britons
massacred all his infantry, the Roman lieutenant was compelled to seek
refuge with his cavalry in the camp. Terrified at the disaster which his
avarice and cruelty had caused, the procurator, Cato Decianus, fled to
Gaul, followed by the maledictions of the inhabitants of the province on
which he had brought so many evils.

Whilst engaged in the subjugation of the natives of Anglesea, Suetonius
Paulinus received intelligence of the revolt of the Britons against
the colonies of the eastern parts of the island. Immediately he set
out on his march for London. This is the first mention which we have
in history of this city by the title of Londinium--a city destined, in
after years, to become the chief centre of political power and commercial
enterprise in Europe; to rival, if not to eclipse, the most famous cities
of antiquity in splendour and in influence. But the small force under
his command was unable successfully to govern it against the fury of
the native enemies, who eagerly panted for the destruction of a town
which was at once the monument of Roman triumph and the stronghold of
Roman tyranny. Anxious that his small army should not be destroyed in
an attempt to defend what was hopeless, Suetonius resolved to retreat
and give up the city to the plunder of the Britons. All such as were
willing to leave it were taken into his army, and, amid the cries and
lamentations of the inhabitants, the city was abandoned by the Roman
troops. It was not long before the storm burst upon the wretched
inhabitants, whom the insurgents massacred without pity or remorse,
although the majority of them consisted of their own countrymen, against
whom their rage appeared quite as much excited as against the Romans,
on account of their submission to the common enemy. Seventy thousand
are computed to have perished in the slaughter. Never before had such
an indiscriminate destruction been witnessed in the island. Tacitus, in
speaking of the Britons, says:--"They would neither take the vanquished
prisoners, sell them, nor ransom their lives and liberties; but hastened
to massacre, torture, and crucify them, as if to avenge themselves
beforehand for the cruel punishments which the future had in store for
them."

[Illustration: ROMAN SOLDIERS PASSING OVER A BRIDGE OF BOATS. (_From the
Trajan Column._)]

Suetonius, uniting the fourteenth legion, the auxiliaries of the
twenty-first, and the garrisons of the neighbouring towns, soon found
himself at the head of 10,000 men; and with such an army no longer
hesitated to meet the enemy, before whom he had hitherto deemed it
advisable to retreat. With great skill he took up his position at the
entrance of a narrow defile, his infantry in the centre, the cavalry
forming the wings. The Britons, a countless multitude, advanced to battle
without order or discipline, animated by the desire of vengeance and
the hope of recovering their liberty. Before the struggle commenced, a
chariot was seen, drawn slowly through their ranks; in it was a female
of tall stature and dignified bearing, enveloped in the folds of a long
mantle, a chain of gold round her waist, and her long hair floating
to the ground. It was the outraged Boadicea, who, accompanied by her
daughters, appealed to the courage of her countrymen. "The Britons,"
she cried, "are accustomed to fight under the command of a woman; there
is no question now of avenging my illustrious ancestors from whom I am
descended, my kingdom, or my plundered treasures. Avenge me as a simple
woman, as one of your own class. Avenge my outraged liberty; my body torn
by the scourge; and the dishonoured innocence of my daughters! The Romans
respect neither the age of our old men nor the chastity of our children;
their avarice is insatiable. Are not our persons taxed? do we not pay
even for the permission to bear our heads? Nor is that all; the tax must
be paid for those who cease to live. It was reserved for the execrable
tyranny of the Romans," she added, "to raise a revenue from the dead. But
there are just gods, avenging gods. A legion that dared oppose us has
perished; the rest of the Romans conceal themselves, or already think of
flight. They cannot hear without trembling the cries of so many thousand
men; how, then, will they support the shock of your blows? Consider your
countless battalions, reflect on the motives of this war, and you will
understand that the day has arrived on which we must vanquish or die.
Such will be, such shall be the fate of one woman; let men live slaves if
they will."

Animated by these inspiring words, the recollection of their injuries,
and the blood they had already shed, the Britons commenced the combat.
The legion, with their eyes fixed upon their chief, waited the signal. It
was given, and they advanced in a triangular battalion; the auxiliaries
followed the impetuous movement, and the squadrons charged with their
lances in rest. Nothing could resist that fearful shock. The immense
multitude was put to flight, but the chariots containing their wives and
children, who had followed to be spectators of their victory, barred the
way. The victors spared neither women, children, nor animals. The carnage
was fearful: 80,000 Britons remained dead upon the plain. Boadicea, the
witness and victim of this sad defeat, kept the promise she had made, not
to fall into the power of the Romans, but ended her life by poison. This
victory re-established the reputation of the Roman arms; but it was not
permitted to Suetonius to complete the task he had begun; he was shortly
afterwards recalled to Rome, to answer charges brought against him by his
enemies, and, although acquitted, he lost the favour of a prince in whose
reign no man of celebrity was spared.

In the reign of Vespasian, his general, Cerealis, reduced the Brigantes
in the years A.D. 69 and 70, and his successor, Julius Frontinus,
conquered the Silures. But it was reserved to another general to achieve
the conquest of a proud and warlike nation, and to render it durable by
the qualities of justice and moderation. The great man who gave this
useful lesson to the world was Agricola, named governor of Britain in the
year 78 of the Christian era. He had already visited the island, having
served in the army as tribune under the command of Suetonius Paulinus,
who esteemed and treated him as a friend. His first step was to repress
the revolt of the Ordovices, whom he punished with rigour; he next
renewed the attack on the island of Anglesea, which he took, owing to
the courage of his German auxiliaries, who, not having vessels at their
command, swam over the arm of the sea which divides it from Britain. In
the following campaign he extended the limits of the Roman government to
the Tay, leaving strong garrisons at all the important points. In his
fourth campaign Agricola crossed the Forth to the southern frontier
of Caledonia, or the Scottish Highlands, and erected, to repress the
invasion of the warlike inhabitants, a line of fortifications between the
Forth and the Clyde.

But it is as an administrator or civil governor that Agricola chiefly
merits our praise. He lessened, as much as possible, the tribute levied
on the vanquished Britons by an equitable adjustment, suppressed the most
onerous monopolies, and multiplied the means of transport and commerce.
Having succeeded in gaining the good opinion of the people he was called
to rule over by his valour and equity, the governor next tried to keep
them peaceable by inculcating a taste for the arts and pleasures. He
encouraged the erection of temples and forums, aided all public works by
grants from the treasury, and caused the sons of the principal chiefs
and princes to be instructed in the sciences. Gradually those who had
disdained the language of the conquerors devoted themselves to its
attainment. They assumed the toga, and affected the tastes, and in too
many instances the vices, of their masters.

Titus, who had succeeded to the throne of his father, Vespasian, reigned
but two years, and left the empire to Domitian, who, like most men of
suspicious nature, felt jealous lest any other name should become greater
than his own. He did not venture, however, to recall Agricola, who was
permitted to pursue his career of glory, and, in the fifth year of his
government, advanced with his legions to the west, as far as the coast
opposite to Ireland. A statesman, administrator, and soldier, like the
illustrious pupil of Suetonius, must have comprehended the advantage of
conquering the sister island; the facilities which it would afford to
the increasing commerce between Spain, Gaul, and Britain: he renounced,
however, the enterprise from some unknown reason, and Ireland, for nearly
a thousand years longer, preserved her independence.

He now turned his attention to the people north of the Forth, whom
Tacitus calls the Caledonians. In his first campaign against them, which
commenced in the sixth year of his government, the Romans experienced
a severe check, as the enemy nearly forced their camp, and were only
repulsed after causing considerable damage. In the seventh and last year
of his residence on the island, Agricola made his great attempt to subdue
these ferocious nations, and his preparations were worthy his great
military reputation and the magnitude of the task he had undertaken. He
joined to his legions and auxiliaries from the continent cohorts of
Britons, drawn from the southern portion of the island; and supplied his
army by means of a numerous fleet, which sailed along the coast.

[Illustration: "THE ROMANS CAUSE A WALL TO BE BUILT FOR THE PROTECTION OF
THE SOUTH."

AFTER THE WALL CARTOON BY W. BELL SCOTT. R.H.A., AT WALLINGTON.

BY PERMISSION OF THE RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE O. TREVELYAN.]

The Romans advanced without encountering any serious obstacle as far
as the Grampians, where the Caledonians, under the celebrated chief
Galgacus, were drawn up to oppose them, 30,000 strong. The first ranks,
consisting of the bravest of the tribes, occupied the level plain;
the next and secondary ones covered the sides of the mountain, rising
in half-circles one above another, as in a vast amphitheatre. At the
sight of the Caledonians, it became difficult to keep the Romans in the
entrenchments, and Agricola, seeing their impatience for battle, exhorted
them to conquest. "Defeat itself," he said, "will not be without glory;
but you will not yield. The bravest of the Britons have been already
overcome; those who remain are cowardly and timid, as you behold on the
heights which you will illustrate by a memorable victory. Put an end,"
he concluded, "to so many expeditions, and add another great day to
fifty years of triumph!" At these words the ardour of his soldiers could
no longer be repressed. They quitted the camp, and their brave leader
ranged them in order of battle: the auxiliaries on foot, to the number
of 8,000, in the centre; 3,000 horsemen formed the wings; the legions
being held in reserve. The first line of the Caledonians descended to the
plain, which trembled beneath the galloping of the horses and the rolling
of the war-chariots. Agricola, seeing the superiority of the enemy in
point of numbers, deployed his ranks, resolved neither to fly nor yield.
Favoured by their position, the barbarians had the advantage as long as
they fought at a distance with javelins and arrows; which became useless,
however, when, the Roman general having commanded the auxiliaries to
engage man to man, they rushed to the encounter with their long sharp
swords; another body assailed the rocks, which they carried by assault,
and the Caledonians retreated behind their horsemen and chariots; whilst
the Roman cavalry, falling on the confused mass, completed the rout. The
plain soon became one wide scene of carnage; 10,000 Caledonians perished;
whilst their enemy lost only 360 men. The victors passed the night in
drunkenness and pillage, whilst the vanquished, men and women, wandered
about the country, yielding to despair. In their rage they destroyed
their habitations, to prevent them from being plundered by the Romans.

Agricola rendered an account of his victory to the emperor, in terms
remarkable for their modesty and simplicity. The jealous Domitian
received his letter with apparent joy, but secret wrath: with his usual
cunning, however, he dissembled his real sentiments till time had
weakened the enthusiasm of the people and the favour of the army for
the man he hated. Gradually a report gained ground that the victorious
general was to be recalled from the scene of his triumphs, to take the
command in Syria, and Domitian demanded for him the honours of a triumph.
The victor dared not, however, present himself to the acclamations of
the people, for fear of exciting the jealousy of his imperial master. He
entered Rome privately, and by night, and presented himself before the
tyrant, who received him coldly and in silence. He soon became confounded
with the crowd of courtiers, and only escaped from the peril of his glory
by appearing himself to forget it.

