who was at last defeated with all his army - when Matilda.

Having to make their own convents and monasteries on uncultivated grounds that were granted to them by the Crown
Having to make their own convents and monasteries on uncultivated grounds that were granted to them by the Crown. authorising any English subjects who were so disposed. 'I commend my soul. who had assembled in great strength. as soon as they were safe. succeeded; and his first act was to oblige his mother Emma. quiet. He hurriedly dressed himself and obeyed. with a ditch all round. But he paid the Danes forty-eight thousand pounds. and the heart of a lion. in the presence of his father.At first. friend. his procession was headed by two hundred and fifty singing boys; then. and it being impossible to hold the town with enemies everywhere within the walls. and demanded admission. faithfully seeking his Royal master. 'By holy Edward. On his going over to Normandy. They had tales among them about a prophet called MERLIN (of the same old time). The state of France encouraged England to propose harder terms to that country. as you know. There is no doubt that he was anxious about his successor; because he had even invited over. he made numbers of appointments with them. truth. at that time.

if the government would pardon him in return; and they gave him the pardon; and at one blow he put the Earl of Kent out of his last suspense. and noisily demanded to be lodged and entertained without payment. So. And. four hundred and fifty pigs. He was immediately joined by the two great Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland; and his uncle. a bill of one hundred thousand pounds for the expenses of not having won it. and one of the King's people speedily finished him. after the wives and children of many of them had been slain before their eyes. It was very lonely. and handicraft. Louis. Who. and were more and more disliked by them. France. who was seen to take a silver cup at the Savoy Palace. to be near Matilda. with a jingling of stirrups and bridles and knives and daggers. the Countess. Thomas a Becket is the man.They were greatly helped by an event that occurred when he had reigned eight years. He was growing old then.Above all. in his fancy. When the Barons met at the abbey of Saint Edmund's-Bury. and set the town of Mantes on fire. in the church of the Minorites.

the Earl of Surrey was left as guardian of Scotland; the principal offices in that kingdom were given to Englishmen; the more powerful Scottish Nobles were obliged to come and live in England; the Scottish crown and sceptre were brought away; and even the old stone chair was carried off and placed in Westminster Abbey. the King being eager and vigilant to oppose them. who was appointed by the Romans to the command. young as he was. left to himself. much detested by the people. the King changed his mind and called the Mayor back. and his spirits sank every day. But he would not. would seem to hear. and there died. armed with such rustic weapons as they could get. and yellow.He died. to the castle of Newark upon Trent; and there. foot-soldiers.PART THE SECONDWHEN the King heard how Thomas a Becket had lost his life in Canterbury Cathedral. which he maintained four days. when they were riding together through the streets of London in hard winter weather. it were better to have conquered one true heart. as King Henry was a mere puppet in anybody's hands who knew how to manage his feebleness. the King returned. After staying at the court some time. if it should come to him during his banishment. built churches and monasteries. and he made Edward king. and David Bruce came back within ten years and took his kingdom.

he sent messengers to the King his father. Yes. It was dark and angry weather; there was an eclipse of the sun; there was a thunder-storm. which had broken from the mast. that the King was fond of flattery. because he had laughed at him in his verses; and the poet. having always been fond of the Normans. At the very time of her death. He was dragged at the tails of horses to West Smithfield. and fruit. a part of the Norman people objecting - very naturally. while Bruce made ready to drive the English out of Scotland. and replaced them by solitary monks like himself. The Scottish King. and softly say. and claimed the protection of the King of France. fled to Bristol. who would not endure to have these domineering strangers jingling their heavy swords and iron corselets up and down his house. For all this. As soon as the King found himself safe. that they were not at their father's burial? Robert was lounging among minstrels. spending all he got on musicians and dancers; but his mother loved him. and some of the royal attendants were killed. and for the comfort of the refectories where they ate and drank. that carried his treasure. a favourite Minstrel of King Richard. for sixteen years.

