ENGLAND. 
Ms men, and all the confiderable barons who had adhered 
to his misfortunes. " This victory was followed by the 
final reduction of Normandy, while Henry returned in 
triumph to England, leading with him his captive bro¬ 
ther, who now found himfelf not only deprived of his pa¬ 
trimony and his friends, but' alfo of his freedom. Henry, 
unmindful of his brother’s former magnanimity with re¬ 
gard to him, kept hint a prifoKer during the remainder 
of his life, which was no lefs than twenty-eight years; 
and he died a miferable death in the caftle of Cardiff, in 
Glantorganfhire. It is even faid that he was deprived ot 
Itis light by a red-hot copper bafon applied before his 
eyes ; while his brother attempted to ftifle the reproaches 
of his confcience, by founding the abbey of Reading, 
which was in that age confidered as a fufficient atonement 
for every fpecies of wickednefs. 
The firft ftep Henry took after his return to England, 
was to reform fome abufes which had crept in among his 
courtiers; for, as they were allowed by the feudal law 
to live upon the king’s tenants whenever he travelled, 
they, under colour of this privilege, committed all man¬ 
ner of ravages with impunity. To remedy this diforder, 
he publifhed an edict, puniffiing with the lofs of light 
all fuch as fhould, under pretext of royal authority, com¬ 
mit any depredation in tile places through which they 
palled. Some difputes alfo concerning eccleliaftical af¬ 
fairs, which were fupported by Anfelm, the archbifliop 
of Canterbury, were compromifed and adjulted. Henry 
was content to refign his right of granting ecclefiaftica! 
inveftitures, but was allowed to receive homage from his 
bifhops for all their temporal properties and privileges. 
The marriage of prielts was alfo prohibited, and laymen 
were not allowed to marry within the feventh degree of 
affinity. The laity were alfo prohibited from wearing 
long hair, a mode of drefs to which the clergy (hevyed 
the utmoft averfion. 
Thefe regulations ferved to give employment to Henry 
in his peaceful intervals; but the apprehenfions which 
he had from the diffatisfa&ion of his Norman fubjecls, 
and his fears for the fucceffion, filled his hands with too 
much bufinefs to permit any long,intervals of relaxation. 
His principal concern was to prevent his nephew, Wil¬ 
liam, the fon of Robert, from fucceeding to the crown, 
in prejudice of William, his own fon, for whom he was 
folicitous to fecure it. His nephew was but fix years of 
age, when he committed him to the care of Helie de St. 
Saen ; and this nobleman difeharged bis truft in his edu¬ 
cation with a degree of fidelity uncommon at the barba¬ 
rous period we are deferibing. Finding that Henry was 
defirous of recovering poffeffion of his pupil's perfon, he 
withdrew, and carried him to the court of Folk count 
of Anjou, who afforded him protection. This noble youth, 
wandering from court to court, evaded all the arts of his 
infidious uncle, who was not remits in trying every me- 
thod of feizing him, either by treaty or intimidation. In 
tlus ftruggle, Louis king of France took the young ad¬ 
venturer’s part, and endeavoured to interelt the pope in' 
his quarrel. Failing in this, he endeavoured to gain, by 
force of arms, what his negociations could not obtain. A 
war enfued between him and Henry, in which many battles 
were fought, but attended with no decifive confequences. 
In one of thefe, which was fought at Noyon, a city that 
Louis intended to furprife, the valour both of the ne¬ 
phew and the uncle were not a little confpicuous. This 
young man, who inherited all his father’s bravery, charged 
the van of the Englifh army with fuch impetuofity, that 
it fell back upon the main body, commanded by the king 
in perfon, vvhofe utmoft efforts were unequal to the at¬ 
tack. Still, however, exerting all his endeavours to Item 
the torrent of the enemy that was pouring down upon 
him, a Norman knight, vvhofe name was William Crif- 
pin, difeharged at his head two fuch furious ftrokes of a 
fabre, that his helmet was cut through, and his head le- 
verely wounded. At the fight of his own blood, which 
ruffled down his face, he was animated to a double exer¬ 
n$7 
tion of his ftrength, and re’orted the blow with fuch 
force, that his antagonift fell, and was taken prifoner. 