Little is known of the state of Britain from Domitian to Hadrian, when
many of the nations who had been subject to the yoke of Rome began to
show signs of impatience, and all the cares of the new emperor were to
confirm the peace of the world. He re-established the system of Augustus,
abandoned the conquests of Trajan, and limited the empire in the east
to the Euphrates. He visited the provinces, and arrived at last in
Britain, where he corrected many abuses, and built, in order to repress
the incursions of the Caledonians, the celebrated wall (a description
of which will be found in the following chapter) which bore his name.
It extended upwards of eighty miles, from the north of the Tyne to the
Solway (A.D. 120). Rome thus abandoned without a struggle the country
included between the wall of Hadrian and that of Agricola, an extent of
about 100 miles; a portion of it, however, was regained under Antoninus
Pius, the adopted son and successor of Hadrian, in 139, when a rampart
was constructed between the Forth and the Clyde; it was subsequently
strengthened by the Emperor Severus, in 208, and hence is generally
called by his name.

During the third century the empire was agitated by numerous competitions
for the purple, but it was somewhat appeased on the accession of
Diocletian. The legions in Britain now adopted the practice of setting
up emperors of their own. One of them, Carausius, reigned from 287 to
294, and was only got rid of by assassination. The murderer, Allectus,
attempted to succeed him, and maintained himself in the island till
defeated by Constantius, who was created a sub-emperor, with the title of
Cæsar; thus Britain was once more united to the empire. The victor made
himself loved by the Britons, by his equitable and wise administration,
and continued to reside amongst them till the abdication of Diocletian.
At his death, which occurred in York in 306, he recommended to the army,
who were devoted to him, his son, the celebrated Constantine, who was
immediately saluted emperor and Augustus. He was beloved by the Britons,
being the son of a British mother, the "fair Helena of York."

Constantine was a Christian, but, before his accession, had been
compelled to execute the imperial commands against the followers of
that faith. Many of the Romans, who had received the new religion,
and fled from the persecutions of Claudius and Nero, found refuge in
Britain, where the imperial edicts were less rigorously obeyed, till the
persecution of Diocletian, when the churches throughout the empire were
ordered to be closed, and the refusal of the new sect to offer sacrifice
to the gods of Rome was punished with death. Much as Constantine
condemned, he dared not annul the impious mandate he had received.
Ascending his tribunal, before which the principal officers of his army
and household had been summoned, he read aloud the edict, and added
that those who professed the new faith must decide on abandoning either
their faith or their employments. Many, doubtless, chose the former
alternative; since we are told that the prince, in great indignation,
dismissed the apostates from his service, observing that it was
impossible for him to trust those who had denied their convictions. His
lieutenants, however, were less scrupulous, and Christian blood was shed
to maintain the State religion of the empire. Alban, the protomartyr,
as the latter designation implies, was the first who suffered; and the
names of Julius and Aaron, citizens of Caerleon, upon the Usk, have
also been handed down to posterity as two of the earliest victims. But
on the accession of Constantine to the throne, religious toleration was
restored throughout the empire. Christianity now made rapid progress
in the island. A hierarchy became established, and at the Council of
Arles, in 314, three English bishops assisted--those of York, London, and
Camulodunum.

After the death of Constantine the Caledonians disappear and are replaced
by the Picts. There is every reason to believe, however, that these are
only two names for the same race, the Picts (_picti_) being the "painted"
or "tattooed" men. The Scots, another race of northern invaders, were
of different origin: they originally came over from Ireland, where
they inhabited the eastern coasts, settled in the neighbourhood of Loch
Lomond, and made an alliance with the nearest tribes, for the purpose
of ravaging the possessions of the Britons. Both these peoples were
of Celtic origin, and the Scots, or Milesians (from Lat. _miles_, a
soldier), were the dominant race in Ireland. Other plunderers also
attacked the weakened empire, of whom the most important were the Saxons,
of whom we shall read more later on.

They were severely chastised by Theodosius, who visited Britain in 343.
He succeeded in expelling them from the Roman provinces and driving them
back to their wild retreats.

Maximus, who afterwards assumed the title of Augustus, while in Britain,
carried on the war against the Picts and Scots with unrelenting severity;
his ambition, however, led him to attempt the conquest of the whole
western empire, in which he failed, and was beheaded at Aquileia.
His army, comprising a large majority of Britons, never returned to
their native country, which consequently was left in a great measure
defenceless. So favourable an opportunity did not escape the vigilance
of the Picts and Scots, who made successive inroads in the island, and
returned to their mountain fastnesses laden with plunder.

The power of Rome was now shaken by the irruption of barbarians of
various denominations, who, issuing from the east and north, depopulated
her fairest provinces. Assailed at so many points at once, it seemed as
if the nations of the earth had been let loose to uproot her supremacy,
and break the shackles which for so many ages had fettered the greater
part of the world. The Goths, led by Alaric, crossing the Julian Alps,
swept like a torrent over the fertile plains of Italy. Other German
tribes devastated Gaul, and the Roman legions in Britain, deprived of all
communication with the Emperor Honorius, fell back upon their custom of
electing an emperor for themselves.

The first whom they selected for the purple was Marcus, whom his
soldiers, very soon after elevating him to the imperial dignity, put to
death; after him came an adventurer named Constantine, who paid for his
short-lived dignity with his life. A third usurper arose in Gerontius.

[Illustration: ROMAN SOLDIERS LEAVING BRITAIN. (_See p._ 18.)]

When the Emperor Honorius heard of this revolution, he wrote to the
states of Britain, to say that they must provide for their safety, and
govern themselves; by which concession the rule of Rome in the island
was looked on as at an end. The Britons, in despair, rose and drove out
their civil governors. About 367 years after the landing of Plautius,
the evacuation of Britain was complete. No doubt to a large number of
the Imperial soldiers this withdrawal meant the severance of many tender
ties, and some of the leave-takings must have been painful enough.

How frequently do we read, in the history of the world, of a nation
urged by an irresistible, though unknown, impulse, to pursue the path of
conquest, not for their own advantage, but for the ultimate benefit of
the people whom they subject! Such was the result of the Roman invasion
of Britain, which proved neither profitable nor advantageous to the
conquerors. Appianus of Alexandria, who flourished A.D. 123, wrote a
history of all the nations which Rome had subdued, in twenty-four books.
In this work he says: "The Romans have penetrated into Britain, and
taken possession of the greater and better part of the island; but they
do not desire the rest, because that which they already possess is not
of the slightest benefit to them." The historian was right, for despite
the taxes, the produce of the mines, and the exportation of corn, the
island could never have been a source of great profit to the victors;
notwithstanding which, we trace them, urged by a resistless combination
of events, progressing step by step, till the greater part of the country
was subdued.

For nearly a century, the portion of Britain which had submitted to their
yoke formed but a single province; it was first separated into two during
the reign of the Emperor Severus. This division was afterwards extended
to five, the positions of which are not very accurately determined.

1st. _Flavia Cæsariensis_, which is thought to have consisted of the
western portion of the island.

2nd. _Britannia Prima_, the country between the Thames and the Humber.

3rd. _Britannia Secunda_, lying between the Severn and the sea, now known
by the name of Wales.

4th. _Maxima Cæsariensis_, lying to the north of the two preceding ones,
extending to the Wall of Hadrian, between the Tyne and the Solway.

5th. _Valentia_, comprising the lands from the Wall of Hadrian to the
Forth and Clyde.

Each of these provinces, before the period when anarchy set in, had a
separate ruler, subject to the governor-general of Britain, who was named
by the emperor under the title of vicar. He exercised all but sovereign
authority, and united in his hands both the military and judicial
power. Under him was a procurator, or quæstor, who levied the taxes,
and administered the revenues of the island. The principal sources of
revenue were a poll tax, a tax on funerals and inheritances, on slaves,
on all public sales, and an impost upon cattle and agricultural produce.
The tax upon cattle, which was called _scriptura_, from the collectors
visiting the pastures and writing down lists of the number and kind which
each estate nourished, was particularly oppressive to the Britons, and
one of the most frequent causes of revolt. In addition to these burdens,
the Romans levied imposts upon merchandise, either imported or exported,
which formed a considerable item in their revenue, the commerce between
the empire and Britain having been greatly extended. Agriculture also
made immense progress in the island, in which cities of considerable
importance were built. Of these the most important, in a commercial point
of view, were Clausentum and London. In the second century, Britain
contained upwards of a hundred cities; the principal were London,
Colchester, Bath, Gloucester, York, Chester, Lincoln, and Chesterfield;
most of them were built upon lands which the emperors had bestowed upon
the veterans of those legions whose descendants formed the greater part
of the population. The larger cities, about ten in number, enjoyed the
_jus Latii_, which conferred, amongst other privileges, the right of
electing their magistrates. The inferior ones, called stipendiaries, paid
tribute to the emperor, and were governed by officers under the authority
of the prefect. It is extremely improbable, however, that any real
amalgamation of the two races ever took place, or that Roman civilisation
left any permanent effects upon the British character. The Romans were in
fact, from first to last, an army of occupation among a hostile people.

CHAPTER II.

ROMAN REMAINS IN BRITAIN.

Two Varieties of Masonry--Dover Castle--Richborough
Castle--Newport Gate, Lincoln--Hadrian's Wall--Its Direction and
Construction--Outworks--Ornamental Detail--Roman Roads and Camps.

The remains of Roman architecture in Britain, though numerous, do not
exhibit any perfect buildings, and the workmanship in general is not
equal to that of the Continental remains. The buildings seem to have
been inferior and of smaller dimensions, and there is very little of
ornamental detail to be found, except the tesselated pavements, of
which many fine examples yet remain in the Roman villas which have been
discovered from time to time in various parts of the kingdom.

The principal places where Roman remains are now to be seen are Lincoln,
Dover Castle, St. Albans, Richborough Castle, Porchester, York,
Cirencester, Leicester, and Colchester. But in all these there is little
ornamentation or detail left, the remains consisting chiefly of plain
walls, the masonry of which has peculiarities of character which mark
its date. Of the masonry there are two principal varieties; the first,
and that which is most readily recognised, consists of alternate layers
or bands of pebbles, or small stones embedded in mortar, and tiles or
flat stones. These bands consisted of three or four courses of tiles
or stones laid through the wall, and were placed at two or three feet
from each other, the intermediate spaces being raised with a sort of
cement composed of mortar and pebbles, or sometimes rag-stones, or such
materials as the country afforded. In this manner are built the Mint
wall at Lincoln, the Jewry wall at Leicester, and the walls at Verulam
(St. Albans), Porchester, Richborough, York, Pevensey, Chesterford,
Colchester, Wroxeter, and Silchester.

The other variety consists of walls formed of square stones or ashlar, as
the Roman wall in Northumberland. These are sometimes very large, as in
the north gate (or Newport gate), Lincoln. Smaller kinds of ashlar, of
almost cubical blocks, occur in the multangular tower and other buildings
at York. The mortar used in all these walls is in general mixed with
pounded brick.

