was lord; then will we describe him as we have known him, we, who have looked upon him, and who once lived in his court. This king William, of whom we are speaking, was a very wise and a great man, and more honoured and more powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good men who loved God, but severe beyond measure towards those who withstood his will. He founded a noble monastery on the spot where God permitted him to conquer England, and he established monks in it, and he made it very rich. In his days the great monastery at Canterbury was built, and many others also throughout England; moreover this land was filled with monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his days that all that would, might observe that which was prescribed by their respective orders. King William was also held in much reverence: he wore his crown three times every year when he was in England: at Easter he wore it at Winchester, at Pentecost at Westminster, and at Christmas at Gloucester. And at these times, all the men of England were with him, archbishops, bishops, abbats, and earls, thanes, and knights. So also was he a very stern and a wrathful man, so that none durst do anything against his will, and he kept in prison those earls who acted against his pleasure. He removed bishops from their sees, and abbats from their offices, and he imprisoned thanes, and at length he spared not his own brother Odo. This Odo was a very powerful bishop in Normandy, his see To Odo next was that of Bayeux, and he was foremost to serve the king. He had an earldom in England, and when William was in due the sucNormandy he was the first man in this country, and him did he cast into prison. Amongst other things the good order that William established is not to be forgotten; it was such that any man, who was himself aught, might travel over the kingdom with a bosom-full of gold unmolested; and no man durst kill another, however great the injury he The conspir ators of 1074. to the Conqueror was cess of the Norman invasion. oppressive Because of acts and ambitious designs he into prison in was thrown confined until 1087. I.e. Wales. 1082 and kept might have received from him. He reigned over England and being sharp-sighted to his own interest, he surveyed the kingdom so thoroughly that there was not a single hide of land throughout the whole, of which he knew not the possessor, and how much it was worth, and this he afterwards entered in his register. The land of the Britons was under his sway, and he built castles therein; moreover he had full dominion over the Isle of Man (Anglesey): Scotland also was subject to him from his great strength; the land of Normandy was his inheritance, and he possessed the earldom of Maine; and had he lived two years longer he would have subdued Ireland by his prowess, and that without a battle. Truly there was much trouble in these times, The progress and very great distress; he caused castles to be built, and In 1072 Malcolm, Kingof Scots, took oaths to William and became his man. of the Con quest was marked by the building of castles with which William chained the land. William laid waste Hampshire for 30 oppressed the poor. The king was also of great sternness, and he took from his subjects many marks of gold and many hundred pounds of silver, and this, either with or without right, and with little need. He was given to avarice, and greedily loved gain. He made large forests for the deer, and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing miles to make the deer, so also the boars; and he loved the tall stags as if he were their father. He also appointed concerning the hares, that they should go free. The rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so sturdy that he recked nought of them; they must will all that the king willed, if they would live; or would keep their lands; or would hold their possessions; or would be maintained in their rights. New Forest. The Saxon Chronicle (translated by J. A. Giles, London, 1847), 460-463. 17. The Charter of Henry I (1100) "Henry by the grace of God king of England, to Hugh de Boclande justiciary of England, and all his faithful subjects, as well French as English, in Hertfordshire, greeting. Know that I, by the Lord's mercy, have been crowned king by common consent of the barons of the kingdom of England; and because the kingdom has been oppressed by unjust exactions, I, out of respect to God, and the love which I feel towards you, in the first place constitute the holy church of God a free church, so that I will not sell it, nor farm it out, nor will I, on the death of any archbishop, bishop, or abbat, take anything from the domain of the church or its people, until his successor takes his place. And I from this time do away with all the evil practices, by which the kingdom of England is now unjustly oppressed, and these evil practices I here in part mention: If any baron, earl, or other subject of mine, who holds. possession from me, shall die, his heir shall not redeem his land, as was the custom in my father's time, but shall pay a just and lawful relief for the same; and in like manner too, the dependants of my barons shall pay a like relief for their land to their lords. And if any baron or other subject of mine shall wish to give his daughter, his sister, his niece, or other female relative, in marriage, let him ask my permission on the matter; but I will not take any of his property for granting my permission, nor will I forbid his giving her in marriage except he wishes to give her to an enemy of mine; and if on the death of a baron or other subject of mine the daughter is left heiress, I, by the advice of my barons, will give her in marriage together with her land; and if on the death of a husband the wife is surviving and is childless, she shall have her dowry for a marriage portion, and I will not give her away to another husband unless with her consent; but E HENRY I. Charter of Liberties at his corona tion in 1100, of winning the support of the people against the with the hope rival claims of his brother Robert, and the opposition of the feudal barons. By this act Henry deliberately limited his power over his subjects, promising a the ancient customs which prevailed before the conquest. connection restoration of See in this Nos. 10, 18, and 24, and family relations under the feudal system. "A payment by the moneyers for the privilege of coining; otherwise explained as a payment by Ferm = if a wife survives, having children, she shall have her dowry as a marriage portion, as long as she shall keep herself according to law, and I will not give her to a husband unless with her consent; and the guardian of the children's land shall be either the wife, or some other nearer relation, who ought more rightly to be so; and I enjoin on my barons to act in the same way towards the sons and daughters and wives of their dependants. Moreover the common monetage, as taken throughout the cities and counties, such as was not in use in king Edward's time, is hereby forbidden; and if any one, whether a coiner or any other person, be taken with false money, let strict justice be done to him for it. All pleas and all debts, which were due to the king my brother, I forgive, except my farms, and those debts which were contracted for the inheritances of others, or for those things which more justly belong to others. And if any one shall have covenanted anything for his inheritance, I forgive it, and all reliefs which were contracted for just inheritances. And if any baron or subject of mine shall be ill, I hereby ratify all such disposition as he shall have made of his money; but if through service in war or sickness he shall have made no disposition of his money, his wife, or children, or parents, and legitimate dependants, shall distribute it for the good of his soul, as shall seem best to them. If any baron or other subject of mine shall have made forfeiture, he shall not give bail to save his money, as was done in the time of my father and my brother, but according to the degree of the forfeiture; nor shall he make amends for his fault as he did in the time of my father or of my other ancestors; and if any one shall be convicted of treason or other crime, his punishment shall be according to his fault. I forgive all murders committed previous to the day on which I was crowned king; but those which have been since committed, shall be justly punished, according to the law of king Edward. By the common advice of my barons, I have retained the forests in my possession as my father held them. Roger of Wendover, History of England (translated by J. A. Henry actually extended the limits of the forests. e. fines. 18. The Anarchy. SAXON See No. 11. A. 1135. This year, at Lammas, king Henry went over From the sea and on the second day, as he lay asleep in the ship, the day was darkened universally, and the sun became as if it were a moon three nights old, with the stars shining round it at mid-day. Men greatly marvelled, and great fear fell on them, and they said that some great event should follow thereafter and so it was, for the same year the king died in Normandy, on the day after the feast of St. Andrew. Soon did this land fall into trouble, for every man greatly began |