Canterbury was built, and many others also throughout England. Moreover, this land was filled with monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his days that all that would might observe that which was prescribed by their respective orders.

King William was held in much reverence. He wore his crown three times every year when

given to avarice and greedily loved gain. He made large forests for the deer and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing 5 the deer, so also the boars; and he loved the tall stags as if he were their father. He also appointed concerning the hares, that they should go free. The rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so sturdy that he

he was in England: at Easter he wore it at 10 recked naught of them; they must will all that Winchester, at Pentecost at Westminster, and

the king willed, if they would live, or would keep their lands, or would hold their possessions or would be maintained in their rights. . . . He left three sons: Robert, the eldest, was

and knights. So also, was he a very stern and a 15 duke of Normandy after him; the second, wrathful man, so that none durst do anything against his will, and he kept in prison those earls who acted against his pleasure.

He removed bishops from their sees, and abbots from their offices, and he imprisoned 20 thanes, and at length he spared not his own brother Odo. This Odo was a very powerful bishop in Normandy; his see was that of Bayeux, and he was foremost to serve the king. He had an earldom in England, and when William was 25 in Normandy he was the first man in this country, and him did he cast into prison.

named William, wore the crown of England after his father's death; and his third son was Henry, to whom he bequeathed immense treasures.

4

William of Malmsbury

c. 1095-c. 1142

MALMSBURY'S ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF (From Gesta Regum Anglorum, c. 1120, translated by J. A. GILES)

A long period has elapsed since, as well through the care of my parents as my own industry, I became familiar with books. This pleasure possessed me from my childhood: this source of delight has grown with my years. Indeed I was so instructed by my father, that had I turned aside to other pursuits, I should have considered it as jeopardy to my soul and discredit to my character. Wherefore mindful of the adage "covet what is necessary," I

Amongst other things the good order that William established is not to be forgotten; it was such that any man, who was himself aught, 30 might travel over the kingdom with a bosomful of gold, unmolested; and no man durst kill another, however great the injury he might have received from him. He reigned over England, and, being sharp-sighted to his own 35 interest, he surveyed the kingdom so thoroughly that there was not a single hide of land throughout the whole, of which he knew not the possessor, and how much it was worth, and this he afterwards entered in his register.3 40 constrained my early age to desire eagerly that The land of the Welsh was under his sway, and he built castles therein; moreover he had full dominion over the Isle of Man; Scotland also was subject to him, from his great strength; the land of Normandy was his inheritance, and 45 he possessed the earldom of Maine; and had he lived two years longer he would have subdued Ireland by his prowess, and that without a battle.

Truly there was much trouble in these times, 50 and very great distress; he caused castles to be built, and oppressed the poor. The king was also of great sternness, and he took from his bjects many marks of gold and many hundred pounds of silver, and this either with or 55 without right, and with little need. He was

The hide, or family portion, was the old unit of land, and contained from 100 to 120 acres.

i. e., the famous Doomsday Book.

which it was disgraceful not to possess. I gave, indeed, my attention to various branches of literature, but in different degrees. Logic, for instance, which gives arms to eloquence, I contented myself with barely hearing. Medicine, which ministers to the health of the body, I studied with somewhat more attention. But now, having scrupulously examined the several branches of Ethics, I bow to its majesty, because it spontaneously unveils itself to those who study it, and directs their minds to moral practice; History more especially; which, by an agreeable recapitulation of past events, excites its readers, by example, to frame their lives to the pursuit of good, or to aversion from evil. When, therefore, at my own expense, I had procured some historians of foreign nations, I proceeded during my domestic Afterward, Henry I, King of England, 1100-1135.

