obliged to pay sixty shillings for the ground in which, at last, rested the remains of William, duke of Normandy, and conqueror of England. QUESTIONS.-Describe the coronation of William the Conqueror.What demands were made by William's followers?-Relate a single instance of moderation.-Describe the progress of the conquest.What cities were taken?-What was the fate of the Saxons?-Relate the success of their resistance in the north.-Describe William's revenge. Where and by whom was the last stand made for freedom?—What was its result?-Mention the names and portions of some who shared in the spoils of the conquest.-Relate the conduct of Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester.-By whom was a rebellion headed in 1074, and with what result? Mention the troubles which embittered the close of William's life. -Relate the incidents which led to his death.-How did he endeavor to atone for his crimes?-How did he dispose of his dominions?— Describe the scene which followed his decease.-Relate the account given of his burial. CHAPTER IX. WILLIAM RUFUS. THE CROWN DISPUTED-TREATMENT OF THE SAXON RACE-THE KING'S DEATH. 1087. As William Rufus, the undutiful son of the Conqueror, was journeying to England, he heard of his father's death. With all speed he hurried to Winchester, seized the royal treasures, and persuaded Lanfranc, the aged archbishop, to place the crown on his brow. Many of the Normans who held lands both in England and Normandy, desired that one lord should rule both countries; and as they hated William Rufus, they persuaded Robert his elder brother to claim the English crown, and gave him the aid of their arms. The contest between the two brothers con tinued with but little interruption for eight years. At length, in the year 1096, Robert, anxious to take part in the crusades, mortgaged his duchy to William for three or five years, receiving in return the sum of ten thousand marks, and departed for the Holy Land. William was well pleased to see his brother engaged in this dangerous adventure, from which he might never return, in which case Normandy would fall to the English king in undisputed possession. 1096 to 1100. The same cruel wrongs were practised upon the English in the reign of William Rufus as in the days of the conquest. The hand of injustice fell heavily upon the Saxon church. "The Norman chief," says Thierry, "whether clerical or lay, differed only in his garb. Under the coat of mail, or under the cowl, he was ever the foreign conqueror-insolent, harsh, and grasping." The Saxons had called their rich men by a name [hlaford] meaning "the divider of bread," from which has come the modern English title of lord. They were thus named because at their hospitable board was provided bread and good cheer for the peasant. But now the Norman lord was a harsh master. Shut up his castle with gates closed and barred, he came in contact with the Saxon only to rob or to injure him. "There was in King William's days warre and sorrowe ynow," writes an old Saxon chronicler. These days came to an end. 1100. in The evening of the 1st of August, in the year 1100, the Red King spent at Malwood Keep, a hunting lodge in the New Forest. He waited for the dawn of day, to begin anew the pleasures of the chase. In the morning an archer presented the king six new arrows. Praising their beauty, William gave two to his friend, Sir Walter Tyrrel, saying, "Good weapons are due to the sportsman that knows how to make a good use of them." The remaining arrows he placed in his own quiver. After a sumptuous banquet the chase began. The party, among whom was Henry, the brother of the king, were scattered through the wide forest, but William and his friend Sir Walter hunted together. As the sun was setting, a hart came bounding by, between the king and his companion. The king drew his bow, but the string broke. "Shoot! Walter-shoot!" cried the monarch. The arrow sped from Sir Walter's bow, but turned aside by glancing against a tree, it lodged, not in the side of the deer, but in the heart of the king Sir Walter took horse, escaped to France, and afterwards went on a crusade. 1100. The body of William Rufus was found later in the evening by a charcoal burner. Tradition says that on the spot where the dead king's body lay had once stood an Anglo-Saxon church. QUESTIONS.-Relate the circumstances of William Rufus's accession. By whom was his claim disputed?-What withdrew Robert from the contest?-Describe the treatment of the English during this reign. Whence came the title of Lord, and what did it signify? -How did the Norman noble contrast with the Saxon lord?