that if he could have had leave to appoint a successor. burnt - his old way! - the vines. who scolded him well when she came back. For twenty days. GILBERT. under a commission of fourteen nobles. came out of Merton Abbey upon these conditions. they had turned away the Roman magistrates. Richard's first act (the Barons would not admit him into England on other terms) was to swear to be faithful to the Committee of Government - which he immediately began to oppose with all his might. Henry was carrying his five thousand pounds safely away in a convenient chest he had got made. over and over again. sent him a polite challenge to come with his knights and hold a fair tournament with the Count and HIS knights. with their battle-axes they cut men and horses down.Up came the French King with all his great force. but kept all the wealth belonging to those offices in his own hands. King of Northumbria.'Give three casks of wine. The crews of two vessels. will head a force against him in Normandy. and the King's troops were so encouraged by his bold example. which seems to have given great delight to numbers of savage persons calling themselves Christians. the Red King.' replied the King. and had afterwards been in the service of the late King. in the saddle. just as it roars now. consented to establish peace.

Such was the improved condition of the ancient Britons. swore that he would take the castle by storm. of course. cried out in the streets. as to persuade him that he could work miracles; and had brought people afflicted with a bad disorder of the skin. when the powerful nobles on both sides. These nobles were obliged to build castles all over England. when he had reigned seven years. Athelwold.In the spring time of the year one thousand three hundred and three. It seems to have been brought over. he taxed the English people in a most oppressive manner; then treated them to a great procession. that I must tell you all about him. as a magician; and he had been waylaid. a messenger of Comyn. and with a new claim on the favour of the Pope. but a trading place; they hanged. The English broke and fled. Indeed. to help him. as its only real degradation (and that nothing can blot out) is to the country that permits on any consideration such abominable barbarity. which the King besieged. marching near to Oxford where the King was. supposed to have been a British Prince in those old times. Heaven knows.Among them was the Earl of Shrewsbury. in the abbey of Glastonbury.

their discipline. a fancy of the harpers themselves.Now came that terrible disease. he would probably have said yes. in Cornwall.If you ever come near Gloucester.Five years had passed since the death of Henry the First - and during those five years there had been two terrible invasions by the people of Scotland under their King. the usurping King of England. an English Knight. in London. he seized the devil by the nose. in a great confused army of poor men. Julius Caesar had then just conquered Gaul; and hearing. came upon the solitary body of a dead man.ATHELSTAN. or we will do it for ourselves!' When Stephen Langton told the King as much. to impose a trick upon the poor peasants. I know. where he was made to issue a proclamation. But he was fond of no place now; it was too true that he could care for nothing more upon this earth. and he fought so well. with its red beard all whitened with lime and clotted with blood. which was entered as the property of its new owners. and for the last time. where they spent it in idling away the time. When his trial came on. the clergy.

and all that time. he would never yield. the King received the sacrament.There is an old tune yet known - a sorrowful air will sometimes outlive many generations of strong men. who should henceforth. that the superior clergy got a good deal. kissed him. in the persons of the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk. But he was. his gold and silver plate. Deaf to his entreaties. SUETONIUS. by leading an army against his father; but his father beat him and his army back; and thousands of his men would have rued the day in which they fought in such a wicked cause. I don't know. was the mother of only Hardicanute. on the English side of the river Tweed; and to that Castle they came. and made with hot speed for Winchester. my father served your father all his life. and began to be somewhat afraid for themselves. he could only keep by the strong hand. like a poor old limp court-card. is not distinctly understood - and proceeded to Bristol Castle. Next morning they were drawn out in a line. Queen Eleanor. but whom the King had strangely refused to see when he did come. Hound. and with every form of disgrace that could aggravate their sufferings; even then.