leisure, to inquire if anything concerning our own country could be found worthy of handing down to posterity. Hence it arose, that, not content with the writings of ancient times, I began, myself, to compose; not indeed to display my learning, which is comparatively nothing, but to bring to light events lying concealed in a confused mass of antiquity. In consequence rejecting vague opinions, I have studiously sought for chronicles far and near, 10 through the hurry of his attendants, he had though I confess I have scarcely profited anything by this industry. For perusing them all, I still remained poor in information; though I ceased not my researches as long as I could find any thing to read. However, what I have 15 clearly ascertained concerning the four kingdoms, I have inserted in my first book, in which I hope truth will find no cause to blush, though perhaps a degree of doubt may sometimes arise. I shall now trace the monarchy of 20 the West Saxon kingdom, through the line of successive princes, down to the coming of the Normans: which if any person will condescend to regard with complacency, let him in brotherly love observe the following rule: "If before 25 for the Normans, facing about, attacked them he knew only these things, let him not be disgusted because I have inserted them; if he shall know more, let him not be angry that I have not spoken of them;" but rather let him communicate his knowledge to me, while I yet 30 live, that at least, those events may appear in the margin of my history, which do not occur in the text.

On the other side, the Normans passed the whole night in confessing their sins, and received the sacrament in the morning: their infantry, with bows and arrows, formed the 5 vanguard, while their cavalry, divided into wings, were thrown back. The earl, with serene countenance, declaring aloud, that God would favour his, as being the righteous side, called for his arms; and presently, when,

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS AND THE
EFFECT OF THE CONQUEST

(From the same)

put on his hauberk the hind part before, he corrected the mistake with a laugh; saying, "My dukedom shall be turned into a kingdom." Then beginning the song of Roland, that the warlike example of that man might stimulate the soldiers, and calling on God for assistance, the battle commenced on both sides. They fought with ardour, neither giving ground, for great part of the day. Finding this, William gave a signal to his party, that, by a feigned flight, they should retreat. Through this device, the close body of English, opening for the purpose of cutting down the straggling enemy, brought upon itself swift destruction;

thus disordered, and compelled them to fly. In this manner, deceived by a stratagem, they met an honourable death in avenging their country; nor indeed were they at all wanting to their own revenge, as, by frequently making a stand, they slaughtered their pursuers in heaps: for, getting possession of an eminence, they drove down the Normans, when roused with indignation and anxiously striving to gain 35 the higher ground, into the valley beneath, where, easily hurling their javelins and rolling down stones on them as they stood below, they destroyed them to a man. Besides, by a short passage, with which they were acquainted,

such a multitude of their enemies in that place, that they made the hollow level with the plain, by the heaps of carcases. This vicissitude of first one party conquering, and then the other, prevailed as long as the life of Harold continued; but when he fell, from having his brain pierced with an arrow, the flight of the English ceased not until night. The valour of both leaders was here eminently conspicuous.

The courageous leaders mutually prepared 40 avoiding a deep ditch, they trod under foot for battle, each according to his national custom. The English, as we have heard, passed the night without sleep, in drinking, and singing, and, in the morning, proceeded without delay toward the enemy; all were on foot, armed with 45 battle axes, and covering themselves in front by the junction of their shields, they formed an impenetrable body, which would have secured their safety that day, had not the Normans, by a feigned flight, induced them to open their 50 ranks, which till that time, according to their custom, were closely compacted. The king himself on foot, stood, with his brother, near the standard; in order that, while all shared

Harold, not merely content with the duty of a general in exhorting others, diligently entered into every soldier-like office; often would he strike the enemy so that none could approach him with impunity; for immediately the same

equal danger, none might think of retreating. 55 blow levelled both horse and rider. Wherefore,

This standard William sent, after the victory, to the Pope; it was sumptuously embroidered, with gold and precious stones, in the form of a man fighting.

as I have related, receiving the fatal arrow from a distance, he yielded to death. One of the soldiers with a sword gashed his thigh, as he lay prostrate; fer which shameful and cowardly

action, he was branded with ignominy by monks mocked the rule of their order by fine William, and dismissed from the service.

