Author: Palgrave, Francis, Sir
Title: History of the Anglo-Saxons
Release Date: July 15, 2005 [EBook #100168]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

HISTORY OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS

Sir Francis Palgrave

SENATE

History of the Anglo-Saxons

First published in 1876 by William Tegg & Co, London

This edition published in 1998 by Senate,
an imprint of Tiger Books International PLC,
26A York Street, Twickenham,
Middlesex TW1 3LJ, United Kingdom

Printed and bound by
Cox and Wyman Ltd, England

CONTENTS.

Ancient Population of Britain—Political State of the Provinces under the Romans—Formation of the States of Modern Europe, under the Tyrants of the Lower Empire—Tyrants of Britain—Invasions of the Saxons, Scots, and Picts—Britain finally separated from the Empire

Hengist and Horsa; their supposed Transactions with Vortigern—Progress of the Invaders—Conquest of Britain by the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons—Kingdoms founded by them—Kent, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Essex, Deira, Bernicia, Mercia—Subjugation of the Britons

Heathenism of the Anglo-Saxons—Deities worshipped by them—Origin of the Papal Authority—Pope Gregory undertakes the Conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain—Missions of Augustine and Paulinus—Temporal effects of the Introduction of Christianity—Ethelbert of Kent and Edwin of Northumbria—Conversion of those Kings—Foundation of the Sees of Canterbury and London

Royal dignity not existing amongst the Saxons and Jutes before their arrival in Britain—Kings—Royal authority amongst the barbarians, how deduced from the Roman authority—Clovis—Bretwaldas or Emperors of Britain—Ella—Ceawlin—Ethelbert—Redwald—Edwin—Oswald—Oswio —Subjugation of the smaller States—Rise of the Kingdom of Mercia —Ethelbald—Offa—His Conquests of the Britons—Decline of Mercia, and rise of Wessex—Egbert—His early Adventures—Obtains the dignity of Bretwalda

The Danish Invasions—Facilitated by the dissensions of the Anglo-Saxon States—Regner Lodbrok and his Sons—Martyrdom of Edmund, King of the East Angles—Ethelwulf—His marriage with Judith—West Saxons rebel against him—Cedes the best part of his Kingdom to his son Ethelbald—Death of Ethelwulf—His four sons become successively Kings of Wessex—Ethelbald—Ethelbert—Ethered—Alfred

Accession of Alfred—Great successes of the Danes—Their Conquest of Mercia and Northumbria—Rollo the "Ganger" and the Danes, or Northmen, settle in Neustria or Normandy—Danes conquer the greater part of Wessex—Alfred compelled to secrete himself in Athelney—Alfred rallies his forces—Recovers his Kingdom—Treaty between Alfred and Guthred—Danish Kingdoms of East Anglia and Northumbria—Hasting Invades England—Is defeated—Death of Alfred

Alfred, "The wisest man in England"—Literature and cultivation of the Anglo-Saxons—The Runes—The Latin Alphabet Introduced by the Roman Missionaries—Difficulty of explaining Runic Inscriptions—Art of Writing not much practised, and comparatively of small importance—Use of Visible Symbols in Legal Transactions instead of Written Instruments—Poetry, extemporaneous—Historical Poetry of the Anglo-Saxons—Scarcity of Books—Printing—Possible Decay of Literature and Science

Alfred's early Education—His want of proper Instructors—Great Decay of Learning in England, after the Danish Invasions—Translations of the Bible in the early part of the Middle Ages—Discouraged amongst the nations who spoke the Romance Dialects, and encouraged by those who spoke Teutonic—Ulfila—Cædmon—Alfred's Plans for the Restoration of Learning

Works Translated by Alfred, or under his direction—Bede, Orosius, Boethius, St. Augustine, &c.—Encourages Travellers—His Embassy to the Syrian Christians in Hindostan—Prudent management of his affairs—Alfred's Character—Its imperfections and merits—Alfred's Laws—His Principles of Legislation

Edward "the Elder"—Succession contested by Ethelwald, son of Ethelbald—Edward prevails—Ethelfleda, the "Lady of Mercia"—Mercia occupied by Edward—Submission of Northumbria and East Anglia—Danes, Scots, Britons, acknowledge Edward's Supremacy—Athelstane—His Character—His Wars against the Britons—Reduction of West Wales and of the City of Exeter—All Britain South of the Humber submits to him—Sihtric, King of Northumbria, married to Athelstane's sister—Commotions in Northumbria after the death of Sihtric—Scots and Danes unite against Athelstane—They are defeated in the great Battle of Brunnaburgh—Athelstane's Reputation—Alliances of his Family with Foreign Princes—Edgiva married to Charles the Simple, King of France—Expulsion of the Carlovingian Dynasty by the Capets

Edmund—Revolution in Northumbria, which raised Olave to the Throne—Treaty by which Britain was divided between Edmund and his Competitor—Death of Olave—Edmund reduces Northumbria—Cumbria, or Strathclyde—Retrospect of the History of the Cumbrian Britons—Donald, King of Cumbria, expelled by Edmund, and his Kingdom granted to Malcolm —Extinction of the Cumbrian Britons—Death of Edmund—Edred—Constitution of the Anglo-Saxon Empire—Revolt of Northumbria—Eric raised to the Throne—Edred reduces Northumbria, and converts the Kingdom into an Earldom

Accession of Edwy—Alteration in the aspect of Anglo-Saxon History—Dunstan, his Character and Influence—Celibacy of the Clergy—Establishment of the Benedictine Order—Dissensions between the Partisans of the Monks and the Secular or Married Clergy—Elgiva—Dunstan's Intemperate Conduct—He is banished from England—The Monkish Factions occasion a Revolt in favour of Edgar—Edwy deprived of his Dominions north of the Thames—Cruel treatment of Elgiva—Death of Edwy—Accession of Edgar—Promotion of Dunstan to the Archbishopric of Canterbury—Edgar's bounty to the Clergy—His Government—Edgar's Triumph on the Dee—Origin of the Feudal System—Tenures of Land—Earls—Aldermen—Edgar's Feudal Supremacy—Division of Northumbria—Lothian granted to Kenneth—Defects of Edgar's Character

Death of Edgar—State of Parties—Edward the Martyr and Ethelred respectively supported by the Partisans and Adversaries of Dunstan—Edward's Party prevail—Dunstan's Opponents killed by the falling of the building at Calne—Murder of Edward by Elfrida—Accession of Ethelred the Unready—Danes renew their attacks—The Danegeld—Ethelred marries Emma of Normandy—Massacre of the Danes on St. Brice's Day—Sweyne's Invasion—Ethelred abandons England to him—Death of Sweyne—Restoration of Ethelred—Canute continues to occupy the North—Death of Ethelred—Division of the Country between Canute and Edmund Ironside—Murder of the latter—Reign of Canute—Succession of Harold Harefoot and Hardicanute

Edward the Confessor—State of Parties—Influence of Godwin and his Family—Earldoms held by them—Edward's Norman favourites—Siward and Leofric, Earls of Northumbria and Mercia, oppose Godwin—Disturbances occasioned by Eustace, Count of Boulogne—Commotions in the Country—Godwin takes the Field against the King's party—He and his Family are Outlawed—Visit of William of Normandy—Godwin returns, and is restored to power—Death of Godwin—Questions concerning the Succession—Edward the "Outlaw," son of Ironside, called to England by the Confessor, and acknowledged as Heir to the Crown—His untimely Death—Edward appoints William of Normandy as his Successor—Death of Edward

Harold assumes the Crown—His authority not recognised throughout all the realm—William prepares to Invade England—Assembly of the Norman Baronage at Lillebonne—the Pope sanctions William's enterprise —Equipment of the Norman Fleet—Harold marries Algitha, the Sister of Edwin and Morcar—Tostig incites Harold Harfager to attack Harold—the Norwegian Expedition—Battle of Stamford Bridge—Harfager and Tostig slain—Sailing of the Norman Fleet—Landing of the Norman Army—Harold marches to attack William—Preparations for the Conflict—Battle of Hastings—Tradition of the escape of Harold

Intersecting Norman Arches, Lincoln.

St. Cuthbert's Cross.

PREFACE.

My dear Friend,

The volume which I have now the satisfaction of transmitting and inscribing to you, as a sincere, though very inadequate, testimony of my respect and regard, has been much altered in plan, since I was employed upon it at your residence.

The chapters which you then perused, were intended to constitute a selection of incidents and passages from English history, in professed imitation of the admirable model furnished by the "Tales of a Grandfather". As I proceeded, however, I became more and more inclined to complete the annals of our country. One chasm in the series was filled up after another, and the narrative, having been composed, de-composed, and re-composed, assumed the shape in which it is now offered to you. That a work, originating under such circumstances, should present some variations of style and manner in its different parts may, perhaps, be anticipated by the reader, and pardoned by the critic; nor am I, on the whole, inclined to regret them. All the merit of a volume of such humble pretensions as the present, consists in its utility. It is my business to teach, and not to seek applause; and, considering that the "History of the Anglo-Saxons" may possibly fall into the hands of individuals of very unequal ages, I am not entirely sure whether even a greater inequality of treatment might not tend to render the lessons more generally intelligible and useful.

There are matters relating to ancient times, which, at least as far as my ability extends, cannot be distinctly brought before the consideration of a reader who is strange to the subject, without employing the most familiar and colloquial expressions. As an example, I will instance the details of the difficulties attending ancient travelling, in the ninth chapter. The main incident of the little picture which I have introduced, were suggested by passages in the dialogues of St. Gregory; and after sedulously labouring to give a more elevated tone to the relation, I was compelled to strike out all my amendments, and to write stet in the margin of every line of the original text. Other topics there are, on the contrary, which cannot be satisfactorily brought down to such a level. Explanations of the technical forms of government—the tenures of land—the principles of public policy—delineations of character,—all come under this category; and, therefore, in a work which can only be considered as elementary, or as a help to those who have not the leisure or the inclination to consult multifarious and diversified sources of information, the irregular contexture of the parts may, perhaps, contribute to adapt the whole of the purposes for which it is designed.

"Books," says Dr. Johnson, in the well-chosen quotation by which Mr. Murray recommends me to his customers, "that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful after all. A man will often look at them, and be tempted to go on, when he would have been frightened at books of a larger size or a more erudite appearance." Let me hope, then, that occasionally, whilst the younger branches find some amusement in the tales and adventures here brought together, some of the older folks may not be unwilling to take this little summary in hand, as a temporary substitute for the unmanageable folios produced by the unwearied industry of Saville, and Twysden, and Warton, and Wilkins, and which have so often descended to the floor from the desks, on which they surround me.

