ENGLAND. (CIVIL HISTORY.) 



Notwithstanding the terror which had been im- 

 jTf-xil DM Uie Britons by the Scots and Picts, the 

 Saxons seem to have reckoned thcie tribes by no 

 means formidable. They despatched only three 

 ihipe, containing I (SCO men, under the command of 

 Hfiigist and Horsa, brothers. Vortigern, at tliat 

 time king of the Britons, received them with joy, and 

 assigned them the isle of Thanet for a habitation. 

 They immediately marched against the northern foe, 

 and justified the report of their valour, by obtaining 

 a complete victory. 



The Saxons settled in the districts allotted them by 

 the Hriions; but being so long accustomed to war- 

 like undertakings, they were unwilling to cultivate 

 the arts of peace. They remarked the effeminacy of 

 the nation who had invited them into the island ; 

 they saw that the soil and climate of Britain surpassed 

 those of their own country; they were convinced 

 that nothing would be more easy, than to establish 

 themselves in a complete superiority over those whom 

 they had come to protect. The arts of modern policy 

 were little known to these uncultivated tribes. They 

 seem not to have laid hold of any pretended breach 

 of treaty. They found their situation convenient, 

 and they invited over re-enforcements of their coun- 

 trymen, that they might render their settlement 

 secure ; and tliat they might be in a condition of 

 giving laws, rather than of receiving them. 



The Britons were soon convinced of the folly of 

 their proceedings. They perceived that the Saxons, 

 whom they had invited for the purpose of protecting 

 them, were to become enemies more formidable than 

 the Scots and Picts, from whose arms they had so 

 earnestly sought to be rescued. They could invite 

 no other nation to their protection : even had they 

 known of such as were able and willing to assist 

 them, their recent experience had shown them the 

 danger of such assistance. They were compelled to 

 sliake off their lethargy, and to make some efforts for 

 their independence. The Saxons were immediately 

 attacked ; but they were prepared to defend them- 

 selves. The Britons, indeed, exerted themselves 

 much more vigorously than had been expected. 

 Many battles were fought with various success ; but 

 with uniform cruelty. The history of these transac- 

 tions is dark and confused. In this period, the fancy 

 of writers lias placed an Arthur, and attributed unto 

 liirn exploits more nearly resembling those of romance 

 than history. But whatever obscurity may be in the 

 narrative of these transactions, it is sufficiently cer- 

 tain, that, after a struggle, which continued one 

 hundred and fifty years, the Saxons remained entire 

 masters of the country ; and in 585, the southern 

 part of Britain, with the exception of Wales, was 

 divided into seven kingdoms, well known by the 

 name of the Heptarchy, and governed only by Saxon 

 princes. As this division forms a principal era in 

 the ancient geography of the country, it may not be 

 improper to lay before the reader the mode in which 

 South Britain was at that time divided. 



1. Kingdom of Kent, founded by Hengist, in 475, contain- 

 ing Kent. This kingdom ended in 823. 



2. Kingdom of South Saxons, founded by Ella, in 491, 

 containing Sussex, Surrey. Ended in 600. 



3.Kingdomof East Angles, founded byUffa, 575, containing 

 Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Ely, (Isle of). Ended in 793. 



4. Kingdom of West Saxons, founded by Cordic, 512, 

 containing Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wilts, 

 Hants, Berks, Lancaster. Swallowed up the rest, in 827. 

 6. Kingdom of Northumberland, founded by Ida, 574, con- 

 taining York, Durham, Cumberland.Westmoreland, North, 

 umborland, Scotland to the Firth of Forth. Ended in 792. 



* Kingdom of East Saxons, founded by Erchew in 527, 

 containing Essex, Middlesex .Hertford, (part). Ended in 746. 