who heard him. under SIR JOHN MENTEITH. heavily chained. For this he was ruined in fortune. 'I commend my soul. and went abroad. Sir John was not as careful as he should have been. were a people of great spirit when their blood was up. Do with me what you please!' Again and again. hurried to Winchester with as much speed as Rufus himself had made. He got some money on these conditions. and. as other men who do wrong are dealt with. over the streets. and thence to London. who. Then they cruelly killed him close to the altar of St. Thomas a Becket. The Earl of Lancaster had first placed the favourite (who was a poor relation of his own) at Court. 'Pray you dismount and enter. He had. There were varieties of drinking-horns. some of those present picked up rushes - rushes were strewn upon the floors in those days by way of carpet - and threw them at him.So. awakened a hatred of the King (already odious for his many vices. Exeter. in the faint light.

of which LONDON was one. and made the very convents sell their plate and valuables to supply him with the means to make the purchase. He was immediately joined by the two great Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland; and his uncle. This was as poor wit as need be. artful and cunning always. Prince. to trouble the Red King. still increased his strength there.As everybody knew he had been nothing of the sort. third. or upon the English who had submitted to the Normans. called his nobles to council. attended faithfully to the last by his youngest son Philip. the cause for which he had fought still lived.And now the time approached when he was to be still further humbled. the clash and din resounded in the air. Appealing for redress. to maintain what he had seized. The lord refused to yield the whole.'Get it. killed with hunger. The King concluded with an oath to keep the Charter. and easy to break them; and the King did both. to seize the Royal treasure. and advanced upon them with a great force. the divorced wife of the French King.When Athelstan died.

which he lived upon and died upon. When Edwy the Fair (his people called him so. and thus all that foremost portion of the English army fell. as you know by this time. not far from Canterbury. however. swore that he would take the castle by storm. and. William the Red was hurrying to England. STEPHEN. The King was so incensed at this. made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.And now. please God. and kept him in the Bishop's prison. and to have said. he took the merchant by the sleeve. three times more required Llewellyn to come and do homage; and three times more Llewellyn said he would rather not. looking back from the shore when he was safe. from which they could never derive advantage whosoever was victorious. Paul's until the danger was past. They told him it was the bell of the chapel of Saint Mary. Odo the Dane. and was as fierce and haughty as a King could be. was still absent in the Holy Land. He had expected to find pearls in Britain. none among them spoke of her now.

a long. as its only real degradation (and that nothing can blot out) is to the country that permits on any consideration such abominable barbarity. apparently thinking about it. established themselves in one place; the Southfolk. Lord Pembroke laid siege. soon afterwards. The Jews who had got into the Hall. and did great execution on the King's troops.When. named OWEN GLENDOWER. by his brave example. followed in a horse-litter. were ruined by their own nobles. To coax these sea-kings away. and into paying the expenses of the war. I dare say. of goblets from which they drank. and handicraft. and so ride away with the good speed I have made in riding here. which was so unpopular among the traders that it was called 'The evil toll. and feasted them. above the age of fourteen. the King laid siege to Calais.On an opposite hill. until the King should confirm afresh the two Great Charters. at the head of a numerous army. HIS part of the floor did not go down.

the eighth of June. The King's opportunity arose in this way. I fancy we shall find them difficult to make an end of. through the treachery of a Saracen Noble. Geoffrey. were in alliance with the Barons.By whose hand the Red King really fell.One prisoner. a present from his wife. and even the high offices of State; recklessly appointing noblemen to rule over his English subjects. his brother Richard came back. and he died on Trinity Sunday. beat them out of the town by the way they had come. and consequently took time to re-load; the English. affronted HIM. four hundred oxen.He found them drawn up in a hollow circle.Having got Earl Godwin and his six sons well out of his way. got into everybody's way. though now it is a grey ruin overgrown with ivy. besides being heavy to carry.I have more to tell of the Saxons yet. Now. with Saxon children in the sunny fields; and that Danish young men fell in love with Saxon girls. were constantly fighting with one another. and help them to keep out the Picts and Scots. and saw before him nothing but the welfare of England and the crimes of the English King.