Upon the original sources whence the volume is derived, I will not at present enlarge; it being my intention, on a future occasion, to discuss the origin, character, and merits of our ancient chronicles. It is sufficient to observe, that the authorities for all the more material facts are given in the larger work, in which I have attempted to deduce the "rise and progress of the English Commonwealth" by and through the history of the legal and political institutions of our country. You will, perhaps, miss some of the transactions noticed in that invaluable record, the Saxon Chronicle, which you first rendered in our vernacular language,—and you will see that I have not attempted to enter into any details of the earlier succession of those monarchies which finally acknowledged the supremacy of the sons of Cerdic. Yet I hope that no fact which can fairly be considered as tending to develop the main epos of Anglo-Saxon history, has been excluded from the pages which I have compiled.

I have attempted to direct the attention of the student to the connexion between the states of modern Christendom and the fourth great monarchy, the Roman empire. By some of our most popular historians, Robertson, for instance, this fact has been entirely forgotten or denied; nor does the relative position of ancient and modern Europe appear to have been clearly understood even by Gibbon,—though the main views have been established with singular acuteness by Dubos, in his "Histoire critique de l'Etablissement de la Monarchie Françoise dans les Gaules," one of the most valuable historical essays in the whole compass of literature.

Our contemporaries have done much for the elucidation of this question. Savigny has demonstrated the continuance of Roman policy and a Roman people far into the middle ages. The rise of the royal prerogatives of the English kings out of the principles of the Roman jurisprudence, has been traced, with profound learning, by Mr. Allen. And, after having long investigated the subject, I may, perhaps, be allowed to add my opinion, that there is no possible mode of exhibiting the states of western Christendom in their true aspect, unless we consider them as arising out of the dominion of the Cæsars.

In our own English history, it is also equally important that the inquirer should keep in mind the distinct and separate political existence of the different Anglo-Saxon states, after they became subject to the supremacy of one monarch. No opinion is more prevalent, and at the same time more entirely unfounded, than that which presupposes that the conquests of Egbert, so erroneously styled the "first sole monarch" of the English, incorporated the various states and communities of the Anglo-Saxon empire. This union was effected by very slow degrees. Long after the conquest, we may discern vestiges of the earlier state of government. Perhaps it was not until the reign of Edward I. that England became one commonwealth, under one king; and, from the federative spirit of our ancient constitution, some of its best and most important characteristics were derived.

I shall not be obstinate in defending the few etymologies which I have introduced. Let them be taken as helps to the memory—such I have found them—and as such they may be useful. Most of the disputes arising out of the origin of words, are literally verbal disputes; and, taken in connexion with history, the material points are, not so much the remote origin of a term, as the immediate source from which the sign passed into the speech of the people, and its primary application in their nomenclature. But before I dismiss this topic, let me observe that a considerable portion of the repute into which the science of etymology has fallen, in consequence of conjectures, which, to a superficial examiner, may appear overstrained, will, in great measure, be removed by deliberate inquiry. To omit more familiar examples—who would, at first sight, imagine that "Bet" and "Wager" are plants springing from the same root, only varied by the soils in which they have been planted?

In the Latin VAD-iare and the Anglo-Saxon WÆD-ian, we find the same verb, differing only by the termination of the infinitive; or, to speak more correctly, by the verb abbreviated and suffixed, which has converted the noun, or radical syllable, into a word of action. In the Romance dialects of the Latin, the transitions from "Vadiare" into "Guadiare," "Guatgiare," "Guagiare," "Gaggier," "Gageure,"—only require to be pointed out as the intermediate shades of pronunciation and inflection. From "Gageure" our "Wager" is formed: this being the shape in which we derived the term for pledge from our Norman conquerors. But "Bet" is our own, and of direct Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon lineage. "Wæd" or "Wed" in our ancient speech, is a thing pledged—the root of the verb,—and "Bad," whence our "Bet," i.e., a pledge, or engagement that you will pay the sum you venture,—is merely a dialectical inflection of the root, used anciently in Damnonia, occurring in the compact between the English and Britons of the west. "Gif bad genumen sy on monnes orfe." "If a pledge be taken from a man's chattels." In the Danish and Belgic tongue the word is almost as near to our common term, being "Ved" and "Wette;" and you will recollect the many derivatives, such as "Wadset," "Wedding," &c., which are all grounded upon the primary idea of "Pledge" or compact.

As a further help to the memory, I have also endeavoured to connect the facts of our annals with British topography, and for that purpose I have sometimes deviated a little from my direct path. Amongst the many causes which have contributed to render our Anglo-Saxon history unpopular, is the extreme difficulty of forming any definite idea of the obscure and shadowy personages who figure in its pages. But by associating their names with familiar localities, we obtain a better acquaintance with them. I am sure that Sir Walter Scott's verses, describing "King Ida's castle huge and square," have, in the present generation, done more for that same King Ida, than Nennius and Malmesbury, and all the chroniclers put together: and I have brought "Tamworth town" forward as much as I could, in order that the recollection of "Tamworth Tower" may aid to impress my readers with the remembrance of Offa, the Mercian King.

The primary purposes of this little work forbid my entering into regular discussion upon the Anglo-Saxon laws. Nor could I venture into any lengthened investigation concerning the nature of our Saxon legislature: but as you may possibly think that this subject requires some explanation, we will suppose ourselves placed in the Hall of Edward the Confessor, he who, like his predecessors, held the state of "King of the English—Basileus of Britain—Emperor and ruler of all the sovereigns and nations who inhabit the Island—Lord Paramount of the sceptres of the Cumbrians, the Scots, and the Britons,"—and suppose yourself to be Haco, a Norwegian stranger, introduced by an Anglo-Saxon friend, and listening to his explanations of the assembly which you behold:—

"Those persons who are sitting and standing nighest to the king, are his chief officers of state. That tall, thin, rough-looking man is Algar, the Stallere, whom the Franks call the Constable of the Host; and great as he is, I assure you, Haco, that not one of the king's horses is sent to grass without his special order. The portly nobleman, with the huge knife and wooden trencher, is Æthelmar, the Danish Thane—he carves the meat for royalty. Hugoline, that cautious, sly-looking clerk, is the Bower Thane, or Chamberlain; he keeps the key of the king's Hoard. You would be astonished to see the heaps of treasure in the low, vaulted chamber; and yet there is not quite so much in the Hoard as there used to be. After we had driven out your countrymen, the usurper Hardacnute, and restored our darling, King Edward, the true and legitimate heir of the right royal line of Cerdic, the Huscarls of the Palace still continued to collect the Danegeld as rigidly as before; and many an honest husbandman had his house and land sold over his head, within three days after the tax became due, to pay the arrears which he had incurred. Not that our worthy king was ever a penny the better for the Danegeld. Good man, he never troubles himself about money, he leaves all that charge to Hugoline. If you were to empty King Edward's purse before his face he would not bid you stay your hand; he would only say—Take care, friend, that you are not found out by Hugoline. Though the king was so little benefited by the taxes, I suppose that others fared better; and the Danegeld was levied as rigidly as ever—until one day, the king rose from his bed, asked Hugoline for the key, and went alone into the Hoard. And when he came out again, he told us all, with looks of the utmost horror, that he had seen the foul fiend dancing upon the money-bags containing the gold which had been wrung from his suffering people, and grinning with delight. Whether the king had really seen anything, or whether we inconsiderately took as a fact, what he intended merely as a parable, denoting his opinion of the iniquity of the taxation, I cannot tell, but from that day the Danegeld was levied no more.

"Those quiet, shrewd-looking men, with shaven crowns, are Osbern, Peter, Robert, Gyso, and the rest of the clerks of the King's Chapel. He who sits at the head of the bench, is Reinbaldus, the Chancellor. These venerable persons have been gradually gaining more and more influence in the Witenagemot; though anciently they were only appointed for the purpose of celebrating mass and singing in the king's chapel; and Reinbaldus, the Chancellor, holds merely the place of the Arch-Chaplain of the French kings; he is a kind of dean, the king's confessor, who takes care of the king's conscience, and imposes very hard penances upon him when he has sinned. But for some time past, our kings have been accustomed to turn their chaplains really to good use, by employing them constantly as their writing clerks. In this capacity the most important matters of public business must pass through their hands. Hence they have much power, and a power which was totally unknown to our ancestors; and in this innovating age, their influence has been greatly increased by a fashion which our good King Edward has brought from France. He has caused a great seal to be made, on which you may see his effigy, in his imperial robes; and to all the writs or written letters, which issue in his name, an impression from that seal is appended.

"It is by such writs that our king signifies his commands. If a question of great importance is to be decided before the thanes of the shire, in a manner out of the ordinary course, it is heard before certain clerks, and others, named by the king's writ If a clerk is promoted to a bishopric, he must have a writ before he can be placed in his chair or throne. If you wish to obtain the king's protection, or his 'peace,' you had best obtain a writ, by which this favour is testified. For this purpose you must apply to the clerks of the chapel. Whether issued by the king's special direction or not, the writ is often a long time in making its appearance. And suitors find that a golden cup placed in the king's wardrobe, or a bay stallion sent to the royal stable, has a great effect in driving the chaplain's quill. At present, great part of our law business is cheaply, expeditiously, and equitably despatched in the ordinary folk-moots, or courts of the hundred, or of the shire, which go on regularly, by immemorial usage, without any writ, or other sanction from the king. These tribunals we derive from our remotest ancestors. We had law before we had prerogative, and folk-moots long before we had kings; and in your country, Haco, they exist in great measure unimpaired. But if, from any cause whatever, these popular courts should decline amongst us, and the pleas which are now decided before them, be transferred to the king's court, it is easy to see that the whole management of the law will fall into the hands of the chancellor and his clerks, and of those whom the king may depute to administer justice in his name.

"So much for those who are about the king. With respect to the Witenagemot itself, you will observe, that it is divided into three orders or estates. The mitres and cowls of those who are nearest to the king, sufficiently point out that the 'lewed-folk,' or laymen, have yielded the place of honour to the clergy. The prelates, however, have a double right to be present, not only as teachers of the people, but as landlords. Our government, Haco, is founded upon the principle, that, in all matters concerning the commonweal, the king ought to take the advice and opinion of the principal owners of the soil. We allow only of two qualifications for a seat in this assembly: either such a station as, in itself, is an undeniable voucher for the character and respectability of the individual; or such a share of real property as may be considered a permanent security for his good behaviour. Noble birth alone, much as we respect ancient lineage, tells for nothing whatever in our English Witenagemot, if unaccompanied by the qualification of clerkship or property.

"You see that near the bishops and abbots are many clergy of inferior degree. Every bishop brings with him a certain number of priests elected or selected from his own diocese. Learned clerks have told me, that this is in compliance with the canon of an ancient council; and they believe that this deputation from the dioceses has in some measure contributed to shape our temporal legislature. Others think that some such councils as the Witenagemots were held even when the Romans governed this island, and built those stately towns and palaces, of which you have seen the ruins. If Bishop Aldhelm, he who was so well read in the old Roman law books, still lived, perhaps he could give you further explanations. But the history of the past is of less consequence than the business of the present day.