5

vestments, and the use of every kind of food. The nobility, given up to luxury and wantonness, went not to church in the morning after the manner of Christians, but merely, in a careless manner, heard matins and masses from a hurrying priest in their chambers, amid the blandishments of their wives. The commonalty, left unprotected, became a prey to the

William too was equally ready to encourage by his voice and by his presence; to be the first to rush forward; to attack the thickest of the foe. Thus everywhere raging, everywhere furious, he lost three choice horses, which were that day pierced under him. The dauntless spirit and vigour of the intrepid general, however, still persisted, though often called 10 most powerful, who amassed fortunes, by either

back by the kind remonstrance of his bodyguard; he still persisted, I say, till approaching night crowned him with complete victory, and no doubt, the hand of God so protected him, that the enemy should draw no blood from his 15 person, though they aimed so many javelins at him.

seizing on their property, or by selling their persons into foreign countries; although it be an innate quality of this people, to be more inclined to revelling, than to the accumulation of wealth. .

Drinking in parties was a universal practise, in which occupation they passed entire nights as well as days. They consumed their whole substance in mean and despicable houses; unlike the Normans and French, who, in noble and splendid mansions, lived with frugality. The vices attendant on drunkenness, which enervate the human mind, followed; hence it arose that engaging William, more with rashness and precipitate fury than military skill, they doomed themselves, and their country to slavery, by one, and that an easy, victory. "For nothing is less effective than rashness; and what begins with violence, quickly ceases, or is repelled." In fine, the English at that time, wore short garments reaching to the mid-knee; they had their hair cropped; their beards shaven; their arms laden with golden bracelets; their skin adorned with punctured designs. They were accustomed to eat till they became surfeited, and to drink till they were sick. These latter qualities they imparted to their conquerors; as to the rest, they adopted their manners. I would not, however, have these bad propensities universally ascribed to the English. I know that many of the clergy, at that day, trod the path of sanctity, by a blameless life; I know that many of the laity, of all ranks and conditions, in this nation, were well-pleasing to God. Be injustice far from this account; the accusation does not involve the whole indiscriminately.

This was a fatal day to England, a melancholy havoc of our dear country, through its change of masters. For it had long since 20 adopted the manners of the Angles, which had been very various according to the times: for in the first years of their arrival, they were barbarians in their look and manners, warlike in their usages, heathens in their rites; but, 25 after embracing the faith of Christ, by degrees, and in process of time, from the peace they enjoyed, regarding arms only in a secondary light, they gave their whole attention to religion. I say nothing of the poor, the mean- 30 ness of whose fortune often restrains them from overstepping the bounds of justice; I omit men of ecclesiastical rank, whom sometimes respect to their profession, and sometimes the fear of shame, suffer not to deviate from the truth: 35 I speak of princes, who from the greatness of their power might have full liberty to indulge in pleasure; some of whom, in their own country, and others at Rome, changing their habit, obtained a heavenly kingdom, and a saintly 40 intercourse. Many during their whole lives in outward appearance only embraced the present world, in order that they might exhaust their treasures on the poor, or divide them amongst monasteries. What shall I say of the multi- 45 tudes of bishops, hermits, and abbots? Does not the whole island blaze with such numerous relics of its natives that you can scarcely pass a village of any consequence but you hear the name of some new saint, besides the numbers 50 of whom all notices have perished through the want of records? Nevertheless, in process of time, the desire after literature and religion had decayed, for several years before the arrival of the Normans. The clergy, contented with a 55 not excessive. They are a race inured to war,

very slight degree of learning, could scarcely stammer out the words of the sacraments; and a person who understood grammar, was an object of wonder and astonishment. The

"But,

as in peace, the mercy of God often cherishes the bad and the good together; so, equally, does His severity, sometimes, include them both in captivity."

