558 
ENG'] 
to defend by his valour what his good fortune had won. 
William, finding that arms alone were to decide the dif- 
pute, prepared to aflert his claim with vigour. His fub- 
jeCts, as they had long been dittinguifhed for valour 
among the European nations, had at this time attained to 
the higheft pitch of military glory. His court was the 
centre of heroifm; and till whQ wifiied for fame in arms, or 
were naturally fond of chivalry, flocked to put themfelves 
under his conduct. The fame of his intended invafion 
of England was d'iffufed over the whole continent; multi¬ 
tudes came to offer him their fervices in the expedition; 
fo that he was embarraffed rather in the choice of whom 
he fhould take into his army, than in levying forces. The 
pope himfelf was not behind the reft in favouring his pre¬ 
tentions; and, either influenced by the apparent juftice 
of his claims, or by the hopes of extending the authority 
of the church, he immediately pronounced Harold an 
ufurper. He denounced excommunication -againft him, 
and all his adherents; and fent the duke a confecrated 
banner, to infpire his troops with confidence. With 1 'uch 
favourable incentives, William foon found himfelf at the 
head of a chofen army of fixty thoufand men, equipped 
in the mod warlike and f'plendid manner. The difcipline 
of the men, the vigour of the horfes, the luftre of the 
arms and accoutrements, were objeCts that had been 
fcarcely feen in Europe for feme agh'S before. It was in 
the beginning of fummer that he embarked this formida¬ 
ble army on board a fleet of three hundred fail; and, af¬ 
ter 1’ome fmall oppolition from the weather, landed at 
Pevenfey, on the coafl of SufTex. William himfelf, as 
became on (bore, happened to (fumble and fall; but, 
inlfead of being fuperftitioufly difeompofed at the acci¬ 
dent, he had the prefence of mind to cry out, that he 
thus took poifeflion of the country. Different from all 
the invafions to which England had been formerly accuf- 
tomed, this prince made no lhow of ravaging a foreign 
country, but rather of encamping in his own. Here he 
continued inactive for about a fortnight, either willing to 
refrefli his troops, or defirous of knowing the reception 
his pretenfions to the crown wduld meet with among the 
people. After having refrefhed his men at this place, 
and fent back his fleet to Normandy, in order that there 
might be no afylurn for cowardice, he advanced along the 
fea-fide to flattings, where he publifhed a manifeflo, de¬ 
claring the motives that induced him to undertake this 
enterprife. 
He wa's now informed of the approach of Harold, who 
was rcfolved to defend his right to the crown, and.retain 
that foverei^my which he had unanimoufly received from 
the people. Harold was returning, flufhed with conqueft, 
from the defeat of the Norwegians, with the victorious 
forces he had employed in that expedition, and all he 
could invite or colleCt in the country through which he 
palfed. His army was compofed of aCtive and valiant 
troops, in high fpirits, firongly attached to their king, and 
eager to engage. On the other hand, the army of William 
confided of the flower of the continent, and had been 
long inured to danger. The picked men of Bretagne, 
Boulogne, Flanders, PoiCtou, Maine, Orleans, France, 
and Normandy, were voluntarily united under his com¬ 
mand. England never before, nor never fince, faw two 
fiich armies drawn up to difpute its crown. The day 
before the battle, William fent an otter to Harold to de¬ 
cide their claim by (ingle, combat,.and thus to fpare the 
blood of thoufands ; this Harold declined, by faying he 
would leave it to the God of armies to determine their 
right. Both armies, therefore, drew up in light of each 
other, expecting the dawning of the next day with im¬ 
patience. The Engljlh patted the> night in fongs and 
feafting; the Normans in devotion and prayer. 
The next morning, at feven, both armies were ready 
to engage. Harold appeared on foot, in the center of his 
forces, encouraging them by his example of facing the 
grealeft danger. William fought on horfeback, leading 
on his army, finging the. fong of Roland, one of the fa- 
, A N D. 
mous chiefs of their country. The Normans began the 
fight with their crofs-bows, which, at fil'd, galled and 
made great havoc among the Englifli; and, as their ranks 
were clofe, their arrows did great execution. But (oon 
they came to clofer fight, and the Englifli, with their 
bills, hewed down their adverfaries with great.flaughter. 
