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A UTHOR: 
 
 CLARKE, STEPHEN 
 REYNOLDS 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 VEST 
 OR. 
 
 ANGLICAN 
 LLUSTRATION 
 
 PL A CE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DA TE: 
 
 1826 
 
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 Clarke, Stephen Reynolds. 
 
 \'estigia anu;licana: or, Illustrations of the more inter- 
 esting- and dehatablc points in the history and antiquities 
 of Pno;land : fron) the eadiest ages to the accession of 
 the house of Tudor . . . By Stephen Reynolds Clarke 
 London, Printed for T. & G. Underwood, 1S26. 
 
 2 V. front, ([lort.) '2'2"". 
 
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VESTIGIA ANGLIC ANA; 
 
 OR, 
 
 
 / 
 
 f'^(^^ 
 
 X 
 
 OF THE MORE INTERESTING AND DEBATABLE POINTST V . 
 
 IN THE 
 
 HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES 
 
 OF 
 
 ENGLAND: 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST AGES 
 
 TO 
 
 TITE ACCESSION OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, 
 
 % 
 i 
 
 BY 
 
 STEPHEN REYNOLDS CLAllKE. 
 
 (( 
 
 Ce qu'on aurait voulu retenir de la lecture de l*/iistoire, ce gu*07i 
 
 a inter ait a s*€n rappelei 
 
 »» 
 
 VOL.1 
 
 ^ — 
 
 llontron : 
 
 PRINTED FOR T. Sc G. UNDERWOOD, 32, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1826. 
 
I . %. 
 
 ic. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 / 
 
 T. Be.nslrVj Piintcr, Cianc Court, Flevt Slrcct. 
 
 The extreme popularity of Mr. Hume's acute and 
 delightful volumes, having almost superseded the peru- 
 sal of other histories of England, has caused a very 
 general unacquaintedness with those topics connected 
 with our early annals, which that author, either from 
 haste or negligence, has carelessly passed over. It 
 was somewhat in the spirit of supplying these defi- 
 ciencies that the present w ork originated. 
 
 The formality of the orthodox rules of history has 
 been considered by the irreverent spirit of the age as 
 making a near approach to dulness, and consequently 
 nothing is more frequently complained of, than the 
 difficulty of remembering events, and the ennui with 
 which the perusal of the remote period of English, as 
 well as of other, history is apt to be accompanied: 
 whatever noise the sieges, the battles, and tlie treaties 
 occasioned in their day, nothing has a more extraor- 
 dinary tendency to produce repose and quiet now. In 
 the present attempt to recal the public attention to many 
 important but almost forgotten particulars, the Author, 
 by combining the stream of authentic narrative with 
 
 various discursive enquiries into the traditions, the 
 
 b 
 
 11 
 
 O 
 
 ,^s 
 
^wpp 
 
 -» » ^ I — 
 
 .JT 
 
 IV 
 
 PREFACE.* 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 >■ * ■*» * 
 
 Vi 
 
 * - » 
 
 manners, the literature, and the institutions of suc-^ 
 cessive eras, has endeavoured to divest his subject of 
 tediousness without impairing its utility, and to render 
 the progress of events more interesting: than is usually 
 found in the severe and unbending style of the pro- 
 fessed historian. 
 
 '* To effect so desirable a purpose, the author has 
 ventured to choose the medium of Dialogue, as admit- 
 ting with propriety every variety of digression; and 
 thus perhaps '' Conversations on the History and Anti- 
 quities of England" would have been the more appro- 
 priate title, had not the term, from its late frequent 
 application, been understood to be restricted to pub- 
 
 V l> 
 
 lications chiefly elementar\\ The speakers arc distin- 
 guished 'by the initial letters of Author, Friend, and 
 Pupil. An adherence to a rule of the ancients, who 
 fixed a local situation in which the disputants began 
 their converse, has given an opportunity to trace the 
 progress of architecture in England, by an examination 
 of several of its most celebrated structures; which 
 discussion, it is presumed, will justify the assumption 
 of the term 'Antiquities' in the title-page. 
 
 The prejudices and misrepresentations of party 
 theory the Author disavows, as alike hostile to lainiess 
 and to truth. In every doubtful point it has been his 
 endeavour to enquire with diligence, and to judge with 
 candour. In dismissing his work to the indulgence of 
 the public, he gratefully acknowledges the ready access 
 which he has found to the inexhaustible stores of the 
 
 British .Museum, the value of which assistance it is 
 impossible too highly to appreciate, as it has afforded 
 him air ample opportunity to verify his facts by a con- 
 stant reference to original authorities ; nor can he pass 
 over w itliout acknowledgment, the ever open doors of 
 the London Institution, which, by affording him the 
 unrestricted use of a well-chosen collection of historical 
 and topographical volumes, has essentially facilitated 
 
 his progress. 
 
 ^i Having originally intended to publish his w^ork by 
 subscription, the thanks of the Author are due to those 
 Noblemen and Gentlemen who favoured him with their 
 patronage, and above all to the condescending kindness 
 of his Majesty, who had graciously permitted that his 
 name should appear at the head of the list of the 
 subscribers. 
 
 nr:>0(i 
 
 ^ i 
 
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 \ 
 
 \ 
 
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I 
 
 By the same Author ^ 
 
 THE BRITISH BOTANIST; 
 
 Or, A Familiar Introduction to tiik Science of Botany : 
 explaining the Physiology of Vegetation, the principles both 
 of the artificial and natural Systems of Linnaeus, and the 
 Arrangement of Jussieu. 12mo. with fifteen plates. Price, 
 coloured, 10^. 6cl. ; plain, 7s. 6d. 
 
 t ^ 3 • 
 
 HORTUS ANGLICUS; 
 
 I. 
 
 Or, The Modern English Garden : containinir a familiar 
 description of all the Plants which are cultivated in the climate 
 of Great Britain, either for use or ornament, and of a selec- 
 tion from the established favourites of the stove and irreen- 
 house 3 arranged accorrhng to the System of Limianis, with 
 remarks on the pro})erties of tlie mure valuable species. Two 
 vols. 12mo. Price 16s. 
 
 Published and sold by Messrs. C. and J. Rivington, G'2, 
 St. PauFs Churchyard, and 3, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall 3 and 
 by Messrs. T. and G. Underwood, 32, Fleet-Street. 
 
 / 
 
 CONl^ENTS. 
 
 VOLUME 1. 
 
 iJlSSERTATIOV I, 
 
 THE 1{1{1T(JNS 'Y 
 
 J)ISSERTATrOy TI. 
 
 ■JilE ROMANS c>r 
 
 DISSERTATION III. 
 
 THE SAXONS. 
 
 The Heptabciiy ^^ 
 
 o,/ 
 
 DISSEllTATiON IV. 
 
 THE SAXONS AND DANES. 
 
 'I'liE Ki.\(;s OF THE Two Kaces jo.s 
 
 I 
 
 r- 
 
' •> 
 
 / 
 
 • i 
 
 via 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 |)[SSEKTAliON V. 
 
 Page 
 
 THE NORMANS. 
 
 173 
 
 WnViam the Conqueror 
 
 William Kufus 
 
 H en ry I ......!.... 249 
 
 Stephen 
 
 DISSERTATION VI. 
 Ct)P ^mvit C!)uifi)t Uontiou. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF I'LANTAGENET. 
 
 ^62 
 
 HenryU ^^^ 
 
 •^■'^•^^'^"^ ' ....'r.r. 355 
 
 John 
 
 DISSERT ATT ON VTT 
 
 aaU<jluivy <ratJ)ftiral. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET, continuecL 
 
 391 
 
 Henry HI. 
 
 A / 
 
 \ ESTTGLA 
 
 DrSSERTA'llON I. 
 
 ^tonri)fngr. 
 
 THE BRITOXS. 
 
 A,— 1 HE \\i(k^ and apparently boundless dimension 
 of Salisbury Plain, excites a feelinir perfectly in accord- 
 ance with the impression arising from the contemplation 
 of that uncoutli memorial of a distant age^ Stonehenge; 
 extent of space affecting the imagination in the same 
 way as remoteness of time with ideas of reverence and 
 solemnity. 
 
 P. — The mist of the morning at length dispersing, 
 we lind ourselves in the immediate vicinity of these 
 remarka1)le remains of antiquity ; but the first glance 
 certainly does not excite those expected sensations of 
 awe and wonder. 
 
 F. — ^Perhaps somewhat of the impression caused by 
 Stonelienge in point o{ mere magnitude, w hen seen even 
 at a small distance, is lost in the extent of the open 
 country in which it is situated ; and we should recollect, 
 that these gigantic masses form not, like the Pyramids, 
 an entire structure, but are evidently a confused and 
 shapeless ruin. 
 
 V UL, I. 
 
 n 
 
 / 
 
VESTIGIA. 
 
 '. > 1 
 
 A. — The origin ol'Sionelienge is involve^l n\ ni\\)i ne- 
 Iralile o!}S(urity ; some authorities have altrihulcd this 
 fabric to the Eomrtns, others to the Anii:lo-Saxoiis, 
 or even to the Danes; but L prefer the conclusion of 
 Dr. Slukeley,* that it Vvas an nncient llritisli ^^OYk in 
 the form of a temple not admitting a rool ; and as 
 structures on somewhat a similar principle al)ound 
 in Cornwall^ whither the Romans never ])(Mu^trated, 
 as well as in Celtic Gaul, we infer that it was erected 
 by the Urnids. 
 
 P. — But can we suppose tliat a people like the 
 liritish, nnacquainted with mechanics, could by the 
 force of mere manual labour^ work a (piari) and bring 
 together stones of such immense magnitude? 
 
 A. — The first objection is soon overcome, by reilect- 
 ing that the fine-giained siliceous sand-stone, of whi( h 
 the larger masses are all composed, is in its original 
 state of a very soft nature, and thai it lay probably 
 near the surface, and not at a great distance; as the 
 ridges of stone, called the Grey Wethers, scattered in 
 the neighbourhood of Abur\ and Marlhorougli, are, if 
 they have not been removed, of exactly the same sub- 
 stance ; and your second dilliculty is resolved by con- 
 sidering, that in most rude nations the perseverance* of 
 numbers has produced eflects little short of miraculous. 
 
 F, — Having thus collected the materials of our fa- 
 bric, let us learn liow they were disposed. 
 
 A. — Tlie temple seems to have been of an c lliptic 
 form,'' consisting of four concentric circles of rough 
 angular pillars. The first or exterior circle contained 
 thirty of these pillars, about fourteen feet in height, and 
 supporting between each a cross-stone or impost, several 
 feet in length ; which impost stones formed a continued 
 
 * Stonebenge a temple restored to the British Druids. 
 
 ^ Stukeley. 
 
 ^'^ (A 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 3 
 
 rude entablature carried ronnd the buiiduig; of these 
 imposts six only remain : the next circle consisted of 
 a range of stones placed singly, not more than 
 half the height of tlie outer pillars, and of a harder 
 nature, being an aggregate of quartz* and other sub- 
 stances: the next or third circle seems to have formed 
 the adytum or lioly place, and is indeed the prin- 
 cii)al wonder wliicli surrounds us. It differed from 
 the other circles, as the masses of stone stood in pairs, 
 united at the top by a cross-stone, and all of large 
 dimensions, the height being twenty feet: some anti- 
 quaries reckon seven of these triple stones, or trilithons^ 
 as they rather pedantically call them, and others but 
 five; one of these trilithons fell so lately as the year 
 1797,* from the effect of a severe frost, and two others 
 only remain entire : within these was another circle of 
 single stones, of a hard substance and of obelisk-like 
 appearance, and it is probable that they enclosed an 
 altar or place of sacrifice. 
 
 P. — This ingenious explanation, renders a confused 
 aggregate of follen and distorted ruins sufficiently in- 
 telligible ; but can we trace any further vestiges? 
 
 F. — Surrounding the temple, if such it be admitted, 
 we may perceive evident marks of a trench, as also 
 those of a vallum or mound of earth, beyond, of consi- 
 siderable circumference. 
 
 A. — Yonder solitary stone denotes the approach to 
 the principal entrance, and though somewhat effaced by 
 the labours of the plough, here are evident remains of a 
 raised avenue ; and if we scrutinize the vicinity with a 
 discerning eye, we shall discover, at the distance of 
 nearly half a mile to the north, a space bounded by 
 
 * Sir R. C. Hoare*s Ancient Histor}' of South Wiltshire. 
 ^ Stukeley. ^ ArcliEeoL Vol. XIII. 
 
 B 2 
 
^' 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ^ t.)Vi 
 
 slight banks of earth, which are supposed to have 
 marked out the limits of a race-course or kipiiodroiiKv, 
 but whether this work was an addition of tbcKomans, 
 seems a matter of uncertainty. 
 
 P' — Aye, tliat uncertainty gives a wonderful zest 
 to the pursuits of the antiquary. 
 
 ^- — It gives at least a stimulus to enquiry, and 
 affords the pleasure of a conflict of oi)inion happily 
 calculated to elicit the truth. 
 
 J' — In point of anti(iuily, 1 suppose Stonchenge 
 surpasses any building' upon record in ihv western 
 parts of Europe. 
 
 ^. — Though bevond the reach of record, it is inui- 
 gined not to be quite so ancient as tlie remains of a 
 druidical structure of izreater sim])licitv at Aburv,^ a 
 few miles distant: those bnrrows or hillocks of earth 
 still more ancient, and abounding in this neiglibourhood 
 beyond all other places in the world, and each forming 
 the place of interment of chiefs and warriors, scarcely 
 fall under the denomination of l)ui]dings. 
 
 P' — Unless we coincide in opinion with the honest 
 gravedigger in Hamlet, that tliey are tenements wlu'ch 
 will last till doomsday. But in what pt^riod of the 
 world do you conceive Stonehcnge to have been 
 erected ? ' 
 
 A. — Anticjuaries of good reputation^* i)lace il about 
 a century before the Christian era; it is, however, but 
 mere conjecture. From my own feelings, rather than 
 from any intelligible data, I am inclined to ascribe its 
 erection, with Dr. Stukelev, to a much remoter age, or 
 to a period at least three centuries earlier. 
 
 » Stukeley— -Abury, a temple of the British Druids. 
 
 ^ Kine^ — ^f^niment?^ Antiqnn; «nd Wood — Choir (Jaiire. 
 
 THK BRITONS. O 
 
 F. — liritain lieing described by Caesar as possessing 
 "' au miinite multitude"^ of inhabitants, it is surely 
 desiral)le to know something more of these people 
 than is found in the pages of those historians who 
 begin their narration with that great captain s invasion, 
 especially as tlie Britons have left behind them such a 
 lasting memorial as Stonehenge. 
 
 A. — The monument before us is well calculated to 
 excite the enquiry ; but the object of the fabric, as 
 well as the nation and age of the builders, has been 
 alike disputed, though most authorities' concur in 
 representing a grove to be almost of indispensable 
 necessity to the performance of druidical rites; and 
 though in this extensive plain there is reason to sup- 
 pose that few trees ever grew, yet from the general 
 resemblance of the style of Stonehenge to druidical 
 remains which are undisputed, I cannot doubt that the 
 Druids w ere the architects ; but whether the structure 
 was erected for the purpose of w orship, or of astrono- 
 mical observation— as the seat of judgment, or the 
 the place of a general assembly of the order — may be 
 fairly (luestioned: perhaps it united all these objects. 
 The name Stonehenge is evidently Saxon— the hanging 
 or pendulous stone : by the ancient British it was 
 called Choir Gaur, a term by some understood to 
 mean the great temple ; by others, the dance of giants. 
 Its ])resent appearance well justilies the latter ap- 
 pellation. 
 
 P.— Though a little disappointed at the first im- 
 pression, the longer I look at these venerable remains, 
 the more 1 become interested, and admit that they well 
 deserve their title, 'Mhe wonder of the west;" but. 
 
 ^ Do Rello Gal. lib. 5. 
 
 »' CiPsar, dc Bel. Gal. lib. 6. Liican, Pharsal. lib. 1. Pliny, lib. 16. 
 
l_ 
 
 6 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 reverting from the building to its architects, I confess 
 that they have long interested my imagination, and 
 are associated in their groves and recesses with many 
 a poetical allusion. 
 
 ** For neither ucre ye playing on the steep, 
 Where your old bards, the famous Druids, lie, 
 Nor on the shagiz:y top of Afona high ; 
 Nor yet where Deva spreads lier wi/ard stream." 
 
 F. — Such are the effects of literary entluisiasm. 
 Without this aid of the imagination, in what light would 
 the Druids appear? 
 
 A, — I am afraid, as the most intolerant priesthood 
 that ever perverted the religious feelings of mankind 
 to their own advantage. Their influence was un1)ounded : 
 they could excite their countrymen to war; and, what 
 was more wonderful in a barbarous nation, thev could 
 prevent a battle by their mere interference, when the 
 lance of the warrior was extended, and the sword was 
 drawn. ^ 
 
 P. — Was religion their sole occupatiim? 
 
 .4.— They united with it the education of youth 
 and they were dispensers of the law/' which, boin^- nn~ 
 written and transmitted by memory, was received by 
 the people as rather of divine than human injunction. 
 The order was numerous, and divided into three classes,*' 
 bards, prophets, and priests: the Arch-druid resided 
 in Mona, now the Isle of Anglesey, the cliief seat of 
 their superstitions, one of the most harmless of which 
 was, the separating the mistletoe when found <iTowin<»- 
 on the oak,^ a circumstance not often occurring, with 
 much pomp and ceremony. 
 
 P.— Did the system of Druidism originate in Britain ? 
 
 ■ Straho, lib. 4. 
 <^ Strabo, lib. 4. 
 
 '• CiTsa]", lib. (>. 
 ^ riinv, lib. lb. 
 
 i 
 
 # I 
 
 
 i 
 
 THE BRITONS. 7 
 
 jl^ — Most writers incline to thai opinion: its fame 
 in this island was so celebrated, that the youth of 
 (Jaul were sent hither to be initiated in its mysteries, 
 an obligation which in no veiy distant age that king- 
 dom i ei)aid by a diilerent, and it may be hoped a better, 
 course of instruction, as Juvenal informs us, 
 
 Gallia causidicos docuit facunda Rritannos. — Sat. 15, v. 41. 
 The British lawyers taught by prating Gaul. 
 
 P. — But amongst the doctrines of Druidism, can 
 none be Ibund which might promote the happiness of 
 mankind? 
 
 A. — Thongii by the power of excommunication 
 the Druids entbrced the severest privations, and as 
 judges inflicted the most terrible punishments, par- 
 ticularly in a truly appalling ceremony, where many 
 human victims were enclosed in a hideous statue, 
 formed with twius of osier,^ and then immolated in 
 the llames, it should be remembered, that they incul- 
 cated a l)elief in the immortalitv of the soul. 
 
 F. — Many of these sacrifices might probably be 
 in the nature of criminal punishments. Alas, if we 
 reckon up the number of victims offered, perhaps as 
 unnecessarily, even in the course of the last century, 
 to the severity of Englsh law, Druidism may stand 
 excused. 
 
 P. — The doctrine of the immortality of the soul 
 being but imperfectly established in the Greek and 
 Roman mythology, it becomes a matter of some curio- 
 sity to know whence the Druids derived it. 
 
 A. — From tlie resemblance which their tenet of 
 the transmigration of souls bore to the system taught 
 by the Gymnosophists in India, by the Magi in Persia, 
 and to the opinions of Pythagoras, some have asserted 
 
 » C.Tsar, de Bel. Gal. lib. 6. 
 
VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 that the Druids imbibed their doctrine from that creat 
 philosopher; whilst others maintain, that he received 
 his system from the lessons of this celebrated fraternity, 
 when travelling in Gaul. 
 
 F.—Oy can it be supposed, that, in the dispersion of 
 mankind, the people whoever they mi<;ht be that first 
 settled in Europe, brought with them this remarkable 
 doctrine from the East. 
 
 P. — That supposition leads to a point wliich I 
 have been long desirous of ascertaining: who were the 
 original inhabitants of Britain, and whence did they 
 spring? 
 
 A, — There can be no doubt that Britain was first 
 peopled from Gaul, but how Gaul itself was originally 
 peopled, and in what age the Celts, or Celta% its most 
 ancient inhabitants, took possession of that country, or 
 whence they derived their source, are circumstances 
 which remain utterly unknown in the dark!u\ss of 
 antiquity. 
 
 F. — But of conjectural elucidations you will not 
 complain that there is any deficiency. 
 
 A, — We can scarcely call those systems elucida- 
 tions, w^hich gravely deduce the Celts from GonuT, 
 the eldest son of Japhet, whose posterity, say some 
 authors,Mmder the names ofGomerians, Cimmerians, 
 Cymbrians, or Celts, overspread the western parts 
 of Europe soon after the flood. 
 
 P. — But as the Celts must liave sprung from a 
 common ancestor, Gomer is just as likely to have 1)een 
 their parent as any other patriarch. 
 
 A. — Doubtless; but these authorities, not satisfied 
 with dispersing the posterity of Gomer over the whole 
 of western Europe, v>hich is a fact scarcely to be 
 
 T^'zrnn, Anti{juit(', ^c. flcs CcUt'5. 
 
 I 
 
 admitted, would identify the Celts with the person- 
 ages which figure in the ancient mythological fables, 
 particularly the Titans, sons of Coins and Terra, which 
 position they happily sustain by deducing the names 
 of Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, and the rest from the 
 Welsh tongue.* 
 
 F. — They may perhaps have been led into this 
 opinion by the statement of Ca^sar,^ who relates, that 
 the Gauls considered themselves as descended ab Dite 
 patre; but the Grecian mythologists having given no 
 posterity to Pluto, consequently '' gloomy Dis'' is as 
 chimerical a Celtic stock as the patriarch Gomer: but 
 it must be granted, in spite of these absurdities,^ that, 
 anterior to the records of authentic history,^ the Celts 
 occupied a considerable portion of Europe, w^hence, 
 by the hostile invasion of other tribes, they were 
 gradually expelled, and confined to the central and 
 western parts of Gaul, to Britain and Ireland, and 
 to a small portion of the north of Spain; and it is in 
 these countries alone that they have left any lasting 
 memorials. 
 
 A. — Of the high antiquity of the Celts there can 
 be no doubt, they are uiuiuestionably the most ancient 
 people of the west of Europe ; but whence and how 
 tlu^y came there, can be no more satisfactorily ascer- 
 tained than the derivation of the name Celtae; of which 
 Felloutier, their historian, cannot give even a jirobable 
 guess. Nothing can be more futile than the attempt to 
 prove, by obscure resemblances of words and doubtful 
 etynu)logies, *^ the aflinity of this people to the Greeks^ 
 the Hebrews, the Persians, or any eastern race. 
 
 , 5 
 
 " Perron. '> De Bd. Gal. lib. 6, 
 
 '' flt'ifxiotiis. Mclpom. Dion, lib. 59. c. 49. 
 '^ IVllouticr, Histoirc {lC;^ Colics, liv. 1. c.9. 
 
10 
 
 VK8Tl(;iA. 
 
 F. — It is remaikable liow little the Celts luive been 
 a conqiieririix people: in Britain they ha \e been lont; 
 driven from the level eoimtrv to the mountainous dis- 
 tricts of the north and west. 
 
 A, — The intrusion of a foreiun race had commenced 
 before the invasion of Caesar, who relates that the in- 
 terior of Britain w^as inhabited by an indiirenous and 
 different people from those who dwelt in the maritime 
 parts;' these latter being the Beli^a?, a nation of the 
 Teutonic or Gothic stock (though that is disputed), A\ho 
 several times, in the pursuit of war and plunder, had 
 formed various settlements, which (lie Britons were un- 
 able to extirpate. 
 
 P. — These irruptions of the BelgcU seem then to be 
 the first authentic event in the historv of Britain, tlioui^h 
 their precise period be not ascertained. 
 
 jP. — But so admitting them, yet Britain must have 
 had an anterior history of some sort or oilier. Hero- 
 dotus,^ who lived four hundred years before Christ, al- 
 ludes to the exportation of tin from the Cassiterides, 
 now the Scilly Islands, a name meaning tlie land of 
 tin, with whose inhabitants the PluxMiicians carried on 
 a considerable trade, which leads to the presumption 
 that Britain was well peopled, even in those remote 
 
 ages. 
 
 P. — And if it be doubtful whether these early Britons 
 were acquainted with letters, yet a portion of their his- 
 tory may have been preserved by tradition ; and it does 
 not necessarily follow that tradition should be false. 
 With Stonehensfe before our eves, I trust that a desire 
 to know somewhat of the history of its founders will 
 not be considered as irrational. 
 
 • De Rcl. GaL lib. 5. 
 
 ^ Thalia. 
 
 THK BRITONS. 
 
 11 
 
 A. — It is my sole regret tliat I cannot satisfactorily 
 gratify your curiosity: from the Greek and Roman 
 w riters we can collect but little ; and our only resource 
 is to be found in certain monkish chronicles, amongst 
 whom Geoffrey of Monmouth ranks as the chief. This 
 ecclesiastic flourished in the reign of King Stephen, and 
 became a dignitary of tlie church : his history in Latin of 
 the ** Kings of Britain" includes these remote ages; but 
 whether the work was his own fabrication, or a trans- 
 lation, as he asserted, from an ancient British MS. 
 brought from Armorica by ^^ alter Calenius, archdeacon 
 of Oxford, is uncertain. It is scarcely probable that 
 this strange composition was the work of any one man's 
 invention; and besides, many circumstances might be 
 collected from the floating traditions of the bards, which 
 fraternity in his days existed in much glor}\ Milton 
 says,^ in apology for the part of his history derived from 
 this source, that he tells these reputed tales in favour 
 of the poets, who by their art well know how to use 
 them judiciously. 
 
 P. — There are few persons who do not recollect with 
 pleasure the excellent purpose to which Shakspeare has 
 applied some of them. 
 
 A, — To begin then at the beginning. According to 
 the Monk of Monmouth, Gomer, the eldest son of Ja- 
 phet, or, as otiiers say, Dis, his fourth or sixth son, 
 planted colonies in tlie west of Europe about two hun- 
 dred years after the flood, and established himself in 
 this island, which lie named Samothea. At his death, 
 four kings, his posterity, reigned in linear succession — 
 Magus, Saron, Druis, and Bardus. During the reign 
 of this last monarch, the Samotheans were subdued by 
 Albion, a iriant, the son of Neptune, \\ho, after enjoy- 
 
 ^ Ilif^t. of Brit, book i. 
 
12 
 
 \ liSriGlA. 
 
 in<^ the throne forty years, was slain in Gaul, ()p])osint;- 
 the proij^ress of Hercules. Albion imposed his own name 
 upon the country, which after his death was a lonir time 
 tyrannized over by a lawless brood of j^nants, the pos- 
 terity of his companions. 
 
 F. — I would rather prefer the derivation of the name 
 Albion from the G/eek aXfo. — while, on account of the 
 chalky clills on thecoast; it is said also (hat, in the 
 Phoenician tongue, Alp means a liii;h mountain. 
 
 P. — It would be cruel to require chronological dates 
 for these transactions. 
 
 A. — We now come to the arrival of Brute, or Urutus, 
 the Trojan. This celel)rated founder of a new monarchy 
 was reputed to be the son of Sylvius, kinir of the La- 
 tins, the immediate descendant of /Eneas, by Lavinia. 
 Brutus had the misfortune to kill his father by an arrow 
 in hunting; from which circumstance he was compelled 
 to take refuge in Greece, where he married Innogen, 
 the daughter of King Pandrasus ; and having delivered 
 many Trojans from a state of slavery, he passed into 
 Albion with a lleet of three hundred ships, in search of 
 a new settlement, where establishing himsi If, he called 
 the kingdom, by rather a forced derivation from his own 
 name, Britain. 
 
 P. — If not from Brute, whence is the name of Britain 
 derived? 
 
 A. — That is a question which has never Ijcen satis- 
 factorily answered. Camden's derivation of it is from 
 Brith, a Celtic word signifying painted^ in allusion to 
 the practice of colouring the skin. Bochart derives the 
 name from two Phoenician words, bara tanac, the land 
 of tin; others from pryd cain, while figure: conjectures 
 so dissimilar prove that the truth is really unknown. 
 
 P. — The voyage o( Brutus seems nearly as feasibh^ 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 13 
 
 as that of his grandiather /Eneas, in Virgil, which, in- 
 deed, it some\v'''^at resembles. Did not our admirable 
 Pop(^ in his youtli, attempt an epic poem with Brutus 
 for his hero ? 
 
 A, — And certainly no unpromising subject. We may 
 suppose that there was plenty of fighting to overcome 
 the brood of giants, which, when performed, the hero 
 would fall quietly to work in building cities and pro- 
 mulgating laws. Indeed the foundation of Troja Nova, 
 in time corrupted to Trinovantum, now" London, was 
 one of his iirst undertakings ; and, if we may believe 
 our authority, he also founded an university, which he 
 called Greeklade, now converted into Criclade, not very 
 distant from Oxford; the physical department of which 
 established itself at Leechlade, now Leclilade, in the 
 same neighbourljood. 
 
 F. — Truly an early specimen of archaeology. 
 
 A, — As the Trojans were feasting on a certain occa- 
 sion in Cornwall, a company of the giants broke in upon 
 their festivity; they were, however, repulsed and slain, 
 except Gcemagog, the hugest, a monster twelve cubits 
 higli, who was reserved alive, that he might wrestle with 
 Corimeus, the companion of Brutus, whom the giant 
 sucUJenly seized, and with a terrible hug broke three of 
 his ribs; but Corinaeus, enraged in return, took up the 
 giant on his shoulders by main force and threw him 
 headlom:: into the sea. This authentic transaction is yet 
 commemorated by the name imposed upon the clitf, ever 
 since called Lan-gcrmagog, the Giant's Leap. 
 
 F. — Tliis seems to be the first Cornish hug upon 
 record. 
 
 A. — Brutus reigned twenty-four years; at his death 
 the kingdom was divided amongst his three sons: the 
 middle part, Loegria, fell to the share of Locrine, 
 
14 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Wales to Camber, and Scotland to Albanact. But the 
 dominions of the last having been invi. '.ed by Ilumber, 
 king of the Hims — O temporal — and Albannct slain, 
 the surviving" brothers took arms, and defeated the in- 
 vader, who, falling into a certain river, which from that 
 accident received his name, he was most opportunely 
 drowned. 
 
 P. — Locrine is, I think, the hero of an old play, 
 sometimes attributed to Shakspeare. 
 
 A. — His story is sufficiently dramatic. Amongst the 
 spoils of Humber was Estrildis, a captive and beautiful 
 princess, the King of Germany's daughter, with whom, 
 as may be easily supposed, Locrine falls in love; wliich 
 he should not have done, being already contracted to 
 Guendolen, the daughter of the aforementioned Cori- 
 naeus, now king of Cornwall: this lady he indeed mar- 
 ried, awed by the power of her father, l)ut continued a 
 clandestine intercourse with Estrildis, who bore to him 
 a daughter. At length Corinanis dying, Locrine pro- 
 claimed his afiection for Estrildis, and divorced (luen- 
 dolen. The enraged ex-queen departed to Cornwall, 
 and collecting her father's friends, gave battle to her 
 husband near the river Sture. Locrine was shot by an 
 arrow *, and Estrildis, with her daughter Sabra, being 
 taken prisoners, were thrown into the river, which, as a 
 memorial of her revenge, Guendolen proclaimed should 
 in future be called after the young damsel's name, 
 Sabrina, now the Severn. 
 
 P. — The female sex will acknow ledge the stor}^ not 
 to be without its share of poetical justice. 
 
 A. — Guendolen governed fifteen years in behalf of 
 her son Madan, who, after reigning forty years, left two 
 sons, Mempricius and Malim ; the former of whom slew^ 
 his brother, aspiring to share the kingdom ; but after- 
 
 TlIE BRITONS. 
 
 15 
 
 wards proving a cruel tyrant, he was fortunately de- 
 voured ])y wolvKi in hunting, near a place in Oxford- 
 shire, from that event called AYolvercote. He w^as 
 succeeded by his son Ebranc, who built the cities of 
 York and Alcluid, noAV Dunbarton, and who was famous 
 for tlie number of his children, having as many as there 
 are weeks in the year. In the early part of his reign he 
 li^ained manv victories in Gaul and the Low Countries: 
 but fortune ])roving fickle, he was afterwards repulsed 
 by Brunchilde, lord of Hainault, at the mouth of the 
 river Scaldis, or Scheldt. His son Brutus, named Green- 
 shield, succeeding, retrieved his father's disaster, by 
 winning a great battle on the river Haiiia, against 
 the same Brunchilde, thus commemorated by our poet 
 Spenser : 
 
 Let Scaldis tell, aud let tell Hania, 
 And let the marsh of Estharnbrus^es tell. 
 What colour were their waters that same day, 
 And all llie moore 'twixt Elvcrsham and Dell, 
 Witli blood of Ilenalois which therein fell ; 
 liuw oft that day did sad Brunchildis see 
 The greene shield dyde in dolorous vermeil.* 
 
 F. — These names seem of a later construction than 
 suit a story pretended to be so ancient. 
 
 A. — To Brutus the Greenshield succeeded his son 
 Leil, of whom notliing is further recorded than that he 
 built Carlisle; and it may gratify the lovers of chrono- 
 logical exactness to be told, that this took place during 
 the days of King Solomon. The successor of Leil was 
 his son Kudhuddibras, or Hudibras, who foimded Can- 
 terbury and Winchester. 
 
 P. — Here then is the origin of the name of our fa- 
 mous hero in the civil wars ; another proof how much 
 
 Fnerv O. !). 2. canto 10. 
 
16 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 these chroniclers were studied by our elder race of poets, 
 though neglected by the present. ^ 
 
 A. — We arrive next at a celebrated personage, King 
 Bladud, who founded the city of Bath, whose medical 
 waters he dedicated to Minerva, lie is reported to have 
 taught magic ; and being a man of great invention, he 
 made wings to fly with, but unfortunately fell down 
 upon the temple of Apollo at Trinovantum ; and so 
 died, much renowned, after a reign of twenty years. 
 
 P. — But surely his hogs may put in an equal claim 
 to celebrity, as without their sagacity in discovering 
 the salubrity of the Bath w aters, Bladud\s fame would 
 scarcely have surpassed that of the rest of his race. 
 
 ^.— He is said to have founded an universitv at 
 Stamford. It is observable, that the succession has 
 hitherto run direct from father to son, and now rcachinu* 
 Leir, the son of Bladud, he transferred the sceptre to a 
 female, as we shall presently see. Leir built Leicester, 
 and reigned to a great age, in happiness and prosperity. 
 
 P- — The magic of Shakespears genius lias made 
 the memory of Leir innnortal. Does the tragedy dilfer 
 materially from the chronicles? 
 
 ^•— Not in its earlier parts, such as the father's en- 
 quiry concerning his daughters^ affections, and thtir 
 several answers; his anger with Cordelia, and the 
 division of the kingdom between Concril and Regan; 
 also the diminution of his knidits, and his bcinu re- 
 duced to one attendant. But the catastrophe varies in 
 many particulars : in the history, Cordelia marries Aga- 
 nippus, a great king of Gaul, however he came by his 
 Greek name ; and on hearing her father's distress, she 
 returns to Britain with an army, and replaces him on 
 the throne, w^here he again reigned three years, and 
 dying left the kingdom to this deserving daughter, then 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 17 
 
 become a widow. She ruled five years with much 
 prosperity till Margan and Cunedagius, the sons of her 
 late sisters, ill enduring that the realm should be go- 
 verned l)y a woman, conspire against and depose her. 
 Cordelia, incapable of bearing this reverse of fortune, 
 kills herself in prison. 
 
 P. — Shakspeare has not then altogether forsaken 
 the "faith of chronicles," in making his play end 
 unhappily: his glowing scenes have rendered these 
 characters so familiar to us, from very childhood, that 
 we can scarcelv conceive them to be fictitious, but as 
 truly historical as the most authenticated personages. 
 
 A. — iMargan having (luarrelled with Cuuedagius, 
 invaded his part of the kingdom, but was defeated ; and 
 Cunedagius governed meritoriously alone for many 
 years. This w as at the time of the building of Rome. 
 He w^as succeeded by Rivallo, his son, a prince for- 
 tunate and wise, during whose dominion it rained blood 
 for the space of tliree days; but the alarm occasioned 
 by such an event was tranquillized by a celebrated 
 prophet and prognosticator, Perdix, or Partridge by 
 name, who explained the present evil as transient, and 
 predicted many future happy events. 
 
 F. — As the doctrne of the transmigration of souls 
 was established with these people, this surely must have 
 been the same person who re-appeared in London, with 
 so much eclat, as an almanac maker, in the reign of 
 Queen Anne, under the same name. 
 
 P.— And again, perhaps, a very few years after, 
 in Somersetshire, as an humble schoolmaster and pa- 
 rishioner with one Squire Allworthy. 
 
 yl.— This is iamiliarizing the dignity of the historic 
 muse, T am afraid, in a very unwarrantable manner. 
 King Rivallo's successors were Gurguntius, Jago, or 
 
 VOL. 1. C 
 
18 
 
 VESTICIA. 
 
 Lago, his nephew, then Sisilius, Kinmarchiis, and Gor- 
 boguda, or Gorboduc. Of these monarchs nothing me- 
 morable is recorded ; the last was the father of Ferrex 
 and Porrex, names familiar to English ears, as aflbrding 
 the earliest theme for a regular tragedy in our lan- 
 guage, by Thomas Ilorton and Lord Buckhurst, played 
 before Queen Elizabeth, in the Inner Temple, lotil. 
 These ambitious princes, in the old age of their father, 
 disputed the succession; the elder, Ferrex, having 
 escaped an attempt upon his life, retreated into Gaul, 
 whence returning with a considerable Ibrce, he gave 
 battle to his brother, but was slain upon the field. 
 Their mother Videna, less regarding, or rather mortally 
 hating the survivor, Porrex, barbarously murdered him 
 whilst sleeping in his bed : thus, according to Spenser, 
 
 ** Here ended Brutus' sacred progeny, 
 
 Which had seven hundred years this scepter borne 
 With high renownc, ami great felicity ; 
 The noble braunch from th' anticjue stocke was tome 
 Through discord, and the roiall throne foriorne." "* 
 
 F. — The chroniclers seem always to have adhered 
 closely to monarchical government. 
 
 A. — At this period the whole nation fell into a state 
 of anarchy, being rent into five kingdoms, and con- 
 tinued to rage with civil broils for the space of fifty 
 years; at length Dunwallo Molmutiiis, kini; of C'orn- 
 wall, subdued his competitors, and gradually reduced 
 their dominions to his sway. lie is represented as a 
 brave and shrewd warrior. In his last battle, whilst 
 the event was doubtful, he dressed six hundred of his 
 own men in the armour of their slain enemies, and by 
 this stratagem, approaching unsuspected, he gained a. 
 complete victory. Dunwallo Molinutius was the first 
 king of Britain that wore a crown of gold ; and he esta- 
 
 Facry Queene, h. 1. c. 10. 
 
 \ 
 
 Tljli iilUTONS. 
 
 19 
 
 blished a code of laws which, absurd to relate, the 
 chroniclers assert to have been long after promulgated 
 in Latin, by Gildas, a British monk, and in Saxon by 
 King Alfred. He is also said to have constructed the 
 four great roads, known afterward as the Roman 
 military ways, and to have exempted all persons from 
 arrest whilst travelling upon them. 
 
 P. — In the confusion of dates, places, and names, 
 we mav observe throughout the historv much similaritv 
 to the tales of knight eiTantry. 
 
 A. — As they both proceeded from the same manu- 
 factory, the cloisters of the monks, their resemblance 
 is accounted for. The sons of Dunwallo Molmutius 
 were Belinus and Brennus, who long disputed the 
 kingdom : the latter at length, dispossessed, retired into 
 GauL where he married the daughter of Seginus, duke 
 of the AlloJjroges, and by the assistance of his father- 
 in-law returned with a great host to Britain ; but as he 
 was upon the point of giving battle to Belinus, their 
 mother, Canuvena, appeared and effected a reconcilia- 
 tion. The brothers then united in counsel to overrun 
 Germany and Gaul, which having accomplished, Brennus 
 attacks and conquers Rome. 
 
 P. — Can we suppose this to be the leader who, with 
 his Gauls, would have surprised the Capitol, had the 
 Romans not been alarmed by the cackling of some 
 
 A, — Milton^ seems half disposed to admit that the 
 real Brennus was a Briton : the cirumstance however 
 belongs more to Roman than to British story. In the 
 reign of the next king, Gurguntius Barbirus, a more 
 than connnonly absurd fiction is related. As this mo- 
 narch was returning from Denmark, after subduing the 
 
 * Hist, of Britain, book i. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 YESTICIA. 
 
 '"VJ 
 
 king of tliat country, who refused to pay liini tribute, lie 
 found about the Orkney islands thirty ships IVoni Spain, 
 crowded with men and women. The raptain of the Heet, 
 Bartholiuus, who had been unjustly banished, entreated 
 of the British kin<4- some lands for himself and his com- 
 panions. Gurguntius, taking' his recpaest into considera- 
 tion, bestowed upon him the whole kinudom ol" Irehmd, 
 at that time lying unpeopled, to liold in homage. 
 
 F. — The story we can imagine to be fabricated in 
 conformity to an old traditi(m, that Inland was at one 
 time colonized by a Spanish race; but it wouhl hardly 
 be suspected that tliis incident has absolutely l)een 
 referred to, in an act of the Irish Parlianu nt, to prove 
 queen Elizabeth's superior title to the dominion of 
 Ulster before Shane O'Xeil's.^ 
 
 A. — To GurguntiussucceededGuithelim%w!iosewif(^ 
 Martia introduced a new institution of hiw s, which King 
 Alfred afterwards translating, called ^^ Merchen Leage/' 
 
 or the Mercian Law ! 
 
 p,—Oi equal authenticity, no doubt, as the ^^lolmu- 
 
 tian Code. 
 
 A. — Guitheline was followed by his son Sisiiius ; 
 to him succeeded Kimarus and Danius; the latter of 
 whom left his throne to Morindus, his son by a ( oncu- 
 bine, a man of great strength, valour, and cruelty: lie 
 defeated a large band of Morines, or Picards, win) in- 
 vaded Northumberland; but at length he was suddenly 
 caught up and devoured by a horrible monster from 
 Ireland that infested the sea-coast. 
 
 p — It is seldom that historians of this class, who 
 write of such contests, give the victory to the dragon. 
 ^ A^ — Morindus left live sons, who each reigned in 
 turn. Gorbonian, the eldest, was a man so just, that 
 
 -» Irisli Statutes, vol. 5, 1 Itli vear of FJiz, st^ss. 5. 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 2J 
 
 his early death was generally regretted ; the next bro- 
 ther, Archigallo, by his rapacity provoked a rebellion, 
 and was deposed, Elidure, the third brother, surnamed 
 the Pious, having been set up in his place. When this 
 prince had reigned five years, as he was one day hunt- 
 ing in the forest of Calater, he chanced to meet his de- 
 posed brother w audering in a mean condition, who was 
 now, with only ten followers, privately returned Irom 
 exile. At this sight Elidure ran to him, emd after many 
 sincere embraces, conveyed him to the city of Alcluid, 
 and hid him in his own chamber; where, feigning him- 
 self sick, he summoned all his peers, and admitting 
 them one bv one, as if his weakness could not endure 
 the disturbance of more, he caused them, willing or un- 
 willinu, to swear alleo:iance to Archigallo, whom he 
 presently conducted to York, and taking the crown from 
 his own brow s, placed it upon the head of his brother, 
 ^^]u) henceforth became a truly converted man, and 
 ruled w orlhily many years. Thus, says my author, that 
 love of a crown, for which thousands of nearest blood 
 have detroved each other, was, in respect of brotherly 
 clearness, esteemed by Elidure but as a contemptible 
 
 thing. 
 
 F.— Really, to many persons this will appear the 
 
 most incredible part of the history. 
 
 ^1.— Elidure, on the death of Archigallo, resumed the 
 government; but his two younger brothers conspiring 
 a^>ainst him, he was defeated and imprisoned, and they 
 divide the kingdom; but Elidure surviving both, after 
 many years' confinement, was again placed upon the 
 tlirone, and died regretted in a good old age. 
 
 P.— Elidure seems to be the only instance of a 
 gentle disposition throughout the narrative. 
 
 ^1.— After these live sons of Morindus, a son or more 
 
22 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE BRITONS. 
 
 23 
 
 of each wielded the sceptre : the last was Paridure, 
 son of Elidure ; he left a long descent of t\v enty kini^s, 
 whose names only, without the memory of a single ac- 
 tion, are registered, and which I will not weary your 
 ears by repeating. 
 
 F. — A succession of a score of kings that either did 
 nothing, or lived in ages that wrote nothing, indicates 
 that the author was growing weary of a tedious tale. 
 
 A. — After these twenty kingly ciphers reigned Ble- 
 gabredus, who is recorded to have excelled in music; 
 and to conhnn the truth of your observ^ation, he was 
 followed by nine kings of a similar nothingness with 
 the twenty preceding ; the last of whom, Cliguellius, 
 was the father of lieli, wJiich latter monarch ruled Ibrtv 
 years, and gave his name to the Isle of Ely; he left 
 three sons, Lud, Cassibelan, and Nennius. 
 
 P. — Light at length begins to dawn ; the second of 
 these is the prince who opposed the invasion of Julius 
 Caesar. 
 
 A. — King Lud too may have been a real personage; 
 though it should be doubtful whether he enlarged and 
 walled Triiiovantum, kept his court there, and called 
 it Lud's-town, or London, and was buried by the gate 
 which thencefortii was named Ludgate. lie is said to 
 have been successful in war, and in peace a jolly 
 feaster. He left two sons to the care of thiur uncle 
 Cassibelan, who assumed the government of the whole 
 kingdom, but who nevertheless conferred ui)on Andro- 
 gens, the elder, tlie county of Kent, with London; and 
 upon Tenantius, the younger, the county oi' Cornwall ; 
 reserving to himself a paramount authority owx them 
 both, as well as over the rest of the petty chiefs or 
 princes amongst whom Britain was divided at the 
 arrival of CcTsar. 
 
 P. — liow much faith would you wish me to repose 
 in these strange traditions? 
 
 A. — We may say as did an old divine, " In apo- 
 cryphis non omnia esse apocrypha;*' for though the 
 story as a whole must undoubtedly be considered as 
 jfictitious, yet it is very possible that some of the cir- 
 cumstances w hich it relates were founded on fact. The 
 first appearance of the British History of Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth excited severe animadversion; but it is 
 curious to observe the strong hold that it took upon the 
 English nation lor many ages. Edward the First, when 
 endeavouring to establish his claim of subjection from 
 Scotland, adduces, in a letter to the Pope still extant,* 
 the whole historv of the arrival of Brutus, as a serious 
 proof of the direct and superior dominion of England. 
 The greater part of the old chroniclers and historians, 
 down to the end of the seventeenth century, seldom 
 trouble their readers with any doubt respecting the 
 authenticity of the story. Our poet Spenser^ has given 
 a poetical calendar of these imaginary monarchs ; and 
 in the works of Taylor, the Water Poet, may be seen 
 their portraits, with a short character of each in verse : 
 and though now for more than a century the narration 
 has been so generally laid aside as to be nearly for- 
 gotten, yet I cannot but think any history of England, 
 without an explanation of this, which may be termed 
 its fabulous part, would be as incomplete as the first 
 Roman Decade w ithout the amours of Mars and Rhea, 
 or the w olf that suckled Romulus and Remus. 
 
 F. — Xor can it indeed be properly understood ; for 
 as we have seen, allusions have been made to the events 
 thus recorded, not only in state papers, but even in acts 
 of Parliament; and, what is not a little curious, a great 
 
 * Rynicr, toni. 2. 
 
 ^ Faery Quccne, b. 2, c, 10. 
 
24 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 25 
 
 lawyer, Sir John Fortescue/ who had lilkd the oflice of 
 Chief Justice of the Court of Kinu's Bench, nl)S(>lut(ay 
 derives the limitations of the English monarchy from 
 the conditions as^reed on between Brutus and his 
 Trojan companions. 
 
 ^. — It may amuse you to hear the dissimihir oi)ini()ns 
 of two celebrated men on tliis subject, Sir \\ iiliam 
 Temple and Milton: the statesman^ calls tlie story at 
 once '' a tale ibrged at pleasure l)y the wit or folly of 
 its authors." The poet evidently betrays a hankering- 
 in its favour.'^ '^To suppose," says he, '' those old and 
 inborn names of successive kings never any to have 
 been real persons, or done in their lives at least some 
 part of what hath been so long remembered, cannot be 
 thought, without too strict an incredulity;" and he 
 adds, "I leave the story to the judgment of my reader; 
 neither do I oldige the belief of other person, nor over- 
 hastily subscribe my own." 
 
 » Tlic Difference between an Absolute and Limited Monarchy. 
 
 ^ Introduction to the Hist, of England. *• Hibt. of Britain, book i. 
 
 DISSERTATION 11. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 F.— From this lofty site how various and magni- 
 licent is the prospect ! the bold shore, the town of 
 Dover stretched at our feet, the expanse of ocean 
 with its ever-beating waters, and the distant cliffs of 
 Calais, recalling a thousand historical traits, con- 
 si)ire to fill the nnnd with a delightful and elevating 
 
 sensation. 
 
 ^.—Nor is the castle itself the least interesting 
 object; its large extent, its antiquity, its commanding 
 situation, its various styles of architecture, attract 
 alilv? the eye of the antiquary and the lover of the 
 
 picturesque. 
 
 jfT __The modern improvements, if such they can be 
 called, T must confess interest me the least; nor should 
 1 .suppor>e them to l)e of any real utility to the castle 
 as a place of defence, which since the invention of 
 artillery coukl never be tenable, being commanded by 
 the adjacent heights. 
 
 • yi._Tliis embattled gateway, venerable in its de- 
 cay seems to be of Norman origin; but let us pass the 
 consideration of the whole structure as a specimen of 
 the arcliitectnre of the middle ages, in carrying our 
 attention to thcsi remains of miu li greater antiquity. 
 
 'V 
 
 4 
 
2G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 P. — The largfer ruin before us was once evidently 
 a church, but the purpose of the nearly adjoinini: tower 
 baffles my conjecture. 
 
 ^- — It well deserves your particular notice, as 
 being perhaps the only undoubted specimen of a Roman 
 building now in Britain ; the other remaining works of 
 those all-conquering people being little more tlian the 
 mutilated traces of a camp, the fragments of a w all, or 
 a tessellated pavement. 
 
 P. — The exterior form of the tower, I observe, is 
 octagonal, and the upper part contracted in its dimen- 
 sions ; within, it seems perfectly square. 
 
 ^.— Its height is forty feet, but it is supposed to 
 have been originally sixty, and to have served as a 
 pharos or w atch-tower, for which its situation was ad- 
 mirably adapted; its foundations, it seems, notwith- 
 standing the chalky soil, are in a bed of clay, which 
 has been observed of other Roman buildings. Its ma- 
 terials are constructed in the usual Roman maniur; 
 the walls being built with layers of long, thin, irregular 
 red bricks, between w Inch are courses of a sort of spar 
 cut into blocks, which, if British, must have been fetched 
 from the more northern counties ; and as the Romans 
 had no extensive fleet in Britain till the days of A^-ri- 
 cola, its date must be subsequent to that period. 
 
 F.—l should rather suspect that the materials were 
 brought from the opposite coast of Gaul, as they 
 appear to be of similar quality with the celebrated 
 Caen stone. The usual appellation of Julius Caesar's 
 Tower must necessarily be erroneous, that celebrated 
 conqueror never having been on this spot. 
 
 ^- — The doorway of the tower has a rejrular 
 semicircular arch of the same deep-coloured bricks; 
 and though the windows have been deiaicd bv alter- 
 
 TFTK ROMANS. 
 
 27 
 
 ations, and the walls obscured by a coat of plaister, 
 in times comparatively modern, yet, upon the whole, 
 the structure remains unequalled as a Roman relic in 
 
 this kingdom. 
 
 P.—Are the remains of the church of equal an- 
 tiquity? 
 
 ^.— By no means, though the bricks worked indis- 
 criminately into the walls are undoubtedly Roman, 
 yet they seem to have been taken from some dilapi- 
 dated building, probably by the Saxons. 
 
 jp._j[)over, Irom its situation as it regards the 
 neighbouring continent, must ahvays have been of 
 the highest importance, and consequently we may con- 
 clude, that it has ever been a military station since 
 the Island of Britain was inhabited. With what anxiety 
 we may suppose the ancient Britons to have beheld 
 from these heights the Roman fleet approaching with 
 a hostile intention. 
 
 ^._Caesar states, that his original desire of in- 
 vading Britain was caused by the assistance which 
 its inhabitants were accustomed to aflbrd the Gauls 
 in their wars against him. ^ In the year 55, before the 
 Christian era, though the summer was nearly ex- 
 pired, he resolved to explore, at least, even if the 
 season did not allow him sufiicient time to conquer, 
 the country: with this intention he sailed from Gaul 
 with two Roman legions, supposed to consist of about 
 twelve thousand men, in eighty ships, leaving his 
 cavalry to follow. As the Romans approached these 
 clilfs on which we stand, Caesar beheld them covered 
 with enemies, whose brandished weapons from that 
 height he judged it prudent to avoid; and proceeded 
 ei^-ht miles furiher north, to a flat and open shore. 
 
 PcBcl. Gal. lib. 4. cap. 20. 
 
■■'' »1 
 
 28 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 29 
 
 which consequently must have been S(Miiru iint nlnmi 
 Avhere now sttuuls (he low n of Deal. 
 
 P. — And did he there land without opposition? 
 
 A. — By no means; the Britons discovcrini;- liis in- 
 tention, sent oiY their Iiorse, and i)repari'd to loHuw 
 with all their l()rce to preveni liis disembarkation, 
 which, however, he at length elTected wilh niucli dilii- 
 culty, tlie ships bein;r too large to J4)proach the beac !i, 
 and the Roman soldiers, heavily armed, afraid to leap 
 into the deep water. In this dilemma^ the Britons, now 
 standing on the shore and now advancing a small 
 distance into the sea, attacked the invaders with 
 darts and spears, and excited the utniust alarm and 
 confusion. 
 
 P. — Tlie great commander had then siilin it iit scope 
 for his genius in extricating himself Irum this em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 A. — With his usual vigilance Caesar ordered some 
 lighter vessels to be laid lengthwise nearer the sliore; 
 and by this measnre he was enabled to assail the 
 barbarians, as he proudly terms them, with missiles 
 propelled from the formidable engines of Boman war- 
 fare : at length the eagle-bearer of the tenth legion, 
 exhorting his companions, leaped into the sea, and 
 the soldiers at once fidlowing, a sharp conflict ensued, 
 which ended in the flight of the Britons, whom Ca\sar 
 was not able to pursue, as his cavalry did not arri\e; 
 the ships in which they were emliarked, being carried 
 down, what we now term the Channel, by an adverse 
 wind: he calls this the only circumstance wauling to 
 his good fortune. 
 
 P. — But such a battle was not the conquest of 
 Britain. 
 
 il.— -Caesar proreeding a short distance from fhc 
 
 sliore, fortified a camp, as it is conjectured, on Barham 
 Downs, and thither the Britons sent legates with some 
 terms of submission: but on the fourth day after his 
 landiim, a storm, combining with a high tide, destroyed 
 a large part of the fleet. 
 
 F.-This accident, which happened at the full of 
 the moon, has given an occasion of remarking, that the 
 doctrine of lunar inlluence on the tide was not un- 
 known to the ancients; as Caesar observes, that the full 
 moon was wont to effect a great flow of the ocean.^ 
 
 A, As soon as the Britons understood the disaster, 
 
 they became desirous of retracting their concessions, and 
 entered into secret measures for attacking the Roman 
 camp. The seventh legion being sent out to forage, was 
 surrounded, and had not Caesar flown to its assistance, 
 having been apprised by the sentinels, who had ob- 
 served an unusual dust, thc^ whole army would have 
 been exposed to the utmost danger of extermination. 
 
 j[>^_With what weapons were so rude a people, 
 as the Britons are represented to be at this period, 
 able to contend against the Roman power in its 
 highest state of discipline, and under its most re- 
 nowned captain? 
 
 ^._You are to recollect that, in this first invasion, 
 Ca3sar was without cavalry: the Britons wore no ar- 
 mour, but went naked into battle with their skins dis- 
 coloured with woad, to appear terrific to their enemies; 
 they used a short spear and target, with a sword 
 appended to their side: but on this occasion, the efifect 
 of their war chariots drew from Caesar the highest 
 encomium: he represents them as uniting the activity 
 of horse with the stability of foot. So dexterous were 
 the Britons in their management, that on the brink of 
 
 « Do Bel. Gal. lib. 4. cap. 21). 
 
30 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 a precipice and in the rapidity of a descent they 
 guided these vehicles with as much security as on a 
 level plain.' 
 
 P. — Did the Britons follow up the advantaj^e of 
 their late exploit? 
 
 A. — They collected in great numbers, and Caesar 
 for several days was evidently afraid to attack them, 
 as he lay quiet in his camp, pretending to be prevented 
 by continual tempests; at length in an irregular skir- 
 mish, with about thirty horse that he had collected, he 
 devastated tlic neighbourhood with considerable severity. 
 The Britons again asking peace, Ca\sar derannded 
 certain hostages which should follow him into Gaul ; 
 and judging it a fit time to depart, his fleet being much 
 weakened, and the autumnal equinox approaching, he 
 re-embarked, and with his entire army reached the con- 
 tinent in safetv.^ 
 
 F, — The result of this invasion might more justly 
 be entitled a fortunate escape than a brilliant conquest. 
 
 A, — It was certainly so esteemed by the enemies 
 of Caesar at Rome. There is a renmrkable line in 
 Lucan's Pharsalia to this purpose: 
 
 **Temta qiiaesitis ostendlt terpfa Britannis."--B. 2. v. 572. 
 
 *' Does he boast 
 *' His flight from Britain's new discovered coast." — KowE. 
 
 But the ambition of this conqueror would not rest con- 
 tent with so du])ious a triumph : the next spring, com- 
 plaining that the Britons had not fulfilled their engage- 
 ments in sending hostages, indeed only two cities or 
 states had so complied, he prepared to punish their 
 neglect; and collecting a large army in Gaul, of five 
 legions and two thousand horse/ which he connnanded 
 
 * De Bel. Gal. lib. 4. cap. :)3. '' Lib. 4. cap. 5G. ^ Lib. .5. cap. 8. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 :ll. 
 
 to rendezvous " ad Fortum itium/' supposed to be 
 Boulogne, he thence passed the sea and landed nearly 
 in the same place as in his former expedition, without 
 seeing an enemy; the Britons being alarmed at the 
 extent of his preparations, his fleet consisting of not 
 less than eight hundred ships of various burden. 
 
 P. — The conflict was too unequal. 
 
 A. — Caesar having disembarked, fortified a camp 
 immediately on the shore; and then proceeding with 
 his army about twelve miles, he beheld the Britons 
 posted on the river Stour, ])ut the situation is not 
 exactly ascertained: they attacked him with brisk- 
 ness, but were repulsed, and compelled to take refuge 
 in the woods, and in a neigh1)our]ng place of strength, 
 thought to be Canterbury. The next day brought intelli- 
 gence that the fleet had suflercd severely from a storm 
 during the preceeding night, which induced Caesar to 
 return to the coast, w here he gave orders to have the 
 renuiining ships dragged up out of the sea, and secured 
 within the fortified boundary of the camp. After a 
 detention ol' ten days, he proceeded again with his 
 armv to seek the dominions of Cassivelaunus, or Cas- 
 sibelan, to whose authority the Britons had entrusted 
 their common safety. 
 
 P, — Whv should not Cx'sar have proceeded up the 
 
 * 
 
 Thames and secured the metropolis? 
 
 A,~-U is somewhiU dou1)tful whether London tlien 
 existed ; and if it did, it was the chief town of the 
 Trinobantes, who were not the subjects of Cassibelan, 
 whose kimrdom seems to have consisted of the modern 
 counties of Hertford, Bedford, and Buckingham. Caesar, 
 after penetrating through the country and fighting in 
 many severe skirmishes, at length reached the Thames, 
 where it w as fordrd)le, near the present village of ^Yal- 
 
 r. / 
 
ms 
 
 =s 
 
 32 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ton, in Surrey ; here lie found the Britons on the opposite 
 side in vast numbers, prepared to dispute his passage, 
 the further bank and middle of the river beinij^ defended 
 by sharp stakes fixed under the stream ; notwithstand- 
 ing which, his cavalry plun2:ing into the river, were 
 follow ed by the foot, the w aler reaching to tlieir shoul- 
 ders. The Britons, incapable of sustaining this impetus 
 of the Roman legions, at once dispersed.* 
 
 F. — The place is still commemorated by the name 
 of Coway Stakes. A very few^ years since, one of these 
 supposed ancient stakes was taken from the river, bhick 
 as jet, and so hard as to turn an axe.'' 
 
 A. — Cassibelan, despairing to contend directly with 
 Ca3sar, dismissed his army, except about four thousand 
 chariots, with which he continued to annoy his enemy. 
 At this period the Trinobantes sent legates to Ca sar, 
 entreating that he would secure their kingdom to the 
 youth Mandubratius, then in his camp, whose father, 
 Tenuantius, had been killed by Casssibelan; wliich 
 Caesar readily granting, obtained hostages and supplies. 
 Some otiier tribes surrendering themselves also, he pre- 
 pared to attack the chief station of Cassibelan, near the 
 modern town of St. Alban's, a place strong both by 
 nature and art, consisting of a few straugling villages, 
 surrounded by a ditch and rampart, and containing 
 many men and much cattle. After a short defence it 
 was taken possession of by the Romans.^ 
 
 P. — The Britons appear not to have tamely yielded, 
 but boldly to have disputed the ground inch by inch. 
 
 A. — Cassibelan w as not only a brave but a politic 
 warrior. At this juncture he directed four chiefs of 
 Kent, (Caesar calls them kings,) to attack the Roman 
 
 • De Bel. Gal. lib. 5. rap. IB. ^ See also Arclireol. vol. i. p. IDO. 
 
 c He Rel. Gal. Ill), :>. cap. '21. 
 
 THE ROMAxNS. 
 
 33 
 
 camp on the sliore, which they immediately attempted, 
 but were repulsed; had they succeeded Caesar's situa- 
 tion would have been extremely critical. Cassibelan, 
 on learning the failure of this design, made advances 
 for peace, which it would seem Caesar was much dis- 
 posed to grant, demanding only certain hostages, an an- 
 nual tribute, and the security of his ally Mandubratius. 
 
 P. — And did so miglity an expedition terminate with 
 no irreater success? 
 
 j\ — Such was the barren result, and nothing more. 
 Caesar alleging the same causes for his departure as in 
 the former year, immediately returned to Gaul, and, 
 with liis usual fortune, lost not a single soldier by the 
 perils of tlie ocean.' 
 
 F, — Thr resistance of the Britons was much more 
 spirited and pertinacious than is usually apprehended; 
 indeed I believe it is no uncommon error to imagine 
 that Caesar's '' Thrasonical brag,'' veni vidi vici, w^as 
 occasioned by his conquest of Britain, instead of his 
 
 victorv over Pharnaces. 
 
 ^.—Tacitus observes, that Caesar had sliewn Britain 
 to posterity rather than subdued it.' This able soldier 
 no doubt acted with his wonted wisdom and courage in 
 these expeditions ; but he might conclude that no con- 
 quests which he could make would repay the ditficulty 
 and expense of maintaining them; and indeed the ne- 
 cessity of attending to his ambitious schemes at home 
 effectually prevented any fnrther personal intercourse. 
 That the Roman authority was merely nominal, may be 
 inferred from the tribute never having been paid, and 
 that the Britons continued unmolested for a whole cen- 
 tury afterwards. 
 
 » De Bel. Gal. lib. :., cap. 23. 
 
 ^ Agrk'olca Vita. 
 
 V0L= I. 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 jp._During this interval, we may truly say, hiains 
 valde deflendm ; for though Britain is often alluded to 
 by the classics of the Augustan age, yet scarcely a 
 single trace of its authentic history is to be found in 
 
 their pages. 
 
 ^._What is more strange, even Geollrey of Mon- 
 mouth fails on this occasion; what he says contains 
 little to the purpose: from him it would appear, that 
 Tenantius, the younger son of King Lud, succeeded to 
 his uncle Cassibelan ; he was wise and fortunate, and 
 left the kingdom to his son Cunobeline, the Cymbeline 
 of Shakspeare. This monarch was certainly an authen- 
 tic personage, being mentioned by the ancient historians, 
 Suetonius* and Dion.'' 
 
 F. — A presumption may also be found in the exist- 
 ence of certain coins not of very rare occurrence, attri- 
 buted to Cunobeline. At the first glance we should 
 feel inclined to suspect that British relics of so very 
 ancient a date must necessarily be spurious ; but from 
 the general testimony of men well qualified to judge, 
 such as Sir Robert Cotton, Camden, and Speed, I con- 
 fess my doubts are overcome.^ These coins are of gold, 
 silver, and brass; some are impressed with the bust of 
 Cunobeline, and with the first three or five letters of his 
 name; the reverse has various devices. 
 
 A. — The substance of these coins being chicfiy the 
 precious metals, was calculated to raise a doul)t, as 
 Csesar*^ expressly states the British money to have been 
 either of brass or iron. 
 
 F. — A controversv has arisen as to the meaning of 
 the word Tascio, which appears frequently on the 
 
 ^ Caligula, c. 44. '* Li^>. ^'0, c. 20. 
 
 "" Essay on the Coins of Cimoboliiie, by Samuel Po^^ge. 
 ^ De Bel. Gal. lib. 5, c. 12. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 35 
 
 reverse of these coins: some have been disposed to 
 think that it meant triliute-money, imposed by the Tag^ 
 or prince; but this opinion is hardly feasible, as the 
 Britons did not pay tribute, and in no country was 
 money ever expressly coined for such a purpose. One 
 piece with this inscription exhibits the figure of an 
 operative minter at his work, and the word may pos- 
 siblv be the name of Cunobeline's mint-master; other 
 pieces have the abbreviation ' Cam. Camal.,' for Cama- 
 lodunum, where it is supposed they were executed, pro- 
 bably by Roman artists. Sir John Pettus* ridiculously 
 derives the word coin from these pieces of Coynobeline, 
 who first coined money in Britain. 
 
 yl._From the frequent mention of Britain by the 
 classics, we may conclude that after Caesar's invasion a 
 considerable intercourse took place between this country 
 and Rome. Geoffrey's Chronicle reports that Cuno- 
 beline was brought up at Rome by Augustus;' he reigned 
 long and prosperously, and divided his kingdom at his 
 death between his sons, Guiderius and Arviragus, who 
 were kings in Britain at the time of the next invasion 
 by the Romans under Claudius Caesar. 
 
 P.— What motive induced the Romans to renew 
 
 their conquest ? 
 
 yl.— That which to them ever afforded a pretext and 
 justification, ambition; but the immediate cause was 
 the discord which prevailed amongst the British them- 
 selves, with whose chiefs or princes, dissension might 
 be called an endemic disease: one of these, Bericus^ by 
 name, appeared at Rome and suggested the probability 
 of a successful attack. The Emperor Claudius em- 
 bracing at once the opportunity, entrusted to Aulus 
 
 ^ Fodinae Rec,'al<'s, History of Mines, &c. in England. 
 
 b Gal. Mon. lib. 4, c. II. ' Dion, lib. 60, c. 19. 
 
 o 2 
 
3G 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 TllK ROMANS. 
 
 37 
 
 Plautiiis four Iciiions, with soino German niixiliaries, 
 \yhose habits oi' warfare were peculiarly adapted Tor 
 this service. That able general, assisted by Vespasian, 
 afterwards emperor, and his brother Sabinus, effected 
 a prosperous landinu', and overran the south-east parts 
 of Britain, though not without encountering a sevt^-e 
 opposition; when, sending for the Emperor, whom 
 Plautius was desirous of l!a tiering with an excuse for a 
 triumph at Rome, he took possession of Camalodnnum, 
 the chief town of Caractacus, the British king, a. n. 43. 
 
 F. — Whether Camalodunum were Maiden or Col- 
 chester, has been much disputed ; the ])retensions of 
 the former are the resemblance oi' its name, and its 
 vicinity to the estuary mentioned by Tacitus;* tlie 
 advocates for the latter plead its superior situation, its 
 accumulation of Roman remains, and the great number 
 of ancient coins there discovered. But in the Itinerary 
 of Antoninus a plain distinction betw^een the tw^o sta- 
 tions, Colonia and Camalodunum, appears, and there- 
 fore I give my sullVage for MaUlen; which opinion, 
 after some struggle, seems now in be coinmonly 
 admitted. 
 
 P. — I thought you said that Guiderius and .Irvira- 
 gus, the sons of Cunobeline, at the time of this invasion, 
 governed Britain. 
 
 A. — These names are given in the ^louniouth Chro- 
 nicle, and are conjectured to mean the same persons as 
 Togodumnus and Caractacus; the first of whom fell in 
 battle against Plautius, sustaining the freedom of his 
 country ; the latter became w orthy to have his deeds 
 recorded in the immortal page of Tacitus. 
 
 jP, — liaving then this celebrated writer for our guide, 
 it is really time to take leave of Geoffrey of Monmouth, 
 
 w ith his many fables and fooleries; such romancers, being 
 lit only to be consulted in the total absence of other 
 aiitlioritv, become worse than useless when they disturb 
 the steady light of history by their strange combination 
 ol' u.iknown names \\itli incredible facts, 
 
 ^.— The Romans established their tirst colony at 
 Camalodunum, but were far from feeling themselves 
 secure in Britain, Caractacus continuing to harass 
 (hem \\\\\\ repeated attaclis for several years; but at 
 length, when leading the Silures, a warlike people 
 d\vtl!iiii2 on tlic banks of the Severn, he was defeated 
 by Ostorius Scapula, the successor of Plautius, in a 
 great battle near the river Teme in Shropshire, when 
 his wife and children were taken prisoners, and shortly 
 after his brothers surrendered. Caractacus seeking 
 protection from Cartisraandua, queen of the Brigantes, 
 a tril)e inliabiting the now northern counties of En- 
 gland, was basely betrayed and delivered up by her in 
 chains to the Ilomans, A. D. 51.' 
 
 P.— This event has been long impressed upon my 
 memory, Caractacus with liis family, led in triumph 
 through the streets of Rome, having afforded a subject 
 t)n which many painters have exercised their pencil. 
 
 F.— It has also afforded the materials of a pictur- 
 esque description in the pages of the most picturesque 
 
 of historians. 
 
 A .—The result has always been lelt with pleasure : 
 Caractacus, boldly representing to Claudius tliat tiie im- 
 perial dignity would (!( rive more glory from clemency 
 than severity, was pardoned and released. It is matter 
 of regret that the subsequent history of this undaunted 
 defender of his country should remain unknown; it is 
 said that he expressed his surprise thai the Romans, 
 
 » Annal. lib. 14. 
 
 « Tacitus, Anna), lil'. 12. 
 
38 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 a9 
 
 who possessed such magnificent palaces at home, shoukl 
 fight for the hovels of Britain. 
 
 P. — Yet he could have been no stranger to the insa- 
 tiable desires of ambition. 
 
 A. — The treacherous Cartismandua continued in al- 
 liance with the Romans; but desertinu hor husl)an(l, 
 Venutius, for Vellocatus, her armour-bearer, she so 
 much incensed her subjects that they drove her from 
 the throne;* when seeking protection from Iier new 
 allies, she passed with them the remainder of a de- 
 graded life. The Brigantes uniting with the Sihires, 
 continued their resistance with so much pertinacity as 
 to cause the death of Ostorius, from pure fatigue and 
 vexation; nor did the Romans make further impr(\ssion 
 under fiis two immediate successors: but in the reign 
 of Nero, Suetonius Paulinus, a soldier of high rei)uta- 
 tion, was entrusted with the connnand ; and being am- 
 bitious of distinguishing himself by some striking action, 
 he resolved to attack the Isle of Mona, now Angk\sey, 
 the chief seat of druidical superstition, and often aflord- 
 ing protection to the baflled forces of (he Britons.'' 
 
 P. — Is not Mona sometimes thought to be the Isle 
 of Man? 
 
 A. — In Casar's description, Mona,'' placed in the 
 ocean half-way between Britain and Ireland, is un- 
 doubtedly that island; but the Mona of Tacitus is 
 Anglesey, which is separated from Britain by the 
 straight called the Menai, to pass which the Roman 
 foot were now embarked in flat-bottomed boats, and 
 the horse swam through the deeper or forded the more 
 shallow part of the water. On the shore women inter- 
 mingled with the warriors, and running about like furies. 
 
 i 
 
 " Tacit. Hist. lib. 5. >• Tacit. Aj^ric. Vita. 
 
 ' DcBcl. Gal. lib. 5, c. 15. 
 
 with dishevelled hair and 'turning torches, struck a 
 momentary terror, to which the imprecations of the 
 Druids did not a little contribute ; but Suetonius ex- 
 hortmg his soldiers to despise such fanaticism, impelled 
 them to the attack, drove the Britons from the field, 
 destroyed the consecrated groves and altars, and burned 
 the Druids in the same fire which they had prepared 
 
 for their enemies, A. d. 59.* 
 
 P.— One cannot but wish that, in this career of 
 success, the Romans had a juster cause. 
 
 ^4 ___They had not much leisure to exult in their 
 recent conquest ; an extensive insurrection now broke 
 out through the larger part of Britain, occasioned by 
 repeated acts of cruelty and avarice. Prasutagus, king 
 of the Iceni, a people inhabiting the modern coun- 
 ties of xXorfolk, Suff*olk, and Cambridge, expecting to 
 secure protection to his posterity, appointed Nero co- 
 heir with his two daughters ; but the Romans under this 
 pretence seized the kingdom, and treated it as a con- 
 quered country. Boadicea, the royal widow, resisting 
 this oppression, was scourged and her daughters vio- 
 lated. The Iceni judging the absence of the general to 
 be a lit opportunity of revenge, flew to arms, and at 
 once sacked and destroyed Camalodunum, the new 
 Roman colony. Suetonius, on learning this defection, 
 with great celerity and boldness traversed the country, 
 and reached London, at that time beginning to rise to 
 commercial opulence; but finding it untenable, he was 
 compelled to resign it, as well as Verulam, toth e power 
 of the victorious Iceiii. 
 
 F.— These liarbarians inflicted upon the defenceless 
 inhabitants every species of ignominy and sulfering. 
 Who can liear of the indiscriminate destruction ot 
 
 a Tacit. Annal. lib. 14. 
 
40 
 
 VESTICIA. 
 
 seventy thousand persons/' ol' \urioiis ages and oi' both 
 sexes, Avithout horror? 
 
 ^, — Suetonius found it necessary no longer to deier 
 his attack, uhich the Britons, \ainly conllding in their 
 superior numbers, prepared to receive with ahicrity; 
 and placing their wives in waggons on the outskirts ol' 
 their camp, to be tlie witnesses of their victory, tliey 
 repaired to the iield of battle, supposed to be near the 
 modern town of Epping.^ Loadicea with her daughters, 
 borne in a chariot, went through tlie ranks stimulating 
 the couratife of the British soldiers. The Greek historian, 
 Dion,'= represents her as declaiming to them in llowing 
 robes with a spear in her hand; and after a long circum- 
 locution, turning loose amongst them, for a fortunate 
 omen, a hare which had been concealed in her bosom, 
 she concluded her address with a prayer to And ate, the 
 British goddess, who indeed afforded her no protection; 
 for Suetonius, w ith his army, consisting of al)out ten thou- 
 sand men, having judiciously chosen a position in wliich 
 his wings could not be Jlanked, sustained patiently the 
 first assault, when the legion at length breaking out in 
 the form of a wedae, utterlv overthrew and defeated the 
 undisciplined Britons; escape being precluded by the 
 impediments with which they were surrounded. F.ighty 
 thousand slain on the field, with the loss only of four 
 hundred Romans, attest a general route rather than an 
 equal engagement.*^ 
 
 P. — And what befel the unfortunate Boadicea? 
 
 A. — Tacitus relates that she put an end to her life 
 by poison; Dion, that she died fnmi vexation. She is 
 described as a woman of lofty stature, with a fierce 
 countenance ; her hair was bright, and hanging down 
 to her waist: her courage deserved a better fate: of 
 
 TilK ROMANS. 
 
 41 
 
 " Tacit. Annul, lib. 1 i 
 ' Lib. 62, c. fi. 
 
 *' ATorant, Hist, (if r>r;ex. 
 '^ facir. \nnal. lib. 11. 
 
 her cruelty we must not judge by the example of more 
 ])olished times ; of her incompetency to contend with the 
 discipline of the Roman legion, the fatal result made 
 too evicU-nt. 
 
 P. — Did this dreadful discomfiture at once reduce 
 the Britons to obedience ? 
 
 A. — They declined to haziird any pitched battles, 
 but continued to harass the Romans by a predatory 
 warfare. Suetonius was speedily recalled from his pro- 
 vince, \vh(^re, 1)y sufiering and inflicting so many seve- 
 rities, his temper was judged unlikely to conciliate the 
 angry and alarmed minds of the inhabitants; and the 
 government devolved successively for short periods on 
 two or three commanders of reputation, till at length, 
 in the reign of Vespasian, it was given to Agricola,'' 
 under whom a more regular plan of reducing the island 
 and rendering it useful to its conquerors was completed. 
 
 F, — This we may suppose consisted in ruling with 
 equity and introducing the arts of civilized life. 
 
 ^1. — Agricola was undou1)tedly a man of merit, and 
 liaving his actions related by his son-in-laVt, Tacitus, 
 they appear in the fairest light. By his judicious ma- 
 nagement tribe alter tribe su])mitted, till the whole south 
 of Britain i-ssunicd the form of a Roman province; 
 the iidiabitants gradually acquiring a taste for the 
 language and manners, the letters and science, of their 
 conquerors. 
 
 P, — Agricola was perhaps less ambitious of military 
 fame than his predecessors. 
 
 /I. — lie deserved at least as large a share; for 
 turning his arms to the north, he penetrated into re- 
 gions and conquered nations before unknown. This 
 gcmeral was remarkable for tlie judgmv^^nt with which 
 
 * Tacit. Agric. Vita. 
 
42 
 
 \ I'lSTlCI A. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 4:] 
 
 he fortified proper places of defence ; and he fixed a 
 chain of forts between the rivers Clyde and Forth, to 
 restrain the incnrsions of the barbarons inhal)itants of 
 the mountains; notwithstanding which, Galgacus, a 
 Caledonian chief, attacked him with an army of tliirty 
 thousand men, but suffered a total deieat, a.J).S5. 
 This seems to have been the last great battle which the 
 Britons ventured in defence of their independence. The 
 lleet of Agricola discovered the Orcades, or the Orkney 
 islands, before unknown to the Romans, and lirst as- 
 certained with certainty that Britain itself was an 
 
 island.* 
 
 P.— That its early affairs should have been descril)ed 
 bv two such writers as Ca^sar and Tacitus is singularly 
 
 gratifying. 
 
 ^.—Whether from the circumstance of its history 
 being henceforth to be gleaned out of inferior authors, 
 or from its own insignificance, certain it is, that from 
 this period the transactions of the Romans in Britain 
 are utterly without interest. After the conquests of 
 Agricola an absolute chasm takes place till the reign 
 of Adrian, who in his progress through his vast domi- 
 nions visited this island,' (a.T). 122;) and findinu: the 
 incursions of the Caledonians still troubksome, he 
 erected his celebrated w all, extending from the mouth 
 of the Tyne to Solway Firth : it seems to have been 
 formed by a mound of turf six feet in height, w ith a 
 ditch beyond. About twenty years after, under the 
 rei$rn of Antoninus Pius, it was thought that a more 
 northerly defence was required; and a new uall, partly 
 of stone, was erected by the Propraetor Lollins Urbicus/ 
 between the Iriths of Clyde and Forth, upon the line it 
 is supposed of Agricola's forts. The Caledoninns still 
 
 » Aerlc.Vita. '' Spartian, Vit. Adrimi, c. 11. ' Capitolimis., c. Ti. 
 
 continuing' their incursions, the Emperor Severus, taking 
 witii iiini his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, arrived in 
 Jhitaiii (-'OT), and after much perseverance, with diffi- 
 culty ciiasfiscd tliese northern invaders.'' 
 
 p._Cau v,e suppose that it was in this expedition 
 that the Romans were opposed by Fingal, who is said 
 l)y Ossian to have obtained a victory on the banks of the 
 Caruii.iii which the son of the king of the world. Caracul, 
 "lied from his arms along the fields of his pride?" 
 
 yl._'riiat " Fingal fought, or Ossian sung," at least 
 in this age, is more than doubtful; as, if these chief- 
 tains ever lived at all, it was half a century later. 
 Could we indulge so pleasing an illusion as their 
 existence, in the contrast of situation and manners, 
 we should see little to the advantage of those who 
 esteemed themselves the more civilized people. 
 
 P.— But on what principle are we to account for 
 the historical allusions in the work of Ossian, still 
 believed as genuine by the partizans of Celtic antiquity ? 
 ^.— It is somewhat difficult to explain the subject; 
 in the early histories of Ireland,^ though commonly 
 deemed fabulous, it is certain that such names as Fionn, 
 the son of Cumhall, Fingal, a redoubted warrior, (a.d. 
 OTO)- and Osgur, Oscor, the son of Oisin, Ossian, are 
 undoubtedly to be found. During the third century, an 
 irruption of a trilje of the Irish took place, which ended 
 in their establishment in the Western Highlands of Scot- 
 land. An intercourse between the two countries thus 
 continuing, the traditional fame of these heroes was 
 preserved in both regions ; but by a sort of anachronism, 
 not uncommon in l)allad lore, it has been mixed up and 
 confounded with the deeds of various other warriors of 
 much later ages. 
 
 . IMon, lib. 7«. Hcrodian, lib. 5. " Keating, OTlaherty Ogygia. 
 
41 
 
 A KSTiniA. 
 
 P.-— The controversv then i.s not uhelhci' the names 
 of Fingal and Ossian occur in Erse or Irish oral poetry, 
 that behig granted; but \vhether Maephersun has not 
 raised a structure entirely his own upoii tluse slender 
 foundations? 
 
 A. — Exactly so : that an riter seems to have taken a 
 few prcvailini^ names still llouting in tradition, aiid to 
 have combined them so artt'uUy with every existing 
 scrap of Gaelic oral poetry, of wliatever date or sul)jeet, 
 that it became impossible for any Gael to avoid recog- 
 nising many events and e\en plirases Avhich iia.d been 
 familiar to liis ear from infancy; coiiscqiieiitly iiuluciiig 
 a conclusion that tlie poems could not be other than an 
 ancient and genuine composition : and what more 
 flattei'ing to national vanity than tlie supposition that 
 Caledonia, in so early a period as the third century, 
 had made those advances in ci\ili/,ation \vhich these 
 compositions imply ? 
 
 P. — Dr. Johnson, in controverting the authority of 
 Fingal, in Avhicli poem Macphersou has iiiserted these 
 scraps of ancient ballads, has elucidated tlie suliject by 
 saying that he -would undertake to write an epic poem 
 on the story of Robin Jlood; and half England, to 
 Avhom the names and places were familiar, v.ouid be- 
 lieve aad declare that they had been acquainted Avilii 
 the work from their earliest years. 
 
 F. — Macpherson, it is said, at last confessed his in- 
 genuity, and that he was impelled lo liie attempt l)y 
 the neglect of his poem, " The Highlander. '" It is not a 
 little curious to observe tlie coincidence in the labours 
 of Macpherson and Chatterton; the avo\\ed works of 
 each being equally neglected, ajul tiie lictiiious equally 
 exciting vuiiversal attention. 
 
 A. — Whatever mav be the merit of tliesc once 
 
 G 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 45 
 
 popular productions, and, abating the eternal repetition 
 of the same images and sentiments, I am not disposed to 
 deny them a considerable portion, there is certainly not 
 the slightest foundation for supposing that even a single 
 sentence, much less a whole poem, ever proceeded from 
 the lips or jien of such a bard as Ossian; besides, the 
 idea of oral poetry continuing through the long space 
 of fifteen centuries is preposterous: the real Celtic style 
 too of whatever date, is totally different from these 
 pretended ancient compositions; the sentiment, tender- 
 ness and .lescription in which partake too powerfully oi 
 the modern school.-The Emperor Severus, after tran- 
 quili/in'. Britain, and erecting anew and loftier wall, ^ 
 constructed with stone, a few feet to the north of Adrian's 
 former rampart, expired after a long illness at York (211.) 
 p._()|' this laborious structure do any remams 
 
 ascertain the <:^xact site? 
 
 vl.— The wall of Severus was perhaps the greatest 
 military work ever erected by the Romans in any coun- 
 try ; its length was sixty-eight miles, its height being 
 twelve feet and its breadth eight; it was carried on, over 
 steep hills and through deep valleys, without interrup- 
 tion ; it had eighteen stations or large forts, which be- 
 came the nucleus of as many towns; there were eighty- 
 one castles, sixtv-six feet square, the wall forming then- 
 northern side, each seven furlongs apart; and three 
 hundred and twenty-four watch-towers, or turrets, twelve 
 feet square. Of the speaking brazen pipes, which were 
 said to communicate sounds from sea to sea, we will 
 say nothing, as they must have proceeded from the 
 same manufactory which produced Friar Bacon's fa- 
 mous head. Beyond the whole was a ditch thirty-six 
 feet wide and (ifteen deep. Of all this magnificence but 
 
 •» Spartian, c. IB. 
 
mmH 
 
 46 
 
 VCSilGIxV. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 47 
 
 few vestiires remain, the wall hecomiiii^ the coiiiinoii 
 quarry out of which the towns and villages of the 
 neighbourhood have been constructed. 
 
 P. — But the trench could not be so appropriated. 
 
 A, — And consequently where cultivation has not 
 encroached, its whole direction is easily to be perceived, 
 as is indeed a large part of Adrian's ditch and bank; 
 upon the foundation of the wall for a considerable 
 length is now a high road. 
 
 F. — The last author who has described these re- 
 mains from ocular inspection was the late respectable 
 Hutton,'' of Birmingham, who in the year 1801, at the 
 age of seventy-eight, traversed on foot the whole length 
 of the wall and back, for the sole purpose of contem- 
 plating its evanescent ruins. 
 
 A. — Connected also with this defence there were 
 on the southern side two military ways, paved with 
 square stones, the traces of which are now sulliciently 
 
 evident. 
 
 P. — The subject of the Roman roads, so frequently 
 alluded to in topographical descriptions, has always 
 puzzled my understanding to comprehend. 
 
 A. — It has puzzled many other persons. As the Ro- 
 mans extended their conquests, an easy communication 
 between each station became desirable; this was the 
 origin of military ways in Britain, which probably were 
 first constructed by Agricola. 
 
 P. — But allusion to the j)rincipal of these roads is 
 perpetually occurring under the more modern names of 
 the Fosse, Watling-street, Erming-street, and Ikenild- 
 
 street. 
 
 A, — These four highways are mentioned, in the 
 laws attributed to Edward the Confessor,^ as possessing 
 
 r 
 
 ^ History of the Roman Wall. 
 
 »' Wilkiiis, r. 12. 
 
 « 
 
 rcKiilations peculiar to tbemselves; and two of them are 
 descrilicd as runnin- Icngtlnvisc, and t%vo across the 
 kin-doni. Tt would be erroneous to suppose that the 
 Romans constructed only these lour, as even the map 
 of the Itinerary of Antoninus, of the date of the 
 second ccnturv, lays down many others, which no 
 doubt were afterwards increased. The site of the four 
 ways is a matter of much uncertainty, the Fosse, so 
 called because in some places it was never perfected, 
 but left like a ditch, is the least disputed; it ran from 
 Totness in Devon, through Bath, Cirencester, J.eicester, 
 to Lincoln ; thence in a straight line to the Humber : 
 this last portion still exhibits more appearances of a 
 lloman origin than any other road in the kingdom. The 
 way then proceeded to Berwick, and thence, says Sel- 
 den, ■ to Caithness, the northern extremity of Scotland ; 
 but that is scarcely credible. 
 
 - p._As the Romans seemed always to build tor 
 eternity, in what manner were these military ways 
 
 constructed ? 
 
 ^.— They began such works by making deep exca- 
 vations, on each side oi' which they erected walls, often 
 forming a parapet above the road; the space between 
 was filled witii layers of difterent materials, above 
 which they placed the hardest stones, fastened together 
 by an intermediate cement. The remains of such pave- 
 ments are in many places discoverable in Britain: 
 Watling-street, so called from Vitellianus, in British 
 Gwethclin, its supposed director, extended from Dover 
 to London in nearly the line of the present road; 
 it has left its name, though no other traces, in the 
 
 metropolis. 
 
 F.— Unless it be London Stone, which probably is 
 
 » Notes tn Drayton's I'olyolbioii, Song 16. 
 
48 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 49 
 
 a Roman relic, and might be the mark whence the 
 miles were orisfinally measured from that city.* 
 
 A. — Watling-street proceeded iVom London to Dun- 
 stable, crossed the Fosse at High Cross, near Leicester, 
 and was continued to Chester; some authorities sup- 
 pose that it thence crossed over the country to York, 
 thence to Carlisle, and so entered Scotland. 
 
 P. — But we have still Erming-street and Ikenild- 
 street unexplained. 
 
 A, — And I doubt they will ever remain so, the con- 
 fusion being inextricable: the former, deriving its name 
 from Hermes, or Mercury, the president of highways, is 
 represented to have run in a northerly direction, begin- 
 ning at Arundel, passing through Lewes, Stane-street, 
 Streatham, to Stanegate, Lambeth; thence by Hertford, 
 Huntingdon, to Lincoln ; it then crossed the Trent to 
 York, and ended at Tynemouth : but such is the dis- 
 crepancy of authors, that these northern portions^ of the 
 way are appropriated by some to the Fosse,^ and by 
 others to the Watling-street. To add to tlie confusion, 
 an old writer^ describes this Erming-street as a road 
 leading from St. David's, in Wales, to Southampton. 
 " Amidst such disagreement," says the learned Sehlen, 
 '' I determine nothing;" an example which 1 think 
 highly prudent to follow . The Ikenild-street derived 
 its name from the Iceni; its direction is as uncertain as 
 the rest: one authority states it to have proceeded from 
 Caister, near Norwich, through Colchester, to London, 
 and thence by Bath to Marlborougli ; another gives it 
 at first a more westerly direction, from Caister, through 
 Cambridgeshire, to Dunstable, and thence to South- 
 ampton. While, to clinch the whole, a third writer 
 
 » Maitland, Hist, of London, p. 10 iH. 
 *' Horslev, Britannia Rom.ina. 
 
 ^ Gale in Leland, vol. 0. 
 ^ T.r\m}>HT(^e, Kent. 
 
 describes llie Ikenild-street as beginning at Southampton, 
 running through the centre of the kingdom, and ending 
 at tlu^ mouth of the Tyne. 
 
 P. — ^Street l)eing a Saxon word evidently derived 
 from the Latin stralum, we are warranted to conclude 
 that towns designated by such names as Stratford, 
 Straiten, Stratlield, occurring so very frequently in the 
 topography of England, lay in the direction of these 
 military roads. 
 
 A. — \\\ the direction of some "Roman road, without 
 doubt; but it follows not that they were connected with 
 these four principal highw ays. The subject is not very 
 interesting, even if accuracy could be attained; but as 
 the names and course of these works are differently re- 
 ported, our knowledge must be chiefly conjectural: we 
 may conclude that they were of eminent utility, and 
 tended much to civilize the inhabitants of Britain. 
 After the death of Severus (211,) an'other chasm occurs 
 of near seventy years in our history. During the reign 
 of the Emperor l^x)bus, an officer, by name Bonosus, 
 assumed the imperial purple; he was a matchless 
 drinker, and, w4iat is somewhat singular, was reputed 
 to be most wise in his cups ; but being defeated by the 
 Roman army near Cullen, in Banfishire (282,) he hanged 
 himself; which gave rise to a jest with the soldiers, that 
 there hung a tankard, and not a man.^ 
 
 p — During this long period, did the Britons evince 
 no desire of regaining their ancient independence? 
 
 A. — Tlie whole nation, or at least the southern part 
 of it, their youth having been incorporated with the 
 Roman legions, became disarmed, dispirited, and sub- 
 missive, losing all remembrance of liberty. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Vopiscns, Bonosns, c. 2. 
 
50 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F. — About this time we first hear of the Saxons as 
 a maritime and plunderinu' nation;* a Roman oflker of 
 great power being created for the express ])urpose of* 
 defending the east and southern coasts IVom their depre- 
 dations ; he w as first called Count of the Maritime 
 Tract,^ and about a century later, Count of the Saxon 
 
 Shore.^ 
 
 A, — An usurper now appeared in Britain; Carau- 
 sius, who boldly declared himself Emperor (2S6,) and 
 maintained his dignity for seven years against all the 
 efforts of his enemies, till he was treacherously mur- 
 dered by his friend Alectus.^ 
 
 F. — Carausius is a favourite object of antiquarian 
 curiosity, from the great number and excellence of his 
 medals. 
 
 p._Ossian has made Finuiil give battle to this 
 usurper, thus extending the life of his hero to the green 
 old age of a century. 
 
 A.— The Caesar, Constantius Chlorus, held the go- 
 vernment for a considerable period ; but at length dying 
 at York (:W6,) his son, Constantine the Great, assumed 
 there the reins of imperial power. 
 
 F.— The birth-place of this celebrated Emperor, as 
 well as the condition of his mother, Helena, lins been 
 the subject not only of literary but of national disputes. 
 It has been contended, from a legend embellislied if not 
 invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth, that Helena was 
 the daughter of Coyle, a sort of prince of Colchester; 
 this has evidently the air of fable, though supported by 
 such respectable antiquaries as Camden and Selden. 
 That Helena was no princess, but a person of obscure 
 condition, is pretty clear from writers who lived near 
 
 « Eiilropiiis, lib. 9, c.21. 
 
 ^ Ammlan, Marcel, h.28, c. 5. 
 
 * Notitia Imperii. 
 
 *• Eunieiiins, Fanccf. 8. 
 
 Tin: ROMANS. 
 
 51 
 
 her own time.' St. Aml)rose is very angry that the 
 enemies of Christianity reproached her with being the 
 daughter of an innkeeper;^ and it is probable that her 
 father exercised his calling in some town of the Lesser 
 Asia. 
 
 P. — That the birth-place of such a person as Con- 
 stantine the Great should be unknown, is a little extra- 
 ordinary. 
 
 F, — Our elder antiquaries, from a doubtful applica- 
 tion of the words of his Panegyrist Eumenius, Britannias 
 illic oriendo nohiles fecisti, have given to this island the 
 honour of producing him ; but the passage may as justly 
 be referred to his assumption of the purple as to his 
 birth. A cotemporary' has assigned thetownofNaissus, 
 in Uacia, as the place of Constantino's nativity; and 
 though the integrity of the passage has been questioned, 
 the opinion is sulliciently probable. It is surprising 
 what diligence of research and parade of quotation 
 have been exhibited in this important controversy. 
 
 A. — The exploits of the ibunder of Constantinople, 
 however splendid and memorable, are foreign to British 
 storv. Jn the reiirn of his son Constantius, the Picts 
 and Scots seem to have made their first irruption (300 ;)** 
 the beginning of that long series of desultory and fero- 
 cious attack, which renders the subsequent history of 
 the Britons little else than a w^earisome repetition of 
 scenes of devastation and distress. 
 
 P. — Were the Picts and Scots indigenous inha- 
 bitants of the north of Britain? 
 
 ^._The subject is somewhat obscure, and has been 
 keenly disputed. The Picts are first mentioned by the 
 rhetorician Eumenius, who flourished about the year 
 
 ^ Eutropins, lib. (>, c. 12. 
 ^ De Obitii Theolosii. 
 
 « Julius Firinirus de Astrol. lib. 1, c. 4, 
 •' Amuiinn, Marcel, lib. 20, c. 1. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 292, In this phrase, '' Caledonians and oihvi V\cis\" 
 from Avhich tlu\v appear to be no other than tlie former 
 race with a new name: they might be thus railed iVom 
 their continuing the hal)it of paintinu the body with 
 various fiuures lonir after it had been elsewhere hiid 
 aside. According to Claudian, 
 
 *' lUe leves Manios, rice f;il«o noinine'Pictos 
 
 *' The a<^Ue Moors and painted Picts, a nunc 
 Not falsely given, he conqncred." 
 
 Or perhaps the Celtic word Pichtich, signifying a plun- 
 derer, gave the appellation, the propriety of which was 
 lonji: felt bv the southern British. The earliest notice of 
 the Scoti is in a quotation by St. Jerome/ tVom Por- 
 phyry, the philosopher, who wrote in 2(57: Ncqtfc enim 
 Britannia ferti lis provincia fyrannonan, et Scot ice (jentes; 
 Moysen prophetasqne co(jnoveraiit, I'lie Scotia' gentes, 
 when thus mentioned, appear to have been seated in 
 Ireland, as may be gathered irom various passages in 
 ancient writers, such as the following in Claudian: 
 
 *' Scotoruui cnninlos, flevit glacialis lerne."'* ^ 
 
 ** Frozen lerne mourn'd her slan^'-htcred Scots." 
 
 F, — But, say some authorities, instead ol Ireland 
 being their seat, the Scoti were in all probability a 
 colony of Scythians from Germany; for so were the 
 ancient inhabitants of some parts of that extensive 
 country designated. 
 
 A. — With that opinion I cannot at all coincide; as 
 if the Scoti be derived Irom the Scytha% why should 
 that name be forgotten for centuries, and revive at this 
 particular period ? to say nothing of the C( Itic origin 
 of the Scoti, which their language still evinces; besides 
 the name was given as a term of repronch, Scuit sig- 
 
 Paneg. cap. 7 
 
 « ^on^^a I'daijianos. 
 
 ^' Pancir.in 111. Consul. Honor, v. 54. ^ Panes', in IV, Consul. Honor, v. 55. 
 
 TllK RUMAxNS. 
 
 53 
 
 nifying a wanderer, and was never assumed by the 
 Highlanders, who uniformly call themselves Gaels, and 
 their bni-uage Erse; by the latter acknowledging their 
 relationship to Ireland. 
 
 F.—Mx. Cibbon has asserted, without sufficient au- 
 thoritv, tluit the Scots and the Picts were the same 
 people, the former inhabiting the mountains, the latter 
 th(^ plains, between whom a perpetual strife existed. 
 But T am more disposed to join in your opinion, that 
 Ireland was the native seat of the Scoti, though how or 
 in what a"(^ thev iirst idanted themselves in the Green 
 island may not be ascertainable. 
 
 yl._Some have given them a Spanish origin ; but it 
 is not impro])abl(^ that tiny were originally a branch of 
 the Attacotti, an ancient Caledonian tribe, who were 
 said to be cannibals, and that they settled in Ireland 
 al)out a century before Christ. What we know with 
 certainty is, that about the end of the third century, 
 these Irish Scoti,^ under their leader Reuda, made an 
 irruption on the north-west coast of Britain, and ob- 
 tained from the weakness or friendship of the Caledo- 
 nians a permanent settlement; and at length (indeed it 
 required some centuries first,) they attained so marked 
 a superiority as to give the name of Scotland to a large 
 division of the island. 
 
 F.— It is curious to observe that the Scots and Picts, 
 having once tiisted the sweets of plunder, continued 
 their depredations upon their southern neighbours for 
 many centuries, and iong after their own manners liad 
 been softened by some degree of civilization. 
 
 J ___Fvom the neglect of the Romans after the death 
 of Constantine to the aifairs of Britain, the province was 
 overrun bv these hostile tribes from the north, and by 
 
 P>ede, lib. 1, c. 1. 
 
51 
 
 VESriCIA. 
 
 the Saxons from their numerous vessels in the east and 
 south. To disperse the invaders/^ Theodosius, father 
 of the great Emperor of that name, arrived with a 
 powerful force, and soon driving the Picts and Scots 
 beyond the wall, completely restored security and peace 
 to Britain (8()9). It was in this warfare that he deserved 
 and acquired the praise so graphically bestowed by 
 Claudian : 
 
 ** Madiieniiit Saxone fuso 
 Orcadcs ; incaluit Pictorum sanj^uinc Thiile ; 
 Scotorum cumulos flevit t^lacialis leriic." — In IV. Cons. Hon. 
 
 F. — The country between the walls thus rescued 
 from the grasp of the barl)arians received the name of 
 Valentia,*' in honour of the Emperor Valentinian; and 
 London about the same time, as deserving imperial 
 rank, w^as styled Au2:usta' Trinobantina ; but neither 
 appellation was long continued. 
 
 yl._From this period till the final departure of tlie 
 Romans, the state of Britain appears to hav(^ bi^en in 
 as much confusion as are the discordant particulars 
 which can be gleaned from historians rehitive to the 
 subject. (383) Maximus,' an oificer, revolted from his 
 allegiance and assumed the purple with success; in 
 an expedition to Gaul he drew to his standard a consi- 
 derable portion of the youth of Britain, whom he re- 
 warded with lands in the province of Armorica. The 
 island continued to be infested by various attacks of 
 the Picts and Scots, which were frecpiently renewed, 
 and as frequently repelled by the assistance of the 
 
 Romans. 
 
 P. — From these incursions it would appear that 
 
 the walls had ceased to aflbrd security. 
 
 * Ammian, Marrcl. lib. ^'7, c. 7 
 ♦> ll-id. lib. 28, CO. 
 
 •^ nml. lib.27,c. 8. 
 '* ZosinuiJ, lib.'l. 
 
 THE ROMANS. 
 
 55 
 
 
 F. — The strongest fortifications avail little without 
 stout hearts behind them; and these barriers had now 
 indeed somewhat fallen to decay : besides the barbarians 
 oiten made descents from their shipping, against which 
 the walls could afford no protection. 
 
 A, — Tn the beginning of the lifth century, Rome, 
 being threatened by the arms of Alaric, withdrew^ its 
 legions from Britain,^ as well as from the other frontiers, 
 for the defence of Italy. The few^ soldiers remaining in 
 the neglected province, instigated by a spirit of revolt, 
 elected several of their officers to imperial powder,'' who 
 in a short period paid the price of their usurpation with 
 their lives: the last of these, Constantine (407,) was 
 a private soldier, and liis name alone was the cause of 
 his elevation. Like his predecessor Maximus,he drained 
 Britain of such numbers of its youth to follow his for- 
 tunes in Gaul, as greatly to impair the strength of the 
 province, and expose it to the various evils which 
 ensued. 
 
 F. — The remarkable expression of Porphyry, just 
 cited,*^ " Britain, a province fertile of tyrants," was surely 
 as api)lical)le to these usurpers as to any of the thirty 
 tyrants who infested the empire under the reign of Gal- 
 lienus, against some of whom it was originally applied. 
 
 A, — Rome at length being sacked by the Goths 
 under the terrible Alaric (410,) Britain was left to her 
 fate. In this extremity, a popular historian"^ represents 
 *' the Britons as assembling in arms, throwing off the 
 Jloman yoke in a burst of national freedom, and 
 rejoicing in tlie important discovery of their own 
 streni^th." 
 
 F.—I should think that instead of rejoicing in their 
 
 ■ Claudian, l>cl. Get. v. il(>. 
 ^ Zosimus, lib. 6. 
 
 •^ Contra Pciag. 
 *• Gibbon, chap. 51. 
 
5(5 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THK ROMANS. 
 
 57 
 
 strength, tiiey rather trt in])]ed at the consciousness of 
 their weakness. The Emperor TTonorins indexed, yield- 
 ing' to the necessity ot the times, wrote to the cities of 
 Britain/ desiring- them to i)rovide for their own security, 
 thout»-h in terms snfficientlv am1)iiruons as to liive him a 
 pretence for renewing his authority should a lavonrid)le 
 exi'^-ency arise. Hut notwithstanding' tl^is aelvttowledg- 
 ment of independence, these emancipated Britons, un- 
 able to repel the aggressions of tlie rapacious Scots and 
 Plots, took the earliest (opportunity of returning to their 
 
 allegiance. 
 
 ^.„Rome was not inattentive to the desire of the 
 Britons, and a legion speedily api)eared for their rescue. 
 The supplication and relief were several times repeated; 
 for as soon as the Ronmns withdrew tlie Picts and Scots 
 approached. Harassed 1)y their ravages, tlie Britons in 
 despair once more despatched andjassadors to Rome, 
 who with ashes on their lieads' demanded protection 
 with the most importunate entreaty. For the last time 
 a Roman legion was sent to their assistance, who im- 
 mediately relieved the province from its pertinacious 
 plunderers. After performing this good olUce, the sol- 
 diers assisted their ancient allies to repair the wall of 
 Severus, instructed them in the various use of the Ro- 
 man arms and discipline, and exhorting them to make 
 a good use of their independence, took a linal de- 
 parture; which the Britons l)eheld witli more dismay 
 than their ancestors evinced at the first appearance of 
 
 the Romans. 
 
 jr._The date of this departure has been an ol)ject 
 of much dispute; but as Bede^ acknowledges that the 
 Romans finally left Britain in the reiizn of TTonorius, 
 who died 425, it is safest to place it al)out that era. 
 
 l\ llo^y prodigious is the contrast between the 
 valour of Cassibelan and Caractacus, and the pusilla- 
 nimity of these their degenerate descendants. 
 
 F. — Though these particulars are not entirely to be 
 relied on, as they can scarcely be said to be authenti- 
 cated by cotemporary writers, yet their credibility, I am. 
 afraid, is too well established by the complexion of sub- 
 
 secpient events. 
 
 A. — The Romans having occupied Britain for the 
 space of nearly four centuries, though they did not, as 
 was said of Augustus, find the city of brick and leave it 
 of marbh , yet the alterations which they eflected were 
 strikin-r and important. Jn recompense for the chains 
 which they imposed, the Romans intiodiiced civiliza- 
 tion, law^s, and various useful arts; sumptuous villas 
 were erected, as their beautiful tessellated pavements 
 yet evince; many fine towns were founded, tillage be- 
 came general, and even vineyards w^ere planted. At 
 the departure of these conquerors all their improve- 
 ments w ent to decay ; nor did Britain for several cen- 
 turies again attain an equal share of w^ealth and 
 
 population. 
 
 P.— As Christianity had become the established 
 reliirion of tlie empire, was it early introduced into 
 Britain? 
 
 A^ — Its history is very imperfectly known, and has 
 been disfigured by various absurd fictions. Catholic 
 doctors contend for the preaching of St. Peter; Pro- 
 testant doctors for the preaching of St. Paul: both 
 without any reasoriable foundation. The monks of 
 Glastonburv* assert that the gosy)el was implanted by 
 Joseph of Arimathea, who was buried in tiieir church- 
 yard ; the miraculous budding of tlie hawthorn on 
 
 » Z<»MtnMs lih. h, c. 10. '■ Gilrlas, Hist. r. 1.^ 1 i. * lILsl. lib. 1, c. 12. 
 
 " Gul. Malmosb. dc Antiq. Glast. 
 
58 
 
 VKSTIUI A. 
 
 '.I 
 
 I 
 
 Christmas-day was long an infallible evidence of the 
 fact. In the reign of Edward III/ a licence was granted 
 to one John Bloene to dig for the body, wliicli is sonie- 
 Avhat wonderful he conld not find. 
 
 jP. — Another tradition is, that Lncius, a certain king 
 of Britain in the second century, having been converted, 
 sent missionaries to Eleutherius, ])ishop of Rome, to 
 be instructed in the orthodox doctrine. This story has 
 been embellished bv Geoffrev of Monmouth : but thonirh 
 it is of an older date, being mentioned by Bede,'' it must 
 be considered as legendary. 
 
 A. — That many persons professing Christianity were 
 to be found at an early period in Britain, and that a 
 hierarchy of some sort, speedily obtained, is undoubted ; 
 as in the Council of Aries, a.d. 314/ are to be fcmnd 
 the names of three British bishops. Of the discipline of 
 the British church we know little more than that it was 
 independent of the church of Rome, being conducted by ^ 
 its own domestic synods and councils.'' Upon the 
 whole, the Roman dominion in Britain, notwithstand- 
 ing the splendid names which adorn in particular its 
 earlier transactions, must be considered as matter of 
 curiosity rather than of use; for tliough some visible 
 architectural vestiges remain, \hc intkience of ancient 
 Rome has left no traces, either civil or ecclesiastical, 
 upon our present institutions. 
 
 ^ FiillcT, p. 7. 
 
 ^ De Sex Hiij'.is S^'ciili /I^ltat. 
 
 <^ SpelniAn, Concil. vol. 1, 
 
 51) 
 
 
 DISSERTATION 111. 
 
 i:nirfrr^tou Ci)urrl5* 
 
 THE SAXONS. 
 
 F.— This delightful county of Kent must, from its 
 situation, have been peopled earlier than any district 
 in England. That it had made a greater progress in 
 civilization, we leam from Caesar," who observed that 
 its inhal)itants were the most humanized of all the 
 Britons; and as in the subsequent dominion of the 
 Saxons it was first erected into a kingdom, and tirst 
 received the doctrines of Christianity, we naturally 
 expect that it should abound in remains of antiquity. 
 
 yl.— Canter1)ury possesses many of great magnifi- 
 cence; but I have rather brought you this pleasant 
 ride of eight miles from Dover, to the village of Bar- 
 fres<on, for the purpose of inspecting its church, the 
 most ancient perhaps in the kingdom, and an undoubted 
 Saxon structure, though with a few Norman alterations. 
 If we may believe Camden, about the year 633 parishes 
 were instituted by llonorius, archbishop of Canterbury; 
 his successor, Theodore, encouraged patrons to build 
 churches (670;) and by an esteemed antiquary, ' this 
 church of Barfreston is considered as one of those 
 ( rected upon the recommendation of that prelate. It is, 
 as you perceive, of remarkably small dimensions, being 
 
 « J)c Bel. GhI. iib..-), c. 14. ^ King, Miininjcnt. AritKi. vol.4. 
 
 if. 
 
(;o 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 scarcely twenty-four feet in lenirth by sixteen in widtti. 
 A partition wall divides it from a chancel of still more 
 diininiitive size, sixteen ft^et and a half by twelve and a 
 X^' half. It seems never to have possessed a tower, iliat 
 ornament not being- introduced till the reign oi l^lgar, 
 three centuries later. 
 
 F. — It is to be wished that the pretensions of this 
 church to such very high anticpiity could be satisfactorily 
 sustained ; for Selden* has clearly shewn thiU tiir clergy 
 lived in common, without any division of parish-s, long 
 after the time mentioned l)y Camden. 1 am willing to 
 admit that we have before us a genuine Saxon struc- 
 ture ; but its real daic 1 am afraid must be left to 
 
 conjecture. 
 
 P. — What are the distinguishing features of Saxon 
 
 architecture? 
 
 A, — The arch of a Saxon doorwav is semicircular; 
 on its mouldings it has a great variety of ornaments, 
 often in a studied diversity; tlu^ capitals of the pillars 
 which support it, whether two or more, instead ot being 
 uniform, like those of the Grecian orilers, dilfer from 
 each other; and the semicircular part of the arch is 
 usually filled up by a transom stone, as if for its sup- 
 port, the ends of this stone resting upon the pillars, the 
 distance between which is smaller than the diameter 
 
 of the arch. 
 
 P. — But in this churc h the side w indows an^ formed, 
 not of semicircular but of pointed arches. 
 
 A. — They have been evidently tampered ^vith by 
 alterations in ages lon^- subsc(uient to the erection of 
 the church; indeed 1 recollect no Saxon structure Ijut 
 what has somewhat sulfered in this way. The arches 
 at the east end remain in their original shape, and the 
 
 Tilhcs, C.I). 
 
 M 
 
 wmm 
 
 
 n 
 
 THE SAXONS. 
 
 Gl 
 
 range of suiall arches in the second tier has considerable 
 beautv: the circular window near the topis, like the 
 side windcnvs, of Aorman origin; the arch within, 
 which divides the chancel from the church, is pure 
 
 Saxon. 
 
 P.— Are not some Saxon ( hurches distinguished by 
 the immense size and small height of their pillars? 
 
 A. — These circumstances are common also to the 
 earliest Norman stvle ; we must not suppose either, 
 that lor a period of three or four centuries the Saxon 
 architecture continued entirely uniform; those immense 
 pillars were not seen till the later age of the Anglo- 
 Saxons; several of them remain at the present day in 
 the cathedrals of Oxford and Gloucester; their capitals 
 are less ornamented than those of an earlier, but more 
 so than those of a later, date; one of the latest speci- 
 mens is Waltham church, in Essex, built either in the 
 reign of Edward the Confessor or of William the Con- 
 queror. 
 
 P.— Are there no vestiges of British churches more 
 
 ancient than the settlement of the Saxons? 
 
 ^._During the occupation of Britain by the Ro- 
 mans, it is generally thought that Christian worship 
 was performed in private houses or in small cloisters. 
 Yet a passage in Bede seems to intimate, that a church 
 was dedicated at Verulam in honour of the martyr 
 St. Alban, who suffered under the persecution of Dio- 
 clesian; but it was probably constructed with wood. 
 
 p i^honuh it was the Romans who established 
 
 Christianity in this island, yet at their departure I 
 suppose it still continued to be the religion of the 
 
 Britons? 
 
 ^.—Unquestionably; and the \ irulence of theological 
 dispute, the Pelagian controversy being now added to 
 
62 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 VORTIGERN. 
 
 (>3 
 
 their other misfortunes, no people ever exliibiU d a more 
 deplorable spectacle of weakness, disunion, and misery. 
 The Scots and Picts finding that the Romans had entirely 
 relinquished Britain (425,) rei^arded the whole island 
 as their certain prey, and devastated it with unrelenting- 
 ferocity. Gildas, a monk, who wrote in the sixth cen- 
 tury, represents the conduct of the Britons as alto<rether 
 dastardly; instead of opposing any eftectual resistance 
 to their enemies, they neglected even tlie feeble defence 
 of the wall, or conducted it ^^ith so little judgment, 
 that they were frecjuently plucked off it by the Picts 
 and Scots, with hooks fastened to long poles. ^ 
 
 F. — This representation, copied by Bede, and con- 
 tinued by the generality of succeeding historians, has 
 been oppugned by a critic, who l)oasts of overturning 
 the error of twelve centuries. According to the acute, 
 though often fanciful, Whitaker, the Britons, after having 
 shaken olf the Roman yoke, convened the estates of 
 the kingdom, chose a Pcndragon, or dictator, and di- 
 rected the national business v\ith equal spirit and 
 wisdom; the authorities in his own parish, Manchester, 
 in particular, had obtained very nearly the point of 
 political perfection.'' 
 
 A. — Thou^rh the critic mav have discovered some 
 inconsistencies in the story of Gildas, yet his own view 
 of the state of British affairs cannot possibly be correct; 
 the helplessness of the Britons is too apparent, whether 
 arising from their long inusitatiou to aruis or from 
 their internal discords. The lamentations of th(^ oUl 
 monk, who has been called the British Jeremiah, are 
 indeed shocking and melancholy: the uniortunate Bri- 
 tons, says he, forsook their houses, led a wandering 
 life, and neglected the culture of their fields, which 
 
 * Gildas, Hist. c. 15. 
 
 ^ Hist, of Manchcstor, vol. 2. b. 2. 
 
 1^ 
 
 P 
 
 soon occasioned a famine so severe, and its concomitant, 
 pestilence, that the Picts were compelled to desist from 
 their incursions for several years. In this interval the Bri- 
 tons, returning to their tillage, and aided by favourable 
 seasons, enjoyed an unaccustomed plenty of the ne- 
 cessaries of life; but instead of providing against 
 the future attacks of their enemies, their time Avas 
 wasted in the intemperate enjoyment of their present 
 
 abundance. 
 
 P. — This thoughtless generation seemed equally 
 
 unfit for prosperity or adversity. 
 
 A — Roused at length by the return of the Picts, 
 the Britons once more applied to Rome (44G,) in that 
 memorable letter inscribed " to jEtius, thrice consul, the 
 groans of the Britons J' ^ which has scarcely a parallel 
 for the abjectness of its lamentations. " The barbarians," 
 say they, '' on the one hand chase us into the sea, 
 the sea on the other throws us back upon the barba- 
 rians; and we have only the hard choice left us of 
 perishing by the sword or by the waves." But Rome, 
 being sufTiciently occupied with her own disasters, 
 was compelled to refuse their supplications. In this 
 extremity, a general assembly of tlie native princes 
 was convened, amongst whom Vortigern, a prince of 
 the west part of Britain, held the chief authority: by 
 his counsels it was agreed to send a deputation into 
 Germany, inviting the Saxons to their assistance and 
 
 protection.** 
 
 F.— A fatal suggestion, as the event proved, but 
 which, I must think, has been too severely reprobated 
 by historieins, especially if, as some relate,^ the Saxons 
 were at that time roving on the coast; the entire sub- 
 jection which followed could not have been foreseen 
 
 > (iildav Hist. c. 17. 
 
 *» Rode, lib. 1. c. 1;"). 
 
 <" Nennius, c. 28. 
 
 
62 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 tlieir other misfortunes, no people ever exliil)ile(l a more 
 deplorable spectacle of weakness, disunion, and misery. 
 The Scots and Picts finding that the Romans had entirely 
 relinquished Britain (425,) rei^arded the A\hole island 
 as their certain prey, and devastated it with unrelenting- 
 ferocity. Gildas, a monk, who wrote in the sixth cen- 
 tury, represents the conduct of the Britons as altogether 
 dastardly; instead of opposing any effectual resistance 
 to their enemies, they neglected even the feel)le defence 
 of the wall, or conducted it with so little judgment, 
 that they were frequently plucked off it l)y the Picts 
 and Scots, with hooks fastened to long poles.* 
 
 F. — This representation, copied by Bede, and con- 
 tinued by the generality of succeeding historians, has 
 been oppugned by a critic, who boasts of overturning 
 the error of twelve centuries. According to tlie acute, 
 though often fanciful, Whitaker, the Britons, after having 
 shaken otf the Roman yoke, convened the estates of 
 the kingdom, chose a Pendragoii, or dictator, and di- 
 rected the national business with equal spirit and 
 wisdom; the authorities in his own parish, Manchester, 
 in particular, had obtained very nearly the point of 
 political perfection.'* 
 
 A. — Thouirh the critic mav have discovered some 
 inconsistencies in the story of Gildas, yet his own view 
 of the state of British affairs cannot possibly !)e correct; 
 the helplessness of the Britons is too apparent, whether 
 arising from their long inusitatiovi to arms or from 
 their internal discords. The lamentations of tlie old 
 monk, who has been called the British Jeremiah, arc 
 indeed shocking and melancholy : the unfortunate Bri- 
 tons, says he, forsook their houses, led a wandering 
 life, and neglected the culture of their fields, which 
 
 * Gildas, Hist. c. ir>. 
 
 ^ Hist, of Maiichcstor, vol. 2. b. 2. 
 
 V0T?TIGERN. 
 
 (W 
 
 soon occasioned a famine so severe, and its concomitant, 
 pestilence, that the Picts were compelled to desist from 
 their incursions for several years. In this interval the Bri- 
 tons, returning to their tillage, and aided by favourable 
 seasons, enjoyed an unaccustomed plenty of the ne- 
 cessaries of life; but instead of providing against 
 the future attacks of their enemies, their time was 
 wasted in the intemperate enjoyment of their present 
 abundance. 
 
 P. — This thoughtless generation seemed equally 
 unfit for prosperity or adversity. 
 
 A, — Roused at length by the return of the Picts, 
 the Britons once more applied to Rome (446,) in that 
 memorable letter inscribed '' to zEtius^ thrice consul^ the 
 groans of the Britons/' "^ wliich has scarcely a parallel 
 for the abjectness of its lamentations. " The barbarians," 
 say they, '' on the one hand cliase us into the sea, 
 the sea on the other throw^s us back upon the barba- 
 rians ; and we have only the hard choice left us of 
 perishing l)y the sword or by the waves." But Rome, 
 being sufficiently occupied v,ith her own disasters, 
 was compelled to refuse their supplications. In this 
 extremity, a general assembly of the native princes 
 was convened, amongst whom Vortigern, a prince of 
 the west part of Britain, held the chief authority: by 
 his counsels it was agreed to send a deputation into 
 Germany, inviting the Saxons to their assistance and 
 
 protection. '^ 
 
 jp. — A fatal suggestion, as the event proved, but 
 which, I must think, has been too severely reprobated 
 by historians, especially if, as some relate," the Saxons 
 were at that time roving on the coast; the entire sub- 
 jection which followed could not have been foreseen 
 
 (iildas, Hist. c. 17. 
 
 ^ Bode, lib. 1. c. 15. 
 
 Nennius, c. 28. 
 
G4 
 
 VKSTlCi \ 
 
 as a necessary eoiisecjueiice; aiid \ urtij^ern had a ]>re- 
 cedent, to be sure no very successful one, iu the 
 conduct of the Ron:ariS themselves, who incorporated 
 in tlieir armies the barbarians of \ arious })rovinces. 
 
 P. — Of the Saxons thus introduced to our notice, 
 fhe parent stock of the En<:lish nation, and from \\hom 
 so large a part of its language, laws, and customs, is 
 derived — what is tlie origin and previous history? 
 
 A. — The question of the infant ])hiiosopher, who, 
 on l)eing told that the earth was derived from chaos, 
 enquired, and chaos whence? is almost as readily 
 answered. From a fanciful resemblance of a verv few 
 words in their language to the Celtic, some have hastily 
 considered the Saxons as a branch of the ancient Celts; 
 better authorities deem them a part of the great Gothic 
 or Teutonic family, who migrated into Europe, as it is 
 supposed, from the shores of the Caspian Sea, at a 
 much later period than the settlement of the Celts ; 
 and who, by occupying the coasts of the Baltic and 
 the vast provinces of Germany, drove that people into 
 narrower limits: the Saca^, a nation dwelling near the 
 river Jaxartes, may have been the ancestors of the 
 Saxons; but it is not unlikely that their national 
 appellation w as derived from sacliy a short sword, their 
 military weapon. 
 
 jP. — The lirst mention of the Saxons as a people, 
 is, I think, by Ptolemy, the geographer, about the 
 year 141 ; they then occupied a part of what is now^ 
 called Jutland, with the isles of >^orth Strandt, Jiusen, 
 and Heligoland; thus situated, they soon became dex- 
 terous seamen aiid audacious pirates. 
 
 A, — By first forming a league with the Jutes, who 
 inhabited the north ol Juthind, a neighbouring tribe 
 descended from the same stock, and afterwards with 
 
 HENGIST AND HORSA. 
 
 65 
 
 the Angli, a people mentioned by Tacitus/ who ap- 
 pear to have occupied a small district, in which is 
 now situated the modern city of Sleswick ; they so 
 nnich increased their strength and reputation, that, 
 in a short period, either by confederation or conquest, 
 " fhe Saxons,'' became a general name for various peo- 
 ple scattered from tlie Elbe to the Ems. At the era of 
 the arrival of the British deputation, their power must 
 have been considerable, as they had long since set at 
 defiance all attempts of coercion from Rome. 
 
 P. — To a martial and adventurous race, such a 
 request as that from Vortigern could not be unac- 
 ceptable. 
 
 A. — llengist and Horsa,^ two brothers, celebrated 
 for their valour and nobility, being reputed to be 
 sprung from Woden, the Saxon deity of war, em- 
 barked w ith sixteen hundred men in three long vessels, 
 or c hiules, still called keeles by the Newcastle boat- 
 men, and landed in the Isle of Thanet(449;) imme- 
 diately inarching to tlie assistance of the Britons, they 
 totallv defeated the Picts and Scots, who had advanced 
 as far as Stamford. 
 
 P. — The immediate purpose of the Britons was 
 then obtained. 
 
 A, — But at a fatal price; the Saxon leaders, per- 
 ceiving what advantages might be obtained from the 
 weakness of Vortigern, proposed to send home for a 
 reinforcement of their countrymen : this request it w^as 
 difficult to deny, and a fresh sw arm presently arrived, 
 to the number of five thousand, in seventeen ships. To 
 account for this imprudent facility in Vortigern, a 
 story has been told by w ay of apology, that the British 
 
 ^ De iMorib. Germ. 
 VOL. I. F 
 
 ** Sax. Chron. 
 
66 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 prince, having bestowed on Jlengist the l^ic of Th.inet, 
 was invited by that chieftain to a supper, at wliicli his 
 daughter Rowena appearing in rich attire, with a grace- 
 ful mien, drank some wine from a golden ijowl, saying 
 in the Saxon tongue, p:r] iVal, Kym .3, or " king, be of 
 health;" to which Vortigern replied, ^pmc 1:^eal, or *'drink 
 health/'* and becoming enamoured with her beauty, soon 
 married the lady, though already possessing a Avife, and 
 he endow ed her w ith the whole county of Kent. 
 
 p. — So nobly was rewarded the fust health ever 
 
 drank in Britain. 
 
 A, — The story is probably tictitious ; but il is cer- 
 tain that Vortigern alienated the aircctions of the Bri- 
 tons, by his vices and the ill success of his counsels. 
 The Saxons, whose rapacity was now keenly excited, 
 at once threw olf the mask, and forming an alliance 
 with the Picts and Scots, declared open and impla- 
 cable hostility against their fornur associates, at- 
 tacking and despoiling them without measure in- mercy. 
 P, — The Britons were then become sufficiently 
 
 awake to their folly. 
 
 ^. — But, alas! too late. The state of Britain cannot 
 be viewed without a mixture of pity and indignation ; 
 the chiefs without union, the people^ without courage 
 or conduct; many/^ says the cpierulous Gildas, Hying 
 to the mountains and forests, were intercepted and 
 butchered, others were glad to accept of lite, by be- 
 coming slaves to their conquerors ; and so considerable 
 a number took shelter beyond the sea, in Armorica, 
 a district of Gaul, that that province henceforth as- 
 sumed the name of Britany. 
 
 P. — But does it not seem extraordinary, that these 
 exiles, who were unable to resist an invadii^u enemy 
 
 ^ Gal. Mon. lib. G. 
 
 ^ Gildas, Hist. c. 25. 
 
 HENGIST AND HORSA. 
 
 0/ 
 
 at home, should have sufficient strength to predominate 
 in a foreign soil? 
 
 A. — It is supposed that some British legionary 
 soldiers, who had been rewarded with grants of land 
 in Armorica, by the usurping Emperors Maximus and 
 Constantine, kindly received their distressed and fugi- 
 tive countrymen. 
 
 F, — This opinion is countenanced by a ridiculous 
 legend,-* that, about fifty years before, Conan, the prince 
 of Armorica, applied to Britain for a wife, with a com- 
 petent nundxr of females to furnish his unstocked 
 colony; whereupon Ursula, the daughter of a Cornish 
 chief, with eleven thousand virgins of the nobler blood, 
 and sixty thouscuid of the meaner sort elected out of 
 divers parts of the kingdom, were shipped at London, 
 in compliance with this request; but the larger part of 
 the fleet, bearing this extraordinary cargo, being miser- 
 ably lost in a storm, and the remainder driven up the 
 llhine to Cologne, the women fell among a barbarous 
 people, and w^ere either killed or made slaves : some of 
 their relics are said still to be preserved in that city, and 
 masses for the repose of their souls are still performed at 
 Maidieim : our town of Maidenhead, in Berkshire, derives 
 its name from the unfortunate Ursula. In the annals of 
 the Romish church, the event is recorded as the martyr- 
 dom of the eleven thousand virgins, and the thirteenth 
 day of October has been dedicated to their memory. 
 
 A. — Leaving this edifying story to its fate, the 
 Britons who remained at home reduced to extremity, 
 deposed Vortigern, and placing his son Vortimer at their 
 licad, fought several battles with various success, in 
 one of which Horsa the Saxon chief was slain, at 
 Aylesford (455).'^ 
 
 • Selden, Notes on Drayton's Polyolbion, Song 8. 
 
 F2 
 
 ^ Sax. Chron. 
 
68 
 
 VESTKUA. 
 
 P. — An equal share of resistance would then, 
 probably, have been more than sufiicienl to repel the 
 original aggressions of the Pirts and Scots. 
 
 ^.— Hengist, continually reinforced by fresli num- 
 bers of his countrymen, proceeded in a career of con- 
 quest, and established the kingdom of Kent, (457). 
 Vortimer dying about this time, the Britisli writers 
 affirm that Vortigern resumed the government ; and they 
 relate a story of very doubtful credit, tliat, induced by 
 his wife Rowena, he consented to hold a park\v with 
 Hengist; the place agreed upon was Stoneliengc ,' whi- 
 ther both parties with their attendants were to repair 
 unarmed: the Saxon chief, whose meaning was not peace 
 but treachery, caused his men to conceal their wc^apons, 
 and taking an opportunity to excite a quarrel wlien 
 the Britons were heated with wine, lie gave the watch 
 word, Nemebenpe pxej', draw your s\vords, on whicli his 
 soldiers despatched three hundred of th<^ most consi- 
 derable persons in Britain, and the most able to protect 
 it by their counsel or their arms. The life of Vortigern 
 was spared, but he was kept in chains till he consented 
 to grant the counties of Essex, Sussex, and Middlesex, 
 to Hengist, by way of ransom: the uidiappy monarch 
 was soon after burnt in a tower in Wales, to >Nhich he 
 had retired from the indignation of his subjects.^ 
 
 .P — This story undoubtedly savours much of the 
 monk of Monmouth's extravagance. 
 
 A. — Hengist certainly added the greater part of 
 these counties to his dominions, but not without con- 
 siderable opposition, the Britons being now com- 
 manded by Ambrosius, descended of a Roman family, 
 who delayed for some time the subjugation of his 
 country: meanwhile, Hengist, to divide the Ibrce and 
 
 * Nenniup, c. i8. 
 
 ^ Gal. I 
 
 HENGIST, ELLA, CERDIC. 
 
 69 
 
 attention of the Britons, invited over his own and his 
 brother's son,'^ Octo and Ebessa: these young warriors 
 were attended with such numerous followers, that they 
 immediately took possession of the provinces of Nor- 
 thumberland and Yalentia, then much depopulated. 
 
 p, — The prosperity of Hengist seems to have been 
 nearly uninterrupted. 
 
 A. — After resisting an unsuccessful attack at Wip- 
 pidfleet,'' in Kent, in which the Britons lost twelve 
 chieftains and the Saxons but one, this able and en- 
 terprising monarch sulfered little further disturbance, 
 and dying (488,) left his newly acquired dominions in 
 security to his posterity. 
 
 j?.__The success of Hengist, in finding a throne 
 where he only looked for booty, could not fail to in- 
 spire his countrymen with a desire to follow such a 
 prosperous example. 
 
 ^l._Many German adventurers flocked over at dif- 
 ferent times, and under diiferent leaders. The next 
 chieftain who aspired to or obtained the title of king, 
 was Ella, a Saxon chief, who arrived with his three 
 sons on the south coast (477;) after a desperate 
 resistance by the Britons, he destroyed the fortress of 
 Andrede Ceaster,*^ a strong hold in Sussex, and extended 
 his dominion over that and the adjoining county of 
 Surrey; but the most celebrated of these kingdoms 
 was Wessex, or the West Saxon. Cerdic with his son 
 Kenric arrived in Hampshire (495,) but the Britons 
 were so well prepared as to give him battle on the 
 very day of his landing; and, though defeated on that 
 and in many subsequent contests, they still defended, 
 for several years, their liberties against the invaders. 
 Cerdic, strengthened by a fresh arrival, and assisted by 
 
 * Ncnuiu^, c. 37. 
 
 ^ Snx. Chron. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
70 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the Saxons of Kent and Sussex, foiiirht a bloody cnij^age- 
 ment near what is now the village of Cerdicslbrd^ or 
 Chardford, in Hampshire, so called in consequence of 
 the victory, in which Nazan Leod, supposed to be the 
 same person as Aml)rosius, with five thousand of his 
 Britons were killed on the field.* 
 
 P. — The ancient British courage then revived when 
 it was too late to be of any service. 
 
 A, — Not altogether so; at this juncture a])peared 
 the renowned Prince Arthur,, whose heroic deeds have 
 been celebrated in such romantic strains as far to 
 surpass the bounds of credibility. But we may safely 
 allow, in spite of poetical exaggeration, that for some 
 years this Silurian chief sustained the declining fate of 
 Britain; and after several severe contests, compelled the 
 West Saxons to raise the siege of Badon-llill, near 
 Bath,^ by discomfiting them in a great battle (oSO;) the 
 efiects of which were so benehcial, that during his life 
 their further progress was completely arrested. Cerdic 
 however maintained his conquests, comprehending the 
 counties of Hants, Dorset, ^\ ilts, and Berks, and lelt 
 them to his posterity : he died in 534, Arthur in 542. 
 
 P. — If Arthur could merely arrest the progress of 
 his enemies, without being able to subdue them, or even 
 to retake what they had acquired, how did his fame as 
 a warrior rise to such a surpassing celebrity, as to have 
 become familiar for so many centuries to the very ears 
 of childhood throughout Europe ? 
 
 F. — A French author, M. Le Grand, attributes his 
 renown to national rivalry: the English, says he, jea- 
 lous of the glory which Charlemagne and his peers had 
 acquired from the writers of romance, became desirous 
 of choosing a hero from amongst themselves ; and no 
 
 » Saxon Chron. 
 
 ^ Oihhs, c.2f;. 
 
 ARTHUR. 
 
 
 person iiiui f ill presented himself than Arthur, as his 
 iutions, beinp: but obscurely known in real history, ad- 
 mitted every embellishment of poetry. 
 A.—\hi{ the tale of 
 
 " Uther's son 
 Begirt with British and Armoric knights," 
 
 is more ancient than these French Fabli;iux; as an old 
 British monk, Nonnius, who flourished early in the 
 ninth century, relates various particulars of Arthur and 
 his iVicnd the wizard Merlin, by him called Ambrosius. 
 I am aware that these passages have been thought an 
 intcri)olation in the history of Nenuius ; but I doubt not 
 that various traditions of Arthur were preserved by the 
 W^-lsh bards, to which additions were made by the 
 Norman minstrels after the conquest, not in emulation 
 of Charlemagne, but rather to depress the Saxon race 
 by extolling the victorious deeds of their ancient enemies 
 
 tile Britons. 
 
 P.— Merlin is another personage whose name is 
 
 equally familiar to me with that of Arthur, and of 
 
 whose exploits I am equally ignorant, as well as of 
 
 his prophecies. 
 
 ^.__Thc renown of both undoul>t(>dly appertains 
 more to romance than history; and indeed Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth is the only relater of their exploits who 
 pretends to the dignity of an historian. Merlin is some- 
 what the elder, and his first appearance on the scene is 
 thus exhibited : After the massacre of the three hun- 
 dred Britons' at Stonehenge, Vortigern, applying to his 
 magicians for advice, was recommended by them to 
 erect a tower for his defence;" but on making the at- 
 tempt, whatever he built during the day sank into the 
 earth at night. On seeking a remedy for this disaster, 
 
 » Ncnnius, Hist. c. 45, 44. 
 
 h Gal. Mon, lib. 6. 
 
72 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 MKKLiN. 
 
 73 
 
 they told him that the stones must be cemeiited by the 
 blood of a mayt child who never had a lather. A prodif^-y 
 answering- this description is discovered in Merlin, 
 whose mother was the danirhler of the Kinii- of De- 
 metia, or South Wales, and himself begotten by an 
 incubus in the shape of a beautiful young man. licing 
 brought into the presence of Vortigern, he informed the 
 king that it was through ignorance that liis magicians 
 had recommended the shedding of l)lood ; Ids disap- 
 pointment would be relieved by ordering his workmen 
 to dig under the foundations of his tower; they would 
 there find a pond, in which, upon draining, tliey would 
 discover two hollow^ stones, and in them two dragons 
 fast asleep. The king was now possessed with the 
 highest admiration of Merlin, thinking his wisdom to 
 be little short of divine inspiration. 
 
 P. — This is the genuine spirit of km'ght errantry. 
 
 A, — The workmen having complied with these di- 
 rections, as Vortigern was one day sitting on the brink 
 of the pond, the two dragons, one white, the otln r red, 
 began a tremendous battle, casting fire from their 
 mouths in a manner terrible to behold; the white 
 dragon at first compelled the red to retreat ; but the 
 latter taking courage, returned and assaulted his ad- 
 versary with so much vigour as at length forced him 
 to quit the field. The king demanding an explanation. 
 Merlin burst into tears, and delivered what his pro- 
 phetic spirit thus suggested : '' Wo to the red dragon, 
 for his banishment hasteneth; his lurking holes shall 
 be seized by the white dragon, which signifies the 
 Saxons whom you invited over; but the red denotes 
 the British nation, which shall be oppressed by the 
 white." As the prophet continues he becomes less in- 
 telligible, proceeding in such sublime flights as these : 
 '' The ravenousness of kites shall be destroyed, anc? 
 
 %4i 
 
 (lie teeth of wolves blunted; the lion's whelps shall be 
 transformed into sea fishes, and an eagle shall build 
 her nest upon Mount Aravius." And so he goes on, 
 commonlv in a lugul)rious strain, of sufficient length to 
 fill twenty octavo pages; the following however will 
 not excite tears: "An owl shall build her nest upon 
 the V- alls of Gloucester, and in her nest shall be brought 
 
 forth an ass." 
 
 " The Severn sea shall discharge itself through sev^en 
 mouths, and the river Uske shall burn seven months." 
 
 '' The monks in their cowls shall be compelled to 
 
 nuury, and their cry shall be heard upon the mountains 
 
 of the Alps." 
 
 p._There is no wonder at Hotspur's'^ impatience 
 w ith Owen Gleudower's tedious prosing about 
 
 '* The inoldewarp and the ant, 
 The dreamer Merlin and his prophecies ; 
 And of a dragon and a finless fish, 
 A clip-winged griffin and a moulting raven, 
 A crouching lion and a ramping cat . 
 With such a deal of skimble skamble stuff." 
 
 A. No term can more adequately express these 
 
 most nonsensical rhapsodies; yet, strange to say, they 
 had a very pow erful elfect upon the credulous age in 
 which they first appeared. In the twelfth century, a 
 very learned German, Alanus de Insulis, wrote a com- 
 mentary upon them, wliich has been twice since re- 
 published. It is said that one of these predictions, 
 declaring that when the English money should become 
 circular the l^rince of Wales should be crowned in 
 London, induced the unfortunate Llew elyn to take arms 
 against Edward 1.' Nay, the very prophecy w hich you 
 have (pioted, of the moldewarp and the ant, we are told 
 bv an old writer, instigated Glendovverto rebel against 
 
 » Shak. 1st Part lien. IV. act 3. 
 
 ^' Mat. W^estniin. 
 
74 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Henry IV.: *^ Being 1(m1 away/' says the autliur, "by 
 the deviacion, not divination, of tlu^ M.iwmet Merlin."* 
 F. — Henry II. sliewed a l)etter understanding. There 
 was a prediction that a king of England, returning from 
 the conquest of Ireland, should die upon a e(^rtain 
 druidical stone in AYales ; H( nry, passing over it, said 
 aloud to all present, " Who will hereafter have faith iii 
 that liar Merlin?"^ 
 
 jl^ — One of the prophecies was oddly enough ful- 
 iilled by the union of the kingdoms of England and 
 Scotland, uiuler James I. '' Cand)ria sliall hv filhMl 
 with joy, and the oaks of Cornwall shall flourish ; the 
 island shall be called by the name of l>rute, and the 
 name given to it by strangers shall perish." Indeed 
 the fashion of quoting Merlin continued ^o late as the 
 civil wars; for in 1(J41 a book was published, called 
 *' The Life of Merlin, surnamed Ambrosins, his Pro- 
 phecies and Predictions interpreted, and their Truth 
 made good by our English Annals^" This and oilier 
 similar works seem to have consisted of expressions 
 borrowed from the original Merlin, and mixed up ^\ith 
 certainties of the past and probabilities of thc^ future, 
 according to the fancy or convenience of the writer. 
 Swift's laughable burlesque, '-The Wonderfnl Prophecy 
 breathed forth in the year 1712," is a strange and pro- 
 fane amalgamation of Merlin with the Apocalypse. 
 
 P. — Merlin's life 1 sui)pose was as marvellous as 
 his prognostications. 
 
 A. — He was equally great as an enchanter as a 
 prophet; we know however but little more of his mira- 
 cles, than that he brought Stonehenge from Irehuul' in 
 one night, and placed it on Salisbury Plain as a monu- 
 ment to the three hundred nnirdered Britons ; and nlso 
 
 Hairs Chron. p. 20. ^ Girald. Camb. Expug. Hib. ' Gal. Mon. lib. 8. 
 
 MKRLIN. 
 
 75 
 
 tliat 1>y tlie power of magic he assisted to transform 
 Uther Pendragon into the likeness of Gorlois, duke of 
 Cornwall, the husband of the beautiful Tgerna; by which 
 stratnuem Arthur was begotten, after the manner in 
 wliich Jupiter deceived Alcmena. Merlin's love to 
 Morgana, the Lady of the Lake, and her ingratitude, 
 are the inventions of a difl'erent writer, and seem to 
 be of a later period. 
 
 P. — But the story is wofuUy incomplete without 
 them. 
 
 A. — Merlin, desirous of honouring his birth-place, 
 Carmardin, set about surrounding it with a wall of 
 brass; but during the time his sprites were at work 
 beneath the earth, lie was sent for by Morgana into 
 France, wherc^ by some means she cozened the great 
 magician, and conlined him in a tomb, for ever imper- 
 vious to tliose who might have attempted his rescue. 
 
 P. — Spenser has given a beautiful description of 
 the labours ot Mc rlin's workmen, who were bound bv 
 an oath to continue tlieir toil till their master's return: 
 
 ** But standing high aloft, low lay thine eare, 
 And there such ghastly noyse of yron chaines 
 And brasen caudrons thou shalt rombling heare, 
 Which thousand sprights with long enduring paines 
 Doe tosse, that it will stoun thy feeble braines." * 
 
 And now having fairly laid Merlin asleep, let us pro- 
 ceed to the famous deeds of Prince Arthur. 
 
 jl — When you are told, in addition to the series of 
 battles against the Saxons which terminated with his 
 success at Badon llill,^ that he was mortally wounded 
 ^\hen fighting against his nephew Mordred, and that 
 he was buried at Glastonbury, where his remains, of 
 gigantic dimensions, were discovered in the reign of 
 
 * Faerie O^cene, book 3, canto 3. 
 
 ^ Nennius, Hist. c.Cl, 62. 
 
70 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Honrv' TT.,^ von have learned ail liic particulars con- 
 coming- him that have the least pretension to be 
 considered as autlientic. 
 
 |?._The deeds of Arthur have been blended with 
 so many fables as even to provoke a disbelief of his 
 real existence; but the testimony of Nennins is ex- 
 plicit.' A just estimate of his character is thus given 
 by William of Malmesbury :*^ ** This is that Arthur of 
 whom the Britons even at this day speak so idly; a 
 man right worthy to have been celebrated by true 
 story, not false tales ; seeing it was lie that lonu time 
 upheld his declining country, and even inspired martial 
 courage into his countrymen." By these idly speaking 
 Britons were meant the ^Yelsh bards, from whose tradi- 
 tionsGeoffrev of Monmouth had borrowed his narrative ; 
 since the round table and the adventures of its knights, 
 which have filled so many folios, were the invention of a 
 somewhat subsequent period. 
 
 ^4._From GeollVey of Monmouth we have already 
 learned tliat the birth of Arthur was nearly as super- 
 natural as that of liis friend Merlin. At the age of 
 fifteen, by the death of his father, Uther Pendrat^on, 
 who died by drinking water from a poisoned si)ring, 
 Arthur succeeded to the Pendragonship of Britain; 
 this office seems to have been equivalent to that of 
 generalissimo, regularly elected by the British chiefs; 
 and the name derived from a dragon borne on the stan- 
 dard, or on the helmet. Artliur early gave proofs of 
 valour, by repeatedly defeating the Saxons in the north; 
 but his principal exploit was at this battle of Badon, 
 where, armed with his sword Escalabar, forired in the 
 isle of Avallonia, with his lance Rone, aiul liis great 
 
 Girakl. Camb. Spec. Kccles. Tib. 2, ell. 
 
 «" De Hcftt. Ang. lib. 1. 
 
 ^ Hist. (. ^1> ^»2. 
 
 ARTHUR. 
 
 77 
 
 shield PrHlvvin,he dispatched no less than four hundred 
 and seventy of the enemy with his own hand.^ Arthur 
 too was a great giant-killer ; particularly, he slew one 
 of these terrible scourges to the fair sex, in Cornwall, 
 who wore a robe made of the beards of kings that he 
 had killed in battle, and which the British prince brought 
 away as a trophy. After these exploits our hero con- 
 quered Norway, Dacia, Aquitain, and Gaul; and by 
 something likc^ an anticlimax, he encountered at Paris, 
 in single combat, a most formidable knight, Flollio, 
 whom he subdued in \\\^ true chivalric style. To 
 celebrate tliese victories, a splendid festival was ob- 
 served the next ^^ hitsuntide at Caerleon, \\here divers 
 kings and princes were assembled ; Arthur entertaining 
 his roval and nolde guests, and his Queen Guenever 
 their ladies, in separate conclaves. On this occasion King 
 Arthur founded an academy at Caerleon, and, assisted 
 by Merlin, established the order of the round table. 
 
 P.— This institution, which is of universal celebrity, 
 has I supi)Ose an allegorical meaning. 
 
 A, — If we can admit that Arthur was its inventor, 
 we may conclude that it was meant as the foundation of 
 a military order; the distractions of Britain requiring an 
 institution which, by distinguishing merit, might collect 
 the worth of the nation about the person of the prince. 
 
 Y, — Some authorities conceive the round table to 
 be a species of tournament performed by a certain 
 number of knights, who, before they went into the ring, 
 sat down for refreshment at a circular table in the 
 same order in which they were to engage: such a 
 table of extreme ancient date, though not so old as the 
 age of Arthur, is said to be preserved in the castle of 
 Winchester. 
 
 - Gal.Mon. lib. 8. 
 
78 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A. — But the merit of Artliur is not diminished, if he 
 converted what was merely a military pastime into an 
 useful political institution: in after times many chi- 
 valric so ieties with the name of the ronnd table, in 
 imitation of Arthur's, have existed: Mathew Paris 
 speaks of one in the reign of Henry TIT. (1252,) which 
 he expressly calls a tournament; Mortimer's table at 
 Kenil worth, when he knighted his three sons, in the 
 time of Edward I. is mentioned by Walsimiham ; and 
 Edward ITI.'s at Windsor is of universal uotoriety. 
 The circular form was chosen to prevent disputes of 
 precedence; some writers indeed attrilmte the inven- 
 tion to Charlemagne, who did not llourish till more than 
 two centuries after Arthur; and thej trace it to the 
 custom of the old Gauls, whose chiefs, says Athenaus,^ 
 were used to sit in circles, with their sliield-bearers 
 standing behind them. 
 
 F, — Admittins: the round table to be a tournament, 
 the reality of Arthur's institution at once tails to the 
 <rround; tournaments being undoubtedly the invention 
 of a much later period, and consequently Arthur's 
 round table never existed unless in the brains of the 
 romance writers. 
 
 A, — Merlin's assistance was merely to the mecha- 
 nical part: in constructing the table he cxliinisted all 
 his skill ; thirteen seats were plured round, in honour 
 of the thirteen apostles ; twelve only of these could be 
 filled up, and those by the bravest and truest kniglits; 
 the thirteenth seat represented that of the execrable 
 traitor Judas. It was called the perilous chair, ever 
 since a rash and presumptuous Saracen had dared to 
 seat himself upon it ; when on a sudden the floor gave 
 
 Deipnosoph. lib. 4. 
 
 ARTHUR. 
 
 79 
 
 way, and the miscreant was swallowed up and consumed 
 by devouring tlam.es. 
 
 F. — Here we recognise, not on'y the painting of the 
 Fabliaux, but partly the date of the composition; the 
 Saracens inspiring no terror in England till the age of 
 the Crusades. 
 
 A. — Many other wonderful properties were attached 
 to this table, which you will not expect me to detail. 
 The tlnce principal knights of Artliur's court were Sir 
 Gawain, his nephew, the sage and faithful ; Sir Lancelot, 
 the gallant; and Sir Tristram, the warrior bard. Their 
 adventures were well known to the old romance readers ; 
 and continued to be so popular, that La Morte de Ar- 
 thur, containing " the life of King Arthur, and of his 
 nol)le knights of the round table, and in the ende the 
 dolorous deaths of them all," was one of the books, 
 early published by Caxton. After this celebration at 
 Caerleon of Arthur's victories, he went to fight against 
 the Romans, leaving his nephew Mordred, together with 
 his Queen Gucnever, guardians of the kingdom. But 
 learning in his absence that they had married, and that 
 Mordred had usurped the crown, he immediately re- 
 turned, and gave battle to the traitor at Camlan, in 
 Cornwall, who was killed in the field, and Arthur him- 
 self mortally wounded. 
 
 P. — This is but a sorry termination of so much 
 
 glory. 
 
 A. — The king was now removed into the isle of 
 Avallonia, in Somersetshire, by the elfin Lady of the 
 Lake, the fair Morgana, tlie quondam friend of Merlin, 
 for the purpose of healing his wounds ; but never having 
 been seen again by his subjects, it was supposed that 
 she had conveyed him to Fairieland, whence he was 
 expected to return, and lead the Cwmri in triumph 
 
80 
 
 Vt;^ ri«. I A. 
 
 throuii'h the island, lucredifjle to state, this ridiculuus 
 belief actually obtained for main ai;'es both in Annorira 
 
 and Britain. 
 
 i^.__The explainer of Merlin\s prophecies, Alanus 
 de InsuHs, in tlie twelfth century relates, that if any per- 
 son in Armoricahad dared to doubt of the existence and 
 return of Arthur, lie wouhl have run the chance of being; 
 stoned to deatli. This follv continued so lonir as to o'ive 
 rise to a proverb denoting excessive credulity: 
 
 ** Quibus si credideris, 
 Expectare poteris 
 Artunini cum Britoiiibus."* 
 
 ** In sucli folly if you tnist, 
 Wait for Arthur from the dust. 
 
 •t 
 
 p._Such then was Arthur, whose actions were 
 judged wortliy by our two great poets, Milton and 
 Dryden, to be the subject of an epic poem. 
 
 F.— But which, whilst they meditated only, Sir 
 Richard Bhickmore put into execution: 
 
 *' Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." 
 
 ^.— About the same period that Arthur flourished, 
 various tribes of adventurers, under several leaders 
 whose names are not preserved, landed on the east 
 coast of Britain; and after figliting- many battles, ulti- 
 mately established three new kingdoms. Ulfa assumed 
 the title of king of East Anglia, containing the counties 
 of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, about 575; whence 
 his successors were called Ufl'ans. Creda became king 
 of Mercia, comprehending the midhind counties of Eng- 
 land, about 585; and Trkenwald, king of Essex, pro- 
 bably in the same year. 
 
 P.—You have explained the rise and formation of 
 
 » Pet. Blesensis. Epis.a, 
 
 THE HEPTARCHY. 
 
 81 
 
 six kingdoms only, Kent, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, 
 Mercia, Essex; to make up the heptarchy, as its name 
 implies, we of course require the seventh. 
 
 A. — The application of the term heptarchy is in 
 itself not exactly correct; those Saxons who established 
 themselves in the north of England by the invitation 
 of llengist, remained in an unsettled state, till Ida, a 
 Saxon prince chiiming a descent from Woden, arrived 
 with a powerful reinforcement (547,) and assumed the 
 title of King of Bernicia;^ which kingdom w^as formed 
 chiefly of the old province of Valentia, situated between 
 the Roman walls, and of which he made Bamborough 
 Castle his capital. About the same time another chief, 
 yElla, received the appellation of King of Deiri, ruling 
 the country between the Tyne and the Humber. Thus, 
 properly spi aking, these various kingdoms composed 
 an octarchy ; but the two latter being afterwards united 
 (588,) under the name of Northumberland, a heptarchy 
 for the space of tliree centuries prevailed in England. 
 
 P. — Is it ascertained by what particular tribes each 
 of these kingdoms was established? 
 
 F.— Kent, the Isle of Wight, and part of Hampshire, 
 were peopled l)y Jutes; Essex, Sussex, and the remain- 
 ing parts of Wessex, by Saxons; East Anglia, Mercia, 
 and Northumberland, by Angles: the latter tribe emi- 
 grated in such prodigious numbers, that their original 
 province in Germany was left entirely depopulated.^ 
 
 A. — A dispute has arisen as to the fate of the con- 
 quered Britons. It was the commonly received notion 
 that '' those who fled not to the mountains perished 
 by the sword;" which opinion was much founded on 
 the entire absence of Celtic words in the English lan- 
 
 " Saxon Chron. 
 
 *> Bede, lib. 1, c. 15. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
82 VESTIGIA. 
 
 guage; since this could not have happened had a laro:e 
 portion ofthe British been incorporated with their victors. 
 
 Mr. Home Tooke asserts that not a particle ot Celtic 
 
 exists in the English tongue; in contradiction to this 
 
 statement, Mr. Whitaker'^ gives a catalogue, somewhat 
 
 fanciful indeed, of three thousand words; but these 
 
 words, common to both languages, are just as likely to 
 
 have been imported into the modern Welsh from the 
 
 Saxon or Latin, as into English from the Celtic. The 
 
 remark of Gildas, that '' some were glad to accept of 
 
 life by becoming slaves to their conquerors/' has given 
 
 occasion to Mr. Gibbon to compute their number at 
 
 the unreasonable exaggeration of a million. As 1 could 
 
 never trace the remotest vestige of any thing Celtic in 
 
 the eastern part of the kingdom, I prefer adhering to 
 
 the common belief. If we draw^ a line from Ber\vick- 
 
 upon-Tweed to the Isle of Wight, I have no doubt that 
 
 in all places to the east of it, the Britons were literally 
 
 extirpated. At the first invasion of the Saxons, life 
 
 might be purchased at the price ol" slavery ; but during 
 
 one hundred and fifty years protracted warfare, I am 
 
 convinced that few indeed were the old Britons who 
 
 remained passive spectators of ihe slaughter of their 
 
 countrymen. 
 
 F. — When the heptarchy was fully established, we 
 can readily imagine that seven concurrent kingdoms, 
 all founded by violence, and separated from each other 
 by no natural boundaries, w^ere perpetually engaged in 
 
 hostilities. 
 
 A. — The history of the heptarchy is in itself but 
 little known, and seems to be little worth knowing; 
 Milton^ has declared that the skirmishes of kites or 
 crows as much merit a particular narration as the bat- 
 
 • Hist, of Manclicst. vol. 2. 
 
 Hist, of Brit. 
 
 ETHELBERT, 
 
 83 
 
 ties of the Saxon heptarchy. For the purpose of explain- 
 imr local historv or traditions, the succession of the 
 monarchs may be consulted in the works of historians 
 who treat minutely on the subject; llapin, for example: 
 but an attempt to bear them in memory would be both 
 vain and useless, as the annals aliound in names but 
 are barren in events. It appears that the prince who 
 possessed the greatest share of capacity and valour 
 obtained for his kingdom a temporary and precarious 
 
 ascendancy. 
 
 p. — ]]||( in the course of three centuries surely some 
 
 examples of virtue or talent arc worth rescuing from 
 oblivion. 
 
 J^.— During that long period the name of no single 
 prince occurs which has descended to posterity with 
 general and deserved renown. The first monarch who 
 acquired a superiority of power w^as Ethelbert, king of 
 Kent, the fourtli in descent from Ilengist; who about 
 the year 570 reduced all the princes of the heptarchy; 
 except the King of Northumberland, to a strict depend- 
 ance upon himself He was the first Saxon king that 
 promulgated a body of laws ; but the event of his reign 
 by which he is chiefly distinguished, is the introduction 
 of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons, by the monk 
 
 Augustine. 
 
 j7._The church of Rome has seldom been deficient 
 in zeal for the propagation of her tenets. 
 
 yl.— The Pope Gregory the Great, when in the sta- 
 tion only of archdeacon, observed in the market-place 
 of Rome some Saxon youth exposed to sale; for the 
 abominable trathc in human flesh prevailed during the 
 greater part of the Saxon rule, and Bristol was the prin- 
 cipal mart. Gregory, struck with the beauty of their 
 fair complexion and blooming countenance, asked to 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 what country they belonged? beinp: answered, they were 
 An<flf, or English, he replied, they should rather be 
 called A ngeli, or Angels; and enquiring furtlKr (Vom 
 what province they came, he was informed Deiri ; on 
 which he exclaimed de ira eruii — they are to be deli- 
 vered from the wrath of God; and learning tlie name 
 of their sovereign, which was ^lla,'' Alleluia^ cricnl he, 
 how fitly may they sing praises. INIoved by these allu- 
 sions, he prepared to undertake the conversion of Bri- 
 tain, of which object he had never lost sight; and now 
 having acquired the tiara, he sent thither Augustine, a 
 Roman monk, with fortv associates. 
 
 F. — We must not confound this person with St. 
 Augustine, bishop of Hippo, a cel(^!)rated theologian, 
 who lived about one hundred cand fiity years earlier. 
 
 P. — Of what nature was the previous religion of 
 the Saxons? 
 
 A. — A polytheism, very gross and very barbarous. 
 They worshipped the sun and moon ; Thor, the god of 
 thunder; and Woden, the god of war: the latter seemed 
 to be their favourite deity, as they believed that those 
 warriors who perished in battle were admitted after 
 death into the Valhalla, or hall of the blessed, wliere, 
 reposing on couehes and attended by beautiful young 
 damsels, they satiated themselves with mead, or ale, 
 from the skulls of their enemies.^ 
 
 P. — Christianity could not be altogether unknown 
 to these people, being the relii::ion of the Britons, with 
 whom they had now^ had a century's intercourse. 
 
 A. — But the Saxons despised the Britons too much to 
 adopt any of their institutions, either civil or religious. 
 The circumstance whieh facilitated the reception of the 
 gospel was the mediation of Bertha, the daughter of 
 
 EADBALD. 
 
 85 
 
 ^ Bedc, rih.2, c. 1. 
 
 ^ The E(l(l;i, Mallet's Nortlicrn Anticiult'u**!. 
 
 Caribert, king of Paris, and (pieen to Ethelbert; a \voman 
 whose irreproachable conduct induced her husband to 
 lend a favourable ear to those doctrines of which she 
 made profession. Augustine and his companions, on 
 their arrival in Kent (597,) found less danger and diffi- 
 culty than they had apprehended. The king, seated in 
 the open air, wliere he believed the force of their magic 
 would be more easily dissipated, heard their mission 
 with respect,' and appointed Canterbury for their resi- 
 dence, with permission to exercise their functions. At 
 length Ethelbert was himself bapti'zed, which induced 
 many of his subjects to profess Christianity, as the 
 monks thought proper to assume an appearance of 
 the greatest lenity, telling the king that the service of 
 Christ ought to be entirely voluntary.^ 
 
 jp. — An excellent doctrine, and pity it is that it was 
 not continued; for was not Ethelbert soon after exhorted 
 in a letter from the Pope to exert the utmost rigour 
 against the ancient superstitions, and to build up the 
 new faith by every expedient of terror as w^qU a^ of 
 blandishment ?'' 
 
 yl.— This national conversion of the Kentish Saxons 
 seems to have been of very doubtful sincerity. At the 
 death of Ethelbert in 610, his successor Eadbald, 
 seduced by a passion for his mother-in-law% the second 
 wife of Ethelbert, deserted the Christian faith, and his 
 whole people returned with him to the idolatry of their 
 ancestors;^ and when, divorcing himself from this in- 
 cestuous marriage, he again professed the doctrines of 
 the gospel, the same people embraced them with equal 
 
 faeilitv. 
 
 P. — Did the ascendancy w^hich Kent had acquired, 
 
 expire with Ethelbert ? 
 
 * Bcdc, lib. 1, c. 25. ^ Lib. 1, c. 26. « Lib. 1, c.52. ^ Lib. 2, c. 5, 
 
86 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A. — A short time bet'ore the death of that prosperous 
 and excellent prince, who reigned fifty years with much 
 glory, Adelfrid, the king of Bernicia, having married Area, 
 the daughter of ^lla, king of Deiri, and expelled her in- 
 fant brother, Edwin, from the throne, united those two 
 provinces (588,) and presently assumed the chief in- 
 fluence in the heptarchy, as king of Northumberland. 
 Having extended his dominions on all sides, he besieged 
 Chester, then belonging to Brocwail, the British king of 
 Powis. As the Britons marched out of that citv with all 
 their forces to meet the enemy, they were attended by a 
 body of twelve hundred and fifty monks from the neigh- 
 bouring monastery of Bangor: this religious fraternity 
 stood at a small distance from the field, encouraging their 
 friends about to combat. Adelfrid enquiring the reason of 
 this unusual appearance, was told that these priests had 
 come to pray against him : '' Then they are as much our 
 enemies," said he, ^' as those who intend to fight against 
 us;'' and he immediately sent a detachment, which bar- 
 barously fell upon them with such execution tliat only 
 fifty escaped with their lives ((513).'' 
 
 P. — I was not aware that monks and monasteries 
 existed at so early a period in Britain. 
 
 jF. — The monastery at Bangor, in Flintshire (not the 
 city in Caernarvonshire, wliicli is at present the see of 
 a bishop,) as it was one of the largest, was also one of 
 the earliest religious houses known in any part of the 
 world. During the persecutions of Diodesian, when 
 Alban sufi'ered martvrdom at Verulam, many British 
 Christians were compelled to seek among beasts, in 
 deserts and solitude, that security which they found no 
 longer among mankind. After the urgency of the (huiger 
 had passed, similarity of sufil ring imhiced sevc^ral per- 
 
 ■ Bi ompton, p, 77V. 
 
 ADELFRID. 
 
 87 
 
 sons who had thus escaped to unite into societies ; and 
 as many of them were clergy, who in those times had 
 no distinct cure, they thus formed a collegiate body, 
 which became an asylum of religion and a seminary of 
 
 learning. 
 
 P.— Were these monastic societies controlled by 
 
 vows of celibacy and seclusion ? 
 
 jP._]Sot at this early period; the association at 
 Bancror seems to have left its members at perfect 
 liberty. It is said by Bede^ to have consisted at one 
 time of upwards of two thousand persons, who main- 
 tained themselves by their own labour ; being divided 
 into seven classes, consisting of three Imndred each. 
 The building was so extensive that the opposite gates 
 were a mile asunder: not a vestige at present remains. 
 The celebrated Pelagius, known in ecclesiastical history 
 as the propagator of some peculiar doctrines, received 
 his education in tliis monastery. 
 
 P.— When Augustine succeeded in his conversion 
 of the Saxons in Kent, it naturally follows that he 
 would endeavour to form a correspondence with the 
 British bishops already established in the island. 
 
 A.— A conference was appointed to be held between 
 him and a deputation of some monks from this very 
 societv at Bangor. These fathers before their departure 
 from Wales, applied to an old hermit for advice how to 
 act ; the recluse intimated that if Augustine were a man 
 sent from God, they should submit to his direction. And 
 on their asking how they were to ascertain this point, he 
 replic d, '' If on your arrival in his presence Augustine 
 rise to salute you, he is God's messenger; but if not, he 
 is proud; have no more to do with him.'' 
 
 jp._This old hermit was certainly no fool. 
 
 Hist. lib. 2, c. 2. 
 
88 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A. — When the monks came to the place of assemT)ly, 
 Augustine was Hittinjr under an oak tree iK) receive 
 them; ])ut he deigned not to rise at their ai)pe;irance. 
 The British were required to alter the period of ceh^- 
 brating Easter, and the mode of administering bai)tism — 
 two points in which they diifered from tlie Romisli ritual ; 
 and also to acknowledge the Pope's authority. The 
 monks replied that they yielded respect to all Christians, 
 but they knew of no particular obedience due to the holy 
 father, being already under the guidance of their own 
 pastor the Bishop of Caerleon; the other points they also 
 refused, in conformity with the hermifs admonition, ])r()- 
 bably considering them as the first step of papal encroach- 
 ment.* But, returning to our Northumbrian king; Adel- 
 frid, though eminently successful in war, was not exem])t 
 from anxiety. Edwin, whom he had unjustly dispos- 
 sessed of the crown of Deiri, now arown (o man's estate, 
 wandered from place to place, in continual danger from 
 the attempts of the usurper upon his life; at length 
 the royal youth received protection fromTTedwiihl, king 
 of the East Angles, in whose court his engaginir de- 
 meanour procured him general esteem. Adellnd, alarmed 
 at this circumstance, solicited liedwald both bv thrtNits 
 and promises to kill or deliver up his victim. Thus 
 entreated, the integrity of the East Anglian sovereign 
 began to waver, and a council was calh d to derid(^ the 
 fate of Edwin. 
 
 P.— When men can debate on an act of villa ny, the 
 result is easy to be anticipated. 
 
 ^. — The story of Edwin's escape from the impend- 
 ing danger is told by Bede^ with a siinplicjjy ihat is 
 highly touching; I will relate it as translated by Milton, 
 certainly in a style that would not be expected bv the 
 
 I 
 
 Bedc, lib. 2, C.2. 
 
 ^ Lib.2, c. 12. 
 
 EDWIN. 
 
 89 
 
 readers of Paradise Lost: '' One of Edwin's faithful 
 companions (of which he had some few with him in the 
 court of lledwald that never shrunk from his adversity,) 
 about the first hour of night comes in haste to his cham- 
 ber, and railing him forth for better secresy, reveals to 
 him his danger, and offers him his aid to make escape ; 
 but that course not approved, as seeming dishonourable, 
 without more manifest cause, to begin distrust towards 
 one who had so long been his only refuge, the friend 
 departs. Edwin, left alone without the palace gate, full 
 of sadness and perplexed thoughts, discerns about the 
 dead of night a man, neither by countenance nor by 
 Imbit to him known, w^ho after salutation, asked him 
 why at tliis hour, when all others were at rest, he alone 
 so sadly sat waking on a cold stone? Edwin not a little 
 misdoubting who he might be, asked him again what 
 his sittinir within doors or without concerned him to 
 know ? To whom he again, ' Think not that who thou 
 art, or why sitting here, or what danger hangs over 
 thee, is to me unknown: but what would you promise 
 to that man who ever would befriend you out of all 
 these troubles, and persuade Redwald to the like?' 
 ' All that I am able,' answered Edwin; and he, ' What 
 if the same man should promise to make you greater 
 than any English king hath been before you.' ' I should 
 not doubt,' quoth Edwin, ' to be answerably grateful." 
 ' And what if to all this he would inform you,' said 
 the other, ' in a way to happiness ])eyond what any of 
 your ancestors hath known, would you hearken to his 
 counsel ? * Edwin without stopping, promised he would ; 
 and the other laying his riglit hand on Edwin's head, 
 ' When this sign/ saith he, ' shall next befall thee, re- 
 member this time of night and this discourse, to perform 
 what thou hast promised.^ And with these words dis- 
 
90 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 appearing, he left Edwin much revived, ])iit not less 
 filled with wonder/'* 
 
 P. — Rational people will conclude this to have been 
 
 a dream. 
 
 A. — Why it was introduced you will learn hereafter. 
 The friend who had counselled Edwin to ilec, now re- 
 turning, informed him that he was safe; the solicitations 
 of the queen had conquered the perfidious intention of 
 Redwald, who on comiuix to this conclusion, judged it 
 safest not to await the resentment of Adelfrid ; but 
 marching with an army into Northumberland, he at- 
 tacked and defeated that monarch, and placed Edwin 
 in the vacant throne. 
 
 p. — An unexpected though not an unjust retaliation. 
 
 A. — Edwin became one of the most distinguished 
 princes of the heptarchy; he so far reformed the licen- 
 tious habits of his subjects, that it was said during his 
 reign a woman with a babe at her breast might travel 
 over the island without sustaining an injury. The af- 
 fection which he inspired in his servants was proved on 
 a memorable occasion (62():) an assassin employed by 
 Cuichelm, king of Wessex,having entered the apartment 
 of the Northumbrian prince, under the guise of a messen- 
 ger, rushed upon his person with a drawn dagger; when 
 Lilla, an officer, seeing his master's danger, and having 
 no other means of intercepting tlie blow, threw himself 
 between the king and the weapon, which was pushed 
 with such force that, after piercing through the body of 
 the faithful servant, it wounded the rescued monarch.** 
 
 p._Such devoted attachments presuppose a great 
 
 share of merit. 
 
 .4.— Edwin having espoused Edilburga, the daughter 
 of Ethelbert, the deceased king of Kent, that princess 
 
 * xMilton, f list, of Brit. 
 
 ^ Bede, Ub.2, c.9. 
 
 EDWIN. 
 
 91 
 
 was accompanied to Northumberland by Paulinus, a 
 Roman ecclesiastic, who did not fail to ascribe the 
 deliverance of the king to the protection of Christ. 
 Edwin being pressed by the solicitations of this mis- 
 sionary, promised that if he should return victorious 
 from a meditated expedition against the perfidious 
 Cuichelm, he w ould embrace the profession of the gos- 
 pel. Having happily accomplished this undertaking, 
 but still delaying to acknowledge the new faith, Pauli- 
 nus on a certain day, laying his right hand on the king's 
 head, asked him if he remembered what that sign meant ? . 
 Edwin, trembling and amazed, rose up, and fell at the 
 new apostle's feet. '' Beliold," said Paulinus, raising 
 hiia from the ground, '' God hath delivered you from 
 your enemies, and given you the kingdom, perform now^ 
 what long since you promised.''* 
 
 P.— f [ow^ did Paulinus become acquainted with the 
 
 secret? 
 
 F.— As Edwin was married, tlicre is no need to resort 
 
 to a miracle for its disclosure. 
 
 ^._The story is merely legendary, but indicative of 
 the opinions of the age. Edwin having thought fit to 
 consult his council on the subject of changing his re- 
 ligion, was suiprised by the facility with which Coiffi, 
 the liigh priest, assisted his inclinations: '^ No one," 
 said that person, '' has worsliipped the gods more assi- 
 duously than myself, and yet few^ have been less fortu- 
 nate ; I am weary of deities who are so indiilerent, or 
 so ungrateful, and will willingly try my fortune under a 
 
 new religion."^ 
 
 p'.—Siich sentiments, I suspect, are more frequently 
 
 entertained than expressed. 
 
 A— The reply of a thane, whom the king next con- 
 sulted, exhibits a vivid and not unpleasing picture: 
 
 « Bcdc, Hist. lib. 2, c. 12. 
 
 ^ Lib. 2, C.15. 
 
92 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 PENDA. 
 
 93 
 
 ^' Often/' said the Saxon n()l)le, '' \i\ tlic depth of whiter, 
 O kini^^! whilst feastinc: with voiir thanes, and the (ire 
 is bhizinj,^ on the hearth in the midst of the hall, have 
 you seen a bird, pelted by the storm, enter at one door 
 and escape at the other; durimr its passaire it was visi- 
 ble, but whence it came or whither it went you knew 
 not. Such to me appears the life of man : he walks the 
 earth for a few years; but what precedes his birth, or 
 what is to follow after his death, we cannot tell. If llie 
 new religion can unfold these secrets, it must l)e worthy 
 your attention."^ Thus seconded, Edwin \\ith his sub- 
 jects immediately embraced the Christiiui faith; but 
 neither his merits nor his valour coidd secur(^ him 
 against the turbulence of those barbarous times; he was 
 attacked by Penda, king of Mereia, and slain in battle 
 at Hatfield-chace, in Yorkshire ((>]r3).^' 
 
 F. — Most of the princes of this and Ww sul)sequent 
 age, who did not retire early into monasteries, seem to 
 have perished by a violent death. 
 
 A. — The whole kingdom of .NorlluimbcM'land became 
 involved in discord and confusion, from wliicli it was in 
 a small measure relieved by the vigour of Oswald, the 
 son of the former king Adelfrid; l)ut he being unfortu- 
 nately slain in battle by the same andjitious ncighl)our, 
 Penda (642,)' such scenes of anarchy, treacherv, and 
 murder followed, that no country can furnish a pa- 
 rallel. You might indeed say that few^ princes in this 
 age escaped a violent end, as of fourteen kings that had 
 assumed the Northumbrian sceptre in the course of a 
 single century, one only died in his bed. 
 
 F. — The Emperor Charh inagne very truly declared 
 that these Northumbrians were worse than Pa<'ans.'' 
 
 Bede, Ilkt. lib. 2, c. 13. ^ Saxon Chroii. ^ Bede, I Jibt. lib. 5, c. i^ 
 
 •' Gul. Maltiicjib. lib. 1 . r. 3. 
 
 A. — Under Penda the kingdom of Mereia arose to 
 great consideration in the heptarchy. This ferocious 
 prince was engaged in perpetual hostilities with all the 
 neighbouring states ; three of the East Anglian kings 
 perished successively in battle against him; but in the 
 eightieth yenr of his age he met with the same fate from 
 Oswy, the brother of the late Osw aid, king of Northum- 
 berland (()55).* Mereia however continued to maintain 
 a respectalde station, under Peada, the son of Penda, 
 w ho having married a Northumbrian princess educated 
 in thi^ Christian faith, embraced and established that 
 doctrine in his dominions. 
 
 F.— Thus the fair sex had the merit of introducing 
 Christianity into the most considerable kingdoms of 
 the heptarchy. 
 
 ^j[,_llie \ arious states now maintained for nearly a 
 
 century a tolerable share of harmony with each other. 
 
 The events of the heptarchy are known chiefly from the 
 
 pen of venerable Bede ; but during this period he has 
 
 told so few^ particulars, that his relation may be called 
 
 rather a calendar of names than a history of events, 
 
 and U aves us unci rtain, says Milton, whether he w^as 
 
 wanting to his matter, or his matter to him. We learn 
 
 that the kingdom of Wessex, being governed by Ceod- 
 
 walla, a w arlike and enterprising prince, was increased 
 
 in pow er by the conquest of Sussex, the first step made 
 
 by the West Saxons tow ards acquiring the sole mo- 
 
 narchv of England. Ceodwalla at length, tired with the 
 
 pursuits of ambition, undertook a pilgrimage to Rome; 
 
 where he received baptism, and there died (089).^ His 
 
 successor, Ina, is more distinguished as a legislator than 
 
 as a conqueror, many of his laws being still extant; yet 
 
 this pririce w as by no means deficient in military prowess.^ 
 
 - Bode, lib.3,c. 24. 
 
 ^ f/ib. 5, c. 7. 
 
 *" Saxon C'bron. 
 
94 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 OFFA. 
 
 95 
 
 He added the counties ot" Somerset and Devon to 
 his dominions, and, what is indeed deserving remem- 
 brance, treated the vanquished with an unusual share 
 of clemency, allowing the proprietors to retain pos- 
 session of their lands, and encourasrimr marriaires l)e- 
 tween them and his Saxon subjects: in the decline of 
 his age, laa, at the suggestion of his queen Ethelburga, 
 made a pilgrimage to Rome, and at his return shut 
 himself up in a convent, \vhere he died (728). 
 
 P. — This fashion of forsakini* the use of arms and 
 retiring into monasteries, especially if it prevailed with 
 the nobility and common people as well as witli the 
 monarchs, would seem to denote some decline of the 
 ancient ferocity. 
 
 A. — The same historian, Bede," though himself a 
 monk, yet with considerable sagacity predicts the evil 
 effects of this practice, as tending to deprive the nation 
 of its means of defence ; an opinion, w hich the events 
 of a subsequent age fatally confirmed; nor were the 
 frequent pilgrimages to Rome without their inconve- 
 nience, as they exhausted the wealth of the island and 
 promoted the corruption of manners : there is a letter 
 extant from Boniface, archbishop of Mentz, lo Cuthbert, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, in which the Ibrnu^r prelate 
 exhorts his brother to prevent the pilgrimage of the 
 English nuns to Rome, as it frequently happened that 
 they lost their virtue beibre their return.^ 
 
 F. — These ladies probably considered that, as they 
 were sure of a plenary remission of their sins when 
 they arrived at their journey's end, there was no great 
 harm in adding a little to the number by the w ay. 
 
 A. — Mercia, under the reign of Ofla, a prince of the 
 blood who ascended the throne (755,y became the most 
 
 ' 
 
 Hist. lib. C). c. 25. ^ Spelman, Couc. toin.l, p. 257. * Sajf. Clii'Dii. 
 
 conspicuous kingdom of the heptarchy. This ambitious 
 monarch enlarged his dominions at the expense of 
 his Saxon neighbours, and drove the British to their 
 mountains in Wales ; to secure his acquisitions on that 
 side, he ordered a dyke to be formed from the mouth of 
 the Wve on the south, to the river Dee in Flintshire: 
 the traces of this extensive work are yet visible in 
 
 many places. 
 
 F.—Ofla's w ork, though called a dyke, was rather 
 a mound or low bank between tw o ditches, it did not 
 effectually repel the incursions of the Welsh, nor did 
 it form an exact boundary, the Welshmen often pass- 
 ino- over it. In the reign of Edward the Confessor, 
 Harold w as sent against them with light armed troops, 
 rava<rcd the country, and made a law, that every Bri- 
 ton found with a weapon on this side of the dyke, 
 should lose his right haiid.^ 
 
 P.— Are the excavations of a similar nature in 
 other parts of England, the Wansdike on Salisbury 
 Plain for instance, and that remarkable trench on New- 
 market-heath, called the Dcvifs-ditch, to be attributed 
 
 to the Saxons? 
 
 F.— The first work is certainly more ancient: Dr. 
 Stukeiy attributes it, with suilicient probability, to the 
 Belg:a3, who settled in Britain before the invasion of 
 Cfesar, to defend themselves against the hostility of the 
 aboriginal natives; but, as an instance how absurdly 
 antiquaries will jump to a conclusion, having got the 
 scent, he decides that the Wansdike was the work of 
 Divitiacus, a Belgian monarch, who, Ca3sar^ tells us, 
 had acquired chief authority in Britain; and he very 
 gravely assures us, that the tovai of Devizes derives it 
 name from that ancient chieftain.*" 
 
 * Joan Siirisb. dc nn^is Ciiri.il. lib. 6. 
 
 b De Bel, Gal. lib. 2. c. 4. 
 
 • Antiquities, &c. vol. I, p. U5, 
 
{{I 
 
 96 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 BRITHRIC. 
 
 97 
 
 A. — It is probable that the Saxons might extend, if 
 they did not create, these works, and apply them either as 
 a boundary or defence : it is remarkable, that they seem 
 to be constructed as a security lor the protection of those 
 people who dwelt nearest the sea. This undertaking of 
 Offa's has caused his name to be better remembered than 
 that of any other prince of the heptarchy; but his great 
 qualities were miserably tarnished by an act of treach- 
 ery, not surpassed by any thing in the Saxon annals. 
 Ethelbert, king of the East Angles, a young prince of 
 considerable merit, having paid liis addresses to Eilrida 
 the daughter of Oifa, was invited with his retinue to 
 Hereford, in order to celebrate the nuptials: amidst 
 the festivities of such an occasion, he was decoyed into 
 a distant chamber, and there beheaded : the East An*>lian 
 nobility had secret warning to escape. Elfrida, who 
 abhorred her fiither's cruelty, retired to a nunnery, 
 and Ofla, having extinguished the royal race, added the 
 kingdom of East Anglia to his own dominions.* 
 
 P' — This story is a convincing proof tluit a bar- 
 barous age is not the period of sincerity and truth: no 
 such transaction could now take place in civilized 
 Europe. 
 
 A. — You will not be displeased to learn, that neither 
 the continued prosperity of OfTa's reiiin, nor the dis- 
 tinctions that he received from the friendship and 
 correspondence of Charlenuinge, appeased the stings 
 of remorse; to stifle which he had recourse to all the 
 tricks of monkish devotion: he made a pilgrimage to 
 Rome; endowed monasteries and churches; and, the 
 better to ingratiate himself with the pope, he engaged 
 to pay a yearly sum for the support of an English 
 College at Rome,^ which was collected by the impo- 
 
 ■* Brompton, \^. 7 .')(). 
 
 Spelman, Cone. p. 230. 510. 
 
 sition of a tax of a penny on each house in his domi- 
 nions, of a certain value; this was the origin of Peter's 
 Pence, or Romescot, afterwards claimed as a tribute 
 by the holy see:* Matthew of Westminster attributes 
 the introduction of it to King Ina with little proba- 
 bility. OfTa died after a reign of more than thirty years 
 (794,) and with him ended the superiority of Mercia. 
 
 P. — It is pleasing to reflect, that such atrocious 
 wickedness as Offa's conferred no lasting benefit either 
 on himself or his posterity. 
 
 A, — Mercia falling a prey to dissension and tumults, 
 the kingdom of Wessex now assumed the chief station; 
 Brithric at this period filled the throne, a prince not 
 particularly distimjuished except by his tragical death: 
 his wife Eadburga, tlie daughter of Offa, a w^oman 
 equally infamous for cruelty and incontinence, had 
 conceived an implacable hatred against a young noble- 
 man who had acquired her husband's friendship, and 
 for the purpose of accomplishing his destruction, she 
 prepared a cup of poison, of which the king inad- 
 vertently partaking lost his life, as did his unfortunate 
 favourite (800).^ 
 
 F. — The race of Offa seems not to have degenerated 
 from its pristine atrocity. 
 
 A. — The West Saxons vented their imprecations 
 against the murderess, w ho escaped into France : being 
 there presented to Charlemagne, he asked her, which 
 she would prefer as a husband, himself or his son? 
 " Your son, (she replied,) for he is younger." *" The Em- 
 peror was displeased at this uncourtly answer, but made 
 her a present of an opulent monastery, with the title of 
 Abbess, from which, on account of the dissoluteness 
 
 ** Roger Uovcdcn, Pars Post. 
 VOL. I. H 
 
 ^ Asser, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 I 
 
1 
 
 98 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of her conduct, she was soon expelled: after many 
 adventures, this wife and daughter of a king t( rininated 
 a miserable existence, in ra<j:s and begi^ciry, at Pavia.^ 
 
 F.—lt would appear that the Saxons had made 
 small progress in knowledge or humanily since their 
 first establishment in Britain, which, as they had em- 
 braced the Christian faith, seems to recpiire expla- 
 nation. 
 
 . JL.—AYe are to recollect, that the Cliristianity of 
 that age was mixed up with so large a portion of cre- 
 dulity and superstition, that it tended but litth' to 
 improve the understanding or correct the morals; the 
 perusal of the scriptures was nearly unknown; monastic 
 observances, the belief of miraculous interpositions, 
 and a reverence for saints and relics, usurped the 
 place of rational piety: remorse of conscience was 
 appeased, not by amendment of life, but in the lower , 
 class by abject penances, and by servility to the monks; 
 and in the higher by bounty to the church, which 
 atoned for every species of crime and violence. 
 
 p._This is really a sweeping conclusion against 
 
 the Saxon clergy. 
 
 ^._The earlier dignitaries of the churcli, the arch- 
 bishops Honorius and Theodore, in tlie seventh cen- 
 tury, who indeed were foreigners, were men of nuu h 
 merit and learning, the latter particularly, a native of 
 Tarsus in Cilicia; Fuller calls him a fellow citizen of 
 St. Paul: he founded a library at Canterl)ury, and even 
 read lectures on the Greek tongue; his scholars were 
 dispersed in several monasteries ; '' but this sprinkling 
 of letters continued for a marvellously short period, 
 and never extended beyond the cloister ; the people at 
 lar^e havincj a sovereign contempt lor literature, en- 
 
 BEDK. 
 
 99 
 
 couraged the notable maxim, that a boy who feared 
 the rod of a pedagoi^ue would never look an enemy in 
 the face. The generality of the priesthood too were 
 nearly as ignorant and barbarous as the laity; yet it 
 is but just to make some exceptions, such as venerable 
 Bede for instance, whose character truly deserves that 
 appellation. - 
 
 P. — By what means has the epithet ^venerable' 
 become constantly associated with the name of Bede, 
 and Av]iicii has no doubt extended his reputation? 
 
 F, — At the death of Bede, a young monk, studying 
 to make his epitapli in rhyming Latin, got thus far, 
 
 *' H;ic sunt in fossa; bed^— 
 
 -ossa. 
 
 ■ A^StT. 
 
 ^ Hodr, Vih. 1, c. 2. 
 
 But not being an adept in poetry he w^as unable to fill 
 up the hiatus, and after tormenting himself to no pur- 
 pose fell asleep; in the morning, to his great surprise, 
 he found the line completed, the word I'enerabiHs, 
 having been inserted by an angel,^ the meaning, in no 
 very exact rhyme, being, 
 
 " Here in the silent grave are laid 
 The bones of venerable Bede." 
 
 A. — Bede seems to stand aloof as the only learned 
 Saxon whose name is generally remembered: this ex- 
 celh nt person was born at Wearmouth, in the bishopric 
 of Durham (072 ;) Iiis whole time was devoted to study 
 and religion; and the fame of his learning became 
 so great, that he received an invitation from Pope 
 Sergius to visit Rome, but he modestly declined the 
 honour, and passed the greater part of his life in the 
 monastery of Jarrow, where he died (735). 
 
 F. — His last moments exhibit a pleasing example 
 of tliat holy calm whicli arises from a consciousness of 
 
 " Flores. Sanct. p. 397. Biog. Brit. 
 
 H 2 
 
 M 
 
100 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 living and dying in the performance of acts of duty. 
 Being engaged in translating the gospel of St. John 
 into the Saxon tongue, his amanuensis observed, '^iMy 
 beloved master, there yet remains one sentence un- 
 written/' " Write it then quickly," replied Bede ; and 
 the young man having indited the sentence, answered, 
 ^at is finished." "It is indeed finished," said the dying 
 saint, and quietly expired.* 
 
 A.— The attainments of Bede were universal, and 
 would have done honour to any age; his ^'Ecclesiastical 
 History," is the foundation of by far the greater part of 
 our knowled<>:e of the earlier Saxons, and is much 
 valued for its faithfulness, though retaining a strong 
 tinct of monkish credulity. Bede maintained an ex- 
 tensive correspondence, but after his death, the small 
 remains of learning seem gradually to have expired, 
 and never to have revived with the Anglo Saxons in 
 
 equal vigour. 
 
 jp._Yet the fiime of Alcuin, a native of Yorkshire, 
 said to be a pupil of Bede's, was so celebrated, that 
 Charlemagne established him in France as his own pre- 
 ceptor in the sciences. Alcuin became a great bene- 
 factor to various French universities, particularly that of 
 Paris : he died in 804. His works have been published 
 in folio, consisting chiefly of letters, and of theological 
 subjects, which savour too much of that ignorant age to 
 be now at all readable ; there is also a Latin poem, con- 
 sisting of 1600 lines, " De pontificis et Sanctis Ecclcsia^ 
 Eboracensis," which throws some light on the studies 
 
 then in vogue. 
 
 A. — The early Anglo Saxons were not without their 
 saints, such as Cuthbert, Aldhelm, Willrid, and others, 
 who had sufticient learning U) occupy the hiuh places 
 
 EGBERT. 
 
 101 
 
 of the church with decorum; but they have left nothing 
 which can instruct or entertain posterity. The small 
 additional cotemporary information respecting the 
 period of the heptarchy, is gleaned from Eddius 
 and Nennius; the former of whom, wrote the life of 
 St. Wilfrid, containing many passages explanatory of 
 civil as well as ecclesiastical alfairs: this person 
 flourished about the year 720; he was, says Bede,* the 
 best singer in the north. Nennius was a Briton and 
 abbot of Bangor: some have thought that he was one 
 of the fifty monks who escaped the slaughter of their 
 twelve hundred brethren by Adelfrid; but he himself 
 states, that he wrote his '' Eulogium Britanniae sive 
 llistoria Britonum,'' in the year 858; much of the work 
 is supposed to have been compiled or transcribed 
 from the History of the Monk Elvodugus. Could the text 
 be relied on as genuine, which I see no great reason to 
 doul)t, it would help to decide some controverted points, 
 as he mentions the story of Brute and the deeds of 
 Prince Arthur.^ 
 
 F. — We must not pass over, in this place, the 
 querulous Gildas, a British monk of Bangor, who lived 
 during the sixth century, and is consequently our first 
 native historian: he escaped into Armorica from the 
 destroying arms of the Saxons; the cruel inflictions 
 of whicli people upon his unfortunate countrymen, 
 he so wofully details in his ^^Epistola de excidio 
 
 ]]ritanniie." 
 
 jl^ — Returning to the kingdom of Wessex: at the 
 death of Brithric, Egbert, descended from the brother 
 of King Tna, succeeded to the throne. This prince was 
 supposed to possess a better title than the late unfor- 
 tunate monarch : conscious of his danger, he had early 
 
 * Simeon, Duiielm. lib. 1, c. 15. 
 
 lJi.>t. lib. 4, C.2. 
 
 » Nennius, Hist. c. 4. & 62. 
 
 J 
 
102 
 
 A ESTICIA. 
 
 retired into France, and by servinfr in the armies of 
 Charlemagne,^ acquired that knowledge of mankind 
 and superior military skill, which afterwards enal)le(l 
 him to reduce the kingdoms of the heptarchy mider 
 his single government; the royal families of each 
 having now^ become extinct, Egl)ert was the sole de- 
 scendant of those first conquerors, who enhanced their 
 authority by claiming a descent from A\ odc^n ; yet, 
 notwithstanding this tempting circunustance, he did 
 not commence hostilities against his Saxon neiiih- 
 hours, but chose rather to turn his arms against 
 the Britons in Cornwall:^ from the compicst of that 
 countrv, he was recalled by the attack of ikrnulf, 
 king of Mercia, against whom he obtained a com- 
 plete victory, near Elland,'' in AViltsliire; and by several 
 subsequent battles, he entirely broke the power of 
 that formidable rival, who was slain in the lield, and 
 in a short time united the kingdom to his own. 
 
 P. — Did the remaining states of the heptarchy lose 
 their independence with the same facility? 
 
 A, — Sussex, ahvays weak, had long since fallen 
 under the power of the W est Saxons; K(iit and Essex 
 had become tributary to the King of .Mercia, who had 
 also reduced East Anirlia to subjiction: these minor 
 kingdoms made small resistance to the arms of the 
 new^ invader, if they did not rather invite his authority; 
 and Northumberland, weary with intestine contentions, 
 readily submitted (827). Thus did Egbert, from the 
 fortunate circumstance of his illustrious descent, united 
 with prudence and valour, attain thi^ hiuh honour of 
 being the first king of that large porlion of Jlritain, 
 which soon after acquired the name of England/ 
 
 * Gill. Malnicsb. lil). 2, c. 1. 
 *" Sax. Chron. 
 
 '• Sax. Chron. 
 'I Ibid. 
 
 i^l 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 
 
 103 
 
 DISSERTATION IV. 
 
 tfanutr*^ JToUjrr, 
 
 ST. EDMUNDSBURV. 
 
 THE SAXOXS AND DANES. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Egbert - 82/ 
 
 Etiiel\volf - - - - 838 
 
 Ethelbald - - - - 857 
 
 EtH ELBERT - - - - 860 
 
 Ethered ----- 866 
 
 Alfred ------ 871 
 
 Edward the Elder - 901 
 
 Atuelstan - - - - 925 
 
 Edmund ----- 941 
 
 Ed RED - 946 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Edwy ------ 955 
 
 Edgar ------ 959 
 
 Edward the Martyr - 975 
 Ethelred ----- 978 
 
 Edmund Ironside - - 1016 
 
 Canute 1017 
 
 Harold Harefoot - - 1035 
 Hardicanute - - - 1039 
 Edward the Confessor, 1041 
 Harold ----- 1066 
 
 F. — This chnrminj^ town, St. Edmundsbury, so 
 agreeably situated on a gentle acclivity, equals in at- 
 traction any tliat I have seen in the kingdom: the rich 
 fertile enclosures on the south, announce abundance, 
 whilst the line open champaign country to the north, 
 indicates the purest and most healthful atmosphere. 
 
 A, — Thus happily circumstanced, it can be no matter 
 of surprise that it was chosen as the seat of a monas- 
 tery, the founders and inlud)itants of such institutions 
 beinir admirable judges of these advantages: the ruins, 
 which at this moment break ui)on our view, bespeak 
 the establishment to have been one of the most exten- 
 
104 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 sive, as it was one of the earliest and riehest, in the 
 
 island. 
 
 p, — It was not, I siipi)Ose, of British oriirin, nor 
 
 founded till after the conversion of the East Anglian 
 
 Saxons. 
 
 A. — To Sigebert/ a king of that nation, we must 
 attribute the merit, if such it be, of the foundation, 
 about the year 633, a short time after the first introduc- 
 tion of Christianity into East Anglia by Eelix the llur- 
 g-undian, bishop of Dunwich. Indeed we must admit 
 that, from the imperfect conversion of the natives and the 
 ferocity of the times, such establishments were almost 
 necessary to the support of the Christian faith : they 
 w^ere the residence of the bishops and their clergy, ^\ho 
 preached and administered the sacraments intlie neigh- 
 bouring country. Monasteries too, irom the security and 
 abundance which they aflbrded, being well buiit and 
 well endowed, were incomparably the most comfortable 
 places of habitation in the kingdom; and as afterwards 
 an opinion prevailed, that as soon as any person put 
 on the garb of a monk all his sins were forgiven, it is 
 no wonder that they w ere crowded l)y persons of both 
 sexes and of every condition. 
 
 F. — It would be uncandid to deny, that to many 
 these institutions offered an agreeable asylum : 
 
 ** W^here penitence initrlit plant her meek abode, 
 And hermit eontemplation meet his God;** 
 
 yet from the effects which we see produced ])y monas- 
 teries still subsisting in other countries, I c.m well con- 
 tent that their picturesque ruins only remain to adorn 
 the prospect in this. 
 
 p.— The magnificent gateway now before us seems 
 
 ^ Bcdo, lib. 5, c. 18. 
 
 CANUTE'S TOWER. 
 
 05 
 
 of comparatively modern erection to the times of which 
 
 you are speaking. 
 
 ^._lt was built in the reign of Richard the Second, 
 and remains an unrivalled specimen of the taste of the 
 ago ; l>rit at a small distance we are irresistibly attracted 
 by a S(iuare tower of extraordinary antiquity. 
 
 p.„The round arches, unmixed with any pointed 
 windows, and especially its great arch of entrance, toge- 
 ther with its venerable state of decay, induce a conclu- 
 sion that it must ])e referred to the period of the Saxons. 
 
 ^._I am of opinion that to the liberality of Canute 
 the Great we are indebted for this fine piece of antiquity, 
 about the vear 1020: some autiquaries place it near 
 lifty years later, and attribute its erection to Baldwyn 
 the Abbot, under William the Conqueror. It possesses 
 all the genuine characteristics of the Saxon architecture; 
 but it nuist be acknowledged that no certain criterion 
 exists to distinguish the later Saxon from the earlier 
 
 Norman style. 
 
 p,—li is now used as a campanile, or bell-towxr, to 
 the church of St. James : do you think that such was 
 its original destination? 
 
 A.— It was undoubtedly the grand portal which led 
 to the old abbey church, the arches of whose principal 
 front )0u yet behold, oddly enough filled up with 
 modern dwellitigs; but I think it hardly of sufficient 
 dimensions to have been intended as a campanile to a 
 church of such magnitude as the ancient structure. 
 
 p.__^Vhat induced the powerful Canute to pay any 
 particular regard to St. Edmundsbury? 
 
 /I.— In the ye-.ir 870, tlie Danes, his marauding 
 counfrymen, having burnt Ely, took possession of Thet- 
 ford, when Edmund, king of East Anglia, assailing 
 them, was put to flight, and taken prisoner; being 
 
lOG 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 TIIK DANES 
 
 107 
 
 * 
 .* 
 
 * 
 
 bound to a stake, lie was barharmisly shot to death 
 with arrows, refusing to reiiomicc hiJ faith in Chris- 
 tianity: ' his body I;c:ng removed to tliis place, then 
 called Bederics worth, it became an object of iir<;.t 
 veneration, and many reputed miracles were ^per- 
 formed over his tomb. Sweyn, kin, of Dc.mark, the 
 lather of Canute, having plnndercd and utterly de- 
 stroyed this monaslery by iire, received, it is "said, 
 a blow from an invisible hand;'' on wlii* ]., exclaim- 
 ing that he was stricken by St. Kdmnnd, he soon 
 after expired. Canute, to expiate his lather's crime and 
 pacify the saint, took the monastery iind.-r his especial 
 protection, and the present tower is probably a part of 
 his royal munificence. 
 
 P.— Tlie Danes then made tlieir appearance very 
 early in England. 
 
 ^.-During the reign of Erifluir in Wvssex, a small 
 body of them first landed in that kinod,,,,. r787-) and 
 Mhen the magistrate of the place questioned them con- 
 cenung their enterprise, they killed him and iled to their 
 ships.'= 
 
 F.~A characferistic beginning of tiiat long series 
 ol piratical attack, plunder, and d'evaslalion, by which 
 they retorted upon the Saxons the sufferings whicli that 
 people a few ages before had indicted upon (he unfor- 
 tunate Lritons. 
 
 yl.— Even Egbert, though he had uni(.>d the kiu"-- 
 doms of the heptarchy, and possessed greatt r power 
 than any former Saxon prince, was not secure from 
 their depredations. In S'32 they pillaged the isle of 
 Sheppey, and escaped with impunity; the next year 
 they gained some advantage in a sharp contest at 
 Charmoulh, in Dorsetshire ; and enterinu into an alliance 
 
 * Asser. 
 
 '' Cul. Afalincsb. Iib.2, r. 10. 
 
 with tlie Britons in Cornwall, tlicv made an inroad into 
 Devon, l)ut were totally defeated at Hiniresdown. 
 Whilst Eni,dand remained in a state of anxiety, Egbert, 
 \\ho was alone able to provide against this new evil, 
 nnfortiinatoly died' (838.) 
 
 P. — Having thus introduced the Danes to our no- 
 tice as abont to play a conspicuous part in the affairs of 
 England, who were they, and whence did they spring? 
 
 yl.— This people, the Danes, Normans, or North- 
 men, appcjir ])y tlie afiinity of their language to have 
 been of the same stock as the Saxons ; they inhabited 
 the peninsula oi' Jutland, the isles of the Baltic, and the 
 shons of the Scandinavian continent. Their national 
 appellation, Dane, is probably of the same meaning 
 as the \\ord Thane, a prince; though Saxo Gramma- 
 ticus very improbably derives it from Dan, one of their 
 king.^, who lived 1038 years before Christ. Piracy was 
 their profession : in the spring it was their custom to 
 assail some distant province, ravage the country, and 
 collect the spoil. In the eighth century these sea kings ^ 
 (for so w ere their chiefs then called,) confined their de- 
 predations nearly to the northern seas; but soon after, 
 instigated, it is supposed, by some fugitive Saxons, who 
 had fled from the violenceof Charlemagne, they assailed 
 at once both the kingdoms of France and England in 
 such numbers, as to fill the inhabitants with terror and 
 amazement. 
 
 p^ — Indeed the subsequent history of both kingdoms 
 for two centuries is little else than a continual struggle 
 to resist the aggressions of these northern spoilers. 
 
 A. — As the Danish vessels were small, no river or 
 creek was secure against their approach. After plun- 
 dering the inhabitants of the country of their cattle and 
 
 * Sax. Ciij on. 
 
 « Sax. Chron. 
 
 ^ Barthoiinus, lib.2, C.9. 
 
108 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 goods, before there was time for the military force of the 
 district to assemble, the Danes retreated to their sliips, 
 and suddenly appeared in a distant quarter. Every part 
 of England was thus kept in perpetual alarm ; and the 
 annals of those unhappy times become at once weari- 
 some and repulsive. 
 
 P.— Yet notwithstandiii<^^ this lowering prospect, 
 some gleams of light must occasionally illuminate tiie' 
 horizon, and some scenes and characters occur worthy 
 the attention of the historian. 
 
 ^.— At the death of Egbert (838,) Iiis son Etheh\olf 
 inherited the throne, but not the talents of his father; 
 he was better qualilied for governing a convent than a 
 kingdom. He began his reign according to the absurd 
 custom of those times, by dividing his dominions, deli- 
 vering over to his eldest son, Atiielstan, flie counties of 
 Essex, Kent, and Sussex. The incursiuns of the Danes 
 were now become nearly animal ; they marched throudi 
 and devastated every part of the kingdom; and though 
 frequently encountered in desperate skirmishes, ihey 
 acquired a settlement in the isle of Thanct. Ethelwolf, 
 however, found opportunity to make a pilgrimage to' 
 Rome, and took with him Iiis youngest and favourile son, 
 Alfred, for the purpose of receiving regal unction from the 
 Pope;* probably with a Niew to secure Ids succession 
 hereafter, in preference to the children of liis brothers. 
 
 F.— This trilling point, it nuist be confessed, is 
 uncertain; but it has been as much disputed as iL it 
 involved the welfare of kingdoms. 
 
 A.— The unction is trifling enough, but !lie j)oint 
 involved is the nature of the succession ol die 8a.\on 
 kings; from this and other instances it would appear 
 that legitimacy was the rule, but liable to be set aside 
 
 ■ Asscr. 
 
 ETHELWOLF. 
 
 109 
 
 when the heir to the vacant throne was considered 
 incompetent, eillier from extreme youth or weakness, 
 to exercise the regal functions with advantage. The 
 return of Ethelwolf was. attended by an unexpected 
 opposition: Athelstan having died in the absence of 
 his father, his next brother, Ethelbald, assumed the 
 government, and concerted with the nol)les to exclude 
 Ethelwolf from tlie throne. A civil war was alone pre- 
 vented by the facile monarch yielding up to his ambi- 
 tious son the greater and better part of the kingdom.* 
 He survived this transaction about two years; but his 
 name is remembered by posterity only as having granted 
 the possession of tithes to the Saxon church. 
 
 jp._If this be his only memorable act, it must be 
 allowed that it is one which has been of great import- 
 ance; from the long resistance of former princes to 
 concede this vast source of wealth to the clergy, we 
 may conclude that they seized the lucky opportunity 
 w hen a w^eak monarch and an ignorant and superstitious 
 people, alike depressed by present losses and in terror 
 of future, were equally w illing, by any means, to acquire 
 the protection of heaven. 
 
 ^.— The charter contirming tliis important grant is 
 still extant.'' The three elder sons of Ethelwolf suc- 
 ceeded to the tlirone of their father in the following 
 order: Ethelbald (857;) Ethelbert (8(50;) Etliered (860). 
 During the reign of the last of these princes, Ragnar 
 Lodbrog, a sea king, having constructed ships of a 
 larger size than common, was wrecked on the northern 
 coast of England; heedless of the consequence, he 
 began the usual work of depredation; but his numbers 
 were too few to contend with Ella, the king of Northum-^ 
 berland, who seized the piratical Dane, and confined 
 
 • Asser. 
 
 ^ Ingulpb. p. 17. 
 
Ill) 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 him ill a dungeon, where he was devoured by snalvos. 
 He prophesied in his torments that the '' cubs of the 
 boar"* would avenge the fate of their father. 
 
 F. — This Scandinavian chief was equally celebrated 
 as a scald, or poet, as a warrior; he consoled his cap- 
 tivity by composing in verse the various exph)its of his 
 life. There is a very ancient ode in "• TJuuic rhyme,"** 
 purporting to be the death-song of Ragnar Lodbrog; 
 but it is evident that it must have been (he composition 
 of some scald, or bard, to celebrate the deeds of his 
 master: it relates an extraordinary adventure of Lod- 
 brou's attackiuir and killiuir a drauon, dtl^ndini^ himself 
 by the singular contrivance of suffering as much water 
 to freeze upon his garment as would form an impe- 
 netrable coat of armour. The ode cone ludes with this 
 allusion to the serpents : 
 
 ** Fast to the hereditary end, 
 To my allotted goal I tend; 
 Fixed is the viper's mortal barm 
 Within my heart, his mansion warm ; 
 In the recesses of my breast 
 The writhing: snake has formed his nest. 
 Vet Odin may in vengeance spread 
 The bloody scourge o*er Ella's head ; 
 Mv son's fierce anger at the tale 
 Shall change from red to deadly pale. 
 Warn'd from within, break off the lay, 
 The inviting sisters chide my stay; 
 By Odin sent, I hear them call. 
 They bid me to his fatal hall ; 
 With them high-throned, the circling bowl 
 ;0f foaming mead shall cheer my soul. 
 With joy 1 yield my vital breath, 
 And laugh in the last pangs of dejith."*^ 
 
 A. — The sons of Ragnar soon prei)ared to fulfil 
 their fatlier's prophecy ; and landing in East Anglia, the 
 
 * Saxo. ^ Olaus Worniius de Literatura Ruuica. 
 
 •-' Translation hv Dr. Downman. 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 ill 
 
 inl)a1)itnnts of which kingdom supplyina^ their troops 
 with horses, they were enabled to break into Northum- 
 berland, and seize Ella, whom they put to death by the 
 most horrible torments. Returning to East Anglia, they 
 murdered St. Edmund, the king, as we have already 
 detailed, and ravaged the monastery upon whose site 
 we are now standing (870). 
 
 P. — As Egbert is said to have united the kingdoms 
 of the heptarchy forty years before, how conld North- 
 umberland and East Anglia have monarchs of their own 
 at this period ? 
 
 ^, — Egbert, content with the real power, which he 
 thought it prudent to conceal, permitted the kingdoms 
 of Northumberland, Mercia, and East Anglia, to retain 
 their nominal sovereigns; who were notwithstanding 
 entirely dependent upon him, and who in two or three 
 generations became quietly extinct: such kings were 
 Edmund and Ella. The death of Ethered, or Ethelred, 
 for it is spelled lioth ways (871,) though he left issue, 
 made way for the succession of his brother Alfred, whose 
 celebrated name, yet dear to posterity, appears like an 
 Oasis in the desert, in this rude and uninteresting era. 
 
 F. — This monarch has been depicted by Mr. Hume 
 as the model of a perfectly w ise and good man, uniting 
 action and speculation in such exact proportion as to 
 form that ideal sage without a blemish, whose character 
 philosophers have been fond of contemplating, but which 
 in real life has elsewhere been rarely, if ever found. 
 
 A. — Alfred certainly so far realized the philosophic 
 character, as to represent what Seneca calls a spectacle 
 worthv the attentioji of the gods, a virtuous man bravely 
 struggling and rising superior to his adverse fortune. 
 Soon after his accession, the Danes continued to pour 
 info Emrland with such an overwhelming torrent, as for 
 

 112 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 some years to baffle every eftbrt of resistance, and no 
 part of the kingdom was left unsubdued but Wessex. 
 At length Alfred, after having fought eiglit battles in 
 the course of a single year with some advantage, was 
 compelled to negotiate, and the Danes stipulated to 
 depart the country; when, without seeking a pretence, 
 they suddenly fell upon Alfred's army, put it to the 
 rout, and took possession of Exeter. The king col- 
 lecting new forces, exerted himself with such vio;our, as 
 again to reduce his enemy to extremity ; but so urgent 
 was the necessity of his affairs, that he found himself 
 unable to demand better conditions, than that the 
 Danes should quietly settle somewhere in the kingdom, 
 and prevent the intrusion of further ravagers.* 
 
 P. — Having such a recent instance of their perfidy, 
 we scarcely expect to find them faithful in this new 
 engagement. 
 
 ^.— It was the singular misfortune of this era, that 
 each party of these freebooters, acting without concert 
 or concurrence, considered itself by no means bound by 
 the restrictions agreed to by others. During the execu- 
 tion of this very treaty, a fresh body of Danes, by the 
 celerity of their cavalry, surprised Chippenham, where 
 the king then resided, in the midst of winter ; and he 
 escaped from this unexpected attack with the utmost 
 difliculty, without forces, and even without attendants.'' 
 
 -P. — In truth these bees, swarming from the northern 
 hive, seem seldom to have forgotten the use of their 
 stings. 
 
 A. — The terrified Saxons abandoned themselves to 
 despair; some quitted their country, others submitted 
 to their conquerors, but none had courage at this junc- 
 ture to rally round the king for tlic defence of their 
 
 * Asser. 
 
 «»'Sax. Chron. 
 
 m^^^^-^ 
 
 
 ^rr 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 113 
 
 liberties. Alfred, thus forsaken, was compelled to seek 
 shelter in a mean disguise from the fury of his Enemies : 
 lie first retired to the cottage of a neatherd : it was in 
 this humble dwelling that the well-known incident oc- 
 curred of his neglecting to turn the cakes which he had 
 been entrusted to watch whilst baking. Trimming his 
 bow and arrows, his mind became absorbed in the con- 
 templation of his strange fortune^: the good dame, 
 ignorant of the rank of her guest, finding her bread all 
 burnt, failed not to rate him with being veiy willing 
 always to eat her cakes, though he was thus negligent 
 in toasting them.* It is not equally well known, that 
 the faithful host, Dunwulf, from his aptitude to learning, 
 which Alfred discovered whilst living under his roof, 
 was some years after promoted to the bishopric of 
 Winchester/ 
 
 F. — There is some resemblance, not only in tlie 
 extreme reverses of their fortune and subsequent ele- 
 vation, but in integrity of character, between Alfred and 
 the Swedish monarch, Gustavus Vasa. 
 
 A. — Alfred at length finding the search of the Danes 
 to become more remiss, collected some of his followers, 
 and retired to a morass, formed amidst the stacrnatins: 
 w aters of the Thone and the Parret,*' now called Athel- 
 ney, in Somersetshire. During this period a sort of 
 legendary anecdote is recorded, wliich has little to re- 
 commend it, unless its pointing out the genuine bene- 
 volence of the monarch. One day, having sent ali his 
 attendants out in search of game and fish, he was left 
 alone with the queen : having begoh to read^ he was 
 disturbed by the voice of a poor man, who with great 
 eagerness begged for something to satify his hunger; 
 
 ■*-w 
 
 • Asscr. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Gul. Maliacs. de Gest. Pontif. 
 
 I 
 
 « Sax. Chron. 
 
 7* * i ■■■. . ^ aJ ,• , ^ 
 
 -"-L^-- 
 
 1^' 
 
 I- 
 
 
 
 ,S*iV 
 
 ■• ■,•:. ^■ftC -■'■>'••-- "/i ■'^i'i' 
 i ■ «... »-■>*•■ -■'-.•-. ,. •»*'v.-»Ns 
 
 
 n^^. 
 
 'if^'Hs^rj- j^yvS" 
 
 '^••*~«, 
 
mMm'xms^m:: 
 
 
 %' 
 
 112 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 113 
 
 some years to balHe every efl'ort of resistance, and no 
 part of the kiiiirdom was left unsubdued hut Wessex. 
 At length Alfred, after haviiip: fought eiulit l)attles in 
 the course of a single year with some advantage, w as 
 compelled to neirotiate, and the Danes stipulated to 
 depart the country; when, without seeking a pretence, 
 they suddenly fell ui)()n Alfred's army, put it to the 
 rout, and took possession of Exeter. T\w king col- 
 lecting new forces, exerted himself with such vjoour, as 
 again to reduce his enemy to extremity; but so urgent 
 w^as the necessity of his affairs, that he found himself 
 unable to demand better conditions, th;ni that the 
 Danes should quietly settle somewhere in the kingdom, 
 and prevent the intrusion of further ravagers.* 
 
 P* — Having such a recent instance of their perfidy, 
 we scarcely expect to find them faithful in this new 
 engagement. 
 
 A,— It was the singular misfortune of this era, that 
 each party of these freebooters, acting without concert 
 or concurrence, considered itself l)y no means bound by 
 the restrictions agreed to by others. During the execu- 
 tion of this very treaty, a fresli body uf Danes, by the 
 celerity of their cavalry, surprised Chippenlinm, where 
 the king then resided, in the midst of winter; and he 
 escaped from this unexpected attack \\ith {\w utmost 
 difliculty, without forces, and even without attendiuits.*' 
 
 P' — In truth these bees, swarming from the northern 
 hive, seem seldimi to have forgotten the use of their 
 stings. 
 
 A. — The terrified Saxons abandoned themselves to 
 despair; some quitted their country, others submitted 
 to their conquerors, but none had courage at this junc- 
 ture to rally round the king for the defence of their 
 
 liberties. Alfred, thus forsaken, was compelled to seek 
 shelter in a mean disguise from the fury of his <^nemies : 
 he first retired to the cottage of a neatherd : it was in 
 this humble dwelling that the well-known incident oc- 
 cnrrod of his neglecting to turn the cakes which he had 
 been entrusted to watch whilst baking. Trimming his 
 Innv and arrows, his mind became absorbed in the^'con- 
 toniplation of his strange fortune^: the good dame, 
 ignorant of the rank of her guest, finding her bread all 
 buri.t, failed not to rate him with being very willing 
 always to eat her cakes, though he was thus negligent 
 in toasting them.' It is not equally well known, that 
 the faithful host, Dumvulf, from his aptitude to learning, 
 ^s hich Alfred discovered whilst living imder his rool; 
 %^as some years after promoted to the bishopric of 
 Winchester.^ 
 
 F.— There is some resemblance, not only in the 
 extreme reverses of their fortune and subsequent ele- 
 vation, hiif In integrity of character, between Alfred and 
 the Swedish monarch, Gustavus Vasa. 
 
 A.—AUrcd at length finding the search of the Danes 
 t(i hocome more remiss, collected some of his followers, 
 and r( tired to a morass, formed amidst the stagnating 
 waters of the Thone and the F.mct,*^ now called Athel- 
 ney, in Somersetshire. Durint; this period a sort of 
 legendary anecdote is recorded, whirh ha^ little to re- 
 connneiul it, unless its poinling out the genuine bene- 
 volence of the monarch. One day, Ji iving sent all his 
 attendaiit^ out in search of game aixd fish, he was left 
 alone with the queen : haviiig begun to read, he w^as 
 disturbed by the voice of a poor man, who witli great 
 eagerness begired for something to satify his hnnjrer* 
 
 fe. 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 
 * Af?ser. 
 
 •*' Sax. Chron. 
 
 * Asser. 
 AOI.. I. 
 
 ^ Gui. Malmc5. de Gest. Pontlf. « Sax. Chron. 
 
 
 
 -> **H^S^' 
 
 ■^^m^mr^ 
 
f.", .V,,, 
 
 
 
 
 ; ;^4"f r 
 
 >Vi 
 
 
 I 
 
 at. 
 
 
 4 '^^■k* 
 '-^< 
 
 •'■< 
 
 Vt./ 
 
 
 v» 
 
 
 i ' 
 
 -a "? " .J ~ 
 
 
 uhi 
 
 
 
 :-.,.:>■ iiti- 
 
 T:!^ 
 
 ■■"'ti.S^^ 
 
 Krf^'i'^* 
 
 
 
 114 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Alfred desired his wife to cxaraiue the cupboard, in 
 \\bich she found only one small loaf; this she brought, 
 stating that it \s ould scarcely suffice his servants when 
 they came from fishing. The king however directed her 
 to give half to the pour man, wliose name was Nider, 
 trusting, as he said, thdt God vsould send more; and 
 he contiued to read, till, falling asleep, he was comforted 
 by a remarkable dream, in which St. Cuihbert appeared, 
 and assured him thcit his restoration to his throne drew 
 near; in token of wliich his servants would return vnth 
 a great plenty of fish. This circumst<mce so happening, 
 the king was encouraged to undertake those noble efforts 
 which restored the lustre of the Saxon diadem.' 
 
 P. — i\jiother proof, supposing die story to be inie, 
 tliat dr< anis and prophecies are often the cause of their 
 o^\Ta fulfilment. 
 
 A. — In this concealment AiUcd was not inactive, 
 making occasional sallies on the Danes, who often felt 
 the vigour of his arm, but were ignorant of the quarter 
 whence the blow proceeded. At length a fortunate cir- 
 cumstance enabled him to leave his retreat in safety. 
 Oddune, earl of Devonshire, being besieged in his castle 
 of Kinwith, resolved to prevent the necessity of submit- 
 ting, by making an unexpected sally; this he performed 
 one morning before day-break, with such success as to 
 kill Hubba, a celebrated leader, and obtain possession 
 of the reaferiy or raven,^ an enchanted banner, to which 
 the Danes attached much importance. This mysterious 
 standard was woven in one noontide by the three 
 daughters of the deceased Danish chief, Ragnar Lod- 
 brog: if it appeared to flap its wings in battle, it was 
 a sure omen of victory ; if it hung motionless in the air, 
 it anticii)a{ed nothing but defeat. 
 