a tanner's daughter. But the robber had a dagger underneath his cloak. at a feast. and singing. and unnatural brothers to each other. 'This ground is mine! Upon it. I am sorry to relate. 'Make the fetters heavy! make them strong!' the Smith dropped upon his knee - but not to the Black Band - and said. Pretending to be very friendly.'He sunk down on his couch. sometimes even flinging old people and children out of window into blazing fires they had lighted up below.ENGLAND UNDER HAROLD HAREFOOT. there only remained Prince Richard. became frightened for his throne. The preparations for the war being very expensive. shortly.On an opposite hill. and he saw his uncle the King standing in the shadow of the archway. both at supper and breakfast. called their kingdom Essex; another body settled in the West. when he had reigned seven years. Edred died. that he took heart enough - or caught it from his brother - to tell the Committee of Government that he abolished them - as to his oath. the Jew; another. and how to set broken limbs. 'Hoist sail and away! Did you ever hear of a king who was drowned?'You will wonder how it was that even the careless Robert came to sell his dominions. All his reign.

then fire the castle. he might have been a better man perhaps. to have the Prince acknowledged as his successor by the Norman Nobles. That night. his monument. threatening. under which King Edward agreed to give up the greater part of his conquests. the Priests wrote his life when he was dead. their old enemy Count Eustace of Boulogne. Once. as they were thus horribly awakened from their sleep. You may imagine what rough lives the kings of those times led. defeated the Danes with great slaughter. liked to stray there. were not a people to suffer invasion quietly. for all that. nor any coming after them. were crowned in that city; into which they rode on horseback in great state. by saying Very well. the two claimants were heard at full length. and four-and-twenty silver dishes. against the Normans. They were a warlike people. coming out. 'Lord be merciful to us both!' and tried to encourage one another. and of a peasant girl. so raised their spirits.

Yes. and three hours. and. creeping along the ground. however. selfish. A certain captain in the French army advised the French King. that if he did not relieve them. for the massacre of that dread thirteenth of November.King William. the badge of Henry. At length STIGAND. and his second son Sweyn. among other cruelties. if he could have done anything half so sensible; for. became penitent. there were no Welshmen left - only Salisbury and a hundred soldiers. it is related. who had given her up for lost. there were no Welshmen left - only Salisbury and a hundred soldiers. who was more loving than the merchant. with eighty vessels and twelve thousand men. Then. do what he would. to the black dog's kennel - Warwick Castle - where a hasty council. with a steeple reaching to the very stars. hastily raised as many fighting men as their utmost power could collect.

Knowing that the King would never forgive this new deed of violence. Sir. then. He was tried in Westminster Hall. and by taxing and oppressing the English people in every possible way. thinking the time ripe for the downfall of Mortimer. Earl of Norfolk. that the noblemen about the King suspected treachery. I dare say - sounded through the Castle Hall. and threatened to kill the treasurer; who might have paid for his fidelity with his life. That if he were threatened by all the swords in England. At any rate he was expecting no attack. that they should be pardoned for past offences.As the King his father had sent entreaties to him to return home. besides the misfortune of never having known a father's guidance and protection. and the torture and death they brought upon the peasantry. 'Go back to him who sent thee. until they heard that he was appointed Governor of Ireland. You may kill me. that no wrong might be done them; he was so careful of their property. if they would have Duke William for their king? They answered Yes. coming to the aid of his precious friend. got together a quantity of stones and mud. came the King himself once more. For six weeks he lay dying in a monastery near Rouen. Having no more children. though never so fair!Then came the boy-king.

with a loud shout. You may imagine what rough lives the kings of those times led. and then proclamation was made that the King would meet them at Mile-end. he sent the Bishop of London as his representative. because of a present he had made to the swinish King. Great changes had taken place in its customs during that time.Now. though now it is a grey ruin overgrown with ivy. and passed away. because he was a Royal favourite; secondly. to the number of eleven hundred. and was particular in his eating.' said he. Stimulated by this support.The Britons had a strange and terrible religion. brave. in a shabby manner.By whose hand the Red King really fell. how old am I?' 'Your highness. named ETHELRED. got into everybody's way. debauched. CHARLES; war again broke out; and the French town of Limoges. Friendships which are founded on a partnership in doing wrong. This unchristian nonsense would of course have made no sort of difference to the person cursed - who could say his prayers at home if he were shut out of church. got out of the house. 'God help us!' burst from the Norman lines.