-Relate the circumstances of the king's death. CHAPTER X. CHANGES EFFECTED BY THE CONQUEST. THE FEUDAL SYSTEM-NEW FOREST-DOOMSDAY BOOK-THE CRUSADES. BEFORE entering upon another century, it may be well to learn something of the change in the social condition of the people of England, which was made by the Norman conquest. When a great chief, such as was William of Normandy, conquered a country or province, he considered himself the owner of it. A portion of the lands he kept for himself, the rest he divided among his barons, who promised in return to follow him to battle whenever he should call upon them for such service. The barons in their turn divided these lands among their followers in the same manner, and on the same terms. Such lands were called fiefs; those who gave them were called feudal lords, and those who held them were named vassals. This holding of land for military service, instead of buying or paying rent for it, is called the Feudal System, and was introduced by William the Conqueror into England. The feudatory relations of Hugh, first Earl of Chester, may be cited in illustration of this system. When the province, of which the old Roman city of Chester was the stronghold, had been conquered, William bestowed it upon a follower, who, because he bore on his shield the figure of a wolf's head, was called Hugh Lupus, or "the Wolf." No sooner did the new lord come into possession of his earldom, than he sent into Normandy for an old companion named Lenoir. The latter came, bringing no less than five of his brothers with him. Hugh conferred upon him the title of constable and hereditary marshal. He gave him the town of Halton; granted him a liberal share in the spoils which should be taken in battle; the privileges of jurisdiction over a large district, and the fines thereof; the right of pre-emption or first purchase in the Chester market over all comers thereto, save the servants of the earl; the highway and street tolls at the fairs held in Chester; the market dues of his district of Halton, and the liberty of selling free of taxation every species of merchandise, excepting horses and salt. In return for all this, Lenoir engaged for himself and his heirs to march with their retainers at the head of the earl's armies in going forth to battle, and in returning to bring up the rear. Lenoir, in his turn, bestowed lands and privileges, with the title of seneschal, upon his next brother, for service and homage similar to that which he himself rendered to the earl. On the second, third, and fourth brothers, the constable bestowed lands and manors in proportion, and the fifth, who was a priest, received the gift of a church. Something like feudal tenure had, to a limited extent, been known among the Anglo-Saxons, but the first Norman king established it as a system. Those who had been nobles among the Saxons now became vassals to the Norman lords. At the time of the Conqueror's death there was scarcely a native Englishmen in the land who held so high a title as earl or baron. The most numerous class in the nation were those called by the Saxons, ceorls, and by the Normans, villains. They belonged to the estate of the lord, and could neither remove from it of their own will, nor yet be removed by the will of the master. Some were entitled to the occupation of a cottage, in which case they were called by the Saxons, heorthfastmen others rendered their services in the household of their lord. Above the villains were the freemen, who held of the Norman lord as free-tenants, and were entitled to some political rights, though to none so important as those belonging to the tenants-in-chief, as persons holding of the king were called. The lowest class in the nation, not accounted even as belonging to the people, were the serfs, or bondmen, who were in every sense the property of their master. Among the Normans who flocked to England during the early years of the conquest, were many men of low degree. Mechanics, peasants, and foot-soldiers in Normandy, assumed, on the opposite side of the Channel, the titles of nobleman and gentleman. Whole families, obscure in birth, and destitute of fortune, from every corner of France, made their way into the new kingdom, sure of finding there an ample provision for every member, at the expense oftentimes of the noblest of the Saxon race, who were driven forth to destitution and beggary. The following old rhyme satirizes this wholesale immigra tion of foreign adventurers: "William de Conigsby With his wife Tiffany And his maide Maufas And his dogge Hardigras.” Homage was required of every vassal. In performing this ceremony, the vassal, unarmed and with uncovered head, knelt before his lord, and putting his hands in those of his superior, promised to become "his man" thenceforward, and to serve him faithfully for the lands he held. The ceremony was generally concluded by a kiss. в |