7. Kingdom of Mercia, founded by Cridda, 58.', containing 

 Gloucester, Hereford, Worcester, Warwick, Leicester, Rut- 

 land, Northampton, Lincoln, Huntingdon, Bedford, Buck- 

 ingham, Oxford, Stafford, Derby, Salop, Nottingham, 

 Chester, Hertford, (part). Rinded in 827. 



The history of the Anglo-Saxons, while the country 

 continued to be divided into so many small and inde- 

 pendent kingdoms, is not less confused than that of 

 the period which immediately preceded it. Each 

 prince was continually at war with his neighbours, 

 and endeavouring to obtain for himself the entire 

 sovereignty. Each state was, in its turn, annexed to 

 some of its more powerful neighbours ; and, at length, 

 in 827, Egbert, by the exertion of much valour, and 

 the influence of a superior capacity, united in his own 

 person the sovereignty of what had formerly been 

 seven kingdoms ; and gave the whole the name of 

 England, a name which it has still retained. 



Egbert did not long enjoy in quiet his extensive 

 dominions. The Danes, issuing from those regions 

 which had formerly been possessed by the Saxons 

 themselves, began about this time, to harass, by their 

 inroads, their more southern neighbours. W hen Egbert 

 had reigned only five years, they landed on the Eng- 

 lish coast, and carried off a considerable booty. En- 

 couraged by their success, they returned the following 

 year, with a fleet of 35 ships, and a great body 

 of men. Egbert attacked them, but, though the 

 Danes lost many of their number, they could not be 

 prevented from escaping to their ships with their 

 plunder. Far from being discouraged by resistance, 

 they returned after an intermission of two years ; 

 and to show that they meant to persevere in the 

 invasion of the Saxons, they entered into an alliance 

 with the Cornish Britons. Egbert again met them, 

 and again defeated them ; but while he meditated 

 some scheme for the permanent defence of his king- 

 dom against the troublesome invaders, he suddenly 

 died. This event took place in 838. 



Egbert was succeeded by Ethel wolf, his son, a 

 prince remarkable only for his superstition. The 

 Danes continued almost annually to visit the coasts 

 of England; and notwithstanding their being 

 frequently defeated, they never failed to return. Ethel- 

 wolf was ill qualified for making any systematic 

 defence. By giving part of his kingdom to his son 

 Athelstan, he adopted the mode of conduct which 

 was most likely to occasion a civil war, had not the 

 terror of the Danes prevented the Anglo-Saxons 

 from entertaining any thoughts of internal insurrec- 

 tion. EthelwolF was deficient in military capacity, 

 but he had other qualities which were thought to 

 compensate for the defect. He was willing to con- 

 tribute to the safety of his kingdom ; he inferred, 

 that to secure the favour of heaven, was the most 

 proper method of ensuring worldly prosperity ; and 

 he was taught to think, that the most proper way 

 of securing the favour of heaven, was to secure 

 the good-will of heaven's agents upon earth. To 

 effect his purpose, he undertook a pilgrimage 

 to Rome, where, by his liberality, he endeavoured 

 to attain the benediction of the church. To the 

 ecclesiastics of that city he granted annually 300 man- 

 cuses, of which 100 were to support the lamps of St 

 Peter, 100 to support those of St Paul, and 100 for 

 the use of the Pope. When he returned, he found 

 that his piety had not prevented the Danes from con- 

 tinuing their ravages, or his son, Ethelbald, from 

 usurping his dominions. No misfortune, however, 

 could alter his pious resolutions. He prevailed on 

 his son to be contented with one half of his terri- 

 tories ; he bestowed on his priests tithes, which they 

 had long demanded ; and soon after died, leaving be- 

 hind him, particularly among the clergy, the reputa- 

 tion of a saint. 



Ethelwolf left his dominions to his sons, Ethelbald 

 and Ethelbert, but these sovereigns did not long sur- 

 vive him. They died in 866, and were succeeded by 

 their brother, Ethered, whose reign was distinguished, 

 like those ot many of his predecessors, by sue- 