"The dignified clergy, as they sit in a double right, act to a certain degree in a double capacity. In all matters of general legislation, they vote with the laymen; but if business more particularly relating to the church is discussed, they retire, and settle the affairs amongst themselves. They frequently present their 'canons' to the king and to the secular members of the Witenagemot, for the approbation and sanction of the laity. I doubt whether such sanction is strictly necessary for the validity of the ecclesiastical canons, but so long as a good understanding prevails between our clergy and our laity, it will not be necessary to define the exact boundaries of the temporal and ecclesiastical jurisdictions.

"Beneath the clergy, sit the lay peers and other rulers, who are bound by homage to the Crown. That vacant seat belongs to Malcolm, King of the Scots, or, as some begin to call him, the King of Scotland. The wicked usurper Macbeth had possession of his throne, and of those dominions in Lothian, in respect of which the homage of the King of Scots is more particularly rendered. Malcolm, the vassal of our King Edward, had a full right to claim the aid of his superior, and it was granted right nobly. By King Edward's command, the stout Earl Siward marched all his forces across the Tweed, with a mighty army. Macbeth had called the Northmen—your countrymen, Haco—to his aid; but his resistance was hopeless: he was expelled, and Malcolm, as King Edward had commanded, was restored to the inheritance of his ancestors. Malcolm ought to be here in person. When he comes up, he is escorted from shire to shire, by earls and bishops; and, at convenient distances, mansions and townships have been assigned to him, where he and his attendants may abide and rest. Yet, with all these aids, the journey is most tedious, and not unfrequently accompanied by danger; besides which, it is not altogether safe for Malcolm to leave the wild Scots, his turbulent subjects, uncontrolled during the very long space of time-seldom so little as half-a-year, which he must pass upon the road; Watling-street is much out of repair; it has not had a stone laid upon it since the arrival of Hengist and Horsa; and the top of the Roman fosse-way is worse than the bottom of a ditch; and, therefore, the attendance of the King of Scots is generally excused.

"The King of Cumbria, and the kings or 'under kings' of the Welsh, sit nigh unto the King of Scots. The two latter, Blethyn and Rhivallon, have just now sworn oaths to King Edward, and given hostages, that they will be faithful to him in all things, and everywhere ready to serve him by sea and land, and that they will perform all such obligations, in respect of the country, as ever their predecessors had done to his predecessors. But the Welsh are an unfaithful nation, untrue even to themselves. Griffith, the brother of the Welsh kings, to whom they succeed, was slain by his own men, and his bloody head was sent by Earl Harold to King Edward, at London. The Welsh are constantly rebelling against us; but we keep a firm hold upon them, and compel them, upon every needful occasion, to acknowledge our supremacy. To do them justice, though they rebel, they are truth-tellers, and never deny the fact of their legal subjection. In their triads, as well as in their laws, they commemorate the sum paid by Wales, when their kings receive the seizin or possession of their country from the King of London. And in the very register-book of their cathedral of Landaff, have they recorded how Howell the Good submitted to the judgment of the Witenagemot held by Edward the Elder, the son of the Great Alfred, and was compelled to restore to Morgan-hên and his son Owen, the rich commots or lordships of Ystradwy and Ewyas, which he had appropriated to himself, contrary to conscience and equity.

"On the same bench with these vassal kings, sit the great earls of the realm, distinguished by the golden collars and caps of maintenance which they wear. These marks of honour have, however, long belonged to them; for it is thus that the effigy of the venerable Aylwine of East Anglia is adorned, as you may see upon his tomb at Ramsey minster. He who looks so fell and grim is Siward, the son of Beorn, Earl of Northumbria. The good people in the north, who give credit to all the sagas, or lying tales of your scalds, actually believe that Siward's grandfather was a bear in the forests of Norway, and that when his father, Beorn, lifted up his uncombed locks, the two pointed shaggy ears, which he had inherited from the bear, testified the nature of his sire. Siward himself takes no pains to contradict this story. On the contrary, I rather think that he considers it as a piece of good policy to encourage any report which add to the terror inspired by his name. He has declared that he will never die, except in full armour.

"Earl Leofric of Mercia, as you see, keeps at a distance from Earl Godwin of Wessex. These noblemen are always opposed to each other; and I dread the consequences of such dissensions. Some earls rule only single shires. They ought more properly to be called aldermen;—but our old English name is becoming unfashionable; it has given way to the Danish appellation introduced under Canute, who, as I need scarcely tell you, Haco, really and truly conquered England.

"The earls thus constitute the second order of the witan. The third and lowest order in rank, yet by no means the least in importance, is composed of the thanes, who serve the king in time of war with the swords by which they are girt, and who are therefore called the king's ministers. The thanes are all landholders; and no individual, however noble he may be, can sit amongst them, unless he is entitled to land. An East Anglian thane used to be required to possess a qualification of forty hydes, each containing from a hundred to a hundred and twenty acres. In Wessex, I believe, five hydes are sufficient; but I am not sure, for our customs vary in almost every shire. We have no books in which they are set forth; and the wisest clerk in Hampshire would be often puzzled, if you asked him what goes for law on the other side of the Avon.

"When the Witenagemot was last held at Oxford, I recollect conversing with some thanes who came from the Danish burghs, and here also may be others from the great cities of this kingdom. I understand that, in many of our ancient cities, the aldermen, lawmen, and other magistrates, exercise their authority by virtue of the lands to which their offices are annexed. I dare say they are all in the house, but the place is so dark, that at this distance I really cannot distinguish their faces. As to that mixed multitude by whom the farther part of the hall is crowded, and who can be just seen behind the thanes, they consist, as far as I can judge, of the class of folks who come together in vast crowds at the meetings of our hundreds and our shires. It is usual, in these assemblies, that four good men and the reeve should appear from every upland or rural township; their office being to give testimony, and to perform other acts relating to the administration of justice, and also to receive the commands of their superiors. In the Witenagemot, I believe, they are seldom or never called upon to act; but they attend from ancient custom, deduced, perhaps, from the old time, when our kings were merely the aldermen of a single shire, and when the court in which they presided was merely the moot of their own little territory. And, whatever the rights or privileges of these churls might be in days of yore, I am tolerably sure of what they are not in these modern times. They have no weight or influence in the enactment of any law: voices, indeed, they may have, but only for the purpose of crying out—'Yea, yea!'—when the doom enacted by advice of the witan is proclaimed.

"Some of our old men have thought that this kind of assent is a recollection of the customs which prevailed amongst our forefathers, the old Saxons, before they quitted the forests of Germany, when, as it is said, the leod, or people at large, gave their consent to the laws which the ealdormen and priests had enacted in their solemn assembly. I am not learned enough to decide this point; it may be so; but nothing is said thereon by Alfric, or by Alfred, or by Bede; and now it is our principle, that he who is worth nothing in land, is nothing worth in public affairs, unless, as I have told you before, the place of land is supplied by learning. But Englishmen are sturdy, and not to be easily put down. I have heard strange things said about the charters granted by Athelstane to the townships of Malmsbury and Barnstaple; and if the churls in general should ever be led to imagine that they have a right to be members of the Witenagemot, I should not be surprised if they were, one day or another, to pluck up heart of grace, and cry out—'No, no!'—instead of affirming, as in duty bound, what their betters have thought best for them.

"Yet you must not suppose that these rustics are excluded by any perpetual bar. It was whilome the old English law, that if a merchant crossed the sea three times at his own risk, he obtained the rank of thane. Five hydes of land possessed by the churl for three generations, if held by him, his son, and his son's son, placed the family in the class of those who were gentle by birth and blood; 'Sithcundmen,' as such families were then called, before King Alfred's day; and though such laws are connected with usages and doctrines which have become obsolete, still we retain all the spirit of our ancient lessons of freedom; and, if qualified by station and property, there is no man between the channel and the water of Scotland, who may not acquire a share in the government of our empire.

"Haco, you well know how we call this assembly? A 'Micel getheaht,' or great thought—a Witena-gemot, or 'Meeting of the Wise'—and at present it well deserves its name. Our redes-men or counsellors, the members of the legislature, ponder much before they come together, say little, and write less. All the dooms or statutes which have been enacted since the days of King Ethelbert, would not fill four-and-twenty leaves of that brass-bound missal, which Thorold, the acolyte, has dropped amongst the rushes on the floor. Hence, our common people know the laws and respect them; and, what is of much greater importance, they respect the lawmakers—Long may they continue to deserve respect. But I am not without apprehensions for the future. We are strangely fond of novelty. Since the days of King Egbert, we have been accustomed to consider the French as the very patterns of good government and civilization. And although we have seen king after king expelled, there are numbers amongst us, including some very estimable personages, who continue firm in this delusion. I hear that, amongst the French, they designate such legislative assemblies as ours, by the name of a 'colloquium,' or, as we should say, a talk—which they render in their corrupted Romance jargon, by the word Parlement; and, should our Witenagemot, our Micel getheaht, ever cease to be a meeting of the wise, or great thought, and become a Parlement, or great-talk, it will be worse for England than if a myriad of your northern pirates were to ravage the land from sea to sea.

"Haco, mark my words—if our witan ever enter into long debates, consequences most ruinous to the state must inevitably ensue—they will begin by contradicting one another, and end by contradicting themselves. Constantly raising expectations which they never can fulfil; each party systematically' decrying the acts of the other; the soc-men and churls, who compose the great body of the people, will at last fancy that the witan are no wiser than the rest of the community. They will suppose that the art of government requires neither skill nor practice; that it is accessible to the meanest capacity; that it requires nothing but Parlement, or great talk; and, leaving their ploughs and their harrows, armed with their flails and pitchforks, they will rush into the hall. They will demolish the throne, and, seizing the sceptre and the sword, they will involve the whole state in unutterable confusion and misery."

Allowing for a few anachronisms in the grouping of the individual characters, which do not alter the general truth of the picture, such was the aspect of the "Witenagemot," as far as it can be gathered from the documents which now exist; and, if you will take the trouble to consult the proofs appended to my larger work, you will find that I have mentioned no person by name who did not fill the station which I have assigned to him. Considered as a political congress, we may fairly say that the micel getheaht represented the whole realm. And whenever the assent of the witan was required by the monarch to any measure of importance, the question was discussed in such an assembly. The extent of the prerogative of the king is extremely undefined; but, from the whole tenor of Anglo-Saxon history, we are enabled to affirm, that every affair and matter which concerned the empire, received the sanction of these virtual representatives of the community.

As a legislative body, the authority of the Witenagemot appears to have been limited by the privileges of the different states composing the Anglo-Saxon empire; and which dominions, as I have often remarked, had never amalgamated into one kingdom. Kent, for instance, under the victorious Athelstane, had lost all the appearance of an independent state. But, when he had made a law, by the assent of the witan of Wessex, he could not impose it upon the men of Kent without their concurrence. He transmitted the enactment to them, and they then accepted the proposition by an address which they returned to their sovereign. I can quote the very words of such a document:—

"Beloved lord, thy bishops of Kent, and all Kentshire, aldermen, thanes, and churls, return thanks to thee for the directions which thou hast given unto us concerning the conservancy of the peace, for great is the benefit which results to all of us, both poor and rich, thereby."

