129 



GODUNOV, BORIS. 



GODWIN, FRANCIS. 



130 



report, and the public voice, which imputed this crime to Godunov, 

 was silenced by the terror which he inspired, and which was increased 

 by the punishment inflicted on those inhabitants of Uglich who had 

 massacred the assassins of Demetrius. About two hundred of them 

 were put to death, many had their tongues cut out, many were 

 imprisoned, and the greater number transported to Siberia, where the 

 new town of Peleen waa peopled with them. The ancient city of 

 Uglich, which hal contained 30,000 inhabitants, became a deserted 

 ruin. All those who had incurred any suspicion of having accused 

 Godunov were punished in the most barbarous manner. 



Godunov however was no less anxious to reward his adherents and 

 to gain new ones than to overawe his enemies. Whoever applied to 

 him was sure of protection. Many who had deserved punishment 

 were pardoned, and the documents which certified these acts of grace 

 always declared that they were due to the intercession of Godunov; 

 but his name never appeared in the decrees of condemnation, where 

 it was always declared that " the punishment was ordered by the 

 boyards ," naming particular persons. His ambitious views how- 

 ever seemed on the point of being frustrated by the pregnancy of the 

 tzarina, who bore a daughter in 1592; but the infant princess died 

 the following year. 



Fedor died in the beginning of 1598, and with him ended the 

 dynasty of Rurie in the direct line, although there were collateral 

 branches which had become private families. The tzar, by his last 

 will, bequeathed the throne to his widow Irene, who was immediately 

 proclaimed sovereign ; but after a few days she retired to a convent, 

 and declared her firm resolution to take the veiL When all entreaties 

 that she would retract this resolution were fruitless, a universal 

 acclamation proclaimed her brother Godunov as the only man 

 capable of filling the vacant throne of Moscow. A deputation, 

 headed by the patriarch, proceeded to Godunov to announce his 

 elevation to the throne, but he decidedly refused jt, aud remained 

 uumoved by all their entreaties. 



Upon this a general assembly of the states, composed of the princi- 

 pal persons among the nobility and clergy, as well as of the deputies 

 from several towns, was convoked at Moscow six weeks after the death 

 of Fedor, in order to elect a new monarch. The affairs of the state 

 were in the meantime conducted by a council of boyards in the name 

 of the tzarina. Disobedience to the supreme government and dis- 

 orders consequent on it manifested themselves in different towns. 

 Every person feared the dangers of anarchy, and felt that there was 

 only one man who could prevent them. The assembly of the states, 

 which met at Moscow on the 17th of February 1593, consequently 

 unanimously proclaimed GodunoT tzar of Moscow, and for two days 

 public prayers were made that Godunov might be induced to accept 

 the throne. On the 20th of February, Godunov, who remained all 

 thii time with his sister at a convent in the environs of Moscow, was 

 apprised by a deputation that he was elected sovereign by all the 

 empire ; but he still decidedly refused the proffered crown. On the 

 second day the patriarch, accompanied by the principal clergy and 

 nobility, entered the church of the convent, which was surrounded 

 by almost the whole population of Moscow. The patriarch, having 

 performed divine service, requested Godunov to accept the throne ; 

 but a* be continued to refuse, the patriarch went to the cell of the 

 widowed tzarina with several noble* and bUhops, who prostrated 

 themselves before her, while all the population assembled within and 

 without the walls of the monastery did the same at a given signal, 

 crying out that Boris should have mercy upon them and accept the 

 throne. The patriarch with tears implored the tzarina to induce her 

 brother to comply with their wishes. The tzarina, who had remained 

 for some time inexorable, declared at last that, touched by the distress 

 of the nation, she gave her benediction to her brother as the sovereign 

 of Mos.-ow. Godunov still continued to refuse, but when his sister 

 positively insisted on his accepting the throne, he said, with an appear- 

 ance of the greatest humility, " The will of God be done," and seemed 

 rather resigned to make a sacrifice than to accept the highest worldly 

 dignity. Godunov ascended the throne with the acclamations aud 

 the universal joy of the nation ; he fully justified the hopes of the 

 people, and proved himself worthy of the supreme power. 



Before his coronation a rumour was circulated that the khan of the 

 Crimea was on the point of invading the country. Godunov instantly 

 took the field with such an imposing force that the khan, instead ol 

 attacking him, sued for a continuance of peace. A new lustre was 

 added to his reign l<y the final subjugation of Siberia, which was 

 accomplished about that time. 



Godunov was particularly anxious to extend the relations ol 

 Moscow with foreign powers, and it was a favourite scheme of hia 

 to establish a matrimonial alliance between his own family and some 

 reigning house of Europe. He accordingly directed his attention tc 

 GusUvun, son of Eric, the deposed king of Sweden, an accomplished 

 prince, who, having long wandered in many countries of Europe, was 

 then living at Thorn, in Polish Prussia. Gustavus was received with 

 great honours ; rich presents and extensive estates were given to him, 

 the tzar intending to make him sovereign of Livonia and his son-in 

 law ; but unwilling to become a tool of the Muscovite policy against 

 Sweden, Gustavus soon fell into disgrace. His wealth was taken from 

 him, and after having been imprisoned for some time and partly 

 restored to favour, he was finally exiled to the town of Kashin (in the 

 moo. DIT. VOL. iii. 



iresent government of Tver), where he occupied himself with chemical 

 txperiments till hia death in 1607. Disappointed in this project, 

 Jodunov proposed an alliance between his daughter Xenia, a princess 

 of great beauty, and the Duke John, brother of the King of Denmark 

 and of the queen of James I., of Great Britain. This proposal was 

 issented to by the king and by the duke; but the duke's premature death 

 >efore the marriage again marred the ambitious schemes of Godunov. 