Moreover, the Normans, that I may speak of them also, were at that time, and are even now, proudly apparelled, delicate in their food, but

and can hardly live without it; fierce in rushing against the enemy; and where strength fails of success, ready to use stratagem, or to corrupt by bribery. As I have related, they live in la

5

his eyes toward the church, which stood out distinctly on the summit of a rock, he heard upon all sides a sound of great sweetness; and listening intently, the better to hear the melody in all its fulness, he began to sigh. He perceived that it was the monks singing in the dining-hall, and chanting the hours. Thereupon, he requested certain ones in the boats to come round to him and to sing with him. Then

edifices with economy; envy their equals; wish to excell their superiors; and plunder their subjects, though they defend them from others: they are faithful to their lords, though a slight offense renders them perfidious. They weigh treachery by its chance of success, and change their sentiments with money. They are, however, the kindest of nations, and they esteem strangers worthy of equal honour with themselves. They also intermarry with their 10 the king himself, expressing with his own

mouth the gladness of his heart, composed a
song in English in these words:

Sweetly sang the monks in Ely
When Canute the king rowed by!
"Row, Knights, near the land
And hear the monks' sweet song."

vassals. They revived, by their arrival, the observances of religion, which were everywhere grown lifeless in England. You might see churches rise in every village, and monasteries in the towns and cities, built after a style un- 15 known before; you might behold the country flourishing with renovated rights; so that each wealthy man accounted that day lost to him, which he had neglected to signalize by some munificent action. But having enlarged suf- 20 beginning thus, did not cease to sing piously ficiently on these points, let us pursue the transactions of William.

When his victory was complete he caused his dead to be interred with great pomp; granting the enemy the liberty of doing the like, if they 25 thought proper. He sent the body of Harold to his mother, who begged it, unransomed; though she proffered large sums by her messengers. She buried it, when thus obtained, at Waltham; a church which he had built at his 30 own expense, in honour of the Holy Cross, and had endowed for canons. William then, by degrees proceeding, as became a conqueror, with his army, not after an hostile, but a royal manner, journeyed towards London, the 35 principal city of the kingdom; and shortly after, all the citizens came out to meet him with gratulations.

which, even to-day, are sung publicly in chorus and are remembered in proverbs. The king

and sweetly in chorus with the venerable college, until he came to land, and, being worthily received by the brothers in procession, as their custom is with the most distinguished person, was led into the church. Presently, by his privilege and authority he confirmed in perpetuity the rights and benefits granted to the church by his predecessors, the kings of the English; and before the high altar, where rests the sacred body of the virgin and spouse of Christ, Aetheldreda, he declared, in the presence of the church and of the world, that the rights and privileges of the place should be free in perpetuity.

Geoffrey of Monmouth

d. 1154?

DEDICATORY EPISTLE

(From Historia Regum Britania, 1147, translated by J. A. GILES)

Whilst occupied on many and various studies I happened to light upon the History of the Kings of Britain, and wondered that in the account which Gildas and Bede, in their elegant treatises, have given of them, I found nothing

On a certain occasion, king Canute, accompanied by his queen Emma, and by magnates of the realm, was proceeding to Ely by boat, 50 said of those kings who lived here before the Inintending there to celebrate, according to custom, the purification of Saint Mary; for, since the beginning of their order, the abbots of Ely have held the ceremony in the presence of the king's court. As they were approaching 55 the bank, the king, rising in the midst of his men, signalled to the boatmen to pull more swiftly to the little gate, and commanded them to pass through it slowly. Thereupon, lifting

carnation of Christ, nor of Arthur, and many others who succeeded after the Incarnation; though their actions both deserved immortal fame, and were also celebrated by many people in a pleasant manner and by heart, as if they had been written. Whilst I was intent upon these and such like thoughts, Walter,' arch