 
 %. 
 
 . a* ^' , m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 '♦4*« 
 
 f-\3> 
 
 1 * ^- 
 
 i>. 
 
 • Sim. Dunelna Vltt St. Cuthbert. 
 
 
 
 
 '■, •. * 
 
 
 
 :-f., 
 
 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 
 ■ M 
 
 
 ^ A&ser. 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 ,.--t<S^^S 
 
 
 
 f -i^%^^S9ii 
 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^^KBir^..Mr J^%> ' * 
 
 
 
 
 ^^Hk^^ v^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^^VK^i. 1 '. .f^' - . « . 
 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^BKw^-'J^t tA. *^^i* 
 
 
 
 
 HHB^^x^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^^f^V-r - 
 
 
 
 ■ y r il 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 ..v^*i 
 
 h^i",'^' *• 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 115 
 
 P. — The Danes then had only to fight on a windy 
 day : however the loss of this magical emblem could 
 not but afiect the minds of superstitious barbarians. 
 
 A, — Alfred resolved to inspect the situation of the 
 enemy himself before he attempted to assemble his sub- 
 jects in arms. Assuming the disguise of a harj)er, 
 he entered the Danish camp ; and passing unsuspected 
 through every quarter, gained possession of their secrets : 
 he remarked their supine security, their contempt of the 
 English, and their neglect of military discipline. En- 
 couraged by these appearances, he sent intelligence to 
 his most powerful subjects, and summoned them to 
 attend with their w arlike followers on the borders of 
 Selvvood Forest, in Devon. The English, worn out 
 by the insolence and oppression of the enemy, on the 
 appointed day joyfully resorted to their prince, received 
 him with shouts of applause, and, ^' never satisfied with 
 seeing," entreated that he would lead them to liberty 
 and vengeance.* 
 
 P. — Of such enthusiasm it is to be presumed that 
 Alfred was too wise a man not to take immediate 
 advantage. 
 
 A. — He conducted his army to Eddington; and 
 availing himself of his knowledge of the weakness of 
 the Danish camp, he directed his attack against its 
 most unguarded quarter. The Danes, astonished to find 
 that Alfred was again at the head of an army, were 
 soon routed with great slaughter ; and those w ho escaped, 
 retreating to some neighbouring fortification, presently 
 ollered to submit. Alfred proposed to re-people East 
 Anglia, now become depopulated, with the Danish 
 leader Guthrum and his followers; but required that 
 they should give him a pledge of their sincerity by 
 
 • Asser. Sax. Cliron. 
 
 I 2 
 
■ Jk ■%^- **^-, _^ 
 
 •*^'***>^(^^ , ^ ^ 
 
 
 I 
 
 '%-. 
 
 i i"! 
 
 1 
 
 '# 
 
 
 
 
 Bit. 
 
 I i 
 ■ ] 
 
 
 4 
 
 mm 
 
 'In •M 
 
 114 
 
 VESTIGIA* 
 
 Alfred desired his wife to examine the cupboard, in 
 which she found only one small loaf; this she brought, 
 stating that it would scarcely suflSce his servants when 
 they came from fishing. The l^ing howcvc r flhccted her 
 to give half to the pour iiidii, \\huse name was Nider, 
 trusting, as he said, th it Gm! \u)uld send more; and 
 he contiued to read, till, falling asleep, hr was comforted 
 by a remarkable dream, in which St. Cuthbert appeared, 
 and assured him that his restoration 1 1u- throne drew 
 near; in token of which his servant> wouhl return ^vilh 
 a great plenty of ilsh. This circumstance so happening, 
 the king was encouraged to undertakr those noble efforts 
 which restored the lustre of the Saxon diadem/ 
 
 P. — Another proof, supposing the story to be true, 
 ill it dreams and prophecies are often the cause of their 
 o^MTi fulfilment. 
 
 A, — la iliis concealment Alfred was not inactive, 
 making occasional sallies on the Danes, who often felt 
 the vigour oi his arm, but were ignorant of the quarter 
 whence the blow proceeded. At length a fortunate cir- 
 cumstance enabled him to leave his retreat in safety. 
 Oddune, earl of Devonshire, being besieged in his castle 
 of Kinwith, resolved to prevent the necessity of submit- 
 ting, by making an unexpected sally; this he performed 
 one morning before day-break, with jbUtli success as tu 
 kill lliibba, a celebrated leader, and obtain possession 
 of the reafen, or raven, ^ an enchanted banner, to which 
 the Danes attached muth importiuice. This mysterious 
 standard was woven in one noontide by the three 
 dauj^hters of the deceased Danish chief, Raj^iar Lod- 
 brog: if it appeared to flap it,s wings in battle, it \wis 
 a sure omen of victory ; if it hung motionless in the air, 
 it anticipated nothing but defeat. 
 
 ■ Slin. Dimolra ViU St. Cuthbert. 
 
 ^ A8.<er. 
 
 , '.f^^ ■ '""i 
 
 *^ 
 
 -Ml 
 
 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 115 
 
 P. — The Danes then had only to fight on a windy 
 day : however the loss of this magical emblem could 
 not but affect the minds of superstitious barbarians. 
 
 A. — Alfred resolved to inspect the situation of the 
 enemy himself before he attempted to assemble his sub- 
 jects in arms. Assuming the disguise of a harper, 
 he entered the Danish camp ; and passing unsuspected 
 through every quarter, gained possession of their secrets : 
 he remarked their supine security, their contempt of the 
 English, and their neglect of military discipline. En- 
 couraged by these appearances, he sent intelligence to 
 his most powerful subjects, and summoned them to 
 attend with their warlike followers on the borders of 
 Selvvood Forest, in Devon. The English, worn out 
 by the insolence and oppression of the enemy, on the 
 appointed day joyfully resorted to their prince, received 
 him with shouts of applause, and, "never satisfied with 
 seeing," entreated that he would lead them to liberty 
 and vengeance.^ 
 
 P. — Of such enthusiasm it is to be presumed that 
 Alfred was too wise a man not to take immediate 
 advantage. 
 
 A. — He conducted his army to Eddington; and 
 availini^ himself of his knowledge of the weakness of 
 the Danish camp, he directed his attack against its 
 most unguarded quarter. Tin Danes, astonished to find 
 that Alfred was again at the head of an army, were 
 soon routed with great slaughter; and those who escaped, 
 retreating to some neighbouring fortification, presently 
 oifcred to submit. Alfred proposed to re-people East 
 Anglia, now become depopulated, with the Danish 
 leader Guthrum and his followers; but required that 
 they should give him a pledge of their sincerity by 
 
 • Asser. Sax. Cliron. 
 
 I 2 
 
IIG 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 117 
 
 consenting to embrace Christianity. Tlic greater part 
 received baptism, and settled peaceably in their lu w 
 quarters (880).^ 
 
 p._Did they then at once relinquish their old habits 
 
 of licentiousness and perfidy? 
 
 ^.—Alfred so well followed up the benefits of this 
 victory by his policy and vigour, that he kept the Danes 
 within due limits; the more turbulent passed over to 
 the continent, and the remainder were gradually incor- 
 porated with the English. With admirable greatness of 
 mind he put both people into the same equality in the 
 eye of the law, the surest source of concord; and such 
 was the happy result of his ellbrts, that except by one 
 trivial incursion, the kingdom for twelve years remained 
 undisturbed.^ 
 
 F. — How striking is the effect produced by the 
 ascendancy of one powerful mind! 
 
 A. — At length (893) Hastings, a celebrated Danish 
 chief, arrived on the coast of Kent with a licet of three 
 hundred and thirty sail, landed his troops at .Xpledore, 
 on the Rother, and would under a weak government 
 have thrown every thing into the former confusion; but 
 Alfred, with his characteristic vigour, chased the Danes 
 wherever they appeared,"" which indeed \\ as in various 
 and distant quarters; and one of his leaders had the 
 good fortune to make the wife and daughters of Hastings 
 prisoners, whom the king generously released, on con- 
 dition that Hastings would depart the kingdom, and 
 not return; which promise that ferocious chief probably 
 fulfilled, as he is heard ol no more in England, though 
 it cost Alfred much trouble before his followers could 
 be entirely subdued. After restoring tranquillity in 
 every part of his dominions, this great monarch died, 
 
 at the age of fifty-one,^ in the full possession of that 
 security and greatness which his virtues deserved (901). 
 
 /> — Notwithstanding his continued success, I am 
 not aware that Alfred stands high as a military 
 commander. 
 
 A. — Of his activity we have sufficient proof, since 
 in the course of his life he fought no less than fifty-six 
 battles in person; of his generalship indeed little is 
 kno\ni, as in those days of desultory warfare hard 
 blows alone decided the contest. One of his strata- 
 gems is recorded ; when the Danes, sailing up the river 
 Lee, fortified themselves at Hertford, he devised a plan 
 to render their ileet useless,^ by dividing the stream 
 into three channels, which manoeuvre left their vessels 
 dry: and it is thought that the noble meadow now 
 stretching between Hertford and Bow was occasioned 
 l)y this contrivance. 
 
 F. — It is rather to the wisdom of Alfred's civil 
 government than to his military arrangements, however 
 well planned and executed, that we must seek the 
 cause of his lasting renown. 
 
 ^1. — The institutions of Alfred have always been the 
 boast of the English nation, for so it began to be called 
 in the reign of this monarch. But his first and most 
 pressing care was to secure the safety of his people ; 
 aiul this he effected by settling a national militia, order- 
 ing all his subjects of proper age to be armed and 
 registered, assigning them a regular rotation of duty, 
 each man to be ready in case of a sudden emergency: 
 and sensible that the most effectual mode of repelling 
 the depredations of piratical enemies, was by attacking 
 them on their own element, he provided a naval force, 
 which had been so unaccountably neglected by his 
 
 * Sax. Chron. 
 
 ^ Asscr. 
 
 * Sax. Chrf>n. 
 
 ■ Asser. 
 
 *' Sax. Chron. 
 
118 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE WITTENA-GEMOT. 
 
 il9 
 
 Saxon predecessors.* And though Alfred was ol)liged 
 at first to man his fleet witli Frisians and other 
 foreij^ners, h(^ l)ecame at length master of the ocean, 
 and gave tlie example ol those glorious wooden \\alls, 
 which on so many occasions have since raised England 
 to its transcendant height of power and greatness. 
 
 F. — In estimating the benelit we nuist not overlook 
 the intolerable evils which these measures n moved : 
 the Danes had ravaged the whole kingdom, had burnt 
 and plundered London and various other cities, and 
 being Pagans, spared neither age, nor sex, nor religious 
 profession ; indeed the monasteries, being well pro\ ided 
 with booty, were peculiarly the objects of tlieir attat k. 
 The Abbess of Coldingham, in order to screen her nuns 
 from outrage, persuaded them to cut olf their noses^ 
 and upper lips. This notal)le expedient preserved tlieir 
 honour, but cost them their lives ; the Danes beholding, 
 contrary to their expectations, such horrid visages, set 
 fire to the convent, and cast the unforlunatemms into the 
 flames.^ Another proof of their habitual barbarity may 
 be drawn from the circumstance of one Oliver, a famous 
 pirate, having acquired the nickname of Barnakall, or 
 child-preserver, because he denied Ins followers the 
 diversion of tossing infants on tlieir spears.^ 
 
 P. — You mention London as being one of the cities 
 burnt and plundered by the Danes, yet for a long period 
 previous it does not appenr to have been the seat of 
 any important transaction. 
 
 A. — London is not noticed by any writer from the 
 year G16 to 7G4, though from its happy situation it must 
 always have continued a place of great commerce and 
 importance; yet thejMercian kings, in whose dominions 
 it was situated, seem not to have chosen it for their 
 
 place of residence. Alfred rebuilt it after its late con- 
 flagration ; and by appointing a regular meeting of the 
 NMttena-gemot, or states of the kingdom, to be held 
 there twice in the year, first made it the metropolis of 
 England. 
 
 P.— Of what class of persons did that assembly 
 
 consist? 
 
 A. —It is agreed that the bishops and abbots were 
 an essential part ; and also the aldermen, or governors 
 of counties, who in the Danish times were often termed 
 Jarls, or Earls: but there appears besides to have been 
 an order of men called Wites, which indeed gave a name 
 to the assembly. Disputes have arisen as to the meaning 
 of this description of persons : some indiscreet advo- 
 cates of popular government have affected to consider 
 them in the light of representatives of the boroughs; 
 but that opinion is quite untenable, as from the thinness 
 of the population, the low state of commerce, and con- 
 sequently the general poverty of the kingdom, artificers 
 and tradesmen had not even become of sufficient im- 
 portance to form a separate class : and in the conti- 
 nental governments established by the Franks, springing 
 from the same origin as the Saxons, it is universally 
 admitted that the commons had no share.^ 
 
 jp,_0ther antiquaries maintain that the wites meant 
 the judges, or men learned in the law. 
 
 yl.— That class is included among the aldermen and 
 bishops; consequently we must rather look for an 
 exi)lanation of the term to the great thanes, or chief 
 proprietors of land, wite meaning powerful as well as 
 
 wise. 
 
 P.— In the apprehension of many, the epithets are 
 
 still synonymous. 
 
 * Asbor. 
 
 ^ Mat. W'l'stmou. 
 
 *■ Barlholinus, lib. 2, c.y. 
 
 » Mczcrai. Fuiichct, Antiq. de Frnnce. 
 
120 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A, — How large an estate gave a qiialilication to sit 
 in the Wittena-gemot is uncertain, though it is com- 
 monly thought not less than forty hides, containing 
 between four and five thousand acres. This assembly 
 existed in all the Saxon kingdoms; and its consent 
 was necessary to the enacting of new laws, and to tlie 
 ratification of the chief acts of government ; it was also 
 the supreme court of justice. 
 
 P. — The Wittena-gemot then resembled our House 
 of Lords; but the people having there no natural pro- 
 tectors, in what did the boasted libertv of the Ando- 
 Saxons consist? 
 
 JP. — The very existence of such a council was a 
 guarantee against a government purely despotic ; but 
 that the Saxons paid attention to what has been since 
 invidiously termed the rights of men as individuals, 
 is an imaginary supposition, personal slavery having 
 always existed among them. The governmeiit was 
 clearly aristocratical; consecpieiitly we are not to h)ok 
 for those checks and balances which distinguish the 
 modern constitution of Britain : in this sense that beau- 
 tiful system was certainly not to be found in the woods 
 of Germany;' the rude inhabitants of the Hercynian 
 forest enjoying that kind of freedom only, \\hich a war- 
 like people with arms in their hands, in an incipient 
 state of society, will always retain. 
 
 A. — With the Anglo-Saxons the proprietors of land 
 alone possessed any sort of political power; but the 
 degree of personal liberty which that chiss enjoyed 
 was considerable, they being not only exini})! from 
 the feudal burdens afterwards imposed by t!ie Xorman 
 Conqueror, but happily ignorant of the weight of modern 
 taxation. This l)lessinu oi' iVeedom was ehirllv secured 
 
 * Montesquieu. 
 
 THE COUNTY COURTS. 
 
 121 
 
 l)y the institution of the hundred and county courts, 
 where the freeholders assembled twice a year. In the 
 latter the bishop and the alderman presided, and 
 the causes were determined, as it would seem, by ac- 
 clamation rather than by a majority of voices; but the 
 attendance of all the freeliolders being at length found 
 troublesome, a portion was selected for the purpose, and 
 hence the origin of juries; but the mode of their appoint- 
 ment and the method of trying causes remain in great 
 obscurity. 
 
 F. — Jn the beginning of the last century, a notion 
 was hinted at by Dr. Hickes,* a high-flying nonjuror, 
 that juries had no existence at all amongst the Anglo- 
 Saxons,but that we are indebted for their introduction to 
 Henry the Second ; and this doctrine seems incautiously 
 to have been admitted by some subsequent historians, in 
 their rage, as it appears to me, of starting new opinions, 
 however paradoxical. 
 
 A. — Our own sages of the law have always adhered 
 to the common tenet ; and as it is incontested that with 
 all the Teutonic nations the essence of a juiy, the parium 
 judicium, or trial by one\s peers, existed from the earliest 
 times, I see no reason to adopt the Doctor's notion ; 
 though the number of twelve jurymen, and their unani- 
 mity, may be considered as of later establishment. 
 
 F. — In the county and hundred courts was the de- 
 mocratical part of the Anglo-Saxon constitution to be 
 Ibund, which secured to the people the due administra- 
 tion of the laws, and protected them against the oppres- 
 sion of the great. And here also we discover something 
 of the elements of a popular election, in the appoint- 
 ment of the sherilfs, who were commonly chosen by 
 
 Thesaurus!, vol. 2. 
 
 
123 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the people, that is, the land owners; which practice 
 indeed continued after the conquest. 
 
 A. — We must not attribute, as is done by some 
 historians, the institution of these minor tribunals to 
 Alfred, as they existed at an earlier period; though he 
 anew rei^ulated and maintained their authority : and 
 for the same reason the division of the kingdom into 
 counties and hundreds is not to be considered as ori- 
 ginating with him, though he improved the former dis- 
 tribution; but the more minute sulidivision of the 
 hundreds into tithings may be viewed as his work. 
 These tithings consisted each of ten households; and 
 in those days of scanty population they occupied often 
 a considerable space of land; each householder became 
 surety for the good behaviour of his neighbours, and for 
 his own family, no person being sufl'ered to remain who 
 did not register himself in some tithing. Thus a system 
 of exact police was established, well calculated to re- 
 strain the extreme licentiousness and disorder of the 
 times, though but little in accordance with a more 
 advanced period of society. 
 
 F. — The strict regard which he paid to the admini- 
 stration of justice is one of the distinguishing merits of 
 Alfred ; he severely punished all malversation in the 
 judges, many of whom \^ere actually executed for 
 abuses in their oilice.* 
 
 A. — Not only to the administration but to the sul)- 
 stance of the law itself, was the care of Alfred extended. 
 By collecting the best of those laws ibrmerly promul- 
 gated by Ethelbert, Ina, and OlVa, he digested a com- 
 plete code ; w hich though now^ lost, except a fragment, 
 is said to have been in existence so late as the reign of 
 Edward IV. This work is generally deemed the origin 
 
 •• Mirroir dos .histic(^. 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 123 
 
 of manv ol those maxims which constitute the '' com- 
 mon law" of England. The punishment of death was 
 rarely inflicted ; indeed nothing can be more remarkable 
 than amidst a ferocious age, the extreme mildness of 
 spirit in which these laws are dictated. 
 
 F. — Unless it be the contrast by which in a refined 
 age the sanguinary code, or rather mass of crudity, 
 forming the criminal law of Britain has been since 
 distinguished. ^ 
 
 A, — ^lidiiight assassination for purposes of plunder 
 was capitally punished by a law of Alfred. Those 
 violences which admitted composition seem to have 
 been indicted in private feuds; and if so, what were 
 th('V but a sort of duelling on a more enlarged scale. 
 It is remarkable how much the principle of pecuniary 
 compensation pervades the whole system of the Anglo- 
 Saxon laws. The effect of Alfred's cares was w onderful : 
 robberies and iniquities of all kinds were so much re- 
 pressed, that it is said he hung up golden bracelets 
 near the highways, and no man dared to touch them/ 
 
 P. — Thus far you have spoken only of Alfred's 
 active virtues as a warrior and legislator; but is he not 
 equally renowned as a scholar and a sage? 
 
 ^. — His love of letters and encouragement of learned 
 m(*n were remarkable, and proceeded not more from 
 policy than from sincere attachment to literature; 
 which inclination was first excited l)y the recital of 
 some Saxon poems, in which his mother delighted.^ 
 Till this period his education had been so much ne- 
 glected, tliat at the age of twelve years Alfred was 
 unable even to read. Finding the monasteries destroyed, 
 the libraries burned, and the monks butchered or dis- 
 persed, he established schools every where for the 
 
 =• Gul. Malmcsb. lib. 2, c. 4, 
 
 ^ Asser. 
 
124 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 instruction of his people; of which you will say they 
 were much in want; as he comphiins that he knew 
 not one person at his acccession south of the Thames 
 who could so much as interpret the Latin service/ 
 and very few in the north. He founded, or at least 
 restored, a school or university at Oxford ;' he invited 
 over the most celebrated scholars from all parts of 
 Europe ; and judging that example would best promote 
 his views of improvement, he wrote several works, and 
 translated others into the Saxon tongue; amongst these 
 were Boethius de Comolatione,' that great favourite of 
 the middle ages ; .Esop's Fal)les ; Orosius and Bede's 
 Histories. Alfred too was a poet, and the royal verses 
 are at least equal, if they do not exceed, any other 
 Saxon poetry, whether it be that of the monk Ceedmon, 
 a renowned bard, who died in G84 ; or that of Aldhelm, 
 bishop of Sherburne, equally celel)rated, who died 709. 
 Nor were the cares of Alfred confined to the liberal 
 arts; the mechanical met with equal encouragement; 
 numerous workmen were employed in rebuilding the 
 ruined cities and convents, whilst connnerce and navi- 
 gation so much increased and nourished, that even 
 the productions of India found tlieir way into his 
 
 harbours. 
 
 p,_These various undertakings must have required 
 
 an extensive revenue to accomplish. 
 
 ^,_Its amount has not been ascertained, but it 
 arose chiefly from his demesne lands, which were large; 
 and it was managed with admirable order, and distri- 
 buted into disthict departments of expense. Alfred too 
 was equally an economist of his time, which he divided 
 into three equal portions: one was enqdoyed in sleep, 
 
 » rrofaco to the Saxon Version of the Psalms. 
 
 ^ Gul.Malnicsb.lib.2, c. 4. 
 
 *> Asscr. 
 
 ALFRED. 
 
 125 
 
 exercise, and diet; another in the despatch of business; 
 and the third in study and devotion. That he might 
 more exactly measure the hours, he made use of wax 
 tapers secured in lanterns of transparent horn; an 
 expedient suited to supply the want of clocks, then 
 unknown in England. But the great quality which dis- 
 tinguishes this prince above all others, was his sincere 
 and constant love for his people, which indeed they 
 repaid with tlie most aftcctionate veneration; in all his 
 regulations he preserved the most sacred regard for 
 their liberties ; and in his w ill is found that memorable 
 sentiment, that he wished them *^ to be free as their 
 own thoughts;"^ a declaration well worthy of him who 
 in every respect is deservedly esteemed the Father of 
 his Country. 
 
 F. — I am afraid that you construe this noble senti- 
 ment rather too widely, as it may be doubted w^hether 
 the expression is not referalde merely to the legatees of 
 Alfred, and not to the English people at large. 
 
 P. — As unattainable perfection operates rather as a 
 discouragement than an example, what defects formed 
 the shade of Alfred's splendid portrait? 
 
 A. — On this ground I have really taken some trouble 
 in the search, but ^\ithout much success. A i^ionkish 
 writer, ^Ya]lingford,^ who lived in the thirteenth century, 
 has insinuated that at the beginning of his reign Alfred 
 indulged in licentious habits; but as he married early, 
 and was afflicted with a painful but unascertained dis- 
 ease, I set this down as a mere slander ; and yet such 
 an allusion is made by his friend and biographer Asse- 
 rius."^ He was once sharply reproved by his kinsman, 
 St. Neot, for a too great austerity and haughtiness of 
 manner, and carelessness of his duties, which it is 
 
 ••» Sec AlfiT'l's Will in Asser 
 
 ^ Chron. p. »^35. 
 
 ^ Patre32. 
 
12G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 EDWARD, ATflELSTAN. 
 
 127 
 
 I* 
 
 thought occasioned that total desertion ol his subjects 
 which took place after the Danes had surpii.-ed Cliip" 
 penham. These liowever were the faults of early life, 
 which the same authority^ acknowledges w ere afterwards 
 
 amended. 
 
 P. As every thinir relating to so incomparnlde a 
 
 character is interesting, where was Alfred born, and 
 where was he buried ? 
 
 ^.—Wantage, a small town in Berkshire, claims the 
 honour of his birth; and nature, as if desirous that so 
 bright a production of her skill should l)e set in the 
 fairest light, bestowed cm him every bodily accomplish- 
 ment, vigour of limbs, dignity of form, with a i)leasing, 
 engaging, and open countenance. He was buried in the 
 old monastery at Winchester; but the monks of that 
 establishment liaving some pitiue against his memory, 
 said that his " corpse walked."^ It was therefore re- 
 moved to the new monastery in the same citj, of Al- 
 fred's own foundation. In the year 15i0, his Ixmes, wilh 
 those of several other Saxon kin-s, being put into leaden 
 coffins, inscribed with the name of each, were b> Bishop 
 Fox' again removed to the cathc dral ; wher(^ they rested 
 in peace tUl, in \M'2, the parliamentarian soldiers under 
 Sir William Waller broke into the church, mingled all 
 these ashes together, and tlirew them into tlie air, an 
 act of desecration to be remend>ered with al)horrence.^ 
 
 2^._Such resplendent merit as Alfred's nnist tend 
 to place the reign of his successor in somewhat a dis- 
 advantageous light. 
 
 A.—\ succession of valiant and active monarchs, 
 seemed rather to confirm the excellence of Alfred's 
 institutions: his son Edward th.e Elder, l)iMi)g the lirst 
 
 of that name who sat on the English throne, was 
 a prince, though in genius and erudition inferior to 
 his father, yet equalled him in military talents, for 
 which he had great occasion. Ethelward^ his cousin 
 disputing the crown, had called in the Danes to 
 support his claim ; but though the rebel fell in a 
 l)attle against the Kentish men, yet Edward's wars 
 with the Danes continued during the greater part of 
 his reign, and in which, be it remembered to the credit 
 of the fair sex, he was ably assisted by his sister 
 Ethellk'da, who governed Mercia: he died 925, and 
 was succeeded 1)y his son Athelstan, whose reign was 
 equally vigourous and successful as that of his father, 
 which indeed it much resembled. 
 
 F. — Athelstan may claim the merit of having first 
 discovered, that the real foundation of the power of 
 England was founded in commerce, by enacting the 
 remarkable law, that a merchant who had made three 
 long sea voyages on his own account, should be ad- 
 mitted to the rank of a thane or gentleman.'* 
 
 A.— The new king encountered an opposition from 
 Anlaf, a powerful Dane settled in Northumberland, 
 who w as assisted by Constantino, king of Scotland ; both 
 of these prince she totally subdued at Brunsbury, chiefly 
 by the valour of Turketul, the English chancellor: this 
 victory is much boasted of by historians as well as poets, 
 in extraordinary terms of rapture and bombast*/ the 
 Scotish monarch being reduced to preserve his crown 
 by the most huml>le submissions. 
 
 F. — Indeed they were so humble, that it is a matter 
 of doubt whether Constantino were not compelled to 
 relinquish the sovereignty of the countries between the 
 rivers Tweed and Forth, or at least to hold them 
 
 « Asser. '' Gul. M.ilinesb. Vib. 2, c. \. * Speed, Chron. 915, 
 
 J Hearae, No*es ou Spel man's Life of Alfred. 
 
 ** Sax. Cliroii. 
 
 }' Wilkins, Leges Sax. p. 71. 
 
 *^ Sax. Clirou, 
 
 
 ^ 
 
128 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 GUY, EARL OF WARWICK. 
 
 129 
 
 in homage of Athelstan/ This opinion the Scotish 
 writers, Hume amongst the rest, are very desirous of 
 refuting; but I do not very well see, if the testimony 
 of our ancient annalists is to be esteemed valid on 
 other points, why it should be rejected on this. 
 
 A, — A story is preserved by historians, that Aniaf 
 employed the same artifice formerly practised by 
 Alfred, of entering the enemy's camp disguised as 
 a minstrel: having played before Athelstan, he re- 
 ceived a handsome reward, but his pride induced liim 
 to bury the money, as he supposed unperceived: a 
 soldier, however, who observed the occurrence, carried 
 intelligence to the king, who blamed him for not giving 
 earlier information; (he soldier replying, that having 
 formerly sworn lealty to Anlai; he could not l)etray 
 his ancient master, Athelstan had the generosity to 
 commend the man's principles, but judged it prudent 
 to remove his own station in the camp ; and a bishop 
 arriving on the same evening with a reinforcement, 
 occupied the vacant spot. The morning sliowed the 
 prudence of Athelstan\s precaution; Anlaf had broken 
 into the camp, and slew the bishop and iiis attendants 
 in the dark, before they had sullicient time to make any 
 
 defence.^' 
 
 p^ — However satisfied with the escape of the king, 
 
 we cannot but feel a little commiseration for the unsus- 
 pecting bishop. 
 
 F.—lt was during this contest with Anlaf that the 
 renowned Guy of Warwick flourished, whose various 
 memorials are still preserved in that magnificent spe- 
 cimen of a baronial residence, Warwick Castle, and in 
 its neighbourhood: and though Guy is one of those 
 heroes of romance, whose existence is of very doubtful 
 
 Hovedcn, 422. Gul. Malnu\sb. lib. 2, c. (i. '' Gul. Malincsh. lib. 2. c. 6. 
 
 credibility; yet his fame has exceeded that of most 
 Hnglish warriors, from the circumstance of his having 
 been the subject of many metrical compositions, 
 which were sung by the minstrels in the halls of the 
 barons at certain festivals, to large and applauding 
 audiences. 
 
 A. — Guy was a genuine knight errant; he killed in 
 due order a dragon, a ^ild boar, and the monstrous 
 cow of Dunsmore; liis Dulcinea was the beautiful 
 Phillis, whom he afterwards married, and to advance 
 whose fame he fought at various tilts and tournaments 
 with admirable valour and success. But the deed which 
 has eternized his reputation occurred in the decline 
 of life, his d( feat of CoIIirand, the Danish giant, the 
 champion of Anlaf; that chieftain having advanced 
 to \\ inchester from the north, proposed to decide the 
 fate of the English crown by a single combat. 
 
 P. — But Athelstan having present possession, surely 
 such a request was not very reasonable. 
 
 A, — We must not expect to find reason and romance 
 united. Athelstan, much troid)led in mind that he knew 
 no competitor worthy to engage the Danish soldier, was 
 comforted by a vision, which directed him to rise early 
 in the morning and watch the pilgrims who might enter 
 the ( ity ; amongst them would a])pear a venerable man, 
 barefo(»(, with his head uncovered, and upon it a chaplet 
 of roses. A*^ the hour appointed the king espies such a 
 pc rsonage, but of wan complexion, and having a beard 
 of great length; Athelstan approaching him, desired 
 some conversation; but the palmer replied, that he must 
 depart to perform penance in the church for his sins : 
 the king then exclaiming, ^^ You must fight with the 
 wicked Colbrand ; " the stranger answered, ^' Ah! my 
 Lord, [ am not in a condition to take arms, being feeble 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130 
 
 VESTlGiA. 
 
 GUY, EARL OF WARWICK. 
 
 131 
 
 and worn with travel ; where are your stout and hardy 
 
 soldiers 1" 
 
 P. — This must needs lead to a recosfnition. 
 
 A. — Xot immediately. Athclstan replied, '' Some 
 of them are dead, and others absent in the Holy liand, 
 especially one valorous kni2:ht, the Earl of Warwick, 
 called Guy; had he been present, this challeni^e would 
 soon be accepted;" and as he spoke tlu^ tears fell from 
 his eyes. The palmer besou!2:ht the kinu* not to i^rieve, 
 as for the honour of God and the blessed Virgin he 
 would undertake the task. Accordiui^ly on the ap- 
 pointed day, well armed and equipped, and mounted 
 on the king's best charger, he meets tlie terrii)le Col- 
 brand. All contests of cliivalry resemble each other 
 so much, that it is suliicient to state that Colbrand by 
 a single blow struck oif the head of Guy's horse; but 
 after a long and furious encounter victory declared tor 
 the earl; Colbrand having lost his hand, fainted with 
 the loss of blood. 
 
 P. — These circumstances plainly bespeak the date 
 of the legend, which must have 1)een after the crusade. 
 
 A, — The unknown, }>almer at length disclose d him- 
 self to the king, but under a promise of inviolable 
 secresy, as he meant to continue in his pilgrim's \\ eeds, 
 and spend the remainder <.f his life in d( votion. (Iwy 
 then repaired to Warwick, and dwelt with a hermit, 
 who dying soon after, left liis vacant cell to be tenanted 
 by the earl. After an occupation of two years, Gny, 
 finding his end approach, sent by a trusty messenger his 
 wedding-ring to his countess, stating that on her arri\ al 
 at his cell she would find him lying dead in tlu^ rliapel ; 
 adding the comfortable assurance, that in fifteen days 
 she would herself follow him; all which accordingly 
 came to pass.* 
 
 * Dusrdale, Warwick, p. 374. 
 
 P. — As some excavations on the banks of the Avon, 
 near Warwick, are still called Guy's Clifl', no argument 
 would invalidate in that neighbourhood the truth of the 
 story. 
 
 A. — Dugdale, the grave antiquary, relates,^ that an 
 earl of Warwick of the great Ileauchamp family, tra- 
 velling into the east about the year 1410, was hospitably 
 received at Jerusalem by the soldan's lieutenant; who 
 hearing that lie was descended' from Guy of Warwick, 
 whose story he had read in his own language, invited 
 the earl to his palace, and royally feasted him, present- 
 ing him with jewels of great value, and also with clothes 
 of silk and gold for his servants. 
 
 p. — Is not Bevis of Southampton another worthy of 
 a similar class with Guy; he also having a local me- 
 morial in Bevis Mount, near that town, and his sword 
 being kept as a relic in Arundel Castle? 
 
 A. — Bevis, if ever such a person existed, flourished 
 more than a century later than Guy, about the period 
 of the Norman invasion; he was equally a genuine 
 knight errant, but his exploits being chiefly performed 
 abroad, have no relation to English history. 
 
 F. — The original source whence the stories of these 
 worthies is derived, is a very ancient romance in old 
 English verse, thus alluded to by Chaucer: 
 
 " Men speken of romance of price. 
 Of Home Childe and Ippotis, 
 Of Bevis and Sir Guy." 
 
 Of} tlu) north front of the Bar-gate at Southampton, 
 built A. D. 13:JU, are painted two figures on each side of 
 the gateway, representing Sir Bevis, styled of South- 
 ampton, knight; and Ascupart, a conquered giant, as 
 recorded by the following couplet: 
 
 ^ Baronage, vol. 1, p. 243. 
 K 2 
 
132 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ** Bevis conquered Ascupart, and after slew the boar; 
 
 And then he crossed beyond the seas to combat witli the Moor."» 
 
 .4. — Kinir Athelstan, thoiiirh a great monarch, is 
 charged with many acts ol" cruelty; one ui' which was 
 evinced in his treatment of Edwin, his younger bro- 
 ther, now arriving nt m.an's estate, and suspected of 
 ambitious designs. This untbrtunatc youth, it is said, 
 was embarked in a small boat with one attendant, with- 
 out provisions, and turned adrift on the ocean ; when, 
 overcome with despair, he leaped overboard: the at- 
 tendant survived, and came safely to land. Athelstan 
 having accidentally slipped with one foot on the pave- 
 ment of his hall, and hastily recovering hiuiselt with the 
 other, the king's butler incautiously mentioned the pro- 
 verb, "Thus should one brother help another;" which 
 ill-timed allusion occasioning the king's resenuiuiit, 
 caused the immediate execution of the speaker. This 
 very able prince soon after died (S)41,) having reigned 
 sixteen years. He was of small stature, with yellow 
 hair, which he wore in ringlets, entw ined wnth golden 
 
 threads.^ 
 
 F, — The Saxon monarchs seem to have been a short- 
 lived race, scarcely any surviving the middle age. 
 
 A, — Such was the fact; whether we are to ascribe 
 it to the general habits of intemperance with the Saxons, 
 or to their coarse diet without vegetables; yet there are 
 instances on the other hand of extreme longevity, parti- 
 cularlv of the monks: the records of Crowland Abbey 
 exhibit at one time the following ages of five of its in- 
 mates : Father Clarenbald, 1G8; Father Swarling, 1 12; 
 and three others US."" The imnu diate successors of 
 Athelstan did not reach even the middle age : his bro- 
 
 Antiqiiariaii Repertory, vol. 3, p. 195. ^ Gul. Malmesb. lib. 2, c.6. 
 
 * In^ulpli. Hist, p. 005, 
 
 EDMUND. 
 
 133 
 
 ther Edmund was quite a youth when he ascended the 
 throne : of a brave and active disposition, he chastised 
 the Northumbrian Danes, ever prone to disturbance ; 
 an<l he conquered Cumberland, transferring it from the 
 Jjritons to Malcolm, king of Scotland, on condition that 
 he should do homage for it, and protect the north from 
 the irruptions of the Danes (941).* 
 
 jP. — In consequence of this transfer, that county 
 was continued as a fief to the kinsfdom of Scotland till 
 it was restored in the time of William the Conqueror, 
 occasionally giving the name of prince to the heir appa- 
 rent of the Scotish throne. The readers of Shakspeare 
 are aware of this circumstance : ^^ Know," says the gra- 
 cious Duncan, in Macbeth, 
 
 " We will establish our estate upon 
 
 Our eldest Malcolm, whom we name hereafter 
 The Prince of Cumberland." 
 
 A. — The death of Edmund was truly untbrtunate. 
 One (hiy feasting with his nobles at Pucklechurch, in 
 Gloucestersliire, a notorious robber, named Leolf, who 
 had been sentenced to banishment, entered the hall and 
 seated himself at one of the tables; refusing to retire, 
 the kimr, enraged, leaped upon him and seized him by 
 the hair: others relate, that Leolf quarrelling with 
 those about him, the king interfered to put an end to 
 the fray, when the ruffian, reduced, to extremity, drew 
 his dagger and gave Edmund a furious thrust, which 
 was instantly mortal. The murderer was immediately 
 cut to pieces by the exasperated companions of the 
 
 king ^!)4G).' 
 
 P. — The young and brave will certainly sympathize 
 with such an undeserved catastrophe. 
 
 A. — The children of Ednnind being yet in infancy. 
 
 ' Gul. Mahncbb. lib. 2, c. 7. 
 
 fe Ibid. 
 
134 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 he was succeeded by his brother Edrcd, a princ e not 
 unwarlikc nor unlit ibr active life. Like his i)r( deces- 
 sor, he was compelled to repress the turl)ulent Danes 
 in the north, who seemed always to consider the 
 accession of a new king- as a favouiTible opportunity to 
 shake off the English yoke. But the principal event of 
 his reign is the appearance of the celebrated St. Dun- 
 stan, abbot of Glastonbury ; the first comph^te specimen 
 in England of that species of Romish churchman who, 
 concealing an immeasurable ambition und( r a veil of 
 sanctity, obtained the highest authority in the state. 
 
 p._Does not such an ascendancy imply a great 
 degree of weakness in the monarch? 
 
 ^.— Not alwa^ ^ ; for though Dunstan began his 
 career under Edreu, a prince imbued with much super- 
 stition, he completed his success under Edgar, whose 
 penetrating and politic understanding none can ques- 
 tion. The acquirements of Dunstan were so much 
 beyond those of the age in which he lived, as to give 
 rise to the report of his recourse to magic. Having 
 incurred the displeasure of the court, he judged that a 
 profession of superior mortiliealion and austerity was 
 best calculated to retrieve his fortunes and promote liis 
 ambitious views; he scchuled hiinself therefore entirely 
 from the world, and built a cell so small that he could 
 neither stand erect in it, nor stretch out his limbs during 
 his repose; and here he employed himself in continual 
 acts of devotion.^ 
 
 jp. This I suppose was tlie cause of the devifs 
 
 particular enmity to this good man. 
 
 ^i.—No person that 1 recollect, not even St. Anthony 
 himself, \^ as more exposed to tiie temptations, or became 
 more renowned for his contests and victory over the 
 
 ST. DUNSTAN. 
 
 prince of darkness than Dunstan. Early in life, having 
 recovered from a fit of sickness by the interposition of 
 an angel, who came dow n from heaven in a dreadful 
 storm, w ith a medicine that restored the patient to per- 
 fect health in an instant, as Dunstan was running with 
 all speed to the church to return thanks, he was met 
 by the devil, surrounded by a multitude of black dogs, 
 which obstructed his passage; but the saint brandishing 
 his stick and pronouncing the sacred name, the devil 
 and his dogs at once took to flight.^ Another time 
 Dunstan was tempted by Satan in the form of a beau- 
 tiful young woman ; but his most celebrated exploit is 
 that by which he relieved himself from all further im- 
 portunity. One night as he was busily w^orking at his 
 forge (for he was a great mechanic,) the devil, in the 
 sliape of a man, thrust his head in at the window, 
 desirimr that something might be made for him. Dun- 
 stan gave no answer, on which the devil began to swear 
 and talk (obscenely, thus betraying the lurking fiend; 
 upon which the saint, taking his tongs, which were red 
 hot, out of the fire, seized the devil with them by the 
 nose, and made him roar so loud as to awake and ter- 
 rify all the neighbourhood for many miles round. ^ 
 
 P.— Could persons be found who gave credit to such 
 monstrous absurdities ? 
 
 ^._They procured to Dunstan a reputation which 
 no real piety or virtue could possibly have bestowed. 
 The great point on which he laboured to secure his 
 authority was the dispossessing of the secular clergy, 
 who were often married men, from the monasteries, and 
 filling them with regular monks, who paid implicit 
 obedience to the see of Home, now endeavouring to 
 establish the discipline of St. Benedict, which incul- 
 
 =^ C^sborn, Vita S Dunst. in Anj^liu Sacra. 
 
 Obbern, Vita S. Dunst. in Anglia Sacra. 
 
 »» Ibid. 
 
130 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 EDWY. 
 
 in? 
 
 .3. 
 
 catcd seclusion Iroiii the world, and the most inviolahle 
 chastity; but in this career he was checked by the 
 death of Edred (955).- 
 
 p, This endeavour of the Romish church to coun- 
 teract one of the stronirest instincts of nature could not 
 but be attended with tlie uiost violent connnotious. 
 
 A, — It required no less than three centuries b( (\)rc 
 celibacy could be imposed upon the cleruy at hu-e. 
 Dunstan, l)y setting himself as the head of a party, 
 supported by the whole power of the Pope, could not 
 fail of acquiring- vast influence; and it was soon seen 
 how 6flectual an enirine in his hands was the profession 
 of monkish austerity. Edwy, the son of Kinu i:dniund, 
 a youth of the most beautiful figure, had now succeeded 
 to the crown, at tlie age of sixteen; but haviug married 
 the lovely Elgiva, who was related to him within the 
 prohibited degrees, he incurred the displeasure of Dun- 
 stan, and indeed of his other counsellors. On the ihiy 
 of his coronation, whilst the nol)ilify, feastinir in the 
 irreat hall, were induliring in riot aiul intemi)eran( t\ the 
 king retired to the queens apartments: the ass(nil>ly, 
 dissatisfied witli his absence, deputed Kinsey, bisliop 
 of Lichtield, and Dunstan, to solicit his return. I'hese 
 prelates burst unceremoniously into the (hamber, where 
 they found the kinir, with Elgiva and her mother; when 
 upbraiding the ladies in terms of indecorous severity, 
 they forced the diadem, which was lyimr on the ground, 
 upon theliead of Edwy, and dragged him by main force 
 from the arms of the queen back to the banquet.^ 
 
 p. ]S^o female could be expected to forgive sucli 
 
 an insult. 
 
 A — Bv the queen's instigation, Dun^tcin A\ns ac- 
 cused of malversation in his oflicc of treasurer during 
 
 the late king s reign, and was speedily banished.^ His 
 party however were not inactive : Odo, archbishop of 
 Canterbury, having poisoned the minds of the people 
 with declamations against the impiety of the king and 
 queen, sent into the palace a party of soldiers, who 
 seized the too beautiful Elgiva, and seared her face 
 with a red-hot iron. After this cruel transaction, she 
 was doomed to perpetual exile in Ireland ; and Edwy, 
 finding it vain to resist, consented to a divorce ; but 
 l^^lgiva at length having recovered her beauty, found 
 means to escape; and still considering the king as her 
 husband, was flying to his protection, when she was 
 intercei)ted by Odo, and barbarously ham-strung; from 
 which treatment suffering the most acute torments, she 
 soon expired.^ 
 
 P. — Such revolting barbarity gives no very favour- 
 able interpretation to the motives of Dunstan. 
 
 A, — The odium of tlu^ transaction must rest upon 
 Odo; hut it is confessed that considerable uncertainty 
 attends the whole story: some authorities representing 
 ihe cpieen as an abandoned w^oman, and the king during 
 his whole reign as totally forgetful of the duties and 
 decency of his station. 
 
 F. — Wh( ther tlu^ lady were married or not, such 
 cruelty can in no w ay be justified ; and as the king early 
 declared in laNour of the secular clergy against the 
 regular, his character has been exposed by the monks 
 to the greatest obloquy. 
 
 A. — They certainly contrived to get him excommu- 
 nicated;*' and they placed his brother Edgar, a boy of 
 fourteen years of age, over the greater part of the king- 
 dom. Edwy soon after died, eitlier by violence or from 
 
 * Sax. Chron. 
 
 ^ Gill. Mahncsb. lib. 2, c. 7. 
 
 ■ Eadmcr, p. 257. 
 
 ** Osbern. 
 
 BroiKj ton, p.8C5. 
 
 
138 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 grief (959:)^ the new sovereign, with his brother's fate 
 before his eyes, resolved to follow opposite counsels, 
 and patronized Dunstan nnd tlie monks. Edirar, wlio 
 soon discovered an excellent capacity for government, 
 was the most fortunate of the Anulo-Saxon nionarchs: 
 he appointed a powerful fleet,' which he divided into 
 three squadrons, for the defence of the coast ; and being 
 constantly prepared both l)y land nnd sea, he c scaped 
 all attack from the Danes during his whole reiirn of 
 sixteen years, a circumstance quite unparalleled. He 
 reduced the neighbourinir princes to submission; and as 
 a proof of his superiority, when residing at Chester, and 
 purporting to go by water to the monastery of 8t. John 
 the Baptist, he was rowed by eight tributary princes in 
 his barge on the river Dee.*^ 
 
 P. — And who were these royal watermen? 
 
 ^.—Kenneth, king of Scotland ; Malcolm, prince of 
 Cumberland; Macchus, prince of Anglesey and of the 
 Isles; and live Welsh princes, whose names are not 
 worth repeating. Edgar, in the fulness of his ])ride, 
 exclaimed, " Let my successors, the kings of England, 
 boast when they shall perform \]\v like.'" 
 
 F' — This exploit has been sometimes adduced as 
 an example of vain glory; yet there is in it something 
 which the French would call superbe, and which takes 
 strong hold of the imagination. The Scotish historians 
 are very unwilling to admit that their king, Kenneth, 
 was one of the rowers. 
 
 ^. — Edgar is also remembered by an incident of 
 gallantry, which has often been related, and which 
 forms the subject of an English trai:edy of some merit. 
 Orgar, earl of Devonshire, had a dauuhter, l^h'rida, the 
 
 * Gul. Malmcsb. lib. 2, c.7. ^ Higdcn, Polycbron. 
 
 <^ GuL Malmesb. lib. 2, c. 8. 
 
 EDGAR. 
 
 139 
 
 renown of whose beauty, though she had never been at 
 court, was spread through the nation. The king, ever 
 alive to reports of this nature, deputed his minister, 
 Athelwold, to visit the family, and judge whether her 
 charms were answerable to their high reputation; the 
 favourite at once became deeply enamoured with El- 
 frida, whose beauty he found exceeded the report, and 
 he resolved to sacrifice his fidelity towards his master 
 to this new passion. He told Edgar that the great wealth 
 and high rank of the lady had alone been tlie ground of 
 the admiration paid to her; but though her person was 
 homely, these qualities would make her, did it please 
 the king, an advantageous match for himself. Edgar, 
 ba|>py to advance the fortune of his friend, assisted by 
 his recommendation to conclude the marriage. 
 
 p._It is impossible to anticipate from such treach- 
 ery any thing but misfortune. 
 
 ^._The truth soon became known to Edgar, who, 
 concealing his resentmeat, told Athelwold that it was his 
 intention to pay him a visit at his castle and be incro- 
 dueed to his bride. The conscious minister hastened 
 home, and, compelled to disclose the secret to Elfrida, 
 entreated that, if she possessed any regard for her own 
 honour or for her husband's life, she would conceal that 
 fatal beauty which had betrayed his integrity. The 
 lady promised compliance, but nothing was further from 
 her iiitentioiis : she appeared before the king with every 
 attraction of dress and manner that nature or art could 
 bestow, and thus excited in his bosom in their utmost 
 vehemence the passions of love and revenge. Under 
 the pretence of huirdng, Edgar seduced the unfortunate 
 husband into a wood, and mortally stabbing him, in a 
 short time espoused Elfrida.^ 
 
 « Gill. Malmesb. lib. 2, c.8. 
 
140 
 
 VFSTIGIA. 
 
 F. — Mankind have not l)een di^^posed to treat this 
 action with excessive blame, the provocation having 
 been seldom surpassed. 
 
 A. — The natnral son of Atlielwold happeninir to 
 pass near, and viewinir the dead body of his iatlier, 
 Edgar sternly asked him how he liked the game? Tho 
 youth calmly replied, that %vhatever pleased the kinir 
 must not displease him.^ This courtly answer on so 
 moving an occasion surprized Edgar, and gave him a 
 strong atlection for the young man, whose interest he 
 studiously promoted. Some other gaUantries of this 
 monarch were of a more criminal nature than his love 
 for Elfrida : he once broke into a convent, and carried 
 olfby force a young devotee;.^' at another time, being 
 suddenly smitten witli the charms of a noblemairs 
 daughter, he insisted that she should be sacrificed the 
 same night to his passion ; the mother of the young 
 lady, to avoid becoming a party to the dishonour of her 
 family, secretly substituted a w^aiting-maid in her place, 
 who became Edgar's tavourite mistress till his uiarriage 
 with Elfrida.'' 
 
 F. — As the monks represent Edgar to be a great 
 saint, which he certainly was not, as well as a wise 
 and politic king, which he as certainly was, we may 
 conclude that it was not merely the immorality of his 
 predecessor Edwy which excited their hostility. 
 
 A. — During his reign England was much resorted 
 to by foreigners, who, it is said, corrupted tlie sim- 
 plicity of the natives, by introducing habits of intem- 
 perance; to correct which, Edgar regulated the modes 
 of good fellowship, by appointing metal pins to be 
 placed at certain distances in the driidxinir cup, beyond 
 wliich it was not allowed to swallow at a draught/^ This 
 
 » Gul. Malmebb.lib.2, C.8. ^ Ibid. ^ Ibid. ^ Flo. Wigorn, a.d. Ors. 
 
 EDGAR, EDWARD. 
 
 141 
 
 prin( r having never been engaged in battle, obtained 
 the name of the peaceable. He had a great antipathy 
 to wolves, who, like the old Britons, escaping pursuit 
 in England, soimht slielter amongst the mountains of 
 Wales. Edgar, by imposing on the Welsh an annual 
 tribute of three hundred heads of those destructive 
 animals, in four years extirpated the race.^ 
 
 F. — Though Edgar was a prince of slender figure 
 and small stature, his courage was never questioned. 
 There is an allusion to these particulars, in a story told 
 by Camden : ' Kenneth, king of Scots, having said at 
 table, that it stood not with the honour of the princes of 
 this isle that so many provinces should be subject to that 
 Dandiprar Edgar, the speech soon reached the ears of 
 the Enolish monarch; who taking occasion one day to 
 draw^ Kenneth privately into a wood, as though he meant 
 to disclose some important secret, olTered him the 
 choice of two swords, saying, '' Now we are alone you 
 may try your manhood; now it may appear who should 
 be subject to the other:" but Kenneth, dismayed at this 
 appeal, desired his pardon and obtained it. 
 
 P.—" And dw ell such mighty souls in little men." 
 il.— Edgar died in the thirty-third year of his age 
 (775,) and witli him died the Saxon glory: he was 
 succeeded by his son Edward, but not without oppo- 
 sition, as his step-mother Elfrida attempted to raise 
 her own son Ethelred, then only seven years of age, to 
 the vacant throne; but the cause of Edward being 
 espoused by Dunstan, he was crowned, and the whole 
 kingdom submitted.^ 
 / F.— As Dunstan was the instrument of the king's 
 exaltation, he had a favourable opportunity of pur- 
 
 ^ Gul. Malmesb. Tib. 2, c. G. ^ Camden's Remains. 
 
 « Homimcio is the term used by Gul. Malmesb. 
 ^ Gul. Malmesb. lib. 2, c. 9. 
 
142 
 
 VES'i ICiA. 
 
 EDWARD, ETHELRED. 
 
 143 
 
 / 
 
 suiii^ his design of expelling the secnlnr eleriry from 
 the monasteries. 
 
 A. — ^Miicli he l)v no means nes:lected. Tie sum- 
 moned synods, in which every art was practised to 
 inihicnce the consent of the members: on one occasion 
 when the assemlily were iil)out to decide contrary to 
 the wishes of Dunstan, a ioud voice proceeded from a 
 crucihx, buili into the walJ, crying out, '' Do not do 
 that, do not do that; you judged riuht formerly, chaniife 
 not your judgment now^;" on which the synod broke up 
 in confusion. The next year a more eriuiinal arlilice 
 was resorted to: another synod remaininir opposed to 
 the counsel of Dunstan, he exclaimed, '^1 am unwilling 
 to be overcome, 1 commit the cause of liie church to 
 the decision of Christ;" when immediate! v the floor 
 of the hall sank, and a great part ol the com])any was 
 severely bruised or killed by the fall: the beam on 
 which the chair of Dunstan rested was the oidy one 
 which did not break with the weight of the assembly.* 
 
 P. — Such a circumstance must surely beget a sus- 
 picion of contrivance. 
 
 F. — I should imagine that it was regarded rather as 
 a most certain proof of the immediate^ interposition 
 of Providence in behalf of its favourites, this tenth 
 century being, both on the continent as well as in 
 England, peculiarly the age of darkness and ignorance; 
 indeed such was the credulity of the people, that it 
 seemed impossible for the priests to invent any thing 
 which they would not believe. 
 
 A. — Nothing else memorable occurred during the 
 reign of Edward : his death was singularly tragical. Of 
 an amiable a.nd unsuspecting disposition, as he was 
 hunting one day in Dorsetshire, being led by the chase 
 
 ^ Osbcrn. 
 
 1^1 
 
 near I itfe Castle, where his mother-in-la\v Elfrida 
 resided, he took the opportunity of paying her a visit: 
 not aliirhting from his horse, he requested some refresh- 
 ment, nun whilst drinking a cup of mead, a servant of 
 EliVida approached and stabbed him behind; the king 
 findintr himself wounded put spurs to his horse, but 
 becoming faint by loss of blood he fell, and his foot 
 being entangled in the stirrup, he was dragged on the 
 gi'ourid till he expired.* 
 
 F. — It is impossible to restrain one's indignation 
 at this woman's barbarous treachery; but she who 
 facilitated the death of her husband, was w^ell worthy 
 to contrive the murder of the young and amiable 
 Edward, whose innocence alone, unconnected with reli- 
 gious prejudices, procured for him the title of Martyr. 
 
 A. — The deed was too atrocious even for that age 
 to pardon : in vain she built monasteries, performed 
 penances and various acts of superstition, one of which 
 w.is to cover lu r body all over with little crosses to 
 keep off the devil, whom she had but too much reason 
 to fear;** yet she could never recover the public good 
 opinion: the murder however opened the way for the 
 accession of her son Ethelred, then about ten years 
 old, w ho weeping for the loss of his brother, she beat 
 unmercifully with a large w^ax taper.*" 
 
 P. — The conduct of this celebrated beauty very ill 
 comports with the homely maxim, *' handsome is that 
 handsome does." 
 
 A. — Ethelbert gave early indications of his want of 
 courage ; arising, perhaps, irom his mother's severity. 
 From an accident which befell him when an infant, at 
 the baptismal font,*^ somewhat similar to that from 
 
 • Sax. Chron. 
 
 c Gul. Malmesb. lib. 2, c. 10. 
 
 ^ Gul. Malmesb. lib. 2, c. 9. 
 d IbiJ. 
 
"rr^rrm 
 
 144 
 
 YES J I (HA. 
 
 SWEYN. 
 
 145 
 
 which the Greek emperor, ConstanfliK^ Copronynin.s, 
 derived his name, Diinstan predicted an imbecile reign, 
 which prophecy was fuliilled to the uttermost. 
 
 F, — But surelv the infant acted more in eliarartrr 
 than the priest who could make such a ridiculous pre- 
 / diction. 
 
 A, — Dunstan, thouirh advanced to the primacy, fell 
 into a state ot* nei^dect. His favourite o1)ject, the ex- 
 pulsion of the secular clergy from the monasteries, was 
 for the present time unheeded; and he died^ it is said, 
 more tlirouirh grief than age.=* He was, doubtless, a 
 man of great talents and vigour of mind, and would 
 probably, had his influi nee continued, prevented tliose 
 calamities which speedily l)efell the kingdom. 
 
 P. — Of what nature were these misfortunes? 
 
 A. — The Danes had now for nearly a century dis- 
 continued their piratical attacks. The wise regulations 
 of Alfred, and the valour of his successors, had long 
 given security to the shores of EngianrI ; l)ut as soon 
 as the Danes discovered the reigning prince to be with- 
 out courage or capacity, they renewed their (hpre- 
 dations, and the nation, in the full tide of its strength, 
 was insulted bv the invasion of seven Danish ships at 
 Southampton, which town was plundered, and tlie 
 crew^s, enriched by the spoil, departed with impunity 
 (981).^ Soon after a like attempt was juade in the 
 west with ecpial success: thus encouraged, the Danes, 
 in considerable force, landed in Essex (!)1)1), and de- 
 feated Brithnot, the duke of that county, who had ven- 
 tured to attack tliem. In tliis crisis, Etlu Ired, who 
 obtained the name of the Unready, the clock of his 
 consultations, as a quaint writer expresses it, being 
 ahvays set some hours too late, hearkening to the advice 
 
 of Siricius, now^ archbishop of Canter1)ury, basely com- 
 poinuled with the enemy for his safety, by bribing them 
 to retire.* 
 
 F, — Such an expedient was doubtless shameful, as, 
 by stimulating the rapacity of the Danes, it could not 
 fail to induce their return; yet it had been practised by 
 Charles the Bald, king of France, and something very 
 similar was resorted to even by the great Alfred, in the 
 beginning of liis reign. 
 
 A. — Had the measure been merely temporary, ne- 
 cessity would have pleaded an excuse. The Danes, as 
 might be expected, re-a])peared the next year ; but the 
 nation, become sensible of its folly, had collected a 
 ihet to repel them:^ owing, however, to the treachery 
 of AKric, duke of Mercia, this measure failed of suc- 
 cess. Sweyn, king of Denmark, and Olave, king of 
 Norway, sailed up the Ilumber (993,) and spread de- 
 vastation on every side. In a great battle, they soon 
 alter obtained a decisive victory, chiefly through the 
 treai liery of the English leaders ; a circumstance 
 which, during the whole of this reign, frequently oc- 
 curred. The two northern kings were induced to 
 depart l)y the payment of a large sum; Olave pro- 
 mising never to return — his fidelity to his engagement 
 was remarkable : but (hough he has been canonized by 
 the church of Rome, this quality was hardly the cause. 
 The treaty, however, procured only a short interval of 
 traiKiuillity, as a fresh party of Danes appeared in the 
 Severn, wasted the whole kingdom, and received an 
 increased bribe for their departure."" 
 
 jP. — it is impossible to contrast such pusillanimous 
 weakness with the judicious regulations of Edgar, only 
 
 N 
 
 ■ Sax. Chron. 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 * Snxon Chroti. 
 
 t' Ibid. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
14G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 twenty years before, >vithout alternate feelings of rage 
 
 and sliame. 
 
 4,_Durino a short interval of (piiet, Ethelred, who 
 
 possessed a handsome i)erson, a fme sleeping ligure of 
 a king/ as William of Mahnesbury terms him, ami now 
 a widower, nmde successful overtures of marriage to 
 Emma, the sister of Richard, duke of Normandy : the 
 first connexion of that family with the Englisli, wliom 
 they were destined so speedily to subdue.^ Buoyed up 
 by this alliance, he concei\ cd the extraordinary project 
 of increasing his security by ordering a massacre of 
 those Danes who had settled in his dominions; secret 
 orders were despatched to commence the execution 
 every where on the same day ; neither sex nor age was 
 spared ; even Gunilda, who was married to Earl 
 Paling, and who was sister to Sweyn, kinu' of Den- 
 mark, was seized and murdered, after seeing her hus- 
 band and children l)utchered before her face/ 
 
 i.-._l}ut as the Danes are said to liave nearly re- 
 peopled Northumberland and East Anglia, and to have 
 been numerous in other parts of the kingdom, how 
 could it liappen that, with arms in their hands, they 
 would quietly submit to be massacred ? 
 
 .1.— It is supposed, consequently, that the attack 
 was chiefly confined to th(^ Danish soldiers retained in 
 the English army, who, on many accouiits, had become 
 extremely obnoxious to tlu^ nati(m. In that slovenly 
 age, they provoked the jealousy of the natives by an 
 attention to dress and gallantry which seduced the 
 aftections of the English wives and daughters. They 
 are said to have carried their i^eminacy so far as to 
 coml) their hair once a day, and to bathe or wash thein- 
 
 * Gul. Malmesb. lib. 2. 
 
 ^ Hen. Huntinjr. 359. Higden, 271. 
 « Sax. Cbrnn. 
 
 SWEYN, ETHELRED. 
 
 147 
 
 selves every Sabbath. To the repeated treachery of 
 these Danes, the success of the invaders was commonly 
 attributed : even Earl Paling, who had sworn fealty to 
 Ethel bert, had violated his oath, and fought under the 
 banner of his kinsman, Sweyn. 
 
 F. — Whatever may have been the provocation, the 
 atrocity of a massacre leaves the future fate of its per- 
 petrator without a claim to our commiseration. 
 
 A. — Sweyn, who want( d but a pretence for a fresh 
 invasion, now hastened to England ; and a train of ca- 
 bin li lies followed, for ten successive years, scarcely to 
 be exceeded by those which the British suffered under 
 Vortigern; or the immediate predecessors of Alfred, 
 fioni tlie ancestors of these sjime ferocious Northmen. 
 Exeter, Norwich, Oxford, Cambridge, with many other 
 towns, were reduced to ashes. Alphage, archbishop of 
 Canter1)ury, with almost all his clergy, were murdered 
 in cold blood, and the king himself compelled to fly 
 into Normandy."" In this crisis, the treachery of his 
 nobility seems to have been at least equal to his own 
 weakness. A Danish leader gave to Sweyn this report 
 of the English condition — " A country, but a few years 
 before, illustrious and powerful ; now, its king asleep, 
 solicitous only about wine and women, trembling at 
 war, hated by his people and derided by strangers; its 
 generals envious of each other, and its weak governors 
 ready to fly at the flrst shout of battle."^ Sweyn, about 
 to step into the vacant throne, died at Gainsborough 
 ( LU14) before he had time to establish himself in his 
 newly acquired dominions." The English, still desirous 
 of being ruled by their native prince, recalled Ethelred; 
 but his misconduct was incurable, and Canute, the son 
 
 * Sax. Cbron. 
 
 •• Gul. Mahnesb. lib.2. c, 10. 
 L2 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
148 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of Sweyn, became an eueiiiy more terrihh^ limn the 
 prince from whom death had late ly delivered tliem. 
 
 F.—lt is striking to observe how enlireiy the per- 
 sonal character of the monarch could alter the condi- 
 tion of the kingdom. 
 
 ^.— The whole nation as well as the king seemed 
 to have lost all courage. " Such is the valour of the 
 Danes," said an English bishop, Lupus/ wlio lived at 
 this time, " that one of them will put ten of our men to 
 fli*>-ht. Two or three of these Pagans will drive a troop 
 of Christians through the country from sea to sea. 
 They seize the wives and daughters, even of Thanes, 
 and violate them before their faces." If an English- 
 man and a Dane met on^a bridge, the (brmer durst not 
 stir till the latter had passed over : if he did not make 
 a low reverence, he was sure to be soundly cudgelled.^ 
 The Danes assumed such airs of supt riority as gene- 
 rally to be called Lord Danes : and this appeHation 
 was long continued as a name of opprobrium; for when 
 one Englishman (says Fabian, who wrote in the reiirn 
 of Henry VTT.) will rebuke another, he will for the 
 most part call him Lurdane."^ 
 
 f^—lt would not reasonably be supposed thai the 
 baseness of Ethelred could alfect the present times, 
 and yet something like it is the fact : to buy the ab- 
 sence of the Danes, a tax was imposed on land called 
 Dane gelt,^' which did not expire with the occasi<m, 
 but has been continued or renewed for centuries in 
 some shape or other, under the pretext of providing 
 for the defence of the kingdom. 
 
 ^.—Canute, having succeeded to his father's au- 
 thority, Edmund, the son of Ethelred, a young prince 
 of great courage and indeiatigable perseverance, col- 
 
 ■ Lupus, in Hicke'a Dissert. 
 *^ FaUian, Chron. p. 2r>9. 
 
 ^ Pontoppidan, torn. 9, 131). 
 *^ Sax. Cbrnn. 
 
 EDMUND IRONSIDE, CANUTE. 
 
 149 
 
 lected an English army sufficiently powerful to give the 
 Danes battle ; but in consequence of the king declining 
 to take the field in person, apprehensive perhaps of the 
 treachery of his subjects, the soldiers became discou- 
 raiired and refused to march. This most imbecile sove- 
 reign soon after ended his life by disease (1016).* 
 
 P. — Ethelred then acted to the last with perfect 
 dramatic consistency, qiudis ah incepto. 
 
 A, — Edmund, surnamed Ironside, from his hardy 
 valour, now ascended the throne; but notwithstanding 
 his efforts to maintain it, which w^ere great, and con- 
 ducted with judgment as well as vigour, he was com- 
 pelled to divide the kingdom with Canute, and in the 
 course of the year w as barl)arous]y murdered at 0:sford 
 by two of his chamberlains, at the instigation ot Edric, 
 duke of Mercia.^ 
 
 P. — All the Saxon princes of the name of Edmund 
 seem to have been unfortunate. 
 
 A. — During the contest, the citizens of London 
 strenuously maintained the claim of Edmund : Canute 
 besieging that city"" found that his fleet w^as unable to 
 make much impression, being impeded by London 
 bridge; he therefore dug a trench, as it is supposed, 
 from llotherhithe to Vauxhall, near which latter place 
 the remains of such an excavation are alone visible, 
 and by that means brought his ships above the bridge ; 
 but his elforts, however great, were unsuccessful in re- 
 ducing the city. 
 
 F. — Such an undertaking proves tw o facts : the ex- 
 istence of a bridge at London in that early period, and 
 the embankment of the Thames on the south, which is 
 conjectured to have been a work of the Romans. 
 
 A. — The entire Enulish throne being now open to 
 
 -■ Sax. Chron. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 ' ibid. Flor. Wigorn. p. 285. 
 
150 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Canute's ambition, the only obstacle was the two younc; 
 sons of Edmund Ironside; but getting them iniu his 
 possession, he sent them to his ally the Kiim oi* Ssvr^ 
 den, desiring that they might give him nofurtlier trouble : 
 that monarch, though he understood the meaning, was not 
 base enough to comply with the recpiest, but despatched 
 them to the court of Solomon, king of Hungary." Edw in, 
 the elder, died at an early nge; the younger brother, 
 Edward, married Agatha, the sister to Solomon, and 
 had a son, known afterwards by the name of Edgar 
 Atheling, and two daughters, Margaret, snbse(iuent]\ 
 queen of Scotland, and Christina, a nun. Canute now 
 enjoying full powder in England, exercised it in general 
 with much moderation and wisdom. Edric, the duke 
 of Mcrcia, infamous by his repeated perfulies, having 
 boasted at a feast that he had slain Ednuaid Ironside, 
 the king in a rage answered, that since he had been so 
 audacious as to avow so black a treason, he should 
 receive condign punishment, commanding tliat lie should 
 instantly be beheaded, and tlie body thrown into the 
 Thames; his head was fixed on tlie iiighest tower in 
 London, to luliil a promise, as some say, which Caiuite 
 had given him, that he should be advanced for his 
 deserts above all tlie nobility of England.^ 
 
 F. — Such a (luibbling conceit looks very much like 
 murder in ;old blood ; though in tliis case we can feel 
 no sympathy with the unworthj tiaihJi. 
 
 jl^ — Some otlier actions of Canute reflect more ho- 
 nour on his memory. Having in a moment of exaspe 
 ration killed a soldier,' and by that criminal deed 
 violated a law^ which he had enforced on others, lie 
 arraigned himself before his council, and expressed his 
 penitence; he proclaimed impunity to his judges who 
 
 ^ Giil.'\4Mmcsl). lib.2, c. 10. 
 
 »> Lib.2, c. 11. 
 
 •" Snxo. 
 
 CANUTE 
 
 151 
 
 should pronounc r their opinion, and in the sight of all 
 cast himself upon the ground, aw^aiting their sentence. 
 The council withdrew to deliberate as he had required; 
 and they at length determined to let him appoint and 
 iniUct his owni punishment. Homicide w as at this time 
 punishable by a mulct of forty talents of gold ; the king 
 fined himsc^lf three hundred and sixty, and added nine 
 as a further compensation. Canute about this period 
 married Enuna, the widow of the unwarlike Ethelred;* 
 thus securing the friendship of her brother Richard, 
 duke of Normandy, who had espoused the cause of 
 Alfred and Edward, the two sons of Ethelbert and 
 Emma, and who still protected them in his court. 
 
 P, — England, though under the yoke of a foreigner, 
 seems to have profited by the exchange. 
 
 A. — The nation was in a state of such tranquillity, 
 that Canute judged it safe to make a voyage to Den- 
 mark, his neighbour the King of Sweden having at- 
 tacked that kingdom; and he took with him a large 
 body of English, under the command of Earl Godwin: 
 this nobleman completely established himself in the 
 king s favour, by assaulting the Swedish army in the 
 night, and obtaining a decisive victory.^ The next 
 morning Canute, seeing the English camp entirely 
 abandoned, imagined that these disaffected troops had 
 deserted to the enemy; but was agreeably surprized 
 to iind that they were at that time in lull pursuit 
 of the discomfited Swedes. This earl became the 
 most pow^erful subject perhaps that England has ever 
 known; his family is not traced beyond his fiither, 
 Wolfnoth, a potent lliane of the south, who is called 
 in the Saxon Chronicle '' a childe of Sussex.'' After 
 this Danish exploit, Canute bestowed upon Godwin his 
 
 • Sax.Chron. 
 
 ^ Gul. Malmesb. lib.2, c. 11, 
 
152 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CANUTE. 
 
 153 
 
 daughter Githu, who bore a numerous family, that after- 
 ward made a distinguished figure. 
 
 F. — The name of Godwin is more familiar to Enj^lish 
 ears than the mere renown of his actions in so remote an 
 era is entitled to confer, from the circumstance of a part 
 of his vast estates, the isle of Lomea, on the coast of 
 Kent, being overflowed by the sea in the reign of \\ iUiani 
 llufus, or of Henry the First; and now forming a most 
 dan<j:erous quicksand, too well remembered l)y mariners 
 as the Godwin Sands. 
 
 A, — Whether Lomea were a low main land, whether 
 it were an island, or whether it ever existed at all, is 
 very doubiiul ; no mention of such a place occurs in 
 Domesday Book, though particular notice is taken of 
 other Kentish islands; and no such elfect of this great 
 inundation is recorded by any of the ancient English 
 historians, though they relate the damage inflicted by 
 it in the Low Countries. The earliest notice of the 
 event is in Hector Boetliius, a Scotish historian of the 
 end of the fifteenth century, lour hundred years after 
 the calamity took place. The sands are more likely to 
 have obtained tluir name from a part of Godwin's fleet 
 having been wrecked upon them when engaged in hos- 
 tilities with Edward, thou.<>h the circumstance has passed 
 unnoticed bv the annalists. 
 
 F. — A sort of paradoxical proverb, (hat Tenterden 
 Steeple was the cause of tlu^ Godwin Sands, has miu h 
 contributed to support the tradition; an abbot of Can- 
 terbury applying to this building, tlie jnoney ai)pointed 
 for the purpose of keeping up the sea walls, thus 
 exposed the low land to the inundation of the ocean. 
 The present steeple of Tenterden is htjwever of much 
 more modern origin than the vear 1100. 
 
 ^.—Canute the Great, king of Xorw ay and l)c imuuk. 
 
 fi 
 
 as well as of England, in his latter days was satiated 
 with the fulness of prosperity, and became indifferent 
 to the glories and the pleasures of the world. According 
 to the fashion of his age, he built churches, endowed 
 monasteries, and made a pilgrimage to Rome. That his 
 piety was not how ever altogether of a puerile cast, his 
 well-known rebuke to his courtiers sufficiently evinces. 
 Walking on the shore near Southampton, some parasites 
 broke out in adiiiiration of his grandeur, asserting that 
 every tiling was possible for him; upon which the 
 monarch ordered a chair to be brought, and seating 
 hiiu^eli', uliilst the tide was rising, exclaimed, " Thou 
 sea, the land whereon I sit is mine, nor hath any one 
 unpunished resisted my coiiiiiiand.s ; 1 charge thee ap- 
 proach no further, and presume not to wet the feet of 
 thy sovereign lord." But the sea came rolling on as 
 before, and without reverence dashed him with its bil- 
 lows; when tiirniiur to his courtiers, he desired them 
 " to behold and consider how feeble was the power of 
 kings, and that none deserved the name of sovereign 
 lord, Itiit he whose eternal laws both heaven and earth 
 obey, and who could say to the ocean, Thus far shalt 
 ihou go, and no further."'' 
 
 jP,_Siich a truth is sufficiently obvious; but this 
 \v(>ll-timed reproof of courtly adulation has extended 
 the famu of Canute f.ir beyond all his victories. 
 
 ^ Tills monarch, not undeservedly called the Great, 
 
 died L0:i5." His son Harold J lure Coot, by an Engli#li 
 huty, succeeded him, so called from his agility in running. 
 The reign of Harold is distinguished only by an act of 
 atrocious bar!)arity, \vhich properly to understand, we 
 must recollect that Ethclbcrt the Unready left two sons, 
 Alfred and Edward, by his queen i:innia, whom we have 
 
 • Higilcn, 2/6. H. Hunting. 364. 
 
 •• Sax. Ctiron. 
 
M 
 
 154 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 KDWARU THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 1S5 
 
 seen afterwards was married to Canute. These young 
 princes at the death of their fother were conveyed for 
 safety to the court of Normandy; where they continued 
 to reside, till by a forged letter they were now induced 
 to pay a visit to their mother at Wiiuhester. Having: 
 arrived at that city, Alfred the elder brother, with many 
 professions of Triendship, was invited by the king to 
 London; but on his journey he was attacked l)y the 
 vassals of Earl Godwin at Guildford, and with nearly 
 his whole train butchered under circumstances of pecu- 
 liar cruelty :^ his mother and brother, a])i)rehendin<^ a 
 similar fate, tied beyond sea. Harold llarefoot himself 
 lived but a short time after this revoltini; fransaetion;** 
 and left the throne open to his half-brother Hardicanute, 
 or Canute the Robust, the son of Canute the Great, by 
 Queen Emma. 
 
 jp. — These fortunate sobriquets, or nicknames, are 
 the only circumstances whieh cause posterity to remem- 
 ber that such princes ever existed. 
 
 ^, — Hardicanute expressed the t,a'east resentment 
 against the memory of Harold Harefoot, and invited 
 over his half-brother Edward, who immediately preferred 
 an accusation against Earl Godwin for his share in the 
 murder of Alfred ; but the wily courtier, to ai)pease the 
 rising storm, presented the king with a magnificent ship, 
 whose stern was covered with plates of goKl : it \\as 
 equipped with eighty handsome warriors, the retainers 
 of Godwin, who each wore golden bracelets, weighing 
 sixteen ounces, and were armed and clothed in the 
 most sumptuous manner.*^ The bribe was accepted ; 
 and on Godwin's swearing that he was innocent of the 
 alleged crime, he was at once acquitted. ITardic anufo 
 
 * Encom. Emmac. 
 
 ^ Sax. Chion. 
 
 Hovedcn. 
 
 reigned but i\\o years, dying of a drunken debauch at 
 the nuptials of a Danish lord (1041).^ 
 
 F. — And so ended the male posterity of Canute in 
 England. 
 
 yl.— Sweyn, king of Norway, the eldest son of 
 Canute, being absent in that country, and the two last 
 kings dying without issue, none of the Danish race pre- 
 sented themselves; nor was there any person whom the 
 Danes could support as successor to the throne. Prince 
 Edward being fortunately on the spot, was naturally 
 looked up to by the people; and Earl Godwin, whose 
 great power might have frustrated the attempt, was 
 compelled by the common friends of both to lay aside 
 Ins animosity and concur in restoring liberty to his 
 
 country. 
 
 p._But after all Edward was not the legitimate 
 
 heir of the Saxon stock. 
 
 ^._Certainly not, whilst the posterity of Edmund 
 Ironside remahicd ; but the long absence of that family 
 in so distant a country as Hungary, induced the nation 
 entirely to overlook their claim; and thus was Edward, 
 afterwards called tlie Confessor, at the age of forty, 
 firmly seated on the English throne.^ The era of this 
 prinee merits more attention than has usually been 
 bestowed upon it, from the important consequences to 
 which it gave rise ; though, like his father Ethelred, the 
 talents of Edward were but mean and his disposition 
 unwarlike, yet did the kingdom flourish in security 
 ihning his whole reign. 
 
 P. — With tempers so similar, by what chance did it 
 ha])pen that their fortunes were so ditferent? 
 
 4.— The Danes, employed in other enterprises, at- 
 tempted not in any strength those incursions which had 
 
 ■ Sax. Chron. 
 
 »» Gul. Mahnbb. Vib. 2, c, 15. 
 
156 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 157 
 
 inflicted so great a share of misery; and I'.ail (j<Ki\\in, 
 to whom the military tbrce was entrusted, overawed 
 by his talents and vigour (he Danish faction witliin the 
 kini^dom, and repressed all piratical attacks from with- 
 out: the government of the king too, though commonly 
 feeble, vet had a certain well-nu aiiini: a])out it, which 
 much endeared him to his subjects ; nor did he want 
 discrimination in bestowing his conlidcnce : he was 
 well aware of Earl Godwin's and)ition; and such was 
 his repugnance to the whole family, that though as the 
 price of reconcilement he had married Editha, the daugh- 
 ter of that nobleman, a v>oman of bea.uty and merit, 
 and, what was rare in that age, attached to letters, he 
 constantly refused cohabitation.* 
 
 F. — This is an instance of perseverance in dislike 
 that will iind few I'ollowers ; and the folly of it being 
 rendered more conspicuous by the extreme want of an 
 heir to the throne. 
 
 A, — Yet it was his conduct in this i)articular which 
 chiefly acquired him canonization as a saint and con- 
 fessor from the church of Rome; though the title 
 Confessor is not very aptly gi\en, as it would seem to 
 imply an avowal of faith at the hazard of life, a situa- 
 tion to which Edward was never exposed. 
 
 p^ — \ very pleasing trait of the nKuuuTS of Editlia 
 is thus stated by the historian Ingulpli:^ '' I saw her," 
 says he, ^' many times in my childhood, when I went to 
 visit my father, at that time employed in the palace : if 
 she met me returning from school, she questioned me 
 in the progress which I had made in grammar and 
 logic; and when she had entangled me by some su])tle 
 argument, she never failed to bestow upon me three or 
 four crowns, and to order mc some refreshment.'' 
 
 M 
 
 A.—FAwnrd enjoying Uus saintly reputation, a 
 young woman dreamed that she was cured of a scrofu- 
 lous disease by the touch of the king ; * which afterwards 
 on application being miraculously confirmed, originated 
 the practice of touching for the evil : Edward's succes- 
 sors regarding it as a part of their state, it was continued 
 .to the time of \\ illiam the Third, again revived by 
 Queen Anne, but finally dropped by the House of 
 
 Hanover. 
 
 p._From such instances we may expect this reign 
 to have been abimdant in acts of monkish superstition. 
 
 ^._There was no deficiency certainly; but one 
 cause of Edward's high favour with the holy see, was 
 his rebuilding and largely endowing the monastery of 
 St. Peter at Westmhister,^ which was performed in 
 commutation of a pilgrimage to Rome, which he had 
 promised by a vow to undertake, should God vouch- 
 safe him to reign in England. This edifice remained till 
 Henry the Third erected the present magnificent and 
 venerable abbey. Edward the Confessor's apparel and 
 ornaments were deposited amongst the regalia in this 
 place ; and the sceptre, tunic, spurs, gloves, and staff*, 
 still form a part of the paraphernalia of the kings of 
 England, used at their coronation, on account of the 
 piety and halcyon days of their original wearer. 
 
 p._Such a remembrance, preserved through so 
 many a^es, reflects honour on his character; but T 
 suppose^ the original relics have been long destroyed 
 by the consuming tooth of time. 
 
 jp._The regalia were preserved in Westminster 
 Abbey till the Reformation, when the more valuable 
 part was removed to the Tower; the iron chests w^hich 
 contained tlie remainder' were broken open by Harry 
 
 * Gu\. Malnif^l). lib. 2, c. 15. Ingulph. 
 
 ^ Croylarid, Hist, 
 
 ^ Ailred, Vita S. Edw. 
 
 •» Ibid. 
 
158 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Martin, the regicide, in iG42, uhen an iii\< ntury was 
 made of fheir contents, wliidi were totally spoiled and 
 defaced. The most remarkable thinir amonirst flu m was 
 an ancient golden crown^ of light worknuinshi]), called 
 Alfred's, which Spelman th(^ antitjuary tlnniuht was 
 genuine. At the coronation of Charles the Second \w\v 
 insignia were made, which are chieily in use at the 
 present day.* 
 
 A. — The good nature of Edward was excessive. 
 Once when hunting, a low })easant, either through de- 
 sign or negliirence, crossed his i:ame; to wlH)ni he said 
 no more than, *^ 1 would do thee as shrewd a turn if 
 I could. "^ And Ivinii' in bed one alttnnoon, with the 
 curtains drawn round him, a poor pilferinir courtier 
 entered the chamber, and finding the king's casket open, 
 which Ilugolin the chamberlain had forgotten to shut, 
 he took out of it as much money as he could well carry, 
 and went away; but returning twice for the same i)ur- 
 pose, the king, who lay still, pretending not to see, 
 desired him speedily to be packing, for if Hugolin came 
 and took him there, he would not only lose all he had 
 got but would stretch a halter for his j)ains. Win n the 
 chamberlain returning found the money was gone, he 
 was excessi\ely enraged; but Edward d(\sired him not 
 to grieve, for he that has taken it, said the impertur!)- 
 able prince, has more need of it than we have.*" 
 
 P, — Some persons would call this mere childish 
 simplicity, others a laudalde carelessness of money in 
 
 a sovereign. 
 
 A. — Notwithstanding this easiness of temper, he 
 never forgave his mother Emma, for her second marriage 
 with Canute; and ho conn)elled her (o renounce the 
 vast possessions with which she had been endowed by 
 
 A. Tdvlor, Glory of Regality. »» Ailred, Vita S, Edw. * Ibid. 
 
 THE ORDEAL. 
 
 169 
 
 that monarch. The old story* of her passing blindfolded 
 and barefoot, unhurt, over nine burning ploughshares 
 laid a foot asunder, for the purpose of exculpating her- 
 self from the charge of participating in the murder of 
 her son Alfred, and of entertaining too great a fami- 
 liarity with Alwin, bishop of Winchester, is scarcely 
 more than a monkish legend; the same being related 
 of Cun(\ii()nde, wife to the Emperor Henr>^ the Second, 
 on no better foundation. The real fate of Emma is 
 suiliciently remarkable; that of a cpieen, the widow. of 
 two kimrs, and the mother of two more, being reduced 
 to a state of comparative poverty. 
 
 p. — Could our Saxon ancestors really believe in the 
 efficacy of such a mode of ascertaining guilt or inno- 
 cence as the ordeal? 
 
 A. — The ordeal, or trial by judgment of God, as it 
 was called, was established with all the German nations, 
 either by the method of touching hot iron, orbyimmers- 
 ini: the arm in l)oiling water: another mode also was 
 by throwing the accused into cold water; if he sank, he 
 was innocent: this is still the approved way of ascer- 
 taining a witch at the present day, both in France and 
 England. Such an appeal as the ordeal as a test of 
 ciimi , however absurd, is not more so than a resort to 
 the duel, introduced afterwards by the Normans ; where 
 the guilty by superior prowess might escape and the 
 innocent be slaughtered. Whether the ecclesiastics of 
 this age possessed any chemical secret for resisting the 
 power of lire is not known ; but it has been remarked, 
 that neither themselves, nor any accused person who 
 defended the rights of the church, ever suffered injury 
 from resorting to this mode of vindication. 
 
 F. — The practice of compurgation, or bringing wit- 
 
 * Higden, Polychron. p. 277 
 
Ill 
 
 im 
 
 VESTini \. 
 
 GOUIVA. 
 
 161 
 
 nesses to prove that they believed in the innocence of 
 the party accused, though it seems much of a piece with 
 the ordeal, yet it must be aUowcd at least as a testimony 
 to character. 
 
 A, — Though Edward governed witli equity, he gave 
 some offence to his subjects by his partiality to the 
 manners and languaue of Normandv.^ Educated in that 
 country, he had contracted there many friendships, 
 which continued after liis elevation to the liingUsh 
 throne: several vacant sees, and even the primacy, he 
 filled with Normans; in consequence Earl Godwin's 
 disaffection now broke out into o])en rebellion;^' but by 
 the intervention of Leofric, earl of Mercia, and Siward, 
 earl of Northumberland, two noblemen of almost equal 
 potency with himself, the difference was composed; 
 and Godwin was compelled to give as hostages for his 
 good behaviour his son and grandson, whom Edward 
 for safe keeping sent into Normcindy. 
 
 F. — The king appears not to liave been deficient in 
 policy, I)y thus balancing powerful parties against each 
 other. 
 
 ^.—It was his iuxppy fortune that the earls of 
 Mercia and Northunil)erland wert^ men of unshaken 
 fidelity; they united to protect him against Godwin, 
 whose power otherwise, like that of the mayors ol ilie 
 palace in France, would have been too strong lor his 
 master. These two nobles are among the Very few^ 
 Anglo-Saxons whose names are remembered : the iirst 
 by a whimsical slory, as the husband of tlie Lady 
 Godiva, who obtained remission (i a tax for the citizens 
 of Coventry, l)y riding naked through the town; such 
 being the conditions imposed by the earl: shep( rfonned 
 the task, concealing her body with her lonir and (lowing 
 
 hair; and all persons were commanded to keep within 
 doors and iVoni the window on pain of death, Notwith- 
 stajiding this severe penalty, there was one person who 
 could not forbear giving a look; but it is said that it 
 cost him his life ; others report that he was stricken 
 with blindness. 
 
 P. — Is il possible that this story, which has so 
 much the riir of a legend, can be founded in truth? 
 
 A, — it is first related by Mathew of Westminster* 
 kii the thirteenth century. The great antiquary Dugdale 
 seems to give it implicit credit; and it is not easy to 
 account for the invention of such a tale. An occasional 
 procession, time out of mind, has been held at Coventry 
 in commemoration of the event; and a very ancient 
 windov/ of Trinity Church, in that city, displayed the 
 story, with this inscription: 
 
 ** [, Luric, for the love of thee. 
 Do set Coventry toll-free.'* 
 
 F. — Perhaps it w ould have been more correct to say 
 th it tlie ladv's name, rather than the earl's, had secured 
 the notice of posterity, by being connected with '^ Peep- 
 ing Tom." 
 
 A. — Siward, earl of Northumberland, having been 
 appointed commander in the only foreign expedition 
 uncierlaken in this reign against Macbeth, the usurping 
 king of Scotland, wliom he defeated, acquired the high- 
 est reputation. This earl, characterized by Shakspeare 
 in his immortal tragedy, 
 
 ** Gracious England hath 
 Lent us good Siv/ard and ten thousand men ; 
 An older and a better soldier, none 
 That Christendom gives out," 
 
 has obtained a lasting remembrance; he w^as a man of 
 
 Ingulpli, p. (il*. 
 
 ^ Sax. Chron. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 • Flor. Hist. p. 424. 
 M 
 
im 
 
 \ LSriGlA. 
 
 Sfiirantic stature, and ot the most martial disposition. 
 When news was brought that his son was slain in 
 battle, he anxiously en(|iiired .vliether the wound was 
 in his front; and being informed that it was on the 
 breast of the joung warrior, he replied, '^ I wisli no 
 other death to me or mine."* When he fonnd liis own 
 end approaching, he rose from his bed, and commanded 
 his servants to put on his armour, then grasping his 
 spear in his left hand and his battle-axe i'l his riirht, he 
 declared that in such a manner only ought a soldier to 
 die, and presently expired.^' 
 
 F. — Nearly the same sentiment w^as expressed by 
 the Emperor Vespasian, who displayed in his last 
 moments equal intrepidity. 
 
 A, — Earl Godwins death, which happened the 
 year before, was remarkable: whilst sitting at table 
 with Edward, mention happening to b(^ made of the 
 murder of Alfred, the king frowned u[)oii Godwin, 
 who to vindicate himself said, *' At every mention 
 of thy brother Alfred, thou lookest, O king, severely 
 upon me; but let not (^od suflVr me to swallow this 
 morsel if I be guilty of aught done against his life or 
 thy advancement." Immediately after tliese w ords be- 
 coming suddenly choked, he sank down, and \sas carried 
 from the apartment.^ 
 
 P. — This looks like a monkish iiitc rpn tation of the 
 judgment of God. 
 
 A. — Whether the conversation took i)lace as ri*- 
 ported, may be doubtful ; but it is certain that Godwin 
 fell speechless at the table in a fit, and died in a few 
 days. Edward, however, was not relieved from his 
 anxiet}^ as Harold the son of Godvvin became an 
 object of still greater apprehension: iuore politic, more 
 
 " Hcn^ Hunting. 
 
 '' Ralph dc Diccto. 
 
 ' Flor. Wi2:orn. 115. 
 
 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 
 
 i(i3 
 
 subtle, more insinuating than his father, his design of 
 succeeding to the throne became so apparent, that the 
 king to defeat it invited from Hungary his nephew 
 Edward, the son of Edmund Ironside, with his family, 
 to England; but this prince dying a month after his 
 anival,* and his young son Edgar Atheling, discovering 
 great imbecility of mind, revived the ambitious hopes 
 of Harold; which Edward ever ready to crush, gave, 
 it is believed, secret intimations to William, duke of 
 Normandy, of his intention to make him the heir of his 
 dominions. 
 
 F, — Such a circumstance palliates the ambition of 
 William, particularly if a will of Edward the Confessor 
 containing such a legacy ever existed. 
 
 A. — ^Xo document was ever produced; tliough such 
 a claim formed the principal, nay the sole, founda- 
 tion of William's title. About this time Harold jiaid a 
 visit to the court of Normandy; an incident which pro- 
 duced the most important consequences, and which was 
 a material cause of his subsequent disasters. The mo- 
 tives of this voyage are variously related : some autho- 
 rities asserting that a pleasure-boat in which Harold 
 was sailini;' was driven upon the coast of Normandy 
 by a gale of wind ;^ others that he was induced to pay 
 William a visit, for the purpose of restoring his brother 
 and n( phew to liberty, who had been retained in that 
 country as hostages ;"" whilst the Norman writers insist 
 that he was sent by Edward to announce the intention 
 of appointing the duke his heir."^ The favourers of this 
 latter opinion support their pretensions by a sort of 
 docianent not often resorted to by historia! s, being no 
 other than a piece of needlework, reputed to be wrought 
 
 « Sax. Chron. ^ Gul. Malmesb. lib. 2, c. 13. 
 
 » Eadmer, 4. Sim.Duaelm, 195. ^ Gul. Pict. 77. Ord. Vital. 492. 
 
 M 2 
 
1U4 
 
 > cs ridiA. 
 
 by MaUlda, tlic wife of the Cuiiqiieror, ami her worl 
 women, and whidi is still preserved at Bayeiix, iu 
 Normandv. The substance of this curious liiunuiuent 
 of antiquity is of white linen, or canvass, twenty-three 
 inches in width, and no less than two hnruln^d and 
 tw^elve feet in length: the tigures of men, horses, birds, 
 &c. are worked in tlie manner of sanqders, in worsted, 
 in their proper colours, but wilh small pretensions to 
 symmetry or proportion. The work rej)resents the whole 
 progress of the conquest, and is divid(^d into various 
 compartments : the first of which bears an allusion to the 
 present question, Harold being there represented as 
 taking leave of King Edw ard, and about to de])art on 
 some important missi(m. 
 
 P. — But surely this is equally applicable to llarokVs 
 intention of redeeming his h(\stages. 
 
 A, — From the subsequent transactions, Harold ap- 
 pears not to have even been aware of the duke's pre- 
 tensions to the English crown, till he found himself in 
 his power; and now awake to the imminent danger in 
 which he was placed, he submitted to swear*' that he 
 would assist the enterprise of William, and renounce 
 whatever hopes lie miuiit formerly have entertained fur 
 liimself. In order to make the oath more ol)ligatory, 
 William secretlv conveved under the altar some relics 
 of the most revered martyrs. Harold, though much asto- 
 nished at the discovery, renewed his professions, and 
 was honourably dismissed by his potent rival witli every 
 outward mark of mutual conlldenee. 
 
 27*^ — There were no doubt casuists in that age who 
 could relieve the conscience of Harold, by suggesting 
 the invalidity of oatlis extorted by fear. 
 
 ^4, — Soon after Harold's return, the kiivj; Iving sick 
 
 • Gill. Vv:\,7\),^0, 
 
 I 
 
 HAROLD. 
 
 165 
 
 and enfeebled w ith age, the council sent to request that 
 he wouhl appoint a successor; but with his habitual 
 irresolution, and not being in a condition to disturb 
 himself with th(^ proposal, he replied, that since they 
 were assembled, he left it to them to choose the person 
 whom they judged most fit to rule over them; and soon 
 afterwards expired, in his ()5th* year, January 5, 1066. 
 
 P. — This is something like Alexander the Great's 
 bequest of his empire, '' to the worthiest.'' 
 
 jl^ — l^dward the Confessor, it must be allowed, was 
 no Alexander; but though too much tinctured with a 
 superstitious spirit, yet he was a mild, kind, and bene- 
 ficent monarch. The digest of laws which he had com- 
 piled, though not now extant, was held just and good, 
 and for ages desired by the English from their Norman 
 kings. Edward was interred the morning after his de- 
 cease at Westminster ; and on the afternoon of the same 
 da\ TTarold was crowned at St. Paul's, by Aldred, 
 archbishop of York.^ 
 
 P.— By what title did Harold assume the throne? 
 
 ^. — X.il^e William, he too pretended a nomination 
 from Edward ; but as no testament was ever discovered, 
 the claims of botli were a palpable usurpation, Edgar 
 Atheling (so called from Athel— noble,%a title borne by 
 the sons oi^ the Saxon kings, and by other potent per- 
 sons,) being the undoubted heir. Nor could Harold be 
 said to derive his crow n from the consent of the people,"* 
 as he did not w ait even to assemble the great council, 
 and the nation at large was as much influenced by fear 
 as favour. 
 
 P.— Yet personally he appears to have been a man 
 of much merit, and perhaps deserved the crown had he 
 been less forward to obtain it. 
 
 " Sax. Chi on. 
 
 • Spclmnn, OIoss. 
 
 *» Mat. Wcstmon. 
 
 ^ (nil. Malmcdb. lib. 2, c. 15. Ord. Vital. i9-'. 
 
IGG 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ^.—William was excessively emaged at the acces- 
 sion ol Harold, and sent an en.bassy to England, 
 upbraiding that prince with his breach oi lailh, and 
 summoning him to resign the kingdom; whi( h proposal, 
 as expected, was spurned at with indignation.' W iHiam 
 therefore prepared to assert his claim by force, and 
 assembled an army of sixty thousand chosen soldiers. 
 To en-age the reliuions prejudices of his barons in Ins 
 favour, he appealed to the Pope; who much delighted 
 at such a mark of respect, declared Harold a perjured 
 usurper, and denounced excommunication against hnn 
 and his adherents; and further to encourage W iUiam, 
 sent him a consecrated banner," and, as some modern 
 authors^ relate, a ring containing one of St. i'eter's 
 
 l^._It was surely very unfortunate for England that 
 these powerful competitors who contended for her do- 
 minion, should possess no other conceivable claim than 
 
 the power of the sword. 
 
 ^1.— The new monarch, from his general spirit oi 
 equity, began to acquire very much th.' allections of 
 his subjects. During tiie late reign, his brother Tost, 
 having been expelled for his tyranny from the govern- 
 ment 'of Northumberland, by the consent of Harold, 
 had now, excited by inveterate rancour, entered into 
 measures with Halfager, king of Norway, for llie inva- 
 sion of England. These leaders arrived in tin- Hnir.ber 
 with a large licet and army. After some trilling suc- 
 cesses, they were met by Harold at Stanford iiridge, 
 near York, where tiiey were both slain, and their army 
 totally routed, September 25." 
 
 F.—So slight ai! impression does a mere battle leave 
 
 1 - — 
 
 » Mat. West. 151. 
 ^' Si)ecd, Bilker. 
 
 *» Gul. Malmcsb. lib. 3. 
 
 * Gul.iNIalniesb. lib. 2, c. 15. 
 
 HAR()LI). 
 
 iG7 
 
 behind it, unless rol]o\sed by important civil conse- 
 quences, that this engagement at Stanford Bridge, 
 though represented as one of the bloodiest ever I'ouglit 
 in England, and in which an invading monarch was left 
 dead in the field, seems to be so little remembered as 
 to be scarcely known. 
 
 A. — The rendezvous of the Norman fleet w^as at the 
 mouth of the small river Dive, between the Seine and 
 the Orne, where it w as detained for a month by con- 
 trary winds: at length it reached St. Valery, near 
 Dieppe, l)ut suifered so much from tempests as greatly 
 to discourage the whole army. William luckily disco- 
 vering the eflicacy of the relics of the patron saint of 
 the place, ordered them to be carried in a religious pro- 
 cession; and tlic wind speedily changing, he landed 
 with all his forces at Pevensey, in Sussex, three days 
 only after the battle of Stanford. As A\ iiliam leaped 
 on shore he had the misfortune to fall, but had the pre- 
 sence of mind to turn the accident to advantage, ob- 
 serving that he had taken possession of the country;* 
 and a soldier plucking some thatch from a cottage, 
 presented it to his general, as giving him livery of 
 seizin of the kingdom. 
 
 P. — This seems to emulate the example of Caesar, 
 to whom a similar accident occurring, he averted the 
 omen by exclaiming, '^ Afrii a, I liold thee fast." 
 
 F. — This tlien was not the only age in which such a 
 trivial occurrence could dispirit a whole army ; but as 
 a proof of the spirit of superstition then prevalent, the 
 appearance of a comet'' is particularly remarked by all 
 the authors of this period. 
 
 > A, — The duke soon after removed his fleet and camp 
 to Hastings, whither Harold hastened by forced marches 
 
 » Mat. \V Col ill. 150. 
 
 ^ Wil. Gcmd. 2H5. Mat. Vv'eslm. i5:h 
 
168 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 to meet the invader. TIioii<>h the hite vi( tory in the 
 nortli wn ]H)noi!rable to llarolcVs skill and rourage, 
 vet it proved prejudicial, by dimiuisliing the nuniber oi* 
 his troops; and an unfoitiinate dispnte arose respecting 
 the distribution of the spoil, hi this state ol" alViiirs, 
 Gurtl)^ the king's brother, began to entertain ai>pix lion- 
 sions of the event, and remonstrated v.ith Karohi, that 
 it would be better policy to |>rolonu tlu^ vvnr, than 
 to put his v/holc fortune on the issue of a single 
 battle •/ at least he ought not to expose his own person : 
 and that having l)een so unfortunate as to be constrained 
 to swear upon the holy relics in supi)ort of WiliiariTs 
 claim, anotlier commander might give the soldiers more 
 assured h.opes of success. 
 
 P.— That unluckv oath si^ems to hav(^ stared Harold 
 in the face which ever way he looked, lik(^ the flaming 
 sword over the gates of Paradise. 
 
 A. — Many vauntings passed between tlie two leaders. 
 William offered to decide his claim bv simrle com!)at : 
 Harold replied, tliat the God of armies would soon be 
 the arbiter of their diflercMTces. At length the day 
 dawned, October 14, I0G6, on which the most imporiant 
 battle ever fought on English ground was to decide the 
 late of liie kingdom. 
 
 F. — The moiikish writers are fr.mi of contrasting 
 the employment of the two armies on the pin vious 
 niglit, the English i)assing it in feastins: and Jolbty, 
 the Normans in i>rayer and silence; as i! to these 
 causes were attributable ilie events of the subsecpient 
 confliet.^' 
 
 A. — The duke evinced the most cheerful ahicritv: 
 his corslet getting on the wrong side whilst arming, 
 '' The strength of mv dukedom will now/' said he/' be 
 
 I 
 
 THE BATTLU Oi" HASriNGS. 
 
 IGi) 
 
 turned iuto a kiiigaonu"' Afterharanguing his principal 
 officers in terms suitable to the occasion, he divided 
 his army into three lines: the first, led by ISIontgomery, 
 coiisi.s!('(l .»r archers and light armed infantry; tlie 
 second, commanded by Martel, was composed of his 
 l)ravest Lnittulions, heavily armed and ranged in close 
 oidir; Ills cavalry, at v. hose head he placed himself, 
 formed tlie third line, and uerc so disposed as to flank 
 each wing. I'.uth horses and men were in complete 
 annour. The papal bamior was carried by Tou stain" 
 the Fair; and the signal of battle being given, the 
 ^^huk■ army moved at once, and singing the celebrated 
 song of Koland,^ the renowned peer of Charlemagne, 
 advanced la order to meet the enemy. 
 
 /,;_()r ibis famous song, uhich was so long chanted 
 in France, not a single particle remains; the tune it 
 seems was begun by a certain knight called Taillefer, 
 on whom (he honour was conferred for his strong and 
 poNveriul voice, and who presently fell in the battle. 
 
 ^.—Immediately before the attack, the Normans 
 shouted "Cod is our help;" to which the English 
 replied, " Christ's rood"— the holy rood." Harold had 
 seized ihe adx aulage of a rising ground ; and securing 
 Ills (lank by trenches, he resolved to stand on the de- 
 fensive: the Kentish men were placed in front, a post 
 wldch they always claimed as their due; the Lon- 
 doners guarded the standard ; and the king, accompa- 
 nied by Ids broth. IS Curth and Leofwin, placed them- 
 selves" in the centre on foot, resolving to conquer or 
 die The first onset of the Normans was terri!)lc, but 
 was received with equal valour by the English. The 
 combat contir.ued for a long time furious, and the (or- 
 
 » f;,ii. I'ici. 201. 
 
 « Gut. Miilmcsh. iU).5. 
 
 b Gul. Pict. 127. 
 t Gill. Cict. \'16. 
 
 ' (iiil. Maliiics!i.)ib. 5. 
 
 '• ll)id.l!b,5. Gul. rut. 
 
170 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 mer began to give way. In this state of tli(^ buttle, 
 William resorted to the stratagem of a pretendt d iliulit; 
 which drawing the English from the advantage of their 
 position, they fell into some disorder, but in a short 
 time recovered their firmness. The same artifice was 
 again tried, and again succeeded; yet such was the 
 bravery of the English, that they once more rallied, 
 and maintained the contlict with unabated spirit: but 
 a little before sunset an arrow pierced the eye of Harold,'* 
 and the blow was instantly mortal ; his two Inothers 
 were also slain ; and the English, dispirited by the fate 
 of these princes, gave ground on e\ cry side, and were 
 pursued with great slaughter by their exultinu enemies. 
 The loss of the Normans was about fifteen thousand; 
 the number of the English who engaged, and the 
 amount of their loss, were never ascertaincnl. The bodv 
 of Harold was discovered amidst a heaj) of slain, by 
 his mistress Edith with the swans neck, who had been 
 induced to make the search at the solicitation of two 
 monks of W altlmm.'^ 
 
 P. — Such a mighty interest as the crown of England 
 was then decided by a single battle. 
 
 A, — Harold was evidently wrong in hazarding all 
 upon such an issue: delay, from various causes, mi<'Iit 
 have ruined the project oi' William, who had possession 
 of no strong holds, and but few friends or correspondents 
 in the kingdom; nor could he reasonably have calcu- 
 lated, that the king, with his brothers and almost all the 
 nobility of the south of England, should perish at one 
 blow, leaving him no competitor l)ut tlie inibec ile Ecb'ar 
 Atheling-. His enterprise succeedeil against probability: 
 had the expedition failed, posterity would have judged 
 the invasion to have been rash and imjirudont ; but 
 
 ■ Gnl. Pict. 128. 
 
 * MS.Abb.Waltlism. Speed, Chron. 
 
 THE SAXON CHRONICLE. 
 
 171 
 
 such is the power of events, that all such reflections 
 are dispelled, and historians unite to extol William the 
 Conqueror as the most judicious, as well as the bravest 
 and most fortunate of commanders. 
 
 p, Such then was the termination of the Anglo 
 
 Saxon rule, after a sway of five centuries. 
 
 ^,_Tn loo]<inff back on this long period, our feelings 
 of admiration are not very strongly excited : courage 
 seems to l)e the only very estimable virtue possessed 
 by the Anglo-Saxons, and that quality was subject to 
 great llucluations. A want of humanity, an addiction 
 to intenqierancc and disorder, a contempt for letters, a 
 disregard to the useful as well as the polite arts, are 
 conspicuous throughout their history. As the parent of 
 the 1- nglish language, the Saxon tongue well merits the 
 attention of the philological student, but it contains no 
 work wiiich can amuse the imagination or enlarge the 
 understanding; and though the antiquary may discover 
 the origin of some of our present usages, and a little 
 of our municipal law, in the institution of the Anglo- 
 Saxons, yet the rea! frame of the present English Con- 
 stitution must be rather sought in the feudal system, and 
 in the foitunute introduction of the Commons as a part 
 
 of r;nlianient. 
 
 F.— It is remarkable how little of our knowledge of 
 the Anglo-Saxons is derived from cotemporary writers ; 
 most of the particulars being gleaned from historians 
 who ii\ed alter the conquest, but who doubtless had 
 access to many original docmnents now lost. 
 
 yl.— Asserius, bishop of Sherburne, is somewhat an 
 exception : his Annals are meagre ; but his Life of Alfred, 
 thougli written in a homely style, and not with the most 
 lucid order, is valuable as a faithful and authentic 
 biographical sketch of his friend and master. The 
 
17i 
 
 \ ESTIGIA. 
 
 works ot* other Saxon writers are niosllv li\i > of 
 saints, trivial in matter, dull in style, ninl !>;irit n of 
 
 information. 
 
 F.— The Saxon Chronicle is however a natioiuil 
 
 (]o( ument, as uniqne as it is ralnable. 
 
 jl^ — Its translator^ has remarked, '' That except the 
 sacred oracles of the Jews, there is no other work ex- 
 tant, ancient or modern, which ex1iil)its at one view a 
 reiiiilar chronoloj^^ical panorama of a people, described 
 in rapid succession by diih rent writers through so many 
 a^cs, in their own vernacular language." Its various 
 authors can merely be guessed at: the work gives no 
 account of the Saxons anterior to the invitation of 
 Vt)rtigern, but continues their annals till the death 
 of King Stephen. We can scarcely imagine a more 
 authentic reiiister of facts, somewhat meagre it must 
 be allowed; and though t1\e style is equally dry, yet the 
 volume contains many pieces of 'Nirly Saxon poetry. 
 This Chronicle is an invaluable repertory to the student 
 of the Saxon language and antiquities; a3id forms, with 
 the labours of venerable llede, nearly the soh^ tbund<i- 
 tion of all real British history, from the arrival of the 
 Saxons to the Norman conquest. 
 
 " Ingram. 
 
 173 
 
 DISSERTATION V. 
 
 iToldjf&trr iTastlc. 
 
 THE NORMANS 
 
 A. D. 
 
 William the Conqueror, 1066 
 William Rufus - - - 1087 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Henry I. HOO 
 
 Stephen \\35 
 
 Section I. 
 
 F.—Tiiis county of Essex, once a kingdom, though 
 in i>i( fures(iue eflect not sustaining a comparison with 
 many i)arts ot" England, has yet that tranquil beauty 
 and smiling i'ertility of aspect which repay, at least to 
 the cultivator, the want of those romantic additions — 
 rocks and mountains. 
 
 ^.-Colchester, its most populous town, may in 
 point of antiquity vie with any other in the kingdom, 
 it having been very early a Roman station,^ with the 
 name of Colonia. The happy situation of Colchester, 
 commanding the adjacent country, claimed the attention 
 of the first conquerors of Britain; nor did it cease to 
 retain its importance amidst the mutations of subse- 
 quent invaders. 
 
 P.— Passing down the very pleasing main street 
 of this town, we obtain a glimpse of the venerable 
 remains of the castle, which have baffled so many 
 storms; and whose strength attests that they will still 
 
 • Dissert. II. page 42. 
 
174 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 COLCHESTER CASTLE. 
 
 17. 
 
 continue for centuries a melauclioly contrast to the 
 frail duration of human existence. 
 
 A. — Thoui^h antiquaries are seldom sentimental, 
 their pursuits having- invidiously been represented as 
 tendinir to extinguish rather than awaken sensibility, 
 yet your observation is natural; architectural ruins 
 beino- often calculated to excite a powerful and com- 
 plicated emotion, emhracino' the past, tiie present, and 
 the future condition of tlie world. 
 
 F.—Oi the lono'-ccmtinued habitation of the Ttomans 
 in this town we have evident proof, in tlie al)undance 
 of the Roman tiles which are worked up in the walls 
 and in several of the cliurches; the castle too exhil)its 
 them, disposed with so much regularity, that a careless 
 observer midit conclude the structure was of Human 
 
 origin. 
 
 A. — The general style of the w^ork precludes such 
 a mistake. Colchester Castle was i^ected by Eudo,' 
 dapifer, or grand sewer, of William the Conqu(Tor, in 
 the year 107(), for the purpose of overawing the neigh- 
 bourhood ; about the same period, similar fortresses 
 were built in various towns in England, the remains of 
 which are still Yisil)le at Exeter, Nottingham, York, 
 Lincoln, Cambridge, Chester, and some other places, 
 but scarcely any in superior preservation to wliatw^e 
 
 now behold. 
 
 P.— Did England contain any castles before the 
 
 conquest? 
 
 A, I should conclude not more than half a dozen, 
 
 since the paucity of places of defence was one cause 
 why William so rapidly subdued the kingdom : the 
 castles of Oxford and Norwich are conjectured, but I 
 think upon rather slender foundations, to be of Saxon 
 
 t 
 
 origin;" like so niany of these buildings, their destiny 
 has been strangely perverted ; tlic magnificent residences 
 of >} fciidd lord are become county prisons. 
 
 P. — iiut after all, is their occupation as a prison so 
 great a perversion of their original purpose? w^as not 
 that part of the castle called the donjon, or keep, often 
 tenanted with despairing captives? 
 
 A. — To sui)pose that the donjon, or keep, originally 
 meant a ])rison is erroneous, it having been the princi- 
 pal part oT the castle in which the lord made his resi- 
 dence, and w^as so strongly secured as to afford the 
 besieged a sale resort. The term donjon itself is of 
 such oljsure and doubtful derivation with the French 
 critics, that I will not attempt to discuss it: that the 
 gloominess of its apartments gave occasion to our w ord 
 dungeon, in the sense of a close and dark place of 
 confinement, is incontestible; but the real prison of the 
 castle were its deep and lualhsome vaults beneath. 
 
 P. — These massy ruins, we may then conclude, were 
 the walls of the donjon, or keep? 
 
 yl.— Evidently ; and though now reduced in height 
 to two stories, they must originally have been of double 
 their present elevation. The keep, or tower (as it is 
 sometimes emphatically called,) of a castle was usually 
 built on a rising ground, and near a river. The structure 
 before us was of an oblong form, with a turret at, or 
 near each corner, three of them being square, the fourth 
 semicircular; and notwitlistanding the dilapidations of 
 time, the vestiges of the general plan of a Norman for- 
 tilication, in most of its parts, may be tolerably well 
 
 traced out. 
 
 P.— But being unacquainted with this general plan, 
 
 an explanation is desirable. 
 
 Dugd.'jl.'^, Monnsticon. 
 
 * Kinff, Miinimenta Aiitiq. 
 
Itl 
 
 176 
 
 VEST I (HA. 
 
 J,— The keep, or i)iiiuii):il part of the castle, con- 
 tained the state apartments, tiie great hall, mid various 
 rooms for lodging, being four or five storie^ in lu ight ; 
 it was consequently very lolly, and formed a nol)le ob- 
 ject in the surrounding landscape ; in the comer turrets 
 were staircases, and often a well ; tlic walls were of an 
 extraordinary thickness, whicli has enabled (hem to 
 survive the outworks, and to bid defiance to time and 
 the seasons. A certain Gotli, who, about a century and 
 half ago, purchased Colchester Castle, for the purpose 
 of pulling it down and selliim the materials, Ibund the 
 walls so well cemented, that he was obliged to desist 
 from his undertaking by their extreme tenacity.'' 
 p._Such an attempt was truly sacrilegious. 
 _4._The space of vacant ground immediately sur- 
 rounding the keep was called the upper or inner baliium, 
 a bastard Latin word of the middle ages, derived from 
 the French bailie, a del'euce, or i)alisadc, and now cor- 
 rupted into bayley : this space was enclosed by a thick 
 wall, garnished with small towers. .On the outside of 
 this wall was another space, called the outer or lower 
 baliium; Avhieh was likewise defended b\ an exterior 
 wall of lofty elevation, and strengthened with lowers: 
 on tliis wall stood the detc nders of the easlle, behind a 
 sort of en'.bittled parapet, and wiio ,!isrhnrgcd on iho 
 besiegers various missile weapons, such as arrows, 
 dartsj and stones; and surroinuling the whole was a 
 
 deep fosse, or moat. 
 
 P,—X specimen of which is still seen in tlu Tower 
 
 Ditch of London. 
 
 ^l 'I'lic entrance to ;iie castle was through the 
 
 great gateway, forming a part ol' the exterior wall: this 
 
 was stron-dv fortified with lowers on eacli side, and 
 
 \t 
 
 COLCHESTER CASTLE. 
 
 177 
 
 over it were apulments for the porter. The gate was 
 secured by a portcullis, and a draw])ri(1ge was thrown 
 over tlie fosse. Tn the outer baliium were lodgings and 
 barnu ks lor the garrison, also a well, and a chapel; 
 often too there was a mount, from which the eye could 
 explore the adjacent country. In some of the larger 
 fortresses, for \hv defence of the great gate stood an 
 outwork, called the barbican, a name of Arabian origin, 
 but its meaning is unknown : it consisted, however, of 
 a wall with turrets. We may suppose that many va- 
 rieties of structure existed, but a perfect Norman place 
 of defence'' coincides with tliis description; and such 
 seems to have been the castle of Colchester. 
 
 F. — As military stations, these castles, from their 
 extreme strength, must have completely answered the 
 inf( iition of William the Conqueror, in bridling the 
 unruly inhabitants of the neighbourhood. 
 
 A. — From tlie inij) unity and licentious habits of 
 lli( ir ])ossessors and inmates, they were ever felt as 
 intolerable grievances: under the name of protection, 
 a pretext for plunder was never wanting. Mathew Paris 
 declares, that in Endnnd there were as many tyrants 
 as lords of castles; and that these places were very 
 nests of devils and dens of thieves. 
 
 F. — Yet the Normans appear to have made further 
 advances in tlie arts of civilized life than the English, 
 particularly ii\ architecture, several splendid specimens 
 yet remaining in Normandy of a date antecedent to the 
 conquest. 
 
 A, — The Norin:ni>, from their first settlement in 
 their province of Neustria, as it was previously called, 
 had tlic Ibrtime to be governed by a race of princes of 
 
 * Morant, Essex. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 GroKe, Antiquities of England, Preface. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 
 
 179 
 
 siiiaular talent us well as valour. Rollo the Dane, at 
 the end ol' the ninth century, expelled tVoni his own 
 small principality in the nortli l)y tlu^ King of Denmark, 
 sought in a richer soil and warmer climate a recompense 
 for his losses : his first alteinpt was upon England, then 
 governed by Alfred ; l)ut finding little cliance of success 
 in contending with so vigilant a monarch, he turned his 
 enterprise against France*/' and ( oinniitted in (hat king- 
 dom such destructive ravages, that Charles the Simple 
 was compelled to submit to the expedient already prac- 
 tised by Alfred, and ofiered the invaders a settlement 
 in some of the provinces which they had depopulated.'' 
 
 P. — But at that period it is not to be presumed that 
 these piratical adventurers were more enlii^htened than 
 their ferocious brethren who had so long devastated 
 Britain. 
 
 A. — Rollo in the decline of his life apjdied himself 
 to the improvement of his newly acquired territory : he 
 parcelled out the greater part of Normandy amongst his 
 captains, but treated his French subjects with singular 
 mildness and justice ; he embraced the Christinn fiuth, 
 and established law and good order throughout his 
 dominions. This wise example was so advantageously 
 followed bv all his successors, that the \ormans l)e- 
 came thoroughly intermingled with the Frencli; and so 
 well acquired their lanuuage and imitated their manners, 
 that in the course of a century they were considered 
 not only as a brave but as a highly polished people.'' 
 
 P. — But had thev become exempt from the innate 
 turbulence which always distinguislied the northern 
 
 race ? 
 
 A, — The nobilitv never lost their contentious spirit. 
 Duke Robert, the fifth in descent from Rollo, d}ing in 
 
 a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and having appointed 
 his natural son William, then only nine years of age, 
 his successor, in preference to some legitimate branches 
 of the ducal iamily, the whole province became a scene 
 of such furious contention,* that had not the young 
 prince, as he advanced in years, given manifest evi- 
 dence of those signal qualities which distinguished 
 his whole life, it would probably have lost its separate 
 existence, and reverted to the crown of France. 
 
 P. — The young prince gave verj^ precocious indica- 
 tions of his qualities, for as soon as he was born he 
 laid hold of the rushes of a pillow, and griped them 
 so fast thai his little fist was obliged to be unclenched 
 before he would let them go : this made the good women 
 predict that he would one day prove a great acquirer, 
 since he began so early.^ But the attempt of his father 
 to change the order of succession in favour of an illegi- 
 timate child would be sufllcient in any nation to excite 
 opposition. 
 
 A, — William was so little ashamed of his birth, that 
 even after the cou(piest of England many of his grants 
 conmience with '' f, William the Bastard,*" &c.;" a word 
 now become coarse and olfensive: but he probably 
 judged, that as it was an undeserved reproach from 
 which he could not escape, it was his wisest policy 
 openly to avow. His mother, Harlotta, whose name 
 has since been so invidiously applied, w^as the daughter 
 of a tanner at Falaise:"^ she captivated Robert by her 
 graceful mien in dancing ; she married during the duke's 
 life a Norman soldier, by nnme Herluin, of Cantervile, 
 and iiad several children.* Her two sons, Robert, earl 
 of Mortaigiie, and Odo, bishop of Bayeux, were both 
 
 • Gnl.Gemet. rih.2. 
 
 »' Ibid. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 » Gul. Malmesb. Vib.S. 
 ^ Bronipton, 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 N 2 
 
 ^ Spelinan, Gloss. 
 « Gul. Gemet. 
 
180 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 distiiK-uislied in the subsequent transactions with Eng;- 
 land:^hc lormer being created F/.ul of Cornwall, and 
 enriched ANith seven hundred and ninety-lliree^ manors; 
 the latter, Earl oi' Kent, was put olV with only lour 
 hundred and thirty-nine. 
 
 P — Tlie spoils and forfeiture, of course, of the un- 
 fortunate Englisli. 
 
 ^.__Xothing couhl exceed tire consternation and 
 dismay which befel the nation on learning the fatal 
 issue of the battle of Hastings, the d.-ath ot Harold, 
 the slaughter of the principal nobility, and the rout 
 and dispersion of the army. Thus circun.stanced the 
 two potent Earls of Mercia and Xorthun.berland, l.dw.n 
 and Morcar, fled to London with the renrai.rs ol their 
 broken forces; and in concert with Stigand, the pri- 
 mate, proclaimed Edgar Atheling.- But the extreme 
 imbecility of that undoubted heir of the Saxon hue 
 precluded the people from looking up to h.m as a 
 rallying point in this emergency; and the two earls 
 ^vere besides suspected of a design to govern under his 
 name; the superior clergy too, many of whom were 
 Normans, began to declare in lavour of W ilUa.n; the 
 Pope's bull, bv ^vhich his undertaking had been conse- 
 crated, appearing as a sanction for their submission; 
 and the community, accustomed to the yoke ol the 
 Danish princes, hoping that William would, like Ca- 
 nute, govern them by their own laws, became unuilhng 
 to hazard further resistance. 
 
 p._.l)id the Conqueror immediately pursue^ (he 
 
 advantages of his victory? 
 
 A —His army bein- attacked by a dysentery, was 
 compelled to remain a few days at Dover ;^ the castle 
 
 •» Briidv, Tntrod. 
 
 b Order. Vitiil. Ifovedcn. 
 
 * Gul. riot. 
 
 TENURE OF GAVELKIND. 
 
 181 
 
 of which lowii ( upitulatcd at his approach. In the pro- 
 gress of William to the metropolis, he was surprised by 
 the appearance of a moving grove/ like that described 
 by the dramatist as approaching from Birnam Wood: it 
 was a body of the Kentish men : 
 
 " Now near enough, your leafy screens throw down, 
 And show like those vou are." 
 
 This troop assured the Conqueror of their submission, 
 ou the conditioii that he would secure their ancient 
 iiniiumities. This was readily granted; and hence the 
 continuance of the Saxon tenure of gavelkind in part of 
 the county ol'Kcnt; Ihe chief feature in which, besides 
 the descent of the estate amongst all the sons in equal 
 shares, is its not being iorfeited by any attainder or 
 execution lor lelonv, on the maxim of '' The father to 
 the bough, the son to the plough."^ 
 
 F. — The story has been questioned, as the season 
 being now the beginning of November, where were the 
 green boughs to be found ? But it rests with the objectors 
 to lind a more probable cause than this compact, for 
 the continuance of the custom of gavelkind in Kent to 
 tlie present hour. 
 
 ^.—William appeared before the gates of London, 
 1)ut was refused admittance; he burnt Southwark,*^ 
 which made the Londoners dread the like fate for their 
 city; and he then proceeded along the banks of the 
 Thames, which river he crossed at Wallingford, and 
 advanced to Berkhamsted, in Hertfordshire, within 
 thirty miles of the metropolis. A scene of national 
 degradation was now al)out to take place, w^hich cannot 
 be contemplated without a strong feeling of compas-- 
 sion: tlie two Archbishops of Canterbury and York, 
 with Edirar Atheling and the chief nobility of the king- 
 
 • Thorn. 
 
 ^ Lambardc, Pcramh. 
 
 ^ Sim. Dunelm, 
 
182 
 
 VfiSTIGI 1. 
 
 (loni, were compelled to declare, in an interview with 
 William, their intention of yieldirifj to his authority,* 
 and to acknowledge that they knew no one mure worthy 
 than himself to hold th(^ reins of ^overiinunf. 
 
 P. — The Conqueror then at lenglii saw in his 
 grasp that diadem for which he had so strenuously 
 contended. 
 
 A. — But wliich at this moment he hesitated to ac- 
 cept-/ whether he wished a more explicit and formal 
 consent of the English nation, or w as desirous of owing 
 his crown to the power of the sword alone, is uncertain. 
 His coronation, however, was soon afterward ptM'formed 
 in Westminster Abbey, by Aldred,^ archbishop of \ ork, 
 in presence of the most considerable nobles and gentry, 
 both Norman and English ; and tlu dukt^ tnok the* usual 
 oath administered to the Anglo-Saxon kings, to govern 
 according to the laws. 
 
 F. — Of how small obiiuation sucli oatlis are con 
 sidered in the minds of some princes, lei the sequel 
 determine. 
 
 A. — Thus did William, at the age of fort\ two, ac- 
 quire the crown of England by a prctendeil testament 
 of Edward the Conlessor, but virtually i)y force ot 
 arms. To pretend, as some have done, thnt he was 
 freely elected by the people, is ubsuid; their a.uthority 
 at this period much resembling that of slaves nu\de 
 during war, who grant to their masters the riirht to 
 chastise them. 
 
 F, — It has been said that William, like AuL'ustus, 
 came to the empire neither by conquest, nor usurpation, 
 nor inheritance, nor election; but by a strange mixture 
 of all these rights. 
 
 A. — Even so early as during the ceremony ot the 
 
 ' Ilovcdcn. 
 
 Gul. Pict. 
 
 Ingiilfli. 
 
 BATTLE ABBEY. 
 
 ib3 
 
 coronaficm, 1)urst on! those symptoms of jealousy and 
 animosity which prevailed between the two people for 
 many ages, so greatly to the disadvantage of the 
 Enirlish. The Norman soldiers placed without the 
 church, on hearing the acclamations within, pretended 
 that the English were offering violence to their duke; 
 and they immediately assaulted the populace, and 
 burnt and plundered the neighbouring houses: nor was 
 it without the utmost difliculty that William could ap- 
 pease the tumult.* 
 
 P. — We may suppose that, in the beginning of his 
 reigr at least, the king was desirous of appearing to 
 govern with some shew of equity. 
 
 A. — Not only so, iiut he even affected to rest every 
 thing on estaldished foundations; which circumstance 
 was the cause that, in the subequent wreck of the 
 l^nglish liberties, some few vestiges of the ancient 
 usa2:es and constitution still remained. The estates 
 of Harold, and of tiiose onlv who fell at the battle 
 of Hastings, were iu)vv confiscated, and distributed 
 amongst the Norman captains ; many who carried arms 
 against William were received into favour, and the 
 kingdom submitted quietly to his authority; the English 
 flattering themselves that they had merely changed the 
 succession of their sovereigns, without injury to the 
 ft)rm of government. But the king placed all real power 
 in the hands of his countrymen; and still kept posses- 
 sion of the sword, to which alone he was sensible he 
 owed his advancement. 
 
 F. — To the ecclesiastical body, by whom his suc- 
 cess luid been much forwarded, William at all times 
 expressed his gratitude : on the very spot where Harold 
 fell, he erected and richly endowed a new convent; 
 
 » Gul. Pict. 
 
L84 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 which thus, beneath the pretence of a i)ious oblation, 
 served as a lasting memorial of his victory, under the 
 name of Battle Abbey.^ 
 
 P. — And do its ruins still attest the site of that fatal 
 contest? 
 
 ^1.— A part of its remains is converted into a man- 
 sion, now the property and residence of the Webster 
 family. The abbey must have been a nobU pile: the 
 tjate-house is entirely preserved, and iu it are held 
 meeting:s relatinu* to the jurisdiction of the ))lace; the 
 liall was maixnificent; and the kitchen, arched at lop, 
 so spacious as to contain five fireplaecs. 
 
 P. — Thou^iii the desi^rn then was to pr;<y for the 
 souls of the dead, yet it appears that ample pruvisiori 
 was made for th(^ bodies of the livinir. 
 
 A, — The founder ori<i;inally intended the establish- 
 ment for one hundred and forty monks, but the number 
 never exceeded sixtv : thev wefe of the TJenedictine 
 order, and tlu^ first inhabitauLs were trans])lanted from 
 the monastery of St. Martin, at Marmontier, in Nor- 
 mandy; the abbot was mitred, and enjoyed nmny ex- 
 traordinary pri\ ilexes;*' in the church were depobiled 
 the sword and robe of the Coiu[ueror, \\1u( h lie wore at 
 his coronation. But a greater curiosity, whieli remained 
 till the general suppression ol" the monasteries, and WtUs 
 then lost, \\as the Battle Al)bey roll, or a ta1)l(^ of 
 the Norman gentry who r[)mv into Fngland \\\\\\ \hv 
 Conqueror. 
 
 F, — But if we are to believe such great anticjuaries 
 as Dugdale and Camden, its authority was not nunh 
 to be relied on, there I)eing in it many erroi. , not to say 
 falsifications; for the crafty monks, finding it an accept- 
 able thing to be reputed the descendants oi lliose who 
 
 ■ Gul. Gemot. Saxon Cliron. 
 
 ^ Tlie Charter in Brady, vol. 2, Append. 
 
 \. 
 
 BATTLE ABBKY ROLL. 
 
 185 
 
 were companions of William in his expedition, gratified 
 many of their benefactors by inserting their names in 
 this ancient catalogue. 
 
 A.—l can produce you a copy, which is taken from 
 Holinshed's Chronicle; other lists are extant in Graf- 
 ton, Stowe, and, where you would not expect to find 
 such a tliinu, in Fox's Acts and Monuments, vulgarly 
 called the Book of Martyrs. But this is the most co- 
 pious: the catalogut^ is thus set forth : 
 
 THE NAMES OF 
 WHO CAME 
 
 Aumarle 
 
 Aincourt 
 
 Audoley 
 
 Augilliani 
 
 Arirentouiie 
 
 Arundell 
 
 Avcnant 
 
 Abell 
 
 Auveriic 
 
 Amnvers 
 
 Augers 
 
 Angenounc 
 
 Archere 
 
 Anviiy 
 
 Aspcrvilc 
 
 A I be vile 
 
 Aiidevile 
 
 Amovcrdvilc 
 
 Arey 
 
 Akcny 
 
 Albeiiy 
 
 A V be V arc 
 
 Ainay 
 
 Asperinoinid 
 
 Amercnges 
 
 Bertram 
 
 Buttccourt 
 
 Brehiis 
 
 SUCH NOBLES AND GENTLEMEN OF MARQUE 
 IN AT THIS TIME WITH THE CONQUEROR. 
 
 Bickard 
 Baiiastre 
 
 Byseg 
 
 Bardolfe 
 
 Basset 
 
 Bigot 
 
 Bohun 
 
 Bailif 
 
 Bondevile 
 
 Brabason 
 
 Baskcrvile 
 
 Bures 
 
 Bounilaiue 
 
 Bois 
 
 Botelere 
 
 Bourcher 
 
 Brabaion 
 
 Berners 
 
 Braibuf 
 
 Brande 
 
 Bronce 
 
 Burgh 
 
 Bushy 
 
 Banet 
 
 Breton 
 
 Bhiet 
 
 Blondell 
 
 Baious 
 
 Browne 
 
 Bcke 
 
 Baloun 
 
 Beauchampe 
 
 Bray 
 
 Bandv 
 
 Bracy 
 
 Boundes 
 
 Bascoun 
 
 Broileni 
 
 Brolevy 
 
 Burnell 
 
 Bellet 
 
 Baudewin 
 
 Beaumont 
 
 Burdon 
 Bertevilay 
 
 Barre 
 
 Bussevile 
 
 Blunt 
 
 Beaupere 
 
 Bevill 
 
 Bardvedor 
 
 Brette 
 
 Barret 
 
 Bonrett 
 
 Bainard 
 
 Barnivale 
 
i»o 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 
 Bonett 
 
 Com in 
 
 Uenaville 
 
 Barry 
 
 Columber 
 
 Dercy 
 
 Bryan 
 
 Cribett 
 
 Dive 
 
 Bodin 
 
 Creuquere 
 
 Dispencere 
 
 Bertevile 
 
 Corbine 
 
 Daubeny 
 
 Bertin 
 
 Corbett 
 
 Daniell 
 
 Berne vile 
 
 Chaundos 
 
 Devise 
 
 * 
 
 Bellewe 
 
 Chavvorth 
 
 Druell 
 
 Bevery 
 
 Cleremaus 
 
 Devaus 
 
 Biisheil 
 
 Clarell 
 
 D avers 
 
 Boranvile 
 
 Chopis 
 
 Dodingsels 
 
 Browe 
 
 Chaundnit 
 
 Darell 
 
 Belevers 
 
 Chantelow 
 
 Delaber 
 
 Buffard 
 
 Chaniberay 
 
 Delapole 
 
 Bonveyer 
 
 Cressy 
 
 Delalinde 
 
 Bote vile 
 
 • 
 
 Cur te nay 
 
 Delahill 
 
 Bellire 
 
 Conestable 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Bastard 
 
 Cholmeley 
 
 Delavaehe 
 
 Brasard 
 
 Champney 
 
 Dakeney 
 
 Beelhelnie 
 
 Chawnos 
 
 Dauntre 
 
 Braine 
 
 Comivile 
 
 Desny 
 
 Brent 
 
 Champaine 
 
 Dabernouiu 
 
 Braunch 
 
 Carevile 
 
 Danjry 
 
 Belesuz 
 
 Carbonelle 
 
 Daveros 
 
 Blundell 
 
 Charles 
 
 Davoni^e 
 
 Burdett 
 
 Chereberge 
 
 Duilby 
 
 Bagott 
 
 Chawnes 
 
 Delavere 
 
 Beauvise 
 
 Chaumont 
 
 l)uran<xe 
 
 Belemis 
 
 Caperoun 
 
 Delahoid 
 
 Beisin 
 
 Cheine 
 
 Delee 
 
 Bern on 
 
 Curs on 
 
 Delannd 
 
 Boels 
 
 Coville 
 
 Delaward 
 
 Belefroun 
 
 Chaiters 
 
 Dela[>Ianch 
 
 Brutz 
 
 Cheines 
 
 Daninot 
 
 Barchanipe 
 
 Cateray 
 
 Datnvay 
 
 Camels 
 
 Chereeoun 
 
 Dehense 
 
 Cam vile 
 
 Cam mile 
 
 Devile 
 
 Chawent 
 
 Clerenay 
 
 Disard 
 
 Chauncy 
 
 Curly 
 
 Doiville 
 
 Conderay 
 
 Cuily 
 
 Durant 
 
 Colvile 
 
 Clinels 
 
 Drury 
 
 Chamberlain 
 
 Clifford 
 
 Dabitot 
 
 Champernoun 
 
 Courtency 
 
 Dunstcrvile 
 
 BATTLE ABBEY ROLL. 
 
 187 
 
 Dunchampe 
 
 Flam vile 
 
 Gurney 
 
 Dambelton 
 
 Fermay 
 
 Giffard 
 
 Estrange 
 
 Fitz Eustach 
 
 Geverges 
 
 Estutevile 
 
 Fitz Laurence 
 
 Gamages 
 
 Ent^aine 
 
 Fernibaud 
 
 Haunteney 
 
 'J 
 
 Estriels 
 
 Friseund 
 
 Haunsard 
 
 Esturney 
 
 Finere 
 
 Hastings 
 
 Ferrerers 
 
 Fitz Robert 
 
 Hanlay 
 
 Folvile 
 
 Furnivale 
 
 Haurell 
 
 Fitzwater 
 
 Fitz Geffrey 
 
 Husee 
 
 Fitzmarmaduke 
 
 Fitz Herbert 
 
 Hercy 
 
 Flevez 
 
 Fitz Peres 
 
 Herieun 
 
 FillMTt 
 
 Fichet 
 
 Heme 
 
 Fitz RoiJ'er 
 
 Fitz Rewes 
 
 Hareceurt 
 
 C3 
 
 Favecourt 
 
 Fitz Fitz 
 
 Heneure 
 
 Ferrers 
 
 Fitz John 
 
 Hovell 
 
 Fitz Fhilip 
 
 Fleschanipe 
 
 Hamelin 
 
 Fillet 
 
 Gurnay 
 
 Harevvell 
 
 Furniveus 
 
 Gressy 
 
 Harden 
 
 Furnivaus 
 
 Graunson 
 
 Haket 
 
 Fitz Otes 
 
 Gracy 
 
 Hamound 
 
 Fitz William 
 
 Georges 
 
 Harcerd 
 
 Fitz Roand 
 
 Gewer 
 
 Jarden 
 
 Fitz Pain 
 
 Gaugy 
 
 Jay 
 
 Fitz Auger 
 
 Geband 
 
 Jeniels 
 
 Fitz Aleyn 
 
 Gray 
 
 Jercenvise 
 
 Fitz Rautf 
 
 Gaunson 
 
 Janvile 
 
 Fitz Browne 
 
 Golofre 
 
 Jasper vile 
 
 Foke 
 
 Gebien 
 
 Kaunt 
 
 Frevile 
 
 Grensy 
 
 Karre 
 
 Front de Boef 
 
 Graunt 
 
 Karrowe 
 
 Fa<'iin »cr«'c 
 
 Greile 
 
 Keine 
 
 Fort 
 
 Grevet 
 
 Kimaroune 
 
 Frisell 
 
 Gurry 
 
 Kiriell 
 
 Fitz Simon 
 
 Gurley 
 
 Kancey 
 
 Fitz Fouk 
 
 Grammeri 
 
 Kenelre 
 
 Filioll 
 
 Gernoun 
 
 Leveny 
 
 Fitz Thomas 
 
 Grendon 
 
 Lacy 
 
 Fitz Morice 
 
 (iurdon 
 
 Linneby 
 
 Fitz Hno-h 
 
 Gines 
 
 Latomer 
 
 Fitz Ifrnrie 
 
 Grivell 
 
 Loveday 
 
 Fit/ ^^'aren 
 
 (irenevilc 
 
 Lovell 
 
 Fitz Rain old 
 
 Glatevile 
 
 Lemare 
 
188 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 
 Levetot 
 
 Mare 
 
 Monhaut 
 
 Lucy 
 
 Musegros 
 
 Meller 
 
 Luny 
 
 Musarde 
 
 Mountgomeric 
 
 Logevile 
 
 Moine 
 
 Maularde 
 
 Longespes 
 
 Montravers 
 
 Menere 
 
 Loverace 
 
 Merke 
 
 Martinast 
 
 Longcliampe 
 
 Murres 
 
 Mare 
 
 Lascales 
 
 Mortivale 
 
 M ain waring 
 
 Lovan 
 
 Monchenesy 
 
 Matelay 
 
 Leded 
 
 Mai lory 
 
 -Male mis 
 
 Liise 
 
 Marny 
 
 Maleheire 
 
 Lotorell 
 
 Mountai^u 
 
 Moren 
 
 Loriig'e 
 
 Mountford 
 
 Melun 
 
 Long'uevale 
 
 Maulc 
 
 Marceans 
 
 Loy 
 
 Monhermon 
 
 Maiell 
 
 Lorancourt 
 
 Musett 
 
 Morton 
 
 Loions 
 
 MencTile 
 
 Noers 
 
 Limers 
 
 Mantenevant 
 
 Nevile 
 
 Loiigepay 
 
 Manfe 
 
 Newniareh 
 
 Luuinale 
 
 Aleupincoy 
 
 Norbet 
 
 Lane v 
 
 Maine 
 
 Norice 
 
 Lovetot 
 
 Mainard 
 
 Ncwborough 
 
 PTuhant 
 
 Morel I 
 
 Neireniet 
 
 Mow lie 
 
 Mainell 
 
 Neile 
 
 Maundevile 
 
 Maleluse 
 
 Norm a vile 
 
 iMariniloii 
 
 Mcmorous 
 
 Neof march 
 
 Moribray 
 
 Morreis 
 
 Nennitz 
 
 Morvile 
 
 Morleian 
 
 Nembrutz 
 
 Miriell 
 
 Malevere 
 
 Otevell 
 
 IVlanlay 
 
 Maudut 
 
 Olibef 
 
 Malebramich 
 
 Mount Marten 
 
 Olifant 
 
 Malemaine 
 
 Mantelet 
 
 Osencl 
 
 Mortiinere 
 
 Miners 
 
 Oisell 
 
 Mortiniaine 
 
 Mauclerke 
 
 Olifard 
 
 Muse 
 
 Mounchenell 
 
 Orinall 
 
 Marteine 
 
 Movet 
 
 OrioU 
 
 Mount!)other 
 
 Meintenore 
 
 Pigot 
 
 Mountsoler 
 
 Meletak 
 
 Pery 
 
 Male vile 
 
 Man vile 
 
 Perepount 
 
 Malet 
 
 Mangisere 
 
 Persbalc 
 
 MounttMiey 
 
 Maumasin 
 
 Power 
 
 Moutu'het 
 
 Mountlovel 
 
 Painell 
 
 Maleherbe 
 
 INlawrcwarde 
 
 Peclie 
 
 BATTLE ABBEY ROLL. 
 
 189 
 
 Pavev 
 
 J 
 
 Rie 
 
 Sent Barbe 
 
 Pevrell 
 
 Rokell 
 
 Sent Vile 
 
 Perot 
 
 Risers 
 
 Souremount 
 
 Picartl 
 
 Randvile 
 
 Soreglise 
 
 Pinkenie 
 
 Roselin 
 
 Sandvile 
 
 Pomeray 
 
 Rastoke 
 
 Sauncey 
 
 Pounce 
 
 Rinvill 
 
 Sirewast 
 
 Pavel y 
 
 Rougere 
 
 Sent CheveroU 
 
 Paifrere 
 
 Rait 
 
 Sent More 
 
 Plukenet 
 
 Ripere 
 
 Sent Scudemore 
 
 PI mars 
 
 Rigny 
 
 Toget 
 
 Puncliardoun 
 
 Richemound 
 
 Tercy 
 
 Pinehard 
 
 Roehford 
 
 Tuchet 
 
 Plaey 
 
 Raiinond 
 
 'IVacy 
 
 Pugoy 
 
 Souch 
 
 Trousbut 
 
 Patefinc 
 
 Shevile 
 
 Trainell 
 
 Place 
 
 Seucheus 
 
 Taket 
 
 Painpilioun 
 
 Senclerc 
 
 Trussell 
 
 Percelay 
 
 Sent Quentin 
 
 Trison 
 
 Per ere 
 
 Sent Omere 
 
 Talbot 
 
 Pekeny 
 
 Sent Amond 
 
 Touny 
 
 • 
 
 Poterell 
 
 Sent Legere 
 
 1 raies 
 
 Peukeny 
 
 SomerFile 
 
 ToUemach 
 
 Peccell 
 
 Siward 
 
 Tolous 
 
 Pinell 
 
 Sansovere 
 
 Tannv 
 
 Putrill 
 
 Sanford 
 
 Touke 
 
 Petivoll 
 
 Sanctes 
 
 Tibtote 
 
 Preaus 
 
 Savay 
 
 Turbevile 
 
 Pantolf 
 
 Saul ay 
 
 Tiirvile 
 
 Peito 
 
 Sules 
 
 'I'omy 
 
 Penecord 
 
 Sorell 
 
 Taverner 
 
 Prendirlegast 
 
 Somerey 
 
 Trenchevile 
 
 Percivale 
 
 - Sent John 
 
 Trenchelion 
 
 Quinci 
 
 Sent George 
 
 Tankervile 
 
 Quiiitiny 
 
 Sent Les 
 
 I'irell 
 
 Ros 
 
 Sesse 
 
 Trivet 
 
 Ridell 
 
 Salvin 
 
 Tolet 
 
 Rivers 
 
 Say 
 
 'IVavers 
 
 Rivell 
 
 Solers 
 
 Tardevile 
 
 Rous 
 
 Sent Albin 
 
 'I'urburvile 
 
 Rushell 
 
 Sent Martin 
 
 'I'inevile 
 
 Ra!)antl 
 
 Sourdemale 
 
 Torell 
 
 Rond 
 
 Seguin 
 
 Tortediappel 
 
■) 
 
 wo 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 
 Trusbote 
 
 Verland 
 
 Venicorde 
 
 Treverel 
 
 Valers 
 
 Valive 
 
 Ten wis 
 
 Veirny 
 
 Viville 
 
 Totelles 
 
 / Vavurvile 
 
 Vancorde 
 
 Vere 
 
 Veniels 
 
 Valenges 
 
 Vernon n 
 
 Verrere 
 
 Wardebois 
 
 Vescy 
 
 Uschere 
 
 Ward 
 
 Verdoune 
 
 Veffay 
 
 Wafre 
 
 Valence 
 
 Vanay 
 
 Wake 
 
 Verde ire 
 
 Vian 
 
 \^^treine 
 
 Vavasonr 
 
 Vernoys 
 
 Wate 
 
 Vendore 
 
 Urnall 
 
 Watelin 
 
 Verlay 
 
 Unket 
 
 Watevil 
 
 Valencer 
 
 Urnafull 
 
 W^ely 
 
 Venal des 
 
 Vasderoll 
 
 Werdonell 
 
 Venoure 
 
 Vaberon 
 
 Wespaile 
 
 Vilan 
 
 Valinsfford 
 
 Wivell 
 
 BATTLE ABBEY ROLL. 
 
 191 
 
 A, — There was unotlier tal)le setlinu fortli llie chief 
 of William's captains by the title of their estates 
 which they held in Normandy: such as Robert, Erie 
 of Mortaigne ; Le Seigneur d'Episnay; Le Seigneur dc 
 Longueville ; and a few only by any surname. I do not 
 know whetlier you will receive much entertainment ironi 
 looking over a l)are list of names; but to the lovers of 
 pedigree the catalogue, in its way, is without doubt a 
 curiosity. 
 
 P. — At a cursory glance we perceive that about 
 one-third i)art of these names no longer exists in Eng- 
 land : are we to conclude that till persons bearing tln^ 
 same surname as the remaiiuler are descended from 
 these '^ gentlemen of marque?" 
 
 A, — The vanity of most would gladly impose sucli 
 a belief; but the truth is, that not twenty pedigrees 
 can be pro})erly authenticated to the period of the 
 conquest. The lictions of the Herald's OfHce have al- 
 ways been the sport of satire: how uncertain must be 
 the links which would sustain such a chain of evidence, 
 
 is a|)parenl uiieii we consider that surnames, tiiough 
 in use with tin Xormans as terms of distinction, were 
 not at that time, nor for some generations after, com- 
 monly hereditary; and then not at once, but by degrees, 
 as tin ir utility became recognised. 
 
 F, — Amongst the curious odds and ends of Thomas 
 Hearne,* is this descent of the family of Cognisby ; 
 which, if tlie author could have been guilty of satire, 
 we might suppose was meant in ridicule of the Battle 
 Abbey roll : 
 
 " W^illiam de Cognisby 
 Came out of Britany, 
 With his wife Tiffany, 
 And his maid Manfas, 
 And his dogge Hardigras.** 
 
 This ancient writing of parchment, says honest Thomas, 
 is esteemed by the family as amongst their most pre- 
 cious monuments. 
 
 p^ — l]ut I see no greater honour in French or Nor- 
 man blood than in English of the same antiquity; and 
 as all the Conquerors soldiers could not have been 
 gentlemen, many of them indeed being the very scum 
 of Europe,^ an old Anglo-Saxon ceorle is just as re- 
 spectable an ancestor as one of these freebooters: 
 where indeed Norman blood gives a title to large 
 landed ])roperty, there is something to boast of. 
 
 A. — To trace a real Anglo-Saxon descent is next to 
 imi)ossible; as with tliat people surnames at the con- 
 quest were nearly, if not quite, unknown: all deeds 
 having been signed by them with a single Christian 
 name, as '^ I, Edmund, have granted,'' &c.;" and in 
 Domesday Book the few Saxons yet retaining their 
 lands, or described as liolding them uiider Edward the 
 Confessor, are designated by the Christian name only: 
 
 * Fiiefut. .1(1 Fordiin. •' Drdrr. Vital. *^ Selden. Notes in Eadmer. 
 
ii K; ^'! " w t"J ! W«-.„, -l i , i i iL'Xiwji i B i tt i W i .MM i j wwi iwaMr 'igr - mm 
 
 192 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 SURNAMES. 
 
 193 
 
 which iudeecf is the case with a considerable number 
 of the Xormari tenants; and the name htiiiii latinized, 
 it is somewhat uncertain to which nation ithelonoed: 
 as Herbrandus, Hervcvus, Ilbodus. Indeed the possess- 
 ing a surname at all miuht be considered lor a century 
 after the conquest as an evidence of Norman descent ; 
 for when Henry I. was desirous of havin- his natural 
 son Robert married to a great heiress, the lady refusi d 
 on this ground ; 
 
 ** It were to me a great shame 
 
 To have a lord withonten bis twa name."* 
 
 Whereupon his father gave him the name o( Fitz Roy, 
 and afterwards created him Earl of Gloucester. 
 
 P.— But though the Battle Abbey roll should be 
 deemed a defective evidence, is the similarity of names 
 with those recorded in Domesday Book a suilicient 
 authority to consider their possessors as the genuine 
 descendants of those who came in with the Conqueror? 
 
 yl. — Only to the select and fortunate few, whose 
 ancestors possessing vast estates, have left memorials 
 in the shape of legal documents; but as even the great 
 barons or tenants in chief did not leave the same sur- 
 name to the various branches oi' their posterity, we 
 may conclude that nothing can he more futile than the 
 generality of claims to sucli remote ancestry. 
 
 F. — Of the seven hundred tenants in chief amongst 
 whom the lands are divided in Domesday Book, not 
 two hundred are distinguished by surnames; the re- 
 ^maining narues being those of ecclesiastical persons, 
 or titles of honour, or of oilice, or single Christian 
 names. It is remarkable that some of these surnames, 
 though very large holders of huul, are not inserted in 
 the Battle Ab])ey roll. The insertion of names in the 
 
 * Cliron.of Robert of Glocester. 
 
 roll which are not in Domesday Book has been already 
 accounted for by the artifices of the monks of Battle, 
 
 P. — As most persons, except such as are connected 
 with a title or the possession of a large estate, know 
 little of iheir progenitors beyond three or four degrees, 
 making about one hundred and fifty years in point of 
 time, the subject of names and descents is attended 
 with such obscurity and confusion, that the privilege of 
 talking all manner of nonsense is frequently assumed 
 when family claims are the topic. I have heard it as- 
 serted that a dark complexion and black hair bespeak 
 a Norman origin, whilst a fair skin and light eyes are 
 of Anglo-Saxon derivation. 
 
 F. — Such a notion must be ridiculous, as both races 
 are of common descent from the ancient Germans, whom 
 Tacitus =^ describes as having ''truces et ccerulei oculi, 
 ruliliC (onue:'' which means fierce and blue eyes, with 
 something very like carroty hair; William Rufus derived 
 his name from this circumstance; even the present in- 
 liabitants of Xormaiidy are of a lighter tint than the 
 more southern French, Most of the high-born person- 
 ages of the court of iienry the Eighth, painted by 
 Holbein, the earliest authentic portraits of the English 
 nobility, are remarkably fair; so that a distinction of 
 the two races from their complexion must fall to the 
 ground. 
 
 A. — The distinction by surnames has a little better 
 loundation ; those evidently of French extraction, ex- 
 cept the protestant refugees of a century and half ago, 
 in all probability "came in with the Conqueror," or in the 
 subsequent connexion of England with the French pro- 
 vinces; though it is impossible for the most part to trace 
 out the individual from whom they are derived. The best 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 ■ De Mor. Germ. 
 O 
 
 c^ 
 
 ^.V 
 
 
 , 'vn 
 
19i 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 SURNAMES. 
 
 195 
 
 r 
 
 I i 
 
 and most ancient names in England are those in Domes- 
 day Book with the particle de before them, designating 
 them to be the owners of certain places in Normandy : 
 as Albericus de Verc, Radulphus de Pomeroy, Rogerns 
 de Lacy. In that age the descendants of such proprie- 
 tors continued the name only with the possession of the 
 laud ; had a new family acquired the property, they would 
 probably have assumed the name of the estate : as w as 
 the case till very recently in France, to the great con- 
 fusion of hereditary claims. Names were at first as- 
 sumed also from the place of nativity, as well as from 
 patrimonial possessions: as D'Evrcux.Tankervile, Mor- 
 timer, in Normandy ; and from innumeral)lc places in 
 England, as Essex, Windsor, Sydenham, and the like : 
 indeed there is no parish or river Ijut what has furnished 
 
 a surname. 
 
 F.— All surnames must originally have been signifi- 
 cant of something; though the meaning, pane delorfa. 
 may have now become diflicult to lind out. 
 
 ^.—V^arious names were derived from offices, as 
 Le Dispenser (or steward). Marshal, Forester, Reeve, 
 Butler, Priest, Deacon ; trades and occupations have 
 imposed many, as Potter, Smith, Webster, Taylor, 
 Wheeler; qualities of the mind or body several, as Bold, 
 Proud, Wise, Long, Short, Strong, Whitelock ; beasts, 
 birds, and fish, have provided many, as Lion, Lamb, 
 Fox, Raven, Sparrow, Finch, Salmon, Herring, Whiting; 
 trees and flowers have been a fruitiul source, as Alder, 
 Box, Pine, Rose, Lilly, Peach, Vetch; colours have 
 distinguished others, as White, Black, (::Jreen, Rous 
 (that is, red,) and Pigot (or speckled;) parts of the body 
 some, as Head, Legge, Foot; seasons or days in which 
 the bearer was born, as Summer, Winter, Christmas, 
 Day, Holiday, Munday; situation ..f dwelling several, 
 
 I 
 
 ! . I 
 
 t 
 
 as Hill, Wood, Field, Church, Poole,— which anciently 
 beinir often prelixed by at, have in some instances pro- 
 duced Atwood, Atwell, Atniore ; others have an 5 added, 
 as Groves and Gates. 
 
 P- — This latter addition seems often to have been 
 made to surnames derived from a Christian name, as 
 Peters, Stephens, Williams. 
 
 A. — The sunuimes derived from Christian names 
 are numerous, and particularly from such as were in 
 use both w ith the Normans and Anglo-Saxons at the 
 coiujuest, and which are to be found in Domesday Book, 
 as Ainu, "Bagot, Crouch, Godwin, Hamon, Howard, 
 Osborne, Torold. Some are diminutives, as Terry, from 
 Theodoric ; Cole and Collet, from Nicholas; Hall, from 
 JTnrry: and by addinu an 5 we have Wills, Dicks, Sams, 
 and .lacks; but more have been formed by adding son 
 to the Christian name of their father, as Richardson, 
 Da\ison, Wilson, Johnson. Many strangers settling 
 were named from their country, as Picard, Scot, Gas- 
 coi<in, Biirod — for so the French called the Normans, 
 because at every other word they were accustomed to 
 swear l)v Cod.^ 
 
 P. — 1 am airaid that too many branches of this 
 family are yet remaining. 
 
 A. — Till very recent times tlie Welsh had no here- 
 ditarv surr.ames, but the son took the father's Christian 
 name in addition to his own ; this was precisely the case 
 with the Irisli 3hu-, and also at first with the Norman 
 Fitz. In Domesdav-book, Robert Fitz-Richard means 
 merely the son of Richard ; the son of Robert would be 
 called, if so he were clnistened, Ralph Fitz-Robert; and 
 the son of Ralph perha})s John Fitz-Ralph, if each party 
 did not take a surname from a manor or some other cause. 
 
 " Camden, Remains. 
 O C 
 
1'^ 
 
 
 1 t 
 1 I 
 
 » 
 
 4i 
 
 
 196 VESTIGIA. 
 
 The modern Fitz- William, Fitz-TIeibert, and sucli an- 
 cient sounding appellations, did not become hereditary 
 till more than a century after the coiujuest. Many names 
 given in merriment have remained in families, as Mau- 
 duit for ill-tauirht: Maleverer, that is malus leporarim, 
 for ill-hunting the hare ; and one that held land l)y te- 
 nure, to say a certain number of paternosters for tlie 
 souls of the kings of England, was called Paternoster. 
 In short, there is nothing in heaven above or on earth 
 beneath but what has alVorded a surname; even both 
 God and Devil : the first being probably a contraction 
 of Godfrey, the other a corruption of tlie Norman 
 
 D'Evile. 
 
 F.—The Welsh had a curious way of retaining tlie 
 names of their progenitors : in the reign of ITenry the 
 Eighth, a gentleman was called in a court of law by the 
 name of Thomas ap William, ap Thomas, ap Richard, 
 ap Iloel, ap Evan, ap \ aughan, and so on up to Cad- 
 wallader, the last British king; but being advised by 
 the judge to forsake that old manner, he took the name 
 of Mostyn, from his principal mansion, and left it to 
 
 his posterity. 
 
 .4.— A remarkable instance of the dedine of human 
 greatness is stated 1)y Sir Uobert Cotton, who in the 
 reign of James the First, relates that he saw in Cheshire 
 a true Plantagenet holding the plough. But those per- 
 sons who bear the name of an ancient bar(m ayv not 
 to conchule necessarily that they partake of his bk)od ; 
 a^ it often happened that the vassals took the name of 
 their lord: the Scotish clans are an instance of this; 
 and very high sounding names have l)een conferred ])y 
 accident; a foundling exposed at the door of thc^ chinch 
 of St. Mary Somerset, in London, was baptized by the 
 parish with tj^e name of V^iHiam Somerset. 
 
 SURNAMES. 
 
 197 
 
 P. — By some such process, the unfortunate Chat- 
 terton, the son of a sexton at Bristol, derived his own 
 pedigree from the Sieur de Chauteautonne, of the house 
 of Hollo, the lirst Duke of Normandy ; and that of his 
 friend, Mr. Stephens, the pewterer, from Fitz-Stephen, 
 son of the Earl of Aumarle, in 1095, son of Odo, earl 
 of Blois and lord of lloldernesse. But that such pre- 
 tensions were always the subject of ridicule, we have 
 an insrance in Shakspeare, who makes his drunken 
 tinker, Christopher Sly,^ boast in a blundering way, 
 that the Slys came in with Richard Conqueror. 
 
 A, — That the generalit} of pedigrees traced to the 
 same early period a.re nearly as imaginary, let un in- 
 stance of the diversity of names in the same family 
 suflice. Soon after the conquest, William Belward, 
 lord of the manor of Malpas, had two sons ; the elder, 
 David, took the name of Le Clerc, on account of his 
 learning; and left also two sons, the elder of whom 
 caUed himself William de Malpas, after the name of 
 his manor; tlie second son was Philip Gogh, a Welsh 
 term for red, such being his complexion. Gogh had 
 three sons; the eldest of these took the name of Eger- 
 ton, the second (jf Goldborn — both from their places of 
 dwellim.^; and the third was called Goodman, for his 
 excellent qualities. The younger son of the founder of 
 the family left also three sons : the two elder took the 
 names of De Cotgrave and De Overton, from their 
 estates; and the third being of small stature, was 
 called Richard Little ; whose two sons were known by 
 the names of Thomas Kenclerc and John Richardson.^ 
 
 F.— Enough has been proved to show that pedigree 
 hunting, throngh such an inextricable maze, deserves 
 to be reckoned amongst those '' foolish questions and 
 
 « Taniinq: of the Shrew. 
 
 ^ Caindeii, Remains, 
 
-*pl^,- 
 
 Frw:rr~T33e3er 
 
 198 
 
 \ ES riGIA. 
 
 genealogies which iire to be avoided/' The oldest fami- 
 lies of England must be content, amidst the mutability 
 of human affairs, to consider five hundred vears a sufli- 
 cient period of antiquity; few indeed, according to the 
 testimony of such antiquaries as Spelman, Dugdale, 
 and Camden, reaching even so far. 
 
 A, — And it may tend to abate tlie vanity of these 
 select few, that such common names as Cook, Clarke, 
 Chamberlain, Leach, Fisher, Barber, evidently derived 
 from ollices, appear in Domesday Book as Cocus, Cle- 
 ricus, Camerarius, Medicus, Piscator, Tonsor; which 
 persons in all probability left these names to their 
 posterity, who thus stand as fair a chance, and much 
 good may it do them, of having *^ come in with the 
 Conqueror/* as even the Arundels and the Talbots. 
 But it is time to leave '* the commodity of good names" 
 recorded in the roll of Battle Abbey, and return to 
 the transactions of the founder of that memorable 
 structure. 
 
 P. — We left William in full possession of the 
 English throne, and ihe nation in apparent satisfaction 
 at his government. 
 
 A. — At the expiration of not more than six months 
 from the battle of Hastings, the king took the strange 
 resolution of returning to Normajuly, with the principal 
 nobility of England as hostages for the peace of the 
 kingdom in his absence. These persons were much 
 admired by the Xornians for tlieir comeliness, tluMr 
 long hair, and their richly embroidered silken mantles.' 
 It has been suggested tliat the motive ibr this extraor- 
 dinary step was a latent expectation that tlie English 
 would be provoked into an insurrection ])v th(^ oppres- 
 
 - Gnl.Pict. Oni. Vital. 
 
 EDWIxN AND .MORCAR. 
 
 199 
 
 sion of the Norman soldiers, and thus afford a pretext 
 for new and extensive forfeitures, 
 
 F. — But is it just to attribute to William upon mere 
 conjecture such an atrocious design? 
 
 A. — We can scarcely suppose that a person of 
 Willianf s acknowledged 2:ood sense could be actuated 
 merely by the vain desire of displaying to his ancient 
 subjects the trophies of his new magnificence : and the 
 result of his absence w as, that a revolt did take place ; 
 which on its suppression was followed by a confisca- 
 tion of the estates of many of the disaflected English, 
 who were becoming sensible that by their too easy 
 submission they had incurred the contempt of their 
 conquerors. 
 
 P. — Besides, no conduct could conciliate those who 
 were determined to destroy. 
 
 .1.— Th(^ history of the reign of the Conqueror is 
 little else tlian a succession of revolts, followed by 
 chastisements so severe, that at its end few if any 
 consideral)le estates remained in the possession of an 
 
 Englishman. 
 
 F, — One instance of disinterestedness deserves no- 
 tice : Gilbert Fitz-Richard, a Norman captain, w^ould 
 accept of no land by way of recompense, saying, that 
 he followed William from duty, and that he v, as not to 
 be tempted 1)y stolen goods ; and he returned into Nor- 
 mandy, to enjoy his moderate but just inheritance.* 
 
 ^1.— Earl Edwin (10G8,) on the refusal of William 
 to bestow his daughter in marriage upon that noble- 
 man, as he had promised,^ took up arms, with his 
 brother Morcar, in the expectation of assistance from 
 Scotland, Wales, and Denmark; but before any judi- 
 cious arrangement could be concerted, the king, with 
 
 » Order. Vital. 
 
 »> IhM. 
 
r^ 
 
 ' 
 
 s. 
 
 i^ 
 
 200 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 his usual vigour, assailed the unprepared earls ; wlio 
 were thus compelled to throw themselves upon his 
 mercy: their lives and estates were spared lor the 
 present, but the possessions of all their iollowers were 
 confiscated. Another attempt of" invasion, by tlie sons 
 of the late King Harold^ (10(5!);) was speedily crushed; 
 but an opposition of the Northumbrians, in conjnnctioii 
 with some Scotish and Danish Auxiliaries, completed 
 by its failure tho ruin of those English Avho had hitherto 
 escaped from the grasp of the oppressor. 
 
 F.— The want of concert amongst the leaders, in 
 the earlier stages of English history, camiut fail to 
 strike the most careless observer. 
 
 yl.— The revolt of the Northumbrians was attended 
 with circumstances calculated to alarm the most settled 
 government; it began with an attack upon TiolxTt de 
 Comyn, governor of Durham, whom the insurgents put 
 to death, with seven hundred of his i'olIowersJ This 
 example animated the inhabitants of York to slay like- 
 wise their governor, Robert Fitz-l{ichard ; and they 
 besieged in his castle William Malet, to whom the 
 command had devolved. To provide for the safety of 
 the citadel, JVlalet set lire to some neighbouring houses* 
 the flames quickly spreading, reduced the gn ater i>art 
 of the city to asiies. Auiidst the confusion of the scene, 
 the exasperated citizens, aided In the Danes, carried 
 the castle by assault, and put the garrison, amounting 
 to three thousand men, to the sword." 
 
 i'".— The success of such an attack would proNoke 
 a milder temper than fell to the lot of Willimn. 
 
 A.— -It proved the signal of insurrection to many 
 other parts of England. Ilerewnrd, a valounuis i-ast 
 Anglian nobleman, Icmg th(^ fji\ourite of the nation, 
 
 " Gill. Geniet. 
 
 Hc)\C(lcui 
 
 ' Order. Vital. 
 
 INbURRliCTIONS. 
 
 201 
 
 sr 
 
 took shelter in the isle of Ely,-* and thence made 
 frequent inroads on the neighbouring country; the 
 counties of Somerset and Dorset were in arms; and 
 Edric the forester calling in the assistance of the 
 Welsh borderers laid siege to Shrewsbury. But this 
 L^eneral eiTort of the Emrlish to recover their liberties 
 was scon dissipated by the vigour and policy of 
 Willian , who first detached the Danes from the confe- 
 deracy, 1)y offering them large presents, and the privilege 
 of pluiulering tlie coast on their retreat; all the English 
 leaders, except ITereward, thus discouraged, made sub- 
 missi(ms; and Malcolm arriving too late with his Scotish 
 forces, was obliged to retire. The king becoming un- 
 disputed master, to incapacitate the Northumbrians 
 from uivinu' further disturbance, ordered the whole 
 extent of that fertile country extending between the 
 llumlxr and the Tyne to be laid w^nste: the houses 
 were reduced to ashes; the cattle driven away; and 
 the inliabilants, lingering about their ancient dwellings, 
 perished miserably in the woods from the effects of cold 
 and humrer. Not less than one hundred thousand per- 
 sons are said to have been thus sacrificed to the bar- 
 barous policy or revenge of the Conqueror.^ l^ighty 
 ' years after this event, A>'illiam of Malmesbury relates 
 that the country still remained barren and desolate.^ 
 JP. — This seems to be stretching the power of the 
 
 sword to its last extremity. 
 
 4. — The people having now given such conclusive, 
 thouuh impotent, proof of their animosity, William re- 
 solved, by coniiscating their estates, to reduce them to 
 a condition in which they should be no longer formida- 
 ble : the forieited lands he either annexed to the royal 
 demesn(\s, or conierred with the most profuse bounty 
 
 ' ]ncn\\)h. 
 
 ^ Order. Vitnl. 
 
 *■' Dc Gfbt. Anpl. lib. 5. 
 
i I - 
 
 203 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CUNQLKST AND CONQLEROK 
 
 203 
 
 on his Xorman followers/ And thus the ancient and 
 honourable families of the kinudom were reduced to 
 beggary, and disappeared, ^\lllialn indeed seemed to 
 pass beyond the limits of mere policy : a great deal of 
 temper only can account for some of his tyrannical 
 proceedings.^ 
 
 F.— It is remarkable that one of William's supposed 
 severities, though of universal I)elief, is of very doubtful 
 credit,— the curfew, ordaining tire and candle to be ex- 
 tinguished at the early hour of eight, at the sound of u 
 bell. This regulation is mentioned by none of the an- 
 cient historians earlier than Polydore Virgil, who wrote 
 in the reign of Henry the Eighth, and who consequently 
 is no authority. The cmly passage from whicli sucli a 
 piece of tyranny can be inferred, is in \\ illiam of 
 Malmesbury,^ who merely relates that Henry the First 
 restored the use of lanterns to the palace, which had 
 been discontinued by William llul'us. 
 
 A. — Even granting the existence of fiie curfew, it 
 may be pardoned as a regulation of police, yet observed 
 in some monasteries on the continent. But \\ iliiam 
 entertained the difficult project of exterminating even 
 the English language: he commanded that in all schools 
 throughout the kingdom the youth should be instructed 
 in the French tongue only;'' the pleadings in (he su- 
 preme courts of justice, atul the laws themselves, were 
 in that dialect; which as the communitv did not 
 understand, it is obvious how powerful an engine of 
 oppression they were capable oi' becoming. 
 
 P. — This reminds us of the Roman t\rant, who pro- 
 mulgated his laws in so small a character, and placed 
 them in so lofty a situation, tliat they could not be read 
 by the people. 
 
 ^ Gul. Malme^b. lih.5, 
 *■ Do Gcst. AnJ5^ lib. 4. 
 
 ** Hoveden. 
 * In^iilph. 
 
 ^._The Xorman language too, at this period, was 
 none of the best, it being a mixture of the old French, 
 coml}ined with many words of Danish or German origin; 
 whereas the Anglo-Saxon was at least a language un- 
 mixed and pure. But the attempt was too mighty even 
 for the power of William the Conqueror to succeed in; 
 yet the practice continuing for three centuries, shews 
 how entirely the English were considered as an inferior 
 and conquered people. 
 
 J\ — llie terms ' conquest' and ' conqueror' have 
 been absurdlv made a sort of test of principle by party 
 historians, as if English liberty were less valuable or less 
 sacred, because acquired by successive struggles against 
 the overwhelming tyranny introduced by the Xorman 
 invader. These writers are desirous of explaining the 
 word ' conquest as implying merely the acquisition of 
 territorv bv other means than the common course of 
 inheritance, equivalent to the lawyers' technical term 
 — by purchase. 
 
 1, — IJnt of the many hundred princes who have 
 acquired territory in this way, who besides William 
 ever retained the appellation of Conqueror? In modern 
 times, neither the Prince of Orange nor the Elector of 
 Hanover came to the English throne by descent; but 
 no one ever thought of so designating these sovereigns. 
 The gre;it authority for the latinity of the middle ages, 
 Du Cange, interprets the word conqiicestus, by its pre- 
 sent military iiieaniiig. In what light the companions 
 of William considered it, we may learn from an old 
 record, in which iiobert DXJily and Roger Dlvry came, 
 ad conqNies/um AiigVu^,'' as sworn brothers, to divide 
 between them whatever they might obtain. A rhyme, 
 you wili sny, is but a sorry argument, yet a very ancient 
 
 " Kninf I, Parofhinl Anti<iuitirs. 
 

 204 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ' 
 
 ' 1 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 Leonine verse thus truly expresses the stiise ul" the 
 M'ord conqueror as applied to William: 
 
 *' Hex est Aiigloniin, hello conquestor eorum."* 
 
 ^- — The facts, are much too notorious to admit of 
 any other conclusion, thouuh supported by such respect- 
 able authorities as Spelman and lilackstone, and even 
 granting that the word conqiuestus may sometimes mean 
 a simple acquisition. 
 
 ^- — William came nito the kingdom with a declared 
 hostile intention; he maintained his authority against 
 the expressed sense of the people by the sword nlone; 
 he acted as absolute master of the natives, whose 
 wishes and opinions he totally disregarded ; he stripped 
 them of their estates; and so uiiiversallv reduced them 
 to a state of meanness and poverty, of servitude and 
 sorrow, that the very name of Englishman, which in 
 various subsequent periods has been so glorious, be- 
 came then a term of reproach ;'^ even so late as the reign 
 of Eichard I. if a Norman wns accused of anv thintr which 
 he thought dishonourable and chose to ch nv, he snid, 
 " What! do you imagine that I am an Knglislnnan?''** 
 And many generations elapsed before a family of Saxon 
 pedigree attained the rank of a baron of tlir n ahn. 
 
 P. — However antiquiuies, then, \\\n\ disj)ul(^ about 
 a word, it would ai)pear by the fact, that the sul)jocfion 
 of England after the battle of Hastings followed as 
 completely as that of Greece alter the sack of Constan- 
 tinople by Mahomet the Second ; and it may be ques- 
 tioned whether the Turks ever indicted a punishment 
 on the Greek people of equal severity as the desolation 
 of Northumberland by V> illiam. 
 
 A. — Much misconception has arisen from cojisider- 
 ing, that as part of the municipal \\\\\ of the Angio- 
 
 ' Brompton, p. 9^)2. 
 •" Brompton. 
 
 ^ \\. fluntiiii:. lib.;. 
 ** Giralduss Cambrentjis. 
 
 OPPRESSION OF THE ENGLISH CLERGY. 205 
 
 Saxons remained, liberty remained also: but it was ^ 
 not from the non-observance of the old laws, either 
 civil or criminal, which rendered the situation of Eng- 
 land so de])lorable; the Norman despots evinced no 
 particular dislike to the Saxon code; indeed the strict 
 provisions of its police, in making the inhabitants of a 
 district responsible for the conduct of each other, be- 
 came an admirable system of espionage. William even 
 assem])led at London twelve men from each province,* 
 who delivered upon oath the ancient customs of the 
 country, which, collected into a digest, he published in 
 the French tongue, proclaiming them to be the laws of 
 his cousin J^dw ard the Confessor.^ 
 
 F. — The subsequent clamour for two centuries 
 therefore, by the people, for the laws of Edward, 
 meant not so much the restoration of a particular code, 
 as a relaxation of the feudal burdens, and a mild and 
 equitable system of government, equally desired by the 
 Normans themselves as by the native English. But the 
 long continuance of the cry, as well as the various suc- 
 cessive charters, plainly proves that the conquest was 
 considered as destructive to the liberties of England. 
 
 P. — As William professed so much veneration for 
 the church, did the English ecclesiastics escape his 
 oppressions ? 
 
 A, — The revolution in the church w as equally vio- 
 lent and equally disadvantageous to his English sub- 
 jects. IJefore the conquest, though the clergy willingly 
 admitted the rank of the Pope, they had not much idea 
 of his right of interference in their aflairs; but William 
 allowed the Ponti.T to send a legate to England, for 
 the purpose of extending the papal claims; and by 
 his assistance the Primate Stigand, with the rest of 
 tlie lusliops and abl)0ts, were deposed, under the pre- 
 
 » T. Rmlborn, An'2:Ha Sacra, vol. 1.2^9. 
 
 ^ InL^nilpli. 
 
.,x 
 
 206 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 tence of irreoularities committed against tlie holv see. 
 These persons either fled the kinjxdom, or passed the 
 remainder of their lives in obscurity or imprisonment; 
 Stigand lived some years in confinement, and pre- 
 tending poverty, denied himself the necessaries of life; 
 but it was discovered that he carried a key about his 
 neck which opened a depository of infhiite treasure.* 
 One bishop only, Wulstane of Worcester, a i)relate of 
 inoffensive character, retained his preferment, and that 
 in consequence of a miracle: being deprived by the 
 synod, he refused to deliver his pastoral staff to any 
 but the person irom whom he received it; and going 
 to the tomb of Edward the Confessor, he struck it so 
 deeply in the stone, that none but himself was able to 
 pull it out.^ 
 
 P. — The vacancies in the churcli were doubtless 
 replaced by foreign ecclesiastics. 
 
 A, — Certainly not by English; it being a fixed rule 
 to promote no native to any place of trust or honour.*^ 
 The primacy was bestowed upon Lantranc, a Milanese 
 monk, celebrated for his learning and zeal lor the holy 
 see. 
 
 F. — It was this prelate who composed a treatise 
 in favour of the real presence, which was loudly 
 applauded. 
 
 A, — And which in fact is marked with that acuteness 
 and subtilty which distinguish the learning of his age. 
 If such a nonsensical doctrince were capable of being 
 supported by reason, and not by quibbling, Lanfranc 
 would be found bv no means an imbecile defender. 
 
 P. — Did the doctrine of transubstantiation first 
 appear in the church at this period? 
 
 A. — A fugitive and volatile tendency to that opinion 
 had prevailed for three centuries, which though ne- 
 
 TRANXJl BSTANTJATION. 
 
 20: 
 
 glee ted by the (xreek church, now^ became fixed and 
 palpable in that of Rome. Eerenger, archdeacon of 
 Angers, had taught with much oflence in his school of 
 theology (1050,) that a substance which, if eaten too 
 much of, would cause indigestion, could not be other 
 than an aliment; that a liquid which, if taken in too 
 large a quantity, would inebriate, was a real liquor; 
 and that it was physically impossible for the same body 
 to be present in a thousand places at the same time. 
 
 P. — Common sense would call these nothing more 
 than irrefragable truisms. 
 
 A. — It is but just that you should hear how^ they 
 were refuted. *' A\ e are able to say with truth," replies 
 the archbishop, " that the body of our Lord in the 
 eucharist is the same which came out of the Virgin, 
 and that it is not the same: it is the same as to its 
 essence and to the properties of its genuine nature; 
 and it is not the same as to the species of bread and 
 wine. Thus it is the same as to the substance, and it 
 is not the same as to its form." Xotvvithstandins: the 
 air of ridicule with w hich the matter is thus represented 
 by a French wit,* it comes extremely near the truth of 
 the case: I have looked at the ti'eatise of Lanfranc,^ 
 and can vouch for its verisimilitude. 
 
 P. — How much more sensibly is the subject treated 
 by a Saxon archbishop, /Elfric, the predecessor of 
 Lanfranc, between 995 and 1005; who, in a sermon 
 still extant,'' explains the mystery of the eucharist as 
 *^ a pledge and a figure," in a way entirely conformable 
 to the reformed doctrine ; and to which neither wit nor 
 reason can make an objection. 
 
 * Voltaire, Essai siir Ics Moeurs. 
 
 *> Opera Lanfranci, advcrsus Reren^ar'nim Tiironenscm, de Corpore et 
 Sanj?uine Domini, liber. 
 
 « Bed'', (list. Hccles. Notls, Whiiloc. 
 
 • Gill. Malmesh. De Ge?stis Pontif. 
 
 ^ Brompton. 
 
 Ingnlph. 
 

 208 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A.— The doctrine of piiroatory, so \\ell sketched 
 out in the Sixth ^^Sneid of Virgil, was also about this 
 period introduced to the church. The Cardinal Peter 
 Damien reported that a pilgrim, returninir from Jerusa- 
 lem, was cast by a tempest on a certain island, where 
 he found a benevolent hermit, who tohl him that 
 the place was inhabited by devils, and that its neiirh- 
 bourhood was infested with horrible flames, in which 
 were plunged the souls of the departed; and that 
 these devils ceased not to howl and crv out ao-ainst 
 St. Odillon, the abbot of Cluni, their mortal enemy, 
 whose prayers were continually rescuing many souls 
 from their clutches.^ The see of Rome, with its usual 
 adroitness, seized on this story; and practising on the 
 fears and aflections of manlvind, converted it, by invent- 
 ing the doctrine of indulgences, to an enormous source 
 of revenue. In addition to these opinions, to whicii the 
 understanding of the English did not make mucli resist- 
 ance, a decree was issued by the Pope, excomnninicating 
 all clergymen who retained their wives. I'he legate 
 asembling a synod,Mt appeared that the younger ])art 
 of the priesthood, contrary to expectation, cheerlully 
 complied with the command, \\hilst th.e cliicl"oi)pt)sition 
 was found amongst those more advanced in vears. A 
 sort of compromise took phice: the bishops henceforth 
 were to ordain no person Avithout exacting a ])romise 
 of celibacy; but the married priests, except they 
 belonged to cathtnlral or collegiate church(\s, were 
 permitted to continue their connn1)ial enjoynuMits.*^ 
 Amongst other meditated encroachments, the Pope 
 sent AVilliam a letter, iHMjniring the tribute ol' Peter 
 pence, and the fuliilment of a promise to do homage 
 for the kingdom of England; the king replied, that the 
 
 FEUDAL SYSTEM. 
 
 209 
 
 money should !)e remitted, but the homage he had never 
 promised, nor v/as in the least inclined to perform.^ 
 
 F. — AVilliam, resolving to recognize no will but his 
 own, subjected the clergy to the same feudal claims 
 as were imposed upon the rest of the kingdom ;** the 
 bishops and a1)bots were obliged, in time of war, to 
 furnish the king with a certain number of knights and 
 military tenants, proportioned to the extent of their 
 lands : in vain both the pope and the ecclesiastics 
 inveighed against these new and unbefitting services, 
 as they termed them: William's power w^as so well esta- 
 blished, that superstition itself, in that age at the zenith of 
 its influence, w^as compelled to submit to his authority. 
 
 P. — How did these military services, the mention 
 of which is so constantly occurring in this period of 
 English history, ditier from the Anglo-Saxon customs? 
 
 F. — This can be understood only by an explanation 
 of the feudal law, the operation of which had so baleful 
 an elTect on some countries for many centuries, and 
 which in others still remains the convenient instrument 
 of o])pression. 
 
 yl. — The origin of this remarkable system, like so 
 many other institutions of antiquity, is lost in a cloud 
 of obscurity ; the principal feature of the feudal law is 
 the considering an estate of lands as proceeding from 
 the gii\ oC some superior, and held on certain condi- 
 tions, which, if not performed, the land becomes liable 
 to forleiture. Nothing like this is discoverable in the 
 customs of the Greeks and Romans, but the practice was 
 introduced by the northern nations who overran the 
 Roman emi)ire ; whether it arose from the peculiar 
 necessity in which these barbarians found themselves, 
 when established in the midst of their enemies, or whe- 
 
 ■ Essjii sur le> Mtpurs. 
 
 ^ n 
 
 (tvodcn. 
 
 * Spcliiian, Concll. 
 
 • Fad;ncr. p. 6. Notes, S^lden, p. 16*4. 
 VOL. !. P 
 
 ^ Mat. Paris. 
 
& 
 
 210 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ther it existed in their native regions, is a uuitter of 
 
 uncertainty. 
 
 p^ In the practice of the ancient Germans who oc- 
 cupied their lands in common, and changed them every 
 year;" there is certainly no trace of an estate upon con- 
 dition. When the Franks iirst settled in Gaul, they seized 
 a part of the conquered country and divided it amongst 
 themselves ; in this precarious situation it became neces- 
 sary that these new proprietors should be ahvays ready 
 to defend their possessions by the sword; consequently, 
 so early as 5G2, Chilperic, king of France, exacted a 
 fine from certain persons who refused to accompany him 
 in an expedition against his enemies;' and here seems 
 to be the first instance of tenure by military service. 
 
 ^._This notion once promulgated so gradually 
 strengthened itself, that by the age of Charlemao:ne 
 (800) every man in France w ho possessed sixty acres 
 was expected to be in a condition to march against the 
 enemy; and Louis le Debonnaire (815) granted certain 
 land to some Spaniards who had fied from the Saracens, 
 on the express condition that they should serve in the 
 army like other free men.*' 
 
 p.—Though the practice of subjecting land to mili- 
 tary service cannot be traced to the ancient Germans, 
 yet, the idea of a prince surrounded l)y his vassals, or de- 
 pendents, as certainly can. We are told by Tacitus lliat 
 their leaders were attended by certain warlike followers, 
 whom he terms Comites, and whose rank was honour- 
 able; in their primitive state the reward of their fidelity 
 were arms, horses, military ornaments, and the enjoy- 
 ment of a rude hospitality : but settling in rich and 
 newly conquered countries, the leader bestowed more 
 substantial recompense in the endowment of land, 
 
 » Tacitus dc mor. Ger. ** Grciror. Turon, lib. 5. 
 
 * Robertson's History of Charles V. i.roef-, \(\ \'uL I. 
 
 FEUDAL SYSTEM. 
 
 211 
 
 vvhith, cultivated by the subdued inhabitants, as serfs, 
 or slaves of the soil, became highly valuable : an estate 
 thus granted w as called a fee, or benefice,^ meaning a sti- 
 pendiary reward; it w as originally given during pleasure, 
 then for life, the n it became hereditary, first in the direct, 
 then in the collateral, and at last in the female line. 
 
 I^' — Mere the various services and incidents attached 
 to the feudal law imposed at once, and did they prevail 
 to the same extent in the difl^erent countries of Europe ? 
 
 A. — Like most other national burthens, they were 
 gradually introduced, but as no records of sufficient an- 
 tiquity remain, it is impossible to point out the precise 
 era of each. The Lombards, in the north of Italy, were 
 the first people who received the feudal law^ as a me- 
 thodized code; and Rollo the Dane finding it already 
 established in Normandy, adopted it with additional 
 severities, as the means of his own security and aggran- 
 dizement; his descendant, William, importing this code 
 of tyranny with his conquering sword into England, 
 almost realized, in fact, the feudal theory, by becoming 
 the proprietor of nearly all the lands in his dominion : 
 ih'.xt he could not retain them all, is very true, the claims 
 of his companions in arms being too importunate, but he 
 reserved no less than one thousand four hundred and 
 twenty-tw o numors for his own share,*" and granted the 
 remainder as pure and genuine fiefs; those proprietors 
 who received lands innnediately from the crown w ere 
 called (enants in chief, or barons, who frequently por- 
 tioned out their estates to inferior persons, on somewhat 
 the same conditions with which they held of the king; 
 they thus became mesne, or middle lords, though still 
 continuing vassals of the monarch, and each barony 
 resembled, in some sort, a little kingdom. 
 
 • Montesquieu, rib. 30. c. Hi, 
 
 ^ Domesdav-book. 
 
 p2 
 
m 
 
 212 
 
 \ KIS riGiA. 
 
 p.— But did not the Anglo Saxons, sprini^inti iVoni 
 the same origin, adopt the same institutions ? 
 
 yl.— As the Saxons nearly extirpated the aneient 
 Britons thev found it unnecessary to secure themselves 
 against immediate aggression, and the tenure by mili- 
 tary service was consequently unknown: but as men 
 must necessarily defend their possessions, the proprie- 
 tors of estates were subject to the trhioda necessitas^ or 
 threefold obligation, of repairing highways, building 
 castles, and repelling invasions, to which the Danes 
 added the heriot, or the best horse, at the decease of 
 the owner, with a sum of money to be paid to tlie king. 
 p.__These practices betray their origin, but I do 
 not see why the mere notion of estates being held on 
 condition should be considered as oppressive? 
 
 A. When the principle of actual personal service 
 was commuted into a pecuniary assessment, all the 
 advantages of the feudal system were destroyed; what 
 perhaps was, or might have been, a compact of mutual 
 liberty and security, became a source of infinite vexation 
 and oppression: in addition to scutage, the literal mean- 
 ing of which is shield money, and which was but the fair 
 price of the exchange for military service, and settled by 
 the national council, the tenant was called upon for aid 
 when the king or lord paramount knighted liis eldest 
 son, or married his daughter, or recpiired ransom if taken 
 in war; the heir, if of full age, was subject to a relief, or 
 primer seisin, which was a heavy composition for taking 
 np the estate of his ancestor, and if he w ere a minor he 
 lost the whole profits of it during his infancy, being in 
 
 wardship to the king. 
 
 P — Reallv a very encouraging beginning. 
 
 jI *'^ When he came to his own/' in the words of 
 
 FEUDAf. SYSTEM. 
 
 213 
 
 an old author, '' after this state of wardship, his woods 
 decayed, houses fallen down, arable lands exhausted, 
 and the stock wasted and gone," he was yet to pay a 
 year's profits as a fine, for suing out his livery, or taking 
 possession, also the price of his marriage if he refused 
 such wife as the lord had bartered for, and twice as 
 much if he married another woman; then, to make his 
 poverty more conspicuous, w as added the untimely and 
 expensive honour of knighthood; and when by these 
 deductions the unfortunate young man w^as compelled 
 to sell his patrimony, he was not allowed even that 
 poor i)rivilege without paying an exorbitant fine for a 
 licence of alienation ^ 
 
 P. — A more complicated and irritating state of 
 slavery can scarcely be imagined. 
 
 F. — Bhickstone'^ would fain have us believe that 
 the feudal svsteni w as assented to bv William's Xor- 
 man barons, as a basis merely for the defence of the 
 nation ; and that, good innocent souls, they had no no- 
 tion of considering their estates or benefices as encum- 
 bered with any other burden than pure military service, 
 till they found themselves entangled in the subtle con- 
 structions of the lawyers; but it is not reasonable to 
 suppose that the Conqueror bestowed these lands on 
 other conditions than what existed in the general prac- 
 tice of the feudal law% and the particular custom of 
 Normandy, where it is admitted most of these griev- 
 ances prevailed.'' 
 
 yl.— William the Conqueror, that he might accurately 
 ascertain his own demesnes and those of his tenants 
 in chief, ordered a survey to be made of all the lands 
 in England;** this undertaking was begun in 1081, and 
 
 Seklen, .Ian. Ang:. 
 
 « Rlarlsstone, Com. Vol. II. book 2, cap. 5. »> Com. Vol.11, book 2, c.4. 
 « Hoiianl, Ancicnncs Loix des Francois, conserves dans Ics Coutumes 
 An-loLscs, vol. 1. *• Sax. Chron. Ingulph. 
 
m^ 
 
 214 
 
 ^ 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 y 
 
 y 
 
 was six years in ( ouipieting ; the result is eumpnsed iii 
 Domesday-book, one of the most remarkable mimu- 
 ments oi' antiquity possessed by any nation. 
 ^' p._The name T suppose is Saxon, signii'ying judg- 
 ment, iVom which there was no appeal. 
 
 ^. — Its Latin titles were various, as, Liber Judi- 
 ciarius. Liber Censualis, Rotulus Wintonice : it lias 
 been supposed that the Dom-book of Alfred was tlie 
 prototype of this work, but as there are no traces of 
 such a survey havin^r been made by that ureat monarch, 
 we are rather to conclude that his Dom-book was a 
 code of la\vs. William's Domesday-book is still pre- 
 served ; it was formerly kept in the Exeheciiier, under 
 three locks, but at present in the Chapter-liouse at 
 Westminster, where it may be consulted, on puying six 
 shillings and eight-pence as a fee, that indi:>pensable 
 requisite, to the proper officer. 
 
 P.— In what form does this ancient record appear; 
 
 and what are its contents ? 
 
 yI,_The work is comprised in two volumes, one a 
 large folio, the other a quarto; the first is written in 
 three hundred and eighty-two doul)le pages of vellum, 
 in a small but plain character, each page having a 
 double column; some of the capital letters, and prin- 
 cipal passages, are touched with red ink, and some 
 have strokes run across them, as if scratched out: 
 this volume contains a description of thirty-one of the 
 midland and southern counties of England ; the otlier 
 volume is in quarto, it is written in four hundred and 
 fifty double pages of vellum, but in a single column, 
 and in a large but fair character; it contains the coun- 
 ties of Essex, Norfolk, and SulTolk. Towards the 
 beginning of each county there is a catalogue of tlie 
 orcat landholders or tenants in chief The r onlenfs of 
 
 DOMESDAY-HOOK. 
 
 215 
 
 Domesday-book are now rendered accessible by its 
 having been printed in two folio volumes, (1783,) by 
 order of government. 
 
 F.— Of the counties of Northumberland, Cumber- 
 land, Westmoreland, Durham, there is no description, 
 probably owing to their recent devastation. 
 
 A. — It was intended to comprise the state of every 
 town and village, every '* locum, lacum, lucum," in each 
 county, the mime of the person who then possessed the 
 lamls, and who in the time of Edward the Confessor; 
 how many freemen, villeins, cottagers, and slaves, and 
 how many hides of land were in each manor; how 
 much woodland, meadow, and pasture; how much it 
 paid in taxes in King Edward's days, how much at 
 the time of the survey; how many mills and fish ponds, 
 and some other particulars.* But the greatness of the 
 design occasioned many omissions, and from the par- 
 tiality of the connnissioners, the survey is by no means 
 so exact as some historians represent it: the intention 
 of the king being chiefly to ascertain the extent of his 
 own demesne and those of his tenants in chief, the sub- 
 feudatories, or under-tenants, are in many counties not 
 mentioned, and hence severeil towns, now considerable 
 for wealth and commerce, are totally omitted, the pre- 
 tropolis for one, as not being held of the king. 
 
 Y, — Much land too, which has since been cultivated, 
 must have been at that time mere waste. 
 
 A. — From these, and other circumstances, no judg- 
 ment can be formed of the number of the people in 
 England ; and indeed the paucity of information to be 
 deaned from this celebrated work is somewhat sur- 
 prising; its chief value is its authority when a doubt 
 arises whether certain lands be ancient demesne ; if they 
 can be found under the title of terra regis in Domesday- 
 
 ingulph. 
 
n** 
 
 216 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DOMESDAY-BOOK. 
 
 217 
 
 book, they are so adjudged, but the contrary if they arc 
 set down under the name of a private lord or subject; 
 as a specimen of the nature of the entries, the following 
 extract mav suffice, in the county of Dorset, translated 
 from the contracted Latin in which the book is written. 
 
 XLVI. '^ Lands of Matthew de Moretania.- 
 
 Matthew de Moretania, holds Melburn of the kinii:; 
 Johannes held it in King Edward's time, and it was 
 taxed for five hydes; there is land (or four ploughs; in 
 the demesne are two ploughs, with one villane, and 
 nine bordars(or cottagers), a mill pays thirty-lwo i)ence; 
 there are five acres of meadow aud six acres of coppice 
 wood; it was and is worth a hundred shillings/' 
 
 P, — It must be owned that the information thus 
 exhibited is exceedingly meagre and unsatisfactory. 
 
 A. — The whole number of the tenants in chief a- 
 mounts nearly to seven hundred ; very lew Saxon names 
 are found in the list, and those holding but small estates ; 
 the ecclesiastical tenants are at least two hinulred ami 
 fifty, and their possessions were of a relative pro|)or- 
 tion, as out of sixty thousand two hundred and fifteen 
 knights fees into which the kingdom was divided, 
 twenty-eight thousand one hundred and fifteen fell to 
 the share of the church. 
 
 P. — Of what extent was a knidit's fee? 
 
 F. — Five hides of land, but the hide itself was 
 variable, according to the quality of the soil ; it con- 
 sisted, generally, of a hundred acres : an entire barony 
 contained thirteen knight's fees, and a third part : as 
 every owner of a knight's fee was compellnble to find a 
 man completely armed, the king had thus at all times an 
 army of sixty thousand soldiers readv at his command. 
 
 ^._The survey of the kingdom for Domesday-book 
 was the cause of much jealousy and offence to the 
 people, as they concluded it was meant to be the founda- 
 tion of some new impositions. As Domesday-book was 
 not beirun till twelve years after the resistance of the 
 malcontents at York (1069,) we have anticipated our 
 narrative. When William by his cruel devastation 
 in the northern part of the kingdom had, according 
 to the expressive phrase of the Roman historian, lite- 
 rally made a solitude, and called it peace, the two 
 earls, Edwin and Morcar, unable to endure their humi- 
 liating situation, again flew to arms, but with a still 
 more unfortunate result: the latter escaped by flight, 
 but Edwin was slain by his followers. When the head 
 of this gallant and beautiful youth was presented to 
 William,' tyrant as he w as, he yet bestowed " tiie tri- 
 bute of a generous tear" to his memory. The Con- 
 queror, now completely triumphant, entered Scotland, 
 and received from xMalcolm in person the usual homage 
 paid to the English crown (1072). 
 
 p.— Such then was the result of the last eflbrt of the 
 unfortunate English to shake off the Norman yoke. 
 
 J. From his new subjects William received no 
 
 further disturbance, but during his absence on a visit to 
 Normandy (1073,) a conspiracy took place amongst the 
 Norman nobility, who were displeased with some of his 
 arbitrarv measures. In this afl'air Earl Waltheof, who 
 had married Judith, the king's niece, and who was the 
 last Englishman admitted for several generations to any 
 share of power or trust, had unwarily engaged : he was 
 betrayed by his wife, and the insurrection being speedily 
 crushed, he was condemned and executed,*' his large 
 possessions becoming fbricit (1075). 
 
 » Order. Vital. Bromplon. 
 
 '" Order. Vital. 
 
I 
 
 218 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F.— The lady, though she did not as a principal, 
 decapitate with her own hands, like her namesake in 
 the Apocrypha, yet she had no objection to become an 
 accessary. 
 
 ^.—Several of the fugitive Normans fled into Scot- 
 land; and from them are supposed to ]}e derived many 
 families of French descent at present found in that 
 country. The remainder of William's life was passed 
 chiefly in Normandy; but his tranquillity received some 
 interruption from the ambition of his eldest son Robert, 
 sumamed Gambaron, or Courthose, from his short legs, 
 who aspired to independence, and who demanded im- 
 mediate possession of that dutchy; which the king 
 refused, remarking that he intended not to throw ofl' 
 his clothes till he went to bed/ Tin's prince was of a 
 fiery disposition, and becoming jealous of his brothers, 
 William and Henry, who by a more dutiful behaviour 
 had acquired their father's afl'ection, he converted n 
 trifling quarrel, which originated in a nu re vouthful 
 frolic, into a dangerous civil war. The incident which 
 occasioned the dispute being nothing juore than the 
 younger brothers taking a lancy to throw some water 
 from an upper apartment of the castle of LWlule, in 
 Normandy, upon Robert and his companions, who 
 were walking in the court below .^ Robert construin<»^ 
 the circumstance as a public aflVont, drew his sword, 
 and running up stairs, threatened instant revenge. The 
 whole castle was filled with tumult, which the king had 
 the greatest difficulty to appease ; but the prince com- 
 plaining of his father's partiality, innnediutelv left the 
 
 %/ 
 
 court, and sought the assistance of some turbulent 
 barons; till at length, encouraged by the Kinu of 
 
 • Chron. de Mailro5. 
 
 ^ (hdvr. \ ital. 
 
 SEVERITY OF WILLIAM. 
 
 219 
 
 France, he took shelter in the castle of Gerberoy, 
 where he was soon closely besieged. 
 
 I\ — Under its walls a remarkable rencontre ensued: 
 two knights, concealed by close armour, engaged in a 
 desperate conflict, when one of them, being dismounted, 
 called for assistance; the voice discovered to the asto- 
 nished ])rince (for such was the other,) that it was the 
 king whom he had narrowly escaped killing.* Pene-. 
 trated with remorse and horror, he threw^ himself at his 
 father's feet, and entreated forgiveness; but William's 
 resentment w as implacable ; his ^military pride was 
 wounded, and he pronounced a bitter curse, which he 
 co!ild never l)e persuaded afterw ard to retract. 
 
 P. — ^This is what may be called a dramatic situa- 
 tion; hard must have been the parent's heart which 
 did not at such a moment relent. 
 
 A .—A reconciliation, by the interposition of mutual 
 friends, was at length eflected, and Robert was entrusted 
 with a command in England. The severity of the king's 
 temper appears in another instance : Odo, bishop of 
 Bayeux and earl of Kent, the uterine brother of the 
 Conqueror, allured by a foolish prediction to hope for 
 the papacy, had amassed an immense treasure, and was 
 upon tlie point of departing with it for Rome. William, 
 unwilling to see so much money carried out of the 
 kingdom, commanded his brother's arrest; but found 
 so great scruples in his officers, on account of Odo's 
 ecclesiastical character, that he was in person obliged 
 to seize that prelate; who pleading his immunities, was 
 answ ered by a nice and I suppose not very satisfactory 
 distinction, that he was arrested, not as Bishop of 
 Bayeux, but as Earl of Kent.^ 
 
 " Gul. Malmcsb. lib.ii. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
220 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 FORKST LAWS. 
 
 22! 
 
 F. — I am afraid that it is only with the stronger 
 party that a quibble will pass tor an argument; tliough 
 in this case its validity mav be admissible. 
 
 A. — The bishop continued in prison, notwithstanding 
 the remonstrances of the Pope, during the ^vhole re- 
 mainder of his brother's reign. William's unfeeling 
 disposition was anew evinced in the formation of the 
 New Forest^ (1081:) for this purpose he laid waste 
 an extent of country in Hampshire for nearly thirty 
 miles, expelling the inhabitants, seizing their property, 
 and even demolishing churches and convents, without 
 making the least compensation for the injury. At the 
 same time he prohibited all his subjects from hunting 
 in any of his forests; and enacted that the killing of a 
 deer, or even a hare, should be punished with the loss 
 of the eyes of the delincpient.^ He loved those savage 
 beasts, says the Saxon Chronicle, as much as if he had 
 been their father; and he forced tlie poor peoi)le to obey 
 his forest laws under loss of life. 
 
 P. — I am afraid that a renniant of the same si)irit 
 still exists in the modern game laws. 
 
 A, — Blackstone calls them a bastard slip of the old 
 forest laws of the Conqueror. In the Saxon times every 
 man w as allowed to start and kill any sort of game ui)on 
 his own estate, though not to pursue it into the royal 
 chaces •/ but the fiction of the feudal law vesting the 
 entire property of the soil in the king, no man was 
 permitted to sport at all, without an express licence 
 from him. King John once laid an interdict upon the 
 fowls of the air, forbidding any of them to be taken 
 throuerhout the whole kinu^dom.** We mav easily imairine 
 what a hardship such a restriction would appear in 
 
 ■ Gill. Malmesl). lib. 3. 
 . • Leg. Canut. 77. Wilkiiis. 
 
 '' Knyghton. 
 •* Mat. Wr5tm. 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 an acre w liicli possessed scarcely any other than field 
 
 diversions. 
 
 /^.—Something of a similar hardship yet remains, 
 in the interdiction of field sports, except to a class of 
 persons possessing a certain species of property. I can 
 easily understand why no man suffers an intruder upon 
 his premises; but why any one obtaining the consent 
 of the owner of the land should not be permitted to 
 enjoy such amusements, is to me, I must own, quite 
 
 unintelligible. 
 
 p._l>erhaps somewhat of the gratification consists 
 in the exclusion of the multitude; the happy few enjoy- 
 ing the advantage, considering themselves as the privi- 
 le^'-ed caste, of the genuine Norman stock, who '' came 
 in with the Conqueror." 
 
 ^._Much of the mischief I apprehend has arisen 
 from endeavouring to establish as fixed and permanent 
 property that which the laws of nature and the general 
 feelings of mankind will never so recognise. 
 
 F.— The lloman jurisprudence certainly knew^ of no 
 sucli restraint upon that vague dominion over the wild 
 inhabitants of the various elements, which seems to 
 have Ijcen given by the Deity to mankind at large, 
 soon after the creation. 
 
 ^._The end of the Conqueror s greatness at length 
 approached : a coarse w itticism gave rise to a war, 
 which in the event deprived him of life. William, now^ 
 become corpulent, was confined by sickness to his 
 bed ; upon which the King of France, Philip the First, 
 expressed his surprise that his brother of England 
 should be so long in being delivered of his big belly. 
 ^yilliam, enraged at this levity, swore '' by the bright- 
 ness and resurrection of God," his usual oath, that as 
 soon as he was up he would present so many lights at 
 
 11 
 
222 
 
 VESTICIA. 
 
 PORiu>An ui WILLIAM. 
 
 223 
 
 the church of Notre Dame, as would i;ive V\\\]c pleasure 
 to the Kini^ of Frauce ;-' alluding to the practice of 
 women at that time carrying a torch to church after 
 child-birth. On his recovery he devastated the isle of 
 France, and set tire to the city of Mante. As lie rode 
 to view the scene, his horse treading on some embers, 
 gave a sudden start, which threw the kini: on the pum- 
 mel of the saddle; a severe bruise was the consequence, 
 which causing fever, in a lew days terminated his life 
 at the monastery of St. Gervas/'in his sixty-third year, 
 September 9th, 1087. 
 
 P. — Some moralists would trace the hand of retri- 
 butive justice in such an incident as this. 
 
 A. — The last moments of William were jiot unem- 
 bittered. Sensible of the appronch of denth, he was 
 stricken with remorse for those horrible cruelties which 
 he had committed in England ; and he endeavoured to 
 make atonement by presents to cluirches and monaste- 
 ries, which bounty the ecclesiastics recommended as 
 the most eflicacious nuide of pacifying a troubh d con- 
 science; he conmianded the state prisoners to be re- 
 leased; and he also entertained his courtiers with dis- 
 courses on the vanity of earthly greatness, of wliic h 
 they gave the strongest proof, by every one of them 
 abandoning his remains as soon as he expired.*' 
 
 F. — A further exemplification took place at his in- 
 terment. As the ceremony proceeded, the corpse being 
 placed on a bier in the church, a voice from the crowd 
 exclaimed, '^ He wliom you have just praised was a 
 robber; the very land on which you stand is mine; by 
 violence he took it from me; and in tlu^ name of (lod 
 I forbid you to bury him in it."^ Nor did the service 
 
 • Mat. Paris. Mat. Westm. 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 *» Order. Vital. 
 
 •' Gul. Malinesb.lib.3. Order. Vital. 
 
 terminate till the prelates paid Fitz-Arthur (for such 
 was the name of the speaker,) sixty shillings for the 
 grave, with promise of full value for the land. 
 
 P. — Fitz-Arthur did not mistake the character of 
 the deceased. 
 
 A, — Set historical portraits are seldom satisfactory, 
 the painter being usually more anxious to exhibit a 
 sparkling though contused contrast of opposite quali- 
 ties, than a S(d)er resemblance. The great lines of 
 William tlie Concpieror's character it is however im- 
 possible to mistake: they are discoverable in every 
 transaction of his life: in ability and vigour of mind, 
 he seems not to have been equalled, certainly not 
 surpassed, by any of his successors: his cruelty was 
 commensurate only with his avarice; his vehement 
 temper he could control when he found dissimulation 
 would better promote his interest: the profoundness of 
 his views is evinced by the long continuance of his 
 institutions, which unfortunately were calculated to 
 secure an arbitrary power to the crown, rather than 
 happiness to the people. William was of temperate 
 habits; religious, according to the mode of the times; 
 not deficient in learning, and an encourager of it in 
 others ; of a strong and healthy frame, and, as it may 
 well be supposed, of a stern and haughty countenance.' 
 Skilled in all martial exercises, and as we have seen, 
 passionately addicted to the chase, his talents and suc- 
 cess made him the most pow erful and wealthy monarch 
 of his age, and have acquired him a renown coeval with 
 the existence of the British monarchy. 
 
 P. — It is a curious subject of conjecture what 
 w ould have been the state of England had the conquest 
 by William never taken place. 
 
 \\\ 
 
 » Gul. Malmesb. lib. 5. 
 
'*>24 
 
 VESTICl 
 
 .\ • 
 
 /" 
 
 F. — That the feudal system imposed much severe 
 suffering on all classes Tor several centuries, is undis- 
 puted ; many of its burtliens continued even so late as 
 the reign of Charles the Second. Eut thoui^h the Anghv 
 Saxons were free from these impositions, yet the nobles 
 being few in number, possessed such a disproportionate 
 share of power, that it is probal)le the Anglo-Saxon 
 constitution would have degenerated into something 
 like a Polish aristocracy. Whether a House of Com- 
 mons would have sprung up amongst them by some 
 equally fortunate accident as it did with the Anglo- 
 Normans, is a matter of speculation; but it is only 
 such an institution which could have protected the 
 Anglo-Saxons from the overwhelming power of the 
 great, as at length it happily rescued the English from 
 the tyrannical prerogatives of the crown. 
 
 A, — The inferior courts of justice continued the 
 exercise of their functions after the conquest with little 
 alteration; but the separation which ^\ illiam introduced, 
 of the spiritual from the temporal power, in the county 
 courts, was a serious evil, as the reputation of these 
 tribunals thus declining, their business was usurped by 
 the king's justiciaries ; and the practitioners oftlie aula 
 regis, or king's court, being Norman ecclesiastics, they 
 introduced that spirit of cliicane, subtlety, and delay, 
 which in a great measure is still the reproacli of English 
 law, especially in what are called courts of equity. 
 
 P. — This reminds me of Cowper's verses, speaking 
 of England at this period : 
 
 ** Then priests, with bulls and briefs, and shaven crowns. 
 And gripint;: fists, and nnrelentin<j^ frowns, 
 Legates and delegates, with powers from hell, 
 Though heavenly in pretension, fleeced tliee well. 
 And to this hour, to keep it fresh in mind, 
 Some twigs of the old scourge are left behind." ■ 
 
 * Vo], 1, Rxpostiilation. 
 
 l^. 
 
 \ 
 
 QUEEN MATTI DA. 
 
 225 
 
 Whicli twi<j:s, the poet slyly adds, in a note, may be 
 found at Doctors' Commons. 
 
 F. — I wish tliey could be found only there. 
 
 A' — Amongst the minor grievances of this reign 
 was the introduction of the Jews, whom the king ap- 
 pointed a place to inhabit and occupy. William, on 
 his death-bed, bequeathed Xormandy to his eldest son 
 Robert; England to the decision of God, but his 
 wish was that it miglit fall to his second son, William; 
 and to fienry, his third son, he left only five thousand 
 pounds of silver, who remonstrating that the money 
 was of no use unless he had a house to live in, was 
 reconnnended by his father to be patient, as his fortune 
 would one day surpass that of both his brothers.'' 
 
 F. — But some chroniclers gravely assert, that it w as 
 not likely that the spirit of prophecy should be com- 
 municated to sucli a remorseless tyrant. 
 
 A. — William's queen was Matilda, the daughter of 
 Baldwin, count of Flanders, a princess of merit, and 
 who retained during her whole life the affection of her 
 husband. An extraordinary account is given of their 
 courtship. Tlie lady at first refused William's addresses, 
 objecting that she would never marry a bastard; which 
 giving great disgust to the lover, he lay wait for Matilda 
 as she returned from mass at Bruges, and seizing her, 
 tore her clothes, and both beat and kicked her, pugnis, 
 calcihns calcarihus verberat.^ Having performed this feat, 
 he rode otf with impunity. The damsel of course took 
 to her bed ; but when interrogated by her father con- 
 cerning the matter, such is the unaccountableness of 
 ladies' tastes, she declared that she would never have 
 any otlier husband than the Duke of Normandy. Be- 
 sides his three sons, William left several daughters. 
 
 - Order. Vital. 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 ■ Chron. Turonen. apud Bouquet, torn. 1 1, p. 3G8, 
 
/ 
 
 22G 
 
 VESTIOT.V. 
 
 MANNERS OF THE NORMANS. 
 
 227 
 
 one of whom, Adda, was luamccl to tlic Count ofBloH, 
 and became the mother of Khig Stephen. Another daugh- 
 ter 4-atha, was of so devout a turn, that lier knees had 
 beconle callous through perpetual prayer; and what was 
 remarkable, the chief drift of her petition was, that she 
 miirht depart this life a virgin;' which happily came to 
 pass, for being contracted to Alphonso, king of Callina, 
 she died on her journey to that country. 
 
 p._The liberties of the English being lost, were 
 their manners improved l)y the con(piest? 
 
 F.— The Normans were certainly the politer people, 
 and had made a greater progress in civilization: they 
 dressed more elegantly, they built more niagnificently, 
 they were more delicate in their victuals and n, tlie 
 choice of their wines. William the Conciueror, alter he 
 was peaceably settled on the throne, sent agents into 
 dilferent countries to collect the most rare and a.hn.red 
 dainties." The almond milk, provided for the monks of 
 Croyland on fish days, in a later age is spoken of by 
 their historian with ra pture. 
 
 vl.— Perhaps the art of cookery itself received im- 
 provement by the introduction of the feudal tenures, one 
 of the few benefits which they ever conferred, in some 
 .neat families an estate was annexed to the office of 
 cook, which became hereditary;" we even meet with 
 estates that were held by dressing a particular dish of 
 meat. Though the Normans had a taste for profus(^ and 
 expensive ban(iueting, they Avere a more sober people 
 than the Anglo-Saxons, who uoi.ld carouse whole days 
 and nights without intermission,' somc^times (jnamng 
 large dnmghts to the honour of the Yir-in > ary, the 
 twelve apostles, and various saints iu the cahndar;^ 
 
 « Gul. Malmesb. lib. 5. 
 « Hist. Crovland contin. 
 *■ Gul. Malmesb. lib. 5. 
 
 ^ Joan Sarisb. 
 
 •' Flota, lib.2,c.75. 
 
 f Bartholinus, lib.2, c. 12. 
 
 they are accused oi having gone intoxicated into 
 the iield at the battle of Hastings, the loss of which, 
 say some historians, was a judgment on their in- 
 temperance. 
 
 p.___The liours of repast with the Normans differed 
 materially, it may be supposed, from those of modern 
 times. 
 
 .1.— Not so materially in effect as in name, as the 
 followinj^ old French jingle may explain: 
 
 ** Lever a cinq, diner a neuf, 
 Souper a cinq, coucher a neuf. 
 Fait vivre d'ans nonante et neuf." ' 
 
 " To rise at five, to dine at nine, 
 To sup at five, to bed at nine. 
 Makes a man live to ninety-nine.** 
 
 If we substitute breakfast for dinner, and dinner for 
 supper, the hours of eating very much correspond with 
 those of the present day; it is true that the advantages 
 of early rising were better known, or at least more 
 generally practised, by the Normans. 
 
 Q ^ 
 
228 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 FIRST CRUSADE. 
 
 
 DISSERTATION V. 
 Section II. 
 
 William Rufus - - - a,d. lOS/. 
 
 A, — When the Conqueror lay on his deeith-bed, 
 his second son, William, suniamed Riifns, or red, from 
 the colour of his hair, hastened to England with a letter 
 to Lanfranc, the primate,^ and at the decease of his 
 father was speedily crowned. The nobles were much 
 dissatisfied, foreseeing the difficulty of retaining their 
 estates both in England and Normandy, l)y preserving 
 a double allegiance, and several of them united in a 
 conspiracy in favour of Duke Robert, but which was 
 speedily defeated by the promptness and vigour of the 
 new king,^ qualities by which he was eminently distin- 
 guished ; and he now thought of returning the compli- 
 ment to Robert, by invading Normandy; but an accom- 
 modation taking place, the brothers united their arms 
 against Prince Henry, who having purcliased a part of 
 Robert's dominions, called the Cotentin, or country of 
 Constantine, retired dissatisfied to the strong fortress 
 of St. Michael's Mount, and infested the neighbourhood 
 with his incursions.*' 
 
 P, — There seems to have been but a small ])()rtion 
 of brotherly love between these interested princes. 
 
 A, — Robert, always distinguished by too facile a 
 disposition, evinced an affection on this occasion which 
 is not without interest. Henry being nearly reduced 
 from the scarcity of w ater in the citadel, Robert suffered 
 him to be supplied, and also sent him some pipes of 
 wine lor his own table. Being reproved l)y William for 
 this ill-timed generosity, he replied, that their strife was 
 
 not of such a deadly nature as to require their brother's 
 
 life: ^* Wliere/' said he, " shall we find another when 
 he is gone?''* And William too, though he inherited 
 more of his father's severity, was not incapable of a 
 generous action: riding out alone to survey the fortress, 
 he w as attacked by two soldiers, and dismounted ; one 
 of the assailants drawing his sword to dispatch him, 
 William exclaimed, '^ Hold, knave, I am the King of 
 England."^' The warrior suspended his blow, and rais- 
 ing William from the ground, with many professions of 
 respect, he received a handsome reward from the mo- 
 narch, w ho said, " Henceforward thou shalt be my 
 soldier." A short time after this incident. Prince Henry 
 was obliged to capitulate, and the future King of England 
 wandered about i'or some time in great poverty/ Robert 
 and William again quarrelled,^ and a fresh conspiracy 
 of the turbulent barons broke out in England, which 
 was soon repressed. But the interest of such petty com- 
 motions was altogether absorbed by the crusades, which 
 now^ engrossed the attention of Europe, and which by 
 an acute historian are described as the most signal 
 and durable monument of human folly that has ever 
 appeared in any age or country (i09G). 
 
 P.— But we will forgive the folly, since it has been 
 the source of so much delightful poetry and romance. 
 
 F. — No country in Europe was so little afiected as 
 England by the epidemic fury of the first crusade: the 
 barons having recently obtained their estates, were 
 afraid to leave them to the precarious protection of 
 the times; and the king, who to an inordinate rapacity 
 united a ver}^ sound judgment, took no further interest 
 in the event than how he should best convert it to his 
 own advantaue. 
 
 * Gul. Malmesb. lib.4. 
 
 ^ Order. Vital. 
 
 « Gul. Malmesb. lib. 4. 
 
 - Gul. Malmesb. lib.4. »» Ibid. « Order. Vital. '^ Hen. Hunting. 
 
2ii0 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A. A tempting opportunity was soon presented. 
 
 Duke Robert early enlisted liiuiseli' in the rank oi" the 
 crusaders ; but being unprovided with money to appear 
 at the head of his vassals in a manner suitable to his 
 dignity, he sold his dominions of Normandy and Maine, 
 which indeed he had not talents to govern, for the 
 trifling sum of ten thousand marks/ to his brother 
 William, and set off for the Holy Land with the full 
 buoyancy of enthusiasm in the pursuit of glory. 
 
 jp^ — It certainly argues great strength of mind in 
 William, not to have been drawn into the universal 
 
 vortex. 
 