It will not be necessary here to go into a description of all these
buildings, but a few of the most remarkable may be mentioned; one of
the most curious and interesting of these is the Pharos in the Castle
of Dover, though it has undergone much alteration, particularly in the
fifteenth century. "Wherever the outer casing is worn away, or has been
removed by violence, the walls exhibit the usual mode of Roman building
with the material of the districts; in this case with tufa or stalactite,
brought perhaps from the opposite coast of France, and flint, with layers
of large flat Roman bricks, some of them two feet long, each layer two
courses deep, placed regularly and horizontally in the walls at equal
intervals, or nearly so. No less than eight of these layers of brickwork
are visible on the south-east side; other layers are apparently concealed
by the external and subsequent casing of flint and stone, and where the
casing of flint is perfect, quoins of stone appear at the angles. This
tower is externally octagonal in form; internally the space enclosed
forms a square. The doorway, recently blocked, is on the south side,
and the arch, turned and faced with a single row of large Roman bricks,
springs from a kind of rude impost moulding, somewhat resembling that
of the Roman gateway at Lincoln; but this is not now visible. In the
interior, the constructive features of the original Roman work were,
before the entrance was closed up, far more visible and perfect than on
the exterior, and the facing of the bricks was quite smooth; yet the
effect of the alterations is here also plainly apparent, and the original
windows, the arches of which are turned with Roman brick, have been
filled up with flint masonry. Both the external as well as the internal
facings of the entrance doorway on the south side were, a few years back,
when the interior could be readily examined, far from perfect. Over
this doorway were two windows, one above the other, each arched with
brickwork. On the east side of the tower is a rather lofty arch faced
with stone, the soffit of which, however, appears to have been turned
with brick; this probably communicated with some building adjoining. Over
this arch is a window now blocked up."

Richborough Castle, in Kent, is another of the most important of the
Roman remains in England. It is a large parallelogram, including within
it an area of five acres. The walls to the height of six feet are more
than eleven feet thick, and above that ten feet eight inches; and the
masonry is thus described by the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne:--"At Richborough,
commencing at the ground, there are on the north side, where the masonry
is displayed in its most perfect state, first of all, four courses of
flint in their natural form, then three courses dressed; to these succeed
two courses of binding tile, and then they rise above each other in the
following order: seven courses of ashlar and two of tile; seven courses
of ashlar and two of tile; seven courses of ashlar and two of tile;
again, seven courses of ashlar and two of tile; eight courses of ashlar
and two of tile; nine courses of ashlar. The extreme height of this wall
is twenty-three feet two inches, and its thickness ten feet eight inches."

[Illustration: COINS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC AND THE EMPIRE.]

One of the most perfect and most interesting of Roman remains is the
archway at Lincoln, called Newport Gate, and styled by Dr. Stukely "the
noblest remnant of this sort in Britain." It was the north gate of
the Roman city of Lindum, and from it a military way, called the High
Street, leading to Winteringham, on the Humber, may now be traced. This
still forms the principal entrance into the city from the north. It is
supposed to have had a large central arch, and two smaller ones at the
sides, that on the west having been destroyed, the larger being about
fifteen feet, and the lesser ones seven feet in width. It is built of
squared stone, out as far as the top of the arch, of remarkably large
size. It is without ornament of any kind, but is said by Rickman to have
had architrave and impost mouldings. That of the architrave, if it ever
existed, has entirely disappeared; but there is, or was lately, a small
portion of the impost moulding remaining, on the west side of the large
arch. The masonry, which exhibits none of the usual binds of tiles so
frequent in other buildings, will be best understood by reference to the
engraving on page 21.

There is another piece of Roman work in the neighbourhood of Newport
Gate, which is a piece of wall built with ashlar and binding courses of
tile. It is known as the Mint Wall.

But perhaps the most interesting of all the Roman remains in Britain
is the Roman Wall, which reaches across the narrow part of the island
in Northumberland and Cumberland, commencing at Wallsend, on the Tyne,
running through Newcastle and Carlisle, and terminating at Bowness, in
Cumberland. A most interesting and fully illustrated account of this wall
has been given to the world by the Rev. J. Collingwood Bruce, from whose
work we have (by permission) copied the two illustrations on p. 22.

[Illustration: NEWPORT GATE, LINCOLN. (_From a Photograph by Skill,
Lincoln._)]

Arguments have been brought forward by some antiquaries to show that the
wall and the vallum by which it is accompanied belong to two different
periods; but Dr. Bruce contends that they are both to be considered
as forming part of the great engineering work of Hadrian. It consists
of a stone wall, or _murus_, and a wall of earth, or _vallum_. These
two run always near together, but not always parallel. The vallum is
likewise rather the shorter, terminating at Newcastle on the east, and at
Drumburgh, about three miles from Bowness, the western extremity of the
wall.

"The most striking feature in the plan, both of the murus and the vallum,
is the determinate manner in which they pursue their straightforward
course. The vallum makes fewer deviations from a right line than the
stone wall; but as the wall traverses higher ground, this remarkable
tendency is more easily detected in it than in the other. Shooting over
the country, in its onward course, it only swerves from a straight line
to take in its route the boldest elevations. So far from declining a
hill, it uniformly selects one.

"For nineteen miles out of Newcastle the road to Carlisle runs upon the
foundations of the wall, and during the summer months its dusty surface
contrasts well with the surrounding verdure. Often will the traveller,
after attaining some of the steep acclivities of his path, observe the
road stretching for miles in an undeviating course to the east and the
west of him, resembling, as Hutton expresses it, a white ribbon on a
green ground. But if it never moves from a right line, except to occupy
the highest points, it never fails to seize them as they occur, no matter
how often it is compelled, with this view, to change its direction. It
never bends in a curve, but always at an angle. Hence, along the craggy
precipices between Sewingshields and Thirlwall, it is obliged to pursue
a remarkably zigzag course; for it takes in its range, with the utmost
pertinacity, every projecting rock."

[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ROMAN WALL.]

Though no part of the wall now retains its full height, it has been
calculated that when entire it was about eighteen or nineteen feet,
including the parapet. Its general thickness is about eight feet, though
it varies in different parts from six feet to ten and a half feet. It is
"throughout the whole of its length accompanied on its northern margin by
a broad and deep fosse, which, by increasing the comparative height of
the wall, added greatly to its strength. This portion of the barrier may
yet be traced, with trifling interruptions, from sea to sea."

[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE ROMAN WALL.]

The masonry of the wall is somewhat peculiar; it has none of the binding
courses of tile which are, in many parts of England and on the Continent,
so characteristic of Roman work. No tiles are used in the construction.
The outer face of the wall on both sides is formed of squared blocks of
stone, usually called ashlar, and the interior of rubble, embedded in
mortar. These blocks are about eight or nine inches thick, and ten or
eleven wide; their length is considerably more, sometimes as much as
twenty-two inches, and tapering to the opposite end, which was firmly
bedded into the rubble. The whole rested on a course of large foundation
stones.

On or near the wall were placed, at tolerably regular intervals,
stationary camps, or "stations," about seventeen or eighteen in number;
and at still shorter intervals, that is, about a Roman mile from each
other, were placed smaller towers, called, from this circumstance, "mile
castles." These are in general placed against the south side of the wall,
and had mostly only one entrance, which was from the south; but in the
most perfect of those at Gawfields there are two entrances, one on the
south, and another through the main wall on the north.

[Illustration: CORNICE FROM VENDALANA (CHESTERHOLM).]

More of ornamental detail seems to have been bestowed on the architecture
of these stations and mile castles than on the wall, which was intended
for defence. The walls have moulded basements and cornices, of which
there are woodcuts on this page and the next; the one from Vendalana
(Chesterholm) exhibits also the peculiar ornamentation of the surface of
the stone work, which is produced by cutting lines in various directions,
either lozenge-wise or parallel, horizontal, upright, oblique, or
zigzag-wise, thus producing considerable variety. In the extremely
interesting Saxon crypt at Hexham, which was built out of the ruins of
the Roman Wall, many varieties of this peculiar tooling, or "broaching,"
occur, along with ornamental mouldings, &c., and inscribed slabs, one
of which has been cut to form the semicircular head of a doorway. The
beautiful fragment of a capital also given was found in the station of
Cilurnum (now Walwick Chesters). It has probably belonged to the portico
of a temple. It appears to be a late variety of Corinthian or composite.
It serves to show that there must have been considerable expense bestowed
on these stations, which were, in fact, military cities, in which the
commanders resided. The doorway from the station of Bird-Oswald is
valuable as showing a peculiar form of door-head, cut out of a solid
stone. It forms the entrance to the guard-chamber from the gateway of
the station.

[Illustration: CAPITAL FROM CILURNUM (WALWICK CHESTERS).]

[Illustration: DOORWAY FROM BIRD-OSWALD.]

The Roman altars, sculptured fragments, inscribed stones, coins,
implements of war, articles of personal ornament, and utensils for
domestic use, which have been found along the line of the wall, are
extremely numerous. But far more striking memorials of Agricola and
his great successors in Britain are the Roman roads. Easy means of
communication were, of course, a necessity for the Romans, dwelling,
as they did, as a military garrison among a people notorious for their
propensity to break into wild rebellion at a moment's notice; and hence
the country was traversed by a complete system of roads leading from
station to station. The method of their construction varied, but they
were invariably raised above the surface of the country, and ran in an
almost straight line regardless of hill and valley. The more important
roads were very elaborately constructed with a foundation of hard earth,
a bed of large stones, sometimes two more layers of stones and mortar,
and above all the causeway paved with stones. The four most important
roads were Watling Street, the Foss, Icknield Street, and Ermine Street.
Of these, Watling Street ran from London to Wroxeter (Uriconium), and
thence was continued into Wales, while part of the same system connected
London with Dover. The Foss ran from the sea-coast, at Seaton in
Devonshire, to Lincoln, with a continuation known as the High Street to
the Humber. The Icknield way started from near Bury and ran to Wantage,
and thence to Cirencester and Gloucester. Ermine Street ran through the
Fens from London to Lincoln. These by no means exhaust the Roman roads,
traces of which are to be found in almost every neighbourhood of England,
but they are the "four Roman roads" so frequently mentioned in the
legislation of the Middle Ages.

[Illustration: ROMAN MASONRY AT COLCHESTER.]

[Illustration: BASEMENT OF STATION ON THE ROMAN WALL.]

Equally numerous are the remains of Roman camps, constructed with great
engineering skill. Even when it was necessary to remain stationary for
a very brief period, the Romans were accustomed to surround the space
to be occupied by the soldiers' tents by an earthen rampart with stakes
at the top (_agger_ or _vallum_), which was in turn surrounded by a
fosse or trench (_fossa_), usually nine feet deep and twelve broad. The
spot selected was always one that commended itself from its defensive
capacities, and therefore could not be overlooked, and had a command of
water. The streets were sometimes as much as a hundred feet broad, with
a public meeting-place or _forum_ near the general's tent, which was
usually pitched on the highest ground. There was a vacant space of two
hundred feet between the tents and the ramparts called the _intervallum_.
The shape of the camp in later times varied according to the nature of
the ground, although in the days of the Roman republic it was as a rule
rectangular. Of these temporary camps the most perfect is that situated
near Kirkboddo, five miles to the south-east of Forfar. It was probably
constructed by Agricola; all its six gates exist, and the entrenchment,
even now, seems to have lost but little of its original height. It
is about two thousand two hundred and eighty feet in length, and one
thousand and eighty in breadth; and, apparently because it was necessary
to find lodging for more men than the camp was originally intended to
hold, there is a _procestrium_ or enclosure without the south-east angle
of about one hundred thousand square feet. Permanent camps, which were
smaller than the temporary camps, soon lost their original features and
grew into towns.

