Battle Abbey afterwards arose to commemorate this fight. Around it gathered brave English hearts. On Saturday, the 14th October, the action began. The Normans advanced, singing the war-songs of ancient heroes, and raising their battle-cry, "Our Lady! Our Lady! God is our help!" The English drove them back with shouts of "Christ's Rood! the Holy Rood!" For nine long hours the battle lasted; Oct. 14, this fierce, fierce battle between Saxon and Norman, for the crown of England. When the sun went down, the brave Harold had fallen, and the banner of Duke William, "the Three Lions of Normandy," floated triumphant over the bloody field of victory. The battle of Hastings had been fought, and the Norman conquest was begun.

1066.

QUESTIONS.-Who succeeded Edward the Confessor?-Describe the conduct of the Norman duke when he heard of Harold's accession. How was William's project of invasion received by his subjects?-Relate the attempts made to overcome this opposition, with their result. What tokens of approbation did William receive from the Pope?-Describe the preparations for the invasion.-By what was it delayed?-What means did the Norman duke employ to allay the fears of his army?

Describe the vessel in which William embarked.-Relate the incident which occurred on his landing.-Where did the Norman army encamp?-How had King Harold replied to William's demand of the crown? Against what other enemy had Harold to combat?-Relate the circumstances of this encounter, and its result.-When was the battle of Hastings fought ?-Describe the advance of both armies.— How did it terminate?

CHAPTER VII.

CONDITION OF ENGLAND UNDER THE SAXONS.

RELIGION-LITERATURE-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

LET us now glance at the condition of the Saxon people at the time of the Norman conquest. First, as regards religion: the pure light of Christianity had become dim by the corrupt practices of an age of superstition. Fasting and penance, or the infliction of suffering on the body, was too often inculcated in the place of that scriptural repentance which leads to godly sorrow for sin and amendment of life. The building of a church or monastery, or a pilgrimage to Rome, atoned, it was believed, for the darkest crimes. Thus the wicked Elfrida, the mother of King Ethelred the Unready, in her old age, founded churches and monasteries, to make amends for the sins of her former life. Thus, too, Canute, the Dane king, went on a pilgrimage to Rome, because his soul was troubled. with remorse for the blood which he had shed, and the crimes which he had committed. Robbing the English people of their money to bestow in alms on foreign churches, with pilgrim's wallet and staff, he found his way to Italy. The treasures he brought back with him were, the bones of dead saints, and "holy relics,"-such as the arm of St. Augustine, for which he had paid one hundred talents of gold, and the same amount of silver. The monks pretended to work miracles. The people were taught to call upon the saints, for aid and intercession. The word of God, whose entrance giveth light, was shut up from the laity in a foreign tongue.

Dunstan, the abbot of Glastonbury (afterwards Primate of England), was, both in his accomplishments and the means. by which he gained his reputation for sanctity, a fair specimen of the monk of this age. He was a fine musician, a painter,

well skilled in the arts of design, an illuminator of the beautiful manuscripts of that period, and practised in the arts of the jeweller and blacksmith. He gained the character of a saint. by living in a cell so small that he could not lie down in it at full length, and by subsisting on the coarsest and most meagre fare. When, by these means, combined with his natural talents for command, he had risen to power and influence, he proclaimed himself a reformer of the church. This reformation consisted in obliging those priests who were married (secular clergy they were called) to put away their wives, abandon their families, and go to live in monasteries, like the monks or regulars. The quarrel between these two parties was long and bitter. Gradually, the monks prevailed, but it was not until after the twelfth century, that celibacy became the general practice of the Church.