 A.— To account for this indifference, William has 
 been accused by the ecclesiastics of prolaneness,^ not 
 to say infidelity: he was accustomed oi)enly to main- 
 tain that prayers to saints were vain and impertinent;' 
 and at the death of Lanfranc, w ho, notwithstanding his 
 devotion to Rome, appears to have been a man of great 
 wisdom, learning, munificence, and charity, he kept 
 the primacy and many other sees vacant for several 
 years. On this occasion the clergy presented a petition, 
 requesting that he w^ould give them leave to use a form 
 of prayer in the churches, " that Cod would move the 
 heart of the king to choose an arc hbishop." William 
 carelessly answered, '' that they might pray as they 
 pleased, and he would act as he pleased."** 
 
 P. — It surely required some nerve in the clergy to 
 make such a request. 
 
 A.— At length, in a fit of sickness, he bestowed the 
 primacy on Anselm, a Piedmontese by biith, and abbot 
 of Bee, in Normandy, much celebratetl for his learning 
 and piety, who a long time refused, or affected to refuse, 
 the proffered honour, the pastoral staff being absolutely 
 
 ■^ GuL iVIalmcsb. lib. i. ^ Gul. Ncubrig. "^ Eadmor. '^ Ibid, 
 
 ARCllBlbiiOP ANSELM. 
 
 ^me -— ^ -J*- 
 
 forced into his clinched hand.=' ' The church of Eng- 
 land " said this ecclesiastic, " should be drawn by two 
 oxen of equal strength, the king and the archbishop; 
 but if you yoke me, who am a weak old sheep, with the 
 king, who is a mad young bull, the plough will not go 
 strai'dit.'" This homely comparison proved very just; 
 for Anselm resisted with such obstinate perseverance 
 any further a-gression against the revenues oi his see, 
 that it ended in a quarrel, which obliged the primate to 
 leave the kii.-dom, and seek protection with the Pope, 
 uhich exile lasted till the death of William Rutus.' 
 P.— So far the archbishop's cause appears to have 
 
 been just. , , , , ,. 
 
 ,1 -On some minor points the king had the better 
 argument: a declaration of William's, that " the bread 
 of the clunrh was most sweet and dainty, ana lit tor 
 kino-s,"" caused much olVence to the clergy. The follow- 
 iuo^tory has been also given as an instance of his 
 i,;i.liuion: a wealthy Jew, whose son had been con- 
 verted to Christianity by the vision of a saint, presented 
 the king >Mth sixty marks, on condition that he would 
 cou.ml Ihe young man to renounce his new faith. On 
 being commanded to the royal presence, the convert 
 strenuously resisted the monarch's desire, and wondered 
 that he, a Christian king, should make such a request. 
 The father, perceiving the hopelessness of the attempt 
 xvas anxious to have his money returned. " ^ay, said 
 William, " 1 have done my utmost, and deserved the 
 whole reward ; but to show my kindness towards thee 
 I will be content with only half, which sum you cannot 
 i„ conscience deny me for my pains."^ At another time 
 he sent lor some learned theologians, and some Jewish 
 rabbis, and bade them fairly dispute the questioned 
 
 . Ea<l>ner. - IbW. ' Ibid. ^ CHmden, Ren.ains. ' Ea.tae,- 
 
232 
 
 VESTinlA. 
 
 WALTER TYRREL. 
 
 283 
 
 
 their religion in his presence, professing himself to be 
 perfectly indiflerent, and that he wonld eml)race tliat 
 doctrine which upon comparison should be sup])orted 
 by the most solid arguments/ 
 
 P.— We cannot suppose that William had any 
 other object than making both parlies the subject of 
 his profone ridicule. 
 
 ^.— Yet he once gave an example of disinterested- 
 ness which deserves remembrance. As two monks were 
 striving to outbid each other for a ricli abbey, AVilJiam 
 observed a third standing by, of whom enquiring wliat 
 he would give to be abbot? the monk replied, '^ Not 
 one farthing; that his conscience would not sulFcr him 
 to expend money in such a wny, even il' he possessed 
 any." The king then swore by '' St. Luke's face," his 
 customary oath, '' thou alone deservest the dignity, and 
 Shalt have it for nothing."' After the departure oV Ro- 
 bert for the Holy Land, some discontented Norman 
 barons sought protection from the King of France. 
 During the quarrel which ensued from this circum- 
 stance, AVilliam gave a remarkable proof of his decisive 
 character. Wliilst hunting in the New^ Forest, a mes- 
 senger brought him intelligence that lleli de la Fleche, 
 a powerful noble, had seized the city of :\rans, but not 
 the castle, which still held out. The king instantly sent 
 the messenger back, with a charge to the besieged that 
 he would be with them in eight days; at the sam(^ time 
 he turned his horse's head towards the sea-side, crying 
 out, "He that loves me, follow me;" and arrived at 
 Dartmouth that same evening. Being desirous to em- 
 bark, the mariners were unwilling to put to sea, as the 
 wind was tempestuous and contrary; but William tell- 
 ing them that they had never heard of a kin«>-'s bein<^ 
 
 ft 
 
 * Gul. Malmesb. lib. 1. 
 
 ^ Liber Cnrituar. CanuU!i, Remains. 
 
 drowned, eonipelkd them to set sail." He arrived safely 
 at Barfleur, and in a few days relieved the castle of 
 
 Mans. 
 
 p^_Piobably this was said in imitation of Caesar, 
 when placed in somewhat a similar situation. 
 
 ^.—William having taken Heli de la Fleche prisoner 
 at Mans, discovered in his treatment of that nobleman 
 considerable greatness of mind; for in the exultation of 
 success, jesting on the misfortune of his enemy, the 
 count liercely replied, that William had no reason to 
 glory in an advantage obtained by surprise, adding that 
 were he at liberty again, the king w ould iind it no easy 
 matter to conquer him : the victorious monarch, piqued 
 at this defiance, set his adversary free upon the spot, 
 exhorting him to do his utmost.^ 
 
 i\ -—Though ^Milium had never heard of a king that 
 was drowned, he was presently to give an instance that 
 one could be shot. 
 
 A, — That event certainly soon occurred. On the 
 second day of August, 1100, after dinner, the king, with 
 his brother Henry and a numerous retinue, hunted in 
 the New Forest : towards evening, when the company 
 were dispersed in pursuit of their game, a buck suddenly 
 sprang up between the king and Walter Tyrrel, a French 
 oentleman: the king it is said woimded the animal; and 
 whilst he was holding his hand to intercept the rays of 
 the sun, that he might ol)serve his prey, he was pierced 
 in the breast bv the arrow of Tyrrel, which glancing 
 against a tree, was changed from its direction. William 
 expired without a groan; and Tyrrel immediately 
 clapping spurs to his horse, escaped to France, and 
 joined the crusade, as a penance for his involuntary 
 crime.^ 
 
 » Gul. Malmesb. lib. 4. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
^34 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F. — An old monk attributes this accident to the 
 king's neglect of an admonitory dream^ in which he 
 felt that an extreme cold wind passed ihruiigh his 
 sides; but William contemning the warning, said, 
 ^^They were no good Christians who regarded dreams;" 
 yet, continues the relater, he found this too true^ being 
 shot through the side by Walter Tyrrel:^ and thus a 
 doubt has been raised w lietb.er his death was accidental 
 or designed. Tyrrel, perhaps from prudence, always 
 denied his being the cause of the king's death in any 
 manner whatever;*' and as the fact was never brought 
 to legal enquiry, it rests in a little uncertainty : per- 
 haps the arrow was shot at random by some unknown 
 hand. 
 
 A. — Or perhaps not at random, William's tyranny 
 having provoked many enemies. The story of the 
 dream is variously rehited : William of Malmesbury'' 
 says, that the king had passed a terrified night, and 
 waking in horror, called for his attendants, and com- 
 manded them not to quit the chamljer. A monk of 
 Gloucester also had a vision relating to a broken cru- 
 cifix, which he thought portended some evil, and 
 which being told to the king, William exclaimed, '' lie 
 dreams like a monk, give him a hiuidred shillings; 
 do they believe me to be turned aside from my diver- 
 sions, because an old woman dreams or sneezes ?"'^ 
 Another forewarning, say several old monks,'' was 
 given by the devil, who appeared in the New Forest, 
 under a hideous form, threatening various evils to the 
 king and the Norman race. It is singular that this spot. 
 
 » Frag. Aiitiq. Hist. Franc. Pitlueo Edit. Camden, Remains. 
 *» Suger, Abb<it. dc Vita Ludov. Grossi, Bouquet, torn. 12. 
 
 «■ De Gest. AwA. lib. 4. 
 
 d (Irdcr. Vital. 
 
 « Sim. Dimelm. \ilied Rieval Hovedcn. 
 
 RAI PTf FLAMliARD. 
 
 2cl5 
 
 the monument of the Coiuiueror's cruelty, should have 
 proved so fatal to his family : in the year lUSi, his 
 eldest son, Richard, a mere youth, was there either 
 mortally wounded, or caught his death by an ague;^ 
 and in 1100, another Richard, son of Duke Robert, 
 was killed, like William Rufus, by the llight of an 
 
 arrow.^ 
 
 j).__Did the English receive any mitigation of their 
 
 sulierings during the reign of William? 
 
 ^.— On the contrary they were rather increased. 
 Tn addition to the feudal oppressions, this king imposed 
 a variety of arbitrary fines on the most trifling occa- 
 sions: many persons were severely amerced for making 
 foolish speeches, or returning foolish answers; some 
 for having short memories, or being ignorant of things 
 whic h they cinild not possibly know.^ In all these ex- 
 tortions he was assi.^ted by Ralph Flambard, a man of 
 mean birth and abandoned character, who was m^de 
 Bishop of Durham and chief justiciary of the kingdom. 
 William Rufus was unprincipled and profligate, rapa- 
 cious and proliise; but the violence of his temper, com- 
 bined with a vigorcnis understanding, was better suited 
 to the government of his turbulent barons, than the most 
 
 reflned artiflce. 
 
 F.— As a proof of the heedless extravagance of 
 William's disposition, a story is told that he once 
 reiuscd to wear a pair of hose, because they cost only 
 three shillings; and he put on cheerfully a worse pair, 
 when his chamberlain assured him they cost a mark, or 
 thirteen shillings and fourpence.'^ 
 
 yl.__-This monarch being unmarried, is the only 
 instance since the conquest, of a King of England who. 
 
 » Gul. Malmesb. lib. 4. 
 « Flor. Wigorn, p. 649. 
 
 b Order. Vital. 
 
 «' Gul. Malmesb. lib. 4. 
 
236 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 having completed liis majority, died a baelielur. Wil- 
 liam was of a strong compact form, not tall, of a florid 
 complexion, with red hair; his eyes differed in expres- 
 sion, if not in colour, and inspired great terror to the 
 beholders when inflamed with anuer.'' 
 
 F, — Historians commonly remark, that the monu- 
 ments which remain of this prince in England are, 
 the Tower, Westminster-hall, and London-bridge, l^ut 
 surely ^' Rufus' bawling hall," judging from its style of 
 architecture, must be of a much later period. 
 
 A, — William added a spacious hall to the palace at 
 Westminster, which remained three centuries ; but the 
 present structure was erected by Richard the Second. 
 The account of the other edifices is not much more 
 correct: the London-bridge constructed by William 
 Rufus was of wood; the first stone bridge, consisting 
 of nineteen arches, being begun by King John; and the 
 " Towers of Julius, London's lasting shame," as a truly 
 learned and elegant poet most a1)surdly calls them, 
 w^re commenced by the Conqueror. The principal 
 tower or keep being injured by a \ iolent storm, was 
 repaired and completed by William Rufus; its modern 
 casing is of the age of Charles the First. 
 
 F. — The strange notion of attributing certain struc- 
 tures to Julius Caesar, who by no possibility could be 
 concerned in their erection, seems to have arisen from a 
 vulgar opinion, that the circular form in l)uilding towers 
 was adopted by that conqueror; and hence they were 
 called Julietts. Such a tower, with the name so ap- 
 plied, is to be seen in the fine old baronial castle at 
 Warwick. 
 
 » Gill. Malmesb. lib. 1. 
 
 FIRST ENGLISH CHARTER. 
 
 237 
 
 DISSERTATIUA V. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Henry I. - - - - a. d, 1100. 
 
 A. — As William Rufus could leave no legitimate 
 oflTspriuir, the crown devolved by right on his elder 
 brother, Robert; but Prince Ileniy no sooner heard of 
 the fatal accident which had befallen William, than he 
 immediately galloped to Winchester, secured the royal 
 treasure, and hastening with the money to London, was 
 saluted king.* 
 
 p._It was surely very hard upon Robert to be 
 twice deprived of his claims by the unprincipled 
 intrusion of his younger brothers. 
 
 A. — Henry's title being founded on downright 
 usurpation, he foresaw the necessity of endeavouring 
 to acquire the affections of his people, and consequently 
 he passed a charter,^ calculated to remedy some of the 
 grievous oppressions with which his subjects, Norman 
 as well as English, were burthened. This charter, though 
 its i)rovisions were never adhered to by the king, when 
 his immediate purpose was attained, is yet remarkable, 
 as being the model on which Magna Charta Avas after- 
 ward constructed; thus exhibiting a confession that the 
 future rights of the subject were not, at least in theory, 
 to be totally dependent on the sole will and pleasure 
 of the crown; and thus commenced that struggle be- 
 tween the good and evil principle which, after the con- 
 flict of many centuries, elicited the happy fabric of the 
 English constitution. 
 
 /r.—Copies of this charter were sent to all the 
 abbies, but an original no longer exists. It thus cu- 
 
 * Order. Vital. 
 
 ^ Sax. Cliron. 
 
238 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 riously begins : ^' Know ye that, seeing 1)y the merey of 
 God and the common assent of the barons of Eimland, 
 I am now crowned king:" not a word of the consent of 
 the people. A very ancient transcri])t of the charter is 
 in the Red-book of the Exchequer.' Tts principal ])ro- 
 visions relate to the relaxation of some feudal burdens; 
 and it ends with a general confirmation of the laws of 
 King Edward, as if when liberty was fled, men could 
 find an equivalent in law. 
 
 A. — Yet whilst Henry's fears continued, he governed 
 with such mildness, that his subjects really felt a per- 
 ceptible relaxation of the tyranny exercised by his two 
 predecessors; and he much ingratiated himself with 
 them by marrying Matilda,^ the niece of Edgar Athe- 
 ling, and daughter to Malcolm the Third, king of Scot- 
 land. This princess, though not the iieir of the Saxon 
 line, having brothers who left a numerous posterity, yet 
 she was become very dear to the English peo})le on 
 account of her connexion with that familv- 
 
 F. — As a proof of the contempt in which the English 
 were held by the Normans, Henry's marriage excited 
 much displeasure with his barons, as disparaging to his 
 dignity; and they derided the king and queen with the 
 nicknames of Goodrick and Godiva."^ 
 
 A. — Matilda was educated by her aunt Christina, in 
 the nunnery of Wilton ; as she had worn the veil, some 
 doubts arose as to the lawfulness of the marriage : and 
 we may judge of the manners of that unhappy age, by 
 her proving before a council of prelates, that she had 
 entered into the convent, not with the view of profess- 
 ing a religious life, but for the sole purpose of security 
 against the licentiousness of the Normans/ This mar- 
 
 " Introduc. to the Statutes of the Realm, vol. 1. '* Eudmcr. 
 « Gill. Malmesb. Ub.l. * Eadnicr. 
 
 » 
 
 ROBERT, DUKE OF NORMANDY. 
 
 2;]9 
 
 riage added much to the stability of Henry's throne, 
 which iiidecd stood in need of some better support than 
 his own ])rctensions. Duki^ Holiert soon afterward ar- 
 rived in Normandy from the east: the fame which this 
 prince liad acquired in the Iluly Land, added to his 
 native valour and generosity (though unfortunately he 
 was always deficient in conduct,) had rendered him so 
 popular, that many ot the barons assured him of their 
 sup))(u(. TTe thus ventured to collect his vassals, and 
 landed with a considerable force at Portsmouth ; even 
 the seamen composing ilenry's fleet, which was sent to 
 oi)pose him, deserted to the invader.* 
 
 P, — A formidable crisis, it must be confessed. 
 
 A. — The two armies lay in sight of each other for 
 some days, without coming to action ; but Henry, with 
 his usual policy, induced the Primate Anselm, Avhom 
 he had recalled from exile, and to whose counsels he 
 professed the utmost submission, to interfere as an 
 arbiter between the contending parties. Anselm suc- 
 cessfully negotiated with Robert to resign his preten- 
 sions to England for an annual pension of three thou- 
 sand marks-/ and tlms was Henry extricated from a 
 situation of extraordinary difficulty and peril, without 
 even striking a blow or being exposed to any hazard 
 
 (1101). 
 
 p. — A pension was surely a poor equivalent for a 
 
 kingdom. 
 
 A. — Though Robert was a prince of undoubted 
 bravery, his disposition was light and inconstant. It is 
 said that he refused the crown of Jerusalem,^ in favour 
 . of Godfrey of Bouillon, preferring the chance of his 
 succession to that of England ; and though this seems 
 to have been the only judicious action of his life, yet 
 
 * Order. Vital. 
 
 ^' Gul.Malmesb. lib.4. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
■■■"•■P!M"I"*«WH 
 
 imCi«M«*"««M^«PI""*n"MM 
 
 mmmmmiim 
 
 240 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE ROBERT. 
 
 241 
 
 i. 
 
 uch is the perverseness of opinion, that the historians 
 observe he never throve afterward/ It is too certain 
 that, soon after his unsuccessful attempt ai^ainst Henry, 
 he so much neglected his government of Normandy, by 
 falling into a course of dissolute pleasures, that his 
 barons invited Henry's interference ; with which re({uest 
 the king willingly complied; and assembling a large 
 army, passed into that country, and entirely defeated 
 Robert in a decisive battle near the castle of Tenchcbrai 
 (HOG).'' 
 
 P. — Thus as William the Conqueror subdued Eng- 
 land with his jSormans, his son Henry retaliated, by 
 subduing Normandy with his English. 
 
 A. — ^The consequences to the defeated sovereign 
 were nearly as fatal in the latter case as in the former : 
 Robert was taken prisoner, and w as detained in custody 
 during the remainder of his life, a period of twenty- 
 seven years, in the castle of Cardiff; where, amidst the 
 revels of buffoons and minstrels, this thoughtless heir 
 of so much greatness little regretted that sovereign 
 power, which he had so unprolitably eniployed, but of 
 which he had been so unjnstly deprived. 
 
 P. — Who cannot regret such a termination to the 
 glories of the bold crusader, whom even Tasso has 
 thought worthy of being commemorafed as a leader? 
 
 ** Normandi tntti, e p^li ha Robi'^rto in ciira 
 
 Che principe nativo t^ de le p^enti." — Gerls. Lib. Canto 1. 
 
 F. — It is asserted by Mathew Paris, that lleiiry, 
 provoked by an attempt of Robert to escape, deprived 
 him of sight ; but we may hope, for the honour of human 
 nature, that it is not true. \ 
 
 A. — Yet the Count of Mortaign being im])risoned,/ 
 had his eyes put out; which matter was kept secret! 
 
 till the kings decease:'^ but we may infer that such 
 was not the case with Robert, from a gossiping story'' 
 that Henry once trying on a splendid robe, rent the 
 cape, it being made too narrow: '^Notwithstanding this 
 accident," said he, '' it may fit Robert;" and he sent it 
 to Cardiff: but the duke took so much to heart the in- 
 dignity of wearing a cast-off garment of his brotlier's, 
 that it caused his death. 
 
 F. — So much more keenly was a personal affront 
 felt by Robert, than the loss of liberty, glory, and a 
 kingdom. 
 
 P. — I well remember the monument of this prince 
 in Cloiicester cathedral, carved in heart-of-oak, repre- 
 sentinir him in armour, and exhibiting a singularly 
 handsome countenance. 
 
 F, — Rut I fear its likeness is not much to be relied 
 upon, as it is evident that this effigy is of considerably 
 later date than the death of Robert. 
 
 A. — The battle of Tenchcbrai, which proved so un- 
 fortunate to this prince, was likewise distinguished by 
 another prisoner, illustrious at least by birth, Edgar 
 Atluling;'' but Henry restored him to liberty, and set- 
 tled on him a small pension, with which he retired to 
 some obscure spot in England, and occupied with his 
 hounds,'^ died in extreme old age, totally neglected and 
 forgotten. 
 
 F. — Xothing can be a stronger proof of the mean- 
 ness of his talents, than that this sole remaining male 
 of the Saxon line, Edgar Atheling, England's darling,^ 
 as he was called in old ditties, should be allowed to 
 live unmolested during the reigns of three violent and 
 
 " Hen. Himtinj?. lib. 8. 
 
 " Mat. Paris. 
 
 ^ Eadraer. 
 
 *' Sax. Chron. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 '' Mat. Paris. 
 "^ Gul. Malincsb. 
 « Mat. Paris. Vita- Abbat. 
 
 R 
 
II 
 
 f 
 
 242 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE WHITE SHIP. 
 
 243 
 
 I 
 
 jealous usurpers, and he pcvmittcd to descend to his 
 
 grave in peace. . 
 
 A -Durin.-- the remainder of TIenry s reign, no poli- 
 tical events occurred of any importance; he maintained 
 a tedious quarrel ^^'ith Rome on the subject of granting 
 investitures, or the power of filling the vacant benefices 
 which the Pope thought fit to claim, and winch indeed 
 his holiness had established as his right in Germany 
 After a long and violent struggle, a compromise took 
 place, which to modern ears must seem ridiculous: the 
 kin- was no longer, on the appointment of a bishop, to 
 confer the ring and crosier, which were supposed to be 
 emblems of the spiritual dignity; and the bishop was 
 permitted to pay the usual feudal homage lor his tem- 
 poralities, which the king might, if he chose, retuse.' 
 Thus leaving the real power in the hand of the sove- 
 reign • a result so different from the usual practice of 
 the' court of Rome, that we may well admire the dexte- 
 rity of the king in the transaction, though he lias l>een 
 blamed by some zealous protestants for resigning even 
 the least portion of his ecclesiastical authority." 
 
 IT —A circumstance too occurred which had no 
 tendency to further the claims of the lioly see at this 
 juncture: the Cardinal de CremaM.ad been app...nted 
 le-ate much a^rainst the inclination of lienry, and 
 this prelate called a synod at London, where, among 
 other canons, a vote passed enacting severe penalties 
 on the marriage of the clergy, whose wives he thought 
 proper to call bv the decent appellation of strumpets;^ 
 but the next night it happened that the olVircvs of jus- 
 tice, breaking into a disorderly house, found his Emi- 
 nency in bed with a courtezan; which incident inllicted 
 so much ridicule upon him, that he immediately stole 
 
 out (if file kiiigdom. Some modern catholic writers wish 
 fo deny the truth of this story, on the ground of its 
 being omitted by many cotemporary authors; but 
 Henry of Iluntingdon,'' himself a clergyman, in relating 
 the tact, makes an apology for using such freedom with 
 the fathers of the church, stating that it was notorious, 
 and ought not to be concealed. 
 
 A. — King Henry, amidst all his greatness, did not 
 esteem his throne entirely secure. William, known by 
 the surname of Clito, son of Duke Robert, wandering 
 through various courts in Europe, excited a very general 
 sensation of compassion: Fulk, count of Anjou, in con- 
 cert with liouis the Sixth, king of France, and the Pope 
 Calixtus the Second, supporting his claims to the duchy 
 of Normandy, occasioned Henry much disturbance; 
 but the monarch found earlv means to detach the count 
 from this comhinatioii, by contracting his own son Wil- 
 liam to a (laii<2:hter oT that nobleman*/ and abounding 
 in riches, he so lorciblv convinced the sacred Pontiff in 
 a subsequent interview of the justice of his intentions, 
 that Calixtus declared that, of all men whom he had 
 ever seen, Henry was beyond comparison the most 
 eloquent and persuasive.*' Eut the happiness of this 
 prosperous sovereign was grievously interrupted by a 
 domestic calamity truly pitiable. Having taken over 
 his son, who had reached his eighteenth year, to be 
 recognised as his successor by the states of Normandy, 
 on his return to England, the king set sail from Bar- 
 fleur; and the young prhicc embarked in a vessel called 
 the Wlute Ship, intending immediately to follow: he 
 was accompanied by his natural brother Richard, and 
 his sister the Countess of Ferche, with her husband; the 
 
 '^ Eadnicr. 
 
 ^ Fuller. 
 
 <^ Hovcdcn. 
 
 '^ I1)U1. 
 
 » Lib. 8. 
 
 *> Gul, Malmesb. lib. 5. 
 R 2 
 
 Ibid. 
 
244 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Earl of Chester and his countess, the kin'j:\s niece; 
 sixteen other ladies of rank ; together \vith one hundred 
 and forty knights and nol)les of the first quality. 
 
 P.— A splendid company indeed. 
 
 ^._The gay party amused themselves \vith dancing ; 
 and the prince had ordered so mucli wine to l)e distri- 
 buted among the mariners, tliat th(^ whole crew became 
 intoxicated. In this situation their captain, Tliomas 
 Fitz-Stephen, eager to overtake the kir.g, crowded every 
 sail, and heedlessly ran the ship against a rock called 
 the Catte-raze, when she immediately foundercHl. The 
 prince was put into the long-boat : but on hearing the 
 cries of his sister, he rowed back in the hope of saving 
 her: so great a number of persons then rushed into the 
 boat, that it immediately sank. Every soul who was on 
 board the vessel perished, except one Berauld, a butcher 
 of Rouen, wlio clung to the mast, and was taken up 
 next morning by fishermen ; the captain also took hold 
 of the mast, but being informed by Berauld that the 
 prince was drowned, he threw himself headlong into 
 
 the sea.^ 
 
 p._The view of so much youtli, enjoyment, wealth, 
 greatness, distinction, all perishing in a moment, is 
 
 indeed appallimr. 
 
 ^._The historians of English race,^ who relate this 
 catastrophe, appear to commiserate very little the fate 
 of their Norman masters, as they call it a manifest 
 judgment of God upon the shameful vices, hitlierto un- 
 known to the i:nglish nation, practised by the young 
 prince and his companions. 
 
 j^._But we might supi)Ose that the young ladies, 
 who -equally perished, were without the reach of such 
 
 invective. 
 
 » Order. Vital. 
 ^ Gervas. Cant. Brompton. H. Huntluir. Epis in Ang. Sacra, vol. 2. 
 
 THJi WHITE SHIP. 
 
 245 
 
 /I.— The monks probably recollected the prince's 
 saying, that when he should be king, he would make 
 the Englisli draw the plough like oxen; so great was 
 his aversion to the unhappy natives.^ The report of 
 the disaster speedily reached England, but for three 
 days was carefully concealed from the king, who re- 
 mained in a state of the most tormenting anxiety. At 
 length, when the fact could be no longer kept secret, 
 and none of the courtiers were willing to be the mes- 
 senger of such ill news, a boy properly instructed came 
 into the apartment in tears, and falling at the king's 
 feet, told him that the prince and all on board the 
 White Ship were lost.^ Henry staggered, sank on the 
 iloor, and fainted. It is said that he never recovered 
 his usual cheerfulness, or was observed afterward to 
 
 smile.*^ 
 
 p^ — However overwhelming to a parent's feelings, 
 the accident contributed to the increase of Henry's 
 power: the persons, honours, and estates, of the heirs 
 of most of the great men in England being thus at his 
 
 disposal. 
 
 ^.— The Count of Anjou, now loosened from his 
 engagements, gave his daughter in marriage to William 
 Clito. But the jealousy of the English monarch against 
 that true heir of the Norman family, again formed a plan 
 to detach the count from this new alliance, by the tempt- 
 ing olfer of the king's only child Matilda, the widow of the 
 Emperor Henry V., as a wife to the count's son Geoffrey, 
 now a youth of sixteen.^ The match was not happy, as 
 the hauglitiness of the lady could ill brook the descent 
 from an imperial palace to the castle of an earl; but it 
 flattered tlie ambitious views of the Count of Anjou with 
 
 a Knyghton. Bronipton. 
 » Brompton. 
 
 »' Order. Vital. 
 
 •1 GuL Mahnesb. Novel, lib. 1. 
 
2iii 
 
 V liSTlGlA. 
 
 y 
 
 the expectation that his family would one day ascend 
 the throne oi' Enghuid^and which indeed came to pass. 
 
 ^ P. — The injured William Clito tinis seemed to be 
 the perpetual sport of fortune. 
 /"' A, — He had one favourable gak% though of short 
 
 duration : the King of France put him in possession of 
 the earldom of Flanders, which gave Herny nuich un- 
 easiness; but this handsome prince, said to be ecpially 
 avaricious and dissolute, soon after died from the efl'ect 
 of a wound. With singular command of temper, he 
 wrote on his death-bed to Henry, entreating pardon for 
 the trouble that he liad given during his lite, and rerpiest- 
 ins: the indulgence of the monarch to those barons of 
 Normandy who had supported his claims to the duchy. 
 It is satisfactory to Inow that Henry had sullicient gene- 
 rosity to comply with the request (1128).* 
 
 jp. — Such an ellbrt could not be very i)ainful, as 
 the event aflbrded a complete relief from well-founded 
 inquietude; had A\ illiam Clito survived Henry, he 
 would probably have succeeded to tlie English throne, 
 in spite of any testamentary bequest in favour of 
 Matilda. 
 
 A, — About this period some Flemings sought re fuge 
 in England from an inundation that had befallen their 
 country: Henry settled them in Pembrokeshire, for the 
 purpose of repressing the incursions of the Wt Islnnen.** 
 
 F, — The district is still occasionally called Little 
 England; and if the inhal)itants were long a separate 
 people, they are no otherwise distinguished at present 
 than by some peculiarities in the dress of the wonu^n. 
 
 A, — The last four years in Henry's life were passed 
 in Normandy, in the society of liis daugliter, who l)()re 
 three sons, and to whom he compelled the nobility of 
 
 DEATH OF HENRY I. 
 
 247 
 
 b^th countries to renew their oath of fealty. The cause 
 of the king's death was a fever, arising from eating too 
 plentifully of lampreys;* a favourite viand, but which 
 always agreed better with his palate than his constitu- 
 tion. He expired at St. Dennis le Ferment, in the sixty- 
 seventh year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign, 
 December 1st, 1135. 
 
 F.— William of Malmesbury^ has allotted to this 
 prince the praises of temperance and continence : but 
 his death, caused by a surfeit, bears no very ample tes- 
 timony to the first virtue ; and surely the continence of 
 the monarch cannot be very highly commended, who 
 left no fewer than fifteen illegitimate sons and daughters, 
 the mothers of Ashom were chiefly ladies of rank." 
 
 ^,_The prosperous fortunes of Henry have induced 
 historians in general to extol him beyond the quality of 
 his virtues : in his conduct there is little for the moralist 
 to praise, except in the undeviating severity with which 
 he administered the laws; a real benefit, in that licen- 
 tious age, to all classes of his subjects. In cruelty he 
 departed not from the example of the two Williams, 
 his father and brother: an unfortunate French minstrel, 
 Iiuke de Barrt, having written some satirical verses 
 against him, and falling into his power, the king would 
 by no solicitation consent to his pardon, but deprived 
 him of his sight by the revolting application of a heated 
 
 iron basin .** 
 
 F.— Another instance of Henry's stern resolution 
 took place in his youth. During the disputes in Nor- 
 mandy with his brothers, Conan, a rich burgess of 
 Rouen, being detected in a design of delivering up that 
 city to William Rufus, Henry inveigled this unfortunate 
 
 » Hen. Hunting. 
 ^ Gal. Gemot. 
 
 ^ De Gcst. Angl.Ub.5. 
 'J Order. Vital. 
 
 •■^ Gul. Gemot . lib. 8. 
 
 ^ Gul. Malmcsb. lib. 5. 
 
248 
 
 VESTfC! \, 
 
 person to tlic summit of liic castle, and wllli his own 
 hands Hmv^ him from the battlements,^ saying very 
 coolly, " Traitors must not i,^o unpunished." 
 
 ^4.— Nor must the long duration of Rolx rl's captivity 
 be forgotten. Henry possessed a handsome person, witli 
 an open and engaging countenance; dark and clear eyes, 
 with thick hair; of moderate stature, and ataple cliesi ;'' 
 his address was atfable; his humour facetious; and he 
 possessed so great a share of learning as to acquire the 
 name of Becwclerc, or the scholar: the soundness of his 
 understanding is conspicuous in all the transactions of 
 hjs reign. This monarch was twice married: his second 
 wife, Adelais of Lovaine, br(uiglit no issue; his first 
 queen, Matilda, was long the delight of the English 
 people, on account of her Saxon descent; and from tlie 
 kindness of her heart she acquired tlie lamiliar appella- 
 tion of the Good Queen Mold; which epithet was in- 
 scribed on her tomb.^ Slie is said to have been even 
 too lavish of her bounty to the poets and mins(r( Is of 
 the day, so as somewhat to have exceeded her v( ry 
 ample revenue. 
 
 * Gul. Maimosb. lib. 5. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 AngU:i Sacra, vol. 1. 
 
 STEPHKN. 
 
 211) 
 
 DlSSERTATiON V. 
 Section IV. 
 
 Stephen - - - a. d. 1135. 
 
 ^.—Though Henry liad bequeathed the whole of 
 his dominions to his dau-hter, the Empress Matilda, 
 yet from the anxiety which he evinced in compelling 
 the barons to swear repeated fealty to that princess, he 
 was probably well aware of the nncertainty of her suc- 
 cession, there having been no example of female descent 
 in the Xorman family, nor with the Anglo-Saxons, 
 eitlu r in any of the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, or 
 since they had been united into one monarchy. Egbert 
 having left the crown to descend, in his homely Saxon 
 phrase, l)y the spear side, not by the spindle side, con- 
 sequently the barons, scarcely yet accustomed to the 
 iulieritance of females even in private fiefs, which had 
 not ( iitirely ceased to be considered as military bene- 
 fices, were ready to assist, in that age of usurpations, a 
 darin*'- adventurer, who came forward with a specious 
 pretence, a sharp sw ord and a long purse ; such an one 
 was found in Stephen, Count of Bologne, the second 
 son of the Count of Blois, by his wife Adela, the daughter 
 of William the Conqueror.^ 
 
 /T* _Even to the show of legitimacy, Stephen could 
 make no prc^tence, his elder l)rother being yet alive, 
 content ^^ith his paternal inheritance. 
 
 ^1.— Stephen was in Normandy at the period of 
 Henry's death, l)ut, well aw are of the extreme import- 
 ance of striking the first blow, he hastened over imme- 
 diately to England.^ By the assistance of his brother, 
 tht^ IMshop of Winchester, he secured the treasures of 
 
 * Gul. Malnies. Novel, lib. 1. 
 
 b Mat. Vdi'h. 
 
250 
 
 VESTKU i. 
 
 the late king, and in a sliorf time was solemnly crowned 
 
 — * 
 
 at Westminster: lew of the barons attended on the 
 occasion, and those who took the oaths ot* I'ealty, made 
 the conditions reciprocal ; yet thus, by the mere cere- 
 mony of a coronation, Stephen proceeded to the exer- 
 cise of sovereign authority. 
 
 P. — Bid the partizans of Matilda quietly submit to 
 such a flagrant usurpation? 
 
 A. — Robert, Earl of Gloucester, natural son to the 
 late king, a man of capacity and integrity, was much 
 attached to the interests of his sister Matilda; yet, how- 
 ever desirous he might be to excite an opposition, he 
 was compelled to remain at peace, so extensively had 
 Stephen insured the compliance of the noljility, by the 
 liberal use of Henry's treasures. 
 
 F. — The policy of Henry in amassing them was 
 thus strangely turned against the interest of his own 
 family. 
 
 yl.— The first attack was i'rom Scotland; David, the 
 king of that country, appeared against St( plien, at the 
 head of an army, in defence of his niece Matilda's title, 
 and penetrating into Yorkshire, committed (he most 
 barbarous ravages : this much enraged tlu^ norfhern 
 nobility, who assembled an army at North Allerton, 
 and in an engagement called the battle of the Standard/ 
 from a high crucifix being erected by the English on a 
 waggon, they totally defeated the Scots with great 
 slaughter, (1188): this success overawed the malcon- 
 tents in England, and promised to give stability to 
 Stephen's throne. 
 
 P. — As his three predecessors were equally usurpers 
 with himself^ such an expectation was not unreasonable. 
 
 A. — It was the misfortune of Stephen, tluii in order 
 
 » Mat. Paris. 
 
 GREAT NUMBER OF CASTLES. 
 
 251 
 
 (o ensure the support of the I)arons, he was compelled 
 to grant them most exorbitant privileges, amongst 
 which, tiie right of building and fortifying castles was 
 not the least, and became the most dangerous and 
 obnoxious: not less than one thousand one hundred 
 and lifteen of these receptacles of licensed robbers 
 were erected in the short space of nineteen years ;^ and 
 even the prelates aspired to the same immunity. Ste- 
 phen, sensible of the mischief, was resolved to begin a 
 reformation, and seized a castle belonging to Roger, 
 the bishop of Salisbury;^ but he was not quite aware of 
 the strength against which he had to contend. 
 
 j?._The rise of this prelate was remarkable: in the 
 days of William iluius he was a poor curate, in a 
 village near Caen in Normandy: the King's brother 
 Henry arriving thither, called for a priest to say mass, 
 and Ro^er going to the altar, performed it with such 
 celerity, that the attendants on Henry affirmed, that 
 he, above all others, was a chaplain meet to say mass 
 before men of war, because he had made an end when 
 many thought he had 1)ut newly begun:" thus recom- 
 mended to Henry, he was protected by that prince, and 
 speedily advanced to great promotion. 
 
 ^.—Ecclesiastical pretensions were, in this age, 
 carried so high, that the bishop of Winchester, though 
 brother to the king, preferred the interests of his own 
 order; and in a synod convened on the occasion, as- 
 serted the independence of the clergy/ thus increasing 
 the general discontent between the crown and the 
 
 mitre. 
 
 p._Had this quarrel not arisen, we have every rea- 
 son to suppose that the mere possession of the crown 
 
 « Mat. Paris. 
 
 « Godwin dc praesul. Anij. 
 
 ^ Gul. Malmesb. Novel, lib. 2. 
 ^ Gul. Malmesb. Novel, lib. 2. 
 
252 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 by Stepheii, would hiwv been sufficient to defeat the 
 claims of Matilda, however equita?3le. 
 
 A. — Invited by the rebonions clergy, thnf princess 
 arrived in England, accompanied by the E iri ui Giuu- 
 cester,and a retinue of only a liundnd nnd forty knights: 
 she fixed her residence at Arundel castle, the gates of 
 which were opened to her by Adelais, the queen 
 dowager:' here she was besieged l)y Stiplien, wlio, 
 either despairinu' to reduce the castle, or moved by the 
 representation of Adelais, permitted her departure to 
 Bristol. This was the first of a series of extraordinary 
 escapes from difficult situations which j^fterwnrd befel 
 the Empress; and now^ being joined by several nobles 
 of her own party, a civil war raged in every corner of 
 the kim^^dom: tiie barons set no bounds either in their 
 vengeance on each other, or in their oppressions of the 
 people: the two competitors, dependent on tlie caprice 
 of their adherents, were compelled to connive at ex- 
 cesses which they could not prevent; and thus universal 
 disorder prevailing, the land remained nntiUrd, and 
 a grievous famine left whole villages without any 
 
 inhabitant (1141).^ 
 
 F. — This picture of feudal times, it must be con- 
 fessed, is not very alluring; and St< plien had enlisted a 
 band of foreign soldiers, who appear to have surpassed 
 the accustomed ferocity and licence of the age. This 
 measure, though perhaps necessary to the desperate 
 state of the kings afl'airs, gave great olh nee to the no- 
 bility, as well as his friendship for William JJ'Ypres, the 
 leader of these dangerous mercenaries. 
 
 A. — The armies of the two parties marched and 
 countermarched over various parts of the kingdom, 
 with but small ii suit : at length Stephen was taken 
 
 CIVIL WAR. 
 
 353 
 
 ^ Gul.MaliiiCbb. Novel, lib. 2. ^ Sux. Chron. Giil. Malincsb. Novel, lib. 2. 
 
 prisoner, when besieging Lincoln : he was conducted to 
 fJloucester, and loaded with irons was there thrown into 
 prison.^ Matilda's party now triumphed, but that prin- 
 cess gave much offence by the contempt with which she 
 treated the petition of Stephen's Queen, and of several 
 nobles soliciting the release of the captive monarch ; 
 and she assumed such intolerable airs of haughtiness to 
 the Londoners, who pleaded for a restitution of their 
 Saxon laws, that th.ey broke into a sudden insurrection, 
 from flu^ danger of which Matilda only escaped, by 
 hastily leaving the table, mounting a horse, and seeking 
 safety in a precipitate flight.^ 
 
 p.— The lady's temper appears not to have been 
 very capable of bearing prosperity. 
 
 ^,_The empress was certainly a most disagreeable 
 personage : proud, passionate, conceited, and so parsi- 
 monious, that Camden,^ very ungallantly terms her a 
 niggish old wife, the English may be congratulated in 
 noThaving come under her rule. The Bishop of Win- 
 Chester being now supposed to repent his opposition to 
 the knig, Matilda resolved to surprise him in his castle 
 at that city ; but as she entered at one gate of the town, 
 he departed at another: she sent him a peremptory 
 order to attend the court now held in the castle; he 
 answered, that he was getting himself ready, which 
 indeed he set about with such effect, that the party 
 who were the besiegers of Winchester, now in turn 
 became the besieged, and were so pressed by famine, 
 that Matilda and the Earl of Gloucester determined to 
 escape; and one morning at dawn of day, under a 
 strong escort, they left the castle: the princess luckily 
 reached Devizes in safety ; the Earl was not so fortunate, 
 as he fell into the hands of the enemy.^ 
 
 ^ Gesta, Stophani Regis. 
 ^ Remains. 
 
 ^ Gesta, Stephani Regis 
 ^' Gesta, Stepbani Regis. 
 

 254 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DEATH OF STEPHEN. 
 
 255 
 
 F. — Each party then in possession of its a«herse 
 leader, had its fair cpiid pro quo. 
 
 ^.— After some negotiation tlie Earl was exchanned 
 for the Kin?:, and the civil war raided with greater iury 
 than ever. Matilda having a talent for adventure, not 
 finding herself safe at Devizes, is said to h;ne l)een 
 placed on a bier like a corpse, and to have been drawn 
 on a hearse to Gloucester.^ Should this story be doubtl'ul, 
 it is certain that soon afterward, slie was 1)esiegrd in 
 Oxford, and as the place could not hold out against 
 Stephen another day, she issued at a very early hour in 
 the morning from a portal, attended by three Icniuhts, 
 all clothed in white, it being a severe frost, and the 
 around covered with snow: the nearest centinel, wlio 
 had been bribed, conducted her between the posts of the 
 enemy; she passed the river on foot over the ice, and 
 reached Abingdon '^ she at last retired into Normandy 
 (1143), and Stephen's party again prevailing, the con- 
 test languished. 
 
 P. — At length then an interval of security and repose 
 
 w^as found for Stephen. 
 
 j{ — He did not enjoy much of either: at all times 
 anxious to preserve the just riglits of the English crown, 
 he was continually harassed by petty, though almost 
 unceasing conllicts with the nobility, or with the church. 
 After some years had ]Kissed in the possession of a pre- 
 carious authority, an alarming danger presented itself, 
 in the person of Prince Henry, the son of IVFatilda, who 
 now appeared in England, in his way to receive knight- 
 hood from his great uncle, David King of Scots, (114!)).^ 
 This young prince early exhibited great marks of 
 ability, and much excited the hopes of his own ])arty : 
 soon after his return he was invested w ith the Dutchy of 
 Normandy, and his lather dying, he took possession of 
 
 • Brompton. ^> Gi^btfi, Steplianl KoLns. "■■ H<mi Unntinir. lih S, 
 
 a J 
 
 Anjnu and Maine, as his patrimony; and soon after 
 marrying I Eleanor (1152,) the heiress of Ouienne and 
 Poictou, h(i became a truly formidable competitor. In 
 the year 115-} he invaded England with a considerable 
 power, rallied his partizans round him, and a decisive 
 battle was daily expected ; but the nobility, terrified at 
 the prospect of further confusion, interfered, and an 
 acconnnodation was settled, in which it was agreed 
 that Stephen should possess the crown for life, and that 
 on his demise Henry should succeed to the kingdom.^ 
 Uurinu^ the course of this negociation, Eustace the 
 eldest son of Stephen died, which nmch facilitated its 
 conclusion : the claims of his surviving son William 
 seem to have opposed no obstacle. 
 
 F.^^rhis treaty placed the kingdom in a very deli- 
 cate situation, and in which it was next to impossible 
 that jealousies and quarrels should not arise. 
 
 ^._From such perplexity it was fortunately relieved 
 by the death of Stephen himself, in the following year. 
 This princi^ wanted only a better title to the crown to 
 have secured many benefits to England ; from this cir- 
 cumstance alone no reign w^as ever more productive of 
 misery. Stephen w-as graceful in person, strong and 
 active; he is allowed to have been prompt in decision, 
 bold in action: his friends applauded his generosity, his 
 enemies admired his forbearance, and he won the hearts 
 of all men by aflability and condescension: his conduct 
 as a husband and a father was unexceptionable, nor 
 did he, notwithstanding the difficulties of his situation, 
 indulge the exercise of cruelty and revenge.^ 
 
 P.— Durinu these aues of turbulence w^e must not 
 expect to find great refinement of manners, or that 
 learning and the arts were in a very flourishing 
 condition. 
 
 " Gul. Neubiij?. Brompton. 
 
 *' Gul. Mfilmcsb. Mat. Paris. 
 
25G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F. — A very general misapprehension serm<^ to exist, 
 as to the state of uiaiiiiers with the carl} Angk)-Nonuaii.s ; 
 because in battle they were clad in armour, our inia- 
 gination hastily concludes that they were men ol iron, 
 fierce and occupied alone with thoughts of w ar ; \\ hcreas, 
 after their secure establishment in Endand, nt no time 
 did i^reater dissoluteness of conduct, or eH'eminacy in 
 dress prevail. The Anglo-Normans wore Ihnving 
 cloaks or gowns of silk, which swept the irround ; their 
 long curled hair, often ornamented by false additions, 
 provoked the anathemas of the church, as well as their 
 pointed shoes, whose peaks,^ stulfed with tow, curled 
 upwards like a ram's horn, and were fastened by silver 
 chains to the knee;^' Henry's principal minister and 
 favourite, the Earl of Meulant, or Mellent, was not 
 more distinguished by his political talents than l)y his 
 excessive foppery. To the cause of learning in tliis 
 island the Norman conquest was certairily bt^nc^ficial ; 
 before the arrival of William the clergy, as we have 
 seen at the accession of Alfred, contented tlieniselves 
 with the slightest smattering of letters, and could hardly 
 stammer through tlie ollices of the church : if any one 
 understood grammar, he was a prodiay. The Anglo- 
 Saxons were certainly a very rude, and 1 am afraid 
 somewhat a dull people; in acuteness of intellect liie 
 Normans had much tlie advantage : altliougli the erudi- 
 tion of that age tended as much to corrupt as to im- 
 prove the understanding, yet the ecclesiastics infused 
 a literary spirit into their own order, and the Latin 
 tomrue was with them irenerallv cultivated; indcHul the 
 Latin of no age, till the revi\ al of learniug, is more terse 
 and eleirant than that of tlie twelfth century. 
 
 F. — Having praised the purity of the vehicle in 
 
 ^ Eadinor. 
 
 t> Gill, Malmcsb, lib. 3. 
 
 STATE OF LEARNING. 
 
 257 
 
 which science was conveyed, was the nature of the 
 instruction worthy of equal commendation? 
 
 A. — During many ages, a system of instruction of 
 great antifpiity had prevailed throughout Europe, called 
 the irivium and quadrivhim:^ the first term included the 
 scicjices of grammar, rhetoric, and logic ; the second of 
 music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy: this ar- 
 rangement was not always strictly adhered to, but the 
 elements of these sciences w ere taught, imperfectly in- 
 deed, l)ut as far as they were understood. Not content 
 with this course, the Normans resorted to the Arabian 
 schools in Spain, w here they imbibed some improvement 
 in physical science, and delighted themselves with the 
 investigation of metaphysical subtilties, then highly in 
 vogue : the utility of some of their inquiries, the follow- 
 ing questions, taken from a MS quoted by Dr. Lingard,^ 
 will evince: '' Why cannot plants be produced over fire? 
 AVhy is the nose made to hang over the face? Why are 
 not horns generated on the human forehead? Whether 
 the stars are animals; and if so, whether they have an 
 appetite?" 
 
 F, — These absurdities seem introductory to the wran- 
 gling disputes of the schoolmen in the subsequent age. 
 
 A. — Conjecture supplying the place of inquiry, no 
 improvement in the department of natural history 
 could be expected : a curious document, however, of 
 the state of medicine, remains in the Reginien Sanitatis 
 of the School of Salernum, which became a sort of ma- 
 nual throughout Europe, and which, though not written 
 in Enuland, owes its origin to Robert, duke of Nor- 
 mandy, who, having been wounded in the crusade by a 
 poisoned shaft, applied to the physicians of Salernum, 
 
 * Joan. Siirisb. Metalog. Tib. i. c. 12. 
 
 *' Hist, of Entr. Vol. 1. Qucstiones Naturales PercHficiles Athelheardi. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 s 
 
258 
 
 VESTTOIA. 
 
 at that time much celel)ratea, and bcini? relieved by their 
 skill, became desirous of some acquainUuKc with the 
 healing art. To oblige him, Jolm of Milan, in conrnr- 
 rence with tlic whole Saleniian Academy, composed 
 the work in question, consisting of nearly tour hundred 
 easy Leonine verses. The poem tluis commences: 
 
 Anplonim regi srripsit scliola tola Salerni ; 
 Si vis liicoliimcm, si vis tc reddcrc sanum 
 Curas tollp irravcs, irasci crcile prophanum ; 
 Parce mero, orenato pariim ; non sit tibi vaniim 
 Surgere post epulas, somnum fugc mpiidiamim; 
 IliFc bone si serves, tn longe tempore vives. 
 Salcrniun's school tlius writes to England's Icing : 
 Its rules well followed, health and safety bring; 
 Shim busy cares, from impious wratli refrain ; 
 Sup lightly, think not spare potations vain ; 
 Rise after nu-als, indidge not noontide sleep. 
 Long Shalt thou live, if thou these precepts keep. 
 
 And so the author proceeds, in a very amusing strain 
 of quackery, which he pursues througii wliat Dr. Freind • 
 calls the six non-naturals in medicine ; he is very copious 
 on the virtues of herbs, amongst which sage and rue are 
 his chief favourites: the first he calls, " salvatrix, con- 
 ciliatrix, naturae" and asks this astounding question: 
 
 Cur moriatur homo, cui salvia creseit in horto ? 
 Wliy should man die, so doth the sentence say, 
 When sage grows in his garden day by day ? 
 
 The work was early translated into English, and ac- 
 quired general favour. 
 
 P.— As all books in this age were written in Latin, 
 was that language commonly understood by other per- 
 ,sons than those of the clerical order? 
 
 A.— To the large mass of the community the Latin 
 tongue was then, as it is now, literally a dead language, 
 ami even the rich and powerful baron was rarclj ac- 
 quainted with any tongue except his own, the Calh»- 
 Norman. The poets who wishe.l to pay thejrcoin-l k. 
 
 - Hist, of Physic, part 2. 
 
 HISTORIANS. 
 
 •wO. * 
 
 the great, wrote in that dialect : few of their productions 
 of Ihis date have seen the light, and from what we can 
 gather, they seemed to consider excellence to con- 
 sist in wire-drawing their subject to an interminable 
 extremity. Tlie common people still used the Anglo- 
 Saxon tongue, little if at all adulterated. 
 
 P. — Eut tlie historians wrote in Latin. 
 
 A. — Undoubtedly, and they arc both sufficiently 
 numerous and respectable, but their appeal was made 
 to pi>sterity. As from their pages we have drawn the 
 materials of our conversation, a short account of the 
 chief of these writers may not be unacceptable. The 
 first, ill point of time, is Ingulf, Abbot of Croyland, in 
 Lincolnshire, born in London 1030; he was secretary to 
 William the Conqueror, in Normandy, and wrote a 
 history of his Abbey, from its foundation in 664 to the 
 year 1091 : in this work he has introduced a variety of 
 anecdotes relative to the general history of England. 
 The next writer is Eadmer, an Englishman, a monk of 
 Canterbury; his work is a history of the affairs of Eng- 
 land in his own time, from lOGG to 1122, in which he 
 has inserted many original papers, and preserved many 
 important facts; the composition is much valued for its 
 purity of style, good sense, learning, and candour. 
 
 P. — The example of these two native historians 
 does not very well accord with the accusation of dul- 
 ness V. itli which you accused the English nation. 
 
 A. — The arrival of the Normans awoke the English 
 iVom their intellectual torpor, by exciting their emula- 
 tion. Another English instance is William of Malmes- 
 bury, born in Somersetshire, though it is said that he 
 was only of half blood : he wrote a general history of 
 England, in five books, from the arrival of the Saxons 
 (44}>,) to the twenty-sixth year of Henry I. (1126), and a 
 
 8 2 
 
 K 
 
2m 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 modern history, ^vlli^h I.e culls Novella', m Uvu books, 
 from that year to the escape of the Empress Matilda 
 iVom Oxlor.l (1140): liis xvorks arc hi-hly estcon.co; the 
 Latin is purer in style than thai of any of his cotcmpo- 
 rarics; he united much diligence, good s.M.se, and mo- 
 desty, Nvitli a sincere regard (o truth, though someuhat 
 tinctured Nvith the credulity and superstition ul the 
 times. This excellent person, one of the genuine fathers 
 of Knglish history, spent his life in the lunnble .station 
 of library-l^eeper in the Abliey of Mahnesbnry, xsherc 
 he died (llt:3). Posterity has certaiidy accorded to his 
 memory more than he demanded : " I presume," says 
 he, " not to expect the applause of my cotemi)oranes; 
 but I hope that, uhen fayour and maleyolence are no 
 more, 1 shall receiye the character of an industrious 
 though not of an eloquent historian." Simeon of Dur- 
 ham°took great pains in collecting th.e memorials of our 
 history, especially in the m.rth, after they had been scat- 
 tered by the Danes : his ^york is a History of tlie Kings 
 of England, from GIG to the year 1130; but it is thought 
 to be chiefly a transcript from the c(dlections of Florence 
 of Worcester, Avhose Chronicle of Chronicles readies 
 from the beginning of the ^\ orl<1 to ihc year 1118. But 
 Florence is scarcely thouaht a.n original Ayriter, his work 
 being an epitome or transcript from the Chronieh' ..r 
 History of Europe, by Marianus Seotus. 
 
 p._Still your authorities are the depreciated English. 
 A.— I Avill close the catalogue I)y one more example ; 
 Henry, archdeacon of Huntingdon, ^yas the son of Ni- 
 cholas, a married priest: in his youth he had a taste for 
 poetry, but in later life he comjiosed a general History 
 of England, from the earliest accounts to the death of 
 King Stephen, in 1154, in eight books : the earlier p/ats 
 are compiled from Eede ; the latter he ackno^vledges (o , 
 
 HISTORIANS. 
 
 2GI 
 
 be a mere abridgment of various chronicles, and a rela- 
 tion of such particulars as he had heard and seen, and 
 \yhieh are not without their value. 
 
 P. — But it is by English historians that the event 
 of the CoiKinest, so triumphant to the Normans, is alone 
 
 described. 
 
 A. — We are indebted for some particulars to Gulicl- 
 mus Gemeticensis, a monk of the convent of .Tumidge. 
 His History of the Normans, in eight books, is in its 
 earlier parts abbreviated from the larger work on the 
 same sulijeet of the canon Dudo. This writer dedicated 
 his history to William the Conqueror; at what year it 
 ceases is uncertain, as it\yas continued by another monk 
 to the accession of King Stephen. Gulielmus Pictaven- 
 sis, or William of Poictiers, wrote the Acts of King 
 William; his history reaches only to the year 1070 ; he 
 had seen most of what he recounts, and is esteemed 
 faitliful, candid, and eloquent; his parallel of William 
 with .fuIiusCajsar is very happily sustained. Ordericus 
 Vitalis, a monk of St. Evreux, yyhere he lived fifty-six 
 years, wrote an ecclesiastical history in thirteen books, 
 in which he intermixed many things relating to English 
 iiistor\ : he is esteemed too copious in his description of 
 little matters, and too concise in aflairs of moment, yet 
 the vvliole is valuable : this writer was born indeed in 
 Eniiland, but carried to Normandy when very young. 
 Some scattered fragments of history are found in several 
 minor monastic autiiors, botli native and foreign; and 
 notliwithstanding the darkness of the eleventh century, 
 there are lew events in the English annals so copiously 
 detailed l>y cotempcM'ary and competent authorities, as 
 tlic Norman Conquest and its immediate consequences. 
 
2(i;.' 
 
 N> 
 
 FffE TEMPLE CHURCH. 
 
 263 
 
 DISSERTATION VI 
 
 STfie €tmvU itf^nvcfi, fionJJoiu 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTACEM:T. 
 
 Henry II. 
 Richard I. 
 John - - 
 
 A.D. 1154 
 
 — 1189 
 
 — 119^J 
 
 Section T. 
 
 A. — Tew edifices in the metropolis are better worth 
 a visit than the Temple Church, as it combines anti(iiiity 
 with beauty in a decree exceeded by nothing oi' similar 
 dimensions in the kim^dom. 
 
 p. — The exterior appearance of the church, proI)a- 
 bly from its confined situation, excites no particular 
 attention: this doorway indeed, wliieh is not readily 
 observed, with its round arch ornamented, in admiral)lc 
 preservation, t,aves the perfect idea of a Norman struc- 
 ture immediately subsequent to the conquest. 
 
 A. — At once entering the western vestibule, we per- 
 ceive that it is of a circular form : its ehnated roof, sup- 
 ported by six clusters of pillars, each cluster consisting 
 of four shafts, exhibits one of the Cc^rliest instances of 
 deviation from the immense columns which we are ac- 
 customed to call Saxon. 
 
 F.— Two other round churches, the one at Cam- 
 bridge and the other at Northampton, possess those 
 huge pillars, and are consequently of somewhat an 
 earlier j)eriod than the Temple Church. 
 
 yl.— Between each cluster of pillars a pointed arch 
 rises, a very early specimen of that form; and imme- 
 diately above is an arcade of semicircular arches, so 
 intersecting each other as if to show whence the idea of 
 the pointed arch was derived. The lower part of the 
 buildinir is ornamented with an arcade, or range of 
 pointed arches, the bases and capitals of which are in 
 the ancient style: over each capital is a grotesque 
 liead, each varying in attitude and expression. 
 
 7?, — Though the windows above are of the old 
 Saxon semicircular construction, these varieties of style 
 harmonize together extremely well; and as we must 
 admit that the structure w^as completed at once, it is 
 curious to observe how the pointed arch seems to be 
 struiiiflini! to obtain a conquest over its more ancient 
 
 rival. 
 
 ^,— The general effect of the structure is eminently 
 pleasing, and lighter than could have been expected 
 from the period of its erection, which by a rare chance 
 we are enabled precisely to ascertain, from an inscrip- 
 tion on a tablet placed over the principal entrance, the 
 original of which was destroyed by workmen, 1()95. By 
 it we are informed that Heraclius, the patriarch of Je- 
 rusalem, then in England, dedicated the church to the 
 Virgin Mary, in the year 1185. 
 
 P.— Is it not generally understood that these round 
 churches were modelled on the plan of the church of 
 the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, built by Helena, the 
 mother of the Emperor Constantine? 
 
 ^._\,k1 1 believe the opinion is well founded : but 
 
2G4 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 thouc^li we are not to eonclude Iroiu this eireuiustaiiee 
 that all the ancient churclies in England ui a cirenlar 
 form were erected by the Knights Teniplars, yet tlu^ pre- 
 sent structure was incontestably built by that fraternity, 
 as they removed to this spot, from their former residence 
 in Holborn, in the same year that the church was 
 
 dedicated. 
 
 F.— In contemplating this beautiful fabric, we must 
 not overlook the monumental ctfigies of nine worthies 
 of that celebrated order, represented as cased in armour, 
 in a resupine posture, and executed in marlde with no * 
 contemptible skill ; most of them cro.s.s-legued, thus in- 
 dicating, by a sort of statuary pun, that if they were not 
 of the fraternity of the Knights Templars, they liad at 
 least taken the vow as crusaders: but it remains in 
 some uncertaintv whose memory they were meant to 
 perpetuate. 
 
 ^^_One of the figures is generally thought to repre- 
 sent William Mareshall, earl of Pembroke," the excel- 
 lent Protector in the reign of Henry the Third. V^wi it 
 is time to extend our view to the eastern part ol the 
 building, or chancel, of an oblong form, spacious, light, 
 and lofty, consisting of three aisles of equal height : the 
 roof is supported by eight quadruple clustered pillars, 
 from the capitals of which diverge several groimul ribs; 
 the windows consist of three pointed lancet -shnped 
 arches, the centre rising above the lateral ones, much 
 resembling those of Salisbury Cathedral. The (lute of 
 this part of the church is fortunately known also, its 
 dedication having taken place in the yera* I 'J 10. No 
 building in England is better calculattil than th;' Temple 
 Church to point out the introduction of the pointed arch, 
 and its gradual emancipation from the earlier Nor- 
 
 « Wecvcr. Dugdalc. 
 
 2G5 
 
 TfENRY 11. 
 
 man style, of which the perfect doorway is so fine a 
 specimen. In taking leave of the latter, we may observe 
 between the capitals of the pillars eight small half- 
 length human figures, said to be effigies of Henry 
 the Second, his Queen Eleanor, and the patriarch 
 Heraclius. 
 
 jfT.—Thev aflord us then a corroborative proof of 
 the erection of the church during the reign of that 
 
 monarch. 
 
 ^._^Ve have already seen, in our last conversation, 
 that the pretensions of Henry the Second to the English 
 throne were derived from his mother, the Empress Ma- 
 tilda, daughter and heiress to iienry the First, his father 
 beinir nothing more than the comparatively humble 
 GeoiTrey, count of Anjou. 
 
 F.—ii\xi it is absurd to call the introduction of this 
 funlly of Anjou, or Plantagcnet, to the tiirone, the 
 ' Saxon iine restored,' as it is given in the division of 
 the English kings in tlic common almanacs. Though 
 Henry tlic Second was descended from an Anglo-Saxon 
 grandmother, the wife of Henry the First, yet this 
 princess had several brothers, who left a numerous 
 
 postiM'ity. 
 
 ^.— The young Count of Anjou, at the death of 
 Stephen, was received by the English with universal 
 salisfiiction; and the first acts of his reign corresponded 
 with those high expectations which had been formed of 
 his rising talents: he demolished all the newly-erected 
 castles," which had proved so many sanctuaries to rebels 
 and freebooters ; he dismissed the foreign mercenaries, 
 xxith their leader, William d'Ypres, retained by King 
 Stephen, whose disorders and licentiousness had excited 
 the abhorrence of the nation ;»> he revoked the iinprovi- 
 
 Hovedcn. 
 
 ^ G. Neubrig. M. Fa lis 
 
2m 
 
 VKSTiniA. 
 
 dent grants which had been made, not only by tliat 
 usurper, but those also which had been extorted from 
 the necessities of Matilda/ To conciliate still further 
 the affections of his subjects, he confirmed the charter 
 of liberties, which had been granted by his grandfather 
 Henrv the First :^ and thus order, justice, and security 
 were established in a degree to which the nation had 
 been long a stranger. 
 
 P. — Did Anjou, the hereditary dominions of Henry's 
 family, give its possesser much power on the continent ? 
 
 F. — ^Though Anjou could not rival in extent the 
 greater fiefs of France, such as Normandy or Burgundy, 
 yet, lying in the centre, and being one of the finest 
 parts of that kingdom, its station was always respect- 
 able, especially after it was augmented by the conquest 
 of Touraine : its counts for some generations held the 
 office of grand seneschal of France. Fulk, whom we 
 have seen take so active a part in opposition to IJenry 
 the First, had the folly in his latter days to resign tlie 
 inheritance of Anjou for the sceptre of Jerusalem,^ 
 havins: married the heiress of that kingdom; and his 
 patrimonial possessions devolved to his eldest son 
 Geoffrey, father of Henry tlie Second, wlio obtained 
 the sobriquet of Plantagenet, which afterward passed 
 into a surname, from his commonly wearing a stalk oi 
 hrooiriy planta genida, in his bonnet; though the origin 
 of this illustrious appellation, say others, is derived 
 from Geoffrey's having applied some twigs of that plant 
 to his person by way of penance. Henry the Second w as 
 never called Plantagenet, but Henry Fitz-Empress, or 
 Henry Court Mantel, from the fashion of his cloak. 
 
 ^._The possessions of Henry in France were ob- 
 jects of the utmost alarm to the Frencli king, since to 
 
 G. XcLibii'^. ^ StututPvV of llic Roaliii, vol. 1. <= Gul. M.ilmci^b. lib.5. 
 
 QUKEN ELliANOR. 
 
 267 
 
 Anjou and Touraine, his paternal inheritance, were ^ 
 united Normandy and Maine, which he derived, together 
 with England, from his mother, Matilda, who had re- 
 signed the government in his favour ; and to these were 
 added the provinces of Poitou, Saintogne, Auvergne, 
 Perigord, Limousin, Angoumois, and Guienne, of which 
 he became sovereign in right of his wife Eleanor, heiress 
 of the Duke of Guienne. Thus a third part of France, 
 even in extent, and equal to a half in value, was united 
 in his person, and tlie vassal became a more powerful 
 prince than his suzerain, or sovereign lord. 
 
 p „_\Vhat part of these latter provinces constituted 
 the dukedom of Aquitaine, the representative of which, 
 as well as of Normandy, was accustomed to form a part 
 of the pageantry in the coronation of the kings of Eng- 
 land, till discontinued by George the Fourth? 
 
 ^ — (Juienne is merely a corruption of the word 
 Aquitaine. The ancient Aquitani were a people of Old 
 Gaul, who inhabited the banks of the Garonne ; but their 
 limits were never exactly defined: the dukedom seems to 
 have consisted of the provinces of Guienne and Gas- 
 cony. Eleanor, the heiress of these large possessions, 
 was married to Louis the Seventh, king of France, in 
 very early life: she continued his wife for sixteen years, 
 and bore two daughters; but attending him in a crusade 
 to Palestine against the infidels, she became the object 
 of his jealousy by her supposed partiality towards a 
 handsome Saracen. Louis, more delicate than politic, 
 procured a divorce upon the ground of consanguinity,'^ 
 and restored those rich provinces which her marriage 
 had annexed to the crown of France. 
 
 F.— There must have been an inauspicious disparity 
 of age, as Henry could scarcely have attained his twen- 
 
 » Gcrvas. Dorob. 
 
208 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 tieth year, whilst the lady must at least liave reached 
 thirty. 
 
 A. — However desirable might be such a marriaijc in 
 the eyes of aml)ition, its consequences were as miuht 
 be expected: Eleanor had sullicicnt power to allure, 
 but not to retain the allection of Henry ; and the most 
 irritating jealousy on her part, with continued ne<,^lect 
 on his, embittered the latter years of their life with such 
 vexations, as few, even ro^al couples, have exhibited 
 an example. 
 
 ■P.— Henry could possess no great delicacy of feel- 
 ing in espousing a repudiated wife, whose reputation 
 must have received considerable iniurv. 
 
 A. — So thought King Louis; who said that the 
 poorest gentleman in his kingdom would not desire 
 Eleanor for his bride, her conduct havinir remhTcd her 
 so infamous.^ But in this he was greatly mistaken, as 
 many princes of the highest rank in 1- raiuc were anxious 
 to possess the wealthy heiress; some even went so far 
 as to form designs of seizing and marrying her by force. 
 As soon as she arrived safe in Guii nne, she sent to 
 Henry, whom she had seen twice at the court of Louis, 
 the olfer of her hand : he repaired to her at Poictiers, 
 and in six weeks after her divorce they w(Te married.^ 
 
 P» — This marriage does not form an agreeable trait 
 in Henry's character. 
 
 F. — Eleanor is more rememl)ered than any of our 
 ancient queens; for which she is indebted to munerous 
 traditionary ballads, in which the fair Rosamond is re- 
 presented as being compelled to choose h( r death by 
 the hard alternative of the dagger or the poisoned bowl. 
 Though such a catastrophe appears to be without the 
 least foundation, it is not improbable that the solicitude 
 
 * Siigcr Abb. Vita Lod. Gros. 
 
 ^ Gervas. Bromplon. 
 
 THE FAIR ROSAMOND. 
 
 209 
 
 of Henry to hide his intrigue, gave occasion to the tra- 
 (lit ion of his having constructed a labyrinth in his palace 
 at Woodstock, to conceal his mistress: indeed the poet 
 Drayton asserts that its ruins under ground were in his 
 time reinaining.* Henry, l)y not observing, on his re- 
 turn from paying her a visit, a silken thread which had 
 accidentally become attached to his shoe,^ unluckily 
 revealed tlie intricacies of this retreat to the jealous 
 scrutiny of Queen Eleanor. But this story has various 
 versions. 
 
 A. — Rosamond was the daughter of Walter de Clif- 
 ford,^ a baron of Herefordshire. At what period her 
 unfortunate connexion with her royal lover originated 
 is not ascertained ; but her beauty has been celebrated 
 by every succeeding age : she died 1177, and w as buried 
 in the convent of Godstow, near Oxford, with this quib- 
 bling epitapli, which an attempt to translate w^ould be 
 hopeless : 
 
 ** Hie jacet in tuml)a, Rosa miindi, non Rosa munda, 
 Non redolet, sed olet, quae rcdolerc solct.*^ 
 
 The old chroniclers never allude to the tragical or 
 violent death of Rosamond, further than by relating 
 that the furious menaces of the queen produced such 
 an elfect upon her s})irits, that she did not long survive. 
 Her toiiib l)eing adorned with various pieces of sculp- 
 ture, one of them a cup, probably an accidental orna- 
 ment, might suggest the notion that she was poisoned.*" 
 F. — Henry bestowed large revenues upon the mo- 
 nastery of Godstow, on condition that lamps shoidd be 
 kept perpetually !)urning about the tomb of Rosamond; 
 but under the reign of his successor, Hugh, the bishop 
 of Lincoln, commanded them to be removed, as un- 
 
 » Heroical l^pistlos. 
 
 « Dugdalo, Baronage, vol. 1. 
 
 ** IToanu' in G.Neubrig-. 
 
 ^ Ilolinslicd, 
 «^ Rroiiipton. 
 ' llovcdeu. 
 
270 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 PAPAL IlAUGIiriNESS. 
 
 271 
 
 worthy of so holy a place/ But it may l)c a question 
 whether mere piety and zeal against vice excited the 
 prelate to this good act, or his desire to pay court to 
 Queen Eleanor, wlio then governed the kingdom. 
 
 A, — But it ought to be observed, that Henry's early 
 and continued disregard of sound morals disturbed not 
 only the glory of his reign, but at one time absolutely 
 endansrered the existence of ins throne: even tliomrli he 
 never permitted in the ol)jects of his alfections any in- 
 terference with his government, being, as a nobk^ liisto- 
 rian^ expresses it, ^' Though too frequently a lover, yet 
 always a king.' 
 
 F. — Rosamond had two sons : the elder, named 
 Richard Longespee, from the sword he wore, was create d 
 Earl of Salisbury: the younger, Geoffrey, though of a mar- 
 tial turn, was early promoted to the bishoj)ric of Lincoln. 
 It was his custom in conversation to strentithen his as- 
 sertions by making this appeal : '' I protest by my faith 
 and the king my father-/' uponwhicii the facetious royal 
 chaplain, Walter de Mapes, used to observe, that it 
 would be as well were he to remember sometimes his 
 mother s honesty, as well as his father's royalty.^ 
 
 A. — The early years of Henry's reign were distin- 
 guished by much happiness and prosperity. An incur- 
 sion of the Welsh was repelled by the king in person, 
 after his standard-bearer, Henry de Essex, had basely 
 takeu flight;*" and he soon after increased his i)ower on 
 the continent, in a dispute with the Duk(^ of Britany 
 for the possession of the town of Nant/, lately occupied 
 by Geoflrey, the king s brother, now deceased, whic h 
 ended in its delivery to Henry. The duke, desirous of 
 procuring the support of so great a monarcli, contracted 
 Constance, the heiress of his duchy, then an infant, to 
 
 >" Lord LyttictOM, Hist, of Uviny 11. 
 *» Joan. Snris. tie Niip'is Cuiial. ^ G. Noiihria. 
 
 Geoffrey, third son of Henry, of the like tender age;* 
 and dying a icw years after, this important province 
 was yielded to the king as mesne lord and natural guar- 
 dian, and for the present annexed to his other extensive 
 dominions (1158). A disputed claim with the French 
 king to the county of Toulouse is worth mentioning", 
 merely on account of its introducing a scutage, instead 
 of the personal service of the military tenants of the 
 crown, the first to be met with in English history.^ 
 
 F. — It was during this quarrel that the PVench and 
 English monarchs met the Pope at the castle of Torci, 
 on the Loire; and they gave him such marks of respect, 
 tliat both dismounted to receive him, and holding each 
 of them one of the reins of his bridle, walked on foot by 
 his side;^ a spectacle, cries an ecclesiastical writer"^ in 
 an ecstasy, to God, angels, and men, and such as had 
 never before been exhibited to the w orld (1161). 
 
 P. — And which we may safely imagine never will 
 
 again. 
 
 F. — Yet not long before, the Emperor Frederic Bar- 
 barossa, at the ceremony of his first reception at Rome, 
 lield the stirrup of Pope Adrian the Fourth much against 
 his inclination:*' it is said, that being on the wrong side 
 of the horse, and admonished by thePontiff of that error, 
 he made answer that his ignorance must be excused, 
 as he had never l)elbre done the office of a groom. It 
 has even been reported, that when Frederic was kneeling 
 to receive absolution, that the Pope placed his foot on 
 the emperor's neck. 
 
 A. — Henry, disgusted perhaps by such examples of 
 papal haughtiness, as well as by the unlimited power 
 exercised by the ecclesiastics in his dominions, at 
 
 » G. Ntnibrig. 
 ^ B.ironiiis. 
 
 ^» Gervas. Madox. <= Trivet. 
 
 « Otto Frlsing, lib.2, c. 21. 
 
272 
 
 .VESTIGIA. 
 
 .^ 
 
 f/ 
 
 this time meditated a scheme of reducinu his clergy to 
 a state of obedience to the civil power, from which 
 they were at that time exempt ; an enterprise justified 
 by sound policy, yet by an unfortunate mistake in the 
 choice of his instrument, it involved the kins: in nnich 
 disquietude and danger, without eflcctini^: the purpose 
 which he had so much at heart. 
 
 F. — Henry's quarrel with Thomas h Becket is tlio 
 most remarkable domestic transaction in the earlier 
 periods of English history. 
 
 A. — This celebrated person, the first man of Enj^lish 
 descent who since the Norman conquest had risen to 
 any considerable preferment, was the son of Gilbert 
 Becket, a citizen of London; who travelling into the Holy 
 Land as a pilgrim, w as taken prisoner, and became the 
 slave of a Mahometan chief. In his captivity he had 
 the fortune to acquire the allections of his master's 
 daughter, who aided him to escape; but the lady, un- 
 able to endure the absence of her lover, speedily fol- 
 lowed him. The only English words with which she 
 was acquainted were London and Gilbert; and arriving 
 in the metropolis, she ran from street to street, repeating 
 " Gilbert, Gilbert," to a deriding crowd. But true love, 
 ever faithful to his votaries, at length directed her steps 
 to Becket's house : he received her witli the utmost 
 affection; and having married lier, by the ad\ice of six 
 bishops assembled at St. PaiiFs, she assumed the Cliris- 
 tian faith, and was ])aptized by tlie name of ^Matilda. 
 
 P. — This is a pretty little ronuaice ; how luurli of 
 it may be true ? 
 
 A. — It is but a mere epitome of a long detail in the 
 genuine monkish style of the old chronicles, and it 
 must be owned to carry somewhat of a suspicious ap- 
 
 * Rrompton, I0r»4. 
 
 I 
 
 'I 
 
 1 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 273 
 
 pearance. Thomas i\ Becket, the son of this interesting 
 couple, seems to have been early intended for the church, 
 as he was lirst educated at Merton Abbey, and conti- 
 nued his studies at the universities of Oxford and Paris. 
 Having been introduced to the notice of Theobald, 
 archbishop of Ciuiterbury, he was promoted to the arch- 
 deaconry of that diocese, and recommended to the king 
 as worthy of further' trust and preferment.^ Becket so 
 well improved his opportunities, that he speedily be- 
 came the most fiivoured minister and intimate compa- 
 nion of the monarch: advanced to the dignity of chan- 
 cellor, emjdojnicnts and trusts of all kinds were heaped 
 upon liim witliout measure and without propriety: he 
 held a scandalous number of ecclesiastical benefices ; 
 he had royal castles and forts committed to his custody, 
 and various escheats of great baronies that had devolved 
 to the crown. These revenues he expended without 
 account or control : his way of life was splendid; his 
 amusements gay; and the king frequently condescended 
 to partiike of his entertaiinnents.^ 
 
 P. — But liovr w as such favouritism consistent with 
 the acknowledged good sense of Henry? 
 
 A, — The iascination of Becket's manners, combined 
 with singular dexterity, seems somewhat to have hood- 
 winked the usual discernment of tJie king. After trans- 
 acting the most im])ortant l>usiness, they would play 
 together, says a cotemporarj', like boys of the same 
 age.^ Once as the king and the chancellor were riding 
 in the streets of London, they observed a beggar who 
 \vas shivering v/ith cold : *' Would it not be very praise- 
 worthy," said the king, '' to give that poor man a warm 
 coat in this severe season?" '' It would, surely," replied 
 
 * Fitz-Steph. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 h Ibid. 
 T 
 
 ^ I])i(l, 
 
274 
 
 VESTlorA. 
 
 
 I 
 
 the chancellor; ''and you do well, Sir, in thinkino; of 
 such good actions." " Tlicn he shall have one presently," 
 cried Henry; and seizing- the skirt of Beekefs coat, 
 which was scarlet and lined with ermine, began to pull 
 it violently. After a struggle, in which both had nearly 
 tumbled i'rom their horses, the king bestowed the coat 
 upon the bei^irar, who was not a little astonished at 
 
 the present.^ 
 
 P.— But these social accomplishments, we may 
 
 suppose, were not exactly calculated to exalt Becket 
 
 to the primacy. 
 
 ^,_From the pliancy of Becket's manners, Henry 
 might conclude that his minister \vould assist in the 
 favourite project of retrenching the ecclesiastical privi- 
 leges, as he had always been acquainted with his mas- 
 ter's intentions in that particular ; yet perhaps a nice 
 observer might have discovered, in the inordinate i)onip 
 which the chancellor was fond of displaying, a principle 
 of pride which would, in upholding an undivided and 
 unborrowed power, be well adapted to resist the in- 
 clinations of his sovereign. 
 
 jr. —The description of Beckefs magnificence sur- 
 prises us by its extreme ostentation: in this part of his 
 conduct we are reminded of Cardinal Wolsey in a later 
 age. Becket, travelling in France on a mission to the 
 French king, was attended by a vast retinue: whenever 
 he entered a town, the procession was led by two hun- 
 dred and fifty boys, singing national airs ; then came 
 his hounds in couples, succeeded by eight waggons, 
 covered with skins, and protected by guards: these 
 contained the oniaments of his chapel, plate, and va- 
 rious furniture; then followed twelve sumpter horses, 
 on each of which rode a monkey, w ith the groom l)e- 
 
 s 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 275 
 
 hind on his knees ; next came numerous esquires, bear- 
 ing the shields and leading the chargers of their knights; 
 then the falconers and oiiicers of the household, with 
 knights and clergymen, riding two and two; and last 
 the ambassador, conversing with a few^ friends: the 
 people exclaiming, "What must the King of England 
 be, when his ch^niccllor travels in such state ?"^ 
 
 F. — The elevation of Becket to the primacy w^as 
 contrary to the advice of many of the ministers, and of 
 Matilda, the king's mother;'' indeed its impropriety was 
 so obvious as to induce a prelate to observe, that the 
 king had worked a miracle, by changing a layman 
 (Becket having only taken deacon's orders) and a sol- 
 dier into an archbishop.^ 
 
 A. — No sooner was the primate installed in his high 
 dignity, than he at once dropped the mask, and asto- 
 nished the king by the suddenness and completeness of 
 the alteration. Though Becket retained in his retinue 
 and attendance much of his ancient pomp, so well cal- 
 culated to strike the vulgar, yet in his own person he 
 exhibited the most ostentatious humility: he wore sack- 
 cloth next his skin, and changed it so seldom that it 
 became tilled with vermin; his usual diet was bread 
 and w ater, made unsavoury w ith bitter herbs ; and he 
 was perpetually engaged in some office of devotion."^ 
 The iirst fruits of this change w^as the resignation of 
 the chancellorship, which he sent to Henry in Nor- 
 mandy, without previously apprizing the king of his in- 
 tention, who now^ began to open his eyes with wonder 
 at the mistake which he had committed, 
 
 F. — It is true that Becket said to the king, " If you 
 appoint me to the primacy, we shall not agree ;^ but 
 
 ^ Fitz-Stei)h, 
 
 • Fitz-Steph. 
 
 
 *» Epist. St. Tlioni, 
 
 « Fitz-Steph . 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 T 2 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
276 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Ilcnry understood ifie throat as puro raillery, and was 
 not less susceptible to the shame of havinu* ])een so 
 completely duped. 
 
 A. — However, nothing- daunted in his purpose, the 
 king resolved to begin that reibrmation in the church 
 which its abuses so imperiously demandrd. It was as- 
 serted that, since the king's accession, no less than a hun- 
 dred murders had been conup.itted Ijy clergymen/ who by 
 the privileges of their order could not be punishi d l)y the 
 civil power. An atrocious case had jnstly excited the 
 popular indignation : a clerk in Worcestershire having 
 seduced a gentleman's dauirhter, and afterwards nuir- 
 dered the father, Henry required that the delimjuent 
 should be tried in tlie king's court;' Becket insisted on 
 the privileges of the church, and protected the criminal, 
 confining him in the bishop's prison, lest he should be 
 seized by the king's oiFicers; and maiiitained that no 
 greater punishment could be inflicted than degradation; 
 and when it was demanded that, after the priest had 
 been degraded, he should be delivered up to the civil 
 power, the primate refused, on the ground tluit it would 
 be iniquitous to try a man twice upon the same 
 accusation. 
 
 F' — Well might a cotemporary monastic writer 
 exclaim, that the bishops were more intent in maintain 
 ing the liberties of the clergy than in correcting their 
 vices.'' 
 
 A. — The conduct of Becket on this occasion has 
 been viewed in diflerent lights by the partisans of the 
 Romish church and by Protestants; what was the de- 
 termining motive which induced Becket to be come the 
 inflexible champion of the privileges of the clergy, does 
 not very clearly appear. The ordinary ends of ambition 
 
 i 
 
 
 ^ G.Neubrig. 
 
 ^ Fitz-Stoi)h. 
 
 *• G. Neubiii-. Tib. 2. 
 
 TliOMAS A BECKirr. 
 
 277 
 
 would have been more readily obtained by Beckef s 
 compliance with the king's inclinations, as the union of - 
 the primacy with tlu3 chancellorship must have bestowed 
 a power in that age utterly uncontrollable. About a 
 year after his elevation to the primacy, Becket attended 
 a general council, held at Tours by Pope Alexander 
 the Third, at which he was treated with the most marked 
 respect;^ and as the immediate predecessor of the 
 reigning Pope was Nicholas Breakspear, who assumed 
 the name of Adrian the Fourth, the only Englishman 
 who ever tilled the pontifical chair, it is not improbable 
 that Becket might consider the papacy itself, by some 
 fortunate contingency, as within his reach. 
 
 F. To account for the sudden transformation of a 
 
 <>-av and luxurious courtier into an austere and solemn 
 monk, a modern French writer'^ attributes to Becket the 
 desire of ])ecoming the protector of the still despised 
 natives of the Anglo-Saxon race; but this imitation of 
 Moses in the court of Pliaraoh is not borne out by any 
 feasible reasoning, no expression of tenderness or re- 
 gard towards his oppressed countrymen ever escaping 
 from the lips of the blessed Thomas himself. 
 
 yl.— Henry resolving to embrace the opportunity 
 which the enormous crime that had occurred in Wor- 
 cestershire now alfordcd, summoned an assembly of the 
 prelates at Westminster, and put to them this plain and 
 decisive question: " Are you willing to submit to the 
 ancient laws and customs of the kingdom?" They una- 
 nimously replied, " We are willing, save the privileges 
 of our order and the honour of God." ^ This artifice, as 
 may be supposed, served only to provoke the indigna- 
 
 a ,loaii. Sarisb. in Angliii Sacra. 
 
 »' M. Tliicrry, Histoire dc la Conqu^lc dc FAn-letcrre. 
 
 «^ Fitz-SU'pb. Hovcdcn. 
 
278 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 tioii of the monarch, who Icl't the assembly with visible 
 marks of displeasure. 
 
 F,—Bnt surely in apology for the bishops it may be 
 said, that there was no impropriety in resisting an in- 
 novation. If the king applied for their consent, it was 
 an acknowledgment that they had a right to withliold it; 
 nor did it come with a very good grace that the clergy 
 alone should be requested to go back to the Anglo- 
 Saxon customs, and resign those immunities which they 
 had acquired under the Norman kings, wlu n the mo- 
 narch and the nobility retained the vast accession 
 of power which they had accunuilated in the same 
 
 period. 
 
 il.— Becket being pressed to alter his reply, said, 
 if an angel from heaven should advise him to make the 
 acknowledgment without the saving clause, he \\ould 
 anathematize him.* But here the primate exhil)il((l a 
 weakness which has utterly tarnished the consistency 
 of his conduct; i\)r stran-e to say, the Pope's legate in 
 England, unwillinu' to hazard the friendship of Tienry at 
 an important juncture of his master's alVairs, prevailed 
 with Becket to give an uncoiidiiional assent, and to 
 promise that he would obey '' the customs oi the king- 
 dom," without exception or reserve.^ 
 
 p._Su(:h an unaccountal)le concession appcnirs a 
 complete triumph to the king. 
 
 A. The monarch, not content vvit-i a verbal pro- 
 mise, which he conjectured the i)rolates would take tlie 
 first opportunity to retract, summoned a great iiational 
 council at Clarendon, near Salislinry (llf>l,) uhich 
 passed a body of laws, called the Constitutions of (1a- 
 rendon:' the two chief of wliich were, that no appeal 
 should be made to the Pope ^vithout the king's permis- 
 
 Fitz-Stcph. 
 
 *' Hovcden. Gervas. 
 
 <^ Fitz-Stcph. 
 
 
 TH0MA8 A BECKKT. 
 
 279 
 
 sion; and that the clergy should be amenable to the 
 civil courts. To these laws he compelled the prelates 
 again to promise obedience. Becket for a long time 
 obstinately withheld his assent; but finding himself 
 deserted even by his brethren, overcome by the solicita- 
 tions of some powerful friends, and perhaps alarmed at 
 the si<dit of armed men ^ stationed in an apartment with 
 swords drawn and Uieir garments tucked up, as if pre- 
 pared i'or some desperate action, he reluctantly com- 
 plied, and again took the oath "legally, with good 
 faith, and without fraud or reserve,"" to observe the 
 Constitutions. But he still declined to set his seal and 
 si-rnature; a miseraldc evasion, but an eminent example 
 of that mental reservation so pertinaciously patronized 
 by the chur( h of Rojiie. 
 
 F.— Thus far the king appears to have performed 
 the duties of a wise, powerful, and enlightened monarch; 
 indeed liis prinrijdes were somcAvhat too far advanced 
 for the spirit of the age, as after all they were not se- 
 conded by the general voice of the community : the op- 
 position of the clergy was natural, and must be received 
 with those grains of allowance for the esprit du corps 
 wliich has ever existed in all ancient and powerful 
 
 esja])lishinents. 
 
 yl.— Becket retired to his diocese, dispirited and 
 mortified; he soon pretended the deepest contrition 
 and repentance for the part which he iiad taken, and 
 refused to exercise his clerical functions till he had re- 
 ceived absoluti(m from the Pope/ who, instigated by 
 his intriffucs, declined to ratify the obnoxious Constitu- 
 tions of Clarendon, and thus rendered the whole plan of 
 
 Henry abortive. 
 
 P.— That must surely be an accommodating sys- 
 
 ■" Gervas. 
 
 >• Fxtz-StcpU. 
 
 ' Epist. St. Thorn. 
 
280 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THO.M.VS A !»KCKET. 
 
 281 
 
 tern of religion, which can dissolve obli-utioii,s v,lic:> 
 they begin to be lelt incomciiient, 
 
 yl.— Beckct <itteni})tc(! to Hec the kiiigdoiii, but (he 
 vessel was twice piU back by contrary winds. Ecing- 
 suniHioned to an interview at '^Voodstock, the kin"- 
 coolly asked if he Jiad left England because It was too 
 .small to contain them both?^ But the tenipcr of licnry, 
 ever subject to violent starts of passion, at lengtii got 
 the better of his judgment. In a council held a short 
 time after at Northampton, Eecket was suniujoned to 
 appear on a pretended contempt of the Court ol Ex- 
 chequer, for which he was amerced in a heavy line; 
 several other large sums were demanded npcsn e(p!:illy 
 frivolous pretences; and to complete the climax, a sud- 
 den claim was made for arrears of account whii.^t he 
 acted as chancellor, to the amount of forty-four tliousand 
 marks," a sum equivalent to a miliion of pounds at the 
 present day. But FTenry much mistook his ground ; the 
 spirit of Eecket being too lofty to sink beneath such 
 oppression. After deliberating a few days, the arch- 
 bishop at length ordered mass to be celebrated at the 
 altar of St. Stephen, directing it to begin as at the festi- 
 val of that proto-nuirtyr, " Princes sat and spake against 
 me." •= He thence went to court, arrayed in his .sacred 
 vestments, and taking tlic cross in his oxnu liands, bore 
 it aloft as his prolecfion, and marched into tlie royal 
 apartments." The king, astonished at this parade, which 
 seemed to threaten him \utii excommunication, retired 
 into an inner chan5l)er,but sent some prelates to remon- 
 strate with the primate upon Ids audacious beliaviour. 
 Becket reproved tiieir presunqjtion, at:d, strictly iidii- 
 bitcd them, who were his suflVagans, from assisiin- ai 
 
 " Hist. Quadraj-ai til.i. 
 * Hovedcn. Tars. Tost. 
 
 »» Fitz-Stoi)h. Epist. St. Thorn, 
 ** Hovcdcn, 
 
 any trial which tlic king might institute against him, as 
 he app( ah (1 to the supreme pontiff against such iniqui- 
 tous judges; but thinking himself no longer safe at 
 Northampton, lie witlulrew privately by night in the 
 habit of a monk,'' and after various dangers reached 
 the continent in safety. 
 
 F. — Sucli l)o1dness and inflexibility were calculated 
 to ensure popular favour, and induce men, against their 
 better judgment, to overlook his ingratitude towards the 
 king, liis violation of liis oath and engagements, as well 
 as the unreasonableness of the ecclesiastical privileges, 
 of which he atfccted to be the champion. 
 
 A, — The king immediately sent embassies to the 
 Kimr of France and to the Pope; but Becket had fore- 
 stalled his purpose in both instances: Louis, besides 
 being excessively superstitious, was well pleased to 
 give disturbance to Henry's government; he had even 
 honoured Becket with a visit at Soissons.^ When 
 Henry's ambassadors, in mentioning to him the ground 
 of their master's complaint, called Becket ' the late arch- 
 ])i.shop/ the French monarch suddenly stopt them, say- 
 ing, " I am a king as well as the King of England, but 
 I am neither willing nor able to degrade even the lowest 
 ( 1( rk in my dominions."*^ At a conference with the Pope, 
 who gave, as might be expected, but a cold reception to 
 a magniliccnt embassy, one of the English bishops blun- 
 i]iYVi\ in liis set Latin speech, sul)?tituting two or three 
 times the word oportuebatiox oporlebat ;'^ which causing 
 much ridicule, the interview^ was productive of no 
 advantage. 
 
 F. — Becket liimself took a surer method of obtaining 
 the Pope's favour, by repairing in person to Rome, and 
 
 « Fitz-Steph. 
 < Gorvas. 
 
 ^ Hist. Qiicidra. 
 ^ Hist. Ouadra. 
 
m 
 
 282 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 resigning his see into the hands of the supreme pontifl', 
 who invested him anew with thu dignity.* 
 
 A. — In the bitterness of the quarrel, ITenry com- 
 mitted an act of great injustice: he banished all the 
 relatives, friends, and dependants of the prunalc, to (he 
 number of four hundred persons, >\ithout distinction of 
 age or sex, and confiscated their estates •/ he even 
 compelled them to make oath, before tin ir departure, 
 that they would instantly join their patron : idly ex- 
 pecting that Becket would thus be reduced to necessity 
 in relieving them. But the arclibishop, now supported 
 by the funds of the French monarch, and roused, not 
 overwhelmed, by this new hardship, issued a censure, 
 excommunicating the kinir's chief ministers by name, 
 and suspended the spiritual thunder of an interdiction 
 over Henry himself, that he might avoid the blow by a 
 timely repentance.^ 
 
 P. — And did this great monarch stand in awe of 
 such a species of vengeance ? 
 
 J..— Becket found his threats of sufficient strength, 
 not only to protect himself, but to reduce Henry to the 
 necessity of a])pealing to the Pope; which act was vir- 
 tually a repeal of his own constitutions, and consequently 
 a compkie triumph to Bccket's cause. The king too 
 began to perceive that no final advantage would ar crue 
 by continuing the contest: several treaties of recon- 
 ciliation were broken off by the mutual suspicion and 
 insincerity of the parties; Henry insisting upon a salvo 
 to his royal dignity, and Becket upon a salvo to the 
 honour of God, clauses that were perfectl} understood; 
 and then, when all diflicuities were removed, the king 
 refused to grant the kiss of peace,*^ a ceremony usual at 
 
 ^ Hist. Quadra. 
 
 < Fitz-Stcph. M. Paris. 
 
 ^ Gervas. 
 •^ Fitz-Stcph. 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 that period, as a pledge of forgiveness. At length (1170) 
 Becket was presented to the king at Fretville, in Nor- 
 mandy : llie meeting was attended with much hypocrisy 
 on both sides; the prelate would have thrown himself 
 upon his knees in the dirt, which the king prevented, 
 and in return condescended to hold the stirrup whilst 
 Becket remounted his horse.* 
 
 p, — The terror of an interdiction must have been 
 ureat indeed, which could induce so haughty a prince 
 thus to humiliate himself. 
 
 F.— The haughtiness of Henry was more than 
 matched by the inflexible pride of Becket. Previous to 
 this reconciliation, in a conference between the kings of 
 France and i:nghind, Henry said, '' Let Becket act to- 
 wards me with the same submission which the greatest 
 of his predecessors have paid to the least of mine, and 
 there shall be no controversy between us."*'^ Even the 
 Pope recommended, in an epistle to Becket, that, 
 '' Saving the honour of his office and the liberty of the 
 thurcli, he should liumble himself to Henry, and strive 
 to recover his affection/'^ But humility was a lesson 
 that the primate would never learn. 
 
 ^.— The conditions of Becket's restoration were in 
 themselves a victory, as it was agreed that " obedience 
 to the ancient customs," the old ground of controversy, 
 should be buried in oblivion. During the negociation, 
 Henry, justly alarmed at the consequence of the threat- 
 ened interdiction, thought that, by associating his eldest 
 son. Prince Henry, in his government, he should at 
 least secure the throne to his family ; and for this pur- 
 pose he had the youth crowned at Westminster by the 
 archbishop of York.^ Becket having obtained intelli- 
 gence of this intention of the king, broke out in expres- 
 
 » Gervas. ^ Ibid. ' Epist. St. Tiioin. lib. 2. ** Hist. Quadrap. 
 
2b4 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 sions of the utmost violrnro, pretending I hit himself, 
 as archbishop of Canterbiu}, had aloiK ihc iighL to 
 officiate; whicli was altogether a grouiuUess pretence, 
 as even the Conqueror was crowned by '^^"^ nrrl^bishop 
 of York: and when he discovered ilad the l\)pe had 
 privately a1)solved the ministers of Henry from their 
 sentence of excommunication, his arrogance and rage 
 become truly ludicrous, and exhibit no very inviting 
 portrait of a catholic^ martyr. In a letter on this occa- 
 sion he writes : ^^ Satan is let loose to the destruction 
 of the church; Bara])bas is freed and Christ is crucilied 
 a second time; such impenitent sinners even St. Peter 
 himself had not the power to absolve." But he adds, in 
 a comfortable strain of self-satisfaction^ ^^ As for me, 1 
 commit to God his own cause."* 
 
 F. — It has I)een suggested that, from these hypocri- 
 tical or self-deluding expressions, Beckct meditated a 
 project of obtaining an ascendancy over the mind of the 
 prince; as, had he ollieialed, it would have been easy to 
 insinuate that the youthful monarch was indebted to tlie 
 primate for his crown. 
 
 A. — On Beckefs arrival in England he was coldly 
 received by tliC nobility, hut A\ith much applause by the 
 populace.' lie now proceeded to exercise a most un- 
 justiliable act of vindictiveness, whieli shows his ge- 
 nuine character. Near Canterbury, messengers came to 
 him from the archbishop of York and the bishops of 
 London and Salisbury, ^^ho were proceeding to the 
 kin<^ in Nornrandv; to whom he notified a sentence of 
 suspension against the archbishop, and a bull of excom- 
 munication against the two latter prelates, winch he hnd 
 procured from Rome against them for the part which 
 they had taken in Prince He luy's coronation This act 
 
 Episft.St.Tliom. lib. 5. 
 
 ^ Hovcdcn. 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 285 
 
 excited general indignation : the sheriff of Kent asked 
 whether he meant by this bold step to bring fire and 
 sword into the kingdom?* 
 
 P. — The honour of God or of the church could 
 surely form no ground for these proceedings. 
 
 F. — Becket might judge otherwise ; for though the 
 kino bad consented to annul the Constitutions of Cla- 
 rendon, he still persisted to carry the;r spirit into va- 
 rious acts of his administration; and the primate might 
 apprehend that the immunities of the clergy would at 
 length lall a sacritice. By this bold stroke Henry would 
 see that he must look for no relaxation in Becket's op- 
 position, the archbishop's intrepidity defying all dan- 
 ger; as after six years' exile his spirit was so unsub- 
 dued, that he told the King of France at his departure, 
 he was going into England to play for his head.^ 
 
 A. — Becket, desirous of paying a visit to the young 
 prince at Woodstock, was prevented by a message from 
 proceeding further than the metropolis, where he made 
 a sort of triuuiphal entry, amidst the acclamations of 
 all ranks of its inlmbitants. Returning to his diocese, 
 he employed himself in excommunicating many of his 
 ancient enemies, amongst others Ranulf de Broc and 
 Roaer his brother: the latter for no other cause than 
 that he had cut off the tail of one of the prelate's 
 sumpier horses/ 
 
 P. — However trivial or ridiculous such an incident 
 may appear, it would be felt by such a man as Becket 
 as an un[)ardonable aflVont. 
 
 A. — The suspended and excommunicated prelates 
 having reached Normandy, threw themselves at the 
 king's feet, beseeching him to relieve them from the hu- 
 miliatin<r situation in which they were placed by Becket/ 
 
 * Fitz-Stepb. i' Ibid, 
 
 « Hist Quadrap. ^ Fitz-Stepb. 
 
mi 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 287 
 
 Henry foresaw the iramediate revival of that contest 
 between the crown and the mitre, which he fondly hoped 
 his concessions had appeased; and greatly agitated, he 
 asked them, ^' What would von have me do?" *' Tl is 
 not for ns/' replied the archbishop of York, '' to say 
 what should l)e done; but \\lulst Fkeket lives, neither 
 you nor your kinixdom will ever be at peace." Thus 
 artfully instigated, Henry broke out into a paioxjsni 
 of furv, exclainiinir, ^^ Slmll tliis fellow, wlio cjiine to 
 court on a lame horse, with all his estate in n wallet 
 behind him, trample upon the king, the royal family, 
 and the whole kin<>dom? Will none of all those lazy, 
 cowardly knights whom T maintain deliver me from 
 this turl)ulcnt priest?''* 
 
 F. — Such exclamatiims might be well termed some- 
 thinsr more than indiscreet. 
 
 A. — They led indeed to a fatal resnlt : four knigliu^ 
 of Henry's household, Tleiiinald Fitz-Urse, William 
 de Traci, Hugh de Moreville, and Richard lliito, 
 taking these passionate expressions to be a hint for 
 Becket's death, secretly withdrew from court, and, as a 
 monkish writer relates, conducted by the devil,'' arrived 
 by different roads at the castle of Ranulf de llroc, six 
 miles from Canterl)ury, December 26, 1170. Tlie next 
 morning, accompanied by twelve men at arms, they re- 
 paired to the ab1)ey, and were admitted into an apart- 
 ment, in which they found the archljishop conversing 
 with some of his clergy. Fitz-Urse informed liini that 
 thev were sent bv the kinir to command liim to absolve 
 the prelates: a violent altercation ensuing, they gave 
 hints that his life would be in danger if lie did not 
 comply. At the departure of the kniuhts, tliey charg(^d 
 his servants not to allow him to (lee; on which liecket 
 
 ft 
 
 » Hist. Quadra. 
 
 »» Fitz-Steph. 
 
 cried out with great vehemence, ^' I will never flee 
 from any man living; and I defy the rage of impious 
 
 assassins." * 
 
 P. — Thus warned, it is singular that some measures 
 
 of security were not resorted to. 
 
 yl. — The friends of the primate blamed the rough- 
 ness of his answers, and pressed him to escape ; but 
 he replied, that he wanted no advice, knowing well how 
 to act. Intelligence being brought that the knights were 
 arming, '' What matters it," he exclaimed, '' let them 
 arm:"^ but some of his servants, greatly alarmed, hur- 
 ried him into the church, where the evening service was 
 performing, as a place of greater security. The knights 
 now ai)proached, and finding the gates of the Abbey 
 closed, would have used force, but de Broc showed 
 them a passage through a window by which they got 
 in. Not iuidiug the archbishop, they followed him to 
 the cathedr.il ; the monks seeing their approach, would 
 have locked the doors, but Becket forbade them, desir- 
 ing them not to make a castle of a church.^ The four 
 kni^dits finding no resistance, rushed into the choir, 
 and 1)randishing their weapons, called out, " ^\ here 
 is Thomas a Becket? where is the traitor?" At which 
 receiving no answer, they continued, "Where is the 
 archbishop?" At this Becket boldly advanced, and 
 said, " Here 1 am, an archbishop, but no traitor." ^ 
 The conspirators again commanded him to absolve the 
 excommunicated prelates : he replied, that no satisfac- 
 tion had been made, nor would he comply. '' Thou 
 shalt die then according to thy desert," exclaimed the 
 infuriated knights, and seizing him, they endeavoured 
 to drau liim from the church, but Becket clinging to a 
 pillar, they were unable to force him out: during the 
 
 * Ocrvns. Fitz-Steph. * Hist, yuudra. « Fitz Steph. ^ Ibid. 
 
288 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 stru"*o*le he shook Traci so roughly as almost to .hrow 
 him down; and as Fitz-Urse approached, the arch- 
 bishop thrust liim violently away, canin'rhini a pimp;^ 
 at which opprobious expression the enraged assassin 
 lilted his sword, and a monk interposing, had his arm 
 nearly severed from his body. Becket, w]h> had bowed 
 his neck and joined liis hands together in a posture of 
 ])rayer, was wounded on the head, and by three other 
 bk)ws given by the conspirators, his skull was ahuost 
 cloven in two, and his brains scattered about the pave- 
 ment of the church.^ 
 
 P.— It is natural in remarkable transactions to look 
 for parallel cases; but I recollect nothing in lii.Ntory 
 which reminds us of this appalling catastrophe, an arch- 
 bishop of acknowledged sanctity, slain before tlie altar 
 which he had made tlie greatest sacrifices to defend. 
 
 2r._Becket is said to have been of tall stature, and 
 to have possessed a graceful carriage, with a mild and 
 handsome countenanc e ; his nose was prominent, a little 
 inflexed. It is admitted, that he was imstained with the 
 vices of the court, even during his career uf gaiety as 
 tlie companion of Henry .*" 
 
 ^._The motives of Becket's conduct it appears 
 difficult to appreciate ; he might at first assume the cha- 
 racter of a zealot, merely from principles of ambitioTi, 
 l)ut becoming inflamed in the contest, he i)robably 
 worked himselt" up into a real enthusiasm: he was, 
 doubtless, a man of consummate cunning, undaunted 
 courage, and invincible constancy. Who could nul wish 
 him a better cause ? 
 
 p, Yet both the man and his cause have found 
 
 defenders even at the present chiy, \n modem catholic 
 writers,^ who overlook in their vindication the singular 
 
 Hist. Quadra. ^ Fitz-Stepli. « Ibid. ^ Berington. Lingard. 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 289 
 
 ingratitude, the unrelenting vengeance, and overween- 
 ing pride of Thomas a Becket. 
 
 A. — Henry was fully aware of the abhorrence which 
 Becket's assassination was calculated to excite; and 
 justly alarmed at the situation to which his culpable 
 and passionate expressions had exposed him, he shut 
 himself from the light of the sun,^ and pretended, for it 
 could but be pretence, to refuse all sustenance for three 
 days ; ^ but in that interval he well matured his plans, 
 and speedily despatched an embassy to the Pope, to 
 whom he protested his innocence of the murder, and 
 professed his willingness to submit entirely to the judg- 
 ment uf his holiness*/ by applying also certain argu- 
 ments, the force of which was well undersood at Rome, 
 he suspended the dreaded interdiction and anathema, 
 which a weak prince would most certainly have incurred. 
 
 F. — But the clergy at home were not backward in 
 magnifying the merits of their martyr: endless were 
 the paneuyrics on his virtues, and innumerable miracles 
 were wTOUght over his reliques. An account of them 
 in two volumes*^ was at one time preserved at Christ 
 Church in Canterbury; every disease was cured, lost 
 eyes and limbs were restored to those who had been 
 deprived of thcm;'^ not only dead men were raised to 
 life, l)ut horses, dogs, and cows.^ These wonders began 
 very early ; the saint being exposed to view before he 
 was buried, rose up out of his coffin, and lighted the 
 wax candles; and after the funeral ceremony was over, 
 he held up his hand to bless the people:^ two years 
 after his death he was canonized by his ancient friend 
 Pope Alexander the tliird ; his body was removed to a 
 magnificent shrine, pilgrims of every rank arrived at 
 
 » Gervas. 
 
 • Ibid. 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 *» Hist. Quadra. 
 
 < M. Paris. 
 
 U 
 
 « Hoveden. ^ Gervas. 
 
 8 Hoveden. 
 
200 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Canteibury, from all parts vf Europe. The altars of 
 the Virsia and of Christ became deserted, an.! ilie Avell- 
 Avorn steps of Beckct's tomb attest to this day the iiuiu- 
 merable devotees uho oiferi'd their oblations. 
 
 p._I recollect to have read that in one year they 
 exceeded in number one hiindivd thousand/ and tiiis 
 vast resort b)ng- continued. Tn the Proloi^ae to Chau- 
 cer's Talcs, written t^vo crnlurics alter tiie event, the 
 old bard thus relates of the pilgrims : 
 
 And specially from every shire's ende 
 Of Engelonde to Canterbury tliey wende. 
 
 . A.— Vac monks would have it be believed that the four 
 knightly assassins speedily perished by untimely deaths, 
 but" the fact was diilerent; as they were exposed only 
 to ecclesiastical censures ' they were never called to 
 account by Henry; yet, finding themselves universally 
 shunned as excommunicated persons, they repaired to 
 Rome,'^ and su!)miiting- to certain penances, were ab- 
 solved, but were enjoined a pilgrimage to the l!<dy 
 Land, where it is probable three of them died; the 
 remaining knight became the stock of an old English 
 family, long settled in Gloucestershire, of uliom it was 
 said, by way of punishment for tliis crime of their an- 
 cestor, that 
 
 " The Tracies have always the niiid in their faces 
 
 »» 
 
 "No very severe judgment, remarks the quaint I'uller, 
 
 and might spare the females the use of a fan upon a 
 
 summer s day." 
 
 p._This truly protestant writer is somewhat angry 
 with the papists for raising such a scandal against so 
 respectable a family ; but it might originate irom the 
 purpose of Sir William Tracy to perform his penitential 
 
 . 'Somner, Antiq. of Cant. *• Pet. Blesens. Rpis. 73. <> G. Neul.rig. 
 
 I 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET. 
 
 291 
 
 pilgrimage being ever frustrated by contrary winds. 
 
 he was buried, it is conjectured, at Muii iii lievon, 
 
 A. — The inoral guilt of Henry in the transaction of 
 Beckct's murder must ever remain somewhat question- 
 able; he extricated himself indeed from his perilous 
 situation with admirable address, and found leisure and 
 opportujuty to undertake an expedition against Ireland, 
 a design wliic h he liad long projected, and which much 
 retrieved his reputation. 
 
 ^ Fuller's Worthies, Gloucester. 
 
 *.^».l- «•'•: 
 
 y 
 
 }tjl 
 
 ji . 
 
 LMj>lxAiVx 
 
 -s. r r 
 
 ' X 
 
 / 
 
 f 
 
 U 2 
 
04 hi 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 IRISH ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 293 
 
 DISSERTATION VT 
 Section II. 
 
 Henry II. - - - 1172 to 1189. 
 P. — During the progress of so many centuries, no 
 mention has yet oceurred of Ireland in connection with 
 the authentic ailairs of Kngland. 
 
 A. — As the petty princes anionast Avhora that king- 
 dom was divided, had always confined their depn (hi- 
 tions to the territories ot" each other, no pretence of 
 interference in its concerns had arisen to its powerful 
 neighbour: but Henry had notwithstanding long cast 
 an ambitious eye on this fertile country, and for llio 
 purpose of sanctioning his project of subduing it, he ap- 
 plied to Pope Adrian IV. so early as the year 1 1. ">(!;' w ho 
 well satisfied at such an appeal, as a virtual acknow- 
 ledirnient that all Christian islands belonged to the 
 patrimony ot* St. Peter,^ granted him a IjuII, exhorting 
 him to invade Ireland, that he might extirpate the vice 
 of its inhabitants, and oblige them to pay to Home the 
 tribute of Peter's pence.^ 
 
 p^ — This generosity of the Holy See was much ujxm 
 a par with that bounty whii li some ages alter con- 
 ferred the new world upon tlie Spaniards. It is surely 
 both strange and curious, that Adrian, who ])ut a few^ 
 years before was absolutely a w^andering mendicant, 
 the son of Ilo])ert Chambers, an obscure clerk at 
 St.Alban's,^ and who had been discharged from that 
 monastery for his want of application, should, by the 
 
 = Girald. Camb. ^ M. Paris. *^ Rymer, vol. i. •» M. Paris, Vit. Abb. 
 
 caprice of fortune, arrive at the power of bestowing, by 
 his own authority, a new kingdom, on a prince who 
 possessed no other conceivable claim to its dominion, 
 than the powder of tlie sword. 
 
 A.— The Irish, from the beginning of time, had 
 been buried in the most profound barbarism: as the 
 island had never been invaded by the Romans, civiliza- 
 tion had but faintly dawned upon its inhabitants, whose 
 state of cultivation may he appreciated from their 
 ignorance of the simple art of tillage; and the small 
 principalities into which the country was divided, being 
 perpetually exposed to hostility and rapine, both from 
 without and from within, effectually precluded the hope 
 oi improvement, as the usual title of each petty prince 
 was the murder of his predecessor. 
 
 p,_But how does this account agree with the high 
 pretensions^ of Irish antiquaries, to a state of superior 
 relinement in ages very far remote? 
 
 A. — The disagreement arises from the one statement 
 being foiaided on truth, the other on fiction. 
 
 p. In attempting to become acquainted with the 
 
 supposed antiquities of Ireland, I have never l n suf- 
 liciently i'ortunale to meet with an intelligible guide. 
 Who and what are the Milesians with whose exploits 
 Irish imaginations are so much iniiated ? 
 
 A.— It will require some patience to get at their 
 origin, as the absurdity of the defenders of Irish antiquity 
 exceeds all legitimate bounds : amongst several autho- 
 rities for the fabulous history of Ireland, one of the most 
 copi(uis is CeofTrey Keating, a catholic clergyman, 
 born in Munster, who wrote a '' General History of 
 Ireland," about ihe year 1625, in the Irish tongue, and 
 wliirh was first translated and published a century 
 after, by one Mr. Dermod O'Connor : the later works 
 
294 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of O'Flaherty,^ Valiancy, and other iriMi In-lonuis, 
 being chielly transcripts lioni this writer, we \\ili con- 
 fine ourselves to his narration. Keating's book is a 
 thick folio, and professes to be compiled from exceed- 
 ingly ancient MSS. both in prose and verse: the com- 
 position is delightfully Irish, and truly worthy of the 
 subject. To give a regular account, says Keating, of 
 the first inhabitants of Ireland, it is necessary to liegin 
 at the creation of the world; for let it not be thought 
 that it is impossible to trace a genealogy to Adam, 
 since the ancient Irish retained alearned body of sooth- 
 sayers, whose peculiar office it was to attend to the 
 pedigree of their princes: and to take olf tiie wonder of 
 the thing, as the Doctor says, by sliowing tliat it can 
 be done, he with inimitable simplicity gives nn example 
 from a Welsh MS., which derives a certain ilritish king 
 by the proper deiirees from our tirst parents. Ibit 
 Keating candidlv admits that he will not vouch as au- 
 thentic any thing which occurred before ll.e Hood; he 
 absolutely treats as fictitious an old tradition that a 
 certain leader, Fiontan, with his wife Ca^sara, the niece 
 of the patriarch Noah, survived the deUme by tluir 
 great skill in swimming, and established themselves in 
 Ireland ; the first settler, according to this author, being 
 Partholanus, the seventh in descent from Ja;)het, in the 
 line of Magog, who arrived from Mygdonia in (ueece 
 about three hundred years after the fiood: his posterity 
 colonized Ireland for the space of three hundred years, 
 when they were unfortunately extirpated by a most 
 destructive plague, which left not a man to record the 
 
 melancholy tale. 
 
 P. — How then, it may be asked, was the catastrophe 
 
 made known? 
 
 A. — After the destruction of this unlortunate race, 
 
 > O^ygia. 
 
 THE FIR-BOLGS.. 
 
 2fl5 
 
 Irtland lay waste for thirty years; and about this time 
 the greater number of the Irish lakes were formed. Soon 
 after another Grecian captain, Nemedius, descended also 
 from Magog, arrived with his companions; but their 
 possession w as transient, as they were speedily attacked 
 and expelled by an African colony. Returning toGreece, 
 they were so ill treated by their countrymen, as to be 
 compelled, amongst other hardships, to carry earth iu 
 leathern bags to the tops of the higliest and most barren 
 mountains, in order to form a soil: from this circum- 
 stance they received the name of Fir-bolgs. 
 
 F.— Fir, we conclude, signilying a man, and bolg a 
 bag. It is said tluit three families, yet remaining in 
 Irelaml, are of Fir-bolg extraction. Some indeed inter- 
 pret Fir-I)()lg by Viri Belg(B ; but what could the Bel- 
 gians at this period have to do with Ireland? 
 
 J_— The Fir-bolgs, exasperated by this unkind treat- 
 ment of their brethren, again took courage, and renewed 
 an attempt upon Ireland, which they reconquered, and 
 divided into five provinces, as at present; Munster being 
 separated into two, the north part called Thomond, the 
 southern Desmond. The government of the Fir-bolgs 
 continued a few centuries, when they were once more 
 expelled by a new enemy, the Tuatha de Danans, or the 
 sons of the Trincess Danans: these also were Greeks, 
 and they were particularly celebrated for their skill in 
 necromancy: they ruled the kingdom for the space of 
 one hundred and ninety-seven years. 
 
 P._T() what period of the world do these events 
 
 conduct us ? 
 
 ii.— About one thousand years from the deluge. 
 These Tuatha de Danans were conquered by a new 
 race, the Milesian, which had not hitherto appeared in 
 Ireland. To understand the history of this ancicrit stock, 
 
wn 
 
 VESTHT! A. 
 
 we must turn to a distant conntrv. Tn Scvtluri, Fj riiusa 
 Farsa, the trrandson of Magog, was a mighty monarch ; 
 he left his kingdom to his posterity, but his sec und son, 
 Niul, having no portion from his father, was sent, in 
 the words of my author, to travel into foreign parts for 
 the benefit of the public schools, and tliat he might im- 
 prove himself in the seventy-two learned lanuuages; he 
 w^as told never to forget that he was a Scythian. With 
 these advantages he at length settled in Egypt, where 
 he married the Princess Scota, daughter of Pharaoh 
 Cingris, the celebrated monarch of the 8crii)tures, 
 " which knew not Joseph." 
 
 P. — Bnt what can this have to do with the history 
 of Ireland ? 
 
 A. — I premised that you w^ould lose your patience. 
 From the Princess Scota, say these authorities, the Irish 
 people in after times assumed the name of Scoti. JJy 
 this lady, Niul had a son, whom he called Gadelas: this 
 youth having been bitten by a serpent, was healed by 
 Moses ; which circumstance cemented so strong a friend- 
 ship between the parties, that Xiul undertook to supply 
 the Israelites with provisions in their projected ilight to 
 the promised land; but becoming fearful of liis royal 
 father-in-law's revenge, he judged it would 1)e the safer 
 plan to accompany the great lawgiver in his expedition; 
 but the next day, Pharaoh being drowned in the Ped 
 Sea, whose waters (as it is happily expressed by an 
 Irish poet) 
 
 ** Covered all bis host, and in their course 
 Swept away sixty thousand foot and fifty thousand horse." 
 
 Niul was thus relieved from his anxieties, arnl rt lurned 
 to his former settlement in Egypt; where living long 
 enough to see his children capa1)le of ])earing arms, he 
 peacefully expired. Cadelas himself performed no me- 
 
 GADELIAN8 AND MILESIANS, 
 
 297 
 
 morable exploit, but from liim the posterity of Niul 
 received the name of Gadelians, who in the course of 
 two or three generations becoming a numerous tribe, 
 were expelled from Egypt. Seeking various places of 
 settlement without success, at length they arrived in 
 Gothland, where they continued one hundred and fifty 
 years; at the expiration of which they proceeded to 
 Spain, then governed by the posterity of Tubal. The 
 Gadelians, under their leader Breogan, attacked the 
 Spaniards, and took possession of the country. This 
 w^arlike prince had ten sons, one of whom, called Bille, 
 became the father of the celebrated Milesius,the parent 
 of the :\Tih\sian race in Ireland. 
 
 p,—l was always deluded with a notion that the 
 Milesians came from the country of Miletus, in the 
 Lesser Asia; and that somehow or other they were the 
 heroes of those unknown fables, the Milesian Tales, so 
 much spoken of by the ancient critics. 
 
 ^._Xothing is more remote than the identity of the 
 two people. Our Gadelian, xMilesius, having a taste for 
 travel, left Spain, and visited Scythia, the country of 
 his irreat ancestor Niul; where he was courteously re- 
 ceived by the king, and obtained his daughter in mar- 
 ria*'e. But that monarch becoming jealous of the favour 
 which the stranger had acquired with his subjects, 
 fonned a design to take away the life of this young 
 hero ; who discovering the plot, very unceremoniously 
 killed his father-in-law, and escaped to his ships. 
 Steering to the coast of Egypt, he was hospitably 
 entertained by Piiaraoh Nectonebus; and for his great 
 services rendered in a war against the Ethiopians, re- 
 warded with another wife, the Princess Scota. 
 
 P.— This seems to have been a favourite name with 
 
 the Egyptian princesses. 
 
 yl.— Encouraged by a prediction that the Gadelians 
 
298 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 should enjoy an island isitnated in iht west, Milesius 
 with his two wives left Egypt, and by ratlur a cir- 
 cuitous route towards Ireland ; they reached the isle 
 of Gothland, in llie Baltic Sea; hence they sailed away 
 to Spain, after plundering Albania in their voyage. 
 
 P. — These adventures of Milesius are evidently a 
 second version oT the history of his ancestor Xiul. 
 
 A. — Finding Spain overnni by the (Joths and other 
 plundering nations, Milesius joined h.is forces w itli tlic 
 remnant of the old Gadelians, and in llfty-four battles 
 drove the intruders from titat country. This monarch 
 had thirty-two sons, twenty-four of wliom were illegiti- 
 mate. He died shortly after this renewed conqncst of 
 Spain, having sent his son Tth to explore Ireland. 
 
 P.— The patriarch Milesius it appears then never 
 set his foot upon Irish ground. 
 
 A. — Ith having died irom a wound, the Gadelian 
 race, on the report of his companions, prepared to in- 
 vade Ireland; which we may recollect Avas at this time 
 governed by the Tuatha de Danans, who, as was before 
 observed, were powerful necromancers; and on the pre- 
 sent exigency, by tlie force of magic, they cast so thick 
 a cloud around the island, that it appeared to I he in- 
 vaders in the form of a hog's hadv. Terrible battles 
 both by land and sea ensued, the result of which was 
 the conquest of Ireland by llcber and ileremon, two oi 
 the son of Milesius, wlio divided the country between 
 them, in the year B. C. 12(>7. 
 
 F. — This is truly a period of great antiquity ; but 
 reallv the nice accuracy of the dates in Irish history is 
 one of the points to be admired. 
 
 j{^ — Concord between these brethren did not long 
 continue. The wife of Ileber desiring three certain fer- 
 tile vallies which fell to tlie lot of lieremoii, a ih'struc- 
 tive conflict was the consequciKC, in which Ileber was 
 
 HEBER AND HEREiMON. 
 
 299 
 
 slain, and Ileremon continued to reign alone for four- 
 teen years. Eui both these illustrious brothers are 
 remembered with equal respect, and are considered 
 as the distinct ancestors from whom the noble fami- 
 lies of the Milesian race derive their origin. From 
 Ileber have sprung the OBriens, Macarthys, O'Carrols, 
 OTIaras; and from Ileremon the O'Neils, O'Connors, 
 OTlahertys, O'Kourkes; with several others on both 
 sides. 
 
 F. — IIow modern is the pedigree even of the house 
 of Bourbon itself, compared to this Irish lineage! The 
 pretension to high descent has affected even some of 
 the common people of Ireland with a ludicrous as- 
 sumption of importance: Bishop Berkeley said, that a 
 kitchen wench in his family refused to carry out cinders, 
 beca.use she was a genuine Milesian.*' 
 
 J. — The royal successors of Ileber and Ileremon 
 w ere in number one hundred and seventy-one ; they 
 were chosen from both families. The most celebrated 
 of these kings was OUam Fodla, wiio flourished about 
 nine hundred and fifty years before Christ: he is said 
 to have established a grand seminary of learning, and 
 instituted the Fes, or a triennial convocation of the 
 provincial princes, priests, and poets ; in which assem- 
 bly the affairs of law^ and government Avere discussed, 
 and the events of the time inserted in an authentic chro- 
 nicle, called the Psalter of Tara, from the place of the 
 meeting, in the county of Meath. But every regulation 
 proved insufiicient to restrain the disorders of the na- 
 tion, as the pretended history contains little else than 
 that each king began to reign in such a year, and in a 
 short time was slain by the gallant warrior who suc- 
 ceeded him. 
 
 P. — But in a line of one hundred and seventy-one 
 
 " Plowdoi, State of Ireland, Vreface. 
 
:)00 
 
 VESTICIA. 
 
 kin<rs, is there no other than the monarch \s!io Innv the 
 beautiful name of Olhim Fodla, that pcifurniLd any 
 actions worthy of remembrance ? 
 
 A. — In the list drawn out in Keating's book, not a 
 single name besides occurs that was ever heard of out 
 of IreLand, if we except Ilrian Boiromh(% who lived so 
 recently as Anno Domini 1027, and whom tlic Irish re- 
 verence as a great warrior ami powerful monareh. 
 
 F. — These ridiculous fictions sink under the weiuht 
 of their own intrinsic absurdity; they are evidently the 
 work of fabulists, \\ho had attained some knowledge of 
 the sacred writinirs. Thouirh we remain in uncertaintv 
 as to the exact date of their invention, most of the per- 
 sonaires of the history are mentioned l)vGiraldus Cam- 
 brensis, w ho wrote in the twelfth century, and several of 
 them even by Nennius, who wrote so early as the ninth. 
 
 p — Uiit rejecting such idle anilities as unworlliy 
 attention, let me ask what is really ascertained of the 
 state of Ireland before the invasion of IJenry the 
 Second? 
 
 A. — Ireland was early known to the Greeks by the 
 name of lerne,* which, with its variations into llibernia 
 and Juverna, are supposed to be merely modifications of 
 the native term Eri, signifying the country of the west. 
 That its original inhabitants were Celts, the language 
 yet spoken by their descendants clearly evinces ; and 
 that their first migration w as from Britain, the contiguity 
 of the two countries renders more than pro])al)le: yet 
 it is clear from these old fables, that an (►pinion has 
 always prevailed of a portion of its population being 
 derived from Spain. Nennius*' says,tha( various leaders, 
 some of whom he calls Scoti or Scytha% arrived at se- 
 veral times from Spain, and settled in Irehuui ; ajul 
 
 * Orpheus in Argunaiit. 
 
 » Hiet. c.l— 9. 
 
 SPANISH SETTLEMENT. 
 
 301 
 
 thou-h no authentic data or traces of the arrival of 
 such a colony can now be found, the notion is by no 
 means destitute of probability. Sir James Ware^ as- 
 serts, that in Ireland are evidently two races of people: 
 '' The irdiabitants of the northern and eastern coasts 
 being," says he, '' of a square, set stature, with short, 
 broad faces, thick lips, hollow eyes, and noses cocked 
 up; the natives along the western coast resemble the 
 Spaniards in their persons, tall and slender, finely 
 limbed, with grave, sedate countenances, long eye- 
 brows, and dark hair." 
 
 p —The vestiges of a Phoenician settlement you 
 woiild be disposed to treat as equally fabulous with 
 
 the Milesian story. 
 
 A. It seems to be merely a part of it. Tliat the 
 
 PlKeniciaii navigators, in their commercial voyages to 
 the Jm\(\ of Tin, might occasionally touch upon the Irish 
 coast, is probable enough; but to presume that theyes- 
 tabiislied a colony, from the alleged resemblance of the 
 Irish to the Punic tongue, is evidently absurd, the Irish 
 alphabet diU'cring very little from the Roman. There is 
 no evidence to prove that the Irish were acquainted 
 with letters before the introduction of Christianity by 
 St. Patrick ; their oldest authentic MSS., the Annals 
 of Ulster, iuid Tnnisfallcn, and the Psalter of Cashel, 
 being so late as the tenth century. Of no greater 
 validity is Ihe set of mystic characters called the Ogam, 
 or Tree Alphabets, as they are nothing more than a 
 rude and l)ungling sort of cypher, scarcely, if at all, of 
 an earlier date than the MSS. As the opulent traders 
 of the Mediterranean made no settlement even in Bri- 
 tain, what should have induced them to waste their time 
 in such a country as Ireland, which is represented by 
 
 " Works concerniiifr Ireland, vol. 2. 
 
302 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 SAINT PATRICK. 
 
 303 
 
 all ancient writers as in a stale peculiarly savage ami 
 
 repulsive. 
 
 F.— Strabo^' asserts, tliat the Irish were very vora-' 
 cious anthropophagi; but he candidly adds tliat he 
 relates this circumstance on autlxnity which merited 
 
 no great confidence. 
 
 k.— Pomponius Mela" descri])es them as paying no 
 regard to the distinctions of right and wronir : but Ta- 
 citus' in an age somewhat later, says that ihey dill'ered 
 not much from the Britons. Yet even after the sul)ju- 
 gation of Irehmd by Henry, Giraldns Camhrcnsis, who 
 made a voyaoe for the express purpose of observing 
 the country, draws no very favourable picture of Irish 
 manners, representing the natives as utterly barbarous, 
 and despising cultivation. 
 
 p._But by what strange miracle did Ireland at one 
 period acquire the appellation of the Isle of Saints? 
 
 yl._Ireland from some unknown cause, perhaps 
 from its having been considered as one of the fortunate 
 islands described by JTomer and Ilesiod, had early 
 obtained the name of the Sacred Island. It is thus 
 designated by Festus Avicnus, a writer of (he age of 
 Theodosius : 
 
 Ast hlnc (luol))is in sacrr.m sic In:>ul:im 
 Dixcrc Prlsci, solilms ciirsus rati est.'^ 
 
 Hence to the Sacred Isle, her ancient name, 
 Two suns will waft you, so delivers fame. 
 
 Ireland has also been called Ogygia, after the namc^ of 
 an ancient, and probably fabulous, island described by 
 
 Plutarch. 
 
 p._Pcrhaps a mistake might arise from confound- 
 ing the native appellation of iiri— western, with the 
 Greek lepog — sacred. 
 
 * 
 
 il,— It was not however to these ancient opinions 
 that Ireland owes her Christian renown, but to the 
 effects wrought by the preaching of St. Patrick, a 
 native of ^orth Britain,' in the fifth century. To the 
 doctrines taught by this celebrated apostle, the Irish 
 gave a ready credence; and notwithstanding that his 
 biography has been disfigured by a whole volume of 
 inii)uU d miracles, the chief of which is his delivery of 
 Ireland irom serpents and noxious reptiles by the effi- 
 cacy of his prayers, he yet appears to have united 
 much discretion with his zeal: under his auspices a 
 school was established at Armagli, which soon be- 
 came famous; and during the distractions which per- 
 vaded Britain, from the invasion of the Saxons, many 
 Britisli students resorted thither for instructi,on ; which 
 example was followed by the Saxons themselves, after 
 they emluaced Christianity.^ From this seminary many 
 devout scholars proceeded, who preached the Christian 
 faith ; amongst them was St. Columba,*^ who founded 
 in the Isle of lona the religious establishment, so long 
 celebrated in North Britain, and whose ruins still arrest 
 the attention of the antiquary. 
 
 F.— It was then to the piety of such missionaries, 
 ihuugii their names are no longer remembered, and to 
 their successful labours in various parts of Europe, that 
 Ireland became indebted for its distinguished appella- 
 tion, the Isle of Saints.^^ 
 
 yl.— But however creditable might be these eflorts 
 to the ecclesiastical order, every endeavour to reclaim 
 the innate turbulence of the Irish people became abor- 
 tive. The island, divided into five kingdoms, besides 
 several subordinate petty chieftainships, in all which 
 were fiictions and contending claimants for pow er, un- 
 
 a Lib. 4. 
 
 ^ Lib, 3. 
 
 « Ac:ric. Vita, 
 
 ^ Ora^. Marit. 
 
 a Bede, Hist, lib, 3. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 Dud. 
 
 *^ Camden. 
 
304 
 
 VESTIGtA. 
 
 CONQUEST OF IRELAND. 
 
 305 
 
 restrained by .sufficient authority, presonted sudi a .scene 
 of anarchy and discord, that the i)iiafical incursions of 
 the Danes, Ostmcn, or Eastmcn, as (hey were sometimes 
 called, in the ninth century, uhich in otlier countries 
 inflicted desolation, were in Ireland the harbingers of 
 improvement. 
 
 F.— The Danes, if they did not aI)solutely found 
 the cities of Dublin, Waterford, and Limerick, at least 
 secured them by fortifications. But the various petty 
 attacks of the Ostmen are attended with so much con- 
 fusion, that little reliance can be placed upon their 
 history, even were it worth ascertaining-. Sexeral set- 
 tlements of the Danes continued till tiie invasion of 
 Henry. 
 
 J.— One of the most memorable transactions of 
 these ages, much celebrated by tlie Tri.sh poets, was the 
 defeat of Magnus the Barefoot, king of .Norway, Mvho 
 having established himself in Ihc Tsle of Man, made 
 an unsuccessful attack upon Ireland, in which he was 
 slain, at the beginning of tlie twell'th century. The Irish 
 in this repulse exhibited someulmt of tliat union of 
 counsel, the want of which, eitlicr in good or evil pur- 
 poses, has always been so striking a defect in their 
 national character. Henry, after he liad received the 
 Pope's bull sanctioning his design, had delerred the 
 undertaking; and it was reserved for Richard, called 
 Strongbow, from his dexterity in the use of tiiat weapon, 
 Earl of Strigul (a castle near Chepstow,) and also Earl 
 of Pembroke, of the great house of Clare, to be tlie 
 first Englishman who gained a military advantage in 
 Ireland. 
 
 p.— But a private nobleman could not, from his own 
 authority, act in a matter of such importance. 
 
 • Clironide of tlic Kings of Man, ainid Camden. 
 
 A. — Dermot Mac-Murrougli, king of Leinster, a 
 cruel and licentious tyrant, had carried off Dovergilda, 
 the wife of Ollourke, prince of Brelfny : ^ this exploit, 
 though common with the Irish, had provoked the re- 
 sentment of the husband, who, strengthened by the 
 alliance of Roderic O'Connor, king of Connaught, ex- 
 pelled Dermot from the island. The exiled prince had 
 recourse to Henry, then in Guienne, who readily entered 
 into the plan of restoring Dermot, as it could not but 
 facilitate his design of making conquests in Ireland ; 
 but being embarrassed with some commotions in his 
 French provinces, he gave Dermot no further assistance 
 than issuing letters patent, empowering all his subjects 
 to aid tlie Irish prince.*" It was on this permission that 
 Earl Strigul, hoping to amend his impaired fortimes, 
 accepted the oifers of Dermot, which were the promise 
 of his daughter Eva in marriage, with the succession to 
 his d(miinions. Having collected about six hundred sol- 
 diers, some of whom were knights and men of quality, 
 the earl passed the sea with his followers in several de- 
 tached parties, and so completely subdued the Irish, that 
 Dermot was immediately restored to his throne (1172).'' 
 
 P. — Six hundred men seem a small force to over- 
 throw a populous nation. 
 
 A. — The English soldiers fought in complete armour, 
 a mode of defence unknown to the Irish. Strigul having 
 now married Eva, and the death of Dermot soon follow- 
 ing, the earl Ijecame King of Leinster, and prepared to 
 extend his authority over the whole island. But Henry, 
 jealous of this sudden and great exaltation of a subject, 
 judged it time to attack Ireland in person; and landing 
 at Waferford with a considera1)le force, no opposition 
 
 * Girald. Cambien, 
 VOL. I. 
 
 *• Ibid. 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
ma 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 was made bv the natives, and in his proii^ress throiiiih 
 the country, he had little llirther occupation than to 
 receive the homage of his new subjects/ 
 
 p._The regnal views otStron^bow were consequently 
 reduced to the limits of a subject's allegiance. 
 
 4._The earl consented to hold his demesnes in 
 capite of the king, and was made Seneschal of Ireland : 
 most of the Irish chieftains retained possession of their 
 ancient territories, on promise of obedience and agree- 
 ing to pay tribute : and thus by a few trivial exploits 
 was Ireland annexed to the Englisli crown. 
 
 |r._Happy would it have been had a more generous 
 policy been pursued by its conquerors, who instead of 
 introducing a system of law and equity, connnitted an 
 arbitrary and irresponsible power to the hands of its 
 governors, who often tyrannized without mercy over 
 the lives and properties of the rude and undefended 
 
 inhabitants. 
 
 ^^_Perliaps the peculiar situation of the English 
 made such an independent authority almost a mntter 
 of necessity; such was the uninviting state of Ireland, 
 that few persons w ere willing to undertake a settlement, 
 and those few found themselves surrounded by enemies, 
 w^hose hostility it was difhcult to resist; and what was 
 singular, the colonists, instead of reforming the wild 
 Irish by their example, l)ecame themselves assimilated 
 to the barbarous customs of the country.^ 
 
 F.— The distribution, too, of property in Ireland 
 was calculated to prevent lor ever all improvement in 
 the cultivation of land; since at the decease of a pro- 
 prietor, his estate was not shared by his diildren, but 
 the chief of the sept or tribe made a new partiticm at 
 his own discretion ; and to this was added tanistry, so 
 
 » Girald. Caiub. 
 
 ^ Spenser. 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 307 
 
 called from the tanist, or successor, being elected 
 during the life of the reigning chieftain. The tanist 
 becoming impatient at the delay of his power, often 
 accelerated the death of the possessor ; to such vio- 
 lence the Brehon-Iaw, a word signifying a judge, 
 afforded complete protection ; as, if the murderer could 
 pay the eric or price of the blood of his victim, it was 
 sufficient. 
 
 A. — These pernicious customs continued till the 
 age of James the First; but in justice to the Irish it 
 should not be forgotten, that they more than once en- 
 treated to be put w ithin the pale of English law, and 
 strange to say, were as constantly refused.* 
 
 F, — Certain it is that Ireland, during the long pe- 
 riod from the reign of Henry the Second to that of 
 James the First, reaped no benefit from its connexion 
 with England ; and even at the present hour the advan- 
 tages arising to both nations are not exactly those 
 which might have been anticipated. Are we to excuse 
 the more powerful country on the same ground that 
 Plato defended the wisdom of the Creator in the forma- 
 tion of the universe, against those who objected its sup- 
 posed imperfections, discoverable in the sufferings of its 
 inhabitants, by replying that there was an inherent in- 
 tractability in matter, which even omnipotence itself 
 could not subdue. 
 
 A, — ^The Irish will scarcely thank you for such a 
 solution of the difficulty. Henry soon left Ireland, which 
 he visited no more, and returned to Normandy (1172,) 
 where he Ibund legates from the Pope; and by singular 
 dexterity of management he extricated himself from the 
 censures of the Holy See ; but Eccket's death secured 
 
 • Sir John Davis. 
 X 2 
 
ao8 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DOMESTIC DISSENSIONS. 
 
 309 
 
 the immunities of the clergy, as thnt order of men cuii- 
 thmed exempt from the jurisdiction of the civil courts' 
 in criminal matters, and so remained til! the reforma- 
 tion. During the quarrel with Bccket, the Empress 
 Matilda died in Normandy: she was an extriniely 
 useful counsellor to her son ; her examide of resiirninir 
 such vast power, and continuing to live quietly in the 
 world without aspiring to rule, w as equally singular as 
 praiseworthy. 
 
 F, — And may be said to have redeemed those early 
 errors of pride and want of feeling during her disputed 
 succession with King Stephen. 
 
 A. — Henry, though arrived at the pinnacle of w orldly 
 success, found a disturbance to his happiness in the 
 undutiful conduct of his children, whom it is neces- 
 sary now to paiticularize. We have already seen that 
 his eldest son, Henrv, had been hommred with the 
 ceremony of a coronation: the young prince needed 
 not this excitement to his ambitious spirit. During the 
 solemnity, the king, wishing to bestow^ the greatest dig- 
 nitv on the occasion, condescended to oliiciate as one 
 of the retinue ; on which the archl)ishop of York remark- 
 ing that no prince was ever more royally served, the 
 young king replied, " It was nothing extraordinary that 
 the son of a count'^ should serve the son of a king." 
 This observation, which might have passed as an inno- 
 cent pleasantry, nuich hurt the feelings of Henry, who 
 whispered in the archbishop's ear, '' T repent me, T re- 
 pent me of untimely advancements."^ 
 
 p._By some parents it would have been received 
 as even an oblique compliment. 
 
 A, — Henry's second son was the bold and fiery 
 ^ Richard, who was invested with his mother's province 
 
 ui Giuuuiie. The Lhird sua was Geoffrey, w^ho had ob- 
 tained Eritany in ri^lil of his wife Constance. And the 
 fourth son, John, was to receive for his appanage the 
 new conquest of Ireland. These princes, if we except 
 the last, were brave and accomplished; but the unduti- 
 ful behaviour of the w^hole towards a most liberal and 
 indulgent parent is without a parallel in history. 
 
 P.— But cannot we find some latent cause in the 
 conduct of the parent, which, though it might not 
 justify, would yet explain the disobedience of the 
 
 children? 
 
 jp._\Ve must rather seek a cause in the jealousy 
 of their motlu r. Queen Eleanor, who, provoked at her 
 husband's continued neglect and various gallantries, 
 persuaded her sons that they were entitled to present 
 possessie)n of the territories destined for them by Henry;* 
 she instigated them secretly to flee to the court of 
 Trance, and even meditated an escape herself, dis- 
 guised in man's apparel;^ but being seized by orders 
 from the king, she was thrown into Winchester Castle, 
 where she remained in a sort of confinement during her 
 
 husband's life.'' 
 
 ^._These domestic misfortunes gave Henry the 
 utmost disquiet, and placed even his throne itself in 
 jeopardy. TheFrench king embraced the cause of young 
 Henry, who had married his daughter, and w ho now de- 
 manded a present share of his father's authority; and the 
 King of Scotland, with other princes, thinking it a favour- 
 able opportunity to abridge Plenry's power, entered into 
 the confederacy. In an interview with Louis, Henry had 
 the mortification of seeing his three elder sons in the 
 train of his mortal enemy; and though he made the 
 offer of half his revenue for their establishment, the 
 
 * M Paris. Ho\Tden. 
 
 *> Mat. Paris. 
 
 ^ Hi.^l. Qnadr-i. 
 
 Ralph de Diceto. 
 
 *» Gervas. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
! 
 
 310 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 WILLIAM, KING OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tSl I 
 
 treaty was broken 0^, and the En<rlish monnr( h was 
 compelled to arm for the defence of his kingdom.^ 
 
 p.__The queen, in the ciVect of licr re\engc, had 
 then at least the satisfaction of embarrassing lier 
 
 husband. 
 
 ^.— Many of the turbulent nobility, displeased with 
 the vigilant government of Henry, v»hich restrained 
 their licentiousness, joined tlie party of the prince, and 
 the earls of Leicester and Chester openly declared war 
 against their sovereign. Tn this emergency Henry's 
 principal resource was in the clergy, N\hose favour he 
 propitiated by an unequalled act of humiliation. On 
 his return from Normandy (July 1 174,) as soon as he 
 came within sight of the church of Canterbury, he dis- 
 mounted from his horse, and walked with bare and 
 bleeding feet to the tomb of Dccket, where prostrating 
 himself before the shrine of the saint, he remained in 
 prayer and fastiiig a whole day, and watclicd all night 
 the holy relics. To add to the effect of this preposte- 
 rous farce, for such ostentation is not like real peni- 
 tence, he assembled a chapter of the monks, disrobed 
 himself before them, put scourges into their liunds, 
 and presented his bare shoulders to the lashes wliich 
 these ecclesiastics inflicted with no common severity." 
 
 jp._This conduct of Henry, liowever blameal)lc for 
 its hypocrisy, is a singular instance of self-command, 
 in overcoming the strongest natural repugnance uhcn 
 the supposed necessity of circumstances required the 
 
 sacrifice. 
 
 j1,— Henry, fatigued with these exertions, was seized 
 
 with a fever; but on the fifth day of his illness the happy 
 effect of his repentance became apparent. A messenger 
 arrived at the palace-gate, uho for a long time was re- 
 
 =» Hovcdon. H romp ton. 
 
 *♦ Hovcdcn. Gcrvas. 
 
 luscd adiniltance: at length his iniijortuuities prevailed, 
 and he announced liiraself to the king as the servant of 
 Ealph de Glanville. To the question, '' Is Glanville 
 well?" he 11 plied, " My lord is well, and has now in 
 liis cuslody your enemy the King of Scots." " Repeat 
 these words/' exclaimed Henry, in a transport of joy; 
 and leaping out of bed, he demanded the letters; which 
 contained intelligence so gratifying that he was soon 
 restored to his usual health.^ The defeat of the Scotish 
 nionareh, \Villiam the Lyon, took place on the very 
 day that Henry received absolution from the monks at 
 
 Canterbury. 
 
 F.— This victory was the first step of that great 
 ascendancy which England ever afterward maintained 
 in the allairs of Scotland; for William, who had wan- 
 tonly engaged in an unjust aggression, was compelled 
 to purchase his ransom, not only by a large sum of 
 money, but what was more humiliating, by stipulating 
 to do homage for his whole kingdom;^ which ceremony 
 was soon afterward performed by himself and all his 
 barons and prelates, in the cathedral at York, before 
 
 Henry in person. 
 
 A. — The circumstances of the capture were some- 
 what singular. The Scotish king having ravaged the 
 north of England with an army of eighty thousand men, 
 who were dispersed in various detachments, lay en- 
 camped with a small attendance at Alnwick. Ralph 
 de dlanville, the celebrated justiciary, who appears to 
 have been as good a soldier as a lawyer, informed of 
 this particular, set out with a moderate force from 
 Newcastle; towards evening, he arrived at Alnwick 
 uni)erceived, under cover of a thick mist, which sud- 
 
 - GuI. Ncubrig. lib. 2. 
 
 ^ fjovtden. Bromplon. 
 
312 
 
 VK8TIGIA. 
 
 denly dispersing;, disclosed his army to the Scotisii 
 monarch, who concluded that it was his own people ; 
 but the sight of the Enirlish banners soon convincing 
 hnn of the mistake, he gallantly attacked Glanviile with 
 no greater force than one hundred men; 1)ut being sur- 
 rounded and taken prisoner, he w^as placed on horse- 
 back, and with his legs tied beneath the aniniaTs belly, 
 conducted to Newcastle (1174).^ 
 
 P. — It is seldom that an advrintage is gained by 
 the stronger party over his weaker neighbour witli such 
 perfect justice. 
 
 A, — This was the full tide of Henry's success; for 
 a few months previous, the Earl of liciciv^ter having 
 landed with ten thousand Flemings, and bc^ng joined 
 in Suffolk by Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, he pro- 
 ceeded with this army of artificers, ai)parent1y very 
 formidable, into the heart of the kingdom; but being 
 met by the king's forces, the Flemings were speedily 
 defeated,'' and gladly compounded for a saf(^ n treat to 
 their own countrv. A whimsical circumstance is said 
 to have attended this defeat. That Leicester might sur- 
 prise St. Edmundsbury, he l)rought his troops out of 
 the direct road; and Avhilst his army paused upon the 
 heath, the soldiers began to dance and to sing a ridicu- 
 lous couplet; 
 
 floppe Wyliken, hoppc W'yliken, 
 Inirland is myne and thyne.^ 
 
 In allusion I suppose to William, the king of Scotland. 
 But whilst thus employed, Henry's forces coming sud- 
 denly upon them, the Flemings were all either kilh d or 
 taken prisoners. 
 
 P. — It must be admitted that thev chose a most 
 
 "" Gul. Ncubrlg. lib. 2. 
 
 ^ Mat. Paris. 
 
 • Lauibiirdo, Diet, 
 
 FLEMISH INVASION. 
 
 313 
 
 unseasonable moment for their diverson, reminding us 
 of Mr. Bayes's practice in the Rehearsal : 
 
 Well then to serious business we *11 advance, 
 But first and foremost let us have a dance. 
 
 F.— Hugh liigod, the earl of Norfolk, is also cele- . 
 brated by three doggrel lines, having fortified his castle 
 at Bungay with such strength as to occasion this note 
 of defiance : 
 
 Were I in my castle of Bungay, 
 
 Upon the river Waveney, 
 
 I would ne care for the King of Cockney.* 
 
 ]iut he was soon compelled to lower his tone, being 
 obliged to surrender not only this castle of Bungay, but 
 all his other possessions. It is remarkable how little 
 these ancient barons esteemed the security and happi- 
 ness of the kingdom when placed against their own 
 views of aggrandisement. 
 
 A. — Henry being completely victorious in England, 
 the King of France began to feel disquietude, and pro- 
 posed a conference, in which the English monarch 
 granted much less advantageous terms to his sons 
 than those which he had formerly offered"/ and thus 
 happily extricating himself from these difficulties, se- 
 veral years of his life were passed in providing for the 
 safety and prosperity of his dominions. 
 
 P. — Do any vestiges of Henry's institutions yet 
 
 remain ? 
 
 A. — The appointment of itinerant justices, who per- 
 formed the circuit and decided causes in the several 
 counties, was found highly beneficial in protecting the 
 interest of the subordinate classes against the power of 
 the barons, and continues w ith little alteration as to its 
 arrangement to the present day. Some other improve- 
 
 " Camden, Brit. '' Dugdalc, Baronage, vol. i. ' Hoveden. Brompton. 
 
314 
 
 VFSii*;iA. 
 
 menls in the adniiiustration oi llic law nil rnd need by 
 Henry Iiave licconie obsolete from suI)s((|!h nt r( fuie- 
 nients. Superstition was still the prevalent feeling of 
 the age: the merits of Becket's martyrdom increased 
 daily in repute; even the King of France was induced, 
 from a spirit of pure devotion, to make a j)iiurimage to 
 his tomb (117(5,)' for the purpose of obtaining tlie re- 
 storation to health of his eldest son; proba1)ly thinking 
 himself, as Hume pleasantly observes, well entitled to 
 the favour of the saint, on account of their ancient 
 intimacy; and hoping that Becket, Vvhom he had pro- 
 tected while on earth, would not now, when he was so 
 highly exalted in heaven, forget his old friend and be- 
 nefactor. As the prince happily recovered, the monks 
 were loud in establishing the elhcacy of Becket's in- 
 tercession. Louis not long after died, and was suc- 
 ceeded by this son, who governed France with so much 
 eclat under the name oi' Philip Augustus. 
 
 P, — As the story of Henry's reign seems now fo 
 languish, we have leisure to inquire the subsequent 
 fate of his undutiful sons. 
 
 A. — The eldest of these, Henrv, havintr renewed his 
 connexions with the court of France, was seized with 
 a fever at a castle near Turenne. Finding Ids death 
 approach, he was stricken with remorse, and sent a 
 message to his father, expressing his contrition, and 
 entreated the favour of a visit; but ttie king, who had 
 so often experienced his violence and ingratitude, ap- 
 prehending the illness to be feigned, reliised to comply: 
 he sent him however a ring, in token of forgiveness. 
 Soon after receiving intelligence of the death and sin- 
 cere repentance of his son (1183,) Jlenry was afflicted 
 with the deepest sorrow, and thrice fainted. The prince, 
 
 ^ Hovedon. Gcrvas. 
 
 REVOLT OF RICHARD. 
 
 815 
 
 u ho died iu the twenty-eighth year of his age/ possessed 
 an elegant person and amiable manners; his father's 
 indulgence in his early years formed too strong a con- 
 trast to the restraints which seemed in later life to be 
 imposed on his inclinations. About two years after this 
 event, Henry's third son, Geoffrey, was killed in a tour- 
 nament^' at Paris, leaving his wife, Constance of Bri- 
 tany, pregnant with a son, who afterwards received the 
 name of Arthur. 
 
 P. Poetry can immortalize what history would in 
 vain endeavour to preserve. How^ little would be re- 
 membered of Constance and Arthur, but for the em- 
 balming muse of Shakspeare! 
 
 A. — The conduct of Henry to his son Richard, now 
 the heir of his dominions, admits some doubts of its 
 equity. A young princess of France, Adelais, was con- 
 tracted to this prince ; but Henry, if we may credit the 
 scandal of the day, becoming enamoured of her graces 
 and beauty, delayed the marriage, in the hope that he 
 might himself espouse her, by procuring a divorce from 
 Queen Eleanor on the score of consanguinity ; it is even 
 said that Henry had a son by the French princess.*' 
 Though Richard it appears was not in love with this 
 lady, yet feeling his honour insulted, like Achilles for 
 the loss of his Briseis, which Grecian hero he much 
 resend)led in temper as well as in valour, he burst 
 into a transport of fury, aiid intriguing with the King 
 of France, declared war against his father; and such 
 was his popularity, that the chief barons of the French 
 provinces adhering to his cause, Henry was obliged to 
 submit to very mortifying terms of reconciliation.'^ Nor 
 was this his greatest trial, for when he demanded a list 
 of those barons to whom he was bound to grant a par- 
 
 * Bened. Abb. Hovedcn, 
 
 •' Gcrvas. 
 
 * Hovcden. 
 
 '' Ibid. 
 
aiC) 
 
 VES 1 K. lA. 
 
 i 
 
 DEATH OF HENRY 11. 
 
 317 
 
 don for their connexions v.iih i!i. !. hmK iu luuiid at UK- 
 head of them the name ol hi. )uuiigc>t >nn, .lohn, 
 who had always been his favourite, and vho had 
 even excited the jealousy of Richard on a.counl ot this 
 partiality.^ We cannoi read wiUiout a poucrful feelin;; 
 the excess of anguish uhich this unexpected disclosure 
 of John's ingratitude occasioned: llic unhappy latiicr 
 broke into expiessions of the utmost sorrow and d.-spair, 
 cursed the dav of his birth, and bestowed upon Ins un- 
 dutiful ofTsprin- a malediction xxhich he .ould never 
 be prevailed (m to retract." A fever shortly followed, 
 which deprived tliis great monarch of Lis hte, at the 
 castle of Chinon, near Saumur, in the liliy-sevenlh year 
 
 ofhisage(118S)).^ , , .• 
 
 F.—ln singular contrast to the uukiudness ol 
 Henry's other children was the coiuluet of his natural 
 son, Geoffrey, by the fair Kosamond; Avho being in- 
 formed of his father's illness, hastened to Chinon, uhere 
 findin- him so oppressed with the violence of the disor- 
 der that he could not sit up, Geolfrey raised him Irom 
 his bed, and aftectionately supported the head ot his 
 parent upon his bosom. Henry feU hing a deep sigh, 
 turned his languid eyes upon the young man, and said, 
 « My dearest son, as you have in all changes of lor- 
 tune behaved yourself most dutifully to me, should it 
 please God to restore me to health, I will place you 
 ,amon- the greatest and most powerful subjects of my 
 dominions." « 1 have no wish," replied Geolfrey, " but 
 that you may recover and be happy:" wlien, unable to 
 restrain his tears, he left the chamber; but hearing that 
 no hopes of life remained, he returned to pcrtorm the 
 last duties to his father, who, roused by his lamenta- 
 tions, made an elfort to express a d(-sire that Geoffrey 
 
 .should obtain the archbishopric of York; and giving 
 a ring from his finger, with his last blessing to his son, 
 sank down exhausted on his pillow." 
 
 A.— On the seventh day of the king's illness, all 
 liope of recovery vanished; and at his own request he 
 was carried to the foot of the altar, and received there 
 the last consolations of the Romish religion. At the 
 moment he expired, i!ie prelates left the church, and 
 his attendants shamefully stripped the corpse, and car- 
 ri( d off every thing valuable." Richard, who was not 
 destitute of generosity, afterwards visiting the dead 
 body of his father, was stricken with remorse for his 
 I>asf undntiful conduct; and as the attendants observed 
 that at that instant the blood gushed from the mouth 
 and nostrils of the deceased, he exclaimed, agreeably 
 to a vulgar superstition, that he was his father's mur- 
 derer." 
 
 F.— This excitement of feeling was happily followed 
 
 by a deep and lasting sense of contrition. 
 
 yl.— Henry the Second was a prince of great abilities 
 and wisdom, and the most powerful monarch that had 
 hitherto fdled the throne of England : his frame was 
 well proportioned, though somewhat too much inclined 
 to corpidency, which he endeavoured to reduce by 
 such active exercise as constantly to fatigue his com- 
 panions;' his countenance was lively and engaging, 
 but dignified; his natural talents well cultivated by 
 study; preferring peace, but not afraid of war. His 
 character has been observed to resemble that of his 
 maternal grandfather, Henry the First; but fortunately 
 his ambition found less criminal objects on which to 
 exert itself: that it was unbounded we may judge from 
 
 " Bcncd. Abb. 
 
 '' Hovcdcn. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ■> Girald. Camb. in Anglia Sacra, vol. 2. 
 
 h Hoveden. ' M. Paris. '' Girald. Camb. 
 
318 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 his saying, that the whole world was iiut suHkieiit for a 
 great prince.'' 
 
 F. — As Henry's domestic misfortunes originally 
 sprang from a marriage which, in common life, we 
 might call mercenary, it will not meet with so much 
 sympathy, as had it l)een entirely undeserved. 
 
 A. — His parental indulgence, which though it miglit 
 sharpen the sting of fdial imrratitude, was certainly in 
 the early years of his children too indiscriminating and 
 extreme. But whatever unhapi)iness afflicted Henry, 
 the kingdom of England had never been in so flourishing 
 a condition ; and it made during his reign such large 
 advances in civilization as to ])lace it on a level with 
 France, to which hitherto it had been confessedly in- 
 ferior. The Norman barons having now struck a deep 
 root, became grudually incorporat(Ml w ith the old Saxim 
 race, w hom they at first oppressed and despised ; and 
 no longer fearing the instability of their possessions, 
 from the resumption of former proprietors, they assumed 
 an independence of the crown to which their ancestors 
 did not aspire, and treated the people w ith an unwonted 
 degree of indulgence: commerce extended itself, and the 
 wealth of the inhabitants of ttie towns proportionally 
 increased, particularly of London and Bristol. 
 
 F. — But such was the licentiousness of the age, that 
 it was the custom of the metropolis for the sons even 
 of considerable citizens to associate for the purpose of 
 violence and plunder: some of these rioters had mur- 
 dered the brother of a nobleman; another party having 
 attacked the house of a rich merchant, was opposed by 
 the master, who cut off the right hand of the first rol)ber 
 that entered : the man being thus compelled to reveal 
 the names of his confederates, it a])p. arc d that John 
 
 Girald. C<unl). 
 
 TURBULKNCE OF THE AGE. 
 
 319 
 
 Senex, esteemed one of the richest and best born citi- 
 zens, was the principal leader, for which offence he was 
 hanged, the king llrnily refusing an offer of five hundred 
 marks for his pardon.^ 
 
 A. — Nor was the turbulence of the times confined to 
 the citizens. A cardinal legate having arrived in Eng- 
 land, and holding a synod, the archbishpps of Canter- 
 bury and York violently disputed which should have 
 the honour of sitting at his right hand; and the monks 
 and retainers of the see of Canterbury taking up the 
 quarrel of their master, fell with such fury upon his 
 rival as to tlirow him upon the ground, trample him 
 under foot, ami leave him half dead from the bruises 
 which he received.^ In this condition, ragged, bloody, 
 and <lusty as he w^as, the baffled prelate went lamenting 
 to tlie king, who only laughed at him, telling him that 
 he w as well enough served.^ 
 
 p^ — Another ecclesiastical misfortune occurred to 
 the prior and monks of St. Swithin; who complaining 
 to the king that the bishop of Winchester had cut oflF 
 three dishes from their table, were asked how^ many 
 they had lel'l { " Ten only,'' replied the disconsolate 
 monks. '* I have never more than three myself," ex- 
 claimed Henry, '' and T enjoin your bishop to reduce 
 you to the same number.""^ 
 
 A. — Heraclius, the patriarch of Jerusalem, who, as 
 we have seen, dedicated the Temple Church in 1185, 
 arrived in England, for the purpose of persuading Henry 
 to undertake a crusade. The king ofi'ered money, but 
 declined taking the Cross in person. " It is not money 
 we want, but a leader," said the disappointed ecclesias- 
 tic; '' and he whom thou hast deserted will in turn de- 
 
 » Bencd. Abb. 
 
 <• Cfodwin de Pra?sul. 
 
 ^* Broiiiptou. Old. Neub. Td). 2. 
 
 «* Giral. Cand). in Anglia Sacra, vol.2. 
 
320 VESTKilA. 
 
 sert thee." Henry £rrowin<x angry ^vitb this unreasonable 
 freedom, the patriarch npl)raide(l him with his ronduet 
 towards Becket, sayinsr, " Yon may kill me as you 
 killed St. Thomas; I had as soon be murdered by you 
 in England, as by the Saracens in Syria; for you are 
 worse than any Saracen." Henr}^ still excused himself 
 from visiting the Holy Land, on the ground that he ap- 
 prehended the rebellion of his sons. " And no wonder," 
 exclaimed Heraclius, " for from the devil they came, and 
 to the devil they will go."^ To understand this notable 
 piece of impertinence, we are to recollect that Henry's 
 UTcat-grandmother, the Countess of Anjou, was reputed 
 to be a witch ; and one day, being compelled by her 
 husband to attend mass against her will, she flew re- 
 sentfully out of a window^ in the chapel, and was never 
 heard of more.^' The reign of Henry the Second will be 
 ever memorable on account of the reduction of Ireland, 
 and is well worthy the attention of the historian, iis the 
 epoch in which the long oppressed Anglo-Saxon race 
 began to amalgamate in a national nmss with their 
 Norman conquerors. 
 
 Brouipton, 1145. 
 
 »> Ibid. 1045. 
 
 RICHARD I. 
 
 321 
 
 ' pj *>/ 
 
 DISSERTATION VL 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Richard I. 
 
 A.D. 1189. 
 
 F. — As the project of delivering the Holy Sepulchre 
 absorbed the whole attention of Richard, and formed 
 the mainspring of his actions, it gives to the history of 
 his reign a character of unity of design almost as strict 
 ' as n rigid critic of the Aristotelian school could require 
 in the construction of an epic poem. 
 
 A. — The contrition of Richard for his undutiful con- 
 duct to his father was not only sincere at the moment, 
 hut inlhienced him in the choice of his servants; those 
 ministers w^ho had remained faithful to their late master 
 bcini; rewarded and continued in their office/ To his 
 mot hi ! , Queen Eleanor, the new monarch entrusted a 
 considerable share of the government; and conferred 
 upon his brother John so large a portion of wealth 
 and honours,'' as unhappily put into the pow er of that 
 prince the means of future annoyance. The corona- 
 tion ot ilichard soon followed, and was the most splen- 
 did that liad hitherto been seen in England :*" it was 
 rendered remarkable by a massacre of the Jews. 
 iliough the king had prohibited any of these people 
 from appearing at that ceremony, a few% presuming on 
 the merit of bringing large presents, ventured to ap- 
 proach the hall in which the sovereign dined; but being 
 discovered by the bystanders, they were pursued by the 
 popuhice and slain, iiiuh r the pretence of zeal against 
 infidels. 
 
 * Hoveden. M. Paris. '• Bronipton. « Hovcden. ^ Hemingford. 
 VOL. r. Y 
 
no-) 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 p — A crusade then was set on foot of less danger 
 and at a shorter distance than the TToly Land. 
 
 A, — The slaughter of this unhappy race extended to 
 most parts of the kingdom: at York no fewer tlian five 
 hundred, w^ho had retired for safety to the castle, -which 
 they found themselves unable to defend, murdered their 
 wives and children, and setting fire t6 the place, pe- 
 rished in the flames.* 
 
 p^ — The great wealth of the Jews, much of it acquired 
 by extortion, was the exciting cause of this persecution, 
 carried on under the name of religion; it w^is found 
 highly convenient, no doubt, to have a debt cancelled 
 by the death of the creditor. 
 
 A. — Though it does not appear that the king bore 
 any part in these shameful transactions, yet his whole 
 soul being fixed on the recovery of the Holy Tiand from 
 those " heathen hounds," the Saracens, into whose hands 
 Jerusalem had lately fallen, he amassed treasure neces- 
 sary for the execution of his purpose by every kind of 
 rapacity:^ ofiices of the highest trust and power were 
 exposed to sale; Hugh de Pudsey, l)ishop of Durham, 
 having bought the earldom of Northumberland, Richard 
 merrily said, ^^ Am not I a cunning craftsman, that can 
 make a young earl of an old bishop?^ And on being 
 remonstrated with on the danger of this extreme dissi- 
 pation of his revenue, he replied, that he would sell 
 London itself, could he find a j)urchaser.'' He remitted 
 to William the Lion, king of Scotland, for ten thousand 
 marks, the vassalage of that kingdom ; for which he is 
 much blamed by some historians, by others commended, 
 as securing the quiet of a turbulent neighbour during 
 his absence. 
 
 '* Hcmingfonl. 
 
 '' M. Puns. 
 * Hovcden. 
 
 *" Sim. Dunclin, 
 
 THE CRUSADES. 
 
 32^> 
 
 F. — Of -an event so new and unprecedented in the 
 history of mankind as the crusades, it is natural to in 
 quire the causes as well as the consequences. 
 
 A. — The cause was a combined motive of supersti- 
 tious zeal and military ardour. Pilgrimages to the 
 shrine of a favourite saint, to Rome, and to Jerusalem, 
 had for several ages been considered as highly merito- 
 rious, especially to the Holy Land, which being the 
 scene of the most memorable religious transactions, w^as 
 calculated to inspire the deepest feelings of awe and 
 enthusiasm. The original Mahometan conquerors of 
 Jerusalem gave little disturbance to strangers, who, on 
 paying a moderate tribute, were permitted to perform 
 their religious duties, and return in peace. But the 
 Holy City bavins: fallen into the hands of the Turks, 
 the pilgrims became exposed to various insults, rob- 
 1)eries, extortions, and outrages, which on their return 
 they magniiied in such terms as to excite the pity and 
 indignation of Europe. 
 
 p^ — Most persons have a singularly confused ap- 
 prehension respecting the adversaries against whom 
 the crusaders engaged. 
 
 ^.—Jerusalem was first lost to the Christian world 
 in the year G37, by the contpiering sword of the Caliph 
 Omar, five years only after the death of Mahomet; and 
 the Holy City had continued in the possession of the 
 Saracens till its capture in the year 10(15 or 1070, by the 
 Turcomans or Turks, a fierce and barbarous people, 
 who had long dwelt on the shores of the Caspian Sea, 
 and now overruniiiiig various provinces of Asia, alike 
 threatened the security of the Arabian caliphs as well 
 
 as of the Greek emperors. 
 
 p,— \[ the safety of Europe was endangered by the 
 overwh.elming force of these untameable barbarians, it 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 was surely politic in the various kinudoms of tlie west 
 to unite lor the deicnce of its harriers. 
 
 A. — We may be well assured that no sue h rational 
 motive was the cause of the crusade, since to wliatevcM* 
 danger the Greek empire might have been exposed, the 
 European powers were tar too sellish and indifrerent to 
 arm for its defence; and h.ad such been the cause of 
 action, a moderate army would have been sufficient for 
 its support: the myriads who eniiaged in tlie crusade 
 could never have been excited by the apprehension of 
 a remote political danger befalling an empire of wliose 
 very name the greater part were too ignorant even to 
 have heard. 
 
 F. — Nor does it very clearly appear how (he reco- 
 very of Jerusalem, which had been occujjied more than 
 four centuries by the Mahometans, could have much 
 contributed to the security of Europe ; and besides, 
 after a possession of twenty years, the Turks had ac- 
 tually given up the Holy City, either by force or treaty, 
 to its former masters, the caliphs of l^^gypt, two or three 
 years before the commencement of the crusade. 
 
 A. — In the beginning of the eleventh century, Pope 
 Hildebrand, or Gregory the Seventh,' conceived the 
 design of uniting the Christians of tlie west against the 
 infidels, which might have had a basis of ambitious 
 policy; but the present project was set on foot and 
 executed by an instrument far too humble to be insti- 
 gated by any other motive than enthusiasm. Peter the 
 Hermit, returning from his pilgrimage, dt eply affected 
 with the sutferings to which himself and other Christians 
 had been exposed, ran from province to province, ex- 
 horting princes and people to so pious and bi iit llcial a 
 
 
 THE CRUbADKS. 
 
 325 
 
 work as the deliverance of the Holy City from those 
 sacrilegious hands into which it had lately fallen. 
 
 jp._The advantages w hich, in the shape of commu- 
 tations, indulgences, or donations, that might result to 
 the church from a religious war, could not have been 
 overlooked by the reigning Pontiff. 
 
 A. — Urban the Second summoned a council at Pla- 
 centia, 1095, which consisted of four thousand eccle- 
 siastics, and thirty thousand laymen; to this assembly 
 ambassadors from the Greek emperor were introduced, 
 w ho entreated the assistance of their Christian brethren 
 in the west ; and both the Pope and the hermit harangued 
 on the indignity of suffering the Holy City to remain 
 in the hands of the infidels. These topics were well 
 received, but as the audience were chiefly Italians, 
 Url)an judged it necessary to hold a second council at 
 Clermont, in France, in the same year; which, as his 
 intention was universally diffused, procured the attend- 
 ance of a vast multitude of the greatest princes, nobles, 
 and prelates, from every part of Europe. The whole 
 assendjiy, moved by the pathetic representations of the 
 hermit and the Pope, as if impelled by the immediate 
 inspiration of the Almighty, exclaimed with one voice, 
 '' It is the will of God ! it is the will of God !" 
 
 p^ — Such a sentiment could not but be esteemed 
 an indication of the divine presence and approbation, 
 and consequently it became the motto of the sacred 
 standard of the Cross, the symbol chosen by the devout 
 combatants, who w ore this object of reproach with the 
 pagan world, affixed on their right shoulder,^ as a badge 
 of their union and profession. It is observable that, 
 in the first crusade,^ all the crosses were red; in the 
 tliird tlie French alone preserved that colour, whilst 
 
 Grecf. Vll. Epis.2. 
 
 ' Order. Vital. 
 
 ^ Ducangc, ad vocem,** Crucem assumcre^" 
 
•t-esmrrss&tam 
 
 :m 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 g 
 
 rcen crosses were ad(>pted by the Flemings niid white 
 by the Ent^lish: yet in England the red appears ever to 
 have been and still continues the favourite. 
 
 ^l._An additional cause to this excitement was a 
 very general expectation that the thousand years tVoni 
 the birth or death of Christ, mentioned hi the Revela- 
 tions, were supposed to be accomplished, and vast 
 numbers of Christians delivered over to the monastic 
 orders their lands and treasures, tlu\i they might behohl 
 the expected manifestation of their Redeemer on Mount 
 8ion.=^ All orders of men deeming the crusade the only 
 road to heaven, became impatient to open their way 
 with the sword to the Holy City:' nobles, artisans, 
 peasants, priests, even women (concealing their sex 
 under the disguise of armour,) partook of the universal 
 enthusiasm. To furnish supplies for their journey, the 
 dictates of prudence were utterly forgotten: princes 
 alienated whole provinces, nobles tln^ir castles, aiul 
 the peasants their cattle; whilst a plenary indulgence 
 and the absolution of all their sins, perhaps the hope 
 of martyrdom, quieted those weak elTorts of rebellious 
 reason which might have disturbed their repose. The 
 multitude of adventurers became so excessive, that tln^ 
 more sagacious leaders, judging that the object of their 
 expedition would be in danger of defeat from this cir- 
 cumstance, prudently permitted an imdiscii)lined crowd 
 of three hundred thousand men to go t)ef(>re, under the 
 command of Peter the Hermit, Walter the Moneyless, 
 and other w ild fanatics of the same rank. Peter walked 
 at its head, wdth a rope about his waist, exiiibiting 
 every mark of monkish austerity : he took the road to 
 Constantinople; l)ut as lu) provision was mnde for the 
 subsistence of this army on its march, its disorder was 
 
 a iMosheirri, vol. C, cent. 10. 
 
 ^ Gul. iMahiiCbb. lib. 4. 
 
 THE CRUSADES. 
 
 827 
 
 extreme ; being constrained to exist by plunder, it first 
 fell upon the Jew^s, and twelve thousand of that unfor- 
 tunate nation were massacred in Bavaria alone; but as 
 all the provinces did not abound in Jews to be robbed, 
 the inhabitants attacked this unprovided body of cru- 
 saders, and slaughtered vast numbers: the remainder at 
 length arrived at Constantinople. 
 
 F.~Thc Greek princess, Anna Comnena, who wrote 
 a liistory of these times, strikingly observes, that by this 
 wonderful emigration, Europe, loosened from its founda- 
 tions, and impelled 1)y its moving principle, seemed in 
 one united body to precipitate itself upon Asia. 
 
 yl,_Xhe Emperor Alexius Comnenus wisely assisted 
 this formidable rabble to pass the Bosphorus with all 
 convenient speed ; of whom he was as glad to divest his 
 country as of a swarm of locusts. As soon as they 
 arrived in the plains of Asia, they were attacked by 
 Solyman, the Turkish sultan, and the chief part slain, 
 scarcely without resistance. Amongst the leaders fell 
 Walter the Moneyless, who it is said had really ac- 
 quired a considerable portion of military skill. Peter 
 the Hermit found liis way back to Constantinople, and 
 indeed was afterwards present at the capture of the 
 Holy Sepulchre. The more disciplined armies soon after 
 arrived at the imperial city, under the command of 
 Godfrey of Bouillon, a prince of Brabant; the counts of 
 Vermandois and Toulouse; Robert, duke of Normandy; 
 Robert, earl of Flanders ; and various other leaders of 
 distinction. The soldiers of the Cross, when mustered 
 on the banks of the Bosphorus, amounted to the 
 amazing number of one hundred thousand horse and 
 six hundred thousand foot. 
 
 P.— A force sufficient surely to have conquered all 
 
 Asia. 
 
 yl.>--Notwithstaadmg the mtiactaljk spnut and want 
 
S2b 
 
 VESTIUIA. 
 
 of discipline in the crusaders, yet their zeni, rodrage, 
 and force, carried them irresistibly forward to the com- 
 pletion of their enterprize. With infinite jealousy and 
 alarm, the Greek Emperor, Alexius Comnenus, beheld 
 this mighty host in the neighbourhood of his capital, 
 and his fleet was agahi put in requisition. The first 
 essay of the croises against the infidels was the siege 
 of Nice, the ancient Xicomcdia, and now the seat of 
 the Turkish empire: assisted by the emperor, they be- 
 came masters of the place in seven weeks. After tra- 
 versing the Lesser Asia, they defeated Solyman in a 
 o-reat battle at Dorylneum ; and in the month of October 
 sat down before Antioch, which after a siege of incre- 
 dible labour and diihculty, surrendered to their perse- 
 vering eflorts in the following June (1098). 
 
 jF. — Desperate and critical was the capture. The 
 city of Antioch was surprised in the night; the croises 
 rushed in through the gates, but the citadel refused to 
 surrender; and the victors were encompassed b} the 
 innumerable forces of Kerl)oga, prince of Mosul, who 
 had unexpectedly advanced for the deliverance of the 
 faithful. In this extremity, the Francs collected the 
 remnant of tlieir strengtii, and in a single onset dis- 
 persed or slew the Turks and xirabs to the incredible 
 number, as it is said, of six lunulrcd liiousand men; 
 which victory completely broke the force of the Turkish 
 
 power. 
 
 A. — Jerusalem having reverted to its former ma;>(ers, 
 the Arabian caliplis, whose seat of government was now 
 in Egyi)t, the soldan of that country woiild wiHingly 
 have permitted tlie Christians of the west to perform 
 their religious ceremonies in the same way as had been 
 exercised by their forelathers. 
 
 P. — After a career of conquest purchased at such 
 an expense of blood and treasure, we cannot wonder at 
 
 THE CRUSADES. 
 
 o<« *t^ 
 
 the ( rnsaders being unwillinir to accept of any substi- 
 tute lor the possession of the iloiy Sepulchre. 
 
 jl^ — These adventurers w^ere now reduced, by the 
 detachments which they had made and the disasters 
 thev had sulfered, to an effective force no greater than 
 twentv thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse; and 
 it was a year from the capture of Antioch before they 
 found themselves in a condition to attack Jerusalem, 
 which city, after a siege of five weeks, was taken by 
 assault. It is lamentable to relate that the crusaders 
 sullied their victory by actions of the utmost barbarity : 
 not only the numerous garrison, but the inhabitants 
 were indiscriminately put to the sword; neither age nor 
 sex excited mercy ; even those who had been promised 
 quarter were inhumanly slaughtered; and the streets of 
 the Holy City for three days were polluted with a pro- 
 miscuous massacre/* 
 
 /r._Historians, for the sake of presenting a striking 
 contrast, have been fond of relating, that when these 
 triumph ant warriors were fatigued with slaughter, they 
 threw aside their arms, advanced with naked feet and 
 bended knees to the Holy Sepulchre, joined there in 
 devout anthems, and burst into tears of penitence and 
 pious gratitude at the accomplishment of their desires.' 
 
 ^.—Godfrey of Jiouiilon, with that modesty which 
 ever distinguished his character, contented himself with 
 the title of Defender of the Holy Sepulchre; but at his 
 lamented death, which took place in a year from his 
 conquest, Jrrusalem was erected into a feudal kingdom 
 by his brother Baldwin, with dependant vassals, such 
 
 a The original authoritios for the first crusade are contained in a collection 
 of Historians, in two vols. fol. entitled, '' Gcsta Dei per Francos;** though 
 some propose to read * Dialoii,' instead of ' J)ei/-See Gibbon, Decline and 
 Fall, chap. 58. ^ M. Paris. 
 
mmmimm 
 
 MmUM* 
 
 330 
 
 VBSTIGIA. 
 
 SALADIN. 
 
 331 
 
 as the Counts of Tripoli and Edessa. Hiii iho fnmily 
 of JBouilloa ending in a fenuiio, the crown passed to a 
 branch of the house of Anjou, wliose heiress, Sibylla, 
 marrying Guy de Lusignan, gave to her husbrmd the 
 throne of Jerusalem, and his title was universally 
 acknowledged by all Christian princes at the time of 
 Richard's accession to the English crown, llb^O/ 
 
 P. — This abstract and chronicle of the new king- 
 dom, for near a century, it must be ow ned is very brief. 
 
 A. — Its history does not possess much interest, and 
 till this period had no connexion with the alVairs of 
 England. In the year 114G, the power of Jerusalem 
 being in a very languishing condition, applic ation was 
 made to the Pope and the monarchs of tlu^ west for 
 their assistance. By the eloquence of Bernard, abbot 
 of Clairvaux, two great sovereigns, the Emperor Con- 
 rade the Third, and the King of France, l^ouis the 
 Seventh, were roused to undertake the second crusade*/' 
 in which those princes, after losing not less than two 
 hundred thousand men, afforded little or no relief^ and 
 returned with diminished honour to Europe. 
 
 F. — The history of the crusades, separately consi- 
 dered, is not productive of much interest, each Ix ing a 
 faint repetition of the first, deprived of its charm of 
 novelty. 
 
 A, — The third crusade, in which King Bichard acted 
 so conspicuous a part, was distinguished not only by 
 the exalted rank of the jirinces who personally engaged 
 in the contest, but also by the celebrity of their oppo- 
 nent, Saladin, the soldan of Egypt, Avho in his conquest 
 of the confined and barren district of Juda a w as not 
 impelled by motives of superstition alone : finding the 
 settlement of the Christiaiis in Palestine a great obstacle 
 
 to his ambitious schomrs. ho bent his whole force to 
 suImIuc that important territory, in Avliich he was assisted 
 by the dissensions which pre vailed amongst the cham- 
 pions of the Cross, and the treachery of the Count of 
 Tripoli, who commanded their armies. 
 
 p._Was Saladin a descendant of the Arabian or 
 Saracen caliphs? 
 
 ^.— lie had usurped the throne and title of Adhed, 
 the last of the Fatimite caliphs, and Soldan of Egypt; 
 but he was himself born in the country of the Curdes, a 
 hilly region beyond the Tigris. His army consisted 
 both of Turks and Arabs. But however Saladin might 
 be endowed with the virtues of justice and valour, his 
 lil)traiity of principle has been far too much extolled: 
 in fa!Uiticism and disdain of science, he scarcely soared 
 beyond the prejudices of his country. Saladin invading 
 Palestine with a mighty force, utterly broke the power 
 of the Christians, by gaining a complete victory at Ti- 
 berias, in which they lost the wood of the true cross/ 
 an event much regretted by the historians of that age; 
 and after a feeble resistance, Jerusalem, with its king, 
 Guy de Lusignan, fell into the hands of the Mahometan 
 coiupieror, 1187. 
 
 Y, — Saladin gave liberty to Lusignan on condition 
 that he should not take arms against his benefactor. 
 For the credit of chivalry, it were to be wished that 
 Lusignan had not broken his w^ord. 
 
 A. — Of all these boasted conquests in the east, 
 w hich had cost Christendom so many elforts to acquire, 
 a few maritime towns only remained. Alarmed at this 
 depressed state of affairs. Pope Clement the Third 
 preach( d a new crusade with such effect, that the Em- 
 peror Frederic Barbarossa and the kings of France and 
 
 Vinisauf. 
 
 '• Will. Tyrientsb, lib. 16. M.Paris. 
 
 • Vinisauf. 
 
332 
 
 \ L^ iii. I A. 
 
 Eiiglciiid, Philip and RiclKird, luuiu iiidlei} jHr[)(UC'<i !<> 
 take the Cross in person. 
 
 F. — To the calamities of defeat in Syria were added 
 the accidents of nature : an eart!iq!iake, to which evil 
 that region in all ages seems to have biin peculiarly 
 exposed, engiili'ed or laid waste several ( ities. The 
 Mahometans preached thai God had punished (lie Chris- 
 tians, and the Christians that God had declared himseli* 
 against the infidels. 
 
 A. — The Emperor was lirst read\ , and he crossed 
 the Hellespont with one hundred and fifty thousand 
 men. This able politician and expert general had ex- 
 cited the most ilattering hopes, which he most probably 
 would have realized, but im})rndently bp.thinu in the 
 Cydnus, he contracted a disorder, which terminated his 
 enterprise and his life, June 10, iiUO/ 
 
 P. — He should have ncollected (he exjunple of 
 Alexander the Great, who, from bathing in the same 
 cold stream, in that sultry climate, nearly sulfered a 
 similar catastrophe. 
 
 F.— From which he probably escaped ordy by his 
 youth, but Frederic was in his sixty-ninth year. 
 
 A. — Of the vast armament of the Germans, a small 
 force only arrived at the walls of Ptolemais, or Acre; 
 which city now engaged the attention of Europe, as it 
 was defended by a strong garrison of Moslems, and had 
 been attacked for above two years by the united forces 
 of all the Christians in Palestine, aided [)y the continual 
 influx of adventurers. 
 
 p. — Acre is a name memorable too in modern war- 
 fare, by the repulse of Buonaparte, after his twidfth 
 assault, by a portion of British sailors, under Sir Sydney 
 Smith: 
 
 « Bcncd. Abbas. 
 
 THE CRUSADES. 
 
 2m 
 
 Bath'd in hostile blood, 
 
 High on the breach, the dauntless seaman stood. 
 
 Adn tiring Asia saw the unequal fight ; 
 
 Ev*n the pale crescent bless'd the Christians' might.' 
 
 yl.— The kings of England and France, with the fate 
 of tlu' former armies before their eyes, wisely chose to 
 convey their forces to Palestine by sea, England at 
 lenglli perceiving the utility of a marine. But the Heets 
 were nnlortiinately impelled by stress of weather to take 
 shelter in Messina,^ where the two monarchs were de- 
 tained the whole winter; and coming thus in perpetual 
 contact, many sources of jealousy and irritation arose; 
 these haughty princes being incapable of that mutual 
 condescension which their situation rendered necessary. 
 One cause of dispute was the refusal of Richard to 
 espouse the princess Adelais, sister to the French king, 
 to whom we have seen in the last reign that he was 
 l)etroth( d ; but this ground of quarrel subsided on 
 Richard's producing undoubted proofs of that lady's 
 too great familiarity with his father, the late king 
 Henry the Second.^ 
 
 jr.—Certain it is that Richard made preparations 
 for espousing Ben iigaria, daughter of Sanchez, king of 
 Navarre, with whom he had become enamoured during 
 his residence in Guienne. This young pri-cess soon 
 after arrive d in Sicily with Queen Eleanor, and speedily 
 departed with Richard to the isle of Cyprus, where the 
 mnrriaire was concluded.' 
 
 ^,_nuring his stay at Messina, Richard, though 
 impelled more by military ardour than by superstition, 
 consulted Joachim, abbot of Curacio, a famous pro- 
 phet, on the meaning of certain passages in the Apoca- 
 lypse, which the divine explained by declaring that 
 
 » HcluM-, Palestine. 
 
 ^ Ilovedon. 
 
 Ihid. 
 
 •^ Bened. Abbas. 
 
I! 
 
 334 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Saladin wns un(loul)tedly preiiuurcMl nmoni? the lieads 
 of the beast/ On the arrival ui Richard at Cyprus, 
 he gave a decisive proof of his ardent temper: the 
 English vessels being pillaged by Isaac Comnenus, 
 prince of the island, Richard at once assaulted Liniisso, 
 a place of considerable strength, took it 1)y storm, and 
 threw the prince into prison, loaded with irons ; who 
 complaining of the little regard with which he was 
 treated, Richard ordered fetters to be made of sIIvct, 
 with which distinction the captive was highly pleased.'' 
 
 P, — The rhetorical expression of golden chains is 
 proverbial, but I had not supposed any one could be 
 satisfied with fetters of a less valuable metal. 
 
 JP. — Before the lleet of kinir Richard reac h(Ml the 
 port of Acre, it met a Saracen vessel of vast bulk, l)y 
 some old writers called a Dromound, laden to the 
 water s edge with stores and ammunition, various ma- 
 chines, and a large supply of Greek fire, for the use of 
 the besieged Moslems : after having in vain been 
 boarded, she was at length sunk by the English gallii\s, 
 whose beaks were violentlv driven into her sides. The 
 crew consisted of lifteen hundred men, of whom thirty- 
 five only were saved,' Richard threatening to crucify 
 his sailors if they suffered the vessel to escape. 
 
 A. — At length the kings of France and England, 
 with their respective forces, being arrived at the scene 
 of action before the walls of Acre, sustained by their 
 presence the drooping spirits of the besiegers. The 
 enuilation between these rival monarchs produced ex- 
 traordinary scenes of valour. Richard, in ])articular, 
 animated with a more precipitate courage, almost 
 realized the extravagant actions of romance: in indi- 
 vidual courage, he appears never to have been ex- 
 
 II 
 
 i 
 
 SIEGE OF ACRE. 
 
 335 
 
 ceeded. llie Mik^Uiu garrison, reduced to the last 
 extremity, surrendered; stipulating the restoration of 
 all Christian prisoners, and the delivery of the wood 
 of the true cross, which had been lost in the battle of 
 
 Til)erias.* 
 
 K— This great enterprize cost the Europeans no 
 less than the lives of three hundred thousand men. It 
 is said that its success was mainly attributable to a 
 concealed Christian within the walls of the city, who 
 oave to the besiegers from time to time the most essen- 
 tial infornintinn. 
 
 ^._Yet the acquisition of the town was productive 
 of no permanent advantage. The French king, dis- 
 pleased with the ascendancy acquired by Richard, de- 
 clared liis resolution of returning home, on the plea of 
 ill health ; he left, however, ten thousand of his troops 
 under the Duke of Burgundy. Richard, continuing his 
 heroic career, purposed to besiege Ascalon ; to prevent 
 which, Saladin intercepted his passage with an army of 
 three hundred tliousand combatants : on this occasion 
 was fought one of the greatest battles of the age, in 
 whi( h the Englisli monarch displayed the talents of an 
 able general, as well as those of a valiant soldier." 
 Both thr wings of the Christian army were broken, 
 when Kicliard, who commanded in the centre, led on 
 tlie main body and restored the battle with such suc- 
 cess, tliat forty thousand Moslems were left on the 
 held. Ascalon, with some other towns, soon after fell 
 into the hands of the croises; and had it not been for 
 the jealousy and quarrels l)etwen the French and Eng- 
 lish forces, Jerusalem, the great object of the enter- 
 prize, would prol)ably have rewarded the exertions 
 of Richard : the army had approached so near as 
 
 ■* Ilove<leii. 
 
 •■ Benedict. Abbas. 
 
 Viuisuut. 
 
 • Vinisauf. 
 
 i- Ibid. 
 
:3:3() 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 THE CKISADES 
 
 
 Bethany, when a soldier of ihv English compaiiies, 
 from a spot of elevated o^roniid, cried out niond to tlio 
 king, '' Come up hither, 8ir, aiid 1 will sliuu you Jeru- 
 salem;" but Richard, casting his shield liefore his face, 
 exclaimed, "Ah! Lord God, sutler me not to view tlie 
 holy city, since I am unable to deliver it out of the 
 hands of the infidels."* 
 
 F. — However, there is some doubt whether Richard 
 did not relinquish the attack from a well-grounded ap- 
 prehension of inability to succeed, the garrison being 
 numerous, and the dreeidliil heats of a Syrian summer 
 approaching. 
 
 A. — On the king's return to Acre, learniiur that 
 Jaffa, or Joppa, was besieged by the Soldan, he imme- 
 diately sailed with some merchant ships to its relief: 
 sixty thousand Turks and Saracens retreated at his 
 approach ; but soon discovering the small force of the 
 English monarch, they returned, and found him i ii- 
 camped before the gates of the tow^n with only seven- 
 teen knights and three hundred archers : Richard boldly 
 sustained their charge, and grasping his lanre, rode 
 furiously along the iront of his enemies from the I'mht 
 wing to the left, without meeting an adversary who 
 dared to encounter his career.** 
 
 P. — Such amazing personal prowess seems to be- 
 long rather to the imaginary char.icters of an Amadis, 
 or an Orlando Furioso, than to a real king of England. 
 
 A, — But all Richard's courage was unavailing, fa- 
 tigue, disease, want, the anxious desire to return lioiiie, 
 pointed out to the crusaders the necessity of securing- 
 their acquisitions, and accordingly a truce was con- 
 cluded with Saladin for the term of three years, three 
 months, three weeks, three davs, and three hours. ^ Its 
 
 ** Joinville. 
 
 •* Vinisauf. 
 
 Ra(lni(»!i (If Diceto. 
 
 a 
 
 conditions were that Acre, Joppa, and other sea-port 
 towns of Palestine, should remain with the Christians, 
 and that all pi rsons should have liberty to visit Jeru- 
 salem unmolested, and return in peace. 
 
 F. — This latter condition could be no great sacrifice 
 on the part of Saladin, as the Saracen Caliphs at all 
 times permitted the Christian pilgrims to perform their 
 devotions at the Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 A. — During the contest, many personal compliments 
 passed between Saladin and Richard, which rival the 
 politeness of modern generals. Richard being ill, Avas 
 supplied by the Soldan with pears and peaches, of 
 which he was very fond, and also a portion of snow, a 
 prodigious luxury in the climate of Syria.^ Richard 
 once wished for a personal interview, which Saladin 
 declined, saying, with much delicacy, kings should 
 not meet but to treat of peace: it is unbefitting that 
 they should feast and converse, and then go out to 
 battle.'* 1 he Soldan w as doubtless a person of eminent 
 bravery, w isdom, and generosity : he died soon after 
 the truce, at Damascus, bequeathing alms to be distri- 
 buted amongst the poor, without distinction of Jew, 
 Christian, or ^Mussulman; but as he was a sincere 
 Mahometan, this liberality of feeling has been doubted. 
 It is memorable, that a little before he expired, he or- 
 dered his winding-sheet to be carried as a standard 
 through (very street of the city, whilst a crier pro- 
 claimed. This is all that remains to the mighty Saladin, 
 Conqueror of the East. Saladin died in his fifty- 
 seventh year (1192). 
 
 P.— Such, then, was the unsatisfactory, if not in- 
 trlorious, termination of the third crusade, which, at an 
 
 Rohriflin, \'it.i Saladin. 
 
 »> Ibid, 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 Z 
 
338 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 TfTK CRUSADES. 
 
 339 
 
 immense cost, and after shedding rivers of blood, left* 
 the Holy City in the power of the Intidels : did the 
 Christians ever afterward re^^ain its possession ? 
 
 A. — In what was called the sixth crusade, Jerusa- 
 lem was restored to the Christians by the Soldan of 
 Egypt, in a truce made with the emperor Frederic the 
 Second (1228). They retained it only fifteen years, 
 beino^ finally deprived of it by the Korasmians, a wild 
 Tartar brood, who fled from the arms of Zingis Khan,^ 
 and from that time it has remained under the Maho- 
 metan yoke. The Holy City, from the religious asso- 
 ciations connected with its history, must ever retain a 
 powerful interest on the feelings of the Christian world; 
 but desolate for many ages has been the dwelling of 
 David. " Sleep, Jerusalem," says Fuller, in a tender 
 apostrophe, *' sleep in thy ruins, at this day of little 
 beauty and less strength ; famous only for what thou 
 hast been." ^ 
 
 P. — Uid the crusades, thus pursued by so many 
 successive generations, promote tlie general and gra- 
 dual improvement of Europe? 
 
 A. — Of late years it is becoming the fashion to 
 extol the benefits derived to Europe from the efi'ect of 
 the crusades, an opinion in which I cannot coincide ; 
 they seem rather to have checked than forwarded the 
 progress of society. The lives and labour of so many 
 millions buried in the East would surely have been 
 more profitably employed at home. 
 
 P. — But the crusaders in their progress to the Holy 
 Land must have imbibed, from the superior civilization 
 of the countries through which they passed, many ideas 
 of improvement. 
 
 A. — I much fear that armies on their march are 
 
 Joiiivillo. M. Paris. 
 
 »' IIdIv War. 
 
 II 
 
 l\\ 
 
 ) 
 
 little susceptible ol' ideas of improvement ; besides, 
 the quiet leisure of tlie pilgrim was more adapted for 
 refiection than the turbulent haste of the soldier. Mo- 
 rals certainly reaped no benefit ; for of all the armies of 
 any age or nation, none seem ever to have surpassed in 
 profligacy and licentiousness those of the Holy Wars. 
 The crusades fixed a stamp of permanency on popular 
 superstitio!i: they encouraged the utmost violence of 
 fanaticism: war l)erame a sacred duty; and, instead 
 of prayer and acts of l)enevolence, the slaughter of 
 human beings was inculcated as an expiation for 
 
 oflences. 
 
 jP._An incidental benefit arose from the diminution 
 of the pow er of the nobles, as these petty tyrants were 
 compelled, by their enormous expenses, to dissipate 
 their overgrown estates. 
 
 jI^ — But at what a sacrifice was this advantage 
 purchased. The expenditure of so much wealth in 
 distant regions must necessarily impoverish the country 
 from whicli it was extracted. Deeply as this inconve- 
 nience must have l}een felt, the obstinate perseverance 
 of Europe for two centuries in this career of folly is 
 singular. The first crusade may be accounted for by 
 the impulse of enthusiasm, and the attraction of no- 
 velty; but the continuance of the Holy Wars cannot 
 be explained by reason, nor justified by policy; for, 
 excepting some slight apprehension from the Turkish 
 power in the first crusade, no real danger menaced the 
 safety of Europe during the whole period ; the spirit 
 of proselytism, which animated the Arabian prophet 
 and his immediate successors, having long subsided. 
 If the ninth and tenth centuries were ages of dark- 
 ness, the twelfth and thirteenth were those of absurdity 
 
 and folly. 
 
 Z 2 
 
uo 
 
 V ESTICiiA 
 
 jp. And yet men of powerful minds long afterward 
 
 continued in the strange delusion of considering the 
 restoration of the Holy Sepulchre as an acceptable 
 service to the Deity: witness our monarch Henry the 
 Fourth ; who, though his motives might be partly poli- 
 tical, yet they had the death-bed sanction of a religious 
 
 feeling. 
 
 p,_The crusade having afforded a subject to the 
 muse of Tasso, perhaps his delightful poetry is one 
 cause why the Holy War yet retains its powerful and 
 peculiar attraction. 
 
 ^._Yet the literature and intellectual aspect of 
 Europe underwent no striking alteration, till other 
 causes unconnected with the crusades were brought 
 into action. To them we are certainly indel)ted for the 
 noble inventions of Blue Mantle and Rouge Dragon, 
 which at one time were more valued than the most 
 useful arts, or the profoundest science. 
 
 p. But if heraldry originated with the crusades, 
 
 the knights cased up in close armour, requiring to be 
 distinguished from each other by some device on their 
 shield; how are we to account for previous coats of 
 arms, such as Edward the Confessor's, for instance, 
 who flourished half a century earlier. 
 
 A.— It does not appear, either by monuments, coins, 
 or seals, that the English kings bore any arms, properly 
 speaking, before Richard, whose great seal has the 
 figure of a knight on horseback, bearing three lions on 
 his shield-/ the coats of arms attributed to his prede- 
 cessors seem to have been invented by the heralds 
 afterwards, by way of distinction : to the Conqueror 
 and his sons, they gave two lions; to king Stephen, a 
 sagittary. Henry the Second, they say, resumed the 
 
 * speed. Chrun. Saiultord. 
 
 HERALDRY. 
 
 a4l 
 
 tvvo lions, and on his marriage with the heiress of 
 Guienne, added a third. The three lions continued to 
 be the royal arms, till Edward tlie Third, pretending 
 to the crown of France, thought proper to place the 
 fleurs-de-lis in his first quarter, as if he had really 
 been monarch of that kingdom, and the French arms 
 absurdly continued to lind a place in the English 
 escutcheon till the treaty of Amiens, 1802, and were 
 then abolished, it has been said, I know not how^ truly. 
 at the suggestion of Buonaparte. 
 
 F.— The same authoritv on one occasion, having 
 an^^rilv declared his desire to drive the English leopards 
 into the sea, it excited some surprise that he should 
 mistake the animal borne in the national standard; but 
 the French heralds terming the ' lion passant gardant/ 
 a ' lion-leopard,' the allusion is explained. 
 
 ^._Coats of arms, which may be called silent 
 names, were nut completely established as hereditary 
 till the reign of Henry the Third; there are still a few 
 En(>'lish families whose arms have descended with little 
 alteration from that period, and which bear an allusion 
 to their first owner having taken the cross, as those of 
 Berkeley and Clinton. Had arms been in use before the 
 era of the crusade, it is impossible that the combat be- 
 tween William the Conqueror and his son Robert, under 
 the walls of the castle of Gerberoy, could have taken 
 place, without each party knowing his adversary by the 
 device on his shield. 
 
 P.— Or more visibly perhaps by the crest. 
 4. — William being a sovereign, would probably 
 have been so distinguished ; but crests were used only 
 by monarchs and commanders of armies till the institu- 
 tion of the knights of the garter. Supporters were sup- 
 posed to have arisen from the custom in tournaments 
 
342 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CAPTIVITY OK RICHARD. 
 
 343 
 
 of the knight having his shield sustained by two of his 
 servants dressed in some fantastic habit ; but later, and 
 I think better, authorities attribute them entirely to the 
 fancy of the seal engravers, who embellished coats of 
 arms according to their own fancy. The successive 
 kings of England, from the first assumption of sup- 
 porters by Edward the Third, varied them; till James 
 the First having adopted the lion and the unicorn, they 
 have since his days remained unchanged. 
 p,_Of what antiquity are mottos? 
 yl._Tliey appear to have been sparingly used till 
 the reign of Edward the Third, who, having given to 
 his new institution of the garter a general motto, each 
 of the knights assumed a particular motto of his own 
 choosing. From that time their use became fushjt)nable 
 amongst the nobility; the sovereigns varied their mottos 
 as well as their supporters. What may excite a smile, 
 the two queens, Elizabeth and Anne, gave semper eadem 
 —always the same; being a characteristic somewhat 
 different from the miitabile as applied to the fair sex by 
 
 Virgil. 
 
 P.— But we should recollect that that epithet was 
 
 introduced by the poet, for the purpose of extenuating 
 the perjury of a most perfidious swain. 
 
 ^.— It must be owned that /Eneas could not justify 
 his conduct by the maxims of chivalry: but King 
 Richard himself was no paragon of constancy in love; 
 his enthusiasm for the relief of Palestine was indeed a 
 passion permanent and unvarying. When he departed 
 from the east, on his return to England, he exclaimed, 
 " Most Holy Land, I commend thee to (lie care of the 
 Almighty ; may he grant me life to return and rescue 
 thee from the yoke of the inlidels."^ licing wrecked i)y 
 
 ( 
 
 a storm near Aqiiileia, Richard assumed the habit of a 
 pilcmm, siifferinir his hair and beard to grow. One of 
 his attendants presented to the governer of Istria a 
 valuable ruby, and solicited a passage through his pro- 
 vince for Baldwin of Bethune and Hugh the Merchant, 
 pilgrims returning from Jerusalem. " The present is 
 that of a prince," said the magistrate ; " it must be 
 King Richard ; tell him that he may come to me in 
 l)eace.'' But the king, suspicious of danger, fled in the 
 night. In three days he found himself near Vienna, 
 attended only by one knight and a boy. The latter was 
 sent to market, where his profuse display of money ex- 
 cited curiosity, which he eluded by giving out that his 
 master was a rich merchant, whom he expected in a 
 
 few days.* 
 
 yl.— Richard [seemed to travel in the style of a 
 modern incognito, whose assumed name is little or no 
 
 disguise. 
 
 yl,_The king was aware of his perilous situation, 
 
 but unfortunately falling sick he was unable to prose- 
 cute his journey. The boy was again sent to market, 
 and beneath his girdle was discovered a pair of gloves, 
 such as were usually worn by monarchs in that age : 
 the lad, being seized and put to the torture, revealed 
 his master s name and retreat. When the king saw the 
 house surrounded by armed men, he drew his sword, 
 and refused to yield, except to their chieftain, who was 
 Leopold, Duke of Austria.^ 
 
 P.— But on what pretence could the King of Eng- 
 land, and General of the Crusade, be made a captive? 
 
 4 _l)uring the siege of Acre, the Austrian Duke 
 having taken one of the enemy's towers, surmounted it 
 with his lianner; upon which assumption of superiority. 
 
 Vinisnnf. 
 
 Hovedcn. G. Ncubrig. M. Faris 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
344 
 
 VESriGlA. 
 
 Richard, as supreme commander, became inditrnant, 
 and ordered the flai^ to be thrown into a ditcli. 
 This aflront Leopold now found an opportunity to 
 revenge, by selling Richard to the Emperor IJenry the 
 Sixth, who considered him as his enemy, for a large 
 sum of money: and thus the hero, who had filled the 
 world with his renown, was loaded with irons, thrown 
 into a dungeon,* and left exposed to the mercy of the 
 meanest and most worthless of mankind. 
 
 F. — The conduct of another sov^ereign too plainly 
 showed that the persecution of infidels had not taught 
 the princes of Christendom justice to eacli other : as 
 soon as the King of France had heard ol' Richard's im- 
 prisonment, he employed every means of force, intrigue, 
 and negociation, against the dominions and person of 
 his rival; and concluded a treaty with prince John, in 
 which that paragon of baseness stipulated to deliver 
 into Philip's hands a great part of Normandy, on con- 
 dition that he should receive the French monarch's 
 assistance to obtain the crown of Enuland.^ 
 
 A. — The Emperor, to enhance the ransom of King 
 Richard, treated him with the greatest rigour and indig- 
 nity: the English monarch was even produced before a 
 diet of the Empire at Worms, and charged with many 
 grievous accusationsj'^ono of which was the assassination 
 of Conrade, Marquis of Montserrat. This circumstance 
 merits an explanation : on Richard\s arrival at C^yprus, 
 on his progress to the Holy Land, he was met by Lusig- 
 nan, the expelled King of Jerusalem, whose wife Sybilla 
 having recently died, the right to the crown devolved to 
 her sister Isabel, married to this untbrtunate Marquis. 
 Richard at first espoused the cause of Lusignan, but, 
 becoming sensible of the mischief of a disputed title. 
 
 W^ykes Chron. ^ Hovedcn. Rymcr.vol.I. • M.Pari«. Heming^. 
 
 rAP'ilVfTY OF RICHARD. 
 
 345 
 
 put him in possession of Cyprus, on condition that 
 he should resign his pretensions to the throne of 
 
 Jerusalem.' 
 
 F, — A possession more than ecjuivalent to his loss ; 
 as the family of Lusignan retained the kingdom of 
 Cyprus for three centuries. 
 
 .4.— Conrade, in exercising the government of Tyre, 
 gave some offence, and refused making satisfaction to a 
 petty chief of Asia, called the Old Man of the Mountain, 
 or prince of the Assassins, for that was the name of his 
 people, whence the w ord has passed into most European 
 languages: it was the custom of this ruffian, when he 
 imagined himself to be injured, to despatch some of his 
 subjects, who paid him the most implicit obedience, 
 with secret orders to murder the agressor:^ two of these 
 fanatics had insinuated themselves in disguise among 
 Conrade's guards, and wounded him mortally in the 
 streets of Sidon. 
 
 p._Surely the open and frank character of Richard. 
 
 joined to liis heroic actions, as well as the consideration 
 
 that he had sacrificed his former enmity to the public 
 
 irood, should have shielded him against such an impro- 
 
 bable accusation. 
 
 4. — So thought the German princes, and they ex- 
 claimed loudly against the conduct of the Emperor, 
 who, moved at their expostulations, consented to con- 
 clude with Richard a treaty restoring him to liberty for 
 the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand marks of 
 silver. The released king narrowly escaping a fresh 
 snare of imperial treachery, arrived in England, to the 
 unbounded joy of the people,^ though they had been 
 heavily taxed to make up his ransom. When the King 
 of France first heard of Richard's liberation, he wrote 
 
 V'misnnf. 
 
 ^ Hetnirrj. Brompton. 
 
 ^ Hovcdcn. 
 
346 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 PROVENCAL POETRY 
 
 347 
 
 to his confederate John, '' Take care of yourself, the 
 Devil is broke loose/' (1194).* 
 
 P. — This is the historical account of Richard's cap- 
 tivity and deliverance ; but surely the popuhir belief is 
 somewhat different. 
 
 F. — Richard is the last of the English monarchs 
 whose actions are adorned or disfigured with fiction 
 and fable. His impetuous bravery gained jhim the 
 renown of courage, to a degree which has never been 
 surpassed, and made him the hero of a hundred ro- 
 mances: one of these*' represents him to have been 
 exposed in prison by the Duke of Austria, to the fury 
 of a lion, when, having bound round his arm forty silk 
 kerchiefs, which had been presented to him by an ena- 
 moured princess, he thrust his arm down the animafs 
 throat, and plucked out his heart ; whence he obtained 
 the name of Coeur de Lion : but the adventure of lilondel 
 de Nesle, who had shared his bounty, has a nearer 
 resemblance to probability ; that grateful minstrel hav- 
 ing travelled over Europe to learn the fate of his beloved 
 patron, having accidentally gained intelligence of a 
 certain castle in Gennany, where a person of distinction 
 was confined, he repaired to the place, under a secret 
 impulse that the prisoner was the king of England, and 
 contrived an expedient for making the desired discovery, 
 by singing a lyrical strain, which had been partly com- 
 posed by himself and partly by Richard, who was a 
 poet as well as a hero ; when, to his unspeakable joy, 
 on making a pause, he heard the song re-echoed and 
 continued, which circumstance ultimately led to the 
 release of the royal captive. 
 
 A. — I know not what degree of faith is to be given 
 to the tale ; but a very ancient ditty, purporting to be 
 
 ^ Ho veden. 
 
 ^ Ellis, Specimens, vol. 2. Warton, vol. \. 
 
 the verses sung on this occasion, is preserved in an old 
 French romance, called, la tour tenehreuse, and is said 
 to have been extracted from an ancient chronicle written 
 by King Richard ; the language is that of Provence, a 
 dialect older than the Romance tongue.* 
 
 Blondel, 
 
 Domna vostra bcutas, 
 Elas bellas, faisos 
 Els ; bels oils amoros 
 Els gens cors, ben taillats 
 Dons sien empresenats 
 De vostra amor que mi lia 
 
 Richard, 
 
 Si bel trop affansia 
 J a de vos non portrai 
 (jue major honorai 
 Sol en votre denian 
 Que saiitra des beisan 
 To can de vos volria. 
 
 A paiiiphrasc from a French version of this song is 
 thus i?lvcn bv Dr. Burney." 
 
 Blonde L 
 
 Your beauty, lady fair, 
 None views without delight, 
 But still as cold as air, 
 No passion can excite ; 
 Yet this 1 patient see, 
 While ail are shuno'd like me. 
 
 Etc hard. 
 No nymph my heart can wound, 
 If favours she divide, 
 And smile on all around, 
 Unwilling to decide : 
 id rather hatred bear, 
 Than love with others share. 
 
 F. Another composition of Richard's yet remains ; 
 it is a Lament of his Captivity, written in the Romance 
 
 » Pauchet, Rccucil, vol. 2. 
 
 >» Hist, of Music, vol. 2. 
 
348 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 IcUiguage, first published by Lord Orford,' from a MS. 
 in the Laurentiue library at FloreiK e, and usually con- 
 sidered genuine; it contains six stanzas, of six lines 
 each, in a complaining strain : the first and last of these 
 I will recite. 
 
 Re is Rizard. 
 
 .)a nus hoiii pris non dira sa raibon 
 Adrietament se com horn doleiit non 
 Mfis per conort pot il faire cban-son 
 Pro adamis, mas povre son li don 
 Onta j avron, se por ma reezon 
 Soi fai dos yvQx pris. 
 
 Or sachent ben Enjevin e Torain 
 E il baclialiers qi son legicr e sain 
 Qen gomore soie pris en autnii main 
 II ma juvassen mas il no ve un grain 
 De belles arnies sont era voit li plain 
 Per zo qe ge soi pris. 
 
 These Stanzas haye been thus translated by Mr. Ellis. 
 
 King Richard. 
 
 If captive wigbt attenipt tbe tuneful strain, 
 
 His voice belike full dolefully will sound. 
 Yet to tbe sad 'tis comfort to complain. 
 
 Friends bave I store, and promises abound : 
 Sbame on tlie nii^gards, since tbese winters twain, 
 Unransom'd, still I bear a tyrant's cbain. 
 
 Sure did tbe youtbs of Anjou and Touraine, 
 
 Those lusty bacbelors, those airy lords, 
 But know these walls their captive liege restrain, 
 
 They would full soon unsheath their loyal swordi*. 
 Alas! nor faith, nor valour, now remain, 
 Sighs are but wind, and I must bear my chain. 
 
 Richard in his youth was a Trobadour, and is said 
 to haye made '' stanzas on the eyes of gentle ladies." 
 Having lived much in the courts of the princes of Pro- 
 vence, he became enamoured of the poetry of their 
 
 Roval and Noble Authors. 
 
 FKEN^;il \% AH. 
 
 349 
 
 country, then called '' the gay science/' and which was 
 the standard of politeness in that age. But an old 
 monk, Roger Hoveden, positively denies him the praise 
 of a poet, asserting, that to raise himself a name, the 
 King bought and begged verses and flattering rhymes, 
 and drew over singers and jesters from France to chant 
 p'^inegyrics on him al)out the streets, that it might every 
 where be said, the world contained nothing like him: 
 but 1 think the Lament plainly refutes this statement. 
 Richard, on his release, was received by his English 
 subjects with extreme satisfaction, and he was crowned 
 anew at Westminster. One of his first objects was to 
 revenge himself on the King of France, against whom 
 he declared war; but it was pursued on both sides with 
 so little vigour, that no military event occurred of the 
 least importance : prince John deserted the French 
 party, and by the intercession of Queen Eleanor, was 
 received into favour; the generous Richard saying, '' I 
 for-ive him, and I hope that 1 shall as easily forget his 
 injuries as he will iny pardon."" 
 
 F—li was in this war that an ecclesiastic, the 
 Bishop of Beauvais, was taken prisoner, and loaded 
 with chains thrown into confinement; on which the 
 Pope ronionslratinir, Richard sent to his holiness the 
 coat of mail, besmeared with blood, which the martial 
 prelate had worn in battle, with the interrogation which 
 the sons of Jacob employed to their parent, " this have 
 we found ; know now, whether it be thy sons coat or no." 
 The Pope had the candour to reply, " It is rather the 
 coat of a son of Mars than of Christ; I will not 
 
 interfere." '' 
 
 ^.__Rich;trd, who had braved so many dangers in 
 the Holy Land, perished in an obscure contest with a 
 
 • Cumden, Remains. 
 
 ^ M. Paris 
 
350 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 vassal, nearly as inglorioiisly as the Swedish hero of 
 more modern times, thouirh the last circumstance does 
 not exactly correspond. 
 
 His fall was destined to a barren strand, 
 A petty fortress, and a dubious iiand. 
 
 Vidomar, Viscomte of Limoges, had discovered an ex- 
 traordinary treasure, which by an old tradition had 
 been concealed in former days by the pro-consul 
 Lucius:^ it consisted of the trolden statues of a senator, 
 his wife and children, sitting: round a table, and hal)ited 
 in the Roman style. Part of these curiosities Vidomar 
 sent to the king as a present, but Richard, as supi^rior 
 lord to the Viscomte, claimed the whole, and on his 
 refusal to deliver them, besieged him in his castle of 
 Chains.'' Richard approaching the fortress in order to 
 survey it, was wounded in the shoulder with an arrow, 
 aimed by Bertrand de Gourdon, an arclier. The king 
 gave orders for the assault, and the whole of the garri- 
 son, though they had olfered to surrender, were hanged, 
 except Gourdon, who was reserved for a more cruel 
 execution.*" 
 
 P. — Such horrid butcherv is totallv indefensible. 
 
 A. — Richard's wound was not in itself dangerous, 
 but rendered so by the bunglinir surgery of that age : a 
 gangrene ensued, and the king, sensible of his ap- 
 proaching death, sent for Gourdon into his presence : 
 ^' Wretch," said he," what have 1 done to you, tliat you 
 should seek my life?" '' What have you done to me?" 
 replied the undaunted soldier: '^'^ my father and my two 
 brothers fell by your hand, and myself you intended to 
 put to death. I am now in your power : you may 
 inflict on me the most severe tomients, which I shall 
 suffer with pleasure, rejoicing that I have rid the world 
 
 » Dulaure, Liniosin. 
 
 I Ii)veden. 
 
 *■ Knvgliton. 
 
 DEATH OF RiCliARD. 
 
 351 
 
 of such a tyrant " Richard, now^ humbled at the near 
 view of mortality, ordered Gourdon to be set at liberty; 
 but Marcadee, the leader of the Erabancons, a band of 
 mercenary ruffians, seized the unhappy archer, flayed 
 him alive, and then hanged him.* 
 
 F.— Richard seemed to possess the good, as w^ell as 
 the bad qualities of an impetuous and vehement dis- 
 position. 
 
 A, — lie was sincere and generous, though revenge- 
 ful, haughty, and cruel; personal courage, no man, 
 even in that romantic age, ever carried further; and it 
 acquired him a renown which lasted for many ages, 
 and from its being interwoven in various popular me- 
 trical compositions is not yet worn out. 
 
 j^._The terror of Ids name in Palestine was such 
 that the Saracen women quieted their crying infants by 
 threatening to give them to King Richard ; nay, even 
 the horses, it seems, had a notion of his prowess, for 
 when they started, their riders were wont to exclaim, 
 ''You jades, do you think King Richard is in that 
 
 bush^"'^ 
 
 ,4.— This monarch died in the forty-second year of 
 his age and the tenth of his reign, scarcely six months 
 of v,hich were passed in England. He constantly 
 spoke the French tongue, and ./as never known to utter 
 an En<dish sentence but once, and that was not very 
 complimentary to his subjects. The Prince of Cyprus 
 opposing his pretensions to that island, Richard ex- 
 claimed, ^^O de'el, this is a fole Breton!" That the 
 English king had some turn for humour we may gather 
 from the story of a monk warning him to rid himself of 
 his daughters, if he meant to secure the favour of God 
 in the Holy Wars : '' Why, hypocrite," said Richard, 
 
 iloveden. Brorapton. 
 
 ^ Joinville. ^ 
 
352 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ADVENTURES OF LONGCHAMP. 
 
 13JS& 
 
 '^ all the world knows I have no ihildrtii.' •* Yta, ' re- 
 plied the preacher, '' you have tliree, and Uitir nunics 
 are pride, covetousness, and wantonness." '' Ts it so?" 
 returned the king, '' I bestow, then, the lirst upon the 
 Knights Templars, the second upon the Benedictine 
 Monks, and my prelates and clergy shall have the 
 third."* Richard was of tall stature^ and elegantly 
 formed ; his hair of a bright auburn ; his eyes blue and 
 fierce. He is extolled by Vinisauf, his companion in 
 the crusade, for his flexible limbs, and the strength of 
 
 his long arms. 
 
 P. — If he resembled the engraving by Vertue, his 
 countenance must have been extremely prepossessing, 
 fine, bold, and animated. 
 
 F.— I suspect that the portrait is rather tlie invention 
 of the artist than a genuine copy, as suggested, from a 
 statue of the monarch placed on his monument at Font 
 Evraud. His tremendous battle-axe is tlms celebrated 
 by an old poet: 
 
 This Kins: Richard, i imclerstonde, 
 
 Ere he went out of Englond, 
 
 Let make an axe for the nones, 
 
 Therewith to cleave the Saracens* bones. 
 