The establishment of an infirmary (_valetudinarium_), a farriery
(_veterinarium_), and a forge (_fabrica_) within the rampart were quickly
followed by the settlement of a civilian population, and the birth
of trades and industries. In many of the English towns, which by the
termination _cester_ or _chester_ or the prefix _caer_ betray their Roman
origin, hardly a trace of the original Roman camp is to be found, but
during the period of the Roman occupation of Britain the military element
in them was probably in the ascendant.

[Illustration: ROMAN URNS FOUND IN ENGLAND. (_From the British Museum._)

1. Urn of yellow pottery--height, 12½ in.; greatest diameter, 13
in. 2. Urn of grey pottery found at Colchester--11½ x 9. 3. Urn of
red and grey pottery, found at Littleton Farm--13 x 12. 4. Urn of grey
pottery, found in Huntingdonshire--height, 11½ in.; width at mouth
4¾ in. 5. Urn of yellow pottery, found in the Lea--height, 10½;
greatest diameter, 10.]

[Illustration: GLASTONBURY ABBEY. (_See p._ 31.)]

CHAPTER III.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE ENGLISH KINGDOMS AND THEIR CONVERSION TO
CHRISTIANITY.

The Jutes, Angles, and Saxons--Their Village Communities--Larger
Combinations, Gradations of Rank--Morality and Religion--Hengist
and Horsa found the Kingdom of Kent--The Kingdoms of
Sussex, Wessex and Essex--The Anglian Kingdoms--Mercia--The
Welsh--Gregory and St. Augustine--Augustine and Kent--Conversion
of Northumbria--England becomes Christian--The Greatness of
Mercia--King Offa.

After the departure of the Romans, the Britons were left to contend as
best they could against the hordes of invaders who pressed upon them from
the north, and on the eastern coast from overseas. The Saxons reappeared,
and were accompanied by the kindred nations known as the Jutes and
Angles. It is from this last nation that England takes her name, the land
of the Angles, or English, and we shall soon cease to talk of Britain.

The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons formed a confederacy of tribes dwelling
at the mouth of the Elbe, in the district known now-a-days as
Schleswig-Holstein. They were of German race, so that the well-known
description of that country and people given by Tacitus in the _Germania_
applies to them, and is, moreover, confirmed in a remarkable way by
what we know of their institutions and customs after they had conquered
Britain. Perhaps the most striking feature of the society of our
forefathers is that they had no towns. They dwelt in village communities,
as the rural inhabitants of India do at the present day, and we are
able from other sources to form a very exact idea of the way in which
these communities were constituted. The land belonged to the whole of
the little society, and the district occupied by it was known as the
Mark. In the centre was the village. Beyond the village lay the arable
land, in which each member of the village had a share, but this he could
only cultivate in the same way as his neighbours. These shares were
frequently redistributed, so that no man might permanently hold a more
fertile portion than his neighbour, and the right to leave property by
will was strictly limited. The head man of the village was elected by the
community. Beyond the village came the common pasture land, into which
the cattle of the community were turned to feed as they pleased; and
farther still came the waste or belt of woodland or moor which separated
one village from the next.

The village, called the _vicus_ by Tacitus, was the administrative unit;
but, for purposes of common defence, a neighbourhood of villages was
combined into a district, or _pagus_, corresponding to what, after the
English had settled in Britain, was known as the _hundred_, that is,
the territory occupied by a hundred heads of families. Its chief is
called by Tacitus the _princeps_, who is known in later times as the
_alderman_, that is, the "older," and therefore more reverenced, man. A
union of _pagi_ formed a tribe, but our forefathers had not yet advanced
to the formation of a nation. In war the hosts were led by generals,
called _duces_ by Tacitus, and probably elected by the _principes_ of
the different districts. The confederacy had as yet no kings; kingship
was the result of the conquest of the foreign country of Britain, the
victorious general deriving an immense accession of authority from the
vast quantities of land which fell to his disposal.

Free as were their institutions, our forefathers recognised nevertheless
gradations of rank. There was the _eorl_ (earl), or man of noble birth.
Then came the _ceorl_, or churl, a term which has now become one of
contempt, but which then signified the freeman who was entitled to his
share of the common land. Lowest in the social scale came the _laet_,
or landless man, who cultivated the soil for his lord. It is improbable
that slavery existed to any considerable extent before the conquest of
Britain, when the conquered, if not exterminated, sank into a position to
which death must have been preferable. Every man above the rank of _laet_
was free in theory; but the origins of dependent relationship are seen
in the institution called by Tacitus the Comitatus, and by the English
the _Gefolge_ or _Gesith_. This was the bodyguard of the _princeps_, who
fought round him in battle, and over whose interests he watched, probably
rewarding them with grants of land whenever a permanent conquest or
occupation was effected.

The morality of the Germans is said by Tacitus to have been very high.
"They are almost the only barbarians who are content with one wife; there
being, however, a few exceptions among them who contract more than one
marriage, not from motives of passion, but on account of their nobility
of birth." "Good customs," he says in another place, "are of greater
influence there than good laws elsewhere;" and much respect was paid to
women. Justice was rude, as might be expected, every man being his own
avenger; but, even in the earliest times, murder might be atoned for by
the payment of a money fine called by the English the _wergild_, which
was graduated according to the rank of the person slain.

Our ancestors were heathens, and worshipped gods whose names are
preserved in some of the days of the week. _Woden_, the god of wars, has
given his name to Wednesday; _Thor_, the god of thunder, to Thursday;
_Friga_, the goddess (and wife of Odin), to Friday. Tuesday is called
after _Tew_, the god of night; the attributes of _Sætern_, after whom
Saturday is named, are not clearly known. Sunday and Monday are the days,
of course, of the sun and moon. Another deity of our forefathers is
perpetuated in Easter, the day of _Eostre_, the deity of the dawn. Our
ancestors believed in a future abode called the Walhalla, where the brave
warrior, after death, would sit at the feast, quaffing from the skulls of
his slaughtered enemies.

Of the conquest of Britain by the Angles and the other members of the
confederacy, little can be asserted as proven, for our chief authority,
the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," was not written until more than two hundred
years later. The familiar story is that in the year 449, the chiefs
of Britain were holding a council as to the most efficient means of
repelling the invasion of the Picts and Scots, when intelligence was
brought of the landing of a body of Jutish pirates under Hengist and
Horsa, on the neighbouring coasts. Vortigern, one of the most powerful
princes, proposed that the strangers should be invited to assist them
against the common enemy, which proposal was adopted. In consequence of
this arrangement, a negotiation with the strangers was entered into; the
Jutes were promised money and supplies in exchange for their swords and
arms. The offers were acceded to, and the Picts and Scots driven back
to their own country. Although the Jutes were far from being numerous,
Vortigern became anxious to secure their services for the future, and
a treaty was accordingly concluded between him and the two brothers,
Hengist and Horsa, by which the latter bound themselves to return with
a much larger number of their countrymen, on condition of receiving a
tract of land and subsidies of various kinds. The island of Thanet was
devoted to them for their abode. Faithful to their promise, the allies
returned with considerable reinforcements, and landed on the coast of
Kent. For some time the Jutes remained faithful to their engagement;
but becoming tired of fighting for others, their pride increased with
their success, and they demanded a large increase of territory, which
was indignantly refused. That which they could not obtain by concession
they resolved to gain by conquest, to which end they treacherously
entered into an alliance with the Picts and Scots, whom they had hitherto
combated. This fatal treaty made the Britons comprehend at last the error
they had fallen into. Instead of allies, they had made for themselves
masters. Indignation at the treachery, however, did not permit them at
once to succumb; the struggle was a fierce and protracted one. Several
British chiefs immortalised themselves in the battle which was fought
at Aylesford by deeds worthy of the heroic age; amongst others the son
of Vortigern, who, being pressed in battle, tore up a young tree by its
roots, with which he killed Horsa, and the Jutes were put to flight. It
is evident that the writer of the "Chronicle" imagines that the Britons
obtained several victories, for Hengist and the rest of his companions
re-embarked, and for five years the island was free from their presence.
The Jutes once more returned under the leadership of the surviving
brother, Hengist, in formidable numbers, and soon afterwards gained the
battle of Crayford, the result of which was the cession of the greater
part of Kent to the conquerors in 473. Eight years later they obtained a
second victory, which assured Hengist in his new possessions, from that
date called the kingdom of East Kent, to which was afterwards added West
Kent and the Isle of Wight.

Twenty-eight years after the first landing of the Jutes, Ælla, a chief of
Saxon race, who boasted himself the descendant of Odin, arrived with his
three sons in the same number of vessels, on the coast of Kent, and took
the old Roman fortress of Anderida (Pevensey). He eventually founded the
kingdom of Sussex.

The third kingdom founded by the invaders was that of Wessex, which in
time became the mightiest of them all. This, too, was created by Saxons,
who, settling to the west of the people of Sussex (South-Saxons), called
themselves West-Saxons. It began by an invasion of what is now Hampshire
by Cerdic and his son Cymric in 495, who, like the other victorious
chiefs, soon assumed the title of king. From them are descended the
royal family of the present day. They gradually conquered the country
up to the Severn, and as far as the limits of what are now called
Oxfordshire and Berkshire. From the Britons, or _Welsh_ as they called
them, "the speakers," that is, "of a strange tongue," they met a vigorous
resistance, and the war was doubtless carried on with hideous ferocity.
From the few Welsh words in the English language it is clear that little
or no admixture of races took place. The men were exterminated or driven
into the mountains; the women were probably kept as slaves. The hero
of the Welsh resistance in the west was the famous Arthur, whom legend
has so entirely taken for her own that very little positively can be
asserted about him. It is certain, however, that he won a great battle
over the Saxons at Mons Badonicus, identified by Professor Freeman with
Badbury in Dorsetshire. Ceawlin, however, the grandson of Cerdic, rallied
the Saxons, and after a long and protracted struggle, the resistance of
the Welsh was broken for the time being in 577 by the great victory of
Deorham, near Gloucester.

The third Saxon kingdom was that of Essex (the East Saxons), which
included the greater part of Middlesex, and with it London. No record,
however, remains to tell us of the exact process or time of this invasion.

The greater part of England and Scotland was, however, possessed by
the Angles; but of these migrations we know far less than those of the
Jutes and Saxons. East Anglia is said to have been founded in the fourth
century by a chief named Uffa, and there were two settlements formed,
Norfolk and Suffolk (the folk of the north and south).

[Illustration: TREATY OF HENGIST AND HORSA WITH VORTIGERN. (_See p._ 27.)]