Among the other relations of Godunov with foreign powers, we 

 may mention his frequent but desultory negociations with Austria 

 about a league against the Turks. Some negociations with Persia on 

 .he same subject had no more successful result ; and an attempt to fix 

 ;he dominion of Moscow in the Caucasian countries in 1604 also failed. 

 There was a close connection with England during Godunov's reigu, 

 and Queen Elizabeth proposed to him, in 1603, a marriage between his 

 son and a young English lady of rank, then only eleven years old. 

 During this reign the merchants of Liibeck received commercial 

 privileges from him equal to those of the English in Russia. Godu- 

 nov, who was anxious to civilise Russia, conceived the plan of 

 establishing universities, where tha young Muscovites should bo 

 nstructed in foreign languages and the sciences. For that purpose 

 ie sent to Germany a native of that country, named Cramer, in order 

 io choose teachers for the intended schools. This project failed 

 through the opposition of the clergy, who considered the measure as 

 an innovation dangerous to religion. He sent however eighteen young 

 men of noble families to be educated in Germany, England, and 

 France. He waa also anxious to attract all foreigners who could 

 promote the civilisation of his country, such as physicians, engineers, 

 ind artificers. He was also foud of conversing with foreigners, and 

 tiad great confidence in them, which was fully justified by the conduct 

 of his foreign guards, who remained faithful to his family to the last. 

 He introduced many wise measures of administration, and never 

 committed any unnecessary act of cruelty. In his policy he con- 

 stantly leaned rather towards clemency than severity. The first two 

 years of Godunov's reign were the most fortunate that Muscovy had 

 ever witnessed ; but untoward events soon followed. Some boyards 

 were accused by their slaves of being ill disposed to the sovereign, 

 who punished them by confining them in convents and exiling them 

 to distant places. The bad harvests of 1601 and 1602 produced a 

 general famine, the horrors of which, as described by eye-witnesses, 

 seem almost incredible. Godunov exerted himself to alleviate this 

 terrible calamity, and proved himself in this emergency the real father 

 of the nation. This calamity produced a general disorganisation, and 

 bands of robbers infested all the country. Their chief, called Khlopko, 

 rendered himself so formidable that it was necessary to send an army 

 against him. He was defeated and taken in a regular battle not far 

 from Moscow, in which the commander of the tzar's forces was killed. 

 The robbers however continued to infest particularly the border pro- 

 vinces, and their number was increased by Fedor's ordinance establish- 

 ing slavery. In 1604 a rumour began to be circulated that Prince 

 Demetrius, who was believed to have been murdered at Uglich, was 

 alive, and making preparations in Poland to recover the throne of bis 

 ancestors. However this may be, he found many partisans iu Poland, 

 levied an army, and entered Hua-ia, where, after some reverses, he 

 obtained complete success. Town after town submitted to him, and 

 he was joined by the armies sent to oppose him. He was in full 

 march on Moscow when Godunov suddenly died on the 13th of April 

 1605, under a strong suspicion of having destroyed himself by poison. 

 Godunov was one of the most remarkable princes recorded in history. 

 In his abilities and vigour of character he resembled Peter I. His son 

 Fedor, a youth of eighteen years of age, who is described as endowed 

 with the most amiable qualities, received the oath of fidelity of all 

 that part of the empire which was not under the domination of 

 Demetrius. His reign was however of short duration, for ou the 

 13th of June a riot took place at Moscow; he was dragged with his 

 family from the palace, and shut up in a house which was his privatu 

 property, where he was murdered a few days afterwards. [DEME- 

 TB1CS.] 



GODWIN, FRANCIS, son of Thomas Godwin, bisliop of Bath and 

 Wells, was born at Havington, in Northamptonshire, in 1561. He was 

 elected student of Christchurch College, Oxford, in 1578, while bis 

 father was dean; became B.A. in 1580, M.A. in 1583, ED. in 1593, 

 and D.D. in 1595. His earliest preferments were the rectory of 

 Samford Orcais, in Somersetshire, and the vicarage of Weston iu 

 Zoyland, in the same county ; he was also collated to the sub-deanery 

 of Exeter in 1587. Afterwards, on the resignation of the vicarage of 

 Weston, he became rector of Bishop's Lidiard. His favourite study 

 waa the ecclesiastical biography of his country, his collections for 

 which he published in 1601, under the title of 'A Catalogue of the 

 Bishops of England since the first planting of the Christian Religion 

 in this Island ; together with a brief history of their lives and memo- 

 rable actions, as near as can be gathered from antiquity.' It was 

 dedicated to Lord Buckhurst, who, being in high credit with Queen 

 Elizabeth, immediately procured him the bishopric of Llandaff. He 

 published another edition of this catalogue in 1615, with great 

 additions ; but partly in consequence of the errors of the press which 

 it contained, and partly to please James I., who was now on the 

 throne of England, he put it into a Latin dress in the following year, 

 dedicating it to the king, who in return gave him the bishopric of 



it 