 The head, in sooth, was wrought full weele, 
 
 Thereon were twenty pound of steeic. 
 
 And when he came in Cyprus lond, 
 
 This ilkon axe he took in hond.— Warton, vol. i. 
 
 ^.—Richard was much beloved by his personal 
 friends. A remarkable instance of the self-devotion of 
 one of his knights took place in Palestine. As the 
 king one day, tired with hunting, lay asleep under a 
 tree, near Joppa, with only six persons about him, he 
 was roused by the approach of some Saracens : as 
 they were but few in number, he mounted his horse 
 
 m 
 
 and rode after tin m which they perceiving, drew him 
 into an anibuscade: he defended himself with great 
 bravery from their attack, but at length four of the at- 
 tendants being killed, he was upon the point of being 
 slain or taken, w^hen William de Pratelle, one of his 
 company, called out, " I am the King of England.'^ 
 This device gave Richard opportunity to ride off full 
 speed, and the Saracens conducted their prisoner to 
 Saladiii,^ \\ho, when tlie device w^as explained, com- 
 mended his iidelity, and paid him much honour, setting 
 his ransom so high as to procure ten emirs in ex- 
 change. Notwithstanding the king's popularity, his 
 reign, from the taxes which were continually levied, 
 must have been extremely oppressive; of this circum- 
 stance, advantage was taken by one Fitz-Osbert, a 
 lawyer, called Longbeard, who by descanting on the 
 abuses of the times, no doubt with a great deal of truth 
 and justice, and afTecting to be an advocate for the 
 poor, had raised an alarming sedition. He was at 
 length executed, to the extreme regret of the populace, 
 who much venerated his memory.^ 
 
 F.— Fitz-Osbert seems to be the first instance of 
 what we now call a radical, that appears in English his- 
 tory, and his exam])le is somewhat ominous. 
 
 A. — During the long absence of the king, a dispute 
 took place between his ministers — Longchamp, bishop 
 of Ely, chancellor, a native of Normandy, and the 
 Bishop of Durham, which ended in the expulsion of 
 the former prelate, who w^as obliged to flee, concealed 
 in a female habit. In this disguise he met with some 
 rather comical adventures, which give a picture of the 
 times : quitting Canterbury, he had above his dress a 
 
 Broiriplou. 
 
 *» Vini?anf. 
 
 • Vinisauf. 
 
 ^ Hoveden. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 2 A 
 
oD-i 
 
 VESTUaA. 
 
 woman's gown of green colour, ami slecvci» ol the 
 same, with a hood upon his head, and holding under 
 his arm a piece of linen with n draper's yard in In's 
 hand: thus attired, he sat tranquilly on a stone, with 
 his merchandize on his knee, waiting quietly till a ves- 
 sel should sail: some fishwomen passing, asked the 
 price of his cloth, but the chancellor bishop, not un- 
 derstanding a word of English, answered nothing; the 
 natives, thongh astonished at his silence, passed on 
 notwithstanding. A fresh party arriving, examiiuMl 
 the cloth, and made the same enquiry; bnt still the 
 chancellor not answering, the women so diverted him 
 with their interrogations that he burst into a laugh. 
 These good people thinking him mad, took off his hood, 
 and discovered the visage of a dark man just shaved, 
 when calling for the assistance of some peasants, they 
 threw him dow^n ; the unfortunate prelate exclaiming 
 in French, I am Chancellor of the kingdom. Bishop of 
 Ely, and Legate of the Holy See. After dragging him 
 through the mud, the party linished their amusement by 
 shutting the chancellor up in a cellar, from which he was 
 at length released by authority.* 
 
 P._We may conclude that Longchamp was not a 
 very eligible person for chancellor, if he eould not speak 
 
 a word of English. 
 
 ^^_The domestic history of England, during the reign 
 
 of Richard, maybe considered as a blank; the personal 
 
 historv of the monarch, as a romance. 
 
 ■ Hoveden. 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 355 
 
 DISSERTA^riON VI, 
 
 Section TV. 
 
 John, 
 
 A.D, 1199. 
 
 A. — All the kings of England, from the Conquest 
 to the accession of .Tohn, were men of distinguished 
 ability ; nor was this prince so destitute of talent as 
 of principle. At (he death of Richard, the possessions 
 of that monarch, the most extensive in Europe which 
 have ever been subjected to an English sovereign, 
 should by right of blood have devolved to Arthur, now 
 at the age of twelve years, the son of Geoffrey, the next 
 elder brother of the deceased king; but in that age the 
 doctrine of tlie representation of the elder branch being 
 but imperfectly understood, and John having the ad- 
 vantage of mature years, as well as the last testament 
 of Richard in his favour,'' w^as quietly admitted to take 
 possession of the English throne, though several of the 
 French provinces declared in favour of young Arthur.^ 
 
 F. — Female animosity, too, had a large share in the 
 disposal of this mighty inheritance : the influence of 
 Queen Eleanor was at this juncture great, and as she 
 bore a mortal antipathy to Constance, the mother of 
 Arthur, she had become apprehensive lest that princess, 
 in the event of her son's ascending the throne, should 
 necessarily assume that portion of power which she 
 herself exercised. Constance, too, was of a disposition 
 violent, indiscreet, and capricious; but the depriving 
 her son of a kingdom was, indeed, a sufficient excuse 
 for some exasperation of temper. 
 
 P. — The majesty of her sorrow, as described by 
 
 * Hoveden. 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Shakspeare, has certainly given an interest to her me- 
 mory, which its historic importance cuuld never liave 
 
 conferred. 
 
 ^._ Philip, the French kinjjf, pretending to espouse 
 
 the cause of Arthur, declared war ai,^ainst John^ but he 
 betrayed so suspicious an attention to his own interests, 
 that the young prince, who was then at Paris, escaped 
 from his protection,^ and did homage to John for Bri- 
 tany, and seemed to resign or postpone his claims upon 
 the other French provinces as well as upon England. 
 This impediment being removed, the monarchs declared 
 peace, which was further cemented by the union of 
 Lewis, eldest son of Philip, with Blanche of Castile,^ 
 the niece of John; a marriage which hereafter gave 
 rise to important pretensions. 
 
 P. — Here then is John, the usurper, firmly esta- 
 blished on the English throne ; his dangerous compe- 
 titor quietly content w ith the inheritance of Britany ; 
 and the princes of Europe disposed to acknowledge 
 the arrangement. 
 
 A, — The first act of King John was equally criminal 
 and imprudent : divorcing, on pretence of consan 
 guinity, his queen, Avisa, the heiress of the Earl ot 
 Gloucester, to whom he had been married ten years, 
 he carried ofl* and wedded Isabella, daughter of Uie 
 Count of AngoulSme, a young lady lately betrothed to 
 the Count de la Marche, equally disregarding the me- 
 naces of the Pope and the resentment of the injured 
 husband. This proceeding caused so much dissatis- 
 faction, that a general combination of the Xormau 
 barons was formed against him, into which the King 
 of France and the young Duke of Britany both en 
 tered, but which King John, with singular i'oitune, had 
 
 « Hoveden. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 DEATFI OF A U'VUl H. 
 
 357 
 
 the power of defeating, by making Arthur prisoner, 
 who was surprized whilst besieging his grandmother, 
 Eleanor, in the castle of Mirabeau=^ (Aug.l, 1203). 
 
 F, — This young prince, like his mother Constance, is 
 remembered chiefly from the pity excited by the scenes 
 of our great dramatist. 
 
 ^4._The real circumstances of Arthur's fate diflfer 
 but little from the representation of Shakspeare. In a 
 conference with his nephew, John desired him to re- 
 nounce his pretensions to the English crown, but the 
 brcive though imprudent youth, then at the age of six- 
 teen, boldlv maintained the justice of his claim, and 
 even required the restoration of his lawful inheritance.^ 
 From these symptoms of spirit, John, dreading the 
 danger of I'uture competition, proposed to William 
 de la Bray, one of his servants, to despatch Arthur; 
 but that person nobly replied, that he was a gentleman, 
 not a hangnum.'^ The young prince w^as then sent to 
 the castle of Falaise, the constable of which, Hubert 
 de Bur^^-h, feii^ning that he would execute the king's 
 mandate, spread a report that Arthur had expired. 
 
 p._The heated irons for the purpose of putting out 
 the eyes of Arthur, and the passionate appeals to the 
 pity of Hubert, we are then to set down to the ima- 
 gination of the poet. 
 
 yl._Such particulars are mentioned by one chroni- 
 cler only/ The French historians^ relate that Arthur 
 was removed to the castle of Rouen, to which place 
 the king coming in a boat during the night-time, com- 
 manded his nephew to be brought before him; and 
 whilst the young prince was on his knees, well aware 
 of his danger, and begging for mercy, the inhuman 
 
 ^ Mat.Wcstin. ^ M. Paris. ^ W^illherm Brito. Philippid. lib. 6. 
 ^ Radulph de Coggcshall, apud Bouquet, torn. 18. « Willherm Brito. 
 
35b 
 
 VEfei IGIA. 
 
 tyrant slew him with his own hand, and fastening a 
 stone to the body, threw it into the Seine" (1203). This 
 was done in order to fjive some colour to a report 
 which the king wished shouhl be credited, that Artliur, 
 attempting to escape from a window in the castle, liad 
 fallen into the river, and was drowned. 
 
 P. — Surely history presents but few instances of so 
 base an assassination ; an inhumanity '' beyond the in- 
 finite and boundless reach of mercy." 
 
 A, — It will console vou to learn that, from that mo- 
 ment till the last hour of his life, Kins: John continued 
 to meet with almost an unbroken scries of humiliations 
 and reverses. The Bretons, enraged at tlic death of 
 their prince, appealed to the French kinir as their 
 liege lord, and demanded justice against the murderer. 
 Philip received the application with pleasure, sum- 
 moned John to stand a trial before him, and on his 
 non-appearance, declared him guilty of felony and par- 
 ricide, and adjudged him to have forfeited all the seig- 
 nories and fiefs which he held in France.* 
 
 P. — Such a pretension must evidently be sustained 
 by a resort to arms. 
 
 A. — Philip first despatched a champion to assert his 
 claims by the Xorman mode of duel. On this occasion, 
 John produced a renowned English knight, John de 
 Courcy, who had conquered Lister, but who, on some 
 undefined suspicion of treason, had been imprisoned 
 several years. VV hen he was brought out, emaciated 
 with confinement, John a.sked the brave veteraii, if he 
 would fight in his sovereign's cause. " Xot in thy cnu.se," 
 exclaimed the indignant hero; '• but for the kingdom's 
 right, I will fight to my death." The Frencli champion, 
 however, declined the combat, alarmerl at the apparent 
 
 " Annnl. de Margan. 
 
 '' Heining,f. 
 
 DK COURCY. 
 
 359 
 
 prowess of his adversary. Tn a meeting subsequently held 
 by the two monarchs, De Courcy was requested to ex- 
 hibit before tliem a specimen of his vast strength, when 
 striking a helmet, he not only cleft it at a single blow, 
 but buried his sword so deeply in the post that supported 
 it, that no one Ijut liimself could draw the weapon out.» 
 For this exploit, and his readiness to defend the kingdom, 
 being desired to name his reward, he replied, that he 
 had honours and estate sufficient, but he wished that 
 his descendants should have the privilege of being co- 
 vered in the presence of the king."* 
 
 p._The Barons of Kinsale, his posterity, retain 
 the privilege to this day. It was exercised several 
 times during the last century. 
 
 ^ _When Dc Courcy, being afterward asked why 
 he looked so fiercely as he gazed round before he made 
 his stroke, he answered, that had he failed to cleave 
 the lulmet, he meant to have slain all the spectators, 
 lest they should deride him. 
 
 P.— This was carrying the dread of ridicule to a 
 
 sinaular extent. 
 
 ,l._The general apathy of the English barons to 
 the cause of their sovereign was so great that they re- 
 fused him their assistance, and the French king at 
 length overran the provinces of Normandy, Maine, 
 Aiijou, and Touraine. John, wasting his time in foolish 
 amusements, vaunted that the French might go on, for 
 he would retake in a day what it had cost them years 
 to acpiire; but he found by a cruel experience, that 
 that portion of the vast inheritance which he received 
 from his ancestors, was lost to his family for ever.' 
 
 j^_No wonder that the French complimented their 
 monarch, Philip, with the title of Augustus : Normandy 
 
 > Ilanmcr's Chron. ' Lodge, Peerage of Ireland. ' M. Paris. 
 
X 
 
 360 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CARDINAL LANGTON. 
 
 361 
 
 had been separated t'roni the French nKHuiri tiy \m liiree 
 centuries, and its recon(|Ui\st could not tail to iimuor- 
 talize the prince who achieved so valuable a prize. 
 
 P. — How were the southern provinces ol" Guienne 
 and Gascony preserved to the English dominioii? 
 
 A. — Queen Eleanor, their hereditary sovereign, was 
 yet alive when the quarrel broke out, and though at 
 her death (1204) John succeeded in preference to the 
 lawful heir, the sister of the unfortunate Arthur, yet 
 the French king seems never to have directed his 
 attention to the acquisition of these important pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 F. — That young princess, named Eleanor, called 
 the Damsel of Britany, was scarcely less unfortunate 
 than her brother, as, by the continued jealousy of tlie 
 English government, she passed a life of more than 
 forty years' captivity in Bristol castle.* 
 
 P. — Both the brother and sister, under the weight 
 of royal birth, and legal pretensions to a crown, might 
 exclaim — 
 
 So 1 were out of prison, and kept sheep, 
 I should be merry as the day is long. 
 
 A, — King John arrived in England, after the loss 
 of his French provinces, overwhelmed with disgrace, 
 if not with shame; the reproach of personal cowardice 
 being added to his other misfortunes. At this crisis of 
 his affairs, an accidental quarrel with the churcli, (and 
 it w as purely accidental, having no connexion with his 
 dispute with France,) plunged him into the deepest 
 abyss of humiliation. Other kings of England may 
 have met with an equal share of suftering, but none 
 with an equal portion of contempt. 
 
 F. — The reunion of the provinces wi(h France, 
 
 • Trivet. Wvkps. 
 
 II 
 
 Iio\vever disgraceful to Joliii as the lost patrimony of 
 so many generations, was no evil to the English nation, 
 as its kings since the Conquest had ever valued them- 
 selves upon their French descent, and directed their 
 attention so much to the affairs of the continent, as to 
 neglect the more important interests of their English 
 
 territoiy. 
 
 ^._The see of Canterbury becoming vacant by the 
 death of the primate, Hubert, (1205) some of the junior 
 monks, without consulting their superiors, met clandes- 
 tinely in the night, and chose Reginald, the sub-prior, 
 for their archbishop ; and having enjoined to him the 
 strictest secrecy, despatched him to Rome, in order to 
 solicit his contirmation from the Pope. Reginald's 
 vanity, however, overcame his prudence; and long 
 before he reached his destination, his loquacity had 
 
 betrayed the secret.^ 
 
 jp^_But for which indiscretion, the irregularity of 
 the election, however great, would most probably have 
 received the papal sanction. 
 
 4.„The canons of the cathedral, enraged at this 
 proceeding of the monks, elected, at the suggestion of 
 the king, John do Gray, bishop of Norwich, and the 
 Pope's consent w^as alone w^anting to his induction ; but 
 by one of those sul)tilties of the court of Rome, ever 
 ready to turn all accidents to its advantage, this latter 
 election was pronounced uncanonical, on the ground 
 that it ought to have been postponed till the former 
 had been set aside; and Innocent the Third, under the 
 pretence of appeasing faction, commanded, or rather 
 compelled the monks who had been sent to Rome for 
 the purpose of sustaining the claim of John de Gray, 
 to choose Cardinal Stephen Langton, an Englishman 
 
 " M.Paris. 
 
362 
 
 VKSTlGiA. 
 
 INTERDICT. 
 
 ti\)0 
 
 indeed, but long resident at J^iris, ol which university 
 tie was chancellor: thus introducing a i)rcccdent l)y 
 which the see of Canterbury shouhl ever after be held 
 at the disposal of the court of llonie.^ 
 
 F, — But in return for such an accession of power, 
 the Pope sent John four golden rings set with precious 
 stones, endued, as he described them, with many moral 
 and mystical properties, and which were to indemnify 
 the king for the loss of one of (tic most valuable pre- 
 rogatives of his crown.** 
 
 A. — John, however, was not duped by such childish 
 artilices : he fell into a violent rage, prohibited Langton 
 from entering the kingdom, and with his usual ill- 
 judged precipitancy, expelled the monks of Canterbury 
 from their convent, who were now inclined to support 
 the election of Langton." Tlie Pope, aware of the un- 
 popularity of the king, ])ersisted in his measures, and 
 threatened to lay the nation under an interdict, if John 
 continued his refusal to receive the cardinal. 
 
 P. — The king had now evidently a just cause: why 
 did not the nobility and the nation support his throne 
 against such palpable encroachment? 
 
 A, — ^Though John himself w^as entirely exempt from 
 any superstitious attachment to papal observances, 
 and it really was a considerable merit in that age, yet 
 his people did not follow^ w ith equal steps such an un- 
 embarrassed mode of thinking; and as he dared not 
 assemble his nobility in the great council of the nation, 
 we are unable to judge how far they would have united 
 with their monarch in shaking otf the yoke, and esta- 
 blishing a church independent of that of Rome. 
 
 F, — The interdict which the Pope at length de- 
 nounced (1207) was w ell calculated to exhibit the galling 
 
 weight of pai)al authority. The altars were despoiled 
 of their ornaments ; the crosses and reliques were care- 
 full v concealed : the bells removed from the steeples; 
 mass was celebrated by the priests with closed doors, 
 and the laity excluded; marriages were performed in 
 the church vard :^ the dead were not interred in conse- 
 crated ground, and their obsequies were unattended 
 with any hallow^ed ceremony ; the whole kingdom ap- 
 peared to deprecate the divine displeasure by every 
 appearance of distress and contrition. 
 
 ^.— This extraordinary state of alienation from 
 Rome continued during five years. If in the reign of 
 this ])rince any scope can be given for commendation, 
 it may be bestowed here. John displayed considerable 
 vigour of mind ; he confiscated the estates of the clergy 
 who obeyed the interdict ; banished the prelates ; con- 
 fined the monks ; and to render the clergy ridiculous, 
 threw into prison all their concubines, for whose liberty 
 he required a high price.^ 
 
 F.— But to soften the invidiousness of the appella- 
 tion, it should be recollected that, in this age, the practice 
 of concubinage by the clergy was considered only in 
 the light of an irregular marriage, and it may be es- 
 teemed by the candid as an appeal from the tyranny 
 of ecclesiastical institutions to the unerring laws of 
 
 nature. 
 
 A. — Nor were the civil and military affairs of the 
 kinirdimi conducted with less spirit, and in the only 
 period of Johns life with prosperity. He undertook 
 enterprizes against Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, in 
 all of which he succeeded; and had he secured the 
 affections of his people, he would ultimately have 
 triumphed over all the arts of Rome, but unfortunately 
 
 • M. Paris. 
 
 ^ ibid. Ryrncr, vol. 1. 
 
 « M.Faris. 
 
 " Knyghton. 
 
 ^ M . Paris. 
 
364 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 PANDOLF. 
 
 365 
 
 he exasperated and disgusted every class of liis sub- 
 jects by a continued course of licentiousness, rapacity, 
 and tyranny. Innocent, now linding the interdict una- 
 vailing, proceeded to the next step of punishniout by 
 denouncing excommunication against John (1209), the 
 effects of which soon appeared. GeollVey, ^^rchdeacon 
 of Norwich, who held a considerable office in the Ex- 
 chequer, being informed of the circumstance whilst 
 sitting on the bench, left his chair and departed the 
 court ; for which dereliction of duty, the archdeacon 
 was thrown into prison, and his head covered with 
 a great leaden cope; when, suffering from the want of 
 food and the weight of the metal, his life soon ter- 
 minated.* 
 
 p._Xo one can blame the king in making Geoffrey 
 an example, though the derisive cruelty of his pimish- 
 ment is not to be extenuated. 
 
 il.— In this state of excommunication, John became 
 alarmed, as most of the nobility and prelates had de- 
 serted the kingdom, and the few remaining behind were 
 suspected of having entered into a confederacy against 
 him; he therefore solicited a conference with Cardinal 
 Langton at Dover, and offered to acknowledge him as 
 primate, and submit to the Pope ; but the cardinal de- 
 manding full compensation for the clergy, whose losses 
 he estimated at a most exorbitant rate, the king was 
 utterly unable to comply, and the treaty fell to the 
 
 ground.^ 
 
 F^—Uere then follows that notable instance of 
 
 papal effrontery, in which Innocent proceeded to ab- 
 solve the subjects of John from their oath of alle- 
 giance ; and the Pope actually issued the sentence of 
 deposition against a monarch descended from a long 
 
 line of ancestors, whose only offence against Rome was 
 the exertion of one of the most valuable hereditary 
 privileges of the English throne. 
 
 /L -The Pope pretended to justify his proceeding, 
 on the hypocritical ground of his right to punish sin, 
 particularly perjury ; but only consider the degree of 
 offence committed by Henry the Second in the murder 
 of Becket, and the mere refusal of John to admit a 
 primate irregularly obtruded, and we shall see the vast 
 difference in the influence of personal character. But 
 the Pope could not deprive John of his kingdom by 
 mere anathemas, and he therefore fixed upon Philip, 
 kin<*- of France,^ as his instrument, who, seduced by 
 the prospect of present interest, had the folly to second 
 these exorbitant pretensions of the court of Rome; and 
 he immediately levied a vast army and a powerful 
 fleet, for the purpose of taking possession of the vacant 
 throne of England. In this extremity John also sum- 
 moned his vassals at Dover, who assembled in numbers 
 sufiicient to delend him against all attacks from France. 
 jP,_But here historians leave us in the dark, and it 
 is not ascertained whether these forces could be relied 
 on, many of the barons being even suspected of holding 
 a secret correspondence with the enemy .^ 
 
 J. From such a dangerous crisis, it became neces- 
 sary that John should speedily extricate himself, and 
 the means were aftbrded by the dexterity of Pandolf, 
 the papal legate, who, in an interview with the king, 
 represented the hopeless condition of his afllairs in 
 such glowing, but true colours, that the unfortunate 
 monarch submitted to whatever terms Pandolf chose 
 
 to prescribe.'' 
 
 l\—lt was certainly hard that John, in his merito- 
 
 * M. Paris. 
 
 ^ Annal. Wavcrlcy. 
 
 * M. Paris. 
 
 »» Uiid. 
 
 Il.id. 
 
am 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 PETER OF POMFRET. 
 
 3G7 
 
 rious and even courageous op]>osition to the encroach- 
 ments of Rome, should be deserted by so large a por- 
 tion of his subjects ; for the terms, liowever iunoiuinious, 
 were perhaps, from the desperate nature of his circum- 
 stances, rendered unavoidable. 
 
 A. — Besides airreeing to the former conditions, lii- 
 therto rejected, John consented to make full restitution 
 to the clergy; but the great trial was yet to Ije added. 
 Pandolf suggested that the only means to extricate 
 himself from the dangerous claims of the French mo- 
 narch, was to resign his kingdom to the church, and 
 consent to hold his dominions as a iief of the Holy See, 
 by the annual payment of a thousand marks. Accord- 
 ingly this was done by a charter,^ a copy of which is 
 still extant, wherein John agreed to hold his kingdom 
 on these conditions; and, in consequence, he did ho- 
 maire to the lei^ate in the church of the Knights Tern- 
 plars, at Dover, May 13, 1213, with all the servile 
 ceremonies which the feudal law required of vassals 
 before their liege lord. John flung himself upon his 
 knees; lifted his joined hands and put them within 
 those of Pandolf, who was seated on a throne ; swore 
 fealty to the Pope ; and paid a part of the tribute. It is 
 even said that the regalia were delivered to the legate, 
 which he did not return for live days; but if this cir- 
 cumstance be doubtful, it is certain that Pandolf, in 
 this extreme triumph of sacerdotal power, train])led 
 under his feet the monev which liad l)een offered as an 
 earnest of the subjection of the kinudom;* which con- 
 duct, however offensive, no one present but the arch- 
 bishop of Dublin dared even to notice. 
 
 P. — Strange that the King of England, who of all 
 others had resisted the encroachments of the Holy See 
 
 witli the greatest pertinacity, should be thus compelled 
 o bead lower to the .same power than any of our mo- 
 
 narchs before or since. 
 
 ^.— Yet, after all, this transaction may be extenu- 
 ated from somewhat of the excessive blame which has 
 been cast upon it by the generality of historians. John 
 was reduced to the last extremity ; deserted by his sub- 
 jects, threatened with a foreign invasion; and if he 
 meant to retain his crown at all, there was surely as 
 little ignominy in owing it to the protection of the 
 Pope as to the French king ; and in that age the idea 
 of vassalage did not carry with it quite the same 
 offence as in the present times : nor should it be for- 
 gotten, that even Henry the Second, in soliciting the aid 
 of the Pope against his rebellious children, made the 
 strange acknowledgment tluit he held his kingdom from 
 the Pontiff as his superior lord.^ 
 
 P.--But the proceeding is a conclusive proof how^ 
 entirely King John must have been both hated and de- 
 spised by his subjects, since they could tamely witness 
 such a disgraceful ceremonj . 
 
 ^l._In the lowest reverse of fortune, John continued 
 his undiminished inclination to tyrannize. Peter of 
 Pomfret, a sort of hermit, having prophesied that be- 
 fore the end of the year the king would lose his crown, 
 was tied to a horse's tail, and dragged through the 
 street at \\ arham, where he was hanged on a gibbet,^ 
 together w ith his son, though the man pleaded that his 
 prediction w as accomplished ; which truth, indeed, w as 
 supposed to aggravate his oflence. 
 
 P.— But how did the King of France, w^ho had 
 been at the expense of raising a fleet and army, obtain 
 a recompense ? 
 
 Kyrrier, vol. 1. 
 
 »' Af, rnris. 
 
 * Rvmcr, vol. 1. 
 
 *» M . Paris. 
 
C ' ' 
 
 368 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CONFEDERATION OK TUL BARONS. 
 
 3U0 
 
 ri- 
 
 -4. — His case exhibited one of the most deliditful 
 examples of duperie which has ever been played otf by 
 the court of Rome ; and as the cause which Philip had 
 espoused was equally impolitic as unjust, he could not 
 but feel most poignantly the ridicule to which he was 
 exposed. Pandolf, returning from England, congratu- 
 lated Philip on the success of his pious enterprize, 
 and informed him that, as John had returned to his obe- 
 dience to the Holy See, and even consented to liold his 
 dominions as a fief of the church, no Christian prince 
 could attack him without the most flagrant impiety;* 
 and notwithstanding Philip's rage at finding himself so 
 completely outwitted, he became totally unable to pro- 
 ceed. The Earl of Salisbury, with the English, reco- 
 vering their spirit, destroyed the larger part of the 
 French fleet ;^ and the Pope having gradually recalled 
 the several anathemas pronounced against John, and 
 remitted a large part of the claims of the clergy, 
 England resumed a state of tolerable repose, the two 
 kings, Philip and John, concluding a truce for five 
 years (1214).'' 
 
 F. — The transactions of John s reign naturally form 
 themselves into three divisions, which are easily re- 
 membered : those relating to the loss of tlie French 
 provinces, originally emanating from the base treatment 
 of young Arthur; those relating to the king's quarrel 
 with Rome, respecting the appointment to tlie see of 
 Canterbury; nnd lastly, those which arose in his subse- 
 quent dispute with his barons, and wliich ultimately 
 produced the great charter. 
 
 A. — The former charters had l)een so much neglected, 
 that their obligations were esteemed by tlu* king as 
 nugatory; and it was with difliculty tliat a single copy 
 
 =* Tiivet. 
 
 ^ M. Paris, 
 
 • M. Pails. Chron. Mailros. 
 
 of that of Henry tlie First could be procured, on 
 which the barons,'' now universally discontented with 
 the resignation of the kingdom to the Pope, as well as 
 with other grievances, might ground their pretensions. 
 
 F.— Yet it has been suspected that those haughty 
 nobles did not resist the encroachments of Rome, in 
 the expectation that by humiliating their prince they 
 might more safely combine to depress his power. 
 
 A. — This view of the matter is scarely feasible, as 
 without the concurrence of the clergy, the nobles would 
 have combined to establish Magna Charta in vain; yet 
 we may conceive the oppression of John's government to 
 have been atrocious, since the new archbishop, Stephen 
 Langton, though placed in his see by the submission 
 of the king to Rome, yet readily joined, if indeed he 
 were not the first to propose, the confederation. 
 
 F. — Laniiton seems a remarkable instance of a Ro- 
 mi.sh ecclesiastic preferring the interests of his country 
 to the claims of the church. He is said to have been 
 an accompHslu d s( liolar and theologian, and to have 
 divided the Bible into chapters. 
 
 A. — ^The barons iirst assembled privately in London 
 (1214), and afterwards at St. Edmondsbury. It was 
 there agreed that, at the festival of Christmas, they 
 should prefer their petition to the king, and insist on 
 their demands, if rejected, by force of arms.^ 
 
 F._That was surely going as far as the most 
 zealous ^^'hig of more modern times would have 
 thought of proceeding. 
 
 .4.— The barons appearing on the appointed time, 
 thc^ king entreated delay till Easter, during which inter- 
 val he a; pealed to the Pope for protection. At length 
 the barons assembling with a force of two thousand 
 
 M. Paris. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 2 3 
 
370 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 371 
 
 knights and an immense number of retainers, he de- 
 sired to know the nature of their demands. When the 
 schedule was produced, John broke into a violent pas- 
 sion, asking, " Why do not the barons demand my 
 kingdom?"* declaring that he woukl never grant his 
 subjects such liberties as would make himself a slave. 
 Upon this the barons immediately proceeded to levy 
 war: they besieged Northampton, entered Bedford, and 
 were received witliout opposition in London.' Tlie 
 king found himself utterly deserted; and at length sub- 
 mitted to hold a conference, whicli took phu e, June 15, 
 1215, at Runyng, or Runnemede, in Surrey. 
 
 F._This celebrated spot is common land, consist- 
 ing of one hundred and sixty acres, on tlie banks of the 
 Thames, in the parish of Egham. Its name is said by 
 Mathew of Westminster to be derived from a Saxon 
 word signifying council, as several councils liad been 
 formerly held there ; but it is much more prol)able, that 
 the name means nothing more than tlie running mea- 
 dow, horse races having there taken place from time 
 
 immemorial. 
 
 p,—ls it not extraordinary that Shakspeare in dra- 
 matizino- the " Life and Death of King John," should 
 never have alluded in the most distant manner to the 
 remarkable transaction of granting Magna Chart a. 
 
 F.— Shakspeare's play is altogether a strange histo- 
 rical jumble. It was probably not produced till after 
 the accession of James the First ; and the bard well 
 knew that his royal patron was no friend to charters 
 enlarging the privileges of the subject. 
 
 ^._King John signed Magna Charta with a suspi- 
 cious facility, his maimer indicating the insincerity of 
 a man acting by compulsion, and intending to break 
 
 ^ M.Paris. 
 
 »" 11)h1. 
 
 through its provisions at the first opportunity which 
 offered.* 
 
 P. — Of what nature were those provisions, which 
 for so many ages have been considered as the key-stone 
 of English liberty? 
 
 A. — The Great Charter is not very methodically 
 arranged ; and not being divided formally into chapters, 
 various authors have differently numbered its clauses. 
 The larger part of its provisions relate to the relief or 
 the removal of feudal burthens ; but in order to secure 
 the concurrence of the people, the barons, in thus ren- 
 dering themselves more independent of the crown, in 
 itself perhaps an evil, were compelled to grant the 
 same immunities to their vassals which they had ex- 
 torted from the sovereign for themselves. Other arti- 
 cles relate to the safety and freedom of merchants, 
 permitting them to leave the kingdom and return at 
 pleasure. The ancient liberties and customs were se- 
 cured to London, and to other cities and boroughs. 
 Several minor legal and other abuses were regulated, 
 wliich one is surprised to learn could ever have been 
 suffered any where to prevail. But the great clause 
 deserving to be written in letters of gold, declares that 
 no freeman shall be apprehended or imprisoned, dis- 
 seised or outlawed, except by the law of the land. 
 Another clause of nearly equal importance, is that 
 which declares, that the king will to no man sell, deny, 
 or delay right and justice. 
 
 F.— Such then is Magna Charta, which has been 
 supposed by most historians to be equivalent to a 
 restoration of the much desired Saxon laws of Edward 
 the Confessor : but unless the essence of his code be 
 contained in the two important clauses now quoted, I 
 
 « M. Paris. 
 2 B 2 
 
372 
 
 VE.-Ti-ri \ 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 can scarcely thinlv the opinion well fouudcd, as, jniking 
 from the specimen of Saxon laws^ yet extant, there is 
 nothing in them to cause a national regret at thcnr ol)li- 
 vion, and their spirit is totally different from the style 
 and manner of Magna Charta, which is evidently 
 
 founded on a feudal basis. 
 
 ^4._Though many of its provisions expired with the 
 feudal svstem, vet this celebrated instrument remained 
 a landmark, which justified resistance to the encroach- 
 ments of tyranny, and in future struggles between the 
 people and their sovereign pointed out a determinate 
 object of contention. ITow essential ^Taona Charta 
 was esteemed to the interests of the English nation, we 
 may judge from its having been renewed no less than 
 thirty-five times in the course of two centuries. 
 
 p. Is the authentic original of this invaluable 
 
 record yet remaining in existence ? 
 
 /^._When the consent of the king was to be ob- 
 tained, certain articles or heads of agreement were 
 drawn up, which were afterwards to be methodized in 
 a more regular form ; to these capitida, or heads, the 
 kin^'- set his seal at Ilunnemede. This precious docu- 
 ment is yet in being, in admirulile preservation. Tt was 
 once possessed by Archbishop Laud: it afterwards 
 became the property of Eishop r>urnet; and IVom the 
 executors of his son, it came to the Ibitisli ^luseum, 
 by the presentation of Earl Stanhope (ITCil)).' It is a 
 parchment ten inches and three quarters 1)road, and 
 twenty-one inches and a half long : the great seal of 
 King John, little injured by time, of whitish yellow 
 wax, is appended to it by a label. But the Great 
 Charter, properly so called, consists of these articles 
 reduced to form; and so large a number of these origi- 
 
 » Wilkins, passim, 
 
 ^ Statutes of the RimIui, Introduc. 
 
 MAGNA CHARTA. 
 
 373 
 
 nals was made that one was deposited in every county, 
 or at least in every diocese in the kingdom; two of 
 these originals are extant in Sir Robert Cotton's col- 
 lection, and another more perfect in Lincoln cathedral;* 
 they are some inches wider than the former parchment, 
 and not quite so long. One of these charters and the 
 capifula are exhibited in an anti-room at the British 
 Museum. 
 
 A. — But liowever valuable we esteem this document. 
 King John considered Magna Charta as a mere chain 
 of parchment, by which he determined not to be bound, 
 and accordingly applied to Rome for absolution from 
 his oath.^' The Pope, pretending to consider himself as 
 feudal lord of the kingdom, was incensed at the teme- 
 rity of the barons, who had dared without his consent 
 to impose conditions on their prince, and he imme- 
 dicitely excomnuuiicated by name twenty-five distin- 
 guished nobles, who had been appointed conservators 
 of the public liberty. 
 
 F.— The barons appear to have neglected those pru- 
 dent precautions which might secure them against the 
 well-known perfidy of their king. 
 
 A. — John artlully introduced an army of Braban- 
 ^ons,^or natives of Brabant, a sort of mercenary troops, 
 who let themselves to any prince for pay, and with 
 these he ravaged and devastated the kingdom from one 
 end to the other. In this desperate extremity, the barons 
 applied to the king of France, offering the English 
 crown to his son, afterwards Lewis the Eiglith, on con- 
 dition of protecting them from the violence of John. 
 
 F.— Though a sense of the common rights of man- 
 kind, which are alone indefeasible, might have justified 
 the barons in the deposition of their sovereign, says 
 
 statutes of the Realm, Jiitrofhic. 
 
 ^ M.Paris. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
374 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the philosophic Hiime^ and it is rather an extraordinary 
 admission in a Tory historian, yet they ])rel"erred the 
 subterfuge of asserting tliat John \vas incapacitated 
 from succeeding to the cro\vn by an attainder passed 
 in the former reign, and that he had virtually deposed 
 himself by doing homage to the Pope; and as IJUinciic 
 of Castile, the wife of Lewis, was the grandanghter 
 of Henry the Second, they pretended to adiiere to the 
 order of succession in choosing the French prince/ 
 
 A, — Whether the barons acted wisely in not l)oldl\ 
 avowing their motives mav be doubtfiiU but their re- 
 medy was at least as dangerous as the di.^ease. Prince 
 Lewis landed with an armv of seven thousand men in 
 the isle of Thanet, and was immediately joined l)y a 
 large part of the nobility; and thus the miseries of a 
 civil war were united with the prospect of enduring a 
 foreign yoke ; but Irom this state of allairs the nation 
 was at length happily relieved. Thv French prince, 
 having subdued the greater part of the kingdom, was 
 piqued at tlie resistance of Dover castle, and he swore 
 never to raise the siege till he had tiiken that i'ortress, 
 and hanged all the garrison;^ an oath wliicli he v,as 
 never able to perform, and which lost him the crown of 
 England. 
 
 F, — Dissensions too had begun to arise between 
 the French and English nobility, which were increased 
 by a report, very generally believed, that the Viscount 
 de Melun, on his death-bed, had confessed that Lewis 
 intended to confiscate the estates of the English barons, 
 as traitors to their prince, and bestow them on his 
 French courtiers/ 
 
 A. — King John, breaking into Xorfolk and Suffolk, 
 committed the most dreadful devastations on the estates 
 
 ' M. Tflris. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 Md. 
 
 DEATH OF JOHN. 
 
 375 
 
 of his rebellious barons in those counties ; but marching 
 from Lynn into Lincolnshire, over the sands, at an im- 
 proper time, the rear of his army was overtaken by the 
 flowing tide, and he lost in the inundation his entire 
 baggage, containing his treasure and regalia.^ The 
 vexation arising from this disaster threw him into a 
 fever, and reaching Newark, he died in the castle of 
 that town, in the forty-ninth year of his age, October 
 
 19, 121(>.^ 
 
 P._The story then of his having been poisoned 
 by a monk, at Swinestead Abbey, appears to have been 
 without foundation, and adopted by Shakspeare for the 
 sole purpose of exhibiting a scene of terrific energy, 
 
 F, AH the writers who lived within the reach of 
 
 sixty years of the death of Jolm,^ attribute that event 
 to grief, anxiety, and fever, which was heightened by 
 eating voraciously of peaches, and drinking new cider. 
 About that time, the chroniclers begin to surmise that 
 it was caused by poison. A later writer^ first assigns 
 as the cause, that John being desirous of seducing a 
 fair prioress, sister of the abbot, was presented by him 
 with a disli of poisoned pears; at this, the gems in the 
 king's rings beginning to sweat, John, by way of pre- 
 caution, desired the father to partake of the fruit, and 
 the wily monk eating three which had not been conta- 
 minated, so escaped. In another half century,^ the 
 story had become improved, by introducing a monk to 
 whom the king declared, that as the cheapness of 
 bread made the people rebellious, he would advance 
 the loaf from a penny to a shilling; whereupon the 
 monk took such indignation that he put the poison of 
 a toad into a cup of ale, as fame reports, and drank to 
 
 * M. Paris. 
 
 '' Ilcmingford. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 « Dr. Pcgge, Archseol. vol. 4. 
 « Knyghton. 
 
{^7G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the king^, who thus encoiiraired to pledge him, the eon- 
 sequences to both were speedily fatal. 
 
 ^. — John stands at the bottom of the list of English 
 monarchs, and seems almost to have realized tlie de- 
 scription of the Roman satirist, monstrum nulla virtu te 
 redemptum ; an unnatural son^ an unkind brother, a cruel 
 uncle, a jealous and inconstant husband ; dissembling, 
 cowardly, and cruel; without faith, honour, or honesty; 
 paying no regard to law, justice, or mercy; yet, per- 
 haps, it was only by such a combination of evil quali- 
 ties that his people were enabled to acquire an enlarge- 
 ment of their liberties, which they wouhl not have 
 asked from a better, nor obtained from an abler prince. 
 jp. — It is not my intention to dispute the truth of 
 the picture; but it should be recollected that the trans- 
 actions of this reiirn must be resrarded bv the 1 jiulish 
 nation with unavoidable prejudice. The character too 
 of princes who have had disputes witli ]{ome, re- 
 quires to be regarded with peculiar caution; as John 
 constantly treated the monks, who were the sole histo- 
 rians, with ridicule, he became the object of their aver- 
 sion; his very harmless pleasantry upon their usual 
 corpulency, when once killing a iat stag, he observed, 
 "how plump and well fed is this aniitial, and yet I 
 dare swear that it never lieard mass,"^ has been con- 
 strued by them into an enormous impiety. The same 
 authoritv has also related an anecdote, by manv per- 
 sons deemed incredible, that John sent an embassy to 
 the Emperor of Morocco, oiTeriufr to become a IMaho- 
 metan, on condition tliat the Miramoulin, for so he was 
 at this time called, would protect his kingdom. 
 
 A, — The story is too extraordinary not to awaken 
 suspicion, but too well attested not to have some foun- 
 
 CHARACrKR OF JOHN. 
 
 
 dalion. Mathew Paris gives the names of the ambas- 
 sadors, as well as that of the priest, Robert of London, 
 who accompanied them. He describes the manner of 
 their audience, and their conversation with the sable 
 king; who despised their master as a renegade, and 
 dismissed the mission with contempt. As some pre- 
 sumption ot' the truth of the story, it is certain that 
 King John was accustomed to break out into the most 
 profpaie and irreligious expressions. '' Never," said 
 he, a short time after signing the grand charter, '' have 
 i prosp( red since I have been on good terms with God 
 and the Pope;'"* and on the same occasion, he cursed 
 and swore b> God's teeth, his usual oath, and exhibited 
 all the freaks of a madman.^ 
 
 p'—jlis humour was in a better taste when, to a 
 courtier who would have persuaded him to deface a 
 splendid tond) erected over one of his rebellious barons, 
 he replied, '' No ; but I would to heaven that all my 
 eneiiiies were as honourably buried."^ 
 
 yl. The person of this monarch is not described 
 
 by the ancient iiistorians. The head of King John, 
 engraved by \ ertue, is taken from the effigy on his 
 tomb at Worcester, and much resembles tlie ligure on 
 his broad seal :^ the countenance, without well knowing 
 what fault to find with it, is far from agreeable. 
 
 F.— The Queen Isabella, wishing to punish the infi- 
 delities of her husband, imitated his conduct, but not 
 with impunity; for John discovering one of her gal- 
 huils, seized him, and had him hanged over her bed.^ 
 
 yl.— In his grants, this prince first made use of the 
 term 'nos,' or ' we,' the former kings using 'ego.' Though 
 the whole reiirn of John was a tissue of mortifications to 
 
 • M. Paris, 
 
 * M. Paris. 
 
 '< Grainger, vol. I. 
 
 »» Ibid. 
 • M. Paris. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
378 
 
 VKSTiGlA. 
 
 I ITKRATURE, ARTS, AND SCIENCES. 
 
 379 
 
 the monarch, yet the improveiueiit of the kingdom 
 made gradual, if nearly imperceptible, advances. The 
 prosperity of the towns consideral)ly increased : to 
 King John, Lcmdon is indebted for the i)o\\er of 
 choosing its mayor and sherilfs annually (I'JIO), and 
 for other civic privileges : it luid been heretofore go- 
 verned by two baililfs. The tirst magistrate who bore 
 the title of mayor was Henry Fitz Alwyn;^ and he con- 
 tinued in his mayoraltv five vears. London bridge, 
 new built with stone, after thirty-three years' labour, 
 was finished in the year 1209:^ it contained twenty 
 arches, and was ornamented with a chapel and gates: 
 the strange erection of houses upon the bridge is of 
 somewhat a later date ; they continued t\)r four centu- 
 ries, and w^ere ultimatelv removed in the year 1758. 
 
 P. — The old opinion that London bridge was built 
 upon woolpacks, we suppose, means that the cost was 
 defrayed by a tax upon that commodity. 
 
 F. — Even that particular is not ascertained ; but the 
 fabric was certainly erected at the charge of the pul)lic. 
 The ancient prints of the bridge, with its wooden 
 houses, and water-works, and the roaring torrent, ex- 
 hibit a curious spectacle. The odd ])i('tures(pie ster- 
 lings wTre not an original part of the structure, but 
 added to protect the piers. When the houses were 
 taken down, and various plans were presented for im- 
 proving the avenues, some one modestly proposed to 
 remove the monument' about lifty yards from its pre- 
 sent site. 
 
 ^. — Of these antique vestigia not a particle will 
 speedily be found. King John established guilds and 
 fraternities in various cities for the protection of trade; 
 and if his government could be considered apart from 
 
 his personal qualities, it must be admitted that England 
 has seen worse; and perhaps, says Fuller, he might 
 have been esteemed by the monks more pious had he 
 been more prosperous. 
 
 P.— During the reign of Henry the Second, and his 
 two sons Richard and John, did the arts and sciences, 
 the usual concomitants of riches, keep equal pace with 
 the increased wealth of the kingdom? 
 
 ^._The study of letters was cultivated by some 
 few scholars amongst the clergy, and indeed with sin- 
 gular success ; but the age itself was involved in dark- 
 ness and ignorance : the minute quibbling of the peri- 
 patetic school infested every department of science, 
 and prevented the just development and progress of 
 the understanding; geometry and mathematics were 
 neo-lected to make w^ay for investigations concerning the 
 essence of uni\ersals," and the substantial form of 
 sounds. Of the value of the logic in vogue, we may 
 jiidgo from the famous proposition— '' When a hog is 
 carried to market, tied about his neck with a rope, 
 which is held at the other end by a man, whether the 
 hog is carried to market by the rope or by the man?" 
 This diliiculty the logicians declared could not be 
 solved, tlie arguments on both sides being so per- 
 fectly equal; yet there were men who could discern 
 the futility oi' such enquiries, as the relater^ declares, 
 that tlic logical questions then agitated were of no use 
 in the church or in the state, in the cloister or the court, 
 in peace or \\ar, at home or abroad, or any \\here but 
 
 in the schools. 
 
 jr._AVith the extension of trade the manual arts 
 and agriculture received improvement; new lands were 
 inclosed and drained, the monks often working in rural 
 
 » Fabvan's Chron. *» Stow, Survey. « Gent. Magaziue, vol. 50. 
 
 Pet. Blcscn. Epist. 101. ^ Johan. Sarkb. Metalog. lib. 1, c. 5. 
 
28 J 
 
 VESTlGiA. 
 
 occupations with their own hands. Even so carlv as 
 the days of King Stephen, W'illiain of Malmesbnry 
 gives a delightful picture of (lie fertility of the vale of 
 Gloucester, both in corn and fruits: its vineyards pro- 
 ducing a wine little inferior to that of I^ance/ 
 
 yl.— Wool was for several centuries the most vahi- 
 able article of English export. The nianufartures of 
 spinning and dressing, both that connuoditv and flax, 
 were known to the Anglo-Saxons, but had so much in- 
 creased in importance, thai a reirulation was made by 
 Richard the First respecting their fabric ation and sale. 
 
 F.— One of its provisions shows the early inclina- 
 tion of the government to intermeddle with lh(^ details 
 of trade : '' No merchant shall stretcli before his shop 
 or booth a red or black cloth, ov any other thing by 
 which the sight of buyers is frequently deceived in the 
 choice of good cloth. "*> 
 
 .4 — AVe have already seen tliat, by the fortunate 
 introduction of the pointed arch, a more elegant style 
 of building began to prevail, particularly in ecclesias- 
 tical structures. The art of painting on glass^ \\as 
 introduced into England in the reign of John. Illumi- 
 nating, (whence our word linming) a sort of miniature 
 painting, used chiefly in ornan>enting bibles and missals, 
 was both patronized and practised by the clergy.^ The 
 professors of this art were in possession of a great va- 
 riety of colouring materials, and many of their speci- 
 mens remain, highly curious and beautilul. The clergy 
 too were great encouragers of music, as it drew the 
 people to church and rendered the service more a<*-ree- 
 able to themselves : that it w as cultivated w ith nnich 
 success, we have the following unconscious testimony 
 
 ^ Dc Grf^lis. Pontif. lil). 4. 
 ^ ^ Walpolc, Anecdotes of Painting. 
 
 ^ Hovfdrn. 
 ** Broinpton. 
 
 MUSIC AND POETRY. 
 
 381 
 
 of an ecclesiastic, John of Salisbury,* who is severely 
 censuring the d(^parture from the ancient style: "When," 
 says he, " you hear the soft and sweet modulation of 
 the choristers; some leading, others following; some 
 singhig liigh, others low; some falling in, others reply- 
 ing; you imauine that you hear a concert of syrens, not 
 of men, and admire the flexibility of their voices, 
 ^^hich cannot l)e eciualled by the nightingale, the par- 
 rot, or any other creature, if there be any other, more 
 
 musical. ' 
 
 P.— The humdrum style has alw^ays had its parti- 
 zans in the church, in more departments than one. But 
 was this pleasing concert accompanied by an organ? 
 
 ^,_Only in cathedrals, or some few conventual 
 churches. The history of the introduction of that di- 
 vine instrument into public wwship, throughout the 
 Christian world, is exceedingly obscure. The organ 
 was of Greek invention, and is supposed to have been 
 known in England so early as the tenth century, and 
 to have been improved by St. Dunstan,' who w-as an 
 eminent musician. In secular music, the harp was the 
 universal favourite, and the minstrels chanted their 
 productions to its accompaniment in the halls and ban- 
 quets of the great.^ Wales and Ireland were particu- 
 larly celel)rated for the skill and dexterity of their 
 
 harpers.** 
 
 p._The transition from music to poetry follows of 
 
 course. Did the poets of the last half century improve 
 in their compositions ? 
 
 ^._The poets, who wrote in the Gallo-Norman 
 dialect, continued their strains of narrative romance. 
 Kobert Wace, a native of Jersey, and chaplain to 
 
 • PoVicnit. lib. 1, c. 6. 
 c M !\nris. 
 
 b Stubbs de Pontif. Ebor. 
 d Girald. Curnl)ren. 
 
382 
 
 VESTKll \. 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 383 
 
 J* 
 
 Henry the Second, was the antlior of various pieces of 
 this description; the most known of wliich. Brut d'An- 
 gleterre, was early translated by the i:n-lish poet Laya- 
 mon: it is a French metrical version of the history of 
 Britain, from the times of the imaginary Urate to Cad- 
 wallader. Another of W ace's pieces was Roman du 
 Rou, or RoUo ; they are of an overwhelming tedious- 
 ness. One of the earliest specimens of the English lan- 
 guage, yet fluctuating between the Saxon, spok n by the 
 bulk of the community, and the Norman tongue, used 
 by the nobility, is a satire upon the monastic profession : 
 it was writtei\ before the reign of llein-y the Second, 
 and appeared in Saxon characters.^ The unknoNUi 
 author supposes an imaginary paradise to exist in 
 some quarter of the globe, uhich he calls Cokagne, 
 from Coquina, whence probably we have cockney, 
 from superior skill in the art of cookery. In this para- 
 dise he places two convents, constructed of various 
 kinds of delicious and costly viands: 
 
 Ther is a wel fair abbei, 
 Of white monkes and of grci ; 
 Thor beth boures and halles, 
 Ml of pasteiis beth the walles ; 
 Of fleis, of fissc, and a rich met, 
 The Vikefullest that man may et. 
 
 The author then makes a transition to a convent of 
 
 nuns: 
 
 An other abbai is ther l)i 
 For soth a gret nimnerie. 
 Up a river of sweet milk, 
 Where is plente gretc of silk. 
 Wlien the summeris dai is bote. 
 The young nimnes taketh a bote, 
 And (loth ham forth in that river. 
 Both with oris and with stere. 
 
 The sul\ject is then pursued with niu( h pleasantry. 
 
 sharply satiriziim the inhabitants of both sexes who 
 tenanted these luxurious abodes of ease and indul- 
 gence : the picture is too free for modern delicacy, and 
 reminds us extremely of the manner of La Fontaine. 
 Mr. Warton supposes the poem to be of French origin. 
 Its laii-uage is surprisingly intelligible, and appears as 
 moihrii as the English of three centuries later. In 
 point of taste, the composition is superior to any thing 
 before^ \hv days of Chaucer. 
 
 F.— But all authors who aspired to fame chose the 
 Latin tongue as the medium of their thoughts; and cer- 
 tainly Latin poetry was cultivated l)y the monks and 
 clergy of the twelfth century, with a degree of success 
 not suspected by those uuaccpuunted with their writings. 
 
 p,__Some of their names must then be familiar 
 
 with the learned. 
 
 yl.-Jolui llanvill, Alexander Necham, and Joseph 
 Iscanus, or Joseph of Exeter, are poets whose works 
 possess cojisiderable merit, though it must be acknow- 
 leducd tliut tliey are little read or known. Iscanus 
 wrote an epic poem founded on the exploits of Richard 
 the First, called Antiocheis, a small fragment of which, 
 ill praise of King Arthur, alone remains,^ but of so 
 much excellence as to make us regret the loss of the 
 rest, lie also wrote an epic poem, in six books, on 
 the Trojan war, adapted from the apocryphal Latin 
 history of Dares Phrygius, in a versification remark- 
 ably sweet and llowing. 
 
 p .___The subject is surely ill-chosen, as who can 
 endurr to hear 'Uhe tale of Troy divine" from other 
 poets than Homer and Virgil. 
 
 j._Tlie productions of Walter Mapes, the face- 
 tious chaplain of Henry the Second, and justly called 
 
 *» Hickes' Thesaur. xol.-. 
 
 * Camden, Remains. 
 
861 
 
 VESriGIA. 
 
 the Anacreori of his age, are, as may be siii)]>osed, of 
 somewhat a different charac ter. His celebrated drink- 
 ing ode, m Leonine verse, has a bacchanalian jovous- 
 iiess and defiance about ii which have seldom been 
 surpassed. It begins thus— 
 
 Mihi est propositiim in tabcrna mod, 
 Vinuni et appositum morieutis ori, 
 Ut dicant mm vencrint Anfrelonim cliorL 
 Deus sit propitius huic potatori. 
 
 Which, unless tlie author had been an ecclesiastic, one 
 Avould hardly venture to translate— 
 
 ^ye\\, let me jovial in a tavern die, 
 
 And bring to my expiring lips the bowl, 
 That choirs of angels, when they come, mav cry 
 
 Heaven be propitious to the toper's soul. 
 
 But besides poets, there flourished in this age several 
 authors whose works may be reckoned among the 
 agreeable class of miscellanies. Petrus Blesensis, or 
 Peter of Blois, was invited by Henry ilie Second to 
 England, and employed as secretary by that monarch : 
 his printed works consist of one hundred and thirty - 
 four letters, sixty-five sermons, and seventeen tracts 
 on different subjects. The following description of the 
 commencement of a royal progress is not unamusing : 
 '' When the king sets out in tliC mornimrr savs he, 
 ''you see multitudes of people running up and down as 
 if they w ere distracted ; liorses rushing against horses, 
 carriages overturning carriages, players, ladies of plea- 
 sure, gamesters, cooks, confectioners, mimics, dancers, 
 barbers, pimps, and parasites, making so much noise, 
 that you would imagine, in tliis intolerable, tumultuous 
 jumble of horse and foot, that the great abyss had 
 opened, and that hell had poured out all itsiidiabitants."» 
 
 • Epist. M. 
 
 LITERATURE. 
 
 385 
 
 John of Salisburv, born at Old Sarum, the friend of 
 Becket, aspired even to a more multifarious literature; 
 ' his w^ork — PoUcrafkus, sive de Niigis Curialium ct Vesti- 
 giis Philosophorum — '' On the Frivolities of Courtiers 
 and the Footsteps of Philosophers," exhibits good 
 sense, genius, and erudition. It could be wished that 
 the author had abounded less with allusions to the an- 
 cients, the common fault of the writers of the middle ages, 
 and given a larger portion of his book to the more inte- 
 resting scene before him. It must be admitted that 
 
 most invectively he pierceth through 
 
 The body of the country, city, court 
 
 as the following description of the nobility will show : 
 " They consume their time," he says, " in the constant 
 practice of haw king and hunting : they pursue wild 
 beasts with greater fury than they do the enemies of 
 their country; they thus lose the best part of their 
 humanity, and become eilmost as great monsters and 
 savages as the animals which they hunt. Husband- 
 men, with their harmless herds and flocks, are driven 
 from their well- cultivated fields and pastures, that Avild 
 beasts may range in them at large. If one of these 
 great and merciless hunters pass by your habitation, 
 bring out quickly all the refreshment you have in your 
 house, or that you can buy or borrow from your neigh- 
 bour, that you may not be involved in ruin, or even 
 accused of treason."' 
 
 p — But were the great the only subject of his 
 
 satire ? 
 
 yl. — Other classes came in for their share. Hear 
 what he says of the physicians of this period : '' The 
 professors of the theory of medicine are very commu- 
 nicative; thev will tell vou all they know, and perhaps 
 
 vol., I. 
 
 ■ Policrat. lib. I, c. 4. 
 2 C 
 
386 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 LITLRATURE. 
 
 387 
 
 out of their great kindness a little more. Wlien I liear 
 them harangue, I am charmed ; I think them not infe- 
 rior to Mercury or Esculapius, and almost persuade 
 myself that they can raise the dead : one thing only 
 makes me hesitate, their theories are as directly oppo- 
 site as light and darkness, and two contradictory pro- 
 positions cannot both be true. Of the practical phy- 
 sicians I must say nothing amiss, as it pleaseth God, 
 for the punishment of my sins, to suffer me to fall too 
 frequently into their hands; and, that 1 may not be 
 treated roughly in my next illness, I dare hardly allow 
 myself to think in secret what others speak aloud/'* 
 In another work, however, he picks up courage after- 
 wards, and tells his mind with more freedom : '' The 
 physicians speak aphorisms on every subject, and make 
 their hearers stare at their long, unknown, and high- 
 sounding words. The good people believe they can 
 do any thing, because they pretend to all things. They 
 have two maxims which thev never violate : never 
 mind the poor, and never refuse money from the rich."^ 
 F. — The professors of physic were chiefly monks, 
 and both these classes of men have always been pecu- 
 liarly exposed to the shatts of satire. 
 
 A. — The works of Giraldus Cambrensis, or Girald 
 Barry, are perhaps more known than those of any 
 writer of this period. This ecclesiastic was born of a 
 noble family near Pembroke (114G), and was a person 
 of uncommon activity, united with considerable learn- 
 ing and talents: his vanity was excessive, but highly 
 amusing : he wrote a topography and a history of Ire- 
 land, which country he visited, and they contain, mixed 
 with much absurdity, considerable information respect- 
 ing that unfortunate island. Of Girald Barry's childish 
 
 simplicity, his story of St. Kewen may suffice as an 
 example: '' Once,*' says he, '^ as that saint w^as stand- 
 ing at his window in an attitude of prayer, a sw^allow 
 laid an egg in his extended hand, and such were his 
 patience and good nature, that he neither drew in nor 
 shut his hand, till the bird had built her nest, Jaid all 
 her eggs, and hatched her young."*" 
 
 P. — If such was the folly of the clergy, we have no 
 reason to wonder at the credulity of the people. 
 
 A. — Giraldus also wrote the Itinerary of Baldwin, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, through Wales, for the pur- 
 pose of raising volunteers for a crusade, which under- 
 taking was eminently successful, though both the pri- 
 mate and Giraldus, who accompanied him, preached to 
 the people in Latin, not a word of which they could 
 understand. This work also contains many curious 
 particulars : there is a ridiculous story of a demon, who 
 for a considerable time assumed the character of a very 
 learned and diligent clergyman: having become a fa- 
 vourite with his diocesan, he was accustomed to divert 
 the prelate with many entertaining histories and sur- 
 prising events not exactly to be found in the Bible. 
 The conversation once turning upon the incarnation of 
 our Saviour : " Before that event,'' said the relater, 
 *' the devils had great power over mankind, but after- 
 wards it was considerably diminished, and they were 
 obliged to flee. Some threw^ themselves into the sea, 
 some concealed themselves in hollow 4rees or the 
 clefts of rocks, and I myself plunged into a certain 
 fountain. As soon as he had said this, finding that ho 
 had unguardedly discovered his secret, his face was co- 
 vered with blushes, he suddenly quitted the apartment, 
 and was seen no more.'"* 
 
 ■ Tolicrat. 11!). 2, r. 2\\ 
 
 ^ Metalog. lib. 1, c. 4. 
 
 Topograph, Hiber, c. 28. 
 
 ^ ftin. Camb. lib. 1, 
 
 2 C 2 
 
388 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 HISTORIANS. 
 
 389 
 
 F.— Giraldus Cambreiisis forms a sort of coiuh ct- 
 intr link with the historians of this period, who, thouuh 
 possessing merit, are confessedly inferior to their pre- 
 decessor, William of Malmcsl)ury. 
 
 A. — If we consider them chronoloirically, the first 
 in point of time was Benedict, abbot of Peterborouuh, 
 who wrote a history of Henry the Second and Ricliard 
 the First, from 1170 to 1H)2 ; to the latter monarch he 
 w^as keeper of the great seal. His work is exact and 
 circumstantial; and, from his opportunities, it is consi- 
 dered one of the best accounts of the transactions of 
 his times: it contains some entire diplomatic pieces. 
 He wrote also a life of Becket. William Little, callc^d 
 in Latin Gulielmus Neubrigensis, was a monk in the 
 abbey of Xewborough, in Yorkshire. His history of 
 Endand in five books, from the Conquest to 1197, is in 
 regularity and purity one of the most valuable produc- 
 tions of the time. In his preface he makes some very 
 severe strictures on the British history of our old ac- 
 quaintance, GeojQirey of Monmouth, whose work had 
 lately appeared, which discover a degree of critical 
 discernment not very common in those ages. William 
 Little does not content himself with merely recounting 
 facts in the manner of a chronicler, but he examines 
 the political views and motives of the sovereign : his 
 Latin style is also respectable. It is highly to his 
 credit that, in relating the transactions between Henry 
 and Becket, whilst all other historians are furious on 
 the part of the archbishop, he alone treats the conduct 
 of the king with candour and impartiality. Gervase of 
 Canterbury wrote a chronicle of the kings of England, 
 from 1122 to 1200. He possessed judgment, but a 
 strict attention to chronology is his chief merit. He 
 was more attentive to the affair.^ ot his monastery than 
 
 1 
 
 to the political events of his time, and may be consi- 
 dered more as an advocate for the ecclesiastical order 
 than an historian : he has various pieces relative to 
 church history of some value. Eadulphus de Diceto, 
 archdeacon of London, wrote " Abbrevationes Chro- 
 nicorum," a sort of abstract of Church history to 
 the Conquest, and *' Imagines Historiarum," contain- 
 ing some particulars of the kings of the Plantagenet 
 race, ending with the lirst year of King John. His 
 work is useful, relating some particulars omitted by 
 other writers ; it is, however, a mere statement of 
 facts, without ascending to causes. Roger Hoveden 
 is a very voluminous compiler. His annals of Eng- 
 land, from 731 to 1202, contain a great variety of facts. 
 His work has little beauty of style or regularity of 
 arrangement, but is thought very trustworthy. Hove- 
 den w^as born in Yorkshire, and became chaplain to 
 Henry the Second. It is remarkable that these five 
 historians end their narratives nearly at the same period, 
 the close of the twelfth century. Various lives of Becket 
 were written: one of them is singular for the mode of 
 its composition ; the particulars being detailed by four 
 monks, friends and followers of the martyr, who each 
 supplied his information in distinct paragraphs ; the 
 work is known by the title of '' Historia Quadrapartita/* 
 or '' Quadrilogus." A valual^le life of Becket is also 
 tliat by Fitz-Stephen, a monk of Canterbury, who re- 
 lates that he w^as an eye-witness of Becket's martyr- 
 dom. This author has given, in another wwk, a curious 
 description of London. His commendation both of 
 tlie city and its inhabitants is great: the matrons, he 
 says, were perfect Sabines; the two chief inconve- 
 niences of the metropolis were, " the excessive drink- 
 ing of some foolish people, and the frequent fires/' 
 
390 
 
 VESTIU l.\. 
 
 P.— Ill these tv\o particulars, the proirress of six 
 hundred and fifty years has made little alteration. 
 
 4.— Added to these sources of information is the 
 collection of epistles between Reckct and the principal 
 monarchs of Europe, as ^vell as several private per- 
 sons, arranged in five books by John of Salisbury; 
 a treasure not to be paralleled in the materials oi 
 any other part of our early English history, and ap- 
 proaching in interest and authenticity to the various 
 memoirs of more recent times. The English unters 
 of the twelfth century were not only superior in num- 
 ber, but in merit, to those of any nation in Europe; 
 and it must be admitted that there exi.sted in the king- 
 dom a constellation of learning and talent, whi. h, ( on- 
 sidered as a whole, far exceeded any thing that went 
 before, or that for more than three centuries followed 
 
 after. 
 
 »j -' I 
 
 DISSERTATION VII. 
 
 Tin: il(H SE OF PLAiNTAGENET, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 Henry III 
 
 A.u. 1216. 
 
 ^._We are once more in Wiltshire, a county be- 
 yond all others in the kingdom abounding with remains 
 of antiquity, of a period so remote as to be beyond 
 the elucidation of history ; its capital, however, is 
 remarkable, on the contrary, as being one of the few 
 towns in England whose origin is precisely recorded. 
 
 F.— As children in the course of nature survive 
 their i)arents, so has this city of New Sarum, or Salis- 
 bury, lived to see the complete extinction of its mother. 
 Old Sarum, likewise called Salisbury, except in those 
 two sparks of vitality which make their appearance, 
 not indeed in the county, but in the House of Commons. 
 
 ^.— The nucleus from whose attraction the city of 
 New Sarum sprang into reputation, was its cathedral, 
 founded in the year 1220 by Richard Poore, bishop of 
 Salisbury, and dedicated in the presence of Henry the 
 Third (1258) by Bi.shop Brideport. Old Sarum being 
 situated on the apex of a hill, and surrounded by a 
 
302 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 rampart, the clergy complained that it was exposed 
 and inconvenient, and that they were frequently inter- 
 rupted by the soldiers ia the exercise of public worship; 
 a bull from Pope Honorius sanctioned the desiixn of 
 Bishop Poore, and a charter from the kinjj permitted 
 the establishment of a new and free city. 
 
 F. — A ballad by Dr. Pope, as truly as humourously, 
 expresses the transaction : — 
 
 Old Saruni was built on a dry barren hill, 
 
 A great many years ago : 
 *Twas a Roman town of strenntb and renown. 
 
 As its stately ruins show. 
 
 There was a castle for men of arms, 
 
 And a cloister for men of the gown : 
 There were friars and brothers, with various others, 
 
 Though not any whose names are come down. 
 
 The soldiers and churchmen did not long agree, 
 
 For the surly race with the hilt on, 
 Made sport at the gate, with the priests that came late 
 
 From shriving the nuns of Wilton. 
 
 A. — The town of New Sarum is built upon a fruit- 
 ful soil, and near the junction of three rivers : the 
 numerous streams flowing through almost every street, 
 and supplied by sluices from the Avon, have given 
 cause for the erection of almost as many bridues as are 
 to be seen in Venice itself: but the cathedral is the 
 peculiar object of interest ; (or though some metropo- 
 litan churches in England are more ancient, as Durham 
 and Canterbury ; some more spacious, or even more 
 beautiful, as York and Lincoln; yet none can be com- 
 pared with Salisbury in unity oi' design, l)espeakin!4^ the 
 completion of the fabric according to the original ])lan 
 of the architect ; the chinch before us being linislied 
 within forty years from its foundation. 
 
 F. — The ground plan of most English cathedrals is 
 commonly in the form of the Latin cross, or plain cru- 
 
 SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. 
 
 393 
 
 cifix. This church, we may observe, besides the great 
 transept, over which is the tower, has another transept 
 nearer the east; a peculiarity of construction which 
 produces a happy effect, both in variety and grandeur. 
 Tlie tapering spire is the loftiest in England ; its sum- 
 mit not being less than four hundred and two feet from 
 
 the surface. 
 
 p __in enterinu tliis cathedral, we are at once 
 stricken with the beauty of its interior ; producing, in 
 common with all large Gothic structures, an appro- 
 priate sensation of awe and religious musing. 
 
 F._Some critics have been so perverse as to assert, 
 that a Gothic building does not produce its full effect, 
 unless it be accompanied with dirt and darkness ; but 
 tlic happy combination of grandeur and cheerfulness in 
 Salisbury cathedral, remarkable for its light and neat- 
 ness, is sunicient to refute such a position. 
 
 ^.— The term Gothic, so universally applied to 
 buildings with clusters of small pillars and pointed 
 arches,°though impossible to abolish, is evidently erro- 
 neous, as the Goths never erected, whilst a nation, any 
 structures in a similar style ; nor is a notion that it 
 was invented by the Saracens in the sultry climate of 
 the east, in imitation of an avenue of trees, at all better 
 founded ; the earliest as well as the best specimens 
 being seen in our own country. 
 
 p._Yet a Gothic cathedral certainly does remind 
 us of the elfect produced by an avenue of lofty elms, 
 whether the style of architecture were invented in the 
 
 east or the west. 
 
 yl.— During the continuance of the Gothic style, the 
 alterations which it underwent are as distinguishable by 
 the antiquary's eye as the different Grecian orders. Its 
 earliest form prevailed from the middle of the twelfth 
 to the end of the thirteenth century, and is seen in the 
 
394 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 cathedral before us. Its principal distinction, from 
 subsequent periods, is the greaier narrowness of the 
 windows, which may be called lancet-shaped; in this 
 church they are placed in threes, the central window 
 beiwr somewhat higher than its two supporters, which 
 produces a very happy effect, and which in the same 
 degree of uniformity is scarcely found elsewhere. 
 
 P.— The vulgar assert that Salisbury cathedral 
 has as many gates and chapels as there are months in 
 the year, as many windows as days, and as many 
 pillars as hours. 
 
 A. — Such is the boldness and delicacy of the whole 
 structure, that its architect seemed to be somewhat 
 afraid of its stability; he would admit no bells into his 
 churchy probably apprehensive that their vibration w ould 
 too much shake its w alls ; the belfry, a singular build- 
 ing, is therefore placed at a small distance. Amon<>^st 
 other adjuncts of this cathedral, the octagon chapter- 
 house, whose roof is supported by a central pillar, has 
 always been deservedly admired. 
 
 F. — The Normans seem to have been fonder of 
 ecclesiastical architecture than any people that ever 
 existed ; the foundation of some of the English cathe- 
 drals was begun as early as the time of the Conqueror 
 and his sons ; but it w as under the subsequent domi- 
 nion of the Plantagenets, that the finest specimens 
 rose in the full glory of their consummation. 
 
 A. — It has been very rationally supposed, that the 
 introduction of Freemasonry into England was con- 
 nected wdth the erection of these ecclesiastical struc- 
 tures: the Popes for obvious reasons encouraged the 
 building of cathedrals and convents, and granted many 
 indulgences by their bulls to the society of Masons 
 engaged in such a good work, which consequently 
 became very numerous, consisting of persons of va- 
 
 FREEMASONS. 
 
 39; 
 
 :J 
 
 rious nations, Italians, Greeks, French, Gennans, and 
 Flemings. These fraternities styled themselves Free- 
 masons;^ they ranged from one country to another, as 
 they found churches to be built: there was a chief 
 governor or surveyor to each company, and over every 
 ten men was appointed a warden. Those who have 
 seen the records of the expense of building some of 
 our cathedrals, cannot but have a great esteem for the 
 economy and expedition with which such lofty and 
 extensive fabrics were erected.^ 
 
 F.—As ''all trades have their secrets," it is not to 
 be imagined that the fraternity of Masons was without 
 theirs : but the mysteries of modern Freemasonry, if 
 there be any other than those of conviviality and good 
 fellowship, still remaining in profound obscurity, it 
 would be idle to speculate on the subject: the ad- 
 mission of members wdio were unconnected with some 
 branch oi' the building business seems of compara- 
 tively late date in England. Sir Christopher Wren is 
 thouirht to have heartily despised the whole murnmery ; 
 and under his grand mastership the order materially 
 declined: it has since been considerably extended, 
 but to what useful purpose seems as great a secret as 
 the initiatory ceremonies of the institution. 
 
 ^._To the patronage of Henry the Third we are 
 indebted, not only for the erection of the beautiful 
 fabric before us, but also for Westminster Abbey, con- 
 secrated by the best feelings of the nation as the 
 sacred repository of the ashes of so many of the wise 
 and great. At the accession of this prince to the 
 throne, at the early age of nine years (1216), the situa- 
 tion of England was truly deplorable; a discontented 
 people, a divided nobility, and a foreign enemy in the 
 heart of the kingdom. 
 
 =» Wren, Pareutali.i. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
39(> 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 p^ — The death of kini,^ John at snrli a crisis was a 
 fortunate circuDistance. The young priuce couhl not 
 be the object of the national antipathy evinced against 
 his father, which we have seen was carrird lo such 
 an extent, that, for the purpose of disenlhroning its 
 tyrant, England was content to become even a province 
 of France. 
 
 A. — The first year of Henry's reign was eminently 
 prosperous. William Marcschal, Earl of Pembroke, 
 one of those admirable men, whose lustre, from the 
 rarity of their appearance, is rendered more con- 
 spicuous, was chosen protector, and l)y tlie force of 
 his virtue rather than of his talents recalled the alle- 
 dance of the revolted barons. The French prince 
 Lewis, who had passed over into his own country, 
 found, on his return to England with fresh succours, 
 that the death of John had, contrary to his expect- 
 ation, much diminished the probability of his success: 
 the hopes of Lewis soon after completely vani.slKd, his 
 army being routed at Lincoln by tlie Earl of Pem- 
 broke;* and to add to his misfortune, tlie French fleet, 
 having on board a considerable reinforc ement, was 
 defeated, chiefly it is said by a strataircm of the English 
 admiral, who having gained the wind, threw in the face 
 of his adversaries a great quantity of quick lime, by 
 which thev were blinded.^ 
 
 p^ — The adage of throwing dust in the eyes was 
 surely never exemplitied to more advantage. 
 
 A. — The French prince, now become anxious even 
 for his personal safety, joyfully consented to evacuate 
 the kingdom; but honourably stipulated for an in- 
 demnity to his adherents, and an equal participation of 
 the liberties accorded to the rest of the nation.' The 
 Earl of Pembroke unfortunately dying the next year 
 
 * M. Paris, 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
 « Rvmer, vol. 1. M.Paris. 
 
 NATIONAL DISCONTENTS. 
 
 397 
 
 (liilT.i h( wii:^ succeeded in the government by Peter 
 des Roches, bishop of Winchester, a Poictevin by 
 birth, HTiil lliihort de Burgh, the justiciar}^~the Hubert 
 oi Shak-peare. The councils of the latter were chiefly 
 followed, who possessed superior talents to Pembroke, 
 but neither an equal portion of virtue nor of authority; 
 and consequently the barons, soon breaking out into 
 their accustomed disorders, filled the whole kingdom 
 with their outrages and tumults. 
 
 P.— This turbulence of the barons seems to have 
 been the cardinal defect of the age. 
 
 ^._Yet it must be admitted, that they had occa- 
 sionly suflleient provocation; but their quarrels with 
 Henry are too insignificant to deserve the attention of 
 posterity: il i:. better tu follow the example of Sir 
 Robert Cotton, wlio called his history a sliort view of 
 the long life and reign of Henry the Third. 
 
 p._It is an odd coincidence, though hardly worth 
 the remark, that the longest reigns in the English 
 annals are those of the sovereigns who have been the 
 third of their name, Henry IH. Edward HI. and 
 
 George III. 
 
 il.— As Henry grew up to man's estate, he disco- 
 vered a total absence of all strength of mind; and 
 inheriting the antipathy of his father to Magna Charta, 
 he considered his barons as enemies, leagued to deprive 
 him of his prerogative: poor always from the imprudent 
 facility of his disposition, he was often compelled to 
 make promises which he had no intention of performing; 
 such conduct could not fail to expose him to contempt 
 and to excite animosity. 
 
 F.— A particular cause of the dislike of his barons, 
 was Henry's avowed partiality for foreigners, a pecu- 
 liaritv which distinguished his whole reign. 
 
39S 
 
 VESTini A, 
 
 A. — This partiality partly proceeded from an ill- 
 grounded opinion, as it is supposed, ot f\ier des 
 Roches, that by encouraging these favourites he could 
 raise a counterpoise to the weight of the nobility. 
 Henry having married Eleanor, daughter of the Count 
 of Provence (123(j,) he enriched many persons of that 
 country with the most imprudent generosity; and in 
 the space of a few years, his mother, who had returned 
 to France and espoused her former lover the Count 
 de la Marche, from whose arms she had been torn by 
 King John, sent her four sons by the second marriage 
 to be provided for by their half-brother. Henry be- 
 stowed upon them such improvident grants as to cause 
 universal discontent. The rapacity of these foreigners 
 was equalled only by their insolence: when remon- 
 strated with, that their conduct was contrary to the 
 English laws, they scrupled not to reply, " \\ hat do the 
 laws of England signify to us? we regard them not;" 
 pretty much following the king's example, who was 
 accustomed to excuse his frequent violation of the 
 liberties of his subjects, by saying, ''\\hy sliould I 
 observe the charter, when it is neglected l)y all the 
 nobility and prelates? '' ^ 
 
 jp. — It was once however ver^'^ reasonably replied 
 to him, ^'You ought. Sir, to set the example.'* ' 
 
 A. — King Henry's exchequer being exhausted by 
 this profusion, as well as by the expense of frequent 
 petty broils with the king of France, in which he was 
 constantly worsted, his necessities compelled him per- 
 petually to harass his subjects with applications for 
 money: he asserted that alms given to him were more 
 charitably bestowed than on the wretch who begged 
 from door to door: *" it is even said, that the oflicers of 
 
 
 PAPAL EXACTIONS. 
 
 3!>9 
 
 tilt houselioid rubbed on the highway by permission 
 of their royal master,' who shared the spoil. Xor were 
 Henry's demands the only drain upon the national 
 purse, as the exactions of the court of Home were 
 carried to an excess which surpasses any thing to be 
 found in the English history. 
 
 F. — These claims seem not to have been at all 
 resisted by Henry, the Pope and the king standing 
 too much in need of each other's assistance. It was 
 only lliiough ike connivance of Henry that the Pope 
 could Heece the English clergy; and the Pontiff in 
 return protected Henry against the encroachments of 
 his barons. 
 
 P.— Perhaps the Pope, still considering himself lord 
 paramount of England, by the resignation of King 
 John, urged liis pretensions with less apprehension of 
 resistance. 
 
 A. — That delicate point was more frequently acted 
 on than openly avowed. Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, 
 in a general council held at Lyons (1253,) exclaimed 
 against this pretension of the holy see, asserting that 
 John had no right without the consent of his barons 
 to subject the kingdom to such an ignominious servi- 
 tude;' and tlie Popes henceforward little insisted on 
 the claim: but ecclesiastical abuses had become so 
 enormous as even to open the eyes of superstition 
 itself. Mansel, the king's chaplain, possessed no fewer 
 than seven hundred livings;" the chief benefices in the 
 nation were conferred on Italians ; and a legate, at all 
 times a bird of evil omen, was sent to enforce the 
 payment of a tenth of the ecclesiastical revenues, from 
 the produce of which, and by other exactions, he is 
 said to have taken out of the kingdom on his return 
 
 » M. Pari«i. 
 
 ibid. 
 
 • Ibid. 
 
 • M. Paris, Vitne Abbat. 
 
 *» M. Paris. 
 
 c Ibid. 
 
400 
 
 VBSTIGIA. 
 
 tVFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 401 
 
 more money than lie left iii it.' The demands of lloiue 
 were so enormous, and continued to be urired with such 
 unblushing effrontery, as to become really ludicrous : 
 the clergy winced and struggled, but to no purpose. 
 In an assembly before the legate, the bislu)p of Worces- 
 ter exclaimed, that he would sooner lose his life than 
 comply with such exactions ; the bishop of London 
 said, that the Pope and the king were more powerful 
 than he, but if his mitre were taken off his head, he 
 would supply its place with a helmet.*' But these bra- 
 vadoes were soon silenced by the threat of excommu- 
 nication, which the bishops well knew would make the 
 whole of their revenues fall into the hands of the king. 
 F^ — For the honour of the bench, it ouaht not to be 
 forgotten, that one prelate, Robert Grostete, bishop of 
 Lincoln, on several occasions made resistance some- 
 what more effectual. 
 
 A. — Innocent the Fourth, an imperious pontiff, com- 
 manded this bishop to bestow on the Topers nephew, 
 an infant, a living of considerable value; and in his 
 bull for that purpose inserted the scandalous clause 
 of non obstante, so justly complained of in that and 
 indeed in every age, as utterly annihilatinu the rights 
 and liberties of the church ; its meaning being, that 
 when the Pope had a mind to dispose of a benefice, 
 he inserted in his brief non obstante, notwithstanding 
 the right of patronage, or other privilege to the con- 
 trary. This mischievous example was imitated too by 
 Henry, and by many subsequent monarchs, under the 
 name of the dispensing power; a happy expedient to 
 elude the laws and oppress the sul)ject. C restate, 
 however, far from complying with the Pope's recpiest, 
 replied in a strain of such freedom as to throw his 
 
 
 ^ M raris. 
 
 ♦» Ibid. 
 
 holiness into a violent passion : the liaughty Pontiff in 
 his raire swore 1)v St. Peter and St. Paul, that he would 
 utterly confound such an old, dreaming, impertinent 
 dotard, and make him an example and an astonishment 
 to the whole world; l)ut his cardinals remonstrating 
 on the danger of persecuting a prelate so renowned for 
 piety and learniiig, the offence was overlooked. ^^ Why 
 (said they, very sensibly,) should we raise a tumult in 
 the church without necessity, and precipitate that re- 
 volt and separation from us which we know must one 
 
 day take place?" 
 
 P. — A remarkable prediction, especially considering 
 where and wlien spoken. 
 
 A. — The authority for the story is Matthew Paris, 
 who gives the name of the cardinal, ^gidius, a Spa- 
 niard, who uttered the remark, and says, that various 
 others of the Pope's counsellors used the same argu- 
 ment. 
 
 P.— The subject naturally leads to an enquiry how 
 far the inlluence of the church was noxious or beneficial 
 in these rude and turbulent ages. 
 
 p^ — Its chief benefit seems to have consisted in the 
 necessity of acknowledging an authority which was by 
 profession averse to arms and violence. The inter- 
 ference of the clergy often mitigated the fierceness of 
 the times, protected the weak and defenceless, and 
 thus preserved or revived the peace and order of so- 
 ciety. 
 
 yL— But it may be fairly doubted, whether this ad- 
 vantage w^as not more than counterbalanced by the en- 
 couragement of the most debasing superstition, which 
 endangered the very existence of mental liberty. 
 
 jp._Yet it should be remembered, that befoie the 
 invention of printing, all the knowledge of the age 
 
4U2 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 emanated from the ecclesiastics, and srom - nrnrly to 
 have been coniined to thai budy. To liitia we are 
 solely indel)ted for the preservation of \hv iiiestiiiiiblc 
 relics of antiquity. In every convent was a schofd in 
 whicii several parts of learning were taught, and many 
 of the younirer monks were constantly emploAi'd in 
 transcribing books.^ It indeed became a ])roverb, that 
 a monastery without a library ^vas like a castle without 
 an armoury ;*" so tliat tlie general ignorance may be 
 fairly attributed, as nmeh to the taste and manners of 
 the times, as to an indisposition in the clergy to com- 
 municate a moderate portion ( f letters. Al)l)eys too 
 were in some sort the palladiums of public liberty, 
 by the custody of the royal charters and most of the 
 records. 
 
 A. — But the power exercised by the court of Rome 
 in England, we nuist achuit to liave been a pure and 
 unmixed evil : the head of t!ie church, being a foreigner, 
 was commonly guided by views and interests (b'tFerent, 
 if not contrary, to those of the nation. In the r( ign of 
 Henry the Third, the kingdom was pillaged to the 
 utmost, without fear or shame. The Pope once ad- 
 miring the cndjroidered vestments worn by some 
 English clergymen, enquired where they were made; 
 and on being answered in England, he cried out, '* Oh 
 England, thou garden of delights, thou inexhaustible 
 fountain ot riches, from thee T can never exact too 
 much.''" In this spirit, a happy project was devised 
 by the Pope, which succeeded to admiration. vSoon 
 after the death of the enqieror Frederic the Second 
 (1250), who inherited the crown of Sicily from his 
 mother Constantia, a i)rincess of Norman race, that 
 kingdom was usurped by Mainfroy, his natural son. 
 
 * M. Paris. ViUe Abb. ^ Martenc, Anecd. torn. 1. <" I\l. I'aris. 
 
 POWER OF THE POPE. 
 
 403 
 
 nndc r pr: trnce of governing during the minority of the 
 inlanl lieir ; bdi this an-angement displeasing the Pope, 
 he interfered, on the plausible pretence that the Norman 
 kings of Sicily, of the race of Tancred of Hautcvile, 
 bavins: consented to hold their kingdom as a fief of the 
 Holy See, he could dispose of it at his pleasure, and 
 consequently he made an olVer of the Sicilian crown to 
 Henry's second son, Edmund Crouchback, so called 
 from tlie deformity of his person.* 
 
 r.— The specious present had been previously ten- 
 dered to Ricliard, earl of Cornwall, the brother of Henry, 
 supposed to be the richest subject in Europe, who, like 
 the king, was equally fond of acquiring money, but 
 unlikt iuHi in the tenacity with which he retained it. 
 On this occasion, either the avarice or the good sense 
 of the earl caused him to refuse the insidious proposal : 
 '^ You might as well say to me," replied he to the agent 
 of tlie holy father, " 1 give you the moon, climb up and 
 
 take it.^ 
 
 ^.__Henrv, dazzled with the magnificence of the 
 gift, at once accepted it, without consulting either his 
 brother or the parliament; and allowing the Pope unli- 
 mited credit for whatever sums he thought necessary 
 to complete the conquest, the king on a sudden found 
 liimself involved in an immensity of debt," whicK he 
 had no means to liquidate. 
 
 F.— The Earl of Cornwall too, in his turn, at last 
 permitted vanity and ambition to prevail over prudence 
 and avarice, by engaging in an undertaking equally 
 futile and vexatious: his immense opulence induced 
 some of the Cerman princes to propose him as a can- 
 didate for the empire, again 1)ecome vacant (1246); and 
 as lono- as his money lasted, he found p artizans, and 
 
 ^ M. Piiris. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 2 D 2 
 
 <^ Rvmcr, vol. 1. 
 
404 
 
 VESriGIA. 
 
 even succeeded so far as to be elected Kin^ of the 
 Romans ; but his power liavinix no real foundation, a 
 splendid title was all that he ac(iuired to compensate 
 for the loss of the accumulated savings of a long life 
 of frugality.* 
 
 A. — The contrivances of the Pope were really di- 
 verting; sometimes he flattered, sometimes threatened 
 the king; now the project upon Sicily was u])()n the 
 point of succeeding, anon every thing was baflled ; but 
 the termination of all these varieties was a fresh de- 
 mand of money, for the acquisition of a crown which 
 he had determined that neither Ifenry nor any of his 
 fiimily should ever enjoy; for, ultimately, the Pope 
 consented to the accession of Charles of Anjou, brother 
 to the French king, Louis the Ninth.^ 
 
 P. — The reign of Henry, it must be acknowledged, 
 is singularly uninteresting ; in the hipse nearly of forty 
 years, not a sinule incident has arisen calculated to 
 strike the imagination or to dwell upon the menu)ry. 
 
 A, — The subsetjuent part will all'ord mattt^r of more 
 importance. A little before this period, the king, over- 
 whelmed by his embarrassments, called a parliament 
 and demanded their assistance in a crusade against 
 the infidels, which he had vowed to undertake; but 
 this assembly, availing itself of his necessities, made 
 the solemn renewal of the (ireat Charter, the provisions 
 of which Henry was constantly breaking, the price of 
 compliance. The liarons, prelates, and abbots met in 
 Westminster Hall; the charter was read aloud, and 
 tlien a sentence of excommunication against all who 
 should violate its provisions ; at the conclusion, the 
 ecclesiastics threw down the lighted tapers which each 
 held in his hand, crj ing with one voice, '' So may every 
 
 SIMON DE MONTFORT. 
 
 405 
 
 
 * M.Paris. 
 
 ^' Rymer, vol. 1. 
 
 soul be extinguished, and stink in hell, who shall incur 
 this sentence." To which the king, laying his right hand 
 on his heart, replied, '' So help me God, as I shall faith- 
 fully observe these articles, as I am a man, as I am a 
 Christian, as I am a knight, and as I am> crowned 
 and anointed king."- These obligations, though solemn 
 and legal, were soon broken through by Henry, more 
 perhaps from the pitiable weakness of his disposition 
 than from any desire to oppress; but at length the 
 multitude of vexations and grievances became intoler- 
 able, and the barons openly resolved to take the admi- 
 nistration into their own hands. 
 
 F.— In tills undertaking, they were chiefly prompted 
 by the ambition of Simon de Montfort, earl of Leices- 
 ter; a remarkable person, to whose fortunate innova- 
 tions the English enjoy, at the distance of five centuries, 
 the advantage of a representative government. 
 
 ^4,__This nobleman was the younger son of Simon 
 de Montfort, too well renowned for his success and 
 cruelty in the religious crusade against the Albigenses 
 in France, a sect which differed little from the pro- 
 testants of the reformation. The elder De Monttbrt 
 having married Amicia, a daughter and co-heiress of 
 Robert Blanehmains, earl of Leicester, the vast estates 
 of that baron devolved to his family ; but his eldest 
 son, Amauri de Monttbrt, inheriting still larger pos- 
 sessions in France, and being incapable of perlbrm- 
 ing fealty to two masters, his rights were transferred 
 to°Simon, who came over to England, did homage for 
 his lands, and was soon after created Earl of Leices- 
 ter. He was admitted to a high degree of favour with 
 Henry, who united him to the royal family, giving him in 
 marriage the Countess Dowager of Pembroke, the king's 
 sister,' whom indeed he is said first to have seduced. 
 
 xM. Pans. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
400 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 COUNTESS OF ARUNDEL. 
 
 407 
 
 F. -For these abundant favours, it must be owned, 
 that Leicester madr no very gratelul return. Possessing 
 great insinuation and address, he prcierred gaining a 
 popuhirity with tlie nation to tlie licklc iVieiidbhip oi' 
 
 the king. 
 
 il.— Leicester was trusted with public employments, 
 and acquitted himself with al)ility : nlurniiig- from 
 Guienne, whither lu: had been sent to repress some 
 discontents, in which service he had exercised too 
 much severity, it becanu necessary to iisstitute an 
 enquiry into his conduct bctore the Peers, who ulti- 
 mately acquitted him. During the progress of the trial, 
 Henry disclosed an inclination to have the Earl found 
 guilty, which so much provoked the latter, that he 
 plainly said to the king, ''You ought rather to have 
 rewarded me for my actions in Guiemn^ according to 
 vour roval word." Henry sharply replied, that he did 
 not think himself obliged to keep his word with a 
 traitor; to which Leicester retorted, '* Were you not a 
 king, you would find it an evil hour in which you 
 uttered such language;" adding, that it was hard (o 
 believe such a prince was a Christian, or had ever been 
 at confession. ''Yes," answered the king, " 1 am a 
 Christian, and have often been at confession." "What 
 signifies confession witliout repentance," rejoined the 
 carl. " I never repented any thing so nuich," said the 
 king, " as the bestowal of my fayours on one that has 
 so little o-ratitude and so much ill manners."* 
 
 p, — In this strange coiil'ercncc \\(^ liardly know 
 which most to wonder nt, the unparalleled insolence 
 of the subject, or the patience of the sovereign. 
 
 A. — Henry was accustomed (o hear renionstranccs 
 with an extraordinary decree of con)posure. The 
 Countess of Arundel onc( \uiil«_(l iiju'ii liini, about her 
 
 right lu a certain wardship : when she found that she 
 could not prevail, she thus accosted him : " My lord 
 the king, why do van turn your face from justice? for 
 no person can obtain any right in your court ; and you 
 govern neither yourself nor us as you ought. Are you 
 not ashamed to oppress the chiaeli and disquiet the 
 nobles of your kingdom ? " The king, knitting his brows, 
 answered, "What do you mean, lady Countess ; have 
 the great men in England conmiissioned you to be their 
 advocate? " The darnc, though a young woman, replied 
 in the spirit of a more mature age, "Not so. Sir, the 
 nobles have not granted me any such charter, though 
 yon hav l)roken that which you and your father swore 
 inviolal)ly to observe, wiiere are the liberties of 
 En-land" so often granted and so often withdrawn? It 
 is this infraction which induces me, although a woman, 
 to a])peal, with all your natural subjects, from you to 
 the tribunal of Cod, the great and terrible .Judge, and 
 let him revenge." At these words, Henry was con- 
 founded, and lie answered only, " Did you not ask a 
 favour because you were my cousin?" She replied, 
 " Since you have denied me right, how can i expect 
 any favour?" ' The king, thus reproved, said no more; 
 and the countess went away without taking leave, or 
 receiving any other satislaclion than that of having 
 
 freely spoken her mind. 
 
 p._Wluch, to a female, you must own to have been 
 
 considerable. 
 
 ^,_Yct this monarch was certainly not destitute 
 of a talent for sarcasm and repartee. The monks of 
 Durham objecting to the yoiUh of his half-brother, 
 whom he v.ould liave imposed on (hat sec, he replied, 
 "Since you think my brother too .young,! will keep 
 
 « M. Paris. 
 
 =» M eaiitj. 
 
408 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 MAD PARLIAMKNT. 
 
 409 
 
 I 
 
 the bishoprick in my own hand till he shall be of a 
 fit age." ^ 
 
 F. — A more celebrated retort was his reply to lour 
 bishops, who were deputed by parliament to complain 
 of his uncanonical and irregular mode of fdling up 
 vacant benefices. ''It is true/' said Henry, ** that I 
 have been somewhat faulty in that particular; 1 ob- 
 truded you, my lord of Canterbury, upon your see; I 
 was obliged to employ both entreaties and menace.s, 
 my lord of V> inchester, to get you elected, when you 
 should rather have been at school; my proceedings 
 were verv irregular and violent, mv lords of Salisburv 
 and Carlisle, when I raised you Irom the lowest stations 
 to your present dignities: it will become you, therefore, 
 to set the example of reformation, by resiuning your 
 present benefices, and then you may try to enter again 
 in a more regular and canonical manner." The bishops 
 had the presence of mind to reply, tliat tlie question 
 was not to correct past errors, but to avoid future.** 
 
 A, — Of the ascendancy of Leicester's spirit we 
 have a remarkable instance: the king once going by 
 water to the Tower, was overtaken by a stonn of 
 thunder and lightning, and he ordered liis l)arge to be 
 put to shore: being met on his landing by Leicester, 
 his terror redoubled ; which the earl observiuir, re- 
 marked, that the storm being over, there was no further 
 reason of fear. The king replied, " I am, indeed, beyond 
 measure frightened at thunder and lightning; but, by 
 God's head, I fear thee more than all the thunder in 
 the universe." "" 
 
 F. — Indeed this apprehension was not without a 
 very legitimate cause ; as Leicester, under the well- 
 grounded pretence of reforming the abuses of the times, 
 
 ■ M. Paris. 
 
 »• Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 soon became a dangerous competitor for even the 
 sovereign power itself. 
 
 ^l.__Urged by the complaints of Leicester, the king 
 held a parliament at Oxford (1258) : denominated in 
 our annals, the Mad Parliament, from the confusion 
 which attended its measures, called '' the provisions of 
 Oxford," which directed, that twelve barons should be 
 elected from the king's council, and that twelve more 
 should be chosen by the parliament, '' who conjointly 
 were to reform the prevailing abuses." The first step 
 of this supreme council, of which Leicester was at 
 the head, was singularly judicious; four knights were 
 ordered to l)e chosen by each county, to enquire into 
 its particular grievances, and represent them to the 
 next ensuing parliament/ 
 
 F.— This may be considered then, as the very first ex- 
 ample of elective members to be found in that assemldy. 
 J.— But it may be doubted, whether these knights 
 sat as members, or merely attended for the purpose of 
 ^rivino intbrmation. So corrupting is the possession of 
 power, that the twenty-four barons soon engrossed the 
 whole authority of the state, changed the government 
 from a monarchy into a very limited aristocracy, and 
 acted as if their whole pnrpose had been to aggrandize 
 themselves and their families. The king having applied 
 to Rome for an absolution of his vows, the most vio- 
 lent contentions ensued ; the citizens of London in par- 
 ticular, taking part with the barons, gave way to every 
 sort of licence and disorder, plundering and setting on 
 fire the houses, both of the Jews and Lombards. Tlie 
 queen, who had taken up her abode in the Tower, 
 naturally became desirous oi' escaping from such a 
 scene of confusion; but, as her barge approached Lon- 
 
 " Rviiic-, vol. 1. M.raris. 
 
 1 
 

 410 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 X 
 
 don-bridgc, tlic populace pelted her with roltcii egg^ 
 and dirt, to which they nddcd the most op])rol)ri()iis 
 iangiiaj,^e; and shoutiiip;, -Drown the witch, drown (he 
 witch," they drove her back to the Tower/ 
 
 P.— We are then to conclude that ambition, ratlier 
 than the reformation of abuses, was the motive of 
 Leicester's conduct ? 
 
 ^.—Without any ^aeat breach ol charity, I think it 
 may be so conceded : the earl had no personal wrongs 
 to avenixe. After frc^quent pretended reconciliations 
 with Henry, an appeal was mnde by common consent 
 to Louis the Ninth, kin- of France, to whose moderate 
 and equitable decision'' Leicester, unwillinir to resi<ni 
 his power, refused to sulmiit; and resortim^ to arms, 
 a civil war, with all it horrors, presently rnired throu^di 
 the greater part ol' the kingdom. 
 
 F.—Thii detail of petty battles is of little interest 
 the result may be found worthy of attention. 
 
 ^.— After various skirmishes, the two armies of (he 
 king and the earl met in a battle at Lewes, in Sussex 
 (1264), in which Leicester displaced considerable mili- 
 tary skill, and made the king, with his son Prince 
 Edward, and liis brother the king of the Romans, pri- 
 soners:' the loss on both sides amounted to live thou- 
 sand men. 
 
 ^- — f 'i^* J^hig of the Romans seems always to have 
 been an unpopular character. On this occasion, a sa- 
 .tirical song or ballad was put forth by one of Leices- 
 ter's adherents, which to understand, we are to be in- 
 formed that the barons had offered Richard thirty thou- 
 sand pounds to procure a peace upon such terms as 
 would have divested Henry of all his regal power : on 
 these conditions Richard refused his assent. 
 
 Leicester's i arliament. Hi 
 
 SiUeth allc stillc and lierkcneth to me, 
 The kynge of Alcmaigne, hi mi leaut^ 
 Thritti thousent pound askcde he, 
 For to make the pees in the countr^, 
 
 And so he dude more ; 
 Richard thah thou be ever trichard, 
 
 Tricthen shall thou never more.^ 
 
 Whieli last two lines are a burden to several verses of 
 similar complexion with this the first. 
 
 p,—lhoin this early specimen, we may infer that 
 the li])erty assumed by tlie good people of this country 
 in al)using their princes, is a privilege of very ancient 
 standinu. In this action at Lewes, we for the first time 
 hear the name of Prince Edward. 
 
 yl.— He was now^ of the age of twenty-six, and had 
 already displayed many of those great qualities, by 
 \\]nch on the throne he was afterwards distinguished. 
 This complete victory gave to Leicester an unbounded 
 ascejulancy: he concluded a treaty with the king, called 
 the Mise of Lewes, from an obsolete French word, 
 meaning an agreement, the terms of which, he after- 
 wards violated in most particulars; and growing wanton 
 with prosperity, gave full scope to his avarice and 
 ambition: he appropriated to himself the possessions 
 of no fewer than eighteen of the barons of the king's 
 party, and the entire ransom of all the prisoners; he 
 had the insolence to tell even the barons of his own 
 party, that it was sufficient for them that he had saved 
 their estates, by his victory, from forfeiture and at- 
 tainder.'' 
 
 p._Bnt amidst such violations of his engagements, 
 liow did Leicester retain the favour of the nation? 
 
 A.-~\iy eultivating ]>opulavity with the humbler 
 classes of the connnunity : in pursuance of this pi>licy, 
 
 ^ Wykcs, Cliioa. 
 
 '' Rymcr, \ol, 1 
 
 « AT. rarib. 
 
 Tcrcv Relics, vol. 2. 
 
 ^ Knygliton. 
 
412 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 he summoned a parliament^ January 12(i5, in which, 
 he ordered returns to be made of two kniirhts Irom 
 each shire; and what indeed is remarkable, of de- 
 puties from the cities and borouglis, an order of men 
 hitherto considered as too mean to enjoy a place in 
 the national counsels. What towns sent representatives 
 besides the metropolis, York, Lfncoln, and the Cinrpie 
 Ports, is not known. The declaration, after mentioninjr 
 the former cities, merely adds, ceteris hiirgis Anglice, 
 the rest of the borouj^hs of England. ' This parliament 
 of Leicester's must undoubtedly be considered ns the 
 original punctiun saliens of our present House of Com- 
 mons. 
 
 F. — That opinion was for a long time disputed with 
 acrimonious zeal by English anticpiaries; but the ob- 
 jectors seem to have silently retired. What order of 
 men constituted the ibrmer parliaments, or great coun- 
 cils, we may infer from the following section of Magna 
 Charta : ''The king shall cause to be summoned, as 
 the common council of the kingdom, the archbishops, 
 bishops, earls and great barons, personally, by our 
 letters, and by our sheritfs and bailifls, all others, who 
 hold of us in chief.'' — Not a word here is said of repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 A. — To Leicester's parliament the nobility and 
 prelates of his faction only were summoned ; but to 
 make up the deficiency, he added a considerable num- 
 ber of inferior priors and abbots, who were not even 
 tenants of the crown : we have no hint that this par- 
 liament w^as divided into two houses, ami we know 
 little more of its proceedings, than that in it were 
 taken into consideration, the terms of setting Prince 
 Edward at liberty. Leicester contimiing his tyrannical 
 
 DEATH OF LEICESTER. 
 
 413 
 
 » » Rynicr, vol. 1. 
 
 conduct, raised <lissensions amongst his own party: 
 the Earl of Gloucester, his principal coadjutor, hav- 
 iuir retired to his estates^ on the borders of Wales, 
 was pursued by Leicester with a considerable force, 
 carrying with him the two royal prisoners, the king 
 and the prince. The latter by finding means to escape 
 irave a new^ turn to afi'airs : the mode of its accomplish- 
 ment was attended with some degree of romantic 
 interest. The prince, having received from the Earl of 
 Gloucester a horse of extraordinary swiftness, pre- 
 tended to take the air with his guards; proposing 
 matches between their horses, he sufliciently tired them; 
 when a little before sun-set, having mounted Glou- 
 cester's horse, a person appeared on a grey charger 
 at Tulington-hill, waving his bonnet; the prince, w^ho 
 knew the signal, galloped ofi; telling his keepers that 
 he had long enough enjoyed the pleasure of their com- 
 pany; and soon after, Roger Mortimer, a friendly 
 baron, with a band of armed men issuing from a w ood, 
 received him with acclamations, and conveyed him 
 in safety to Wigmore Castle.^ 
 
 F. — It is these two noblemen, who are celebrated 
 in Gray's Ode, as the companions of Edward on ano- 
 ther occasion. 
 
 Stout Gloucester stood aghast in speechless trance ; 
 
 To arms, cried Mortimer, and couch'd his quivering lance. 
 
 ^.—Prince Edward and Gloucester having raised 
 a considerable army, Leicester became sensible of his 
 dangerous situation: as he lay at Evesham, expecting 
 a reinlbrcement, he was surprized by Edward's army, 
 which he at first mistook for friends: on seeing their 
 excellent discipline, he exclaimed, ^' The Lord have 
 mercv on our souls, for I see our bodies are the 
 
 * M. Paris. 
 
 b T.WSkes. 
 
,/ 
 
 414 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 prince's; he has learned from me the art of war."' The 
 earl was slain in the heat of thc^ battle (August 4, 12G5), 
 and his forces totally routed. 
 
 F. — Another particular deserves mention: Leicester 
 had cruelly placed the old king in the front of the battle, 
 dressed in a suit of his own nrmour: '' l)einir thus un- 
 knowTi, he received a wound, and was in danger of 
 losing his life; but characteristically crying out to the 
 soldier who was about to slay him, '' I am Henry of 
 Winchester, your king, do not kill me ; ' the blow was 
 prevented, and Henry put in a place of safety.*" 
 
 A, — The clemency exercised by the coi](|U(ror in 
 this complete victory was remarkable; no blood was 
 shed upon the scalfold ; the mild disposition of the king, 
 and the prudence of the prince, tempering the inso- 
 lence of success. The rage of civil discord, alter a few 
 ebullitions, gradually ceasiiig, order was restored to the 
 several members of the stale, which continued with but 
 small iiiterruptions during tiie remainder of the reign. 
 
 F. — Such then was the vloieut i nd of Simou do 
 Montfort, earl of Leicester, a man whose boundless 
 and unprincipled ambition was sustained by connnand- 
 hig vigour of intellect and great suppleness of address; 
 since, though a stranger in the kingdom, and at a time 
 when strangers were most odious, he could acquire 
 so extensive an interest with all orders of men, as 
 nearly to pave the way to the acquisition ol the throne 
 itself. 
 
 A. — But though Leicester was not a native of Enir- 
 land, yet inheriting a vast estate from liis mother, an 
 Englishwoman, he was not like the strangers so much 
 complained of, a burden to the nation : to his policy it 
 undoubtedly owes the greatest advantage which it cner 
 
 • 
 
 ^ Heniini^ford. 
 
 Knviihton. 
 
 * Hrmingford. 
 
 ROBiN HUUD. 
 
 415 
 
 received from a single individual, the introduction to 
 parliament of a representative body of the people. 
 
 F.— Some liistorlans have endeavoured to deprive 
 Leicester of this renown, by representing his experi- 
 ment as only a sliglil anticipation of what must neces- 
 sarily have happened from the increasing importance 
 of the Commons; i>ut had not his penetrating view 
 brought the system irto existence, it might have slept 
 for centuries. In how many inventions have we not 
 observed previous projectors to arrive within the very 
 verge of discovery, and tlien unaccountably turn aside 
 from the direct road, leaving the object in its original 
 
 obscurity. 
 
 yl,— Leicester was long revered by the populace, 
 and miracles were pretended to l)e wrought at his 
 tomb;^ his family falling into decay, in a generation 
 or two I)ecame extinct; and so capricious is fame, that 
 at the present day his name and actions are little 
 remembered and regarded. IIow different in point of 
 popularity is Leicester's reputation with that of his 
 renowned contemporary, llobin Hood ! 
 
 p._The fame of tliat outlaw is indeed unparalleled. 
 
 In tliis our spacious lAc, T lliink there is not one 
 
 But who hath heard some talk of him and little John : '^ 
 
 and it would be curious to enquire on Avhat basis such 
 a miuhty popularity has been erected. 
 
 A.—li has been continued through six centuries 
 with undiminished favour, to the present hour. Robin 
 Hood has been the subject of dramatic exhibitions, of 
 songs, ballads, and stories, without number: he has 
 iriven rise to divers proverbs: his deeds have been 
 alluded to by bishops in the pulpit,*^ and by judges on 
 
 * Chron. de Mailros. ^ Drayton, Polyolbion, mug 26. 
 
 » Latimer, (ith Serm. before Edw.Vl. 
 

 \/ 
 
 416 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 417 
 
 h"- 
 
 the bench :^ many places have received their name from 
 his frequentation : his accoutrements were preserved 
 like religious relics : festivals^ and solemn games have 
 been instituted in honour of his memory, which were 
 celebrated for ages, both in Scotland and England. 
 
 F. — This is evidence of the fact, but does not ex- 
 plain the cause, why the name of a robber and an out- 
 law should have become 
 
 Familiar to our months as houseliold words ; 
 
 and why, instead of reproach, it should be attended 
 wath a feeling of regard and esteem ? 
 
 A. — Undaunted courage, with a certain manliness 
 of character and love of freedom, however lawless, 
 joined to much humanity, seem to be the foundation 
 of this extraordinary attraction. Robin Hood too, 
 from his superior skill, became the hero of archery ; 
 a science most important in English w arfare before the 
 introduction of fire-arms. 
 
 Their arrows finely paired for timber and for feather, 
 
 With bireh and brazil pieced, to fly in any weather ; 
 
 And sho' they with the round, the square, or forked pile, 
 
 The loose p:ave such a twang as might be h.eard a mile.*^ '*♦ 
 
 F. — Robin Hood's levelling principle of taking from 
 the rich and giving to the poor, would at all times ren- 
 der him the favourite of the common people ; to which 
 may be added, his avowed hostility to overgrown 
 churchmen, who, being of\en obtruded on the nation 
 by the court of Rome, were not at this j)eriod in re- 
 markable odour. 
 
 From wealthy abbots' ehests, and churls' abundant store, 
 What oftentimes he took, he shared amongst the poor : 
 No lordly bishop came in lusty Robin's way, 
 To him before he went, b!it for his pass must pay.** ii 
 
 ** Ritson's Robin Hood, vol. 1, [). 8U. 
 « Dravton. "^ ibid. 
 
 *» St(AV', Sui \ tv 
 
 >».— The scenery of the forest, the greenwood tree, 
 the bounding deer, the summer bower, doubtless take 
 a very pleasing hold of the imagination; and conse- 
 quently, from this poetic feeling. \ suppose that Robin 
 Hood's exploits must chieliy be souglit in the treasures 
 of legendary and ballad lore. 
 
 A.— The following particulars seem to be indepen- 
 dent of poetry: they are extracted from a sort of MS. 
 life, in the Sloane library at the British Museum (715), 
 of the date of the sixteenth century." Robin Hood 
 was born at Lockesley, in Nottinghamshire (1100), and 
 being early addicted to riotous courses, was outlawed 
 for debt. Seeking an asylum in the woods, with which 
 the northern part of the kingdom then abounded, he 
 met with associates, nmny of whom were probably 
 amenable to the severity of tlie forest laws; and being 
 good marksmen, tliey protected themselves by numbers 
 from the dreadful elVects of their delinquency. Of 
 these his companions, the r.amcs of Little John, Will 
 Scadlock or Scarlet, George a Greene, the pinder or 
 pouiulkeeper of Wakefield, Much, a miller's son, and a 
 certain l-riar Tuck, are well known. Robin Hood too 
 is said to liave been accompanied by a female of whom 
 he was enamoured, and whose real or feigned name 
 was Marian, in this community, for a long series of 
 years, he seemed to set kings, judges, and magistrates 
 at defiance ; but the infirmities of old age increasing 
 upon him, he thought it necessary to let blood, and 
 applying to his relation, tlic abbess of Kirkby's nun- 
 nery! in Yorkshire, he was treacherously suffered to 
 bleed to death, in the eighty-seventii year of his age 
 (1'247). He was interred under some trees, at a short 
 distance from the house ; a stone, with an inscription 
 thereon, beins i>l;(ccd over his grave. 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 " Uitson's Robi-.i Hood. 
 •2 E 
 

 41^- 
 
 o 
 
 \ ES riciA. 
 
 F. — It is singular that the name of Robin I loud is 
 not mentioned by any contempoaary historian ; as the 
 writers of that age were monks, his avowed hostility 
 to churchmen has been suggested as the cause oi' their 
 silence. 
 
 A. — This motive could not apply to Matthew Paris, 
 who was accustomed to spare neither prelate nor Pope. 
 The earliest history in which the name of Robin Hood 
 occurs, is that of Fordun,* a Scotish historian, who 
 wrote about the year 1340, in which Robert us Hodef 
 famosissimus sicarhis, et Litill Johanne are thus alluded 
 to: '' Concerning whom the ignorant vulgar in comedies 
 and tragedies make foolish entertainment, and are de- 
 lighted to hear the jesters and minstrels sing about 
 them beyond all other ballads." Another Scotish 
 writer. Major, about a century later, thus describes the 
 character and actions of Robin Hood : '' In these fo- 
 rests, with a company of one hundred archers, most 
 skilful in battle, whom four times that number would 
 not attack, he reigned like an independent sovereiizn, 
 in perpetual war with the king of England and all his 
 subjects; but he took away the goods of rich men only, 
 never killing any person, unless he was attacked or 
 resisted ; he would not sutler a woman to be maltreated, 
 and he relieved the poor out of the spoils of the weal- 
 thy. I disapprove," adds the historian, '' of the ra- 
 pine of the man ; but he was the most humane and the 
 prince of all robbers." 
 
 F. — But an earlier testimony to the fame of Robin 
 Hood, and indeed the first known instance of his name 
 being mentioned, is a curious rhyming Latin poem of 
 the date of 1304, still in MS. in the British Museum," 
 written by a certain prior of Alnwick on the battle of 
 Dunbar, in which Sir William Wallace is invidiously 
 compared to the English outlaw. 
 
 * Scotichronicon. 
 
 ^ Ritson, vol. 1, p. 42. 
 
 T^OBIN HOOU. 
 
 419 
 
 ^^_The original songs and ballads, and the most 
 ancient poems on ihQ subject, in the English tongue, 
 have perished by the lapse of time, and all we know 
 of them is, that such things once existed, "in the vision 
 of Pierce Plowman, an allegorical poem (1360), the 
 author introduces an idle dissolute priest, who con- 
 fesses that he is not " perfect in his paternoster, but 
 can rhyme of Robin Hood." The earliest ballad ex- 
 tant is that called '' A lyttel Geste of Robin Hood," in 
 the public library at Cambridge, printed by Wynken de 
 Worde, about the year 1520; but written, it is sup- 
 posed, about half a century earlier : it is in eight fyttes 
 or parts : it stands the first in Ritson s collection, and 
 thus begins : 
 
 Lithe and listen, gentylmen, 
 
 I'hat be of frebore blode ; 
 1 sball tell you of a good yeman. 
 
 His name was Robin Hode. 
 
 P __This verse represents him as a '' good yeman ;*' 
 and another ballad relates— 
 
 The father of Robin a forester was ; 
 
 but is he not elsewhere elevated to the title of Earl of 
 
 Huntiuii'don? 
 
 yl.— Those who take this ground give him the sur- 
 name of Fitz-ooth, and kindly derive his pedigree from 
 Judith, niece of William the Conqueror.^ They have 
 also provided for him an epitaph, in which he is in- 
 stalled in this high honour;^ but as the earldom ot 
 Huntingdon, during tlie life of Robin Hood, was vested 
 in the Scotish royal family; and as Fordun, at a period 
 when high birth was all in all, never glances at his no- 
 bility, we may fairly set down the notion as an unwar- 
 ranted tradition. „, , * ,u 
 
 F.-Yet Leland calls him - nobilis exlex ; but the 
 
 . Stukelv, Pal.o,rapbia Brit. ^ Thoresby, Dueatus Lecxliensis, Appeudi. 
 . I)ugdalo,Baronage,vol.l,p.(50.. ^ Collect, vol. I, P- ^4. 
 
 ■ \ 
 
 2 R 2 
 
420 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 opiiiiou has been much iiphehl by the existence of two 
 old plays (1()01), by Anthony Munday and Ttiomas 
 Chettle ; the iirst of which is entitled " the Downfal ot* 
 Robert, earl of Huntingdon, afterwards called Robin 
 Hood, of merry Sherwood, witli his lore to chaste 
 Matilda, the Lord Fitzwater*s daughter, afterwards his 
 fair maid Marian." The second play is '' the Death of 
 Robin Hood, with the lamentable tragedie of chaste 
 Matilda, poisoned at Dunmow by King John." These 
 plays refer to compositions not now to be found, and 
 to traditions almost forgotten; but they carry fiction on 
 their face, as it cannot w ell be supposed that the Lord 
 Fitzwater's daughter, who seems really to have repulsed 
 the solicitations of King John,^ should become the 
 associate of outlaws and robbers. The genuine eihgy 
 of this lady is still to be seen on her monument in 
 the church at Dunmow.^ 
 
 A. — The greater part of the songs and ballads now 
 extant, on the subject of Robin Hood, are of a date 
 comparatively recent : many of them contain very ridi- 
 culous anachronisms, but they are a striking proof of 
 the continued interest of the subject, which remains 
 undiminished to the present hour. But a very few 
 years since a drama of ^^ Maid Marian" was j)erformed, 
 with success, in London; and the powerful (jcnius of 
 the North has not disdained to give a prominent station 
 to the inmates of merry Sherw ood in his popular com- 
 position, '' Ivanhoe.'* 
 
 F. — As the name of Little John is constantly cou- 
 pled with that of Robin Hood, we ought not to deprive 
 this Fidus Achates of his due meed of commemoration. 
 
 Though he was called Little, his limbs they were large; 
 
 And his stature was seven feet high. 
 
 » « « « • 
 
 ^ Dugdale, Monasticon, vol.2, p. 76. 
 ^ Gough, Sepulchral Mon. vol. 1, p. 31. 
 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 « 
 
 LITTLE JOHN. 
 
 421 
 
 Then Robin he took the pretty sweet babe, 
 
 And clothed him from top to toe, 
 In garments of green, most gay to be seen, 
 
 And gave him a curious loog bow. 
 
 The honour of Little John's death and burial is con- 
 tended for bv rival nations. He is said by Ashmole 
 to liiive been buried in Derbyshire; by Hector Boece, 
 at Pette, in North Britain; wliilst another authority, 
 AValkcr, relates that this excellent marksman was 
 hanged lor a rolibery, on Arbor Hill, near Dul)lin.* 
 
 ^.—Though " the merry pranks" of these worthies 
 were clii(>fly played in the days of Richard the First, 
 who indeed is represented, in some ballads, as seeking 
 the forest in disguise ; and also in the time of King 
 John- vet as llobiu Hood ended his life under Henry 
 the Third, he seems more naturally to fall within the 
 
 history of this reign. 
 
 P.~Wliicli is indeed sufficiently barren of events, 
 
 and requires some enlivening. 
 
 yl,— After the settlement of affairs by the battle of 
 Evesham {I2n5), the remainder of Henry's reign pre- 
 sents no object of importance. Prince Edward, inflamed 
 with military ardour, long sought an opportunity to 
 distinguish himself in the Holy Land: his personal 
 courage was at all times conspicuous ; in a single com- 
 bat with Adam de Gourdon, a rebellious baron, in 
 Hampshire, he with the utmost difficulty subdued his 
 antagonist, whom he at length unhorsed, and with great 
 generosity not only saved his life, but received him into 
 favour, which confidence was afterwards repaid by the 
 grateful baron with the most affectionate service.^ 
 
 p.__^Vith such endowments, how much more would 
 Edward have benefited his country by checking the 
 abuses of govcrimient at home, than by seeking a preca- 
 rious reputation in the useless contest of the crusades. 
 
 * Ritbon. 
 
 ^ M.Paris, 
 
422 
 
 \ K.STIGIA. 
 
 » 
 
 KDWAKU AND ELEANOR. 
 
 423 
 
 A. — lie was probably seduced by the example of 
 Louis the Ninth, king of France, whose fame in Europe 
 stood deservedly high, notwithstanding his excessive 
 bigotry, and his imprudent passion for these expedi- 
 tions; for which, at last, he paid very dear, both in the 
 loss of blood and treasure. Prince Edward's inclina- 
 tion to the same pursuit was so highly wrought, that, 
 on bein^ remonstrated with on the danirer to which 
 England would be exposed by his absenci, he smote 
 his breast, and swore by the blood of God, '' though all 
 should desert me, yet will I go to Aeon, if I am attended 
 only by Fowen, my groom.'' ^ 
 
 F, — He had, however, a more agreeable companion 
 in the person of his spouse, Eleanor, princess of 
 Castile. 
 
 A. — Edward's progress in the Holy Land was not 
 considerable ; but his own valour, and the reputation 
 of his great-uncle, Richard, so terrified the Infidels, 
 that they sent an assassin to despatch him. This man 
 had found means to be frequently introduced to the 
 prince; and one day, being alone with him in his cham- 
 ber, attempted to give him a mortal stal), which Edward 
 alertly warding olf, received a wound in his arm. The 
 assassin, enraged at the disappointment, was about to 
 renew^ the attack, when the prince kicked him on the 
 breast, beat him down, and wresting tlie dcigger from his 
 grasp, killed him on the spot ; but the weapon having 
 been poisoned, Edward's wound became (huigerous.^' 
 
 P. — Does the story rest on anv authentic founda- 
 tion, that Edward owed his life to the fender ali'erlion 
 of Eleanor, who, at the hazard of iicr uuii, ventured to 
 suck the venom from the wound. 
 
 F. — Camden first mentions it in his nritmnii.i, 
 quoting llodericus, archbishop of Toledo, as his au- 
 
 thority, but unfortunately the history written by that 
 prelate was finished twenty years before the incident 
 occurred. However, the same antiquary, in his Re- 
 mains, quotes the authority of Rodericus Sanctius, 
 who, it appears, mentions the circumstance in honour 
 of the licncral character of the Spanish ladies;* but 
 this Avriter lived two centuries after the event, and the 
 story is doubtless fictitious. Hemingford says, that 
 the errand master of the Templars immediately sent the 
 prince plenty of precious drugs to stop the progress of 
 the poison; but a mortification being apprehended, an 
 Endish physician undertook to cut out the gangrene; 
 the-" princess not being able to endure the sight of the 
 operation, Edward ordered two knights, Edmond and 
 John de Vesey, to lead her from the apartment, and 
 they told her, it was better that she should weep than 
 
 all England. 
 
 ^._During the absence of the prince. King Henry, 
 worn out by cares and infirmities, expired at St. Ed- 
 mundsburv, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and the 
 fifty-sixth of his reign. His corpse was interred in the 
 church ol his own erecting at Westminster,^ where his 
 raonununt is still preserved. This monarch was of a 
 moderate stature, and unpleasing countenance, his left 
 eyelid hanging down, and half-covering the pupil ;^ but 
 this particular is not observaljle in his effigy in West- 
 minster Abbey. 
 
 f xhe character, or rather no character, of Henry 
 
 there is no difficulty in understanding. But, though 
 personally inoflensive, he was once exposed to the dan- 
 ger of assassination : a maniac repaired to the palace 
 at Woodstock, and demanded of Henry the kingdom; 
 the king, seeing the lunatic's state of mind, forbade 
 ;mv one to hurt him, and he was dismissed; but the 
 
 ^ M. Paris. 
 
 ^ M. Paris. Hrmingf. 
 
 * Lib. 1. 
 
 ^ M. Paris. 
 
 c Ibid. 
 
42 1 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 PKRSKCUTIUN OF TU li JliWS. 
 
 425 
 
 next ni^-ht he louiul means to climb in a I (lie window, 
 and with an unsheathed kiule ran to the kings bed; 
 fortunately, Henry being in another chamber escaped 
 the blow ; one of the queen s ladies, Margaret Bisset, 
 who was singing her Psalter, saw the assassin, and 
 shrieking violently, alarmed the attendants ; the maniac 
 fastened the door, which tliey at length broke open and 
 secured the intruder, who was afterwards executed for 
 the olfence.* 
 
 ^.— The source of tfie many evils which alllicted 
 the reign of Henry, was the want of constitutional lirm- 
 ness, which exposed him to the successive impressions 
 of persons interested to mislead ; looking only to the 
 present moment, his prevarications, liis l)reach of i)ro- 
 niise, his capricious changes of conduct, rendered him 
 contemptible; his personal courage was doubtful; his 
 understanding narrow; his judgment weak: however 
 feasible might be his projects, yet being formed at un- 
 seasonable opportunities, they constantly failed : yet 
 we must not pass over, without tlieir due meed of 
 praise, the gentleness of his temper, his aversion to 
 cruelty and the shedding of blood, his love and patron- 
 age of the arts, and his correct moral deportment. 
 Always poor, from his ill-judged profusion, he has been 
 accused of rapacity; yet if we judge dispassionately, 
 we shall find that the aids which he received from his 
 subjects during his long reign, were comparatively of 
 small amount. Deiicient in vigour, he was no match 
 for his turbulent barons; and his errors mav fairly l)e 
 attributed to the weakness of his disposition, ratlier 
 than to any evil intentions of his heart. 
 - F.— This monarch was celebrated for liis i)iety and 
 devotion, according to the fashion (»f the times. In a 
 conference with Louis the Ninth, kinir of France, the 
 
 • M. Paris. 
 
 hitter observing, that he would rather hear sermons than 
 masses, Henry replied, that for his part he would prefer 
 to sec his loving friend, meaning the real presence in 
 the sacrament, than to hear twenty discourses on his 
 merits." This, says Camden, in those days was thought 
 facetious, which some, no doubt, will now consider as 
 
 superstitious. 
 
 j._\VlKitever we may judge of the nature of his 
 opinions, his actions were suificiently superstitious : he 
 once summoned all the great men of his kingdom, to 
 receive an account of a certain sacred benefit which 
 heaven had lately bestowed upon England: when they 
 were all assembled in St. Paufs church, the king ac- 
 (juainted them that the great master of the Knights 
 Templars had sent him a phial of crystal, containing 
 a small portion of the precious blood of Christ ; this, he 
 informed them, he designed to cany the next day in 
 solenm procession to Westminster, which ceremony he 
 performed, and holding the phial in both his hands 
 higher than his face, proceeded under a canopy, two 
 assistants supporting his arms; and though the road 
 was deep and miry, he kept his eyes steadily fixed on 
 the holy relic.^ 
 
 ft- 
 
 F.— Henry's excessive zeal for the Christian faith 
 was equalled by his enmity to the Jews. None of his 
 su!)jects had greater cause of complaint than this per- 
 secuted race : exposed both by their religion and their 
 avarice to the hatred of the people, they were robbed 
 and spoiled without measure or mercy. 
 
 /l._A remarkable instance of the cruelty with 
 which they were treated in this age, is the well-kno\vn 
 story of the Jew of Bristol, who, on refusal to pay King 
 John the sum of ten thousand marks, was condemned 
 to lose one of his teeth every day, till he should com- 
 
 » M.Paris. 
 
 '' Ibid. 
 
426 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ply: the Jew had seven feetli drawn, and then paid 
 the sum required.' In the reign of Henry, notwith- 
 standing the immense profits which they realized by 
 usury, they lost all patience, and desired to retire from 
 the kingdom with their eft'ects, which favour was re- 
 fused ; and the king, after having well fleeced them, 
 delivered them over to his brother, the Earl of Corn- 
 wall, that, according to the vivid expression of Matthew 
 Paris, those whom the one had Hayed the other might 
 embowel. 
 
 F. — To give a better pretext lor these extortions, 
 an accusation was revived, that the Jews had crucified 
 a child in derision of the sufferings of Christ : not less 
 than eighteen in number were hanged at one time for 
 this improbable crime.** 
 
 P. — In Chaucer's tales, the scene of a similar enor- 
 mity is laid in a Christian city of Asia; in which a cer- 
 tain district w as inhabited by these people. 
 
 As I have said tliroiighoiit llie Jewerie, 
 
 This litel child, as he came to and fro, 
 Fill merily than wold he sing and crie, 
 
 O Alma Redemptoris ever mo ; 
 
 and at the end of this story, the old hard alludes to a 
 *' young Hew of Lincoln slain also by cursed Jews.'' 
 
 A, — This instance of '' young llew" is one of seve- 
 ral stated by Matthew^ Paris : we can scarcely give 
 credit to such atrocity; yet what will not fanaticism 
 attempt, excited by a long course of contumely and 
 persecution ? 
 
 F. — The sentiments of an eminent divine. Fuller, 
 on this pillage of the Jews, are curious : '' We must 
 herein condemn man's cruelty, but admire heaven's 
 justice; for all these sums extorted from the Jews by 
 temporal kings are but paying their arrears to God, for 
 
 ^ M. Taris. 
 
 »> Ibid, 
 
 STATUTE OF MERTON. 
 
 427 
 
 a debt which they can never satisfy, namely, the cruci- 
 fying of Christ. 
 
 yl._The general prosperity of the kingdom gradu- 
 ally advanced during this reign. The wealth of the 
 citizens of London became conspicuous, as may be 
 inferred from the circumstance that Henry, being about 
 to sell his plate and jewels in order to discharge his 
 debts,* and enquiring where he should find purchasers, 
 was answered, the citizens of London. " On my word/' 
 said he, " if the treasury of Augustus were brought to 
 sale, the citizens are able to be the purchasers: these 
 clowns, who forsooth call themselves barons, abound 
 in everv thinir, whilst we are reduced to necessity."* 
 Some improvements took place in the practice of the 
 comiuon law, and the further encroachments of the 
 canon law were resisted. In a parliament held at Mer- 
 ton (123G), the provisions of which are the earliest law 
 which appears in the collection of the statutes, the 
 ecclesiastics urging a conformity to the Roman usage 
 in cases of bastardy, were unanimously answered by 
 the barons witli the sentence Nolumus leges AnglicB mu- 
 tare,^ We will not change the laws of England. 
 
 F.—l must think that this celebrated reply has been 
 wonderfully extolled beyond its merits: whether chil- 
 dren born before wedlock ought to be legitimated by 
 the subsequent marriage of their parents, as is the 
 practice of the canon, though not of the English law, 
 may very fairly be a case for consideration, especially 
 if repairing the wrongs of the innocent be worthy the 
 attention of legislators. In after times, how often has 
 the cry of Nolumus mutare been raised, as if it con- 
 tained an unanswerable argument against the reforma- 
 tion of the most notorious al)uses. 
 
 P.— How far did literature and the arts keep pace 
 with this hapi>y improvement in the law? ^^^ 
 
 « M. Paris. 
 
 *> Statutes of the Realm, vol. 1. 
 
il 
 
 \ , 
 
 F.— Henry's attachment to the arts lias already 
 been alluded to. One chamber in the palace at Win- 
 chester was painted green, with stars ol* gold, and the 
 whole history of the Ohl and New Testament : a room 
 in Westminster, and another in the Tower, was adorned 
 with the representation of Richard the First's exi)edi- 
 tion to the Holy Land: we may suppose the execution 
 was but rude, though Matthew Paris highly praises the 
 skill of a certain artist, Walter of Colchester/ Henry 
 employed and encouraged many other artists;^ nor was 
 the literature of the day without the king's protection: 
 he gave to Master Henry, his pioet, a Frcncinnan, the 
 sum of one hundred shillings, which seem to have been 
 the arrears of an annual stipend,' and in the same year 
 the further sum of ten pounds : the situation held by 
 this person probably gave rise to the olfice of poet 
 laureat. It appears that the king had a great book of 
 romance, as in the revenue roll there is an entry of the 
 expense of its silver clasps and studs. 
 
 A. — The English tongue made small progress in 
 refinement, and the Latin of the age egregiously re- 
 trograded. The archbishop of Canterbury, Kilwarby 
 (1276), found it necessary to protest against the lol- 
 lowing phrases, commonly used at Oxford, ego nirrity 
 tu ciirrit, currem est ego."^ 
 
 F. — The Latin language, as may well be supposed, 
 was not understood at all by the common people, and 
 but by few of the nobility, yet all acts of parliament 
 are in Latin till the year 12G(), when the French tongue 
 was first used : during the reigns of the first two Ed- 
 wards, the statutes are as frequently drawn in one lan- 
 guage as the other; of the numerous acts of parliament 
 of Edward the Third, three or iour only are in Latin ; 
 
 MATTllliW PARIS. 
 
 4 
 
 2i? 
 
 a M. Paris, Vitae AM). 
 b Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting. ' Madox, Hist, of Excheq. p. 268. 
 
 *! Ant. k Wood, Hist. Univers. Oxon. 
 
 and the French continued to prevail, with few excep- 
 tions, till the beginning of the reign of Henry the Se- 
 venth ; when, from that period, acts of parliament are 
 written uniformly in English. 
 
 ^._„Tlie ^'reat ornament of the reign of Henry the 
 Third, is the historian Matthew Paris, a monk of St. 
 Albans, a man of great talents, learning, and virtue ; 
 the date and place of his birth are uncertain; with th(& 
 king he was on such terms of intimacy, that he was 
 not only employed in his service, but entrusted with 
 his secrets ; he was often invited to the table of the 
 monarch, and favoured with intercourse so frequent 
 and friendly, as even to be assisted in the composition 
 of his history of England. " He who wrote this," says 
 the historian, " was almost constantly with the king in 
 his palace, at his table, or in his closet; and that prince 
 •ruided his pen in writing, in the most diligent and con- 
 descending manner." 
 
 7:>._\Viiat is the title of the work which received 
 this royal encouragement and assistance. 
 
 A.—Historia Major, a very full history of England, 
 from the Coiuiuest to the forty-third year of Henry the 
 Tliird (1259), when the author died. Matthew Paris 
 wrote also the lives of the two Ollas, kings of Mercia, 
 and the lives of the first twenty-three abbots of St. Al- 
 l)ans. Tn the first part of his history, Matthew Paris was 
 much indebted to the labours of Roger de Wendover, 
 his predecessor in the office of historiographer in the 
 abbey of St. Albans, and it was continued after his 
 death to the year 1273 by William Rishanger, his suc- 
 cessor in tlic same office. The work is perused with 
 pleasure by every lover of English history and antiqui- 
 ties, notwithstanding (he many ridiculous stories of 
 apparitions and miracles which it contains. 
 
 p._Bnt which perhaps may have been a great 
 cause of its popularity. 
 
aa 
 
 'fe- 
 
 .*mi»i« 
 
 ; '» a-HP.,wj i»i » i n ii 
 
 ■ ^;.PMmM P »,«- ' " m» 
 
 430 
 
 VESTIC. ! A. 
 
 A. — One of its most extraordinarv nnrrativrs is the 
 account of the wamlering Jew. Mattliew Paris ulates, 
 that in the year 1228, an Aniu niau prolate arrived in 
 England, whose servant declared that his master had 
 often entertained this singular personage at his table. 
 Cartaphilus, for that was this Jew's name, when re- 
 quested to explain his history, used to relate, that being- 
 keeper of the judgment-hall under Pontius Pilate, 
 when Jesus passed out of the assembly, he struck him 
 on the back with his hand, and deridingly said, '' Go, 
 Jesus, quickly; why dost thou tarry?" But Jesus, 
 w^ith a severe countenance, replied, '' I go, but thou 
 shalt tarry till I come." And so, according to the word 
 of the Lord, Cartaphilus yet waited. Whenever he attains 
 his hundredth year, he is seized by an incurable infir- 
 mity, and snatched away in an ecstacy ; on recovery, 
 he finds himself restored to the same period of life, the 
 age of thirty, at which he was at the passion. As the 
 Christian faith spread abroad, Cartaphilus was bapti/ed 
 by Ananias and took the baptismal name of Joseph; 
 he dwelt in either Armenia, and in other regions of the 
 east, living among bishops and prelates, a man of holy 
 life and conversation, of few^ words, grave and circum- 
 spect, awaiting the second coming of our Lord with fear 
 and weeping; many came to him from all parts of the 
 world, to whose questions he readily answered, but re- 
 fused their gifts, content with moderate lood and 
 clothing. 
 
 F. — Cartaphilus seems to have been a more inge- 
 nious impostor than some others who have apj)eared in 
 the same character. In 1547, a person at Hamburgh 
 gave out that he was the wandering Jew, and that at 
 the time of the crucifixion he dwelt at Jerusalem, near 
 the gate leading to Mount Calvary, calling himself 
 Assuerus ; he was by profession a shoemaker. Jesus, 
 finding himself fatigued, was desirous of resting in his 
 
 THE WANDERING JEW. 
 
 431 
 
 dwelling, but the Jew repulsed and struck the Saviour; 
 from that luument he has wandered, and still continues 
 !i) u aiuk r, Assuerus appeared about fifty years of age, 
 of a good figure ; but he seemed disconsolate, and 
 groaned often.* Another pretender appeared in London, 
 at the close of (he seventeenth century ; but he was an 
 arrant mountebank, and cured all diseases by the touch. 
 He remembered ail the apostles, described their fea- 
 tures, the colour of their hair, and the clothes which 
 they were accustomed to wear. He spoke various lan- 
 guages, had travelled in all countries of the world, and 
 w^ould continue to wander till the end of it. He was 
 so well informed in general history, that people knew^ 
 not what to think of him, and even the doctors of the 
 university could not surprise him in any contradiction : 
 he said there was no sucli thing as a true history in the 
 w^orld: he was particularly acquainted with Mahomet's 
 father : he was present when Rome was set on fire by 
 Nero : h.e had seen Saladin, and related many particu- 
 lars of Tamerlane and Bajazet.' In what way he va- 
 nished from England we have no notice ; but the authors 
 of the Turkish Spy' relate that he re-appeared at As- 
 traean, where he added the trade of prophecy to his 
 other impostures. 
 
 ^4 __„The Eastern bishop declared that Noah's ark 
 yet remained on the mountains of Armenia. But though 
 Matthew Paris did not soar beyond the credulity of the 
 age and of his profession, yet being the companion of 
 kings, it is highly to his honour that he was not their 
 flatterer. He often expostulated with Henry with the 
 greatest freedom. No historian who has recorded the 
 transactions of his own age, has surpassed this writer 
 in intrepidity : he censured in the plainest language the 
 vices and follies of persons of the highest rank and 
 
 * Calmet, Dictionairc, tom.2. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 <= Vol. 7. 
 
432 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 greatest power ; and in painting the iiisatiahle avarice, 
 intolerable tyranny, iinbonfided luxnry, and abandoned 
 perfidy of the court of Rome, he has n(>( bwu exceeded, 
 even by Martin Luther hinisrlf. 
 
 F. — And for this indeed he has never been foririven 
 by catholic writers, who to this day, iceliug sore at iiis 
 exposures, endeavour to disparage his antlienlicity. 
 
 A. — But certainly \vith trifling: success; and ns at 
 the period in which Matthew Paris wrote, the usurped 
 dominion of the Popes was in its zenith, we must attri- 
 bute the blame rather to the passions and frailties of 
 human nature, than to the striking recitals of the too 
 faithful historian. 
 
 END i>r \()LIMK THE FIRST, 
 
 T. BensleY, Printer, Crane Court, Fleet Street 
 
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BIBLIOGRAPHIC IRREGULARITIES 
 
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 -xi; 
 
VESTIGIA ANCLiCAXA; 
 
 OR, 
 
 
 $inu3iratians l.i ] > }^, \ \'V 
 
 \\ 
 
 OF rriE MORE INTERESTING AND DEBATABLE POINTS 
 
 N 
 
 "tML-m^ •> «« 
 
 IN THE 
 
 HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES 
 
 OF 
 
 ENGLAND: 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST AGES 
 
 TO 
 
 i HE ACCESSION OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 By 
 
 STEPHEN REYXOLDS CLARKE, 
 
 (C 
 
 Ce qu'av aurnit vonlu rctcnir de la lecture dc rhistoire, ce qu'on 
 
 aimer ail a s'cn rnppelerj* 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 \ 
 
 PRINTED FOR T. & G. UNDERWOOD, 32, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1826. 
 
 ^ 
 
7 
 
 t^'^ ly 
 
 C 
 
 a 
 
 T. Benslp.y, Printer, Craiie.coiirt,'Plect-8trec*, 
 
 COXTENTS 
 
 *1 
 
 A OLUME II. 
 
 DTS8ER1 ATIOX Vfll. 
 
 5iiL1altl)am <!rro0$. 
 
 TH1-: MOTTSE OF l>LANTAGENET, continued. 
 
 Page 
 
 Edward I \ 
 
 Edward II 54 
 
 DISSERTATION IX. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET, continued. 
 
 Edward HI 94 
 
 Richard W \qq 
 
 DISSERTATION X. 
 
 Sing's (toWt^t CTi^apcI, eamfiritigc. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET, continued. 
 
 The Line of Lancaster. 
 
 Hcnrv IV qp^ 
 
 Henry V 242 
 
 Henry VI 2^9 
 
 
 /i/ 'X U" O a5 
 
IV 
 
 CONTRNTS. 
 
 DISSERTATION Xi. 
 
 <rrD0tJi) 2>ou0r, itoiiCoiu 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET, continued. 
 
 The Line of York. „ 
 
 Edwjird lY «|o 
 
 Edward V 2 50 
 
 Riclianl III 3^^ 
 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 * ' o 
 
 ^ 
 
 r-«r--B|*T.::w# ■a*e-.vi 
 
 D r S S V. R TAT I O X 
 
 f 
 
 
 ^'.yokk:. 
 
 1 
 
 JLillaltftam do00. 
 
 rilE ilOUSK OF PLANTAGENET, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 Edward I. - 
 Edward i\. - 
 
 A,D. 1272. 
 — 1307. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 P.— Tins pleasant drive of twelve miles from the 
 metropolis has brought us by some detours to Waltham 
 Cross, a singular ruin, interesting in its associations, 
 and veneral)le in its decay. 
 
 ^.-— The erection of crosses is of very ancient tlate, 
 and they have been applied to various purposes; such 
 as ])oundary~marks, memorials of remarkable events, 
 places of public prayer, preaching-, and proclamation : 
 some were built in churchyards, or by the road side ; 
 others in marlvet-])laces, or at the junction of three or 
 four streets, or on s])ots like the present, where de- 
 ceased bodies halted on their way to interment. Mar- 
 ket crosses at first appear to have consisted of a single 
 shalt, and afterwards they were enlarged and arched 
 over for tlic accommodation of the auditors. At the 
 dissolution of the monasteries, there w^as scarcely a 
 
 vol.. H. B 
 
2 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 It) 
 i 
 
 maikeUowu in England without its cross, from which 
 the preaching friars liarangned tlic people. The fobric 
 befor- u^, with a series of other crosses, was con- 
 structed by Edward I. as a tender lueniorial of conjugal 
 affection in honour of his wife, Eleanoi, princess of 
 Castile, who died ^ at Herdeby, near l.incohi (12iH;); 
 at every stage of the journey, where tlie corpse rested 
 on its way to Westminster Abbey, a cross was erected, 
 each of different architecture. 
 
 F. — In like manner, a series of crosses formerly 
 stood by the side of the road between Paris and St. 
 Denys, where the kings of France were usually interred. 
 
 ^, — X diflerence of opinion has arisen as to the 
 places at which these crosses of Edward were erected; 
 but Camden,'^ who lived at a period when they all re- 
 mained entire, and who, from his topographical pur- 
 suits, had probably seen them, mentions these ten- 
 Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Gcddinuton, Northamp- 
 ton, Stoney Stratford, Dunstable, St. Ali)ans, \\ altham, 
 and Charing, or Westminster; of these, at the present 
 time, but three remain; namely,- Northampton, Ged- 
 dington, and this of Waltham. 
 
 F. — Charing- Cross, the most maunifieeiit of the 
 whole, was demolished by order of tlie House of Com- 
 mons (IG47), as popish and superstitious. 
 
 The committee said, that verily 
 
 To popery it was bent : 
 For au!;ht I know, it might be so, 
 
 For to church it never went. 
 
 What with excise, and such device, 
 
 The kinsrdoni dotli beirin 
 To think you'll leave them ne'er a cross 
 
 Without doors, nor witliin.' 
 
 P. — In looking at the map, we caauut but observe, 
 
 • Heming. 
 
 ^ Remains. 
 
 ' Percy, Relics, vol. 2. 
 
 WALTHAM CROSS. 
 
 3 
 
 that the procession in leaving St. Albans must liave gone 
 considerably out of its way to reach Waltham. in Essex. 
 
 .sJ7 M '"r^'*''^ ^^'''"= ''""^ ^ ^°y'^I foundation 
 >Nas probably the cause of the compliment 
 
 ^.--This cross, placed at the head of the road which 
 <'".>.. l,om ti.e great north road, is not even in the 
 pansh o Wa,n.am, but in Citeshunt, in the countv ^f 
 Jlcrtlord. li,e structure, we see, is a hexagon of three 
 stones; U.e h>uer of which is ornamented with the 
 arms o En ,,, Castile and Leon, and Ponthieu, n 
 
 ; 'Hrnacle work, appear three statues of the queen 
 t-ugh sadly mutilated, about six feet in heiglu, and 
 ong,na iy ol no contemptible execution; they are sup- 
 posed to b. copies of an original taken Iron, life, and 
 are of a very feminine and pleasing appearance. The 
 upper .story is of solid masonry, supporting the broken 
 
 ha of a plant cross; and the whole work is thought 
 to have I>een executed by Peter Cavalini, a Roman artLt. 
 
 beauty o AValth.rn Cross; but much of its merit is 
 concea ed and its ornaments damaged, by the conti- 
 gmty of ibe neigltbourit.g house; yet we still behold it 
 .1 pleasure as part of a noble attd unequalled tribute 
 ol conjugal aflection. 
 
 ^—Eleanor was entirely worthy of her husband's 
 esteem : she is described as elegant in person and gen- 
 tle 1.1 manners, pious, prudent, charitable, abstaining 
 from all tnterA-r, nee in matters of state, and employing 
 H>r authority to relieve the distressed and to reconcile 
 tliose \vho were at variance.^ 
 
 ^--Yet a strange exemplification of Shakspeare's 
 P^^^nise^e tho^t pui^e^s snow thou sjialt not escape 
 
 • Mat. Westm. Hemini^. ~'~ 
 
 B '2 
 
4 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 calumny," is to be seen lu a ballad of some celebrity/ 
 entitled "■A \\ an.ins Tiece to England against pndc 
 and wickedness, beins the fate of Queen i:Uar.or, ^ufe 
 to Edward the First, kin, of England, who for her 
 pride, by God's judgments, sunk into the ground at 
 Charing Cross and rose at Queenhilhe." '1 h.s delect- 
 able composition seems to be founded on an o.d p ay 
 of nearly the same title, by George Peelc (1593). \N hat 
 could induce the writers to lix these groundless asper- 
 sions on her iame, it is dinicult to account lor, unless 
 we admit the conjecture, that a concealed satire was 
 meant against Queen Mary ; but the only po.nt of re- 
 semblance seems to have consisted in the Spanish 
 blood that flowed in the yeins of lK,th soyere.gns. 
 
 A -Notwithstanding the severity of Edward s cha- 
 racter, his conduct in the varions domestic relations ol 
 Ufewas singularly tender: when news of h.s lathers 
 death reached him in Sicily, returninu home from the 
 Holy Land, he discovered a great deal uf .sorrow on 
 the occasion; yet soon after learning the death of an 
 infant which his princess had borne him at Acre, he 
 appeared nuxch less affected; at which some person 
 expressing surprise, he replied, that God m,.ht send 
 him more sons, but the death of a father was irre- 
 parable '• Edward made no haste to return to England ; 
 but the council immediately proclaiming him kmg. nt 
 Henry the Third's death, all orders of men were forward 
 
 to swear allegiance. ^ 
 
 f'-Sucliwas the force of his reputation over the 
 turbulent spirits of tiiat age, tliat Edward may be said 
 to be the first monnrcli since the Compicst who ac- 
 ceded to the throne without some commotion or op- 
 position. 
 
 Evans. 01,1 Halladp, vol. 1 
 
 >> Wiilsineliam. 
 
 I'liRSKCUTlON OF THE JEWS. 5 
 
 ^.- in his passage through Chalons, in Burgundy 
 Ldward was challenged by the prince of that country 
 to a tournament, and the king and the English knights 
 were so successful in their Jousts that the French, pro"- 
 voked at their superiority, made a serious attack upon 
 them, as it was thouglit, by the instigation of the ba- 
 msued sons of Simon de Montfort : the attack was 
 '•'•1"> sed, but much blood was shed in this idle quarrel 
 which received tiie name of the petty battle of Chalon.s 
 i--J).^ On the king's arrival in England, his conduct 
 'dly ans^^ered the high expectations that had been 
 ormed of his wisdom: he applied himself assiduously 
 o correct those disorders which, from the weakness of 
 Henry s governmeut, had prevailed in every department 
 of the state ; he compelled a rigid observance of the laws • 
 he gave protection to the inferior orders of his subjects' 
 and l)y respecting the provisions of the Great Charter 
 "iuself, except indeed on some particular occasions 
 he acquired the right to dictate to his barons an equal 
 regard to (he interests of their vassals. Ey such pro 
 ceedings, tJie whole kingdom was presently chan^^ed 
 irom a scene of misrule and licentiousness to a st'^te 
 of tranquillity and a strict obedience to the laws " 
 
 F.-JIowever laudable the end, the means by which 
 these benefits were obtained were not exactly i„ the 
 spirit of a free constitution ; a commission bein<. esta 
 bhshed with somewhat of an arbitrary power to punish 
 w hnh too frequently confounded the innocent with the' 
 guilty. 
 
 ^.— The unfortunate Jews were the first who felt 
 the full force of Edward's severity. Amongst the dis- 
 orders ol the late reign, none was found more injurious 
 <l'an the adulteration of the coin; for this crime not 
 
 VValsinghiiin. Mat, Westm.' 
 
 •^ Trivet. 
 
G 
 
 VBSTH'IA. 
 
 less than two hundred and cidity of thai ili-lated race 
 were handed in London alone; and lu llie course ot a 
 few years the whole tribe were l)anished the kinc^dom, 
 to the number of fifteen thousand : they were allowed a 
 safe conduct by Edward and a competent sum ior Iheii 
 journey, but at the outports they were despoiled, and 
 many thrown into the sea by the mariners, which crime, 
 however, the kin- did not sulVer to go unpumshcMl/ 
 
 F-The two chief events in the rei-n of Edward 
 are his subjugation of Wales and his attempted subju- 
 gation of Scothmd, both of them inicputous projects ; 
 but as the first was attended with success, and as it 
 has been ultimately beneficial to both countries, it has 
 not onlv been forgiven, but applauded. 
 
 ^..Isince the retreat of the ancient Britons Irom 
 the concpiering arms of the Saxons, eight hundred years 
 before this period, the history of Wales is of small im- 
 portance, and the names of its princes have scarcely 
 spread beyond the limits of their native district. A 
 century and a half after tlie death of Kinu' Arthur, the 
 nominal sovereignty of Britain expired in Cadwalhuler, 
 ^vho in a time of pestilence and tamine retired to Ar- 
 morica, and soon after died at Rome (088) in the habit 
 of a monk.^ His successors contented themselves with 
 the humbler title of Princes of Wales; one of them, 
 Roderic Mawr, made a tripartite division ot the conn- 
 try into Powisland, North and South Wales, among 
 his three sons (843). The superiority seems chielly to 
 have remained with North Wales ; but though perpe- 
 tual contentions and rapine were the consecpience ot 
 such a division, yet it does not appear that the W elsh 
 were in a much more barbarous state than their neigh- 
 bours, if we may judge from the laws still extant^ ot 
 
 Wykcs, Chion, *" Galf. Mon. lib. 2. M. Wostin. 
 
 Wntton, Lcpes Wallicae. 
 
 WKLSH DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 7 
 
 Hoel iJiia, or IToel the Good, a prince of South Wales 
 (!U0}, which, however rude, may be considered as 
 respectable a ])iece of jurisprudence as any Anglo 
 Saxon code of tlie same date. 
 
 F, — Could the Welsh substantiate an obscure tradi- 
 tio]i, they would be entitled to the great honour of 
 being esteemed the discoverers of America, three cen- 
 turies l)erore the voyage of Columbus. Madoc, a 
 younger son of Owen Gwineth, prince of North Wales, 
 dissatislied with the convulsions of his country, sailed 
 (1170) with a small fleet of ships to the westward, 
 leaving Ireland upon the north ; coming to an unknown 
 land, he Ibund there many things new^ and uncustomary, 
 but was delighted \\ itli the pleasantness of the air and 
 fertility of the soil : he returned however to Wales for 
 the purpose of collecting an additional number of his 
 countrymen, witli whom sailing back in ten ships, he 
 bade Britain a final adieu, and was never heard of 
 mure. 
 
 P. — What part of America was this flotilla sup- 
 posed to reach ? 
 
 F. — Florida lias been fixed on as the place of the 
 Welshmen's settlement, from an assertion of Francis 
 Lopez de Gomara, a Spanish author of repute, that in 
 Aeu'/amil, and in some other parts of that province, a 
 tribt^ of Americans were found who paid worship to the 
 Cross ; '' whilst some have chosen Mexico, on the 
 ground that Montezuma acknowledged his ancestors 
 to be derived from a foreign stock, wiiich came from 
 a far country; others again pretend to find the re- 
 mains of this ( olony on the isthmus of Darien.^ The 
 authors of the Turkish Spy assert that the Tuscoraras 
 
 ^ Lib. 5, r.52. 
 
 ^ An Eijiiiiy to show an affinity between the languages of the Ancient Bri- 
 tons an'l the Americans of the isthmus of Darien. Edinburgh, 1758. 
 
8 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CONQUEST OF WALES. 
 
 9 
 
 and Doegs^ fire the descendants of these Welsh adven- 
 turers, thougli ill what part of America such races are 
 to be found T am unable to discover. 
 
 P.— The present Laureat, in Ins poem of Madoc, 
 establishes his hero at Azihui, an imaginary kingdom 
 likewise, as I conjecture, not finding it in the American 
 Gazetteer. 
 
 F.— The partizans in (lie l)clief of (his emigration 
 had once great confidence in the resemldance of cert<jin 
 words in the two languages of W ales and JNFexico, par- 
 ticularly in the name of the l)ird [)enguin, uhich, it 
 seems, in Welsh means white head, l)ut unfortniiatoly 
 all the American species have their heads uniforndy 
 black; so that, as Pennant ol)serves, we nmst resi<'n 
 the hope of retrieving the Cand)rian race in tlie New 
 World I)y this hypothesis. 
 
 P.— But surely we may suppose the tradition to 
 rest upon some plausible fouiulation. 
 
 P.— The first mention of the \\ elsh Columbus is in 
 a history of Wales by J)r. Powell (1584), wlio asserts 
 that his account is taken from records preser\ed in the 
 abbeys of Conway and Stratllur. Later authorities 
 have endeavoured to authenticate the story l)v a n fe- 
 rence to a poem of Meredyth ap Rhys, w ho ilourished 
 in the year 1470, lull twenty years l)elore the \ oya^^e of 
 the great Genoese admiral: the poet thus alludes to 
 his countryman : 
 
 Madoc I am, the son of Owen Gwyncdd, 
 With stature hiriro, and coiiicly L^racc adorn'd; 
 No lands at home, nor store of wealtli nie [»lease; 
 I\Iy niinde was whole to search the ocean seas. 
 
 This homely translation is taken from Hakluyfs col- 
 lection of voyages. 
 
 .A. — These verses prove no more than (liai Madoc, 
 
 dissatisfied with lus domestic situation, employed him- 
 self in searching the ocean for new possessions. If he 
 reallv discovered an unknown country, the course 
 which he steered would more readily carry him to Ma- 
 deira, or to one of llie Azore islands, than to America. 
 Had the voyage been considered as of any importance 
 in his own time, it could not have been overlooked by 
 cotiMnporary writers, particularly Giraldus Cambrensis, 
 himself a Welshman, and copious in the description of 
 his own country, to the glory of which such a disco- 
 very would not have a little contributed. If we do not 
 therefore, with a modern geographer,-^ call this disco- 
 very of Madoc a ridiculous fiction, we must at least 
 susi)end our belief till more sufficient proofs appear. 
 
 p^ Though Wales remained in a half barbarous 
 
 state, it is greatly to the credit of its inhabitants, that 
 for so many centuries they maintained their indepen- 
 dence ; nor could the Norman kings of England, with 
 all their power, reduce the country to a state even of 
 feudal subjection. 
 
 A.— In the reign of Henry the Third, Llewellyn, 
 prince of Wales, broken with infirmities, and harassed 
 bv the rel)ellion of one of his sons, consented, as the 
 price of protection, to sul)ject the principality in vas- 
 salaue to the crown of England. The grandson of this 
 degenerate prince, of the same name, desirous of 
 shaking olV the yoke, joined the rebellious barons in 
 conjunction with Simon de Montfort: at the accession 
 of Edward, being called upon to renew the feudal 
 homa<a\ he became alarmed at the danger of trusting 
 his person into the hands of a jealous and irritated 
 enemy. The refusal gave a colourable pretence to 
 the ani!)itious revenge of Edward; and now, aided 
 
 « Vo!.8. 
 
 ^ Pinkerton, Gcojr. 
 

 JO 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 by David and Kodcric, thr I)rothcrs of the Welsh 
 prince, who had indeed l)een unjustly deprived of their 
 possessions, he pierced into the heart of the country, 
 where shutting up Llewellyn in the inaccessible moun- 
 tains of Snowdun, he compelled him by the rigour of 
 ftimine to surrender at discretion. The conditions of 
 peace being ill observed by the conquerors, the Welsh 
 again flew to arms, and David, sensible too late of his 
 imprudence, returned to the support of his brother's 
 authority; but in a battle against Koger Mortimer, 
 Llewellyn, with two thousand of his followers, perished 
 in the field; and David, after various disguises and 
 escapes, being at length betrayed, this last branch of 
 one of the oldest royal iamilies in Europe, was inhu- 
 manly hanged, drawn, and quartered, for taking arms 
 in defence of his native country.^ 
 
 F' — This mode of punishing traitors seems to have 
 been first adopted in England on this lamentable occa- 
 sion; whatever may have been the rudeness and inei- 
 vilization of the Welsh, there is no legal innietion in 
 the code of Hoel Dha of equal barbarity. 
 
 P.— So thinking, who could suppose that men yet 
 living can remember seeing exposed, on Temple bar, 
 the heads of decapitated nobles. 
 
 ^.—During David's residence in Endand he had 
 accepted of a l)arony; and thus, under the shameful 
 pretext of his being a rel)el, he was tried and con- 
 demned by the English peers in a parliament assembled 
 at Shrewsbury. 
 
 F.— In other particulars the cruelty of Edward has 
 perhaps been exaggerated. The story of the massacre 
 of the bards, in order to extinguish those sparks of 
 national feeling Vvhich their recitations were calculated 
 
 CONQUliST OF WALKS. 
 
 11 
 
 ' Heminc-rord. Mat. Wcstni. 
 
 to excite, appears to be without foundation, though the 
 popularity of (Jray's ode has given the opinion almost 
 universal credence ; but 
 
 High-born Hoel's harp, and soft Llewellyn's lay, 
 
 probably continued to exert their characteristic excel- 
 lence, xxithout l>eing silenced by the stern command of 
 an unfeeling; conqueror. 
 
 ^.— The only authority for this generally received 
 tradition is Sir John Wynne's history of the Gwydir 
 familv %vritten about two centuries ago, in which the 
 circumstance is thus related : " Edward the First caused 
 our bards all to be hanged by martial law, as stirrers 
 of the people to sedition, whose example being fol- 
 lowed l)y the governors of Wales, until Henry the 
 Fourth, was the utter destruction of that race of men." 
 Now this account of the matter clearly involves a con- 
 tradiction ; for if the race had been exterminated, what 
 need was there for a statute from Henry the Fourth? the 
 provisions of which arc somewhat curious; it enact- 
 ing, that " No waster, rhymer, minstrel, or vagabond, 
 sha'n be suffered in Wales, and such persons are prohi- 
 bited from holding their kymorthas, or public assem- 
 blies, or making their annual progress;" 'but no punish- 
 ment is provided for the offence, unless the imprison- 
 ment mentioned in the next chapter of the act be appli- 
 ciible In the statute of Edward the First for the 
 future ..overnment of Wales, though descending to very 
 minute" particuUirs, I can find no mention whatever of 
 
 the bards. 
 
 F.— The anecdote of Edward's promising the Welsh 
 
 a prince, by birth a Welsiunan, and who could speak 
 
 no other language than their own, is somewhat of the 
 
 same complexion, as it is not mentioned by any histo- 
 
 ^ Stilt. 4, Hen. IV. 
 

 m 
 
 \l> 
 
 12 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Z; O ;," ?"'"^" •'''' '" trace, onrlier than 
 ^ o^ . On (he poplc's acclanuttioas ui' joy and promise 
 o obedience at this declaration, he pro.hued to then, 
 his infant son, who had been just born in the castle of 
 Caernarvon ; the death of Alphonso, his eldest son, soon 
 followan, n.ade this youn, Eduard heir of the n.onar- 
 chy, and hencelorth the principality has «nen a title ,o 
 the eldest son of the subsequent kin,s of England. 
 ^— >^ ithin a i■o^y years from the conquest and set- 
 
 Mtion ^ave full employment to E.Iuard durin- he 
 remainder of his rei,n. The pretensioiis o," tin.: no 
 narch to the doininion of Scotland is oiie of the most 
 important events in the a,icient En,lish histoiy, froi 
 
 evil tram ot consequences ^^hich it left behind 
 
 P.-Till this period Scoth-nd seems to have h.d 
 but sman connection .Uh its more po.eriul n;;:;;:;* 
 ^.-The early history of Scotland is involve<l i,i a 
 cloud oi impeiietrable obscuiity. To the llou.ans, the 
 southern part of that kingdom was known bv the i .n. 
 of Caledoma; we have already see.i ■ that, so ea.Jy .s 
 the latter end of the third century, the northern pa 
 was inhabited by the Scots and Picts. We will , o 
 again renew the controversy of the origin of these tribes 
 further than I,y remarking, that we before concluded 
 the Scots to have been a coloi.y tVon. Irelaiid, and 
 Picts the descendants of the aiicient Caledonians with 
 anew appellation. 
 
 ^-No person who had not made some research 
 would imagine how large a nun.ber of volu.nes 1 
 been written, and how much ink, well tinetu.ed' with 
 gall, has been wasted on this unprotitable enquiry 
 
 THE PICTS AND SCOTS 
 
 n 
 
 •■ Vol. I, <lissoit. 2,1...-,! 
 
 A —J)v Eobcvtson divides tlie history of Scotland 
 into four parts; the lirst of which readies from the 
 eailicst ages to the reign of Kenneth the Second, who 
 died 859. This, says that royal historiographer, is the 
 region of pure fable and conjecture, to be totally neg- 
 lected or left abandoned to the industry and credulity 
 
 of antiquaries. 
 
 P. -But as we have made enquiry into the romanc- 
 ing chronicles of the early ages of England and Ireland, 
 it would be di.srespectful not to pay the same attention 
 to the corresponding period of the Scotish history. 
 
 yl —These fictions are even less entertaining and, 
 if possible, worse attested. The early history of Scot- 
 land was first traced by Fordun, an historian of the 
 fourteenth century, and being left imperfect by him, 
 was tilled up, and brought into a continued narration 
 by Hector Bocthius, or Boyse, principal of the King's 
 colle-o, at Aberdeen, in the sixteenth century ; and the 
 whole soon after was revised :"-nd put into a more spe- 
 cious form by the celebrated George Buchanan, whose 
 nol>lc Latin style recommended it to the attention of 
 the learned. The Tictish antiquities make no great 
 n,.uri> • their kings, from the age of Cruidne, the father 
 of the Picts, who tlourished tlirce hundred years before 
 Christ, to the date of the union of the two people under 
 Kenneth tlie Second, are said to have been about se- 
 venty in number; but their actions are without the 
 least interest, and their names either ridiculous or in- 
 eflablc, as Brmlebout, their fifteenth, or Blicihliterth, 
 their twenty-second monarch, 
 
 p —The chroniclers, in acknowledging the Scots to 
 be of Irish descent, admit, of course, all the nonsense 
 of their Milesian pedigree. 
 
 ,l._These authorities relate, that Fergus, son of 
 
L;"i i! K:s:x ' ~.^ rs 
 
 14 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 
 
 
 Fercharcl, a petty Irish prince, was called in 1)y (he 
 Caledonians, three hundred and thirty years betore 
 Christ, to assist them in repelling the invasion ol' Coilus, 
 king of Britain, who being presently after defeated and 
 slain, Fergus, in grateful return for his good services, 
 was declared the first king of Scots; but he did not 
 long enjoy his dignity, for returning on some occasion 
 to Ireland, he was drowned by a sudden tempest, at a 
 place called from this event Knock, or Carrick Fergus. 
 
 F, — This savours much of the maiuier of GeoflVey 
 of Monmouth, who has a dexterous knack of combiniuir 
 fictitious events with esla1)lislied names so artfully as 
 to create a sort of local relation Avhich it is sometimes 
 difficult to eradicate. 
 
 A, — The names of the successors of Feruus till 
 they were latinized by Hector Eoethius, are equally 
 barbarous as those in the Pictish list ; amongst them is 
 Corbred Galdus, or Galgacus, the renoAvned oi)ponent 
 of Agricola. The fortieth king of Scots was another 
 Fergus, the son of Ere, a petty prince of Dalriada, in 
 Ulster, who appears also to have been a real person, 
 and under whose sway the Scots permanently esta- 
 blished themselves in the north-west part of Caledonia; 
 but whether this prince flourished in the fourth, iifth, or 
 sixth century is uncertain : he is said to have left de- 
 scendants, whose power increased, till Kenneth the 
 Second, the twenty-ninth monarch in succession from 
 him, partly by concpiest and partly by an hereditary 
 claim, happily eflccted an union of the Scotisli and 
 Pictish crowns (83()). 
 
 P. — The portraits of this long series of Scotish 
 kings, continued to James the Sixth, in number one 
 hundred and eleven, ornament the gallery of Jfolyrood 
 House^ Edinburgh; in which the peers choose their 
 
 EARLY SCOTISH HISTORY. 
 
 15 
 
 i 
 
 sixteen represtntatives. The style in which they arc 
 executed by Ue Witt, bears the same relation to the 
 beauty of the pictorial art as the legend does to the 
 truth of history. 
 
 F. — Kenneth the Second is represented to be a 
 politic as well as brave warrior; for being repulsed by 
 the Picts, and finding it dillicult to renew^ the war, he 
 found means to gain over his nobility by the following 
 ridiculous stratagem: having invited them to an enter- 
 tainment, the king introduced into the hall in which 
 they slept a person clothed in a robe made of the skins 
 of iishes, wliidi gave out such a luminous appearance 
 in the dark that he was mistaken for an angel, or some 
 supernatural messenger; and to add to the terror, he 
 denounced, through a speaking trumpet, the most ter- 
 rible judgments, if war were not immediately declared 
 against the Picts."" 
 
 A, — With Kenneth the Second terminates Dr. Ro- 
 bertson's period of pure fable and conjecture. The 
 next period of Scotish history, according to the same 
 authority, reaches to the death of Alexander the Third, 
 in the year 1285, who was the cotemporary of Edward 
 the First : '' In the progress of these five centuries, 
 truth begins to dawn, with a light feeble at first, but 
 gradually increasing ; the events which then happened 
 may be slightly touched, but merit no very particular 
 or laborious encpiiry;" and indeed, from the paucity of 
 ancient Scotish records, the chief part of which were 
 supposed to be destroyed or removed by Edward the 
 First, the transactions of the kingdom are chiefly to 
 be gleaned from scattered passages in the English 
 
 historians. 
 
 i^.— Scotland, like its neighbour, was long infested 
 
 * Fordun, lib. 4. 
 
1(J 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 MACBETH AND BANqUO. 
 
 17 
 
 > i 
 
 w 
 
 by (ill' cruel ravages of tlie piratical Danes: it was 
 also early afllicted by witches, and terrified hy freciuent 
 prodigies; there sometimes appeared in the I'e-rth 
 '' fishes in great numbers, like unto men in shape, 
 swimming- up and down the stream, havimr a bhick 
 skin, which covered tlieir heads and necks irom their 
 shoulders upwards, in manner of a hood ; tliese are 
 called ' bassinates,' and they ^o in great companies 
 together, as though they were skulls of herrings, si^-ni- 
 fying," as the historian' prudently adds, ''when seen, 
 some great misfortuue to the country," such as t!ie 
 violent death of the monarch, which was no unusual 
 circumstance. 
 
 -1-— 'I'be only historical part of this long era which 
 can at all interest an English ear, is the usurpation of 
 Macbeth, an event immortalized by the tragedy of 
 Shakspeare. It is curious to observe how (liis matter 
 is related in TI(>linslied\s Chronicle, as translated i'wm 
 Hector Boethius ; two or three extracts, from ihc sim- 
 plicity oi* the style, may amuse you : after having re- 
 lated that Duncan was the grandson of 3Ial( olm, his 
 predecessor on the thron(v, l)y nn elder daughter, and 
 that Macbeth was equally descenTlcd by a younger 
 daughter, the chronicler goes on to state, fliat Duncan 
 was renowned for the gentleness, and Macbetli lor tiie 
 cruelty, of his disposilion; lu.' then gives an account of 
 the rebellion of Macdowald in the western isles, which 
 was caused by the excessive rigour of iiancpio in his 
 office of high steward; after tlie suppression of this 
 commotion, and the deleat of a bodv of the invadinf>- 
 Danes, as Macbeth and IJanquo were "journeying to- 
 wards Fores, where the king then lay, tliey went sport- 
 ing together by the w^iy, without' other com])any, save 
 
 * Holiiishcd. 
 
 only themselves, passing the rough, the woods, and 
 fields, when suddenly, in the midst of a laund, there 
 met them three women in strange and wild apparel, 
 resembling creatures of the elder w^orld; w^ho, when 
 they attentively beheld, much wondering at the sight, 
 the first of them spake and said, 'All haile, Macbeth, 
 thane of Glamis!' the second of them said, 'Haile, 
 Macbeth, thane of Cawdor!' but the third said, ' All 
 haile, Macbeth, that hereafter shall be king of Scot- 
 land!'" 
 
 P. — These are nearly the precise words of the salu- 
 tation, as given by Shakspeare. 
 
 A.—^' Then Banquo saith, ' What manner of women 
 are you that seem ^o little ftivourable unto me ; w hereas 
 to my fellow^ here, besides high offices, ye assign also 
 the kingdom, appointing nothing for me at all ? ' ' Yes,' 
 saith the first, 'we promise greater benefits unto thee 
 than him ; for he shall reign indeed, but with an un- 
 lucky end ; neither shall he leave any issue behind him 
 to succeed in his place; when contrarilie, thou indeed 
 shalt not reign at all, but of thee shall those be born 
 which shall govern the Scotish kingdom by order of 
 continual descent.' Herewith the aforesaid women im- 
 mediately vanished out of their sight. This was re- 
 puted at the first but some vain fantastical illusion, 
 insomuch that Banquo would call Macbeth, in jest, 
 ' king of Scotland,' and Macbeth would call him * father 
 of many kings;' but afterwards the common opinion 
 w as, these w omen were either the weird sisters, that is, 
 as you would saj^ the goddesses of destiny, or else 
 some nymphs or fairies endued with knowledge of pro- 
 phecy by their necromantic science, because every 
 thing came to pass as they had spoken." 
 
 P. — The incidents in Shakspeare's marvellous com-^ 
 
 VOL. lU C 
 
18 
 
 TESTIGIA. 
 
 position are not then to be attributed to bis own fertile 
 imagination ? 
 
 A. — Scarcely one oi thcin. The narrative thus pro- 
 ceeds : ^" Shortly after, it chanced that Kinu' Duncan 
 made the elder of his sons prince of Cumberhmd, as it 
 were thereby to appoint )iim his successor ; Macbeth, 
 sore troubled hcreA\ ith, began to devise how he might 
 attain the kingdom, j^Tcatly encouraiicd by the words 
 of the weird sisters, but specially his wife lay sore 
 upon him to attempt the tiling, as she that was very 
 ambitious, burning in unquenchable desire to bear the 
 name of a queen; at length, therefore, communicating 
 his purposed intent with his trusty iVicnds, amongst 
 whom Banquo was the chieiest, upon confidence of 
 their promised aid he slew tlie king at Inverness." 
 
 F, — The incident in the play of making Duncatfs 
 cham.berlains drunk, and laying the guilt of the assas- 
 sination upon them, with their subsequent slaughter, 
 are borrowed from the accoimt which Holinshed re- 
 lates of a predecessor of Duncan, >\lio was slain under 
 those circumstances about cightv years before. 
 
 A, — The murder of Jlanquo and the escape of Fle- 
 ancc are taken also from (he same authority; and here 
 the poet found tlie equivocal predictions on which his 
 hero so fatally depended. *' He had learned of certain 
 wysards how that he ought to take heed of .Macduife, 
 and surely hereupon had he put him to death, but a 
 certain witch whom he had in great trust had told, that 
 he should never be slain with man born of any woman, 
 nor vanquished till the wood of Birnam came to the 
 castell of Dunsinane." And the whole tenor and bear- 
 ing of the scene between Macdulfe and Malcolm in 
 England, in which the latter depreciates his own quali- 
 ties, is almost literally borrowed from the historian. 
 
 GENEALOGY or THE STUARTS. 
 
 VJ 
 
 But we seem to be rather criticising Shakspeare's play, 
 than explaining the early history of Scotland. 
 
 P' — And to me I must own that it is the more inte- 
 resting subject ; but to what cause are we to attribute 
 in the historians of Scotland this amplification of cir- 
 cumstances in the story of Macbeth ? 
 
 F.— It has been thought that it was done to flatter 
 the Stuart family, l)y attributing to them a higher anti- 
 quity than they could authentically establish. 
 
 A. — The characters of Banquo and his son Fie- 
 ance are the inventions of Hector Boethius fo^ that 
 purpose, who deduces from them the origin of the 
 Stuart race; yet the first undoubted ancestor of that 
 family was W alter, great steward or master of the 
 household to David the First (1153). Beyond this 
 person the various pedigrees of the Stuarts are nothing 
 but fabulous genealogies ; yet it is difficult to divest 
 the nation of its opinion of their descent from Banquo, 
 who never had other than poetical existence ; in whose 
 prophetic glass the poet disclosed the long procession 
 of his posterity : 
 
 And some I see 
 
 That twofold balls and treble sceptres carry. 
 
 F. — The subsequent events which connect the 
 Scotisli witli the English history are the death of Mal- 
 colm Canmore, (he son of Duncan, who perished in an 
 invasion of England, in the reign of William Rufus 
 (iOiJiJ), and the capture of William the Lion, by Glan- 
 vile, the justiciary, as already related in the reign of 
 Henry the Second (1174). 
 
 A, — Till the death oi' Alexander the Third, in the 
 year 1285, the succession of the Scotish monarchy had 
 often been disordered by irregularities and usurpations, 
 but the heir of the royal ("amily had still in the end pre- 
 
 C 2 
 

 20 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 vailed, and that prince inherited, after a \nm(n\ ot eight 
 hundred years, and probably through a succcsmuu of 
 males, the sceptre of Kenneth the Second, ^^ho united 
 the Scotish and Pictish kingdoms. Alexander died by 
 a fall from his horse : he was long lamented for the 
 equity and vigour of his government, and let us not, 
 says Fordun, the Scotish chronicler, with much feeling, 
 question the salvation of this king because of his vio- 
 lent death, for he who has lived well cannot die ill. 
 
 p._\Vhat were the pretensions of Edward to inter- 
 fere with the Scotish government at this melancholy 
 
 juncture? 
 
 ^.—Alexander in early life had espoused tlie Eng- 
 lish princess Margaret, sister to Edward, by whom he 
 had an only daughter, married to Eric, king of Norway; 
 the issue of which marriage was likewise an only 
 daughter, Margaret, commonly called the Maid of 
 Norway, and the undoubted heiress of the Scotish 
 throne. Edward intended to marry his son Edward, 
 prince of Wales, to this princess, and thus unite the 
 two kingdoms into one monarchy; which project, no 
 less equitable than prudent, was defeated l)y the unex- 
 pected demise of the young Scotish queen, at the age 
 of only five years. It is difficult to find in history a 
 death that occasioned more disastrous consequences. 
 
 F,—As the posterity in the direct line of the royal 
 race of Scotland had now failed, it became necessary 
 to search for the collateral branch. 
 
 jl The right to the crown was found to l)e in the 
 
 issue of David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of William 
 the Lion : from this stock were descended John Baliol, 
 the grandson of the elder daughter, and Robert Bruce, 
 the son of the second daughter of that earl. By the 
 rule of succession now established, BalioFs right was 
 
 BALIOL AND BRUCE. 
 
 21 
 
 prelerublc ; he would succeed as the representative of 
 his mother and grandmother, and Bruce's plea of being 
 one degree nearer the common stock would be disre- 
 garded ; but as there was no exact precedent in the 
 Scotisli annals which conld decide this important ques- 
 tion,^ the parliament of Scotland, to avoid the miseries 
 of a civil war, as each competitor was supported by a 
 powerful faction, embraced the dangerous expedient of 
 appealing to the English monarch: and here I must say, 
 though myself an Englishman, that more base, selfish, 
 and disingenuous conduct has seldom been exhibited 
 than that which actuated Uie politic and mighty Edward. 
 
 F. — To this period the amity of the two nations had 
 never been interrupted by long or destructive hostilities, 
 and consequently the Scotish states might have ex- 
 pected more equitable treatment, especially as Edward, 
 recently called upon to decide a dispute between the 
 kings of France and Arragon, with regard to the dis- 
 posal of the crown of Sicily, had acquitted himself 
 with honour.^ 
 
 A. — Ilis treatment of the late prince of Wales and 
 his l)rother should have taught the Scots better, and 
 the present temptation soon proved how easily integrity 
 may be overcome by opportunity : the first step of Ed- 
 ward was to create, or at least revive, his claim to the 
 feudal superiority of Scotland."" 
 
 F. — It is generally allowed that the kings of Scot- 
 land, for many generations previous, did homage to the 
 kings of England, but the object for which this homage 
 was performed remains still a point of controversy ; 
 the j)artizans of Edward w^ished to consider it as paid 
 for the crown itself of Scotland, or at least for that 
 part of the kingdom lying south of the Forth, whilst 
 most of the Scotish writers contend that their kings 
 
 « He mi 11^"^ ford. 
 
 ^ Mat.Westm. 
 
 W^alsingham. 
 
 \ 
 

 VESTTGTA. 
 
 SCOTLAND DECLARED A FIEF OF ENGLAND. 23 
 
 \i 
 
 swore fealty merely for Cuiu])erland, or some otlur 
 fiefs, such as the earldoiii of fTnnthig(lr>in, whwU they 
 enjoyed south of the Tweed, in the saiiu' juaiuuv as 
 the kiiii^ of Ellwand iriraself swore fealty lo the Fn^neli 
 monarch for the provinces which he inherited in IVance. 
 
 A. — We have already seen that in the reigii of 
 A^thelstan,^ the kin;: of Seots, Constantine, was com- 
 pelled, after tiie battle of l>runsbury, to [xrlorni lio- 
 masre on beini^ restored to his kin^d.oni : this eoiihl not 
 mean merely for fiefs held in Enirland, it bcii.u dou!)tiiil 
 whether he possessed any there : liow far tliis iiomage 
 was continued by his successors, or what sul)j( elion it 
 implied, is uncertain. Malcolm Canmore p;iid the 
 usual homage, whiitever it was, to William the Con- 
 queror, at Ai)eriKthy,'' in Perthshire, being dreadfully 
 frightened at the appearance of the iS (unrir^ in his 
 kingdon!. 
 
 F. — When ^\'iliialn the Tiion, taken prisoner by the 
 justiciary Glanville, in the reign of Jleniy the Second, 
 performed his undoubted homage ior the crown itself 
 of Scotland, it appeared to l)e considered as a n.ovelty/ 
 but that act formed not the ba.>is oi" fjlward's claim, 
 as William was released from its conliiuianci^ by <he 
 payment of ten thousand marks to Ricliard the First, 
 and the homage was replaced on its old foundatioji : it 
 had so been recently perlbrmed l)y the deceased king, 
 Alexander, to llenrv the Third,'' and we mav conclude 
 that it meant a vague assumption of sui)eriority in the 
 English king, without any very specific obligations on 
 the part of the Scotish liegeman: the more powerful 
 party seems always to have been intent to impress, and 
 the weaker, when opportunity oflered, always equally 
 anxious to deny or elnde the claim. 
 
 A. — Edward proceeded in a .str<iight forwasd and 
 
 > V\>].l,p. 128. ^ Sim.Dandni. ' Gnl. Neul)ng. lib.2. <> M. Paris. 
 
 uiuleviating determination : under the pretence of exa- 
 mining the question of the succession with the utmost 
 solemnity, he summoned the Scotish barons to attend 
 him at Norham Castle, in Nortlnnnberland, and there 
 by flatteries or intimidation lie prevailed with them, 
 amongst whom were both Baliol and Bruce, to acknow^- 
 ledire Scotland as a fief of the English crown, and to 
 swear fealty to him as their feudal sovereign; and pre- 
 tending that it was in vain to pronounce a sentence 
 whicli he had not })ower to execute, he demanded pos- 
 session of the fortresses of the disputed kingdom. 
 Being attended with a powerful army, the barons found 
 it impossible to resist, and Edward then referred the 
 claims of the competitors to a hundred and forty com- 
 missioners, partly English partly Scotch ; he proposed 
 the question also to the most celebrated lawyers in 
 Europe, who returned an unifoim answer, and the right 
 of the crown was declared to be in Baliol.'' 
 
 F. — The aw^ard itself must be allowed as equitable 
 as it w^as solemn. 
 
 A. — Edward having thus established his claim of 
 feudal superiority, it was soon perceived that he aimed 
 at nothing short of the absolute sovereignty of the 
 kingdom ; he attempted to provoke Baliol to rebellion 
 by many indignities, that after the example of the 
 Welsh prince, he might be proclaimed a traitor, and 
 his dominions forfeit. Baliol was compelled to appear 
 as a vassal at the bar of the English parliament,^ and 
 the temper of that prince, though mild, at length began 
 to mutiny, and he sought a secret alliance with the 
 king of France, against whom Edward was now at 
 war, originating in a quarrel between the seamen of 
 the two nations. 
 
 " Hciuingford. Walbingliam. 
 
 ^ Rymcr, vol.2. 
 
24 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 -F"-— This alliance was rein ark able, as beinir the 
 commencement of that strict union l)etween France 
 and Scotland, which was maintained durini^ some cen- 
 turies by their mutual necessities, though perhaps oi* 
 no real advantage to the weaker party, whose interests 
 were often sacrificed to the convcniency of the stronger. 
 
 ^.—Edward, exasperated at this defection, pre- 
 pared to chastise Baliol, and he entered Scotland with 
 a powerful army and assaulted Berwick; he at iirst 
 met with a manful resistance, thus commemorated by 
 a Scotish balleidmonger : 
 
 Wend King Edewardc, with his hmpfe shankcs, 
 To have erete Berr, vke al our unth mkes ? 
 Gas pikes hyin, and after i^ms dikes hym. 
 
 The town however was presently taken l>y Edward, 
 who totally routed the Scots soon after, with great 
 slaughter, at Dunbar;^ on which event an English poet 
 thus retaliated : 
 
 Early In a morning, 
 In an evil tyding, 
 
 Went ye froo Dunbarre.^ 
 
 Baliol, unpopular with his own subjects, and overawed 
 by the English, made a solemn renunciation of his 
 crow^n (1296); coming to Edward with a while rod in 
 his hand," and the conqueror marching throughout the 
 kingdom, received from every quarter assurances of 
 submission, and he flattered himself that he had at- 
 tained the great object of his ambition, the final reduc- 
 tion of Scotland. He acted as the uncontrolled 
 master of the kingdom, and if there be some doubt 
 whether he destroyed the records and otiier monuments 
 of antiquity, which might preserve the memory of its 
 independence, there is no doubt that he wounded the 
 
 Walsingham. ^ Ritson, Ancient Songs. ^ Kvmer, vol. J. 
 
 REMOVAL OF THE SACRED STONE. 
 
 25 
 
 pride of the Scotish nation by removing an ancient 
 stone" preserved at Scone, to which the populace paid 
 the highest veneration : it was reported to be the same 
 which served Jacob for a pillow, and it had been car- 
 ried from the Holy Land into Spain, from whence it 
 was brought by the Milesians to Ireland ; afterwards it 
 was transported to Scotland by Fergus, son of Ere, 
 and by Kenneth the Second it was enclosed in a wooden 
 chair, in whicli himself and the succeeding kings were 
 seated when tlicy received the rite of inauguration : it 
 w^as inscribed with this distich— 
 
 Ni fallat fatum, Scoti quacunque locatum, 
 Invenient lapidem, regnarc tenentur ibidem.^ 
 
 Or fate's deceived, and heaven's decrees arc vain. 
 Or where they find this stone the Scots shall reign. 
 
 With something of a superstitious feeling, Edward re- 
 moved this stone to Westminster Abbey. The predic- 
 tion was oddly enough fulfilled when James the Sixth 
 ascended the throne of England. 
 
 F.— A doubt has been started Ijy antiquaries whe- 
 tlier the stone exhibited at present in that venerable 
 pile be the identical relic, as by the treaty of North- 
 ampton, concluded by Mortimer in the beginning of 
 Edward the Third's reign, it was agreed to be restored; 
 but though a writ was issued for that purpose, it was 
 never executed, and we may rest satisfied in the as- 
 surance that we still keep possession of the sacred 
 
 palladium. 
 
 ^.__.The unfortunate Baliol, weak as unfortunate, 
 
 and vet it is difticult to say what conduct would have 
 
 »/ 
 
 prevented his misfortunes, was confined in the Tower 
 of London, where he remained two years, and then 
 submitted to a voluntary banishment in France/ in 
 
 '^ Rymer, vol. 2. 
 
 ^ Hcmingford. 
 
 *^ Mat. W^estm. 
 
26 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 WALLACE. 
 
 27 
 
 I 
 
 I' 
 
 which country, totally ibruotten, he died loucr after in a 
 private station.' The Baliols were oriuinally a Norman 
 family, and had larp:e possessions in Enuland as well as 
 Scotland: it was the lather of the Scotisli king who en- 
 dowed at Oxtbrd the colleo^e bearin-- his own name. 
 
 P.— But it cannot be supposed that an ancient 
 kingdom, like Scotland, long boasting its independence, 
 would submit to the yoke of a conqueror without mudi 
 inquietude. 
 
 A. — Edward chose uiisuaable instruments lor its 
 subjugation. Earl W arenne, the general, retiring from 
 the command on account of ill health, tlie administra- 
 tion fell into the hands of Ormsl)v and Cressinuham 
 the officers next in rank; the former distinguished by 
 his severity, the latter by his avarice: both made the 
 Scots feel too severely the loss of th.eir independence.^ 
 In this conjuncture arose the celebrated Sir \\ illiam 
 Wallace, whose real exploits and valour are worthv of 
 the highest encomium, without having resort to the 
 exaggerated traditions of romance. This person ap- 
 pears to have possessed every requisite of popularity ; 
 superior to the rest of marrkind in stature, strength, 
 and activity; equally valiant and prudent; magnani- 
 mous and disinterested ; undaunted in adversity ; mo- 
 dest in prosperity; and animated with a genuine and 
 ardent love of his country. 
 
 J^-— This is drawing the character of a i)erfect hero. 
 
 A. — Wallace was descended from an ancient Ihmily 
 of small fortune, in the west of Scotland. It is the 
 received opinion, that he was outlawed for killin<'^ an 
 Englishman: betaking himself to the woods, he was 
 joined by men of desperate fortunes or ol' avowed 
 hostility to the English nation: beginning with small 
 
 *" Hclninf,^ 
 
 ^ Heinini:. ^^'ai^i^L'•ha^n 
 
 attempts, he gradually proceeded to more momentons 
 enterprizes, till at length, all men wlio thirsted after 
 military fame became desirous of partaking his renown. 
 F. — Tiiough no person of rank for some time joined 
 his party, yet the valour and conduct of Wallace had 
 inspired a general contidence and attachment, which 
 mere birlli and fortune are u]ia]}]c to attain. 
 
 A, — At length some of the principal barons coun- 
 tenancing Wallace's attempts, the Scots took arms 
 in every quarter, cuid the English, panic struck, hastily 
 fled.' Earl Warenne, however, to compensate for his 
 past negligence, returned with an army of forty thou- 
 sand men, and seduced to bis party many of the most 
 potent barons: but Wallace, still undaunted, retired 
 northwards with the intention of prolonging the war 
 in that mountainous and barren country. The English 
 in full pursuit arrived at Stirling, ^\here Wallace per- 
 mittirig a part of their army to pass the river Forth, 
 attacked them l)efore they were fully Ibrmed, and 
 gained a complete victory: this was the most brilliant 
 exploit iii Vrallace's career. Earl Warenne was com- 
 pelled to retreat into England with all speed: in this 
 battle, Cressingiiam, who iiore the office of treasurer, 
 was slain; a person so odious to the Scots, that they 
 converted his skin into girths lor their saddles.^ 
 
 P. — But were the English conquests annihilated 
 by the effect of this single action? 
 
 A, — Wallace recovered the principal fortresses, and 
 was now universally revered as the deliverer of his 
 country; he wisely retaliated on the English, by ra- 
 vaging the northern counties, and then retiring with 
 the spoil. 
 
 F.— Thc Ermlish writers charge Wallace with exer- 
 
 * Walsiii4fUam. 
 
 ^ Hcmingl 
 
28 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 WALLACE, 
 
 29 
 
 cising the most unheard-of cruelties in this incursion: 
 his troops were doubtless cnpable of conimittinu any 
 excesses, but that their leader could shew humanity 
 as well as bravery, we may judge I'rom his advice to 
 a priest of Hexham, who expressed his ai)preliension 
 of their violence: ''Abide with me/' said Wallace, 
 '' here alone you can be safe, for my men be evil doers, 
 and I may not punish them." ^ 
 
 ^.—Edward, who received in Fhanders intellioence 
 of these disastrous events, was incensed at his digrace, 
 and prepared to renew his conquest with an army of 
 one hundred thousand men, a force which Scotland 
 was at no time able to withstand: and now^ a jealousy 
 of Wallace's superiority arisins^ amonost the nobles, 
 added to their usual factions and animosities, dis- 
 tracted every prudent counsel and exposed tlie nation 
 to total ruin. 
 
 P' — How often does the conduct of the great ba- 
 rons force the observation, that they seemed (o con- 
 sider the interests of their country as of small im- 
 portance compared with their own personal aggran- 
 dizement. 
 
 ^.—Sensible of the envy of the nobility, Wallace 
 resigned his authority, and the command fell upon men 
 more eminent by birth, but less distinguislnnl l)y abili* 
 ties. The Scots dividing their army into three bodies, 
 took their station at Falkirk, where Edward speedily 
 arriving, defeated them with immense slaughter (1298).'' 
 Wallace's military skill, however, enabled him to retire 
 with his troops behind the river Carron. 
 
 F. — Previous to the attack, Wallace is reported to 
 have said to his men, " I half brocht you to the kin<*^/' 
 (or ring, for the word is disputed,) " hoppe gif you can," 
 
 that is, fight, fur you cannot flee.^ Just before the 
 battle, as Edward was about to mount his horse, the 
 animal, frightened by the noise, threw him on the ground, 
 and with a kick, broke two of his ribs;^ but such was 
 the ardour of his spirit, that this accident did not 
 detain him from the field; yet the victory, however 
 complete, did not decide the fate of Scotland; the 
 English were obliged to retire for want of provision, 
 and the Scots still maintained their contest for inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 F^ — During this interval, the Pope having been 
 solicited by the Scots, interfered in their behalf; the 
 pontiir represented to Edward in various arguments, the 
 unreasonableness of his pretensions, with considerable 
 force and trutli, but with a singular and ridiculous 
 confidence, ended his appeal by claiming the kingdom 
 of Scotland as a fief of the Holy See, which claim, 
 though never before heard of, he asserted to be full, 
 entire, and derived from the most remote antiquity."" 
 
 P.— The conduct of his holiness, cannot fail to 
 remind us of the referee in the fable, of the two litigants 
 and the ovster. 
 
 F. — Edward quickly answered the Pope, with ar- 
 guments equally cogent: he deduces the feudal supe- 
 riority of England i'rom the age of Brutus the Trojan, 
 and the example of his descendants, and he lays great 
 stress upon the victories of King Arthur, beginning all 
 this rhodomontade with an appeal to the Almighty 
 searcher of hearts.'^ 
 
 P.— A king who cites chronicles in support of his 
 pretensions gives room to suspect a great deficiency of 
 
 records. 
 
 yl._The Scots having newly chosen, as Regent, 
 
 ^ Heminer. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 ^ Walsingham. Heiiilrig. '» Heming. ' Rymer, vol. 2. ^ Ibid. 
 
 I 
 
30 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 EXECUTION OF W ALLACE. 
 
 31 
 
 John Coniyn, of Badeiiocli, and aainins: some advan- 
 tages, Edward had again occasion to renew his enter- 
 prise, and he sat himself down before tlie castle of 
 Stirling (1304). During the siege, as he carelessly ex- 
 posed his person to danger, some one reconnnended . 
 him to be more cautious; but he answered bv quotino- 
 part of the ninety-first Psalm: '^ A thousand shall foil 
 at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it 
 shall not come nii^h thee."^ 
 
 P.— A strange application of scripture to private 
 feeling. Edward might have thought of his broken 
 ribs at Falkirk. 
 
 F' — An incident in Edward's youth gave a devo- 
 tional tendency to his mind: playing one day at chess 
 with a knight in his chamljcr, he suddenlv rose bv some 
 unconscious impulse, when the next moment an im- 
 mense stone fell from the cieling on the place which he 
 had just occupied.^ The king also had once a narrow 
 escape from lightning, a dreadiul flash passing him 
 and his queen as they sat upon the bed, and killing 
 two ladies in the apartment (1280).'^ 
 
 A. — At the surrender of Stirlir.g Castle, one of 
 those picturesque scenes occurred which make a deeper 
 impression than the general conflict of a san^anarv 
 battle. One morning the gates were opened and the 
 governor, Sir William Oliphant, with twenty-five of his 
 companions, were seen moving in slow procession 
 down the hill, barefoot, in their shirts, with their hair 
 dishevelled and halters round their necks : when Ed- 
 ward met them, they fell on their knees, and with up- 
 lifted hands implored his favour. " I have no favour 
 for you," he replied ; '' you must surrender at pleasure." 
 To which they assented. '' Then," said he, " my plea- 
 
 * Mat. Westm. 
 
 '' Wal: in chain. 
 
 ibid. 
 
 sure is, that you be hanged as traitors: accept ye this?" 
 *' Sir," answered Oliphant, ^Sve acknowledge our guilt; 
 our lives are at your disposal." "And what say you?" 
 rejoined the king, addressing himself to the others. 
 ''We are all guilty," they exclaimed : ^^we all throw 
 ourselves upon your mercy." The king turned away 
 to wipe the tears from his eyes, and ordered them to be 
 conducted as prisoners, but not in chains, to England.^' 
 
 A, — Edward pursued his advantages with vigour 
 and, to complete his success, had the good fortune to 
 surprise Sir \\ iiliam W allace, whose spirit he had 
 never been able to subdue. This capture was some- 
 what singular: Wallace, long continuing a predatory 
 warfare, had hitherto foiled the attempts of this mighty 
 monarch to secure his person ; but at length he was 
 betrayed by his friend. Sir John Monteith, to whom he 
 had entrusted the place of his concealment.^ 
 
 F. — The common tale is, that he was taken una- 
 wares one night, whilst in the company of his mistress, 
 through the treachery of his servant. Jack Short,^ 
 whose brother he had slain, and who on that account 
 was the more inclined to do his master this ill oiiice. 
 
 A. — Wallace was carried in chains to London, 
 placed at the bar of Westminster Hall, having a crown 
 of laurel on his head, and was arraigned for the crimes 
 of treason, murder, iuid robbery ; these charges he ad- 
 mitted, save that of treason, inasmuch as he had never 
 sworn fealty to the king of England, and he was exe- 
 cuted'^ on Tower Hill (l->03) by the usual mode of 
 beheading and quart erinsr, with every aggravation of 
 cruelty and indignity. Thus to his last moments he 
 asserted that independence which a whole nation had 
 renounced. 
 
 P. — Ts it not extraordinary that Edward should 
 
 *' Heniing. ^ W^•llsingha^l. 
 
 Fordnn, 
 
 ^ Mat. Westm. 
 
 
 i 
 
■dH 
 
 ••■i 
 
 1 ; 
 
 32 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 have pardoned, favoured, and even trusted, persons 
 who had often made and as often violated their ensrasrc- 
 ments, whilst the man who had never acknowledged 
 his sovereignty fell the most conspicuous victim of his 
 resentment? 
 
 ^.— That stubborn resistance to Edward's i)reten- 
 sions might constitute the unpardonable oflenee of 
 Wallace; and yet when the rest of his countrymen 
 made their peace with Edward, the interests of Wallace 
 were not forgotten: it was agreed that he nn'ght jiut 
 himself on the pleasure and grace of the king, if he 
 thought proper;^ but he did not think proper: perhaps 
 he might justly distrust the sincerity of Edward, aiul 
 whether we call his conduct obstinacy, or patriotism, 
 or prudence, to this we must attril)ute his punishment. 
 F.— To his execution, perhaps, \\ alhice owes as 
 much of his celebrity as to his exploits. His unworthy 
 fate excited the sympathy and aniuiiifcd the vengeance 
 of the Scotish nation; and henceforward the Imts and 
 glens, the tbrests and mountains, which he had fre- 
 quented became consecrated in the eyes of posterity as 
 the sacred memorials of his fame. 
 
 P.— In the west of Scotland, the stones on which 
 he sat, the tree in which he was secreted, the rock from 
 which he plunged into the sea, the l)ridge which he 
 crossed, the forest to which he withdrew, the foamiu"- 
 cascade behind which he was once screened, the bam 
 in which he was taken, and the hike into which he 
 hurled his sword when overpowered by his foes, arc 
 still fondly remembered and pointed out by his ad- 
 miring countrymen. 
 
 ^.—Wallace was, without doubt, a bold and brave 
 leader ; but perhaps his talents were rather those of a 
 guerilla chief than an accomj)lished general. The only 
 
 « Kyiey, Placita Pari. "~ " 
 
 WALLACE. 
 
 33 
 
 i 
 
 great battles in x\hich he fought were those of Stirling 
 and Falkirk; in the first he was victorious, but must 
 sliarc tlie glory with Sir Andrew Moray, who was his 
 equal in command ; in the latter he was most disas- 
 trously defeated. 
 
 F' — As the renu'inl4cmce of his real exploits faded 
 away, fiction was em])loyed to emblazon the character 
 of the hero : his courage was thus said to possess a 
 talismanic power, which assured the victory to his fol- 
 lowers. Like a true knight errant he cleaved his foes 
 through braun and bane down to the shoulders, never 
 striking off less than an arm or a leg of his adversary 
 at a blow. 
 
 P. — To whose recording pen are we obliged for the 
 recital of these romantic achievements? 
 
 F' — To that of a certain minstrel called Blind Harry, 
 ^\h() flourished about the year 13G].^ He is supposed 
 to have collected the traditions of the vulgar respecting 
 Sir Vi'illiam Wallace, though he professes to translate 
 the life of that hero as written by his chaplain, Robert 
 Blair ; it would be lost labour to search for the real 
 name or condition of the author, who either knew not 
 his story or who meant to falsify it. His work is 
 called, " The Life and Acts of the most famous and 
 valiant champion, Sir William Wallace, of Ellerslie, 
 maintainer of the liberties of Scotland:'' it consists of 
 twelve books in metre, each containing several chap- 
 ters, with such sort of titles as ' how Wallace with 
 three thousand men defeated King Edward, at Biggar, 
 with sixty thousand;' ' how Wallace slew young Selbie, 
 the constable's son of Dundee;' 'how Wallace burnt 
 the barns of Air, and expelled Bishop Beake out of 
 Clasirow, and slew the lord Percie;' all ^\hich suffi- 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 " Mackenzie's Lives, &c. 
 D 
 
84 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ciently bespeak an air of romance. The poetry ol 
 this northern Homer is not without iis merit ; and the 
 whole has been ever in prodigious favour witli the 
 lower classes in Scotland. . 
 
 A.— The execution of Wallace did not ensure tran- 
 quillity : thrice had Scotland been subdued, and thrice 
 did she revolt; and now in the space of lour months 
 was again to be overthrown l)y a dillercnt instrument, 
 a system raised by the incessant labour of fifteen years; 
 but the causes of this event are so dilferently related 
 by the historians of the two nations, that we know not 
 exactly what to credit or wliat to disbelieve. The ce- 
 lebrated Robert Bruce, now at the age of twenty-three, 
 and grandson to the original competitor for the Scotish 
 crown, but who had hitherto acted with tlie English 
 party,'first appears upon tlie scene. In order to em- 
 bellish their annals,^ the Scotish historians represent 
 Bruce as present at the battle of Falkirk ; just bctbre 
 the action, having discovered Wallace by his majestic 
 port, he desired a short conference, in which he re- 
 proached that hero with ambition. Walhice replied, 
 that in taking up arms he was not in the least swayed 
 by ambition, his o»dy aim being to free his country, 
 which the great men of the realm sulfered to perish by 
 their supineness and jealousy; that the blame lay en- 
 tirely on the nobility, and chielly indeed on Bruc«' him- 
 self, who, uniting personal merit with <1ignily of birth, 
 - had deserted the post wliich botli nature and fortune 
 had called him to assume. This reply made so great an 
 impression on the mind of Bruce that lie burst into tears. 
 2^._^'otwithstanding this interesting colloquy, it is 
 certain, from the express assertion of English contem- 
 porary historians," that Bruce was not at that time in 
 
 * Fordun, lib. 6. 
 
 ^ Trivet, lleniing. 
 
 ROBi-RT BRUCE. 
 
 85 
 
 Edward's army. In the early period of his life, it may 
 be iiiliicult to vindieate this young man's conduct, 
 unless we conclude that he waited for the proper op- 
 portunity of declarinjr hi 3 principles. 
 
 A. — After the resignation of Baliol, it is supposed 
 that Edward had cajoled the son of Kobert Bruce, the 
 original competitor, now deceased, by an implied pro- 
 mise of the vacant diadem; but when the promise was 
 claimed, the haughty monarch replied '* Am I to con- 
 quer kingdoms for you?"» By the demise of this per- 
 son, his son, young Robert, having succeeded to the 
 rights of his tamily, naturally considered himself as 
 the lawful heir of the throne against the pretensions of 
 the house of Baliol, whose imbecility had estranged 
 the affection of the Scots ; excited with these views of 
 personal ambition, as well as contemplating the deli- 
 very of his enslaved country, he ventured to disclose 
 his intentions to John Comyn, of Badenoch, the regent 
 of Scotland under Edward. ** This nobleman, being the 
 nephew of Baliol, had a better title by blood than the 
 youthful aspirant; but dissembling his disapprobation, 
 he appeared cordially to acquiesce in his designs. 
 After a short period, Bruce returning to England, 
 Comyn, as it is supposed, sent intelligence to Edward, 
 who contented himself for the present by setting spies 
 upon Bruce's conduct, with the expectation of seizing 
 his three brothers, who then resided in Scotland; but 
 this monarch, usually so discreet, one night over his 
 bottle unwarily betrayed his intention of putting the 
 whole family to death. 
 
 P. — At lengtli tlien an instance of weakness is dis- 
 covered in the invulnerable character of Edward. 
 
 /]. — A nobleman of Edv/ard's court being thus ap- 
 
 Fordun, lib. 11. 
 
 ^ Fordun, lib. 12. 
 
 l» 2 
 
BWITiiiKiii 
 
 36 
 
 ROBERT IJRIJCK. 
 
 87 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 prized of Erucc's danger, but not daring amidst so 
 many jealous eyes to hold any conversation with !iis 
 friend, sent liiiu by a servant a pair of gilt spurs and 
 twelve silver pennies, whWh hv pretended to have bor- 
 rowed, leaving it to the sagacity of Bruce to discover 
 the meaning/ Trcasoneible intentions are suiliciently 
 apprehensive, and Bruce innixdiately contrived the 
 means of escape: as the ground was tliickly covered 
 with snow, he ordered the shoes of his horses to be in- 
 verted that he might deceive those who endeavoured to 
 track his route, and he fled with such speed that, though 
 he travelled chiefly through bye-roads, he reached in 
 seven davs his castle of Loch-Maben, in Dumfriesshire. 
 On the way he met a traveller of suspicious appear- 
 ance, whom having killed, he found on his person letters 
 from Comyn to the king, which plainly evinced that he 
 had betrayed Bruce's intentions. 
 
 P. — These particulars are credible enougl), though 
 it be admitted that they possess a romantic tinge. 
 
 A. — The incident which follows is chiefly the object 
 of doubt and dispute : at Dumfries, Bruce found many of 
 the Scotish nobles assembled: lie is represented as dis- 
 closing to them his intention of assuming the Scotish 
 crown, in which he was vehemently op])osed by Comyn. 
 Bruce, already apprized of the treacheiy of the regent, 
 followed him iVom the assembly, sliowed him the inter- 
 cepted letters, and receiving from him tlie lie, attacked 
 him with his sword, and left him for dead ; inunediately 
 meeting one of his own friends, Sir Thomas Kirk- 
 patrick, Bruce exclaimed, " I think that 1 have killed 
 Comyn." " x\nd is that a matter to be left to conjec- 
 ture?" replied Kirkpatrick; "Twill secure^ liim:" and 
 drawing his dagger, stabbed Comyn tlnwigh tho heart. ^' 
 
 II 
 
 iH 
 
 a Forduri, Tib. 12. 
 
 ^ Walsiiigham. Ilemingf. Knyghton. Fordun. 
 
 F.— All that is absolutely known of this aifair is, 
 that an interview of the two chieftains took place in 
 the convent of the Friars Minors at Dumfries (Feb. 10, 
 130G). A^ hat was said must ever remain a secret, as 
 none were present; but all the historians however 
 agree, that the parties from words proceeded to blows; 
 that Bruce struck Comyn with his foot, and then 
 wounded him with his dagger; and that Kirkpatrick 
 rushing in put him to death. 
 
 A.— The treachery of Comyn has never been cer- 
 tainly ascertained; it may have been invented to lessen 
 the guilt of bloodshed in the character of Bruce, and 
 thus to justify a transaction which led to the recovery 
 of Scotland: that the deed itself was not considered 
 dishonourable, we may conclude, from the family of 
 Kirkpatrick taking for their crest a hand mth a bloody 
 dagger, and adding the motto, '' I will secure him," 
 which they retain to this day. The quarrel may have 
 casually originated between two proud spirited rivals, 
 though, after the slaughter, necessity compelled Bruce 
 to assert his pretensions to the crown. 
 
 P.— Bruce knew the character of Edward too well 
 to exj)ect pardon for such an offence. 
 
 A. — The Scots had now no alternative but to shake 
 off the English yoke, or perish in the attempt. Bruce, 
 flyimr to different (junrters, got possession of many of 
 the castles, and was at length solemnly inaugurated at 
 Scone, the crown being placed on his head by the 
 Countess of Buchan,'* who afterwards severely felt the 
 effects of this exploit. 
 
 F. — After the ceremony Bruce observed to his lady, 
 '^ Yesterday we were earl and countess, to day we are 
 king and queen/' To which she replied, " You may 
 be a summer king, but I suppose you will not be a 
 
 * Mat. Westm. 
 
38 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 winter king."* \Yith which cuntcinptuuus speecli the 
 new monarch was excessively enraired. 
 
 A. — For the first year the lady's remark was truly 
 prophetic, for Edw ard, with his usual rapidity of ac- 
 tion, sent Aymer de Valence w ith a considerable force 
 to Scotland, to stop the progress of the malcontents ; 
 and this nobleman falling unexpectedly upon Bruce, 
 totally defeated his army; and the young king, reduced 
 to the lowest ebb of fortune, was compelled to take 
 shelter in the w estern isles : here, for a considerable 
 period, his only food were herbs and roots, and w aler 
 his only drink : his shoes being worn oif his feet, he 
 wandered barefoot.^ In this melancholy interval, his 
 three brothers, with many of his partizans, were taken 
 and executed ; his w ife and the Countess of Buchan w ere 
 imprisoned : the latter is said to have been confined in a 
 cage, in which she could not stand upright ; but w as 
 exposed to the ridicule of every passer-by, being hung 
 out on the wall of Berwick Castle. 
 
 p, — ])o you mean in the same w ay as we hang out 
 a cage containing a squirrel or a parrot ? 
 
 F. — It was commonly thought so, Edward's decla- 
 ration being, that " the countess should be shut up in a 
 stone and iron chamber, circular as the crow n she gave, 
 and that she should be suspended in the open air, a 
 spectacle to travellers for her everlasting infamy:"*' but 
 the real order to the chamberlain of Scotland, still ex- 
 tant,*^ directs that the countess should be attended by ser- 
 vants of both sexes; and the cage seems to have been no- 
 thing more than a latticed apartment in one of the turrets 
 of the castle, where the lady might be retained in secu- 
 rity, and in which she passed acaptivity of several years. 
 
 A. — Edward now assembled a great army ; and for 
 the purpose of giving more eclat to his expedition, 
 
 
 ROBERT BRUCE. 
 
 39 
 
 » Mat.Westm, 
 
 ^ Fordun. « Mat.Westm. 
 
 Rymer, vcj. 1. 
 
 knighted his eldest son. Immediately after receiving 
 thai honour, the Prince of Wales went in procession 
 to "Sl'estminster Abbey, ascended the high altar, and 
 knighted tliree hundred 'young nobles, who were all 
 apparelled in embroidered robes of gold ; at the con- 
 clusion of this ceremeny two swans, adorned with trap- 
 pings and bells of gold, were brought by minstrels, in 
 nets of the same metal, with great pomp into the church, 
 and the king took a solemn oath, by the God of heaven 
 and by these swans, that he would march into Scotland, 
 and never return, till he had punished the rebels and 
 avenged the death of John Comyn.* 
 
 F. — Tliis is one of those strange combinations of 
 aflected piety with real profaneness which the records 
 of chivalry so often exhibit. 
 
 A, — Tlie courage of Bruce had not deserted him: 
 whilst lurking in the isle of Arran, he despatched a 
 person into Carrick to learn how^ his vassals in that 
 territory stood afl'ected to their ancient lord, enjoin- 
 ing the messenger, that if he found the disposition of 
 the people to be favourable, he should make a signal 
 by lighting a iirc upon an eminence in the castle of 
 Turnberry. Fron^^ the daw^n of the appointed day, 
 Bruce had stood with his eyes fixed on the coast of 
 Carrick ; noon had already passed, when he perceived 
 the much desired signal of smoke on the eminence ; he 
 flew to his boat, and hastening over, night surprised 
 him and his associates, w^hile yet at sea : steering by 
 the light of the fire, they reached the shore, where they 
 were met by the messenger, who reported there was no 
 hope, as the country w as entirely occupied by enemies. 
 '' Traitor," cried Bruce, '' wiiy did you make the sig- 
 nal?" ^'I made no signal," replied the man; "but 
 observing a fire on the eminence, I feared that it might 
 
 * Mat.Westm. 
 
40 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CHARACTER OF EDWARD. 
 
 41 
 
 h; 
 
 deceive you, and I hastened lather to warn }()u iVi^ii 
 the coast/'* Eriire hesitated at the danger; hui at 
 length determined to attack the English, carelessly 
 cantoned in the neighboarliood, luaiu ol' whom he put 
 to the sword and pillaged their quarters. 
 
 P.— We can easily imagine the rage of Edward on 
 receiving this information. 
 
 A. — Breatliing out threatenings and slaughter, ihvd 
 monarch reached sight of the Scotish hills, and though 
 labouring with sickness still kept pace with his army; 
 but at Burgh on the Sands, five miles from Carlisle, he 
 was overtaken by a greater concpieror, and expired in 
 his tent (July 7, 1307), in the sixty-ninth year of his 
 age, and the thirty-tifth of his reign ;^ hated and 
 dreaded by his neighbours, but extremely beloved and 
 revered by his own subjects. 
 
 F. — This monarch has ahvays been considcTcd as 
 the model of a politic and warlike^ king. In })oint of 
 ability he stands at the head of the list of English 
 sovereigns; yer it is observable, that his aml)itioiis j)o- 
 licy towards Scotland, l)eing foundiul on palpa]>]e in- 
 justice, produced no advantage to his kingdom, but 
 laid the foundation of a violent and lasting animosity, 
 equally injurious to both countries, and which even at 
 the present hour, after the reciprocation of mutual 
 benefits for two centuries, is scarcely extinguished : the 
 spirit-stirring appeal, 
 
 Scots v.'ha ha* wi' Wallace bled, 
 
 still arousing a spark of national feeling. 
 
 A. — But the advantage of uniting the tw^o kingdoms 
 under one head was so apparent, that posterity, too 
 indulgent indeed to the projects of aml)ition, has not 
 regarded the conduct of Edward with ])erha])s suflr- 
 cient severity. 
 
 P. — But surely it is dangerous to sanction the 
 maxim, that conveniency justifies the strong in his ag- 
 gression of the weak. 
 
 A, — The personal courage and military skill of Ed- 
 ward \M re equally conspicuous. He was industrious, 
 frugal, temperate, and chaste; exemplary in all the 
 relations of domestic life ; of an advantageous figure, 
 being remarkably tall, strong, and graceful, except in 
 the great length and smallness of his legs, which ob- 
 tained for liim the sobriquet of Longshanks ; his hair 
 was yello%v in his youth,^ grey in age; his forehead 
 large, and all his features regular ; lie had a slight im- 
 pediiiuMit in his speech ; his good sense and under- 
 standing were unquestionable ; he rigorously main- 
 tained his autliority against his turbulent barons, but 
 knew w ell how^ to recede when in danger. 
 
 F. — There are two instances exemplifying this judi- 
 cious self-control: the lirst, when Edward issued an 
 enciuiry into the titles by which the barons held their 
 estates, in w hicii he was stopped by the spirited interfe- 
 rence of Earl Warenne,^ who being requested to produce 
 his title, drew an old rusty sword from its scabbard : 
 " Tliis (said the baron) is the instrument by which my 
 ancestors acquired their estate, and by which T will 
 keep it as long as I live. William the Bastard did 
 not conquer tlie kingdom for himself alone, and my 
 ancestor was a joint adventurer in that enterprize." 
 The otlier instance was, when jiumfrey Bohun, earl of 
 TlereCord, the constable, and Boger Bigod, earl of 
 Norfolk, the Marshal of England, refused to command 
 the king's forces in Guienne, as not recpiired by their 
 feudal tenures: though Edward was so much exas- 
 perated as to exclaim, ''By the eternal God, Sir Earl, 
 
 •* Wals'mirham. 
 
 ^ Heminef. 
 
 ^ Barbour, book 4. 
 
 ^ Walsing. 
 
42 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CLERICAL IMMUNITIES. 
 
 43 
 
 you shall either go or hang;" but being coolly answered 
 by Hereford, '' By the eternal God, Sir Kinir, T will 
 neither go nor hang," Edward prudently desisted trom 
 a contest.* 
 
 -4. — But the great glory of Edward's reign, are the 
 advantages which the English nation still derives from 
 his improvements in the law, which have procured 
 for him the title of the English Justinian, and which 
 are dwelt upon by the sages of the legal prol'ession 
 with the highest commendation; but consisting in great 
 measure of technical arrangements, they are not very 
 interesting to the general enquirer: many legal trea- 
 tises, as those of Bracton and Fleta, written in naughty 
 law latin, as somebody calls it in an old comedy, are 
 authority at this day. 
 
 F. — But I do not know that we are to attribute all 
 this improvement solely to the king : many measures 
 of parliament were contrary to his inclination, and were 
 the result of his necessities, being purchased by the 
 vote of a valuable aid; the famous statute de (allagio 
 non concedendo was not passed without a violent 
 struggle: this most important act, by vesting the right 
 of raising the supplies in the parliament, was perhaps 
 of more importance than even Magna Charta itself, 
 and may be considered as the greatest victory hitherto 
 gained by the people against the despotic prerogative 
 of the crown; and from the same necessitv, oi' a lart>-e 
 supply for the war in Scotland, Edward consented 
 raost unwillingly to renew the charters. 
 