In those dark times of superstition, it is pleasant to dwell upon a spot illuminated by the pure light of the gospel. Such seems to have been the little rocky island of Iona, on the western coast of Scotland. There, in the sixth century, St. Columba, an Irish monk, founded a monastery, and established a little colony of Christians. There they lived, owning no subjection to the Church of Rome, and only preaching "such works of charity and piety as they could learn from Holy Scriptures." The clergy were called Culdees. Although monasteries and convents were in many instances places where idle and even wicked lives were led, yet were they very frequently sanctuaries for the oppressed, and the only refuge in those rude times for the weak and defenceless. Nor must we forget that to the life-long labor of many a monk, we owe the books which have come down to our times. Every monastery had its writing-room, and there copies of ancient works were transcribed on sheets of vellum or parchment. Paper was not then invented, and as parchment was costly, the previous writing was sometimes effaced to make room for the new. Many a time, in this way, some old and precious manuscript may have been erased, to give place to lives of

saints, or tales of miracles. Often the long lifetime of a monk would be spent in copying and illuminating a single book. These copies and illuminations were very beautiful. We hear of the gospels impressed in silver letters upon violet-colored parchment, and of other books, bound in gold, silver, and jewels, with "relics of saints set in the silver frame work of the pages." Of course, books written with such labor were very costly. They were as valuable, and were looked after with as much care, as a farm would be in our days, and the fortune of a king could scarcely buy as much reading as may now be found in a child's library.

The monasteries were the schools of those days. There Latin and Greek were taught, as well as astronomy and theology. In painting, music, sculpture, and architecture, the monks were well skilled. Westminster Abbey rose in the days of Edward the Confessor. To the building of this magnificent structure, which was the pride of his heart, the Saintking devoted a tenth of his revenue; but he scarcely lived to see it completed, and was the first of that long line of English monarchs who have been laid to rest within its walls.

At Christmas, at Easter, and at Whitsuntide, the Saxon kings summoned the great council of the nation. It was called the Witenagemot. To this, years after, succeeded the parliament of England. In the Witenagemot were gathered the clergy and nobles of the kingdom, greater or less, whether Dane or Saxon; the kings and chiefs of tribes, who paid tribute to the crown, were there also; last, but not least, the ceorls, the people, had their representatives in the magistrates of the burghs or towns. In the Witan (as the name is often abbreviated), but more frequently in lesser courts, the people were tried who were accused of crimes. If the criminal could procure a certain number of friends, of a stated amount of property, to swear with him to his innocence, he was acquitted. If he could not find such witnesses, he committed his cause to "the appeal to heaven," or "trial by ordeal," as it was called. This consisted in plunging his arm into boiling water, holding

red-hot iron in his hand, or walking over burning ploughshares. If, at the end of three days, no sign of injury was found upon the criminal, he was declared innocent. Very likely those who survived these ordeals had discovered some means of preparing their bodies, so that they should not feel the heat of the iron or the water. In those rude times, men often fought out their quarrels This spirit is illustrated by the words which Shakspeare places in the mouth of Macduff, when the latter heard of the surprise of his castle, and murder of his wife and little ones

"Let us make medicines of our great revenge,

To cure this deadly grief."

It was in the days of Edward the Confessor, that the good King Duncan of Scotland was murdered; a deed made famous by the great English dramatist, in his play of Macbeth. The son of Duncan fled to the English coast, and was "received of the most pious Edward" with much favor. He subsequently married Margaret, a granddaughter of Edmund Ironsides.

The Saxons cared much more for good living than for fine houses. Their dwellings were made of wood. They had no chimneys, the smoke being allowed to escape through a hole in the roof. In the windows of the rich, glass had taken the place of the lattice work, or linen blind. The floors were carpeted with rushes. The walls were hung with tapestry, or silken curtains, richly embroidered in needlework of gold or colored thread. In this art, the women of that age excelled. We hear of an embroidered curtain presented by an English lady to a church, on which was wrought a representation of the siege of Troy. On the famous roll, known as the Bayeux Tapestry, is wrought, in woollen threads of various colors, a complete picture representation of the Norman conquest. This roll is of linen, twenty inches in breadth and two hundred and fourteen feet in length. It is still kept in the town house of Bayeux.