ENGLAND. 



the 

 ndWrUi 



bury. 



A.D. Ml. 



KJmund n- 

 rnora the 



IU:u- l'ni'1) 

 thchrt<* 

 tike kiiu- 



Ininimlered 

 by Leolf, 

 robber. 



A.D. M6. 



Edred sub- 

 duo the 



Northum- 

 brian 



ing ch treachery, assisted Godfrid to escape, who 

 turned pirate, and soon after died. AthcUtan, however, 

 meriting this conduct, penetrated into Scotland, and 

 exacted the most humble -ulmiission from the Bottfah 

 Hut in) sooner had the English retired, than 

 inline entered into a confederacy with Anlaf, and 

 Home of the Welsh princes, and made an irruption into 

 I'.iiu'land. Athclstan met them at Bnmsburg, where 

 they w-ere overthrown with terrible slaughter, and Con- 

 rt.intine and Anlaf with difficulty escaped. This mo- 

 narch passed the remainder of his days in peace, ern- 

 plojing his talents in the internal regulation of his 

 kingdom. The encouragement which he gave to com- 

 merce, evinced a mind superior to the prejudices of that 

 age ; and he enacted a law, that a merchant, who hail 

 made three long sea voyages on his own account, should 

 be raised to the rank of a thane or gentleman. He died 

 at Glocester, in the l()th year of his reign, leaving the 

 kingdom to his brother Edmund. 



The beginning of a new reign was always the signal 

 for domestic convulsions. The Northumbrians again 

 revolted, but were soon reduced to submission; and 

 Edmund took this, opportunity of removing the Danes 

 from the towns of Mercia, and thus preventing any 

 farther disturbances in the heart of the kingdom. He 

 also took Cumberland from the Britons, and conferred 

 it on Malcolm king of Scotland, upon condition of his 

 doing homage for it, and protecting the northern fron- 

 tiers from the incursions ot the Danes. His reign, how- 

 ever, was but short Leolf, a notorious robber, had 

 presumed to seat himself at the same table with the 

 kinijand his attendants at dinner. Edmund, enraged 

 at his insolence, commanded him immediately to leave 

 the room ; the robber refused to obey, upon which the 

 king, naturally choleric, seized him by the hair ; but 

 during the struggle, the dagger of Leolf found its way 

 to the heart of Edmund, who expired in the arms of 

 his murderer. His children were too young to wield 

 the sceptre of such a kingdom, and his brother Edred 

 axrnded the throne. 



The Northumbrian Danes, as usual, rose in rebellion ; 

 but on the appearance of Edred with an army, they 

 immediately submitted ; and, to secure himself against 

 their revolts in future, he placed garrisons in all their 

 principal towns, and appointed an English governor to 

 watch their motions. Edred, though neither destitute 

 of abilities nor warlike vigour, became the slave of su- 

 pcrt-tition. It was in this reign, that the celibary of 

 the clergy began first to be insisted upon ; and this dis- 

 pute, together with the introduction of a new order of 

 monks, under the protection of Dunstan, abbot of 

 (i'.astenbury, excited in the kingdom the most violent 

 commotions. Dunstan had obtained a complete ascen- 

 dency over the mind of Edred, and had the direction of 

 the most important matters, both in the church and 

 htate. He had acquired, by his austerities, a high re- 

 putation for sanctity and devotion. Having lost the 

 favour of the former king by his licentious manners, he 

 determined to recover his character by a life of mortifi- 

 cation. He secluded himself from the world, in a cell 

 so small, that he could neither stand erect nor stretch 

 out his limbs in it. Here he employed himself in pe- 

 nance and devotion ; and pretended that he received 

 frequent visiu from the devil, whose strongest temp- 

 tations he was enabled to resist. It is said that the 

 evil spirit one day assailed him in the shape of a beau- 

 tiful woman; but the saint discovering the deceit, seized 

 him by the no*e with a pair of red hot pincers, ami 

 held him there, till he made the whole country resound 



with hi* bellowing*. This and similar stories were Mitory. 

 not only industriously propagated by the monks, but T" 

 seriously bclicxcd by the people; and DunsUn on his 

 exaltation to the head of the trea-mry under Edred. 

 supported with .'ill his ix.wer the monks against the 

 .cciil.ir clergy. He had introduced celibacy into the Cdibicy of 



..' ( ;i:Mcnbury and Abingdon, and w Micd to ||" 

 make it universal throughout the kingdom. The seen- [^ .",, 

 lar clergy, however, were numerous and rich, and 

 would not renounce tin- advantages which they enjoyed. 

 The monk- accordingly inveighed against the vices of 

 the clerny. and >ti.';niati~ed their wives with the name 

 of concubines. TnM invectives produced retaliation 

 on the part of their adversaries, and the whole king- 

 dom was involved in religious contentions and animo- 

 sities. The monks, however, were for a time silenced *-D- '** 

 by the death of their patron, Edred, which happened 

 in the ninth year of his reign. His nephew I'.clw \ 

 raised to the throne when about 17 ycavs of age, in 

 preference to the infant children of I'.iiml : and his 

 reign is remarkable for the outrages and cruelties, 

 which, under the influence of a degraded bigotry, was 

 committed upon the i>erson of his beautiful but unfor- 

 tunate queen. 



Edwy was distinguished by his amiable virtues, as Edwy 

 well as a most graceful figure. He had become early 

 enamoured of Elgiva, a princess of the royal blood, and, 

 within the degrees of affinity, prohibited by the canon 

 law; but he listened only to the dictates of passion, and 

 married her in opposition to the advice and remon- 

 strances of his gravest counsellors. The monks were 

 particularly violent ; and the king heightened their re- '| 

 sentment, by resisting their ambitious projects of ob- of the 

 taining possession of all the richest convents. Their ,!. 

 hatred was marked with insult and cruelty ; and their 

 conduct on this occasion presents us with a melancholy 

 picture of the human mind, when enslaved by supersti- 

 tion. While at the coronation feast of Edwy, the nobles 

 were indulging themselves in riotous mirth, the king 

 had retired from their noisyrcnelry to enjoy the company 

 of his beloved Elgiva and her mother. 1 Minstan suspect- 

 ing the cause of his absence, soon followed, and, burst- 

 ing into the queen's apartment, upbraided Edwy with 

 his lasciviousness, tore him from the arms of his queen, 

 and pushed liim back to the banqueting-hall. Edwy re- 

 sented this insult, by accusing Dunstan of malversation 

 in the treasury during the former reign, and banished 

 him the kingdom. This step threw the nation into a 

 violent ferment. Nothing was now heard but the praises 

 of the banished saint, and exclamations against the im- 

 piety of the king. These clamours were encouraged 

 by the clergy, till at last they proceeded to acts of the 

 most unwarrantable outrage. Archbishop Odo, with a 

 band of soldiers, forcibly entered the palace, and car- 

 ried off the queen. He first burnt her face with a hot His queen 

 iron, in order to destroy that beauty which had capti- 

 vated her husband, anil then sent her to Ireland into 

 perpetual exile. 



1 .d wy knew not till now how dangerous were the ene- 

 mies he had provoked. He found himself unable to con- 

 tend with them; and submitted to a divorce, which was 

 pronounced by the archbishop. The unhappy Elgiva, 

 being cured of her wounds, and having recovered her 

 beauty, which her persecutors had attempted to deface, 

 had returned to England, and was Mttoinc to the 

 arms of Edwy, when she was interceptc.1 by < do, 

 whose barbarous hatred could only be satiated b> the mur 

 cruellest death. This innocent victim was hami 

 and expired a few days after at Gloucester, in the mo*t 



9 