Northumbria was also an Anglian settlement, with an admixture of
Frisians, on the banks of the Forth. We know little, however, of the
manner in which the two great divisions grew up--Bernicia, including
the whole of the country from the Forth to the Tees, with Edinburgh
as its capital; and Deira, founded by Ida in 547, answering, roughly
speaking, to Yorkshire, with York as its chief town. These two kingdoms
were sometimes united under one king; sometimes separate. The first king
over all Northumbria was Ethelfrith (600). It is important to notice
that the Lowland Scots are as purely English as the people of London;
and, curiously enough, we are in ignorance of the date when the present
boundary line between the two kingdoms became in any way fixed. The
separation probably did not occur before the time of Canute the Dane.

The last of the English kingdoms to be formed was that of Mercia,
the march or border-land. It probably owed its origin to the gradual
combination of a number of smaller kingdoms, and extended over the
greater part of the midlands.

Thus was founded what is sometimes called the Heptarchy; but wrongly so:
in the first place, because the word does not mean "seven kingdoms," but
"the rule of seven persons;" and in the second, because the number of
kingdoms in England was never fixed, but was sometimes fewer than seven,
sometimes more. It will be noticed that the Britons, or Welsh, still had
possession of an unbroken territory, extending over the whole of the west
of England and Scotland. It included Devon, Cornwall, and the greater
part of Somerset, the whole of the country west of the Severn, part of
Chester, Lancashire, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, and the whole of the
south-west of Scotland, which was called the kingdom of Strathclyde. The
Celtic inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands were also unsubdued; and for
many years the English fought against the Welsh and between themselves.

The first of the Anglo-Saxon or English kingdoms (to give them the
more generally accepted title) to acquire a definite superiority was
that of Kent; but it soon gave way to the rising power of Northumbria.
Nevertheless, the period of Kentish ascendency is one of great
importance, for it witnessed the conversion of England to Christianity.
Ethelbert, who reigned from 560 to 616, was the first prominent English
king after the various sovereignties had taken shape and consistency. He
married a Christian princess, Bertha, the daughter of Charibert, king of
the Franks. But although she was allowed to exercise her religion, it
does not appear that the new faith made any sensible progress until, in
the year 597, Pope Gregory the Great determined to send a monk, named
Augustine, to preach the Gospel in the land of the heathen English. The
beautiful story of the means by which Gregory's attention was called to
this distant land is well known. Before he became Pope, it chanced one
day that he was walking in the market-place at Rome and saw some fair
boys exposed for sale as slaves. His curiosity aroused, he asked of what
nation they came. "They are _Angles_," was the reply. "_Non Angli sed
Angeli_" ("They are not Angles, but angels"), said Gregory, "and should
be the co-heirs of the angels in heaven. But of what tribe are they?"
"Of Deira." "Then must they be delivered _de ira Dei_ (from the wrath
of God). And who is their king?" "Ella," was the answer. "Then," said
Gregory, "shall _Alleluia_ be sung in his land."

When Gregory became Pope he was not long in making good the promise, as
far as in him lay.

Augustine's task was easy; Ethelbert permitted him and his comrades to
dwell at Canterbury and preach to the people. After a while he went back
to the Continent to be consecrated bishop; and on his return, made the
church at Canterbury the cathedral of his diocese, whence Canterbury is
still the metropolitan see of all England. Although Christianity had been
exterminated by the invaders, its dying embers were rekindled among the
Welsh by missionaries from the Continent, and an attempt was now made
to agree upon a basis of union for the two churches. For this purpose a
meeting was arranged between Augustine and the Welsh bishops at a spot
on the banks of the Severn, and a conference was held. But although the
points of difference were slight, neither side would yield; and so the
two churches remained separate.

The greatness of Kent did not endure long after the landing of Augustine,
for in 616 Ethelbert, who had been over-king of the whole of England as
far north as the Humber, died; and his son Eadbald proved an inferior
ruler, and even relapsed into paganism. It was to the north that the
balance of power now inclined, where Edwin of Deira became King of
Northumbria, having overthrown his rival, Ethelfrith of Bernicia, in
a great battle, on the banks of the Idle (617). His marriage with
Ethelberga, the daughter of Ethelbert of Kent, led to the conversion
of Northumbria to Christianity. She brought with her a priest named
Paulinus, and he rapidly succeeded in persuading the people to adopt
Christianity. The story of the king taking counsel with his aldermen and
wise men concerning the new faith which was preached in their midst, and
the fine speech made by one of the thegns, in which he compared the life
of man to the flight of a sparrow from the darkness into a warm room at
wintertime, and thence out into the darkness and storm again, is told us
by Bede in his _Ecclesiastical History of the Nation of the English_.
"So it is," said the noble, "with the life of man; it endures but for a
moment, and we know not at all of what goeth before it and what cometh
after it. Therefore, if these strangers can tell us anything that we may
know whence a man cometh, and whither he goeth, let us hear them and
follow their law." So Northumbria became Christian for the time being,
and a church was built at York with Paulinus as its bishop. But in 633
Edwin was defeated and slain at Heathfield by the King of the Welsh,
and Penda the heathen king of Mercia, and the country relapsed for a
time into heathendom, until Oswald, Edwin's nephew, known as St. Oswald,
brought St. Aidan, a Scottish bishop, to Northumbria, and founded the see
of Lindisfarne, in Holy Island, off the Northumbrian coast. There the
holy St. Cuthbert lived, until his death in 687, and, going forth over
all Northumbria, converted vast numbers of men and women.

Concerning the conversion of the remaining kingdoms, we know
comparatively little. Mercia became Christian on the death of Penda, who
was overthrown by Oswy of Northumbria, in 655, at the battle of Winwood.
Wessex was converted by a bishop called Birinus, who was sent from Rome
by Pope Honorius; and though the first bishopric was fixed at Dorchester,
in Oxfordshire, the episcopal seat of Wessex was eventually fixed at
Winchester, and Dorchester became that of the Mercians. The last part
of England to become Christian was East Anglia, which was converted by
Wilfrith, who had been driven from Northumberland by King Egfrith, Oswy's
son and successor.

In less than a hundred years after the arrival of St. Augustine, England
became Christian, and the conversion had been in many cases accomplished
by missionaries from Rome. But many of the kingdoms also had been brought
to the new faith by bishops from Scotland; Mercia, for instance, and
Northumbria finally. These bishops came in many cases from the island of
Iona, and they did not acknowledge or follow the customs of the Church of
Rome. The great question as to which of the two rituals should prevail
was settled at a synod held at Whitby, when Northumbria adopted the Roman
use, and from that time ecclesiastical unity prevailed.

The organisation of the Church of England was effected by Theodore of
Tarsus, who was sent over to England as Archbishop of Canterbury in 668.
He proceeded to organise the various sees, usually following the limits
of the old English kingdoms; and though changes were occasionally made,
much of his work was permanent, and exists at the present day. So England
was one kingdom as far as its religious constitution was concerned, and
this unity led in turn, as we shall see, to a civil unity under the kings
of Wessex.

By the beginning of the eighth century it had become evident that the
struggle for supremacy would eventually be between Wessex and Mercia, for
Northumbria, a turbulent state, harassed by succession questions, had
already ceased to hold the pride of place. At first Mercia appeared to
have the advantage of the struggle. It soon recovered from the overthrow
of Penda, and from the years 716 to 819, with one or two intervals of
temporary prostration, it was extremely powerful. Ethelbald, the nephew
of Penda, reigned from 716 to 755, and built up a great power. Taking
advantage of the anarchy in Northumbria, and of the abdication of Ina of
Wessex, he subdued his neighbours in a series of successful wars, and
claimed to be king "not only of the Mercians, but of all the people who
are called by the common name of South-Angles." He was, however, in 754,
confronted by a general rebellion, and utterly defeated in a battle at
Burford.

In the following year Ethelbald died, and after a year's anarchy
was succeeded by Offa. He was not only a great warrior, but a great
statesman, and combined a series of conquests with a series of judicious
marriage alliances, until he had almost succeeded in making himself king
over all England. His most glorious wars were those against the Welsh,
whom he drove back from the Severn to the Wye. He built a large dyke from
the mouth of the Wye to the mouth of the Dee to keep them back, called
Offa's dyke. Offa was reverenced on the Continent almost as much as in
England, and we even find him corresponding on terms of equality with
the Emperor Charles the Great, known to romance as Charlemagne. Offa was
a warm friend of the Church; he created a temporary archbishopric at
Lichfield as a rival to York and Canterbury, and founded the Abbey of St.
Albans. The power of Mercia, however, depended almost entirely on the
personal abilities of her kings, and ended with Cenwulf, who reigned from
796 to 815. After his death it speedily collapsed, partly owing to the
failure of the royal line, partly owing to the rising power of Wessex,
and partly also owing to devastating raids of the Danes, who had already
begun to make their appearance in Britain.

CHAPTER IV.

RISE OF WESSEX AND OF THE SOCIAL SYSTEM OF ENGLAND.

Hitherto the rise of the kingdom of Wessex has been left out of sight
in these pages; but as we are approaching the reign of the great king
Egbert, it is necessary to trace the steps by which a great power had
been slowly consolidated in the West under a series of able kings. We
have already mentioned Ceawlin, the third of the sovereigns of the West
Saxons. This prince greatly added to his authority and possessions.
Besides defeating the Welsh in numerous battles, and conquering a large
district north of the Thames, he seized upon the kingdom of Sussex after
the death of Cissa, defeated the King of Kent, and was suspected of
entertaining the ambitious project of reducing all England under his
sceptre. But his subjects, headed by his nephew, Ceolric, rose against
him, and met him in battle at Wodensbury. Being defeated, Ceawlin ended
his days in exile. This collapse lost to the kingdom of Wessex all the
country which had been annexed to the north of the Thames.

Ceolric, his nephew, succeeded him; he died in 597.

This last-named prince was followed by his brother, Ceolwulf, who
defeated the South Saxons, and died in 611.

Cynegils, the son of Ceolric, succeeded him, and divided the kingdom with
his brother Quicelm. The two last-named princes obtained a great victory
over the Britons in 614. Before the death of Quicelm, which took place
in 635, he became a Christian: after his decease the kingdom was again
united under Cynegils, also a Christian, who henceforth reigned alone.

Cenwealh, his son, had to carry on a succession of wars with the kings of
Mercia. Penda, whose sister he had divorced, drove him from his kingdom,
and he remained in exile several years, but was afterwards restored,
dying in 672. His widow, Sexburh, was chosen as his successor.

This princess reigned little more than a year, when she died. Some
historians say that she was deposed by her subjects, who disliked the
idea of being commanded by a woman.

