E N G L A N D. 



ami being encouraged by the , n of succours 



from Nonuaiuly, look jiosM.-v-ion of the fortresses of 

 isey and Rochester. The kin/, sensible of his 

 broth 

 stren 



gotenimcnt. 



i-rior claim to the kingdom, and of the 

 i ndenvoured to conciliate 

 by granting tli--m liberty to hunt in the 

 i -nil promises of lenity in his 

 He .; thus enabled to draw together a 

 '.Table army, and, entering Kent, compelled his 

 uncles to surrender the fortresses which they had sei- 

 The other rebels were soon reduced to submis- 

 sion, their estates were confiscated, and many of them 

 banished the kingdom. 



H; tyrui- But William forgot, in his deliverance, the promises 

 ical coo- which he had made. Instead of ruling with lenity, 

 and respecting the right* of his people, he became a 

 greater tyrant than his father. Ambition and avarice 

 ere the principal features in his character. The Eng- 

 lish were now e\po-cd to the most arbitrary exac- 

 tions, and the church itself felt tlu his oppre*- 

 sion. He seized the temporalities of all vacant bishop- 

 rics and abbeys, and set up to sale such as he wished 

 to dispose of. He even turned his eyes towards the 

 duchy of Normandy, and having excited some of the 

 Norman barons to revolt from his brother, he led a for- 

 midable army to their assistance. But the interposi- 

 tion of the nobles on both sides brought about an ac- 

 commodation, in which it was agreed, among other.mat- 

 tcrs. that on the death of cither without issue, the sur- 

 vivor should inherit all his dominions. Prince Henry, 

 who had sided with Robert in this contest, finding his 

 interests overlooked in the treaty, retired to St Mi- 

 chael's Mount, a strong fortress on the coast, and rava- 

 ged the surrounding country. He was there besieged 

 by his brothers ; and being obliged to capitulate, was 

 despoiled of all his patrimony. 



Attempts The intf rested and rapacious spirit of William, how- 



ihe conquest ever, was continually exciting him to new acts of op- 

 Nornun- p re ssion. After a short and successful war with Mal- 

 colm, king of Scotland, in which his brother Robert 

 commanded the English army, and obliged that mo- 

 narch to do homage to the king of England, he again 

 attempted the conquest of Normandy. He levied an 

 army of 20,000 men, and, conducting them to the coast, 

 as if for immediate embarkation, he demanded ten shil- 

 A. D. 1094. lings a man in lieu of their services, and then dismiss- 

 ed them home. With this money lie bribed the Nor- 

 man barons to rel>ellion, and purchased the neutrality 

 of the French king ; but he was prevented from pro- 

 secuting his schemes of ambition by an irruption of 

 the Welsh, which obliged him to return to England. 

 I le soon compelled them to retire, but was unable to 

 follow them within their mountain barriers. His at- 

 tempt upon Normandy was further suspended by an- 

 other conspiracy, headed by Rolx.-rt Moubray, earl of 

 Northumberland, which contemplated the dethrone- 

 ment of the king, and the advancement to the throne 

 of Stephen, count of Aumale, nephew to the Conque- 

 ror. Their plans, however, were disconcerted by Wil- 

 liam's dispatch, and Moubray was seized and thrown 

 int.> prison, where he died. 



The conquest of Normandy was still his favourite 

 object; and the crusades, which now engrossed the at- 

 tention of Europe, gave him quiet possession of those 

 -n which he could not obtain by force of arms. 

 rave, enterprising, and fond of mili- 

 tary glory. He was anxious to join the warriors who 

 wc> 'tcning to the Holy Land; and, in order to 

 appear in a manner suited to his rank, he offered to 



mortgage his dukedom to his brother for 10,000 merle*, 

 William immediate ! the proposal, and, little 



solicitous about the m ns <-\ which thi 



he obtained, levied the gn':ti'.t p.irt of it upon th. 

 gy and the convents, who were obligc'I to melt their 

 in order to furni.--h the MII I. Robert 



was thus enabled to join v ith a m.ignili- 



i'id numerous retinue ; iitid Normandy 

 united to the crown of England. This a 

 however, instead of mlding t.i'hr pnv.-er of William, 

 illowed by continual insurrections on the part of 

 the Normans, who v \ s cncimr.'ge'l and sup. 



ported by the French king ; and was, mdn d. the cause 

 of all nvivn England and France, which 



afterwards continued, for whole centuries, to depopu- 

 late and N 'th nations. The-'e insurrections. 

 <T with a quarrel which he had with Ansclm, the 

 primate, respecting the privileges of the clergy, kept 

 William in almost const-nit inquietude. Not content 

 with the extent of his territories, he entered into an 

 .i-.eiit with William, Earl of 1'oictiers mid Duke of 

 (iuiennc, who had also been infected with the enthu- 

 siasm of the ai,c, to receive his dominions in mortgage, 

 for a sum of money sufficient to conduct his 

 t'i Asia. But the fulfilment of it was prevented by his 

 death. 



When hunting in the new forest, attended by Wal- 

 ter T\ rrel, a French gentleman remarkable for his skill 

 in archery, a stag suddenly started before him, when 

 his companion let fly an arrow, which, glancing from 

 a tree, struck him to the heart. Tyrrel, terrified at 

 the accident, immediately fled to France, and joined a 

 crusade of his countrymen who were then setting out 

 for Jerusalem. The body of the king, when found by 

 the country people, WHN buried at Winchester without 

 either pomp or ceremony. 1 lis violence, rapacity, and 

 prodigality, had estranged from him the affections of 

 ,'ijects. and none were found to perform the fune- 

 ral honours belonging to a king. He died in the -tOth 

 year of his nge, and 13th of his reign. 



Robert, who was the rightful heir to the crown, both 

 by birthright and by the agreement with his de- 

 ceased brother, wai, after many a rough campaign in 

 the Holy Land, indulging himself in case and pleasure 

 in the delicious climate of Italy, where he had mar- 

 ried Sybilla, the daughter of an Italian count, when he 

 received the intelligence of William's death. He re- 

 turned to Normandy about a month after that event, 

 but found his brother Henry in possession of his 

 crown. 



Henry was hunting in the new forest when William 

 met his death, and was no sooner informed of the cir- 

 cumstance, than he hastened to Winchester and secu- 

 red the royal treasures, lie then procee* led to Lon- 

 don, where, assembling some noblemen and prelates 

 whom he had gained over to his interest, he was salu- 

 ted king, and in three days after was solemnly crown- 

 ed by Maurice, bishop of London. Henry, aware of the 

 weakness of his pretensions, endeavoured to strengthen 

 his authority, by courting the flections of his subjects. 

 He confirmed the ancient Saxon laws, and restored the 

 clergy to their former privileges He promised to re- 

 medy many of the grievous oppressions which had exist- 

 ed during the two former reigns ; and for this purpose 

 passed a charter, in which, among other tilings, he 

 ged that he would never seize the revenues of any vacant 

 see or abbey, or let to farm, or dispose of for money, any 

 -iastical benefice; that, instead of the violent evic- 

 tions which had been imposed upon heirs by his father 



A. n. 1096. 

 I'liivliuei it 

 froi.i Duke 

 Robert. 



Is killed 

 while hunt- 

 ing. 



A. D.I 10*. 



Robert ii 

 absent in 

 the Holy 

 Land, 



and Henry 



U-IMJIS the 

 throne. 



cluitiT in 

 la ir dt" 

 hit subjects, 