 A. — Yet it must l)e allowed, that mauv most ad- 
 vantageous measures originated solely with the king. 
 Edward, aware that merely enacting good laws was 
 but of small utility unless they were duly administered, 
 
 Hcming. 
 
 brouglit tlie judges to trial for malversation in their 
 office, all of whom except two were convicted of fla- 
 grant corruption, and most heavily fined and deposed.* 
 The clergy too were made to feel in this reign, that 
 their pretended inununities were no exemption from 
 contributing their quota to the necessities of the state: 
 in vain tliey pleaded, that the Pope had prohibited 
 them from paying taxes levied upon their order without 
 his consent ; and Winchelsey, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 plainly told the king that, in the double obedience 
 which the clergy owed to two sovereigns, their duty 
 compelled tliem to yield to the superior pretensions of 
 their spiritual father.^ 
 
 P. — It is not to be supposed that a prince like 
 Edward would understand the force of such logic. 
 
 A. — xVnd consequently, in reply, he as plainly told 
 the archbishop, that since the clergy refused to sup- 
 port the civil government, they were unworthy of 
 receivin<i any benefit from it; and orders were imme- 
 diately issued to the judges to hear no causes brought 
 before them bv that order of men, but to decide those 
 in which they appeared as defendants. The eccle- 
 siastics soon found tlicniselves in the most miserable 
 situation, they could not remain in iheir convents for 
 want of sidjsistence, and if they went abroad, they 
 were pillaged by every ruffian who chose to attack 
 them: the spirit of the clergy at length gave way, and 
 they agreed to a composilion, ' this new species of 
 martyrdom possessing no eclat in this world, nor the 
 expectation of a crown of glory in the next. 
 
 F.--The result was sufficiently equitable, yet the 
 mode is scarcely reconcilable to the principles of a 
 free or legal constitution: a more just measure was the 
 
 « T. VVvkes. 
 
 ^ Heming. 
 
 Ibid, 
 
44 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 celebrated statute ot jJortmnin. ^vhich Droventcl liio 
 clergy iVom receiving any new acquisition ui laiuis by 
 will or testament, which, as according to the ecclesi- 
 astical canons, they could never alienate, they would in 
 time have engulfed all tlu: laud in the kingdom, 
 
 A, — At this period the English constitution can 
 scarcely be considered as free, nor were many of the 
 acts of its government strittly legal ; Ijut the dawn of 
 a brighter day appeared, in the establishment of the 
 Commons as a part of the parliament, calljjd together, 
 not as in the former reign ])y an uuprineiphMl leader, 
 but by an able, powerful, and enlightened mfjnarcii. 
 
 F. — The rise arid progress of the House of Com- 
 mons commands the peculiar attention of the English 
 nation, springing at first from small beginnings, like the 
 Nile in its fountain, but swelling gradually into a 
 majestic stream, diftusing fertility and blessings to a 
 grateful country. 
 
 A. — The comparison may be carried a step further : 
 like that noble river, the House of Commons in its 
 origin is peculiarly obscure; we have already seen, 
 that the first introduction of deputies frura the towns 
 was by the Earl of Leicester (12G5); the practice was 
 discontinued by Edward in liis several parliaments 
 till 1283, when he sunnnoned his great l)arons, both 
 temporal and spiritual, to meet at Shrewsbury, for the 
 purpose of consulting about 'Mvhat was lit to be done'' 
 with the unfortunate David, the captive prince of Wales, 
 and *' about other matters." In addition to the nobility, 
 were joiueii two knights froin each -hire, <ind two bur- 
 gesses from tsventy-one principal cities and borouirhs, 
 the earliest specimen in which that order of men is 
 mentioned as coiinected with parliameiii ni the reign 
 of Edward itii- First. 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 45 
 
 P.— Which were the tw^enty-one towns thus dis 
 tinguished? 
 
 A. — They were the following:* 
 
 London Canterbury 
 
 Winchester Carlisle 
 Newcastle upon Tyne Norwich 
 
 York Northampton 
 
 Bristol Nottinf^ham 
 
 Exeter Scarborou<^h 
 
 Lincoln Grimsby 
 
 Lynn 
 
 Colchester 
 
 Yarmouth 
 
 Hereford 
 
 Chester 
 
 Shrewsbury 
 
 Worcester. 
 
 F.— Bui if this be the first time that any burgesses 
 were summoned by Edward to parliament, what is 
 meant by the preamble to the statutes, passed at West- 
 minster in 1275, declaring, " These be the acts of King 
 Edward, made at his first parliament after his coro- 
 nation, by his council, and by the assent of the arch- 
 bishops, bishops, abbots, priors, earls, barons, and the 
 commonalty of the realm, la cominalte de la terre^ 
 being thither summoned." 
 
 j\ .—We have already seen from a clause in Magna 
 Charta,'' what orders of men constituted the great 
 coun( i! of the kingdom at that period. And hence I 
 conclude, that " la cominalt6 de la terre," in the reign 
 c! i;dward, means the same as "all others who hold 
 of us in chief," in the reign of John. Those tenants who 
 held smaller portions of land than a whole barony, 
 as they were immediate vassals of the crown, were 
 entitled, by the principles of the feudal law, to a seat in 
 the national councils equally with the greatest barons; 
 but becoming numerous through the multiplied alien- 
 ation of estates during the crusades, it was provided 
 by Magna Charta, that while the great barons should 
 be summoned by writ, the smaller should be called 
 
 a Rvmer, vol. 2. 
 
 b Vol. 1, p. 411. 
 
4() 
 
 VESTTOT A 
 
 by a general summons of tlie slierifll To exact the 
 attendance of the whole wouhl have prnduc tii contu- 
 sion; they were thcrcibre required to choose in each 
 county a certain number of their own body, commonly 
 two, but often more, who should represent the autho- 
 rity of the whole: this expedient had been practised 
 at different times in the rei™ of llenrv the Third : 
 and as these knights of the shire were of e(]ual rank 
 with the greixt barons, it gave no surprize to see them 
 sitting in the same assembly: to this class, the imme- 
 diate vassals of the crown, as forming a part of the 
 first parliament of Edward, and to this class only, can 
 the term " cominalti^ de la terre," with ;nn propriety 
 be applied. Since the introduction of the represent- 
 atives of the cities and l)oroughs to parliament, the 
 *' Commons," doubtless, indicate a different order of 
 men; but from the general poverty and insiijnilicance 
 of the inliabitants of the towns, in the previous period 
 of the English history, it is but too palpable that they 
 could never pretend to a place in the national councils, 
 not even in the Anglo Saxon Wiitenagemof, and much 
 less in the commune concilium of the Anglo-Norman 
 Princes, though this opinion passed at one time for 
 a surrender of popular principles, and ahnost amounted 
 to a breach of privilege. 
 
 F. — The subject w^as smartly contested by the 
 historians, Brady and Tyrrel, at the end ol the century 
 before the last; and I must own, that, with every 
 inclination to do justice to the research of tlie latter 
 writer, I am compelled to conclude, tliat he has totally 
 failed in establishing his point; the only phrase or 
 expression which lie has adduced, that can by any 
 feasibility be tortured into the meaning of represent- 
 atives from the boroughs, being the ^^Procuratores 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 47 
 
 Patriae," mentioned In a charter of Alhelstan to the 
 Abbc> in Abingdon, together with bishops, abbots; 
 dukes, and earls, in whose presence it w as granted : but 
 why these persons should be so considered, is not very 
 easy to understand, it being much more probable that 
 they Avere the considerable thanes. 
 
 yi.—lndced, since the publication of Mr. Hume's 
 histoi}, bii, arguments, as condensed in his second 
 appendix, seem to have decided the controversy; and 
 it is now generally admitted, that deputies from the 
 towns were unknown in English history, till their intro- 
 duction by the Earl of Leicester to the parliament of 
 1205. The small spriukiing of the Commons in the 
 pailiament convened at Shrewsbury (1283), led the 
 way to a more complete representation of the kingdom, 
 in the twenty-third year of Edward the First (1295), 
 who, in addition to the barons, prelates, and knights of 
 the shire, sununoned to parliament deputies from one 
 hundred and twenty-lour cities and boroughs. 
 
 P.— As we have seen which twenty-one towns in 
 the kingdom were considered as the most important, by 
 their being called on to send representatives to the 
 parliament nt Shrewsbury, a list of the boroughs which 
 were now summoned would be equally satisfactory, as 
 indii atiiK-- what towns were next in the scale of wealth 
 or population. 
 
 A.— In tliis parliament thirty-five counties only re- 
 turned knights: Chester and Durham, being counties 
 palatine, seem omitted, as being governed by their own 
 iurd^; Buckingham and Eutland were probably ne- 
 glected on the account that they contained no large 
 towns; and Monmouth was considered as part of 
 Wales, which principality did not return members till 
 
48 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the reign of Henry the Eighth. The following list will 
 show the returns:* 
 
 Counties. 
 
 Towns. 
 
 Counties. 
 
 Towns. 
 
 Bedford . . 
 
 Bedford 
 
 « 
 
 'Norwich 
 
 n 1 /Reading 
 Berks. . . jwallinsford 
 
 Norfolk . . ^ 
 
 Lynn 
 ^ Yarmouth 
 
 ^ , . , r Cambrid«fe 
 Cambridge . |eIv* 
 
 Northampton . 
 
 Northampton 
 'Newcastle upon 
 lyne 
 
 ( 
 
 -Launceston 
 
 Northumber- 
 
 1 
 
 Leskard 
 
 land . . . ] Bamburgh* 
 
 Cornwall . . < 
 
 Truro 
 Bodmin 
 
 Notts . . . 
 
 ^Corbrigg* 
 Nottingham 
 
 
 f felston 
 
 Oxon . . . 
 
 Oxford 
 
 j 
 
 -]i\'^"ony 
 " Carlisle 
 
 C3 1 r Shrewsbury 
 Salop . . . ^j3Hdgenorth 
 
 Cumberland . < 
 
 Cocker mouth 
 
 
 "Bristol 
 
 1 
 
 ^Egremond* 
 
 
 F>atli 
 
 Derby . . . 
 
 Derby 
 --Exeter 
 
 Somerset . . ^ 
 
 Wills 
 Taunton 
 
 
 Totness 
 
 
 Bridge water 
 
 Devon . . , < 
 
 Barnstaple 
 
 
 ^Ax bridge* 
 
 Plimpton 
 
 
 "Southampton 
 
 
 Tavistock 
 
 
 Winchester 
 
 
 JForriniifton* 
 
 
 Portsmouth 
 
 
 r Dorchester 
 
 
 Andover 
 
 • 
 
 Lynie 
 
 Southampton, 
 
 "^'armnutli. Isle 
 
 Dorset . . < 
 
 B rid port 
 
 or <; 
 
 of \\ igkt 
 
 
 Shaftsbury 
 
 Hants . . 
 
 Newport 
 
 
 '-BlaiH ford* 
 
 
 Alresford* 
 
 TiSscx . . , 
 
 Colclicster 
 
 
 Alton* 
 
 Gloucester . . 
 
 Gloucester 
 
 
 Basingstoke* 
 
 
 Hereford 
 
 
 ^Overton* 
 
 Hereford . . ' 
 
 Leominster 
 W'cobly 
 ^Ledbury* 
 
 Stafford . . . 
 
 Stafford 
 > Ipswich 
 
 
 Suffolk . . < 
 
 , Dmnvich 
 
 Hertford . . 
 
 Hertford 
 
 
 LOrforil 
 
 Huntin«>don . 
 
 Huntingdon 
 
 
 rSouthwark 
 
 Blctchingley 
 Rycgate 
 
 .Guildloril 
 
 Kent . , . < 
 
 f Canterbury 
 Rochester 
 
 Surrey . . • 
 
 
 LTunbridge* 
 
 
 
 Lancaster 
 
 
 '~(]h*u'hi'ster 
 
 ♦ . 
 
 ] Preston 
 
 
 11 orsliuni 
 
 Lancaster . . 
 
 Wig an 
 
 Sussex . . - 
 
 Lewes 
 
 
 *^ Liverpool 
 
 Shoreluun 
 
 Leicester . . 
 
 Leicester 
 
 
 Braniber 
 
 
 f Lincoln 
 
 
 -Arundel 
 
 Lincoln . . ** 
 
 I Grimsby 
 
 Warwick 
 
 r Warwick 
 I Coventry 
 
 
 l Stamford 
 
 f f SAtA. tT AV/AX • 
 
 Middlesex . . 
 
 London 
 
 Westmoreland, 
 
 Appleby 
 
 » Browne Willis, Notitia Parliamentaria. 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 49 
 
 Counties. 
 
 Wilts 
 
 Worcester 
 
 Towns. 
 
 'New Sarum 
 Old Sarum 
 Wilton 
 Downton 
 Calne 
 Devizes 
 Malmsbury 
 Marlborough 
 Chippenham 
 Cricklade 
 Bed win 
 Ludgershall 
 Bradford* 
 Mere* 
 f ^^'orcester 
 iDroitwich 
 
 < 
 
 Counties, 
 
 Worcester, 
 continued 
 
 \ 
 
 York . . . ^ 
 
 Towns. 
 
 Evesham 
 Kidderminster* 
 Bromsgrove* 
 Dudley* 
 Pershore* 
 York 
 
 Scarborough 
 Thirske 
 Malton 
 Heddou 
 Rippon 
 Pontefract 
 Beverley 
 Jervail* 
 Pickering* 
 LTykehill* 
 
 This parliament thus consisted of somewhat above 
 three huiidred members: those places marked with a 
 star, (wenty-two in inimljer, have lost their privileges 
 from neglect. Before the end ol Edward's reign thirty- 
 nine^ other boroughs were summoned, about half of 
 whi( h liave since discontinued to return members. The 
 present increase of the House of Commons has been 
 added at various times and from various circumstances. 
 Tlie occasion of Edward's appeal to the nation was 
 the IoA\ness of Jiis exchequer, caused by the multiplied 
 expenses of his various w^ars. It had been customary 
 with the crown to levy taxes, or talliages, upon its own 
 demesne lands, which included several of the principal 
 cities and boronglis, at its pleasure; but the inconve- 
 nience of transacting business with each was much felt, 
 and the king became sensible that the most expeditious 
 way of obtaining a supply would be to assemble depu- 
 ties, not only froju his own demesne boroughs, but from 
 all the chief towns, and to lay before them the neces- 
 sities of the state, requiring their general consent to his 
 demands. Edward ai the same time summoned depu- 
 
 Browne ^'\'iliis, Notitia PHrliainontaria. 
 
 VOL. U. 
 
(: 
 
 50 
 
 VESTIGiA. 
 
 ties from the inferior clergy; and ux his v.r,t lu the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, for that purpose, is to be 
 found the remarkable doclarnlion, " That as .1 is a 
 most equitable rule with princes, thai ^vhat concerns 
 all should be approved by all, so dangers common to 
 all should be obviated by the assistance* oi all." 
 
 F.— An admirable principle, %vhich posterity ^vlll do 
 well constantly to remember. 
 
 A.—Oi the transactions or the fonns of this extra- 
 ordinary assemblage of the states of the realm but little 
 is known. There appears to have been but one house 
 of parliament ; yet as the barons voted an eleventh, the 
 clergy a tenth, and the burgesses a seventh ot their 
 moveables,^ they probably decided in separate cham- 
 bers. The burgesses, as they were really inhabitants 
 of the towns which they represented, must have been 
 considered as much too humble an order ol n>en to 
 mix with the nobility and kni-hts ; as after they had 
 given their assent to the taxes required of tlum, tlicy 
 frequently separated, even though the parliament con- 
 tinued to sit. 
 
 p._Is it not extraordinary that, in such a work as 
 
 Blackstone's Conmioitarics, an explanation of the origin 
 of the House of Commons should be passed over, on 
 the ground that it is a matter of dispute, thongli the 
 author is treating expressly of parliament? 
 
 yl.— A convincing proof of the comparative povirty 
 of the Commons may be found in a rclurn of the 
 county of Bedford in the reign of EdNvard the Second 
 (1308)- the barons granted a twentieth of th.-ir move- 
 ables, which produced 720?. 1--2.. 7d., while the (piota 
 of the burii-esses, who voted a fifteenth, amounted to 
 no more tlum 31/. 18s. Ud. In the same reign (\mr>,) 
 
 \ * Bradv, from the Records. 
 
 ^ Walsingham. 
 
 t4 
 
 PARLIAMENT. 
 
 51 
 
 the fifteenth granted b^ the lords and knights in the 
 ci'i^M ridin- of Yorl^ amounted to 924/. 55. 8d. ; whilst 
 the tenth, by the cities, burghs, and royal demesnes, 
 produced only 55f. lO.s. hZ.* 
 
 ' F. — In striking contrast to modern practice, the 
 deputies of the towns, and even the knights, were paid 
 for their atleudance by the borough or county which 
 returned them. The hist member who received any thing 
 ill the shape of wages from his constituents, seems to 
 have Ixen tlic celebrated friend of Milton, Andrew 
 Marvel,'' returned ])y the town of Hull in the reign of 
 Charles the Second. 
 
 P. — At what period did the national council of 
 England first assume the name of parliament? 
 
 F. — The word is evidently French, and signifies 
 coUoquhmi, or conference. Sir Edward Coke ridicu- 
 lously derives it from parler le merit — to speak your 
 mind ; another a1)surd etymology is from parium lamen- 
 tuiriy^ because at these meetings the peers did complain 
 to each other of the enormities of the times. The term 
 was first applied to that assembly of prelates and 
 barons in France, to whom St. Bernard preached the 
 second crusade, about the middle of the twelfth cen- 
 tury/ The earliest mention of the w^ord parliament in 
 English law is in the preamble to the Statute of West- 
 minster, in the third year of Edward the First (1272);^ 
 but it had grown into common use throughout the last 
 half of the preceding reign. The term occurs in the 
 sunnuons to Leicester's parliament (1265).^ 
 
 A. — The oriixin of corporations, w^hich at length 
 entitled cities and boroughs to send members to par- 
 
 « Carte, vol. 2, page 308, from the Rolls. ^ Biog. Brit. 
 
 <• Buck. Life of Rich. HI. •> Mod. Universal Hist, vol.23, p. 307. 
 
 ^ Blackstonc, book 1, c. 2. ^ Rymcr, vol. 1. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 liamcnt, is involved in the >mno nb^( iiriii u:s ihe cum- 
 mencemeiit oi'the House oi ConiDioiL-. ilscli. I \m11 n^>t 
 positively assert, with some anti(iiiaries\ tli it no incor- 
 porations existed previously to the couquesl, but cer- 
 tainly if they existed at all ilieir number was but few. 
 A city in England means a town corporate, that is or 
 has been the seat of a bishop. The meaning ot" the word 
 borough is more diilicult to explain: by some it is de- 
 rived from the Creek Tri^pyos— a tower; others assert that 
 berg is a pure German word, meaning a street or row 
 of houses; but as every small town was not a borough, 
 I am inclined to derive the name from hunjum,^ a Latin 
 word of the middle ages, signilying a fort, or place of 
 streno'th ; and in this I am the more confirmed, as many 
 places temiinate in burgh or bury, which do not appear 
 to have been a collection of houses : two instances, 
 Highbury and Canonbury, in the neighbourhood of the 
 metropolis, will serve for an example, both being si- 
 tuated on a rising ground, and probably possessing 
 some work of defence. The boroughs were mostly 
 demesne lands of the crown, and gradually obtained 
 from the Norman kings the privilege of incorporation 
 with a separate jurisdiction, to protect them against the 
 tyrannical encroachment of the neighbouring lords. The 
 bur^^-esses having thus obtained liberty of trade and the 
 farming of their own tolls, began at length to rear their 
 head, and to obtain w ealth and political consideration. 
 
 jp._But we should err greatly if we imagined that 
 Edward promoted the prosperity of the third estate 
 from a regard to what we now^ call the liberty of the 
 subject; as, though he was desirous that his subjects 
 should do justice to each other, he endeavoured to have 
 his own hands free in all his transactions; and we may 
 
 poster;ty of edward i. 
 
 53 
 
 -' Voo-ctiiis apiid Durante. 
 
 fairly cuiiciude, that he little foresaw that the power of 
 the purse would ultimately draw to itself the chief 
 direction of affairs. 
 
 A, — Yet we may say of Edward, as Fuller^ remarks 
 witli his frequent happy quaintness, ^^ A worthy prince 
 he was, fixed in his generation, betwixt a weak father 
 and son, as if made wise and valiant by their antiperi- 
 stasis; and as his arm was first accounted the measure 
 of a yard in England, so his actions are an excellent 
 model and a praiseworthy platform for succeeding 
 princes to imitate.'' Edw ard left by Eleanor of Castile 
 only one son, Edward ; of their many daughters, most 
 died in their infancy. By his second wife, Margaret of 
 France, he left two sons : first, Thomas de Brotherton, 
 born at a village in Yorksliire of that name, created 
 earl of Norfolk, and from whom, by females, the house 
 of Howard is descended ; and second, Edmond, earl of 
 Kent. 
 
 •* Church Hist. 
 
54 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 J 
 
 UISSEIITATIU.N \ HI. 
 
 Section TT. 
 
 Edward II. a.d. 1307. 
 
 A. — Edward, the viiliaiit and the wise, expires in 
 his tent witli the promised land oi' Scothmd before his 
 eyes, but of* which, in the way of'conqnesf, neither him- 
 self nor his posterity was ever to take possession. A 
 little before his dissolution, he called for his son, the 
 Prince of Wales, and uave him, as is usual on such 
 occasions, plenty of irood advice, which was received, 
 as is also too usual in expectant heirs, with ap])arent 
 conviction of its excellence, but with a lixed determina- 
 tion to disregard its injunctions. The dying' king en- 
 joined young Edward to send his heart into tlie Holy 
 Land, to carry his body into Scotland with tln^ army, 
 and not to bury it till a complete conquest had been 
 made of that countrv.* 
 
 F. — Some chroniclers assert^ that, to diminish the 
 inconvenience of this command, \\v directed tliat liis 
 flesh should be boiled from olfhis bones. Edward also 
 exacted an oath from the prince,*" that he would never 
 recall from exile Piers Gaveston, whom the prudent 
 father, foreseeing the evil consequences of his son's 
 excessive intimacy with that favourite, had sent into 
 banishment. 
 
 A. — The father of Piers Gaveston was a Gascon 
 knight, who, having honourably served his sovereign, 
 obtained in reward for his merits a situation for his 
 son in the household of the Prince of Wales: the youth 
 was endowed with the utmost elerance of fiirure and 
 
 " W^albiiigham. 
 
 ^ Froissart. 
 
 * Walbiiighain, 
 
 PIERS GAVESTON. 
 
 5o 
 
 beauty of countenanco; lie was distinguished by his 
 graceful mien and his address in all martial exercises; 
 and he possessed a lively wit, frequent in his country- 
 men, whicli, though agreeable enough in conversation, 
 was but little calculated to govern a state. Gaveston 
 soon insinuated himself by the most obsequious flattery 
 into the aflections of his master; and a similar taste in 
 dissipation and pleasure cemented, as they advanced in 
 age, the iittachment of their more early years. ^ 
 
 P. —A w ise man like Edward the First might have 
 foreseen how nugatory a promise of banishment, under 
 such circumstances, was likely to be esteemed. 
 
 A. — The young king, absorbed in the desire of be- 
 holding his absent friend, neglected to pursue his ad- 
 vantages against Scotland, and after some feeble efi^orts 
 returned to the south, and disbanded his numerous 
 army ; thus unexpectedly saving Robert Bruce and his 
 kingdom from what appeared inevitable destruction. 
 
 F. — It is curious to observe how sometimes the 
 w isdom of the w ise is confounded by the excess of its 
 over precautions; had Gaveston, who really possessed 
 both spirit and talents, been suffered to remain with 
 young Edward, he miglit probably have instigated his 
 master to attempt some brilliant action, w^hich would at 
 least have increased his own ascendancy, as well as 
 contributed to its security. 
 
 A, — His ascendancy scarcely admitted increase: 
 Edward, solely intent upon gratifying the favourite, 
 even before his arrival in England endow ed him with 
 the earldom of Cornw^all, which had escheated to the 
 crown,^ and soon after gave him in marriage his own 
 niece ;^ to these favours w^as added the whole Isle of 
 Man ; and the king seemed to live for no other purpose 
 
 « T. de la Moor. 
 
 ^ Ryiner, vol.3. 
 
 *= T. de la Moor. 
 
5r> 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 than that of pleasing and enrichin- Cavcston, who in 
 return supplied him with those frivolous aniusenienls 
 which suited his character, and nothing was regarded 
 but a succession of balls, banquets, and tournaments, 
 in all which the favourite shone with unprecedented 
 splendour, and eclipsed the wealthiest and proudest of 
 
 the nobility. 
 
 p,—Hinc illcB lachrymce! an olfence not to be 
 
 forgiven. 
 
 ^.—Gaveston, instead of disarming envy by his 
 moderation, deemed no circumstance of his fortune so 
 agreeable as that of mortifying his rivals; by his supe- 
 rior address in tilting, he had at various tinu^s uidiorsed 
 the Earls of Lancaster, Hereford, Pembroke, and \V a- 
 renne;'' not content with this superiority, he had the 
 insolence to stignuiti/e many of these powerful barons 
 by nicknames:' the Earl of Lancast(^r, ol blood royal, 
 was called sometimes the Stage Player, sometimes the 
 Old Hog; the Earl of Pembroke was Joseph the Jew •, 
 the Earl of Gloucester the CuckoUrs Bird; nnd the 
 Earl of Warwick the Black Dog of ArcUnne : but the 
 Black Dog swore that the favourite should feel his 
 teeth/ a threat which was fatally realized. 
 
 F. — The common people, who were provoked by 
 Gavestons overweening ostentation, treated his pre- 
 tensions with derision, and wouhl never call him other 
 than Piers Gaveston; in consequence a ridiculous pro- 
 clamation was issued, commanding all men to give him 
 the title of Earl of Cornwall in connuon conversation;^ 
 
 ^._The king was now about to take a consort; nnd 
 leaving Gaveston regent in his absence, made a journey 
 to France, for the purpose of doing homage for Guienne, 
 
 » Leland, Collect, vol. 2. 
 ^ Lelantl, Collect, vol. li. 
 
 '• W'alsingliam. 
 '^ Mon. Mahnesb. 
 
 CORONATION OATTL 
 
 57 
 
 [uid espousing Isabella, daughter of Philip the Fair, 
 '' the most beautiful lady in the world," as Froissart 
 calls her, and equally celebrated for her intrigues as 
 Air her beauty. On the return of the royal train to 
 England, it met the regent Gaveston, when, to the 
 great astonishment of all present, the king, neglecting 
 every body else, with unexampled folly rushed into the 
 arms of the favourite, kissed him, nnd called him bro- 
 ther.' The coronation soon ibllowed, which was cele- 
 brated w ith extraordinary magnificence. Edward allowed 
 Gaveston to carry the crown at the ceremonial,*' in 
 wliich he outshone not only the nobility, but the king 
 himself, in linery and splendour; which preference and 
 ostentation anew^ provoked the haughty barons, and 
 tliev coml)ined for his destruction. 
 
 F, — As the coronation oath on this occasion is the 
 lirst extant in the English records, it is worthy our 
 notice; it was administered by the Bishop of Winches- 
 ter; the Archbishop of Canterbury, Winchelsey being 
 absent from the kingdom. 
 
 '' Bishop. — Sire, will you grant and keep, and by 
 your oath conlirm to the people of England, the laws 
 and customs granted to them by the ancient kings 
 of England, your predecessors, righteous and devout, 
 namely, the laws, the customs, and the liberties granted 
 to the clergy and people by the glorious king, St. 
 Edward, your predecessor? 
 
 ** King. — I grant them, and promise to keep them. 
 
 '' Bishop. — Sire, will you preserve to God, to holy 
 church, to the clergy and people, the peace of God, 
 fully and to the utmost of your power? 
 
 ^^ King. — I will preserve it. 
 
 '* Bishop. — \\'ill jou cause to be observed in all 
 
 =• Trokclowc. 
 
 ^ Rviiier, vol. 5. 
 
iiS 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 your judgments, equal right and justice, \vi(h discretion 
 in mercy and in truth, to the utmost of your power? 
 
 '' King. — I will cause it to be observed. 
 
 '' Bishop. — Will you promise to keep, and cause 
 to be kept, the laws and good customs, which the 
 commonalty of your kingdom have chosen; and will 
 you defend and protect them to the utmost of your 
 power ? 
 
 '' King.~l grant and promise these things.'' " 
 
 A. — In the records, a programme of the ceremony 
 of the coronation and the oath to be taken are drawn 
 up in the Latin language; but from the same authority 
 it appears, that the propositions were really put to the 
 king and his answers were made in old French, of 
 which the oath just recited is a literal translation. We 
 have thus the means of clearly explaining a disputed 
 meaning of the Latin words in the last question, quas 
 vulgus elegerif, which some injudicious whigs have 
 translated, '' which the commonalty shall judge iit to 
 enact;" but the words of the corresponding French 
 phrase being '' la communaut^ de vostre roiaume aura 
 esleu," " shall have chosen/' preclude entirely such an 
 interpretation. 
 
 P. — In this early instance of somethinir like a com- 
 pact between the king and his subjects, supposing a 
 breach of promise in the former to take place, where 
 would be found the remedy? 
 
 F. — No monarchical constitution can be expected 
 to declare the point at which resistance becomes a 
 duty; the necessity of the case would bring its own 
 remedy, as Edward tatally experienced. 
 
 ^- — The barons lost no time in pursuing their de- 
 signs against Gaveston ; and coming armed to parlia- 
 
 * RyiiHT, new edition, by order u( Covcrnineiit, vol. 2. 
 
 i 
 
 t 
 
 4^ 
 
 PIERS GAVESTON. 
 
 59 
 
 ment, they insisted on his dismissal from the kingdom, 
 on the ground that he had abused the confidence of the 
 king, by o1)taining immoderate grants, and taking to 
 his own use the best jewels of the crown: the lords also 
 told Edward that Gaveston's ftither was executed for 
 being a traitor to the King of France ; that his mother 
 was burned for a witch; that Piers himself, in the last 
 reign, was banished for consenting to his mother's 
 witchcraft;^ and that he had now bewitched the king 
 himself. 
 
 P. — Such charges, supported by such arguments, 
 were irresistible. 
 
 A. — Ed ward, compelled to submit, with considerable 
 dexterity assisted Caveston to evade the force of the 
 penalty, by sending liim as lord lieutenant to Ireland, ^ 
 where he conducted himself with skill and bravery.^ 
 The confederated nobles, mollified by his absence, and 
 brought over by the civilities, grants, and promises of 
 the king, in a few months permitted the favourite to 
 return (1308); but, untaught by experience, he conti- 
 nued in his former course of insolence, levity, and 
 extravagance. The barons again confederated, Gave- 
 ston was banished to the continent, and was again 
 recalh d ; an appeal to arms w as the consequence, and 
 the king and his minion retired to the north, in hope of 
 raising an army ; but compelled to separate, the latter 
 took refuge in Scarborough Castle, which being ill pro- 
 vided, Gaveston surrendered'* on conditions to the Earl 
 of P( nil)r()ke and Henry Percy, who removed him to 
 Deddington Castle, in Oxfordshire; but which condi- 
 tions, it is lamentable to remark, the barons had not 
 sulHcient honour to fiillil, for by the connivance of 
 Pembroke, the castle, on the morning of the 17th June, 
 
 * Stow. ^ Kymer, vol. 5. *" T. de la Moor. '^ Walsliigham. 
 
f, ? 
 
 I 
 
 ft 
 it 
 
 60 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN. 
 
 61 
 
 I 
 
 1312, being beset by Warwick;^ the Black Cog ol" Ar- 
 denne, the o^arrison made no resistance, and Cavcslon 
 was immediately conducted to Warwick Castle. The 
 confederated earls repaired thither, and without regard 
 to the agreement of his capitulation, or any sort of trial, 
 they ordered his execution, which took place at Black- 
 low Hill, near^yarwick. To a proposal to save his life, 
 a voice replied, '' You have caught the fox, if you let 
 him go you will have to hunt him again."' But the 
 death of Gaveston was afterwards avenged with the 
 blood of his persecutors. 
 
 ^•— This execution was totally indefensible, even 
 if Gaveston had undergone the form of a trial by the 
 barons, as it is difficult to say what law of the land he 
 had broken; for, excepting some dissipation of the 
 public treasure, his only crime seems to have been 
 usurping the chief share in the king's affection. 
 
 ^.— We cannot but observe, in the character and 
 situation of Gaveston, a striking resemblance to that of 
 Villiers, duke of Buckingham, the great favourite of 
 James the First: the same surpassing beauty of i)erson, 
 the same ebullient vanity, the same profusion, insolence, 
 and levity, the same bravery and skill in martial exer- 
 cises ; their end alike unfortunate— the one falling by 
 the dagger of an assassin, the other by the equally un- 
 warranted punishment of confederate enemies. 
 
 P.— Edward had now reigned five years, and we 
 have heard nothing of Scotland since his declining the 
 war with that country at the death of his father. 
 
 ^.— An equally advantageous position the English 
 could never regain ; for in spite of some weeik eflbrts of 
 Edward, the Scots during that interval gradually reco- 
 vered most of their fortified places, and generally ac- 
 
 '^ T.de la Moor. 
 
 \Val.rintrlian) TrokoIowT. 
 
 knowkdged llobert Bruce as their sovereign. But at 
 length the tactions of England being somewhat appeased 
 by the deatli of Gaveston, Edward prepared to take 
 vengeance; since the progress of Bruce, though at first 
 view ed with iudilTercnce or contempt, was become the 
 object of universal resentment and indignation. A 
 mighty army from all parts of his dominions was col- 
 lected by Edward, amounting nearly to the number of 
 one hundred thousand men, as the Scotish writers cal- 
 culate. Its iirst object was to relieve Stirling Castle, 
 still in tlie i)Ossession of the English, and strongly 
 pressed l)y the Scotish king, who now understood that 
 the \\holc force of his adversary would move in this 
 
 direction. 
 
 jp.__\Vhat Bruce most dreaded was the strength of 
 the English cavalry; he commanded, therefore, in every 
 part where he judged they were likely to have access, 
 that pits should be dug, and so carefully covered over 
 with turf as to be liardly i)erceptil)le.^ 
 
 ^l„_On the evening of Midsummer day, 1314, the 
 Scotish army presented itself to the invaders, drawn 
 u^) on the bank of the burn or little river Bannock, 
 about two miles from Stirling;' it consisted of thirty 
 thousand veteran soldiers, resolved on death or victory. 
 A desperate skirmish immediately ensued between two 
 bodies of cavalry, in which Robert Bruce, at one 
 stroke of his battle-axe, cleft the head of Henry Bohun, 
 an English knight, to the very chin, in sight of both 
 armies.* The night, short as it was, appeared long to 
 the expectant combatants: by the Scots^ it was said 
 to be passed in devotion, or mutual exhortation; and 
 by the English in jollity, as they sounded ^^ wassaile and 
 drinkhaile"' in their cups more than usual. 
 
 a T. de la Moor. 
 ^ Forclun. 
 
 ^ Nfon. Malmcsb. 
 • Sir T. de la iMoor. 
 
 ' Ibid. 
 
K3 
 
 62 
 
 VESTiGJA. 
 
 F.— -Surely the historicins might have passed over 
 the piety of Scotish soldiers in this age. 
 
 P.— Perhcips it was copied from the example of the 
 Normans at the battle of Hastinjrs. 
 
 ^.— At dawn of day, both armies put themselves in 
 motion. The young Earl of Gloucester, the king's no- 
 phew, who commanded the cavalry, falling among the 
 concealed pits, was thrown from his horse and killed; ^ 
 this disaster produced great confusion, which Sir James 
 Douglas, who led the van of the Scotish army, ol3serv- 
 ing, immediately made a furious attack, and put the 
 division to total rout. The English infantry, astonished 
 at the defeat of their horse, and seeing, as they sup- 
 posed, another army marching along the hills, were 
 seized with a panic, and lied in the utmost confusion. 
 This unexpected reinforcement w as nothing more than 
 the waggoners and sumpter boys of the Scotish camp, 
 furnished with standards, to give them that appearance." 
 Edward exhibited no want of personal courage, and 
 was with difficulty persuaded to quit the field. The 
 victory of the Scots w as complete : there fell one hun- 
 dred and fifty-four English barons and knights, seven 
 hundred gentlemen, and ten thousand common soldiers, 
 at the lowest computation. 
 
 F.— No one but the unfortunate Edward could have 
 been by such an inferior force so defeated, and that 
 without any peculiar misconduct or blunder on his own 
 part; he was closely pursued by horsemen, with such 
 eagerness that they never quitted their seats for sixty 
 miles; the royal refugee took shelter in the castle of 
 Dunbar, and thence passed by sea to England." 
 
 A. — Such was the famous battle of Bannockburn, 
 which is remarkable as being the only great victory 
 
 ROBERT BRUCE. 
 
 ()3 
 
 which the Scots ever obtained against the English; it 
 was highly glorious to Rolicrt Bruce, as it established 
 the independence of his country, and fixed him on the 
 throne of Scotland. The renown and popularity thus 
 acquired have continued the theme of just exultation to 
 every true Scot to the present hour. 
 
 F. — National ballads in commemoration of the 
 battle yet remain. On this occasion, says Fabian, the 
 Scots, inflamed with pride, made this rhyme in derision 
 of the Englishmen : 
 
 Maydcns of Englande, sore may ze mourn, 
 
 For zour lemmans ze have lost at Bannockysborne, 
 
 With hcue a low. 
 What ! meneth the king of Englande 
 So soone to have wonne Scotlande, 
 
 With rumbv low. 
 
 m 
 
 " This was sung in dances in the carols of the maidens 
 and minstrels of Scotland, many days after, to the re- 
 prooi' and disdain of Englishmen, with divers others, 
 which,'' says the old chronicler,^ " I pass over." 
 
 A. — Robert Bruce has had the fortune to be cele- 
 brated by a bard of considerable merit, John Barbour, 
 archdeacon of Aljcrdeen, who flourished about sixty 
 years after the event of Bannockburn; the language of 
 this writer is quite as intelligible as that of Chaucer, 
 and the work, thougli somewhat of the longest, the 
 story being extended through twenty books, unites 
 much historical accuracy with considerable poetical 
 ellect; it is entitled " The Acts and Life of the most 
 victorious conqueror, Robert Bruce, king of Scotland," 
 and it has been equally popular as the Life of Sir 
 William Wallace, by Blind Harry. The following 
 verses, divested of their ancient orthography, are flow- 
 ing and spirited : 
 
 • T. de la Moor. 
 
 *" Fordun. 
 
 •^ iVfon. Ma]uu\sh. I'orduri. 
 
 Fabian's Chronicle. 
 
 11^ 
 
64 VESTiniA. 
 
 All ! freedom is a noble tliiiigr ; 
 Freedom makes man to have liklim- ; 
 Freedom to all men solace gives : 
 He lives at ease who freely lives. 
 
 F.— Singular was the flitc of Baslon/ a Carmelite 
 friar and a professed poet. Beino- carried l)y Edward 
 to Scotland for the purpose of celebratini,^ his victory, 
 he was taken prisoner, and Bruce compelled the unfor- 
 tunate bard to sing the defeat of his master. The poem 
 in Latin verse is still extant: the writer thus unwil- 
 lingly commences his jingle : 
 
 De planctu cudo, metriun cum carmine nudo, 
 Risum retnido, dum tali themate liido. 
 
 With groans I hammer out this barren strain : 
 With such a theme how can I but complain. 
 
 But he prudently disclaims all knowledge of the merit 
 or blame on either side in the quarrel : 
 
 Sub quo rege reo, nescio, teste Deo. 
 
 Which king is blameahle, you'll say it's odd ; 
 But 1 am ignorant, so help me God ! 
 
 P.— So extraordinary a work must have cost infinite 
 labour from the peculiar construction of the metre. 
 
 F.— This accumulation of poetical authorities re- 
 minds us of Bayle^s remark, that a collection of old 
 ballads is no unprofitable companion to the historian. 
 
 ^.— By the catastrophe of Bannockburn, the En^-- 
 lish nation was reduced to a deplorable condition : the 
 Scots devastated the northern counties, and also in- 
 vaded Ireland ; and now, in addition to the mortilica- 
 tion of defeat, were added the distractions of an 
 unprincipled faction, and the intolerable pressure of 
 the severest famine that has ever afflicted England. 
 During the years 1315, 13i(>, 1317, the perpetuarrains 
 
 FAMINE IN ENGLAND. 
 
 65 
 
 and cold weatlier had not only destroyed the harvests, 
 but had bred a mortality among the cattle, which 
 raised every kind of provision to an enormous price : 
 wheat had advanced to the alarming height of four 
 pounds per (juarter, money of that age. Parliament 
 vainly endeavoured to assuage the evil, by fixing a 
 more moderate price to commodities.^ 
 
 F.—lt is sufficiently clear, as has been happily 
 instanced, that ulien the quantity of a consumable 
 article falls so far short as to aflbrd full subsistence 
 for nine months only of the year instead of twelve, 
 the only expedient to make it last is to advance the 
 price, which compels the people to put themselves 
 upon short allowance. 
 
 ^.—Accordingly the parliament soon found the at- 
 tempt to be impracticable, and repealed their ordinance. 
 The prices which they affixed are somewhat curious:^ 
 for the best stalled ox, twenty-four shillings; other 
 oxen, sixteen shillings; a fat cow, twelve shillings; a 
 fat hog, two years old, three shillings and fourpence; a 
 fat wether, unshorn, twenty pence, if shorn, fourteen 
 pence; a fat goose, twopence hallpenny; a fat capon, 
 twopence; a fat hen, one penny; two chickens, one 
 penny; four pigeons, one penny; two dozen of eggs, 
 one penny. These regulation prices appear to have 
 been those of the market in its usual state. 
 
 P.— But they differ so entirely from those of the 
 present time, that I should be gratified to learn what 
 proportion they really bore. , 
 
 ^.— The subject is so obscure and perplexed, that 
 it is pardonable to remain in much uncertainty and 
 ignorance ; howxver, to assist your enquiry, we are first 
 to premise, that the money pound, both in the Saxon 
 
 " F'ordun. 
 
 * WalsingliaiD. 
 
 VOL. n. 
 
 b Rot. Pari. / Ed. I!, 
 
66 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 times and after the Conquest;, till tlie reign of Edward 
 the Third, contained literally a pound of silver, Tower 
 weight, a triile less than the pound troy ; this pound 
 of silver was coined into two hundred and forty pennies, 
 each weighing;* twenty-two grains and a half, which 
 were the current coin of the realm, the shilling Ijeing 
 merely a denomination of money, and not a coin til] 
 the reign of Henry the Seventh. In making the com- 
 parison between the value of money in these middle 
 ages and the present time, we must tirst consider the 
 real weight of the coin mentioned, wliich was three 
 times heavier than money of the same denominati<m 
 now •, and then, irom the rarity of the precious metals 
 before the discovery of the American mines, we must 
 judge how much further the same quantity of silver 
 would go in the purchase of labour and necessary 
 commodities. 
 
 F. — The great difhculty lies in our uncertain know- 
 ledge of the common prices of the most fre(|uent arti- 
 cles of consumption ; in general we may remark, that 
 the necessaries of life appear to have been much 
 cheaper and the luxuries much dearer than at present. 
 
 A. — Some calculators have supposed, that the efti- 
 cacy of the same weight of silver, at the ))eriod of the 
 Conquest and for some centuries alter, was ten times 
 greater than at present. This opinion was thought 
 to overrate the value of ancient money; but as most 
 articles of living have further advanced in pric(% I 
 think the valuation will now be found sufliciently 
 exact. In the year 125(i, Matthew Paris calls a cer- 
 tain sherilf of Northumberland, Sir William Lisle, a 
 rich man, having an estate of one hundred and fifty 
 pounds per annum ; if we consider that this sum was 
 equivalent in weight to four hundrtd and Jifty pounds 
 
 VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 
 present money, and if we multiply it by ten, it will 
 produce an income of four thousand five hundred pounds : 
 and now-a-days a high sheriff of a county would not 
 be considered a rich man with a smaller fortune. An- 
 other corroboration, perhaps more in point, is the 
 salary usually paid to curates, which we are told, be- 
 fore the year 1348, was four or five marks ; " a mark 
 being worth thirteen shillings and fourpence, the weight 
 of four marks was consequently equal to one hundred 
 and sixty modern shillings, and multiplying this sum 
 by ten, the result w ill be eighty pounds : a remarkable 
 coincidence with the common emolument now^ received 
 by that laborious class of the clergy. 
 
 P.~Consequently, if we multiply any of these an- 
 cient prices l)y thirty, we shall bring them to an equality 
 with those of the present day. 
 
 ^.— Just so; or at least from the Conquest to the 
 reign of Edward the Third, when the first reduction 
 was made in the weight of the current coin. In the 
 Saxon times, though the money pound was of the same 
 weight as with tlic Anglo-Normans, yet that people 
 divided it into forty-eight nominal shillings, and each 
 shillijig into five pennies-/ therefore, though the pound 
 and the penny were of the same weight and value both 
 before and alter the Conquest, yet the shilling w^as a 
 totally diiicrent sum, the Norman shilling containing 
 twelvepence, the Saxon only fivepence; w^hen, there- 
 fore, we read that with the Saxons a sheep was worth 
 a shilling and an ox eight shillings, we must calculate 
 the weight of the former sum as equal only to fifteen 
 pence, and of the latter to no more than ten shillings, 
 modern, which multiplied by ten, the sheep would now 
 produce twelve shillings and sixpence, and the ox five 
 
 • Knyghton. 
 
 ^ Fleetwood, Chron. Prctiosnm. 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 NATIONAL DISCONTENT. 
 
 Gd 
 
 \( 
 
 pounds. These prices prove that domestic animals, 
 which require but little care to rear, were at that time 
 sufficiently cheap: a horse was dearer, beinof valued at 
 thirty shillings Saxon, equivalent to eiiiliteen pounds. 
 The average price of corn with the Ang:lo-Saxons is 
 unknown: during a severe Imnine, in the rcU^^ of Ed- 
 ward the Confessor, whint rose to sixty peiuiies the 
 quarter/ which multiplied by tliirty, will give sev(n 
 pounds ten shillings modern value; a high price cer- 
 tainly, but not approaching that of this famine in 1817, 
 to which if we apply our usual scale, we shall fnid the 
 quarter of wheat at the inaccessible price of one hun- 
 dred and twenty pounds. 
 
 F. — The wonderful fluctuation In price of this first 
 necessary of life, as well as the various prices at dif- 
 ferent places, must have exposed the nation to great 
 inconvenience. In 1258, a quarter of wheat sold at 
 Northampton for twenty shillings, whilst at Dunstable'* 
 it fetched only six shillings and eightpcnce; this could 
 not have happened if intelligence hud been regular and 
 commercial intercourse at all easy. In contrast to the 
 enormous price of wheat just stated, in 1817, the next 
 price we meet with, a few years after, is only two 
 shillings per quarter, equivalent to three pounds mo- 
 dern; but even from this price, low^ as it may seem, 
 we may gather, that wheat being a species of manufac- 
 ture requiring some skill and labour to raise, bore a 
 much higher proportion in value at all times than 
 butchers* meat. 
 
 A. — This devouring famine increased the king's 
 unpopularity, though we may conclude that no miscon- 
 duct on his part could cause or augment such a cala- 
 mity; but a certain impostor, one John l)eydras,Mhe 
 
 son of a tanner at Exeter, thinking any trifle would 
 cause a revolt, gave out that he was himself the son 
 of the late King Edward, but had been changed at 
 nurse. 
 
 P. — Ilnppy for the unfortunate monarch on the 
 throne could this Irish pretension have been sub- 
 stantiated. 
 
 A, — 13ut as it failed, the promoter of the imposition 
 was speedily hanged. About this time, as Edward on 
 a certain holiday was dining in public in Westminster 
 Hall,^ a woman in a mask, gaily attired, came on 
 horseback and delivered him a letter; the king imagin- 
 ing that it contained something proper to divert him, or- 
 dered it to be read aloud ; but he was surprised to hear 
 only outrageous reproaches for his cowardice, tyranny, 
 and the various grievances of his reign. The woman 
 being apprehended, confessed that she was bribed to 
 the action by a certain knight. 
 
 F. — Nothing can be a greater proof of the general 
 discontent, than that the knight, when interrogated, did 
 not deny the fact, but asserted that, believing the king 
 would read the letter in private, he thought it the 
 properest way to let him know the complaints of his 
 subjects. 
 
 A, — The evils of the famine were but temporary, 
 those of a faction, which now sought to govern the 
 kingdom, lasting. Thomas, earl of Lancaster, cousin- 
 german to the king, grandson of Henry the Third, of a 
 haughty and turbulent disposition, was one of the most 
 potent barons that England ever saw% possessing no 
 less than six earldoms, with a proportionable and con- 
 sequently an innnense estate: with this preponderating 
 interest he obtained from parliament an ordinance, by 
 
 ^ Sax, Chron. ^ Chronicle of Dunstable, 12r>8. ••■ Higden, Polvcliron, 
 
 Walsinghain. 
 
70 
 
 VESTICIA. 
 
 NATIONAL DISCONTENT, 
 
 1 
 
 ! ■ 
 
 which the government was vesletl in twelve l)arons,« 
 whose power totally eclipsed, if it did not annihilate, 
 
 . the regal authority. 
 
 P.— His conduct so far resembled the unprincipled 
 
 ambition of Simon de Montfort. 
 
 yl.— Taking advantage of the national misfortunes, 
 Lancaster placed himself at the head of the council, 
 and ruled all things at his pleasure; by his treachery 
 he so directed that no advantage shouhl be gained 
 against the Scots which might confer reputation upon 
 Edward; but he was at length defeated, no unfrequent 
 case with politicians of his class, by an instrument of 
 his own raising : he had promoted against the inclina- 
 tion of the king, Hugh ie Despenser, or 8i)enser, to 
 the office of chamberlain,' a young man of noble birth, 
 ample fortune, and amiable person, but who, acting by 
 the advice of his father, a nobleman venerable both for 
 his years and character, soon judged that he sliould 
 better promote his interests by flattering the inclinations 
 of his sovereign, than by continuing the tool of a fac- 
 tion; and consequently, by the most obsequious sub- 
 mission, he soon acquired the same ascendancy which 
 had been exercised by the unfortunate Gaveston. 
 
 F. — ^The king, fully sensible of his own incapacity 
 for serious business, naturally sought to be directed ; 
 but every successive favourite seeming to be exalted 
 above his natural rank in the state, excited the envy of 
 the nobility and hatred of the people. 
 
 A. — No sooner was the attachment of the king to 
 the two Spensers made known, than the turbulent nobles 
 immediately regarded them as rivals in power, and 
 sought by the most violent means their destruction.^ 
 The younger Spenser having married one ol the three 
 
 daughters, coheiresses of the great family of Clare, earl 
 of Gloucester, a dispute arose between him and two of 
 the nobility who had married the two other daughters, 
 concerning the division of these large possessions. The 
 transaction was properly the subject of a law-suit, but 
 it excited a civil war: the barons flew to arms, and 
 devastated the estates of the Spensers in various parts 
 of the kingdom,^^ and demanded of the king the banish- 
 ment of these noblemen, both at that time abroad on 
 business of the state. Edward very justly replied, that 
 as the Spensers were not even accused of any crime, 
 his coronation oath restrained him from giving an assent 
 to so illeiral a demand.^ 
 
 F. — This firmness lasted but a short time, the weak 
 but unfortunate monarch soon yielding to the violence 
 and menaces of his barons. 
 
 A. — An incident soon occurred, which, by affording 
 Edward a plausible pretence for raising a military force, 
 released him from this thraldom. The queen going on 
 a pilgrimage to Thomas a Beckef s tomb at Canterbury, 
 proposed to lodge during a night at the royal castle of 
 Ledes, in Kent, the custody of which had been com- 
 mitted by the king to Lord Badlesmere, who indeed 
 w as absent, but the Lady Badlesmere refused admis- 
 sion to the queen, and during the altercation several of 
 the royal attendants were killed. ° 
 
 P. — Her ladyship surely afforded a poor specimen 
 of ancient English hospitality. 
 
 A. — The Baron Badlesmere, in a letter to the king, 
 avowed the act of his wife, but no one pretended to 
 justify such unwarrantable insolence. Edward assem- 
 bling an army, took the castle and hanged the governor, 
 a gentleman of the name of Colepepper; the lady and 
 
 i ':•■ 
 
 Rj^mor, v<-'l. 5. 
 
 ^ T. dc la Moor. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 •» Muriinuth. 
 
 ^ Walsinghani. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 :iv 
 

 VESTIGIA. 
 
 I,' ' 
 
 her children were sent to tho Tower; and iIm baron 
 being soon ailtr taken was executed.' Edwtird liaving 
 now concerted measures will) bis friends tln'ougliout 
 England, threw oft' the mask, ventured to aninil the 
 sentence oi' banishment against the Spcnsers, and ibl- 
 lowed up his advantages with such success, that Lan- 
 caster, who had openly formed an alliance with the 
 King of Scots, was defeated and taken prisoner: having 
 been one of the chief promoters of Gaveston's execu- 
 tion, Edward now retaliated by subjecting the earl to 
 the same ignominious punishment.^ 
 
 F. — The memorv of this nobleman is worth the 
 notice of posterity, only from his extrenn* o[)ulence; 
 the extent of which we may guess, from (he annual 
 consumption in his household of three hundred and 
 seventy-one pipes of wine.^ Th.is immense wealth 
 conterred upon him the power oi' working consider- 
 able mischief: of common-place talent, he sought to 
 gratify his ambition by a turbulent invasion of the 
 laws and peace of the kingdom; his death indeed, by 
 exhibiting one of those extreme reverses of fortune 
 which the English history too I'requently presents, at- 
 tracts our attention. On the 22d of March, 1322, Lan- 
 caster was led from his own castle at Pomfret, to a 
 hill about a mile distant, mounted on a lean and sorry 
 jade, and attired in a sordid dress, with a hood placed 
 upon his head; in the way he was pelted by the people 
 with mud, who taunted him with the title of Kinir 
 Arthur, for such name he had assumed in his traitorous 
 correspondence with the Scots. '' King of heaven," he 
 exclaimed, '' grant me mercy, for thc^ king of earth has 
 forsaken me."'^ He then knelt down, with his face to 
 
 « \\ alsinghain, 
 * Stow, Survey, 
 
 ^ T. de la Moor. 
 
 ^ Ltlaml, CoJlcct. vol. 2, 
 
 THE TWO SPENSERS. 
 
 73 
 
 the east, but he was ordered to turn to the north, that 
 he miglit look towards his friends, meaning the Scots; 
 and the executioner then finished his office.* 
 
 A. — So decided an advantage over the rebellious 
 barons would under any other reign have secured the 
 stability of the government; but Edward's unfortunate 
 choice of his favourites defeated such propitious au- 
 spices. The Spensers now returned from exile, seizing 
 for themselves the larger part of the late forfeited 
 estates of Lancaster and other barons, renewed the 
 jreneral feelinir of discontent; and such was their insa- 
 tiable avarice and rapacity, that the nation began to 
 regret even tlie loss of Gaveston. The younger Spenser 
 having excited the animosity of the queen, she pursued 
 her revenge with such an artful pertinacity as has been 
 seldom exceeded. Isabella altogether despising her 
 husband, became at this time enamoured of Roger 
 Mortimer," a young and powerful baron of the western 
 marches, and the decided enemy of the Spensers. This 
 nobleman having been imprisoned in the Tower, had 
 the good Ibrtune to make his escape : during one stormy 
 night, having lulled his keepers by a sleeping draught, 
 wliich was infused in their wine at a banquet, he 
 broke through the wall of his chamber into the kitchen, 
 from whence getting out by the roof, and using a ladder 
 of cords provided by his friends, he descended; a boat 
 being olitained, he put boldly out to sea, and landed 
 on the continent in safety.^ 
 
 p. — I think we may perceive the operation of the 
 queen's gold in this transaction as much as of the 
 
 narcotic infusion. 
 
 yl. — Isabella obtained permission to visit Paris, for 
 the purpose of adjusting a dispute between Edward 
 
 * Walsincflmm Trokclowc. 
 
 ^ T dc la Moor. 
 
 •" Blanc ford. 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 
74 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 
 I 
 
 and the French king, her brother, respecting? his claims 
 to the feudal superiority of Guienne. During the ne- 
 gotiation, a demand was made that Edward should 
 come over and perform in person the usual homage; 
 but Spenser, foreseeing great inconveniences, either in 
 suffering Edward to leave the kingdom alone, or in ac- 
 companying him to Paris, where he well knew he should 
 be exposed to danger from the queen's well-dissembled 
 animosity, started various objections^ to the proposal; 
 and during the delay which they occasioned, he suf- 
 fered his master to fall into an unsuspected but deadly 
 snare, Isabella having artfully represented to the 
 English council that the king might resign Guienne 
 to his son, now thirteen years of ai,^e, whose homa^re 
 the French monarch would accept as his father's 
 substitute.^ 
 
 F.— Such a happy expedient seemed calculated to 
 remove all difficulties and satisfy all objections. 
 
 il.— Soon after the arrival in Paris of the young 
 Prince of Wales (1325,) the queen lived with Mortimer 
 in the most declared intimacy; and having now got 
 into her hands the heir of the English monarchy, she 
 resolved on the utter ruin of the king, as well as of 
 the favourite. Edward becoming alarmed, required her 
 speedy return ; but she replied, that she would never 
 set foot in England till Spenser was removed for ever 
 from the presence and councils of the king." 
 
 F. — Edward's letter in answer to liis '' dame" is 
 still extant: he affirms that her fears of Spenser were 
 a mere pretence; that she had never betrayed the least 
 suspicion in England ; that she had taken leave of him 
 as a friend, and during her absence had written letters 
 to him full of professions of esteem. The kini» goes on 
 
 » Mon. Malniesb. 
 
 Rymcr, vol. 4. 
 
 * \\'al;>inpbaiij. 
 
 
 INTRIGUES OF THE QUEEN. 
 
 75 
 
 to assert, tliat since her marriage she had always been 
 treated with honour and kindness ; and that if he had 
 sometimes spoken to her words of rebuke, it was always 
 in secret, and because she had deserved them by her 
 follies.* The postscript in the kings letter to the 
 prince, written at the same time, is extremely charac- 
 teristic, and by no means discreditable to his under- 
 standing: 
 
 '' Edward, Fair Son, Beaufitz, 
 
 " Though you are of tender age, take our 
 commands tenderly to heart, and perform them humbly 
 and quietly, as you wish to escape our anger and heavy 
 indignation, and as you love your own profit and ho- 
 nour; and follow no advice contrary to the will of 
 your father, as the wise king Solomon teaches you ; and 
 send us word immediately what you mean to do, know- 
 ing this, that if we find you hereafter disobedient to our 
 will, we will take care that you shall feel it to the last 
 day of your life; and that other sons shall learn from 
 your example not to disobey their lords and fathers." 
 
 yl._Thc conduct of Isabella, strange as it may ap- 
 pear, obtained for her great popularity in England: 
 with consummate address she aflianced her son, the 
 Prince of Wales, to Philippa, daughter of the Count 
 of Holland and Ilainault;^ and from this new alliance 
 she was supplied with a small army of about three 
 thousand men, and landed with them in Harwich har- 
 bour, Sept. 24, 132() : to render her cause more popu- 
 lar, she renewed her declaration, that her purpose was 
 solely to free the king and kingdom from the tyranny 
 or the Spensers/ By these pretensions three princes 
 
 Rynior, vol. 4. 
 
 ^ T. de la Moor. 
 
 « Ypod. Neus. 
 
 I' I* i 
 
I, ■ 
 
 m 
 
 76 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of the blood, many of the nobility, and several of the 
 prelates, were induced to join her parly. By the de- 
 sertion of Robert do Watteville, who was sent to op- 
 pose the progress of the malcontents, the unfortunate 
 Edward, after trying in vain to rouse the loyalty of the 
 citizens of London, found himself without resource 
 and departed lor the west.^ The elder Spenser, lately 
 created Earl of Winchester, was left governor of Bristol 
 Castle, but the garrison mutinied and delivered him 
 into the hands of his enemies : this venerable nobleman, 
 who had reached his ninetieth year, was instantly, 
 without trial, witness, accusation, or answer, condemned 
 to death ; he was hanged in armour on a gibbet, and his 
 body afterwards cut in pieces and thrown to the dogs.^ 
 
 J^- — He had then indeed reason to repeat the curse 
 which, when compelled to leave the kingdom, he had 
 formerly bestowed upon his son as the cause of his 
 disgrace and misery.^ 
 
 P.— But the old nobleman should have recollected 
 that the son originally acted upon his father's counsel. 
 
 A.— King Edward, in company witli the younger 
 Spenser, took shipping for Ireland, but they were 
 driven back by contrary winds and for some time 
 sought concealment in the mountains of Wales; but 
 at length they were discovered near the monastery of 
 Neath, in Glamorganshire : the king was taken for safe 
 custody to Kenilworth Castle;^ but the favourite, beinir 
 carried to Hereford, was condemned by the same sum- 
 mary process as his father, and was at once led to exe- 
 cution, being clothed in a black gown, with the arms of 
 the family reversed, and crowned with a wreath of 
 nettles.'' 
 
 * Walsinjjham. 
 '* ^VaIsi^ghaIn. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 "^ Lelaml, Collect, vol.2. 
 • Knyghton. 
 
 RESIGNATION OF EDWARD. 
 
 77 
 
 F. — But let me whisper a question in your ear : may 
 we not, from the extraordinary particulars related by 
 Froissait of this execution, as well as his gross decla- 
 ration of the cause, trace the ground of the general ani- 
 mosity to Spenser? 
 
 A. — Nothing of the kind appears in the public ac- 
 cusation of the king, of Gaveston, or of Spenser : when 
 an abandojicd adultress, like Isabella, aided by her 
 paramour, resolves on the ruin of her husband, nothing 
 can be easier than to invent and circulate the most 
 odious insinuations; nor are the cruelties practised on 
 this occasion of the least proof, as according to the 
 same authority,^ they were repeated on Mortimer him- 
 self when he in turn fell by the hand of the public exe- 
 cutioner. A parliament being assembled by Isabella, 
 it drew up a charge against the king in six articles,^ 
 which, though framed by his inveterate enemies, con- 
 tained little more than an accusation of incapacity for 
 government, of neglecting public business, and of being 
 swayed by evil counsellors. 
 
 F. — The frivolous nature of such charges is cer- 
 tainly a better vindication of Edward's government in 
 the eyes of considerate persons, than at this distance 
 of time can otherwise easily be made ; and yet in the 
 sixth article there is an obscure and dark allusion. 
 
 A. — The parliament having declared that Edward 
 was deposed, proclaimed the young prince Regent: 
 Isabella counterfeited the most violent grief, shedding 
 floods of tears, and repeatedly falling into fits;"^ the 
 prince w ith more sincerity declaring his unwillingness 
 to reign without his father's consent, commissioners 
 were despatched to Edward, at Kenilworth, requiring 
 his resignation: the hapless monarch, as soon as he 
 beheld thorn, [)rophetic of his doom, sank down upon 
 
 -» Frolssart. ^ Pari. Hist. vol. 1, from the Records. 
 
 Walsingham. 
 
78 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ■ )> 
 
 i 
 
 the floor in a swoon -/^ but on recovery replied to their 
 menaces, that he submitted to his fate : one of the de- 
 putation. Judge Trussel, in the name of the preUites, 
 earls, barons, and people of England, as tlicir procu- 
 rator, renounced all homage, fealty, and obedience; 
 and Sir Thomas Blount, high steward, then broke liis 
 staflf of office, and declared all the king's ollicers dis- 
 charged from their service; and thus tliis extraordinary 
 ceremony ended (Jan. 20, 1327) J' 
 
 F' — The people of England, being wrought into a 
 violent rage against Edward, had considered the queen 
 and Mortimer as angels sent from heaven for their deli- 
 verance ; but as the nature of the connection between 
 these persons became better understood,^ and it was 
 eveil publicly noticed by the clergy in their pulpits, it 
 was soon found to be far from angelic, and awakened 
 in the most stupid and deluded of Edward's subjects a 
 degree of pity for the sufterings of their wretched sove- 
 reign. To counteract the schemes which began to be 
 formed for his deliverance, the Bishop of Hereford, 
 Andrew Orleton, an ancient enemy of Edward's, preached 
 before the queen at Oxford, from the text,^ '' My head, 
 my head!" and urged publicly that a bad king, the dis- 
 tempered head of a state, w^as not to be cured by any 
 chirurgery, and darkly hinted the necessity of severing 
 it from the body. 
 
 A. — The Earl of Leicester, now Earl of Lancaster, 
 to whose custody Edw ard had been committed, treated 
 the royal captive with much humanity and respect;^ 
 this causing alarm to Mortimer, he was removed from 
 Kenilworth, and given over to Lord Berkely, Sir John 
 Maltravers, and Gournay, who were to keep him a 
 month by turns. The king w as first carried to Corle 
 Castle, then to Bristol, and last to Berkely Castle. In 
 
 ^ T.dela Moor. ^ Ibid. « Walsingham. '' T. do la Moor. - Ibid. 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 / 
 
 MURDER OF EDWARD. 
 
 79 
 
 his journey to the latter place he was treated with 
 every species of indignity by Maltravers and Gournay, 
 who appeared as if they designed to break his heart 
 by ill-treatment : they made him ride in the night-time 
 in sordid and thin clothing, without covering to his 
 head, which in derision they crowned with hay ;^ and 
 fearing a rescue, they proposed to disguise him by 
 shaving off his hair and beard : as they came near a 
 ditch they compelled him to alight Irom his horse, and 
 seating him on a molehill they prepared for that ope- 
 ration with cold and muddy water: the spirits of Ed- 
 ward at length were overcome, lie burst into tears, and 
 exclaimed, " See, I have thus provided clean and w arm 
 water, whether you will or no."^ His life was after- 
 wards attempted by poison, which the natural strength 
 of his constitution resisted ; and his merciless keepers 
 heaped up ordure of every sort beneath his window, in 
 hope tluit the infection w ould destroy him.^ 
 
 JF.— In justice to Lord Berkely it should be noticed, 
 that he does not appear to have been aware of these 
 enormities; indeed he was tried in the next reign, as 
 being privy to the murder, but acquitted, on the plea 
 that, '' lying sick at Bradelye without the said castle, 
 he knew not what w as done therein, nor w as consenting 
 thereto." ^ 
 
 ^L— The ruffmns finding the effect of their cruelty 
 too tardy, sent to Mortimer for further instructions: 
 with his answer was said to come the famous letter of 
 the Bishop of Hereford, containing the well-known am- 
 biguous sentence: 
 
 Edsvardum occidere nolite tiniere bonum est;*^ 
 
 which depended on the insertion of a comma whether 
 it carried life or death. 
 
 a T.dela Moor. »> Ibid. 
 
 ^ Cotton's Abridi^ment of the Records. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 ** T. de la Moor 
 
 /^ 
 
 J 
 
»0 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CHARACTER OF EDWARD. 
 
 81 
 
 P. — If the point be iiiscrled ;iltci uoli/c, ilic liuc 
 means, 
 
 To kill Edward be umvilling, to fear is good. 
 
 If after liinen', thou the sense runs in .somewhat uw k- 
 ward English, 
 
 To kill EdwarJ be unwilliiiLr to iVar, it is good ; 
 
 that is, be not afraid to kill Edward. 
 
 F. — The shameful equivocation, we may suppose, 
 was sent without being pointed at all, and it was inter-' 
 preted accordingly bj its worst construction. 
 
 ^.— The termination of Edward's life was attended 
 
 by circumstances of the most appalling barbarity: in 
 
 the dead of the night (Sept. 21, 1327), Maltra\ ers and 
 
 Gournay entered his chamber, and seizing the deposed 
 
 monarch, threw him on the Ijed, and held him down 
 
 with a table : the agonizing shrieks of the miserable 
 
 sufferer were heard by many, both witliiti and witiiowt 
 
 the castle; they were occasioned by the assassins 
 
 forcing a red hot iron, which they inserted through u 
 
 horn, into his bowels; but thus, though no outward 
 
 marks of violence were discoverable on the body," the 
 
 atrocious transaction remained no secret. 
 P. — 
 
 Bcrkcly, whose fair seat liatli been famous Ions. 
 
 Let thy sad echoes shriek a deadly sound ; 
 To the vast air complaia thy grievous wron"-, 
 
 And keep the blood that issued from his wound> 
 
 So sang the nearly forgotten poet Michael Drayton. 
 It requires not a microscopic eye to discover whence 
 the ^^ Bard" of Gray drew his image on the same 
 subject: 
 
 The shrieks of death through Bcrkely':^ roofs that ring, 
 Shrieks of an agonizing king. 
 
 ^.— When the murder had transpired, the (picen 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 and Muriimer, as might be supposed, disoAvned their 
 instruments, who were obliged to seek safety in flight.'' 
 A prince less fit to govern a rude and turbulent people 
 than Edward of Caernarvon it is not easy to imagine. 
 Tn tlie strength, stature, and beauty of his person he 
 bore a great likeness to his father;^ but beyond exter- 
 nals all resemblance ceased. Though not remarkably 
 deficient in personal courage, Ed wan! had no talents 
 for war; nor was he better qualified for the conduct of 
 political aflairs, his loquacity always betraying his 
 secrets. To a narrow^ genius was added a taste for low 
 and frivolous company, such as dancers, buHbons, 
 minstrels, bargemen, carters, and mechanics; amongst 
 whom lie covdd better indulge his inclination to drink, 
 and be more free in venting his hasty temper. Inca- 
 pable of distinguishing what was for his advantage, he 
 followed his humour without troubling himself about 
 the consequences ; and, like his grand lather Henry the 
 Third, he chose rather to forfeit the affection of his 
 people than deny himself the satisfaction of heaping 
 fa\ ours on those he loved. 
 
 F. — In an authentic MS. of this king's expenses is 
 the following curious entry: ''Paid to James de St. 
 All)an's, th(^ king s painter, who danced before the king 
 upon u table, and made hirn laugh heartily, a gift, one 
 shilling."^ 
 
 P. — Did the strikingly contrasted reigns of the first 
 and second Edw^ard produce any material alteration or 
 improvement in the general aspect of society in England ? 
 
 A. — Science and literature seem to have made no pro- 
 gress in either reign, if they did not somew^hat retrograde. 
 The English tongue continued yet in a rude and un- 
 formed state ; nor is it at all more intelligible than the 
 
 ^ T. de la Moor. 
 
 ^ Barons' Wars, book 5. 
 
 • T. de la Moor. 
 \ OL. 11. 
 
 ^ Knvfthton. 
 
 •JO' 
 
 ^ Antiq. Repertory, vol. 2. 
 
82 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 language of the century preceding. Jlobert (u Glouces- 
 ter, born 12-30, has been called by iiccUiie the Engii^ii 
 Ennius, and has occasionally been quoted as an liisto- 
 rical authority: he wrote a rhyming chronicle, from the 
 arrival of the imaginary I3rute to his own time, 1260 : 
 its early part is merely a cold prosaic translation of 
 Geoflrey of Monmouth's history, which in its original 
 state possesses much more of a poetic spirit. The 
 followino- specimen of the ol)S()lete style of R()l>erl of 
 Gloucester, I doubt not, you will esteem quite snflicient: 
 
 Walls he lete make al abonte, and yatcs up and doun 
 
 And after Lud, that was i'^ name, he chipede it Ludstown ; 
 
 The herte j-ate of the toun, that yut stout there and is, 
 
 He let hit clupie Ludi^ate, after his own name I wis. 
 
 The toun nie clupeth that is wide couth, 
 
 And now me clupeth it London, that is lighter in the mouth. 
 
 F. — This is stupid enough; and yet the latter pari 
 of the poem becomes less wearisome, and a descri[)- 
 tion of the first crusade is not only entertaining 1)iit 
 animated. 
 
 A. — A few years later (l;3-38) died anollier rlijming 
 chronicler, Robert Mannyng, a monk in the monastery 
 of Brunne, in Lincolnshire, and thence more frequently 
 called Robert de Brunne : he was chiefly a translator. 
 His voluminous work, called Lc Brut, is a transhition 
 from the French rhyming chronicle of the kiuirs of Ena- 
 land by Maister Wace,^ chaplain to Henry the Second. 
 This part of the w ork has not been printed, l)ut the story 
 having been continued in the French tongue, iVom the 
 death of Cadwallader to that of Edward the First, by 
 Peter Langtoft, canon of Bridlington, w as also trans- 
 lated by Robert de Brunne, and was first published by 
 Thomas Hearne. This poet shows a considerable im- 
 provement in versification, as his verses, though printed 
 
 » Vol.1, p. 584. 
 
 KARLY ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 83 
 
 Alexandrines, evince a great facility in rhyming, 
 and exhibit a very early specimen of our common bal- 
 lad metre, whicli the author happily calls rhyme entre- 
 lacee : 
 
 Richard at Godis board 
 
 His mass had and his rights : 
 Hear now swilk a word 
 
 He spake to his knights : 
 
 Ne tin Acre go, 
 
 Till the castle be taken 
 That Philip went fro, 
 
 For us hath it forsaken. 
 
 The dikes were full wide 
 
 That closed the castle about, 
 And deep on ilka side, 
 
 With bankis high without. 
 
 ^Vith great double chains 
 
 Drawn over the gate, 
 And fifty armed swains 
 
 Porters at that o^ate.^ 
 
 F. — Thoui^li this is more narrative than poetic, yet 
 the style exceeds in elegance any poem that had yet 
 appeared, and must have been an useful study to suc- 
 ceedini;* versifiers. 
 
 A. — In the composition of Latin the same barbarous 
 style continued which drew down the censures of Arch- 
 bishop Kilwarby half a century before ; and in Latin 
 poetry no specimen is to be found at all comparable to 
 the writers of the era of Henry the Second: one of the 
 best pieces, consisting of a lament in one hundred and 
 twelve verses, has been attributed to the unfortunate 
 Edward, during his confinement at Kenilworth; but as 
 the taste of this prince was decidedly low, it is much 
 more probable that the poem was the production of 
 William of Wvrcester two centuries later, in whose 
 annals it originally appeared : could it be allowed as 
 
 •' Kills, Specimens of early English Poetry, vol. 1. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 genuine, though it did not prove tlie king a poet, it 
 would yet evince a decent degree of scliolarship : 
 
 Dampninn milii contuVit tempore brumari, 
 Fortun;i satis aspera, vehcmcntis mali, 
 Niiilus est tarn sapiens, initis aut foniiosus. 
 Tarn prudens virlutibus, ceterisque famosus : 
 Quin stultus reputabitur, et satis despectiis 
 Si fortuna prosperos, avertat effectus. 
 
 On my devoted head stern fortune pours, 
 As from a wintry cloud, lier fiercest showers : 
 No man, however virtuous or renown'd, 
 By prudence guarded, and by wisdom crown'd, 
 If fortune but avert her treacherous face. 
 But shall be rcckon'd fool, and meet disgrace. 
 
 F. — Thougli little improvement in lenrnino^ couhl he 
 expected in an age in which the very few students of 
 the Greeks Hebrew, and Oriental tongues were sus- 
 pected of ma^ic, yet there arose, principally in the 
 university of Oxford, a host of writers usually termed 
 the schoolmen, the authors, or rather revivers, of a sub- 
 tle, wrangling, verbose, unintelligible species of logic 
 and metaphysics, which they chielly applied to tlie 
 study of theology. No sect of philosopliers, pretended 
 or real, ever acquired more reputation in their day, or 
 more excited vulgar astonishment; the chief professors 
 obtained the appellation of the irrefragable, the subtle, 
 the proibund, the seraphic, the resolute, or ti.e invinci- 
 ble doctor; the individuals to which these titles were 
 applied it is scarcely worth while to distinguish, as 
 they and their works have long since gone, JSunia (jho 
 ^devenit et Ancus. 
 
 A. — Yet many of these schoolmen were men of great 
 genius and invention, possessing much subtlety and 
 acuteness of intellect, but they wanted true taste and a 
 right direction in their studies. They wasted their fa- 
 culties and time in maintaining such sorl of doctrine as 
 
 ROGER BACON. 
 
 85 
 
 (hat two contradictory propositions might both be true, 
 and liiat in a man there is only one form. In theology 
 their enquiries were audacious and profane,^ as. Where 
 was the Deity before the creation appeared? When 
 were the angels made, and how? Doth the glorified 
 body of Christ in heaven use a sitting or a standing 
 posture? ^^"ere the clothes in^^hichhc appeared after 
 his resurrection real or imaginary? Is the body of Christ 
 in the eucharist dressed or undressed? Is the eucharist 
 digested in tln^ human stomach? Whether it be a pos- 
 sible proposition for the father to hate the son ? Whe- 
 ther it Ije a lighter crime to kill a thousand men than 
 darn a stocking on the sabbath?'' From such questions 
 we may conclude that the schoolmen sought to explain, 
 as expressed by Filler,'' things mystical that might not, 
 things difficult that could not, and things curious that 
 need not, be known. 
 
 F. — We must exempt from this censure the great 
 name of Roger Bacon, who though he was called the 
 wonderful doctor, yet his enquiries were of a very dif- 
 ferent nature, and for which, like so many other distin- 
 guished persons whose understanding has forerun the 
 general knowledge and spirit of the age in which they 
 lived, he became the object of almost incessant perse- 
 cution, and passed many years of his life in prison ; he 
 attained however the age of seventy-eight, and died 
 1202. Roger Bacon w^as born at Ilchester ; it is uncer- 
 tain whether he studied at Merton College, or at the 
 old hall of Brazen Nose, in Oxford, but he became a 
 Franciscan monk. He appears as wonderful to us as 
 he did to his contemporaries ; his genius was univer- 
 sal; he not only cultivated but improved the various 
 sciences of grammar, metaphysics, physics, opiics, geo- 
 
 '^ Erasmus, Encoin. Moria?. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 ' Church Ilist. of Brit. 
 
5u 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 ROGER BACON. 
 
 87 
 
 graphy, astronomy, chronology, chemistry, rthics, and 
 philology. The following list of his discoveries must 
 appear truly astonishing : the exact length of the solar 
 year, and a method of correcting the calendar, the mi- 
 croscope, the telescope, and various mathematical in- 
 struments; the method of performing several chemical 
 operations now in use; the nature of the mechanical 
 powders, and the best method of applying and combining 
 them : these inventions indeed lav concealed, and sue- 
 ceedino' asres have claimed the merit of the discoverv. 
 
 p. — In what form are these discoveries of Roger 
 Bacon accessible ? 
 
 A, — The author collected a considerable number of 
 his treatises, and presented them to Pope Clement the 
 Fourth, under the title of Opus Majus : this work was 
 published in 17-38, by Dr. Samuel J ebb, and is a cu- 
 rious repository of the opinions of the age, as well as 
 a monument of the indefatii2:able researches of Friar 
 Bacon. 
 
 F. — It does not contain how^ever the most remark- 
 able of his discoveries, the composition ot gunpowder: 
 that its powers were known to this great philosopher is 
 abundantly evident: he states in another work,-" that 
 from saltpetre and other ingredients he was able to 
 make a fire that would burn at any distance he pleased, 
 with sounds like thunder, and corruscations in the air 
 more horrible than those which naturally happen, and 
 by which a city or an army might be destroyed ; but 
 apprehensive of the mischief that might follow, he con- 
 cealed the name of one of his ingredients by an ana- 
 gram, thus securing to his own fame the anticipation of 
 that discovery which he judged would be made by a 
 future age: his recipe is doui)tIess a curiosity — Sed 
 
 
 (ameriy salts pelrce " luru mope can ubre " (carbonum 
 pulvere) et sulphure, et sic fades tonitrum et corrusca- 
 tionem — With saltpetre, powdered charcoal, and sul- 
 phur, you may make thunder and lightning. 
 
 P. — No wonder that by such experiments he ac- 
 quired the character of a magician : and pray what is 
 the foundation. of the story of his brazen head? 
 
 A. — Friar Bacon w^as not the iirst person to whom 
 the formation of such an automaton has been attri- 
 buted. The celebrated ecclesiastic Gerbert, afterwards 
 Pope Silvester the Second,^ in the tenth century, was 
 said to possess a brazen head, but it would only speak 
 when spoken to, as Partridge says of a ghost, and its 
 answers were confined to yes and no : when asked by 
 its master if ever he should become Pope, it answered 
 Yes; and when he further enquired, whether he should 
 die before he sang at Jerusalem, it answ ered No ; which 
 however proved false, for Silvester departed this life at 
 Rome, witliout ha\ ing visited the Holy Land. 
 
 P.— The faculty of answering only by these tw^o 
 monosyllables would have admirably qualified this 
 head for a dilTerent station. 
 
 j^,_After this story had got into the world, there 
 w^as no person distinguished by mechanical science but 
 was said to have made such a brazen head; hence 
 TJobert (Jrostete,'' bishop of Lincoln, was reputed to 
 possess one, which being broken by some accident, 
 the relics w ere kept by him in a vault at Oxford, and 
 were, after his death, bestowed by vulgar report upon 
 Roger Bacon, in conjunction w ith a certain brother of 
 the Franciscan order, Friar Bungay. The project which 
 engaged these tw o learned monks was the possibility 
 of enclosing England with a wall of brass; but as they 
 
 R. liatoni, l"pi>tola dc Sccrotib n|Hril)iib Artis ct Naturae. 
 
 ^ Will M.ihncsb. lib. 2, c. 10. '' Ant. a WViod, Hist, h AntU|. Oxun. 
 
88 
 
 VKSTIOIA. 
 
 had a great deal of liusiness on liieir hcuids, it seems 
 they Ibroot, or were absent at, tho rritirnl Tiiomnit 
 when the head gave its uiacular advice, and conse- 
 quently the whole contrivance vanished. 
 
 P. — Of what nntiquity is this celebrated hurnd'^ 
 A. — The earliest notice of it with svluth 1 am ac- 
 quainted, is a drama called '' The honorabl^^ Tlistorie 
 of Friar Bacon and Friar Bcmgay," by Robert Greene, 
 15J)4, though it is umiucstionably nuich more ancient: 
 in this play Baron is represented as a powerful magi- 
 cian, and he thus ;uldresses his servant .\Jilcs, a poor 
 scholar of Oxford : 
 
 Now, Miles, in thee rests Friar Bacon's weal ; 
 The honour and renown of all his lite 
 Hangs in the watching of this brazen head ; 
 Tlierefore I charge thee, by the immortal God, 
 This night tliou watch, for ere the morning star, 
 The head will speak ; then, Miles, upon thy life, 
 Wake me, for then by magic art I '11 work 
 To end my seven years' task with excellence, 
 if that a wink but shut thy watchful eye. 
 Then farewell Bacon's glory and his fame. 
 
 At the end of this speech the worthy friar falls fast 
 asleep, which circumstance his serving"- man tlnis 
 explains: 
 
 ^' I thouuht you would talk yourself to sleep anon, 
 and 'tis no marvel, for Bungay on the days and he on 
 the nights have watched just these ten and liily days; 
 now this is the night, and 'tis my task, and no more." 
 Soon after a great noise is heard, and the head uUcrs, 
 '' Time is." Miles, who is drawn as a ridiculous buf- 
 foon, then expresses his wonder, but waits for some- 
 thing more explicit before he wakes his nuisler. The 
 head now exclaiming '' Time was," the serving-man 
 still thinkino: that two monosyHables onlv could be no 
 matter of importance, continues his idJr prate; whvn 
 
 ROGER liACON. 
 
 89 
 
 the head for the last time speaks the fatal conclusion, 
 '' Time is past," thunder and lightning then arise, and 
 a hand appears that breaks down the head with a ham- 
 mer. Bacon awakening, and being informed of the 
 particulars, bitterly exclaims : 
 
 *Tis past indeed ! 
 My life, my fame, my glory, all are past ! 
 Villain, if thou hadst called to Bacon then, 
 If thou hadst watched, and waked the sleepy friar, '' 
 The brazen head had uttered aphorisms, 
 And England had been circled round with brass. 
 
 F. — 1 suppose it is impossible to ascertain the ori- 
 ginal inventor of the story; but its merit is sufficiently 
 attested by its universal reception with all ranks, ages, 
 and conditions. 
 
 A, — After ail, perhaps, the legend is nothing more 
 than an allegory of the alchymists : the brazen head 
 meaning the vessel in which the great philosophical 
 work was wrought, but the critical moment of projec- 
 tion, which should have transmuted the baser metal 
 into gold, being neglected, an opportunity was lost of 
 making the strongest defence for England which the 
 unlimited possession of wealth could have procured. 
 Roger Bacon wa^ doubtless led away by the strange 
 inf it nation of the philosopher's stone and the potable 
 elixir, which prevailed for so many centuries; but in 
 all other respects his philosophy was founded on good 
 sense : he deplored the ignorance and prejudice of the 
 age, and so far from even pretending to magic, he con- 
 stantly lamented the attributing to its power every thing 
 that was great and excellent in science, as it not only 
 hindered the propagation, but the fame of genuine 
 knowledge. 
 
 F. — A very different kind of philosophy from the 
 knowledge of cause and efl'ect in natural objects was 
 
!)0 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the practice of physic in these times, li we may judge 
 from a work called '' Praxis Medica llosa Anglica/'— 
 the Medical Kose, by John (Jaddesden, a physician; in 
 which is to be found this excellent recipe for the small- 
 pox: ''Cause the whole body of your patient to be 
 wrapped in scarlet cloth, and command every thing 
 ahont the bed to l)e made red: tliis is an excellent 
 cure/' '' It was in this manner (says the doctor) that I 
 treated the son oi" the noble King of England, after- 
 wards Edward the Third, when he had the small-pox, 
 without leaving any marks behind." * Yet, notwithstand- 
 ing this gross absurdity, Gaddesden was evidently a 
 man of great research; he gives a recipe for rendering 
 salt water fresh by distillation, a discovery supposed 
 generally to be of more modern date. 
 
 A. — The historians of this period sadly deaenerated 
 from the pure style of WlUiiun of MalmesLuiry and the 
 lively delineations of Matthew Paris: they are both 
 few in nund)er and distimzuished by few excellencies. 
 Thomas W ykes, canon of the order oi' St. Auiiustine. 
 in the a])i)ey of Osney, nc ar Oxfor'l, composed a history 
 or chronicle of England, from the Conquest In the year 
 1304; it is but little esteemed. Of something better 
 value are the Annals, ln)m 1130 to 1307, of Nicholas 
 Trivet, prior of a monastery of Dominican friins in 
 London, where he was buried, \ti'2S. Ajiotlier writer 
 was Matthew of Westminster, a 'OencHliefine monk, 
 whose Flares Historiarum reach from the beginning of 
 the world to the year 1307; but the work was ai'ter- 
 wards continued by Adam Murimuth and others: this 
 author was chieHy a collector of the iiowers of Ibrmer 
 historians, from which lie is called Florileuns; and 
 consequently, though his work contains many curious 
 
 » Paij'c ior»o. 
 
 EARLY HISTORIANS. 
 
 91 
 
 p n rt ir II larsf there is little that is original: he is esteemed 
 as an acute, faitlilul, and judicious compiler. It is re- 
 marka1)le, that frecpiently our elder writers in the early 
 part of their histories are merely transcribers from their 
 predecessors, and that often word for word. 
 
 p._Though in the latter part of their labours these 
 historians relate the occurrences of their own times^ 
 and so far are contemporary authorities, yet our know- 
 ledge of manv events is derived from subsequent authors, 
 who collected their materials from public documents, 
 afterwards available. 
 
 j[ — Such must necessarily be the case with most 
 historical testimonies. About this time lived John 
 Bromi)ton, abbot of Joreval, in Yorkshire; his history 
 be^^ins with the coming of Augustine, and ends with 
 the reign of Hiehard the First; but whether the abbot 
 was the auth(n% or merely the donor of this w ork to his 
 monastery, is uncertain. Whoever was the writer, he 
 was woiuleri'ully credulous, but not the less entertain- 
 inir; and lie frequently makes his readers smile at the 
 wild tales, which he relates with apparent simplicity as 
 solenni truths; his inibrmation respecting the times of 
 the Saxons, together with his insertion of a collection 
 of the Saxon laws, renders his work valuable. The 
 reign of Edward the Second was written soon after his 
 death by an anonymous monk of jVIalmesbury, and also 
 by two other monks, John de Trokelowe and Henry de 
 Blanc lord, but we know^ not even to what monastery 
 they belonged. All these works contain some parti- 
 culars not found elsewhere; but a more valuable per- 
 formance is the life of the same monarch by Sir Thomas 
 de la Moor, who was one of the council: it is both 
 . candid and accurate; itwas originally written in French, 
 }n\i is more freciucntly met with in the Latin translation 
 
a 
 
 o 
 
 ^ 
 
 VESTICIA. 
 
 of* W alter Bukti, canon ol ( )sney. This work may be 
 considered as curious, being the first contri])iitio]i to 
 English history from the pen of a layman. Sir Thomas 
 gives evident marks of a sincere and faithful attach- 
 ment to his unhappy master. 
 
 F, — The early French historians throw little light 
 upon the affairs of England ; but tliey inform us of a 
 transaction which took place in France, which sufli- 
 ciently proves that cruelly and injustice were nut con- 
 fined to one countrv. The wealth of the order of the 
 Templars having excited the cupidity of Philij) the 
 Fair, that monarch, on the evidence of two kniglits who 
 had been condemned to perpetual iniprisonnu iit for 
 their crimes, charged the whole order with such absurd 
 and enormous olfencCwS, as are sullicient in their.selves 
 to destroy all the credit of the accusation: besides the 
 guilt of murder, robbery, and all sorts of licentiousness, 
 it was pretended that every one whom tlie Templars 
 received into their order was initiated by infamous 
 rites,* and obliged to renounce his Saviour, to spit 
 upon the cross, and to join to this impiety the wor- 
 shipping of a gilded head. On this charge a great 
 number of the unibrtunate fraternity, together with 
 their grand-master, John de Molay, perished in the 
 flames.^ 
 
 A, — The T(Mnplars, at tlieir fnst institution (11 IS), 
 consisted of only nine knights, who had tln^ir residcMice 
 in a house near the Temple, at .Jerusalem, and they 
 were engaged in the protection of the pilgrims who 
 visited the Holy Sepulchre-/ by degrees the order 
 obtained vast possessions throughout lMiro])e; tlunr 
 riches relaxed the original severity of tlicir virtue, and 
 being men of ikmily, they passed their time in the 
 
 KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 
 
 93 
 
 dissipation usual in {lieir station: to drink like a Tem- 
 plar,* became even a common proverb. That many of 
 its members v/ere dissolute in their conduct, is suffi- 
 ciently proba])le; but that an order instituted for the 
 purpose of fighting against the enemies of Christianity, 
 should make the renouncing of Christ, with every mark 
 of contempt, their seal of initiation, is altogether incre* 
 dible. The event no further belongs to English history, 
 than tliat the order being dissolved by the Pope, its 
 possessions here were transferred to the knights of the 
 order of St. John of Jerusalem.^ 
 
 * Collier, Eccles. Hist. 
 
 ^ Rymer, vol.3. 
 
 ■ Walsinirhjun. 
 
 '' Vertol. 
 
 ^ WiJl. Tyre, lib. 12. 
 
94 
 
 DISSERTATION IX. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 Edward III. 
 Richard II. - 
 
 A.D. 1327. 
 
 — 1377. 
 
 Section T. 
 
 ^.— This beautiful county of Berks, tlie birlli- 
 place of our immortal Alfred, alway inspires a feeling* 
 peculiarly English; the ^'silver Avinding way" of Fa- 
 ther Thames, combining in the landscape with the lofty 
 towers of Windsor, 
 
 At once the monarch and the Muses* seat, 
 
 rising above the luxurijuit foliage of the forest, reminds 
 us that we are treading the most classical ground in 
 the kingdom. 
 
 A, — The site of Windsor Castle has l)een occupied 
 by a fortress from a very early period. William the 
 Conqueror, delighted with the abundance of wood in 
 its neighbourhood, and its conveniencv for huntin*' 
 either built a new castle or repaired the old : ^ the sub- 
 
 
 WINDSOR CASTLK. 
 
 95 
 
 sequent kings of England continued their attachment; 
 and here was Edward theTliiid l)orn. To the partiality 
 of tliis monarch for the place of his nativity, Windsor 
 ow as its present magnificence ; he rebuilt the noble 
 structure before us; in its general plan the idea of a 
 Norman castle, as described in our fifth conversation,* 
 is greatly superseded by that of a royal dwelling; the 
 palace encroaches on the fortress; a connected series 
 of buildings completely surrounds and partly occupies 
 two large courts, scarcely less than a mile in circum- 
 ference ; ])ut the part which may be properly called 
 the castle is the round tower or keep connecting the 
 two courts : this building is supposed to be constructed 
 on the base, and after the model, of the Conqueror's 
 Norman fabric ; it presents nothing very remarkable in 
 an architectural view, but is indeed memorable as 
 being the prison in which two captive monarchs, the 
 kings of France and Scotland, confined at the same 
 period, miglit condole each other on their common 
 
 calamity. 
 
 P. — From the great variety of style observable in 
 tliis extensive pile, we conclude that successive addi- 
 tions were made to Edward's original design. 
 
 A. — There is scarcely a subsequent monarch to 
 whom Windsor owes not some obligation : to trace mi- 
 nutely each particular would be as ditficult as tedious. 
 St. George's chapel was commenced by Edward the 
 Fourth, and tli(^ magnificent terrace, the noblest walk 
 in Europe, is a monument of the taste of Queen 
 
 Elizabeth.'' 
 
 F.— To no king of England has Windsor Castle 
 been more indebted than to his present majesty, George 
 the Fourtli, whose extensive additions, erected in the 
 
 * Aiiiiniok', Order of the Garter, 
 
 « Vol.1, p. 173. 
 
 ^ Camden. 
 
96 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 jiistest taste, are crowned 1)y this trininpliaiil tii trance, 
 opposite the great avenue of the \)'\vl, prodiicinu: the 
 enchantment excited in dreams by the penisnl of n tale 
 of chivalry, but which the waking judgment could 
 scarcely hope to see realized. 
 
 P.— In the touf-ensemhie of Windsor Castle, we 
 undoidjtedly perceive the gradual transition from the 
 ancient stroniihold, formidable and inconvenient, to the 
 elegance and comfort of a modern residence. 
 
 yl._Xhe old Nornuin castle was adniirabl\ well 
 suited for defence, but was a most uncomfortable and 
 doleful dwelling. W hen long possession had secured 
 the domains of the great barons, they gradmdl y adopted 
 a more convenient style of architecture. In the plan 
 of Windsor Castle defence was not altogether over- 
 looked, as the edifice, seated on a rising ground, with 
 its continuity of walls and gates, couh! still resist any 
 desultory attack, though it could not have sustained a 
 sieue like the stnmg fortresses of the Conqu(^ror. 
 
 jf^._Those who take an interest in the transmutation 
 of the castle to the palace, may see two very early ex- 
 amples of the first departure from the ancient style in 
 the castles of Conway and Caernarvon, built by Edw ard 
 the First. The keep, no longer being the residence of 
 the familv, the towers abutting on the outward walls 
 assumed a more lofty appearance, and contained apart- 
 ments in which the inmates could enjoy the l)enefit of 
 a pure air and unconfined prospect, whilst a greater 
 space within the walls admitted the erection of a stately 
 hall and other additions unknown in such ancient fort- 
 resses as the castles of Colchester or Rochester. 
 
 A. — A further departure from tlie old rule was 
 strikingly exemplified in Windsor Castle, as not only 
 the towers, but the wall itself, forming the boundary to 
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 
 
 97 
 
 the upper ward on the soutli and east parts before the 
 late alterations, contained very numerous apartments, 
 some of them not incommodious; at least w^e may sup- 
 pose such to be the case with those in the building 
 called the Devil's Tower, which have been occupied by 
 maids of honour.* 
 
 F. — The architect of Windsor Castle, William of 
 Wykeliam, a poor parish priest, afterwards bishop of 
 Winchester, desirous of having his name connected 
 with so magnificent a fabric, caused to be written on 
 one of the windows, ^^ This work made Wykeliam;" a 
 quibldincr phrase, not translateable into Latin; which 
 displeasing the king, he explained away the ostentatious 
 assinnption by saying, that his meaning was, that the 
 work had been the cause of the architect's advance- 
 ment.' Vi hen afterwards he applied for the rich see of 
 Winchester, Edward objected, on account of his want 
 of learning ; but, said Wykeham in reply, " Though 
 unlearned myself, in recompense I will make many 
 learned men;" which he indeed performed, in the noble 
 foundations of Winchester School, and of New Col- 
 lege, Oxford. 
 
 P. — Should it bo asked, W^hy did this prelate so ? 
 Answer, He lived five hundred years ago, 
 
 A. — SinguUir was the mode of conducting the erec- 
 tion of Windsor Castle; instead of engaging w^orkmen 
 l)y contracts and wages, a certain number of artificers 
 was pressed from various counties to complete the 
 work, under very severe penalties.*' This palace has 
 ever been the i'avoiaite residence of most of the suc- 
 ceeding kings of England, but none of them surpassed 
 its founder in the stately magnificence of display and 
 
 • Potc, W' indsor Casllc. ^ Caniden, Remains. * Aiihmole. Rymer, vol. 5. 
 VOL. II. H 
 
98 
 
 hospitality 
 valry, 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 riiose who d( Iii;ht in llie dories of chi 
 
 CHIVALRY. 
 
 m 
 
 f II 
 
 Le donne, i cavalier, Tarme, gli amori 
 Le cortesie, Taudaci impresi , 
 
 can scarcely figure in their ima^ination a more strikinir 
 picture than the grand tournament held liere in the year 
 1344. Edward !uid it proclaimed throuuhoul Eur()i)e, 
 that he designed to revive the round table of Kinir 
 Arthur/ oflering free conduct and courteous reception 
 to all who might be disposed to attend the ceremony, 
 adding, that he should be present, with the chief of his 
 nobility, and accompanied by three hundred of the 
 fairest ladies in the land. 
 
 P.— Such a spectacle naturally leads to an enquiry 
 concerning the origin of chivalry and its iulluenee on 
 society. 
 
 jP. — The derivation of the word chivalry is obvi- 
 ously from clieval, and originally meant a l)ody of 
 soldiers serving on horseback: to explain its applica- 
 tion to an order, or institution, whose members were 
 distinguished by the peculiar duties of religion, of ro- 
 mantic valour, and of ardent devotion to the female 
 sex, is a task of somewhat greater ditliculty. 
 
 ^.— Nor is an estimation of the etlects which it has 
 produced on society less embarrassing : the generality 
 of authors who have treated on the subject represent 
 chivalry as having conferred upon the middle ages a 
 benefit second only to the dispensation of the gospel ; 
 but it must be confessed that, when we look at its prac- 
 tical results, we are startled at such a conclusion. 
 
 P. — But the principles of love, valour, and devo- 
 tion, must surely be in themselves meritorious. 
 
 A, — Doubtless, when under the control of reason ; 
 
 1)ut this faculty c»f the soul chivalry seemed utterly to 
 disclaim; the profession in theory of pure affection 
 often degenerated in practice to gross licentiousness; 
 valour was exerted in hairbrain exploits, occasioning 
 needless quarrels, and religion became a headlong, 
 blind, and intolerant zeal for established opinions, 
 restraining all manly Ireedom of thought or enquiry; 
 as even to express a doubt of the superstition of the 
 age, became a crime only to be expiated by the blood 
 of the offender. 
 
 F. — How little the profession of purity of affection 
 influenced the conduct of some warriors may be in- 
 ferred iVom a story of Arundel, the commander of an 
 English expedition in the year 1380, who, as his ships, 
 with soldiers on board destined for the aid of Brittany, 
 lay wind-bound near Portsmouth,'' waited on the ab- 
 bess of a convent in the neighbourhood, and desired 
 that his oflicers should be permitted to visit the nuns, 
 who were ladies of good family : her denial was in 
 vain, and in consequence all the nuns were seduced or 
 violated, and the officers carried them on board their 
 vessels : a dreadful storm arising, the fleet was nearly 
 lost oir tlie Irish coast, when these gallant cavaliers 
 threw the unfortunate damsels into the sea, " either," 
 says the old chronicler,^' '' that they would not be trou- 
 bled w ith their lamentable noise and crying, or perhaps 
 they thought that so long as they had such women on 
 board, God would not cease the rage of the tempest." 
 
 P. — Pious logic, indeed ! 
 
 A. — Nor w^as the refinement of female manners the 
 result of chivalry ; it not unlrequently happened that 
 the mistress to whom the knight devoted his service 
 w^as a married lady, which led to the most scandalous 
 
 * Walsingham. 
 
 Walsiiigliam. 
 
 ^ [lolinshed. 
 
 H 2 
 
TOO 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 dissolution of morals ; and of all the works of Ii(crat(ire 
 there is no class of writings more gross and licentious 
 than the romances of chivalry, ^ith which the high-born 
 dames of the middle ages were wont to be entertained, 
 but which no person of either sex can read at present 
 without a blush. That the valour of the knight was 
 often unprofitably exerted, we may judge from the cele- 
 brated rencontre of thirty combatants against thirty, in 
 Brittany : during a truce in the contentions of that conn- 
 try, Bembro, an Englishman, entered the lists, with twenty 
 English, six Bretons, and four Germans, on the party of 
 the Count of Montfort, and was opposed by thirty Bre- 
 tons on the part of the Count of Blois, led by Beauma- 
 noir, who, entering the iield, called out it would he i^ccn 
 that day who had the fairest mistresses.^ After a bloody 
 fray, which was fought on foot, five of the English being 
 killed, the Bretons prevailed. These deeds of arms served 
 no useful purpose, and did not remedy, if they did not 
 tend rather to increase, the want of discipline so gene- 
 rally observable in that age. 
 
 F. — A lively Frenchman observes, that if the Scipios 
 had combatted the enemies of Rome to know which 
 had the fairest mistresses, the Romans would never 
 have become the conquerors and legislators of nations. 
 A. — The fanaticism which chivalry inspired was a 
 positive evil : the suffering Albigenses were equally its 
 victims as the Mahometan adversaries of the Cross: 
 the conquerors of America in the sixteenth century, 
 deeply imbued with a chivalrous spirit, considering 
 themselves, as a military body, entitled to teach reli- 
 gion at the point of the sword, enforced their doctrines 
 with that sort of success which humanitv shudders to 
 contemplatie. 
 
 '/ 
 
 CHIVALRY. 
 
 JOl 
 
 •* Argentr/'O, Hist, de Bretagiic, lib. 5. 
 
 P. — Is there any original code, or body of laws, 
 which may be considered as principles of the order? 
 
 A. — No such code was ever formally promul- 
 gated, or admitted in any system of jurisprudence; 
 its chief injunctions must be therefore sought in the 
 early romances and books of knight errantry. Don 
 Quixote alfords more real knowledge of the subject 
 than all other works put together. That feeling of re- 
 spect and deference to the female sex which forms the 
 most valuable part of chivalry, may be traced to the 
 Germans in their primitive state, since we are told by 
 Tacitus, that in the female character they considered 
 there was something of a sacred and provident nature ;* 
 and the ceremonies of the knidit's initiation were but a 
 more formal and pompous introduction of the young war- 
 rior to the privileges of a soldier, as originally practised 
 in the woods of Germany ; nay even the point of honour 
 itself is distinctly discoverable in the philosophic his- 
 torian's description of the customs of the same people. 
 
 F, — Thus the embryo spark of chivalry existed in 
 ancient Germany ; it began to dawn under Charlemagne ; 
 it blazed forth in the crusades ; but its brightest period 
 was during the wars between England and France 
 in the fourteenth century. 
 
 A. — Chivalry flourished earlier on the continent than 
 in England ; the nobles there associated, during the 
 universal licence of the eighth and ninth centuries, to 
 protect the female sex, who were often the spoil and 
 victims of outrageous assault: so far chivalry was 
 perfectly consistent with good sense, and became of 
 public utility; in this period, Charlemagne solemnly 
 invested his son Louis with the sword and other 
 equipage of a warrior; but it was not till the eleventh 
 
 * Dc Mo rib. Germ, 
 
102 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 century that the dignity of a kniirht was conferred by 
 a species of investiture, accompanied l)y the religious 
 ceremonies of fasting, watching, and a solemn oath, by 
 which the aspirant professed himself the champion of 
 God and of the ladies, and devoted himself to speak 
 the truth, to maintain the right, to protect the distressed, 
 to practise courtesy, and to pursue the infidels/^ 
 
 F. — A strange mixture of honour, fanaticism, and 
 impiety, from which I suspect a specious varnisli of 
 politeness was the chief benelit. 
 
 yl.___Chivalry seems to be a sort of poetical abstract 
 of the feudal system, which, though imposing at a 
 certain distance, admits not a very near approach; 
 the real improvements of society did not take place 
 till after the decline of the institution, when the esta- 
 blishment of free cities gave security to commerce, and 
 bestowed wealth and importance on an order of men, 
 for whom the maxims of chivalry inculcated tlie most 
 
 profound contempt. 
 
 P. — Yet the tournament, exhibiting a lively image 
 of the business of the field, and attended as it was by 
 the great and the fair, must have been an animating 
 and noble spectacle. 
 
 i1.— That it was better calculated to please the eye 
 than to amend the heart, hear the opinion of La Noue,^ 
 a French writer in 15S7, himself a brave warrior, who 
 lost his life in battle : " The maxims of chivalry,'' 
 says he, " by rendering habitual the sight of blood, 
 have made the court of France pitiless and cruel; 
 from them the age has derived the recommendation 
 and practice of incontinence, the poison of revenge, 
 the neglect of sober and rational duty, the confusion 
 
 |i 
 
 CHIVALRY. 
 
 103 
 
 ^ St. Falayc, iMciuoiiot; sui ia Ciicv.ilcrie. 
 ^ Diicours rolitiqiics et MilitaiiT^, p. 172. 
 
 of public order, and a desperate blood-thirstiness, 
 under the disguise of a search after honour." 
 
 F.— A severe conclusion; but the splendid achieve- 
 ments 
 
 Of our great Edward and his greater son, 
 
 seem to have thrown a glare upon chivalry which has 
 dazzled the sober judgment of the beholder: to these 
 illustrious knights no one can deny the praise of valour 
 and courtesy, but an attentive examination will disco- 
 ver that even their enterprises, though crowned with 
 the most brilliant success, partake thus far of the chi- 
 valric character, that being founded on imaginary or 
 unjust pretensions, they were attended with infinite 
 suffering, and led to no useful result. 
 
 A. Edward gave early proof of being animated 
 
 with an active and military, if not a chivalrous spirit. 
 Immediately after the barbarous murder of his father, 
 Edward the Second, a regency was appointed, in which, 
 thou<di Mortimer, now created Earl of Marche, had no 
 place, he so contrived affairs as to usurp the entire 
 authority of the kingdom ; he settled on the queen the 
 greater part of the royal revenue,^ and by his arrogance 
 and power soon excited all the envy which formerly 
 attended Caveston or Spenser. In this feverish state 
 of pul)lic feeling the King of Scots, Robert Bruce, 
 though declining in years and health, judged it a 
 favourable opportunity to attack England; and his 
 soldiers Ijreaking into the northern counties, a large 
 army was appointed by the regency to oppose them, 
 headed by the young monarch, now burning to distin- 
 guish himself. 
 
 F.-The chief interest in this dispute is the picture 
 of manners, given by Froissart, of the Scolish army : 
 
 * Knyghton. 
 
10 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 its liglit armed troops, mounted on small horses, found 
 every where an easy subsistence, their whole equipage 
 being a bag of meal, which each soldier carried bclund 
 him, with a light plate, on which he baked it into n. 
 thin cake in the open fields; his cookery too was 
 equally expeditious, as these northern Tartars, after 
 flaying an ox, made an extemporaneous cauldron with 
 his skin, by hanging it upon stakes in the form of a 
 bag, into which they poured water, and kindling a fire 
 below, thus boiled their victuals. 
 
 A, — It was with dilhculty that the English could 
 reach so rapid and desultory a body; for though 
 Edward oflcred a reward of a hundred pounds a year 
 to any one who should bring him an account of their 
 proceedings,' he remained inactive several days. At 
 length the Scots were discovered, under the commaml 
 of Randolph, earl of Moray, and Sir James Douglas, 
 posted with so great judgment on the banks of the 
 Were, that it was esteemed dangerous to hazard an 
 attack, which Edward would have attempted at any 
 risk, had he not been prevented by Mortimer. During 
 this delay an incident occurred, which well nigh \n\\ 
 an end to all the young monarch's designs: Douglas 
 having* uot the word, broke secretlv by niirht into his 
 adversary's camp, with a body of two hundred deter- 
 mined soldiers, and galloping up, cut the cords of the 
 king's tent. The English were alarmed 1)y the shouts 
 of ^' A Douglas! a Douglas! die, ye English thieves! "'^^ 
 and so imminent was the danger, that the royal chap- 
 lain and chaml}erlain were killed, and the king, after 
 making a valiant defence, esceiped in the dark. Dou- 
 glas with difficulty secured his retreat, having slain no 
 less than three hundred men, but with the loss of several 
 
 
 MORTIMER. 
 
 105 
 
 Rymcr, vol. 1. 
 
 ^ Fioissart. 
 
 of his followers. Soon after the Scotish army broke up 
 by night, and Edward, on entering the deserted encamp- 
 ment, found only six Englishmen, whom the enemy, after 
 breaking their legs, had tied to trees, in order to pre- 
 vent their giving intelligence.^ 
 
 2^._The Scotish armv, under its able leaders, ap- 
 pears to have highly advanced in discipline. From the 
 account of Barbour, it w^ould seem that the English 
 used gunpowder in this expedition, though with little 
 efl'ect; he thus describes its operation: 
 
 The other crakys were of war 
 That thoy betbre heard never air. 
 
 il.— ]\Iortimer becoming sensible of the public ha- 
 tred, thought it requisite to procure peace abroad, and 
 entering into a negotiation with Robert Bruce for that 
 purpose (1328,) he stipulated a marriage between Jane, 
 the sister of Edward, and David, the son of the Scotish 
 king. The Scots, by way of triumph, gave the young 
 princess the sobriquet of Joan Makepeace, as if the 
 realm of England had made the match out of fear and 
 incompetency to continue the war. Mortimer also, to 
 the great discontent of the English nation, resigned all 
 claim of feudal superiority over Scotland;"^ he agreed 
 to restore the national jewels, amongst which was the 
 sacred black cross of Scotland; to send back the 
 coronation stone;" and to render up all the ancient 
 numiments, particularly the deed, called, I know^ not 
 wherefore, Ragman's roll,' which contained the acknow- 
 ledgment of homage and fealty made by John Baliol, 
 the noldes, clergy, and all orders of men, to Edward 
 the First. In return for these concessions, England 
 was to receive thirty thousand marks,' the larger part 
 of which sum Mortimer is said to have appropriated to 
 his own use. 
 
 '"rroissart. ' Rymcr, volTi. ^ Sec page 25. '^Grafton. ' Hcmingf. 
 
lof; 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 MORTIMER. 
 
 107 
 
 F.— Thus ia one year Mortimer cominifled -reater 
 political delinquencies than Edward the Second and 
 his favourites were guilty ol during a whole reign. 
 
 A.— In order to intimidate his opponents, this un- 
 principled and aspiring man determined to sacrilice to 
 his ambition the Earl of Kent, brother to (he deceased 
 king, a weak and simple prince, who had been per- 
 suaded by Mortimer's emissaries tluit Edward was 
 yet alive, though closely detained a prisoner in Corfc 
 Castle. Sir James Deverel, the governor, basely en- 
 tering into the conspiracy, pretended to sheu the earl 
 his royal brother, sitting at a table in a darkened apart- 
 ment, with whom, though he dared not permit Ihe earl 
 to speak, yet he promised to deliver a letter. Tlie un- 
 wary Kent, thus encouraged, wrote an epistle, in which 
 he promised to use all his power to set the imprisoned 
 king at liberty. This was immedialely taken to Morti- 
 mer, who accused the unfortunate prince, on this ridicu- 
 lous charge, of treason, and he was condemned l>y the 
 slavish peers to lose his life and fortune. Uut (hou-Ii 
 nobles had condemned, the royal prisoner stooil five 
 hours at the place of execution, l)cfore a persoii could 
 be found willing to perform the last office, and he was 
 a felon from the Marshalsea, under promise ol pardon 
 for his ofTences. The Earl of Kent died extremely pitied 
 by the people, in the twenty-eighth year of his age.^ 
 
 F.— It is difficult to acquit the young king altoge- 
 ther from blame in this disgraceful transaction; as 
 whether he knew not of his uncle's execution, or had 
 not power to prevent it, is uncertain. 
 
 ^.— From a youth of Edward's spirit, it was noi 
 likely that he would long consent to remain nndor the 
 tutelage of Mortinn r, willi uhose conduct, as il it^auk d 
 
 I 
 
 the Scotish war, he was highly incensed ; but he was 
 so surrounded Ijy the emissaries of that nobleman, that 
 it became necessarj^ to conduct his plan of emancipa- 
 tion with secresy and caution. The queen and Mortimer, 
 with a large retinue of knights, were lodged in Notting- 
 ham Castle; the king also, with a few attendants, w^as 
 admitted; but as the keys were carried every evening 
 to the queen, a l)and of armed associates was secretly 
 introduced, by the connivance of Sir William Eland, 
 the governor, tlirough a subterraneous passage, the 
 entrance to ANliich was covered wdth rubbish. Two 
 knights of Mortimer's train w ere killed in resisting the 
 unexpected attack, and the earl himself was suddenly 
 seized, and i)laced in security/ 
 
 P. — The oil! poet's beautiful description of the 
 circumstance is not then precisely correct: 
 
 The night wax'd old, not dreaming of these things, 
 
 And to her chamber is the queen withdrawn. 
 
 To vvhom a choice musician plays and sings. 
 
 Whilst she sat under an estate of lawn, 
 
 In night attire, more god-like glittering 
 
 Than any eye had seen the cheerful dawn, 
 Leaning upon her most lov'd Mortimer, 
 Wliose voice more than the music pleased her ear. 
 
 She laid her fingers on his manly cheek, 
 The gods' pure sceptres and the darts of love. 
 That with their touch might make a tiger meek, 
 Or might great Atlas from his seat remove ; 
 So white, so soft, so delicate, so sleek, 
 As she had worn a lily for her glove. 
 
 As might beget life where was never none, 
 
 And put a spirit into the hardest stone.^ 
 
 yl, — Mortimer was seized in an apartment adjoining 
 that of the queen's chamber, who, hearing an alarm, 
 lier fears did not pernut litr to remain in bed, and she 
 hurst into the room, crying out, " Sweet son, fair son. 
 
 » Hcmingf. Ypod. Neust. 
 
 « Avcsbury. 
 
 ^ Drayton, Baronb' Wars, book 6. 
 
\m 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 spare my gentle Mortimer;" declaring that he was a 
 worthy kniirht, her dearest frienr!, and well-beloved 
 cousin. 
 
 F. — The exact words of her first exclamation were, 
 *' Beau fitz, beau fitz, ayez pitie du gentile Mortinirr."* 
 
 A. — But they were of no avail; the gentle Mortimer 
 was immediately summoned before a i)arlia]nent^ who 
 condemned him upon the supposed notoriety of the 
 facts alleged against him, without hearing witnesses or 
 defence; and he was executed at the Elms, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of London (1330,) with every circumstance of 
 degradation^' 
 
 P. — A fate which, it must be allo\yed, his deeds 
 
 amply merited. 
 
 A, — Mortimer was insatiably covetous and insufler- 
 ably vain; he was so ostentatious of liis immense 
 wealth, that even one of his own sons denominated him 
 King of Folly.'' His attainder was afterward reversed 
 in parliament, and his male posterity, by a marriage 
 with the royal family, became heirs of the English 
 throne, which they transmitted to the line of York. 
 The distracted Queen Isabella was sent to the castle ot 
 Risings in Surrey, where she passed, with a diminished 
 income, in a sort of qualified confinement, twenty-five 
 years, in sorrow rather than in penitence. The king 
 paid her occasional visits, from decency, but never 
 permitted her to assume the least authority in public 
 
 aflairs.'^ 
 
 F. — The situation and character of Mortimer and 
 Isabella were with the last generation much scrutinized, 
 from their invidious application, by a popular writer of 
 great iniluence in his day, Junius, to the })ers()ns of the 
 
 * Stow, Annals. 
 
 « Leland, Col. vol. 2. 
 
 *» Walfeinghaiii. l'rui^bai•l. 
 •* rroi55!art. 
 
 DEATH OF ROBERT BRUCE. 
 
 109 
 
 then Princess Dowager of Wales and the Earl of 
 Bute. 
 
 A. — The young king, as soon as he took the admi- 
 iu:>lratioii of affairs into his own hands, seemed to 
 follow^ the example of his grandfather, Edward the 
 First, by reforminir various abuses, and securing the 
 safety and good order of the kingdom;* and, like him, 
 tinned a desiring eye towards Scotland, now, by the 
 death of its wise and valiant monarch, Robert Bruce 
 (1329,) less prepared to resist any aggression from its 
 am1)itious neighbour. 
 
 F. — Robert Bruce left his son David, a minor, to 
 the guardianship of the Earl of Moray; and when 
 dying, entreated his old companion in arms. Sir James 
 Douglas, to bear his heart to the Holy Land. The 
 valiant knight, with a splendid train, set out for that 
 purpose; but hearing that the Moors were invading 
 Arragon, he joined in battle against them, and was 
 slain. In tlie heat of the fight he darted the casket, 
 which contained the heart of his heroic friend, among 
 the Moors, saying, ^' Go forward, as thou wert wont, 
 Douglas will follow thee or die!"** The heart of Bruce 
 being rescued, was brought back to Scotland, and 
 buried at Melross. 
 
 P. — This seems to be the true spirit of knight 
 errantry ; instead of sensibly attending to his business, 
 Douglas gets knocked on the head in a quarrel with 
 which he had no concern. It is this royal heart of Bruce 
 which has ever since made a conspicuous figure in the 
 coat of arms of tlie noble race of Douglas. 
 
 A. — Scotland, deprived of its great defender, soon 
 full into a similar state of anarchy as existed before 
 his accession. The claims of some English barons to 
 
 Cotton's Ahridgrment. 
 
 ^ Froissart. 
 
110 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the possession of tbt'ir former estates in fliaf klngdoin 
 being disre<;arded by the regent, Moray, they invited 
 over from France Edward lialiol, the son of that John 
 who had been crowned kini^ of Scothmd; for llie double • 
 purpose of asserting his claim to the tlirone, and under 
 his auspices of recovering their lands. Though Edward 
 was ashamed openly to avow his approbation of this 
 ungenerous attempt against a brother-in-law, yet he 
 secretly assisted the enterprize, in which the English 
 barons succeeded so far as to overrun the kingdom, and 
 to crown Baliol at Scone. The young David Bruce 
 and his wife, the sister of Edward, taking refuge in 
 France, Baliol, in order to secure his new possessicm, 
 offered to renew the feudal homage to Edward for his 
 kingdom, being sensible that his continuance on the 
 throne depended entirely on English protection. This 
 offer was accepted by Edward ; but before it could be 
 publicly acted on, Baliol, by an unexpected attack, 
 lost his crown more suddenly than he acquired it, and 
 was chased into England. Edward now avowedly stood 
 forward as his protector, and prepared A\ith a mighty 
 army to replace him on the Scotish throne. Arriving at 
 Berwick, he defeated the Scots in a great batth^ (1333,) 
 at Halidown Hill, a little to the north of that town, 
 with immense slaughter; ' restored Baliol, his new ally; 
 overran the kingdom, and subdued every thing but the 
 hearts of its inhabitants. 
 
 F. — The relative situation of the two countries was 
 precisely the same as in the time of Edward tlie First: 
 a nominal dominion of Baliol, supported by the Englisli, 
 confined nearly to the spot whicli their army occupied; 
 and a deadly hostility of the natives, ready to lireak 
 out with the first opportunity. 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 ^. 
 
 » Hemingf. Knyghton. 
 
 PRETENSIONS* TO THE CROWN OF FRANCE. Ill 
 
 A. — In this crisis of affairs, Philip de Valois, king 
 of France, jealous of the growing power of Edward, 
 and moved by the representation of David Bruce, now 
 in his court, resolved to protect that illustrious exile, 
 and encourage the Scots in their struggle for independ- 
 ence. Edward, alarmed at tliis interference, became 
 determined to prevent its efficacy, by starting an unex- 
 pected claim to tlie crow^n of France itself, in right of 
 Isabella, his motlier, 
 
 jp. — As this transaction involves the history of the 
 two kingdoms for a whole century afterwards, it is 
 necessary to unravel the genealogy of the French royal 
 family, in order that we may perfectly understand the 
 basis of Edward's pretensions. Philip the Fourth, sur- 
 nanied the Fair, dying (1314,) left three sons, Lewis 
 Hutin, Philip the Long, and Charles the Fair, together 
 with a daughter, Isabella, married to our Edward the 
 Second. What is very remarkable, though in no manner 
 connected with the disputed claim, these three princes 
 at the same time accused their wives of adultery, in 
 full parliament^ at Paris : the ladies were imprisoned, 
 and two of them, the wives of Lewis and Charles, being 
 found guilty, w^ere subsequently divorced, and their 
 gallants Hayed alive: no proof appearing against the 
 wife of Philip, he received her again into favour.^ 
 
 P. — If such were the times of chivalry, let us not 
 complain of our own. 
 
 F, — The three brothers, in succession, mounted the 
 French throne. The elder, Lewis Ilutin, was so named, 
 says the President Henault, from the small hammer of 
 a cooper, which clatters much, but does little work, 
 though Mezerai asserts it to be an old French word, sig- 
 nifying a quarreller. Dying in 1316, Lewis Hewtin left a 
 daughter by his first wile; and his queen being pregnant, 
 
 * Mezerai. 
 
 \ 
 
112 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 was delivered of a son, wlio lived only eiglit days: a 
 dispute now arose, the first of the kind which had been 
 aj^itated in France for many ages, whether the daughter, 
 or the brother of the deceased king ouglit to succeed to 
 the vacant diadem. The states of the kingdom Ixing 
 assembled, declared by a solemn and deliberate decree, 
 the wisdom of which is commonlv admitted, that all 
 females were for ever incapable of inheriting the crown 
 of France/ 
 
 A. — But though this determination took place on 
 the supposed famous maxim of the Salique law, it is 
 very difficult to prove that such a maxim ever had an 
 actual existence; all that can be found in its support 
 is a regulation concerning private tiefs, whicli required 
 a personal military service, which of course females 
 could not perform. The code of the Salians, an ancient 
 tribe amongst the Franks, dwelling on the banks of the 
 Sala, now the Saale, a river in Upper Saxony, which 
 flows into the Elbe, was so little made to regulate the 
 succession of the kings of France, that w hen it w as first 
 promulgated, France was not even a kingdom;'' besides, 
 this rule of descent in males alone, dilfered from that 
 of all the great fiefs dependent on the French crown. 
 
 F. — It is granted that the decision of the states w as 
 governed more by the force of invariable custom than 
 by positive law ; it being found, that during the lirst and 
 second race, that the daughters of those Merovingian 
 and Carlovingian kings of France, who died without 
 male issue, had been constantly excluded from the 
 throne; and since the accession of the third race, from 
 Hugh Capet to Lewis Ilutin, the crown had descended 
 from father to son for eleven generations, conscqiu ntly 
 not aftbrding an opportunity of discussing the question. 
 
 A, — Some parti/ans ridiculously asserted, that the 
 
 » Mczerai, torn. i. 
 
 ^ Mo!itesq. liv. 28. 
 
 PRETENSIONS TO THE CROWN OF FRANCE. 113 
 
 throne of France was so noble, that it could not admit 
 a woman;* others excluded the fair sex on the strength 
 of a passage in scripture: ^' Consider the lilies of the 
 field, they toil not, neither do they spin;" thence it was 
 concluded that females, who ought to spin, ought not 
 to reign in the kingdom of the lilies.'' 
 
 P. — But as a counterpoise to the weight of this 
 argument, neither do the lilies toil, but a prince ought 
 to toil; and I think tliat I have seen it asserted, that 
 the suj)posed lily in the arms of France is really the 
 head of a lialbert,'' 
 
 F, — In consequence of the decree of the states, 
 Philip the Long succeeded his brother. This reign was 
 also short : Philip dying in 13:22, left two or more daugh- 
 ters, who made no pretension to the crown; he was 
 succeeded by the third brother, Charles the Fair, whose 
 reign was equally brief, as he died 1328, leaving a 
 daughter. The vacant throne was immediately filled 
 by Philip de Valois, cousin-german to the deceased 
 king. But the genealogy may be better understood 
 from a table than from any detail: 
 
 Philip III. the Hardy. 
 
 Philip IV. the Fair. Charles de Valois. 
 
 Philip VI. dc Valois. 
 
 ( I 
 
 Lewis X. Hiitin. Philip V. Uie Long. 
 
 I I 
 
 Jane. | | 
 
 I Jane. Margaret. 
 
 King of Navarre. | ^| 
 
 Duke of Conite of 
 Burgundy. Flanders. 
 
 Charles IV. the Fair. Isa])el]a. 
 
 I I 
 
 Blanche. Edward 111. 
 
 The slightest inspection of this table will at once 
 
 ^ Mezerai, toni. L 
 \' O L . 11. 
 
 •' Voltaire, Kssai r.ur les Moeiirs, 
 
 Ibid 
 
114 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JAMES VON ARTEVELD. 
 
 115 
 
 overthrow all the pretensions of Edward to the crown 
 of France, by any known rule of inheritance or descent 
 whatever; as whether the Saliqiic law were adniilted 
 or rejected, his claim appears equally futile and pre- 
 posterous. One French writer is so much put out of 
 temper by its unreasonableness, that he says, had 
 Edward stood in need of the assistance of the Jews, 
 he w ould have assumed the title of Messiah. 
 
 yl.— Edward was reduced to the quibble of assert- 
 ing, that though his mother Isabelhi, on account oi' her 
 sex, was incapable of succeeding, he himself, inheriting 
 through her, was liable to no such objection, and might 
 claim in right of propinquity. 
 
 j^,_But this notal)lc argument is immediately re- 
 futed, by considering that the daughter of Lewis llutin 
 had one son, and the tw^o daughters of i^hilip the Long 
 likewise one son apiece; all these males were living, 
 and by the admission of such a plea, stood before the 
 Endish king. Besides, it was so contrary to established 
 principles in every country in Europe, that no person in 
 France thought of Edward's claim; and wlun brought 
 before the states, it was unanimously rejected; and 
 Edward appeared so well satisfied with the ecpiity of 
 the decision, as to pertbrm homaue in person to Philip, 
 as his liege lord, for the province ot' (Juiemie.*' 
 
 P. — What unexpected circumstance induced Edward 
 to revive his pretensions ? 
 
 ^, — Robert of Artois, a prince of the blood royal, 
 having been deprived of his inheritance of that country, 
 by a sentence considered ini([uitous, was seduced to 
 attempt its recovery by resorting to the unwarrantable 
 means of forgery;^ banished by Philip for this oflence, 
 he w^as favourably received by Edw ard ; and burning 
 with revenge, he endeavoured to revive the neglected 
 
 Ryiiier, vol. I Frois^ait. 
 
 ^ iVoi^^sirt, 
 
 claim of the English monarch to the crown of France, 
 by suggesting the probability of its success : '' I made 
 Philip de Vaiois King of France, (said he, meaning, I 
 suppose, as a member of the states, which decided in 
 favour of the Salique law,) and by your assistance I 
 will depose him ibr his ingratitude." When Philip 
 complained of the protection afforded to the Comte 
 d' Artois, Edward retorted the encouragement given to 
 Robert Bruce and the Scotish malcontents ; and thus 
 with a vague feeling of animosity, without a declared, 
 specilic object, both monarchs prepared for war. Philip 
 made numerous alliances with many of the neighbour- 
 ing princes; and Edward's chief dependance was upon 
 the friendship of the Flemings.'' 
 
 F. — These people, alone rich, whilst all around 
 were i)oor, thus early exhibited the immense advan- 
 tages derived to a state from industry and commerce. 
 
 A. — They exhibited too, at this juncture, some- 
 what of the wantonness of newly-acquired prosperity, 
 aspiring to a greater degree of independence than was 
 customary with the feudal usages; they had irregularly 
 shaken olf their allegiance to their ancient earl, and 
 their counsels were now^ directed by James Von Arte- 
 veld, a brewer of metheglin, at Ghent.^ This person 
 exhibits no very favourable specimen of a democratic 
 leader: more arbitrary than the lawful counts of Flan- 
 ders, he placed and displaced magistrates at his plea- 
 sure; he was always accompanied by a guard, who, 
 at the least signal, instantly assassinated any one that 
 happened to give him the smallest umbrage.^ Von 
 Arteveld, after enjoying such despotic and unlimited 
 authority, was a few^ years after murdered by his former 
 partizans among the populace, in an endeavour to 
 
 ^ Froissart. 
 
 »> ibid. 
 I 2 
 
 Ibid. 
 
IK) 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 transfer the province to the Prince ol Wales/ But 
 
 during the continuance oi' his power, his iVieudship 
 
 was souglit by Edward with nine!) assiduity; and l)y 
 
 his advice, as the Fleminirs pretended to feel scruples in 
 
 taking arms against their liege lord, tlie King of France,^ 
 
 Edward was induced to assume that title, a measure 
 
 productive of many miseries to botli kingdoms. He 
 
 now took the field, and entered France with an army 
 
 of fifty thousand men, amongst Avhom there were hut 
 
 few English; he was opposed by Philip, with an army 
 
 of double the number, who with great prudence avoided 
 
 any unnecessary hazard, thinking it suflicient to elude 
 
 the attack of his enemy. Edward, unwilling to engage 
 
 so great a superiority, was compelled to return into 
 
 Flanders, and disl)and his army (1340).^ 
 
 P. — Such then was the fruitless, and almost ridicu- 
 lous conclusion of Edward's mighty i)reparations. 
 
 A. — He possessed however too nmch s])irit to be 
 discouraged by the disappointment of his lirst cam- 
 paign; and though his consuming exponces had been 
 incurred for no purpose, he sunnnoned a parliament. 
 That body now l)eg<ui to assume a more important 
 station than it had vet exercised in the English govern- 
 ment; it supplied the king's necessities indeed, but 
 clogged its grants with conditions'Svhich, though seem- 
 ingly at the time of small iniportance, yet established a 
 precedent which could not afterwards be well disputed. 
 Another remarka.bh* })articular of this i)ar]iament, is its 
 declaration tliat, tljough Edward had assumed tlie arms 
 and title of the King of France, it owed him no obe- 
 dience in that capacity, but that tlie t^vo kingdoms 
 must ever remain distinct and independent.^ 
 
 F. — An observiition which one would think was 
 
 '* Froissart. 
 '^ Knvahton. 
 
 b Ibiel. 
 
 *^ Walsingbam. 
 
 ' Stat. 14 Kdvnrrl III. 
 
 SEA FIGHT OFF SLUYS. 
 
 M7 
 
 snlHciently declaratory of the pernicious nature of 
 Edward's pursuit; had he succeeded, the protestation 
 of parliament woidd have been but a frail security 
 against England's becoming a province of France. 
 
 A. — In renewing his attempt the next year (1340,) 
 l]dw ard was encouraged by a great naval victory off 
 the harbour of Sluys. Sea-fights before the use of 
 artillery made less noise, but were far more sanguinary 
 than at present; thirty thousand of the French, it is 
 said, with two of their admirals, were killed, and a 
 large division being panic-struck, leaped from the ships, 
 and tw o thousand perished in the waves,* 
 
 F. — With what difficulty the truth reached the ears 
 of khigs in these days, we may judge, when informed, 
 that Philip remained in ignorance of this event, so 
 important and so necessary to be told, till his bufibon, 
 in a seeming rage, came into the presence, crying out, 
 ''Cowardly English! dastardly English!" and when 
 Philip asked the reason, he replied, " Because they 
 durst not leap out of their ships into the sea, as our 
 brave Frenchmen did."^ 
 
 ^.— The lustre of this victory increased the king's 
 reputation amongst his allies, who again assembled a 
 prodigious army, and Edward marched to the frontiers 
 of France at the head of one hundred thousand men.^ 
 Philip, with an army still more numerous, adhered to 
 the prudent resolution of putting nothing to hazard, 
 hoping thus to weary out his enemy. Edward, fatigued 
 and irritated with the fruitless siege of Tournay, chal- 
 lenged the 1^'rench monarch to decide his claims by 
 single cond)at ; to which Piiilip replied,w ith a very insult- 
 ing coolness, that it became not a vassal to challenge 
 his liege lord. And thus this campaign, like the former. 
 
 * Froissart. Hcmingf. 
 
 ^' W^alsiiiffhain. 
 
 Rymer, vol. 4 
 
118 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JANE, COUNTESS OF MONTFORT. 
 
 11*J 
 
 ending in nothing, Edward was glad to ronclude, by 
 the mediation ol' his niother-in-law, the Countess of 
 Hainault, a truce for a year (1340).^ 
 
 P.— Here then is a second termination of tlie con- 
 test, if contest it might be called, commenced with an 
 exorbitant expenditure, and continued without prolit 
 and without glory. 
 
 ^.—Edward, put into very bad humour, privately 
 returned home. Reaching the Tower by night, he found 
 it unguarded, and he vented his peevishness on tlie 
 negligent governor, by rigorously conlining him in 
 prison.^ Desirous of throwing the blame of miscar- 
 riage from his own shoulders, his vengeance fell next 
 upon the collectors of the taxes, and lastly, upon 
 Stratford, archbishop of Cnnterl)ury, to Avhom that 
 department of the revenue had been committed, forbid- 
 ding him to take his seat in parliament. lUit the pri- 
 mate, far from being intimidated, as his conduct had 
 been strictly correct, boldly set Edward at defiance: 
 he appeared before the gates ol' tlie pabuv in his pon- 
 tifical robes, holding the crosier in his liand, accompa- 
 nied by a pompous train of priests and attendants; and 
 as parliament was as much out of temper as the king, 
 on account of the enormous drain of the national trea- 
 sure, Edward was compelled, though with a ^ery ill 
 grace, to be reconciled to the archbisliop/ who likewise 
 made some concession; and the king submitted to a 
 further curtailment of the royal prerogative. 
 
 P.— After so much humiliation, we expect to see 
 the truce between France and England ripeii into a 
 solid peace. 
 
 .1.— Edward would probably have dropped liis 
 claim, had not a disputed succession in Drittany anew 
 
 enkindled liis aml)ition, by opening a more probable 
 prospect of success. The dispute, in itself though of 
 trivial interest to England, led to important conse- 
 (picnces. The claimants to that duchy w^ere, John, 
 count de Montfort, the male heir; and Charles de 
 Dlois, who had married the daughter of the late duke, 
 and ^^llo was himself nephew to the French king. De 
 Montfort, sensible that he could expect no favour from 
 Philip, made a voyage to England, and offered to per- 
 form hcmiage to Edward for the duchy of Brittany.^ 
 
 P. — Little negotiation could be necessary to con- 
 clude a treaty between two princes so inmiediately 
 connected by mutual interest. 
 
 A. — Edward saw at once the advantage of possess- 
 ing an ally whose territories afforded him an immediate 
 entrance into the heart of France, and he agreed to 
 render the required support; but an accident soon oc- 
 curred which well nigh rendered this well-laid scheme 
 abortive, the capture of the Count de Montfort by 
 Philip, who detained him a close prisoner in the tower 
 of the Louvre. 
 
 F.—Duxfeminafacti: this desperate state of affairs 
 was retrieved by a woman. But I leave in your hands 
 the continuation of the story. 
 
 ^.— Jane, countess of Montfort, daughter of the 
 Count of Flanders, roused from her feminine occupa- 
 tions by the prospect of overwhelming danger, cou- 
 rageously undertook to support the falling fortunes of 
 her family. As the partizans of Montfort possessed 
 the advantage of holding the chief towns in the duchy, 
 the Countess went from place to place, encouraging the 
 garrisons and arranging the proper plan of defence. 
 After she had put the whole province into a state of 
 
 * Froisbart. 
 
 ^ Ypod. Neiist. 
 
 '^ Anglia Sacra, vol.1. 
 
 » Froissart. 
 
leo 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 safety, she shut herself up in the fortress of Hcnne- 
 boijiic, to Wciil the arrival of the succours promised by 
 Edward. 
 
 F. — This lady, if we may credit Froissart, was a 
 perfect iiuazon, not only directing military alfairs, but 
 boldly fighting, sword in hand. 
 
 A. — The castle being presently surrounded l)\ tlie 
 Count de Blois, with a powerful army, one day, as Jane 
 perceived tl.at the besiegers had neglected a distant 
 quarter of their camp, she immediately sallied out^ at the 
 iiead of a body of tv/o hundred liorse, and did great exe- 
 cution, setting fire to the tents, baggage, and luagazines, 
 of the enemy; but preparing to return, slie found Ihm- 
 seU" intercepted, when instantly ticking her resoliitiuu, 
 she ordered her men to make the best of their way by 
 flight to Brest; at which j/Iace she collected a rein- 
 forcement of hve liuiiihed horse, broke unexpectedly 
 througli the adversary's camp, and entered tlie town of 
 Hennebonne amidst the sliouts and acclamations of the 
 irarrison.' But the reiterated attacks of the Ijesieiiers 
 having made several formidable breaches iu the walls, 
 it became necessary to treat of a Cispllulation, and the 
 Bishop of Laon was actually engaged witii Charles de 
 Blois on that subject; when the countess, who had 
 mounted a higli tower, looking anxiously towards the 
 sea, descried some sails at a distance, and she ex- 
 claimed, *' Tile succours, behold the English succours ! 
 no capitulation." This ileet had on board a body of 
 heavy armed cavahy, with six thousand archers, under 
 the command of Sir W alter Mann}, a Tlemish knight^ 
 who had come to England in the train of Queen 
 Phdippa, and who was one of the best captains of 
 the age. Soon alter entering tlic liarbour. Sir \\ ailer 
 
 Froiisart. 
 
 EARL OF DERBY. 
 
 121 
 
 w 
 
 iuimediately beat off the besiegers, and compelled them 
 
 to decamp."" 
 
 F.— For which good service, says the same romantic 
 chronicler, Froissart, the countess came down from the 
 tower to meet these knights, and with a cheerful coun- 
 tenance, kissed Sir Walter Manny and all his compa- 
 nions, one after the other, two or three times, like a 
 bold and valiant dame. 
 
 J. —The kings of France and England now entered 
 
 as principals into the war, and Edward went over to 
 
 Brittany with a reinforcement of twelve thousand men; 
 
 but he exhibited no remarkable military talent, and had 
 
 so mil ell tlie worst of the contest, that he was glad to 
 
 auree to a cessation of arms for three years. Having 
 
 ihus extricated himself from the present difliculty, he 
 
 affected to consult his parliament, who advised him 
 
 not to 1)0 amused by a fraudulent truce' (1344,) and 
 
 the war was immediately renewed. The province of 
 
 Guienne being exposed to much danger, Edward sent 
 
 thither his cousin the Earl of Der])y, son to the Earl 
 
 of Lancaster. This very accomplished and excellent 
 
 prince not ordy defended the province committed to 
 
 his charge, but made successful inroads into the neigh- 
 
 bourin<»- eountrv, taking several of the French fortresses. 
 
 In one of these incursions, Derby having promised his 
 
 men all the plunder, a private soldier broke into a 
 
 mint-masur's house, during the attack of the town of 
 
 Beroerac where he found so large a treasure that he 
 
 declined retaining it, as too great a reward, and brought 
 
 it (o the earl, who liberally answered, " It is not my 
 
 maxim to play boy's play; keep thou the money, were 
 
 it ihriec as nuicli."' 
 
 F.—Thc cause of Derby's continued success was 
 
 » Froissart. 
 
 >• Pari. Hist. vul. I, i>. 277 
 
 ' Walsingliam. 
 
12-2 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ATTACK OF NORMANDY. 
 
 123 
 
 W 
 
 the difiiciilty under uhich the French finances at that 
 time laboured, and the discontent, or rather mutiny, 
 of the people, occasioned l)y the gabelle, or monopoly 
 of salt. This afforded Edward an opportunity to utter 
 a royal witticism, saying that he saw his adversary 
 was determined to reign by the Salique law/ 
 
 P. — What may be the meaning of this gabelle upon 
 salt, the continuance of which lor several centuries was 
 a cause of so much discontent in France? 
 
 F. — The term 'gabelle' is thought to be derived 
 from the Hebrew 'gab/ signifying tribute; others say 
 it is from the Saxon ' gafel,' a word of the same mean- 
 ing. The tax itself was one of the most tyrannical 
 ever imposed on any nation : every householder being 
 compelled to purchase a certain portion of this salt, at 
 an exorbitant price from the government, according to 
 the number of persons which his family contained, 
 whether they consumed it or not. 
 
 A. — At length the King of France raised a consi- 
 derable army, which he put under the conmmnd of his 
 son, the Duke of Normandy, to oppose the attacks of 
 Derby. At this time one of those circumstanc es oc- 
 curred which, though of small importance in itself, yet 
 strongly marks the manners of the age, and is told by 
 Froissart with much genuine glee and picturesque 
 effect: the French besieging the town of Angouleme, 
 the governor. Lord Norwich, fmding himself reduced to 
 extremities, was obliged to employ a stratagem to save 
 his garrison: he appeared on the walls, and desired a 
 parley; the Duke of Normandy approaching, ol)served, 
 that he supposed Lord Norwich meant to surrender ; 
 " Not at all," replied the governor ; '' but as to-morrow 
 is the feast of the Virgin, to wlunn I ki«ow that you, sir. 
 
 as well as myself, bear a great devotion, I desire a ces- 
 sation of arms for that day." The proposal was agreed 
 to, and Norwich, having packed up all his baggage, 
 marched out and advanced tow^ards the French camp : 
 the French, imagining they were about to be attacked, 
 ran to their arms, but Norwich sent a messenger to 
 remind their general of his engagement : the Duke, a 
 man of honour, who piqued himself on faithfully keep- 
 ing his word, exclaimed, " I perceive that the governor 
 has outwitted me, but let us be content with gaining 
 the place;'' and the English were allowed to pass 
 through the camp unmolested. Edward, now under- 
 standimr the danger to which Guienne w^as exposed, 
 prepared a Ibrce for its relief, and he embarked with a 
 considerable army, taking with him his eldest son, the 
 Prince of Wales, now at the age of fifteen. The fleet 
 was twice beaten back by contrary winds, and driven 
 on the coast of Cornwall. The king, in despair of 
 reaching Guienne, listened to the advice of Geoffrey 
 d'Harcourt, a noble exile of Normandy, who recom- 
 mended an incursion into that province, as promising 
 more success, the country being rich in plunder and 
 now left unprotected.^ 
 
 F.— This same Geoffrey d'Harcourt, by the death of 
 Rol)ert d'Artois from a wound received in battle, suc- 
 ceeded that author of all the calamities which befel 
 his country for more than a century, in the invidious 
 office of assisting Edward in every enterprize against 
 
 France. 
 
 P.— His advice being adopted of invading Nor- 
 mandy, it does not give a very exalted idea of the 
 extent of Edward's military views, that a powerful 
 force intended for one point should, by the short delay 
 
 * H«'nault, I'Abr^gc Clironolog. 
 
 * Froissart. 
 
i J 
 
 V2i 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 occasioned by contrary winds, change its destination, 
 with no other specific object than plunder. 
 
 ^.— But this force, operating as a diversion, might 
 relieve Guienne as effectually as more direct assistance. 
 Edward safely disenfoarked his army at La Ilogue, in 
 Normandy : it consisted of four thousand cavalry, or 
 men at arms, ten ihousmid archers, and eighteen tliou- 
 sand foot:^ the latter chiefly consisting of light and dis- 
 orderly troops, they immediately spread themselves 
 over the adjacent comilry, burning, spoiling, ami plun- 
 dering every place of which they became masters. The 
 city of Caen, from its size and wealth, soon attracted 
 their attention: it was carried by assault, and so great 
 was the pillage, that Edward loaded his fleet witli the 
 spoil, and despatched it with three hundred of the 
 richest citizens to England, whose ransom was to afford 
 an additional profit. Edward marched next to Ilouen, 
 in liopes of treating that city in the same manner; but 
 here he found the bridge over the Seine broken down, 
 and heard that the King of France in person had ar- 
 rived with a large army; he therefore marched aU)ng 
 the banks of this river, wasting the whole country till 
 he reached sight of Paris itself.^ 
 
 p._\Vhat may be considered as the original design 
 
 of tliis campaign? 
 
 _4._The relief of (Juienne and the accpiisition of 
 plunder; but Edward having sent back his iUet, he 
 formed the plan of traversing through France to the 
 north, and securing his retreat in the friendly country 
 of Flanders. In pursuance of this hazardous under- 
 takin<^ it was his first object to pass the Seine; but 
 finding all the bridges broken down, he made a f( int by 
 advancing further up that river, and iminediately re- 
 turning by the same road he anivcd at Poissy, the 
 
 * Fioijsart. 
 
 J' Jbid. 
 
 PASSAGE OF THE SOMME. 
 
 125 
 
 brido-e of which town he repaired with incredible cele- 
 rity and passed over with all his forces. 
 
 F.— If we attend to the map, we shall see that Ed- 
 ward having passed the Seine, was enclosed betw^een 
 that river and the Somme, with the King of France in 
 full pursuit, expecting to surround and compel the sur- 
 render of the English army. 
 
 A.— In this extremity Edward, fully aware of his 
 danger, finding all the bridges of the Somme also 
 broken down, or strongly guarded, published a great 
 reward to any one who should point out a passage over 
 that river: one of his prisoners, a peasant, Gobin 
 A^ace, whose name has been preserved by the execra- 
 tions of his countrymen, thus tempted, brought the 
 kino* to a ford called Blanchetaque, a little below the 
 town of Al)beville, which might be passed at Ioav water. 
 The king found the opposite banks lined with ten thou- 
 sand French troops under Gondemar de Faye, an oflScer 
 of reputation; but aware of the imminency of his dan- 
 ger, with admirable celerity he tlu'cw himself into the 
 river, sword in hand, at the head of his troops, driving 
 the French, who in vain disputed the passage, from 
 their station and chased them to a distance on the 
 plain. The French King with his army arrived at the 
 ford when the rear-guard of the English were passing, 
 but the rising of the tide prevented a pursuit.* 
 
 /.-.___This passage of the Somme, as a military 
 movement, is doubtless admirable, but we cannot slmt 
 our eyes to the singular good fortune of Edward : liad 
 Plillip arrived but an hour sooner, this manoeuvre, so 
 successfully executed, would in all probability have 
 terminated in absolute ruin. 
 
 ^.—Edward, sensible that the French would be 
 
 a Froissart. 
 
12G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 eager to prevent his escape, and thai liis army, in 
 marching over the plains of Picardy, wouhl l)e niu( h 
 exposed to the incursions of their cavalry, determined 
 to hazard a battle, in the hope that the rage of Philip 
 would hurry him into some ill-concerted action; nor 
 was he disappointed in this expectation: choosing a 
 rising ground near the village of Crecy, he disposed his 
 army in excellent order in three lines, determined to 
 await the arrival of the enemy: his soldiers wcie 
 seated on the ground, when they first saw the French 
 advance, but they immediately rose up undauntedly, 
 and fell into the ranks. The numerical force of Philip 
 was prodigious, amounting to one hundred and twenty 
 thousand men : in the battle, besides the Freiu h mo- 
 narch, were three crowned heads: John, king of Bohe- 
 mia ; his son, the Kins: of the Romans ; and the Kino of 
 Majorca: the French army, like the English, was formed 
 into three lines, but imperfectly; Philip had made a 
 hasty march, in some c(mfusion, from Abbeville, seem- 
 ing to consider that could he but bring his enemy to an 
 engagement, his work was done." 
 
 -P. — How contrary was this rashness to his former 
 prudent conduct in the campaigns of Flanders, a few 
 years before. 
 
 -4.— The battle began with an attack by fifteen thou- 
 sand Genoese bowmen, who marched forward, and 
 leaped thrice with a great cry: their arrows did little 
 execution, as the strings of their l)ows had been relaxed 
 by a sudden tempest ; the English archers, now taking 
 their bows from their cases, ])oured in a shower of ar- 
 rows upon this multitude, and soon threw them into 
 confusion : the Genoese falling back upon the Frcjich 
 cavalry, were by them cut to pieces, and being alhnved 
 
 ■ Froissart. 
 
 BATTLE OF CRECY. 
 
 127 
 
 no passage, were thus prevented from again forming in 
 the rear : this absurd inhumanity lost the battle, as the 
 young Prince of Wales, taking advantage of the irre- 
 trieva1)le disorder, led on his line at once to the chargCc 
 The danger at this moment being considerable, a mes- 
 sage was sent to the king, who was posted on a small 
 eminence near a windmill, requiring assistance for the 
 prince. Edward enquired if his son were slain or 
 wounded ; '' Nothing of the kind (answered the mes- 
 senger), but he is so hardly pressed that he has great 
 need of your help." " Return, sir, to those who sent 
 you (said the king); and tell them not to send again 
 to me this day, as long as my son has life ; and say, 
 that 1 connnand them to le.t the boy win his spurs ; for 
 I am determined, if it please God, that all the honour 
 of the day shall be his and theirs who are about him."^ 
 In vain did the King of France endeavour to rally his 
 discoir.fltcd fences, though he displayed great valour, 
 and had a horse killed under him; the whole army 
 took to ilight in inc onceivable confusion, and were put 
 to the sword without quarter, till darkness stopped the 
 carnage. '' No one can describe or imagine," says 
 Froissart, " the bad management and disorder of the 
 French army, though their troops were out of number.'' 
 Philip was led from the field by John of Hainault, and 
 he rode till he came to the castle of La Broyes, where 
 he found the gates shut: ordering the governor to be 
 sunnnoned, when the latter enquired, it being dark, who 
 it was that called at so late an hour, he answered, 
 '' Op( 11, open, governor; it is the fortune of France:" 
 and accompanied by five barons only he entered the 
 
 castle.^ 
 
 F.— How striking is the diilerence between the 
 
 " Froissart 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
ow 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 effects of discipline and ihr- ^vant of it; the results of 
 a battle won and a battle lost. 
 
 A. — When Edward came down from his post, he 
 advanced with his whole battalion to mrof the Prince 
 of Wales, whom he embraced and kissed, saying, 
 ^^ Sweet son, God i^ive yon perseverance in yoni lio- 
 nourable cause; you are ray son, for valiantly have 
 you acquitted yourself this day ; you have sliown your- 
 self worthy of empire." The prince, as modest as 
 brave, bowed very low, and gave all the honour of the 
 victory to the skill of his royal parent." 
 
 jP. — Whether the Em^lish had fonr pieces of can- 
 non,^ which contributed to tiie success of the day at 
 Crecy, as asserted by some historians, is uncertain. 
 Froissart says not a word a])out them. Cannon not 
 being mentioned by any writer as used at the battle of 
 Poictiers, ten years later, throws some discredit on 
 their introduction now. 
 
 A, — The battle of Crecy was fought on Saturday, 
 August 2e5, 1846 ; but on the next day there lell more 
 straggling soldiers than in tiie attack. On the field 
 w^ere left slain the Kings of Loluinia and Majorca, 
 many of the great nobility of France, and iorty thou- 
 sand persons of various interior condition. This asto- 
 nishing slaughter cost the Englisli no more than tlie 
 loss of three knights, one esquire, and very few private 
 soldiers. '^ 
 
 F. — This prodigious disproportion seems to In^ply 
 a rout rather than a battle, and thur> the very com- 
 pleteness of the victory, ^)y a strange sort of paradox, 
 takes away something of its merit. 
 
 A. — The fate of the King of Bohemia was singular: 
 having heard the order of battle, he said to the jjcrsons 
 
 BLOCKADE OF CALAIS. 
 
 129 
 
 li 
 
 about him, ^* Gentlemen, you are all my people, friends 
 and brethren at arms this day ; therefore, as I am blind, 
 I request of you to lead me so far into the engagement 
 that I may strike one stroke with my sword." The 
 knights replied, " They would lead him forward di- 
 rectly;" and in order that they might not lose him in 
 the crowd, they fastened all the reins of their horses 
 together, and put the king at their head, that he might 
 gratify his wish : it is needless to add that the whole 
 party perished.* The Prince of Wales and his suc- 
 cessors have ever since assumed the Bohemian crest of 
 three ostrich feathers, with the motto Ich dien, " I 
 serve," as a memorial of this great victory. 
 
 F. — Most persons will now consider this blind 
 sovereign as foolishly prodigal of life, but his conduct 
 in that age was extolled as an act of unprecedented 
 heroism. 
 
 A. — Edward remained cool amidst this tumult of 
 success : far from expecting that the victory of Crecy 
 would b(^ followed by the total subjection of the dis- 
 puted kingdom, he seemed rather to moderate his 
 views, and to limit his ambition to the conquest of 
 Calais, which he hoped, as the key of France, would 
 facilitate the way to more considerable advantages, by 
 aflbrding at all times an easy entrance; he therefore 
 presented himself before the place, but well knowing 
 the integrity of Jolui de Viene, the governor, and the 
 little chance of obtaining the town by force, he resolved 
 to reduce it by famine, and for that purpose he block- 
 aded it for nearly twelve months, defeating various 
 attempts made by Philip to compel him to raise the 
 siege. The full ilow of Edward's prosperity was now 
 increased, not only by the success of several military 
 
 X 
 
 ^ Froissart. 
 
 ^ Villanl, lib. 12. 
 
 *■ Froissart. 
 
 VOL. 11. 
 
 * Froissart. 
 
 
13u 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 undertakings of the Earl ol l)ei!)v in Oiiirniio 1)ut !)y 
 the capture of David Bruce, king of Scotland, who, 
 having returned home from a long residence in France, 
 was persuaded by Philip, his ally, to invade the north- 
 ern counties of England : he accordingly carried his 
 ravages as far as Durham, where his army w as signally 
 defeated at Neville's Cross (134G) by Lord Percy, and 
 himself taken prisoner by an English 'squire, John 
 Copeland, who carried off his prize to Ogle Castle on 
 the river Blythe.^ 
 
 F. — Froissart represents this victory as acquired 
 by the wisdom and spirit of his patroness, Queen Phi- 
 lippa, who, he says, could scarcely be prevailed upon 
 to absent herself from the field of battle ; but as that 
 princess had undergone a recent confinement, it is pro- 
 bable that she had little further to do w ith the victory 
 than endeavouring to deprive John Copeland of the 
 custody of his royal prisoner. 
 
 A. — But John Copeland very shrewdly refused to 
 deliver him up, and repaired to the king beiore Calais, 
 who, on his being presented, exclaimed, " Ha, wel- 
 come, my 'squire, who by his valour has captured my 
 adversary, the King of Scotland." John Copeland, 
 falling on his knee, replied, " If God, out of his great 
 kindness, has given me the King of Scotland, and per- 
 mitted me to conquer him in arms, no one ought to be 
 jealous of it; for God, when he pleases, can send his 
 grace to a poor 'squire, as well as to a great lord. Sir, 
 do not take it amiss, that I did not surrender him to 
 the orders of my lady, the queen ; for I hold my lands 
 of you, and my oath is to you, and not to her, except 
 it be through choice." The king answered, '' John, the 
 loyal service you have done us, and our esteem for 
 
 ■ Froissart. 
 
 SURRENDER OF CALAIS. 
 
 VSk 
 
 your valour i^ so great, that it may well serve you as 
 an excuse, and shame upon all those that bear you any 
 ill will : you wil! now return home, and take your pri- 
 soner, Uic King of Scotland, and convey him to my 
 wife ; and by way of remuneration, I will assign lands 
 as near your house as I can choose, to the amount of 
 five hundred pounds a year.'^^ Queen Philippa, se- 
 curing her royal prisoner in the tower, crossed the sea 
 at Dover, and w^as received in the English camp before 
 Calais with all the chivalric eclat due to her rank, her 
 sex, and her success. The siege now approached to 
 its conclusion ; the town being pressed by the last ex- 
 tremity of famine, John de Viene offered to surrender 
 on the conditions of life and liberty to the inhabitants; 
 but the king, incensed at their obstinate resistance, 
 refused to hear any terms but those of unlimited sub- 
 mission. 
 
 F. — And here we have Froissart's very questionable 
 story, which, having been dramatized both in France 
 and England, has acquired a popular credence to which 
 in itself it is not entitled. This author relates, that 
 Edward at Icnuth consented to grant the lives of the 
 inhabitants, excepting six of the citizens, who should 
 deliver to him the keys of the city, with ropes about 
 their necks, l)areheaded and barefooted. When these 
 terms were made known to the people of Calais, they 
 were plunged into the deepest distress; to sacrifice six 
 of their fellow citizens to certain destruction for sig- 
 nalizing their valour in the common cause appeared even 
 more horrible than that general punishment with which 
 they had been threatened, and they became incapable 
 of forming any resolution. At length Eustace de St. 
 Pierre, one of tlie richest merchants of the place, vo- 
 
 " Fjoissarf. 
 K 2 
 
182 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 1^ 
 1 i 
 
 luntarily offered liimself as one of tliese six dt \oted 
 victims ; his noble example was soon imitated by five 
 others ; and these genuine patriots appeared before 
 Edward in the manner prescribed, laid tlie keys at his 
 feet, and were ordered to be led to immediate execu- 
 tion ; but the queen, falling on her knees^ witii tears in 
 her eyes be^2:cd their lives, and tluis saved them from 
 punishment : her request having been ol)tnined, she 
 carried them to her tent, ordered a repast to be set 
 before them, and making- them a present of money, dis- 
 missed them in safety (1347). 
 
 A. — It is pretty evident that these burgesses were 
 merely a deputation in the guise of criminals, as was 
 frequent in those days on similar occasions, of which 
 we had an instance in the surrender of Stirling Castle 
 to Edward the First; thus the circumstance in the 
 siege of Calais which least deserves to be remarked, 
 has become the most so. Edward commanded all the 
 inhabitants to evacuate the town, and he re-peopled it 
 with English, a policy wliich probably long i)reserved 
 the town to his successors. 
 
 F. — It may surprise some persons to learn that in 
 after-times Calais was permitted to send representatives 
 to the Emrlish House of Commons.^ 
 
 A. — A truce between the two kingdoms was at 
 length concluded, through the mediation of the Poj)! 's 
 legate (1348). During the suspension of arms which 
 it occasioned, Edward nearly lost the fruits ot his toil, 
 by an accident which is scarcely worth recountinir, 
 unless to prove his determined love of fighting. Ue 
 Charni, who conmianded tlie French troo})s in the 
 neighbourhood of Calais, communicated to AinuTi de 
 Pavie, an Italian, to wh.om Edward had infnist(Ml the 
 
 EUSTACE DE RIBAUMONT. 
 
 133 
 
 •' l^rowne Willis, Pari. Not. 
 
 town, a plan for delivering it to the King of France. 
 Whether Aimeri really intended to betray his trust is 
 uncertain, but the secret got whispered to Edward, and 
 it was agreed that the contrivance should be turned to 
 the destruction of the enemy : a day was appointed for 
 the admission of the French troops, and Edward with 
 the Black Prince arrived secretly the night before at 
 Calais : a band of French soldiers was now admitted 
 at the postern, and Aimeri receiving the stipulated sum 
 promised to open the great gate to the enemy, who was 
 waiting without : as the gate opened, Edward and his 
 party rushed forth, shouting, '' A Maimy, a Manny, to 
 the rescue:" a fierce engagement ensued, and the king, 
 who fought as a private man under the standard of Sir 
 Walter Manny, became desirous of trying a single 
 combat with Eustace de Ribaumont, a French kni^-ht 
 A sharp encounter took place between them; twice was 
 Edward beaten to the ground, and the victory was long 
 undecided, till Ribaumont perceiving himself to be left 
 almost alone called out, '' Sir knight, I yield myself 
 your prisoner.'' The French officers who fell into the 
 hands of the English were treated with much courtesy, 
 and admitted to sup with the Prince of W ales: it was 
 at this banquet that the king came into the apartment 
 and bestowed the highest encomiums upon the valour 
 of Ribaumont, and taking from his own head a string 
 of pearls, placed it upon the head of the knight, saying, 
 *' I desire you to wear it a year for my sake. I know 
 you take delight in the company of ladies and demoi- 
 selles; let them all know from whose hand you received 
 the present;" and the Frenchman was the next day 
 honourably dismissed without a ransom.^ This Eustace 
 de Ribaumont afterwards was killed at the battle of 
 
 * Froissart. 
 
134 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Poictiers; and Aimeri de Pavic, being' surroinulcd at 
 his castle of Fretiin, near Calais, by Do Charni with 
 some French troops, was made prisoner and put to 
 death, with circumstances of much cruelty, in the mar- 
 ket place of St. Omers.* But fatis^ued with so much 
 fighting and bloodshed^ it is time to repose. 
 
 Majorcsque caduiit altis de iiiontibus miibra'. 
 
 a Froissart. 
 
 ORDER OF FHK GARTER. 
 
 135 
 
 DISSEllTATlOiN IX. 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Edward III. - - from 1349 to 1377- 
 
 A. — h ROM the noise and tumult of war abroad, 
 let lis tarn our eyes to the splendid court of Windsor 
 Cnstle at home. To reward the military exploits of his 
 captains, Edward at this period (1349) instituted the 
 order of the Garter, in imitation of some orders of a 
 similar nature established in different parts of Europe 
 this badge of distinction being intended to excite in the 
 nobility a spirit of valour, emulation, and obedience.* 
 
 P. — Such being the acknowledged motive of the 
 founder, what circumstances induced Edward to adopt 
 so umneaning a symbol as the garter, and connect it 
 with the insignia of St. George? 
 
 F. — A variety of explanations has been offered, but 
 all without any substantial proof: it has been said, 
 that Edward gave the word ''garter" at the battle of 
 Crecy, or that he fixed his garter at the end of his 
 lance, as a signal on that occasion.^ Another opinion 
 is, that the order was merely the revival of an institu- 
 tion began by Richard the First at the siege of Acre : 
 Richard resolving to storm the town, distributed to 
 some of his principal officers certain leather thongs, to 
 be tied round the leg to distinguish them during the 
 assault. But the story of the Countess of Salisbury, 
 supposed to be Edward's mistress, having dropped her 
 garter at a ball in dancing is more generally received,^ 
 
 a Ashmolo, ( >rdcr of the Garter. 
 
 • Ashinole. 
 
 ^ Camden, Attrebati. 
 
im 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 though not mentioned by any author l)efore Polydorc 
 Virgil. 
 
 ^.— This origin, though frivolous, is perfectly in 
 accordance with the manners of tlie times, and if is 
 diflicult otherwise to account for the terms of the motto, 
 
 F,—Yct even the story of the Countess of Salis- 
 bury has dilferent versions : one rehites, that when the 
 king picked up the garter, th(^ hulv ima-ininu that he 
 had some other designs, expressed her surprise; to 
 obviate which Edward replii d, Hoai soil qui mal y prnse 
 — " Shame be to him who evil tliinks.'' Anotlier account 
 is, that Edward, perceiving the circumstance to excite 
 a smile among the c^)urtiers, utterc d this celebrated ex- 
 clamation. A still different story represents Queen Phi- 
 lippa herself to have once dropped her blue garter in 
 leaving the king's presence, wliich the atttMidiUits not 
 regarding, Edward, knowing its owner, commanded it to 
 be taken up and given to him, saying, '' Vou make small 
 account of this garter, but in a little time tlie l)est of you 
 shall reverence the like : *' and the motto was occasioned 
 by the queen's answer when Edward asked her what she 
 thought men would conjecture of her conduct in droj)- 
 ping her garter in so careless a manner.* 
 
 -P. — As Edward was always esteemed an excellent 
 husband, and lived in the greatest conjugal harmony 
 with Queen Philippa, in admitting the former explana- 
 tion, why should it be supposed that the Countess of 
 Salisbury was his mistress at all ? 
 
 A. — The report, I imagine, originates in a story of 
 Froissart's, whose credulity was certainly v(ry fre- 
 quently imposed upon : he relates that David, king of 
 Scotland, having laid siege to Werk Castle, in Aorth- 
 umbcrland (1342), it was strenuously defended bv the 
 
 Du Chesne, Hist. Gen. d'Anglcteirc. 
 
 COUNTESS OF SALISBURY. 
 
 137 
 
 Countess of Salisbury, whose husband was then a pri- 
 soner in France. 1 he Scots, on hearing of Edward's 
 approach to relieve the castle, departed, after commit- 
 ting great havoc and ravages. 
 
 F. — Eut such particulars cannot be reconciled with 
 known historical dates and with the general tenor of 
 autiienlic events.'' 
 
 A. — However, though Froissart's drawing may not 
 be exactly correct, it must be admitted that his colour- 
 ing is brilliant, and 1 must give you an extract, which, 
 tho!ii;]i somewhat long, as it exhibits the pink of chi- 
 valry in love, will not be found without interest: 
 
 ^^ Edward, taking ten or twelve knights with him, 
 went to the castle to salute the Countess of Salisbury, 
 and to examine what damage the Scots had done. 
 
 " The moment the countess heard of the king's ap- 
 proach she ordered all the gates to be thrown open, 
 and went to meet him, most richly attired, insomuch 
 that no one could help looking at her but with wonder 
 and admiration, for her great beauty and afiability of 
 behaviour: when she came to the king she made a very 
 lowly reverence and conducted him into the castle. 
 
 ^' Every one was delighted with her; the king could 
 not take his eyes ofl' her, as he thought he had never 
 seen so beautiful or sprightly a lady, so that a spark of 
 refined love struck upon his lieart, which lasted a long 
 time, and tlnis they entered the castle hand in hand. 
 The lady led him hrst to the hall, and then to his cham- 
 ber ; the king ke})t his eyes so continually upon her, 
 that the gentle dame was quite abaslied : after he had 
 sufliciently examined his apartment, he retired to a 
 window, and leaning on it, fell into a profound reverie. 
 
 Dugdalr, Baronage, vol. 1, p. f>45. 
 
138 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ** The countess w ent to welcome the other knights 
 and 'squires, and she ordered dinner to be made ready, 
 the tables to be set, and the hall ornamented : retnrnimi; 
 to the king with a checrliil countenance, she said to 
 him, ^ Dear sir, what are you musing on? saving your 
 grace, it is not good ; you ought rather to be in high 
 spirits, for having driven your enemies bel'ore you, 
 without their having had the courage to wait for you : 
 leave the trouble of thinking to others.' The king re- 
 plied, ' O dear lady, you must know, that since 1 en- 
 entered this castle an idea has struck my mind that 1 
 cannot choose but think; what may be the event I know 
 not, but I cannot divest my mind of it.' * Dear sir,' 
 replied the lady, ^ you ought to be of good cheer, to 
 feast with your friends, and leave olf meditating : if 
 the King of Scotland have vexed you by doing harm 
 to your kingdom, make yourself amends at his expense, 
 as you have done before; therefore, if you please, 
 come into the hall to your knights, for dinner will soon 
 be ready.' 
 
 "'Ah! dear lady,' said the king, ' far other things 
 than what you imagine touch my heart; i'or, in truth, 
 your lovely demeanour, the perfections and beauties 
 which I have seen you to possess have very much sur- 
 prised me, and have so deeply impressed my heart, 
 that my happiness depends on meeting a return from 
 you to my flame, which no denial can extinguish.' 
 
 " ^ Sweet sir,' replied the countess, ' do not amuse 
 yourself in laughing at or in tempting me, for 1 cannot 
 believe you mean what you have just spoken, or that 
 so noble and gallant a prince would think to dishonour 
 me or my husband, who is so valiant a knight, that has 
 served you faithfully, and who on your account now 
 lies in a foreign prison , certainly, sir, this would not 
 
 COUNTESS OF SALISBURY. 
 
 139 
 
 add to your glory : such a thought has never once en- 
 tered my mind, and I trust in God it never will, for any 
 man living ; and if I were so culpable, it w ould become 
 you to blame me, and in strict justice have me pu- 
 nished.' 
 
 " This virtuous lady then quitted the king, who was 
 quite astonished, and she went to the hall to hasten the 
 dinner; afterwards returning, attended by the knights, 
 she said to him, SSir, come to the hall; your knights 
 are w aiting for you to wash their hands, for they, as 
 well as you, have been long fasting.' 
 
 "At dinner the king ate very little, and was the 
 whole time pensive, casting his eyes, whenever he had 
 opportunity, towards the countess; such behaviour 
 surprised his frie ids, for they had never seen the like 
 belbre, and they imagined it was because the Scots had 
 
 escaped him. 
 
 "The king remained at the castle the whole day, 
 without knowing what to do with himself; sometimes 
 he remonstrated with himself, that honour and loyalty 
 forbade him to admit such treason and falsehood into 
 his heart as to wish to dishonour so virtuous a lady 
 and so gallant a knight as her husband was, and who 
 had ever so faithfully served him : at other times his 
 passion w as so strong that his honour and loyalty were 
 forgotten: thus did he pass that day and a sleepless 
 night in debating the matter in his own mind. 
 
 "At day-break he arose and drew out his whole 
 army. Upon taking leave of the countess, he said, 
 ' My dear lady, God preserve you till I return; and I 
 entreat that you will think well of what I have said, 
 and have the goodness to give me a different answer.' 
 ' Dear sir,' replied the countess, ' God, of his infinite 
 goodness, preserve you, and drive from your heart such 
 
140 
 
 VESTKHA. 
 
 villaiious tlioiights ; i'or I am, and ever shall be, ready 
 to serve yon, eonsistcntly Avitli my own honour and 
 with yonrs.' " 
 
 F. — This conflict of passion in the kihir witli re<rard 
 to the hidy, and the anxiety ot* the lady with reirard to 
 the dinner, are so amnsing in their way, that we cannot 
 but regret not a word of the story shonld be true. 
 
 A. — This paragon of dames was Katharine, daugh- 
 ter of William de Grandison: her husband was the 
 first Earl of Salisbury, of the family of Montacute. 
 Froissart relates, that Edward gave a grand tournament 
 at Windsor in honour of the countess, who felt great 
 scruples in attending, apprehensive of the king s sinis- 
 ter designs ; but he adds, that she \'^as so discreet as 
 not to acquaint her husband with the cause. 
 
 P. — Our poet Drayton, following a iiction of the 
 Italian novelist, Bandello, has rei)resented the Black 
 Prince as the countess's gallant, and has dictated '^ an 
 heroical epistle," alike calculated with this story of 
 Froissart to mislead the historical student. 
 
 F. — To set this matter right, we must refer to our 
 authentic genealogist Uugdale, who relates^ that Joan, 
 the Fair Maid of Kent, who subsequently was married 
 to the Black Prince, and who was daughter to that 
 Earl of Kent executed at the beginning of tliis reign, 
 clandestinely espoused Sir Thomas Holand, steward of 
 the household to the Earl of Salisbury, the son of this 
 our garter countess : but Salislnu'v himself lallin<^ in 
 love with Joan, who was extremely beautiful, con- 
 tracted a marriage with that princess, in spite of the 
 opposition of her first husband, who complained bit- 
 terly of the wrong. The lady, having two strings to 
 
 * Baronage, vol 1, p. 647. 
 
 ORIGINAL KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. 
 
 141 
 
 lier bow, declared herself incapable of deciding so 
 weighty a controversy, and an appeal to the Pope was 
 the consequence : his Holiness gave a decree in favour 
 (jf Sir Thomas Holand. The Fair Maid of Kent, not 
 the discreetest person in tlie world, may in the interval 
 have been called Countess of Salisbury, and hence, I 
 apprehend, has originated some of the romance con- 
 nected with that title. 
 
 A. — The oriiiinal knights received into tlie order of 
 the Garter were the following twenty-five persons, be- 
 sides the sovereign, who had all distinguished them- 
 selves in military service: 
 
 King Edward III. 
 
 Henry Plantagenet, Duke of 
 Lancaster 
 
 Piers de Greilly, Captal de Buche 
 
 Willlaiu Montacute, Earl of Sa- 
 lisbury 
 
 Sir John Lisle 
 
 Sir John Beauchamp 
 
 Sir Hugh Courtney 
 
 Sir John Grey 
 
 Sir Miles Stapelton 
 
 Sir Hugh Wrottesley 
 
 Sir John Chandos 
 
 Sir Otto Holand 
 
 Sir Sanchct Dabiichcourt 
 
 Edward, Prince of Wales 
 Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of 
 
 Warwick 
 Ralph Stafford, Earl of Stafford 
 Roger Mortimer, Earl of Marche 
 Sir Bartholomew Burghersli 
 Sir John Mohun 
 Sir Thomas Holand 
 Sir Richard Fitz-Simon 
 Sir Thomas Wale 
 Sir Nele Loring 
 Sir James Audeley 
 Sir Henry Eam 
 Sir Weaker Pavel v 
 
 Sueli is the uncertainty of transmitting worldly honours 
 to posterity, that one family only in England, the Wrot- 
 tesley 's, can trace their descent in the male line from 
 any of these worthies.* 
 
 F. — Admission to the order has always been con- 
 sidered as one of the highest honours to which a sub- 
 ject can aspire ; and as the number of knights, except 
 
 ■ Asbmolc. 
 
142 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 tbreigu sovereigns and priiices oi the ]>Iood, has never 
 been enlarged, this badge of distinction coiitiiuies as 
 honourable as at its first creation. The institution has 
 certainly the advantage of conferring a favour on the 
 most powerful nobleman, without imposing a burden on 
 the nation; and it must be acknowledged that a chapter 
 in its full ceremonial is a very imposing spectacle. 
 
 J — The robes and ornaments may be thought 
 somewhat too gorgeous : at lirst they were less splen- 
 did: indeed a modern knight in grand costume, unless 
 he is conscious of a stately person, must feel over- 
 whelmed with his encumbering finery. Edward the 
 First had a diflerent feeling from the founder of this 
 ostentatious display, for being once asked by a simple 
 religious man, why he, being so potent a prince, went 
 so meanly clad ? he answered, '' Father, fithor, you 
 know how God regardeth garments: Avhat can 1 do 
 more in my royal robes than in this my gaberdine?^ 
 
 p._You have not explained the motive of Edward 
 the Third in connecting his order of the Garter with 
 the patronage of St. George; and how indeed did that 
 person acquire the honour of becoming the tutelary 
 saint of England ? 
 
 ^._The solution of the latter question Mill explain 
 the motive of the monarch ; but the story of St. George, 
 like so many of our ancient traditions, is attended with 
 considerable difficulty and obscurity: the very exist- 
 ence of such a person has been questioned, chiefly on 
 the ground that he is not mentioned by Eusebiiis; but 
 it appears that under the ninth persecution of Diocle- 
 tian, a young man, by name George, a native of Cap- 
 padocia, of Christian descent and respectable fortune, 
 had entered the Roman service, and at the age of 
 
 » Camden, Remains. 
 
 ST. GEORGE. 
 
 143 
 
 twciily had risen to the rank of military tribune: when 
 Ute imperial decree against the Christians was about 
 to be put into execution, he divested himself of his 
 martial habiliments and bestowed them, with all the 
 money lie possessed, upon the poor. Expostulating with 
 the council on the barbarity and injustice of their pro- 
 ceedings, he was seized and carried before the emperor, 
 who ]>roposed various rewards and honours as the 
 price of his apostacy, which George rejecting, was 
 most inhumanly tortured, and the next day (April 23, 
 A. D. 290) was beheaded at Lydda, in Palestine, where 
 his body was interred.* 
 
 jP. — On this slight foundation, which, though suffi- 
 ciently probable, is not authenticated by any contem- 
 porary authority, has a huge mass of legend and fiction 
 been erected. 
 
 A. — The worship of St. George soon became in 
 vogue, and the Arians, desirous of giving credit to their 
 cause, endeavoured to confound tlie memory of this 
 martyr with a bishop of Alexandria of the same name, 
 the antagonist and afterward the successor of Athana- 
 sius, a stout defender of their tenets, but a very worth- 
 less and oppressive tyrant, and who was massacred in 
 a tumult by the people of that capital (3G1). The 
 Arians efl'ected their object with so much success that 
 Pope Gelasius (492) complained that the acts and mo- 
 numents of St. George, having been collected by infidels 
 and unbelievers with less integrity than so important a 
 business required, were obliged to be disallowed by the 
 Roman church.^' In spite therefore of Mr. Gibbon's 
 opinion, which, from the great popularity of his work, 
 has misled many readers, we must conclude that St. 
 George for England is certainly not the Arian bishop. 
 
 Ileylyn, Hist, of St George. *» Concil. torn. 1 ; edit. Pet. Crabbe, p. 993. 
 
144 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F. — The worship of tlie original martyr was early 
 established in Home itself, notwithstanding Iho ronfn- 
 sion in liis history, and we well know that the Cdiiiulic 
 church has always been sufficiently careful to exclude 
 what she called heretics from the honour of canoni- 
 zation. 
 
 ^.—Having been himself a soldier, St. George be- 
 came the })atron saint of military men; churches were 
 erected to his honour in various parts of i:uropc, and 
 he was in particular favour with the Greek empire; he 
 was always represented as a young man, aimed, on 
 horseback. Once in the palace of Constantinoulc, it 
 seems that the picture of the horse neighed, to the 
 great alarm of the JJyzantinc court :^ tlie dragon is 
 supposed to have been merely a symbol of tlie great 
 enemy of mankind being overcome by the ellorts of the 
 pious Christian, and did not originally accompany the 
 portrait of the saint: the figure of tlie maid is of still 
 more recent introduction. 
 
 F.— The body of St. George having been buried at 
 Lydda, in Palestine, where a stately church was erectc d 
 to his memory, he was thus early introduced to the 
 notice of the first crusaders. 
 
 ^1.— The reputation of the martyr was much increased 
 by the publication of the celebrated '' Aurea legenda,'' 
 or golden legend, by Jacobus de Voragine, archbishop 
 of Genoa, in the thirteenth century. This work is a col- 
 lection of the lives of the saints, and that ol' St. George 
 is amongst the number. The archbishop is thought to 
 have adapted his legend to the pictorial representation, 
 and thus it runs: '^ Once upon a time St. George of 
 Cappadocia came to the country of l.ybia, and to the 
 city of Siseiia (a town, as Don Quixote said of his 
 
 Nicopliorus uregoras, p. 88. 
 
 ST. GEORGE. 
 
 1 15 
 
 o 
 
 kingdom, nut to be found uii the map): near this place 
 was a lake as big as any sea, and in that lake a deadly 
 dragon, which with his breath did poison all the coun- 
 try round, and the poor people were compelled to give 
 him every day two sheep to keep him quiet : at length 
 when all the sheep were nearly consumed, it was ap- 
 pointed by a council to give him one sheep and to add 
 a man or a woman, and then when almost all their 
 sons and daughters had been eaten, it came in turn 
 that the only daughter of the king should be delivered 
 to the dragon, and accordingly, as she was chained to 
 a rock for that purpose, St. George appeared and en- 
 countered the dragon in a dreadful conflict, which ter- 
 minating in a complete victory on his part, the damsel 
 was restored to her afflicted parent, who with all his 
 people embraced the Christian faith." 
 
 P. — But why should this chivalric version of the 
 tale of Perseus and Andromeda acquire so peculiar a 
 popularity in the west of Europe ? 
 
 A. — The great cause of the favour borne to St. 
 George was his visible appearance, at several periods, 
 to the assistance of the crusaders, long indeed before 
 the publication of the legend; the most memorable of 
 which was at the siege of Antioch,* in 1098 : the Chris- 
 tians, though they had taken that city, became unable 
 to retain it, and were sorely pressed by a multitude of 
 their enemies, when suddenly an infinite number of 
 heavenly soldiers, all in w^hite, descended from the 
 mountains, with displayed ensigns, the leaders being 
 St. George, St. Maurice, and St. Demetrius, who bran- 
 dishing their darts, the enemy immediately fled with 
 the loss of one hundred thousand men. 
 
 F. — And why, says William of Malmesbury. with 
 
 • Vol. 1, p. 528. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
14G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 inimitable simplicity, might not God send his saints to 
 assist the Christians, as once he sent his angc 1 to assist 
 the Maccabees, both fIg•htin^• in tlie same (jnarrel?^ 
 
 A. — How St. George first grew into particuhir esti- 
 mation with the English, was the acknowledgment of 
 Richard the First, that to the sainf s inspiration in a 
 dream, he was indebted for the idea of distinguishing 
 his companions in the assault of Acre by a garter tied 
 under the left knee; thus continuing in favonr with the 
 military part of the nation, Edward the Third, when 
 hotly pressed in his skirmish with llibaumont, at Ca- 
 lais, pushing with his sword ])assionately, cried out, 
 " Ha, St. Edward! ha, St. George!"' which his soldiers 
 hearing, flocked to him, fell npon the French assailnnts 
 wdth great execution, and so released him from the 
 danger; such seem to be the reasons which induced 
 this valorous monarch to place his order of the Garter 
 under the protection of so martial a patron. 
 
 F. — St. George being now so highly exalted in Eng- 
 land, became more popular than ever, and new legends 
 were invented to extend his fame. Richard Johnson, 
 the author of '^ The Famous History of the Seven 
 Champions of Christendom," of the age of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth, has made him an Englishman, being born at 
 Coventry, and marked at his birth with a red bloody 
 cross on his right hand, a golden garter on his left leg, 
 and a red dragon on his breast: as soon as he was 
 born he was conveyed away to the woods by Caleb, 
 a female enchanter. He became a renowned knight- 
 errant; his first exploit was killing a dragon in Egypt, 
 and his last conflict was with a most poisonous dragon 
 at Dunsmere Heath, where the monster was indeed 
 slain, but the poor knight returned to Coventry so 
 
 * De Gest. Ang. Reg. lib. 4~ 
 
 ^ Walsingham. 
 
 PLAGUE IN ENGLAND. 
 
 147 
 
 grievously wounded that he died shortly after; lie left 
 three sons, equally valiant with himself, one of whom 
 was the famous Guy of Warwick, and the other two 
 were preferred to places at court. 
 
 yl.— This legend may contain as much truth as the 
 former, but is so manifestly impertinent, as to provoke 
 impatience. It is now time to return to the court and 
 age of Edward the Third, w hose festivities and triumphs 
 were grievously interrupted by the introduction and 
 prevalence of the plague (1348,) which raged not only in 
 England, but throughout Europe; it took its rise in Asia, 
 and destroyed in some countries a fourth, in others a 
 third, and in some places it left not a tenth part of the 
 inhabitants behind. It appears to have been a disease 
 precisely of the same type as that which at the present 
 day afllicts the Turkish provinces: a slight fever, at- 
 tended with glandular swellings, vomiting, and dis- 
 charge of blood, which commonly carried ofi' the sufferer 
 in a day or two ; it was so contagious as to infect by 
 the breath, and the bare touch of the garments of the 
 deceased often proved fatal.* 
 
 F. — The introduction of such diseases is scarcely 
 more extraordinary than their cessation. This calamity 
 seems to have been one of the most general which 
 ever afllicted Europe, and it extended even to the 
 brute creation : its effects in the city of Florence are 
 des( ribed by Boccacio with great eloquence and feel- 
 ing, in the introduction to his well-known Decameron. 
 But the harrowing story of neglect and desertion, of 
 apathy and despair, of the brutality of some, of the 
 avarice of others, presents a similar picture of distress 
 to that which has been often detailed by historians. 
 
 * Walsingham. Kiiyghton. 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 and from the contcmplatioii of wlikli the mind would 
 willingly escape. 
 
 ^.— This pestilence, in proportion to the population 
 of the kingdom, must have been even more fatal than 
 the great plague of London during the reign of Charles 
 the Second. In one burying-ground, now the garden 
 of the Charter House, purchased for the occasion by 
 Sir Walter Manny, fifty thousand corpses^ were depo- 
 sited. It is observable that the poorer classes were the 
 chief sufferers, and most of the nobility escaped. We 
 must not confound this disease, which was called ' the 
 black death/ with the sweating sickness, a disorder 
 totally different, and which was imported by the sol- 
 diers in the Earl of Richmond's army from Brittany, 
 when he landed to dispute the crown with Richard the 
 Third, and which it is sinirular affected the En-lish 
 and no other people whatever. 
 
 F.— One of the most extraordinary eilbcts of this 
 great plague was the fate of East Greenland, a country 
 dependant on Denmark, and at this time in a tlourishin^>- 
 condition. The passage was ahvays considered dan- 
 gerous, and every seaman who was acquainted witli it 
 being cut off by the disease, the colony w^as lost;^ and 
 so continued till it was rediscovered by Sir AJartin 
 Frobisher, in 1578, who found it in a most uncivilized 
 condition. 
 
 ^- — Though the physicians could prescribe no cure 
 and assign no cause for this calamity, the divines had 
 made the discovery that it was brought upon the nation 
 by the general profligacy of manners, and chielly by 
 extravagance in dress, with which really, one would 
 suppose, the wrath of heaven could have but little to 
 
 ^ Stow, Annals. 
 
 ^ Egedo, Hist, of Greenland, cliap. 2. Mallet, Northern Antlq. 
 
 JtiDIOULOUS FASHIONS* 
 
 149 
 
 do: the clergy inveighed with vehemence against the 
 silk hoods, party-coloured coats, deep sleeves, and 
 confined waists of the men; the bushy beard before, 
 the tail of hair behind, and the enormous length of the 
 pointed shoes ; — these indeed were an ancient grievance, 
 having been invented so long ago as the age of William 
 Rufus, and had prevailed for three centuries; the clergy 
 remonstrated, and even preached against them, in vain; 
 and had they not ceased their exhortations, this pre- 
 posterous fashion would probably have continued the 
 mode to the present hour. 
 
 F, — There can be no doubt that the fashions of the 
 age were extremely ridiculous, and far exceeded in 
 extravagance and expense any thing in modern times. 
 In the preceding reign, the Scots under Robert Bruce 
 thus characterized their southern neighbours: ' 
 
 Long beards, heartless ; 
 Painted hoods, witless; 
 Gay coats, graceless ; 
 Make England, thriftless.* 
 
 In the general anathema from the pulpit, the female 
 world could not hope to escape; a lady is described 
 as having her liead covered with a mitre of enormous 
 height, from the summit of which ribbons floated in the 
 air like streamers from the top of a mast: thus attired, 
 she rode in company with her knight to jousts and 
 tournaments, partook of the difle!rent diversions of the 
 men, and by her levity aflbrded food for scandal.^ 
 
 A, — During the prevalence of the plague (1350,) 
 died Philip de Valois, king of France, a prince deficient 
 neither in talents nor virtues, but his star was eclipsed 
 by the superior orb of Edward's. Like most unfortunate 
 princes, he became unpopular before his death; but the 
 
 • Camden, Remains. 
 
 ^ Knyghton. 
 
150 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 BATTLE OF POICTIERS. 
 
 J... t,* * 
 
 ,ir 
 
 I 
 
 miseries of the reign oV liis son Jolm rmisrd tbo French 
 nation to regret even the calamitous limos of Phihj). 
 The truce between Enghiud and France, which had 
 been ill observed, had now expired; and tlie most 
 dan2:erous factions having arisen in the hiUer kingdom, 
 inspired Edward witli fresli hopes of renewing the war 
 w ith success : w ith this intention he entered France at 
 the head of a numerous army, from Calais,^* and ravaged 
 the country with the most pitiless hostility; for the same 
 purpose the Prince of Wales was sent to liourdcaux.'' 
 The attack of the king was attended with no romarka1)le 
 effect, but the result of the expedition of the lilack 
 Prince is one of the most memorable events in the 
 English history. 
 
 p._The battle of Poictiers, an almost incredible 
 instance of the power of discipline. 
 
 ^.—The Black Prince overran the provinces adja- 
 cent to Guienne witli an army of twelve thousand men, 
 about a third of whom were English, and had ravaged 
 in seven weeks five hundred cities, towns, and villages.*^ 
 It appears, that his design was to penetrate into Nor- 
 mandy, and join the king; but linding the bridges on 
 the Loire broken down, he was obliged to think of 
 returning to Bourdeaux, especially as he learned that 
 John, the king of France, was approaching with a 
 considerable army to intercept his retreat. The prince, 
 sensible that a battle was now l)ecomc unavoidable, 
 chose his station with great judgment; it was on a 
 rising ground, on the plain of Maupertius, two leagues 
 from Poictiers, surrounded with woods, vineyards, 
 hedges, and ditches, and accessible only l)y one narrow 
 
 detile in front."^ 
 
 F. — The situation of both parties so nearly resem- 
 
 ^ Walyiiigliam, 
 
 ^ Froi^sart. 
 
 Avc&bury. ^ Froissart. 
 
 flit d the state of affairs at Crecy, that one would imagine 
 common sense would have suggested to John an endea- 
 vour to avoid the error which his predecessor had com- 
 mitted, as, by intercepting all provisions, the English 
 armv must have surrendered without a blow. 
 
 A, — Even had this idea suggested itself, the want 
 of discipline in the French army w ould have prevented 
 the king from putting it into execution. A negotiation 
 how ever took })lace, through the medium of the Cardinal 
 de Perigord : Edward, the Black Prince, offered to pur- 
 chase a retreat, by surrendering all the prisoners and 
 booty acquired in the campaign, with a promise not to 
 serve against France for seven years ; but John would 
 hear of no other tenns than the surrender of the prince 
 and his whole army w ithout conditions. Edw ard gave his 
 final answer, that England should never have to pay his 
 ransom unless he were taken prisoner sword in hand;* 
 this determination precluding all hope of accommoda- 
 tion, on the next day (I9th September, 1356,) the battle 
 took place; but though it was better fought by the 
 French than that of Crecy, the result w as nearly simi- 
 lar, the total rout and dispersion of their army by a 
 force six times its inferior. Two divisions of the French, 
 in which were the Dauphin and his two elder brothers, 
 being repulsed, precipitately fled ; but the king himself, 
 w ith his younger son by his side, a youth of fourteen, 
 fought valiantly, and endeavoured to retrieve the dis- 
 aster by strenuously continuing the contest, but in vain, 
 ficft almost alone in the field, John might easily have 
 been slain, had not every one been desirous of taking 
 alive the royal prisoner. The king, unwilling to sur- 
 render himself to a person of inferior condition, still 
 cried out, '' Where is my cousin, the Prince of Wales?'' 
 
 » Froissart. 
 
153 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 At length giving his right hand gauntlet to Denvs dc 
 Morbecquc, a knight of Arras, ^^ho had been expelled 
 from France for a homicide, committed in an adVay, he 
 said, '' Sir knight, 1 surrender/'^ 
 
 F.—ln this unexampled success, the moderation and 
 humanity of the Prince of Wales have always been the 
 theme of unbounded praise, by the historians of both 
 
 nations. 
 
 ^ —Edward was reposing in his tent after the 
 fatigue of the battle, when he was intbrmed of the fate 
 of the French monarch ; he came forth to meet the royal 
 captive with every mark of regard and sympathy; he 
 paid a just tribute to his valour, and ascribed the vie- 
 tory to the blind chance of war, or to a superior Provi 
 dencc, which controls the elforts of human prudence. In 
 Froissart's frivolous gossip, the principal circuuistance 
 which attracts his admiration, in which indeed he is 
 followed by Hume, is the prince's declining to sit down 
 to supper w ith the French king, in spite of all entreaty, 
 saying, that it became him not to seat himself at the 
 table of so great a monarch and so valiant a man. 
 
 p._If the courteousness of the Prince of Wales 
 had not been established beyond all possible contro- 
 versy, 1 am inclined to suspect that John would have 
 been apt to feel this refusal as a refined mockery, espe- 
 cially as at the same table w ere placed his own son and 
 some of the captive nobility.^ 
 
 A,—K story is related by the same author, highly 
 creditable to the generosity of the parties concerned. 
 Lord Audley having been grievously wounded, was 
 brought to the Black Prince in a litter, who, stooping 
 down, embraced the warrior, and with due commenda- 
 tions for his services, ordered him a grant of four hun- 
 
 * Froii)bart. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 CAIIi HK OF THE FRENCH KING. 
 
 153 
 
 dred marks yearly revenue. Lord Audley returning to 
 his tent, as frankly divided tiic gift amongst his four 
 esquires that attended him in the liattle. This circum- 
 stance reaching the ear of the prince, he began to ap- 
 prehend that his present was contemned as too trivial ; 
 but Lord Audley satisfied him with this answer: *' I 
 must reward those who have so well deserved my 
 favour; these my esquires saved my life amidst the 
 enemy; and Cod 1)e thanked, T have sufficient revenue 
 left by my ancestors to maintain me in your service.'' 
 
 P. — A vulgar mind would have felt displeased at 
 such an appropriation of the gift. 
 
 A. — But the prince commending Lord Audley's 
 prudence and liberality, confirmed his donation to the 
 esquires, and assigned to the baron a fresh portion of 
 land in England, to the yearly value of six hundred 
 marks/ And now he was presently to exhibit the 
 highest treat which I suppose the English public ever 
 enjoyed, the sight of a king of France led captive 
 through the streets of London. The Prince of Wales 
 conducted his prisoner to Bourdeaux, and thence to 
 Dover. lie was received in the metropolis by the 
 mayor, IJenry Picard, and one thousand citizens, richly 
 attired and nobly mounted. The French king, in splen- 
 did robes, was seated on a beautiful white charger, 
 which, be it known, according to chivalric allegory, is 
 significant of royalty; whilst the Prince of Wales, in 
 a plain dress, rode by his side on a black palfrey. 
 When the procession reached Westminster Hall, King 
 Edward, who was seated on a magnificent throne, 
 descended as soon as the captive monarch appeared, 
 advanced to meet him, and embraced the royal stranger 
 with every mark of cordial esteem.'' 
 
 * Froissait. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
i 
 
 154 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 P. — This cxliibitiou of a rnptive lu iIm u r/.e ot fiie 
 populace, though perfectly in unison with ihe spirit ol 
 the times, perhaps does not quite accord ^vitli the (hdi- 
 cacy of a more retined age. 
 
 A, — The French monarch was lodged in the palace 
 of the Savoy, and was treated with indulirence and with 
 every mark of respect, lie had the melancholy consola- 
 tion of meeting a companion in allliction, David Bruce, 
 king of Scots, who had suilered a captivity of eleven 
 years; but who was shortly after released by Edward, 
 (1357) the price of his ransom being one hundnd thou- 
 sand marks*/ his former competitor, Edward Baliol, 
 having resigned into Edward's hands his pretensions 
 to the crown of Scotland for an annual pension of two 
 thousand marks,^ had passed into France, where he 
 lived and died contented, in a private station.^ 
 
 F. — The rivalry of these families, which had inflicted 
 so much misery on Scotland, w^as thus for ever happily 
 terminated. 
 
 A. — Unfortunate France, in the absence of her king, 
 suftered every species of calamity : diHerent competitors 
 for the crown; a factious nobility; a divided and rebel- 
 lious people, Avho shook off all the restraints of govern- 
 ment, and pillaged the kingdom at their pleasure. 
 Edward, hoping to take advantage of these disorders, 
 ravaged the northern provinces with impunity, arriving 
 even at the gates of Paris. His great desire was to be 
 crowned King of France at Rheims, which city he in 
 vain besieged. At length tinding his object at as great 
 a distance as ever, and embarrassed by his nmltiplied 
 expenses, he seized an opportunity to extricate himself 
 without impairing his honour. As his army lay en- 
 camped near Chartres, the cold became excessive, and 
 
 PEACE OF BRETIGNI. 
 
 155 
 
 a snddr 11 an 1 drr idful storm arose, which is said to 
 have destroyed six tbousand horses and one thousand 
 of his men, the hailstones being of extraordinary di- 
 mensions. This incident was esteemed by the army as 
 a sign of God's wrath, and the king affected to be of 
 the same opinion, for turning his face towards Chartres, 
 he 1(11 on his knees, and made a vow that he would 
 consent to an equitable peace.* 
 
 F. — ^This c(piitable peace was tolerably advantageous 
 to Edward : the French king was to pay three millions 
 of gold crowns lor his ransom; and Edward was to 
 resign all pretensions to the crown of France, which, 
 as he had now^ sufficient experience that he had no 
 chance of obtaining, w as selling a chimerical claim at 
 a high price; he w^as also to receive, with Calais, cer- 
 tain ])rovinces in the south of France, which, as well 
 as Cuienne, were not to be encumbered by the feudal 
 homage. This is called the peace of Bretigni (13G0).^ 
 
 A. — The tw^o kings took a cordial leave of each 
 other, with many professions (probably sincere) of 
 recii)rocal esteem.^ The ceded provinces were con- 
 ferred on the Prince of Wales; but the inhabitants 
 expressing their unwillingness to submit to the domi- 
 nion of the English, by partial insurrections, John took 
 the extraordinary resolution of returning to London, 
 for the purpose of adjusting these differences. Being 
 dissuaded by his council from executing so rash a 
 design, he made that memorable reply which ought to 
 eternize his memory : " That if honour and good faith 
 were banished from the rest of the world, they should 
 still be found in the breast of princes/' "^ 
 
 P.— Those who delight in disparaging human na- 
 ture have asserted,that John having become enamoured 
 
 Rymer, vol. 6. 
 
 ^ Rymer, vol.5. 
 
 ' Knyghton, 
 
 Froissait. ^ Ryracr, vol. G. • Froissart. ^ Mezerai. 
 
 t'i' 
 
156 
 
 VESTU.iA. 
 
 of an English lady, was glad to finil ri pretence lor 
 paying" her a visit. 
 
 jF. — If such a motive had existed, we mny be cer- 
 tain that it would not have escaped the enquiries of 
 Froissart. 
 
 A. — The French king was again lodged in the palace 
 of the Savoy, where he soon after sickened and died 
 (13G4)/ John was a prince of eminent valour, good- 
 ness, and honour, but a singular example of the perse- 
 cution of fortune. Under his government France suf- 
 fered an overwhelming weight of calamities, from 
 which at length she was gradually relieved by the 
 consummate prudence of his son Charles the Fifth, 
 the first prince of France that had assumed the title 
 of Dauphin. The earliest measure of the new king 
 was to get rid of a numerous banditti which infested 
 his kingdom, under the name of the Companies.** 
 These persons were military adventurers, who had 
 foudit on both sides, and who could not forsake their 
 old habits of pillage; Charles wanted them to under- 
 take a crusade, but for this pious labour they had too 
 much cunning and too litt^^ religion. 
 
 P. — In what way do the Companies connect them- 
 selves with the affairs of England? 
 
 A. — You shall presently hear. Pedro the Cruel, 
 king of Castile, deservedly meriting that title for his 
 atrocious barbarity, had incurred the general hatred of 
 his subjects, many of his nobility having fallen victims 
 to his injustice. Henry, count of Transtamare, his 
 natural brother, took up arms in defence of the common 
 rights of the nation; but failing in his attempt, he was 
 compelled to seek refuge in France, where, seeing the 
 advantage to be obtained Irom the assistance of the 
 
 Fioi;>sart. 
 
 ^ Ibid, 
 
 BATTLE OF N AJAR A. 
 
 15: 
 
 Companies, he sought to enlist them in his service. 
 Thus raising a considerable army, Henry returned and 
 dethroned Pedro, and was chosen King of Castile in 
 his room. In this extremity the legitimate tyrant re- 
 sorted to the compassion of the Prince of Wales, now 
 residing at Bourdeaux, who in an evil hour promised 
 his assistance. An army was speedily equipped, with 
 which Edward crossed the Pyrenees, accompanied by 
 his brother, John of Gaunt; and the immediate conse- 
 quence was the desertion of the Companies from Henry 
 of Transtamare to the service of the English prince.^ 
 
 P. — So great then was the intluence of Edward's 
 name and reputation. 
 
 A. — Yet Henry, beloved by his new subjects and 
 supported by his ally the King of Arragon, mustered 
 an army of seventy thousand men, a force far exceeding 
 his adversary in nu{n])er. He was advised by his most 
 experienced generals not to hazard any decisive action, 
 l>ut to cut oir tlie enemy's supplies : this prudent pre- 
 caution was neglected, and the armies met on the banks 
 of the Ebro, near the town of Najara. The prayer 
 which Froissart puts into the mouth of the Black 
 Prince, just before the battle, if it cannot be depended 
 on as absolutely authentic, is yet sufficiently charac- 
 teristic : with eyes uplifted towards heaven, he thus 
 spake; '' God of truth, the father of Jesus Christ, who 
 hast made and lashioned me, condescend, through thy 
 beniun i^race, that the success of this battle and this 
 day may be lor me and for my army; for thou knowest 
 that in truth I have been solely emboldened to under- 
 take it in the support of justice and reason, to reinstate 
 this king upon his throne;" then taking Pedro, who 
 stood at his side, by the hand, he added, " Sir king. 
 
 • Froissart. 
 
158 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 you shall know this day win !h<*i }ou \uil h;ivt* any 
 thing in the kingdom of Castile or nut;'' and he thiii 
 cried out, " Advance banners, in the name of God 
 and St. George."* A more signal victory was never 
 obtained. Henry was chased ofl' the field, with the 
 loss of twenty thousand men, w^hilst there fell on the 
 side of the English only four knights and forty pri- 
 vate soldiers (3d April, 1367).^ Castile submitted lo 
 the conqueror, and Pedro was replaced upon the 
 throne. The tyrant would have murdered all his pri- 
 soners in cold blood, had he not been prevented by the 
 remonstrances of Edward; and, in perfect conformity 
 with his character, he basely refused the stipulated 
 payment to the English forces. The Black Prince soon 
 finding his army perishing by sickness, aiul his own 
 constitution undermined from the insalubrity of the 
 climate, returned in a state of great dissafisfiiction to 
 Guienne.*" 
 
 P. — Though these affairs relate personally to the 
 Prince of Wales, I do not see their connection . with 
 English history. 
 
 A, — Another link of the chain will reach the point 
 The expenses incurred by this undertaking having in- 
 volved the Prince of Wales in great embarrassment, 
 he was compelled to levy taxes on his newly-acquired 
 provinces, which the people resenting, carried their 
 complaints to the King of France, as their liege lord, 
 who shutting his eyes against the provisions of the 
 treaty of Bretigni, by which his father renounced all 
 claim of homage and fealty for Guienne and the ceded 
 provinces, boldly summoned Prince Edward to nppear 
 before a court of his peers at Paris, to be judged as a 
 rebellious vassal; the Prince replied, that he would 
 
 PEDRO THE CRUEL. 
 
 I Os * 
 
 come indeed, liul it should be with a helmet on liis 
 head, mid with an army of sixty thousand men;* a 
 threiii wliicli lii^ declining health permitted him not to 
 execute. 
 
 P. — The Black Prince having engaged in Pedro's 
 affairs, with which he had evidently no business, we do 
 not very much sympathise with his disappointment. 
 
 A. — I'hough Pedro was a profligate tyrant, he was 
 nevertheless a legitimate sovereign ; a sufficient excuse 
 in that age, and indeed in some others, for affording 
 him support : he was however ultimately defeated and 
 slain by his brother Henry, who, though a bastard, 
 transmitted the crown of Castile to his posterity. The 
 French king, in addition to the insult offered to the 
 Black Prince, refused to pay what was still due of his 
 father's ransom; thinking it more to the purpose to 
 expel his foes with iron than to assist them with gold. 
 
 F. — Such had been the extreme and unprovoked in- 
 juries which the English had exercised against France, 
 that politicians, if not moralists, will extenuate the 
 conduct of Charles on this occasion. 
 
 A. — Edward, exceedingly incensed, again renewed 
 hostilities, and reassumed the vain title of King of 
 France. But, behold the fortune of war ! The Black 
 Prince being compelled to return on account of his 
 illness, all the possessions, acquired with the w^aste of 
 so much blood and treasure, gradually slipped away 
 Irom the grasp of the conqueror ; and though many ex- 
 pensive expeditions were fitted out for their recovery, 
 not one succeeded, chiefly from the talents and exer- 
 tions of Bertrand du Guesclin, who now commanded 
 the French armies, and who seems to have been the 
 first consummate general which had yet appeared in 
 
 ■ Froissnrt. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 Walsingham. 
 
 » Froissart. 
 
160 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Europe. Thus not only all Edwani s new ronquc^i<, 
 except Calais, but all his aiu ieat possessions in France, 
 except Bayonnc and Bonrdeaux, were wrested from his 
 hands.* 
 
 F.— The remainder of Ed\vard\s reign was like an 
 insipid fifth act of a lively and l)nstlinir drama, in which 
 the catastrophe ill accords with the expectations ex- 
 cited at the beginning: witli the loss of his provinces 
 abroad, Edward felt the decay of anthority at home, 
 and experienced how great is the influence of present 
 fortune upon the judgment of the people, 
 
 ^•— Yet, in justitication of the people, we may 
 safely conclude, that nothing but success could have 
 biassed the understanding in favour of Edward's ruin- 
 ous and unreasonable claim. But what said the parlia- 
 ment to these disasters ? of whose voice amidst the din 
 of arms and conquest we have lately heard but little. 
 
 A. — In no reign were parliaments more frequently 
 assembled, the exigencies of the monarch standing in 
 need of continual supplies, in return for which he con- 
 sented to the enactment of some salutary laws : during 
 the reign of Edward, no fewer than seventy parliaments^ 
 were summoned ; but sometimes he called together only 
 a great council. The separation of the knights of the 
 shire from the barons, and their permanent union with 
 the burgesses (1343,) is a remarkable epoch ; the con- 
 stitution beginning evidently to assume a well-defined 
 model of that mixed form of government which it has 
 since maintained. 
 
 F.— This united body of the Commons originally 
 assembled in the chapter-house of Westminster. The 
 present chapel of St. Stephen s was built by Edward 
 the Third, as an adjunct to his palace; and he esta- 
 
 Walsingbam. Froissart. 
 
 *» DiigdaU', Summons to Viul. 
 
 STATUTES OF PROVISORS. 
 
 101 
 
 blished a collegiate body, whirh being dissolved at the 
 refonnutHHi, the building was then appropriated and 
 has ever since continued the place of sitting of the 
 House of Commons.* 
 
 A, — Tlic Parliament of 1351 acquired the appella- 
 tion of ' blessed,' '^ for passing the statute defining and 
 limitinir the crime of treason to the three heads of con- 
 spiring the dcatli of the king, levying war against him, 
 and adhering to his enemies ; Avhich heads it would 
 have been as w ell had they never been increased. 
 
 F. — \\ ho would not suppose that a law of such 
 immense importance would appear as a conspicuous 
 landmark in the statute book; instead of which it is 
 inserted merely as a clause in the statute of provisors,^ 
 regulatini: the intercourse of the clergy with the see 
 of Home. 
 
 A. — A second statute of provisors,*^ equally just 
 and popular, was passed, which rendered it penal to 
 procure any presentation of ecclesiastical benefices 
 from the court of Rome, or to carry any cause by ap- 
 peal to that tribunal: the punishment for such offences, 
 though it was oflcn evaded, was subsequently called a 
 .prcenmnire, from a barbarous corruption of prcBinoneri, 
 J to admonish,' the chief w^ord in the writ; and it was 
 exceedingly severe, extending to the loss of goods and 
 lands, and to perpetual imprisonment. The parliament 
 at this period was excessively angry with the papal 
 power, and asserted that the usurpations of the Pope 
 were the cause of all the plagues, famine, injury, and 
 poverty of the kingdom;' and it supported Edward to 
 resist all i'urther claim from Home, on account of the 
 
 1 
 
 Stow, 
 
 Survey. 
 
 1) 
 
 Coke, Inst. 3. 
 
 « 25 
 
 Edw. 
 
 Ill, 
 
 1 
 
 27 Ed 
 
 w.IIl. 
 
 e 
 
 Cotton's Abridgmout. 
 
 
 
 
 I VOL. 
 
 II, 
 
 - 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
162 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DEATH OF THE BLACK PRINCE. 
 
 163 
 
 tribute to which King* John had so i<^iininiiuuiLNl\ sub- 
 jected the kin^ah)m. 
 
 F. — These were acts oT the two honses of parlia- 
 ment : but the Commons having acquii( d a marked 
 nnd separate importance at the end ol' this reign, chose 
 their first speaker, Sir Thomas Ilnngerford. There is 
 indeed an opinion afloat, that Sir Peter de la Mare w as 
 the first speaker, and that he was not chosen till the 
 first parliament of Richard the Second ; but the record 
 expressly mentions, '' Monsieur Thomas de Hunger- 
 ford, qui avoit les paroles pur les Communes d'Angle- 
 terre en c'est parlement" (1377).* 
 
 A. — The lower house <rave an early symptom of its 
 nascent power : for becoming extremely discontented with 
 the grievous impositions and expense occasioned by the 
 French wars, the inutility of which was now sufficiently 
 manifest, it impeached Lord Latimer,'^ the chamberlain, 
 on the ground of embezzling the revenue ; and w hat 
 must have been felt as more mortifying to so haughty 
 a spirit as Edward's, the Connnons presumed to cen- 
 sure his domestic conduct. At the death ol' Queen 
 Philippa (1369), who appears to have been an exem- 
 plary princess,*^ and every way worthy of the long hap- 
 piness which she enjoyed, this monarch, in the decline 
 of life, began to indulge in a course of pleasure entirely 
 inconsistent with his former character: Alice Peres,*^ or 
 Perrers,^ a married lady attendant on the late (lueeii, 
 having by her beauty and address acquired a complete 
 ascendancy over him, carried her ellVontery to such an 
 extent as to sit on the bench and dictate to the judges.' 
 Her avarice w\as unbounded, and tlie king thought only 
 of procuring her diversions and pleasure : at a tourna- 
 ment held in her honour at Smithfield, she appeared by 
 
 I 
 
 1^ 
 
 '• I 
 
 his ^ide, as the Indv of the sun, in a triumphal chariot, 
 attended by many ladies of quality, each leading a 
 
 kniglit l)y his horse's bridle.'' 
 
 r-— In life's last scenes what prodigies surprise ! 
 
 ^\ lio could recognize the conqueror of Crecy in this 
 picture of an infatuated dotard? 
 
 A. — The remonstrances of parliament were urged 
 w ith such effect, that Mistress Alice was for the present 
 cashiered from court,^ which soon, as w ell as the na- 
 tion, became overspread with the utmost melancholy, 
 on account of the death of the Prince of Wales (June 
 8, 137(1), in the forty-sixth year of his age,^ from a lin- 
 gering decline, the foundation of' which was laid in his 
 Spanish camj)aign. Edward's person is not described 
 by contemporary writers ; but his character has ever 
 Ijcen the theme of veneration. 
 
 F. — An effigy of gilt copper of the Black Prince 
 remains on his tomb at Canterbury, from which an 
 engraving was made by Vertuc, and Edward appears 
 as a fine martial figure. There is also an ancient pic- 
 ture, which Mr. Walpole"^ thought contemporaneous. 
 It originally came from Betchworth Castle, and is now 
 in the possession of the Onslow family : it represents 
 the prince in black armour, embossed with gold ; he 
 wears a hat with a white feather, but seems pale and 
 emaciated w ith sickness.*" 
 
 A. — The Black Prince is the hero, beyond all others, 
 after Alfred, at least of royal birth, whom the English 
 people hold in most esteem ; brave, w ithout fierceness, 
 modest and alfable, ever respectful to his father, whom 
 he never once disol)liged, generous, liberal, pleased 
 
 » Rot. Pari. 51 Edw. IIJ. 
 ^ Walsinij'hani. 
 
 ^ Cotton's Ahridg. "^ W:ilsinL,^ham. 
 
 • Hoi. l\irl. 1 iach.II. *' W^albini^liam. 
 
 Stow, Stnrvev. 
 
 A need, of Painting. 
 
 ^ W^alsingliam. 
 
 • Anti([. Repert, vol. 3. 
 
 M 2 
 
 Ibid. 
 
1 G 1 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 with rewarding merit wherever he found it, lie wanted 
 no quality to dignify and adorn the must exalted sta- 
 tion, not oulv in tliat semi-barbarous age, l)uf in the 
 most shinins: period of ancient or modern history. 
 
 p^ — If it be supposed that the precepts and i)rinci- 
 ples of chivalry had any thing to do with the formation 
 of so perfect a character, you have mnvittingly passed 
 upon the institution a most splendid panegyric. 
 
 .4. — It must be owned that the virtues of chivalry 
 were somewhat capriciously exercised. Edward parti- 
 cularly resenting tlie defection of the tov/n of Limoges 
 from the English sway, delivered it up to plunder and 
 slaughter, resisting with the completest apathy ihe 
 tears, cries, and despairing agonies of the women and 
 children, who fell at his feet for mercy; but after the 
 slaughter of three thousand persons, by chance dis- 
 cerning three French knigh.ls who had stopped the pro- 
 gress of his soldiers by incredible efl'orts, he became so 
 moved with the sight of their bravery, that he gave 
 immediate orders to cease the carnage/ 
 
 P. — Perhaps this incident ojight to be considered as 
 a scene got u}) for tlie occasion by Froissart, like the 
 story of the burgesses of Calais. 
 
 A, — The death of tlic Prince of Wales was taken 
 so bitterly to heart by the old kir.g, that it was sup- 
 posed to shorten his days.^ The Captal de Buche, also 
 a renowned warrior, and companion in arms to the 
 prince, Avas so overwhelmed with grief that lie relused 
 all nourishment, and speedily ibllowed his beloved 
 master to the grave. 
 
 P. — What is the meaning of that strange appella- 
 tion, the Captal de Buche? 
 
 F. — Buche is a castle in Acjuilaine, the lord of 
 
 DfiATII OF EDWARD 111. 
 
 1(J3 
 
 which affected the title of captal, from capitalist as of 
 somewhat higher rank than a count. 
 
 A. — Edward, feeling the decline of his strength, and 
 fearful of leaving his successor Richard, son to the Black 
 Prince, now of the age of ten years, involved in the 
 war, desired to obtain terms of peace with France, but 
 had the mortilication of being refused.* Worn out with 
 anxiety, this ^^ mighty victor, mighty lord," expired at 
 Shene," in Surrey, in the G5th year of his age, June 21, 
 
 1 >//. 
 
 p.— 
 
 Low on the funeral couch he Ties ; 
 No pitying heart, no eye afford 
 A tear to grace his obsequies. 
 
 A. — This observation of the poet was occasioned 
 by the shameful desertion of the monarch in his last 
 moments. Being intrusted to the care of Alice Peres, 
 tliat Jezebel, on tlie morning of his dissolution, drew 
 the rings from his lingers and departed from the palace. 
 A priest approachini^ the chamber, found Edward yet 
 sensible, but speechless, when presenting to him a 
 crucilix, the dying king kissed the sacred emblem, 
 wept, and expired. = 
 
 F.— The first forty years of Edward's reign were a 
 rare example of human felicity, as well in domestic as 
 in public life; but its latter part was peculiarly clouded 
 with the infirmities and weaknesses of age: nor did 
 fortune, as with Augustus, remain till the close. 
 
 A. — Valiant and munificent, of a majestic presence, 
 tall, strong, and active, of an engaging address and 
 agreeable countenance,"* Edward commanded the respect 
 as well as secured tlie affections of his subjects. In 
 the leading features of his character he much resembled 
 
 • Froijuwtrt. 
 
 Polydorc Vergil. 
 
 * Froissart, ^ Rvmer, vol. 7. * Vv'a1?in,2ham. 
 
 d Ibir] 
 
lO'li 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 his grandfather, Edward the First, without pei1.ap8 
 possessing quite l!ie s;une solidity of judgment. TTiss 
 wars in France,, purely the result ol ;n!il)iuun, were 
 the actions of his life which most deserved hlamc; 
 but from the indulgence usually shown to conquerors, 
 have most contributed to his renown: tluy were not 
 only unjust, but unprolitable ; their success above all 
 things was that which the English nation Invd most 
 
 cause to deprecate. 
 
 F.-The nation does not appear to have increased 
 in wealth durin- this Ion- reign: at its beginnin-, the 
 commerce of the kingdom with the French provinces, 
 Guienne and Gascony, was so considerable, (hat two 
 hundred English ships were sometimes seen together in 
 the harbour of Bourdeuux;' but before its conclusion, 
 frequent complaints were made of the decay ol' ship- 
 ping, which to remedy, an act was passed hi iH^l, tliat 
 merdiants should freight none but English %essels, 
 under the penalty of forfeiting all the goods so em- 
 barked; but it was soon found that this act could not 
 be executed without diminishing trade, and conse- 
 quently the next year allowance was granted for mer- 
 chants to freight foreign vessels when they could not 
 
 procure English. • 
 
 ^ _This statute, 5 Richard II. c. 3, seems to be 
 the first navigation act passed in England; but its 
 speedy repeal proves that it was an inadequate remedy 
 to the grievance complained of. 
 