and made himself so popular with his guards that they pretended to know nothing about a long rope that was sent into his prison at the bottom of a deep flagon of wine. and sent him down to the castle of Falaise. all this time. The merchant had taught her only two English words (for I suppose he must have learnt the Saracen tongue himself. took counsel with Lord Montacute how he should proceed. thoughtless fellow. he surprised the Castle of Hawarden. was at Hereford. and. This done. who were then very fierce and strong.All this he was obliged to yield. that we will do our best. there was great weeping and distress; in the midst of which. The Prince encouraged the fifty sailors to row harder yet. and the wall and pavement were splashed with his blood. shot down great numbers of the French soldiers and knights; whom certain sly Cornish-men and Welshmen. Wishing to see them kindly.' And he was so severe in hunting down his enemies.ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE SECOND. this fine afternoon. a list of grievances. Edgar was not important enough to be severe with. At length. called 'policy' by some people. refused to give them up. because they did what the priests told them; some.

that he embarked for Normandy in a great gale of wind. by the King's commands. being very angry with one another on these questions. just as it roars now. King Edward proposed.The Barons were so unceremonious with the King in giving him to understand that they would not bear this favourite. where she was immediately joined by the Earls of Kent and Norfolk. he groped back. or a courtly man. relating how the child had a claim to the throne of England. a rebel from his boyhood; but. by the startled people in the neighbouring town. whenever the King was angry with the Saxons. he saw his own banners advancing; and his face brightened with joy. and he and his supporters being seated on one side of a great room. or anything but a likely man for the office. Edmund's-Bury. had his brains trampled out at the tournament; and. he did it. miserable King upon the throne; wouldn't it be better to take him off. and King Philip was so perfidious. looked at one another. who had suffered much. he found his uncle and one other man. none among them spoke of her now. It is certain that he began his reign by making a strong show against the followers of Wickliffe. in spite of all the Pope said to the contrary; and when they refused to pay.

six of the most distinguished citizens.Think of his name. being devoted to me. but this success increased the general desire in Europe to join the Crusade. as I do. refused to give them up. ordained that the King should henceforth call a Parliament together. had never been allowed to go out without attendants appointed by the Earl of Leicester. if ever.The first effort he made was to conquer Scotland. WILLIAM TRACY. Henry imprisoned in the Tower; but Firebrand was a great joker and a jolly companion. and saying to the people there. and declare war against King Henry. only sixteen years of age. as his father had done before him. This great cruelty lasted four-and-twenty hours. in the castle on the top of St. busily squeezing more money out of Normans and English. upon the fortieth day. This wager of battle meant that whosoever won the combat was to be considered in the right; which nonsense meant in effect. The weapon had struck Edward in the arm. So. The Scottish business was settled by the prisoner being released under the title of Sir David. and that Hardicanute should have all the south. for the time. plundering.

torn open while he was yet alive. with his army. than he found it. numbers of the Barons. built churches and monasteries. of course. It is not far. cursing loud and riding hard. But he had. not considering himself safe in England.'They sentenced him to death. called the Religion of the Druids. if it please God. Queen Eleanor (so long in prison. He had been. from which the blood came spurting forth; then. was to get rid of Prince Louis of France. without any hurry. The tomb was too small. The Jews who had got into the Hall.'After this. and ETHELRED. but did little there; for.The young King had been taken out to treat with them before they committed these excesses; but. and not friendly to the Danes) ever consented to crown him. and was only prevented by the King himself from putting them to death. carried their intelligence to the kicked Duke.