They then state the several articles or chapters of the statute, being ten in number, seriatim, and signify the manner in which they have received and modified the same. Grateful for the legislation thus bestowed upon them, the Kentishmen speak with thankfulness and humility; yet the form of the proceeding implies that their assent, so asked, might have been refused. In proportion as the sovereign gained in prerogative, the powers of the Witenagemot of Wessex, the predominant kingdom, would gradually gain strength also. The minor states annexed to Wessex would tacitly submit to be bound by its legislation; and, from the reign of Edgar, the lesser authorities seem, in most cases, to have been merged in the three leading states or territories of Wessex, Mercia, and Danelagh. Mercia clearly maintained its independence; Northumbria equally so. East Anglia seems to have been sometimes considered as annexed to Mercia, sometimes as constituting a separate state, and sometimes as classing with Danish Northumbria. The laws which Edgar enacted at the request or with the assent of the witan of Wessex were to be implicitly observed by his own immediate subjects—including the Britons who inhabited the Anglo-Saxon shires. As to the others, they were to be adopted according the model enacted by the assembly. The laws transmitted to the earls by writ; it is most probable that they were usually received without hesitation: yet there was no absolute coercive power in the crown of Wessex; and it was not until the reign of Canute that the Mercians received King Edgar's laws.

It is not to be supposed that the relations between the subordinate states and the paramount legislature were very accurately defined; and we may suppose, that when defined, they were not always secure from violation. The American war took place, because the Parliament of Great Britain claimed an authority which the Assembly of New England refused. Both parties appealed to the same muniments of the same constitution; and, whilst I am now writing, the colonial parliament of Lower Canada is at issue with the Government at home, upon many points of great weight and importance, considered as dubious, though arising out of a statute penned by a distinguished statesman now living; who, if our legislation allowed of such a practice, might be called upon to explain the words upon which the contests arise. If such uncertainties prevail in the very midst of us, you will readily admit how hazardous it must be to theorize upon the exact rights which Northumbria possessed in the reign of the confessor. Nor will you be inclined to doubt the general accuracy of the theory which I have presented to you, though there may be doubts as to the minor details.

Recollect, also, that, in great measure, the same theory has always been familiar to us. Under one Crown, England, Scotland, and Ireland had their respective parliaments. The Isle of Man has a distinct legislature, called the "House of Keys;" and until the Duke of Athol sold the sovereignty of the island, he and the Stanleys, his ancestors, were, to all intents and purposes, kings of Man. The Norman islands of Guernsey and Jersey have their "estates," which, are quite independent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The theory of the rights of England and of the dependencies of the royal crown in 1688 admitted of no doubt; but the theory was not entirely respected by practical policy. When the English parliament changed the succession of the royal authority, by expelling the Stuarts, and bringing in the Prince of Orange, they did so, not only without the consent of the Irish, but entirely against their will. As for the Isle of Man, the King who then ruled was William Stanley, who sat in parliament as Earl of Derby. He possessed full rights of sovereignty within his narrow territory; yet, when the English Parliament declared that James had abdicated the throne, and the Scottish parliament voted that he forfeited his royal dignity, neither legislature thought it necessary to obtain any ratification of their proceedings from the Manx sovereign. And, lastly, if the Parliament of England thought fit to grant the supplies for a war against France, the minister did not think it necessary to wait for the concurrence of the bailiffs, jurats, and constables, who compose the supreme legislature of the Norman Isles.

This, then, was very nearly the state of the Anglo-Saxon dominions. And if, for England, Scotland, Ireland, Man, and the Norman Isles, you substitute Wessex, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, and Kent, you will have a good idea of the general aspect of the mutual relations of the Anglo-Saxon states towards each other, and towards their common sovereign.

The Anglo-Saxon history, in every part and branch of it, is extremely obscure; and though I have done my best to discover the truth, still I am convinced that others, working with the same intent, may probably come to very different conclusions. No person ever can attempt any historical inquiry, who does not bring some favourite dogma of his own to the task—some principle which he wishes to support—some position which he is anxious to illustrate or defend—and it is quite useless to lament these tendencies to partiality, since they are the very incitements to the labour. And so strong is the effect of opinion, that, even in matters where there would seem to be the least possible reason for doubt, even our senses may be deluded by our passions and feelings.

The annals of justice furnish numerous instances of these hallucinations: but one of the most striking examples occurred a few years ago at Dublin:—

A pleasure-boat, belonging to a party of noted Brunswickers, having been moored on the River Liffy, near Carlisle-bridge, some of the bystanders on the adjoining quay were extremely incensed at the standard of defiance which the vessel displayed. The vane at the mast-head, like those of the ships of the conqueror, displayed an effigy—an orange-man trampling on a green shamrock. This affront, aimed at the feelings of the multitude, was not to be borne. The Milesians attacked the hostile Saxon bark by hurling a furious volley of paving-stones, and the unlucky crew, urged by danger or by apprehension, discharged their fire-arms, and wounded some of the surrounding assemblage. A great commotion was excited, the leaders of the belligerent parties were conducted to College-street Police-office; amongst the witnesses who were called was the tin-man who had made the vane. And this worthy tradesman gave the most candid and unequivocal testimony, in full proof of the pacific intention of the pleasure-boat, though certainly somewhat to his discredit as an artist. The unlucky cause of so much dissension and bloodshed, the supposed orange-man trampling on the green shamrock, was in truth, a flesh-coloured Mercury springing from a blue cloud.

I will not stop to inquire whether the agitators on both sides of the question might not derive some useful instruction from this display of the effects produced by opinion; I will only ask you to apply the lesson to history in general.

I have exerted myself to see the objects before me clearly and distinctly. I have endeavoured to place them in a proper light; and I have approached them as nearly as I could, in order to ensure the utmost accuracy. However, when I took the pen in hand, I had many an hypothesis of my own to elucidate; nor did I come to the task without having settled my opinions on the most important points and doctrines connected with history. And whilst I am most ready to believe that my eyes may have often deceived me, I hope that those who see differently, will admit, that they also may, with equal unconsciousness on their part, be labouring under a similar delusion.

Should I, therefore, be found on any occasion to have erred, and to have mistaken green for blue, or blue for green, I trust that those who know how easily the tints may be confounded with each other, will excuse the failing. Let me, however, lastly observe; that I shall principally rest my claim for lenient treatment upon this simple plea, that, deceived or prejudiced as I may be—I have never thrown stones;—and with this appeal, I submit myself to your judgment.

Yours ever faithfully,

                      FRANCIS PALGRAVE.

HISTORY OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS.

Arch-Druid in his Robes.

Chapter I.

Ancient Population of Britain—Political State of the Provinces under the Romans—Formation of the States of Modern Europe, under the Tyrants of the Lower Empire—Tyrants of Britain—Invasions of the Saxons, Scots, and Picts—Britain finally separated from the Empire.

According to a very ancient tradition, which, although not possessing scriptural authority, is grounded upon scripture, the "Cymri" as they are still called in their own language, are descended from Gomer, the common ancestor of all the Celtic tribes; Britain having fallen to their lot, when the "islands of the Gentiles" were divided amongst the "children of Japhet, every one after his tongue, after their families in their nations."

Many nations have two or more designations; a name or names employed by foreigners, and a name which more properly belongs to them. Thus the people whom we know as Bohemians, call themselves Czecki; and the Hungarians call themselves Magyar. I mention these examples in order that you may understand how it happens that the "Cymri" are usually denominated Britons in our books, this latter name having been given to them by the Romans from "Prydain," or Britain, the country in which they were found. In common English speech they are denominated Welshmen, a term formed from the old English or Saxon Wilisc, an adjective signifying any thing foreign or strange; corresponding literally, both in etymology and application, with the Latin Peregrinus.[A] Hence Italy is the Welschland of the modern Germans, and their Welschers are the Italians:—foreigners to them, as the Britons were to the old English or Anglo-Saxon invaders. Such double or concurrent appellations are very common; and if their existence be kept in mind, you will be saved from much perplexity in your studies of history.

The people inhabiting the southern parts of the island, had, when the Romans first visited Britain, passed over more recently from Belgic Gaul, and differed from the Cymri in race, being of the Teutonic family of nations. But the lines of demarcation between the Celts and the Teutons were not then so well defined as in subsequent times. The distinctions which now characterise the progeny of Adam have been continually increasing, since the children of men were first scattered abroad on the face of the earth. And the more we ascend in history, the more apparent are the traces of that unity which subsisted, when we were all of one speech and one language, in the plain of Shinar.

Ruins of Stonehenge.

Stonehenge Restored.

British Coracles.

Like all the other Gentiles, the Britons had abandoned the worship of the Almighty, and believed in false gods, to whom they offered human sacrifices. They were so infatuated as to think that the favour of their idols could be obtained by slaying men and women. And this they did most cruelly; inclosing the victims in huge figures of wicker-work, and burning the wretched sufferers alive. The Druids were the priests of the Britons, and probably the lawgivers of the people. Amongst other rites, we are told that they used to cut the mistletoe, with great ceremony, on the sixth day of the moon, employing for that purpose a sickle of pure gold. The oak is said to have been venerated amongst them; but, beyond a few particulars which have been preserved by Greek and Roman writers, we know little concerning their tenets. The doctrines of the Druids were not reduced into writing, but preserved by oral tradition; and when the Druidical priesthood was extinguished, their lore was lost, excepting the few vestiges which may be collected from the compositions of the British Bards, and the proverbial triads of the Cymri.[A]

The temples in which the Britons worshipped their deities, were composed of large, rough stones, disposed in circles; for they had not sufficient skill to execute any finished edifices. Some of these circles are yet existing; such is Stonehenge, near Salisbury: the huge masses of rock may still be seen there, grey with age; and the structure is yet sufficiently perfect to enable us to understand how the whole pile was anciently arranged. Stonehenge possesses a stern and savage magnificence. The masses of which it is composed are so large, that the structure seems to have been raised by more than human power. Hence, Choir-gaur[A] was fabled to have been built by giants, or otherwise constructed by magic art. All around you in the plain, you will see mounds of earth or "tumuli," beneath which the Britons buried their dead. Antiquaries have sometimes opened these mounds, and there they have discovered vases, containing the ashes and the bones of the primeval Britons, together with their swords and hatchets, and arrowheads of flint or of bronze, and beads of glass and amber; for the Britons probably believed, that the dead yet delighted in those things which had pleased them when they were alive, and that the disembodied spirit retained the inclinations and affections of mortality.