 F.— Judge Blackstone calls it a wise provision ; but 
 
 how it could be wise, or equitable, or usei'iil, to prohibit 
 
 all foreign ships iVoiu eutcring English ports, or if tliey 
 
 came, to refuse freighting them, \ am at a loss to 
 
 comprehend; antl therefore 1 set this opinion down 
 
 » Barnes, Hibt. Edw. HI. 
 
 BISHOP BLAISE^ 
 
 
 amongst the numerous anilities of the celebrated com- 
 mentator. 
 
 A. — To Edward the English are indebted for the 
 introrluction of the woollen manufactory, though with 
 much contention and opposition of his subjects; for 
 observing the prodigious wealth and power of the 
 towns in Flanders from their extensive trade, he en- 
 couraged foreign artificers, who had no stock but great 
 skill, to settle in England ; and several manufactories 
 in various i)laces were thus established.* 
 
 P. — That of Norwich particularly, the patron saint 
 of which was Bishop Blaise, though who he w^as I am 
 totally ignorant. 
 
 F. — Blaise is supposed to have been a bishop of 
 Sebasta, in Cappadocia, and to have suflered martyr- 
 dom under the persecution of Diocletian: before he 
 was beheaded, his flesh was torn from his bones by 
 iron combs, which circumstance alone has made him the 
 allegorical patron of the woolcombers. Having once 
 relieved a boy that had a fish bone stuck in his throat, 
 he was also much invoked for the cure of the quinsey.^ 
 
 A. — From a remarkable record in the Exchequer, 
 which has been often published,^ we are informed that 
 the amount of the exports of the kingdom in ]354 was 
 294,184 pounds, and the imports 38,970 : the exports con- 
 sisted almost entirely of the four staple commodities of 
 the kingdom, w ool, leather, lead, and tin ; the imports 
 were chiefly fine cloth, linens, wine, and groceries. But 
 notsvithstanding this great balance, the nation heavily 
 complained of the general poverty; for which it is diffi- 
 cult to account, unless we suppose that a large part 
 of the commodities exported were extorted from the 
 owners, for the service of the king. 
 
 » Rymer, vol. i. ^ Dr. Peggc, Gent. Magaz. 1/73. 
 
 • Anderson, Hi^t. of Commerce, vol. I. 
 
VKSTIGIA. 
 
 F.— That Edward, notwitlistandino' the restrictive 
 statutes, made an arbitrary use of his prero^^ative, is 
 apparent, from various remonstrances oi parliament 
 during the whole of his reiun. 
 
 A.~Yct Sir Matthew Hale represents the law as 
 receiving great improvements under EdwanFs govern- 
 ment: '' The pleadings," says he, '' having neither uncer- 
 tainty, prolixity, or obscuritv/' 
 
 P- — Eheu quantum innlatus! 
 
 F.— But however excollciit might he tlie state of the 
 law, the police of the kin^'dom was misenihle : (lie King 
 of Cyprus' was at oiic time rol>bed and stri])ped on the 
 highway, with all his retinue; and at anotlur time two 
 cardinals shared tiie same fate. 
 
 i4.— The attention oi' the great men being (nrnrd 
 from domestic faction to foreign war, lelt tiie kin-dom 
 in a state of internal tranquillity; and (Ids was the sole 
 advantage which it derived from Edward's and»ition, 
 unless indeed, by having plu.-sged him in debt, it ren- 
 dered him more dependent on parliament, which wreslrd 
 from his necessities the abolition or regulation of several 
 feudal grievances. To a lover of constitutional antiqui- 
 ties, therefore, no period of ancient English history is 
 better worth studying, as he will sec the Conmions, by 
 gradual advances, securing their inqiortance in the 
 state. Tlie validity of tlie great charter became now 
 universally acknowledged, wiiicli bound the kingly au- 
 thority within some limits; and though the powers of 
 each branch of the govermnent were inaccurately known 
 and irregularly exercised, yet we may clearly trace the 
 budding of that early scion, which has since so nobly 
 expanded into a glorious tree of constitutional freedom. 
 
 * Walsinijham. 
 
 -» 
 
 RICHARD U. 
 
 \m 
 
 DISSERTATION IX. 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Richard II. - - 
 
 — 1377. 
 
 /r _„_]S[oTiiiNG is more striking in the early history 
 of England, than the extreme contrast so often presented 
 in conliguuus reigns. What can be more dissimilar to 
 the sunshine of the days of Edward the Third, than the 
 clouds and tempests which darkened the horizon of his 
 unhappy grandson: 
 
 Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, 
 
 Whik^ proudly riding o'er the azure realm, 
 
 In gallant trim, the gilded vessel goes. 
 
 Youth on the prow, and pleasure at the helm ; 
 
 Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway. 
 
 That, hushed in grim repose, expects his evening prey. 
 
 yl._^ye have another illustration of the misfortunes 
 of this monarch from the pen of honest John Stow, 
 which, if not so poetical as Mr. Gray's, contains a very 
 true explanation of their origin: 
 
 The foolish council of the lewd 
 
 And young he did receive ; 
 And grave advice of aged heads 
 
 He did reject and leave. 
 
 Richard acceded to the crown in his eleventh year; 
 his coronation was performed with extraordinary cere- 
 mony, expense, and magnificence. 
 
 p^ — On tliis occasion we first find mention of a 
 champion/ wlu) was Sir John Dymock; but the office 
 is certainly of an older date, the manor of Scrivelsby, 
 in Lincolnshire, having been held by the lamily of Mar- 
 
 » Waljingham. 
 
p 
 
 170 
 
 VEhilGlA. 
 
 mion, whose lieircss Sir John had innrried, on I fie 
 service of otliciatiiig as champion oi Eiigland at the 
 coronation.^ We are also told tluit the lord steward, 
 marshal^ and constable, rode up and down \\ csluiinster 
 Hall on their chargers, to preserve order.** 
 
 P. — So mere a boy as Richard could not of course 
 pretend to direct the reins of power. 
 
 A. — As the late king had k'it no plan of government 
 during the minority of his grandson, it l)ecame neces- 
 sary for parliament to supply this defect; and the liouse 
 of commons interfered on this occasion, by peliticming 
 the lords to choose a council of regency/ a remarkable 
 proof of the importance wiiich that liouse had now 
 acquired in the constitution. Nine persons of distinction 
 were accordingly chosen; and the authority ol" the king's 
 three uncles repressed for a wliiie the turbulence of the 
 nobility, which a weak reign was sure to engender. 
 
 F. — These three princes were themselves supposed 
 to entertain ambitious designs, though at this period 
 perhaps mijustly. John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, 
 was unpopular, of haughty manners, and not of a very 
 enterprising disposition; Edmund of Langley, duke of 
 York, was of slender capacity, indolent, and easy; 
 Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, was bold, 
 turbulent, and designing, but being the youngest of the 
 family he had less authority. 
 
 A. — The government w as thus carried on in tolerable 
 tranquillity, but the situation of England was far from 
 favourable: the useless, if not pernicious, nature of 
 Edward's French conquests w as now become apparent ; 
 the nation w^as involved in a burdensome war, which 
 could answer no beneficial purpose; and in order to 
 furnish the expenses of various armaments and expedi- 
 
 POLL-TAX. 
 
 171 
 
 " Camden. 
 
 ^ W^il.Mnghain. 
 
 * Pari. Hii^t. vol. 1 
 
 tions, wli'c h ( nded in nothing, parliament imposed (in 
 i:}7f)) a sort oi property-tax, in proportion to the rank 
 and wealth of the different classes of the community : 
 a duke was rated at six pounds thirteen shillings and 
 fourpence ; an earl at four pounds ; barons and knights, 
 two pounds; esquires, one pound; a judge, five pounds; 
 sergeants, two pounds ; mayor of London, four pounds ; 
 aldermen, two pounds ; merchants, thirteen shillings and 
 fourpence; smaller tradesmen, from six shillings and 
 eightpence to sixpence/ This tax being equitable was 
 not complained of; but thougli productive it was inef- 
 ficient for the supply required ; and the next year par- 
 liament imposed a poll-tax of three groats on every 
 person al)o\e liiteen years of age,^ a sum more than 
 e((uivalent to a guinea of the present day. The injustice 
 of which imposition, though it was directed that the 
 opulent should relieve the more indigent, is apparent; 
 and it produced the most remarkable and extensive 
 insurrection ever kiiown in England. 
 
 p^ — Some successful recent examples of the pea- 
 santry, both in France and Flanders," rising against 
 their oppressors, tended much to increase the prevailing 
 
 ferment. 
 
 ^._lhe tenure by villenage was felt in England as 
 a heavy grievance; and the soldiers who had retired 
 from the French wars, could ill brook the condition of 
 bondsmen to their ibrmer lords. This insurrection 
 seems first to have begun at the village of Fobbing, 
 near Brentwood, in Essex, where the mob broke into a 
 priory, drank up three tuns of wine, and devoured all 
 the victuals.^ The discontent extending itself to the 
 neighbouring counties, an incident presently occurred 
 at Dartford, in Kent, which led to a regular organization 
 of the insurgents. A collector of the tax entering the 
 
 « riar. Pari, vol.3. ^ Walsingbam. . « Froissart. ^ Stow, Annals. 
 
\ 
 
 172 
 
 VKSi iCiA. 
 
 house of ii tiler, indecently seized his daughter, wlioni her 
 mother asserted to be beknv the age assigned ; and such 
 brutality, it seems, was common.^ The people being 
 inflamed at the conduct of this niffian, the conimofion 
 reached the ears of the lather, who was at his work 
 tiling a house; when catching his " latliing-stalV in his 
 hand, he ran reeking home; and being informed of the 
 insult, he smote the collector with snch violence, that 
 his brains flew out of his head."'' The neighbours 
 applauding the deed, exclaimed that it was time (o 
 take vengeance on their tyrants, and tliey imujcdiately 
 flew to arms (1381). A hundred thousand men s])eedily 
 collected on Blackheath, under the guidance of leaders, 
 who assumed the names of Wat T\ler, Jack Straw,' 
 Jack Siiepherd, Hob Carter, Tom Miller, and their 
 appearance became extrcmeh formidable. 
 
 F.— An enumeration of (lie leaders in a Latin ])()eni 
 by Gower, their eonteniporary, in his '' Vo\ Chunantis," 
 does not rival in dignity the eataloguc ol' llonter or 
 Virgil's heroes : 
 
 Watte vocat, ciiiii Thomae vcnit, neque Synmie retanlat, 
 
 Batto(jue, Gibbcquc, biiuul Hykke venire jubent ; 
 Colle furit, quern Robbe jnvat, nociiinenta parantes, 
 
 Cum quibMs ad dainnmn, Wille coire vovit. 
 ^Vat cries, Tom flies, nor Symkhi steps aside. 
 
 And Bat, and Gib, and Hyke they summon loud; 
 Colin and Bob combustibles provide, 
 
 And Will destruction tbreatenb to the crowd. 
 
 A,—\ seditions priest, John Ball, who was invi- 
 diously said to he tainted with Wieklilit's heresies,^ 
 but who was rather the precursor' than the follower of 
 that reformer, preached to the assembled nuiltitudc froin 
 the well-known distich, 
 
 When Adam delved and Eve span, 
 Wlio was then the gentleman ? « 
 
 WAT TYLERS INSURRECTION. 
 
 173 
 
 In his sermon he descanted on the natural equality of 
 mankind, the tyranny of artificial distinctions, and on 
 other topics well calculated to inflame the discontented 
 audience. At this juncture the Princess of Wales 
 appeared with her retinue, on her return from a pil- 
 griiiiage to Canterbury; she happily eluded insult by 
 her address; and a few kisses,^ forced from the once 
 Fair Maid of Kent, secured her the protection of the 
 leaders. The insurgents now sent a message to the 
 king, by Sir John Newton, a knight whom they had 
 taken prisoner, and a conference was appointed; but 
 on the next day, as Richard approached in his barge to 
 Rotherhithe, they set up, says Froissart, such shouts 
 and cries as if all the devils in hell had been in their 
 company, which so frightened the courtiers, particularly 
 Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, that he persuaded 
 Richard not to trust himself with such unshod ribalds,^ 
 but to return immediately to the tower. The seditious 
 peasants, proceeding to the metropolis, entered the city 
 over the bridge: at tirst they conducted themselves ^\ith 
 order, but in a few days committed the most horrible 
 excesses. 
 
 F, — Popular licence in all ages is nearly the same; 
 but some particulars depict the manners of the times : 
 every man whom tlie insurgents met they asked, ^^With 
 whom boldest thou?'' and unless he gave the proper 
 answer, '' With King Richard and the Commons," they 
 struck off his head.' The mol) had a peculiar enmity to 
 the Flemings,'^ whom they compelled, as a test of their 
 country, to pronounce the words "bread and cheese," 
 wliich if they at all deviated into ' brot,* or ' cawse,'" 
 they were instantly put to death. 
 
 • Knviihton. 
 '' Wa]}?ingham. 
 
 ^' Stow, from the Liber St. Alban. 
 '^ Knyghton. « Walsingham. 
 
 * Froissart, 
 « Stow. 
 
 ^ Discallgatos ribaldos. Walsin^hani. 
 * Knyghton. * Stow. 
 
174 
 
 \ i:*< TIGIA. 
 
 p. — These delicate purists remind us of the Attic 
 herbwoman, who detected Theophrastus tor a stranger 
 by his dialect. 
 
 A. — The insurgents bore a great dislike to the Duke 
 of Lancaster, to whom they attributed the imposition 
 of the poll-tax ; they first plundered <ind then burned 
 his palace in the Savoy, at that time the most magnifi- 
 cent dwelling in the kingdom. Avery horrible anecdote 
 is related, that thirty-two of the mol), having got into 
 the cellar where the sweet wines lay, drank so much 
 that they w^ere not able to iind their way out, and tlie 
 falling stones and burning wood afterward impeding 
 their regress, they were heard for several days together, 
 by many persons, shouting and crying, but none went 
 to their relief, and they all finally perished.^ The 
 Tower now became the chief object of attention, and 
 the king held a council in that fortress, at which it was 
 agreed that he should meet the insurirents on Mile End 
 Green and hear their complaints.^ 
 
 F. — Their comphunts were no doubt reasonable 
 enough, had they been urged in a reasonable manner. 
 
 A. — They demanded the abolition of tenure by vil- 
 lenage, the reduction of rents, free liberty of buying 
 and selling in fairs and markets, with a pardon for past 
 oflences : with these requests the khig complied and 
 signed a charter to that eOect : this party of the insur- 
 gents then dispersed, satisfied with these conditions-/ 
 but Wat Tyler and Jack Straw had more ambitious 
 designs. During the absence of the king another body 
 of the rebels broke into the Tower, ransacked every 
 part of it, notwithstanding it contained a garrison of 
 six hundred men, drove out the king's mother, and 
 murdered Sir Robert Hales, the chancellor, and Simon 
 
 DEATH OF TYLER. 
 
 175 
 
 » Knygliton. 
 
 ♦» Froissart:. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Sudbury, tlie primate, a prelate of virtue and munifi- 
 cence, but whom the insurgents hated for his advising 
 Richard not to trust himself in their hands at Black- 
 heath.* The next day the king himself, passing through 
 Smithfield very slenderly guarded^ was met by Wat 
 Tyler at the head of these rioters : the celebrated con- 
 ference which took place has been variously related ; 
 the more probable account is, that Tyler, in a conver- 
 sation with the king, approached so near the royal 
 person as to lay his hand on the king's bridle, and by 
 the motion of his dagger^ gave so much alarm to 
 William Walworth, the lord mayor of London, that 
 he plunged his sword into the rebel's throat: Tyler, 
 spurring his horse, rode about a dozen yards, and fall- 
 ing to the ground, was despatched by one of the king s 
 attendants.'' 
 
 F. — This was surely a most imprudent action, to 
 call it by the mildest appellation, which, though it has 
 been memorized l)y the addition of the dagger to the 
 arms of the city of London, exposed the whole party 
 to the danger of instant destruction. 
 
 A. — Which in all probability they would not have 
 escaped, had it not been for the singular presence of 
 mind in Richard, who, seeing the irritated countenances 
 of the rebels, and that their bows were bent, galloping 
 up to them, exclaimed, "^ What are ye doing, my 
 men? Tvlcr was a traitor: come with me, and I 
 will be your leader l""^ The rioters followed him to 
 the open fields, where they were met by a veteran 
 force ; but Richard with great humanity prevented his 
 soldiers from offering them any injury, and they were 
 dismissed with the same promises and charters as had 
 been granted to their fellows on Mile End Green-/ and 
 
 * Walbiugliani. ^ Knygbton. * Ibid, ^ Walsinghaui. * Froissart. 
 
17Ci 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 thus ended this formidable insurrection, whicli at one 
 period threatened absolute destruction to the govern- 
 ment, as the rebels meant, it was pretended, to nnirder 
 all the nobility, and gentry, and lawyers, in the land/ 
 
 f\ — Thuugii the conditions of reconcilement were 
 shamefully eluded by revoking t!ie charters,^ in justice 
 to the young king be it observed, that it was his inten- 
 tion to liillil his promise, but parliament would not 
 consent to the manumission of the tenants from the 
 yoke of villenage." We may judge of the liberality of 
 these high-minded nobles, from their absolutely ])eti- 
 tioning Richard, on a subse(iuent occasion, that no vil- 
 lain should be permitted to send his son to school/ 
 with which liberal request the Ling declined com- 
 plying. 
 
 P, — You give the appellation of Lord Mayor to 
 William Walworth, which title, as it occurs for the fust 
 time, 1 suppose was recently bestowed. 
 
 F, — The time or the occasion when the chief magis- 
 trate of the city of London received this important 
 addition to his dignity, most strange to say, is not men- 
 tioned in any charter, nor recorded by any historian. 
 Tn the year 1354 the city sergeants, by a charter, yet 
 extant, from Edward the Third, were permitted to carry 
 maces of gold or silver before the mayor/ This is pe- 
 culiar to the city of London, a royal precept having 
 expressly commanded all other corporations not to use 
 maces of any other metal than copper/ it is i)roI)alile 
 therefore that at that period (1354,) the title of l^ord 
 Mayor was first conferred. 
 
 A, — The remains of the insurrection, particularly 
 Norfolk, were put down by Henry Spencer, the martial 
 
 •* Walisinirham. 
 
 ^ Rvmer, vol. 7 
 
 ^ Plac. Parl.5 Rich. IF. 
 
 d Rot. Pari. i:> Rich. 11. 
 * Cotton's AbridiT. 
 
 « Maitlincl, Hist. London, vol. 1. 
 
 SIR ROBERT TRESIMAN. 
 
 
 bishop of Norwich.^ As the insurgents rose at the 
 same time in various places, they acted probably under 
 the direction of some acknowledged, though invisible, 
 leaders; indeed the king's uncles themselves were far 
 from being unsuspected. The people thus reduced to 
 their former condition, several of the ringleaders, v/ith 
 a large number of the rebels, to the amount of fifteen 
 liundnMl,^ were tried and executed, chiefly at the insti- 
 gation of the chief justice, Sir Robert Tresilian,^ who 
 performed his commission with the same revolting ala- 
 crity as Judge Jefleries at a later period. 
 
 P. — As this nuigistrate's name happily rliymes to 
 villain, it has been thus handed down by the caustic 
 muse of Swift, who parallels it witli a tyrannical judge 
 of his own age : 
 
 A wicked monster on the bench, 
 Whoso fury blood could never quench ; 
 As vile and profligate a villain 
 As modern Scroggs or old Tresiiian. 
 
 A. — The conduct of a youth hke Richard, not fifteen 
 years of age, who discovered in such a trying emergency 
 so much presence of mind, address, and courage, ex- 
 cited the expectation of a reign as illustrious as the 
 preceding; but as the king advanced in years these 
 hopes vanished, and much want of judgment appeared 
 in all his conduct: his education was neglected, and 
 his andiitious uncles, pursuing their own designs, left 
 him in the hands of young persons of frivolous charac- 
 ter, who corrupted his mind with flattery, and inspired 
 him with the love of empty pomp and pleasure ; he 
 became vain, voluptuous, and extravagant; a general 
 feeling of discontent arose in the nation, which an ill- 
 
 * Walsingham. 
 \ UL. II. 
 
 ^ Froissart. 
 
 N 
 
 * Knyghton. 
 
178 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 comliicted expo(1ition against So'luir. tmJed mucii 
 
 to increase. 
 
 p.__13oth in cliaractcr and sitnatinn Tlicliard bore 
 a considerable resemblance to the uuronmialc Kdward 
 
 the Second. 
 
 A.— lie too had also a lavoiirito, llobert do Vcre, 
 earl of Oxford, a young nobleman of much beauty of 
 person, but of dissolute manners. The kins: set so little 
 bounds to his affection as to create Dc \'ere Marquis 
 of Dublin (138G), a title before unknown in laiglaud, 
 and afterwards Duke of Ireland, with the entire sove- 
 reignty for life of that kin-dom.'' This prolusion ol 
 honours excited the jealousy of the priiucs of the 
 blood and the chief nobility, and they inunediately 
 conspired, by the aid of parliament, to produce his 
 
 ruin . 
 
 F,—De Vere seems to have been of the same class 
 
 of royal favourites as Gavestou and Spenser, whose 
 handsome person formed their chief recommendation. 
 Froissart calls him, " nn poupee, uho had seen notliing, 
 who had learnt nothing, and who had never bieu in 
 
 battle." 
 
 p._Proceeding in tlieir impeachment by tlie aid 
 of parliament, the accusers discover something of a 
 more apparent regard to the forms of law and the con- 
 stitution than the course pursued by the confederated 
 barons against Gaveston and the Spensers. 
 
 ^.—Parliament began the attack by impeaching 
 Michael de la Pole, carl of SuiVolk, the chancellor; and 
 though the charges were extremely frivolous,-^ the king 
 was ultimately compelled to deprive him of his office, 
 though at first Richard had the imprudence to declare 
 that °he would not, to gratify the parliament, turn out 
 
 • Froissart. 
 
 ^ Wnlsing-ham. 
 
 « Cotton's Abridtrm. 
 
 APPOINTMENT OF A REGENCY. 
 
 i7U 
 
 tiip meanest srnllion from his kitchen;* a eoBiempt 
 \v!u( h proved extremely injurious to his interests, as, 
 under the direction of the tur1)ulent Gloucester, a com- 
 mission of regency was appointed (1386), consisting 
 of i'u 111 teen persons,^ who were to exercise the govern- 
 ment, and thus for the present was the king virtually 
 dethroned. 
 
 F, — But as Richard luid not yet reached his majo- 
 rity, it does not appear that this commission, though 
 dangerous, was absolutely unconstitutional or illegal. 
 
 A, — Tt is difficult to say what age constituted ma- 
 jority in the ancient kings of England, as it was a 
 maxim in law' that the king was never a minor, and in 
 the case of Richard the age of his majority had not 
 been declared by parliament. From subsequent events, 
 it would appear that the usual period of twenty-one years 
 was considered the standard. The disenthroned kin^ 
 soon found that his person was neglected and his court 
 deserted: solitude euuld not but be disagreeable to a 
 young prince fond of power, and still more fond of 
 pomp ; he accordingly took the opinion of the judges, 
 at Nottingham, on the illegality of the commission, 
 who, either influenced by the reason of the case, or 
 overawed by fear, declared that it was derogatory to 
 the royalty of the king, and that those who procured it 
 were worthy oi" capital punishment.** 
 
 F. — Tiierc is a story that one of these judges. Sir 
 Robert Belknap, having signed a declaration, upon a 
 threat of instant death, that the king was above the 
 law, said to Richard, '' Now 1 want nothing but a ship 
 or a nimble horse to convey me away; or rather a hal- 
 ter to give me the reward that I deserve for this treason 
 
 '* Knynfhton. 
 
 ^ Blarkstoiie, vol. 1. 
 
 ^ Stat. 10 Riohard II. 
 
 ^ Vpod Neust. Knyghtori. 
 
 V •> 
 
I? 
 
 180 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 against the land ; yet il' I had not done so. I had been 
 killed at your hands."^ 
 
 ^.— Such a story can scarcely be genuine, as the 
 answer of the judges, who were seven in ninnber, was 
 given in the presence of several bishops nnd others of 
 the council." But the Duke of Gloucester and his 
 party, having got intelligence of the transaction, as- 
 sembled forces and accused five persons concerned in 
 the affair of high treason: the Archbishop of York, 
 Sir Robert Tresilian, Sir Robert Brembrc, the Duke of 
 Ireland, and the Earl of Suffolk.^ The two latter es- 
 caped beyond sea, where they died a lew years after in 
 exile ; Tresilian and Bremljve were executed ; and the 
 prelate was saved by his sacred function alone. 
 
 F.— Though Richard continued his regard for the 
 Duke of Ireland, he never attempted to recal him from 
 exile. The favourite dying in W.)2 at Louvaine, from 
 a wound received whilst hunting the wild boar, the 
 body of this new Adonis was embalmed and brought, 
 three years after, to England: it was viewed by the 
 king with evident marks of the highest iilTcction, and 
 honoured with a sumptuous funeral.' 
 
 A.— The factious nobility in these prosecutions 
 Avere regardless even of the appearance of justice, since 
 an opinion delivered in council on the validity of a 
 very doubtful commission could scarcely be tortured 
 into treason. Several of the judges, with many other 
 persons, were banished ; and all this under sanction of 
 the two houses, which the favourers of the Duke of 
 Gloucester called the wonder-working, and his enemies 
 the merciless, parliament.* 
 
 p.—Was this subjection of the royal authority as 
 
 lasting as it was complete ? 
 
 • Knvshton. '■ ll.id. • Hiid. ' UaUingliam. 
 
 
 HOUSK OF BliAL'FORT. 
 
 181 
 
 
 A. — The power of Gloucester being founded on in- 
 justice, vanished as speedily as it arose; the triumph- 
 ant party was divested in a moment of that authority 
 which they had obtained vrith so much labour, and had 
 endeavoured to secure by shedding so much blood. In 
 a great council (May 8, 1389) the king asked his uncle 
 Gloucester to tell him his age : " Your highness/' the 
 duke replied, '^ is in your twenty-second year." "Then," 
 added Richard, '' I must certainly be old enough to 
 manage my own concerns: I have been longer under 
 the control of tutors than any ward in my dominions, 
 I thank you, my lords, for your past services, but do 
 not require them any longer."" So reasonable an opi- 
 nion no one^ had the courage to contradict, and Richard 
 exercised tlie royal auiliority with so nmch moderation 
 that the subsequent eight years produced no remark- 
 able events. 
 
 F, — This contrast is thought to have been influenced 
 by the Duke of Lancaster, who had now returned to 
 England from his vain pursuit of the crown of Castile, 
 in right of his second v/ife, Constance, lately deceased, 
 daughter of Pedro (he Cnu^l. 
 
 A. — Richard paid great court to this his eldest 
 uncle, by whom he had never been personally offended, 
 and whose temper was more moderate than Glouces- 
 ter's; and lie found an opportunity of o])liging the duke, 
 by passing an act in parliament legitimating his chil- 
 dren by Catherine Swyni'ord, which that lady had borne 
 him before marriage, and whom he had now espoused. »^ 
 
 F.— This family assumed the name of Bcaulbrt, and 
 had much influence on the future destiny of England. 
 Their crest was the ])ortcullis, which appears in such 
 profusion in all the buildings erected by the house of 
 
 • \\'Hli)inghani. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
182 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 Tudor, their descendants. The eldest sun uf the house 
 of Beaufort was created Earl of Somerset. 
 
 il.— Richard at the early age of sixteen had married 
 (1382,) the sister of the Emperor \\ incenslaus, whose 
 many virtues acquired for her tlie appellation of the 
 Good Queen Anne; but she is perhaps more celebrated 
 for having- introduced the use of side-saddles into Eng- 
 land, before which time the ladies rode astride like 
 
 men/ 
 
 P. — The wars which Richard inherited with his 
 
 crown 'still continued, with little vigour indeed, l)ut 
 with vast expense. An inroad of the Scots, called the 
 battle of Otterbourne, which led to no national result,^ 
 is chiefly remembered by posterity from its being con- 
 founded with the circumstances related in the celebrated 
 ballad of Chevy Chace, in which the two noblemen, 
 Douglas and Percy, are misrepresented as being both 
 
 slain on the field. 
 
 F.— The extensive popularity of that composition, 
 through the medium of the Spectator, has induced the 
 generality of readers to consider its narrative as founded 
 on fact : 
 
 The stout Earl of Northumbeilaiid 
 
 A vow to God did make, 
 His pleasure in the Scotish wood^^ 
 
 Three summer days to take. 
 
 With fifteen hundred bowmen bold 
 
 All chosen men of miuht, 
 Who knew full well, in time of need, 
 
 To aim their shafts aright. 
 
 » * ♦ * 
 
 *' Lo, yonder doth Karl Doutrlas come, 
 His men in armour bright ; 
 Full twenty hundred Scotish spears 
 All marrhiuLC in our sight." 
 
 V 
 
 h 
 
 «i 
 
 Stow. 
 
 ^' \\ ali-inyham. 
 
 BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 183 
 
 With that there came an arrow keen 
 
 Out of an English bow, 
 Which struck Earl Douglas to the heart 
 
 A deep and deadly blow. 
 
 The ballad goes on to relate also the death of Percy, 
 
 from the hand of Sir Hugh 3!ontgomerie : 
 
 Who past the English archers all. 
 
 Without all dread or fear, 
 And through Earl Percy's body then 
 
 He thnist his hateful spear. 
 
 But though Earl Douglas was slain in the affair of 
 Otterbourne, Percy and his brother Ralph were merely 
 taken prisoners, and were aftewards ransomed/ 
 
 A. — Such deeds of arms as Chevy Chace naturally 
 depict the manners of the l)order, and the rivalry of the 
 two potent lords marchers ; but one cannot a little regret 
 that any degree of poetic merit should distort the truth 
 of history. This ballad is of the age of Elizabeth, but 
 there are two others extant of the date of Henry the 
 Sixth, both in very uncouth language, one called the 
 Ancient Battle of Chevy Chace, the other the Battle of 
 Otterbourne; which latter nearly tells the story in the 
 same way as Froissart, who relates that James, earl of 
 Douglas, invaded Northumberland at the head of three 
 thousand men : whilst the Earl of Fife ravaged the 
 western border of England, Douglas penetrated to New- 
 castle, where Henry Hotspur, lord Percy, lay in gar- 
 rison. In a skirmish, or, as some affirm, in a personal 
 encounter, Percy's lance, with a pennon, was taken by 
 Douglas ; and the earl, shaking it aloft, swore he would 
 carry it as his spoil, and plant it on the walls of his 
 castle of Dalkeith. " That," answered Percy, '' shalt 
 (hou never do." And accordingly he made a night 
 attack on the Scotish camp at Otterbourne, thirty-two 
 
 Froissart. 
 
184 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 miles from Newcastle : a desperate action was fou2:f^t 
 by moonlight ; Douglas rushed into the tliickest of the 
 English force, armed with an iron mace ; but when 
 his followers came up, they found the ir heroic leader 
 stretched on the ground, with three mortal wounds; his 
 two squires lay dead by his side, and a priest with a 
 lance was protecting his master from further injury. 
 " I die," said the warrior, '' like my forefathers, in tlie 
 tield of battle, and not on a bed of sickness ; conceal 
 my death, defend my standard, and revenge my frill."* 
 
 F. — Froissart states, that victory rather inclined to 
 the Scots; and tlie same author gives no unpleasing 
 picture of the mutual esteem existing between the two 
 nations: '' The English and Scots,'' says he, '' are ex- 
 cellent men at arms, and when they meet in battle they 
 do not spare each other ; but the victors are so proud 
 of their conquest, and ransom their prisoners in so 
 courteous a manner, that the captives take their depar- 
 ture with a '^ grand merci:'' however, when in battle 
 there is no boys' play between tlier.i, nor do they shrink 
 from the comljat." 
 
 A. — The government of Richard, though it thus con- 
 tinued for some years without any menioral)le transac- 
 tion, did not secure to him the esteem of the nation ; 
 profuse and addicted to low pleasures, he si)ent his 
 whole time in feasting and jollity; and in this interval 
 he had the misfortune to be deprived of his queen, Anne 
 (1394),^' to whom he had always been an aflectionate 
 husband, and whose death he bitterly bewailed. To 
 repair her loss, he was imprudently aftianced to Isa- 
 bella, the daughter of tlie King of France (1J3!]())/' a 
 child onlv seven vears of age. 
 
 F. — Such an unequal match caused much exaspera- 
 tion of feeling in the* nation, as it must hijve apj)eared, 
 
 ^ Froissart. 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
 *■ Hvyirr, vol. 7. 
 
 Dl'KK OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 185 
 
 and indeed w^as probably the case, that it had been 
 contracted by Richard for the sole purpose of fortifying 
 himself against tlie attacks of his turbulent nobles, by 
 the assistance of the French monarch, who sumptuously 
 entertained him in the plains of Ardres, near Calais,* 
 when Hichard paid a visit to France " to fetch his little 
 wife home." 
 
 A. — The Duke of Gloucester, dissatisfied at finding 
 himself excluded from the direction of affairs, encou- 
 raged the national discontent, by invidiously represent- 
 ing the ( ontrast between the martial glories of Edward 
 and the Black Prince, and the inactivity of Richard ; 
 passing over the misfortunes which attended the latter 
 years of Edward, and torgetting that, from the flourishing 
 state of the French treasury, and the improved discipline 
 of their armies, that no efforts which England, with her 
 exhausted finances, could now make, had any prospect of 
 success. Disseminating every where these seditious sen- 
 timents, which were calculated then, as w^ell as they have 
 ever been since, to inflame the vulgar prejudices of the 
 nation, Gloucester embraced designs so desperate,^ that 
 it became evident either his own or Richard's ruin 
 was inevitable. To counteract these attempts, the king 
 conunanded his uncle to be suddenly arrested, and hur- 
 ried over to Calais, where alone, by reason of his nu- 
 merous partizans, he could be detained in safe custody.'' 
 It would have been dangerous to bring so popular a 
 prince to trial ; and soon after it was reported by the 
 governor that the duke had died suddenly of apoplexy 
 in the fortress of Calais ; but in the subsequent reign, 
 undoul)ted proofs were produced that he was suffocated 
 by his keepers. 
 
 F. — The parliamentary records contain the confes- 
 sion of John Halle, who was hanged for the offence, 
 
 * Froibsart. '' J bid. *^ JMd. 
 
186 
 
 VESTI(;iA. 
 
 a valet of the Duke of Norfolk's : he stated, amonn^st 
 other things, that Norfolk came to hiiu at Calais, and 
 called him out of his bed, telling him that tiic king and 
 the Duke of Aumerle had sent their valets, Serle and 
 Franceys, for the purpose ot murdering Gloucester, 
 and that he must be present in tht^ name of his master. 
 Halle prayed that he might be snlTered to go away, 
 though with the loss of all his property; but Norfolk 
 told him that he mnst be present, or forfeit his life, and 
 therewithal struck him violently on the head. The con- 
 federated valets first went to a church, and were sworn 
 to secrecy; they then repaired to Gloucester's lodging 
 at his inn, who, seeing Serle, asked him how^ he did, 
 saying, " Now I know I shall do \\tll;'' but Serle 
 taking Franceys with him, called the duke into anotlier 
 chamber, and they there told him that it was the king's 
 will that he should die. Gloucester answered, that if 
 it were the king's will it must be so : they asked him 
 to have a chaplain, to w hich he agreed, aad confessed ; 
 they then compelled him to lie down on a bed, the two 
 valets threw a feather-bed over him, three other persons 
 held down its sides, whilst Serle and Franceys pressed 
 on the mouth of the duke till he expired; there were 
 three other persons in the chamber, on their knees, 
 weeping and praying for his soul, whilst Halle kept 
 guard at the door. The Duke of Norfolk came to them, 
 and saw the body of the murdered Gloucester." Such 
 was the end of Thomas of Woodstock ; popular as he 
 might be, there is no doubt that he w as factious, cruel, 
 and unprincipled; the guilt of this deplorable catas- 
 trophe, though it cannot be justified, yet by the tyrant's 
 law,necessity,it may perhaps admit of some extenuation. 
 4. — ^The mode bv whicli this old \un\ u as first caught 
 in the snare, evinces that llichard pc^ssessed a suHicient 
 
 -• Phicitaj Tarl. vol. 3. 
 
 ili 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 187 
 
 portion of cunning, if not of courage. The king went 
 one day after dinner, says Froissart, to Pleshy, in 
 Essex, with part of his retinue, where he arrived about 
 fivc^ o'clock ; the duke had already supped, as he w as 
 very sober, and sat but a short time at table ; he came 
 to meet the king, and honoured him as we ought 
 to honour the sovereign, so also did the duchess and 
 her children. The king partook of some refreshment, 
 and said to the duke, '' Fair uncle, have your horses 
 saddled, but not all, only five or six; you must accom- 
 pany me to London; we shall iind there my uncles 
 Lancaster and York, and I mean to be governed by 
 your advice on a request which they intend to make 
 me ; bid your maitre dliotel Ibllow you w ith your people 
 to London." The duke, who thought no ill, assented 
 to the request pleasantly enough. As soon as the king 
 had sui)ped, and all were ready, he took leave of the 
 duchess and her children, and mounted his horse, so 
 did the duke, who left Pleshy with only three esquires 
 and four valets. They avoided the high-road to London, 
 but rode with speed, conversing on various topics, till 
 they came to Stratlbrd ; the king then pushed forw ard, 
 and the earl marshal coming suddenly behind the duke, 
 with a great body of horsemen, and springing on him, 
 said, '' 1 arrest you in the kings name." The duke, 
 astonislicd, said that he was betrayed, and cried wdth a 
 loud voice after the king. " I do not know," says the 
 relater, " whether the king heard him or not, as he did 
 not return, but rode away."* 
 
 P. — If Froissart's account can be relied on, this 
 royal duplicity, first fawning on, and then ensnaring its 
 victim, has something in it mightily odious. 
 
 yl.— The kin .r now finding the parliament as obse- 
 quious as it was some timc^ bolbre hostile, revenged 
 
 a Froissart. 
 
186 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 a valet of the Duke of Norfolk's : he stated, amongst 
 other things, that Norfolk came to him at Calais, and 
 called him out of his bed, tellintr him that tlie king and 
 the Duke of Aumcrle had sent their valets, Serle and 
 Franceys, for the purpose of murdering Gloucester, 
 and that he must be present in the name of his master. 
 Halle prayed that he might be sulltred to go away, 
 though with the loss of all his property ; but Norfolk 
 told him that he must be present, or forfeit his life, and 
 therewithal struck him violently on the head. The con- 
 federated valets first went to a cluirch, and were sworn 
 to secrecy; they then repaired to Gloucester's lodging 
 at his inn, who, seeing Serle, asked him how he did, 
 saying, '' Now 1 know I shall do well;" but Serle 
 taking Franceys with him, called the duke into another 
 chamber, and they there told him that it was the king's 
 will that he should die. Gloucester answered, that if 
 it were the king's will it must be so : they asked him 
 to have a chaplain, to which he agreed, and confessed ; 
 they then compelled him to lie down on a bed, the two 
 valets threw a feather-bed over him, tinee other persons 
 held down its sides, whilst Serle and Franceys pressed 
 on the mouth of the duke till he expired; there were 
 three other persons in the chamber, on their knees, 
 weeping and praying ibr his soul, whilst Halle kept 
 guard at the door. The Duke of Norfolk came to them, 
 and saw the body of the murdered G]one(\st(M'.^ Such 
 was the end of Thomas of Woodstock ; popular as he 
 might be, there is no doubt that he was factious, cruel, 
 and unprincipled; the guilt of this deplorable catas- 
 trophe, though it cannot be justified, yet ])y the tyrant's 
 law,necessity,it may perhaps admit of some extenuation. 
 A* — The mode bv which tins old lion was first cauirht 
 in the snare, evinces thatilichard possessed a sutficient 
 
 • Placita, Farl. vol.3. 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 18" 
 
 portion of cunning, if not of courage. The king went 
 one day after dinner, says Froissart, to Fleshy, in 
 Essex, with part of his retinue, w here he arrived about 
 five o'clock ; the duke had already supped, as he was 
 very sober, and sat but a short time at table ; he came 
 to meet the king, and honoured him as we ought 
 to honour the sovereign, so also did the duchess and 
 her children. The king partook of some refreshment, 
 and said to the duke, ^' Fair uncle, have your horses 
 saddled, but not all, only five or six; you must accom- 
 pany me to London ; we shall find there my uncles 
 Lancaster and York, and I mean to be governed by 
 your advice on a request which they intend to make 
 me ; bid your maitre d'hotel follow you w ith your people 
 to London." The duke, who thought no ill, assented 
 to the reqiH st pleasantly enough. As soon as the king 
 had supped, and all were ready, he took leave of the 
 duchess and her children, and mounted his horse, so 
 did the duke, who left Fleshy with only three esquires 
 and four valets. They avoided the high-road to London, 
 but rode wilii speed, conversing on various topics, till 
 they came to Stratfi^rd ; the king then pushed forward, 
 and the earl marshal coming suddenly behind the duke, 
 with a great body of horsemen, and springing on him, 
 said, " I arrest you in the kings name.", The duke, 
 astonished, said that he was betrayed, and cried with a 
 loud voice after the king. '' 1 do not know," says the 
 relator, '' whether the king heard him or not, as he did 
 not return, but rode away."^ 
 
 P. — Tf Froissart's account can be relied on, this 
 royal duplicity, first fawning on, and then ensnaring its 
 victim, has something in it mightily odious. 
 
 A. — The kinq: now finding the parliament as obse- 
 quious as it was some time before hostile, revenged 
 
 a Froifcsart. 
 
188 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE OF HEREFORD 
 
 189 
 
 himself by successfully impcachinsi: the An hbishop of 
 Canterbury and the earls of Warwick and Arundel," 
 who had formerly concurred in severe measures against 
 him: the two former were exiled, the latter executed. 
 In this age there was no dependence on the equity 
 of parliaments, as they always conlornu d to present 
 power, as one or the other faction prevailed, and they 
 reversed, without shame or reluctance, their former 
 most solemn decrees, provided they could retaliate on 
 their adversaries. As a ))roof how little sincerity or 
 principle actuated the great, may be inferred from the 
 disagreement which presently took place between two 
 of the nobility, the dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, who 
 had encouraged these prosecutions. The former duke, 
 who was the eldest son of John of Gaunt, either from 
 pique or fear, accused Norfolk in parliament ol' having 
 spoken to him in private many slanderous words con- 
 cerning the king. Norfolk denied the charge, gave Here- 
 ford the lie, and offered to prove his innocence by single 
 combat.^ The challenge was accepted, and the whole 
 nation seemed anxious for the event. 
 
 F. — The conversation which led to this extraordi- 
 nary exhibition has been preserved; it will afford a 
 specimen in what manner noblemen in those days con- 
 versed on politics, and the degree of good faith and 
 confidence which these high-born and chivalric person- 
 ages maintained in their transactions with each other. 
 The Duke of Norfolk one day overtaking by chance the 
 Duke of Hereford, on the road between Brentford and 
 London, thus detailed his apprehensions of the times. 
 
 '' Norf. — We are in point of heini^ undone. 
 
 '' Here/.— Why so ? 
 
 *^ Norf, — On account of the affair of Radcot Bridge. 
 
 -* Walsini:han\. 
 
 ^ Pari. Hist. vol. 1. 
 
 [An action in which the king's late favourite, the Duke 
 of Irelaiul, was some years before defeated.] 
 
 *^ Here/. — How can that be ? since the king has 
 granted us pardon, and has declared in parliament that 
 we behaved as good and loyal subjects. 
 
 " Norf, — Nevertheless our fate will be like that of 
 others before us: he will annul that record of pardon. 
 
 " Heref. — ^It will be marvellous indeed if the king, 
 after having said so before the people, should cause it 
 to be annulled. 
 
 '^ Norf. — It is a marvellous and false world we live 
 in; for I well know that had it not been for some per- 
 sons, my lord, your father of Lancaster and yourself 
 would have been taken or killed when you went to 
 Windsor. The council has sworn to undo six lords ; 
 ourselves among the number. 
 
 ''Heref, — God forbid! It will be a wonder if the 
 king should assent to such designs : he appears to 
 make me good cheer, and he has sworn by St. Edward 
 to be my good lord and master. 
 
 '' Norf — So has he often sworn to me by God's 
 body; but I do not trust him the more for that. He is 
 attempting to draw the Earl of Marche into the scheme 
 of the council to destroy the others. 
 
 " Heref — If that be the case we can never trust them. 
 
 *' Naif — Certainly not : though they may fail to 
 accomplish their purposes now, they will continue to 
 destroy us in our houses ten years hence."* 
 
 P. — To pick out materials of treason from such a 
 conversation, we should suppose would be as difficult as 
 the revealing of it to the ruin of the speaker was base. 
 
 F. — It is possible that Hereford might think that 
 the pretended confidence of Norfolk, which was cer- 
 
 » Placita, Pari, vol.3. 
 
»l 
 
 190 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 tainly given unasked, was meant to ensnare; and 
 knowing him to be cruel, false, and inconstant, might 
 judge that the only way to ensure his own safety, was to 
 reveal the particulars, though to the ruin of the speaker. 
 J.— The lists for the combat were appointed at Co- 
 ventry (Sept. 1398) before the king, attended by all the 
 peers in the realm, and by above ten thousand persons 
 '' in harnesse," says an old chronicler/ who is perfectly 
 enraptured at the gorgeous display of silks, velvet, and 
 embroidery which were exhibited on this occasion. 
 When the combatants entered the lists, armed and ac- 
 coutred, the king interposed to prevent the effusion of 
 blood; and by a strange exercise of authority con- 
 demned both noblemen to banishment;' Norfolk tor life, 
 and Hereford for ten years, which he afterward reduced 
 to six. Norfolk speedily died at Venice of discontent 
 and chagrin, universally deserted and despised. 
 
 |?._This sentence of Richard was not rtgreeable to 
 the nation: it was considered as pusillanimous and 
 vacillating ; and it ultimately led to that act of oppres- 
 sion which hurled the monarch from the throne. 
 
 ^,_john of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, died (1399) 
 remarkably opulent. The appellation of " time- 
 honoured Lancaster," applied by Shakspcare to this 
 prince, implies a feeling of estimation and respect, 
 which he never possessed with the nation. Of mode- 
 rate ability, of great ambition, great avarice, and un- 
 certain conduct, he seems always to have been more 
 feared than loved: his name indeed, by being asso- 
 ciated with such popular characters as Wicklilfe and 
 Chaucer, and above all by his posterity having ascended 
 the throne of England as the ' line of Lancaster,' has 
 become more celebrated than his actions or talents 
 deserved. 
 
 RICHARD EMBARKS FOR IRELAND. 
 
 191 
 
 « Hall, 
 
 ^ Walsintrhaiii, 
 
 F. — ^Oi his great wealth we may judge from the 
 quantity of gold and silver plate which he lost in the 
 destruction of his palace at the Savoy, it being suffi- 
 cient to load five waggons.* 
 
 yl.— Eichard becoming jealous of the exiled Duke 
 of Hereford, the heir of Lancaster's immense posses- 
 sions, had the shameful rapacity to seize tlie whole 
 estate, in spite of the letters patent^ which he had 
 granted, empowering the duke to enter into any inhe- 
 ritance which might take place during his exile. 
 
 F, — This iniquitous proceeding exhausted the pa- 
 tience of the people, and awakened a spirit of resistance 
 by pointing out so popular a prince as Hereford, as 
 their h ader. 
 
 A. — During the ferment, Richard had the imprudence 
 to em]j irk for Ireland,*" in order to revenge the death 
 of his cousin, Roger, earl of Marche, the presumptive 
 and declared heir of the crown, who had been lately 
 slain in a skirmish with the natives: this nobleman left 
 a son, of tlie age of six years, who now stood the 
 representative of his father's claims. The leave which 
 Richard took of his young affianced queen was so 
 affectionate as to be remarked : " Never did I see," 
 says an observer who was present, ^^ so great a lord 
 make so mucli of a lady, or show so much love for her 
 as King Richard did for the queen." ^ 
 
 P. — Shakspcare misleads his readers, by represent- 
 ing this child often years as an adult; though it must 
 be confessed that the ludicrous execration which he 
 puts into \\v\' mouth, when the gardener informs her of 
 the subsequent misfortunes of the king, is more adapted 
 to a puerile age : 
 
 Gardener, for telling me this news of woe, 
 
 I would the plants thou trraft'st may never grow. 
 
 • Knyghton. ^ Walsingham. « Froissart. 
 
 ^ Arrhirol. vol. 20. •■ Richard H. net 3, sc, 4. 
 
192 
 
 VKSriGlA. 
 
 it 
 
 F.— After the death of her husband, the yonn^ queen 
 was sent back to France under the care of llc^nry Percy, 
 who protested that she was clear from all bonds of mar- 
 riage, and that she was sound and entire even as she 
 was the same day she was delivered to Kiurr Hichard ; 
 , and if any would say to the contrarv, he was readv to 
 prove it against him by combat.^ This princess after- 
 wards married Charles, duke of Orleans.' 
 
 ^.—Hereford, or as he is more usually called, 
 Henry of Bolingbroke, from the place of his birtli, in 
 Lincolnshire, embarked at Nanlz, and landed, \vith a, 
 retinue of sixty persons, at Ravenspur,^ near the Hum- 
 ber, a place since swallowed up by the sea : here he 
 was immediately joined by the earls of Northumberland 
 and Westmoreland. He took a solemn oath that his 
 sole purpose in this invasion was the obtaining of the 
 duchy of Lancaster, unjustly withheld from his posses- 
 sion. The whole kingdom was soon in commotion, 
 and Henry's army increased on each dav's march, till 
 it numbered sixty thousand combatants. The Duke of 
 York, who had been left guardian of the realm, found 
 himself quite unable to repel the torrent, and Boling- 
 broke conjured him not to oppose a loyal and humble 
 supplicant in the recovery of his patrimony.' 
 
 ^- — To the spirit with which Bolingbroke was ac- 
 tuated the nation could not have been blind, unless it 
 willingly shut its eyes : three of the king's ministers, 
 the Earl of Wiltshire, Sir John Bushy, and Sir Henry 
 Green, having sought refuge in Bristol Castle, were 
 seized, and without trial, accusation, or enquiry, led to 
 immediate execution.^ 
 
 A. — Richard, from the prevalence of contrary winds, 
 remained six weeks in Ireland without the smallest in- 
 telligence of these proceedings. As soon as the tidini^^s 
 
 » Stow. 
 
 ^ Henault. 
 
 « Wahin?h:im. 
 
 «» Ihiil. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 hounchrukf/s rebellion. 
 
 193 
 
 arrived, some of his council advised him immediately 
 to set sail and meet the danger; but the Duke of Au- 
 merle urged him not to be in such haste, but rather to 
 send the Earl of Salisbury, who might collect forces in 
 Wales and hold the lield against Bolingbroke. 
 
 F.—Whether this mischievous counsel was treache- 
 rously given, as may be suspected from the character 
 of the speaker, is somewhat doubtful. 
 
 J.— Lord Salisbury collected forty thousand men, 
 who, impatient at the king's delay, for Richard arrived 
 not till eighteen days subsequent, dispersed, and the 
 earl retired to Conway Castle. The king landed at 
 Milford l.aven with a respectable force, which soon 
 becoming dismayed or disaffected, Richard joined the 
 earl at Conway Castle with but few followers. At their 
 first interview Salisbury burst into tears, exclaiming, 
 '' All is lost : little did he love you who detained you 
 so long in Ireland."^ 
 
 F. — Conway Castle was a place of great strenoth. 
 capable of receiving provisions by sea, and affording 
 the means of escape by the same channel. 
 
 ^.— Henry, aware of these circumstances, formed a 
 plan to allure the king from this stronghold by sending 
 the Earl of Northumberland, who promised either by 
 force or subtlety to draw him away. The earl taking 
 with him a numerous band of archers and men-at-arms, 
 whom he concealed in ambush at the pass of Rhudlan 
 Rock, arrived with a few^ followers at Conway : he as- 
 sured Richard that Lancaster s sole intention was the 
 recovery of his land, and a desire to have a parliament 
 assembled, in which legal accusation might be pre- 
 ferred against some noblemen, who were equally his 
 enemies, as enemies of the prosperity of the kingdom. 
 
 • Archr.co!. vol. 20. Histoire du Roy d'Angleterre Richard. 
 VOL. II. 
 
194 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Richard still hesitating to leave Conway and meet his 
 rival at Flint Castle, as pressed by Northiunherland, 
 the earl swore on the sacrament that Lancaster should 
 faithfully observe all that he had promised.' 
 
 P. — An artifice as unworthy as unhallowed. 
 
 A, — The intentions of Richard were ecjually insin- 
 cere ; for desiring Northumberland to retire, that he 
 might consult his friends, the king said, '' 1 had belter 
 feign compliance; but when once I get Lancaster in 
 my power, he shall sufter a severe and bitter punish- 
 ment." Thus mutually congratulating themselves on 
 outwitting each other, the earl left Conway Castle, the 
 king with his suite speedily following. When he 
 reached the pass at Rhudlan, to the lelt of which 
 was the sea, and on the right a lofty rock overhanging 
 the road, descrying Northumberland's men in ambush, 
 he suddenly exclaimed, ^^ I am betrayed ! God of pa- 
 radise assist me ! Do you not see," said he to Lord 
 Salisbury, ^^ banners and pennons in the valley?" 
 Northumberland now appeared and in armour. *^ What 
 is the meaning of this array?" enquired the atlrighted 
 monarch, The earl explaining it from the disturbed 
 state of the country, Richard replied, "This is not ac- 
 cording to your promise; 1 want no such escort, earl : 
 if I thought you capable of betraying me, it is not too 
 late to return." " You cannot return," replied Northum 
 berland, seizing the king's bridle : " I have promised to 
 conduct you to the Duke of Lancaster."'' 
 
 F. — The interview of the humiliated sovereign with 
 his aspiring subject at Flint Castle is described by this 
 eye-witness, who ai)pears to have 1)een a French gentle- 
 man in the suite of the king, in terms of e(|ual interest. 
 
 /I. — Henry cailie forward in complete armour, with 
 the exception of his helmet: as soon as he saw the 
 
 '-" Arrbarol. vol. 20. 
 
 »» Unci. 
 
 bolingbroke's rebellion. 
 
 195 
 
 king he bent his knee. " Fair cousin of Lancaster,'' 
 said Richard, recovering himself, '' you are right w^el- 
 come." '' My lord/' answered the duke, '' 1 am come 
 before my time, but 1 will show^ you the reason : your 
 people complain, that for the space of twenty years 
 you have ruled them rigorously ; but if it please God, 
 I will help you to govern better." The king replied, 
 '' Fair cousin, since it pleaseth you, it pleaseth me well." 
 A repast was then provided, but of which the fallen 
 monarch partook with small appetite and in silence.^ 
 
 F. — It was in the court of the castle at Flint that a 
 favourite greyhound, named Math,^' abandoned his 
 master in distress and fawned upon Bolingbroke, which 
 caused so nuich uneasy prognostication to the weak 
 mind of RicharrI as even to influence his subsequent 
 conduct. 
 
 A. — After the repast, the duke with a high sharp 
 voice, ]}ade bring out the king's horses, and then two 
 sorry jades were led forth ; Richard was placed on the 
 one and Salisbury on the other, and thus equipped they 
 were carried to Chester and placed for security in the 
 castle, where in the bitterness of disappointment Rich- 
 ard exclaimed, '' Ah ! dear cousin of Britanv, had I 
 believed you, this man would never have offended me. 
 Thrice have I pardoned his misdeeds : at one time my 
 uncle of Lancaster, on whom God have mercy, would 
 have slain him for his misdeeds, treason, and villany; 
 and tlien all night did 1 ride to preserve him Irom 
 death." Richard w^as next to be conducted to London: 
 at Lichfield he was joined by Lancaster; and at this 
 city he endeavoured to escape, but was prevented.'' A 
 few miles from the metropolis the two princes were 
 met by the lord mayor and the city companies: it is 
 
 " Arcbaeol. vol. 20. 
 
 ^ Froissart 
 2 
 
 ^ Archaeol.vol. 10, 
 
19G 
 
 VE8TiniA. 
 
 even Sciid tliut the recorili r, in tlie name of the city, 
 entreated the duke to put Richard to death.* 
 
 F. — Henry was far too wise a man to incur at 
 this period the opprobrium of such a crime: taking 
 advantage of the popular gale, he determined to make 
 parliament subservient to his sclieiue of dtihroning his 
 
 sovereign. 
 
 yl._Before entering the city, the princes separated : 
 Henry proceeded to St. Paul's, where he prayed belore 
 the high altar, and wept for a few moments over the 
 recent tomb of his father, the citizens exclaiming, that 
 Lancaster ought to be a king, who so well knew how 
 to conquer. Richard w^as carried to Westminster, and 
 thence to the Tower; on the way he was greeted with 
 curses, and the ominous appelUition of bastard.^' 
 
 p._Shakspeare's pathetic description, so well 
 known, of ' our two cousins coming into London/ must 
 be then set down to the imagination of the poet. 
 
 A, —The day before the meeting of parliament, Henry 
 extorted in person an instrument of resignation^ from the 
 fallen monarch in theTower,who delivered up the crown 
 and sceptre and the other ensigns of royalty, and con- 
 fessed himself unworthy to govern. A charge was then 
 presented in the House of Peers, consisting of thirty-three 
 articles;'* the chief amount of the oillnces attributed to 
 Richard in them is twofold : first, the violent conduct 
 of the king during the last two years of his reign, par- 
 ticularly the revenge which he took on the great men 
 who had formerly usurped authority over him ; and 
 secondly, the violation of tlie laws and general ])rivi- 
 leges of the people. The former of these accusations 
 may be resisted, on the ground that Richard;s conduct, 
 however irregular, was supported by authority of par- 
 liament, and was but a copy of the previous violence 
 
 • Walsing. '^ Archaeol. vol. 20. ^ Knygliton. <' Ibid. rarl. Hist. vuK 2. 
 
 BISHOP OF CARLISLE. 
 
 
 of the barons themselves, when formerly in authority, 
 and the recent execution of the Earl of Wiltshire, 
 Bushy, and Green, sufficiently bespoke the excesses of 
 which that party w^hen triumphant were capable. Of 
 the more important charge of continual violation of the 
 rights of the people, it is more difficult to judge ; yet 
 iiolliing was alleged against Richard but what had been 
 practised by former, and continued by subsequent, mo- 
 narchs ; it does not appear that he ever imposed any tax, 
 whether arl)itrary or not, without consent of parliament. 
 The thirty-three charges were however unanimously 
 adopted by both houses, and a vote deposing the un- 
 happy sovereign was immediately passed. 
 
 P. — Had no one the courage or the gratitude to lift 
 up his voice in defence of a master, who must have 
 conferred many benefits on some of his accusers? 
 
 A. — One man only, Thomas Merks, bishop of Car- 
 lisle, attempted to excuse the actions of Richard, on 
 the ground of youth, error, or misguided counsel, which 
 admitted a gentler remedy than the deposal of the 
 mojiarch, especially without hearing his defence : he 
 also dr()))ped hints of the incompetency of the tribunal, 
 as well as of the injustice of the sentence; but the 
 effect of this bold interference was the arrest of the 
 speaker. 
 
 F. — That sucli an oration was ever delivered is 
 very doubtful. The earliest authority is Hall's chro- 
 nicle, one hundred and fifty years after the event. But 
 certain it is, tliat Merks, for some supposed hostility to 
 Henry, lost liis bishopric,* being translated by the Pope 
 to the see of Samos, in partlbus ivfidelium, at the insti- 
 gation of the usurper.^ 
 
 P, — Shakspeare has put this character of the pre- 
 late into the mouth of Bolinirbroke:'' 
 
 Rvnicr, vol. 8. 
 
 ^ Godwin, rraetsul. 
 
 «^ Rich. H. Act. 5. 
 
im 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Carlisle, be this thv doom : 
 
 Clkoose out 80ine secret place, some reverend room 
 More than thon hast, and with it joy thy life ; 
 So as thou iivest in peace, die free from strife; 
 For though mine enemy thou hast ever been, 
 High sparks of honour in thee I have seen, 
 
 A, — The throne being declared vacant, the Duke of 
 Lancaster stepped forth and claimed the crown in the 
 following singular terms: 
 
 *^ In the name of Fadher, Son, and Holy Ghost, I, 
 Henry of Lancaster, challenge this rewme of Ynglandc 
 and the crown, with all the membres and the appurte- 
 nances, als I that am descendit l)y right line of the 
 blode, coming fro the gude King Henry Therde, and 
 throge that right that God of his grace hath sent me, 
 with helpe of kyn and of my frendes to recover it; the 
 which rewme was in poynt to be ondone by defaut of 
 governance and ondoying of the glide laws."'' 
 
 To understand one part of this strange i^arrago, it 
 must be observed, that a silly tradition once prevailed 
 that Edmund Crouchback, earl of Lancaster, from 
 whom Bolingbroke was descended bv his mother, was 
 in reality the eider brother of Edward the First, but 
 set aside from the succession on account of his defor- 
 mity.^ Henry's claim thus consisted of an odd mixture 
 of descent and of conquest. At the conclusion of this 
 speech, the Archbishop of Canterbury took the aspiring 
 duke by the right hand"" and seated him on the throne: 
 thus he became king, nobody could very well tell how 
 or wherefore, and the right of the young Earl of Marche, 
 w hose father had been recognised by a former parliament 
 as the lawful heir of Richard, was totally neglected. 
 
 P. — These circumstances are somelimes paralleled 
 
 "^ Knvs^hton, 
 
 '' Hardy ng, Chron, 
 
 ^ Knyirhton. 
 
 RICHARD DEPOSED. 
 
 199 
 
 with those of the revolution in 1688. How did it hap- 
 pen that tlie one transaction proved the greatest curse, 
 and the other the greatest blessing, which the nation 
 ever experienced? 
 
 A, — The latter event took place in an enlightened 
 age, and vvas established on the basis of public liberty; 
 but the deposal of Richard was the act of a turbulent 
 aristocracy, passing from one extreme of faction to 
 another, without any attention to the general principles 
 of liberty at all. 
 
 F. — Yet it was doubtless a national act, and ex- 
 pressed through the legitimate medium of parliament: 
 the House of Commons entirely concurred with the 
 Peers; but indeed had it been otherwise, its powder at 
 that period w as too weak to resist the torrent. Richard, 
 by a long course of prodigality and maladministration, 
 particularly in forcing the opinion of the judges, a re- 
 markable similarity of conduct with James the Second, 
 had entirely alienated the atlections of his people; and 
 his recent injustice in depriving their favourite Boling- 
 broke of his great inheritance, had fanned their anger 
 into a flame; since no monarchy contains a rule for 
 deposing the sovereign, I do not see if a king is to 
 be set aside, how it could be brought about with less 
 violation of the forms of law\ 
 
 P. — But fully granting the expediency as well as 
 justice of deposing a tyrant, and I am afraid that 
 Richard cannot be otherwise esteemed, it does not 
 follow that, in an hereditary monarchy, it is either wise 
 or just to choose a successor who has not the right of 
 blood, and thus incur the danger of a furious civil war. 
 
 F.— This would have been a delicate question not 
 many years ago, though now it may be discussed in 
 safety. The parliament could scarcely act otherwise 
 than to place Lancaster on the throne, as the young 
 
200 
 
 \ KisTlGlA. 
 
 Earl of Marche, the legal heir, was only m his seventh 
 year : had that family of ^Jortimer remained in its com- 
 paratively private station, its claim would probably 
 have quietly been forgotten; it could not have been 
 foreseen that its heiress, by marrying into the rojal 
 house, should thus unite its pretensions \vith power, 
 and unexpectedly deluge the kingdom for half a century 
 with blood and horror. 
 
 P. — The principles of right are ])laced on a very 
 slippeiy foundation, if their establishment is to depend 
 on unexpected contingencies. 
 
 A. — That the revolution of 1688, and above all the 
 act of settlement, did not involve the nation in the same 
 misery, was equally owing to unforeseen causes. The 
 abstract injustice of depriving the infant heir of his 
 right was the same in both cases. Had the two pre- 
 tenders of the Stuart race been otherwise than illiberal, 
 obstinate, and senseless bigots, in all probability the 
 House of Hanover, notwithstanding its parliamentary 
 title, would not have continued on, even if it had 
 ascended, the Englisii throne. The two rebellions of 
 the eighteenth century, trifling indeed in their cH'ect 
 compared with the wars of the Roses, shew how^ power- 
 fully the metaphysical notion of the true heir still takes 
 possession of the feelings of mankind. 
 
 F. — The unhappy Kichard was soon destined to 
 find, like his great-grandfather, Edward the Second, 
 that short is the space between the prisons of princes 
 and their graves. 
 
 A. — After being imprisoned in various places," he 
 was brought to Pomfret Castle, in which he perished, 
 February, 1400, but in what manner was never pre- 
 cisely ascertained : it is asserted that he w as starved to 
 death.^' The story of his being despatched by a blow on 
 
 * llardvny:, Ciiron. 
 
 OJ 
 
 ^ Ottcrbournc. 
 
 CHARACTER OF RICHARD. 
 
 201 
 
 the head from a hal1)ert, by Sir Piers Exon, who en- 
 tered the apartment w ith eight armed men, four of whom 
 the king slew, as it is exhibited in Shakspear's play, 
 after Holinshed and Fabian, was long the prevailing 
 opinion, but can scarcely be correct, as it is alluded to 
 by no contemporary writer; and in the manifesto issued 
 by the Pcrcies, some few years after, against Henry the 
 Fourth, that prince is accused of having '^ carried his 
 sovereign lord to the castle of Pomfret, where he was 
 left for fifteen days, with hunger, thirst, and cold, to 
 perish." ' 
 
 F. — Holinshed's story is also disproved by a some- 
 what recent examination of the skull, in Westminster 
 Abbey, in whicli there appeared no marks of any blow. ^ 
 Richard seems to have died of hard usage and a broken 
 heart. 
 
 A. — This prince attained only to the age of thirty- 
 three years: he possessed a handsome person, his 
 features w ere somewhat feminine, his manners abrupt, 
 his temper violent, his utterance embarrassed; he had 
 great dislike to business, w^as passionately fond of 
 parade and pleasure,"" devoted to his favourites, and 
 profuse in his liberality towards them. Richard would 
 never listen to the truth'* or to good counsel: he did not 
 possess the talent of acquiring the aftection of his great 
 barons, and still less the power of overawing them, by 
 which he might have committed ten times the quantity 
 of oppression, without fear of murmur ; the true reason 
 of his fall being that he was weak and unwarlike: this 
 weakness perhaps proceeded less from want of natural 
 talents, than from a neglected education, and the mis- 
 fortune of so early ascending the throne. Richard 
 presented so striking a ( ontrast to the glory of his father 
 
 * Hardyiig, Chron. 
 
 * Mon. Evesham. 
 
 *> Arcliacol. vol (i. 
 ^ Fioit>sart. 
 
202 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JOHN WICkLlFFE. 
 
 203 
 
 and grandfather, that to account for it he was reported 
 to be the son of a handsome canon of Bourdeaux/ 
 whom the Black Prince had retained as a chaplain in 
 his household. 
 
 F. — Fenelon, in his charming Dialogue, makes the 
 Black Prince say to his son in the shades, '' C/est de 
 quoi personne ne pent repondre ; mais je ne saurois le 
 croire." That Richard was untaught by adversity, we 
 have evident proof: in all his conversations there ap- 
 pear no self-accusations for past misconduct, no pur- 
 pose of amendment, no perception of the evils of his 
 own violence and misgovernment; but unmanly lament- 
 ations, passionate prayers to the Virgin, Iruitless 
 regrets, and denunciations of vengeance against Lan- 
 caster, and the people whom he terms false, wicked, 
 and faithless, and begs heaven to confound both their 
 souls and bodies.^ 
 
 -4. — The enormous extravagance of Richard has 
 been often and justly alleged as a principal cause of 
 his ruin : wherever he lay, his person was guarded by 
 two hundred Cheshire bowmen;'' he lived in a more 
 sumptuous manner than any of his predecessors or 
 successors, providing a table for ten thousand persons 
 every day,'^ who were attended by three hundred servi- 
 tors. On being remonstrated with at this excessive 
 profusion, he replied, '' What does it concern parlia- 
 ment, as long as I maintain my household without their 
 assistance ? " ^ 
 
 J^. — His dress was on a scale of equal expense, one 
 of his coats being valued at thirty thousand marks/ 
 This love of splendid apparel infected all classes of his 
 subjects: following the example of the sovereign, the 
 squire endeavoured to outshine the knight; the knight. 
 
 ri 
 
 the baron ; the baron, the earl ; and the earl, the king, 
 
 in dress.* 
 
 p^—^Regis ad exemplum, totus componitur orbis. 
 
 F. — Yet this passion for finery should not altogether 
 be attributed to the example of Richard : in the late 
 reign, the spoils of Caen and Calais were so great, that 
 every person of rank obtained a share of them; and 
 furred garments, fine linen, and jewels, were seen in 
 every mansion.^ 
 
 ^,_The House of Commons at another time, re- 
 commending frugalitv, desired that the court should 
 not be so much frequented by bishops and ladies,*' 
 there being thirteen of the former rank on the establish- 
 ment;* At this freedom ivichard was so much dis- 
 pleased, that lie insisted on the name of the mover of 
 the petition, who was one Haxy," a clergyman, and 
 whom that consistent assembly, in order to make atone- 
 ment, condemned to die the death of a traitor; and it 
 was merelv from his clerical function that the sentence 
 was not carried into execution. 
 
 F.— In the latter half of the fourteenth century, we 
 can trace the early daw n of various improvements, w hich 
 have since contributed so largely to the happiness and 
 prosperity of the kingdom. One most important event is 
 the appearance of John Wicklifle, in point of time the 
 earliest reibrmer of the abuses and corruptions of the 
 
 Roman church. 
 
 ^._Xhis celebrated person was born in Yorkshire, 
 1324, and he is first mentioned in a controversy with 
 the difl'erent orders of friars, against whose mendicant 
 way of life he strongly protested. 
 
 p.__Can the original motive of his opposition to the 
 
 * Froissait. 
 '^ Hardyn^', 
 
 ^ Archaeol. vol.20. *- Stow. 
 
 ' Rot. T'nrl. vol 5, p. 559. ^ Holinsbcd. 
 
 ^ Mon. iMalnifsb. 
 
 c Rot. l^arl. 20 Pxicli. 11. 
 
 •^ Slow. 
 
 ^ Walsir.ghain. 
 ' rarl.IIist. vol. 1. 
 
204 
 
 VliSTIGIA. 
 
 Catholic doctrine be traced to any oliior cause than (ho 
 illumination of reason? 
 
 ^.—Catholic writers wish to consider it as ori- 
 ginating from pique and disappointment, in a cause of 
 appeal which the Pope had equitably decided against 
 him; but the affair was in its nature trilling, and totally 
 inadequate to produce such a result. When Wickliflc 
 began to lecture at Oxford, he inveighed with such 
 vehemence against the whole body of the clergy, that 
 he soon became the object of astonishment and 'com- 
 plaint; and being called before the primate ami the 
 Bishop of London (137G), to answer for his conduct, 
 would undoubtedly have met with severe castigation,' 
 had he not fortunately been protected by J„hn of Gaunt.' 
 In the conference which took place, it must be admitted 
 that no superabundance of courtesy was evinced on 
 either side. Wicklitle being cited to appear at St. Paul's, 
 was accompanied by the Duke of Lancaster and Lord' 
 Percy ; which circumstance much displeasing the pre- 
 lates, the bishop thus addressed the latter nobleman: 
 
 " Bishop of London.—Lord Percy, if 1 had known 
 what maisteries you would have kept in (he church, I 
 would have stopt you out from coming hither. 
 
 " Duke of Lan.-lle shall keep" such maisteries 
 here, though you say nay. 
 
 " Lord Percy. —WickUlYe, sit down, for you have 
 many things to answer to, and you need to repose your- 
 self on a soft seat. 
 
 " Bishop.~li is unreasonable that one cited belbre 
 his ordinary should sit down during his answer; he 
 must and shall stand. 
 
 " Dide of Lan.— The Lord IVrcy his motion lor 
 Wicklidr is bu( reasonable; and as for you, my lord 
 bishop, who arc groun so proud and arrogant, 1 will 
 
 JOHN WICKr-flFE. 
 
 905 
 
 bring down (he pride, no( of you alone, but of all the 
 prelacy in England. 
 
 " Bishop. — Do your worst, Sir. 
 
 " Duke <f Laii. — Thou bearest thyself so brag upon 
 thy parents,' which shall not be able to help thee; they 
 shall have enough to do to help themselves. 
 
 " Bisltop. — .My c(m(idence is not in my parents, nor 
 in any man else, but only in God, whom I trust, by 
 whose assistaiice I will be bold to speak the truth. 
 
 " Duke of Lan. — Rather than [ would take these 
 words at his liands, I would pluck the bishop by the 
 hair out of the churcli."'* 
 
 A. — At this threat, the Londoners thinking', as well 
 they might, that their bishop was insulted, attacked the 
 two noblemen, who with difficulty escaped; and the 
 court contented itsell' with commanding the reformer 
 to abstain from preaching such doctrines in future/ 
 Wicklilfe had been presented by the Duke of Lancaster 
 witii the rectory of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire (L374), 
 in the cliurch of wliich place his original pulpit is said to 
 be still preserved.^ This divine asserted many of the 
 oi)inions alterwards maintained by the reformers: no 
 one ever carried further the doctrine of predestination; 
 an<l besides his invective against the vices of the clergy, 
 he contended that, in imitation of their Master, they were 
 bound to lead a life of poverty. 
 
 F.— A shocking heresy, I should imagine, in all 
 churches. A\ ickliife's favourite dogma, that dominion 
 was founded on grace, I must profess that I do not very 
 well understand. 
 
 A, — Wicklille's proselytes were so numerous, that 
 one author asserts^ half the kingdom to have imbibed 
 
 ^ Iliigli Courtney, earl of Devonshire. 
 « Walbingham. ^ Cough in Camden. 
 
 '» Fuller. 
 ^ Knyghton. 
 
2()(i 
 
 VESTini A. 
 
 his tenets: many of his followers travelled up and down 
 the country on foot, in a very plain dress, d( claimint? 
 and preaching with great vehemence;' and frequently 
 no doubt with great imprudence. The excesses of the 
 insurgents under Wat Tyler had excited much alarm 
 and prejudice against ^yickliftfc's doctrines. 
 
 F.— It w^ould appear from the following couplet, 
 made by Peacock, bishop of Chichester, in the reign of 
 Henry the Fourth, that deistical notions had crept in 
 amongst Wickliffe's follow ers : 
 
 Wit hath wonder, that reason cannot scan, 
 How a moder is a mayd, and God is a man. 
 
 -4.— The reply which was given is sufliciently judi- 
 cious : 
 
 Leave reason, believe the wonder; 
 Belief hath mastery, and reason is under.'^ 
 
 The human mind, suddenly aroused from the sleep of 
 so many ages, was doubtless liable to be led aw ay by 
 its enthusiasm beyond the strict bounds of sober reason; 
 it is difficult to ascertain Wicklifle's sentiments on many 
 theological points, as he appears not to have been 
 ambitious of the crown of martyrdom : when in dano-er 
 he explained away the more obnoxious meaning of his 
 opinions by many nice and subtle distinctions.*' 
 
 P' — How came the singular term, ' Lollard,' applied 
 to his followers ? 
 
 ^. — Various have been the attempted explanations : 
 the derivation of the w ord from /o////m— darnel, or tares, 
 sown by the enemy in the field of God's church, is evi- 
 dently the sense put upon it by Chaucer, who in the 
 Shipman's Prologue, when the liost '' Snulls a Loller 
 in the wind," makes the said Shipman observe, 
 
 He woldc sowen som difficultee, 
 
 C^r springen cockle in our clenc come. 
 
 Wickliffe possesssed parts and learning, and like most 
 
 =» Knyghton. »- Harrington, Observ. on the Statutes. ' Knvghton. 
 
 JOHX WICKLIFFE. 
 
 207 
 
 propagators of new opinions, w as of austere morals : 
 his works are very numerous, but they chiefly remain in 
 MSS. V !iat particularly endears his memory to the Pro- 
 testant connnunity, is his giving the example of trans- 
 lating the scriptures into the English tongue (1380), and 
 thus tacitly admitting the right of private judgment : parts 
 of holy w rit had been before translated, but they were 
 concealed in monasteries and libraries, and little known 
 or consulted, even by the clergy. Wicklilfe's transla- 
 tion is from the text of the Latin Vulgate : from too 
 close an adherence to the Latin order of the words, the 
 language is uncouth and less intelligible than that of his 
 cotemporary, Chaucer; one epithet, '^ Paul, the Jt/iare 
 of Christ,'' for servant , as quoted by Fuller,^ has been 
 often mentioned as a singular instance of the change of 
 meaning in a w ord effected by the course of time. 
 
 F. — It is very extraordinary w hat could have induced 
 Fuller to make this assertion ; the phrase occurs not in 
 any of the printed copies : the nearest approximation 
 is in the description of the woman in the Apocalypse, 
 " And sche bare a knave child.'' Lord Oxford's libra- 
 rian, TTumfrey Wanley, went to Oxford for the purpose 
 of inspecting the MSS.^ rei erred to by Fuller, one in 
 Queen's College, and two in the university library ; 
 but he found the passage, Rom. ch. i. ver. 1, to be in 
 them all, " Paul, a servant," as in all other places, 
 translated from " servus." 
 
 A, — The story of Philip and the eunuch, by a homely 
 expression, appears in Wickliife's translation as ' Philip 
 and the gelding.' Numerous copies were multiplied by 
 the aid of transcribers, and several MSS. are yet in 
 existence. Of the pecuniary value of a copy of the New 
 Testament alone, w^e are enabled to judge, from a re- 
 gister of the elfects of the Bishop of Norwich, in 1429, 
 
 » CImrch. Hist. 
 
 ^ Lewis, Hist, of TransLitions of the Hihle. 
 
208 
 
 VESTIGT V. 
 
 where it was valued at four marks «uul ibrty pence/ 
 equivalent at least to fifty pounds modern. The trans- 
 lation of the New Testament only has been printed. 
 
 F, — From the example of Ca'dmon the monk, who 
 paraphrased various portions of the scripture so early 
 as the seventh century, and from the existence of the 
 four 1,'ospels entire in the Aiii^lo-Saxon laniruage, we 
 have undoubted evidence of the antiquity of readinc: holy 
 writ in the vernacular tongue ; the cry therefore of in- 
 novation, raised by tlic lloman church against Wick- 
 liffe, was not very well founded. 
 
 A. — So great an alarm did NYickliflc's translation 
 occasion, that a bill was l)rought into ])arliament^(139()), 
 for its suppression, but rejected through the elforts of 
 the Duke of Lancaster; eighteen years alter (1408), how- 
 ever. Archbishop Arundel issued a most intolerant de- 
 cree, in a convocation assembled at Oxlbrd,' that no 
 one should translate or read any text of licdy scrip- 
 ture by way of book or tract ; which led the way to 
 inlinite suffering and persecution. 
 
 F. — The church of Rome seems early to have been 
 shrewdly aware of the consequences resultinu' from the 
 free discussion of her doctrines and pretensions. 
 
 A, — The venerable reformer died (piietly in his par- 
 sonage (1386); a cotemporary writer'Mhus rehites the 
 event: '^ On the day of St. Thomas of Canterbury, was 
 that limb of the devil, enemy of the church, deceiver of 
 the people, idol of heretics, mirror of hypocrites, author 
 of schism, sower of hatred, and inventor of lies, Jolm 
 WicklifTe, by the immediate judirnient of Cod, suddenly 
 stricken with a palsy." The Council of Constance,* forty 
 years after (1428), had the miserable spite to order his 
 remains to be disinterred ; with which command the 
 
 * Archb. Usher, quoted by Fox. ^ Fox, Preface to the Snxon Gospels. 
 
 *' Lvntlwood. ^ Wdsindiam. ^ L'Enfant, lUstoirc Cone, du Constaucv^ 
 
 PIERS PLOWMAN, 
 
 201) 
 
 l)isbup of the diocese complying, burnt them to ashes, 
 and cast them into the Swift, a neighbouring brook. 
 
 F.— The corruption of the ecclesiastical order at 
 this period seem to have been at its height, and was 
 become the general source of invective with most of 
 the writers of the age, who now beginning to use the 
 English tongue, caused the force of their observations 
 to be severely felt. 
 
 ^- — One of the earliest compositions possessing 
 any sort of merit, is the Vision of i^iers Plowman, sup- 
 posed to be written by Robert Longlands, a fellow of 
 Oriel College, about the year 1350: the poem consists 
 of a series of visions, v^hich the author imagines him- 
 self to have seen when he was sleeping, after a long 
 ramble on tlie Malvern liiils; it is a caustic satire on 
 the vices of every profession, particularly on the cor- 
 ruptions of the clergy; the language is very uncouth 
 and obscure, though the work possesses much spirit 
 and humour. Another poem, in imitation, but by a 
 dilferent hand, is Piers Plowman's Crede ; in which a 
 plain man resolves the doubts of the enquirer, who had 
 applied in vain for their solution to the monks of the 
 four mendicant orders then established in England: an 
 occasion is thus given for exposing the monastic cha- 
 racter, which is performed with no sparing hand. These 
 poems are ])hilolugical curiosities, as the authors did 
 not use rhjme, but adopted the alliterative mode of 
 the Saxon poetry, of which our modern versification 
 retains no traces. 
 
 P. — Xo description of a mode of writing with 
 which we are unacquainted, is intelligible without a 
 specimen. 
 
 A. — Each line, you will observe, contains in it three 
 words beginning with the same letter. One passage of 
 
 VOL. II. f 
 
HBl.lJilSlMi^'1'iW, iilW 
 
 210 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 GOWER. 
 
 211 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 > 
 
 the Vision, of considerable force, is remarkable, as 
 having' ^ivcn a liint to Milton in his poucri'ul cklinea- 
 tion of the Inzar-liouse : it is a description of Kijinhy 
 or Nature overwhelming mortality witli disease and 
 misery, at the command ol" Conscience, and of her 
 attendants, Age and Death : 
 
 Kyode, Conscience then heard, and came out of the planets, 
 
 And sent forth his forrioiirs,^ fevers and fluxes, 
 
 Coughs and cardiacU^s, crampes and tooth-aclies; 
 
 There was harrowe ! and helpe ! here conieth Kynde, 
 
 With death that is dreadful to undo us all. 
 
 Age the lioare, he was in the va-ward, 
 
 And bore the banner, by riijrht he it claimed ; 
 
 So Kynde by corruption killed full hiauy. 
 
 Death came driving after, and to dust pashcd 
 
 Kings and kaysers, knightes and popes. 
 
 Another passage is equally remarlviiblc, as containing 
 a sort of prophecy of the relbrmatioii, writtcMi liofore 
 Wicklilfe had promulgated iiis doctrines: 
 
 And there shall come a king, and confess you religious. 
 And beat you as the bible telleth, for breaking of your rule. 
 
 And again : 
 
 And then shall the abbot of Abingdon, and all his issue for ever, 
 Have a knocke of a king, and incurable the wound. 
 
 This '' knocke of a king," was so singuhnly ;4)plicabh^ 
 to the character of Jlenrv the Eiuhth, that the i);jssa<>(^ 
 was suspected of having l)een foisted into the text after 
 the reformation; but Mr. \V arton states, that he had 
 seen it in a manuscript of the date 1400. 
 
 F. — Chaucer's satire against the clergy is more 
 incidental, though pretty frequently repeated ; and he 
 could discriminate in his " good persone," the virtues 
 as well as the im])eri'ections of the clerical order. This 
 great and accomplished genius is the only poet in the 
 English language, till the age of Elizabeth, whose works 
 
 Foragers. 
 
 can be perused twice, or consulted for other than phi- 
 lolugical or antiquarian purposes. 
 
 P. — But is not Gower a little older in point of 
 time ? 
 
 A. — The works of Gower are in the predicament 
 just nnntloncd; they consist of three parts: the first 
 is " Speculum Meditationis," a treatise in verse, in the 
 French tongue, and descanting with almost incomparable 
 dulness on vice, virtue, and religion; the second, ''Vox 
 Clamantis," is a sort of poetical version, in Latin, of 
 the insurrection of Wat Tyler; these pieces have not 
 been printed, but yet remain in MS. : his English poem 
 called '' Coniessio Amantis," is a long dialogue between 
 a lover and his confessor, who illustrates his injunctions 
 to his penitent by a series of apposite tales. This work, 
 consisting of thirty thousand verses, is beyond concep- 
 tion overwhelming; and how much soever it may have 
 been praised, it will most assuredly now be never read ; it 
 was first printed by Caxton. The language is nearly as 
 smooth as that of Chaucer, whom he designated as his 
 disciple, and wlio in return called him the moral Gower. 
 Tliis i)oet was paironized by Ricliard the Second: his 
 account of an interview will) rovaltv will afford a 
 specimeji of his style : . 
 
 As it befell upon a tyde, 
 As thinge which shuld tho betydc, 
 Under the town of Newe Troy, 
 Which took of Brute his first joye ; 
 In Themse v.han it was flowcnde. 
 As 1 by bote came rowende. 
 So as fortune her tyme sette. 
 My lyege lord perchaunce I mette ; 
 And so befell as 1 came nygh, 
 Out of my bote, whan he irui sygh, 
 He bad me con)e into his barge ; 
 And whan l was with him at large, 
 
 P 2 
 
21-2 
 
 VE^ IMC! A. 
 
 Amonge otlier t hinges seyde, 
 He liatb this (barge upon me leyde, 
 And hade rae do my busynesse, 
 That to his high worthynesse 
 Some new thinge I should hoke, 
 That he himself it might loke, 
 After the manner of my wrytying. 
 
 P. — This cannot be called a very poetical style; 
 thirty thousand verses of such a description must flow 
 on as heavily as the royal bar^e itself. 
 
 F. — Gower was a man of rank and fortune ; he con- 
 tributed largely to the rebuilding of the church of St. 
 Mary Overy, in Southwark, in its present form, where 
 his very curious tomb yet remains. 
 
 A. — His fame has been entirely eclipsed by Chaucer, 
 whose personal history also is somewhat better known : 
 by birth a Londoner, he was early patronized by John 
 of Gaunt, to whom he became allied, by marrying the 
 sister of Catherine Swynford. Like his patron, he was 
 attached to the doctrines of Wicklillc, and in the reign 
 of Richard the Second, suffered some inconveniences 
 on that account; he died in 1400, aged seventy-two : his 
 great merits were at once appreciated; he was styh^d 
 the flower of eloquence, chief poet of Britain. No other 
 of his works than his Canterbury Tales, the perform- 
 ance of his later years, are now read, but these 
 evince the highest excellence. Such are the force and 
 individuality of his characters, such the truth of his 
 description, the correctness of costume and manners, 
 and such the interest of his narration, that when the 
 obsoleteness of his style is a little overcome by use, 
 these tales still afford considerable pleasure. His lan- 
 guage was thought so excellent by Spenser, as to pro- 
 cure him the appellation of 
 
 Dan Chaucer, well of Enij:lish undefiled, 
 
 On fame's etenml l)ea(l-io!l worthy to be filed. 
 
 ■' 
 
 CHAUCKR. 
 
 213 
 
 To Chaucer we are indebted for the invention of the ten 
 syllable, or heroic verse ; and he improved the English 
 tongue by the introduction of many new and significant 
 words : he was unquestionably the first Englishman to 
 whom the name of poet, in its genuine lustre, could be 
 applied. The following description of an early morn- 
 ing's walk in Woodstock Park, has not been surpassed 
 in the freshness of its delineation: 
 
 I rose anon, and thoughte I woidde gone 
 
 Into the wood to hear the hirdes sing ; 
 When that the misty vapour was agone. 
 
 And clear and faire was the morrownyng ; 
 
 Tlie dew also, like silver in shinyng, 
 Upon the leaves as any baume swete. 
 Till fiery Titan, with his pergannt^ heat. 
 
 Had dried up the lusty liquor new, 
 Upon the herbes in the grene mead. 
 • • » • 
 
 And by a river forth I gan costay,^ 
 
 Of water clear as beryl or chrystal, 
 Till at the last I found a little way 
 
 Toward a parke enclosed with a wall, 
 
 To compass round, and by a gate small, 
 Whoso that would, he freelie mighte gone 
 Into this parke, ywalled with grene stone. 
 
 And in 1 went to hear the birde's song. 
 
 Which on the branches, both in plain and vale, 
 
 So loude ysang, that all the woodc rong 
 Like as it should shiver in pieces small ; 
 And as methoughte that the nightingale 
 
 With so great might her voice began outwrest, 
 
 Right as her heart for love would all to brest,'^ 
 
 7^he Com])lai7it of the Bleak Knighte, 
 
 F. — The works of a poet, Lawrence Minot, formerly 
 unknown to antiquaries, were a few years since disco- 
 vered, in searching after the MSS. of Chaucer : they are 
 a collection of poems upon the events of the former 
 part oi the reign of Edward the Third, and have l)een 
 
 ' IMcicing, 
 
 ^ Costover — to coast. 
 
 * Burst. 
 
 I 
 
2J4 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILE. 
 
 215 
 
 edited by Mi\ Ritsoii, who would tain pci:-uadc us that 
 they are very inlerestinj^ and ^alual)h\ thouuii T can 
 discover little else than the most common thoughts, 
 conve\ed in conuiion lani:ua^a\ witli all the tiresome 
 prolixity of the aire. 
 
 A, — The Saxon tongue had now changed into Eng- 
 lisli, but it is difiicult to tran^ bv what means tlie 
 alteration was brought about: till a century after 
 the Conquest, when the dawn of what may be called 
 English is first discoverable, the Saxon continued sur- 
 prisingly pure; nor does it, even in the tirae of Edward 
 the Third, seem so much altered by the admixture of 
 new words, as by changes in its own fornjs and termi- 
 nations, for which no reason can well be assigned. 
 
 F. — Of the proportion in which Anglo-Saxon and 
 Norman are combined in the English tongue at any 
 given period, it is extremely dillieult to judge ; so little 
 had thev amalgamated at the beirinninu of tije fourteenth 
 century, that public speakers often pronounced a dis- 
 course to the same audience in Latin, French, and 
 English. 
 
 A. — Till the wars of Edward the Third, I'rench 
 continued to be the soh^ language spoken at court; 
 but it being abolished by that monarch in pleadings at 
 huv, the English tongue became of necessity somewhat 
 more cultivated. A writer of that period, John de 
 Trevisa, a Cornish gentleman, thus relates the appro- 
 priation of the two languages to the diflerent ranks in 
 societv: '" Gentihiien's children ben larned and tauuht 
 from theyr youth to speke Frenshe, and uplandishe men 
 will counterfete and liken himself to gentilmen, and arn 
 besy to speke Frenshe, for to be more sciic by; where- 
 fore it is sayd by comyn provcrbe, Jack would be a 
 gentilman if he could speke Frcnsh.e." 
 
 F. — The English was surely a dialect, uncouth, 
 barbarous, and unformed; the same author, describing 
 the w ant of uaii'ormity in the manner of speaking, says, 
 '^ Son e use strange wafling, chytrying, garrying, and 
 grysby ting, the language of the Northumbres, especially 
 at York, is so sharp, flitting, frotying, and unshape, 
 that we southern men may unnethe understande that 
 
 language. 
 
 »> 
 
 A. — As a proof of the unfixedness of orthography, 
 we may remark, that the name of WieklifFe is found to 
 be spelled sixteen different ways. The manners of the 
 people too were nearly as rough as their language: an 
 anonymous monk of Malmesbury accuses them as ex- 
 ceeding all other nations in pride, jierjury, and disho- 
 nesty ; but this is surely the splenetic ill-nature of the 
 cloister: Froissart blames them indeed for their inso- 
 lence to foreigners, which unpleasant trait of national 
 manners is scarcely yet worn out. The Scots, accord- 
 ing to this writer, had little or no politeness, the people 
 in general being a kind of savages, envying the riches 
 of others and tenacious of their own possessions ; and 
 notw ithstanding the intimacy of their alliance, no very 
 cordial friendship seems ever to have existed between 
 the French and Scotish nations. 
 
 P. — It has often been observed, that the earliest 
 writers in most languages have been poets: did the 
 dawn of literature in England present an exception? 
 
 A. — One work of this era may be so considered, 
 '' The Voiyage and Travaile of Sir John Maundevile, 
 knighte, which treateth of the w ays to Hierusalem and 
 Marvavles of Inde, w ith other Islandes and Countries." 
 This is reallv a most entertaining book, and may be 
 read with pleasure, for the amusement it affords, inde- 
 pendent of its antiquarian interest. The author w^as 
 
SI (J 
 
 VKSTIGIA. 
 
 born at St. Albans; he left Englaiul in l^^'i, cuul was 
 absent about thirty-four years; at his retnr)! lie was 
 known by few people. He has been unjustly hehl up 
 as a " liar of the first maunitnde;" whereas his desiirn 
 seems rather to have been to commit to writin^^ what- 
 ever he had heard, read, or seen, conc( rnin- the places 
 which he visited : thus he has described monsters from 
 Pliny, copied miracles from legends, and rehited stories 
 from authors of romance. 
 
 jr. —The book affords sufficient evidence to prove 
 that the author had actually visited the countries which 
 he professes to describe. 
 
 A. Many thinp:s considered fabulous have been 
 
 since proved true: we may pve up liis ' rats as big as 
 hounds,' and his ' gec<.Q with two heads,' but his ' hens 
 that bore wool instead of feathers,' are now known as 
 Japan or silky fowls; besides many ol* his marvels arc 
 IH-efaced with '' thei seyn, men seyne, but I have not 
 seen it/' It is surprising how many traditional ab- 
 surdities and vulgar errors are to be found in this 
 work. Sir John died at Liege, l:i72. The following 
 quotation affords a very fair sample of his style and 
 manner: '' There ben also in that conntree, tlie isle of 
 Calonak, a kynde of snayles, that ben so grete, that 
 many persones may loggen hem in here schelles, as 
 men wolde done in a lityll house; and other snayles 
 there ben that ben full grete, but not so huge as the 
 other, and of theise snayles and ol' grete white worms 
 that ban blake heddes, that ben also as grete as a 
 man's thighe, and some lesse, that men fynden tliere in 
 woodes, men maken vyaunde riall for the kyng, and 
 for otlier grete lordes. And if a man that is maryed 
 dye in that contrec, men buryen his wile with him allc 
 cpiyk; ibr men seyn there that it is resoun that s( he 
 
 FllSTORIANS. 
 
 217 
 
 make him companye in the other worlde as sche did in 
 this." 
 
 P. — Did the historians who flourished in the two 
 reigns of Edward the Third and Richard the Second, 
 surpass the very moderate pretensions of their imme- 
 diate predecessors in that department. 
 
 A, — They continued to perform their task in the 
 same dull, dry, drowsy, monkish style. AV alter He- 
 mingford was a canon of Gisborough Abbey: he wrote 
 a history of England, from the Conquest to 1308, with 
 care and exactness; he subjoined an additional book, 
 reaching to 1347, in which year it is supposed that he 
 died : his narrative is perspicuous, and valuable for 
 its references to public documents. Robert Avesbury, 
 register of the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 wrote a history of the reign of Edvvard the Third, to 
 the year J35G, when the author died: it is a plain nar- 
 rative of facts, stated with apparent candour and im- 
 partiality, accurately referring, like the last writer, to 
 public documents. Ralph lligden's Polychronicon, so 
 called because it comprehends the transactions of 
 many ages, is a history of England, from the beginning 
 of the world to his own times (1357): it is not in much 
 estimation : much of the work is supposed to be stolen 
 from the MSS. of [loger, a monk of St. Werburghs, in 
 Chester, who wrote half a century before. Higden be- 
 longed to the same monastery, in which he died very 
 aged (13G3). This work was translated into English 
 by John de Trevisa, and in it are the passages which 
 we have just quoted ; it w as printed, with the language 
 a little modernized, by Caxton, in 1482, who added an 
 additional book: this edition is justly considered as 
 a great curiosity. Henry Knyghton was a canon of 
 Leicester; his history reaches from the Conquest to 
 
 
» 
 
 218 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the year 1395: he is esteemed an exact and faithlul 
 narrator ot* events within his o\',n time. 
 
 F.—Wc must not pass over the Scotish historian 
 John, a priest oi' Fordun, who died about 1380 : his 
 work, Scotichronicon, is considered as a complete and 
 tolerably authentic history ol' the allairs ol Scotland, 
 though containini,^ many legendary tales; it was so 
 much esteemed that every convent in Scotland had a 
 copy transcribed for its use. This author incidentally 
 glances at several particulars ol" contemporary J jiglish 
 history; but we may recollect what was observed at 
 the close of the last conversation, that our knowledge 
 of the events of any reign is chiefly to be derived, not 
 from contemporary, but from subsequent, authors. 
 
 A. — The celebrated chronicles of Froissart are 
 somewhat an exception to this remark : personally ac- 
 quainted with the principal actors in the scenes which 
 he describes, this author related every thing that he saw, 
 and believed every thing that was told him ; conse- 
 quently his history is more valuable as a striking pic- 
 ture of ancient and chivalric manners, than as an accu- 
 rate detail of facts, the narration bein^* str;in^-(^lv con- 
 fused and abounding in mistakes and inaccuracies. 
 
 F. — The French have considered him as partial 
 towards the English ; but who could describe tlie 
 battles of Crecy and Poicticrs in any terms that would 
 not wound the vanity of the Gallic nation? 
 
 A. — Froissart was born at Valenciennes, and fol- 
 low^ed in the train of Queen Philippa to the En^dish 
 court, in which he resided a few years: liis chronicle, 
 in four books, narrates various transactions relative to 
 England, France, and Spain, from 182() to 1400. He 
 has been called Herodotus, without his stvle : but this 
 seems much too high an encomium. l)oub(k\ss, from their 
 
 
 FROISSART. 
 
 219 
 
 dramatic painting, Froissart's pages are often highly in- 
 teresting ; and at other times, from the frivolousness of 
 his facts, and the excessive nunuteness with which they 
 are detailed, exceedingly tiresome. A specimen of the 
 im])ortance which he attaches to the most trivial cir- 
 cumstances, may be seen in his account of a letter sent 
 by Henry of Transtamare to the Black Prince on the 
 subject of approaching hostilities : '' When the letter 
 was written King Henry had it sealed, and calling his 
 own herald to him, said, ' Go thou, as fast as possible, 
 by the nearest road, to the Prince of Wales, and give 
 him from me this letter.' The herald replied, ^ Willingly, 
 my lord.' He left the king, and taking the road to 
 Navarre came up to the prince, when bending his knee, 
 he delivered to him the letter from King Henry. The 
 ])rince made the herald rise, and taking the letter, 
 opened it, and read it twice over, the better to under- 
 stand it: when he had read and considered a little its 
 contents, he ordered part of his council to be sum- 
 moned, tellinu th(^ lierald to quit the place Avhere the 
 council was to be held." 
 
 P. — If all hi.siory were written in this style, it would 
 be difllcult to find libraries sufficient to contain its 
 volumes. 
 
 A. — Froissart w^as an enthusiastic admirer of chi- 
 valry, and looked upon a knight as little less than an 
 angel: he calls Si. James, ie saint baron St, Jacques. 
 He revisited England in 1395, and presented Richard the 
 Second with a book '* fairly illuminated, and covered 
 with crimson velvet, with ten buttons of silver gilt, and 
 roses of gold in the midst, with two great clasps gilt, 
 richly wrought. Then the king," says he, ''demanded 
 of me, whereof it treated? and 1 replied, d' Amour; at 
 which lie was glad." With much feeling the historian 
 
220 
 
 VHSTIGIA. 
 
 relates the melancholy end oi' his beiiclaclor : '' How 
 Richard of Boiirdeaiix died, and l)v what means, I 
 could never learn : some pitied him, and others not, 
 saying, he had tbr a k)ng time deserved death. Aow 
 consider, ye kini^s, lords, dukes, prelates, and earls, 
 how very changeable the fortunes of this world arc: 
 this king reigned twenty-tw o years in great prosperity, 
 and with much splendour; during my residence with 
 him for a quarter of a year he made me good cheer, 
 because in my youth I had been secretary to Kino 
 Edward, his grandfather, and the lady Phili])pa of 
 Hainault, queen of England. AVhen I took my leave 
 of him at Windsor, he presented me bv one of his 
 knights. Sir John Golofre, a silver gilt goblet weighing 
 full two marks, filled with one hnndred nobles, which 
 were then of service to me, and will be so ]on<»- as I 
 live. I am bound to pray to God for him, and sorrv 1 
 am to write of his death." 
 
 
 DISSERTATION X. 
 
 liiug'0 ia*ollfge CJjayel, iTamDriOg^. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 f I' 
 
 rUE LINE OF LANCASTER, 
 
 Hexry 
 
 IV. . - 
 
 A. 
 
 D. 
 
 1399 
 
 Henry 
 
 V, - . 
 
 - 
 
 
 1413. 
 
 Henry 
 
 VI. - - 
 
 Section 
 
 I. 
 
 
 1422, 
 
 M^* — Next these the plenteous Ouse came far from land, 
 By many a city and by many a towne. 
 Thence doth by Huntingdon and Cambridge flit; 
 My mother Cambridge, whom as with a crownc 
 He doth adorne, and is adorned of it, 
 W^ith many a gentle muse and many a learned wit. 
 
 Faery Qiieenc, hook 4, canto 11. 
 
 Such was the affectionate remembrance of ihe poet 
 Spenser to his venerable Alma Mater ; and cold must 
 l)e the heart which has studied m these classic bowers 
 that does not kindle with enthusiasm in revisiting the 
 scenes oi* early iriendships and enchanting hopes. 
 
 /I. —Few spots in the kingdom are associated with 
 
222 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 more interesting recollections than these quiet and con- 
 templative walk^, and none present a more picturesque 
 contrast than what tlie luxuriant but sonil)re foliage of 
 these noble elms opposes to the architectural splendour 
 of the halls and colleges rising bcyoud tluin. 
 
 P. — The antiquity, as well as beauty of tlu^ lofty 
 turrets of King's College Chapel gives tlint charm to the 
 scene which structures entirely modern are unable to 
 confer. 
 
 F. — Yet the general feature of the buildings in 
 
 « 
 
 Cambridge is not that of extreme antiquity. A sluup 
 contention once prevailed, and for aught I know yet 
 continues, relative to the origin of this university, and 
 its priority to that of its splendid rival, Oxford. 
 
 A. — During the Long Parliament (1()40), a su])sidy 
 bill having been brought into the house, in which 
 Cambridge was mentioned before Oxford, Sir Simonds 
 D'Ewes undertook to prove that " Cambridge was a 
 renowned city five hundred years bcl'ore there was a 
 house at Oxford standing, and wliilst brute beasts fed 
 and corn was sown on the place ; which position," said 
 he, ^' if I do not prove, I will yield uj) the bucklers."^ 
 
 F. — The superior antiquity of Cambridge rests chielly 
 on a passage in Bede,'' which states that Sigebcrt, king 
 of the East Angles, who died in G84, instituted a school 
 where youth might be well trained up in learning; to 
 this the partizans for Oxford can produce no equal 
 voucher: they assert therefore, that the particular place 
 in which Sigebcrt instituted his school not beinii: men- 
 tioned, it might possibly be in some other pjut of his 
 dominions ; and they claim for their own patron King 
 Alfred, who, according to the historian .V^ser, con- 
 
 'I 
 
 I 
 
 Speecli, Uo. U]42. 
 
 ^ Ecclcs. Hist. rib. 3, c. 18. 
 
 
 !) 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF CAMBRIDGE AND OXFORD. 
 
 secrated Oxford as a nursery of learning in the year 
 
 87G. 
 
 A. — But this passage in Asser has, by Camden and 
 Dr. Smitli, been considered as an interpolation; and 
 there is no autlientic document in which the name of 
 Alfred nppears as a benefactor to Oxford. The claims 
 of Anthony a Wood and Thomas Hearne to the Greeks 
 who accompanied Brutus, and established themselves 
 at Cricklade,^ on the one side; and those of Nicholas 
 Cantelupe on the otlier, in favour of a certain Cantaber, 
 the lirothcr of Partholanus, in the days of King Gur- 
 guntius,^ who established himself at Caer-grant, and 
 peopled it with philosophers from Athens, we will pass 
 over as deliria semtm, as well as a pretended charter of 
 King Arthur's, The question of priority is not altoge- 
 ther cleared up ; but the oldest legal record is that 
 relating to the establishment of Merton College, Ox- 
 ford, whose statutes bear date 1274/ at least a few 
 years anterior to Peter House, Cambridge (1280).'^ 
 
 jF. — Fuller,"^ a Cantabrigian, unwilling to resign the 
 pretensions of his mother and his nurse, despatches the 
 subject in one of the happiest and most exact similies 
 that can possibly be met with ; alluding to the delivery 
 oi' Thamar's twins,^ he says, '' As Zarah first put out 
 his hand, and then drew it in again, whilst Pharez first 
 came forth into the world ; so Cambridge, with an ex- 
 tended arm, time out of mind, first challenging the 
 l)irthright and priority of place, but afterwards drawing 
 it in again, she lay for many years desolate and of 
 less accovmt; whilst Oxford, if later, larger came forth 
 in more entire proportion, and ever since constantly 
 continued in the full dimensions of an university." 
 
 a Vol . 1 , page 1 5 . 
 *' Beiitlmni, Elv. 
 
 I' Page 20. 
 *^ Chi I roll Hist. 
 
 *^ Ant. a Wood. 
 * Gen. xxxviii. v. 29. 
 
224 
 
 VKSTKMA. 
 
 A, — Both universities have cIoiil)tIess risen from 
 small beginnings, and in attaining their present great- 
 ness, their progress has been partly the result of wis- 
 dom, and partly of accident ; but the beautiful propor- 
 tions of King s College Chapel arrest our attention. 
 
 F. — In approaching this celebrated structure, we 
 perceive that it exhibits a perfect specimen of the florid 
 stvle of Gothic architecture. In this cdilice are united 
 simplicity of design, stability of nuisonry, and elegance 
 of execution: the greater and smaller members are so 
 judiciously proportioned as to produce that architec- 
 tural symmetry which at once delights the eye and 
 
 satisfies the mind. 
 
 .4.— -The upper portion of the four turrets are parti- 
 cularly rich and beautiful, perforated and adorned with 
 various figures, and surrounded and crowned by purlled 
 pinnacles. It seems to have been a ])rincii)ie in Gothic 
 architecture to enrich the entrances, and in this instance 
 the expectation excited by the magnificent and highly 
 ornamented doorways is not disappointed by any dimi- 
 nution of grandeur or beauty in the interior of the 
 edifice. 
 
 F. — The coup cFoeil is truly enchanting: tlie solar 
 rays transmitted through these gorgeous windows pro- 
 duce an elfect not to be surpassed in the variety of 
 light and shade: here the rich and grand, the light and 
 airy, unite in such a debghtful combination as to absorb 
 the senses of the spectator with feelings of delight and 
 
 admiration. 
 
 p. — We cannot, with Milton, call these glorious 
 tints, *' a dim religious light,' as they absolutely dazzle 
 
 the vision. 
 
 ^1. — After recovering the effect of our surprise, in 
 
 analysing the building, we are first stricken with its 
 
 KINGS COM. EG E CHAPEL. 
 
 005 
 
 avenue-like leng!h, th- lioight of its buoyant and magi- 
 cal roof, and the profuse ornamcr.t which distinguishes 
 every part: some of these decorations may have been 
 thought siqu rfluous or crowded, but their united eflect 
 is truly sumptuous. 
 
 F.—It the architects of this age were unguided by 
 the rules of proportion, they yet worked upon acknow- 
 ledged i)rinciples, and reconciled soliditv with lidit- 
 ness with a ]j( tter grace than artists of a later day; 
 their eflbrts to produce efl'ect never weakened the sta- 
 bility of their edifices. 
 
 A, — 'I'he pendulous roof has in particular challenged 
 the admiration of all practical architects. There is a tra- 
 dition that Sir Christopher Wren used to say, that if any 
 man would show him where to place the first stone, he 
 would engage to build another such wonder: but surely 
 the genius that could execute the dome of St. Paul's, 
 could not be at a loss to comprehend the mechanical 
 construction of the roof above us, though it is acknow- 
 ledged that the l)uilder has accomplished one of the 
 most difficult tasks in architecture. 
 
 F. — Painted windows are generally admired from 
 their richness of colouring, but these before us are 
 executed with so jr.uch taste and judgment as to claim 
 the praise of i)ictorial skill. An erroneous tradition has 
 prevailed that they were obliged to be taken down in 
 order to secure them from the uidiallowed attack of 
 ('romweirs soldiers, but the provost luckily thinking^ 
 that l)y comerting the chapel into a place of training 
 for militarv exercise, these enthusiasts, rather than be 
 exposed to the weather, would endure the sight of such 
 superstitions, they were happily preserved ; an entry in 
 the commissioners' journal iiad previously doomed the 
 wiridow:^ to destruction ; so iiarrovrly did the painted 
 
 VOL. H. Q 
 
226 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 saints escape from a combat with the military saints, 
 in which I fear no miracle could have secured tliem the 
 
 victory. 
 
 P. — A fabric so highly wrought as King's College 
 chapel must have taken a considerable time in its con- 
 struction. 
 
 ;^ A, — How much of the edifice was raised by Henry 
 the Sixth is not ascertained, but the whole was not 
 completed till after the accession of Henry the Eighth. 
 In tracing the progress of Gothic architecture, we have 
 seen how the heavy simplicity of the Saxon and early 
 Norman semicircular arch was supplanted in the 
 twelfth century by the lofty magnilicence of the pointed 
 arch, the first manner of which style, with its acute 
 lancet-shaped windows, obtains in the cathedrals of 
 Salisbury and Lincoln, and in the abbeys of \\ estmin- 
 ster and Beverley. In a century and half this stylo 
 deviated into the equilateral arch, such as the cathe- 
 drals of York and Canterbury exhibit ; and as invention 
 is ever restless, the next change was in renderinu the 
 angle of the arch obtuse, as in the present sumptuous 
 chapel, which may be considered as the consummation 
 of Gothic architecture, as after this era the style mise- 
 rably and unaccountably degenerated ; but i)erhaps for 
 devotional purposes the beholder may prefer the chaste 
 grandeur of York, or even the unadorned mnjesty of 
 Salisbury Cathedral. 
 
 P. — Granting that aw fulness is not its characteristic, 
 yet this admirable pile remains a glorious monument 
 of the taste of the age and the piety of its Ibunder, 
 Henry the Sixth. ''The meek usurper's holy head*' 
 has thus become associated with more pleasing sensa- 
 tions than its native insigniticance would have other- 
 wise bestowed. 
 
 EARL OF III T LAND. 
 
 
 F. — For the present we must put aside " the mur- 
 dered saint," as our enquiries lead us to his grand- 
 father, Henrv the Fourth, the first monarch of the line of 
 Lancaster, whom we have seen, by a train of circum- 
 stances partly Ibrtuitous, and by a course of action 
 partly criminal, fix himself in the English throne. 
 
 yl. — In this exalted station, however glorious at a 
 distanc (', he found himself encompassed with dangers 
 and disturbed by perplexities ; imable to establish his 
 title upon any intelligible basis, he felt that he owed 
 his elevation to a sudden gust of popular favour, which 
 a contrary gale miaht as suddenly destroy. At the first 
 meeting of parliament a specimen of the difiiculties he 
 would meet with in governing an unruly aristocracy 
 presented itself: the peers in that assembly broke out 
 into violent animosities against each other, and twenty 
 Jioods and gauntlets,^ the pledges of as many battles, 
 were thrown upon the floor by diflerent noblemen, 
 whilst the appellatiojis of liar and traitor resounded 
 through the house.'' 
 
 F. — The force of Henry's mind however expanded 
 with tlie dilhculties oi' his situation. , 
 
 A, — In the very first year of Henry's reign a con- 
 spiracy w as formed against him by several noblemen, 
 in favour of the young Earl of Marche, whose claim to 
 the succession had been acknowledged by a previous 
 parliament, but the plan was defeated by the treachery 
 of the Earl of Rutland, son to the Duke of York. 
 
 /?_This infamous person, the Earl of Rutland, 
 without faith or honour, was in the last reign created 
 Duke of Aumerle, but had been deprived of his duke- 
 dom at the accession of Henry. He had l)een a party 
 in the murder of his uncle Gloucester, at Calais : at 
 
 » Stow. 
 
 ^ Rot. Pnrl. vol.5. 
 
 Q2 
 

 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 the iall of Puihiird he deserted his beaeiaelor and 
 swore allegiance to Henrv ; he now entered into a 
 conspiracy ai^ainst his sovereiitn and betrayed his asso- 
 ciates.^ The secret is said to have been disclosed by his 
 father discoverin.i>- the part of a paper conceaUnl in Ids 
 bosom containini;' a list of tlie conspirators.'' 
 
 p^ — If we can imagine such a ciivr.nistance to liave 
 occu.red, we must conclude that it was designed 1)y 
 Rutland as an excuse or extenuation of his treachery. 
 The discovery forms the basis of a wild scene or two 
 between this vounu* man and Ids parents, the Duke and 
 Ducliess of York, in Shakspeare's llichard the Second. 
 /I.— The conspiracy beinir thus frustrated, several 
 noblemen were summarily beheaded as soon as taken,'' 
 and no iewer than twenty-nine knights and gentlemen 
 hanged,' a proper prelude to the calamitous wars of 
 the Roses, and it gave a pretext to deprive Richard of 
 his life,^ who tiii this period had languished in varitais 
 castles. Henry, thus receiving no gentle hints of tiie 
 instability of his power, deemed it expedient to pay 
 court to the clergy ; and though he had l)een sup})os(Hl, 
 from his education, a favourer of Vrickliffe's doctrines, 
 he now sought by the aid of superstition to prop his 
 tottering throne, and passed the infar.ious statuti^ vw- 
 forcing the writ iU comhnrendo hcreticoJ 
 . F.— Such then was the hrst reward conferred on 
 the nation for deposing its sovereign, and setting aside 
 the lawful heir. Hitherto the punishment of heresy 
 consisted chiefly in ecclesiastical censures ; indeed so 
 earlv as the reign of Henry the Second^ some simple 
 German fanatics, who arrived in En-land, wore \viiii)ped 
 throusii the streets, and luanv of them perished witii 
 
 * Wal^insfl! ini. 
 
 " Page 20 1 . 
 
 '• Hall. «" Walsinghani. ** HalI,Cbron. 
 
 * SUt. 2 Hen. IV. e Gnl. Noul). Mat. Paris. 
 
 WII.MAM SAWTREK. 
 
 O^X> 
 
 cold and hunger; but till this statute, which to the 
 shame of the nation continued unrepealed till the 
 reign of Charles the Second (1077), the oftence was 
 not ( apital. 
 
 A. — So ])owerful a weapon did not remain long un- 
 employed in the hands of the ecclesiastics. William 
 Sautr(\ rector of St. Osyth, in London, was cited before 
 the convocation, and accused of refusing to worship the 
 cross, and of denying the doctrine of transubstantiation. 
 The first ( harge he exi)lained away, and he also acknow- 
 ledged the real presence of Christ in the sacrament; 
 but when Arundel, the archbishop, urged him to profess 
 his belief, that after consecration, the substance of the 
 bread and wine no longer remained, but was converted 
 into the proper sul)stancc of the body and blood of 
 Christ, as really and truly as when that body was in 
 the wond) of the Virgin Mary, as it hung upon the cross, 
 as it lay in the grave, and as it now resided in heaven, 
 Sautrt^ stood au'hast, and after some hesitation, de- 
 clared that whatever might be the consequence he 
 could neither understand nor believe such doctrine/ 
 The intrepid martyr w as consequently delivered over to 
 tl)e secular ann, and atoned for his opposition by the 
 penalty oi iirc, 
 
 F. — As William Sautr^ mav be considered the 
 iirst martyr to religious opinion in England, it is some- 
 what singular how little his name is known, or his 
 sufi'erings celebrated. 
 
 A. — The native obscurity of the person may be partly 
 the cause ; and there w^as a certain degree of prevarica- 
 tion in his answers which, with such a dreadful death 
 belbre his eyes, may well be excused. It seems that 
 he d<^nied a previous conviction for heresy, probably 
 
 » Tox, Arts aarl iMonuinents, vyl. 1. ^^'i^l^^n5>5 Concil. vol. 5. 
 
2;]o 
 
 VESTKilA. 
 
 OWEN gli:ndo\\ KH- 
 
 231 
 
 on the o-round of not funiishins: evidence against him- 
 self: this precaution a modern Catholic histvuiau (dlls 
 unparalleled eilrontcry ; and the tone in which he treats 
 this shameful persecution is curious : " T\\r unhappy 
 man/ says Dr. Lingard/ very coolly, " instead of being 
 shut up in an asylum for lunatics, was burni b) death 
 as a malefactor." 
 
 p. — Is Archbishop ArundeFs exphmalion of the 
 eucharist, that after consecration the bread ceases to 
 be bread, still maintained by the church of Home? 
 
 p^ — As that infallible niuther profe.-ses never to 
 alter her opinions, I am led to conclude that such 
 is her present orthodox tenet; but I should imagine 
 that a charge of lunacy would be ratlier fitted to tlie 
 supporters than the oppugners of such a doctrine, which 
 violates every principle of logic and reason, and sup- 
 poses such a prostration of the understanding l)eforc 
 the shrine of folly and imposture, as no other religion, 
 however false and barbarous, can exhibit a parallel. 
 But let not such severitv of censure be construed to 
 extend to the genuine doctrines of the Christian faith, 
 as founded on the basis of scripture, of which the tenet 
 of transubstantiation forms neither " part lior parcel." 
 
 A. — Henry continued in a state of great inquietude 
 and danger; but tlie events of his reign v%ould not have 
 interested posterity, had they not been sketched by the 
 magic pencil of Shakspeare, who has giv( n the detail 
 with imrivalled spirit, and witli but small id)erration 
 from the truth of history. The First l*art of his IJenry 
 the Fourth opens, <it the close of the late conspiracy, 
 with the king receiving inteUigence froni Wales: 
 
 Uut yostcrniglit there came 
 
 A i>o-l iVoiu \V.ik\s, louden with heavy news, 
 
 f 
 
 Whose worst was, that the noble Mortimer, 
 Leading the men of Herefordshire to fight 
 Against the irregular and wild (Jlendowcr, 
 Was by the rude hands of that Welshman taken. 
 And a thousand of his people butchered ; 
 Upon whose dead corps there was such misuse. 
 Such beasUy, shameless transformation, 
 By those W^elshwomcn done, as may not be, 
 Without much shame, retold or spoken of, 
 
 OwenClcndower, descended from the ancient princes 
 of Wales, had been attached to Kichard the Second : 
 piovoked by some recent affronts, he had taken arms 
 against Henry, and he long carried on a tedious and 
 desultory war. The English army being dispirited by 
 the reputation of the magical arts attributed to this 
 Welsh chieftain,* the play with equal accuracy goes on 
 to relate, that the Earl of Douglas, having devastated the 
 northern counties, w as on his return overtaken by Heiuy 
 Hotspur, lord Percy, at Halidown, or Holmedon Hill, 
 on the borders, where a battle ensuing, the Scots were 
 totally routed, chiefly by the prowess of the English 
 archers, and Douglas himself, Mordake, the earl of 
 Fife, nephew to the Scotish king, with several other 
 no])lemen, made prisoners.^ 
 
 What think you, coz. 
 
 Of this young Percy's pride ? the prisoners, 
 Wliich he in this adventure hath surprised, 
 To his own use he keeps ; and sends me word 
 I shaU have none but Mordake, earl of Fife. 
 
 F—T\ic command of Henry to the Percies, not to 
 ransom their prisoners,^ v>hich, by the then established 
 laws of w arlare, was their exclusive right, gave occa- 
 sion to those feelings of hostility so naturally described 
 by the poet, and whicli the relative situation of the two 
 parties, conferring and receiving obligations too great 
 to be repaid, unavoidably excited : 
 
 History of England, vol. 5. 
 
 » Otterbourne. 
 
 »^ ll)id. 
 
 c Walsingham. 
 
232 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 For, bear ourselves as even as we can, 
 The kinpr will always think him in our debt, 
 And think wc tliink ourselves unsatisfied. 
 Till he halh found a time to pay us home. 
 
 A, — Sucii was the imlimitod ciulliorifv of this <ncat 
 family, that the Percies imagined that t!ie same hands 
 \v]ii( h had raised could pull down a kimi; and Iev\in<' 
 an army. Hotspur, havino- Ibrmed an alliance with his 
 prisoner, Douglas, proceeded towards \\ ales, with the 
 intention of joining his forc(\s to those of Owen d'h^i- 
 dower. Here he issued a manifesto, upbraidinir the 
 king with the piMlidious means by wiiich he ohlcnned 
 the crown; which must have hvvu felt as very pro- 
 voking, because very true; and he proclaimed \hv pre- 
 ferable title of the Earl of Maiche/ llenrv however 
 undismayed, having a small i)ower on foot, encountered 
 the levies of Hotspur on tiieir march towards Shrews- 
 bury. The armies consisted vi al/out twelve thousand 
 men on each side, and the battle was severely disputed." 
 The king exhibited great prudence as a general, and 
 courage as a soldier. 
 
 F.— The particulars, described by Shakspeare with 
 such graphic eifect, deviate but little from th(^ injth. 
 Several persons accoutred in the royal garb were siain.^ 
 Douglas displayed many eminent feats of valour; and 
 the Prince of \\ ales, gallantly fighting, was wounded 
 in the face;' but his personal contest with Hotspur is 
 merely a situation for the theatre; the latter fell by an 
 unknown hand,' ^^\nch circumstance decided the vic- 
 tory, as the rebels, seeing the death (d' their leader, 
 immediately fled. 
 
 A. — The Earl of Xorthund)erland having been de- 
 tained at home by sickness, pretended that his intention 
 
 '^ Hardyng. 
 ** T. Livius. 
 
 '' \\ alsingham. 
 * Otterhournc, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP SCROOP. 
 
 233 
 
 was to mediate between the parties, and Henry spared 
 his life and honour. The rebels were in general treated 
 with lenity; but the luirl of Worcester, biother to 
 Norllinml)erland, who was supposed to have been the 
 chief actor in this conspiracy, and even to have deceived 
 Hotspur, in keeping back the king's assent to certain 
 conditions, was executed.^ 
 
 F, — A domestic anecdote strongly illustrates the 
 misery of these civil contentions. Two knights of 
 Staflordsliire, Sir Robert Mavestone and Sir William 
 Handsacre, set out from their seats to combat on dif- 
 ferent sides, each attended by a train of followers: on 
 their journey the parties prematurely met and engaged; 
 Handsacre was shun, and Mavestone proceeding fell 
 with Percy in the field of battle. To complete the story, 
 ?dargaret, the daughter of Sir Robert, being affianced, 
 gave her hand and fortune to the son of the knight who 
 had slain her father. 
 
 A, — About two years after this event, Scroop, arch- 
 bishop of York ( ! 405),l)rother to the Earl of Wiltshire,the 
 obnoxious minister of Richard the Second, whom Henry 
 so unceremoniously executed just before his accession; 
 still harbouring resentment for that action, joined in 
 a fresh enter[)rise with Northumberland. The prelate 
 })ublishcd an upbraiding manifesto,^ of nearly similar 
 imi)ort witii ihnt issued by the Percies in the former 
 insurrection, and tlic undertaking proved equally 
 fruitless. 
 
 F. — This plot forms tlie serious business in the 
 Second Part of Shakspeare\s play of Henry the Fourth: 
 in this dr.uua is represented the ridiculous manner in 
 \\hi( h the prelate sent home his forces on a feigned recon- 
 ciliation' with the J^arl of \\ cslmoreland, vJio com- 
 
 * CUtcibournc. 
 
 ^' Anglia Sacm, vol. 2. 
 
 ^ Wali-inghani. 
 
231 
 
 VEST I (MA. 
 
 manded the kind's army, and so exposed liiinself to (lie 
 derision as well as to the vengeance of Henry, wlio 
 caused his speedy execution.^ The death of this prelate 
 is the first example of capital punishment inflicted on a 
 bishop, and what no former monarch, in tlu^ ph^nitude 
 of an undisputed title, had dared to perform. 
 
 P' — The perfidy on one side can only l)e opposed 
 by the folly on the other: 
 
 Most shallowly did he these arms commence, 
 Fondly brouafht here, and foolishly sent hence. 
 
 A. — The Earl of Xorthumberland fied iutoScothind; 
 but becominir impatient of exile, In^ suddenly ent( red 
 England, where being encountered by the shcriif of 
 Yorkshire, he was slain at Eramham Moor/^ And such 
 was the fortune of Henry, that about this time his old 
 adversary, Owen Glendower, who had caused hhn much 
 vexation, was deserted by his followers, and skulking 
 about the country, gave the king no further disturl)ance : 
 he lived however till the next reign."" 
 
 F. — Henry was indeed a remarkable instance of the 
 power of fortune. He once escaped an insidious attack 
 upon his life, by discovering, just before he lay dow n, 
 three sharp spikes placed in his bed.' At another time, 
 passing over the mouth of the Thames at Queenborough, 
 to Lee, in Essex, he was pursued by pirates, but 
 escaped through the superior sailing of his ship, whilst 
 those of his companions were captured.^ He found an 
 accidental means of keeping Scothuid in dependence, 
 by retaining in captivity its young i)rince, afterwards 
 James the First. This youth, at the age of eleven years, 
 being sent by his father to i'rauce, for education, un- 
 fortunately put on shore in Norfolk on account of the 
 violence of sea-sickness : some English sailors, aware 
 
 AUTHORITY or THK HOLSK OF COMMONS. 285 
 
 of the value of th<^ prize, brought him to the king, who 
 enquired of the governor where he was ordered to carry 
 his charge ; and being answered to France, for educa- 
 tion, lie r(^[>lied, '' There is no occasion to go to Paris 
 to kani French, as I understand that language, and am 
 nearer at hand."' Tiie Scotish prince was ungenerously 
 detained in England for so long a period as eighteen 
 years. Henry made some atonement, by affording him 
 an excellent (ducation, by ^\hieh afterwards James 
 became qualified to reform the barbarous manners of 
 his native country. 
 
 A. — The reign of Henrv the Fourth is remarkable 
 for the high ground which was maintained by the House 
 of Commons : that assembly asserted a more extensive 
 authority than it had ever assumed before, or indeed 
 exercised for more than two centuries after: its mem- 
 bers conditioned valh the sovereign before they voted 
 supplies;^ they regulated liis household,^ and spoke 
 their minds freely on all subjects. This however was 
 but a temporary advantage, wrung from the delicate 
 situation of tlie king, and partly expired with the occa- 
 sion; but it made the monarch so fully sensible of the 
 limitation of his autliority, as to give rise to a re- 
 mark that, '' Hie Avorse the title, the better the prince.'' 
 As a proof of the respect which Henry deemed it expe- 
 dient to pay the House of Commons, he once invited 
 all its n]eml)ers, as well as the lords, to dine with him.^^ 
 ]\(>r were the arts of parliamentary manoeuvring uu- 
 known or ujipractised: one parliament refusing him a 
 subsidy, he i)rotracted the session to so inconvenient a 
 length, that the members were glad to be released from 
 (heir atteiuhnice bv irrantimr his desire.® 
 
 -' ^Valfeingham. »' Ibid. ' Rvincr, vol. J). '^ M'alsingliam. " Hall. 
 
 •» Fordun. '» Cotton's Abridgm. '' Ibid. 
 
 '* Rot. f'arl. vol.."^, i'. U)5. '^ Walsingham. 
 
2:W 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 X 
 
 F. — A most oxtraordinarv eflbrt of tlie Conunons 
 was their attack upon the church, whicli they more 
 than once renewed: they asserted, that it contributed 
 nothinof to the public bnrdens; tliey recornmended the 
 king to seize all the conventual revenues, and to leave 
 the care of the parishes to the secular clergy, who 
 should be paid at tlie rate of seven marks a-piece yearly 
 stipend : they proposed to divide this property, which they 
 reckoned would amount to four liundred and t iuhtv-tive 
 thousand marks, amongst fifteen new earls, one thou- 
 sand five hundred knights, and six thousand esquires, 
 and the remainder, after endowing one hundred hosjii- 
 tals, would become a perpetual revenue to the king of 
 twenty thousand marks.** Tlie Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, in vindicati(m, objected tliat, though tlie rh-rgy 
 went not in person to the wars, yet they sent their vas- 
 sals, and otfenHl \\\s prayers night and day ibr the pros- 
 perity of the state. The speaker of the Comnunis sniiied, 
 and said that lie thought the prayers of the churcli a 
 very slender supply. Th(^ king however, afraid oi (he 
 hostility of the clergy, with a severe reply to the Com- 
 mons, rejected their petition.^ 
 
 P. — We should scarcely have suspected (hat men 
 would talk in such a strain a whole centurv before the 
 reformation. 
 
 A. — Henry's health of body did not k( e[) pace with 
 the prosperity of his affairs; he became afflicted with ' 
 fits, probably of apoplexy,^ attended with a loathsome 
 eruption of the face, which was considered as a jMuiish- 
 ment for Archbishop Scroops murder. It is said tliat 
 he began to doubt tlie truth of his lYi\ourite m.axim, that 
 success was a proof of the approljation oflieaven: nor 
 was his mind in a state of tranquil!ity, being alarmed 
 
 1HU PIUNCH OF WALKS. 
 
 237 
 
 with continual sus])icions of the ambition of the Prince 
 of Wales. 
 
 F. — Wiiether, in consequence of this jealousy, young 
 Henry, being excluded from public business, fell into a 
 course of riot and dissipation, or whether his extrava- 
 gances, as is more likely, were the cause of that exclu- 
 sion; few very young men having a violent inclination 
 ior alfairs of state; certain it is that his dissolute con- 
 duct caused the utmost uneasiness in the mind of the 
 king, as his example indeed has since done in the minds 
 of numy an anxious parent : few^ prodigal heirs, when 
 once engaged in a heedless and impetuous pursuit of 
 pleasure, stopping at that critical point, before repent- 
 ance becomes unavailable. 
 
 A. — The superior mind of Prince Henry occasionally 
 broke out amidst his greatest excesses. Having once, 
 it is said, struck the cliief justice Gascoigne, for con- 
 fminiZ' one of his riotous associates, he became sensible 
 of his fault, and sufiered himself quietly to be com- 
 mitted to prison, by order of tlie undaunted lawyer. 
 ^' nap])v," said the king, when informed of the transac- 
 tion, '' is the monarch who possesses a judge so reso- 
 lute in tlie discharge of his duty, and a son so willing 
 to yield to the authority of the law."* 
 
 F. — Une of Prince Henry's pranks, " as dissolute 
 as desperate," was attacking passengers in the streets 
 and highways, and robbing them of their goods, his 
 amusement consisting in the terror which these people 
 exhibited on such occasions: he had a particular fancy 
 to lie in wait for the receivers of his father's rents, 
 and to set upon and rob tliem: in such rencontres 
 he sometimes happened to be soundly beat, but he 
 always rewarded those officers that made the stoutest 
 
 * Wa]s»ingha?n. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 * T. de Elinbam. 
 
:2:]H 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 resistance.^ Thus, *^ Rob lue the Exclitqiiti, Ihil/' i.s 
 perhaps not altout^ther a fiction of thc^ poet's; and it is 
 even probable, that the characters of the companions 
 of the prince, including even " unimitated, iiuuiilable 
 FalstafF" himself, are bottomed on tradition. 
 
 A. — The prince, uneasy at being suspected ol 
 aspiring* to the throne, sought an iatcrview with his 
 father, in which he maintained his own innocence and 
 demanded the pnnishment of his calunmiators. To 
 shew perhaps that he was more goA erned by w him than 
 ambition, *^ He was disiruised/' savs an eye-witness, 
 *^ in a gown of blue satin, or damask, wrought lull of 
 oylet-holes, and at every oylet the needle wherewith it 
 was made, hanging still by the silk, and about h.is arm 
 he w^ore a dogs collar, set full of SS of gold, and the 
 tirets of the same also of pure gold/*'' The king heard 
 his complaint with attention, but prudently pointed out 
 the necessity of waiting for reparation till the assem- 
 bling of parliament- Hem*y's api)rehensions appear to 
 have been lulled by the interview ; but though still in 
 the ilower of his age, his end was visibly approaching; 
 a prey to perpetual anguish and remorseful suspicion, 
 he kept the crown in his sight by day, and at night it 
 shared his pillow. 
 
 F, — The incident of the prince removing it, sup- 
 posing his father to have expired, though so universally 
 current, from its beautiful exhibition by Shakspeare, is 
 of verv doubtful authoritv. 
 
 A. — The story rests on the authority of Monstrelet.'' 
 The king reviving from his trance, and having knowledge 
 that the prince had removed the crown, called ln*m to 
 his presence, enquiring why lie had so misconducted 
 himself? The prince with great self-possession replied, 
 
 * Stow. 
 
 ^ \h\(\. 
 
 < Vol. I, (ha]). iOl. 
 
 DEATH OF HENRY IV. 
 
 23a 
 
 a ^1^. |o mine nn I to all mens jud<rment, you seemed 
 lo be ik 1(1 III tlii^ world, wherefore I, as your apparent 
 heir, took the crown as mine own, and not as yours." 
 " Well, fair son," said the king, with a great sigh, 
 " what right 1 liad tu it, and how I enjoyed it, God 
 knoweth." '' Sir," replied the prince, '' if you die king, 
 T will have the garland*/ and I trust to keep it with 
 the sword against all mine enemies, as you have done." 
 '' \s\\\;' said the king, " I commit all to Cod, and 
 remember you to do well." The expiring monarch 
 having hinted at the turbulent disposition of his second 
 son the Duke of Clarence, the prince promised to be- 
 have to him as an affectionate brother, unless he should 
 disturb the realm; " In which case," said he, " T shall 
 teach him his duty." 
 
 F._Henry had the intention of making a crusade, 
 partly as an expiatii)n for his crime, in usurping the 
 crown, and partly as an act of policy, to employ the 
 unquiet spirits of his kingdom. This fancy continued 
 to the last moment of his life,^' thus accurately described 
 by the poet: 
 
 -Doth any name particular belong 
 
 Unto the lodging where I first did swoon ? 
 — 'Tis called Jerusalem, my noble lord. 
 -I^aud be to God, even there my life mnst end. 
 
 Jt had been prophesied to me many years, 
 
 I should not die but in Jerusalem, 
 
 Which vainly I supposed the Holy Land. 
 
 But bear me to the chamber, there Til lie, 
 
 111 that Jerusalem shall Harry die. 
 
 ^.— Henry expired, 20th March, ]413,<^ in the forty- 
 sixth year of his age, and the thirteenth of his reign. 
 Though below tlie middle stature, his person was robust 
 and well made; his countenance commanding; but his 
 head, says Fulhn% is not so well known as his hood. 
 
 K Henry,- 
 
 Warwick.'- 
 K, Henry.- 
 
 Hall. 
 
 i> Ibid. 
 
 "^ Walsingham. 
 
r 
 
 i>40 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Mliich he woro in mi anti([ue lasliioii, peculiar to Inuiscif- 
 his coTiraire In (he fiehl was cahii and uuihinnted, in t[ie 
 cabinet somewhat timid; though of active talents and 
 firm temper, no prince ever sat on a throne with i;realer 
 uneasiness: yet his schemes heini,- formed with pru- 
 dence, were generally successful, thouoh they were not 
 alwr^ys innocent, and rarely generous. ]Ienry, by sel- 
 dom pardoning those wlio attempted to deprive him of 
 power, knew how to make himself feared ; and he thus 
 attained a much higher degree of authority over his 
 turbulent nobility than many princes possessing the 
 most undoubted title. His amI)ition involved hhn in 
 many crimes and cares, and his country in many cala- 
 mities; yet, if we may believe his constant declaration, 
 his intention in landing at Ravenspur was nuMi^ly to 
 recover the patrimony of which he had been so unjustly 
 deprived: urged onwards by the headlong zeal of t!ie . 
 people, his refusal of the throjie would have been as 
 dangerous as its acceptance. 
 
 F.— Had the nation been coident with delhronini; 
 Richard, and fixing the governiuent in iienr\ as regent, 
 without disturbing the succession of the Earl of Man h(% 
 how many of the subsequent inconveniences would 
 have been obviated! But this was a i)itch of refmement 
 in politics beyond the level of the <x^e. 
 
 ^.— The popularity which attended J!enry at his 
 accession was lost nmny years before lh(^ expiration of 
 his reign. This prince was twice married: by his fir^t 
 wife, Mary de Bohun, daughter of the Earl of Herelbrd, 
 he left four sons, Henry, his successor; Thomas, duke 
 of Clarence; John, duke of IJedford ; and Humfrey, 
 duke of Gloucester, who all became memorablt^ i)erson- 
 ages; and also two dau-hters. His s.n ^nd uife, Jane 
 of Navarre, had jio is^ut^ Thi^w is a ^t^nn^ro story 
 
 HENRY S FUNERAL 
 
 241 
 
 relative to Henry's funeral. The corpse, it is said, 
 w as ])ut on board a vessel, for the purpose of being 
 landed at Gravcsend, thence to be conveyed to Canter- 
 bury ; but a violent storm arising, and the ship being in 
 great danger, the seamen took the body out of the coffin, 
 and threw it into the Thames, w hich immediately became 
 calm. This imitation of the mariners respecting Jonah 
 proving successful, the untenanted coffin was carried 
 to Canterbury, and interred with the usual regal cere- 
 monies. =" 
 
 F. — In the rage for exhumation which has occasion- 
 ally prevailed, it is surprising that the Society of Anti- 
 quaries has never ascertained the truth of the story, by 
 an examination of the contents of the coffin. 
 
 " Peck. Desid. Curiosa, vol.2. 
 
 VOL. II 
 
 R 
 
jlll 
 
 242 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DISSERTATION X. 
 
 Section IT. 
 
 Henry V. . - - - a. d. 1113. 
 
 P. — Harry the Fifth 13 crown'd : up vanity, 
 
 Down roydl state, all you sage counsellors hence. 
 
 ^._]Siever was a prognostication more comi)lete]y 
 reversed than what the dramatist has thus put into tlie 
 mouth of the expiring t'alhcr.^ No soomr had the yuuiig 
 kino- acceded to the throne, than he exhibited one of the 
 most remarkable transformations, from the thoughtless, 
 prodigal, debauched rake, to the man of virtue, sense, 
 and business, that is any where recorded : 
 
 The breath no sooner left his father's body, 
 But thut his wildness mortified in him, 
 Seem'd to die, too; yea, at the very moment, 
 Consideration like an angel came, 
 And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him. 
 
 The metamorphosis indeed was so complete, that 
 Henry appears not ever to liave relapsed after into a 
 single act of folly :^ but though he dismissed his iuiiner 
 loose companions from his presence, yet he consider- 
 ately made them a suitable provision, with promise of 
 advancement on a change of conduct.'' 
 
 F.— Whether Falstatl's " Woe to my lord cliief 
 justice'' be historically correct, is a disputable point, 
 it beino- doubtful whether that respectable magistrate, 
 Sir William Gascoigne, died in the year 1 112 or 1 113; 
 the brass inscription on his splendid tomb in liarwood 
 Church, Yorkshire, which would have decided the ques- 
 
 THE i.OLLARDS. 
 
 248 
 
 lion, being torn away during the civil wars/ Fuller, in 
 his worthies of Yorkshire, states that Gascoigne died 
 in the reign of Henry the Fourth ; but it is certain that 
 in IJugdale's Summons to Parliament, a writ appears 
 directed to this judge, in the first year of Henry the 
 Fifth, three weeks after Easter. 
 
 A. — No prince ever mounted a throne more peace- 
 ably or with greater applause "^ than Henry the Fifth: 
 his first acts combined wisdom with humanity; he 
 restored the family of Percy to their estates and ho- 
 nours;'' he set the Earl of Marche at liberty from the 
 jealous restrictions imposed by the late king; and he 
 caused the body of the unhappy Richard to be removed 
 from King's Langley, in Hertfordshire, to Westminster 
 Abbey, where a magnificent tomb was erected to his 
 memor}, witli a fhittcring inscription. 
 
 F — The two following absurd lines in the epitaph 
 could surely be less applicable to no person, except in 
 the compliment to his stature : 
 
 Verax sermone fuit, et plenus ratione 
 Corpore procerus, animo prudens ut Homerus. 
 
 A. — Amidst the general joy of the nation, one party 
 alone remained unsatisfied, the Lollards: the doctrines 
 of \\ icklifle had taken deep root in the minds of so 
 large a proportion of the people, and were founded on 
 principles of reason so just, that they could not be 
 silenced by the mere voice of ecclesiastical authority. 
 The clergy naturally became alarmed at the progress 
 of these opinions; and the Archbishop of Canterbury'^ 
 applied to the king for permission to indict Sir John 
 Oldcastle, lord Cobham, their most powerful defender: 
 this nobleman was a valiant soldier, much respected by 
 Henry ; he had been sherilf of llereibrdshire, and having 
 
 » Hen. IV. Second Part, act 4. 
 
 *> Walsingham. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 Gough, Sepulchral Mon. 
 
 t> T. Livius. 
 R 2 
 
 « Walsingham. ^ Ibid. 
 
■iMi^m-SiiitmmmmitmmuMtm 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 244 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 married Joan de la Pole, baroness Cobliani, hud been 
 summoned to parliament as a baron by that title, 
 amongst the peers of the realm.'' 
 
 jpf—The conduct of Sir Jolm Oldcastle in parliament 
 was sufficiently obnoxious to the clnirch, as he had 
 been concerned in brini>:ing in a bill to reduce the exor- 
 bitant revenues of the clergy, the worst kind of heresy 
 of which he could have been guilty.^ 
 
 ^._The king, averse to the prosecution, promised 
 that he would expostulate with tlie offender.^ A book 
 belon^'inir to Oldcastle was seized in the shop of a 
 limner, with whom it had been left to be illuniiiiated •/ 
 it wcis read before Henry in the presence of the owner. 
 The kin'>' declared that he had never lieard doctrines 
 more pernicious, and nsked the knight what he tlioiight 
 of them? Oldcastle did not dispute the judgment of his 
 sovereign, but alleged in his own excuse that he had 
 never read more than two pages of the work; but in 
 the course of further eonversatiou, lie spoke with so 
 much freedom, and inveiglied against the Pope, whom 
 he called antichrist, and the son of perdition,^ with so 
 nmch bitterness,that the king was oflcnded, and resolved 
 to give him up to the severity of the church. 
 
 jp._There can be no doubt that the doctrines em- 
 braced by the Lollards were, in their full extent, some- 
 what dangerous to civil as well as to ecclesiastical 
 authority, as after times prac tically ilhistruti d. Under 
 Henry, several persons sullered on account of their 
 religious opinions*/ but in general the Lollards in this 
 reign, as well as in the preceding, were not and)itious 
 of martyrdom, but timidly explained away their senti- 
 ments when threatened w ith punishment. 
 
 » Diifrdalc, Raron. vol.2. 
 «^ Wilkins, Concil. vol.3. 
 
 i> Pari. Hist, vol.2. 
 « Ibid. 
 
 <= Walsingham 
 ' Fox. 
 
 SIR JOHN OLDCASTLE. 
 
 245 
 
 A. — Not so with Oldcastle: he was tried and con- 
 denmed as a heretic by the primate, Arundel, after 
 much expostulation and entreaty ; but having been sent 
 to the Tower, he made his escape before the execution, 
 and fied into Wales. 
 
 F. — Of the aptitude of religious prejudice to warp 
 the understanding, we have an instance in the mild and 
 accurate Dr. Henry, who, relating these circumstances, 
 states that the archbishop, '' to use the the exact w ords 
 of the record, sweetly and modestly delivered over 
 Sir Jolm to the secular power, to be burned alive;" 
 whereas it appears from the record,' that Arundel 
 " sweetly and modestly'' detailed the proceedings of 
 the former part of the examination, and with tears en- 
 treated Oldcastle to return into the bosom of the church, 
 who, refusing compliance, the primate, with anguish and 
 bitterness of heart, proceeded to give sentence. 
 
 A. — The result of Sir John Oldcastle's history is 
 attended with doubt and difficulty. A conspiracy was 
 said to be formed, for the purpose of seizing the person 
 of the king and his brothers at Eltham •/ in conse- 
 quence, a considerable number of Lollards assembled, 
 concealing themselves in thickets in the lields near St. 
 Giles's (January 6th, 1414); but Henry, apprized of 
 his danger, removed to Westminster. Having shut the 
 city gates, to prevent a reinforcement from joining the 
 malcontents, he attacked them in the night, seized Sir 
 Roger Acton and several other conspirators, whom he 
 executed.*" From records still existing, it appears that 
 many confessed that they expected to meet Sir John 
 Oldcastle at the place of rendezvous, but whether he 
 was actually present is unknown; and though a reward 
 
 « Rymer, vol. 9. Wilkins, Concil. vol.3, 
 b Walsingham. ^ Fox. 
 
246 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of one thousand marks ^^ was ofTcred tor his approlion- 
 sion, it was four years before he was taken, when lie 
 suffered death at Tyburn, so called, says Fidh r, iVoni 
 the neck of offenders being tied and their legs burned 
 in the flames. Lord Cobham underwent a dreadful 
 punishment with the utmost constancy; a chain being 
 fastened round his waist, he was suspended over a 
 fire:^ so great was his enthusiasm, that with his last 
 breath he adjured Sir Thomas Erpingham, that if the 
 latter should see him rise from the grave in three 
 days, he would intercede with the king in favour of the 
 
 Lollards,"" 
 
 F.—Yrom this relation, founded upon records, a 
 doubt was early started whether Lord Coldiam should 
 be blamed for a rebel or conunended for a martyr. 
 
 ^ _Protestant writers have been loud in their com- 
 mendation of Sir John Oldcastle, the good Lord Cnb- 
 ham, who is one of the very few lay persons of rank in 
 England who have sealed their faith wilii the price of 
 their blood; but it is a curious circumstance, that this 
 indisputably valiant soldier should have been introduced 
 on the stage as a butfoon and a coward, for a tradition 
 has always prevailed that the character of Falstaff 
 was written originally under the name of Sir Ji>iin 
 
 Oldcastle. 
 
 P.— But in the age of so zealous a Protestant as 
 Elizabeth, was it likely that tiic complaisant Shak- 
 speare would incur the danger of such an indiscretion. 
 
 A. — It arose, as I suspect, from mere heedlessness 
 and inattention : it is acknowledged that Shakspeare 
 took the hint of his plays on the subjc( t of Henry the 
 Fourth and Henry the Fifth from n former anonymous 
 drama, entitled '' The famous Victories of Henry the 
 
 ■ Rynier, vol. U. 
 
 *» Fox. 
 
 WalsingliaiH. 
 
 SIR JOHN OLDCASTLE. 
 
 247 
 
 Fifth, containing the honourable Battle of Agincourt." 
 in tliis old drama. Prince Henry is the principal cha- 
 racter: the young rake is there accompanied in his 
 revels and robberies by three associates, Ned, Tom, 
 and Oldcastle: the first is clearly the prototype of 
 Poins; but Oldcastle, who is nicknamed Jockey, bears 
 no resemblance to the inimitable compound of sense, 
 humour, gluttony, and vice, in Falstaff, being a mere 
 ruffian and robber, without a spark of wit or merriment 
 about him, and not distinguished by any allusion what- 
 ever to his bulk, his cowardice, or his joviality; but 
 Shakspeare, wanting a name for his most original crea- 
 tion, unthinkingly, as I imagine, adopted that of Old- 
 castle, already familiar to the stage as one of the 
 prince's companions. 
 
 2r._We may suppose that the first appropriation of 
 the name of Oldcastle to a character so disparaging and 
 unjust, was originally a " Popish trick;" but Steevens 
 and Malone have both endeavoured, by a laborious 
 effort, to set aside the tradition that Shakspeare's fat 
 knight ever bore that appellation. 
 
 jl — But, in my opinion, with no success: I have no 
 doubt that the anonymous dramatist gave Shakspeare 
 the name, but nothing more. Should you have any cu- 
 riosity to see what sort of hints he afforded to our great 
 poet for the character of Falstaff, you shall be presented 
 with tlie first scene in the ancient play, which thus opens : 
 
 p. Henri/. — Come away, Ned and Tom. 
 
 Both. — Here, my lord. 
 P. Henry. — Come away, my lads. 
 
 TeU me, sirs, how much gold have yoii got ? 
 ;Vc^/.— Faith, my lord, I have got five hundred pound. 
 P. //c«ry.-- But tell me, Tom, how much hast thou got? 
 
 Tom.— Faith, my lord, some four hundred pound. 
 P, Henry, — Four hundred pound ! bravely spoken, lads ; 
 
 But tell me, sirs, tliink you not that it was a villainous part 
 of me to rob mv father's receivers ? 
 
21S 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Ned. — Wliy, my lord, it was but a trick of youth. 
 P. Henry. — Faith, Ned, thou sayest true. 
 
 But tell me, sirs, whereabouts are we ? 
 Tom. — My lord, we are now about a mile off London. 
 P. Henry. — But, sirs, I marvel that Sir John Oldcastle 
 
 Comes not away. Sowncs 1 see where he comes. 
 
 Enter Jockey, 
 
 How now, Jockey, what news with thee ? 
 JocM, — Faith, my lord, such news as passeth ; 
 For the town of Deptford is risen. 
 With hue and crie after your man, 
 Which parted from us the last night. 
 And has set upon and hath robb'd a poor carrier. 
 P. Henry. — Sownes ! the villain that was wont to spie out our booties ? 
 
 Jock. — Aye, my lord, even the very same. 
 P. Henry. — How, base-minded rascal, to rob a poor carrier. 
 Well, it skills not, I'll save the villain's life, 
 I may — but tell me, Jockey, whereabouts be the receivers ^ 
 Jock. — Faith, my lord, they are hard by; 
 
 But the best is, we are on horseback, and they be a-foot, 
 ' So we may escape them. 
 
 P. Henry, — ^^'ell, let the \'illaiiis come, let mc alone with them. 
 
 But tell me. Jockey, how much i^ets thou from the knaves ? 
 For 1 am sure I got something ; for one of the villains 
 So belabored me about the shoulders, 
 As I shall feel it this month. 
 Jock, — Faith, my lord, 1 have got a hundred pounds. 
 P. Henry. — A hundred pounds 1 now, bravely spoken. Jockey. 
 
 P. — Such a personage as Jockey is here drawn 
 could assuredly give no hint for the character of 
 Falstaff. 
 
 A, — He is introduced l)iit twice airain in the old 
 play ; and what he afterwards speaks is as little to the 
 purpose, either in quality or pith, as the present delect- 
 able specimen. 
 
 P. — But all this does not exactly prove that the 
 original name of FalstalT was Oldcastle. 
 
 A. — The following passage in Fuller's Church His- 
 tory, which author, born about ten years after the play 
 was written, may be almost said to be a contem])orary 
 witness for the tradition, which is also mentioned bv 
 
 SIR JOHN OLDCASTLE. 
 
 249 
 
 Rowe: " Stage poets have themselves been very bold 
 With, and others very merry at, the memory of Sir John 
 Oldcastle, whom they have fancied a boon companion, 
 a jovial royster, and a coward to boot, contrary to the 
 credit of chronicles, owning him a martial man of merit; 
 the best is. Sir John Falstaff hath relieved the memory 
 of Sir John Oldcastle, and of late is substituted bulFoon 
 in his place." There is a passage in an old play called 
 '' Amends for Ladies," quoted by Dr. Farmer, which one 
 would tliiuk nearly decisive: 
 
 Did vou never see 
 
 The play where the fat knight, hight Oldcastle, 
 Did tell YOU truly where this honour was ? 
 
 Alluding, as we may suppose, to Falstaflf's well- 
 known soliloquy on that subject; but the matter may 
 be very fairly inferred from the plays of Shakspeare 
 themselves: in the first act of the First Part of Henry 
 the Fourth, the prince calls Falstaif '' my old lad of the 
 Castle;" in the second act are the lines, 
 
 Away, good Ned, Falstaff sweats to death. 
 And lards the lean earth as he walks along. 
 
 The measure in the first verse clearly requires a 
 word of three syllables in the place of Falstaff, which 
 Oldcastle would well supply; but a more convincing 
 argument is the epilogue to the Second Part of Henry 
 the Fourth, where the poet promises " to continue the 
 storv with Sir John in it, and make you merry with 
 fair Katharine of France, where, for any thing I know, 
 Falstaff shall die of a sweat, unless already he be killed 
 with your hard opinions, for Oldcastle died a martyr, 
 and this is not the man." Now this looks very like 
 regret for the author's original heedless introduction of 
 that respected name, and a wish of explaining that his 
 facetious character was in no wav meant to allude to 
 
250 
 
 V ESTIGIA. 
 
 the Protestant martyr. As a further coiUiiniaiiuii, ihat 
 Oklcastle had appeared on the stage as a debauchee, 
 we may cite the proloii^ue to a serious play, called 
 '' The lirst part of the true and huiiuurablc History of 
 Sir John OklcastU^ the good Lord Col)ham :'' this i)iece 
 was published in Shakspeare's lifetime, and with his 
 name, but is usually included amongst the seven plays 
 discarded from his works by most of the editors: 
 
 The doubtful title, s^entlemen, prefixed 
 Upon the argument we have in hand, 
 May breed suspense, and wroni^fuUy disturb 
 The peaceful quiet of your settled thoughts. 
 To stop which scruple, let this brief suffice : 
 It is no pampered glutton we present, 
 
 
 
 Nor aged counsellor to youthful sin, 
 
 But one whose virtue shone above the rest, 
 
 A. valiant martyr and a virtuous peer. 
 
 The ' pampered glutton/ and ' aged counsellor to 
 sin,' have no meaning whatever as applied to the Old- 
 castle of the anonymous play, however they may exactly 
 tally with tlie fat knight of Shakspcare. 
 
 /^.—Admitting tliat you have exculpated Shakspeare 
 from any malicious intention, and tliat you have res- 
 cued the character of Oldcastle from all suspicion of 
 cowardice and debauchery, it may not be less an act 
 of justice to vindicate the memory of an ecpially valiant 
 soldier, Sir John Fastolff, whose name, by a slight me- 
 tathesis, being changed into Falstalf by the poet, has 
 gone down not a little impaired in the estimation of 
 posterity. This knight was a man of family, and born 
 in Norfolk;^ he w^as in every action \\it!i Henry the 
 Fifth, and acquired so high a degree of military rank and 
 favour, as after the death of the monarch to bo created 
 a knight of the Garter. But in the ( hange of fortune 
 occasioned by the success of the Maid of Orleans, 
 
 I 
 
 SIR JOHN FASTOLFF. 
 
 <0 
 
 51 
 
 FastolfF, for some imputed negligence in not bringing 
 up his division in the battle of Patay, incurred the 
 displeasure of the regent, Duke of Bedford, who de- 
 prived him of the garter, though it was afterwards 
 restored, and FastolfF continued his services.* He died 
 in the county which gave him birth, in great honour 
 and opulence, at the age of eighty: he evinced his piety 
 by endowing several religious houses; and it would be 
 superiluous to set about proving that this knight could 
 not be the corrupter of Henry's youth^ in the likeness 
 of tliat *' old whitebeardcd Satan," represented by 
 Shakspeare, as he was born eleven years only before 
 
 the prince. 
 
 P. — Tt is surely a little hard, both upon Oldcastle 
 and Fastollf, that by the wantonness of wit their cha- 
 racters should have been thus alike misrepresented. 
 
 A. — The suppression of Lollardism not giving suffi- 
 cient scope to the active spirit of Henry, he began to 
 revolve in his mind the dying injunction of his father, 
 not to sulfer the English io remain idle in peace, but to 
 divert their minds from a research into his precarious 
 title by foreign warfare, which should give occupation 
 U5 their unquiet spirits. 
 
 p, — Sound policy in Henry's case, though the mo- 
 rality of preserving our own peace andquiet by disturb- 
 ing that of our neighbours, be not very discernible. 
 
 A. — The inclinations of the king were artfully insti- 
 gated by Chichele, the successor of Archbishop Arundel 
 in the primacy; for in a parliament held at Leicester, 
 1414, Henry being reminded by the Commons of their 
 former project,^ for converting the lands of the clergy 
 to the benefit of the crown, the archbishop' with great 
 address, in his speech to dissuade the king from such 
 
 Fuller's Worthies. 
 
 Biograp. Brit. 
 
 *» See page 256. 
 
 Hal J. 
 
050 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 a purpose, declared Henry's uuduubted title iu ilie 
 crown of France, and oHTered a considerable sum from 
 the clergy, in order to maintain his right. 
 
 F- — '" At the renewed proposal ol the Conmions," 
 says the chronicler/ " the abbots sweat, tlie jiroud 
 priors frowned, the poor friars cursed, and the silly 
 nuns wept.'' 
 
 A,~ The state of France at this period was well cal- 
 culated to try the archbishop's experiment with success, 
 its throne being filled by Charles the Sixth, a i)rince of 
 considerable merit and talents, but who liavinir falhm 
 into a state of phrenzy, supposed, according- to the opi- 
 nions of that age, to have been the effects of poison, his 
 kingdom became exposed to the influence of two vio- 
 lent factions;^ the one headed by the Duke of Orleans, 
 his brother, and the other by the Duke of Burgundy, 
 his cousin-german, who, inheriting the country of Flan- 
 ders, possessed great opulence, power, and authority. 
 
 F. — A remarkable access of the kinu\s disorder was 
 occasioned by a strange accident which occurred at a 
 masquerade. Five young noblemen, with the king, ap- 
 peared as savages linked together, in a dress of linen, 
 to which fur was cemented l)y the use of resin : the 
 secret was so well kept, that they remained undisco- 
 covered. The Duke of Orleans, eitlier from levity or 
 accident, ran a lighted torch against one of the party, 
 which immediately set his condjustible habit on lire; 
 the flame was quickly communicated to the rest ; l)ut 
 the masks, in the midst of their torments, crying out, 
 " Save the king! save the king!" his aunt, the Duchess 
 of Berri, recollecting his person, threw her robes over 
 him, and by wrapping them close, extinguished the fire- 
 One of the masks saved his life by leaping into a cis- 
 
 HaU. 
 
 ^ Monsticlct^ Lc Lr/jouieur. 
 
 DUKE OF ORLEANS ASSASSINATED. 
 
 253 
 
 tern of water ; but the remaining four w ere so dread- 
 fully scorched that they soon died."" 
 
 A. — The Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy, moved 
 by the cries of the nation, agreed to bury their animo- 
 sities in oblivion, and swore before the altar to the sin- 
 cerity of their declaration; but this solemn preparation 
 seems, with one party at least, to have been only a 
 cover to the basest treachery. The Duke of Orleans, 
 was slain soon after in the streets of Paris, by ruffians 
 hired for the purpose^ by the Duke of Burgundy, who 
 openly dared to justify the assassination. 
 
 F.— Somewhat to account for, not to vindicate, this 
 assassination, it is stated that the profligate Orleans 
 had the elfrontery to introduce the Duke of Burgundy 
 into a cabinet, which he said was furnished with por- 
 traits of all his mistresses, amongst which that of the 
 Duchess of Burgundy occupied a distinguished place/ 
 
 P. — We can then more easily lament, than wonder 
 at such a catastrophe, 
 
 A. — Tiie King of England, perceiving the advantages 
 to be derived from this miserable situation of affairs, 
 resolved to assert his right to the crown of France : a 
 more chimerical pretension could not well be imagined ; 
 for besides the insuperable objections to the original 
 claim of Edward the Third, if female succession be- 
 stowed the right, Henry was not the heir of that mo- 
 narch : indeed the states of France were so aware of 
 its extravagance, that they did not even deign to give 
 it notice. But Ilemy, to show that he was somewhat 
 in earnest, sent an embassy, demanding all the pro- 
 vinces which had been possessed by his ancestor. King 
 John, and the French king's daughter in marriage, with 
 a portion of two millions of crowns.' The court of 
 
 • Juvenal des Ursins. ^ Le Laboureur. • Brantome. ^ Rymer, vol. 9. 
 
i 
 
 254 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 France, alaniied at this exorbitiint demand, offered (he 
 princess with a smaller portion, and ilic reslitiiticm of 
 the Duchy of Guienne- but as Henry was more ambi- 
 tious than amorous, these conditions were rejected, and 
 he prepared to assert his claim I)y force of arms. 
 
 -F.— The story of the Dauphin, ut tliis lime a mere 
 boy, sending over to Henry a box of tennis-balls in 
 derision," as intimating that tliese implements of diver- 
 sion were more suited to his character than the pursuits 
 of war, must be considered as the invention of his- 
 torians. The French court being perfectly aware of its 
 precarious situation, sought by every means to avert 
 the impending danger. 
 
 ^.—Amidst these mighty designs of Henry, a most 
 unexpected conspiracy, to proclaim tlie right of the 
 Earl of Marche to the crown, was formed by the J^arl 
 of Cambridge, who had married the sister of (Iiat n()])io- 
 man, Lord Scrope, and Sir Tliomas Grey, which fortu- 
 nately was crushed in its infancy.' But the execution 
 of Cambridge, who was the second son of tlie Duke of 
 lork, left a sting which much tended to exasperate the 
 subsequent contention of the rival families. As these 
 conspirators had committed an act of treason against 
 a king de facto seated on the throne, their pardon was 
 scarcely to be expected ; but there was a trait of great 
 magnanimity in the conduct of Henry, who issu'^ed a 
 general pardon to his rival, the Earl of Marche," whom 
 a jealous tyrant would have found means to implicate 
 in the guilt of the conspiracy. 
 
 F.— Nor were the candour, moderation, and sin- 
 cerity of the Earl of Marche less remarkable: this 
 nobleman relied entirely on the friendship of the king 
 
 • Rymcr, vol. 9. 
 
 • T. Livius. 
 
 >> Otterboiinio, Hist. Croyl. Cont. 
 '' Rynier, vol. 0. 
 
 HENRY INVADES FRANCE. 
 
 255 
 
 to the end of his life, without having the least cause to 
 repent of his confidence. 
 
 .4.— The extensive preparations for the invasion of 
 France 
 
 Hail set the youth of England all on fire : 
 They sell the pasture now, to buy the horse. 
 
 Henry at length set sail (August, 1415,) from South- 
 ampton, and arrived at Harfleur, on the coast of Nor- 
 mandy, which city after a siege of five weeks surren- 
 dered;" but the English army, reduced by fatigue, sick- 
 ness, and the excessive heat of the weather, was so 
 enfeebled, that the king could enter upon no other 
 enlcrprize ; and having sent away his transports, which 
 could not safely anchor in an open road, Henry deter- 
 mined to make his way through all opposition of the 
 enemy, with liis diminished army, to Calais, and thence 
 return to Ensjlaiid. 
 
 F. — It seems most extraordinary that Henry should 
 prefer encountering such an obvious and imminent peril, 
 to the inconvenience of v/aiting a short time in Harfleur 
 for the arrival of transports. A French historian^^ who 
 pruiesses to copy a contemporary MS. says, that he 
 proposed to sacrifice the possession of Harfleur, pro- 
 vided the French would grant a safe passage for his 
 troops througli France. But this proposal is so unlike 
 tlie conduct of Henry, that it can scarcely be true, 
 especially as the French do not appear to have pressed 
 upon the town after its capture. 
 
 A, — The French now collected a very numerous 
 army ; and as Henry advanced into the heart of France, 
 the Constable D'Albret sent three heralds to enquire by 
 what road he meant to march. '' By that," replied the 
 king, " which leads straight to Calais; and if my enemies 
 
 * Monstrclet. 
 
 '* Le Laboureiir. 
 
:56 
 
 VES'l'IGlA. 
 
 attempt to intercept me, it will be at their peril; 1 shall 
 not seek them, but I ^viIl not move a step quicker or 
 slower to avoid them."* It was his intention to pass 
 the Sommeat the identical lord ol JUanchetaque, where 
 Edward the Third had so critically escaped froni Philip 
 de Valois; but he found it impassable from stakes 
 driven into the river, and the opixisilr InuiL he'iw^ 
 defended by a stron^^ body of French troops. After 
 much uneasiness, he had the good fortune to discover 
 another ford near Bethencour,'' hii^dicr up the river, 
 which was but slightly guarded, and he there carried 
 his whole army safely over. But Henry, tliough he 
 had thus overcome his first diflii ulty, was still exposed 
 to the attack of the French army, which he soon disco- 
 vered, drawn up in the plains of Azincour, or Agincourt, 
 from whom he found it impossible to escape without 
 an engagement. Henry's situation precisely resembled 
 that of Edward the Third at Crecy, and the memory of 
 that great victory inspired the English witli ho])e of a 
 similar deliverance. Overhearing one of his soldiers 
 wishing a reinforcement from England, Henry ex- 
 claimed, " By no means; if we are victors, why should 
 we divide our glory with many others? and if we are 
 defeated, are we not enough to die?"^ 
 
 F.— A renowned Welsh captain, David Gam, having 
 been sent to reconnoitre the French the night before 
 the battle, being asked by Henry liow many men he 
 thought there might be? replied, ''Why, Sir, there 
 are enough to fight, enough to kill, and enough to run 
 awav.'''* 
 
 A. — The king drew up his army on a narrow ground 
 between two woods, which guarded each (hmk, and in 
 that posture expected the enemy. Tn tlie morning, 
 
 ' Monstrelet. »> Ibid. - T. Liviiis. ^ Powel, Hist, of Wales. 
 
 BATTLE OF AGINCOURT. 
 
 4"\ V ■«* 
 
 Henry appeared, mounted on a fine white charger, in 
 sliining armour, and a crown of gold on his helmet,* 
 adorned with precious stones: he declared that every 
 soldier who beliuxed well should henceforth be a gentle- 
 man, and entitled to bear coat armour.' The French 
 were so unwilling to begin the attack, that Henry, ap- 
 prehensive that they would discover the danger of their 
 situation, and withdraw to a more advantageous posi- 
 tion, commanded the charge to be sounded. About 
 ten o'clock (25th October, 1415,) a part of his archers 
 discharged their weapons,*^ which provoked a general 
 assault ui the enemy, who being crowded in their ranks, 
 did little execution. The superiority of the English 
 archers soon became manifest: from behind their pali- 
 sadoes, which they had fixed in their front to break 
 the impression of the enemy, they discharged a shower 
 of arrows with such transcendent eflect, that the whole 
 French army, both horse and foot, from their confined 
 situation and ill discipline, became a scene of inextri- 
 cable confusion, terror, and dismay. The English per- 
 ceiving their advantage, rushed forth with their battle- 
 axes, and hewed their enemies, scarcely able to make 
 resistance, in pieces, and the whole field was presently 
 strew ed with the slain. 
 
 ^•—-Henry's choice of exposing his army, weakened 
 * by sickness, to the dangers of a march through such a 
 country as France, is not more surprising than that 
 the French should fall into the precise error of their 
 ancestors at Crecy, by attacking the English in a 
 strong and concentered position, where their own vast 
 superiority of numbers could be of no avail, the very 
 places too being but a few miles asunder: in both 
 
 * T. Livuts. 
 VOL. 11. 
 
 ^ Rymei', vol. 9. 
 
 MonstrAilet. 
 
0% 
 
 25b 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 cases the same pre clpifation, ronfusion, and vain con- 
 fidence were manifested on ihu part of the French; the 
 same iiiiprudencc in tlie English in placing themselves 
 in a desperate situation, with ihe same firmness, pre- 
 sence of mind, courage, and dexterity, in extricating 
 themselves from it. 
 
 A, — Henry's person was more than once in ihuiger: 
 eighteen French knights forced their way to the banner 
 of the king, and struck Iiim down; from this peril he 
 was rescued l)y the brave David Gam, and two other 
 Welshmen, whom the king knighted as they lay bleed- 
 ino- to death.^ The Duke of Alencon beat the Duke of 
 York to the ground by a blow Avith his mace, and with 
 another stroke cleaved the crown of the king's helmet: 
 every arm was lifted against the assailant, who, aware 
 of his danger, cried out, '' I yield; I am Alent^on ;"" 
 but the exclamation was too late, the French prince 
 being immediately despatched by the royal guard. An 
 unlucky incident somewhat tarnished the glory of the 
 day: some gentlemen of Picardy breaking into the 
 English camp for the purpose of plunder, had taken 
 the kino's baiigage, and killed several horsi s and men, 
 who were left to keep watch ; Henry hearing (lie alarm, 
 apprehensive of a fresh attack, and knowing that his 
 soldiers were not sufiiciently numerous to guard one 
 army and fight another, ordered his prisoners to be 
 killed;^ but discovering the truth, he stopped the 
 slaughter, which had fallen cliiefly on the common 
 men, the nobility being reserved to pay their ransom. 
 
 j^^ — On the principle of self-preservation, this 
 slaughter may have been justifialile ; but what an out- 
 cry would have been raised by English historians, 
 had a French commander committed the same severity. 
 
 a Powel, Hist, of Wales. 
 
 ^ Monstrelet. 
 
 « ibid. 
 
 BATTLE OF AGINCOURT. 
 
 259 
 
 tliough urged by the same necessity. The pillage 
 however was not thought honourable, and its authors 
 were punished for it by the French commanders.^ 
 
 ^. -No battle was ever more fatal to France: seven 
 princes of the blood were slain, and five taken prisoners. 
 The number of the French killed was computed at ten 
 thousand, and about fourteen thousand prisoners.^ The 
 amount of the English force is variously stated— from 
 nine to fifteen tliousand ; and their loss is equally un- 
 certain, some estimating it as low as forty, others at a 
 • thousand. The Duke of York was the chief person 
 slain, cind thus his death became infinitely more honour- 
 able than his life. 
 
 ^•— We hear nothing of cannon or musquetry at 
 Agincourt, and we may thence fairly deduce that none 
 were used at Crecy. 
 
 F.— One historian' relates, that the French had 
 engines to cast stones into the English camp; whether 
 these were cannon or otJier machinery, I cannot 
 deterniine. 
 
 ^. — The immediate consequences of these great 
 victories were nearly similar : instead of following up 
 , their advantages, the conquerors rather seemed to relax 
 their eftorts, and permitted the enemy leisure to recover 
 . his losses, lienry did not attempt to march to Paris, 
 but was content with pursuing his original plan of 
 reaching Calais, whither he soon arrived with his pri- 
 soners, whom he transported to England. The monarch 
 soon following, was received by the nation with ihe 
 utmost enthusiasm of delight and affection, the popu- 
 lace at Dover rushing into the sea, to bear him on their 
 shoulders to the land.'^ 
 
 Monstrelet. 
 
 ^ Ibid. ' T. Livius. 
 
 S 2 
 
 «• Ibid. 
 
260 
 
 ^ i:STlGIA. 
 
 DUKK OK BURGUNDY. 
 
 ?()! 
 
 F. — This celebnittd l)attle of Agincourt, Iiuwever 
 decisive, was no further the conquest of France, tliaii 
 as it exposed thai country to all the fury of civil wur, 
 and left it open to a subsequent invasion; for it was 
 not till after a period of two years, that Henry appeared 
 a2:ain with a considerable army, invited by the preva- 
 lent distractions. 
 
 ^.— The state of France, moral ;us well as political, 
 was dreadful: no iaith, no confidence, no honour. Isa- 
 bella of Bavaria, the queen of Charles the Sixth, pos- 
 sessed much influence ; she was a princess celebrated 
 in the annals of fashion as well as of gallantry ; having 
 introduced a new head-dress, a yard high, and spread- 
 ing out at the top as wide as a bull's horns,^ to accom- 
 modate which, the doorv.ays of the royal palaces were 
 obliged to be heightened. This princess was at first 
 the enemy of the Duke of Burgundy; but luiving been 
 herself imprisoned, her treasures seized, and her lover, 
 Bois Bourdon, tortured and thrown into tlie Seine ^ by 
 the opposite party, at the head of which was her son, 
 the dauphin, she set no bounds to her revenge and 
 animosity : armies were raised, and a general scene of 
 licence, massacre, and disorder, pervaded the whole 
 kingdom.'^ Henry now advanced into Normandy (1418), 
 the greater part of which, including llouen, he presently 
 subdued;^ and with the fallacious reasoning of power 
 and success, thus replied to the Cardinal des Ursins, 
 who attempted to incline him towards peace : '^ Do 
 you not see,'' said the king, " that Cod has led me 
 hither as by the hand ; France has no sovereign ; I have 
 just pretensions to that kingdom ; every thing here is in 
 the utmost confusion ; no one thinks of resisting me. 
 Can I have a more sensible proof that the Being who 
 
 Villarct. 
 
 ^ Monstrelct. 
 
 St. Reniy. 
 
 •* Monslrelet. 
 
 disposes of empires has determined to put the crown 
 of France upon my head?''* 
 
 F. — It would require no great exertion of memory 
 to find parallels of such convenient logic in more recent 
 times. 
 
 i4.— Henry negotiated with both parties; but though 
 Burirundy and the queen having possession of the per- 
 son of the afilicted sovereign carried the appearance of 
 legal authority, every Frenchman who paid any regard 
 to the true interests of his country adhered to the 
 dauphin. From the enmity of the contending factions, 
 a circumstance occurred which facilitated Henry's 
 views more readily than he could have possibly antici- 
 pated. A simulated reconciliation having taken place 
 between the Duke of Burgundy and the dauphin, an 
 interview was appointed on the bridge of the town of 
 Moiitereau ;^ but as both parties had reasonable causes 
 of distrust, it was to be attended with every precaution 
 for mutual safety: rails were drawn across the bridoe, 
 the gates on each side were guarded, and the princes 
 entered into the intermediate space. But no sooner 
 had they approached, than the dauphin's party drew 
 their swords, attacked and slaughtered the Duke of 
 Burgundy and his friends, who overcome by surprise, 
 seem to have made no resistance. The extreme youth 
 of the dauphin renders it uncertain whether he had 
 been intrusted with the secret. 
 
 P. — Surely one would suppose that, for an interview 
 between two parties, with such well-founded cause of 
 apprehension, a bridge would be the last place in the 
 world to 1)0 chosen, as, did treachery exist, escape was 
 rendered impossible: but here the Duke of Burgundy 
 tasted the bitter fruits of his own doctrine and ex- 
 ample.^ 
 
 * Juv. des Ursins. 
 
 ^ Monstrelct. 
 
 *^ Sec page 255, 
 
 ^ 
 
262 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A. — The confusion which tins act of barbarity ex- 
 cited opened a ready path to the utmost ambition of 
 Henry. The quccu, exasperated to the utmost, thought 
 nothini;" of sacrificing; the interests of France and of her 
 son the dau})hin to gratify her revenge : as the English 
 arms were now entirely prcdoiuhiant, s!ie concluded with 
 Henry, in the name of Charles the Sixth, the famous treaty 
 of Troyes''(1420): the principal conditions of which were, 
 that Henry should espouse the Princess Katherine ; that 
 Charles should rontimie to enjoy the dignity of King 
 of France during his life; and that Henry should suc- 
 ceed to the crown at his decease, and be intrusted with 
 the present administration of the government; France 
 and England were for ever^ to be united under one 
 king, but each nation to retain its several customs and 
 privileges. 
 
 F. — It is difficult to say, had this treafy been ful- 
 fdled in its full extent, to which kingdom its conse- 
 quences would have been the most pernicious. 
 
 A. — When the French queen introduced her young 
 and beautiful daughter for the first time, Henry strove 
 to suppress, but he could not conceal, the emotion wliich 
 her charms inspired •/ the wary mother did nut neglect to 
 improve the advantairc, and she withdrew her daughter 
 from his sight, endeavouring by this artifice to exact 
 more favourable conditions from the impatient h)ver, 
 and to conclude the treaty on such terms as she desired.- 
 Henry however was not so to be cajoled: '' 1 will have 
 your princess," said he to Burgundy, '^)n my own terms, 
 or I will drive your kini;' and you out oT the kingdom." 
 '' Sir," replied the duke, rather dryly, " it will fatigue 
 you very much to drive us l)oth out."** After the mar- 
 riage, Henry took possession of Paris, drove the dau])hin 
 
 Rymer, vol. 9. 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
 ' \illaiet. 
 
 ** Moastrclet, 
 
 DEATH OF HENRY. 
 
 263 
 
 beyond the Loire, and the English continued their mili- 
 tary operations with such unabated success, that they 
 thought themselves invincible, till the Duke of Clarence, 
 the king's brother, received a checkTrom a small army 
 of Scotish auxiliaries, under the Earl of Buchan, at 
 Baugy, in Anjou (1421).^ In this skirmish the duke was 
 slain by Sir Alan Swinton, and several noblemen taken 
 prisoners. The action however led to no other unfavour- 
 able result, and Henry's prosperity was rendered com- 
 plete by the birth of a son, the supposed heir of both 
 monarchies. But vain and transitory was this elevation 
 to the acme of worldly greatness ; Henry was seized with 
 a sickness, which was soon found would be mortal : of 
 its nature historians diHer; some describing it as a 
 dysentery,'' others a fever;' but his chamberlain, Peter 
 Basset, declared it was a pleurisy.'^ 
 
 F. — The French writers^ speak of it as a fistula, 
 sent by the judgment of God for his usurping the seat 
 of the French kings. 
 
 A. — Henry expressed his indifference at the ap- 
 proach of death, but regretted that he left unfinished 
 the acquisition of France;^ and he conjured his friends 
 to continue their fidelity and attachment to his infant 
 son. Having applied himself to his devotions, when the 
 passage of the fifty-first Psalm was read, '' Build thou 
 the walls of Jerusalem," he interrupted the chaplain, 
 and declared that it was his intention, after subduing 
 France, to have undertaken a crusade against the infi- 
 dels 'J the same fancy attended his father in his expiring 
 mouients. To his elder brother, the Duke of Bedford, 
 Henry left the regency of France : to his younger, the 
 Duke of Gloucester, that of England. He died at Vin- 
 
 " IVIonstrclot. 
 ' IMe/< rai. 
 
 ^ Dcs Ursins. 
 
 f Hall. 
 
 « \Valsingham. 
 I Monstrelct. 
 
 Han. 
 
264 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 cennes," in the thirty-fourth year of his age and the 
 tcntli of his reign, :31st August, 142-3. 
 
 F.— TJie splendour wliich victory throw round the 
 person of Henry still adh(MTs to his inciuorv : hut tiic 
 supremacy which he acquired in France is certainly not 
 altogether attributable to tlie power of his arms. We 
 must take into consideration the im])ecilitv of Charles 
 the Sixth, and the unappeasable factions which dis- 
 tracted his unhappy kingdom. Henry's situation some- 
 what resembled that of Louis the Eiulitli, when prince 
 of Normandy, who, invited by the discontented barons 
 in the reig-n of King- John, had nearly Uxkvn possession 
 of the English crown: the comparison however will 
 never be welcome to English feelings and prejudices. 
 
 ^- — Henry the Fifth possessed an elegant person, 
 being of a tall and majestic stature, though somewhat 
 too slender:^ his hair was dark, his eyes black and 
 lively, and his countenance engaging: he was remark- 
 ably swift and strong, and excelled in all nuirtial exer- 
 cises : he loved music, and even performed on the 
 organ.' One of his panegyrists remarks, that he nevc^r 
 shrunk at a wound, turned away his nose at an ill 
 scent, or closed his eyes against sm(»ke or dust.* To 
 speak of his courage would be superlluous. The so- 
 lidity of his genius was evinced by his judicious im- 
 provement of the dissensions in France to promote his 
 ow^n aggrandizement. 
 
 P. — We naturally compare him with his great grand- 
 father, Edward the Third, the conqueror of Crecy, to 
 whom he appears in no point inferior. 
 
 ^.— Henry was a kind husband, an aflectionatc 
 brother, and a bountiful master; though it must be 
 allowed that success gave a slight tincture of severity, 
 perhaps we might call it of arrogance, to his character. 
 
 * T. Livius. 
 
 ^ T. dc Eliiihant, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 [lall. 
 
 DErOPLLATKD STATE OF ENGLATSD. 
 
 F. — A remarkable trait of this quality is to be found 
 in an anc cdote relative to his deportment towards 
 LTsle Adam, a French general of high rank and repu- 
 tation. That ofiicer having a])peared before him in a 
 very plain dress, he said, partly in raillery, '' How, 
 LTsle Adam, is this the garb of a marshal of France? 
 
 >> 
 
 To which the marshal simply replied, that it had been 
 made to wear in the boat which brought him dowTi the 
 Seine. This answer, probably from the mode of its 
 delivery, happened to displease; and Henry replied, 
 " You are too rude in your behaviour, sir : how dare 
 you look on a prince in the face when you speak to 
 him?" ^' Sir," rejoined the marshal, '' it is the fashion 
 of my country ; w here if any one speak to another, 
 though the greatest on earth, with a downcast look, 
 we think him conscious of some baseness or guilt." 
 ^'Your customs," said the king, '^ are very diiferent 
 from ours."* 
 
 A. — The body of Henry was embalmed, and taken 
 to Paris ; it was then carried to Rouen, with a ceremony 
 of unequalled sunq^tuousness and expense ;^ it was next 
 brought over to England, and deposited in Westminster 
 Abbey : a recumbent statue was placed upon his tomb, 
 with a head of silver, which was stolen in the time of 
 Henry the Eighth. The domestic history of this reign 
 is altogether swallow^ed up in the blaze of foreign con- 
 quest, wliich kept the English nation in a frenzy of joy, 
 and completely silenced all complaints respecting 
 Henrv's defective title. 
 
 F. — Professing no great affection for the whole tribe 
 of conquerors, it is doing this valorous prince no in- 
 justice to observe, that his victories were obtained at 
 an immense sacrilice. The country was so depopulated 
 
 " Monstrclct. 
 
 ^ T. dc Elmham. 
 
/ 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 ./' 
 
 2G6 
 
 V ESriGlA. 
 
 that it became necessary to choose sherill's for four 
 years, because, says the record, '' by wars and pestilence 
 there are not a su^fricient number of men of substance 
 remainini,^ to discharge the office from year to year;"* 
 and the prospect of Engkind's losing its independence 
 at length alarmed even parliament: pctiti(ms were pre- 
 sented entreating the king to return, and acts were 
 passed, as in the days of Edward the Third, declara- 
 tory that no service was due to the monarch as king of 
 France-/ but Henry was so absorbed in the pursuit of 
 his ambition, and paid so little regard to these remon- 
 strances and to the real interest of his country, that we 
 are almost tempted to think that the answer which 
 Shakspeare puts into his mouth, in reply to tlie dau- 
 phin's message, might be very near the truth: 
 
 We never valued this poor seat of England: 
 But tell the dauphin, 1 will keep my .state. 
 Be like a kinp:, and show my sail of greatness. 
 When I do rouse me in my throne of France. 
 
 The calamities inflicted upon untbrtunate France were 
 truly deplorable. If glory therefore arise I'rom the 
 gratification of selfishness, with a total disregard to 
 concomitant misery, 1 prefer giving the palm of merit 
 to a cotemporary of Henry's, the charital)le llichard 
 Whittington. 
 
 P. — " Thrice Lord Mayor of great London." The 
 bounty of this worthy citizen is yet felt by the inhabit- 
 ants of his renovated college, which graces with singu- 
 lar effect the great northern approach to the metropolis. 
 The name of Whittington has obtained, by his benevo- 
 lence and the fame of his celebrated cat, a wider spread 
 than even that of the so-called conqueror of France ; 
 but how the story of this renowned (piadruped origi- 
 nated I could never satisfactorilv ascertain. 
 
 RICnAi?D WHITTINGTON. 
 
 2G^ 
 
 F. — \ ou are precisely then in the same condition 
 as the Society of AntiqucUTCs, who once proposed a 
 consultation on the subject of ^ Whittington and his 
 cat;'^ but the story getting wind, it was seized upon by 
 Foote, who introduced it with laughable efFect in his 
 farce of the ' Nabob/ and the discussion was postponed. 
 That the parentage of V> hiltington was not so humble 
 as the story implies, may be inferred from a clause in 
 the instrument of the endowment of his college, in 
 which masses are ordered to be performed for the souls 
 of his parents. Sir William Whittington, knight, and 
 Joan, his wife.^ The wealth of Whittington, which 
 was great, was nobly employed in erecting various 
 useful works in the city of London ; and in a schedule 
 to his wall, he exhibited a singular trait of kindness of 
 heart, by directing his executors, that if they found 
 any of his debtors not well worth three times as much 
 as they owed him, they should cancel the engagement. 
 
 A, — Ilenrv's ambition has been the occasion of a 
 lasting memorial in the noble foundation of All Souls' 
 College, Oxford, which was endowed by Henry Chichele, 
 archbisliop of Canter])ury, for a w^arden and forty fel- 
 low\s, to put up incessant prayers for the souls of all 
 those that had fallen in the French war, and indeed for 
 the souls of all the faithful,*' thence called Collegium 
 O milium Animarum. 
 
 P, — ^It is surely hard upon the poor souls, that they 
 have been so long deprived of the benefit to be reaped 
 from such an institution. 
 
 A. — III less than two months after the death of 
 Henry, the unhappy life of King Charles the Sixth of 
 France w as terminated by the same malady which had 
 (U prived him of the use of reason,*^ and exposed him 
 
 » Stat.*) Hen. V. 
 
 ^ Pnil. Hist. vol. 2. 
 
 * Walpole's Works, vol. 2, p. 251. 
 <^ Duck's Life of Arclib. Chichele. 
 
 ^ Stow, Survey. 
 ^ Juv. des Ursins. 
 
2G8 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE OF BEDFOUU. 
 
 2G9 
 
 to every injury of fortune. The disorder wliich iifilic ted 
 Charles was however the oceasion of an invention, 
 which has produced an astonishinj,^ etlbct upoji society 
 throughout Europe, the game of cards, contrived, it is 
 believed, by Jaquemin Gringonneur, a painter of Paris, 
 for the diversion of the royal maniac in his lucid inter- 
 vals. Cards were originally high in price, and they 
 were speedily introduced into England. Though some- 
 times the amusement which they aflbrd may have de- 
 served censure, as stinuilatino: to the excesses of t»-am- 
 bling and as destructive of time, which indeed might, 
 but seldom would be, better employed, yet they will 
 ever obtain the blessings of the unoccupied, the va- 
 poured, and the sick. In spite of the progress of re- 
 finement, during a long succession of ages, no embel- 
 lishment has been added, and little chanire made in 
 the figures of these favourite instruments of universal 
 diversion.'' 
 
 " Andrews' History of Great Britain. 
 
 
 niSSERTATTOX X. 
 
 Section 111. 
 
 Henry VI. 
 
 A.D. 1422. 
 
 F. — L II i< infant Henry the Sixth, at the age of nine 
 months, ascended the throne of England ; the youngest 
 sovereign in our annals, but not too \oung to be the 
 subject of flattery: even in his mother's lap he heard, 
 Ijciore he understood the meaning of the words, the 
 speaker of the House of Commons thank God for 
 giving the realm '' so toward a prince and sovereign a 
 
 governor. 
 
 A.—YiUt parliament, though tlius complaisant in 
 words, was not indisposed to show some authority in 
 deeds ; and it proceeded to exercise a power which it 
 had not previously exhil)ited: it reversed some of the 
 provisions of the late king's will, by appointing the 
 Duke of iiedford, and in his absence the Duke of 
 Gloucester, protector,^ not regent of the kingdom, a 
 title which parliament supposed to imply less authority; 
 and it named a council, without whose advice no im- 
 portant measure should be determined : "^ the person 
 and education of the young monarch it intrusted to the 
 care oi' Henry Beaufort, afterwards cardinal, the legiti- 
 mated son of John of Gaunt, by Catherine Swynford. 
 
 F, — But though we assert parliament to have made 
 these arrangements, we must restrict the term to the 
 House of Peers, as the Commons would not have 
 presumed, or indeed have been permitted, at this period 
 
 ■ Fahiaii'sChron. 
 
 '' KvnuM-, vol. 10. 
 
 <^ Cotton's Abridgment. 
 
270 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 to interfere in the choice of a protector, further than by 
 a bare assent. 
 
 ^.— The two broad lines in the reign of Henry tlie 
 Sixth, are the gradual loss of the French provinces till 
 the year 1450, and thence the civil wars between the 
 rival houses of York and Lancaster, till its tenninafion 
 in 14G1. At the death of Henry the Fifth, two-thirds 
 of France, together ^^ith Paris, were in posstssioji of 
 the English; and the virtues of the Duke of Eedford, 
 who equalled the late monarch in wisdom and valour,' 
 and surpassed him in temper and clemency, promised 
 a long continuance of their superiority, as the indolence* 
 of Charles the Seventh, who at the age of twenty had 
 succeeded to the throne of France, seemed to preclude 
 any very strenuous effort for the recovery of his king- 
 dom : indeed the Duke of Bedford so well improved his 
 advantages by various successful sieges,^ and especially 
 by repulsing an attack of the French with great slau<--hter 
 before the walls of Verneuil, (August 27th, 1424), that 
 all the provinces north of the Loire remained in liis 
 possession. 
 
 F.— The battle of Verneuil having been well con- 
 tested'^ by the French, was at least as lionourable a 
 testimony to the skill and valour of the Duke of Bed- 
 ford as that of Agincourt to Henry the Fifth ; yet by 
 the caprice of fortune, it is totally forgotten by all but 
 antiquaries. 
 
 ^.—Bedford, to secure the neutrality of Scotland, 
 the troops of which nation in the pay of France gave 
 much annoyance to the English, negotiated with Their 
 monarch, James the First, so long unjustly detained a 
 prisoner; and the price of his release was stipulated 
 at forty thousand pounds.' Bedford also endeavoured 
 
 Villaret. 
 
 ^ MonstifU't. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 RymtM, vol 10. 
 
 JAMKS, KING OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 271 
 
 to connect the interests, or at least the affections, of 
 James with iMighuul, by giving him in marriage a 
 daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and cousin to the 
 king. This circumstance is scarcely memorable, except 
 as it affords an opportunity of paying a just tribute to 
 the fidelity with which James adhered to his engage- 
 ments. This prince was one of the most illustrious and 
 accomplislied of theScotish kings: an universal scholar, 
 an excellent poet, and an exquisite musician ; one of 
 his works is still preserved, " The King's Quair," or 
 book, from the French cahier ; it exhibits both tender- 
 ness and elegance, but the style is too obsolete to afford 
 mucli pleasure to a modern ear. 
 
 P. — Yet it would be unjust to dismiss the royal 
 bard without a specimen of his craft. 
 
 A, — 'The King's Quair' is divided into six cantos, 
 and consists of one hundred and ninety-seven stanzas 
 of seven lines each, written in honour of his mistress, 
 Lady Jane Beaulbrt. One INIay morning, as James 
 was looking down from the window of his prison in 
 Windsor Castle into the garden below, listening to the 
 songs of nightingales, and wondering what the passion 
 of love could be, which he had never felt, he thus 
 relates his sensations : 
 
 And therewith kest I doim myne eye ageyne, 
 Quhare as I saw walkynge under the towre 
 
 Full secretive, new cumyn her to pleyne, 
 The fairest or the freshest younge floure 
 Tliat ev'r I sawe^ methonght ])efore that houre ; 
 
 For quhich sodaine abate, anon asterte 
 
 The blude of al my body to my herte. 
 
 F. — James had a poetical companion in his capti- 
 vity, the Duke of Orleans, who had been taken prisoner 
 at the battle of Agincourt, and who had acquired so 
 great ?i proficiency in the English language by his long 
 
272 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 residence in this country, that he wrote several small 
 poems, Avhich, though some liave been preserved/ 1 will 
 not afflict you with a specimen. 
 
 A. — Two pieces of ancient Scotish poetry, '' Christ's 
 Kirk on the Green/' containing a ludicrous descrij)tiou 
 of a country wedding- in Aberdeenshire, which jjegan 
 with music and dancing, and ended in a fray ; and 
 '* Peblis at the Play,'' describing the adventures of a 
 company of country people who went to Peebles to 
 see the annual games in that place; have been attri- 
 buted to James the First, by T\tler, Pinkerton, and 
 other critics; but the accurate Lord Hailes has disco- 
 vered allusions in both pieces to acts of parliament 
 passed fifty years later; besides, James educated from 
 early youth in England, could scarcely possess that 
 intimate acquaintance with the language and manners 
 of the vulgar in Scotland, which these poems evince. 
 If they must be attributed to a royal i)en, James the 
 Fifth is more likely to be their author : as his two authen- 
 tic ballads, '' The Gaberlunzie Man," and the " Jollie 
 Beggar," said to be founded on his own adventures, are 
 remarkable for their humour and acquaintance with low 
 life ; the style of the ballads however is so much more 
 modern than ''The King's Quair," that in all })robability 
 the two poems in question are of an intermediate date, 
 and the production of a bard of humbler fortunes. 
 
 F. — It has been asserted that Scotland owes her 
 national melodies to James the First, but their date 
 seems of greater antiquity. 
 
 A, — The condition of the King of France after the 
 battle of Verneuil appeared almost desperate : he had 
 lost the flower of his army, and had no resources for 
 recruiting it ; he was reduced to so great poverty, that 
 
 * Ritson, Ancient Songs, Dissert. 
 
 DUKE OF BURGUNDY. 
 
 273 
 
 a leg of mutton and a couple of fowls* were the utmost 
 fare which the royal table could aflbrd; his spirits 
 however remained unabated, and w ith genuine French 
 lVi\oIity, during all his distresses he contrived to have 
 fetes and balls; and having asked the opinion of an 
 old ollicer concerning the preparations made for one of 
 these entertainments, the veteran replied, '' My opinion 
 is, that no kingdom was ever lost so merrily."** 
 
 F.— The extrication of Charles from this deplorable 
 state of his af.'airs presents some of the most extraordi- 
 nary incidents in history. 
 
 A,~it is easily conceivable that the great ally of 
 l^^ngland, the Duke of J3urguiidy, though excited by the 
 highest animosity against the French king on account 
 of his father's assassination, must yet view^ with consi- 
 derable jealousy the success of the English arms; at 
 tliis juncture, a quarrel unseasonably arising betw^een 
 (his prince and the Duke of Cloucester, precluded their 
 further ])n)gress. The Countess of Hainault and Hol- 
 land,' already having a husband, the Duke of Erabanf, 
 the kinsman of Eurgundy, a weak and Ibolish youth, 
 whom she despised, imprudently contracted a marriai>c 
 with (Jloucester, who, to obtain possession of the do- 
 mains of this hidy, kindled a sharp war in the Low 
 Countries, wiiich diverted a part of the English forces 
 from their proper business of subduing France.^ But 
 nothing shows in a fairer light the talents of the regent 
 Duke of Bedford, than that with this disadvantage he 
 not only retained whatever the English had previously 
 possessed in France, but prepared to undertake an 
 enterprize, the siege of Orleans, which, if successful, 
 woiUd probably have proved the final conquest of that 
 kingdom. 
 
 • Villaret. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 «> Ibid. 
 
 «= Monstrclet. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
274 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 F. — 111 lookino; at a map of France, wc perceive 
 that the city ot Orleans, placed nearly in its centre, 
 divided the provinces lield h\ the contending i)arlies, 
 and opened an easy entrance to eitlier: the importance 
 of the possession of such a place was evident, and 
 excited the aftentiou of all Europe. 
 
 A. — Charles threw into the city a brave and expe- 
 rienced garrison. Bedlbrd did not connnand the siege 
 in person, but sent the Earl of Salisbury to invest the 
 place with an army of ten thousand men.^ 
 
 F. — It is remarkable that in this sieirc cannon were 
 first found to be of any considerable service ; but the 
 art of engineering was still so imperfect, that the Eng- 
 lish generals trusted more to the elVects of fuiuine than 
 force. 
 
 A. — The Earl of Salisbury A\as in a short time 
 killed by a cannon ball (1428),'' as he was viewing the 
 enemy from a tower: he was the first Englisli uentle- 
 man who perished by a great shot. The command 
 devolved on the Earl of Sullblk; and I)oth parties l)egau 
 to feel the want of provisions. There was a trivial 
 encounter, called the battle of Herrings, in ^^hich a 
 convoy for the supply of the English army with tluit 
 fish was sharply attacked by the French, l)ut without 
 success, Sir John Fastolfe beating them back with much 
 spirit.^ Numberless feats of valour were })erformed 
 before the town by both parties, but the besieged be- 
 came evidently straightened for food, and their sur- 
 render w^as daily expected. Charles, iu despair, had 
 already entertained thoughts of retiring from Chinon, 
 where the French court then resided, and defejidin^- 
 himself in Langucdoc; but liis queen, Mary of Anjoii, 
 vehemently opposed this measure, which she foresaw 
 
 275 
 
 i| 
 
 3 Monstrolct. 
 
 ^ Ibid. Hall. 
 
 * Monstrolot. [Jail. 
 
 would discourage his partizans, and afford them an 
 excuse for deserting a prince, who would tiuis seem to 
 have deserted himself. 
 
 F. — lii this patriotic feeling she was singularly 
 seconded l)y Agnes Sorel, a lady of extreme beauty, 
 and the mistress of Charles, who lived at court in a 
 very unusual state of amity with the queen. Agnes 
 now threatened to leave her royal admirer if he acted 
 with pusillanimity, and to seek a new lover in the 
 English camp : '' For there,'' said she, '' are men who 
 could gain kingdoms, and who deserve the fairest 
 women." ^ The gallant Francis the First was so 
 stricken with her patriotism, that on seeing her portrait 
 he produced the following quatrain: 
 
 Gentlllc Agntis, plus (I'lioimcur tu mcrite. 
 
 La cause ctant do France rccouvrer ; 
 
 Ouc ce que peut dedans un cloitre ouvrer 
 Close nonain, ou bien d^vot hennite. 
 
 F. — What was the ultimate fate of this celebrated 
 female? 
 
 F.— Agnes, after living i\xo years in the service of 
 the (jueen, retired from court to tlie Chateau de Beaute 
 sur Marne, near Paris, given to her for life by Charles. 
 It was said that the aflcction with which she inspired 
 the king was as much owing to her gaiety of temper, 
 pleasing manners, and agreeable conversation, as to 
 her personal charms ; though she w^as so beautiful as 
 to be called the Fairest of the Fair, and Queen of 
 Beauty. Twenty years after this period, paying a visit 
 to the king, for the purpose of disclosing a plot for 
 delivering him up to the English, at which he only 
 laughed, Agnes was seized with a disorder, which 
 proved mortal. She became very penitent, and re- 
 
 ^ Brantome. Villaret. 
 'V 2 
 
r. 
 
 27G 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ceived absolution; after which, giving a loiul shriek, 
 and calling on the mercy of God, she expired.^ 
 
 A. — In the present state of C'linrles's vacillation, 
 despondency, and distress, relief was brought to the 
 voluptuous monarch by a female of a very dilfcrent 
 description, Joan of Arc, the rcnov/ned Maid of 
 Orleans. 
 
 F, — Joan is one of the immortals whose name and 
 fame have l)een universallv recoiinized, and can never 
 die, tho^igh she has not been l\)rtunate in t!ie ])oets 
 who have celebrated her exploits : Chapelain has been 
 the constant l)utt of the French v/its, and has entailed 
 more ridicule upon her memory bv his ill-executed 
 heroic measure, than even the scandalous but spirited 
 burlesque of another -French author; nor have the 
 verses of the present laureat of England tended nnich 
 to exalt her reputation by the graces of poc^try. 
 
 A. — Her story is more interesting in i!h^ plaiji j)rosc 
 of Monstrelet, an ollicer in the service of the JJuke of 
 Burgundy, v»ho relates that he had seen Joan in person, 
 and ^^hose cautious narrative carries every app(»arance 
 of truth. Joan d'Arc, the most singular of liistorical 
 plia^nomena, was born in tlic village of Domremy, on 
 the borders of Lorraine. In the service of a widow, 
 vho kept a small inn at Xeufehatel, she acted as 
 hostler, and rode the horses io water; she was parti- 
 cularly dexterous in mounting on the backs of tliese 
 animals in the same way as that with wliich Dulcinea 
 so much surprised Sanclio i^\].(^a: her conduct was 
 irreproachable, and she was robust, active, and intre- 
 pid. ITer imagination b'ecomin.g inflamed by the dis- 
 tressed situation of France, and of its vouthiul sove- 
 reign, slie dreamed that slie had interviews with :St. 
 
 * Monstrek't. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 277 
 
 Margaret, St. Catherine, and St. Michael, who com- 
 manded her in the name of God to go and raise the 
 siege of Orleans, and conduct Charles to bo crowned 
 at Rheims.* 
 
 P.— Is it probable that Joan was the tool of some 
 crafty politician, or was she actuated solely by her 
 enthusiasm? 
 
 A. —hi this stage of the business, solely by entlm- 
 siasm, whidi was in its origin virtuous, and became in 
 its progress sublime. She applied to Eaudricourt, the 
 governor of Vaucoulcur, and revealed to him her inspi- 
 rations, and conjured him not to neglect the voice of 
 Cod, which spoke through lier. This oHicer lor some 
 time treated her with neglect, but at length prevailed 
 on J)y rei)eated in]])ortunities, he sent her to the kino* at 
 Chinon, to whom, when introduced, she said, '' Gcnilc 
 dauphin, my name is Joan the Maid; tl'e Kino- of 
 Ifeaven hath sent me to your assistance; if you please 
 to give me troops, by the grace of God and the force 
 of anus, i will raise the siege of Orleans, and conduct 
 you to be crowned at Rluims, in spite of all your 
 enemies.^ 
 
 F. — \\'Iiether the king and his officers believed in 
 the divinity of her mission, or whether it were from 
 ])olicy that they entered into the artifice, seeing the 
 advantage that might be made of such an instrument, is 
 uncirtain ; but the vulgar most certainly believed in the 
 trulh of her inspiration, and that was enough. 
 
 P.— In a crisis of such excitation, the intellect of 
 the '' great vulgar and the smalF' were much iipon a 
 level. 
 
 A, — It is pretended that Joan, on her admission to 
 the kin-, pointed him out at once from the rest of his 
 
 « Villarot, Informations contenucs dans Ics deux Proems dc la rncelic. 
 '• Ibid. 
 
mmmmmmmmm 
 
 MMH 
 
 mm 
 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 courtiers, though attired .siiii ttiuul plainness; but as 
 she might have seen his effigy on the coin, this sagacity 
 could scarcely be considered as supernatural , but she 
 revealed to him, it is said, a secret'^ whicli was unknown 
 to all the world beside herself. The natnro ot this 
 secret has been mucii canvassed: a MS. iu the royd 
 library at Paris, says that it was a prayer offered up 
 mentally by the French kuig, but not uttered. She also 
 demanded, as the instrument of her iiitme victories, 
 a particular sword, which was kept in the church of 
 Fierbois, and which she described by its marks, and 
 the place in which it had long lain neglected. Crave 
 and learned divines were ordcnd to examine Joan's 
 mission, and they pronounced it sacred. Her requests 
 were now granted: she was armed cap -ci- pie, and 
 mounted on horsel)ack: lur dexterity in managing her 
 steed, though the consequence of her former occupa- 
 tion, attracted universal admiration. Trevious to lu r 
 attempting any exploit, she wrote a long letter to the 
 young English monarch, commanding him to withdr.iw 
 his forces from France, and threatening liis destruction 
 in case of refusal. She concluded with, '' Hear this 
 advice from God and the Virgin.^" 
 
 F.— Such an epistle, in that age, was calculabd to 
 produce alarm; for though the English alVected to 
 speak with derision of the maid, they felt their ima- 
 o illation subdued with the expectation of some awful 
 and preternatural event which was about to befal 
 
 them.^ 
 
 ^l._The first essay of Joan was to enter Orleans, 
 which she effected without opposition, at the head of a 
 convoy,' displaying a consecrated standard, on which 
 was represented the supreme Heing surrounded with 
 
 Villarct. 
 
 »> Ibid. 
 
 <^ Rymer, vol. 10. 
 
 ** Monstrclct. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 279 
 
 fleurs de lys. She was received by the inhabitants as 
 a celestial deliverer. With admirable good sense, 
 discovering the superior merits of Dunois, the bastard 
 of Orleans, a celebrated captain, she wisely adhered 
 to his instructions; and by constantly harassing the 
 English, and beating up their intrenchments in various 
 desperate attacks, in all which she displayed the most 
 heroic courage, Joan in a few weeks compelled the 
 Earl of Suffolk and his army to raise the siege, having 
 sustained the loss of six thousand men.* 
 
 P. — This was the first half of the maid's promise to 
 Charles; the crowning him at Rheims was the second. 
 
 A, — Such a proposal would, a few weeks before, 
 have appeared like madness; but Joan now insisted 
 on its fuliihnent. Though llheims was in possession 
 of the enemy, Charles set out, and scarcely perceived 
 that he was in a hostile country: that and every other 
 to\\ a sent him its keys at his approach. His coronation 
 w^as speedily performed, and he was consecrated with 
 some of the holy oil which a pigeon brought from 
 heaven to Clovis on the first establishment of the 
 French monarchy. Joan stood l)y the side of the king 
 in complete armour. As soon as the ceremony was 
 over, she fell at las feet, embraced his knees with con- 
 gratulating joy, and entreated his permission to return 
 to a private station.^ 
 
 F. — The request, if sincere, does infinite credit to 
 her understanding: the gratification of that moment 
 must have been one of the most exquisite that ever 
 fell to the lot of a human being. 
 
 P. — Of what age was the Maid of Orleans? 
 
 F. — It has been a subject of dispute: some authors 
 assert (hat she was twenty-seven; but from her answers 
 
 ^ Monstrelet. 
 
 b Villarct. 
 
280 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 «> 
 
 81 
 
 delivered ])efore her judges, it would appear that she 
 was born in*14n, and consequently was now but nine- 
 teen, an age incomparably more interesting. 
 
 A. — The ceremony of \he coronation brmipfht to the 
 -standard of Charles thousands of his late dispirited 
 subjects; many towns immediately declared ftn liim; 
 and (lie English, wlio had suffered in various actions, 
 at tiiat of Jergeau, where the Earl of Snffolk was taken 
 prisoner,^ and llml of Patay, where Sir Jolni Fastolfc 
 fled witliout striking a blow,** seemed novs to bc^ tof-illy 
 reversed, both in (haracter as well as in situation. 
 The Duke of Bedford, astonished at the change, attri- 
 buted it to a supernatural ard diabolical power. A 
 fratrment of his letter to the king and council is a real 
 curiosity: 
 
 ''And all tilings there prospered for you, till ihc 
 time of the siege of Orleans, taken in hand God knowcth 
 by what advice ; at the which time, after the adventure 
 fallen to the person of my cousin of Salisbury, whom God 
 assoile, there fell by (lie hand of God, as it seemeth, a 
 great stroke upon your people, caused in great part, as 
 1 trowe, of sad beleve, and of unleveful doubt, that they 
 had of a disciple and limbe of the fiende called the 
 rucelle, that used false enchantments and sorcerie; 
 the which stroke and discomlilure not only lessed in 
 great part the number of your people then, but as well 
 withdrew the courage of the remnant in marvellous 
 
 wise. 
 
 j> 
 
 The Duke of Bedford acted with the utmost prudence 
 and vigilance in so dangerous a conjuiulurc ; he still 
 retained Paris in its obedience, and endeavoured to 
 
 " Monstrelet. 
 
 ^' Ibicl. 
 
 *■ RymiT, vol. 10» 
 
 i;?, 
 
 revive the drooping spirits of that part of the French 
 nation wl)ich still adhered to Henry, by having the 
 young monarch crowned at Paris (1430),'' a vain, un- 
 meaning, and insipid ceremony, from which no advan- 
 tage was derived. The English troops, not only abroad 
 but at home, became so overwhelmed with apprehen- 
 sion of the supernatural prowess of Joan, that a pro- 
 clamation was put forth to seize such as had deserted 
 and concealed themselves for fear of the maid.^ 
 
 F. — From the effect of this panic the English army 
 never recovered, when even the cause had ceased, by 
 the capture of Joan herself in a skirmish. 
 
 A. — The Count Dunois, sensible of the importance 
 which might still be derived from her presence in the 
 army, exhorted her to persevere till she had accom- 
 plished all her promises, and expelled the English 
 entirely out of France; in consequence she threw her- 
 self into the town of Compeign, then besieged by the 
 Duke of Burgundy. The next day (May 25th, 1430), 
 heading a sally upon the enemy, she was repulsed, and 
 compelled to retreat after exerting the utmost valour; 
 \\hen having nearly reached the gate of the town, an 
 English archer pursued her, and pulled her from her 
 horse.^ 
 
 F. — The governor of Compeign, Flavi, has been ac- 
 cused, I believe unjustly, of closing the barriers against 
 her : no complaint of Joan appears in the process, of such 
 treachery, which had it been committed, could scarcely 
 have been passed over. 
 
 A, — The joy of the English was as great as if they 
 liad obtained a complete victory. Joan was committed 
 to the care of John of Luxembourg, count of Ligni, 
 Irom whom the Duke of Bedford purchased the captive 
 
 ' Kymcr, vol. 10, 
 
 ^' Ibid. 
 
 ' Villaret. 
 

 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 283 
 
 for ten tliousuuil pouiid^^ aiid a pension oi ihree liuii- 
 dred pounds^ a year to the bastard oi' Vendonic, to 
 whom she surrendered. Jomi was now conducted to 
 lloiien, where, loaded willi irons, she was thrown irilu 
 a dungeon, preparatory to a trial. T5ut as there was 
 no reason why she should be treated otherwise than as 
 a prisoner of war, it l)ecame necessary to interest the 
 clergy in the cause, and an ecclesiastical commission 
 was formed, to try the heroine on a charge of sorcery, 
 impiety, idolatry, jind magic. ^ 
 
 P. — Did the court of France employ no means to 
 save her .from the too probable consequences of her 
 situation? 
 
 A, — From tlie moment of her captivity, the unfortu- 
 nate maid seems to have been totally i'urgotten : no 
 sum w^as oflTered for her ransom; no attempt made to 
 alleviate the rigour of her confinement; no notice taken 
 of her trial and execution, it has been said,"^ but pro- 
 bably without truth, that Agnes Sorel, jealous of (lie 
 liberator of the king, and fearful of tlie ascendancy 
 which Joan might oljtain over him, much coutriljutcd 
 to this culpalde indifference of Charles, who, without 
 an ellbrt, left the heroic restorer of his kingdom to 
 perish. 
 
 P. — So much ibr the gratitude of monarclis! 
 
 A. — The judges wlio formed the ecclesiastical court 
 were all, except Cardinal Beaufort, Frencluiu n in the 
 English interest; and a most extraordinary trial en- 
 sued. Joan frequently exhibited in her answers a wis- 
 dom superior to the age: harassed witli a variety of 
 the most ridiculous questions, she never lost lier pre- 
 sence of mind, or betrayed any symptoms of weakness : 
 her enthusiasm was doubtless sincere; she asserted 
 
 that she frequently heard a voice from heaven, and in 
 thr place where she heard it, she saw also a light, 
 which she mistook for an angel. Being asked whether 
 she had ever seen any fairies? she answered no; but 
 tliat (»no of htr godmothers pretended to have seen 
 some at the Fairy Tree of Domremy, but that she her- 
 self did not believe the report. Sometimes her judges 
 asked her diiferent questions altogether: '' One after 
 the other, gentlemen, if you please," observed Joan. 
 Y> hen she desired to be eased of her chains, it was 
 objected that she had endeavoured to escape by throw- 
 ing herself from a tower; she confessed the fact, and 
 maintained the justice of her intention. Being asked 
 why she carrier! the standard consecrated by magical 
 enchantment at the coronation of Charles at Rheims ? 
 she nobly answered, tliat those who shared the danger 
 were entitled to share the glory."" A learned doctor 
 having enquired whether St. Michael, when he appeared 
 to lier, were cloilied or naked? she replied, that God 
 had pov.er to clothe his saints in what manner he 
 pleased. Being pressed upon the subject of her reve- 
 lations, she declared that, if the church rejected them, 
 she was willing to believe the possibility of her having 
 been deceived. In the end she was condemned for all 
 the crimes of which she had been accused, aggravated 
 by that of heresy, and sentenced to perpetual imprison- 
 ment, to be fed during life on bread and water.^ 
 
 P. — The English were enraged that she was not 
 condemned to death. *' Wait but a little," said one of 
 her sycophantic judges, ^^ we shall soon find the means 
 to ensnare her." And this was effected by a grievous 
 accusation, which, though somewhat countenanced by 
 theLevitical law,has been seldom urged in modern times. 
 
 • Villarct. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 *■ Pcro Daniel. 
 
 » Villarct. 
 
 I Ibid. 
 

 284 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 285 
 
 the wearing of man s attiro. Joan had been charged with 
 this heinous offence, but she promised not to repeat it. 
 A suit of man's apparel was designedly placed in her 
 ehauil)er, and her own garments, as some authors say, 
 beinu' removed, she clothed herself in the forbidden 
 garb, and her keepers surprising her in flint dress, she 
 was adjudged to death as a relapsed licretic, and was 
 condemned to be burned in the market-place atRouen.* 
 
 A. — In justification of this relapse, Joan pleaded 
 that tlie saints had ;id vised her to resume those gar- 
 ments, and that she had obeyed God rather tlian m:in. 
 At the view of the fatal stake, Joan did not exhibit 
 tliose marks of triunij^h, or even of indilTc rence, which 
 many of her sex, at the prospect of suffering for con- 
 science sake, have often discovered; on the contrary, 
 and it is no dirninulioii of h*er character as a woman, 
 she wept in all the bitterness of agony and distress. On 
 her passage to the scalibhl, she exclaimed, '^ Ah, llouen, 
 Eouen, (liou wilt be my last resting-place!" Upon 
 the front of the pile of wood on whicli she suffered, a 
 tablet was affixed, with this charitable inscription: 
 '^ Joan, vrlio made herself be called the maid, a perni- 
 cious liar, a deceiver of the people, a sorceress, super- 
 stitious, presumptuous, cruel, a blasphemer, an iniidel, 
 a murderer, an idolater, a worshipper of the devil, an 
 apostate, a schismatic, and a heretic."^ 
 
 P. — It is is diiiicult to say whetlier the ingratitude 
 of her friends or the cruelty of her enemies were the 
 more odious. 
 
 A. — The memory of Joan, as might 1)e suj)j)()sec\ 
 was never very popular in England, but rather tl a 
 object of abhorrence : Shakspeare, ^vho well knew what 
 would please his audience, lias represented licr as 
 
 a sorceress, and of abandoned conduct, follow^ing the 
 .authority of Tfolinshed, who says, that the maid was 
 ^^ not able to hold herself in any towardness of grace." 
 But the correctness of Joan's demeanour is unim- 
 peached: she never slept in the camp, unless attended 
 by her two brothers, and she did not then put off her 
 armour.'' That she was a person inspired either by 
 God or llu^ devil, was long believed both by French 
 and English : Rapin makes a very prolix dissertation 
 to prove that she might be neither. Her family was 
 ennobled by the name of De Lys, and it is said that 
 some of their descendants are yet living.^ 
 
 F. — In 1()08, Lude de la Maire, descended by his 
 mother from liie family of Joan of Arc, enregistered his 
 letters of nobility. In France, after the death of Joan, 
 more than one adventurer assumed her name, and 
 many had the folly to believe in the imposture.'' 
 
 A. — Joan's predictions, though uninspired, were 
 founded on so much good sense, that they commonly 
 came to pass. Once, during her imprisonment, the 
 Earls of Warwick and Stafford paying her a visit, and 
 discoursing about her ransom, she said, " I know ye 
 well ; you have neither the power nor the will to ransom 
 me; you tliink that when you have slain me, you shall 
 conqner France; but you will never bring that about, 
 aUiu3ugh you were there, and one hundred thousand 
 God-dammes in tliis land more than there are:" in 
 allusion to tliat profane accomplishment which for so 
 many ages distinguished the English army. The gallant 
 Stafford drew his sw ord, and would have stabbed her, 
 had he not been prevented by Warwick."* 
 
 F. — Yet there were some persons found, even 
 amongst the English, whose natural sense of equity 
 was affected by the injustice done to this admirable 
 
 » Villarct. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 Viliarot. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 «i U)id. 
 