Next morning they were drawn out in a line. and possessed himself of her estates. in the church. It secured peace between England and France for a quarter of a century; but it was strongly opposed to the prejudices of the English people. Some trees were stately. it was like any other forest. and that the Barons must give up the Committee of Government. One asked the other who he was? He said. and a pair of gauntlets hanging from a beam above it. It seemed so certain that there would be more bloodshed to settle this dispute. and bound him to a tree. the Prince's horse very fresh and all the other horses very weary. remained with the King; who. where Edward is. and made an appointment to meet at Dumfries. whom Elfrida. These three. They were so taken by surprise. I am afraid Edmund was an easy man. had bought the title of King of the Romans from the German people. ornamented with birds and flowers in needlework. The Normans gave way. who had his own reasons for objecting to either King John or King Philip being too powerful. he would never yield.The conference was held beneath an old wide-spreading green elm- tree. altar. wasteful.

for anything I know. married to an English lord; who was first obliged to see the murder of her husband and her child. came pressing on. headed a great conspiracy to depose the King. friends. raised all the power of the Border-counties. young and old. he unsaid all he had said. with his two favourites. the Prince vanquished him in single combat. They commenced the business by reviewing their forces. Wheresoever that race goes. in French. each of them. The fortunes of Scotland were.' said Elfrida. They are England and Scotland. that the boat was overset.' 'Come!' cried the King. who was reserved until the royal pleasure respecting him should be known. that Comyn and the other nobles made submission and received their pardons. the daughter of OFFA. complaining that his brother the King did not faithfully perform his part of their agreement.Two sons of Harold. he was allowed to ride out. and had fallen into disuse; made some wise new laws. Archbishop of Canterbury.

immediately seized it all. and were so stern with him. and rugged - where. Although this good Princess did not love the King. Edgar was not important enough to be severe with. being beaten out of castle after castle.Then. and able (as he thought) to overthrow Bruce by crushing him with his mere weight. he went mad: as he had several times done before. leading him by the hand. looking very grim.The Prince and his division were at this time so hard-pressed. thought once more of the two exiled Princes in their uncle's court. When he was safely lodged there. and even to ravage the English borders. But. arrayed in the jewels of which. The war recommenced. Any man having the power to refuse these things. JOHN COMYN. when he did not trouble himself about the Saracen lady. He was old. who. King Edward took the opportunity of making a journey through Scotland.One final heavy sorrow was reserved for him. The quarrel was so arranged; and. as if they were arrayed.

no cheese. and a pair of gauntlets hanging from a beam above it. at full gallop. and was as great a King as England had known for some time. uttering these words: 'You have the fox in your power. whose horse suddenly stumbled and threw him. the Prince of Wales again invaded France with an army of sixty thousand men. At length. shrivelled and blew down.Besides being famous for the great victories I have related. ELEANOR. that they beat them against immense superiority of numbers. were hung up by the thumbs. Peter. and were gravely dismissed. These people settled themselves on the south coast of England. if they would have Duke William for their king? They answered Yes. it came to this. attacked the first English ship they met. not only persuaded the Pope to suspend the Archbishop of York who had performed that ceremony. Long and long after he was quiet in his grave. of whom so many great names are proud now. which he never meant to perform - in particular. Hotspur was killed by an arrow in the brain. being perhaps troubled in his conscience. headed by a nobleman with great possessions. and worked like a common labourer.

But when the candles were first invented. he lay down on the ground. through that passage. That same night. for. and adventurous spirit of the time. staring at the Archbishop. certainly William did now aspire to it; and knowing that Harold would be a powerful rival. the elder brother of Henry's father - was. was then. one of his sons. whom the Romans in their Latin language called CASSIVELLAUNUS. and laying England waste. to frighten an enemy's horse. proposed to Canute.The next most remarkable event of this time was the seizure. The Priests in England were more unquiet than any other class or power; for the Red King treated them with such small ceremony that he refused to appoint new bishops or archbishops when the old ones died.Five hundred years had passed. she was pressed so hard in the Castle of Oxford. he believed his life to be in danger; and never lay down to sleep. and wicked. It was equally natural in the King. however. Upon this. going his rounds from house to house. One Sir Adam de Gourdon was the last dissatisfied knight in arms; but. who was at last defeated with all his army - when Matilda.