Cedwalla became king in 688. During the life of his predecessor, who
was jealous of the affection which the people bore him, he had been
compelled to fly. He carried on severe contests with the kings of Kent.
He afterwards conquered the Isle of Wight; and would have rooted out all
the inhabitants, but for the remonstrances of Wilfrith, Bishop of Selsey.
In 688 he undertook a journey to Rome, to receive baptism at the hands
of the Pope; for although he was a Christian and a great zealot, he had
never been baptised. As he travelled through France and Lombardy, he was
everywhere very honourably received; and Cunibert, King of the Lombards,
was particularly remarkable for the noble entertainment he gave him.
When he came to Rome, he was baptised by Pope Sergius II., who gave him
the name of Peter. He had always expressed a wish to die soon after his
baptism, and his desire was gratified, for he died a few weeks after,
at Rome, and was buried at St. Peter's Church, where a stately tomb was
erected to his memory, with an epitaph showing his name, quality, age,
and time of his death. His two sons being too young to succeed him, his
cousin Ina mounted the throne.

Ina was a king of much ability, and reigned no less than thirty-eight
years, _i.e._ from 688 to 726. He was a man of war, a legislator, and a
saint. By arms he succeeded in reducing Kent, Sussex, and East Anglia
to obedience, and fought many battles against the Welsh, building the
fortress of Taunton to protect his new frontier. As a legislator he made
a collection of laws seventy-six in number, which is the earliest English
code still in existence with the exception of some fragments of a legal
system drawn up by the kings of Kent. His holiness was seen in his large
benefactions to the Church. Wessex was divided into two dioceses, the new
bishop being placed at Sherborne, in Dorsetshire; he founded and endowed,
moreover, several monasteries, and rebuilt the abbey of Glastonbury, the
burial place of the famous king Arthur. But towards the end of his reign
it did not fare well with Ina. In 714 he fought a great battle with the
Mercians, in which so many were slain on either side that the issue was
held to be doubtful, and this large loss of life perhaps was the cause of
his subsequent defeats by the Welsh. Moreover, the members of the royal
house proved rebellious, and their leader Aldbert was not defeated by
Ina until a wearying contest had been waged between the two parties. In
726, therefore, Ina, tired of the world, and wishing to provide for the
safety of his soul, resigned his kingdom, and went to Rome, where he was
received by Pope Gregory the Second, and ended his days as a common man.

[Illustration: EDWIN OF NORTHUMBRIA AND THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. (_See
p._ 29.)]

The abdication of Ina was not productive of good consequences to Wessex;
and for nineteen years, from 733 to 752, the country was subject, as
has already been mentioned, to the yoke of Mercia until, led by their
king Cuthred, the second in succession to Ina, the people won freedom at
the battle of Burford. This stage of the history of Wessex is not very
important, and closes in 802, when the great king Egbert ascended the
throne.

Egbert had laid claim to the throne on the death of Cynewulf, which took
place in 784, but without success. Bertric was elected. Fear of the
vengeance of his more successful rival caused him to take refuge at the
court of Offa of Mercia, but still pursued by the jealousy of Bertric he
eventually withdrew to the court of Charles the Great. A close friendship
arose between the two, and Egbert modelled his after-career on that of
his benefactor. On the death of Bertric he was elected in his absence by
the Witena-gemot, or assembly of the wise men, in due form, and reigned
until 836. At once he set himself to win a superiority over the island,
as Charles had established a dominion on the continent. In the cases
of the southern kingdoms his task was easy, and they submitted without
a blow; East Anglia being allowed to retain her line of sovereigns as
subordinate kings, Kent, Essex and Sussex being practically annexed to
Wessex. But with Mercia the task was not so easy. However, in 823 he
defeated the Mercians so completely at the great battle of Ellandune that
their subject kingdoms, the names and extent of which are not exactly
known, were at once annexed to Wessex; and four years later Mercia itself
owned his supremacy, the king becoming his subordinate. In the following
year Northumbria, torn to pieces by internal dissensions, submitted on
similar terms. He thus became ruler over all England, and is deservedly
honoured by the "Chronicle" with the title of Bretwalda, or "Wealder of
Britain," which is bestowed on some of his predecessors with far more
questionable propriety.

[Illustration: MEETING OF THE SHIRE-MOOT. (_See p._ 34.)]

Not only did Egbert set himself the task of mastering all the English;
but he determined to conquer territory from the Welsh as well. During the
greater part of the reign the struggle went on with varying fortunes,
the general result being that Devonshire became English, that after the
subjection of Mercia the whole of Wales proper submitted (828), but that
he failed to make any impression upon the Celtic peoples north of the
Dee. In 835, the year before he died, the West Welsh, or Cornish, rose
in arms, and were reinforced by the Danes, who now began to scourge the
English coasts. Egbert, however, won a victory over them at Hengestesdun.
At the time of his death this great king ruled over the whole country
south of the Forth, with the exception of Cornwall and the south-west of
Scotland and north-west corner of England. Evidently he must have been a
man of first-rate ability; but of his personal character and disposition
singularly little is known.

Before coming to the period when the Danish invasions (which, however,
had already begun) became a matter of annual occurrence, it may be
well to see what changes had been effected in the social system of our
ancestors since their migration from the banks of the Elbe.

The system of land-owning was much changed, and private property in land
became the rule rather than the exception. At first land was allotted
to each village, and every family had a portion, known as a _hide_, as
its share. The dimensions of the hide appear to have varied according to
locality; as a rule it comprised from thirty to forty acres, but in later
times it covered as much as a hundred and twenty. The remainder of the
land was theoretically public property, and hence was called _folkland_;
but it was in the hands of the king, who, with the assent of the
Witena-gemot, made grants of it from time to time to his thegns, or to the
great monasteries, when it was known as _bookland_, land that is granted
out on copyhold tenure--to use a modern legal equivalent, which is fairly
exact. _Ethel_, or _alod_, was land held by undisputed possession from
the first settlement, and which could be transmitted from father to son.
The owners of _Ethel_ had no title-deeds to show, but based their claim
to ownership on tradition. Later on, however, the distinction between
_Ethel_ and _bookland_ disappears, the owners of the former finding it a
safer course to get a charter for their property.

As to the administration of the English kingdoms, the important point to
notice is that it was not entirely in the hands of a central authority,
but each local community had its own affairs in its hands to a very
considerable extent. In viewing the social organism, it will be well to
start, as before, from the village community, whether in the form of
_vicus_ or rural township, _town_ or group of houses surrounded by a
quickset hedge or _tun_, and _borough_ the dwellings round the fortified
house (_burh_) of a great noble. In each of these there was a _moot_,
or local assembly, presided over by a magistrate or _reeve_, who was
at first elected by the general body of the inhabitants, but later on
appointed by the neighbouring nobility. So, too, the judicial functions
of these petty assemblies were rapidly taken from them, and cases were
tried instead at the manor-courts of the great lords.

A union of villages and towns formed the _hundred_, and to the court of
the hundred each township sent the reeve and four men. Cases which lay
outside their jurisdiction were sent up from the town-moots, but here,
too, the nobility began to encroach upon the rights of their weaker
neighbours; and in cases where landowners had privileges known as _sac_
and _soc_, the decision in their courts was final, and was not subject
to the court of the hundred. The police of the hundred was provided by
the system known as _frankpledge_ (peace pledge), by which freemen were
grouped into bodies of ten, in which each man had to go bail for any one
of the other nine, and produce him before the court if he had done wrong.
The landless man in the same way was compelled to find a lord who would
be answerable for him.

The division above the hundred was the _shire_, usually formed on
the lines of the old kingdoms, as in the case of Kent and Sussex; or
sub-kingdoms as in the case of most of the midland shires. The boundaries
of each shire were co-extensive with those of each bishopric. The court
of the shire, or shire-moot, was presided over by the _sheriff_ or reeve
of the shire, who was appointed by the king. By his side sat the alderman
or chief military officer of the shire, and the bishop. The shire-moot
met twice a year, and any freeman was entitled to attend it, and to have
a voice in its decisions.

Its business was two-fold, taxation and justice. Taxation was a very
simple affair, being practically non-existent until the period of the
Danish invasion, when, as we shall see, the obnoxious burden known as
Danegeld was introduced. Its necessity was obviated by the obligation
which lay upon every freeman known as the "three-fold necessity"
(_trinoda necessitas_), by which he was bound to attend the host or
_fyrd_ in time of war, to repair the public roads, and to keep the
fortifications in good order. Thus no imposts were necessary for what are
some of the principal sources of modern rating; while the king lived and
kept up his court upon the proceeds of the royal domains.

In the matter of justice the shire-moot acted as a court of appeal from
the inferior courts. The influence of the great landowners over it must
have been considerable, for the verdict was given by the twelve senior
thegns. The methods of trial in this and the other courts of old England
in criminal cases were three in number, a statement of innocence on oath,
_compurgation_ and _ordeal_. Compurgation was a mode of defence by which
a man was held to have established his innocence if he could get twelve
men to swear that he was not guilty of the crime in question. Ordeal
was allowed as an alternative to those who failed in or shrank from the
process of compurgation or of taking an oath themselves. It was practised
either by boiling water or red-hot iron. The water, or iron, was
consecrated by many prayers, masses, fastings, and exorcisms; after which
the person accused either took up a stone sunk in the water to a certain
depth, or carried the iron to a certain distance; and his hand being
wrapped up, and the covering sealed for three days, if there appeared,
on examining it, no marks of burning, he was pronounced innocent; if
otherwise, guilty. There were other and less credible methods of trial by
ordeal. The trial by cold water was one of them. The person was thrown
into consecrated water; if he swam he was guilty, if he sank, innocent.
It is difficult for us to conceive how any innocent person could ever
escape by the one trial, or any criminal be convicted by the other. But
there was another usage admirably calculated for allowing every criminal
to escape who had confidence enough to try it. A consecrated cake, called
a _corsned_, was produced; if the person could swallow and digest it, he
was pronounced innocent. Walking on burning ploughshares also appears as
an ordeal, but seldom, or never, except in stories that are evidently
mythical.

The punishments amongst the English seem to have been exceedingly mild
for some offences, since even murder might be atoned for by the payment
of a fine.

The laws of Alfred enjoin that if any one know that his enemy or
aggressor, after doing him an injury, resolves to keep within his
own house and his own lands, he shall not fight him till he require
compensation for the injury. If he be strong enough to besiege him in
his house, he may do it for seven days without attacking him; and if the
aggressor be willing during that time to surrender himself and his arms,
his adversary may detain him thirty days; but is afterwards obliged to
restore him safe to his kindred, and be content with the compensation.
If the criminal fly to the church, that sanctuary must not be violated.
Where the assailant has not force sufficient to besiege the criminal
in his house, he must apply to the alderman for assistance; and if the
alderman refuse aid, the assailant must have recourse to the king; and he
is not allowed to assault the house till after this supreme magistrate
has refused assistance. If any one meet with his enemy, and be ignorant
that he was resolved to keep within his own lands, he must, before he
attack him, require him to surrender himself prisoner, and deliver up his
arms, in which case he may detain him thirty days; but if he refuse to
deliver up his arms, it is then lawful to fight him. A slave may fight in
his master's quarrel, and a father in his son's, with any one except his
master.

Ina enacted that no man should take revenge till he had first demanded
compensation, and it had been refused him.