VESTIGIA. 
 
 heroine: a secretary of the l.iiig cxclaiuied, '' We are 
 lost and dishonoured by thi hideous torture inflicted 
 on an innocent woman.^ Her judges were universally 
 execrated, and in the reign of the next French monarch, 
 two of them vvho yet survived, sufiered, not undeserv- 
 edly, the lex taJionis.^ 
 
 A. — The execution of Joan did not retrieve Ihe 
 affairs of England : a domestic quarrel between the 
 Dukes of Bedford and Burgundy" alienated the mind of 
 the latter from the English interest, and he concluded at 
 Arras a treaty with the King of France. The Duke of 
 Bedford survived not more than four years tlu^ execution 
 of the Maid of Orleans, dying at Rouen, September 14, 
 1435:'* a prince of such eminent talents and virtues, 
 that we are the more disposed to regret that his memory 
 should be sullied by an act of so much barbarity. 
 
 F, — To the military character of Bedford we have 
 the unprejudiced testimony of Louis the Eleventh, who 
 being one day at the church of Ilouen, and looking 
 upon his tomb, it was suggested by one of the courtiers 
 to demolish that standing memorial of the dishonour 
 of France. " No," replied Louis, '' let the ashes of a 
 prince rest in peace, who, were he alive, would make 
 the stoutest of us tremble.''" 
 
 A, — The loss of Paris speedily followed the death 
 of Bedford, and one city after another gradually reverted 
 to the French crown. 
 
 P. 
 
 Star after star went out, and all was night. 
 
 A. — It would be of little interest to relate the va- 
 rious proposals for peace made and rejected, or the 
 successive skirmishes and aflrays, w-hich decided no- 
 thing. Bouen having revolted, the whole of Normandy 
 was speedily lost (1450): this was inllowid by (he 
 
 i 
 
 FACTIONS IN ENGLAND. 
 
 267 
 
 surrender of Bordeaux and Bayonne;^ in an unsuc- 
 cessful attempt of the English to recover these places, 
 tlie veteran Talbot, now Earl of Shrewsbury, and his 
 son, tlie Lord Lisle, were killed on the field of battle 
 (1453). Shrewsbury was so much the terror of the 
 French, that the women used to frighten their chil- 
 dren, by crying " The Talbot cometh."' The English 
 were thus entirely expelled from Guienne, which had 
 remained united to England since the accession of 
 Henry the Second, a period of three centuries. The 
 war had now^ lasted thirty-eight years, and had de- 
 stroyed, according to tlie opinion of Cardinal Beau- 
 fort,*' as many men as remained in both kin2:doms. As 
 the conquest of the French provinces by Henry the 
 Fifth w^as owing to the discord of the violent factions 
 in France, so was their loss attributable to the no less 
 violent factions which now distracted England. That 
 the ancient French w^ars, whilst successful, were highly 
 popular, we have unquestioned testimony, and to this 
 day they consecrate the glory of our Edwards and our 
 Henrys, even in other opinions than those of the mere 
 vulgar. 
 
 F. — At this period France had exhibited no danger- 
 ous ascendancy in Europe, nor did she interfere with 
 the commerce or manufactories of England. We have 
 already seen that the claims of the Plantagenet family 
 to the French crown were altogether chimerical ; unless 
 therefore from the mere love of plunder, it is difficult to 
 account for the extreme fondness alw ays evinced by the 
 English nation for a war with France. 
 
 P. — May not a latent desire in the Plantagenet 
 family to recover the possessions of their ancestors, 
 lost by King John, aflbrd an explanation of the cause, 
 and in some measure a justification of the attack? 
 
 ^» Villarot. 
 
 ^ \h\i\. 
 
 <^ Monstrelet. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 » Mouetrelct. 
 
 ^ Hall. 
 
 * Rymcr, vol. 10. 
 
288 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 A. — The narrative of the domestic situation of Eng- 
 land hus been somewhat anticipated; but the war 
 swallowed up every other interest, and few events 
 occurred which can claim the least attention from pos- 
 terity. Henry the Sixth continued all his life a cipher; 
 and the council was now dix ided between the opinions 
 of Cardinal licaufort, a prelate of greai capacity and 
 experience, but factious and intriguing, and the Diike 
 of Gloucester, uncle to the young king, a i)r!nce of 
 spirit and generosity, but headstrong and imprudent. 
 In a contest between such parties, it is easy to foresee 
 which side would prevaiL As affairs declined in Franco, 
 the cardinal had always encouraged proposals <»f ac- 
 commodati(m, v.hieh Gloucester, brought up in the lofty 
 pretensions inspired by tlie success of Henry the Fifth, 
 as constantly opposed. When the young king reached 
 the age of manhood, it appeared obvious, from the 
 softness of Ids temper and the weakness of his under- 
 standing, that his reign would prove a perpetual minor- 
 ity; and each party became desirous of choosing liiiu 
 a queen, who, owing her elevation to their assistance, 
 midit obtain for them a lasting ascendancy. Such a 
 princess was found in Margaret of Anjou,^ daughter of 
 Ptcgnier, titular King of Sicily, Naples, and Jerusalem, 
 who w ith these magniiicent titles possessed not a foot 
 of land, nor could give his daughter any other portion 
 than those perfections which nature had so abundantly 
 bestowed: Margaret being esteemed superior in beauty 
 to most women, and in mental capacity equal to most 
 men.^ The Earl of Sulfolk, a nobleman in the cardinals 
 interest, w as despatched into France with proposals of 
 marriai^e (1445), which were readily accepted: a secret 
 article was inserted in the contract, providing for the 
 restitution of Maine and Anjou/ to tlie uncle of tlie 
 
 a Hall. 
 
 b Pere d'Orlcans. 
 
 ^ Fabian. 
 
 DAME KLEANOR. 
 
 S89 
 
 princess, Charles of Anjou, the favourite of the French 
 king. When this concession was discovered, a few 
 years after, it caused universal dissatisfaction. 
 
 F. — But Suffolk might foresee that these provinces 
 could not long be retained by the English, and thence 
 conclude, like a crafty politician, that their concession, 
 which was unavoidable, would establish in him a claim 
 to tlie lasting favour of the new queen. 
 
 P. — The beautiful scene then, in Shakspeare's play, 
 where Suffolk leads in Margaret, is merely fictitious : 
 
 Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner. 
 
 F. — Of all the historical dramas of the great bard, 
 the First Part of Henry the Sixth is that most likely to 
 mislead the reader, as it sets at complete defiance the 
 best attested dates and facts: the Second and Third 
 Parts of Henry the Sixth are considerably more conso- 
 nant with the triilli of history. 
 
 A. — The first object of the queen, on her arrival, 
 was to establish a complete ascendancy, which she 
 found herself unable to effect, from the great popularity 
 of the Duke of Gloucester, who had exercised the office 
 of protector upwards of twenty years; his ruin was 
 consequently resolved on, and the first attack was a 
 prosecution of his duchess, who w^as accused of witch- 
 craft. The duke having annulled his contract with 
 Jacqueline of Flainault, had married, as Stow terms 
 her, his wanton paramour, Eleanor Cobham, whose un- 
 seasonable ambition and pride induced her ruin. Dame 
 Eleanor, for so she w^as universally called, dabbled in 
 the art of magic ; and she fell into a snare concocted 
 by the cardinal, and the earl, now Duke of Suffolk, 
 w^hose emissaries surprised lier in company with one 
 Margery Jourdan, a witch of Eye, and Roger Bolin- 
 brokc, a priest, melting a w^axen image before a slow 
 
 VOL. II. U 
 
590 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 '"^ %^ JL, 
 
 fire, wiili the inlenlifHi of caubiiiL irtiiiv'i^ foict; auJ 
 vigour to waste by like msensil^le dreTces.* 
 
 jF. — However absurd the accusation, it is very pos- 
 sible that tlie mains animus was not wanting on this 
 occasion. 
 
 A. — The two contcderates suffered the punishment 
 of death, and Dame Eleanor was constrained to do 
 public penance : on three several days she appeared in 
 the most frequented streets of London with a wax taper 
 in her hand, '' hoodless, save a kerchief;''*' she was 
 condemned also to suffer perpetual imprisonment in 
 the Isle of Man. It is obvious what a mortification 
 must have been inflicted on the Dnke of donccster, 
 heir presumptive to the throne, by such a proceeding. 
 His enemies, apprehensive of his resentnu at, accused 
 him of treason, in a parliament summoned at St. Ed- 
 mundsbury; but airaid of bringing so popular a prince 
 to trial, they judged it more expedient to murder him 
 in his bed. In vain did the queen, the cardinal, and 
 Suffolk, by exposing the body to public view, endea- 
 vour to induce a belief that liis deatli was natural.'^ 
 
 V,— Who finds the heifer dead and bleeding fresh, 
 And sees fast by a butcher with an axe, 
 Bnt will suspect 'twas he that made the slaughter ? 
 Who fiuds the partridge in the puttock's nest, 
 But may imagine how the bird was dead, 
 Although the kite soar with unbloodied beak ? ^ 
 Even so suspicious is this tragedy. 
 
 A, — The awful description in Ihe same drama, of 
 Humfrey's murdered corpse, tends to impress upon tlic 
 memory the catastrophe of this imprudent but generous 
 
 pnnce: 
 
 But see, his face is black and full of blood : 
 ili<^ eyeballs further out than when he lived. 
 
 a Grafton. ^ Stow. 
 
 ^ Hen. VI. Second Part. 
 
 <^ Cont. Hist. Croy. Hall. Grafton. 
 
 Staring full ghastly like a strangled man ; 
 
 His hair upreared ; his nostrils stretched with struggling ; 
 
 His hands abroad displayed, as one that grasp*d 
 
 And tugg'd for life, and was by strength subdued. 
 
 Look on the sheets, his hair, you see, is sticking ; 
 
 His well-proportioned beard made rough and rugged, 
 
 Like to the sujnmer's corn by tempest lodg*d. 
 
 It cannot be, but he was murdered here : 
 
 Tlie least of all thes« signs is probable.'^ 
 
 P. — The title of Duke of Gloucester was singularly 
 unfortunate, the last prince who bore it perishing by 
 similar violence at Calais.^ 
 
 F. — Gloucester is said to have received a better 
 education than w as common with princes in his age : he 
 was certainly a patron of letters, and presented many 
 valuable books to the University of Oxford, amongst 
 which were some rare and curious Greek MSS."" All 
 these donations were finely written on vellum, and em- 
 bellished with miniatures and illuminations: only a 
 single specimen remains, a MS. in folio, of Valerius 
 Maximus, the rest being destroyed by the pious visitors 
 of the University in the reign of Edward the Sixth, 
 whose zeal or avarice was excited by the splendid 
 covers stamped with a crucifix, which gave the books 
 the appearance of missals."* 
 
 A. — The duke had made so great a progress in phi- 
 losophy, as to be aware that a man born blind and sud- 
 denly restored to sight could be no true judge of colours." , 
 The mode in which he cured the lameness of an impostor, 
 called Simcox, who pretended to have received his sight 
 by a miracle, forms the subject of a laughable and charac- 
 teristic scene in the same forecited drama of Shakspeare. 
 
 F. — The quaint Fuller^ says, '' that the memory of 
 Gloucester is pendulous between malefactor and mar- 
 
 a Henry VI. Second Part, act 5. ^ See page 185. 
 
 ^ Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, vol. 2. « Grafton. 
 
 U 2 
 
 « Ant. h Wood, 
 f Church Hist. 
 
 i 
 
HK 
 
 29-2 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CARDINAL BEAUFORT. 
 
 293 
 
 tyr, l3iit tlie latter liath prevailed, and lit l^ usually 
 termed the Good ;* as for those who, chewino: their meat 
 with their feet whilst they walk in the body of St. 
 PaiiFs, are commonly said to dine with Duke ilumfrey, 
 the saying is as far from truth as they from their dinner, 
 even twenty miles ofl', since this duke was buried at 
 St. Albans/' 
 
 A. — There is surely something offensive to a just 
 taste, in coupling together, for the sake of a jingling 
 antithesis, the epithet malefactor with the name ot the 
 good Duke Humfrey, as this prince, however rash and 
 headstrong, has never been suspected of entertaining 
 the remotest design against the honour or welfare of 
 his country. His rival in power, Cardinal Beaulbrt, did 
 not long survive, dying six weeks after his nephew 
 (April 11, 1447). 
 
 P^ — The death-bed of this lofty churchman has also 
 been rendered immortal by the description of our great 
 poet : 
 
 Lord Cardinal, if thou think*st on heaven's bliss, 
 Hold up tby hand, make signal of thy hope : 
 
 He dies and makes no sia:n> 
 
 ^1. — Whether the cardinal either authorised or was 
 concerned in Gloucester's murder, is uncertain, tliough 
 the fact is strongly suspected : he certainly concurred 
 in the accusation of treason. Beaufort was doubtless 
 a prelate of an " unbounded stomach," able, artiid, and 
 intriguing; of insatiable avarice, and enormous pride. 
 Like many others elevated to equal diirnities, and pos- 
 sessing so unreasonable a proportion of the i^^ood things 
 of this world, he became unwilling to leave them: the 
 striking picture of his death-bed horror and d(\spair, 
 is probably an exaggeration of the poet; but the old 
 
 f Fabian. 
 
 '^ Sbaks. Hen. VT. part 2. 
 
 chronicler iFall relates that the cardinal exclaimed, 
 '* Why shouli! f die, having so much riches? if the 
 whole realiii would save my life, I am able either by 
 policy to get it, or by riches to buy it. Fy; will not 
 death be hired? and can money do nothing? 
 
 F, — Yei the cardinal must have been eighty years 
 
 of age : 
 
 A. 
 
 So bad a death argues a monstrous life. 
 Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all,» 
 
 is a remark ^as judicious in itself as characteristic of 
 its pious and royal speaker. These tragic scenes suffi- 
 ciently concur, in point of time, with the final loss of 
 the French provinces, as to conclude the first act, if 
 we may so call it, of the reign of Henry the Sixth. 
 
 Shaks. Hen. VI. part 2. 
 

 TfiSTIGIA. 
 
 JOHN CADliS iNSURliliCTION^ 
 
 29& 
 
 z' 
 
 y 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 X 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 DISSERTATION X. 
 Section IV. 
 
 Henry VI. - - - a.d. 1450 to I46K 
 
 A. — Tin: weakness and incapacity of Henry, as 
 well as the domineerini^ disposition of the q^ioen, be- 
 came every day more apparent; and it is diificult to 
 say which quality proved most detrimental to the in- 
 terest of the nation. An universal discontent prevailed, 
 which first assumed a formidable shape in the impeach- 
 ment, by the Commons, of tlie Duke of Suffolk, Marga- 
 ret's declared iavourite, who, to please a forei^ mis- 
 tress, was said to have betrayed his sovereign, and to 
 have sacrificed the inheritance of the crown, in deliver- 
 ing up the provinces of Anjou and Maine : he was first 
 accused of treason,* on grounds most improbable, not 
 to say ridiculous, which, as they could not be proved, 
 were changed into various charges of political misde- 
 meanour. Henrv endeavoured to save Suffolk froui the 
 effect of this prosecution, by banishinc^ him the kingdom 
 for five years; but the enemies of SuUoik, sensible that 
 he would be recalled and reinstated in favour witli llie 
 first opportunity, employed the captain of a ship called 
 the Nicholas of tiie Tower, to intercept him in his pas- 
 sage to Frcmce : he was accordingly seized near Dover, 
 his head struck off on the side of a longboat, und Ids 
 body thrown into the ocean. ^ 
 
 P. — But surely this act was as atrocious nnd illegal 
 as any that Suffolk had committed. 
 
 ■ Cotton's Abridgm. 
 
 Hi>t. Croy. Cont. 
 
 A. — ^That Suffolk perished without a shadow of law 
 is obvious ; but the authors of the outrage were never 
 with certainty ascertained : he was received on the deck 
 of the vessel with the ominous salutation of " Welcome, 
 traitor;" a mock trial took place before the sailors; 
 and it was not till the sixth stroke that his head was 
 severed from his body by a rusty axe.* 
 
 F. — Such was the end of William de la Pole, an 
 unprincipled minister, without doubt, and not at all 
 nice about the means by which he upheld his power; 
 yet this man, with his hands embrued with the blood of 
 the Duke of Gloucester, could write, on the day of 
 his departure, a letter to his son, strongly inculcating 
 principles of religion and loyalty:^ so much easier 
 is it to bestow good advice than to afford a correct 
 example. 
 
 A. — The king and queen were plunged into the 
 deepest distress at tlic news of Suffolk's death; nor 
 was their anxiety at all diminished by the rumour that 
 a pretender to the crown, in the person of the Duke of 
 York, was beginning to prefer his latent but power- 
 ful claim : and the queen found by a righteous doom, 
 that her guilty concurrence in Gloucester's death, had 
 removed the strongest support of the throne. One 
 John Cade, a native of Ireland, a man of low condition, 
 assumed the name of Mortimer, long feared and hated 
 by the House of Lancaster, intending to pass himself 
 for the son of a Sir John Mortimer, executed in the 
 beginning of this reign for high treason. Cade, as it is 
 supposed, was instigated by the partizans of the Duke 
 of York (who was at this time subduing an insurrection 
 of tlie Irish), for the purpose of sounding the opinions 
 of tlie people, and arousing their feelings. He was 
 
 ■ Fenn. Paston Letters, vol. 1. 
 
 "- Ibid. 
 
29tJ 
 
 S KbiiGiA. 
 
 nicknamed John Aniendali;* and l\\enly thousand of 
 the common people of Kent iluckud to liis standard 
 on Blackheath, for the purpose of petitioning the 
 court for a redress of frrievances. They defeated a 
 small force sent against them iiiulcr Sir IhuiitVey Staf- 
 ford, i* whom they killed, and with whose gorgeous ar- 
 mour. Cade arrayed himself. xVfter murdering Lord 
 Saye, the treasurer, and Sir James Cromer, the sht rilf of 
 Kent/ Cade marched into the metropolis, and striking 
 his sword against London Stone, he exclaimed, " Now 
 is Mortimer lord of the city.""^ His followers at length 
 committed such havoc, that the citizens, seconded by 
 a detachment of soldiers from the Tower, fell upon 
 them, and destroyed a considerable nmnber; the re- 
 mainder, by a judicious proclamation of pardon from 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury,^ dispersed. Many of the 
 ringleaders were afterwards executed ; Cade escaped ^ 
 the immediate danger; and after wandering about the 
 wooded country near Lewes for several days^was killed 
 by Alexander Iden, a gentleman of Sussex, a price having 
 been set upon his head.^ 
 
 F. — It is proper to distinguisli the nature of thij 
 insurrection from that of Wat Tvler and Jack Straw, 
 seventy years before, which seems to have been caused 
 by the real and overwhelming grievances endured by the 
 people, and which extended nearly over the whole of the 
 kingdom; but in the present tumult the county oi' Kent 
 alone took part, and there can be little doubt that it 
 was a contrivance of the Yorkists. Shakspeare's ex- 
 hibition of the alfair is highly characteristic;* and 
 indeed it may be observed, that his Second Part of 
 Henry the Sixth, or at least the first four acts, display 
 
 •* Stow. 
 
 * Hall. 
 
 ^' Hall. ^ Ibid. rf Fabiaa. 
 
 ♦"Rymcij vol. 10. r Hen. VI. Second ParL 
 
 DUKE OF Y0RK*S CLAIM TO THE CROWN. 297 
 
 the events of the reign with considerable correctness 
 and inimitable forc^. 
 
 j1.— The court now became fully aware of its danger 
 from the pretensions of the Duke of York ; and the duke 
 was equally aware of the danger to which his title to 
 the crown exposed him, and which, but for the general 
 discontent, would have silently worn away and been 
 for^^^otten. Ilis situation was painfully embarrassing: 
 originally unwilling to have disturbed the possession of 
 Heiiry, but becoming sensible of the impossibility of 
 remaining in a private station, he was compelled to 
 embrace measures which his mild and moderate dis- 
 position would have preferred to avoid. 
 
 P.— You have not explained the exact nature of the 
 claim of the Duke of York to the throne of England. 
 
 ^._You will find it a dry piece of genealogy, but 
 yet necessary to be understood. Lionel, duke of Cla- 
 rence, third son of Edward the Third, left an only daugh- 
 ter, riiilippa, married to Mortimer, earl of Marche: 
 their posterity became the undoubted heirs of Richard 
 the Second. When the males of the house of Mortimer 
 failed, tlie right devolved upon Anne, sister of Edmund, 
 tlie last earl of Marche: this lady married the Earl of 
 Cambridge, beheaded in the late reign; she transmitted 
 licr claim to her son Richard, now Duke of York; and 
 this prince plainly stood in the succession before the 
 house of Lancaster, which derived its descent from 
 John of Ga\int, fourth son' of Edward the Third. But 
 in the genealogy of the house of York, there \vas a sort 
 of iamily piizzle, their male descent being derived from 
 ]:d\vard of Langley, fifth son of Edward the Third; 
 consequently, though they stood above the house of 
 Lancaster bv their female pedigree, they fell below it 
 as a nuilc hrancii of the Tlantagenct family. 
 
VESTIGIA. 
 
 P.~The two houses found themselves at this junc- 
 ture somewhat siniihuly situated as iht luiuilics of 
 Hanover and Stuart in the last century, though tlie 
 quarrel terminated in an opposite result. 
 
 F.— The liouse of Lcuicaster pleaded a purliamenlary 
 establishment and fifty years' possession ; notwithstand- 
 ing, it is certain that strict lawyers must ahuiys have 
 viewed its assumption of the crown as an usurpation, 
 it being neither according to thr letter nor liic spirit 
 of the ancient constitution. 
 
 ^•— Yet, wliat between the plea of fifty years esta- 
 blished authority on one hand, and the right of blood 
 on the other, the most conscientious persons became 
 divided in their sentiments: one party considering the 
 Duke oi lurk as an injured prince, deprived of his 
 right; tlie other as a traitor, who under specious pre- 
 tences sought the throne. And even at tliis great dis- 
 tance of time, as an abstract question, it is difficult to 
 bestow our sufaage: the dispute involved no point, 
 cither civil or religious, by which the condition of the 
 people w as to be benelited, iurther than by the charac- 
 ter of tlie rival princes; and expediency only therefore 
 could form a rational ground of decision. But as the 
 nation seems to have been equally divided in its opi- 
 nion, who was a])le to point out on which side the 
 expediency lay ? Fortunately, in the parallel modern 
 case, the difference of religion drew a marked and in- 
 telligible line, sufficiently powerful to determine a large 
 majority of tlie nation, in a conjuncture so diflicult and 
 painful. 
 
 F. — It is curious to observe how tenderly Black- 
 stone ^ treads over the concealed embers in h\< days; 
 when speaking of the revolution, he places the ubliga- 
 
 DUKE OF YORK. 
 
 299 
 
 t 
 
 * Book 1, cap. 31. 
 
 tion of submitting to its provisions on the simple ground 
 of obeying established authority. 
 
 yl. — At the death of Suflblk, Edmund Beaufort, 
 duke of Somerset, succeeded to his place in the admi- 
 nistration; and as he was the person under whose 
 government the French provinces had been lost, he 
 became equally odious. The House of Commons pre- 
 senting a petition for his removal,^ which was refused 
 by the court, gave an occasion for the Duke of York 
 to raise a force of ten thousand men, at the head of 
 which he marched towards London, demanding a re- 
 formation in the government. By dexterous manage- 
 ment the duke was ensnared into the hands of the 
 court,^ and his designs for the present frustrated. The 
 nation however continued in great discontent, and whilst 
 in this disposition, the queen was delivered of a son 
 (1454); no joyful incident, as it rem.oved all hope of 
 the peaceable succession of the duke and his family at 
 the demise of Henry. 
 
 F. — This birth of a prince was a singular coinci- 
 dence with the same circumstance previous to the revo- 
 lution in 1688, which equally precluded all prospect 
 of accommodation ; and what is remarkable, this in- 
 fant' was imagined (like that of James's), by several 
 persons to be supposititious. 
 
 A. — Henry, always unfit to exercise the powers of 
 royalty, a few days before the birth of his son, fell into 
 a distemper which deprived him of all understanding ; 
 he lost both sense and memory, and the use of his 
 limbs.^ Thus there existed a total deficiency of the ex- 
 ecutive authority, without the throne becoming vacant. 
 F.— This crisis naturally recalls to our memory the 
 same deficiency existing in modern days, of which 
 afllicting dispensation it forms the only real precedent. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 •• Ibid. 
 
 ^ Fabian. 
 
 •' Whctbamstede. 
 
300 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 PARLIAMENTS. 
 
 301 
 
 -4.— Parlicinieat now a^<=:nmed very high ground. 
 As it was necessary that some person shuuld be at ihe 
 head of the government, it appointed the Diikt of Turk 
 protector, with many limitations/ carefully providing 
 for his resignation, in the event of the king s recovery, 
 or when the infant Trince of Wales should arrive at 
 years of discretion; thus plainly declarinir its intention 
 of adhering to the family on the throne. Henry remained 
 above a twelvemonth before his disorder left him : when 
 the queen presented to him the royal infant, he asked 
 his name; she told him Edward. The king then held 
 up his hands, and thanked God: he declared that he 
 had not known the child till that time, nor any thing 
 that had been said to him, nor where he had l)een during 
 his illness. The protectorship of the Duke of York was 
 now annulled, being framed to cease with, the malady 
 to wliich it owed its creation ; ' and he became so much 
 alarmed for his safety, that having retired to the borders 
 of Wales, he levied an army, and under the old i)retext 
 of redressing grievances, marched towards I.ondon, when 
 meeting with the king^s Ibrces near St. Albans, a'battle 
 ensued. May 22, 1454, in which tlie Yorkists were supe- 
 rior, and without suffering any material Joss, slew five 
 thousand of their opponents,^^ amongst A\hum were the 
 Duke of Somerset, and many other persons of distinction. 
 The king himself fell into the hands of the Duke of York, 
 who treated him with much respect and tenderness. 
 
 F.— Such then was the commencement of (liis fatal 
 quarrel, which was signalised by twelve pitched battles, 
 in which one hundred thousand human beings were 
 slaughtered, which cost the lives of eighty persons 
 having the royal blood m their veins, and almost anni- 
 hilated the ancient nobility of England. 
 
 'Rot. Pari, vol.4. 
 ' Rot. Pari. vol. 5. 
 
 ^ Fvnn. Paston Letters, vol. 1. 
 '^ Whcthamstede. 
 
 < 
 
 V V 
 
 ft/'' 
 
 p, — Did the great body of the nation, in this sangui- 
 nary conflict, compel its voice to be heard through the 
 medium of the House of Commons? 
 
 A. — Inter arma silent leges. It is remarkable how sen- 
 sibly the power of parliament diminished after the sword 
 was once drawn. The deficient title of the Lancastrian 
 princes had elevated the House of Commons into an 
 authority which it had never before obtained : and during 
 their sway its increased importance was evinced by 
 various statutes regulating the election of its members. 
 Whether freeholders under mesne lords originally exer- 
 cised the elective franchise equally with the king's tenants 
 in chief, or w hether they gradually acquired the privilege, 
 is uncertain ;" but at the present period their right was 
 universally admitted : and in some counties the voters 
 had become so numerous and acted so disorderly, that 
 it was tiiought expedient to restrict, by two statutes, 
 the 8 and 10 Hen. VI. the qualification of voting to the 
 ])ossession of a freehold amounting to forty shillings 
 annual value, without deduction. The members for 
 counties were directed, by another statute, 23 Hen. VI. 
 to be " discreet knights resident in the county ; or if 
 kniuhts were not to be found, notable squires, or gen- 
 tlemen 1»y birth, having an estate qualifying them to 
 be made knights;'' which estate was forty pounds per 
 annum; " but by no means any yeoman, or person of 
 inferior rank." The members for cities and boroughs 
 w^ere, by a statute of the last reign, 1 Hen. V. directed 
 to be such persons who actually resided in the cities 
 and boroughs which they represented; the writs direct 
 not only the wisest but the stoutest men to be chosen,^ 
 that they might be able to endure the fatigues of par- 
 liament. The mode of electing members varied at dif- 
 ferent places, and custom long continued became law. 
 
 » Blackstone, Tracts. 
 
 ^ Prynne, Brev. Pari. Rediv, 
 

 302 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 K — Surprising irregularities however prevailcrL 
 The return oi the knights of the shire was influenced 
 then, as well as now, by the great men of the time. 
 The members lor the county oi York, for near fifty 
 years, seem to have been chosen by the attorneys of 
 some powerful lords and ladies.^ The Commons even 
 complained that the sheriils returned members wlio hnd 
 not been elected ; ' and an act was passed, 7 Hen. IV. 
 for their better reirulation. 
 
 A .—The wages of the members, four shillings per 
 day for the kniglits, and two shillings for the burgesses, 
 continued the same as when first regulated; and tlie 
 number of the House of Commons remained about three 
 hundred, nearly the same as in the parliament sum- 
 moned in the twenty-third year of Edward flie First: 
 for though some boroughs had neglected to return 
 members, their place was supplied by others. 
 
 F.— That universal sutfrage did not prevail, is sulli- 
 ciently evident. The advocates for annual parliaments 
 have somewhat a better ground to stand upon : two 
 statutes, the 4 and 6 of Edw. III. had declared that a 
 parliament should be lield '' every year once, and more 
 if need be;'' and from this time there appears to have 
 been few interruptions to an annual session, till the 
 unfortunate confusion of alfairs occasioned by the civil 
 wars ; and the practice being once discontinued, suc- 
 ceeding monarchs declined its revival. In the reign of 
 Edward the Fourth, there were intervals of two, three, 
 and even four years, in which no parliament was held 
 at all.^ 
 
 ^.— From tlie expression in the statute of Edward 
 the Third, some vehement sticklers of popular rights 
 have concluded, that not only a parliament was held 
 
 ^ Prynne, Brev. Pari. Rediv. 
 <^ Pari. Hist. vol. 2. 
 
 *» Rot. Pari, vol.4, p. 511. 
 
 PARMAMENTS. 
 
 303 
 
 every year, but that a new one was annually chosen, 
 aiii that prorogations were unknown. This doctrine 
 is however not admissible: so early as the 28th of 
 Edward the First, the same members met after a pro- 
 rogation ;" and if the king had the power of proroguing 
 parliament to a second session, what should have pre- 
 vented him from continuing the same parliament to a 
 third? which truly was the case in the seventh year of 
 IT( nry the Fourth, and the twenty-third and thirty-first 
 of Henry the Sixth. Indeed there appears to have been 
 no necessary termination of a parliament at any time, 
 except by the demise of the sovereign. 
 
 p — It does however oddly enough happen, that no 
 parliament, till the twenty-third and thirty-first of Henry 
 the Sixth, had ever continued in being, whether sitting 
 in one session or more, for the full period of twelve 
 calendar months. Thus for a hundred and fifty years, 
 from the first summons of the Commons by Edward 
 the First, annual parliaments in this sense had actually 
 
 prevailed. 
 
 A.— Bat the circumstance must be accounted for, 
 not from the want of power in the king to continue the 
 sittings, but from the anxiety of the members to be 
 released from their attendance ; a seat in the House of 
 Commons being considered, in the earlier period of its 
 existence, as a burden which few men w^ere w illing to 
 undertake, and from which every one was desirous of 
 escaping as soon as possible, like jurymen of the pre- 
 sent day. When a seat became an object of ambition, 
 as conferring power or profit, the members were easily 
 induced to extend their service, and thus parliaments 
 gradually became of longer duration. 
 
 P.— The qualification of a freeholder to vote being 
 regulated at forty shillings annual value, are we to con- 
 
 * Prynne, Pari. Writs, part 4, 
 
fm 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 sider that an estate of that amount enabled its possessor 
 to provide a decent living? 
 
 A, — The Anierican mines being yet undiscovered, 
 the proportion l)et\veeu the weight of the precious metals 
 and the quantity of commodities which they would pur- 
 chase, continued nenrly the same as they had remained 
 since the Conquest; but it is h> be remarket! that an 
 alteration liad now taken place in the English coinage : 
 Edward the Third, instead of the practice of coining 
 twenty shillings to the pound Tower weight, had in- 
 creased the number to t\venty-iive ; and Henry the 
 Fifth, proceeding still further, had coined thirty shil- 
 lings from the pound weight. So that at the time of 
 passing this act (142!)), for the regulation of freehold 
 voters, a shilling contained only double its present 
 weight, instead of triple, as heretofore; consequently 
 the intrinsic worth of forty shillings, according to our 
 scale of valuation, as explained in the reign of Edward 
 the Second,'* Avould be equivalent to forty pounds 
 modern. 
 
 I\ — Whether it would be for the benefit of the com- 
 munity that the spirit, instead of the letter of this enact- 
 ment were now enforced, especially in Ireland, I leave 
 others to determine. 
 
 A . — After the victory of St. Albans, it is strange that 
 the Duke of York still made no formal pretensions to the 
 crown, but merely reclaimed the protectorship,^ of which 
 he was again speedily deprived, by Margaret producing 
 her husband in parliament, who declared his intention 
 of resuming the government.^ The duke was compelled 
 to acquiesce, and a pretended reconciliation followed ; 
 the chief parties, with an hypocrisy truly ridiculous, 
 went in a solemn procession to St. Paul's, the Duke of 
 
 ^ Pa^c 67, 
 
 * Rymer, vol .11. 
 
 • Ibid. 
 
 DUKE OF YORK. 
 
 305 
 
 York leading Queen Margaret, and a leader of the 
 one party marching hand in hand with a leader of the 
 
 opposite.* 
 
 i\ - Fhougli, like the two kings of Brentford, they 
 might walk hand in hand, they certainly did not smell 
 at the same nosegay. 
 
 A. — This seeming harmony lasted a very short pe- 
 riod : about six months after, one of the king's retinue 
 insulting a retainer of the Earl of Warwick, a fierce 
 quarrel ensued, and became so general, that the earl, 
 apprehending his life to be aimed at, fled to his govern- 
 ment at Calais.^ 
 
 F. — This Earl of Warwick was Richard Neville, 
 who became so famous afterwards by the title of the 
 King Maker ; he was nephew to the Duchess of York, 
 and having nmrried the heiress of the great Beauchamp 
 family, carls of Warwick, he acquired their immense 
 possessions; and from his personal qualities, his mag- 
 nificence, hospitality, and gallantry in the field, added 
 to his unlimited wealth, he acquired so great a degree 
 of power and popularity, as w ould have excited jea- 
 lousy under any government. 
 
 A. — A battle took place, 23d September, 1459, at 
 Blorelieath, in Shropshire, between the Earl of Salis- 
 bury, who was advancing to join the Duke of Y'ork ; 
 and Lord Audley on the part of the king, in which the 
 Yorkists, by judicious generalship, were victorious.*^ 
 But this victory decided nothing; for the Earl of War- 
 wick, hastening to the general rendezvous at Ludlow, 
 was deserted by Sir Andrew Trollope, commanding a 
 band of veterans ; this ofiicer discovering that it was 
 the duke's intention to depose Henry ."^ 
 
 ^ Hall. 
 
 <• Whetliamstede. 
 
 Mbid. 
 d Hall. 
 
 VOL. 11. 
 
 X 
 
c- 
 
 mo 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 P. — But surely the knight must wilfullv hnve shut 
 his eyes, it this was his first discovery of the design of 
 the Duke of York. 
 
 A, — This incident eonipelled the Vorkists to dis- 
 perse, and the duke fled to Irelcuitl The next year 
 however, the Earl of Warwick again appeared from 
 Calais, with the young Eari oi Murche, eldest son of 
 the Duke of York: tliey were joyfully received at 
 London. In a short time a battle took place near 
 Northampton, lOlh July, 14(jO, in which the Lancas- 
 trians were totally routed, and the king once more 
 taken prisoner.^ The Dnkc of York arriving from 
 Ireland, now summoned a parliament, and for the first 
 time formally stated his claim to the throne. He de- 
 duced his title from the priority of his descent, enlarged 
 upon the cruelty and injustice by which tlie house of 
 Lancaster had attained the sovereign power, and de- 
 tailed the calamities wjiich had attended the reign of 
 the present monarch. The proceedings of the assendily 
 are curious and interesting: the Lords remaining in 
 suspense, the duke advanced near the royal canopy, and 
 laid his right hand on the cushiim, seeming to expect 
 an invitation to place himself on the throne like that 
 which was given to Henry the Fourth, lu this he was 
 disappointed : a solemn silence pervaded the house for 
 some minutes: at length the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 asked him if he would go with him, and wait upon the 
 king ; to which the duke, in great agitation, replied, 
 ^^ I know^ no person to whom I owe that mark of re- 
 spect;" and immediately hurried out of the house.** 
 
 F. — Such a degree of moderation in such a crisis is 
 almost unparalleled ; and the Peers, w ith all imaginable 
 coolness, took the subject into consideration for six 
 
 ^ Whethamstede. 
 
 »' Ibid. 
 
 r 
 
 i 
 
 DEATH OF THE DUKE OF YORK. 
 
 307 
 
 successive days, with no greater tumult than commonly 
 attended an ordinary debate. 
 
 A. — As most of the peers had received grants of 
 some sort from the house of Lancaster, they were pro- 
 bably afraid of invalidating their titles by a too sudden 
 renunciation of the rights of that family; and they 
 entered into a compromise that Henry should retain 
 the crown during life, the administration however to 
 remain with the Duke of York, who was acknowledged 
 the true and lawful heir of the monarchv.* 
 
 P. — This was nearly the arrangement agreed on by 
 the barons between Henry the Second and King Ste- 
 phen ; but w hich the death of that usurper alone pre- 
 vented from ending in a civil w ar. 
 
 A. — It w^as hardly to be expected that Queen Mar- 
 garet Mould consent to sacrifice the claims of the young 
 Prince of Wales, her son. Henry for himself would 
 have felt small reluctance, though he once plucked up 
 sullicient spirit to observe to the Peers, " My father was 
 king; his father was also a king; I have worn the crown 
 forty years, from my cradle, y ou have all sw^orn fealty 
 to me as your sovereign, and your fathers have done 
 the like to my fathers, how then can my right be dis- 
 puted."^ Queen Margaret, after the defeat at North- 
 ampton, having lied to the north, with admirable spirit, 
 vigour, and address, raised there an army, and soon 
 appeared w ith considerable pow er. To oppose her, the 
 Duke of York threw himself into Sandal Castle, near 
 Wakefield, and unadvisedly giving battle with a far 
 inferior force, was totally defeated and slain *^ (24th 
 December, 14G0). 
 
 » Whethamstede. 
 *^ Wliethamstede. 
 
 ^ Joannis Blakman, apiid Hearne in Otterbourne. 
 
 X 2 
 
508 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 P.— This is the last reverse which the Yorkists 
 experienced in the field of brittle. 
 
 ^.— The duke, though deficient in political courage, 
 possessed great personal bravery: he was indignant 
 at taking shelter behind the walls of a castle, lest he 
 should be thought to give the victory to a woman; 
 which nonsensical notion kd to his ruin, as his son, 
 the Earl of Marche, was bringing up a force to his 
 assistance from ^\^ales. The circumstances of the 
 duke's death were very tragical. Being taken prisoner, 
 he was made to stand upon a molehill, where his ene- 
 mies, having placed a garland of bullrushes upon his 
 head, in derision kneeled before him, saying, " llail, 
 king without rule; hail, king without heritage; hail, duke 
 and prince, without people or possessions:''^ having 
 thus put him to scorn, they struck ofl* his head, which 
 was stuck upon a pole, and presented to Qm en ]Mar- 
 garet. The Earl of Rutland, the duke's second son, a 
 beautiful youth of seventeen, being removed from the 
 field by his tutor, attracted by his splendid apparel 
 the observation of Lord Clitford, who enquired wlio he 
 was? The young nobleman l)eing dismayed did not 
 speak a word, but knelt down, as imploring mercy. 
 '' Save him," said the chaplain, '' for he is a prince's 
 son, and peradventure he may do you good hercalter/' 
 At this explanation, " the l)lack-faced 1)arl)arian," as 
 Shakspeare calls him, exclaimed, " By (Jod's blood! 
 thy father slew mine, and so will I slay thee, and all 
 thy kin!" and immediately killed the youthful prince 
 
 with his sword/' 
 
 P.— All the nobility who were taken by either party 
 in these sanguinary contests, seem to have been uni- 
 versally slaughtered or conducted to the scafiold: a 
 
 '^ W hethanistede. 
 
 b Hall. 
 
 OWEN TUDOR. 
 
 309 
 
 practice which places in no very favourable view the 
 humanity of the English in those times. 
 
 F. — A nearer parallel than might be suspected may 
 possibly be found ni the annals of the same people, of 
 a much later age. 
 
 A. — ^The head of the Duke of York, encircled with 
 a paper crown, was placed upon the walls of the city 
 of York.* This prince, who w^as greatly and justly 
 lamented by his own party, perished at the age of fifty. 
 Of somewhat an irresolute disposition, he appears to 
 have been too conscientious and good a man to contend 
 with those obstacles which beset the acquisition of a 
 crown, and deficient in that harsh and decided fierce- 
 ness which has placed a diadem on the heads of so 
 many tyrants. 
 
 F. — No person was ever so near a throne, and yet 
 not seated on it. 
 
 A. — Queen Margaret now exerted herself with un- 
 common spirit: she separated her army into two divi- 
 sions, one of which she led towards London, and the 
 other she despatched into Wales, under Jasper Tudor, 
 earl of PemT)roke, half-brother to the king, to oppose 
 the Earl of Marche, now become, by the death of his 
 father, Duku of York. This army was defeated, with 
 great s^au^hter, at Mortimer's Cross, in Herefordshire, 
 by the young duke^ (February 2, 1401). 
 
 F. — It was before tliis battle that the strange phe- 
 nomenon of the sun appearing like three suns, and then 
 suddenly uniting into one, took place, and encouraged- 
 Eduard in his attack." Such optical illusions are fre- 
 quently mentioned by the old chroniclers, as occurring 
 in these ages. 
 
 il,— The omen turned out very favourably for the 
 
 HhII. 
 
 '» Ibirl. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
310 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 TUMULTUARY ACCESSION OP EDWARD. 311 
 
 Yorkists. The Earl of Ptmbroke saved hiraself by 
 flight; but his father, Owen Tiidor, was taken pri- 
 soner, and soun alter beiicaded/ on the shameful pre- 
 tence of retaliating the death of the Duke of York. 
 
 ^.— This personage was said to be descended from 
 Cadvvallader, the last of the British kings ; and he is 
 remembered from his rare for*/ine in niarrj ing Katlierine 
 of France, the dowager of Henry the Fifth. His intro- 
 duction to her notice, if not to her all'ections, was 
 singular: being remarkable for the beauty of his per- 
 son, he was " commanded to dance before the queen; 
 in a turn, not being able to recover liimself, he fell 
 into her lap, as she sat upon a little stool, with many 
 of her ladies about her."»> This marriage gave great 
 offence ; and Mr. Tudor, as Dr. Henry calls him, w as, 
 after the queen's death, which happened in 1 137, com- 
 mitted to the Totver,^ under pretence of contempt 
 against the royal prerogative; but he was soon per- 
 mitted to escape. The grandson of this gentleman, 
 Henry the Seventh, ascending the throne, has given the 
 name of Owen Tudor a lasting celebrity. 
 
 ^.— Queen Margaret met with better success than 
 Pembroke. As she advanced towards London, she de- 
 feated a considerable force of Lancastrians at St. Albans 
 (Feb. 17); where she had the pleasure of seeing the re- 
 doubted Earl of Warwick lly before her conquering arms, 
 and of rescuing her husband from captivity.^ This was 
 of small consequence to Henry, as he was equally a pri- 
 soner in the hands of either party; nor did the victory 
 produce any advantage to the queen: her troops, intc nt 
 on plunder, were repulsed in an attempt upon the me- 
 tropolis, Avhich city always appears to have fa\oured 
 the York faction ; and she was compelled to retire^ into 
 
 the north. The young Duke of York uniting his forces 
 with the Earl of Warwick, entered the capital* amidst 
 the acclamatiolis of the citizens. The person of lliis 
 prince, now of the age of nineteen, was so eminently 
 handsome as to have considerable eflfect in advancing 
 his interests; the city dames in particular, being so 
 delighted with his appearance, his spirit, and affability, 
 that he found himself entirely possessed of the public 
 favour; and v>isely judging that half measures could be 
 of no avail in his situation, he boldly determined to 
 assume the name and dignity of king. But some ap- 
 pearance of national consent being thought necessary, 
 Edward, afraid of calling a parliament, ordered his sol- 
 diers to muster in Saint John's Fields. As great numbers 
 of persons assembled to behold them. Lord Falconbridge 
 asked the people if they w ould have Henry to reign 
 over them any longer? ^* No, no," was the welcome 
 rcply.^ He then demanded if they would have Edward, 
 eldest son of the late Duke of York, for their king? 
 They expressed their assent by loud and joyful accla- 
 mations. The voice of the people could be no other 
 than the voice of God. A great number of bishops, 
 lords, and persons of distinction, then met atBaynard's 
 Castle,^ ratified the popular election, and the new king 
 was proclaimed the next day by the title of Edward the 
 Fourth. 
 
 F. — This seems to be the nearest approach to an 
 elective sovereignty that has ever been exhibited in 
 England. 
 
 ^.— Thus ended, after thirty-nine years continuance, 
 the reign of Henry the Sixth, the only crowned king 
 both of France and England. He saw all the conquests 
 of his father, and the hereditary dominions of his family. 
 
 » Hall b Drayton, Ileroical Epistles. ^ llymcr, vol. 10. ^ Hall. 
 
 » Hall. 
 
 ^ Whethamstede. 
 
 « Ibid. 
 
 ■ni 
 
312 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ex(x?pt Calais, entirely lost to thi !ji;Ii>h rrmvn : anrl 
 this was far from btung the greatest misfortune whicii 
 the nation suUered IVom his dcplorcibli; iiuhiH'ility. The 
 civil war produced more distress and cnlnmity than 
 any event of a simihir nature ever recorded in this, or 
 perhaps in any other kingdom: dissension })ervad((! 
 every family in England; it spared neither the convents 
 of the monks nor the cottages of the poor, witliout the 
 expectation of any benefit being elicited, or any princi- 
 ple established, by the triumph of either party ; nor was 
 it shaking oil' the yoke of a tyrant, since the public 
 records do not inform ns of any greater violations of 
 the laws than were commonly practised by the ministers 
 of the crown in the Iburtecnth and fifteenth centuries. 
 It is true that the loss of the French provinces had 
 soured the temper of the people; but the son oT Henry 
 was as likely to retrieve the lionour of the nation as the 
 son of the Duke of York. The ancient though melan- 
 choly deduction from the contests of the great was never 
 more truly exemplilied : 
 
 Quicqiiid tlelirant reges plectuntur Acbivi. 
 
 313 
 
 DISSERTATION XI. 
 
 '«***♦ 
 
 rof^iy |i)ou6r, Uontron^ 
 
 THE HOUSE OF TLANTAGENET, 
 
 CONTINUED. 
 
 THE LINE OF YORK. 
 
 Edward IV. 
 Edward V. 
 Richard III. 
 
 A.D. 1461. 
 — 1483. 
 
 ^ 1483. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 J. — TiiK widely desolating lire of London suffi- 
 ciently accounts for the small number of antiquities 
 which remain within the precincts of that city; which 
 circumstance, however the curious may deplore, poste- 
 rity has daily occasion to bless, as it removed one of 
 the most frightful collection of dwellings ever inhabited 
 by human beings. 
 
 F, — The panegyric of honest John Stow would lead 
 to somewhat a dilferent conclusion, London being, as 
 he says, '' the largest city in extent, and the fairest 
 built, the most populous and best inhabited, and that 
 
314 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 AMCIENT ENGLISH DWELLINGS. 
 
 315 
 
 by a civil, rich, and sober people, of anv in die 
 world/'* 
 
 ^.— xVdmitting that some of the churches and other 
 public buildings possessed a portion of mairnificencc 
 yet from the ill-arranged plan in wliich ancient houses, ' 
 both externally and internally, were constructed, we 
 may safely conclude that ibw uglier cities existed than 
 old London. 
 
 P. — It w^ould be interesting to trace <he progress of 
 domestic architecture in England through its gradations, 
 from the rude hut of the ancient Briton to the lordly 
 castle of Windsor, and the splendid palaces of Bleu- 
 heim and Hampton Court. 
 
 il.— The dwellings of the ancient Britons were 
 wretched cottages of a circular form, w ith a tapering 
 roof, covered with strawy at the top of w^hich was an 
 aperture for the smoke to escape;'' the walls were wat- 
 tled, and the chinks filled with clay to exchide the 
 cold; they were then whitewashed. Ceesar says^ they 
 much resembled the houses of the Gauls. Specimens 
 of such tuguria may yet be seen in the Highlands of 
 Scotland. 
 
 P' — When the Romans obtained dominion, wx 
 conclude that they introduced tlieir own forms of 
 architecture. 
 
 ^.— We have still vestiges of their magnificence in 
 the beautiful tessellated pavements occasionally disco- 
 vered. The Roman houses seem to have covered a 
 large portion of ground, and to have consisted only of 
 the basement story, as this was the fashion of Uaiy. 
 In what manner the British towns were constructed 
 during this period, we are left in the dark; l)ut tluit 
 they aspired to splendoia*, we may conclude from the 
 
 
 description in Tacitus* of the temples, theatre, and 
 otlier public edifices at Camalodunum. All the Roman 
 relinement was destroyed during the Saxon era; and 
 the Iiuuses of the new invaders seem to have been as 
 rude as their manners, being little better than hovels 
 of , wood or carUi, covered on the top with straw or the 
 branches of trees. ^ 
 
 P. — Yet the Normans were great builders. 
 
 A. — True ; but the ancient barons resided in castles 
 constructed for defence, not for comfort, and dreary 
 enough they w ere. Common dwelling-houses, long after 
 the Concpiest, appear to have been built of wood, and 
 covered with straw or reeds; even in London and other 
 great towns, there were few chimneys or glass windows 
 before the age of the Tudors.^ When defence became 
 unnecessary, though the baron no longer constructed his 
 dwelling as a fortress, and the mansion was embattled 
 only for ornament ; yet it contained many features of the 
 old baronial castle, such as turrets, drawbridges, moats, 
 tower-gateways, thick walls, and small windows; and 
 thougli incapal)le of real defence, it was still destitute 
 of all elegance or convenience. One of the most per- 
 fect specimens of this age now remaining, is Haddon 
 Hall, in Derbyshire, a seat of the Duke of Rutland, 
 beiran in 1427. Of somewhat later date is Oxburgh 
 Hall, in Norlblk, belonging to the Bedingfieid family, 
 and built in the reign of Edward the Fourth, having a 
 fine tow er-gateway, with brick turrets eighty feet high. 
 Some of these mansions contained a vast combination 
 of ill-matched rooms, put together as if they had been 
 added at various times, and by accident. 
 
 P.— These specimens, as well as Crosby House, 
 haviufT been the residence of men of rank, afford no 
 
 * Siirvcv. 
 
 ^ Diod. Sic. lib. 5. 
 
 'Do Bel. Gal. lib. 5. 
 
 « Annal. lib. 14. 
 
 « Holinshed. Introduction. 
 
 '' Cliiver. Anliq. Germ. 
 
n 
 
 316 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 correct notion of Ihc houses of persons of moderate 
 condition. 
 
 A, — A connnon sized house in the country, about 
 the time of the wars of the Roses, was built of wood, 
 and the interstices of the walls filled with clay, or 
 covered with lath and plaister : a porch was a usual 
 ornament, and the house contained one large and spa- 
 cious parlour. Conveniency was however i^^enerally sa- 
 crificed to show. The ceilings were low, and little atten- 
 tion paid to ventilation, which was the principal cause 
 of the unhealthiness which prevailed in large cities. 
 
 F' — But the sluttishness of ancient housewives, 
 which was supreme, might be another cause; (he Hoins 
 being strewed, says Erasmus, in his time, with rushes, 
 under which '' lay unmolested, an ancient collection of 
 beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrements of 
 dogs and cats, and every thing that was njisty/'* 
 
 ^•— Ii^ towns the houses were constructed with the 
 same materials as in the country: (he upper stories so 
 much projecting over each other, that in lofty dwellins-s, 
 and in narrov/ streets, they excluded light and air from 
 the thronged thoroughfare below, though they afforded 
 to the inhabitants an opportunity of conversing with 
 their opposite neighbours, or even of shaking hands in 
 a familiar greeting, across the way. 
 
 -f- — Though these buildings contained an enormous 
 quantity of timber, they were not calculated for an 
 equal duration with the briek lumses in the towns of 
 Flanders, still so picturesque and venerable. 
 
 A. — Consequently few domestic edifices of the fif- 
 teenth centuiy remain. Crosby Place was constructed 
 with stone; but though once spacious and ele"-ant, the 
 residence of princes, it is now converted into a warr- 
 
 I' 
 
 ANCIENT KNGLISII DWELLINGS. 
 
 ai7 
 
 Epis. 432. 
 
 house : nor has the notice of Shakspeare been able to 
 protect it from neglect and depredation ; twice has the 
 poet mentioned it, in perhaps the most popular of all 
 his plays, Richard the Third, as the residence of the 
 Duke of Gloucester, who desires the lady Anne 
 
 to leave these sad designs, 
 
 And presently repair to Crosby Place. 
 
 P. — These remains, situated on the eastern side of 
 Bishopsgate Street, are so environed by houses as to 
 be nearly indiscernible. 
 
 A. — They consist of a spacious hall, with two ad- 
 joiniui; apartments. In the hall is an oriel or bay- 
 window, of great heiglit and beautiful proportion : there 
 is a sufficiency of ornament remaining to show that 
 the apartment must have been even elegant as well as 
 splendid; but there is nothing in its architectural merit 
 to require particular elucidation; it is miserably disfi- 
 gured by an additional lloor, but is still interesting, 
 from its association with various personages by whom 
 it has been inhabited : as the rich Sir John Spencer,^ 
 who kept his mayoralty here in 1591; the celebrated 
 Duke of Sully occupied it, when ambassador from the 
 French king, Henry the Fourth, to James the First. 
 The l)uilding itself is one of the most ancient specimens 
 of domestic architecture in the metropolis, being erected 
 by Sir Jolin Crosby, a wealthy citizen, and afterwards 
 sherill^ of London (14G6), the fifth year of the reign of 
 Edward the Fourth.** 
 
 P. — In the sculptural ornaments of Crosby House, 
 we observe no roses, as in King's College Chapel. At 
 what period of the civil wars did the rival houses 
 assume the white and red rose as their badge? and 
 what indeed gave occasion to their choosing those 
 flowers as the emblem of party distinction. 
 
 * Stow, Survey. 
 
 ^ ibid. 
 
ai8 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F. — It was the custom of t1io nobility for several 
 centuries to give their retainers a badge or cognizance, 
 by which they shoukl be di.Ntinguishtd ; which was 
 sometimes the crest of the family, and sometimes a 
 device, according to the fancy of the bestower. That 
 of Richard the Second was a white hart couchaiit, with 
 a crown and chain about his neck, the crest of the 
 Holand family, his half-brothers, for wearing wliich 
 after his deposition many lost their lives. Edward the 
 Fourth gave a sun with rays, which won him the l)attle 
 of Barriet, the Lancastrians mistaking it for the Earl 
 of Oxford's star. The Earl of Warwick's famous bear 
 and ragged staff, was both the crest and cognizance of 
 that nobleman. Camden "^ tells us that the badge of 
 Edmund Crouchback, earl of Lancaster, second son of 
 Henry the Third, was a red rose; which was adopted 
 by John of Gaunt, who married the heiress of that 
 prince, and so obtained his vast possessions. Edmund 
 Crouchback's once magnificent toml) in Westminster 
 Abbey is profusely adorned, not with roses indeed, but 
 with red cinquefoils,*' a near resemblance. The same 
 authority also (Camden), says that Edmund of Langley, 
 fifth son of Edward the Third, took the white rose as 
 his device, not from any hostile disposition to his bro- 
 ther, but merelv as a distinction. 
 
 A. — The tomb of Edmund, in Langlev Church, is 
 consequently ornamented with a frieze of quatrefoils, 
 sculptured in alabaster.'' 
 
 P. — The scene then in the First Part of Henry the 
 Sixth, in which Shakspeare introduces Richard IManta- 
 genet, as vindicating his descent against tlie taunts of 
 the Duke of Somerset, does not exhil)it the origin of 
 these fatal symbols, though it has Irequently l)cen so 
 represented : 
 
 ^ Remains. Imprests *> Gongb, Sopiilchrul Monuments «^ Ibid. 
 
 THE RED AND THE WHITE ROSE. 319 
 
 Planta^ — Let him that is a true born gentleman, 
 
 And stands upon the honour of his birth, 
 
 If he suppose that I have pleaded truth. 
 
 From off this briar pluck a white rose with me. 
 
 Somerset, — Let him that is no coward, nor no flatterer^ 
 But dare maintain the party of the truth. 
 Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me.* 
 
 F. — What was the legal opinion of the age may be 
 gathered from the lawyer's address to Somerset: 
 
 Unless my study and my books be false. 
 The argument you held was wrong in you ; 
 In sign whereof 1 pluck a white rose too. 
 
 A. — The young Duke of York, now Edward the 
 Fourth, having, by a tumultuary election of his own 
 fiK tion, assumed the regal title, exerted himself with 
 great activity to secure its continuance: bold and 
 enterprising, lie was precisely of the fit stamp to en- 
 counter the havoc and devastation of a civil war; his 
 hardness of heart rendering him impregnable to any 
 ^veakness of compassion which might injure or delay 
 
 his cause. 
 
 F. — The first instance which he gave of his cruelty, 
 
 * 
 
 was the well-known story of his executing one Walter 
 Walker, a grocer of London, for saying that he would 
 make his son heir to the crown, meaning his shop, 
 Avliicli was distinguished by that sign; his speech being 
 interpreted as a derision of Edward's title.^ 
 
 ^.— The success of Queen Margaret in the second 
 battle of St. Albans was of little benefit : denied an en- 
 trance to London, she returned to the north, where she 
 collected a considerable army ; thither Edward, disdain- 
 ing to waste his time in the amusement of the metropolis, 
 together with tlie Earl of Warwick, promptly followed. 
 A skirmish took place at Ferrybridge, which is no other- 
 
 * Act 2, scene 4. 
 
 »> Stow. 
 
320 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 wise remarkable, than that the carJ, apprehensive of 
 defeat, and willinn: to inspire conlidtiice, ordered liis 
 horse to be brought, which he stabbed before the whole 
 army, and kissing the hilt of his sword, swore that 
 he was determined to share the fate of the meanest 
 soldier.' But on the next day. Palm Sunday, Marcli 
 29th, 1461, was fought at Towton, ten mih\s iVom 
 York, the bloodiest engagement which took place 
 during the civil wars. Whilst the Yorkists were 
 advancing to the charge, a fall of snow drove fu- 
 riously in the faces of their enemies, and blinded 
 them. This advantage was improved by a strata- 
 gem: orders were given to a body of archers to send 
 a volley of arrows, and then to retire; the Lancas- 
 trians, supposing that they were within reach of their 
 opponents, discharged all their arrows, which thus 
 fell short of the foe, and did no execution;^ But 
 the bow was soon laid aside, and the sword decided 
 the combat: victory declared for the Yorkists. No 
 less than thirty-six tliousand persons fell, either in 
 the battle or the pursuit, no quarter being given on 
 either side.^ 
 
 F.— To account for the sanguinary nature of these 
 contests, we must recollect that they were fouglit by 
 an unbridled populace, who combated hand to hand 
 with a fierceness proceeding from personal hatred, of 
 which there are few examples in troops fighting for 
 pay. The appearance of the field of 1)attle, for the 
 space of ten miles, presented an appalling spectacle 
 of human carnage, mingled with the snow.' 
 
 .4.— Henry and Margaret, with their voun^r son 
 fled to Scotland. Edward returned to London, where 
 
 • Hall. b ii^ij^ 
 
 '1 Coat. Hist. Croy. 
 
 ^' Cont. Hist. Crov. Whethamstede. 
 
 BATTLES OF HEDGLEY MOOR AND HEXHAM. 321 
 
 he was solemnly crowned king,* and assembled the 
 parliament. The Peers were so much reduced by va- 
 rious causes, that they consisted only of one duke, four 
 earls, one viscount, and al)out twenty-five barons.** 
 
 J^- — That assembly no longer hesitating or proposing 
 any ambiguous decisions, as heretofore, when the fate 
 of events was doubtful, boldly adhered to the whole- 
 some principle of declaring for the strongest; and they 
 annulled every grant which had passed during the reign 
 of the princes of the house of Lancaster." Immense 
 estates thus became vested in the crown, besides the 
 forfeitures of the exiled or slaughtered nobles. 
 
 A. — Opposition was not yet entirely subdued; and 
 the indefatigable Margaret acquiring some small assist- 
 ance l)otIi from Scotland and France, on the promise of 
 restoring Calais, ventured to reappear in Northumber- 
 land; but was attacked by the Marquis of Montague, 
 brother of Warwick, in two engagements, one at Hedg- 
 ley Moor, April 25, and the other at Hexham, May 8, 
 1464,^ in which she was again defeated. It is supposed 
 that it was after this latter battle, the queen, retreating 
 with the young prince into a forest, was assaulted by 
 banditti, from whom, whilst quarrelling about the divi- 
 sion of the spoil, she cflbcted art escape. In the thickest 
 part of the wood, she was discovered by a single robber, 
 who approached her with his drawn sword ; when find- 
 ing evasion impossible, Margaret embraced the resolu- 
 tion of trusting to his generosity; and advancing to- 
 wards him, she exclaimed, " My friend, I commit to 
 your charge the son of your king.'^^ The man, charmed 
 by her confidence, concealed her for some time in the 
 forest, and at length conducted her to Bamborough 
 Castle, whence she passed into Flanders. 
 
 » Fabian. *» I'arl. Hist. vol. 2, « Cotton, Abridj^nu. ^ Hall. * Monstrclet. 
 
 VOL. II. y 
 
I-, 
 
 322 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 P. — iViid what became of the unfortunate TTonry? 
 
 A, — He escaped into Lancashire, where he remained 
 undiscovered for a twelvemonth; 1)ut he was at length 
 betrayed, throui^h the perfidy of a monk, as he one day 
 sat at dinner at Waddington Hall, into the hands of J ohn 
 Talbot, the son of a knight, who despatclu d liini to JiOn- 
 don.'' Another authority says, that Henry was taken 
 by one John Cantlow.^ Being met at Islington by the 
 Earl of Warwick, he was treated witli i^reat indiu^nitv, 
 and his legs tied under the horse's belly.*' When he 
 approached the Tower, he was compelled to ride three 
 times round the pillory/^ his life was spared indeed, not 
 from generosity, but contempt. The nobility of the 
 Lancastrian party, who retired to Flanders, suifered the 
 bitterest aggravations of poverty: Comines relates that 
 he saw the Duke of Exeter, who bore the blood royal 
 of England in his veins, following, without shoes, the 
 Duke of Burgundy's carriage, absolutely begging for 
 bread; when discovered, however, he received a small 
 pension. 
 
 P. — Tliis complete ascendancy of the York family 
 ought to have insured peace, if not content, to 
 England. 
 
 A. — For the space of five years it produced that 
 effect, but the seeds were sown of future commotion. 
 Edward, notwithstanding his unrelenting spirit, w^as 
 remarkable for the alVability of his manner, whicli pro- 
 cured him great popularity, and he resigned himself to 
 the uncontrolled pursuit of pleasure. During this ca- 
 reer, as he was on a hunting party, in Xorlhampton- 
 shire, he accidentally paid a visit to Jacqueline, the 
 widow of the regent Duke of Bedford, who had married 
 Sir Richard Wydevile, or Wood\iIe, a private gentle- 
 
 EDW^ARDS MARRIAGE. 
 
 32^^ 
 
 man of remarkably handsome person: amongst their 
 numerous children was Elizabeth, of great beauty and 
 accomplishments. This young lady had married Sir 
 John (hey, of Groby, who fell in the second battle of 
 St. Albans, fiizhting on the side of the Lancastrians, 
 and his estate was for that reason forfeited. The 
 king's visit to lier parents seemed a favourable oppor- 
 tunity for obtaining compassion, and she threw herself 
 at his feet, enUeating him with many tears to take pity 
 on her impoverished children.^ 
 
 P. — What heart of adamant but must relent at the 
 sight of so nuich beauty in distress ! 
 
 J. — Edward raised the fair suppliant, with many 
 assurances of favour, and becoming highly enamoured, 
 proposed dishonourable conditions, which she refused, 
 declaring that, tliough she did not account herself 
 w orthy to be his wife, she was yet too good to be his 
 concubine. Opposition inflamed the passion of the 
 king, and the parties, after some delay, were privately 
 married at Grafton, May 1, 14G3.^ 
 
 F. — Though this marriage was the source of many 
 evils w^hich incidentally afflicted the reign of Edward, 
 and has been much blamed, 1 must own that I am dis- 
 posed to view it with a more indulgent eye. Edward 
 has been rei)resented as the first English monarch who 
 married a subject, which may be true of sovereigns 
 actually in possession of the throne; but the queens of 
 Stephen, John, and Henry the Fourth, were persons of 
 private condition. The match was particularly ob- 
 noxious to the king's mother, who said, that the widow^- 
 hood of Elizabeth might be suflicient to restrain him, 
 for that it was a higli disparagement in a king to be 
 dishonoured with l)igamy in his first marriage. Edward 
 
 * W\ Wyrcester. 
 
 * W. Wyrcester. 
 
 ^ FragTiicnt apnd Hrnrnc. 
 '^ Monstrclet. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 k Ibid. 
 
 Y 2 
 
;):>4 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 nierrilv answered, " That inasmuch as she is a widow, 
 and already has children, so, by God's blessing, 1 am 
 a bachelor, and have some too; so (lure is proof that 
 neither of us are likely to be barren; and as to the 
 bigamy, let the bishop lay it in my way when 1 come to 
 take orders, for I understand that it is forbidden to a 
 priest, but T knew not that it was to a prince."* 
 
 ^._The marriage has been a fruitful subject of 
 fiction and romance. It has been stated that the Earl 
 of Warwick had been despatched to Paris, to solicit 
 the hand of Bona of Savoy, the French queen's sister, 
 as a wife for Edward, and during his mission these 
 nuptials took place;' which were the cause of ^^ ar- 
 wick's subsequent revenge for the allront thus imposed. 
 An absurd French drama has represented AV'arwick, 
 without a shadow of probability, as himself enamoured 
 with the fair Elizabeth : it is even (l()u])tful whether 
 Warwick ever undertook such an embassy, no mention 
 bein<r made of it in the records, or even by contempo- 
 
 rary w riters. 
 
 J7._ln answer to those critics ^^ho consider no his- 
 tory as veracious, but what is bottomed on the gazette, 
 it may be recollected that Warwick, having the govern- 
 ment of Calais, might surely make a secret visit to Paris, 
 even for such a purpose, without its licing entered on 
 the records; and as the circumstance is mentioned by 
 Polvdore Vergil, who lived within thirty years of the 
 time, I should be inclined to credit the story. 
 
 ^.__Yet wlien Edward declared his marriage in 
 September, 14()4, at Reading, the Earl of Vv arwick 
 led the new queen to the Abbey church, in appari iit 
 friendship;'^ a proof that he had not at that time 
 formally broken with Edward, and could dissemble 
 his resentment till a fit opportunity. The subsequent 
 
 Stow. 
 
 '•HalL 
 
 *• Vs\ Wyrccstcr. 
 
 EARL OK W ARWICK. 
 
 325 
 
 favour shown to the Woodviles seems to have been 
 the real foundation of Warwick's disgust : the queen's 
 father was created Earl of Rivers, and all her brothers 
 and sisters were married to persons possessing the 
 greatest estates in the kingdom; with what little pro- 
 priety, one instance suffices — the youngest brother, 
 John Woodvile, of the age of twenty, took to wife the 
 old Duchess of Norfolk, of the age of fourscore;* 
 
 F.— Yet the queen's relations were remarkable for 
 their talents and accomplishments, and deserved eleva- 
 tion as nnich as other mere court favourites; Edward 
 too tliouirht that he was creating a powerful party, who 
 might be safely opposed to the enormous power of some 
 of the old nobility. But however the Earl of Warwick 
 might envy, he could not complain of personal neglect, 
 haviiig received from Edward immense accessions to 
 his former unbounded opulence.^ A contemporary 
 writer'^ asserts, that no person in England ever had half 
 the possessions which Warwick enjoyed; and added 
 to these was an annual revenue, derived from various 
 official places, of twenty thousand marks. 
 
 A. — An additional cause of Warwick's displeasure 
 has been attributed to an attempt of Edward to seduce 
 either one of his daughters or his niece,"* which, from 
 Edward's unbridled licentiousness, is not at all impro- 
 bable. But M arwick's discontent did not break out 
 into immediate action: an early step was to secure to 
 his interest George duke of Clarence, next brother to 
 the king, by the promise of giving him Isabel, the eldest 
 daughter of Warwick, in marriage, the young duke 
 being equally discontented by the preference shown to 
 the Woodviles.^ No concerted plan of action seems 
 to have been determined on, and the first decisive act 
 
 « W. Wyiccster. 
 •» Hall. 
 
 ^ Coniiries. '^ Fvagmcnt apud Heaine. 
 
 • W. Wyrccstcr. 
 
326 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of hostility by Warwick was induced by an insurrec- 
 tion, uliich appears to have risen fortuitously. 
 
 jp. — Many of the events of this reign are so obscure, 
 so little authenticated, so perplexed, and perhaps so 
 insignificant, that it is as dillicult as it would be unpro- 
 fitable to arrive at their origin. 
 
 ^.— At York there was an hospital, which had 
 received from an ancient grant of King Athelstan, a 
 right to levy a thrave of wheat, probably twenty-four 
 sheaves, from each plough land in the county. The 
 country people complaining that the revenue was em- 
 bezzled, refused payment, and resisting the processes 
 at law to compel them, arrived in a body, liftcen thou- 
 sand strong, at the gates of York, under their leader, Ro- 
 bert Huldborne, otherwise called Robin of Redesdale,* 
 who being soon after taken and executed, two persons 
 of rank, Sir llern-y Neviie, and Sir John Conyers, 
 assumed their command, and proceeding southwards, 
 defeated the king's troops at Banbury/' A violent sus- 
 picion that the Earl of Warwick was covertly concerned 
 in the mischief, is, that the northern insurgents sent a 
 party to Grafton, the seat of the Earl of Rivers, whom 
 they killed, together with his son, John Woodvile,*^ 
 against which t\\ o persons Warwick had declared his 
 particular animosity. 
 
 F. — Yet to counterbalance this presumption, both 
 the earl and liis son-in-law, Clarence, came from Calais, 
 where they then resided, and were intrusted by Edward 
 with a hicch command.^* 
 
 A. — The insurgents soon atler dispersed, in conse- 
 quence of a general pardon, by the advice of Warwick; 
 a mode of proceeding so dilferent to Edward's custom- 
 ary rigour, that it is not unfair to concliuh^ tliat the 
 carl's suggestion may have proceeded from some feeling 
 
 " Hist. Crov. Cont, 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 •1 Ibid. 
 
 EARL OF WARWICK, 
 
 u 
 
 ^27 
 
 of companionship. The next year another insurrection 
 arose in LincoliL^hire, led by Sir Robert Welles, whom 
 the king took prisoner in a battle called Loose Coat 
 Field,^ from the circumstance of the runaways disen- 
 cumbering themselves of their garments. This obscure 
 affair must have been secretly instigated by Warwack, 
 as on its failure he fled with Clarence to France.^ Pre- 
 vious to this insurrection, it is said that Edward being 
 invited to an entertainment at More Park, in Hertford- 
 shire, by the Archbishop of York, brother to Warwick, 
 as he was washing before supper, he was told by Sir 
 John Ratclilf that one hundred armed men were ready 
 to seize on his person. At this notice he suddenly 
 quitted the house, mounted his horse, and rode off full 
 speed to Windsor.'' This incident has given rise to 
 anotlier story, that Edward was about this time abso- 
 lutely taken prisoner by Warwick, and committed to 
 the custody of the archbishop at Middleham Castle, in 
 Yorkshire; who allowing the king to hunt somewhat 
 carelessly guarded, he made his escape,"^ and chased 
 his potent enemy out of the kingdom (May, 1470). 
 
 P. — You would not call even a clear explanation 
 of these trivial, obscure, and uninteresting incidents, as 
 divesting history of its ennui. 
 
 F,— They are adduced to preserve the chain of 
 events entire, and are certainly a confirmation of the 
 remark relative to the extreme xmcertainty of the events 
 in the reign of Edward the Fourth; which at first sight 
 appears somewhat extraordinary, as happening on the 
 eve of the revival of letters, and after the invention of 
 printing had been discovered. 
 
 A. — ll has been accounted for, from the neglect of 
 authors to perpetuate their MSS. by various copies. 
 
 « Fragment apud Ilcarne. 
 ^ Fragment apud Hearnc. 
 
 ^ Rvmcr, vol. 11. 
 ^ Hall. Comines. 
 
! 
 
 32S 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 foresee! nj^ that the new invention would in time supply 
 a sufficient number at a less price. The early printers 
 too were more attentive to the works of antiquity, and 
 less reg*arded recent transactions. And wliat autlior 
 indeed, in this unhappy age, could trust historical truths 
 to the press. 
 
 F. — Had Clarence and Warwick been more merito- 
 rious, their story would not I)e without interest. 
 
 A. — Warwick was refused entrance into Calais by 
 his ungrateful deputy, Vauclere,'* though the Duchess * 
 of Clarence had been just delivered on board tlie ves- 
 sel of a son, and was much distressed with sickness. 
 At length the party arriving in France, were received 
 by Louis the Eleventh with every demonstration of 
 regard.^ 
 
 F, — Edward having lately given his sister ^fargaret 
 in marriage to the Duke of Burgundy, a connexion that 
 it is important to rememl)er, France was exposed to the 
 same combination v> Inch had been so fatal to its r( })osc 
 under Henry the Fifth. It is no wonder therefore that 
 Louis embraced every expedient which he miglit think 
 likely to disturb the government of England. 
 
 A. — A strange scene was about to follow. No 
 animosity upon earth could ever exceed that which 
 existed between Queen Margaret and Warwick : twice 
 had the earl reduced Henry the Sixth to captivity, 
 banished the queen, and put to death her most zealous 
 partizans. In return, the queen had beheaded AVar- 
 wick's father, and his friends out of nundjcr. Such 
 inveterate rancour was founded on feelings so natural 
 that a cordial friendship could never be ho])ed; and 
 Margaret indeed long withstood the solicitations of 
 Louis to eflect a reconciliation.' C(mimon interest, in 
 
 EARL OF WARWICK. 
 
 8:>9 
 
 flio present extraordinary juncture, at length patched 
 up an agreement, Margaret consenting that her son 
 Prince Edward should marry the lady Anne, Warwick's 
 youngest daughter, on condition that the earl should 
 reseat Henry the Sixth on the throne. 
 
 P. — But what advantage could arise to the Duke of 
 Clarence from this arrangement, which cut off every 
 hope, if he ever entertained any, of succeeding to the 
 Eniilish crown. 
 
 A. — Lest his own shallow understanding should not 
 discover the folly of his conduct, Edward sent over a 
 court lady, formerly in the train of the Duchess of 
 Clarence, who might open his eyes.* This service the 
 waiting gentlewoman so dexterously performed, that 
 the duke secretly determined to desert Warwick at the 
 first opportunity. The party having completed their 
 preparations by the assistance of the King of France, 
 were speedily landed in England, and Warwick soon 
 gathered round him a considerable army. 
 
 p — The popularity of this earl was at all times 
 prodigious: by his exile the people seemed to think 
 that the sun was taken from the firmament. One great 
 cause of this was his excessive hospitality, or rather 
 profusion of expense; no less than thirty thousand 
 men, in his various castles and manors, are said to 
 have daily lived at his board. Whenever he came to 
 London, he kept such a house, that six oxen were 
 eaten at a breakfast, and every tavern was full of his 
 meat:'' all persons who had the remotest acquaintance, 
 mi<'ht have as much boiled or roast as they could carry 
 away on the point of a long dagger. But what a total 
 insensibility to the happiness or interest of his country 
 did he exhibit in tliis invasion, contradicting every 
 
 ' Comincs. ^ Folydorc Vorfjii. 
 
 ' Plaricijiii MSS. fioni Slow, No. 5-15. Turner, Hist, of Kiig. vol.5. 
 
 " Comines. 
 
 ^ Stow, 
 
330 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 principle and profession of his former life, and replung- 
 ing England into that abyss of calamity from^vhich she 
 had so recently escaped. 
 
 A, — A consideration for the happiness of the com- 
 munity seems rarely to have entered the 1)rain of an old 
 English baron^, in pursuit of his own interest or ambi- 
 tion. Warwick, with his characteristic activity, has- 
 tened to the north, where Edward was endeavoiiring to 
 suppress a commotion, got up for the occasion by the 
 Marquis of Montague, the brother of Warwick. The 
 king was surprised in the night time, near Nottingham, 
 by the war cry of the Lancastrian party;' and starting 
 from his bed, had barely time to mount his horse, and 
 escape from his many concealed enemies. He hurried 
 to Lynn, in Norlblk, and embarked with about seven or 
 eight hundred companions, in one ship and two hulks, 
 which he found lying in the harl)Our (Oct, 1470): '^ He 
 departed," says an old writer,^' '' without bag or bag- 
 gage, without cloth, sack, or mail, perchance with a great 
 purse and little treasure." After many dilliculties, being 
 chased by the ships of the Hanse Towns, then at war 
 with England, the party reached Alcmaer in safety. 
 The king had nothing with which he could reward tlie 
 captain, but a cloak lined with valuable furs."" 
 
 P. — A strange change of fortune, which converted 
 a mighty prince and a brave warrior, without a l)attle 
 or a blow, into a wandering exile. 
 
 A. — Edward had received intelligence of his danger, 
 but lulled into false security, he paid it no attention. 
 Warwick now acted as master: he lirst brouirht Kin^' 
 Henry from the Tower, and led him to St. Paul's, to 
 offer his thanksgivings.'* His friends attributed his re- 
 storation to the undoubted interposition of Providence; 
 
 * Comines. 
 
 ^' Hall. 
 
 « Comincs. 
 
 ^ Hall. 
 
 EARL OF WORCLSTER. 
 
 331 
 
 by his enemies it was treated with wonder or with 
 ridicule; to himself, it is doubtful whether it were a 
 source of joy or regret. To the credit of Warwick, 
 only one person of distinction was sacrificed to his 
 vengeance, John Tibetot, or Tiptoft, earl of Worcester, 
 an accomplished nobleman, and the great patron of 
 letters in that barbarous age; yet it is said that the 
 love of science had not produced its usual effect, in 
 softening the temper, as he was distinguished by the 
 appellation of '' the butcher,''" for his various cruelties 
 exercised upon the Lancastrians, from which party he 
 
 was a deserter. 
 
 p._j]ut ^^ arwick surely could not pretend to pu- 
 nish any one merely for the offence of changing sides. 
 
 F.— This earl translated some trivial works from 
 the Latin, and grievously has Caxton^^ the printer la- 
 mented his death: '' O good blessed Lord God," says 
 he, '' what great loss was it of that noble, vertuous, and 
 Av Ju-disposed lord." Fuller adds, " The axe did at one 
 blow cut off more learning than was left in the heads of 
 all the surviving nobility ! " "" 
 
 yl._^\ arwick summoning a parliament, that equi- 
 taljlc assemldy immediately reversed every statute 
 made during the reign of Edward, whom it voted an 
 usurper,' and attainted all his adherents. But its de- 
 crees were destined not to be of very long duration, 
 for Warwick's popularity declining with the possession 
 of pow er, Edward, assisted by a small force from his 
 brother-in-law the Duke of Burgundy, in six months 
 ventured to return to England. He landed at Raven- 
 spur,^ the precise spot which received Henry the Fourth, 
 AN hen Duke of Lancaster, in similar pursuit of a crown. 
 The people were not pleased at his reappearance, and 
 
 a Fabian. '' The Bokc of Tulle on Old Age, ^c. 
 
 ' Worthies, Canib. ^ Hall. ' Comincs. 
 
33:2 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 his discouragement uas such tliat, like Henry the 
 Fourth, he protested that he merely came to claim liis 
 private inheritance, and in York Cathedral he took a 
 solemn oath to that purpose. His partisans now Hocked 
 to his standard. For some mysterious reasons, the 
 Marquis of Montairue neglected to crush this attempt 
 in the bud, as he easily might have done; and Edward, 
 with a daily augmenting force, passed the Earl of War- 
 wick at Leicester, by taking a difierent road, and pre- 
 sented himself before the gates of the metropolis: in^ 
 deed during these civil wars the general cry of the 
 armies was, '' For London! for London!"* Had he 
 here been rejected, he was undone; but in that citv 
 always favourable to the house of York, he hnd many 
 friends: the young, the gay, and the fair, \\vxc attached 
 to his person and his cause;' many wealthy citizens 
 too, to whom he w as deeply indebted, had a substantial 
 motive for showing favour, in recollecting that Edward's 
 success was the only chance of repay nunt. He was 
 received with acclamations; and his ri\al Jlenrv if 
 rival he might be called, ever the sport of fortune, was 
 again replaced, dressed in a long gown of blue velvet,^ 
 in his former lodging in tln^ Tower. 
 
 P. — But did Edward recover his crown in (lie same 
 bloodless way in which it had been lost? 
 
 ^.— The readiness with which Edward entered the 
 field is the most shining part of his character: he im- 
 mediately collected forces, and found hifnself snfli- 
 ciently strong to give battle to Warwick at Barnt^t, 
 April 14, 1471. The fickle Clarence here deserted his 
 father-in-kuv. This contest was I'urious and long un- 
 certain ; but Warwick's soldiers mistaking, in a mist 
 said to be raised by Friar Bungay/' the Earl of Oxford's 
 
 •> Fuller, Church Hist. 
 
 '' Coniines. 
 
 • Fabian. 
 
 d Ibid. 
 
 BATTLES OF BARNET AND TEWKESBURY. 333 
 
 cognizance, a star, for that of Edward, a sun,* fell upon 
 their friends, which caused an irretrievable confusion, 
 in wiiich W arwick and liis brother Montague were 
 both slain, and victory declared for Edward.^ 
 
 I\ — The last moments of the carl have been enno- 
 bled beyond their desert by Shakspeare, who makes 
 him utter the sublime exclamation \\hilst bleeding to 
 death, in reply to his friends assuring him 
 
 The queen from France hath brought a puissant power, 
 Even now we heard the news. Ah, could'st thou fly ! 
 Warw, — Why then I would not fly. Hen, VI, part 5. 
 
 A. — Thus perished the most powerful nobleman 
 that England has seen since the Conquest, remembered 
 by his sobriquet, ^^ the King-maker;" than which no- 
 thing more glorious could be said of any subject, did 
 true glory consist in the possession, and not in the just 
 use, of excessive power. The victory at Barnet, however 
 decisive, did not secure the crown: Queen Margaret, who 
 seems to have lingered unaccountably in France, landed 
 at Weymouth with her son, now of the age of eighteen, 
 on the very day of the battle. When the dreadful result 
 was comnmnicaled, all her courage forsook her, and 
 she fainted. Margaret would have returned to France, 
 but being encouraged by the arrival of several Lancas- 
 trian noblemen, she resumed her spirit, and put herself 
 once niort^ at the head of an army, determining to assert 
 her husband's claim to the last. The expeditious Edward, 
 by a rapid march, soon reached her at Tewkesbury,^ on 
 the Severn, and totally routed this devoted remnant of 
 the Lancastrian party : the queen and her son were 
 taken prisoners. An afflicting scene followed: the 
 young prince, brouizht before Edward, w^as asked how 
 he had dared to disturb the peace of the kingdom, he 
 
 * Iceland, Collect, vol. 2. 
 
 ^ Hist. Crov. Cont. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
t 
 
 334 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 replied, more mindful ot his high birth than his dejected 
 fortune, that he came to recover his just inheritance. 
 Edward, provoked at tliis irifrepidify, liad llio l)aseness 
 to strike the youth on the face with his gauntlet,nvhich 
 the attendants taking for a signal, in.stantly despatched 
 the victim with their daggers. Chirencc and Gloucester 
 were present at this assassination, but whether they 
 imbmed their hands in the blood of this unfortunate 
 prince is uncertain. This is the story related by Hall; 
 Comines says that young Edward perished in the field 
 of battle. 
 
 F' — This youth was evidently a prince of so much 
 spirit, that his removal from the scene of contention, 
 though most barbarously brought al)out, provided the 
 story be true, was, I fear, a necessary though cruel 
 policy. 
 
 ^. — The death of his father soon followed, and as 
 it is thought from the same consideration. After the 
 forcible scene in Shakspcure, it would be a vain endea- 
 vour to create a l)elief, that the deed was performed 
 by another hand than the Duke oi' Cloucester s, even 
 though the arguments were stronger in his iavour. 
 " I think it prudent," savs a contemporarv historian,^ 
 " to say nothing of the death of Henry the Sixth; may 
 God grant time for repentance to the person, whoever 
 he was, who laid his sacrilegious hands upon the Lord's 
 anointed.'' All the chroniclers of the next age, as well 
 as Comines, make no scruple in attributing it to the 
 violence of Richard, but without King Edward's know- 
 ledge; yet it was asserted, that when Henry heard 
 what losses had happened to his friends, the death of 
 his son and the captivity of his wife, he took the cir- 
 cumstances so much to heart, that out of pure displea- 
 
 ClJAilACTER OF HENRY THE SIXTH. 
 
 
 sure, indignation, emd melancholy, he died.* A more 
 harmless being than this unfortunate monarch it is im- 
 possible to picture: his frame was slender; his coun- 
 tenance melancholy and unmeaning, not at all resem- 
 bling his handsome, strong, and active father, or the 
 beautiful Katharine, his mother; weak in understand- 
 ing, facile in disposition, devout, chaste, temperate, 
 forgiving, huml)le in prosperity, patient in adversity,^ 
 he wanted no quality to form a perfect saint; and in- 
 deed he would have been canonized, had not Henry 
 the Seventh thought that the court of Rome asked too 
 higli a price."^ 
 
 F. — There was another reason lor the refusal : the 
 Pope alleging, '*^ that as Henry w as reputed in the world 
 but a simple man, the estimation of that kind of ho- 
 nour might be diminished, if there was not a proper line 
 of distinction drawn between saints and innocents. "'^ 
 However, as it was, miracles in abundance were wrought 
 at his tomb.'' 
 
 ^. — Henry the Sixth was undoubtedly a well- 
 meaning man, and can be reproached with nothing but 
 his extreme incapacity. Such was the innocency of 
 his life, that his subjects could never bear the idea of 
 having any personal injury oftered him. Of his pure 
 and saintly qualities there are many instances : once, 
 seeing at a pageant some young females too loosely 
 apparelled, he put his hands before his eyes, turned 
 his back, and left the apartment, saying, '' Fie, fie, for 
 shame; forsooth you be to blame."^ He never swore, 
 as was too much the custom of that age, but contented 
 himself with '' Yea, forsooth, and no, forsooth."*^ At 
 
 -—_ L. 
 
 " F;il)ian. 
 
 '' Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 « Il.irleian MSS. from Stow. ^ Hall. <^ Ibid. 
 
 d Bacon, Hist, of Hen. VH. * Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 ♦■ Ex CoUec. Joannis Blakman apiid Hcariic in Otterbonrne. i Ibid. 
 
VESTIGIA. 
 
 one time, beholding the quarter of a person, who had been 
 executed, tixed on tlie Tower, he humanely exclaimed, 
 '' Take it away, it is a shame to use any Christian so 
 cruelly on my account."^ At another time, receiving a 
 blow which put him in great danger, he only said, 
 " Forsooth, ye do foully to smite the Lord's anointed."^ 
 There is one instance of the royal facetiousness: he 
 sent to Archbishop Chichele, wiiose father was a 
 tailor, a shred jjie, containing pieces of cloth and stulf 
 of several colours. The prelate courteously entertained 
 the messenger, and said, '' That if the king should so 
 far exceed his royal sire, Henry the Fifth, as I have 
 gone beyond the meanness of my poor father, he will 
 make the most accomplished monarch in Christendom/'* 
 F. — Henry too was said to be a poet. The follow^- 
 ing verses have been attributed to his pen ; they are at 
 least as good as any of his contemporaries: 
 
 Kingdoms arc but cares; 
 
 State is devoid of stay; 
 Riches are ready snares, 
 
 And hasten to decay. 
 
 Who meaneth to remove the rock 
 
 ( )ut of the slimy flood, 
 Shall mire himself, and hardly '&cape 
 
 The swelling: of the flood. <* 
 
 The two noble endow^ments of Eton, and Kini^^'s College, 
 Cambridge, have obtained from posterity a greater re- 
 gard for Henry's memory than his own merits could 
 otherwise claim; these classical structures excitinir 
 every spectator 
 
 To spare the meek usurper's holy head. 
 
 /I. — It is pity that the amiable qualities of Henry 
 should have been as detrimental as the tyranny of other 
 
 • Ex Collec. tloannis Blakman apud Hearne in Otterbournc. 
 
 ^ Ibid. c Fuller, Church Hist. ** Nugae Antiq. vol. 1 , p. 386*. 
 
 QUEEN MARGARET. 
 
 337 
 
 monarchs; for of \\hatever encroachment on the rights 
 of the subject either Queen Margaret or her ministers 
 had been guilty, there is no doubt but an able and 
 elUcient sovereign would have repressed the claims of 
 the house of York, however well-founded, and pre- 
 vented the cruel devastation of the civil w^ars, accord- 
 ing to the speech of the dying Clifford, who was slain 
 in the action of Ferrybridge : 
 
 Ah, Henry ! hadst thou swayed as kings should do, 
 
 Or as thy father and his father did, 
 
 I and ten thousand in this luckless realm 
 
 Had left no mourning widows for our death. 
 
 And thou this day hadst kept thy chair in peace.* 
 
 -P. — What w as the fate of the heroic Margaret, after 
 thus witnessing the ruin of all her hopes, in the death 
 of her son and husband. 
 
 yl.— She endured a captivity of five years in the 
 Tow er, when Louis the Eleventh/ at the treaty of Pec- 
 quigni, paid fifty thousand crowns for her ransom: 
 retiring to France, she died there in her fifty-ninth 
 year (1482);^ a woman of extraordinary energy of mind, 
 whose unshaken perse v^erance, during a series of unpa- 
 ralleled reverses, has never been surpassed. 
 
 F. — But as Margaret w^as exempt from the weak- 
 ness, she was equally destitute of the softer graces of 
 her sex : her ferocity equalling her courage, she formed 
 the most striking contrast to her compassionate but 
 pusillanimous husband that can well be imagined. 
 
 A. — Edward being now safely reseated on his throne, 
 a calm of some years continuance succeeded, and the 
 king resumed his habits of luxury and indulgence. 
 His mistresses w ere many : of three of them he used 
 to say, one was the merriest (Jane Shore), one the 
 wittiest, and one the holiest, that ever man boasted 
 
 ^ Hen. VI. part 3, •' Rymer, vol. 11. 
 VOL. II. Z 
 
 *= Pere Daniel. 
 
338 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 oi; the last being always at church when he sent foi 
 her.'^ These excesses it seems tlid not violently dis- 
 please the nation; and Edward cultivated poi)ularify 
 with great success: he more than once sent lor the 
 Lord Mayor and aldermen to come and hunt with him, 
 treating them w ith the utmost familiarity, and sending 
 them home loaded with venison.^ 
 
 F.— This contrast to the perplexity felt during the 
 late contests must have been sensibly felt, llolinshed 
 relates a stor>% which shows what anxiety attended 
 persons of condition at that unhappy period. Sir Wil- 
 liam Hawkeford, who lived in Devonshire, suddenly 
 called to him the keeper of his park, with whom he 
 quarrelled, asserting that tlie man did not walk in the 
 night about the park, but suflered the game to be 
 spoiled and the deer to be stolen ; w herefore he desired 
 him to be more vigilant, and commanded that if he met 
 any man in his circuit in the night time, who would not 
 speak or stand, to kill him, whosoever he might be. 
 The knight purposing to end his doleful days, did one 
 dark night walk alone in his park. The keeper hearing 
 some one stir, asked who was there? but no answer 
 being made, he desired the party to stand, which not 
 being complied with, he drew his arrow, and killed his 
 master, whom recognising too late, he called to remem- 
 brance his commandment: and so, adds the relator, 
 this knight, other\vise learned and wise, being afraid 
 to displease man, displeased God. 
 
 A. — The tranquillity of Edward was somewhat dis- 
 turbed by the quarrels of his brothers, Clarence and 
 Gloucester-/ the latter becoming desirous of espousing 
 Anne, the affianced wife (their marriage never having 
 been consummated) of the late young Print e Edward, 
 
 I 
 
 WfAii WITT! FRANCE. 
 
 and colieiress of the great estates of the Earl of War- 
 wick. Clarence was unwilling to '' divide the liveli- 
 hood " w ith his brother, and secreted the lady so care- 
 fully, that for several months she could not be found : 
 at length Gloucester discovered her in London, in the 
 dress of a cookmaid,^ and the nuptials were completed. 
 P.— Whatever blame there might be attached to 
 tliis transaction, it rested with Clarence, and not with 
 Gloucester. 
 
 A.— The king took an effectual method to please 
 his people, by declaring war against France ; not that 
 he had received any recent injury from Louis, but the 
 old claim to the French crown he considered as fur- 
 nishing a sufficient pretence.'* 
 
 P.— Really one would have thought that such a 
 plea w as by this time pretty w ell worn out. 
 
 F.— The pleasure of his subjects was somewhat 
 damped by the mode, facetiously termed a benevolence, 
 by which Edward endeavoured to raise the supplies,'^ 
 and which had rarely before been put in practice: by 
 this arrangement every one was to give what he pleased, 
 or rather what he did not please;^ and thus immense 
 sums were drawn together. One writer^ says, the 
 amount was greater than ever had been seen before, 
 or would be seen hereafter: this author however w^as 
 not a prophet. Edward's person and address were 
 now very useful to him : he had called before him a 
 widow, much abounding in wealth and well stricken 
 in years, of whom he asked what she w^ould give 
 him tow^ards defraying this great charge. '' By my 
 troth," says she, '' for thy lovely countenance thou shalt 
 have even tw enty pounds." The king looking scarcely 
 
 ^ Sir T. More. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 « Fabian. 
 
 <* Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 * Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 • Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 ^ Rymer, vol. 11, 
 ^ Ibid. « Ibid. 
 
 z 2 
 
mo 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 WAR WITH FRANCE. 
 
 for half that sum, thanked her, and gave her a liss. 
 '' Whether the flavour of his breath," says the oh! 
 chronicler/ '' did so comfort her stomach, or she 
 esteemed the kiss of a king so precious a jewel, she 
 swore that he should have twenty pounds more." 
 
 P. — Was Edward afraid of applying to parliament, 
 by resorting to this new mode of acquiring a revenue? 
 
 A. — That assembly, though ever averse to open 
 their purses, had voted a tenth, and one and three- 
 fourths of a fifteenth-/ but the amount of which, tlioudi 
 considerable, was found quite inadequate to the under- 
 taking. 
 
 P. — Did these proportions produce a certain sum, or 
 did they vary as the property of individuals ihictuated? 
 
 A, — As their names imply; a tenth or lii'teenth was 
 that portion of the moveables or personal property of 
 the subject, formerly of intinitely less importance than 
 at present. A tenth was first imposed by Ilemy tlie 
 Second, under the pretext of a crusade against the 
 Sultan Saladin; hence it was called Saladin's tenth/ 
 The original amount of these taxes is uncertain; but 
 in the eighth year of Edward the Third, a fifteenth was 
 ascertained to be of the value of twt nty-nine thousand 
 pounds, and that sum was afterwards unalteraldy ad- 
 hered to, and each parish knew what portion it must 
 contribute. A subsidy was a modification of the aneient 
 scutage upon each knight's fee, but was not imposed, 
 like that demand, directly upon the land, but upon per- 
 sons, in respect of their reputed estates, and seems to 
 have been introduced about the reign of Richard the 
 Second: the amount was after the nominal rate of four 
 shillings in the pound for lands, and two shillings and 
 eightpence for goods; and it seems to have produced 
 
 o4l 
 
 about seventy thousand pounds.* The parliament that 
 voted these grants to Edward was dissolved in 1474, 
 the House of Commons having sitten two years and a 
 h'llf, the longest period hitherto known. 
 
 F. — It is remarkable that, as parliaments increased 
 in length they diminished in independence. 
 
 A, — Edward now passed over to Calais with an 
 army of fifteen thousand archers, attended by the chief 
 nol)ility, all on fire to reconquer France. Louis, dread- 
 fully alarmed at the prospect of renewed hostilities with 
 England, wisely abandoned every punctilio, and consi- 
 dered by what means he might best elude the fury of the 
 attack. When the herald came to announce the defiance 
 of Edward, the French king presented him with a gift of 
 three hundred crowns and thirty yards of crimson vel- 
 vet ;^^ and by this generosity he had an opportunity of 
 discovering which of Edward's ministers might probably 
 be accessible to the same sort of arguments: but indeed 
 there was no danger of mistake, for not one was found 
 of sufficient virtue to reject his offers, and he bribed ju- 
 diciouslj% with a most unsparing hand/ So surrounded, 
 the English king himself was soon persuaded by the 
 same irresistible reasoning to conclude a truce, in which 
 it was agreed that Edw^ard, for the sum of seventy-five 
 thousand crowns in ready money, and an annuity of 
 fifty thousand crowns a year, should withdraw his 
 army.^ 
 
 F. — Such a treaty reflects little credit on either 
 party; but somewhat to exonerate Edward from blame, 
 he found on his arrival that his ally, the Duke of Bur- 
 gundy, liad not l)rought him the smallest assistance. 
 The attempt to conquer France, alone and unaided, ^ 
 might well appear impracticable, especially as its 
 
 Hall. 
 
 ^ Cotton, Abridg. 
 
 « IJovudcn. 
 
 ^ Blac'kstone, Com. vol. 1, c. 8. 
 
 ^ Comines. 
 
 «= Ibid. 
 
 * Ibid. 
 
 it^ 
 
342 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE OF CLARENCE. 
 
 343 
 
 hitherto discordant factions were united under the 
 government of a most politic, if not popular, monarch. 
 A. — As Louis made interest the sole test of honour, 
 all ideas of the meanness or pusillanimity of purchasing 
 a retreat by paying tribute \vere lost, in the view of the 
 advantages which it procured ; and he plumed himself in 
 the notion of overreaching Edward, whom he professed 
 to treat with the greatest deference, but took every 
 opportunity with his own courtiers of turning into 
 ridicule.* The English camp was a])undantly supplied, 
 and the soldiers indulged themselves in every excess 
 of riot and drunkenness ; which is not mucli to be won- 
 dered at, as Louis sent them three hundred cart-loads 
 of wine;b and to rivet the friendship of the two mo- 
 narchs, an interview was appointed to take place on 
 the bridge of the town of Pecquigni. 
 
 P. — But is it not surprising that so suspicious a 
 mortal as Louis should forget the fatal interview on the 
 bridge of Montereau, between the Dukes of Burgundy 
 and Orleans, some fifty years before?" 
 
 A. — Louis was far from forgetting it ; he mentioned 
 his apprehensions to Comines, and a diiierent plan was 
 consequently arranged. In the former instance, the par- 
 ties met on the bridge, between two barriers a few yards 
 apart; but at this interview the monarchs saw each 
 other through a sort of lattice, such as secures a lion 
 in his cage (1 use the historian's own phrase), erected 
 on the centre of the bridge : they shook hands and 
 entered into familiar conversation. Louis incautiously 
 invited Edward to Paris, saying, '' We have many fine 
 women there ; and should you fall into any error by 
 their means, my cousin of Bourbon" (a priest cele- 
 brated for his gallantries), " shall give you absolution. 
 
 'M 
 
 Edward, eager in the pursuit of pleasure, did not refuse 
 the invitation, and it required some address in Louis 
 to evade tlie acceptance of his own offer. Lord Howard 
 being permitted to sup with him, said that if it pleased 
 Louis he would persuade his master to pay a visit to 
 Paris. The French king pretended not to hear, and 
 calling for water, rose without answering.* He said 
 afterwards to Comines, his confidant, '^ Edward is a 
 very handsome and amorous king; if he come to Paris, 
 he may find some affected dame, who may make him 
 so many fine speeches, that he may be desirous of 
 returning. His predecessors have been too much in 
 Paris and in Normandy: I like not his company on 
 this side the sea; on the other, I will esteem him as 
 my brother and my very good friend." ^ 
 
 P. — Such was the curious termination of this 
 French expedition. 
 
 F. — That Edward was egregiously duped, is suffi- 
 ciently evident. Comines represents the English as not 
 so subtle in treaty as the French, as being rash and 
 choleric, and going very bluntly to work; he declares 
 that they did not understand the dissimulations prac- 
 tised by the French, and that what they had gained by 
 their acknowledged superiority in arms, they often lost 
 by their little skill in negotiation."^ 
 
 A, — The only memorable circumstance during the 
 remainder of Edward's reign, was the most reprehensi- 
 ble transaction of his life, the trial and execution of 
 the Duke of Clarence. This prince, of a haughty and 
 ambitious spirit, of mean genius, ungovernable passion, 
 and of fickle and inconstant temper, being never heartily 
 forgiven by Edward for his former adherence to War- 
 wick, became discontented and unquiet, and giving way 
 
 ^ Comines. 
 
 '• Ibid. 
 
 Sec page 261. 
 
 '' Comines. 
 
 * Comines. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 *^ Liv. 3, c. 8 ; liv. 4, c. 6 and 9. 
 
 <*• 
 
344 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 to a quenslous disposition, complained of tljc king's 
 government, and even dropped hints, it is said, of the 
 illegitimacy of Edward's birth.* 
 
 F.— If such were the conduct of Clarence, which is 
 doubtful, it was as reprehensible as absurd; but if it 
 were falsely charged upon him, it was bitterly retaliated 
 on the children of Edward in the next rei'ai. 
 
 ^. — To provoke Chirence info ine:isiires which 
 might furnish ground for inipeachmenf, two of his 
 friends, John Stacy, an ecclesiastic, and Thomas IJur- 
 dett, of Arrow, in Warwickshire, were brouglit to trial, 
 and executed, upon the frivolous charge of necro- 
 mancy.^ The latter gentleman, it is said, had given 
 offence by an intemperate speech: the king one day 
 hunting in his park at Arrow, killed a white buck, 
 which was a great favourite with the owner, wlio,' 
 vexed at its loss, broke into a passion, and wished the 
 horns of the stag in the belly of the person who had 
 advised the king to commit tliat insult upon him.<^ 
 The Duke of Clarence, enraged at these prosecutions, 
 maintained the innocency of his friends, and inveighed 
 against the iniquity of their prosecution in such tonus, 
 that the king conmiitted him to the Tower, aiid sum- 
 moned him to be tried for his life be fore the House of 
 Peers/ 
 
 F~Jn this age accusation and condemnation being 
 the same thing, we must not expect to hear of the 
 duke's acquittal. 
 
 ^.—The king had the indecency, not to say the 
 injustice, of appearing personally as his brother's ac- 
 cuser,^ and pleading the cause against him. Clarence's 
 conduct had been doubtless blameable, but no overt 
 
 « Act of AUainckT, Hot. Pari. vol. 6. 
 • Stow. d Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 ^ Hist. Croy. Coal, 
 ' Ibid. 
 
 DUKK OF CLARENCE. 
 
 345 
 
 act of treason was alleged, yet the duke was found 
 guilty by the Peers; and the House of Commons, not 
 to be behind hand in servility, petitioned for his execu- 
 tion.^ The manner of his death is differently reported. 
 '' lie was drowned,'' says Fabian, '' in a barell of 
 malmsey;" yet this does not appear to have been of 
 his own choosing : all that we know with certainty is, 
 that his death was secret (1478). 
 
 F. — The scene of the murder, as given by Shak- 
 speare, is sufficiently probable: one of the villains 
 slabbing him, says, 
 
 Take that, and that ; if all this will not do, 
 I'll drown you in the malmsey butt within : ^ 
 
 which was probably done to make the matter sure. 
 'Jliis inhuman proceeding is represented by the poet, 
 according to the current tale of his own time, as per- 
 formed at the instigation of the Duke of Gloucester, on 
 very insufficient grounds, the circumstance not being at 
 all asserted by contemporary authorities, or even glanced 
 at by the gossipping chroniclers. Hall, Holinshed, and 
 Stow. Sir Thomas More accuses him only of being not 
 displeased with the event of Clarence's death. The bro- 
 thers had quarrelled, it is true, about the division of the 
 estate of the Earl of Warwick, their late father-in-law; 
 but it is hardly feasible that Gloucester had thus early 
 cherished his aspiring views upon the crow^n, Edward 
 being in the enjoyment of robust health, and only in his 
 thirty-sixth year. There prevails a report, that the chief 
 cause of this violent prosecution by Edw^ard, was a cur- 
 rent prophecy that the king should be murdered by one, 
 the initial letter of whose name w^as G.*^^ Such folly 
 miglit have influence, as it is said by Comines that the 
 English were never without some silly prognostication. 
 
 ' Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 ^ Rich, III. act I. 
 
 Hall. 
 
3iG 
 
 VESTlulA. 
 
 P.— It was in his confinement iu IIh Tower, pre- 
 vious to his execution, that Shakspeare has [)ut into 
 the mouth of CLarence the striking deseriptiun of his 
 alarming dream : 
 
 then began the tempest to my soul: 
 
 1 pass'tl, methoiight, the melancholy flood, 
 With that grim ferryman which poets write of. 
 Unto the kingdom of perpetual niglit. 
 
 Tlie iirst that tliere did greet my stranger bduI, 
 Was my great father-in-law, renowned Warwick, 
 Wlio cry'd aloud, What scourge fur perjury 
 Can this dark monarchy aff^ord for Clarence? 
 And so he vanish'd. Then came wandering by 
 A shadow like an angel, with bright liair 
 Dabbled in blood, and he shriek'd out aloud, 
 Clarence is covie, false, fleeting, perjured Clarence^ 
 That stabbed me in the field by Tewkesbury ; 
 Seize on him, furies, take him to your torments! 
 O Brakenbury ! 1 have done these things. 
 That now give evidence against my soul. 
 For Edward's sake, and see how he requites me ! » 
 
 A. — Edward however bitterly repented of this mur- 
 der. Once a nobleman requesting a pardon for one of 
 his vassals, he deeply sighed, " Ah, poor brother ! no 
 one would speak for you/''' 
 
 F.— As in the early part of Henry the Sixth's reign, 
 the murder of Humfrey duke of Gloucester was one 
 great cause of all the subsequent misfortunes which 
 befel the house of Lancaster, so this prosecution and 
 murder of Clarence prepared the way lor the similar 
 ruin of the house of York. 
 
 A. — Edward, at ease in his government, abandoned 
 himself to the two contrary passions of avarice and 
 luxury: he extorted various sums fnmi his subjects, 
 and rioted in every excess of pleasure/ During his 
 negotiation with Louis, he had stipulated a marriage 
 
 •^ Rich. III. act 1. 
 ^ Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 t> Hall. 
 
 CHARACTER OF EDWARD THE FOURTH. 817 
 
 for his eldest daughter with tlic daupiiin, which he had 
 now tlie inortification of finding would not be carried 
 into execution; and feeling himself outwitted in his 
 transactions with the French king, who withdrew his 
 pension, he prepared to avenge the indignity by taking 
 arms •/ but was prevented from the enterprise by death, 
 which occurred somewhat suddenly, from surfeit, oc- 
 casioned by general intemperance both in eating and 
 drinking (9th April, 1483), in the forty-first year of his 
 age, and the twenty-third of his reign.^ 
 
 F. — From the repeated mention of Edward's per- 
 sonal beauty, strength, and vigour, by all the old 
 writers, we must conclude that he was one of the 
 handsomest men of the age. In his latter years he 
 grew bloated and corpulent, the eflect of excessive 
 indulgence; but Comines says that, when he first saw 
 the English monarch, he never beheld a finer person. 
 That Edward had no objection to hear such commend- 
 ation, we may judge from parliament expressing its 
 admiration of the " beauts of person that it hath 
 pleased almighty God to bless you.''*" 
 
 P. — Yet the engraving by Vertue, from an original 
 picture in Kensington Palace, does not lead us to 
 expect such excessive encomiums. 
 
 A. — The qualities of Edward's mind did not entirely 
 correspond with the perfections of his body; yet he 
 possessed considerable talent, and well understood his 
 ow n interest. In adversity he was nothing abashed ; in 
 prosperity, rather joyful than proud r"^ his good fortune 
 was miraculous. That his valour and military skill 
 were eminent, w^e may conclude from his having gained 
 nine pitched battles in person; in which, he told Co- 
 mines, that he always fouglit on foot until he found 
 
 Hist. Croy. Cont. ^ Ibid. ^ Rot. Pari. vol. 5. ^ Sir T. More. 
 
348 
 
 VHSTIGIA. 
 
 that the foe gave way, and lliat he then mounted his 
 horse, and joined in the pursuit, crying to his soldiers 
 to spare the common men, l)ut to shiy the headers. Ilis 
 cruelty was unrelenting; the axe intimated his displea- 
 sure; and his obdurate heart spared a brother no more 
 than a Lancastrian : he put no restraint upon his licen- 
 tious passions, which involved him in much inconve- 
 nience and distress. His love of money was excessive, 
 which he gratified by becoming a very great and suc- 
 cessful merchant; ^ and l)y other means far less excep- 
 tionable, he so well tilled his colfers, that he was one 
 of our very few ancient kings who did not live in straits 
 and die in debt. 
 
 F. — Yet with all these palpable vices, the historian 
 of Croyland celebrates Edward the Fourth for his de- 
 vout attachment to the Catholic faith. 
 
 jl^ — Which we may the more wonder at, as Edward 
 does not appear to have been a great benefactor to the 
 church; nor did he indulge the clergy in their persecu- 
 tion of Lollardism, one victim only, Tolin Goose,^ suf- 
 fering during his whole reign, upon whose unlbrtunato 
 name tlie Papists have been rather witty. 
 
 F. — During the wars of the Roses, religious contro- 
 versy was little regarded ; the clergy adliered to their 
 old opinions and practices, and tlie laity were both 
 ignorant and indifferent. 
 
 A. — Though cruelty, extortion, and wantonness, 
 discolour every page of Edward's history, bis manners 
 were so easy and engaging,^ as to ar (piirr ]\un a i)rodi- 
 gious popularity. LilvC most men ol line person, he 
 was more vain tlian proud, as we may infer from his 
 love of mao-nificent dress. Thui he entered readily into 
 
 a Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 « Sir T. More. 
 
 ^ Fuller Church Hist. 
 
 BDWARl) IV. AND CHARLES 11. COMPARED. 
 
 mo 
 
 conversation with all classes of his subjects, the old 
 ballad of " King Edward and the Tanner of Tamworth'' 
 is a familiar illustration.^ This person mistaking the 
 king, and using much discourteous language, at length 
 perceived his error, by the approach of the royal 
 train: when having l)ecome much frightened and con- 
 fused, he said, with a certain blundering repentance, 
 ^^ I hoper instead of '' I fear, that I shall be hanged 
 to-morrow;" wliich mistake, as well as the tanner's 
 apprehensions, so well diverted the king, that he gave 
 the offender, in recompence for the good sport that he 
 had afforded, the inheritance of Plumpton Park. 
 ^ jp _The story reminds us of the adventure in the 
 ballad of '' King Henry the Second and the Miller of 
 Mansfield," so pleasingly dramatised by Dodsley ; and 
 also of another ballad, in which Charles the Second 
 acts nearly a similar part. Indeed the leading features 
 in the character of this latter monarch bear a strong 
 resemblance to those of Edward the Fourth : the same 
 unl)ounded licenfKmsness; the same hardness of heart, 
 ^^ith the same gaiety of disposition, arising from abun- 
 dance of animal spirits; the same inclination to relax 
 into sloth and indulgence, but capable of exertion on 
 a great emergency ; and what is a little singular, both 
 of them suffering exile, and both condescending to 
 accept of bribes from the kings of France. 
 
 a Perc)^ Reliques, vol. 2. 
 
■MM 
 
 :i^>^i 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE OP GLOUCESTER. 
 
 351 
 
 PTSSERTATTO\^ XI. 
 Section II. 
 
 Edward V a. d. 1483. 
 
 F.—In the ancient history ul Ijiuiund, nuihing is 
 more ill defined than the hmils of the power oi a regent 
 or protector; nor was it better ascertained at what aire 
 a minor prince became entitled to assume the reins of 
 government: two uncertainties which, at the death of 
 Edward the Fourth, exposed his defenceless children 
 to that trao:ical catastrophe, which is unparalleled in 
 European annals. 
 
 A. — Duriuix the latter years of the late monarch, the 
 nation generally acquiescing in his title, submitted with 
 great quietness to his sway; but the court was agitated 
 by two parties, which much disturbed the repose of 
 the sovereign: his marriage had given great ollbnce 
 to the ancient nobility; and the sudden elevalion of 
 the queen's relations, the Earl of Rivers, her brother, 
 and the Marquis of Dorset and Lord Grey, her sons, 
 though persons of merit, excited much jealousy and 
 discontent. 
 
 P.— Who were the persons that conceived their 
 own desert overshadowed by the pre-eminence of the 
 Woodviles ? 
 
 A. — Next to Richard, duke of Gloucester, who 
 appears to have been very wary in the expression of 
 his dissatisfaction, stood Henry Staflbrd, duke ol* Buck- 
 ingham, a prince of the blood, being descended by a 
 female from Thomas of Woodstock, youngest son of 
 Edward the Third, a nobleman of vast possessions and 
 
 considerable talents, who, though he had married the 
 queen's sister, was far too haughty to act in subser- 
 viency to her inclinations. The lords Stanley and 
 Howard were men of influence and reputation, as was 
 also the chamberlain. Lord Hastings : this last noble- 
 man was particularly obnoxious to the queen, as it was 
 su]>posed that he was the confidant of the king in all 
 his dissoiulc pleasures. Edward, in his last illness, 
 aware of these bitter enmities, assembled the leaders 
 ui the (iifferent parties in his sick chamber, and engaged 
 them to promise a suspension of their animosities.* 
 
 F* — A vain expedient to sul)due the rivalry of these 
 courtiers, all alike indifferent to the public good, and 
 intent alone on their own advancement. 
 
 A. — Edward the Fifth, now of the age of thirteen, 
 was, on the day of his father's death, April 9th, 1483, 
 proclaimed king in London. The Duke of Gloucester 
 was absent at York ; ^ and it is scarcely to be doubted, 
 that the moment he heard that the breath had left his 
 brother's body, he formed the dangerous design of 
 mounting his throne. 
 
 P. — But did his conduct during the life of Edward 
 afford just cause for such a suspicion? or can the 
 design be supposed to have been excited by the pro- 
 gress of events ? 
 
 A. — So profound a dissembler, we may naturally 
 conclude, well concealed his intentions ; for it appears 
 from every record during the late reign, that the whole 
 tenor of his conduct never gave offence to Edward, and 
 that, with singular moderation and prudence, he conti- 
 nued his attachment to the throne, through every change 
 of his brother s varying fortune. 
 
 F. — But the queen seems to have been instinctively 
 
 « Sir T. More. 
 
 ^ Hist. Croy. Cont, 
 
aj2 
 
 Vl-STlCiA. 
 
 aware of the danp^er; and as she liad ])orne an uncon- 
 trolled sway over her husband, she became anxious to 
 maintain the same influence over her son, perhaps justly 
 apprehensive that the safety of herself and her family 
 depended on that ascendancy. 
 
 A, — The young king resided at the castle of Ludlow, 
 under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, the Earl of 
 Rivers, an accomplished nobleman, of talents equally 
 adapted to civil and military affairs, and whose memory 
 is endeared as the early patron of literature, and the 
 encourager of Caxton and his new art of priiiting; he 
 was also a poet, but I compassionately refrain from 
 quoting any of his verses. To this nol)leman the queen 
 wrote, desiring him to levy a body of forces," as he 
 was captain-general of the kingdom, in order to escort 
 the king to London, and protect him during his ap- 
 proaching coronation. 
 
 F"' — Bwt the nobility might justly be jealous that 
 the queen and her kindred were usurping more ])ower 
 than the law allowed them, as the practice of the con- 
 stitution clearly pointed out the Duke of Gloucester 
 as regent. 
 
 A. — So the latter maintained, and insisted tliat 
 such a proceeding must be considered as tantamount 
 to a declaration of civil war; and under pretence of 
 pacifying the quarrel, artfully protested against the 
 appearance of an armed force, as equally dangerous as 
 unnecessary. The queen, in a fatal moment, overawed 
 by the violence of the duke's opposition, countermanded 
 her orders, and the young king, accompanied by Rivers, 
 proceeded on his journey, attended only by his usual 
 retinue.^ 
 
 Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 (•'I 
 
 i'. 
 i 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 3o3 
 
 b Q 
 
 Sir T. More, 
 
 P. — But in tliis alarming crisis, why did not parlia- 
 ment interfere ? 
 
 .1. -That assembly had so much declined in spirit 
 during the rule of the house of York, that had it been 
 sitting, which was not the case, it would probably have 
 made no remonstrance against the wishes of Gloucester, 
 who appeared likely to become the stronger party, 
 
 F.— Yet it might at least have been recollected, 
 that in the last two examples of minorities, those of 
 Richard the Second and Henry the Sixth, the old 
 practice of guardianship by the common law, in se- 
 parating the custody of the minor's person from the 
 heir of his crown, was strictly adhered to : parliament, 
 in the reign of Richard the Second, appointing a coun- 
 cil of nine persons for that purpose, whilst the adminis- 
 tration of the government rested in the hands of the Duke 
 of Lancaster. The case of the infant Henry the Sixth 
 was still more in point, as the same authority intrusted 
 him to the care of Cardinal Beaufort, who was not in 
 the order of succession, his uncles, the dukes of Bed- 
 ford and Gloucester, acquiescing in the arrangement. 
 
 A. — Such examples did not suit the ambition of 
 Richard : he set off from York, for the purpose of ob- 
 taining possession of the person of the young king: at 
 Northampton he was joined by the Duke of Bucking- 
 ham, with a vast retinue; at this town also the Earl of 
 Rivers came to pay his respects, having sent forward 
 his royal pupil to Stoney Stratford, a stage nearer to 
 London, and was received l)y Gloucester with dissimu- 
 lated welcome. The next morning the apprehensions 
 of Lord Rivers were awakened by some suspicious cir- 
 cumstances, but it was too late to retreat. As the party 
 entered Stoney Stratford together, the earl was arrested; 
 Gloucester proceeding to visit the young king, in his 
 
 VOL. IT. 2 A 
 
354 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKK OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 355 
 
 very presence seized Lord Ridiard (J rev, liis iilerine 
 brother, and his friend Sir Thomas Vani:^han,^ an ulliccr 
 of the household, under thc^ pretence tliat they had 
 estranij^ed the duke from the aiTections of his roval 
 nephew. Edward in vain protested their innocence, 
 and entreated, even with tears, their liberation.'' They 
 were despatched with Rivers to the north of Eni^land ; 
 and after being removed to various places, were at 
 lenii^th confined in Pomfret Castle. 
 
 P. — A dismal beginning of an e(piital)]ei)rotcctorate. 
 
 A, — Hearing these calamitous tidings, the (pieen, 
 with her youngest son the Duke of York, a l)oy nine 
 years of age, and her five daughters, with the jNlarquis 
 of Dorset, took refuge in the sanctuary of Westminster, 
 justly apprehensive of her own and her children's safety. 
 Meanwhile Gloucester inoceeded to London, in which 
 city he was received with acclamations, riding Ijare- 
 headed before the young monarch, to whom he showed 
 so much apparent respect, as greatly to delight the 
 people.'' King Edward was attended l)y a train of five 
 hundred followers in deep mourning, himself wearing a 
 mantle of blue velvet.'^ The Duke of Cloucester was 
 deeply offended at the queen's evident mistrust of his 
 designs; and his first step was to withdraw from her 
 custody into his own hands the young Duke of ^ Ork: 
 for this purpose he sent to the sanctuary, Ttotherham, 
 archbishop of York, a man none of the shrewdest, 
 '' who found the queen,'' says Sir Thomas ]VIore, '' sitting 
 alone, low on the rushes, all desolate and dismayed.'* 
 The prelate endeavouring to comfort her with a friendly 
 message from Lord ILastings, she exclamed, '' A woe 
 with him, it is he that goeth about to destroy me and 
 my blood." The archbishop had the weakness to use 
 
 ii 
 
 * Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 ^» Sir T. More. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 *• Fabian. 
 
 ' 
 
 SO poor an argument as to say, '^ Madam, ])e of good 
 clieer; if they crown any other king than your son, we 
 shall on the morrow crown his brother;" as if he had 
 the power of protecting one of these hapless youths 
 more than the other. As a proof of his sincerity, he left 
 the great seal in her possession ; but speedily bethink- 
 ing him of this impi-udence, he sent for it before the 
 night was passed.^ 
 
 P. — l>y what authority did Gloucester assume the 
 power of regent, or protector? 
 
 A. — A great council had been assembled, though 
 the precise time of its meeting does not appear, which 
 conferred the office of protector^ on Richard: this was 
 clearly the business of parliament, not of a council; 
 but it is acknowledged that it was received by the 
 people with satisfaction. Gloucester finding that the 
 persuasions of llotherham were not sufliciently power- 
 ful, despatched Bourchier, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 with some other lords, to withdraw the young duke 
 from the sanctuary. Tliat prelate, totally unconscious 
 of tlie protector's views, represented to the queen in 
 forcible terms the unreasonableness of her thus detain- 
 ing the boy. Tlie queen expressed her apprehensions 
 very explicitly; but overcome by entreaty, rather than 
 convinced by argument, she called for the young duke, 
 and said, ^^ Fare you well, mine own sweet son; let me 
 kiss you yet once before you go, for God knoweth when 
 we shall kiss together again." ^^ And therewith," says 
 Sir Thomas More, '' she kissed him and blessed him, 
 turned her back and wept, and went her way." 
 
 F, — The diabolical phui of the protector, no honour- 
 able person could rationally penetrate. It is generally 
 supposed that the Duke of Buckingham himself was 
 
 « Sir T. More. 
 
 b ibid. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
35(> 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 357 
 
 unapprised of Richard's views upon (lie crown till he 
 had got possession of the two princes; and tlien the 
 necessity of securing llichard's elevaliun ^\ as pointed 
 out, since, if Edward were permitted to reign, lie would 
 most assuredly revenge upon Buckinghani the arrest 
 and subsequent murder of Rivers, Grey, and \ aughan, 
 who were endeared bv so manv tender ties to his 
 affections. 
 
 A, — Those illegal murders were now determined on 
 by the protector, w ith the consent both of Buckingham 
 and Hastings: without even pretemliug to any formality 
 of accusation or process of trial, he sent an order to 
 Sir Richard Ratclilfe, to behead the three prisoners at 
 Pomfret; which w^as accordingly performed, June 13.* 
 
 * • O Pomfret ! Pomfret 1 O tliou bloody prison, 
 
 Fatal and ominous to noble peers, 
 We give tliee up our L^iiltk-.^s blood to driiik.^ 
 
 .4. — The protector, still professing to be busy ia 
 giving orders for the ensuing coronation of his nei)hew, 
 was profoundly occupied in paving his way to the 
 throne. Thinking it desirable to ojjtain the consent of 
 Lord Hastings, he had that noljlonian sounded by his 
 creature Catesby, a lawyer of great subtlety of ad- 
 dress, who found the lord chamberlain unalterable in 
 his fidelity to the children of his late friend and master. 
 Richard therefore determined to ruin the man whom he 
 could not seduce; and on the very day of the execu- 
 tions at Pomfret, a council was summoned to meet at 
 the Tow er. The protector took his seat in the most' 
 aflable humour imaginable : after paying some compli- 
 ments to the Bishop of Ely, on the good and early 
 strawberries which that nrelate raised in his uarden 
 near Ilolborn, he begired the favour of a di^h of tf.em; 
 
 * Hist. Crov. Cont. 
 
 ^Rich. Ill act 5. 
 
 ;i 
 
 ' I 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 and the bishop despatched a servant to comply with 
 the request. The protector then entreated the excuse 
 of the council, and withdrew.* 
 
 P. — This seems but a trivial circumstance to intro- 
 duce in a scene of so much importance. 
 
 A. — The historian probably mentioned this assumed 
 good-nature of the protector, as ailbrding an instance of 
 his great dissimulation; for returning to the assembly 
 with a severe countenance, knitting his brows, and 
 inllamed w ith anger, he asked the Lords what punish- 
 ment those persons deserved who plotted against his 
 life, a man so near in blood to the king? The uncon- 
 scious Hastings readily replied, that they merited the 
 punishment of traitors. " These traitors," said the pro- 
 tector, '^ are the sorceress, Edward's w ife, and her con- 
 federate, that strumpet Shore ; see to what a condition 
 they have reduced me,*' pulling up his sleeve, and 
 showing them his arm, shrivelled and withered. But 
 as the courtiers knew^ that this infirmity had attended 
 him from his birth, they looked on each other with 
 amazement, being well aware that the queen w^as far 
 too wise to resort to such undertakings. 
 
 P. — And surely, above all people in the world, Jane 
 Shore was the last person whom she would have made 
 her confidant. 
 
 A. — Hastings, \vho since the death of Edw^ard had 
 formed connections with Jane Shore, becoming some- 
 what alarmed at this extraordinary accusation, said, 
 '' Certainly, if they be guilty of such deeds, they de- 
 serve (he severest punishment." ^^ And dost thou reply 
 to me/' said Gloucester, ^^ with your ifs and ands? I 
 tell thee, that they have so done, and that I will prove 
 upon thy body, traitor." And he struck the table with 
 
 ° Sir T. More. 
 
r^O 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 his hand ; at which signal, some one without the a[)art- 
 ment crying out, '^ Treason!" Gloucester said, ''I 
 arrest thee, traitor." '' What, me, my lord ? " returned 
 the terrified chamberlain. '' Yea, thee, traitor ; and 
 make a short shrift, for, by St. Paul, I will not dine 
 till thy head be brought me." He then broke up the 
 council, arresting also the Bishop of Ely and several 
 of the other members. In the confusion, the soldiers 
 who entered the chamber, aimed a blow, and severely 
 wounded the head of Lord Stanley, who w ith difficulty 
 saved his life, by crouching under the table. 
 
 F. — These circumstances are familiar to most per- 
 sons, from their popular representation on the stage; 
 but they are so singular as to have excited a consider- 
 able portion of wonder, if not of doubt. 
 
 A. — The narrator. Sir Thomas More, lived in the 
 family of the Bishop of Ely, the reverend cultivator of 
 the strawberries, who was present at the scene, and 
 who questionless communicated the information. Lord 
 Hastings was hurried away, and instantly beheaded on 
 a timber log, wliich lay on the Tovs er wlmrf. 
 
 F. — The fate of Hastings, who by a strange coinci- 
 dence sulTered on the same day as his victims, Kivers, 
 Grey, and Vaughan, does not excite any very pow erful 
 sympathy: but in what a state of law and liberty nmst 
 that country be, where such enormities could pass un- 
 questioned. 
 
 ^.— The protector thought some apology due to 
 the citizens, amongst v/liom Lord lTasti!]u\s was very 
 popular. Two hours after his execution, a proclama- 
 tion was read, but so well penned and fairly written 
 on parchment, that it was impossible to have been irot 
 ready in so short a time: a merchant consequently 
 remarked, (hat it must certainly have been drawn in 
 
 ^ m 
 
 m 
 
 ; 
 
 li 
 
 ii 
 
 « 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 359 
 
 the spirit of prophecy. To keep up the farce, or rather 
 the tragedy, Gloucester sent for some substantial citi- 
 zens to the Tower, to whom he might explain the 
 matter. On their arrival they found the protector and 
 Buckingham armed in such old rusty brigandines, as 
 nothing but the necessity of defending their lives from 
 a sudden attack could have induced them to put on 
 their backs. 
 
 jP. — Such was the terror inspired by Gloucester, 
 that when he told the citizens that Hastings had con- 
 spired to destroy himself and Buckingham, they an- 
 swered him as if fully convinced of the fact, though 
 they entirely disbelieved it.'* 
 
 ^.—Gloucester, covertly pursuing his design upon 
 the throne, ordered the goods of Jane Shore to be 
 S(izcd, which amounted to two or three thousand 
 marks; and he summoned her before the council, to 
 answer the charge of witchcraft: but failing entirely of 
 all proof in tliat accusation, he directed her to be tried 
 in the spiritual court for incontinence.^ 
 
 F.— This w as a matter of too great notoriety to be 
 
 evaded or denied. 
 
 A. — The Bishop of London therefore condemned 
 her to perform open penance on the next Sunday, in a 
 procession, before the cross, with a lighted taper in her 
 hand. " She w ent," says Sir Thomas More, '' in coun- 
 tenance and pace so womanly, that albeit she were out 
 of all array, save her kirtle only, yet looked she so 
 fair and lovely, while the wondering of the people cast 
 a comely red into her cheeks, of which before she had 
 most miss, that her grccit shcune was her great praise, 
 among those that w ere more amorous of her body than 
 curious of her soul." 
 
 ii 
 
 « Sir T. More. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 M 
 
300 
 
 VESTIGJ A. 
 
 P. — Yet it is not very apparent how tlic persociition 
 of the unfortunate Jane Shore could aid tlie piotoctur s 
 views upon the crown. 
 
 A. — The next step of Gloucester was an attempt 
 to prove the illegitimucy of his kite brother's children; 
 and though Jane Shore's penance could not effect tliat 
 object, yet it directed the public attention to the disso- 
 luteness of Edward's conduct, which nii-ht lead to a 
 conclusion that he was capable of committing any irre- 
 gularity, for the purpose of gratifying his passions, 
 Jane Shore, in her old age, is thus described by the 
 same historian: ^' This woman was born in London, 
 worshipfully provided, honestly brought up, and very 
 w^ell married, saving somewhat too soon ; her husband, 
 an honest citizen, young and godly, and of good sub- 
 stance, a goldsmith by profession, but whom she never 
 fervently loved: proper she was, and fair; notliing in 
 her body that you would have changed, but if you 
 would, have wished her somewhat higher: this say they 
 that knew her in her youth. Albeit, some tliat now see 
 her, for yet she liveth, deem her never to have been well 
 visaged; for she is old, lean, withered and dried up, 
 nothing left but rivelled skin and hard bone: yet being 
 such who so well advise her visage, might guess which 
 parts how filled would nuike it a fair face." 
 
 F. — Sir Thomas More writes with tliat warmth 
 which becomes the praise of beauty. 
 
 A,— Ho is no less feivourable to the qualities of her 
 mind and heart: '' Yet men delighted not so much in 
 her beauty as in her pleasant behaviour; for a proper 
 wit she had, and could both read well and \\rite; merry 
 in company; ready and quick of answer; neither mute 
 nor full of babble; sometimes taunting, without displea- 
 sure, and not without disport; the favours of tlie kin- 
 
 i| 
 
 i| 
 
 IM 
 
 i) 
 
 JANE SHORE. 
 
 3G1 
 
 she never abused to any man's hurt, but to many a 
 man's comfort and relief; ^vhere the king took displea- 
 sure she would mitigate; when men were out of favour 
 she would bring them into his grace, for many that had 
 highly ofTcnded she ol)tained pardon; of great forfeitures 
 she got men remission ; for these things she had none, 
 or very small rewards, and those rather gay than rich; 
 but at this day she beggeth of many, who at this day 
 had begged if she had not been." 
 
 F. — The character of no female, in the previous 
 annals of English history, is so amply or so ably drawn 
 as the portraiture of this Aspasia; and to add to its 
 merit, the melancholy history of this fascinating creature 
 affords a powerful moral. The particular steps which 
 led to the seduction of Jane Shore do not appear. 
 
 P. — The popular belief of her deplorable death by 
 hunger, in Shoreditch, is then entitled to no credit. 
 
 A. — Not to the least: Jane Shore lived till the 
 eighteenth year of Henry the Eighth, more than forty 
 years after her penance, and then died quietly in her 
 bed. In the parish of Shoreditch, there was anciently 
 a manor house, called Shore, or Shoreditch Place, which 
 common tradition ^ related to be the residence of Jane, at 
 which her royal lover used to visit her. But the ancient 
 appellation of the parish was Sording,^ as appears by 
 a grant of King John (1204), of the rectory to the Bishop 
 of London. In the reign of Edward the Third, the lord 
 of the manor was Sir John de Sordich,° who distin- 
 5iuished himself in the wars with France. The trans- 
 mutation of tlie name therefore into Shoreditch is suffi- 
 ciently obvious, without having recourse to the misfor- 
 tunes of the beautitul mistress of Edward the Fourth. 
 
 « Stow. 
 
 c Wccver's Monuments. 
 
 i« Rcc, Turns, M. 8, N. 65. 
 
m 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F. — Jane Shore was an enrly favoiirllo of tlir dra 
 matic muse: a play on tlie subject was acted in lt)0:i, 
 which, (houi^h now lost, i)iol)al)ly riimishcd tht" tnuli- 
 tion which yet prevails. In t!ic legend of Jane Shore, 
 in the Mirror for Magistrates (1559), liicrc is no 
 allusion to her dying in a ditch, though with nun h 
 pathos she thus deplores her poverty and hapless 
 destitution : 
 
 Wliat fall was this, to come from princes* fare, 
 To watch for cninihs anionu: the blind and lame ! 
 
 When alms were dealt, I had an hungry share, 
 Because 1 knew not how to ask for shame. 
 
 An ancient black letter l)allad," of later date, seems 
 to have aftbrded a hint for the situation and character 
 of Alicia, in Rowe's very pleasing tragedy: 
 
 Then unto Mrs. Blague I went. 
 To whom my jewels 1 had sent. 
 In hope thereby to ease my want, 
 W^hen riches failed and love grew scant. 
 
 But she denied to me the same. 
 When in my need for them I came ; 
 To recompense my former love, 
 Out of her doors she did me shove. 
 
 But yet one friend among the rest, 
 Whom I before had seen distresst. 
 And saved his life, condcmn'd to die. 
 Did give me food to succour me. 
 
 P.— The charitable person thus alluded to, is sup- 
 posed to have been a baker, who gave tlie dyin^' 
 heroine a roll; but here the dramatist forsakes his 
 prototype, probably considering such a character and 
 circumstance hardly adequate to tlie dignity of the 
 buskin. 
 
 -F.— But the catastrophe was tragical enough: 
 
 JAT^K SHORE. 
 
 383 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 II 
 
 For which by law It wae decreed, 
 That he was hanged for that deed ; 
 His death did grieve me so much more. 
 Than had I died myself therefore. 
 
 I could not get one bit of bread. 
 Whereby my hunger might be fed ; 
 Nor drink, but such as channels yield. 
 Or stinking ditches in the field. 
 The which, now since my dying day, 
 Is Shorcditch call'd, as writers say ; 
 WTiich is a witness of my sinne. 
 For being concubine to a king. 
 
 P. — The truth of the events seems then much upon 
 a par with tht> merit of the poetry. 
 
 F,—An original picture of Jane, a lovely figure, 
 almost naked, is preserved at Eton,' and another at 
 Kinu\s Ccdlege, Caml)ridge, for the contemplation of 
 the provost and fellows of those establishments: an 
 engraving of the Ibnncr porirait has been published, 
 witii the injunction of Gloucester to his friend Lord 
 iiastings as a motto. 
 
 Give mistress Shore one gentle kiss the more. 
 
 A. — The protector with an nndeviating step pro- 
 ceeded in his endeavour to bastardize his late brother's 
 issue. For this purpose he induced Stillington, bishop 
 ol i lath irnd Wells, by pompous promises, to declare that 
 Edward the Fourth, before he espoused Elizabeth Grey, 
 had l)een privately married to lady Eleanor Talbot, 
 widow of the Lord Butler of Sudely, and daughter of 
 the Earl of Shrewsbury. But the bishop specified 
 ncMthir time nor place, and declared that no other 
 witness l)at himself was present. 
 
 F.— Had such a marriage taken place, Eleanor 
 Talbot would hardly have kept it secret from her rela- 
 tives, who were amongst the first personages of the 
 kingdom. That Edward debaded this lady is sufficiently 
 
 Percy Rcliqucs, vol. 2. 
 
 *» Grainger, Hist. 
 
 |. 
 
3U4 
 
 VESTini A. 
 
 true; and that Stininirton, a profligate yoimg priest, 
 might assist the delusion, is not improbable. Comines 
 says, that tiie bishop trumped up the story in revenge 
 for Edward's neglect of hiin. In no Christian country, 
 I should suppose, the law would admit such evidence 
 to invalidate a marriage^ after the decease of both the 
 parties. 
 
 P. — Eut besides the issue of Edward, the children 
 of his next brother, Clarence, \vho lalxuired under no 
 suspicion of illegitimacy, plainly stood in the order of 
 succession before Gloucester. 
 
 A. — Their claims he got rid of, by pleading the 
 attainder of their father, though the rule which excludes 
 attainted blood from inheriting w as never extended to 
 the throne. But not content with defeating the rights 
 of the children of both his brothers bv tliese means, he 
 had the unparalleled ellVontery to assert that his late 
 brothers themselves were not legitimate, but tliat tlieir 
 mother the Duchess of York, a princess of irreproach- 
 able character, and still living, had received dillVient 
 lovers in her husband's al)sence, who were the fatlic rs 
 of those tw^o princes, as their resemblance to these sup- 
 posed paramours sufliciently declared; and the church 
 was the place chosen to sound the peo])le on this inde- 
 cent topic: Dr. 8haw, the brother ol" the lord mayor, 
 was appointed to preach at St. Paul's, and he chose 
 for his text on Sunday a passage in the Wisdom of 
 Solomon,' '^ Bastard slips shall not thrive." 
 
 F. — ^^ The devil can quote scripture for his pur- 
 pose," though it be admitted that the text on this 
 occasion was apochryphal. 
 
 ^.-- It had been arranged, that when the preacher, 
 after having enlarged on those circumstances which 
 
 Pi 
 
 DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. 
 
 305 
 
 might throw discredit on Edward's marriage, and also 
 on the illegitimacy both of the late king and Clarence, 
 that the protector should enter the church, and the 
 doctor w^as to exclaim, *' Behold this excellent prince, 
 the express image of his noble father, bearing, no less 
 in the virtues of his mind than in the features of his 
 countenance, the marks of his true descent." At which 
 it w as expected that the audience would cry out, '' God 
 save Kii]g liichard;" a salutation which would have 
 inunediatelv been construed into a popular consent. 
 But l)y a ridiculous mistake, the duke did not appear 
 till this exclamation had been recited, and the doctor 
 was obliged to repeat his rhetorical iigure out of its 
 proper place, but with so little eirect, that the audience, 
 from a detestation of the proceedings, kept a profound 
 
 silence.* 
 
 1\ — Like so many circumstances of this reign, 
 the suljstance of this celebrated sermon has been 
 much called into question, particularly its revolting 
 indelicacy towards the character of the Duchess of 
 York ; and it appears that Sir Thomas More has made 
 a slight mistake, as he asserts that the preacher insisted 
 on the late king's precontract with Elizabeth Lucy; 
 whereas in the subsequent parliament, held after Ri- 
 chard's accession, Edv. ard's marriage was set aside, on 
 the ground of his contract with lady Eleanor Talbot.** 
 
 yl.— In fact, there was as much propriety in men- 
 tioning one of these ladies as the other, as they had 
 both been seduced by Edward, under a promise of 
 marriage ; or the doctor himself might make the mis- 
 take, not being intimately acquainted with the secrets 
 of the seraglio. Tliat a very offensive sermon was de- 
 livered at St. Paul's, we have the testimony of Fabian, 
 
 " Chap. iv. ver. 3. 
 
 «» Sir T. More. 
 
 ^ Rot. Pari. vol. 6. 
 
3GG 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 RICIJAIID THE THIRD CFOWI^ED. 
 
 307 
 
 a citizen, and afterwards blitrilT of Londuu in 1493, 
 who in all probal)ility was i)rcsent, and ^^ho relates 
 that the preacher used " many disclanderous words in 
 the preferring of the title of the said lord protector, to 
 the great abucion of all the andience, except such as 
 favoured the matter, which were few in number, ii' the 
 truth or plainness might have been shown.' The un- 
 successful result of this ridiculous experiment abaslied 
 both the protector and liis parasite ; for Dr. Shaw slunk 
 home, kept himself out of siglit ^Mike an owl/" and 
 was never seen abroad again. Gloucester however was 
 too far advanced to recede from his ambitious purpose; 
 and the Duke of Buckingham, liis ready inslrument, on 
 the next Tuesday, met the citizens at Guihlhall, and 
 rehearsed nearly the same arguments which Dr. Shaw 
 had used at St. Paul's. The citizens remained insensi- 
 ble to the force of his eloquence, which w as consider- 
 able, and much admired; but no cries of ^^ God save 
 King Richard" followed. ^^ What is the meaning of 
 this silence?" said Buckingham to the lord mayor. 
 The magistrate replied, that the citizens were not accus- 
 tomed to be harangued by any but their recorder, and 
 knew^ not how^ to answer a person of the duke's quality. 
 But when the city officer repeated Buckinghcim's ha- 
 rangue, wliich he delivered not as his own sentiments, 
 but '' thus has the duke inferred," still the audience 
 kept a proiound silence. " This is wonderful obsti- 
 nacy," cried the duke; '^ will you have the protector 
 for your sovereign, or no?" A few voices of the 
 rabble, mingled wdth the duke's followers, at length 
 raised the feeble but lomr desired cry of ^' God save 
 King Richard." Buckingham taking advantage of this 
 feint, expressed his satisfaction ; and inviting the mayor 
 
 m 
 
 ii 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 « Sir T. More. 
 
 
 and citizens to attend upon the protector at Baynard's 
 Castle, took his leave. 
 
 1\ — Tiiese particulars are so vividly depicted by 
 Shakspeare, that all historical painting of them must 
 appear like water colours. 
 
 A. — The next day, the mayor and aldermen, with 
 some of the protector's friends, met at Baynard's Castle, 
 llichard, after an affected struggle, and a feigned reluct- 
 ance, at length accepted the crown, moved by the pow er- 
 ful entreaty of Buckingham, who told him that the free 
 peo])le of England would never crouch to the rule of 
 a bastard; and if the lawful heir refused the sceptre, 
 they knew where to find some other nobleman who 
 would clieerfuUy accept it* 
 
 P. — Irresistil)]e arguments, indeed ! 
 
 yl. — On the Thursday, all the lords and bishops of 
 the protector's party came to the same place, and in 
 Ri( liard's own w ords, *^ ' porrected to him a bill of 
 petition, wherein his sure title and true was evidently 
 set forth and declared."* Whereupon the king's high- 
 ness, notably assisted by well near all the lords spiritual 
 and temporal of the realm, w ent to the palace at West- 
 minster, and in the great hall declared his mind to reign 
 over the people." 
 
 F, — llichard however was determined to have some 
 better security than the mere passive consent of the 
 people, for he brought up, chiefly from the north, a 
 military force of at least five thousand men." 
 
 j._No time w^as to be lost. On Friday, June 27, 
 Bichard was proclaimed king, and on the Gth of July, 
 llb^, he was soknndy crowned in Westminster Abbey, 
 with great magnificence, making use of the preparations 
 
 • Sir T. More. 
 
 »> In a letter to Lord Mountjoy at Calais, Harleian MSS. No. 433. 
 
 « Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 i ^ 
 
 I i 
 
 i 
 
 2 "I 
 
 .1; 
 
V !^TIGIA. 
 
 which had been designed for Lis nephew.* Thus lerini- 
 nated, after a duration of eighty-eight days, the reign of 
 Edward the Fifth. No parliament was called during 
 that period. 
 
 F. — Yet an irregnlar assembly, consisting probably 
 of several members of both houses, met together on 
 June 25th, though not in a due parliament ;iry form, to 
 whom was presented a roll of parchment,^ by way of 
 bill, in which the crown was claimed by Richard ; and 
 this deed was legalised by the parliament, which met 
 in the first year of his reign.^ 
 
 A, — On the next day to the proclamation, June 28, 
 Richard created his friend Lord Howard, Duke of Nor- 
 folk, with a grant of innumerable manors and lordsliips 
 from the crown.'* And thus the title, which stood so 
 long, and still stands so proudly, as the first in the list 
 of the English nobility, was conferred as the inicjuitous 
 wages of assistance in the foulest and most unprincipled 
 usurpation that ever disgraced the English annals. 
 
 p. — Truly an editying exemplification of the poet's 
 
 Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus. 
 
 a Sir T. More. 
 « Rot. Pari. vol. 6. 
 
 ^ Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 <* Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 
 
 4Wt 
 
 RICHARD THE THIRD. 
 
 80!) 
 
 DISSERTATION XT, 
 
 Section III. 
 
 Richard 111 
 
 A.D. 1483. 
 
 A.—]y Shakspeare's tragedy, the first feelings of 
 Richard, on his acquisition of his yet msecure throne, 
 are admirably depicted: 
 
 A'. 7^/rA.— Stand all apart. Cousin of Buckingham — 
 
 JDuck. — My gracious sovereign — 
 K. Rick.— Give me thy hand. Thus high by thy advice, 
 And thy assistance, is Kinir Richard seated : 
 But shall we wear these glories for a day ? 
 Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them ? 
 Buck. — Still live they, and for ever let them last. 
 K. Rich. — Ah, Buckingham ! now do I play the touch, 
 To try if thou be current gold indeed ; 
 Young Edward lives ; think now what I would speak. 
 Buck. — Say on, my loving lord. 
 A'. liic/i. — Why, Buckingham, I say I would be king. 
 Buckr—Why, so you are, my thrico renowned liege. 
 A'. Fu< h.—UsL, am I king? 'tis so, but Edward lives. 
 
 Buck. — True, noble prince, . 
 A'. Rich. — O, bitter consequence. 
 
 That Edward still should live.* 
 
 F.— But \vc must not suppose that Richard abso- 
 lutely threw out such hints to the Duke of iJiickingham, 
 as the immediate subsequent transactions seem to have 
 been perpetrated without that noblcmairs participation. 
 
 A. — ** Speedily afterhis coronation," says SirThomas 
 More, *' the king made a progress through part of his 
 dominions; taking his way to Gloucester, he resolved 
 
 VOL. i I. 
 
 « Rich. III. act 4. 
 2 B 
 
 el 
 
370 
 
 VLsruaA. 
 
 upon fulfilling the thino:, vhich he before intended; 
 whereupon he sent one John Grene, whuiii he speeially 
 trusted, with a eommand to Sir Robert Brakenbury, the 
 constable of the Tower, witli a letter, that he should in 
 anywise put the two cliildren to death. This John (irene 
 did his errand to Brakenbury, kneeling before our Lady, 
 in the Tower: but Sir Robert plainly answered, that lie 
 never would put them fo death, to die himself therefore. 
 With which answer Grene returned to the kinir, who 
 took such displeasure, that the same night lie said 
 to a secret page of his, ' Ah, whom shall a man trust J 
 those that I have brought up myself, even those fiiil 
 ine?' ' Sir,' quoth the page, ' there lieth one on your 
 pallet without (meaning Sir James Tynel,) who I dare 
 say will do your grace's pleasure : the thing were right 
 hard which he would refuse.'" 
 
 F. — The veracity of these particulars has been 
 questioned, on so poor a ground as the date of a writ, 
 which purports to be signed by ihc king in London, 
 when the historian represents him at Gloucester. 
 
 A. — The date of a writ is no proof of the presence 
 of the king, but only of his chancellor. There are writs 
 with a teste rege^ extant, dated at Bristol and West- 
 minster, or other places as remote, on the same day. 
 But to proceed with Sir James Tyrrel : " This man had 
 an high heart, and sore longed upwards, not rising yet 
 so fast as he had hope. Upon the page's words. King 
 Richard arose, and calling up Tyrrel, secretly brake his 
 mind in this mischievous matter;" and sent him with a 
 letter to Brakenbury, desiring the constable to deliver 
 up, the keys for one night to Tyrell : with which request 
 Brakenbury complied. 
 
 F. — The conduct of Brakenbury is too much pal- 
 
 » Rynicr, vol. '6, p. 81. 
 
 MURDER OF THE TWO PRINCES. 
 
 871 
 
 I 
 
 liated, if not even praised, by Hume, who allows the 
 knight to have possessed sentiments of honour; but 
 surely this mode of escaping personal responsibility, 
 by winking at others' wickedness, seems little to de- 
 serve such commendations. That Richard considered 
 Brakenbury as a partial accessary, may be inferred 
 from the enormous grants of forfeited lordships and 
 manors with which he was subsequently enriched, as 
 well as the various offices of high trust and emolument^ 
 which he enjoyed: indeed all the persons concerned in 
 this nefarious transaction w^ere subsequently rewarded.^ 
 
 ui, — Tyrrel took with him two ruffians. Miles Forest, 
 a "fellow fleshed in murder aforetime;" and John 
 Dighton, a " big, broad, square, and strong knave." 
 
 P. — But was not there a *' Black Will," who parti- 
 cipated in the murder? 
 
 A. — William Slaughter, or Slater, seems merely to 
 Iiave been one of the keepers, and to have had no 
 furtlier share in the business than in pointing out the 
 princes' apartment. The murderers entering the cham- 
 ber at midnight, suffocated the two children with the 
 bed-clotlies, Tyrrel ^^aiting at the stair foot: when the 
 deed was completed, he was called up to view the 
 nuked bodies, and he ordered them to be buried deep 
 in the ground under the stairs, and a heap of stones 
 to be thrown upon them. Bichard, it is said, displeased 
 at tlie place of his nephews' iiiterinent, gave orders 
 to have the bodies removed into holy ground, which 
 was sii|)j)osed to liave been performed by the chaplain 
 of the 'I'ower;'' but as that person died soon after, • 
 the place of their burial remained unknown, suffi- 
 cient search not having been made. In the reign of 
 
 =* Kcuiiet, History of England, vol. 1, in a note, page 551. 
 «• Ibid. ^ Sir T. Morp. 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Charles the Second (1()74), in consequence of an order 
 to clear the White Tower, for the reception of a large 
 quantity of records from the Six Clerks' Office, a new 
 pair of stairs was judged convenient for their more 
 easy conveyance. The hibourers, digging* at the foot of 
 the old stairs, the very spot which was mentioned as 
 the precise place of the first interment of the princes, 
 found, covered over with a heap of stones, the bones 
 of tw^o persons, exactly coiTCsponding in size with the 
 ages of Edv, ar J and his Ijrother : they were conchided 
 at the time to he certain]} the remains of the young 
 princes^ were solenmly reinterred at Westminster 
 Abbey, and a monument, with a suitable inscription, 
 placed over them.^ 
 
 F. — Many vvriters liave endeavoured to overthrow 
 this relation of the murder ; but T see no rational cause 
 to doubt the result, however some of the minutiae may 
 not be clearly consistcjit: indeed, ^\h:lt murder was 
 ever proved by circumstances only, without some dis- 
 crepancy in the evidence ? 
 
 A, — Forest lived not long after; but in t1ie next 
 reign, both Tyrrel and Digliton confessed the fact. ^' Tt 
 was however so much the interest of licnry the Seventh 
 that witnesses to the non-existence of Edward the Fifth 
 should remain, to refute the pretensions of Perkin War- 
 beck, that they were not punished for the crime. Tyrrel 
 indeed was executed ten years after for treason.^ If is 
 incredible that these persons would take upon themselves 
 the everlasting odium and infamy of such a transaction, 
 had they not been guilty. A doubt certainly did early 
 prevail, whether the children were destroyed or not in 
 Richard's time; which first originated from the non- 
 appearance of the deceased bodies, and was strength- 
 
 Kennet, vol. 1, note, page 551. 
 
 ^SirT. More. 
 
 • Ibid. 
 
 HISTORIC DOUBTS. 
 
 373 
 
 ened by the imposition of Perkin Warbeck, who for 
 some time successfully personated the young Duke of 
 York : '' which imposition/' says Sir Thomas More, "by 
 many folk's malice, and more folk's folly, so long abused 
 the world." But he prefaces his relation of the murder, 
 by saying, ^^ I shall rehearse to you the dolorous end 
 of those babes, not after every w^ay that I have heard, 
 but after that way that I have so heard, by such men, 
 and by such means as me thinketh it were hard but it 
 should be true." And he adds in another place, ^^ These 
 things have I learned of them that much knew, and 
 little cause had to lye." 
 
 F. — riie first defender of Richard against this charge 
 was Buck, who wrote in the reign of Charles the First, 
 and who seems to have endeavoured to wash the black- 
 moor white, from the circumstance of his ow^n ancestor 
 having perished at Bosworth Field, fighting for the 
 usurper. 
 
 A. — Buck's history is so manifestly adapted to his 
 prejudices, with an impudent disregard to the most 
 acknowledged facts, that it is totally unworthy of at- 
 tention. The tory historian, Mr. Carte, in his elaborate 
 work, seems to palliate Richard's crimes from his dislike 
 of the principle on which Henry the Seventh acquired 
 the crown — an appeal to the nation. 
 
 F.— The whig Horace Walpole, lord Or ford, could 
 be actuated l)y no such feeling. 
 
 A. — His '' Historic Doubts," an ingenious but strange 
 compound of paradox and research, confuses, but does 
 not convince ; and the best of it is, that from a hint or 
 two unwarily escaping, the author was no convert to his 
 own logic. The masterly refutation of Walpole's argu- 
 ments by Mr. Hume, is a truly triumphant specimen of 
 analysis and reason. Another champion for Richard 
 
374 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 was Mr. Laing, in a dissertation inserted in ilr. Jltuiy's 
 liistoiy ; ^vllit li is a mere piece of dead special pleading, 
 and is well demolished by Dr. Linganl 
 
 P. — Richard n > doubt would endeavour lo prevent 
 the particulars of sudi a transaction from transpiring. 
 
 JP. — Certainly; but had not those eminent persons, 
 who united in calling over the Earl of Richmoiid, been 
 convinced of the death of these chihlren, their conduct 
 would have exposed them to the imputation of absolute 
 madness; the partizaus of the house of York applyiug 
 to a Lancastrian prince to defeat the pretensions of 
 these innocent heirs of their favourite family, and re- 
 plunging the nation in the misery of those dreadful 
 civil wars from which it had so recently escaped. 
 
 A. — One of Walpole's arguments, is his attributing 
 to Sir Thomas More a desire to flatter the reigui ng 
 dynasty, by depreciating the character of tlieir prede- 
 cessors of the house of York. IJut surely the honesty 
 of the man, who, rather than comply with the injiuictions 
 of a tyrant, preferred to lose his head, was proof against 
 all inferior temptation ; besides, More even priiises Ed- 
 ward the Fourth above his deserts: and the fatal result 
 has the concurrent testimony of all the contemporary 
 authorities. The Alonk of Croyland, a cool and unpre- 
 judiced historian, writing witliin a year after tl)c deatli 
 of Richard, declares that soon after the coronation, a 
 rising was about to take place in the young princes' 
 favour, when a report became public that one or both 
 had perished, though it was not known exactly by 
 what kind of violent death they died. Fa])ian says, the 
 prince, or of right, King Edward, with his brother the 
 Duke of York, were put under such sure keeping within 
 the Tower, in such wise that they never came abroad 
 alter. John Rous, the antiquary of Warwick, asserts 
 
 HISTORIC DOUBTS. 
 
 375 
 
 that they were martyred, though it was known to very 
 few by what death they suffered ; and Comines expressly 
 accuses llichard of murdering his nephews, and relates 
 that the French king, Louis the Eleventh, no very scru- 
 pulous person, would not answer his letters nor receive 
 his messages, esteeming him cruel and wicked. 
 
 F. — Ail these authorities could not be in a confe- 
 deracy to flatter the house of Tudor : had the guilt of 
 Richard been merely imaginary, we may be well assured 
 that the progress of time would long ere this have dis- 
 covered documents and fiimily papers sufficient for his 
 
 vindication. 
 
 yl. —Excellent Fuller^ sums up his opinion, by saying, 
 that '' to pervert people's judgments in sober sadness, 
 and therein go against all received records (referring to 
 Buck's singularity), is the least fault that can be laid 
 to such men's charge ; " besides, he adds with equal 
 wit and truth, '* There are some birds, sea-pies, that 
 cannot rise except it be by flying against the wind.'' 
 
 jp._That observation will not apply to Walpole, 
 whose work is remarkable for penetration and shrewd- 
 ness, and excited very general attention. 
 
 ^. --There is little cause to envy Richard the pos- 
 session of a throne acquired at such a price. '' After 
 the murder,'' continues the same historian,^ " he never 
 had a quiet mind: when he went abroad, his eyes 
 whirled about, his body being privily fenced; his hand 
 ever on his dagger, plucking it up and dow^n in its 
 sheath; his countenance and manner like one always 
 ready to strike again; he took ill rest a-nights; lay 
 long waking and musing, sore wearied with care and 
 watch; rather slumbered than slept; troubled with 
 fearlul dreams; and suddenly would he sometimes start 
 
 » Church Hist. 
 
 ^ Sir T. More. 
 
376 
 
 viiisTun \. 
 
 DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 377 
 
 Up and run about the chuuibcr/' Richard \va;4 again 
 crowned at York, September 8th, for tlie ^^ratification 
 of his subjects in the northern part of the kin^^dom, 
 amongst whom he had always been popular; but nuir- 
 murings had arisen in his absence, and tlu' Duke of 
 Buckingham, from some unknown cause of disgust or 
 apprehension, had withdrawn to Brecknock.* 
 
 P. 
 
 O let me think on Hastini^s, and be uronc 
 To Bi-ecknock, whik' my fearful head is on. 
 
 A. — The causes of tlie defection of lliis noldcnmn 
 are variously rehxted: in Shakspeare's pbvy, fono\\ing 
 Hall and Holinshed, the duke is represented as dissa- 
 tisfied at the refusal of Richard to grant him the moiety 
 of the estate of the Bohuns, earls of Hereford, now 
 vested in the crown; from which family Buckingham 
 was descended, and inherited the other moietv. But it 
 appears from authentic records,^ that this claim had 
 been granted, though perhaps it might still want the 
 sanction of parliament. 
 
 F. — Envy might have been the cause; as after 
 Richard obtained the crown, Buckinghanrs '' eye could 
 not abide the sight, but he wried his head nnother way."*^ 
 
 P' — Fear was more probably tlie instigator; as 
 Buckingham might very justly npprehcnd tliat Rich inl, 
 jealous of his great power and wealth, would treat him 
 with as little ceremony as he had exc rcised agjiiust 
 Rivers, Grey, and Vaughan, or his friend Lord J lastings. 
 
 A. — The Bishop of Ely, since his apprehensiv)n at 
 the council in the Tower, had been intrusted to the 
 charge of Buckingham; and it is exceedingly probable 
 that this wise and artful prelate had instilled into the 
 mind of his keeper those counsels which wrought the 
 
 change; for it is generally thought that the plan of 
 dethroning Richard, by proposing a marriage between 
 Henry Tudor, earl of Jiichmond, and Elizabeth, eldest 
 daughter of Edward the Fourth, originated in his subtle 
 brain.^ To this judicious scheme Buckingham acceded ; 
 and all the chief partizans of the rival houses rejoiced 
 in the prospect of extinguishing for ever the flames of 
 discord. But a conspiracy so widely extended did not 
 escape the vigilance of Richard, who, with his usual 
 alacrity, immediately appeared in arms. Buckingham 
 gave the signal of insurrection in Wales, but was pre- 
 vented from joining his associates in various parts of 
 England, by the violence of the greatest deluge, occa- 
 sioned by incessant rains, that had ever been known in 
 England, and remembered for a hundred years after by 
 the name of the Creat Water, or Buckingham's Flood :^ 
 it obtained for ten days; men, w^oraen, and children, 
 were carried down ihc torrent in their beds, and the 
 water covered the tops of considerable hills. Buck- 
 ingham's soldiers being thus prevented from crossing 
 the Severn, and also ill provided, soon broke up; the 
 duke took refuge with an ancient servant, Humfrey 
 Banaster, near Slnewsbury. Richard immediately of- 
 fered a thousand i)oimds in money, or a hundred a year 
 in land, for his apprehension. Seduced by the reward, 
 Banaster betrayed his guest and master to John Mytton, 
 the sherifi' of Shropshire,* who with a strong power of 
 men in harness, apprehended the crest-fallen peer in 
 a little grove adjoining to the dwelling, and conveyed 
 him, apparelled in a pilled black cloth,"* to Shrewsbury, 
 and thence to Salisbury, \vhere Richard immediately 
 ordered his execution. Eurkingham strenuously, but 
 
 ■ Hist. Croy. C(Hit. 
 ' Sir T. More. 
 
 ^ Diigdale, Baron, vol. 1. 
 
 « Sir T. More. 
 « Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 k Hall. 
 '^ Hall. 
 
378 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 in vain, soutrht an interview, with the intention, as his 
 son afterwards said, of '' puttinii^ his knife into him:" 
 but the wary Richard declined the danger. 
 
 P. — It is impossible to feel any very great sympathy 
 for the Duke of Buckingham; and his career indeed 
 terminated in the precise way which his unprincipled 
 assistance to the views of the usurper amply deserved. 
 
 F. — Yet his fate caused a considerable sensation, 
 evinced by the many ballads and legends composed on 
 his misfortunes. His high birth, immense i)ossessions, 
 and showy attainments, procured tor his person a con- 
 siderable degree of favour. It is gratifying to see, in 
 these metrical compositions, the universal al)horrencc 
 of Banaster's treachery, to which they attribute the 
 ruin which befel that faithless servant and all his 
 family. An old chronicler,^ in plain prose, thus relates 
 their fate: '' His eldest son waxing mad, died in a 
 hog's stye; his eldest daughter, of excellent beauty, 
 w^as suddenly stricken with a foul leprosy; his second 
 son became deprived of the use of his limbs; his 
 youngest was strangled and drowned in a puddle; " and 
 to complete the climax, Banaster himself, in extreme 
 old age, was arraigned and found guilty of murder, but 
 saved from execution by his clergy. 
 
 A. — Richard, in his proclamation offering the reward 
 for apprehending Buckingliam, allVcts a prodigious zeal 
 for morals and religion, calling his enemies traitors, 
 adulterers, and bawds; he expresses the most violent 
 indignation against the Marquis of Dorset,^' who, toge- 
 ther with the Bishop of Ely, had luckily made his escape 
 beyond sea, upbraidiiig him witli various^ gallantries, 
 particularly his connection w ith that '' uiishanuful and 
 mischievous woman called Shore's wife;'' whieli livpo- 
 
 t 
 
 EARL OF RICHMOND. 
 
 379 
 
 crisy, as the king himself w^as far from immaculate in 
 these matters, w^as truly laughable. Several of the 
 conspirators fell into Richard's hands, and many were 
 executed : '' So many great men, both peers and com- 
 moners, were proscribed," says one author,* " as had 
 never l)een known since the triumvirate of Octavius, 
 Anthony, and Lepidus." The most noted sufferer w^as 
 William CoUingbourne, who lost his life for the quib- 
 bling distich satirizing Richard and his ministers: 
 
 The cat, the nit, and Lovel, that dog, 
 Rule all Knghiiid iiiulcr the hojj;.^ 
 
 Alluding to the names of Ratcliif and Catesby, and to 
 Richard's armorial device, a boar. 
 
 F. — Lovel, be it known, was a common name for a 
 dog at this period, as appears from an old interlude 
 called the '' Historic of Jacob and Esau,"(15G8), in w hich 
 Ragau, the sers ant of Esau, mimicking the commands 
 of his master, says, ^ 
 
 Then come on at once, take my quiver and my bowe, 
 Fette Lovell my hound, and my home to blow. 
 
 A. — The Earl of Richmond, who had sailed from 
 St. Malo, with a force of iive thousand men, was 
 driven back l)y a storm; and hearing of the dispersion 
 of his friends, returned to Britany, not hazarding an 
 atleinj)t to hmd.'' 
 
 P. — ^Yhat w^ere the pretensions of the earl to dis- 
 pute the crown with Richard? 
 
 A, — It has been stated that John of Gaunt, fourth 
 son of lulward the Third, in the last year of his life 
 espoused his mistress, Catherine Swyneford ; and that 
 his cliildren by that lady were legitimated by act of 
 parliament, with an express reservation, barring all 
 claim to the crown. This family assumed the name of 
 
 Hall. 
 
 ^ Rymcr, vol. 12. 
 
 » Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 h Hull. 
 
 "■' Hist. Ciov. Cont. 
 
380 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Beaufort : its head was created first earl, then duke of 
 Somerset ; it ended in a female, the^S^eiierable Margaret," 
 countess of Richmond and Derby, well remem1)ered for 
 her munificent endowments at Cambridge, and her divi- 
 nity lectures in both universities. This lady had mar- 
 ried Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, now deceased, 
 son of Sir Owen, and of Katharine, the French princess; 
 and the young earl was their only child. It is clear 
 that nothing but the extremity of the Lancastrian party 
 could ever have induced any one to conceive that 
 Henry possessed any claim in blood to the throne, as 
 there were many princes and princesses existing in 
 Spain, the legitimate descendants of John of Gaunt. 
 
 F. — But even Edv. ard the Fourth m as very jealous of 
 this imaginary title, and nearly contrived the means of 
 getting Henry into his hands, from which he escaped by 
 a sort of miracle ; for having been given up to an envoy by 
 the Duke of Britany, in whose custf)dy he at that time re- 
 mained, a sudden thought struck the duke, of Edward's 
 murderous intentions, and he recalled his charge.^ 
 
 A, — Richard, now triumphant in every quarter, and 
 strengthened by the unsuccesslul attempt to dethrone 
 him, at length ventured to summon a parliament, Ja- 
 nuary 23, 1484, who chose Catesby for their speaker; 
 and that assembly, particularly subservient to the will 
 of the stronger party at this era, pronounced Richard 
 "undoubted king of the realm of Enghind, as well by 
 right of consanguinity and inheritance, as by lawful 
 election, consecration, and coronation:" and all the 
 members took an oath to support the succession of his 
 son Edward, a youth twelve years of age, now^ created 
 Prince of Wales. They declared die uiarriage of Ed- 
 ward the Fourth with Elizabeth Grey illegal, stating 
 
 • Hall, 
 
 PARL1AME]STARY BASENESS. 
 
 381 
 
 that it was brought about by sorcery and witchcraft, 
 w hich they would undertake to prove ; and bastardizing 
 the issue, on the ground of Edward's precontract with 
 Eleanor Butler, the daughter of the " ould Earl of 
 Shrewsbury." thus saving themselves the trouble of 
 an inquiry into the fate of the murdered princes. The 
 claims of the children of the Duke of Clarence were set 
 aside by the attainder of their father.* 
 
 ^"•—Parliaments have passed acts more cruel, but 
 none more infamous. '' It requires ages of virtue," 
 says Voltaire, " to repair such baseness." 
 
 A, — My good friend, you are treading on the verge 
 of treason; for though words spoken can incur no 
 greater punishment than a premunire, yet should our 
 conversation by any chance get into print, you w ould 
 be fortunate to escape with your head. 
 
 F. — JIow^ so? 
 
 yl.— By the statute of Anne G, c. 7, any person de- 
 nying that the kings of this realm, with the authority 
 of parliament, are not able to make laws and statutes 
 to bind the crown and the descent thereof, such persons 
 shall be guilty of high treason. 
 
 P. — Good God! this must have been a mere buir- 
 bear to frighten the Jacobites. 
 
 /I. — You are entirely mistaken; for you may peruse 
 in the State Trials,^ if pity and indignation will permit 
 you, the case of one J ohn Mathews, a printer's appren- 
 tice, nineteen years of age, who was convicted upon 
 this statute, and executed in 1719, for printing a trea- 
 sonable panqjhlet, entitled Vox Popali, Vox DeL 
 
 F. — And this after the age of Milton and Locke! 
 VicU, 1 am by no means inclined to dispute with the 
 master of thirty legions, and henceforth I will assuredly 
 
 » Rot. P;irl. vol.C. 
 
 »> Vol. 9, pnrre C80. 
 
382 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 i 
 
 not deny the power of j)arliaments, either in the days 
 of Richard the Third or of Queen AiHie. 
 
 P. — The statute of Anne was perhaps ])ut tenipo- 
 rary, owing- to the peculiar exigency of the occasion. 
 
 A, — It was a revival of a statute of Eii/al)cth, by 
 which the oftence was made capital during the life of 
 that princess. The exigency, such as it is, has sub- 
 sisted from the reign of Queen Anne to the present 
 moment. 
 
 F. — Let us no longer talk of the barbarity of the 
 laws of our ancestors in the times of the Plantagenets. 
 But as this just and legal settlement of the crown on 
 the person and family of Richard was, in less than two 
 years, superseded by another settlement equally just 
 and legal on his rival, it would be curious to inquire 
 which of the two was registered in heaven's chancery ? 
 
 A. — Richard's parliament attainted the Earl of Rich- 
 mond and all his friends; but they passed some good 
 and popular laws, particularly one against extorting 
 money from the subject by way of benevolence: an 
 excellent provision, though ill observed, as Richard 
 socm violated his own enactment.^ At this i)eriod 
 (April 9), he lost his son. '' Both the king and (jueen," 
 says a contemporary historian, "were so nmch ad'ccted, 
 that they almost run mad."^ Tlie health of tlie latter 
 indeed never recovered the shock; and though Richard, 
 from the general tenor of his conduct, was suspected of 
 having hastened her death' by various means, there is 
 certainly no sort of evidence for such a crime. 
 
 F. — Yet it is very justly imagined that, diiriiig the 
 queen's illness, he had conceived the project oi' turning 
 the event of her death to his advantage; for Queen 
 Elizabeth Grev, with her five dauiihters, still continuiuir 
 
 NATIONAL DISCONTENT. 
 
 383 
 
 • Hist. Crov. Com, 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
 « Polydore \'t^rgil. 
 
 in the sanctuary at Westminster, Richard, for the pur- 
 pose of inducing her to leave this retreat, exhibited the 
 extraordinary spectacle of a king of England swearing 
 before an assembly of spiritual and temporal peers, 
 with the lord mayor and aldermen, that he would not 
 murder five innocent young ladies, the daughters of his 
 own brother, but would provide lor them a revenue of 
 two hundred marks, and marry them to gentlemen.* 
 
 A, — The Princess Elizabeth was brought to court 
 during the life of Richard's wife: she appeared on 
 public occasions, dressed in the same manner as the 
 queen ;^ and she is said by one author,*^ from a very 
 doubtful MS. letter, to have expressed impatience of 
 the lingering delay which obstructed her elevation to 
 the throne. The project of Richard's marriage with 
 his niece, though unusual and incestuous, could yet be 
 brought about by a dispensation from the Pope; and 
 his union with Elizabeth would have given him, as it 
 afterwards did to Henry the Seventh, somewhat of a 
 legal title to the throne. It may be uncertain whether 
 the young princess were pleased or horrified with the 
 proposal; but Ricluird entirely gained over her mother : 
 and Queen Elizabeth Grey actually wrote to her son, 
 the Marquis of Dorset, commanding him to withdraw 
 from the Earl of Richmond,"^ for which piece of friend- 
 ship the earl most deservedly never forgave her. 
 
 1 . — • Relenting fool, and shallow changing woman. 
 
 A. — The nation had now become generally discon- 
 tented, not from any particular misgovemment, but 
 from a natural sentiment of abhorrence at Richard's 
 crimes; and this projected alliance with his niece, as it 
 would liave extinguished every hope of the late confe- 
 
 * See the oath in Kennet, vol. 1, p. ^o2, 
 '• Hist. Crov. Cent. ' Buck. 
 
 «• Hall, 
 
384 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 r 
 
 deracy, naturally urged the Earl of Richmond to renew 
 his preparations for an invasion; and consequently 
 having recruited in France a small army of about two 
 thousand men, he landed with them at Milford ITaven, 
 August 7th, 1485. The \\ elsh, who considered him as 
 their countryman,^ flocked to his standard, and his 
 cause immediately wore a nivourable aspect. Richard, 
 haunted with doubts and fears of the treachery of those 
 about him, had taken his post at Xottingham, not know- 
 ing in what part of the kinj^dom to expect the invader. 
 The Duke of Norfolk was the only nobleman sincerely 
 attached to his cause. Richard particularly dreaded 
 Lord Stanley, and his brother Sir William, who had 
 raised numerous forces amongst their retainers in 
 Cheshire and Lancashire. 
 
 F. — Considering that Lord Stanley had married the 
 venerable Margaret, the mother of Richmond, the ap- 
 prehensions of Richard were very reasonable ; nor can 
 we blame him for detaining Lord Strange, the eldest 
 son of Stanley, as a hostage for his iather's fidelity ; 
 and narrowly did he escape the jaws of destruction, 
 Richard deferring an order for his execution till after 
 
 the battle.^ 
 
 A. — Richard is thought to have too much despised 
 his enemy,'' and to have been too dilatory in his prepa- 
 rations. The two rivals at last approached eacli other. 
 On Sunday, August 22, Richard marched out of Lei- 
 cester in great pomp, with the crown upon his head;^ 
 and encamped that evening at the abbey of ^Terrival, 
 not far from Bosworth. The fearful dreams, so highly 
 wrought in Shakspeare, were not of the poet's invention, 
 but rather the deep shadow of an approaching cloud ; 
 
 BATTLE OF BOSWORTH. 
 
 385 
 
 * Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 
 • Fnbian. 
 
 b Ibid. 
 
 •^ Hist. Crov. Cont. 
 
 and are mentioned by the historian, as well as his w^ant 
 of alacrity on the morning of the battle. The armies 
 lay so near each other, that in the night several of 
 Richard's soldiers deserted. At the dawn of day, the 
 royal army was drawn up with as broad a front as 
 possible,* and was double in number that of its adver- 
 saries, thougli the exact amount on both sides is dif- 
 ferently related. The battle w^as fought on Bosworth 
 Field, or more properly on Red Moor Plain, an open 
 space. A general torpor pervaded the king's forces: 
 the Earl of Northumberland and his men did not strike 
 a stroke.^ Soon after the battle began. Lord Stanley 
 who had placed his powers at Atherstone, a village at 
 some distance, in a situation which enabled him to join 
 either party, declared for Richmond; and Sir William 
 Stanley attacking the royal army in flank, threw it 
 into such dismay and confusion, that Richard at once 
 determined to decide the contest by his own death 
 or that of his competitor: whom descrying at a dis- 
 tance, he shouted " Treason! treason! treason!"'' and 
 l)utting spurs to his horse, killed Sir William Brandon, 
 the standard-bearer, and dismounted Sir John Cheney;** 
 but when on the point of assaulting Richmond, who 
 neither courted nor declined tlie combat, he was over- 
 whelmed by numbers, and fell desperately fighting to 
 the last. 
 
 F.— The result evidently declares the sort of esti- 
 mation in which Richard was held ; how else possibly 
 could Richmond, an inexperienced soldier, with an 
 army ill-provided, and confessedly the most ragged and 
 dissolute crew ever seen in England,'' obtain such a 
 victory over superior forces, led by an able and valiant 
 commander. 
 
 a Ilnll. '> Hist. Croy. Cont. « Rous. ^ Hist. Croy. Cont. 
 VOL. 11. 2 C 
 
 Co 
 
 mmcg^ 
 
38G 
 
 VESTICT A. 
 
 SIR JOHN BYRON. 
 
 38: 
 
 A. — Not more than a Imiulred foil on tlic side of 
 Richmond ; about a thousand of the royal army were 
 slain. The body of the king was stripped naked, laid 
 across a horse, behind a pursuivant at arms, named 
 Blanche Sanglier, or White Boar, and carried all be- 
 smeared with blood and dirt to Leicester, amidst the 
 insulting shouts of the spectators, where it was buried 
 in the church of Grey Friars,^ in that city, with little 
 ceremony. His stone coflin, at the dissolution of the 
 monasteries, w^as converted into a wafer troudi for 
 horses.'' 
 
 -F. — Amongst the number of the shxin was the Duke 
 of Norfolk, who thus paid the price of his irnilty ac- 
 quiescence in Richard's usurpation. He was warned 
 of the approaching catastrophe by a distich placed upon 
 his tent the night before the battle : 
 
 Jockey of Norfolk, be not too bold, 
 
 For Dickon thy master is boiiirlit and sold.<^ 
 
 Alluding to the foreseen defection, as it is su])posed, of 
 Lord Stanley. 
 
 A. — Brakenbury and Ratcliflc were also sbvin ; and 
 Catesby being taken prisoner was beheach^d. Lord 
 Lovell escaped, but it is supposed that he fell, three 
 years after, in the insurrection at Stoke (1187), as from 
 that time he was seen no more. A tradition prevails, 
 that he took refuge in a secret and strong chamber in 
 his own house, the access to which \nA\\% unknown to 
 his servants, he was there starved to death; thouirh 
 Hall says that, attempting to escape, he was drowned 
 in the river. Thus the chief actors of Richard's reiirn 
 were finally disposed of. 
 
 F. — A domestic sketch, as it relates to an ancestor 
 of our late noble and energetic poet, wili not l)c read 
 
 without interest Sir Joliii Byron and Sir Gervase 
 Clifton were friends and neighbours in Nottingham- 
 shire. Byron joined Henry, Clifton fought with Richard. 
 They liad agreed that, whichever party triumphed, the 
 survivor should intercede with the conqueror for his 
 friend's estate. In the midst of the battle, Byron saw 
 Clifton fall in the opposite ranks; he ran to him, sus- 
 tained Iiim on his shield, and entreated him to surrender. 
 Clifton faintly exclaimed, '' All is over; remember your 
 promise, use your interest that my lands be not taken 
 tVom my cliildren," and presently expired. Byron per- 
 formed his promise, and the estate was preserved to 
 the Clifton lamily.^ 
 
 A. — ^Richard enjoyed the fruits of his crimes scarcely 
 two years and two months : his general character, from 
 the extreme popularity of Shakspeare's tragedy, is inde- 
 libly fixed in the minds of the people of England; but 
 though he did not possess quite that bustling alacrity 
 in murder as depicted by the poet, and though we must 
 exempt him from some of the charges exhibited on the 
 scene, yet his portrait is, in its main features, unques- 
 tionably just. 
 
 F. — Let not the destroyer of his brother's children 
 escape the eternal stamp of reprobation. 
 
 Sin, death, and hell, have set their marks upon him ; 
 
 from which, like Cain, he can never be released, let his 
 apologists attempt it as they may. 
 
 J.— Tliey have endeavoured, not only to vindicate 
 his actions, but to beautify his person. We may sup- 
 pose that the story of his having remained in his 
 mother's woml) two years, and that he came into the 
 world with teeth, and lonir hair down to the shoulders,' 
 is mere anile gossip. Rous, a contemporary, describes 
 
 Hall. 
 
 *> Nichuilb's Leicester, vol. 1, p. 299. 
 
 Hall. 
 
 Hutton, Bosworth Field, p. 117. 
 
 2 C 2 
 
 ^ Rous. 
 
388 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 him as having one shoulder higher fhnn the other, his 
 face short, his stature low, his comitenance cruel. Sir 
 Thomas More represents him as little of stature, ill 
 featured of limbs, crook-l)acked, his left shoiikler higher 
 than his right, and hard-favoured of visage; lu which 
 Fuller adds, a " prominent gobbcr tooth.'' More also 
 relates his habit, that when he stood musing, lie would 
 bite and chew his nether lip. A\ alpole,^ without giving 
 us his authority, contradicts this description l)y the 
 testimony of the old Countess of Desmond, \Nho lived 
 till the reign of James the First, and who attained tlie 
 age of one hundred and forty. This lady had danced 
 with Richard at the court of Edward the Fourth, and 
 she declared that he was the handsomest man in the 
 room, except his brother. 
 
 i?._Therc is no getting rid of the contemporary 
 description, even supposing it a little overcliarged. If 
 the countess could discern small dilFerenre between 
 Edward the Fourth, incontestibly one of the very hand- 
 somest men that Europe ever saw, and tlu diminutive 
 Richard, we may conclude that her eyes were dazzled 
 by the lustre of a royal partner, or what is more 
 probable, that when she made the communication she 
 was become superannuated. 
 
 ^.—Whatever ditlerence of opinion may exist con- 
 cerning Richard's person, there is none as to his capa- 
 city. All writers agree, that as his ambition was bound- 
 less, so his talents were of the iirst order : no person 
 but himself could have succeeded in such a design upon 
 the English crown; his address w^as masterly, his dis- 
 simulation profound, his power of persuasion irresisti- 
 ble, and he possessed personal ronragc in a very high 
 degree. A determined enemy says, '' Though small in 
 
 Historic Doubts. 
 
 RICHARD PLANTAGENKT. 
 
 8b0 
 
 stature and strength, Richard was a noblu knight, and 
 defended himself to the last breath with eminent va- 
 lour."* Sir rhomas More, in imitation of the point and 
 antithesis of Tacitus, forcibly represents him as ''close 
 and secret, a deep dissembler, lowly of countenance, 
 arrogant of heart, outwardly companionable when he 
 inwardly liated, not letting to kiss whom he thought to 
 kill.'' 
 
 i'.— The battle of Bosworth was the last of fifteen 
 fought between the contending houses of York and 
 Lancaster; and though one of the least sanguinary, 
 was the most important, as it for ever put an end to 
 that disnuil contest. 
 
 A. — Richard is the only monarch in England since 
 the Conquest who has fallen in the field of battle. He 
 left no legitimate posterity; but the story of one of his 
 natural children is so remarkable, as to claim our atten- 
 tion. In a letter from Dr. Brett to Dr. Warren, 1720,^ 
 the w liter relates, that he waited on the Earl of Win- 
 chelsea, at Eastwell, in Kent, who showed him the 
 register-book of that parish, which contained the fol- 
 low ing entry: 
 
 " Richard Plantugenet was buried the 22nd Decem- 
 ber, 1550." 
 
 A tradition ran in the earl's family, that when Sir Tho- 
 mas ^loyle Ijuilt Eastwell Palace, he observed the chief 
 bricklayer reading at his leisure hours in a book, which 
 on examination he found to be written in Latin. Sur- 
 prised at this, he inquired into his history; and the 
 w^orkman looking on Sir Thomas as his friend, told 
 him that ho would trust him with a secret which he 
 had never before revealed to any one. He said that he 
 had been bred till sixteen at a Latin school, and ail he 
 
 * Rous. »» Feck, Dcsid. Curiosa, vol. 2. 
 
390 
 
 VB8TIGIA. 
 
 THE PLANTAGENET FAMILY. 
 
 mn 
 
 knew of himself was, thiil u gcntieiiiaa, who dtciarud 
 that he was of no kin to him, paid In- board. Thai 
 one day this gentleman took him to a great house, 
 w^here a man finely dressed, with a star and garter, 
 came to him, spoke to him kindly, and gave him some 
 money; and that then he was taken back to his schooL 
 Soon after, the former gentleman took him into the 
 country, just before the battle of Bosworth, and carried 
 him to the royal tent. He then found that his friend 
 with the star and garter was King Richard, who told him 
 that he was his father, and that he was iroiuix to fidit 
 for his crown and life. '' If I win," said he, *' as 1 hope 
 I shall, come to me, and I will own you; if I lose, take 
 this purse of money, and shift for yourself as well as 
 you can, for to nie and to mine will no mercy bo 
 shown." Finding the battle lost, and his wretchtnl pa- 
 rent's corpse throv/n naked across a horse, he sold his 
 clothes, concealed what he had learned, and liaving 
 some genius towards architecture, he had become 
 master -bricklayer, and by that trade had lived ever 
 since. 
 
 Affected with this narrative. Sir Thomas would have 
 taken him into his family; but the old IMantageiict de- 
 clined the olTer, and only begged permission to build a 
 small cottage near the seat of his benefactor. lie ol)- 
 tained his wish, and there he spent his latter days. 
 This interesting dwelling had 1)ern pulled down by the 
 father of the nobleman, Lonl W inchelsea, wlio related 
 the stoiy, and who said, vvith a becoming sensibility, 
 that he would sooner have demolished Easlwell 
 Palace. 
 
 F. — With Richard terminated the dynasty of the 
 Plantagenets, after a sway, from the accession of 
 Henry the Second, of three hundred and thirty-one 
 years, A race of piinccs, some of svhom, Jikc the 
 
 members of most other families, were wise, and others 
 foolish; some valiant, and others cowardly: but on the 
 whole, talent and courage preponderated. This family 
 was not distinguished by any hereditary characteristic 
 feature, as its successors the Tudors, by the vigour of 
 their mind. Under the Plantagenet rule, though Eng- 
 land eminently evinced its superiority in arms over 
 France, it otherwise exhibited no remarkable epoch 
 of national prosperity or happiness, but on the con- 
 trary, many periods of great suffering and calamity. 
 
 A. — Of the fourteen sovereigns of this house, six 
 perished by a violent death. Rapin, in recapitulating 
 its history, most absurdly attributes all the accidents 
 which befel the posterity of Edward the Third, to the 
 effect ol' the divine vengeance for the murder of Ed- 
 ward the Second ; as if he could fathom the judgments 
 of the Almighty. 
 
 F.— But that a certain fatality attended its extinc- 
 tion, is obvious; for we may observe, that after the 
 wars of the Roses once commenced, every male of the 
 family, except Edward the Fourth and the young son 
 of Richard the Third, perished by violence. 
 
 A, — Though the race of Plantagenet kings ended in 
 Richard, a male representative of this illustrious family 
 still existed, in tlie person of the young Earl of War- 
 wick, son of the Duke of Clarence. This unfortunate 
 person, from early youth, had been so secluded in con- 
 finement from the ways of men, and kept in such pro- 
 found ignorance, that according to the historian/ he 
 knev/ not a goose from a capon. He was at last bar- 
 barously executed by Henry the Seventh, on a most 
 groundless pretence,^ and with him ended the name of 
 Plantagenet. 
 
 » Polydorc Vergil. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
^*J^»^ 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 p._Bv xvhat right did ileury succeed to the crown, 
 
 on the death of Richard? 
 
 ^._ne at first assumed the regal power by a sort 
 of military election: Ilichaid's crown liaviiig been 
 picked up by a soldier, and secreted in a bush, was 
 discovered by Sir Reginald Bray, and delivered to Sir 
 William Stanley, who, placing it on the head of Ilcnry, 
 the victorious soldiers shouted, ^a.onglive King Henry 
 the Seventh!"' But his promise to marry the Princess 
 Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Edward the Fourth, and 
 the legitimate heiress to the English throne, was his 
 only secure, or indeed intelligible title. 
 
 F.— From the conquest to Richard the Third, in- 
 clusive, the number of the kings of England is eighteen, 
 of whom precisely one half acquired the throne witlioiit 
 an hereditary right; so that if, at the departure of the 
 Romans, Britain was called by St. Jerom a province 
 fertile of tyrants, it may since, with great justice, be 
 said to have been fruitful of usurpers. 
 
 P.— Such a conclusion naturally leads to the ques- 
 tion, of what nature was the ancieiit constitution of 
 England, which could admit of such violent aggressions ? 
 ^.— That a principle of hereditary right formed the 
 basis of the monarchy, is apparent from the struggles 
 which, in a greater or smaller degree, ever existed till 
 the restoration of the lawful heir; but it nuist be 
 acknowledged, that present possession, backed with 
 * ability, for that w as the main pohit, was always suffi- 
 cient to secure the crown to its wearer, provided he 
 could make himself feared; for however preferable 
 might be the title of the house of Mortimer, it was the 
 w^eakness of Henry the Sixth alone which lost him the 
 diadem. In remarkable confirmation of this opinion, 
 was the deposition of Edward the Second and of Richard 
 
 ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. 
 
 the Second, princes almost equally weak as Henry, but 
 ^v]lo reigned by the most undisputed title. 
 
 P. — W hatever might be the mode of acquiring the 
 crown, what security was there for the people, and 
 what are the pretensions of the ancient English govern- 
 ment to be considered as free? 
 
 F. — Before that question can be properly answered, 
 let us ascertain what is really meant by a free constitu- 
 tion ; and if we admit the definition of Blackstone,* 
 that it consists in the right of personal liberty, in the 
 right of personal security, and in the right to private 
 property, we nmst then enquire, what remedy the an- 
 cient constitution of England aflbrded when these rights 
 were invaded? 
 
 A. — And here 1 doubt that the most determined 
 advocate for the antiquity of English liberty must 
 shake his head. We have seen that the Anglo-Saxon 
 freeholders, and no other class of that community, en- 
 joyed a considerable degree of personal freedom; but 
 these vaunted and partial advantages were completely 
 overthrown by the Norman conquest, as, in addition 
 to the feudal burthens imposed by that event, the per- 
 sonal despotism of the Conqueror and his immediate 
 successor was never surpassed in any part of modern 
 Europe; and when the power of the monarch became 
 subsequently relaxed, it seems to have been assumed by 
 the nobility, the virtual and real power of the govern- 
 ment residing for several centuries in the aristocracy, 
 who under a weak monarch never failed to exhibit their 
 own pretensions, with small regard to the interests of 
 the people, over whom they tyrannized with a reckless 
 authority, more grievous, because more minute and 
 incessant, than any exercise of the sovereign power. 
 
 F, — What degree of security a private man could 
 
 II - II .1^1 M g ^11 I . ■ ■ I IIIMIB I . I .^M— ^ 1 ■ -I ■ M ■ ■ 11 I. ^ , , ■■ M 1^ — I . »-■■ I — I .,. ^^ I II » ^ B I, ■ . ■■!■ MI..I m.» ■ ., ■ Ml I i^MW— ,11,^ ^ .., 
 
 * Book 1, chap. 1, 
 
-394 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 expect against the undelintd rorcc of tlic royal preroga- 
 tive, we may judge from the high coiistubh) possessing 
 a summary power, at his own discretion, of putting even 
 the greatest nobleman to death, w ithout noise, or observ- 
 ing the forms of hiw. In the commission to the Karl of 
 Rivers, of that office, such an authority is expressly 
 declared ; and it is therein asserted, that it had so been 
 exercised in cases of crimen kesce majesfatis, from the 
 time of William the Conqueror/ 
 
 P. — Giving up the two points of personal liberty 
 and security, surely the pow^r which parliament pos- 
 sessed of granting or witliholding any extraordinary 
 supplies, must have guaranteed the subject from the 
 grievance of fiscal oppressions. 
 
 A. — The property of individuals was certainly more 
 secure than their persons, as it has been, and still is, in 
 many states strictly despotic. The statute de iallagio 
 71071 concedendo of Edward the First, was a considerable 
 restriction on the frequent grasping rapacity of the 
 court, and was the lever which has since in later times 
 been used with such admirable constitutional cO'ect, 
 in wresting various privileges from the necessities of 
 the monarch. Indeed parliament, from the lirst passing 
 of the statute till the accession of the house of York, 
 applied it frequently in a gentle way to the same pur- 
 pose ; but during the sw ay of that house, these assem- 
 blies seemed to forget or be ignorant of the vast value 
 and political force of their pow erful instrument. 
 
 P. — If the constitution of England allbrded so little 
 personal freedom during the fifteentli century, how 
 are we to account for the excessive commmendation 
 bestowed upon the laws by Sir John Fortescue, in his 
 famous treatise, De Laudihns Legum Anglicc. 
 
 Kymcr, vol. 11, page 582. 
 
 ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. 
 
 395 
 
 J.— Excessive indeed, for the venerable judge, with 
 that indiscriminate panegyric so common to his profes- 
 sion, asserted tliat the laws and customs of England 
 were not only good, but the best that could be*/ we 
 ought to recollect however that he w^as writing to incul- 
 cate a particular doctrine upon the understanding of his 
 pupil, the unfortunate Prince Edward, son of Henry the 
 Sixth, and to inspire hhn with a just preference of the 
 trial l)y jury, before the method of written allegations, 
 as practised in France, following the example of the 
 civil law, which some of tlie ministers of Henry the Sixth 
 were desirous of introducing into England ; and he very 
 feelingly deplores the cruelty and injustice of torture, 
 as admitted by that system of jurisprudence. 
 
 F. — But this theme could be insisted on wdth no 
 very good grace; since a few years before, the cele- 
 brated rack, still to be seen in the Tower, called the 
 Duke of Exeter's daughter, was introduced by that 
 nobleman when high constable.^ It surely mattered 
 little to the sufferer, whether his torments wxre called 
 legal or illegal, as they were inflicted upon him with 
 the most perfect impunity; and nearly for two centuries 
 after this period, we meet with occasional examples 
 of torture in various modes of application, 
 
 yl. — But w hen the Duke of Buckingham was stabbed 
 by Felton, in the reign of Charles the First, and it was 
 proposed in the privy council, by Archbishop Laud, to 
 put the assassin to the rack, the judges declared una- 
 nimously that no such proceeding was allow^able by 
 the laus of England.*" 
 
 F. — Yet so late as the year 1G14, one Peacham^ 
 imderwent the torture; and during the whole reign of 
 James the First, an officer existed called the master of 
 
 ^ Cap. 17. 
 
 ♦ Rushworth, Coll. 1. 
 
 ^ Coke, 3 Ins. p. 55. 
 
 ^ Dalivuiplc, Mcmoricils, p. 58, 
 
390 
 
 VBSTIGIA. 
 
 of the rack.* It thus appears, gince thai inslruiiuiit 
 could be so easily introduced by Jleiiry the Sixth, 
 * against the declared opinion of an eminent lawyer, that 
 the early Englisli constitution aftbrded no security 
 against the practice of torture, had the previous mo- 
 narchs thought lit to employ it; and indeed it is the 
 opinion of the learned and acute Judge Barrington, that 
 it was not infrequently resorted to.^ 
 
 A. — Fortescue well understood the value of the 
 House of Commons, as the guardian of the public 
 purse; since, in another of his treatises, ^' The Difler- 
 ence between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy,'* 
 he has still more fully than in his De Laudibus, pointed 
 out the disadvantages, especially in the article of tax- 
 ation, of a dominium regale, as exercised in an absolute 
 monarchy like that of France under Louis the Eleventh, 
 and the beneiits of a dominiinn polilicum et regale^ or a 
 limited monarchy, as exercised in England. 
 
 F. — It is not a little curious, as was observed in 
 another i3lace,^ that a lawyer like Fortescue, who had 
 been chief justice of the Court of King's Bench, should, 
 in both his works, derive this limitation from the condi- 
 tions agreed on between Brutus the Trojan and his 
 companions, when they invaded Britain. 
 
 A. — Fortescue's intentions were highly praiseworthy, 
 thouirh we cannot accord to him the merit of a very 
 sound judgment. Passing by that he mahitained both 
 sides of the question in the dispute of the two Roses, 
 he draws up, in support of his theory, a contrast be- 
 tween France and England, terribly at variance between 
 the more sober relation of other contemporary writers. 
 ^' The Commons of France," says he, *' are so impo- 
 verished and destroyed, that they can scarcely live; 
 they drink water; they eat :ip|)les, witli bnad right 
 
 ^ Barrington, Observations on the Statutes. ^' Ibid. * Vol. 1, p. 24, 
 
 SIR JOHN FORTESCUE. 
 
 39 
 
 
 brow n, made of rye ; they eat no flesh, but a little lard, 
 or the fat of bacon, or the entrails and heads of beasts, 
 slai!! !or tlio nobles and merchants of the land:"^ 
 whilst on the other hand, he represents the inhabitants 
 of England as ''rich in 2:old and silver, and in all the ne- 
 cessaries and conveniencies of life ; they eat plentifully 
 of all kinds of fish and flesh, with which their country 
 abounds; they drink no water, unless upon a religious 
 score ; they are well provided with all sorts of house- 
 hold goods and implements of husbandry; and every 
 one, according to his rank, has all things conducive to 
 make life easy and happy."' But instead of this flat- 
 tering picture, there is great evidence to prove that 
 numbers of the poor in years of scarcity often died of 
 hunirer, or of diseases contracted by the use of un- 
 whol( some food, as they were accustomed to collect 
 herbs and roots, which they dried and made into bread.'^ 
 ^neas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius the Second, re- 
 lates in one of his letters,*" that none of the inhabitants 
 of a populous village in Northumberland, in whicli he 
 lodged (1 1-^7), had ever seen either wine or wheaten 
 bread, and that they expressed great surprise when 
 they beheld these delicacies at his table. 
 
 F.—To corroborate this view of the case, we may 
 quote tlie fare of that respectalde yeoman, Piers Plow- 
 man, before he had gathered in his harvest: 
 
 I have no penny, quod Piers, pullets for to buy, 
 Ne neither goose, ne grys,* but two green cheeses, 
 A few curds and creann, and an haver ^ cake, 
 And two loaves of beans and bran, bake for my folk, 
 And yet I say, by my soul, I have no salt bacon, 
 But I have parsley and porets,? and many cole plants; 
 And eke a cow and a calf, and a cart mare. 
 
 « Monarchy, chap. 5 ; and Dc Laudibus, c. 35. ^ De Laud. cap. 36. 
 <^ Hist. Crov. Cont. ^ Opera Pii Secundi, p. 5. 
 
 <^ rig. 
 
 ^ Oaten. 
 
 J Leeks. 
 
ji- 
 
 398 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 To draw a-field my dung, the while the drought lastethj 
 And by this live-lod* I must live till Lammas time, 
 By that I hope to have my harvest in croft, 
 And then I may dight^ my dinner as my dear liketh.*: 
 
 Though we admit that honest Piers is iiiKlervaliiin<»- 
 the contents of his store-room, in order to drive awny 
 an importunate and craving guest, yet the materials 
 which composed the fare for ''his folk/' we may suppose 
 to have been the common diet of labourers in his time. 
 Haver cake and loaves of beans and bran ill accord 
 with the luxury described by Fortescue: and it appears 
 from a subsequent line in the poem, that " old wortes, 
 or cabl)age/' was a usual dinner. This would be con- 
 sidered as no very substantial diet in any age. 
 
 ^- — The tenure by villenage, which condemned the 
 greater part of the peasantry to a state of ])ondage, 
 admitted no great share of enjoyment; and this conti- 
 nued till the reign of the Tudors. Wlicn personal slavery 
 entirely ceased, is not altogether known. Tn the ancient 
 annals of the priory of Dunstable, is this extraordinary 
 entry (1283): " We sold our slave, William Pyke, and 
 received one mark from the buyer/'** Sir John, in the 
 excess of his zeal for the honour of his country as 
 compared with France, has given one very comical 
 proof of its superiority: " The French/' says he, '' are 
 so poor in heart, that they dare not commit roljl)( ry aiu! 
 murder; whereas the English are so courageous, (liat 
 more are hanged in one year for those crimes than in 
 France in seven/"^ 
 
 F. — Cornices, an unbiassed anthorifv, was rqually 
 aware with Fortescue ol the excellence of a legislative 
 authority like the English parliament, which prevents d 
 
 I 
 
 
 SIR JOHN FORTESCUE. 
 
 the sovereign from attacking the property oi his sub- 
 jects witliout their consent ; and he observes in conse- 
 quence, that of all the states in the world with which 
 he Avas acquainted, England was the country in which 
 the people were the least exposed to violence, and 
 were treated witli the most indulgence.^ 
 
 A— The distinction of a king de jure and a king 
 de J ado was well understood in this age. Edward the 
 Fourth confirmed all the acts of his predecessors, as 
 kings en fait et nient en droit,'' the first mention of this 
 since well-kno\\ n distinction. Sir John Fortescue stoutly 
 defended the Lancastrian cause, and was taken prisoner 
 at the battle of Tewkesbury, 1471. Edward the Fourth 
 spared his life, the remainder of which he passed in 
 reiirement at his seat at Ebrington, in Gloucestershire, 
 where he died at the age of ninety. He was appointed 
 chancellor by Henry the Sixth, but he never took pos- 
 session of tlie seals. This century was the era of the 
 Court of Chancery exercising a full jurisdiction in 
 ecpiity, under Cardinal Beaufort," much to the discon- 
 tent of the practisers of the common law. 
 
 K— It is remarkable that Fitz-Stephens, in the reign 
 of Henry the Second, in his very particular account of 
 the oflice of an English chancellor, makes no mention 
 of any thing relative to his judicial authority. 
 
 ^.—Fortescue was not the only celebrated lawyer 
 of the age. Sir Thomas Littleton, a judge of the Com- 
 mon Pleas, author of the Treatise on English Tenures, 
 was his contemporaiy: this work still continues the 
 basis on whicli the superstructure of the law of real 
 property is supported. It would seem that the law was 
 now become the favourite profession, there being no 
 
 * Livelihood. 
 
 c Piers Plowman's Vision. 
 
 • Motiarchy, 
 
 •^ Dress. 
 
 *' Annules de Diinstaple npiid fleaino. 
 
 « Livre 5, chap. 19. ^ Stat. I Edw. IV. 
 
 « Walter Williams, Jus Appellandi, &c. 
 
.^ 
 
 400 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 less tliaii two thuu^aiid students in the inns of court, 
 chiefly the sons of gentlemen/ 
 
 F. — Yet a famous statute, the 38*1 TTonry the Sixth, 
 restricted the number of attorneys in the couiilic^ ol 
 Norfolk and Suffolk to six for eacli, ^\ith an additional 
 allowance of two for the city of Norwich. JJut if is 
 stated by Sir Matthew llale,^ that the practice of the 
 common law had declined in excellence since the reign 
 of Edward the Third. 
 
 A. — Whatever might be tlie state of llie law, learning 
 was in a lamentable condition, and had made a palpalde 
 retrogression, the fifteenth century being one of the 
 darkest periods in the history of English literature: it 
 boasted of no irrefragable or angelic doctors; even 
 scholastic theoloi^v declined, nor was there one divine, 
 philosopher, or physician, who did honour to his 
 country; none of the learned Greek exiles from Con- 
 stantinople visited Britain, or indeed any of their disci- 
 ples, if we except Cornelius Vitellius/ who read lectures 
 on the Greek tongue at Oxford, but with a very fran- 
 sient eflect. 
 
 F, — The deplorable sack of Constantinople^ (1J'>3), 
 taking place on the eve of the wars of the Roses, the 
 nation had neither leisure to lament its fall, nor taste to 
 perceive the inconceivable detriment which the loss of 
 that city occasioned to letters. How everlastingly is 
 it to be regretted that Europe did not reserve a portion 
 of that strength, which she had senselessly wasted for 
 centuries in the plains of Palestine, to defend this real 
 bulwark of Christendom, wliose preservation would 
 have exhibited a living image of ancient manners, and 
 continued to the present moment the vernacular use of 
 
 Fortcscuo, De Laud. c. 49. 
 Polydore Vergil. 
 
 ^ Hist. Com. Law. 
 
 DECAY OF LEARNING. 
 
 401 
 
 that divine dialect, the euphony of which can now be 
 so imperfectly understood. 
 
 A. — Though none of the Greek exiles at the fall of 
 Constantinople found their w^ay to England, yet we have 
 seen that the universal patron of letters, Humfrey duke 
 of Gloucester,* had presented several Greek MSS. to the 
 library at Oxford : thus furthering the future progress of 
 learning, since the Greek language was little cultivated 
 or understood at that university in the fifteenth century. 
 
 p — Neither was science in a better state than learn- 
 ing: the old alchemical delusion still prevailed; and 
 we have a licence from Henry the Sixth to certain 
 individuals, in search of " the mother and queen of 
 medicines, the inestimable glory, the quintessence — the 
 elixir of life."' 
 
 A.— The practice of surgery must have been miser- 
 able. At the battle of Agincoint, there seems to have 
 been only one surgeon, John Morstede, appointed by 
 the government; he engaged indeed to find fifteen 
 others, one third of whom however were to act as 
 archers."" With such sort of professional assistance, 
 what must have been the situation of the wounded? 
 But knowledge seems neither to have been esteemed 
 nor honoured. It was thought enough for a nobleman's 
 sons, even in a later age, " to wind their horn, and to 
 carry their hawk fair, and to leave study to the children 
 
 of mean people.""^ 
 
 p. — ^M hat subjects could then occupy the vast 
 number of students at the universities and the inns of 
 
 court? 
 
 il.— i Gitescue relates, that it was the fashion for 
 noblemen to jdace their children in these inns, even 
 
 'Page 21)1. 
 
 « Rynier, vol. 9. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 ^ Rymer, vol. II. 
 
 ** Rich. Pace, De Fructu Doctrinee. 
 
 2 D 
 
X 
 
 
 402 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 tlioiigli fliey designed not to have them particularly 
 versed in the laws, as in them virtues were studied and 
 vices exiled; he adds, that '' they learned music and 
 dancing, and such oilier accomplishments as were suit- 
 able to their quality, and were practised ul couiK'* 
 
 F. — A whimsical story is related, wlikh may show 
 in what deirree of estimation the sacred person of a 
 poet was at this time held. Two learned mendicants 
 came to the castle of a certair* nobleman, who under- 
 standing that they had a taste for poetry, commanded 
 his servants to take them to a well, and to put one into 
 the one bucket and the otlier into the other 1)uek( t, and 
 let them down alternately into the water, and to conti- 
 nue the exercise till each of thein had made a couple of 
 verses on his bucket: which ceremony was peiformed 
 to the great entertainment of tiie baron and his 
 company.'^ 
 
 A. — There is a complaint extant, made by the 
 chancellor of Oxford, Dr. Gascoignc, in 11 io, xshieh 
 may be partly applicable to other centuries than the 
 fifteenth. " I knew," said this person, '' a certain illi- 
 terate ideot, the son of a mad knight, who, for being the 
 companion, or rather the fool, of the sons of a great 
 family of the royal blood, was made archdeacon of 
 Oxford before he was eighteen years of age, and soon 
 after obtained two rich rectories and twelve pre])ends. 
 I asked him one day what he thought of learning: ' As 
 for learning,' said he, ^ I despise it ; I h<ivc better liv- 
 ings than any of your great doctors, and I believe as 
 much as any of you.' W hat do you believe? ' I be- 
 lieve,' said he, ' that Ihere are tliree Gods in one per- 
 son; I believe all that God believes.'"'' 
 
 F. — The manners of the age seem to have little 
 
 « De Laud, Ang. 
 
 INSTALLATION FEAST. 
 
 403 
 
 varied from the former period. Gentlemen breakfasted 
 at seven and dined at ten, at which meal they conti- 
 nued three hours,^ thus miserably wasting a most 
 precious part of the day; they supped at four, and 
 partook of a livery, or collation of spice and warm 
 wine, at nine. The meals of tradesmen and yeomen, 
 contrary to the present custom, were somewhat later 
 tlian those of Ihcir superiors. At great tables, the 
 master sat in state at the head of his oaken board, 
 and his guests or family on long hard benches or forms. 
 Happy the pi^rson whose rank or favour entitled him 
 to be placed above the great family salt-cellar in the 
 middle. The provisions seem to have been abundant, 
 without much choice or selection. 
 
 A, — An extraordinary instance of profusion took 
 place at the installation of George Neville, archbishop 
 of York, brother of the king-making Earl of Warwick, 
 in 14G4 : as it is the most extensive example of gluttony 
 on a large scale in the English annals, it may be worth 
 while to produce tlie very curious bill of fare:^ 
 
 Quarters of wheat . . . • 300 
 
 Tuns of ale 330 
 
 Tuns of wine 104 
 
 Tun of spiced wine ... 1 
 
 Fat oxen 80 
 
 Wild hulls 6 
 
 Sheep 1004 
 
 Hogs 300 
 
 Calves 300 
 
 Geese 3000 
 
 Capons 3000 
 
 Pigs 300 
 
 Peacocks 100 
 
 Cranes 200 
 
 Kids 200 
 
 Chickens 2000 
 
 Pigeons 4000 
 
 Rabbits 4000 
 
 Bittors 204 
 
 Ducks 4000 
 
 Heronshaws 400 
 
 Pheasants 200 
 
 Partridges 500 
 
 Woodcocks 4000 
 
 Plovers 400 
 
 Curlews 100 
 
 Quails 100 
 
 Egrets 1000 
 
 Rees 200 
 
 Bucks, does, and roes . . 450 
 Hot venison pasties . . . 1506 
 Cold ditto 4000 
 
 ^ Ant. j\ Wood. Hist, Oxon. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Northumberland Household Book. 
 
 2 D2 
 
 *> Godwin, Prsesulibus Angliae. 
 
404 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 Pikes 300 
 
 Breams • . . . 300 
 
 Seals 8 
 
 Porpoises 4 
 
 Dislies of jelly, parted . . 1000 
 
 Ditto, plain 4000 
 
 Cold custards 4000 
 
 Hot ditto 1000 
 
 Tarts 400 . 
 
 P. — What were 
 
 Darty's ham pic and whole hog harbecued, 
 
 compared to these last two dainll(\s? 
 
 A. — The Earl of W^irwic k was steward, the Earl of 
 Bedford treasurer, and the Lord Howard c()nstal)le, on 
 this occasion. There were '' one thousand servitors — 
 sixty cooks — live hundred and lifteen kitcheners/' A 
 very large part of the nobility, male and fcmal(\, i)ar- 
 took of this entertainment, most of the superior clergy, 
 and many of the great gentry. ^^ Those persons who 
 were present," says Fuller,^ in Iws quaint way, '' had 
 stroni^ stomachs to devour so much meat at one time, 
 and others absent stronger faith to believe it. How 
 Ions: the feast lasted is uncertain; but by the pork, 
 doves, and woodcocks, it must have been in the ^\i^ti'r 
 season. No turkeys are mentioned, as at this time 
 they were unknown in Euroi)e.'' 
 
 p^ — It could not be a poor or exhausted country 
 which could supply such a repast. 
 
 A. — The country seems rather to have been ex- 
 hausted of men than of provisions; what with the 
 French wars first, and then the succeeding civil wars, 
 such multitudes had perished, that hands were wanting 
 to carry on the operations of husbandry. Loud com- 
 plaints were made of the high i)rice of labour and the 
 scarcity of husbandmen;^ and this scarcity is supposed 
 to have caused the practice of enclosing' or changing 
 arable lands, particularly the demesnes of the great 
 
 ^ Church Hist. 
 
 t» Stot. 7 Hen. IV.; 2 Hen. V. ; 4 Hcii. V.; 2 Hen. VI. ; 23 Hen. Vi. 
 
 ' Joan, Rossii, Hist. Angl. 
 
 I 
 
 ♦I 
 
 CORN LAWS. 105 
 
 lords about their castles, into pasture ; a practice so 
 loudly comphuned of, that at length, perhaps very need- 
 lessly, parliament interfered.* 
 
 F. — The first corn-law, prohibiting the importation 
 of grain, was passed 3d Etlward the Fourth, 1463. It 
 complains that occupiers in husbandry were grievously 
 endamaged by the importation of corn, when at a low 
 price; it therefore forbids that practice when wheat 
 was not lower tlian six shillings and eightpence, rye 
 four shillings, and barley three shillings the quarter. 
 
 jl — It is remarkable that a statute was passed 
 seventy years earlier, 17th Richard the Second, con- 
 firmed by the statute 15th Henrj^ the Sixth, permitting 
 Hie exportation of corn on paying the customary duties, 
 when wheat bore the same price (six shillings and 
 eightpence) the quarter. From the usual prejudices 
 afloat on the sul)ject, we should naturally expect to 
 have seen this order of things reversed. 
 
 P.— Did these prices bear the same proportion to 
 tlieir relative modern value, as those in the time of the 
 scarcity in the reign of Edward the Second? 
 
 ^i.—The relative proportion between the weight of 
 silver and the value of commodities seems to have 
 undergone little or no alteration; but if we attend to 
 the ^'r a dual deterioration of the coin, as expressed in 
 the following table,** we shall be better able to appre- 
 ciate the result: 
 
 From the Conquest to Edward III. a pound Tower s. d. 
 
 weight of silver was coined into 20 
 
 In the 20th year of Edward III. — 22 6 
 
 — 27th -- Edward III. — 25 
 
 — 9lii — Henry V. — 30 
 
 — 1st — Henry VI. — 37 6 
 
 _ 4tli — . Henry VI. — 30 
 
 — 39th - Henry Vis — 37 6 
 
 ■ Stat 4 Hen. 7. ^ Fleetwood, Chronicon Preciosum, Appendix. 
 
X. 
 
 406 VESTIGIA. 
 
 The Htaiuiard of" the mrtal reiiviiiir"! inirfiniiirod : 
 11 oz. 2dwts. of line silver, willi l^dwld. ul uiioy. And 
 thus the shilling continued till tlie reign of Henry the 
 Eighth: what further reduction it then received, both 
 in size and purily, enters not into our present detail. 
 If we compare the weight of six shillings and eight- 
 pence, in the reign of Edward the Fourth, il will be 
 found equivalent to ten shillings and eightpence mo- 
 dern, allowing the present pound to contain sixty shil- 
 lings ; this sum, if we multiply by ten, according to 
 the scale allotted in the reign of Edward the Second,* 
 will give the value of the quarter of wheat at five 
 pounds six shillings and eightpence ; a higher protect- 
 ing price than what is now atlbrded by the corn 
 laws. Notwithstanding the discouragement of the 
 civil wars, the woollen manufacture continued to in- 
 crease all over the kingdom. Commerce was however 
 much harassed by injudicious restrictions and mono- 
 polies; a great part of the foreign trade being in the 
 hands of various privileged companies, such as the 
 German Merchants of the Steelyard, the Merchants of 
 the Staple, the Merchant Adventurers, and the Jirother- 
 hood of St. Thomas a Becket for the Ex])ortation of 
 Woollen Cloth.^' All foreign merchants were compelled 
 to lay out the money which they received for goods 
 imported, in English merchandize to be exported,*' in 
 order to prevent their taking any silver out of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 F. — The prohibitory system was much encouraged 
 by the act 2nd Richard the Third, which forbids the im- 
 portation of a vast variety of articles manufactured in 
 England by the different trades of girdlers, point-makers, 
 l)inners, pursers, glo\ ers, joiners, painters, caid-makers. 
 
 ' 1 Hen. IV, ; '> Ilcn. MIL 
 
 '• Andersoi!, Hist, of Commerce. 
 
 COMIVIERCE AND MANUFACTURES. 
 
 407 
 
 wiremongers, weavers, horners, bottle - makers, and 
 coppersmiths. 
 
 P. — This is an enumeration of commodities which 
 we are not a|)t to consider as having been manufactured 
 here at so early a period. 
 
 ^1. — The emporium of European commerce at this 
 era was Bruges, whither all sorts of merchandize were 
 collected and distributed. In a curious poetical work, 
 entitled '' The Libel of English Policie, exhorting all 
 England to keep the Sea, and namely, the Narrow Sea,"* 
 written about the year 1432, we are told that Spain, 
 Flanders, Portugal, Bretagne, Scotland, Easterlings, 
 Prussia, and Germany, sent their commodities to 
 Bruges ; and consequently they do not appear to have 
 traded directly witli England. The English sent few 
 other manufactured articles besides their woollen cloths 
 to this universal mart, but they bought in return more 
 goods than all the other nations of Europe. As we 
 were at war with France, the author makes no mention 
 of our dealings w ith that country ; but he is somewhat 
 indignant at the nature of the connnodities which we 
 imported direct from Italy : 
 
 The great galle5^s of Venice and Florence 
 Be well Ifidcn with things of complacence: 
 Apes and japes, and marmosets tailed, 
 Nifles and trifles that little have availed. 
 
 F. — This author introduces the praise of Whittington 
 with much warmth, as the great merchant of his day: 
 
 Now think I on the son 
 
 Of marchandy, Richard of Whitingdon, 
 Tliat load sterre and chief chosen flowere, 
 
 A. —The immediate object of the poem was to im- 
 press upon England the wisdom of remaining mistress 
 
 « Haklnyt, Voyages, vol. 1. 
 
/ ^ 
 
 408 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of the narrow sea between Dover and Calais; whi( h 
 two places, he says, the Emperor Sigismond, told TTenry 
 the Filth to preserve as hi two eyes; since, as ail the 
 merchandize southwards must pass t!)roiigh this straight 
 to Bruges, England had the power of compelling l^urope 
 to court her friendship. 
 