The Cymric Britons, though they lived in an island, had no boats or vessels except coracles, framed of slight ribs of wood covered with hides. These frail barks are still used by the Welsh fishermen on the Wye; and it may be remarked that the Celtic tribes in general have never taken to the sea, whilst the Teutons seem always to have enjoyed the dangers of the ocean. But the valour of the Britons was displayed on land: they were brave and sturdy warriors; and when they went forth to combat, they rode in chariots, with blades of scythes fixed to the axle-trees of the wheels. Engaged in battle, they urged their horses to their utmost speed, and the sharp edges of the scythes mowed down the enemy. But the prowess of the Britons was of little use or profit, for they were always quarrelling amongst themselves; and it was in consequence of these dissensions that they were at last subdued by the Romans. If the Britons had made common cause, the Romans might not have prevailed against them: but the insular tribes or nations were divided and disunited; envious of each other; and when one tribe was conquered, the others delighted in the misfortunes of their countrymen, and then the same fate befel them in their turn. The moral deduced from the old fable of the bundle of sticks may be applied with equal truth to families or nations.

Julius Cæsar was the first civilized stranger who attacked the island;[A] but his incursions were confined to the southern coast, and the Roman dominion did not attain its full extent in Britain until Cnæus Julius Agricola[B] took the command.

It does not appear that the Romans ever conquered the more remote parts, beyond the Firths of Forth and Clyde: the wall constructed by Lollius Urbicus, in the reign of Antoninus Pius, and extending from Caer-riden to Alcluid, or Dumbarton, was erected for the purpose of protecting the Roman provinces against the inroads of the unsubdued tribes,—who, under the names of Caledonians and Picts,[A] inhabited the fastnesses beyond. Other fortifications of the same description, between the Solway Firth and the Tyne, constructed by Adrian and Severus, constituted a second line of defence, stretching from sea to sea.

Castles and towers,—"Burgi," as they were called by the Romans,—ranged along these walls; and these fortresses were constantly garrisoned by armed men. The stations were so near to each other, that if a beacon was lighted on any one of the bulwarks, the warriors who garrisoned the next station were able to see and to repeat the signal almost at the same instant; and the next onwards did the same; by which token they announced that some danger was impending. So that, in a very short time, all the soldiers who guarded the line of wall could be assembled. The coast was protected with equal care against any invading enemy; and the ancient maritime stations, Garianonum and Portus Rhutupis, may be instanced as fine specimens of Roman skill and industry. The Romans also fortified many strong cities in different parts of the island, which they surrounded by lofty ramparts. These "colonies," or "municipia," were peopled with Roman inhabitants, who came hither from Italy, accompanied by their wives and children; and within the circuit of the fortifications, they built temples, and palaces, and baths, and many other splendid structures, living in great luxury and delight. Frequently it happens, that when workmen are employed in digging the foundations of new erections in modern towns, occupying the site of Roman cities, such as Gloucester, Cirencester, and Colchester, they find beautiful tesselated pavements, composed of coloured stones, arranged in elegant patterns, the adornments of the Roman palaces, though they now lie at a great depth below the surface of the ground. And often you may see the marks of the fire by which the dwellings themselves were ruined, in the sieges which the cities sustained.

Many of our Roman cities have become entirely wasted and desolate—Silchester is one of these. Corn-fields and pastures cover the spot once adorned with public and private buildings, all of which are now wholly destroyed. Like the busy crowds who inhabited them, the edifices have sunk beneath the fresh and silent green-sward; but the flinty wall which surrounded the city is yet firm, and the direction of the streets may be discerned by the difference of tint in the herbage; and the plough-share turns up the medals of the Cæsars, so long dead and forgotten, who were once the masters of the world.

Garianonum (Burgh Castle, Suffolk).

Runic Pillar at Bewcastle.

The Britons, or at least those tribes who inhabited the vicinity of the Roman colonies, soon adopted and emulated the customs of their masters, for evil as well as good. They learnt to speak the Latin language, adopted Latin names, clad themselves in rich raiment, and vied with the Romans in every luxury of corrupted Rome. In the earlier stages of the Roman conquests, the native Princes were, according to the usual custom of nations calling themselves civilized, when they deal with those whom they term savages, treated with merciless severity by the conquerors, for daring to struggle against their power. Boadicea, bleeding beneath the scourge, and Caractacus, or Caradoc, driven in fetters by the scoffing lictor, are familiar examples of this unrelenting tyranny. But this harshness was not always exerted; and other British princes were allowed to retain their dominions beneath the Roman supremacy. Cogidumnus, who appears, from an inscription discovered at Chichester, to have reigned in or near Sussex, the ancient territory of the Regni, may be quoted as one of these tributary governors. In such a country, the native population, having a ruler of their own race and blood placed over them, were probably less oppressed than in those parts where they were immediately beneath the rod of the Roman masters. But in other districts, and particularly towards the eastern side of the island, it should seem as if the British nobility and aristocracy had been entirely swept away, and the land allotted out to the Roman colonists, under whose power the British cultivators of the soil passed into a state of prædial slavery or villainage.

When we speak of the "Roman empire," we are apt to consider it as a consolidated power. We see only the imperial standard, and contemplate only the majesty of Rome. But the real state of things under the dominion of the Eagle may in some measure be understood, by considering the present condition of the provinces and dominions subdued by the Russians, and added to the dominion of the Czar. In some parts are flourishing cities, Odessa for example, peopled by the conquering race, speaking their language and governed by their laws. In others (as in the Crimea generally) the Russians have become the owners of the soil, and the ancient rulers, the Tartar Mirzas and Khans, have been expelled; but the conquest has not displaced the ancient Tartar peasantry, who retain their former customs, and, as yet, are not greatly affected by the influence of the lords to whom they belong. A third class will consist of such provinces as Mingrelia, where the ancient rulers remain in their seats, though entirely controlled by a governor appointed by the Autocrat, beneath whose military sway the kingdom is allowed to subsist. Furthermore, a fourth class may be placed in provinces like Esthonia and Livonia, which retain their former mixed government, though the ancient line of princes has become extinct, and the sovereignty is vested in the Russian Emperor. In Esthonia there is a "Land-tag" composed of nobles and deputies of the towns. This assembly exists in a state of respectable debility—not so strong as to excite the jealousy of the emperor,—nor so weak as to be entirely ineffective. By the Land-tag, laws may be enacted concerning local regulations or affairs of the province. Some taxes are apportioned by its power. Yet, at the same time that the Autocrat of all the Russias tolerates the existence of the Land-tag, his ukases, issued from St. Petersburg, many overturn all the legislation thus exercised; and he is, in theory, if not in practice, the uncontrolled master of the lives and fortunes of the Esthonian people, who, if he should think fit to act the despot, have no resource against his supreme authority. Lastly, in the so-called kingdom of Poland, there exists, by the grant and concession of the emperor, a "Diet," formed, in part, out of the original legislature possessed by the country when independent—but Russianized, remodelled, restricted, and re-formed—having a sufficient degree of consequence to prevent the Polish nation from being amalgamated into one mass with the Russians, and yet entirely incompetent to limit the Emperor's power, except so far as a discreet or benevolent Sovereign may think it just or expedient to give way to the opinion of his subjects, when respectfully expressed.

Now, if the Russian government were subverted, the cities to which I have alluded would still retain a portion of the organization which they have received. In the Provinces overspread by the Russians, the ancient races would regain their ascendancy, though they would probably retain (particularly in military discipline) many vestiges of the policy imparted by their late rulers. The third class of Provinces, or those whose dependent sovereigns are governed by the Court of St. Petersburg, would reappear in their primitive form, except so far as their Shahs or Sultans might think fit, as they probably would, to adopt such customs and principles as should tend either to enhance the splendour of their court, or to increase the authority which they would then enjoy, released from Russian supremacy. In the fourth class, in Esthonia and in Poland, the Land-tag and the Diet would gain in power, and acquire more consistency; and, under favourable circumstances,—assuming, for instance, that these legislatures continued to exist quietly, until the towns became opulent and the serfs free,—they might become substantial checks upon the prerogatives of any monarch by whom the country should be ruled.

All these suppositions are made upon the hypothesis of a mere dissolution of the Russian empire; but if that dissolution were followed by an irruption of some much less civilized nation, say the Mongul Tartars, the features of the older dominion would be much more obscured; many of the laws and customs of the invaders would be implanted by them: and the Russian laws and modes of government would be kept down by the customs of a wild nomadic people; and yet the general relation of the parts of the empire towards each other would remain the same, unless it should happen that in any district all the ancient inhabitants were violently expelled.

The parallel between the Russian empire and the Roman empire will not hold good in any of its minor details: but in the general outline it is tolerably accurate; and I introduce it in this place, in order that the young reader may understand how the Roman provinces were circumstanced, at the dawn of the history of modern Christendom.

The colonial policy of Rome sustained considerable alterations in form, between the age of Agricola and the fifth century; but the main principles remain unchanged. Taking the reign of Constantine as a middle point of development, though not exactly of time, the whole Roman Empire was then divided into four great "Prefectures," or governments, Britain being included in the jurisdiction of the Prefect of the Gauls, who held his court at Treves, and afterwards at Arles. The Prefectures were divided into "Dioceses."—Britain was a Diocese—and the Dioceses into "Provinces," subjected to Presidents, or Consulars, and Vicars, or Vice-presidents, each in their degree invested with the various powers of judicial government and civil policy. The military command of the provinces was principally intrusted to the "Comites," each having his own district or territory. From the reign of Constantine, these functionaries held a conspicuous rank in the state. The Comes, or Companion, of Augustus was only his confidential friend; but the companions of the Cæsar were gradually erected into a dignified order, and the title became at length a designation both of military and civil dignity. Besides the military Comites, there were others in every department of the government. The title was particularly bestowed upon the attendants of the Imperial Court. There was a Count of the physicians, a Count of the wardrobe, a Count of the treasury, and a "Comes stabuli," or Count of the stable,[A] from whose station one of the proudest titles of the European monarchies was derived.

The Cities enjoyed considerable privileges, and possessed a distinct political existence. The ruling body, termed the Curia, was composed of Senators or Decurions: but, besides the main corporation, each city contained various "colleges," companies, or guilds, of traders and artificers; and if I were a freemason, which I am not, I should perhaps be able to ascertain whether the "Lodge of Antiquity" at York is, as the members of the craft pretend, a real scion from the Roman stock, subsisting through so many changes.

