ENGLAND. (CIVIL HISTORY.) 



lake refuge in Normandy. Seizing a favourable op- 

 portunity, he afterwards returned, but found in Can- 

 ute, afterwards called the Great, an adversary no less 

 furmidnble than he hail found in Sweyn. 



Ethelred left his kingdom, in 101(5, to his son, 

 Edmund, who, in the defence of his territories, dis- 

 played uncommon valour ; but the power and supe- 

 riority of the Danes were now established too firmly 

 to be shaken. Notwithstanding every exertion he 

 was compelled to divide his kingdom with Canute, 

 anil when he was assassinated, in 1017, the Danes 

 succeeded to the sovereignty of the whole. 



Canute, generally called the Great, espoused the 

 w'ulow of Ethelred, tliat he might thus reconcile to 

 himself the minds of his new subjects. He obtained 

 the name of Great, not only on account of his war- 

 like, political, and civil qualifications, all of which 

 seem to have been above the common rank, but 

 from the extent of his dominions, being master, not 

 only of England, but of Denmark and Norway. 

 After the conquest of England, he passed the greater 

 part of Itis life in peace. In 1035, he died, and, in 

 England, he was succeeded by Harold, distinguished 

 by the name of Harefoot. 



The reign of Harold was short and inglorious, that 

 of his brother and successor, Hardicanute, was dis- 

 graced by tyranny. So violent, indeed, was his 

 administration, that, when he died, the English 

 placed Edward, a prince of the Saxon race, upon 

 the throne. 



Edward the Confessor, was created king in 1042. 

 His reign is remarkable for his practice of the civil, 

 rather than of the military virtues. He had resided 

 long in Normandy, and had acquired knowledge 

 superior to that of many of his countrymen. His 

 superstition, however, was unbounded ; and by his 

 complaisance to the monks, he, perhaps, partly ac- 

 quired his exalted character. His reign, indeed, 

 was long and prosperous : but this he owed rather 

 to accident than to his own abilities. He compiled a 

 system of laws, which long commanded the admira- 

 tion of his countrymen. He died in 1066, but left 

 behind him no son ; for though he had married 

 Editha, a beautiful woman, he exercised his temper- 

 ance by refraining from cohabitation. His virtues 

 pleased the monks, and after his death they created 

 him a saint. 



Edward having no offspring, Harold, the son of 

 earl Godwin, seized the crown, pretending that it 

 was bequeathed to him by the late king. As his 

 pretensions to the kingdom were founded only on 

 his power, Harold did not enjoy it in quiet. He 

 found many enemies, but none so formidable as 

 William of Normandy, who likewise pretended that 

 he, by the will of Edward, was appointed to succeed 

 to the English throne. To support his pretensions, 

 William made the most Vigorous preparations. To 

 divert Harold's attention, he instigated the Danes 

 to invade the northern counties, while he, with no 

 less than 60,000 men, landed in the south. Harold 

 vanquished the Danes, and hastened southwards to 

 repel the Normans. The two armies met at Hast- 

 ings. They were nearly equal in numbers, and 

 fought with an obstinacy proportioned to the great 

 object for which they contended. Harold and his 

 two brothers fell, and the victory was William's. 

 This great event took place in 1066. 



Having in reality conquered the kingdom, Wil- 

 liam immediately claimed the government j but as 

 he knew that none was powerful enough to dispute 

 his pretensions, he was willing to receive the crown 

 as his right, and was desirous of being accounted the 

 lawful king, rather than the conqueror of England. 

 For some time, he conducted the govermnent with 

 great moderation ; but being obliged to reward those 



who had assisted him in prosecuting his enterprise, 

 he bestowed the chief offices of government upon 

 Normans, and divided among them a great part of 

 the country. The English, offended at a mode of 

 conduct which, though only what they liad reason to 

 expect, they accounted partial, reluctantly submitted 

 to his sway, and seized almost every opportmiity of 

 making insurrections. After a variety of great and 

 successful undertakings, of which there are few 

 examples, the latter part of William's life was imbit- 

 tered by domestic broils. Robert, his own son, re- 

 belled against him ; and, though he was at last com- 

 pelled to submit, he proved more troublesome than 

 any other of William's enemies. Having reigned 

 twenty-one years in England, and conducted the 

 reins of government, in general, with success, he 

 died in 1087. 



William, commonly known by the name of Rufus, 

 though he was only the conqueror's second son, by 

 the artifices and intrigues of Lanfranc, an ecclesias- 

 tic, seized the English crown. He successfully 

 quelled a rebellion which, at the commencement of 

 his reign, had been raised against him, and he after- 

 wards treated his people with uncommon severity. 

 Though Normandy was in possession of Robert, his 

 elder orother, William attempted to make himself 

 master of it by force. Robert's character was com- 

 posed of courage, generosity, and superstition ; the 

 last of these qualities put into William's power what 

 the first had prevented him from procuring by 

 violence. Robert was anxious to signalize himself 

 among the crusaders ; to procure the money neces- 

 sary for this purpose, he mortgaged his territories to 

 William for 10,000 merks, a sum which William 

 raised by oppressing his subjects. A quarrel with 

 Anselm, a powerful ecclesiastic, distinguished the 

 latter part of William's reign. This quarrel has en- 

 tailed on the monarch's character an imputation of 

 impiety. His love of money seems to have been 

 superior to his respect for the clergy, a fault which 

 they could not forgive. William's quarrel with An- 

 selm was terminated by the death of the former. He 

 was accidentally killed by an arrow, while hunting in 

 the New Forest. 



William, who was killed in 1100, left behind him 

 no legitimate children ; it was necessary, therefore, 

 that one of his brothers should succeed him. The 

 right of Robert, the elder, was preferable, but Henry 

 the younger, by securing the treasure, secured the in 

 heritance. Anxious to obtain the affections of the 

 people, that his imperfect title might be strength- 

 ened, he granted them a charter of rights, which, in 

 the time of John, was made the foundation of the 

 Great Charter. This would, in some measure, have 

 compensated for his usurpation ; but when Henry was 

 confirmed in the throne, he forgot his grant. Still 

 farther to secure his crown, he espoused Matilda, 

 the representative of the Anglo-Saxon line, resolved 

 to unite in his offspring, the rights of the Saxons, as 

 well as of the Normans. 



Robert, whose disposition seems to have been 

 somewhat indolent, arrived in England in 1101, and 

 claimed the crown which justly belonged to him. 

 But the actual possession of it gave Henry an insuper- 

 able advantage. His father's treasure was sufficient 

 to balance the contest ; and to render himself still 

 more safe, Henry courted the favour of the clergy. 

 The primate Anselm effected a reconciliation before 

 any blood had been shed in the quarrel. Robert 

 relinquished his pretensions to England, on condition 

 that he should annually receive 3000 merks. But 

 Henry thought even these advantageous terms too 

 hard. He seized his brother soon after, when he 

 had come to England to vindicate the cause of some 

 of liis adherents, whom Henry had deprived of their 