 F, — Ireland is represented in this v;ork as a country 
 and soil of unequalled fertility. It will surprise us to 
 learn that even at this early period she had established 
 a linen manufactory: 
 
 I cast to speak of Irelandc but a little ; 
 Commodities of it 1 will entitle : 
 Hides and fish, salmon, hake, herringe, 
 IrLsh wool, and linen cloth faldingc. 
 
 P. — During a long period we have heard little or 
 nothing of that conntry: what was its history? 
 
 A, — She had properly speaking no history. What 
 between the turbulence and tyranny of the barons of 
 English descent, the factions of the native chiefs, and 
 the irreclaimable barbarism of the inhabitants, the su- 
 periority of England was little regarded; conseijuently 
 the confused and unvarying scenes of insurrection and 
 slaughter, of oppression and resistance, deserve neither 
 record nor remembrance. 
 
 F. — In enumerating exports and imports, we must 
 not pass over one curious article, that of pilgrims: it 
 appears that not less than two thousand four hundred 
 and thirty-three of these devotees took out a licence to 
 visit the shrine of St. James of Compostella, in the year 
 1434;^ but as a happy counterpoise, a still greater im- 
 portation of the same commodity, proceeding to the 
 tomb of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury, turned the 
 balance of trade in oar favour. 
 
 " Rviiicr, vol. 10. 
 
 X 
 
 LITERATLRE. 
 
 409 
 
 A, — Sui)erstition was much more the fashion of 
 the (lay than letters: the scarcity of books must have 
 been severely felt by the few lovers of literature; even 
 a great prince like Henry the Fifth, who had a taste 
 for readini:, was obliged to borrow several volumes, 
 which were claimed by the owners after his death, by a 
 petition to the council.^ 
 
 F. — The Latin toui^ue had become so degenerated, 
 that when an author could not readily find a Latin word 
 which suited his purpose, he coined one from the Eng- 
 lish, as arrivavif, lie arrived, in William of Wyrcester; 
 and contrivissent, they had contrived, by John Rous 
 the anticjuary. 
 
 ^^- — ^Ht the English language, we may suppose, 
 continued to make some progress. 
 
 A. — A century had caused considerable improve- 
 ment. The Letters of the Paston Family, the proems to 
 the various books of Caxton, and Sir John Fortescue's 
 treatise on Monarchy, if not very agreeable reading, 
 are sufficiently intelligible, as an epistle from Dame 
 Agaes Paston to her husband. Sir Yv^illiam Paston, 
 knight, and a judge of the Common Pleas, will evince. 
 It gives an account of the first introduction of a young 
 lady to the family as the intended spouse of her son. 
 its date is about the year 1440: 
 
 X 
 
 '' To my worshepfull housbond, W. Paston, be this 
 
 letter takyn. 
 
 " Dere Housbond, I recomaunde me to yow, &c. 
 blessyd be God. 1 sonde yow gode tydynggs of ye 
 comyng and ye brynggyn hoom of ye Gentylwomman 
 yat ye wetyn^ of fro. Redham yis same night acordyng 
 to poyntment, yat ye made yer' for yowrself. And as 
 
 Ryraer, vol. 10. 
 
 ^ Know. 
 
 « There. 
 
410 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 for ye furste aqiieyntauncc betwlicn Julm Pastua and 
 ye seydc Gentylwonunaii, she nuulc hym Geiilil chore 
 in Gentil wyse, and seyde he was vcrrayly your son. 
 And so I liope yer shall nedc no grct trcte botwyxc 
 hym/ 
 
 ^^ Ye parson of Stocton toold me yif ye woldc l)yin 
 her a Goune, here moder woldc yeve'' therto a godely 
 furre. Ye goune nedyth for to be had, and of colour it 
 wolde be a godely blew, or erlys*" a bryghte sangueyn. 
 
 ^' I prey yow do byen for me 2 pypys"^ oi" gold. 
 Your stewes'^do wecl. The lioly Triniti) have you in 
 governaunce. Wretyn at Paston in haste, ye Wednes- 
 day next after ' Deus qui errantibus;' ' for dcfaute of a 
 good secretarye, Jcc. 
 
 '' Yowres, Agn. Paston."^ 
 
 A. — The difference of dialect was so great, that per- 
 sons of one county did not understand those of another. 
 Caxton says, that the language now used (1490,) varied 
 from that which was spoken when he was born ; and 
 he asserts that, in his translations, some blamed him 
 for too much adhering to the ancient style, whilst 
 others thought that he too much favoured the modern. 
 " So that between plain, rude, and curious," says the 
 honest printer, " I stand abashed.' '' 
 
 jF. — This author gives a ludicrous proof of the di- 
 versity of dialects, in the distress of one master Shef- 
 field, a mercer of London, who being obliged, on liis 
 passage to Zealand, to land near the Foreland in Kent, 
 and asking for some refreshment, particularly for eggs, 
 
 « ^riiem. ^ Give. <^ Else. 
 
 ^ Gold thread for embroidery. * Ponds for fish. 
 
 * The beginning of the collect on the third Sunday after Easter. 
 H Letters of the Taston Family, edited by Sir John Fenn, vol. 1. 
 h i'roem to the Boke of Kneydos. 
 
 DIVERSITY OF DIALECTS. 
 
 41 i 
 
 the hostess told him that she spoke no French. Shef- 
 field conscious that lie knew no other language than 
 his own, grew angry, but continued unintelligible, till 
 anotlier passenger happening to say that he would have 
 eyren, a word of Teutonic origiii, which the good wo- 
 man understood, the mercer's hunger w^as presently 
 relieved.* 
 
 A. — The use of tlie French language had extremely 
 declined in the higher classes. In the negotiation be- 
 tween the dauphin and Henry tiie Fifth, it was agreed 
 that two copies of every instrument should be made, 
 one in Latin and one in French ;^ Henry giving the ex- 
 traordinary reason, that liis ambassadors did not speak 
 or uiulerstand the latter tongue.' And Caxton states, 
 that the motives which induced him to translate so 
 many books from French into English, were, because 
 " most quantity of the people understand no French 
 here."' 
 
 F, — This author complains of the ill effect of the 
 neglect of learning upon the youth of London in these 
 terms : '' Fairer, ne wiser, ne bet bespoken children, 
 ben no where than there ben in London; but at their 
 lull ripening there is no kernel, no good corn founden, 
 but chair for the most part." And he adds, '' that out 
 often scarcely two thrive."^ 
 
 P. — Was the gradual alteration and improvement of 
 the English tongue much assisted by the success of the 
 poetical w riters of the age ? 
 
 A. — The few^ poets who flourished in the fifteenth 
 century, commonly possessed iacility of language, 
 which was their chief, if not their only merit. The first 
 
 " Proem to the Boke of Erievdos. 
 
 ' Moiistrelet. 
 
 ' Proem to Calho Macrnus. 
 
 *♦ Rymer, vol.9. 
 
 ♦' Proem to Charles the Great. 
 
r 
 
 412 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 in point of time was Thomas Occleve, 1420 : his pieces 
 chiefly remained in MS. till a selection from them \vas 
 published in 179G. Mr. Warton characterizes this poet 
 as of cold and feeble genius, affording no gratilication 
 in his works for those who seek for invention or fancy. 
 
 F. — Yet the story of *^ Jonathas and his Legacy of 
 Three Jewels/' introduced into Browne's '' Shepherd s 
 Pipe," is by no means destitute of invention, and is 
 indeed a very readable production. There is also an 
 epigram satirizing the dress of the times, not without 
 some point and pleasantry: 
 
 Now hath this land little need of brooms, 
 To sweep away the filth out of the streets : 
 
 In side-sleeves of pennyless erroomes 
 Will it uplicke, be it dry or wete. 
 
 ^,_The name of John Lydgate, tlie monk of Bury, 
 is better known than that of Occleve; and though his 
 works experience at present equal neglect, yet they 
 were for a long period much praised, though I cannot 
 imagine such tedious prolixity could ever be much 
 read. His principal poem is the " History and Destruc- 
 tion of Troy,'' a translation in verse from the prose 
 history of Guido de Colonna, written two centuries 
 before, and founded not so much on Homer or Virgil, 
 as on the spurious narratives of Dares Phrygius and 
 Dictys Cretensis. It exhibits a curious adaptation of 
 classical lore to the manners of chivalry; but though 
 the poem is bustling and full of events, yet the insup- 
 portable length of twenty-eight thousand verses utterly 
 precludes perusal. Lydgate has obtained a reputation 
 for perspicuity of language far beyond his deserts, this 
 work having been modernized and republished in 1G14, 
 under the title of " The Life and Death of Hector," 
 and which has been often quoted as the original. 
 
 
 LYDGATE. 
 
 413 
 
 F. — ^The late Mr. Ilitson was quite furious against 
 poor Lydgate, whom he describes as a most prolix and 
 voluminous poetaster, a prosaic and drivelling monk, 
 whose cart-loads of rubbish are equally stupid and 
 fatiguing ; and to say the truth, the very titles of his 
 pieces, both printed and in MS. as exhibited by that 
 indefatigable collector, arc truly terrific. 
 
 A^ — Few persons consequently are disposed to dis- 
 pute the justice of the critique upon the strength of 
 their own experience; yet one piece of Lydgate's is 
 amusing enough, " The London Lyckpenny," in which 
 the author supposes himself to have come to town in 
 search of legal redress for some wrong, and in which 
 we are presented with a perfect picture of the metropo- 
 lis in the reign of Henry the Sixth. Though the poem 
 is somewhat long, I will not spoil it by abridging. 
 
 THE LONDON LYCKPENNY. 
 
 To Loiidone once my steppes I bent, 
 
 Where truth in no wyse should be faynt; 
 
 To Westminster ware I forthwith went, 
 To a man of law to make complaynt; 
 I said, for Marie's love (that holy saynt), 
 
 Pity the poore, that wold proceede ; 
 
 But for lacke of mony I cold not spede. 
 
 And as I thruste the presse amonge. 
 
 By froward chaunce my hoode was gone ; * 
 
 Vet for all that 1 staid not longe, 
 
 Till at the King's Benche I was on. 
 
 Before the judge I kneeled anone, 
 And pray'd him for Godde's sake to take hede ; 
 But for lacke of mony I might not spede. 
 
 Beneth them set clerkes a gret rout, 
 
 Which fast did wryte by one assent ; 
 There stood up one and cried about 
 
 Rycharde, Robert, and John of Kent; 
 
 I wyst not well what this man ment; 
 He cryed out thryse, there in dede ; 
 But he that lackt mony might not spede. 
 
 % 
 
 X 
 
^x. 
 
 414 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Unto the Common Picas I yode llioo, 
 Where set one wytli a sylken lioode • 
 
 I did him reverence (for I oiig-ht to so), 
 I told my case tliere, as well as I coude, 
 Howe my goodes were defrarded me !)y falshood ; 
 
 I gat not a move of his month for my mede, 
 
 And for lacke of mony I might not spcde. 
 
 Unto the Rolles I gat me from thence, 
 Before the clarkes of the Chauncerye, 
 
 Wliere many I found earnyng of pense. 
 But none at all once regarded me, 
 1 gave them my playnt upon my knee . 
 
 They lyked it well when they had it read. 
 
 But lackyng of mony I might not spede. 
 
 In Westminster Halle, I founde out owne, 
 Which went in a longc gown of saye ; 
 
 I crowched, 1 kneeled hefore hym nnon, 
 For Marye's love of help, I liym praye. 
 I wot not what thou meanest, gan he saye, 
 
 To get me thence he did me bede ; 
 
 For lacke of mony I could not spede. 
 
 Within the halle, neyther ryche nor yet ])oor 
 Wouhl do for me oughte, altho I shoulde dye ; 
 
 Which seeing, I gat me oute of the doore, 
 Where Flemyngs began on me for to crye, 
 Master, what will you copen ^ or by ? 
 
 Fine felte hattes, or spectacles to rede. 
 
 Lay down your sylver and here you may spede. 
 
 Then to Westmynster gate I presently went, 
 \Mieu the soun it was at hygh pryme ; 
 
 Cokes to me they tooke goode cntent, 
 And proffered me bread, with ale and wyn.% 
 Ryl)bes of befe, both fat and ful fyne ; 
 
 A fayre cloth they gan for to sprede. 
 
 But wanting mony I might not be spede. 
 
 Then unto London I dyde me bye ; 
 Of all the land it beareth the pryse. 
 
 Hot pescode one began to crj-e ; 
 
 Strawberry ripe, and cherries in the ryse ;^ 
 One bad me draw nere, and buy some spyce ; 
 
 Pepper and saffrone, they gan me bede, 
 
 But for lacke of money I myghte not spede. 
 
 ■ Barter. 
 
 ^ On th.' twig. 
 
 N 
 
 LYDCATE. 
 
 Then to the Chepe, I gan me drawne, 
 Where much people I saw for to stande : 
 
 One oifred mc velvet, sylke, and lawne ; 
 Another he tiikes me by the hande, 
 Here is Paris thred, the fynest in the landc. 
 
 I never was used to such thyngcs in dede, 
 
 And wantyng mony I myght not spcde. 
 
 Then went I forth bv London stone. 
 Throughout all Canwicke streete . 
 
 Drapers much cloth me offred anone; 
 
 Then comes mc one cryed hot sheepes fete. 
 
 One cryed mackerell, pesen grene, another gan greete; 
 
 One bad me by a hoode to cover my heade, 
 
 But for want of mony I myglit not spcde. 
 
 Then I hyed me unto Eastchcpc ; 
 
 One cryes rybbes of befe, and many a pye ; 
 Pewter pottes, they scattered on a hepe ; 
 
 There was harpe, pype, and mynstrelsye ; 
 
 Vea by cock, nay })y cock, some gan crye ; 
 Some sange of Jenken and Julyan for tlieir mcde, 
 But for lacke of mony I might not spede. 
 
 Then into Cornhill anon I vode,^ 
 
 Where was much stolen gere, amonge 
 
 I saw wliere hongc myne owne hoode. 
 That I had lost amon?c the thronire : 
 To buy my own hoode I thoughte it wronge; 
 
 I knew it well as I did my crede, - 
 
 But for lacke of mony I could not spede. 
 
 Tlie taverner tooke me by the sieve, 
 
 Syr, saith he, wyll you owr wyne assay ? 
 I answered, that can not much me greve, 
 
 A peny can do no more than yt maye; 
 
 I drankc a pynte, and for yt dyd paye ; 
 Yet sore a-hungercd from thence I yede, 
 And wanting mony 1 could not spede. 
 
 Then hyed I me to Belyngsgatc, 
 
 And one cryed Hoo ! — go we hence ; 
 I prayed a barge man for God's sake. 
 
 That he wold spare me my expcnce. 
 ** Thou scapest not here," quoth he, ** under twopence." 
 I list not yd bestowe my almes dede ; 
 Thus lackpig mony I could not spede. 
 
 4i5 
 
 « Went. 
 
41G VESTIGIA. 
 
 Then I conveyed me into Kent, 
 
 For of the law wold I meddle no more, 
 Because no man to me tooke ontent, 
 
 i dyght me to do as I did before. 
 
 Now -Tesus that in Bethlehem was born, 
 Save London and send trew lawyers there mede. 
 For whoso vants mony with them shall not spede. 
 
 il.— This piece is from the Harleian MSS. No. 367; 
 and was I believe first printed in the third volume of 
 Strutt's " View of Manners/* &c. 
 
 p^_The general worthlessness of English poetry, 
 before the age of Elizabeth, always excepting the " Can- 
 terbury Tales" of Chaucer, is somewhat surprising; 
 whilst our neighbours the Scots possessed poets in 
 Barbour and Blind Harry, whose works took so strong 
 a hold of the national feeling as to continue popular to 
 
 the present hour. 
 
 ^.— The subject of these writers, the deliverance of 
 their country, tends much to ex})lain the secret of their 
 success. England had not been exposed to the gripe 
 of a foreign oppressor, and consequently none of our 
 patriots, since the days of William the Conqueror, 
 stand precisely in the same interesting relation as 
 Wallace and Bruce. 
 
 F.— Our national hero seems to have 1)een llobin 
 Hood: many of the numerous ballads in his commenda- 
 tion were the production of the iitteenth century ; but 
 their authors are unknown. 
 
 A. — ^Though the names of Occleve and Lydgate are 
 alone familiar to our ears as poets in this era, yet we 
 are not to suppose that it was without its stdlai minores, 
 who, as rhymers or translators, twinkled through their 
 little day, or rather night, in considerable numl^ers, 
 unnoticed by posterity. Of this class is the unknown 
 author of The Not Browne Maide," though placed by 
 
 POEMS ATTRTRUTFD TO ROWLEY. 
 
 417 
 
 Mr. Warton as somewhat later. This old ballad has 
 been rescued from oblivion by the modernization of 
 Prior, wliose '' Henry and Emma," in my eyes however, 
 has not the merit of its original. 
 
 F.-^-Thc fifteenth centurry would not be destitute 
 of poetical merit, could the works of the gode prieste 
 Rowlie be substantiated as genuine, and who is repre- 
 sented as flourishing about the year 1470. With our 
 present lights the question seems so entirely decided, 
 that we wonder how two opinions could ever have 
 existed on the subject. 
 
 ^.— The internal evidence against the authenticity 
 of the poems attributed to Row ley is incontrovertible. 
 Such a style is too ancient for the assumed date of the 
 composition; the unreasonable accumulation of uncouth 
 and ol)solete w ords on the one side betraying as much 
 a fa l)ri cation, as the continued harmony of the measure 
 on the other. Compare the verse which begins the '' Tra- 
 gical Enterlude of ^lla," with any known production of 
 Occleve or Lydgate, or even with '' The Not Browne 
 Maide;" and we shall be readily convinced of its total 
 dissimilarity to any existing poetry of the fifteenth 
 century: 
 
 Before yonne roddie sonne has droove his wayne 
 
 Throwe halfe hys joornie, dyghte yn gitcs of goulde, 
 Mee hapless mee hee ^vylle a wretche hehoulde 
 
 Mieselfe and al that's myne, hound ynne rayschaunces chayne. 
 
 F.— The industry which could have produced these 
 imposing poems must indeed have been stupendous; 
 but I cannot help thinking that the genius of their un- 
 fortunate author has been somewhat overrated. Chat- 
 terton's acknowledged works scarcely rise above the 
 level of the common magazine poetry of their day : the 
 merit of the poems attributed to Rowley is confessedly 
 superior, as they possess sentiment, pathos, and great 
 
 ^'or.. II. 
 
 2 K 
 
418 
 
 VESTIGIA, 
 
 power of description; but they owe luuc Ii of tlu ir attrac- 
 tion to the curiosity excited by tlieir liisfory, and are 
 rarely perused for the mere poetical pleasure which 
 they alio id ; and judging from the usual examples of 
 precocious genius, we may reasonably question whe- 
 ther the author would have become, as one of his 
 admirers expresses it, '' the greatest poet of any age 
 or country." 
 
 A. — If fame were Chatterton's object, his deceptions 
 were certainly the adequate means of obtaining it ; for 
 I agree in the opinion, that the compositions of llow- 
 ley, miraculous as the fabrication of a boy of seventeen, 
 would have attracted but small notice, if presented to 
 the world divested of their antique phraseology. 
 
 F. — In these cases the hackneyed adage, qui vult 
 decipi decipialur, is singularly applicalde ; and we may 
 charitably suppose, that had not Chatterton's deidorable 
 catastrophe so soon taken place, it might l)e his inten- 
 tion to disclose the secret when his supposed purpose 
 was secured, as we liavc seen in the more recent case 
 of the Shakspeare forgeries : and there are minds surely 
 not particularly depraved, who could sympatliise with 
 the author in the chuckling gratilication of seeing a 
 whole synod of antiquarian wisdom and griivity so 
 completely deluded. 
 
 A, — One of the principal arguments used in detect- 
 ing the imposition, is the nature of the poem from 
 which we have made our quotation, a regular tragedy 
 in the Grecian style, a mode of composition utterly 
 unknown in the English tongue during the fifteenth 
 century, but which Mr. Mason\s two tragedies of 
 '' Caractacus'' and " Elfrida" had rendered extremely 
 popular, a few years before the works of Ilowley 
 appeared. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH DRAMA. 
 
 41U 
 
 P.— In what form then did the drama exist at this 
 l)eriod in England? 
 
 ^.— The first particular account of any spectacle 
 partaking of a dramatic nature, is to be found in 
 Matthew Paris, who relates in his Lives of the Abbots 
 of St. Albans, that a miracle play, on the subject of 
 St. Catharine, was acted by the novices of Dunsta- 
 ble Abbey, in 1110. That such performances were 
 known in the reign of Henry the Second, we have the 
 testimony of Fitzstephens, who, in his description of 
 London, mentions the exhibition of religious plays, on 
 the subject of the miracles, or the sufferings of the mar- 
 tyrs, as one of the usual diversions of that city, 
 
 P' — By what actors and in what theatres were these 
 performances exhibited ? 
 
 ^. — On certain festivals, the mysteries were per- 
 formed in temporary structures, or in the churches, more 
 commonly the latter; and as they were introduced by 
 the ecclesiastics, so the clergy continued to be the chief 
 performers. The choir-boys also, in many cathedrals, 
 were instructed in the mimetic art;^ those of St. Paul's 
 remained actors till after the age of Shakspeare. 
 
 F. — It was in these societies that the ceremony of 
 the Boy Bishop was celebrated: the children performed 
 mass, preached, and went tlirough all the religious 
 forms pertaining to such an occasion. In Salisbury 
 catliedral is a monument to tlie memory of one of these 
 juvenile prelates, who happened to die in his pontificate. 
 A. — Even the grave Dean Colet ordained regula- 
 tions lor " a chylde bisliop/' in his statutes establishing 
 St. PauFs School; and to this day the ^^ Montem" at 
 Eton may be considered as a vestige of an ancient 
 processicm connected with some similar ceremony.^* 
 
 « Wartou, vol. 2. 
 
 2 E 2 
 
 ^ Ibid. 
 
420 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 F_These buffooneries \vere much akin to tlie Fete 
 des Foiix and the File d'Asne. so celel)ratcd on the 
 continent; and the same spirit too accompanied the 
 miracle phiys, the devil beiii- commonly introduced as 
 a principal performer, with horns, a very wide moutii, 
 staring eyes, a large nose, cloven teet, and a tail con- 
 stantly attended by the vice, a sort of jack-pudduig, 
 whose chief employment was to belabour the common 
 enemy with a wooden dagger, to make him roar lor the 
 entertainment of the audience : 
 
 In a trice, 
 
 Like to tbc old vice, 
 
 Who with dagger of lath, 
 In his rage and his wratli, 
 Cries Ah ha! to the devil.* 
 
 P —Our forefathers seem to have had no idea of 
 burlesque, for nothing to a modern understanding can 
 appear so profane as such representations. 
 
 A —These performances, both in France and Eng- 
 land, were set off by machinery. The old drawings of 
 hell-mouth, in the shape of an enormous pair of jaws, 
 with shark-like teeth, prefixed as a frontispiece in some 
 old books of divinity, for the purpose of alarming the 
 consciences of incorrigible sinners, were borrowed from 
 the instructive image exhibited in tlie miracle plays. 
 This terrifying machine was constructed with boards, 
 and covered "with leather; and into its awful gulph, 
 vomiting forth flames, the maletactors of the drama were 
 driven by the fiends. Whatever dialogue was introduced 
 was anciently in Latin. The earliest performance that 
 we meet with in the English tongue being the Chester 
 Whitsun Plays, written by Ralph Iligden, and exhi- 
 bited in 1328,^ at the expense of the different trades of 
 that city: thev remain in MS. in the British Museum,^ 
 
 Twelfth Night, act 4. » Warton, vol. 2. ^ MSS. Ilarlelan, 2013. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH DRAMA. 
 
 421 
 
 with the lani^uage somewhat modernized. The subjects 
 are taken from both the Old and New Testament, and 
 three days were employed in their representation. In 
 the '' Creation," our first parents were introduced in 
 their primeval suit, without any discomposure either to 
 themselves or the audience; and the events of the first 
 two chapters of Genesis were represented, not without 
 considerable interest: however we may smile, these 
 performances, when the people could not read their 
 bible, had tlieir use, by teaching the principal events of 
 the scriptures ; and they softened the ferocity of the 
 age, by diverting public attention from spectacles like 
 the tilts and tournaments, which encouraged slaughter 
 and cruelty. 
 
 F.— Yet the constant endeavour to introduce some 
 gross buflbonery, we might suppose, would much de- 
 stroy the benefit of the example. In the mystery of 
 the " Deluge," Noah's wife is drawn with much spirit 
 as a refractory shrew, unwilling to leave her gossips 
 and her malmsey, and who salutes her husband, when 
 compelled to enter the ark, with a sound box on the ear. 
 How far the miracle plays tended to edification, we may 
 judge, from their being a favourite resort with ladies 
 of such a disposition as Chaucer's Wife of Bath: 
 
 To see, and eke for to he seic. 
 
 Therefore made I my visitations 
 
 To vigilies and to processions, 
 
 To precliings eke, and to thise pilgrimages, 
 
 To plays of miracles and mariages. 
 
 ^._There is also a collection of miracle plays in 
 tlie liritish Museum,* with the name of ^^ Dramata 
 Sacra," composed by the Mendicant Friars of Coventry. 
 One or more of these pieces was accustomed to be 
 acted by them in that city on a temporary and moveable 
 
 » Cotton, IVISS. Vcsp. D. 8. 
 
^/^mfrnf 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 BOOK OF ST. ALBANS. 
 
 423 
 
 n 
 
 u 
 w 
 
 I if 
 
 fi 
 
 It 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 theatre, on Corpus Christi day, before immense multi- 
 tudes. Forty heads or arguments of these compositiims, 
 and one drama entire, are printed in Stevens's Monas- 
 con.* Farther information may also be obtained from 
 Mr. Sharp's recent publication on the su1)ject. These 
 " Sacred Dramas " are scarcely so ancient as the Chester 
 Whitsun Plays, but, like them, they are equally drawn 
 both from the Old and Xev, Testament. 
 
 F. — The most remarkable exhibition ol the miracle 
 plays took place in the year 1409, at Clerkenwell, l)y 
 the parish clerks, who miirht at that time be considered 
 as a religious fraternity, many of them being in orders. 
 '' The Creation of the World," probably one of the 
 Chester or Coventry plays, was represented by them for 
 eight days together, and the performance w as att(nided 
 by most of the nobility aad gentry in the kingdom.^ 
 
 ^. — At length however the drama, such as it was, 
 assumed a form somewhat dilferent. In the i)ompous 
 pageants and processions which took place on pul)lic 
 occasions, it w^as customary to introduce various alle- 
 gorical personages, such as V^ictory, Fortune, Strength, 
 and Wisdom; nor indeed were the mysteries without 
 their spiritual personifications, of Sin, Death, Hope, 
 and Faith, This practice gave tlie idea of forming u 
 drama consisting entirely of sucli metapliysical abstrac- 
 tions, and these were called moralities : they are not ol' an 
 earlier date thru Edward the Fourth, nor did they reach 
 any great popularity till the age of TI( nrv tlie Ei-hth 
 and his son, w hen they obtained their meridian. These 
 pieces, though they afforded materials for {)oelry, or 
 even philosophy, are decidedly less dramatic than the 
 old mysteries, nor did they continue in favour so Ion**-. 
 
 F.— During the struggles of the reformation, the 
 
 miracle plays w ere favoured by the catholics, who even 
 gave indulgencies to those who attended them, and 
 were opposed by the protestants: consequently, though 
 often forbidden, they as often revived. The last instance 
 of a performance of this nature, w as a mystery on the 
 subject of Christ's passion, played at Ely House, the 
 then residence of Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, 
 in the reign of .James the First; at which, says Prynne,^ 
 with some spleen, there were thousands present. 
 
 A. — Whether our English drama elaborated itself 
 out of the rude beginnings of the mysteries and morali- 
 ties, or whether, as it is more probable, it was sug- 
 gested by the performance of the plays of Plautus and 
 Tererice at the universities, it is unnecessary here to 
 discuss, it being an event subsequent to the period of 
 
 our enquiries. 
 
 J/ ___Onc of the greatest literary curiosities of the 
 barren lifteenth century, is the work of Dame Juliana 
 Barnes, or Berners, prioress of the nunnery of Sope- 
 well, the first known English female writer: it consists 
 of tlireci tracts on haw king, hunting, and heraldry : the 
 second of these pieces is in verse. They are said to 
 have been first printed at St. Albans, whence they have 
 obtained the title of the '' Book of St. Albans." The 
 only original copy in a perfect state now extant, it is 
 believed, of this edition, was sold at the Roxburghe 
 sale ; but there are several copies of the date of 1496, 
 printed l)y Wynkyn de Worde. 
 
 i>.— These are strange subjects to exercise the pen 
 of a female head of a religious house : we might rather 
 have expected a manual of devotion, or directions for 
 distilling strong w aters. 
 
 F.—To account for her choice of the subject, we 
 
 • Vol. 1, p. 158. 
 
 ^ Stow, Annals. 
 
 * Histriomastix, p. 117. 
 
424 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 HISTORIANS. 
 
 425 
 
 1 1 
 
 are to recollect, that the abbess possessed an exfonsive 
 niancrial jurisdiction. Mr, Warton suspects the whole 
 to be a translation froiu the French, and the tract on 
 heraldry to hv written by another hand. The absurdity 
 of the introduction to this piece is unsurpassable. The 
 author thus explains the oriirin of gentility and the 
 diflerence between churles and gentlemen : '' There 
 was never gentlcLian nor churl ordained, but had lather 
 and mother: iVdaiu and Eve had neither lather nor 
 mother, and therefore in their sons issued out both 
 gentleman and churl. Ey Seth, Abel, and Cain, was 
 the royal blood divided from the rude ami barbarous. 
 A brother to murder his brother contrary to law, what 
 could be more ungcntlcmanly and vile; in that there- 
 fore Cain and all his ollspring became churles, both by 
 the curse of God and of his own father/'— '^ And in the 
 three sons of Xoah, after the world's inundation, were 
 both gentleness and vileness discerned. Japhet, the 
 youngest, gentlemanlike, reproved his lirother, which 
 was to him reputed a virtue; and Noah said, on thee 
 will I rain my blessing, and make thee a gentleman. 
 And so from the offspring of gentlemanly Japhet came 
 Abraham, Moses, Aaron, and the prophets, and also 
 the king of the right line of Mary, of whom that oidy 
 absolute gentleman, Jesus, was born, i)er/ite (iod, and 
 perfite man, according to his manlioodis king of the 
 land of Juda and the Jews, and gentleman !)y his mo- 
 ther Mary, princess of coat armour." 
 
 il.— Our ancestors, in the simplicity of their hearts, 
 seem never to have suspected how nearly this familiar 
 admixture of scripture allusion with coniiiion sul>jects, 
 approached to profaneness. 
 
 P.— Was the age as deficient in historical as in 
 other species of literary merit? 
 
 .4.— A sort of connecting link between the ports 
 
 and tlio historians, is the Chronicle of England from 
 the arrival of llrute to the fourteenth year of the reign 
 of Eduard the Fourth, by John Hardyng, one of the 
 dullest metrical works of this or any other age. Its 
 author was a military man, born in 1378, and admitted 
 into the family of Henry Hotspur. The chronicle itself 
 is beneath all criticism, and scarcely equals in merit 
 that of Robert of Gloucester, of the age of Edward the 
 First. It was printed and continued in prose by Graf- 
 ton, to the vear 1543: both annalists are equally dry 
 and meagre. The events which occurred in Hardyng's 
 own time are supposed to be recorded with fidelity. 
 
 jrr._The cause of the paucity of historical informa- 
 tion, during the larger part of the fifteenth century, has 
 been already explained.^ No period since the Conquest 
 is so slightly illustrated by records and authentic docu- 
 ments as these turbulent and distracted years. Caxton 
 states, that his reason for continuing Higden's Foly- 
 chronicon was, '' because men s wits in this time be 
 o1)livious and li-htlv for2:eten many things dygne to be 
 put ill memory, and also there camiot be found in these 
 davs i)ut few that write in tlieir registers such things as 
 
 daily happen and fall." 
 
 A.—Tnc History of England, by Thomas Walsing- 
 h.uii, a monk in the abbey of St. Albans, begins at the 
 last year of Henry the Third, and concludes with the 
 splendid funeral of Hciny the Fifth, and the appoint- 
 ment of Humfrey duke of Glocester to the regency. 
 This author takes up the story where Matthew^ Paris 
 ends, and he might be deemed a worthy continuator, 
 ^^ ere his style ecjual to his matter, which, notwithstand- 
 ing its being deformed by many stories of visions, 
 miracles, and portents, the vice of the age, yet from 
 its full, circumstantial, and satisfactory information, is 
 
 • Page 327. 
 
 
496 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 truly valuable. Another uurk ui \\ al^^iii-Iiaiii'.^ has tlie 
 \vhimsical title of " Ypodigma Neustriae," the ancient 
 name of Xormandy: it is a history of that province, 
 interspersed with the allUirs of England, iroiii the be- 
 ginning of the tenth century to 1418 This the author 
 published, as he says, to uuard Henry tlie Fifth from 
 trusting to French promises, being tormented, with fears 
 lest they should deceive liim. 
 
 F.—\i\ additional proof of the justice of Comines* 
 remark on the unskilfulness of English m gotiators.^ 
 
 A, — Another writer, Thomas Otterbourne, a Fran- 
 ciscan friar, gave a history of England from tl)e laiuling 
 of Brutus to the year 14:20 : an indillerent composition, 
 but affording some useful information relative to his 
 own times. Thomas of Elmham, prior of Linton, wrote 
 a copious history of the life ami reign of Henry the 
 Fifth, in a very inflated style; but as he had his in- 
 formation from persons of rank, who were eye-witnesses 
 of the events, his work is estimable. This history was 
 abridged by an Italian, who assumed the name of Titus 
 Livius, a professed admirer, but an unsuccessful imi- 
 tator, of his great prototype. John Whethamstede, 
 abbot of St. Albans, wrote a chronicle from 1441 to 
 1461: it contains many original papers ; but the most 
 remarkable circumstance pertaining to this person was 
 his extreme longevity; he died in 14G4, above one hun- 
 dred years of age. William of Wyrcester, sometimes 
 called Botoner, from the name of his mother, w as born 
 at Bristol, and wrote Annals of England, from 1824 to 
 1490, in a most uncouth style; but though meagre and 
 uninteresting, they contain several things not to be 
 found elsewhere. It is supposed that the latter part 
 of the w ork was furnished by his son. 
 
 F. — In drawing near the close of the cenlury, we 
 
 "" Page 545. 
 
 l! 
 
 HISTORIANS. 
 
 
 must not forget itie antiquary, John Rous of Warwick, 
 who wrote a history of the kings of England : he begins 
 at tlie creation of the world, and ends with the marriage 
 of Henry the Seventh. His language is barbarous, his 
 credulity childish, but he accidentally mentions many 
 curious particulars concerning the state of England 
 and the manners of its inhabitants during his own times. 
 He died at an advanced age in 1491. 
 
 A. — A writer, who maybe said to close the series 
 of ancient English historians who composed in Latin, 
 is the nnknoAvn continnator of the History of Croyland 
 Abbey, began by Ingulph. This author w as a doctor 
 of canon law, and a member of the council under 
 Edward the Fourth : he declares that he has writen 
 without falsehood, hatred, or favour, and in relating 
 the events with which he was contemporary, he may 
 be considered as perfectly authentic: though not pos- 
 sessing the strong painting and eloquence of Sir Thomas 
 More, yet his account of the transactions in the reigns 
 of Edward the Fifth and llichard the Third, being less 
 rhetorical, is generally to be preferred. 
 
 F. — In review ing the list of the ancient English 
 historians, we cannot but observe that, with two or 
 three exceptions, they were all of the monastic profes- 
 sion; and tliough it be confessed that, as elegant or 
 classical compositions, none of their works have any 
 chance to be read, except perhaps those of William of 
 Malmesbury and Matthew Paris, for the entertainment 
 which they aiford; yet we may justly ask what would 
 be our knowledge of English history without the in- 
 formation of these much decried monkish authorities? 
 and though Irom various causes the utility of monaste- 
 ries has been superseded, it would be imgrateful to 
 forget the debt which we owe to their inhabitants, as 
 
428 
 
 VESTIOIA. 
 
 
 the originators and preservers of so great a national 
 
 treasure. 
 
 , p, — Have these works been collected and published 
 in any uniform edition, under the auspices of govern- 
 ment or of the universities? 
 
 A. — It wouhl have been mortifvins: to answer the 
 question, had not a resolution of the House of Com- 
 mons been passed about three years since/ recommend- 
 ing such a project to the care of government, which, 
 I am happy to learn, is commenced under the most 
 favourable auspices. 
 
 F. — There is an excellent collection, whicli Cibbon 
 said long ago might provoke our emulation, entitled 
 ** Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la Trance/' 
 in large folio. This work was begun by Dom. Martin 
 Bouquet, a learned Benedictine, and the first volume 
 appeared in 1738. The publication has since proceeded 
 at various intervals; it was not discontinued l)y the 
 French government under Buonaparte, two volumes 
 having been printed with the Imperial sanction. The 
 eighteenth volume is of so recent a date as ISii, and 
 yet reaches only to the events of the thirteenth century. 
 This '' RecueiT' appertains almost as mucli to Ijiglish 
 as to French history, and contains large extracts from 
 most of our ancient historians. It is gratifying to hear 
 the French editors acknowledge that the 1 jiglish liisto- 
 rians are not only more in number, but better instructed 
 than their own of what passed in France. 
 
 P. — However thankful for anticipated beni fits, yet 
 if the English collection proceeds at the same leisurely 
 pace, the existing generation can scarcely expect to 
 derive much advantage from the undertaking. In the 
 mean time we may inquire by what editions the diligent 
 student can at present gratify his curiosity ? 
 
 * Dibdin, Library Conipiinion, p. 111. 
 
 EDTTTONS OF THE ANC1E>T HISTORIANS. 429 
 
 ^.—We cannot arrange the historians according to 
 the date of their birth, as they have been chiefly pub- 
 lii,!iea in collections, embracing writers of widely differ- 
 ing periods, according to the caprice of the editors. The 
 earliest Fasciculus was published in London, 1574, in 
 folio, under the patronage of Archbishop Parker. It is a 
 handsome book, not of common occurrence, and contains 
 
 Historia Brevis, Thoma) Walsingham, ab. Ed. I. ad 
 
 Hen. V. Printed by Binneman. 
 Ypodigma Neustria^ per Thomam de Walsingham, ab 
 
 irruptione Normannorum, ad ann.6. regni Hen.V. 
 ^Ifredi Regis, res gestae. This is the life of xVlfred 
 
 by Asser, in Latin, but with Anglo-Saxon letters. 
 
 These two latter w^orks were printed by John Day. 
 
 The next collection was edited and printed by Com- 
 melin, at Heidelberg, in folio, 1587. Another title-page 
 appears sometimes to this edition, dated Lyons, The 
 work is eulitled 
 
 Rerum Britanntcarum, scriptores vetustiores ac 
 
 precipui. 
 Galfredi Monumetensis. Arturi de origine et gestis 
 
 Reguni Britannia3, lib. Xil. 
 Pontici Virunnii, lib. vi. 
 Gilda3, Epistola. 
 BedcX3, Historian Ecclesiastical, lib. v. continuatio 
 
 ejusdem historicc, incerto auctore, lib. iii. 
 Gulielmus Neubricensis de rebus Anglicis, lib. v. 
 Johannis Froissardi Historiarum Epitome. 
 
 P—We cannot very highly commend the judgment 
 of an editor who could place in the same scale of 
 
430 
 
 VESTiGiA. 
 
 historical evidence tlie works of GeofTrey of Aronmoiith 
 and Froissart; the work of Ponticus Virnnniiis, of 
 whose name few persons liave ever heard, is merely au 
 abridgment of GeollVey's History, 
 
 A.~\\\ a few years foHowed Sir Henry Savile's 
 collection, first publislied in London, 1590, and after- 
 wards at Francfort, IGOl, folio: 
 
 RERUM ANGLICARUM, scriptores post Bedam 
 
 precipui. 
 Willielmi Malmesbariensis, de geslis Keguni Ani^lo- 
 
 rum, lib. v. 
 
 ------ - - HistoriacNovellaD, lib. II. 
 
 -----. -._....j^ gestis Pontificum An- 
 
 glorum, lib. iv. 
 Henrici lluntindoniensis, Historiarum, lib. \ iii. 
 Rogeri liovedeni, Annalinm pars prior et posterior, 
 .^thelwerdi, Chronicorum, lib. iv. 
 Ingulphi Abbatis Croylandensis, Historiarum, lib. ii. 
 
 These authors are truly Yalua])k\ and tlic exam- 
 pie induced Camden to publish at Francfort, in 1()03, 
 folio, 
 
 ANGLTCA, NORMAXXICA, IIIBERXICA, CAM- 
 
 BRICA, a veteribus scripta. 
 Asserus, de yEIfredi rebus gestis. 
 Anonymus, de vita Gulielmi Concpiestoris. 
 Thoma3 Walsingliam, Historia brevis. 
 
 - .--- ^ podigma X^eustria3. 
 
 Thoma^ de la Moor, vita et mors Edwardi Secundi. 
 Wilhelmus Gemiticensis, de Ducuni X'ormannorum 
 
 gestis. 
 Giraldi Cambrensis, Topographia Hibernian. 
 
 Li- J5 ,».-^D-eao**« 
 
 EDITION^ uF THE ANCIENT HISTORIANS. 431 
 
 tiirjldi, Expugnalio Hibemiae, sive Historia Vatici- 
 
 natis. 
 - - - Ttinerarium Cambriee. 
 
 llie reputation of this work corresponds with the 
 well-known talents of the editor; it was followed by a 
 collection edited by Sir Roger Twysden, 1652, folio, 
 with a preface by Selden: 
 
 lliSTORLE A:\GL1CAN.E, scriptores X. 
 
 1. Simeon ^fonachus Dunelmensis, Historia Dunel- 
 
 mensis Ecclesiae. 
 
 - - - - de Archiepiscopis Eboraci. 
 
 - - - - de obsidione Dunelmi. 
 
 - - - - Historia de gestis regum Anglorum. 
 
 2. Johannes Prior ilagustaldensis, Historia, 
 
 XXV Annorum. 
 
 3. Ricardtis Prior Hagustaldensis, Tractatus de 
 
 statu et p]piscopis Hagusttildensis ecclesiae. 
 
 - - - - - de gestis Regis Stephani et de bello 
 
 standardii. 
 
 4. Ailredus, Al)])as Rievallcnsis, Descriptio belli 
 
 standardii. 
 ----- Gencaloi;ia Return Anglorum. 
 _ _ - ^ „ Vita l^dwardi Regis et Confessoris. 
 
 - - — - Historia de Sanctimoniali de Wattun. 
 
 5. Radulplius de Diceto, Abbreviationes Chronico- 
 
 rum. 
 ----- Imagines Historiarum. 
 ----- Series causae inter Henricum Regem 
 
 et Thomam Archiepiscopum. 
 
 6. Johannes Brompton Jornallensis, Chrouicon ab 
 
 anno Domini 588 ad 1198. 
 
 7. Gervasius Monachus Dorobornensis, Tractatus 
 
432 
 
 VESTKHA. 
 
 de combustione ct reparationc^ ecclesia3 
 Dorobornensis. 
 Imadnationes de discordiis inter monaclios 
 Cantiiaricnses et Arcliiepiscopiuii Baldiwi- 
 num. 
 
 Chronica de tempore Return Anglire, Stephani. 
 
 Henrici II. et llichardi I. 
 
 Vita3 Dorobornensiuni, Archiepiscoporum. 
 
 8. Thomas Stubbs Dominicanus, Vita^ Eboracensium 
 
 Archiepiscoporum. 
 
 9. Gulielmus Thorn, Cantuariensis, Chronica de 
 
 rebus gestis Abbatum Sancti Angustini Can- 
 tuaria?. 
 10. Henricus Knyghton Leiccslrensis, chronica de 
 eventibus AnglicC a tempore Regis Edgari 
 usque mortem Kegis Jiicardi secundi. 
 
 This edition has a high character for accuracy, 
 though the authors which it contains be oi" no great 
 value. In 1684, folio, was publislied, by W. Fulman, 
 as a continuation of the former work, 
 
 RERUM ANGLICARUM, Scriptorum Veterum. 
 
 Tom US I. 
 
 Ingulfi Croylandensis Ilistoria. 
 
 Petri Blesensis continuatio. 
 
 Chronica de Mailros, ab. a.d. 735 ad 1270. 
 
 Annales Burtonenses, ab. a.d. 1004 ad 12(J3. 
 
 Historiae Croylandensis continuatio. 
 
 The skilful and modest editor dying soon after the 
 publication, Dr. Gale undertook a continuation of the 
 plan, though with somewhat a dilibrent title, in two 
 volumes, published at Oxford, 1G87— 1091, folio: 
 
 fc" 
 
 ii 
 
 iiii 
 
 Hi 
 
 liil 
 
 EDinONS OF TUB ANCIENT HISTORIANS. 433 
 
 IlISTORIvE BRITANNICyE ET ANGLICANS, 
 Scriptores XX. 
 
 TOMUS I. 
 
 Gildas, de excidio Britannia liber querulus et epistola. 
 Eddius, V^ita S. Wilfredi Episcopi Eboracensis. 
 Xennius, Eulogium Britanniae sive Ilistoria Britonura. 
 Asserius, Annales seu Chronicon Fani Sancti Neoti. 
 Ranulphus Higden, Polychronicon, lib. vi. 
 Wiliclmus Malmesburiensis de antiquitate Glastoni- 
 
 ensis Ecclesia. 
 Anonymus Malmesburiensis, de pontificibus. 
 Anonymus Ramesiensis, liber de fundatione et bene- 
 
 factoribus Coenobii Ramesiensis. 
 Anonymus Elyensis, Ilistoria Ecclesia Elyensis, lib. r. 
 Thomas Elyensis, ex secundo libro, Historia Elyensis. 
 Johannes Wallingford, Chronica. 
 Radnlphus de Diceto, Ilistoria compendiosa de 
 
 Regibus Britonum. 
 Anonymus, de partitione i)rovinciai in schiras et 
 
 Episcopatus, et Regna. 
 Johannes Fordun, Scoti Chronicon, sive Scotorum 
 
 Ilistoria. 
 
 * 
 
 Alcuinus Flaccus, de pontificibus et Sanctis Ecclesicie 
 Eboracensis, pocma, a.d. 7G0. 
 
 TOMUS II. 
 
 Annales Marganenses, sive Chronica abbreviata a 
 tempore Sancti Edwardi Regis ad 1232. 
 
 Thomas Wikes, Chronicon Salisburiensis Monasterii 
 ab adventu Conquestoris ad annum 1304. 
 
 Annales Waverlienses ab a.d. 1066 ad 1291. 
 
 GalCridus Vinesalvus, Itinerarium Regis Anglorum 
 Ricardi I. et aliorum in terram IIierosolym€)rum. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 2 F 
 
 fli 
 
434 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Walteriis llemincrrora, Chronica de uestis Reguiii 
 
 Anglian ab an. lOiiiJ ad. 1300. 
 
 Thouo-h this work abounds in inac ( uracies, yet Ihc 
 lovers of historical antiquities must be thankrul tor so 
 copious a collection. The chronicle of Hemingibrd 
 is merely a small portion; its more valuable part is 
 supplied by Hearne. One of the least meritorious 
 collections was edited l)y J. Sparke, London, 1724, 
 folio : 
 
 HISTORIiE ANGLICANiE, Scriptores varii. 
 Chronicon Johannis Abbatis S. Petri do Burgo al> 
 
 A.D.654 ad. 12G0. 
 Continuatio per Robertum de Boston ad 13(58. 
 Historia3 Coenobii Burgensis scriptores varii. 
 Vita S. Thoma3 Cantuar, a W. Stephanide. 
 
 The smallest collection is a thin octavo, published 
 at Copenhagen, 1757, edited by Car. Bertram : it is 
 entitled 
 
 BRITANNICARUM GENTIUM, Historia Anfiqua^ 
 
 scriptores tres. 
 Ricardus Corinensis, de situ Britannia*, libri it. 
 Nennii, Historia Britonum. 
 Gildae, de excidio Britannia^. 
 
 The first of these works is a valuable piece of topo- 
 graphy of the date of the fourteenth century; its author 
 is better known by the name of the Monk of Cirencester, 
 from the place of his birth. 
 
 l^._Baron Maseres published, in 1783 and 1807, a 
 small tollection, in quarto, of works relative to English 
 
 »'i 
 
 EDITIONS OF THE AKUIENT HISTORIANS. 435 
 
 affairs near thu time uf the Conquest, with notes in 
 English : 
 
 SELECTA MONUMENTA. 
 
 Encomium Enima% Inccrlo auctorc sed coetaneo. 
 Gesta Guliehni Ducis Normannorum, a Gulielmo Pic- 
 
 tavicnsi scripta. 
 Excerpta de Ordcrico Vitali, do Gulielmo I. 
 
 F.— But the liistory of the Normans is more amply 
 illustrated by a collection of their early historians, pub- 
 lished at Paris, in a folio volume, bv M. Du Chesne, 
 1619 : 
 
 IIISTORIiE NORMANNORUM, Scriptores An- 
 tiqui. 
 
 Gesta Normannorum, in Francia, ante Rollonem 
 J)u( cm, ab ann. 837 ad. 896, auctore incerto. 
 
 Chronici Rhegionis, Abbatis Prumiensis, Excerptuni 
 ab. 812 ad. 892. 
 
 Annalium, in Fuldeiisi Mouasterio, Scriptorum ex- 
 cerptuni, ab. 808 ad. 891. 
 
 Alia Variorum Chronicorum, excerpta, al) 830 ad 
 mortem Rollonis. 
 
 Abbonis, de obsessa a Normannis Lutetia Parisio- 
 
 rum, libri ii. 
 Dudonis, Decani S. Quintini, de moribus et gestis pri- 
 
 morum Normannis Ducum, ad ann. 1002, lib. iii. 
 Emma) Anglorum Regina Encomium, Incerto auctore 
 V sed coetaneo. 
 
 Gesta Guillelmi II. Ducis Normannorum a Guillelmo 
 
 Pictavensi. 
 Willelmi Calculi, Gemmeticensis Monachi Historia? 
 slr*u Normannorum, lib. VII I. 
 
 2 F 2 
 
I' 
 
 43G 
 
 \KST1GIA. 
 
 Ordericus Vitalis, Anc:licanc\3 Historian Ecclesiastical, 
 
 lib. XIII. 
 Gesta Stephanis Regis Anglorum, Inccrto auctore 
 
 sed contemporaneo. 
 Chronica Normannia^, ab aim. 1139 ad. 1259, aucloro 
 
 anonymo. 
 Annalis, Historia brevis in IMonasterio S. Stcphani 
 
 Cadomensis conscripta ab. 1133 ad. 1293. 
 Appendix, varia continens opuscula. 
 
 A. — ^We must not conclude our account of these 
 fasciculi without mentioning the multifarious work of 
 Henry Wharton, published in two volumes, folio, 1{J92 : 
 
 ANGLIA SACRA, sive Collectio Historiarum par- 
 tim antiquitiis, partim recenter, scriptorum do 
 Archiepiscopis et Episcopis Anglia\ 
 
 I believe that I have not omitted any collection of 
 English ancient historians which has hitherto been 
 published : some of the more important authors have 
 been edited separately, with notes, or in a better fonn. 
 Editions of the works of the few writers not included 
 in any of these collections I will now enumerate. In 
 1623, the learned Selden published, in one volume, 
 small folio, 
 
 Eadmeri, Monachi Cantuariensis Historian Novo- 
 rum sive sui sa^culi, libri vi. Res gestas sub 
 Gulielmis I. et II. et Henrico I. 
 
 EDillON^^ (IF THK ANCIKNI" HISTORIANS. 437 
 
 that of London, lU40J(jIi(), edited by W, Watts; its title 
 thus runs: 
 
 MATTHiKi Paris, Historia Major cum Rogeri 
 Wendoveri, Willielmi Rishangeri authorisque 
 majori minorique Historiis Chronicisque MSS. 
 huic primum editioni accesserunt duorum Offa- 
 rum iVIerciorum Regum et viginti trium Abbatum 
 S. Albani Vita3. 
 
 So early as 1570 was printed, in London, the work 
 of Matthew of Westminster, in folio: 
 
 Florks Historiarum, per Matthaeum Westmo- 
 nasteriensem, collecti, precipuas de rebus Britan- 
 nicis ab exordio mundi usque ad annum Domini 
 1307. 
 
 To a later edition, printed at Francfort, 1601, folio, 
 is added a reprint of Florence of Worcester's. 
 
 Chronicon ex Chronicis, ab initio mundi usque ad 
 annum Domini 1118, deductum, auctore Florentii 
 Wigornensis Monacho. 
 
 A separate edition of this work is found in 4to. 
 1592. 
 
 The Annales of Trivet, a writer of small importance, 
 
 were edited and published by Anthony Hall, at Oxford, 
 1 700 . 
 
 This is an esteemed work; but the most popular 
 history is that of Matthew Paris, which has passed 
 through five editions, the most common of which is 
 
 NicoLAi Trivfti, Dominican!, annales sex Regum 
 Anglian, Steph., Henr. IL, Richard L, Johan., 
 Hen. IIL, et Edv. I. 1387, 
 
/ 
 
 438 
 
 VERTICIA 
 
 11 i 
 
 To this is adjoined, 
 
 Annalium, continiiatio ut et Adami Murimiithcnsis, 
 Clironicon cum eiiisdem continiiatio ad 1380. 
 
 The path thus pursued leads us to the historians 
 published by tiiat much derided person Thomas Hearne, 
 who was in fact as great a curiosity himself as any 
 which he gave to the public; but though his eagerness 
 about matters inconceivably trilling, and his ridiculous 
 conclusions, have often provoked either the wrath or 
 laughter of his readers,* vet the diliij^ence and accuracy 
 with which he has given the text of several rare ancient 
 writers, have procured for his memory a still increasing 
 feeling of gratitude, if not of respect. The following is 
 a list of all his historical works; they are in octavo, 
 and were published at Oxford according to their respec- 
 tive dates ; they bear an enormous price, and many of 
 them are exceedingly scarce : 
 
 Spelman s Life of iElfred the Great, with considerable 
 
 additions. 1709. ^ 
 
 The Itinerary of John Leland the antiquary, vols. 
 
 1710. 
 Lelandi Antiquarii de rebus Britamiicis Collectanea, 
 
 6 vols. 1715. 
 Johannis Rossii, Antiquarii Warwicensis, Ilistoria 
 
 Regum AnglicC. 1716. 
 Titi Livii, Foro^ Juliensis, Vita Ifenrici V. Regis 
 
 Angliae. 171G. 
 Aluredi Beverlacensis, Annales, sive ITisturia do 
 
 gestis Regum Britanniae. 1716. 
 Roperi Guil. Vita D. Thoma^ Mori, itc. 1716. 
 
 EDITIONS OF THE ANCIENT fllSTOUIANS. 439 
 
 Guliclmi Camdeni, Annales Rerum Anglicarum et 
 Hibcrnicarum, regnante Elizabetha, 3 vols. 1717. 
 
 Guliclmi Newbrigensis, Historia sive Chronica Rerum 
 Anglicarum, 3 vols. 1719. 
 
 Thomas Sprotti, Chronica. 1719. 
 
 Textus Rolfensis. 1720. 
 
 Roberti de Avesbury, Historia de Mirabilibus gestis, 
 Edwardi III. 1720. 
 
 Joannis de Fordun, Scotichronicum, 5 vols. 1722. 
 
 History and Antiquities of Glastonbury, by an ano- 
 nymous author. 1722. 
 
 Ilemingi, Chartularium EcclesiaeWigomensis, 2 vols. 
 
 1723. 
 
 Robert of Glocester's Chronicle (in verse, black letter), 
 
 2 vols. 1724. 
 Peter Langtoffs Chronicle (in verse, black letter), 
 
 2 vols. 1725. 
 Joannis Glastoniensis, Chronica, 2 vols. 1726. 
 Adami Domerham, Historia de rebus gestis Glasto- 
 
 niensibus, 2 vols. 1727. 
 Thonic^ de Elmham, Vita et gesta Henrici Quinti 
 
 Anglorum Regis. 1727. 
 Liber Niger Scaccarii, etiam lf\ ilhelmi Worcestrii, 
 
 Annales Rerum Anglicarum, 2 vols. 1728. 
 Historia Vitaj et regni Richardi II. Anglias Regis, a 
 
 Monacho quondam de Evesham. 1729^ 
 Johannis do Trokelowe, Annales Edwardi II. et 
 
 Henrici de Blaneford, Chronica et Edwardi II. 
 
 Vita. 1729. 
 ThomaD Caii, Vindiciae, Antiquitatis Academise Oxo- 
 
 niensis, contra Johannem Caium Cantabrigiensem, 
 
 2 vols. 1730. 
 Walteri Hemingford, Historia de rebus gestis Ed- 
 wardi I., Ed. II., et Ed. III., 2 vols. 1731. 
 
 " Dibdin, Library Comp.inicn. 
 
440 
 
 VBSTIGiA. 
 
 Thonice Otterboiirne et Johannis WothcUiislode, Chro- 
 nica ab origine Geutis Britannia', usque ad Ed- 
 ward um IV^. 2 vols. 1732. 
 
 Chronicon, sive Annales Prioratus dc Dunstaple, 
 2 vols. 1733. 
 
 Benedictus Abbas, Petroburgensis de vita et gostis 
 Henrici 11. et Ricardi I. 2 vols. 1735. 
 
 The text of these writers was published from MSS. 
 reposing in various public and private libraries; and 
 the copies by Thomas Ilearne are most of them the 
 sole editions extant, 
 
 F. — We had nearly forgotten that earliest record of 
 English affairs, the Saxon Chronicle, A\hich was first 
 published by Bishop Gibson, at Oxford, 1(592, in some- 
 what an imperfect state : a new and excellent edition, 
 with a translation, by the llev. J. Ingram, appeared in 
 1823, which leaves nothing to be desired on the subject. 
 
 A, — Thus the student, having a key to the works 
 of all, or nearly all, the ancient English historians, an 
 opportunity is given of ascertaining the accuracy of 
 modern writers treading over the same ground; the 
 value of whose testimony must alone be estimated 
 from the conformitv of their facts to these authorities. 
 Such a '* Corpus Rerum Anglicarum," continued through 
 so many centuries of comparative darkness and igno- 
 rance, cannot but be considered as an historical treasure 
 as extraordinary as inestimable. 
 
 F. — The attention of the historical student should 
 also be directed to the publication of the various records 
 now proceeding by the order of Government; and though 
 perhaps these documents may fall more within the de- 
 partment of the lawyer or the professed antiquary than 
 the historian, yet as they form a criterion by which 
 
 IllsrolUCAI. ROCORDS. 
 
 441 
 
 manv of our ancient domestka facta mav be verified 
 and as they are a counterpart to the intended magnifi- 
 cent edition of our liistorians, it would argue as deficient 
 a sense of justice as of gratitude, did we pass them 
 over unnoticed. 
 
 .4.— Government had hitherto confined its atten- 
 tion to the publication of Domesday Book, the Rolls 
 of Parliament and the Journals. Domesday Book was 
 commenced in the year 1770, in consequence of an 
 address from the House of Lords to the King, in 1767, 
 and was completed in 1783, in two large folio volumes, 
 but without either a title-page or any index: these de- 
 ficiencies are now supplied. The Rolls of Parliament, 
 '' Rotuli Parliamenti ut et Petitiones et Placita in 
 Parliamento,'' were printed by an order of the House 
 of Lords, March 9, 1767: they contain various parlia- 
 mentary matters from 6th Edward I. to 19th Henry VIL 
 The originals to 8th Edward IV. are preserved in the 
 Tower, in six rolls, each consisting of several mem- 
 branes tacked together. The Journals of the Lords 
 were printed by an order of that house, 1767; they 
 commence from the first year of Henry VIII., though 
 some years of that reign are not preserved. 
 
 F. — In this good work the Lords were preceded by 
 the Commons, who gave directions for their Journals 
 to be published, 15th George II. 1742; they commence 
 not quite so early as the Lords' Journals, beginning 
 with the first year of Edward VI. 
 
 A, — In consequence of a fire, which broke out in 
 Dean's Yard, A\ estminster, 31st October, 1731, and 
 which destroyed several and damaged many of the 
 MSS. of the Cotton Library, which had been removed 
 thitlicr, the House of Commons appointed a committee 
 to enquire into the then state of the records: little how- 
 
442 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 ever was done in consequence.* The library %vas depo- 
 sited in a new building designed for the dormitory of 
 Westminster School ; and it remained there till it was 
 finally removed to the British Museum in 1753. Nearly 
 seventy years after the accident, on the 15th Feb. 1800, 
 the House of Commons appointed a '' Committee to 
 enquire into the state of the public records of the king- 
 dom/' Towards the end of the session, this committee 
 presented to the house the result of their proceedings, 
 in the form of two connected reports, in which they 
 submitted certain measures for the better preservation, 
 arrangement, and more convenient use of the contents 
 of the various public repositories; and they recom- 
 mended a petition to the King to give directions for 
 carrying the same into elfect. In consequence his 
 majesty George the Third appointed a commission, 
 19th July, 1800, and also another subsequently, 2:3d 
 May, 1806, enabling certain commissioners to execute 
 the measures recommended by the house ; and the com- 
 missioners thus appointed, directed skilful persons to 
 conduct the business. The detail of the whole proceed- 
 ings appears in the publications entitled 
 
 Reports from the Select Committee appointed to 
 enquire into the State of the Public Records of 
 the Kingdom, ordered to bo printed, 1801. 
 
 These reports are two in number, with voluminous 
 appendices, forming one large folio volume, and arc 
 the basis of this great undertaking: they were fol- 
 lowed by 
 
 Annual Reports of the Commissioners. 1806. Fur- 
 
 -rf\ 
 
 HIS^TORICAL HECORDS. 443 
 
 ther proceedings as relate to Scotland. 1808, 
 
 <?\w. 
 
 » Commissioners* First Report, pap:c 69. 
 
 Reports from the Commissioners in Ireland. 1811 
 '^^' 1820. 
 
 But a more valuable document appears in the 
 
 Re])orts IVom tlio Commissioners appointed* by his 
 Majesty to execute the Measures recommended 
 by a Select Committee of the House of Commons, 
 respecting the Public Records of the Kingdom, 
 ordered to be printed, 1812; and again, 1819. 
 
 These reports, like those of tlic Committee, are also 
 two in number, with voluminous and valuable appen- 
 dices: in them the commissioners give an account of 
 the progress of their labours. The measures which 
 regard England arc distributed under five heads : 
 1. Buildings. 2. Calendars and indexes. 3. Transfers. 
 4. Establishments of ollice. 5. The selection of such 
 original records and documents as it may be expedient 
 to print imder the authority of parliament. It is only 
 to the second and fifth of these heads that our present 
 enquiries lead us. The first record published under 
 the commission is 
 
 Taxatio Ecclesiastica, Anglia3 et Wallia^, Auctoritate 
 P. Nicholai IV. circa A. d. 1291. Printed 1802. 
 
 Pope Innocent XXII., to whose predecessors the 
 first-fruits and tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices had 
 for a long time been paid, gave the same, a.d. 1253, 
 to Henry III. for three years. In the year 1288, Pope 
 Nicholas IV. granted the tenths to Edward I. for six 
 
444 
 
 \ KiS V 1 G 1 A . 
 
 years, towards defrayinir the expense of an expedition 
 to the Holy Land, of which grant this document is the 
 record of the proceeds. 
 
 Calendarium Rotulorura Patentiuni, in Turri Londi- 
 nensi. 1802. 
 
 The.Patent Rolls in the Tower of London commence 
 in the third year of King John, and end in the twenty- 
 third year of Edward IV. : they contain grants of oflices 
 and lands ; restitutions of temporalties to bishops, 
 &c. ; confirmations of grants made to bodies corporate; 
 grants in fee-farm; special liveries; grants of oifices, 
 special and general; patents of crejitious of i)e(rs, and 
 licenses of all kinds which pass the great seal. The 
 present publication is a calendar or index to these 
 documents. 
 
 A Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Cottonian 
 Library, deposited in the British Musenni. 180?. 
 
 Calendarium Rotulorum Charturuui; ct Iiujuisilio- 
 num ad quod damnum. 1803. 
 
 "The Charter Rolls in (he Tower of London begin in 
 the first year of King John, 1190, and end with the 
 reign of Edward IV. 1483: they contain royal grants 
 of privileges to cities, towns, bodies corporate, and 
 private trading companies; grants of markets, fairs, 
 and free warrens; grants of creation of nobility, privi- 
 leges to religious houses, &c. 
 
 The Inquisitions, ad quod damnum, also in the 
 Tower, conunence with the first year of Edward 11. and 
 end with (ho thirty eighth year of Henry VL These 
 
 itlbTURlCAL HlifCjROS. 
 
 445 
 
 records were taken in virtue of writs directed to the 
 escheator of each county, when any grant was solicited, 
 to encpiire by a jury whether it might prove prejudicial 
 to the king or to others. This volume contains a copious 
 index both to the Rolls and to the Inquisitions. 
 
 Rotulorum Originalium in Curia Scaccarii abbre- 
 viatio, temporibus Regum Hen. III., Ed. I., 
 Ed. IL, et Ed. III., 2 vols. 1805—1810. 
 
 The Originalia are records of the Court of Ex- 
 cliequer; being estreats transmitted from the Court of 
 Chancery into the Lord Treasurer's remembrancer's 
 office, of all grants of the crown inrolled on the patent 
 and other rolls, -whereon any rent is reserved, any 
 salary ])ayable, or any service to be performed ; w^hich 
 estreats commence about the beginning of the reign of 
 Henry HI., and are continued to a late period. 
 
 Calendarium Iiiquisitionuni Post Mortem sive Escse- 
 tariiiH, 1 vols. 1806 — 1810. 
 
 These Inquisitions, preserved in the Tower of 
 London, sometimes called Escheats, commence with 
 the early part of the reign of lleury III. and end with 
 the last year of Richard HI. These records were taken 
 by \irtue of writs directed to the escheators of each 
 county or district, to summon a jury, w^ho were to en- 
 quire what lands any person died seized of, and by 
 what rents or services the same were held, and who 
 Avas the next heir, that the king might be informed of 
 his right of escheat or wardship. These volumes con- 
 tain a copious index of such documents. 
 
446 
 
 *aat \E^Tii:i\. raiti \ 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORDS. 
 
 i 1*7 
 
 NonaniTii Tnqiiisitiones in Cnria Scaccarii rimp. 
 Regis Eclw. III. 18U7. 
 
 These records are in the kiim's reiiiemT)rancer's 
 office in the Exchequer; they originated irom n ^^raiil 
 made to Edward III. by parli.uiieiit, in the fourtcH nth 
 year of his reign, after bis vain assnniption of the title 
 of King of France, of the ninth bxnib, the ninth lleccc, 
 and the ninth sheaf, and in cities and boroughs, the 
 ninth part of goods and moveables. Commissioners 
 were appointed to hny the tax according to the rate 
 in which churches were vahied in the record of Pope 
 Nicholas IV, To gain a correct estimate whether the 
 ninth was more or less than the ecclesiastical valuation, 
 the commissioners were directed to take inquisitions 
 (the records now published), upon the oath of the 
 parishioners. 
 
 Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum in Curia 
 Scaccarii, Temp. Hen. HI. et Ed. I. lbU7. 
 
 This document, so named either from Kal])h de 
 Nevill, an accountant in the Exchequer, or of Jollan 
 de Nevill, an itinerant justice, both of the reitrn of 
 Henry HI., is a list— 1. Of fees holden immediately of 
 the king, or of others who hold of the king in capite ; as 
 also of fees held in frank-almoigne, with their respec- 
 tive values. 2. Of serjeanties holden of the king, with 
 their value. 3. Of widows and heiresses of tenants in 
 capite, whose marriages were in the gift of the king, 
 with the value of their lands. 4. Of churches in the 
 gift of the king. 5. Of escheats, as well of the lands 
 of Normans as others. 6. Of the amount of the sums 
 paid for scutage and aid, &c., by each tenant. 
 
 A Catalogue of the Ilarleian Manuscripts in the 
 
 British Museum, with indexes of persons, places, 
 and matters, 4 vols. 1808—1812- 
 
 Placiloruii! in Donio Capitiihrri Westmonasterii, as- 
 servatorum abbreviatio, ttmporibus Regum Hie. L, 
 Johanii., Hcnr. TTL, Edw. I., Edw, IL 1811. 
 
 This volume is in the nature of a calendar or index 
 to the most ancient records in the king's superior 
 courts: it is compiled from several volumes of ab- 
 stracts of pleadings preserved in the Chapter House 
 of Westminster. 
 
 Liliri Censualis, vocati Domesday Book Indices. 1816. 
 
 4 
 
 This volume contains a copious and valuable in- 
 troduction to Domesday Book; with indexes : 1. Of the 
 names of places according to the order of the counties. 
 2. A general index of places and possessions. 3. Of 
 the names of tfic tenants in chief. 4. Of the chief 
 affairs in tlie record. 
 
 Libri Censualis vocati Domesday Book additamenta 
 ex codic. antiquiss. 181(>. 
 
 This volume contains f^mr returns of a similar 
 nature with Domesday Book: 1. Exon Domesday, 
 the ori^^inals of which are preserved in Exeter cathe- 
 dral, is an exact transcription of the returns made by 
 the Conqueror's commissioners in the western part of 
 the kingdom, for his great w ork. 2. Inquisitio Eliensis, 
 from a register of the monastery in the Cotton MSS., 
 British Museum : this is a document of the same kind 
 
\ 
 
 \ 
 
 448 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 HISTORICAL RECORDS, 
 
 449 
 
 as the Exon Domesday, and ndate^ to the property nf 
 the monastery of Ely. ;3. The W intuii Domesday, 
 from the archives of the Society of Antiquaries. King 
 Henry I,, desirous of ascertainini:: what hinds Edward 
 the Confessor held in Wineluster, as of his own de- 
 mesne, ordered this survey between the years 1107 and 
 1128. 4. The Boldon Book, so called from a village 
 of that name near Sunderland, is a survey of the county 
 of Durham, by Hugh de Pudsey, the bishop, 1183. No 
 original record exists, and the work is transcribed irom 
 an ancient copy amongst the Laud MSS. at Oxford. 
 
 The Statutes of the Realm, from original records and 
 authentic manuscripts, 9 vols. 1810—1822. 
 
 The portion of the statutes published by tlie commis- 
 sioners commences with the statute of Mcrton, 20th 
 Henry III. 1236, and ends with the last year of Queen 
 Anne. In the introduction an historical account is 
 given of all former printed collections, translations, and 
 abridgments of the statutes, with various other useful 
 information. To the first volume is prefixed a series 
 of the charters of the liberties of England, from 1st 
 Henry I. a.d. 1101, to the 29th Edward I. a.d. 1301 ; 
 and engraved fac-similes of several, amongst which 
 are, the Charter of Liberties, granted I)y King Stephen, 
 in Exeter cathedral; the Articuli Magne Carte of King 
 John, in the British Museum; the Magna Carta of 
 John, in Lincoln cathedral ; the Carta de Torcsta of 
 Henry III., and the Magna Carta of Henry TIT., in 
 Durham cathedral; the Entry <.f the Charter of Con- 
 firmation, 21st Henry III. in the Charter Koll of that 
 year, in the Tower of London; and the Cliartrr of 
 Inspcxiraus, 25th Edward I., in the town clerk's office. 
 
 n 
 
 London. In the subsequent volumes also are several 
 fac-similes of interesting and important documents. 
 
 Valor Ecclesiasticus, temp. Hen. VITI., 1535, aucto- 
 ritate Regia, Instituius, 5 vols. 1810 — 1825. 
 (Not yet completed.) 
 
 These documents are compiled from various books 
 and rolls in the First Fruits Office. Tn the twenty-sixth 
 yenr of TTenry VIII., 1534, an act passed, granting to 
 the king the lirst fruits and tenths of the revenues of 
 the clergy, which had heretofore found their way to the 
 court of Rome. An enquiry was in consequence set on 
 foot to ascertain the value of all ecclesiastical benefices 
 whatever throughout the kingdom^ of which the volumes 
 before us are the result. 
 
 Rotuli Hundredorum, temp. Hen. III. et Edw. I., in 
 Turr. Loud, et iu curia recepta? Scaccarii, Westm. 
 asservati, 2 vols. 1812 — 1818. 
 
 The rolls oflicially denominated the Hundred Rolls, 
 contain incpiisitions taken in pursuance of a special 
 commission issued under the great seal, dated in the 
 second year of Edward L: they are the records of 
 inquisitions made by juries summoned in the several 
 counties of England. The original returns of some of 
 the counties appear to 1)e lost, but they are supplied in 
 tills work from a contemporaneous document, and the 
 whole relates to enquiries made concerning knights' 
 fees, escheats, wardships, alienations, &c. that the 
 king might not be deprived of his rights. There are 
 also some other llmidrcd llolis preserved in the Tower, 
 formin- pari of a general survey of the kingdom, 7th 
 
 VOL. II. 2 G 
 
150 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 HISTORICAL IJECORDS. 
 
 451 
 
 Edward I. lur tlie :sanie purpose: the returns for five 
 counties only are extant, and these are printed at the 
 
 end of the tbrincr iiuiui^itHiiis. 
 
 Placita de quo warrajifo, InnpDribn.q Edwartl 1., JL, 
 et III., in curia receptee Scaccuiii \Vestm. as^ci- 
 ntoV Yi^ta. 1818. 
 
 In consequence of the abuses disco^ercd by the 
 inquisitions detailed in (lie Hundred Rolls, an acf, 
 called tlie Statute of Gloucester, was made in the sixth 
 year of Edward I., relating" to liberties, franchises, &c.; 
 and when the judges went their circuit, they issued 
 writs of right and quo warranto against such persons 
 who claimed certain manors, liberties, &c., where the 
 jury had determined nesciunt quo icarranfo, that they 
 knew not by what warrant such manors were conti- 
 nued to be held. This volume contains the pleas held 
 upon these claims: the originals are rcposited in the 
 Court of the Ileceipt of the Exchequer, at the Chapter 
 House in Westminster. ...if 
 
 Rymeri Foedera, Conventiones, Littera^ et cujuscun- 
 que generis, acta publica, inter Kcges AnglicC et 
 alios quosvis Imperatores, Reges, Pontifices, Prin- 
 cipes vel communitates, ub ingressu Gulielmi I., 
 in Angliam, a.d. 10G(), ad nostra usque Tempora 
 habita aut tractata, vol. 1. 18l(!. The work still 
 proceeding, in not less than twenty volumes. 
 
 In the new edition of this very valuable collection, 
 are proposed, 1. An extension of the limits of the 
 Foedera, as published by Mr. Rymer in the reign of 
 Queen Anne, to an earlier and later period of time. 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 * 4 
 
 iJJlJ 
 
 i.i U.^ 
 
 iki ilii// ^.:ij iiii 
 
 2. The verification of the old materials, and the addition 
 of others within the same reigns. 3. A chronological 
 arrangement, with a reference to the repository in 
 which each article is to be found. 4, Typographical 
 improvements in the execution of the whole. The work 
 is ornamented with fac-simile sperimens of various do- 
 cuments, aiil rM the seals of the kings of England, from 
 the Conqueror to Edward II. inclusive. 
 
 A Catalogue of the Lansdown Manuscripts in the 
 ^^^ British Museum. 1819. 
 
 llotuli Scotiai in Turri Londinensi et in Domo Capi- 
 tulari Westmonasteriensi, asservati, 2 vols. 1814 
 —1819. 
 
 ' These rolls are an important collection of records, 
 illustrative of the political transactions between Eng- 
 land and Scotland ; they commence with the nineteenth 
 year of Edward I., and tc^rminate with the eighth of 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 •'^^Tnq'uTsitionnm ad Capellam Domini Regis Retorna- 
 ^'^ tarum qua^ in publicis archivis Scotiae adhuc ser- 
 vanlur, abbreviatio, 3 vols. 1811 — 1816. 
 
 The record, of which an abridgment is here given, 
 comprehends all those proceedings by inquest or the 
 verdict of an assize, W'hich originate in certain writs 
 issuing from Chancery in Scotland, and which are ulti- 
 mately transmitted or ''^ retoured'' to that office. From 
 tht^ supposed destruction of the records of Chancery in 
 Scotland in the minorily of Queen Mary, the present 
 series begins no earlier than the year 1547, and teniii- 
 nates with the end of the seventeenth century. 
 
•■y^- 
 
 5^^^' 
 
 452 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 Re^istrum Mnmii SiLnllt llegum Scotorun 
 vis Piiblicis Asservalum. J>1 1. 
 
 HI 
 
 Aichi- 
 
 This volume contains a select coUectiuu ui ali Uac 
 ancient royal charters of Scotland, from KKH; to 1121, 
 drawn not only from the existin<v registers of the great 
 seal, but from original charters in the possession of 
 individuals and public bodies. 
 
 The Acts of Parliaments in Scotland, 1st vol. not 
 yet publislied, 2d vol. 1815. The work still 
 proceeding. 
 
 The Statutes and Ordinances of Ireland. Publishing 
 in Dublin. 
 
 The works thus enumcrat(Hl are all which the com- 
 missioners intend publishing,' at least in Enuland: tliey 
 will amount in number, when complete, to little less 
 than a hundred folios: each work is illustrated with a 
 fac-simile engraving of a portion of the record. (K)vern- 
 ment has liberally distributed copies gratuitously to 
 upwards of one hundred and twenty pul)lic and colle- 
 giate libraries in the kingdom, 
 
 F. Whether the commissioners, like other benefac- 
 tors to their species, will 
 
 Close their long labours with a sigh, to find 
 The unwilUng gratitude of base mankind, 
 
 I cannot tell; for though the Statutes, the Fanlera, and 
 the Catalogues will be a lasting monument of national 
 utility, yet ugly doubts have been started whether 
 burning rather than printing would not have been the 
 
 I 
 
 C0M1NES. 
 
 453 
 
 more eligible process for most part oi the remainder. 
 This plan was indeed once proposed l)y the irreverent 
 levellers in the days of fhr Commonwealth. Mr. Rose, 
 
 ill his return,' admits that " our constitution is too well 
 settle d now, to render any investigation of any of the 
 earliest records of real importance with regard to its 
 limits ur its form;" and however valuable the original 
 documents may be considered by the antiquary, to clear 
 up certain occasional, but frequently insignificant, points, 
 the common herd, 1 am afraid, will look with wonder 
 and amazement at printed volumes containing such 
 vast accumulations of incredible dulness and apparent 
 inutility. 
 
 P. — In dilating upon the copious theme of printed 
 illustrations of the ancient English history, we have 
 strangely wiuidcred from the consideration of the events 
 of the fifteenth century. 
 
 F. — Before finally taking leave, we must acknow- 
 ledge our obligations to two foreign historians of great 
 celebritv, Monstrelet andComines, who have elucidated 
 that era. The " Chroniques" of the first writer take 
 up the story where it was left by Froissart in 1401, 
 and he continues it to 14G7. This author, an oflicer in 
 the service of the Duke of Burgundy, though somewhat 
 languid and diffuse, is simple, clear, and highly trust- 
 worthy: he incorporated with the general history of 
 France many particulars of the surrounding nations, 
 and Endand amonsfst the number. The " Memoires'' 
 of Comines, on a nearly similar plan, extend from 14G4 
 to 1498. This author was a native of Flanders, and 
 held an eminent station in the court of Louis the 
 Eleventh, with whom he was on terms of familiar 
 intimacy. Possessing great penetration and knowledge 
 
 * CommissionerH' Report, p. 7. 
 
 « Committee's Report, p. 47. 
 
454 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 of mankind, he traces circumstances to their oriirin,and 
 is prodigal of excellent remarks; thus uuitiu- the op- 
 portunity of observing with the talent of describiiiir, his 
 history is exceeded in value by few of any age or coun- 
 try, and is still read with interest: his authentic portrait 
 of a cruel and jealous'^tyrant in the person of Louis the 
 Eleventh, at once suffering and inflicting equal misery, 
 has never been surpassed. "' 
 
 "^•— However superior then the early annalists of* 
 England may have been, we have nothing to compete 
 during the latter half of the fourteenth and the whole of 
 the fifteenth century, with the great French historical 
 triumvirate, Froissart, Monstrelet, and Comines. 
 
 F.— Fortunately too for their continued popularity,'* 
 they wrote in the vernacular dialect of their country; 
 whereas in England the fashion of using the English 
 tongue in similar ellbrts did not commence till after 
 the introduction of the art of printing. ^ 
 
 A.— One of the earliest examples of an English 
 composition of this nature is '' The Concordance of 
 Stories," by Robert Fabian: it begins with the arrival* 
 of Brutus, and ends at the twentieth year of Henry the 
 Seventh. The language of this writer is very intelligi])le, 
 and the book is valuable for the plainness and sincerity 
 with which it is written: its information on contempo-' 
 rary subjects has always been deemed authentic ; and 
 it contains many curious particulars relative to the 
 afiairs of the city of London not else\vhere to be met 
 with. Fabian died either in 1511 or 1512: Ijis example 
 encouraged a crowd of historical writers, sue h as Sir 
 Thomas More, Hall, Grafton, Holinshed, Fox, and 
 Stow, to follow his footsteps ; from whose pages indeed 
 by far the larger portiou of the historical information 
 of the fifteenth century is derived. 
 
 CA-XiuN. 
 
 • - R ?_' » -* 
 
 4o5 
 
 F. — Lilt as these worthies belong to the age of the 
 Tudors, this is not ilio place to particularize their 
 merits or defects. 
 
 yl.— The excellent person, William Caxton, who, 
 by introducing the art of printing, was the chief cause 
 of the English tongue becoming tlie vehicle of history, 
 must not be so slightly passed over. This worthy citizen 
 was born in the Weald of Kent, 1412, and apprenticed 
 to a merchant in London;^ he afterwards resided for 
 thirty years in the Low Countries, probably as agent 
 for the Mercers' Company; but in the latter part of the 
 period, he filled some office in the household of Margaret 
 of York, duchess of Burgundy. That he was held 
 in high esleem, is evident from his having been pre- 
 viously entrusted by Edward the Fourth to assist in 
 carrying on a treaty with the duke.^ Not being much 
 occupied, Caxton relates that he had translated into 
 English, from the French of the Sieur Raoul le Fevre, 
 some books of '' The llecuyel of the History s of Troy e,'' 
 which circumstance reaching the ears of his patroness 
 the duchess, she desired to see them ; when having found 
 fault witii his English, she ordered him to correct it and 
 finish the work.^ Caxton having become acquainted with 
 the newly discovered art of printing, ventured to put 
 the book to the press at Cologne in 1471, A copy of 
 '' The Rccuyel of the Historys of Troye" is in the 
 King's Library, and another, at the sale of the Rox- 
 burghe collection, fetched the enormous price of 
 .tlOGO IRs., which once belonged to Queen Elizabeth 
 Grey, and was probably the presentation copy of the 
 printer.' Caxton, after disposing of as many copies 
 on the continent as he was able, came over to England 
 
 I : 
 
 Ames, Dilxlin. 
 Froeni to the Rccuyci. 
 
 ^' Rynicr, vol. 11. 
 * Ames, EHbdin. 
 
 ^A 
 
456 
 
 VESTIGIA. 
 
 CAXTON. 
 
 457 
 
 a 
 
 in 1472 with the remaifider^ as specimens of his skill. 
 Encouraged by the Abbot of Westminster, Thomas 
 Milling, he soon after set up a printing-press in the 
 Almonry at that city, situated near the abbey; and 
 there he produced, in 1474, ^' The Game of Chesse," 
 the first book that is known with certainty to have been 
 printed in England : a copy of this work is also in the 
 Royal Library, and another copy in the possession of 
 the Duke of Marlborouiih.^ 
 
 F. — Attempts have been made to deprive Caxton 
 of the honour of introducing the art of printing into 
 England, in favour of one Frederick Corsellis, a Dutch- 
 man, who it is pretended printed at Oxford six years 
 earlier; but the story is improbable, and no specimen 
 of his labour has been produced.^' 
 
 A. — It is granted that before the death of Caxton, 
 other printers, encouraged by his example and success, 
 exercised their art, of whom were Rood, Lettou, Mach- 
 linia, and Wynkyn de Worde, foreigners ; and Tliomas 
 Hunt, an Englishman, in London; there was also a 
 press at St. Albans, worked by a schoolmaster, in a 
 chapel, within the limits of the monastery, 1480.*^ 
 
 F. — It is to the credit of the English ecclesiastics, 
 that they seem to have been the chief promoters of the 
 introduction of this new and important discovery into 
 England ; whereas on the continent the monks,'^ when 
 printing was first practised, asserted that there was a 
 new language discovered called Greek, of which people 
 should beware, since it was that which produced all the 
 heresies: and that there was another new laniruaii^e 
 which was called Hebrew, and ihcy who learned it 
 were turned Jews. 
 
 • Ames, Dibdin. 
 ' Ames, Dibdin. 
 
 *» bio^. Brit. 
 
 •J iiody de Tcxti Biblio, p. 465. 
 
 J.— Caxton was at the age of fifty-six when he 
 returned to Ennhmd ; and though so great was his 
 industry that'he published fifty volumes, some of them 
 of large size, and many of which were translated by 
 himself, yet it must be admitted that he did not excel 
 in the choice of his subjects, which though sufficiently 
 various, were frequently trifling, and would be tedious 
 to enumerate. 
 
 F.— Having been bred to business, we may suppose 
 that he accommodated his productions to the taste of 
 the times, probably imagining that lighter subjects 
 would meet with a more rapid sale than original 
 classics, or works in the abstruser sciences. 
 
 il.— Another cause might exist in Caxton's acknow- 
 ledged ignorance of Latin, and consequently his incompe- 
 tence to superintend the publication of any work in that 
 language. He published a Avretched translation of part 
 of theiEneid, from the French, for which he wvas sharply, 
 and not unjustly, rebuked by the Scotish poet Gawin 
 Douglas;^ but that he was able to discriminate works 
 of merit, may 1)e implied from his edition of the Canter- 
 bury Tales, and some other of Chaucer's pieces, whose 
 excellence he perfectly understood, as he has ably cha- 
 racterized the genius of that great poet. Caxton also 
 attempted to versify himself, but miserable was the at- 
 tempt ; nor were his eflbrts as an historian, in his addi- 
 tional book to Higden's Polychronicon, of much greater 
 value; yet in his various prorr.is or prefaces there are 
 many curious particulars relative to the manners and 
 customs of his age. So industrious was his nature, that 
 his labours were interrupted only by his death, a transla- 
 tion from the French, of the Lives of the Fathers being 
 completed on the last day of his life, 1491," On looking 
 
 '* Ames, Dibdin. 
 
 ^ Biograpli. Brit. 
 
 2 H 
 
458 
 
 VESTIGIA 
 
 ir 
 
 I 
 
 I? 
 
 back on the pac^c of English histon', we sliall find no 
 greater benefactor to his country; and Ihonirh no mo- 
 nument of brass or marble records his merits or his 
 name, he has left a memorial wliich ])ids d( llaiice to 
 decay. If onr 2:reat architect chose as an appropriate 
 motto for his sepulchre, in St. Paul's cathedral, Si 
 inonumentwn qiueris circumspice, with ccpial truth may 
 it be applied to William Caxton; as ^vherever we turn 
 our eyes we behold the stupendous effect of his exam- 
 ple, in the unbounded influence of the press, ameliorating 
 all classes and conditions of society, and perv ading, like 
 one of the common elements of nature, every dwelling 
 in the kingdom, from the straws-thatched cottage to the 
 imperial palace. 
 
 ■■ L 
 
 ^;ii>:^ \RY. 
 
 N \ u il K . 
 
 y 
 
 F I N T S. 
 
 v^ 
 
 iXDEX. 
 
 \ 
 
 T. iir.Nsi.EV, rjiiiicr, Ciaiie Court, Fleet istrtet. 
 
 ^burt/, a drnidical temple, i. 4. 
 ^cre, sies:e of, i. 552. 
 yicts of Farliament, in wliat languaare 
 drawn up, i. 428. In Scotland, new 
 edition of, ii. 452. 
 Advljrid^ king of JkTnieia, establishes 
 the kintrdoni of Northiniiherlaiid, 
 i. 86 ; slays the monks of Baniror, ih. ; 
 Adrian tlie emperor Aisits iintain; 
 erects his celebrated wall, i. 42. 
 
 IV. pope, his stirrup held by 
 
 the emperor, i. 271 ; the only Knir- 
 lishmau who ever fdled the pontifical 
 chair, 277 ; his motive for making a 
 grant of Ireland to Henry II., 2l)2. 
 ^TJla^ kiiig of Deiri, i. 81." 
 Asrace, See Gi»bin. 
 Airafhuy daug!it«T of \Villiam the Con- 
 queror, her prayer, i. 226*. 
 Aouicourt, battle of, ii. 256 — 259. 
 Airnes Sorel, the queen of beauty, 
 
 ii. 275. 
 Agrirola commands the Romans in 
 
 Britain, i. 41. 
 AUuiu^ de Insulis, his commentary on 
 
 Merlin's prophecies, i. 73. 
 Alb/inacty son of Brutus, i 14. 
 Alhioiiy a giant, i. 11; the ancient 
 
 name of Britain, i. 12. 
 Alchemical delusion, ii.401. 
 Alcniu, a learned Saxon, i. 100; edi- 
 tion of his poem, ii. 453. 
 Al'lkclm^ a Saxon poet, i. 124. 
 Alv.randn' \\\. king of Scotland, his 
 untifuely deatli, ii. 20. 
 
 ■- \\\. pope, his horse led by 
 
 the kings of Trance and England, 
 i. 271. 
 Alfred receives unction at Rome, i. 1 08 ; 
 his accession and character, 111; 
 resists the Danes, becomes a fugi- 
 tive, neglects to toast the cakes of 
 his hostess, 115; divides his loaf 
 withNider the beggar, 114 ; assumes 
 the disguise of a harper, joins his 
 followers atSelwood, and defeats the 
 Danes at Eddington, 115; restores 
 tranquillity to his country, dies, 
 116; divides the Lea into three 
 VOL. II. 
 
 channels, 117; his institutions, 118 
 — 123 ; his encouragement of letters, 
 124; love of his "people, his will, 
 125; his faults, ih.; his burial- 
 place, 126. 
 
 Alice, See Peres, 
 
 All Sf.uls College, Oxford, on what 
 occasion founded, ii. 267. 
 
 Alphaire, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 murdered by the Dam^s, i. 147. 
 
 Aitibrosius delays the sul>jugation of 
 Britain, i. 68 ;"' slain at Chardford, 70. 
 
 America, supposed Wel^h settlement 
 there, ii. 7. 
 
 Ams^H, a German tribe, mentioned by 
 Tacitus, i. 65 ; what parts of Eng- 
 land peopled by theju, i. 81. 
 
 Auirlia Sacra, bv Henry AVharton, 
 II. 4c)u. 
 
 Anglica, Normannica, Hibernica, Cam- 
 brica, a veteribus scripta, by Cam- 
 den, ii. 450. 
 
 ^;^^/o-Normans, their manners and 
 dress, i. 256. 
 
 Anglo^^2ixon constitution, i. 120 — 123. 
 
 See Saxuns. 
 Arijou, the paternal inheritance of 
 
 Henry II. i. 266. Countess of, a 
 
 reputed witch, i. 520. 
 Anlaf, a powerful Dane, visits the 
 
 camp of Athelstan in the disguise of 
 
 a harper, i. 128. 
 Anne, (jueen to Richard II. first makes 
 
 use of a side-saddle, ii. 182. 
 A/isehiy abbot of Bee, advanced to the 
 
 primacy, i. 250 ; negotiates a peace 
 
 between Henry I. and his brother 
 
 Robert, 259. 
 Anto?iinus Pius, his celebrated walk 
 
 1. 42. 
 Aquitaine, the province of, i. 267. 
 Architecture, domestic, progress of, 
 
 ii. 314 ; Gothic, i 395; progress of, 
 
 ii. 226. 
 ^r/r;/,9, Robert de,stimulates Edward [If. 
 
 to claim the throne of France, ii. 115. 
 Arteveld, Von James, a brewer in 
 
 Ghent, advises Edward HI. to assmue 
 the title of King of France, ii. 116. 
 Arthur, princ^i of the Sdures, compels 
 
 2 1 
 
4f;o 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 401 
 
 the Snxons to raise the siege of 
 Badon Hill, i. 70 ; uncertainty of his 
 history, 7 1 ; mortally wounded by 
 his nephew Mordred, 75 ; fabulous 
 exploits, 76; his round table, 77 ; 
 his expected return, 80. 
 
 Arthur^ son of Geoffrey, deprived of 
 the inheritance of England, i. 355 ; 
 does homage t'^ King John for Bri- 
 tany, 356 ; makes war, and is taken 
 prisoner, 357 ; cruelly murdered, 35B. 
 
 Arundel^ an English commander, car- 
 ries off the nuns from a convent, 
 ii. 9!). 
 
 Armulely archbishop of Canterbury, his 
 intolerant decree against reading the 
 scriptures, ii. 208. 
 
 Castle, the Empress Matilda 
 
 there besieged, i. 252. 
 
 •, countess of, reproaches Henry 
 
 the Third, i. 407. 
 
 Assassins, prince of, i. 545. 
 
 Asserhts, bishop of Sherburne, charac- 
 ter of his works, i. 171; editions, 
 ii. 429, 450. 453. 
 
 Atheling^ Edgar, meaning of the name, 
 undoubted heir of the English throne, 
 1. 165; proclaimed king, lii^^O ; bis 
 extreme imbecility, i^^-; taken pri- 
 soner at the battle of Tencbebrai, 
 241; dies in obscuritv in extreme 
 old age, ib. 
 
 Athelstatiy enacts a remarkable law, 
 i. 127; subdues Constautinc, king 
 of Scotland, and compels him to 
 perform homage, 128; his cruelty, 
 person, and character, 152. 
 
 Athelwuld, his treachery to Edgar, 
 i. 151). 
 
 Attdcottiyiin ancient British tribe, i. 53. 
 
 Audley, Lord, his generosity to his four 
 esquires, ii. 155. 
 
 Augusta, a name given to London, as 
 deserving imperial rank, i. 54. 
 
 Augustine the monk hrst preaches 
 Christianity to the Saxons in Eng- 
 land, 1. 84, 85 ; his conference with 
 the monks of Bangor, 87, 88. 
 
 Aveshurij, Robert, character of his 
 history, ii. 217 ; edition of, 11. 459. 
 
 Azincour, battle of, ii. 256 — 259. 
 
 B 
 
 Bacon, Rosrer, the wonderful doctor, 
 ii. 85—89. 
 
 Badlcsmere, Lady, insults Queen Isa- 
 bella, ii. 71. 
 
 Badon Hill, siege of, raised by the 
 Saxons, i. 70. 
 
 Balance of trade in favour of England, 
 
 Edward UL ii. 167. 
 Baliol, John, elevated to the Scotish 
 throne, ii. 23 ; renounces the crown, 
 24 ; dies in exile, 26. 
 
 , Edward, asserts his claim to 
 
 the Scotish throne, ii. 110; resigns 
 his pretensions, and dies in France, 
 154. 
 
 Ball, John, a seditious priest, ii. 172. 
 
 Ballad, humorous one by Dr. Pope, 
 i. 592. 
 
 Banaster betrays the Duke of Bucking- 
 ham, ii. 377. 
 
 Bangor, slaughter of the monks of, 
 i. 8() ; extensive monastery there, 87. 
 
 Bannockhurn, battle of, ii. 61 — 63. 
 
 Banquo, a fictitious personage, ii. 19. 
 
 Barbour, John, a Scotish noet, ii. 63. 
 
 Bards, massacre of the Welsh, doubt- 
 ful, Ii. 11. 
 
 Barfrcston church, description of,l. 59. 
 
 Burnakall, the child-preserver, i. 118. 
 
 Bar Hit, battle of, ii. 335. 
 
 Bnrri\ Luke de, deprived of sight, 
 i. 247. 
 
 Bassinates, wonderful fishes, 11. 16. 
 
 Bast on, a Carmelite friar, his singular 
 poem, il. t)4. 
 
 Bath, Bishop of. See StUlington, 
 
 Battle Abl)ey Roll, i. 185. 
 
 Bayeux tapestry, or needle - work, 
 i. 164. 
 
 Bcuuf(jrt, family of, 11. 181. 
 
 Henry, cardinal, entrused 
 
 with the education of Henry VL 
 ii. 269 ; opposes the Duke of Glou- 
 cester, 288 ; his great wealth and 
 pride, his awful death bed, 292. 
 
 Beauvais, Bishop of, taken prison<'r, 
 1. :M9. 
 
 Becket, Thomas .\, romantic story of 
 his parents, i. 272 ; made chancel- 
 lor, 273 ; advanced to the primacy, 
 275 ; quarrels with Henry the Second, 
 279; retires to the continent, '26\ -, 
 pretended reconciliation, 285; re- 
 turns, lit.: murdered in Canterbury 
 cathedral, 289 ; miracles at his tomi), 
 ib. ; his life written by various per- 
 sons, 589 ; collection of his epis- 
 tles, 390. 
 
 Bede, why QiiWcd venerai)le, 1.99; his 
 . death, 100; character of his works, 
 ih.; edition of, 11.429. 
 
 Bedford, John duke of, appointed re- 
 gent of France at the deatli of 
 Henrv \^ ii. 265 ; his letter to the 
 I^nglish council, 2'^0 ; purchases the 
 
 f 
 
 1 1 
 
 Maid of Orleans, 281 ; testimony of 
 Louis XL to his valour, 286 
 
 BeIg(E, their irruptions in Britain, i. 10. 
 
 Belknap, Sir Robert, an unconstitu- 
 tional judge, ii. 179. 
 
 Benedict us Abbas, character of his 
 history, i. 388 ; edition of, ii. 440. 
 
 Benevolence, a tax facetiously so term- 
 ed, ii. 339. 
 
 Berheleij Castle, murder of Edward IL 
 there, ii. 80. 
 
 Berkshire, a county peculiarly English, 
 ii. 94. 
 
 Berncrs (or Barnes}, Juliana, her book 
 
 of St. Albans, ii. 423. 
 Bcrnicia, kingdom of, i. 81. 
 Bevis of Southampton, i. 131. 
 Bigod, Huirh, defies Henry H. i. 313. 
 Bille, father of Mileslus, i. 297. 
 Bladud, the founder of Bath, i. 16. 
 Black Prince. See Edward. 
 Blaise, Bishop, some .account of, ii. 167. 
 Blanche of Castile, niece of King John, 
 
 i. 356. 374. 
 Blaneford, Henry de, character of his 
 
 history, ii 91 ; edition of, ii. 439. 
 Blesensis Petrus. See Pcttr of Blois. 
 BItuil Harry, the Scotish Homer, ii.,33. 
 Blondel de Nesle, the minstrel, disco- 
 vers Richard I. in captivity, i. 546. 
 Blorehtath, battle of, ii. 505! 
 Buadicca defeated by the Romans, 
 
 i. 40. 
 Bohnnia, the blind king of, slain at 
 
 Crecy, ii. 128. 
 Bolnio broke. See Hereford, 
 Bunosus assumes the purple in Britain, 
 
 i. 49. 
 Books, scarcity of, in the fifteenth cen- 
 
 turv, ii. 409. 
 Boroughs, first send representatives to 
 parliament, i.4 12 ; their origin, mean- 
 ing of the name, ii. 52. 
 Bosu'orth, battle of, 11.585. 
 Bouillon, Godfrey of, defender of the 
 
 Holy Sepulchre, i. 327. 329. 
 B:uquct, Recueil des Historiens des 
 Gaules et de la France, an admirable 
 work, ii. 428. 
 B'!i/ Bishop, account of, il. 419. 
 Jhabancons, -dlmnd of mercenary ruf- 
 fians, i. 551. 575. 
 Brcnnus, a British jirinre, 1. 1(). 
 Bretigni, peace of, li. 155. 
 BrunL Boiromhe, an Irish king, i. 500. 
 Britain, derivation of the name, i. 12; 
 a province fertile of tyrants, 1.55; 
 ii. 592; evacuated by the Romans, 
 i. 56. 
 
 Britannicarum Gentium, historiae anti-^ 
 quae scriptorcs tres, by C. Bertram, 
 ii. 434. 
 Britons, they apply for assistance to 
 tlie consul ^Etius, i. 63 ; retreat to 
 the mountains of Wales, and to Ar- 
 morica, i. ^}^. 
 Brithric, king of Wessex, poisoned by 
 
 his mfe, i. 97. 
 Brompto7i, John, character of his his- 
 tory, ii. 91 ; edition of, 431. 
 Bruce, Robert, aspires to the Scotish 
 throne, ii. 23 ; his son, of the same 
 name, cajoled by Edward I. 55 ; the 
 supposed conference of his grandson, 
 Robert Bruce, with Wallace, 34 ; he 
 withdraws from the English court, 
 55 ; arrives at Loch Maben, 36 ; 
 kills Comyn, is crowned at Scone, 
 37; taunted by his queen, 58; re- 
 tires to the W estern Isles, ih. ,- des- 
 patches a spy to Carrick, 59 ; returns 
 and attacks the English, 40 ; reco- 
 vers the fortified places, 60 ; gains the 
 battle of Bannockhurn, 61 ; invades 
 Ireland, 64 ; in his old age attacks 
 England, 105 ; concludes a truce 
 with Mortimer, 105 ; desires his 
 h( art to he carried to the Holy 
 Land, 10<). 
 
 David, takes refuge in France, 
 
 ii. 110; returns to Scotland, taken 
 prisoner at the battle of Neville's 
 Cross, 150; released after eleven 
 years captivity, 154. 
 Biunshurt/, battle of, i. 127. 
 Brutus the Trojan, i. 12. 
 
 tiie Greenshield, i. 15. 
 
 Buchan, countess of, confined in a ca"-e 
 
 11. o8. 
 Buckingham, Stafford, duke of, ha- 
 rangues the citizens in favour of the 
 title of the Duke of Gloucester, 
 ii.566; offers him the crown, 567/ 
 withdraws to Brecknock, 576; be- 
 trayed by his servant Banaster, 377 ; 
 executed at Salisbury, ib. 
 Villlers, duke of, paral- 
 leled with Gaveston, ii. 60. 
 Burgesses, when first summoned to 
 
 parliament, i. 412; ii. 45. 
 Burgh, de. See Hubert. 
 Burgundy, Duke of, assassinates the 
 Duke of Orleans, ii. 253 ; murdered 
 on the bridge of Montereau,261. 
 Bute, Earl of, compared to Mortimer, 
 
 ii. 109. 
 Byron, Sir John, intercedes for his 
 friend's estate, ii. 587. 
 
iflB*Pi>P"*'^i^%n 
 
 46^ 
 
 JNDEX. 
 
 Cade, John, his iiisurrection, ii. 295. 
 
 Cce^ar, Juiiiis, invades Britain, i. 27 
 — 53. 
 
 Calais, surrender of, ii. 151 ; repeopled 
 by Eni-lisli, 152; at one time sent 
 members to parliament, ih. ; nearly 
 lost i)v treachery, 155. 
 
 Calcndarium Inquisitionum post mor- 
 tem, the record, ii. 145. 
 
 Rotulorum Chartarum, et 
 
 incju^sitionum ad quod damnum, the 
 record, ii. 444. 
 
 Rotulorum Patentium, the 
 
 record, ii. 444. 
 
 Camaloduniim^Xho. anclentBritish town, 
 now M;dden, i. 56 ; destroyed, 59 ; 
 its splendour, ii. 515. 
 
 Cambn'y son of Brutus, i. 14. 
 
 Cambridi^Cy description of Kincr's Col- 
 le^re chapel, ii. 221. 224; disputed 
 antiquity of the university with that 
 of Oxford, 222. 
 
 Earl of, conspires ag-ainst 
 
 Henry V., executed, ii. 254. 
 
 Cannfj7i, doul)tfrd whether used at 
 Crecy, ii. 12H ; not mentioned as 
 used at Poictiers or Ag-incourt, 259 ; 
 first found serviceable at the siege of 
 of Orleans, 274. 
 
 Canute the Great contests the claim of 
 Edmund Ironside, besieges London, 
 digs a trench and brings his ships 
 above the bridge, i. 149 ; reigns with 
 equity, 150; hangs Edric, the infa- 
 mous duke of IVIercia, ib. ; nuikts 
 himself for having connnitted homi- 
 cide, 151 ; rebukes his courtiers, 155. 
 
 Captal de Buche, why so called, ii. 164. 
 
 Caractacus betrayed and delivered up 
 to the Romans, i. 37. 
 
 Carausius declares himself emperor in 
 Britain, his ivcdals, i. 50. 
 
 Cards J their invention and introduction 
 into England, ii. 268. 
 
 Carlisle, Bishop of. See Merles. 
 
 Cartaphilus the wandering Jew, i.450. 
 
 Cartismandua, queen of the Brigantos, 
 i. 58. 
 
 Ca^sibelan, or Cassivelaunus, king of 
 Britain, resists Julius Caesar, i. 51. 
 
 Cassiteridcs, the land of tin, i. 10. 
 
 Castles, 1115 erected in the. reign of 
 King Stephen, i. 251. 
 
 Caxton, William, born in London, re- 
 sides thirty years in the Low Coun- 
 tries, ii. 455 ; prints his first work, 
 the Recuycl of the Historysof Trove, 
 at Cologne, ib,-, his Game of Cheese 
 
 the first book printed in England, 
 456 ; his great industry and merit, 
 457; his lasting monument, 458. 
 
 Celibacy imposed upon the clergy, 
 i. 156. 20«. 242. 
 
 Celtce, their origin, i. 8 — 10. 
 
 Century, the lifteenth, one of the dark- 
 est [)erio(ls in English history, ii. 4U0. 
 425. 
 
 C(odivalla, king of ^Vessex, conquers 
 Sussex, i. 95. 
 
 Cerdic defejits the Britons at Chard- 
 ford, i. /(». 
 
 Chalons, petty battle of, ii. 5. 
 
 Champion of England, ii. 169. 
 
 Chaplain, one fit to say mass before 
 men of war, i. 251. 
 
 Charlfs II. paralleled with Edward IV, 
 ii. 349. 
 
 V. of Franco refuses to fulfil 
 
 the treaty of Bretigni, ii. 158. 
 
 VI., his deplorable phrenzy, ii. 
 
 252 ; increased by an accident occur- 
 ring at a mas(puiade, ib. ; his death, 
 267. 
 
 VII., his iii(l(>lenc(', ii. 270 ; his 
 
 poverty and levity, 275 ; roused by 
 the remonstrances of Agnes Sorel, 
 275 his shameful neglect of Joan of 
 Arc, 282. 
 
 C/trtrr«/<^' -Cross demolished as supersti- 
 tious, ii. 2. 
 
 Charter of Henry I. i. 258. 
 
 , Magna Charta, i. 571. 
 
 Chatterton, his impositions compared 
 with those of Macpherson, i. 44; his 
 heraldic pretensions, 197 ; author of 
 the {)oems attributed to Rowley, ii. 
 417. 
 
 Chaucer, Geoffrey, a specimen and 
 character of his poetry, ii. 212, 215. 
 
 Chester Whitsun i'lays, by Ralph Hig- 
 den, ii. 420. 
 
 Cfievp-C\vdC'\ Sec Otterbourne. 
 
 Chivalrie oath taken in Westminster 
 Abbey, ii 59. 
 
 rencontre in Britany, ii. 100. 
 
 Chivalry, its origin and inlluence on 
 society, ii. 98 — 105. 
 
 Choir (iaur, the dance of giants, i. 5. 
 
 Christianity , early state of, in Britain, 
 i.57 ; much corrupted by the Saxons, 
 98. 
 
 Churches, those of a round form built 
 in imitation of the church of the 
 Holy Sepulchre, i. 265. 
 
 Clarence, Thomas duke of, brotlier to 
 Henry V. slain at Baugy, ii. 2f)5. 
 
 George duke of, brother to 
 
 II 
 
 f'i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 463 
 
 Edward IV. marries the dautrhter of 
 the E«rl of Warwick, ii 325; flees 
 with his father-in-law to I'aris, 328 ; 
 a court lady opens liis eyes to the 
 danger of his situation, 529 ; returns 
 to his allegiance. 352; quarrels with 
 his brother the Duke of Gloucester, 
 538 ; accused by Edward IV. of 
 treason, 344 ; drowned in a butt of 
 maluise)^, 545 ; his dream fromShak- 
 speare, 546. 
 ClnrendoH, constitutions of, i. 278, 
 Claudius Ctesar visits Britain, i. 5(). 
 Clenry, celibacy imposed upon, i. 156. 
 208. 242 ; their imnumities secured 
 by tlie death of Becket, 508 ; their 
 iiiduence, how far useful, 402; not 
 exempted from taxation by Edward 
 L, ii. 43. 
 Clerkenivell, exhibition there of the 
 
 Miracle Plays, ii. 422. 
 Clifford, Lord, the IMack-faced barba- 
 rian, slays the Earl of Rutland, 
 11. c)08. 
 Clifton, Sir Gcrvase, slain at Bosworth, 
 ins estate preserved by his friend, 
 ii. 587. 
 Coats of arms, as silent names, ex- 
 plained, i. 541. 
 Cob ham, Lord. See Oldcastle. 
 Cvedmon the Saxon poet, i. 124 ; trans- 
 lates portions of the scripture, ii. 
 208. 
 Coiffi, the Saxon high-priest, his rea- 
 sons for changing his religion, i. 91. 
 Coin, deterioration of, ii. 405. 
 Colbrand, the Danish giant, i. 129. 
 CoUhestcr, Colouia of the Romans, i. 
 
 175 ; description of its castle, ih. 
 Coldinohain, Abbess of, and her nuns, 
 
 i. 1 18. 
 Colin ohourne, William, hunir for a 
 
 quibbling distich, ii. 579. 
 Co/nines declares the English unskilfid 
 in negotiation, u. 545 ; his opinion 
 of the legislative autliority, 599; 
 character of his mcmoires, 455. 
 Conunerce not increased during the 
 reign of Edward III., ii. 1()6 ;' inju- 
 dicious regulations of, i. 580; ii. 
 406 ; chief articles of, in England, 
 ii. 407. y 
 
 Commons, House of, origin, i. 412; 
 summoned by Leicester, ib.; by Ed- 
 ward I., ii. 47 ; its early constitution, 
 47 — 50 ; comparative p()\ erty of its 
 members, 50; originally sat in tlie 
 Chapter lluuse at V\ estminster, lf!0; 
 impeaelics Lonl Latimer, 162; cen- 
 
 sures the domestic conduct of Ed- 
 ward IH., ib. ; petitions for a council 
 of regency during the minority of 
 Richard II., 170 ; condemns one 
 Haxey to death, 205 ; assumes great 
 authority in the reign of Henry IV., 
 255; and under the other Lancas- 
 trian monarchs, 501 ; unsuccessfully 
 attacks the property of the church, 
 256; renews the attack, 252; im- 
 peaches the Duke of Suffolk, 294 ; 
 qualifications for its members, 501 ; 
 irregularities in the returns, 502; 
 . members receive wages, ib. ; declines 
 in spirit during the sway of the 
 Vorkist princes, 555. 
 Companies of France, a military ban- 
 ditti, ii. 156. 
 Compurgation by witnesses, i. 159. 
 Comyn, John, regent of Scotland, 
 
 killed by Robert Bruce, ii. 37. 
 Conan thrown from a tower by Henry I. 
 
 i. 247. ^ 
 
 Conquest, meaning of the term dis- 
 puted, i. 205.- 
 Constance of Britany, i. 555. 
 Constantine the Great, uncertainty of 
 his birth-place, i. 51. 
 
 , a private soldier, donated 
 
 to the purple in Britain, i. 55. 
 
 king of Scotland, performs 
 
 homage to Athclstan, i. 128. 
 Constitutio7i of England, its ancient 
 
 nature, ii. 592 — 596. 
 Cookery, art of, improved by the feudal 
 
 tenures, i. 226. 
 Cope land, John, takes David Bruce 
 prisoner, ii. 150; repairs to Ed- 
 ward 111. at Calais, 151. 
 Corn law, first, passed in England,ii.405. 
 Cornwall, Richard earl of, rejects the 
 offer of the Sicilian crown, i. 403 ; 
 elected King of the Romans, 404 ; 
 taken prisoner at the battle of Lewes, 
 410; satirical ballad against him, 
 411. 
 Coronation oath, the first in the English 
 
 records, ii. 57. 
 Coriiio'us the companion of Brutus, 
 
 i. 13. 
 Corsellis, Frederic, pretended to have 
 introduced the art of printing before 
 Caxton, ii. 456. 
 Count of the Saxon Shore, i. 50. 
 County court, i. 121 ; separation of the 
 spiritual power from the civil, 224. 
 CVjye/^/r// Plays, Dramata Sacra, ii.421. 
 Cmray Stakes, at which CiPsar forded 
 the Thames, i. 52. 
 
464 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cowper*s verses on Doctors' Commons, 
 i. 221. 
 
 Crecy, battle of, ii. 126. 
 
 Crcda, kinii of Mercia, i. 80. 
 
 Crema, Cardinal dc, iiuluckv accident 
 befallinu-, i. 242. 
 
 Cres.^ingham, his skin converted into 
 girths by the Scots, ii. 27. 
 
 Crests, how used, i. 541 ; how that of 
 the Prince of Wales originated, ii. 
 129. 
 
 CrUklade, an university there, i. 15. 
 
 Croshij House, description of, ii. 517. 
 
 Crosses, various colours of, worn by 
 the crusaders, i. 525, 52b". 
 
 , in architecture, their antiquity 
 
 and use, ii. 1. 
 
 Cray land \h\ey^ historian of, character 
 of his work, ii. 427 ; edition, 452. 
 
 Cruidne, father of the Picts, ii. 15. 
 
 Crusade, the tirst, projected by Peter 
 the Hermit, i. 524 ; council held at 
 Clermont, 525; general excitement, 
 526; Peter sets out at the head of 
 500,000 men,they arrive at Constanti- 
 nople, 527 ; pass the Hosphorus, vast 
 numbers slain by Sultan Solyman, 
 ib.: arrival of Godfrey of Bouillon, 
 he besieges and takes Nice, 528 ; 
 battle of Doryheum, ih.; capture of 
 Antioch, ib.; the Holy City taken 
 by assault, 521) ; erected into a feu- 
 dal kingdom , 550. 
 
 , second, undertaken by the 
 
 Emperor Conrade and Louis VII. 
 king of France, with no success, 
 i. 550. 
 
 , third, against Saladin, under- 
 
 taken by the Emperor Frederic Bar- 
 barossa, i. 552; and the Kings of 
 France and England, Philip Augus- 
 tus and Richard I., 555 ; siege and 
 capture of Acre, 555 ; battle of As- 
 calon, ib.\ truce for three years, 
 556. 
 
 , sixth, Jerusalem restored to 
 
 the Christians, who retain possession 
 about twenty years, i. 558 ; final 
 loss of, ih. 
 
 Crusades, effects of, on the stiite of 
 Europe, i. 559, 540. 
 
 Cuiiobeline, khig of Britain, the Cym- 
 beline of Shakspeare, his coins yet 
 extant, i. 54. 
 
 Curacio, Abbot of, declares Saladin 
 one of the heads of the beast, i. 
 354. 
 
 Curfeu, its institution doubtful, i. 
 202. 
 
 D 
 
 Dame Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, 
 accused of sorcery, ii. 289 ; performs 
 penance, 2!H). 
 
 Damsel of Britany suffers forty years* 
 captivity, i. 5()0. 
 
 /^fl'we-gelt, i. 148. 
 
 Danes, their first appearance in Eng- 
 land, i. 106; pillage the Isle of 
 Sheppey, ib.; their origin, 1()7 ; their 
 piratical habits, 108; infe-;t England 
 in the reign of Alfred, 112; surprise 
 ('hippenham, ih.: defeated at Ed- 
 dington, 115; settle peaceably in 
 East Anglia» IK); renew their at- 
 tacks in the reign of Ethelred, 144 ; 
 massacred, their effeminacy, 146; 
 Sweyn overruns England, 147; in- 
 solence of the l):.nes, 148; Canute 
 gets possession of the kingdom, 149. 
 
 Dauphin sends Henry V. a box of 
 tennis-balls, ii. 254. 
 
 David, prince of Wales, hanged, drawn, 
 and quartered, ii. 10. 
 
 De coinbnre)ido heretico, infamous vrv'it 
 of, ii. 228. 
 
 De Cuurey produced as a chanipion, 
 his great strength, his dread of ridi- 
 cule, i. 558, 559 ; how his sjrvices 
 were rewarded, ib. 
 
 Deiri, kingdom of, i. 81. 
 
 Deistical notions amongst Wickliffe's 
 f(dh)wers, ii. 206. 
 
 Demo7i incarnate, i. 387. 
 
 Depopulation of England, occasioned 
 by the French wars, ii. 266. 287, 
 404. 
 
 Derby, Earl of, takes the command of 
 the English army in Guienne, ii. 121 ; 
 his generosity, ib. 
 
 DrriTs Ditch at Newmarket, i. 95. 
 
 D'Eu'cs, Sir Symonds, his speech to 
 prove the superior antiquity of Cam- 
 bridge univer.■^ity, ii. 222. 
 
 Deydras, John, athrms himself to be 
 son of Edward 1. but changed at 
 nurse, ii. 69. 
 
 Diceto. See Raduljihut. 
 
 Dis, son of Japhet, i. 1 1. 
 
 Dii'itiactis, a Belgian chief, ruling Bri- 
 tain, a. 95. 
 
 Doetors* Commons, Cowper's verses 
 on, i. 224. 
 
 Doniesda y \\odk,\.Vy2.2\\.\\. U\ .\\7 , 
 Douglas, Sir James, attacks the canq) 
 of Edward 111. by night, ii. 104; 
 killed by the Moors in Airagon, car- 
 rving tiie heart of Rol)ert Bruce to 
 the Holv Land, 109. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 465 
 
 Douglas, Earl of, slain at Otterbourne, 
 ii. 1H4. 
 
 , Earl of, taken prisoner by 
 
 Hotspur at Halidown Hill, ii. 231. 
 
 Dover Castle, description of, i. 25. 
 
 Drnma, ancient English, account of, 
 ii. 419. 
 
 Dress, extravagance in, declaimed 
 against by the clergy, ii. 149. 
 
 Druids and druidism, i. 6 — 8. 
 
 Duke Huu)frey, dining with, not ex- 
 ])laineHl, ii. 292. 
 
 Dunbar, b;ittle of, ii. 24. 
 
 /)w7^A/«;<, his learning, i. 134 ; his mi- 
 racles, 155 ; his ambition receives a 
 check by the death of Edred, 156 ; 
 banislied by Edwy, ib.; patronized 
 by Edgar, 158 ; pursues his favourite 
 plan of establishing the celibacy of 
 the clergy, 142; is advanced to the 
 primacy, 144; neglected, dies more 
 throuufh grief than age, 144. 
 
 Dnnivnlf, Alfred's host, becomcsBishop 
 of Wmchester, i. 115. 
 
 Durham, Simeon of, character of his 
 history, i. 260 ; edition of, ii. 431. 
 
 Dymocky Sir Jolm, champion, ii. 169. 
 
 Eadbald, king of Kent, i. 85. 
 
 Eadmer, character of his history, i. 
 259 ; edition of, ii. 436. 
 
 Eadbiirga, wife of Brithric, her un- 
 courtly answer to Charlemagne, i. 
 97 ; dies in want, 98. 
 
 East Anglia established as a kingdom by 
 Uffa, i. 80 ; merges in W^essex, 102. 
 
 Eddius, a Saxon writer, i. 101 ; edition 
 of his work, ii. 435. 
 
 Edgar the Peaceable patronizes the 
 the monks, i. 158; appoints a power- 
 fid fleet, rowed on the Dee by eight 
 tributary princes, ib.: married to 
 Elfrida, 159; his gallantries, 140 ; a 
 dandiprat, 141. 
 
 . See ^theling. 
 
 Editions of the ancient English histo- 
 rians, ii. 429—440. 
 
 Edith with the Swan's Neck, i. 170. 
 
 Edithn, wife to Edward the Confessor, 
 her pleasing manners, i. 156. 
 
 Edmund, the Saxon king, stabbed by 
 the robber Leolf, i. 155, 
 
 — Irouside, compelled to divide 
 
 his kingdom with Canute, i. 149 ; 
 murdered, ib. 
 
 Crouchback, second son of 
 
 Edred, a weak prince, i. 134. 
 
 Edric, the infamous duke of Mercia, 
 
 hanged by Canute, i. 150. 
 Edward the Elder, son of Alfred, i. 
 
 127. 
 the Martyr, stabbed bv order 
 
 of Elfrida, i. 143. 
 
 - the Confessor, his reign an 
 
 important era, i. 155 ; cures a young 
 woman of scrofula, 157; his regalia 
 long preserved, ib.; his excessive 
 good nature, 158; his irresolution, 
 165. 
 
 I. taken prisoner at the battle 
 
 of Lewes, i. 410 ; escapes from cus- 
 tody, 415 ; wins the battle of Eves- 
 ham, 414 ; departs for the Holy Land, 
 with his princess, Eleanor of Cas- 
 tile, 422 ; attacked by an assassin, 
 ib.; proclaimed king, ii. 4; much 
 affected by his father's death, ib.; 
 challenges the barons of Chalons, 5 ; 
 his great authority, ib.; punishes the 
 Jews, 6; subjugates Wales, 9 — 11 ; 
 his insidious designs against Scotland, 
 21 — 24 ; removes the ancient palla- 
 dium from Scone to Westminster 
 Abbey, 25 ; opposed by Wallace, 
 27 ; defeats the Scots at Falkirk, 
 breaks two of his ribs, 29 ; his reply 
 to the Pope's interference, ib.; his 
 singular escapes from danger, 30; 
 takes Stirling, ib, ; cajoles Bruce, 
 35 ; intends to put the w^hole family 
 to death, ib. ; takes a chivalric oath 
 in Westminster Abbey, 39 ; arrives 
 within sight of Scotland, his death, 
 person, and character, 41 ; reduces 
 the clergy to obedience, 43 ; a 
 worthy prince, 55; his opinion of 
 finery of apparel, 142. 
 
 W, neglects the dying injunc- 
 
 Henry HI., i. 405; ii. 198,518. 
 
 tions of his father, ii. 54 ; sends for 
 Gaveston from exile, 55 ; marries 
 Isabella of France, 57 ; compelled to 
 dismiss the favourite, 59 ; recalls 
 him, they retreat to the north from 
 a confederacy of the barons, ib.; 
 Gaveston executed, 60 ; Edward in- 
 vades Scotland, loses the battle of 
 Bannockburne, 62 ; grievous famine, 
 65 ; unpo})ularity of Edward, 68 ; he 
 favours the Spensers, 70 ; permits his 
 queen and son to visit France, 74 ; 
 his letter to the prince, 75 ; takes 
 refuge in Wales from an insurrection 
 raised by the (iueen,76; he is de- 
 posed, 78 ; treated with indignity, 79 ; 
 
466 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 murdered in Berkely Castle, 80 y his 
 character, 81 ; his himent, 84. 
 
 Edward III., affianced to Philippa of 
 Hainault, ii. 75 ; dechired recrent, 
 77; his accession, 105; marches 
 to oppose the Scots, ib. ; his es- 
 cape from the nii^ht attack of Dou- 
 glas, 104 ; seizes Mortimer at Not- 
 tingham Castle, 107; encouratres 
 Edward Baliol to assume the vScotish 
 crown,110; claims the French crown, 
 111; assumes the title of king of 
 France, 116; invades that countiy 
 unsuccessfully, ib. ; summons a par- 
 liament, ib. ; again fruitlessly invades 
 France, 118; returns home in bad 
 humour, i6. ; renews the war, 121 ; 
 a royal witticism, 122 ; invades Nor- 
 mandy, 123 ; assaults and pillages 
 Caen, 124 ; wins the battle of Crecy, 
 126 — 129; besieges Calais, 129 ; its 
 surrender, 151 ; concludes a truce, 
 132; chivalric contest with Ri'jaii- 
 mont, 133 ; in^-titutes the order of 
 the Garter, 135; visits the Countess 
 of Salisbury, 157 ; renews the war 
 with France, 150; battle ofPoictiers, 
 151 ; receives the King of France as 
 a captive in London, 155 ; ravages 
 France, consents to the peace of 
 Bretigni, in consequence of a storm, 
 155 ; war renewed, loses most of his 
 possessions in France, 159 ; weak- 
 nesses of age, 162; his death, 165 ; 
 person and character, 165, 166. 
 
 , the Black Priuce, son to Ed- 
 ward III., his gallantry and modesty 
 at the battle of Crecy, ii. 127, 128 ; 
 takes John, the King of France, and 
 his son, prisoners, at the i)attle of 
 Poictiers, 152 ; his courteousness to 
 them, i6.; his generosity to Lord 
 Audley, 153 ; enlists the companies 
 for the service of Pedro the Cruel, 
 gains the battle of Najara, 157 ; his 
 prayer, ib ; his reply to Charles V. 
 who cites him to appear at Paris, 
 159 ; his death, person, and charac- 
 ter, 165, 164. 
 
 -, Prince, son to Henry VI., 
 
 married to Warwick's voimgest 
 daughter, ii. 329 ; inhumanly slain 
 at Tewkesburv, 554. 
 
 IV., son of the Duke of York, 
 
 defeats Oueen Margaret at Mortimer's 
 Cross, ii. 309 ; unites his army with 
 War^vick's and enters London, 31 1 ; 
 Lis popularity, ib.; proclaimed king, 
 
 511; liishnrdness of lictirt, 319 ; wins 
 the battle of Towton. 52U ; crowned, 
 521 ; marries ICli/.iheth \\'ooflvilc, 
 525 ; insurrections, 326 ; uncertainty 
 of the events of this reiirn, 527; 
 surpiised at Nottingham, hurries to 
 Lynn, whence he embarks, and 
 reaches Alcinaer, 550 ; returns and 
 lands at Ravenspur, 551; wins the 
 battle of Barnet, 555 ; of Tewkes- 
 bury, ib. ; his haliitsof luxury, 557 ; 
 declares war against France, 559 ; 
 cajoled by Lo»iis XL, concludes a 
 truce, 541; isiterview with Louis, 
 342 ; condemns his brother the Diike 
 of Clarence, 544 ; repents of the mur- 
 der, 546; dies from surfeit, 5-17 ; his 
 handsO!ue person, ib. ; useful in rais- 
 ing supplies, 540 ; his great popula- 
 ritv, 5 i8 ; paralleled with Charles II., 
 349. 
 
 V. proclaimed, ii. 551 ; pro- 
 ceeds from Ludlow Castle, 552; met 
 at Stoney Stratford by the Duke of 
 Gloucester, 555 ; protests with tears 
 the innocence of Rivers, Grev, and 
 Vaughan, 554 ; proceeds to London, 
 ib.; muidered with his brother the 
 Duke of York in the Tower, 571 ; 
 their bones discovered, 572; no rea- 
 sonable cause to doubt the truth of 
 the murder, though much disputed, 
 575 — 575. 
 
 Edwin, king of Northumberland, es- 
 capes from the snares of Adelfrid, 
 i. 88 ; his interesting reverie, 89 ; 
 converted to Christianity bv Pauli- 
 nus, 91 ; slain by Penda,'92.' 
 
 , Earl, revolts against V/illiam 
 
 the Conqueror, i. 199 ; with his bro- 
 ther Morcar again takes arms, and 
 is slain, 217. 
 
 Edu'i/ offends the clergy by his ujar- 
 riage with Elgiva, i. 156 ; is excom- 
 municated, and dies, 157. 
 
 Ei^bert, king of Wessex, reduces the 
 several states of the heptarchy, i. 
 102. ^ 
 
 Eleanor, widow of Louis VIl. and 
 heiress of Arpiitaine, marries Ileniy 
 Fitz-Empress, i. 255. 2(58 ; her sup- 
 posed treatment of Fair Rosamond, 
 269 ; instigates her sons to rebellion, 
 509 ; confined by Henry I L, ib. ; her 
 great influence 'at the 'accession of 
 John, 555. 
 
 ' of Castile accompanies her 
 
 husband Prince Edward to the Hulv 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 467 
 
 Land, i. 422 ; 8tory of her conjugal 
 devotion not authenticated, i. 425 ; 
 crosses erected at every stage of her 
 funeral, ii. 2; calumniated in an ab- 
 surd old play and ballad, 4. 
 
 Elfrida discloses the fatal secret of her 
 beauty to Edgar, i. 139; causes Ed- 
 ward the Martyr to be murdered, 
 143 ; her unavailing remorse, ib. 
 
 Eli>iva, wife to Edwy, seared in the 
 face with a red-hot iron, and barba- 
 rously hamstrung, i. 157. 
 
 Elidure the Pious, kinc; of Britain, 
 i. 21. 
 
 Elizabeth Woodvile, her marriage with 
 Edward IV. a fruitful subject of ro- 
 mance, ii.324; flies with her chil- 
 dren to the sanctuary at Westmin- 
 ster, 354 ; yields up her yoi;ng son 
 the Duke of York, 355 ; is won 
 over to the interest of Richard III. 
 383. 
 
 E'la, king of Sussex, destroys the for- 
 tress of Andrede Ceaster, i. 69. 
 
 Elmham^ Thomas de, character of his 
 history, ii. 426; edition, 439. 
 
 Emma, Queen, legend of hvr passing 
 over the burning ploughshares, i. 
 159. 
 
 English language, difficult to trace Its 
 gradual formation from the Saxon, ii. 
 214 ; an uncouth dialect in the four- 
 teenth century, 215; improved in the 
 flfteenth, 409 ; one province scarcely 
 understood the dialect of another, 
 410. 
 
 Erming Street, the Roman highway, 
 i. 48. 
 
 Essex established as a kingdom bv Ir- 
 kenwald, i. 80 ; merges in Wessex, 
 102. 
 
 Estrildis, a beautiful captivx», i. 14. 
 
 Ethi'lbald, son of Ethelwolf, i. 109. 
 
 Ethelbert, king of Kent, i. 85; the first 
 Saxon priuce converted to Christi- 
 anity, ib, 
 
 • , king of East Anglia, barba- 
 rously murdered by Offa at his nup- 
 tial entertainment, i. 96. 
 
 -, son of Ethelwolf, i. 109. 
 
 Ethclred, son of Edgar, a puerile acci- 
 dent befalls him, i. 145; he bribes 
 the Danes to retreat, 145 ; his ex- 
 treme imbecility, 149. 
 
 Ethcredy or Ethelred, son of Ethelwolf, 
 i. 109. 111. 
 
 Ethelwolf, son of Egbert, divides his 
 dominions, takes his son Alfred to 
 Rome, i. 108; grants possession 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 of tithes to the Saxon church, 
 
 109. 
 Exeter, Duke of, his extreme poverty, 
 
 ii. 322. 
 Extirpation of the Britons by the 
 
 Saxons a disputed point, i. 82. 
 
 Fabian, Robert, his Concordance of 
 
 Stories, ii. 454. 
 Fair Maid of Kent, her difficulty of 
 
 deciding which of two husbands was 
 
 the right, ii. 140; marries the Black 
 
 Prince, ib. 
 Falkirk, battle of, ii. 28. 
 Famine, severe one in England, ii. 65. 
 Fastolf, Sir John, unjustly confounded 
 
 with Shakspeare's fat knight, Sir 
 
 John FalstafF, ii. 251. 
 Feast at the installation of an Archbishop 
 
 of York, ii. 405. 
 Felix the Burgundian, bishop of Dun- 
 
 wich, i. 104. 
 Fenelon, Dialogue of that author, ii. 
 
 202. 
 Feniusa Farsa, an ancestor of Milesius, 
 
 i. 296. 
 Fergus, son of Fcrchard, first King of 
 
 Scots, ii. 14. 
 , son of Ere, fortieth King of 
 
 Scots, ii. 14. 
 Ferrex and Porrex, British princes, 
 
 i. 18. 
 Ferrybridge, battle of, ii. 519. 
 Feudal law explained, i. 209. 
 
 • times not alluring, i. 252. 
 
 Fir -b nigs, an Irish race, i. 295. 
 FitZ'Osbert, the first radical, i.553. 
 FitZ'Riehard, his disinterestedness, i. 
 
 199. 
 Fitz-Stephcn, his life of Becket, i. 
 
 589 ; edition of, ii. 454 ; his descrip- 
 tion of London, i. 589. 
 Flambard, Ralph, a profligate minis- 
 ter, i. 255. 
 Fleche, Heli de la, released from cap- 
 tivity by William Rufus, i. 255. 
 Plemings take refuge in England, i. 
 
 246 ; compelled to pronounce the 
 
 words * bread and cheese * as a test 
 
 of their country, ii. 175. 
 Fleurs-de-hjs removed from the English 
 
 escutcheon, i. 541. 
 Flood, Buckingham's, or the Great 
 
 Water, ii 577. 
 Florilegus. SceMatthew of Westminster, 
 Fordun, John, character of his Scoti- 
 
 chronicon, ii. 218; editions of, 435. 
 
 43.9. 
 
 2 K 
 
4il3 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Foreigners^ insolence and rapacity of 
 some, i. 598. 
 
 Forest laws, i. 220. 
 
 Fortescue, Sir John, derives the limita- 
 tion of the Endish monarchy from 
 the conditions ai^reed on by Brutus 
 and his com{)ani(ms, i. 24 ; ii.59(); 
 his fl.'itterini? description of the abun- 
 dance of the English people, 397 ; 
 gives a cojnical proof of their supe- 
 riority to the French, 598 ; dies at 
 Ebriniiton, 399. 
 
 Foss^j the Roman highway, i. 47. 
 
 Francis I. his quatrain, ii. 275. 
 
 Frederic Barbarossa, Emperor, holds 
 the Pope's stirrup, i. 271 ; dies in 
 the second crusade, 552. 
 
 Freemasortrr/y its introduction into Eng- 
 land, i. 595. 
 
 French language, its use declines in 
 Eui^land in the lifteenth centurv, 
 ii. 411. 
 
 Froissart, his credulity often imposed 
 upon, ii. 15(); his admiration of the 
 courtesy of the Bhick Prince, 152 ; 
 his picture of the nmtual esteem of 
 the English and Scots, 184; speci- 
 men and character of his Chroniques, 
 218—220. 
 
 G, the letter, a silly prophecy respect- 
 ing, ii. 545. 
 
 Gahelle^ explanation of the term, ii. 
 122. 
 
 Gadelas, an ancestor of Milesins, i. 296. 
 
 GaddesdaHj John, his Praxis Medica, 
 ii. 90. 
 
 Galirncus the British chief defeated, 
 
 i. 42. 
 
 Ga//o-Norman language used by the 
 great in England, i. 258. 
 
 Gam, David, a brave Welsh captain, his 
 reply to Henry V. ii. 256 ; knighted 
 as he lay bleeding to death, 258. 
 
 GameVdWS, i. 220,221. 
 
 G artery institution of the order, ii. 
 155 ; list of the original kniglits, 141. 
 
 Gascoigne, Judge, sends the Prince of 
 Wales into confinement, ii. 257 ; un- 
 certain whether he survived Henry IV. 
 
 24'^ 
 
 Jit t^ t 
 
 Gaunt, John of. ^ee Lancaster. 
 
 Gavel-kind, tenure by, i. 181. 
 
 Gaveston, Piers, created Earl of Corn- 
 wall, ii. 55 ; his excessive favour with 
 Edward II. 5(J ; his frivolity and 
 insolence, ib. ; exiled, 5!^ ; returns, 
 again exiled, and again recalled, ib, ; 
 
 besieged in Scarborouijfh Castle, 59 ; 
 
 executed on Blacklow Hill, 60. 
 Gemeticemis, Gulielmus, character of 
 
 his history, i. 261 ; editions of, ii.450 
 
 —455. 
 Genealogy of Philip de Valois, ii. 113. 
 of the house of Vork, ii. 
 
 297. 
 
 Geoffrey y Archdeacon of Norwich, pu- 
 nished by King John, i. 364. 
 
 ■ of Monmouth, his histor)' of 
 
 Britain, i.U. 25. 5'-^''^; editions of, 
 
 ii. 429. 
 
 -, third son of Henry 11. rebels 
 
 Ji 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 461) 
 
 against his father, i. 509 ; marries 
 Constance of Britanv, killed in a 
 tournament at Paris, 515. 
 
 -, son of Fair Rosamond, his 
 
 atiectionate conduct to his dying 
 
 father, Henry 11. i. 516. 
 Ucrcasf of Canterbury, character of his 
 
 chronicle, i. 588; edition, ii. 452. 
 Gildas the British Jeremiah, his la- 
 mentation, i. <'2 ; ( haracter of bis 
 
 history, i. 101; editions of, ii. 429. 
 
 455, 45 1. 
 Giraldus Cambrensis, character of his 
 
 works, i.586; edition of, ii.45(), 151. 
 Glanvillc, Ralph de, the justiciary, 
 
 takes William the Lion prisoner at 
 
 Alnwick, i. 512. 
 Glastonbury Thorn, i. 57, 58. 
 GlendoiLcr,Ov,'e:i\, takes arms against 
 
 Henry IV. ii. 251 ; deserted by his 
 
 followers, 254. 
 Gloucester cathedral, monument there 
 
 of the Duke of Normandy, i. 241. 
 , Robert earl of, opposes 
 
 King Stephen, i. 252. 
 
 -, Thomas of \\ oodstock, duke 
 
 7 ' 
 
 of, a turbulent prince, ii, 179; ac- 
 cuses five persons of treason, 180; 
 his power vanishes, 181 ; smothered 
 at Calais, 186; the manner of his 
 arrest, 187. 
 
 -, Humfrey duke of, appointed 
 
 regent of England, ii. 2(55; (piarreis 
 with the Duke of Burgundy, 273; 
 opposes Cardinal Beaufort, 288 ; 
 massacred at Bury, 291 ; his love of 
 letters, ib. 
 
 , Richard duke of, present at 
 
 the assassination of Prince Edward, 
 ii. 554 ; supposed to have murden^d 
 Henry VJ. ib. ; quarrels with Cla- 
 rence, 559 ; marries the daughter of 
 the Earl of Warwick, ib.\ meets the 
 young King Ethvard V. at Stoney 
 Stratford, 353 ; appointed protector. 
 
 ill 
 
 M 
 
 1'^^ 
 
 /•J 
 
 354 ; arrests Lord Hastings, 357 ; 
 cndeavouis to prove the bastardy of 
 liis brother's children in a sermon 
 preached at St. Paul's, 364 ; accepts 
 the crown, 367. — See Richard HI. 
 
 Gliiucestcry Robert of. See Robert. 
 
 Gobi/If Agace, a French peasant, points 
 out H ford to Edward HI. ii. 125. 
 
 Godwin, Earl, gains a victory in Den- 
 mark for Canute, i. 151 ; appeases 
 the anger of Hardicanute by a pre- 
 sent, 154 ; rebels against Edward 
 the Confessor, 160 ; seized with apo- 
 l>lexy, 162. 
 
 • Sands, account of, i. 152. 
 
 (rodiva. Lady, her progress through 
 Coventry, i. HiO, 161. 
 
 Goeniagog, a Cornish giant, i. 15. 
 
 Gomer, son of Japhet, i. 8. 
 
 Goodrich and Godiva, nicknames for 
 Henry 1. and his queen, i. 238. 
 
 Goo»e, John, a martyr, ii. 548. 
 
 Gorboduc, king of Britain, i. 18. 
 
 Gothic style of architecture wrongly 
 termed, i. 595; its progress, lA. ; ii. 
 226. 
 
 Govrdon, Adaru de, his single combat 
 with Prince Edward, i. 421. 
 
 , Bertrand de, wounds Richard 
 
 1. i. 350. 
 
 Gower the poet enumerates in Latin 
 verse the companions of Wat Tyler, 
 ii. 172 ; character of his works, 211. 
 
 Greek MSS. presented to (Oxford by 
 Humfrey duke of Gloucester, ii. 291 . 
 401. 
 
 Gr<^enlaiid, East, lost during a plague, 
 ii. 148. 
 
 Gregory the Great observes some Saxon 
 youth exposed to sale in Rome, i. 83, 
 84. 
 
 Groaris of the Britons, i, 63. 
 
 Grostetc, Robert, bishop of Lincoln, his 
 resistance to the Pope, i. 400. 
 
 Guendolen, wife of Locrine, i. 14. 
 
 Guenever, wife of Arthur, i. 79. 
 
 Guesclin, du, the first great modern 
 general, recovers the French pro- 
 vinces, ii. 159. 
 
 Guicnvr, a corruption of the word 
 Aquitaine, i. 267. 
 
 Gunilda, sister to Sweyn, king of Den- 
 mark, murdered, i. 146. 
 
 Gunpowder supposed to have been used 
 in an attack on Scotland, ii. 105. 
 
 Gurguntius, king of Britain, peoples 
 Ireland, i. 20. 
 
 Giistavus Vasa compared toAlfred,i.l 13. 
 
 Gtiy of Warwick, account of, i. 128. 
 
 H 
 
 HandsacrCy Sir William, anecdote of, 
 ii. 233. 
 
 Halfager, king of Norway, invades 
 England, i. 166. 
 
 Halidown (or Holmedown) Hill, ))attle 
 of, ii. 110; again, 231. 
 
 Hanover family, their situation with 
 regard to the Stuarts comi)ared with 
 the house of York and Lancaster, ii. 
 298. 
 
 Har court, Geoffrev de, a Norman exile, 
 ii. 125. 
 
 Hardicanute reigns two years, i. 155. 
 
 Hardyng, John, character of his me- 
 trical chronicle, ii. 425. 
 
 Harlotta, mother of William the Con- 
 queror, i. 179. 
 
 Harold Harefoot, his atrocious barba- 
 rity, i. 154. 
 
 , son of Earl Godwin, visits 
 
 Normandy, i. 165 ; assumes the Eng- 
 lish crown, 165; wins the battle of 
 Stanford Bridge, 166 ; killed at that 
 of Hastings, i. 170. 
 
 Harp, the fav^ourite instrument, i. 581. 
 
 Ha.^tivg^, battle of, i. 169, 170. 
 
 the Danish leader, i. 116, 
 
 — , lord chamberlain to Edward 
 
 the Fourth, arrested and beheaded, 
 ii. 558. 
 
 Hawhesford, Sir William, his melan- 
 choly end, ii. 558. 
 
 Hearney Thomas, list of historical 
 works published by that author, ii. 
 438—440. 
 
 Heber the son of Milesins, i. 298. 
 
 Hedgley Moor, battle of, ii. 321. 
 
 Helena, mother of Constantino the 
 Great, i. 50, 51. 
 
 Heniingfordy Walter, character of his 
 history, ii. 217; editions of, 454, 
 439. 
 
 Hengist arrives in Britain, i. 65 ; de- 
 feats the Britons at AVippedfleet, 69. 
 
 Henry I., when prince, discontented 
 with his father's will, i. 225 ; raises 
 an insurrection in Normandy, 228 ; 
 saluted king at the death of William 
 Rufus, 257; grants a charter, ib.-y 
 marries Matilda, a Saxon princess, 
 258 ; extricated from a war with his 
 brother Robert, 259 ; wins the battle 
 of Tenchebrai, 2l0 ; quarrels with 
 the Pope on the subject of investi- 
 tures, 242 ; loses his only son by 
 shipwreck, 244 ; his prosperity and 
 severity, 247 ; his character, 248. 
 
 li. son of the Empress Matildp, 
 
4ro 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 471 
 
 first appears in Endand, i. 254 ; 
 negociates with Stephen, 255 ; mar- 
 ries Eleanor, heiress of Aqnitaine, 
 ib. ; ascends the throne, 265 ; repels 
 an attack of the Welsh, 270 ; be- 
 comes mesn? lord of Britany, 271 ; 
 meditates ii scheme of rediiclnp: the 
 power of the clergv, 272 ; his fami- 
 liarity with Becket, 275; surprise 
 at his mistake of Beckct's character, 
 276; summons a council at Claren- 
 don, 278 ; his contention with Becket, 
 278 — 284 ; crowns his eldest son, 
 283 ; bis perplexity at Bccket's mur- 
 der, 289; prepares to invade Ire- 
 land, o()4 ; receives the submission 
 of Its iniiabitants, 306 ; disturbed by 
 the undutiful conduct of his children, 
 308; scourged by the monks, 510; 
 compels the King: of Scotland to 
 perform homage,^3l I ; his despair 
 at the in^^-ltitude of his son John, 
 31(5; seized with a fever, «7>. ; his 
 funeral and character, 317. 
 Hcnrr/y eldest son of Henry IT. crowned 
 at York, i.283 ; his father officiating 
 thereat, 308 ; rebels and dies, 314. 
 Ifntrf/ 111. succeeds to the crown at 
 the aire of nine years, i. 31)5 ; his 
 imbecilitv, 397 ; 'avowed paitiulity 
 to foreiir'ners, ih.\ invites over his 
 four half brothers, 398; his profu- 
 sion, his necessities, ib ; connives at 
 the exactions of the Pope, 399 ; ac- 
 cepts the offer of the Sicilian crown 
 for his ^on Edmund, 405 ; swears to 
 observe the charter, 405 ; creates 
 Simon de Montfort Earl of Leices- 
 ter, ib. ; strange conference between 
 them, 406 ; reproached by the Coun- 
 tess of Arundel, 407; his sarcasms, 
 408; tcrritied at Leicester's ambi- 
 tion, ib.', compelled to resign his 
 power, 409 ; taken prisoner at the 
 battle of Lewes, 410; restored to 
 the throne, 414; escapes from the 
 attack of a maniac, 424 ; his super- 
 stition, 425 ; his attachment to the 
 
 arts, 428. 
 IV. See Hereford. His acces- 
 sion accompanied with dangers, ii. 
 227 ; conspiracy of Ruthind, 228 ; 
 passes the infamous statute, en- 
 forcing^ the writ * de comburendo 
 heretico,' ih,\ quarrels with the Pcr- 
 cies, 232 ; Archbishop Scroop's re- 
 bellion, he is executed, 253 ; fortu- 
 nate escapes of the king, 234; re- 
 taius -himes kin^' of Scotland in 
 
 captivity, 255 ; disturbed by the am- 
 bition of the Prince of Wales, who 
 removes the crown from his pillow, 
 238; death and character, 240; 
 strange story of his body being thrown 
 into the Thames, 24 1 . 
 Henry V. his gallantry when Prince 
 of Wales in the field at Shrewsbury, 
 ii. 232 ; his youthful pranks, 237 ; 
 interview with his father, 238 ; re- 
 moves the crown, his apology, 239 ; 
 bis accession, 242 ; sudden change 
 of conduct, ib. ; restores the Percies 
 to their estates, 243 ; expostulates 
 with Sir elohn Oldcastle, 244; at- 
 tacks the Lollards near St. Giles's 
 Fields, 245; asserts his pretensions 
 to the crown of France, 253 ; con- 
 spiracy of the Earl of Cambridge, 
 254; sails for Normandy, prepares 
 to march through France to Calais, 
 255 ; battle of .\gincourr, 256; stops 
 the slaughter of the prisoners, 258 ; 
 enthusiastically received in I'^ngland, 
 25!) ; sulidues Normandy, 260 ; his 
 fallacious reasoning, treaty of Troyes, 
 262 ; his emotion at the sight of the 
 Princess Katharine, ib ; his death 
 and character, 261 ; his haughtiness 
 to Lisk* xVdam, 265. 
 
 VI. his accession at the age of 
 
 nine months, ii. 2(19 ; not too young 
 to be flattered, ib. ; letter written to 
 him by Joan of Arc, 278 ; loss of 
 the French provinces, 287 ; all his 
 life ft cipher, 288 ; marries Margaret 
 of Anjou, i6.; falls into a distemper 
 depriving him of understanding, 299 ; 
 his recovery, 500 ; taken prisoner by 
 the Duke of York, 300 ; reinstated 
 on the throne, 304 ; again taken pri- 
 soner, 306 ; his observation to the 
 peers, 307 ; rescued from captivity 
 at the battle of St. Albans, 310; 
 termination of his reign, 512; re- 
 tires to the north, 319; betrayed 
 in L-mcashire by a monk, 522 ; 
 brought to London, ib.\ re[)hired 
 on the throne by Warwick, 330 ; 
 supposed to he slain in the Tower 
 by the Duke of Gloucester, 334; his 
 character, 335 ; his humanity, his 
 facetiousness, 336; a poet, ib, 
 
 -, count of Transtamare, obtains 
 
 7 
 
 the a ssistance of the companies, ii. 
 157 ; loses the battle of Najara, ib, ; 
 ascends the throne of Castile, 159. 
 Heptarckij^ Saxon, its history uninte- 
 resting, i. 82 — 93. 
 
 I, 
 
 / 
 
 Heraclius consecrates the Temple 
 church, i. 263 ; his insolence to 
 Henry II. 319. 
 
 Heraldry, origin of, i. 340. 542. 
 
 Hereford, Earl of, his reply to Edward 
 the First, ii. 42. 
 
 , duke of, his conversation 
 
 whh the Duke of Norfolk, ii. 189; 
 their duel prevented, 190 ; banished 
 for ten years, ib. ; returns and lands 
 at Ravenspnr, 192 ; executes the 
 Earl of \\ iltshire. Bushy, and Green, 
 ib. ; meets Richard at Flint Castle, 
 195; enters London, 196; claims 
 the crown, 198. — See Henry IV. 
 
 Hejemun, son of Alilcsius, i. 298. 
 
 Herluifiy husband of Harlotta, i. 179« 
 
 Herrings y battle of, ii. 274. 
 
 Hex/uDji, battle of, ii. 521. 
 
 Hide of land, what, i. 216. 
 
 Higden, Ralph, character of his Poly- 
 chronicon, ii. 217; edition, ii. 455 ; 
 his Chester Whitsun Plays, 420. 
 
 Histories Anglicanie, scriptores X. by 
 Sir Roger Twysden, ii. 431. 
 
 Anglicame scriptores varii, 
 
 by J. Sparke, ii. 434. 
 
 Britannicae etAnglicanae scrip- 
 
 tores XX. by Dr. Gale, ii. 433. 
 
 Normannorum Scriptores 
 
 Anti(|ui, by M. Du Chesne, ii. 435. 
 Historians published by Archbishop 
 
 Parker, ii. 429. 
 Hosl, Dha, his code of laws, ii. 10. 
 Hood. See Robiji Hood. 
 Homage paid by Scotland, of what na- 
 ture, disputed, ii. 22. 
 Hojiorius, archbishop of Canterbury, 
 
 i.59. 98. 
 Horsa arrives in Britain, i. 65; is slain, (^7 
 Hotspur, See Percy, 
 Hovi'dcn, Roger de, character of his 
 
 history, i. 389 ; edition of, ii. 450. 
 Hubert de Burgh has the custody of 
 
 young Arthur, i. 357 ; succeeds the 
 
 ICarl of Pembroke as protector, 397. 
 H/nnbtr king of the Huns, i. 14. 
 Hundred courts, i. 121. 
 Hu?igerfordy Sir Thomas, the first 
 
 speaker of the House of Commons, 
 
 ii. 162. 
 Hunting, an invective against, 585 
 Huntingdon, Henry of, chliracter of his 
 
 history, i. 260 ; edition of, ii. 450. 
 
 I 
 
 Jeeni revolt against the Romans, i. 39. 
 Ida king of Bcrnicia, i. 81. 
 
 Ikenild Street, the Roman highway, 
 \, 48. 
 
 Illiterate ideot, one rewarded, ii. 402. 
 
 Illuminated missals, i. 380. 
 
 Ina king of Wessex conquers Somerset 
 and Dcv^on, i. 94. 
 
 Ingulph, character of his history, i, 
 259 ; editions of, 430. 432. 
 
 Inns of court much resorted to in the 
 fifteenth century, ii. 401,402. 
 
 Inquisitiojium ad Capellam domini Re- 
 gis retornatarum in publicis archivis 
 Scotiae, the record, ii. 451. 
 
 IustallatiL?i feast, ii, 405. 
 
 Insurrection by Wat Tyler, ii. 172 — 177. 
 
 by Jack Cade, ii. 295. 
 
 by Robin of Redesdale, 
 
 ii. 326. 
 
 Interdict denounced against England, 
 i. 565. 
 
 Investitures, a compromise concerning 
 them between Henry I. and the 
 Pope, i. 242. 
 
 Ireland, its absurd fabulous history, i. 
 295 — 500 ; its genuine history, 501 
 ^-507 ; part of its population derived 
 from Spain, 501 ; Isle of Saints, 502 ; 
 preaching of St. Patrick, 505 ; in- 
 vaded by the Ostmec, 504 ; defeat 
 of Magnus the Barefoot, ib. ; in- 
 vaded by Strongbow, 505 ; submits 
 to Henry II. 506 ; annexed to the 
 English crown, ib, ; its subsequent 
 history not interesting, ii. 408. 
 
 Irkenwald king of Essex, i. 80. 
 
 Isabella, queen of Edward the Second, 
 becomes enamoured of Roger Mor- 
 timer, ii. 73 ; visits Paris with her 
 son, 74 ; returns witli an army, 75; 
 her affected grief at the deposal of 
 her husband, 77 ; her exclamation 
 at the seizure of Mortimer, 108; 
 passes the remainder of her life ir. 
 seclusion, ib. 
 
 , tlie young queen, widow of 
 
 Richard II. taken back to PVance by 
 Hotspur, ii. 192. 
 
 of Bavaria, queen of Charles 
 
 the Sixth of France, revenges the 
 
 death of her lover Bois Bourdon, ii. 
 
 260 ; attempts to cajole Henry V, 
 
 262. 
 Iscanus (or Joseph) of Exeter, his 
 
 poem entitled Antiocheis, i. 383. 
 Isle of Saints, Ireland, i. 502. 
 Itinerary of Baldwin, archbLshop of 
 
 Canterbury^ i. 587. 
 
 ^1 
 

 i 
 
 I. 
 
 47;J 
 
 INDliX. 
 
 James [. king of Scotland, detained in 
 captivity by Henr>' IV. ii. 235 ; re- 
 leased by the Diiko of Bedford, 270 ; 
 his poem entitled the ' Kind's Quair ' 
 271. ^ ' 
 
 •^ff/fe Shore. See Shore. 
 Jtrusalem first taken by the Saracens, 
 i. 525 ; captured by the Turks, ib, 
 reconquered by the crusaders, 529 ; 
 taken by Saladin, 551 ; finally lost 
 to the Christian world, Tio^, 
 
 ' , kingdom of, i. 550. 
 
 Jew of Bristol loses seven teeth, i. 426\ 
 
 entreats William Rufus to Attempt 
 
 the conversion of his son, i. 251. 
 Jews introduced by William the Con- 
 queror, i. 225 ; massacred at the co- 
 ronation of Richard 1.521 ; throu^-h- 
 out England, 322 ; despised by Henry 
 the Third, 425 ; many executed under 
 pretence of having crucified a chihl, 
 426; punished by Edward I. for 
 adulterating the coin, ii. 5 ; banished 
 the kingdom, 6, 
 Joan of Arc, born at Domremv, ii. 
 276; introduced to ChaHes'vqi. 
 277'^ throws herself into Orleans, 
 27y ; compels the Earl of Suilblk to 
 raise the siege, ih. ; assists at tlie 
 coronation of Charles, ib. ; her age, 
 280; taken prisoner, 281; tried,' 
 285 ; executed, 284 ; her reply to 
 two English earls, 285. 
 
 i^lakepeace, daughter of fidward 
 
 the Second, married to David Bruce, 
 ii. 105. 
 John, fourth son of Henry II. his in- 
 gratitude to his fatiier,'i. 316; in- 
 trigues with the Kin:r of Fr;ince 
 agjiinst his brother Richard, 544 ; 
 forgiven by Richard, 51<J; accedes 
 to the crown, 555 ; repudiates his 
 wife, and carries off Isabella be- 
 trothed to the Cjunt de la Marche, 
 356; murders his nephew Arthur' 
 557; summoned before the King of 
 France as a parricide,"358 ; loses his 
 French provinces, 5(;o ; dispute with 
 Rome, 561 ; an interdict denounced 
 against England, 565 ; he shows con- 
 siderable vigour, is cxconinuinicated, 
 364; deposed, 565; receives his 
 kingdom to hold in vassal.ige of tl.e 
 Pope, 566; conchides a truce with 
 France, 568 ; grants Magna Charta. 
 570 ; endeavours to rescind it, 575 ; 
 devastates the lands of the barons in 
 Norfolk, 574 ; loses his regalia, his 
 
 vexation and sickness, 375 ; death, 
 376 ; his profaneness, 377. 
 John king of France taken prisoner 
 with his son at Poictiers, ii. 151; 
 enters London as a captive, 153; 
 released by the treaty of Bretignii 
 155; returns against the advice of 
 his council, his noble reply, ib.; 
 dies in the Savoy, 156. 
 
 of Gaunt. See Lancaster. 
 
 of Salisbury, character of his 
 
 works, i. 585. 
 
 Joseph of Exeter. See heanus. 
 Journals of the Commons, ii. 441, 
 
 of the Lords, ii. 441. 
 
 Judith betravs her husband, Earl Wal- 
 
 theof, i. 217. 
 Juliets, in architecture, i. 236. 
 Juries, the origin of, i. 121. 
 Jutticcs, itinerant, appointed by Henry 
 
 the Second, i. 515. 
 Jutes, i. (,'4 ; what parts of England 
 
 peopled jy them, 81. 
 
 K 
 
 Keating, Geoffrey, his history of Ire- 
 land, i. 295. 
 
 Kenneth, the second king of Scotland, 
 effects a union of the Scotibh and 
 Pictish crowns, ii. 15. 
 
 Kent the earliest civilized part of Bri- 
 tain, i. 59 ; established as a kingdom 
 by Ethelbert, 85 ; linally merired in 
 Wessex, 102. 
 
 , Eiirl of, accused of treason and 
 
 executed, ii. 106. 
 
 King de jure and de facto, the distinc- 
 tion early understood, ii. 399. 
 
 Kingsi)\id\Y, an ancient poem, ii.271. 
 
 College chapel, Cambridge, de- 
 scription of, ii. 221. 
 
 Kirkpatrick, Sir Tiioraas, stabs Co- 
 myn, ii. 57. 
 
 Knights, four deputed from each comity 
 in the reign of Henry IH. i. 409. 
 
 — • of the shire, separate from 
 
 the barons in parliainent, ii. KiO. 
 
 Templars, dissolution of their 
 
 order, ii. 92. 
 Knyghtou, Henry, character of his 
 history, ii.217 ; edition of, 452. 
 
 Lament of Fxlward II. ii. 83. 
 
 Lancaster, Thomas earl of, a powerful 
 and turbulent baron, ii. 69 ; opposes 
 the Spensers, 70 ; executed at Wmi- 
 fret, 72; his immense wealth, ib. 
 
 , John of Gaunt, duke of, ii. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 473 
 
 170 ; his palace burnt by insurgents, 
 174; returns home from his vain 
 pursuit of the crown of Castile, 181 ; 
 marries Catharine Sw>Tieford, ib.y 
 dies rerv opulent, 190; his protec- 
 tion of Wickliffe, 205. 
 
 Lancaster, Henry duke of. See Here- 
 ford. 
 
 Lnngtoft, Peter, his metrical chronicle, 
 ii.82; edition of, 459. 
 
 Langtun, Cardinal Stephen, elected 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, i. 562 ; 
 assists to establish Mairna Charta, 
 369. 
 
 Lanfrnnc, archbishop of Canterbary, 
 h\^ defence of transubstantiation, i. 
 207. 
 
 Latin tongue very terse in the twelfth 
 cenlur\% i.256; cultivated only by 
 the clerg)', 258 ; Latin poetry, 583 ; 
 decline of the language, 428 ; ii. 83. 
 409. 
 
 Law improved by Edward I. ii. 42 ; 
 thf favourite study in the fifteenth 
 century, ii.399. 
 
 Lawi of Edward the Confessor, i. 205. 
 
 Latrt/cn restricte<l in number, ii.400. 
 
 Lfa, tiie river divided into three 
 streams by Alfred, i. 117. 
 
 Learning, the Conquest beneficial to, 
 i. 256 ; retrogrades in the fifteenth 
 century, ii. 400. 
 
 Ltchlade an university, i. 13. 
 
 Leicester^ Earl of, lands with ten thou- 
 sand Flemings, defeated near Bury, 
 i.312. 
 
 , Simon de Montfort earl of, 
 
 favoureti by Henry 111. i. 405; his 
 insolent conference with the king, 
 406 ; his ambitious projects, 409 ; 
 takes Henry with bis son and bro- 
 ther prisoners at the battle of Lewes, 
 410; assembles a parliament in which 
 burtresses first appeared, 412; slain 
 at the battle of Evesham, 414 ; litlie 
 remembered by posterity, 415. 
 
 Leir king of Britain, the Lear of Shak- 
 speare, i. 16. 
 
 Leofric earl of Mercia, i. 160, 161. 
 
 I^nlf, a robber, stabs King Edmund, 
 i. 155. 
 
 Lewei, battle of, i. 410 ; mise of, 411. 
 
 Lewis, the French prince, offered the 
 crown by the English barons, i. 373 ; 
 lands in England, 574 ; defeated at 
 Lincoln, i. 396. 
 
 VH.king of France, bis friend- 
 ship to Bccket, i. 281 ; visita his 
 tomb. 314. 
 
 Lewis XL his testimony to the ralour 
 of the Duke of Bedford, ii. 286; 
 bribes the herald and minister of 
 Eldward IV. 341 ; his interview with 
 the English king, 342; his speech 
 to Comines, 343 ; his opinion of 
 Richard III. 375. 
 
 Libel of English Pobcie, an ancient 
 poem, ii.407. 
 
 Libri Censualis, indices, ii.447; addi- 
 tamenta, ib. 
 
 Lilla, a Northumbrian Saxon, devotes 
 his life for Edwin's safety, i. 90. 
 
 Limoges, valour of three French knights 
 at the sack of, ii. 164. 
 
 , Viscount of, finds a treasure, 
 
 i.350. 
 
 Lisle Adam, looks Henrv V. in the face, 
 ii. 265. 
 
 , Sir William, sheriff of North- 
 umberland, a rich roan, ii. ^^. 
 
 Little England, in Pembrokeshire, L 
 246. 
 
 , William. See \eubrigensis. 
 
 Littleton, Sir Thomas, the judge, iL 
 399. 
 
 Livifis, Titus, an historian of the fif- 
 teenth century, character of his 
 work, ii. 426 ; aiition of, 438. 
 
 Lleudlyn, last native Prince of Wales, 
 perishes in battle, ii. 10. 
 
 I^crine, son of Brutus, i. 14. 
 
 Lcegria, a part of Britain, i. 13. 
 
 Logic, a famous pro{)osition in, i.379. 
 
 Lollards, meaning of the term disputed, 
 ii. 206 ; not ambitions of martyrdom, 
 244 ; conspiracy of in St. Giles's 
 Fields, 245. * 
 
 Lomea, Isle of, i. 152. 
 
 London early rose to commercial im- 
 portance, i. 39 ; neglected by the 
 Saxons till the time of Alfred,' 118; 
 indebted to King John for the power 
 of choosing its magistrafes, 378; an- 
 ciently a very ugly city, ii.513; its 
 youth seldom prosperous, 411. 
 
 , Bishop of, cites Wickliffe to 
 
 appear before him at St. Paul's, ii, 
 204, 205. 
 
 Bridge,when erected,i. 236^78. 
 
 stone, a Roman relique, i. 47, 
 
 48. 
 
 Londoners, their turbulence, i. 318.409. 
 
 Longet'ifi/ of some Saxon monks, i. 152. 
 
 Longchamp bishop of Ely, his comical 
 ads'enture, i. 353. ^ 
 
 Longlands, Robert, his po>em of Piers 
 Plowman, ii. 209. , j 
 
 L(^se Coat Field, battle of, ii. 327. u^ 
 
 
 ' 
 
 U 
 
 i 
 
 4ii 
 
 ? 
 
 ■•J 
 
 i 
 
 r 
 
 • 
 1 . 
 
 V 
 
 'ii 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 
 m 
 
 # 
 

 
 .'V^yiic^-i^ •■• J'^.'^TiSX 
 
 :*<.' "^ 
 
 
 
 
 •*'*;"T^-«»- 
 
 ;^> 
 
 4?4 
 
 INDBX. 
 
 /r if 
 
 Z^<f Mayor, when tM titk was first 
 i tosumed>u. 176. 
 
 Lovely a comiaon name for a dog, iL 
 S79. 
 
 — - — , Ix>rd, his mysterious death, ii. 
 
 386. 
 lAtcitis sends missionaries to the Bishop 
 
 of Rome, i. 58, 
 Lud kiQi^ of Bntain, i. 22. 
 Lutdaney a name of rebuke, i. 148. 
 Lusignan king of Jenjsaiem, i. 331. 
 
 344. 
 Lyckp€nny^ the London, a poem, ii. 
 
 413. 
 Lt^dgate, John, character and speci- 
 , mea of \kis poetry, ii.4i3. 
 
 M 
 
 Macltth, bis liisU^r>', ii. 16 — 19. 
 Madoc the Welshman, his supposed 
 
 settlement in America, ii. 7. 
 Magna ChhTtR, its provisions, i. 371 ; 
 
 its original capitula yet in eiisteuce, 
 
 572. 
 Magnus the Barefoot, king: of Norway, 
 
 defeated by the Irish, i. 504. 
 Maid of Norway, heiress of Scotland, 
 
 ii.20. 
 
 of Orleans. S<-e /oan of Arc. 
 
 Majoriiy, age of, in the kings of Eng- 
 land, ii. 179. 
 
 Maiden, the ancient Camalodimum. i. 
 36. 
 
 Mahicsbury, WilHain of, his worthy 
 .character, i. 260; his works, ib, ; 
 cautions of, ii. 450. 4oo. 
 
 Mannyjig. See Robert le Brnnne. 
 
 Majuiy, Sir Walter, saluted by the 
 
 Countess of Montfort, ii, 121 ; com- 
 
 - mands at Calais, 155 ; purchases a 
 
 ' burial-ground in London to inter 
 
 those who died of the plague, 148. 
 
 Mansel, chaplain to Henry III. holds 
 seven hnr>ireil livings, i.599. 
 
 Mopes, ^\"alter, his facetious reproof 
 of GtofPrey the son of Rosamond, i, 
 270 ; his famous drinking ode, 584. 
 
 MarexcUl. See Pembroke. 
 
 Marche, Earl of. See Mitrtimer, 
 
 Margaret of Anjou married to Henry 
 the Sixth, ii. 288; her distress at 
 the death of Suffolk, 295; birth of 
 a son, 299 ; defeated at Northamp- 
 ton, fiees to the north, 507 ; defeau 
 the Dake of York at Sandal Castle, 
 t6.; defeated by the voung Duke of 
 York at Mortimer's Cross, 309 ; de- 
 feats the Yorkists at St. Albans. 
 3l0i not admitted into London, 16.' 
 
 Joses the battle of Towton. fleea InM 
 Scotland, 3-20 ; defeated at IfMi?^ 
 
 Moor and Hexham, 32l7 1% 
 Tenturewith the rohh<^, ib • rvr.. 
 
 i&toFL.nder^i6.;retu'nis'«!i:ht^ 
 son, defeated at Tewkesbury 53-,. 
 xetires into France after five year.' 
 captivity, 537 ; there dies, ib, 
 
 Manel, Andrew, the last member of 
 pariiamen t who revived wages, ii .5 1 . 
 
 Masked lady enters Westminster Hall. 
 11. 69. * 
 
 Massacre of the Danes, i. 146. 
 
 Mafh, an ungrateful doi^, desrrts his 
 master, li. 195. 
 
 Ma:i/da Gueen of William the Con- 
 queror, her needle-work, i. 163, 164 ; 
 anecdote relative to her courtship -y^b 
 
 — -queen of Henry I. called tie 
 
 Oood Queen Mold, i. 248. 
 -— -, widow of the Emperor Henry 
 the Fifth, married to Geoffrey son 
 of the Count of Anjou, 245 ; arrives 
 in hngland u> claim the crown, 252 • 
 her escapes, 1*. 254; resigns her pre^ 
 tensions to her son Henry H. dies, 
 
 -, daughter of Lord Fitz-Wau-r, 
 
 the supposed nii.^tressof Robin llooil,' 
 
 Matt/ieu^ Paris, his intrepidity as an 
 
 historian, character of his works, i. 
 
 431; editions of, ii. 457. 
 ; of Westminster, c/illed Flo- 
 
 nlegus, character of his history, ii. 
 
 90; editions of, ii. 457. 
 
 Mau7idexnle, Sir John, his travels, 
 
 character of and sp<^imen, ii. 215, 
 216. 
 
 Mavestone, Sir Robert, anecdote oU ii. 
 253. 
 
 Mnaimiis revolts from Rome, with- 
 draws the youth o{ Briuin to Ar- 
 morica, i. 54. 
 
 Meals, hour of, with the Normans, i. 
 227; time wasted at, ii. 403. 
 
 Mtrcia, kingdom of, establishe^i by 
 Creda, i. 80 ; its power in the Hep- 
 tarchy, 93 ; conquered by Egbert, 
 kingof VVessex, i. 102. 
 
 Meiks, Thomas, bishop of Carlisle, ex- 
 cuses Richard H. ii. 197 ; loses his 
 bishoprick, \b. 
 
 Merlin, by some called .Vmbrosius, in- 
 troduced to Vortigem, i. 72; his 
 prophecies, 73; their long continued 
 reputation, 74; his miracle.% 75; 
 his disappearance through tlic art* 
 of Morgana, ib. 
 
 f 
 
 1^ 
 
 */ 
 ■•*.! 
 
 it -C ■ 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 475 
 
 Martphyncal subtilties, i. 257, 379 ; ii. 
 
 8.). 
 
 Mil'Mus, an Irish patriarch, i. 297, 298. 
 Mthfarp serrices, what, i. 209. ^4 
 Miller of .Mansfield, ii. 349. 
 Milton, his opinion of Geoffrey of 
 
 Monmouth's History-, i. 24. 
 Minority of the kmgsof England, cases 
 
 of, ii.555. 
 Minot, Lawrence, his poems, ii. 213. 
 Miracle Plays, ii. 419 — 423. 
 Molmutixis, king of Cornwall, i. 19. 
 Mona, both Anglesey and the Isle of 
 
 Man, i.38. 
 Mo7iasterics anciently the most asree- 
 
 able residences in the kioifdom, i. 
 - 104. * 
 
 Money, ancient, gradual deterioration 
 
 of, ii. 304. 405. 
 Monkish historians, their claim to our 
 
 gratitude, ii. 427. 
 Montfort, Count de, offers to perform 
 
 homage for Britany to Edward HI. 
 
 ii. 119. 
 
 — -, Jane countess of, her valo- 
 rous defence of Britany, ii.l 19—121. 
 — , Simon de. See Leicester, 
 Montem at Eton, ii. 419. 
 MonsircUt, character ofhis Chroniques, 
 
 Moor, Sir Thomas de La, character of 
 his Life of Edward II. ii. 91 ; edition 
 of, 450. 
 
 A/«rflA/i«, ancient dramatic, ii. 422. 
 More, Sir Thomas, his opinion of the 
 
 murder of the princes in the Tower» 
 
 ii. 375. 
 
 Morgana the Lady of the Lake,' i. 75. 
 79. 
 
 Mortimci', Roger, the paramour ' of 
 Queen Isabella, ii. 75 ; escapes from 
 the Tower, 1*. ; assumes the chief au- 
 thorit>', 105 ; created Earl of Marchc, 
 ib, ; concludes an ignominious treaty 
 with Scotland, 105 ; accuses the Earl 
 of Kent of treason, 106 ; seized in 
 Nottingham Castle, 107; executed 
 108; King of Folly, i&. 
 
 — , right of this family to the 
 
 crowTi, ii. 297. 
 
 Mortimer's Cross, battle of, ii. 309. 
 ^ Mottos first used at the institution of 
 
 the Garter, i.542. 
 Murimuth, Adam, a continoator of 
 
 Florilegus, ii. 90 ; edition of, 438. 
 Music, church, descril>ed by John of 
 
 Salisbury, i. 381. 
 Mysteria, dramatic, an account of, ii. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 N 
 
 Kcjara, battle of, ii. 157. 
 Names, i. 194—198. 
 
 » Navigation Act, the first passed in 
 
 England, ii. 166. 
 Nazan-leod, supposed to be the same 
 
 person as Ambrosius, slain, i. 70. 
 Needle-work, or tapestry, at Bayeux, 
 
 i. 163, 164. 
 Negotiation, small skill of the English 
 
 therein, ii. 343. 
 Nemedius, an Irish leader, i. 295. 
 Nennitts, a British writer, character of 
 
 his history, i. 101; edition, ii. 433. 
 
 434. 
 
 Nciibrigerais, Gulielmus, character of 
 his histor>', i. 388 ; edition of,ii. 429. 
 439. 
 
 NeiLstria the ancient name of Norman- 
 dy, i. 177. 
 
 Neville's Cross, battle of, ii. 150. 
 
 Neville. See Warwick, 
 
 New Forest, formaUon of, i. 220 ; fatal 
 to several of the Conqueror's family, 
 
 Niiil, an ancestor of Milesius, 1. 296. 
 
 Nolumus mutare, a reply too much ex- 
 tolled, i. 427. 
 
 Nonarum Inqu'isitiones in Curia Scac- 
 carii, the record, ii. 446. 
 
 Non obst-intc, doctrine of, introduced 
 by Pope Innocent IV. i. 400. 
 
 Norfolk, Mowbray duke of, his con- 
 versation with Hereford, ii. 189; 
 duel prevented, 190; banished for 
 life, I*. 
 
 -, Lord Howard, created duke 
 
 of, for his guilty acquiescence in 
 Richard's usurpation, ii.368; slain 
 at Bosworth, 386; distich placed on 
 his tent, ib. 
 
 Nonnan families in Scotland, i.218. 
 
 Normans led by Rollo into Neustria, 
 i. 178; imitate their French neigh- 
 bours, ib.\ a more refined people 
 than the Xnglo- Saxons, 226. 
 
 Northampton, battle of, ii.306. 
 
 Northumberland established as a kin<y- 
 dora by the union of Bernida and 
 Deiri, i. 86 ; its subsequent extreme 
 state of barbarity, 92 ; finally merged 
 
 . in Wessex, 102. 
 
 ~ ■ 1, Earl of, slain at Bram- 
 
 ham Moor, ii. 254. 
 Norwich, Lord, saves his garrison of 
 
 Angouleme by a stratagem, ii. 123. 
 Not Browne Maide, poem of, produced 
 
 in the fifteenth century, ii. 417. 
 yum, inconrenience of* tbeir pilgrim- 
 
 2L 
 
 i\ 
 
 
 1 
 
 A 
 
 
 ♦ 
 
 /I: 
 
 ? i \ 
 
 
 w\ 
 
 I \' 
 
 J' 
 
 t 
 
 V- 
 
 
 r - 
 
 
 '4 
 
 ■ 
 
 I 
 
 ( 
 
 ^■^ 
 
 
 
 
 1m 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 t 
 
 ¥{ 
 
 
 9f i| 
 
 r 
 
 i* .- 
 
 « "Ji^fiKi. 
 
 
 \y:.-i ' '. *?%--»,^^r3r't'-."'*3fei'S\.l¥i# i-^ 
 
 
 ,11 
 

 '-•«<fi. 
 
 jt . 
 
 ill 
 
 %■ 
 
 M«««sL^ 
 
 '^*'Vv 
 
 -;^«.*-iv^. 
 
 A 
 
 47 il 
 
 INDRX. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 477 
 
 i 
 
 age to Rome, i. 94 ; a w1u>1o convent 
 of, seduced or ^^olaU^d, ii. y9. 
 
 O , 
 
 Occleire^ Thomas, character and speci- 
 men of h'i5 px^H try, ii. 412. 
 
 (htarcht/y Saxon, i. '^l. 
 
 Octo and El>€.-<ca take pos3essioQ of 
 Northun^VKrland, i. 69. 
 
 Oddune earl of Devonsliirc ol tains pos- 
 se.^sioQ of the eiichant*.'<i Keafen, L 
 114. 
 
 Od/y bishop of Bayeiix and earl of Kent 
 arrested by \S'iiiiam the Conqa<?ror, 
 i.219. 
 
 Ofa king of Mercia, his celebrated 
 dyke, i. 95 ; murders Etliclbort king 
 of East Anglia, 96 •, his remorse, ih, 
 engages to pay Peter's pence, 97. 
 
 O/flieking of Norway invades England, 
 i. 145 J canonized, ib. 
 
 OldcastU, Sir John, lord Cobham, 
 brings in a bill to reduce the rere- 
 nues of the clergy, ii. 244 ; offend* 
 Henry V. by the freedom of his re- 
 marks, ib.'y entreated to recant by 
 the primate, 245 ; doubtful whether 
 present at a meeting of the Lollards, 
 t*. ; barbarously exccutpd, 246 ; the 
 tradition tliat the ehanxcter of Fal- 
 staff was originally called Oldcastk 
 examined, 246 — 250. 
 
 Ollam Fodla, an Irish king, i. 299. 
 
 Oiiphant, Sir William, surrenders Stir- 
 ling Castle to Edward I. ii. 30. 
 
 Ordraly jud:^ment by, i, 159. 
 
 Ordericu4 Vltilis, character of his his- 
 tory, i. 261 ; editions of, ii. 435, 436. 
 
 Organ early introduced into EnKl ind, 
 1.381. 
 
 Orleans^ Duke of, assassinated in Paris, 
 ii. 253 ; liis effronter)', ib, 
 
 , son of the former, taken pri- 
 soner at Agincourt, writes English 
 verses, ii, 271. 
 
 -, siege of, ii. 274 ; raised by 
 
 the earl of Suffolk, 279. 
 
 ■-, Maid of. vSee Joa?i of Arc. 
 
 Ormeshy irritates the Scot^i by hia se- 
 verity, ii. 26. 
 
 OrUtun^ Andrew, bibhop of Hereford, 
 preaches against F>dward II. ii. 78; 
 his ambiguous letter, 79. 
 
 Orthography^ unfixedness of, in the 
 fourteenth century, ii. 215. 
 
 Osjiaw, examination of the poems at- 
 tributed to that bard, i. 45. 
 
 Ostmen invade Ireland, i. 304. 
 
 Otter botirnf, batUe of, ii. 1^2; ballad 
 on the subject, 1^3. 
 
 OtUthouTHe, Thomas, char^^rr, r of Im 
 history, u. 426 ; edition, i lO. 
 
 Ofvfn, See Tudor* 
 
 Oxford^ antiquity of its university coii 
 pared with Cambridge, ii. 223. 
 
 ' , Rol-ert de Vere, e^rl of, the 
 
 favourite of Richard II. un j>onp^e, 
 crcHt^Nd first marquis, then duke of 
 Ireland, ii. 17h; dies in exile, IHO. 
 
 P .^ • ' r * 
 
 Pandolph the Legate roreivea the !io- 
 
 mage of King Jolm, i. 3<;6. 
 P'jrts. See Matth^nv. 
 Fnriskpi said t«) be instituted by Ho- 
 
 norius archbishop of Canterbury, i. 
 
 59. 
 
 Parliamejit assenibled at Oxford called 
 the Mad, i. 409 ; at Ix;n<!on by the 
 Eirl of Leicester, in which the bur- 
 gesses are first sumnioncd, 412 ; at 
 Merton, 427 ; at Shrewsbury by Ed- 
 ward I., ii. 44; at I^^ndon in 1295, 
 in which the burgesses are again 
 summoned, 47 ; origin of the name, 
 51 ; when first applied to the great 
 conncil of England, ih.\ protesU 
 that it owed no allegiance to Ed- 
 ward HI. as Kinff of Prance, 116; 
 freojuently asJi'mbled by that mo- 
 narch, 160; the Blessed, 161; im- 
 peaches the Earl of Suffolk, 178; 
 the Merciless or Wonderworking, 
 180; unruly meeting of, after the 
 accession of Henry iV. 227; ita 
 }^r^Ai autliority under the IvancAstri^an 
 priares, 235 ; reverse's stime provi- 
 sions in the will of Henry V. 269; 
 Rp^>oiiits the Duke of York protector, 
 with limitirions,300; in one sense 
 annual, 303 ; deelares for the house 
 of York, 321; grants an insufhcienl 
 supply to bVlwald IV. 310 ; declines 
 in spirit during the sway of the house 
 of York, 353; justifies the usurpa- 
 tion of Richard iJI.381. 
 
 PartkoUntui the first settler In Ireland, 
 i. 294. 
 
 Partridge the propliet, i. 17. 
 
 Paston Family, I^etters of, ii. 409. 
 
 Paul the knave of Christ, ii. 207. 
 
 Pauhuiu converts the Northumbrian* ^ 
 to Christianitv, i. 91. ^ 
 
 Pedro the Cruel, king of Castile, applies 
 to the Black Prince, ii. 157 ; his per- 
 fidy, 15^^. 
 
 Pelcgiu^, a native oi Rritain, i. 87. 
 
 Pcynbroke^ E-ari uf, William M irus<ball, 
 protector under Henry HI. i. 396. 
 
 Penda king of Mercia, i. 93. 
 
 
 Pendragon^ or generalissimo, chosen 
 by the Britons, i. 62. 
 
 PfTcVy lord, Henry Hotspur, attacks 
 Earl Douglas at Otterbourne, ii. 
 183; vouches for the pari tv of the 
 young queen of Richard H. 192; 
 takes Douglas prisoner at Hallidown 
 Hill, 231 ; refuses to release him, 
 232 ; glaia at the battle of Shrews- 
 bury, ih. 
 
 Peres, Alice, her effronter}^, ii. 162; 
 
 cashiered from court, 163; deserts 
 
 and plundersEdwardlU. when dying, 
 165. 
 
 Peter of Biois, character of his works> 
 i.384. 
 
 the Hermit preaches the first 
 
 cnisade, i.324. 
 
 ofPorafret punished by King John, 
 
 i. 367. 
 
 Petrr'i pence, origin of, i. 97. 
 
 i'hilxp Augustus recovers the French 
 
 provinces from King John, i. 359; 
 
 is dufx-d by the Pope, 368. 
 • VL deValoi.^, proU'Cts David 
 
 Bruce, ii. Ill; his prudence in avoid- 
 
 ini( the attack of Exhvard III., 116,^ 
 
 his^buffoon tells an unwelcometruth, 
 
 117 ; flie,s from the defeat at Crecy, 
 
 127; diet., 149. • 
 PKilippa, queen to F^lward Hi. entreats 
 
 a pardon for the six burgesses of 
 
 ChIhIs, ii. 132. 
 Pnysmnnsy .satire against, i.585, 3^.6. 
 Pictntrrisif, Gulielmus, character of his 
 
 history, i. 261 ; editions of, ii. 455. 
 Ptcis, first mention of, i. 51; appcxtr 
 
 to he the old Caledonians, 52. 
 • — — and .Scots ravage South Britain, 
 
 i. 53.56. 62; form an allianee with 
 
 th<^ Saxons, 66. 
 Pirrs Plowman's Vision and Crede, cha- 
 
 ract^rr of and specimen, ii. 209,210 ; 
 
 description of his homely fare, 397. 
 Pilgrims^ exportation of, ii. 408. 
 Pins in the drmking-<nip, i. 140. 
 Placitg de quo warranto, the record, ii. 
 
 450. 
 Placitorvm in Domo Capitulari ^Vest- 
 
 mona^terii coiistnwatoruui abbrevia- 
 
 tio, the record, ii. 417. 
 Pla^ttf in Flngland, ii. 147. 
 PUintai^rrj^^f^ origin of that surname, 
 
 i. 2b6; character of tlie race, ii. 
 
 391 ; last male rep rcsen tali vt^, »6. 
 , Richard, natural son of 
 
 Richard III. his i^ry, ii. 3H9. 
 PlauCiuj the Roman general, i. .'^6. 
 PleadiHi^y in law improved iu the rcign 
 
 of Edwiii d UL M, IG8. 
 
 Poetry, Gallo-Norman, i. 259; early 
 
 specimen of English satire, 382 ; 
 
 Latin poetry by English authors, 
 
 583. 384 ; progress of Enfrlish poetry, 
 
 ii. 82.210— 214.412. ^ 
 Poets, how esteemed in the fifteenth 
 
 century, ii. 402. 
 Poicticrs, battle of, ii. 150, 15L 
 Po//-tax, ii. 171. 
 Polytheism of the Saxons, i. 84. 
 Pomfret ominous to noble peers, ra- 
 
 rious executions there, ii. 72. 201, 
 
 356. 
 Pope, exactions of, in the reign of 
 
 Henry HI. i. 402 ; claims Scotland 
 
 as a fief of the Holy See, ii.29. 
 P'jTtraits of the Scotish kings, ii. 14. 
 Powell, Dr. his history of Wales, ii. 8. 
 Pratelle, William, his devoted ser\'ice 
 
 to Richard I. i.353. 
 Prcpmunire, explanation of the writ of, 
 
 u. 161. 
 Precedency, dispute concerning, be- 
 tween the two archbishops, i. 319. 
 Prediction, remarkable one respecting 
 
 a separation from the Romish church, 
 
 1.401. 
 Prices reguLited by parDament, ii. 65. 
 Prior of St. Swithin, his misfortune, i. 
 
 319. 
 Procession, hypocritical, to St. Paul's, 
 
 504,305. 
 Prodigies in the river Forth, fi. 16. 
 Progress, royal, description of that of 
 
 Henry II. i. 384. 
 Property tax, ii. 171. 
 Provisors, statute of, ii. 161. 
 Purgatory, doctrine of, i. 208. 
 Pudsey, Hugh, bishop of Durliam, buya 
 
 the earldom of Northumberland, i. 
 
 322. 
 
 Q . 
 
 Quadrilogus, or HistoriaQuadrapartita, 
 a life of Beck el, i. 589. 
 
 Quadrivium,& svstem of mstruction, i. 
 257. 
 
 Qnalijic afions for members of parlia- 
 ment, and for eh^tors, ii. 301. 
 
 R 
 
 Radulphus de Diceto, character of his 
 history, i. 389; edition of, ii. 431. 
 435. 
 
 Ragfnnn's KoW, ii. 105. 
 
 liugnar L<xibrog ravages Northumber- 
 land, taken captive, devoured by 
 snakes^, his death song, i. 110. ^^ 
 
 RartTispur, a place near the Huml>er, 
 uow swallowed up by the sea, ii, 192. 
 
 ■! 
 
 if 
 
 -»? 
 
 * r 
 
 . I 
 
 
 'f?\ 
 
 ill 
 
 
 1 
 " 1 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 y 
 
 
 \i 
 
 !?' 
 
 
 t 
 
 m 
 
 M.*mi>.fc -.A-.il. -A • ., -..-i...w-r.- A „ . iMMIi W ill .^'^^ 
 
 -:i*^.v>.- 
 
>i Hl MWIiB U '- I W ll fcK M 
 
 ! 
 
 "^■'-*iiiiii'irii 'I 
 
 ;.vVW^.■.l^ 
 
 f 
 
 •ift- 
 
 478 
 
 INDLX. 
 
 ^cflAi,thcDara>h enchanted standard. 
 i. lU. 
 
 J^ccordi published bv order of govern- 
 
 nient, ii. 440—452. 
 R'duald king of E \5i Anu'lin, i. 88, 89. 
 ^egalm preserved in Wosndnster 
 
 Ahl>€y, i. Ifj8. 
 HegtitTuui. Mai^Txi Sigidl Rfiruni Scoto- 
 
 mm, the record, ii. 452. 
 Hcig-ns, an o^id coincidence in the thret^ 
 
 longest, i. 597. 
 Report A from the Committee to eru]uire 
 
 into the Sute of the Public Records, 
 
 ii.442. ' 
 
 from the Commissioners,ij.443. 
 
 Return AnglVcanim, scriptores post 
 
 Bedam, by Sir Heary Savile, ii. 450. 
 • Anvrlicanira Scriptorum Vete- 
 
 nini, by W. Fulman, ii. 452. 
 
 Brltinnicar'jm, scriptores retns- 
 
 , tiorcs ac preclpui, by Conimerin, 
 ii. 429. 
 
 Rcuda a leader of the Scot^v Irish, i 55. 
 
 Rei^hittun of lfi^8 paniUtled with the 
 depo.-^'itioa of Richard II., ii. 1 99. 
 
 Rhyme entnbicf-e, h specimen of, ii. 83. 
 
 Rihaumont Fiistare, his viloroos ren- 
 contre H-ith i^Iw.ird ;il. ii. 153. 
 
 Richard I. contracted to the French 
 • princes.s Adt-la'is, i. 515 ; ascends the 
 
 . throne, 521 •, en^^ri^es in the third 
 l'nisade,555 ; hi.s heroisin, 556 ; re- 
 ceiyes the name of Ca-ur de Lion, 
 346; his pcKitry, 547 ; person and 
 character, 531. 
 
 — II. liis accession ^nd coronation, 
 
 ii. 169 ; CDunril of reirtmcy, 170 ; in- 
 surrection by Wat Tyler, 171—175 ; 
 incurs the dist-steem of his suljecLs, 
 1B4 ; arrt^Ls Thomas, of Woodstock, 
 185 — 187 ; embarks ft)r Ireland, 191 ; 
 returns to oppose the ijivasiun of 
 Bolioi^broke, 195; deposeti, 197; 
 perishes in Pomfret Ciitle, 201 ; his 
 absurd epitaph, 243. 
 
 Richard \\\. {^e G'ouccMtt'r] s^deu.fdy 
 crowned, ii. 568 ; his confenmce w ith 
 Tyrrel, 571 ; the viums^ princes mur- 
 dered, 1 6. ; the fart di.-putcd without 
 reai(m, 572—575 ; Buckinirham's 
 revolt, 578 ; alarmed at the invjusion 
 of Richmond, 5'^4 ; slain at the })attie 
 of P>o>w<Hth, 585; hi*^ illegitimate 
 S4-11, 589. 
 Richmond, Heory Tu.lor, earl ot\ his 
 prt-tonsioiiS to the crown. liJ^U — 592. 
 Rivcrt, .\nthony \V(^')dnJt», earl ox\ 
 ^ escorts 'f>iward V. from Lndluw, ii. 
 352; arr-btcl at Stoocy Stratford, 
 555 , Sent with VaLiihiui and Crcy to 
 Pcmfiet, 5:4 ; their exccuMon, 556. 
 
 Robert Co 
 
 >bert Courtho^ rebels^ rvgainst his 
 
 father Wiilianj the C<Qr,ueror, 1.218; 
 remarkable rencontre, 219 ; genero- 
 sity to bis brother fKnry,229 ; Ukes 
 the cross 230 ; reti;m<< and inTndes 
 Fn-land, 259 ; detained a captire 27 
 years in Cardiff Castle, 240 ; his mo- 
 munent in Glouc^^terCathetlral, 241. 
 - of Gloncebtcr^ character and 
 
 specimen of bis rhyming chronicle, 
 
 ii. 82; edition, 459.' 
 R'jUrt le Bnmne. S<^c .^fannyng, 
 Robertson^ Dr. his dimion of Scotish 
 
 history, ii. 13. 
 Robin Hood, his unparaJleled renown, 
 
 i. 415; \U causes, 416; his history, 
 
 417; ancient ballads and dramas on 
 
 the subject, 419 — 421. 
 
 — • of Redesdale, his insurrection, ii. 
 326. 
 
 Roches, Peter des, protixtor in the reign 
 of Henry HI., i. 597. 
 
 Roland, s^mg of, i. 169. 
 
 RoUo the Dane, i. 178. 
 
 Rolls of ParliHinent, ii. 441. 
 
 Roman ro^ifls in Britain, i. 47. 
 
 Romans fmally leave Britain, i. 57. 
 
 " kintr t^f. See CcrMWali, 
 
 Romescct, or IVter Pence, i.97. 
 
 Rosamond, her beauty and supposed 
 catastn^phe, Ijer tomb and epitaph, 
 i. 269. 
 
 Ro^^rs^ tlie white and red, how they be- 
 came the symbolof party, ii. 518. 
 
 RotuU Hundredorum, the rt^ord, ii. 44. 
 
 Scotia*, the record, ii. 451, 
 
 RotHlorum ( >rigin;dimr» in Curia Scac- 
 carii abbreviatio, the record, ii. 
 445. 
 
 /t*"vna tables of King Arthur an<l others, 
 i. 76-^ ii. 98. 
 
 Rous, Jolm,the antiquary of Warwick, 
 character of his history, ii. 427 ; 
 edition o(, 458. 
 
 Rofcrria, sk>ry of her driisking health 
 to V'ortikTt-Tn, i. G6. 
 
 R'jwUt/, p<H ms attributed to that per- 
 son, ii. 417. 
 
 RudhnddiWas kin^f of Britain, i. 15, 
 
 Rufus. See HV/uim. 
 
 Riinueinede, des^Tiption of, i. 370; 
 Kinir .John siirns there xMagna Char- 
 ta, ih. 
 Rntland, F-irl of, deprived of his title of 
 D'ike of Aumcrie, conspires against 
 Henry iV ., ii. 227 ; betrays his asi>o- 
 ciates, 228 ; accedes to th:^ title of 
 Duke oi Vork, slain at A^iiicouit, 
 259. 
 
 I"lari of, A vouth oi seventeen, 
 
 slaia by Luid Lliffofd, ii. 5i'8. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 479 
 
 Ryii^Ti Fcedera, new edition of, ii. 
 450. 
 
 Sabrina cives her name to the Severn, 
 i. 14. 
 
 Sr .-{{'jam. first battle of, ii. 500. 
 
 second battle o(, ii. 310. 
 
 St. t.dmund, King of Fust Anglia, slain 
 by the Danes, i. 105. 
 
 St. Edriund.sbnrt/ its ancient monas- 
 Ut>-, i. 104 ; Its bell-tower probably 
 built by Canute, 105. 
 
 St. Gtorgc^K native of Cappadocia, be- 
 headed at Lydda in Palestine, ii 143 ; 
 not the Arian bishop, ib. ; his letrends, 
 144. 147 ; the cause of the favour 
 borne to his memory, 146 ; becomes 
 the tutelary saint of England, ib, 
 
 St. Kcv tn, his great patience, i. 387. 
 
 St. Patrick preaches in Ireland, i. 503 ; 
 his miracles, ib. 
 
 Saladin invades I'alestine, i.331 ; takes 
 Jerusalem,i7/.; his courtesy to Richard 
 I., 557 ; death and character, ib. 
 
 Sai' rutnn, MeJical School of, i. 257. 
 
 Salir/ur law, its obscurity, ii. 112; a 
 roy.d witticism upon, 122. 
 
 Salisbury Cathedral, description of, i. 
 592; its unifunuity of design, 594. 
 
 Countess of, drops her garter 
 
 in dancing, ii. 156; visited bv Efl- 
 wan! HI. at Werk Castle, 137'; fic- 
 tions relative to this ladv, 140. 
 
 Richard L(mLres^>ee, Farl of. 
 
 son of RosanK>ni], i. 270. 
 
 Montacute Karl of, the first 
 
 7 _ _ _ 
 
 English gentlejuan slain by a i^reat 
 shot, ii. 274. 
 
 Plain, in accordance with 
 
 Sttjnehenge, i. 1. 
 
 Samnthra a name of Britain, ill, 
 
 Sarum, old, i. 391 . 
 
 nc'.v, i. 592. 
 
 Satire on themo[ikish profession, i.582. 
 
 *S^u/rf, William, the first person in F.ng- 
 land who suffers by fire for heresy, 
 ii. 229. 
 
 Saxon architecture, i. 60. 105. 
 
 — Cbroijicle, cliaracter of, i. 172; 
 
 editiorjs of, ii. 440. 
 
 language, worthy the attention 
 
 of the philologist, i. 171; had 
 change<l into Fnglish in the fourteenth 
 century, ii. 214. 
 
 Line rchtored, an incorrect as- 
 sertion, i. 265. 
 
 S^xops, their origin, i. 64 ; their neg- 
 Iwi of liter.iture, 98 ; their princes 
 short lived, 152 ; their sway of live 
 
 centuries, 171 ; courage their prin- 
 ciple \-irtue, ib.; their intemperance. 
 226. " ^ 
 
 Schoolmen, their metaphysical absur- 
 dities, i. 257.379; ii. 85. 
 
 SciUy isles known to the Pboenicians, i. 
 10. 
 
 Scone, the sacred Scotish stone re- 
 moved from, ii 25. 
 
 Scot a, an Eg>'ptiaD princess, i.296,297. 
 
 Scoti first mentioned by St, Jerome, I. 
 51 ; appear to be then seated in Ire- 
 land, 52 ; settle in Caledonia, 53. 
 
 Scot! had little politeness in the four- 
 teenth century, ii. 215. 
 
 Scotish army, picture of, by Froissart, 
 ii. 104. 
 
 Scotland, its CArly history obscure and 
 fictitious, ii. 15; its entire history 
 divided into four periods by Dr. Ro- 
 bertson, i^. 
 
 Scripture translated by WickliiTe, ii, 
 207 ; the Gospels by Coedmon the 
 monk, 208 ; pecnniary vahjc of a 
 copv of the New Testament, i^. 
 
 Sea kimrs^ the Danish princes so called, 
 i. 107. 
 
 Select a Monumenta, by Baron Masercs, 
 II. 4oo. 
 
 Severu^s arrives in Britain with his sons, 
 i. 45 ; erects a new wall^ 45 ; dies at 
 York, ib. 
 
 S ha Ltpc are om]\.s all mention of Magna 
 Charta in the play of King Jf-hn, i. 
 370 ; details the reign of Henry IV. 
 with much accuracy, ii. 250 ; his Se- 
 cond Part of Henry VI. very faith- 
 ful, 296 ; his account of the origin 
 of the \Vhite and Red Rose as party 
 symbols incorrect, 519; admirably 
 depicts the feelings of Richard HI. 
 after his coronation, 369. 
 
 Shaw, Dr. his ridiculous sermon at 
 St. Paul's, ii. 364. 
 
 Sk'ifielil, Master, a London mercer, 
 his ludicrous distress, ii. 410, 411. 
 
 Shred-pie sent by Henry VI. to Arch- 
 bishop Chichele, ii. 356. 
 
 Shrin-sburr/, .lohn TalL^ot earl of, killed 
 in battle, ii. 2(57. 
 
 Shorrditch, some account of, ii. 361. 
 
 Shore, Jane, the mistress of l^d ward IV. 
 ii.357 ; accused by the Duke of Glou- 
 cester of witchcraft and incontinence, 
 559; does penance, iA.; description 
 of her pi'rson, her destituU' old age, 
 ib. ; her dying by hunger fictitious, 
 561. 
 
 Sigrbert king of East Anglia founds 
 the monastery at Bury, i. 104. 
 
 !. 
 
 ^1 
 
 ^'t 
 
 -,i 
 
 \! 
 
 L#- 
 
^ 
 
 -ms- 
 
 *- «'■* ^'■t -»f ■ ■■ .-v^ . 
 
 4dO 
 
 JNUKX. 
 
 f 
 
 :rncar({ carl of Norlhiiinbt'riand, his 
 heroism, i. 161. 
 
 Slavery, wB<n it censed ia England 
 unknown, ii. 398. 
 
 ShittiThfif^f of ancicQt housewives, ii, 
 ^Ib. 
 
 iS/k^«, sea-fight ofi that harbour, ii.i 17. 
 
 Somerset^ E^JQjiiad Beaufort duke of, 
 minister of Henry VI. ii. 21)9 ; kiUcd 
 Ki the first battle of St. Albans, 300. 
 
 Sorei. See ^'ii^un. 
 
 Speaker y the first chosea by the Com- 
 mons, ii. 162. 
 
 SpeM.ier, Hugh, the elder, executed at 
 Bristol, ii. 76, i^ 
 
 -, Hugh, the younger, mnde 
 
 chamberlain to Edward 11. ii. TO; 
 hnnished, 71; recalled, 72; excites 
 the animosity of the queen, 73 ; re- 
 treats into Wales, taken and exe- 
 cuted, 76, 
 
 Standard, battle of the, at North alltT- 
 ton, i. 250. 
 
 Stam/urd, an university there, i. 16. 
 
 Stanford Bridge, battle of, i. lt)7, 
 
 Stanley, Ix)rd, declares for Richmond 
 at Bosw(»rth, ii. 585. 
 
 Statutes of the Realm, Dew edition of. 
 ii. 448. 
 
 — and Odinances of Ireland, 
 
 new edition of, iL 452. 
 
 Stephen, King, secures the tre:isvr^ e^ 
 Henry I. L 249; defeats the Scot^ at 
 NorthalWton, 250 ; taken prisoner 
 by the army of Matilda, 253 ; ex- 
 changed for the E^rl of Gloucester, 
 254 ; harassed by faction, negotiatt^ 
 with Henry of Anjou, 255; his cha- 
 racter, ib. 
 
 Stigand archbishop of Canterbury de- 
 posed from his see by WiHiani the 
 Conqueror, i. 2U6. 
 
 Stilling tou, bishop of Bath, a profll^te 
 priest, joins with Gloucester in the 
 attempt to bastardize the children 
 of Eilward IV. ii. 363. 
 
 Stirling, English defeated at, ii. 27 ; 
 its castle besieged by Edward I. 30 ; 
 surrenders, i^. 
 
 Stonehe7ig^, description of, i. 1 — 5; mas- 
 sacre of the Britons thereat, 68 ; 
 fabulously attribntevl to Merlin, 74. 
 
 Stratfordy Archbifthop, defies Edward 
 the'Hurd, ii. 118, ^ 
 
 Strigvly E^l. See Stron^lM}iff. 
 
 StrougbxTw invades Ireland, i. 304. 
 
 Stuart family, their descent from 
 Banquo fictitious, ii. ly ; their sitiLi- 
 tion compared with the hou.>e o( 
 York, 21'8. 
 
 Subndvy its orii^lr.al vh!ii<», H 34Q 
 
 Siol^ury, archbi>hop ..f Cuntprfujrv 
 murder.^ by the insurgents urK^; 
 Wat Ivler, n. 175. 
 
 Suetoniu.f Panlinuj*, tho Rom.an Rpne- 
 ral, i. 58. 
 
 Sujfolh, Michapl de U Pole carl of 
 iospeached by parlir.ineot, ii. i7B • 
 dies in exile, 180. * 
 
 Suffolky William de la Pole, carl of, 
 xai.nes the siege of (Orleans, ii. 279 • 
 concludei a treaty of marriaj?e be- 
 tween Henry VI. and Marg^^ret of 
 Anjoa, 288; created a duke, 2>;9 ; 
 accused of treason, hanlsli^d, mur- 
 dered on ship-board, 294 ; his lett<T 
 to his son, 295. 
 
 SuH appt>ariug like thrc^ suns, ii. 309. 
 
 Surgery, the practice of, wretched in 
 the fifteenth centnrr, li. 401. 
 
 Surnames, i. 194—1^8. 
 
 .W-j-, kingdom of, cstabliihed 'by 
 Ella, i. 69; conquered by Ceod walla 
 king of Wessrx, 93. 
 
 Suans intrmiuced into Wcstmhist^T 
 Abbey, ii. 39. 
 
 Sueyn king of D^nmnrk plunders St. 
 Edmundsbury, i, 106; invades Eng- 
 land with Olave ki/ig of Norway, 
 145; prevented from ascending the 
 throne by death, 147, 
 
 T 
 
 Tani'try^ its injurious e^'octs in Ireland, 
 i. 307. 
 
 Tani,€r of Tamworth, story of, ii. 349. 
 
 Tascioy a word inscribed on some an- 
 cient coins, 1. 34. 
 
 TajcAio EcclesiHStica Andia? et V7alli« 
 (1291), the recoH, ii.^443. 
 
 T^mplan. St^ Knights, 
 
 Ttrtnple church, descript-on of, u 262. 
 
 , Sir William, bis opinion of 
 
 Geoffrey of Monmoutli's history, i.24. 
 
 Tenchebrai, battle of, i. 240, 
 
 Tenths and AfUk^ntlis, thtir value, ii, 
 340. 
 
 Testa de Nevill, sivc Liber Feodorum, 
 the record, ii. 446. 
 
 Theodore archbishop of Canterburv i 
 
 59.98. 
 Theodonnj drives the I'lcts and Scota 
 
 beyond the wall, i. 54. 
 Tkc^mat. See Beeket, % 
 
 Tithes first granted to the Saxon church 
 
 by Ethelwolf, i 109. 
 Tithingi, L 122. 
 
 Torture anciently practised, ii. 396. 
 
 Te^ui, brother of Harold, invades Eng- 
 
 lajKi, Icrt dead 00 tl^e f.eld, i. ie;6. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 481 
 
 f 
 
 r * 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 
 L» *««- 
 
 Touitain the Fair carries the papal ban* 
 ner at the battle of Hastings, i. 169. 
 
 Jotrer of Lo!>don, when erecteii, i.236. 
 
 TouTxs, liat of tbosr whicii first sent re- 
 presentatives to parliajnent, ii.45.48, 
 
 Towtern, battle of, ii. 320. 
 
 Tracy, Sir William, one of Becket*8 
 assa^,sir.s, puni:5hn.ent of his family, 
 i. 21K). 
 
 Trade, early interraevldle() with, i. 380 ; 
 ii. 4 or.. 
 
 Trauxlation of scripture, ii. 207. 
 
 Trat^utkstantiatiojiy doctrine of, i. 207 ; 
 ii. 229,230. 
 
 Transtmnart, Count of. See Henry. 
 
 TVea^on, statute of, rtnlucingit to three 
 beads, ii. 161 ; cruel and absurd law 
 of, yet remaining, 381. 
 
 Tresihan, Judge, his severity, ii. 177, 
 
 Jrei'isa, John de, his account of the 
 English tongue, ii. 214, 215 ; trans- 
 lates Higden's Polychronicon, 217. 
 
 Trhiorantum, now London, i. 13. 
 
 Trivet, Nicholas, characU^r of bis his- 
 tory, ii. 90 ; edition of, 457. 
 
 TVifiumyii svhtciu of instruction, i.257. 
 
 Trokelowe, John de, ch;iracUT of his 
 hL'it^)ry, ii, 91 ; edition of, 459. 
 
 TrujG Neva, now London, i, 15. 
 
 7^4^>ye3, treaty of, ii. 262. 
 
 Tuatha de Dalian.^, an Irish race, L 
 295. 298. 
 
 Tudor, Owen, Ixlieaded, ii. 510; mar- 
 ried Katharine, widow of Henry the 
 Fifth, lb. 
 
 Turketul, R valiant Endisli chancellor, 
 
 : to- ^ ' 
 
 I. I ^( , 
 
 Tyburji, so called from tying and burn- 
 ing malefactors, ii. 246, 
 
 Tyler, Wat, his insurrection, ii. 172; 
 slain by William Walworth, 175, 
 
 Tyrrel, Sir James, m\irders the two 
 princes in the Towt:r, ii. 371, 
 
 -— , Walter, Slavs William Rufus 
 
 by an arrow, i. 235. 
 
 U 
 
 Ufa king of F>ast Anglia, i. 80. 
 Ursula and the eleven thousaqd virgins, 
 legend of, i. 67. 
 
 Valentia, the province between the 
 
 Roman walls, i 54. 
 Valhnlla, the hall of the blessed, i.84, 
 VaLi^. See Phihp.Vl, 
 Vahr Ecele.>la^ticus, temp. Henry VlIL 
 
 the rt*curd, ii. 449. 
 yaUt of ancient moaey, ii.OG — C8J504. 
 VauahoJl^ Canute's trencli still visible 
 
 there, i. 149. 
 
 Ferneuii, battle of, n. 270. 
 
 Viene, John de, governor of Calais, pro- 
 poses to surrender that to\vn, ii. 129. 
 
 FiTieja?//, companion in arms of Richard 
 the First, i. 352 ; edition of hb Itj- 
 nerarv, ii. 433. 
 
 Vitalis. See Ordericta. 
 
 Vortigern, king of Britain, inTites over 
 the Saxons, i. 65 ; becomes enamour- 
 ed with Rowena, 66 ; deposed, 67 ; 
 resumes the government, 68 ; taken 
 prisoner at Stonehenge, burat in a 
 t-ower in W'ales, ih. 
 
 Vortimer placed on the British throne, 
 1. 6/ . 
 
 W 
 
 Wace, Robert, a Gallo-Norman poet, 
 i. 381, 382. 
 
 Wales, conquest of, by Edward I. ii. 
 10. 12. 
 
 , Prince of, the title assumed by 
 
 the eldest son of the kings of Eng^- 
 land, ii. 12, 
 
 Wakefield, battle of, ii. 307. 
 
 Walker, Walter, hanged for making 
 his son heir to the crown, ii, 319. 
 
 Wallace, Sir William, becomes a leader 
 of the Scots, ii. 26 ; defeats the Eng- 
 lish at Sliding, 27 ; is defeated at 
 Falkirk. 28 ; betrayed by Jack Short, 
 31 ; carried to U^ndon and executed, 
 ib. ; the admiratioD of his country- 
 men, 52. 
 
 Walpole, Horace, lord Orford, his His- 
 toric Doubts considered, ii. 373. 
 
 Walsinghavi, Tliomas, character of bis 
 histories, ii. 425 ; editions of, 429> 
 430. 
 
 Walt ham Cross, description of, ii. 1. 
 
 Walt/uo/^ Earl, conspires against Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, betrayed by his 
 wife Judith, i. 217. 
 
 Wanderiuir Jew, Cart^philus, i. 430 ; a 
 si^ond impostor appeared at Ham- 
 burgh, another in London, 431. 
 
 Wavsdxke probably a work of the Bel- 
 gians, i. 95. 
 
 Want a ire the birth-place of Alfred, L 
 126.^ 
 
 Wtrrenney Earl, his title to hif estate, 
 ii. 41. 
 
 Waruick, F>arl of, the Black Dog of 
 Ardenne, ii. 56. 60. 
 
 , Richard Neville, earl of, the 
 
 King Maker, 311 ; di*contented with 
 the marriage of E<lward IV., 524 ; 
 seduces Clarence to his intf rest, 325 ; 
 flees to T'aris, 328 ; reconciled with 
 (>ieen Margarel,529 ; returns to Eng- 
 land, hi^ great « ealth and popularity, 
 
 pi 
 
 I: 
 
 f 
 
 i 
 
. «•.*., ' 
 
 /-.♦•- 
 
 
 i. 
 
 i 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 482 
 
 I N D 1- X . 
 
 329; drires VAw.wd iV. uat of the 
 kii»gtlom, 3^0 ; rcpIaLca Henry VI. 
 on tho throne, 351 ; slalp at Raruet, 
 355. 
 
 }^\iiung Street, the Roman Ui^hwAy, 
 i.ib, 47. 
 
 WfUh bards, their massacre not authen- 
 tic ated, ii. 11. 
 
 • pcH>plc proiiiiseJ a piioce by EaI- 
 
 ward I. ii. 12. 
 
 — — soUU'inent in America, ii. /. ^ 
 
 Wturxy king-doiti of, estalslished by 
 Cerdic, i. G9 ; makes its first step to 
 tlie sole monarchy of England under 
 Cood walla, 95 ; coiupletes the con- 
 quest under Ei^^KTt, l')2. 
 
 IVestniiit^tcr Abbey, the regalia pre- 
 served there 'of Edw \r'i the Confes- 
 sor, i.l57; rebriiltbv Henry HI. 595. 
 
 — Hall built by Rich;ird H. 
 
 1.256. 
 
 Whethanutedey John, character of bis 
 Chronicle, ii. 426 ; edition of, 140. 
 
 White ship, the loss of, i. 24 t. 
 
 Wldifin^ton^ Richard, and his cat, ii. 
 266, 267. 
 
 Wickhff'ej eTolin, the earliest reformer, 
 ii.204; inveighs ac:unst the clergy, 
 cited to appear at St. Paul's, ib.y 
 presented to the rectory of Lutter- 
 worth, 205 ; translates the scrip- 
 tures, 207 ; dies quietly ia hi« par- 
 sonage, 208 i his ashes taken up, 
 burned, and cast into the Svrift, 209. 
 
 William the Conqueror lands at Peven- 
 sey, 167 ; gains the battle of Hast- 
 ings, 170; crov7ned at Westminster, 
 182; erects Battle Abbey, 184; 
 devastates North i:n^ be r land, 201 ; 
 endeavours to extirpate the English 
 tongue, 202 ; imposes the feudal sj-s- 
 tem, 215 ; completes Domesday 
 Book, 214 ; arrests his brother Odo, 
 ib.\ war with France, 221 ; death, 
 222; funeral and character, 225. 
 
 William Rufus crowned by Lanfranc, 
 i. 223 ; his generosity- to a soldier, 
 229 ; quarrels with the primate An- 
 selni, 251 ; endeavours to convert 
 a ')ew, ib.; rewariis a disint^^rested 
 monk, 252 ; his decisive charaeter, 
 255 ; slain in the New Forest, ib. ; 
 his dream, 254 ; his oppressions and 
 extravagance, 255. 
 
 — Clito, son ot RoU^Tt duke of 
 
 Normandv, (x:casioQS Hearv I. much 
 ii>quietude, i. 245 ; dies from the ef- 
 fect of a wound, 246. 
 
 Wimara, ^n of H.nrvT. p^n.hes bv 
 shipwreck, I. :.ii; !i53 dislike of the 
 native l>ik'i--h, J 1 5. 
 
 Wiiham the Lion, kiig of ScotUtid 
 Uikea prisoner by Gl^nville at Alc^l 
 wick, i. 511 , s.v<ars liuma^e Xq 
 Henry H. ih. ; nmiitte*! by Richard f. 
 for 10,000 marks, 522. 
 
 of Wyrcester, character of his 
 
 Annals, ii. 426 ; edition of, 459. 
 
 Windsor Castle, its magnifieence, ii. 94 
 — 97; workmen pres.sed from va- 
 rious counties for its ervetion, 97. 
 
 UlUihire, antiquities of, i. 1 — 5. 591. 
 
 Wipvidjieety Rcti()n at, i.69. 
 
 Wiitenagemot^ how couotrucU^d, i. 1 19, 
 120. 
 
 WoodviU, See Elizah^'th and Rivers. 
 
 Wolvtrcote^ in Oxfordshire, why so 
 called, i. 15. 
 
 Wool the great article of Eiig"lisb ex- 
 port, i. ^^-O; ii. 167. 
 
 WoolUn, nianuficl.)ry intrtxiuced by 
 F^ward HI. ii. 167.' 
 
 ^rorc^^^ifr, Percv earl t)f, execnted, ii. 
 253. 
 
 — ^,Tibetnt earl o^, the butcher, 
 
 executed, ii. 551 ; lamented by Cax- 
 ton, ib. 
 
 ~ — -, Wnlstane bishop of, a mira- 
 cle relative to, i. 206. 
 
 ■, Florence of, eharact^T of his 
 
 Chronicle, L 260 ; eilition of, ii. 457. 
 
 WrotlesUy family the only male de- 
 scendants of the ori^naal kniirhts of 
 the Garter, ii. 141. 
 
 Wt/keham, Wniam of, bishop of Win- 
 chester, architect of Winds*jr Castie, 
 and founder of New Cxillege, ii. 'J7. 
 
 Wykes, Tlioraas, character of his his- 
 tory, ii. 90 ; edition of, 455. 
 
 Wyiine^ Sir John, history of the Gwvdir 
 family, ii. U, 
 
 York, Scroop archbishop of, his rebel- 
 lion against Henry iV, ii. 255 ; sends 
 his troops home on a feigned recon- 
 ciliation, i6.; the first padate exe- 
 cuted in England, 254- 
 
 , Edmund of Langlev, 'hike otj 
 
 fifth son of Eilward HI. iil 170. 
 
 , SOD of the fonhm* Si^ Rutlnnd, 
 
 -, Richard duke of, bis Twlii to the 
 
 crown explained, ii. 297 ; ap|>ointed 
 protector, 300; disappinted in his 
 expecution of being caileil to rjje 
 throne, 306; defeatet! at ^^ ak '!ield, 
 507 ; his trairical d»ath, 30^ , his 
 worthy charactA.T, 509. 
 
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