King Edmund decreed that if a man committed a murder, he might, within
a year, pay the fine, with the assistance of his relatives and friends;
but if they refused to aid him, he should alone sustain the feud with the
kindred of the murdered person.

There is, indeed, a law of Alfred, which makes wilful murder capital;
but this seems only to have been an attempt of that great legislator
towards establishing a better police in the kingdom, and probably it
was not often carried into execution. By the laws of the same prince, a
conspiracy against the life of the king might be redeemed by a fine.

The fine to be paid for the murder of a king, or his wergild--a word
signifying the legal value of any one,--was by law 30,000 thrismas,
nearly 1,300 pounds of present money. The price of the head of one of
royal blood (Atheling), was 15,000 thrismas; that of a bishop's, or
alderman's, 8,000; a sheriff's, 4,000; a thegn's, or clergyman's, 2,000;
a ceorl's, 266. These prices were fixed by the laws of the Angles. By the
Mercian law, the price of a ceorl's head was 200 shillings; that of a
thegn's six times as much; that of a king's, six times more. By the laws
of Kent, the price of the archbishop's head was higher than that of the
king. It must be understood that where a person was unable or unwilling
to pay the fine, he was put out of the protection of the law, and the
kindred of the deceased had liberty to punish him as they thought proper.

The price of all kinds of wounds was likewise fixed by the English law:
a wound of an inch long under the hair was paid with one shilling; one
of a like size in the face, with two shillings; thirty shillings were
the compensation for the loss of an ear; and so forth. There seems not
to have been any difference made according to the dignity of the person.
By the laws of Ethelbert, any one who committed adultery with his
neighbour's wife was obliged to pay him a fine, and buy him another wife.

The court of the nation was known as the _witena-gemot_, or assembly of
the wise men. Originally, no doubt, it was a far more popular institution
than it became in later times. In theory every freeman was entitled to be
present; but it was gradually confined to a small body of men, and the
average number of those who attended it was about thirty. They consisted
of royal officials and heads of the church, the bishops, aldermen, and
personal attendants of the king spoken of in the laws and chronicles as
_ministri_. Such a body, although it had in theory great powers, was,
as Bishop Stubbs points out, practically very much under the control of
a strong king.

Its powers were as follows:

(1) All laws, whether national or ecclesiastical, were made with its
counsel and consent.

(2) It supervised grants of land, especially the conversion of _folkland_
into _bookland_.

(3) It was a court of justice in the last resort.

(4) It laid on especial taxes, such as the Danegeld.

(5) It discussed questions of foreign policy.

(6) It elected the aldermen in conjunction with the king, and the bishops
in the more important sees. Bishops were, as a rule, however, elected by
the clergy.

(7) It could elect and depose kings. Deposition was frequent in some
kingdoms, notably in turbulent Northumbria. As to election, "the choice,"
says Bishop Stubbs, "was limited to the best qualified person standing in
close connection to the last sovereign."

Thus we see that the English kings were elected by the assembly of the
nation; and they went through some form of election, perfunctory though
it was no doubt, even in times subsequent to the Norman conquest. We have
already mentioned that the institution of kingship was subsequent to
the invasion of Britain, and was due to the immense amount of territory
that fell to the disposal of the victorious general and the accession
of importance he assumed thereby. The king was the chief magistrate
in peace, and the leader of the national host (_fyrd_) in war; and
the introduction of Christianity invested him with new attributes of
sanctity. Still, it is important to notice that the idea of treason, and
the penalty of death attached to it, was of late development. The penalty
for killing a king is only a higher _wergild_ than in the case of an
ordinary individual.

The difference between class and class becomes more sharply defined
after the invasion of Britain than before it. The bodyguard of the king
(_comitatus_ or _gesith_) is more distinctly dependent upon him. They are
known as his servants, or _thegns_. As regards the bulk of the people
they form, however, a noble class. There were king's thegns and lesser
thegns; the distinction being apparently regulated by the amount of land
which they possessed.

It was possible, however, for men who were not owners of land, to rise to
the rank of thegn. Thus Athelstan decreed that a merchant who made three
long sea voyages on his own account should be entitled to the quality of
thegn. The classes of _ceorls_, or freedmen, and _laets_, landless men
who cultivated the soil for their lords, continued to exist; but there
was also a class of absolute slaves usually occupied in household labour,
whose position must have been most unenviable. The power of the master
over his slave, however, was not unlimited, for if he beat his eyes or
his teeth out, the latter might claim his liberty; and if he killed him,
he paid a fine to the king, provided the slave died within a day after
receiving his wound.

The English Church was on the best of relations with the various kingdoms
with which its dioceses coincided. The bishop sat with the sheriff and
alderman in the shire-moot, and was a member of the witena-gemot. The
kings and aldermen in the same way took part in the ecclesiastical
councils which were convened after the organisation of the ecclesiastical
system by Theodore of Tarsus. According to his scheme of reform, a
general council of the whole Church was to assemble every August, and
he himself presided over two great councils at Hertford and Hatfield.
The idea was not carried out after his death with perfect regularity,
especially after Archbishop Egbert had successfully asserted the
independence of the see of York; still such assemblies were occasionally
held, and were of the greatest assistance in developing the idea of
national unity. They met at some border town such as Clovesho, an
unknown spot near London, where the hostile kings of Mercia, Wessex,
Kent, and Essex associating with the bishops, abbots, and occasionally
diocesan clergy, learnt to sink their differences, and to realise the
greatness of their common interests. Even after the national assemblies
had practically resolved themselves into the two provincial synods
of Canterbury and York, the comparative unimportance of the northern
province frequently invested the proceedings of the southern with a
national character. Assemblies of each diocese were also occasionally
summoned, which were largely attended by the parish priests, the parish
coinciding with the townships in the same way that the diocese coincided
with the kingdom or subkingdom.

[Illustration: _Typo. Etchin. Co. del. et. sc._

MAP OF ENGLAND SHOWING THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOMS AND DANISH DISTRICTS.]

The English Church was notably a learned Church, and numbered among its
dignitaries Bede, the historian of the Church. Despite the intimate
connection between Church and State, it was not a distinctly political
Church. The sees were often set up at a distance from the great towns;
and the bishops made their ecclesiastical duties the chief interest
of their lives, seldom degenerating, as on the Continent, into great
territorial princes. The Church was also a popular institution. It was
supported by voluntary tithes which were not made imperative by law
earlier than the year 787. Its main fault was a certain desultoriness
of effort, which is to be traced in the failure to carry out Theodore's
plans in their integrity. Learning had almost died out at the time of the
accession of Alfred, and the invasions of the Danes can only be adduced
as a partial excuse. We find that king complaining that very few of his
clergy could translate a letter from Latin. The Church was, moreover,
excessively monastic. Pious kings founded and liberally endowed numerous
monasteries, which rapidly became luxurious and corrupt, until some were
religious societies only in name. The system, however, had its advantages
when it was necessary to furnish missionaries gratuitously to poor
districts.

CHAPTER V.

THE DANISH INVASIONS AND THE REIGN OF ALFRED.

We have arrived at the period of the Danish invasions, which has been
divided by Professor Freeman into three parts:

(1) When the Danes came to plunder.
(2) When they came to settle.
(3) When they came to conquer England.

Of the first division little is to be said, and in part it has already
been dealt with incidentally while tracing the rise of the kingdom of
Wessex. The first descent upon the English coast seems to have been made
upon Northumbria in 787.

The Danes were a brave and unscrupulous race, inhabiting not only
Denmark, but also Norway. Bound by a limited territory, in a climate
where population rapidly increases, it is not to be wondered at that
Denmark and Norway were overstocked with inhabitants, and, consequently,
forced to send away large colonies. Their natural inclination to a sea
life made these exiles readily abandon their country; and the great booty
the first adventurers gained tempted the richest and most powerful of
their countrymen to urge their fortune in the same manner; to which end
they entered into associations, and fitted out large fleets to seek and
ravage foreign countries. These associations were much of the same nature
with those formed in later times by the corsairs of Barbary; and they
became so entirely devoted to this mode of life, that very considerable
fleets were put to sea. They had the authority and example of their
highest leaders, who occasionally commanded them in person, for what they
did. These leaders were known by the name of Sea-kings. Their fleets
made much devastation in several parts of Europe, particularly France,
England, and the Low Countries. In France they were called Normans--that
is, men of the north; but in England they were generally styled Danes.
There is no doubt that the Swedes very often joined with the Danes in
their piratical expeditions; and it appears that the Frieslanders also
were concerned with them in ravaging the coasts of France and England.

Egbert died in 839, after having reigned thirty-seven years, during
the last ten as sole monarch of England. He was succeeded by his son
Ethelwulf, in whose reign the ravages of the Danes became yet more
frequent. In a great battle fought at Charmouth the English were once
more defeated by their fierce enemy, who retired to their own country
again with the spoils they had collected, without attempting any
settlement.

The Danes now seldom failed to visit England yearly for the sake of
plunder. In 845, the Aldermen Enulph and Osric, aided by Bishop Alstan,
obtained a considerable victory over them. In 851, the barbarians landed
again on the coast of Wessex, where they plundered the country, but were
met by Ethelwulf's general, the Alderman Ceorl, who defeated them at
Wembury with great slaughter. Shortly afterwards, Athelstan, the King of
Kent, encountered them upon their own element, and succeeded in capturing
nine of their ships. Next year the Danes sailed up the Thames with 300
vessels, and pillaged London, after which they marched into Mercia, and
would have overrun all England if the preparations of Ethelwulf had not
deterred them. They re-passed the Thames, and were defeated at Okely, in
Surrey. The year 855 is an important one, for the Danes then wintered in
England for the first time, selecting the Isle of Sheppey for their camp.

Ethelwulf appears to have been in some respects a weak, but by no means
a cruel prince. He was very religiously minded, and was led for years,
in all religious matters, by Swithin, Bishop of Winchester, and Alstan,
Bishop of London. By the advice of the former, he is said to have
granted to the Church the tithe of all his dominions. He also sent his
youngest son, Alfred, when a mere boy, to Rome, and in 855 visited the
Eternal City himself. On his return, he passed through France, where he
married Judith, or Leatheta, as she is named in the Saxon Chronicles, the
daughter of Charles the Bald, a princess only twelve years of age. During
his absence, his son Ethelbald and Bishop Alstan plotted against him,
and on his arrival in England he was compelled to resign the kingdom of
Wessex to the former to prevent a civil war. The aged monarch survived
this partition but two years.

Ethelwulf, by his will, disposed of the kingdom of Kent to his second
son, Ethelbert, and the kingdom of Wessex to Ethelbald, Ethelred, and
Alfred, in order of seniority, and directed his heirs to maintain one
poor person for every tithing in his hereditary lands. He died in 857,
having reigned eighteen years, leaving behind him four sons and one
daughter, who was married to Burhred, King of Mercia, and died at Pavia
in 888. Ethelbald, the eldest son, was already in possession of the
kingdom of Wessex; and Ethelbert, his brother, succeeded to Kent, Essex,
Surrey, and Sussex, comprised under the name of the kingdom of Kent.

