CHAPTER VII.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

1. As soon as the Duke of Normandy knew that Edward the Confessor was dead, and Harold made king, he called his friends together, and promised to bestow lands and honors in England on all who would assist him to win the crown; which, he said, was his by right, and that Harold was an usurper.

2. Now this is a doubtful question; for, although the king could appoint a successor, if he thought proper; yet it was necessary that his choice should have the approval of the Witenagemote, which had not been given in this case; so the English said that, notwithstanding king Edward’s will, the Duke of Normandy had no right to the throne.

3. I cannot pretend to say which was right; but, as it is of more consequence to know how the dispute ended, we will proceed to the history of the conquest.

4. The Normans were great warriors; so that even many of the clergy would sometimes put on armour under their robes, and lead their own vassals to battle; and they had as much interest in the dispute as the nobles, for they expected to come into possession of some of the Bishops’ sees and rich abbey lands, provided Duke William should succeed in his enterprise.

5. While all this was going on in Normandy, Harold’s brother, Tosti, had raised a rebellion in the north of England, and was joined by the king of Norway, who landed with an army in Yorkshire: so Harold had to go and fight with them, and there was a great battle at Stamford Bridge, where the king gained a complete victory.

6. Two or three days after this he was enjoying himself at a great feast, at York, when news was brought to him that the Normans had landed in Sussex, where they were doing all manner of mischief, driving the people away from the towns and villages, and taking every thing they could lay their hands on.

7. The king made all the haste he could to get his soldiers together, and began his march to oppose the invaders, but it took nearly a fortnight to get to where they were; and all that time the invaders were making dreadful havoc for miles round their camp, so that the terrified people fled to the woods, or shut themselves up in the churches, for fear of being killed.

8. At last, Harold came, and a battle was fought near Hastings, on the 14th of October, 1066, where the king and two of his brothers, with a great many of the English nobles, were slain, and the conqueror from that day looked upon himself as the master of the country.

9. But the English had seen enough of the Normans to know that they should be very badly treated if they once suffered a Norman government to be established, so they resolved to do their utmost to prevent it, and thus the Normans had to fight for every town, and castle, before it was given up to them.

10. William had marched to London, and laid siege to it, soon after the battle of Hastings, and the people having submitted to him, he was crowned in Westminster Abbey, on Christmas day.

11. A few of the English nobles went to offer their submission, that is, they agreed to obey him as their king, since he had promised that all who did so should be permitted to enjoy their rank and property undisturbed.

12. But it was only a few who trusted to these promises, and they were deceived in the end, for it is almost certain that the Conqueror intended, from the first, to take every thing from the English to give to the Normans.

13. I mean the English lords; for he meant to make the common people remain on the estates to which they belonged, that the new masters might have vassals and slaves to cultivate their lands.

14. Now the poor people did not like this any more than the nobles themselves, so they fought bravely for their masters in many places; but it was all to no purpose; for, at the end of seven years, the Normans were in possession of all the land in the country, and most of its former lords had either been killed, or were reduced to such a state of poverty and wretchedness that it is melancholy to think of.

15. I will not attempt to describe the sufferings of the people during that long period, but you may imagine how very miserable they must have been, for the Normans got the better of them all over the country, and took delight in robbing and insulting their unhappy victims.

16. I told you that the design of the Conqueror was to take all the land, and divide it among his followers, except what he chose to keep for himself, as crown lands.

17. Now there were many Saxon ladies who possessed estates, in consequence of their fathers or brothers having been killed at the battle of Hastings; and most of these heiresses were compelled, against their will, to marry Norman lords, who thus gained lands as well as brides.

18. Then the estates of all those who had not submitted to the king were declared to be forfeited, and William gave them to the Normans, or, more properly speaking, he gave the Barons leave to take them by force; so the English lords had to fight for their houses and lands, and many were killed, and many fled to other countries.

19. The rustics, on these forfeited estates, would fight for their lord to the last; but, when he was forced to yield, they had no choice but to submit to the new lord, or to see their cottages set on fire, and their wives and children perhaps murdered before their eyes.

20. Some of the English nobles hid in the forests with their families, and as many of their vassals as would go with them, where they made habitations, and supported themselves by robbery and hunting; and this was the origin of the numerous bands of robbers that, in after times, were the terror of the country.

21. The famous Robin Hood, who lived in the reign of Richard the First, is supposed to have been a descendant of one of these unfortunate English nobles.

22. The Bishops’ sees and abbey lands were seized in the same violent manner, as the estates of the nobles, and given to the Norman clergy; and many of the monasteries, after being broken open and plundered, were taken for the abode of monks who came over from Normandy in great numbers.

23. The Normans built a great many castles in different parts of the country; and, if they wanted to build one on a spot where there happened to be houses, they thought nothing of turning out the inhabitants, and pulling down the houses, to make room: and they pressed the poor people, both men and women, to do all the labour, without pay, and treated them very cruelly besides; for, if they did not work hard enough, these unfeeling taskmasters would urge them on with blows.

24. Then wherever the Norman soldiers stayed, they went and lived in the houses of the people, took what they pleased, and made the family wait upon them.

25. The king, himself, cruelly laid waste different parts of the country in revenge for the opposition made to his progress by some of the English earls, especially in the north, where, about three years after the battle of Hastings, such a scene of desolation was made by fire and sword, that, from York to Durham, the houses, the people, and all signs of cultivation, were utterly destroyed.

26. The last stand made against the Normans was in a little island, formed by bogs and lakes, in Cambridgeshire, and still called the Isle of Ely. There, a brave chief, named Hereward, set up a fortified camp, and was joined by other noblemen, and many of their dependents, who, with the ceorls, or tenants, belonging to the Abbey of Ely, made quite an army.

27. It was a secure place of refuge, because the only safe paths into the island were unknown to the Normans, who would most likely have been lost in the bogs, if they had ventured to approach.

28. But they had built a castle close by, at Cam Bridge, and they brought boats and tried to make causeways by which they might get into the camp of refuge; but the English would go out in bands at night and destroy all that their enemies had done, and kept constantly on the watch for straggling parties, who were often attacked unawares, and many of them killed, while the English could always retreat to their camp, where they were safe from pursuit.

29. At last the Normans established a blockade of boats round the island, and provisions began to get scarce within it; so two or three bad selfish men, who lived in the abbey, went to the Normans at Cam Bridge, and said, they would show them the way into the island, if they would promise not to meddle with the abbey.

30. These men led the Normans secretly into the island, and a terrible battle was fought, in which almost all the English were killed.

31. When Hereward saw it was useless to fight any longer, he made his escape, and went to his own castle of Bourn, in Lincolnshire; where I believe, he afterwards made peace with the king, and was allowed to keep his estate.

32. I have given you a long history of the Conquest, because it was the most important event that ever occurred in the history of England, and was the last sudden and violent change made in this country by foreign invasion.

QUESTIONS.

1. Explain the cause of the Norman invasion.

8. What was the battle of Hastings, and where was it fought?

9. Did the English make any further resistance?

14. How long was it before the conquest was completed?

18. How did many of the Norman lords obtain their estates?

20. What became of the English nobles?

23. How were the English treated by the Norman soldiers?

26. What was the Camp of Refuge, and by whom established?

31. What became of Hereward?