The most absolute authority was vested in the Roman emperor,—Louis the Fourteenth's saying, "L'état; c'est moi," is only another version of the Lex Regia, an edict by which, according to the theory of the civil law, all the powers of the state had been concentrated in the person of the "Imperial Majesty." As to the Les Regia, it is certain that no such edict was ever passed or made by the Roman Senate, but the Emperors acted as if it had; and a legal fiction, believed by government, and which no subject can dare to dispute, has quite as much validity as if it were the truth itself, and sustained by the most lawful authority. The Prefects and other Governors were, practically, and in their own departments, as despotic as the Emperor himself; yet a species of controlling power existed in the provincial councils or assemblies. The constitution of these senates cannot be precisely defined. Some few particulars, however, may be collected. Deputies, or Magistrates, from the cities attended them. The great landed proprietors had also seats; and perhaps the Bishops were admitted after the establishment of Christianity. The Councils assembled in course, and at stated times of the year, unless any emergency arose, in which case they were summoned by the rescript of the Emperor. If local regulations only were required, the councils were authorised to enact ordinances; but in matters of importance, and especially if the Provincials needed the redress of any grievance, they could only address their petitions to the Emperor. The Prefect could not give his assent to such requests, and the "Legates" to whom the bills were intrusted, resorted for that purpose to the Presence-Chamber, or according to the pompous phraseology of Byzantium, "the sacred consistory;" and then the Sovereign, if he thought fit, acceded to their request.

In point of form, this proceeding was very similar to that adopted by the Cortes of Castile, the States-general of France, and the Parliament of England. In all these assemblies, the subjects pray to the King for redress, and the answer to their petition constitutes the basis of the Fuero,[A] Law, Ordinance, or Statute. But the members of the Roman provincial councils could not employ any of those useful ways and means for obtaining the attention of the sovereign, which render the decent and humble language of supplication virtually equivalent to a command. The Councils had no control over the supplies. With the exception of the "aurum coronarium," a benevolence, voluntary in name, but compulsory by inveterate custom, taxation resulted from the arbitrary decree of the Emperor; and to the edict by which the Cæsar imposed a tribute upon the world, the assent of the provincials was neither expected nor required. The sovereign had nothing to hope from their gratitude; the minister had nothing to fear from their displeasure. An impeachment, under the entire management of the Prefect, was the only power of judicature which the Councils possessed; and the laws which had been enacted upon their request, might, at any time, be revoked or rescinded by the sovereign will and irresponsible declaration of the Emperor. In many parts of the empire, such as Narbonensian Gaul, these councils appear to have been engrafted upon the institutions subsisting among the conquered nations before they were subdued.—Was this the case in Britain?—The question is interesting, but difficult of discussion. It is sufficient to observe, that such local legislatures, however qualified their powers might be, contributed to keep alive a feeling of national or independent existence, and prevented those minor spheres of action, the provinces, from being merged in the vast orb of the empire. And, transmitted through the middle ages, they became one of the elements, at least, out of which the Parliaments, States-general, and other legislative assemblies of modern Europe were gradually formed.

The real power of the Roman state, however, was in the sword; and we must now consider the station assigned to those by whom the sword was wielded. When the Roman republic subsisted in full vigour, the soldiers were rewarded by grants of land. An estate was allotted to the veteran, and he became entitled to the rents and profits as his retiring pay, instead of receiving a stipend from the treasury. Such policy was wise and considerate. It was right that the public should enable those whose strength had been worn out in the service of their country, to enjoy the quiet and comfort of repose in their old age: the boon was the discharge of a just debt, and at the same time this act of justice added greatly to the security of the commonwealth. The grey-headed warrior, who had served the republic with honour, was bound to his allegiance by gratitude. He taught obedience and loyalty to his son, and encouraged the youth to walk in the same path, and to hope for the same reward; so that, when his time of toil and danger should be fulfilled, he also might become the peaceful citizen of the state which he had defended.

But another character was soon imparted to these donations. Civil wars arose amongst the Romans; and the generals who obtained the victory, treated the allies and subjects of Rome with the same severity which they had used towards their enemies. Sulla, and afterwards Augustus, confiscated or seized the lands of several of the Italian cities, and divided these possessions amongst the soldiers who had fought in their service against other Romans. It was a sad day when the poor people of Mantua were compelled to quit the farms which they cultivated, and to give up their fields and their vineyards to the insulting stranger. I have mentioned Mantua, because we have the clearest description of the afflictions of this city in the ninth eclogue of Virgil. For thus was that great poet deprived of his little patrimony and reduced to the greatest distress, and compelled to seek his sustenance in the great city of Rome, where the talents which had been given to him became the means of raising him to imperishable fame.

The grants made to the soldiers who had served the Triumvirate, were not, like the donations which had in the elder time been bestowed upon the veterans, the well-earned reward of honourable valour. Gifts received in recompense for services performed in civil war, were, in truth, a recompense for evil-doing; and instead of encouraging the people to defend their country, the military were excited to hatred and dissension. All departure from justice is as foolish as it is wrong, and the Romans afforded full proof of this maxim. It became an easy step to bestow land upon the "Barbarians," in the expectation that they would become useful allies to the emperors. This was one of the principal causes of the decline of the empire, because the provinces were filled with inhabitants adverse to the well-being of the state; who served the sovereign merely for profit, and who opened the path to their kinsmen, the implacable enemies of the Roman name. The Romans acted like a man who, being afraid of robbers, hires the brother of the depredators to stand as sentinel before his door.

First, these donations were made at the expense of other barbarians; but before the reign of Diocletian, the "Liuti," or "People,"[A] as they are emphatically called, both by themselves and the Romans—the latter merely changing the term into Loeti—were domiciled throughout the empire upon the "Loetic" lands, of which they received possession by the writ or rescript of the emperor. Two German tribes, the Quadi and the Marcomanni, were thus rewarded by the possession of lands in Britain. The progeny of the Tungrians, who, brought over as allies by Agricola, warred against the Caledonians, became the owners as well as the defenders of the wilds which they subdued.[B] The word Liuti, or Loeti, is purely German, but it was extended from the Teutonic auxiliaries to all others of the same class. This is the usual progress of language, and we exemplify it in many cases; for instance, by giving the name of Hussars, which originally signified Hungarians, to all light cavalry, mounted and armed like the original Hungarian troops of that description. The Loeti were also called Gentiles (a translation of their former name). And upwards of forty of those barbarian legions, some of Teutonic origin, and others Moors, Dalmatians, and Thracians, whose forefathers had been transplanted from the remotest parts of the empire, obtained their domicile in various parts of our island, though principally upon the northern and eastern coasts, and in the neighbourhood of the Roman walls.

The donations of these Laetic lands had branched abusively out of the general system of defence; which, with few exceptions, was founded upon the principle of paying the soldier by giving him land. Thus the March or border countries were granted almost exclusively to the "limitanean" soldiery, upon conditions which have been well described as containing the germ of the "feudal tenures." The valleys and passes of the mountains, and the banks of the great frontier rivers, were tilled by the martial husbandmen, who could only secure their harvests by warding off the incursions of the enemy. Such land could not be alienated to a non-military owner. The property descended from the father to the son, and the son at the age of eighteen years was compelled to gird himself with the baldrick, and to join the legion to which his parent belonged.

The "Limitanean" soldiers, as their name imports, continued settled on the borders; but in the same manner, or nearly so, were all the other Roman legions rooted and fixed in the interior of Britain. After the establishment of the Imperial government, they were not, like our regiments in the colonies, changed and removed from time to time, but permanently established on and in the island. The son of the veteran was compelled to follow the profession of his father. Military service was an imperative obligation upon all of military race. The soldiery constituted not only an "Estate" distinct from the rest of the people, but also a ruling Caste, from whose will the sovereign power was derived.

Perhaps there was never any community in the world, civilized or semi-civilized, in which the succession to the supreme authority was so utterly without law or rule as the Roman empire. Good fortune was the only standard of legitimacy.—Aurelian, a sturdy Dacian, is hailed as emperor by the legions on the shore of the Danube. Quintilian is recognized by the voice and suffrage of the legions of Rome, and the approbation of all Italy; but Aurelian prevails, and he is considered as the lawful possessor of the Roman world.

The General who could only retain a Province or a Diocese, is called a Tyrant; that is to say, an illegal Pretender. But let an example be selected, and the justice of such a title will entirely disappear.—Gaul and Spain and Britain, or the Prefecture of the Gauls, were erected into a flourishing empire by Posthumus, the "Tyrant," who denied obedience to Gallienus, the "Emperor" of Rome. Posthumus had been called to the government by the voice and affection of the people, and accepted by the legions. And if the palsied Senate, assembled on the Capitol, branded this change of government as a rebellion, the "Court of Treves" might very reasonably question the rights devolving upon Gallienus, a son who enjoyed his dignity merely because he allowed his father Valerian to languish, during nine years, in hopeless captivity; or, ascending a degree higher in the pedigree, they might impugn the title of Valerian, and inquire by what means the legions of Rhetia had acquired the authority of imposing him upon the dioceses of the east or the prefectures of the west.

From the history of Avitus, who, after being saluted emperor by the legions at Toulouse, was invested with the imperial purple by the "Honorati" of Arles, we estimate the share which the provincial legislatures possessed in the nomination of the provincial "Tyrants." The soldiers elected the Emperor, the Council ratified the election; and in the eye of reason, it may appear that these sovereigns, who are stigmatized as usurpers, had, perhaps, a better title than the rulers who are considered as legitimate merely because they were recognized at Rome.—What was the Roman Senate?—Certainly it bore an honoured and venerable name; but the Patricians who trembled in the chairs of Cato and Cicero were the mere creatures and nominees of the Emperor; whilst the provincial assemblies participated in all the feelings and opinions of their countrymen, and virtually represented the wealth and respectability of the land. Unconscious of the ends which they were destined to accomplish, the Provincial Emperors may be considered as the precursors of the barbarian dynasties. The revolutions sustained by the provinces under their government gave an impulse, which ultimately caused the kingdoms of modern Christendom to spring out of the fourth great monarchy of the Gentiles.

The political ancestry of the ancient monarchs of Anglo-Saxon Britain, must therefore be sought amongst the sovereigns who are expunged from the regular series of the Cæsars, and put at the bottom of the page by the chronologists of the empire. Britain was said to be singularly fertile in "Tyrants;" or, in other words, the opulent province made strong efforts to detach itself from Rome, and to acquire independence. But the history of these times is extremely imperfect. The jejune and feeble writers of the Augustan history afford our chief materials (A.D. 280); and though we know that the first of these British Tyrants was slain by his competitor Probus, we are not able to tell his name.

Carausius obtained a more durable ascendency. He was a Menapian by birth. The nation whence he originated had been divided by its migrations into several colonies (A.D. 287-294): one was settled in Hibernia, another was found in the islands of the Rhine; and the Menapia, or Menevia, of Britain, now St. David's, seems also to have belonged to these tribes. Carausius was born in Britain, according to an authority which we are at present compelled to receive with some hesitation, and opposed to the Roman writers, who call him the "foster son of Batavia." Yet, for the credit of Richard of Cirencester, the writer to whom I allude, it may be remarked that the same uncertainty prevails with respect to many of the Emperors, and most of the "Tyrants." The contradictory statements of contemporary writers were evidently occasioned, not so much from incorrect information, as from the difficulty of finding accurate language. In one narrative, perhaps, the individual is described according to his race; in another according to his local birthplace; in a third, according to his political domicile; just as Napoleon might be described as an Italian, a Corsican, or a Frenchman. Carausius, perhaps himself a pirate, had been accustomed to the sea from his earliest youth; and he was raised, by his valour and talent, to the command of the navy destined to repress the incursions of the Franks and Saxons, and other barbarians, who ravaged the shores of Britain and of Gaul. In this station, dark suspicions arose respecting his collusion with the enemy; and it being anticipated that he would throw off his allegiance to Diocletian and Maximian the Emperors who then ruled, orders were sent from Rome to put Carausius to death. But he evaded the fatal messenger; and the wealth which he had earned by his exploits, as well as the reputation which he gained in his victories, persuaded the British legions and auxiliaries to hail him as Augustus, and to bestow upon him the imperial diadem.