Ethelbald, a prince of but little capacity, reigned not quite three years
after his father's death, his brother Ethelbert succeeding him. In the
reign of the last-named king, the Danes once more renewed their ravages
in England, and penetrated as far as Winchester, from which city they
were beaten back to their ships at Southampton by the Aldermen Osric and
Ethelwulf.

On their landing, in the autumn of the same year, in the Isle of Thanet,
Ethelbert offered them a large sum of money to retire, which they
promised to do, but broke faith with him, and commenced ravaging the
kingdom of Kent, and carried off their booty in safety. In 866 Ethelbert
died, and was succeeded by his brother, Ethelred I.

In this reign the Danish invasions assume a more terrible aspect; and
the second period, the transition to which was marked by the wintering
in Sheppey, may be considered to have fully begun. During his short
reign, Ethelred, who was a brave warrior, was engaged in almost incessant
conflict with these savage heathens. The struggle began in 867, when the
brothers Ingvar and Hubba, thirsting, according to a not very probable
legend, to avenge their father, who had been put to death by Ella, the
sub-king of Northumbria, landed in East Anglia, and took York. In the
following year they marched upon Mercia. Nottingham fell; but Ethelred
and his brother Alfred came to the assistance of the Mercian king,
Burhred, and drove the enemy back into Northumberland. This success
was, however, only temporary, for, advancing from York in 870, under
a leader named Guthrum, they conquered East Anglia, and it became a
Danish kingdom. The under-king of East Anglia was named Edmund; he was
defeated near Thetford, and taken prisoner. For his refusal to abjure
Christianity, the barbarians shot at him with arrows while he was bound
to a tree, and at last beheaded him; wherefore Edmund was deservedly
honoured as a saint. Over the whole of East Anglia and Mercia hardly a
church or monastery was left standing. All were committed to the flames.

With East Anglia as a basis of operations, the Danes extended their
advance over parts of England which had as yet escaped. In 871 they
penetrated into Wessex; but here their task was not so easy. Nine great
battles were fought round Reading; some of them being won by the English,
some by the Danes. Of these, the most famous was that of Ashdown, in
which Alfred bore the brunt of the fray, while his brother was praying
for success. At Easter, King Ethelred died, probably from the effects of
a wound. His valour and piety gained for him the title of saint.

The general outlook, when Alfred was chosen king of the English in
succession to his brother, must have been terrible indeed. The Danes,
already masters of Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia, were in the very
heart of the kingdom of Wessex; and, notwithstanding the many battles
Ethelred had fought with them, they were in possession of several towns;
and not only maintained their position in the island, but had reason to
hope they should soon complete the conquest of it. The new monarch had
only been a month on the throne, when he found himself obliged to take
the field against these formidable enemies, who had advanced as far as
Wilton, whither he marched to attack them. Victory for some time inclined
to his side, then suddenly changed in favour of the Danes; but Alfred's
loss was not so considerable as to make him despair, though the victory
certainly belonged to the enemy. He laboured incessantly to put his army
in condition to give them battle again, before they should be reinforced;
they were astonished at his expedition, and, though victorious, sued for
peace, finding themselves unable to continue the war. As they offered to
march out of his dominions, on condition he would not molest them in any
other part of England, Alfred accepted their offer, and gained by this
treaty time to prepare against a new invasion.

The Danes, quitting Wessex, retired to London, which they had taken
during the late war. Ingvar was gone back to Denmark, having left the
command of the army to his brother Hubba, who, being prevented from
attacking Wessex, turned his arms against Mercia. Burhred, its king,
knowing he was unable to resist, since Alfred was bound not to send him
any succours, thought it his wisest course to buy off the Danes with a
sum of money, and save his country from their depredations. Upon the
receipt of the money, they marched towards Northumbria, designing to take
up their quarters with their countrymen; but their provisions running
short, in consequence of the devastations they themselves had made there,
they were under the necessity of returning into Mercia.

Before they had left Northumbria, they deposed Egbert, whom they had
placed on the throne, and put Recsige, a Danish earl, in his room.
Burhred, finding they were come again into his dominions, complained
of their breach of faith; but without regarding his complaints, they
obliged him to give them another considerable sum to save his country
from the destruction it was threatened with; and no sooner was the money
paid, than they fell to plundering and ravaging, and Burhred found
that even his own person was in danger. The fear of falling into their
hands obliged him to abandon his kingdom, and retire to Rome, where he
spent the rest of his days in the English college. Mercia being thus
left without a king, and Alfred being prevented by his own treaty from
lending any assistance, the Danes without difficulty became masters of
that kingdom, and raised Ceolwulf, a servant of Burhred, to the throne,
till they could otherwise dispose of it. Aware of the slight tenure
of his office, the new ruler resolved to make the utmost of his time,
and so oppressed the unhappy Mercians that they suffered more from the
tyranny of their own countryman than from the rapacity of the conquerors.
Meanwhile the Danes were beginning to settle in Northumbria, and Alfred
was employing himself in winning victories over them by sea.

[Illustration: DANISH SHIPS.]

Whilst Alfred flattered himself with the hope of enjoying comparative
peace, new calamities were preparing for his unhappy country. A large
party of Danes, under Guthrum, landed in England, and surprised Wareham
Castle, the strongest fortress in Wessex. The king was obliged to
purchase his retreat. The invaders swore on the holy relics never again
to set foot in Wessex, an oath which they quickly violated. From the very
nature of their government, no treaty could bind the Danes as a nation,
seeing that it was composed of a variety of chiefs and petty powers, who
entered into associations independent of each other. The successful
return of one expedition merely proved an incentive to others of their
countrymen to follow in their track.

[Illustration: THE DANES SAILING UP THE ENGLISH CHANNEL (CIRCA 877).

FROM THE PAINTING BY HERBERT A. BONE.]

[Illustration: ALFRED IN THE NEAT-HERD'S HUT. (_See p._ 42.)]

Alfred, finding it was in vain to conclude treaties with such a
perfidious race of people, resolved to take more effectual measures to
secure himself from their treachery. For this purpose he convened a
general assembly. He represented to them that they had nothing to trust
to but their own valour and courage, to deliver them from their miseries,
and urged upon them the absolute necessity of venturing their lives in
defence of their country, and of sacrificing part of their estates to
preserve the remainder. His eloquent remonstrances having produced the
effect he expected, a force was levied, with which he went after the
enemy, who had taken Exeter. Finding that they could not be dislodged
from the castle, he was once more constrained to treat with the invaders;
and though he could place no great dependence upon their promises, it was
the only way by which he could put an end to a disastrous war. The new
treaty, in which the Danes undertook not to return any more into Wessex,
was somewhat better kept than the former one.

The respite, however, was an exceedingly brief one, and in the year 878
Alfred's fortunes were at their lowest ebb. In the beginning of the
year the Danes fitted out an expedition with great secrecy, the object
of which was to overwhelm Wessex. The attack took place so suddenly
that Alfred was ill prepared to meet it. Chippenham was taken, and the
dispirited English no longer felt courage to prosecute the war. Many
fled, whilst others (and of them not a few) leagued themselves with the
Danes, swearing allegiance to them.

So general was the defection, that the unhappy monarch found himself
deserted by all but a few domestics and faithful friends, who still
adhered to his fallen fortunes. In this extremity, he showed himself
greater, perhaps, than when on the throne, and acted with a prudence
and wisdom which few princes would have found courage to imitate. He
dismissed them all; and, with no other support than his courage and
patriotism, set forth a wanderer, alone, and on foot, in the kingdom he
had so lately reigned over.

Such was his poverty that the uncrowned king was compelled to solicit
shelter in the hut of a neat-herd in the island of Athelney, in
Somersetshire, a remote spot, surrounded by a dangerous marsh, wild and
desolate as his own fortunes, and only to be approached by a single
path, and that but little known. Here the fugitive had time to repair
his shattered health, collect his thoughts, and meditate on plans for
the future delivery of his oppressed and outraged country. Savage and
uninviting as was his retreat, it afforded that which he had most need
of, safety.

It is recorded that, whilst Alfred was an inmate of this abode, the
neat-herd's wife, who did not know him, having occasion to quit the
cottage for a time, set him the task of watching the cakes of rye-bread
which were baking on the fire. The king, whose mind was distracted by far
more important subjects, neglected his instructions, and when the woman
returned she found the cakes blackened and burnt. If tradition speaks
truly, the virago chid him soundly, reproaching him that he was more
ready to eat than to work.

In this miserable concealment the fugitive remained six months, when
fortune, tired of persecuting him, appeared to relent, and once more
smiled upon the efforts of the brave, but hitherto unlucky, English.

Hubba, who had been entrusted by his brother Ingvar with the command of
his troops, had invaded Wales, laying the country in flames, ravaging,
and destroying. He afterwards penetrated into Devonshire, in the kingdom
of Wessex, with a similar intent. At his approach the Alderman of Devon
retreated with a body of determined men to Kenworth Castle, on the river
Taw, in order to withstand them. The Danish chief not long before had
decided on attacking the fortress, believing that the scanty garrison
would surrender at his first summons; in which opinion, however, he
was doomed to find himself mistaken, for the earl, seeing that it was
impossible to defend the place with so few men, however devoted, told
them frankly that one only course was left for them, to conquer and
live free men, or die beneath the swords of their relentless enemy. His
harangue had the desired effect: the English, animated by his words,
sallied forth, and fell upon the Danes so unexpectedly, that before they
could recover from their panic their leader was slain; on seeing which,
his followers fled in all directions. The spot where Hubba fell was
afterwards called Hubblestain, or Hubblelaw, from the monument raised
over his remains by his countrymen.

On hearing the joyful intelligence of this victory, Alfred left his
concealment, and called his friends once more to arms. They assembled
in separate bodies in various parts of the kingdom, establishing such
means of communication as might enable them to join their forces together
at the shortest notice; and here a somewhat mythical story is told. It
is said that the great difficulty was to ascertain the position of the
enemy, which dangerous task the patriot king undertook himself. The
story runs that, disguised as a harper, he made his way into the Danish
camp, and stayed there several days, secretly noting the disposition of
their forces all the while. Having acquainted himself with all he wished
to learn, Alfred returned to his countrymen, and named Selwood Forest
for the general place of meeting. His directions were carried out so
expeditiously, that in a comparatively brief space of time the English
monarch was enabled to attack his enemy at the head of a powerful army,
consisting of the inhabitants of Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire.
The Danes, though unexpectedly assailed, defended themselves with their
usual bravery, but at last were entirely routed. They attributed their
defeat to the loss of the raven standard, which had been taken when Hubba
fell, and to which they superstitiously attached magical powers--that it
indicated victory and defeat by clapping or depressing its wings. This
battle was fought at Edington, not far from Trowbridge, in 878.

The consequence of this victory for the English was the Treaty of
Wedmore. By it England was divided between Alfred and Guthrum, the Danish
king of East Anglia, the latter receiving by far the larger part of
England, but the former keeping London. The boundary line ran along the
Thames to the mouth of the Lea, thence to Bedford and the Ouse to Watling
Street. Thus Alf

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