This decided the victory in favour of the Englifti, who 
purfued the French with great (laughter; and it alfo 
ferved to bring on an accommodation with the king of 
France, in which the interefts of the nephew were en¬ 
tirely negledted. From this period, till the time of that 
brave youth’s'death, which happened about eight years 
after, A. D. 1119, lie appears to have been employed in 
ineffectual ftruggles to gain thofe dominions to which he 
had the beft founded claim, but which he wanted power 
to enforce. 
Fortune now feemed to fmile upon Henry, and to pro- 
mife a long fucceffion. of felicity. He was in peaceable 
poffeffion of two powerful kingdoms, and had a fon who 
Was acknowledged the undisputed heir, arrived at his 
eighteenth year, whom he tenderly loved. His daughter 
Matilda was alfo married to the emperor Henry V. of 
Germany, and (he had been fent to that court for her 
education. All thefe fair profpedts, however, were at 
once clouded by unforefeen misfortunes and difappoint- 
ments, which tinftured his remaining years with mifery. 
The king, from the facility with which he had ufurped 
the crown, dreading that his family might be fubverted 
with the fame eafe, took care to have his fon recognized 
as his fuccelfor by the dates of England, and carried him 
over to Normandy to receive the homage of the barons 
of that duchy. After performing this requifite ceremony, 
Henry, returning to England, brought with him a nume¬ 
rous retinue of the chief nobility, who feemed to (hare in 
his fuccelfes. In one of the veffels of the fleet, his fon, 
and feveral young noblemen, the companions of his plea- 
fures, affociated together to reoder the palfage more agree¬ 
able. The king fet fail from Bat fleur, and was foon car¬ 
ried by a fair wind out of fight of land. The prince was 
detained by fome accident; and his failors, as well as 
their captain Fitz-Stephen, having (pent the interval in 
drinking, became fo difordered, that they ran the (hip 
upon a rock, and it immediately foundered. The prince 
was put into the boat, and might have efcaped, had he 
not been impelled back by the cries of Maude, his natu¬ 
ral lifter. He therefore nobly-prevailed upon the failors 
to row back and take her in. The approach of the 
boat giving feveral others, who had been left upon the 
wreck, the hopes of faving their lives, numbers leaped 
in, and the whole went at once to the bottom. Above 
an hundred and forty young noblemen, of the principal 
families of England and Normandy, were loft on this dif- 
trefiing occafion. A butcher of Rouen was the only per¬ 
fon on-board who efcaped; he clung to the mall, and 
was taken up the next morning by fome fiftiermen. Fitz- 
Stephen, the captain, while the butcher was thus con¬ 
tending with the waves for his life, 1'vvam up to him, and 
enquired if the prince was yet living; when being told that 
he had perilhed: “ Then I will not out-live him,” faid 
the captain, and immediately funk. The (lirieks of thefe 
unfortunate people were heard from the fhore, and the 
noife even reached the king’s (hip, but the caufe was 
then unknown. Henry entertained hopes for three days 
that his (on was put into fome diftant port of England 
bat when intelligence of the calamity was brought him, 
he fainted, and was never (ee.n to fmile from that moment 
to the day of his death. 
The refidiie of the prince’s life feems a mere blank ;' 
his reftlefs defires having now nothing left worth con¬ 
tending for, he became more fond of repofe than of am¬ 
bition. His daughter Matilda, however, becoming a wi¬ 
dow by the death of the emperor, he married her a fecond 
time to Geoffry Plantagenet, eldeft fon of the count of 
Anjou, and endeavoured to infure her acce(lion, by oblig¬ 
ing his barons to recognize her as the heir of all his do¬ 
minions. Some time after, that princefs was delivered of 
a fon, who received the name of Henry ; and the king, 
further to infure her fucceffion, caufed all the nobility of 
England and Normandy to renew their oaths of allegi¬ 
ance. 
* 
