he augmented his army, and marched it to London. Godwin and his sons occupied Southwark, but soon discovered that their partisans were falling away. 19 THE witena-gemot made the thanes, who were with Harold, to find pledges to the king for their conduct, and outlawed Svein, who did not think fit to be present at the wither-male, or conciliary meeting. " They also cited Godwin and Harold to attend the gemot. Godwin, finding his ambitious views darkening, and dreading a legal enquiry into his conduct, did not attempt to face the witena, but fled in the night.20 In the morning the king held the witena-gemot, and declared him, his army, and his children, to be outlaws. Five days of safety were given them to quit the country.22 With three of his sons, Godwin sailed away, with all the property he could hastily amass, into Flanders. Harold, and a brother from Bristol, sailed to Ireland. A severe tempest put their lives in peril during the voyage. Their sister, the queen, was sent to a monastery. 23 CONTRARY to every natural expectation, and to his own, and to the astonishment of the AngloSaxons, the house of Godwin seemed now to have fallen for ever in England." Released from his 19 man bophfast tham cýning ealle tha thægnas the pæɲon Danolder eoples his runa, &c. MS. Tib. B. 4. and Lamb. MS. 20 Sax. Chron. 164. Flor. Wig. 21 Jre cyng hard tha on mopzen Witena Lemot Jcpath hine utlaze jealle hepe; hine 7 ealle hir runa. MS. Tib. B. 4. 22 Sax. Chron. 164. Jrceapede him mann 5 nihta zith ut of lande to fapenne. 23 MS. Chron. Tib. B. 4. Flor. 412. 24 The MS. Tib. B. 4. thus expresses the public surprise at the change: "That polde thýncan pundoplic ælcum men the on Englalande pær gif ænig man æp tham sæde tha hit spa gepuptha rceolbe. Foptham he pær æp to tham rpithe upaharen rpylce he peolde thær tyngen J ealler Englalander," &c. CHAP. the Confessor. 1051. VI. Edward the Confessor. 1051. BOOK intimidations, the king became more attached to his Norman friends. Invited or obeying a sagacious policy, William, the reigning Duke of Normandy, came to England with a large company of his nobles and knights at this period, and was received with great honour and courtesy by Edward, who entertained him for some time, conducted him to his cities and royal castles, and loaded him with presents when he returned.25 This visit was of importance to William. It introduced him to the knowledge of many of the English chiefs, and made his name familiar to the people. It began the formation of that interest which so powerfully assisted him in afterwards acquiring the crown. But Ingulf declares that no mention was made of his succession to the crown at this visit, nor had he then any hope of it. Yet it may have excited William's desire to enjoy such a crown, and must have made a lively impression on his memory. EDWARD was then living without a prospect of issue; and, excepting one youth in Hungary, the crown had no heir. The family of William was connected with that of Edward by marriage, and with Edward himself by friendship and services. William was a neighbour, and Edward esteemed him. The family of Godwin was abased, and no competitor seemed likely to arise from the rest of the English. William therefore from this time could scarcely contemplate the throne of his friend, without coveting its acquisition. Any valued good which seems bending to our reach, soon excites our cupidity. He may have had the prudence to mark the hopeful ground in judicious silence; but the scheme of his succession must have been a project 25 Flor 412. Ingulf, 65. The MS. Tib. B. 4. mentions his coming, which the printed Chronicle omits. which his mind revolved, and secretly prepared CHAP. to execute. THE family of Godwin in their exile meditated new attempts to regain their power. Harold and his brother invaded the West of England with a fleet of adventurers collected in Ireland, defeated the king's officers, and plundered as they pleased. As Godwin was impending with a similar armament, a chosen force of forty ships was stationed at Sandwich to intercept it. He eluded their vigilance, reached Kent, and roused all his friends in the neighbouring counties to arm in his behalf. But the king's fleet pursued him. He sheltered himself in Pevensey; a storm checked the progress of the others, and when they made for London, he hovered about the Isle of Wight, where Harold joined him, after a voyage of plunder. With their united strength, swelled by every aid they could allure, they sailed to Sandwich. Edward found his friends more tardy than before. Other nobles became dissatisfied at the progress of the Normans in the king's favour; and Godwin proceeded, with successful enterprise, to the Thames, and reached Southwark. He demanded the restoration of his family. His numbers and secret connections were formidable; and to save the shedding of civil blood, Stigand, the archbishop, and the wise men, urged an accommodation. Their recommendation prevailed. The Normans beheld their fate sealed in the pacification, and fled in consternation. A GREAT Council was then convened out of London, and all the earls, and the best men that were in the land, attended it. Godwin there purged himself before the king, his lord, and all the assembly, that he was guiltless of the crime of which he XIV. Edward the Confessor. 1052. BOOK had been suspected. The king received him in full Edward friendship, and granted to him and to his family a VI. the Confessor. 1052. 1053. Godwin's death. complete restoration of their honours. The Normans were all legally outlawed. Svein was the only one of the exiled family who received no benefit from the revolution of its fortunes. He had foully murdered his cousin Beorn, with every aggravated circumstance of abused confidence, and treacherous falsehood. There is a sting in murder which goads the consciousness long after the world has forgiven it, and which no increase of prosperity can destroy. Svein, though six years had passed away since his crime, found it still his torment; and to soothe his sensations, he set off with naked feet on a walking pilgrimage from Flanders to Jerusalem. He died, on his return, in Lycia. 26 THE remark of the Hebrew poet, that man dis- 26 Sax. Chron. 167, 168. Flor. Wig. 414. of fate was as irresistible as unexpected. He suddenly lost his speech, and fell from his seat. Harold and two other sons raised him, and carried him to the king's chamber, hoping a recovery. He lingered in helpless and miserable agony, from Monday to Thursday, and then expired. 28 Ir is recorded with pleasure, by the annalists, that Edward took off the heavy tax called Dane gelt. 29 Ingulf ascribes the remission to the extreme dearth which raged in 1051, and in which so many thousand people perished. Touched with compassion for their sufferings, the king abolished the tax. It is added, that the royal mind, according to some rumours, was impressed the more deeply upon the subject, because one day, when the collected tax was deposited in the treasury, the king was brought to see the vast amount: the mass so affected his imagination, that he fancied he saw a little devil jumping exultingly about it.30 His mind was certainly weak enough to believe such a fancy; and many about him were interested to frame some device that should give it a foundation. He ordered the money to be restored to its former owners, and no more to be raised on such an assessment. THE Welsh had often molested the English 28 Flor. Wig. 415. The MS. Tib. B. 4., like the printed chronicle, merely states his death; but the MS. Tib. B. I. describes it like Florence, thus: "Sæt he mid tham cynincze æt zepeorde tha pæninga rah he nithen pith thæs fotsetles sppæce benumen J ealpe hir mihte hine man tha bɲæd into thær kinger bune j thohtan tha hit ofenzan sceolde ac hit nær na spa ac thuph punode spa unƑpecende mihteleaf fopth oth thone thunner dez tha hir lif alet." 29 Flor. Wig. 410. Hoveden, 441. 30 Ingulf, 65. Hoveden tells a similar story, and makes the queen and her brother Harold the persons who took the king to the treasury. CHAP. XIV. Edward the Confessor. 1053. |