Confufion was rapidly fpreading through the Norman 
ranks, when William, who feeing himfelf on the brink 
of deftruCtion, haftened, with a feleCt' hand, to the relief 
of his forces. His prefence of mind rettored the fufpenfe 
of battle; he was feen in every point of danger, endea¬ 
vouring to pierce the ranks of the eriemy, and had three 
horfes killed under, him. At length, perceiving that 
the Englifli line continued impenetrable, lie pretended to 
give ground ; which, as he expected, drew the enemy 
front their firm and clofe ranks, and lie was inttantly 
ready to take advantage of their diforder. Upon a lignal 
given, the Normans fuddcnly faced about, and returned 
to the charge with greater fury than before, broke the 
Englifli ranks, and purfued them to a rifing ground. It 
was in this extremity that Harold was feen flying from 
rank to rank, rallying and infpiring his troops with frefli 
vigour; and, though lie had toiled all day in front 
of his Kentifli men, and in the hotted of the battle, yet 
lie (till feetned unabated in ttrength or courage, keeping 
his men rigidly to the port of honour. Once more, there¬ 
fore, the victory feemed to turn againft the Normans, and 
they fell ii.i great numbers ; fo that the fiercenefs and ob- 
(tinacy of this memorable battle was often renewed by 
the fuperior courage of the leaders, whenever that of the 
foldiers began to flacken. Fortune, at length, determined 
a victory which valour was unable to decide. Harold, 
making a furious onfet at the head of his troops, againft 
the Norman heavy-armed infantry, was (hot in the head 
by an arrow ; and his two valiant brothers, fighting by 
bis fide, (hared the fame fate. He fell with his (word in 
his hand, amidft heaps of (lain; and, after the battle, 
the royal corpfe could hardly be diftinguiflied among the 
dead. From tlie moment that he fell, alLcourage feemed 
to forfake the Englifli ; they gave ground on every fide, 
and were purfued with dreadful (laughter by the viCto- 
rious Normans. Thus, after a battle which was fought 
from morning till fun-fet, the invaders proved fuccefsful, 
and the Englifli crown became the reward of victory, 
October 14, 10 66. There fell near fifteen thoufand of 
the Normans, while the lofs on the (ide of the vanquillied 
was yet more confiderable, befides that of the king, and 
his royal brothers. The next day the dead body of Ha¬ 
rold was brought to William, and generoufly rettored to 
his mother. 
Thus terminated the Saxon monarchy in England, 
which had exilted for more than fix hundred years. Be¬ 
fore the reign of Alfred, the kings of this race feemed 
totally immerfed in ignorance; and after his time, they 
.were taken up with combating the fuperftition of the 
monks, or blindly obeying its dictates. As for the crown, 
during this period, it was neither wholly elective, nor 
yet totally hereditary, but difpofe.d of either by the will 
of the former po'fleflor, or obtained by the intrigues or 
caprices of the nobles. As for the laws and cuftoms of 
this race, they introduced many which had been long in 
practice among their German anceftors; they adopted 
alfo many more which they found among the Britons, or 
which the Romans left behind them after their abdica¬ 
tion. They attained, in imitation of thofe nations, the 
title of kings ; nay, fome of them took the Greek appel¬ 
lation of Bafiletis, though unknown to the countries from 
whence they came. Their noblemen alfo afliimed names 
of Roman authority, and were thence termed dukes or 
duces-, while the lower dalles of the people were bought 
and fold with the farms they cultivated; a horrid cuftoni, 
firft introduced by the Greeks and Romans, and after¬ 
wards adopted by the countries they conquered. Their 
canon laws alfo, which often controuled the civil autho¬ 
rity, had primarily their origin in Rome; and the pried? 