Maximian, who made some fruitless attempts to rid himself of this rival, was repelled with disgrace. The Emperor of Britain—whose dominions included Boulogne, and the adjoining coast of Gaul—used every exertion to maintain his sovereignty; he built vessels of war, and raised great forces, inviting to his service the barbarians against whom he had fought, and to whose native courage and maritime skill was now added the regular discipline of the Roman soldier. The numerous medals struck by Carausius are no inadequate tokens of the wealth and splendour which graced his reign; and the inscriptions and devices with which they are impressed, display the pomp and state which he assumed in his island empire. Ruling in Britain, "Marcus Aurelius Valerius Carausius," for he had borrowed these impressive names, was ranked as the "brother" of Diocletian and Maximian. The fleets of Carausius sailed triumphant; and from the columns of Hercules to the mouths of the Rhine, his standard ruled the seas. When Constantius was associated to the purple, he prepared to dispossess Carausius of his dominions; and by a bold and fortunate enterprise, the British fleet stationed at Boulogne was compelled to surrender. Constantius then prepared for the invasion of Britain; but in the meanwhile, domestic conspiracies had arisen (A.D. 294-297), and Carausius was slain at York by the dagger of Allectus, his friend and minister, who succeeded to the imperial dignity.

The details of the succession of the provincial emperors, so improperly called "Tyrants," who either ruled in Britain alone, or in Britain as a part of the prefecture of the Gauls, must be omitted until we arrive at the reign of Maximus, an able and fortunate general. By some historians he is described as a Briton, and yet as allied to the imperial family. He disputed the empire with Gratian (A.D. 382-388); and the Bretons of Armorica, or the "Lesser Britain," in Gaul, believed that their nation sprang from the flower and youth of this island, who accompanied him in this enterprise. The exploits of Maximus belong rather to the general history of the Roman empire, than to the particular history of Britain. It is sufficient to observe that, after his death at Aquileia, Theodorus reannexed the province of Britain to his dominions, which he transmitted to his son Honorius, his successor in the empire of the west. But the authority acquired by the "Robber of Richborough," as Maximus is termed by Ausonius, was not entirely lost to his posterity. And if we consult the genealogies of the Cymri, we shall find there were princes reigning in Britain long after the extinction of the Roman power, who traced their descent from "Maxen-Wledig," "Maximus the Emperor," and who were proud to consider him as their ancestor.[A]

When the Empire began to decline, the Romans, as well as the Romanized Britons, were incessantly exposed to the hostility of the Picts. These were originally Britons, who, living beyond the Roman frontier, had continued in the enjoyment of their independence, and whose primitive rudeness was unaffected by the civilisation which the Roman conquests had imparted to their brethren. Tamed animals are always persecuted by the wild creatures of their own species, and the Picts bore the greatest antipathy to their ancient kinsmen. The first inroads of the Picts (A.D. 306) were easily repelled. But when the Scots arrived from the opposite coast of Erin, the union of the forces of these barbarians enabled them to pursue their operations with great success. The united hordes of the Picts and the Scots rushed from the North like a torrent; attacked and plundered London; and though this invasion was repelled by Theodosius (A.D. 367-368), still the northern districts were never afterwards reduced to order and tranquillity.

North Wall of Richborough.

Ornaments and Patten of Ancient Britons.

Ancient British Weapons.

Coin of Carausius.

The Scots were the relatives of the Cymri, being another branch of the great Celtic nation, and who, at a period far beyond all authentic history, had established themselves in Hibernia, Erin, or Ireland. Hence, that island, from its predominant population, was generally called Scotia, or Insula Scotorum, by the writers of the sixth and seventh centuries. This is a circumstance which has often been forgotten, but it is of great importance to recollect it, for the name of Scotia, or Scotland, as applied to the northern portion of Britain, is comparatively of modern origin. These Irish Scots appear to have begun by spreading themselves in straggling settlements on the coast of Argyle and the neighbouring shores, forming little clans, or even families, not owing obedience to any common chieftain, and without any regular government. The land was sterile, the Pictish population thin and scanty, and therefore the original inhabitants do not appear to have opposed the Scottish settlements. Reuda, who arrived with rather a large train of followers, seems to have been the first who acquired any permanent authority amongst the British Scots; and from him they are said to have been called Dalreudini or Dalriads. But the princes afterwards governing these nations (A.D. 986), claimed to be descended from Fergus, the son of Ere, who, with his brother Lourn, reigned towards the close of the fifth century. There was probably a flux and reflux of population; and the history of these tribes is much clouded by fable. But the main facts are satisfactorily established; and there is no reason to doubt but that the Scots had emigrated from Ireland, and obtained a small tract of country, as before described. Another colony was settled, though at what period is uncertain, in the country called Galloway: here they appear also to have been blended with the Picts, perhaps some of the tribes who had assisted in the war.

We must now advert to another nation, destined to effect an entire alteration in the fortunes of Britain. Carausius had been brought to notice, and afterwards raised to power, by his warfare against the Franks and Saxons, Teutonic tribes, who much infested the coasts of Britain and of Gaul. They were repelled, but his successes had only a transient effect upon the power of the enemy; and the name of the "Saxon shore" given to the coast of Britain from Branodunum or Brancaster, in Norfolk, to the portus Adurni (perhaps Pevensey) in Sussex, is a proof of the ascendency which the associates of the Franks had obtained. This district, in the last ages of the Roman empire, was placed under the command of a military Count, called "Comes litoris Saxonief." It has been supposed that this shore was so called merely because it was open to the incursions of the Saxons; but it is most probable that they, like the Scots, succeeded in fixing themselves in some portion of the district; for it appears a strange anomaly, that a country should be named, not from its inhabitants, but from its assailants; and in the "Littus Saxonicum" of Gaul, afterwards included in Normandy, they had obtained a permanent domicile not far from Baieux.

Either flocking from these settlements, or passing from beyond the sea, the Saxons joined the Picts and the Scots in their great invasion. The victory of Theodosius (A.D. 368) produced a temporary calm; but he was compelled to follow the host of the pirates to the extremity of the British islands, and the distant Orcades were drenched with Saxon gore.

Whilst these events were taking place in Britain, hordes of barbarians continued pouring into Gaul and Italy. The Roman emperors, Arcadius and Honorius, were compelled to abandon Britain to its fate (A.D. 406-418). Marcus and Gratian, successively hailed as Emperors by the British legions, passed away like shadows. Constantine, who was raised from the ranks by his well-omened name, and promoted to the Imperial dignity in Britain, obtained more considerable, though transient power. At length the connexion between Britain and Rome was entirely severed. Britain broke, as it were, into various independent and rival communities—and the sovereigns contended amongst themselves for the empire, whilst the hosts of the enemy were thickening around them.

As far as we can judge, two great parties prevailed in the southern tracts of our island. A Roman party, headed by Aurelius Ambrosius, a chieftain of imperial descent, who claimed or acquired the Imperial dignity; and another, supporting the cause of the too famous Vortigern. During these contentions, the Scots and the Picts continued their predatory warfare, and reduced the country to the greatest misery (A.D. 430). Any degree of union amongst the Britons might have enabled them to repel their enemies. The walls of the cities fortified by the Romans were yet strong and firm. The tactics of the legions were not forgotten. Bright armour was piled in the storehouses, and the serried line of spears might have been presented to the half naked Scots and Picts, who could never have prevailed against their opponents. But the Britons had no inclination to lift the sword, except against each other. Humbly and pitifully imploring the Romans for help, they lost all courage, except for faction, when the Romans could not comply, but left them to their own resources. The most ancient historian of this disturbed and lamentable period, is Gildas, himself the son of a British king, and he bears a most forcible testimony against his countrymen. The British kings were stained with every vice—ruling, not for the protection, but for the spoil of their subjects,—and their misconduct soon involved both kings and people in one common ruin.

Conflict between the Romans and the Saxons.

BRITAIN under Ella the first BRETWALDA of Saxon Race A.D. 491

Chapter II.

Hengist and Horsa: their supposed Transactions with Vortigern—Progress of the Invaders—Conquest of Britain by the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons—Kingdoms founded by them—Kent, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Essex, Deira, Bernicia, Mercia—Subjugation of the Britons.

The "three tribes of Germany"—the Jutes, the Angles, and the Saxons, by whom Britain was subdued, seem originally to have constituted but one nation, speaking the same language, and ruled by monarchs who all claimed their descent from the deified monarch of the Teutons, Woden or Odin. They frequently changed their position on the firm land of Europe, as the stream of population rolled forward, impelled by the secondary causes, prepared and destined to act in fulfilment of the decree by which the enlargement of Japhet had been foretold.

The Jutes, together with their neighbours the Angles, dwelt in the peninsula of Jutland, or the "Cimbric Chersonesus," and in the adjoining Holstein, where there is still a district called Anglen. That, in fact, is the real Old England; and, properly speaking, our "Old England" is New England, though now we give that name to a province in America. The Saxons were more widely dispersed. Ptolemy places them in the Cimbric Chersonesus, near the Jutes and Angles; but they afterwards occupied a much larger extent, from the Delta of the Rhine to the Weser. After the migration of the Saxons to Britain, the name of Old Saxons was given to the parent stock. One very large body of Saxon population occupied the present Westphalia; but the tribes by whom Britain was invaded, appear principally to have proceeded from the country now called Friesland; for of all the continental dialects, the ancient Frisick is the one which approaches most nearly to the Anglo-Saxon of our ancestors.

It is necessary, however, to remark, that the name "Saxon" appears rather to have been intended to denote a confederacy of tribes, than to have originally belonged to any one nation.—Learned men have sought for the etymology of the term in the "Seax" or short sword, a weapon with which they were armed. These and other suppositions, upon which I have not room to enlarge, are, however, after all, only ingenious sports and fancies. We possess but a very small number of authentic facts concerning the early history of the barbarian nations of the West; and, though the general outline of their position upon the ethnographical map can be understood with tolerable precision, yet we must be always uncertain concerning the details.

