3o8 A. D. 1086. 



fuppofed, it is certain that it was c^Wtdi Jlerlwg in the reign of the Con • 

 queror, as appears from the unqueftionable teftimony of Ordericus Vi- 

 talis, an author contemporary with that king *. 



In the year 1086 mofl of the principal ports of England were de- 

 flroyed by fire. The greatefl and mofl pleafant part of London was 

 confumed, together with the cathedral church of St. Paul's. In order 

 to guard againft fuch misfortunes in time coming, Maurice, the bifhop 

 of London, began to rebuild his cathedral upon arches with flones im- 

 ported from Caen in Normandy, but upon fo vafl and magnificent a 

 plan, that it was not completed when the Chronicle, which comes down 

 to the end of the year 1199, under the name of John Bromton, was fi- 

 nifhed. [Cbron. Sax. ad an — M^. Mahnjh. Gefl. pont. f. 134 b — B?-omton, 

 col. 979 Stow'' s Survey, p. 613, ed. 16 18.] 



1090 — Sicily had now been above two centuries under the dominion 

 of the Saracens, when, after a war of thirty years, it was completely 

 fubdued by Roger, a Norman knight, who became the father of a race 

 of kings of Sicily. With a liberality, far above the general flandard 

 of the age, he permitted the Saracens to enjoy their property and their 

 religion, by which judicious conduct he retained as his willing fubjedls 

 a race of people, who were capable of inftrud:ing his own followers in 

 fcience, manufadlures, and commerce. [Malaterra ap. Muratori Script. 

 V. V, coll. 574, 595.] 



1091 — The account of the polTeffions of the abbay of Croyland at 

 this time prefents a pleafing pidure of the dawning of fcience and li- 

 terature in England. They confifled of a library of above three hun- 

 dx'ed original volumes, and above four hundred lefTer volumes (perhaps 

 tranflations) : alfo a wonderful machine reprefenting the fun and the 

 planets, the zodiak, the colurcs, &c. all in appropriate metals. There 

 was not fuch another ' nader' in all England f as this one, which had 

 been prefented by a king of France to a former abbat. Unfortunately 

 all this flore of intelledual wealth was confumed by a fire occafioned 

 by the carelefTnefs of iome workmen : and without that difafter we 

 fhould, perhaps, never have known of its exiftence. \Iugiilph, p. 98, 

 id. Gale.'\ 



1 093- — ^The commercial hillory of Scotland, whereof we fee the firft 

 dawn in the reign of Macbeth, may be faintly traced during that of 

 Malcolm Kenmore in the encouragement he gave to merchants to im- 

 port many articles of rich drefs of various colours, and other foreign 

 luxuries hitherto unknown, which were bought by his courtiers, who 



* See the learned Somner's Glqffctry to Tivyf- whicli derives tlie name from the Eaft-country or 



dtn's Siripljrc4 decern, vo. EJIerlingiis, v.liere fcveral Ellerh'ng coiners feenis tlic moll natural, though 



inftancco of ihe ufe of the vion]Jhi/in^ hcfoie tlie gcncr<illy mifduted. 



age of Richard are produced. As for the ctymo- f Are we to Aippofe from this cxpreflion, that 



logics, fome of which are foolilh enough, that there were many naders in England ? 3 