1 Thought to be Walter Mapes, the poet and author of several ludicrous and satirical compositions. (Giles)

soever you shall make choice of, and give with you the third part of my kingdom." Then Regau, the second daughter, willing, after the example of her sister, to prevail upon her 5 father's good nature, answered with an oath, "That she could not otherwise express her thoughts, but that she loved him above all creatures." The credulous father upon this

made her the same promise that he did to her

with the third part of his kingdom. But Cordeilla, the youngest, understanding how easily he was satisfied with the flattering expressions of her sisters, was desirous to make

deacon of Oxford, a man of great eloquence, and learned in foreign histories, offered me a very ancient book in the British tongue, which, in a continued regular story and elegant style, related the actions of them all, from Brutus2 the first king of the Britons, down to Cadwallader the son of Cadwallo. At his request, therefore, though I had not made fine language my study, by collecting florid expressions from other authors, yet contented with my own 10 eldest sister, that is, the choice of a husband, homely style, I undertook the translation of that book into Latin. For if I had swelled the pages with rhetorical flourishes, I must have tired my readers by employing their attention more upon my words than upon the history. 15 trial of his affection after a different manner. To you, therefore, Robert earl of Gloucester, this work humbly sues for the favour of being so corrected by your advice, that it may not be thought to be the poor offspring of Geoffrey of Monmouth, but when polished by your re- 20 fined wit and judgment, the production of him who had Henry the glorious king of England for his father, and whom we see an accomplished scholar and philosopher, as well as a brave soldier and expert commander; so that 25 you, and take this for a short answer to all Britain with joy acknowledges, that in you she possesses another Henry.

THE STORY OF KING LEIR

(From the same)

4

"My father," said she, "is there any daughter that can love her father more than duty requires? In my opinion, who ever pretends to it, must disguise her real sentiments under the veil of flattery. I have always loved you as a father, nor do I yet depart from my purposed duty; and if you insist to have something more extorted from me, hear now the greatness of my affection, which I always bear

your questions; look how much you have, so much is your value, and so much do I love you." The father, supposing that she spoke this out of the abundance of her heart, was 30 highly provoked, and immediately replied, Since you have so far despised my old age as not to think me worthy the love that your sisters express for me, you shall have from me the like regard, and shall be excluded from any

After this unhappy fate of Bladud, Leir, his son was advanced to the throne, and nobly governed his country sixty years. He built 35 share with your sisters in my kingdom. Not

withstanding, I do not say but that since you are my daughter, I will marry you to some foreigner, if fortune offers you any such husband; but will never, I do assure you, make it my business to procure so honourable a match for you as for your sisters; because, though I have hitherto loved you more than them, you have in requital thought me less worthy of your affection than they." And, without further delay, after consultation with his nobility, he bestowed his two other daughters upon the dukes of Cornwall and Albania, with half the island at present, but after his death, the inheritance of the whole monarchy of Brit

upon the river Sore a city called in the British tongue, Kaerleir, in the Saxon, Leircestre.1 He was without male issue, but had three daughters, whose names were Gonorilla, Regau, and Cordeilla, of whom he was dotingly fond, 40 but especially of his youngest, Cordeilla. When he began to grow old, he had thoughts of dividing his kingdom among them, and of bestowing them on such husbands as were fit to be advanced to the government with them. But to 45 make trial who was worthy to have the best part of his kingdom, he went to each of them to ask which of them loved him most. The question being proposed, Gonorilla, the eldest, made answer, "That she called heaven to wit- 50 ain. ness, she loved him more than her own soul." The father replied, "Since you have preferred my declining age before your own life, I will marry you, my dearest daughter, to whom

? The reputed founder of Britain according to the old leg- 55 ends, was supposed to have been the descendant of Eneas. A British king, died about 664.

The bastard son of Henry I, who was famous as a patron of learning and as a leader in the civil wars following the death of his father.

1 Leicester.

It happened after this, that Aganippus, king of the Franks, having heard of the fame of Cordeilla's beauty, forthwith sent his ambassadors to the king to demand her in marriage. The father, retaining yet his anger towards her, made answer, "That he was very willing to bestow his daughter, but without either money or territories; because he had already given away his kingdom with all his