Whilst Vortigern was contending with Aurelius Ambrosius (A.D. 446), two Jutish Ealdormen, or Chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, arrived in the Isle of Thanet with three keels or vessels, and a small train of chosen followers. According to some of the Chroniclers, Vortigern invited Hengist and Horsa as his allies. Others represent them as exiles from their native land. All seem to agree that the Jutes warred successfully against the Picts and Scots; and that, in order to reward their services, the Isle of Thanet was bestowed upon them, in the manner which, as I have before described, was practised by the Romans in favour of their Laetic or Gentile auxiliaries. The land was given to the Jutes as their pay.

Old St. Paul's Cathedral, South View.

Elevated and Richly-ornamented Saxon Seat.

It is said by some writers, that Vortigern married Rowena, the daughter of Hengist. She was very beautiful; and when introduced by her father at the royal banquet of the British King, she advanced gracefully and modestly towards him, bearing in her hand a golden goblet filled with wine. Young people, even of the highest rank, were accustomed to wait upon their elders, or those unto whom they wished to show respect, and therefore the appearance of Rowena as the cup-bearer of the feast was neither unbecoming nor unseemly. And when Rowena came near unto Vortigern, she said, in her own Saxon language,—"Wœs heal, hlaford Conung;"—which means "Health to thee, my Lord King." Vortigern did not understand the salutation of Rowena, but the words were explained to him by an interpreter. "Drinc heal,"—"Drink thou health,"—was the accustomed answer, and the memory of the event was preserved in merry old England by the wassail-cup—a cup full of spiced wine or good ale, which was handed round from guest to guest, at the banquet and the festival. Well, therefore, might Rowena be recollected on high tides and holidays, for the introduction of this concomitant of good cheer.

The expectations of the Jutes increased with their power. Further demands were made upon the Britons—an increase of reward—a larger territory. Refusal provoked hostility; the Jutes joined with the Scots and Picts, and ravaged Britain from East to West. An interval of ill fortune ensued, during which the Jutes were compelled to leave the island, but they speedily returned with greater force. They craved peace from the Britons, and a banquet was held to celebrate the pacification. The treacherous Hengist instructed his companions to conceal their short swords beneath their garments. At the signal, which he gave by exclaiming, "Nimed eure saxes,"[A] they drew their weapons. The British Nobles were slain; Vortigern was taken prisoner, and the Jutes gained possession of Kent, and extended their dominion over a considerable portion of the adjoining country.

These details have been told so often, that they acquire a kind of prescriptive right to credit; but I believe that they bear no nearer relation to the real history of Anglo-Saxon England, than the story of Æneas, as related by Virgil, does to the real history of the foundation of Rome. Nothing can be more unlikely than that Vortigern should have invited over these implacable enemies of Britain, "the Dragons of Germany," as they are called by the bards, for the purpose of warring against the Scots and Picts, with whom they or their kinsmen had been so recently allied. We may seek for the groundwork of the narrative, in the historical ballads of the Anglo-Saxons, in which their early enterprises were commemorated. And even the names of Hengist and Horsa[A] seem only to be epithets derived from their standard, the snow-white steed, which still appears as the ensign of Kent in England, as it anciently did in the shield of the "Old Saxons" in Germany.[B]

Connecting the history of the Jutes with antecedent events, it appears most agreeable to probability, that their landing was the result of such a piratical expedition as had so often harassed Britain in the Roman ages. Their acquisition of the Isle of Thanet from the British Kiner may perhaps be credited. As I have observed, it was a grant in the nature of those which the Romans made to the Liuti, yet not so much as the price of aid to be obtained from the threatening colony, as for the purpose of warding off further hostility.

Thanet is now divided from the rest of Kent by a narrow rill, crossed by an arch of the smallest span. The rill was then a channel, nearly a mile in width; and in this isle, the Jutes, possessing the command of the sea, could well maintain themselves against their disunited enemies. Several years, however, of constant warfare elapsed before "Cantwara Land," or Kent, became their dominion (A.D. 457, 473, 488); and Eric, the son of Hengist, appears to have been the first real king of the country; for he, and not his father Hengist, was honoured as founder of the Kentish dynasty. From the spear which he wielded, or the vessel which bore him over the waves, he was surnamed "Æsc," or Ash-tree; and Æscingas, or Sons of the Ash-tree, did the kings of Kent, his descendants, call themselves so long as their dynasty endured. When Æsc was fairly settled in his rich and fertile kingdom, he laid down the sword: his son and his son's son lived equally in peaceful obscurity. Ethelbert, fourth in descent from Æsc, gave great splendour to the state (A.D. 568-616); but Kent soon sunk into the condition of a dependent principality, beneath the sway of its more powerful rivals and neighbours. No portion of our island has continued more truly Anglo-Saxon than "Cantwara Land." The fair-haired Kentish yeoman bears in his countenance the stamp of his remote ancestry; and the existence of the gavel kind tenure in Kent, or the custom whereby the land becomes divisible among all the children, instead of descending to the eldest, is a singular proof of the steadiness or good fortune which enabled the Kentish men to assert their franchises, when all England yielded to the Norman sway.

Whilst the Jutes were conquering Kent, their kindred took part in the war. Ship after ship sailed from the North Sea, filled with eager warriors. The Saxons now arrived—Ella and his three sons landed in the ancient territory of the Regni (A.D. 477-491). The Britons were defeated with great slaughter, and driven into the forest of Andreade, whose extent is faintly indicated by the wastes and commons of the Weald.

A general confederacy of the Kings and "Tyrants" of the Britons was formed against the invaders, but fresh reinforcements arrived from Germany; the city of Andreades-Ceastre was taken by storm, all its inhabitants were slain, and the buildings razed to the ground, so that its site is now entirely unknown. From this period, the kingdom of the South Saxons was established in the person of Ella; and though ruling only over the narrow boundary of modern Sussex, he was accepted as the first of the Saxon Bretwaldas[A], or Emperors of the Isle of Britain.

Encouraged, perhaps, by the good tidings received from Ella, another band of Saxons, commanded by Cerdic and his son Cynric, landed on the neighbouring shore, in the modern Hampshire (A.D. 494). At first they made but little progress. They were opposed by the Britons; but Geraint, whom the Saxon Chroniclers celebrate for his nobility, and the British Bards extol for his beauty and valour, was slain (A.D. 501). The death of the Prince of the "Woodlands of Dyfnaint," or Damnonia, may have been avenged, but the power of the Saxons overwhelmed all opposition; and Cerdic, associating his son Cynric in the dignity, became the King of the territory which he gained. Under Cynric and his son Ceaulin, the Saxons slowly, yet steadily, gained ground. The utmost extent of their dominions towards the North cannot be ascertained; but they had conquered the town of Bedford: and it was probably in consequence of their geographical position (A.D. 571) with respect to the countries of the Middle and East Saxons, that the name of the West Saxons was given, to this colony. The tract north of the Thames was soon lost; but on the south of that river and of the Severn, the successors of Cerdic, Kings of Wessex, continued to extend their dominions. The Hampshire Avon, which retains its old Celtic name, signifying the Water, seems at first to have been their boundary. Beyond this river, the British Princes of Damnonia retained their power; and it was long before the country as far as the Exe became a Saxon March-land, or border.

Saxon Ships.

Capital of a column in the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral.

About the time that the Saxons under Cerdic and Cynric were successfully warring against the Britons, another colony was seen to establish itself in the territory or kingdom which, from its geographical position, obtained the name of East Saxony; but whereof the district of the Middle Saxons, now Middlesex, formed a part. London, as you well know, is locally included in Middle Saxony; and the Kings of Essex, and the other sovereigns who afterwards acquired the country, certainly possessed many extensive rights of sovereignty in the city. Yet, I doubt much whether London was ever incorporated in any Anglo-Saxon kingdom; and I think we must view it as a weak, tributary, vassal state, not very well able to resist the usurpations of the supreme Lord or Suzerain, Æscwin, or Ercenwine, who was the first King of the East Saxons (A.D. 527). His son Sleda was married to Ricola, daughter to Ethelbert of Kent, who afterwards appears as the superior, or sovereign of the country; and though Sleda was King, yet Ethelbert joined in all important acts of government. This was the fate of Essex—it is styled a kingdom, but it never enjoyed any political independence, being always subjected to the adjoining kings.

Thus did the Jutes and the Saxons resort to Britain; and now came the Angles-and in such numbers, that Old England was almost emptied of its inhabitants; and the district continued very thinly peopled, even in the days of Venerable Bede. The tribes dwelling in the adjoining tracts did not occupy the country, although they continued pouring forth their colonies into many other parts of the world; nor was it replenished by the progeny of the Angles who had been left behind. And this circumstance is worthy of note, because it shows how little the movements or multiplication of mankind are regulated by those uniform theories of population which, on paper, exhibit so much plausibility and ingenuity. Some of these Angles, first conducted by unknown chieftains, and apparently divided into two great tribes, the North-Folk and the South-Folk, acquired the eastern part of the island (about A.D. 597), afterwards denominated East Anglia, of which the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk constitute the greatest part. Here they were almost separated from the rest of Britain; for a wide expanse of marshes bounded their territory towards the west; and these watery wastes being connected with each other by numerous shallow streams, in many places expanding into meres and broads, the country had nearly the appearance of a peninsula. At the isthmus where these natural defences ended, the East Anglians cast up a very strong fortification, consisting of a deep moat and a lofty rampart. In the middle ages it was often called the "Rech dyke,"[A] or Giant's dyke: the common people attributed it to the Fiend. The heath through which the rampart extends, not having been subjected to cultivation, the Devil's Dyke is yet very entire, and is one of the most remarkable monuments of its kind. But the marshes have been drained, and Croyland and Thorney no longer rise like islands in the midst of a marshy lake; though still the nature of the fen countries is not entirely altered; and the traveller can easily picture to himself the ancient state of the district before it was recovered from the floods. Uffa was the first of the East Anglian chieftains who acquired the title of a King, within the boundaries which I have thus described. And as the kings of Kent were known as Æscingas, so were the sovereigns of East Anglia distinguished by the patronymic of Uffingas, or sons of Uffa. But their annals have been almost wholly lost; and the history of East Anglia is nearly a blank in the Chronicles of England.

The British kingdoms of Deyfyr and Bryneich (latinised into Deira and Bernicia), extending from the Humber to the Firth of Forth, were divided from each other by a forest, occupying the tract between the Tyne and Tees; and which, unreclaimed by man, was abandoned to the wild-deer. Properly speaking, this border-land does not seem originally to have belonged to either kingdom; but, in subsequent times, the boundary between Deira and Bernicia was usually fixed at the Tyne. The transhumbrane countries were exposed at an early period to the attacks of the Jutes and Saxons. Some chroniclers say, that Octa and Ebusa, sons of Hengist, conquered a portion of the country. At the onset, the invaders made little progress. The Britons of the neighbouring Reged and Strathclyde, governed by valiant Princes, the descendants of the Roman Maximus, appear to have possessed more unity than their brethren in the South; and their efforts supported the population of Deira and Bernicia in resisting their enemies. The scale w