Elucidations of Portions of English Hidory. 



1823.] 



For the MontUy Magazine. 



feLUCIDATIONS o/" PORTIONS o/ ENGLISH 

 HISTORY, improperly RBfRESENTED 



in our general histories. 

 History of the Invasion of England by 

 the Nortnans in the Eleventh Century, 

 and the Consequences of that Invasion 

 down to the Thirteenth. 



(Continued from page 13.) 



1075.— TN the town of Norwich, or 

 M. in a place which the old 

 liistoiians call Ixnin^, near Cam- 

 bridge, tiie Saxon Chronicle informs 

 «s, that a wedding was celebrated, 

 vhich proved fatal to all who were 

 present.* The Norman Count of 

 Hereford, Robert Fitz-William Fitz- 

 Osbert,t gave, in opposition to the 

 •will of the king, his sister in marriage 

 to Raulfe, by birth a Breton, governor 

 of Norfolk. Besides the domains 

 which Ids sword had conquered in 

 England,! he possessed hereditarily, 

 in Low Britanny, the castles of Gadhcr 

 and of Montfort; and he took tlie title 

 of Raulfe de Gadhcr, or De Montfort, 

 in consequence. Tlie cause of Wil- 

 liam's objection to the marriage is 

 wholly unknown. He sent, however, 

 from Normandy an express prohibi- 

 tion, to which the parties paid no 

 attention. The festival was cele- 

 brated, and the bride conveyed with 

 all pom|) to the abode of the Breton 

 count. His friends assembled in great 

 numbers. Norman bishops and ba- 

 rons, — Saxon chiefs, — and even Gallic 

 warriors, — invited by Robert. 'J'lie 

 Saxon Woltheof, who had twice thrown 

 down the sword of independence at 

 the f<:et of the stranger king, and had 

 married .Judith, one of his nieces, were 

 among the guests. |( 



After a splendid repast, in which 

 the wine flowed forth in abundance, 

 vent was given to their long-suppressed 

 thoughts and feeliiigs. §Roger loudly 

 censured the refusal of William to ap- 

 prove the marriage of his sister ; which 

 he said was an insult to the memory 

 of his father, to whom, undoubtedly, 

 the concpiest of England was due. 

 The Saxons, who hail rc< eived from 

 William injuries of a far deeper cha- 

 racter, vehemently applamlcd the in- 



" Chron. Sax. Gil. iSi. 

 t Cliwu. Norm. pas.Mxi. 

 ; Monast. Argl. do. 

 II Malt. Par. pai;e 7. 

 j II). ami W. Miiiiii. 

 lIoNTMLY Mag. No. ;)80. 



201 



vectives of the Norman. One expres- 

 sion of hate and indignation succeeded 

 another, till an unanimous concert of 

 execrations was pf.-ured upon the head 

 of the king.* " He is a degenerate 

 bastard, (said the Normans,) unap- 

 proved by God, who will have no 

 such master over this kingdom, as all 

 things show."t " He poisoned (ex- 

 claimed the Bretons,) Lonan the brave 

 Count of Brittany; for whom our 

 country will long— long niourn."t — 

 " He has invaded, (vociferated the 

 Saxons, in their tiun,)— he has in- 

 vaded the noble kingdom of England ,§ 

 — he has massacred its legitimate": 

 heirs, and has driven them into exile." 

 — " And those (cried the foreigners, 

 who were present,) who have come to 

 his assistance,||— those who have raised 

 him above any of his race, — he has not 

 honoured as he ought. He is an in- 

 grate to those who have shed their 

 blood in his service ; and has given to 

 us conquerors, harrassed and covered 

 with wounds, sterile lands, — lands de- 

 vastated by war; and now, when our 

 estates are improved by our ov. n in- 

 dustry, his avarice wrests them from 

 us, in whole or in part."1[ — "'Tis 

 true, 'tis true, (shouted the gues's in 

 unanimous acclamation,) we all hate 

 him: what a joy would his death be 

 to many !" 



Such were the vague but indignant 

 bursts, when one of the hosts of the 

 festival rose, and thus addressed him- 

 self to Waltheof :— " Man of heart ! 

 this is the nionicnt, — this is the mo- 

 ment of revenge and glory. Join our 

 projects. We will make England 

 what it was in tlie time of the pious 

 Edward : one of us three shall be king, 

 — tlie other two siiall command under 

 his authority. AH tlie honours of 

 England shall be re-created by us. 

 William is engaged in foreign lands 

 with an intermiuabis war: wc are sure 

 he will not pass the Straits. Decide, 

 bravo warrior ! take the part which 

 becomes thee, — thy family, — thy na- 

 tion, beaten into the ground, and tram- 

 pled on."** Loud shouts of approba- 

 tion followed this appeal. Roger and 

 Raulfe, with many bishops and abbots, 



* Malt. I^ar. and W. Malm. 

 t Old. Vit. ;")j4. 



Do. 

 Do. 

 Do. 



Do. 



Do. 



do. 

 do. 

 do. 

 <lu. 

 do. 

 Ud 



and 



