THE NORMAN CONQUERORS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS 



go far up the estuaries, and were then beached, drawn above high-water 

 marlv, and so formed a mobile base for the invaders. The Norse 

 Fjord " is still to be found in many Irish names, such as Carling- 

 ford, Waterford and the like, but it was Henry II who really conquered 

 Ireland, being brought in by the King of Leinster, who had been deposed 

 for his tyranny. Henry was busy in France at the time, but he 

 encouraged an expedition which was under the command of Richard de 

 Clare, Earl of Pembroke, later to be known as Strong Bow. Robert 

 FitzStephen was his right-hand man. These nobles collected a fleet in 

 Wales and led two expeditions in 1169 and 1170, until finally they became 

 so powerful that Henry himself crossed in 1172. 



King Stephen- 

 Knowing that his claim to the throne was built on the shakiest 

 foundations King Stephen endeavoured to buy popularity on his succes- 

 sion by remitting the Danegeld tax which maintained the fleet, with the 

 result that the Empress Matilda was able to cross the channel without 

 opposition, and England was subjected to seven years of the most 

 terrible Civil War in our early history, which reduced the whole country 

 to a state of anarchy. It was another illustration of the vital need of 

 sea power to the country, and is the only reason for mentioning this 

 particularly futile monarch. 



King John. 



King John should be remembered with a certain amount of gratitude 

 by all connected with shipping on account of his reign being the first 

 in which there were signs of a real naval organisation. The King 

 appointed William of Wrotham, a cleric, to be " Keeper of the King's 

 Ships." This phrase passed through various changes and mutilations 

 in the history of the fleet, but its direct descendant is now the Secretary 

 of the Admiralty. Occasionally a merchant was appointed, and at 

 other times a local official, who became a mere messenger, bargaining 

 in various ports for stores or recovering deserters. John's French 

 adventures, disastrous as they were, called for a certain amount 

 of shipping for transport. In this reign the ships of the Cinque Ports 

 were employed to cut off the French King's convoys in the Channel. 

 It was in his reign also that Eustace the Monk, a French or Flemish 

 rover, flourished. After a very short time in Holy Orders, he inherited 

 a certain amount of property which he invested in shipping and set out 

 as an adventurer with a choice company. He was for some time in 

 King John's service, but his master was by no means satisfied with what 

 happened to his prizes, and orders were given that he was to be arrested 

 should he venture to show himself in an English port. This caused him 

 to transfer his services to the French, and he was in charge of their sea 

 forces in the following campaigns. 



The Battle of Damme. 



The first of a long series of naval actions between the English and 

 the French occurred off Damme in the spring of 1213. England having 



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